On the Radar
Check ON THE RADAR regularly each week to read the latest reporting by award-winning WASHINGTON WEEK panelists.
September 30, 2011
Herman Cain: The GOP’s next big thing?
By Nia-Malika Henderson, Washington PostAlmost lost amid the buzz this week over the possibility that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may seek the Republican nomination for president was the potential rise of a candidate already in the race: Herman Cain.
Read moreU.S.-Born Qaeda Leader Killed in Yemen
By Mark Mazzetti, New York TimesAnwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who was a leading figure in Al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate and was considered its most dangerous English-speaking propagandist and plotter, was killed in an American drone strike on his vehicle on Friday, officials in Washington and Yemen said. They said the strike also killed a radical American colleague who was an editor of Al Qaeda’s online jihadist magazine.
Stop the Press
By Yochi J. DreazenIraqi journalism—which Washington had hoped would ensure a democratic, transparent government—faces an intense government crackdown.
Read moreSupreme Court term could influence 2012 election
By Joan Biskupic, USA TodayThe Supreme Court opens a potentially epic term Monday that could roil debate in the 2012 presidential election campaign.
Read moreAl Qaeda's Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in CIA Drone Strike
With Martha Raddatz, ABC NewsThe American-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a major al Qaeda figure who U.S. officials say inspired several terror plots against the U.S., was killed overnight in Yemen in a CIA drone strike, U.S. and Yemeni officials told ABC News.
View and Read moreSeptember 29, 2011
Justice Dept. asks high court to look at health care law
by Joan Biskupic, USA TodayThe Obama administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of a requirement that most Americans buy health insurance by 2014, paving the way for a ruling in the middle of the 2012 presidential election campaign. Read more
Feds: Alleged terror plotter never posed threat to public
by Pete Williams, NBC NewsA Massachusetts man whose elaborate plan to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol involved using remote-controlled airplanes filled with explosives never posed a danger to the public, officials said. Watch video
Solyndra Said to Have Violated Terms of the U.S. Loan
by Deborah Solomon, The Wall Street JournalSolyndra LLC had such steep financial problems in late 2010 that the company violated terms of its loan-guarantee agreement with the Department of Energy and technically defaulted on its $535 million loan, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more
The Perils of Ignoring History
by David Wessel, The Wall Street JournalThe happy and not-so-happy scenarios for US (and global) economy, and why the latter predominate. David Wessel has details on The News Hub. Watch video
Romney Waits as GOP Flirts with Alternates
by Jeff Zeleny, The New York TimesThe Republican who may have the strongest shot of winning the White House, at least in the eyes of President Obama and his advisers, is Mitt Romney. Now, if Mr. Romney could only persuade Republican voters. Read more
Confronting the GOP, Obama Brandishes the Politics of Science
by Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics.comWhen President Obama mocked Rick Perry on Sunday for suggesting that climate change is a fiction while Texas battled wildfires and drought, the president's remarks got plenty of attention. Read more
Is Christie ready to be president?
by Dan Balz, The Washington PostIt was about this time five years ago when political strategist David Axelrod sat down and wrote a memo to then-Sen. Barack Obama, who was seriously considering whether to run for president after months and months of saying he would not. Read more
Leading Bystander
by John Dickerson, SlateChris Christie made a rousing call for leadership at the Reagan Library Tuesday night. He outlined what it looks like (a certain New Jersey governor) and what it doesn't (a sitting U.S. president). "We continue wait and hope that our president will finally stop being a bystander in the Oval Office," he said. "We hope that he will shake off the paralysis that has made it impossible for him to take on the really big things." Read more
September 28, 2011
Perry's Not the Only GOP Star to Support Tuition Breaks for Illegal Immigrants' Kids
by Beth Reinhard, National JournalWith Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry under attack for supporting tuition breaks for children of illegal immigrants, former Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday offered some solidarity by calling a similar proposal in Florida “fair policy." Read more
Arnould: Europe Needs to Manage Wars Independently of U.S.
By James Kitfield, National JournalOn his final swan-song tour of Europe this past summer, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued what amounted to a primal scream of frustration from a Cold War warrior who tried to lead the NATO alliance in a time of war, only to discover that it stubbornly remains less than the sum of its parts. Unless European nations stopped slashing defense spending, he warned, the trans-Atlantic alliance faced the “real possibility of a dim, if not dismal future.”
Read moreThe Christie Shuffle
By John Dickerson, SlateRound and round the speculation has swirled over whether New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will jump into the presidential race. After his speech Tuesday night, only one conclusion is possible: Chris Christie is not running for president until such time as he decides he will run for president, which he might announce in a sentence that abuts a previous one denying that he's running for president. Twice he was asked about his intentions. Once he seemed to say he wasn't running. The second time he suggested he was considering it. The effect could only have been improved if he had spoken while circling a mulberry bush.
Read moreRepublican Primary Calendar Takes Shape
By Jeff Zeleny, New York TimesThe unrelenting clamor about the possibility of new candidates joining the Republican presidential race may be overlooking one important number: 100.
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