memeorandum: Nixon strategists pushed black Democratic candidate (Paul Courson/CNN)

12:00 PM ET, January 12, 2010

Top Items:

Desperate Dems try to Palinize Massachusetts Senate race — Frantic over the possibility that a Democrat might lose the race to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, the Democratic National Committee has sent its top spinner, Hari Sevugan, to the aid of Democratic candidate Martha Coakley …

Discussion: Hotline On Call, Commentary, DaTechguy's Blog, TPMDC, The Other McCain, Power Line, The Plum Line and Riehl World View

neo-neocon:

Can Mr. Brown go to Washington? — Check this out, from tonight's debate in the Massachusetts Senatorial race: — In case you missed the money quote, Scott Brown said: … So please, people of Massachusetts, send Brown to Washington to fill your seat. — [UPDATE: Here's WHDH's pundit Andy Hiller on tonight's debate:

Discussion: Riehl World View, Boston Herald, Jules Crittenden, The Strata-Sphere, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and No More Mister Nice Blog

Boston Globe:

Coakley, Brown in bitter debate — Exchange barbs on taxes, terror; Final face-off has sharper edge — Meeting for their final debate of the US Senate campaign, Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley tried to capitalize on voters' fears last night, with Brown raising the specter …

Discussion: The Note, Maggie's Notebook, msnbc.com, The Politico, RedState, Flopping Aces and Don Surber

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:

Brown and Coakley Debate in Massachusetts — The Democratic candidate declares there are no terrorists left in Afghanistan. — On Monday night, Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown sparred for an hour over health care, taxes, terrorism, abortion, and the death penalty.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Erik Gallant / The Fray:
New Martha Coakley ad attacking Scott Brown misspells ‘Massachusetts’

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool, Hot Air, Martha Coakley, Politics Daily, Media Nation, The Lonely Conservative and Unreported

Jessica Taylor / The Politico:
Final debate marks Mass. stretch run

Discussion: Time, NO QUARTER, The Hill, The Page and Daily Kos

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:
SCOTT BROWN: It's not the Kennedy seat, it's the people's seat.

Discussion: The Other McCain, PoliBlog, Sister Toldjah, AmSpecBlog, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Boston Globe, Gateway Pundit and Althouse

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Democrats launch full court press in Mass. special election

Discussion: Associated Press, Scorecard's Blog, MyDD and Red Mass Group

Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Martha Coakley Is Not Just Wrong on Terror War - She's Dangerous (Must-See Video)

Discussion: Flopping Aces and Moonbattery

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Coakley says no more terrorists in Afghanistan

Discussion: TD Blog

Michael Graham / Boston Herald:
Rage against machine — If Scott Brown wins, Harry Reid loses.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and The Corner on National …

Matt Viser / Boston Globe:
Coakley goes on offensive just before last debate

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Corner on National … and Scorecard's Blog

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Amazing: Scott Brown about to raise $1 million for the day; Update: Done!

Discussion: Hotline On Call, Real Clear Politics, The Greenroom, Ruby Slippers and The Daily Caller

Ann Gerhart / Washington Post:

Sen. Reid and son Rory each considered a burden for the other's campaign in Nevada — LAS VEGAS — As if Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) didn't have enough problems, say hello to Rory Reid, his eldest son. Looks just like him. He's running for governor of Nevada.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Commentary, National Review Online and The Page

CBS News:

Racism Doesn't Always have a Southern Drawl — Posted by Jan Crawford Trent Lott was forced out as Senate majority leader for making racially charged remarks, with few rallying to his defense. But Harry Reid's explosive comment's about Barack Obama's “light skin” and “no Negro dialect” …

Discussion: AmSpecBlog

John Stanton / Roll Call:

Feingold Criticizes Reid, Declines to Endorse Him as Leader — Sen. Russ Feingold (Wis.) became the first Democrat to openly criticize Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) use of racially insensitive language and declined to endorse Reid's continued tenure as Majority Leader.

