memeorandum: Australia's Prime Minister Defeated After Four Terms (Tim Johnston/New York Times)

Howard Admits Election Defeat — Australian Prime Minister John Howard has suffered a humiliating election defeat as the opposition Labor Party swept into power. — Mr Howard, who was seeking a fifth term after 11 years of conservative rule, said he had telephoned Labor leader Kevin Rudd to congratulate him on his victory.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Time, Tim Blair, Chuck Adkins and Middle Earth Journal

Tim Johnston / New York Times:

Australia's Prime Minister Defeated After Four Terms — Prime Minister John Howard of Australia suffered a comprehensive defeat today, with a coalition led by his Liberal Party losing its majority in parliament. — After four terms in office, he will be replaced by Kevin Rudd, a Labor Party leader and former diplomat.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Shakespeare's Sister, Sweetness & Light, Group News Blog, Daimnation! and PoliBlog (TM)

Michelle Malkin:

John Howard loses in Australia — Australian PM John Howard, staunch US ally and outspoken critic of jihad and the global spread, lost his re-election bid. He was Australia's second-longest serving prime minister behind Liberal Party founder Sir Robert Menzies. All Americans should mark the end of his tenure with gratitude.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Sydney Morning Herald, Say Anything, BitsBlog and Macsmind

Rohan Sullivan / Associated Press:

Labor Party wins big in Australia — SYDNEY, Australia - Conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat Saturday at the hands of the left-leaning opposition, whose leader has promised to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and withdraw Australia's combat troops from Iraq.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, DownWithTyranny!, All Spin Zone, EU Referendum and Firedoglake

The Australian:

Rudd says he'll govern for all — AUSTRALIA had looked to the future and had decided the nation must move forward, Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd said tonight. — Claiming the election win he said Australia had decided to prepare and plan to make the nation a better place …

Discussion: The Corner, BBC, Xinhua News Agency, The Moderate Voice, Guardian and Telegraph

Jules Crittenden:

Pre-9/11 Era — Another one of the original three who stood up, Bush, Blair and Howard, is gone. Australia votes Labor. Good luck with that. — Andrew Bolt's blow by blow. Howard's gracious, and so is Bolt. — Bolt lets readers cry here, and gloat here. — The Australian: Rudd says he'll govern for all.

Barbie Dutter / Telegraph: Labour sweeps to victory in Australian election

Andrew Bolt:
Election '07 - The results come in. (7.45pm: Labor wins)

Discussion: Tim Blair, The Belmont Club and Silent Running

Glenn Greenwald / Salon: Good riddance to John Howard

Terry Eastland / Weekly Standard:

The Huckabee Surge — He's running strong in Iowa, but has he peaked? — For Bob Vander Plaats, January 3—the day of the Iowa caucus—can't get here quickly enough. Vander Plaats, chairman of the Mike Huckabee campaign in Iowa, can read the polls, and in the latest surveys …

Discussion: TownHall Blog

Faye Fiore / Los Angeles Times:
Does perfection have its price for Romney?

Discussion: The Caucus

Terry Tang / Associated Press:

Illegal immigrant rescues boy in desert — PHOENIX - A 9-year-old boy looking for help after his mother crashed their van in the southern Arizona desert was rescued by a man entering the U.S. illegally, who stayed with him until help arrived the next day, an official said.

Discussion: Wake up America, Booman Tribune, TalkLeft and The Unapologetic Mexican

Clancy Chassay / Guardian:

Lebanese army handed power — Lebanon was again plunged into uncertainty yesterday after parliament failed in a fifth attempt to elect a president, and the former Syrian backed-president Emile Lahoud, whose term ended at midnight, passed control of the security services over to the army, declaring a state of emergency.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Washington Post, Outside The Beltway and abu muqawama

Gateway Pundit:
Fireworks in Lebanon... Pro-Syrian President Steps Down

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, The Belmont Club, Publius Pundit and Washington Post

From Beirut to the Beltway:
Lahoud hands over security to army (corrected)

Discussion: Blogs of War

Andy Soltis / New York Post:

'BLAME U.S. FOR 9/11' IDIOTS IN MAJORITY — 'PLOTS' THICKEN IN SHOCKING POLL — Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the federal government had warnings about 9/11 but decided to ignore them, a national survey found. — And that's not the only conspiracy theory with a huge number of true believers in the United States.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, JammieWearingFool and Betsy's Page

Michael Kinsley / Washington Post:

Who Needs Experience? — Hillary Clinton declared the other day — apropos of whom, she didn't say, or need to — "We can't afford on-the-job training for our next president." Barack Obama immediately retorted, "My understanding is that she wasn't Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Prairie Weather

Opinion Journal:

Guns and the Constitution — Is the Second Amendment an individual, or collective, right? — In recent decades, the Supreme Court has discovered any number of new rights not in the explicit text of the Constitution. Now it has the opportunity to validate a right that resides in plain sight …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Betsy's Page

Scott Galupo / Washington Times:

Libertarians: the new 'It' faction — It's altogether fitting that the new host of "The Price Is Right" — a game show on which contestants try to guess the going rate of various consumer products — is a free-market enthusiast. — More intriguing is said host's part-time job: libertarian proselytizer.

Discussion: Marginal Revolution

Michael Levenson / Boston Globe:

Romney calls for judge to resign — Tuttman released killer without bail — Twenty months after he put a career prosecutor on the Massachusetts Superior Court bench, confident in her law-and-order credentials, Mitt Romney called yesterday for the judge to resign because she released without bail …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com

Alec MacGillis / Washington Post:

Giuliani's Critics Point to Cronyism — Appointments While Mayor Are Said to Tarnish His Leadership Credentials — "Surround Yourself With Great People" was the title of a chapter in "Leadership," Rudolph W. Giuliani's best-selling celebration of his management style …

Discussion: TalkLeft