memeorandum: Congressional incumbents start attracting ‘super PACs:’ The Influence Industry (Dan Eggen/Washington Post)

9:45 AM ET, December 1, 2011

Top Items:

Holly Bailey / Yahoo! News:

Mike Huckabee won't endorse before Iowa-and maybe not at all — With Iowa's Republican presidential caucus up for grabs, all eyes have been on Mike Huckabee, the contest's 2008 GOP winner whose potential endorsement in the race would surely be a game changer for any of the aspiring presidential hopefuls.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, GOP 12 and Taegan Goddard's …

Neil King Jr / Washington Wire:

Ron Paul Ad Blasts Newt Gingrich for ‘Serial Hypocrisy’ — Texas Rep. Ron Paul is tearing into Republican presidential rival Newt Gingrich with a new web ad that ranks among the most scathing of the year. — Hitting similar themes that the Democrats used earlier this week …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, The Enterprise Blog and The Daily Caller

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Newt Gingrich Said What? — Recalling a speech where Newt Gingrich proposed abolishing tenure at state universities, I decided to go through the news archives for other examples of bold, intriguing ideas that went nowhere. There is no doubt that Newt Gingrich is one of the most creative and energetic thinkers in the Republican Party.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Caller, American Spectator, Campaign 2012, Hot Air and RedState

Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:
Romney to air Iowa ad, signaling play for caucuses

Discussion: GOP 12 and The Page

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:
Forget Newt's surge. Romney is still the favorite.

Discussion: The Politico, The Hill, Prairie Weather, The New Republic and GOP 12

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Gingrich up big in Florida and Montana

Discussion: Hot Air, Sky Dancing, msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, ABCNEWS, The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, CBS Miami, American Glob, Washington Post, The Politico, Campaign 2012 and New York Times

A.Killough / CNN:
Romney: Obama will ‘cower’ from debating his record

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ABCNEWS, The Politico and Ballot Box

Matt Flegenheimer / City Room:

Occupy Protesters Mobilize for Obama's Visit — Updated More than 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to a Midtown hotel on Wednesday night to protest a fund-raising event for President Obama. — Escorted by police vehicles as they helped snarl traffic across the Times Square area …

Discussion: Gothamist, Weasel Zippers, Right Wing News, BizzyBlog, Jammie Wearing Fools and Reuters

New York Post:

Obama's city visit, Rockefeller tree tourists create traffic ‘nightmare’ — Is he gone yet? — President Obama's fund-raising foray into Manhattan today created enough gridlock to make Congress envious — at almost the exact moment that thousands of tourists jammed into Rockefeller Center to watch the Christmas tree-lighting.

Discussion: NY Daily News, City Room, It's A Free Country ®, Jammie Wearing Fools and Michelle Malkin

Nick Schulz / Los Angeles Times:
Three inconvenient truths for Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: normblog

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Early Results in Egypt Show a Mandate for Islamists — CAIRO — Islamists claimed a decisive victory on Wednesday as early election results put them on track to win a dominant majority in Egypt's first Parliament since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the most significant step yet …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Reuters, Guardian, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Questions and Observations, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and The New Republic

Wall Street Journal:

Islamists Hold Early Lead in Egypt Polls — CAIRO—Unofficial initial results from the first two days of Egypt's parliamentary elections pointed to a dominant showing for Islamist candidates, fulfilling most analysts' expectations that conservative religious politicians could have the upper hand …

Discussion: National Review and UN Dispatch

Thomas Lane / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Bachmann: I Would Close Our (Non-Existent) Embassy In Iran — Michele Bachmann has had her fair share of foreign policy stumbles, but she just hit a whole new level. — According to a tweet from NBC News' Jamie Novogrod, Bachmann responded to the recent raiding of the British embassy …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Daily Kos

Molly Hunter / ABCNEWS:

US Embassy in Iran? Michele Bachmann's ‘Oops’ Moment — ABC News' Molly Hunter reports: — Did Michelle Bachmann have her “oops” moment? — In light of the British Foreign Ministry pulling all U.K. nationals out of the British embassy in Tehran after students stormed the building in protest …

Discussion: PolitickerNY, The Iowa Republican and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Reuters:
UK orders closure of Iranian embassy in London

Discussion: Israel Matzav and ThinkProgress

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:

Shockingly, Morning Joe Transcript Actually Worth Five Minutes of Your Time — But only five minutes. — Down on Obama, and that includes the liberals, who are beginning to get as distracted and depressed as he is, over the burden of having to spin his failures. — Video at the link, but here's some good parts.

