Top Items:
Evan McMorris-Santoro / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
Updated at 5:10 EST with audio of the call. — Updated at 6:12pm EST with confirmation that the call did indeed come from the Santorum campaign — LANSING, MI — Rick Santorum's campaign is locked in a tight battle with Mitt Romney ahead of Tuesday's Michigan primary.
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Momentum back toward Santorum in MI? — PPP's final poll in Michigan finds Rick Santorum holding on to the smallest of leads with 38% to 37% for Mitt Romney, 14% for Ron Paul, and 9% for Newt Gingrich. — It's always good to be cautious with one night poll numbers, but momentum seems to be swinging in Santorum's direction.
CNN:
Democratic mischief in Michigan — Washington (CNN) - It's no secret that most Democratic strategists consider Mitt Romney the GOP contender who poses the biggest threat to President Obama. It's also no secret that Michigan, the state where Romney grew up, is a must win for him.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Michigan Forecast Update: Romney's Lead Looks More Tenuous — Since we ran the Michigan numbers early Monday morning, three new polls are out that make the state look more like a true toss-up and less like one that favors Mr. Romney. — Two of the surveys, from Mitchell Research …
Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
Can Rick Santorum Score A Michigan Upset? (The Note) — DETROIT — Rick Santorum's campaign is already declaring victory in Michigan. — Voters are streaming into polling places throughout the state, but we're still many hours away from knowing whether native son Mitt Romney …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, GOP 12 and Metro
Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
Santorum robocall seeks votes from Democrats — As the GOP primary race comes down to the wire in Michigan, Rick Santorum's campaign has a last trick up its sleeve. — The campaign has launched telephone robocalls throughout the state slamming rival Mitt Romney for opposing the auto industry bailout …
Discussion:
Politico, ThinkProgress and GOP 12
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
After Many Momentum Shifts, Michigan Too Close to Call — People sometimes apply the term “tossup” a bit too broadly, using it to refer to anything close enough that they don't want to render a prediction about it. — In Michigan, however, the term is appropriate.
Discussion:
Guardian, MLive.com and Balloon Juice
Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Romney also said he voted in Dem primaries to influence the race — The Romney campaign has been denouncing Democratic efforts - and now those by Rick Santorum - to get Democrats to vote in Michigan's open primary. — Mitt Romney himself called it a “new low” in politics in a round of TV interviews.
Jon Cohen / Washington Post:
Conservatives take dimmer view of Romney ahead of voting
Conservatives take dimmer view of Romney ahead of voting
Discussion:
Boston Globe, msnbc.com and Taegan Goddard's …
New York Times:
Michigan a Testing Ground for Doubt on Romney
Michigan a Testing Ground for Doubt on Romney
Discussion:
Washington Post, Ballot Box, USA Today, The Caucus, ABCNEWS and The Page
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Could crossover voters play spoiler in Michigan?
Could crossover voters play spoiler in Michigan?
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Brains and Eggs, The Caucus and The Raw Story
Politico:
GOP frets over 2012 knife fight — National Republican leaders are voicing increasing dismay over the course of the party's presidential primary, which has fallen into such a negative grind that they warn could cost them the White House. — At the core of their concern is the atmosphere …
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Democrats target likely veep pick Sen. Rubio — Democrats have started to wage a political assault against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and the intensity of their attacks will intensify in the coming weeks. — Senior officials in the Democratic Party anticipate that Mitt Romney will win …
Discussion:
Jammie Wearing Fools
Max Fisher / The Atlantic Online:
Stratfor Is a Joke and So Is Wikileaks for Taking It Seriously — The corporate research firm has branded itself as a CIA-like “global intelligence” firm, but only Julian Assange and some over-paying clients are fooled. — On June 2, 2009, Anya Alfano of Stratfor, which describes itself as a private …
Discussion:
The Yes Men, This Just In and TPM Idea Lab, more at Mediagazer »
Byron Tau / Politico:
ACLU, CAIR call for probe into W.H. funding for Muslim surveillance — The American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are separately calling for investigations into White House funding of a domestic spying program launched by the New York Police Department against Muslim-Americans.
Discussion:
Algemeiner.com and Weasel Zippers
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Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
White House gives blessing to partial Keystone XL construction
White House gives blessing to partial Keystone XL construction
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation, Daily Kos, Politico, ThinkProgress and Power Line
Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Santorum: Gas Prices Caused The 2008 Recession — Dubiously claims gas prices prevented people from paying their mortgages. — LANSING, Michigan—Rick Santorum sharpened his attack on President Barack Obama over rising gas prices, saying high energy prices caused the 2008 recession.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Washington Post, Daniel W. Drezner, Gothamist and Slate
Bill Gertz / Washington Free Beacon:
Trashing Tricare — The Obama administration's proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers' benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials.
Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Newt: We can't fix Afghanistan — Via POLITICO's Emily Schultheis, Newt Gingrich, assessing the problems in the Middle East, had this to say about Afghanistan:
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
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Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Gingrich to Afghanistan: ‘Figure Out How to Live Your Own Miserable Life’
Gingrich to Afghanistan: ‘Figure Out How to Live Your Own Miserable Life’
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Sara A. Carter / Washington Examiner:
Secret memo suggests White House ignored SOS from Iranian opposition — Iranian supporters of defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi demonstrate on June 18, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. Thousands of people have continued to protest in the streets of Tehran during a day of mourning …
Politico:
JOBS Act just what Obama ordered — America has always offered immense opportunity because innovators have had the ability to take risks, work hard and be rewarded for it. Innovators, entrepreneurs and small-business people built the framework for American success, creating legacies lasting generations.
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove
Andrew Frye / Bloomberg:
Buffett: Banks Victimized by Excesses of Ousted Homeowners — Warren Buffett, who controls the biggest shareholding of the No. 1 U.S. mortgage lender, said banks were victimized by some homeowners who refinanced their loans before getting evicted. — “Large numbers of people who have 'lost …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute
John Ingold / Denver Post:
Initiative to legalize marijuana makes ballot in Colorado — Colorado voters in November will decide whether limited possession of marijuana for any purpose should be legalized. — If passed, the initiative would make Colorado the only state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Paul Revoir / Daily Mail:
Christianity gets less sensitive treatment than other religions admits BBC chief — But added that religion as a whole should never receive the same ‘protection and sensitivity’ in the law as race — BBC director-general Mark Thompson has claimed Christianity is treated with far less sensitivity …
Discussion:
Don Surber, The Jawa Report and National Review
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
What's the Matter With ‘Nebraska’? — A frivolous essay underscores the left's serious prejudices. — This column has recently become skeptical of the view—nearly universal on the liberal left but common as well among conservative elites—that Rick Santorum is “unelectable” …
Elizabeth Lopatto / Bloomberg:
Wealthy More Likely to Lie, Cheat: Researchers — Are society's most noble actors found within society's nobility? — That question spurred Paul Piff, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, to explore whether higher social class is linked to higher ideals, he said in a telephone interview.
Discussion:
Guardian and Suburban Guerrilla
Joann Loviglio / Associated Press:
Berenstain Bears co-creator Jan Berenstain dies — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jan Berenstain, who with her husband, Stan, wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers and their parents for 50 years, has died. She was 88. — Berenstain, a longtime resident …
Discussion:
Wonkette, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, The Mary Sue, Gothamist and Boing Boing