The Commentariat -- February 9, 2012

My column in the New York Times eXaminer is on Nicholas Kristof's riff on Charles Murray's book Coming Apart, etc. The NYTX front page is here. You can contribute to NYTX here.

Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post: The White House thinks the contraception battle is a political winner. Here's why:

... NEW. BUT Jessica Yellin & Brian Keilar of CNN: "... the White House is working on a way to thread the needle on a new health care policy which will require all employers-including religious institutions to cover contraception in their health insurance plans.... The administration is especially interested in the Hawaii model, in which female employees of religious institutions can purchase contraceptive coverage directly from the insurer at the same price offered to employees of all other employers." ...

... Gail Collins: "Okay.... The church is not a democracy and majority opinion really doesn’t matter. Catholic dogma holds that artificial contraception is against the law of God. The bishops have the right — a right guaranteed under the First Amendment — to preach that doctrine to the faithful. They have a right to preach it to everybody.... The problem here is that they’re trying to get the government to do their work for them. They’ve lost the war at home, and they’re now demanding help from the outside.... What happens if an employer belongs to a religion that forbids certain types of blood transfusions? Or disapproves of any medical intervention to interfere with the working of God on the human body?" ...

... "Whose Conscience?" Linda Greenhouse: The aggressive objections to requiring church-affiliated, quasi-public institutions to provide equal healthcare insurance for its female workers, "it’s important to be clear that the conscientious objection to the regulation comes from an institution rather than from those whose consciences it purports to represent."

Democracy in America at the Economist: "... nothing has made me as optimistic recently about the prospects for a broadly international, pro-human-rights, anti-authoritarian foreign policy that brings together America, the democratic world, and many of the emerging-market/non-aligned countries as what's happening right now around the Syria question. The complete isolation of Russia and China in the Security Council vote on sanctions last week is a watershed moment."

I know this goes in Infotainment, but the bigger the better:

Hayley Tsukayama of the Washington Post: "Steve Jobs, being considered in 1991 for an appointment under President George H.W. Bush, underwent a thorough background investigation by the FBI, according to newly released files from the agency. The FBI amassed a lengthy and often unflattering file on Apple’s co-founder, with more than 30 interviews of friends, neighbors, family, former business associates and Jobs, that revealed his early drug use and concerns that the then-head of NeXT was neglecting his daughter born out of wedlock with his high school girlfriend." Ned Potter of ABC News has a story here.

Right Wing World

Jonathan Martin & Manu Raju of Politico: "A day after Romney was convincingly defeated by Rick Santorum in non-binding contests in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri, high-profile Republicans voiced long-simmering worries that the would-be standard-bearer lacks a compelling message for conservatives — and must be bolder to capture the party’s nomination.... The admonition came from outspoken conservatives and members of Congress who typically stay out of party spats" like Jon Kyl & Jim DeMint.

Rick Santorum goes ballistic on Prop 8 decision. Santorum's take: The government should be more tolerant of bigots. I like the setting, too -- right in front of an altar. The stained glass windows add a nice touch. Thanks to Dave S. for the link:

Jake Sherman of Politico: "Three initiatives with wide, bipartisan support — banning insider trading on Capitol Hill, a massive tax cut for the middle class and rebuilding the nation’s roads — are staggering like a beaten boxer in the final round, with their ultimate fate uncertain. It raises an inevitable question on Capitol Hill: Can this Congress get anything done?"

If they can't run their own elections, no wonder they can't run the country (sorry, forgot to run this yesterday):

Drill, Baby, Drill. Travis Waldron of Think Progress: Economist Rick Santorum tells a Colorado audience that the real cause of the 2008 financial crisis and resulting recession was high oil prices. CW: luckily he has abandoned his alternate theory that the financial crisis was the result of Americans -- especially blah Americans -- having sex for the fun of it.

Greed Is Still Good. Think Progress: "House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has made several changes to the [Senate version of the STOCK Act] legislation which appear intended to at least weaken the final product, if not to kill it outright." The STOCK Act is supposed to prevent some insider trading by Members of Congress. CW: hey, what's the point of public "service" if not to enrich yourself with impunity?

Local News

What's happening in the NH legislature is a pretty good preview of what would happen if the Tea Party ran Washington. -- Michael Cohen (tweet) ...

... Republicans Do the Damndest Things. Pat Garofalo of Think Progress: a New Hampshire state representative, J. R. Hoell (RTP), has introduced a bill to repeal the law requiring employers to provide lunch breaks for employees. The rationale: aah, employers will do so anyway. Garofalo cites a bit of evidence to refute the notion that employers have goodwill toward all hungry employees.

