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!
Nov 04, 2011
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Will Herman Cain survive the scandal?
By Karen Tumulty and Aaron Blake, The Washington PostThere is no law of political physics that predicts what happens when the most unconventional type of presidential campaign collides with the most timeworn kind of Washington scandal.
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Woman Said to Have Felt Hostility at Work After Complaining About Cain
By Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny, The New York TimesOne of the women who accused the Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment while working for him at the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s complained that the workplace turned hostile after she alleged that he made advances toward her during a work-related outing, several people familiar with her account at the time said in interviews.
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DNC highlights Romney’s support of ‘personhood’ bill
By Nia-Malika Henderson, The Washington PostThe Democratic National Committee is hitting Mitt Romney over his support of life at conception legislation, which is on the ballot in Mississippi, and could crop up on ballots across the country.
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Obama Urges European Solution to Debt Crisis
By Helene Cooper, The New York TimesPresident Obama plunged Thursday into the fast-moving European debt crisis, arriving here to exhort European leaders to get their financial house in order.
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Annie Get Your Gun
by Yochi J. Dreazen, National JournalIn late October, a bomb tore through a team of American Special Operations troops on a raid against an enemy target in Kandahar province. The blast killed three, including a young female officer, Lt. Ashley White, who was attached to the elite troops during the strike and died at their side.
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Israel Faces Questions About News Reports of Eyeing Iran Strike
By Isabel Kershner and David E. Sanger, The New York TimesIsrael's top leadership has spent the week answering and evading questions about widespread reports that it is once again considering a strike on Iran's nuclear complexes, while President Obama said Thursday that he and his allies would maintain “unprecedented international pressure” on Tehran to keep it from producing a nuclear weapon.
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Debt-reduction supercommittee talks appear to be at an impasse
By Lori Montgomery, The Washington PostWashington’s latest exercise in debt reduction appeared to be at an impasse Thursday, as members of a special congressional committee barreled toward a Thanksgiving deadline with no movement on the fundamental question of whether to raise taxes.
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Nov 03, 2011
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What about Afghanistan?
By Doyle McManus, Los Angeles TimesRepublicans usually enter a presidential campaign with a built-in advantage on at least one issue: national security. Historically, voters trust the GOP to be tougher than Democrats on defense and foreign policy.
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Obama rips Republicans for House vote on 'In God We Trust' motto
By Sam Youngman, The HillPresident Obama invoked God on Wednesday as he criticized Congress for voting on commemorative coins and a resolution reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the national motto in all public buildings, public schools and other government institutions.
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U.S. Economic Outlook: Plateau or Promise?
With David Wessel, Wall Street JournalIs the U.S. losing its place as the world leader in inventions and technological innovation?
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The John Kerry Moment?
By Major Garrett, National JournalFailure, it turns out, is an option. In fact, it sounds more and more like an imperative. “I’m worried you’re going to fail,” Erskine Bowles, the Democratic chairman of President Obama’s debt- and deficit-reduction commission, told the super committee on Tuesday. Hours earlier, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., told a National Journal panel on the 2012 election that he fully expected the super committee to fail and expected all of the underlying political and policy issues to be settled, at least in part, by the 2012 election.
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Cain Says Perry Is Orchestrating a Smear Campaign
By Jeff Zeleny, Michael D Shear and Jim Rutenberg, New York TimesA defiant Herman Cain accused Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, a Republican rival, of orchestrating a smear campaign to destroy his presidential candidacy, as additional accusations emerged Wednesday that Mr. Cain made unwanted sexual overtures to women while he led the National Restaurant Association more than a decade ago.
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Job Creation: Are Policies Geared to Startups the Answer?
by Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPoliticsPresident Obama on Tuesday proclaimed November 2011 to be National Entrepreneurship Month, a benign and routine ritual that stroked a favored cause, but nevertheless a timely nod to the heart of the economy’s job creation dilemma.
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Justice Stevens' memoir: Modest tone but pointed critiques
By Joan Biskupic, USA TodayFor his nearly 35 years on the Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens was never a scene stealer. As he gravitated toward the left, he was overshadowed by prominent liberals such as William Brennan. Later, when he became the senior justice on the left and controlled the assignment of opinions, he often gave important cases to key colleagues.
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Stuxnet Raises 'Blowback' Risk In Cyberwar
By Tom Gjelten, NPRThe Stuxnet computer worm, arguably the first and only cybersuperweapon ever deployed, continues to rattle security experts around the world, one year after its existence was made public. Apparently meant to damage centrifuges at a uranium enrichment facility in Iran, Stuxnet now illustrates the potential complexities and dangers of cyberwar.
Listen to parts 1 and 2
Nov 02, 2011
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Herman Cain’s ‘Clintonian’ ways
By Nia-Malika Henderson, Washington PostHerman Cain has maintained a packed schedule over these past few days as he has battled allegations that he sexually harassed at least two women while he led the National Restaurant Association. His strategy of rolling disclosures has found him parsing the definition of a settlement, claiming a faulty memory on key facts, then remembering more clearly, and finally wishing for a do-over, admitting that mistakes were made in initial interviews.
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Obama Goes Local in Round of Interviews
By Helene Cooper, New York TimesWith his re-election campaign now in full swing, President Obama has been visiting swing states and attending fund-raisers almost every week. Unfortunately, this week he’s obligated to travel to a place with no electoral votes: Cannes, France, for the Group of 20 economic summit.
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Supercommittee must not ‘fail the country,’ Bowles says, offering his own plan
By Lori Montgomery, Washington PostErskine Bowles, the former White House chief of staff who has worked for months to tame the national debt, bluntly warned members of a congressional panel Tuesday that they will “fail the country” if they do not break the impasse over taxes that is blocking a far-reaching agreement.
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Obama 'can't wait' to Obama ‘can’t wait’ to fight Romney
By Sam Youngman, The HillThe funniest scene in the old hockey movie “Slap Shot” might be the one where the Hanson brothers start a fight with the other team before the game even starts. Who knew that could be a parable for President Obama’s reelection campaign?
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When Herman Met Clarence
by John Dickerson, SlateHerman Cain’s stump speech starts out talking about a nation in crisis. Now he has a campaign in one. Responding to reports about his history of sexual harassment claims, he has offered conflicting and confusing stories. The candidate known for his simplicity has fallen into lawyerly hairsplitting.
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