Top Items:
Kevinliptak / CNN:
CNN Poll: Romney on top, Gingrich fading & Santorum rising in Iowa — Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Did Newt Gingrich peak too early? — A new survey of people likely to attend Iowa's Republican caucuses indicates that the former House speaker's support in the Hawkeye State is plunging.
Discussion:
Campaign 2012, Firedoglake, American Spectator, NationalJournal.com, Pundit & Pundette, Hit & Run, The Politico, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Caucus, ABCNEWS, FiveThirtyEight, Libertarian Republican, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Riehl World View, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Politisite, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, The Other McCain, Iowa Caucuses and National Review
RELATED:
Erick Erickson / RedState:
No Surprise, Iowa Social Conservatives Are About To Shoot Us All in the Foot Again — I'm hearing several campaigns and external pollsters have a surge for Rick Santorum. With the National Review folks fawning over him again, it probably means a surge is real and any surge by Rick Santorum …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Campaign 2012, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic Online and Mediaite
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Michele Bachmann chair defects to Ron Paul — In a shock announcement Wednesday night, Iowa state senator and onetime Michele Bachmann campaign leader Kent Sorenson declared that he is now supporting Ron Paul for president. — Sorenson made the announcement at a Paul rally with veterans …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Pat Dollard, americanthinker.com, The Daily Caller and RADAMISTO
Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:
Ranks of Young Paul Volunteers Willingly Clean Up for the Cause — DES MOINES — Ron Paul's college-aged volunteer army — a core of the powerful ground organization that is the envy of rivals — is descending on Iowa from around the nation to coax people to the state's Republican caucuses …
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Campaign 2012 and American Power
Mark Halperin / The Page:
Bachmann Iowa Chair Ditches Her for Paul — Hawkeye State Sen. Kent Sorenson jumps to the Texan's camp hours after he attended an event in Indianola to support the MN Congresswoman. — Sorenson: “When the Republican establishment is going to be coming after Ron Paul, I thought it is my duty to come to his aid.”
Discussion:
The Political Carnival, The PJ Tatler, Weekly Standard, MN Progressive Project and Race 4 2012
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Bachmann chair's surprise defection — “10 minutes ago,” Sorenson, a GOP state senator, told POLITICO about when the Paul campaign found out he was moving to their camp. — In one of the most surprising moments of the 2012 campaign, Sorenson strolled on stage just moments before Paul …
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Who won the day? Rick Santorum — At the start of the month, Rick Santorum needed the following things to happen in order for him to be competitive in Iowa: Newt Gingrich needed to fade. Evangelicals needed to move toward his campaign. Then voters needed to see some tangible sign of momentum …
Discussion:
CNN, ABCNEWS, The Caucus and Hot Air
Mary Stegmeir / Iowa Caucuses:
Breaking: Michele Bachmann campaign chairman endorses Ron Paul — Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's Iowa campaign chairman Kent Sorenson tonight endorsed Ron Paul, one of her rivals in the Iowa caucus race. — “I believe we're at a turning point in this campaign,” …
Discussion:
Democratic Strategist, American Power and Slate
Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:
US formally ends Iraq war with little fanfare
US formally ends Iraq war with little fanfare
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Breaking: Michele Bachmann Iowa campaign co-chair endorses Ron Paul
Breaking: Michele Bachmann Iowa campaign co-chair endorses Ron Paul
Discussion:
Mercury Rising and Firedoglake
Kevinliptak / CNN:
TRENDING: High-profile Bachmann backer deals blow to her Iowa campaign, endorses Paul
2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Death Penalty For Gays: Ron Paul Courts The Religious Fringe In Iowa
TPM2012 — Death Penalty For Gays: Ron Paul Courts The Religious Fringe In Iowa
Jeremy W. Peters / The Caucus:
Commercial Introduces Gay Marriage as an Issue in the Iowa Caucuses
Commercial Introduces Gay Marriage as an Issue in the Iowa Caucuses
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, The Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Drama: Bachmann's Iowa chairman endorses Ron Paul …
