First faceoff for Texas governor vs. Bachmann

Michele Bachmann had a pretty good weekend, if you haven’t heard. The Minnesota congresswoman won the GOP straw poll in Ames, Iowa – solidifying her position as a top tier candidate for the Republican nomination.

Iowa is a “threshold test” for conservatives such as Representative Bachmann, notes polling expert Nate Silver in his FiveThirtyEight blog. It’s necessary that they do well there, though a good performance may not be sufficient to push them over the top.

Now Bachmann has to be considered the favorite to win the Iowa caucuses early next year, according to Mr. Silver.

But here’s a question political experts all over Washington are asking this morning: In recent days has Texas Gov. Rick Perry proved he’s a more adept campaigner than the fiery Bachmann?

Partly this discussion stems from Governor Perry’s smooth appearance Sunday evening in Bachmann’s home town. At the Black Hawk County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner he arrived early, went table to table around the room for affable meet-and-greet, and then spoke strongly. Wisely, he paid court to Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican icon who was in the audience.

Bachmann was there too – she was not about to cede her home turf of Waterloo, Iowa, without a fight. But she stayed in her bus until it was time for her to take the stage, according to reporters who were there. After an initial introduction by a local official, she was still nowhere to be found, according to Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin of Politico. It took a second introduction to get her up to the microphone.

In the space of a few minutes, he mentioned his boyhood connections to 4-H and the Boy Scouts and his later service as an Air Force pilot. His remarks had the makings of an effective stump speech, especially for someone so new to the presidential trail.

He sat and politely listened to the other speakers, who included both Bachmann and another GOP rival, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, as well as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. When the program ended, he quickly exited out the back, his security force helping to shield him from the shouted questions of reporters.

Bachmann arrived late, just minutes before her scheduled speech, preceded by the thumping beat of Elvis’s “Promised Land,” which always marks the arrival of her big blue bus. On stage, she acknowledged the presence of the Lincoln impersonator but not Perry or Santorum. She spoke of heart and home, of family reunions and Iowans dancing at the ballroom. She rooted herself in Iowa.

She finished with flair, offering an apple pie to the oldest person in the audience. That turned out to be 100-year-old Mary Canfield. Bachmann signed scores of autographs and then, before leaving, answered three questions from the press. She did not deviate from her talking points.

It was no surprise that the Bachmann-Perry encounter in Waterloo generated so much interest and anticipation. Perry’s entry Saturday has reshuffled the field. If he lives up to the advance hype, he could provide a stiff challenge to Mitt Romney, the apparent front-runner. Bachmann’s victory in the Ames straw poll validated her as a conservative force to be reckoned with. For now she is the person to beat in Iowa.

The Texas governor told me that while he plans to run hard everywhere, he intends to devote all the time to Iowa that Iowans have come to expect of a presidential candidate — and emphasized that he thinks he has attributes that will bring him success with the voters here.

He said he will campaign the way he did when he was Texas agriculture commissioner back in the 1990s: “Going to a lot of small towns. Going to a lot of picnics. Going to a lot of fairs and what have you. We’ll spend a lot of time in Iowa.”

He will need to do that to get around Bachmann. He might have his sights set on Romney, but he cannot ignore the Minnesota congresswoman. She has shown real discipline as a candidate, and toughness as well. Underestimated from the start, she has already far exceeded expectations.

Ed Rollins, her campaign manager, said Sunday night the campaign team knows that, having had success already, the expectations will continue grow. The next round of debates, he said, will be an important test for her to move her campaign to another level.

Sunday night’s show in Waterloo gave Republicans a taste of what’s coming. For Perry it was an impressive introduction. For Bachmann it was a homecoming to savor and a night to say thank you. For everyone watching, it was a hint of the collision that is coming in the months ahead.

Romney contrasts business experience with Perry

Mitt Romney, GOP presidential candidate front-runner, has apparently seen an approaching flash in his rear view mirror, and he has identified it as Rick Perry.

Romney went on the attack Monday with reporters in the attempt to draw clear lines of difference between himself and Perry, the Texas governor who entered the race for the Republican party's 2012 nomination.

Romney says a blend of his private sector and government experience makes him more qualified as a candidate that Republican opponents, including Perry, specifically, and Democratic incumbent Barack Obama.

Romney was clearly reacting to Perry's surge to near the top of some polls once he officially announced his candidacy over the weekend. The former Massachusetts governor said he liked Perry, the Texas governor, personally, but believes that his 25-year career as a venture capitalist has better prepared him to create jobs.

America's unemployment rate that continues above nine percent two years after the official end to the recession is already a primary issue in the presidential race, just getting underway. Historically, incumbent presidents have a difficult time getting re-elected when unemployment is above eight percent.

Romney noted his 25 years in the private sector when asked about job growth in Texas under Perry, who has not held a private sector job as an adult, and the Texan's impact on the Republican presidential contest.

The GOP front-runner in national polls, Romney did not mention Perry by name when he made that comment but the contrast he drew was obvious and provided a window into how he would address Perry's emergence as a serious contender in the GOP race.

"I'm not going to vary my speech and my vision for the American people based upon the political winds of the day," Romney told reporters during a campaign appearance at Litchfield Technology. "I wish Rick the very best. As the process goes on, we'll see whose background and skill most fits the needs of the country at a critical time like this."

Romney also made what amounted to a verbal shrug at the weekend buzz over rival Michele Bachmann's first-place victory at the Iowa straw poll and Perry's formal announcement of a candidacy, saying that most voters simply aren't paying attention to politics in mid-August.

For most Americans, the attention is focused on the election after Labor Day," he said.

Later, at the Common Man restaurant in Plymouth, Romney largely stuck to his strategy of assailing President Barack Obama on the economy. And following the lead of other Republican contenders, he encouraged the president to call Congress back early from its summer recess to address the fragile economy and high unemployment.

"The president this week is in three states on a bus tour. And he's going to be going on a vacation to Martha's Vineyard for 10 days. I wish the president were in Washington calling back Congress and dealing with the challenges we have," Romney said. "In some respects I think he's more concerned about keeping his job than spending the time necessary to help Americans get their jobs.

Obama, want to save your approval rating?

A new Gallup poll released Sunday shows Pres. Barack Obama's approval rating has dropped below 40 percent for the first time ever, FoxNews.com reports.

The poll "says 39 percent of Americans approve of Obama's performance, while 54 percent disapprove. … A deeply unsettled political landscape, with voters in a fiercely anti-incumbent mood, is framing the 2012 presidential race 15 months before Americans decide whether to give Obama a second term or hand power to the Republicans. Trying to ride out what seems to be an unrelenting storm of economic anxiety, people in the United States increasingly are voicing disgust with most all of the men and women, Obama included, they sent to Washington to govern them.

Indeed, the rising dissatisfaction of voters with Obama played a role in luring Texas Gov. Rick Perry into a race for the Republican nomination that doesn't officially get underway until the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 6 and New Hampshire primary on Feb. 14. Perry, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr. all spent parts of their weekend stumping for votes in the Granite State.

"Romney and Perry will be competing to face possibly the weakest incumbent since Jimmy Carter, with the world in turmoil and the economy adrift," Ross Douthat wrote in Sunday's New York Times. "Six months ago, it still seemed as if Republican primary voters might be choosing a sacrificial lamb to run against Barack Obama. Now it looks as if they might be choosing the next president."

Obama's initial response to sagging poll numbers is a three-day bus tour, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday morning.

"Obama Monday will embark on a three-state, five-town bus tour deep in the heart of the American Midwest, hoping to tell the public — and potential voters — some small-business success stories and highlight economic development in rural areas. He'll also be looking to rebut criticism that he's not focused on finding solutions to bolster the flat-lining economy.

Inevitably, perhaps, President Obama has become entangled with Washington politics, caught up in its fractious mud-fighting. He tries to distance himself from the squabbling, but he mostly appears to be vexed and scolding. He needs a way to break free, a way to show that he is a true leader who can transcend beltway-cable TV politics. To be sure, it is hard for incumbent presidents to campaign as reformers—in effect, to stand apart from the government they run. Still, Obama needs to find a way to rise above, and in a credible fashion that promises real change.

That chance to reclaim his leadership credibility? Taxes. Both Republicans and Democrats have begun to call for tax reform that would lower tax rates while raising additional revenue by eliminating tax breaks and loopholes. The plans advanced are all woefully complex, however, and invite endless battles against individual interest groups—the equivalent of political house-to-house combat. Obama needs to cut through the morass and offer a straightforward, easy-to-understand solution with broad popular appeal.

He needs to be truly bold. He needs to return to the 2008 Obama, the visionary of hope and change, to re-invent the crabby lawyer who now occupies the oval office. He can do that in one sweeping appeal: by proposing that we repeal all tax breaks. Every single one.

This is not as radical as it sounds. Economists overwhelmingly agree that broadening the tax base and getting rid of distorting incentives would be good for the economy. It would be an essential step in reducing the crushing federal debt. It could also be popular—for Obama, now languishing in the polls, it could be the key to re-election.

True, some popular tax breaks would have to go. No more deductions for charity or mortgages. But the benefits far outweigh the costs, politically and economically. If you get rid of tax breaks, tax rates can be cut in half. Individuals would have only minimal dealings with the IRS, if any at all. No more nightmare paperwork at tax time.

Obama could pose a clear choice: A vote for him would be a vote against the special interests who have a stranglehold on Washington, who carve out loopholes that benefit them but not you. He could propose true change, not just dreamy rhetoric. He'd have to stick with it—no half-heartedness, no split-the-difference, no hedging for campaign contributors. In effect, he'd be betting his presidency by proposing a national referendum. But, by placing himself above the usual partisan wrangling, he could run as president of all the people.

Obama likes to say to his lieutenants, "We were elected to do big things." Here is a way to get re-elected by doing a really big thing.

Michele Bachmann makes campaign stop in Indianola

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – CNN is reporting Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann will be coming to Charlotte later this week.

The report says Bachmann will come to Charlotte on Wednesday morning for a fundraising breakfast.

The price of that breakfast will be $100, but those attending are being asked to contribute $500 to the campaign.

With Elvis music blaring from a parking-lot sound system at The Sports Page in Indianola, the Minnesota congresswoman got out of her campaign bus, stood on a platform, and unleashed a string of attacks on President Obama.

“We’ve had a huge punch in the gut in the United States this last week, haven’t we?” Bachmann asked a crowd of about 60 people on Aug. 12, referring to the debt deal passed by Congress. “We saw a blank check given to President Obama for $2.4 trillion and what did we get in return? Twenty-one billion in ‘maybe-cuts’ in the future. What kind of deal is that? That’s a raw deal – happens all the time. Why is it the government always wins? Why is it that (the) taxpayer always loses?”

Bachmann then proceeded to make a point about federal spending and taxes using a dollar bill as a prop.

“After paying taxes, this is what I’ve got,” she said, pulling out the right side pocket of her sleeveless dress to show her empty pocket. “Who’s got a dollar in their pocket?”

Then she turned to her husband, Marcus, who was standing offstage, and called him up to the platform. Marcus Bachmann pulled out his wallet and gave his wife a $1 bill.

“Here is one of our American dollars,” Michele Bachmann said, using it to illustrate the nation’s debt. “Under Barack Obama, since he became president, we have lost 12 percent in value of the dollar.”

She held the bill up, folding over, her estimate of, 12 percent of the bill to illustrate the nation’s debt.

“You can trust me with a dollar,” she said. “Do you know that? I’m good for it!”

After about a 15-minute speech, Bachmann invited questions from the crowd. She walked off the platform to take a question from Jim Dawson, 53, a registered Democrat and the owner of a metal fabricating firm in Indianola. He said he voted for Obama, but is disappointed with his performance and is open to supporting a new candidate in 2012.

Dawson asked Bachmann if she would consider cutting tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.

“I think all the things that you’re talking about need to be on the table, every one of them, they have to be on the table,” she said. “I think the best thing government can do is stop playing favorites through the tax code. Why should your company have to be paying more when another company doesn’t have to pay? … All companies should be treated the same.”

Bachmann finished first in last week’s Republican presidential straw poll in Ames. Bachmann received 4,823 total votes, or 28.55 percent. Ron Paul finished second with 4,671 votes, or 27.65 percent. Tim Pawlenty finished third at the straw poll with 13.57 percent of the votes. He announced Aug. 14 that he was dropping out of the race.

Pawlenty, who basically called Iowa home for the last month leading up to the straw poll, made a campaign stop at The Sports Page in Indianola last month.

Al Qaeda chief,urges attacks on "criminal" U.S.

CAIRO – Al Qaeda's new leader called on his followers to continue to fight the United States despite the killing of Usama bin Laden, calling America a "criminal country" that has corrupted the world.

In a video posted on militant websites Sunday, Ayman al-Zawahri also said the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have provided opportunities for the group to spread its message.

The 12-minute message is the third from the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri since he was named Al Qaeda's new leader in June following the killing of Usama bin Laden by U.S. commandos in Pakistan.

Wearing a white robe and turban with an automatic rifle at his side, al-Zawahri said the Muslim jihad, or holy war, against America "does not halt with the death of a commander or leader" -- a clear reference to bin Laden.

"Chase America, which killed the leader of the mujahedeen and threw his body into the sea," he said. "Go after it so that history will say that God enabled his worshippers to attack a criminal country which has spread corruption in the world."

Shifting to the Middle East, al-Zawahri said the uprisings that toppled longtime autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have presented Al Qaeda an opening to spread its message.

"In Tunisia and Egypt, opportunities for preaching have been opened and only God knows until when these opportunities will last," he said. "Therefore, the Muslims and the mujahedeen should benefit and take advantage of them to reveal the truth."

In a video posted on militant websites Sunday, Ayman al-Zawahri also said the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have provided opportunities for the group to spread its message.

The 12-minute message is the third from the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri since he was named al Qaeda's new leader in June following the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. commandos in Pakistan.

Wearing a white robe and turban with an automatic rifle at his side, al-Zawahri said the Muslim jihad, or holy war, against America "does not halt with the death of a commander or leader" — a clear reference to bin Laden.

"Chase America, which killed the leader of the mujahedeen and threw his body into the sea," he said. "Go after it so that history will say that God enabled his worshippers to attack a criminal country which has spread corruption in the world."

Shifting to the Middle East, al-Zawahri said the uprisings that toppled longtime autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have presented al Qaeda an opening to spread its message.

Al Qaeda in North Africa seeks Arab Spring jihad

"In Tunisia and Egypt, opportunities for preaching have been opened and only God knows until when these opportunities will last," he said. "Therefore, the Muslims and the mujahedeen should benefit and take advantage of them to reveal the truth."

Al Qaeda has repeatedly tried to forge a role for itself in the uprisings across the Arab world this year, though it played no role in their outbreak and has little in common with the mainly youth activists behind the protests. Most uprisings leaders say they seek greater freedoms, not Islamic states.

He said these countries' constitutions should be brought in line with Islamic Sharia law.

Obama criticizes GOP presidential field on Midwest top

President Obama is kicking off his Midwest bus tour with a town hall in Cannon Falls, Minn., again blasting Congress -- particularly Republicans -- for failing to make the hard choices to reduce the nation's debt and help create jobs.

The president defended his health care plan and criticized GOP presidential candidates for opposing any tax increases whatsoever when it comes to the question of reducing the federal debt.

Think about that. I mean, that's just not common sense," Obama said at a town hall-style meeting in Cannon Falls, Minn., as he kicked off a three-day bus tour through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

"You need to take a balanced approach," he said.

Obama made the comment after describing a moment in last week's GOP presidential debate when all eight of the candidates participating said they would refuse to support a deal with tax increases, even if tax revenues were outweighed 10-to-1 by spending cuts.

Obama didn't mention any of the candidates by name, and started the remark by saying, "I know it's not election season yet."

But his comment underscored that election season is well under way. And the bus tour, although an official White House event rather than a campaign swing, took on a campaign feel coming on the heels of Republican Michele Bachmann's weekend victory in the Iowa Straw Poll and through states Obama won in 2008 but where he now needs to shore up his standing and counter GOP attacks.

It also comes after the president spent much of the summer holed up in the nation's capital enmeshed in bitterly partisan negotiations on the debt crisis that cratered his approval ratings and those of Congress amid a faltering economy and high unemployment.