News Ledes

New York Times: "After days of dramatic talks, Greek political leaders reached a deal on Thursday to support a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for the country’s latest bailout."

New York Times: "President Obama will waive central provisions of the No Child Left Behind federal education law for 10 states that have embraced his educational agenda and promised to raise standards, and improve accountability and teacher effectiveness, the White House announced on Thursday morning."

New York Times: "The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Thursday to ban insider trading by members of Congress and to impose new ethics requirements on lawmakers and federal agency officials. The 417-to-2 vote came less than three weeks after President Obama demanded such action in his State of the Union address. The Senate approved a similar bill by a vote of 96 to 3 on Feb. 2, but the lopsided votes concealed deep disagreements over the details of the legislation." Washington Post story here.

New York Times: "After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation’s biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed by the bursting of the housing bubble, state and federal officials said in Washington on Thursday." Here's a new government Website that is supposed to tell you how you might benefit from the deal.

AP: "The Pentagon is unveiling plans Thursday to allow women to serve in thousands of military jobs closer to the front lines, reflecting the realities of the last decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan."

New York Times: "Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: whether Iran’s crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable."

Los Angeles Times: "A program that lets preapproved air travelers zip through faster security lines will be expanded this year to 35 of the nation's largest airports, Transportation Security Administration officials announced Wednesday. The pilot program, dubbed PreCheck, lets travelers who get TSA clearance avoid what have become the most annoying steps of post-9/11 screening: removing shoes, belt and coats."

The Commentariat -- February 8, 2012

Chris Spannos of the New York Times eXaminer: "In its treatment of WikiLeaks The [New York] Times has thoroughly undermined press freedoms that the Supreme Court argued for on its behalf. In its publication of Cablegate documents, The Times did not participate in the international consortium of media partners—organized by WikiLeaks—and instead acquired the cables through the Guardian (in violation of its contract with WikiLeaks). The Times then gave 'the White House an early warning' of the cables it was going to publish and listened to Washington’s concerns relating to the cables. The Times shared these concerns with other news media outlets." ...

My column in the New York Times eXaminer is on a "fundamentally dishonest" New York Times report which advances the GOP party line. The NYTX front page is here. You can contribute here.

New York Times Editors: "On Monday, the president's ... aides announced that the Obama campaign would begin to assist the 'super PAC' that can raise and spend unlimited sums to support the president’s re-election effort.... The president gave in to the culture of the Citizens United decision that he once denounced as a 'threat to our democracy.' Obama has given up that higher ground. He had already undermined the public financing system for presidential campaigns by refusing to use it in 2008, but this is much worse." ...

... Kevin Drum of Mother Jones echoes a comment today from contributor Dennis Garber: "Is this hypocritical of Obama? For the thousandth time, no, no, no. The playing field is the playing field, and once a public policy has been legally put in place you'd be a sap not to play by the same rules as everyone else." ...

... Dana Milbank: "While Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are making each other unelectable, the president is singing Al Green, congratulating Super Bowl winners, playing with science projects, raising obscene amounts of campaign cash and watching his poll numbers soar."

In a New York Times op-ed, David Miller, a tax lawyer, suggests a "Zuckerberg tax," or what he calls a "mark-to-market" tax. Under the current tax code, Mark Zuckerberg will pay no tax on the stock he doesn’t immediately sell. "Instead, he can simply use his stock as collateral to borrow against his tremendous wealth and avoid all tax.... After rejoining Apple in 1997, [Steve] Jobs never sold a single Apple share for the rest of his life, and therefore never paid a penny of tax on the over $2 billion of Apple stock he held at his death. Now his widow can sell those shares without paying any income tax on the appreciation before his death." Miller's suggested Zuckerberg tax would change that. "A mark-to-market system of taxation on the top one-tenth of 1 percent would raise hundreds of billions of dollars of new revenue over the next 10 years."

Scott Higham, et al., of the Washington Post: "Some members of Congress send tax dollars to companies, colleges and community groups where their spouses, children and parents work.... A U.S. senator from South Dakota helped add millions to a Pentagon program his wife evaluated as a contract employee. A Washington congressman boosted the budget of an environmental group that his son ran as executive director. A Texas congresswoman guided millions to a university where her husband served as a vice president."

