memeorandum: Capital gains tax rates benefiting wealthy feed growing gap between rich and poor (Steven Mufson/Washington Post)

5:45 PM ET, September 12, 2011

Top Items:

Rick Perry / USA Today:

I am going to be honest with the American people — The first step to fixing a problem is honestly admitting there is a problem. America's goal must be to fix Social Security by making it more financially sound and sustainable for the long term. But Americans deserve a frank and honest discussion …

A.Killough / CNN:

TRENDING: Jindal to endorse Perry — Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is backing Rick Perry for president, a major endorsement for the Texas governor as the campaign for the Republican nomination enters the crucial fall stretch of the primary calendar, a source tells CNN.

Discussion: GOP 12, Campaign 2012, Randy's Roundtable, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, National Review, The Daily Caller and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

CNN:

New CNN Poll: Perry on top when it comes to electability — Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Hours before the start of the first-ever CNN/Tea Party Republican debate, a new national survey indicates that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is maintaining his lead in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

Brent Budowsky / Presidential Campaign:

Why Ron Paul scares Rick Perry — One of the cardinal rules of politics is “never attack down,” meaning a front-runner should never attack or respond to an opponent who is far behind. Yet that is what Rick Perry is doing. He is intimidated by Ron Paul, and responding to Ron Paul. Why?

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Tim Pawlenty / National Review:
My Endorsement: Mitt Romney for President

Discussion: Salon, Hot Air, A plain blog about politics, Swampland, ThinkProgress, The Greenroom, The Washington Independent, The Lonely Conservative, Moe Lane, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taylor Marsh and Political Insider

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Turner poised for big upset

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Pawlenty endorses Romney

Discussion: CNN, Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, Mediaite, The Other McCain, Indecision Forever, The Crawdad Hole and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Stanley Kurtz / National Review:
Perry and the Ponzis — Is Texas governor and Republican …

Discussion: RedState

David Weigel / Slate:
Pawlenty Announces Bid to Be Mitt Romney's Vice President

Discussion: Washington Post

Rick Klein / Politics:
Fred Malek: ‘Too Late’ for Palin to Run; GOP Nominee Will Be Perry or Romney

Discussion: GOP 12 and Taegan Goddard's …

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:
Bachmann called Social Security ‘a tremendous fraud’ in 2010

Discussion: Campaign 2012, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Iowa Caucuses, Outside the Beltway and Pajamas Media

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Conservatives join liberals in opposing Obama's payroll tax cut extension

Discussion: The Politico, USA Today, Washington Post, CNN, iOwnTheWorld.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Mike Huckabee dings Rick Perry, says Mitt Romney more ‘electable’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Replay, Campaign 2012 and National Review

The Politico:

GOP grumbles about jobs plan — House Republicans may pass bits and pieces of President Barack Obama's jobs plan, but behind the scenes, some Republicans are becoming worried about giving Obama any victories — even on issues the GOP has supported in the past.

Discussion: Firedoglake, CNN, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Salon, Flower & Thistle, TPMDC, Washington Post, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Rasmussen Reports, Little Green Footballs, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, AmSpecBlog and The Maddow Blog

Zeke Miller / Business Insider:

REVEALED: Obama's Jobs Plan To Raise $400 Billion In Taxes — White House Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew outlined President Barack Obama's plan to pay for his $447 billion jobs plan — mostly through tax increases. — Lew said itemized tax deductions and exemptions …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Pajamas Media and PoliPundit.com

A.Killough / CNN:

Cantor says no to jobs bill spending — Washington (CNN) - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor continued to reach out to work with President Obama on his jobs bill Monday, but emphasized that Republicans are focused on items they support in the plan like the tax breaks and will oppose …

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Obama proposes raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for $447 billion jobs bill — President Obama would fund his $447 billion plan to create jobs largely by raising taxes on wealthier families, White House aides said Monday after the president again called on Congress to support the package.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Mother Jones

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Obama proposes tax hikes on wealthy to pay for $447B jobs bill

Discussion: National Review and Outside the Beltway

Christina Bellantoni / Roll Call:
Administration Willing to Go It Alone

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hill and Weasel Zippers

Susan Crabtree / TPMDC:
White House: Tax Hikes For The Wealthy Will Largely Pay For Jobs Bill

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
Why Congress Won't Pass A Jobs Bill: ‘Obama Is On The Ropes; Why Do We Appear Ready To Hand Him A Win?’

Discussion: The Mahablog, Washington Monthly and Firedoglake

Rose Garden / The White House:
Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act

Discussion: Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, The Gateway Pundit and About.com US Liberal Politics

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Angry Rumsfeld cancels N.Y. Times — Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday canceled his subscription to The New York Times after columnist Paul Krugman characterized the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as “an occasion for shame.” — Rumsfeld tweeted, “After reading Krugman's …

Discussion: Mediaite, FishbowlDC, Outside the Beltway, Big Government and American Power

David Weigel / Slate:

Get Krugman! … - A Defense of Rap Rock. Yes, a Defense of Rap Rock. - The Strange Designs of the Earliest Typewriters - Tony Bennett on What He Wishes He Said to Amy Winehouse

Discussion: Washington Post, Gawker, Campaign 2012, Sky Dancing, RedState, The Anchoress, The American Conservative and The Powers That Be

The Huffington Post:

Paul Krugman 9/11 Blog Post Stokes Controversy … Paul Krugman drew conservative outrage on Sunday when he wrote that the anniversary of 9/11 had become a marker of “shame” for the U.S. (Scroll down for Krugman's new post on the subject.) — The New York Times columnist wrote a blog post called …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Mediaite, Verum Serum, Big Journalism and Truthdig

Spiegel Online:

Debt Crisis — Euro-Zone Exit Scenarios — Germany Plans for Possible Greek Default — The rest of the euro zone is losing patience with Greece. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is no longer convinced that Athens can be saved from bankruptcy.

Discussion: Felix Salmon and Marginal Revolution

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
An Impeccable Disaster — On Thursday Jean-Claude Trichet …

Discussion: TalkLeft and Prairie Weather

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:
Europe Slips As Greece Falls

Discussion: New York Times and Lawrence Person's …

Paul Krugman:

Shocking Barro — People have been asking for my reaction to Robert Barro's op-ed, so I finally went and read it. And I have to say that I'm shocked by the laziness - he's not even trying to present a coherent argument. — I mean, here's the structure of what he says:

Discussion: Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Modeled Behavior, JammieWearingFool and New York Times

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
What might be Robert Barro's argument?

Discussion: Modeled Behavior, Grasping Reality … and Economist's View

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:

Morning Joe Skirmish As Smiley Recycles ‘Bush Lied’ — A skirmish broke out on Morning Joe today as Tavis Smiley claimed President George W. Bush “lied” the USA into the war in Iraq. Joe Scarborough and—surprisingly— Jon Meacham forcefully refuted Smiley's slur.

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com and Hot Air

John Cook / Gawker:
The Most Nerve-Wracking Moment of George W. Bush's Presidency Was When He Threw a Ball

Discussion: Washington Post

Nina Chestney / Reuters:

Al Gore in 24-hour broadcast to convert climate skeptics — (Reuters) - Former President Al Gore will renew his 30-year campaign to convince skeptics of the link between climate change and extreme weather events this week in a 24-hour global multi-media event.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Watts Up With That?, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Questions and Observations

Turki Al-Faisal / New York Times:

Veto a State, Lose an Ally — The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Attackerman, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Dish, Guardian, ThinkProgress, emptywheel, The Moderate Voice and Israel Matzav

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The President's Do-Over — A week after President Obama took the oath of office, Alice Rivlin, budget chief to President Bill Clinton, testified before a Congress that was about to consider sweeping stimulus legislation. In her remarks, Rivlin voiced her support for a swift …

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
We Don't Have Deficit Reduction Because Republicans Don't Want It

Discussion: A plain blog about politics and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Oshea / Public Notice:

MEMO: National poll on government regulations — DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 TO: PUBLIC NOTICE FROM: NICHOLAS THOMPSON & BRIAN TRINGALI RE: KEY FINDINGS FROM NATIONAL SURVEY The Tarrance Group is pleased to present Public Notice with the key findings from a survey of N=801 registered “likely” voters across the country.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Money & Company, The Daily Caller and GayPatriot