The Commentariat -- Nov. 5, 2015

Internal links & defunct content removed.

Afternoon Update:

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Obama vowed a year ago to give Central American children fleeing violence a new, legal way into the United States by allowing them to apply for refugee status while in their own countries instead of accepting help from smugglers or resorting to a dangerous trek across Mexico. But not a single child has entered the United States through the Central American Minors program since its establishment in December, in large part because of a slow-moving American bureaucracy that has infuriated advocates for the young children and their families."

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "The revelations [In Bush I's biography] come at the absolute lowest point of the year for Jeb Bush, who is mounting his own quest for the presidency." ...

... Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: Jeb "Bush is suddenly campaigning as if he's in a therapy session, wounded and wrestling with his identity both as a political performer and as heir to the Bush family dynasty. On a comeback tour [of New Hampshire] this week to rehabilitate his sputtering candidacy, Bush wore his emotions on his sleeve and volunteered introspective interpretations of why he wasn't winning." CW: Let's all vote for Jeb! so he can feel better about himself.

Greg Sargent: "The relatively staid and civil Democratic presidential primary may be about to take a hard turn into much more contentious territory: Bernie Sanders is now declaring that he supports ongoing investigations into Hillary Clinton's e-mail arrangement. And he's claiming her reversals on issues speak to her 'character.'... Sanders appears to be giving his blessing to the ongoing FBI probe.... In [a] Wall Street Journal interview, Sanders stated that Clinton's inconsistencies on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other issues 'does speak to the character of a person.'"

*****

David Nakamura & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration released the full text of a 12-nation Pacific Rim free-trade accord on Thursday, launching what is expected to be a long and bruising fight to win final ratification in Congress for one of the president's top priorities."

Republicans Divided on How Much to Screw Old Folks. Robert Costa & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Newly installed House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said he plans to pursue a 'bold alternative agenda' that would include major revisions in entitlements [CW: as the WashPo likes to call social safety-net program]. At the same time, leading GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump railed against proposals to end or significantly change Medicare.... The Republican presidential candidates are jockeying to be seen as in solidarity with Ryan, the darling of party elders, or with Trump, a voice for grassroots voters."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned on Wednesday that Democrats will block a defense spending bill this week for a third time. Reid said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was 'wasting the Senate's time' by repeatedly filing procedural motions to move forward with the defense bill that 'he knows will fail.'"

My Man Harry. Katherine Krueger of TPM: "Seasoned troll and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took his beef with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to the Senate floor on Wednesday, bashing the MSNBC hosts for their interview with the billionaire Koch brothers earlier this week. Reid called the 'Morning Joe' interview with conservative mega-donors Charles and David Koch an example of the media catering to 'modern-day robber barons,' and read aloud his favorite excerpts from the segment. 'Wow. Those were some really tough questions asked by the host of "Morning Joe." That's sufficient journalism,' Reid said [CW: Actually, Reid said sarcastically, "That's tough journalism."] ... after reading excepts of the hosts asking the brothers if they play rugby together and whether their 'graciousness' came from their mother. He continued: 'Those questions are so easy, they may even qualify them to moderate the next Republican presidential debate.'... In January this year, Brzezinski, the so-called 'liberal' foil to conservative Scarborough, announced on the show she had seen the light on the Koch brothers after attending a Koch-backed retreat in Palm Springs":

** Peter Baker of the New York Times: "After years of holding back, former President George Bush has finally broken his public silence about some of the key figures in his son's administration, issuing scathing critiques of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. In interviews with his biographer [Jon Meacham], Mr. Bush said that Mr. Cheney had built 'his own empire' and asserted too much 'hard-line' influence within George W. Bush's White House in pushing for the use of force around the world. Mr. Rumsfeld, the elder Mr. Bush said, was an 'arrogant fellow' who could not see how others thought and 'served the president badly.' Mr. Bush's sharp assessments ... gave voice to sentiments that many long suspected he had harbored but kept private until now. While he continued to praise his son, he did tell Mr. Meacham that the younger Mr. Bush was responsible for empowering Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld and was at times too bellicose in his language."...

... The Washington Post story, by Justin Moyer is here. It adds more detail, including the Big Dick's responses.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "At a Supreme Court argument on Wednesday about procedures in redistricting cases, the justices appeared to be trying to reconcile two conflicting impulses. They did not want to close the door entirely on challenges to gerrymandering, but they also did not want to be required to rule on them.... The case, Shapiro v. McManus, No. 14-990, is a challenge to Maryland's 2011 congressional maps. Democrats, the challengers said, had gone to elaborate and unconstitutional lengths to create oddly shaped districts to favor their candidates."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), in a New York Times op-ed: "INSTEAD of blocking President Obama's efforts to close the costly Guantánamo Bay detention facility, Congress should be working with him to finally shut it down."

James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "Just like the midterms one year ago, [Tuesday's election results represented] another awful night for Democrats." ...

... Kevin Drum: "But that's not really right. Conservatives did win big victories in Virginia, Kentucky, and Houston. But Ohio's marijuana initiative most likely went down because it was too raw a giveaway to a bunch of rich donors, and San Francisco sheriff Ross Mirkarim was plagued by scandals that had nothing to do with his support for sanctuary cities. (The winner, Vicki Hennessy, was endorsed by SF mayor Ed Lee. She's hardly a conservative insurgent.) Elsewhere, liberals won public financing initiatives in Seattle and Maine. Pennsylvania elected three Democrats to the state Supreme Court. Movement conservatives lost big in two of Colorado's largest school districts." ...

... John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader: "Whatever Republican Matt Bevin has in mind for Kentucky's health insurance reform efforts after he's sworn in as governor Dec. 8, there are unlikely to be changes this winter while people enroll for their 2016 coverage.... Legally, Bevin is free to reverse what Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear did two years ago when he established Kynect by executive order. However, no state so far has dismantled its health insurance exchange or repealed its Medicaid expansion -- not even those with Republican-controlled statehouses.... And the bureaucratic process for closing Kynect would not be swift.... Repealing Kentucky's Medicaid expansion, which covers people up to 138 percent of the poverty line, or even modifying the Medicaid program with federal waivers, could take months of negotiations with the federal government."

