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.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, The Hill, The Politico, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, FrumForum, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Big Journalism, Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's …, No More Mister Nice Blog, Ballot Box, Business Insider, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Lonely Conservative, The Moderate Voice, Washington Times and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »
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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
Marin Cogan / The Politico:
House Republicans who bucked their party — Seven House Republicans bucked their party and voted against sending the payroll tax bill to conference Tuesday. — Reps. Charlie Bass of New Hampshire, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state, Chris Gibson of New York, Tim Johnson of Illinois …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Times Union Blogs
Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First?
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First?
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Swampland, Hot Air and The Hill
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’
Discussion:
The Caucus, Don Surber and New York Times
Washington Post:
Congress leaves town with an uneasy stalemate and looming payroll tax hike
Congress leaves town with an uneasy stalemate and looming payroll tax hike
Discussion:
The New Republic and Indecision Forever
Washington Post:
Congress leaves town with an uneasy stalemate and looming payroll tax hike
Congress leaves town with an uneasy stalemate and looming payroll tax hike
Discussion:
New York Times, The Politico, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and CNN
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, USA Today, Political Mojo, THEROOT.COM, The Moderate Voice 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
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, The Hill and Prairie Weather
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
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:
Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, LGBTQ Nation, Towleroad News #gay, Outside the Beltway and Joe. My. God.
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
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads Obama
Romney leads Obama
Discussion:
CNN, americanthinker.com, Taylor Marsh, 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:
CBS News, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Hit & Run, Los Angeles Times, National Review, CNN and 2012 Decoded
news.iastate.edu:
Paul now top pick in new ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll, but voters still uncertain — AMES, Iowa — A new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of 333 likely Iowa Republican caucus goers finds Ron Paul in the top spot among GOP presidential candidates with 27.5 percent, followed closely by Newt Gingrich with 25.3 percent.
Discussion:
Iowa Caucus 2012, New York Times, msnbc.com and CNN
RELATED:
James Lynch / KCRG-TV:
Vote 2012: Ron Paul Takes Lead in KCRG/Gazette/ISU Poll — U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas, and GOP presidential candidate, speaks to a crowd during a town hall meeting Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011 at the Northeast Iowa Community College east campus in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Telegraph Herald, Jessica Reilly)
Discussion:
Unlikely Voter and Ricochet Conversations Feed
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:
americanthinker.com and Hit & Run
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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
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 …
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Obama Places Himself on the Continuum of Greatness — There was an initially-overlooked moment in President Obama's recent interview with 60 Minutes. Excerpts from the interview were played on television, and CBS posted the interview in its entirety on its web site.
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Mj Lee / The Politico:
Blogs bash Obama's historic claim
Blogs bash Obama's historic claim
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, JustOneMinute, Indecision Forever, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Romney Tortures Jennifer Rubin — Romney is making life hard for his Republican Jewish fans. — I've written before about the agonizing plight facing Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post blogger. On the one hand, Rubin's deepest roots lie in ultra-hawkish pro-Israel neoconservatism.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Riehl World View
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
John Paul Rollert / Slate:
A Matter of Trusts — What a lonely dissent in a trusts case tells us about Sonia Sotomayor. — If you've ever found yourself in a debate with a room full of brilliant people at the end of which not a single mind is changed, you know what it's like to be a Supreme Court Justice on the losing end of an 8-1 decision.
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog
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 …
Discussion:
Erick's blog, Hot Air and RedState
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