memeorandum: Pariahs and Prophets — IN 1984, after serving three terms … (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

1:35 PM ET, January 1, 2012

Top Items:

Romney leads Paul in new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll; Santorum surges — The Des Moines Register's latest Iowa Poll shows a surprise three-way match-up in contention to win the Iowa Republican caucuses: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. — Santorum, who has been largely invisible …

msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: Breaking down the final Iowa poll — NBC's Domenico Montanaro reports on the ad race in Iowa, why Santorum's making his move, and how undecided voters might break on Election Night. — By NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's …, Iowa Caucuses and The Politico

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

TRENDING: Democrats send ghost from Romney's past — (CNN) - Democrats aren't missing a chance to take aim at their favorite target: Republican presidential frontrunner and former Bain Capital executive Mitt Romney. — Randy Johnson, a worker laid off when Bain bought American Pad and Paper Company …

Discussion: The Politico

Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:

No endorsement yet by Rep. Steve King — DES MOINES, Iowa — With only two full days of campaigning left before the Iowa caucuses, one of the state's most influential conservative figures claims he still does not know whom he will support. — Rep. Steve King, who represents …

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and ABCNEWS

Des Moines Register:

Romney leads Paul in Des Moines Register Iowa Poll; Santorum surges — Mitt Romney tops the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in the closing days before the Iowa caucuses, but Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are poised within striking distance. — The poll, conducted Tuesday through Friday …

Discussion: National Review, CNN, Real Clear Politics, Los Angeles Times, Hot Dish Politics, Washington Post, The Other McCain and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:
Republicans Wage Hidden Ground War in Iowa

Discussion: Washington Post, Iowa Caucuses, Los Angeles Times and Sioux City Journal

Paul West / Los Angeles Times:
Iowa's GOP caucuses may see some Democratic defectors

Discussion: Daily Kos

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Progressives and the Ron Paul fallacies — The benefits of his candidacy are widely ignored, as are the Democrats' own evils — As I've written about before, America's election season degrades mainstream political discourse even beyond its usual lowly state.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Wizbang, The Talking Dog, Taylor Marsh, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Moderate Voice and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Pariahs and Prophets — IN 1984, after serving three terms in the House of Representatives, Ron Paul was defeated by Phil Gramm in Texas's Republican Senate primary. Paul left Congress, and a few years later he left the Republican Party entirely to run for president on the Libertarian line.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Spengler and Rod Dreher

New York Times:

I Just Got Here, but I Know Trouble When I See It — BELIEVE it or not, times are getting better. — At least that's what the dry statistics keep telling us. Industrial production, G.D.P. — the kind of figures that Washington and Wall Street sweat over — suggest that the economy is on the mend.

Discussion: The Big Picture, Brad DeLong and EconLog

New York Post:

OWS mob in clash with cops — Some 800 Occupy Wall Street protesters began the new year by trying to retake Zuccotti Park last night, starting a massive clash with police in which one officer was stabbed in the hand with a pair of scissors. — A suspect was arrested in the 11:30 p.m. incident, according to a law enforcement source.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

City Room:

Surging Back Into Zuccotti Park, Protesters Are Cleared by Police — Updated More than 500 people associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement gathered in Zuccotti Park on Saturday and, in a return to scenes from earlier in the year, the evening began with the sound of drumming and calls …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Julia Duin / Washington Post:

Adam Bellow hopes to give voice to the tea party with new conservative imprint at HarperCollins — NEW YORK — Attention, conservatives: Adam Bellow says this is your moment. — The intellectual left, he contends, is in a vacuum. The right is where there are ideas, variety, excitement.

Discussion: Fausta's Blog

Gautham Nagesh / The Hill:

Online community Reddit driving opposition to piracy bill — Members of Congress and their staff have grown used to scouring the Web, Twitter and Facebook to see where voters stand before finalizing their positions. But the heated debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) …

Discussion: Betabeat

Associated Press:

Obama Signs Military Spending Bill — President Obama signed a broad military spending bill into law on Saturday despite “serious reservations” about provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists. — The bill also applies penalties …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, The White House, Althouse, Blog of Rights, emptywheel, TalkLeft, Pat Dollard, The Agonist, Osborne Ink and ThinkProgress

Adam Clark Estes / The Atlantic Wire:
Obama Makes It Official: Suspected Terrorists Can Be Indefinitely Detained Without a Trial

Discussion: The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Joe. My. God.

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Obama signs defense bill, pledges to maintain legal rights of U.S. citizens

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Ginger Gibsonand James Hohmann / The Politico:

Newt Gingrich reins himself in during final push — ATLANTIC, Iowa — After months of bringing his legendary rhetorical meanderings to the presidential campaign trail, Newt Gingrich has suddenly discovered message control. — With just three days to go to the Iowa caucuses …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Iowa Caucuses and CNN