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Romney Pulls Ahead In See-Saw Florida Gop Primary, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Men Shift From Gingrich To Romney — Just four days before the nation's first big-state presidential primary, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney opens up a 38 - 29 percent lead over former House Speaker …
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Gingrich leads Romney, but badly trails Obama — Newt Gingrich leads Mitt Romney among Republicans, but he is the weakest of the Republican candidates tested against President Obama, according to an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday evening.
Discussion:
GOP 12, Associated Press, National Review, The PJ Tatler and The Caucus

Romney Stays on the Offense With Gingrich — Newt Gingrich, left, and Mitt Romney during a commercial break at Thursday's debate. Other moments were less agreeable. — The competition between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich dominated the last debate before the Florida primary …

Jeb to Newt: Stop the ‘Ridiculous’ Crist Talk — Jacksonville, Fla. - Former Florida governor Jeb Bush tells National Review Online that Newt Gingrich should stop insinuating that Mitt Romney aides, due to their past work for Charlie Crist, are part of a moderate GOP conspiracy.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, GOP 12 and Hotline On Call


Newt pulls punches in Fla. — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newt Gingrich abandoned his role as Mitt Romney's chief antagonist in Thursday night's presidential debate, going easy on the national GOP front-runner as a third candidate joined the fray in force. — It was Rick Santorum …
Discussion:
New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, CNN, Reuters, The Reaction, Connecting.the.Dots, PolitiFact and Ballot Box

First Thoughts: Romney owned Gingrich, but problems linger — Romney had a strong night ... Santorum may have won the debate ... But that only helps Romney ... All three Republicans are a net-negative in NBC/WSJ poll. ... Romney's image has been hurt by the primary ... But the tide has turned in Florida …
Discussion:
Salon and Political Mojo

Newt Loses It — Last night's presidential candidate debate …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, TalkLeft and The Mahablog


Romney Rolls in Florida Despite Gingrich Debate Mastery
Discussion:
Hot Air

Newt Gingrich gets mad
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CNN, 2012 Decoded, Questions and Observations, Campaign Stops, The Caucus, Balloon Juice and The Gateway Pundit

Newt Gingrich 2012 rise unnerves House GOP
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CNN

Mike Reagan, Rush Limbaugh Blast Romney
Discussion:
Hot Air, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice and The Politico

Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice — There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy. — The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults.


No Need to Panic About Global Warming — There's no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to ‘decarbonize’ the world's economy. — Editor's Note: The following has been signed by the 16 scientists listed at the end of the article: — A candidate for public office …
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove


FACT CHECK: Gingrich gives an awkward defense of a speech that was seen as attacking Spanish — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney accuses Newt Gingrich of calling Spanish a “ghetto language.” Close, but not quite. — Gingrich denies doing so and said he merely promoted the use of English, “period.”
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
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Gingrich: Gay Marriage a ‘Perfect Example of What I Mean by the Rise of Paganism’
Discussion:
Comments from Left Field, ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.

Romney takes the fight to Gingrich in Republican debate in Florida
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico and Washington Post


2011 GDP: 1.7% — That's the final, pathetic growth number for 2011. — From the just-released GDP report: — Real GDP increased 1.7 percent in 2011 (that is, from the 2010 annual level to the 2011 annual level), compared with an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

How Siri is ruining your cellphone service — Paul Farhi covers media for The Post. — Like a few million other people this past holiday season, we bought an iPhone 4S, with its much-hyped Siri feature. The vocal interface allows users to speak all kinds of commands into the phone …

Obama Ratings Historically Polarized — Job approval 80% among Democrats, 12% among Republicans — PRINCETON, NJ — The historically high gap between partisans' job approval ratings of Barack Obama continued during Obama's third year in office, with an average of 80% of Democrats and 12% …
Discussion:
The Politico


Motive of shooter who targeted military sites is unclear — Yonathan Melaku was sneaking through Fort Myer and Arlington National Cemetery, his backpack filled with plastic bags of ammonium nitrate, a notebook containing jihadist messages, and a can of black spray paint.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, Wizbang, NewsBusters.org, Jihad Watch and CBS News



Twitter to censor tweets by country — The censorship tool is likely to raise fears that Twitter's commitment to free speech may be weakening — Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis. — The additional flexibility announced on Thursday …
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Boing Boing
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Romney Packed Debate Hall With Supporters, Gingrich Aide Says … 2012 Election , Barack Obama , Newt Gingrich 2012 , Republican Presidential Primary , Rick Santorum , Elections 2012 , Newt Gingrich , Video , FL Election , FL Election 2012 , FL Primary , FL Primary 2012 …
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Washington Examiner, The Politico, Mediaite, ABCNEWS, Poynter and National Review


Romney tax returns detail funds not identified in ethics forms — Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walks under a sign during a campaign event at Paramount Printing in Jacksonville, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / January 26, 2012)
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The Politico, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, Daily Kos, The Impolitic, msnbc.com, Wake up America, The Reaction and ThinkProgress


Unemployment in Spain Rises to 15-Year High of 22.9% — Spain's unemployment rate rose to 22.9 percent, the highest in 15 years, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to deliver on his election pledge to create jobs in a shrinking economy. — The unemployment rate rose …


Santorum's Main Backer Plans to Keep on Funding — While Rick Santorum is in Florida seeking to revive his presidential campaign, a man in Wyoming might hold the key to extending his candidacy, and the entire fight for the Republican nomination. — Foster Friess is the largest financial backer …
Discussion:
msnbc.com and The Politico


The economic chart that may doom the Obama presidency — In his State of the Union response the other night, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels neatly summed up Mitt Romney's (who has a roughly 90 percent chance of being the GOP nominee according to Intrade) economic case against President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and COURAGE IN AMERICA