Top Items:
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Hillary Edges Out Oprah as Most Admired Woman in '07 — PRINCETON, NJ — For the sixth year in a row, President George W. Bush is the most admired man and Sen. Hillary Clinton the most admired woman in Gallup's annual survey. But neither winner had a very decisive win this year …
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Jack Fowler / The Corner:
Praise for Liberal Fascism — Charles Murray declares: “'It is my argument that American liberalism is a totalitarian political religion,' Jonah Goldberg writes near the beginning of Liberal Fascism. My first reaction was that he is engaging in partisan hyperbole. That turned out to be wrong.
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James Wolcott / James Wolcott's Blog:
The Goldberg Variations — Jonah Goldberg's colleagues over at NRO's Corner continue the holiday spirit by passing on scraps of praise for his misshapen troll of a book, Liberal Fascism: From Jackboots to Joy Behar, to buck up his morale for the mockery and abuse waiting ahead.
Juan Cole:
Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2007 — 10. Myth: The US public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. … 9. Myth: There have been steps toward religious and political reconciliation in Iraq in 2007. Fact: The government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki …
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Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard:
While America Celebrates... Huckabee plunges. — WHEN WE PAID pundits try to provide campaign analysis, we often strain to find historical analogies. Although I'm not asking for sympathy, please understand that it's not easy. There have been only fifty-something presidential campaigns …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Cliff Schecter, Instapundit.com, Hot Air, FarsNewsAgency and BobKrumm.com
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Obama ups the ante in Iowa — MASON CITY, Iowa — One week before Iowans gather for the first-in-the-nation caucus, Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday that his message of change has already been “vindicated." — Obama made the declaration at the outset of a critical final push in Iowa …
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Michelle Malkin:
Would you, could you, vote McCain? — Here's some straight talk about John McCain from New Hampshire voters, via the Boston Globe. The voters' main concerns: He's a Ted Kennedy shamnesty supporter and he's too old: — The Manchester Union Leader attacks Romney as a Johnny-come-lately …
Discussion:
TownHall Blog, Captain's Quarters, National Review, The Glittering Eye, Stop The ACLU, Riehl World View and Hot Air
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Miss Mannered / My Left Wing:
Goodbye, Cruel Jews — I did not come to this site to fight in the Jew Wars. — I came to join with MSOC, in her words, to rage against the lying of the right, against injustice and cruelty. Instead, I found injustice, cruelty and hate directed at me. — I left, then, earlier this year …
Discussion:
Michael J. Totten, Little Green Footballs, The Jawa Report, Daily Kos, GINA COBB, Done With Mirrors, Neptunus Lex and Gateway Pundit
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
At 60% of Total, Texas is Bucking Execution Trend — This year's death penalty bombshells — a de facto national moratorium, a state abolition and the smallest number of executions in more than a decade — have masked what may be the most significant and lasting development.
Michael Isikoff / Newsweek:
Challenging Cheney — A National Archives official reveals what the veep wanted to keep classified—and how he tried to challenge the rules — J. William Leonard learned the hard way the perils of questioning Vice President Dick Cheney. The veteran National Archives official challenged claims …
Discussion:
Think Progress, D-Day, The Carpetbagger Report, TPMmuckraker, Washington Monthly, Secrecy News and Cliff Schecter
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Favorite quotes of 2007 — One of the few things I dislike more than end-of-the-year “looking back” lists is the incessant chatter and worthless speculation over the upcoming primaries. But that chatter and speculation is inundating everything. Thus, I offer some of my favorite quotes of 2007:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Huckabee still gives paid speeches — Breaking with tradition for presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee is continuing to accept paid speaking engagements in the thick of his insurgent presidential campaign, although churches get a break from his usual fee of up to $25,000.
Michael McAuliff / NY Daily News:
Dem voters no longer fighting battle of Iraq — The successes of President Bush's troop surge in Iraq are quieting things down in another, unexpected place: the Democratic campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire. — When asked, voters in the early presidential states all say the war in Iraq is important to them.
Paul Krugman / Slate:
FORGET ABOUT BUSH—AND THE MIDDLE GROUND. — Here's a thought for progressives: Bush isn't the problem. And the next president should not try to be the anti-Bush. — No, I haven't lost my mind. I'm not saying that we should look kindly on the Worst President Ever …