William F. Buckley Jr. Is Dead at 82  —  William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.

Christmas!:  Barack Obama Cuts A Campaign Ad... For John McCain  —  I thought this was going to be a negative ad against Barack Hussein Obama.  —  It is.  It's just that he made it himself.  —  Big props to the Real Revo for this ad.  I hate swiping vids usually (except from Hot Air …

24% Have Favorable Opinion of New York Times  —  Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times.  Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure.  The paper's ratings are much like a candidate's and divide sharply along partisan and ideological lines.

Lewis says he's supporting Obama  —  WASHINGTON — Hoping to put an end to a month of confusion and dismay, Rep. John Lewis on Wednesday said he's switching his support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

OBAMA'S SILENCE ON KADDAFI  —  Can we ignore Sen. Obama's silence about Muammar Kaddafi?  —  We know that Louis Farrakhan has said positive things about Barack Obama.  And he's not the only one.  This is the same Louis Farrakhan who has travelled to Libya to meet with and say positive things …

Air Force Blocks Access to Many Blogs  —  The Air Force is tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word “blog” in its web address.  It's the latest move in a larger struggle within the military over the value — and hazards — of the sites.

Micro Mark  —  Hillary Clinton's Svengali, Super Micro-Trend Pollster Mark Penn: ‘People Misunderstand,’ He Says Campaign ‘Never About the Small Things,’ And, ‘If We Lose, I Will Take My Share of the Responsibility’  —  ‘When you wake, you will have won!’  The Great  —  Penn-gali with Senator Hillary Clinton and

White House Blames Clintons for Document Delay  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: The White House on Wednesday blamed the Clintons for a month-long delay in the release of some 11,000 pages of records relating to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's years as first lady, despite Sen. Clinton's contention …

Bill Cunningham says McCain campaign told him to throw out the Red Meat during intro.  —  Yesterday one of the big stories was when walkie-talkie Bill Cunningham voraciously attacked Barack Obama warming up a crowd for John McCain.  He was so over the top that supposedly the McMaverick campaign told John …

Post-racial  —  Even white supremacists don't hate Obama.  —  David Duke was on the phone, talking about Barack Obama.  Yes, that David Duke: After a query lodged at his website, the infamous ex-Klansman had responded via a mysterious e-mail address—he appeared in my inbox as “info45.”

Expertinent: Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working  —  Logo at left; ‘Change We Can Believe In’ is written in Obama's signature ‘Gotham’ typeface.  —  Expertinent is a regular Stumper column featuring interviews with experts on the news of the day.  (For more on Obama's branding, check out this addendum.)