The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco  —  How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama?  —  GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected.

Newt Gingrich to gay Iowan: Vote for Obama  —  Gingrich and his wife Callista at tonight's event in Oskaloosa.  (Jason Clayworth/The Register)  —  Oskaloosa, Ia.  - Newt Gingrich told a gay man and longtime resident of Oskaloosa here today that he should vote for President Obama.

You, sir, are no Teddy Roosevelt  —  In a speech to be delivered in Bedford, N.H., this evening, Mitt Romney will push back explicitly on Barack Obama's recent invocation of Teddy Roosevelt in a speech the president used to frame the 2012 campaign in terms of “fairness.”  Here's what Romney will say:

Paul now top pick in new ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll, but voters still uncertain  —  AMES, Iowa — A new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of 333 likely Iowa Republican caucus goers finds Ron Paul in the top spot among GOP presidential candidates with 27.5 percent, followed closely by Newt Gingrich with 25.3 percent.

Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper  —  According to “The View's” Whoopi Goldberg, communism is a “great concept” that “makes perfect sense” on paper.  The comedienne and co-host made the rather astounding comment on Tuesday while discussing the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.

Gary Johnson to drop out of GOP primary to run as Libertarian  —  Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned.  —  The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire …

Obama Places Himself on the Continuum of Greatness  —  There was an initially-overlooked moment in President Obama's recent interview with 60 Minutes.  Excerpts from the interview were played on television, and CBS posted the interview in its entirety on its web site.

Many Americans Dissatisfied With All Presidential Candidates  —  Nearly half say there is no candidate who would make a good president  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are divided when asked if there is any candidate running who they think would make a good president, with 48% saying yes …

Romney Tortures Jennifer Rubin  —  Romney is making life hard for his Republican Jewish fans.  —  I've written before about the agonizing plight facing Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post blogger.  On the one hand, Rubin's deepest roots lie in ultra-hawkish pro-Israel neoconservatism.

A Matter of Trusts  —  What a lonely dissent in a trusts case tells us about Sonia Sotomayor.  —  If you've ever found yourself in a debate with a room full of brilliant people at the end of which not a single mind is changed, you know what it's like to be a Supreme Court Justice on the losing end of an 8-1 decision.

Romney has six.  Jon Huntsman has four.  And Rick Perry has one.  —  It may not be like capturing the upcoming Iowa caucuses, but Mitt Romney at least wins among Republican presidential candidates for having the most U.S. presidents in his distant family history with six.

South American states ban Falklands vessels from ports  —  Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which lie 400 miles from its coast  —  A South American trading bloc has agreed to close its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag.