POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Thursday, September 9, 2010

The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world.

WASHINGTON/POLITICAL
For the latest political news:  www.CNNPolitics.com

CNN: Obama slams GOP leadership, economic policies
President Obama opened the post-Labor Day stretch of the midterm campaign in the perennial swing state of Ohio on Wednesday, accusing the GOP of pushing bankrupt economic policies and putting politics ahead of national welfare.

CNN: Key Democrats split with Obama on taxes
Despite President Obama's accusation Wednesday that Republicans are holding middle class income tax cuts "hostage" by tying them to an extension of tax cuts for wealthier Americans, the reality is several Democratic senators also oppose allowing President Bush's tax cuts for higher earners to expire.

CNN: Kaine marks start of traditional fall campaign season, slams GOP
Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, kicked off the 2010 campaign season Wednesday morning in Pennsylvania, lambasting the Republican Party and Minority Leader John Boehner in a highly partisan speech.

Politico: Democrats' fail-safe plan: Go on offense
Democratic lawmakers can rest assured: Their party is thinking creatively about how to keep its majorities in the House and Senate. And it's working hard to hold as many governorships as possible. There’s only one catch for incumbents. As the party faces the prospect of serious losses at every level of government, its best survival strategy may involve focusing on candidates who aren’t yet in office.

CQ Politics: Parties Prepping for Castle to Be Senate Nominee
Even as the tea party movement vows to spend $250,000 in the coming days to defeat Rep. Michael N. Castle , campaign officials from both sides of the aisle concede that Castle should capture the Republican Senate nomination in next week’s Delaware primary.

CNN: Clinton heading to Ohio
While some Democrats appear ambivalent about President Obama's usefulness on the campaign trail this election season, former President Bill Clinton clearly remains a hot commodity. His most recently announced trip will take the former president to Ohio next week to make appearances on behalf of that state's embattled governor, Ted Strickland.

Politico: Rove to boost Ohio state GOP
Karl Rove is headlining a fundraiser for an Ohio congressional candidate that will double as an event for the Ohio state party, another sign of Republicans scrambling to make up for the shortage of the Republican National Committee cash that traditionally funds their ground game.

CQ Politics: Republicans Put Their Money on Miller in Alaska
Even as Senate GOP Conference Vice Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski considers running as a write-in candidate in the November general election, the Alaska Republican's colleagues on the GOP leadership team have cut her loose and begun to line up behind Joe Miller.

Denver Post: Republicans come out for Tancredo over GOP nominee Maes
More than 20 elected and formerly elected Republicans have abandoned their party's gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes to throw their support behind third-party candidate Tom Tancredo.

Concord Monitor: Economy at center of Republican debate
Three Republicans running to represent the 2nd District in Congress sounded similar themes in their televised debate last night, emphasizing the need to fight deficits, reduce taxes and put Americans back to work.

Wall Street Journal: Repeal of Birthright Rule Would Boost Illegal Population
A denial of birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants would end up increasing the size of the nation's illegal population, according to a new study released Wednesday.

Washington Post: Sarah Palin joins U.S. officials, religious leaders in condemning Koran burning
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin added her voice Wednesday to the chorus of critics condemning the plan by a tiny Florida church group to burn Korans on Sept. 11, urging organizers to reconsider such a "provocation."

CNN: Who might replace Rahm Emanuel?
The smart money in Washington and Chicago, Illinois, says it's all but a certainty that within weeks Rahm Emanuel will throw his hat into the ring to replace retiring Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. So the parlor game over who will replace Emanuel as White House chief of staff has already kicked into high gear.

NATIONAL
For the latest national news:  www.CNN.com

CNN: Imam: Handling of Islamic center plan a matter of national security
The religious leader behind plans to erect an Islamic center and mosque a few blocks from New York's ground zero said Wednesday night that America's national security depends on how it handles the controversy.

Washington Post: Political controversy over Islam surrounds 9/11 anniversary
For almost a decade, the annual commemoration of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has been seen as a day of national unity and sober remembrance. This year, contentious issues of religious freedom and national identity threaten to color the ninth anniversary of those tragic events.

