Top Items:
David Brooks / New York Times:
Road to Nowhere — The most impressive thing about Mitt Romney is his clarity of mind. When he set out to pursue his party's nomination, he studied the contours of the Republican coalition and molded himself to its forms. — Earnestly and methodically, he has appealed to each of the major constituency groups.
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Associated Press:
Networks cut debate fields, angering Paul backers — NEW YORK (AP) — ABC and Fox News Channel are narrowing the field of presidential candidates invited to debates this weekend just before the New Hampshire primary, in Fox's case infuriating supporters of Republican Rep. Ron Paul.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Jumping The Gun? — Ron Paul's supporters are seeing red after Fox News decided to exclude their candidate from the next presidential debate. ABC also plans to whittle down the participants in the next debate but will wait for the Iowa caucus to make clear who should get the invitations.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, Stop The ACLU, Los Angeles Times, Balloon Juice and New Hampshire Union Leader
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
2 days to go and poll shows Iowa all tied up — DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — With two days to go until the Iowa caucuses, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll out Tuesday shows both the Democratic and Republican presidential nomination races tied at the top. — But with a quarter …
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HillaryClinton.com:
Register poll adopts unprecedented turnout model — UPDATE: Two new Iowa polls are out today. In the Zogby poll, it's Clinton 30, Obama 26, Edwards 25. In the CNN/Opinion Research poll, Hillary leads with 33 percent, Obama 31, Edwards 22. — The Des Moines Register poll adopts …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, Taylor Marsh, The Carpetbagger Report, The Heretik, Donklephant, TIME and The Page
David Yepsen / Des Moines Register:
In newest poll, soft preferences and newcomers make a fluid mix
In newest poll, soft preferences and newcomers make a fluid mix
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, The Fix, No Left Turns, New York Times, Ben Smith's Blogs, Political Punch and Liberal Values
John Tierney / New York Times:
In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm — I'd like to wish you a happy New Year, but I'm afraid I have a different sort of prediction. — You're in for very bad weather. In 2008, your television will bring you image after frightening image of natural havoc linked to global warming.
Tony Leys / Des Moines Register:
Edwards' ‘Mudcat’ gives tasty dish on Clinton — Storm Lake, Ia. — John Edwards' most colorful adviser let fly today with complaints that Hillary Clinton's campaign is already trying to spin its way out of a possible loss in Iowa. — Dave “Mudcat” Saunders told a van full of reporters …
Discussion:
Hotline On Call
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama-labor relationship tense in Iowa — Sen. Barack Obama's campaign manager has spent the final days of the Iowa campaign railing against “big interests” that have poured a “flood of Washington money” into the state in “underhanded” efforts to support his rivals.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Clinton errs on Pakistan — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was praised in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for demonstrating her command of the players and the issues at stake in Pakistan, even as another candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee …
Discussion:
The Page, Captain's Quarters, Power Line, Wizbang, Riehl World View and Middle East Times
John Dickerson / Slate:
THE STRUGGLING GOP CANDIDATE TRIES TO GET THE PRESS TO AIR HIS ATTACK ADS FOR HIM. — Can a former Baptist preacher throw a Hail Mary? Mike Huckabee, who soared to the top of the polls in Iowa only to see his lead disappear under an advertising assault from Mitt Romney, has just finished a very strange press conference.
Discussion:
CALIFORNIA YANKEE
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Jerome Starkey / The Sun:
Our Boys blitz Taliban bash — On patrol ... British soldier in Helmand province — BRITISH commandos launched a devastating blitz on the Taliban - as the evil terrorists held a party to celebrate Benazir Bhutto's murder. — The dawn raid was staged after messages were intercepted …
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
The Mendacity of Hope — John Edwards lied about the cost of his haircuts. Fred Thompson lied about lobbying for a pro-choice outfit. John McCain insists that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation." Mitt Romney concocted the story about how his father marched …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report, Eschaton, The Sideshow, The Corner and AMERICAblog
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
Poll: Clinton, McCain lead in NH — From NBC's Domenico Montanaro — With exactly a week to go until New Hampshire, McCain has pulled ahead of Romney and Clinton has opened back up a double-digit lead in New Hampshire, according to a 7News/Suffolk University poll.
Bob Herbert / New York Times:
Still Reeling After All These Years — It promised to be a very good year. But then anything would be better than 1967, with its angry kids burning the flag, and the war raging, and American cities going up in flames one after another. — A Page 1 headline in The New York Times said: “World Bids Adieu to a Violent Year.”
Saeed Shah / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Bhutto report: Musharraf planned to fix elections — NAUDERO, Pakistan — The day she was assassinated last Thursday, Benazir Bhutto had planned to reveal new evidence alleging the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in rigging the country's upcoming elections, an aide said Monday.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, At-Largely, QandO, The Raw Story, Emptywheel, Hullabaloo, Firedoglake, PBD, Cliff Schecter, CNN, The Galloping Beaver, The Moderate Voice and New York Times
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