memeorandum: Romney takes small Michigan lead (Tom Jensen/Public Policy Polling)

9:30 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, Questions and Observations, Hot Air, Ballot Box, Scared Monkeys, The Lonely Conservative, Politico, Washington Post, 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: msnbc.com, CBS News, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire, Mediaite and Associated Press

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

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

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, Campaign 2012 and Weasel Zippers

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

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, Toronto Star and Dependable Renegade

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

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Los Angeles Times, Tucson Citizen, BuzzFeed and Associated Press

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!!!”

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

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: The Maddow Blog, DownWithTyranny!, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, Sky Dancing, Little Green Footballs and American Power

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

Rick Santorum / Wall Street Journal:

My Economic Freedom Agenda — We need bold tax reform, but Mitt Romney wants to tinker at the margins. — America's budget process is broken. Our economy and American families are struggling, and the country needs bold reforms and major restructuring, not tinkering at the margins.

Discussion: The Hill and Campaign 2012

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