In response to a question, Obama also took the chance to counter the anti-big-government stance embraced by the tea party and largely by the Republican presidential field.

He noted that although government doesn't do everything well, it's also responsible for sending a man to the moon and for the military defending the country, among other things.

"When you go to the National Parks and those folks in the hats, that's government," Obama said.

"As frustrated as you are about politics, don't buy into this notion that somehow government is what's holding us back," he said.

He made clear he believes Congress is responsible for that, at least in part, accusing lawmakers of putting politics ahead of the country and calling on voters to tell them to cut it out.

"You've got to send a message to Washington that it's time for the games to stop. It's time to put country first," Obama said.

"If you can do the right thing, then folks in Washington have to do the right thing," the president said. "And if we do that, there is not a problem that we face that we cannot solve.

State Fair Reopens With Prayers for Victims of Stage Collapse

With flags fluttering at half-staff and a teary crowd of hundreds on hand, state and city officials gathered for a 9 a.m. memorial service this morning at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Among those on hand to remember the victims of Saturday’s deadly stage collapse were Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana first lady Cheri Daniels, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, Mayor Greg Ballard, and a host of state fair officials.

We come today with hearts that are broken, but hearts that are full,” Daniels told the crowd, pausing at times during his remarks after being visibly moved. “Our hearts are with you. My heart is full for those who acted in courageous ways. … There was a hero every ten feet on Saturday night.”

Daniels continued by saying he couldn’t be more proud to be the employee of 6.5 million people like that.

Daniels’ wife Cheri took the stage after him, saying: “Certain events in life leave us in shock and numb. These are defining moments that reveal our inner strength.”

Hoosiers have two options, she said, “lose heart and hope or take heart and rebuild. We choose to rebuild.”

Lt. Gov. Skillman led the ceremony’s prayer service, asking for healing and compassion for those who were injured and recognizing first-responders. The Rev. William Enright followed Skillman in a prayer. After remarks, the names of the five victims were read aloud, followed by the singing of “Amazing Grace”.

Even as the fair reopened, state officials were investigating the cause of the collapse and what role the weather, including a wind gust that topped 60 miles an hour, might have played.

Along with checking for any evidence of structural problems with the stage, investigators were looking into whether fair officials acted swiftly enough or paid appropriate heed to a severe thunderstorm watch that was issued nearly three hours before the scheduled concert.

The rigging collapsed at 8:49 p.m., minutes before the featured act, the country duo Sugarland, was to take the stage. The musicians were not injured.

Videos posted online shortly after the accident show plumes of gravel and sand lashing through a nearly pitch-black sky. The tarp roof and backdrop of the stage flaps violently moments before the steel rigging slumps and topples onto a screaming crowd in front of the stage.

Stacia Floyd, 22, who watched the scene unfold from the grandstand with her boyfriend and 4-year-old daughter, described it as “the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

“There were people that were bawling,” she said in telephone interview on Sunday. “Everyone was really scared, shaken up.”

Ms. Floyd said that moments before the crash, an announcement said that the concert might be postponed and that concertgoers should head indoors and return after the storm had passed.

The video footage posted online shows some people in the crowd starting to move, but Ms. Floyd said it appeared that most people stayed until the rigging began to collapse.

“It could have been prevented if the place had been evacuated properly,” Ms. Floyd said. “They knew the weather was coming. They should have evacuated it fast.”

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state fire marshal’s office were investigating what caused the collapse, said Cindy Hoye, the fair’s executive director. Officials said that according to weather reports, a highly localized windstorm with a gust that topped 60 m.p.h. hit the concert site just before the stage collapsed.

The police identified those killed as Tammy Vandam, 42, of Wanatah, Ind.; Glenn Goodrich, 49, of Indianapolis; Alina BigJohny, 23, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Christina Santiago, 29, of Chicago. The fifth victim, Nathan Byrd, 51, who died at the hospital, was a stagehand from Indianapolis. During the memorial on Monday, each of their names was read aloud as a bouquet of flowers was carried to the stage.

Mr. Daniels praised the hundreds of people who remained at the accident site pulling trapped concertgoers from under the collapsed rigging.

They “ran to the trouble, not from the trouble,” the governor said, as he to struggled to maintain his composure. “That’s the character that we associate with our state.”

Mr. Daniels said his wife, Cheri, and one of their daughters were at the fair for the concert.

David Imy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a severe thunderstorm watch for all of Indiana was issued just before 6 p.m. Saturday, almost three hours before the winds struck the concert site.

“When we issue a severe storm watch, it means precautions need to be taken,” Mr. Imy said. “People need to get inside and not stay outside.”

As emergency crews worked to carry victims out on stretchers after the collapse, returning audience members and others lifted the giant metal scaffolding off people pinned beneath it, according to witness accounts and photos and video posted online. Around 10:30 p.m., police dogs were brought in to help search the debris for any people who might still be trapped.

On social media sites on Sunday, musicians including Keith Urban and LeAnn Rimes expressed shock and sympathy. “We send our prayers and thoughts to each and everyone of you who were there and your families and loved ones as well,” Mr. Urban wrote on Twitter. “God bless you all.”

Darrell Issa's tangled business and congressional interests

Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Just a few steps down the hall, Representative Darrell Issa, the powerful Republican congressman, runs the local district office where his constituents come for help.

The proximity of the two offices reflects Mr. Issa’s dual careers, a meshing of public and private interests rarely seen in government.

Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is a powerful congressional chairman who has been a vocal critic of Obama administration policies he views as anti-business. But his fierce advocacy for the business community, specific deals under federal purview, as well as federally-funded projects and congressional earmarks, has also netted him millions and raised the specter for conflict of interest, according to the New York Times .

The story details a congressman who has unabashedly maintained and increased scores of business interests as his profile in Washington has grown. Issa has ties to telecommunications companies and banks, among other interests.

The story notes that a congressional ethics committee probe was considered and then dismissed amid a lack of evidence that Issa had direct conflicts in his congressional role.

Issa’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hired staff that had deep ties to industry, including conservative billionaire activists David and Charles Koch and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, iWatch News reported in February.

iWatch News also profiled Issa , including his big PAC contributors and revolving door from his staff, after the November election sealed his chairmanship.

Issa’s committee also investigated whether a Democratic candidate in Chicago had received political favors from regulators; an inspector’s general report later cleared the bank .

Obama tax plan gets boost from Buffett

President Barack Obama just endorsed Warren Buffett's op-ed in the New York Times today calling on higher taxes on the wealthy.

“He said we’ve got to stop coddling billionaires like me,” Obama said at a town hall event in Cannon Falls, MN, a stop on his three-day bus tour. “That’s what Warren Buffett said.”

“He pointed out that he pays a lower tax rate than anybody in his office, including the secretary,” he added. “He figured out that his tax bill, he paid about 17 percent. And the reason is because most of his wealth comes from capital gains.”

“You don’t get those tax breaks, you’re paying more than that,” Obama said.

The president also called for the new Super Committee tasked with $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts to embrace Buffett's proposals for more substantial savings.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks," Buffett wrote.

Obama has proposed ending loopholes and tax breaks for wealthier Americans as part of a deal to reduce the federal debt. White House spokesman Jay Carney cited Buffett's column this morning while briefing reporters en route to the start of the president's bus tour in Minnesota.

Buffett addressed part of his column to the new congressional super committee assigned to find $1.5 trillion in debt reduction over the next 10 years:

I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million -- there were 236,883 such households in 2009 -- I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more -- there were 8,274 in 2009 -- I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Republicans such as Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., aren't very impressed with Buffett's proposals.

How to Gain From the Economy’s Pain

Billionaire Warren Buffett urged Congress to raise taxes on the nation's wealthiest individuals to help cut the U.S. budget deficit, saying it won't inhibit investment or job growth. "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress," the chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. wrote in an opinion article published in the New York Times. Adam Johnson and Scarlet Fu report on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness With Margaret Brennan.

Enough with all the scrimping and saving, the austerity plans, and the slowly disappearing retirement accounts. Here’s how regular people can make like Buffett and win big in these roller-coaster times.

“Everything dropped ridiculously low as a knee-jerk response” when the S&P downgraded U.S. debt in early August, says financial adviser Ric Edelman, author of The Truth About Money. “I think everything is unfairly valued.”

