Politics

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With his wife Carol at his side, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul R-Tex., delivers his speech to the crowd during his primary night party at the Best Western Plus Executive Court Inn & Conference Center in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, January 10, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr/ The Washington Times)

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Conservatism has blossomed into the major intellectual and political force of our time. (Rod Lamkey Jr/ The Washington Times)

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Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul R-Tex., delivers his speech to the crowd during his primary night party at the Best Western Plus Executive Court Inn & Conference Center in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, January 10, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr/ The Washington Times)

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hugs his wife Ann as his sons, Tagg, Craig, Ben and Josh (L-R) look on during the Romney for President New Hampshire primary night victory party at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Supporters of Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, react as it was declared that he was the winner of the New Hampshire primary rlection at his reception in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reaches for his wife Ann as his sons, Josh, Ben, Craig, Tagg and Matt (L-R) look on during the Romney for President New Hampshire primary night rally at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his Ann greet supporters at the Romney for President New Hampshire primary night victory party at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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** FILE ** Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney waves to supporters at the Romney for President New Hampshire primary night rally at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. Behind Mr. Romney are his sons Tagg (left) and Craig and his wife, Ann. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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**FILE** President Obama talks with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Jan. 10, 2012, at EPA headquarters. (Associated Press)

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Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, is joined by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (left) and Attorney General, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II during a news conference Tuesday with House and Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Richmond. The 2012 session of the Virginia General Assembly begins Wednesday with the Senate split 20-20 by political parties. (Associated Press)

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Rep. James E. Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat, will share billing at a homeownership rally Thursday at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., with a Republican presidential hopeful.

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Syrian President Bashar Assad, in a speech Tuesday at Damascus University, said he would not step down and insisted that he still has his people's support despite a 10-month-old uprising against him. (SANA via Associated Press)

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Syrians at a Damascus coffee shop watch a telecast of Mr. Assad's two-hour speech in which the president promised a referendum on a new constitution, but also included a vow to crush opposition “terrorists.” (Associated Press)

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"The commitment that the president has to closing Guantanamo Bay is as firm today as it was during the campaign ... I think this is a process that faces obstacles that we're all aware of and we will continue to work through them." - Jay Carney, White House press secretary. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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"I don't think that it is going to go smoothly," Rep. James P. Moran, Virginia Democrat, said Tuesday of negotiations on extending the payroll-tax cut. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Senator and lawyer Babar Awan (center) discusses the Pakistani Supreme Court's warning Tuesday that it could dismiss the prime minister if he doesn't obey the court's 2009 demand that criminal cases against the president be reopened. (Associated Press)

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FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2012 file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed Monday, Jan. 2, 2012 in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, North Korea's new leader Kim Jong Un, left, applauds with military personnel as he inspects Seoul Ryu Kyong Su 105 Guards Tank Division of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in North Korea to congratulate servicepersons on New Year's day. Kim Jong Un's first inspection visit without his father Kim Jong Il was a well-documented New Year's Day trip to the tank unit with symbolic ties to his family and his nation's history. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service, File) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

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In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 photo, seen through a gun slit, trucks with goods destined for Gaza wait to be unloaded on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Each day, dozens of trucks move food, consumer products and industrial materials into the Gaza Strip at this heavily fortified crossing, in an odd arrangement that has turned Israel into a key supplier to a territory governed by its bitter enemy Hamas. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

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In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 photo, a worker rests on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Each day, dozens of trucks move food, consumer products and industrial materials into the Gaza Strip at this heavily fortified crossing, in an odd arrangement that has turned Israel into a key supplier to a territory governed by its bitter enemy Hamas. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)