Harry Reid — compare and contrast  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  Russ Feingold, today, on the effects of Harry Reid's pro-administration dirty work: … All of this stems from Reid's refusal to honor the "hold" placed on that bill by Chris Dodd, who has been in the Senate for 24 years.

That picture of Hillary on Drudge right now.  —  Have you seen it?  —  Caption: "The Toll of a Campaign."  It seems so cruel.  Immodest Proposals writes: … My first reaction to that picture is simple disbelief.  How can she suddenly look that much older?

New HRC ads follow long internal struggle  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for president has undergone a dramatic change of direction in recent days, with the brainy, policy-oriented focus of most of the past 11 months giving way abruptly to an attempt to focus on Clinton's human side.

A tantalizing peek at history's greatest book  —  Thanks to a certain Christmas elf who sent us this early present:  —  Personally, I think the chapter about liberals being seKKKret racists will be the most LOL-worthy, although "The 1960s: Fascism Takes to the Streets" should be good for giggles as well.

USAT/Gallup Poll: Giuliani & Clinton hold slightly wider leads  —  Fresh off the presses, so to speak — the latest numbers from the national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, taken over the weekend.  They appear to show that the front-runners are still front-running:  —  Republicans.

Nava '09 admits to fabricating assault, threatening e-mails  —  Francisco Nava '09 has admitted to fabricating an alleged assault on himself that he said occurred Friday evening and to sending threatening emails to himself, other members of the Anscombe Society and prominent conservative …

Obama racial subtext surfaces in Iowa  —  Edwards parries a voter's question about Obama and the O.J. verdict  —  Presidential hopefuls former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., await the start of last Thursday's Des Moines Register Presidential Debate in Iowa.

IT'S PERFECTLY REASONABLE TO REJECT A CANDIDATE BECAUSE OF HIS RELIGIOUS VIEWS.  —  Just before this gets completely out of hand and becomes a mantralike repetition, let us please recall what the careful phrases of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution actually and very carefully and deliberately say:

Ron Paul For The Republican Nomination  —  By now, readers will know who I favor in the Democratic race.  Here's my most considered case.  But what of the GOP?  For me, it comes down to two men, Ron Paul and John McCain.  That may sound strange, because in many ways they are polar opposites …

First Read: King endorses Romney... no, Thompson  —  From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann  —  And the endorsements keep coming... Congressman Steve King (R), one of Iowa's most strident critics of illegal immigration and a champion of the state's rural conservatives, has endorsed Romney.

Explosion at 1211 Ave. of Americas, Home of Fox News, NY Post  —  An explosion occurred at the Midtown building that houses News corporation businesses including Fox News and the NY Post.  Fox 5 reports that a man was burned in the chemical explosion and 700 people have been evacuated.

Giuliani's Qualifications  —  At his blog on NRO, David Frum offers an answer to the question Ramesh put last week (to Lisa Schiffren) about what makes Rudy Giuliani stand out as uniquely qualified among the other GOP candidates to be commander-in-chief.  (Like David, I also support Rudy.)

Shorter Candidates  —  Obama: The system sucks, but I'm so awesome that it'll melt away before me.  —  Edwards: The system sucks, and we're gonna have to fight like hell to destroy it.  —  Clinton: The system sucks, and I know how to work within it more than anyone.