Romney: The Price of Failed Leadership  —  The President's failure to act when action was possible has diminished respect for the U.S. and made troubles worse.

Are Transponders the Main Problem?  In a Word, No  —  My friend and colleague Gregg Easterbrook has an op-ed in the NYT today saying that one big lesson of the 9/11 attacks, which should be re-learned because of the Malaysia 370 mystery, is that pilots should not be able to turn off the transponders in their planes.

The rich strike back  —  NEW YORK — Just a few months ago, it looked like 2014 would be the year of the populist, with Democrats running on economic inequality, tea party Republicans bashing banks and newly minted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pledging to soak the rich with higher taxes.

Crimea secedes.  So what?  —  Residents of Crimea voted over the weekend on whether they would remain an autonomous region of Ukraine or join the Russian Federation.  In so doing, they joined a number of countries and regions — including recently Scotland, Catalonia and Venice …

NSA surveillance program reaches ‘into the past’ to retrieve, replay phone calls  —  The National Security Agency has built a surveillance system capable of recording “100 percent” of a foreign country's telephone calls, enabling the agency to rewind and review conversations as long as a month …

Defying West, Putin Signs Treaty to Annex Crimea  —  MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin claimed Crimea as a part of Russia on Tuesday, reversing what he described as a historical mistake made by the Soviet Union 60 years ago and brushing aside international condemnation that could leave Russia deeply isolated for years to come.

The kids are all right.  ObamaCare's not so hot.  —  What's the matter with kids today?  Dana Milbank, a grumpy old man at the Washington Post, would like to know.  He's not literally talking about kids, but about voting age adults—the “army of 15 million voters under 30” who “swept …

Bill de Blasio's war for poverty  —  This year, many on the left are celebrating 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson declared his War on Poverty — an era that saw the creation of massive new government programs that liberals proclaimed would raise living standards for the poor.

Wendy Davis Is One Step Closer To Turning Texas Purple  —  A new poll shows Wendy Davis within single digits of her Republican opponent—one more sign that Texas's voters are no longer reliably red.  —  Let's start by stating the obvious: It is hard for a Democrat to win statewide office in Texas today.

2 die in news helicopter crash at KOMO-TV  —  Firefighters stand next to the site where a KOMO TV helicopter fell to the ground during take-off this morning (Photo by Brian Rosenthal / The Seattle Times)  —  At least two people died this morning when a KOMO-TV helicopter crashed on the street outside Fisher Plaza.

RNC Chair: ‘Tsunami’ Election Coming, Especially In The Senate  —  The way Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus sees it, 2014 won't be an average election for the party out of power.  It'll be a “tsunami” wave election.  —  At a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast …

Fred Phelps Reportedly Ousted For Advocating ‘Kinder’ Westboro Baptist Church  —  The ailing founder of the Westboro Baptist Church was excommunicated for encouraging church members to be “kinder” to one another, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported Monday.  —  That approach didn't go over …

Colorado Senate Close, Hickenlooper grows lead  —  PPP's newest Colorado poll finds that the Senate race remains very competitive, although not that much closer with Cory Gardner in the race than it was with Ken Buck.  Our last poll of the state, in early December, found Mark Udall leading Buck by 4 points.