This morning, The Washington Examiner endorsed Mitt Romney for president:
Read the whole endorsement here.
Around the Bigs
The Wall Street Journal, The Wyden-Ryan Breakthrough: House Budget Committee Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has recruited Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to endorse a “premium support” Medicare plan designed to under cut President Obama’s attacks on Medicare reform.
Reuters, Regulators know where MF Global funds went: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission now has enough information to know where MF Global’s missing $1.2 billion went, but they still need to figure out which transactions were legal and which were illegal, before money can be disbursed to clients.
The Washington Examiner, Dems drop millionaires tax in year-end dispute: Senate Democrats dropped their demand that a new surtax on millionaires be included in any payroll tax cut extension yesterday but continued to block all work on spending bills needed to prevent a government shutdown. House Republicans said they would pass their own spending bill Friday leaving it up to Senate Democrats to prevent the federal government from shutting down.
The Washington Post, White House drops defense bill veto threat after lawmakers rework detainee provisions: President Obama withdrew his threat to veto a key defense authorization bill Wednesday, after lawmakers revised provisions related to the treatment of terrorism suspects.
The Washington Examiner, Europe Strains World’s Banks: European banks raced to buy dollars yesterday, as the Euro continued to plummet while the European Union debt crisis remained unsolved.
The Los Angeles Times, Occupy L.A. Protester is the face of Time’s ‘Person of the Year’: The picture Time Magazine used for their ‘Person of the Year’ cover is of Occupy LA protester Sarah Mason, who was arrested outside of the Bank of America tower in Los Angeles.
The New York Times, China Imposes New Tariffs on U.S. Vehicles: China imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on imports of sport utility vehicles and midsize and large cars from the United States yesterday. China’s Commerce Ministry gave no explanation for its decision.
The New York Times, Village Revolts Over Inequities of Chinese Life: A long-running dispute between farmers and local officials in southern China exploded into open rebellion this week after residents learned that one of the representatives they had selected to negotiate with the local Communist Party had died in police custody.
Campaign 2012
Perry: The Washington Examiner‘s Susan Ferrechio reports on Rick Perry’s turn to faith in his quest for an upset victory in Iowa.
Romney: The Washington Post reports that five companies Bain Company bought while Mitt Romney ran the firm, eventually went bankrupt. The Post failed to report how many companies that Bain bought are still thriving today.
Righty Playbook
The Editor’s of National Review identify Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum as the only acceptable conservatives remaining in the GOP presidential primary field.
The Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney explains how Jon Corzine’s bets on a European Union bailout almost paid off.
RedState‘s Erick Erickson identifies some Senate Republicans conservatives must target if they want a caucus where Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., can beat Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in a leadership election.
Lefty Playbook
Talking Points Memo says the Ryan-Wyden Medicare plan “will turn the fight over Medicare on its head.”
The New Republic‘s Jonathan Cohn celebrates a new Obama administration study showing that Obamacare gave 2.5 million adults health insurance.
The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent notes that a Romney Super PAC’s new anti-Gingrich attack ad leaves out Newt’s support for an individual mandate.
