Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco — How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama? — GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected.
RELATED:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’ — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the failure of the House to approve the bipartisan Senate bill to extend the payroll-tax cut is “harming the Republican Party.” — Speaking Tuesday on CNN's “Situation Room,” McCain …
Discussion:
The Caucus, Don Surber and New York Times
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Obama's Hawaii Christmas dilemma — President Obama faces a most difficult decision with the payroll tax extension up in the air, and it isn't whether to compromise with Republicans. — The toughest call for the president this holiday season may be whether to join his family for Christmas in Hawaii or stay in lonely Washington.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Pundit & Pundette
Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First?
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First?
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Swampland and The Hill
Associated Press:
Obama blames Republicans for upcoming tax increase
Obama blames Republicans for upcoming tax increase
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Truthdig
Washington Post:
Obama blasts GOP after House Republicans defeat two-month payroll tax cut
Obama blasts GOP after House Republicans defeat two-month payroll tax cut
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Indecision Forever, USA Today, Political Mojo, THEROOT.COM, The Moderate Voice and The Hill
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut
Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico, The Hill, The Right Scoop, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box and Hot Air
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
Discussion:
Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, The Hill and Prairie Weather
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Rep. Pelosi on Speaker Boehner: ‘He is not Lucy and we are not Charlie Brown’
Jim Newell / Gawker:
Why Republicans Are So Concerned about a Bust of Winston Churchill
Why Republicans Are So Concerned about a Bust of Winston Churchill
Discussion:
Political Mojo, Daily Kos, Mediaite and ThinkProgress
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
You, sir, are no Teddy Roosevelt — In a speech to be delivered in Bedford, N.H., this evening, Mitt Romney will push back explicitly on Barack Obama's recent invocation of Teddy Roosevelt in a speech the president used to frame the 2012 campaign in terms of “fairness.” Here's what Romney will say:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Caucus and New York Magazine
RELATED:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads Obama — For the first time in PPP's monthly national polling since July 2010 Mitt Romney's taken a lead, albeit a small one, over Barack Obama. He's up 47-45. — Romney has two main things going for him. He leads the President 45-36 with independents.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Ballot Box, The Politico and Althouse
Scott Clement / Washington Post:
Poll: Paul as third party candidate could doom GOP in 2012
Poll: Paul as third party candidate could doom GOP in 2012
Discussion:
Mediaite, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times, National Review, Campaign 2012, News Desk and The Right Scoop
A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
Discussion:
Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, 2012 Decoded, Swampland, ABCNEWS, The Politico, Indecision Forever and JustOneMinute
A.Killough / CNN:
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, ThinkProgress and The Humble Libertarian
Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:
Gary Johnson to drop out of GOP primary to run as Libertarian — Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned. — The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire …
Jordan Weissmann / The Atlantic Online:
How Kim Jong Il Starved North Korea — What kind of disastrous economic policy results in the death by starvation of up to 3 million people in a nation with the population of Texas? — Reuters — When North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died of a coronary this weekend after 17 years in power …
Discussion:
Hit & Run
RELATED:
Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:
Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper
Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper
Discussion:
Doug Ross
Jason Clayworth / Iowa Caucuses:
Newt Gingrich to gay Iowan: Vote for Obama — Gingrich and his wife Callista at tonight's event in Oskaloosa. (Jason Clayworth/The Register) — Oskaloosa, Ia. - Newt Gingrich told a gay man and longtime resident of Oskaloosa here today that he should vote for President Obama.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, LGBTQ Nation, Outside the Beltway and Joe. My. God.
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Many Americans Dissatisfied With All Presidential Candidates — Nearly half say there is no candidate who would make a good president — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are divided when asked if there is any candidate running who they think would make a good president, with 48% saying yes …
Discussion:
The Politico and National Review
Stephen Gutowski / MRCTV:
Liberals Cry About New Tom Clancy Game — The next iteration of Tom Clancy's blockbuster Rainbow Six series has been announced. The series goes back over a decade and has produced some of the best shooters ever made. However, this release, Rainbow Six: The Patriots …
William Booth / Washington Post:
More Predator drones fly U.S.-Mexico border — CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — In the dead of night, from a trailer humming with surveillance monitors, a pilot for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was remotely flying a Predator drone more than 1,000 miles away.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and The Agonist
Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:
Source: Bob Vander Plaats asked Michele Bachmann to quit — DES MOINES - Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats called Michele Bachmann and urged her to drop out of the race and endorse Rick Santorum, a source with knowledge of the conversation told POLITICO Tuesday.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Other McCain, CNN, Hot Air, Business Insider, Hullabaloo and The Hill
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
The Long Run: Conservatives Remain Suspicious of Gingrich — WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich arrived in Washington in January 1979 as a brash congressman dreaming of a Republican revival. Not quite four years later, frustrated at the pace of change, he quietly sought counsel from a man he had once worked to defeat: Richard M. Nixon.
BBC:
South American states ban Falklands vessels from ports — Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which lie 400 miles from its coast — A South American trading bloc has agreed to close its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag.
Discussion:
The Other McCain and Biased BBC
BBC:
Iraqi PM urges Kurds to hand over VP Tariq al-Hashemi — Nouri al-Maliki admitted that the Iraqi government still had a long way to go to find stability — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq to hand over Iraq's Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi.