memeorandum: Media Matters solicits lawmaker ‘allies’ to steer media coverage (Vince Coglianese/The Daily Caller)

8:35 AM ET, January 27, 2012

Top Items:

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Newt pulls punches in Fla. — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newt Gingrich abandoned his role as Mitt Romney's chief antagonist in Thursday night's presidential debate, going easy on the national GOP front-runner as a third candidate joined the fray in force. — It was Rick Santorum …

Discussion: New York Times, Connecting.the.Dots, Reuters, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN and Ballot Box

New York Times:

Romney Stays On the Offense With Gingrich — Newt Gingrich, left, and Mitt Romney debating Thursday. Mr. Romney is fighting to prevent Mr. Gingrich from making inroads. — The competition between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich dominated the last debate before the Florida primary …

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, The Caucus, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice, Ballot Box and The Page

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:

Romney takes the fight to Gingrich in Republican debate in Florida — Mitt Romney turned in his feistiest debate performance of the campaign Thursday night, hitting Newt Gingrich hard and repeatedly and flustering the former House Speaker. — Romney counter-punched effectively and seemed …

Discussion: CNN and The Politico

Ginger Gibson / The Politico:

Newt Gingrich gets mad — MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Newt Gingrich is hopping mad. And he's not going to take it. — Under siege from Mitt Romney and conservative elites who seem to be conspiring against his candidacy, Gingrich abandoned his stump speech on Thursday in favor of an angry tirade …

Discussion: Campaign Stops, The Caucus, The Gateway Pundit and Balloon Juice

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Romney paints Gingrich as mentally unstable

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Daily Dish, The Other McCain, RADAMISTO, ABCNEWS, Riehl World View, New York Times and The Caucus

PolitiFact:
Spanish-language ad says Newt Gingrich said Spanish is “the language of the ghetto”

Discussion: National Review, Betsy's Page, Los Angeles Times, Washington Wire, The Reality-Based Community, Mediaite, Guardian, New York Magazine, Univision News Tumblr, 2012 Decoded, The Caucus and ABCNEWS

Scogginsj / CNN:
Gingrich wrong about his claim offering ABC character witnesses

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and National Review

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
GOP hopefuls to battle at last debate before Florida primary

Discussion: RedState, Washington Wire, The Reaction, Wonkette, NO QUARTER, The Gateway Pundit, HousingWire, Firedoglake, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, CBS News, Wake up America and 2012 Election Central

Ron Fournier / 2012 Decoded: 4 Sentences: Why Tonight's Debate Matters

Newsmax Wires / NewsMax.com:
InsiderAdvantage Poll: Romney Surges to Fla. Lead

Discussion: Firedoglake, Florida Times Union, Washington Wire and The PJ Tatler

Liam Dillon / Voice of San Diego:

Duke to Newt: I've Got Your Back

Discussion: Washington Post, Gawker, The Huffington Post, The Political Carnival, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonkette, The Politico and Balloon Juice

National Review:

Dole Goes Nuclear — The Romney campaign sends along a statement by Bob Dole pasted below. Relations between Dole — an establishment figure in the party — and Gingrich were well known to be tense during the 1990s. Here it is: — I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late.

Jim Meyers / NewsMax.com:

Mike Reagan, Rush Limbaugh Blast Romney — More ways to share... Mixx — Stumbled — LinkedIn — Vine — Buzzflash — Newstrust — Technocrati — Forward Article — Ronald Reagan's eldest son Mike Reagan has issued a statement lambasting Mitt Romney and his supporters …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Caucus, Mediaite and The Politico

Newt Camp / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Newt Gingrich's campaign staff are scratching their heads over the strongly-worded missive sent Gingrich's way by Romney backer and ultimate Republican establishment figure Bob Dole Thursday. — “It's got to be on the top 10 list of the weirdest things he's ever written,” …

Discussion: The New Republic, Political Mojo and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Brendan Smialowski / ABCNEWS:
Bob Dole Has Dagger Out For Newt Gingrich Run

Discussion: Hullabaloo, National Review and Hot Air

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Dole assails Gingrich in plea to conservatives

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Gateway Pundit, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and msnbc.com

Stephanie Pappas / Yahoo! News:

Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice — There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy. — The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, The Gateway Pundit, Firedoglake, iOwnTheWorld.com, Power Line, The Political Carnival, NewsBusters.org blogs, Whiskey Fire and INSTAPUTZ

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:

President Obama: I Want Second Term ‘Badly’ — President Barack Obama today signaled an aggressive tact for his early re-election campaign, critiquing his Republican opponents by name and insisting he's ready to “fight with every fiber of my being” for a second term. — “How much do you want it?”

