memeorandum: The Fighter Fallacy — The elemental question in American politics … (David Brooks/New York Times)

1:10 PM ET, October 25, 2011

Top Items:

My Tax and Spending Reform Plan — Individuals will have the option of paying a 20% flat-rate income tax and I'll cap spending at 18% of GDP. — The folks in Washington might not like to hear it, but the plain truth is the U.S. government spends too much.

John Harwood / The Caucus:

10 Questions for Rick Perry — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is seeking to jump-start his Republican presidential campaign by proposing a new tax system: a 20 percent flat rate on individual and corporate income, down from the current 35 percent top rate, and elimination of existing taxes on estates, capital gains and dividends.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Washington Post, Hot Air, GOP 12, New York Times, msnbc.com and Political Mojo

CBS News:

Herman Cain tops Mitt Romney in latest CBS/NYT poll — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Businessman Herman Cain is now atop the field of Republican White House hopefuls, squeaking past former Massachusetts …

Discussion: New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, Washington Wire, CNN, ABCNEWS, National Review, The Caucus, Runnin' Scared and Business Insider

Allison Kopicki / The Caucus:

Most Republican Primary Voters Remain Uncommitted — A large majority of Republican primary voters have yet to make up their minds about the candidate they would like to see as their party's nominee for president in 2012, with the nation's first nominating contests just two months away.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Guardian, Hot Air, Daniel W. Drezner, Daily Kos, 2012 US Elections, Questions and Observations, Indecision Forever, GOP 12, Hotline On Call and Business Insider

The Politico:

Rick Perry readies assault on Mitt Romney — The Rick Perry relaunch has finally arrived. — After weeks battling questions about how he plans to salvage his listing presidential bid, the Texas governor has finally started spelling out an answer. It involves opening his $15 million campaign war chest …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Washington Wire, Campaign 2012, Connecting.the.Dots, Wall Street Journal and Fox News

Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:

Rick Perry's Miraculous Tax Plan — Huzzah! Rick Perry's new tax plan is out: … In addition, Perry is going to lower the corporate tax rate, move to a territorial tax system, pass a Balanced Budget Amendment, ban earmarks, freeze federal hiring and salaries through 2020 …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Wire, Ballot Box, The Enterprise Blog, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online and Balloon Juice

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog: Perry campaign calls on Romney to release tax returns

Jason Embry / Austin American-Statesman:
First Reading: Details of Perry's tax proposal

Discussion: The Agonist, CNN, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Pat Dollard

NationalJournal.com:
Perry Proposes 20 Percent Flat Tax

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, ThinkProgress, Campaign 2012, National Review, Race 4 2012 and The Gateway Pundit

San Francisco Chronicle:

Cops arrest Occupy Oakland protesters — (10-25) 05:58 PDT OAKLAND — Oakland police arrested dozens of people at a plaza outside City Hall, two weeks after the protesters began building an intricate encampment as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement against corporate greed and economic inequality.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Guardian, Right Wing Nut House, L.A. NOW, Big Government, americanthinker.com, JammieWearingFool, Daily Kos and Portland Press-Herald

Mercury News:

Police arrest protesters, tear down Occupy Oakland tent city — Early Tuesday, the city began ousting protesters who have camped out for two weeks at the Occupy Oakland tent city on Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Police started assembling around the tent city at 14th Street and Broadway at about 3 a.m.

Discussion: Verum Serum

Stephen C. Webster / The Raw Story:
Watch live: ‘Occupy Oakland’ attacked by police

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Crooks and Liars

David Weigel / Slate:

Herman Cain's Amazing Campaign Ad … - Saletan: Bachmann Thinks Our Military Was in Iraq Not To Liberate It but To Own It - The President of ASU on Rick Scott's Stupid Idea To Cut Funding for Liberal Arts Education - My Seven Beliefs About Tim Tebow: 1) He Is Not a Viable NFL Quarterback …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, GOP 12 and Political Mojo

Geneva Sands-Sadowitz / The Hill:
New Cain ad showing chief of staff smoking cigarette catches attention

Discussion: CBS News, CNN and Guardian

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Answering the Cain question

Discussion: The Caucus and The Maddow Blog

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Biden's office complains after dust-up with conservative reporter — Joe Biden's office has complained to the Senate press gallery about a confrontation the vice president had with a conservative journalist last week on Capitol Hill. — Biden aides asked whether Senate rules were broken …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org blogs and JammieWearingFool, more at Mediagazer »

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

Perry On Why He Went Birther: 'It's A Good Issue To Keep Alive' — Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) flirted with birtherism over the weekend, telling PARADE Magazine that he didn't “have a definitive answer” on whether President Obama was born in the U.S., even though he believes he was.

