memeorandum: Boehner Seeking Democrats' Help on Fiscal Talks (Jonathan Weisman/New York Times)

11:40 AM ET, September 13, 2013

Top Items:

Poll Finds Republicans Gain Favor on Key Issues — The Republican Party is gaining a public-opinion edge on several key issues ahead of the 2014 elections, as Americans question President Barack Obama's leadership on Syria and worry about the country's overall direction, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.

Discussion: Firedoglake, American Power, The Hill and Washington Free Beacon

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

NBC/WSJ poll: GOP on the rise — Republicans are now leading Democrats on handling several key issues, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. — The poll, released Friday, shows more Americans think that the Republicans are doing a better job on the economy, foreign policy and reducing the federal deficit.

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

The House GOP Is About to Crack Up: Three Theories Why — Lots of people think John Boehner has lost control of the House Republican caucus. Apparently John Boehner does, too. — On Wednesday, the speaker and his lieutenants had to stage yet another embarrassing retreat—this time …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Business Insider, Wonkblog, Daily Kos, The Week, First Read and Mother Jones

Domenico Montanaro / NBCNews:

Poll: 44 percent of Americans oppose raising debt ceiling — Americans overwhelmingly do not think Congress should raise the nation's debt limit as President Barack Obama and Congress prepare once again to wage battle over the issue, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, Hot Air, National Review and Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Boehner Seeking Democrats' Help on Fiscal Talks — WASHINGTON — With Congress momentarily freed from the Syrian crisis, lawmakers plunged back into their bitter fiscal standoff on Thursday as Speaker John A. Boehner appealed to the Obama administration and Democratic leaders to help …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, First Read and Talking Points Memo

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

Forty-three House Republicans back bill to defund ObamaCare — Forty-three House Republicans on Thursday endorsed legislation that would keep the government open while defunding ObamaCare. — The sponsorship total reveals that there is a significant bloc of opposition to a plan from GOP leaders …

Discussion: Roll Call and The Hill

The / Los Angeles Times:
GOP's unhealthy obsession with Obamacare

Discussion: Daily Kos

Politico:
Will Democrats haul out hookers in David Vitter fight?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Reuters and E2-Wire

Domenico Montanaro / NBCNews:
Wall Street remains highly unpopular five years after crisis

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, First Read and Washington Free Beacon

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
'Scuse Me, While I Kick the Sky

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

The fruits of epic incompetence — The president of the United States takes to the airwaves to urgently persuade the nation to pause before doing something it has no desire to do in the first place. — Strange. And it gets stranger still. That “strike Syria, maybe” …

Discussion: Defense One, Booman Tribune, VodkaPundit, Althouse, Yahoo! News, Right Turn, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Erik Wemple, ThinkProgress and Taegan Goddard's …

Steven T. Dennis / Roll Call:

Decisiveness Overrated? White House Thinks Yes — President Barack Obama's Syria strategy may not have been particularly decisive, but that's not a bad thing, according to the White House. — White House Press Secretary Jay Carney defended his boss Thursday after a blistering few weeks …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Right Wing News

Ian Swanson / The Hill: Putin gets his revenge on Obama

Roger Cohen / New York Times:
An Anchorless World — BERLIN — At dinner the other night …

Discussion: Fox News, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times and The New Republic

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Countering Putin, Rep. Israel pens column for Russian press

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Online Office …, Taylor Marsh, CNN, The Huffington Post, World News and The Hill

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

In Email, Zimmerman's Local Police Chief Agrees He's Another ‘Sandy Hook’ Waiting To Happen — Police Chief Steve Bracknell, who is responsible for the Florida town where George Zimmerman resides, agreed in a series of emails that Zimmerman is a “ticking time bomb” and another “Sandy Hook” waiting to happen.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Taylor Marsh, Salon, addictinginfo.org, Mediaite and Shakesville

Rod Bastanmehr / Alternet:

Trayvon Martin's Medical Examiner: Prosecution Threw the Case — Fired Zimmerman trial coroner says conviction was never going to happen. — A recent revelation in the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case could, and should spark a new wave of outrage. — Dr. Shiping Bao …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

James Arkin / Politico:

Rand Paul on dad's 9/11 jab — When asked Thursday about his father Ron Paul's comments that the 9/11 attacks “blowback” for U.S. intervention in the Middle East, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul focused not on the reasons for the attacks, but rather on the American response to them.

Discussion: Hot Air and Althouse

Facebook:
Ron Paul · 1,162,843 like this

Discussion: Right Turn and American Spectator

Wall Street Journal:

Elite Syrian Unit Scatters Chemical Arms Stockpile — Assad Regime Has Moved Weapons to as Many as 50 Sites — A secretive Syrian military unit at the center of the Assad regime's chemical weapons program has been moving stocks of poison gases and munitions to as many as 50 sites …

Discussion: Guardian, National Review, americanthinker.com, New York Times, Israel Matzav and NPR

Matthew Klein / Bloomberg:

Why Michael Woodford Thinks the Fed Should Taper — Michael Woodford is one of the world's preeminent monetary theorists, which is why you should read the thorough profile written about him by my colleagues at Bloomberg Markets. Buried inside the article is the revelation that Woodford wants …

Discussion: Paul Krugman and Marginal Revolution

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Obama Acts Like He Doesn't Know He's an Executive-Power Extremist — On the fake moderation of a president who talks a good game but doesn't follow through — It's often hard to tell if President Obama is lying to the American people or to himself. Is he willfully misrepresenting who he is?

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Monte Morin / Los Angeles Times:

NASA confirms Voyager 1 has left the solar system — This post has been corrected. See the note below for details. — NASA confirmed Thursday that after 36 years of space travel and months of heated debate among scientists, Voyager 1 has indeed left our solar system and had entered interstellar space more than a year ago.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Calculated Risk, Outside the Beltway, The Week and New York Times

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

Rand Paul On The War Path — Once dismissed by the GOP establishment as a gadfly, Paul is starting to look a lot like the leader of his party — and his enemies are panicking. “There's a big transition in the Republican Party,” the Kentucky senator says in a BuzzFeed interview. — John Gara

Discussion: BOR and Politico

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Rich Man's Recovery — A few days ago, The Times published a report on a society that is being undermined by extreme inequality. This society claims to reward the best and brightest regardless of family background. In practice, however, the children of the wealthy benefit from opportunities …

Discussion: Wonkblog, The Glittering Eye, Prairie Weather, The Daily Beast and Crooks and Liars

Peter Wehner / Commentary Magazine:

The Collapse of the Obama Presidency — How bad has 2013 been for Barack Obama? Let us count the ways. — In the first year of his second term, the president has failed on virtually every front. He put his prestige on the line to pass federal gun-control legislation-and lost.

Discussion: Power Line, Israel Matzav, Right Turn and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Julian Walker / Virginian-Pilot:

Trailing McAuliffe, Cuccinelli changes staff, focus — Some senior staff members working to get Ken Cuccinelli elected governor have had their roles redefined in a move that insiders say was made to reinvigorate the Republican's campaign. — The announcement at a Monday meeting …

Discussion: Yahoo! News and Taegan Goddard's …