He’s not alone. Plenty of the best financial advisers, money managers, hedge funders, and economists will tell you there’s opportunity hidden in the pain of economic downturns.

This is not about taking more risk than is appropriate for you. Instead, it’s a chance to do two things: First, fix your mix—in other words, rebalance your portfolio. And second, remove cash you have from the sidelines and put it to work in sync with that asset allocation.

There’s just one caveat: we are talking about investing for the long term here. Money that you need in the next three to five years doesn’t belong in the stock market now—or ever. With that out of the way, here’s where the experts say to put your money to work.

“When the S&P 500 experiences a day where all 500 stocks decline, it’s a pretty clear indication that the market is oversold,” says Edelman. “So buy the S&P 500.” That’s the appropriate advice for investors who have made the decision to hold broad, diversified—and, by the way, low-cost—index funds and exchange-traded funds rather than sectors or individual stocks.

The minutes from last week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee described the economy (and its offshoots) using these words: “flattened,” “weak,” “deterioration,” and “depressed.” That was in the first five lines alone. Financial adviser Nathan Bachrach plans to make some money for his clients by amping up their ownership of high-quality, defensive stocks. Among his picks: Intel and the “oil patch,” including Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhilips, because “I don’t see us deciding to unhook ourselves from our gas-driven cars quite yet.”

Maybe you’ve always wanted to own Apple? Maybe Google or Netflix? A rapid dip in across-the-board prices may be your way in. Just be sure they’ve gotten cheap enough. “I find it helpful to maintain a list of the things you want to own and the prices at which you want to own them,” says Karen Finerman, president and cofounder of Metropolitan Capital Advisors. “That takes some of the emotion out of each decision that you have to make.”

No, I’m not suggesting you buy a car. But many other people are going to be buying them, says Mesirow Financial chief economist Diane Swonk. Not only is there a huge amount of pent-up demand for cars (we’ve been driving them for longer than ever before), but also the auto industry is one of the few that’s seen subprime financing come back. People who can’t qualify for credit cards are able to buy cars, Swonk explains. That, coupled with financial incentives on par with those before the crisis, means better prospects for the beleaguered industry.

Finally, assuming you believe we are going to avoid a full-blown double-dip recession, you may want to give real estate another look, particularly if you wouldn’t mind being a landlord. There’s a big opportunity in buying single-family homes and renting them out, says Swonk. “People can’t qualify for a mortgage, but they want the lifestyle, the fence, the dog in the backyard. So while you can’t go in and flip to sell, you might want to flip to rent.

Warren Buffett Tells Congress To Raise Taxes On Wealthy

Warren Buffett’s got a piece in the New York Times today. A piece in which he makes a very strange claim about the rate of tax that he pays.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

What he says, with the qualifications he uses, is true as far as it goes. It is, however, extremely misleading, because he’s left out the effect of the corporate income tax.

There are essentially two conceptual ways in which you can tax dividends. You can tax them as income to the people who collect them: this was the system in the UK, my home country and is effectively the system now. Or you can tax the profits at the corporate level and then dividends are tax free to the recipients. Several continental European countries use this system.

The United States is different: it has elements of both systems. First, corporate profits are subject to the corporate profits tax, some 35% currently as the headline rate. Then dividends are taxed again in the hands of the recipients at the rate of 15%. This means that the effective tax rate on Buffett’s dividends from Berkshire Hathaway was not the 15% that he’s using in his calculation above (the 2.4% to take the total to 17.4% is presumably referring to the capped social security taxes and the income tax on his salary, not dividends).

Buffett, who has spoken out in favor of raising taxes on the rich multiple times, urged the super-committee to increase income taxes for the 236,000 people who earned more than $1 million in 2009, including taxes on investment profits such as capital gains and dividends. For the 8,000 people who made more than $10 million in 2009, Buffett suggested an even higher tax increase.

The billionaire said he paid about $7 million in payroll and income taxes last year. That is about 17.4 percent of his taxable income, a lower proportion than any of the other 20 people in his office whose tax burdens range from 33 percent to 41 percent, he said.

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," Buffett wrote.

In the July 23 Republican weekly remarks debt super-committee member Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas., said higher taxes could "destroy even more jobs."

