Top Items:
Jeremy W. Peters / The Caucus:
Trump to Moderate Republican Debate — It's officially a reality television Republican primary now. — Donald Trump is pairing up with Newsmax, the conservative magazine and news Web site, to moderate a presidential debate in Des Moines on Dec. 27. — “Our readers and the grass roots …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Slate, msnbc.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, nation.foxnews.com, Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times, News Desk, The Political Carnival, No More Mister Nice Blog, entertainment.time.com, The Atlantic Online, Sky Dancing, Wonkette, Washington Wire, Washington Post, Don Surber, PolitickerNY, Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Balloon Juice, National Review, Media Decoder, The Raw Story, The Hill, PopWatch, Michelle Malkin, Business Insider, Gothamist and Iowa Caucuses
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Zeke Miller / Business Insider:
Here's The Huntsman Campaign's Awesome RSVP To The Trump Debate — Tim Miller, a spokesman for Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign, had this response when asked if his candidate would participate in the Dec. 27 Newsmax debate moderated by Donald Trump: — “Lol.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Hot Air and The Spectacle Blog
Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:
Jon Huntsman will skip presidential debate moderated by Donald Trump — The conservative news magazine Newsmax announced Friday that it would co-sponsor a Republican presidential debate moderated by media personality and real estate tycoon Donald Trump on Dec. 27th in Des Moines, Ia. …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
CNN:
Huntsman and Gingrich agree to debate
Huntsman and Gingrich agree to debate
Discussion:
The Political Carnival and Towleroad News #gay
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Huntsman skips Trump, will debate Gingrich in unmoderated format
Huntsman skips Trump, will debate Gingrich in unmoderated format
Discussion:
CNN
Reid Pillifant / Capital New York:
Pete King: Gingrich is condescending, undisciplined, and bad for the G.O.P. — Architect of Obama's health care plan fears a ‘political’ decision by the Supreme Court, says Romney's lying — When Representative Peter King called me between votes on Thursday afternoon to talk …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The New Republic, PolitickerNY, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and Washington Post
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Ramesh Ponnuru / National Review:
Romney's the One — Even though nobody has yet cast a vote in the primaries, Republicans are increasingly resigned to Gov. Mitt Romney's winning the party's presidential nomination. Every week he gets a few more endorsements from Republican officeholders.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Riehl World View, Metro, Power Line, The PJ Tatler, RedState and The Daily Dish
Dan Amira / New York Magazine:
Fundamentally: Newt Gingrich's Favorite Word — By now, we've all become familiar with Newt Gingrich's habit of using a few choice adverbs to make the things he says sound just a bit more intelligent to his listeners. … But none of them are as vital to the Gingrich lexicon as fundamentally …
Discussion:
Political Mojo
Erin McPike / Real Clear Politics:
Romney Declines Lincoln-Douglas Debate Against Gingrich — With the Republican presidential primary appearing to have narrowed into a two-man contest, Human Events and Red State moved quickly to lock down a date for a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Does Romney Have a Moderate Problem? — Mitt Romney is enduring a tough week. He now trails Newt Gingrich by 20 or more points in some state and national surveys. He had a testy interview with Brett Baier of Fox News, and then compounded the problem by complaining about Mr. Baier's questioning later.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post and 2012 Election Central
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Gingrich's grim ground game
Gingrich's grim ground game
Discussion:
The Politico, Balloon Juice and Washington Post
Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:
Gingrich presidential run inspires fear and loathing in top GOP circles
Gingrich presidential run inspires fear and loathing in top GOP circles
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, Hotline On Call, A plain blog about politics, Political Mojo, The Impolitic and The Daily Dish
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
G.O.P. Leaders Still Seem Torn About Romney
G.O.P. Leaders Still Seem Torn About Romney
Discussion:
The Caucus, The Huffington Post, ABCNEWS, Metro, GOP 12, Prairie Weather and The Shark Tank
Allison Samuels / The Daily Beast:
Herman Cain's Marriage Shaken by Infidelity Charges — As the one-time GOP frontrunner meets up with his wife to discuss his political future, friends say fresh charges of infidelity reopened old wounds in his marriage. — In October, Herman Cain was having the time of his life, according to those who know him well.
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Herman Cain 2012:
ENCOURAGEMENT for HERMAN CAIN — Encouragement for Cain is the official page where supporters are invited to show their support, communicate their prayers and voice their vote for Herman Cain. Please take a moment to write Mr. Cain a note sharing why you feel it is important for him to stay …
Discussion:
Political Mojo, The Atlantic Online, Gawker, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Campaign 2012
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
8.6% Unemployment: The Good, the Bad, and the Mysterious in the Jobs Report — This was a very confusing report. The unemployment rate fell dramatically in November. But we're only adding 120,000 jobs a month. How can both things be true at the same time?
Discussion:
Jared Bernstein, US Politics, CNBC, Brookings Institute and The New Republic
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J. Bradford DeLong / Brad DeLong:
The Household Survey: A Note on the December 2, 2011 Report
The Household Survey: A Note on the December 2, 2011 Report
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior and Angry Bear
James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:
November jobs report: 7 reasons why it's better but still terrible
November jobs report: 7 reasons why it's better but still terrible
Discussion:
Campaign 2012, White House.gov Blog, The Heritage Foundation, Reuters and americanthinker.com
Charles Grassley / Associated Press:
Justice Dept. details how it got statements wrong — on Friday provided Congress with documents detailing how department officials gave inaccurate information to a U.S. senator in the controversy surrounding — , the flawed law enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling major arms trafficking networks on the Southwest border.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, nation.foxnews.com and Weasel Zippers
Agoldberg / The Smoking Gun:
Sorry, There Is No Actual 17-Year-Old Named Bennett Writing Those Purported “Texts From Bennett” — Those hilarious “Texts From Bennett” that this week took the Internet by storm are not, in fact, written by a dopey 17-year-old who works at an Amoco station and fashions himself a Midwest Crip.
Discussion:
Betabeat
Dan Froomkin / The Huffington Post:
U.N. Envoy: U.S. Isn't Protecting Occupy Protesters' Rights … United Nations , First Amendment , Frank La Rue , Free Speech , Occupy Movement , Occupy Wall Street , Business News — WASHINGTON — The United Nations envoy for freedom of expression is drafting an official communication …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Wonkette, UN Dispatch and ThinkProgress
Tim Mak / The Politico:
Christine Todd Whitman to Jon Huntsman: Run third party — Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, who is leading a group trying to draft a third-party presidential candidate, is encouraging Jon Huntsman to make an independent bid for the White House. — “I would hope he would do it, frankly.
Discussion:
The New Republic and JunkScience.com
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner hopes to avoid GOP Senate fate on payroll taxes — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Friday he hopes to avoid the kind of mass intra-party resistance that Senate GOP leaders saw on Thursday when they brought their proposal to extend the payroll tax cut up for a vote.
Discussion:
The Politico, The New Republic and ThinkProgress
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WJXT-TV:
Teen stopped at airport for design on purse — 17-year-old missed flight to Jacksonville after agents inspected gun replica — A teenage girl's sense of style got her in trouble at the airport. — Vanessa Gibbs, 17, claims the Transportation Security Administration stopped …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and LewRockwell.com Blog
Metro:
First-grader accused of sexual harassment — A Boston elementary school is investigating a 7-year-old first-grader for sexual harassment after he struck another boy his age in the groin. But the mother of the accused said her son was fending off the other child, who had choked him in an altercation on a school bus on Nov. 22.
Discussion:
American Glob, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, msnbc.com, iOwnTheWorld.com, MyFox Boston and Hullabaloo
Wall Street Journal:
GMAC, Massachusetts Trade Salvos in Mortgage Fight — GMAC Mortgage, the mortgage lender of Ally Financial Inc., is exiting the vast majority of its lending in Massachusetts a day after the state sued it and other lenders over its allegedly improper foreclosure practices, a decision the state's attorney general called an admission.
Discussion:
naked capitalism and Boston Globe
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