Discussion: Think Progress and The Daily Caller

Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Scheduled weeks ago, ‘African Americans for Harry Reid’ will go on as planned

Discussion: The Politico, Raw Story, Washington Post and Dennis the Peasant

Manu Raju / The Politico:
Coburn bucks party, backs Reid

Discussion: WISN Milwaukee's Channel 12, Top of the Ticket, Washington Monthly, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Glenn Thrush's Blog and Political Punch

Ward Connerly / Wall Street Journal: Harry Reid's Race Problem

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Sen. Reid immediately recognized danger of ‘Negro dialect’ comment

Discussion: The Politico, Wake up America, Israpundit and The Corner on National …

Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit: “African-Americans For Harry Reid” Facebook Page Lists 5 Fans... 4 Are White

Jimmy Vielkind / Albany Times Union:
Paterson slams Reid comments

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Political Punch, The Caucus and Weasel Zippers

Kevin Hechtkopf / CBS News:

Obama's Approval Rating Dips to New Low — President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, according to a new CBS News poll. — That rating is Mr. Obama's lowest yet in CBS News polling, and the poll marks the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Commentary, Mouth of the Potomac, Wake up America, Outside The Beltway, Scared Monkeys, Coop's Corner, Hot Air, The Page, Gateway Pundit, Flopping Aces, Conservatives4Palin.com, National Journal Online, Dan_Perrin's blog, Corrente and Weasel Zippers

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Kissell looking solid — A year into his first term in Congress, Larry Kissell is doing just fine. — 45% of his constituents approve of the job he's doing to 30% who disapprove. Those numbers are comparable to where PPP found Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry's approval ratings in 2008 when each won reelection by 16 points.

Discussion: Scorecard's Blog, The Hill, The Washington Independent, AmSpecBlog and Clusterstock

Harold Ford Jr / New York Post:

Ford: I'm gearing up for Senate race — It's true: I am strongly considering running for the United States Senate. — I do so because our best as a nation has always come when we test our ideas and ourselves, and when we trust competition to refine the steel of our convictions and the truth of our arguments.

Discussion: The Hill, Commentary, Gawker, Ben Smith's Blog, Taylor Marsh, SENATUS, The Corner on National …, The Page, TPM LiveWire, Clusterstock and JammieWearingFool

New York Times:
White House Opposes Challenge to Gillibrand

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Top of the Ticket, msnbc.com, the albany project and The Lonely Conservative

Kevin Diaz / Hot Dish Politics:

Palin, Bachmann Tea Party sessions closed to press — It looks like the revolution will not be televised, after all. — At least not the Tea Party's revolution. — Word from Nashville on Monday was that the First National Tea Party Convention next month will be closed to the press …

Discussion: The Hill and GOP 12

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:

Reporters (Mostly) Barred From Tea Party Convention — For a while, I've been calling and emailing the organizers of the National Tea Party Convention with some basic logistical questions, to no avail. Kevin Diaz explains why: the convention, held in Nashville next month, will be closed to all but “selected” members of the press.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
I'm Afraid Sarah Palin Might Be Ruining Herself Unintentionally

Discussion: Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, RedState, Hotline On Call, The Daily Beast, TBogg, Riehl World View, TPMMuckraker and The Washington Independent

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Divorce Rates Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans — Over the past decade or so, divorce has gradually become more uncommon in the United States. Since 2003, however, the decline in divorce rates has been largely confined to states which have not passed a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, AMERICAblog Gay, The Mahablog and Prairie Weather

American Foundation for Equal Rights:

Text of Ted Olson's Opening Statement in Prop. 8 Trial - As Prepared — The federal trial over the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 began today with an opening statement by attorney Theodore Olson, who with David Boies is leading the legal team assembled by the American Foundation …

Discussion: LGBT POV, The Bilerico Project, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Pam's House Blend, Towleroad News #gay, Think Progress, Taylor Marsh, RHRealityCheck.org and San Francisco Chronicle

Neil Irwin / Washington Post:

Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009 — Wall Street firms aren't the only banks that had a banner year. The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government. — The Fed will return about $45 billion …

Discussion: Beat the Press, The Hill, Felix Salmon, Free exchange, Gawker, Wonk Room, The Big Picture, New York Times, The BLT, The Corner on National … and AMERICAblog News

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Game over: The Clintons stand alone — A new book is out with a highly critical but unsourced portrait of Hillary Clinton. This familiar occurrence — it's happened too many times to count over the years — has usually been greeted with an equally familiar response: A fast and furious counterattack from the Clinton inner circle.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Daily Dish, Mediaite, Outside The Beltway, The Confluence, Pajamas Media, AMERICAblog News, Liberal Values, Riehl World View, Taylor Marsh and New York Times

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
McCain on Palin, Reid: No ‘looking back’

Discussion: The Note, CBS News and The Politico

Associated Press:

US Investigating 38 Cases of Reconstruction Abuse — KABUL (AP) — The U.S. agency overseeing the multibillion dollar Afghanistan reconstruction effort is investigating 38 criminal cases ranging from contract fraud to theft — most involving non-Afghans, officials said Tuesday.