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!
Oct 17, 2012
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Debate gets to the guts of the race
By John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin, PoliticoBarack Obama did well enough in the second debate that he can rest assured about one thing: If he loses his bid for a second term it won’t be because he is bad at debates.
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Rivals bring bare fists to rematch
By Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg, The New York TimesPresident Obama and Mitt Romney engaged Tuesday in one of the most intensive clashes in a televised presidential debate, with tensions between them spilling out in interruptions, personal rebukes and accusations of lying as they parried over the last four years under Mr. Obama and what the next four would look like under a President Romney.
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Oct 16, 2012
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Obama under pressure as debate comes amid early balloting
By Julianna Goldman and Lisa Lerer, Bloomberg NewsWith voters already casting ballots and polls showing a tightening race, President Barack Obama has little room for error in tonight’s second debate against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
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Debt impasse shadows race for presidency
By Jackie Calmes, The New York TimesPresident Obama and Mitt Romney will again debate their visions for the next four years on Tuesday night, and if the campaign so far is any guide, they will not acknowledge that the winner’s agenda could depend on the fiscal showdown between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
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Michelle Obama has already voted, and tweets about it
By Christi Parsons, the Los Angeles TimesFirst Lady Michelle Obama cast her ballot for president Monday, presumably voting for her husband with the absentee form she dropped in the mail.
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Two Americans claim Nobel Economics Prize
With David Wessel, Wall Street JournalTwo American economists won the Nobel Prize in economics Monday for their research into how to match different actors in given markets, such as job seekers with employers and patients with donated kidneys. David Wessel has details on Lunch Break.
Oct 15, 2012
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No drama Obama needs a shake-up in Romney debate rematch
By Julianna Goldman and Lisa Lerer, Bloomberg NewsThe candidate known for his “No Drama Obama” persona created, with his dispassionate first debate performance, a high-stakes backdrop for tomorrow’s 9 p.m. rematch against Republican nominee Mitt Romney at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
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Presidential contest tight nationally ahead of second debate
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, The Washington PostOn the eve of their second debate, President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney remain locked in a virtual dead heat nationally, with Republicans showing increased enthusiasm for their nominee after his big win in the first debate, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
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Obama’s prep session goal: don’t repeat mistakes of last debate
By Helene Cooper, The New York TimesTo prepare for the second round of the presidential debates, President Obama retreated here this weekend — to the environs of this historic village where actors in 18th century garb wander about spouting off in colonial diction.
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Republicans outspend Democrats on TV advertising, but have fewer ads to show for it
By Amy Walter, ABC NewsWhen it comes to spending on political ads, money isn’t everything.
Data from Kantar Media’s CMAG, an ad tracking firm, showed that during the week of Oct. 4-Oct. 11 Mitt Romney, the RNC and Republican outside groups combined to outspend President Obama and his allies on on TV ads by about $5 million – $31.6 million to $28.05 million.
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Rebel arms flow is said to benefit Jihadists in Syria
By David E. Sanger, The New York TimesMost of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster, according to American officials and Middle Eastern diplomats.
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Oct 12, 2012
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Vice presidential debate: Biden's mission accomplished
By Doyle McManus, the Los Angeles TimesFirst things first: Vice presidential debates don't really matter. The half-life of Thursday's debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan will be exactly four days -- until next week’s rematch between President Obama and Mitt Romney.
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Biden, Ryan trade sharp words on foreign policy, economy during vice-presidential debate
By Dan Balz and Philip Rucker, The Washington PostVice President Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) tangled fiercely and noisily here Thursday night over the economy and foreign policy in a spirited debate that underscored the vast differences between the Democratic and Republican tickets on virtually every issue in the presidential campaign.
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Biden and Ryan quarrel aggressively in debate, offering contrasts
By Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg, The New York TimesIt was the debate that President Obama and Mitt Romney did not have a week ago.
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Spirited Biden debate performance allows democrats to exhale
By Beth Reinhard, National JournalDemocrats, you may exhale. But don't you dare rejoice.
Vice President Joe Biden took some of the heat off his boss in the critical home stretch of the 2012 election, delivering a spirited debate performance that aimed to compensate for President Obama’s lifeless appearance on another stage one week ago.
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Who won the Vice Presidential debate? Depends who you ask
By Amy Walter, ABC NewsPartisan Democrats had a lot to be happy about last night’s vice presidential debate. Vice President Joe Biden turned in an aggressive and energetic performance that they wished they’d seen in President Obama.
And while Republicans have cried foul on Biden’s behavior (GOP surrogates called him “rude”), they argue that Rep. Paul Ryan’s calm, unflustered demeanor and his solid performance on foreign affairs was appealing to swing voters, especially women.
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Oct 11, 2012
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The no. 1 rule when no. 2s meet in battle? Be memorable. In a good way.
By John Harwood, The New York TimesNear the end of the first debate ever of vice-presidential candidates, Senator Bob Dole remembered his White House-prepared briefing materials on war casualties under various administrations — and used them.
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Romney shifts to more moderate stances on taxes, immigration, health care, education
By Karen Tumulty, The Washington PostThe final weeks of the presidential campaign are bringing Mitt Romney full circle, back to a question that has tugged at him for nearly two decades: What does he really believe?
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At hearing, Libya attack details remain murky
By Alexis Simendinger, Real Clear PoliticsAt the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, there was never any spontaneous street mob angered about an anti-Muslim video, as was asserted by administration officials after a brutal attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, State Department officials told Congress Wednesday.
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Obama's Ohio silver lining
By Major Garrett, National JournalRattled, dismayed, and shaken, President Obama's national campaign is divided into two camps: impassive warhorses and anxiety-ridden newbies.
The battle-scarred operatives have been doing nonstop psychic triage since the first presidential debate, calming nerves and reassuring the shaken that campaigns have their ups and downs.
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