Bill Moyers interviews social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. While I disagree with some of Haidt's premises, a number of his general principles are well-supported. The Moyers site is here. Thanks to Lisa for the link:

Igor Volsky of Think Progress: " Twenty-eight states already require organizations that offer prescription insurance to cover contraception and since 98 percent of Catholic women use birth control, many Catholic institutions offer the benefit to their employees.... Many Catholic colleges have purchased insurance plans that provide contraception benefits." CW: I wish somebody would conduct a poll on this of women of child-bearing years. ...

... Think Progress: "... a majority of Catholics, support [the Obama administration’s rule requiring employers to provide contraception], according to a new poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute. The requirement garners support from 55 percent of Americans and 58 percent of Catholics, though the number is slightly lower (52 percent) for Catholic voters."

Right Wing World

Obvious, but Not Often Said. Jia Lynn Yang of the Washington Post: "A core argument of Romney’s presidential campaign is that he knows how to create jobs based on his career in finance. As governor, Romney faced his first test in applying his business background to a slow-growing economy — and data show that the results were unremarkable.... As Romney’s opponents have pointed out, the state ranked 47th in job creation during his term. The parallels between Massachusetts then and the country as a whole now point to the same central problem that has dogged the U.S. economy the last three times it’s climbed out of a recession: The recovery hasn’t created enough jobs."

"A Long Battle." Nate Silver: "Whatever your perspective on how likely Mitt Romney was to lose the Republican nomination race prior to Tuesday evening, it should be acknowledged that he had about the worst results conceivable." ...

... Igor Volsky: "Mitt Romney has launched a petition accusing the Obama administration of 'using Obamacare to impose a secular vision on Americans who believe that they should not have their religious freedom taken away.' The move is the latest in a concerted campaign effort to rally the conservative base around a supposed 'war against religion' and misrepresent or outright lie about a new regulation requiring employers and insurers to offer contraception coverage." P.S. RomneyCare "offers primary and preventive care that includes 'family planning services' and prescription contraceptives."

Local News

Steve Schultze of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Darlene Wink pleaded guilty Tuesday to two misdemeanor charges of fundraising in the courthouse for then-Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's campaign for governor. Her convictions were the first stemming from a secret John Doe investigation into a variety of issues from Walker's tenure as county executive. Three other former Walker courthouse aides and appointees also have been charged through the Doe probe." ...

... MacKenzie Weinger of Politico: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will voluntarily meet with the Milwaukee County prosecutors about the John Doe investigation into some of his former aides.... Walker said he had hired two criminal lawyers for the meeting." CW: John Nichols of The Nation appeared on Ed Schultz's show Tuesday evening & said the interview was not "voluntary," but I can't find a story backing that up. ...

... Charles Pierce on the back-room blood-pacts and related goings-on in "Wisconsin, a former state of the union now d/b/a a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries under goggle-eyed homunculus Scott Walker and his pet state legislature."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Washington was poised Wednesday to become the seventh state to allow same-sex couples to marry after the State House gave final passage to such a bill. Gov. Christine Gregoire promised to sign it."

New York Times: "His candidacy all but dismissed just days ago, Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday, an unexpected trifecta that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney’s ability to corral conservative support. With his triumphs, Mr. Santorum was also suddenly presenting new competition to Newt Gingrich as the chief alternative to Mr. Romney, the front-runner. Where Mr. Gingrich has won one state, South Carolina, Mr. Santorum has now won four, including Iowa." Washington Post story here.

Now Republicans have our backs against the wall. We can’t win the argument. We’re going to have to go on to something else. -- Mean Sen. Jim DeMint (RTP-S.C.) ...

... New York Times: "Any hope for a fast and quiet resolution to the Congressional battle over a payroll tax cut seemed to dim Tuesday as members of a bipartisan negotiating committee clashed over how to pay for the extension, and Senate Democrats suggested that they would come up with their own bill to get the matter resolved."

New York Times: "Facing vocal opposition from religious leaders and an escalating political fight, the White House sought on Tuesday to ease mounting objections to a new administration rule that would require health insurance plans — including those offered by Catholic universities and charities — to offer birth control to women free of charge."

Washington Post: "New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman abruptly called off a news conference at which he could have provided a crucial endorsement of a proposed settlement with some of the nation’s biggest banks over shoddy foreclosure practices. Schneiderman’s unexplained last-minute postponement cast another cloud of uncertainty over the ongoing negotiations, which have dragged on for more than 16 months. State and federal officials have been intent on finalizing the deal by the end of the week."

