memeorandum: Joe Paterno, Longtime Penn State Coach, Dies at 85 (Richard Goldstein/New York Times)

7:30 PM ET, January 22, 2012

Top Items:

Three Takeaways From South Carolina — 1) There is no good news buried in here for Mitt Romney. None. As of this writing, Mitt Romney is leading in three counties in South Carolina: Charleston, Beaufort (Hilton Head) and Richland (Columbia). He lost fast-growing, coastal Horry County, home of Myrtle Beach, by 15 points.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Reuters, RedState, Big Government, Hot Air, PJ Media, Hit & Run, Conservatives4Palin, Patterico's Pontifications, CNN and American Power

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Christie: Gingrich ‘embarrassed’ GOP — Gov. Chris Christie called Newt Gingrich an embarrassment to the Republican Party. — “I think Newt Gignrich has embarrassed the party, over time,” Christie (R), who endorsed Mitt Romney, said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. “Governor Romney never has.”

Discussion: NO QUARTER, Naked Politics and Scared Monkeys

Washington Examiner:

Why Gingrich won — Why Romney lost — COLUMBIA, SC — They won't say it publicly — they don't want to appear churlish or disrespectful on a night they took a serious beating — but it's no exaggeration to say that even after losing the South Carolina primary to Newt Gingrich …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Wake up America, Instapundit, The Politico, Don Surber, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway, PJ Media, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Erick's blog

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Quick Thoughts on Tonight's Results — Tonight's results — a blowout win for Newt Gingrich — upend all the equations governing the GOP presidential primary. So which variables can we still be relatively sure of? — Let me take a stab at one. Newt Gingrich isn't going to be the GOP nominee.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, New York Magazine and The Reaction

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:

Romney to release tax returns on Tuesday, calls delay ‘a mistake’ — Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday he will release his tax returns on Tuesday as he tries to pivot from an issue that dragged him down in his South Carolina primary loss to Newt Gingrich. — Romney said he'll post his 2010 tax return …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Political Carnival and Wake up America

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Next stop: A brawl at the 2012 Florida primary

Discussion: CNN, Reuters and Washington Monthly

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: The race is on — The morning after his victory …

Discussion: The Buzz Florida Politics Feed and Taegan Goddard's …

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Newt Gingrich wins South Carolina primary

Discussion: Althouse, Campaign 2012, Prairie Weather, New York Times, Harry's Place, Weekly Standard and Ballot Box

New York Times:
South Carolina's Divisive Message

Discussion: The Caucus, 2012 Decoded, Guardian, Daily Kos, Big Journalism, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Hullabaloo and The Moderate Voice

Hugh Hewitt / National Review:
The Ball Is in Florida's Court Now

Discussion: Riehl World View, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish, The PJ Tatler, ABCNEWS, The Moderate Voice, Erick's blog and New York Times

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Santorum: ‘No pressure’ to exit GOP race

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Outside the Beltway

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
New Romney surrogate says Gingrich could cost GOP Congress

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, The Politico and Daily Kos

Mj Lee / The Politico:
On Newt Gingrich S.C. primary win, Karl Rove says thank John King

Discussion: CNN, PERRspectives and The Moderate Voice

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
South Carolina Primary Overview and Forecast

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Atlantic Online, Wonkette, Crooks and Liars, Ballot Box, Hot Air, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications and Politics

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Lessons From the South Carolina Exit Polls

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, No More Mister Nice Blog and msnbc.com

Arizona Daily Star:

Giffords to step down from Congress — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week to focus on her recovery, her staff announced Sunday. — “I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” Giffords said in a video message.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Scared Monkeys, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, The Democratic Daily and The Raw Story

Gabrielle Giffords:

U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS WILL STEP DOWN FROM CONGRESS THIS WEEK — In a video message to her constituents, congresswoman says she will ‘do what is best for Arizona’ as she recovers from shooting a year ago — TUCSON - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week …

Discussion: Healthland

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to Step Down from Congress — Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will step down from the House this week and not seek re-election when her current term expires this year, she announced today. — Giffords has made a stunning recovery after being shot in the head …

Discussion: Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Political Carnival, WTVM-TV, Wake up America, RedState, CBS New York and The Impolitic

James Bennett / KOLD-TV:

Governor will declare April special election for Giffords' seat — Gabrielle Giffords' decision to resign from Congress will force Gov. Jan Brewer to call an April special election to replace her. — The governor will set the date for special primary and general elections to determine …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin

Dan Nowicki / Arizona Republic:
Giffords stepping down from Congress

Discussion: Washington Post, The Moderate Voice and Taegan Goddard's …

CNN:
Gabrielle Giffords will resign to focus on her recovery

Discussion: This Just In and American Spectator

Daniel Strauss / Ballot Box:
Rep. Giffords to step down from Congress to focus on recovery

Discussion: The Hill and The Politico

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

An open letter to Republican leaders — Dear Govs. Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, John Kasich, Bobby Jindal; Sens. Jon Kyl, Marco Rubio and Jim DeMint; and Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and Mike Pence (R-Ind.): — You've each declined to run for the presidency or even endorse one of the final candidates.

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Booman Tribune

Richard Goldstein / New York Times:

Joe Paterno, Longtime Penn State Coach, Dies at 85 — Joe Paterno, who won more games than any other major-college football coach, and who became the face of Penn State University and a symbol of integrity in collegiate athletics only to be fired during the 2011 season amid a child sexual-abuse scandal …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and The Atlantic Online, more at Mediagazer »

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Romney partially caves on tax returns — Watching Mitt Romney discuss his willingness to disclose his tax returns, it's been hard not to marvel at the rapid evolution. It was only about a month ago when he was asked whether he'd release his tax returns, and Romney replied, “I doubt it.”

Discussion: Associated Press, The Politico and The Impolitic

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Romney to Release Tax Returns on Tuesday

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Page, Gothamist and HotAirPundit

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Showtime at the Apollo — FOR eight seconds, we saw the president we had craved for three years: cool, joyous, funny, connected. — “I, I'm so in love with you,” Barack Obama crooned to a thrilled crowd at a fund-raiser at the Apollo in Harlem on Thursday night, doing a seductive imitation as Al Green himself looked on.

Discussion: National Review, Don Surber and Weasel Zippers

Nancy Keenan / The Huffington Post:

2012: The Year We Put an End to the War on Women — GOP Choice Women , Romney Choice Women , Congress Women Choice , Pro Choice Naral , Pro Choice Politics , Pro Choice Women , Republicans Roe v Wade , Roe v Wade GOP , Roe v Wade Women , War On Women , Politics News — 2011 was the year of the War on Women.

Discussion: The Raw Story