NEW YORKER cover for Jan. 2 shows a bearded Father Time, with scythe and ?2011? sash, glumly beholds the chubby, scampering Baby New Year: a diapered Newt Gingrich, wearing a ?1994? sash as he doffs his top hat and hoists a champagne flute. http://nyr.kr/ujkldS
THE NARRATIVE ? AL HUNT COLUMN on Bloomberg, ?Republicans May Be Dealing Obama a Winning Hand?: ?The last four times an insurgent party has captured the presidency -- 1980, 1992, 2000 and 2008 -- it had a positive approval rating a year before Election Day that usually was better than the incumbent party?s. ? Today, a plethora of polls shows both parties are held in low regard by the electorate, but the Republicans consistently do worse. ? The White House staff seems spent, their message is confusing and contradictory. They brought in an able chief of staff, Bill Daley, and then tried to cut him off at the knees. Yet the Obama campaign remains first class when it comes to mechanics and money. They will be better organized and have more resources. And they are likely to have a good target.?
BREAKING ? ?Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks? ? Reuters/Kabul: ?Afghanistan will accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar to start peace talks but no foreign power can get involved in the process without its consent, the government's peace council said, as efforts gather pace to find a solution to the decade-long war.?
--Drudge banner, ?WAR GAMES: IRAN TAUNTS U.S. SHIPS? ? Links to Al Jazeera, ?Tehran's latest display of military power will bring it into close proximity of US warships in strategic oil route. ? Iran's navy has started a 10-day drill in international waters near the strategic oil route that passes through the Strait of Hormuz.? http://bit.ly/w1fQo8
MITT ROMNEY AD starting statewide in IOWA today, ?Conservative Agenda,? identifies him onscreen as ?Mitt Romney, Conservative Businessman.? Town-hall clips of Romney, in blue-plaid shirt, saying: ?I?m gonna do something to government. I?m gonna make it simpler, and smaller, and smarter ? getting rid of programs, turning programs back to states and, finally, making government itself more efficient. I?m gonna get RID of Obamacare. It is a MORAL IMPERATIVE for America to stop spending more money that we take in. It?s KILLING jobs, and it?s keeping our kids from having the bright prospects they deserve. The experience of balancing budgets is desperately needed in Washington, and I WILL take it there. I?m Mitt Romney, and I approve this message.? (hat tip: James Hohmann?s ?Morning Score?) YouTube http://bit.ly/upt27V
JOHN HEILEMANN, in New York mag., on Romney as the Tin Man -- ?O Lucky Mitt: A month ago, his candidacy was rusting. Now he?s on the road:?: ?Romney has reassumed his perch in the catbird seat: level with the deflating Gingrich in the national polls, far ahead of him (and everyone else) in New Hampshire, and quite possibly on the verge of pulling out a win over the rising Ron Paul in Iowa. Romney and his people deserve much of the credit for this turn of events. But an equally large share belongs with the fact that, rather than staging a proper nominating contest, the GOP finds itself hosting what Republican strategist Alex Castellanos calls ?the world?s greatest cluster!@#$.? ? Romney has had his share of unearned good fortune. And though the lack of affection for him in his party?s base might yet come back to bite him, at the moment he appears to be on the verge of proving an eternal verity of politics: Better to be lucky than loved.? http://bit.ly/u4GPaV
MODERN CHRISTMAS DANGERS: Your nephew excitedly tweeting about a blatant re-gift.
FIRST LOOK, from APCO Insight ? ?New Poll: Emotional Connections Trigger Voting Behavior?: ?poll among 1,036 GOP likely primary/caucus voters, including oversamples of Iowa and New Hampshire voters. ? The poll applies our Emotional Linking model that is used by hundreds of brands around the word to predict purchase decisions based on the emotional connections consumers have with brands. ? Nationally, Romney and Gingrich are tied with the strongest emotional connections with GOP voters. ? However, Gingrich has much weaker emotional connections with Iowa and New Hampshire voters (6th place in Iowa and 4th place in New Hampshire). Voters do not identify with him (he doesn?t share their values) and have less personal affection and fondness for Gingrich. ?
?Iowa voters have the strongest emotional connections with Ron Paul. Ron Paul?s strong emotional connection is derived from a strong sense of trust voters have that he will deliver on his promises. ? New Hampshire voters have the strongest connection with Mitt Romney. Jon Huntsman comes in third (on emotional connections) in New Hampshire ? which could presage a strong finish for this dark horse candidate in New Hampshire.?
TOP TALKER ? The New Yorker, ?The Sporting Scene -- THE JERSEY GAME: Will high-school football become a big-money sport?? by Ben McGrath: ?Ken Halloy, ? the president of Halloy Boy Sports Marketing, is monetizing a high-school pastime. Tickets for high-school games, if they are required at all, typically cost five dollars ? Halloy figured that he could charge three or four times the usual amount by arranging marquee matchups between schools from states that prided themselves on producing homegrown football talent, promoting them heavily, and securing larger venues ? The concept ? caught on quickly, spawning a new class of nationally touring high schools?though not in Texas, where ?winning State,? as they say, remains the chief ambition. ? Texas is one of only two states (the other is Massachusetts) that play by collegiate rules, which allow ?cut blocking,? or blocking below the waist, and many of the best teams in proud football regions elsewhere in the country have thus far declined to meet Texas on its own terms, for fear of injury. ?
??There was this big uproar, about kids being exploited and so forth,? Halloy said, of his initial efforts to promote high-school events. ?Next thing you know, ESPN?s trying to televise the games ? The beauty of ESPN, for me, is they can take something seemingly radical and turn it mainstream ? That?s exactly what?s happened with high-school football. ESPN has mainstreamed it. ESPN can buy anything ? Schools are so desperate for money these days they can?t say no? ? The emergence of recruiting Web sites like Scout.com (which is owned by Fox) and Rivals.com (Yahoo!) had also helped make minor celebrities out of [high-school] players ? Professional encroachment was normalized long ago in solo sports such as tennis and golf.?
Abstract http://nyr.kr/vUHzat
OBAMA 2012 ? L.A. Times 2-col. lead, ?Obama shifts his message on economy: The president is emphasizing what aides call his defense of the middle class,? by Christi Parsons and David Lauter: ?For much of his presidency, [Republicans] have pounded away at monthly statistics showing high unemployment and anemic growth. ? Until recently, the main Democratic response was that although Obama's stimulus plan and other measures had not cured the economy, they had averted another Great Depression. But party strategists concede that as a slogan, ?could have been worse? is more likely to win support among economists than average voters. So increasingly, Obama and his aides have switched to a longer view, trying to focus attention on what they portray as the president's defense of the middle class. That positioning, they hope, will set up a helpful contrast with his November opponent. ?This isn't just about recovering from this recession,? said a senior advisor to Obama ? ?This is about saving the middle class from a decline that's been going on for three decades.?
?Obama began to highlight the shift this month, and it may already have helped him when combined with a somewhat warmer economy and Republican disarray. Public approval of the president, which in late summer had fallen below 40% in at least one major poll, has now approached 50% in several surveys. ? Aides expect that the new way of framing economic issues will figure heavily in the State of the Union speech next month. Obama aims to tie every new initiative he floats next year back to that idea ? The theme carries risk for Obama. It plays against the usual voter focus on immediate economic concerns rather than long-term trends.? http://lat.ms/tk0Tbt
?TRUTH? MARCUS? WashPost lead editorial, ?Mitt Romney?s secret money: The Republican candidate won?t disclose bundlers or release his tax returns?: ?Romney has doubled down on this lack of transparency, telling NBC that he does not intend to release his tax returns even if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee ? This is unacceptable and ? a sharp departure from previous practice ? [I]t has become a given that nominees, much like presidents and vice presidents, release their income tax returns. ? During Mr. Romney?s 1994 bid to unseat Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), he called on the senator to release his tax returns to prove he had ?nothing to hide.? Yet Mr. Romney did not release his own returns during that campaign or his subsequent run for, and service as, governor.? http://wapo.st/uNHXbA
BEHIND THE CURTAIN -- WashPost A1, at the fold, ?Politics powered decisions on Solyndra: Documents on green-energy program portray an administration concerned with appearances,? by Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig: ?Meant to create jobs and cut reliance on foreign oil, Obama?s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials. The records, some previously unreported, show that when warned that financial disaster might lie ahead, the administration remained steadfast in its support for Solyndra. ? [O]fficials discussed the political fallout from its troubles, the ?optics? in Washington and the impact that the company?s failure could have on the president?s prospects for a second term. Rarely, if ever, was there discussion of the impact that Solyndra?s collapse would have on laid-off workers or on the development of clean-energy technology. ?
