I don’t know how many of you subscribe to Think Progress, a political newsletter affiliated with the Center for American Progress, but it does an extraordinary job of building a wave beneath hard-hitting political research and getting it out into the media and blogosphere.

Henry Kissinger has disclosed today in his important Washington Post op-ed, “Stability in Iraq and Beyond,” that he believes America should engage in discussions with Syria and Iran.

This was a nice surprise. TWN scored in the top 10 blogs on Capitol Hill. There were 17 who made the list because of ties in the rankings. More soon.

I really wish New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson would remain the globe-spanning international problem fixer that he has been for many years.

Senator Hillary Clinton’s Legislative Director, Laurie Rubiner, is mentioned prominently today in the Los Angeles Times. Such mention is long overdue for the work she did as the Health Program Director at the New America Foundation.

Hillary Clinton will be announcing she is running for President today. A good chance to see her in presidential mode will be at the New America Foundation‘s “10 Big Ideas” event — which oddly is not posted yet on New America’s website — on 31 January 2007 at the Hyatt Regency on Capital Hill.

Senator Chuck Hagel is on the verge of an announcement that he will reportedly make some time during the next two weeks — perhaps sooner rather than later — in which he will indicate whether he will run for President of the United States and whether he will run again to keep his seat as…

Chris Nelson has some great stuff on Iran tonight. I had not heard until tonight that Iran failed to bring its centrifuges on line and that the 50 they assembled blew up. Every time I post something from Chris Nelson’s Nelson Report, I get besieged by requests for it.

This is a guest post by Daniel Levy, Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation as well as Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation An Informal Diplomatic Surge: Draft Israeli-Syrian Peace Deal Revealed As Secretary Rice continues her swing through the Middle East, pointedly avoiding Damascus,

Just FYI, the Prince William County Democratic Committee (in Virginia) has put this really cool cook book together. I have a recipe in it that I highlighted at TWN a while back, the “Preparing for the Daily John Bolton Battle Smoothie.” More later.