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Mark Preston / CNN:
Tommy Thompson abandons presidential bid — DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is abandoning his presidential bid, his campaign announced Sunday night. — Thompson, who also served in the Bush Cabinet, did not meet the expectations he set for himself in the Ames Republican straw poll held Saturday.
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The Debate Link
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Tommy Thompson Is First Victim of Iowa Straw Poll — Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson dropped out of the race for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination tonight, a day after he finished a disappointing sixth in the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa. — "I have no regrets about running," Thompson said in a statement released by his campaign.
John Podhoretz / The Corner:
Truth-Telling: Anybody Who Says Ames Matters Is Smoking Something Illegal — I hate to be nasty, but anybody who takes the Ames Straw Poll results seriously is an idiot. A bunch of people spent ludicrous amounts of money to bus-and-truck 14,000 people to a big picnic …
USA Today:
Straw poll: Huckabee spent just $58 per vote for 2nd place and revived prospects — The top three finishers in the Iowa Republican Party straw poll are on talk shows today. We'll be back later with a report on what they said. Meanwhile, here's our own cost-benefit analysis of how they did yesterday at the Ames event:
Discussion:
The Fix, About.com Conservative …, eyeon08.com, Political Radar, Connecting.the.Dots and Patrick Ruffini
Andrew Malcolm / Los Angeles Times:
Tommy Thompson drops out of GOP race — Former Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, who said he would drop out of the Republican race for president if he didn't come in first or second in Saturday's Ames Straw Poll, finished sixth of 11 candidates. And minutes ago he made it official.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Some Democrats Fear Voter Hillary Clinton Backlash — The news stories, pundits and even some of her longtime political critics are noting the seemingly inexorable political advance of Senator Hillary Clinton towards the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination — but behind the scenes …
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Robert Novak / Chicago Sun Times:
Dem insiders say national polls putting Hillary ahead meaningless
Dem insiders say national polls putting Hillary ahead meaningless
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Taylor Marsh
Agence France Presse:
Hardline group rallies for world Islamic rule — More than 70,000 members of a hardline Muslim group held a rally in Indonesia that heard calls for a caliphate — or Islamic rule — to govern the world. — The supporters of the Hizbut Tahrir group filled up most of an 80,000-seat sports stadium …
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Riehl World View
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Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
For a Joke-Telling Candidate, a Second-Place Finish — "I can't buy you — I don't have the money," Mike Huckabee, the Arkansas Republican seeking the presidency, told Republicans at the Iowa Straw Poll this weekend. He offered a mock frown. — "I can't even rent you," he said.
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Brian Stelter / New York Times:
If Thompson Runs for President, Don't Look for Him in Reruns — Former Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee segued neatly from Congress back to an acting career in 2002, when he joined the cast of NBC's long-running crime series "Law & Order." — Now that Mr. Thompson seems poised …
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Steve Benen / Talking Points Memo: The LAT had an interesting item today, speculating about whether …
Robin Abcarian / Los Angeles Times:
Thompson's red truck parked, for now
Thompson's red truck parked, for now
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
Jose Antonio Vargas / Washington Post:
The GOP YouTube Debate Is Back On — This just in: The Republican CNN/YouTube debate, in limbo for the past few weeks, is on again. — But Mitt Romney, who won Saturday's Iowa straw poll and has criticized the debate format, has yet to commit to the Nov. 28 event.
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Associated Press:
Italy probe unearths huge Iraq arms deal — PERUGIA, Italy - In a hidden corner of Rome's busy Fiumicino Airport, police dug quietly through a traveler's checked baggage, looking for smuggled drugs. What they found instead was a catalog of weapons, a clue to something bigger.
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
OBJECTIVITY....Mark Kleiman comments on the convention of objectivity in the reporting of straight news: … In theory, everyone agrees with this. The problem is, I haven't yet come across a single person who's proposed a workable solution. Who gets to decide whether an issue is still debatable?
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Monica Hesse / Washington Post:
Fred, Fred, Fred: Thompson's Challenge Has a Name — In the swampy soup of hopefuls for the 2008 presidential election, there is a man with a funny name. (No, not that one.) — We're thinking of the one named Fred (Thompson). — Say it out loud. Do it. Fred. Fred. In the South, Fray-ud.
Discussion:
Let Freedom Ring, Classical Values, JammieWearingFool, Extreme Mortman and Riehl World View
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Steve Bainbridge / The Atlantic Online:
Annoyed by Ames ... and a Lot of Other Stuff [Stephen] — As I watch the coverage of the Iowa straw poll, I can't help once again feeling incredibly annoyed with the political process. — I live in California. Our population is over 37 million, representing 12% of the total US population.
Matthew Mosk / Washington Post:
In Fundraising's Murky Corners — Candidates See Little of Millions Collected by Linda Chavez's Family — Linda Chavez rose to prominence in the 1980s as a tart-tongued Reagan administration official and candidate for the Senate, eventually becoming a well-known Latina voice on social issues …
Bob Thomas / Associated Press:
Merv Griffin Dies at Age 82 — LOS ANGELES (AP) - Merv Griffin, the entertainer turned impresario who parlayed his "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" game shows into a multimillion- dollar empire, has died. He was 82. — Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement …