The Golden Report

FRIDAY’S EARLY EDITION

TOP STORY: President Obama announced this afternoon that the roughly 43,000 remaining US troops in Iraq will be returning to the United States by the end of the year, after an agreement with the Iraqi government to grant immunity protection to US soldiers failed to be reached. 

“The rest of our troops in Iraq will come home at the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” the President said in an statement from the Brady Briefing Room at The White House earlier this afternoon. President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki spoke by phone earlier today. 

Here’s how the Washington Post reports on the significant development today, “The failure to reach an agreement could pose security problems for the Iraqi government, still largely divided by sect and ethnicity, and for an Obama administration that inherited the war but has pledged an orderly withdrawal. If sectarian strife or other violence should break out in Iraq once U.S. forces have left, Obama could be blamed, particularly by his conservative critics, for abandoning Iraq after nearly nine years of war before it was ready to protect itself. But the result also allows for a more definitive conclusion to the divisive U.S. military operation in Iraq, which has cost nearly $1 trillion and more than 4,400 American lives.”

President Obama opposed the Iraq War from the beginning, a point of separation that his Democratic primary campaign against New York Senator Hillary Clinton seized upon. After taking office, the President announced, in February 2009, a drawdown of US forces that would conform with the agreement reached between Former President George W. Bush and Prime Minister al-Maliki late in Bush’s term. 

On August 31, 2010, President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office, announcing that all US combat troops had left Iraq and only a provisional force of about 50,000 soldiers remained. The name of the military effort was offiicially changed from “Operation Iraqi Freedom” to “Operation New Dawn.” At present, about 10,000 of those troops have been withdrawn.

More than 4,400 Americans have been killed since the war in Iraq began in 2003 and the 8 1/2 year war is estimated to have cost US taxpayers over $1 trillion. 

MORE ON STEVE JOBS- from the Walter Isaacson biography, which will be published on Monday. As first reported by the Huffington Post last night, Jobs reported told President Obama at their first meeting in October 2010 that he believed that he would be a one-term president. The book is an extraordinary look inside the life of a deeply private man, who was awed in life and revered in the days since his death.

“Jobs, who was known for his prickly, stubborn personality, almost missed meeting President Obama in the fall of 2010 because he insisted that the president personally ask him for a meeting. Though his wife told him that Obama “was really psyched to meet with you,” Jobs insisted on the personal invitation, and the standoff lasted for five days. When he finally relented and they met at the Westin San Francisco Airport, Jobs was characteristically blunt. He seemed to have transformed from a liberal into a conservative.

“You’re headed for a one-term presidency,” he told Obama at the start of their meeting, insisting that the administration needed to be more business-friendly. As an example, Jobs described the ease with which companies can build factories in China compared to the United States, where “regulations and unnecessary costs” make it difficult for them.”

AND... the article describes Jobs’ obsessiveness with small details, including how he made an issue of a planned dessert on the menu when Obama met with technology leaders in Silicon Valley. 

“In preparation for the dinner, Jobs exhibited his notorious attention to detail, telling venture capitalist John Doerr that the menu of shrimp, cod and lentil salad was “far too fancy” and objecting to a chocolate truffle dessert. But he was overruled by the White House, which cited the president’s fondness for cream pie.”

WALL STREET was heading higher at the end of the trading day, with the DOW up almost 200 points amid optimism that a potential Eurozone deal could be reached in time for Sunday’s planned summit, and be passed at a second summit by Wednesday of next week. The $8 billion deal that is being discussed must still be approved by the International Monetary Fund, and- if all succeeds- would reach the bankrupt nation of Greece by mid-November, the BBC reports today. No doubt the outcome of Sunday’s critical meeting will set the stage for the next trading week, with a deal potentially bringing some stability to uncertain markets. 

GROUPON is preparing for a scaled-back IPO, and is expected to raise about $540 million, less than previously expected, when the company goes public next month. From Reuters, “The fact that Groupon has changed its accounting twice under pressure from regulators, and lost two chief operating officers this year, also has not instilled confidence…Groupon is one of the most closely watched IPOs this year, as turmoil in the financial markets disrupted many share offering plans and cut the value of the few that did get done. If Groupon succeeds, it will bode well for other companies also considering going public, including social gaming company Zynga and social network Facebook.”

2012:

THE LATEST POLLS

RASMUSSEN/IOWA: Cain 28%, Romney 21%, Paul 10%, Gingrich 9%, Bachmann 8%, Perry 7%, Santorum 4%, Huntsman 2%

GALLUP PRESIDENTIAL JOB APPROVAL: Approve 42%, Disapprove 50%

RASMUSSEN PRESIDENTIAL JOB APPROVAL: Approve 44%, Disapprove 55%

The big 2012 news today comes from WMUR in New Hampshire, who reported early this afternoon that the entire campaign staff of Rep. Michele Bachmann in the first primary state had quit. 

HERE’S A QUOTE that you don’t want to hear if you are a Republican running for president (via Reuters): “It certainly underscores the impression that New Hampshire isn’t a priority for her [Bachmann]. She’s totally written us off,” said former Republican state legislator Fran Wendelboe.

FINALLY...The Senate last night approved John Bryson to be President Obama’s second Secretary of Commerce. After a 74-26 confirmation vote, that was delayed for nearly five months because of Republican opposition, Bryson was formally sworn in today. He becomes the nation’s 37th Secretary of Commerce, succeeding former Washington Governor Gary Locke, who President Obama appointed this spring as his second Ambassador to China (replacing former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who is now seeking the Republican Presidential Nomination). 

Bryson is the former Chairman, CEO and President of the electric company Edison International. He graduated from Stanford University in 1965 and from Yale Law School in 1969. Bryson was also a Director at Boeing and Walt Disney and a Trustee at Stanford and the California Institute of Technology. 

Shana Tovah!

TOP STORY: Today the Justice Department formally requested that the Supreme Court decide a case determining the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and consider the ruling of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals which found the law’s individual mandate section to be unconstitutional. The Court has until January to decide whether it will hear the case- and issue its ruling by next June, which would make the decision a major factor in next year’s presidential election. The Justice Department said in a statement, “Throughout history, there have been similar challenges to other landmark legislation such as the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act, and all of those challenges failed. We believe the challenges to Affordable Care Act — like the one in the 11th Circuit — will also ultimately fail and that the Supreme Court will uphold the law.”

2012 PRIMARY CALENDAR: Republican National Committee officials are scrambling tonight after an early-morning report by CNN that Florida was about to announce a change in the date of its presidential primary next year- moving it forward to January 31st. Such a move would violate Republican Party rules, and put Florida as the first state to vote. As a result, Iowa and New Hampshire (and likely South Carolina and Nevada)- the four states sanctioned by the party to have the first primaries and caucuses in the nation- would move their elections forward- with the Iowa caucuses potentially being held in early January. They are currently slated to be held in early February. There are reports tonight that Florida Republicans may be easing from this action- and may instead agree to hold their primary on February 21st- still ahead of the planned March 6th “Super Tuesday” primaries but after the two traditional first states. Saturday is the date set by the RNC for states to finalize the dates for their elections. 

IF FLORIDA moves its date forward, and New Hampshire and Iowa follow suit- the Iowa Caucuses could be held in early January just days into the new year. This means we might be close to within 90 days of the first-in-the-nation caucus. The election that seemed to be getting off to a slow start may in fact be moving along at a much faster pace- which makes it all the more unlikely, and closing in on impossible, that another candidate could enter the race and be viable.

HUNTSMAN: A FOX News poll out today has the former Utah Governor sitting at 4%- still extremely low, but enough to make him likely qualify for the next round of debates. Huntsman had been trailing at 1% in the average of recent polls, which would disqualify him from the planned October 11th and October 18th debates- however, with this higher poll number, it appears he will be invited to attend

CAIN: ”“Today, I could not support Rick Perry as the nominee for a host of reasons…Him being soft on securing the border is one of the reasons. I feel very strongly about the need to secure the border for real, the need to enforce the laws that are already there, the need to promote the path to citizenship that’s already there,” candidate Herman Cain said today on CNN. Cain was the surprise victor of Saturday’s straw poll in Florida and has been gaining in recent polls as his candidacy may be poised to move from the third tier to the second, eclipsing the position of Michele Bachmann, who once enjoyed enthusiastic support

PERRY: Texas Governor Rick Perry, who campaigned with his wife on the trail today in Iowa, now says he apologies for his word choice in answering a question about illegal immigration and the DREAM Act at last week’s Republican presidential candidates debate. Perry accused rival Mitt Romney of “not having a heart,” Perry’s statement:  “I probably chose a poor word to explain that for people who don’t want their state to be giving tuition to illegal aliens, illegal immigrants in this country — that’s their call and I respect that. I was probably a bit over-passionate by using that word and it was inappropriate.”

CAPITOL TERROR PLOT: 26-year-old Rezwan Ferdaus, a US Citizen, was arrested today on charges of conspiring with Al-Qaeda to attack and blow up the US Capitol Building and the Pentagon with remotely-controlled aircraft. Ferdaus was discovered as part of a FBI sting operation. Roll Call reports, “Undercover FBI employees delivered C-4 plastic explosives, three grenades and six fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles today to Ferdaus, who had already acquired a remote-controlled F-86 Sabre. According to the affidavit, Ferdaus opened a PayPal account under a false identity to buy the aircraft, which the unmarried, childless man claimed he was purchasing for his son.”

GUANTANAMO TRIBUNAL: Abd al-Nashiri, the chief suspect held at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba accused of the 2000 attack of the USS Cole in Yemen will face a military tribunal and, if convicted, could face the death penalty, the Justice and Defense Departments announced today. A trial must begin within 30 days- and this will be watched very closely as the Administration continues to operate the military prison after having pledged to close it within one year of taking office

WALL STREET ended its three-day winning streak, with the Dow ending the day down over 1.5%. Also today- Finland’s parliament gave approval to the creation of a Eurozone bailout fund. Now 7 of the 17 nations have yet to ratify the measure- with Slovakia expected to be the next country where deep debate could delay the fast-track approval regulators had hoped to achieve. 

• DOW down 180
• NASDAQ down 55
• S&P 500 down 24

FINALLY: Amazon today unveiled today the KINDLE FIRE- its response to Apple’s iPad and a device that is expected to become a chief competitor. The $199 device is available for pre-order today and will ship November 15th. Logging onto Amazon.com tonight, customers will see a letter from CEO Jeff Bezos which reads- in part:

“There are two types of companies: those that work hard to charge customers more, and those that work hard to charge customers less. Both approaches can work. We are firmly in the second camp… 

 

Kindle Fire brings everything we’ve been working on at Amazon for 15 years together into a single, fully-integrated experience for customers – instant access to Amazon’s massive selection of digital content, a vibrant color IPS touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle, a 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand, a state-of-the-art dual core processor, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, and an ultra-fast mobile browser – Amazon Silk – available exclusively on Kindle Fire. 

 

We are building premium products and offering them at non-premium prices.”

Tech Crunch has a video demo of the new device on its site.