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 Greetings, There is unlikely to be any government shutdown. And Congress is on track to come to a compromise on extending the payroll tax early next week. The great and controversial political journalist and literary critic, Christopher Hitchens died last night. Remembrances linked below. THE REPUBLICAN RACE The Debate: Last night marked the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. Conservative challengers Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, and Rick Perry performed well, just as the air was leaking out of the Gingrich campaign. And Ron Paul was pressed hard on his foreign policy views, where he does contrast with an energetic portion of the Republican base. It has become a real possibility that Iowa will not produce anything like a traditional "winner" Romney: This dynamic obviously helps Romney, whose lead in New Hampshire will look more formidable as Gingrich continues to sink. But the question remains: how strong is the anti-Romney vacuum in this race? Is is strong enough to suck Rick Perry or Jon Huntsman up into the top tier? Mitt Romney has not yet collected the support of a single "not-Mitt" candidate after a fall. Instead, it seems that nationally almost 70 percent of Republicans are not sold on Mitt Romney. And 60 percent of New Hampshirites are still resisting Mitt Romney. His latest ads and last weeks of campaigning have to push him through this perceived ceiling. Otherwise the nomination falls to him by default in a way that makes him look very weak in teh general election. FROM THIS MORNING Shorter Paul Krugman: I was right, goldbugs were wrong. There is no inflation. Shorter Ari Fleischer: Obama is the great divider - separating the wealthy from the middle class. Remembrances: Christopher Buckley's appreciation of Christopher Hitchens, essayist, journalist, critic, and raconteur. And a "raw" first attempt at a eulogy from his brother, the conservative journalist Peter Hitchens. THIS DAY IN POLITICS On December 16, 1773 Massachusetts colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded British ships the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the deep. All told about $18,000 worth was destroyed. On December 16, 1864, The Battle of Nashville ended in a crushing defeat of the Confederates. Casualties from the two-day battle were 3,061 Union (387 killed, 2,558 wounded, and 112 missing or captured) and approximately 6,000 Confederate (1,500 killed or wounded, 4,500 missing or captured). TWEET OF THE DAY From Lizzie O'Leary on the dread approach of the holidays. 
WHAT'S NEXT The "deep freeze" of the news cycle is upon us. There are no more debates before the January 3rd Iowa Caucuses. The candidates have to rely on buying airtime and retail politics in the early primary contests. Take care, Michael Michael Brendan Dougherty
Politics Editor
Business Insider mbdougherty@businessinsider.com Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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