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June 09, 2012 | | OFF HIS GAME Yes, the press-conference gaffe—saying “the private sector is doing fine”—was bad. But it wouldn’t have been so painful if the president didn’t seem so lost, writes The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky. DEADLY Violence came to the front door of Bashar al-Assad’s regime Saturday as activists in the country said the Syrian capital saw one of its worst nights of bloodshed in more than a year. Troops loyal to Assad also reportedly shelled the city of Daraa in the south of the country, killing 15 people. According to the United Nations, more than 9,000 people have been killed in the continuing violence that began 15 months ago after a popular uprising against Assad’s regime. A resident of the capital city told the Associated Press on Saturday that Syrians spent a “night of fear” as gunshots and explosions were heard in the city, which is under military control. ALL BETTER There’s more cause for celebration at Buckingham Palace Saturday as Queen Elizabeth II’s husband was released from the hospital after a five-day stay. Prince Philip, who turns 91 on Sunday, was treated this week for a bladder infection, and missed out on several events held in honor of the queen’s diamond jubilee. It wasn’t the prince’s first health scare – in December he was hospitalized around the Christmas holidays and underwent surgery for a blocked coronary artery. The prince will be celebrating his upcoming birthday “privately” a Buckingham Palace spokesman told reporters on Saturday. BAILOUT Act now, leaders in Europe told Spain this week. The country is expected to ask for help recapitalizing its banks Saturday. Politicians and market watchers are afraid of what may happen if the debt-laden country delays, as elections in Greece scheduled to June 17 add to political and economic uncertainty in the euro zone. “There is a need to ensure that the euro area is properly ringfenced and protected from possible Greek fallout, and that means strengthening Spain’s banks,” one EU official told reporters. A decision about how the euro countries would aid Spain’s banks will be discussed after the country makes the request, and leaders from the 17 countries that share the common currency are scheduled for a lunchtime meeting Saturday. The IMF has estimated that aid to the banks would need to total about 40 billion euros, or $50 billion. HEALTHCARE A betrayal of campaign promises, or a necessary political evil? A cache of emails released by House Republicans suggest that President Obama’s administration negotiated certain aspects of the health-care overhaul—a move that some say contradicts the president’s promise to keep the influence of large pharmaceutical companies out of legislation. “Throughout his campaign, President Obama was clear that he would bring every stakeholder to the table in order to pass health reform, even longtime opponents like the pharmaceutical industry,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer told reports on Friday. In emails released Friday, seemed to show a deal reached by White House staff and drug companies in 2009 on reimplementation of lower-price medications. | | 
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