Last night, while answering a question on space exploration, one presidential candidate suggested that another presidential candidate be sent to Mars. This is NOT funny and may constitute a threat (which might be investigated by the Secret Service). CNN Political Ticker: Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee outlined one special plan he’d consider for NASA’s exploration of space. “Maybe Hillary can be on the first rocket to Mars,” he said, referring to the Democratic presidential...

You can watch it on CNN.com. LIVE-BLOGGING: CNN Political Ticker Caucus Blog of the New York Times MSNBC First Read Michelle Malkin AMERICAblog: Okay, it’s finally over. I’d say this was Mike Huckabee’s night. He gave great answers, held his own against the big dogs. Romney looked pathetic and often uncertain. He’s clearly not good when he’s not scripted. McCain had some moments, but overall just doesn’t have it. Rudy was just too much of a smarty pants. This...

New York Times: 77 Police Officers Hurt in Paris Riots Nearly 80 French police officers were injured during clashes with youths in a working- and lower-class suburb north of Paris last night, and six are in serious condition, police officials said, after some of the youths used hunting shotguns as well as more conventional guns, fire bombs and rocks.

Although our own Shaun Mullen posted earlier concerning Trent Lott’s planned resignation from the US Senate, we thought a round-up might be in order. The New York Times: Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, who was forced to step down as majority leader in 2002 after making a remark that seemed to support segregation, announced today that he will resign by the end of the year. Speaking to a crowd of supporters at a televised news conference in Pascagoula, Miss., Mr. Lott said he and his wife,...

That must be why it features root vegetables! JTA via LA Jewish Journal: Thanksgiving’s Sukkot Roots Did you know that Thanksgiving is really a Jewish holiday? Although Thanksgiving is not on the Jewish calendar, historians believe that Sukkot may have inspired America’s favorite farewell to fall, often nicknamed “Turkey Day.” “The pilgrims based their customs on the Bible,” said Gloria Kaufer Greene, author of the “New Jewish Holiday Cookbook” (Times Books,...

Israelis eat Persian pistachios imported from Turkey and the US is upset. Ynet: US asks Israel to stop importing pistachio from Iran Jerusalem Post: Iranian pistachio nuts sold in Israel

Pray Tell by Jonathan Chait in The New Republic The wrong reason to hate Mitt Romney. The secularism that has generally prevailed since World War II is precisely what has allowed a Catholic to be elected president and a Jew to be nominated as vice president, among other ways that religious tolerance has expanded. Latter-Day Skeptics by Josh Patashnik in The New Republic Mormons against Romney. Ever since they made their peace with the federal government and won statehood for Utah more than a century...

The extent of polarization is apparent. Does POTUS Hear the Banging? The Senate’s eerily empty pro forma sessions this week and next have raised an age old question, with a twist: If a gavel bangs in the Senate and no one is around to hear it, does it still bang? Yes, if you look at it from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s perspective. That gavel — banged once to open the Senate, twice to close it, and all within 30 seconds, as was the case Tuesday — is a boisterous defense...

Tonight’s Debate is at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and is hosted by CNN and the Nevada Democratic Party. The moderator is CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. The debate will be broadcast to the paying folks on CNN at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) while non-paying folks like me might get to see it on C-SPAN in a day or two. Watch it online HERE. PRE-DEBATE ARTICLES: CNN AP via MSNBC: Clinton faces another debate after rough patch WashingtonPost’s The Trail: Spoiling for a Fight WP’s...

Rhodes Cook on Party-building success through the lens of history: During his first term, George W. Bush was arguably the most successful party-building president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Like FDR, who fashioned a Democratic coalition that dominated American politics for a generation, Bush during his first four years in office helped the Republicans post gains in Congress and around the country that many in the party viewed as the cornerstone for a similarly long-lived GOP majority. But during...

Chris Cillizza’s The Fix: Fifty days out from Iowa, Clinton must still be considered the frontrunner in the race, but she is increasingly vulnerable to attacks from her rivals. Clinton’s vulnerability (real or imagined) comes just as Obama seems to have found his voice. Dismissing Edwards is a mistake, if only for his willingness to directly attack Clinton (a move that could well accrue to Obama’s benefit) and his continued base of support in Iowa. Iowa’s importance in the...

Brian Rothenberg’s SHADOWS ON HIGH: APPALACHIA: Southeast Ohio and south-central Ohio will once again determine our nation’s and the free-world’s future. How will two New Yorker’s fit in to Appalachia – and will Ted Strickland and Bill Clinton’s popularity in the area have coat-tails. Think about it!

NOTES ON THE STATE OF POLITICS Election ’07, Colbert, Congress and Beyond! We’ve been away for a while, traveling America discussing our new book, A More Perfect Constitution. The opportunity to discuss the U.S. Constitution–and what might be done to improve it–has been a special one, and I thank the thousands of people who have attended lectures and come to book-signings and participated in webchats on the topic. The National Constitutional Convention in Washington, D.C....

GWB’s veto of the water bill has been over-ridden by Congress. Senate Overrides Bush Veto on Water Bill By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 7 minutes ago The enactment of the $23 billion water resources bill marked the first veto override of the Bush presidency.

The 2008 Primaries: A Long, Hard Slog? For a while, it looked as if the 2008 presidential primary season would be over in the blink of an eye, with a few big names raising and spending unprecedented sums and the outcome for both parties determined by early February. This scenario gained traction after more than two dozen states moved up their caucuses and primaries to the first six weeks of 2008 in a bid to enhance their influence over the presidential contest and undercut the traditional role of...

The US House of Representatives is discussing ENDA right now and you can watch it on C-SPAN. You can contact Rep. Mark Souder, a Republican from Indiana’s 3rd District, HERE. Dear Rep. Souder, I lived and voted in the State of Indiana for 24 years, from 1976-2000, graduated from IU and am a former employee of the State of Indiana. I moved back to Ohio in 2000 and am both safer and happier here then I ever was in Indiana. I have C-SPAN on for the ENDA discussion (an independent consultant,...

It’s Election Day – VOTE!

Following the news and many opinions concerning Judge Mukasey and water-boarding, I came to the following conclusions: 1) We need an Attorney General 2) Judge Mukasey is likely to be a competent (if not an excellent) Attorney General 3) GWB will not put forth a “better” nominee than Judge Mukasey 4) The Senate should confirm Judge Mukasey so that he can clean-up the Justice Department after the mess made by Alberto Gonzales. So I am pleased that Senators Schumer and Feinstein have declared...

UPDATE: Musharraf Speaks on TV Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he declared a state of emergency and martial law Saturday because Pakistan is at a “critical and dangerous juncture.” The nation is going through “some very rapid changes,” Musharraf said in a televised address to the nation after declaring martial law. Despite immediate condemnation from within and outside his nation, he insisted that his actions are for the good of the country and the move is...

Rhodes Cook on HILLARY’S 2006 SENATE RUN: A HARBINGER OF ELECTABILITY Much of the growing sense of inevitability about Hillary Clinton’s bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination revolves around the issue of electability. Polls show her running well these days against prospective Republican opponents, which she buttresses with references to the breadth of her own landslide Senate reelection victory last fall in New York. But that race is a story with two sides. There is no...