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Memories of the Bush Administration

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The New York Times reviews two Bush administration memoirs: Known and Unknown by Donald Rumsfeld and In My Time by Dick Cheney.

“Both books have received mostly negative reviews — largely deserved. Rumsfeld’s book is dense and bloated, although modestly candid. Cheney’s is clearly written (with help from his daughter Liz Cheney), but with the exception of its last chapters, dry, earnest and dull. None of this seems to have had much impact on their sales. Both spent time at the top of the best-seller lists.”

Quote of the Day

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“If you all just listen for 30 seconds, I will explain this one time. We
are getting back on message. End of story. Back on message.”

— Herman Cain, quoted by Time, saying he’s he is done answering questions about sexual harassment allegations.


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Walsh Honored for Being Pro-Family

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Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) was honored for “unwavering support of the family” by the Family Research Council Action Committee even though his ex-wife says he owes more than $100,000 in back child support for their three children, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

Walsh counters that he and his wife had a “verbal agreement” that he didn’t have to pay child support during years when he wasn’t earning as much.

Cain’s Support Dips After Allegations

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A new Reuters/Ipsos online poll finds sexual harassment allegations have begun to damage Herman Cain’s bid for the White House. The poll showed the percentage of Republicans who view Cain favorably dropped 9 percentage points, to 57% from 66% a week ago.

Key finding: 53% believe sexual harassment allegations against Cain are true despite his denials. Republicans were less likely to believe they are true, with 39% thinking they are accurate.

Cain-Gingrich in 2012?

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David Brody: “Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich were on stage together in what was billed as a classic Lincoln-Douglas style debate. As I sat and watched the entire event, I came away with one vivid impression: Did I just finish watching the Republican presidential ticket in 2012? Cain/Gingrich? Don’t laugh. It could happen. Romney has a ceiling of support and Rick Perry seems stuck in neutral.”

“Herman Cain’s poll numbers continue to impress and like Ronald Reagan, he seems to have a Teflon quality to him. Gingrich is steadily rising in the polls due to the fact that voters are starting to realize that this guy is REALLY smart and is an idea factory. Could this be a ticket that provides both style and substance?”

Obama Approval Up Slightly

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A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds President Obama’s approval rate up a bit to 49%, with disapproval at 50%.

However, the poll also showed Obama would finish just behind Mitt Romney if the presidential election were held today, 44% to 43%, among registered voters. It was the first Reuters/Ipsos poll to show Romney ahead, although his slim lead is within the survey’s margin of error and technically a dead heat.

Giffords Vows to Return to Congress

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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) “vows to return to Congress in a new book that details months of intense therapy and her emotional battle to come to terms with what happened when a gunman opened fire in front of a Tucson grocery store,” the AP reports after obtaining a copy of her memoir, called Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, due out later this month.

The book also describes lighter moments, “like when President George H.W. Bush
and his wife, Barbara, visited Giffords at the Texas hospital. Giffords
kept replying to Bush with the only word she was able to say: ‘chicken.’ At another point, a specialist showed her various politicians
to see if she recognized people. When she saw former California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, she said: ‘Messin’ around. Babies.'”

McConnell Now Wants Grand Bargain

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As the supercommittee charged with reducing the deficit works on a plan
that both cuts at least $1.2 trillion over ten years and can pass
Congress, recent shifts by Republican leadership may signal the return
of the “grand bargain” that President Obama and House Speaker John
Boehner (R-OH) had originally tried to negotiate.

Earlier reports indicate that Boehner has softened his line on tax increases in the final deal, while The Hill
reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “has made an
about-face in recent days and now favors a huge deficit-reduction
deal.”

“At the beginning of this week, Senate GOP and
Democratic sources said McConnell appeared to favor a $1.2 trillion
package out of the deficit-reduction supercommittee… A $4 trillion
deal has gained more popularity in the Senate GOP conference this week
as lawmakers have become convinced that Obama wants the
deficit-reduction supercommittee to fail.”

Clinton Says the Country is a Mess

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Bill Clinton writes in his new book, Back to Work, that last summer’s political fight over raising the U.S. debt ceiling made the nation look “weak and confused” overseas, the AP reports.

He also “describes the current state of the country as ‘a mess’ and largely blames the anti-government sentiment embodied in the tea party movement that has held sway since the 1980s. But Clinton also criticizes Obama and other Democratic lawmakers for not making a stronger case for the steps they took to stabilize the U.S. economy in 2009, like the bank and auto company bailouts and the $787 billion economic stimulus program.”

Making it in the Political Blogosphere

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From a profile in Making it in the Political Blogosphere: The World’s Top Political Bloggers Share the Secrets to Success by Tanni Haas, which is out next week:

“Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire has a special place in the political blogosphere. Operating much like a traditional wire service, it’s the site to which thousands of political insiders — Members of Congress and their staff, political consultants and pollsters, lobbyists, journalists, and political bloggers — go several times a day to get news, analysis, and commentary on the latest political developments that drive political debate in the U.S.”

Republicans More Enthusiastic About Voting

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A new Gallup poll finds Republican voters are more likely to express enthusiasm about voting in next year’s presidential election.

On the national level, 56% of Republican registered voters and 48% of Democratic voters are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting. In 12 key swing states, the Republican advantage in enthusiasm is 59% to 48%.

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.