memeorandum: Santorum scores triple win (Alexander Burns/Politico)

9:40 AM ET, February 8, 2012

Top Items:

Santorum revives campaign with wins in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota — DENVER — Rick Santorum had a breakthrough night Tuesday, winning GOP presidential contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, all of which is expected to breathe life into his struggling campaign and slow Mitt Romney's march …

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Santorum scores triple win — Rick Santorum dealt an embarrassing setback to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign Tuesday night, sweeping non-binding contests across three states and raising new questions about conservatives' willingness to accept Romney as their nominee.

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, The American Independent, Outside the Beltway, ABCNEWS, No More Mister Nice Blog, Conservatives4Palin, The Reality-Based Community, Marbury, Opinion L.A., 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, The Reaction and Sky Dancing

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Santorum Upsets G.O.P. Race With Three Victories — His candidacy all but dismissed just days ago, Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday, an unexpected trifecta that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney's ability to corral conservative support.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, American Spectator, BAGnewsNotes, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus and The Page

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

The High Stakes in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri — A cynic might say that tonight's Republican contests in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri deserve an asterisk. In Minnesota and Colorado, which will hold caucuses, voters will pick their preferred presidential candidate in a nonbinding straw poll …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, A plain blog about politics, Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine, Wonkette, Firedoglake, Saint Petersblog and Taegan Goddard's …

Patricia Zengerle / Reuters:

Romney's lead dips despite wins: Reuters/Ipsos poll — (Reuters) - Despite his strong showing in early state contests in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney's support nationwide has dipped slightly during the past month, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Rasmussen Reports, Hit & Run and Saint Petersblog

Jeremy P. Meyer / Denver Post:

Rick Santorum wins Colorado Republican caucuses — Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum upended the race for the Republican nomination Tuesday, winning three states, including Colorado. — Colorado's race see-sawed throughout the night until 11 p.m., when Colorado GOP chairman Ryan Call declared Santorum …

Discussion: Politico, Kansas City Star, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Mediaite, Poliglot and USA Today

Fox News:

Santorum shakes up GOP race with three-for-three finish — The Republican presidential contest is a two-man race no more. — Rick Santorum proved that the 2012 primary election still has a few surprises left, after he went three for three in Tuesday's contests and once again shook up the GOP nomination battle.

Discussion: Washington Post, The PJ Tatler and Atlas Shrugs

Alexander Burns / Politico:
In Republican 2012 presidential race, Rick Santorum roars back

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, CNN and Lawyers, Guns & Money

ABCNEWS:
GOP Rivals Pounce on Romney's ‘Assault on Religion’ Line

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Democracy In Action? — We attended our precinct caucus tonight …

Discussion: msnbc.com, FiveThirtyEight, Saint Petersblog and The Daily Dish

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Romneycare: Worth Getting Worried About

Discussion: Power Line and Politico

Wall Street Journal:
Santorum Delivers a GOP Stunner

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Big Government, Washington Post, National Review, Hit & Run and ABCNEWS

Sarah Huisenga / CBS News:
Contraception issue heats up as Santorum makes headway

Discussion: Politico, Truthdig, Politicker and The Mahablog

Matt Negrin / ABCNEWS:
Hat Trick? Santorum Tries to Trip Romney

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Wall Street Journal:
Front-Runner Is Targeting Santorum

Discussion: The Reaction, Washington Post, Big Government, Sky Dancing, Washington Wire and Politico

Kimi Yoshino / L.A. NOW:

Prop. 8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, court rules — A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year. — The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court …

Lisa Leff / The Huffington Post:
Prop 8, California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Declared Unconstitutional

Discussion: The Left Call, Towleroad News #gay, Hot Air, DownWithTyranny!, New York Magazine and Washington Monthly

Ed Whelan / National Review:
Ninth Circuit Panel Affirms Anti-Prop 8 Ruling

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Sadly, No! and CatholicVote.org

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Proposition 8 is overturned, and Obama catches a break on gay marriage

Discussion: Guardian, Political Mojo, Gay Politics, Wonkette and New York Times

Alyssa Rosenberg / ThinkProgress: How Pop Culture Influenced Today's Proposition 8 Ruling

Chris Johnson / Washington Blade:
Reporters grill Carney on marriage, Prop 8 ruling

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Gay Politics and Towleroad News #gay

American Prospect:
In Prop. 8 Ruling, a Liberal Lion Coos

Discussion: Campaign Stops and New York Times

Public Religion Research Institute:

February PRRI Religion and Politics Tracking Poll — ▶ Read the news release here. — ▶ Read the Topline Questionnaire including the survey methodology here. — Majority Support Requirement that Employer Health Care Plans Include Contraception Coverage

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, ThinkProgress, ABCNEWS, The Hill, Daily Kos, Religion Dispatches, ECHIDNE of the snakes, The Raw Story, The Maddow Blog, Naked Politics, Little Green Footballs, Hot Air and CBS New York

New York Times:
Obama Tries to Ease Ire on Contraception Rule

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
White House May Look to Compromise on Contraception Decision

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post, Public Religion Research …, Taylor Marsh, JustOneMinute, Salon.com, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Jezebel, LifeNews.com, Live Action News & Opinion, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, New York Times, The Last Tradition and The Maddow Blog

Washington Post:
White House seeks to soothe concerns over contraception rule

Discussion: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Hot Air, LifeNews.com, Hullabaloo, Pundit & Pundette, Firedoglake, msnbc.com and The Daily Caller

ABCNEWS:

Michelle Obama in Tug of War at White House — The normally dignified Blue Room at the White House became a late-night show comedy set last month when first lady Michelle Obama engaged in a friendly game of tug of war with host Jimmy Fallon, according to a photo released by the White House today.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

David A. Graham / The Atlantic Online:
Photo of the Day: Shock and Awe at the White House

Discussion: BuzzFeed and The Daily What

Quinnipiac University:

Obama Inches Past Romney In Virginia Presidential Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Senate Race Still Tied — For the first time in this election cycle, President Barack Obama inches ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, 47 - 43 percent in Virginia …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Campaign 2012, Taegan Goddard's … and Hotline On Call

Telegraph:

BBC tells its staff: don't call Qatada extremist — The BBC has told its journalists not to call Abu Qatada, the al-Qaeda preacher, an “extremist”. — Abu Qatada, the Islamic extremist, in one of the images banned by the BBC — In order to avoid making a “value judgment” …

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Melanie Phillips, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers, Jihad Watch, Power Line and Biased BBC

Stephanie Jones / Journal Times:

Suspect recall signing could result in felony charges — RACINE — What started with a man noticing his friend's signature four times on recall petitions could result in felony charges. — The Racine County Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate possible fraudulent recall signatures collected …

Discussion: RedState and Campaign 2012

Jeremy Finley / WSMV-TV:

No investigation when suspected drugs found at home of ABC director — Suspected marijuana was found by three police officers at the home of the director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission, whose mission is to eradicate marijuana. — A Channel 4 I-Team investigation found the drugs were never seized or investigated.

Discussion: The Agitator

BBC:

Stephen Hester: The full interview — In his first interview since the row over his bonus Stephen Hester, the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has admitted that he “underestimated” the outcry the £1 million payment would cause. — Speaking to Today presenter James Naughtie …

Discussion: DealBook, Guardian and Biased BBC

Rush Limbaugh:

The Clint Eastwood Ad is Right: It's Time to Come Together... and Defeat Liberalism — RUSH: I've had two people e-mail me recently calling Clint Eastwood, “Eastman.” Clint, you gotta do something. They think you're related to a film company here, Eastman instead of Eastwood.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and Althouse