memeorandum: A Family Affair? — Exclusive: Benazir Bhutto's will names … (Michael Hirsh/Newsweek)

10:50 PM ET, December 30, 2007

Top Items:

Huckabee says Romney owes him apology — DES MOINES — Mike Huckabee told me Sunday that Mitt Romney should apologize for saying “blatantly untrue” things about him. — Huckabee also said such an apology would be accepted only if Romney also admitted that he “has not been forthcoming” about his own record.

Discussion: Riehl World View

New York Times:

Candidates Step Up Attacks in Iowa — BOONE, Iowa — The presidential candidates spent the last Sunday before the Iowa caucuses attending church services and staging big rallies to make last-minutes appeals as new polls suggested tightening races in both the Democratic and Republican fields.

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.

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press: Huckabee stands by “Christ” comment

Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
Giuliani steers clear of political fray

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and The Anchoress

MSNBC:
Polls: Iowa caucuses too close to call

Discussion: The Caucus

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: New Hampshire Race Tightens as Edwards Surges

Zogby:
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: Clinton Leads Dems; GOP Deadlocked

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Open Left, race42008.com, MyDD, Pollster.com and TalkLeft

Michael Luo / The Caucus:
Leader of Christian Iowa Group Gives Romney His Vote

Discussion: race42008.com

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: Miss Beth's Victory Dance, American Street and WTF Is It Now?!?

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.

Discussion: race42008.com, The Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, Connecting.the.Dots and PSoTD

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

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
“What one's sin is, means it's missing the mark. …

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Somini Sengupta / New York Times:

Bhutto's Son, 19, Chosen to Lead Her Party — NAUDERO, Pakistan — Three days after the violent killing of its leader, Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's largest political party on Sunday picked her 19-year-old son to succeed her as chairman and vowed to forge ahead with elections next week …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Jane Perlez / New York Times:
Bhutto's Son and Husband to Lead Party

Discussion: Angry Bear and Group News Blog

Michael Hirsh / Newsweek:
A Family Affair? — Exclusive: Benazir Bhutto's will names …

Discussion: New York Times, A Blog For All and Patterico's Pontifications

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: Flopping Aces, Macsmind, The Strata-Sphere, Weekly Standard and BLACKFIVE

Sam Roberts / New York Times:

Bloomberg Moves Closer to Running for President — Buoyed by the still unsettled field, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City is growing increasingly enchanted with the idea of making an independent presidential bid, and his aides are aggressively laying the groundwork for him to run.

Discussion: Balkinization and Donklephant

Mark Steyn / National Review:

The Best-Laid Five-Minute Plans of Bill Richardson. — It's tempting to rerun my column on Pakistan from a month ago. Not because I predicted the assassination of Benazir Bhutto or offered any other great insight, but rather for the opposite reason: “Everyone's an expert on Pakistan …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Cold Fury and Daily Pundit

Nashuatelegraph.com:

McCain our choice for GOP nomination — Eight years ago, when he was running as a political maverick against Republican establishment candidate George W. Bush, we endorsed John McCain for the GOP nomination for president of the United States. — We did so because of his integrity.

Discussion: The Caucus, Hotline On Call and Boston Globe

Little Green Footballs:

New Video: The Bhutto Shooting — The latest video of the assassination, from another angle, provides evidence that Benazir Bhutto was killed by an assassin's bullet. — (Video player requires Flash Player.)

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and CNN

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: Needlenose and Balloon Juice

Don Surber:

France stands up to Syria — No scarf for Sarkozy as he suspends diplomatic relations — over the Lebanese elections. — Nicolas Sarkozy — L'Americain — continues to show more courage in his little pinky than the Democratic Party combined when it comes to the War on Terrorism.

Discussion: A Blog For All, Wake up America and TigerHawk

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.

Discussion: Exurban League, TBogg and Yahoo! News