AP: "The European Union will impose harsher sanctions on Syria, a senior EU official said Wednesday, as Russia tried to broker talks between the vice president and the opposition to calm violence. Activists reported at least 50 killed in military assaults targeting government opponents." The Guardian has a liveblog on the story.

New York Times: "Greek political leaders continued to struggle Wednesday to secure agreement on new austerity measures to be presented to the country’s financial backers in the coming days. Driving the talks has been a clear recognition that the ever-worsening collapse of the Greek economy will require another increase in bailout funds — money that will not be forthcoming until the rest of Europe is persuaded that Greece is serious about taking such steps as firing more public-sector workers and cutting private-sector wages." ...

     Reuters Update: "Greek political leaders failed early on Thursday to sign off on a tough reform and austerity program, the price of a new international bailout for the nation, but Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said they would try to strike a deal within hours."

Reuters: "Iran is capable of hitting U.S. military forces around the world if attacked by the United States, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the Iranian ambassador to Moscow as saying on Wednesday."

AP: "All but one of the first wave of phone hacking cases against Rupert Murdoch's News International have been settled, victims' lawyer told Britain's High Court on Wednesday. The latest settlement brings to more than 60 the number of claims that Murdoch's UK newspaper company has dealt with."

ABC News: "A retired general today assailed the commander of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden for drawing too much media attention to operations that he argued should be kept under wraps. Special Operations Commander Adm. Bill McRaven was confronted by retired Lt. Gen. James Vaught, who said he didn't understand why the recent raids by the Navy SEALs, such as the one to kill Osama bin Laden or to rescue U.S. hostage Jessica Buchanan, were all over the media."

Some People Are So Cheesy. AP: "A memorabilia collector and self-styled expert on presidential history pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to steal thousands of documents signed by leaders throughout U.S. history. Barry Landau, whose knowledge of the White House earned him appearances on network morning shows, admitted in the plea to taking documents from the Maryland Historical Society and conspiring with his assistant to steal documents from several institutions with the intention of selling them. Thousands of documents were seized by authorities over the summer from the 63-year-old Landau’s artifact-lined Manhattan apartment. Prosecutors say he schemed for years, if not decades, to steal valuable documents."

The Commentariat -- February 7, 2012

My column in today's New York Times eXaminer is an attempt to make sense of David Brooks' column today. The NYTX frontpage is here. You can contribute to NYTX here. ...

... Dean Baker: "Bill Keller does not understand free speech, copyright and the Constitution.... It is perverse response to the development of technology to grant the government ever greater powers of repression in order to ensure that an archaic social institution can still be used to generate profits for a small group of powerful corporations and individuals."

CW: This is to follow up on something Carlyle said in the Comments section a few days ago. He asserted, I would have guessed correctly, that before Roe v. Wade, the doctors of middle-class & wealthy women routinely performed abortions who requested them. (My recollection was that abortions were referred to as "D&C"s, -- dilation and curettage -- a "cover" for their true purpose. Quite a few of my mother's friends had D&Cs for "medical" reasons.) Now Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times provides some figures to back up Carlyle's assertion:

If the right-wing manages to outlaw abortion, the abortion rate will not go down. It was about the same before the 1973 Roe v Wade decision, which recognized a woman’s right to privacy, as it was in 2008.  (Approximations of illegal abortions in the 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million a year, and the total population was under 200 million until the end of that decade. If the truth lies closer to the larger number, the rate was actually higher than post-Roe.) But abortions will become more dangerous. According to some estimates, fifty percent of the maternal deaths in the first half of the 20^th century were due to illegal abortions. Was that a culture of life?

David Fallis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Thirty-three members of Congress have directed more than $300 million in earmarks and other spending provisions to dozens of public projects that are next to or within about two miles of the lawmakers’ own property, according to a Washington Post investigation.... Congress’s interpretation of what constitutes a conflict is narrowly construed: If lawmakers or their immediate families are not the sole beneficiaries, there is considered to be no conflict." The details of the Post investigation are here. There are related stories here.

A painless way to learn about the European fiscal crisis. Thanks to Dave S.:

Certain products are gone forever. Fancy derivatives are mostly gone. Prop trading is gone. There’s less leverage everywhere. Mortgages are back to old-fashioned conservative mortgages — which is a good thing. -- Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase ...

