Obama's jobs bill suffers third defeat in Senate - Politico

"Republicans in the Senate blocked a $60bn portion of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, which would have directed federal funds towards spending on US infrastructure projects, paying for it with a surtax on millionaires." - FT ($)

John Boehner gave new urgency to the drive for a deficit-cutting deal by saying he would press lawmakers to approve any agreement a congressional supercommittee makes, no matter what it contains - WSJ

• Boehner also made clear that "tax increases are out, but new revenues could be in" - The Hill
• GOP Senators to Supercommittee: ‘No Net Tax Increases’ - NRO
• BUT Forty House Republicans sign letter encouraging Super Committee to consider new revenues - HotAir
• Pelosi: House is 'in play' in 2012 - The Hill

John Boehner would pay to fix the nation's crumbling infrastructure by increasing domestic energy production - Washington Examiner

"The proposal would “remove barriers from American energy production and would use revenue from that new production to help pay for initiatives to repair and improve infrastructure around the country,” he said." - Roll Call

• It would be a crime if we squandered the blessing of shale gas - David Brooks in the New York Times

Grover Norquist's a 'random' guy, says John Boehner, downplaying the leader of Americans for Tax Reform - Politico

Harry Reid on Norquist: "The truth is, [Republicans] are terrified to violate the infamous Grover Norquist tax pledge, even though they know Norquist is wrong; or if they dont know they should know. They're in a thrall, my Republican colleagues. They're in submission to a man whose singular focus is keeping taxes low for the very, very, very wealthy no matter what the effect is on this nation. They fear his political retribution." Quoted by the Washington Examiner.

Unprepared Cain campaign struggling to stay ahead of events the campaign could have predicted weeks ago - WSJ

• News organizations continue to protect identities of Cain’s accusers - Daily Caller
• Cain camp says it's raised more than $1 million since Sunday night - MSNBC
• "Mr Cain, like many before him, ignored the golden rule, which is to tell all at once before the media find out anyway." - Economist
• "The Cain campaign is considering its legal options over the original Politico story, which revealed that the former head of the National Restaurant Association was accused of sexually harassing at least two women during his tenure in the 1990s." - Washington Post
• The WSJ says the media assumes there is no bonfire without smoke: "This is why we don't have "better candidates." No normal person would risk it. We have no idea if this is why so many prominent Republicans—Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels—decided not to run despite a vulnerable incumbent and a weak GOP field. But we understand it if it were the reason."

Cain retains 26% to 23% lead over Romney - WSJ

How I'll tackle spending, debt - Mitt Romney for USA Today

Mitt Romney will tell a conservative group with Tea Party ties that he will "eliminate every program" that isn't "absolutely essential" - USA Today

Mitt Romney says reducing spending a 'moral responsibility' - LA Times

Romney's plan to cut the deficit is examined by the WSJ

• "President Obama’s re-election campaign has been hammering Mitt Romney from many angles in recent weeks. And now Democrats are beginning a new push against him, this time using the issue of reproductive rights in a bid to raise doubts about Mr. Romney among women." - New York Times
• Why Romney's campaign is absolutely convinced their man will be the GOP nominee - Fox

Rick Perry: "When I am President"...

1. I will issue an executive order prohibiting any further implementation of Obamacare...
2. I will order federal agencies to begin opening American energy fields for exploration and development...
3. I will impose an immediate moratorium on all pending federal regulations...
4. I will deploy thousands of National Guard personnel to secure our southern border until we can provide the permanent increase in manpower, technology and fencing needed to protect the American homeland...
5. With a 20 percent flat tax that will enable Americans to file their tax returns on a postcard, we will end the Internal Revenue Service as we know it...

Read the full prospectus in the Washington Times.

• Perry's new slogan: "Are you better off today than you were $4 trillion ago?" - CBS
• In Rick Perry’s speeches, a growing Anti-Washington theme - New York Times

Noting that US voters still prefer the Democrat to the Republican brand, Peggy Noonan summarizes the differences and whether they still hold

"What is the Democratic brand? It is the party of the little guy, the outsider. The party of "We Shall Overcome," of great movements—civil rights, feminism, the environment. The party of "Listen, isn't this country rich enough to afford a little for the old, the infirm, people who need a boost?" You can argue the facts and legitimacy of this all day, but it lingers as a powerful part of the Democratic Party brand... And who in the 20th century were the Republicans? The sober ones. The ones who said you had to live within your limits. The ones who said there actually were limits. The ones who said you have to know who man is, don't push him too far." - Peggy Noonan in the WSJ

Food stamp use has exploded during the Obama administration, reaching an all-time high of 45.8 million in August - PowerLine

• Income Gap Becomes Politicians' Latest Battleground - NPR
• Economic issues could break of the Rove/Bush alliance of religious and business conservatives - Economist

Obama squandered the gains in Iraq that had been bought at such a high price - Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post

• "America may seem too young a country to be suffering from a mid-life crisis. But people who grew up in a nation that never doubted its power, wealth and vigour are suffering status anxiety." - Mark Mardell for the BBC

Why the West is losing out to the rest - Niall Ferguson for CNN

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