Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama Appoints Cordray - in a move way past due, President Obama made the appointment during a questionable Congressional recess. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created under the Dodd-Frank Finance bill had been unable to function as Senate Republicans blocked first the appointment of Elizabeth Warren and then Richard Cordray. The NY Times has more here.

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Romney Pulls Away in Latest New Hampshire Poll - following a narrow 8 vote win in Iowa, a CNN/ORC International poll shows Mitt Romney with 47%, Ron Paul with 17% and Jon Huntsman with 13% in New Hampshire. Rick Santorum who came in a close second in Iowa had only 10% support in New Hampshire. CNN.com has more here.

More importantly, 65% believed Romney had the best chance to beat President Obama.

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President Obama To Unveil New Military Strategy - in a speech this morning from the Pentagon, President Obama will discuss plans for a slimmed down military. You can read more here.

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Obama To Announce Summer Jobs Program - today, the President will discuss the details surrounding the creation of a summer jobs initiative which will create 180,000 work opportunities in the private sector.

This will be done by way of an executive action and comes after Congress failed to fund 1.5 billion for summer jobs in the American Jobs Act. TheHill.com has more here.

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Maryland Congressional 6th District Heats Up - the newly created 6th district, aimed at giving Democrats a strong shot at displacing 20 year Republican incumbent Roscoe Bartlett, now has more declared candidates. RollCall.com has this race leaning Democratic. you can read more here.

Democrat John Delaney officially announced his campaign effort coupled with the endorsement of former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan. This announcement comes days after Democrat Duchy Trachtenberg announced she would not be running due to health issues. Democratic state senator Rob Garagiola, widely seen as the "chosen one" by Maryland Democratic Leaders who carved out the gerrymandered sixth district just for him.

Republican state senator David Brinkley made it official yesterday he will run in the primary against 85 year old Roscoe Bartlett. Brinkley, now single, has his own personal foibles involving a previous intimate relationship with an aide and a county sheriff responding to a domestic dispute. All of which is sure to surface in a congressional campaign.

Waiting in the wings is ultra conservative Alex Mooney, chair of the Maryland Republican Party who has formed an exploratory committee. A former aide to Bartlett, Mooney has said he will not file until after he sits down and has a conversation with the Congressman.

Stay tuned....

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New Corruption Charges Against Former Israel Prime Minister Olmert - the charges keep coming against Ehud Olmert. This time. it is for seeking hundreds of thousands in bribes in a developing real estate scandal. The Washington Post has more here.

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