FIRST ON CNN: Obama, Dems drop millionaire surtax to pay for payroll tax cut  —  (CNN) - In what would be a major concession, President Obama and Senate Democrats will drop their insistence that a surtax on millionaires pay for extending the payroll tax cut, a Democratic source tells CNN.

Winnowing the Field  —  A hard-fought presidential primary campaign is obscuring the uncharacteristic degree of unity within the Republican party.  It has reached a conservative consensus on most of the pressing issues of the day.  All of the leading candidates, and almost all of the lagging ones, support the right to life.

Romney is GOP's best choice  —  Mitt Romney participates in a wide-ranging interview with members of The Washington Examiner editorial board on Dec. 7.  (Graeme Jennings/Examiner)  —  The only Republican who can beat Obama  —  The headlines Wednesday morning brought the stunning news …

Ron Paul For The GOP Nomination  —  [Re-posted from earlier today.]  —  The Dish goes through the process of endorsing candidates in a primary season, not because I'm under any illusions that my endorsement counts.  It probably hurts an insignificant amount, if anything.

NBC News Brass Reportedly Furious Over Handling Of Romney KKK Slogan Story  —  As if former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney didn't have enough problems already, a story that connects him to the Ku Klux Klan has now entered the cable news bloodstream.  AmericaBlog noticed that a phrase Romney has used …

Romney Warns of Nominating ‘Zany’ Gingrich  —  Mitt Romney is sharpening his warning to Republicans about the consequences of nominating Newt Gingrich as the party's presidential candidate, declaring in an interview on Wednesday: “Zany is not what we need in a president.”  —  “Zany is great in a campaign.

Tom Friedman, hitting rock bottom  —  Today's Tom Friedman's column has set off a firestorm.  Now, he says and writes many wrong-headed things, about China and other dictatorial regimes, primarily.  But today he hits rock bottom: … You see, in Friedman's eyes, the entire U.S. Congress is bought and paid for by a cabal of Jews.

IPR Exclusive: Gary Johnson to Announce Libertarian Switch Tomorrow  —  UPDATE: Johnson has told a reporter that this is something he's looking at and that he will be in New York tomorrow to do “as many media appearances as they can wind me up and send me in that direction.”

Marines' Haditha Interviews Found in Iraqi Junkyard  —  BAGHDAD — One by one, the Marines sat down, swore to tell the truth and began to give secret interviews discussing one of the most horrific episodes of America's time in Iraq: the 2005 massacre by Marines of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha.

Playbook 2012: The Right Fights Back (Politico Inside Election 2012)  —  Buy this eBook  —  Two of America's most perceptive political reporters join forces for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the race for the White House in POLITICO's Playbook 2012, a series of four instant digital books on the 2012 presidential election.

Today In Dishonest Fox News Charts Fox's Graphics Department Fails (Mislabeling States Edition)  —  EXPAND ALL EXPAND 1ST LEVEL COLLAPSE ALL

Woman Fatally Crushed in Midtown Elevator Accident  —  A 41-year-old woman was crushed to death when she entered an elevator at the Madison Avenue headquarters of the advertising giant Y&R and it suddenly rose before the doors had closed, pinning her between the floor of the elevator and ceiling …

At Fort Bragg, Obama Showers Praise on Troops Back From Iraq  —  FORT BRAGG, N.C. — President Obama observed the end of the war in Iraq on Wednesday before an audience of those who fought in it, telling a crowd of returning war veterans that the nine years of conflict in Iraq …

GOP Sen. Coburn: My ‘Most Liberal’ Colleagues Are ‘More Intellectually Honest’ Regarding The Deficit  —  As Senate Republicans continue to stand against raising taxes on millionaires — even if it means the current payroll tax cut that's benefiting every working American expires …

Lawyer asks judge to endorse Blagojevich for rehab  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Rod Blagojevich's attorneys have asked to have him placed in a drug abuse program when he starts his 14-year prison sentence for corruption, though they aren't saying if the former Illinois governor has a problem or if it's a legal move.

Paul Ryan to announce new approach to preserving Medicare  —  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who has been castigated by Democrats and hailed by Republicans for his plan to privatize Medicare, will on Thursday unveil a new approach that would preserve the 46-year-old federal health program.

Opponents in Philadelphia say bill on Sharia law unfair to Muslims  —  A bill in Harrisburg that opponents say is targeted against Muslims has followers of that faith upset.  —  House Bill 2029 would ban Pennsylvania courts from considering any foreign legal code or system that isn't identical with the Constitution.