memeorandum: Ron Paul: For President Of Azeroth! (Andrew Sullivan/The Daily Dish)

1:10 PM ET, January 3, 2008

Top Items:

Richardson Set to Send Obama Second-Choice Support — [Exclusive] Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign is expected to direct their supporters to caucus for Sen. Barack Obama in the second round of voting at Thursday's caucuses in precincts where he is not viable.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Firedoglake, The Raw Story, Open Left, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Carpetbagger Report, Left in the West, MyDD, Comments from Left Field, CommonDreams.org, Outside The Beltway, Booman Tribune, Blue Hampshire, TPM Election Central and Cliff Schecter

Zogby:

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Daily Tracking Poll: Obama Moves Into Lead Followed by Edwards; Huckabee Lead Widens — Clinton, Romney dip as Ron Paul gains — UTICA, New York - Democrat Barack Obama continued his upward momentum through the evening before the Iowa caucuses, capturing the lead ahead …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Captain's Quarters, TPM Election Central, The Corner, Wonkette, Open Left, Pajamas Media, Comments from Left Field and Hot Air

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:

The Iowa Caucuses: Five Not-So-Unlikely Surprises — The smart money — not to mention the latest polls — gives an edge to Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in tonight's Iowa caucuses. — But take a couple hundred thousand Midwesterners, pack them into gyms and libraries and town halls …

Discussion: Newsweek and RealClearPolitics

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
Too Quick to Triangulate — Sen. Hillary Clinton faces tonight's …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Associated Press, The American Scene, Back Talk, The Carpetbagger Report and Blue Crab Boulevard

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Obama Has to Hope Cheers Equal Votes

Discussion: National Review, The Heretik and Oliver Willis

John Deeth / Iowa Independent:
Clinton Understood Surface, Not Spirit, Of Caucuses

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Salon

Wall Street Journal:
Populist Message Gets Louder As Iowa Caucuses Kick Off Race

Discussion: Washington Post, Think Progress, The Swamp, New York Times, CNN and The Caucus

The Politico:

Thompson may drop out, back McCain — DES MOINES, Iowa - Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday's Iowa caucus. — Thompson's campaign …

Byron York / The Corner:

Team Fred Strongly Denies... Good morning from Des Moines. I just got off the phone with Rich Galen, a top adviser to Fred Thompson, and it would be an understament to say that he is strongly denying the Politico story reporting that Thompson “will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday's caucus.”

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Right Wing News, Hot Air, Political Machine, QandO, TIME, PoliBlog (TM) and Primary Monitor Blog

Marc Ambinder:

Caucus: Clinton Revises Turnout Model Up — ** Hillary Clinton's team has revised its turnout model. The same senior campaign source who projected a turnout of 140,000 voters is now predicting that 150,000 voters will show, and says that, according to the turnout model the campaign is employing …

Discussion: Reuters, TalkLeft, MyDD, TPM Election Central and Des Moines Register

Blue Texan / Firedoglake:
Iowa Independents Prefer Democrats 2:1 Over Republicans

Discussion: Comments from Left Field

Thomas Beaumont / Des Moines Register:
Democrats may draw more independents

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, New York Times and TPM Election Central

Foreign Policy:

Seven Questions: Gen. David Petraeus on Winding down the Surge — By the end of July, 25 percent of American combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraq. FP sat down with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to find out how he plans to draw down without leaving chaos behind.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Daily Dish, Environmental Republican, PoliGazette and Redstate

Solomon Moore / New York Times:
Attacker Bombs Pro-U.S. Sunnis in Iraq

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and democracyarsenal.org

Chuck Todd / MSNBC:

Get your post-caucus spin now — With this guide, you can analyze any result — before the Iowans gather — DES MOINES, Iowa - In a matter of hours, following the results of the Iowa caucuses, a contest will begin. It will take place among the slew of national media trying to determine exactly what happened.

Discussion: RealClearPolitics, Ben Smith's Blogs, Left in the West, Democratic Strategist and Blue Crab Boulevard

Matthew Yglesias:

The Independents — John Judis and Ruy Teixeira take a look at the demographic and ideological characteristics of self-described independents and their potential role in the presidential election. It's clear that the post-partisan rhetoric from Barack Obama that's annoyed a lot of bloggers …

Discussion: Open Left, Eschaton, Comment is free and The New Republic

Richelieu / Weekly Standard:

Richelieu: Predictions — Your Cardinal has been busy converting the wicked in the bars and political back-rooms of icy Iowa, and offers a few final thoughts and predictions. — 1.) Obama is going to win and could do so by a strong margin. Hillary and Edwards trail, with 60% chance Hillary comes in third.

Discussion: Washington Post and No Left Turns

New York Post:

ROCK MAKES THE GARDEN HOWL — RAUNCHY stand-up Chris Rock had Madison Square Garden in stitches Monday night, when he kicked off his six-month tour performing for a sold-out New Year's Eve audience of 20,000 fans who gave him a midnight standing ovation. — The comic from Bed-Stuy proclaimed …

Michael Moore:

Who Do We Vote For This Time Around? A Letter from Michael Moore — A new year has begun. And before we've had a chance to break our New Year's resolutions, we find ourselves with a little more than 24 hours before the good people of Iowa tell us whom they would like to replace the man …

Discussion: American Street, Easter Lemming Liberal News, TownHall Blog, UrbanGrounds and BitsBlog

Vanity Fair:

Karl Rove — A principal architect of the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, Karl Rove, 57, has charted a long course from the internship he landed with the Republican Party in Utah almost four decades ago. Here, the president's former deputy chief of staff reflects on his fear of going broke …

Discussion: Rising Hegemon

Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Slaying of popular teens stuns friends — Sisters' father wanted for capital murder — Sarah Said was an avid tennis player known as a silly but bright student. Her 18-year-old sister, Amina Said, was often called “the girl with pretty eyes,” friends say.

Discussion: Associated Press, Gateway Pundit, Dallas Morning News and Debbie Schlussel

Associated Press:

Bush not waiting up for Iowa results — WASHINGTON - The Iowa caucuses apparently won't outrank shuteye for President Bush. — Asked if the president planned to stay up to find out who wins the opening contests of the 2008 election season, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Thursday …

Discussion: Think Progress