High Expectations Pose New Challenge for Bachmann

Scott Conroy, RCPBack in January, the surprising news that Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was considering a White House run was generally greeted by the political press as a compelling sideshow rather than a potentially significant development in the presidential race.After all, with just four years in Congress up to that point, Bachmann was perhaps best known for voicing her bewildering concern during a 2008 appearance on MSNBC that then-Sen. Barack Obama harbored "anti-American views." Bachmann was clearly an effective messenger for the right wing of her party, but a viable candidate in a...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2011/07/15/high_expectations_pose_new_challenge_for_bachmann_259394.html

john mccain al gore bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin

Martin: Stand up! Demand a deal on debt

Editor's note: Roland Martin is a syndicated columnist and author of "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House." He is a commentator for TV One Cable network and host/managing editor of its Sunday morning news show, "Washington Watch with Roland Martin."

(CNN) -- Watching Republicans and Democrats squabble from their ideological battle lines over the debt ceiling is the same as watching a bratty child fall out in the middle of the floor with a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way.

On one hand, Republicans are desperately trying to hold on to their purely insane ideological position that there must be no revenue and/or tax increases. It is as if these idiots refuse to believe any data that make clear that the massive tax cuts put in place by President George W. Bush have increased the federal deficit.

But they are afraid of running afoul of Grover Norquist and his Kool-Aid drinkers at the Americans for Tax Reform, who are more than willing to protect the millionaires and billionaires in this country, with their jets and yachts, from having to pay taxes at previous levels.

Then there are the Democrats, who have this equally insane belief that we can reduce the deficit and not touch Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Those three areas, along with the billions we continue to spend on national defense, constitute most of the dollars we spend on the federal budget. And those costs are spiraling out of control. So, of course, we must make some hard choices, and yes, that will mean making adjustments that might upset seniors.

At the end of the day, this ludicrous standoff is doing severe damage to America's credibility in the financial markets. Even toying with not increasing the debt ceiling could have severe repercussions for all of us. When clueless lawmakers like Rep. Michele Bachmann suggest that nothing will happen if we don't raise the debt ceiling, they only prove that they will destroy this nation in order to preserve an ideological purity.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/ykty7J23YGg/index.html

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A Facade Of Normal Life In Syria's Capital

Even though Damascus is far from the protest battle zones, tourists are staying away from the Syrian capital. At public events, there is a facade of normalcy. But people are afraid to be asked whether they support the regime or the revolution.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/137859411/a-facade-of-normal-life-in-syrias-capital?ft=1&f=1004

bill oreilly fox news hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton

Exxon Mobil Discusses Mont. Oil Spill

Montana state officials are accusing oil giant Exxon Mobil of not being transparent or forthright on the oil spill that has fouled the state's Yellowstone River. Michele Norris speaks with Gary Pruessing, the president of ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., about those accusations, the spill and his company's reaction.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/13/137825949/exxon-mobil-discusses-mont-oil-spill?ft=1&f=1007

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