New poll shows Clinton trails top 2008 Republicans  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton trails five top Republican presidential contenders in general election match-ups, a drop in support from this summer, according to a poll released on Monday.

Mississippi special election date causes uncertainty  —  The timing of Sen. Trent Lott's (R-Miss.) resignation has opened legal questions about the date of the special election, which state officials were still trying to clarify Monday afternoon.  —  Gov. Haley Barbour (R) …

Joe Klein digs Time's hole deeper still  —  (updated below)  —  Joe Klein has just posted yet again about his FISA confusion, and it has now moved well beyond farce into an almost pity-inducing realm.  If Time has any dignity at all, someone there will intervene and put a stop to this.

Trent Lott Fallout: The Gay Escort Who Knew Too Much  —  UPDATE, 5:30: "Here's my public comment, on-the-record: Sen. Lott and I have no current affiliation with one another.  I'm sure he would appreciate no further scrutiny," Benjamin Nicholas tells Big Head DC.  —  ORIGINAL:  —  Must credit Big Head DC:

A MUSLIM BELONGS IN THE CABINET  —  Muslims are uniquely qualified to help deter Islamist threats. … Mitt Romney tells good jokes.  I had the chance to hear a few of them this month at a political fundraiser in Las Vegas, where the Republican presidential contender gave his audience a few …

Iraqis may offer US deal to stay longer  —  BAGHDAD - Iraq's government, seeking protection against foreign threats and internal coups, will offer the U.S. a long-term troop presence in Iraq in return for U.S. security guarantees as part of a strategic partnership, two Iraqi officials said Monday.

Official: Bride, groom stopped in Iraq actually terror suspects  —  BAGHDAD (CNN) — Soldiers manning a checkpoint near Baghdad stopped a wedding convoy to find that the purported bride and groom were wanted terror suspects, an Iraqi Defense Ministry official said Monday.

In search of an across the board "leave me the heck alone" conservative  —  You can take or leave this post, but I figured I'd lay out my present thinking on this race, looking at just the top candidates: Rudy, Mitt, Fred, John, and Mike.  —  Of the five candidates, all, I think we can say, are conservative in some way.

Gore meets Bush, declares it 'cordial... substantive'  —  Al Gore slipped out the side door of the West Wing.  —  In his private Oval Office meeting with President Bush, the former vice president insisted that they had spoken about global warming "the whole time.'' It wasn't clear if the winner …

Taking Marriage Private  —  WHY do people — gay or straight — need the state's permission to marry?  For most of Western history, they didn't, because marriage was a private contract between two families.  The parents' agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity.

Ron Paul endorsed by Nevada brothel owner  —  Political contribution boxes to be left outside Carson City's BunnyRanch  —  RENO, Nev. - Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, an underdog Texas congressman with a libertarian streak, has picked up an endorsement from a Nevada brothel owner.

Christopher Booker's Notebook  —  We are set on a course of 'planet saving' madness  —  The scare over global warming, and our politicians' response to it, is becoming ever more bizarre.  On the one hand we have the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change coming …

More Massive Bellyflops From The Republican Netroots  —  Five weeks ago, the NRCC launched a project to get supporters to create their own campaign videos attacking Democrats.  If successful, this project would defy a pattern where Republican grassroots activists never take action into their own hands:

Ahmadinejad offers to be US election observer  —  He denounces it as the "Great Satan" and frequently dismisses its power, but the overtures of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the US seem to grow ever more extravagant.  —  Having failed to win a response with an 18-page letter …

Teacher Arrested Over Teddy Bear Named Mohammed  —  A British teacher is facing 40 lashes in a Sudanese jail if convicted of insulting Islam's prophet by letting children name a teddy bear Mohammed.  —  Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was arrested on suspicion of blasphemy on Sunday.

Kennedy Memoirs Said to Fetch $8 Million  —  Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the most prominent surviving member of the Kennedy family, has agreed to sell his memoirs for an advance of more than $8 million, people with knowledge of the negotiations say.  —  After a six-day auction that concluded Nov. 19 …