memeorandum: U.S. Diplomat Killed in Sudan (Jeffrey Gettleman/New York Times)

8:45 PM ET, January 1, 2008

Top Items:

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Campaigns Feeling Effects of Iowa Poll — DES MOINES — The results of the Des Moines Register's final poll of Iowa caucus-goers, showing Senator Barack Obama leading the Democrats and Mike Huckabee leading the Republicans, continued to reverberate across the campaign trail on Tuesday …

Discussion: The Politico, Weekly Standard, The Swamp, Stumper and TIME

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

Poll: Ties in Iowa but many still undecided — DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — With two days to go until the Iowa caucuses, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll out Tuesday shows both the Democratic and Republican presidential nomination races tied at the top. — But with a quarter …

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Joe Trippi: Sit and Spin — Joe Trippi breezed into a restaurant back room last night filled with several tables full of journalists and grabbed a chair. — “Obama is slamming Gore and Kerry,” he said at a volume nobody could have missed before even taking his seat.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, The Fix, Political Punch and TIME: Swampland

Washington Wire:

Clinton, Obama Top $100 Million for 2007 — Mary Jacoby reports from New Hampshire on the presidential race. — Sen. Barack Obama, with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, at a campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo: Associated Press — Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama …

Discussion: Say Anything

Tony Leys / Des Moines Register:
Edwards' ‘Mudcat’ gives tasty dish on Clinton

Discussion: Hotline On Call

Southern Political Report:
Reallocated Numbers Based on Second Preferences Gives Edwards A Solid Lead

Discussion: Townhall.com, Open Left, Booman Tribune, Taegan Goddard's …, Taylor Marsh and Pollster.com

Jane Norman / Des Moines Register: Grassley: Giuliani's curtailed Iowa campaign ‘a big mistake’

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Divisive Dems

Discussion: Eschaton, The Politico, Whiskey Fire, Daily Kos, Open Left, The Nation, Des Moines Register and Crooks and Liars

David Brooks / New York Times:

Road to Nowhere — The most impressive thing about Mitt Romney is his clarity of mind. When he set out to pursue his party's nomination, he studied the contours of the Republican coalition and molded himself to its forms. — Earnestly and methodically, he has appealed to each of the major constituency groups.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, Middle Earth Journal, National Review, Crunchy Con, The Strata-Sphere, Eschaton, The Daily Dish, GreenMountainPolitics1 and Booman Tribune

Andy Sullivan / Reuters:

Romney says Bush mismanaged Iraq war — JOHNSTON, Iowa (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Tuesday the Bush administration mismanaged the Iraq war, distancing himself from his party's unpopular president two days before Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential contest.

Discussion: The Corner and Macsmind

Associated Press:
Networks cut debate fields, angering Paul backers

Discussion: The Politico, The Caucus, Blogs of War, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Volokh Conspiracy, Flopping Aces, JammieWearingFool and Daimnation!

Matthew Yglesias:
The Possibly Not Coming Storm

Discussion: Eschaton and Deal W. Hudson

Washington Wire:
Paul Supporters Target Fox News

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Liberal Values, The Daily Dish, New York Observer, Shakespeare's Sister, The Caucus, Cliff Schecter, Wake up America, Tennessee Guerilla Women and Angry Bear

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Jumping The Gun? — Ron Paul's supporters are seeing red …

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Outside The Beltway, Balloon Juice and Los Angeles Times

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton errs on Pakistan — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was praised in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for demonstrating her command of the players and the issues at stake in Pakistan, even as another candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee …

Discussion: Political Radar, Wake up America, MSNBC, Wizbang, The Page, Betsy's Page, Captain's Quarters, Macsmind, QandO, Liberal Values, Patterico's Pontifications, Power Line, Sweetness & Light and Riehl World View

Bryan / Hot Air:
Video: Smartest woman in the world doesn't know the first thing about Pakistan

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and Say Anything

Foon Rhee / Boston Globe:
Biden hits rivals on Pakistan policy

Discussion: Wonkette

Marc Ambinder:

Kucinich Urges Supporters To Choose Obama On Second “Ballot” — On Thursday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich might actually swing the results of the caucus, which is why I'm passing this along. — Kucinich's supporters could help Obama in non-liberal precincts where the two or three Kucinich supporters …

Discussion: Open Left, Liberal Values, Yahoo! News, The Democratic Daily and Cliff Schecter

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Kucinich throws Obama a bone — An unexpected twist from the Kucinich camp: … UPDATE: Obama responds:

Discussion: Washington Monthly, MyDD and THE LIBERAL JOURNAL

John Tierney / New York Times:

In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm — I'd like to wish you a happy New Year, but I'm afraid I have a different sort of prediction. — You're in for very bad weather. In 2008, your television will bring you image after frightening image of natural havoc linked to global warming.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Blue Crab Boulevard, If I Ran the Zoo, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, TigerHawk, Macsmind, The Strata-Sphere, Maggie's Farm and A Blog For All

Michelle Malkin:

Cindy Sheehan: Down with BushCo-and screw the evil corporate Rose Bowl parade, too! — As promised, St. Cindy stinks up the Rose Bowl parade and delivers an unhinged salvo posted at After Downing Street-complete with BushCo/Hitler epithets, anti-American insults, and Absolute Moral Authority sanctimony:

Discussion: AfterDowningStreet.org, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang and The Mahatma X Files

Solvej Schou / Associated Press:
Thousands cheer giant Rose Parade floats

Discussion: BitsBlog

Mike Huckabee / CNN:

New Huckabee ad appeals to Christian conservatives — WASHINGTON (CNN) - For the second time in the past two weeks, presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has aired a commercial in which a Christian symbol appears in the background. — In the campaign ad, Huckabee is addressing members …

Discussion: Cliff Schecter

Hindustan Times:

Pak Govt makes U-turn on cause of Bhutto's death — In a dramatic U-turn, Pakistan government has “apologised” for claiming that former premier Benazir Bhutto died of a skull fracture after hitting the sunroof of her car during a suicide attack. — Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan …

Discussion: The Belmont Club, At-Largely, Outside The Beltway, The Newshoggers and Flopping Aces

Jerome Starkey / The Sun:

Our Boys blitz Taliban bash — On patrol ... British soldier in Helmand province — BRITISH commandos launched a devastating blitz on the Taliban - as the evil terrorists held a party to celebrate Benazir Bhutto's murder. — The dawn raid was staged after messages were intercepted …

Discussion: Don Surber, Say Anything, The Sundries Shack, Dr. Sanity and The Corner

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

Poll: Clinton, McCain lead in NH — From NBC's Domenico Montanaro — With exactly a week to go until New Hampshire, McCain has pulled ahead of Romney and Clinton has opened back up a double-digit lead in New Hampshire, according to a 7News/Suffolk University poll.