CNN

Compiled by Lindsey Pope
CNN Washington Bureau

Boston Herald: Choice Is Clear: Mccain’s The One
There are times in this nation’s history so perilous that they cry out for a steady, experienced leader, a person so trusted that we would put the fate of this country in his hands. This is one of those times, and Sen. John McCain is that person.

New Hampshire Union-Leader: New Mccain Ad A Personal Tale Of Christmas Spirit
Buoyed by a new poll showing him in a tie for first place in the New Hampshire Republican presidential race, John McCain's campaign yesterday added to the barrage of candidate Christmas television ads with a 30-second spot his spokesman says sets it apart from the others.

Washington Post: McCain Says Allegations That He Did Favors for D.C. Lobbyist Are Untrue
Sen. John McCain said Thursday that he has "never done any favors for anybody - lobbyist or special interest group," as his presidential campaign issued a statement denouncing allegations of legislative favoritism as "gutter politics."

CNN: Opponent Of Illegal Immigration Ends White House Bid
Rep. Tom Tancredo abandoned his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday and endorsed Mitt Romney's candidacy, saying the Massachusetts Republican "can go the distance."

LA Times: Voters' Mood In California
Californians won't cast presidential primary ballots until Feb. 5, but in case you were wondering about the mood in the Golden State, Hillary Rodham Clinton's once prodigious lead has narrowed significantly in the Democratic race, according to a new Field Poll of likely voters.

Boston Globe: Romney Never Saw Father On King March
Mitt Romney acknowledged yesterday that he never saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. as he asserted in a nationally televised speech this month, and historical evidence shows that Michigan's Governor George Romney and the civil rights leader never did march together.

New York Times: Huckabee, Back in Iowa, Brings Christmas Message
He came to town this week dressed in a dark pinstriped suit and cowboy boots, advocating lower taxes, death to the Internal Revenue Service and restoration of the words “Merry Christmas” and “Jesus Christ” to the American lexicon.

Washington Post: Huckabee's Faith-Based Views Find Critics, Fans in Both Parties
Mike Huckabee's moral certainty revealed a public official quite different from the affable, folksy campaigner who describes himself as a conservative, but one who is "not angry about it." His decisions have opened him to criticism from the left and the right, as liberals and conservatives have complained that his religious devotion has clouded good judgment.

AP: Giuliani Secretive As Mayor
Under an unprecedented agreement that didn't become public until after he left office, Rudy Giuliani secreted out of City Hall the written, photographic and electronic record of his eight years in office - more than 2,000 boxes.

CNN: Giuliani Leaves Hospital After Spending The Night
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani received a "clean bill of health" from doctors Thursday after he was admitted to a St. Louis hospital overnight for flu-like symptoms, said his communications director, Katie Levinson.

AP: Dems Eye '2nd Choice' Supporters in Iowa
It's not just in horseshoes that close counts. The same goes for Iowa's presidential caucuses.

New York Times: Personal Touch for Richardson in Envoy Role
Mr. Richardson, 60, is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, running not only on his years as an elected official — he was a congressman from New Mexico and is now governor — but also on his parallel career, as a self-appointed and official diplomat.

Des Moines Register: Richardson: Take Better Care Of Veterans
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said today the nation should put the Iraq war behind it and honor returning military service members as heroes who deserve better health care, tax credits and other benefits.

Boston Globe: In N.H. Churches, Candidates Find A Different Breed Of Evangelical
Grace Fellowship in Nashua is part of a growing movement of evangelical Christians in New Hampshire, a group that includes nearly 1 in 5 Republican primary voters and that could play an important role in the state's Jan. 8 election.

Boston Globe: Women Voters Could Drive Democratic Choice
Women are likely to make up 60 percent or more of Democratic primary voters and caucusgoers in many states, including the crucial first state of Iowa, according to pollsters, political analysts, and campaign organizers.

LA Times: Ex-President Supportive To A Fault?
From Washington to Sacramento, a generation of Democrats enjoys power and prosperity thanks to Bill Clinton… A number of those graying Clintonites are now rallying behind Barack Obama, another national newcomer, who offers youth, optimism and an echo of that promise to upend the status quo.

AP: Clinton Says Wife a 'World-Class Genius'
Former President Clinton says his wife is a "world-class genius" when it comes to improving the lives of others.

NY Daily News: Hillary Clinton Plays Up Foreign Affairs Experience During Iowa Stump Speech
Hillary Clinton Thursday hurled the dirtiest four-letter Democratic epithet to describe arch-rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards: Bush.

LA Times: Change In Tone May Have Hurt Edwards In Iowa
Four years ago John Edwards, a fresh-faced senator from North Carolina, blew through the Iowa countryside like a wind of populist change. Enough with the intraparty bickering, he told local Democrats in dining rooms, union halls and small-town diners, as he railed against "two Americas" increasingly divided by class.

Des Moines Register: Edwards: Give Small Towns Bigger Voice In Government
Council Bluffs, Ia. — Small towns and rural communities need more say in a government currently dominated by large corporations and wealthy executives, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said here Thursday.

ABC News: Clinton Launches Obama Attack Web Sites
ABC News has learned that the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has registered the names of two Web sites with the express goal of attacking her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

The Times of London: 'Stay-At-Home' Barack Obama Comes Under Fire For A Lack Of Foreign Experience
Fresh doubts over Barack Obama’s foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America.

Chicago Sun-Times: Oprah Effect Didn't Really Sway Voters
Oprah might just as well have stayed home and hung out with her gal pal Gayle. It was hoped her recent appearances on the campaign trail to promote the presidential aspirations of her friend Barack Obama would have dazzled women voters. But noooo…

LA Times: Who Has The Most Friends?
Will popularity online translate into something meaningful at the polls? If the social networking website MySpace is any indication, Democrat Barack Obama - with about 203,000 friends - is killing the competition.

Baltimore Sun: 17-Year-Olds Can Vote in Primary
Seventeen-year-olds will be able to vote in Maryland's presidential primary in February, the state Board of Elections decided yesterday, unanimously reversing a policy change it made this summer.

New York Times: Republican Unity Trumps Democratic Momentum
It was a picture-perfect start for Nancy Pelosi as she took the speaker’s podium last January in her tailored aubergine suit surrounded by children to emphasize her singular status as the first woman, mother and grandmother to lead the House.