Top Items:
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
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 …
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
DSCC Launches First MA Ad Buy — The DSCC will launch ads on behalf of AG Martha Coakley (D) as she battles to preserve Dems' 60-seat majority in the Senate. — The DSCC has purchased $567K in ads in the Boston and Springfield markets, a source tells Hotline OnCall.
Discussion:
Hot Air
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Martha Coakley Is Not Just Wrong on Terror War - She's Dangerous (Must-See Video) — There are no terrorists in Afghanistan? — On Wednesday December 30 Jordanian doctor and Al-Qaeda blogger Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi killed 7 CIA officers in a suicide bomb attack at an outpost in southeastern Afghanistan.
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:
Erik Gallant / The Fray:
New Martha Coakley ad attacking Scott Brown misspells ‘Massachusetts’ … On the heels of last night's final debate between Martha Coakley, Scott Brown and Joseph L. Kennedy, Coakley released a new ad attacking Scott Brown — an aggressive turn that many observers have thought was long overdue.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Lone Republican, The Corner on National …, Martha Coakley, Yahoo! News, JammieWearingFool, Politics Daily and Media Nation
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Brown and Coakley Debate in Massachusetts
Brown and Coakley Debate in Massachusetts
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Boston Globe:
Coakley, Brown in bitter debate
Coakley, Brown in bitter debate
Discussion:
The Note, Maggie's Notebook, msnbc.com, The Politico, Townhall.com, RedState, The Corner on National …, Flopping Aces and Don Surber
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.
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Richard M. Benjamin / The Huffington Post: The Real Harold Ford: Why I Support the White Woman Over the Black Dude
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.
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Peter Hamby / CNN:
Ensign: Lay off Reid — Washington (CNN) - Sen. John Ensign, himself no stranger to controversy, is breaking with other Republicans to defend his fellow Nevada Sen. Harry Reid for describing President Obama as “light skinned” and “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
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.
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 …
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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:
JustOneMinute, Matthew Yglesias, Prairie Weather, Joe. My. God., AMERICAblog Gay and The Mahablog
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CNN:
CNN Poll: Americans split on success of Obama presidency — Washington (CNN) - Americans are giving Barack Obama a split decision on his first year in office, according to a new national poll. — Forty-eight percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday …
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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:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Commentary, Outside The Beltway, Scared Monkeys, Coop's Corner, The Page, Mouth of the Potomac, Wake up America, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Flopping Aces, Dan_Perrin's blog, Conservatives4Palin.com, Pollster.com All Content, Corrente and Weasel Zippers
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.
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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 …
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.
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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
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Fox News:
Iran Nuke Physicist, Opposition Supporter Killed in Motorcycle Bomb — TEHRAN, Iran — A nuclear physics professor who publicly backed opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the June presidential election was killed Tuesday when a bomb-rigged motorcycle blew up outside his home.
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