Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Where's the Rest of Them? — Santorum's rise, Romney's weakness, and the GOP coalition. — Rick Santorum did his second Lazarus act on Tuesday with his triple victory in two Midwest states and Colorado, interrupting Mitt Romney's media coronation. The question now is whether the Pennsylvanian can …
Discussion:
GOP 12
RELATED:
msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Romney retools his message — Romney retools his message — with his biography and even his policy... GOPers and conservatives tell Romney to step it up... Dems break ranks on the contraception issue... Yet polling (for now) shows the issue isn't as controversial …
Discussion:
The Hill, ABCNEWS, Politico, GOP 12 and The Caucus
Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
Mitt Romney ventures into conservative lion's den at CPAC — Mitt Romney is headed into the conservative lion's den just as concerns about his appeal to the Republican Party's right flank are reaching a fever pitch. — Romney's address on Friday before the Conservative Political Action Conference …
Discussion:
CNN and New York Times
New York Times:
Foster Friess, a Santorum Supporter With Deep Pockets
Foster Friess, a Santorum Supporter With Deep Pockets
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Wall Street Journal, The Democratic Daily, The New Republic, The Last Tradition and The Caucus
Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
The Rick Santorum boomlet presents an interesting conundrum …
The Rick Santorum boomlet presents an interesting conundrum …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Examiner, CNN, GOP 12, The Daily Beast, Swampland and Hot Air
USA Today:
Obama mandate on birth control coverage stirs controversy — WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders and Republican presidential candidates joined Catholic religious groups on Wednesday in denouncing the Obama administration's mandate requiring health insurers to offer birth control coverage, but the White House stood its ground.
RELATED:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Report: White House to offer 10 states waivers on No Child Left Behind — President Obama on Thursday will offer waivers to 10 states that applied for exclusion from some aspects of the No Child Left Behind Law, according to a report in The Associated Press that cited an anonymous White House official.
Discussion:
CNN
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Obama administration struggles to contain uproar over birth-control rule — The White House struggled Wednesday to contain the growing uproar over its birth-control mandate, with Democrats peeling off one by one in what has become an increasingly divisive election-year controversy.
Discussion:
blogs.telegraph.co.uk and ThinkProgress
New York Times:
States Negotiate $26 Billion Agreement for Homeowners — After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation's biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Financial Times, Business Insider, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Booman Tribune, The Page and DealBook
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David Dayen / Firedoglake:
49-State Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Will Be Finalized Today — Forty-nine states, every one but Oklahoma, as well as federal regulators will participate in a foreclosure fraud settlement that will release the five biggest banks (Wells Fargo, Citi, Ally/GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America) …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and emptywheel
Yves Smith / naked capitalism:
The Top Twelve Reasons Why You Should Hate the Mortgage Settlement
The Top Twelve Reasons Why You Should Hate the Mortgage Settlement
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, US Politics, Wall Street Journal and Discourse.net
Jim Vandehei / Reuters:
The political transformation of Barack Obama — There are two indisputable facts about politics. — The first is that every modern president in the fourth year of his presidency resorts to the cheap political stunts, broken promises and truth-fudging it takes to win reelection in what has been and will be a 50-50 nation.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, The Hill and The Maddow Blog
RELATED:
Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Return of the Culture Wars: Can Mitt Romney Win Conservative Backing? — The resurgence of social and cultural issues in voters' minds poses new challenges for GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney as he reels from surprising losses Tuesday to conservative favorite Rick Santorum.
Discussion:
The Reaction
RELATED:
Truth Wins Out:
Truth Wins Out to Slam Newt Gingrich for Hypocrisy on Marriage Equality in Thursday Roll Call Ad — Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director — WASHINGTON - Truth Wins Out is placing a provocative full-page ad in the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call on Thursday admonishing Newt Gingrich …
Discussion:
Good As You, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Obama, Explained — As Barack Obama contends for a second term in office, two conflicting narratives of his presidency have emerged. Is he a skillful political player and policy visionary—a chess master who always sees several moves ahead of his opponents (and of the punditocracy)?
RELATED:
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Repulsive progressive hypocrisy
Repulsive progressive hypocrisy
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, The Loyal Opposition, Don Surber, NewsBusters.org, Washington Post, Truthdig, Oliver Willis, Firedoglake and Instapundit
Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
Pol ‘Tebows’ after bill Ok'd — Virginia Del. Robert Bell celebrated his bill passing the state House on Wednesday by taking a knee and Tebowing. — The legislation — dubbed the “Tebow bill” for the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow — would allow the state's homeschooled students …
Discussion:
Stateline.org and New York Times
Carol E. Lee / Washington Wire:
Michelle Obama Takes Aim at Military Weight — First Lady Michelle Obama leaves Thursday for a three-day, four-state tour to mark the second anniversary of her “Let's Move!” initiative to get Americans to eat healthier and be more physically fit. … The trip is a mix of events and announcements …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
Eye doctor warns of dangers of political protest on gay marriage — It's been called the “most fabulous form of protest,” but according to one medical expert, the potential dangers of “glitter bombing” are far from marvelous. — In an increasingly popular form of protest, activists are throwing glitter on unsuspecting targets.
Discussion:
Reuters and ThinkProgress
Damian Carrington / Guardian:
The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows — Meltwater from Asia's peaks is much less than previously estimated, but lead scientist says the loss of ice caps and glaciers around the world remains a serious concern — • Live Q&A: What does the Himalaya glacier study mean for climate change?
Discussion:
Power Line, Watts Up With That?, Vox Popoli, Don Surber, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers and Green
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
New Huckabee Radio Show Could Vie With Limbaugh — Rush Limbaugh will soon have a new radio rival: Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who ran for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago and thought about running again this year. — Instead, he will be running …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Media Decoder, Business Insider and Alan Colmes' Liberaland, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
U.S. and Israel Split on Ways to Deter Iran — WASHINGTON — Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: whether Iran's crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable.
Discussion:
Israel Matzav and The Last Tradition
Anthony Shadid / New York Times:
Libya Struggles to Curb Militias as Chaos Grows — TRIPOLI, Libya — As the militiamen saw it, they had the best of intentions. They assaulted another militia at a seaside base here this week to rescue a woman who had been abducted. When the guns fell silent, briefly …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, The Agonist and Hot Air
Justin Ravitz / Us Weekly:
Rick Santorum's Sweater Vest Slammed by Scarlett Johansson — Scarlett Johansson isn't ready to talk yet about Nate Naylor, her just-revealed boyfriend of five months. — The sartorial choices of Rick Santorum and the Republican National Committee, however, were fair game for Johansson …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon