Top Items:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Headed for a Photo Finish in Iowa — The Republican caucus in Iowa is headed for a photo finish, with the three leading contenders all within two points of each other. Ron Paul is at 20%, Mitt Romney at 19%, and Rick Santorum at 18%. Rounding out the field are Newt Gingrich at 14% …
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Politico, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Washington Post, Don Surber, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, LifeNews.com, Taylor Marsh, Iowa Caucuses, Online NewsHour, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, The Hinterland Gazette, Campaign 2012, americanthinker.com, The Caucus, New York Times, CNN, American Spectator, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Spectacle Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Other McCain
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Roger Simon / The Politico:
Mitt don't need no surges — DES MOINES — If Mitt Romney wins the Iowa caucuses, the race for the Republican nomination is over. — If Mitt Romney comes in second in Iowa, the race for the Republican nomination is over. — And if Mitt Romney comes in third in Iowa, the race for the Republican nomination is over.
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
GOP 2012 Battle to Date Most Akin to Dems in 2003 — Four Republican front-runners in 2011 compares with five Democrats in 2003 — PRINCETON, NJ — The lead in the Republican nomination race has thus far changed seven times since May in Gallup polling. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Herman Cain …
Discussion:
The Politico and Ballot Box
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Iowa Race Tightens in Final 48 Hours — A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa, conducted Saturday and Sunday, shows a virtual three-way tie in advance of the Iowa caucuses. Ron Paul has a nominal lead with 20 percent of the vote in the poll, followed by Mitt Romney at 19 percent and Rick Santorum at 18 percent.
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
‘Iron Lady’ goes back up on Iowa TV
Discussion:
The Politico, Towleroad News #gay and Ballot Box
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Cantor can't handle the truth about Reagan — CBS's “60 Minutes” ran a good profile on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) last night, but there was one portion of the interview that was especially important. — In this video, it starts at about the 10:19 mark.
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Nobody Understands Debt — In 2011, as in 2010, America was in a technical recovery but continued to suffer from disastrously high unemployment. And through most of 2011, as in 2010, almost all the conversation in Washington was about something else: the allegedly urgent issue of reducing the budget deficit.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Daily Kos, Cafe Hayek and Ricochet Conversations Feed
Nick Allen / Telegraph:
Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas — Americans bought record numbers of guns last month amid an apparent surge in popularity for weapons as Christmas presents. — According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, Big Government, Pat Dollard and The Hinterland Gazette
Robert Pear / New York Times:
After Three Decades, Tax Credit for Ethanol Expires — WASHINGTON — A federal tax credit for ethanol expired on Saturday, ending an era in which the federal government provided more than $20 billion in subsidies for use of the product. — The tax break, created more than 30 years ago, had long seemed untouchable.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Democracy in America, Campaign 2012, americanthinker.com and Outside the Beltway
Annie Karni / New York Post:
Columbia offers ‘Occupy 101’ — Does getting pepper-sprayed count as extra credit? — Columbia University is offering a new course on Occupy Wall Street next semester — sending upperclassmen and grad students into the field for full course credit. — The class is taught by Dr. Hannah Appel …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Big Government, Ed Driscoll, The Raw Story, Questions and Observations, Gothamist, American Glob, Weasel Zippers and City Room
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Tim Lister / CNN:
Islamist militants in Nigeria warn Christians to leave north within 3 days — The devastating scene outside St Theresa Catholic Church near the Nigerian capital Abuja on Christmas day — (CNN) — The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has issued an ultimatum giving Christians living …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and msnbc.com
Sam Quinones / L.A. NOW:
‘Person of interest’ detained in L.A. arson fires — Los Angeles police this morning detained and are questioning a “person of interest” in the spate of arson fires occurring around the city since Friday. — The individual, believed to be the man seen in a video police released Sunday …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Pat Dollard and americanthinker.com
Sharon Otterman / New York Times:
Obscuring a Muslim Name, and an American's Sacrifice — He was buried after the Sept. 11 attacks with full honors from the New York Police Department, and proclaimed a hero by the city's police commissioner. He is cited by name in the Patriot Act as an example of Muslim-American valor.
Discussion:
Simply Left BehindThe …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
For no reason, Santorum ‘singled out blacks’ — Over the weekend, Rick Santorum told an Iowa audience, “Diversity creates conflict. If we celebrate diversity, we create conflict.” It seemed like an odd thing for a presidential candidate to say. — The line does, however …
Discussion:
NPR
Ilan Grapel / Washington Post:
In Egypt, jailed but not broken — Five months in an Egyptian jail gives a person a lot of time to think. When you are not pacing or trying to catch an hour of afternoon sun through the barred window, there are thoughts of home, family, the freedoms Westerners take for granted …
Discussion:
Harry's Place, Elder of Ziyon, Israel Matzav and YID With LID
CNN:
About 200 birds found dead in Arkansas city for second straight New Year's Eve — (CNN) — Someone went into a large roost of blackbirds in Beebe, Arkansas, as the clock struck midnight Saturday and set off fireworks, contributing to the deaths of scores of blackbirds, a state wildlife spokeswoman said.
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Joe. My. God.
Steve Clemons / The Atlantic Online:
Biden Gets China — Biden's Next Big Project: Recognizing that Chinese Vice Premier Xi Jinping will be China's president-in-waiting through much of 2012, the White House will move Vice President Joe Biden to the helm of the Obama administration's US-China policy. — Reuters
Discussion:
The Politico
John E. Sununu / The Boston Globe:
Primaries may be messy, but they make candidates stronger — THERE'S NOTHING like the strange design and random outcome of the Iowa caucuses to break up the clean, fresh slate of the New Year. If you're in the Ron Paul camp, polling well and running an excellent grassroots operation in the Hawkeye state …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Swampland
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