Politics

20110810-214014-pic-227587790.jpg

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is not participating in the Ames, Iowa, debate and isn't on Saturday's straw poll ballot, but his name is on the lips of Republican officials across the state as a strong candidate. (Associated Press)

20110810-211904-pic-680213530.jpg

COMING TO DEBATE: Mitt Romney will face other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in a debate in Iowa on Thursday. (Associated Press)

20110810-211904-pic-462814035.jpg

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney answers reporters' questions after he talked about the economy at Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa, on Wednesday. He'll be participating in a debate with other Republican presidential candidates on Thursday. (Associated Press)

KING_09

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray holds a press conference to announce activities and events leading up to the dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_08

A sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. emerges from the "Stone of Hope" and looks out over the water. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_06

At right in the blue suit, President/CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Harry E. Johnson gives D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton a tour at the site of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_05

The walls of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial contain engraved quotations from King. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_04

From left, D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Mayor Vincent are seen during a press conference at the site of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_03

Construction continues at the site of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_02

The sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. is seen at the site of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

KING_01

President and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Harry E. Johnson gestures while giving D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton a tour at the site of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

20110810-210257-pic-6636668.jpg

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. gestures while speaking on Capitol Hill Friday, July 8, 2011, in Washington, to discuss the debt ceiling. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

20110810-204548-pic-327782514.jpg

Education Secretary Arne Duncan (left) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, take part in an education forum on Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Duncan plans to reward states, among them Tennessee, with waivers from the No Child Left Behind education law. (Associated Press)

20110810-204137-pic-6636668.jpg

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. gestures while speaking on Capitol Hill Friday, July 8, 2011, in Washington, to discuss the debt ceiling. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

20110810-194724-pic-478503.jpg

Harry E. Johnson (center), president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, gives D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton a tour of the memorial Wednesday in anticipation of its dedication at the end of August. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

Terror Hearings_Reps.jpg

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King, New York Republican, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 27, 2011, for the committee's hearing on Islamic radicalization in the US, focusing on recruitment within the Muslim American community. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)