1. ABCDE
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washingtonpost.com • 75
Price tag
soars on
preterm
birth drug
FDA-approved
compound goes from
$20 to $1,500 a dose
BY R OB S TEIN
When a drug to prevent babies
from being born too early won
federal approval in February,
many doctors, pregnant women
and others cheered the step as a
major advance against a heart-
Comm 488 breaking tragedy. ARIS MESSINIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGE
Then they saw the price tag. Libyan rebels walk past a burning multi-rocket launcher at sunset outside the oil-rich town of Ras Lanuf as they press on in their mission to topple leader Moammar Gaddafi.
Obama: U.S. had responsibility to act
The list price for the drug,
Makena, turned out to be a
stunning $1,500 per dose. That’s
for a drug that must be injected
every week for about 20 weeks,
meaning it will cost about
Washington Post
$30,000 per at-risk pregnancy. If
every eligible American woman INTERVENTION
were to get Makena, the nation’s INTERVENTION IN LIBYA DEFENDED
bloated annual health-care tab
would swell by more than $4 bil-
U.S. deploys
lion.
What really infuriates patients
low-flying President stresses how he limited involvement
and doctors is that the same
compound has been available for attack planes BY S COTT W ILSON sponsibility as a leader and —
years at a fraction of the cost — more profoundly — our responsi
about $10 or $20 a shot. President Obama delivered a bilities to our fellow human be
“It’s outrageous,” said Helain J. BY G REG J AFFE broad defense Monday of his ings under such circumstance
Landy, chairman of obstetrics AND K AREN D E Y OUNG decision to intervene in Libya would have been a betrayal o
and gynecology at Georgetown and of his leadership style, argu- who we are,” Obama told an
“Campaign 2012: Because it's never University Hospital. “Raising the
cost of each injection from
around $20 to $1,500 is ludi-
crous.”
The U.S. military dramatically
stepped up its assault on Libyan
government ground forces over
the weekend, launching its first
ing that the United States has a
strategic interest in preventing
the killing of civilians around the
world and that it must do so in
audience of mid-career militar
officers, who remained quiet dur
ing much of the 27-minute ad
dress. “Some nations may be abl
The company that owns Make- missions with AC-130 flying gun- partnership with other nations. to turn a blind eye to atrocities in
too early to start thinking about it.” na, KV Pharmaceutical of St.
Louis, says the price is reason-
able, given that it is spending
more than $200 million to devel-
ships and A-10 attack aircraft
designed to strike enemy ground
troops and supply convoys.
The use of the aircraft, during
Speaking at the National De-
fense University, Obama used his
first televised address since mili-
tary operations began in Libya
other countries. The United
States of America is different.”
At the same time, Obam
stressed the limits he placed on
op the drug and conduct follow- days of heavy fighting in which YOUSSEF BOUDLAL/REUTERS nine days ago to outline a moral the operation, saying he acted
up studies that the Food and the momentum seemed to swing A rebel fighter prays along a road in Wadi al Hamra. rationale for intervention in civil only after securing broad inter
Drug Administration demands, in favor of the rebels, demon- conflicts such as the push under- national cooperation, kept ou
and because of the savings re- strated how allied military forces TURMOIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST way to topple Libyan leader U.S. ground forces, and planned
sulting from preventing preterm have been drawn deeper into the Moammar Gaddafi. for a quick transfer of command
births. Through a subsidiary, chaotic fight in Libya. A mission Monday’s developments Facing accusations that he has to European allies.
Ther-Rx Corp., the company cre-
ated a program to help women
that initially seemed to revolve
around establishing a no-fly zone
•LIBYA: Rebel forces come under •SYRIA: Securityof protesters in
heavy fire as they battle toward gas on thousands
forces fire tear not explained the United States’
interest in Libya’s war, Obama
Those guidelines could dictat
how Obama approaches simila
who can’t afford it. has become focused on halting Sirte, the home town of the the southern city of Daraa, a key said the nation had a responsibil- civil conflicts, including the othe
“Ther-Rx is fundamentally advances by government ground country’s leader, Moammar flash point. President Bashar al- ity to prevent a mass killing after popular uprising now recastin
committed to the community of forces in and around key coastal Gaddafi. The rebels have now Assad is expected to address the Gaddafi pledged to carry out a much of the Middle East. In th
