memeorandum: Castro lambasts US Republican primary as idiotic (Paul Haven/Associated Press)

8:45 AM ET, January 26, 2012

Top Items:

Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:

Thou Shalt Not Write Bad Things About Obama — Drudge has a story about Obama getting off of Air Force One in Arizona, greeting Republican governor Jan Brewer, and immediately giving her a piece of his mind. Evidently our president did not appreciate something Brewer wrote about him.

Discussion: Drudge Report, Don Surber, Scared Monkeys, Pirate's Cove, Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit

Donovan Slack / The Politico:

Brewer?s tense exchange with Obama — It was a tense moment on the tarmac. — President Obama, alighting from the stairs of Air Force One in Phoenix this afternoon, was greeted by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who handed him an envelope and the two exchanged what appeared to be some heated sentiments.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Wire, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

On visit to Arizona, Obama and Gov. Brewer spar over her book — When President Obama landed in Phoenix on Wednesday, he was greeted with sunny skies and a kerfuffle with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer. — After welcoming the president upon his arrival, Obama told Brewer he didn't like the …

Discussion: CNN

Carrie Budoff Brown / Arizona Republic:
Brewer, Obama exchange tense words over book, immigration at airport

Discussion: The Caucus, Mediaite, Joe. My. God., Michelle Malkin, Wizbang, Hot Air and The Crawdad Hole

Kevinliptak / CNN:

CNN/Time Poll: Dead heat in Florida ahead of debate — Jacksonville, Florida (CNN) - One day before the final GOP presidential debate in Florida, it's all tied up between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, according to a new survey. — A CNN/Time/ORC International Poll also indicates …

Wallacegw / CNN:
Speaker tells members what not to wear

Discussion: The Politico and Reuters

Matt Dixon / Florida Times Union:
Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32

Discussion: Naked Politics and The Buzz Florida Politics Feed

First Read / msnbc.com:
Santorum hints at leaving FL before Tuesday primary

Discussion: Post on Politics, Ballot Box, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CNN

Paul Roderick Gregory / EconWorld:

Warren Buffett's Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year — Warren Buffet's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, served as a stage prop for President Obama's State of the Union speech. She was the President's chief display of the alleged unfairness of our tax system …

Discussion: Power Line, JustOneMinute, American Glob, Rush Limbaugh, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, TBogg and Weasel Zippers

ABCNEWS:

Warren Buffett and His Secretary Talk Taxes — ABC News' Seniboye Tienabeso reports: — In a week when taxes and tax returns have dominated the headlines, billionaire investor Warren Buffett jumped back into the political debate and showed his returns exclusively to ABC News' Bianna Golodryga …

Discussion: Broadside Books and ABCNEWS

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Newt pledges moon base by second term — POLITICO's Ginger Gibson:

Discussion: The Iowa Republican, News Desk, US Politics, LewRockwell.com Blog and Gawker

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:
Gingrich Pledges To Establish Permanent Base On The Moon ‘By The End Of My Second Term’

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Balloon Juice

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

Obama heads west to sell energy plan — President Obama will travel to Nevada and Colorado on Thursday to sell the public on the energy proposals he outlined in this week's State of the Union address. — The president's energy plan is designed to simultaneously please his core group …

Discussion: InsideClimate News

Erica Martinson / The Politico:
Issa: Obama's energy plan not the real thing

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Reaction

Politifact.com Truth-O-Meter rulings from National:

Barack Obama: “In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than 3 million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005." — Have private-sector jobs grown by 3 million in 22 months, with the best annual totals since 2005? — EDITOR'S NOTE: Our original Half True rating …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, PolitiFact, A plain blog about politics, Jared Bernstein, American Prospect and The Raw Story

Tim Mak / The Politico:
Right blogs credit Obama on ‘insider’ bill

Discussion: Big Government, Conservatives4Palin, Big Journalism, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Pirate's Cove

Marc Caputo / Naked Politics:

Romney's Hispanic leadership team: Newt, pull down your ad. Gingrich: I will — In the wake of Sen. Marco Rubio's denunciation of Newt Gingrich's ad calling Mitt Romney ‘anti-immigrant,’ the Romney campaign's Hispanic leadership team — headlined by former Sen. Mel Martinez — is demanding that Gingrich pull down the radio spot.

Discussion: Don Surber, The Caucus, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Little Green Footballs, Riptide 2.0, Campaign 2012, Ballot Box, The Other McCain and The Moderate Voice

Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
Mitt Romney's campaign is attacking Newt Gingrich as an “influence peddler.”

Discussion: FITSNews, The Politico, The Spectacle Blog, Boston Globe, Bloomberg, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Daily Kos

Marc Caputo / MiamiHerald.com:
Gingrich, Romney continue attacks in Miami

Discussion: Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Eunomia, The Moderate Voice, Washington Wire and The Caucus

Franco Ordoñez / Raleigh News & Observer:

Miller won't fight Price for 4th District seat — WASHINGTON Representative Brad Miller, who has spent a decade in Congress working for consumer protections, said Wednesday that he would not seek another term rather than run against his longtime political ally and friend.

Discussion: The Hill and Hotline On Call

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Watch Mitt Spin: Romney Claims His Real Tax Rate Is ‘Closer To 45 Or 50 Percent’ — During an interview with Univision, Romney was pressed on whether it was fair for him to pay about 13 percent of his income in taxes — as he did in 2010, according to his recently released tax returns — when many middle class families pay far more.

Discussion: pandagon.net and Daily Kos

Wall Street Journal:
Romney's Fair Share

Discussion: Jared Bernstein, JustOneMinute and The Politico

Alejandro Lazo / Los Angeles Times:

California calls $25-billion mortgage settlement ‘inadequate’ — California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris walked away from talks with the banks last year, saying not enough was being offered for California homeowners. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) — Calif. Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris' office …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, naked capitalism, The Big Picture and Firedoglake

Paul Haven / Associated Press:

Castro lambasts US Republican primary as idiotic — Fidel Castro lambasted the Republican presidential race as the greatest competition of “idiocy and ignorance” the world has ever seen in a column published Wednesday, and also took shots at the news media and foreign governments for seizing …

Discussion: his vorpal sword, Weasel Zippers, The Politico, Gawker and Saint Petersblog

Elliott Abrams / National Review:

Gingrich and Reagan — In the increasingly rough Republican campaign, no candidate has wrapped himself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan more often than Newt Gingrich. “I worked with President Reagan to change things in Washington,” “we helped defeat the Soviet empire,” and …

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, NO QUARTER, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Philly.com, Sister Toldjah, Power Line, ABCNEWS, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Betsy's Page, Politics, Outside the Beltway, Cato @ Liberty, The Atlantic Online and The Spectacle Blog

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Confident Obama struts his stuff — A relaxed, confident Barack Obama hit a pitch-perfect high note last week at the famed Apollo Theater in New York. — President Obama sang, “I'm so in love with you” — from Al Green's hit “Let's Stay Together” — and showed the world just how comfortable …

Bloomberg:

Geithner: Obama Wouldn't Ask Me to Stay in a Second Term — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said he doesn't expect President Barack Obama to ask him to stay in office if he's re-elected, and dismissed Wall Street's concerns about financial regulations.

Discussion: Shakesville, The Daily Caller, ABCNEWS, The Hill and Truthdig

Eric Pfeiffer / Associated Press:

Former President John Tyler's (1790-1862) grandchildren still alive — Former President John Tyler, born 221 years ago, still has two living grandchildren. The one-term president isn't a well-known historical figure; he's probably best remembered for helping to push through the annexation of Texas in 1845 …