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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 …
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Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’ — Sen. Marco Rubio scolded Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign over a Spanish-language radio ad that accuses rival Mitt Romney of being “anti-immigrant” — “This kind of language is more than just unfortunate.
Discussion:
Guardian, Michelle Malkin, The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, Ballot Box, Campaign 2012, The PJ Tatler, Riptide 2.0 and The Other McCain

Is Florida Still in Play for Republicans? — Only nine months from Election Day, Latino voters — the nation's fastest-growing voting bloc — favor President Obama over all the Republican candidates by a wide margin, according to a new poll conducted by Latino Decisions for Univision News and ABC News …
Discussion:
Political Mojo, The Politico, Washington Post, Ballot Box and Saint Petersblog

Speaker tells members what not to wear — Washington (CNN) - Just seconds after an emotional tribute to Arizona Democratic Rep Gabby Giffords in the House of Representatives Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner - who got a little choked up in the moment - suddenly felt the need to remind members …
Discussion:
Reuters

Gingrich on Clinton impeachment, telling the truth — Doral, Florida (CNN) - At a Latino forum Wednesday Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich talked about character and perceived hypocrisy related to his personal history. — Univision anchor Jorge Ramos asked the former House speaker …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …

Newt Gingrich removes “anti-immigrant” Romney ad after scolding by Sen. Marco Rubio, other Hispanic leaders

Romney was ‘distinguished panelist’ at Fannie Mae conference
Discussion:
Daily Kos


“My Message is Simple”: Obama's SOTU Written at 8th Grade Level for Third Straight Year — Obama's SOTU addresses have the lowest average Flesch-Kincaid score of any modern president; Obama owns three of the six lowest-scoring addresses since FDR — For the third consecutive State of the Union Address …
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State of the Union registers at 8th grade reading level — President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address again rated at an 8th grade comprehension level on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test — the third lowest score of any State of the Union address since 1934.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Weekly Standard, NewsBusters.org, ABCNEWS, Washington Wire, Reuters, Mail Online and LewRockwell.com Blog

Right blogs credit Obama on ‘insider’ bill
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin, Big Journalism and Pirate's Cove

Pelosi's office says she has no new dirt on Newt Gingrich — Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office on Wednesday said the minority leader doesn't have any dirt on Newt Gingrich. — Pelosi has suggested in two interviews that she knows something that could prevent Gingrich from becoming president …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Gawker, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Gateway Pundit
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What really happened in the Gingrich ethics case? — The Romney campaign has been hitting Newt Gingrich hard over the 1990s ethics case that resulted in the former Speaker being reprimanded and paying a $300,000 penalty. Before the Iowa caucuses, Romney and his supporting super PAC …

Gingrich says Pelosi is living in a fantasy world
Discussion:
The Politico, Wake up America and nation.foxnews.com

Romney blasts Gingrich over attacks on debate moderators, news media — Mitt Romney attacked his GOP presidential rival Newt Gingrich over what has to date been one Gingrich's most effective debate methods - going after the moderators and the media for questions he deems inappropriate.
Discussion:
Wake up America, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit and National Review
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Reagan Count: Gingrich 55, Romney 6
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Outside the Beltway, Saint Petersblog, HillBuzz.org, GOP 12, Mediaite and Washington Post

Gingrich and Reagan — In the increasingly rough Republican campaign …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Cato @ Liberty and Washington Post

Wonkbook: Five policies to watch from Obama's State of the Union — Last night's State of the Union will not take a place alongside Barack Obama's 2008 speech on race. It won't be mentioned in the same breath as his 2004 speech in Boston. It didn't even have the intellectual scope …
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Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address
Discussion:
Firedoglake, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, White House.gov Blog, Salon, The Atlantic Online, Tax Foundation, The New Republic, Washington Post, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute, The Heritage Foundation, emptywheel, The Democratic Daily, Outside the Beltway, Taxgirl, The Enterprise Blog, Questions and Observations, Coal Tattoo, Ross Douthat, Left Foot Forward, Wake up America, Eunomia, Economist's View, ThinkProgress, Cafe Hayek, The Daily Dish, USA Today, UrbanGrounds, The Politico, The Huffington Post, Campaign Stops and Brookings Institute


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:
The Hill, Shakesville, The Daily Caller and Truthdig

American hostage in Somalia rescued by US Navy SEALs in overnight raid — WASHINGTON — In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.
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U.S. Military Frees 2 Western Hostages From Somali Pirates
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, World Now, emptywheel, Guardian, Global Spin and News Desk


State of the Republicans — Gail Collins: David, I have to apologize. For the last few weeks I was somewhat snarky about my having more faith than you did in the Republican voters being too sane to nominate Newt Gingrich. My confidence in their rationality was, at best, premature.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice


Awkward Family Photos: Mitt Laundry — Mitt Romney's hurdle in winning the love/respect/admiration/fear of his party can be summed up in one photo: It was taken by his son, Tagg (doesn't Sarah Palin have a kid with that name?) and put on Twitter this week. It's of Romney and his wife Ann …
Discussion:
Political Mojo and AlterNet


Obama's Schneiderman Gambit: Financial Fraud Unit Appears Designed to Fail, Grease Skids for Foreclosure Fraud Settlement — I'll pepper in my thoughts on the State of the Union Address throughout the day, but I would be remiss if I didn't start with the announcement of a Unit on Mortgage Origination …

When Fact Checkers Go Bad...Very Bad — OMG...this is beyond preposterous. — Politifact—the self-anointed fact checkers—grade this statement from the President speech tonight as “half-true:” … This is not half true or two-thirds true. It is just true. — So why, I ask you, why do they go where they go?

Newt slams Romney's ‘world of Swiss bank accounts’ — Via Ginger Gibson in Miami — if you thought the tax return issue was over and done with, think again:
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air, The Loyal Opposition, ThinkProgress, Taylor Marsh and Daily Kos


Female driver who defied Saudi motoring ban dies in fatal road accident — A woman who defied a driving ban on female motorists in Saudi Arabia has died in a car crash. — Another was hurt in the crash in the only country in the world where females are banned from getting behind the wheel.
Discussion:
Don Surber and Vox Popoli


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:
Daily Kos, Paul Krugman and Riptide 2.0

GOP prepares bill to replace Obama's Supreme Court-bound healthcare law — House Republicans will be ready with a plan to replace President Obama's healthcare law once the Supreme Court determines the law's fate this summer, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) told reporters Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Politico and ThinkProgress


Fidel Castro: GOP race is ‘idiocy, ignorance’ — The Republican presidential race is “the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been,” former Cuban president Fidel Castro wrote in an opinion piece on Wednesday. — Castro made his comments in his latest column of …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers

When Gingrich Tried, and Failed, to Intimidate Tom Coburn — On Twitter today, I've noted that Romney's seeming squeamishness might make him less likely to sell out conservatives as president than Newt Gingrich. It's far from the most inspiring rallying cry, but I conclude …
Discussion:
The Spectacle Blog and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …