Morning Must Reads: August 29

In the news: Syria, the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the immigration reform calendar, ObamaCare, James Risen, small business optimism, and what has changed since Lehman failed

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Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

  • “The Obama administration appeared Wednesday to be forging ahead with preparations to attack Syria. It dismissed a Syrian request to extend chemical weapons inspections there as a delaying tactic and said it saw little point in further discussion of the issue at the United Nations.” [WashPost]
    • Russia and China urge restraint. [WashPost]
    • “I have not made a decision on Syria,” President Obama told PBS NewsHour.
    • “Deep inside the Pentagon, General Goldilocks and her war planners are now in the final stages of calibrating U.S. war plans to attack Syria—not too big, or too small, but just right. That’s always a challenge when it comes to delivering high explosives from hundreds of miles away…” [TIME]
    • Obama will brief congressional lawmakers Thursday on the range of retaliatory options. Here’s how Congress will respond. [TIME]
    • “Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who ushered the U.S. into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, said the Obama administration has not clearly justified an attack on Syria.” [Hill]
    • Parody: The Political Press Corps Prepares for Syrian Strike [TIME]
  • “Fifty years after the March on Washington, President Obama tried to rekindle the enthusiasm and activism that marked his rise to the White House in 2008 in a commemorative speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Wednesday.” [TIME]
    • “For many like Ruby Reese Moone, it was full circle after coming to Washington on Aug. 28, 50 years earlier…” [TIME]
    • Watch Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Carter speak. [TIME]
    • “Speaker John A. Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the House’s two most senior Republicans, were invited to speak at the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington—but declined.” [Roll Call]
  • “For the vast majority of Americans, premium prices will be higher in the individual exchange than what they’re currently paying for employer-sponsored benefits, according to a National Journal analysis of new coverage and cost data. Adding even more out-of-pocket expenses to consumers’ monthly insurance bills is a swell in deductibles under the Affordable Care Act.” [National Journal]
  • “Immigration reform advocates have a new enemy: the congressional calendar.” [Politico]
    • “The frustration is evident in Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s voice…” [Hill]
  • Obama Administration asks court to fource NYT reporter James Risen to reveal source in a criminal trial over the alleged leaking of US state secrets. [Guardian]
  • “Small-business optimism surged in July and August to some of the highest levels since the recession started, according to a handful of recent surveys.” [WSJ]
  • What Has Changed Since Lehman Failed? [New Yorker]
  • Prettier in print: