memeorandum: House GOP budget will focus on reforming welfare, overhauling social programs (Robert Costa/Washington Post)

3:00 PM ET, March 3, 2014

Top Items:

President Obama's foreign policy is based on fantasy — FOR FIVE YEARS, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality. It was a world in which “the tide of war is receding” and the United States could, without much risk, radically reduce the size of its armed forces.

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Pressure Rising as Obama Works to Rein In Russia — WASHINGTON — As Russia dispatched more forces and tightened its grip on the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday, President Obama embarked on a strategy intended to isolate Moscow and prevent it from seizing more Ukrainian territory even as he was pressured at home to respond more forcefully.

David Weigel / Slate:

Democratic Senator: Crimea Crisis is Happening Because America Looked Weak in Syria — Every year, a large sector of the Washington Convention Center is occupied and bedazzled for the AIPAC Policy Conference. It's an overwhelming event, with optics and booming Hollywood soundtracks …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

CNN:

Tensions rise in Crimea amid report of Russian ultimatum — (CNN) — Russia has issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in Crimea to clear out by 5 a.m. Tuesday or face a “military storm,” according to Russian state-run news agency Interfax, which cited a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, US Department of State, The Daily Caller, nato.int and Weekly Standard

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Putin's error in Ukraine is the kind that leads to catastrophe

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Guardian, New York Times, Power Line, Daily Kos, The Week, The Fix, VodkaPundit, New Yorker, Business Insider, Washington Free Beacon, Slate and kyivpost.com

Russell Berman / The Hill:
US moves to isolate Russia from ‘community of civilized nations’

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, kyivpost.com, The Week, The Dish and The Democratic Daily

Anatol Lieven / Zocalo Public Square:
Why Obama Shouldn't Fall for Putin's Ukrainian Folly

Discussion: The Belgravia Dispatch, Guardian and Outside the Beltway

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
What to do about Putin's invasion of Ukraine?

Discussion: Hot Air

Michael Hirsh / National Journal:
In Ukraine, Obama's Biggest Test

Discussion: Mediaite

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Here's What Is Going To Happen With Ukraine

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BillMoyers.com and Prairie Weather

Masha Lipman / News Desk:
Putin's Nationalist Strategy

Discussion: Guardian, Firedoglake and The Dish

Jeffrey Goldberg / Bloomberg View:

Obama to Israel — Time Is Running Out — When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House tomorrow, President Barack Obama will tell him that his country could face a bleak future — one of international isolation and demographic disaster — if he refuses to endorse …

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Commentary Magazine, Business Insider, BizPac Review, Israel Matzav, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Israpundit, The PJ Tatler and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Walter Russell Mead:
Putin Invades Crimea: Obama Hardest Hit?

Discussion: Instapundit

Elliott Abrams / Weekly Standard:
If He Believes It, It Must Be So — On the eve of the Netanyahu visit …

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

Aryeh Tepper / Weekly Standard:
Does Abbas Recognize Israel as a Jewish State?

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Adiv Sterman / The Times of Israel:
Obama: US won't be able to defend Israel if peace talks fail

Discussion: Right Turn, Betsy's Page and The Gateway Pundit

Cincinnati.com:

Boehner to Enquirer: Putin a ‘thug’ — The time has come to join with Europe to impose sanctions against Russia, House Speaker John Boehner said in an exclusive meeting at The Enquirer Monday. — But Boehner did not say what sanctions should be taken in the wake of Russia's threatening military action in Ukraine.

Discussion: Politico, OnPolitics, The Plum Line, Post Politics, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and Taegan Goddard's …

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
Boehner To Run For Speaker Again, In ‘Better Shape’ With Caucus

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly and Roll Call

Larry Hannan / Florida Times Union:

Marissa Alexander's sentence could triple in ‘warning-shot’ case — A Jacksonville woman whose case generated outrage when she was sentenced to 20 years in prison may end up behind bars for 60 years for the same crime. — The Office of State Attorney Angela Corey will seek to put Marissa Alexander …

Discussion: The Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, Gone Viral Blog, theGrio, Dispatches from the Underclass, Shakesville, Black Youth Project and ABC News

Jay Newton-Small / TIME:

TIME Newsmaker Interview with John McCain: On Ukraine, Syria, Barack Obama, Chris Christie — Plus: His take on working with Obama on foreign policy, Chris Christie's survival and why climate change isn't dead — Tapping a black sharpy on his right hand, John McCain sat in his Senate offices …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, OnPolitics and Post Politics

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Waiting for Jeb — The 2016 presidential election is Jeb Bush's now-or-never-moment.

Discussion: The Reaction

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Democrats Try Wooing Ones Who Got Away: White Men — ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Frank Houston knows something about the longtime estrangement of white men from the Democratic Party. His family roots are in nearby Macomb County, the symbolic home of working-class Reagan Democrats who …

Discussion: The Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Democratic Strategist and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Catherine Shoard / Guardian:

Oscars 2014: 10 things we learned — The 86th Academy Awards are over. Here's our top takeaways from the night, from Meryl's moves to Matthew's megalomania — It turns out Hollywood knows about selfies … Remember that president guy? Barack somethingorother?

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Bangor Daily News, Gawker, TechCrunch, Politico, The Verge, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Gizmodo and Taylor Marsh, more at Mediagazer »

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Billionaire Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg ‘is planning to run for Senate seat in 2016’ — Sandberg, one of the business world's biggest champions of correcting gender inequality in the workplace, is eying a rebellion against Democratic Californian Senator Barbara Boxer

Discussion: Business Insider and The Raw Story

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

For lawmakers, an O-Care escape option — This year, members of Congress and thousands of their staffers are finally signing up for health insurance provided by an ObamaCare exchange, fulfilling their commitment to live under the same system that millions of other Americans will use.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air and Jammie Wearing Fools

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

If Given Control, McConnell Vows a Senate in Working Order — WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell still has a few obstacles to overcome to become Senate majority leader next year. First, he has to win his own primary and general election back in Kentucky, where his popularity has suffered.

Discussion: National Review and Taegan Goddard's …

Terry Eastland / Weekly Standard:

Will Senate Confirm Cop-Killer Advocate? — Last month the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The vote broke along party lines, 10-to-8. Over the weekend Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania became the first Democrat to oppose Adegbile.