The New Republic

Hillary's Firewall Sees Shadow, Hibernates Until February 5 [Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times]: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is anticipating that she will not have to wait long to become the Democratic presidential nominee, privately telling campaign donors in California that the race "is all going to be over by Feb. 5." READ MORE >>

A kitschy cartoon (crudely) tracing the basics of Mormon theology has garnered hundreds of thousands of hits on YouTube of late. The Cliffs Notes: Mormon god Elohim is a baller; Lucifer wears red; Jesus keeps his cool; 'endless celestial sex' features prominently. The low-res, Jetsons animation and 'period' views on 'the negro race' suggest this video has been around for ages (producing a deep nostalgic longing for this classic). The resurgence, of course, we owe to Mitt Romney. READ MORE >>

The Duel in Des Moines [Thomas Beaumont, Des Moines Register]: "New Iowa Republican frontrunner Mike Huckabee went unchallenged by his topopponents for the presidential nomination today during The Des Moines Register’s debate, a free-wheeling forum and the last meeting of the candidates before the state’s leadoff nominating caucuses." READ MORE >>

Endorsement Celebration Will Feature Fresca, O'Douls [The Editors, National Review]: "Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the READ MORE >>

The funny and underrated 1998 film Primary Colors, based on Joe Klein's stump saga of the same name, offers a host of dramatic dispatches from the land of Jack and Susan Stanton, a southern power couple making a break for the White House. The whole cast--especially Billy Bob Thornton--does a credible job with a difficult task; that is, maintaining the paper-thin barrier between the campaign drama and Bill and Hillary Clinton's reality.  READ MORE >>

Repeater's Luck [Jeff Zeleny, New York Times]: "As candidates prepare to chart their last movements across Iowa – selecting the itineraries for their bus tours, crafting the message of their final arguments – Mr. Edwards has an institutional memory that other candidates must rely on their strategists to provide." READ MORE >>

Carolina Kudos [John O'Connor and Carolyn Click, The State]: "Some South Carolina evangelicals said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney proved to them they stand on common political ground despite their theological differences with his Mormon faith." READ MORE >>

Excommunicated [Thomas Beaumont, Des Moines Register]: "Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign dismissed an eastern Iowa county chairwoman on Wednesday in light of an e-mail she forwarded warning that rival Barack Obama was a Muslim intent on destroying the United States." READ MORE >>

So Hsu Him [Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, Los Angeles Times]: "A federal grand jury indicted Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu on Tuesday, accusing him of operating a massive Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of at least $20 million and making illegal campaign contributions to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other candidates."  READ MORE >>

READ MORE >>