Romney for President  —  Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate.  Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything — all the traits, all the positions — we are looking for.  Equally conservative analysts can reach …

DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION  —  Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal.  —  The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination.

InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Weekend Survey: Obama Extends Lead in South Carolina  —  Compiled from InsiderAdvantage and Southern Political Report staff reports  —  An InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion survey conducted December 8-9 of likely voters in South Carolina's presidential …

TPM's Timeline of the CIA's Torture Tapes  —  For years, the CIA denied recording any interrogations of al-Qaeda detainees.  For years, the Bush administration denied issuing any legal authorization for torture.  And for years, members of Congress claimed ignorance of what the CIA …

House Democrats Pull Budget Offer  —  The GOP Is Negotiating In Bad Faith, Obey Says  —  A Democratic deal to give President Bush some war funding in exchange for additional domestic spending appeared to collapse last night after House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) …

Larry O'Donnell admits he's afraid to criticize Islam publicly  —  Consider this post a companion post to Allah's, about the Muslim man who murdered his daughter because she wouldn't wear the hijab.  If you criticize the man and/or his religious motivation, consider yourself more courageous than one of the MSM's prominent pundits.

Huckabee to Romney: Grow Up, This Isn't Third Grade  —  (And even if it was, no one would like you...)  —  Just to pick up on what I wrote about last night and earlier today, Huckabee held a longish press conference here this morning after canceling some local events due to weather.

Bush to tap Glassman to shape US image  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush intends to name a well-known conservative commentator and journalist to lead the State Department's struggling efforts to improve the U.S.'s image abroad, replacing long-time confidante Karen Hughes, who is leaving government …

U.S. SENTENCING COMMISSION VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO APPLY AMENDMENT RETROACTIVELY FOR CRACK COCAINE OFFENSES  —  Effective Date for Retroactivity Set for March 3, 2008  —  The United States Sentencing Commission unanimously voted today to give retroactive effect to a recent amendment …

How Ron Paul Can Ruin Fred Thompson  —  There's been a lot of buzz over Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen's crusade against the possibility of campaigns organizing non-Iowa resident college students to caucus.  Most of the talk has been about whether Obama will pull in loads of Illinois college kids.

Dad charged in teen's death  —  A 16-year-old girl is dead and her father has been charged with murder after an attack in a Mississauga home.  —  Aqsa Parvez, a student at Applewood Heights Secondary School, had been on life support in hospital since yesterday morning.

Liberal views could haunt Obama  —  When Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was seeking state office a dozen years ago, he took unabashedly liberal positions: flatly opposed to capital punishment, in support of a federal single-payer health plan, against any restrictions on abortion …

Labor Unions Support WGA, Fire Union Busting Consultant Chris Lehane  —  SEIU Local 99 in Los Angeles — education workers who include teacher's aids, cafeteria workers and crossing guards — have fired former Clinton spokesman Chris Lehane from a consulting contract in support of the WGA .

GOP Tries to Avoid Unpleasant Surprise in Ohio  —  The reliably Republican nature of Ohio's 5th district would seem to make it an unlikely target for Democrats, but a target it is in Tuesday's special election.  —  And while political operatives from both parties scramble to downplay expectations …

NBC refunds advertisers as ratings plunge  —  NEW YORK (Media Week) - Fourth-ranked broadcaster NBC has quietly begun reimbursing advertisers an average of $500,000 each for failing to reach guaranteed ratings levels, the first time a network has taken such a step in years, media buyers said.

Bush issues 29 pardons but Libby not among them  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush granted pardons to 29 people on Tuesday but Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, was not among them.  —  There has been speculation that before he leaves office …