Coming soon: We Can All Do Better by former Sen. Bill Bradley.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“There is a keen awareness in the party, particularly among fund raisers and elected officials, that Santorum is playing to hurt Romney so that Romney loses. Santorum sees himself as the nominee in 2016, and he’s playing a 2016 game. You wouldn’t continue to rip at Romney and tear at Romney and try to damage Romney if you were playing the normal, second-place game. The normal second-place approach is to rally around the nominee and become part of the leadership of the party.”
— Romney fundraiser Wayne Berman, quoted by Mike Allen.
Health Care Back on Center Stage
First Read: “Two years ago today, surrounded by legislators and cameras, President Obama signed the health care act into law. Today, there won’t be a commemoration but the real action is NEXT week. The fate of the president’s signature legislation will be in the hands of the Supreme Court, which begins oral arguments in the case Monday. The country remains split to slightly more unfavorable on the law, and how the Supreme Court will decide is anybody’s guess.”
“But it’s clear whatever the court decides in June could have a big impact on the presidential race. There are a lot of different ways to slice it and speculate what the various potential outcomes could mean, but no one’s EXACTLY sure how it will all play out. Certainly, if the mandate is struck down, that will be a major black mark for the president. Anything other than it being upheld is bad for the president. It’s simple: The court upholds it, it’s good for the president. If it doesn’t, it’s bad for him.”
Kucinich Plans Trip to Washington
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who just lost his primary for re-election, is heading back to Washington state next month, “stoking speculation he might be considering a comeback bid on the West Coast,” Roll Call reports.
Obama Unveils Surprise Pick for World Bank
The White House plans to nominate Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank.
Associated Press: “Obama took a strong personal interest in filling the World Bank vacancy after current president Robert Zoellick announced in February he was stepping down. Obama and his advisers considered more than a dozen candidates, including well-known figures in the administration. But in the end, officials said, Obama pushed for a nominee with broad development experience and was particularly drawn to Kim’s innovative work fighting the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis.”
Expect an Intense Vetting Process for Veep
The New York Times notes that “in the world after Sarah Palin and Game Change, the chances of Mitt Romney or anyone else choosing a first-term governor lacking a national brand name and experience are greatly diminished.”
“And the fallout from the McCain campaign’s selection of Ms. Palin for the No. 2 place on the ticket will extend well beyond the chances of any individual. For any Republican who makes it onto the short list of possible vice presidential nominees, the vetting process this year promises to be as thorough and intrusive as the vetting of Ms. Palin was rushed and incomplete.”
“If presidential campaigns are M.R.I.’s for the soul, as David Axelrod, President Obama’s political strategist, likes to say, vice presidential vetting this year will be a body-cavity search.”
Too Close for Comfort with John Edwards
Michelle Cottle hopes the news about John Edwards linked to a prostitution ring isn’t proven.
“I want to believe this latest Edwards monkey business isn’t true — not because I harbor a shred of fondness or respect for him, but because I find it unnerving that a man this reckless, this self-indulgent, this irretrievably stupid came within a thousand miles of occupying the White House.”
“Imagine if Ohio had gone blue in 2004. If being a failed VP candidate turned Edwards into a narcissistic fool, what would winning have done to him?”
Media Decides the Campaign is Over
Howard Kurtz: “At the cable news networks, including CNN, the only one to provide continuous primary coverage on Tuesday, the word is out that the presidential campaign is sending the ratings south. Television, in short, has pretty much decided the race is over, Mitt Romney has won, the thing is boring everyone to death, and it’s time, at least for now, to move on. The campaign is occupying less front-page real estate in the major papers as well.”
Biden Hammers GOP on Entitlements
Vice President Joe Biden is poised to attack the Republican presidential candidates over entitlement programs through a speech in Florida, CNN reports.
Biden will say, “Make no mistake, if Republicans in Congress and their amen corner of Romney, Santorum and Gingrich get their hands on the White House, they will end Medicare as we know it.”
Quote of the Day
“I’m going to wait to see which Romney it is.”
— Former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), in an interview with The Hill, saying he’s considering voting for Mitt Romney this November.
Santorum Up Big in Louisiana
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Rick Santorum is headed for a commanding win in Louisiana on
Saturday. He leads Mitt Romney, 42% to 28%, followed by Newt
Gingrich at 18%, Ron Paul at 8% and Buddy Roemer at 2%.
Key findings: “It’s interesting to look at these numbers in the context of last week’s
results in Alabama and Mississippi. Mitt Romney averaged 30% in those
two contests, and that’s about where he is here. Rick Santorum and Newt
Gingrich combined for 64% in those two contests, and they combine for a
relatively similar 60% here. The big difference though is that
conservative voters appears to be abandoning Gingrich for Santorum now,
and that’s why Louisiana is likely to be much more lopsided than either
of last week’s contests were.”
A new American Research Group survey shows Santorum leading Romney, 43% to 27%, followed by Gingrich at 20% and Paul at 6%.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for
our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than
the person in there. If you’re going to be a little
different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a
risk with what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate of the future.”
— Rick Santorum, quoted by NBC News, suggesting Republicans may be better off with President Obama than Mitt Romney.
Only Some Endorsements Really Matter
Alex Koppelman: “In the modern, post-machine-politics era, individual endorsements simply don’t matter as much as we sometimes pretend they do. The exceptions are, typically, the endorsements from those politicians who still do have a machine — or at least a robust activist and fundraising operation — that can be employed on the endorsee’s behalf.”
Report Details Nepotism in Congress
A new report finds that 248 members of Congress allegedly used their positions to benefit their families since 2008.
The report found that 82 members — 40 Democrats and 42 Republicans — paid family members through their congressional offices, campaign committees and political action committees but highlighted Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) as an example, noting he “paid six relatives salaries or fees, the most of any member.”
John Edwards Denies Everything
With John Edwards denying reports he used a prostitution ring in New York City, New York magazine gives a brief history of Edwards denying things — many of which later proved true.
Santorum’s 1994 Oppo File
Huffington Post: “In 1994, as he was making his first successful run for the U.S. Senate, Rick Santorum was followed by a trackers, who were hired by the state Democratic party and equipped with video cameras. The trackers trailed Santorum into public events at municipal buildings, on factory floors and inside community centers across Pennsylvania. They recorded how many people were in the room, whether or not media was on hand and Santorum’s every word.”
“After every event, a tracker wrote up a memo for the campaign staff of Santorum’s opponent, Harris Wofford… The memos are documents of an era long before politicians operated in social media, reporter embeds live-tweeted what songs the campaign blasts before each speech and gaffes became instant YouTube memes.”
DNC Put Out Another Etch-A-Sketch Video
The DNC released another Etch-A-Sketch video designed to ensure Mitt Romney cannot “shake” the conservative positions he took in the GOP primary.
Quote of the Day
“I think their assessment is that Romney is much less a threat to them as events are a threat to them, and I agree with that. Romney cannot beat Obama, only events can beat Obama.”
— James Carville, quoted by BuzzFeed, on whether the Obama campaign is worried about facing Mitt Romney in the general election.
