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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, Weasel Zippers, Riehl World View and Doug Ross
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Romney Gets Instant Flak for Saying ‘You Can Fire Them’ — NASHUA, N.H. — There was no mention of “pink slips,” but Mitt Romney on Monday was already trying to counteract the perception that he was out of touch when he said that there were times he feared getting fired. — It's unclear if he did so.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Washington Wire and Crooks and Liars


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

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

Gingrich Swift Boats Romney
Discussion:
The Caucus, Big Government, NationalJournal.com, The Politico, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, The New Republic, Political Mojo and Applesauce

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 and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …
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Poll: 58% of Republicans want more presidential choices
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Hot Air


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 — 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)

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, Michelle Malkin, Doug Ross, The Daily Caller, Guardian and The Politico

Lew to Replace Daley as White House Chief of Staff
Discussion:
New York Times and Washington Wire

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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A way out on Texas? — Analysis — Well aware that it must act swiftly, the Supreme Court on Monday pondered two simple ways and one considerably more complex way to let Texas go forward with its 2012 elections for state legislature and Congress, but left open the possibility …
Discussion:
The Politico and Election Law Blog

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

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:
Talking Points Memo and INSTAPUTZ
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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:
Sky Dancing, Taylor Marsh, TBogg, Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The PJ Tatler, National Review and CNN


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.

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, 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 …

Lawmakers accuse Facebook of ducking questions on its privacy practices — Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) accused Facebook of evading questions about whether it tracks users in order to deliver targeted ads on Monday. — The co-chairmen of the Congressional Piracy Caucus …

Conservatives vs. Capitalism — The last two presidential election cycles have revealed a stinking hypocrisy in conservatives: They profess their love of capitalism and entrepreneurship, but when offered a real capitalist and entrepreneur, they go, “Eek, a mouse!” And they tear him down in proud social-democrat fashion.


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