Tonight's Republican debate may really be between 2 Texans, Rick Perry and Ron Paul

Eight Republicans will line up for the debate in the shadow of Ronald Reagan's Air Force One in his presidential library this evening.

But the most interesting debate dynamic will likely be between the two Texans onstage with the same pair of initials -- Rick Perry, the governor, and Ron Paul, the representative.

This was supposed to be the second GOP panel for Perry, the late-comer and new front-runner. But he pulled out of Sen. Jim DeMint's values forum in South Carolina Monday to fly home and be governor during the giant state's wild wildfires.

Tonight, everyone will pay verbal tribute to Ronald Reagan, who might have some trouble winning the presidential nomination of the new Grand Old Party these days. The debate will be carried live on MSNBC at 5 p.m. Pacific.

Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman will be asked about their jobs plans. Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich will chime in. For an interesting look at the surviving GOP field, check out Chris Stirewalt's perceptive rundown here.

Obama will be a certain target but less so because Republican House Speaker John Boehner saved the Democrat from himself. Obama wanted to talk jobs tonight too to a joint session of Congress. Boehner suggested Thursday was better and the president acquiesced.

Cross-state rivals Perry and Paul have already been sniping at each other. The 11-term congressman has criticized the nation's longest-serving governor as not a real conservative and dismissing him as more of the status quo.

Tuesday Perry's surprisingly well-organized camp fired a salvo at Paul, citing his 1987 resignation letter from the Republican Party in which he criticized the president now entombed just steps from tonight's debate site.

"There is no credibility left for the Republican Party as a force to reduce the size of government," Paul wrote near the end of Reagan's second term before Paul ran for president on the Libertarian ticket. "That is the message of the Reagan years."

“It will be interesting," a Perry spokesman suggestively suggested, "to hear Rep. Paul explain why Reagan drove him from the party at tomorrow’s debate on the grounds of the Reagan Library."

Recent polls have confirmed Perry's rapid surge to the front of the Republican field. He appears to have most hurt Bachmann, another tea party favorite who can be expected to attack. A Gallup Poll this week found Perry and Romney to be about equally well-liked among Republicans (seven-out-of-ten).

But Gallup's intensity score gives Perry twice the rating of Romney, 25-12.

A larger question many ask is how good is Perry at debating? Put another way, how bad can he be? He's never lost an election.

It's still almost a year out from the GOP convention in Tampa. Ahh, Florida in August. Who wouldn't want to wear funny hats in that weather?

But this month is already crucial. It's the last in the second quarter of campaign fundraising. We'll soon see how big a money bump Bachmann got for winning the Ames Straw Poll. If Paul's $1.6 money-bomb was a one-day explosion?

And how big are the bundles being assembled by Perry's reputed hundreds of newly-recruited, enthusiastic bundlers, including some well-connected folks in California, where Perry will forage for cash all day Thursday.

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Here's how President Obama wants 9/11 observed

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos: David J. Phillip / Associated Press (Perry, left); Mary Ann Chastain / Associated Press (Paul); Alberto Martinez / Associated Press (Perry listens to wildfire victim Cindy Cruz in Bastrop, Sept. 5).

Listen up! Here's how Obama wants 9/11 observed

You may have thought as a regular American citizen you were capable of marking the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly 9/11 attacks in your own quiet, sad way as you and your family choose.

However, in its infinite federal wisdom and one-size-fits-all philosophy, the Obama White House has drafted a set of detailed orders for how it wants the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks observed, both at home and abroad.

We're not kidding.

After weeks of quiet internal planning, two sets of guidelines were dispatched by the Democratic administration, one for American representatives to use abroad and another to all federal agencies at home.

Suggestions for elaborate programs including speeches and other ceremonies to mark the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, were discarded by the administration in favor of low-key appearances by President Obama and a few other officials.

They are to emphasize that the day's observances are "not just about us," an unidentified administration source told the N.Y. Times, which obtained copies of the plans ...

Obama: 'America’s military is the best that it’s ever been'

Coincidence or not, President Obama and a Republican front-runner who would replace him, Mitt Romney, gave dueling speeches to American veterans today. Romney to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in San Antonio, Obama to the American Legion in Minneapolis.

As we often do, we are publishing the full texts of both addresses so that Ticket readers can see for themselves the scope and nuance of the men's spoken words. Gov. Romney's address is now available in excerpt and full text form by clicking here.

Now, some Obama excerpts:

There are some special guests here I want to acknowledge. They may have already been acknowledged, but they're great friends so I want to make sure that I point them out. First of all, the wonderful governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, is here. Two senators who are working on behalf of veterans every single day -- Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken.  Congressman Keith Ellison -- this is his district. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a great friend....

We’re still digging out from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. It’s taking longer and it's been more difficult than any of us had imagined. And even though we’ve taken some steps in the right direction, we've got a lot more to do....

We Americans have been through tough times before, much tougher than these. And we didn’t just get through them; we emerged stronger than before. Not by luck. Not by chance. But because, in hard times, Americans don’t quit....

We salute the extraordinary decade of service rendered by the 9/11 Generation -— the more than 5 million Americans who've worn the uniform over the past 10 years....

We see the wages of war in those patriots who never came home. They gave their all, their last full measure of devotion, in Kandahar, in the Korengal, in Helmand, in the battles for Baghdad and Fallujah and Ramadi. Now they lay at rest in quiet corners of America, but they live on in the families who loved them and in a nation that is safer because of their service....

America’s military is the best that it’s ever been. We saw that most recently in the skill and precision of our brave forces who helped the Libyan people finally break free from the grip of Moammar Qaddafi....

We’ve still got some work to do.  We got to break the backlog of disability claims.  I know that over the past year, the backlog has actually grown due to new claims from Agent Orange. But let me say this -- and I know Secretary Shinseki agrees -- when our veterans who fought for our country have to fight just to get the benefits that you’ve already earned, that’s unacceptable. So this is going to remain a key priority for us....

We’re facing some tough choices as we put our fiscal house in order. But I want to be absolutely clear: We cannot, we must not, we will not, balance the budget on the backs of our veterans....

I’ve proposed a Returning Heroes Tax Credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans and a Wounded Warrior Tax Credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans with a disability. When Congress returns from recess, this needs to be at the top of their agenda....

Now, the full Obama text:

President Obama's remarks to the American Legion, as provided by the White House

THE PRESIDENT: Hello Legionnaires! It is wonderful to see all of you. Let me, first of all, thank Commander Foster for your introduction and for your lifetime of service to your fellow Marines, soldiers and veterans. On behalf of us all, I want to thank Jimmie and I want to thank your entire leadership team for welcoming me here today. Thank you very much.

Your National Adjutant, Dan Wheeler; your Executive Director, your voice in....

Mitt Romney: 'We can't lead the world by hoping our enemies will hate us less'

Coincidence or not, President Obama and a Republican frontrunner who would replace him, Mitt Romney, gave dueling speeches to American veterans today. Romney to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in San Antonio, Obama to the American Legion in Minneapolis.

As we often do, we are publishing the full texts of both addresses so that Ticket readers can see for themselves the scope and nuance of the men's spoken words.

First, some Romney excerpts:

Today we are united not only by our faith in America. We are united also by our concern for America....

Have we ever had a president who was so eager to address the world with an apology on his lips and doubt in his heart? He seems truly confused not only about America’s past but our future....

We stand near a threshold of profound economic misery. Four more years on the same political path could prove disastrous...

This is the first time in my memory that massive defense cuts were proposed without any reference to the missions that would be foreclosed and the risks to which our country and its men and women in uniform would be exposed. Cuts of this magnitude can only be the product of one of two mistaken beliefs.

On the one hand is wishful thinking that the world is becoming a safer place. The opposite is true.  Consider simply the Jihadists, a near-nuclear Iran, a turbulent Middle East, an unstable Pakistan, a delusional North Korea, an assertive Russia, and an emerging global power called China.  No, the world is not becoming safer.

And so, on the other hand, that leaves us with the belief that America should become a lesser power. It flows from the conviction that if we are weak, tyrants will choose to be weak as well; that if we could just talk more, engage more, pass more U.N. resolutions, that peace will break out.  That may be what they think in that Harvard faculty lounge, but it’s not what they know on the battlefield!

But American leadership is more than a budget fight. America must lead with clarity of intent, a commitment of purpose and unlimited resolve....

Our Air Force is now older and smaller than it has been for decades. Our Navy has fewer ships than it is has had since World War One. The Navy says it needs 313 ships to fulfill its missions around the world.  It only has 284 ships and we’re on track to drop down to the low 200s....

During World War Two, we built 1,000 ships per year with 1,000 people in the Bureau of Ships – the purchasing department, if you will. In the 1980’s we built 17 ships per year, with 4,000 people in purchasing. Today, for 9 ships a year, it takes 25,000 people!

We’ve lost a couple of years, but we haven’t lost our way....

Now, here is the full Romney text:

Gov. Mitt Romney's Address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, as provided by his office

It’s a privilege to be addressing the veterans who defended our liberty in the past, and who defend the memory and dignity of every veteran today.

I was born in 1947 – a quintessential baby boomer. I grew up in the shadow of....

Obama on debt rating: 'Markets will rise and fall'; and they do

 

Seeking to show leadership and calm anxiety on the first trading day after the unprecedented credit downgrade for the federal government, a beleaguered President Obama made an 11-minute financial statement this afternoon that proved prophetic.

"Markets will rise and fall," the Democrat said, "but this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a AAA country."

The results: On the worst day since the 2008 financial crisis, all three major U.S. stock indexes dropped between 5% and 7% with the Dow plunging 633 points to close beneath 11,000 for the first time in nine months.

On Friday after the markets closed Standard & Poor's lowered the federal government's....

Did an alert retired cop just thwart another Fort Hood massacre?

Texas police say a newly-arrested Muslim American Army private has admitted planning to attack fellow troops at the famous Fort Hood Army base in Killeen.

Following a tip from a suspicious retired policeman now working at a local gun shop, Killeen police arrested Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo Wednesday during a traffic stop.

He'll likely face federal charges after FBI agents found a large amount of bomb-making materials in his hotel room not far from the base.

The 21-year-old had gone AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucky after refusing deployment to Afghanistan on religious grounds and then being charged with possession of child pornography during his discharge process.

Kileen is the site of Fort Hood, scene of the 2009 massacre of 13 military personnel. Another American Muslim soldier, Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, has been charged with those killings. He faces the death penalty if found guilty in a trial set to begin in early 2012.

"Thanks to quick action by a Texas gun dealer in alerting local police to a suspicious character," Rep. John Carter said today, "and a prompt and vigorous response by the Killeen Police Department, we may well have averted a repeat of the tragic 2009 radical Islamic terror attack on our nation's largest military installation."

Abdo appeared in a local gunshop Tuesday afternoon, according to Greg Ebert, a retired police officer now working there. Ebert said Abdo purchased shotgun shells, a magazine and six one-pound canisters of gunpowder.

But he then asked Ebert numerous questions indicating little knowledge of the gunpowder.

"That's a red flag for me," Ebert said. "He should know" if he's buying that much. Ebert checked with his boss and then alerted police.

In the hotel room police say they also found uniforms with Fort Hood patches, battery-powered clocks and shrapnel.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Larry W. Smith / EPA (A Fort Hood headquarters building, file); Killeen Police Dept. (Abdo booking photo)

Is al Qaeda really dying? The birth of a news meme

Washington Post news story, 7:01 p.m. Tuesday:

U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly convinced that the killing of Osama bin Laden and the toll of seven years of CIA drone strikes have pushed al ­Qaeda to the brink of collapse.

The assessment reflects a widespread view at the CIA and other agencies that a relatively small number of additional blows could effectively extinguish the Pakistan-based organization that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — an outcome that was seen as a distant prospect for much of the past decade.

Do you want to believe this? Wouldn't that be nice to think that the worst bad guys in our worst nightmares from the last decade are near extinction? Brought to justice by SEALs, Special Forces and armed drones as swiftly and violently as they delivered their unjust death sentences on innocents?

(For a primer on armed drones in Afghanistan, scroll down for an interesting C-SPAN video.)

Now, ask yourself as a regular news reader why do you think the newspaper's unidentified sources are saying this? More importantly, why are they saying this now? And why, if things are going so swimmingly in the terrorist eradication business, these officials feel the need to hide their identities?

Wasn't it this President Obama and his Democratic administration that denied all but....

The amazing story of America's newest hero: Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry

 

Medal of Honor ceremony for Army First Sgt. Leroy Arthur Petry, as provided by the White House

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Chaplain Rutherford.  Please be seated.  Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the White House as we present our nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, to an extraordinary American soldier —- Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry.

This is a historic occasion.  Last fall, I was privileged to present the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta for his heroism in Afghanistan, and Sal joins us this afternoon. Where's Sal?  Good to see you.  

So today is only the second time during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq —- indeed, only the second time since Vietnam —- that a recipient of the Medal of Honor from an ongoing conflict has been able to accept this medal in person.  And having just spent some time with Leroy, his lovely wife Ashley, their wonderful children, in the Oval Office, then had a chance to see the entire Petry family here -- I have to say this could not be happening to a nicer guy or a more inspiring family. 

Leroy, the Medal of Honor reflects the deepest gratitude of our entire nation.  So we’re....

 

Sunday shows: Bachmann, Kyl, Christie, Karzai, Pelosi

ABC's "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), with George Will, Martha Raddatz, Jonathan Karl, Vali Nasr, Chrystia Freeland and Anita Dunn.

Bloomberg's "Political Capital with Al Hunt:" Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN).

CNN Fareed Zakaria "GPS": Afghanistan Pres. Hamid Karzai, Mohamed El-Erian and Jeffrey Toobin.

CNN "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley: Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA with Michael Gerson).

Fox News Channel "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: Bachmann and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz), with Brit Hume, Bill Kristol, Kirsten Powers and Juan Williams.

NBC's "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Jack Reed (D-RI), with Matt Bai and David Brooks.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Michele Bachmann. Credit: Nicholas Kamm / AFP /Getty Images

Weekly remarks: Obama creating jobs by federal help; Renee Ellmers creating jobs by less regulation

President Obama's weekly remarks, as provided by the White House

Hello, everybody. Earlier this week, I spoke about our way forward in Afghanistan, and I said that because of the extraordinary work of our men and women in uniform, civilians, and our coalition partners, we will soon begin bringing our troops home, just as we’ve begun doing in Iraq. After a decade of conflict, we’re finally bringing these wars to a responsible end.

That’s in the best interests of America’s security. And it’s also in the best interests of America’s economy. Even though we’ve turned our economy in the right direction over the past couple of years, many Americans are still hurting, and now is the time to focus on nation-building here at home.

Of course, there’s been a real debate about where to invest and where to cut, and I’m ...