memeorandum: Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 (Jeffrey M. Jones/Gallup)

7:50 PM ET, January 9, 2012

Top Items:

Romney at Bain: Big Gains, Some Busts — Mitt Romney's political foes are stepping up attacks based on his time running investment firm Bain Capital, tagging him with making a fortune from the rougher side of American capitalism—even as Mr. Romney says his Bain tenure shows he knows how to build businesses.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Gingrich Swift Boats Romney — There is an informal set of rules governing attacks in the presidential primary campaigns, so as to keep things within the healthy, winnowing spirit of Darwinian competition, and away from dangerous subversion of the eventual nominee.

Discussion: The Caucus, New York Times, The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Political Mojo and Applesauce

Michelle Malkin:

The abysmal incompetence of the non-Romneys; Huntsman, Gingrich, Perry all go Occupier; Santorum declines — Sigh. Let me say that again: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. — If you were unfortunate enough to watch Saturday night's GOP debate in New Hampshire, you saw a pageant of feckless non-Romneys fail …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Ballot Box, The Caucus, NationalJournal.com, Campaign 2012, Business Insider, The Politico and The Lonely Conservative

Reuters:

Mitt Romney and the Bain bomb — NASHUA, N.H. — Forget his specific rivals. The biggest threat to Mitt Romney is hitting now and set to fully detonate in South Carolina: it's the Bain bomb. — While conservatives look unlikely to unite around one alternative to Romney …

Discussion: CNN, The Caucus, The Politico, About.com US Liberal Politics, Swampland, TBogg, The PJ Tatler and The Right Sphere

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Newt Goes Full ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Against Romney

Discussion: News Corpse, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice and Indecision Forever

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Romney Waves Away Opponents' Intensifying Attacks

Discussion: The Caucus, Firedoglake and Washington Examiner

The Caucus:
Gingrich's Own Close Tie to Buyout Industry

Discussion: Hot Air, The Page and DealBook

ABCNEWS:
Perry Lambasts Romney For Handing Out Pink Slips

Discussion: Washington Post, Boston Herald, The Caucus, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Pajama Pundit and Campaign 2012

Christi Parsons / Los Angeles Times:

William Daley to step down as Obama's chief of staff — White House Chief of Staff William Daley, left, confers with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney as President Barack Obama addresses the media in the briefing room of the White Hous. (Win McNamee/Getty Images / December 8, 2011)

Discussion: Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, American Prospect, Campaign 2012, Crooks and Liars, Wonkette, Weasel Zippers, Michelle Malkin, The Enterprise Blog, Business Insider, Nice Deb, emptywheel and New York Post

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Daley to leave White House — White House Chief of Staff William Daley will step down from his post at the end of the month, according to a senior administration official. — Daley will be replaced by Jack Lew, head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). — Daley submitted a letter of resignation to Obama last week.

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and The PJ Tatler

Mark Landler / The Caucus:
Lew to Replace Daley as White House Chief of Staff

Discussion: News Desk, A plain blog about politics, Political Mojo and Washington Wire

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Daley to step down as chief of staff

Discussion: CNN and Outside the Beltway

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

‘I like being able to fire people’ — Mitt Romney's detractors in both parties are eager to point out one of the more glaring problems with the former governor's background: he's put thousands of Americans out of work. — And with that push in mind, Romney's critics could hardly believe …

Discussion: The Caucus, The Impolitic, The TrogloPundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and Towleroad News #gay

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Romney didn't really say he enjoys firing people

Discussion: The Hill, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Hot Air, Campaign 2012 and Outside the Beltway

ABCNEWS:
Romney Likes ‘Being Able to Fire People’

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, The New Republic, ThinkProgress and The Daily Caller

Byron Tau / The Politico:
Obama spokesman: ‘!!!’ — Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt tweets …

Discussion: American Prospect and The Raw Story

Laura Conaway / The Maddow Blog:
And Mitt Romney keeps on talking

Discussion: Washington Monthly, USA Today, msnbc.com, New York Magazine, Wake up America and The Caucus

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
Romney Firing Remarks Draw Criticism From Huntsman

Discussion: Jezebel, GOP 12, The Loyal Opposition, Wonkette and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Santina Leuci / ABCNEWS:

Todd Palin Endorses Newt Gingrich — ABC News' Santina Leuci and Z. Byron Wolf report: — Sarah Palin's husband is endorsing Newt Gingrich for president, Todd Palin told ABC News today. — But Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and John McCain's 2008 Republican running mate …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …, Tales from the Trail, Rush Limbaugh, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, CNN, Mediaite, Campaign 2012, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Washington Post, The Right Scoop, The Raw Story, Wake up America and Conservatives4Palin

Matthew Breen / Advocate:

Gayest Cities in America, 2012 — It's no secret that megalopolises New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles have robust LGBT life — and we've even heard tell of little queer hoods like the Castro and P-Town. This isn't that list. — There's the official census with information …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Truthdig, Knoxville News-Sentinel and Joe. My. God.

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 — More Americans identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27% — PRINCETON, NJ — The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year …

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Hit & Run, National Review, The Politico, The PJ Tatler, Taylor Marsh, Questions and Observations, United Republic, The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice and Shakesville

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

GOP Voters Still Unenthused About Presidential Field — Romney Ahead Nationally, Santorum Gains Ground — OVERVIEW — On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Republican voters continue to express mixed views of the party's presidential field. Roughly half (51%) of Republican …

Discussion: 2012 Decoded, Taegan Goddard's … and The Politico

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:

Supreme Court grapples with messy Texas redistricting case — The Supreme Court justices grappled to find a way to resolve a messy Texas redistricting case during oral arguments Monday morning, presenting then knocking down a variety of small-bore solutions to reach an interim map for Texas's congressional and state-level elections.

Discussion: CNN

Robin Bravender / The Politico:
SCOTUS upholds foreign money ban

Discussion: Election Law Blog

American Prospect: Battle of the Supremes — The Montana Supreme Court …

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:

Media mob chases Ron Paul from campaign stop in New Hampshire — MANCHESTER, N.H. — A campaign stop at a New Hampshire eatery unraveled into a bit of a circus when the media scrum chasing Ron Paul apparently became too much for the 76-year-old Texas congressman to handle.

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, FiveThirtyEight, Business Insider, The Atlantic Online, The Other McCain and The Lonely Conservative

Michael Barbaro / The Caucus:
Paul Cuts Off CNN, Again

Discussion: Slate, Washington Post and The Hill

Torie Bosch / Slate:

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie Responds to Female Hecklers With Offensive Oral Sex Joke … - New Hampshire Debate: Gingrich Attacks Romney for His “Pious Baloney” - CBS Stakes Its Claim as the Adult Contemporary of the Network Morning Shows — Chris Christie Responds to Female Hecklers With Lame …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The PJ Tatler, National Review and CNN

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Mitt Romney Campaign Disavows Pro-Gay Rights Flyer From 2002 … GOP Debate , Mitt Romney , Republican Debate , Video , New Hampshire Primary , Romney Gay Rights , Romney New Hampshire , Mitt Romney 2012 , New Hampshire Primary 2012 , New Hampshire Romney , Social Issues , Politics News

Discussion: The Hill, The Other McCain, ThinkProgress, Politics, Poliglot, Datechguy's Blog, New York Magazine, Holy Bullies …, Steve Rothaus' Gay …, Brad DeLong, Towleroad News #gay, BuzzFeed and Joe. My. God.

Richard Black / BBC:

Carbon emissions ‘will defer Ice Age’ — The climate, if not species, of an Ice Age “ought” to return within 1,500 years — Human emissions of carbon dioxide will defer the next Ice Age, say scientists. — The last Ice Age ended about 11,500 years ago, and when the next one should begin has not been entirely clear.

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, News Corpse, Via Meadia, Pirate's Cove, The Lonely Conservative, Dot Earth and Nature

Reuters:

Merkel, Sarkozy press for quick Greek solution — (Reuters) - Germany and France warned Greece on Monday it will get no more bailout funds until it agrees with creditor banks on a bond swap and pressed for an early deal to avert a potential default in the euro zone's most debt-stricken nation.

Discussion: Truthdig