The Midday Brief: Nov. 29, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Union Leader editorial page editor Drew Cline said a few days ago that the two favorites for the newspaper's endorsement had been Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry. But unlike Gingrich, he writes today, Perry proved himself  'woefully unprepared' to run for president: 'He did more than misspeak. He did more than recklessly attack his own base and generally act like the class bully assigned to spend study hall with the chess club. He did more than forget his talking points and display an uncomfortable lack of knowledge of important topics. He simply suffocated.'" — Union Leader editor calls Rick Perry 'woefully unprepared' for 2012 race, Politico

• "Herman Cain told members of his campaign staff on Tuesday that he was reassessing whether to proceed with his presidential campaign, an aide confirmed, a day after an Atlanta woman disclosed details of what she said was a 13-year affair with him." — Cain Reassessing Candidacy Amid New Allegations, The New York Times

• "Newt Gingrich stands to benefit if Herman Cain were to withdraw or lose support in the Republican presidential race, according to a Public Policy Pollreleased on Tuesday." — Poll: Gingrich would pick up Cain supporters, The Hill

• "At a town hall meeting at the Institute of Politics at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm’s College Tuesday, Rick Perry asked that all of the college students in the crowd who will be 21 by Nov. 12 support his bid for the presidency." — Rick Perry gets U.S. voting age wrong in New Hampshire, The Washington Post

• "Texas and New England may soon run short of the generating capacity they need to reliably meet peak loads, largely because old plants will be retired rather than retrofitted to meet new pollution rules, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation reported on Monday." — Will the Lights Stay On in Texas and New England?, The New York Times

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Gov. Rick Perry, hoping to win back voters who think he's weak on illegal immigration, is promising to detain and deport every illegal border crosser if elected president. Perry made the remarks right after picking up the endorsement of Joe Arpaio, the tough-talking sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. Texas Democrats attacked Perry for campaigning with Arpaio, calling him 'one of the most xenophobic figures in the country.'" — Perry Gets Nod From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio

• "Texas senators cut their expenses by a meager 1 percent from August 2010 to 2011: $101,000. That’s not much compared to more than $1 million they saved in 2010. Use our interactive to see how the senators spent taxpayer money in 2011." — Interactive: Texas Senators' 2011 Spending