Day's End Round-Up

FROM THE BLOGS:

The president's Guantánamo comments
Benjamin Wittes at the Lawfare blog is "mystified" by President Obama's comments Thursday morning on closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay.

Why Penny Pritzker's Commerce secretary hearing won't be easy
Obama tapped Penny Pritzker to be the next secretary of Commerce Thursday morning. Carol Felsenthel, writing at her blog at Chicago magazine, writes that Prizker's confirmation won't be easy.

Yes, Ted Cruz could win the presidency
Jonathan Bernstein, writing at The Washington Monthly's Ten Miles Square blog, writes that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could conceivably be elected president in 2016.

The missing rump
At his National Review blog, Reihan Salam responds to Ross Douthat's point that a small number of House Republicans oftentimes block the GOP from embracing certain policies.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Ricin mailings spotlight letters' long path to Capitol
In light of the recent mailings of ricin-laced letters to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Gabriel Debenedetti of Reuters explains how the congressional mail process works.

Paul chief of staff moves to campaign role ahead of possible White House bid
Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) chief of staff is leaving the senator's congressional office to manage his campaign operation, The Hill's Alexandra Jaffe reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

All aboard the ACA train
Come 2014, the Affordable Care Act will be in full swing. New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait gives his take on whether it will be the "train wreck" Republicans are expecting.

100 Angry men
The New Yorker’s Amy Davidson looks at the 100 prisoners taking part in the Guantánamo hunger strike.

A second shot at the gun bill?
The Daily Beast’s Eleanor Clift looks at the post-gun-bill backlash on Senate Republicans and whether the bill has a chance for revival.

Why I could never be a liberal
The Week’s Matt K. Lewis is a conservative who’s frequently at odds with his peers. Here’s why he will never switch political sides.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

White House press secretary defends gun control activists
The Hill’s Justin Sink reports on White House press secretary Jay Carney defending gun control activists who are confronting their lawmakers.

Obama approves bill to ease flight delays
The Hill’s Keith Laing reports on President Obama signing the bill to end FAA furloughs that have been delaying flights at airports nationwide.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Obama in charge but not in control
Zeke Miller at TIME magazine writes on Monday’s press conference in which President Obama bemoaned the limits of his power.

Obama channels President Clinton’s worst day in office
Ron Fournier at the National Journal says the president raised doubts about his own relevancy in a Monday press conference.

The myth of an all-powerful president
Greg Sargent at The Plumline says the media holds the president to a higher standard than it does Congress when it comes to Washington gridlock.

Don’t buy the conservative ‘slippery slope’ argument
Cass Sunstein at Bloomberg says conservatives fall back on the slippery slope argument when they have nothing left to stand on.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama bristles at suggestions that his second-term agenda is failing

Justin Sink at The Hill reports the president put his exasperation on display at Monday’s press conference.

Obama’s relationship with GOP at a new low
Molly K. Hooper at The Hill reports on the perpetual downward slide in Washington.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Democrats have little to gain from economic progress
Tom Raum of The Associated Press thinks President Obama’s policy successes won’t necessarily translate to ballot box victories for members of his party.

Cruz Control
Slate’s David Weigel takes issue with how Texas Sen. Ted Cruz casts himself as the hero in the gun control story.

Why did we forget about Gitmo?
The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky thinks the American public’s lack of outcry regarding Guantánamo proves that “we’ve become a pretty lousy people.”

Sissel vs. HHS: 'A battle for my liberty'
The American Spectator’s David Catron on the Iraq veteran who decided to take the healthcare law to court.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Conservative groups oppose chained CPI
The Hill’s Bernie Becker reports on the Club for Growth’s recent warning to the Obama administration about the tax-hiking dangers of slowing inflation rates on government programs.

Mayor of Charlotte named new DOT secretary
The Hill’s Keith Laing on Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx’s strong track record with public transportation.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Twilight of the middle class?
At Reuters, Chrystia Freeland analyzes a poll that found that 59 percent of people in the American middle class are worried of leaving that economic group in the next few years.

Bad behavior
Freddie deBoer strongly criticizes a column by Matthew Yglesias on safety rules.

Hagel: 'Don't know' if sanctions against Iran will work
The Corner's Elania Johnson highlights comments Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel made about sanctions on Iran.

How tough it is in the low-wage economy
Adam Doster, writing at Chicago magazine's The 312 blog, explains the current legislative struggles in Illinois to raise the minimum wage. 

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Gates joins forces with Zuckerberg
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is one of a number of technology executives joining Mark Zuckerberg's lobbying firm, according to The Hill's Jennifer Martinez.

House moves to avert helium shortage
Lawmakers in the House voted to prevent the closing of the Federal Helium Reserve, reports The Wall Street Journal's Eric Morath.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Bush: Gracious even now
Jennifer Rubin, writing at her Right Turn blog, argues President Obama is President George W. Bush's most "ungracious of successors" and that "Obama owes much to Bush, (all Americans do, in fact)."

If Syria really used sarin, Obama must use force
Jeffrey Goldberg at Bloomberg News describes the effects of the chemical sarin and Obama's "red line" that Syria must not cross.

