memeorandum: At the Supreme Court, Odds Lie Against Affirmative Action (Andrew Cohen/The Atlantic Online)

7:05 PM ET, February 21, 2012

Top Items:

SANTORUM'S SATAN WARNING — “Satan has his sights on the United States of America!” Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has declared. — “Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack …

Discussion: Politico, New York Post, The Caucus, The New Republic, Don Surber, Hot Air, Big Government, The Gateway Pundit, Rush Limbaugh, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Bloomberg and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Wall Street Journal:

Sex, Lies and Rick Santorum — The politics of the double standard on social issues. — When Barack Obama was campaigning for president in 2008, he declared that marriage is between a man and a woman. For the most part, his position was treated as a nonissue. — Now Rick Santorum is campaigning for president.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Weekly Standard, The Daily Dish, Foster Friess, Connecting.the.Dots, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Politico

Rich Lowry / National Review:

The Effrontery of Rick Santorum — The media has unleashed the hounds on Rick Santorum. — He was last seen a step ahead of the braying pack, trying to explain that he hadn't accused President Barack Obama of being a crypto-Muslim. The former Pennsylvania senator criticized …

Discussion: American Prospect, The American Conservative, The Mahablog, TheBlaze.com, Washington Wire, Pundit & Pundette and alicublog

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Santorum: “You're Not A Christian” — Defenders of Rick Santorum are very angry that anyone would suggest his “phony theology” comments about the president represented an attack on a fellow Christian's beliefs. Turns out he was a bit more direct about it in an appearance in 2008 …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

It's not conservative, It's reactionary — A number of social conservatives, sensing that Rick Santorum has hit a trip wire, are complaining that he's being skewered for being a social conservative. That's demonstrably wrong. The nonstop flaps (some of which concern past episodes …

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Mitt's Friends Open Up New Front on Rick

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Balloon Juice

Rush Limbaugh:
Santorum Will Have to Answer on Satan

Discussion: Politico

Steven Bertoni / Money Talks:

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson Says He Might Give $100M To Newt Gingrich Or Other Republican — Sheldon Adelson: The GOP's $25 billion man … Sheldon Adelson plays as stubbornly in politics as he does in business. So the criticisms that he's trying to personally buy the presidential election …

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Two Charts That Should Make Romney Gulp — It's no secret that, as far as frontrunners go, Mitt Romney's never exactly set the grassroots on fire. But his latest fundraising numbers drive home just how weak his small donor appeal is compared to his rivals — and especially President Obama.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, BillMoyers.com, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Politico:
Mitt Romney's burn rate a boon for Barack Obama

Discussion: OpenSecrets.org, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Business Insider, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, The Caucus and Reuters

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:
Mr. Right eludes the GOP

Discussion: Democracy in America and Marbury

Frank Newport / Gallup:
Santorum Expands Lead, but Romney Gets Electability Vote

Discussion: Hot Air, Reuters, Boston Globe, Firedoglake, Arizona Republic, The Other McCain, CNN, TIME Ideas, Lists, Investor's Business Daily, Ballot Box, The Week, Towleroad News #gay, The Caucus, GOP 12, National Review, Washington Wire and Daily Kos

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Romney's Money Problems

Discussion: Reuters, New York Times, Firedoglake and Washington Monthly

CNN:

CNN/Time Poll: All tied up in Arizona — Mesa, Arizona (CNN) - On the eve of the final Republican presidential debate before primaries in Arizona and Michigan, as well as the 10 Super Tuesday states, a new survey indicates that Rick Santorum may be closing the gap with Mitt Romney in the Grand Canyon State.

Discussion: Ballot Box, The Caucus and TheBlaze.com

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

25 Photos Of Mitt Romney Looking Perfectly Normal — Turns out the Republican frontrunner isn't always so buttoned-down. The candidate's daughter-in-law has maintained a mommy blog for years, and it's a treasure trove of candid Romney shots. Allow me to introduce you to Casual Mitt. — McKay Coppins

Discussion: Gawker, Wonkette, Politics and Balloon Juice

Alex Altman / Swampland:
TIME/CNN Arizona Poll: Romney Holds Narrow Lead over Santorum

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Guardian and Public Policy Polling

Rick Santorum / CNN:
Obama campaign takes a swing at Santorum

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Santorum leads in Washington

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Pundit and GOP 12

James Crugnale / Mediaite:

Watch Franklin Graham Question President Obama's Faith, Explain Why Mormons Aren't Christian On Morning Joe — On Tuesday, Franklin Graham appeared on Morning Joe and made some statements that threw the show's panel — which included Alex Wagner, Willie Geist, and John Heilemann — into disarray.

