memeorandum: Harvard Poll: Young Voters Say Obama Will Lose (Paul Bedard/US News)

4:00 PM ET, December 15, 2011

Top Items:

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: FiveThirtyEight, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Los Angeles Times, Iowa Caucuses, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, americanthinker.com, LifeNews.com, The Enterprise Blog, Weasel Zippers, National Review, GOP 12, The Daily Dish, No More Mister Nice Blog, The PJ Tatler and Campaign 2012

Byron York / Campaign 2012:

Poll: Dramatic drop in Gingrich support in Iowa — DES MOINES — A new survey from pollster Scott Rasmussen shows support for Newt Gingrich in Iowa has fallen sharply in recent days. The poll shows the former House speaker with the support of 20 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Rush Limbaugh, Washington Wire, The Atlantic Online, CatholicVote.org, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Gallup, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, Daily Pundit, Althouse and Pundit & Pundette

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Giuliani slams Romney, likens Newt to Reagan

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and nation.foxnews.com

The Politico:
David Mark — Moderator : — Now that Rep. Ron Paul …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, News Desk and The Agonist

NOM Blog:
Gingrich Signs NOM's Marriage Pledge, Leaving Only Paul Among Major Candidates Not To Have Signed

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos and On Top Magazine Headlines

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
Fox's Chris Wallace: If Ron Paul Wins In Iowa, It Will Discredit The Iowa Caucuses

Discussion: The Raw Story, Indecision Forever, The Daily Dish, Hit & Run, GOP 12, Outside the Beltway and Business Insider

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Pretending That Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away

Discussion: FrumForum, The Daily Dish, Hit & Run, Pirate's Cove and Ricochet Conversations Feed

David Grant / Christian Science Monitor:
Jon Huntsman leapfrogs Ron Paul in New Hampshire, says poll

Discussion: The Other McCain, Shakesville, CNN, Business Insider and The Daily Dish

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: Ricochet Conversations Feed, New York Times, Campaign 2012, PERRspectives, Patterico's Pontifications, The Huffington Post, Hit & Run, Budget Committee, The American Scene, The Incidental Economist, Firedoglake, The Politico and Political Mojo

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

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.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, Swampland, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, National Review, Big Government, msnbc.com, TBogg, American Spectator, Time and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

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.

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — The Ron Wyden, Paul Ryan Pile On Begins

Discussion: Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, The Raw Story and The Politico

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
In Congress, a Merry (and Stupid) Christmas Compromise

Discussion: The Impolitic and The PJ Tatler

Wall Street Journal:
The Wyden-Ryan Breakthrough — A better, bipartisan Medicare future.

Discussion: Corrente

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Wonkbook: Paul Ryan and Ron Wyden want to bring Obamacare to Medicare

Discussion: Campaign 2012, The Incidental Economist, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress and New York Times

New York Times:

U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over — 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: Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, American Power, World Now, Simply Left BehindThe …, Outside the Beltway, emptywheel, The Impolitic, Guardian, The Mahablog, Towleroad News #gay, RedState, UN Dispatch, News Desk, Blue Mass Group, The Hinterland Gazette, ThinkProgress and Informed Comment

Washington Post:
Iraq war draws to a quiet close

Discussion: The Daily What, msnbc.com, iOwnTheWorld.com, Wonkette, ThinkProgress, Questions and Observations, New York Times, The Moderate Voice and BBC

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.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Hotline On Call, Washington Post and Booman Tribune

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Frustration with Congress Could Hurt Republican Incumbents — GOP Base Critical of Party's Washington Leadership — Nearly three months after protests began in New York and later expanded to cities around the country, 44% support the Occupy Wall Street movement and 35% oppose it.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Raw Story, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG and Hullabaloo

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
A nation of populists and class warriors

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Hullabaloo

Marc Lacey / New York Times:

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” …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Outside the Beltway

Tim Mak / The Politico:
Justice Department: Sheriff Arpaio mistreated Latinos

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

The United States Department of Justice:
Department of Justice Releases Investigative Findings on the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Discussion: TalkLeft

Paul Bedard / US News:

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.

Discussion: Belmont Club, The Hinterland Gazette and Weasel Zippers

Harvard University Institute of Politics:

MORE MILLENNIALS PREDICT OBAMA WILL LOSE BID FOR RE-ELECTION THAN WIN, HARVARD POLL FINDS — Mitt Romney strongest Republican challenger to President Obama; — less than one-in-four Millennials support the “Occupy” movement — Cambridge, MA - A new national poll of America's 18 …

Discussion: Hot Air and Ballot Box

Pete Souza / People.com:

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 …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Laura Meckler / Washington Wire:
Obama Says He Relished Trip to NYC After Bin Laden's Death

Discussion: MyFox Philadelphia, nation.foxnews.com and People.com

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: Washington Monthly, Wonkette, The Heritage Foundation, Booman Tribune, CNN, Daily Kos, The Lonely Conservative, ThinkProgress and The Hill

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
President Obama to stay in D.C. while Michelle Obama, daughters head to Hawaii

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

The Politico:

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.

Discussion: GOP 12 and The Other McCain

Chris McGreal / Guardian:

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 …

Discussion: GGDrafts, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Salon, CBS News, The Daily Dish, Indecision Forever, Moonbattery, HillBuzz.org, Political Mojo, Prairie Weather and The Lonely Conservative

Mj Lee / The Politico:

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.

Discussion: CNN, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, The Atlantic Online, The Hinterland Gazette and newsfeed.time.com

Elizabethwarren / Blue Mass Group:

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 …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Ballot Box and Good As You

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: Good As You and Towleroad News #gay