memeorandum: Luntz Explains His Mystery Man (Paul Kiel/TPMmuckraker)

8:05 PM ET, January 7, 2008

Top Items:

TALK OF HILLARY EXIT ENGULFS CAMPAIGNS — Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?!

Michael Elmore / Political Radar:

Rivals Reacts to Teary Clinton — ABC News' David Muir, Raelyn Johnson and Sunlen Miller Report: Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., on the tail end of his 36-hour campaigning marathon in New Hampshire on day before the primary vote, reacted to rival Sen. Hillary Clinton's emotional moment Monday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Think On These Things, Pandagon, Wonkette, The RBC, Macsmind and Feministing

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton fights back tears: 'It's not easy' — Exhausted and facing the prospect of losing the second test of her primary campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton fought back tears as her voice broke at the close of a sedate event in a Portsmouth coffee shop. — She expressed the sheer difficulty …

Discussion: The New Republic, The Carpetbagger Report, Riehl World View, Liberty Pundit, Donklephant and Blogs of War

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:

Clinton Gets Emotional on Campaign Trail — ABC News' Kate Snow Reports: Campaigning in New Hampshire one day before the first-in-the-nation primary, Senator Hillary Clinton got emotional and had tears in her eyes as she spoke with voters about how hard it is to balance a busy campaign life and her passion for the country's future.

Discussion: MSNBC, Power Line, Sweetness & Light, NewsBusters.org, Bookworm Room, Captain's Quarters, The Sundries Shack, Punditry, michellemalkin.com, QandO, Blue Crab Boulevard, Outside The Beltway, Salon, TalkLeft, On Deadline and Don Surber

Emily Friedman / ABCNEWS:

Can Clinton's Emotions Get the Best of Her? — N.Y. Senator's Recent Displays of Emotion Have Political Analysts Buzzing — How voters interpret Sen. Hillary Clinton's composure — emotional, cold or just plain tough — could be a deciding factor in her campaign for the presidency, political analysts told ABCNEWS.com.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Moderate Voice, Cogitamus and Making Light

CNN:

Clinton gets emotional at New Hampshire stop — PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire (CNN) — Hillary Clinton became visibly emotional at a New Hampshire campaign event today after a friendly question from a voter. — At the close of a Portsmouth campaign stop, Marianne Pernold-Young, 64, asked Clinton: “How do you do it?

Discussion: UNCoRRELATED, NewsBusters.org, TIME: Swampland and The Page

Robert Shrum / NY Daily News:
Sen. Clinton's massive mistake - and the final chance to fix it

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Politico, The Democratic Daily, HazZzMat, The Belmont Club, The Trail, Outside The Beltway, Talking Points Memo and Liberal Values

The Anchoress:
Will 2008 finish what 1968 began?

Discussion: Power Line and Associated Press

Karen Breslau / Newsweek:
Hillary Tears Up — A Muskie moment, or a helpful glimpse of 'the real Hillary'?

Discussion: New York Times and Daniel W. Drezner

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
EMOTION ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, Oliver Willis and Spin Cycle

WSJ.com:
Emotional Moment for Clinton in N.H.

Discussion: Althouse, TPM Election Central, New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh, Attytood, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Hotline On Call, Tammy Bruce, L.A. Times and Boston Globe

Mike Allen / The Politico:
HRC retrenches in face of Obama surge

Discussion: Spin Cycle

Todd Gitlin / The Coffee House:
Special Features Block New

Discussion: Open Left, Washington Monthly, Tom Watson and Taylor Marsh

USA Today:

Gallup: Clinton-Obama tied nationally; Huckabee leads GOP — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama each drew 33% of the support from Democrats surveyed in its latest national poll, Gallup just announced. — In mid-December, well before Obama won last Thursday's Democratic caucuses in Iowa …

Discussion: Liberal Values, MyDD and Pollster.com

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Huckabee, Obama Gain at National Level — Huckabee leads; Obama moves into tie with Clinton — PRINCETON, NJ — Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama — both winners in last week's Iowa caucuses — have gained support at the national level among those who identify with their respective parties.

Discussion: Open Left

CNN:
Romney: I can ‘post up against Barack Obama’

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Frank James / The Swamp:
Romney: If McCain loses in NH, he's toast

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air and The Hill

Atrios / Eschaton:

Conservative Victims — From Red State. This is pretty hilarious even for them. … There's more, but you get the idea. It's the fault of liberals that they can't run their website because... hell I don't know.

Discussion: Corrente, The Supreme Irony of Life and Angry Bear

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

RedState Tells Readers Scoop Developers Are All Liberals, So Fork Over $25 Grand — I realize that there's one born every minute, but in a letter to RedState readers, Erick Erickson says that their readers need to raise $25,000 in order to keep them from being overrun by a liberal plot:

Redstate: RedState has a real need for your help

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Luntz Explains His Mystery Man — Right after last night's Republican Fox News debate, Frank Luntz appeared to demonstrate that, based on his focus group of New Hampshire Republicans, Mitt Romney was the big winner. — But as Josh pointed out, the group's unanimity of opinion and blind insistence …

Discussion: ROGUEGOVERNMENT.COM, Cameron's Corner and The Carpetbagger Report

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Sean Hannity Flees from Ron Paul Supporters

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister and You Decide 08!

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Ron Paul Supporters Confront Frank Luntz

Discussion: New Haven Independent, Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars and The Supreme Irony of Life

Think Progress:

O'Hanlon Mourns That Obama Was Right On Iraq — Brookings fellow Michael O'Hanlon continues his abysmal record of staking out the wrong positions on Iraq in an article in this morning's Wall Street Journal, criticizing presidential candidate and Illinois Senator Barack Obama's position on the war.

Discussion: Center for American …, Matthew Yglesias and Cogitamus

Michael O'Hanlon / Wall Street Journal:
Obama and Iraq — One of Sen. Barack Obama's many strengths …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Neptunus Lex, Commentary, Matthew Yglesias, toohotfortnr, democracyarsenal.org, JustOneMinute and Captain's Quarters

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton and Obama, Johnson and King — Clinton rejoined the running argument over hope and “false hope” in an interview in Dover this afternoon, reminding Fox's Major Garrett that while Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on behalf of civil rights, President Lyndon Johnson was the one who got the legislation passed.

Discussion: FOX Embeds, MyDD, Think On These Things, AMERICAblog, Jack and Jill Politics, Oliver Willis, Riehl World View, Slog and Political Punch

Michelle Malkin:

Duncan Hunter to make an announcement; Update: He's staying in, blasts media “knuckleheads” — Update 2:38pm Eastern. Rep. Hunter is staying in the race. He blasted “knucklehead, arrogant” TV execs at ABC and Fox for excluding him from the presidential debates this weekend.

Discussion: TVNewser, Captain's Quarters, Los Angeles Times, The Belmont Club, Hot Air and Ground Game

CNN:
Struggling GOP candidate to stay in the race

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TIME, D-Day, The Campaign Spot and Wake up America

Marcella Bombardieri / Boston Globe:

Clinton heightens terrorism rhetoric — DOVER, N.H. - Facing the prospect of defeat in tomorrow's primary, Hillary Clinton just made her strongest suggestion yet that the next president may face a terrorist attack - and that she would be the best person to handle it.

Discussion: The Belmont Club, The Carpetbagger Report, Sadly, No!, Too Sense and Daily Kos