Top Items:
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Attack ad decision cost Huck $150K — DES MOINES, Iowa — Mike Huckabee's last-minute decision to pull the plug on an attack ad against Mitt Romney has been the talk of Iowa in recent days. — But it turns out there is more to the story than Huckabee explained at his now-famous, had-to-see-it-to-believe it news conference Monday.
RELATED:
Human Events:
Iowa Caucuses — Iowa voters tomorrow night will go to their local precinct caucuses to cast their lot with a presidential candidate. The winner is hardly guaranteed his party's nomination — in fact, it's possible that neither Iowa winner will come out as the favorite for the nomination …
Sridhar Pappu / Washington Post:
As Huckabee Pulls Ad, Rollins, For Once, Must Pull a Punch — DES MOINES — “The negatives feel good,” says Ed Rollins, the onetime wunderkind of the Reagan White House and now, at 64, the national campaign chairman for upstart Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:
Clinton Camp Pre-Spinning Possible Bad News in Iowa — Campaign Insists Even a Third-Place Finish Would Not Be Disappointing — As the presidential candidates engage in furious pre-caucus spin, one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's most prominent Iowa supporters said Wednesday that she's already accomplished …
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Deign or Reign? — Edith Wessel, an 80-year-old white-haired …
Deign or Reign? — Edith Wessel, an 80-year-old white-haired …
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Corrente, bustardblog, Whiskey Fire, MSNBC and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Criminal probe opened over CIA tapes — WASHINGTON - Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed an outside prosecutor Wednesday to lead a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes. — The CIA acknowledged last month that it destroyed videos …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, The Swamp, Emptywheel, The Newshoggers, Balloon Juice, Sweetness & Light, Macsmind and Cliff Schecter
RELATED:
New York Times:
Stonewalled by the C.I.A. — MORE than five years ago, Congress and President Bush created the 9/11 commission. The goal was to provide the American people with the fullest possible account of the “facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001” — and to offer recommendations to prevent future attacks.
Looseheadprop / Firedoglake:
DOJ Opens Criminal Probe On CIA Tapes Plus Obstruction of Investigation
DOJ Opens Criminal Probe On CIA Tapes Plus Obstruction of Investigation
Discussion:
Ornery Bastard
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
The CIA Tapes Prosecutor is Neither “Outside” Nor “Special,” Nor “Independent”
The CIA Tapes Prosecutor is Neither “Outside” Nor “Special,” Nor “Independent”
CNN:
Poll: Neck-and-neck in New Hampshire — (CNN) — With six days to go until the New Hampshire primary, there are ties in poll results for the top candidates in both parties. — With roughly a quarter of those polled in both parties saying they won't make up their mind until the election …
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Joseph W. McQuaid / New Hampshire Union Leader:
With gloves off, Romney distorts — ONE of the reasons this newspaper has endorsed U.S. Sen. John McCain over former Gov. Mitt Romney has become clearer in recent days: When the campaigning gets serious and the gloves come off, McCain sticks to the facts; Romney plays loose with them.
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Rush: Huck ‘not a conservative’ — Rush Limbaugh devoted a large portion of his first show since the holidays to criticizing Mike Huckabee's candidacy and offering a disapproving bottom-line assessment of the former governor. — “Ladies and gentlemen, Gov. Huckabee, mighty fine man …
Simon / Bloggasm:
Readership of major liberal blogs declined in 2007 while conservative blog readership increased — It has long been understood that the largest liberal blogs have generally produced more web traffic than the largest conservative blogs. But I have noticed a general trend over the past few months …
New York Times:
In Iowa, Edwards Faces His Past and His Future — AMES, Iowa — Ever since his surprise second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses in 2004, John Edwards has staked his future in presidential politics on this state. Since 2005, he has spent more than 100 days in Iowa.
Discussion:
The Politico
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Peter Fenn / The Hill:
Edwards: Too Cute by Half
Edwards: Too Cute by Half
Discussion:
NY Daily News, The Carpetbagger Report, Taylor Marsh, The Swamp, Liberal Values and Ben Smith's Blogs
Andrew Malcolm / Los Angeles Times:
Breaking news: Edwards' Iowa Express bus breaks down
Breaking news: Edwards' Iowa Express bus breaks down
Discussion:
New York Times, michellemalkin.com, Gateway Pundit, TownHall Blog, QandO, Des Moines Register and Weekly Standard
Swaraaj Chauhan / The Moderate Voice:
Did A Hi-Tech Laser Beam Kill Benazir Bhutto? — Here are two important stories related to Pakistan. First, allegations have surfaced that sophisticated laser beam technology was used to eliminate Benazir Bhutto. Second, Pakistan's general election has been postponed until February 18.
Discussion:
The Australian, Huliq, The Strata-Sphere, Confederate Yankee, Reuters, Fausta's blog and Make Them Accountable
RELATED:
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2007 … Also see, — The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2006 — The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes For 2005 — The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes For 2004
Michael J. Totten:
A Plan to Kill Everyone — “War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away” - The Rolling Stones, from “Gimme Shelter" — FALLUJAH — A sign on the door leading out of India Company's Combat Operations Center says “Have a Plan to Kill Everyone You Meet.”
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
FRED THOMPSON: Too sane to be President? Quite possibly. … I think he's right. Thompson is running the kind of campaign — substantive, policy-laden, not based on gimmicks or sound-bites — that pundits and journalists say they want, but he's getting no credit for it from the people who claim that's what they want.
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack, Stop The ACLU, Hot Air, BitsBlog, Say Anything, PoliBlog (TM), Fred File, Patterico's Pontifications, The Corner, BobKrumm.com and JunkYardBlog