memeorandum: Trump, Sanders and the Revolt Against Decadence (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

3:00 PM ET, January 31, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump reclaims lead in latest Iowa Poll — Donald Trump has muscled ahead in Iowa, regaining his lead on the brink of the first votes being cast in the 2016 presidential race. — Trump stands at 28 percent, while rival Ted Cruz has slid to 23 percent.

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The big Iowa test: Can Trump and Sanders turn enthusiasm into votes? — DES MOINES — With campaign events all across Iowa on Saturday overflowing with voters, the Republican and Democratic contests have been reduced to the same question: Can the muscle of traditional and methodical organizing overcome …

Discussion: Politico

Jennifer Shutt / Politico:

Trump: Not essential that I win Iowa — Donald Trump said on Sunday he would like to win the Iowa Caucuses, but that he doesn't believe his campaign has to win the first primary state in the country to remain successful. — “No, I don't have to win it. And right now, you and I are sitting in New Hampshire.

Associated Press:

Turnout Is Name of the Game in Monday's Iowa Caucuses — The 2016 presidential contenders are begging their Iowa supporters to get to the caucuses Monday and Donald Trump, true to form, is in-your-face about it. — “You're from Iowa,” Trump told a Dubuque crowd Saturday. “Are you afraid of snow?”

Discussion: Politico, ABC News and The Stream

ABC News:

‘This Week’ Transcript: Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump — THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR ‘THIS WEEK’ ON JANUARY 31, 2016 and it will be updated. — ANNOUNCER: Starting right now on a special edition of This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

Jennifer Shutt / Politico:
Rubio tamps down expectations

Discussion: The Hill

Janie Velencia / The Huffington Post:
Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton Lead Iowa Caucus Poll

Discussion: Daily Kos, Slantpoint, The Right Scoop, Prairie Weather, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Business Insider

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Uncomfortable Question for Ted Cruz on Obamacare Silences the Room

Discussion: Washington Monthly, @politifact, Politico, Slantpoint, Washington Post and Hullabaloo

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:
Clinton Has Slim Lead Over Sanders in Iowa Poll

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Business Insider, Global Gathering and New York Times

Dan Merica / CNN:
Clinton: Sanders' health care plan ‘will never, ever come to pass’

Discussion: Slantpoint and ACASignups.net

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Iowa Official Criticizes Cruz Campaign Over Mailer

Discussion: Mother Jones, Althouse and Patterico's Pontifications

David Weigel / Washington Post:
Cruz mailer, inspired by political scientists, is condemned by Iowa secretary of state

Discussion: BuzzFeed

Patrick Healy / New York Times: Iowa Will Gauge Ardor to Upend Politics as Usual

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:
Trump Overtakes Cruz in Final Iowa Poll Before Caucuses

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Guardian, Politico, The Hill, Vox Popoli, Washington Post, Trail Blazers Blog and The Last Refuge

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Trump rips ‘dishonest’ and ‘deceptive’ Cruz mailer

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Raw Story, Washington Monthly and American Power

Des Moines Register:
Clinton keeps slim edge over Sanders in latest Iowa Poll

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, NBC News, TIME, American Prospect, New York Times and Daily Kos

Tessa Berenson / TIME:
Cruz Campaign Under Fire for Sending Iowans Controversial Letter

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, Trail Blazers Blog and Independent Journal Review

Caleb Howe / RedState:
RESULTS ARE IN: Winner of Des Moines Register's Final Iowa Poll Before The Caucus

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Des Moines Register:
A closer look at the GOP's Iowa Poll results

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Paul Sperry / New York Post:

‘This was all planned’: Former IG says Hillary, State Dept. are lying — The State Department is lying when it says it didn't know until it was too late that Hillary Clinton was improperly using personal e-mails and a private server to conduct official business — because it never set …

Discussion: Power Line

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Clinton: I didn't generate any ‘top secret’ emails

Discussion: ABC News and RedState

Johnmorenoktla / KTLA:

Ohio Seminary Student Arrested at San Diego Airport, Allegedly Sought Sex With Infants — WARNING: This article contains descriptions of an alleged crime whose details may be disturbing to some readers. — A 23-year-old Ohio man was arrested by federal agents in San Diego on Friday …

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Trump, Sanders and the Revolt Against Decadence — ONE of the puzzles of the 2016 campaign, unexpectedly defined by the ascent of a billionaire reality TV star and a septuagenarian Vermont socialist, is why now? Yes, voters are angry, yes, they're exhausted and disgusted and cynical about everything.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

George Packer / New Yorker:

Living on the Edge — It's upon us. About one half of one per cent of all registered voters in the United States—ninety-six per cent of them likely to be white, a hundred per cent certain to live in Iowa or New Hampshire—will now exercise their inalienable, God-given …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Theodore Schleifer / CNN:

First on CNN: Main Cruz super PACs struggled to raise money in fall and winter — (CNN)The main super PACs supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign only raised a few million dollars in the second half of 2015, a modest sum that far trails the huge checks they collected in the opening days of the campaign.

Discussion: The Week

Isaac Arnsdorf / Politico:

Sanders raised $20 million in January — The Bernie Sanders campaign said it raised $20 million this month from a record-setting legion of small donors. — More than 770,000 people gave to the Vermont senator's bid in January, with online contributions averaging just $27, the campaign said.

Discussion: The Week

Mark Townsend / Observer:

10,000 refugee children are missing, says Europol — The EU's criminal intelligence agency warns pan-European gangs are targeting minors for sex work and slavery — At least 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees have disappeared after arriving in Europe, according to the EU's criminal intelligence agency.

Discussion: Al Jazeera English, Daily Mail, Guardian, Veterans Today and France 24

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

Clinton Iowa Volunteers Train When To Push Backers To O'Malley — To Block Bernie — The three candidates in Iowa in October. — Hillary Clinton's campaign for president is instructing its Iowa caucus leaders to — in certain cases — throw support to former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley …

Discussion: AOL and Iowa Starting Line