Top Items:
Ron Christie / The Daily Beast:
The Scandal at the VA Is Real, and Obama Is Ducking It — Democrats can dismiss Benghazi and the IRS as pseudo-scandals, maybe, but 40 veterans have died, and where has Obama been? Totally absent. — Up to now, President Obama and congressional Democrats had thought “so-called” …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, National Review, The PJ Tatler and Washington Free Beacon
RELATED:
Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
What did Obama know about the VA hospital scandal and when?
What did Obama know about the VA hospital scandal and when?
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, The Daily Caller, CNN, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
D'Souza Expected to Plead Guilty to Charge — A federal court hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday morning in which the conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza is expected to plead guilty to a charge stemming from campaign finance violations, according to a notice sent out by the government.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:
Arthur Sulzberger's First Interview About the Turmoil at The New York Times: “I Would Have Done It Differently” — A week after the firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times, the newspaper's publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., sat down with V.F.'s Sarah Ellison for an exclusive interview about the controversy.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Althouse, Capital New York, The Raw Story, Politico and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
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Katie Van Syckle / New York Magazine:
Ira Glass Doesn't Know or Care Who Edits the New York Times
Ira Glass Doesn't Know or Care Who Edits the New York Times
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Gawker and kottke.org
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Republicans Have Edge on Top Election Issue: the Economy — Democrats have advantage on Affordable Care Act and economic inequality — PRINCETON, NJ — American voters rate the economy as the most important issue to their vote for Congress this year, and give the Republicans in Congress …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Washington Post
RELATED:
David Weigel / Slate:
Read What Georgia's Michelle Nunn Actually Said About Obamacare
Read What Georgia's Michelle Nunn Actually Said About Obamacare
Discussion:
Mediaite, Political Insider blog, Hot Air, Daily Kos, National Review and Weekly Standard
James Hohmann / Politico:
Primary day: 6 states, 5 things to watch — Today is the closest thing to a Super Tuesday this primary season, and the results of voting in six states will set the stage for some of November's marquee races. — The Democrats' best hopes for Senate pick-ups are in Kentucky …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and BuzzFeed
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Sarah Palin / Facebook:
Hillary's Brain; Hillary's Brain on Drudge — An article linked today on Drudge: — http://on.wsj.com/1jOqOJR — Hey! Hillary's brain is off-limits! Leave her health records alone! Democrats are right - scouring records of a female candidate is just politics of personal destruction …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, The Dish, Politico and Washington Post
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Dems desperately seek an Obama midterm strategy — For months, President Barack Obama has been telling donors that there's nothing more important to him than the November elections. — But many Democrats say their biggest worry for the fall is the president himself.
Discussion:
The Hill, Hinterland Gazette, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air and Business Insider
Megan Garber / The Atlantic Online:
Thomas Piketty and the End of Our Peaceful Coexistence With Inequality — Economic disparities aren't new. But from Piketty to the pope, talking about them is. — Two years ago, I wrote, “Inequality will be the central theme of 2012. It has always existed and is not going away …
Shane Goldmacher / NationalJournal.com:
Mitch McConnell Is No Longer the King of Kentucky — Even as he is expected to coast past the primary on Tuesday, he no longer defines Republicanism in Kentucky. — Mitch McConnell(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — FRANKFORT, Ky.—The headquarters of the Republican Party …
Discussion:
ABC News
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Chipotle To Customers: Please Don't Carry Your Gun Into Our Restaurants — Chipotle is asking its customers to leave their firearms at home after it says some gun advocates staged an “open-carry” demonstration in one of its Texas restaurants. — “Recently participants from an “open carry” …
Discussion:
CBS Dallas and The Raw Story
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Krauthammer: Obama Acts as If He ‘Stumbled Upon the Presidency’ — Time after time, President Obama has reportedly learned of a number of big administration scandals in the media, from the IRS to Fast & Furious and now the VA scandal over wait times and veterans dying before receiving proper treatment …
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post and Washington Free Beacon
Ferdous Al-Faruque / The Hill:
Report: Fear of high ObamaCare premiums ‘unfounded’ — Fears that insurance premiums will spike next year are premature, according to a new report that argues market competition will likely keep costs from rising. — Critics of the Affordable Care Act have long warned that premiums …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Joseph Shapiro / NPR:
As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price … In Augusta, Ga., a judge sentenced Tom Barrett to 12 months after he stole a can of beer worth less than $2. — In Ionia, Mich., 19-year-old Kyle Dewitt caught a fish out of season; then a judge sentenced him to three days in jail.
Discussion:
Liberaland, Hullabaloo and Crooked Timber
Bruce Golding / New York Post:
NYC's first lady: I was a bad mom — The de Blasios have a carefully crafted, close-knit family image. Bill de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray pose with their children, Dante and Chiara, recently and in an early family photo. — New York City's first lady, Chirlane McCray …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Mediaite, Hit & Run, Moonbattery and News Desk
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Indiana's Gov. Pence taking the Obamacare money and running with it — For the first time since Obamacare split the country in two, the conditions for a cease-fire have begun to appear. — An architect of this detente — although he denies any such intent — is Mike Pence …
Discussion:
Liberaland and Prairie Weather
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Economic Recovery Yields Few Benefits for the Voters Democrats Rely On — WASHINGTON — Signs that a long-awaited economic recovery may finally be gaining steam should be welcome news for President Obama and his party as they try to stem losses in this year's midterm elections.
Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Cochran campaign knew of wife's taping for weeks — Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-Miss.) legal team apparently held onto information concerning a man's taping of the senator's bedridden wife for as many as two weeks before turning it over to the police. — Cochran's campaign spokesman …
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, blog.gulflive.com, Hot Air and RedState
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Therese Apel / The Clarion-Ledger:
Police considering ‘conspiracy’ in Cochran video case
Police considering ‘conspiracy’ in Cochran video case
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
U.S. Cites End to C.I.A. Ruses Using Vaccines — WASHINGTON — Three years after the Central Intelligence Agency set up a phony hepatitis vaccination program in Pakistan as part of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the Obama administration told a group of American health educators last week …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, NPR, CBC News, The Verge and Balloon Juice
Anna Merlan / Runnin' Scared:
Truthers Plan to Hand out Fake Brochures for 9/11 Museum On Opening Day — The dedication of the new National September 11 Memorial Museum happened last week, with speeches from President Obama and Mayor de Blasio and flags flown at half-mast outside at the World Trade Center Memorial Plaza.
Discussion:
The Raw Story and The Lead with Jake Tapper
Daniel D'Addario / Salon:
Adam Carolla: The gay mafia is real — The comedian and author sounds off to Salon on political correctness and why Asians prove discrimination is a lie — Adam Carolla, as ever, has a few things to get off his chest. — The comedian and podcaster, whose broadcast career began …
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay
Cass R. Sunstein / New York Review of Books:
The Refounding Father — Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution — It's hard to amend the United States Constitution. Under Article V, an amendment can be proposed only with the approval of either two thirds of both houses of Congress or the legislatures of two thirds of the states.
Discussion:
Althouse