The Golden Report

The Evening Report for Tuesday December 13

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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The Evening Report for Monday December 12

22 DAYS UNTIL IOWA

TOP STORY: NEARING A DEAL- Reports from Capitol Hill that Congressional appropriators have reached a deal- barring technical corrections- on a $1+ trillion spending measure to fund the federal government into next fiscal year, a key item on Congress’ to-do list before the holiday recess.

From The Hill:

“Congress must approve the omnibus or a temporary spending measure by the end of the day Friday to prevent a government shutdown.

Though they are still working out details, negotiators have been able to agree on a full nine-bill package that they plan to file with the House Rules Committee on Tuesday.

The package will include the Labor-Health and Interior-Environment bills, despite worries late last week that the two parties would be unable to resolve differences over those two spending packages. Aides said compromises had been worked out on controversial environmental, union and healthcare riders.

Another key compromise on the overall omnibus is an agreement to put disaster aid in a separate bill.

The August debt-ceiling deal set a top-line spending limit in 2012 of $1.043 trillion for all 12 appropriations bills, but also permits additional disaster spending of up to $11.3 billion.   “

The bill is expected to be filed in the House of Representatives tomorrow.

TO-DO LIST: Congress must act on the following items before recessing for the year:

Payroll tax extension
Unemployment insurance extension
Medicare “doc fix” and other tax provisions due to expire on 12/31

ENDING A WAR: President Obama met today with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Washington, three weeks before the last remaining United States troops are scheduled to leave that country, ending the 7-year long US war in Iraq.

From National Journal:

“This is a historic moment,” Obama said Monday during a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. “A war is ending. A new day is upon us and let us never forget those who gave us this chance.”

Speaking to reporters alongside Maliki, Obama said the Iraqi premier’s decisions regarding the region were motivated by his sense of nationalism rather than any loyalty to his Shiite neighbor, Iran.

“Prime Minister Maliki has been explicit here in the United States, he’s been explicit back in Iraq that his interest is in maintaining Iraqi sovereignty and preventing meddling by anybody inside of Iraq, and I believe him,” Obama said. “He has shown himself to make very tough decisions in the interest of Iraqi nationalism, even if they cause problems with his neighbor.”

SOUNDBITE: In response to a reporter’s question on whether the invasion of Iraq was a “dumb war” “the President said “History will judge the original decision to go into Iraq.”

RNC ATTACKS OBAMA ON 60 MINUTES- Last night, the President said it was his job to “put forward a vision for the country that benefits the vast majority of Americans.” Today, the RNC is up with a new ad that says “America needs jobs, not a vision” Expect this to be a continued line of attack next year

THE LONG ROAD: In an interview today with POLITICO’s Mike Allen in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney suggested that the primary season, that he had once wanted to finish swiftly with victories in the early states, could last well into the spring.

“You see how dramatically the numbers have moved and how quickly they have over the last year?” he replied Monday during a video interview at a grubby French-Canadian diner, Chez Vachon, a storied campaign stop that has hosted George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

“It’s a very fluid electorate. I think I’ll get the nomination. I can’t predict when. … I’ve got — what? — five or six more months to go to make that a reality.”

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS MEET GINGRICH-HUNTSMAN today in New Hampshire during a meeting between the candidates at opposite ends of national public opinion polling.

From the AP’s Steve Peoples:

“There were no time limits, formal rules or reporters asking questions.

And if you ask Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman, they would say there were no clear winners or losers Monday night in what was billed as a “Lincoln-Douglas” presidential debate modeled after the 1858 meetings of Illinois Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

In fact, after a 90-minute free-flowing discussion about foreign policy and national security, it was difficult to discern a single area where the Republican presidential contenders disagreed. There were no rhetorical bombs thrown. And what criticism surfaced was aimed at President Barack Obama and America’s threats abroad.

Yet Gingrich was absolutely thrilled.

“This is what we should have a lot more of, because this is substantive,” said Gingrich, the former House speaker. “This is not a Hollywood game. This is not a reality show. This is reality.”

In some ways, the format was a dream come true for Gingrich, a self-proclaimed historian and former college professor, whose intellect and willingness to challenge his rivals has aided a sudden rise in the polls. Having lost most of his campaign cash and staffers over the summer, he bet his presidential ambitions almost exclusively on national media interviews and debates.”

WALL STREET: “An aggressive two-week rally came to a quiet thud Monday on Wall Street, in a light-volume selloff triggered by the familiar fears that Europe was far from solving its sovereign debt crisis,” CNBC reports

DOW down 163
NASDAQ down 35
S&P 500 down 19

“STRONG” PARODIES: Last week, we brought you Rick Perry’s campaign ad “Strong” in which he says “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.”

It now has more dislikes on YouTube than Rebecca Black’s “Friday” and has drawn rebukes and criticism despite being widely viewed and discussed.

The AP ran a story today on the several video parodies that have been posted as replies to Perry’s ad.

“First, there’s the jacket. Many videos have noted that it’s the same type worn by actor Heath Ledger in the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain,” which centers on a long love affair between two cowboys.

Many of the video parodies feature actors wearing the shirt and jacket combo, including video satirist Andy Cobb.

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m an atheist,” Cobb says, “but you know there’s something wrong with this country when politicians think it’s OK to hate on gays and nonbelievers in ads.”

Another video shows a brown-jacketed rabbi, Jason Miller.

“I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Jew,” Miller says. “There’s something wrong in our country when gays can serve openly in the military but still can’t marry each other in most U.S. states.”

FOR PROFESSIONAL COMMENT: Stephen Farnsworth, an associate professor of communications at George Mason University, said the ad may well help Perry in Iowa, where polls are starting to show him inch up a bit. But Farnsworth said the ad’s message — and the parodies it has spawned — won’t help in the long run, particularly when it comes to connecting with moderate and swing voters.

“The worst thing to be in American politics is a joke,” Farnsworth said.

The Huffington Post is running a contest where you can vote for your favorite parody video, including one that has nearly 100,00 views by THE EVENING REPORT’s resident video blogger JAMES KOTECKI.

FINALLY: RETHINKING THE INK- The Washington Post-

“If tattoos are the marks of an era — declarations of love, of loss, of triumph, of youthful exuberance or youthful foolishness — then tattoo removals are about regret, confessions that those landmarks are in the past. They’re about the realization that whatever you believed in with such force that you wanted it eternally branded on your skin is now foreign to you.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 26 and 40 have at least one tattoo. Getting a tattoo, once the province of sailors rather than suburbanites, is so mainstream that tats are inked at the mall and seen on everyone from Middle American mothers to H Street hipsters to Hollywood starlets.

Perhaps not surprisingly, a parallel trend is emerging: tattoo removal, with dozens of businesses and training schools opening across the country.”

The Evening Report for Thursday November 17

TOP STORY: Tonight, Congress has averted a potential government shutdown with the passage of a continuing appropriations bill for most of the federal government, and a spending package dubbed the “minibus” that funds five agencies for the rest of this year.

Earlier, the House voted 298-121 to approve the bill, with 101 Republicans breaking ranks with their party and voting against the bill. Tonight, the Senate voted 70-30 to send the bill to the President, with all Democrats voting in favor and most Republicans voting against.

Interestingly, with the President out of the country and the current continuing resolution lapsing at midnight, it is very likely that the bill Congress passed tonight, H.R. 2112, will be signed with an auto pen, only the second time in history when this procedure has been used (The previous time, earlier this year, occurred with the President was also out of the country and Congress passed a continuation of the USA PATRIOT Act).

The passage of tonight’s CR is a rare moment of bi-partisanship for a bitterly divided Congress, but there are no signs that the apparent goodwill will extend to the major issue Congress is considering: the Supercommittee’s deficit reduction charge.

POLITICO’s HEADLINE TONIGHT: “Supercommittee talks on brink of collapse.” From lead reporter Jake Sherman:

“Democrats appeared to be working on a new offer Thursday evening, but Republicans said they were not working on a fresh proposal. Staff level discussions were ongoing, aides said, but there was not much optimism.

With less than a week until the deadline, both parties appear ready to rally around their competing proposals — setting up a partisan showdown in the days before Thanksgiving.

Both proposals are like to fail in the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Wednesday.”

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

All members of the Committee are scheduled to be in Washington this weekend though it is not clear if the full Committee will meet or if work will continue in smaller groups. It is also unclear at what point, if ever, Congressional leadership may be called in to break any impasse. The Committee now has less than one week, until Wednesday November 23rd, to produce its final proposal.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL TODAY:

NEWT GINGRICH continued to face questions about his consulting contract with Freddie Mac. As Gingrich’s standing has risen in the poll numbers, so too has the media questions about his long record of public service, which conflicts with his campaign’s message of being a fresh face and not a creature of Washington.

HERMAN CAIN turned down an opportunity to meet with the editorial board of the New Hampshire Union-Leader today, an almost unheard of decision less than 60 days before the New Hampshire primary.

The paper’s endorsement is seen as one of the most coveted, and important, in the run up to the primary and Cain’s apparent dissing is not likely to go over well. Of course, Cain did not have a good experience earlier this week with the editorial board of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, when he gave a long and waffling answer on US military policy in Africa.

Cain did, however, find time to make a visit to New York City tonight to tape the Late Show with David Letterman.

As of today, Cain is also receiving Secret Service protection, the agency reported today.

As Mike Allen reports tonight:

“We are protecting Herman Cain,” Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said. He said the decision was made by Homeland Security “Secretary Napolitano, at the request of the Cain campaign and in consultation with the Congressional advisory committee.”

“The authority was given to the Service to protect Herman Cain [beginning] today,” Donovan said.

Asked about the decision to protect Cain about a year before the general election, Donovan said: “Historically, it’s not that unusual.” The Secret Service spokesman noted protection was granted to Jesse Jackson at a similar point during his two campaigns, to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in October 1979 and to a variety of candidates at a similar point in the 1976 cycle.

Donovan declined to say whether any threats prompted the decision to protect Cain, who at this point is the only candidate under protection other than President Barack Obama. “We don’t discuss the deliberations on which an assessment is made,” the spokesman said.”

WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING SUSPECT Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez was charged today by federal officials with attempting to assassinate the president or his staff, stemming from Friday night’s bullet exchange close to the White House that ended up reaching a glass window on the Truman Balcony. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Meanwhile, new details are emerging about Ortega and his evidently makeshift plot, as The Washington Post reports,

“Authorities said Ortega was clad in black when he pulled his car within view of the White House on Friday night, fired shots and then sped away. The White House has not said whether the Obamas’ daughters, Sasha and Malia, were there at the time or commented on the shooting.

Ortega was questioned by police on Friday morning, before the shootings, just across the Potomac River from Washington in Arlington, Va. Police said they stopped him after a report of suspicious behavior, but let him go after photographing him because they had no reason to make an arrest.”

WALL STREET: After some traders were inconvenienced on their way into work today because of the Occupy Wall Street protests that declared today a day of mobilization, on the two month anniversary of the protests, anxiety from both Europe and Washington contributed to another down day. European stocks reported six-month lows today.

DOW down 135
NASDAQ down 52
S&P 500 down 21

SYRIA UPDATE: For a second day, Syrian Army defectors engaged in attacks on government buildings and other landmarks today, a striking demonstration of the sectarian strife now turning violent in a country that is at risk of descending into civil war.

As The New York Times reports:

“The attacks may have been more symbolic than effective, but could mark the increased ability of a growing number of defectors to publicize their exploits. Attacks on government installations — in the southern town of Dara’a and the central city of Homs, for instance — have been reported since the start of the uprising.

The attacks themselves paled before the bloodiest episodes of Syria’s last uprising in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then, insurgents stormed the office of the Aleppo Artillery School, killing 32 cadets. It was unclear whether anyone was killed or wounded in these attacks, but the constituency of armed strikes and the bold choice of targets has heightened the profile of Syria’s armed insurgency.”

FINALLY: Demi Moore and Ashton Kucher are getting divorced.

Today, Moore told the Associated Press, “As a woman, a mother and a wife, there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life,” indicating that the reason for the divorce was Kucher cheating on Moore with Sara Leal in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Tonight, Kucher tweeted, “I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail. Love and Light, AK.”

THE EVENING REPORT will next publish on Monday November 21 after your editor returns from a Caribbean cruise.

The Golden Report for Tuesday October 04

JUST IN: In tonight’s special election for West Virginia Governor, sitting incumbent Ray Tomblin has defeated a challenge from Republican oil executive Bill Maloney. With 65% of the precincts reporting, its Tomblin 50%, Maloney 46%, according to the Associated Press. This special election fills the term vacated by now Senator Joe Manchin, who won the seat left vacant by the late Senator Robert Byrd. Tomblin is elected to fill out the remainder of Manchin’s term, and is expected to seek election to a term in his own right in 2012.

2012:

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today put to rest rampant speculation over the last 10 days that he was rethinking a possible run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. In a 1pm news conference from the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton, Christie said, “In the end, what I’ve always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. Now is not my time.” He went on to say, “New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

Christie’s move, expected in recent days, especially with Florida and South Carolina announcing earlier dates for their primaries- now within 100 days- finally solidifies the Republican presidential field. Or as the New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny put it this afternoon “With Christie Out, Republican Race Begins For Real” or as POLITICO puts it tonight, “It’s Mitt’s Moment” as the former Massachusetts Governor is now considered to be the front-runner.

The race that seemed slow to start is now entering a new, fast-paced, mid-phase before the first primary votes are cast. The first candidate to formally declare his candidacy was former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson on April 21st. In May, Newt Gingrich (5/11), Ron Paul (5/13), Herman Cain (5/21), and Tim Pawlenty (5/23) declared. In June, Mitt Romney (6/2), Rick Santorum (6/6), Jon Huntsman (6/21) and Michele Bachmann (6/27) formally entered the race. And, finally, on August 13th, Texas Governor Rick Perry declared his candidacy. Now, with Pawlenty already having withdrawn from the race, there are nine candidates remaining.

A Washington Post/ABC News Poll out this morning sheds some light on where the race stands:

Romney 25%
Perry 16%
Cain 16%
Paul 11%
Bachmann 7%
Gingrich 7%
Santorum 2%
Huntsman 1%

Perry’s support has eclipsed dramatically over the last month while, surprisingly, some of that support has gone to former Godfather Pizza executive Herman Cain, who is now in third place and ties Perry in percentage of support. Cain’s new book “This is Herman Cain!: My Journey To The White House” went on sale today. $13.75 on Amazon. Finally, the Romney campaign announced today that the candidate will deliver what they are calling a “major foreign policy address” in South Carolina on Friday.

APPLE announced today the forthcoming release of the iPhone 4GS- a new version of its popular mobile phone to be released next month. The company was widely speculated to announce the highly anticipated iPhone 5 today- but it did not. From the Apple description, “Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an 8MP camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. iPhone 4S also ships with iOS 5 — the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, with over 200 new features — and iCloud”. The iPhone 4GS will be available for pre-order October 7th for shipping on October 14th.

The WHITE HOUSE announced today that Angella Reid, currently the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, will be the first female Chief User in history. The Chief User is the head of all household staff and operations at The White House. There have been eight previous Chief Users, dating back to 1901.

On WALL STREET today, news that European finance ministers may be readying a (new) rescue plan, helped to send the Dow higher in the final hour of trading. Interestingly, Apple shares were down 2% even with the excitement around the new iPhone product.

DOW up 153
NASDAQ up 69
S&P 500 up 25

A dramatic scene in NEW YORK this afternoon as a helicopter crashed into the East River, killing one and injuring three other passengers. In a press conference tonight, Mayor Michael Bloomberg explained where the investigation is being centered now, “From what we know so far, the pilot reported having trouble keeping aloft, and he tried to turn back but crashed into the water just north of the landing pad,” he said. NBC New York has video of the helicopter, a Bell 206 Ranger, being lifted from the water tonight.

The NATIONAL CATHEDRAL formally announced today they will reopen on November 12th following damage suffered during the East Coast’s late August earthquake. “While we are proud of our ability to continue our historic mission under trying circumstances, we look forward to returning to our home—and welcoming those seeking a spiritual refuge to join us. Reopening is only the first step down a long path toward restoring the Cathedral to its previous state,” Right Rev. John Bryson Chane, interim dean of the Cathedral said in a statement. Total repairs are expected to cost $25 million and could take nearly a decade to complete, due to the unique and complicated nature of the Cathedral’s architectural design.

The HOUSE passed a continuing resolution today that funds the federal government through November 18th. The final vote was 352-66 with 53 Republicans again defying Speaker Boehner and voting against the bill. On his way back from a fundraiser in St. Louis tonight (after earlier attending a fundraiser and speaking at a school in Texas), President Obama will sign the bill when he returns to the White House, thereby averting a government shutdown that would otherwise begin at midnight.

FINALLY…An interview with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsefeld aired on Al-Jazerra English today. It contained a heated exchange that is sure to soon make the rounds on cable news and the late night talk shows. Full video via the Huffington Post.

“You keep making assertions that are fundamentally false,” [Rumsfeld] said. “Correct me,” Washington Bureau Chief Abderrahim Foukara replied. Rumsfeld insisted that all of the troop levels had been highly vetted on multiple levels. “Does that make the numbers right?” Foukara interjected.

“Do you want to yell or do you want an interview?” Rumsfeld shot back. “I’m having an interview, and I’m actually enjoying this interview,” Foukara said, almost cheerfully. “You have a choice,” Rumsfeld said. “You’re being true to form.”

“Why should I do everything you want and you won’t do anything I want?” Rumsfeld asked. “Because I’m the interviewer!” Foukara said

The Golden Report for Thursday September 29

TOP STORY: Bank of America announced today that they will begin charging a $5 per month fee to debit card users on the bank’s popular “Basic Checking Account.” The move comes as banks around the country adjust to new financial regulations signed into law over a year ago in the Dodd/Frank legislation, that capped credit and debit card interchange fees at about half what the industry had been charging. The decision by the nation’s second-largest bank will likely mean Wells Fargo, Chase and other mid-size and smaller banks will soon follow suit

EUROPEAN BAILOUT: The German Parliament gave approval this morning to a measure to create a Eurozone bailout fund- a vote in the upper parliament is expected tomorrow and it is expected to pass. German support is critical to the eventual creation of the fund and give it significant momentum.

COOL CHART: List of Countries in the World by Credit Rating. S&P has GREECE at CC Negative- the lowest ranking of any other nation in the world, according to the agency.

WALL STREET: In continuing volatile Thursday trading-

Dow up 143
NASDAQ down 11
S&P 500 up 9

CONGRESS RECAP:

The House today approved via a unanimous consent agreement a bill to keep the government funded through Tuesday, averting a potential government shutdown tomorrow night as part of a Senate-brokered agreement earlier this week. Next week, the House will vote on a six week continuing resolution.

House appropriators released their markup of the FY2012 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriation Bill today- one of the largest and most sweeping of the annual appropriation bills. It contains significant cuts to public broadcasting (including NPR), food stamps and national service, blocks all funding for implementation of the Affordable Car Act, and eliminates federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Although only a proposal at this stage, it signals the fight ahead as Congress seeks to pass a yearlong omnibus appropriations act by mid-November

Capitol Police are investing The Onion after a tweet this morning that said there were ““screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building”. The USCP quickly put out a statement that said there was no incident.

WATCH YOUR E-MAIL: Tomorrow is the final day of the third quarter and a federal election reporting deadline. Candidates, campaigns and party committees, who have been jamming e-mail inboxes all the week, will up their ante over the next twenty-four hours. Watching the Third Quarter political fundraising numbers in the presidential race will give us a sense of how strong Mitt Romney is, how quickly Rick Perry was able to pull together a finance operation, how much President Obama was hurt by having to suspend fundraising during the debt ceiling negotiations, and show if there are any surprises by mid or lower tier candidates

SPACEX announced today that they are building a fully reusable rocket a lofty goal that has long been a challenge for international aviation and aeronautics engineers. At an announcement at the National Press Club, the company released a video demonstration for how the rocket would work. Earlier this month, SpaceX said they are working on a system to dock with the International Space Station. With the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet, the United States no longer has a manned vehicle capable of such a maneuver.

JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Today is the final day on the job for Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen. Tomorrow, Mullen will retire and U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who was confirmed unanimously by the Senate last month, will become the new Chairman during a ceremony at Ft. Meyer, Va. Mullen is the nation’s 17th JCOS Chairman and began his term on October 01, 2007. The Chairman is the highest ranking official in the US military. Previously, Dempsey was Chief of Staff of the Army, a post he transfered earlier this month to former Joint Chiefs Command General Ray Odierno

FINALLY: First Lady Michelle Obama went to Target today. According to a White House Pool Report, “the First Lady wore grey Nike baseball cap and sunglasses, and was pushing a red shopping cart inside the retailer’s Alexandria, Va., store” POLITICO has a picture.

The Golden Report for Friday September 23

FRIDAY EARLY EDITION

TOP STORY: SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN IN THREE PARTS

THE VOTES: The House of Representatives voted at 12:30am ET on a Continuing Resolution, their second attempt at a bill to keep the government funding beyond the end of the fiscal year: one week from today. The bill contained the “Solyndra Option”- increases in funding for emergency disaster assistance offset by cuts in a renewable energy program that gave a government-backed grant to the now-failed solar company. The party-line vote was the result of nearly two days of behind door talks with the Speaker and the Republican Caucus. This afternoon, on a 59-36 vote, the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to consider the House CR. Thereby making it dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that the Senate will vote on Monday afternoon on a Democratic-sponsored continuing resolution, that is also expected to fail.

THE DEADLINES: According to Congressional officials, the Federal Emergency Management Agency only has about $174 million left in disaster assistance funds. At current burn rates, the money will be expired by Monday at the earliest and Wednesday at the latest. The Federal Government would begin a shutdown at midnight next Friday night, into Saturday morning. A partial shutdown would occur over the weekend (many offices are closed anyway) and a full shutdown on Monday morning. The House of Representatives was supposed to adjourn tonight for a week-long recess, that is now in question- the House would appear to have to stay in session in order to pass a bill to meet both of these deadlines. Both the House and Senate have adjourned for the weekend- delaying any action until next week.

THE NEXT STEP: Far from clear. What we do know is nothing is going to get done this weekend. The Senate could still try to pass the House approved continuing resolution- and by staying in Recess, that is a bargaining chip that House Republicans can play. The obvious next step is for both sides to negotiate on a compromise package- although there do not appear to be any negotiations planned or considered at this time. And unlike the shutdown threat earlier this year, the White House has thus far not become involved in any way on reaching a resolution. Watch to see if there are signs over the weekend- perhaps on the Sunday shows- of movement on any of these three areas.

THE OTHER BIG STORY: Despite posting some gains for the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its worst week since August 2008, down over 6%. The NASDAQ was lower by 5% and the S&P 500 was lower nearly 7% on the week, although all three indices were up today. The culprit? The health of the global economy- specifically in Europe and the continuing Greek debt crisis. Last week’s extraordinary meeting of Euro Zone Finance Ministers with Treasury Secretary Geithner, the statements of support and unity by France and Germany, and this week’s IMF meetings all seem to have done very little to calm the nerves of clearly rattled markets. This week shows that there are not going to be easy answers to solving the underlying problems- and they are not going to come quickly. There is now active conversation about a repeat of 2008: a global economic recession that will be sparked- not by a crisis of credit, but rather by a crisis of confidence. As the IMF met in Washington this week, statements from leaders indicated this concern and a desire to get ahead of financial instability- using any and all monetary and fiscal policy tools at central banks disposals- before a crisis could spread, potentially causing a devastating ripple effect. This was evidenced in an overnight statement from the financial leaders of the G-20 nations which said, in part, there is an urgent need for “a response to address the renewed challenges facing the global economy.”

THE THIRD BIG STORY: At the United Nations today, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas went ahead, as expected, with a proposal to grant the Palestinian Authority statehood status and recognition. Shortly after that move, it was learned that the United States, United Nations, Europe Union and Russia (the quartet) would soon announce a re-opening of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Details are still emerging and will continue to be learned for the rest of the day. If true- then Abbas succeeded in this week’s UN tactics in a sense- because he re-injected the Mid East Peace Process onto the international agenda and forced the international community- distracted by a plethora of issues, including Libya, Iran and the global economy- to focus again on the complexities and challenges of his nation. Statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: ““We urge both parties to take advantage of this opportunity to get back to get back to talks, and the United States pledges our support as the parties themselves take the important next steps for a two-solution, which is what all of us are hoping to achieve.”

TWO OTHER INTERNATIONAL STORIES:

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned to his country today, after four months in Saudi Arabia for health treatment and as the result of insurgency, protest and political tumult in his country. It has been a particularly violent week in Yemen as months-long anti-government protests continued and it is unclear whether his return will help to quell- or provoke further- the protests
In Senate testimony yesterday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen suggested that he has evidence that the Pakistan Intelligence Service, the ISI, was behind recent attacks against American forces in Afghanistan, including the siege of the American compound last week and the assassination this week of the former Afghan President. Today, the Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani rejected Mullen’s suggestions (which has been reinforced by other US leaders in recent days and weeks) of a connection between the ISI and the militant Haqqani network. This only further shows the difficulty and complexity of the US relationship with Pakistan.

FINALLY: The Evening Report comes to you tonight from Phoenix, Arizona- site of the 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship. Today, the 2011 Arizona Civic Health Index was released at a breakfast before the actual Conference, which came to Arizona this year- for the first time in its history- thanks to a partnership between NCoC and the Center For The Future of Arizona. Among the speakers today: former Huffington Post and New York Times reporter Jose Antonio Vargas, who publicly revealed his undocumented immigration status three months ago. In a state where immigration is a deeply contentious issue, Vargas’s appearance- as well as the rest of the insightful Conference program- showed how NCoC is advancing its role as a dynamic, non-partisan non-profit exploring what shapes today’s citizenry, define the evolving role of the individual in our democracy, and uncover ways to motivate greater participation.

The Evening Report for Wednesday September 21

BREAKING NEWS- SUPREME COURT DENIES STAY OF EXECUTION FOR TROY DAVIS- Within the past few minutes, the Supreme Court has issued a decision in the case of Troy Davis, the Georgia inmate who is scheduled to be put to death tonight by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer. The Court has refused to issue a stay of the execution. Prison officials have not yet said whether the execution will go forward as planned tonight, but that is expected. CBS is reporting there were no dissents in the decision, which was issued by Justice Clarence Thomas, of Georgia. For the past few days public attention has been focused on the Davis case- it increased through the day as first a Circuit Court, then the State Supreme Court and now the US Supreme Court have rejected emergency appeals.

TOP STORY- The House of Representatives failed this afternoon to adopt a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded beyond next Saturday’s end of the fiscal year. 48 Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in voting against the CR. Opposition came from Democrats for two reasons: a lower level of funding for FEMA than the Senate has proposed- and an offset that would pay for that increased funding by scrapping grants for a renewable energy program. Conservative Republican opposition came because the CR actually sets a higher level of annual spending than the original House passed FY2012 budget, but is consistent with the bi-partisan discretionary spending caps agreed to in the Budget Control Act of August. Congressional leaders still have over a week to come to a resolution on the funding dispute to prevent a shutdown- but today’s vote was a rare public defeat for the House Speaker, John Boehner

FREE AT LAST- Americans Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, jailed in 2009 after hiking across the Iranian border, were released from Iranian custody this morning and have now been reunited with their families in the Arab nation of Oman. They were detained on July 31, 2009; a third hiker, Sarah Shroud, Bauer’s fiance, was also detained in 2009 and released almost a year ago. Eight days ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told NBC’s Ann Curry in an interview that the hikers would be released “in a mater of days,” and this action comes one day before Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the Untied Nations General Assembly in New York. Bauer and Fatel, now both 29, first met and became friends at the University of California Berkeley

STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT: “I welcome the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from detention in Iran and am very pleased that they are being reunited with their loved ones. The tireless advocacy of their families over these two years has won my admiration, and is now coming to an end with Josh and Shane back in their arms. All Americans join their families and friends in celebrating their long-awaited return home.”

DEVELOPING TONIGHT- The United States continues to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority over their plans to introduce a measure asking for statehood recognition at the UN on Friday. France has joined the United States in pressuring Palestine to drop their proposal and rejoin negotiations with Israel- with France proposing a new one-year negotiation deadline, that the Palestinian Authority has rejected. President Obama met with both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders today- and also addressed the General Assembly, saying, “One year ago, I stood at this podium and I called for an independent Palestine. I believed then, and I believe now, that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own. But what I also said is that a genuine peace can only be realized between the Israelis and the Palestinians themselves.”

A BUSY DAY FOR THE PRESIDENT- who held meetings with the leaders of ISRAEL, JAPAN, THE UNITED KINGDOM and FRANCE, addressed the UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, a luncheon hosted by Secretary-General BAN KI-MOON, and went across town to deliver a speech at the CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE. He has just left a UN LEADER RECEPTION with the First Lady at the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY and was driven my motorcade to JFK Airport because bad weather grounded Marine One. The President will return to the White House overnight.

TOMORROW, the President travels to OHIO to stand on a bridge on the OHIO/KENTUCKY Border to highlight an infrastructure project that would be funded in the American Jobs Act. Ohio is the home state of Speaker Boehner; Kentucky the home state of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The FEDERAL RESERVE announced today a plan to invest $400 billion in long-term Treasury Securities over the next 9 months, a stimulus measure designed to increase economic growth and a sign that the Central Bank does not see another option for the struggling American economy. From the Fed Statement, “Growth remains slow. Recent indicators point to continuing weakness in overall labor market conditions and the unemployment rate remains elevated..Household spending has been increasing at only a modest pace in recent months.” The lower interest rates are meant to spur investments, but, as the New York Times reports, “The new effort is an experiment without a direct precedent, although the Fed tried something similar in the 1960s. Essentially, the Fed hopes to drive down rates not by expanding its portfolio, as it has done twice in recent years, but by shifting its money into riskier long-term investments.”

WALL STREET responded to the move by the Federal Reserve:

DOW down 283 to 11,124
NASDAQ down 52
S&P 500 down 35

WHAT WE MISSED ON TUESDAY- President Obama will travel to Mountain View, CA next week for the First Presidential LinkedIn Town Hall Meeting. Previously, the President has used YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as platforms to answer questions directly from Americans, online

CORRECTION FROM TUESDAY- In last night’s final item on the acquisition of social networking platform Ning, I misstated the terms of an earlier deal- that of MySpace. As an eagle-eyed reader pointed out: “NewsCorp sold MySpace for $35M (and it was actually plus a 5% stake in Specific Media). NewsCorps originally bought MySpace for $580M (although only $327M was attributed to MySpace as the $580M was for its parent company)”

RUMORS- Hewlett Packard may be considered Meg Whitman, the former Chief Executive of eBay- and 2010 California Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, as its next CEO

2012:

A must-watch campaign video released online by the Perry Campaign today (already has nearly 35,000 YouTube views) depicts President Obama as “President Zero”- using Obama’s words, as a candidate and President, against him and overlaid with the recent news of no new jobs created in August and record poverty rates
A McClatchy/Marist Poll that everyone is talking about: Obama 49%/ Palin 44%
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson has cracked 1% in the polls and thus has claimed a spot in tomorrow night’s Republican Presidential Candidates Debate, sponsored by FOX News and Google, in Orlando.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH in the debate, the third in as many weeks:

1/ The Romney attack on Perry. It was more difficult than expected last week because of a Tea Party audience. Will Romney come out swinging at Perry? Which issues he decides to attack on will show the areas he believes Perry remains vulnerable2/ Can any of the other 7 candidates break through what has been deemed a two-man race? Any signs of traction by a second or third tier candidate will attract a lot of attention. 3/ Which candidate will be the first to mention the $16 Muffin?

FINALLY- Facebook unveiled significant changes to its platform today, a move that has sparked anxiety and angst among some users. According the Facebook, the changes come in order to make the News Feed- on the Home Page- continually interesting. “Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won’t have to worry about missing important stuff. All your news will be in a single stream with the most interesting stories featured at the top,” Facebok’s Mark Tonkelowitz blogs. Among the other changes: a real-time ticker of friend updates on the right hand bar, a wider photo display (with higher resolutions) and faster photo upload times.

AND COMING TOMORROW: Watch for Facebook Music to be announced