Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks during a primary night rally in Columbia, South Carolina.
(T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty)
Gingrich's Landslide South Carolina Victory; Anti-Muslim Rhetoric in the 2012 Primary; This Week's Agenda: State of the Union, State of the Economy; What's Ahead for China in the Year of the Dragon?; International Plans to End Syria Conflict; A Look Back at Newt Gingrich's Career; Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Resigns; The Life, Death, and Legacy of Joe Paterno; Who Was Saul Alinsky, Newt's Newest Villain; New York Giants and New England Patriots Head to The Super Bowl
A new state, and another debate. The Republican presidential race moves on to Florida with candidates battling it out in Tampa tonight. Newt Gingrich has been doing the rounds on U.S. media talking about his decisive victory in South Carolina. He told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Washington should be worried about a Gingrich nomination.
On Saturday, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich pulled in 40 percent of the 600,000 primary votes in South Carolina in what has been called the largest Republican primary in history. Significantly, nearly two-thirds of these voters were evangelical or born-again Christians. This win comes in the wake of news that Mitt Romney did not in fact win the Iowa caucuses, and means that there has been no consistent candidate across these three key tests of presidential mettle.
While political mud-slinging is de riguer in primary races, 2012 has brought several not-so-thinly-veiled anti-Muslim soundbytes from its frontrunning candidates. Last week, Newt Gingrich said that he would not support a Muslim president unless they would "commit in public to giv[ing] up Sharia." Rick Santorum also expressed his thoughts on Islam, saying that the concept of equality "doesn’t come from Islam" or "Eastern Religions." Instead, he said, "it comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
This week, President Obama delivers the State of the Union, then travels to five states that promise to be key battlegrounds for this year's election: Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan. As the President begins his swing state tour, Republican candidates will be setting up camp in Florida, preparing for two debates in the next primary state.
Monday marks the beginning of 4709 in the Chinese calendar, the "Year of the Dragon". A strong, fiery, and auspicious cultural symbol, the lunar year ahead holds the potential for seismic change. In addition to the generational transitions set for its government, military, and the Communist Party, some experts are claiming 2012 will be the year China's economy collapses.
Egypt's first freely elected Parliament in more than 60 years held its first session this morning. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party which took more than 40 percent of the seats has vowed to guide Egypt through the transition from military to civilian rule. Joining The Takeaway is David Kirkpatrick, Cairo bureau chief for our partner The New York Times. Also on the program is Michael Wahid Hanna, a fellow at The Century Foundation.
The Super Bowl is set. The New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime to punch their ticket to Indianapolis, and earlier yesterday the New England Patriots took down Baltimore 23-20 to win the AFC. The Super Bowl is in 2 weeks.
Over the past ten months, Syrian Security Forces have killed more than 5,000 protestors across the country. But this weekend, two key voices announced their calls to action: the Arab League will seek U.N. Security Council approval to peacefully end the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer introduced a bill that would block financial aid and create trade sanctions against Syrian leaders involved in the crackdown.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has had a long political career. But along the way, as Mitt Romney's SuperPAC Restore our Future gleefully points out, he accrued 84 ethics complaints during his tenure in the House, and accepted a $1.6 million donation from Freddie Mac. But that's not the whole list of Gingrich's malfeasance, public or personal. The Takeaway looks back at the triumphs — and scandals — that have trailed him.
One in five African's are Nigerian and it's an underestimate to say that it's a worrying time for the country. This morning, doctors in the city of Kano says the death toll from Friday's bomb attacks by Islamist militants is certain to rise further. 160 people have so far been confirmed dead but bodies are still arriving at the city's mortuaries. So as a reminder Boko Haram, which wants an Islamic state, says it launched theses attacks because the authorities refused to free a group of its members from jail.
It'll be Eli Manning leading the New York Giants to a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots. The Giants came out on top as they won their fifth straight road playoff game. But even kicker Lawrence Tynes says it's no miracle. Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal in overtime to send the Giants to the Super Bowl. Eli Manning played like his brother last night, setting a franchise records for completions and attempts, even in the bad weather.
Joe Paterno, the most successful coach in major college football history, the face of Penn State University, and at one point, among the most admired figures in the entire sporting world, is dead at the age of 85. News of Paterno’s death from lung cancer came early Sunday morning. At the center of one of the worst scandals to ever hit the sports world, what JoePa's legacy will be, once the dust clears, is up to more people than just Lions fans.
It's a name that doesn't come up often. But it's a name that GOP presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich has been repeatedly bringing up throughout his campaign. Alinsky was an influential community organizer in Chicago during the first half of the 20th century. And Gingrich uses the name when he wants to attack President Obama. So who was Alinsky and what is his role in American politics? Lynn Sweet is Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. Sandy Horwitt is author of "Let Them Call Me Rebel: The Life & Legacy of Saul Alinsky."