A spokesperson for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign said President Obama “should release the notes and transcripts of all his meetings with world leaders” (NationalJournal), amid the ongoing campaign controversy over comments  Obama made to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Read more »

Setting it up as a central theme for their election-year campaign efforts, House Republicans passed Rep. Paul Ryan’s deficit-cutting budget plan (Reuters) on Thursday. Read more »

The bottom has fallen out for support for the war in Afghanistan from U.S. voters and is putting the squeeze on GOP presidential candidates, who must navigate between their party’s hawkish line and the public’s growing impatience.
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U.S. voters’ confidence in the economy is the highest is has been in four years, according to the latest Gallup poll. Despite high gas prices, economic confidence is one point higher than the highest weekly level Gallup has seen since January 2008. Read more »

While U.S. presidential candidates on both sides call for lower corporate tax rates, the United States is expected to have the highest corporate tax rate among the world’s developed countries starting April 1 when Japan revises its tax code. Britain, meanwhile, plans to cut the country’s corporation tax on company profits to 24 percent from 26 percent in April and to 22 percent by 2014 (APF), all lower than originally planned. Read more »

With major political changes for Beijing and Washington on the horizon, President Obama called on China (Reuters) before the second Nuclear Security Summit to use its influence in Pyongyang to stop it from ratcheting up global nuclear tensions. Read more »

The U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments Monday on President Obama’s 2010 health care law, which many Republicans — including the full slate of GOP presidential candidates — say is unconstitutional because it of its mandate that everyone buy health insurance or face a penalty tax. Read more »

GOP front-runner Mitt Romney’s plan to go further than President Obama or President George W. Bush in confronting China is raising concerns among business-friendly Republicans, who believe it could “set off a counterproductive trade war.” (NYT) Read more »

A new Gallup poll shows “a solid majority” of voters want the U.S. government to approve building the Keystone XL pipeline. Republicans are almost twice as likely as Democrats to want the government to approve the oil pipeline and about half of independents also approve. Read more »

GOP presidential candidates came out in immediate support for a new Republican budget plan (WashPost) unveiled Tuesday that would slash spending, lower and simplify taxes, overhaul Medicare, and cut food stamps. The latest budget proposal comes amid strong philosophical differences between Democrats and Republicans over U.S. fiscal policy, particularly how to reduce the country’s growing debt, which numerous analysts argue will force a crisis similar to the eurozone crisis if not soon addressed. Read more »