Today on the Dish, Patrick explained why he thought Romney had wrapped up the race and Chris was creeped out by Pete Hoekstra's "China took our jobs" Super Bowl ad. We questioned Romney's appeal in the Midwest, linked his campaign strategy firmly to the economy, noted Gingrich's money problems, were unsurprised by Newt's difficulties with women voters, smelled a Santorum surge in the offing, and wondered if Ron Paul's strategy was working out. GOP turnout continued to flag and movement conservatism faced a policy crisis. 

We offered two whether there was anything we could do to end Assad's murder spree. We also used some statistical magic to predict whether new Arab democracies would stay that way, found growing fear among Christian communities in majority-Muslim countries, and  worried about the Greek economic crisis.  The Super Bowl got some uncharacteristic play – the decision to let the TD in and the linebacker who caught the game-changing interception both saw the spotlight.

On the culture war front, the internet took credit for reversing Komen's decision to defund Planned Parenthood, readers blasted Komen's original decision, and the organization both crassly commercialized cancer (follow-up here) and took focus away from broader issues. A reader deepened the contraception and coercion debate, homophobia killed, economics complicated the abortion debate, and Obama caught some chutzpah-riffic flack. The stimulus promoted transparency, squirrel meat found a champion, lazy mornings helped your brain, and 3-D printing sounded awesome. Cool Ad here, Yglesias Nominee here, AAA here, Quote for the Day here, VFYW here, FOTD here, and MHB here.

(Photo: Chase Blackburn #93 of the New York Giants intercepts a pass intended for Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots in the second half during Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. By Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.)