memeorandum: Bush vets back in action (Cameron Joseph/The Hill)

10:05 AM ET, April 2, 2014

Top Items:

Behind the Obamacare surprise — There was a word White House officials had for Monday, the final day of Obamacare enrollment: “S—t-tastic.” — “S—t,” because they couldn't believe that the website had crashed again, and they couldn't get it back for hours.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Wall Street Journal:

If the law is now such a success, why are Senate Democrats still fleeing? — Suddenly ObamaCare is a roaring success, happy days are here again and liberals are euphoric, or claim to be. There are more than a few reasons to doubt this new fairy tale, not least the behavior of Senate Democrats running for re-election this year.

Discussion: Right Turn

David Martosko / Daily Mail:

‘The debate over repealing this law is over’: Obama boasts 7.1 MILLION have signed up to Obamacare - but study shows just 858,000 newly insured Americans have paid up! — President took a major victory lap and took political shots at Republicans, but ignored shortcomings in his administration's official numbers

Discussion: RedState, Weasel Zippers and Doug Ross

David Nather / Politico:

Obamacare critics: Hubida, hubida, hubida — Back in the fall, conservatives seized on the flubbed Obamacare rollout as proof that President Barack Obama's brand of liberalism doesn't work. — Now, the law's opponents aren't about to say that critique was wrong — but they've lost the best evidence they had.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Conservatives Discover That Obamacare Will Help A Lot Of People

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg View, Washington Examiner, National Review and Daily Kos

Jason Millman / Wonkblog: Here's why it doesn't matter that 7M signed up for Obamacare

Aamer Madhani / USA Today:
First Take: Obama basks after ACA enrollment turnaround

Discussion: The Agonist

New York Times:
Obama Claims Victory in Push for Insurance

Discussion: Philly.com

Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:

Anticipating November, Democrats act desperately — H.L. Mencken gets a workout in election years when voters are reminded by pundits of the curmudgeon's observation that no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. — Mean. But true?

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP gets O-Care angst

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Fact Checker, Washington Post, The Reaction and New York Times

James Carville / The Hill: O-Care a winning bet for Dems

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
It was worth it. Probably.

Discussion: Democracy in America, his vorpal sword, Outside the Beltway, The Plum Line, Washington Monthly and Bloomberg View

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Ted Cruz Has Reportedly Landed A Richer Book Deal Than Palin — Ted Cruz is about to get Sarah Palin money for his book deal. — In fact, the Washington Examiner reports that Cruz's deal with HarperCollins to write a “personal memoir about his controversial days in Washington and his vision …

Discussion: Liberaland

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Blockbuster book deal for Ted Cruz; $1.5m advance, bigger than Sarah Palin's — NEWT GINGRICH WASHINGTON SECRETS MARCO RUBIO PAUL RYAN 2016 ELECTIONS RAND PAUL TED CRUZ JOHN MCCAIN SARAH PALIN SCOTT WALKER BOBBY JINDAL — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a darling of the Tea Party and conservative movement …

Discussion: The Week and Mediaite

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Bush vets back in action — Bush veterans are striking back. — Senior officials from former President George W. Bush's administration are wading into the fight over the Republican Party's direction and future. — In conversations with The Hill, many White House alumni …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Prairie Weather

Associated Press: Ted Cruz Heads to Liberty U to Woo Evangelicals

Quinnipiac News + Events:

Release Detail — April 2, 2014 - Obama Approval Inches Up, Tied With Putin As Leader, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Say Putin Is Not Hitler, But Fear Military Action — Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Taegan Goddard's … and Real Clear Politics

Molly Redden / Mother Jones:

Hobby Lobby's Hypocrisy: The Company's Retirement Plan Invests in Contraception Manufacturers — When Hobby Lobby filed its case against Obamacare's contraception mandate, its retirement plan had more than $73 million invested in funds with stakes in contraception makers.

Discussion: Shakesville, The Raw Story, Bloomberg View, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Joe. My. God., susiemadrak.com and Jezebel

Washington Post:

Councilwoman Bowser defeats incumbent Gray in D.C. mayoral primary — Muriel E. Bowser, a low-key but politically canny District lawmaker, won the Democratic mayoral nomination Tuesday, emerging from a pack of challengers in a low-turnout primary to deny scandal-tarnished incumbent Vincent C. Gray a second term.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, Washington Blade, Outside the Beltway, District of DeBonis, CNN and Associated Press

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

My Own Final Four Bracket For America's Future — Holy Moly! Are you kidding? You'd think one who is representing the mighty Badgers, who made it to the Final Four based on sacrificial work ethic and discipline that obviously pays off in the end, he who represents the great state …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Real Clear Politics and Twitchy

New York Times:

Kerry-Abbas Visit Canceled as Mideast Talks Falter — JERUSALEM — The fraught Mideast peace talks were thrown into confusion on Tuesday as a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority was canceled after Mr. Abbas moved …

Discussion: Politico, Right Turn, Washington Post, maannews.net, Power Line, Jerusalem Post, TIME, Talking Points Memo, The Dish, Business Insider, Guardian and Bloomberg View, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
U.S. could free spy in Mideast deal

Discussion: AEIdeas, Business Insider and The PJ Tatler

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:

CNN's Missing Plane Coverage Turns Up Garbage (VIDEO) — In its wall-to-wall coverage of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, CNN has raised the possibility of the supernatural, blackholes, and North Korea; it has interviewed a psychic, tried but failed to rent its own 777 jet …

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
CNN Painstakingly Calculates It Could Take 2,995 Years To Find The Plane (VIDEO)

Discussion: Mediaite and The Huffington Post

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

Want medical insurance? Get in line. — In a way it's the oddest bit of ObamaCare propaganda we've seen so far. “This Is What an #ACASurge Looks Like” was the title of a Saturday post on the White House Blog by senior communications adviser Tara McGuinness.

Tony Merevick / BuzzFeed:

Mississippi Approves Religious Freedom Bill, Governor Expected To Sign It Into Law — The Mississippi bill is the first of many varying “religious freedom” bills introduced in several states this year to advance to a governor since a more expansive bill was vetoed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in February.

Discussion: Joe. My. God.

Nick Novak / MacIver Institute:

What Can Educators do to End White Supremacy in the Classroom? — Highlights from the National White Privilege Conference in Madison — MacIver Institute Director of Communications — [Madison, Wisc...] The city of Madison hosted the 15th annual national White Privilege Conference …

Discussion: Althouse, The Daily Caller and Watchdog.org