Newslinks for Wednesday August 31, 2011

5:00pm Sen. Rob Portman wants your input: Send your budget cut ideas to the deficit reduction “super committee”

4:45pm House Speaker John Boehner tactfully calls out President Obama's latest political ploy

3:15pm Video: 925 days since President Obama last presented a jobs plan, yet somehow he's managed to squeeze in 75 rounds of golf

2:45pm Rep. Peter Roskam: How Obama's rules hold back Chicago business

2:15pm Video: "At a fundamental level this administration doesn't understand the meaning of 9/11": Former Governor George Pataki slams Obama's 10th anniversary 'guidelines'

12:30pm Playing politics (again), President Obamas requests to give his jobs speech the same night as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation GOP debate

12:00pm The Republican: Atrocious: Andre Carson shows just how far the left will go to distort reality

11:45am The Republican: Citing "continual lying" by event organizers, Sarah Palin put Iowa appearance "on hold"

11:15am The Republican: Want to monitor Obama's poor job performance easily on the go? There's an app for that!

11:00am Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD: A Balanced Budget Amendment is a game-changer - it’s permanent, implemented nation-wide, and the best chance we have at saving our nation’s coffers from their biggest enemy — the federal government

10:30am The Republican: And the bad news just keeps building for President Obama as support for the health care law hits an all time low

10:00am Video:

• Rep. Allen West: "I am starting to reconsider my membership in the CBC because I don't think they're moving toward the right manner we are going to solve problems both in the black community and across America"
• Gov. Scott Walker's advice to 2012 candidates: Focus on the economy, everything else is a sideshow

The Republican: Breaking down the Perry-Romney-Obama contest and the mystery of the independent voter

Video: Dick Cheney talks to Sean Hannity about his forthcoming memoir

NRO's Lopez offers random highlights from Cheney's book.

In face of Perry surge in national and state polls, Romney abandons focus on fundraising and infrastructure - WSJ

The Daily Caller looks at Romney's new readiness to party with the Tea Party: "The GOP presidential candidate will join the Tea Party Express for an event in New Hampshire over Labor Day weekend, the first tea party rally he’s ever attended that has been hosted by a national organization, according to organizers."

Romney should focus on Perry's social security views - William Galston for TNR

Romney makes subtle dig at Perry, attacking "career politicians" - Fox

But Obama remains Romney's main target: "Romney warned on Tuesday that America was on the brink of “profound economic misery,” the latest effort by the Republican presidential candidate to paint an unrelentingly grim picture of the country under President Obama’s leadership." - New York Times

As they reach for the sharpest contrast they can find with President Obama, the Republican presidential hopefuls are sounding anything but hopeful - Michael D Shear for the New York Times

Bachmann and women politicians can't win in the 'looking good' game

"If a woman isn’t concerned with her appearance, you can be certain everyone else will be. The same folks who are now accusing Bachmann of “acting like a celebrity” and being a “diva” would talk about how dog-tired and haggard she looks if her handlers didn’t make sure her props were in order. Before long the word would be out: She can’t take the heat. She’s exhausted." - Kathleen Parker for the Washington Post

Liberals embrace the rhetoric of science, but not its cautious and dispassionate reasoning - At NRO Rich Lowry responds to Democrats' attempts to paint Perry and other Republicans as anti-science.

Perry says Obama's advisers are smart but not wise - Hotline

Palin headed to New Hampshire after tea-party speech in Iowa this weekend - HotAir

"Fred Karger is an openly gay activist seeking the 2012 GOP nomination on a platform of jobs and education—and ending the Defense of Marriage Act. Mark McKinnon on why no one’s heard of him."

More in the Daily Beast

Karger's website.

The impact of targeted web ads - Politico

Democrats' winning streak in special House elections is set to end in Nevada - Washington Post

Senator DeMint repeats he won't run again in 2016 - USA Today

Tea Party has had enough of Christine O'Donnell

"O’Donnell has been abruptly removed from the speakers list at an event sponsored by Tea Party of America featuring Sarah Palin in Iowa. According to the group’s co-founder, Charlie Gruschow, he received a flood of “emails from a lot of tea party folks that were very disappointed that she would be speaking.” As a result, the event organizers decided it was in the best interests of the Tea Party “movement” not to have O’Donnell speak." - FrumForum

Republicans on Deficit Panel Meet; Democrats to Talk Wednesday - Roll Call

Left want Obama to get people to work immediately even if there's a big price tag - LA Times

But Andrew Stiles at NRO reminds his readers of Obama's ten worst anti-jobs regulations.

• "Boehner noted Tuesday that the total cost of Obama's seven proposed regulations could exceed $100 billion and he's now requesting a full cost estimate for 219 other proposed rules that are expected to have a significant impact on the economy." - Washington Examiner

Blaming Bush may still work for Obama

"In a recent Associated Press-gfK survey, 51 percent said that Bush deserved “almost all” or “a lot but not all” of the blame for the “country’s current economic problems”. Just 31 percent said the same of Obama... The problem for Obama and his political team is that it’s not entirely clear how long the public will continue to put the lion’s share of blame for the economy on the last occupant of the White House. Elections tend to be about the future not the past and Republicans are and will continue to do everything they can to make sure Obama owns the economy." - Chris Cillizza for the Washington Post

A cartoon mocks the growing list of events and people that Obama blames - PowerLine.

• Obama is as bad as Bush on the environment - Mark Bittman in the New York Times

Obama has not rescued public standing of federal government but has surrendered to special interests - Jay Cost in the Weekly Standard

• State and local governments did what they are meant to during Hurricane Irene - Jim Lacey for NRO

Pat Buchanan: blacks ‘inordinately overrepresented’ as federal civil servants - Daily Caller

"If Powell was ever an actual Republican, he was of the Nelson Rockefeller variety." - RedState

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Newslinks for Tuesday August 30, 2011

4:30pm Unblemished: If Rick Perry wins in 2012, he would become the first person to be elected president after never losing a race in his political career since JFK

4:15pm The Republican: The most detested industry in America - the federal government

2:30pm House Foreign Affairs Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: At the UN, money talks, and smart withholding works

2:15pm Video: "The rich want immortality": Nancy Pelosi's crazy class war conspiracy theory

1:00pm The Republican: One in four Democrats wants Obama out

12:15pm ConHome UK: Vladimir Putin launches election campaign... on a Harley-Davidson

12:00pm Scare tactics on the border? Senator John Cornyn responds to the Washington Post

10:15am The Republican: Ambassador Robert Ford attacked in Syria

9:45am Sen. Ron Johnson: When stock prices were plunging earlier this month, President Obama strode to the teleprompter and utterly failed to calm the markets or the American people: Mr. Obama does not know what to do. He never did.

9:30am Video: 

• Union organizers ban Wisconsin Republicans from Labor Day parade: Rep. Sean Duffy hits back
• RGA launches West Virginia ad

Ryan Streeter on The Republican: 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls may trip over tax reform because of an outdated understanding of what constitutes a tax increase

House GOP announces ambitious jobs plan focused on cutting taxes, regulations 

"House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Monday laid out an ambitious anti-tax and anti-regulations agenda for the fall.In a memo to rank-and-file Republicans, Cantor said the House will target 10 major regulations for elimination, and will also seek to enact one major tax cut for businesses. Republicans are offering the agenda as a contrast to President Obama’s jobs plan, which is set for formal announcement next week and is expected to include stimulus spending." - The Hill

"Congress might still have a week left of its recess, but some leaders are already sharpening their knives over warring jobs messages that will be a primary focus of the fall work stretch." - Roll Call ($)

"Republican leaders showcase freshman proposals in jobs push" - The Hill

Meanwhile, the White House attempts to finalize the President's jobs plan

"The White House scrambled Monday to finalize a new jobs initiative as President Obama nominated the last member of the economic team that will be charged with carrying it out. In tapping Alan Krueger, a Princeton University professor and noted labor expert, to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Obama turned to an economist who officials said was well suited to guide the White House through a jobs crisis. President Barack Obama has chosen labor economist Alan Krueger for a top administration post as the White House scrambles for solutions to boost a fragile economy with the 2012 election looming. That address, coming at the end of a summer of worsening economic news and sagging poll numbers for the president, is shaping up as a pivotal moment as Obama tries to resuscitate his presidency with less than 15 months before he stands for reelection." - Washington Post

• "For millions who exist on the fringes of the workforce, the recession has become permanent, no longer a crisis to endure so much as a reality to accept." - Washington Post
• Jonah Goldberg: "It isn't surprising that Obama and his economic advisors' predictions have been so wrong." - LA Times
• Editorial: "Obamanomics stays on path to failure with Krueger" - Washington Examiner
• "President's plan will call on Congress to extend payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits, spend money for new construction projects and offer incentives to businesses to hire more workers, but economists say that it won't be enough." - Fox News

> Yesterday on The Republican: Three important reads as we anticipate Obama's jobs agenda

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: We must remember that disaster relief funds are not unlimited

"As FEMA's budget is under new strain in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, a top House Republican maintained that any new funds allocated for federal disaster relief must be offset by budget cuts elsewhere. Speaking on Fox News Channel, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said a natural disaster like Hurricane Irene is an "appropriate instance" for a federal role, but that the government can't go deeper into debt to pay for unexpected outlays. "We will find the money if there is a need for additional monies," he said. But "those monies are not unlimited. And what we've always said is, we've offset that which has already been funded." Cantor equated the situation to what an ordinary family would do in a crisis, doing without a new car to pay for the needs of a sick loved one, for instance." - LA Times

• Irene disrupts power, commutes, travel plans - NPR
• Death toll jumps as towns battle floods - USA Today
• "The flood damage from Hurricane Irene raises pressure on Congress as it debates how to overhaul the government's debt-strapped flood-insurance program, but lawmakers remain unlikely to thrash out a long-term agreement." - WSJ

East Coast governors weather the storm unscathed

"If this was a test, the collection of East Coast governors known for their national ambitions passed. With the memory of Hurricane Katrina forever serving as an object lesson in crisis management gone awry, the group of potential 2016 contenders whose states stud the coastline—Republicans Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie and Democrats Andrew Cuomo and Martin O’Malley—appear to have endured Hurricane Irene with burnished reputations after an uncommonly ferocious storm where executive missteps could have cost even more lives. They were ubiquitous in sounding the alarms, urged caution, ordered mass evacuations and one of them, Cuomo, had his transit chief shutter the biggest metropolitan transit system in the nation in preparation for the weekend storm." - Politico 

Looming Arizona decision seen as key to 2012 Primary, caucus calendar

"The first official test of the 2012 election is less than six months away. The calendar approved by the Republican National Committee puts Iowa's leadoff caucuses on Feb 6 and New Hampshire's first in the nation primary on Feb. 14. Those are followed by the Nevada caucuses on the Feb. 18 and South Carolina's first in the south primary at the end of January. RNC rules prohibit all other states from voting before Super Tuesday, March 6, or they lose half their nominating delegates. At this point, nine states are scheduled to vote on Super Tuesday. The RNC has also banned winner-take-all contests in March. Instead all delegates awarded in March will be allocated proportionately under rules left to the states. But two important swing states, Arizona and Florida are rebelling against the new RNC rules and calendar, insisting on voting early for greater impact on the selection of the nominee." - Fox News

Second poll has Perry as GOP front-runner

"A new poll released Monday reaffirmed Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (R) standing as the front-runner in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Thirty-two percent of Republicans named Perry, who formally launched his presidential campaign about two weeks ago, as the candidate they'd most like to see win the Republican nomination. Eighteen percent of Republicans said they would like to see Romney win the nomination, according to the CNN/ORC poll conducted last week. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) placed third at 12 percent, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) at 7 percent and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) at 6 percent. The CNN poll is the second to place Perry atop the field. A national Gallup poll released last week showed the Texas governor eclipsing Romney, who's long led his challengers for the nomination." - The Hill

> Yesterday on The Republican: In defense of Rick Perry's "Ponzi scheme" comments

Florida’s upcoming straw poll, Sept. 24 in Orlando, is not attracting the attention of the top contenders in the Republican primary presidential field" - Miami Herald

Also from the 2012 field:

• "Mitt Romney would like you to know that his Southern California mansion will only double in size after planned renovations, rather than quadruple, as has previously been reported." - LA Times
• Back in the day Rick Perry was open to new taxes - Washington Wire on the WSJ
• Climate change skeptic Senator Jim Inhofe formally endorses Rick Perry - Roll Call ($)
• Perry: No stimulus program if he’s president; pledges to ‘get America working again’ - Washington Post
• Bachmann suggests Irene was 'God's warning' - FT ($)

"The Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week will not feature a top-tier official from the Obama administration, a breach in tradition that the group's commander described as an 'insult of the highest magnitude.'" - Fox News

Meanwhile, Governor Rick Perry offered the broad outlines his foreign policy philosophy during his VFW speech - MSNBC

"The White House has issued detailed guidelines to federal officials on how to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at home and abroad" - New York Times

William McGurn: "Why New York's mayor says there's no room for religious leaders on 9/11" - WSJ

> Yesterday on Video: George W. Bush: Ground Zero was "like walking into hell," with "palpable bloodlust" in the air

Gaddafi family 'flee to Algeria'

"The wife and three children of fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are in Algeria, Algerian officials say. A foreign ministry statement said Col Gaddafi's wife Safia, daughter Ayesha and sons Muhammad and Hannibal left Libya early on Monday. Algeria's UN ambassador said they were received on humanitarian grounds. Meanwhile rebels said they had uncovered four mass graves in recent days. The BBC's Andrew Hosken, who visited one of the sites in south-east Tripoli, said they were believed to contain the corpses of army officers who refused to fight for Col Gaddafi." - BBC News

Debra J. Saunders: "The slippery grip of justice on Libya's Megrahi" - SF Chronicle

Other news in brief:

• "Japan's parliament elects Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as the country's new prime minister, making him the country's sixth leader in five years." - CNN
• "President Barack Obama's uncle was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving, told police he planned to arrange bail through the White House and was being held without bail on an immigration detainer, authorities said Monday." - The Associated Press
• "In a letter purportedly written by Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader appeals to Afghan moderates and suggests the Taliban doesn't seek to monopolize power." - LA Times
• "Syrian security forces killed at least four people when they opened fire on protesters who rallied after leaving mosques following prayers to end the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, an activist said." - Bloomberg

Also in opinion:

• Daniel Henninger: "In an interview, Dick Cheney says 'It's important to have people at the helm who are prepared to be unpopular.'" - WSJ
• Michael Gerson: Family planning as a pro-life cause - Washington Post
• David Brooks: "Sometimes its best to spend carefully so you can stay south of the Haimish Line" - New York Times

...and finally, Senator John McCain pokes fun on his 75th birthday

On his 75th birthday, Arizona senator is thanking those who have wished him well, by poking fun at himself via Twitter: "Thanks for all the birthday wishes. If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!" - USA Today

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Newslinks for Monday August 29, 2011

6:30pm The Republican: And in other predictable news, Rick Perry dominates another national poll - this one by CNN

4:15pm The Republican: In defense of Rick Perry's "Ponzi scheme" comments

3:00pm Video: "No apologies": NBC's preview of its exclusive Dick Cheney interview in which he says wiretaps and waterboarding were the right things to do

12:45pm The Republican: Obama kills al Qaeda's second-in-command, sees approval ratings fall

12:15pm Video: George W. Bush: Ground Zero was "like walking into hell," with "palpable bloodlust" in the air

11:00am The Republican: Three important reads as we anticipate Obama's jobs agenda: 

• Paul Roderick Gregory writes at Forbes: “Obama cannot propose a real jobs program. His constituents would rebel. A real jobs program attacks too many of the core beliefs of his party."
• Scott Shane writes at The American that Obama's 2012 budget contains tax increases that will hit entrepreneurs and small businesses especially hard, so a jobs agenda that doesn't address those problems isn't really a jobs agenda.
• Edward Muller and Larry Zimpleman offer a list of recommendations in today’s WSJ about how to spur new business formation.

Ryan Streeter on The Republican: Party of Change, and the Party of Stasis: Three things that should be separating Republicans from Democrats going into 2012

Repeal, reduce, rein in: House Republicans ready their fall agenda

"House Republicans are planning votes for almost every week this fall in an effort to repeal environmental and labor requirements on business that they say have hampered job growth. With everyone from President Obama to his Republican challengers in the 2012 campaign focusing on ways to spur economic growth, House Republicans will roll out plans Monday to fight regulations from the National Labor Relations Board, pollution rules handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency and regulations that affect health plans for small businesses. In addition, the lawmakers plan to urge a 20 percent tax deduction for small businesses." - Washington Post

Obama to 'double down' on jobs message - Washington Examiner

RSC aims to mend fences, advance 'growth agenda'

"A bloc of conservative House Republicans is planning to unveil a jobs agenda to rival a forthcoming proposal by President Barack Obama — attaching “growth” to its trademark Cut, Cap and Balance plan. But the group, the Republican Study Committee, headed by Rep. Jim Jordan, is treading gingerly on what its proposal will include in the wake of a backlash caused by some of its aggressive moves during negotiations over increasing the debt ceiling." - Roll Call ($)

Editorial: Obama's regulatory flood is drowning economic growth - Washington Examiner

Rep. Ron Paul: Bernake is out of options

"Chairman Ben Bernanke is not calling for another fix to the economy by the Federal Reserve because he's already used up all the quivers in the Fed's bow, Rep. Ron Paul said Sunday. Paul is a 2012 Republican presidential candidate and supports the U.S. returning to the gold standard to protect its currency and force a balanced budget. He has been highly critical of the Federal Reserve and its chairman over plans for "quantitative easing," a two-part program which flooded the market with dollars in an attempt to make money more available for borrowing and lending.  Paul argued that Bernanke's plan to buy bank assets and drop more than $2 trillion into the economy did not yield the results the chairman hoped, a conclusion that Paul says Bernanke implicitly acknowledged during a speech last week in which he offered no new bailout programs from the Fed." - Fox News

Clive Crook: Bernake's missed QE3 opportunity - FT ($)

> Yesterday on Video: Rep. Ron Paul slams FEMA: "It is a system of bureaucratic central economic planning which is a policy that is deeply flawed"

Irene's economic damage less than feared

"Irene shut down Broadway, took a bite out of Hollywood's box office, closed casinos in New Jersey and canceled thousands of East Coast flights. But the economic fallout had been predicted to be far worse. The full cost of the storm, which caused widespread flooding and has so far resulted in at least 22 deaths, was still uncertain as insurance experts began tallying the estimated damage Sunday. Overall, the storm, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression Sunday, could cost insurers $1.5 billion to $3 billion to cover claims for damaged homes, vehicles and businesses, said Jose Miranda, director of client advocacy at Eqecat Inc., a catastrophic risk management firm in Oakland. Total damage, including uninsured losses, could range from $5 billion to $7 billion, he said." - LA TImes

• "Irene, although downgraded to a tropical storm and far less potent than originally imagined, was responsible for nearly 20 deaths and cut electricity to more than a million people. The mid-Atlantic spent Sunday assessing the damage and making repairs." - Washington Post
• FEMA redirects funds in the wake Hurricane Irene - Washington Post
• "As Irene bore down on the East Coast, governors, mayors and Obama made sure to be seen driving preparations. They were spurred not only by the need to ensure public safety, but by the lessons of Hurricane Katrina." - WSJ
• "Delaware was pounded by Hurricane Irene on Saturday night, but Vice President Biden got in one last round of golf in his home state before the heavy stuff started coming down." - Fox News
• Editorial: "Irene is Obama’s punishment - too much regulation isn’t enough for radical greens" - Washington Times
• "Glenn Beck, ex-Fox News host: Hurricane Irene is a 'blessing' from God" - New York Daily News

> Yesterday on Video: Gov. Chris Christie weighs in on hurricane response efforts: "The key is we’ve tried to keep people informed, be fully transparent, to lower fear and raise confidence, and I think that’s the best thing a governor can do in this"

