memeorandum: First Thoughts: A turning point for Obama? (msnbc.com)

2:45 PM ET, January 26, 2012

Top Items:

Jim Vandeheiand Mike Allen / The Politico:

The right drops a bomb on Newt — Newt Gingrich better hope voters who lapped up his delicious hits on the “elite media” and liberals don't read the Drudge Report this morning. — Or the National Review. Or the American Spectator. Or Ann Coulter. — If they do, Gingrich comes off looking …

Discussion: American Prospect, JustOneMinute, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America, Guardian, Daily Kos and Roger Ailes

National Review:

Dole Goes Nuclear — The Romney campaign sends along a statement by Bob Dole pasted below. Relations between Dole — an establishment figure in the party — and Gingrich were well known to be tense during the 1990s. Here it is: — I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late.

Discussion: GOP 12, Hot Air, Erick's blog, Outside the Beltway and The Page

Dylan Byers / The Politico:

Gingrich admits ABC claim was false — After nearly a week on the defensive, CNN's John King reports tonight that Newt Gingrich's claim about offering witnesses to ABC News in his defense — to rebut the network's interview with his second wife, Marianne Gingrich — was not true.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Political Mojo, Don Surber, Riptide 2.0, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Gothamist, Mediaite and COURAGE IN AMERICA, more at Mediagazer »

A.Killough / CNN:

TRENDING: Gingrich campaign admits error — (CNN) - Newt Gingrich's campaign admitted Wednesday night the former House speaker was inaccurate when he claimed his team offered several witnesses to ABC News to refute statements made by Gingrich's second wife in a controversial interview aired last week.

Discussion: GOP 12 and Roger Ailes

A.Killough / CNN:
Santorum guarantees he's a candidate ‘for a long time’

Discussion: National Review

Norah O'Donnell / CBS News:

Obama, Ariz. governor in heated exchange — President Obama got into a verbal dust-up with the governor of Arizona Wednesday. — Republican Jan Brewer and Mr. Obama got into a finger-pointing conversation when the president arrived in Phoenix. — She says he was upset about the description …

Discussion: Gawker and The Reaction

Donovan Slack / The Politico:
Brewer?s tense exchange with Obama

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Wonkette, Stinque, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Wire, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Wizbang and CNN

Byron Tau / The Politico:
Jan Brewer: Obama is ‘thin-skinned’

Discussion: Rumproast and Weasel Zippers

Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:
Thou Shalt Not Write Bad Things About Obama

Discussion: Wake up America, Drudge Report, Mediaite, Arizona Republic, Don Surber, Scared Monkeys, Pirate's Cove, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin and The Gateway Pundit

Paige Lavender / The Huffington Post:
Jan Brewer, Obama Face Off Over Book, Immigration Issues

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Raw Story

msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: A turning point for Obama? — Are we seeing a turning point on the economy and for President Obama? ... It's a coin flip in Florida ... The candidates debate one last time before voters go to the polls there - what to watch for ... It's Vegas, baby, Vegas for Obama …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Associated Press, Saint Petersblog, The Daily Dish, ABCNEWS, Riptide 2.0, The Caucus and GOP 12

Stan Honda / ABCNEWS:
Angry Newt Gingrich Attacks Mitt Romney in Florida

Discussion: GOP 12

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Polls Suggest Gingrich's Support May Have Peaked

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Hot Air, Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog, ABCNEWS, Washington Post, St. Petersburg Times, Wake up America, The Moderate Voice, Ballot Box, Naked Politics, The Politico, Los Angeles Times, Saint Petersblog and MiamiHerald.com

Washington Examiner:
Newt Gingrich is a Saul Alinsky Republican

Discussion: Riehl World View, Caffeinated Thoughts, Hot Air and Big Government

NBC's Alex Moe / msnbc.com:
Gingrich promises US moon colony by 2020

Discussion: Algemeiner.com, New York Times, Swampland and CNN

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

How Rich is Warren Buffett's Secretary? — Thanks to ABC, we now have a number on the difference between Warren Buffett's tax rate, and his secretary's. According to the network, “Bosanek pays a tax rate of 35.8 percent of income, while Buffett pays a rate at 17.4 percent.” — Conservatives have swooped on this.

Discussion: Instapundit

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: JustOneMinute, Broadside Books and NewsBusters.org blogs

Paul Roderick Gregory / EconWorld:
Warren Buffett's Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, Power Line, JustOneMinute, UrbanGrounds, American Glob, COURAGE IN AMERICA, Hot Air, Rush Limbaugh, Fausta's Blog, nation.foxnews.com, The Gateway Pundit, TBogg and Weasel Zippers

Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:
Despite Unfair Tax Burden, Warren Buffett's Secretary Was Just Able To Buy A Second Home

Discussion: The Daily Caller

David Adams / Reuters:

Florida's Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick — (Reuters) - He could be the Republican vice presidential candidate from central casting: telegenic, Hispanic and a fiscal conservative who has been embraced by the Tea Party. — That is why Florida Senator Marco Rubio …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, A plain blog about politics, Campaign 2012, Big Journalism and Hotline On Call

Ben Smith / Reuters:

Mitt Romney's immigration dilemma — For a moment Wednesday afternoon in Miami, Mitt Romney seemed to have a solution to his Hispanic problem: Was he not, Univision's Jorge Ramos asked, Mexican-American himself, as his father had been born south of the border?

Discussion: CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, msnbc.com and The Daily Caller

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Barack Obama: GOP field ‘wrong for America’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Kate Nocera / The Politico:

Kaiser: Public cynical about the Supremes - E&C upset New Yorker got health memos first - Pro-reform analysis counts 15 similar provisions between Romney, Obama's health laws — With contributions from David Nather, Matt DoBias, J. Lester Feder, Jason Millman and Brett Norman

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Hill

content.healthaffairs.org:
Massachusetts Health Reforms: Uninsurance Remains Low, Self-Reported Health Status Improves …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Enterprise Blog, Michelle Malkin, Hit & Run, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

kff.org:
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — January 2012

Discussion: Firedoglake, Campaign 2012 and The Politico

New York Times:

The iEconomy: Apple's iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China — A staggering manufacturing system in China has made it possible for Apple and other companies to make devices almost as quickly as they can be dreamed up, but for workers, it can be dangerous.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Green, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, The Lede, Gizmodo, Balloon Juice and Seeing the Forest, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:
Chinese Readers on the ‘iEconomy’

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Gizmodo, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, Poynter, The Huffington Post, Paul Krugman and News Desk

Tennessean.com:

Nashville airport video doesn't show ‘irate’ Sen. Rand Paul — A security video of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul at a Nashville International Airport checkpoint doesn't show him being “irate,” as police asserted. — The Kentucky Republican ran afoul of a millimeter-wave screening machine Monday morning …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and LewRockwell.com Blog

Mackenzie Weinger / The Politico:
Rand Paul calm during TSA patdown, video shows

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and BuzzFeed

Ken Mehlman / unionleader.com:

Republicans should be for same-sex marriage — “Live Free or Die” isn't just the official motto for a great state. As the 62nd Republican National Committee Chairman, I think it's a mantra our party should live by. I hope that New Hampshire legislators will remember this slogan …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and ThinkProgress

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Same-Sex Marriage Question To Appear On Maine Ballot

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Jamie Schram Police / New York Post:

NYPD Commissioner's son being investigated for allegedly raping woman — Police Commissioner Ray Kelly's newsman son, Greg, is being investigated for allegedly raping a woman, law-enforcement sources told The Post early today. — The woman filed an official complaint Tuesday against the younger Kelly …

Discussion: Capital New York and Nation Now

William K. Rashbaum / New York Times:
Greg Kelly, Police Commissioner's Son, in Rape Investigation

Discussion: Mediaite, The Raw Story, FishbowlDC, ABCNEWS, Gawker and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

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 …

Discussion: National Review

Christy Hoppe / Dallas Morning News:

Perry's job approval plunges after failed presidential run, News poll shows — Gov. Rick Perry, campaigning last week at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Murrells Inlet, S.C., before he exited the presidential race, has seen his job approval rating plunge in Texas, according to a new poll.

Discussion: Washington Post, Taegan Goddard's …, The Politico and The Political Carnival

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Barney Frank to marry longtime partner — Retiring congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will marry his longtime partner, Jim Ready. — Frank and Ready plan to wed in Massachusetts. Frank's home state is one of six states, in addition to the District of Columbia, which permit gay marriage.

Discussion: CNN and Good As You