The Golden Report

19 DAYS UNTIL IOWA

25 HOURS UNTIL A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

In Sioux City, Iowa tonight- the 13th Republican Presidential Candidates Debate. It is the final debate before the January 3rd Caucuses.

THE HEADLINE: “Newt Under Attack in Iowa Debate”

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT- POLITICO

“Asked about his views on the Keystone XL pipeline, and how House Republicans should handle their standoff with the president, Gingrich said he was consciously trying not to use overwrought rhetoric.

“I’ve been standing here editing. I’m very concerned about not appearing to be zany”

SECOND PLACE QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

“You know, there are a lot of people out there — I understand it. There are a lot of folks that said Tim Tebow wasn’t going to be a very good NFL quarterback. There are people that stood up and said well, he doesn’t have the right throwing mechanisms, or he doesn’t — you know, he is not playing the game right. You know, he won two national championships, and that looked pretty good.”

“We’re the national champions in job creation back in Texas. But am i ready for the next level? Let me tell you — I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.”

HOW IT PLAYED- The Washington Post-

“Answering a debate question about his electability, Gingrich invoked the conservative icon, but when asked about his leadership credentials, he turned the tables and cited a favorite of Democrats, former president Bill Clinton.

“I believe I can debate Barack Obama and I think in seven three-hour debates Barack Obama will not have a leg to stand on in trying to defend a record that is terrible and an ideology that is radical.”

Later, when pressed about his leadership ability, the former House speaker pointed to a record of accomplishments that includes a balanced budget and welfare reform while in Congress and touted his ability to have “actually worked things out with Bill Clinton.” Never mind the government shutdown in 1995 (these days, there are only a lot of threats, not actual shutdowns), and the fact that Gingrich’s House impeached the former president for only the second time in history. “

DEVELOPING TONIGHT…A tentative deal has been reached to avert a government shutdown, which would have Congress pass an omnibus appropriations bill by early Saturday morning and an extension of the payroll tax cut by the end of the weekend.

THE LATEST from THE HILL

“House and Senate negotiators on Thursday night reached a tentative agreement on a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would avert a government shutdown, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee announced.

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said he expected the conference report to be filed later Thursday for a vote in both chambers Friday.

The 1,200-page legislation funds most of the federal government for the balance of fiscal 2012.

Republican leaders claimed they had a hand-shake agreement earlier in the week, but they said Democratic negotiators refused to sign off because the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) held up the agreement to gain leverage in a separate year-end dispute over the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. Democrats said some issues remained unresolved, including travel restrictions with Cuba.”

WALL STREET- from CNBC- “Stocks limped into the close Thursday, eking out the first positive day of the week as traders shifted their focus from Europe’s problems and onto some positive U.S. economic news.

Major averages finished the day modestly positive after surging by as much as 1 percent earlier. Defensive stocks such as staples, health care and utilities were most popular, while tech and energy lagged.”

• DOW up 45
• NASDAQ up 2
• S&P up 4

FOR HISTORY...New York Times…”U.S. Marks End to 9-Year War, Leaving an Uncertain Iraq”

“After nearly nine years, about 4,500 American fatalities and $1 trillion, America’s war in Iraq is about to end. Officials marked the finish on Thursday with a modest ceremony at the airport days before the last troops take the southern highway to Kuwait, going out as they came in, to conclude the United States’ most ambitious and bloodiest military campaign since Vietnam.

For the United States, the war leaves an uncertain legacy as Americans weigh what may have been accomplished against the price paid, with so many dead and wounded. The Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, was vanquished, but the failure to find illicit weapons undermined the original rationale, leaving a bitter taste as casualties mounted. The lengthy conflict and repeated deployments strained the country and its resources, raising questions about America’s willingness to undertake future wars on such a grand scale.

Iraqis will be left with a country that is not exactly at war, and not exactly at peace. It has improved in many ways since the 2007 troop “surge,” but it is still a shattered country marred by violence and political dysfunction, a land defined on sectarian lines whose future, for better or worse, is now in the hands of its people.”

FINALLY…69th Grammy Awards nominations- the awards ceremony is set for January 15th…

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA
“War Horse”
“The Ides of March”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“Hugo”
“The Descendants”

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Brad Pitt, ”Moneyball”
Leonardo DiCaprio, ”J.Edgar”
Ryan Gosling, ”The Ides of March”
Michael Fassbender, ”Shame”

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Viola Davis, “‘The Help”
Meryl Streep, ”The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton, ”We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Glenn Close, ”Albert Nobbs”

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, ”Hugo”
George Clooney, ”The Ides of March”
Michel Hazanavicius, ”The Artist”
Alexander Payne, ”The Descendants”
Woody Allen, ”Midnight in Paris”

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