Presidential Race

Even. More. Un.Fucking.Believeable. Quinnipiac University: "One year before Election Day 2016, Dr. Ben Carson is virtually tied with Donald Trump as strong front-runners for the Republican nomination, and Carson tops former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 50 - 40 percent in the final face-off, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today." ...

... Steve M.: "... forgive me if I'm not enjoying the craziness in the Republican presidential race as much as some of you are. Forgive me if I don't agree that what's going on in that race is going to lead to the party's demise.... It may not matter how crazy the GOP candidate is -- Republicans are fired up in every election, desperate to nullify the Obama era, while it's difficult to inspire Democrats to vote. Why do we automatically assume that Democrats will suddenly be hungry for a win next year? The right stirs up rage every day...." ...

... ** David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report, in 538: "There are plenty of reasons to be cautious of national polls that show Trump and Carson leading.... But perhaps the biggest reason ... is that they're simulating a national vote that will never take place. In reality, the GOP nominating contest will be decided by an intricate, state-by-state slog.... And thanks to the Republican National Committee's allocation rules..., the more moderate GOP primary voters who live in Democratic-leaning states and congressional districts -- could weigh more than those of more conservative voters who live in deeply red zones.... As The New York Times' Nate Cohn astutely observed in January, Republicans in blue states hold surprising power in the GOP presidential primary process even though they are 'all but extinct in Washington, since their candidates lose general elections to Democrats.'" This explains why Republicans have selected relatively moderate presidential nominees while the party's members in Congress have continued to veer right." ...

... Ed Kilgore: "... there are a couple of planted axioms here that need to be questioned. First of all, 'blue' states are more likely to go late in the presidential nominating contest calendar.... they will have to choose from the field left to them by the more conservative red-state contests, whose influence, of course, will be magnified by media coverage.... Second, there the whole matter of defining candidates as 'moderate' or 'conservative.'... So it's a little unclear how these dynamics are supposed to work. Add in the fact that some blue-state Republican Parties are by no means 'moderate' -- Wisconsin, anybody?"

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "An organization related to the Clinton Foundation has again reversed itself on fixing errors on its federal tax filings and now says it plans to submitted amended returns. Clinton Health Access Initiative spokeswoman Maura Daley said Wednesday that the group has now decided to refile two years worth of forms with the Internal Revenue Service."

Bloomberg: "Donald Trump's campaign said Wednesday it had placed a $300,000 radio ad buy in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina to run through end of month."

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, more than a dozen of the nation's leading Hispanic groups are planning to hold a 'Dump Trump' rally outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where 'Saturday Night Live' is taped. Latino and immigration groups also plan to deliver a petition, with 460,000 signatures, calling on NBC Studios and [producer Lorne] Michaels to drop Mr. Trump.... On Monday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus issued a statement also calling on NBC Universal and Mr. Michaels 'to disinvite Mr. Trump'" ...

... Meg Wagner of the New York Daily News: "Donald Trump used Twitter to let loose a slew of nasty images against GOP rival Jeb Bush: pictures that compared the former Florida governor to a Nazi, mocked his ties to Mexico and suggested he is intellectually disabled. 'ADIOS, JEB aka JOSÉ,' the billionaire-turned-presidential candidate posted to Twitter Tuesday, apparently retweeting a message from one of his followers.... The tweet included a collage of racist and derogatory pictures." ...

... Hadas Gold of Politico: "NBC removed several 'Saturday Night Live' promos featuring Donald Trump on Wednesday.... According to NBC co[r]respondent Peter Alexander, NBC had posted the link with eight SNL promos by mistake before removing three of them.... The original series of promos, posted as a single video, included a segment where SNL cast member Cecily Strong says, 'Because of equal time rules for television, Mr. Trump can only speak for four seconds in this promo.' Trump then says: 'So let me just say this. Ben Carson is a complete and total loser.' The Carson portion was edited out at some point on Wednesday afternoon...."

(New Jersey) Star-Ledger Editors: Ben Carson "has combined Rick Santorum's dogmatic conceit, Herman Cain's policy ignorance, and Michele Bachmann's unapologetic loopiness to create a woozy barstool doctrine that makes sense to a bloc of voters who are repulsed by the notion of electing anyone who once held high office." You lefties will want to read the whole editorial. It's excellent. Thanks to Marvin S. for the link. ...

'Cuba? Cuba?' You mean Cuba Gooding, Jr.? -- the guy who played me in that film classic "Gifted Hands"? Did you see it? They're featuring it on Netflix now. It's about my heroic rise from poverty to become a world-famous neurosurgeon.... 'Wet-foot, dry-foot?' Sounds like a medical condition. Did I tell you I separated twins conjoined at the head? I'm a world-famous neurosurgeon. Not a podiatrist, for crying out loud. My work was a little more complicated than removing plantar warts. That's why I would be great president.... Now, you may proceed. But no more 'gotcha' questions. -- Ben Carson, to Miami Herald reporters

Or something like that. -- Constant Weader

... Doc Ben Has Always Been Crazy. Nate McDermott & Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson told graduates during a commencement address in the late '90s that he believed the pyramids in Egypt were built by the biblical figure Joseph to store grain, and not, as most archaeologists contend, as tombs for pharaohs." Apparently Young Doc Carson believed that the Hebrew god directed Joseph in a dream to build the pyramids to accommodate the grain which Joseph advised the pharaoh to store. Joseph, BTW, is one of many mythical Bible characters. He was not a real guy. P.S. Do read the part about the aliens v. god. ...

... Still Crazy After All These Years. Erica Brown & Ellen Uchimiya of CBS News: "Ben Carson stood by his long-held belief about ancient pyramids in Egypt, that they were used to store grain, rather than to inter pharaohs. Asked about this Wednesday, Carson told CBS News, 'It's still my belief, yes.'" CW: The headline writers call this an "unusual theory." Why can't we get more honest headline writers? ...

... In Your Heart, You Know He's Nuts. Ed Kilgore: "... what should actually disqualify Carson [is] his extremist, paranoid 'world-view' which treats regular boring old center-left liberals as conscious and systematically deceitful would-be destroyers of this country bent on imposing a Marxist tyranny via 'politically correct' suppression of free speech and confiscation of guns. There's unquestionably a constituency for this point of view, but we may never know whether it would outnumber the Republicans baffled or horrified by it until such time as one of his rivals or the heretofore clueless media start talking about it. If they don't pretty soon, then one theory of the 2016 GOP nominating process could come true: conservatives want to rerun the 1964 elections, and they've finally found their Barry Goldwater." ...

... CW: Or what about the fact, Ed, that Ole Doc goes to Miami & submits to a phone interview with a Herald reporter without having the foggiest idea what U.S. Cuban policy is? This is a guy who thinks his own ignorance of the law is immaterial. Because he imagines he has "common sense" & can figure this stuff out if it ever comes up. It was mighty consequential that Dubya couldn't be bothered to read that daily briefing titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." It would be catastrophic if a President Carson had read it & decided to apply one of his "common sense" solutions. ...

... Kevin Drum on why Carson is so popular among evangelicals. And what an empty-headed huckster he is.

Michael Barbaro & Steve Eder of the New York Times: "A decade after he used a Republican Party credit card for personal purchases like stone pavers at his home, Senator Marco Rubio on Wednesday pledged to disclose spending records from that account as he urgently sought to inoculate himself against what could be his biggest liability as a presidential candidate: how he manages his finances.... As his once-plodding presidential campaign experiences a surge in the polls, Mr. Rubio's rivals are now rushing to resurrect the matter in an attempt to portray him as a careless manager of money, despite Mr. Rubio's assurances that he paid for every personal purchase himself.... During his 2010 Senate campaign Mr. Rubio refused to release the full records of his charges on the card..., calling it an 'internal party matter.'" ...

... Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times: "The Tampa Bay Times asked Rubio's team for the records in June and again in early October. A top strategist, Todd Harris, said Tuesday they would be released soon, possibly within the month, but declined to answer questions about what they might contain.... A Florida man filed an ethics complaint against Rubio in 2010, and in 2012 the state ethics commission cleared him, though an investigator said the level of 'negligence' exhibited by Rubio's confusion between the GOP American Express and his own MasterCard, and failing to recognize the error on monthly statements, was 'disturbing.' Now questions are resurfacing."

Andrew Husband of Mediaite: Jeb! tells middle-schoolers that his father (you know, the president guy) would reprimand him in a way that would send him "into a deep depression for days." "Let's hope Jeb Can Fix It." CW Safety Alert: Watch for incoming MoDo. I'll bet she wishes she still had two columns a week. Between Pappy's biography & Jeb!'s psychological problems, she's got plenty to milk for weeks.

Hadas Gold & Steven Shepard of Politico: "It's looking like Chris Christie may not make the primetime debate stage at next week's Fox Business Network/Wall Street Journal debate. While Fox Business will not officially announce the lineup until Thursday, a new Fox News poll released late Wednesday puts him at 2 percent. That likely means Christie will get bumped to the undercard stage -- a big blow for the New Jersey governor, especially because it comes as he appeared to be gaining some traction in the presidential race."

Beyond the Beltway

Dan Hinkel & Lauren Zumbach of the Chicago Tribune: "Upending the portrayal of Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz as a hero cop tragically gunned down in the line of duty just before his planned retirement, authorities on Wednesday said the Fox Lake[, Illinois,] officer died in a suicide he staged as it became clear he could face consequences for years of criminal behavior. At a news conference, Lake County Major Crime Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said Gliniewicz, 52, shot himself in a 'carefully staged suicide' designed to look like a murder after he had engaged in 'extensive criminal acts.'" ...

... Ruth Fuller, et al., of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Investigators said [Fox Lake, Illinois, Police Lt. Charles Joseph] Gliniewicz killed himself but staged it to look like a murder as he feared an ongoing internal village audit would reveal he stole tens of thousands of dollars from a police youth group he led.... The officer had been stealing and laundering the money over seven years from the Fox Lake Explorers Unit, which was supposed to teach youngsters about law enforcement."

Karen Kucher, et al., of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "A man who shot at San Diego police officers from a Bankers Hill penthouse surrendered Wednesday afternoon after a five-hour SWAT standoff that locked down nearby streets and schools and prompted aviation officials to cancel incoming flights at Lindbergh Field. No one was wounded as dozens of rounds were fired through the day by officers and the gunman, identified as Titus Colbert, 33."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Police in Sacramento, Calif., said Wednesday that they have arrested a man in connection with the stabbing of a U.S. airman who helped foil a terrorist attack by an armed gunman on a Paris-bound train in August. James Tran, 28, of Elk Grove, Calif., was arrested Wednesday morning near his home and faces one count of attempted murder in the Oct. 8 attack on Spencer Stone, police said.... Stone is considered a victim in the altercation, and faces no charges."

Way Beyond

Rowena Mason, et al., of the Guardian: "The British government has suspended all flights between the UK and the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after US and UK officials said they believe the Russian plane that crashed over the Sinai peninsula may have been brought down by an explosive device. The UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said his government is now advising against all but essential travel through Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt as there is a 'significant possibility' that the plane was brought down by an explosion on board, the strongest remarks yet by an official on the cause of the crash. US officials have also suggested a bomb was planted on the plane by Isis or an Isis affiliate, according to several media reports citing unnamed sources."

Elisabeth Malkin & Azam Ahmed of the New York Times: "The Mexican Supreme Court opened the door to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, delivering a pointed challenge to the nation's strict substance abuse laws and adding its weight to the growing debate in Latin America over the costs and consequences of the war against drugs. The vote by the court's criminal chamber declared that individuals should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use. The ruling is a first step -- applying only to a single cannabis club that brought the suit -- and does not strike down Mexico's current drug laws. But it lays the groundwork for a wave of legal actions that could ultimately legalize marijuana."

The Commentariat -- Nov. 4, 2015

Internal links removed.

Julie Davis of the New York Times: "The White House on Tuesday said President Obama had no intention of bowing to a request from the company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline to delay a decision on the project, saying he wanted to take action before his tenure ends. The State Department is reviewing a request made on Monday by the company, TransCanada, to pause its yearslong evaluation of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which has become part of a broader debate over Mr. Obama's environmental agenda. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that 'there's reason to suspect that there may be politics at play' in TransCanada's request. He strongly suggested that the review, which has been widely expected to result in a rejection of the pipeline as soon as this month, remained on track."

** Tommy Christopher of Mediaite demolishes Paul Ryan's repeated claim that Congress can't pass immigration reform because "President Obama is untrustworthy." While he's at it, Christopher takes down the Sunday showz, which every week "all feature the same exact press releases masquerading as interviews.... In every one of those [four] interviews, [when Ryan made the claim about President Obama,] the host elected to move on, rather than to challenge what Ryan had said, despite ample basis for such a challenge."

Aw, Shucks. Jonathan Swan & Kyle Plantz of the Hill: "The Koch brothers are on a publicity tour to change their image.... The brothers' appearance on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' continues something of a coming-out tour for the publicity-shy Kochs, who became bogeymen to the left following their early funding of the Tea Party movement, their expensive and ultimately failed efforts to defeat President Obama, and their plan to spend $250 million to elect Republicans to Congress and the presidency in 2016." Includes video.

CW: Should an 18-year-old boy who talks a reluctant 15-year-old girl into having sex with him, even if he's a despicable little prick, be branded a sex offender for life? Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post says no. What say you? ...

... Jeannie Suk, in the New Yorker: "What we are really talking about here is not rape, as we have until recently understood it, but rather sex that we strongly dislike. We are in the midst of a significant cultural shift, in which we are redescribing sex that we vehemently dislike as rape, and sexual attitudes that we strongly disapprove of as examples of rape culture."

David Rising of the AP: "Germany's Volkswagen, already reeling from the fallout of cheating on U.S. emissions tests for nitrogen oxide, said Tuesday that an internal investigation has revealed 'unexplained inconsistencies' in the carbon dioxide emissions from 800,000 of its vehicles -- a development it said could cost the company another 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion). The investigation was undertaken by the company after the revelations that many of its vehicles had software that allowed them to deceive U.S. nitrogen oxide tests. CEO Matthias Mueller promised Tuesday that Volkswagen 'will relentlessly and completely clarify what has happened.'"

AFP: "Michelle Obama called for an end to 'outdated laws and traditions' preventing millions of girls around the world from completing their education, in an impassioned speech Wednesday in Qatar. Obama spoke for almost 25 minutes at the Qatar National Convention Centre to a packed audience which included ... political and education leaders from around the world."

Elections Results

Horrible! Sheryl Gay Stolberg & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Matt Bevin, a Republican political novice, wealthy Louisville businessman and Tea Party favorite, was elected Kentucky's next governor on Tuesday, a victory that could herald a new era in a state where Democrats have held the governor's mansion for all but four of the last 44 years. The Associated Press declared Mr. Bevin the winner shortly after 8 p.m. In beating his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, Mr. Bevin surprised many in his own party.... Mr. Bevin, a fierce opponent of the [Affordable Care Act], at first said he would reverse it, but has since softened his position and said he would stop enrolling new people but would not take coverage from people who had it." ...

     ... CW: We'll see if the Obama administration goes along with a plan to cut off new applicants while still providing assistance to current enrollees. Talk about unequal treatment under the law. ...

     ... Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Bevin's win, and the Republican victories in neighboring Virginia, were body blows to Democratic hopes of enforcing the Affordable Care Act. Virginia voters rejected a chance to hand the state Senate back to a party that would expand Medicaid; some Kentucky voters who had benefited from the expansion surely voted against the candidate who'd keep it as is." ...

... Greg Sargent: "The news that Tea Party Republican Matt Bevin snatched the Kentucky governor's mansion away from Democrats is a particularly stark reminder of how deep a hole Democrats have dug for themselves on the level of the states, and of the consequences that could have for the long-term success of the liberal and Democratic agenda."

Laura Vozzella & Jenna Portnoy of the Washington Post: "Republicans held onto the Virginia Senate in fiercely contested elections Tuesday, leaving Gov. Terry McAuliffe without legislative leverage or political momentum as he works to deliver Virginia for his friend and ally Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016."

Katherine Dreissen of the Houston Chronicle: "Houston's controversial equal rights ordinance failed by a wide margin Tuesday, with voters opting to repeal the law that offered broad non-discrimination protections, according to incomplete and unofficial returns."

AP: "In a single stroke, Ohio voters rejected a ballot proposal Tuesday to legalize marijuana for both recreational and medical use." The Cleveland.com story, by Jackie Borchardt, is here.

Susan Haigh of the AP: "An ex-convict who spent seven years in federal prison for corruption reclaimed the Bridgeport mayor's office Tuesday, completing a stunning comeback bid that tapped nostalgia for brighter days in Connecticut's largest city. Joe Ganim, who was released from prison only five years ago, declared victory in a race involving seven opponents."

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Michael E. McMahon, a former congressman and New York City councilman, was chosen as the new district attorney of Staten Island on Tuesday, winning a contentious special election in the city's most conservative borough. In defeating Joan Illuzzi, a Republican, Mr. McMahon, a Democrat, takes over a position that drew national attention after a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man."

Brent Johnson of NJ.com: "Democrats tightened their control of the [New Jersey] state Assembly in Tuesday's elections, wresting at least three seats away from a Republican party ruled by Gov. Chris Christie, a presidential candidate whose popularity has dropped at home. It means Democrats will control at least 51 of the 80 seats in the lower house of the state Legislature as of January -- their biggest majority since 1979."

Paul Egan of the Detroit Free Press: "Two former Republican state representatives who lost their seats in September amid a sex and cover-up scandal were soundly defeated Tuesday in their special primary bids to regain their seats. Cindy Gamrat of Plainwell was defeated Tuesday in her bid to regain her Allegan County state House seat by Mary Whiteford of South Haven. And former state representative Todd Courser, who admitted to having an extramarital affair with Gamrat and misusing state House resources in an attempt to cover it up, also lost his bid to win his seat back after resigning in September while facing expulsion from the House."

Ivan Moreno of the AP: "Suburban Denver voters on Tuesday ousted three conservative school board members who changed the way teachers are paid and briefly considered reviewing a U.S. history curriculum to promote patriotism. The high-profile political battle attracted a huge influx of cash from inside Jefferson County and from outside groups with an interest in what education reforms should look like. By overwhelming margins, voters agreed to recall Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk, who were elected into office in 2013 and made up the majority in the five-member board of the second-largest school district in the state."

** Eitan Hersh of 538: "In the ongoing fight between Democrats and Republicans over election procedures like voter ID and early voting, the Democrats are supposedly the champions of higher turnout and reducing barriers to participation. But when it comes to scheduling off-cycle elections like those taking place today, the Democratic Party is the champion of voter suppression.... [Bills to consolidate elections], which were generally sponsored by Republicans, typically failed because of Democratic opposition.... Democrats opposed the bills at the urging of Democratic-aligned interest groups, namely teachers unions and municipal employee organizations.... For Democrats like [Hillary] Clinton who are apparently aghast at Republican efforts at voter suppression, today is a good day to take a look in the mirror." ...

... Zandar, in Balloon Juice, disagrees. ...

... CW: For what it's worth, I think Hersh is at least half-right. Whether or not it is the intention of Democrats to lower turnout, that is the effect of off-year elections. If you think I might be wrong, check out the results above. The only national-newsworthy election result that went liberals' way, at least up to what has been reported as of late last night, was a local school election. (I've since updated, so a few elections I've cited went the better way.)

Presidential Race

Un.Fucking.Believable. Mark Murray of NBC News: "One year out before the 2016 general election, Hillary Clinton and Ben Carson are tied in a hypothetical matchup, but Clinton leads three other major Republican candidates, according to brand-new numbers from the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll."

Scott Morgan of Reuters: "The U.S. Republican Party filed a formal complaint against one of Hillary Clinton's family charities with the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday and is calling for an audit after the charity said this week it would not refile erroneous tax returns. The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation's flagship health program conceded earlier this year it had misreported by millions of the dollars the money it was given by governments compared with non-government donors in its tax returns for 2012 and 2013."

Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: Among Republican presidential candidates, only Marco Rubio has been marginally supportive of the goals of BlackLivesMatter.

Jenna Johnson & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump and Ben Carson are still dominating the polls, but many in the crowded Republican presidential race are now launching attacks on the candidate who seems poised to be their next major threat: Marco Rubio.... During a news conference Tuesday in Manhattan, Trump called Rubio 'overrated,' accused him of being 'a disaster with his credit cards' and attacked him as 'very weak' on immigration. At the same time, Bush -- whose campaign has disparagingly labeled Rubio as a 'GOP Obama' -- doubled down on criticizing Rubio for missing more than a third of his Senate votes this year.... Two other GOP presidential candidates, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas)...."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Ben Carson ... announced last week that he had shelved his plan to end ... [Medicare]. But the few components of a new plan he's revealed have only added to the confusion ... and his opponents are beginning to pounce.... Carson ... has struggled to define exactly what he'd like to see in its stead. Asked about his Medicare platform on two Sunday news shows last week, he left the hosts scratching their heads.... 'The liberal media -- and now one of my competitors -- is claiming I want to "abolish" Medicare. That is plain laughable,' Carson wrote to supporters, referring to the claim as 'slander.' He also told Wallace that it's a 'narrative that somebody's putting out there to scare people.'" ...

... CW: Uh, Doc, that "laughable" "somebody" who is "slandering" you & "scaring people" about abolishing Medicare would be -- you.

Even if all the media tries to shut you down -- which they have tried very much to do with me. But they can't because the good Lord has provided me with mechanisms like my syndicated column and like Fox News. We'd be Cuba if there were no Fox News. -- Ben Carson, conspiracy theorist, last year

Someone on that debate stage .. they're using National Review as their political tool [to attack me]. That's pretty obvious. -- Ben Carson, this week ...

... BTW, the core story Carson is claiming was the brainchild of one of his opponents ran in January of this year. It's author, Jim Geraghty, denies that any rival campaign contacted him about a follow-up he wrote after Carson lied during the last debate about his involvement with the dietary supplement company Mannatech. -- Constant Weader

... ** Grifter-in-Chief. Jonathan Chait: "Conservative politics are so closely intermingled with a lucrative entertainment complex that it is frequently impossible to distinguish between a political project (that is, something designed to result in policy change) and a money-making venture.... The notion that [Ben] Carson could be president is preposterous.... He has never run for elected office. He has never managed a large organization; he has not worked in and around public policy, and he lacks a competent grasp of issues. His stance on health care, the closest thing to an issue with which his professional experience has brought him into contact, is gibberish.... His campaign itself is structured much more like a scamming venture than a political one. An astronomical 69 percent of his fund-raising totals are spent on more fund-raising. (Bernie Sanders, by contrast, spends just 4 percent of his intake on fund-raising.)... He is a perfect con artist." ... BTW, Chait goes there, noting that Carson's manner is "subdued" "to the point of appearing medicated." ...

