Interests: Politics, Government, Media, Transportation, Space, Social Media, Civic Engagement, Washington, DC Following: The Obama Presidency, Decision 2012, The 112th Congress Work: myImpact.org- a non-profit working at the intersection of social media & citizen engagement
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Dixville Notch Votes in Less Than 2 Hours…Romney Slips Up…Paul Running A Strong Second…South Carolina Awaits…Bill Daley Resigns…NH Primary Preview…The Evening Report for Monday January 09, 2012
1 DAY UNTIL NEW HAMPSHIRE (12 delegates)
12 DAYS UNTIL SOUTH CAROLINA (25 delegates)
15 DAYS UNTIL THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
22 DAYS UNTIL FLORIDA (50 delegates)
ALL POLITICS EDITION
“I LIKE BEING ABLE TO FIRE PEOPLE who provide services to me,” MITT ROMNEY, speaking today in Nashua, NH.
First- some context- and in the Romney’s campaign defense, the candidate was answering a question about services such as health care, and referencing insurance companies.
However- this quote came just one day after Romney said the following last evening in Rochester, NH:
“I’ve learned what it’s like to sign the front of a paycheck, not just the back of a paycheck, and to know how frightening it is to see if you can make the payroll at the end of the week. These are experiences that many of you know.”
“I know what it’s like to worry whether you’re going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip.”
Both quotes were immediately seized upon by Romney’s rivals in tomorrow’s primary. They also came on a day when the Wall Street Journal ran an A1 investigation into Romney’s record at Bain Capital, echoing an attack that Newt Gingrich brought up in this weekend’s debates, and which Gingrich’s Super PAC has bought an extraordinary amount of air time in South Carolina to make an issue in that state’s primary.
Tonight, Romney, the man who is expected to handedly win tomorrow’s primary, is under attack. They’re the same attacks that will be used by President Obama and the re-election campaign during the general election. Further, Romney’s misstatements today bare a striking resemblance to a fatal mistake made my Massachusetts Senator John Kerry during the 2004 election, with his comment that the “actually voted for it before he voted against it”- a line that came to symbolize his indecisiveness.
CAMPAIGN RESET- ROMNEY COMES UNDER FIRE AS PRIMARY LOOMS- THE WASHINGTON POST-PHILIP RUCKER IN HUDSON, NH
“An assault on Mitt Romney’s business career intensified Monday after the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination made an off-the-cuff comment that his opponents say shows that he was a corporate predator who sought profits at the expense of workers.”
“Governor Romney enjoys firing people; I enjoy creating jobs,” former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., who polls suggest is enjoying a late surge here, told reporters in Concord. “It may be that he’s slightly out of touch with the economic reality playing out in America right now, and that’s a dangerous place to be.”
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) went further, criticizing the type of business Romney engaged in. “Look, I’m for capitalism,” Gingrich said on NBC’s “Today” show. “But if somebody comes in, takes all the money out of your company and then leaves you bankrupt while they go off with millions, that’s not traditional capitalism.”
Instead of sprinting to the finish before Tuesday’s primary, which he is heavily favored to win, the candidate spent his final day on the New Hampshire campaign trail explaining and defending his role as co-founder and chief executive of Bain Capital. The venture capital firm invested in start-ups such as Staples, an office supplies superstore, but also oversaw large-scale job losses through leveraged buyouts and restructuring.
“Free enterprise will be on trial,” Romney told reporters in Hudson. “I thought it was going to come from the president, from the Democrats on the left, but instead it’s coming from Speaker Gingrich and apparently others. And that’s just part of the process. I’m not worried about that. I’ve got broad shoulders.”
WMUR AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PREDICT A ROMNEY BLOWOUT TOMORROW NIGHT, HAVE HIM UP 24 POINTS IN A POLL RELEASED TODAY
Romney 41%, Paul 17%, Huntsman 11%, Santorum 11%, Gingrich 8%, Perry 1%
SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY/NEWS 7 HAS IT A BIT CLOSER, ROMNEY UP 13
Romney 33%, Paul 20%, Huntsman 13%, Santorum 10%, Santorum 10%, Perry 1%
AND PPP TRACKING PUTS ROMNEY UP BY 17- probably the most accurate assessment of where the race stands
Romney 35%, Paul 18%, Huntsman 16%, Gingrich 12%, Santorum 11%, Perry 1%
IT’S ALL ABOUT EXPECTATIONS...
Will Romney crack 40% tomorrow?
Will anything significantly less be seen as a sign of weakness?
Will Ron Paul pull a strong second or will his support be transfered to another candidate?
Was there a Huntsman surge at the end of the race? Does he come in third, fourth or fifth?
Which candidates hold their New Hampshire primary parties from South Carolina (Rick Perry)?
DRIVING SOUTH CAROLINA- “A BIG CHECK AND GINGRICH GETS A BIG LIFT”- By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and ERIC LIPTON- THE NEW YORK TIMES-
“MANCHESTER, N.H. — For weeks this winter, as Newt Gingrich’s presidential hopes faltered under the weight of millions of dollars in attack ads paid for by backers of Mitt Romney, a small group of Gingrich supporters quietly lobbied for help from one of the richest men in America: Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino owner and Mr. Gingrich’s longtime friend and patron
By the time Mr. Gingrich limped into New Hampshire, some of his top backers had given up on Mr. Adelson and begun prospecting elsewhere, including among erstwhile supporters of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, to finance the counterattack they believed could salvage Mr. Gingrich’s campaign.
But on Friday, the cavalry arrived: a $5 million check from Mr. Adelson to Winning Our Future, a “super PAC” that supports Mr. Gingrich. By Monday morning, the group had reserved more than $3.4 million in advertising time in South Carolina, a huge sum of money in a state where the airwaves come cheap and the Republican presidential primary is just 11 days away. The group is planning to air portions of a movie critical of Mr. Romney’s time at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he helped found.
The last-minute injection underscores how last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance has made it possible for a wealthy individual to influence an election. Mr. Adelson’s contribution to the super PAC is 1,000 times the $5,000 he could legally give directly to Mr. Gingrich’s campaign this year.
Several people with knowledge of Mr. Adelson’s decision to donate to Winning Our Future said that it was born out of a two-decade friendship with Mr. Gingrich, his advocacy on behalf of Israel and his turbulent months as a presidential candidate.
“His friend needed his help,” said a close associate of both men, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid drawing Mr. Adelson’s ire. “It’s more than anything else a loyalty thing. And he believes strongly in his platform and in Newt’s candidacy.”
THE DAY’S TOP POLITICAL STORY- WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF BILL DALEY IS STEPPING DOWN-
from National Journal’s George Condon, Jr. at The White House-
“President Obama promised on Monday that the White House will “not miss a beat” even though he was taken by surprise by the resignation of Chief of Staff William Daley and has had to turn to his third person in the post at the beginning of a critical election year.
To replace Daley, the president turned to another Washington veteran, Jack Lew. Lew is the current director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and previously served as a top deputy to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. He also served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton.
“Obviously, this was not easy news to hear,” the president said in the State Dining Room, flanked on each side by Daley and Lew. “And I didn’t accept Bill’s decision right away. In fact, I asked him to take a couple of days to make sure that he was sure about this. But in the end, the pull of the hometown we both love, a city that’s been synonymous with the Daley family for generations, was too great.”
Daley will become a co-chair of the President’s re-election campaign.
WALL STREET TODAY- from CNBC- “Stocks Eek Out a Gain Ahead of Earnings”
- DOW up 33
- NASDAQ up 3
- S&P 500 up 3
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR TOMORROW
VOTING HOURS: Polls open at 7am ET and close in most places, including Manchester, at 7pm. The last polls in the state close at 8pm. That’s the earliest time the networks will make a projection. [and exit polls could provide enough information to make a projection at poll closing time tomorrow].
DIXVILLE NOTCH, NEW HAMPSHIRE HOLDS THE FIRST VOTES OF THE ELECTION, just past midnight ET tonight.
TURNOUT EXPECTATION: 250,000 for the Republican Primary and 75,000 for the Democratic Primary (President Obama is on the ballot uncontested), per the Secretary of State
INDEPENDENTS CAN VOTE: Because New Hampshire is an “open primary”. 40% of New Hampshire’s electorate is independent.
HOW ARE THE DELEGATES AWARDED: Tomorrow’s primary is the first time delegates will be awarded towards the Republican Nomination. Iowa’s caucuses last week were non-binding. They will hold a binding contest later this year to formally apportion delegates. 12 delegates are at stake tomorrow. Ordinarily, NH would have 23 delegates but the state is being penalized by the Republican Party for holding its primary in January, earlier than the official rules allow. Delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate attracting at least 10% of the vote.
WHAT’S NEXT? Two debates in South Carolina next week (Monday and Thursday), ahead of the South Carolina Primary on Saturday January 21st. Then comes the Florida Primary on Tuesday January 31st. That Saturday, February 4th, Nevada holds its caucuses and Maine begins their multi-day caucus. Super Tuesday is on March 6th. The earliest a candidate is likely to have a statistical “hold” on the nomination is on March 20th, after the Illinois Primary.
THREE FAST FACTS ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE:
In the last 25 years, only one candidate not named Bush or McCain has won the New Hampshire Republican primary: Pat Buchanan (1996).
And since 1952, no Republican presidential candidate has gone on to win his party’s nomination without finishing either first or second in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire holds more regular statewide and local elections more frequently than any other state in the United States.
2008 NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY RESULTS
John McCain 37.0%
Mitt Romney 31.6%
Mike Huckabee 11.2%
Rudy Giuliani 8.5%
Ron Paul 7.7%
Fred Thompson 1.2%
Turnout: 239,793
THE EVENING REPORT will publish a special post-primary edition tomorow night after the winner is known. Last Tuesday, our post-caucus edition was sent at 12:04am ET.
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 Friday October 07
FRIDAY’S EARLY EDITION
TOP STORY: The Labor Department released the September Employment Report this morning, which showed the national unemployment rate remained steady last month, at 9.1%, while non-farm payroll increased by 103,000 jobs. This includes the approximately 45,000 workers at Verizon who returned to their jobs after a prolonged strike this summer. Meanwhile, employment figures for both July and August were revised upwards. Other highlights of the report:
There are approximately 14 million unemployed persons- a number essentially unchanged from last month [increases in jobs were due to increases in the labor market], 44.6% of whom have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer
Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior 7 months.
Local government employment declined by 35,000 and has fallen by 535,000 since September 2008. 5,000 US Postal Service workers were laid off
WALL STREET broke a 3-day winning streak and was positive for most of the session before falling at the end of the trading day
FOR THE WEEK, the Dow was up 1.7%, NASDAQ up 2.6% and S&P 500 up 2.1%
STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT on the 10-year anniversary of the War in Afghanistan- in part, “As we mark a decade of sacrifice, Michelle and I join all Americans in saluting the more than half a million men and women who have served bravely in Afghanistan to keep our country safe, including our resilient wounded warriors who carry the scars of war, seen and unseen. We honor the memory of the nearly 1,800 American patriots, and many coalition and Afghan partners, who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan for our shared security and freedom.
Thanks to the extraordinary service of these Americans, our citizens are safer and our nation is more secure. In delivering justice to Osama bin Laden and many other al Qaeda leaders, we are closer than ever to defeating al Qaeda and its murderous network.
As the rest of our troops come home from Iraq this year, we have begun to draw down our forces in Afghanistan and transition security to the Afghan people, with whom we will forge an enduring partnership. As our sons and daughters come home to their families, we will uphold our sacred trust with our 9/11 Generation veterans and work to provide the care, benefits and opportunities they deserve.”
2012:
In South Carolina today, Republican presidential candidate MITT ROMNEY delivered a sharp rebuke to the Obama Administration’s foreign policy in a major address at The Citadel. “In an American Century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world. In an American Century, America leads the free world and the free world leads the entire world,” he said.
The key line: “I will not surrender America’s role in the world. This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I am not your president. You have that president today.”
CNN is reporting that sources inside the Iowa Republican Party confirm that the date for the 2012 Iowa Caucus will be Tuesday January 02. Although that has not yet been officially announced, the remaining process is being described as a “formality.” That would leave New Hampshire as the only early state to not yet announce its primary date.
If Iowa goes on the 2nd, it is widely expected that New Hampshire will go one week later, on Tuesday January 10th. That would be followed by Nevada four days later on Saturday January 14th and South Carolina a week after that on Saturday January 21st. Then, ten days later, the Florida Primary on Tuesday January 31st. In February, expect to see primaries in Missouri, Michigan and Arizona.
Tuesday is the next Republican Presidential Candidates Debate, sponsored by the Washington Post and Bloomberg and presented by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. It will air live on Bloomberg television and be streamed online beginning at 8pm Tuesday evening from Hanover, New Hampshire. The following week, Tuesday October 18th, is another GOP debate- this one sponsored by CNN and the Nevada Republican Party, from Las Vegas.
GALLUP released a disastrous job approval rating for President Obama today: 38%, with a 53% disapproval. A Rasmussen poll today put the President’s job approval at 42% with a 57% disapproval. The current Real Clear Politics is 42.3% approve, 51.8% disapprove.
The 2011 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE was awarded to three women’s rights activists today. The Nobel Committee announced early this morning that Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen would be recognized for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”
From BBC News, “The women will share the $1.5m prize money…the Nobel Peace Prize originally recognized those who had already achieved peace, but that its scope has broadened in recent years to encourage those working towards peace and acknowledge work in progress….The Nobel committee received a record 241 nominations for this year’s prize - among the individuals and groups believed to have been put forward were the European Union, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and key cyber dissidents in the Arab Spring movement.”
RECENT WINNERS of the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE:
2010 - Liu Xiaobo - Chinese dissident lawyer
2009 - US President Barack Obama
2008 - Martti Ahtisaari, former Finnish president
2007 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), former US vice-president and environmental campaigner Al Gore
2006 - Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank
2005 - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its president, Mohamed El Baradei
HOW WE DID: In Sunday’s THE EVENING REPORT, we highlighted three stories to watch in the week ahead. Here’s how they played out:
1/ 2012 & Chris Christie. We said that this week would be the final deadline for the New Jersey Governor to decide whether or not he would enter the 2012 race and, indeed, he decided, announcing on Tuesday that he would not be a candidate. One day later, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that she, also, would not seek the nomination, all but sealing up the 2012 Republican field, now within the 90-day mark of the Iowa Caucuses.
2/ Congress & Chinese Currency Legislation. With Congress back in town, we highlighted the Senate’s consideration of a controversial (but, strangely, bi-partisan) piece of legislation to tighter control of the Chinese currency. What we didn’t know was that this legislation would become a lightning rod for some of the most partisan legislative tactics we’ve seen in years. Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked a version of the so-called “nuclear option” and changed the Senate rules to prohibit further amendment after a cloture motion had been successfully adopted on the legislation. With the Senate adjourned for the holiday weekend (and Senate Democratic leaders huddled at The White House for several hours this morning with the President and Vice-President), watch to see how this issue is resolved beginning on Tuesday.
3/ The Economy. An easy topic to watch, and one that will remain on our list for many months. Today’s better-than-expected employment report looked like it would propel the markets to a four-day winning streak, but momentum was lost towards the end of the day on continued anxiety from Europe looking ahead to another series of pivotal meetings of European finance ministers this weekend.
FINALLY…the Justice Department will release the transcript of former President Richard Nixon’s testimony to a grand jury investigating the Watergate scandal, POLITICO reports. “The release of Nixon’s testimony, set for November 10 at the Archives in Washington and at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., comes after the Justice Department decided not to appeal a judge’s ruling in July that the materials should be made public. Nixon’s testimony took place on June 23 and 24, 1975, nearly a year after he resigned. The sessions spanned 11 hours and were conducted near his home in San Clemente, Calif. The grand jury was based in Washington, so the foreman and one other member traveled to California to join prosecutors at the session”
In honor of the Columbus Day holiday, THE EVENING REPORT will next publish on Monday October 10.
Gmar Chatimah Tova!
The Evening Report for Friday September 30
FRIDAY’S EARLY EDITION
TOP STORY: US-born suspected Al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki was killed this morning in a US drone attack in Yemen. In April 2010, President Obama ordered the targeted killing of Al-Awlaki, the first time a US Citizen has been placed in that CIA designation, because he represented an imminent threat to the United States. An attack to take him out in May proved unsuccessful. Al-Awlaki is linked to nearly ever terrorism plot or attack in recent years, including:
- 2005 London Train Bombings
- 2006 Toronto Terrorism Plot
- 2007 Fort Dix, NJ military recruiting center plot
- 2009 Little Rock, AK military recruiting center shooting
- 2009 Fort Hood, TX shooting- where he is accused of a direct connection to shooter Nidal Hassan
- 2009 Detroit “Underwear Bomber” plot- accused of recruiting suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
- 2010 Times Square bombing plot- again, a direct connection to suspected terrorist Faisal Shahzad
- 2010 Cargo Plane Terrorism Plot
In remarks at the transition ceremony for the Joint Chiefs of Staff this morning, President Obama said of the killing, “The death of al-Awlaki marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates. Furthermore, this success is a tribute to our intelligence community, and to the efforts of Yemen and its security forces, who have worked closely with the United States over the course of several years…Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula remains a dangerous — though weakened — terrorist organization. And going forward, we will remain vigilant against any threats to the United States, or our allies and partners. But make no mistake: This is further proof that al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.”
POLITICAL BIG STORY: The Florida Republican Party officially announced this morning that they will hold their presidential preference primary on Tuesday January 31, 2012- 6 days before the Iowa Caucuses are currently scheduled. This will now set off a major shakeup of the primary season calendar, with South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Iowa (and potentially Missouri and Arizona) moving their primary dates forward- perhaps beginning as early as the first week of the new year.
One possibility- as reported by ABC’s The Note:
Jan. 9 or 10 — Iowa
Jan. 17 — New Hampshire
Jan. 21 — Nevada
Jan. 28 — South Carolina
Jan. 31 — Florida
Feb. 7 — Missouri
Feb. 28 — Arizona, Michigan
Mar. 6 — Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Idaho and Wyoming caucuses
WALL STREET: Austria became the latest state to approve a Eurozone bailout fund today. On this final day of the third quarter, the stock market took a steep dive, ending the day down over 10 percent and ending the quarter nearly ten percent lower. One of the big stories today was Eastman Kodak- amid rumors of the company’s imminent bankruptcy, the stock price was down over 60 percent today.
- DOW down 240 to 10,913
- NASDAQ down 65 to 2,415
- S&P 500 down 29 to 1,131
HURRICANE OPHELIA today became the third major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The Category Three storm, with winds of 115mph, is located 535 miles south of Bermuda, where a tropical storm watch is currently in effect. Large swells are expected to begin affecting the island tomorrow, with tropical force winds possible by late Saturday afternoon.
LANDRA REID, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is undergoing treatment for Stage II breast cancer, Reid’s office announced in a statement today reported by POLITICO Sen. and Mrs. Reid appreciate the thoughts and concerns expressed during this time. They ask that they be afforded the respect and privacy that any family would want,” Reid’s office said in a statement.
FINALLY…HOW WE DID
In Sunday’s edition of THE EVENING REPORT, we previewed the three things to watch for in the week ahead. Here’s how we did:
1/ Government Shutdown. Congress did, in fact, avert a government shutdown- which would have begun at midnight tonight- with the passage of a temporary four-day continuing resolution through Tuesday, when the House will vote on a longer-term CR extending through the middle of November. But, as we detailed in Tuesday’s Report, there is a long road ahead for the budget and appropriations process, and there is no clear assurance a shutdown threat won’t be reproduced in about six weeks
2/ Wall Street. We indicated there might be some easing in global markets over the bailout situation in Europe and the debt crisis in Greece. Early-week gains were erased in a selloff today as the markets continue to be on edge and reacting to each and every overseas development. This will continue to be a top story to watch in the week ahead.
3/ Supreme Court. We hinted on Sunday night that this might be the week where the Obama Administration would make a decision on bringing a challenge to its health care reform law to the Supreme Court in its upcoming session. On Wednesday, the Justice Department did just that. The High Court, which convenes for its new term on Monday, has until the end of the year to decide whether it will hear this case, which challenges a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. If they do, a decision could come next May, directly in the midst of the 2012 election.
