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Romney at Bain: Big Gains, Some Busts — Mitt Romney's political foes are stepping up attacks based on his time running investment firm Bain Capital, tagging him with making a fortune from the rougher side of American capitalism—even as Mr. Romney says his Bain tenure shows he knows how to build businesses.
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The Enterprise Blog, ThinkProgress, Bloomberg, Washington Post, National Review, Guardian, The Caucus, Riehl World View, Washington Examiner, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, American Prospect, Prairie Weather, Washington Wire, ABCNEWS, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Shakesville, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Campaign 2012, The Raw Story, Taegan Goddard's …, The Lonely Conservative and Business Insider
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The abysmal incompetence of the non-Romneys; Huntsman, Gingrich, Perry all go Occupier; Santorum declines — Sigh. Let me say that again: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. — If you were unfortunate enough to watch Saturday night's GOP debate in New Hampshire, you saw a pageant of feckless non-Romneys fail …
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, ThinkProgress, The Politico, ABCNEWS, The Caucus, Campaign 2012 and Business Insider


Mitt Romney and the Bain bomb — NASHUA, N.H. — Forget his specific rivals. The biggest threat to Mitt Romney is hitting now and set to fully detonate in South Carolina: it's the Bain bomb. — While conservatives look unlikely to unite around one alternative to Romney …
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The Politico, The Caucus, CNN, TBogg, Swampland, The PJ Tatler, The Right Sphere and Ballot Box

Romney Has Big GOP Likely Voter Lead In Florida, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Voters …

Gingrich Swift Boats Romney
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The Caucus, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, The New Republic, Political Mojo and Applesauce


TPM2012 — Newt Goes Full ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Against Romney
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News Corpse, Balloon Juice, Indecision Forever and Hullabaloo

Perry Lambasts Romney For Handing Out Pink Slips
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Washington Monthly, Boston Herald, The Caucus, The Hill, Ballot Box, The Pajama Pundit, Campaign 2012 and Hot Air


William Daley to step down as Obama's chief of staff — White House Chief of Staff William Daley, left, confers with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney as President Barack Obama addresses the media in the briefing room of the White Hous. (Win McNamee/Getty Images / December 8, 2011)
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Daley to leave White House — White House Chief of Staff William Daley will step down from his post at the end of the month, according to a senior administration official. — Daley will be replaced by Jack Lew, head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). — Daley submitted a letter of resignation to Obama last week.
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN and The PJ Tatler


Lew to Replace Daley as White House Chief of Staff
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News Desk, A plain blog about politics and Political Mojo

Daley to step down as chief of staff
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Outside the Beltway

HalloweenGate: White House Covered Up 2009 Halloween Party Hosted by Johnny Depp & Tim Burton …

Bill Daley Resigned as White House Chief of Staff; Jack Lew Promoted
Discussion:
Wonkette

‘I like being able to fire people’ — Mitt Romney's detractors in both parties are eager to point out one of the more glaring problems with the former governor's background: he's put thousands of Americans out of work. — And with that push in mind, Romney's critics could hardly believe …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Caucus, Balloon Juice and Towleroad News #gay
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Obama spokesman: ‘!!!’ — Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt tweets “!!!” about this Mitt Romney moment from the campaign trail: … The Romney campaign has not exactly been judicious about providing context to clips of President Obama they have used in campaign ads.
Discussion:
American Prospect and The Raw Story

Romney Firing Remarks Draw Criticism From Huntsman
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New York Times, GOP 12, Jezebel, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Loyal Opposition and Wonkette


And Mitt Romney keeps on talking
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Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, USA Today, msnbc.com, Wake up America and ThinkProgress

Romney Likes ‘Being Able to Fire People’
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The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, The New Republic, ThinkProgress and The Daily Caller

Romney didn't really say he enjoys firing people
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The Hill, Hot Air, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Campaign 2012 and Outside the Beltway

Todd Palin Endorses Newt Gingrich — ABC News' Santina Leuci and Z. Byron Wolf report: — Sarah Palin's husband is endorsing Newt Gingrich for president, Todd Palin told ABC News today. — But Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and John McCain's 2008 Republican running mate …

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 — More Americans identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27% — PRINCETON, NJ — The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year …
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Media mob chases Ron Paul from campaign stop in New Hampshire — MANCHESTER, N.H. — A campaign stop at a New Hampshire eatery unraveled into a bit of a circus when the media scrum chasing Ron Paul apparently became too much for the 76-year-old Texas congressman to handle.
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The Atlantic Online, Business Insider, The Politico, CNN, The Other McCain and The Lonely Conservative
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Paul Cuts Off CNN, Again
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Washington Post, Slate and The Hill

Supreme Court grapples with messy Texas redistricting case — The Supreme Court justices grappled to find a way to resolve a messy Texas redistricting case during oral arguments Monday morning, presenting then knocking down a variety of small-bore solutions to reach an interim map for Texas's congressional and state-level elections.
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CNN
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Snoop Dogg Wants to Get High With President Obama and Convince Him to Legalize Weed — As always, Snoop Dogg has an innovative approach to getting things done. He told Hot 99.5's Toby Knapp that he would convince President Obama to change the drug laws by first getting him nice and relaxed...
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The Smoking Gun and The Jawa Report
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Carbon emissions ‘will defer Ice Age’ — The climate, if not species, of an Ice Age “ought” to return within 1,500 years — Human emissions of carbon dioxide will defer the next Ice Age, say scientists. — The last Ice Age ended about 11,500 years ago, and when the next one should begin has not been entirely clear.
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Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, News Corpse, Via Meadia, The Lonely Conservative, Pirate's Cove, Dot Earth and Nature


Merkel, Sarkozy press for quick Greek solution — (Reuters) - Germany and France warned Greece on Monday it will get no more bailout funds until it agrees with creditor banks on a bond swap and pressed for an early deal to avert a potential default in the euro zone's most debt-stricken nation.
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Truthdig
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An Exit Strategy From the Euro
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Marginal Revolution and EconLog


Mitt Romney Campaign Disavows Pro-Gay Rights Flyer From 2002 … GOP Debate , Mitt Romney , Republican Debate , Video , New Hampshire Primary , Romney Gay Rights , Romney New Hampshire , Mitt Romney 2012 , New Hampshire Primary 2012 , New Hampshire Romney , Social Issues , Politics News


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:
Truthdig, Joe. My. God. and Knoxville News-Sentinel

Suspected Islamic Extremist Arrested in Alleged Florida Bomb Plot — URGENT: A 25-year-old man described as an Islamic extremist was arrested in an alleged plot to attack crowded areas in the Tampa, Fla., area with a car bomb, assault rifle and other explosives, authorities said Monday.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch and The PJ Tatler

Just the Ticket — THE beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions, and Hillary Clinton's admirers are already busily, lovingly resolving on her behalf. On one sideline, her friends tell me that after a few years of hyperactive globetrotting what she really needs is to put her feet …