Fred Wins, Iowa Loses  —  Why Carolyn Washburn should keep her day job.  —  HERE WE WERE on Wednesday, a nation of political junkies gathered around our televisions to watch the candidates debate each other one last time, and we had as a moderator one Carolyn Washburn, the editor of the Des Moines Register.

Clinton N.H. Official Warns Obama Will Be Attacked on Drug Use  —  Bill Shaheen, Clinton's New Hampshire co-chair.  (AP).  —  DOVER, N.H. — Billy Shaheen, the co-chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign in New Hampshire, raised the issue of Sen. Barack Obama's past admissions of drug use …

Pelosi backs down in spending battle  —  In the face of stiff opposition from powerful fellow Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) has abandoned a proposal she supported less than 24 hours ago to eliminate lawmakers' earmarks from the omnibus spending package.

Personal Presidential Elimination Process: The Case Against Mike Huckabee  —  In my continuing quest to decide which (if any) of the GOP candidates to support in the 2008 Presidential primaries, we come back to the case of Mike Huckabee.  I've joked in the past about never giving Hope …

The Cartoon Mitt Romney Doesn't Want You To See [VIDEO]  —  Posted by Oliver Willis, Oliver Willis.com at 4:32 AM on December 12, 2007.  —  That it's got over 500,000 views on YouTube can't help someone like Mitt Romney  —  I don't know enough about Mormon theology to know if this bit …

Rep. King Decries 'Assault On Christmas,' Calls On Americans To 'Stand Up' And 'Worship Christ'  —  Rep. Steve King recently (R-IA) introduced legislation recognizing the "importance of Christmas and the Christian faith," despite previously opposing resolutions recognizing the Muslim celebration of Ramadan and the Hindu Diwali.

Attackers Shouted "This is a Christian Country"  —  ...before the ten of them started beating up a group of Jews on the Q train in New York City.  —  2 Comments for the post: Attackers Shouted "This is a Christian Country"  —  Entropy said,  —  And the point of this post is?  —  Idiosyncrat said,

C.I.A. Chief Admits Failure to Inform Congress  —  WASHINGTON — Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, acknowledged on Wednesday that the C.I.A. had failed to keep members of Congress fully informed of the facts that the agency had videotaped the interrogations …

Republican Presidential Debate  —  REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE PARTICIPANTS:  —  FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY FORMER TENNESSEE SENATOR FRED THOMPSON FORMER AMBASSADOR ALAN KEYES MODERATOR: CAROLYN WASHBURN

Update on Ratings of Bush, Congress  —  Thirty-seven percent approve of Bush, 22% of Congress  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll, conducted Dec. 6-9, finds 37% of Americans approving of the job George W. Bush is doing as president, an improvement from his recent scores in the low 30s.

Sen. Kit Bond: Waterboarding Is Like 'Swimming'  —  Yesterday on PBS's Newshour, host Gwen Ifill asked Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) whether waterboarding constitutes torture.  Bond replied that the technique is actually more like "swimming": … Watch it:  —  Conservatives have repeatedly tried …

Do You Need a Gun?  —  I don't.  I hope never to find myself in a situation where I would have needed one to protect my life—though I concede that this is a dire possibility in a country where guns seem so prevalent.  They are designed for only one purpose: to kill.