Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Candidates Fall Flat in GOP Debate - the spotlight is on Republican candidates and they continue to stumble. Not one of the four remaining candidates stood out in the debate last night. A poor exhibition sure to stoke the already growing feeling a new candidate is needed by the Republican party.

I suspect Mitt Romney won by default, Rick Santorum was horrible, Paul was just Paul and I could not get past the constant shifty eye movement displayed by New Gingrich to even want to listen to what he had to say.

The Obama reelection campaign continues to smile.

6 takeaways from politico.com here.

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National Debt Increases Under 3 GOP Presidential Candidates Proposed Budgets - an independent review by U.S. Budget Watch shows only Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) proposed tax cuts and reduction in government spending would result in lowering the deficit. The Washington Post has more here.

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Unemployment Claims Unchanged From last Week - remaining at the lowest levels since March 2008, according to figures released by the Labor Department. Reuters.com has more here.

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Obama To Address Rising Gas Prices Today - the President will speak at the University of Miami and promote the energy policies of his administration.

A well intention speech and one that will spell out future direction for the country in the area of energy development and consumption.

However, with the average cost of gas per gallon at $3.58, more direct action will be needed to satisfy American voters and to ensure a weak economic recovery does not stall.

You can read more here.

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Federal Judge Rules DOMA Unconstitutional - U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled the part of the Defense of Marriage Act which prohibits federal payments to same-sex spouses to be unconstitutional.

The Obama administration and Justice Department refused to defend this case, saying it was unconstitutional, leading Congress to hire lawyers to defend the case. Politico.com has more here.

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Shelling of Homs Enters 20th Day in Syria - international outrage is growing as President Assad continues a brutal bombardment on the city Homs, where dissidents are holed up. The NY Times has more here.

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