Top Items:
Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
Odds of a Brokered Convention Are Increasing — We're finally close enough to Super Tuesday to get a sense of how the overall delegate count might work out in the GOP primary. The end result: Assuming that none of the four candidates drops out of the race, it looks increasingly …
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Ross Douthat / Campaign Stops:
What Mitt Lost While He Won — In the end, Mitt Romney didn't lose the Michigan primary, and he didn't lose his near-lock on the Republican nomination. Rick Santorum isn't going away, but a solid victory in Michigan and an easy win in Arizona leaves the Romney campaign's basic math more or less intact.
Discussion:
p m carpenter's commentary, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post and Prairie Weather
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
G.O.P. Greek Tragedy — Rick should scat. — Mitt Romney needs to be left alone to limp across the finish line, so he can devote his full time and attention to losing to President Obama. — Robo-Romney, who pulled out victories in his home state and in Arizona, and Sanctorum are still in a race to the bottom.
Discussion:
The Caucus, The PJ Tatler, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos and Connecting.the.Dots
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Santorum Loses Catholic Vote—But Did He Ever Have It? — As they awaited the final results from Michigan, probably the single biggest topic of conversation in the chattering classes last night was the shocking news from the exit polls that Rick Santorum had lost Michigan Catholics to Mitt Romney by a 44-37 margin.
Discussion:
Gawker, hanoverhenry's Diary, The New Republic and Outside the Beltway
Rick Santorum / CNN:
Santorum camp: Michigan's a tie
Santorum camp: Michigan's a tie
Discussion:
Mediaite, Big Government and Riehl World View
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Mitt Romney 2008 Michigan Victory Speech Mentioned Getting Health Care For All Americans
Mitt Romney 2008 Michigan Victory Speech Mentioned Getting Health Care For All Americans
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Right Scoop and Gawker
Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Romney's new Web ad says Obama's ‘Kill Romney’ strategy failed
Romney's new Web ad says Obama's ‘Kill Romney’ strategy failed
Discussion:
CNN
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Ron Paul calls Romney a ‘flip-flopper’ in new ad
Ron Paul calls Romney a ‘flip-flopper’ in new ad
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Winning ugly — Romney wins ugly in Michigan... But that win silences the talk about a white knight riding to the GOP's rescue... February took a toll on Romney... Did Santorum lose Michigan more than Romney winning it?... On to Super Tuesday... And Snowe's retirement gives Democrats …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, neo-neocon, Wake up America and Power Line
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Aliyah Shahid / NY Daily News:
Rick Santorum: I regret saying John F. Kennedy speech on religion made me want to throw up
Rick Santorum: I regret saying John F. Kennedy speech on religion made me want to throw up
Discussion:
The Spectacle Blog and ABCNEWS
Meghashyam Mali / Ballot Box:
Poll finds Santorum up by double-digits in Ohio
Poll finds Santorum up by double-digits in Ohio
Discussion:
CNN, Indecision Forever and The Moderate Voice
Maggie Haberman / Politico:
5 takeaways from Arizona and Michigan
5 takeaways from Arizona and Michigan
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove, A Certain Enthusiasm and Algemeiner.com
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney talks tough on China during Ohio visit
Mitt Romney talks tough on China during Ohio visit
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Guardian, Daily Kos and American Power
Max Abelson / Bloomberg:
Wall Street Bonus Drop Means Trading Aspen for Discount Cereal — Andrew Schiff was sitting in a traffic jam in California this month after giving a speech at an investment conference about gold. He turned off the satellite radio, got out of the car and screamed a profanity.
Discussion:
TBogg, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Gawker, Boing Boing, Gothamist, Sky Dancing and Eschaton
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Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Are the Rich Completely Undeserving of Sympathy? — I saw a fair amount of chortling this morning about this Bloomberg piece on wealthy financial-industry types who are having to cut back because of plummeting bonuses. And to be sure, some of the cuts are in the “Call me a Waaaah-mbulance” category: can't go to Aspen any more?
