Poll: 76% of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country

"Three-quarters of American voters -- 76 percent -- are dissatisfied with how things are going in the country, according to a Fox News poll released Thursday. That’s up from 69 percent who felt that way in April, and 61 percent at the beginning of the year. At the Obama administration’s 100-day mark in April 2009, just over half of voters -- 53 percent -- were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. That number has steadily increased since. The current level of displeasure is almost back to where it was immediately before Barack Obama took office -- 79 percent dissatisfied (January 2009)." - Fox

Obama writes for the Financial Times, talks up private sector job growth

"In the US, we've had 19 straight months of private sector job growth and added more than 2.5m private sector jobs. Still, progress has not come fast enough and today the global recovery remains fragile ... It's why I've proposed the American Jobs Act ... I've put forward a comprehensive and balanced plan to substantially reduce our deficit over the next few years ... Avoiding old imbalances also means moving ahead with financial reforms that can help prevent another financial crisis. In the US, we're implementing the strongest reforms since the Great Depression. Across the G20, we need to make sure banks maintain the capital they need to withstand shocks." - FT ($)

Will Rick Perry pass on debates?

"The Perry camp says it will be considering participation in future debates individually as they focus on campaigning in the first five states to vote in the GOP contest early next year. 'We're taking each of these as they come,' Sullivan said Wednesday, 'examining the schedule and examining the opportunities and the opportunity costs. And, again, we recognize we need to be in Iowa and New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada and talking to those voters and giving them a chance to exercise their responsibility to vet the candidates, to have town hall meetings and to talk about the issues that are important to them.'" - CNN

• Santorum is first to whack Perry over skipping debates - Politico

Tea party group to Bachmann: Quit the presidential race

"A tea party group has a surprising and harsh urging for long-time tea party favorite Michele Bachmann: Quit the presidential race. 'It's time for Michelle [sic] Bachmann to go,' reads the first line of a statement from American Majority President Ned Ryun. His group operates in seven states, trains thousands of tea party supporters and is 'liked' by over 371,000 people on Facebook. ... 'Let's face it: she's a back-bencher and has been a back bencher congressperson for years,' Robbins added. 'This is not a serious presidential campaign.'" - CNN

2012 in Brief:

• Romney dominant in New Hampshire poll - Rasmussen
• Romney tied to former Solyndra lobbyist - The Hill
• Florida’s Jeff Miller endorses Mitt Romney - Roll Call
• Cain wades into abortion controversy again - CNN
• Tickets for Cain-Gingrich debate: $200, $500 or $1,000 - WSJ
• Poor no more: Herman Cain's net worth in the millions - LA Times
• "Judging by their public goals and 2010 spending, the conservative shadow party groups that helped Republicans to landslide wins in the 2010 midterm elections are likely to spend at least $270 million almost entirely on advertising in the run-up to Election Day 2012." - Politico
• "Despite a pledge not to take money from lobbyists, President Obama is relying on fund-raisers who are involved in lobbying for Washington consulting shops or private companies." - New York Times

Boehner rejects Dem debt proposal

"House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday rejected a proposal by the Democratic members of the congressional supercommittee on deficit reduction, declaring its $1.3 trillion in tax increases unacceptable. A majority of the six Democrats on the 12-member panel privately proposed a package that would cut the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years, including more than $1 trillion in tax increases. Boehner said in a press conference that the amount of new revenue was too high." - The Hill

• Parties draw their lines in deficit reduction fight - Roll Call

Bipartisan group of 100 lawmakers to urge $4 trillion deficit-cutting deal

"At least 100 House lawmakers plan to urge the deficit-cutting congressional supercommittee to accomplish what the Obama administration and Congress failed to achieve this summer: a large agreement aimed at reducing the federal deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years. In a letter that the bipartisan group plans to send to the supercommittee next week, the lawmakers will argue a large deal is vital to the nation’s future. Economists generally believe that long-term deficit-reduction of about $4 trillion is needed to put the U.S. on sound fiscal footing. Importantly, the letter calls for the 12-member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to consider 'all options,' including both spending and revenue – suggesting that Democrats are open to entitlement reforms while Republicans would back tax increases if they were part a giant deal." - WSJ

