Top Items:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Newt expands South Carolina lead — Newt Gingrich heads into South Carolina election day as the clear front runner in the state: he's now polling at 37% to 28% for Mitt Romney, 16% for Rick Santorum, and 14% for Ron Paul. — Gingrich's lead has actually increased in the wake of his ex-wife's controversial interview with ABC.
Discussion:
Don Surber, Christian Science Monitor, Yahoo! News, Mashable!, Scared Monkeys, Political Insider, today.yougov.com News, American Spectator, Telegraph, Daily Kos, New York Times, Hot Air, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Reaction, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …, Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gallup, Clemson University and CNN
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Gingrich Is Well-Positioned as South Carolina Votes — Newt Gingrich, who had trailed Mitt Romney by a double-digit margin in South Carolina in several polls conducted just after the New Hampshire primary, may instead be headed to a big victory there, recent polling suggests.
Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:
Doubts creep in as an awkward Romney tries not to lose GOP nod — What's wrong with Mitt Romney? — In the early stages of this cycle's Republican nominating process, the former Massachusetts governor seemed confident and sure-footed. Now he seems awkward and defensive.
Discussion:
Riehl World View and Pundit & Pundette
Chuck Norris / WND:
MY ENDORSEMENT FOR PRESIDENT — Exclusive: Chuck Norris reveals his choice for Republican nomination — Our republic as America's founders created it is under assault from extremists outside our country and anti-constitutionalists inside our country. Combined with the flailing American economy …
Discussion:
Pat Dollard, Balloon Juice, Riehl World View, Mediaite, Hot Air, Gawker, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Hill, Faith in Public Life and The Daily Caller
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Romney demands Gingrich release contract for Freddie Mac work — GREENVILLE, S.C. — Mitt Romney called on Newt Gingrich to release all correspondence he'd had with mortgage giant Freddie Mac on Saturday morning, the day of South Carolina's primary, while meeting with supporters at his Upstate South Carolina campaign headquarters.
Discussion:
CNN
Ross Douthat:
The Momentum of Ideas — During last night's Republican debate, the candidates were asked to name something from the campaign that they would have done differently. Here was Newt Gingrich's answer: … I have, for my sins, watched Gingrich make his pitch across what feels …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, National Review, Rod Dreher, American Spectator, Swampland, The Atlantic Online and Campaign 2012
Conn Carroll / Campaign 2012:
America hates Newt Gingrich — Unlike Mitt Romney, who occasionally beats President Obama in general election poll match ups, Newt Gingrich trails far behind President Obama in every survey. But just how bad are Gingrich's unfavorable among the general public compared to Obama and Romney?
Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Santorum now the Iowa winner, officially — This statement just landed from the Republican Party of Iowa, just about 20 minutes shy of midnight: … This is a switch from the party's stand yesterday morning, that the results were inconclusive and a winner couldn't be called because of a number …
Discussion:
CNN, Taegan Goddard's …, The Other McCain, Telegraph, Politics and ABCNEWS
Mark Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:
Newt Gingrich Surges In South Carolina, But Expect The Unexpected
Newt Gingrich Surges In South Carolina, But Expect The Unexpected
Dr. Keith Ablow / Fox News:
Newt Gingrich's three marriages mean he might make a strong president — really
Newt Gingrich's three marriages mean he might make a strong president — really
Trip Gabriel / New York Times:
A Test for Gingrich as Political Strategist
A Test for Gingrich as Political Strategist
Discussion:
The Caucus and TalkLeft
A.Killough / CNN:
Colbert: Vote for Cain, he's on the ballot
Colbert: Vote for Cain, he's on the ballot
Discussion:
The Politico and Hardball Blog
Matt Stout / Boston Herald:
Sen. Scott Brown urges Romney, Gingrich — come clean
Sen. Scott Brown urges Romney, Gingrich — come clean
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Politico, ThinkProgress and The Hill
Ron Edmonds / Investor's Business Daily:
Exactly 3 years in, Obama's job approval hits lowest level yet — Exactly three years after Aretha Franklin's hat launched the Obama administration, the Democrat's annual job approval rating has sunk to his lowest level. — That's not normally a good sign after 1,095 days in office. But who's counting?
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama Averages 44% Approval in 3rd Year — Averaged 43% job approval in most recent quarter in office — PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama averaged 44% job approval for his third full year in office, which ended Jan. 19. His third-year average is down slightly from his second-year average …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Don Surber and Campaign 2012
Tara Siegel Bernard / New York Times:
Blacks Face Bias in Bankruptcy, Study Suggests — Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to wind up in the more onerous and costly form of consumer bankruptcy as they try to dig out from their debts, a new study has found. — The disparity persisted even when the researchers adjusted for income …
Discussion:
SSRN and Prairie Weather
Charles Murray / Wall Street Journal:
The New American Divide — The ideal of an ‘American way of life’ is fading as the working class falls further away from institutions like marriage and religion and the upper class becomes more isolated. Charles Murray on what's cleaving America, and why. — America is coming apart.
Discussion:
pandagon.net and Ricochet Conversations Feed
Mortimer B. Zuckerman / US News:
Barack Obama's Middle East Miscalculation — In Egypt, we are witnessing the democratic election of a dictatorship — A little-noticed event gives a grim insight into what is really happening in the Middle East. The euphoria of the “Arab Spring,” the instant Twitter-style transition …
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Our Mr. Brooks Climbs The Romney Family Tree — The applause came from deep in the plush leather armchairs gathered by the fireplace in the clubroom of the Premature Fogies Club. It was warm and sustaining, as was the morning brandy. People touched the patches on his master's blazer as he walked by.
Discussion:
Rod Dreher, The Moderate Voice, Eunomia and New York Times
Wall Street Journal:
Justices Bar Texas Court's Election Map — WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Friday ordered new interim maps drawn for Texas' April 3 primary, handing Republicans a partial if possibly short-lived victory in a battle over as many as four House seats. — The unsigned decision sends the case …
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Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
How Should the Supreme Court Rule on the Individual Mandate?
How Should the Supreme Court Rule on the Individual Mandate?
Discussion:
Hit & Run and The Other McCain
Brendan Sasso / The Hill:
Consumer group accuses Hollywood of ‘threatening politicians’ — Consumer group Public Knowledge on Friday accused the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and its head, former Sen. Chris Dodd, of trying to intimidate lawmakers into supporting a pair of controversial anti-piracy bills.
Discussion:
RedState and Techdirt, more at Mediagazer »