... "The Masters of the Universe Are Masters No Longer." Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine: Dodd-Frank's "major provisions — forcing banks to reduce leverage, imposing a ban on proprietary trading, making derivatives markets more transparent, and ending abusive debit-card practices — have taken a pickax to the Wall Street business model even though the act won’t be completely in effect till the ­Volcker Rule kicks in this July (other aspects of the bill took force in December; capital requirements and many other elements of the bill will be phased in gradually between now and 2016)."

Right Wing World

Know Your Dumb Congressmen. This Week's Winner: John Fleming of Louisiana's 4th District. Mackenzie Weinger of Politico: "In a Facebook status on Friday, Fleming alerted his followers to The Onion’s May 18, 2011 article, 'Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex' and wrote 'More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale.' Fleming’s spokesman Doug Sachtleben confirmed to Politico the post has since been removed from the congressman’s Facebook page and said the office had no further comment."

I was, frankly, offended by it.  I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising. -- Karl Rove ...

... Here's Rove whining on Fox "News":

... Charles Blow: "Rove didn’t mention that it was [George W.] Bush who first agreed to save Chrysler.... Chrysler nearly collapsed in late 2008 under private equity ownership. Bush agreed to a $4 billion bailout of the company." Chrysler got its first $4 billion in bailout cash while Bush was still in office. CW: Huh. Who'da thunk Dubya practiced "Chicago-style politics"? Gosh, not a Floridian such as I who watched the Bushes Jeb & George muscle the Florida vote-count shutdown. ...

... Somewhat weirdly, this major New York Times story, headlined "Republicans See Politics in Chrysler Super Bowl Ad," by Jeremy Peters & Jim Rutenberg (it's a two-pager online) does not mention that Dubya initiated the Chrysler bailout. ...

... Meanwhile, out in Las Vegas, the Detroit Free Press reports that "Former President George W. Bush, who extended bridge loans to the auto  industry as one of his administration's last acts, told auto dealers Monday he would do it all again."

... Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A Chrysler ad aired during the Super Bowl Sunday night has inspired ire among some Republicans and admiration among some Democrats — with both sides seeing a political message that boosts President Obama." (See the ad in yesterday's Commentariat.) CW: You made my day, Turdblossom. ...

... Oops! The NFL took the ad down. They've put it back up. Update: an NFL spokesman said the NFL never asked Google/YouTube to take the ad down, and asked them up put it back up. It's up:

... Guess what, Karl Rove. Clint Eastwood didn't just star in the Chrysler ad. He wrote it. This New York magazine post, in which Claude Brodesser-Akner reports on his interview of Eastwood's long-time agent/manager Leonard Hirshan, is pretty interesting. ...

I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK. I am not supporting any politician at this time.... If Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it. -- Clint Eastwood

... Digby. "There was a time when this message would be uncontroversial --- just straight up All American patriotic commercialism. Now the wingnuts say it's commie propaganda for the Kenyan usurper." ...

... Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: "... Rove is still twisting himself in knots to be sure he doesn't blame its content on Chrysler.... And Clint Eastwood? He's what passes for a Hollywood Republican, so he's blameless. Instead, Chrysler's advertising ... is somehow a result of the president's 'Chicago-style politics.' ... It's not clear whether Rove is implying that Obama saved Chrysler in 2009 in order to get a 2012 Super Bowl ad that some would interpret as positive about him, or that Obama actually called up Chrysler and demanded the ad, but whatever. We knew Republicans were rooting against the economy improving. But claiming that any implication that Obama's policies have improved the economy is all a nefarious political plot on his part takes the desperation a little far." ...

... David Firestone of the New York Times: "Detroit’s resurgence [is] what’s what’s really offensive to Mr. Rove and other Republicans.... These [successes] are inconvenient facts for both Mr. Rove and for Mitt Romney, who is on the record as opposing the automaker bailouts. The outcry being raised against the commercial is not really from people who are offended, but from those who are embarrassed."

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Mitt Romney returned to the campaign trail [in Colorado] Monday and trained his focus on President Obama, but his top aides and key surrogates fought to beat back a possible surge by Rick Santorum on the eve of Republican presidential contests in a trio of states. Romney’s aides and a top surrogate, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, unloaded on Santorum over his support of taxpayer-funded earmarks during his years in Washington, calling him a 'champion of earmarks.' The Romney team lobbed similar broadsides against Newt Gingrich ahead of last month’s Florida primary, but have let up somewhat as the former House speaker’s campaign has struggled." ...

