Mitt Romney in striking distance of Iowa win  —  Don't look now, but Mitt Romney suddenly seems like the Iowa front-runner.  —  The former Massachusetts governor has carefully tempered expectations in Iowa all year, visiting only a handful of times and saving the bulk of his television spending for the final weeks of the race.

What Moves Republican Crowds in Iowa  —  DES MOINES — The Republican candidates for president are doing a lot of talking in the last week before voting begins.  —  But spending a day observing how the crowds react to the candidates can be just as instructive.

Anthony Weiner Wanted Threesome With Another Man, According To Mistress  —  Disgraced former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was caught in online trysts with numerous women, but RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that according to one of his mistresses, he expressed wanting a threesome - with another man.

How the Iowa caucuses work  —  Four years ago, 120,000 Iowa Republicans turned out in freezing temperatures to vote on their pick for a presidential nominee.  The weather report and turnout predictions for next Tuesday's caucuses are still somewhat in the air, but the campaigns' organizing efforts …

‘Liberated’ Gary Johnson seeks Libertarian nomination  —  (CNN) - Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson announced his intention to seek the Libertarian nomination for president Wednesday.  —  Calling his choice “both a difficult decision-and an easy one,” in a statement …

GIRL SCOUTS BOOK REFERS READERS TO LIBERAL GROUP MEDIA MATTERS TO CLEAR UP ‘MEDIA MISINFORMATION’  —  In 2010, the Girl Scouts of the USA published a book called “MEdia.”  The publication, designed for girls in grades six through eight, is a guide that apparently offers insight into how young people …

Sen. Ben Nelson's Retirement Signals Twilight of Blue Dog Democrats  —  Centrist Sen. Ben Nelson's retirement puts the Democrats' Senate majority in jeopardy and could even spell trouble for Obama's reelection.  But the absence of his and other independent voices in Congress is the real danger.

Under Obama, an emerging global apparatus for drone killing  —  U.S. Air Force/GETTY IMAGES - A crew chief from the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron completes post-flight inspections of the RQ-1 Predator after one of its sorties in Balad Air Base, Iraq.

As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos Oppose Obama's Policy  —  I. OVERVIEW  —  By a ratio of more than two-to-one (59% versus 27%), Latinos disapprove of the way the Obama administration is handling deportations of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new national survey …

Ode to the Welfare State  —  A friend in Texas (where else) sent me the following item, which appeared in the New York Daily News on November 4, 1949, and since it has a Minnesota connection, as well as reminding us that some things about liberals never change, I thought it worth sharing with Power Line's home town readers:

Well, well, well, the Texas Christmas Day massacre of 7 people, including the killer, was a MUSLIM honor killing, after all.  —  Truth be told, I quickly discounted my initial reaction that Muslims might be involved because the killer was reported to be in a Santa costume.  Stupid me.

Santorum gets late help from super PAC  —  Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - As Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum aims for a late surge in Iowa, a super PAC backing his candidacy is up with a new television ad calling him the “real conservative” in the GOP race.

North Korean Mourners Line Streets for Kim Jong-il's Funeral  —  SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-un, the designated dynastic heir to power in North Korea, walked alongside the hearse of his deceased father, Kim Jong-il, through snow-covered downtown Pyongyang on Wednesday …

Mitt Romney: The Real Austerity Candidate  —  Over the holidays, Willard Romney has been seeking once again to define himself, a job that is very similar to that undertaken by the people who renovate old country homes.  The first thing you have to do is to tear down the accumulated improvements …