Hartford Courant: Islamic Prayer Proposal At Hartford Council Meeting Draws Fire
The city council's plan to diversify its pre-meeting prayers to include an Islamic invocation — announced days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks — has sparked an outpouring of angry calls and e-mails from infuriated residents.

CNN: Colorado officials: Wildfire torches 140 structures, 4 people missing
Cloud cover, cooler temperatures and a little bit of rain assisted firefighters battling a wildfire west of Boulder, Colorado, authorities said Wednesday. Four people remained unaccounted for, authorities said at a late afternoon press conference.

CNN: Protests over officer-involved shooting in Los Angeles continue
Los Angeles' police chief was booed during a community meeting as protests over an officer-involved fatal shooting continued for the third night Wednesday.

INTERNATIONAL
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CNN: Vatican: Quran burning 'outrageous'
Burning the Quran would be an "outrageous and grave gesture," the Vatican said Wednesday, joining a chorus of voices pleading with a small Florida church not to burn Islam's holy book on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

USA Today: China may relax its one-child rule
An aging population and the need for more workers have prompted China's Communist Party to consider relaxing the decades-long ban that restricts most couples to one child, a harsh policy marked by forced abortions, sterilizations and fines for those who have more than one.

New York Times: NATO Drive on Kandahar Begins, With Mixed Results
The white flags of the Taliban no longer fly from neighborhoods in Kandahar City, as they did in some areas only two weeks ago, replaced instead by the red, black and green Afghan colors. But if the Taliban have been driven further underground, there has been no significant let-up in their campaign of terror and assassination against anyone connected with the government or foreign forces.

BBC: Mullah Omar says Afghan Taliban close to victory
Taliban leader Mullah Omar says his fighters are winning the war in Afghanistan and that the Nato-led campaign has been "a complete failure".

Washington Post: Karzai seeks to limit role of U.S. corruption investigators
Afghan President Hamid Karzai intends to impose rules restricting international involvement in anti-corruption investigations, a move that U.S. officials fear will hobble efforts to address the endemic graft that threatens support for his administration in Afghanistan and the United States.

CNN: Pakistani police arrest three linked to Times Square bomb attempt
Three Pakistani men linked to Faisal Shahzad, the 30-year-old Pakistani-American who has pleaded guilty to the botched Times Square terror attack, were arrested and have confessed before a judge, authorities said Wednesday.

CNN: Fidel Castro casts doubt on 'Cuban model'
Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that the "Cuban model" no longer works, an apparent admission of failings in the communist economic model introduced by his revolution more than 50 years ago.

McClatchy DC: Weary of drug war, Mexico debates legalization
A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs — once a taboo suggestion — is percolating in Mexico, a nation exhausted by runaway violence and a deadly drug war.

CNN: Mexican mayor gunned down inside own office
The mayor of El Naranjo, Mexico, in the central state of San Luis Potosi was gunned down and killed inside his office Wednesday, officials said.

BUSINESS
For the latest business news:  www.CNNMoney.com

CNN Money: Health insurer faces $9.9 billion in fines
California regulators are seeking fines of up to $9.9 billion from Pacificare over allegations the health insurer mismanaged claims from physicians, failed to make payments in a timely manner and other violations.

Bloomberg: Fed Banks Saw ‘Widespread Signs of a Deceleration’
The Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy maintained its expansion while showing “widespread signs of a deceleration” in mid-July through the end of August, according to a survey by 12 regional Fed banks.

New York Times: Falling Rates Aid Debtors, but Hamper Savers
Households and corporations alike are refinancing their loans in droves to take advantage of interest rates that seem impossibly cheap. But those same low rates come with a flip side, driving down the income of retirees and others who live off their savings.

In Case You Missed It

Sen. Mitch McConnell tells CNN's John King he doesn't want the president to fail, but wants him to change.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2010/09/08/jk.mcconnell.midterm.elections.cnn

The nation's "tannest" Republican defends his skin tone. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on all those orange tan jokes.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2010/09/08/moos.man.with.the.tan.cnn

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