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice
Religion News Service:
Franklin Graham apologizes for questioning Obama's faith — WASHINGTON (RNS) Evangelist Franklin Graham apologized Tuesday (Feb. 28) to President Obama for questioning his Christian faith and said religion has “nothing to do” with Graham's decision not to support Obama's re-election.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, USA Today, The Democratic Daily and Balloon Juice
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Tim Mak / Politico:
Report: Rev. Franklin Graham apologizes to Obama
Report: Rev. Franklin Graham apologizes to Obama
Discussion:
News Desk, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Political Carnival and Religion Dispatches
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Democrats' nightmare scenario — If Republicans regain the Senate, will they seek to reform the filibuster, sweeping away an obstacle that bedeviled Dems and making it far easier for them to enact their own agenda with a simple Senate majority? — Matt Steinglass argues that the GOP …
Donovan Slack / Reuters:
Obama lunches with Hill leaders — President Barack Obama lunched privately with congressional leaders Wednesday to talk about jobs and the economy — the first such meeting since last summer's debt-ceiling negotiations dissolved. — The group was limited to only the top congressional leaders …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Campaign 2012 and Politico
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Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner describes Obama meeting with bipartisan leaders as constructive
Boehner describes Obama meeting with bipartisan leaders as constructive
Discussion:
Algemeiner.com
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Will Olympia Snowe Join Americans Elect? — Olympia Snowe's retirement statement seemed like it dropped a huge hint, and I'm surprised it hasn't received any attention: … This sounds exactly like the kind of rhetoric emanating from Americans Elect, the third-party group that believes …
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
North Korea Agrees to Suspend Nuclear Work — WASHINGTON — North Korea agreed to suspend nuclear weapons tests and uranium enrichment and to allow international inspectors to verify and monitor activities at its main reactor, the State Department and the North's official news agency announced on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Algemeiner.com and Truthdig
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Victoria Nuland / US Department of State:
U.S.-DPRK Bilateral Discussions
U.S.-DPRK Bilateral Discussions
Discussion:
World Now, News Desk, American Spectator and msnbc.com
Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
House subcommittee votes to repeal healthcare reform law's ‘death panel’ — Bipartisan legislation to repeal the healthcare law's cost-control board sailed through a House panel on Wednesday, raising pressure on the Senate to take up the bill and dealing President Obama a political blow.
Discussion:
Hot Air, LifeNews.com and The PJ Tatler
Michelle Boorstein / Washington Post:
D.C. archdiocese: Denying Communion to lesbian at funeral was against ‘policy’ — Deep in grief, Barbara Johnson stood first in the line for Communion at her mother's funeral Saturday morning. But the priest in front of her immediately made it clear that she would not receive the sacramental bread and wine.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Daily Caller and WJLA-TV
Stephen Galloway / Hollywood Reporter:
Whatever Happened to Ted Turner? — The “Mouth of the South” is no longer as he devotes his time (and $1 billion) to the U.N., jets between 28 homes and four girlfriends, misses Jane Fonda and opens up to THR about Rupert, Jerry and his abuse as a child. Says a friend: “He's definitely changed.”
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »
Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Netanyahu will ask Obama to threaten Iran strike — Intensive preparations underway to ensure a successful meeting between the two leaders next week in Washington, despite lack of trust between two sides. — Get Haaretz on iPhone — Get Haaretz on Android
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS and LewRockwell.com Blog
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Sacramento Bee:
Support for gay marriage takes dramatic leap in California, new poll shows — A new poll shows gay marriage has arrived in California - in public opinion if not in state lawbooks. — Golden State registered voters now favor same-sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, The Daily Dish, Towleroad News #gay, Steve Rothaus' Gay …, Joe. My. God. and Law Blog
Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Bernanke warns lawmakers nation headed for ‘massive fiscal cliff’ — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress Wednesday it risked taking the nation over a “massive fiscal cliff” at the end of the year. — The central bank's boss warned expiring tax cuts and spending cuts set …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
Obama makes a play for Scalia — Not surprisingly, the federal government quotes that opinion a lot in its court briefs. — Sutton hinted that he didn't like the mandate but said Supreme Court precedent favors a growing expansion of Commerce Clause power and that Congress has latitude to address national problems.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland