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!
Dec 09, 2011
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Parties United in Grilling Corzine Over Missing Funds
By Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics
Jon Corzine managed to bring together two parties Thursday afternoon in the House Agriculture Committee, where the former New Jersey governor and ex-senator spoke publicly for the first time since his company, MF Global Inc., tumbled into bankruptcy last month. It has not been easy in Washington lately to witness a meeting of the minds on any subject, but in the wake of the fall of Lehman Brothers and the economy’s bungee dive in 2008, the sight of another well-heeled Wall Street executive drew crowds when he tried to respond to questions about ethics, potential illegalities and a mystery about missing money.
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How To Attack Newt
by John Dickerson, SlateMitt Romney is running for president as a turnaround artist, but before he can turn around the economy he'll have to do something about his campaign. Newt Gingrich has built a huge lead over Romney in various state polls, attracting nearly double the support.
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NPR's Fresh Air: Gingrich's Path From 'Flameout' To D.C. Entrepreneur
With Karen Tumulty, Washington PostA new poll released Wednesday by Time magazine and CNN finds Newt Gingrich staying ahead of Mitt Romney in three out of the four states with January primaries or caucuses.
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Gingrich laughs off Romney criticism in South Carolina, says ‘we’re gonna stay positive’
By Nia-Malika Henderson, The Washington PostNewt Gingrich is keeping his word to stay positive. On a day when the Mitt Romney’s campaign unleashed a torrent of criticism, calling the former speaker a self-absorbed, unreliable conservative who can’t be trusted to be commander-in-chief, Gingrich simply laughed off the criticism.
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Paul: Bush Administration Wrong to Bomb Iraq
By Beth Reinhard, National JournalRepublican presidential candidate Ron Paul told hundreds of Iowa State students on Wednesday night that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there was "glee in the administration because now we can invade Iraq."
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Dec 08, 2011
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Romney Ad Takes Sideswipe at Gingrich’s Personal Life
By Nia-Malika Henderson, Washington PostMitt Romney is up with a new ad that takes a not-so-subtle swipe at Newt Gingrich. Called “Leader,” the 30-second ad set to go up on the air in New Hampshire and Iowa this week, features old home video footage of Romney, his wife and his kids, with a voiceover of the former governor of Massachusetts saying: “If I’m President of the United States, I will be true to my family, to my faith, and to our country, and I will never apologize for the United States of America.”
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Drone Crash in Iran Reveals Secret U.S. Surveillance Effort
By Scott Shane and David E. Sanger, New York TimesThe stealth C.I.A. drone that crashed deep inside Iranian territory last week was part of a stepped-up surveillance program that has frequently sent the United States’ most hard-to-detect drone into the country to map suspected nuclear sites, according to foreign officials and American experts who have been briefed on the effort.
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Does Romney need to go after Gingrich?
By Steve Holland and Sam Youngman, Thomson ReutersIs it time for Mitt Romney to come up with a new plan? For months, the initial frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination for president has sought to overwhelm his opponents. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, has won waves of endorsements from party leaders, raised more than $32 million, and shown a knack for avoiding confrontations.
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Gingrich, Romney Prepare for January Collision
By Dan Balz, Amy Gardner and Philip Rucker, Washington PostNewt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, who have spent much of this year ignoring one another, are now on a collision course in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, facing a series of state-by-state battles in January that will possibly decide the race by testing which one can best surmount his own weaknesses.
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Perry's Mixed Messages to Jewish Voters
By Beth Reinhard, National JournalShortly before Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is scheduled to make his pitch to Jewish voters at a forum sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, he released a new ad that would make many of them squirm. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school,'' he says in the television spot.
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Americans Reject Automatic US Budget Cuts: CNBC Survey
By: John Harwood, CNBCAmericans split on almost every important issue facing Washington, but they agree on this much: Republicans and Democrats share blame for the failure of the Congressional "super committee," and the resulting automatic budget cuts are unacceptable.
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Gingrich Surge Brings Added Scrutiny
By Jeff Zeleny, New York TimesA year ago, as Newt Gingrich was beginning to seriously explore whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination, he bristled a bit when asked how his three marriages would be viewed by conservative voters. “We’ll find out,” Mr. Gingrich said in an interview with The New York Times a week before Christmas. “What people want to know is, ‘Are you who you seem to be?’”
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Obama: 'Make or Break Moment' for Middle Class
With Laura Meckler, Wall Street JournalPresident Obama called for Americans to get a "fair shot" at advancement to the middle class, deriding the "breathtaking greed of a few" and chastising Republicans who he said enabled them. Laura Meckler has details on The News Hub.
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Is GOP Race Turning into a Circus?
By Gloria Borger, CNNNo doubt about it, the Republican presidential candidates are reaching a critical point: It's less than one month before the Iowa caucuses. A majority of GOP voters -- and Iowa caucus-goers -- say they could still change their minds. The president has thrown down the gauntlet on tax cuts for the middle class, and the GOP needs to speak with one voice in response. It's decision time, and there are real questions that need to be answered with clarity. So, who's going to show up at Donald Trump's debate? Um, not exactly what the GOP should be worried about.
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Democrats See a Two-Horse G.O.P. Race, Adding a Whip
By Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny, New York TimesThe White House and its allies are starting to turn their sights to Newt Gingrich, invoking his tumultuous history as House speaker to brand him as the “godfather of gridlock,” a testament to his new viability and the sudden realization that he could be President Obama’s Republican opponent.
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The Politics of Israel: Campaign 2012
By James Kitfield, National JournalIn American presidential politics, wrapping yourself in the Israeli flag is a no-brainer. Stalwart support for Israel is important for many American-Jewish voters, an important source of campaign donations, and a potential swing vote in key battleground states such as Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Fealty to Israel plays well with evangelical Christians who back the Jewish state largely out of theology, and who can make the difference in early-voting states like Iowa and South Carolina. Strong backing of Israel is viewed as a litmus test for powerful lobby groups in Washington.
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Obama Vows to Reject Bills Tying Payroll Tax to Pipeline
By Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPoliticsPresident Obama said Wednesday he would oppose any congressional efforts to link extraneous matters to legislation he supports to extend the payroll tax holiday, which is set to expire Dec. 31. Obama's resistance, which he clarified falls short of an actual veto threat, was intended to thwart Republican efforts to mix one of the president's priorities with various but unrelated projects supported by conservatives -- for instance, a proposed oil pipeline that would extend 1,700 miles from Alberta, Canada, through the United States to coastal refineries in Texas.
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Dec 07, 2011
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U.S. to Aid Gay Rights Abroad, Obama and Clinton Say
By Steven Lee Myers and Helene CooperThe Obama administration announced on Tuesday that the United States would use all the tools of American diplomacy, including the potent enticement of foreign aid, to promote gay rights around the world. In a memorandum issued by President Obama in Washington and in a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here, the administration vowed to actively combat efforts by other nations that criminalize homosexual conduct, abuse gay men, lesbians, bisexuals or transgendered people, or ignore abuse against them.
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The $7.7 Trillion Fed Loan that Really Wasn't
WIth David Wessel, Wall Street JournalWSJ's David Wessel separates fact from fiction behind the Federal Reserve's 2008 loan to banks at the onset of the economic downturn.
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Newt by Proxy
By Major Garrett, National JournalIn 1995, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich banned proxy votes in committees. That meant no longer could powerful chairmen (for 40 years previous, all Democrats) cast votes for lawmakers who skipped out on the marking-up of legislation. This is ironic because the reason Gingrich is the Republican presidential front-runner today is that several big-name Republicans essentially cast their proxy vote for him.
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