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USA Today:
Poll: Obama makes gains, is even with Clinton in N.H. — PELHAM, N.H. — Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in a dead heat among New Hampshire voters in a statewide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, underscoring the volatility of the race less than three weeks before the nation's first primary.
Discussion:
The Caucus, Blue Crab Boulevard, TPM Election Central, Riehl World View, MSNBC and AMERICAblog
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CNN Political Ticker:
Obama hits Clinton on electability — (CNN) — Barack Obama took direct aim Thursday night at Hillary Clinton's claim that she is the most electable Democrat in the presidential field, telling a New Hampshire crowd that the argument that “is being pushed, by the way, by a candidate who starts off with a 47 percent disapproval ratings.”
Patrick Healy / The Caucus:
Richardson Accuses Clinton of ‘Flip-Flop’ on Iraq Pullout — MUSCATINE, Iowa — I just got a phone call — unprompted — from Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democratic candidate for president, blasting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for saying she would withdraw nearly all American troops …
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye, Open Left, Comments from Left Field, MyDD, TPM Election Central and Instapundit.com
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Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:
A Problem Like Bill — Hillary Clinton tells audiences that having lived in the White House for eight eventful years, she's eager to take charge as president on “day one." Apparently, though, so is Bill. — Before the Clinton campaign's recent shift to themes of warmth and approachability …
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Hasta La Vista — Tom Tancredo is an angry man. — We know this because he has proposed dropping bombs on Mecca. We know this because he sang “Dixie” at a South Carolina gathering full of Confederate flags and white supremacists. And we know this because he wants to expel 12 million people now living in the United States.
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Janet Hook / Los Angeles Times:
Bush boxed in his congressional foes — HALCYON DAY: Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) at the opening of the 110th Congress in January. Over the course of a year, President Bush used his veto and a core of loyal Republicans to substantially limit gains by the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
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Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Stewart and Colbert to Return Without Writers — Comedy Central's pair of popular news satirists, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, will return to their late-night television shows on Jan. 7, two months after production was suspended because of a writers' strike.
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John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
An Interview With Fred Thompson's Wife, Jeri Thompson — Yesterday, I got together with Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Thompson, for a phone interview as she traveled around Iowa. Unfortunately, near the end of the interview, while she was running low on time, she hit a bad cell.
Associated Press:
Huckabee Surges, Giuliani Plummets — By The Associated Press - 13 hours ago — THE RACE: The presidential race for Republicans in Michigan. — ___ — THE NUMBERS — REPUBLICANS — Mitt Romney, 21 percent — Mike Huckabee, 19 percent — Rudy Giuliani, 12 percent — John McCain, 10 percent
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Luke Harding / Guardian:
Putin ‘has secret $40bn fortune’ — An unprecedented battle is taking place inside the Kremlin in advance of Vladimir Putin's departure from office, the Guardian has learned, with claims that the president presides over a secret multibillion-dollar fortune.
Raf Casert / Associated Press:
Belgium arrests 14 in terrorist plot — BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian police Friday arrested 14 Muslim extremists suspected of planning to free an al-Qaida sympathizer imprisoned for planning a terrorist attack on U.S. air base personnel, officials said. — Security was heightened at airports …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
McCain Campaign Calls Allegations ‘Gutter Politics’ — Sen. John McCain said today that he has “never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special-interest group” as his presidential campaign rushed out a statement denouncing allegations that he did anything to benefit a specific Washington lobbyist as “gutter politics.”
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Business As Usual On The Border — The reliably thoughtful Andrew Sullivan delivers his perspective on the awful story of a Nordic would-be tourist: … Matt Yglesias joins in: … So, this incident from Cheney's America reads like an Eastern European country in the 70's?
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Mark Clothier / Bloomberg:
Circuit City Loss Widens; Shares Plunge on Forecast — Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Circuit City Stores Inc., the second-largest U.S. consumer-electronics retailer, reported a fifth straight loss and said it won't make money this quarter, when it typically generates most of its annual profit.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Reid and company target the true enemy: “Dodd and his allies” — (updated below - Update II) — During yesterday's chat with Washington Post Congressional reporter Paul Kane, this extremely revealing exchange occurred, regarding the view of Harry Reid and other anonymous Democrats …
Discussion:
Brian Beutler