Rick Perry: Not a George W. Bush Republican

"Texas Gov. Rick Perry, like most of the other the GOP presidential hopefuls, says his campaign is about undoing the decisions of President Obama. But Perry also presents a stark alternative to the last Republican to occupy the White House, his fellow Texan George W. Bush. In his writings and speeches before he entered the race, Perry shared the view, widely held among conservatives, that Bush’s government spending habits in office were a betrayal of the GOP’s core fiscal principles. But Perry went further, dismissing “compassionate conservatism,” the central tenet of Bush’s domestic policy, as just more overreach by the federal government." - Washington Post

Perry on Social Security: "It is a Ponzi scheme for these young people. The idea that they're working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie" - Houston Chronicle

Romney-Perry, Perry-Romney domain names selling for $50k

"The owner of the domain names Romney-Perry2012.com and Perry-Romney2012.com has put a price on the rights to the websites: $50,000 each. The auction is a clear sign that the presidential race is heating up, as the cottage industry of presidential domain names gears up for profit. It is far from certain, of course, whether Romney or Perry will win the GOP nomination. And the chances of them being on the same ticket are far less than 50-50. But that didn't stop Niels Jeffreys from buying the rights to the domain names. Jeffreys, who purchased the rights to the websites earlier this month, has advertised the domain names on GoDaddy.com. No bids have been placed yet, but Jeffreys -- who said in an email he lives in Thailand -- is hoping to cash in later in the presidential cycle." - The Hill

Sen. Marco Rubio ignores 'VP push'

"While the field for the Republican presidential nomination is crowded and up for grabs, many pundits and politicos are ready to proclaim a front-runner for the ticket’s second spot — Florida’s Sen. Marco Rubio. “There are very few candidates that have such a broad Republican appeal and a chance to reach voters that Republicans are having a hard time” winning over, said Florida Atlantic University political science professor Kevin Wagner. Mr. Rubio, 40, has served in the Senate for less than eight months and the 2012 Republican National Convention is a year away. But for now the dapper, articulate and ambitious Miami native — who is admired by tea party activists and the party’s establishment alike — is the sexy choice for the GOP’s vice presidential candidate." - Washington Times

Also from the 2012 field:

• "With Rick Perry and Mitt Romney now leading the field, the Republican presidential contest is creating a new chapter in the story of two men who have occasionally clashed and who have markedly different personal styles." - WSJ
• "A slew of professional athletes, coaches and sports executives have made political donations this year to President Obama and Republican candidates running for the White House." - The Hill
• "Michele Bachmann was in Sarasota Sunday, where she discussed drilling in the Everglades, Marco Rubio and Gov. Rick Perry." - Miami Herald
• "President Obama’s re-election campaign has appropriated for its voter-registration operation the name of an existing group, Project Vote, that has been the target of voter-fraud complaints tied to the much-criticized and now-defunct activist group" - Washington Times

> Yesterday on The Republican: Cain comes out on top in home state straw poll

"Retreating loyalists of Muammar Qaddafi killed scores of detainees and arbitrarily shot civilians over the past week, as rebel forces extended their control over the Libyan capital, survivors and a human rights group said Sunday" - CBS News

• Lockerbie bomber found 'in coma' in Tripoli - CNN
• Niall Ferguson: "[Gaddafi's] fall is proof that America can still topple a rogue regime. What comes next may underscore our impotence." - Newsweek
• The birth of a free Libya - The Economist

Lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran appeals - ABC News

Iran's Ahmadinejad: No place for Israel in region - Fox News

Ross Douthat: Some points to keep in mind when asking politicians about faith - New York Times

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Newslinks for Sunday August 28, 2011

4:45pm The Weekly Standard's Mark Hemingway responds to Rep. John Lewis's "absurd" NYT op-ed: "No, showing identification is not a 'poll tax'"

4:30pm Video:

• Rep. Ron Paul slams FEMA: "It is a system of bureaucratic central economic planning which is a policy that is deeply flawed"
• Former Secretary of State Colin Powell: Dick Cheney takes "cheap shots" in new book 

2:30pm The Republican: We must do better: Nine states still lagging behind when it comes to combating human trafficking

1:00pm Video: The politics of storms

11:30am Washington institution defies hurricane: Irene doesn't stop soldiers from guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns

11:15am The Republican: Cain comes out on top in home state straw poll

11:00am Video: Gov. Chris Christie weighs in on hurricane response efforts: "The key is we’ve tried to keep people informed, be fully transparent, to lower fear and raise confidence, and I think that’s the best thing a governor can do in this"

Hurricane Irene set to stoke the congressional budget battle

"Shortly after Hurricane Irene blows through Washington, Congress will blow back into town and start fighting about how to pay for the storm and all the other disasters that have struck the U.S. this year. If the hurricane is truly historic, as President Obama has warned, an emergency disaster appropriations bill would be necessary in September to get the government through to the beginning of fiscal 2012 on Oct. 1, aides said. The problem with this is that Democrats and Republicans disagree on whether emergency appropriations need to be offset by other cuts to spending." - The Hill

• Jeff Jacoby: Disaster isn't a stimulus package - Boston Globe
• "The Obama administration made a public display Saturday of the range of its efforts to make sure state and local officials had whatever help they needed to prepare for Hurricane Irene.' - New York Times

Key House Republicans express concern over FEMA funding in wake of Irene - Fox News

"While President Barack Obama is relying on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to Hurricane Irene, GOP White House hopeful Ron Paul isn’t putting much faith in the agency. The Texas congressman blasted FEMA at a campaign stop in New Hampshire Friday and said history is on his side, citing the experience of Galveston, which is in his district. “I live on the Gulf Coast. We put up with hurricanes all the time. In 1900, before FEMA, the local people rebuilt the city, built a seawall, and they survived without FEMA,” Paul told NBC. A catastrophic storm hit Galveston in 1900, killing thousands." - The Hill

"When a 5.8-magnitude earthquake rattled greater Washington, D.C., Tuesday both broadcast and wireless industry advocates seized on the shakeup as a lobbying and public relations opportunity." - Roll Call ($)

> Yesterday on The Republican: Awaiting Irene's arrival, Americans increasingly turn to social media to stay up to date during disaster situations

"One million are without power; 10,000 flights have been canceled, and more than 2 million people have been ordered to evacuate. N.Y. and New England are next." - LA Times

• NJ Governor Chris Christie: 'Get the hell off the beach' - Washington Examiner
• After lashing North Carolina and knocking out power to more than a million people along the U.S. 
• NYC Mayor Bloomberg: The time for evacuation is over - Washington Post
• East Coast, Irene now has its eye on the biggest cities in the Northeast." - CNN
• Editorial: Heed hurricane warning 'kuckleheads' - The Star-Ledger
• "Where should the media draw the line between reasonable warnings and fear-mongering? A few mistakes and a partially missed prognosis aren't necessarily proof that the media blew the story." - Christian Science Monitor

> Yesterday on Video:

• Rep. Peter King talks Hurricane Irene
• With tornado warnings in effect, Gov. Bob McDonnell discusses emergency preparedness as Hurricane Irene approaches

House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa goes to war with the NYT

"Rep. Darrell Issa, the powerful chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has declared war on the New York Times after the newspaper published a front-page story last week linking the California Republican’s business activities to his congressional duties. The story, “A Businessman in Congress Helps His District and Himself,” claims that Issa has used his congressional power to further enrich himself. “As his private wealth and public power have grown, so too has the overlap between his private and business lives, with at least some of the congressman’s government actions helping to make a rich man even richer and raising potential for conflicts,” New York Times reporter Eric Lichtblau wrote. Issa didn’t participate in what he calls a “false story,” but has launched a full-scale campaign pressing for a front-page retraction after his staff cited 13 errors, including the lede of the story that claims Issa’s district office building overlooks a golf course." - Fox News

Uncertainty and political fights loom for labor panel as NLRB chairwoman departs

"The departing chairwoman of the National Labor Relations Board won praise from the nation’s biggest labor group Saturday as she leaves a panel that’s facing key vacancies and an uncertain future. NLRB Chairwoman Wilma B. Liebman’s leaves the board after her term ends at midnight Saturday. She has served on the body for nearly 14 years after an initial appointment under President Bill Clinton. The White House has designated NLRB member Mark Gaston Pearce to replace Liebman as chairman. In addition to Liebman’s tenure ending, NLRB member Craig Becker’s term expires at the end of the year. Without new people to fill those seats, the five-member board will be down to just two – not enough to have the legal authority to issue decisions, due to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling." - The Hill

Michael Barone: Obama, rivals duck the entitlement crisis

[A]nyone can take a look at a proposal. We pay presidents a good salary to lead, not just to look. So far the Republican presidential candidates have not done much leading on entitlements either. They have tended to take a gingerly approach to Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal and Newt Gingrich even trashed it. The conventional wisdom is that this is simple political prudence. Don't give the other side a juicy target. But we are faced not only with a huge short-term budget problem but with the prospect of a Western European future of an enlarged government, ever higher taxes and lower growth. Is that really what American voters want? - Washington Examiner

> Yesterday on Video: Republican Weekly Address: Sen. Dean Heller: "There is no question that the status quo of dysfunctional government must end"

Perry bills fed $349 million for illegal immigrants

"Texas Gov. Rick Perry has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for nearly $350 million to cover the costs he says Texas has incurred incarcerating illegal immigrants in state prisons and county jails. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Perry reiterated a claim he’s often leveled against the federal government: that it’s not doing enough to secure the border with Mexico and as a result, has allowed illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. and use taxpayer-funded resources, including the prison system. The letter was dated Aug. 10, three days before the Republican governor formally announced he is running for president. Reached after-hours Friday by phone, DHS spokesman Matthew Chandler said he wasn’t in position to comment and said he could not confirm that the DHS had even received the letter." - Washington Times

Debra J. Saunders: "Perry delivers on Texas death penalty" - SF Chronicle

> Yesterday on The Republican: Sticking up for states' rights: Majority of voters believe governors should have the right to opt out of federal programs

Among a conservative GOP field, Huntsman struggles to gain traction

"As he brought his campaign for the presidency back to New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman Jr. anticipated the doubts about him. He alluded to it in his stump speech, about as close as he ever comes to acknowledging that some Republican listeners might question whether he is too moderate for their taste. “I’m not trying to be everything to everybody . . . ,” he told audiences. “I’m running on my record. You’re not going to like 100 percent of it.” And then to dampen the effect of this admission, he aimed for humor, intent on persuading his more conservative listeners that it is all right to like him, adding with a grin: “My wife disagrees with some stuff.” After a much-hyped launch, Huntsman has been running at about 1 percent in the national polls for months, leaving his advisers to try to ward off the impression that he is hopelessly mired in the second tier." - Washington Post

Bachmann blames “radical environmentalists” for bottling up American energy policy - Washington Post

As the manhunt continues, fears grow that Qaddafi could pull 'a Saddam'

"It took a U.S.-led invasion force of 200,000-plus troops nine months to capture Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after one of the largest manhunts ever.  Now Muammar Qaddafi is on the run in Libya, but chasing after him is a much smaller and less well-equipped force of Libyan rebels. They're trying to track down a fugitive who, like Saddam, is well-armed, well-funded and capable of winning popular support and sowing instability simply by evading his pursuers. If the rebels fail to find Qaddafi quickly as they battle to take his hometown of Sirte, they could face more than just a protracted manhunt. His continued evasion could fuel a Qaddafi-led counterinsurgency that bolsters his mythic status and stymies attempts by the rebels' fledgling government to bring stability and basic services to the country." - Fox News

"Rebel fighters pushed nearly leaderless regime gunmen to the outskirts of Tripoli yesterday, as severe shortages of fuel, water, and electricity paralyzed the battle-scarred capital." - Boston Globe

Al Qaeda deputy reportedly killed - TIME's Battleland blog

> Yesterday on The Republican: US official: Al Qaeda no. 2 killed In Pakistan

CIA Bay of Pigs foreign policy laid bare - Miami Herald

Mona Charen: Biden's stunning moral obtuseness on China's genocides

"The Chinese communist government, which has killed more people than any regime in the history of the world (65 million according to the Black Book of Communism), regards human beings as widgets to be manipulated or destroyed in the service of the state. Yes, they've developed an expanding economy by adopting free-market practices. But the regime remains one of the most vicious on the planet. It is deeply shameful that the vice president needed to be reminded of that." - Washington Examiner

George Will: Let school choice prevail - Washington Post

Sunday morning viewing menu - Washington Post | New York Times The Caucus blog

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Newslinks for Saturday August 27, 2011

4:15pm Video:

• Rep. Peter King talks Hurricane Irene
• With tornado warnings in effect, Gov. Bob McDonnell discusses emergency preparedness as Hurricane Irene approaches

2:30pm US official: Al Qaeda no. 2 killed In Pakistan

2:15pm The Republican: Awaiting Irene's arrival, Americans increasingly turn to social media to stay up to date during disaster situations

1:30pm Video:

• FIlmmaker Peter Schnall discusses the new Bush 9/11 documentary
• Gov. Nikki Haley slams President Obama and the NLRB's actions in SC during a surprise visit to Michele Bachmann's town hall meeting in Charleston
• Gaddafi's swimming pool becomes a rebel playground

11:00am The Republican: Sticking up for states' rights: Majority of voters believe governors should have the right to opt out of federal programs

10:30am Rep. Scott Tipton: Patients, not politics - we have an opportunity to work together in Washington to strengthen Medicare. I encourage the Senate to take up the Republican Budget, deliver on the promise to seniors, and secure Medicare for future generation

10:15am Republican Weekly Address: Sen. Dean Heller: "There is no question that the status quo of dysfunctional government must end"

GOP leaders attempt to avoid spending showdown

After months of partisan rancor over the record federal debt and spending cuts to reduce it, congressional Republicans are working to avoid the heated political warfare when Congress turns its attention to annual spending measures next month. Even as a new bipartisan committee begins work on a difficult and potentially contentious strategy to reduce federal spending by more than a trillion dollars over the next decade, leaders of both parties have expressed optimism that there will be minimal acrimony as they work to complete a series of 12 spending bills to fund the work of federal agencies for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1." - Washington Post

• Fed chief scolds Congress on debt-ceiling fight - Washington Post
• "Facing ballooning debt, the U.S. is conducting a real-time experiment in tightening government budgets in a fragile economy." - WSJ
• "Democratic Senator Mark Warner, one of the “gang of six” that sought a bipartisan deal on U.S. debt reduction, urged members of both parties on a deficit supercommittee to “go big, go bold” with their savings." - Bloomberg

> Yesterday on The Republican: America's economy, summed up: "We are paying an unexpected price for decades of controlled and managed economic performance"

White House will provide Boehner with list of most expensive regulations

"The Obama administration on Friday said it will comply with Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) request for a list of planned regulations that would cost more than $1 billion to implement. Boehner wrote to Obama on Friday demanding more information about upcoming regulations by the time Congress returns from recess. He noted that he had asked for similar data in the past but had not received it.  Office of Management and Budget spokesperson Meg Reilly said the White House would provide Boehner with the information he requested." - The Hill

Five EPA rules that will cost more than $1 billion - Washington Examiner

Virginia lawmakers to Obama: Declare federal emergency before Irene hits

"Virginia lawmakers are urging President Obama to declare a federal emergency in the state in advance of Hurricane Irene. Sens. Mark Warner (D) and Jim Webb (D), as well as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R), Reps. Rob Wittman (R), Scott Rigell (R), Bobby Scott (D), Randy Forbes (R), Robert Hurt (R), Bob Goodlatte (R), Jim Moran (D), Morgan Griffith (R), Frank Wolf (R) and Gerry Connolly (D) sent a letter to Obama Friday to ensure resources be made available in case of a disaster. “There is every indication that Irene will be an extremely dangerous storm, and we are taking this very seriously,” said Rep. Rigell, who represents Virginia Beach, Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and parts of the Cities of Norfolk and Hampton." - The Hill

• NJ Governor Chris Christie's response to Hurricane Irene could test his popularity - Fox News
• "As Hurricane Irene hurtles up the East Coast, President Obama on Friday urged residents in the storm’s path to take it seriously and obey evacuation orders if they are given." - Washington Times | President Obama's full statement
• "Federal and state emergency managers are acting decisively in an attempt to avoid the mistakes of hurricane Katrina in 2005. The result has impacted millions of lives." - Christian Science Monitor
• Politicos sound off on the essentials they'll take with them should Hurricane force them to flee - The Daily Caller
• Pictures of the day: Obamas interrupted vacations - The Atlantic

No easy task: With the Republican National Convention a year away, organizers in Tampa are working on raising an average of $1 million a week

"To land a really big catch, sometimes you want a really big boat. Take the Cracker Bay, a gleaming white yacht half the length of a football field. Owned by Gary Morse, developer of the Villages, it has an impressive art collection and can seat 30 for dinner. In June, the Cracker Bay tied up at the Tampa Convention Center so the 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee could go fishing for some of the $55 million it’s raising for next year’s Republican National Convention. Two shipboard events drew a political who’s who wearing everything from Tommy Bahama shirts to coats and ties. The pinot grigio was perfectly chilled, and the hors d’oeuvres included a fresh tomato appetizer, hearty mini pizzas and intricate salmon morsels. “It was hard to believe it was on water,” said host committee member Maryann Ferenc, who owns the Tampa restaurant Mise en Place. However relaxing the atmosphere, the goal couldn’t have been more challenging — raise an average of a million dollars a week, for a year. And do it in a lousy economy, in a community with few major corporations and little experience on vast fundraising projects." - Miami Herald

 Also from the GOP field:

• Pataki ends presidential speculations - WSJ | Washington Times
• Perry turns to California for cash - LA Times
• Santorum draws small crowd during South Carolina visit - Fox News
• "Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have recently phoned New York businessman Donald Trump, who flirted last spring with the idea of running for the Republican presidential nomination and has held open the possibility of jumping into the 2012 presidential race if he doesn’t like the eventual GOP choice." - LA Times
• "Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican and a leading conservative voice in Congress on climate issues, said GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney should stop trying to “play both sides” on key environmental issues." - Washington Times
• William Kristol: Jews for Perry? - The Weekly Standard
• Bachmann takes a 'kinder view' on farm subsidies - The Atlantic
• Low-key Ron Paul keeps it brief at New Hampshire golf event - CNN

> Yesterday on The Republican: 

• If Perry's so scary to independents, why is he doing so well among them?
• Anyone notice how Ron Paul overtook Michele Bachmann on several fronts in today's Gallup poll?

Meanwhile, Obama looks to revamp his campaign rhetoric

"The paring back of expectations has been an increasingly necessary part of the president’s rhetoric, given the economic and political realities that have beset his presidency. But as he prepares for his reelection campaign, Obama’s triumphant 2008 message of “hope and change” has undergone a radical transformation." - Washington Post

• Pete Wehner: You want proof Obama is a bad President, here it is - Commentary
• Phillip Klein: "Playing the 'crazy card' on Perry won't save Obama - Washington Examiner" -Washington Examiner
• "The AFL-CIO has not decided yet if it will participate in next year’s Democratic National Convention, as labor union members ponder whether President Obama has earned their support heading into next year’s elections." - Washington Times
• Youth, women drift away from President Obama - The Daily Caller

FEC drafts opinions for Guyana-born man about presidential run - Roll Call ($)

US, Israel monitor Syria's suspected cache of WMDs

"The U.S. and Israel are closely monitoring Syria's suspected cache of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), fearing that terror groups could take advantage of the revolt against President Bashar al Assad to obtain blistering agents, nerve gas and long-range missiles, according to officials from both countries. U.S. intelligence services believe Syria's non-conventional weapons programs include significant stockpiles of mustard gas, VX and Sarin gas and the missile and artillery systems to deliver them, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. United Nations investigators also recently concluded that Damascus had been secretly constructing a nuclear reactor with North Korean help before Israeli jets destroyed the site in late 2007. U.S. and U.N. nonproliferation officials continue to worry that Pyongyang may have provided Syria with additional nuclear-related equipment." - Fox News

To ensure they don't fall into the hand of terrorists, US may buy looted Libyan missiles sold in Mai's black market

"The fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has kicked off a race to recover key types of weapons taken from his stockpiles, such as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, by getting U.S. operatives to buy them before terrorists do. There is evidence that a small number of Soviet-made SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles from Qaddafi’s arsenal have reached the black market in Mali, where al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is active, according to two U.S. government officials not authorized to speak on the record. The disintegration of Qaddafi’s four-decade dictatorship has created a business opportunity for looters trafficking in the war-stricken country’s missiles, which would enable terrorists to attack military or civilian aircraft. With a buyback program, operatives on the ground seek out the sellers and offer high prices to recover the weapons." - Bloomberg

• ""As heavy fighting continues in Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urges a swift end to the conflict to restore order and stability." - CNN
• Among the loyalists: Despite defeat, admiration for Gaddafi - TIME
• Robert Kagan: "[O]nly the United States could have pulled all these disparate political and regional forces together. No other nation, not France, not Great Britain, not even a united EU (which German opposition prevented) could have managed this global diplomatic task. In this allegedly “post-American” world, the United States remains both indispensable and irreplaceable." - The Weekly Standard

Christopher Caldwell: America's morals appeal more than French will admit

"At first glance, the collapse of US prosecutors’ rape case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former International Monetary Fund head and French presidential contender, teaches a similar lesson: America’s legalistic doctrines of sexual morality have been held up to the more cynical but realistic French ones and found wanting. This week Cyrus Vance Jr, the New York district attorney, successfully petitioned to drop the charges he brought against Mr Strauss-Kahn in May. Mr Vance cited the inability of the accuser, his chief witness, to tell a straight story about almost anything. But if America’s system of regulating sexual morality has undergone another embarrassing moment, it will be France’s system that has to change." - FT ($)

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Newslinks for Friday August 26, 2011

6:15pm The Republican: America's economy, summed up: "We are paying an unexpected price for decades of controlled and managed economic performance"

4:00pm The Republican: Anyone notice how Ron Paul overtook Michele Bachmann on several fronts in today's Gallup poll?

3:30pm 2012 news update II:

• New Magellan poll: Perry dominates in South Carolina
• Watch Michele Bachmann fall: New Gallup poll shows just how much Tea Party support Rick Perry has pulled from her

1:45pm The Republican: What is Jon Huntsman running for?

12:00pm 2012 news update:

• George Pataki, whom most people had no idea was thinking about running for President, has decided against running for President
• Perspective: Despite Perry's explosive entrance into the race, Romney's got a comfortable enough lead in important early primary states...for now
• Ron Paul has a point about not getting enough media coverage

10:45am The Republican: If Perry's so scary to independents, why is he doing so well among them?

Ryan Streeter on The Republican: Expect Obama to make use of new poll data showing voters blame Bush for the economy...and expect that ultimately to hurt Obama

The health policy 'pickle': Governors weigh their options on Obamacare funds

"Texas Gov. Rick Perry, along with a slew of other Republican governors, faces a dilemma: Do they apply for millions of dollars in federal grants by September to begin establishing state-run health insurance exchanges, or let the deadline slide, lose the federal money and risk falling into a federally run exchange? Republican governors are unanimous in their condemnation of President Barack Obama's health care law. But one by one, many of them are moving forward to build state exchanges, which are intended to help people not covered by large-company plans buy private health insurance at subsidized rates." - WSJ

Dr. Hal Scherz" "If you have been watching the unraveling of our economy over the past several weeks, then what is coming very soon to health care should really get your attention." - Fox News

Entrepreneurs draw GOP attention

"The contenders in the GOP field appear to be spending most of their time with those they think could be the solution to the country’s economic hardship (business owners) rather than those who are most directly experiencing the hardship (people out of work). To be sure, they all interact with a cross-section of the public when they visit diners, stroll along downtown Main Streets or host town hall meetings." - Washington Post

• NLRB requires companies to post notices on workers’ right - WSJ
• Labor chief: Obama needs to focus on job growth, not cutting the deficit - The Hill
• Steven Malanga: "Unions weren't so uniformly behind tax increases when most of their members worked for companies in the private economy." - WSJ
• Stephen Moore: "If you really want to light the fuse of a liberal Democrat, compare Barack Obama's economic performance after 30 months in office with that of Ronald Reagan. It's not at all flattering for Mr. Obama." - WSJ

David Brooks: "The rise of Governor Rick Perry reflects fundamental shifts in the electorate, and it’s time to take him seriously" - New York Times

• "Texas Gov. Rick Perry's surge in the polls has shaken up the Republican presidential race, emboldening GOP voters who say 2012 is the year a rock-ribbed conservative can win the White House." - WSJ
• Perry: Romney realizing Massachusetts healthcare law is ‘huge problem for him’ - The Hill
• Job creators pick Texas - Rick Perry on USA Today
• Peggy Noonan: "The Republican candidate comes across well as consistent and sincere, but his quick-draw machismo will scare voters away." - WSJ

Huntsman says if elected he would call on wealthy to ‘sacrifice’ - The Hill

Meanwhile, the White House turns the focus to black America

"A soaring jobless rate among African Americans and a newfound comfort by black lawmakers to criticize Obama’s economic policies are prompting the White House to recalibrate — and to focus more directly on the struggles of black America. The new focus comes amid a growing concern that economic conditions might hamper efforts by Obama’s campaign to generate a large black voter turnout." - Washington Post

GOP groups spends nearly $800K on Nevada special 

"American Crossroads has upped the ante in the special election for Nevada’s 2nd district, announcing Thursday a $250,000 independent expenditure to help Republican Mark Amodei keep the seat in GOP hands. Working in opposition of Democratic state Treasurer Kate Marshall, the Republican political action committee is spending the money on voter contact initiatives that include direct mail, phone banking and internet advertising in promotion of its new website, MeetKateMarshall.com, and a Web ad that slams Marshall for the state losing '$25 million investing with a failed Wall Street bank.'" - Roll Call ($)

Also from the states:

• "Some days, politicians could use a drink. But lawmakers in Michigan may soon find it harder to get one. Hundreds of bar owners in the Great Lakes State plan to deprive lawmakers of their hospitality by banning them from their establishments in protest of the state's smoking ban." - Fox News
• "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie proposed a one-year moratorium on “fracking” Thursday, splitting the difference politically by conditionally vetoing a bill passed by the legislature that would have permanently banned the process." - The Daily Caller
• "Opening up a new front in its legal battles with the Obama administration, the state of Arizona on Thursday challenged the federal Voting Rights Act, prompting a swift response from Attorney General Eric Holder." - MSNBC

Dick Cheney is already promising there will be “heads exploding all over Washington” when his new book hits stores Tuesday - LA Times

• "Former vice president provides an unapologetic defense of the George W. Bush administration." - Washington Post
• "Key Democrats like Nancy Pelosi supported the Bush administration's aggressive terrorist surveillance, former Vice President Dick Cheney's new book reveals. They switched only after it was no longer secret." - IBD

"As massive Hurricane Irene advanced toward the Eastern Seaboard with 115-mph winds, officials issued a hurricane warning for the entire North Carolina coast to the Virginia border, New York ordered low-lying hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate, and at least seven states declared emergencies." - LA Times | Washington Post

"Back-to-back natural disasters have made for an unusually busy week for the Architect of the Capitol." - Roll Call ($)

Martin Luther King Jr. memorial dedication postponed due to hurricane

"The head of the foundation that organized Sunday's planned dedication ceremony on Washington's National Mall for a memorial to the late Martin Luther King Jr. announced Thursday night that the official dedication has been postponed. As Hurricane Irene continued to barrel toward the Washington area, Harry Johnson, CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, said safety prompted the decision. He said he consulted with the National Park Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The dedication will be rescheduled for sometime in September or October, he said." - USA Today

Charles Krauthammer: "A powerful memorial for a great man." - Washington Post

Gadhafi's crush: Photo album of Condoleezza Rice found at the Libyan dictator's compound 

"When you’re the single, attractive secretary of state of the United States, you’re bound to pick up groupies in all corners of the international diplomatic scene. But for Condoleezza Rice, who has charmed diplomats from Rome (the Italian foreign minister, Massimo D’Alema) to London (Foreign Minister Jack Straw of Britain) to Pictou, Nova Scotia (the Canadian diplo-hunk Peter McKay), perhaps the strangest of all has always been Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. “Leezza, Leezza, Leezza … I love her very much,” Colonel Qaddafi, the now-fugitive Libyan leader, told Al Jazeera in 2007, calling her his “darling black African woman”...And, as it now comes out, he apparently assembled — or had a minion assemble — a photo album of Ms. Rice. Which brings us to the matter at hand today, the ransacking of Colonel Qaddafi’s compound under way in Tripoli." - New York Times The Caucus blog

• "The U.N. Security Council's sanctions committee approves a U.S. request to unfreeze $1.5 billion in Libyan assets for humanitarian and civilian needs." - CNN
• "The UN urges all sides in Libya to take steps to avoid revenge attacks, as allegations emerge of abuses by rebels and Gaddafi loyalists." - BBC News
• The Libyan double agent: "By day, Mahmoud Ben Jumaa was a senior officer in Moammar Gadhafi's personal security force. By night, he met secretly with those trying to overthrow his boss." - WSJ

Also in the news:

• "Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. met Wednesday afternoon with about a dozen family members of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to discuss an FBI probe into allegations that News Corp. employees may have hacked into the phones of victims or their families."  - LA Times
• "The Obama administration is weighing whether to allow homeowners to refinance their mortgages so they can take advantage of the current rock-bottom rates, as the foreclosure epidemic spreads." - Fox News
• "China is expanding its nuclear forces with a new multiwarhead mobile missile and keeps its strategic stockpiles in deep underground bunkers, the Pentagon disclosed in its annual report to Congress on the Chinese military." - Washington Times

Michael Gerson: "Eastern Congo is both a tragedy and a lesson in political philosophy. Human beings need bread and justice and freedom. And all are made possible by orderly, responsible government." - Washington Post

...and finally, President Obama hits the beach

"On vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama managed to squeeze in some family time Thursday afternoon after spending the morning taking briefings on the economy, the situation in Libya and Hurricane Irene." - LA Times

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Newslinks for Thursday August 25, 2011

7:30pm Video: Will Perry's jabs at Romney force Romney to start going on the attack?

5:00pm The Republican: Palin's days numbered? Forty-one percent of Republican voters say there is "no chance" they would vote for her

3:00pm The Republican: Rick Perry update: Not only is he the favorite of college-educated Republicans, he's also a leader in higher ed reform - says Kevin Carey at the New Republic

1:30 Video:

• "You had your turn, let me have mine!" Mitt kind of loses it at a town hall in N.H.
• Ron Paul: Before we can really reform entitlements, things will get worse - as in European-style-riot worse

1:00pm The Republican: Welfare reform worked: And has pointed the way to other challenges - such as welfare-like behavior in the middle class

10:15am The Republican: Perry's leading with just about everyone - including the college-educated

Survey: Conservative voters worry most about the deficit's effect on the economy and think family breakdown is a greater threat to our economy than health care costs

VIDEO: George W Bush remembers the moment when he first heard about the 9/11 attacks

VIDEO: Rove says Palin needs to get a thicker skin

VIDEO: 'All of the campaign donations in the world won't save Obama from his record'

"The politician who has done more than any other to set the national agenda this year will soon return to Washington. It is not President Barack Obama. It's House Speaker John Boehner." - Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal

Boehner to Obama: If You Oppose China's One-Child Policy, Why Don't You Defund the UN's Population Control Program? - Weekly Standard

Senators Hatch, Lugar and Snowe seem likely to survive primary challenges - WSJ

The Perry bounce

Nate Silver on how polls have changed since Perry entered the race.

Perry, the unity candidate? "[Latest Gallup poll] results underscore Perry's potential, as a staunch social conservative with a strong economic story in Texas, to build a primary coalition that bridges the divide between upscale, managerial Republicans and the party's more populist and evangelical blue-collar wing... It may not last as he engages more sharply with the other contenders, but Perry's ability in this survey to outpoll both Bachmann among the devout and Romney among the well-educated shows the Texas governor's opportunity to build a broader coalition than either of his principal rivals." - Hotline

HotAir notes that Team Obama is beginning to attack Perry but Toby Harnden gives this and nine other reasons why Perry is NOT the frontrunner: "Romney’s years on the presidential campaign trail mean that he has built impressive campaign structures in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. Perry could catch up but we don’t yet have an indication that he will."

Unlike Romney, Perry signs anti-abortion pledge

"The document requires candidates to nominate antiabortion judges and appointees, end taxpayer funding for all groups with affiliates that perform or fund abortions and try to enact a law to “protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.” - WSJ

Fact Check on Perry: Can a president 'wipe out' health law by executive order? - MSNBC

2012 in Brief:

• Mitt Romney has tweaked his position on global warming: 'I don't know if it's mostly caused by humans' - Politico (Hotline summarises all candidates' positions on climate change)
• Romney campaigns on Right-to-Work in New Hampshire - Washington Examiner
• Jeb Bush appears to identify Perry, Romney and Huntsman as most electable - USA Today | CNN
• Mark McKinnon says Huntsman is offering the grown-up talk that the GOP needs - Daily Beast
• Palin, Bolton, Giuliani and Pataki may all join race - Daily Caller
• Pataki may jump into the 2012 race when he appears at an Iowa picnic over the weekend - New York Post
• Pataki for President? - Weekly Standard

Ron Paul's authenticity

"Paul’s meandering speeches and homespun mien are a stark juxtaposition with the bumper-sticker rhetoric common on the campaign trail, and they prompt some people to write him off. But the stylistic differences also play to his advantage. In a world of artifice he has none, and voters sick of political chameleons are drawn to that." - Alex Altman for TIME

'Rubio now favorite to be GOP's VP candidate'

"“Rubio checks more boxes than anyone,” said GOP strategist Kevin Madden, a former adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. “He’s someone with an Hispanic heritage who’s beloved by the conservative base of the party and he has been elected statewide in a crucial electoral battleground.”" - Washington Post

At TNR, Liberal T A Frank describes Rubio as a "Halfway Presentable Conservative": "Rubio offered only a very little in the way of reality-based wonkery. But by the standards of today’s political conversations, he was still noticeably less partisan and vacuous than his peers."

In this time of economic distress a third party presidential candidate is likely and 30% of Americans are ready to vote for one - Patrick Caddell and Douglas Schoen for the Wall Street Journal

Charlie Cook: A 'Placebo' Would Beat Obama Right Now - Fox

“There are gonna be heads exploding all over Washington’’; Cheney says his memoir will rock Washington - Washington Post

Cheney had a signed resignation letter in a safe at all times - NPR

"Dick Cheney says in a new memoir that he urged President George W. Bush to bomb a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site in June 2007. But, he wrote, Mr. Bush opted for a diplomatic approach after other advisers — still stinging over “the bad intelligence we had received about Iraq’s stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction” — expressed misgivings." - New York Times

Liberals’ Wisconsin Waterloo - George Will in the Washington Post surveys the damage to union power after Scott Walker's recent victories.

Mississippi GOP aim for dominance across state

"The Republican Party has launched a major push to capture the Mississippi House of Representatives this fall, a goal that has eluded it since Reconstruction and that would remove nearly every vestige of Democratic control from the state's government." - WSJ

Don't celebrate Libya just yet - Bill Bennett for CNN

The Environmental Protection Agency’s power grab is only the most extreme example of a larger malady: regulation without representation - Marlo Lewis Jnr for the New York Times

And finally...

Hat-tip to David Limbaugh.

And for an alternative view... Rick Perry doesn’t speak for all military - Dan Futrell for Politico

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Newslinks for Wednesday August 24, 2011

5:00pm The Republican: As the eyes of the world turn to the Middle East we must not forget Cuba's Ladies in White

2:30pm Rep. Phil Roe: Our country is at a crossroads, and tough decisions must be made. Rhetoric will not lower the deficit and inaction is not an economic driver.

2:00pm Video: Benghazi celebrates the capture of Gadhafi's compound

1:15pm The Republican: Obama scores a hat trick: CBO projects the third straight $1 trillion deficit under the current administration

12:30pm Rep. Ted Poe: As our deficit soars and the U.S. continues to borrow, borrow, borrow - as much as 43 cents on every dollar - we do not have the upper hand in this battle. If there ever was a time to get serious with China, now is the time.

12:15pm Opinion: On patriotism and the 2012 election

11:30am The Republican: What they're saying: Conservatives take on Rep. Maxine Waters

11:00am Video:

• RNC Chairman Reince Priebus reacts to new polling on Republican field
• "It's good to be critical of the president...but you have to win with purpose if you really want to make these big changes": Jeb Bush says GOP hopefuls can't just attack Obama

9:45am ICYMI: Full text of Sen. Marco Rubio's speech at the Reagan Library

ConservativeHome-Daily Caller poll: Rick Perry rocks, and Paul Ryan will be missed: Check out the latest ConservativeHome-Daily Caller poll results

Video:

• Reagan's Republicanism was about prosperity and compassion, declares Marco Rubio
• Huntsman hits Perry for being anti-science and for hyped attack on Fed Chairman

The jobs debate between Obama, Romney and Perry

Romney said he will unveil his jobs plan on Sept. 6th, the same week as President Obama unveils his plan -- possibly even the same day - MSNBC

• Romney to unveil plan in Nevada where unemployment equals 12.9% - Politico

Club for Growth calls Perry pro-growth, but warns of 'interventionist streak' - MSNBC (FrumForum concludes that the hard-to-please Club for Growth wouldn't much like Ronald Reagan).

Presidential hopeful Perry retreats again from statements made in his book about flat taxation - The Hill

• House Republicans and White House agree on emulating Georgia's scheme for giving unemployed a job tryout for eight weeks in private sector - WSJ
• In Europe expenditure taxes haven't substituted for income taxation but merely added to the tax burden - Ernest Christian and Gary Robbins in the Wall Street Journal
• Food stamps and other transfers aren't necessarily bad ideas, but there's no evidence they spur growth - Robert Barro for the Wall Street Journal

Other 2012:

• Palin's advisers pour cold water on talk that the former Alaska Governor has decided to run - Washington Post
• Some pro-Romney Republicans question his low profile campaign, arguing a higher energy campaign would have discouraged Perry from entering race - The Hill
• A new poll has Rick Perry with a double-digit nationwide lead over Mitt Romney - Fox
• Perry ahead in Iowa but Ron Paul "surging" - WSJ
• RedState warns frontrunner status will mean Perry gets relentless scrutiny.
• Perry’s Patronage Problem - favors for donors - NRO
• Huntsman would be eager to serve as VP to Bachmann or other Tea Party Republican - USA Today
• Huntsman "believes" in global warming but has no action plan to combat it - Washington Post
• What the 2012 candidates reading? - Washington Post

Republican establishment worried about Ron Paul phenomenon

"Key Republicans in Iowa -- and around the country, too -- are genuinely baffled by the Paul phenomenon. They understand (and share) many of Paul's views on the Constitution and limiting the size and scope of the federal government, even if they think Paul sometimes goes too far. What perplexes them is Paul's take on foreign policy, especially the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. "Why wouldn't it be natural that they might want a weapon?" Paul asked at the Fox-Examiner debate. "They'd be given more respect. ... What's so terribly bad about this?" As for sanctions against Iran, Paul said, "Countries that you put sanctions on, you are more likely to fight them. ... I say stay out of their internal business."" - Byron York for TownHall

The Economist looks at candidates like Ron Paul that change the intellectual climate even if they don't win the presidential nomination.

Jeb Bush warns Republicans against personal attacks on Obama

"Asked by Fox News host Neil Cavuto if some Republicans go too far in their criticism of Obama, Bush said flatly, “I do. I think when you start ascribing bad motives to the guy, that’s wrong. It turns off people who want solutions." - Politico

Rubio woos and wows Reagan Republicans

"Marco Rubio came to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday night to make the case for smaller government. Many of the 1,000 guests attending the sold-out address came here to see a man who they hope one day will be president." - Politico | LA Times

Rubio's message summarized by Fox: "Government programs have weakened the country and that those in need should first look to their families and communities before turning to the government."

