- Obama will announce new aid in Mideast speech Thursday.
- Another poll bears out the simple dynamic of the GOP’s proto-presidential primary: Until some other candidates become better-known, Romney is alone atop the pile.
- The barren field has drawn Texas Governor Rick Perry’s eye.
- Newt Gingrich backpedals furiously and calls Paul Ryan to apologize.
- The rough week continues: Poor guy got glitter-bombed in Minneapolis.
- John Boehner still has a Tea Party problem.
- Brian Beutler hears Tom Coburn left the Gang of Six because it rejected his proposal for Medicare cuts.
- Deficit stories now vastly outnumber unemployment stories in U.S. newspapers. Two guesses as to why: Process stories are now solely about the former because Congress isn’t actually working on jobs legislation; and President Obama made a decision to focus on fiscal reform.
- Tim Geithner nudges the IMF to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn right away.
- And one member of Congress has a bold deficit reduction plan: sell Utah.