Top Links: Secretary Clinton to the Middle East, Rep. West finally concedes and a happy 70th to VP Biden

What kind of gift do you get a vice president who just won re-election? Middle East peace and a “fiscal cliff” compromise would be nice.

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• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed to the Middle East, where she hopes to defuse the Gaza crisis in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in the West Bank. (NBC News) and (The New York Times)

• Why isn’t Egypt’s newly elected president directly involved with the talks? Perhaps because he’s thinking about re-election. (Think Tanked)

• Poll: 65% says President Obama will make a sincere effort to reach bipartisan solutions on the nation’s biggest problems. Republicans, much like Mitt Romney, can’t clear 50%, though. (Gallup)

• Grover Norquist a few months ago: Mitt Romney will win the presidency; Republicans will seize the Senate; and the unified Republican government will quickly pass Paul Ryan’s budget. Grover Norquist today: The tax pledge is doing fine, all Republicans support it and President Obama “will eventually have to extend tax cuts as is.” (Dana Milbank)

• “Owners of Applebee’s, Denny’s and Papa John’s are whining about Obamacare. Don’t take them seriously.” (Slate)

• Rep. Allen West finally concedes his House race. (Facebook)

• Bipartisan Good Cause alert! GOP and Democratic spokesmen Sean Spicer and Brad Woodhouse will shave their heads this Sunday to raise money for cancer research. (St. Baldrick’s)

• Where can you see Chief Justice John Roberts and Girls creator Lena Dunham side-by-side? At the top of the Wall Street Journal’s “Liberals of the Year” list. Yes, someone’s still bitter about that whole Obamacare thing. (Wall Street Journal)

• Among our favorite White House petitions: one that requires we “dissolve the current legal system and replace it with a single Hall of Justice, run by judges; motorcycle-riding law officers who act as police, judge, jury and executioner.” (White House)

• You can read more crazy petitions here: (Forbes)

• And a happy 70th birthday, Vice President Biden! (Barack Obama)