Top Items:
James Pindell / Boston Globe:
Paul: Fox News is ‘scared of me’ — PLAISTOW, N.H. — Ron Paul said the decision to exclude him from a debate on Fox News Sunday the weekend before the New Hampshire Primary is proof that the network “is scared” of him. — “They are scared of me and don't want my message to get out …
Discussion:
race42008.com, DBKP, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, PoliPundit.com, The Democratic Daily and Donklephant
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USA Today:
Thompson: Doesn't like campaign process, ‘will not be devastated’ if he loses — Bill Theobald of Gannett News Service has been following Republican Fred Thompson around Iowa. In a dispatch today from Burlington, Bill quotes the former Tennessee senator as saying he doesn't like modern campaigning …
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CNN:
Thompson: ‘Not particularly interested in running for president’ — (CNN) — Republican Fred Thompson has long faced criticism he lacks motivation to be President of the United States, but the Tennessee Republican's latest comments Saturday are likely to spawn fresh heat.
Editor and Publisher:
Kristol Mess? It's Official —'NYT' Explains Hiring New ‘Op-Ed’ Wag — NEW YORK A day after the Huffington Post first reported it, The New York Times has announced that it has indeed hired conservative pundit, and Fox News analyst, Bill Kristol, as a new regular op-ed columnist.
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
KRISTOL TO RAVISH GREY LADY
KRISTOL TO RAVISH GREY LADY
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Shake, Rattle and Roil the Grand Ol' Coalition — AS a Republican presidential primary candidate, Mike Huckabee is a puzzle. — A Southern Baptist pastor and thoroughgoing social conservative, Mr. Huckabee has struck a distinctly populist chord when it comes to economics.
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New York Times:
Courting Iowa's Undecided Voters With a Late Push — CLINTON, Iowa — On the final weekend before Iowa's presidential caucuses, the Democratic contenders tangled over electability Saturday as the leading Republican candidates delivered fresh attacks on their rivals, hoping to nudge undecided voters …
Concord Monitor:
Hillary Clinton is the Democrats' best choice — December 29. — Immediately after taking office, President Hillary Clinton would begin preparations to withdraw American troops from Iraq. — She would send a message to world leaders that the United States intends to rejoin the community of nations.
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily
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David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Bipartisan Group Eyes Independent Bid — First, Main Candidates Urged To Plan ‘Unity’ Government — New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a potential independent candidate for president, has scheduled a meeting next week with a dozen leading Democrats and Republicans …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Liberal Values, DownWithTyranny!, The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather, Ben Smith's Blogs and Pacific Views
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Obama Derides Outside Spending — For much of the last week, Barack Obama has alleged that the series of independent organizations spending money on behalf of his main Democratic rivals in Iowa raise real questions about those candidates' commitment to serious reform of the political process.
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Dallas Morning News:
2007 DMN Texan of the Year: The Illegal Immigrant — He is at the heart of a great culture war in Texas - and the nation, credited with bringing us prosperity and blamed for abusing our resources. How should we deal with this stranger among us? — He breaks the law by his very presence.
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Julia Preston / New York Times:
Immigration Is Defying Easy Answers — New immigration and the political reaction against it are nearly as old as the United States itself. Yet the immigration surge of the last decade has awakened tensions of unexpected intensity that have pervaded the presidential campaigns of both parties …
Discussion:
Lonewacko
Salah Nasrawi / Associated Press:
Bin Laden issues warning on Iraq, Israel — CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new audiotape Saturday, threatening “blood for blood, destruction for destruction.”
New York Times:
Tapes by C.I.A. Lived and Died to Save Image — WASHINGTON — If Abu Zubaydah, a senior operative of Al Qaeda, died in American hands, Central Intelligence Agency officers pursuing the terrorist group knew that much of the world would believe they had killed him.
Discussion:
Cliff Schecter
Talia Dekel / Jerusalem Post:
IDF: Chemicals were disguised as EU aid — The IDF and Shin Bet uncovered 6.5 tons of potassium nitrate hidden in sacks that were disguised as aid from the European Union, the army announced on Saturday. — Security forces discovered the stash in the cargo of a Palestinian truck at a West Bank checkpoint earlier in December.
Discussion:
Israel Matzav