memeorandum: Legal Fees Mount at Fannie and Freddie (Gretchen Morgenson/New York Times)

1:45 PM ET, February 22, 2012

Top Items:

Chris Christie: Rick Santorum's Satan Comments Are Relevant — Rick Santorum says his 2008 comments that “Satan has set his sights on the United States of America” are “not relevant” to the 2012 presidential race, but Chris Christie told me on “GMA” that Santorum is wrong.

Discussion: Arizona Republic, his vorpal sword, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, The Raw Story, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Get Thee Behind Me! — Ah, you just gotta love the MSM and its blinders! — Thanks to a handful of obscure researchers and bloggers (I first noticed the story at People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch, but others may have gotten there first), and to the subsequent efforts of a handful …

Discussion: Eschaton

Quinnipiac University:

Santorum Up 9 Points Among Republican Voters, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Obama Edges Santorum, But Romney Is Too Close To Call — Former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum leads the Republican presidential field with 35 percent, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney …

Discussion: GOP 12, ThinkProgress, The Hill, Ballot Box, Hot Air, Washington Wire and msnbc.com

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC poll: Romney, Santorum deadlocked in Michigan; Romney leads in Arizona — An NBC News poll shows that GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are neck-and-neck in Michigan, Romney's birthplace. Romney, meanwhile, has a comfortable lead in Arizona, which has a sizable Mormon population.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, Campaign Stops, Guardian, Ballot Box, Politico, GOP 12, Online NewsHour, Outside the Beltway, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, Prairie Weather, HotAirPundit, Drudge Report and Associated Press

detroitnews.com:
Detroit News endorsement: Mitt Romney for Michigan GOP primary

Discussion: Ballot Box, American Prospect, Politico, The Caucus, New York Times, Guardian and Washington Post

Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:
Rick Santorum Faces a Grilling at CNN Debate

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Week, Politico and The Atlantic Online

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:
Santorum Pressed on Satan Remarks

Discussion: The Hill, American Prospect, Poynter, Associated Press, Washington Monthly, Swampland, American Spectator, Comments from Left Field, Shakesville, The Daily Caller, The Maddow Blog and Towleroad News #gay

Associated Press:
Poll: Santorum surges, Obama leads Republicans

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
Rush Limbaugh on Santorum and Satan

Discussion: Opinion L.A., Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Daily Kos, US Politics, American Spectator, Wizbang, Rush Limbaugh, Connecting.the.Dots, Wonkette, msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, CNSNews, Sister Toldjah, The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog and Truthdig

Anita Kumar / Washington Post:

Virginia governor no longer fully supports ultrasounds before abortions — RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell is backing off his unconditional support for a bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before an abortion, focusing new attention on one of the most controversial pieces …

Discussion: www2.timesdispatch.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, Law Blog, Mediaite, A Blog For All, Campaign 2012, The Raw Story, streiff's blog, Daily Kos, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Hotline On Call, WWBT-TV, Prairie Weather and The American Conservative

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Democratic Lawmaker Responds To ‘Fetal Pain’ Bill With Measure Limiting Vasectomies — A Democratic lawmaker in Georgia is responding to a Republican-backed effort to prevent women from receiving abortions 20 weeks after fertilization with a tongue-in-cheek measure that seeks …

Discussion: Metro, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Maddow Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, Florida Times Union and The Raw Story

Robert MacPherson / Agence France Presse:
Virginia holds back on abortion ultrasound bill

Discussion: American Prospect, Associated Press and The New Civil Rights Movement

Alana Goodman / Commentary Magazine:
Ultrasounds Already Part of VA Planned Parenthood Abortion Procedure

Discussion: Big Journalism, Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org, LifeNews.com, The Mahablog, RedState, Hot Air, streiff's blog, Sister Toldjah, The Week, Newsy and American Prospect

Frances Martel / Mediaite:
Jon Stewart Explains Ultrasound Law To GOP: ‘A TSA Pat-Down In Your Vagina’

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Obama Offers to Cut Corporate Tax Rate to 28% — WASHINGTON — President Obama will ask Congress to scrub the corporate tax code of dozens of loopholes and subsidies to reduce the top rate to 28 percent, down from 35 percent, while giving preferences to manufacturers that would set …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Jared Bernstein, msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Business Insider, Guardian, Economix and ABCNEWS

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:

Obama proposes lowering corporate tax rate to 28 percent — The Obama administration proposed a major overhaul of the nation's corporate tax code on Wednesday, an election-year gambit that aims to draw a contrast over a key policy issue with the Republicans vying to replace him.

