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Poll: Among GOP hopefuls, Romney fares best against Obama — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds a two-point lead against President Obama …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Hot Air and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …
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Poll: Romney, Paul Tie Obama
Discussion:
Associated Press and Vox Popoli

Majority of Conservatives See Romney as “Acceptable”
Discussion:
GOP 12, The Lonely Conservative and Washington Post

Poll: 58% of Republicans want more presidential choices
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ballot Box, Taegan Goddard's …, The PJ Tatler and Hot Air


Romney Gets Instant Flak for Saying ‘You Can Fire Them’
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, The Daily Caller and Crooks and Liars


N.J. Gov. Chris Christie Responds to Female Hecklers With Offensive Oral Sex Joke … - New Hampshire Debate: Gingrich Attacks Romney for His “Pious Baloney” - CBS Stakes Its Claim as the Adult Contemporary of the Network Morning Shows — Chris Christie Responds to Female Hecklers With Lame …
Discussion:
Don Surber, Feministing, Sky Dancing, Taylor Marsh, TBogg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Monthly, The PJ Tatler, National Review and CNN
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Why You Cannot Say You ‘Like’ Firing People — As Derek Thompson points out on our site, and as the Romney campaign will be fully justified in reiterating, obviously Mitt Romney did not mean that he enjoys the process of telling people “you're gone!” when he made his infamous “I like being able to fire people” remark in New Hampshire.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CNN, ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo


TPM2012 — Newt Goes Full ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Against Romney
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Politics, News Corpse, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and Indecision Forever

Romney looks forward to South Carolina
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Politico, Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS and CNN

Christie turns protestor's chant into anti-Obama tirade
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Gothamist


New Hampshire polls open in Dixville Notch — with nine votes — DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. — The voters of this tiny hamlet, all nine of them, have spoken. Very briefly. — The polls opened here at midnight and closed less than a minute later, and the tally was final by 12:05 a.m. On the Republican side …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, msnbc.com, Mediaite, Prairie Weather and Truthdig
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Crowd boos mentioning of McCain's name at Santorum event — SOMERSWORTH, N.H. — Drawing an implicit contrast with Mitt Romney on the eve of the first-in-the-nation primary, Rick Santorum on Monday implored New Hampshire not to settle for a centrist, establishment candidate.
Discussion:
The Politico, Reuters, Connecting.the.Dots, CNN, Riehl World View, Weasel Zippers and Doug Ross

Now it's New Hampshire's turn to decide — THE POLLSTERS and pundits have already told us what is going to happen today. Mitt Romney is going to swamp all comers and, we have been told over and over, this will be because someone has decided he is the only Republican who can beat Barack Obama.
Discussion:
The Politico and GOP 12


Bill Daley resignation: Why he had to go — The Bill Daley era on Monday screeched to a jarring, clattering conclusion. — Daley, who departs after a little more than a year as President Barack Obama's chief of staff, was never a great fit inside the West Wing — and Obama …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, The Atlantic Online, The Hill and The Spectacle Blog
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William Daley to step down as Obama's chief of staff
Discussion:
Big Government, Politics, The Caucus, UrbanGrounds, THEROOT.COM, Campaign 2012, Firedoglake, Truthdig, The Enterprise Blog, Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, Wonkette, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Gothamist, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Nice Deb, Crooks and Liars, American Prospect and Michelle Malkin

Obama re-election effort picks up speed amid noise of NH primary
Discussion:
Prairie Weather

White House Hid Johnny Depp-Hosted Secret ‘Alice In Wonderland’ Party
Discussion:
The Stir By CafeMom, The Daily Caller, The Politico, Guardian and Campaign 2012

Texas Voting Rights Case Heard by Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — Several members of the Supreme Court appeared frustrated on Monday as they surveyed the available options and looming deadlines in a major voting rights case from Texas that could help decide control of the House.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and msnbc.com
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What Will the Supreme Court Do in the Texas Redistricting Case?
Discussion:
Associated Press, Off the Kuff and Ballot Box

A weak defense of EPA (UPDATED)
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, The PJ Tatler and New York Times

Poll: Americans, 2-1, Fear Obama's Reelection — When it comes to how Americans view President Obama going into the new year, there appears to be very little spirit of Auld Lang Syne. Instead, according to the new Washington Whispers poll, many voters aren't forgetting what they dislike about Obama and want him out office.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Pirate's Cove, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav


UPDATED: Herger to announce retirement; LaMalfa to run for his seat — After a quarter century representing the north state, U.S. Rep. Wally Herger will announce today he is planning to retire at the end of his current term and state Sen. Doug LaMalfa will be running for his seat.
Discussion:
FlashReport, The Politico, The Hill and Hotline On Call

Pain: The David Gregory Solution — Before we leave the weekend's debates behind, and in keeping with the blog's first rule of economics — Fk The Deficit. People Got No Jobs. People Got No Money. — I would be remiss not to mention the performance on Sunday of Dancin' Dave Gregory …
Discussion:
pandagon.net


Gayest Cities in America, 2012 — It's no secret that megalopolises New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles have robust LGBT life — and we've even heard tell of little queer hoods like the Castro and P-Town. This isn't that list. — There's the official census with information …
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, ThinkProgress, Knoxville News-Sentinel, Truthdig and Joe. My. God.


N.J. Assemblyman Alex DeCroce collapses, dies in Statehouse after long legislative session — TRENTON — Longtime Assemblyman Alex DeCroce, the leading Republican of the state's lower house who represented Morris County for 23 years, collapsed and died in a bathroom inside the Statehouse late Monday night …
Discussion:
The Politico and Associated Press


The name ‘Jew’ lands Christian in trouble — A man wrote that his name was ‘Jew Jurian’ on his national identity card form. The data entry clerk then assumed he was a Jew. Thus for the first time in the history of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC), a Pakistani was officially declared a Jew.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch


Deadly blast hits bus terminal in Khyber, Pakistan — The BBC's Aleem Maqbool: “Pakistanis over the last couple of years have become used to atrocities like this” — At least 30 people have been killed after a bomb exploded near a bus terminal in a tribal region of north-west Pakistan, officials say.