Top Items:
Chase Martyn / Iowa Independent:
Richardson Set to Send Obama Second-Choice Support — [Exclusive] Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign is expected to direct their supporters to caucus for Sen. Barack Obama in the second round of voting at Thursday's caucuses in precincts where he is not viable.
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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 …
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, Captain's Quarters, TPM Election Central, The Corner, Wonkette, Open Left, Pajamas Media, Comments from Left Field and Hot Air
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
The Iowa Caucuses: Five Not-So-Unlikely Surprises — The smart money — not to mention the latest polls — gives an edge to Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in tonight's Iowa caucuses. — But take a couple hundred thousand Midwesterners, pack them into gyms and libraries and town halls …
Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
Too Quick to Triangulate — Sen. Hillary Clinton faces tonight's Iowa caucuses not as the inevitable Democratic presidential nominee but seriously challenged by Sen. Barack Obama, thanks in no small part to committing a strategic error: premature triangulation.
Discussion:
CNN, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, Back Talk, Associated Press, The American Scene and Blue Crab Boulevard
John Deeth / Iowa Independent:
Clinton Understood Surface, Not Spirit, Of Caucuses
Clinton Understood Surface, Not Spirit, Of Caucuses
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
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 …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, RealClearPolitics, You Decide 08!, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, Des Moines Register, The Fix, Stop The ACLU, Don Surber, The Caucus, Redstate, American Power, QandO, Political Machine, TIME, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Texas Blue, PoliBlog (TM), Cliff Schecter, BAGnewsNotes, DownWithTyranny!, Macsmind, MyDD, The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway, Sister Toldjah, Greatscat!, The Sundries Shack, Classical Values, Wonkette, The Right's Field, The Corner, Miss Beth's Victory Dance, Fred File, The Huffington Post, PoliGazette, TBogg, Shakespeare's Sister, Hot Air, LiberalLand, Reason Magazine, TPM Election Central, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Liberal Values, Taegan Goddard's …, Publius Endures, race42008.com and ScrappleFace
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Byron York / The Corner:
Team Fred Strongly Denies... Good morning from Des Moines. I just got off the phone with Rich Galen, a top adviser to Fred Thompson, and it would be an understament to say that he is strongly denying the Politico story reporting that Thompson “will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday's caucus.”
Discussion:
Right Wing News, Political Machine, Hot Air, QandO, PoliBlog (TM), TIME, Betsy's Page and Primary Monitor Blog
CNN:
Caucuses 101: Mastering rules could lead to victory — (CNN) — The arcane rules governing Thursday's Iowa Democratic caucuses will test even the most organized campaign, but mastery of the process could launch a candidate on a path to the White House. — Most Americans are familiar …
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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 …
Discussion:
Eschaton
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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.
Marc Ambinder:
Caucus: Clinton Revises Turnout Model Up — ** Hillary Clinton's team has revised its turnout model. The same senior campaign source who projected a turnout of 140,000 voters is now predicting that 150,000 voters will show, and says that, according to the turnout model the campaign is employing …
Chuck Todd / MSNBC:
Get your post-caucus spin now — With this guide, you can analyze any result — before the Iowans gather — DES MOINES, Iowa - In a matter of hours, following the results of the Iowa caucuses, a contest will begin. It will take place among the slew of national media trying to determine exactly what happened.
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 …
Discussion:
Rising Hegemon
New York Post:
ROCK MAKES THE GARDEN HOWL — RAUNCHY stand-up Chris Rock had Madison Square Garden in stitches Monday night, when he kicked off his six-month tour performing for a sold-out New Year's Eve audience of 20,000 fans who gave him a midnight standing ovation. — The comic from Bed-Stuy proclaimed …
Associated Press:
Bush not waiting up late for Iowa — WASHINGTON - The Iowa caucuses apparently won't outrank shuteye for President Bush. — Asked if the president planned to stay up to find out who wins the opening contests of the 2008 election season, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Thursday …
Discussion:
Think Progress
Michael Moore:
Who Do We Vote For This Time Around? A Letter from Michael Moore — A new year has begun. And before we've had a chance to break our New Year's resolutions, we find ourselves with a little more than 24 hours before the good people of Iowa tell us whom they would like to replace the man …
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.
Diane Cardwell / New York Times:
Political Field Is Panned by Bloomberg — With unusually dismissive language, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg offered tart assessments of his potential presidential rivals at a news conference on Wednesday, suggesting they are offering meaningless bromides rather than serious answers to the problems confronting the country.