Top Items:
The Politico:
Rick Perry to make 2012 intentions clear Saturday — Rick Perry intends to use a speech in South Carolina Saturday to make clear that he's running for president, POLITICO has learned. — According to two sources familiar with the plan, the Texas governor will remove any doubt …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, The Note, The Caucus, Hot Air, Austin American-Statesman, unionleader.com, CNN, Wonkette, The Daily Caller, TPMDC, Democracy in America, The Washington Independent, PoliTex, GOP 12, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, The Jawa Report, 2012 Campaign Trail Report, Iowa Caucuses, The Page, New York Magazine, National Review, Joe. My. God. and msnbc.com
RELATED:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Perry to visit NH and SC while presidential candidates gather in Iowa
Discussion:
CNN, The Note, Pajamas Media, GOP 12 and The Page
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Perry team raising money, supporter says announcement next week
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12 and Politics
Paul Krugman:
Aaauuuggghhh! Market Commentary Edition — Carnage in stock markets as I write — and all of the headlines I see attribute it to S&P's downgrade. — They really are trying to make my head explode, aren't they? — Once again: S&P declared that US debt is no longer a safe investment …
Discussion:
Gawker, Wonkette, AMERICAblog News, Modeled Behavior, Economist's View and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
JeeYeon Park / CNBC:
Stocks Off Lows, Dow Above 11,000; Vix Soars — Stocks pared some losses in heavy, choppy trading Monday but were still sharply lower as investors fled from risky assets following S&P's downgrade of U.S.'s credit rating last week in addition to ongoing uncertainty over the euro zone crisis.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Disconnect — This piece on CNN Money says that “market observers tried to say the downgrade by itself shouldn't matter — that it was expected and that the United States still has a strong credit rating ... But the market wasn't buying it.” And then it goes on to note that investors are rushing to buy up US Treasuries.
Discussion:
CNNMoney.com
New York Times:
Dow Plunges More Than 600 in Sell-Off
Discussion:
Firedoglake, And So it Goes in Shreveport, The Politico, CNBC, New York Times, The ChamberPost, New York Magazine, About.com US Liberal Politics, Weasel Zippers, Global Public Square, Facing South, Bloomberg, The New Republic, Runnin' Scared, Economix, Money & Company, Mogulite, Pajamas Media, The Page and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
Ken Sweet / CNNMoney.com:
Stocks: ‘Sell first, ask questions later’
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, CNN, The Moderate Voice, This Just In and Global Public Square
Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:
LEAP OF FAITH … - POLITICS - PROFILES - THE TALK OF THE TOWN - COMMENT - THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - THE FINANCIAL PAGE - NEWS DESK - THE POLITICAL SCENE
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast, Concord Monitor, Firedoglake, Politics, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Mediaite, msnbc.com, The Wire, The Reaction, TPMDC, The Raw Story, Coffee & Markets, GOP 12, Iowa Caucuses, The Politico, The New Republic, Towleroad News #gay, FrumForum, Right Wing Watch, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
First Read / msnbc.com:
Bachmann attends church service denouncing homosexuality — WAUKEE, IA — Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann yesterday attended a church here in Iowa, where the pastor called homosexuality “immoral” and “unnatural,” and later showed a testimonial video from a man who claimed …
Economics of Contempt:
On S&P, Downgrades, and Idiots — This is not going to be one of those posts that laments S&P's decision to downgrade the US, but then says that S&P was probably right about our oh-so-dysfunctional political system. — No, S&P was flat-out wrong — no caveats.
RELATED:
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
DNC chairwoman blames Tea Party ‘tyrants’ for US credit-rating downgrade
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Weasel Zippers
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Allen West Claims S&P Downgrade ‘Has Nothing To Do With Increasing Revenues’ — S&P Disagrees
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, RedState, The Raw Story, The Reaction and Daily Kos
David Jackson / USA Today:
Obama: Downgrade should create ‘renewed sense of urgency’
Discussion:
nation.foxnews.com and Doug Ross
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
S&P's History of Relentless Political Advocacy
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, National Review, TPMDC, Online NewsHour and Hullabaloo
Michelle Malkin:
The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks — Sigh. Seriously, Tina Brown? — Yes, I'm talking about you, Oxford University-educated Newsweek/Daily Beast editor Tina Brown. — You've resorted to recycling bottom-of-the-barrel moonbat photo cliches …
RELATED:
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Does The Michele Bachmann Newsweek Cover Make Her ‘Look Crazy’? — Conservative media watchdog Newsbusters is helpfully defending GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) honor against those serial cover photo offenders at Newsweek, excoriating the magazine for using …
Discussion:
Gawker, The Huffington Post and Runnin' Scared
The Daily Beast:
Hillary Told You So — As Democratic disgust with Obama's debt fumbling spreads, Clinton supporters recall her ‘3 a.m. phone call’ warnings—and angry, frustrated liberals are muttering that she should mount a 2012 challenge. — At a New York political event last week …
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
The Westen piece — It's not exactly a secret that there is …
Discussion:
National Review, Democracy in America and No More Mister Nice Blog
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Waiting For A Landslide — In 1955, a political scientist named V. O. Key published an essay entitled “A Theory of Critical Elections.” He argued that realignments in American politics are usually punctuated by transformative elections, in which the old order suddenly gives way and a new majority emerges in its place.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Caucus, The Mahablog, The New Republic, Bark Bark Woof Woof and American Power
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama Job Approval 50% or Higher in 16 States and D.C. — Idaho residents least approving, at 27% — PRINCETON, NJ — Residents of 16 states and the District of Columbia gave President Obama approval ratings of 50% or higher during the first half of 2011, led by the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Political Punch, Washington Post, Hotline On Call, Weasel Zippers, TPMDC and Swampland
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Obama's horrifyingly bad speech — He was a half hour late. His head turned from side to side as if he were attending a tennis match. He practically never looked in the camera, as if he were averting our gaze. And those were the strong parts of President Obama's disastrous speech.
Discussion:
Hot Air
Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
House leaders end page program — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced they were ending the House page program. — As of Aug. 31, the program — which employs nearly 70 high school students to serve as messengers and couriers …
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico, Shakesville and New York Magazine
Shira Ovide / Deal Journal:
Berkshire, Other Insurers Get ‘Negative’ Tag from S&P … Cue the music from “Jaws.” — After Standard & Poor's bit an appendage from the U.S.'s credit rating, the credit-rating firm is smelling blood in the water at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. — S&P today is marking down ratings …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Atlantic Online and Corrente
RELATED:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Why S.&P.'s Ratings Are Substandard and Porous
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, MacroScope, New York Times, Prairie Weather and Global Public Square
A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Economic pessimism skyrockets — Washington (CNN) - Americans have a bad case of the economic jitters, as recent drops in the stock market have been accompanied by a sharp rise in the public's economic pessimism, according to a new national poll. — And a CNN/ORC International …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Hill, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Left Coast Rebel and The Page
RELATED:
A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama approval rating remains steady in mid 40s
Discussion:
The Politico, National Review and Weasel Zippers
New York Times:
A.I.G. Sues Bank of America Over Mortgage Bonds — The American International Group sued Bank of America on Monday over hundreds of mortgage-backed securities, adding to the surge of investors seeking compensation for the troubled mortgages that led to the financial crisis.
Discussion:
Salon, Firedoglake, DealBook, emptywheel, ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News, Money & Company, naked capitalism and New York Magazine
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
It's a Growth Scare — FTalphaville has been saying this all day, and it's right. The action in the markets looks nothing like worries about US solvency; it looks exactly like what you expect to see when markets suddenly realize that the economy's growth prospects look terrible.
Discussion:
Grasping Reality …
Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
Poor People Own Appliances Because They're Cheap — My colleagues Melissa Boteach and Donna Cooper have a great piece on the Heritage Foundation's “poor people aren't actually poor because they own cheap electronics” theory of poverty. This infographic nicely highlights the silliness …
Discussion:
Eschaton
A.Killough / CNN:
White House announces waivers for No Child Left Behind law — WASHINGTON (CNN) - About half the schools in Tennessee didn't meet the annual yearly progress requirements of the No Child Left Behind law last year. Tennessee is not alone. — Saying schools are struggling to meet …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS
Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — 
Energy Markets Reporter, London — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Editor, MA — 
Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — 
Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
News Reporter, MA — 
Multimedia Journalist, PA — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
Senior Media Editor — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Staff Reporter, CA — 
Data Editor, NY — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
