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Hillary without tears — Why it's time to close the book on the Clintons — and herald the Obamas! Plus: Iran war hawks, Russian drag queens and the genius of Zeppelin. — As her husband has dragged his numerous female play objects before her and has humiliated her on the public stage year after year …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, New York Times, protein wisdom, Taylor Marsh, CNN, Althouse, Prairie Weather, Transterrestrial Musings, The Raw Story, UrbanGrounds, Vox Popoli and Neptunus Lex
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Bloggers form theory New Hampshire vote was rigged — Posts question polls' inaccuracy, point to documentary on fraud — kmbrooks@dallasnews.com — AUSTIN - The results weren't even in when the blogosphere started to hum with a theory that sharply divided Democrats online …


John Kerry to endorse Obama — Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nominee, will endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president in South Carolina today, Democratic sources told Politico. — Kerry is flying to South Carolina for an event to be held shortly …

FBI Wiretaps Dropped Due to Unpaid Bills — WASHINGTON (AP) — Telephone companies cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time, according to a Justice Department audit released Thursday.
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Report: Kerry Endorsing Obama — John Kerry will endorse Barack Obama, the Associated Press is reporting, quoting an unnamed source. — Late Update: Kerry and Obama will be making an appearance together today in Charleston, South Carolina, MSNBC reports. —gs
Discussion:
The Plank, The Moderate Voice, MyDD, Attytood, Cadillac Tight, PoliGazette, Daily Pundit and Donklephant
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2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leaves Questions — WASHINGTON — The helicopter was hovering over a Baghdad checkpoint into the Green Zone, one typically crowded with cars, Iraqi civilians and United States military personnel. — Suddenly, on that May day in 2005, the copter dropped CS gas …

The Surge Worked — It was exactly one year ago tonight, in a televised address to the nation, that President George W. Bush announced his fateful decision to change course in Iraq, and to send five additional U.S. combat brigades there as part of a new counterinsurgency strategy and under the command of a new general, David Petraeus.

For U.S., The Goal Is Now ‘Iraqi Solutions’ — Approach Acknowledges Benchmarks Aren't Met — In the year since President Bush announced he was changing course in Iraq with a troop “surge” and a new strategy, U.S. military and diplomatic officials have begun their own quiet policy shift.
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Lewisville cab driver had been investigated for previous abuse — Sarah Said's final phone call rang into the Irving police dispatcher about 7:30 p.m. on New Year's Day: “I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying ..." — About an hour later, a man walked up to an orange cab parked at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Irving.
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Why Hillary Won — What would Shakespeare's Jack Cade say after the New Hampshire Democratic primary? Maybe the demagogue in “Henry VI” would call for the pollsters to be killed first, not the lawyers. — The opinion researchers find themselves in a difficult place after most predicted a big Obama sweep.
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TIME TO APOLOGIZE, HUGH — On the day of the New Hampshire Primary, I spent a good deal of time on the radio with my friend and Townhall colleague Hugh Hewitt, debating issues and candidates both on his show and my own. — Hugh's a great guy, and one of the best political commentators in the country …
Discussion:
Punditry

Race At A Glance Total Primary Votes: Romney — McCain — Huckabee — Giuliani — Thompson — Iowa — 29,494 — 15,559 — 40,841 — 4,097 — 15,904 — New Hampshire — 75,202 — 88,447 — 26,760 — 20,387 — 2,884 — Total — 104,696 — 104,006

McLead in SC — Rasmussen has McCain jumping ahead of Huckabee for the Jan. 19 South Carolina primary... Romney is at 16 percent, Thompson at 12, Giuliani at 6, Paul at 5. If Romney drops out after Michigan, does that suddenly make Thompson viable? Does it give Huckabee or McCain a boost?
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BLOGBURST FOR FRED: MAN THE OARS AND START PULLING
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, The Politico, Wake up America, Fred File, Flopping Aces, Stop The ACLU and Cold Fury


Getting It Wrong — THE failure of the New Hampshire pre-election surveys to mirror the outcome of the Democratic race is one of the most significant miscues in modern polling history. All the published polls, including those that surveyed through Monday, had Senator Barack Obama comfortably ahead …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, TalkLeft, The Swamp, The Daily Dish, The Democratic Daily, The Huffington Post, Prairie Weather and MSNBC

And Cuomo Too — I suppose there could be lots of tea leaf reading in this one, but now its AG Andrew Cuomo on Talk 1300, minutes after the governor came on. Cuomo, to be fair, has been on the radio show a few times, if memory serves me, but his take on Hillary's win in NH …

Romney's Fishy Delegate Claim — Why is the former Massachusetts governor telling folks that he leads in delegates? — In Boston today, Romney told supporters, “we have more delegates than any other Republican candidate running for president." — Here's the ABC News GOP Delegate Estimate:

The only change to fear is fear of change itself — MANCHESTER, N.H. — The voters of New Hampshire have made their decision, and the big winner is: Change. Here's the final vote tally: — Change — 43 percent; — Hope — 28 percent; — Hope For Change — 17 percent; — Hair — 9 percent;

Dems push ‘uncommitted’ option — Party leaders want Obama and Edwards backers to take a stand on the primary ballot. — LANSING — Top Michigan Democrats made another plea Wednesday to coax supporters of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards to vote “uncommitted” …