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6:45 PM ET, December 13, 2011

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Paul closes in on Gingrich  —  There has been some major movement in the Republican Presidential race in Iowa over the last week, with what was a 9 point lead for Newt Gingrich now all the way down to a single point.  Gingrich is at 22% to 21% for Paul with Mitt Romney at 16% …
RELATED:
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Trump pulls out of GOP debate  —  Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will not moderate next month's GOP debate sponsored by Newsmax.  —  The reality televison show host's decision came after most Republican candidates declined to participate in the debate, with only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum agreeing to appear.
Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Donald Trump bows out as GOP debate moderator  —  Donald Trump says he's withdrawing as moderator of a GOP presidential debate in Iowa.  —  Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were the only Republican candidates who agreed to the Dec. 27 debate, sponsored by the conservative website Newsmax.
Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
Trump dumps Iowa - again - by backing out of Dec. 27 debate
Discussion: Firedoglake
Bobby Bank / ABCNEWS:
Donald Trump Backs Out of Debate, Floating Independent Bid
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Trump bows out of GOP debate
Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:
Donald Trump News!
Discussion: The Daily What and Mediaite
Susan Page / USA Today:
Swing States Poll: Downbeat Dems, resurgent Republicans  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama is moving to energize the Democratic base for his re-election campaign, but in the case of a dozen battleground states, he'll have to work harder than four years ago to find it.
RELATED:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
SCARBOROUGH: ROMNEY LOOKING MORE LIKABLE — Michael Duffy promoted - Perry Bacon leaves WashPost - What Peter Watkins is up to - ABC's ‘This Week’ unveils debate series  —  WEST WING MINDMELD: “On Sunday, the President spoke to Senator Reid, and they decided that Congress cannot go home …
Ben Smithand Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Romney's role: The Hillary Clinton of 2012?
Josh Lederman / The Hill:
Mitt Romney starts to show cracks as front-runner status slips further
Discussion: CNN, The Politico and Prairie Weather
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:   Ron Paul is Mitt Romney's best (Iowa) friend
Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC  —  Dems To GOP: Deal Fairly On Payroll Tax Or Shut Down The Government  —  Senate Democrats and the White House are executing a strategy to prevent House Republicans from jamming them with legislation to extend the current payroll tax cut that's been larded up with GOP goodies, according to White House and Congressional aides.
RELATED:
The Hill:
Republican leaders say they'll have the votes to pass payroll-tax bill  —  House Republican leaders on Tuesday predicted they will have the votes to pass legislation to extend a payroll tax cut.  —  The leaders are “close” to securing enough support to pass the bill, members leaving a closed-door GOP conference meeting said Tuesday.
Discussion: The Politico and CNN
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House Dems accuse GOP of setting up tax bill to fail on purpose
Discussion: The Politico
Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
Amanpour Said to Be Leaving ‘This Week’  —  Christiane Amanpour is preparing to leave as the anchor of “This Week,” the Sunday morning news program on ABC, two people with knowledge of her plans said Tuesday.  —  Ms. Amanpour, a longtime international correspondent for CNN, joined ABC about a year and a half ago to anchor “This Week.”
RELATED:
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Christiane Amanpour To Leave ‘This Week’ But Remain At ABC, Host New CNN International Show
Hank Stuever / Washington Post:
Chelsea Clinton makes broadcast debut on NBC's ‘Rock Center’  —  It's no surprise whatsoever that Chelsea Clinton didn't electrify broadcast journalism with her debut Monday night on NBC's “Rock Center With Brian Williams,” because she has no experience in broadcast journalism.
RELATED:
Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:
The TV Watch: Chelsea Clinton Finally Embraces Her Celebrity
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately, notwithstanding some apparent slowing in global growth.  While indicators point to some improvement in overall labor market conditions, the unemployment rate remains elevated.
Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
All-American Mess  —  I'd bet that TLC's All-American Muslim is a pretty dull show that borders on hagiography.  But I still don't get why anyone would get so mad about it.  As I understand it, the show depicts Muslim families as more moderate, more American than some stereotypes.  Is that really so horrible?
