Top Items:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
What's the Deal with Romney's Taxes? — So what's the deal with Romney's tax returns? Or more specifically, what's the deal with Mitt Romney letting himself get more and more nippy press by refusing to release his tax returns when virtually every serious presidential candidate of the last 40 years has done it?
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
RELATED:
Emily Schultheis / The Politico:
Romney son makes Obama birth certificate joke — After getting a question about whether Mitt Romney will release his income tax returns in Concord, N.H., Romney's son Matt made a crack about President Obama's college grades and birth certificate:
Discussion:
The Caucus, ABCNEWS, The Raw Story, National Review, Washington Post, Ballot Box, ThinkProgress, CNN, Connecting.the.Dots, Daily Kos and Guardian
Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
Obama team exploits Romney team's birther gaffe
Obama team exploits Romney team's birther gaffe
Discussion:
Gawker, The Gateway Pundit, ABCNEWS, Hot Air and BuzzFeed
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Mitt Romney's rivals try to slow him ahead of Iowa, N.H.
Mitt Romney's rivals try to slow him ahead of Iowa, N.H.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and CNN
Ryan O'Connor / concord-nh.patch.com:
The rest of the story follows below:
The rest of the story follows below:
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and Washington Wire
Steve Deace:
Why I Am Endorsing Newt Gingrich for President — This country is in trouble and bold leadership is needed. As someone that has had the privilege to vet these candidates as closely as just about anybody else has, I've come to the conclusion there are several good, Christian people running that most years I would vote for.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Politico, CNN and Ballot Box
RELATED:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Iowa Update: Slow and Steady May Win the Race for Romney
Iowa Update: Slow and Steady May Win the Race for Romney
Discussion:
weaskamerica.com, Big Government and PoliPundit.com
NBC's Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC poll: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul neck-and-neck in Iowa; Newt Gingrich in 5th
NBC poll: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul neck-and-neck in Iowa; Newt Gingrich in 5th
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Campaign 2012, Guardian, The Other McCain, Firedoglake, Iowa Caucuses, Washington Post, The Iowa Republican, Saint Petersblog, The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Libertarian Republican, American Spectator, The PJ Tatler and CNN
Jeremy W. Peters / The Caucus:
Ads and 30-Minute Special Will Promote Gingrich
Ads and 30-Minute Special Will Promote Gingrich
Discussion:
New York Times and ABCNEWS
Brian Bakst / Associated Press:
GOP's Bachmann limps to Iowa caucus finish line
GOP's Bachmann limps to Iowa caucus finish line
Discussion:
Boston Globe, msnbc.com, Saint Petersblog, ABCNEWS, New York Times and Yahoo! News
Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Gingrich tears up while discussing his mother at Iowa town hall — Newt Gingrich choked up while discussing his mother's struggle with mental illness during a town-hall meeting in Des Moines. — Gingrich was asked to speak about a time his mother affected him at the event sponsored by CafeMom …
Discussion:
The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway, CNN and Little Green Footballs
RELATED:
Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:
Frank Luntz Always Makes Newt Gingrich Cry — Recalling his late mother, the former House speaker gets emotional — not the first time he's been brought to tears lately, and hardly out of character. — DES MOINES — At an Iowa campaign stop Friday morning, Newt Gingrich got all choked up remembering his late mother.
Discussion:
C-SPAN Video Library, The Raw Story and Guardian
Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post:
Iowa Caucuses Offer Tale Of Two: Gingrich Laments, Romney Basks
Iowa Caucuses Offer Tale Of Two: Gingrich Laments, Romney Basks
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Ginger Gibson / The Politico:
Memories of mom push Newt to tears
Memories of mom push Newt to tears
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Gawker and Daily Kos
Leon H. Wolf / RedState:
Ron Paul: Know Who's Really Behind Islamic Terrorism? The Jews. — One of the more insane claims in Ron Paul's newsletters was that the Israelis were behind the WTC bombings in 1993: … This claim is of course so ridiculous and absurd that even Paul has to protect himself by claiming that “a Jewish friend” told him about it.
RELATED:
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Iowa kingmaker rips Ron Paul, hints at late endorsement in attempt to stop him — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) blasted Ron Paul's foreign policy views Friday in an interview with The Hill and hinted that he might endorse someone else in order to try and stop Paul from winning the Iowa caucuses.
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico, Washington Monthly and GOP 12
CNN:
In early book, Rep. Ron Paul criticized AIDS patients, minority rights and sexual harassment victims — Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Texas Rep. Ron Paul has distanced himself from a series of controversial newsletters from the 1980s and 1990s that bore his name and included inflammatory and racially charged language.
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, The Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Iowa Caucuses, Daily Kos and RedState
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Gingrich sees Sarah Palin as vice president, Cabinet secretary — Newt Gingrich said that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be among the candidates that he would consider when considering a potential running mate, adding that the former GOP vice presidential nominee would be an ideal candidate for secretary of Energy.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Hot Air, Doug Ross, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Caucus
RELATED:
Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Gingrich Floats Choosing Sarah Palin as Vice President, Energy Secretary
Gingrich Floats Choosing Sarah Palin as Vice President, Energy Secretary
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed and The Raw Story
WBTV-TV:
RSS Feeds … CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Four protesters, including the spokesman of Occupy Charlotte, were charged after setting fire to two American flags early Friday near the Occupy camp in Center City, police said. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police weren't sure earlier if the four men …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, The Gateway Pundit and Scared Monkeys
RELATED:
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Flag Burning at Occupy Charlotte — We haven't paid much attention to the Occupiers lately; nor, for the most part, has anyone else. But every now and then they continue to endear themselves to the American public. Like last night, when four members of Occupy Charlotte-including their media spokesman! …
Vox / Alpha Game:
Conservative woman misses the point — Nancy French asks what marriage has to offer men and decides that some major changes have to take place if young men are going to start considering marriage part of the normal and anticipated process of adulthood: … Changing both of these things won't accomplish anything.
Discussion:
Catholic Bandita, The Other McCain and Cold Fury
Shelby Grad / L.A. NOW:
Occupy's Rose Parade float: 70-foot octopus of corporate greed — Occupy protesters are busy finishing their float that will run at the end of the Rose Parade: a 70-by-40-foot octopus made of recycled plastic bags. — The octopus, said activist Mark Lipman of Los Angeles …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Scared Monkeys, The Political Carnival and Jammie Wearing Fools
Amar C. Bakshi / Global Public Square:
Have the youth given up on Obama? — Editor's Note: Brad Chase is a partner with Capitol Media Partners, a Los Angeles-based communications and public affairs consultancy. — By Brad Chase - Special to CNN — In 2008, the youth vote helped sweep Barack Obama into office.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative and John Lott's Website
RELATED:
NY Daily News:
Democratic fundraiser convicted of engineering $21 million bank fraud scheme — Courtney Dupree is a former Tarheel basketball player who hosted a 2008 fundraiser for Obama — Attorney Thomas Foley, 43, leaving Federal Court in Brooklyn after a jury acquitted him of bank fraud.
Norman Lear / Los Angeles Times:
Norman Lear on fighting the good fight — The Occupy Wall Street movement has unleashed patriotic outrage. If you don't want to camp out or protest in the street, find another way to let your voice be heard in the new year. — Occupy Wall Street protesters carry American flags up Seventh Avenue toward Times Square.
Discussion:
The New Editor, The Political Carnival and American Power
RELATED:
Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
2011: You Can't Win for Losing — Charlie Sheen was clearly the man of the year.
2011: You Can't Win for Losing — Charlie Sheen was clearly the man of the year.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, Don Surber, Ed Driscoll, Betsy's Page and Cold Fury
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Are we alone in the universe? — Huge excitement last week. Two Earth-size planetsfound orbiting a sun-like star less than a thousand light-years away. This comes two weeks after the stunning announcement of another planet orbiting another star at precisely the right distance — within the …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Cold Fury and The PJ Tatler