A political bomb is about to blow up in the Democrats' faces  —  THE MORNING PLUM:  —  This scoop from Jerry Markon and David Nakamura is going to scramble the politics of immigration in the presidential race, and it may create more problems for Democrats than for Republicans:

Mele Kalik-Baracka  —  President Obama jets to a Hawaiian holiday, while the world unravels.  —  Before leaving for his annual Hawaiian Christmas vacation, President Obama found an odd way to wish Americans “Mele Kalikimaka!”  In an interview with National Public Radio, he discussed Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Christmas Eve 1955 Was Much Warmer  —  Drudge is touting the “record heat” forecast for Christmas Eve, even though most of the country will be below normal temperature.  The best Drudge could come up with was 86 degrees at Orlando.  —  Christmas Eve 1955 was much warmer.

Gray Lady Sings the Blues  —  The social safety net for the elderly is under strain in developed countries, according to the NYT: … In this story, NYT is facing what everybody knows: The retirement systems of the 20th century won't work in the 21st.  U.S. retirees will see declining …

Bernie Sanders: ‘Trump is very smart’ for manipulating the media  —  Donald Trump is “very smart,” Bernie Sanders said during an interview that aired Thursday, because the Manhattan mogul and former star of NBC's “The Apprentice” franchise knows how to play the media.

Gov. Jerry Brown pardons Robert Downey Jr. for 1990s drug offenses  —  Robert Downey Jr. appears in a Malibu courtroom on July 25, 1996, after his third arrest in a month.  —  Actor Robert Downey Jr., who spent time behind bars in the late 1990s on drug convictions, received a Christmas Eve pardon …

Did Trump impugn fifth-grader's question to Clinton?  —  KEOTA, Ia.  — The morning after Hannah Tandy made national news with a poignant question to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, rival candidate Donald Trump appeared to imply that the scene was phony.

Minneapolis City Council Member Alondra Cano under fire for posting phone numbers, email addresses of constituents  —  A Minneapolis City Council member is drawing criticism for what some see as an effort to publicly shame constituents who objected to her involvement in Wednesday's Black Lives Matter rally …

The Creaking Joints of Democracy  —  One of my favorite liberals, Philly magazine's Joel Mathis (he's one half of the “Red-Blue America” column with Ben Boychuk), offers up a conciliatory column in the spirit of Christmas today that I take at face value.  A few relevant bits: … So far, so good.

44 Percent Of Democrats Support Taking Refugees From A Fictional Country  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 23, 2015  —  Press Contact:  —  lluxenburg@wparesearch.com  —  Washington, DC - Public Policy Polling, which is known for adding questions …