Discussion: Thoughts and Rantings, Religion Dispatches, Balloon Juice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Franklin Graham: Obama May Secretly Be A Muslim, Santorum And Gingrich Are Definitely Christian

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Huffington Post, The Gateway Pundit and Gothamist

Becky Bratu / msnbc.com:
Rev. Graham: Obama seen as ‘son of Islam’

Discussion: Washington Wire, Reuters, Los Angeles Times and Associated Press

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Affirmative Action Case — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a major case on affirmative action in higher education, adding another potential blockbuster to a docket already studded with them. — The court's decision in the new case holds …

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, Los Angeles Times, ACS Blog, American Spectator and Feministing

Andrew Cohen / The Atlantic Online:

At the Supreme Court, Odds Lie Against Affirmative Action — The justices will hear a case on whether universities can encourage diversity at the classroom level, but court conservatives may use it as an opportunity to set a new precedent. — AP Images — If you believe in the value …

Discussion: Washington Post and msnbc.com

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Santorum in 95: ‘I Was Basically Pro-Choice All My Life, Until I Ran For Congress’ … 2012 Election , Rick Santorum , Elections 2012 , Video , Politics News , Doug Walgren , Doug Walgren Rick Santorum , Reagan Republican , Rick Santorum 2012 , Rick Santorum Abortion , Rick Santorum Pennsylvania …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Business Insider and Wonkette

Felix Salmon:

The improbable Greece plan — Greece is now officially a ward of the international community. It has no real independence when it comes to fiscal policy any more, and if everything goes according to plan, it's not going to have any independence for many, many years to come.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Paul Krugman, US Politics, Reuters, The Atlantic Online, Associated Press, Newshoggers.com, EU Referendum, Firedoglake, Wall Street Journal, National Review and americanthinker.com

Peter Spiegel / Agence France Presse:
Greek debt nightmare laid bare

Discussion: Via Meadia, National Review, Felix Salmon, The Atlantic Online, New York Times and Political Mojo

Daily Mail:

Didn't get the memo? Hillary Clinton dons lime green shirt for G20 ‘family photo’ while everyone else wears white — It is the fear of every party guest, turning up in an outfit not suited to the dress code. — And unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, her slip up was witnessed by top government officials from across the globe.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, JustOneMinute and HotAirPundit

Chris Geidner / Poliglot:

BREAKING: Proposition 8 Proponents to Seek Full Ninth Circuit Review — Charles Cooper, the lead attorney for the proponents of Proposition 8, tells Metro Weekly that the proponents of the California marriage amendment will be asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Towleroad News #gay, Law Blog, The Volokh Conspiracy, On Top Magazine Headlines, New York Times, Joe. My. God. and Shakesville

Jonathan Strong / Roll Call:

Associate Confronted Rep. Ron Paul About Flights — In March 2005, David James called Rep. Ron Paul's (R-Texas) Congressional office for some documentation. — James's nonprofit group, the Liberty Committee, had paid for one of Paul's flights, and James needed a receipt or boarding pass to document the expense.

Discussion: Hot Air, Thoughts and Rantings, Examiner, Big Government, Online NewsHour, Weekly Standard and The Spectacle Blog

David Weigel / Slate:
Ron Paul's Billionaire

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Lists

Rachel E. Stassen-Berger / Hot Dish Politics:

Redistricting puts Bachmann in 4th, but she says she'll run in 6th — A Minnesota judicial panel on Tuesday released new political district lines that place U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann, a Republican, and Betty McCollum, a Democrat, into the same congressional district, according to Bachmann's office.

Discussion: Wonkette and Hotline On Call

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Bachmann shifts House districts with new Minnesota congressional map

Discussion: Politico

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

In Apologizing for Global Warming Hoax, Peter Gleick Blames His Victims — The Heartland Institute was vicitimized by global warming fanatics who published stolen documents and at least one forged document in their attempts to portray the Institute as dishonest.

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Heartland Institute, ThinkProgress, blogs.forbes.com/stevezwick and Ed Driscoll

New York Times:
Activist Says He Lied to Obtain Climate Papers

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Hit & Run, Firedoglake, Online NewsHour, Scientific American, The Spectacle Blog and JunkScience.com

Michael O'Brien / msnbc.com:

Romney: Spending cuts slow economic growth — Mitt Romney said Tuesday that cutting spending slows growth in the economy — a rhetorical slip more akin to an argument a Democrat might make than a Republican. — Speaking in Shelby Township, MI, the former Massachusetts governor took …

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

False Recovery 2.0: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like 2011 — The US economy is billions of dollars and 1.7 million jobs stronger than we were twelve months ago. But the same headwinds that doomed last year's recovery are swirling again. — Reuters — Let's play “Name That Year of the Recovery.”

Discussion: Associated Press and RedState