RELATED:
Mike M. Ahlers / CNN:
NTSB recommends full ban on use of cell phones while driving  —  Washington (CNN) — Federal accident investigators Tuesday called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.  —  Study: Half of young people text, drive
RELATED:
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
U.S. Safety Board Urges Cell Phone Ban for Drivers
Discussion: Gawker and Truthdig
Rep. Dennis Cardoza / The Hill:
Opinion: Obama would rather be university professor than president  —  After observing President Obama for the last three years, it has become obvious to me that the President might prefer to be a university professor rather than do the job he holds today.  While he may not realize that he feels …
Lynn Sweet:
Axelrod on Newt: “the higher a monkey climbs...the more you can see his butt.”  —  Obama 2012 Press Secretary Ben LaBolt, Strategist David Axelrod, Campaign Manager Jim Messina, Deputy Manager Stephanie Cutter at Tuesday press briefing at the DNC.  (photo by Lynn Sweet)
Discussion: Mediaite
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Blunt defeats Johnson in race for Senate GOP leadership post  —  Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), a veteran of Republican leadership circles, defeated Tea Party favorite Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to become vice chairman of the Senate GOP Conference.  —  He was elected to the fifth-ranking post …
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
The Graph That Proves Economic Forecasters Are Almost Always Wrong  —  As the saying goes: “It's hard to make predictions.  Especially about the future.”  Thirty years ago, it was obvious to everybody that oil prices would keep going up forever.  Twenty years ago, it was obvious that Japan would own the 21st century.
Discussion: Bloomberg and Via Meadia
Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:
Household electricity bills skyrocket  —  Electric bills have skyrocketed in the last five years, a sharp reversal from a quarter-century when Americans enjoyed stable power bills even as they used more electricity.  —  Households paid a record $1,419 on average for electricity in 2010 …
Discussion: Power Line and The Enterprise Blog
Michiko Kakutani / New York Times:
Deconstructing the Bouffant and the Bland  —  The title of Ann Beattie's new book, “Mrs. Nixon: A Novelist Imagines a Life,” suggests that the author might be trying to channel Pat Nixon or conjure up her life with Dick, much the way Curtis Sittenfeld channeled a Laura Bush-like first lady in her 2008 novel, “American Wife.”
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Millionaires on Food Stamps and Jobless Pay?  G.O.P. Is on It  —  WASHINGTON — It's an image many Americans would find rather upsetting: a recently laid-off millionaire, luxuriating next to the pool eating grapes bought with food stamps while waiting for an unemployment check to roll in.
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Rep. Issa asks Obama official why illegal camping of Occupy DC was permitted  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Tuesday announced he wants answers on whether “political judgments played a role” in allowing Occupy D.C. protesters to remain camped in Northwest Washington.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Gingrich misses a McCain moment  —  John McCain in 2008 took the occasional strange, xenophobic question about Barack Obama, and routinely batted them back: Obama wasn't scary, or (God forbid!) “an Arab,” as one woman memorably told him.  He was a decent family man, just wrong on the issues.
Jonathan Macey / Wall Street Journal:
Congress's Phony Insider-Trading Reform  —  The denizens of Capitol Hill are remarkable investors.  A new law meant to curb abuses would only make their shenanigans easier.  —  Members of Congress already get better health insurance and retirement benefits than other Americans.
Discussion: Big Government and The Big Picture
Andy Bloxham / Telegraph:
Belgium grenade attack: latest  —  At least two people have been killed and dozens wounded when up to four grenades exploded outside the main courthouse in the eastern Belgian city of Liege.  —  The scene of the grenade attack in Liege … Live  —  15.51 In another shocking attack in Europe today …
Dylan Byers / The Politico:
Romney '02 edition  —  Thanks to Andrew Kaczynski, the Internet's favorite new oppo research hobbyist, a 2002 video of Mitt Romney is making the rounds that features potentially damaging fodder for his opponents:  —  “I'm not a partisan Republican,” Romney says in the interview.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:
2008 E-Mail Alerted James Murdoch to Hacking
CNN:
ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT
Discussion: Firedoglake and ThinkProgress
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Kermit Gosnell's Wife Pleads Guilty to Abortion Horrors
Discussion: Hot Air and The PJ Tatler
Reuters:
US halts $700 million in aid to Pakistan, demands action on Taliban bombs
Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Internet piracy bill: A free speech ‘kill switch’
 Earlier Items: 
Jennifer Yingling / The Hill:
Sara and Ron Bonjean's Annual Holiday Party
Stephanie Saul / New York Times:
Online Schools Score Better on Wall Street Than in Classrooms
Discussion: Balloon Juice and Eduwonk
Fars News Agency:
Obama Begs Iran to Give Him Back His Toy Plane
Discussion: Washington Post and Campaign 2012
Jon Hilsenrath / Wall Street Journal:
Bernanke Joins Bargain Hunters Who Refinance
Jonathan Allen / The Politico:
House to close ‘strip club loophole’
Discussion: Business Insider
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Yearly deficit falls below $1 trillion for the first time under Obama