What we’re reading: February 23, 2012

Good morning, #nerdland! (Or good afternoon, if you’re in the UK. We don’t assume here at “MHP.”)

Here’s what we’re reading:

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• President Obama doesn’t appear to be sitting out next week’s Michigan Republican primary. He released a new ad, “Made in America,” highlighting the auto bailout. Read more here, here, and here.
• As much as we may love cars, we hate paying for the gas to run them. Newt Gingrich promised to lower gas prices to $2.50 per gallon. While the President will hawk his energy policy in Florida, can the government even do what Gingrich claims?
• Mitt Romney’s fundraising is becoming a(nother) weak spot in his campaign. Good thing for Citizens United, right?
• On that topic, Gingrich’s Super PAC benefactor Sheldon Adelson was profiled in Forbes. The lack of Super PAC oversight was noted in today’s Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on “The Colbert Report” last night to promote campaign finance reform.
• A federal judge appointed by George W. Bush yesterday ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
• The Detroit Free Press offered this lukewarm endorsement of Mitt Romney. I’m being kind.
• Former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman wants “None of the Above” — he pushed for a third party this morning on Morning Joe.
• The now-former ESPN editor who was fired over his “chink in the armor” headline about Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin attempts to explain in a really long tweet.
• Is yesterday’s groundbreaking for the new Smithsonian museum of African American history a symbol of a new Presidential approach to African Americans?
• Being against gay marriage has ensured that New Mexico governor Susana Martinez will need a new hairstylist.