?The administration, which excluded lobbyists from policymaking positions, gave easy access to venture capitalists with stakes in some of the companies backed by the administration ? Officials acknowledged that some of the records provide an unvarnished view that they might have preferred to keep private ? such as a senior energy adviser?s reference to a conference call about Solyndra as a ?[expletive] show,? or a company investor writing that when Solyndra was mentioned in a meeting, Biden?s office ?about had an orgasm.?? Solyndra has failed to attract a buyer who would keep the plant operating, so it is trying to unload its assets piecemeal to pay off its debts. The first $75 million recovered is expected to go to ? investors; it is unclear how much will be left for taxpayers.? http://wapo.st/tKdaGG
** A message from the National Retail Federation: It?s time for a simpler, more uniform approach to sales tax collection ? to protect small business jobs, provide states with much-needed revenue for vital services, and keep our communities healthy. It?s time for Congress to help Main Street businesses keep their doors open. It?s time to pass a sales tax fairness bill. www.RetailMeansJobs.com/SalesTaxFairness **
BIRTHDAYS: Noelle Clemente, deputy communications director to Rep. Tom Price, goddaughter of Peter Jennings ? Don Shula is 82 ? Doris Kearns Goodwin is 69 (antler tips: AP) ? Ron Parker ? Georgiana Cavendish (antler tips: Teresa Vilmain)
GOP 2012:
WHAT IOWANS ARE READING ? Des Moines Register lead story, ?COULD RON PAUL WIN? Organizational strength turns out large crowds ? Relative lack of attention brings fewer attacks ? Some worry victory would ?ruin? Iowa?s sway,? by Mary Stegmeir and Tony Leys: ?Sen. Chuck Grassley ? noted in an interview that Iowans have gone their own way in previous cycles without ruining future caucuses. He cited Republicans? support for Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Democrats? support for favorite son Tom Harkin in 1992. ?There have been so many times there?s been what my dad used to call ?crepe-hanging,?? Grassley said with a chuckle, referring to the funeral tradition. ?There?s always crepe-hanging about the caucuses being ruined because this person or that person might win.? As long as Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans and Democrats stick together, he said, their states will lead the nation in winnowing the presidential fields.? http://dmreg.co/vjvCTH
PUNDIT PREP -- DRUDGE banner last night: ?IOWA, SO QUIET? ? HUFFPOST banner early this a.m.: ?ALL QUIET IN IOWA? ? Both link to, ?Presidential race in Iowa quieter than in the past,? by AP?s Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines: ?Candidates have barely visited the state, compared with years when most all but moved here. And they have largely refrained from building the grass-roots armies of yesteryear, in favor of more modest on-the-ground teams of paid staffers and volunteers. ?
?[T]hat's partly a consequence of how technology has changed both the political and media environments in recent years. Campaigns now can more precisely - and cheaply - target their pitches to voters from afar, sending personalized e-mails and YouTube video messages from the candidates to voters directly ? And voters, themselves, now can go online and find information about the candidates without having to wait for the White House hopeful to show up in the town square. Part of the change has been driven by Romney's approach to the state. ? He's only spent 10 days in the state this year, compared to 77 days four years ago.? http://apne.ws/s8yYAO
MITT ROMNEY meets with The Wall Street Journal editorial board, ?On Taxes, 'Modeling,' and the Vision Thing: The GOP front-runner says Iran is 'evil,' Newt Gingrich is wrong on judges, and he might consider a value-added tax. He also explains why his penchant for 'data' and analysis won't limit his ability to lead as president,? by Joseph Rago and Paul A. Gigot: ?Does Mitt Romney have a governing vision, a dominating set of political principles? ? [W]hen the former Massachusetts governor visited the Journal editorial board [last] week, we put it to him squarely, if perhaps tendentiously. ? Romney predicts President Obama will resort to a campaign of ?envy and divisiveness? that will ?shock? voters and ultimately fail. ? Romney has been garrulously genial for an hour, but here he shows a hint of annoyance. ? ?I'm not running for president because the country needs a management consultant or a manager. I'm not even the world's greatest manager. There are a lot better managers out there.? ? Romney says he's running ?to return America to the principles that we were founded upon. ? I believe Europe got it wrong. I believe America must remain the leader of the world. . . . I am absolutely committed to an American century. I see this as an American century.?