• "The rejection by Democratic and Republican members of the deficit-reduction supercommittee of each others' opening offers may mark the beginning, not the end, of an intensifying effort to determine whether taxes will be raised as part of a compromise, officials following the work of the panel said Thursday." - WSJ ($)
• "Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that automatic across-the-board cuts in spending would be an unacceptable outcome out of the deficit-slashing supercommittee. The so-called trigger, created as part of the debt ceiling hike earlier this year, would cut from defense and social programs if the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction falls short of reaching $1.2 trillion in cuts from the federal deficit." - Politico

Lawmakers unfazed by downgrade risk

"A growing number of lawmakers do not think another downgrade of the country's AAA rating will harm America's economy, raising questions about how much pressure Congress is under to fix the intractable budget deficit. ... Tim Ryan, a Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said there was broad sentiment in Congress that the U.S. economy would not necessarily suffer from a downgrade by the other two big agencies -- Fitch and Moody's -- that still rate U.S. debt as AAA. Ryan cited the role of the three major agencies in the buildup to the 2008 financial collapse, when they gave AAA ratings to the toxic mortgage-backed securities at the heart of the crisis." - Reuters

Sen. Marco Rubio attacks GOP immigration "rhetoric"

"Many Republicans see Marco Rubio as a rising star who can help them win over the fast-growing Hispanic population, but the Florida senator says toned-down rhetoric on the hot-button issue of immigration would be more likely to bring those voters to the GOP. 'The policies are important, but the rhetoric is sometimes the impediment,' Mr. Rubio said in an interview. 'Sometimes—and I'm not pointing fingers at anyone—the way the message is communicated is harmful and has hurt Republicans.'" - WSJ ($)

• Democratic-leaning PAC targets Rubio in exile controversy - CNN

Mitch McConnell's college football filibuster

"Mitch McConnell is better known for blocking action in the Senate, but he’s quietly expanding his defense to the college football world, mounting a goal-line stand against West Virginia University’s hopes to join the Big 12 Conference. But West Virginia’s senators, including onetime Mountaineers football player and now-Sen. Joe Manchin, are accusing McConnell of interfering on behalf of his beloved University of Louisville Cardinals. Manchin has already issued a rallying cry, telling McConnell to “bring it on” and suggesting a Senate inquiry into the GOP leader’s lobbying effort, as the two schools compete for the final spot in one of the nation’s premier football conferences." - Politico

Peggy Noonan: While Obama readies an ugly campaign, Paul Ryan gives a serious account of what ails America

"Mr. Ryan ... is doing something unique in national politics. He thinks. He studies. He reads. Then he comes forward to speak, calmly and at some length, about what he believes to be true. He defines a problem and offers solutions, often providing the intellectual and philosophical rationale behind them. Conservatives naturally like him—they agree with him—but liberals and journalists inclined to disagree with him take him seriously and treat him with respect. This week he spoke on 'The American Idea' at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. He scored the president as too small for the moment, as 'petty' in his arguments and avoidant of the decisions entailed in leadership. ... If more Republicans thought—and spoke—like this, the party would flourish. People would be less fearful for the future. And Mr. Obama wouldn't be seeing his numbers go up." - Peggy Noonan in the WSJ

Kaiser poll finds drop in Democratic support for Obamacare

"Just 34 percent of those surveyed said they have a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act, the lowest ranking in Kaiser Family Foundation’s monthly Health Tracking Poll since the law passed in March 2010. By contrast, 51 percent said they have an unfavorable view. ... The big difference this time is that Democrats seem to be souring on the reform law. Even though Democrats remain much more supportive of the law than Republicans, favorability among Democrats dropped from 65 percent to 52 percent over the past month." - Politico

> CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO CONSERVATIVEHOME'S DAILY EMAIL AND GET ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT GOP NEWS BY 7:00AM EST EVERY WEEKDAY.