Despite endorsements from Palin, Hannity and Levin, Tea Party groups continue to target Orrin Hatch - Hotline

Who are the conservatives who support Obama?

"In every ethnic enclave in America, a significant percentage of the population (many of them loyal churchgoers) espouses right-leaning values but currently feels uncomfortable with the Republican Party. Part of this unease stems from multigenerational family traditions, or from the GOP’s longstanding reputation as a closed country club welcoming only elderly, white, Christian males, or from cynical Democratic efforts to suggest that any criticism of Obama proves the presence of deep-seated Republican racism." - Michael Medved for TownHall

At TIME Steven Gray thinks Rick Perry could help the GOP with Latino voters.

Those diminishing numbers of Americans who approve of Obama don't approve as strongly as those who disapprove...

Graph from Boker tov, Boulder.

Obama's bus tour goes badly on Twitter...

Source: The Hill's Twitter Room

"Mr. Obama’s personal favorability ratings — which continue to average about 50 percent — are considerably higher than his approval ratings, which are now around 40 percent. It’s not uncommon for favorability ratings to track a point or two ahead of approval ratings — but this is a particularly large gap. Voters remain reasonably sympathetic to Barack Obama, the person, even if they’re growing less and less thrilled with his performance." - Nate Silver

> Yesterday's Republican: Obama hits another approval low

But Democrats cheered by fundraising gap

"Democratic Party committees have raised $24 million more this year than their Republican counterparts – a money gap more than twice as large as the Democratic advantages at similar points in either of the previous two election cycles." - Politico

White House touts success of Libya strategy - LA Times

Libya will have difficult future - Max Boot in the LA Times

Fury at Biden's sympathy for China's one child policy - NPR | Fox

FACT OF THE DAY: "While Gallup finds that 52 percent of Americans think pollution is responsible for global warming, that’s a 20-point drop from the late 1990s. Republicans are largely responsible for that drop — while 71 percent of Democrats think human activity is responsible for global warming, only 36 percent of Republicans agree." - Washington Post

And finally... Barack Obama missed golf putts after earthquake struck - Toby Harnden

The Capitol and other government buildings were evacuated yesterday afternoon in the wake of an earthquake of 5.8 magnitude - Roll Call

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Newslinks for Tuesday August 23, 2011

4:30pm Video:

• DC reacts to the earthquake
• Where in the world is Moammar Gadhafi?
• NATO on Libya: "We will carry on with our mission"

3:15pm The Republican: Obama hits another approval low

2:00pm Sen. John Barrasso: Last year, President Obama promised Americans a recovery summer. This year, he’s given us a regulatory summer. He’s thrown a giant wet blanket on economic recovery and has given Americans a summer of more burdens, more costs and more rules

1:45pm Opinion: Post Post-Modernism

1:15pm Video:

• Trump: Debt Super Committee is 'ridiculous'
• Huntsman weighs in on why he believes he's better suited for the presidency than Romney: I respect him, I think he's a good man...but when it comes to going up against Barack Obama being number 47 on job creation isn't going to cut it 

1:00pm Rebels take control of Gadhafi compound: "Strategically, this means that Tripoli has fallen"

11:30am Herb London on Ideas: From coming boom to the coming gloom

11:15am The Republican: How do you spend $3 million a minute? Ask President Obama

9:30am Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison: So what’s to blame for joblessness in America: bad luck or bad policies? Look no further than the mammoth fortress of federal regulatory agencies

8:15am Video: Sen. John McCain on the latest developments in Libya: This is about people aspiring for freedom. And that's what the Libyan people have just achieved

Ryan Streeter on The Republican: Obama losing among independents to Romney, Perry, and Paul

Rep. Fred Upton: Super Committee talks have started

"The 12-member debt committee has already held conference calls and may have a website up by the end of the week, Rep. Fred Upton said Monday. Upton, a supercommittee member, told WNDU in South Bend, Ind., that the debt panel is already hard at work despite being spread about the country during the congressional recess. “We’ve really started on the phone already, we’ve had lengthy conference calls already,” Upton said. “We've had a good number of discussions already. Our staffs are working together, and there's a lot of documentation that we can look at already," said Upton, citing the Simpson-Bowles report and earlier work on the debt by the Gang of Six. Upton said the panel is working on a website that could be done by the end of this week that will allow people to submit ideas; he also pledged the debt committee will have “public hearings” at some point." - Politico

• Biden says getting deal done on deficit reduction will be ‘very difficult’ - Bloomberg
• Grover Norquist sees deficit super committee stalemating - US News & World Report

"Unable to present a unified view on US involvement in Libya, Congress found itself similarly silenced Monday as rebels made gains on ousting leader Moammar Kadafi from decades of rule." - LA Times

• "Moammar Gadhafi's son Saif says his father and several of his sisters are safe, while loyal troops had "broken the back" of the rebel advance." - CNN
• "Though gunfights continued in the streets of Tripoli and Moammar Kadafi’s whereabouts were unknown, the debate had already begun in political circles Monday about whether the crumbling of the Kadafi regime was a victory for President Obama." - LA Times
• "GOP presidential contenders welcomed the fall of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Monday and expressed hope that a new government would embrace the tenets of a free society." - USA Today
• With Qaddafi running scared, Syrian protesters tell Assad, 'it's your turn' - Fox News
• "Libya's rebel government, the National Transition Council, now faces a far greater task than governing Benghazi." - Christian Science Monitor
• John Yoo: Qaddafi's fall should embarrass GOP isolationists - NRO's The Corner
• "Neither President Obama nor his critics are declaring political victory with the rebels apparently taking control of Libya." - Washington Post

> Yesterday on Video: Would Chris Matthews do this if Obama asked? Libyan news host brandishes gun on air to warn the rebels

White House to scale back some business regulations

"The Obama administration will release final plans for ending or cutting back hundreds of regulations, an effort to reduce the burden on business and counter criticism that the White House is tone-deaf to business concerns." - WSJ

• "President Obama on Monday reached out to billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Ford CEO Alan Mulally for advice as he crafts a major jobs plan to be released after Labor Day." - The Hill
• Advocates urge easier visa policies to boost startups - NPR

Meanwhile, Wall Street executives drop Obama, start donating to Romney

"Dozens of Wall Street executives who supported President Obama in 2008 have donated to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign this year. According to a review of fundraising data, 67 people who work in the financial sector and live in the New York City metro area gave to Obama in 2008 and to the former Massachusetts governor in 2011. The reversals come in the wake of Obama's tough rhetoric on Wall Street — most notably last year, when the president was pushing Congress to pass what has become known as the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The 67 individuals who live in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut donated at least once to Obama's 2008 campaign. They have since directed contributions amounting to more than $147,000 toward Romney's presidential campaign." - The Hill

Even New York voters are abandoning Obama: "A new Siena Research Institute poll found [the President's] job approval rating among voters in the heavily Democratic Empire State sank to a record low 36%." - New York Daily News

Feds’ role in schools re-emerges as 2012 election issue

"Republican presidential candidates are increasingly using the federal Department of Education as a punching bag, citing it as yet another example of big government’s heavy hand in local affairs. But this time, the Education Department is punching back. In what could be a preview of things to come, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Education Secretary Arne Duncan traded harsh words last week and helped push education and the federal government’s role in it from its usual spot on the back burner to the spotlight of presidential politics. During an Aug. 15 campaign stop in Iowa, Mr. Perry said he doesn’t “think the federal government has a role in education.” A few days later, Mr. Duncan shot back, telling the Bloomberg news agency he feels “very, very badly” for the students of Texas, a rare example of the education secretary using his pulpit to take political shots at Republicans. As the 2012 campaign heats up, analysts think those types of exchanges could become more common and think that education policy could play a much greater role than in recent elections." - Washington Times

Congressman Paul Ryan passes on 2012 presidential bid

"Rep. Paul Ryan became the latest Republican to pass on a presidential bid after a week of speculation that he could jump into the field. Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement Monday that he appreciated the support from "those eager to chart a brighter future for the next generation" but would not run for president. 'While humbled by the encouragement, I have not changed my mind, and therefore I am not seeking our party's nomination for president,' he said. 'I remain hopeful that our party will nominate a candidate committed to a pro-growth agenda of reform that restores the promise and prosperity of our exceptional nation.'" - USA Today

Robert Costa: "Ryan will not seek the presidency, but he will shape the debate." - NRO's The Corner

> Yesterday on The Republican: Thanks to all of our readers who encouraged Paul Ryan to run

Also from the 2012 field:

• Mitt Romney upgrades his mansion - LA Times
• The Sarah PAC website takes an unmistakable swipe at Karl Rove - Burns & Haberman on Politico
• "Jon Huntsman says he could be Rep. Michele Bachmann's running mate as easily as he could work for President Barack Obama." - Washington Wire on the WSJ
• Romney to outline jobs plan September 6 in Nevada - The Hill
• "Texas Gov. Rick Perry has grabbed frontrunner status in South Carolina, ending several months of what had been a muddled race in this key GOP presidential primary state." - Roll Call ($)
• Team Obama deals the race card against Perry - Washington Examiner
• "So far, Mitt Romney isn't doing much to undermine Rick Perry; he's hoping other Republicans will save him to the trouble of tangling with a rival who is popular with the party's conservative base." - National Journal
• Pawlenty's supporters start searching for the next "Mr./Mrs. Right" - The Hill

> Yesterday on Video: Trumps says Palin's running, Rove says more likely than not, John Fund says, no, she's going to support Perry

Analysis: GOP’s early buys in Nevada special paying off

"With three weeks to go before the Sept. 13 special election in Nevada's 2nd district, both parties are taking a fresh look at the race and re-evaluating their strategies for the stretch run. But even though the race isn't over, Republicans are starting to believe that they've avoided yet another special election loss. Republicans have lost seven of the last eight competitive special elections, including races in GOP-leaning districts, over the last three years. At least, on paper, the race in Nevada looked like it could be headed for a similar fate." - Roll Call ($)

