memeorandum: TPM2012 — Why Mitt Romney Might Be Even Weaker Than You Think (Kyle Leighton/2012.talkingpointsmemo.com)

2:15 PM ET, February 24, 2012

Top Items:

Rick Santorum winning more support from Republican women — Over the past several weeks, Republicans have watched squeamishly as presidential contender Rick Santorum has waded into multiple controversies that risk alienating half the 2012 electorate: women.

Discussion: Politico, Wake up America, Taylor Marsh, Pirate's Cove, Hot Air, Sabato's Crystal Ball and The Page

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

What happens if Mitt Romney wins Michigan? — DETROIT — For the past week, much of the focus of the Republican presidential race has centered on the consequences Mitt Romney will face if he loses Michigan's primary. After a debate in Arizona on Wednesday, the question should be: What will happen if he wins his home state?

Discussion: Politico, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, detroitnews.com, Online NewsHour, The Huffington Post, MLive.com, ABCNEWS, FiveThirtyEight and Washington Times

Steven Rattner / New York Times:

Delusions About the Detroit Bailout — WHEN Mitt Romney takes the podium at Ford Field in Detroit today, he's likely to include yet another sharp denunciation of the government's rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. — That Mr. Romney would traverse Michigan trashing a program that saved tens …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Politico, CNN, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Mediaite, A plain blog about politics, The Atlantic Online, ThinkProgress, Jared Bernstein, ABCNEWS and Detroit Free Press

Kyle Leighton / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Why Mitt Romney Might Be Even Weaker Than You Think — Mitt Romney's got a problem. — Purple Strategies released their “Purple Poll” on Thursday, data from twelve swing states the showed former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) in a better position to beat President Obama than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Obama Diary

Politico:

The ‘gotcha’ campaign — MILFORD, Mich. — Caught in a make-or-break moment, Mitt Romney went to the videotape. — To hear him tell it, the GOP front-runner clicked on a classic piece of opposition research for a peek. The six-day-old Fox News clip summed up the day's attacks on Rick Santorum.

Discussion: The Other McCain, ABCNEWS, Daily Kos and Hot Air

Rosie Gray / Politics:
Ron Paul Fans Outraged At Hearty Post-Debate Handshake

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Althouse, Shakesville and Hot Air

Arizona Republic:
Romney right for these times

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Talking Points Memo, CNN and GOP 12

Mary Beth Schneider / Indianapolis Star:
Recount puts Santorum on Indiana primary ballot

Discussion: The Hill, Rasmussen Reports and GOP 12

Rebecca Kaplan / NationalJournal.com:

Santorum: Obama College Plan Aimed at ‘Indoctrination’ — DALLAS, Texas - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Thursday that President Obama wants more young adults to go to college so they can undergo “indoctrination” to a secular world view.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, Little Green Footballs and A plain blog about politics

Sandhya Somashekhar / Washington Post:

Karen Santorum: husband's presidential run is 'God's will' — Rick Santorum's wife granted a rare interview Thursday, telling conservative talk show host Glenn Beck that she initially had been against her husband running for president but finally concluded it was “God's will.”

Discussion: The Raw Story and Althouse

Politico:
Democrats: Is Rick Santorum for real?

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, The Reaction and The Mahablog

Emily Goodin / The Hill:

Palin said her divorce was ‘when,’ not ‘if’ — Sarah Palin, in 2007, indicated she was contemplating a divorce. — In a Sept. 26, 2007, email obtained by The Associated Press, Palin wrote to an aide and her husband, Todd Palin: “So speaking of. .. If we, er, when we get a divorce …

Discussion: Associated Press and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Associated Press:
Emails show Palin wanted to leave Alaska governor's job months before she resigned

Discussion: Mediaite, Wonkette, Politico and The Jane Dough

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Romney's Economic Closet — According to Michael Kinsley, a gaffe is when a politician accidently tells the truth. That's certainly what happened to Mitt Romney on Tuesday, when in a rare moment of candor — and, in his case, such moments are really, really rare — he gave away the game.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather and Washington Post

Tim Mak / Politico:

Reports: Jeb Bush says 2012ers are 'appealing to people's fears' — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said Thursday that he found it “troubling” that the 2012 presidential candidates are “appealing to people's fears and emotion” on the campaign trail, according to reports.