?He concludes with even more force, ?America doesn't need a manager. America needs a leader. The president is failing not just because he's a poor manager. It's because he doesn't know where to lead.? ?In [Romney?s visit to the WSJ in 2007] the candidate began by declaring ?I love data? and kept on extolling data, even ?wallowing in data,? as a way to reform both business and government. He said he'd bring in management consultants to turn around the government, mentioning McKinsey, Bain and the Boston Consulting Group. ?. The Republican presidential candidate says he never intended to run for office again after 2008??I went back and bought a home which was far too expensive and grandiose for the purposes of another campaign,? he jokes. He was drawn back into public life amid Mr. Obama's bid to ?fundamentally transform? the country ? [O]n ? risk-taking[,] ? Romney's campaign is sometimes timid, in particular on pro-growth tax reform. His 59-point economic plan, released this autumn, would maintain the Bush tax rates, cut the corporate rate to 25% from 35%, and eliminate the capital gains and dividend tax for those who earn less than $200,000. But his plan doesn't say what a more efficient, competitive code would look like, only that it would be desirable.
?Even Mr. Obama's Simpson-Bowles deficit commission was bolder with its recommendations to lower rates across all brackets, including the top marginal rate to 23%, while broadening the tax base and cleaning out the IRS warren of deductions and subsidies. Mr. Romney says he has ?a positive inclination? toward Simpson-Bowles, with some exceptions, though the general framework ?is a course that I would intend to pursue if I were to become president.? But pressed for specifics, he says that ?Partially, I'm burdened by my experience in the private sector. I worked for a number of years as you know in the management consulting field. ? I tend to be highly analytical, driven by data, like to gather the input of a lot of people, and then model out the various outcomes that might occur under different scenarios. ? [When it comes to] something as extensive as the U.S. tax code, ? I simply don't have the team . . . to be able to model out what will happen to all of the different income groups in the country, what will happen to the different sectors of our economy based on dramatic changes.?? Mr. Rago is a member of the Journal's editorial board and Mr. Gigot is editorial page editor.
SPORTS BLINK ? ?MNF Season Finale: Clash of NFC South Rivals ? Saints Host Falcons? ? ESPN release: ?Drew Brees and the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints (11-3) host Matt Ryan and division rivals Atlanta Falcons (9-5) in the Monday Night Football season finale ? at 8:30 p.m. ET.? Brees needs 305 passing yards to surpass Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino?s single-season record of 5,084 yards, which has stood for 27 years. The Saints are vying for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs seeding, while the Falcons hope to secure a playoff berth of their own.? The teams met last year in ESPN?s MNF season finale with the Saints winning 17-14.? The game was the most-viewed MNF game last season -- and the third-most-viewed MNF game all-time on ESPN ? with 19.1 million viewers.
?This week?s MNF opening video will feature legendary 89-year-old actress Betty White, star of the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland and the upcoming NBC show Off Their Rockers. Play-by-play voice Mike Tirico will call the game with analysts Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski, and sideline reporter Suzy Kolber.?
** A message from the National Retail Federation: From Main Street to Macy?s to online retail, NRF represents the millions of retailers that drive America?s economy. And we?ve been busy this year. From winning swipe fee reform to leading the charge on sales tax fairness, America?s retailers have pushed a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda on Capitol Hill. At the top of our agenda for 2012: federal legislation that will create a simpler, more uniform approach to sales tax collection and help protect Main Street jobs. www.RetailMeansJobs.com/SalesTaxFairness **
Source: http://feeds.politico.com/click.phdo?i=778fd7d9d145126c2aac026d0b953220
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