Day's End Round-Up

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.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Jon Stewart's long War with CNN is getting bitter, petty
Jon Stewart lambasted CNN's Wednesday coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing, Esther Zuckerman writes at the Atlantic Wire.

The four Democrats who voted against background checks
At Talking Points Memo, Sahil Kapur highlights the Senate Democrats that voted against background check legislation.

Blumenthal on gun laws: 'Americans won't take no for an answer'
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) vowed to continue pushing to pass stricter gun laws after his chamber voted against a measure to expand background checks for gun purchases, Bloomberg's Jonathan Salant reports.

Two cheers for the Rubio-G8 immigration plan: Kind of kludgey but an improvement over the status quo
James Pethokoukis, writing for the American Enterprise Institute, praises the so-called Gang of Eight's immigration reform proposal. 

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama: Boston, US 'undaunted'
The nation remains "undaunted" after the Boston Marathon bombing, President Obama said Thursday, according to The Hill's Justin Sink.

Saudi student hurt in Boston bombing not a suspect, not being deported
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a House panel Thursday that a student injured in the Boston bombing is not, contrary to some reports, being deported, The Hill's Julian Pecquet and Jordy Yager report.

FROM THE BLOGS:

CNN's bad day
It was an historically bad day for CNN as it flubbed breaking news on the Boston bombing twice, writes the Washington Post's Erik Wemple.

Sanford crosses the line, maybe for the last time
Washington Monthly’s Ed Kilgore on what Sanford's latest transgression will mean for his bid for Senate.

Can Rubio's hip-hop bonafides pay dividends?
Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics writes on the GOP star's unique area of expertise.

New NRA ad on background checks skews numbers
Slate’s William Saletan fact-checks a recent ad by the National Rife Association that claims 80 percent of police officers believe background checks have no effect on violent crime.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senate rejects background checks bill
The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports on a big blow to President Obama's agenda.

FBI warns media to not report inaccuracies about Boston bombing
The Hill’s Jonathan Easley on the FBI chastising major media outlets for conflicting and inaccurate reports about the Boston marathon
 

FROM THE BLOGS:

Useless scoops
Ed Kilgore criticizes the New York Post for its early reporting on the bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Garrett Quinn: What I saw at the Boston Marathon bombings
At Reason, Garrett Quinn recounts what he saw during the bombing.

House Democrats' Faustian bargain on Boston and the sequester
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the bombings are yet another example that the federal spending cuts referred to as the sequester should be repealed. The Atlantic's David A. Graham questions how right Hoyer is.

Air Force to ground 1 in 3 aircraft over budget concerns
At The Foundry, Genieve Syverson highlights a report saying the Air Force plans to ground a third of its fleet.
OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama: We don't know who was behind 'heinous cowardly attack'
President Obama dubbed the Boston bombing a terrorist attack on Tuesday, according to The Hill's Daniel Strauss and Justin Sink.

Democrats warn that sequester cuts undermine fight against terror
A number of top House Democrats warned that the sequester cuts could hinder the nation from fully responding to terror attacks, reports The Hill's Mike Lillis.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Hosni Mubarak can't detained for corruption, not killing
Ed Krayewski of Reason provides an update on the trial of the former Egyptian President.

Obama can't blame Bush for deficits any longer 
Marc Thiessen argues in the Washington Post that President Obama has enacted enough policies while in office that with regards to budget deficits, the buck stops with him.

Roy Blunt raises specter of federal gun registry, despite explicit ban
The Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel thinks the Missouri Senator's pointed criticism of the Manchin-Toomey bill has no basis in fact.

Why Obama's chained-CPI "protections" aren't good enough 
The Nation's George Zornick explains why added protections in President Obama's budget don't make up for the cuts to Social Security in the form of chained-CPI.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Two explosions reported at Boston Marathon finish line
The Hill's Daniel Strauss reports on the latest developments in the unexpected tragedy at the annual Boston Marathon.

Obama signs STOCK Act modification
The rolled-back provision would require high-ranking government employees to put their financial information online, The Hill's Peter Schroeder reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The Obama budget in one infographic
Kelsey Harris and Rob Bluey of The Foundry created a handy infographic for those interested in (and worried about) the president's budget.

Will the Christian right flee the GOP?
Alex Seitz-Wald of Salon describes recent threats by leading social conservative groups to break away from the Republican Party.

Liberal 'Mad Men' in an unbranded era
The Daily Caller's Brad Todd argues that it's Democrats, not Republicans, who are stuck pushing a dying ideology.

The power of shame
Alex Koppelman of The New Yorker examines the motives behind a recent bipartisan deal on gun control.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Report: Dem confirms liberal group recorded McConnell meeting
The Hill's Alexandra Jaffe reports on recent developments in the search for who is behind the leaked tapes.

Hagel: No Obama order to gut Pentagon
The Defense secretary pushed back against allegations he is on a mission to gut the group's budget, The Hill's Jeremy Herb reports.