Wonk Wire‘s “chart of the day” is especially interesting today.
Obama May Move Into New Oval Office
“In preparation for a major, two-year renovation of the West Wing, the government is undertaking extensive work to complete a new executive office for President Obama at the south end of the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building,” Real Clear Politics reports.
“The president’s facsimile Oval Office, created as a nearly identical replica of the most famous ovoid room in the world, is slated to be ready for occupancy by August if Obama is ready to move and if design challenges are resolved… The timing of Obama’s move to a substitute executive suite is in part dependent on the president’s readiness to begin working in the temporary quarters for what could be as long as two years.”
Brown Will Not Run for Senate
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) will not run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Kerry, a source tells the Boston Herald.
Washington Post: “Brown’s decision leaves Republicans without a top candidate for the seat
held by Kerry… On the Democratic side, longtime Rep. Ed
Markey is the frontrunner, but he faces a challenge from fellow
Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch, who is much more conservative.”
Koch’s Last Message for Cuomo
In a fascinating interview with the New York Times that was not to be made public until his death, former New York City mayor Ed Koch had final words for his 1977 mayoral opponent Mario Cuomo and called him a “prick.”
Said Koch: “Even though social relationships when we meet in public are good, underneath, he knows that I know what I’m thinking–‘you prick.'”
Troubled Nevada Lawmaker Says He’s “Lucid”
Nevada assemblyman Steven Brooks (D) was released following a mental evaluation and allegations that he threatened a state Democratic Assembly leader and told the AP he’ll serve his elected office when the state Legislature convenes again next week.
Brooks “spoke non-stop for about three minutes when reached Friday by telephone… Then he hung up.”
He declared himself “lucid” and said he’s “no longer on medication.”
What to Expect When No One’s Expecting
Out next week: What to Expect When No One’s Expecting: America’s Coming Demographic Disaster by Jonathan V. Last.
Corbett’s Son-in-Law Caught on Video Taking Money
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s (R) son-in-law, a narcotics officer with the Philadelphia police force, is under investigation after he “was caught on hidden camera, taking money out of a car he was told to search. What Gibson didn’t know, according to sources, is that that the money was planted in the car by investigators,” NBC Philadelphia reports.
Begich Holds Comfortable Leads in Alaska
A new Harper Polling survey in Alaska finds Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) leading a number of Republicans from the state in hypothetical matchups.
Begich leads Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R) by 44% to 34%, and crushes Joe Miller (R) 52% to 29%. He also leads Sarah Palin by 47% to 40%.
Why Obama Can Move Left
Ron Brownstein: “In his victory, Obama reshaped the Democratic coalition by both addition and subtraction. Because so many of the blue-collar and older whites who formerly anchored the conservative end of the Democratic base abandoned Obama, and because more-liberal voters took their place, the coalition that reelected him was much more ideologically unified around a left-leaning agenda than has been usual for a Democratic nominee.”
“That outcome, insiders acknowledge, gives the president greater confidence to move forward aggressively on these issues without fear of dividing his supporters. Equally important, the fact that Obama’s key groups are all expanding within the electorate has stirred optimism among his advisers that the coalition of the ascendant could provide Democrats a durable advantage in presidential elections.”
King is GOP Frontrunner for Iowa Senate
A new Harper Polling survey in Iowa finds Rep. Steve King (R) the frontrunner in a Republican U.S. Senate primary with 35%, followed by Rep. Tom Latham (R) at 22%, Bob Vander Plaats at 20% and Brad Zaun at 3%.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Bruce Braley (D) is the clear front runner.
In general election match ups, Latham leads Braley, 36% to 33%, but Braley leads both King, 39% to 34%, and Vander Platts, 41% to 34%.
How Twitter Distorts Politics
First Read: “We’ll make one more point about Hagel’s hearing yesterday: Twitter and all the instant analysis made a bad performance look even worse — just like Twitter and instant analysis made Romney’s Ford Field speech, Donald Verrilli’s Supreme Court oral argument, and Barack Obama’s first debate all seem worse. And what eventually happened in those instances? Romney went on to win the GOP nomination, the Supreme Court upheld the health-care law, and Obama won the general election by four percentage points. So those things are a reminder that while Twitter and instant analysis can get the style right, they’re not as good when evaluating the substance or the overall political reality. And that’s a good lesson for all of us to keep in mind.”
Stephen King on Guns
Stephen King has a just released a new essay called Guns, which is “intended to provoke rational discussion” about gun violence in America.
The Daily Dolt notes that King himself “came under fire in the 1990′s after a series of separate incidents in which shooters entered their high schools with guns, held students and teachers hostage, and in some cases killed them. The shooters were later found to be in possession of Rage, one of King’s early works which revolved around a disgruntled high school student who takes his classmates hostage at gun point.”
Quote of the Day
“I hear you loud and clear, Barack Obama. You don’t represent the country that I grew up with. And your values is not going to save us. We’re going to take this country back for the Lord. We’re going to try to take this country back for conservatism. And we’re not going to allow minorities to run roughshod over what you people believe in!”
— Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert (R), at a Tea Party rally in Arkansas.
Kerry Says He Was Offered Job Before Rice Dropped Out
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told the Boston Globe that President Obama offered him the job of secretary of state a week before United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration.
Said Kerry: “He called me, actually a week before Susan got out of the thing. He called me and said, ‘You’re my choice. I want you to do this.’ He asked me to keep it quiet. I did. I sat on it.”
Don’t Forget the Economy
Charlie Cook: “Immigration and gun control have
dominated the issue agenda for the past few weeks, pushing away, for a
time, the previously dominant worries about fiscal issues and their
impact on the overall health of the U.S. economy. But Wednesday
morning’s news that the economy, as measured by real gross domestic
product, had declined in the fourth quarter of 2012 by one-tenth of a
percentage point–surprising economists who had expected the economy to
grow by 1 percent–brings these issues back to the forefront. In the
third quarter of 2012, real GDP grew by 3.1 percent.”
Unemployment Rate Back Up to 7.9%
Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. added 157,000 jobs last month, signaling a slow start to the year, though revisions showed 2012 job growth was stronger than once thought. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9%.”
Wonk Wire: How to read this month’s jobs report.
Democrats Say Hagel Will Be Confirmed
“Democrats — from both the White House and Capitol Hill — tell First
Read that they’re still confident Hagel will win confirmation. You’re
unlikely to see a Senate Democrat vote against him or even peel off
today; in fact, the hostile GOP questioning might have made Democrats
even more united, or so the White House hopes and believes. And if
that’s the case, Hagel will have support from a majority of senators. So
the question becomes: Do Republicans decide to mount a filibuster
against Hagel? That could make things more problematic for his
nomination, because he would need 60 votes instead of 51. But it also
would create a problematic storyline for Republicans: Do they really
filibuster one of their former colleagues who fought and bled in
Vietnam?”
Chris Cillizza: “Chuck Hagel was … just plain bad during his confirmation
hearing to be the next Secretary of Defense. And it almost certainly
won’t keep him from becoming the next man to lead the Pentagon.”
GOP Prods Brown to Run for Senate Again
“With time running short, Washington Republicans have begun a ‘full court press” to persuade an increasingly reluctant Scott Brown to run in the special election to replace John F. Kerry,” the Boston Globe reports.
“The eleventh-hour effort, coordinated by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, comes as those familiar with Brown’s deliberations are becoming convinced that he will not run and instead will look for a job in the private sector.”
Steve Kornacki: “The Republican panic stems from a belief that Brown is their party’s best – and only – hope of winning back a seat in deep blue Massachusetts. That view is well-grounded.”
