Top Items:
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
The Two Words That Strike Fear Into The GOP — They aren't Hillary Clinton, nor are they Ron Paul. The two words that will haunt the early primary states are "brokered convention", and we may be heading towards it. At Heading Right, I review the McClatchy analysis of what looks to be a Rudy Giuliani slide.
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David Yepsen / Des Moines Register:
Don't rule out surges by Edwards, Thompson — There's a lot of buzz about the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for Democratic caucus votes in Iowa. And there's also a lot of talk about the fight between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee on the Republican side.
Tom Baxter / Southern Political Report:
Edwards takes lead in InsiderAdvantage Iowa poll — John Edwards has leapfrogged over his rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and leads the Democratic field in Iowa, according to the latest InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll. In the Republican caucus race, Mike Huckabee continues to hold a narrow lead over Mitt Romney.
Matt Lewis / TownHall Blog:
Fred Thompson Making a Major Move in Iowa … ... That's according to Sen. Fred Thompson's Iowa Executive Director, Robert Haus, a self-proclaimed "fossil" of Iowa politics who has worked for candidates like Sen. Chuck Grassley, Bob Dole, and Steve Forbes. — Of course, Haus was referencing …
USA Today:
Poll: Electability key among Democrats
Poll: Electability key among Democrats
Discussion:
Gallup, Reuters, The Moderate Voice, QandO, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Raleigh News & Observer, Pollster.com, Blogs For Victory, Taylor Marsh, Political Machine, Greatscat!, The Fix, Des Moines Register, Los Angeles Times, protein wisdom, Washington Post, NY Daily News, Nashuatelegraph.com, Associated Press, Blue Crab Boulevard, MSNBC, Obama HQ, Quad City Times, Washington Times, The Ruckus, Neptunus Lex and TPM Election Central
National Enquirer:
NATIONAL ENQUIRER WORLD EXCLUSIVE: JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD SCANDAL! — The woman linked to Presidential candidate John Edwards in a cheating scandal is more than six months pregnant and telling a close confidante that Edwards is the father of her unborn child, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.
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Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Huckabee Adviser Clarifies Remark About Homosexuality And Necrophilia: They're Both "Aberrant Behavior," But They're At "Opposite Ends Of The Spectrum" — By Greg Sargent - December 18, 2007, 4:57PM — Oh, man. One of Mike Huckabee's chief advisers has just attempted to clarify …
Discussion:
Think Progress, MoJoBlog, The Daily Dish, The Carpetbagger Report, The Corner, TownHall Blog and Lean Left
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Martin Kady II / The Politico:
Reid: The American people are losing — If this is what winning looks like, then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants no part of it. — Tired of Republican crowing about winning on Iraq funding, the budget battle and the energy bill, Reid (D-Nev.) shot back on Tuesday afternoon.
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Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Reid: Al Qaeda Still Winning In Iraq — Harry Reid doesn't know when to give up, or more precisely, when to give up on giving up. After spending the last several months trying to live down his declaration of America's defeat in Iraq on the Senate floor, Reid once again gave al-Qaeda …
Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Huckabee touts 'the celebration of the birth of Christ' in ad — By all indications, American presidential campaigns have featured television campaigns for about six decades. Over that period, presidential hopefuls have made just about every appeal imaginable, but it appears that none have ever actually used the word "Christ."
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Ron Paul on Huck's Christmas ad: When fascism comes, it'll come bearing a cross
Ron Paul on Huck's Christmas ad: When fascism comes, it'll come bearing a cross
Discussion:
Political Radar, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, The Campaign Spot, Confederate Yankee and Riehl World View
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Senate OKs $70 bn for Iraq-Afghanistan — The Senate, by a vote of 70-25, approved $70 billion for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding another political victory to the recent string of wins by President Bush and GOP congressional leaders. — 21 Democrats, including Armed …
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Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
Senate OKs $70B for Iraq, Afghanistan
Senate OKs $70B for Iraq, Afghanistan
Discussion:
The Grumpy Forester
New York Times:
Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes — WASHINGTON — At least four top White House lawyers took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives from Al Qaeda …
Discussion:
Balkinization
Reuters:
New York Times in Iraq: "Blackwater shot our dog" — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Iraq is investigating another deadly shooting incident involving its Blackwater bodyguards — this time of the New York Times's dog. — Staff at the newspaper's Baghdad bureau …
Rsinderbrand / CNN Political Ticker:
Elder Bush nixes Clinton trip idea — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President George H.W. Bush has shot down his successor Bill Clinton's idea of a diplomatic mission under a Hillary Clinton presidency that would send him and other notables abroad to assure other nations that "America is open for business and cooperation again."
Logan Murphy / Crooks and Liars:
Countdown: Senator Chris Dodd On The FISA Victory — Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Chris Dodd, appeared on Tuesday's Countdown to discuss his victory on the Senate floor yesterday, by forcing an amendment to the FISA legislation that would have given retroactive immunity …
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Charles Paul Freund / American Spectator:
A Brutalist Bargain — How many dollars does it take to change a light bulb? Well, if the defunct bulb you're replacing has been illuminating the Third Church of Christ, Scientist in downtown Washington, you could be looking at a bill of up to $8,000. That's because unscrewing a blown bulb …
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
New Fred Thompson Video: Kill. Protect. Punch. — If Fred wants to win the election, all he has to do is put this in constant rotation in Iowa and his victory would be guaranteed...or he would actually drop into last place. One or the other.
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack, Redstate, Wizbang, Macsmind, Stop The ACLU, The American Mind and Hot Air
Marc Ambinder:
Huck = Harriett Miers? — Huck = Harriett Miers? — A conservative counter-revolution is breaking out in the talk radio universe and on prominent conservative blogs. — The same forces that joined to force the White House to withdraw Harriett Miers' Supreme Court nomination …