MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin says he intends to return to the presidency because only he can guide Russia between the twin dangers of stagnation on the one hand and instability on the other. Read full article > >

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Putin says he’s Russia’s indispensable man

At a town hall meeting at the Institute of Politics at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm’s College Tuesday, Rick Perry asked that all of the college students in the crowd who will be 21 by Nov. 12 support his bid for the presidency. Say what? Read full article > >

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Rick Perry gets U.S. voting age wrong in New Hampshire

When Barack Obama swept to the presidency in 2008, he was whatever you wanted him to be. Democrats saw him as the next great liberal hero. Independents regarded him as the man who could bring comity back to Washington. And many Republicans saw him a historical figure of major proportions. Obama’s twin slogans of “hope” and “change” allowed partisans of varying stripes to convince themselves that he was the person they — and the country — had long been waiting for. Read full article > >

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Barack Obama, the blurry president

TEHRAN — A proposal by Iran’s supreme leader to radically alter the country’s constitution and abolish the presidency is drawing praise from his supporters but criticism from influential politicians. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader for life in 1989 by Shiite Muslim clerics, said in a speech last week that, if deemed appropriate, Iran could do without a president. The post is currently held by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose 2009 reelection was disputed by opponents and led to months of street protests. Read full article > >

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Iran’s supreme leader floats proposal to abolish presidency

Ending a late flurry of indecision, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey announced on Tuesday that he had decided not to seek the presidency.

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Opting Out of Race, Christie Says, ‘Now Is Not My Time’

Here in the heartland, Vladimir Putin’s revelation that he would take the presidency back from Dmitry Medvedev, essentially plucking the March election out of the hands of voters and installing himself as ruler for years to come, should have left the opposition more impotent than ever. Instead, its members have picked themselves up and gone into quiet rebellion, doing their best to pretend that imperious Moscow doesn’t exist. Read full article > >

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Russia girds for next Putin presidency as some look past it

Both Muscovites and people in surrounding villages seemed to share a fatalism about Vladimir V. Putin’s planned return to the presidency.

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Russians See Shift in Power as Business as Usual

MOSCOW – Russian President Dmitry A. Medvedev said Saturday he will step aside after one term as president, and called on the ruling United Russia party to endorse Vladimir V. Putin for the post. That makes it almost certain that Putin will return to the presidency, because United Russia, which he built, has a stranglehold on the country’s politics. Medvedev said he intends to continue to work in the government, with a focus on modernization and anti-corruption efforts. Read full article > >

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Dmitry Medvedev asks Vladi­mir Putin to run for president of Russia

President Obama gave one of the most impassioned speeches of his presidency when he addressed a joint session of Congress on Thursday night. Too bad so many in the audience thought it was a big, fat joke. “You should pass this jobs plan right away!” Obama exhorted. Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) chuckled. “Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary — an outrage he has asked us to fix,” Obama went on. Widespread laughter broke out on the GOP side of the aisle. Read full article > >

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The irrelevancy of the Obama presidency

* Obama team torn over big jobs speech? This big New York Times piece will drive some discussion on the left today. It reports that Obama and his team are frustrated over how to recapture the aura that enabled him to get elected in 2008, and suggests tension between two conflicting impulses: Drawing a sharp and feisty contrast with conservatives, and striving to project a willingness to compromise with Republicans, even though they’re trying to destroy his presidency. Seemingly in service of the latter goal, the piece reports that Obama’s team is discussing a a moratorium on some regulations, supporting the idea that government is stifling the economy: Read full article > >

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Greg Sargent:
The Morning Plum

Three years after storming the White House with the “fierce urgency of now,” President Obama has a new message for his reelection campaign: Be patient, democracy is big and tough and messy. “When I said, ‘Change we can believe in,’ I didn’t say, ‘Change we can believe in tomorrow,’ ” Obama told a crowd of 2,400 during a birthday celebration in Chicago this month. The paring back of expectations has been an increasingly necessary part of Obama’s rhetoric, given the economic and political realities that have beset his presidency. But as the president prepares for his reelection campaign, his triumphant 2008 message of “hope and change” has undergone a radical transformation, from messianic to just plain messy. The candidate who once dazzled audiences with his soaring rhetoric is still searching for a compelling sales pitch to persuade voters to give him more time to accomplish his goals. Read full article > >

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Obama offers 2012 election supporters change they can believe in — next term

Until this month, Steven C. Roche was one of Mitt Romney’s most trusted advisers, helping the former Massachusetts governor raise tens of millions of dollars in his long quest for the White House. Now Roche has jumped ship to Restore Our Future , a “super PAC” dedicated to helping Romney win the presidency by raising unlimited funds from wealthy donors and corporations. The move, first reported by the Center for Public Integrity, illustrates the rise of yet another money-raising vehicle for the 2012 elections: “candidate super PACs,” which are emerging as de facto subsidiaries of the traditional presidential campaigns. Read full article > >

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The Influence Industry: ‘Candidate super PACs’ surge ahead in the 2012 money race

The Football Association decides not to take part in the vote for the presidency of Fifa because of “a range of issues which make it difficult to support either candidate”.

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FA opts to abstain from Fifa vote

Newt Gingrich touts fiscal responsibility among his qualifications for the presidency, but apparently the 2012 GOP contender has a weakness for bling at Tiffany & Co. The former House speaker owed as much as $500,000 to Tiffany’s in 2005 and 2006,…

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Gingrich Owed Up to $500K to Tiffany’s

Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to announce a 2012 run for the presidency on Wednesday.

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Gingrich set for White House bid