Weekend Digest: GOP Convention Goers Get Ready For Tough Talk

For our weekend political readers:

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MEDICARE PLAN & MITT ROMNEY’S?
That’s what you can find out by reading a very revealing story in the Washington Post.

The Post piece offers side-by-side comparisons of what is known, at least for now, about each candidate’s position on the popular government health insurance for seniors and people with disabilities.

It also analyzes how the different plans would affect four different age ranges and explains the “doughnut hole.”

What’s the doughnut hole?  It’s a coverage gap in Medicare’s basic prescription drug plan, called Part D. Once drug costs exceed a certain amount, people must pay out-of-pocket until the next level kicks in.

Click on this link to read the entire story.

WANT AN OVAL OFFICE JOB NEXT TO THE PRESIDENT?
“No Way!” say most executives when surveyed about how they would feel about having a job in the suites next to the Oval Office.  That’s according to the Wall Street Journal.

The respondents said that CEOs are well-suited for political leadership positions because of their ability to negotiate and compromise, with more than three-quarters responding that such skills are “critical” for a U.S. President.

Plenty of corporate executives think they’d be better Oval Office residents than the current crop of Washington leaders. But few actually want the job.

The Journal polled a number of executives about their thoughts on such a job.  Read the poll results here and find out why these CEO’s would tend to shy away from working for the most powerful person on earth.

“TOUGH TALK” AT THE GOP CONVENTION NEXT WEEK
According to the Boston Globe, convention goers at the GOP big party in Tampa next week that will officially nominate Mitt Romney aren’t in the mood for compromise rhetoric.  They want the speakers and Mr. Romney to come out bare-knuckled.

Republicans heading to their party convention are eager to hear an earful about the shortcomings of President Barack Obama’s record, the woeful U.S. economy and the competing visions of the two presidential candidates.

Ed Cox, the chairman of the Republican Party in New York, wants speakers at the convention to echo the message that Romney delivered after he won the Wisconsin primary in April. Romney cast the election as a choice between what he called Obama’s “government-centered society” and the “opportunity society” the former businessman said he would pursue as President.

But is non-compromising “tough talk” what the American people want from Republicans and Democrats?  And how bad has some of that tough talk been at past conventions?  Read the complete Boston.com article to find out, and learn why GOP strategists think the messages should be kept simple.

FOIA REQUEST FILED FOR THE WHITE HOUSE BREW RECIPE
Politico reports that, “A group of home-brewing enthusiasts and transparency advocates want the government to hand over the recipe for the home brewed beers created at the White House.”

One internet user has formally filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out the recipe.  Another larger group has started a petition seeking the White House brew’s elixir.

Is there really a White House home brew and what has the White House’s reaction been to this assault on a State secret?  Find out by reading the entire Politico story.