Top Items:
The Atlantic Online:
AMES: Romney WIns; Huckabee In Second — Gov Mitt Romney won the 2007 Ames straw poll, receiving 4516 votes, or 31%. — In a surprise, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished second with 2587 votes at 18.1% — 11. John Cox with 41 votes. — 10. John McCain with 101 votes. — 9. Duncan Hunter with 174 votes.
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Des Moines Register:
Romney wins, Huckabee in 2nd — Ames, Ia. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney emerged on top at Iowa GOP's straw poll Saturday in Ames. — The win boosted the former Massachusetts governor's standing as the party's frontrunner in Iowa, although attendance at this first show …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, The Caucus, Liberal Values, Daily Kos, Ezra Klein, The Next Hurrah and The Right's Field
The Atlantic Online:
Straw Poll Results Delayed Due To Voting Machine Malfunction — AMES — The announcement of tonight's straw poll results has been delayed due to what one informed source says was a voting machine malfunction. About 4,500 ballots had to be re-run. We are waiting....
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Analysis: Huckabee's 2nd-Place 'Win' in Ames — AMES, Iowa — The biggest political event of the 2007 calendar year gave former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a victory, but the biggest winner may well be former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who placed a surprising second.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Straw Poll Expectations Setting — AMES, Iowa — It's finally here. — The Fix drove 45 minutes north from Des Moines this morning through land dominated by corn fields to arrive in this college town that, for today at least, is at the center of the political universe. — The atmosphere is like a carnival.
Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:
Help Me Uncle Sam! — I'm on quasi vacation in the upper left-hand corner of the country (or at least the upper left hand corner of the lower 48, a distinction I offer in deference to my Alaskan relatives who surround me in abundance). I haven't followed the Iowa straw poll closely …
Discussion:
Reason Magazine
The Atlantic Online:
AMES: A Low Turnout: About 14,000 — Campaign officials estimate that around 14,000 Iowans cast straw ballots today. That's about sixty percent of the 23,500 who voted in 1999. So, turnout is clearly low. But that's not surprising, given that three major candidates refused to attend.
Patrick Ruffini / Townhall.com:
Huckabee! — Ames results are as follows: — Mitt Romney 4516 votes (31.0%) — Mike Huckabee 2587 votes (18.1%) — Sam Brownback 2192 votes (15.3%) — Tom Tancredo 1961 votes (13.7%). — Ron Paul with 1305 votes (9.1%) — Tommy Thompson 1,009 votes (7.3%) — Fred Thompson 231 votes (1.6%)
Discussion:
Reason Magazine
Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:
Iowa straw poll may weed field
Iowa straw poll may weed field
Discussion:
The Caucus, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report, The Glittering Eye and Attytood
Bill Roggio / Weekly Standard:
The Army Responds — I recently emailed Col. Steve Boylan asking for whatever information he could provide regarding the status of the investigation of Scott Thomas Beauchamp. Here is his response:
New York Times:
How a 'Good War' in Afghanistan Went Bad — Two years after the Taliban fell to an American-led coalition, a group of NATO ambassadors landed in Kabul, Afghanistan, to survey what appeared to be a triumph — a fresh start for a country ripped apart by years of war with the Soviets and brutal repression by religious extremists.
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Agence France Presse:
Pharmaceutical giant sues Red Cross over its emblem — After more than a century of sharing the same emblem, a red cross on a white field, Johnson & Johnson has sued the American Red Cross for using its trademark for other than non-profit purposes. — J&J claims the ARC is marketing …
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Washington Post:
How the Fight for Vast New Spying Powers Was Won — For three days, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, had haggled with congressional leaders over amendments to a federal surveillance law, but now he was putting his foot down. "This is the issue," said the plain-spoken …
Associated Press:
Embattled AG Gonzales visits Baghdad — WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, under fire at home with calls for his resignation, is spending some time in Iraq. — The Justice Department said that Gonzales arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for his third trip to Iraq to meet …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
New York Times:
Democrats Say Leaving Iraq May Take Years — Even as they call for an end to the war and pledge to bring the troops home, the Democratic presidential candidates are setting out positions that could leave the United States engaged in Iraq for years. — John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator …
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Wake up America, JammieWearingFool, neo-neocon, The Atlantic Online, The CultureGhost and Prairie Weather
Dan / Riehl World View:
SC 2 Linked To Sami Al-Arian Investigation — Update: Just wanted to add this bit of context from memory. Some initial reports stated that the car in question belonged to the brother, now identified as Yahia, and that the "fireworks" were his. That could prove interesting given …
Paul V. Dutton / Boston Globe:
France's model healthcare system — MANY advocates of a universal healthcare system in the United States look to Canada for their model. While the Canadian healthcare system has much to recommend it, there's another model that has been too long neglected. That is the healthcare system in France.
Mike Allen / The Politico:
New Iraq report to warn of attack — The Bush administration is finishing a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq that paints a sobering picture of a mature civil war unlikely to be snuffed out through political progress, according to officials involved in the report's preparation.