memeorandum: New Polls Show Signs Of Serious Vulnerability For President Obama (Jim Watson/ABCNEWS)

2:50 PM ET, January 17, 2012

Top Items:

Kevinliptak / CNN:

Romney says his effective tax rate is 15% — Florence, South Carolina (CNN) - Mitt Romney said Tuesday he pays roughly a 15% effective tax rate on his income - an acknowledgment that the multi-millionaire pays a smaller percentage of taxes on his income than many middle-income Americans.

David Brooks / New York Times:

South Carolina Diarist — Sumter, S.C. — When I started covering presidential primaries, the best part was getting to know the candidates. We journalists would ride around in vans and buses with them and get an intimate look at what it's like to endure this soul-destroying process.

Discussion: The State, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, Poynter and CNN

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Romney Admits His Tax Rate Is About 15 Percent, Lower Than Many Middle Class Families — Citizens for Tax Justice a few months ago estimated that Mitt Romney, due to most of his income coming from investments, pays a tax rate of around 14 percent, a far cry from the 35 percent top income tax rate.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Hot Air

Washington Examiner:

Will frontrunner Romney keep debating? — MYRTLE BEACH, SC — After a debate in which Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney faced attacks from all sides, the Romney campaign says it has not yet accepted invitations to participate in two high-profile debates leading up to the January 31 Florida primary …

Discussion: The Politico, GOP 12, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Emily Goodin / The Hill:
Attacks fly in Republican debate

ABCNEWS:
Romney Says He ‘Probably’ Pays 15 Percent in Fed Taxes

Discussion: Daily Kos

Kevin Derby / Sunshine State News:
Mitt Romney Routing the GOP Pack in Florida, Sunshine State News Poll Shows

Discussion: GOP 12

Pat Garofalo / The Atlantic Online:
The Real Scandal in Private Equity? It's the Taxes

Discussion: Wonkette

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
Romney Says His Effective Tax Rate Is About 15 Percent

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Mojo, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, Gothamist and Daily Kos

Washington Examiner:
York: Final count could show Romney lost Iowa

Discussion: American Spectator, Iowa Caucuses, Wake up America, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Nice Deb and Brad DeLong

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Gingrich gets vote from S.C. lieutenant governor

Discussion: The Hill and FITSNews

Fox News Insider:

TRANSCRIPT: Fox News Channel & Wall Street Journal Debate in South Carolina — Here's a full transcript from tonight's GOP debate in South Carolina: — BAIER: Thanks, Bill, and welcome to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and the Republican presidential debate.

Kevinliptak / CNN:

Turkey responds angrily to Perry remarks — Istanbul (CNN) - Most of Turkey was fast asleep when Republic presidential candidates engaged in a spirited debate in South Carolina Monday night. — Turkish newspapers had already gone to print by the time Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared …

Discussion: USA Today, Mediaite and Jihad Watch

ABCNEWS:

Rick Perry Camp Explains Suggestion That Turkey Is Led By ‘Islamic Terrorists’ — MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - In response to a question about whether or not Turkey should still be a part of NATO, Rick Perry suggested some consider the country to be ruled by “Islamic terrorists.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Hill, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, The Caucus, News Desk, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Outside the Beltway

Rosie Gray / Politics: Perry Camp Smooths Over Turkey “Islamic Terrorists” Response

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Obama warns left: You won't like budget — Top White House officials are warning liberal and labor leaders to brace themselves for President Obama's budget proposal. — Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, sought in meetings last week to lift the left's gloom …

Discussion: The Politico, Firedoglake, Pirate's Cove, Liberal Values, Prairie Weather and Shakesville

Ben Geman / The Hill:
Pipeline foes press Congress with upcoming protest

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Huffington Post

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney, Dewhurst lead in Texas — Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country. When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points. Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Trail Blazers Blog, Ballot Box and Campaign 2012

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama up 5 on Romney nationally

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Guardian and The Caucus

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Mitt says he pays close to 15 percent rate — Mitt Romney, who has a high net worth, pulled the curtain back a bit on his income when asked about the effective tax rate he's been paying during a Q and A with reporters in Florence, S.C.: … Romney made more than $360,000 …

Washington Post:
Mitt Romney to release tax returns, estimates rate at about 15 percent

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Paul Krugman, Campaign 2012 and Political Mojo

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Gingrich pushes Romney to release tax returns before SC primary

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

David Edwards / The Raw Story:

GOP debate audience boos Romney's Mexican heritage — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may be in the lead in the Palmetto state, but that doesn't mean South Carolinians necessarily like him. — During a Fox News debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday …

Discussion: pandagon.net and Booman Tribune

Trevor Timm / Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Search form — How PIPA and SOPA Violate White House Principles Supporting Free Speech and Innovation — Over the weekend, the Obama administration issued a potentially game-changing statement on the blacklist bills, saying it would oppose PIPA and SOPA as written, and drew an important line …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway, Making Light, Balloon Juice, War in Context, Computerworld, Concurring Opinions, Techdirt and GigaOM, more at Techmeme »

BBC:
Sopa and Pipa explained

Discussion: The Agonist, The Other McCain and The Daily Caller

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:

‘Occupy Congress’ protester arrested — One man was arrested for assault on a police officer Tuesday during day-long 'Occupy Congress" protests on Capitol Hill. — Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider confirmed the arrest, but did not have a name for the man, who was being processed at Capitol Police headquarters.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:
Nancy Pelosi: GOP knows Mitt Romney can't win

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jim Watson / ABCNEWS:

New Polls Show Signs Of Serious Vulnerability For President Obama — There are plenty of Democrats and even some Republicans who view the Republican primary as a gift to President Obama. Sixteen debates, web videos and “you can't even make this up” candidate behavior …

Discussion: Big Journalism, Investor's Business Daily, Taylor Marsh and Gallup

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:

Santorum Staffer Says Women Shouldn't Be President Because It's Against God's Will — In an article about the reasons Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign fizzled, the Des Moines Register points to “sexism among conservatives,” singling out an offensive email written by a staffer to Rick Santorum:

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette and Wonkette

Jim Morrill / The Charlotte Observer:

Obama to speak at Bank of America stadium — On the final night of this fall's Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech at Bank of America stadium, party sources told the Observer on Monday night. — Convention officials are expected …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh, New York Magazine, The Hinterland Gazette and The Daily Caller