... Lie to Me. CW: Chait highlighted Carson's "chilling" ability to lie with a straight face by encouraging readers to watch the video where he lies to Carl Quintanilla bout his connection to Mannatech. So I did. Two things: when he's about to tell a lie, he closes his eyes. Maybe it's a little prayer where he asks god to forgive him for telling a whopper. Also, when he's pulled it off (or when he insults people & gets away with it), he laughs heartily. (See also his reaction to the audience response to his saying that "Many [Americans] are stupid.) ...

... Steve M.: "... it's ... a fallacy to imagine that a kook and a scammer can't also have a messiah complex. How many personality cults are there in which the guy robbing the flock blind actually believes he's the exalted figure he tells the follower he is?... Remember, conservative rhetoric values the untutored amateur over the professional. Society's real guarantors of personal safety are civilians with guns, not cops. College professors and Ivy League graduates are to be looked upon with suspicion; country musicians and the Duck Dynasty guys tell us the plain truth, even about science. The greatest man to ever occupy the Oval Office was an ex-movie actor regularly mocked as an unschooled dolt. Why wouldn't a guy who's imbibed this ideology of amateurism believe that he really can be president if lots of people are telling him he can?"

Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "Fox News host Megyn Kelly on Monday night mocked the letter drafted by Republican presidential campaigns listing a series of rules and questions for networks hosting future debates. After listing some of the demands, including that networks not allow lightning rounds or candidate-to-candidate questioning, Kelly jokingly suggested, 'And then maybe the foot massage?'" ...

... Steve M.: "Fox News denounces Republican candidates for sounding like Fox News."

Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "Jeb Bush fashions himself the thinking man's Republican candidate for president. Donald Trump, he declared late last month, is 'not serious.' When it comes to foreign policy, Trump hasn't 'thought these things through.' Trump is 'not taking the responsibility -- the possibility of becoming the president of the United States really seriously.' So what are Jeb's well-thought-out, serious foreign-policy views? He offered a few on Monday in what aides dubbed an important speech aimed at resetting his presidential campaign. And they were insane." ...

     ... Amy Davidson of the New Yorker on who counts as a "serious" presidential candidate. ...

<>... Zeke Miller of Time: Jeb Bush acknowledges he was wrong about the French workweek. "'I made the mistake of saying that the Congress operates on a French work week,' he deadpanned. 'I really did a disservice to the French,' Bush added with a chuckle Tuesday. 'My inbox was full of French journalists,' piped in campaign spokesman Tim Miller." ...

... Jeb? Nick Gass of Politico: Jeb Bush "apparently failed to secure the JebCanFixIt.com domain name when he rolled out the slogan as part of the relaunch of his sagging presidential campaign. In the meantime, Jimmy Flannigan, a former candidate for City Council in Austin, Texas, snapped it up and launched his own site, claiming Bush 'is trying to steal my slogan!' (Flannigan, in his failed bid for a council seat, ran with a 'Flannigan Can Fix It!' slogan.)... Flannigan told Politico that Bush's failure to secure it was an amateur move." CW: Looks as if the skeleton staff left after Jeb!'s purge is just not into the Internets. CW: Can Jeb! Fix It? Flannigan says the domain name is for sale.

I'm So Tough I Can Shoot Putin Without Even Looking Him in the Eye:

... Ted Gives New Meaning to "Tailgunner." Wes Siler of Gizmodo: "Staunch gun rights advocate Ted Cruz is here seen holding a shotgun" backwards [link fixed], with the muzzle pointed toward the people behind him, while he blathers on about "liberal moderators." "'He's either a poser who doesn't really hunt, or just a blindingly dangerous nincompoop,' concludes Scott [Nathan, a hunter & NRA member]. 'He's got moves like Cheney.'" CW: Hey, maybe Tailgunner Ted will strafe some of the unsuspecting locals with that ass-backward action, but at least he has his cap on frontwards -- unlike a certain Speaker of the House (see yesterday's Portrait of a Washington Homeless Man).

Beyond the Beltway

Lisa Black, et al., of the Chicago Tribune: "Authorities have called a news conference for Wednesday to announce 'significant new information' regarding the shooting death of a Fox Lake police officer, and multiple law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation have told the Tribune that authorities are expected to announce that he took his own life. The sources say that authorities believe Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, 52, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sept. 1. The new information comes two months after officers found Gliniewicz mortally wounded in a remote, marshy area of the village near the Wisconsin border." ...

... Michael Miller of the Washington Post: Officials will say Gliniewicz died in "an elaborately staged suicide.... The revelation could alter public perception of not only Gliniewicz but also the argument that cops are increasingly under attack in America. The death of the Fox Lake cop ... became a touchstone for law enforcement officials across the country who believe they are under increased threat amid growing scrutiny of police in the wake of a string of high-profile police-involved killings.... According to recently released FBI data, however, assaults on police officers dropped sharply in 2014 and are at their lowest point since 1996. In a case similar to Gliniewicz's disputed death, an Arkansas police officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly lying about being shot during a traffic stop."

News Ledes

Washington Post: Canada's Liberal party leader Justin "Trudeau was sworn in [as the country's prime minister] on Wednesday. At 43, he becomes the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history."

Al Jazeera: "Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced the resignation of his government Wednesday in a surprise move that followed huge protests in the wake of a nightclub fire that killed at least 32 people."

New York Times: "Honda Motor Company on Tuesday dropped the embattled manufacturer Takata as its airbag supplier, concluding that the company, its longtime partner, had 'misrepresented and manipulated test data.'"

New York Times: "China, the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases from coal, has been burning up to 17 percent more coal a year than the government previously disclosed, according to newly released data. The finding could complicate the already difficult efforts to limit global warming. Even for a country of China's size, the scale of the correction is immense. The sharp upward revision in official figures means that China has released much more carbon dioxide -- almost a billion more tons a year according to initial calculations -- than previously estimated."

