<><>2008/CONGRESS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Senate: Deflating Democrats' Dream of 60 Seats
For any Senate strategist, 60 seats is the proverbial Holy Grail.

By Chris CillizzaWashington Post
December 17, 2007

Control 60 seats in the Senate and your party can break filibusters -- meaning that the majority party can push through a legislative agenda as long as it can keep members in line…

Republicans score key wins on spending

By Gail Russell Chaddock
Christian Science Monitor
December 18, 2007

With the GOP united, President Bush is poised to get the war funding he wants…

Americans' approval of Congress sinks to new low

By Richard Wolf
USA Today
December 17, 2007

WASHINGTON — As President Bush and Congress battle on the budget, homeland security and the war in Iraq, Americans blame both Republicans and Democrats for the impasse…

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THE FIELD

Kerrey Tries to Explain Obama ‘Muslim’ Remarks

By Kate Phillips
New York Times
December 17, 2007

In a CNN interview, the former senator who endorsed Senator Clinton attempts to tout the experiences of her Democratic rival…

Obama and Edwards Engage, Gently, on Special Interests

By Patrick Healy
New York Times
December 18, 2007

So rarely do the two Democratic candidates criticize each other that their jabs dominated the political spotlight in Iowa for the day…

CLINTON

Clinton suddenly loves the press

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
December 17, 2007

Or, more precisely, a certain newspaper in Iowa…

Clinton debuts softer strategy

By Jason George and Rick Pearson
Chicago Tribune
December 17, 2007

DES MOINES - After months in which the march of her presidential campaign was likened to a cold, precision machine, Hillary Clinton embarked Monday on a new softer strategy aimed at featuring her personality along with her usual themes of experience and change to woo voters who view her solely as an issue-oriented candidate…

DODD

Dodd Away From the Stump, But Still Talking

By Paul Kane
Washington Post
December 17, 2007

Dodd declares victory Monday evening after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pulls FISA measure from the floor and says it won't be revisited before January. "Today we have scored a victory for American civil liberties and sent a message to President Bush that we will not tolerate his abuse of power and veil of secrecy," said Dodd…

EDWARDS

A Hurdle for Matching Money

By Leslie Wayne
New York Times
December 17, 2007

John Edwards’s campaign called a Federal Election Commission decision a “setback to the progressive grass-roots movement.”

'Um, um, you know, those guys with the guns...'

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
December 17, 2007

John Edwards at a rare momentary loss for words. "Why do we have the... the ....what's the name I'm looking for?"

A first lady for Edwards

By Rick Pearson
Chicago Tribune
December 17, 2007

DES MOINES—Wrapping up his eight-day "Main Street Express" bus tour of Iowa, former Sen. John Edwards touted the endorsement today of the state's first lady, Mari Culver…

OBAMA

Obama Woos Remaining Undecideds on Bus Tour

By Krissah Williams
Washington Post
December 17, 2007

STORM LAKE, Iowa -- On his tour through rural Iowa today Sen. Barack Obama pushed to invigorate his supporters and convince the handful of undecided Democrats that showed up that he intends to play in what has mostly been John Edwards territory. Before crowds of a couple hundred gathered in schools, Obama sought to differentiate himself from both Edwards and Hillary Clinton, with whom he is locked into a three-way tie here…

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THE FIELD

Romney Takes On a Rising Huckabee, Comparing Records

By Michael Luo
New York Times
December 17, 2007

Mitt Romney’s campaign believes it can slice away conservative voters from Mike Huckabee who are not fully aware of his record…

HUCKABEE

Mike Huckabee faces questions on whether he stymied a probe

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
December 17, 2007

The case involes his his son's possible act of animal cruelty…

McCAIN

McCain Senses Momentum Is Starting to Help Him

By Marc Santora
New York Times
December 18, 2007

Senator John McCain is making a push to attract independent voters in New Hampshire and plans to restart his Iowa campaign…

PAUL

More Hiring and Advertising Ahead for Paul Campaign as the Donations Pour In

By Julie Bosman
New York Times
December 18, 2007

After setting a one-day fund-raising record Sunday, Ron Paul’s bankroll can keep him in the contest beyond early January…

ROMNEY

Mormons Back Romney -- in Iowa
Support Could Give Presidential Hopeful An Edge in Close Race

By Elizabeth Holmes
Wall Street Journal
December 18, 2007

BETTENDORF, Iowa -- Pam Garner brought two of her four children and some homemade mint-chocolate-chip cookies to a town-hall meeting here last week with Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Afterward, she offered up a list of reasons she was supporting the former governor of Massachusetts, including his stance in favor of family values and against big government…

For Romney, a Course Set Long Ago

By David D. Kirkpatrick
New York Times
December 18, 2007

Mitt Romney said he felt as if his campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee was, in a sense, an extension of his father’s unsuccessful bid in 1968…

Island tax havens factor into Romney's business success

By Bob Drogin
Los Angeles Times
December 17, 2007

Offshore dealings like those of the Republican presidential candidate trouble many, but they're legal…

THOMPSON

Thompson Starts His Bus Tour in Iowa

By Cate Doty
New York Times
December 17, 2007

The Republican candidate digs down in the Hawkeye State, trying to prove he's committed to campaigning here…

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BLOOMBERG

Bloomberg’s World Stage

By Diane Cardwell
New York Times
December 17, 2007

The Bloomberg-for-president buzz machine seems to have shifted into overdrive recently, with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg traveling the world, acting like a statesman and injecting himself into the political debate…

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Is Voter Temblor in Store for '08?

Wall Street Journal
December 18, 2007

Change is the most powerful word in politics, and it's beginning to appear American voters want to send change roaring through the system like a gale-force wind in 2008…

The Scribe Who Gets The Candidates' Vote
All Eyes on Blogging Iowa Newsman

By Shailagh Murray
Washington Post
December 18, 2007

DES MOINES -- Back in May, when speculation burbled up that Hillary Clinton might bypass Iowa, David Yepsen dashed off a blog entry comparing the New York senator's campaign to previous clunkers, including the early days of Reagan 1980, Gore 2000 and Kerry 2004. "Just as those candidates realized their campaigns were top heavy and sluggish -- and that they personally needed to reach down inside themselves to be sharper and better candidates -- so, too, does Senator Clinton now," wrote Yepsen, the Des Moines Register's veteran political columnist…

Turning Out the Youth

By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post
December 17, 2007

It's that time of the campaign season again. Except this time, as with anything to do with Campaign '08, the worry over youth voter turnout started . . . in the primary season…

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Poll: Electability key among Democrats

By Susan Page
USA Today
December 18, 2007

WASHINGTON — Democratic voters increasingly are focused on nominating the most electable presidential candidate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama fares better than New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton against prospective Republican rivals…

<><>WAR/TERROR<><><><><>><><><>

Iran Receives Nuclear Fuel in Blow to U.S.

By Helene Cooper
New York Times
December 18, 2007

Russia delivered nuclear fuel for an Iranian power plant that is at the center of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program…

<><>OTHER NEWS AND VIEWS<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Fed and Regulators Shrugged as the Subprime Crisis Spread

By Edmund L. Andrews
New York Times
December 18, 2007

As the mortgage crisis threatens to tip the economy into a recession, many are asking: where was Washington?