Happy New Year

The Green Room would like to wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

Hillary Picks Up 10th Senator

Image courtesy of Hillary Hub

Good news for the Hillary Clinton campaign as they prepare for the Iowa caucus. The campaign announced today the endorsement of Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington. Cantwell's endorsement makes Hillary's list of senate endorsements grow to 10. Senator Barack Obama has 2 senate endorsements while Bill Richardson and Senator Joe Biden each have one. John Edwards and Chris Dodd have none.

End of Year Box Office

2007 ends with National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets leading the box office. The new film Alien vs. Predator: Requiem tanked at the box office not even breaking the top 5. Serves the right for releasing it on Christmas. Meanwhile, well received Juno performed well and Sweeney Todd dropped to number 9.

Here's a rundown:

1. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets - $35.6 million
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks - $30 million
3. I Am Legend - $27.5 million
4. Charlie Wilson's War - $11.7 million
5. Juno - $10.3 million

*Red indicates new to theaters

2007 Deadliest Year for Iraq (So Far)

While the second half of 2007 saw a dramatic drop in violence in Iraq, 2007 has been the deadliest year for the United States military since the invasion in 2003. 2007 saw the death of 899 U.S. troops. At least 3,902 U.S. troops have died since the start of this (pointless) war.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22451069/

Golden Globes Still On

Despite the Writer's Guild of America announcing that they will picket at the Golden Globes Ceremony, NBC has announced that the ceremony will go on as scheduled.

But will the actors show up? Probably not.

Pollspot: Republican National

Sen. John McCain leads a national Rasmussen tracking poll for the Republican presidential nomination. However, his lead of 17% is not statistically significant since his rivals are all within the poll's margin of error. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are a point behind at 16% and Rudy Giuliani is two points back at 15%. Slightly off the pace, but still within five points of McCain, is Fred Thompson at 12%. This would make it a 5-way tie.

Jimmy Fallon Weds

Image courtesy of Ask Men

Lots of celebrity weddings recently! Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jimmy Fallon married his producing partner Nancy Juvonen yesterday. Congratulations!

Pollspot: New Hamsphire Tightens

According to Political Wire, "A new American Research Group poll in New Hampshire finds the Democratic presidential race tightening and the Republican race deadlocked.

Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 31% followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 27% and John Edwards at 21%. The poll has a margin of error of 4 points.

Key finding: Clinton has dropped 7 points in two weeks while Edwards has gained 6 points and Obama has gained 3 points. Undeclared voters provide positive playback for Edwards based on his television advertising running in New Hampshire and this is reflected in the ballot results. Edwards now leads Obama among undeclared voters 38% to 23%.

In the Republican race, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain remain tied at 30%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 11%, Rudy Giuliani at 9% and Rep. Ron Paul at 7%.

Pollspot: 4 Days To Iowa

According to Political Wire, a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll in Iowa shows a statistical dead heat in the Democratic presidential race and a big shift in the Republican race. John Edwards leads with 24%, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton with 23% and Sen. Barack Obama with 22%. Edwards has the momentum since the last poll in early December gaining 3 points, while Clinton lost 4 points and Obama lost 3 points.

Among Republicans, Mitt Romney has regained the lead as Mike Huckabee "has lost momentum and support, even among evangelical Christians who had propelled him into the top spot just weeks ago." Romney now leads with 27%, followed by Huckabee at 23%, Fred Thompson at 14%, and Sen. John McCain at 13%. Huckabee is down 8 points since earlier this month, while Romney is up 7 points.

The Green Room is a big supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton and encourages her Iowan supporters to go out and caucus for her this Thursday, January 3rd.

Pollspot: Zogby Iowa

A Reuters/C-Span/Zogby tracking poll released today shows that on the Democratic side, there is a three-way statistical tie with Sen. Hillary Clinton leading with 30.7% support, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 26.8% and John Edwards at 24.2%. The poll's margin of error is 3.3%.

On the Republican side, there is also a tie for first place. Mike Huckabee leads with 27.7%, followed by Mitt Romney at 26.6%, Sen. John McCain at 10.9%, Fred Thompson at 7.8% and Rudy Giuliani at 7.3%. The poll's margin of error is 3.4%.

Courtesy of Political Wire.

The Iowa Caucus will be held Thursday.

Countdown to Iowa: 4 days

Longer post forthcoming, but an interesting article I came upon about Obama and his foreign policy experience, or rather, lack thereof.

From the Washington Post

Pollspot: The Poll With Different Results

According to Political Wire, A new American Research Group poll in Iowa continues to be an outlier among the various public surveys that have shown a statistical tie in the Democratic race for president.

On the Democratic side, the poll finds Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 31%, followed by John Edwards and Barack Obama at 24% each.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney leads with 32% support, followed by Mike Huckabee at 23%, and Sen. John McCain at 11%.

Clinton & Obama Buy Major Ad Time

With the Iowa Caucus less than a week away, the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns are buying major ad time in the state. ABC News "has learned that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is trying to buy advertising time on the night before the caucuses for a live political commercial, to air statewide." Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign "announced on Thursday that she would buy a two minute block of time on every 6pm newscast in the state."

No Charges for Brandy

The L.A. City Attorney has decided not to file charges against R&B singer Brandy Norwood over the fatal car accident she was in last year.

Confusion Surrounding Bhutto's Death

Image courtesy of Harry Walker

Controversy continues to build around the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Today, Pakistan's Interior Ministry says that Bhutto was killed when she fractured her skull when she hit her head on her car's sunroof after a bomb exploded. Yesterday, the Ministry said she was killed due to shots from the bomber before changing their story and saying Bhutto was killed due to a shrapnel injury from the bomb. The story keeps changing and Pakistani President Musharraf's administration is losing its already low credibility. Bhutto went on record before her death stating that if she were to be assassinated that Musharraf would be to blame. Also noteworthy is the lack of security surrounding Bhutto at the time of her death. Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda may also have had some involvement in her death. For more on this story, click here.

Pollspot: No Budge in Iowa

Another poll still shows an extremely close race in Iowa.

A new Research 2000 poll in Iowa shows the Democratic presidential race is a virtual three-way tie, with John Edwards rising to tie Sen. Barack Obama for the lead and Sen. Hillary Clinton just one point behind. Edwards and Obama each get 29% support, with Clinton behind with 28%.

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee remains in the lead with a 7-point edge over Mitt Romney, 34% to 27%. Fred Thompson is a distant third with 11%, followed by a three-way tie for fourth between Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Ron Paul, with 8% each.

Key finding: "There is plenty of room for shifts in the final days before the Jan. 3 caucuses, with 19 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of Republicans saying they are likely or very likely to change their minds."

Courtesy of Political Wire

Divorce for Penn

Image courtesy of BBC

Academy Award winner Sean Penn and his wife of 11 years, actress Robin Wright, are divorcing. Penn was previously married to Madonna.

Wedding Bells for Fergie

Image courtesy of MSNBC

Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas and actor Josh Duhamel are engaged.

iTunes: The New Blockbuster

Apple and Fox will sign a deal that will allow films to be rented on iTunes. iTunes currently offers a selection of movies for sale at $9.99 in addition to tv show episodes costing $1.99. The rental service is expected to cost between $2 and $5. Films rented will be available for a 24-hour period. The service will begin early next year. For more on the story, click here.

Pollspot: Anyone's Game

These polls are seriously all over the place. Political Wire brings to our attention two more polls today inr egards to Iowa and New Hampshire.

Iowa:

A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll in Iowa finds a three way statistical tie among likely caucus goers with Sen. Hillary Clinton at 31%, John Edwards at 25% and Sen. Barack Obama at 22%.

Among likely Republican caucus goers, Mike Huckabee leads with 36%, followed by Mitt Romney at 28%, Fred Thompson at 10%, Sen. John McCain at 8%, and Rudy Giuliani at 8%.

New Hampshire:

A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll in New Hampshire finds Sen. Barack Obama leading likely primary voters with 32%, Sen. Hillary Clinton at 30%, and John Edwards at 20%.

Among likely Republican primary voters, Mitt Romney leads with 34%, followed by Sen. John McCain at 20%, Rudy Giuliani at 17%, and Mike Huckabee at 12%.