Discussion: CBS Dallas, UPI, Guardian, GOP 12, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune and LewRockwell.com Blog

Jake Gibson / Fox News:
Jeb Bush: 2012 GOP Field “Appealing to People's Fears”

Discussion: Hot Air, GOP 12, ThinkProgress, Guardian and Rumproast

Investor's Business Daily:

5 Biggest Whoppers In Obama's Energy Speech — Energy: The White House billed President Obama's energy policy speech as a response to mounting criticism of record high gas prices. What he delivered was a grab bag of excuses and outright falsehoods. — Obama's main message to struggling motorists …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Wake up America, Hot Air, Wizbang, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit, JunkScience.com, Power Line, Betsy's Page, Doug Ross and New York Times

Ken Dilanian / Los Angeles Times:

U.S. does not believe Iran is trying to build nuclear bomb — The latest U.S. intelligence report indicates Iran is pursuing research that could enable it to build a nuclear weapon, but that it has not sought to do so. — Revolutionary Guard personnel watch the launch of a Zelzal missile in June 2011 near Qom, Iran.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Guardian, Reuters, Washington Post and The Agonist

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

The Death Star is a Surprisingly Cost-Effective Weapons System — There's been a lot of loose talk about the Death Star lately. I want to put it into a bit of perspective. — As background, some students at Lehigh University have estimated that it would be a very expensive project.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Enik Rising, The Jawa Report and US Politics

Elizabeth Warren / The Boston Globe:

Denying women coverage under any guise is a big step backward — MAYBE YOU saw the pictures. Five middle-age men seated at a congressional hearing table to discuss freedom of religion and contraception. And not a single woman was on the panel. Unbelievable.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Politico and Daily Kos

Tim Mak / Politico:

Arlen Specter: Rick Santorum ‘so far to the right’ — ‘I intend to watch the campaign. I intend to make a decision on the merits,’ Specter said. AP Photo — Close — Former Sen. Arlen Specter said Friday that he thought fellow Pennsylvanian Rick Santorum was too extreme to be president.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and On Top Magazine Headlines

Howard Mintz / Mercury News:

Republican group appeals ruling striking down federal gay marriage ban — Moving swiftly, gay marriage foes on Friday appealed a San Francisco federal judge's order this week finding the federal government's ban on same-sex marriage benefits unconstitutional.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Aaron C. Davis / Washington Post:

Maryland Senate passes same-sex marriage bill — Maryland will join seven states and the District in allowing same-sex marriage, ending a year-long drama in Annapolis over the legislation and expanding nationwide momentum for gay rights. — The Senate passed the measure by a vote of 25 …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Atlantic Wire, The BLT, Mother Jones, US Politics, The Page and The Reaction

JournalGazette.net:

You choose, we deliver … The Scoop — A written report from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources: (Rochester) Conservation Officers investigated an off-road vehicle accident that occurred in Fulton County on February 22nd during the early evening hours.Today 7:34 am

Discussion: Politico, The Jane Dough, WANE-TV and 89.3 WFPL News

Scott Johnson / Power Line:

A message to Mickey Kaus — Yesterday I clicked on an Instapundit link in this one-sentence post: “Mickey Kaus notes a case of eerie prescience.” Clicking on the link, I was transported to a link-filled post stating: “Eerie Prescience, Esquire Division: A lot of what is written …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

David Pogue / New York Times:

What Cameras Inside Foxconn Found — I wrote about the Apple/China/Foxconn controversy in this space a couple of weeks ago, but there have been some developments, some progress and some new revelations. — The story so far: Last month, The New York Times published a front-page article …

Discussion: Democracy in America, Modeled Behavior, Salon, TPM Idea Lab and BillMoyers.com

Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:

Buchanan To Republicans: You're Overeaching On Birth Control — Women's health care has dominated political discussions as GOP-controlled state legislatures consider legislation to extremely curtail women's access to abortions and right-wing leaders claim the Obama administration is infringing …

Discussion: Wonkette

Jim McElhatton / Washington Times:

Solyndra abandons efforts to go clean and green — Environmental mess left at plant — Federal officials hailed Solyndra LLC's plan to create clean energy when they awarded the company more than a half-billion dollars in loans, but the solar-panel maker's abrupt closure now threatens to leave behind an environmental mess.

Discussion: Don Surber, The Heritage Foundation and JunkScience.com

Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:

Bill Maher Presents Obama Super PAC With $1 Million Check — While performing his “StupidCrazyPolitics” show at the San Jose Center For The Performing Arts in San Jose, CA Thursday night, comedian and HBO host Bill Maher announced he would be donating $1 million to Priorities USA Action, a pro-Barack Obama Super PAC.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, ABCNEWS, Wake up America, Los Angeles Times, ArtsBeat, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Raw Story and Wilshire & Washington

Patrick Goodenough / CNSNews:

Taliban's Response to Obama's Apology: ‘Kill Them, Beat Them, Take Them as Prisoners’ — (CNSNews.com) - In the wake of President Barack Obama sending a three-page letter to Afghan President Hamid Kharzai, apologizing for U.S. forces having mistakenly burned some Qur'ans at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and protein wisdom

CNBC:

Athens Told to Change Spending and Taxes — European creditor countries are demanding 38 specific changes in Greek tax, spending and wage policies by the end of this month and have laid out extra reforms that amount to micromanaging the country's government for two years, according to documents obtained by the Financial Times.

Discussion: Firedoglake

Joan Biskupic / Reuters:

Analysis: Obama yet to make a mark on key U.S. court — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama is close to becoming the first president in at least half a century to finish a full term without making an appointment to a U.S. appeals court, considered second in importance only to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: American Prospect