But Buffett disagrees. The third-richest man in America said he yet to meet a wealthy investor who would pass up a good investment because of the tax rate on potential gains.

"People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off," Buffett wrote in his op-ed.

Nevertheless, every GOP presidential candidate has spoken out against raising any taxes.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann told the Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore in June that if elected she would abolish the capital gains tax, which Buffett said should be increased, and amend the tax code so every American pays income tax.

By eliminating the capital gains tax, which is currently 15 percent, the Tax Policy Center estimates that about 23,000 millionaires would no longer have to pay income tax because their only income comes from capital gains. This move would add $11 billion to the federal deficit, according to Forbes.

Massachusetts residents have historically had a one of the highest tax burdens in the country, consistently ranking in the top 10 states, said Joseph Henchman, the vice president of state projects for the Tax Foundation. When Romney was in office the state dropped out of the top 10, falling from having the eighth-highest tax burden in 2005 to the 13th highest in 2006.

Rick Perry, who announced Saturday that his is running for president, is the longest-serving governor of a state that levies no personal income tax.

At a fundraiser for Missouri Republican Gubernatorial candidate Peter Kinder in June, Perry said all states should mirror Texas and abolish personal income taxes.

"There is a reason that Missouri is not as competitive as it should be. Want me to tell you what it is? It's called an income tax. A personal income tax. You've got one and we don't! You get rid of your personal income tax and then you can come compete with us," Perry said.

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman revamped the entire state tax code when he was in office from 2005 to 2009. He swapped a more complex six-bracket tax system for a flat 5 percent income tax.

Obama Bus Rolls Onto Michele Bachmann's Turf

President Obama’s focus during a three-day bus trip in the Midwest will be exclusively on the economy, the White House said Monday.

White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One that Obama will be repeating much of his anti-Congress message from last week, when he ripped lawmakers over the debt-ceiling talks.

Carney also insisted Obama’s trip to Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois has nothing to do with GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), the winner of the Ames Straw Poll in neighboring Iowa, or any other GOP candidate for president.

"I mean, this is about a part of the country where we’re able to hit three states with interesting economies and places that we can visit," Carney said in response to a question about Bachmann. "So it’s certainly unrelated to that.

He said it was ridiculous to suggest that “any time the president leaves Washington, it’s campaigning,” according to a White House pool report. He also said the trip has nothing to do with worries that Obama is struggling to maintain support in Iowa, Minnesota or Illinois, all of which the president carried in the 2008 contest.

Bachmann, an arch-conservative who has been one of Obama's most vocal critics, is from Stillwater, Minn., which is about 50 miles north of Cannon Falls.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the visit was unrelated to Bachmann's recent rise to top of the GOP presidential contender heap - and insisted it wasn't a campaign trip.

Obama is "doing what presidents do, going out into the country," said Carney.

The President's travel itinerary also incudes stops in other tiny towns like Decorah, Iowa, where he will visit the Seed Savers Exchange, which preserves and trades rare garden seeds.

Obama will also take part in an economic forum in Peosta, Iowa, and take part in two more town hall meetings in Alpha and Atkinson, Ill.

The President is expected to renew his call for extending the payroll tax cut for workers, creating a funding bank for infrastructure projects, and approving three free-trade agreements.

And Obama is likely to resume ripping his Republican and Tea Party opponents in Congress for putting politics ahead of patriotism. "There is nothing wrong with our country," Obama said last week. "The only thing keeping us back is our politics."

When Obama first ran for President in 2008, Obama won four of the five rural Republican districts he plans to visit.

Now, the commander in chief faces the daunting task of convincing furious voters that he can turn the struggling economy around at a time when his approval rating has plummeted to 39% - the lowest of his presidency.

"The country is in an unbelievably angry mood," said Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg. "You are dealing with a turn away from Washington, from politicians in general."

The silver lining for Obama is that the public - according to recent polls - appears to blame the GOP and Tea Party even more for the poisonous politics in Washington that resulted in the first-ever downgrade of America's once sterling AAA credit rating.

Also, a Marist poll done while the Stock Market was sliding south found that six in 10 voters believe Obama is not responsible for the current dismal economic conditions - and that he "inherited" this mess.