In the battle for the Senate, Republican odds continue to look good

"As the Republican presidential race begins in earnest, so are Senate campaigns across the country. On Monday, former congressman Chris Shays (R) announced he would run for an open seat in Connecticut in 2012, while Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Allen B. West (R-Fla.) both announced they would not run. Those three decisions came just days after former Obama administration adviser Elizabeth Warren announced that she was forming an exploratory committee to face Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), possibly giving Democrats their first top-tier challenger in that race. The four decisions are all major announcements in key Senate races that could go a long way toward determining the balance of power in the chamber after the 2012 election." - Washington Post

• "In a big boost to Utah Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, two-term congressman and “tea party” favorite Jason Chaffetz backed away Monday from a threatened intraparty challenge of the venerable GOP lawmaker." - LA Times
• Rep. Allen West not running for Senate - The Hill
• "Elizabeth Warren’s combative history with Wall Street could create a fundraising dilemma for her burgeoning Senate campaign." - The Hill

Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters tells the Tea Party to "go to hell" - Washington Post

Michael Gerson: An unholy war on the Tea Party - Washington Post

FCC officially kills Fairness Doctrine, wiping it from rules

"Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the elimination of 83 outdated and obsolete agency rules on Monday, including the controversial Fairness Doctrine. “The elimination of the obsolete Fairness Doctrine regulations will remove an unnecessary distraction. As I have said, striking this from our books ensures there can be no mistake that what has long been a dead letter remains dead," Genachowski said in a statement. "The Fairness Doctrine holds the potential to chill free speech and the free flow of ideas and was properly abandoned over two decades ago. I am pleased we are removing these and other obsolete rules from our books." The rule required broadcasters to cover controversial issues in a manner deemed fair and balanced by the FCC. The commission deemed it unconstitutional in 1987 and ceased enforcement." - The Hill | Fox News

Also in opinion:

• David Brooks: "Many Americans want to help make the world a better place, but it might first be useful to consider the virtues demanded by service properly understood." - New York Times
• William McGurn: What West Point could teach Miami - WSJ

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Newslinks for Monday August 22, 2011

7:00pm The Republican: Happy 15th anniversary, welfare reform: Amazing how easy it is to forget that historic achievement in 1996, isn't it?

5:00pm The Republican: Disquieting truth about the future: New data on marriage breakdown today spells trouble for all of us tomorrow

3:30pm The Republican: Thanks to all of our readers who encouraged Paul Ryan to run

3:10pm The Republican: PAUL RYAN WILL NOT RUN FOR PRESIDENT

12:00pm Video of the day: Would Chris Matthews do this if Obama asked? Libyan news host brandishes gun on air to warn the rebels

11:30am Video: Trumps says Palin's running, Rove says more likely than not, John Fund says, no, she's going to support Perry

10:45am The Republican: Reflections from Peter Feaver and Walter Russell Mead on Libya and the comparisons between Obama and Bush

Ryan Streeter on The Republican: The Republican candidate in 2012 who is unafraid to talk about upward mobility - and not just jobs and growth - will have the broadest appeal

Video: Sen. John McCain on Qaddafi's last stand: "This will send a message to Bashir Assad, and to Yemen and to other dictators, that their time is nearing the end"

Calls grow for a more broadened GOP field

"After a week of intense campaign activity that was supposed to clarify the Republican presidential field, the clamor for new entrants has intensified, with fresh hints from Sarah Palin that she could jump in and pressure mounting on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to join the race. The activity suggests the extent to which dissatisfaction with the current field lingers—as well as the possibility that President Barack Obama's growing problems could entice others to seek the chance to unseat him." - WSJ

• "The field is full, though perhaps not complete, but if any other candidates are thinking of joining the Republican presidential race, they better move quick." - Fox News
• 'She will run': Palin organizers say she’s getting into the race - Robert Costa on NRO's The Corner
• 'Flawed' GOP field thrills Democrats - Chicago Sun-Tribune
• McCain: Palin would be "formidable" in 2012 - CBS News
• George Will: "Christie, explaining why he will not run, demonstrates why many wish he would" - Washington Post

> Yesterday on Video: Gov. Mitch Daniels on the 2012 field: These are good people with a lot of character...I'd campaign for any one who emerges from our process

Ross Douthat: "Rick Perry’s opponents can’t beat him by turning the race into a referendum on his state"

"Gov. Rick Perry of Texas hasn’t lost an election in 10 tries. Among his vanquished opponents, this streak has inspired not only the usual mix of resentment and respect, but a touch of supernatural awe. “Running against Perry,” one of them told Texas Monthly, “is like running against God.” Perry’s 2012 rivals can’t afford to entertain such thoughts. If either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama hopes to snap the Texas governor’s winning streak, the election will need to become a referendum on Perry himself, in all his heat-packing, secession-contemplating glory. If it becomes a referendum on his home state instead, Perry’s 11th campaign will probably turn out like all the others." - New York Times

Shifting strategy, Jon Huntsman plays offense

"After taking to Twitter last week to declare his belief in evolution and global warming, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Sunday again sought to cast himself as a moderate in a field of more extreme Republican presidential candidates." - LA Times

> Yesterday on Video: "Right now this country is crying out for sensible middle ground. This is a center-right country and I am a center-right candidate": Jon Huntsman takes on his Republican rivals

Also from the 2012 presidential field:

• Perry wrestles with his own health care approach - Boston Globe
• "Bachmann’s lawyerly background is better and worse than she claims" - Miami Herald
• Herman Cain gets an early start in Nevada - Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Ron Paul's birthday 'money bomb' nets $1.6 million - LA Times
• Ron Paul wins New Hampshire Young Republicans Straw Poll - Hampton - NorthHampton Patch
• John E. Sununu: "Primaries should be about demonstrating a broad appeal, not distributing $30 barbeque tickets" - Boston Globe
• Obama looks to reclaim Hispanic support - Washington Post

> Yesterday on The Republican: American politics according to YouTube

DCCC, NRCC neck-and-neck in July fundraising

"The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just barely edged National Republican Congressional Committee fundraising in July. But the NRCC had more in cash on hand and less debt than its Democratic counterpart. The DCCC raised $4 million last month and had $8.1 million in cash on hand at the end of July, according to its FEC filings. The DCCC had $4 million in debt at the end of the filing period. The NRCC raised $3.9 million last month and had $11.3 million in cash on hand at the end of July, while holding $2.8 million in debt." - Roll Call ($)

"The election to fill the vacancy left by Anthony D. Weiner’s resignation was supposed to be a mere formality for Democrats. It hasn’t turned out that way." - New York Times

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: Give the economy room to grow

"Our country is facing two related but separate crises. The first is the federal government’s debt crisis, the result of decades of fiscal mismanagement by both political parties as well as unsustainable entitlement commitments. The second is the jobs crisis, which has resulted in painful levels of unemployment and underemployment. President Obama is wrong to think that the answer is to increase spending or raise taxes when so many millions of Americans are out of work." - Washington Post

• Beware: New 'Obamanomics' plan ahead - Brian Darling, Human Events
• Editorial: "This is classic Obama rhetorical misdirection: Talk about something that sounds responsible and consistent with public opinion, even as he proposes doing something entirely different. The short-term investment of $859 billion in economic stimulus spending two years ago was also promised to produce long-term savings too, not because it actually would so but because that's what Washington's professional politicians always promise: Just let us spend more today and things will be better tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is here and, as the old song by the Who said, we won't get fooled again." - Washington Examiner

> Yesterday on Video:

• Bob McDonnell: You've got to cut entitlements. You've got to cut discretionary spending. That's the honest conversation the president needs to have. We're broke in Washington
• Ed Gillespie: Obama's in over his head

Senator Marco Rubio heads to California for 'major speech' at Nancy Reagan's request

"Just days after Marco Rubio’s election as Florida’s newest Republican U.S. senator, former First Lady Nancy Reagan wrote to him, asking him to speak at her husband’s presidential library. “You’ve been identified as someone to watch on the national political scene. I’m looking forward to watching you in your new role,” she said, in an invitation that no admirer of her late husband, former President Ronald Reagan, could decline. “Americans are curious to get to know you. I believe the Reagan Library would be a great venue for you to deliver an address.” Rubio will officially be someone to watch on Tuesday, when he travels to California for his first major speech outside of Florida or the U.S. Senate — as well as some fundraising for his just-launched political action committee. He’s expected to expound on a familiar theme of his own and Reagan’s at the former president’s library: the role of government in America." - Miami Herald

Rebels: Libya under our control

"An amateur league of ill-trained rebel fighters appeared to be on the brink of toppling Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year rule Monday after capturing at least two of the leader's sons and infiltrating the Libyan capital. The rebels' Transitional National Council is ready to move to Tripoli, said Ali Suleiman Aujali, the Libyan rebel government's ambassador to the United States. "Libya is under the control of the TNC," he said, adding that Gadhafi brigades have raised the white flag in the key town of al-Brega. CNN could not independently confirm his claim. But the fight might not be over, as celebrations in Tripoli's Green Square -- renamed Martyrs' Square by the rebels -- dampened after rebels told CNN that they'd heard Gadhafi army forces were heading their way." - CNN

• "With rebels advancing in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and the whereabouts of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi unknown, President Obama said Sunday night that the Kadafi regime was collapsing and called on the Libyan leader to 'relinquish power once and for all.'" - LA Times
• "Kadafi may have underestimated the tenacity of the uprising in the western mountains." - LA Times
• "Heavy fighting is reported around Libyan leader Col Gaddafi's compound as rebels say government forces still control up to a fifth of Tripoli." - BBC News
• "With euphoric rebel forces in control of large parts of Tripoli early Monday, Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year rule appeared to be disintegrating. The Libyan leader issued defiant statements, but his whereabouts were not known and his forces mounted little resistance." - NPR
• George Grant: A power vacuum is not inevitable - WSJ

Other news in brief:

• Firms shield data on hiring abroad: "Some seeking job-creation tax breaks don’t publicly reveal how many of their positions are in US" - Washington Post
• "As Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. visited Sichuan Province, Chinese officials steered him away from schools where students died in the 2008 earthquake." - New York Times

Editorial: "The Obama administration’s plan to relax rules calling for all students to achieve proficiency on standardized tests is too lax. No Child Left Behind needs some tweaking, for sure, but the administration’s initial plan goes too far." - Boston Globe

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