Iowa: Edwards surges, Huckabees bubble bursts  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have lost ground, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll.

Times defends hiring conservative Kristol  —  The New York Times' hiring of Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol to write for its op-ed page caused a frenzy in the liberal blogosphere Friday night, with threats of canceling subscriptions and claims that the Gray Lady had been hijacked by neo-cons

Ron Beats Rudy?  —  New Hampshire could surprise a lot of people.  —  MANCHESTER, N.H.—For several hours last Sunday, more than a dozen Ron Paul volunteers stood in snowdrifts in the rain outside the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester waving at last-minute Christmas shoppers and handing out hundreds of yards signs.

Did McCain call Romney a 'pig'?  —  DOVER, N.H. — As Senator John McCain rolled down a New Hampshire highway today in his “Straight Talk Express” campaign bus, he listened to a description of the latest attack on him by his chief rival in this state's primary, Mitt Romney.

The great fall of China  —  Revised GDP calculations show that Beijing isn't the giant we thought it was.  —  The most important story to come out of Washington recently had nothing to do with the endless presidential campaign.  And although the media largely ignored it, the story changes the world.

A Moderate MLA  —  The Modern Language Association frequently helps out its critics with provocative session titles and left-leaning political stands offered by its members.  At this year's annual meeting, in Chicago, some MLA members have worried that the association was poised to take stances …

Mysterious holiday card spotlights Romney's religion  —  (CNN) - A holiday card that falsely claims to be from “the Romney family” and highlights Mitt Romney's Mormon faith was anonymously sent to Republican mailboxes across South Carolina earlier this week.  —  The source of the card is unknown.

Getting the Story Straight  —  Every once in a while I am more thankful than ever for today's technology which allows me to talk to you directly instead of having to go through the filter of the main stream media.  —  Some of them are intent on making the outcome of the campaign dependent upon their pre-conceived notions.

Bhutto's Successor  —  Benazir Bhutto's son has been anointed her successor, the slain former prime minister's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) confirmed today.  A senior PPP official had told TIME late Saturday that Bhutto's 19-year-old son, Bilawal, would likely be named as her political heir and the new party leader on Sunday.

Am I a Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon?  —  Faith, the faith healer, is twirling a crystal over my green couch.  —  The pendulum is hovering above a chart, pointing to sources of negative energy in my house that need to be cleared.  —  The pendulum quivers and swings and slows and finally settles above the word “Curses.”

Bipartisan Zombies  —  It was inevitable.  I wrote about it right after the 2006 election —  as soon as the Republicans lost power, I knew the gasbags would insist that it's time to let bygones be bygones and meet the Republicans halfway in the spirit of a new beginning.