Essential Reads
Essential Reads is your one-stop source for the top stories of the day as reported by your favorite Washington Week panelists. It's a simple way to save time and stay informed about the news you need to know. Check it out every day!
Aug 10, 2012
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Economy might be gaining traction, new data suggest
By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington PostAfter a spring and summer of weak economic indicators, a flurry of fresh data suggest key sectors of the economy might be gaining traction, just as the battle for the White House enters the final round.
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10 Questions for an Undecided Voter in Ohio
by John Harwood, The New York TimesIn the tight race for the White House, President Obama and Mitt Romney are spending millions of dollars to reach America’s small slice of undecided voters — people like Rosemary Pallen of northeast Ohio.
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Obama Camp Offers Tips on Access to Convention Speech
By Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics.comThose eager to trek to Charlotte, N.C., to see President Obama as he accepts the Democratic nomination on Sept. 6 were invited by his campaign Thursday to sign up for pointers on how to get tickets.
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Aug 09, 2012
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Obama and Romney battle for campaign edge in Iowa, Colorado
By Sam Youngman and Jeff Mason, ReutersPresident Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney traded barbs over the economy and women's rights on Wednesday, each seeking an edge in critical states that could tip the result of the November 6 election.
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The Truth About Romney’s Tax Plan: It’s a Pipe Dream
By Jim Tankersley, National JournalNothing is as simple as campaign commercials or candidate sound bites make it sound, especially not tax reform, and certainly not tax reform with very few details revealed. Just ask the economist Mitt Romney is holding up as a shield against attacks on his tax plan.
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Sarah Palin: Her batting average is still pretty high
By Karen Tumulty, The Washington PostOkay, so Sarah Palin didn’t have such a good night on Tuesday. Her candidate Sarah Steelman lost the Missouri GOP primary to Rep. Todd Akin. In that evangelical-heavy state, it turns out, Palin’s endorsement was trumped by that of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
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Political Perceptions: The Vanishing Undecideds
by David Wessel, The Wall Street JournalSo the early narrative about the 2012 presidential campaign was that Mitt Romney would have to move to the right to win his party’s nomination and then move to the center, which would force Barack Obama to risk angering the left in his party to fight with Mr. Romney for the voters of the block of undecided voters in the middle who would decide the outcome in November.
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Obama Assails Romney on Women’s Health Care
By Jackie Calmes and Trip GabrielPresident Obama made one of his strongest pitches to date for the women’s vote, which is crucial to his re-election, telling a mostly female crowd of 4,000 here on Wednesday that Republicans led by Mitt Romney would take them back to the era of the 1950s.
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Aug 08, 2012
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Romney opens attack on Obama over welfare law
By Sam Youngman, ReutersRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney opened a new line of attack on President Barack Obama on Tuesday for waiving parts of a landmark welfare-to-work law, but Obama's team argued Romney had backed a similar move as Massachusetts governor.
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Obama Camp Assails Romney's Welfare Attack Ad
By Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics.comMitt Romney's campaign ad accusing President Obama of gutting work requirements in the nation's welfare program sparked vehement denunciations Tuesday from the White House and the Obama campaign.
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President Obama tailors outreach for select groups
by Christi Parsons, Los Angeles TimesThe Obama campaign is carefully targeting groups including young women, dog lovers and sports fans, trying to build on connections to create deeper commitments from voters this fall.
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Obama to Make Three-Day Campaign Swing Through Iowa
By Peter Baker, The New York TimesAt a time when he usually races from state to state seeking votes, President Obama has decided to invest much of next week in a single place, Iowa, the one where it all began for him.
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David Wessel Answers Your Tax Questions
by David Wessel, The Wall Street JournalDavid Wessel’s recent Capital column on taxes prompted an unusually large number of comments and emails, some of which posed questions. Here are his answers to a selected few.
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Aug 07, 2012
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Obama Tells a Tale of ‘Romney Hood’
By Peter Baker, The New York TimesPresident Obama has been looking for new ways to keep pressing the same attack on Mitt Romney’s tax plan, and on Monday, he coined a phrase he hopes will stick: “Romney Hood.”
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Convention Challenge: VIP Speakers Who Send Wrong Message
By Beth Reinhard, National JournalPity the organizers of the Democratic and Republican conventions this year. The host governors -- Bev Perdue in North Carolina and Rick Scott in Florida --happen to be two of the least popular state executives in the country. But geographic protocols demand that they address the convention hall. What to do?
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Romney Veepstakes: Who Would Add Internationalist Cred to the Ticket?
by James Kitfield, National JournalWhen first-term Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was looking for a running mate to bolster a résumé short on foreign-policy experience and to help navigate the treacherous shoals of international relations during a time of war, he chose Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., the chairman and longtime member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Texas Gov. George W. Bush, also short on overseas experience, did something similar when he chose Dick Cheney, a former White House chief of staff and secretary of Defense who had successfully managed the Persian Gulf War.
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Political battle of the incumbents
by John Harwood, CNBCElection season bringing an unusual race in a battleground state this november, thanks to redistricting, two incumbent representatives are facing off in Ohio's 16th District.
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After Sikh Killings, Obama Calls for "Soul-Searching"
By Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics.comPresident Obama, reacting gingerly to the weekend's deadly shooting rampage at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, steered clear of the gun control debate on Monday, emphasizing instead that "we are all one people and we look after one another and we respect one another."
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Aug 06, 2012
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Pollsters Struggle to Pin Down the Right (Cell) Number
By John Harwood, The New York TimesAs they gauge voter sentiment in this tight presidential race, pollsters face a big challenge: more and more voters hang up on them.
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Romney’s heavy August workload
By Dan Balz, The Washington PostThe best that can be said about how Mitt Romney fared in July is that he survived. That has only raised the stakes for what the presumptive Republican presidential nominee needs to do in August.
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