30 DAYS UNTIL IOWA
TOP STORY: Early returns are in from the Russian parliamentary election and with 75% of the vote being reported, Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia, has less support now than they reported in the last election in 2007. Three months from now, Putin is expected to run, and was widely expected to win, Russia’ presidential election.
From the BBC:
“Opposition parties have complained of violations of election laws.
Russia’s only independent monitoring group, Golos, says it has logged 5,300 complaints alleging violations of election laws.
The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg, in Moscow, says if confirmed, the result will be a significant embarrassment to Mr Putin, three months before he is scheduled to run again for the Russian presidency.
He says opposition parties are alleging widespread fraud, including the stuffing of ballot boxes and voters being offered money.
Mr Putin served as president from 2000 to 2008 but was prohibited by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term.”
THE BIG STORY THIS WEEK: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is in Europe as an important week begins to negotiate an endgame to the European debt crisis. The next summit of European leaders is scheduled for Friday.
CNBC reports:
“Expectations are rising that Friday’s summit of 27 EU leaders will yield a breakthrough. An agreement on tighter integration of the 17 countries that use the single currency — especially on budget matters — would be seen as a crucial first step. That could trigger further emergency aid from the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund or some combination, analysts say.
The coming days “will decide if the euro will survive or not,” Emma Marcegaglia, the head of Italy’s industrial lobby, Confindustria, said Sunday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank Chief Draghi, and even U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will star in a 5-day financial drama leading up to the summit.
If the summit is a failure, Sarkozy warned last week, “the world will not wait for Europe.”
Sarkozy and Merkel meet in Paris on Monday to unveil a proposal for closer political and economic ties between eurozone countries. While the leaders differ on some of the details, their cooperation has been so tight they have come to be known by a single name — “Merkozy.”
The two agree overall on the need for tougher rules that would prevent governments from spending or borrowing too much — and on certain penalties for persistent violators.”
US PARK POLICE arrested 31 demonstrators in Washington today, the first mass arrests of the Occupy DC movement that has set up camp at McPherson Square downtown for the past two months.
This morning, protestors erected a wooden structure, some 30 feet tall, that they claimed would serve as a house to provide warmth during the coming winter. Park Police ordered the structure removed because it lacked the proper permit. Shortly after noon when the protestors did not comply with the order, police sealed off the area and proceeded to arrest protestors within and crossing a police line.
As night fell, police brought in a cherry picker, and inflated a safety net-like apparatus used to catch victims jumping from burning buildings to arrest protestors that remained on the roof of the structure. After the area was cleared, police dismantled the structure but reports indicate there are no plans to remove the larger Occupy came in DC tonight. Today marks the first time that demonstrators have clashed with the Park Police.
CAMPAIGN 2012:
Businessman HERMAN CAIN dropped out of the Republican presidential race on Saturday, citing stress to himself and his family after recent allegations of sexual harassment and a 13-year affair.
In his exit speech, Cain said that he would, in short order, offer an endorsement. Today, POLITICO’s Mike Allen leads reporting suggesting that NEWT GINGRICH is likely to receive that endorsement, which would buoy the man now seen as the principal opponent to Mitt Romney.
JAMES KOTECKI VIDEO: Cain rather curiously decided to quote from the Pokemon in his speech leaving the presidential race on Saturday. Who else might Cain have quoted?
NEW DES MOINES REGISTER POLL released Saturday night, conducted while Cain remained a candidate in the race, offers an important snapshot in to the state of the caucus at the one mark to go marker.
- GINGRICH 25%
- PAUL 18%
- ROMNEY 16%
- BACHMANN 8%
- CAIN 8%
- PERRY 6%
- SANTORUM 6%
- HUNTSMAN 2%
- NOT SURE 11%
GINGRICH leads ROMNEY by 6.2% according to the latest Real Clear Politics average of all recent national polls.
NBC NEWS and MARIST have new polls out today in the early primary states. These polls were also conducted before Cain exited the race.
IOWA
- GINGRICH 26%
- ROMNEY 18%
- PAUL 17%
- CAIN 9%
- PERRY 9%
- BACHMANN 5%
- SANTORUM 5%
- HUNTSMAN 2%
NEW HAMPSHIRE
- ROMNEY 39%
- GINGRICH 23%
- PAUL 16%
- HUNTSMAN 9%
- PERRY 3%
- BACHMANN 3%
- CAIN 2%
- SANTORUM 1%
For their part, the OBAMA CAMPAIGN is continuing to focus their attention on Mitt Romney, the man who the campaign believes still will become the Republican nominee to face President Obama next year.
In Sunday morning talk shows today, two campaign surrogates- Robert Gibbs and David Axelrod- purposely didn’t take the bait from moderators to offer the same attacks against Gingrich that they continue to levy against Romney.
For a sampling, here’s Axelrod on Meet The Press this morning with David Gregory:
“This is about, this is about public character. This is about public character. And, by the way, it’s not just Democrats, but most of the Republicans who are making the same case, David. Jon Huntsman’s running ads, or his supporters are in New Hampshire on that right now.
Last night Governor Romney said that the, the EPA was the president’s tool to crush the private enterprise system. When he was governor of Massachusetts he boasted that he had the toughest rules against CO2 emissions from plants, that he had the toughest rules when it comes to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
And now it’s like that never happened. Now he’s, now he’s on the other side of it. THIS IS THE REASON I SUPPOSE WHY HE AND HIS AIDES ABSCONDED WITH THE HARD DRIVES FROM THEIR COMPUTERS WHEN THEY LEFT THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY CAN JUST ERASE THE PAST, that what you said before doesn’t matter now. And so, yes, when it comes to his public character, he, he doesn’t have a core”
It’s a big quote that offers an important snapshot in the Obama Campaign’s strategy.
TIGER WOODS ended a two-year streak without a competitive golf match win today, placing first in the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California.
From ESPN:
“He swept his arm across the air, yelled through the din of the gallery and slammed his fist in a celebration that was a long time coming.
Relief? Satisfaction? Vindication?
Woods wasn’t sure, and he didn’t much care.
“It just feels awesome whatever it is,” he said.
Trailing by one shot with two holes to play, Woods came up with two clutch putts. He holed a 15-footer for birdie on the par-3 17th to pull into a tie with Johnson, then hit a 9-iron from 158 yards that landed on the ridge behind the hole and rolled down to 6 feet.”
AT THE BOX OFFICE THIS WEEKEND
1/ Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn: $16.9 million
2/ The Muppets $11.2 million
3/ Hugo $7.6 million
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: After 3, it’s Saints 24, Lions 10, in New Orleans tonight.
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