Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

President Obama Interviewed by Local Reporters Today - in his continuing strategy to reach out to different locations across the country to discuss his proposed budget and deficit reduction plan. He will be interviewed by reporters from Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Houston. You can read more here.

This is the second round of local interviews the president has granted and comes as polls indicate the rising price of gas has brought his approval numbers down. The Washington Post has more here.

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New Poll Shows Republicans Favored over Democrats on Budget - in more bad news for President Obama, the poll indicates Republicans have a 12% advantage over Democrats. The reaction to the budget reduction plans submitted by the President and Republican Representative Paul Ryan (Wisc.) However, are evenly split with concerns on both. USA Today has more here.

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Barbour Out, Paul Explores, Trump a No-Go? - Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says "the fire is not in the belly" when he announced he will not run for the Republican party nomination for president - The NY Times has more here.

Ron Paul will announce tomorrow he has formed an exploratory committee for a presidential run - read more here.

Meanwhile, a new poll on Donald Trump find 50% feel he would make a terrible president, including 30% of Republicans - more info on the poll here.

While President Obama's approval rating are dropping, no Republican is emerging as a serious threat to his reelection. Stay tune for it is way early!

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State Pension Plans are Falling Short - the latest are of government benefits to come under the microscope. 1.26 Trillion is the projected shortfall in state pension plans, mainly a result of the 2008 Wall Street melt down. Reuters.com has more here.

Republican Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is pushing for privatizing their state pension plan - TPM.com has more here.

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U.S. State Department Urges Americans to Leave Syria - some wonder what took so long for this announcement. Unrest has been growing in Syria for over five weeks as government forces have cracked down on dissenters. You can read more here.

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