The Golden Report

21 DAYS UNTIL IOWA

JUST IN: Conservative activist and former Delaware senate candidate Christine O’Donnell tonight announced her endorsement of Mitt Romney on FOX News. And tonight, the Romney campaign is TRUMPETING the endorsement.

TOP STORY: The House passed a payroll tax cut extension this evening; it is considered dead on arrival in Senate.

THE VOTE: 234-to-193. 10 Democrats joined 224 Republicans in backing the measure, while 14 Republicans and 179 Democrats voted no.

WHAT’S NEXT: Unclear. Democrats are using as leverage in the debate over the payroll tax cut the omnibus appropriations bill which will fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.

That bill is ready to be filed and considered and has bipartisan support. But Senate Majority Leader Reid doesn’t want to bring it to the floor until there is an agreement on the tax cut, as the omnibus is the last remaining “must-pass” item before the holiday recess. That despite the fact the tax cut expires on 12/31. The current continuing resolution funding the government expires on Friday night, 12/16.

TRUMP’S FIRED- Today the man who has played an outsized role in the Republican primary so far said he was pulling out of his own debate, which was set to be held in Iowa two weeks from tonight sponsored by Newsmax. Only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum had agreed to participate.

GETTING LOCAL- President Obama conducted interviews with four regional network affiliates today. The White House Communications Office has scheduled these block interviews with TV stations from around the country about twice a month, allowing the President to sit for questions with reporters outside of the White House Press Corps.

Today he was interviewed on WVEC (Norfolk, VA), WEAR (Pennsacola, FL), KOAA (Colorado Springs, CO) and KIMO (Seattle, WA).

HERE’S HOW KOAA-NBC5-Coloardo Springs led their 5pm broadcast tonight, with a clip of President Obama’s interview with a local news anchor saying “Colorado, I always like to think, is the future of America” then a 3-part split screen with video from the interview, a live picture of the press briefing, and B-roll of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Then, local reporter Rob Quirk live from the North Lawn of The White House.

A theme for this round of regional television interviews was the end of the war in Iraq. THE WHITE HOUSE has released an interactive timeline that walks through the President’s speeches and decision-points on Iraq since taking office at whitehouse.gov/iraq

DEFENSE SECRETARY LEON PANETTA made a previously unannounced visit to Afghanistan today

J.W. MARRIOTT, JR. announced today that he will retire as CEO of MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, the international hotel chain his parents started and which is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

The Washington Post reports on the end of an era of a local business leader:

“Throughout the growth of his family’s company and the industry, there was Mr. Marriott, as his devoutly loyal employees call him, espousing his family’s simple maxim that if you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your customers, and your customers will come back.

That philosophy still permeates the company — which is now worth nearly $10 billion and employs 129,000 people — after countless nights of putting heads in beds. Arne Sorenson, a trusted Marriott lieutenant for more than a decade, will become chief executive in March, the first non-Marriott to run the company. J.W. Marriott, known as Bill, will become executive chairman.”

TODAY ON THE STREET- from CNBC- “Wall Street sold off sharply in the final hour of trade after the Federal Reserve delivered little hope that it would turn on the easing spigots anytime soon and as a formerly rosy holiday retail season suddenly turned gloomy.

Major averages closed just off their lows from the day in a selloff that began shortly after the Fed’s Open Market Committee released its meeting statement shortly after 2. The red numbers accelerated into the close as banks and energy — leaders during a morning rally — turned tail and dropped sharply.”

• DOW down 66
• NASDAQ down 33
• S&P 500 down 11

CAMPAIGN 2012- THREE WEEKS UNTIL IOWA CAUCUS NIGHT

GINGRICH STAFFER OUT IN IOWA- Following a Des Moines Register report that a staffer for the Gingrich Campaign raised questions about Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, the campaign today fired the staffer.

Via POLITICO: Craig Bergman agreed to step away from his role with Newt 2012 today,” Gingrich spokseman RC Hammond said in a statement. “He made a comment to a focus group prior to becoming an employee that is inconsistent with Newt 2012’s pledge to run a positive and solutions orientated campaign.” 

GINGRICH TOPS ROMNEY BY 17 POINTS in new NBC NEWS/WALL STREET JOURNAL POLL (a national survey) released tonight at 6:30pm.

• GINGRICH 40
• ROMNEY 23
• PAUL 9
• BACHMANN 8
• PERRY 6
• HUNTSMAN 5
• SANTORUM 3

THREE POINTS:

1/ It’s the first time that Gingrich has topped 40 points in a national survey.
2/ Romney remains mired in the low to mid 20s.
3/ The field is separating between Newt/Romney and everyone else, with Ron Paul currently in third place, 14 points behind Romney

In IOWA, Gingrich has a 12-point lead over Romney according to a Real Clear Politics average of recent polls
In NEW HAMPSHIRE, Romney has a 10-point lead over Gingrich, with Paul in 3rd and Huntsman in 4th.
In SOUTH CAROLINA, Gingrich has almost a 20-point lead over Romney.

HARD HITTING AD by RON PAUL in IOWA “Selling Access”

As one political observer put it today “we didn’t know Ron Paul could create an ad that good”

FINALLY.…No Labels, the 501(c)(4) organization formed about a year ago with the lofty goal of bringing Republicans and Democrats together, today took their first tangible step at relevance in a crowded political environment, releasing a blueprint for reforms that Congress can make to the way it does business, unveiling a 12-step action plan to “Make Congress Work” at nolabels.org/work including

1/ No Budget, No Pay- members of Congress would not be paid if the annual Congressional budget process wasn’t completed on time
6/ Question Time for the President- a monthly forum for Members of Congress to ask questions of the President, a la Prime Minister’s Questions
8/ No Pledge But the Oath of Office
10/ Bipartisan Seating
11/ Formation of a Bipartisan Leadership  Committee

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