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Majority of Conservatives See Romney as “Acceptable” — Only Romney now seen as acceptable by majority of Republicans — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney is the now the only candidate that a majority of conservative and moderate/liberal Republicans nationwide see as an “acceptable” GOP nominee for president.
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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 …

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:
CNN, The Politico, Reuters, Riehl World View, Connecting.the.Dots, Weasel Zippers, Doug Ross and ThinkProgress

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

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, ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, Talking Points Memo, INSTAPUTZ and Wonkette
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Lots of people can't fire their insurance companies — Governor Romney is getting a lot of heat for a line that appears to have been taken out of context. I'd like to talk about it in context. I think that's much more illuminating: … Gov. Romney is not saying that he enjoys telling people that they no longer have a job.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Paul Krugman, Brad DeLong and Washington Post

Mitt Romney: “I like being able to fire people” for bad service
Discussion:
Hit & Run, CNN, Hullabaloo, The Lonely Conservative, field negro, The Atlantic Online, Guardian and Mediaite

Team Mitt: Free enterprise is on trial
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Taylor Marsh, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, rubber hose and The Lonely Conservative

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


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:
Althouse, Don Surber, The Reaction, Rumproast, Feministing, Sky Dancing, Taylor Marsh, Lawyers, Guns & Money, TBogg, The PJ Tatler, Washington Monthly, National Review and CNN
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Christie turns protestor's chant into anti-Obama tirade
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Gothamist

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:
Conservatives4Palin, Scared Monkeys, Pirate's Cove, The Gateway Pundit, UrbanGrounds, Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav
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Obama reelection effort picks up speed amid noise of NH primary
Discussion:
Prairie Weather


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 …

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, ABCNEWS, SCOTUSblog, CNN and msnbc.com
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What Will the Supreme Court Do in the Texas Redistricting Case?
Discussion:
Associated Press, Off the Kuff, SCOTUSblog and Ballot Box


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:
News Desk, Betsy's Page, The New Republic, The Spectacle Blog, Wonkette and The Hill


Daley Stepping Down in Rare White House Shake-Up — WASHINGTON — President Obama announced Monday that the White House chief of staff, William M. Daley, was stepping down, jolting the top ranks of his administration less than a year before he faces a difficult re-election.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute and The Caucus
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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


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


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


President Bashar al-Assad Vows to Crush ‘Conspiracy’ Against Syria — BEIRUT — In his first public address in months, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Tuesday lashed out at the Arab League for isolating Syria, taunted rebels as traitors and vowed to subdue what he cast as a foreign-backed plot against his country.
Discussion:
Yourish.com and News Desk


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


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.