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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.”

Arizona Sheriff's Office Unfairly Targeted Latinos, Justice Department Says  —  PHOENIX — In a harshly worded critique of the country's best-known sheriff, the Justice Department accused Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office of engaging in “unconstitutional policing” …

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.

Newt's loot: Billionaire commits $20M  —  Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is planning to direct $20 million to an outside group backing Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign, multiple sources told POLITICO - the first answer to urgent pleas from allies to the former speaker's long-time billionaire supporters.

Herman Cain's Cabinet dream: DOD  —  Herman Cain says that if he could be a Cabinet secretary, he wants to be head of the Department of Defense.  —  In an interview with Barbara Walters, who chose Cain as one of the “10 Most Fascinating People” of the year, the former presidential hopeful was asked what Cabinet position he would like.

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 …

Protecting and Promoting Equality  —  Warren sets the terms of debate. - promoted by Bob_Neer  —  I've had the chance to say it in living rooms and school auditoriums, but I'm glad to have the chance to say it here: No one - no one - should be discriminated against because of race, color …

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.]