Top Items:
Chase Martyn / Iowa Independent:
Richardson set to send Obama second-choice support — [Exclusive] Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign is expected to direct its supporters to caucus for Sen. Barack Obama in the second round of voting at Thursday's caucuses in precincts where he is not viable. Two sources familiar …
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Zogby:
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Daily Tracking Poll: Obama Moves Into Lead Followed by Edwards; Huckabee Lead Widens — Clinton, Romney dip as Ron Paul gains — UTICA, New York - Democrat Barack Obama continued his upward momentum through the evening before the Iowa caucuses, capturing the lead ahead …
Shailagh Murray / The Trail:
A Biden-Obama Deal? — DES MOINES — Sen. Joseph Biden wants to beat New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson tonight. And Sen. Barack Obama could help him do that. — A source close to the Biden campaign described a possible arrangement, now under discussion between the two camps …
Discussion:
Iowa Independent, Taylor Marsh, Ben Smith's Blogs, TPM Election Central and You Decide 08!
The Politico:
Thompson may drop out, back McCain — DES MOINES, Iowa - Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday's Iowa caucus. — Thompson's campaign …
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Byron York / The Corner:
Team Fred Strongly Denies...
Team Fred Strongly Denies...
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Captain's Quarters, The Anchoress, Hot Air, TIME, The Palmetto Scoop, Betsy's Page, Political Machine and QandO
Matthew Yglesias:
The Independents — John Judis and Ruy Teixeira take a look at the demographic and ideological characteristics of self-described independents and their potential role in the presidential election. It's clear that the post-partisan rhetoric from Barack Obama that's annoyed a lot of bloggers …
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Matt Stoller / Open Left:
The Bipartisan Virus in Iowa — There's another side to what Atrios says. … Being in Iowa and listening to the radio on long car rides, as well as various politicians, I'm hearing a huge amount of talk of bipartisanship as some sort of virtue. There have literally been several call …
Michelle Malkin:
Rumor watch: GOP mudslinging in the works? Update: The push polls? — Update: John Hawkins says it's the push poll story. — For the most part, the GOP presidential candidates have waged clean, substantive campaigns. With a few notable exceptions, the office-seekers have attacked each other's records and eschewed ad hominems.
John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
For Marine's sendoff, his car is keyed — Marine Sgt. Michael McNulty — now on his way to Iraq for his second tour of duty in the war — took meticulous care of his car. — It is a black two-door BMW, an expensive ride for a young Marine from Chicago, but then, McNulty didn't exactly join …
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Domestic Issues Now Outweigh Iraq — DES MOINES — The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are navigating a far different set of issues as they approach the Iowa caucuses on Thursday than when they first started campaigning here a year ago, and that is likely to change …
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
COMING FLUFFTACULAR — I flagged this in today's TPMtv episode and posted a reader email on it yesterday, but if I had my choice, John McCain would not be the candidate I'd want the Democratic candidate to face in November. He's got lots of liabilities, on a whole number of fronts.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Middle Earth Journal, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard and The Heretik
Vanity Fair:
Karl Rove — A principal architect of the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, Karl Rove, 57, has charted a long course from the internship he landed with the Republican Party in Utah almost four decades ago. Here, the president's former deputy chief of staff reflects on his fear of going broke …
Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Slaying of popular teens stuns friends — Sisters' father wanted for capital murder — Sarah Said was an avid tennis player known as a silly but bright student. Her 18-year-old sister, Amina Said, was often called “the girl with pretty eyes,” friends say.
Daily Mail:
Flashman author George MacDonald Fraser dies aged 82 after cancer battle — George MacDonald Fraser, author of the hugely entertaining Flashman novels, has died aged 82. — Fraser - whose fans included P G Wodehouse and Kingsley Amis - died after a battle with cancer.
Lindsey Ellerson / Political Radar:
Romney to Huck's Camp: 'Don't Touch the Hair' — ABC News' Matt Stuart and Teddy Davis Report: Mitt Romney made a tongue-in-cheek plea Thursday for Ed Rollins, the Huckabee campaign chairman who recently said that he wanted to knock Romney's teeth out, to keep his hands off his well-quaffed hair.
Zogby:
Survey Methodology [Iowa Caucus Poll] 12/30/07 thru 1/2/08 — The target sample is [905] interviews with approximately [31] questions asked. Samples are randomly drawn from telephone cd's of national listed sample. Zogby International surveys employ sampling strategies in which selection probabilities …
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The Huffington Post
Foreign Policy:
Seven Questions: Gen. David Petraeus on Winding down the Surge — By the end of July, 25 percent of American combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraq. FP sat down with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to find out how he plans to draw down without leaving chaos behind.
Matthew Yglesias:
Snow Falling on Pundits — Given that the Iowa caucus is basically a media-generated phenomenon that wouldn't matter at all if not for the hype, it's a little strange that it's in Iowa in January. All one hears this week as a journalists are complaints from colleagues in Des Moines or Nashua about how cold it is.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Can Edwards Do It In Iowa? — The Mellencamp concert for John Edwards last night was a huge success for the campaign. It was well attended (easily twice the size of the Huckabee “Huck'n'Chuck” rally the night before), the crowd was enthusiastic and responded to his message.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars