Qatar and Russia Upset U.S. and England in World Cup Bid

Quote of the Day: I'm a Cool Kid

Dave Weigel bravely breaks the No. 1 cool kid rule: Don't say you're a cool kid

• Why Everyone Hates Fishbowl DC Moe Tkacik, The Washington City Paper

Amazon Stops Hosting Wikileaks: Gov't Censorship?

Joe Lieberman's office leaned on Amazon to drop Wikileaks

• This Is Censorship Mike Masnick, Techdirt
• Pointless Will Wilkinson, The Economist
• Pointless Victory Arik Hesseldahl, All Things Digital
• Backlash Unlikely Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian
• US Pressure Likely Marcy Wheeler, Emptywheel

Obama Gears Up for Some Clintonian Triangulation

Conservatives are skeptical, liberals cringe

• Obama's Triangulation Reid Wilson, National Journal
• Expect an Image Makeover Rich Lowry, The National Review
• Outside His Control 34Jonah Goldberg, The National Review
• A Real Triangle 41Matthew Yglesias, Think Progress
• Actually Tackling the Debt Doug Mataconis, Outside the Beltway

Is the GOP a Better Party for Minority Candidates?

And if so, is gerrymandering to blame?

• Dems' Diversity Problem Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
• A Racism Problem Jamelle Bouie, The American Prospect
• Scarborough Fair? James Taranto, The Wall Street Journal

Does the Web Need a 'Do Not Track' Policy?

The FTC thinks so. Here are the pros and cons.

• A Smart Recommendation Marshall Kirkpatrick, Read Write Web
• Ads Will Survive Austin Carr, Fast Company
• Useless or Harmful Patricio Robles, Econsultancy
• A New Framework Greg Sterling, Search Engine Land

John McCain's Strange Dance on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

How repeal's supporter became its biggest opponent

• McCain's Delays David Herszenhorn, The New York Times
• His Prerogative James Joyner, Outside the Beltway
• McCain's DADT History The Editors, Daily Kos
• Mullen vs. McCain Carrie Dann, NBC News
• Statement on DADT John McCain

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Eminem Returns to the Top with 10 Grammy Nods for 'Recovery'

A lot's changed since "Stan"

• Pop's Heavy Hitter Jacob Ganz, NPR
• A Major Grammy 'Recovery' Edna Gundersen, USA Today
• Leading the Race John Jurgensen, The Wall Street Journal
• Leading the Grammys Nekesa Mubmi Moody, AP

Democrats Have an 'Intellectual Elitism' Problem, Says Democrat

Governor Ted Strickland just got dropped from some Christmas-card lists

• Dems Suffering From 'Elitism' Sam Stein, The Huffington Post
• It Does Boggle The Mind Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic
• Tear Down This Myth Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog
• Fightin' Ted Lisa Kramer, The League of Ordinary Gentlemen
• Strickland's Wise Words Michael Tomasky, The Guardian

Russia a 'Mafia State' Sapped by Corruption, Cables Show

WikiLeaks-released cables paint a grim picture

• Dim View of Russia and Putin C.J. Chivers, The New York Times
• Failure to Avert War Uwe Klussman, Der Spiegel
• Mafia Kleptocracy Luke Harding, The Guardian
• Putin Pushes Back Ellen Barry, The Boston Globe
• Batman and Robin Max Strasser, Foreign Policy

GOP Holding All Bills Hostage Till Dems Hand Over Tax Cuts

Liberals are enraged that Democrats will cave

• Showdown David M. Herszenhorn, The New York Times
• GOP 'Dickishness' 9Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic
• Wimpy Democrats John Cole, Balloon Juice
• Can Dems Get Something in Return? Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico
• Probably Not Michael O'Brien, The Hill

Morning Vid: Mitt Romney Always Says the Right Thing

Even on Leno, it's all about message discipline, right?

5 Best Thursday Columns

On bringing investors to Haiti, how the iPad may soon 'rival the web,' and Republican secretaries of state supporting START

• Haiti, Nearly a Year Later 23Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
• The Republican Case For Ratifying New Start Henry A. Kissinger, George P. Shultz, James A. Baker III, Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Colin L. Powell, The Washington Post
• The EPA Turns Forty Lisa P. Jackson, The Wall Street Journal
• Will GOP End the Fed? Joshua Green, The Boston Globe
• Why the iPad Should Rival the Web John Gapper, The Financial Times

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Will the U.S. Win Its Bid to Host the World Cup in 2022?

We'll find out today, along with the 2018 host

• World Cup Odds Glen Levy, Time
• Who's Going to Get 2022? Blake Hounshell, Foreign Policy
• World Cup Bid Ballot James Montague, CNN
• A Winning Bid? Peter Hoskin, The Spectator
• Bid Chief Concedes The Japan Times