Discussion: Business Insider, National Review and Daily Kos

Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post:
Rick Perry: Obama Birth Certificate ‘A Good Issue To Keep Alive’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mediaite and Business Insider

Arlette Saenz / ABCNEWS:
Rick Perry Doubles Down on Birther Issue

Discussion: USA Today and The Raw Story

Quinnipiac University:

Opposition To Ohio's SB 5 Grows, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Women, Union Members Push Kasich Deeper In Hole — Ohio voters support 57 - 32 percent the repeal of SB 5, the centerpiece of Gov. John Kasich's legislative program, as the margin against the governor's measure has almost doubled …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog and Hotline On Call

Shelby Grad / L.A. NOW:

Obama's celebrity-rich L.A. tour causes traffic jams — President Obama's fundraising swing through Los Angeles made for a tougher afternoon commute for some motorists on Monday. — The traffic problems were most intense in Hancock Park and Mid-City, with east-west commuters facing some delays.

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, Los Angeles Times and JammieWearingFool

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama tells Hollywood 2012 campaign won't be as ‘sexy’ as last time

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and americanthinker.com

Joseph E. Gagnon / RealTime Economic Issues Watch:

The Last Bullet — US policymakers are running out of options to solve our massive unemployment problem and get the economy growing again. The Administration's jobs bill faces resistance in Congress. The best option that can be implemented without a vote of Congress is to work through …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Dow Jones Newswires, ProPublica, Prairie Weather, New York Times, Angry Bear, White House.gov Blog, Daily Kos and Paul Krugman

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

A 53% Surge in Poverty Rate Is Reshaping Suburbs — PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — The poor population in America's suburbs — long a symbol of a stable and prosperous American middle class — rose by more than half after 2000, forcing suburban communities across the country to re-evaluate their identities and how they serve their populations.

Discussion: Chicago Sun Times and Prairie Weather

Guy Dinmore / Financial Times:

Berlusconi faces the ultimate downgrade — It was bad enough to be publicly mocked by fellow heads of government over a poorly managed sovereign debt crisis that was not of Italy's making. But, to cap it all, Silvio Berlusconi then faces headlines on his return to Rome declaring …

Discussion: AMERICAN FUTURE and Paul Krugman

Stephen Castle / New York Times:
European Finance Ministers Call Off Pre-Summit Meeting

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Reuters and Prairie Weather

Sarah Kunin / ABCNEWS:

Jon Huntsman Vies for ‘The Colbert Bump’ — With poor poll percentages and even worse fundraising numbers, there's no denying that these days Jon Huntsman could use a little public relations pick-me-up. — On Monday, the former governor swapped out the New Hampshire house party circuit …

Discussion: The Politico, GOP 12 and Campaign 2012

Phillip Longman / Washington Monthly:

The Cure — The politics of debt have gotten so insane that both parties are on the verge of gutting Medicare. The moment might be right to actually fix it. — Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Delicious — While the partisan gap in Washington is wider than it's …

n+1:

Monday Night Urgent OWS Message — UPDATE (12:44 AM): Crisis averted: tonight at the General Assembly, the working group of drummers, Pulse, in a spirit of conciliation and generosity, brought forward a proposal to limit their drumming from 12 to 2 and 4 to 6 PM only.

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner, Gawker, Hot Air and DownWithTyranny!

G-A-Y / Good As You:

Photo: A mutant strain of NOM misrepresentation (Part 2) — Last night, I showed you how the National Organization For Marriage, staunch pro-DOMA warriors, are using a crowd shot from a rally in support of now-President Obama, staunch anti-DOMA voice, in order to beef up their reliably paltry rally pics.

Discussion: Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay and Holy Bullies …