Welcome, Union Brothers and Sisters  —  In my speech on Saturday in Iowa, I said: “Between bailouts for Wall Street cronies and stimulus projects for union bosses' security and ‘green energy’ giveaways, [Barack Obama] took care of his friends.  And now they're on course to raise a billion dollars …

Exclusive Audio: Inside the Koch Brothers' Secret Seminar  —  Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of this report, on the GOP superstar who rocked the Koch seminar crowd.  —  “We have Saddam Hussein,” declared billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, apparently referring to President Barack Obama …

Rick Perry moves ahead of Mitt Romney in race for GOP nomination in new poll  —  Aided by strong tea party support, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has surged in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, pushing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney into second place and significantly diminishing …

Pelosi drops the word ‘stimulus’  —  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats have dropped the word stimulus from their vocabulary.  —  Though the House minority leader and her caucus are still pushing an economic stimulus agenda to save the economy, they've radically changed …

Janet Napolitano: Shoes-on flight in sight  —  Air travelers will eventually be able to keep their shoes on to pass through security, but the restrictions on carrying liquids on board are likely to remain in place for some time, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a POLITICO Playbook breakfast Tuesday.

The 2012 Election Will Come Down to Seven States  —  National polls are nice, but Electoral College math is what matters.  —  Straw polls, real polls, debates, caucuses, primaries—that's the public side of presidential campaigns 14 months before Election Day.

Romney unveils sweeping plan for jobs, economy  —  NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney put forward a sweeping economic plan here Tuesday that he projected would boost annual economic growth by 4 percent, create 11.5 million new jobs and lower …

Obama ratings sink to new lows as hope fades  —  Public pessimism about the direction of the country has jumped to its highest level in nearly three years, erasing the sense of hope that followed President Obama's inauguration and pushing his approval ratings to a record low, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Texas and Mass. Still at Health Coverage Extremes in U.S.  —  Southern states still see highest uninsured rates in the country  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Texas residents continue to be the most likely in the United States to lack health coverage, with 27.2% reporting being uninsured in the first half of 2011.

Sources: Obama Administration to Drop Troop Levels in Iraq to 3,000  —  The Obama administration has decided to drop the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of the year down to 3,000, marking a major downgrade in force strength, multiple sources familiar with the inner workings and decisions …

They like him  —  There's a deluge of terrible poll numbers for the White House today, but I think this one from our Battleground Poll is the most interesting:  —  Obama receives particularly low marks for his economic stewardship, with only 39 percent saying they approve and 59 percent saying they disapprove.

Grenades Case Hits Justice  —  Blunders After U.S. Arrest of Suspected Supplier Had a Part in High-Level Ousters  —  Federal authorities are probing why the U.S. in 2010 let go an Arizona man accused of supplying grenades to a Mexican drug cartel, a case that played a role in the ouster …

New York 9th Congressional District Special Election Survey (9/6/11)  —  Baton Rouge, LA - Magellan Strategies BR today released the survey results of an automated survey of 2,055 likely voters in New York's 9th Congressional District.  The survey was conducted September 1st, 2011 and has a margin of error of 2.16%.

Where the Jobs Aren't  —  With the economy stagnating and unemployment high, where are the jobs of the future going to come from?  A few years ago, it seemed as though the Green Economy could be a big part of the answer.  —  New clean-energy sources could address environmental, economic and national security problems all at once.

Can Politico Win Again?  Blogger Ben Smith helped the site dominate the 2008 election cycle—but Twitter's encroaching on its turf By Dylan Byers  —  Ben Smith has a problem.  —  If there is such a thing as the prototypical political news blogger, then he's it.

We Interview Vice President Joe Biden: He Owns a '67 Corvette and Loves Smoky Burnouts  —  America's vice president owns a '67 Corvette, and though he's not allowed to drive, he still enjoys the occasional smoky burnout.  —  C/D: You're the son of a car salesman?  —  JB: For 34 years, my dad managed dealerships in Delaware.

EXCLUSIVE: Palin's surprise visit delights bride and groom  —  On the eve of Sarah Palin's speech before the Tea Party Express in New Hampshire, the former Alaska Governor shocked diners and delighted wedding guests by making an unannounced visit to The Puritan Backroom restaurant for some of their famous chicken fingers.

My Unfinished 9/11 Business  —  Ten years after the attacks, we memorialize the loss and we mark the heroism, but there is no organized remembrance of the other feelings that day aroused: the bewilderment, the vulnerability, the impotence.  It may be difficult to recall with our attention …

Editorial Independence  —  There's confusion - way too much confusion - about my status at TechCrunch and TechCrunch's status at Aol after last week's announcement that I was launching a venture fund, partially backed by Aol.  —  The multiple conflicting statements made by Aol on Thursday …

Yes, We Need Jobs.  But What Kind?  —  ON Thursday, President Obama will deliver a major speech on America's employment crisis.  But too often, what is lost in the call for job creation is a clear idea of what jobs we want to create.  —  I recently led a research team to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas …