Today's Times
- President Obama was on the defensive Friday over a weak jobs report, again having to make the complicated argument that the flagging recovery â€" while not good enough â€" is at least persistent, Helene Cooper and Annie Lowrey report.
- President Obama and Mitt Romney offer vastly different solutions in deciding how the federal government confronts the costs of higher education, Adeshina Emmanuel writes. The role of the private sector in American colleges is becoming increasingly linked to the outcome in November.
- The emerging consensus among Democrats is that President Obama exceeded his convention goal, drawing a sharp contrast between his vision and Mitt Romney's, Adam Nagourney writes. But there is growing evidence that this year more than ever, the influence of these extravagant events is on the decline.
- The Democratic Convention displayed a tricky balancing act for President Obama: a four-year struggle to show that pro-worker does not mean antibusiness, Jackie Calmes reports. The challenge for the campaign was most evident on Wednesday, when it tried to counter Republican attacks depicting him as the enemy of job creators when unemployment persists, while Elizabeth Warren, the liberal nemesis of Wall Street, shouted phrases like “The system is rigged!†during her prime-time speech.
- In Iowa and a handful of other states, the next two months will be a blur of television, radio and Internet ads, campaign rallies and endless unsolicited phone calls, Jeremy W. Peters and Helene Cooper report. The narrowly targeted effort underscores just how much money will flood so few states in such a s mall amount of time.
Weekly Address
- President Obama marked the eleventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in this week's address, reflecting on the courage of soldiers and first responders who sacrificed to keep the country safe. He expressed pride in the citizens for rebuilding and refusing to live in fear, reminding the nation that â€" thanks to intelligence personnel and armed forces â€" the threat of Osama bin Laden has been eliminated. “Today, a new tower rises above the New York skyline,†he said. “Instead of changing who we are, the attacks have brought out the best in the American people.†He named ending the war in Iraq, ending the Taliban regime, training Afghan security forces and forging a partnership with a new Afghan government as a testament to how far America has come since the attacks. “Eleven years later, that's the legacy of 9/11 â€" the ability to say with confidence that no adversary and no act of terrorism can change w ho we are,†he said. “On this solemn anniversary, let's remember those we lost, let us reaffirm the values they stood for, and let us keep moving forward as one nation and one people.â€
Around the Web
- The White House is going to miss the deadline to report its plans to Congress for the “fiscal cliff†budget cuts scheduled for 2013, The Hill reports.
- Breweries across the country are preparing to use the recently released White House beer recipe to whip up batches of their own, Politico reports.
Happenings in Washington
- Thousands of people from different faiths will walk Embassy Row for a 9/11 Unity Walk condemning religious violence.
- Cancer survivors and supporters will run a continuous two-mile loop around the White House all weekend to raise awareness for gynecological cancers.
