Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Fiscal Year Deficit Reaches 1.o9 Trillion in July - The treasury Department reported the deficit at the end of July was 70 billion less than last year. The federal fiscal year ends September 30. TheHill.com has more here.

As bad news comes from France, stocks are expected to drop again today. CNN.com has more here.

More bad news as reports show the U.S. trade deficit has widened to 53.1 billion. Bloomberg.com has more here.

In the aftermath of the nation's credit downgrade and a shaky stock market, President Obama met with his economic team yesterday. you can read more here.

Today, the president will travel to Holland, Michigan to tout the success of a a company manufacturing hybrid batteries. The company was built with a 299 million grant from the stimulus program and is expected to employ 500. You can read more here.

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Romney in Spotlight on Taxes at GOP Debate Tonight - seems, as former Governor he boasted of the tax increases he made which secured a credit upgrade from Standard and Poor's.

Here is an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal ..."Documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal Wednesday through the Freedom of Information Act show the Romney administration’s pitch to S&P in late 2004 included the boast that “The Commonwealth acted decisively to address the fiscal crisis” that ensued after the terrorist attacks of 2001. Bulleted PowerPoint slides laid out the actions taken, including legislation in July 2002 to increase tax revenue by $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion in fiscal 2003 and $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion in fiscal 2004; tax “loophole” legislation that added $269 million in “additional recurring revenue,” and tax amnesty legislation that added $174 million. The final bullet: “FY04 budget increased fees to raise $271 million yearly.”

You can read the entire article here.

Kinda puts a big dent in the Republican argument for no revenue enhancements.

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Republican Presidential Debate Tonight - at 9:00 PM ET. Mitt Romney who has been maintaining a comfortable lead over his competitors, has been shaken by the recent news he included raising taxes to boost the credit rating for Massachusetts when he was Governor. This comes after he criticized President Obama for the recent national credit downgrade. The question is who will step up to take advantage of the well publicized gaffe by Romney.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has poured a lot of resources into Iowa with hopes for a good showing in Saturday's Ames Straw Poll. If, he does not move up, you can say good-bye to Pawlenty. Representative Michele Bachmann is another one to watch to see if she can catch some fire out of Iowa.

Former Utah Governor Huntsman is one who stands to benefit the most from this early debate as he is mostly unknown. The former U.S. ambassador to China has the opportunity to rise above the others by showing his credentials and coming across as a common sense and level headed politician. Representative Ron Paul (Tex.) will do his usual stick and also do well in the poll on Saturday, but remains a non-starter in the Republican presidential field.

Newt Gingrich should have already said good-bye. Herman Cain and Rick Santorum may hang a little longer, but they are toast as well.

Then on Saturday, Texas governor Rick Perry enters the fray and sucks the air out of the room. Stay tuned...



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Arizona Governor Files State Supreme Court Appeal on Immigration Law - Governor Jan Brewer (R) has asked the state supreme court to reverse an injunction on the state immigration law issued by a lower court. TPM.com has more here.

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U.S. Mayors Worry About Violence in London - as they should. I reported yesterday the violence in cities across England and the tent city in Tel Aviv, Israel should be a warning to the U.S. that economic conditions are such that those without will begin expressing their frustration.

Politico.com has a good read here.

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