memeorandum: Did OMB director not get the mandate memo? (David Nather/Politico)

6:30 PM ET, February 15, 2012

Top Items:

Zeke Miller / Politics:

Is Romney Going To Run Out Of Money? — Santorum goes to the small-donor well, but Romney may have to dip into his own pockets to survive the long haul. Looking “under every stone.” — (Getty Images / Eric Thayer) — Mitt Romney is running out of rich people.

Discussion: The Other McCain, American Prospect, Daily Kos and Newshoggers.com

Kos / Daily Kos:

Announcing Operation Hilarity: Let's keep the GOP clown show going! — It's time for us to take an active role in the GOP nomination process. That's right, it's time for those of us who live in open primary and caucus states—Michigan, North Dakota, Vermont and Tennessee in the next three weeks …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Going After Rick — America is going bankrupt, Iran is going nuclear, the Obama administration is going after religious liberty. And Mitt Romney is going after Rick Santorum. — Which is fine (sort of). Romney's in a political fight, and politics ain't beanbag, as Romney has tried to say.

Discussion: GOP 12, Campaign 2012, The Other McCain, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taylor Marsh and American Spectator

Joe Bosso / MusicRadar.com:

Interview: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine talks guitar, politics and today's music … Above video: Mustaine at the 1992 Democratic National Convention for MTV News. — Speaking of news, you were a correspondent for MTV during the 1992 presidential election. What's your take on US politics in 2012?

Discussion: newsfeed.time.com, BuzzFeed and Shakesville

Caitlin McDevitt / Politico:

Megadeth frontman backs Rick Santorum — Dave Mustaine, leader of the heavy metal band Megadeth, is ready to rock out for Rick Santorum. — “Earlier in the election, I was completely oblivious as to who Rick Santorum was, but when the dude went home to be with his daughter when she was sick …

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh and Conservative Hideout 2.0

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
Santorum aide: Romney's money focus ‘deeply offensive’

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Joe Bosso / MusicRadar.com:
Interview: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine talks guitar, politics and today's music

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Justin Sink / The Hill:

GOP demands apology for Obama campaign manager's ‘chimichanga’ tweet — Republicans are demanding an apology Wednesday from President Obama's campaign manager after a tweet that they argue was insulting toward Latino Americans. — Jim Messina, who is helming the president's re-election effort …

Discussion: Don Surber, Wonkette and The PJ Tatler

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Does the GOP care about Latino voters? — When it comes to Latino voters, Republicans must have un impulso suicida. — What else but a death wish could explain the party's treatment of the fastest-growing voting bloc in the nation? First was the wave of Arizona-style immigration laws.

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos and The Caucus

Jordan Fabian / Univision News Tumblr:
Obama camp, Republicans wage Twitter war over “chimichanga” comment

Discussion: Hot Air, Wake up America, Mediaite, Michelle Malkin and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Why birth control is a good wedge issue against the GOP — Some time around the end of February, the Senate will vote on the Blunt-Rubio amendment, which would allow insurers and employers to deny coverage for birth control or any other medical services simply on the grounds that they find them morally objectionable.

Discussion: Wake up America, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, The Maddow Blog and Shakesville

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Birth Control Amendment ‘Dangerous,’ Obama Spokesman Says

Discussion: The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, NationalJournal.com, US Politics, LifeNews.com, Little Green Footballs, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, National Review, Feministing, The Mahablog, Washington Post and Hot Air

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Top Dem Warns of New Menace in Obamacare Fight: Christian Scientist Shoe Salesmen

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and MoJo Articles

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Santorum: Birth control ‘harmful to women’ — Yesterday I speculated on some of the reasons Rick Santorum has problems with women voters. This interview from 2006 sure isn't going to help — For starters, does he realize that married women (men too!) use birth control?

Discussion: ABCNEWS, US Politics, The Daily Caller, GOP 12, Religion Dispatches, Wizbang, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Swampland

Newt Gingrich / CNN:

CNN Poll: Obama approval rating back to 50% mark — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's approval rating is back to 50% for the first time in more than eight months, and he currently holds an edge against all the remaining Republican presidential candidates in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups …

Discussion: Politico

Nate Silver / New York Times:

Why Obama Will Embrace the 99 Percent — The last time I considered Barack Obama's re-election chances in this magazine, in mid-November, things were looking pretty bleak for the president. The statistical model I used measured three key factors — a president's approval rating …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and Prairie Weather

David Nather / Politico:

Did OMB director not get the mandate memo? — It's the kind of “oops” moments every high-ranking administration official dreads. You're testifying before Congress, you answer a question the wrong way, and — oops! — you just undermined the administration's defense of the health care law.

