memeorandum: Whitney Houston's death: Medics performed CPR for about 20 minutes (Shelby Grad/L.A. NOW)

11:40 AM ET, February 12, 2012

Top Items:

Josh Lederman / The Hill:

Santorum suggests Romney may have rigged CPAC poll — Rick Santorum suggested on Sunday that Mitt Romney's campaign may have rigged a straw poll of conservative activists by paying the entrance fee for supporters. — Romney beat Santorum by 7 points Saturday in a straw poll of almost 3,500 attendees …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, The Political Carnival, Ballot Box, The Other McCain and Weasel Zippers

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:

Palin shines brightest at CPAC conference — If Sarah Palin had been on the ballot for the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, there is little doubt she would have won. — The former Alaska governor received far-and-away the most spirited and enthusiastic reception …

Discussion: The Hill, Christian Science Monitor, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, CNN and Wake up America

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Romney wins The Washington Times/CPAC Straw Poll — Returns to top after two years on the outs — Mitt Romney won The Washington Times/CPAC Presidential Straw Poll on Saturday, and also nipped Rick Santorum as the top choice of conservatives nationwide, according to a new version …

Discussion: Guardian, Right Wing News, The Caucus, Outside the Beltway, The Hinterland Gazette, Connecting.the.Dots, The Moderate Voice, The Lonely Conservative, Balloon Juice, Weasel Zippers, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, National Review and The Other McCain

Washington Examiner:
Did Romney quell conservative doubts?

Discussion: Riehl World View, Power Line, Campaign 2012 and The Spectacle Blog

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
After Three Straight Losses, Romney Edges Past Paul in the Maine Caucuses

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, FiveThirtyEight and The Caucus

James Hohmann / Politico:
Romney doubles down, wins CPAC, Maine caucuses

Discussion: Mediaite and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
Maine GOP chairman say Romney wins caucuses

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Politico and Hot Air

Tim Mak / Politico:
Romney tops Paul in Maine

Discussion: LifeNews.com

Tim Mak / Politico:
Paul could be Maine event

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, CNN and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Romney wins CPAC straw poll, barely edges Santorum nationally

Discussion: CNN, Taylor Marsh and The Raw Story

CNN:
Romney wins prized straw poll at conservative gathering

Discussion: The Raw Story

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Breaking: Romney wins CPAC straw poll

Discussion: Big Government, Wizbang and The Moderate Voice

New York Times:

Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It — LINDSTROM, Minn. — Ki Gulbranson owns a logo apparel shop, deals in jewelry on the side and referees youth soccer games. He makes about $39,000 a year and wants you to know that he does not need any help from the federal government.

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Booman Tribune

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

I Guess I'm Still Stuck On Stupid — I have made the mistake of peeking at the NY Times headline story before the caffeine has kicked in fully. Their gist seems to be that the “less government” crowd is a bunch of hypocrites, but there is a glaring problem with their numbers.

Nekesa Mumbi Moody / Associated Press:

Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Discussion: CNN, Runnin' Scared, L.A. NOW, Hit & Run, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Towleroad News #gay, Mediaite, Riehl World View, Taylor Marsh, Gothamist, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wizbang and Outside the Beltway

Shelby Grad / L.A. NOW:

Whitney Houston's death: Medics performed CPR for about 20 minutes — Beverly Hills paramedics found singer Whitney Houston unresponsive at a room at the Beverly Hilton hotel and declared her dead after performing CPR on her for about 20 minutes, officials said.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Runnin' Scared, Towleroad News #gay, Show Tracker, THEROOT.COM and TalkLeft

Wall Street Journal:

Immaculate Contraception — An ‘accommodation’ that makes the birth-control mandate worse. — Here's a conundrum: The White House wants to impose its birth-control ideology on all Americans, including those for whom sponsoring or subsidizing such services violates their moral conscience.

Discussion: Don Surber, Taylor Marsh, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Moderate Voice, UrbanGrounds, CNN, Grim's Hall, Big Government, Ricochet Conversations Feed, New York Times and National Review

CNN:

Lew defends new contraception policy — (CNN) - White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew stood by the administration's recent policy change on contraception coverage Sunday, arguing the new plan ensures women can keep their “right to preventive care” while religious institutions can respect their principles.

Discussion: Politico

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Bishops Reject White House's New Plan on Contraception

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Beast, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, CNN and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
The Contraception Controversy Would Have Been Avoided If Obama Were President

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Mahablog and New York Times

Tara Brady / Daily Mail:

'Do not follow me down the road to jihad. Go and get a good education in the West': Osama Bin Laden's extraordinary instructions to his young children — Osama Bin Laden told his children to live peacefully in the West where they would get a good education, his brother-in-law has revealed.

Discussion: Via Meadia and Jihad Watch

Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:

Democrats' star speaker Van Jones fires up crowd — and emerges party “leader of the future”? — San Diego - Van Jones, the former Obama Administration green czar who resigned in controversy, appears on the fast track to a political comeback — emerging as a star at this weekend's California …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and utsandiego.com

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

We Need a Second Party — WATCHING the Republican Party struggling to agree on a presidential candidate, one wonders whether the G.O.P. shouldn't just sit this election out — just give 2012 a pass. — You know how in Scrabble sometimes you look at your seven letters and you've got only vowels that spell nothing?

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Palin Says Brokered Convention Would Not Hurt G.O.P. — Sarah Palin said Saturday that Republicans should be in no hurry to wrap up the presidential nominating contest, declaring that a competitive campaign until the August convention in Tampa would not complicate the party's efforts to defeat President Obama.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, New York Times, ABCNEWS and Conservatives4Palin