Top Items:
Steven Thomma / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Iowa: Edwards surges, Huckabees bubble bursts — DES MOINES, Iowa — John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have lost ground, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll.
Discussion:
Reuters, TalkLeft, All Spin Zone, Talking Points Memo, Political Machine, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, PoliBlog (TM), Captain's Quarters, Taegan Goddard's …, CALIFORNIA YANKEE, American Street, The Newshoggers, Stop The ACLU, New York Daily News Blogs, Pollster.com, PoliGazette, TPM Election Central and CANNONFIRE
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MSNBC:
Mike Huckabee (R) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) — MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday, this is it, the Iowa caucuses just four days away. Democrats Clinton, Edwards and Obama locked in a tight battle; Republicans Huckabee and Romney fighting for victory.
Zogby:
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: Clinton Leads Dems; GOP Deadlocked — Race is close on both sides of the aisle, as Obama challenges Clinton and Romney challenges Huckabee — UTICA, New York - Democrat Hillary Clinton leads narrowly among likely caucus-goers in Iowa, while the race …
Matt / Think Progress:
Huckabee: 'I Don't Know' If People Are ‘Born’ Gay, But It's A ‘Choice’ To Act Gay — On NBC's Meet The Press this morning, host Tim Russert asked former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee if he believed “people are born gay or choose to be gay?" “I don't know whether people are born that way …
Discussion:
WTF Is It Now?!?
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
NO SEX FOR YOU....I had the same read on Mike Huckabee's “Meet the Press” appearance this morning as ThinkProgress: … I see. So, Huckabee doesn't actually care if someone is gay, he cares whether or not gays are celibate. — And here I thought his years of bizarre criticism of the gay community were a sign of intolerance.
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister
Michael Calderone / The Politico:
Times defends hiring conservative Kristol — The New York Times' hiring of Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol to write for its op-ed page caused a frenzy in the liberal blogosphere Friday night, with threats of canceling subscriptions and claims that the Gray Lady had been hijacked by neo-cons
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The Corner:
Re: Kristol's New Column — I mostly agree with Jonathan. I think Kristol's a perfectly good addition to the Times' op-ed page and I'm happy for him. I'm also enjoying the rage the hire is causing. I suspect, however, that there will be more daylight between Brooks and Kristol than people might think.
Andrew Cline / Opinion Journal:
Ron Beats Rudy? — New Hampshire could surprise a lot of people. — MANCHESTER, N.H.—For several hours last Sunday, more than a dozen Ron Paul volunteers stood in snowdrifts in the rain outside the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester waving at last-minute Christmas shoppers and handing out hundreds of yards signs.
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Walter Russell Mead / Los Angeles Times:
The great fall of China — Revised GDP calculations show that Beijing isn't the giant we thought it was. — The most important story to come out of Washington recently had nothing to do with the endless presidential campaign. And although the media largely ignored it, the story changes the world.
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
PROJECTION FROM THE FEVER SWAMP....Andrew Sullivan posted this email from a Republican reader today: … Whatever else you think about the Clinton vs. Obama question, this is almost certainly wrong. Among the activist liberal base — the people who are the loudest and angriest about what George Bush …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Foon Rhee / Boston Globe:
Did McCain call Romney a 'pig'? — DOVER, N.H. — As Senator John McCain rolled down a New Hampshire highway today in his “Straight Talk Express” campaign bus, he listened to a description of the latest attack on him by his chief rival in this state's primary, Mitt Romney.
Discussion:
The Corner, Middle Earth Journal, Captain's Quarters, The Page and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
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Telegraph:
General Petraeus: man with a message of hope — The critics said it couldn't be done, but the vision and determination of General David Petraeus have brought greater security and cause for optimism to the people of Iraq. He is The Sunday Telegraph's Person of the Year.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Simon Robinson / Time:
Bhutto's Successor — Benazir Bhutto's son has been anointed her successor, the slain former prime minister's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) confirmed today. A senior PPP official had told TIME late Saturday that Bhutto's 19-year-old son, Bilawal, would likely be named as her political heir and the new party leader on Sunday.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Democratic Daily, Gateway Pundit, Tammy Bruce, New York Times and A Blog For All
Soccer Dad:
But how do you explain ... Boker Tov Boulder notes that Salam Fayyad is hitting some of the right notes in his response to the murder of 2 Israelis on Friday. (BtB also observes that unlike some earlier reports the two murdered Israelis were not “settlers.”
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, snapped shot, Israel Matzav, Yourish.com, Associated Press, Elder of Ziyon and Jerusalem Post
Inside Higher Ed:
A Moderate MLA — The Modern Language Association frequently helps out its critics with provocative session titles and left-leaning political stands offered by its members. At this year's annual meeting, in Chicago, some MLA members have worried that the association was poised to take stances …
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
First Read: Romney re-takes lead, Dems tied — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — DES MOINES, IA — Want further proof that negative advertising works? After nearly two weeks of Romney airing TV ads in the this state criticizing his records on immigration and crime …
Discussion:
Hot Air
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