Top Items:
Stephanie Strom / New York Times:
Anti-Bush Sign Has Bridge World in an Uproar — In the genteel world of bridge, disputes are usually handled quietly and rarely involve issues of national policy. But in a fight reminiscent of the brouhaha over an anti-Bush statement by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks in 2003 …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Firedoglake, michellemalkin.com, Outside The Beltway, The Newshoggers, Jon Swift, Political Machine, Rox Populi, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report, Buck Naked Politics, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, The Garlic, Taylor Marsh, TPMCafe blogs, Wonkette, The Sundries Shack, AMERICAblog, Truthdig, Macsmind, Neptunus Lex, The American Street and Sister Toldjah
David Hill / The Hill:
Ron Paul: Trouble back home — While Texan Ron Paul's stock is soaring nationally, there is trouble on the home front. In September, Paul finished third in a straw poll of 1,300 Texas Republican activists who had been delegates to recent Republican conventions.
RELATED:
Andrew Walden / American Thinker:
The Ron Paul Campaign and its Neo-Nazi Supporters — When some in a crowd of anti-war activists meeting at Democrat National Committee HQ in June, 2005 suggested Israel was behind the 9-11 attacks, DNC Chair Howard Dean was quick to get behind the microphones and denounce them saying …
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2008: Clinton 42% Giuliani 39% Ron Paul 8% — The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found Hillary Clinton leading Rudy Giuliani by three percentage points in a four-way race that includes Ron Paul running as a Libertarian candidate and Ralph Nader representing the Green Party.
Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Krongard Recuses Himself from Blackwater Investigations — Howard "Cookie" Krongard said he's just learned that his brother is on Blackwater's advisory board and has formally recused himself from investigating the company. — Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) asked when Krongard learned his brother …
RELATED:
Peter Berkowitz / Opinion Journal:
The Insanity of Bush Hatred — Our politics suffer when passions overcome reason and vitriol becomes virtue. — Hating the president is almost as old as the republic itself. The people, or various factions among them, have indulged in Clinton hatred, Reagan hatred, Nixon hatred …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Salon, Crunchy Con, Chicago Boyz, Blue Crab Boulevard and Dean's World
The Hill:
Senate Dem leaders float plan for forced filibuster — Senate Democrats might force Republicans to wage a filibuster if the GOP wants to block the latest Iraq withdrawal bill, aides and senators said Tuesday. — That could set the stage for a dramatic end-of-the-year partisan showdown …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Strata-Sphere, Betsy's Page, Political Machine, FederalTimes.com, Wake up America, The Carpetbagger Report, The Reaction, Think Progress, Daily Kos, CNN Political Ticker, The American Street, Crooks and Liars, Dr. Sanity, A Chequer-Board of Nights … and Air America Radio
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
VOTER ID....The State of Indiana has the most stringent voter ID laws in the country. Democrats are always griping about this, and have even gone so far as to challenge Indiana's law in the Supreme Court. But this is just silly. In this day and age everyone has a photo ID anyway, so what's the problem?
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House, Outside The Beltway, Angry Bear, BitsBlog and Shakespeare's Sister
RELATED:
Kevin / Stop Her Now:
Trouble for Hillary in Ohio — Hillary is getting some bad news about the key state of Ohio. The most recent Quinnipiac poll is full of bad news for the former first lady. Let's run down the bullet points: — Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and New York …
Discussion:
Political Machine
RELATED:
Joseph Goldstein / New York Sun:
Spitzer's Christmas Tax Surprise — Aims To Collect Levies on Sales Over Internet — New Yorkers going Christmas shopping online at Amazon.com will find an 8.375% surprise at the virtual cash register, courtesy of Governor Spitzer, who is moving aggressively to collect Internet sales taxes that have gone widely unenforced.
Discussion:
A Blog For All, Associated Press, City Room, Spin Cycle, Blue Crab Boulevard, JammieWearingFool, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah and michellemalkin.com
Lessig Blog:
4Barack — "DON'T DO THIS!" a friend wrote, a friend who never uses allcaps, a friend who cares genuinely about what's good for me, and who believes that what's good for me depends in part upon how easily I can talk to the next administration. "He is NOT going to win. She has it sewed up.
Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:
Bush strategist looks back in sadness — AT HIS TEXAS RANCH: Matthew Dowd, political strategist and former Bush advisor, says of the president: "I don't think he's evil or bad. I think he's a good person that didn't accomplish what he set out to do." — Matthew Dowd helped win the White House.
New York Times:
F.B.I. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause — Federal agents investigating the Sept. 16 episode in which Blackwater security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect …
Ryan Singel / Wired News:
Sensitive Guantánamo Bay Manual Leaked Through Wiki Site — A never-before-seen military manual detailing the day-to-day operations of the U.S. military's Guantánamo Bay detention facility has been leaked to the web, affording a rare inside glimpse into the institution …
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
The Kathleen Willey Interview — Yesterday, I did a phone interview with Kathleen Willey, who has a new book out: Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton. — What follows is a transcript of our conversation, edited slightly for readability's sake.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Who Wants To Be The Analog To Kos At Newsweek? — Via a number of sources, Markos Moulitsas has won a column assignment at Newsweek. In a press release, the magazine announced that Markos will occasionally appear in both the print and on-line versions of the periodical …
Richelieu / Weekly Standard:
Giuliani's House of Mirrors — The Giuliani campaign is playing a beautiful game of three card monte with the national media regarding the expectations game in Iowa and New Hampshire - not that I've ventured out of the Cathedral to actually witness such a sinful game of tricks and deceit. ...
Simon Heffer / Telegraph:
The Union of England and Scotland is over — Pity, for a moment, the most interesting man in the world, Alistair Darling. Last Friday he had an impossible mission, and I apologise in advance for teasing him about it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer went to Stirling University in his …
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Should Hillary Pretend to Be a Flight Attendant? — In 2005, a year after Ellie Grossman, a doctor, met Ray Fisman, a professor, on a blind date, she was talking to her grandmother about her guy. — "Never let a man think you're smarter," her grandmother advised. "Men don't like that."