memeorandum: Privately, Obama sees recovery 1-2 years off (Paul Bedard/Campaign 2012)

8:20 AM ET, February 14, 2012

Top Items:

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Santorum Catches Romney in GOP Race — Obama Leads Both in General Election Matchups — OVERVIEW — Rick Santorum's support among Tea Party Republicans and white evangelicals is surging, and he now has pulled into a virtual tie with Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

CBS News:

Poll: Rick Santorum takes slight lead in GOP race — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Rick Santorum has pulled slightly ahead of Mitt Romney in Republican primary voters' preference for the presidential nomination …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Santorum Surges to Tie Romney — Race takes another turn as Santorum gains 14 points since winning Feb. 7 GOP contests — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are now statistically tied for the lead in Republican registered voters' preferences for the 2012 GOP nomination — 32% to 30%, respectively.

Discussion: The Caucus, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box, Associated Press, ABCNEWS, CNN and Washington Post

Rick Santorum / CNN:

Protestors disrupt Santorum event, get arrested — (CNN) - A group of protesters disrupted a Rick Santorum campaign rally in Tacoma, Washington, on Monday, prompting the presidential hopeful to brand it as a “radical element” that represents “true intolerance.”

Discussion: CBS News and Campaign 2012

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
GOP Gov. McDonnell warns Santorum not to demean military women

Discussion: CNN, Boston Globe, Politico and GOP 12

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Santorum moves ahead in Michigan

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
ARG poll shows Santorum up 6 over Romney in Michigan

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, American Spectator, The Caucus, Jay Bookman, The Week, RedState and Outside the Beltway

ABCNEWS:

Political Punch — “Dogs Against Romney”? Democrats Say Unleash the Hound! — Tomorrow outside the Westminster dog show at Madison Square Garden at noon the group “Dogs Against Romney” will protest “to ensure pet lovers are aware that Mitt Romney is mean to dogs,” according to the group's press release.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller and The Raw Story

Rusty / Dogs Against Romney:

For Immediate Release: Dogs Against Romney Press Event: Westminster Dog Show, NYC. — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: A Dogs Against Romney press event will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, February 14 at NOON EASTERN TIME in front of MADISON SQUARE GARDEN during The American Kennel Club's Westminster Dog Show (SEE EXACT LOCATION DETAILS BELOW).

Lornet Turnbull / Seattle Times:

Gregoire signs gay marriage into law — With Gov. Chris Gregoire's signature on Monday, Washington joins six other states and the District of Columbia in allowing same-sex couples to marry. — OLYMPIA — Surrounded by applauding gay couples and with media from around the country looking on …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, msnbc.com, ACS Blog, Outside the Beltway and Taylor Marsh

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Washington Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Booman Tribune

Geoff Mulvihill / Associated Press:
NJ Senate OKs gay marriage bill in milestone vote

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Politico, Washington Monthly, Truthdig and The Raw Story

Edith Honan / Reuters:
New Jersey Senate approves gay marriage; veto looms

Discussion: Campaign 2012

Rachel La Corte / Associated Press:
Washington gov signs gay marriage bill into law

Discussion: HyperVocal, Towleroad News #gay, Daily Kos and Feministing

Hilary Leila Krieger / Jerusalem Post:

Obama set to okay Egypt, PA aid despite tension — Palestinians to see only slight roll back despite unity deal with Hamas; Egypt aid to remain at 2012 level. — By REUTERS/Larry Downing — WASHINGTON - Despite recent tensions between the US and Egypt and a new Palestinian Authority government set …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Israel Matzav

Susan Cornwell / Reuters:
Obama proposes $800 million in aid for “Arab Spring”

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, LifeNews.com, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Mail Online, Atlas Shrugs, Politico, Jihad Watch and The Hill

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:
Obama's ‘rosy’ budget scenario doubles down on class warfare

Discussion: Bloomberg, Campaign 2012, Doug Ross, National Review, Sister Toldjah, Firedoglake and American Spectator

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

House GOP leaders drop demand that payroll tax cut be offset — House Republicans said Monday that they would offer a measure to extend the current payroll tax cut for the rest of the year, dropping a previous demand that the tax break be offset. — The move marks a sharp turnaround for GOP leaders …

Discussion: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Erick's blog, Politico, The PJ Tatler, RedState and The Maddow Blog

Jake Shermanand Manu Raju / Politico:
House GOP scrambles payroll tax cut calculus

Discussion: The New Republic, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, Swampland and CNN

Speaker:
Boehner, Cantor, McCarthy Statement on Payroll Tax Cut Conference Negotiations

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Prairie Weather, Washington Monthly, The Political Carnival, Campaign 2012, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Balloon Juice

David Frum / The Daily Beast:

Norquist: Romney Will Do As Told — Is Mitt Romney so weak he won't be able to stand up to Congress? — Grover Norquist, head of the Americans for Tax Reform advocacy group, speaks at a session entitled “Scrap the Code: Towards Pro-Growth Tax Reform” at the conservative Americans for Prosperity …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Balloon Juice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Eunomia and The Political Carnival

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Republican Women Senators Breaking Ranks With Party, Come Out In Favor Of Obama Contraception Rule — While GOP senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has pledged to fight the Obama's administration's modified regulation requiring health insurers and busnisses to offer contraception …

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake, The Impolitic, The Raw Story, Pundit & Pundette, Daily Kos and The Maddow Blog

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Tucker Carlson takes on the media — The top editors at the Daily Caller have come out with the first in a series of articles about the liberal media watchdog Media Matters For America, and in doing so they have suggested that MSNBC and reporters from the Washington Post, POLITICO …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, American Spectator, Mediaite, Big Journalism and Erick's blog, more at Mediagazer »

Vince Coglianese / The Daily Caller:
Inside Media Matters: David Brock's enemies list

Discussion: Power Line, Big Journalism, Politico, Michelle Malkin, Ed Driscoll, Weasel Zippers, Wonkette, Washington Monthly and RedState

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

Clinton: We need Assad's consent to put troops in Syria — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had a clear and unified message coming out of their meeting in Washington, D.C. Monday: They are looking for a political solution in Syria …

Discussion: US Department of State, Israel Matzav and The Gateway Pundit

Ian Black / Guardian: Syria rejects Arab League call for peacekeeping mission

Associated Press:

Justice Breyer robbed at West Indies vacation home — WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Monday. — The 73-year-old Breyer, wife Joanna and guests were confronted …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, CNN, Mediaite, The Hill and The Caucus

Paul Bedard / Campaign 2012:

Privately, Obama sees recovery 1-2 years off — Follow on Twitter:Follow @SecretsBedard — The public President Obama, bubbly in his reelection campaigning about a recovering U.S. economy, isn't as optimistic in private, telling a select few that it will likely take up to two years for any recovery to click in.

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Wall Street Journal:

Verizon, AT&T to Sell 4G iPad — Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, according to people familiar with the matter, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up.

Discussion: Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »