Reuters/Jim Young
—Obama is going out on a limb by associating himself with the precarious direct Mideast peace talks, writes the L.A. Times.
–Bibi is reassuring fellow Likudniks that he’s made no promises on settlements.
–Martin Indyk knows hope.
–Coming soon to a Harry Reid attack ad near you: Sharron Angle opposed federal Katrina aid in 2005.
–A report from the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board finds what you probably already knew: Our tax code is a mess. The committee has made a number of recommendations including consolidating redundant tax credits and a simplified return. And no, despite Paul Volcker’s stewardship, there’s no VAT proposal in there.
–It sounds like this weekend’s Fed symposium turned into a debate over fiscal policy in the face of swelling deficits and whether the Fed can step into the breach. Of course there was no consensus, but I think this rings true:
“The Fed has in many ways been left holding the bag while fiscal policy has fallen short,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that has urged an immediate commitment to reduce the deficit in the medium term. “There is excessive pressure on the Fed, because of the uncertainty about fiscal policy.”
–Laura Tyson, who was in the running for OMB director after Orszag’s departure, makes the case for a second stimulus.
–Heck, this Richard Burr ad sure is swell:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDLCOE5xnCM]
–Damian Paletta has a nice, broad overview of how things are shaping up at the international banking regulation negotiations in Basel, Switzerland. A look ahead:
Expect finger-pointing, brinksmanship and, potentially, a reaction from global stock indexes, if there isn’t a deal within a few weeks.
–The housing market is bleak. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan says the administration is “concerned,” but thinks talk of reviving the homebuyer tax credit is premature.
–Steve Coll writes in The New Yorker that economic progress is the key to stability in Pakistan and the region writ large:
Pakistan’s floods—like the tsunami that swept across Indonesia’s northern provinces in 2004—threaten to set the country’s economic growth back by years. For the United States, preventing such an outcome should be recognized as a strategic as well as a humanitarian imperative.
–The now California-based Adam Nagourney writes up the demise of conservatism in Orange County.
–Our colleague Katy Steinmetz attended the Glenn Beck rally Saturday in D.C. and the Journal has a nice round up of different takes. I haven’t watched much of his show, but the whole thing struck me as 1) very vague and 2) very religious. Both of those things tend to make for good politics.
–And because I’m short on snark, I’ll borrow Scherer’s: Snooki for Surgeon General.
What did I miss?