Mitt Romney on Newt Gingrich: He's the front-runner  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mitt Romney, who just a month ago had hoped to seal the GOP presidential nomination with Florida's primary on Jan. 31, tells POLITICO that he now foresees an epic fight with Newt Gingrich that could last through the California primary on June 5.

Newt takes no-adultery pledge  —  When the Iowa social conservative group The Family Leader unveiled a sweeping pledge on marriage and abortion over the summer, Newt Gingrich was one of the candidates who passed on signing it.  —  Now, Gingrich has answered the pledge with a lengthy written response …

Barack Obama's ‘60 Minutes’ Interview Has Me Screaming at My TV Again  —  Today on Morning Joe, they were playing clips of Steve Kroft's 60 Minutes interview with President Obama, and I literally started screaming.  There is only so much of this bulls-t I can endure without talking back to my TV:

Today In Dishonest Fox News Charts  —  It looks like Fox is trying to mislead its viewers on the unemployment rate.  Again.  —  On Monday, Fox News displayed a chart illustrating changes to the unemployment rate during 2011:  —  Note how the 8.6 percent unemployment rate in November looks higher …

Sperm-donor kept wife in the dark  —  A conservative Christian politician has a secret life as a sperm donor for lesbian couples - even though he has campaigned against gay marriage.  —  American politician Bill Johnson has spent most of this year in Christchurch helping run the earthquake recovery …

Iowa audience members yell at Rick Perry after Ames appearance [includes video]  —  Ames, Ia.  - A packed coffee house where Rick Perry spoke this afternoon turned into a bit of a ruckus that left the candidate heading out the back door and straight to his vehicle after several Iowans screamed questions about his views on gays.

Depression and Democracy  —  It's time to start calling the current situation what it is: a depression.  True, it's not a full replay of the Great Depression, but that's cold comfort.  Unemployment in both America and Europe remains disastrously high.  Leaders and institutions are increasingly discredited.

Newt Strikes Back  —  In Monday Londderry press availability, former Speaker repsonds to Romney's demand he return Freddic Mac cash by invoking Romney's Bain windfall.  —  Gingrich: If gov romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees …

DNC chair: Unemployment didn't go up under Obama!  —  Denial — it ain't just a river in Egypt.  Appearing on Fox News this morning, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz insisted that unemployment didn't go up in Barack Obama's term of office, a hilarious argument on several levels.

Gingrich's Electromagnetic Pulse Warning Has Skeptics  —  Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential hopeful, wants you to know that as commander in chief he is ready to confront one of the most nightmarish of doomsday scenarios: a nuclear blast high above the United States that would instantly throw the nation into a dark age.

A Romance With Risk That Brought On a Panic  —  Soon after taking the reins of MF Global in 2010, Jon S. Corzine visited the Wall Street firm's Chicago offices for the first time, greeting the brokers, analysts and sales staff there.  —  One broker, Cy Monley, caught Mr. Corzine's eye.

Protesters leave, port is open with limited operations  —  (12-12) 11:58 PST OAKLAND — Almost half the berths at the Port of Oakland have temporarily ceased operations today after hundreds of protesters spent the morning blocking intersections in the port.  —  Roughly 150 longshoremen …

Populist-in-Chief  —  by Richard A. Epstein (Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow and member of the Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force)  —  Can Obama's progressive policies save the middle class from economic hardship?  —  One clear sign of America's social unease …

Sarah Palin Pitching New Reality Show About Husband Todd's Snowmobile Adventures (Exclusive) … Sarah Palin announced in October that she would not run for president, leaving her free to focus on her media career.  But the GOP kingmaker and Fox News contributor is having some trouble selling …

As Americans struggle, the Obamas make do with 37 Christmas trees  —  The economy may be weak, unemployment strong and the first family soon to vacate the White House for another half-month of vacation in Hawaii.  —  But the Obamas have gone all out in decorating their house this year …

Why the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Failed—and How to Fix It  —  The design vision was strong, and the artist accomplished, but a couple of key changes were made between conception and execution  —  Nearly 15 years after President Clinton signed legislation for the construction …

Veto threat looms over high-stakes talks on terrorism detainees  —  House and Senate conferees are meeting Monday evening to finalize the Defense authorization bill, congressional sources told The Hill, potentially forcing President Obama to follow through on his threat to veto the legislation.