Top Items:
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:
Campaign 2012, GOP 12, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Hot Air
RELATED:
New York Times:
In a Tactical Shift, Romney Trains Sights on Gingrich — Mitt Romney, his presidential aspirations suddenly endangered by Newt Gingrich's rapid resurgence, is employing aggressive new arguments in an effort to disqualify Mr. Gingrich as a credible choice to Republicans, calling him “zany” …
Discussion:
The Caucus, The Politico, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS and Wall Street Journal
The Caucus:
Romney Warns of Nominating ‘Zany’ Gingrich
Romney Warns of Nominating ‘Zany’ Gingrich
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Post, Gallup, CBS News, New York Times, The Politico, Campaign 2012, Rush Limbaugh, ABCNEWS, Washington Wire, The Page, USA Today, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Pundit & Pundette, Outside the Beltway, Little Green Footballs, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Prairie Weather, The Impolitic, Shakesville, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com and Daily Kos
A.Killough / CNN:
Candidates make appeal to anti-abortionists
Candidates make appeal to anti-abortionists
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post and Washington Monthly
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Mitt Romney: Gingrich a “very wealthy” man
Mitt Romney: Gingrich a “very wealthy” man
Discussion:
Hot Air, New York Magazine, Campaign 2012, The Page, Daily Kos, The Politico, National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Business Insider
Kevinliptak / CNN:
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.
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Politico, Scared Monkeys, The Lonely Conservative, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice and The Hill
RELATED:
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Payroll tax cut and spending bill stall in Senate, raising threat of shutdown — Negotiations over how to extend a payroll tax holiday for 160 million Americans and avoid a government shutdown this weekend ground to a halt Wednesday after a standoff in the Senate over how to proceed.
Discussion:
The Politico, The Lonely Conservative and Indecision Forever
Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
White House backs down from threat to veto Defense bill over detainee language
White House backs down from threat to veto Defense bill over detainee language
Discussion:
Wonkette
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
President Will Not Veto Defense Authorization Bill, Despite Detention Provisions
President Will Not Veto Defense Authorization Bill, Despite Detention Provisions
Discussion:
Political Mojo and Hullabaloo
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP leader McConnell blocks Senate vote on House payroll-tax-cut package
GOP leader McConnell blocks Senate vote on House payroll-tax-cut package
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Politico, CNN, Wonkette, Wake up America and Daily Kos
National Review:
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.
New York Times:
U.S. Officially Ends Its Mission in Iraq — BAGHDAD — The United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq on Thursday even as violence continues to plague the country and the Muslim world remains distrustful of American power. — In a fortified concrete courtyard …
Discussion:
Simply Left BehindThe …, emptywheel and Guardian
RELATED:
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
At Fort Bragg, Obama Showers Praise on Troops Back From Iraq
At Fort Bragg, Obama Showers Praise on Troops Back From Iraq
Discussion:
City Room, The Caucus, New York Magazine and Bark Bark Woof Woof
Investor's Business Daily:
Documents Show Justice's Breuer Misled On ‘Furious’ — Ethics In Government: Attorney General Eric Holder insists “nobody at the Justice Department has lied” about the gun-running scandal Fast and Furious. That in itself is a lie, as his deputy's emails prove.
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
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 …
Discussion:
The Caucus, US Politics, Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Don Surber, NewsBusters.org and Jack & Jill Politics, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
Commander in Creep — Got a friend who backs Obama? They have a list of people like you. — Somewhere along the line, somebody signed us up for the Barack Obama campaign emails. Normally we don't care for spam, political or otherwise, but these are so odd that we've kept them coming out of curiosity.
Discussion:
National Review, Bookworm Room, Weasel Zippers, Boston Globe and US Politics
RELATED:
Janie Lorber / Roll Call:
Occupy, Liberals Can't Get Together
Occupy, Liberals Can't Get Together
Discussion:
Liberal Values, American Power and Weasel Zippers
Wall Street Journal:
The Wyden-Ryan Breakthrough — A better, bipartisan Medicare future. — Democrats are running on Mediscare in 2012 and President Obama has all but called the “premium support” reform un-American, if not the decline and fall of Western civilization. That would seem to put the issue …
Discussion:
Corrente and The Lonely Conservative
RELATED:
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Paul Ryan to announce new approach to preserving Medicare
Paul Ryan to announce new approach to preserving Medicare
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, TBogg, American Spectator, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and National Review
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
Power Line, Mondoweiss, NewsBusters.org, americanthinker.com, Elliott Abrams, New York Times and The Daily Dish
Washington Examiner:
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 …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice and The Spectacle Blog
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
Battleland, Vox Verax, Guardian, Balloon Juice, Prairie Weather and Booman Tribune
Wall Street Journal:
A Bipartisan Way Forward on Medicare — Allowing private plans to compete with traditional Medicare will help lower costs and spur innovation. — Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Politico
Christopher Doering / Reuters:
Exclusive: Regulators know where MF Global funds went — (Reuters) - Regulators now have a more complete picture of money transfers in the final days of bankrupt brokerage MF Global, but must sort out which transactions were legitimate before more money can be released to customers, a top official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Jonathan S. Landay / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Marines promoted inflated story for Medal of Honor recipient — WASHINGTON — With Dakota Meyer standing at attention in his dress uniform, sweat glistening on his forehead under the television lights, President Barack Obama extolled the former Marine corporal for the “extraordinary actions” …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
Brian Wheeler / BBC:
The scandal of the Alabama poor cut off from water — Sheila Tyson, a community activist in the deprived West End area of Birmingham, tells the BBC how her community has been affected — Banks stand to lose millions of dollars in debt repayments if the biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history is allowed to proceed.
Discussion:
Truthdig
The Politico:
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.
Discussion:
American Spectator
Tom MacDonald / NewsWorks:
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.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Atlas Shrugs and Jihad Watch
Dr. Milton R. Wolf / Washington Times:
Staying true to the Tea Party — Glenn Beck dishonors Gingrich supporters — If you like Glenn Beck, you probably hate women. Sounds outlandish, I know, but if you apply Mr. Beck's own twisted logic, it follows. Glenn Beck recently accused millions of Tea Partyers of racism.
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com
Matthew Lee / Reuters:
US: Assad's Syria a ‘dead man walking’ — The State Department official, Frederic Hof, told Congress on Wednesday that Assad's repression may allow him to hang on to power but only for a short time. — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is predicting the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad …
Discussion:
Guardian and Michael Totten