Obama Rejects Obamaism  —  I'm a sap, a specific kind of sap.  I'm an Obama Sap.  —  When the president said the unemployed couldn't wait 14 more months for help and we had to do something right away, I believed him.  When administration officials called around saying that the possibility …

Perry Looks Better Against Romney Than Against Obama  —  Leads Romney by 10 points in “narrow down” but trails Obama  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Rick Perry leads Mitt Romney by 31% to 24% in a new USA Today/Gallup poll of Republican presidential nomination preferences.

In early Obama White House, female staffers felt frozen out  —  Friction about the roles of women in the Obama White House grew so intense during the first two years of the president's tenure that he was forced to take steps to reassure senior women on his staff that he valued their presence and their input.

FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less than secretaries?  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama makes it sound as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries.  —  “Middle-class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires,” Obama said Monday.

A future for drones: Automated killing  —  One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, Ga., two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search of an orange, green and blue tarp.  —  The automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own …

Liberals vow to challenge Obama in Democratic primaries  —  President Obama's smooth path to the Democratic nomination may have gotten rockier Monday, after a group of liberal leaders, including former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, announced plans to challenge the incumbent in primaries next year.

The President's “balanced” misdirection  —  The White House is marketing the President's new deficit reduction proposals as “A Balanced Approach.” … The President argues that “balance” between spending cuts and tax increases is good.  He further argues that he achieves this desired balance …

Weak and Bumpy Global Recovery Ahead  —  The global economic recovery is slowing, with world growth projected at 4 percent in both 2011 and 2012, down from over 5 percent in 2010, the IMF said in its latest forecast.  —  And even this lowered projection counts on a lot going well.

The Appraisal: A Glimpse at Bloomberg's Lavish Tastes at Home  —  He has been known to serve tuna on crackers during cocktail hour.  He prefers diners to power-breakfast spots like the Regency.  His sartorial style remains buttoned down, with a salmon-color crew neck and matching socks about as gaudy as it gets.

Day No. 972: President Obama unveils a deficit reduction plan … Barack Obama took office Jan. 20, 2009.  That was 972 days ago this morning, almost to the hour when he finally offered his newest full-blown deficit reduction plan.  (See full Obama text below.)  —  Or as he put it, “Good morning, everybody.

House Dems outraise Republicans for Aug.  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in August and narrowly leads it in overall fundraising for the year to date.  —  The DCCC raised $3.6 million last month to the NRCC's $3 million.

Anti-Gay NOM Activist Maggie Gallagher Attends Staged Broadway Benefit for Team Challenging Proposition 8  —  So, I attended last night's wonderful staged reading to a packed house of Dustin Lance Black's ‘8’, the dramatization of the federal case in California against Proposition 8 …

Greek Crisis Exacts the Cruelest Toll  —  HERAKLION, Greece—The first time he despaired of his debts, Vaggelis Petrakis drank a poisonous brew of beer and gasoline.  —  A note he left didn't mention the financial woes of his fruit and vegetable business, of which his family was well aware.

Flings of the Waistcoat Crowd  —  Bill Keller has a column at the NYT because he can have a column at the NYT, not because anybody is clamoring to hear what he has to say.  —  Print journalism dies preening.  —  When the newly sworn-in president congratulated us all on choosing unity …

Rick Perry's Lesser-Known First Book Could Be A Distraction From Economy-Centered Message … WASHINGTON — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has taken plenty of heat for making dubious assertions about modern medicine and health, but she's not the only Republican presidential candidate to have done so.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Assigns ‘Cold Case Posse’ To Investigate Obama's Birth Certificate  —  Hey, remember the birthers?  —  Infamous Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio does — which is why he announced a five-person “Cold Case Posse” that will delve into the issue of President Obama's birth certificate.

Joe McGinniss: Threats are the ‘Palin way’  —  Sarah and Todd Palin “scare” and “threaten” people - that's the “Palin way,” author Joe McGinniss charged on Tuesday.  —  In an interview on CNN for the release of his new book, “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” McGinniss said he spoke to …

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal: Navy Lt. Gary Ross, Partner Dan Swezy Wed As Military's Gay Ban Formally Ends … DUXBURY, Vt. — Just as the formal repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy took effect, Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were married before a small group of family and friends.

Get the Energy Sector off the Dole  —  Why ending all government subsidies for  —  fuel production will lead to a cleaner energy future—and why Obama has a rare chance  —  to make it happen.  —  ast September, President Obama promised that the cornerstone of his legislative program …

No Extra Credit  —  What if everything that is happening in Washington right now is just meaningless noise?  —  What if the Obama jobs plan, the coming deliberations of the supercommittee, the debate over taxing millionaires — what if none of it is likely to make a whit of positive difference for the economy?

Just how important is Ohio in 2012?  Very!  —  (CNN) - How important is Ohio to the Obama White House?  Vice President Joe Biden heads there Tuesday, the fourth visit to the crucial battleground state by President Barack Obama or Biden since Labor Day.  And Obama will be there again on Thursday to lobby for his jobs package.

Apology Adds An Epilogue To Kelo Case  —  Supreme Court Justice's Startling Apology Adds Human Context To Tough Ruling  —  Though she lost the eminent domain case against New London and her home, Susette Kelo, seen at an eminent domain protest at the Capitol in 2006, became a compelling figure in the property rights movement.