Iowa: Romney 23%, Gingrich 20%, Paul 18%  —  For the fifth straight survey, the GOP field has a new frontrunner in Iowa.  —  On this first release video, Scott Rasmussen reveals Mitt Romney as the new frontrunner in the Iowa Caucus.  —  Although this video is available to everyone, most of the content on Rasmussen Reports is not.

Wyden-Ryan Medicare Proposal Has White House ‘Concerned’ … WASHINGTON — The Obama administration expressed concern Thursday over the bipartisan Medicare reform proposal that has been hammered out between Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), saying it believes the plan could weaken the program.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Bush Attorneys General Call Gingrich Position on Courts ‘Dangerous’  —  Two former attorneys general under President George W. Bush have found a few things to like in Newt Gingrich's position paper on reining in the authority of the federal courts, but other parts, they say, are downright disturbing.

Tea Party leader arrested with gun at NY airport  —  A major leader in the Tea Party movement was arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday after he tried to check in for a flight while carrying a gun.  —  Prosecutors charged Mark Meckler, the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots …

Frustration with Congress Could Hurt Republican Incumbents  —  GOP Base Critical of Party's Washington Leadership  —  OVERVIEW  —  Public discontent with Congress has reached record levels, and the implications for incumbents in next year's elections could be stark.

Obama faults Republican ‘lurch into extremes’ for DC gridlock  —  As political gridlock again threatens Washington with government shutdown, President Obama faulted Republicans' election year “lurch into extremes” for keeping compromise out of reach.  —  “You know, you never want to say …

Newt Gingrich: Gay People Choose To Be Gay Like Priests Choose Celibacy  —  Newt Gingrich told the Des Moines Register's editorial board this morning that gay people have a “significant range of choice within a genetic pattern” and can choose to be straight just like someone can “choose to be celibate.”

Newt in the loot?  —  Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has discussed directing $20 million to an outside group backing Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign, multiple sources told POLITICO — but Adelson denies he's made that promise.  —  After leaving Congress, Gingrich cultivated a network …

We ♥ Huntsman  —  ...Or at least his daughters.  Mary Anne, Liddy, and Abby may not be able to save Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign, but their Funny or Die-style videos, planking photos, and @Jon2012girls Twitter (what's a Mormon girl have to do to land a date with Tagg Romney …

Exclusive: ‘White Only’ Pool Sign Owner Explains  —  A female landlord, Jamie Hein, had a sign that read, “Public Swimming Pool, White Only” hanging on a gate at her house and her private pool.  (Photo credit: Ohio Civil Rights Commission)  —  An Ohio landlord accused of discriminating …

Romney Ku Klux Klan Report Backfires on Media  —  Don't just repeat it.  Report it.  —  That's the lesson this week for MSNBC and for The Washington Post, both of which apologized for repeating a liberal blog's claim that Mitt Romney had uttered a phrase on the campaign stump that was used in the past by the Ku Klux Klan.

Congressional leaders reach spending deal to avoid government shutdown  —  Congressional negotiators signed off Thursday evening on a $1 trillion spending agreement for federal agencies, just 28 hours before a deadline that would have led to a government shutdown.

Americans face Guantánamo detention after Obama climbdown  —  Defence funding bill allows American citizens to be arrested as terrorists on home soil and held indefinitely without trial  —  Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military …

Is This Hell?  No, It's Iowa  —  [ed note: Found!  In a dumpster behind Hamburg Inn, the first draft of University of Iowa professor Stephen G. Bloom's anthropology dissertation for Atlantic magazine explaining the bizarre cultural mores of the primative Aborigines who pay his salary.]

Where Obama Has Slipped  —  There's an ominous trend for President Obama in the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll: not only is his overall approval rating lagging, but he's lost as much (or even more) ground among groups that favored him in 2008 as among those who resisted him last time.

GOP Rep. Davis won't seek another term  —  Rep. Geoff Davis, who has represented Kentucky in the House since 2005, announced Thursday that he will not seek another term, becoming the first Republican to decide to retire in 2012 who is not seeking another office.

Obama Family Portrait Revealed  —  From left: Michelle, Malia, Barack and Sasha Obama  —  President Obama may be gearing up his campaign for reelection soon, but at home with his wife and daughters, he couldn't be happier.  —  The White House is releasing this new family portrait of the Obamas …

Jobless claims drop to 3.5 year low  —  (Reuters) - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a 3-1/2 year low last week, a government report showed on Thursday, suggesting the labor market  —  recovery was gaining speed.  —  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 …

Harvard Poll: Young Voters Say Obama Will Lose  —  More bad news for President Obama  —  More bad news for President Obama, this time from his alma mater, Harvard University.  In a new poll, more younger voters, many of whom voted for him in 2008, think he will lose next year.

Pentagon Declares End to an Iraq War of Mixed Results  —  BAGHDAD — Almost nine years after the first American tanks began massing on the Iraqi border, the Pentagon declared an official end to its mission here, closing a troubled conflict that helped reshape American politics and left …

Congress sends defense authorization bill to the White House  —  The Senate followed the House on Thursday in overwhelmingly approving the Defense Authorization Act for 2012 conference report, after an eleventh-hour compromise on the terrorist detainee provision removed a veto threat from the White House.