Morning Must Reads: Choice

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White House

–Obama is set to unveil his new business tax credits proposal today in Cleveland. You can bet he’ll work in some jabs at one Ohio native in particular: “the man with the plan to be Speaker.”

–The White House will reportedly draw a line in the sand on extending the Bush tax cuts: no dice on cuts for the top 2 percent. The policy merits are certainly debatable — Mark Zandi and Peter Orszag feel it’s not the stand to take just yet — but it presents an opportunity for Obama to try to rally his base around soak-the-rich style populism.

–Zandi, seemingly everybody’s favorite political referee on the economy, considers Obama’s new stimulus proposals: “I think they’re helpful on the margin to the recovery. But they’re not a game-changer.”

–To stem their losses, Democrats need to make the midterms a “choice” election, not a referendum. DNC chair Tim Kaine will make a speech on just that point today at the University of Pennsylvania.

–Rahm Emanuel won’t be waltzing straight from the White House to Chicago City Hall, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try.

–Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink’s latest TV spot showcases how many Democrats will try to push back against the wave of Republican ads this year that raise the “Obama/Reid/Pelosi” specter:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jA5lv6zr2E]

–Alexi Giannoulias, running for the president’s old seat, really embraces Obama (in all senses):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFRS-STbmJw]

–Republican governor/conservative star Chris Christie ventures forth from New Jersey.

–Fresh off her Senate primary defeat, Lisa Murkowski holds out hope for getting back on the ballot in Alaska.

–Sunlight Foundation chief Ellen Miller is unimpressed by the Obama administration’s transparency.

–And there’s no particular political angle I have in mind, but read Michael Lewis on Greece anyway.

What did I miss?

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