ABCNEWS:
Exclusive - Obama Says Encounter With Arizona Gov. ‘Blown Out of Proportion’

Discussion: BAGnewsNotes and Weasel Zippers

Adele Hampton / The Hill:
Brewer defends finger pointing at Obama

Discussion: KTAR.com, Washington Post, Hot Air, The Politico, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, RADAMISTO and The PJ Tatler

Pete Souza / ABCNEWS:
Exclusive - Obama to ABC News: ‘I Second-Guess Constantly’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Worst News Story of 2012? — This Reuters hit piece on Marco Rubio-nowadays, when I talk about Rubio, I have to stop and think whether it's Marco or Ricky-is an early contender for the title. Reuters' theme is that Rubio criticizes extravagant federal spending and deficits, but has had financial problems himself.

Discussion: Big Journalism, A plain blog about politics and National Review

Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
Reuters is out with a tough story on Sen. Marco Rubio today …

Discussion: Big Journalism, Campaign 2012, Saint Petersblog and Reuters

Los Angeles Times:

Romney tax returns detail funds not identified in ethics forms — Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walks under a sign during a campaign event at Paramount Printing in Jacksonville, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / January 26, 2012)

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, Washington Post, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, The Impolitic, Wake up America, The Reaction and ThinkProgress

Emma Ross-Thomas / Bloomberg:

Unemployment in Spain Rises to 15-Year High of 22.9% — Spain's unemployment rate rose to 22.9 percent, the highest in 15 years, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to deliver on his election pledge to create jobs in a shrinking economy. — The unemployment rate rose …

Richard Adams / Guardian:

CNN Florida Republican debate - as it happened — • Final debate before key Florida primary sees fiery clashes — • Mitt Romney bests Newt Gingrich over attack ads — • Rick Santorum roasts Romney's record on healthcare — 7.30pm: Tonight's GOP presidential candidates' debate …

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, The Daily Dish, USA Today, News Desk, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice and The Impolitic

Josh White / Washington Post:

Motive of shooter who targeted military sites is unclear — Yonathan Melaku was sneaking through Fort Myer and Arlington National Cemetery, his backpack filled with plastic bags of ammonium nitrate, a notebook containing jihadist messages, and a can of black spray paint.

Discussion: Wizbang, Atlas Shrugs, NewsBusters.org, Jihad Watch and CBS News

Twitter Blog:

Tweets still must flow — One year ago, we posted “The Tweets Must Flow,” in which we said, … As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression. Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there.

Discussion: Guardian, China Real Time Report, Engadget, VentureBeat, Boing Boing, TechCrunch, New York Magazine, Gizmodo and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

David Roberts / Grist:

Clean energy is a wedge issue that favors Democrats — Indiana wind farm. (Photo by clarmaxwell.) — During Obama's State of the Union speech, Democracy Corps ran a dial-test focus group. Fifty swing voters were given devices that let them register approval or disapproval continuously throughout the speech.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:

Gingrich: Gay Marriage a ‘Perfect Example of What I Mean by the Rise of Paganism’ — Yesterday, Newt Gingrich held another conference call for Religious Right supporters, seeking to mobilize them ahead of the Republican primary in Florida. — The call was hosted by Jim Garlow and featured several …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The Republicans' Electoral College Newt-Mare — Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley, U.Va. Center for Politics … In the aftermath of voting in the deeply conservative South Carolina primary, one voter quoted by The Washington Post seemed to summarize what Republicans there were looking for in a candidate:

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Patterico's Pontifications, GOP 12 and Saint Petersblog