The Commentariat -- Nov. 3, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Nick Gass of Politico: "Despite pouring millions of his vast personal fortune into politics, in an interview with MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' aired Tuesday, megadonor Charles Koch said he and his brother David are 'so far ... largely failures at buying up influence and changing the level of political rhetoric in the United States. 'But I'm kind of like Martin Luther when he was on trial and "He said, here I stand, I can do no other,'" Koch said in a taped conversation in Wichita, Kansas, with co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski." ...

     ... CW: Yeah, Martin Luther was a jerk, too, once he acquired some political power.

Ed Kilgore: "The whole debate debate is beginning to look like an effort spearheaded by the one candidate who probably has the most to lose from probing debate question..., Ben Carson. As HuffPost's Sam Stein reports, Team Carson would apparently prefer a 'debate' made up basically of opening and closing statements.... If you do the math with ten candidates, and assuming (as you should not) no 'leakage' via candidates exceeding their time [of 5 minutes each], you're looking at 100 minutes of non-interrupted candidate talking points. If you also, as Carson earlier demanded, a two-hour cap on the whole show, and work in commercials, yeah, there's not any time for 'debating.' This is, of course, a guy who thinks any criticism of his wacky world-view is an effort to repress him and take away his liberties...." ...

... Kevin Drum: "The whole Republican bedwetting exercise over their allegedly heinous treatment at the hands of CNBC is certainly entertaining for those of us who aren't Republicans. But Republicans themselves are now making it even more Survivor-like by splitting into two competing tribes...."

Mitch Smith & Monica Davey of the New York Times: "Federal education authorities, staking out their firmest position yet on an increasingly contentious issue, found Monday that an Illinois school district violated anti-discrimination laws when it did not allow a transgender student who identifies as a girl and participates on a girls' sports team to change and shower in the girls’ locker room without restrictions." (Missed this this morning.) ...

... MEANWHILE, in Houston, Texas, bathrooms are on the ballot today. Mark Warren of Esquire reports.

*****

President Obama signed the Budget Act of 2015 yesterday:

... Loophole Lopped. Jonelle Marte of the Washington Post: "... the budget deal that President Obama signed into law Monday gets rid of one of the key strategies that has increased lifetime Social Security benefits by up to roughly $60,000 for some high-earning couples." ...

... Kelsey Snell of the Washington Post: "The budget victory party is already over for Democrats in Congress and the focus now is on preventing a government shutdown in December. Democratic leaders are anticipating a weeks-long fight with Republicans who could attach controversial provisions, like defunding Planned Parenthood, to the spending legislation that is necessary to prevent a government shutdown later this year. Their plan is to stay unified and refuse to vote on bills that they don't like.... In the coming weeks the Appropriations Committees will begin crafting an omnibus spending bill that must be signed into law by Dec. 11 to keep the government open, and Republicans have a long list of policy proposals they would like to tuck into the legislation."

... Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "... there is no shortage of political drama facing voters going to the polls in states from California to Pennsylvania. There are gubernatorial, state legislative and mayoral races whose outcomes are anyone's guess and ballot initiatives that could change the way we think about social movements like marijuana legalization and LGBT equality." Key race: Kentucky's close gubernatorial contest where Democrat Jack Conway holds a slight edge in the polls over Tea Party fave Matt Bevin who "is cruising around Kentucky in a gold Cadillac Escalade with a Donald Trump-like message that he's the man for the job because he can't be bought." Hanging in the balance: health insurance for thousands of Kentuckians. ...

... CW: If you live in a state or community that is holding elections today, get thee to the polls.

Gone, the Beloved Felon. Jake Sherman of Politico: The House has "disappeared" former Speaker Denny Hastert's portrait, which had hung outside the House floor. Somebody replaced it with a portrait of Frederick Gillett, who "was speaker between 1919 and 1925." CW: That was silly. If Republicans were going to stuff Speaker Hastert back in the closet, so to speak, they should have replaced his portrait with this one:

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. 2015 --

... CW: Now that's what I call classy.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: During oral arguments before the Supreme Court Monday in a case on race discrimination in jury selection, the justices seemed to agree "that prosecutors in Georgia had crossed a constitutional line in 1987 in their efforts to exclude all blacks from a jury that would hear a capital case against a black man, Timothy T. Foster, who was accused of killing a white woman, Queen Madge White. Prosecutors used peremptory challenges -- ones that do not require giving a reason -- to exclude every potential black juror." ...

... Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "Racism highlighted in a green marker." And one of these justices is not like the other ones: Justice Sotomayor gets personal about her wayward cousins.

Adam Liptak: "A case about false information on the Internet gave rise to a vivid and occasionally personal argument on Monday at the Supreme Court. The question in the case was whether companies that say false but seemingly benign things about consumers may be sued under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that many sorts of apparently harmless misinformation could cause damage."

Christianist Law. Michael Corkery & Jessica Silver-Greenberg of the New York Times continue their investigation of arbitration: "For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death. An investigation by The New York Times found that ... Americans are being forced out of court and into arbitration for everything from botched home renovations to medical malpractice. By adding a religious component, companies are taking the privatization of justice a step further.... Some religious organizations stand by the process until they lose, at which point they turn to the secular courts to overturn faith-based judgments, according to interviews and court records."

Sam Thielman of the Guardian: "The world's top tech companies are failing when it comes to privacy and freedom of expression, according to the most comprehensive assessment to date of their user agreement policies.... All of the firms failed to offer their users basic disclosures about privacy and censorship, according to the survey, which was conducted by the New America Foundation thinktank. One didn't even provide user agreements in the proper language. 'There are no "winners",' said the group in its executive summary. 'Even companies in the lead are falling short.'"

