memeorandum: It's Kaptur vs. Kucinich (Alex Isenstadt/The Politico)

7:00 PM ET, December 28, 2011

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, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, The Caucus, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Poliglot, Hot Air, Daily Kos, National Review and Iowa Caucuses

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

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, The Atlantic Online and Mediaite

Zachary Abrahamson / The Politico:

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 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway and Weasel Zippers

Adam Sorensen / Swampland:

CNN/TIME/ORC Poll: Gingrich Collapse Fuels Santorum Surge in Iowa, Solidifies Romney Lead in New Hampshire — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks before a group of supporters at the Global Security offices in Davenport, Iowa, Dec. 19, 2011.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, msnbc.com and Ballot Box

Swampland:
Topline Results of Dec. 21-27, 2011, CNN/TIME/ORC Poll

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Page, msnbc.com and The New Republic

Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Wire: Romney Ahead, Gingrich Sinks in CNN Poll

CNN:
Santorum gets late help from super PAC

Discussion: Washington Post and GOP 12

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Polling Gridlock in Iowa Could Produce Last-Minute Momentum

Discussion: Iowa Caucuses, Daily Kos, ABCNEWS and Outside the Beltway

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Paul maintains his lead

Kevinliptak / CNN:

TRENDING: 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: The Politico

The Politico:

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.

New York Times:

The Retooled, Loose Romney, Guessing Voters' Age and Ethnicity — DAVENPORT, Iowa — When Mitt Romney introduces himself to voters, he has a peculiar habit of guessing their age or nationality, often incorrectly. (A regular query: “Are you French Canadian?")

Discussion: Guardian, Indecision Forever, Jezebel, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Hotline On Call, The Politico, Boston Globe, ABCNEWS, Prairie Weather, 24Ahead, Political Mojo and The Caucus

Jeremy W. Peters / The Caucus:
Commercial Introduces Gay Marriage as an Issue in the Iowa Caucuses

Discussion: The Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Gingrich urged yes vote on controversial Medicare bill, former congresswoman says

Discussion: Ballot Box

Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:
In new ad, Newt Gingrich claims he can create ‘millions of jobs right now’

Discussion: CNN

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
EMILY's List ranks Gingrich as ‘worst’ GOP presidential candidate

Discussion: CNN, Don Surber, M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …, The Other McCain and Washington Post

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Romney describes healthcare mandate as conservative principle

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, RedState, Conservatives4Palin and Weasel Zippers

Tony Radar / RADAR:

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.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Gothamist, Lez Get Real and iOwnTheWorld.com

New York Post:
Anthony Weiner wanted threesome with woman and man

Discussion: M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S …

Billy Hallowell / TheBlaze.com:

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 …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The American Pundit, Wizbang, The Lonely Conservative and Weasel Zippers

John Avlon / The Daily Beast:

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.

Discussion: A plain blog about politics and Booman Tribune

Investor's Business Daily:
What Ben Nelson's surrender means for 2012

Discussion: The Other McCain

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

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.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Impolitic and Prairie Weather

CNN:

‘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 …

Discussion: The Hill, Gary Johnson 2012, Outside the Beltway, The Politico, Hot Air, Governors Journal and Ballot Access News

Mike Riggs / Hit & Run:
Gary Johnson Goes Full Libertarian: “I am excited. I am liberated. …

Discussion: The Spectacle Blog, Mediaite, Indecision Forever and The PJ Tatler

Erick Erickson / RedState:

TODAY, December 28, 2011, Mitt Romney Calls Obamacare “Conservative” — This isn't a flash back. This is today. Mitt Romney is again declaring the foundation of Obamacare, the individual mandate, “conservative.” — To be sure, it is conservative that one takes responsibility for their own healthcare.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and The Spectacle Blog

Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, NewsBusters.org blogs and Gothamist

The Atlantic Online:
North Korea Mourns Kim Jong Il

Discussion: Hot Air and AMERICAN DIGEST

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: New York Times, Jack Shafer, CNN, Agence France Presse, Associated Press and Telegraph

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

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.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Political Mojo, Big Journalism, White House Dossier, Prairie Weather and Balloon Juice

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

The Times E-Mails Millions by Mistake to Say Subscriptions Were Canceled — Updated The New York Times said it accidentally sent e-mails on Wednesday to more than eight million people who had shared their information with the company, erroneously informing them they had canceled home delivery of the newspaper.

Discussion: TalkLeft, GigaOM and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:

It's Kaptur vs. Kucinich — The drama surrounding Dennis Kucinich's 2012 reelection bid is finally over. — After months of agonizing that included with a flirtation with a bid in Washington, Kucinich announced Wednesday he had filed to run for reelection in Ohio's new 9th District …

Discussion: CNN

David Weigel / Slate:

Poll: Newsletters Not Hurting Paul in Iowa — Think about it. If Ron Paul was suffering and taking damage from the stories about his old newsletters, what sort of voters would abandon him? Who'd be offended by signed editorials about fleet-footed blacks and skeezy gay men?