memeorandum: Santorum Makes Case for Religion in Public Sphere (Michael Barbaro/New York Times)

3:35 PM 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.

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: GOP 12, Salon, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Ballot Box, Washington Post, USA Today, Shakesville, The Spectacle Blog, The Hill, msnbc.com, The Mahablog, Campaign 2012, JunkScience.com and Politico

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: CNN, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Fox News, NPR, CBS News, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Political Carnival, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire and Associated Press

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: CNSNews, Washington Monthly, Campaign 2012, Weasel Zippers, LifeNews.com, The Hill, Wizbang and US Politics

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: 2012 Decoded, The Hill, Politico, The Charlotte Observer, Metro, ABCNEWS, GOP 12, CNN, msnbc.com, The Page, Washington Post and Mediaite

Rick Santorum / CNN:

TRENDING: Santorum adviser on Michigan: ‘We have already won’ — Detroit (CNN) - A senior adviser to Rick Santorum is downplaying the latest trend in Michigan polling, which shows Mitt Romney creeping back to a narrow lead ahead of Tuesday's closely watched Republican primary.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Politico and Los Angeles Times

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

STUDY: Ron Paul Never Attacked Romney Once During 20 Debates, But Attacked Romney's Rivals 39 Times — In recent days, attention has focused on the unusual relationship between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, who are purportedly competing against each other for the Republican presidential nomination.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, USA Today, The Daily Caller and iOwnTheWorld.com

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: American Prospect, GOP 12, Firedoglake, Associated Press and Outside the Beltway

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
Warren Buffett: ‘It Is A Myth’ That U.S. Corporate Taxes Are High

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, The Raw Story and Campaign 2012

American Prospect:
Where Does Obama Stand?

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos and ABCNEWS

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

Discussion: weaskamerica.com, Politico, Hot Air, Bloomberg, The Other McCain, American Spectator, Outside the Beltway, Detroit Free Press, Washington Post, The New Republic, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine and CNN

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum adviser says Romney will be hurt even if Santorum loses Michigan

Discussion: Hot Air and CNN

John Horton / Metro:

1 student killed, several hurt in shooting at Chardon High School; suspect in custody — One student died after the shooting this morning at Chardon High School, police said. — Police are not releasing names. But Junior Nate Mueller, who said his ear was grazed by a bullet, identified the shooter as T. J. Lane.

Discussion: This Just In, The Lede, msnbc.com, The Wire, Hot Air, Mediaite, FOX8.com, Wake up America and The PJ Tatler

Connor Kiesel / WEWS-TV:

Police: 1 dead, 4 injured, gunman in custody in Chardon High School shooting — CHARDON, Ohio - Chardon Police Chief Timothy McKenna said at noon that one student had died following a shooting at Chardon High School Monday morning. — Four other students were injured and a student gunman was in custody.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Los Angeles Times and UrbanGrounds

Ted Achladis / FOX8.com:
CHARDON HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: Family of Deceased Student ‘Shocked’

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

Why Are People So Averse To Jury Duty? … - Why Has the Syrian Uprising Been Such a Dud on Facebook and Twitter? - Finally, New Laws That Give Nannies and Maids Real Legal Rights - The Best Acceptance Speech From Last Night's Oscars - Cash Is Inconvenient, Dirty, and Covered With Germs.

Discussion: American Prospect, The Barrometer and Mother Jones

Amie Parnes / Ballot Box:
Obama swipes at Santorum, says college not a ‘partisan’ issue

Discussion: Politico and CNN

David Weigel / Slate:
We Don't Need No Education, We Don't Need No Thought Control

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

2012 or Never — Republicans are worried this election could be their last chance to stop history. This is fear talking. But not paranoia. — Of the various expressions of right-wing hysteria that have flowered over the past three years—goldbuggery, birtherism, death panels at home …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Prospect, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway and Patterico's Pontifications

Washington Post:

Bob Kerrey changes his mind, will run for Senate, source says — Former senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) has changed his mind and plans to run for the open Senate seat in Nebraska, according to a senior Democratic aide. — The aide said Kerrey has called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to inform him of his plans.

Discussion: Ballot Box, ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Caucus, Hot Air and Hotline On Call

New York Times:

Violent Uproar in Afghanistan Casts Shadow on U.S. Pullout — WASHINGTON — American officials sought to reassure both Afghanistan's government and a domestic audience on Sunday that the United States remained committed to the war after the weekend killing of two American military officers inside …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, JustOneMinute, Via Meadia, Campaign 2012, Israpundit, DownWithTyranny!, Washington Post and Althouse

Javed Hamdard / Washington Post:
Karzai urges Afghans to avoid violent retaliation over Koran burnings

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, RedState, Attackerman, The Huffington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal

GMIC:
Joint Statement by the Delegations Assigned to Probe Bagram Incident

Discussion: The Right Scoop, The Gateway Pundit, CNSNews, The Jawa Report, BLACKFIVE, The PJ Tatler and Verum Serum

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: Balloon Juice, Booman Tribune, The Obama Diary, Washington Monthly, Toronto Star, Crooks and Liars and Dependable Renegade

Sarah B. Boxer / CBS News:
Romney: I have friends who own NASCAR teams

Discussion: Firedoglake, Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CBS Dallas, BAGnewsNotes, Wonkette and Los Angeles Times

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

Santorum Makes Case for Religion in Public Sphere — TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — With two days left before the high-stakes Republican primaries in Arizona and Michigan, Rick Santorum delivered a full-throated defense of religion in public life on Sunday, appealing to the social conservatives who have revived his presidential campaign.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Political Carnival, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, The Maddow Blog, Law Blog, The Caucus, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

TransCanada Corp. to begin construction of Keystone pipeline — TransCanada Corp. said Monday it plans to begin building a major portion of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline despite the Obama administration's decision to reject a key permit for the project.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and MarketWatch

Phillip Matier / San Francisco Chronicle:

Sex-tape stunner in Nadia Lockyer case — There's a shocking twist in the saga of Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer and the incident at a Newark hotel that landed her in the hospital and a male acquaintance under police scrutiny. — We're told that a sex tape of Nadia Lockyer …

Discussion: Clayton Cramer's Blog

Jan Jan Party ID / PR Newswire:

Diane Sawyer, Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams are America's Favorite News Personalities — Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Nancy Grace are least favorite — Decades ago there were just a few names that dominated the news world. Everyone knew who Walter Conkrite, David Brinkley and Chet Huntley were.

Discussion: Politico and ThinkProgress