Drama: Bachmann's Iowa chairman endorses Ron Paul …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and The Caucus
Zachary Abrahamson / The Politico:
How the Iowa caucuses work
How the Iowa caucuses work
Discussion:
The New American, CNN, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway
Neil King Jr / Washington Wire:
Bachmann's Iowa State Chairman Defects to Ron Paul
Bachmann's Iowa State Chairman Defects to Ron Paul
Discussion:
Warren Throckmorton
Linda Greenhouse / Opinionator:
What We Think About When We Think About the Court — Wherever I go these days, someone is bound to ask me how I think the Supreme Court will rule in the challenge to the Affordable Care Act, set for argument over three days during the last week in March. My response, that I expect the court …
RELATED:
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Perry Pledges To Openly Defy A Supreme Court Decision Striking Down An Anti-Choice ‘Personhood’ Law
Perry Pledges To Openly Defy A Supreme Court Decision Striking Down An Anti-Choice ‘Personhood’ Law
Discussion:
CBS News, The Raw Story, Political Mojo and Ballot Box
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Is the Obama Boomlet Over? — Over the last week or so, there has been a lot of news coverage of Barack Obama's comeback in the polls. I noted his modest bounce here, and Scott Rasmussen wrote us to say that he thought Obama's rise was due to increasing optimism about the economy.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor
Ann Coulter:
ONLY ONE CANDIDATE IS RIGHT ON THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES — In the upcoming presidential election, two issues are more important than any others: repealing Obamacare and halting illegal immigration. If we fail at either one, the country will be changed permanently. — Taxes can be raised and lowered.
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com, Power Line and Hot Air
Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:
Repo Men — If you're making money on the Wall Street scale — which is nothing like your boring, middle-management in the Fortune 500, Hamptons-and-Mercedes, barely-a-1 percenter type money — then you can buy basically anything. When real-estate investor Robert Rosania put part …
Discussion:
Fraters Libertas, Moe Lane, Ed Driscoll, Verum Serum and Cold Fury
Kevinliptak / CNN:
Gingrich: Campaign worker's signature fraud cost slot on Virginia ballot — Algona, Iowa (CNN) - Newt Gingrich cited fraud Wednesday as the reason he didn't get on the Virginia primary ballot. — Last week his campaign acknowledged they used paid volunteers to scramble …
Discussion:
American Power, Washington Monthly, Washington Post and Ballot Box
Daniel Cancel / Bloomberg:
Chavez: U.S. May Be Behind Leaders' Cancer — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hinted that the U.S. may be behind a “very strange” bout of cancer affecting several leaders aligned with him in South America. — Chavez, speaking a day after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Jezebel, Politisite, Fausta's Blog and New York Times
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
White House Memo: Obama Gains Reputation as Distant in Washington — WASHINGTON — Air Force One had just landed in Manchester, N.H., on a brisk Tuesday morning last month when President Obama made an admission to Valerie B. Jarrett, his close friend and senior adviser. — “I just called Reggie,” Mr. Obama said.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and Prairie Weather
Batocchio / Vagabond Scholar:
Jon Swift Memorial Roundup 2011 — Welcome to a tradition started by the much missed Jon Swift/Al Weisel. He left behind some excellent satire, but was also a nice guy and a strong supporter of small blogs. As Lance Mannion puts it: … Here's his 2007 and 2008 editions. Last year's revival is here.
BBC:
Priests brawl in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity — Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests and monks came to blows during preparations for Orthodox Christmas celebrations — Scuffles have broken out between rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics in a turf war at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.
Discussion:
Informed Comment and Biased BBC
Josh Poltilove / TBO.com:
Tarzan co-star Cheetah dies at Palm Harbor sanctuary — Cheetah the chimpanzee, who acted in classic Tarzan movies in the early 1930s, died of kidney failure Saturday at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, a sanctuary spokeswoman said. — Cheetah was roughly 80 years old …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Jack Shafer, CNN, Scared Monkeys, ArtsBeat, TheGazette, The Huffington Post, Agence France Presse, Telegraph and Biomes Blog