memeorandum: Santorum adviser on Michigan: ‘We have already won’ (Rick Santorum/CNN)

12:50 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.

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, CBS News, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire and Associated Press

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: Ballot Box, The Hill, Washington Post, USA Today, The Mahablog, msnbc.com, The Spectacle Blog, Shakesville, Campaign 2012, JunkScience.com and Politico

Rick Santorum / CNN:

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, The Hill and Los Angeles 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, 2012 Decoded, Metro, ABCNEWS, CNN, The Charlotte Observer, The Hill, Politico, Washington Post, msnbc.com, The Page and Mediaite

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: Washington Monthly, The Hill, Campaign 2012, LifeNews.com, Wizbang 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: Firedoglake, American Prospect, GOP 12 and Outside the Beltway

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

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

CNN:
GOP voters split over Romney, Santorum, new poll shows

Discussion: Politico and The Agonist

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

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

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: High stakes

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Big Government, Fox News and The Political Carnival

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

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill and Politico

John Horton / Metro:

5 students hurt in shooting at Chardon High School; suspect in custody — CHARDON, Ohio — Five students have been injured in a shooting this morning at Chardon High School. — According to the Geauga County Sheriff's Office and the FBI, a suspect has been arrested.

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

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 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: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, The Caucus, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Nia-Malika Henderson / Washington Post:
Rick Santorum presses culture wars attack

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, USA Today, ABCNEWS and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Dan Hinkel / Chicago Tribune:

Louis Farrakhan warns of racial hatred that could lead to attempts to kill President Obama — Nation of Islam leader in Chicago to speak at annual event — In a fiery lecture to thousands of followers of the Nation of Islam on Sunday in Chicago, Minister Louis Farrakhan warned that racial hatred …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Michelle Malkin, Don Surber, Questions and Observations, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Will Bush v. Gore make an election-year return? — Tracie Hunter is a Democrat whose still-unsettled 2010 election contest with her Republican opponent will be decided by a legal battle over a batch of disputed and uncounted votes. — Irony alert: One of her legal lifelines is the decision …

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal:
EPA Air Rules Head to Court

Discussion: ThinkProgress, InsideClimate News and Law Blog

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: American Prospect and Patterico's Pontifications

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, Crooks and Liars, Toronto Star, Balloon Juice and Dependable Renegade

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!!!”

Alan Dershowitz / NY Daily News:

The odious ‘Israel first’ libel — Attacks against AIPAC are a disgrace — The author says that it is deeply reprehensible to suggest that American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. — It's the kind of virulent hate speech you'd expect to find on a neo-Nazi website …

Discussion: protein wisdom and Hot Air

David Carr / New York Times:

Blurred Line Between Espionage and Truth — Last Wednesday in the White House briefing room, the administration's press secretary, Jay Carney, opened on a somber note, citing the deaths of Marie Colvin and Anthony Shadid, two reporters who had died “in order to bring truth” while reporting in Syria.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Nasser Karimi / Associated Press:

Iran state TV says Oscar win victory over Israel — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran trumpeted the Islamic Republic's first foreign film Oscar win Monday as a triumph over archfoe Israel - even as audiences in Israel packed theaters to watch the movie that beat their country's entry at the Academy Awards.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Slate, Guardian and Weasel Zippers