Top Items:
Glenn Thrush / Newsday:
Clinton insiders question top aide's approach — Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks at a "town hall meeting" in San Francisco December 11. (McClatchy-Tribune / December 11, 2007) — DES MOINES - On the eve of the final Iowa debate before the Jan. 3 caucuses …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Moderate Voice, Weekly Standard, Salon, RealClearPolitics, TIME, AMERICAblog, Telegraph Blogs and TPM Election Central
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Mevanh / The Page:
Another Political "Sorry" — On tarmac at Reagan Airport en route to debate, Clinton tells rival that negative, personal characterizations are not a part of her campaign. — Disavows comments by big-shot New Hampshire supporter Billy Shaheen. — Obama campaign's Robert Gibbs tells The Page it was "a good exchange."
Discussion:
The Fix, The Daily Dish, michellemalkin.com, JunkYardBlog, Boston Globe, AMERICAN DIGEST, Salon, Blue Hampshire, Slog, Riehl World View, Oliver Willis and Hot Air
Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
A Dud From Team Clinton — David Axelrod, the seasoned Chicago Democratic operative who is chief strategist for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, was taken by surprise in the last minute of CBS's "Face the Nation" on Dec. 2. Howard Wolfson, Sen. Hillary Clinton's spokesman, accused Obama of running a "slush fund."
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Blue Crab Boulevard, Connecting.the.Dots, Reason Magazine and Real Clear Politics
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
In Iowa, a Scrambling Lesson for Clinton
In Iowa, a Scrambling Lesson for Clinton
Discussion:
The Caucus, MSNBC, Taylor Marsh, Los Angeles Times, Ben Smith's Blogs, Riehl World View and The Swamp
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Democrats Bow to Bush's Demands in House Spending Bill — House Democratic leaders yesterday agreed to meet President Bush's bottom-line spending limit on a sprawling, half-trillion-dollar domestic spending bill, dropping their demands for as much as $22 billion in additional spending …
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John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Judiciary approves contempt resolutions — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved contempt resolutions against Karl Rove, the former top aide to President Bush, and Joshua Bolten, the current White House chief of staff. The vote was 12-8. — The criminal contempt resolutions now move …
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Two GOPers Join Dems in White House Contempt Vote — Earlier we noted that the Senate Judiciary Committee had voted to approve contempt resolutions against Karl Rove and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten for failing to comply with subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney firings probe.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
NY Daily News:
Subpoenas for Al Sharpton's aides — Teams of federal agents swooped down on up to 10 close associates of the Rev. Al Sharpton Wednesday, demanding the flamboyant clergyman's financial records since 2001. — Sharpton's former chief of staff said he was roused at his Harlem home about 6:30 …
Discussion:
City Room, UrbanGrounds, Oliver Willis, Wonkette, Betsy's Page, Big Head DC and Spin Cycle
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Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Mystery: Who's Behind Brutal Web Video Slamming Huckabee Over Paroled Rapist? — Okay, this is interesting. Take a look at this new and absolutely brutal Web video that slams Mike Huckabee over his role (first reported by The Huffington Post) in pushing for serial rapist Wayne Dumond:
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ArkansasTimes:
Dumond goes viral UPDATE — Mike Huckabee's advocacy of rapist/killer Wayne Dumond's release has hit YouTube in a piece Talking Points Memo terms brutal in the course of looking into its provenance. The mother of Dumond's Missouri murder victim is featured. — An Arkansas Republican, Keith Emis, takes responsibility.
Roger Cohen / New York Times:
Secular Europe's Merits — The cathedral here, on which work began in the 12th century, was once the largest in Scotland, until a mob of reformers bent on eradicating lavish manifestations of "Popery" ransacked the place in 1559, leaving gulls to swoop through the surviving facade.
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Charles Krauthammer / Townhall.com:
Knee-Deep in Religion — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney declares …
Knee-Deep in Religion — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney declares …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Scott Shane / New York Times:
C.I.A. Agents Sense Shifting Support for Methods — WASHINGTON — For six years, Central Intelligence Agency officers have worried that someday the tide of post-Sept. 11 opinion would turn, and their harsh treatment of prisoners from Al Qaeda would be subjected to hostile scrutiny and possible criminal prosecution.
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, Captain's Quarters, The Daily Dish, Hot Air, Empire Burlesque, Weasel Zippers, Say Anything and The Heretik
Time:
Rudy: All Business — Not long after he stepped down as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani received an intriguing offer. A group of officials from a Florida company called Seisint Inc. asked him to promote a powerful new database technology capable of tracking potential terrorists and other criminals.
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Tapscott's Copy Desk:
A dream comes true: USASpending.gov goes live today — Nearly eight years ago, Bill Beach, director of The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis, and I invited Gary Bass of OMB Watch over for a chat about the possibility of our two organizations collaborating in an effort to put all federal spending on the Internet.
Discussion:
Heritage Foundation
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Henry Kissinger / Washington Post:
Misreading the Iran Report — The extraordinary spectacle of the president's national security adviser obliged to defend the president's Iran policy against a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) raises two core issues: How are we now to judge the nuclear threat posed by Iran?
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, Commentary, NO QUARTER, The American Street, Jules Crittenden, Power Line and Outside The Beltway
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
Romney's (almost) Dean Scream speech — From NBC/NJ's Erin McPike — If anything is certain about the GOP presidential primary, it's that Romney really, really wants to win Iowa. Desperately. — After hitting a post-debate party around Des Moines on Wednesday, he flew to Cedar Rapids …
Byron York / The Hill:
When waterboarding works — About a year ago, I had dinner with a man who played a key role in the U.S. war on terror. — The talk turned to allegations of torture. He said that our policy should be that we do not torture. And we should adhere to that policy.
Discussion:
macsmind.com/wordpress
Matthew Yglesias:
Jesus and Lucifer, Sitting in a Tree — Here's an odd addendum to the story about Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Mormons, and the question of Jesus and Lucifer being brothers. The LDS church sent out a spokesperson to complain: … Fair enough, but as Andrew pointed out yesterday …