Republican Mega-Donors Quietly Celebrate Chris Christie's Marriage Surrender  —  Activists are angry, but GOP elites are praising Christie's step away from culture war.  “I mean, he's a rare guy who's been able to appeal to people with sincerely held beliefs on both sides of this issue.”

There's a New Political Story Line—and it's Good for Republicans  —  Better to be two warring tribes than a single reviled one.  —  The story most Democrats and progressive have long told about the GOP is that it's a party that has been captured by its right wing.  It's a fairly simple story to tell.

Barack Obama, Insurance Salesman in Chief  —  The president finally acknowledged the deep problems with Healthcare.gov, but rather that explain or dwell on them, he urged Americans to keep trying.  —  Of all the things Barack Obama ever expected to be during the course of his life …

Texas Judge Quits GOP Over Social Issues, Shutdown (VIDEO)  —  Carlo Key, a Republican judge in Bexar County, Texas, announced Monday in a campaign ad that he was leaving the Republican party and will run for re-election as a Democrat.  —  “I cannot tolerate a political party that demeans Texans based …

Poll: Major damage to GOP after shutdown, and broad dissatisfaction with government  —  Video: Will voters remember the shutdown next year?  Incumbents usually win elections.  But after a shutdown, near-default and historic lows in Congressional approval, voters are claiming they'll reverse that trend in 2014.

2 Dead, 2 Boys Hurt in Nevada School Shooting  —  Police say two people are dead and two more are injured in a shooting at Sparks Middle School in northern Nevada Monday morning.  —  Washoe County School District Police didn't immediately offer details of the identities of the dead.

Health insurance exchange launched despite signs of serious problems  —  Days before the launch of President Obama's online health ­insurance marketplace, government officials and contractors tested a key part of the Web site to see whether it could handle tens of thousands of consumers at the same time.

Medicaid expansion funding gets approval  —  Ending months of debate, a legislative oversight panel approved spending $2.56 billion in federal money today to expand Medicaid coverage to about 275,000 low-income Ohioans.  —  Almost immediately after the bipartisan 5-2 vote …

Why Obama Should Be Freaked Out Over Obamacare  —  It's worse than we know, this is the easy part, and millions of Americans could be hurt.  —  President Obama said Monday he's “frustrated” by the disastrous launch of an online computer marketplace for Obamacare.  Here are five reasons why frustration isn't enough.

And that's a good thing.  —  See Slate's complete coverage of Obamacare.  David Auerbach explains what's gone wrong with healthcare.gov, and David Weigel explains why Republicans are calling for Kathleen Sebelius to be fired.  —  Last week Canada's Supreme Court ruled that doctors …

Lonegan: The government shutdown cost me the election  —  Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan (Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)  —  Though Republican Steve Lonegan publicly supported the shutdown of the federal government during his campaign for U.S. Senate …

New, Improved Obamacare Program Released On 35 Floppy Disks  —  WASHINGTON—Responding to widespread criticism regarding its health care website, the federal government today unveiled its new, improved Obamacare program, which allows Americans to purchase health insurance after installing a software bundle contained on 35 floppy disks.

‘UNACCEPTABLE’: Obama ‘tech surge’ to fix health website — NYT: Repairs to take weeks; sign-up woes mask deep flaws — HOUSE DEM.  RECRUITS HOP OFF FENCE — Smoot Tewes Group launch  —  DRIVING THE DAY - Changes to Healthcare.gov, per a senior administration official: “Making sure that consumers know they can apply by phone. ...

At the White House: Obamacare success stories that aren't  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL WHITE HOUSE BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE PRESIDENT HEALTH CARE  —  President Obamainvited a number of people to stand behind him as he delivered his speech on the state of Obamacare at the White House Monday morning.