Discussion: Hit & Run, US Politics, Pirate's Cove, The Lonely Conservative and Taylor Marsh

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:
Why Obama's corporate tax plan is a total bust

Discussion: National Review, Politico, Political Mojo, Hot Air and The Hill

Bloomberg:
Obama Readies Plan to Cut Corporate Tax Rate

Discussion: Reuters, The Agonist and Wall Street Journal

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

EXCLUSIVE: The Memo that Larry Summers Didn't Want Obama to See — For the past three years, Washington journalists and politicos have obsessed over a 57-page memo that Barack Obama's incoming economic team prepared for him in late 2008. The document has achieved such totemic status for good reason …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Taegan Goddard's …, The Enterprise Blog, Economist's View and Business Insider

Robert Winnett / Telegraph:

50p tax rate ‘failing to boost revenues’ — The amount of income tax paid fell sharply last month in the first formal indication that the new 50p higher rate is not raising the expected amount of revenue. — A Treasury source said the relatively poor revenues from self-assessment returns …

Discussion: Hot Air, Don Surber, Big Government, CARPE DIEM, Pirate's Cove and TigerHawk

Wall Street Journal:

Obama's Dividend Assault — A plan to triple the tax rate would hurt all shareholders. — President Obama's 2013 budget is the gift that keeps on giving—to government. One buried surprise is his proposal to triple the tax rate on corporate dividends, which believe it or not is higher than in his previous budgets.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, RedState, The PJ Tatler, Townhall.com, Vodkapundit and Betsy's Page

David Harsanyi / Real Clear Politics:

Aren't High Gas Prices What Democrats Want? — Gas prices are spiking. That's great news, right? We have to wean ourselves off the stuff. At least that's what we've been hearing for years. Oil is dirty. We import it from nations that hate our guts (like Canada!). And moreover, we're running out.

Discussion: Tom Nelson and Cold Fury

Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Gingrich Releases Half-Hour Energy Ad

Discussion: Hot Air

Investor's Business Daily: Obama's Double Talk on Sky-High Gas Prices

Marist Poll:

2/22: Romney and Santorum Neck and Neck in Michigan — In the race for the Republican nomination in Michigan, Mitt Romney — 37% — and Rick Santorum — 35% — are in a tight battle among likely Republican primary voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate and those who voted absentee in the state.

Discussion: Hotline On Call

Dan Nowicki / Arizona Republic:
Republican debate: What to watch for tonight in Mesa

Discussion: Plutocrap

Marist Poll:
2/22: Romney with 16 Percentage Point Lead in Arizona

Discussion: Washington Wire, Firedoglake, The Caucus and Washington Post

New York Times:

The Court and Citizens United II — The Supreme Court has an opportunity to reconsider its disastrous Citizens United decision. The justices should take it. The damaging effects of unlimited spending by corporations and unions on elections — honestly examined — should cause the court to overturn …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Rules on Case Involving Miranda Rights

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Slate, SCOTUSblog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
News outlets back New York Times reporter James Risen in court fight

Discussion: Secrecy News

Byron Tau / Politico:

Obama campaign announces co-chairs — The Obama campaign has released a list of 35 campaign co-chairs who will act as key surrogates and ambassadors. — The co-chairs are a diverse array of Obama supporters — including former Republican senator Gov. Lincoln Chafee (now an independent serving …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Brian C. Mooney / The Boston Globe:
Obama donations fall short of '08

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The PJ Tatler and americanthinker.com

Scott Shane / New York Times:

In Din Over Iran, Rattling Sabers Echo — WASHINGTON — The United States has now endured what by some measures is the longest period of war in its history, with more than 6,300 American troops killed and 46,000 wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ultimate costs estimated at $3 trillion.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Reuters, The Atlantic Online, Wall Street Journal, emptywheel, No More Mister Nice Blog and Washington Post

Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
Experts Say Iran Attack Is Irrational, Yet Hawks Are Winning the Debate

Discussion: Eunomia and Angry Bear

Tim Mak / Politico:

Chris Christie tells Warren Buffett: ‘Shut up’ — Chris Christie has heard enough about Warren Buffett, and in typical fashion, the New Jersey governor had a certain blunt way of putting it. — “He should just write a check and shut up,” Christie said Tuesday on CNN's “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

Discussion: Business Insider, Wonkette and The Lonely Conservative

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Rick Santorum: Evolution Is Used To Promote Atheism — The former Pennsylvania Senator was a champion of creationism in the Senate. — Rick Santorum campaigns at the First Baptist Church in Naples, Florida. (Reuters) — Rick Santorum's social conservatism isn't limited to his views …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and American Prospect

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

Mystification and Triumphalism — Why the left can't handle the truth about social conservatism. — Social liberals have two basic approaches to social conservatism: mystification and triumphalism. Both reflect a failure of understanding—but more than that, an incapacity to understand …

Discussion: Althouse, American Power, Instapundit and Moonbattery

Nick Bilton / Bits:

Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses by Year's End — People who constantly reach into a pocket to check a smartphone for bits of information will soon have another option: a pair of Google-made glasses that will be able to stream information to the wearer's eyeballs in real time.

Discussion: Poynter, The Mary Sue and The TechBlock, more at Techmeme »

Lauren Fox / US News:

Americans' Satisfaction Almost as Low as It Was Under Carter — It's February, nine months before a presidential election, and only 22 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going. Voters haven't been this unhappy with the country since George H.W. Bush's presidency …