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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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?

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Krugman - Nobodys Understands Debt (But Now I Do!)  —  Let's start the New Year by breaking a resolution.  Here we go with Krugman v. Krugman, with yet another illustration of how Krugman's economic theories are dictated by the residency of the White House.

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.

The Trouble With Time's ‘Person of the Year’  —  This isn't just my first post of the New Year—it's my first post of the modern era.  Actually, I did guest-blog here at TheAtlantic.com a couple of years ago, so maybe a better way to put it is that this is the first-ever post in my very own blog stream.

Young, gay caucus-goers talk politics, support for GOP  —  Several young gay Iowa caucus goers discuss which GOP candidates they will support today.  (Washington Blade photo by Chris Johnson)  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — For some gay Iowa Republicans, the 2012 presidential election is about more than just LGBT issues.

China's President Pushes Back Against Western Culture  —  BEIJING — President Hu Jintao of China has said that the West is trying to dominate China by spreading its culture and ideology and that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the assault …

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.

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.

Huckabee: Rs more interested in defeating Obama than in rebuilding USA (audio)  —  Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, victor in the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, called into the Radio Iowa newsroom this morning for a chat.  I'll be posted snippets over the next few hours.