memeorandum: Romney, The Inevitable? (The Note) (Michael Falcone/ABCNEWS)

11:10 AM ET, March 5, 2012

Top Items:

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC/WSJ poll: Primary season takes ‘corrosive’ toll on GOP and its candidates — As another round of voting takes place this week in the Republican presidential race - with 11 states holding Super Tuesday contests - a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that the combative …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Los Angeles Times, ThinkProgress, The Maddow Blog, Zandar Versus The Stupid, American Power, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Confidential and Taegan Goddard's …

Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:

Romney Advances as Obama Gains — Mitt Romney has regained the lead in the Republican presidential contest thanks to new support from conservatives, while evidence emerges that the bitter nomination fight has damaged the GOP candidates' standing among the wider public, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

Discussion: American Prospect, Hot Air and Daily Kos

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Split decision for Super Tuesday — The news is good for Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and bad for Rick Santorum in PPP's final polls of the three biggest Super Tuesday states. — In Ohio Romney leads with 37% to 36% for Santorum, 15% for Gingrich, and 11% for Ron Paul.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Politico, Guardian, Daily Kos, CNN, Marist Poll and msnbc.com

Quinnipiac University:

Romney Has Momentum In Ohio GOP Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; But Presidential Primary Too Close To Call — The Ohio Republican presidential primary remains too close to call, but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has the momentum, and 34 percent of likely Republican primary voters …

Discussion: GOP 12, New York Post, Metro, American Research Group, Tucson Citizen, The Week, Hot Air, Business Insider, NY Daily News and Washington Post

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

State-by-State Analysis: Romney Could Win Majority of Super Tuesday Delegates — Although the Super Tuesday states are a mix of favorable and unfavorable terrain for Mitt Romney, his situation has improved enough that he could be on track to win an outright majority of the delegates on the night.

Discussion: Hit & Run, americanthinker.com, PJ Media and Philly.com

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Damaged goods?

Discussion: New York Times, Macon Telegraph, The Political Carnival and ABCNEWS

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
Romney, The Inevitable? (The Note)

Discussion: GOP 12, Daily Oklahoman and Patterico's Pontifications

Mj Lee / Politico:
Newt Gingrich blasts ‘rich enough’ Mitt Romney on gas

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:
Polls show Romney gaining nationally, pulling ahead in Ohio

Discussion: Shakesville and Rasmussen Reports

Justin Sink / The Hill: Gingrich: Romney's ‘rich enough’ to not have to worry about high gas prices

Erik Schelzig / ABCNEWS:
Newt Gingrich: Obama's Goal Is ‘$8 or $9 a Gallon’ Gas

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Firedoglake and Washington Post

Sen. Tom Coburn / Daily Oklahoman:
Mitt Romney best equipped to solve problems facing our nation

Discussion: CNN, Ballot Box, Washington Post, The Caucus, Marist Poll and Hot Air

Daily Kos:

I've spent the past 2 days trying to convince my 16 y/o she is not a “slut” **Updated x 3 — I can hardly type, can hardly put this into words! I have been writing and rewriting this because if I don't break down in tears, I get so angry that I can't think straight!

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Questions and Observations, pandagon.net, Booman Tribune, Pirate's Cove, Addicting Info, The Last Tradition, Hullabaloo and The Reality-Based Community

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Limbaugh Advertisers Flee Show Amid Storm — Emboldened by Rush Limbaugh's public apology over the weekend to a law school student whom he had called a “slut” and a “prostitute,” critics of the radio talk show host are intensifying their online campaign against his advertisers.

Discussion: Washington Post, Media Decoder, The Maddow Blog, Althouse, Runnin' Scared, Poynter and The Huffington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Pamela Geller Spews Hatred at Sandra Fluke: ‘Banging It Five Times a Day’ — Rush Limbaugh may have “apologized” (disclaimer: not a real apology) for his caveman comments about Sandra Fluke, but the right wing blogosphere continues to spew torrents of venom at her.

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Huffington Post, Towleroad News #gay, Balloon Juice and The Raw Story

Tim Mak / Politico:

Timothy Dolan to Rush Limbaugh: ‘Do it civilly’ — The Archbishop of New York admonished Rush Limbaugh on Sunday, asserting that the campaign against the Obama administration's birth control mandate shouldn't be “pugnacious,” according to a report. — “Whatever we do, and however strongly we feel …

Discussion: CNN

Jennifer H. Cunningham / NY Daily News:
Cardinal tweaks Limbaugh, urges fight against birth control policy to stay civil

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
Slutgate: Contact Carbonite — Drop Ed Schultz UPDATE: 7 Companies to Boycott

Discussion: American Spectator, Dean's World, thump whip, Riehl World View, The Other McCain, The Jane Dough, Betsy's Page, The Lonely Conservative, iOwnTheWorld.com and Doug Ross

Will Dunham / Reuters:
Ron Paul unimpressed with Limbaugh apology

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Balloon Juice and NewsBusters.org

Tommy / The Right Sphere:
Is This Why Carbonite Dumped Rush But Not Ed Schultz?

Discussion: Datechguy's Blog and The PJ Tatler

Tali Arbel / Associated Press:
A 7th advertiser pulls out of Limbaugh's show

Discussion: The Other McCain, Villainous Company, The Week, Michelle Malkin, Sky Dancing, ABCNEWS, The Mahablog and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Andrew Breitbart / BREITBART.COM:

THE VETTING, PART I: BARACK'S LOVE SONG TO ALINSKY — Prior to his passing, Andrew Breitbart said that the mission of the Breitbart empire was to exemplify the free and fearless press that our Constitution protects—but which, increasingly, the mainstream media denies us. — “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Everything Is Different Now - the Breitbartocalypse Is Upon Us — Before his death, Andrew Breitbart had been promising a true BOMBSHELL revelation about Barack Obama, a STUNNER that would finally put an end to Obama's reign of terror. Some whispered darkly that this may have been the reason …

Discussion: Pat Dollard

John Bresnahan / Politico:

White House to Congress Dems: Expect no money — President Barack Obama has a bleak message for House and Senate Democrats this year when it comes to campaign cash: You're on your own. — Democratic congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi …

Discussion: Don Surber, Hotline On Call, americanthinker.com, Taegan Goddard's … and Right Wing News

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

States of Depression — The economic news is looking better lately. But after previous false starts — remember “green shoots”? — it would be foolish to assume that all is well. And in any case, it's still a very slow economic recovery by historical standards.

Discussion: American Prospect, Business Insider, Daily Kos, US Politics, Paul Krugman and Economist's View

Michael Winerip / New York Times:

Hard-Working Teachers, Sabotaged When Student Test Scores Slip — For 15 years, Anna Allanbrook has been the principal of Public School 146 in Brooklyn, one of the highest-achieving elementary schools in the city. In that time, she has never had a more talented and hard-working bunch than the current team of fifth-grade teachers.

Discussion: Joanne Jacobs