Top Items:
CNN Political Ticker:
Gore: I'd only consider White House bid — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Vice President Al Gore denied again that there were any campaign plans in his immediate future, but told CNN Monday that he hadn't "ruled out getting back into the political process at some point" — and that if he did return …
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Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:
Report Describes Systematic White House Effort to Manipulate Climate Change Science — For the past 16 months, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been investigating allegations of political interference with government climate change science under the Bush Administration.
Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Libby drops appeal in CIA leak case — WASHINGTON - Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is no longer appealing his conviction in the CIA leak case, a tacit recognition that continuing his legal fight might only make things worse. — Libby, the former chief of staff …
ABCNEWS:
Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR — KBR Told Victim She Could Lose Her Job If She Sought Help After Being Raped, She Says — A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.
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Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report:
The Perfect Victim Meets the Perfect Villains — I know I'm going to take a lot of heat for this, but this story just sound so.... well.... er ... far-fetched. — Not the rape part—rape happens all the time (gang rapes, not so much, but occasionally). Not the cover up part—cover ups happen all the time.
Dalia Sussman / The Caucus:
New NYTimes/CBS Poll: Explain, Don't Attack — The latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds voters give the presidential candidates positive marks on at least one score at this stage in their campaigns: They credit them with spending more time explaining what they would do as president rather than attacking their opponents.
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New York Times:
G.O.P. Voters Are Uninspired by Candidates — Three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Republicans voters across the country appear uninspired by their field of presidential candidates, with a vast majority saying they have not made a final decision about who to support, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
ABCNEWS:
Coming in From the Cold: CIA Spy Calls Waterboarding Necessary But Torture — Former Agent Says the Enhanced Technique Was Used on Al Qaeda Chief Abu Zubaydah — A leader of the CIA team that captured and interrogated the first major al Qaeda figure, Abu Zubaydah, says subjecting him to waterboarding was torture but necessary.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Majikthise, The Atlantic Online, TalkLeft, AMERICAN FUTURE, Booman Tribune, TVNewser, Daily Kos and Hot Air
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Thomas Hendrick / TheDenverChannel.com:
Security Guard: 'God Guided Me And Protected Me' — Jeanne Assam Stopped Gunman At New Life Church — COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Jeanne Assam appeared before the news media for the first time Monday and said she "did not think for a minute to run away" when a gunman entered the New Life Church …
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David Wooding / The Sun:
Happy Xmas, your war is over! — GORDON Brown yesterday delivered a stirring festive message to Our Boys in Iraq: "Happy Christmas - war is over." — The PM was cheered as he praised UK troops and revealed combat operations in Basra will end "within two weeks".
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere, Think Progress, BBC, Don Surber, Cliff Schecter, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Say Anything and Brave New Films blog
Michael Fechter / Articles by the Investigative …:
EXCLUSIVE IPT INVESTIGATION UNCOVERS HLF JURY ROOM BULLYING — DALLAS - She felt the men were guilty and tried to explain why to the 11 other jurors. When she finished, one juror spoke up in an angry tone. — "If you're going by the evidence in this room," she recalls him snapping, "then you need to go home."
MotherJones.com:
Huckabee Hides His Full Gospel? — WASHINGTON DISPATCH: Is Mike Huckabee the presidential candidate shunning Mike Huckabee the preacher? Before entering politics, he was a pastor at two Baptist churches. Now his campaign tells Mother Jones it won't make his sermons available to the media and the public.
Discussion:
Think Progress, Hot Air, TalkLeft, The Atlantic Online, David Corn, Riehl World View and Shakespeare's Sister
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Albert R. Hunt / Bloomberg:
Tension in Hillaryland Grows as Plan Goes Awry: Albert R. Hunt — Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — To appreciate Hillary Clinton's fundamental political problem, consider the 11 Democrats from Philadelphia who gathered last week to discuss the U.S. presidential race, almost all of whom would vote for her in a general election.
Discussion:
MSNBC, Outside The Beltway, The Atlantic Online, Los Angeles Times, AMERICAblog, National Review, PoliGazette, Open Left, Donklephant, PrairiePundit, Taylor Marsh, The Strata-Sphere, Booman Tribune, The Opinionator, Hot Air, Middle Earth Journal, The New Republic and TPM Election Central
M.J. Rosenberg / The Coffee House:
Rudy Self-Destructs on Russert — I have been watching Meet The Press since, I don't know, Estes Kefauver days and, I'm sad to say, Rudy Giuliani provided the worst performance I've ever seen by a major Presidential candidate. — Okay, I am not sad to say. I am delighted.
Discussion:
Cogitamus, democracyarsenal.org, Eschaton, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, MSNBC and Crooks and Liars
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Ben Craw / Talking Points Memo:
RUDY GIGGLIANI! — Ask and ye shall receive...
RUDY GIGGLIANI! — Ask and ye shall receive...
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister
John Distaso / New Hampshire Union Leader:
Shea-Porter to back Obama — U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter has decided to endorse Barack Obama for President, UnionLeader.com has learned. — The freshman 1st District congresswoman had been considering staying neutral in the primary, but has now decided to get involved.