OBAMA SPEECH BREAKS THROUGH ? WSJ 4-col. lead, ?Corporate Taxes Put on Table: Obama Backs Overhaul in Exchange for New Spending; GOP Reacts Cautiously,? by John D. McKinnon and Colleen McCain Nelson: ?A White House proposal to pair a corporate tax overhaul with new domestic spending elevated the contentious issue of tax policy to the fore in budget negotiations and appeared to give a shot of momentum to changes long supported by some of the largest U.S. companies. The proposal, laid out Tuesday in a speech by President Barack Obama [in Chattanooga], raised the prospect that corporate taxation would now be high on the list of items under discussion as the White House and congressional Republicans negotiate federal spending levels for next year and the terms for raising the debt ceiling, both of which must be resolved within months. ?
?Obama, in his speech, offered to work with Congress to overhaul business taxes in exchange for a guarantee that a resulting, one-time revenue gain be used to underwrite new spending on roads and infrastructure and other programs the president said would boost the economy. ? The White House plan wouldn't push to lower the individual income-tax rates paid by thousands of businesses, but it would create some tax benefits for these entities. As an example, administration aides said, Mr. Obama has proposed allowing businesses, including small businesses, to expense up to $1 million in investments, a change that would provide certainty in an area where limits have changed frequently.? http://on.wsj.com/13muZcv ... White House fact sheet, ?"A Better Bargain for the Middle Class: Jobs" http://bit.ly/1e8Vd3p
--EMAIL DU JOUR, from Matt Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way (a Democratic think tank representing ?the vital center?), filing from vacation in New Orleans: ?The speech gives pretty short shrift to one of the biggest impediments to those investments: the growing shadow of entitlement costs. Investments and entitlements are on a serious collision course, and without addressing Medicare and SS, we simply won't be able to do more of the things the President -- and all good Democrats -- want government to do. I know he's very frustrated with the Rs; he should be ? But if there's any shot at breaking the D.C. stalemate, he will need to keep sustained pressure not just on Republicans but also on his own party ? which is still mostly in denial, at least publicly, about how much runaway entitlements are crushing investments.?
WHAT THE WEST WING IS READING ? ?There?s something about Larry Summers,? by Ben White and Patrick Reis: ?[A] vocal mix of influential bloggers, The New York Times editorial page, women?s groups, financial-reform advocates and liberal members of the Senate Democratic caucus ?? are doing all they can to stop Summers ? from becoming the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. This group is pressing Obama instead to nominate Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke when the chairman?s second term ends in January. Yellen would be the first woman to hold the post. Some of Summers?s detractors are angered by what they call his poor past treatment of women. But for many others, the gender issue is just a more easily wielded club to attack him. Their real complaint is that he is a centrist, Clinton-era retread ill-suited to steer an anemic economy back to health.
?Summers ?? has his strong proponents, especially where it counts: inside the West Wing and behind the desk in the Oval Office. Multiple sources close to the White House told POLITICO that while no decision has been made, Summers remains Obama?s preferred choice and the leading candidate for the job. ? Can Summers withstand a summer assault from the forces arrayed against him? And, if nominated, can he win approval in the Senate?? http://politi.co/17hTDbW
?TOP LOBBYING SPENDERS FOR Q2,? from CEO Update, a trade publication for association executives:
--?Groups that report only direct lobbying expenses?: 1) National Cable and Telecommunications Association, $4.7 million 2) American Hospital Association, $4.5 million 3) PhRMA, $4.4 million 4) AARP, $2.5 million 5--tie) American Petroleum Institute, $2.1 million 5--tie) America?s Health Insurance Plans, $2.1 million 7) Biotechnology Industry Association, $2 million 8) Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, $1.8 million 9) Independent Community Bankers of America, $1.7 million 10) USTelecom, the Broadband Association, $1.3 million.
--?Groups that report all advocacy expenses:? 1) U.S. Chamber of Commerce, $14 million 2) National Association of Realtors, $9.1 million 3) Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, $4.9 million 4) American Medical Association, $4.1 million 5) National Association of Broadcasters, $3.2 million 6) American Chemistry Council, $2.9 million 7--tie) American Bankers Association, $2.6 million 7?tie) Business Roundtable, $2.6 million 9) American Council of Life Insurers, $2.1 million 10) Edison Electric Institute, $2 million. www.ceoupdate.com
THE JUICE -- SOCARIDES TO GERSON LEHRMAN, per POLITICO?s Morning Money: "Former Clinton White House official Richard Socarides has been named Head of Public Affairs at Gerson Lehrman Group. GLG President and CEO Alexander Saint-Amand announced Socarides will start August 1 at the company's headquarters in New York. He will oversee media, communications and government relations for the leading global expert network platform. Socarides served as White House Special Assistant and Senior Advisor during the Clinton Administration.?
TOP BUZZ ON WALL STREET: The September issue of Vanity Fair, on newsstands tomorrow, has a cover tease, ?MICHAEL LEWIS: ONE MAN?S GOLDMAN SACHS NIGHTMARE.? Business Insider?s Julia La Roche has the spoiler: ?Lewis's story is about former Goldman Sachs programmer Sergei Alyenikov, who was tried, convicted, and then later acquitted of stealing trade secrets from Goldman. Says our Goldman source: ?This is a sexed-up headline for a very old story, one that has already received extensive ink from the financial and tabloid press. It's about a former GS techie, Sergei Alyenikov, who was prosecuted ? for stealing proprietary technology from his employer and convicted by a jury in US federal court. When an appeals court reversed that conviction on a technicality, the US congress closed the loophole on a bipartisan vote, and President Obama then signed it into law.? ?
?This is the response that Goldman sent Vanity Fair: ? ? [T]he United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that Sergei Alyenikov, minutes before his going-away party, 'encrypted and uploaded to a server in Germany more than 500,000 lines of source code for Goldman's HFT system.' While some of those files included open source software, the Court determined that 'a substantially greater number of the uploaded files contained proprietary code.' The Court went on to note that the code 'could be integrated into a competitor's system' and that Mr. Alyenikov then 'deleted the encryption program as well as the history of his computer commands.' After leaving Goldman, he downloaded the code to his home computer and brought it to his new employer, who had offered him a job paying more than 2.5 times his salary at Goldman.?? See the Vanity Fair cover (Princess Di). http://read.bi/18MtWDC
** A message from the Government of Canada: Canada is America?s largest oil supplier. Every day Canada provides more oil to America than Saudi Arabia and Venezuela combined. Canada: America?s best energy partner. Learn more at GoWithCanada.ca. (http://bit.ly/1cNqQPp) **
TOP TALKER --?Huma Abedin likely to be away from Hillary Clinton,? by Maggie Haberman: ?Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton?s transition office chief [transition from Foggy Bottom to family foundation] and the wife of ? Anthony Weiner, is expected to take extended vacation time from her job with the former first lady ? The move is not a leave of absence, ? and it?s not precisely clear when she will depart for her vacation time from her day job. It was a loose plan she?d had for weeks, since Hillary Clinton has close to no schedule next month -- the Clintons are expected to vacation in ? East Hampton ? -- and Abedin had been expected to take the final few weeks leading up to the mayoral primary to be with her husband. But she decided to stick to it as current events in her husband?s campaign have unfolded ? ?Huma is not taking a leave of absence, but she will be taking vacation time in August to support her family during Anthony?s campaign,? said a Weiner campaign source. ?She had always intended to do this.? ?
?She had begun to appear with him on the campaign trail prior to the revelations on TheDirty.com, but has not resumed since last week?s news conference. She did not appear in a video Weiner filmed in the couple?s apartment Saturday in which the candidate looked into the camera and declared that New Yorkers don?t ?quit.? The night before the video was filmed, Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines, one of Abedin?s closest friends, urged her not to appear in it, and to take some time to think after a painful and difficult week ? Another source said there had been no suggestion from Weiner?s team that she appear in it, and that Abedin had not required much convincing.? http://politi.co/1eaAE6G
GOP AT WAR -- ?Ted Cruz taunts fellow Republicans in Obamacare fight,? by Manu Raju and Burgess Everett: ?The Texas freshman senator and his senior aides are unleashing a barrage of attacks on their fellow Republicans for refusing to support their plan to choke off Obamacare as a condition for funding the government. Cruz?s chief of staff is lambasting fellow conservatives like Oklahoma?s Tom Coburn for serving in the ?surrender caucus.? His top political strategist has compared Mitch McConnell to Barack Obama. And the senator himself has said many Republicans are ?scared? to wage this fight. The results have sparked something of a GOP civil war over an issue that, ironically, the GOP is united behind ? repealing Obamacare. Cruz?s strategy is a departure from the usually clubby chamber, particularly for some of the Senate?s newest members. ? Cruz can?t comprehend why his GOP colleagues don?t welcome the fight, while more senior Republicans think the junior Texan simply doesn?t understand ? or care ? about the dire political consequences for their party of a government shutdown. ?
??There is a powerful, defeatist approach among Republicans in Washington,? Cruz told conservative radio host Dana Loesch earlier this week. ?I think they?re beaten down and they?re convinced that we can?t give a fight, and they?re terrified.? Cruz isn?t alone in the crusade, which is also being waged by two other possible 2016 candidates ? Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Sen. Mike Lee, the Utah Republican and tea party favorite, is also leading the charge. ? Cruz is part of a new breed of Republicans who relish the intraparty warfare, believing that a push for GOP purity will help build their stature within the party while pulling Republicans further to the right. His tactics go even further than those employed by former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who waged intense battles over Senate primaries but was more selective in choosing which fights to wage against his party in the Capitol. ?
?Privately, a number of senior GOP aides are miffed at what they see as personal jabs launched on Twitter by senior Cruz aides, including the senator?s chief of staff, Chip Roy, a former aide to John Cornyn ? Jason Johnson, Cruz?s chief political strategist, publicly took on McConnell for not signing Lee?s letter. ?Ted Cruz, Mike Lee & Rand Paul support #DefundObamacare ? Mitch McConnell, Karl Rove & Barack Obama oppose. Clearer now?? ? Johnson wrote in an email that though his tweets represent only his view, the medium is important ?to shatter the cone of silence preferred by the establishment so folks who don?t live in the D.C. bubble know what really happens in this town.?? http://politi.co/1cnpptB
HAPPENING TODAY ? ?U.S. military judge to hear arguments in Manning sentencing? ? Reuters/Fort Meade, Md.: ?The trial of Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier found guilty on 19 counts of handing over classified data to WikiLeaks, is scheduled to move into the sentencing phase on Wednesday. Manning, 25, escaped a life sentence with no parole when Colonel Denise Lind acquitted him of aiding the enemy, the most serious of 21 criminal counts brought against him in the court-martial. He still faces the possibility of 136 years in prison on the other counts.?
--HOW IT?S PLAYING: N.Y. Times 4-col. lead, ?Manning Found Not Guilty of Aiding the Enemy: Leaker Convicted of Most Other Charges? ? USA Today lead story, ?MANNING VERDICT REDEFINES ?TRAITOR?? ? WSJ A1 refer, ?Manning Beats Gravest Charge? ? WSJ 5-col. lead, ?Manning acquitted of aiding enemy.?
MEDIAWATCH ? N.Y. Times B5, ?ABC News Dethrones NBC in Crucial Ratings Race,? by Brian Stelter: ?One year after a significant reordering of television?s morning shows swept ABC into first place in the ratings race, the same thing might be happening in the evening. ABC?s 6:30 p.m. newscast, ?World News With Diane Sawyer,? bested ?NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams? among 25-to-54-year-old viewers last week, ending a winning streak of almost five years by NBC ? NBC remained on top among total viewers. But ABC?s win was significant because television ads on news programs are bought and sold based on the coveted demographic of 25- to 54-year-olds. ? ABC said the victory was its first since the week of Nov. 17, 2008 ?
?38,000 viewers in the relevant age group separated the two shows. Partly for that reason, people at NBC News cautioned that the results could be a one-time aberration. Last spring and summer, though, those same people saw their prized morning show, ?Today,? fall to second place behind ABC?s?? Good Morning America,? first in total viewers and then in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic. The first time ?G.M.A.? won, the gap was just 31,000 total viewers. Now its streak is nearly a year old, and it wins every week by an average of 650,000 viewers. ?
