Top Items:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
How Can Romney Lose? — The conventional wisdom on the Republican nomination race has once again shifted. In the span of just two weeks, Mitt Romney has gone from seeming quite vulnerable to the near-inevitable Republican nominee. The odds attributed to Mr. Romney winning the nomination …
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Washington Examiner:
‘Mischief’ voters push Paul to front of GOP race — Ron Paul is surging in the Republican presidential race. Just not among Republicans. — The Texas congressman is leading some polls in Iowa and is in a tie for second in New Hampshire. A candidacy once dismissed as sideshow …
Discussion:
Swampland, Hot Air, GayPatriot, Nice Deb, The Gateway Pundit and Libertarian Republican
Mark Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:
Iowa Caucus Polls: Ron Paul And Mitt Romney Lead, But Surprises Likely
Iowa Caucus Polls: Ron Paul And Mitt Romney Lead, But Surprises Likely
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum says he'll exit presidential race if he does poorly in Iowa caucuses
Santorum says he'll exit presidential race if he does poorly in Iowa caucuses
Discussion:
GOP 12, Washington Post, Guardian, Real Clear Politics and alicublog
Jason Clayworth / Iowa Caucuses:
Gingrich will make half of the number of Iowa stops announced last week
Gingrich will make half of the number of Iowa stops announced last week
Discussion:
Ballot Box, CNN and Outside the Beltway
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
Republicans With Shotguns
Republicans With Shotguns
Discussion:
The Politico, Iowa Caucuses, ABCNEWS and Daily Pundit
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Newt's incredible shrinking bus tour
Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
GOP candidates, super PACs have spent $10 million on TV, radio pitches in December
GOP candidates, super PACs have spent $10 million on TV, radio pitches in December
Discussion:
Des Moines Register, New York Times, ABCNEWS, Ballot Box, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, TheGazette, The Politico and msnbc.com
Charlie Riedel / ABCNEWS:
Gingrich '06 Memo: “Agree Entirely With Gov. Romney” on Health Care — To conservatives, the biggest strike against Mitt Romney is the health care plan he put in place in Massachusetts, but Newt Gingrich lavished praise on Romney's plan after it was passed in 2006.
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BuzzFeed:
In 2008 Video, Gingrich Is Passionate About The Mandate — Newt Gingrich has had a hard time attacking Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health care plan — which, like “Obamacare” — required all citizens to have health care. What's more — as The Wall Street Journal reports today — Gingrich actively praised Romney's plan.
Discussion:
Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …, Taegan Goddard's …, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway
Wall Street Journal:
Gingrich Applauded Romney's Health Plan — Newt Gingrich voiced enthusiasm for Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health-care law when it was passed five years ago, the same plan he has been denouncing over the past few months as he campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination.
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Washington Post, Flopping Aces, Fox News, The Caucus, ABCNEWS, The Hill, GOP 12, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway and New York Times
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Gingrich in 2006: RomneyCare has “tremendous potential”; Update: Newsletter article added
Gingrich in 2006: RomneyCare has “tremendous potential”; Update: Newsletter article added
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, Jezebel, The Caucus, Washington Monthly, Moe Lane and The Raw Story
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Ben Nelson retiring from Senate — Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce today that he is retiring after two terms, a serious blow to Democratic efforts to hold onto their majority in the chamber next November. — Nelson is scheduled to hold a press conference back home …
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Lucy Madison / CBS News:
Ron Paul camp fires back at ex-aide over column on Israel, gays — The Ron Paul camp is dismissing a scathing personal account published Monday by former longtime Paul aide Eric Dondero, who paints the Texas congressman as “intolerant” of Spanish speakers, anti-Israel and anti-Israeli …
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Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
FACT CHECK: Ron Paul Personally Defended Racist Newsletters
FACT CHECK: Ron Paul Personally Defended Racist Newsletters
Discussion:
Alas, a Blog, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and Slate
Braden Goyette / NY Daily News:
Former Ron Paul staffer contends GOP candidate is ‘uncomfortable’ with gay people
Former Ron Paul staffer contends GOP candidate is ‘uncomfortable’ with gay people
Discussion:
The Reaction, Ballot Box, First Draft, Towleroad News #gay and Libertarian Republican
Jeffrey Scott Shapiro / Big Government:
EXCLUSIVE: Ron Paul in 2009-'I Wouldn't Risk American Lives' to End the Holocaust
EXCLUSIVE: Ron Paul in 2009-'I Wouldn't Risk American Lives' to End the Holocaust
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, RedState and Catholic Bandita
David Wessel / Wall Street Journal:
Obama to Name Two Fed Board Nominees — President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday that he plans to nominate a Harvard University finance professor and a former private-equity executive to fill the two vacancies on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, a White House official said.
Discussion:
The Politico, The Daily Caller, The New Republic and msnbc.com
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Margaret Chadbourn / Reuters:
Obama to ask for debt limit hike: Treasury official — (Reuters) - The White House plans to ask Congress by the end of the week for an increase in the government's debt ceiling to allow the United States to pay its bills on time, according to a senior Treasury Department official on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, GayPatriot and Jammie Wearing Fools
John Hawkins / Townhall.com:
7 Reasons Why Mitt Romney's Electability Is A Myth — Mitt Romney was a moderate governor in Massachusetts with an unimpressive record of governance, who left office with an approval rating in the thirties, and whose signature achievement was a Hurricane Katrina style disaster for the state.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Patterico's Pontifications
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Romney's ‘carried interest’ problem
Frank Rich / New York Magazine:
The Molotov Party — For the new GOP, conservative isn't nearly radical enough.
The Molotov Party — For the new GOP, conservative isn't nearly radical enough.
Discussion:
Swampland, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos
Peter Whoriskey / Washington Post:
Growing wealth widens distance between lawmakers and constituents — BUTLER, Pa. — One day after his shift at the steel mill, Gary Myers drove home in his 10-year-old Pontiac and told his wife he was going to run for Congress. — The odds were long. At 34, Myers was the shift foreman at the “hot mill” of the Armco plant here.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Impolitic, Open Congress, Political Mojo, The Mahablog, Balloon Juice and Wonkette
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Economic Downturn Took a Detour at Capitol Hill
Economic Downturn Took a Detour at Capitol Hill
Discussion:
Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, Sky Dancing, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather and Balloon Juice
Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Moving melee causes chaos at packed Mall of America — Some stores shut down Monday night as panicked shoppers fled. At least 10 youths were arrested. — A noisy, racing crowd of more than 200 young people created a chaotic scene at the packed Mall of America Monday evening …
Discussion:
Power Line, msnbc.com, Mediaite, The Daily What and ABCNEWS
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
What Obama didn't say on ‘60 Minutes’ — President Obama appeared on “60 Minutes” a couple of weeks ago, and as is always the case with longer interviews, some of the exchanges between him and Steve Kroft ended up on the editing-room floor. CBS went ahead and posted everything online …
Discussion:
Liberal Values and Booman Tribune
Mike McCormick / WYFF-TV:
Caught On Tape: Clerk Punches, Knocks Out Armed Robber — Clerk Then Makes Suspect Clean Up His Own Blood — HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — A clerk at a business in Western North Carolina punched a would-be robber and knocked him out cold just minutes after the man barged in with a gun and demanded money.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, The Raw Story and BuzzFeed
Suzanne Daley / New York Times:
Greeks Reeling From Health Care Cutbacks — PERAMA, Greece — The free clinic here opened about a year ago to serve illegal immigrants. But these days, it is mostly caring for Greeks like Vassiliki Ragamb, who was sitting in the waiting room hoping to get insulin for her young diabetic son.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Via Meadia