Top Items:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest — A lot of bad habits when analyzing general election polls can be good ones when it comes to primaries and caucuses. In particular, making inferences about a trend based on just a couple of polls will often lead you astray in the general election.
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Rasmussen Reports:
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.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Campaign 2012, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Don Surber, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, Rush Limbaugh, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, The Enterprise Blog, Weasel Zippers, National Review, LifeNews.com, GOP 12, americanthinker.com, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Daily Pundit, The PJ Tatler and Althouse
New York Times:
Gingrich Parries With Challengers in Final Debate Before Iowa Caucuses
Discussion:
The Caucus, The Page and Rush Limbaugh
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Recuse Yourself, Chris Wallace
Discussion:
Political Mojo, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway
Chris Stirewalt / Fox News:
High Stakes, High Drama for Final Debate Before Voting Begins
Discussion:
Fox News
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Gingrich Running Strong With Traditionally Reliable Voters
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air and Business Insider
Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
Fox's Chris Wallace: If Ron Paul Wins In Iowa, It Will Discredit The Iowa Caucuses
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Guardian, The Daily Dish, Hit & Run, Business Insider, Indecision Forever and Taylor Marsh
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
On Iraq, the GOP Is Out of Touch with Its Own Voters
Discussion:
2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos and The Hill
Jeffrey Lord / American Spectator:
The Ron Paul Newsletters — Yesterday, during a discussion on Ron Paul with Sean Hannity on the latter's radio show, Hannity brought up with me the impossible-to-get around subject of the infamous Ron Paul Newsletters. — As Hannity quite correctly pointed out, with the other GOP candidates having received …
Discussion:
American Power, Riehl World View and The Right Scoop
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Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Air Force Vet Ron Paul Drops Bombs On Newt Gingrich for War Deferments — Air Force veteran and presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul. R-Texas, has opened up a new line of attack against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. — Interviewed by Megyn Kelly on Fox News Channel …
The Politico:
David Mark — Moderator : — Now that Rep. Ron Paul …
Discussion:
CNN, justforeignpolicy.org, 2012 Decoded and The Agonist
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Can Ron Paul win?
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, The Politico, Liberal Values, Washington Post, CatholicVote.org, iOwnTheWorld.com and Unfogged
Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
GOP debate: Gingrich's electability at issue — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's (R-Ga.) electability against President Obama and authenticity as a conservative were in focus at the top of Thursday's Republican presidential debate in Iowa, the last such skirmish before the state's Jan. 3 caucuses.
Discussion:
CNN
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Devin Dwyer / Yahoo! News:
Obama faults Republican ‘lurch into extremes’ for DC gridlock
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Byron Tau / The Politico:
POTUS on the GOP: 'Anything that Obama's for, we're against'
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, The Heritage Foundation, nation.foxnews.com and Weasel Zippers
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David Rogers / The Politico:
Deal averts shutdown — Capping a roller coaster week, House and Senate negotiators signed off Thursday night on a $1 trillion-plus, year-end spending bill, which the leadership will then rush to the floor as early as Friday to put to rest any threat of a government shutdown.
Discussion:
Business Insider
Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Congress sends defense authorization bill to the White House
Discussion:
The Politico
Darren Samuelsohn / The Politico:
GOP wins light bulb fight — The shutdown-averting budget bill will block federal light bulb efficiency standards, giving a win to House Republicans fighting the so-called ban on incandescent light bulbs. — GOP and Democratic sources tell POLITICO the final omnibus bill includes …
Discussion:
Instapundit
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Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Omnibus spending deal blocks funding for light bulb efficiency standards — Omnibus spending legislation greenlighted by House and Senate negotiators Thursday night blocks Energy Department light bulb efficiency standards that have come under fire from conservatives in recent months.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:
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.
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Darren Samuelsohn / The Politico:
Allen West: Goebbels would be proud of Democrats
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Rebecca Evans / Daily Mail:
Saviour of 2,000 Afghans who saved a baby's life executed by the Taliban — Dr Karen Woo was with nine others in the Kuran Wa Munja district of Badakhshan when they were killed — A British doctor shot dead by the Taliban was part of a humanitarian mission that had helped 2,000 Afghans, an inquest heard yesterday.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report and Weasel Zippers
Alex Pappademas / GQ:
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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, ABCNEWS and Business Insider
Fox News:
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.
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Josh Lederman / The Hill:
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 …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and CNN
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
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.”
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Althouse, Catholic Bandita, Towleroad News #gay and Good As You
Christina Ng / Nation:
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 …
Discussion:
Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Atlantic Online
Brian Stelter / The Caucus:
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.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, American Prospect, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post and US Politics
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
In Congress, a Merry (and Stupid) Christmas Compromise — In the rush of holiday preparation, it may have escaped your notice that this is National Sellout Day, when we celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus into this world so that the Magi can show up at the stable, pay him homage …
Discussion:
The Impolitic, The PJ Tatler, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com and TBogg
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Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — The Ron Wyden, Paul Ryan Pile On Begins
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, The Incidental Economist, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, PERRspectives, Bloomberg, The Hill, The Raw Story and The Politico
The Politico:
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Taylor Marsh, GOP 12 and The Other McCain
Scott Peterson / Christian Science Monitor:
Exclusive: Iran hijacked US drone, says Iranian engineer — In an exclusive interview, an engineer working to unlock the secrets of the captured RQ-170 Sentinel says they exploited a known vulnerability and tricked the US drone into landing in Iran. — ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Discussion:
Tehran Times, CNN, The Lede, Danger Room and Guardian, more at Techmeme »
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