Politics

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FILE - In this July 18, 2012, file photo, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talks about the drought during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. Vilsack has some harsh words for rural America: It's "becoming less and less relevant," he says. A month after an election that Democrats won even as rural parts of the country voted overwhelmingly Republican, the former Democratic governor of Iowa told farm belt leaders this past week that he's frustrated with their internecine squabbles and says they need to be more strategic in picking their political fights. "It's time for us to have an adult conversation with folks in rural America," Vilsack said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal. "It's time for a different thought process here, in my view." He said rural America's biggest assets — the food supply, recreational areas and energy, for example — can be overlooked by people elsewhere as the U.S. population shifts more to cities, their suburbs and exurbs. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

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In this Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 photo, a Syrian rebel recites verses of the Quran after clashes with troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad in Aleppo, Syria. As fears grow in the West that Assad will unleash chemical weapons as an act of desperation, NATO moved forward Thursday with its plan to place Patriot missiles and troops along Syria's border with Turkey to protect against potential attacks. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

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President Obama (right) walks with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner toward the Oval Office at the White House in Washington as he returns from speaking about the "fiscal cliff" at the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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An Egyptian passes riot policemen guarding a gate of the presidential palace under a banner with a defaced picture of president Mohammed Morsi and Arabic that reads "the people want to bring down the regime," at the protests site, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Egypt's military has warned of 'disastrous consequences' if the political crisis gripping the country is not resolved through dialogue. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

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Jim Hardwick of Dallas, Texas is wheeled away after laying a wreath at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 during the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony. Mr. Hardwick, who was 17 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, served in the Pacific in World War II. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A U.S. Marine plays "Taps" at the end of the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. This marks the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A total of nine wreaths were laid at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Today marks the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A U.S. Park Police officer salutes as the United States Armed Forces Color Guard presents the colors at the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Gunnery Sgt. Chris Clark is reflected in his trombone as he plays with the Marine Band brass quintet at the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, at the National World War II Memorial in Washington. (The Washington Times)

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CSC Marsha Stepp, left, U.S. Navy Reserves, talks with Olaf Miller of McLean, Va., who served with the U.S. Army at what was then Fort Hoyl but is now part of Aberdeen in 1942. Mr. Miller was one of several World War II veterans who came out to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)