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.

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.

Ron Paul's Secret Plan To Actually Win  —  He probably can't.  But with stealthy preparations in Bismarck, Boise, and Minnetonka, he can be a huge pain in Mitt Romney's neck.  —  Ron Paul — poised to finish strong in the Iowa caucuses - has begun to implement a quiet …

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 …

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.

New to Twitter: the tweet Murdoch took down ... fast  —  “Either @rupertmurdoch is genuinely now on Twitter, or some disgruntled ex-NOTW journo just won the hacking Olympics.”  —  Less than two days after joining Twitter, media mogul Rupert Murdoch appears to have had his first brush …

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 …

President Obama's Words: RNC Weapon of Choice in 2012  —  On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the Republican National Committee is touting an expansive new video database that party operatives say is their most potent weapon for attacking President Obama in 2012.

TLC's The Duggar Family Endorses Rick Santorum  —  Reality TV star Jim Bob Duggar, from TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, endorsed Rick Santorum today at a rally in Polk City, Iowa.  “All the people in America that have conservative family values have to get behind Rick Santorum for President,” Duggar said.

The Roots Of Glenn Beck  —  Mark Lilla doesn't really like Corey Robin's new book on conservatism: … Better though, is his own perspective on the roots of conservatism and its current flight into the apocalyptic and reactionary: … It's interesting that Lilla raises Buckley here.

Andrea Mitchell: Iowa Is “Too White, Too Evangelical, Too Rural”  —  NBC's Andrea Mitchell gives her take on the state of Iowa while covering the upcoming caucus.  Mitchell makes her feelings about the Midwestern state to the viewers, opining that “the rap” on Iowa is that it is too white.

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.

Rose Parade 2012: Occupy activists form ‘peacekeeping’ team  —  Occupy the Rose Parade activists said they had assembled a “peacekeeping” team to thwart members who might try to cause trouble during the event.  —  A team of about 36 Occupy protesters will, in three groups …