65 percent of coal powered plants may close thanks to EPA
Jazz Shaw of Hot Air argues that recent industry investments are a "big, wet slap in the face," to the coal industry.

Why These 2016 Democratic hopefuls aren't shying away from gun control
The NRA looks stronger than ever after Congress voted down a proposal to expand background check legislation. David Catanese at The Atlantic asks, what do a trio of governors know that their party's senators don't?

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Reid: No ObamaCare 'exemption' for lawmakers, staff
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) shot down speculation about a possible "exemption" for lawmakers and staff from the central part of ObamaCare, The Hill's Sam Baker reports.

Judiciary to start piece-by-piece approach to immigration reform
Leaders of the House Judiciary Committee announced Thursday they would begin introducing a series of narrow immigration reform proposals, The Hill's Russell Berman reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Bush 43’s Top 7
The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake ranks the seven greatest moments in George W. Bush’s presidency in light of his recent return to the spotlight.

Democrats need blue-collar voters to help them hold the Senate
Josh Kraushaar of National Journal says Democrats will be fighting for blue-collar voters from Michigan to Montana in the 2014 senate elections.

An open letter on immigration reform
Red State’s Daniel Horowitz writes an open letter to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) about what’s at stake for conservatives with immigration reform.

Does Obama need to play more hardball?
The Wall Street Journal’s Peter Nicholas examines a frequent criticism of the president.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

GOP anxiety delays bill to extend ObamaCare coverage of pre-existing conditions
The Hill’s Peter Kasperowicz reports on why the Republican bill to extend temporary ObamaCare benefits for individuals with pre-existing conditions did not see a vote Wednesday as planned.

Senator Harkin puts a hold on Obama healthcare nominee
The Hill’s Sam Baker reports that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is protesting the Affordable Healthcare Act's controversial fund for preventative healthcare by delaying the nomination of a top post within the agency responsible for its overhaul. 

FROM THE BLOGS:

Two more victories in the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining
At Grist, Mary Anne Hitt calls attention to a pair of recent legal rulings against the mining process.

Carpetbagger
Ed Kilgore at The Washington Monthly notes a recent poll that shows Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) leading former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in a possible match-up in New Hampshire.

Is Obamacare turning healthcare into a luxury?
The Obama administration's healthcare reform law might be turning healthcare into a luxury, Walter Russell Mead writes for The American Interest.

Christie delivers ode to Bruce Springsteen: 'We’ve got Bruce, he’s ours'
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) shared his love for Bruce Springsteen during an interview on a local radio station, notes The Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Max Baucus to retire from Senate
The chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee announced Tuesday that he would not run for reelection, report The Hill's Ian Swanson and Cameron Joseph.

Delays at airports mount as furloughs enter second day
The Hill's Keith Laing reports that airports are experiencing flight delays because of air traffic controller furloughs.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Gun Owners of America leader: liberals pleased with Boston bombing 
The Huffington Post's Nick Wing writes about the claims made by the head of a gun rights group that's to the right of the NRA.

Elizabeth Colbert-Busch's lead over Mark Sanford grows in South Carolina special election
David Nir of the Daily Kos explains how the sister of a famed comedian was able to move up in the polls against the former Governor of South Carolina.

Two brief thoughts on Boston
Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal that the recent Boston bombings could impede on the potential for any immigration reform bill to pass in Congress.

Senator Toomey vs. the NRA
The National Review's Eliana Johnson writes that NRA leadership believes Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) will regret trying to get bipartisan gun control legislation passed through the Senate.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Cornyn: Gang of Eight immigration bill undermines border security
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is concerned that the bipartisan immigration bill focuses on improving border security for only a few checkpoints and says there is not a concrete plan for tracking visas exiting the country, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports.

Obamas to attend service for victims of Texas explosion
The President and First Lady will attend the memorial service at Baylor University in addition to the dedication of President George W. Bush's presidential library, The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Republican congressman condemns GOP effort to use Boston bombing against immigration reform
Zack Beauchamp and Scott Keyes of Think Progress weigh in on the condemnation of Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) comments on immigration reform by prominent Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.).

Obama's budget plan: Modest cuts for seniors, big cuts on everything else
Policy Shop's David Callahan writes about the large cuts made to non-defense domestic spending in President Obama's budget.

Sean Collier: MIT police officer killed in shootout
Washington Free Beacon staff highlight the MIT report of Sean Collier, an MIT police officer killed Thursday night in a shootout between police and the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing.

The most dangerous substance in America may be fertilizer
The Daily Beast's Megan McArdle points out that the recent West Texas fertilizer plant explosion was not the first of its kind.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Administration presses ahead on background checks after Senate defeat
The Hill's Ben Goad and Julian Hattem report on steps the Obama administration is taking to curb gun violence after the Manchin-Toomey bill was defeated in the Senate.

Gillibrand rebuts Grassley, says Boston bombings have nothing to do with immigration reform
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) criticized a claim by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) connecting the bombing to immigration reform, according to Capital New York's Dana Rubenstein.