memeorandum: Romney: Not a NASCAR fan, but friends are owners (Sarah B. Boxer/CBS News)

9:00 AM ET, February 27, 2012

Top Items:

Susan Page / USA Today:

Swing states poll: Health care law hurts Obama in 2012 — WASHINGTON - The health care overhaul that President Obama intended to be the signature achievement of his first term instead has become a significant problem in his bid for a second one, uniting Republicans in opposition and eroding his standing among independents.

Discussion: The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Scared Monkeys, The Lonely Conservative, Politico, Jammie Wearing Fools and The Page

James Hohmann / Politico:

Battleground Poll: GOP president's race takes toll, Obama inches up — A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll reveals the prolonged nominating battle is taking a toll on the GOP candidates and finds the president's standing significantly improved from late last year.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire, Mediaite and Associated Press

Quinnipiac University:

Men, Conservatives Push Santorm To 7-Pt. Ohio Lead, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; 45% Of GOP Voters Might Change Their Mind — With strong support from men and conservatives, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum leads the Ohio GOP presidential field with 36 percent of likely Republican primary voters …

Discussion: GOP 12, CNN, Politico, The Charlotte Observer, Taegan Goddard's … and msnbc.com

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney takes small Michigan lead — Mitt Romney's taken a small lead over Rick Santorum in PPP's newest Michigan poll. He's at 39% to 37% for Santorum, 13% for Ron Paul, and 9% for Newt Gingrich. Compared to a week ago Romney's gained 6 points, while Santorum's just stayed in place.

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Detroit Free Press, Hot Air, Bloomberg, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, The New Republic, Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine

Adam Winkler / The Daily Beast:

Clarence Thomas Is a Long Shot for President, But His Candidacy Makes a Lot of Sense — Call it a longshot if you like, but in this anything-can-happen political year, the Supreme Court justice has qualities to recommend him to a broad spectrum of voters. — With the Republican presidential …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Brad DeLong

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney headed for an Arizona rout — Mitt Romney is headed for an overwhelming victory in Arizona's primary on Tuesday. He's at 43% to 26% for Rick Santorum, 18% for Newt Gingrich, and 11% for Ron Paul. — You can make a fair argument that Romney's already won the Arizona primary.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's … and CNN

Gerald Herbert / ABCNEWS:
‘World News’ Political Insights: What Mitt Romney Has Already Lost

Discussion: M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …, Kennebec Journal and Washington Post

Lee Siegel / The Daily Beast:
Mitt Romney Is a Canny Politician Doing What's Necessary to Survive the Primaries

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air and The Moderate Voice

Sarah B. Boxer / CBS News:

Romney: Not a NASCAR fan, but friends are owners — Mitt Romney went to the races today, and instead of putting his pedal to the metal, seems to have put his foot in his mouth. — Asked by a reporter from the Associated Press about whether or not he follows NASCAR, Romney reportedly responded …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Obama Diary, Balloon Juice, PERRspectives and Dependable Renegade

Chris Jenkins / Associated Press:
Romney takes campaign detour to Daytona

Discussion: Politico, Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and CNN

Politico:
Daytona 500: Rick Santorum sponsors car

Discussion: CNN

Sandra Tsing Loh / The Atlantic Online:

Daddy Issues — Why caring for my aging father has me wishing he would die — To my surprise, in a motion as automatic as the reflex of a mussel being poked, my body bent double and I heard myself screaming: — “I WAAAAAAAANT MY FATHERRRRRR TO DIEEEEE!!!”

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Santorum says he ‘almost threw up’ after reading JFK speech on separation of church and state — Former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) on Sunday defended a statement he made last October in which he said that he “almost threw up” when he read John F. Kennedy's 1960 Houston address on the role of religion in public life.

Digby / Hullabaloo: Sick Man: Santorum makes it explicit

ABCNEWS:
Rick Santorum: JFK's 1960 Speech Made Me Want to Throw Up

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, Sky Dancing, Little Green Footballs and American Power

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
Santorum: 'I Don't Believe In An America Where The Separation Between Church And State Is Absolute'

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Americans Divided on Repeal of 2010 Healthcare Law — Majority of Republicans strongly favor repeal if a Republican is elected president — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans divide evenly when asked if they favor (47%) or oppose (44%) a Republican president's repealing the 2010 healthcare law if elected this November.

Discussion: The Hill and Campaign 2012

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMDC — The Keystone Fight Is Uniting Tea Partiers With Environmentalists — In Washington, DC, the fight over the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline mostly divides common enemies: Republicans and Democrats; environmentalists and fossil fuel interests; big business and the federal bureaucracy.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Roy Blunt / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Guest commentary: Lift the contraception rules preserve liberty — Image — This weekend, millions of church-going Catholics in St. Louis and across America will hear or read a letter from their bishop making clear that the Obama Administration's Feb. 10 announcement does nothing to change …

Discussion: Firedoglake

KDVR.com is the website for KDVR Television …:

Protestors throw urine bombs at Denver police — DENVER — Several protesters were arrested Saturday evening during a disruptive anti-police protest in downtown Denver. — According to Lt. Matt Murray of the Denver Police Department, at 7:30 p.m. close to 60-70 anarchist protesters started marching on 16th Street Mall.