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 Good morning. Here's what you need to know: 1. Standard & Poor's yesterday said that the latest Greek debt relief plan, pushed by France and endorsed by Germany, enabling banks to roll over their holdings of Greek debt into new bonds, constitutes “selective default”. 2. Wolfgang Munchau describes the latest Greek debt relief plan as a "dirty little con-trick." He argues that it is "inevitable" that Greece will default on its coupon payment at some point. 3. The United States and Europe "have public finances that are out of control and political systems that are too dysfunctional to fix the problem," writes Gideon Richman. "America and Europe are in the same sinking boat." 4. The Obama Administration is offering the Republican Party what David Brooks describes as the "deal of the century" on deficit reduction; "trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for a few hundred million dollars of revenue increases." Brooks writes that "we can have no confidence" that they will seize this opportunity. 5. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a leading conservative, said Sunday that Republicans might accept a “mini” deal with the Obama administration on raising the debt limit. Sen. Cornyn made his remarks on "Fox News Sunday." 6. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is expected to step down soon. The Obama Administration is floating the names of five potential successors: investment banker Roger Altman, former White House chief-of-staff Erskine Bowles, White House chief-of-staff William Daley, OMB Director Jack Lew, and Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen. 7. So-called "Super PACs" are likely to play an important role in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. "The rise of these independent groups," The Washington Post reports, "which can raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and other wealthy donors and spend it to help their favored candidates, could end up defining the 2012 campaign." 7. Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, raised substantially more money than his rivals during the first quarter of 2011. 9. Rep. Michele Bachmann is fast becoming a political sensation in the state of Iowa. At the 4th of July parade in Clear Lake yesterday, she received a warm and enthusiastic reception. 10. The freshman class of Republican lawmakers who rode the anti-Obama Administration wave into office in 2010, now finds itself facing the threat of primary challenges back home, as American politics continues to roil at the grass roots. Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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