women, children and families it cities. captured all the territory they lost nation as early as Tuesday to try to brutal reprisal campaign against case of Libya, he said that ex
serves and has been carefully The AC-130s, which fly low over the past week. A10 ease the crisis by lifting a state of civilians in rebel-held territory. panding the operation from pro
listening to all stakeholders fol-
lowing the announcement of the
and slow over the battlefield and
are typically more vulnerable to
• YEMEN: A powerful explosion at
a factory making weapons and
emergency imposed in 1963. A8
• EGYPT: The country’s military
He emphasized that the mission
was undertaken with the United
tecting civilians to removin
Gaddafi from power would frac
list price for Makena,” the com- enemy fire than fast-moving ammunition in the country’s south rulers announce that the country’s States’ closest allies, and that ture the coalition of European
pany said in an e-mail. fighter jets, were deployed only kills at least 78 people after the hated emergency law will be lifted command of the military opera- and Arab support, leaving th
Critics are challenging that after a week of sustained coali- facility is taken over by Islamist before parliamentary elections tion will be transferred to NATO United States to pick up the cost
militants and then looted by scheduled for September. A8 on Wednesday.
makena continued on A18 aircraft continued on A11 residents. A8 “To brush aside America’s re- obama continued on A10
Amid reactor crisis, head of Japanese utility vanishes An empty gesture
Move, though not
power plant.
After a short break to recuper-
even Congress can’t love
ate, they said, Shimizu, 66, is back
a first among nation’s at work directing an emergency Lawmakers chip in to cut debt. Two of them.
business elite, draws ire command center on the second
floor of Tepco’s central Tokyo of a second. The governmen
headquarters. BY D AVID A . F AHRENTHOLD burned through their gift in thre
BY A NDREW H IGGINS Still, company officials are beats of a hummingbird’s wing.
I
vague about whether they have t sounds like the perfect politi- The story of this little-used pay
tokyo — In normal times, Masa- actually seen their boss: “I’ll have cal gesture for the moment. back program says somethin
taka Shimizu lives in The Tower, a to check on that,” said spokesman Congress is getting ready for about the fight Congress is begin
luxury high-rise in the same up- Ryo Shimitsu. Another staffer, an epic fight over the national ning. The debt is so huge, and th
scale Tokyo district as the U.S. Hiro Hasegawa, said he’d seen the debt, and House rules allow mem- fight so joyless, that even con
Embassy. But he hasn’t been there president regularly but couldn’t bers to give back a portion of their gressmen — the masters of th
for more than two weeks, accord- provide details. salaries for debt reduction. empty but attractive gesture —
ing to a doorman. Vanishing in times of crisis is Two of them do. appear to see little use in this one
The Japanese public hasn’t something of a tradition among Sometimes, up to three. “Even if all members of Con
seen much of him recently either. CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
Japan’s industrial and political Last fall — as the issue of spend- gress returned their full salaries i
Shimizu, the president of Tokyo Resigned to a long fight elite. During Toyota’s recall deba- ing helped Republicans storm order to pay off the debt,” it woul
Electric Power Co., or Tepco, the A woman in Miyagi prefecture contemplates her destroyed home, while at cle last year, the carmaker’s chief back to power in the House — barely make a dent, Rep. Henr
company that owns a haywire the Fukushima Daiichi plant, attempts to contain radioactive contamination also went AWOL. “It is very, very exactly one sitting Republican Cuellar (Tex.) said in an e-mail.
nuclear power plant 150 miles stumbled after officials found it had spread into tunnels and soil. A13 sad, but this is normal in Japan,” and one Democrat chose to dock Cuellar is a “Blue Dog,” or mor
from the capital, is the most invis- said Yagushi Hirai, the chief edi- their pay for the cause. conservative, Democrat, and h
ible — and most reviled — chief hospital or committed suicide, cause of overwork after a 9.0- tor of Shyukan Kinyobi, a weekly Together, they donated has embraced the debt as a politi
executive in Japan. company officials said Monday magnitude earthquake sent a tsu- news magazine. $2,610.39 that quarter. cal issue. He has called for a bal
Amid rumors that Shimizu had that their boss had suffered an nami crashing onto his compa- That’s how much the debt

2. WaPo general trends for 2012
• The Washington Post is very unbiased in its writing, stating ideas and
then reminding the public than anything can happen in the next year and
a half
• Common trends:
• The battle for the Midwest is changing politics
• Hispanic voters could be problematic for Republicans
• Celebrity politics- Trump and Palin

3. Washington Post’s Republican Field
“If no one is an immediate frontrunner,
I think you might see a whole new cast
of Republican candidates within the
Mike Huckabee next couple months,” said DeMint, who
reiterated that he will not run. He
Sarah Palin Bobby Jindal declined to name anyone but said there
were potentially good candidates
among the nation’s Republican
governors.
Jeb Bush
John Thune
Mitch Daniels
Haley Barbour Mitt Romney Newt Gingrinch
Rick Santorum Marco Rubio Tim Pawlenty

4. Iowa Caucus
• GOP presidential prospects court Iowa conservatives
• Attack President Obama’s policies
• Gauge the mood of the most conservative wing of the GOP base
• Michele Bachmann lit up the gathering with a rapid-fire denunciation of
the president
• Most speakers had problems with statement by Indiana Gov. Mitch
Daniels who has called for a truce on cultural issues
• Because of the need to focus on what he sees as a looming fiscal
crisis

5. Evangelical Voters
• Potential Republican presidential candidates court evangelicals
• Must win evangelical vote to win the Iowa caucus, Rep. nomination
• Parishioners are listening closely to politicians’ platforms, particularly
regarding marriage and abortion.
• Tougher competition in Iowa for candidates like Huckabee
• Potential candidates Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin also have
appeal to evangelical voters

6. Other GOP Themes
• Who is signing on with who
• Aids that are signing on signal who will run
• CAUTION: No formal decisions yet
• Obama/ Economy and Government
• Need for a unifier

7. Obama coverage in WaPo
• Deficit problems - Obama’s misleading claim
• Losing young voter interest
• White House seeks to reconnect with young voters
• In a generic PEW poll, Obama runs ahead
• However, there’s still a year and a half to go, and 16% undecided.
• The same poll also says Romney and Huckabee are leading Rep.
candidates
• Romney: older, wealthier Republicans
• Huckabee: Evangelical Protestants
• Libya

8. Politico FiveThirtyEight Hot Air

9. Politico
• Cautious, broad approach to the Republican field, with an emphasis on
states with early primaries
• Cover many candidates in a “Candidate Hub” on the front of their “2012 LIVE”
page. Under each name, Politico adds the most recent public event on their
schedule, and then lists recent stories about the potential candidate.
• “Early State Insider” pages for Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and
Nevada
• Covers recent statements from potential candidates, fundraising efforts
and trips to early states, as well as gaffs or insider drama
• Obama covered as a candidate differs from coverage as president -
2012 LIVE looks only at fundraising and polls
• Obama also covered through attacks made by potential Republican candidates

10. Politico’s Republican Field
Sarah Palin
Tim Pawlenty
Donald Trump
Mike Huckabee
Rudy Guliani
Rick Santorum
Ron Paul
Jon Huntsman
Haley Barbour
Newt Gingrinch
Mitt Romney
Chris Cristie Michelle Bachmann
Mitch Daniels
Herman Cain Gary Johnson George Pataki
Jim DeMint John Bolton

11. FiveThirtyEight
•Cautious coverage of polling data and national trends
•There’s Nothing Special about Ohio
•Models Can Be Superficial in Politics, Too
•“Reads and Reactions” includes a weekly summary of posts, and
responses to them by other bloggers and news organizations,
supporting the community of online news
• Talks about candidates potential in early states - Iowa, New Hampshire,
Nevada - focuses on Romney, Palin, Pawlenty as frontrunners
• Uses Intrade to assess possibility of frontrunners winning Iowa - The
Talented Mr. Romney
• Coverage of Obama looks at impact of recent administration decisions
on polling data
• Libya

12. In Coverage of 2012
Candidates, the Blogs and
the Beltway Divide
“The next question is
whether there is any predictive
power in this information at this
early stage, when many other
indicators, like polls, remain
relatively unreliable. And if so,
should a candidate prefer to be
mentioned more often in the
blogosphere or in the traditional
media? Is one of these metrics
a leading indicator and the
other a lagging one?”

13. Hot Air
• Less coverage of 2012 than Politico or FiveThirtyEight, dominant theme
is that Obama is wrong
• Headlines at the top, Hot Links to many other conservative oriented
blogs and news sources
• Reposts and adds commentary to stories from other sources
• Comments on polling data about the large Republican field
• Gallup: Huckabee leading a broad GOP pack
• Seemingly less focused on Republican field than 538 or Politico -
instead, mostly a collection of any negative story about Obama.
• “Obamateurism of the Day”

14. Analog vs Digital
• How does the tone differ between online and analog news?
• FiveThirtyEight and Hot Air have a more casual tone than Washington Post or
Politico - talk directly to readers and encourage comments and feedback
• Tone is not necessarily a reflection of online or analog, so much as the goal of the
organization
• What is more or less compelling about the approach of the online sources?
• Ability to start a conversation - both between readers and across blogs
• If you were a candidate, where would you want to focus your efforts?
• Blogs are more likely to attract niche readers
• Washington “insiders” on Politico, statistics nerds on 538, conservative base
on Hot Air
• “Analog” news may still reach a greater number of swing voters
• However, a good blog post can generate more news than a single news story
• Reblogs with reactions and added commentary