... Alex Altman of Time: "While polling in each state has been light, a series of Public Policy Polling surveys found Santorum with a slight edge over Romney in Minnesota, 29% to 27%, and in second place in Colorado, where he trails Romney, 40% to 26%. A week-old survey also placed him atop Missouri's bragging-rights derby." ...

... Romney Must Be a Tad Worried. Alexander Burns of Politico: "In a memo released to the press, Romney political director Rich Beeson makes the case that the path forward in the 2012 primaries points clearly toward a Romney victory, and preemptively spins tonight's Missouri-Minnesota-Colorado contests as a political sideshow.

Charles Pierce of Esquire has a lovely way of addressing the embattled enemy in President Obama's War on Religion (See Douthat, Ross; Gingrich, Newt; etc.): "... please stop going on my television set and telling me what 'the Catholic position' is on the fact that the president has told various Catholic institutions — and told them quite gently, too — that, yes, if they want all those nice juicy tax advantages, they must abide by the federal law and, in their capacities as employers, make contraceptives available to their employees under the new Affordable Care Act. There is no 'Catholic position' on this issue. There are the opinions of the clerical bureaucrats, accessories after the fact, and the members of the Clan of The Red Beanie, and then there is the opinion of the overwhelming majority of Catholic laypeople, who stopped listening to anything the Vatican said on the matter of birth control back in 1965."

AND Dave Weigel: "This can be filed under Things Everyone Knew Donald Trump Would Say.

Appearing on Fox News Monday, 'The Donald' said his endorsement helped Romney win by nearly 30 points.

'There was a lot riding on that particular race in Nevada and it was interesting, because the numbers were much, much greater than you thought,' Trump told Fox News. 'And a lot of people are giving me credit for that. And I will accept that credit.'

News Ledes

The New York Times is liveblogging the results of the three GOP presidential contests today, none of which will produce any delegates. Updated results are on the same page. ...

     ... At 9:45 pm ET, NBC News projected Rick Santorum as the winner of the nonbinding primary in Missouri. No link. ...

     ... At 10:20 pm ET, NBC News projected Santorum has won the Minnesota caucuses. No link.

     ... At 1:05 am ET Wednesday, NBC News declared Santorum the winner of the Colorado caucuses. No link.

Washington Post: "A top official of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation who was involved in the controversy over the group’s funding of Planned Parenthood resigned Tuesday. Karen Handel, vice president for public policy, acknowledged that she had supported Komen’s decision to pull funding for Planned Parenthood in a resignation letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal Constitution." Here's the letter.

New York Times: "Two American brothers of a Mexican casino magnate who fled drug and fraud charges in the United States and has been seeking a pardon enabling him to return have emerged as major fund-raisers and donors for President Obama’s re-election campaign. The casino owner, Juan Jose Rojas Cardona ... jumped bail in Iowa in 1994 and disappeared, and has since been linked to violence and corruption in Mexico.... When The New York Times asked the Obama campaign early Monday about the Cardonas, officials said they were unaware of the brother in Mexico. Later in the day, the campaign said it was refunding the money raised by the family, which totaled more than $200,000."

New York Times: President Obama is signaling to wealthy Democratic donors that he wants them to start contributing to an outside group supporting his re-election, reversing a long-held position as he confronts a deep financial disadvantage on a vital front in the campaign."Washington Post story here.

Los Angeles Times: "A federal appeals court is expected to decide [today] whether California's ban on same-sex marriage violates the federal Constitution, a ruling that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court next year." San Francisco Chronicle story here. ...

     L.A. Times Update: "A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one man and one woman, violated the U.S. Constitution. The architects of Prop. 8 have vowed to appeal. The ruling was narrow and likely to be limited to California." You can read the decision here. The New York Times story, which is more expansive, is here.

New York Times: "One of the largest companies that provided home foreclosure services to lenders across the nation, DocX, has been indicted on forgery charges by a Missouri grand jury — one of the few criminal actions to follow reports of widespread improprieties against homeowners."

New York Times: "Thousands of Syrians lined the streets of Damascus, waving Russian flags to welcome top Russian officials arriving on Tuesday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad on Syria’s deepening, 11-month-old crisis.... Russia said it had sent its foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, and Mikhail Fradkov, the head of Moscow’s foreign intelligence service, to Syria with a proposal that could end the crisis." Washington Post story here.

New York Times: "Greek workers walked off the job on Tuesday to protest a new barrage of austerity measures being demanded by the country’s foreign creditors in exchange for a second bailout of $170 billion without which Greece faces a potentially catastrophic default within weeks."