Whistleblower’s Yarn Fails to Tie Benghazi Lapses to Politics (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"They summoned a whistleblower to Capitol Hill, but instead they got a virtuoso storyteller. ... Hicks was of little use to Republicans in their efforts to connect the lapses in the Benghazi response to Clinton or to the Obama White House."
National Circus: Benghazi Isn’t Watergate (Frank Rich) from New York Magazine
"They believed that Benghazi was figuratively as well as literally the 9/11 of 2012, and that its fallout would usher Romney into the presidency. In fact, it barely registered as a concern in any polls. Now they believe (in Lindsey Graham’s characteristically understated judgment) that Benghazi is “every bit as damaging as Watergate,” a gateway both to the president’s impeachment and to a GOP victory over Hillary in 2016. Yet no one else does."
The Republicans’ Benghazi Obsession from the Editorial Board of the New York Times
"The hearing did not prove anything like an administration cover-up or other hysterical allegations of crimes equal to Watergate that some Republicans, such as Representative Steve King and Senator Lindsey Graham, have alleged."
Benghazi Hearing's Real Target: Clinton in 2016 (David Rothkopf) from CNN
"That is not to say that the tragic events that unfolded last year in Benghazi are not worthy of serious investigation. They just didn't get them from Issa's committee. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in her passionate testimony in December, we need to know what went wrong to prevent future tragedies. ... But Issa and his co-inquisitors were more interested in the arithmetic of 2016 presidential politics than with the events of last September 11 in Libya."
No, Benghazi Won’t Hobble Hillary in 2016 (Stephen Stromberg) from the Washington Post
"[I]f their obsession with Benghazi is partly an attempt to render [Clinton] incapable of winning the general election in 2016, the affair won’t do it for them. Or even get close."
The Myth of Presidential Leadership (Norm Ornstein) from National Journal
"I have grown increasingly frustrated with how the mythology of leadership has been spread in recent weeks. I have yelled at the television set, 'Didn't any of you ever read Richard Neustadt's classic Presidential Leadership? Haven't any of you taken Politics 101 and read about the limits of presidential power in a separation-of-powers system?' But the issue goes beyond that, to a willful ignorance of history.""
Economists See Deficit Emphasis as Impeding Recovery from the New York Times
"After two years of stalemate on how to spur job creation and slash deficits, the consensus is that fiscal tightening has been a drag on economic recovery."
Joe Biden: The Rolling Stone Interview (Douglas Brinkley) from Rolling Stone Magazine
"Never before have a president and vice president been as close personally and professionally as Barack Obama and Joe Biden - just think about the past 80 years. FDR switched out VPs with the regularity of a farmer rotating his crops. Harry Truman had little use for the lightweight Alben Barkley.... Of course, Al Gore and Dick Cheney were formidable presences in the past two White Houses. But by the time both of those men left Washington, their relationships with their bosses were strained."
I think Brinkley is missing a key development here; the transformation of the office and responsibilities of the VP itself. I would argue that the responsibilities of the Presidency have become so burdensome that whoever occupies the Oval Office now MUST have a VP who can shoulder A LOT of responsibility -- and thus has to be someone the President can trust and dole out key tasks to. That is how Clinton used Gore, how Bush used Cheney and how Obama has used Biden -- and how future Presidents will use their VPs and what they will look for in a VP nominee. For those who know something about the history of Ancient Roman, emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD) created a series of co-emperors because the Roman Empire simply became too vast and too complex for one person to manage effectively. I recall either Obama or one of his aids saying that the pace of life in the White House is like having a fire hose of critical events coming at you each day. I thank God Obama has someone of Biden's calibre to turn to.
Meet Democrats’ Newest Republican Crush: Ted Cruz?!?! from Talking Points Memo
"Their distaste for his antics and his radical ideology is undoubtedly genuine. But Democrats are also thrilled that someone with those — should we call them qualities? — has emerged after the rout in 2012 as a Republican powerbroker in his own right, in a party whose leadership is too weak and timid to control him. And, the greater his stature in the party, the more harm they believe he’ll do to the GOP nationwide, whether or not he runs for president in 2016."
A Thinner Chris Christie Still Faces Big Political Challenges (Robert Shrum) from the Daily Beast
"Thanks to the GOP’s self-defeating refusal to back pragmatists over true believers, he may not be a winner, says Robert Shrum."
Heritage Foundation Does Damage Control from Politico
"The Heritage Foundation has gone into damage-control mode in the last few days, after coming under fire from Republicans and conservative outside groups over a report it published that puts the price tag of immigration reform at $6.3 trillion. ... The group has also come under scrutiny after it was reported that one of the authors of the report asserted previously that white Americans have higher IQs than immigrants."
CABLE TV NUGGET!!
Agreeing with McCain on Cable Bill (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos
"At first blush, this bit of legislation coming out of Sen. John McCain's office is full of awesome: ... A la carte: As anyone trying to sign up for cable or satellite knows, you get stuck paying a bill for dozens (if not hundreds) of channels, when the vast majority of us really only watch a handful."
BABY NAMES NUGGET!!
2012 Most Popular Names in the US from Nameberry
The boys' names I can pretty much get my head around -- most of the girls' names, forget it! I am mystified that huge numbers of parents would use these names.
GEOLOGY NUGGET!!
Atlantis Discovered? (Mac Margolis) from the Daily Beast
"Off the coast of Brazil, in one of the earth’s least explored waters, geologists have made an intriguing find. ... “Today we believe we may have found vestiges of an unknown continent,” Roberto Ventura Santos, head of the Brazilian Geological Service, told The Daily Beast. The evidence? Not gold but granite. “We expected to find volcanic rock and debris, typical of a seabed, not granite. Granite is typically found on the continental shelf.”"
MOTHERS DAY PHOTO NUGGET!!
Mother's Day in the Animal Kingdom for Super-Cute Baby Prairie Pups, Tigers and Polar Bears from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"These are the heart-warming pictures which prove a mother's love really is unconditional - no matter what species you are. With Mother's Day just around the corner, these adorable snaps show a whole host of patient mothers bonding with their boisterous babies."
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