Discussion: Budget Committee

Philip Klein / Campaign 2012:
OMB director undercuts legal case for Obamacare

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and The Lonely Conservative

Wall Street Journal:

Gingrich's Main Backer Plays Two Angles — Casino Mogul Adelson Weighs New Funding to Boost Former Speaker and to Help Romney Keep Santorum at Bay — Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, by far the biggest financial backer of Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, is preparing to open his wallet again.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politics, Washington Post, Shakesville, The Hill, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Campaign 2012 and ThinkProgress

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rasmussen national poll puts Santorum up 12 over Romney

Discussion: Politics, CNN, Big Government, Ballot Box and The Reaction

Jim Lakely / Heartland Institute:

Heartland Institute Responds to Stolen and Fake Documents — FEBRUARY 15, 2012 - The following statement from The Heartland Institute - a free-market think tank - may be used for attribution. For more information, contact Communications Director Jim Lakely at jlakely@heartland.org and 312/377-4000.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Guardian, DeSmogBlog and New York Times

Brendan DeMelle / DeSmogBlog:
Heartland Institute Exposed: Internal Documents Unmask Heart of Climate Denial Machine

Discussion: Guardian, ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs, Crooks and Liars, Politico, bishophill.squarespace.com, Republic Report, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Hullabaloo, msnbc.com and AlterNet

Kim Zetter / Wired.com:

Female Passengers Say They Were Targeted for TSA Body Scanners — TSA agents in Dallas singled out female passengers to undergo screening in a body scanner, according to complaints filed by several women who said they felt the screeners intentionally targeted them to view their bodies.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and US Politics

Dylan Byers / Politico:

PolitiFact responds to Rachel Maddow — Rachel Maddow made yet another stinging attack on PolitiFact last night, calling the Tampa Bay Times' fact-checking project “a disaster” (see video). — Via email, PolitiFact editor and Tampa Bay Times Washington bureau chief Bill Adair responds to the criticism:

Discussion: PolitiFact, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Fimrite / San Francisco Chronicle:

Study: Sierra snowfall consistent over 130 years — Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada has remained consistent for 130 years, with no evidence that anything has changed as a result of climate change, according to a study released Tuesday. — The analysis of snowfall data in the Sierra …

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, The PJ Tatler and The Daily Caller

Tim Mak / Politico:

7 very tired political cliches — 4. “America is at a crossroads” : 24 mentions — “We are at a crossroads in our system of government and our personal lives,” wrote Pieter Verboom in a letter to the editor, appearing in the Chico Enterprise-Record on Jan. 23.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Will Rahn / The Daily Caller:

Media Matters tax-exempt status may face new scrutiny from Congress — Congressional Republicans are now interested in examining the Media Matters For America's tax-exempt status, The Daily Caller has learned. Doing so would cause the GOP to wade into the complex world of tax laws that govern …

Discussion: Hot Air, Wake up America, The PJ Tatler, US Politics, Riehl World View, American Power, Big Journalism, The Agonist, Verum Serum and iOwnTheWorld.com, more at Mediagazer »

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Newt Gingrich: The most disliked politician in America — Newt Gingrich hasn't just fallen in the GOP presidential race; he may be the most unpopular person in American politics right now. — Two new polls out this week show the former House speaker with an absolutely atrocious favorability rating.

Discussion: The Caucus, NewsBusters.org, Hot Air, Salon.com, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos and The Moderate Voice

Seth Freed Wessler / Colorlines:

Deported Dad Begs North Carolina To Give Him Back His Children — Every morning since the first of his three boys was born in 2007, Felipe Montes would wake early and prepare breakfast for his wife and children, get his boys ready for their day, change them, feed them and when he could not arrange …

Discussion: Hit & Run and Balloon Juice

Jeremy Scahill / The Nation:

Washington's War in Yemen Backfires — Soldiers with the 25th Mechanized Brigade near the front lines in Zinjibar Yemen. Image credit: Richard Rowley, Big Noise Films — — Gen. Mohammed al-Sumali sits in the passenger seat of his armored Toyota Land Cruiser as it whizzes …

Discussion: emptywheel

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Chris Christie Ignores Gov. Gregoire's Outreach On Marriage Equality, Hopes To Swiftly Veto Measure — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) hopes to put the politically delicate question of same-sex marriage behind him and is prepared to swiftly veto a bill extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians …

Discussion: Poliglot, BuzzFeed, The Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

Lesley Wroughton / Reuters:

World Bank's Zoellick to step down, U.S. eyes spot — (Reuters) - World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday he will step down in June and Washington pledged to put a replacement candidate forward within weeks for a job that has always gone to an American.

Discussion: Guardian and Big Government

Meghan Keneally / Daily Mail:

Food police reject preschooler's homemade lunch... in favour of chicken nuggets — A preschool girl was told her homemade meal wasn't healthy enough - so a school cafeteria monitor made her eat chicken nuggets instead. — The rejected meal consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread …

Discussion: Althouse

John Avlon / The Daily Beast:

Maine, Iowa Caucus Mishaps Prove It's Time for a Better System — It's déjà vu as missing precincts mean Mitt Romney may not have won Maine after all. This year's mistaken outcomes are not surprising when you consider how flawed the entire caucus system is.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Washington Post, Bangor Daily News and Outside the Beltway

msnbc.com:

Chavez allies attack new opponent Capriles as Jewish, gay — Venezuelan presidential hopeful Henrique Capriles, seen at a rally in La Guaira Jan. 27, has been attacked over his sexuality, Jewish ancestry and his selection as opposition candidate. — Allies of President Hugo Chavez …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Jammie Wearing Fools and americanthinker.com