Top Items:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Rick Santorum's curious closing argument — POLK CITY, Iowa — Nothing fires up a crowd like cloture. — Rick Santorum, the man who has improbably become a contender in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, was making his closing argument to a sea of TV cameras here on Monday when he swerved into a thicket of Senate trivia.
Discussion:
Cato @ Liberty, The Daily Dish, ABCNEWS, The Hinterland Gazette and Prairie Weather
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Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Sleeveless and V-Necked, Santorum's Sweaters Are Turning Heads — PERRY, Iowa — Rick Santorum is definitely pro-traditional sweater. — It's just that in Iowa, he happens to like a smart, sleeveless V-neck number. — Crewnecks, with their neck-hugging collars, aren't suitable …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Caucus, Shakesville, Runnin' Scared, The Hill, Hotline On Call and CBS News, more at Mediagazer »
George Packer / News Desk:
Un-American Activities — In the tenth paragraph of a page A15 Times piece, Rick Santorum accuses Barack Obama of engaging in “absolutely un-American activities.” What are they? The article doesn't say. The quote appears without explanation or comment, in an article entitled …
Discussion:
The Politico, Political Mojo and Daily Kos
Mark Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:
Iowa Caucus Final Poll Snapshot: Close, But Romney's Ahead … 2012 Election , Michele Bachmann , Mitt Romney , Newt Gingrich 2012 , Rick Santorum , Elections 2012 , Michele Bachmann 2012 , Newt Gingrich , Rick Perry , Ron Paul , Video , Iowa Caucuses , Iowa Poll , Mitt Romney Iowa …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Liberal Values, Washington Post, Guardian, 2012 Decoded, Saint Petersblog and New York Times
David Brooks / New York Times:
Workers of the World, Unite! — The Republican Party is the party of the white working class. This group — whites with high school degrees and maybe some college — is still the largest block in the electorate. They overwhelmingly favor Republicans. — It's a diverse group, obviously …
Discussion:
Rod Dreher and Balloon Juice
marginoferror.org:
Iowa Prediction: Romney Will Probably Win — Tomorrow night, the 2012 election cycle finally gets underway with the Iowa Republican Caucus. A victory by Mitt Romney in Iowa combined with an expected blowout in New Hampshire would probably be the beginning of the end of the Republican primary, as a momentum effect takes place.
Discussion:
Saint Petersblog, Hit & Run, National Review, Washington Post, Politics & Elections Blog, RedState and Guardian
Mark Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:
Iowa Poll Shows Paul-Romney-Santorum Dead Heat
Iowa Poll Shows Paul-Romney-Santorum Dead Heat
Discussion:
Bleeding Heartland, theGrio, American Spectator, Political Mojo, Washington Post and New York Magazine
CBS News:
Gingrich: Mitt Romney is a liar — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose support in Iowa has withered after riding on top of the polls, today called former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a liar who would lie to the American people if elected to the White House …
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John G. Geer / The Politico:
Newt's slide is not about attack ads
Newt's slide is not about attack ads
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Democratic Strategist and CNN
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Fox News' Alan Colmes Flips Out When Called Out For ‘Cheap Shot’ About Rick Santorum Baby (Updated) — In a wild exchange on Fox News' Happening Now, longtime contributor Alan Colmes lost it a little bit when National Review's Rich Lowry pressed him over an attack on Rick Santorum's handling of the 1996 death of his newborn son.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, ABCNEWS, American Spectator, 2012 Decoded, Taylor Marsh, The Jawa Report, americanthinker.com, Outside the Beltway, NewsHounds blog, Flopping Aces, GOP 12, The Lonely Conservative, No More Mister Nice Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, nation.foxnews.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Atlantic Online
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Alan Colmes: The way Santorum dealt with the death of his child sure was crazy
Alan Colmes: The way Santorum dealt with the death of his child sure was crazy
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, Pundit & Pundette, Althouse, Betsy's Page and The PJ Tatler
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Colmes apologizes for comment about son after Santorum and wife get emotional; Update: Video added
Colmes apologizes for comment about son after Santorum and wife get emotional; Update: Video added
Discussion:
The Right Scoop and RedState
Mj Lee / The Politico:
DNC chair: No time to meet Occupy — The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said Tuesday morning she probably will not meet with Occupy Wall Street protesters, who have been rallying in Iowa against both Republicans and Democrats ahead of Tuesday's caucuses.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Thoughts From A … and Pat Dollard
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Mackenzie Weinger / The Politico:
Mitt Romney: I'm not predicting Iowa victory
Mitt Romney: I'm not predicting Iowa victory
Discussion:
The New Republic, Mediaite and Iowa Caucuses
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Romney Iowa event interrupted by Occupy Wall Street protesters
Romney Iowa event interrupted by Occupy Wall Street protesters
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed, americanthinker.com and Prairie Weather
Reuters:
Iran threatens action if US carrier returns-IRNA — Iran will take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency quoted army chief Ataollah Salehi as saying on Tuesday. — “Iran will not repeat its warning …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, BLACKFIVE and Questions and Observations
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Parisa Hafezi / Reuters:
Iran threatens U.S. Navy as sanctions hit economy
Iran threatens U.S. Navy as sanctions hit economy
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, White House Dossier and americanthinker.com
Dennis Romero / The Informer:
Harry Burkhart, L.A. Arson Fires Suspect From Germany, Says ‘I Hate America’ — The man who terrorized L.A. for three nights with a series of 53 arson fires turned out to be a 24-year-old from Germany identified as Harry Burkhart, at least according to authorities.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Maggie's Notebook, L.A. NOW and Verum Serum
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Richard Winton / L.A. NOW:
L.A. arson suspect is 24-year-old Hollywood man
L.A. arson suspect is 24-year-old Hollywood man
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, msnbc.com, Opinion L.A., News Desk, Nice Deb, Hit & Run, Questions and Observations, The PJ Tatler and The Informer
New York Times:
The Next War: Pentagon to Present Vision of Reduced Military — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is set this week to reveal his strategy that will guide the Pentagon in cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from its budget, and with it the Obama administration's vision …
Discussion:
The Politico, Battleland, Cato @ Liberty, americanthinker.com, Via Meadia and Online NewsHour
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Santorum: States Should Have The Right To Outlaw Birth Control — Rick Santorum reiterated his belief that states should have the right to outlaw contraception during an interview with ABC News yesterday, saying, “The state has a right to do that, I have never questioned that the state has a right to do that.
Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:
Crackpots Do Not Make Good Messengers — So then: Ron Paul. Should we lefties be happy he's in the presidential race, giving non-interventionism a voice, even if he has other beliefs we find less agreeable? Should we be happy that his non-mainstream positions are finally getting a public hearing?
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, US Politics and Balloon Juice
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Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
How Ron Paul's Libertarian Principles Support Racism
How Ron Paul's Libertarian Principles Support Racism
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Daily Dish, Feministing, Daniel W. Drezner, LewRockwell.com Blog and Addicting Info
Mary C. Curtis / Washington Post:
Michelle Obama's backside is your business how? — Can you imagine how the incident would play out if an African American congressman made a crude remark about First Lady Laura Bush's body? It certainly would have taken more than an insincere apology to wash that sin away.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Alas, a Blog
Serafin Gomez / Fox News:
Santorum: “ Ron Paul is Disgusting.” — “Ron Paul is disgusting,” presidential candidate Rick Santorum said to a handful of FOX reporters shortly after his FOX and Friends interview Tuesday morning. — Santorum blamed his rival for Iowa robo calls that claimed that the former U.S. senator …
Discussion:
The Hill, Pat Dollard and Weasel Zippers
Russell Berman / The Hill:
GOP Rep. King knocks Boehner's leadership on spending fights — One of the most conservative Republicans in the House criticized Speaker John Boehner's leadership on Monday, suggesting he sacrificed leverage in spending fights because he was afraid of the GOP being blamed for shutting down the government.
Bloomberg:
World's Biggest Economies Face $7.6 Trillion Debt — Governments of the world's leading economies have more than $7.6 trillion of debt maturing this year, with most facing a rise in borrowing costs. — Led by Japan's $3 trillion and the U.S.'s $2.8 trillion, the amount coming due for the Group …
Discussion:
Vodkapundit and FT Alphaville
msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Caucus Day — It's Caucus Day in Iowa... Romney yesterday: “We're going to win this thing”... Gingrich yesterday: “I don't think I'm going to win”... Gingrich also calls Romney a liar... Watch to watch tonight... What happens (process begins at 8:00 pm ET …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Hot Air and Associated Press
Rasmussen Reports:
Partisan Trends: Number of Democrats Falls to All-Time Low — The number of Republicans in the country increased by a percentage point in December, while the number of Democrats fell back two points to the lowest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports. — During December, 35.4% of Americans considered themselves Republicans.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Taylor Marsh, americanthinker.com and Corrente
Attaturk / Firedoglake:
Finally it comes to an end — Media outnumber voters by no small amount at rally with Ron Paul and son Rand — Today is the day all these months of suffering will come to an end for us Iowans. It's bad enough we cannot escape their television commercials but Mitt Romney has even invaded Hulu.
Discussion:
New York Times and Eschaton