memeorandum: Harry Reid: Iran nuclear deal an ‘important first step’ (Burgess Everett/Politico)

4:25 PM ET, November 25, 2013

Top Items:

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Dems worry leaders in denial on Obamacare — Democratic leaders claim the bungled launch of Obamacare is just the latest news sensation — a media-stirred tempest that looks in the heat of the moment like it could upend the midterm election, but ends up fizzling well before voters head to the polls.

Discussion: CNN, NationalJournal.com, USA Today, Hot Air, BizPac Review, The Other McCain and Betsy's Page

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

Filibuster's end imperils Sebelius — Kathleen Sebelius may become the biggest loser in the Senate's approval of filibuster reform. — The Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary has kept her job despite the botched rollout of ObamaCare's insurance exchanges, but it will now be easier for Obama to replace her.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Power Line, Politico, The PJ Tatler and The Volokh Conspiracy

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
USA Today won't publish handout photos from White House

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Guardian, Pat Dollard, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

The Fix:
Republicans embrace Wag-the-Dog-ism

Discussion: CBS DC and Washington Post

Niall Stanage / The Hill:
For flailing Obama, it's fixing healthcare, stupid

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Deal or No Deal — The final details of a nuclear agreement signed over the weekend between Iran and Western nations will not actually go into effect until further negotiations take place at a later date, according to a senior administration official and sources on Capitol Hill.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Reuters, Jihad Watch, The PJ Tatler and JP Updates

Gershom Gorenberg / American Prospect:

Bibi's Agreement Anxiety Disorder — To explain Benjamin Netanyahu's frenzied reaction to the Geneva agreement on Iran's nuclear program, let me begin with the stack of brown cardboard boxes under my wife's desk. — Each of the five cartons contains a gas mask and related paraphernalia …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, Booman Tribune, Power Line, The Week and The Moderate Voice

Jerusalem Post:
Netanyahu: Israel to send team to US to work on final Iran nuclear deal

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Jawa Report, Israel Matzav, www.whoradio.com, Washington Post, The Hugh Hewitt Show and First Read

Jeffrey Goldberg / Bloomberg:
In Iran, Obama Achieves 50 Percent of His Goals

Discussion: Washington Post, The Plum Line, Associated Press, Hot Air, BuzzFeed, Politico and Little Green Footballs

Brian Beutler / Salon:

Right-wing extremists face new moral conundrum — When Healthcare.gov actually starts working, GOP will have to choose between politics or their constituents' health — The confluence of two pieces of news last week will place Republicans at a moral crossroads — either by this weekend …

Discussion: Twitchy, The Plum Line, Weasel Zippers and Liberaland

Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:

Top U.S. hospital laying off staff due to Obamacare — The Cleveland Clinic, which is ranked among the top four U.S. hospitals, is making layoffs and cutting its budget more than $100 million as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act, the Daily Caller has learned.

Discussion: BizPac Review

Franklin Foer / The New Republic:

Obamacare's Threat to Liberalism — There's a term of art that the Obama White House uses to describe its neurotic supporters who instantly race to the worst-case scenario: They are known as “bed-wetters.” Two months into the dysfunctional life of healthcare.gov, however, that seems a perfectly appropriate physiological reaction.

Discussion: Power Line and The American Mind

Alex Kane / Mondoweiss:

Senator Chuck Schumer promises more Iran sanctions, vows to ‘defeat’ Arab world and Palestinians — New York Senator Chuck Schumer was his usual hawkish self on Sunday evening. In an address to the OHEL Children's Home and Family Services gala, Schumer railed against the deal …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, MJ Rosenberg, Talking Points Memo, JP Updates and The Daily Caller

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Harry Reid: Iran nuclear deal an ‘important first step’

Discussion: JP Updates and The Hill

Bernie Becker / The Hill:
Top Dems, Republicans blast Obama's nuke deal with Iran

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, BillMoyers.com, The Week, Heritage Action for America, CNN, Power Line, Faster, Please!, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and Guardian

Economics Policies for the 21st Century:

No Grounds for Claim that Obamacare Lowers Healthcare Costs — Public support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has plummeted now that the oft-repeated claim that “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it” is widely understood to be untrue. Despite previous assurances …

Discussion: National Review

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
No, the Failure of Obamacare Would Not Lead to Single-Payer

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Economix

CNN:

President's marks as manager take hit in new CNN/ORC poll — Washington (CNN) - Only four out of 10 Americans believe President Barack Obama can manage the federal government effectively, according to a new national poll. — And a CNN/ORC International survey released Monday morning …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Politico, LifeNews.com, Talking Points Memo, Post Politics, The PJ Tatler, The Gateway Pundit and National Review

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:

Four Adults Charged With Helping Cover Up The Steubenville Rape Case — CREDIT: AP Photo/Steubenville Herald-Star, Michael D. McElwain — On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that the grand jury investigating the Steubenville rape case has charged four adults in the community …

Discussion: WTVR-TV, RH Reality Check, NPR and Shakesville

Eric W. Dolan / The Raw Story:

Noam Chomsky slaps down 9/11 truther: People spend an hour on the Internet and think they know physics — MIT professor Noam Chomsky doesn't know what happened to “Building 7″ of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. — But he is convinced that so-called “9/11 Truthers” don't have the answer.

Discussion: Mediaite

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:

Crossroads GPS Spent More On Politics Than It Reported To IRS — You know what they say: a million here, a million there, pretty soon you're talking real dark money. — ProPublica on Monday documented how the Karl Rove-linked dark money group Crossroads GPS spent about $11 million …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

ProPublica:
New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove's Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said

Discussion: Firedoglake and PoliticusUSA

Yahoo:

Welcome aboard, Katie. Anchors aweigh! — Today, I am incredibly excited to announce that Katie Couric is joining Yahoo as our Global Anchor. Starting in early 2014, Katie will lead a growing team of correspondents at Yahoo News who will cover the world's most interesting stories and newsmakers.

Discussion: Politico, TechCrunch, Business Insider, AllThingsD, Mediaite and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Chicago Tribune:

Employers could drop health care — Is that the next potential consequence of Obamacare? — The White House said President Barack Obama urged insurance companies at a meeting on Friday to offer to quickly renew healthcare policies that were canceled because they did not meet standards in the new Obamacare program.

Discussion: Hot Air

Mark Joseph / USA Today:

No, Oprah, America isn't racist: Column — President Obama isn't loathed for his skin color. — CONNECT — Shortly before receiving the medal of freedom from President Obama, Oprah Winfrey gave an interview to the BBC in which she seemed to chalk up much of the opposition to the president to racism …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:

Herring wins Virginia attorney general race, elections board announces — RICHMOND — The state Board of Elections on Monday certified Democrat Mark Herring as the winner of the Nov. 5 election for Virginia attorney general, even as the board chairman raised questions about the “integrity” of the vote tallies.

Discussion: Politico, Feeds, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

California, Here We Come? — It goes without saying that the rollout of Obamacare was an epic disaster. But what kind of disaster was it? Was it a failure of management, messing up the initial implementation of a fundamentally sound policy? Or was it a demonstration that the Affordable Care Act is inherently unworkable?

Discussion: AEIdeas, Health Care Policy …, National Review, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Balloon Juice and PoliticusUSA