Top Items:

Poll: Cain tops 3-way race with Romney, Gingrich — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — In the Republican race for the presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich's support continues to slowly grow …
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Poll: Romney retakes lead in GOP race, Gingrich moves to second — WASHINGTON — The Republican presidential race is being shaken up again, with Mitt Romney retaking the lead, Newt Gingrich surging into second place, and Herman Cain dropping to third place, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll released Friday.
Discussion:
Ballot Box, The League of Ordinary …, Washington Times, Indecision Forever, Liberal Values, PERRspectives, Iowa Caucuses, Taylor Marsh, CNN, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, Right Wing Watch, The New Republic, GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's …, The Maddow Blog and American Spectator

Mitt Romney: Cancel the coronation — how conservatives can defeat him — For those who believe the current commentariat consensus that Mitt Romney should be coronated as the inevitable Republican nominee, consider the excellent story by Alicia Cohn in The Hill about conservatives uniting to defeat Romney …
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico and Lawyers, Guns & Money


Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania Governor, Couldn't Discuss Inquiry — For months, Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania had reason to suspect a sexual abuse scandal was going to explode at Penn State University. He also had no way to talk about it, or to prepare for it.
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Prairie Weather and Rod Dreher
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Joe Paterno and the Law
Discussion:
his vorpal sword, emptywheel and Sports Illustrated

Paterno contacts criminal defense lawyer, source tells NBC News
Discussion:
DCist, CBS Chicago, CBS News, CBS Minnesota, Law Blog, The BLT and emptywheel

Penn State Riots About White Men Not Liking to Be Held Accountable
Discussion:
American Spectator and National Review


Congress Members Took Part in Insider Trading: Abramoff — As many as a dozen members of Congress and their aides took part in insider trading based on foreknowledge of market moving information on Capitol Hill, disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff told CNBC in an interview.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Business Insider

To Save Our Economy, Ditch Taiwan — WITH a single bold act, President Obama could correct the country's course, help assure his re-election, and preserve our children's future. — He needs to redefine America's mindset about national security away from the old defense mentality …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, National Review, Business Insider, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Wonkette


Protesters Coming Down With the “Zuccotti Lung” — Park conditions put demonstrators at risk for variety of sicknesses, officials say. — With wintry weather poised to swoop into the cramped outdoor quarters of Occupy Wall Street protesters, it may not be long before more campers catch what's being called “Zuccotti lung.”
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, New York Post, The PJ Tatler and OWS Exposed
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For Occupy Wall Street, Health Is a Growing Concern
Discussion:
Pat Dollard, The Other McCain, New York Magazine, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Gothamist and The Lonely Conservative

Anita Hill has ‘no comment’ on Cain — Anita Hill refused to comment directly on the Herman Cain sexual harassment charges but said she felt “gratified” that a more mature discussion about the issue could take place in 2011. — Speaking as a member of Time magazine's Person of the Year panel earlier …
Discussion:
CNN
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Cain on Camera Joking About Anita Hill
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Colorlines, The Raw Story, The Impolitic, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Gawker, nation.foxnews.com and The Hill


Panetta sounds warning on military action against Iran over its growing nuclear ambitions — WASHINGTON — Military action against Iran could have unintended consequences, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday, sounding the administration's strongest reservations about a strike since …
Discussion:
Michael Totten, Outside the Beltway and The Page
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Panetta Plays Last Card, Warns Defense Cuts Could Lead to Attack on the U.S.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, New York Times and Daily Kos


Future of Occupy Burlington encampment uncertain after police clear City Hall Park to investigate man's death — The city closed half of City Hall Park and put a halt to all camping at the Occupy Burlington site Thursday night while police investigate a shooting in a tent that cost a 35-year-old man his life.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Nation Now, The Snitch and L.A. NOW
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Gingrich Says God Forgave Him — Newt Gingrich told the Christian Broadcast Network that he sought God's “forgiveness” for his extramarital affairs. — Said Gingrich: “There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country …


James O'Keefe Is Capitalizing on the Cult of Journalistic Objectivity — His latest sting is yet more evidence that pretending reporters have no opinions or biases is no longer tenable — Here's how Brooke Gladstone, host of the NPR show On the Media, summed up one obligation of professional journalists …
Discussion:
Rod Dreher

Corporations Hate Regulation, Until They Love It — The “Volcker rule” is a simple thing. Basically, it says that if you're a bank that takes deposits and benefits from federal deposit insurance, you can't also make risky trades that might blow up your bank and cost the taxpayers a bundle.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, A plain blog about politics and National Review

Legends of the Fail — This is the way the euro ends — not with a bang but with bunga bunga. Not long ago, European leaders were insisting that Greece could and should stay on the euro while paying its debts in full. Now, with Italy falling off a cliff, it's hard to see how the euro can survive at all.
Discussion:
The New Republic, JustOneMinute, The Confluence, Washington Monthly and Prairie Weather


Herman Cain Played the Race Card, But Liberals Are the Ones Who Dealt It — Let us imagine for a moment that a woman came forth claiming that Barack Obama had sexually harassed her fifteen years ago. What would the reaction be from liberal partisans, and assorted other supporters?
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Betsy's Page and Rod Dreher

Mack Attack Sweeps Florida GOP Senate Pack, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Rubio Untouched By Family History Challenge — By tossing his hat into the ring, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack has transformed the campaign for Florida's U.S. Senate seat, putting him far ahead of the field …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hotline On Call, Riptide 2.0 and The Politico


Jay-Z Selling Occupy Wall Street T-Shirts; No Plans to Share Profits With Protestors … Jay-Z is releasing a new line of T-shirts in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement Friday via his Rocawear clothing label, but he doesn't plan to share any of the profits with the protesters.
Discussion:
Big Hollywood, Business Insider, City Room, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, Michelle Malkin, Mediaite and We Party Patriots

Obama warns he'll block attempt to avoid debt deal triggers — President Obama has warned leaders of the supercommittee he will not accept any effort to turn off a mechanism enforcing spending cuts if the panel fails to reach a deal to reduce the deficit. — In a Friday phone call …
Discussion:
The Politico

Explaining to Mitch McConnell why better isn't worse — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said something the other day that got me thinking. As part of a larger condemnation of President Obama's handling of the economy, McConnell presented the Republican vision as best as he could:
Discussion:
Angry Bear

The Inequality Map — Foreign tourists are coming up to me on the streets and asking, “David, you have so many different kinds of inequality in your country. How can I tell which are socially acceptable and which are not?” — This is an excellent question.

On Balance, a Republican Election Cycle — As a follow-up to Wednesday's post, it now looks like Republicans won control of the Mississippi house and Virginia senate on Tuesday — the first by an outright majority of 62 out of 120 house seats and the latter by achieving a 20-20 tie …