Top Items:
Scott Helman / Boston Globe:
McCain closing gap with Romney — In N.H. poll, Obama inches ahead of Clinton — Senator John McCain of Arizona, whose bid for the Republican presidential nomination was all but dead this summer, has made a dramatic recovery in the Granite State 2 1/2 weeks before the 2008 vote …
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Washington Post:
Splintered GOP Seeks Unifying Presence — DES MOINES — For three decades, the Republican presidential nominating contest has served to unify the national party's coalition of social, economic and foreign policy conservatives in advance of a general election fight with Democrats.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Can't Anyone Play This Here Game? — If any presidential primary ever exemplified None Of The Above, it's the one inflicted on us now. According to Rasmussen, everyone gets a negative favorability rating in this race — and I mean everyone (via Memeorandum):
Discussion:
Fausta's blog, Jules Crittenden, PoliGazette, Doug Ross, Punditry, Chuck Adkins, Macsmind, Rasmussen Reports and eyeon08.com
James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
Edwards and Romney Highlight Parties' Views of Wealth — A fascinating NYT profile shows how John Edwards and Mitt Romney became very wealthy circa 1984 and drew very different lessons from it. … Now, in fairness, the two men came from very different social backgrounds to begin with …
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David Leonhardt / New York Times:
2 Candidates, 2 Fortunes, 2 Views of Wealth — By the final weeks of 1984, well before either turned 40, John Edwards and Mitt Romney had already built successful careers. But the two men were each on the verge of an entirely new level of financial success.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Brilliant at Breakfast, Liberal Values, The American Street and The Corner
Concord Monitor:
Romney should not be the next president — December 22. — If you were building a Republican presidential candidate from a kit, imagine what pieces you might use: an athletic build, ramrod posture, Reaganesque hair, a charismatic speaking style and a crisp dark suit.
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, The Caucus, PBD, The Trail, Norwegianity, Blue Hampshire, Jules Crittenden, Chuck Adkins, Punditry, Raising Kaine, AMERICAblog and TPM Election Central
The Quad-City Times / Quad City Times:
Times Democratic caucus endorsement: Hillary Clinton passes the test — Hillary Clinton passes test after test after test. This Clinton arrived for the caucus campaign with much, much more experience than the first Clinton to stump across Iowa. In campaign speeches and in an interview …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Washington Post:
In Britain, A Respected, If Rowdy, Holiday Ritual — LONDON — Just before midnight, the well-dressed, 25-year-old financial trader arrived by ambulance at the makeshift hospital tent pitched at a train station in central London. Blood oozed from his scalp, staining his elegant pink-striped shirt.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
Frank Rich / New York Times:
A Résumé Can't Buy You Love — WE can only imagine what is going on inside John McCain's head when he contemplates Mike Huckabee. It can't be pretty. No presidential candidate in either party has more experience in matters of war than the Arizona senator …
NY Daily News:
It's about Hillary, stupid — Something was bugging me, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Then it hit me. While I was reading about the campaign, the realization came like a thunderbolt: I'm tired of Bill Clinton. — Tired of his half-truths and full lies about where he stood on Iraq.
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Griff Witte / Washington Post:
Pakistan's Islamic Parties Struggle for Support — 5 Years After Sweep In NW Province, Backers Frustrated — PESHAWAR, Pakistan — In 2002, Ibrar Hussein voted for an Islamic takeover. — Fed up both with Pakistan's military-led government and with the mainstream, secular opposition …
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Savior or Saboteur? — Once it was about Hillary, but now, of course, it's about Bill. — Our ubiquitous ex-president is playing his favorite uxorious game, and it goes like this: Let's create chaos and then get out of it together. You ride to my rescue or I ride to yours.
Caroline Davies / Guardian:
How the Queen got well connected — In a bid to appeal to the internet generation, the royals launch their own YouTube channel — The Queen has taken a bold stride into cyberspace by launching her own channel on the video-sharing website YouTube. The Royal Channel launches today …
Discussion:
Pat Dollard
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Iran Cited In Iraq's Decline in Violence — Order From Tehran Reined In Militias, U.S. Official Says — The Iranian government has decided “at the most senior levels” to rein in the violent Shiite militias it supports in Iraq, a move reflected in a sharp decrease in sophisticated roadside bomb attacks …