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February 20, 2012 | | BAD PRESS On Face the Nation Sunday, the former senator generated a storm of controversy when he criticized prenatal testing as leading to more abortions, and said the president “has a very bad record on the issue of abortion and on children who are disabled in the womb.” Santorum’s campaign complains that the press is unfairly targeting him, but as The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz writes, the candidate is inviting the criticism by pushing his religious views. Tense The team of United Nations nuclear inspectors is back in Iran for another round of talks, but it’s unlikely to result in a major breakthrough. The visit coincides with increased tensions between Iran and the West, with Iran yesterday cutting off oil exports to Britain and France in retaliation for tightening sanctions. There’s continuing talk about the possibility of Israel striking Iran in an attempt to delay its nuclear program, but yesterday Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that that would be a bad idea. A strike, according to experts, would require a massive effort from Israel’s Air Force. PLAYING WITH FIRE South Korea began live-fire drills on Sunday on islands near its border with North Korea despite the dire imprecations issuing forth from the Hermit Kingdom. The military exercises are supposed to last about two hours, and the North was informed of the drills on Sunday. They are being conducted near where a 2010 North Korean artillery strike took the lives of four South Koreans. A North Korean officer told the Associated Press that North Koreans are prepared to “dedicate their blood to defend their inviolable territory.” 2012 Mitt Romney will have to take his good news where he can find it these days. The Michigan native and former Massachusetts governor is still trailing Rick Santorum in his home state, but not by as much as previously reported. A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Romney getting 33 percent of the vote while Santorum gets 37 percent. Romney has called in Donald Trump to help him with the state, which not long ago was thought to be an easy victory. The real-estate impresario is scheduled to tout Romney and bash Santorum in a series of radio interviews on local Michigan stations. Decision Time It’s decision time in the euro zone again. French Finance Minister François Baroin said all the elements are in place to reach an agreement on Greece’s second bailout. Euro-zone finance ministers are expected to approve the $171 billion program later today. While the finance ministers might be optimistic, the Greek people are still furious about the €3.3 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes they’ll have to implement. Several thousand demonstrators took to the streets protesting cuts Sunday. | | 
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