Morning Must Reads: Moving

When Robert Gates leaves the Pentagon, Leon Pannetta will be named Defense Secretary, Gen. Petraeus will move to head the CIA, Lt. Gen. John Allen will take over forces in Afghanistan and Ryan Crocker will serve as Ambassador there. From a domestic perspective, it’s worth noting that Panetta is both a former House Budget Committee chairman and an ex-director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

It’s no August, 2009, but Democrats have stirred some anger House Republicans’ townhalls:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JY9-rdhYc]

• Listen for potentially market-moving phrases from Bernanke in the Fed’s first ever press conference at 2:15 p.m.
• There have already been a number of important questions proposed — most significantly about recovery and how to balance the employment-price stability dual mandate — but there’s also a lot of financial sector regulation (and new rule-writing) going on at the central bank.
• Why should revenues be 18% of GDP? No particular reason.
• The debt limit is not a static target.
• The worst violence in Syria may well be yet to come; don’t read too much into western sanctions.
• Haley Barbour didn’t pass on a presidential run, he lost.
• Fox News allegedly wants Huckabee to make up his mind already.
• And just asking if someone was born abroad plants the seed of doubt.