?In a twist that television industry gawkers immediately homed in on, the victory was shared by Ms. Sawyer and one of her regular fill-ins, David Muir. That was because Mr. Muir substituted for Ms. Sawyer three nights last week ? the same three nights, it turned out, that ABC beat NBC in the all-important ratings demographic. Mr. Williams prevailed, barely, on the two nights that Ms. Sawyer was at work. Mr. Muir, who usually anchors ?20/20? and the weekend editions of ?World News,? and George Stephanopoulos, who hosts ?G.M.A.? and moderates ?This Week,? are widely seen in the industry as the two most likely successors to Ms. Sawyer.? http://nyti.ms/16jemPy
--HOW IT?S PLAYING: Lead of N.Y. Post Business page, ?NIGHTLY NITEMARE: NBC News reels as ABC?s Sawyer tops Williams.?
?Lead of Baltimore Sun?s Business page, ?Sinclair?s national ambitions: ?Hybrid? cable news network could debut in all firm?s markets,? by Lorraine Mirabella: ?Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. plans to create a new cable television news channel with a blend of local and national programming and bring it to cities across the United States over the next couple of years, CEO David Smith said Tuesday. Smith expanded on his vision for a hybrid local/national network a day after the Hunt Valley [Baltimore County] broadcaster announced its largest acquisition to date: the purchase of eight television stations for nearly $1 billion, including NewsChannel 8, a 24-hour cable/satellite all-news network that covers the Washington metro area. ?We are confident we can use [News]Channel 8 to launch a national cable channel in all of our markets,? Smith said. ?Over time, we're going to build a local/national channel that will compete with every national news channel, and we're going to get paid for it.?
?Buying the stations from ? Allbritton Communications would make Sinclair the largest broadcaster in the country and extend its reach to well over a third of all TV-viewing households. Sinclair also would become the largest broadcaster of ABC, CBS, Fox and MyTV programming. The deal, which requires [FCC] approval, would give Sinclair seven ABC affiliates that reach nearly 5 percent of U.S. households, most notably ABC's Washington affiliate, WJLA, which shares news operations with NewsChannel 8 and would allow Sinclair to air national political stories ? NewsChannel 8 would serve as the launching pad to bring a new cable channel to all of Sinclair's TV markets and could generate $300 million in additional revenue, Smith said. He based that estimate on the affiliate fee CNN charges cable carriers of 57 cents per subscriber per month ? The Allbritton deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, would expand Sinclair's reach to a total of 147 ? stations in 76 markets.? http://bsun.md/11ullU0
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): CNN?s Carl Lavin (hat tip: son Austin)
BIRTHDAYS: Bill Bennett (hat tip: David Wilezol) ? Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is 57 ? William Weld ... John Parks (h/t Jon Haber) ? Association of Alternative Newsmedia's Tiffany Shackleford? (hat tip: Patrick Gavin) ? Micah Levi Spangler, the UN Foundation's Dept Dir of Legislative Affairs and travel guru (h/t James Owens) ? actor Don Murray is 84 ? former movie studio executive Sherry Lansing is 69 ?. Mark Cuban is 55 ? Wesley Snipes is 51 ? Fatboy Slim is 50 ? J.K. Rowling is 48 (h/ts AP)
BIRTHDAYS TOMORROW: CRC's Travis Burk, an alumnus of Bush ?04 and Scott for Florida gubernatorial campaigns (h/t Joe Kildea, Ginger Gibson)
** A message from the Government of Canada: Canada is America?s largest oil supplier. Every day Canada provides more oil to America than Saudi Arabia and Venezuela combined. Canada is a reliable and secure partner committed to meeting America?s future energy needs.
Canada: America?s best energy partner.
Learn more at GoWithCanada.ca. (http://bit.ly/1cNqQPp) **
Source: http://www.politico.com/playbook/0713/playbook11300.html
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Google is bringing more Glass Explorers into the program, and it's doing that the best way it knows how: by letting current users invite a friend. Those among you old enough to remember when Gmail first started will remember this was once the only method to get on board with that service, and now Glass-owning folks can ask a single friend to join them in testing out Glass before its wide consumer release.