Suddenly, a fun candidate  —  The complaint that Iowa is not a typical American state is true but trivial because there is no such state.  Can you name one whose political culture, closely considered, is more like than unlike any other state's?  Anyway, someplace has to go first …

A telling sign: Scott Brown comes out in support of Cordray recess appointment  —  Here's a pretty clear sign of which way the politics are moving in the fight over Obama's decision to employ a recess appointment to install Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Oklahoma mom calling 911 asks if shooting an intruder is allowed  —  (CNN) — Home alone with her 3-month-old son, Sarah Dawn McKinley of Blanchard, Oklahoma, said she decided to make a stand when two men tried to break into her home on New Year's Eve.  —  McKinley, who had been widowed less …

Newt Gingrich suffers from super PAC buyer's remorse  —  Not long ago Newt Gingrich seemed to be a big fan of super PACs.  —  The former House Speaker two years ago called the new legal framework that gave rise to unlimited fundraising by outside groups a “great victory for free speech” …

Kodak Teeters on the Brink  —  Eastman Kodak Co. is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would cap a stunning comedown for a company that once ranked among America's corporate titans.  —  The 131-year-old company …

Keith Olbermann Blasts Current TV; Internal Memo Reveals Tension Over GOP Primary  —  “I was not given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions,” Olbermann said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.  “They know it and we know it.  Telling half the story is wrong.”

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How to fight liberals: Imitate them  —  Impressed by the effectiveness of the liberal Center for American Progress, a group of conservative journalists and operatives are preparing to engage in their own sincerest form of flattery — launching an advocacy group with a similar name and mission but very different target.

Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs  —  WASHINGTON — Benjamin Franklin did it.  Henry Ford did it.  And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights.  “Movin' on up,” George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion.

Not Your Father's Republican Party  —  Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.  —  There is no doubt that Republicans are fragmented now as they move formally to try to choose a presidential nominee.  Echoing Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times …

Password case reframes Fifth Amendment rights in context of digital world  —  Beyond the log-in screen of Ramona Fricosu's laptop computer lies what federal prosecutors say could be the key evidence in the bank-fraud case against her.  —  There's only one problem: Prosecutors don't know her password.

How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?  —  There used to be just two Stephen Colberts, and they were hard enough to distinguish.  The main difference was that one thought the other was an idiot.  The idiot Colbert was the one who made a nice paycheck by appearing four times a week on …

Romney ad takes union swipe at Obama in SC  —  Mitt Romney is calling President Obama's appointees to the labor board “union stooges” who practice un-American political playback, in a new ad his campaign is airing in South Carolina.  —  The release of the 30-second television ad comes …

The Outrageous Immorality of the Anti-gay Movement  —  I'm a dope, a patsy, a dupe.  Or at least tragically naive: Somehow, it seems, I'm once again surprised by the unabashed dishonesty of our worst anti-gay opponents.  —  This time it's Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons of NARTH, writing a long piece about same-sex adoption.

Attacks on Shiites in Iraq Kill at Least 60  —  BAGHDAD — Insurgents unleashed a fierce string of bombings against Iraq's Shiites on Thursday, attacking pilgrims marching through the desert and neighborhoods in Baghdad, in an attempt to stir sectarian violence amid a political crisis …