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 11, 2011

  • Two Americans Win Nobel Economics Prize

    With David Wessel, Wall Street Journal

    Profiles Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims, winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Economics.

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  • GOP debate: Five things to watch

    By Nia-Malika Henderson, Washington Post

    For 90 minutes in New Hampshire tonight, eight Republican presidential hopefuls will sit around a wooden table and take shots at each other and President Obama. The theme of The Washington Post/Bloomberg debate, which starts at 8 p.m, is the economy. As Karen Tumulty, who will be one of the journalists asking questions, wrote, previous debates definitively shifted the momentum of the race. And tonight’s debate will likely set off yet another a new phase.

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  • After Rocky Start, More Study, and Sleep, for Perry

    By Jeff Zeleny, New York Times

    Gov. Rick Perry of Texas struggled through his first three debates, so his aides have staged practice sessions, complete with a stand-in for Mitt Romney. He has stirred outrage among conservatives on immigration, so he is defending his stance on the campaign trail as good economics.

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  • Subdued Perry tries to steady wayward campaign in Iowa

    By Charles Babington, Associated Press

    Rick Perry has lost some of his Texas swagger. Maybe that’s what happens when a governor tops Republican presidential polls the minute he joins the race, only to plummet after a shaky debate performance.

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Oct 07, 2011

  • 'End is in sight' for Libya mission, NATO says

    By Nancy Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers

    NATO defense ministers said Thursday that the alliance would end its six-month mission in Libya once deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi can no longer mount attacks against civilians — a point that they suggested was imminent even though Gadhafi has evaded capture.

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  • With an Eye on Both Obama and Perry, Romney Wades into Foreign Policy Debate

    By Yochi J. Dreazen, National Journal

    When Mitt Romney delivers what his campaign is billing as a major foreign policy address Friday, he will face a pair of difficult challenges: differentiating himself enough from the Obama administration’s handling of national security to avoid antagonizing Republican primary voters, while simultaneously avoiding the kinds of extreme positions which could harm him in a general election.

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  • Perry 2.0?

    By Beth Reinhard, National Journal

    After a series of stumbles, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is looking to reboot his presidential campaign with a $17 million fundraising haul, an appearance before a like-minded audience of Christian conservatives, and a steadier performance in next week’s Republican primary debate.

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  • Obama to Run Against ‘Do-Nothing’ Congress If Jobs Legislation Fails

    By Julianna Goldman, Bloomberg

    Phil Schiliro, then the White House congressional liaison, put his boss on notice last year. One hurdle stood between him and the start of his re-election campaign: lifting the debt ceiling.

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  • Emergency, Outrage, Impotence: Three Economic Truths Dawn on Obama

    By Jim Tankersley, National Journal

    President Obama told America on Thursday that the economy is sliding backward, that economic frustration is growing nationwide, and that he can’t get Congress to do anything about it by himself. No revelations there, except for the fact that it took Obama so long to articulate what his constituents have known intuitively for a long time now.

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  • What is Sarah Palin’s next act?

    By Dan Balz, Washington Post

    Sarah Palin has always played by her own rules in politics, but with the announcement Wednesday that she will not run for president in 2012, the former Alaska governor was for once bowing to the obvious.

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  • Making Case for Jobs Bill, Obama Cites Europe’s Woes

    By Jackie Calmes, New York Times

    In perhaps his most sober remarks about the economy this year, President Obama on Thursday described the weakening economy as “an emergency” and made the case for his jobs bill as “an insurance policy against a possible double-dip recession.”

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Oct 06, 2011

  • Steve Jobs and America's decline

    By Greg Ip, The Economist

    Earlier this year a Federal Reserve official tried to tamp down worries about inflation by noting that, while food and petrol were getting more expensive, you could now buy an iPad that was twice as powerful for the same price as the previous model. The remark, soon lampooned as “Let them eat iPads”, predictably drew derision. But it typified a tactic to which American leaders frequently turn when they need a rejoinder to economic doomsaying: cite an Apple product.

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  • Democrats Float Tax on Top Earners

    By Janet Hook, Wall Street Journal

    Senate Democratic leaders on Wednesday proposed a new 5.6% tax on people earning more than $1 million a year to cover the cost of President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan, a move designed to stem Democratic defections from a top White House priority.

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  • Scalia, Breyer weigh in on value of televised arguments

    By Joan Biskupic, USA Today

    In a rare and expansive session with senators Wednesday, Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer talked about their work on the Supreme Court, including why they oppose televising oral arguments.

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  • Congress Asks for Obama's Emails on Solyndra

    By Eamon Javers, CNBC

    Barack Obama is the first president to use e-mail, and now he has likely just become the first president to have his emails requested by investigators.

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  • Rubio Takes Tougher Line On Immigration

    By Beth Reinhard, National Journal

    Sitting on top of the Republican party’s wish list for vice president, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday stepped into an issue roiling the 2012 primary, retreating from his past support for tuition breaks for the children of illegal immigrants.

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  • With GOP field set, Romney woos the unconvinced

    By Charles Babington, Associated Press

    With the Chris Christie and Sarah Palin teases over, Mitt Romney is telling Republican activists there's all the more reason to get excited about his presidential campaign. They will keep him waiting a bit longer, it seems.

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  • Democrats shift the definition of ‘rich’ in battle over taxes

    By Lori Montgomery, Washington Post

    As they head into the 2012 campaign, Democrats are changing their definition of what it means to be rich. Forget about families making $250,000 a year. Today, the party is only interested in millionaires.

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  • Take This Job

    By Major Garrett, National Journal

    Note to President Obama: When Mitch McConnell wants to introduce your jobs bill, it’s not a good sign. The American Jobs Act won’t suffer the ignominy of your 2012 budget—defeated 0-97 on a motion to proceed—but it won’t pass and McConnell, the GOP leader, knows it. That’s why he’s calling Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bluff and seeking a vote now.

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  • Have a Nice Election: The 2012 contest is shaping up to be really ugly

    by John Dickerson, Slate

    Remember when people wanted the president to get angry? Reporters poked him to let off a little steam over AIG bonuses. There were calls again during the BP oil spill. Now Obama gets mad all the time. On Tuesday, he called out House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Last Saturday, the venue was the Congressional Black Caucus dinner. Claiming Republicans don't want to pass anything that would give the president a victory, he has taken to saying: "Give me a win? Give me a win? Give me a break."

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