Politics: Afternoon Edition: House GOP releases plan to slash budget

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Thursday, February 3, 2011 HEADLINES 1) House GOP releases plan to slash budget Republicans want to slice more than $30 billion from agency budgets over the next several months. But they have been reluctant to say where they would achieve savings. » Read full article 2) Ex-Bush official may go to jail Scott J. Bloch ordered technicians to "scrub" computer files at the Office of Special Counsel in 2006. » Read full article 3) Report faults FBI, Pentagon on Fort Hood shootings The report concludes that military officials failed to recognize signs that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was becoming increasingly radical before the 2009 shooting. » Read full article 4) The Fix: Why Gingrich is serious this time Newt Gingrich, the most prominent Republican politician on the national stage for much of the 1990s, is actually underrated as a 2012 presidential contender. » Read full article 5) Mark Foley makes a comeback After a self-imposed seclusion, the disgraced congressman is back in the public eye. » Read full article QUOTE OF THE DAY Donald Rumsfeld on the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war.: "There were far too many hands on the steering wheel, which, in my view, was a formula for running the truck into a ditch." COMMENT OF THE DAY snout, on Bradley Graham's "Rumsfeld remains largely unapologetic in memoir" post: History will judge him as a huge blunderer. Period. Q&A Discussion Reagan historian Craig Shirley was online at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the late former president in advance of his hundredth birthday celebration: Q: How do you think Reagan's persona might have influenced Obama as a leader? They're so different ideologically speaking but they both came to power at a pivotal time for the economy and faced midterm setbacks. Do you think Obama's looking up to Reagan more and more nowadays? Craig Shirley: A great deal I think. Reagan's persona was influenced to some degree by FDR, especially the optimism and frankly, presidents who express faith in the American people, who express faith in the future, tend to win and those who don't tend to lose. This outlook had been the province of the Democrats from 1932 up until 1980, when Carter forfeited it to Reagan. The GOP lost it to Clinton in 1992, got it back to a degree in 2000 and lost it again in 2008. Right now, the future is up for grabs between the two parties but Obama right now is making the better claim to it. » View full Q&A session MULTIMEDIA Video: Giffords' husband speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast Video: Giffords' husband speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast Mark Kelly, husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), thanked those who have prayed for his wife, noting that she gets better every day and that through the tragic shooting in Tucson last month, something good can come. SEND US A TIP | ADVERTISE | UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY POLICY | NEWSLETTER CENTER Washington Post Digital c/o E-mail Customer Care 1150 15th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20071