Stop Coddling the Super-Rich  —  OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.”  But when they did the asking, they spared me.  I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting.  They, too, were left untouched.  —  While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan …

Bachmann-Perry Overdrive  —  GOP voters are still searching for a unifying candidate.  —  The fight for the Republican Presidential nomination is finally getting underway in earnest, with Texas Governor Rick Perry bull-riding his way into the race and Michele Bachmann winning Saturday's straw poll in Iowa.

The Texas Unmiracle  —  As expected, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, has announced that he is running for president.  And we already know what his campaign will be about: faith in miracles.  —  Some of these miracles will involve things that you're liable to read in the Bible.

Romney takes dig at Perry over business experience  —  Litchfield, New Hampshire (CNN) - Mitt Romney said Monday his experience in business would help propel him over the man who threatens to be his biggest rival, Texas Gov. Rick Perry.  —  Facing reporters' questions …

The Ten Weirdest Ideas In Rick Perry's Fed Up  —  Rick Perry's November 2010 book Fed Up!:  Our Fight to Save America from Washington is not a typical “campaign book” from a political candidate.  For starters, its forward is written by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, nominally one of Perry's rivals for the nomination.

Pakistani belief about drones: perceptive or paranoid?  —  Two weeks ago, President Obama's former Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, excoriated the White House for its reliance on drones in multiple Muslim nations, pointing out, as Politico put it, that those attacks …

A Businessman in Congress Helps His District and Himself  —  VISTA, Calif. — Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Andy has upHill fight to win in '16: top Dem  —  Gov. Cuomo can for get running for pres ident in 2016 be cause Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to beat him — and everyone else — in the race for the Democratic Party's nomination, predicts one of the nation's best-known Democrats.

At 39 Percent, Obama's Reminded the Worst Could Lie Ahead  —  There it was: 39 percent.  Floor broke.  Threshold crossed.  The close of Barack Obama's awful week.  One more awful August.  On Sunday, for the first time in his presidency, Obama's public approval rating dipped below 40 percent in the Gallup Poll.

Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion  —  Google Inc. (GOOG), maker of the Android mobile-phone software, agreed to buy smartphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.5 billion in its biggest deal, gaining mobile patents and expanding in the hardware business.

Krugman: You know what this economy needs?  A space alien invasion!  —  Patrick Ishmael wrote about this in the Green Room, but why should he have all the fun?  Not too long ago, Dick Durbin lamented the demise of credibility for Keynesian economic proposals, but even I didn't realize the Keynesians had become quite this desperate.

Wall Street big lavished gifts on mistresses in three countries: wife  —  He's an aging Wall Street fat cat who could put even the most lusty young lothario to shame.  —  John Duffy, 62, the married CEO of the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods investment bank, has lavished millions of dollars' worth of homes …

U.S. military: Wave of attacks in Iraq ‘eerily similar’ to last year  —  Baghdad (CNN) — A barrage of deadly attacks struck across Iraq Monday, killing at least 75 people and wounding more than 250 others, Iraqi officials said.  —  Twenty bombings and shooting incidents were reported.

Todd Palin answers woman who calls Palins a “sellout” at Sarah Palin Iowa event (VIDEO)  —  Des Moines, Iowa — As we told you the other day, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hasn't decided yet to run for president.  One big question she will have to answer is why she quit after only two years as governor.

Verizon wins injunction against striking workers after reports of vandalism, violence and harrassment  —  No vandalism.  No violence.  No Harassment.  No Obstruction.  No intimidating.  No threatening.  No Blocking.  No Trespassing.  Those were just a few of the restrictions placed …

Mitt Romney Dubs Obama's Trip the ‘Magical Misery Bus Tour’  —  ABC News' Emily Friedman (@EmilyABC) reports:  —  A new web video and harsh criticism emerged from the Mitt Romney camp today as President Barack Obama launched his three-day bus tour that will make stops in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.