Obama up 5 on Romney nationally  —  PPP's first national poll of 2012 finds Barack Obama with his best standing against Mitt Romney since last May, right after the killing of Osama bin Laden.  Obama leads Romney 49-44.  —  It's not as if Obama's suddenly become popular.

Democrats file 1 million signatures for Walker recall  —  By Patrick Marley, Jason Stein and Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - Democrats and organizers filed petitions Tuesday afternoon with more than a million signatures as they sought to force a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker …

Chris Matthews Accuses Newt Gingrich Of Racially Charged Use Of The Name ‘Juan’  —  A big moment of last night's debate came when moderator Juan Williams and Newt Gingrich argued over Gingrich's comments that many have seen as condescending towards blacks.  However, Williams …

TRANSCRIPT: Fox News Channel & Wall Street Journal Debate in South Carolina  —  Here's a full transcript from tonight's GOP debate in South Carolina:  —  BAIER: Thanks, Bill, and welcome to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and the Republican presidential debate.

Romney, Dewhurst lead in Texas  —  Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country.  When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points.  Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%.

New Polls Show Signs Of Serious Vulnerability For President Obama  —  There are plenty of Democrats and even some Republicans who view the Republican primary as a gift to President Obama.  Sixteen debates, web videos and “you can't even make this up” candidate behavior …

South Carolina Diarist  —  Sumter, S.C.  —  When I started covering presidential primaries, the best part was getting to know the candidates.  We journalists would ride around in vans and buses with them and get an intimate look at what it's like to endure this soul-destroying process.

Protest Sapped of Cash  —  Occupy Wall Street Freezes Spending on New Projects as Donations Dry Up  —  Occupy Wall Street—the movement built on protesting corporate greed and income inequality—is running out of money.  —  After raising more than $700,000 last fall …

Obama warns left: You won't like budget  —  Top White House officials are warning liberal and labor leaders to brace themselves for President Obama's budget proposal.  —  Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, sought in meetings last week to lift the left's gloom …

Pinkberry co-founder beat homeless man with tire iron, LAPD says  —  One of the founders of the popular Pinkberry yogurt chain is accused by police of chasing down a homeless man and beating him with a tire iron.  —  The incident took place in June 2011 on an off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway …

U.S. drone that crashed in Iran goes miniature  —  A photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps purports to show the RQ-170 drone that was reported crash in December.  (Sepahnews via Associated Press) TEHRAN — For the American government, the crash of the RQ-170 drone in Iran was an embarrassment.

Santorum Staffer Says Women Shouldn't Be President Because It's Against God's Will  —  In an article about the reasons Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign fizzled, the Des Moines Register points to “sexism among conservatives,” singling out an offensive email written by a staffer to Rick Santorum:

An Economic Recovery Is Not Fated for 2013  —  Can this be fixed by 2013?  - Calculated Risk job loss chart Click to see enlarged original at CR  —  I've seen a spate of stories recently suggesting that a economic recovery is fated to happen by 2013, and whoever wins the Presidential election …