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

2:25 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: 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

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

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, VodkaPundit, New Yorker, Business Insider, Washington Free Beacon, Slate and kyivpost.com

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BillMoyers.com and Prairie Weather

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

Discussion: Mediaite

New York Times:
Russia's Aggression

Discussion: USA Today, Fox News, The Huffington Post, Politico and kyivpost.com

Masha Lipman / News Desk:
Putin's Nationalist Strategy

Discussion: Guardian, Firedoglake and The Dish

Bloomberg:
Russia Gas Threat Shows Putin Using Pipelines to Press Ukraine

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico and kyivpost.com

Ben Judah / Politico:
Why Russia No Longer Fears the West

Discussion: Financial Times, Bloomberg View, The Fix and New York Times

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

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, Taegan Goddard's … and Roll Call

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:

Boehner To Run For Speaker Again, In ‘Better Shape’ With Caucus — House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) indicated he's in great shape to run for speaker again. — “I think I'm in better shape with my own caucus than I have ever been in the last three years,” Boehner said in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer posted on Monday.

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Monthly

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, ABC News, Shakesville and Black Youth Project

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, Post Politics and Taegan Goddard's …

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, TechCrunch, Gawker, Bangor Daily News, Politico, The Verge and The Huffington Post, 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

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 …