memeorandum: Santorum Defends Remarks on Obama and Government's Role in Education (Trip Gabriel/New York Times)

6:15 PM ET, February 20, 2012

Top Items:

UT/TT Poll: Santorum Crushing GOP Hopefuls in Texas … Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has a commanding lead among Republican presidential candidates in Texas, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. — Santorum would get the votes of 45 percent of the respondents …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Daily Dish, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, TheBlaze.com and Politico

Maggie Habermanand Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Worry over Mitt Romney sparks talk of Tampa — There are growing calls for an alternative to Mitt Romney as the Republican standard-bearer, with the names of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie again being seen as the most likely saviors.

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos and Fox News

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Michigan GOP race tightens — The Republican race for President in Michigan has tightened considerably over the last week, with what was a 15 point lead for Rick Santorum down to 4. He leads with 37% to 33% for Mitt Romney, 15% for Ron Paul, and 10% for Newt Gingrich.

Susan Page / USA Today:

Poll: Republican voters oppose a ‘brokered’ convention — WASHINGTON - While most Republicans wish they had different choices in the party's presidential field, a nationwide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds overwhelming resistance to the idea of an old-styled brokered convention that would pick some new contender as the nominee.

Discussion: Ballot Box, msnbc.com, TheBlaze.com, Washington Post and Politico

Walter Shapiro / The New Republic:

Why Mitt Romney's Presidential Prospects May Not Be Salvageable — Business School Case Study: Company R has the financial resources, the professional staff, the marketing know-how, and the business expertise to dominate its competition. But despite the near-universal familiarity of its signature product …

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

SoonerPoll:
Tulsa World: Poll shows state Republicans favor Santorum

Discussion: Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's … and Rick Santorum for President

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney lead small in Arizona

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …

Nicholas Confessore / The Caucus:
Pro-Romney ‘Super PAC’ Spent $14 Million in January

Discussion: Daily Kos and Truthdig

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
In Michigan, Momentum for Romney?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Democracy in America and American Power

ABCNEWS:
Donald Trump Hitting The Michigan Airwaves For Mitt Romney

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Hill, The Maddow Blog, Thoughts and Rantings, HotAirPundit and Politico

Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:
Slouching toward nomination, Romney needs win in Michigan

Discussion: Politico, CNN and Prairie Weather

Rick Santorum / CNN:

Santorum denies Hitler-Obama comparison — (CNN) - Rick Santorum on Monday denied he was comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler while using a World War II analogy the previous day. — During a speech at a Georgia church on Sunday, Santorum paralleled the election to America's slow response …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

CNN:

Sheriff's former boyfriend speaks out — (CNN) - The man accusing Mitt Romney's former Arizona campaign co-chair of threatening to deport him if he made their relationship public stood by his claim Monday in an interview with CNN. — A Mexican national (whose attorney requested that he be identified as …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Santorum draws World War II parallel in describing threat facing the nation — CUMMING, Ga. — In a speech at a megachurch here Sunday night, former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) used some of his direst imagery yet to describe what's at stake in this year's presidential election …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Eunomia and The New Republic

Juana Summers / Politico:

Rick Santorum defends attacks on Obama ‘theology’ — STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Rick Santorum continued to play defense Monday, working to explain a handful of controversial statements that appear to draw links between President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler, and seem to question the president's Christianity.

Discussion: Gothamist, CNN and Taylor Marsh

Donald Trump / CNN:
TRENDING: Trump takes hatchet to Santorum

Discussion: Mediaite

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:
Santorum Defends Remarks on Obama and Government's Role in Education

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Bloomberg, The Caucus, Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, Pundit & Pundette, ABCNEWS, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Enterprise Blog

Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Romney adviser says Michigan not a ‘must-win’ for campaign

Rick Santorum / CNN:
Santorum spokesman: Michigan is Romney territory

Discussion: Washington Post and The Page

NY Daily News:

Jeremy Lin headline slur was ‘honest mistake,’ fired ESPN editor Anthony Federico claims — EXCLUSIVE: ‘This had nothing to do with me being cute or punny’ — Jeremy Lin looks on during Knicks' victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. — The ESPN editor fired Sunday for using …

Discussion: Big Journalism, Ed Driscoll, Patterico's Pontifications, Politico, Mediaite, THEROOT.COM, Althouse, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CBS Chicago, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, SBNation.com and angry asian man, more at Mediagazer »

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Protest of Trans-Vaginal Ultrasound Bill in Virginia Leads to Delay — Hundreds join silent protest against Virginia bill to legalize forced trans-vaginal examinations (Photo via The Shad Plank) — The Virginia abortion bill, which would mandate that the women seeking an abortion …

Discussion: Richmond Times-Dispatch, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, The Maddow Blog and ECHIDNE of the snakes

Olympia Meola / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Poll finds most Virginians oppose changes in abortion, gun laws — Virginia voters, by wide margins, want to retain the state's landmark one-handgun-a-month law and oppose mandating that a woman receive an ultrasound before having an abortion, according to a new poll.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Santorum aide ties Obama to Islam — Rick Santorum's spokeswoman Alice Stewart said in a TV interview on Monday that Santorum was referring to President Barack Obama's “radical Islamic policies” when he said the president's agenda was driven by “phony theology” — but then quickly called …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Truthdig

David Edwards / The Raw Story:

Santorum: Liberals ‘are the anti-science ones’ — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum charged on Monday that President Barack Obama and Democrats were “anti-science” because they refused to exploit the Earth's natural resources to the limits of technology.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Agonist

New York Post:

H'wood snubs Muslim Stone — Sean Stone, son of controversial director Oliver Stone, converted to Islam in Iran last week and says he's already experiencing a Hollywood backlash. — The ceremony was held in Isfahan, where he is researching a documentary. He now goes by the name of Sean Christopher Ali Stone.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, The American Conservative, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Jawa Report

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

Iran Raid Seen as a Huge Task for Israeli Jets — WASHINGTON — Should Israel decide to launch a strike on Iran, its pilots would have to fly more than 1,000 miles across unfriendly airspace, refuel in the air en route, fight off Iran's air defenses, attack multiple underground sites simultaneously — and use at least 100 planes.

Discussion: Telegraph, Guardian, rubber hose, JustOneMinute, Israel Matzav and The Daily Dish

Nick Collins / Telegraph:

Test tube hamburgers to be served this year — The world's first test tube hamburger will be served up this October after scientists perfected the art of growing beef in the lab. — Undated handout photo issued by Maastricht University of “test tube meat” growing in the laboratory

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Gothamist, Truthdig, Change of Subject and The Moderate Voice

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic Online:

Pakistan Can't Seem to Figure Out Why Bin Laden Was Hiding There — The Pakistani commission appointed to investigate just how Osama bin Laden came to be living in Abbottabad, in a large house adjacent to Pakistan's military academy (a house built by an architect regularly employed …

Discussion: The Jawa Report