memeorandum: Alan Greenspan's Bank Capital Fraud (Matthew Yglesias/Slate)

1:00 PM ET, October 23, 2013

Top Items:

Greg Botelho / CNN:

HHS chief: President didn't know of Obamacare website woes beforehand — (CNN) — President Barack Obama didn't know about the problems with the Affordable Care Act's website — despite complaints from insurance companies and the site's crashing during a test run — until days …

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Approval of Affordable Care Act Inches Up — More Democrats now approve of the law, while most Republicans still disapprove — PRINCETON, NJ — Despite the highly publicized technical issues that have plagued the government's health insurance exchange website that went live on Oct. 1 …

Discussion: The Hill, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, Liberaland, Washington Post and Post Politics

Chicago Tribune:
Fixing software won't fix Obamacare

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, PoliticusUSA and Talking Points Memo

Josh Gerstein / Reuters:
Next up after website glitches: The lawsuits

Discussion: Politico, The Hugh Hewitt Show and Hot Air

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
Seven ‘Solutions’ That Won't Save Obamacare

Discussion: The Incidental Economist and PJ Media

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Sebelius Thrust Into Firestorm on Exchanges

Discussion: The Plum Line, Politico, CNN and Power Line

Abby D. Phillip / ABC News:
Paul Ryan Calls for HHS Chief to Step Down for Obamacare Rollout

Discussion: Power Line, The Hill, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Sebelius: Obama Did Not Know About Obamacare Website Glitches

Discussion: Hit & Run, Betsy's Page, Infowars and Weekly Standard

Juliet Eilperin / Post Politics:
Senior HHS official to brief Democratic lawmakers Wednesday on Obamacare

Discussion: National Republican …, The Fix, Politico, Independent Journal Review, Hot Air, CNN, Yahoo! News, Washington Wire, The Hill, Daily Kos and ThinkProgress

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: White House Official Fired for Tweeting Under Fake Name — A White House national security official was fired last week after being caught as the mystery Tweeter who has been tormenting the foreign policy community with insulting comments and revealing internal Obama administration information for over two years.

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

NSC aide admits Twitter attack on White House — A senior National Security Council staffer who was a key member of the White House team negotiating on Iran's nuclear weapons program told POLITICO he deeply regrets tweeting hundreds of anti-administration messages under the pseudonym @natsecwonk.

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Talking Points Memo, Liberaland, Reuters, delawareonline, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Verge, Guardian, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Durbin: House leader told Obama ‘I cannot even stand to look at you’ — A top Senate Democrat said that a leading House Republican told President Obama that they could not ‘even stand to look at you’ during negotiations over the government shutdown. — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville, Business Insider, The PJ Tatler and theGrio

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Dick Durbin: GOP leader told Obama ‘I cannot even stand to look at you’ — The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin, says that a House Republican leader told off President Barack Obama during a negotiation meeting, and that they are so disrespectful it's practically impossible to have a conversation with them.

Discussion: National Review, Mediaite, Liberaland and Weasel Zippers

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
A Republican Senator Doubts His Party Can Govern

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Power Line

John Grisham / CBS News:

HealthCare.gov pricing feature can be off the mark — (CBS News) CBS News has uncovered a serious pricing problem with HealthCare.gov. It stems from the Obama administration's efforts to improve its health care website. A new online feature can dramatically underestimate the cost of insurance.

Discussion: Hot Air, Independent Journal Review, The Heritage Foundation, Conservative Intelligence …, Healthy buzz, Moe Lane, The Spectacle Blog, Washington Free Beacon and The PJ Tatler

New York Times:

Obama's Uncertain Path Amid Syria Bloodshed — WASHINGTON — With rebel forces in Syria in retreat and the Obama administration's policy toward the war-ravaged country in disarray, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived at the White House Situation Room one day in June with a document bearing a warning.

Discussion: Via Meadia, United Nations, emptywheel, Mediaite, Daniel W. Drezner, First Read and Althouse

Daily Mail:

Saudi Arabia severs diplomatic ties with US over response to conflict in Syria — Saudi diplomats now promise a ‘major shift’ in relations with the U.S. over inaction in the conflict in Syria — Secretary of State John Kerry says he is committed to keeping a good relationship with the Saudis

Discussion: Jihad Watch and VodkaPundit

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

Alan Greenspan's Bank Capital Fraud — I'm a little surprised to find myself saying this, but I think David Dayen's managed to be too soft on Alan Greenspan in his take on Greenspan's new book The Map and the Territory. It's true that Greenspan's 2004-vintage pimping for adjustable-rate mortgages …

David Dayen / The New Republic:
The Media Can't Stop Sucking Up to Alan Greenspan

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

In Utah, tea party favorite Sen. Lee faces GOP backlash over government shutdown — SALT LAKE CITY — When Mike Lee toppled longtime Republican Sen. Robert F. Bennett here in 2010, it was the tea party's first big triumph. But now, after a 16-day government shutdown, it's Lee who faces a revolt within his own party.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Wall Street Journal and Taegan Goddard's …

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Sen. Mike Lee Takes Heat At Home Over Shutdown

Discussion: The Raw Story

Salt Lake Tribune:

The hidden room inside Mitt Romney's new Utah house — Holladay » The front door of Mitt Romney's soon-to-be-constructed Holladay house opens to a massive living room, and to your left, around the fireplace, lies a study. — If you look closely at the bookshelves there, you find something interesting: a secret door.

Discussion: Liberaland

Sarah Hedgecock / Gawker:

Unsecured AR-15 Stolen from Pro-Gun Congresswoman's Home — According to her website, U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers “believes that gun owners must be responsible for the use and care of their guns.” Maybe she should listen to her own advice. — An AR-15 rifle was reportedly stolen from her home …

Discussion: Liberaland and The Raw Story

Andrew Kenney / Raleigh News & Observer:
Unsecured AR-15 rifle reported stolen from U.S. Rep. Ellmers' home

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

No Reason, Just Hate: That's a Modern Liberal — The Left's hatred for conservatives has become so obsessive that it is hard to engage a liberal in rational discussion of any public policy issue. Take the Keystone XL pipeline: I think it is obviously a good idea, but if a liberal wants to argue to the contrary, fine.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Grist and Truthdig

Doug Palmer / Politico:

Does President Obama have chops to wrap up his trade deals? — Some presidents have a natural affinity for trade deals, but in the first year of his administration, President Barack Obama seemed to many observers like he couldn't care less. He appointed a likable Dallas mayor without …

Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:

BREAKING: Judge Refuses to Dismiss Case Challenging Obamacare Subsidies — UPDATE: The judge will not issue an injunction to stop the IRS from issuing subsidies, meaning Obamacare can move forward as planned. However, the lawsuit will also move forward and depending on the outcome, could limit IRS power to issue Obamacare subsidies.

Discussion: protein wisdom

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Will Ryan cut a deal? — Washington is wondering: Will Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) cut a deal? — Ryan faces a crucial moment in his political career as the formal House-Senate budget conference gets underway. — Those who want to see a deal — a group that includes deficit hawks …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Ezekiel J. Emanuel / New York Times:

How to Fix the Glitches — PHILADELPHIA — NOW that we are past the government shutdown and debt ceiling debacles, all eyes are on Obamacare. For the last three weeks, the rollout of the federal exchange Web site, a centerpiece of the law, has been riddled with problems, leaving millions of Americans frustrated and dismayed.