memeorandum: Sebelius steps down — Washington (CNN) — President Barack … (Halimah Abdullah/CNN)

1:30 PM ET, April 11, 2014

Top Items:

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Health Secretary Resigns After Woes of HealthCare.gov — WASHINGTON — Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, is resigning, ending a stormy five-year tenure marred by the disastrous rollout of President Obama's signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act.

Ben Domenech / The Federalist:

Kathleen Sebelius's Resignation Hands Republicans A Golden Opportunity — Kathleen Sebelius is resigning, and Rachel Maddow is right to not be happy about it, not one little bit. For once, I completely agree with Maddow's analysis. This surprise resignation presents Republicans …

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, Washington Post and Hot Air

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Kathleen Sebelius is resigning because Obamacare has won — Obamacare has won. And that's why Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius can resign. — Calls for Sebelius's resignation were almost constant after Obamacare's catastrophic launch.

Discussion: National Review, The Dish, Hot Air, Balloon Juice and American Power

Halimah Abdullah / CNN:

Sebelius steps down — Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama announced Friday that he will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who currently directs the White House budget office, to be the next health secretary, the Cabinet official who's ultimately responsible for overseeing Obamacare.

Discussion: New York Times and The Week

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:

WH RT: ‘Kathleen Sebelius Is Resigning Because Obamacare Has Won’ — The first official word from the Obama administration on Kathleen Sebelius's resignation as secretary of health and human services is a retweet by the official White House Twitter account of a tweet by Vox.com's Ezra Klein:

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and National Review

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
The Sebelius Legacy: One Epic Tech Failure, Millions of Newly Insured Americans

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Hot Air, Bloomberg View, The Raw Story and Hit & Run

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Will Kathleen Sebelius Win in the End? Legacy Tied to Obamacare's Outcome

Discussion: Daily Kos

Bloomberg:
Sebelius to Resign as Chief of Obama's Health Programs

Discussion: The Daily Beast, News Desk, Bloomberg View, National Review and ABC News

Joanne Kenen / Politico:
Kathleen Sebelius resigns as HHS secretary

Discussion: CNN and naked capitalism

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:

Social Security, Treasury target taxpayers for their parents' decades-old debts — A few weeks ago, with no notice, the U.S. government intercepted Mary Grice's tax refunds from both the IRS and the state of Maryland. Grice had no idea that Uncle Sam had seized her money until some days later …

Discussion: Gawker, Consumerist, The PJ Tatler, Balloon Juice, The Week and Hit & Run

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Short on accomplishments, Hillary leans on Bill and Barack to sell candidacy — BARACK OBAMA HILLARY CLINTON BILL CLINTON 2016 ELECTIONS — Last week Hillary Clinton gave what appeared at first to be a rambling and unfocused answer when asked to name the proudest achievement of her four years as Secretary of State.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Laura Myers / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Shoe misses Hillary as she speaks at recycling conference in Las Vegas

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice

Dan Whitcomb / Reuters:
Hillary Clinton dodges shoe during Las Vegas speech

Discussion: Power Line, ABC News, Associated Press, Scared Monkeys and The Week

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

Conservative Firepower Has Senate Democrats Playing Defense — Democrats in races that will help determine control of the Senate are rapidly burning through their campaign cash and seeing their advantage over Republican opponents whittled away as they fend off attacks from conservative groups …

Ted Barrett / CNN:
Anger over last year's filibuster fight rekindles on Senate floor

Discussion: Politico

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell battle on the floor

Discussion: ACS Blog and Talking Points Memo

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

CIA's use of harsh interrogation went beyond legal authority, Senate report says — WASHINGTON — A still-secret Senate Intelligence Committee report calls into question the legal foundation of the CIA's use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists …

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Verge and rubber hose

Washington Post:
Why the Senate report on the CIA's interrogation program should be made public

Discussion: Guardian and Firedoglake

Julie Ray / Gallup:

Global Image of U.S. Leadership Rebounds — Median approval rating of 45% in Asia is highest on record — WASHINGTON, D.C. — After hitting a low point at the end of President Barack Obama's first term, U.S. leadership ratings worldwide rallied in 2013 as he began his second.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Samantha Power / US Department of State:

Remarks by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a General Assembly Session on Improving Global Road Safety — U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations — Mr. President, colleagues, the United States is pleased to cosponsor and urge …

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:
U.S. Cosponsors U.N. Resolution to Fight Texting and Driving

Discussion: United Nations and The Week

David Sherfinski / Washington Times:

Virginia Republican Bob Marshall stands by remarks that raise eyebrows — Democrats see an easy victory — Delegate Robert G. Marshall has said that disabled children can be God's vengeance against women who have had abortions. He has described incest as sometimes voluntary …

Discussion: Liberaland and Right Wing Watch

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Health Care Nightmares — When it comes to health reform, Republicans suffer from delusions of disaster. They know, just know, that the Affordable Care Act is doomed to utter failure, so failure is what they see, never mind the facts on the ground. — Thus, on Tuesday, Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: Daily Kos and ThinkProgress

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

The IRS Scandal Comes Into Focus — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp lays out damning evidence of Lois Lerner's targeting of conservative groups. — Nearly a year into the IRS scandal, we still don't know exactly what happened—though we are finally getting an inkling.

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Why Gay-Marriage Opponents Should Not Be Treated Like Racists — Liberals generally think of themselves as proponents of tolerance, pluralism, and diversity. Some liberals are also eager to stigmatize and punish opponents of gay marriage. Is that a betrayal of their values?

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review, Conservatives4Palin and American Spectator

Tony Romm / Politico:

Al Franken attacks Comcast merger — It's Comcast vs. Sen. Al Franken — Round Two. — The Minnesota Democrat, who pilloried the telecom giant and its plans to purchase Time Warner Cable at a congressional hearing Wednesday, continued his attack a day later — stressing in an interview …

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Marsha Blackburn to “Test the Waters” for 2016 Bid — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn will consider running for president in 2016 — if she sees an opportunity to do so, an aide to the 7th District Republican told RealClearPolitics.

Discussion: Liberaland, Hot Air, The Other McCain and The PJ Tatler