Discussion: Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Lonely Conservative and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org blogs:

Tina Brown: Obama 'Doesn't Like His Job' — Recently on Morning Joe it was Jon Meacham suggesting that Barack Obama doesn't particularly like people and was in the wrong line of work. Today it was Tina Brown's turn, opining that PBO doesn't dig his gig. — Discussing PBO's ever-paltrier …

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, iOwnTheWorld.com and Moe Lane

Maeve Reston / Los Angeles Times:

In New Hampshire, Herman Cain vows 'it ain't over yet' — Herman Cain reacts to supporters at his campaign headquarters in Manchester, N.H., on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) — Reporting from Manchester, N.H.— Stridently denying allegations of an extramarital affair …

Discussion: The Politico, ABCNEWS, Taegan Goddard's …, The Hill and The Page

Susan Saulny / The Caucus:
Cain Pledges to Stay in Race

Discussion: New York Times, The Collegian, Mediaite, National Review, Reuters, msnbc.com, Hot Air, The Politico and Daily Kos

CNN:
Cain blasts critics for ‘character assassination’

Discussion: The Other McCain, Examiner, Outside the Beltway, Portland Mercury, The Hill and Reuters

Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:

A Banker Speaks, With Regret — If you want to understand why the Occupy movement has found such traction, it helps to listen to a former banker like James Theckston. He fully acknowledges that he and other bankers are mostly responsible for the country's housing mess.

Discussion: Business Insider, Prairie Weather, Booman Tribune, The Daily Caller and naked capitalism

Christine Hauser / New York Times:

Stocks & Bonds: Markets Surge on Action By Several Central Banks — A move announced by central bankers on Wednesday to contain the European debt crisis resulted in euphoria in global stock markets, but it also prompted skeptics to wonder: will this time be different?

Discussion: The Talking Dog and msnbc.com

James Hamilton / Econbrowser:
Central banks augment currency swap capabilities

Discussion: Business Insider, NO QUARTER, Real Time Economics, The Big Picture, The Glittering Eye and The Atlantic Online

Steve Marble / L.A. NOW:

Occupy L.A.: 30 tons of debris left behind at City Hall tent city — Sanitation officials said Wednesday that they expect to haul away 30 tons of debris from the Occupy L.A. encampment — everything from clothing to heaps of garbage to oddball curiosities left behind by the protesters …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Gawker, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, The Informer, Right Wing News and The Lonely Conservative

Bill Estep / Lexington Herald-Leader:

Pike church takes stand against interracial couples — A small Pike County church has voted not to accept interracial couples as members or let them take part in some worship activities. — The decision has caused sharp reaction and disapproval in the Eastern Kentucky county.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, Sky Dancing, Balloon Juice, Firedoglake, The Political Carnival, ThinkProgress and Southern Beale

Angela Sparkman / WKYT-TV:
Pike County church bans interracial couples from membership

Discussion: The Raw Story, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, BuzzFeed and Gawker

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Barack Obama and blue-collar Pennsylvania voters : Take 2 — SCRANTON, Pa. — They were never a natural fit. — President Barack Obama lost white working-class voters in this Rust Belt state during the 2008 Democratic primary, after describing them as bitter people who “cling” to God and guns.

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:

Schumer: Democrats can gain Senate seats in 2012 election — Sen. Charles Schumer says the political landscape has shifted dramatically from the 2010 election and predicts that Senate Democrats will hold their majority and might even expand it next year. — In an interview with The Hill …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Gautham Nagesh / The Hill:

Google rips Senate's online piracy bill: ‘This is what is wrong with Washington’ — Google is exhorting senators to oppose an online piracy bill, arguing it would threaten national security, shackle the Internet with regulations and imperil free speech, according to a document obtained by The Hill.

Stephanie Simon / Wall Street Journal:

Richardson Feels New Heat — Grand Jury Looks at Whether Former Governor Arranged Payments to Woman — A federal grand jury is investigating former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson over possible campaign-finance violations stemming from his 2008 presidential run, including allegations …

Discussion: MyFox Boston and Hotline On Call

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Barney the bully: Congressman Frank's other legacy — The morning after his retirement announcement, Rep. Barney Frank scored an interview on NBC's “Today” show, gaining the opportunity to act as an elder statesman in front of a TV audience of millions. Instead, the Massachusetts Democrat chose to quarrel with the interviewer.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, American Prospect, National Review, The Huffington Post and Hullabaloo

Hunter Walker / PolitickerNY:

Mayor Bloomberg: ‘I Have My Own Army’ — In a speech at MIT last night to discuss the packed sweepstakes to build a tech campus in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg said he prefers City Hall to the White House. Almost immediately after Mayor Bloomberg dampened recent speculation he's eyeing a White House bid …

Discussion: Washington Post, Shakesville, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker, The Raw Story, Wonkette, Runnin' Scared, Hit & Run, EconomicPolicyJournal.com, New York Magazine and Jammie Wearing Fools

Josh Kraushaar / 2012 Decoded:

Dem Recruit Attacks GOP Congressman for Backing Obama — Here's a telling sign of how much President Obama's fortunes have changed since 2008 — a leading Democratic Congressional recruit is now attacking a Republican congressman for supporting the president.

Discussion: WTRF-TV and Weasel Zippers