memeorandum: Issa tries to ‘clear the air’ with Rep. Cummings (Mary Grace Lucas/CNN)

1:25 AM ET, March 7, 2014

Top Items:

Henry A. Kissinger / Washington Post:

How the Ukraine crisis ends — Henry A. Kissinger was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977. — Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going? In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support …

Discussion: TIME, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Mediaite, Capitol Report, Fox News, Booman Tribune, The Belgravia Dispatch and US Department of State

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

President Obama, Vladimir Putin speak on Ukraine crisis — President Barack Obama held an hour-long telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday afternoon in an effort to resolve the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, according to the White House.

Discussion: Red Alert Politics

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Ukraine Throws Wrench Into Obama Vacation Plan

Discussion: Politico

Mark Mardell / BBC:
Ukraine crisis: Crimea parliament asks to join Russia

Discussion: The Monkey Cage, Paper Chase, Firedoglake, RIA Novosti and Guardian

New York Times:
U.S. Announces New Sanctions in Ukraine Crisis

Discussion: Business Insider, JustOneMinute and Gawker

CNN:
Ukrainian leader rejects referendum on splitting Crimea

Discussion: RT, Global Public Square and Taylor Marsh

John Nichols / thenation.com/blogs/117:

Bernie Sanders: ‘I Am Prepared to Run for President of the United States’ — Bernie Sanders says he is “prepared to run for president of the United States.” That's not a formal announcement. A lot can change between now and 2016, and the populist senator from Vermont bristles at the whole notion of a permanent campaign.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Ricochet Conversations Feed, No More Mister Nice Blog, Post Politics, Politico, OnPolitics, CNN, Americans Against the …, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, PoliticusUSA and Liberaland

Jay Newton-Small / TIME:

TIME Newsmaker Interview: Bernie Sanders Says He'd Make a Better President Than Hillary Clinton — The Independent Senator from Vermont said in a wide-ranging interview with TIME that Clinton is a “very, very intelligent person” but doubts that she will help bring about the …

Discussion: Mediaite, Weekly Standard and Red Alert Politics

Wesley Lowery / The Fix:

Black caucus wants Issa stripped of committee chairmanship — In a strongly worded letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the Congressional Black Caucus called for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to be stripped of his House committee chairmanship after he abruptly ended …

Discussion: Twitchy, Rush Limbaugh, Mediaite, Capitol Report, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, ThinkProgress and Post Politics

Mary Grace Lucas / CNN:

Issa tries to ‘clear the air’ with Rep. Cummings — One day after cutting off his Democratic counterpart's microphone, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa telephoned ranking member Elijah Cummings and apologized. — Issa tweeted Thursday evening, “I just wanted to clear the air with @RepCummings.”

Discussion: Politico

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Dems slam Darrell Issa in resolution

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Mahablog and Washington Post

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

McCain Least Popular Senator in Country —PPP's newest Arizona poll finds that John McCain is unpopular with Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike and has now become the least popular Senator in the country. Only 30% of Arizonans approve of the job McCain is doing to 54% who disapprove.

Discussion: The Dish, PoliticusUSA, Washington Monthly and Hullabaloo

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Poll: John McCain's low job approval

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:

New health insurance marketplaces signing up few uninsured Americans, two surveys find — The new health insurance marketplaces appear to be making little headway in signing up Americans who lack insurance, the Affordable Care Act's central goal, according to a pair of new surveys.

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air and Hit & Run

Galen Institute:
37 Changes to ObamaCare...So Far

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Heritage Foundation, Forbes, The Hill and Washington Post

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Donald Trump Thinks Jimmy Carter Is Dead — Real estate mogul Donald Trump seems to think former President Jimmy Carter is dead. — Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Trump referred to the former president as the “late, great Jimmy Carter:”

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Donald Trump Thinks Jimmy Carter Is Dead

Discussion: Mediaite, Red Alert Politics, OnPolitics and ABC News

Stars & Stripes:

Army's top sex assault prosecutor suspended after assault allegation … WASHINGTON — The top Army prosecutor for sexual assault cases has been suspended after a lawyer who worked for him recently reported he'd groped her and tried to kiss her at a sexual-assault legal conference more than two years ago.

Discussion: New York Times, ThinkProgress, The New Republic, Washington Post, Guardian, The Raw Story, Gawker, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

CPAC 2014: Chris Christie jabs Barack Obama, media — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Gov. Chris Christie lashed out at the media and blasted President Barack Obama's leadership during Thursday's gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference, his first major speech to a crowd …

Discussion: CNN and Eschaton

Elianayjohnson / National Review: Standing Ovation for Chris Christie from CPAC Crowd

Washington Post: Poll finds Republicans resistant to Chris Christie presidential candidacy

Andrew Klavan / City Journal:

A New Thing on Netflix — House of Cards is not a conservative show—except when it is. — House of Cards, the Netflix series about a lethally unscrupulous Washington politician, is a wonderful show, but it does sometimes stretch the limits of credulity.

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Number of Americans Saying ACA Has Hurt Them Inches Up — Stark contrast along party lines on whether the law has helped or hurt — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although several parts of the Affordable Care Act have yet to be implemented, 23% of Americans say the healthcare law has hurt them or their families …

Discussion: Hot Air, Bloomberg View and Hit & Run

WFMY-TV:

First Look: Game Passed Around Alamance Sheriff's Office — Within hundreds of pages of evidence form the the US Justice Department's suit are pictures of a video game. — CONNECT — BURLINGTON, N.C. - Within hundreds of pages of evidence from the the U-S Justice Department's suit …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story

Politico:

Kirsten Gillibrand's sexual assault bill derailed — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand came up short Thursday in her yearlong campaign to overhaul military sexual-assault policies, falling five votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. — The New York Democrat's bill …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Marco Rubio Fires Up CPAC with Speech Defining America's Post-Obama Foreign Policy — On Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) addressed the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference attendees with a fiery speech focused on redefining America's approach to foreign affairs.

Discussion: Hot Air

Politico:

Michigan Senate election 2014: Gary Peters gets new campaign chief — With Michigan looming as a now key Senate race, Democratic Rep. Gary Peters, who is locked in a tight battle with Republican Terri Lynn Land, has replaced his campaign manager. — Paul Tencher, who ran …

Discussion: RedState

Eugene Volokh / Washington Post:

What would Salon think of an article called, 'Why I can't stand Asian musicians who play Beethoven'? — In this file photo, cellist Yo-Yo Ma (left) and Condoleezza Rice (right) hold hands after playing a duet during the National Endowment for the Arts National Medal of Arts Awards ceremony …

Discussion: NewsBusters, Balloon Juice, Althouse and The Daily Banter

ABC News:

Dalai Lama Opens Senate Session With Prayer — By DONNA CASSATA Associated Press And on Thursday, the Dalai Lama prayed in the U.S. Senate. — With dozen of lawmakers listening raptly, the Nobel laureate from Tibet opened the session with his favorite prayer and words of advice.

Discussion: CNN and Politico