Lenny Bernstein & Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "A large segment of white middle-aged Americans has suffered a startling rise in its death rate since 1999, according to a review of statistics published Monday that shows a sharp reversal in decades of progress toward longer lives. The mortality rate for white men and women ages 45-54 with less than a college education increased markedly between 1999 and 2013, most likely because of problems with legal and illegal drugs, alcohol and suicide, the researchers concluded. Before then, death rates for that group dropped steadily, and at a faster pace." ...

... Ian Sample of the Guardian: "A sharp rise in death rates among white middle-aged Americans has claimed nearly as many lives in the past 15 years as the spread of Aids in the US, researchers have said. The alarming trend, overlooked until now, has hit less-educated 45- to 54-year-olds the hardest, with no other groups in the US as affected and no similar declines seen in other rich countries."

Bruce Wallace of Reuters: "The company battling to build the Keystone XL pipeline made a plea for a ceasefire on Monday, asking the Obama administration to suspend its review of the controversial infrastructure project that would bring heavy oil from Alberta to U.S. refineries. If granted by the U.S. State Department, the delay would almost certainly hand the decision for the $8 billion project to a future president rather than Barack Obama, a Democrat."

Annie Lowrey of New York: In a "fantastically sexist" Huffington Post opinion piece, "Ralph Nader mansplains monetary policy to Fed chair Janet Yellen." He tells the little lady that since she obviously can't comprehend the effects of low interest rates, she should ask her husband to explain it all to her. Also, "If you need further nudging on monetary and regulatory policies of the Fed..., why not invite Berkeley Professor Robert Reich, one of your long-time friends and admirers, to lunch on your next trip home?" to help out. (Never mind that both hubby George Akerlof & Reich would agree with the Fed's current policy.) CW: Not sure why Nader doesn't suggest Yellen put on a pretty apron & make a tuna salad for Reich, tho I suppose that's implicit. P.S. If you voted for Nader in 2000, therein is what you voted for.

Simon Bowers of the Guardian: "The US has overtaken Singapore, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands as an attractive haven for super-rich individuals and businesses looking to shelter assets behind a veil of secrecy, according to a study by the Tax Justice Network (TJN). The US is ranked third, behind Switzerland and Hong Kong, in the financial secrecy index, produced every two years by TJN. But the study noted that if Britain and its affiliated tax havens such as Jersey were treated as one unit it would top the list.... The US states of Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada have for decades been operating as onshore secrecy havens, specialising in setting up shell companies catering to overseas individuals and companies seeking to hide assets.... So far the US appears not to be cooperating with the creation of a common standard for information sharing between countries, as drawn up by the OECD."

David Morgan of Reuters: "Internet giant Alphabet Inc, the new holding company for Google, expects to begin delivering packages to consumers via drones sometime in 2017, the executive in charge of Google's drone effort said on Monday."

Jad Mouawad of the New York Times: "The Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday that it had discovered cheating software on more Volkswagen and Audi cars than previously disclosed and, for the first time, also found the illegal software in some of the carmaker's high-end Porsche models."

Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "Weeks after the Obama administration canceled a failed Pentagon program to train and arm Syrian rebels to combat the Islamic State, American officials announced a new effort to equip ground forces in Syria to fight the jihadists. But 10 days of interviews and front-line visits across northern Syria with many of the forces in the alliance, called the Syrian Democratic Forces, made clear that so far it exists in name only, and that the political and logistical challenges it faces are daunting."

'Mr. Butterfield,' Fred Thompson asked, 'are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the president?'

'I was aware of listening devices," Butterfield said, 'yes, sir.'

That question led to Nixon's unraveling and ultimately his resignation, as various crimes and cover-ups were captured on those tapes -- tapes the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled the White House had to turn over to Congress.

"The Fred Thompson Watergate Myth." Jake Tapper (August 2007), on the murky facts behind Fred Thompson's youthful star turn on the Watergate committee. Via Charles Pierce.

Presidential Race

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard professor who began a late campaign for president, announced that he was ending his bid for the Democratic nomination, citing his exclusion from the debate stage."

, Ctd. Alex Isenstadt, et al., of Politico: "A day after roughly a dozen Republican presidential campaigns came together in a show of force Sunday night to protest the debate process, their fragile consensus collapsed on Monday, with a number of candidates refusing to sign on to a group letter intended to compel TV networks to bow to their demands. The defections threw the talks into disarray, and by late Monday some senior advisers to GOP candidates were beginning to doubt whether their pact would hold up at all. Just 24 hours after the Republican campaigns declared they were seizing debate negotiating power from the Republican National Committee -- and empower themselves to deal with networks -- the advisers said they were beginning to consider handing it back." CW: So. Not tough enough, after all, to stand up to -- Reince Priebus? ...

... Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "On Monday morning, the Republican presidential campaigns circulated a detailed letter they plan to send to the television networks, outlining their demands and questions before agreeing to any future debates -- everything from the temperature in the debate hall ('below 67 degrees') to no 'lightning round.' And on Monday afternoon, Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager for Donald J. Trump ... said the Trump campaign planned to negotiate directly with the networks." ...

... Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "The move by Trump, coming just hours after his and other campaigns huddled in a Washington suburb to craft a three-page letter of possible demands, thwarts an effort to find consensus.... Politically, Trump's go-it-alone strategy continues his pattern of casting himself as a master negotiator and the one contender who can take charge of a party that has lost its way.... After Trump's decision, the campaigns of Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J) confirmed that they would not sign on to the group effort. 'Stop complaining,' Christie said in a 'Fox & Friends' interview Monday morning. 'Set up a stage, put podiums up there, and let's just go.'" ...

... Hadas Gold of Politico: "'As we have for the previous three debates, the Trump Campaign will continue to negotiate directly with the host network to establish debate criteria that will determine Mr. Trump's participation. This is no different than the process that occurred prior to the Fox, CNN, and CNBC debates,' [a] spokesperson [for Donald Trump's campaign] said in a statement." ...

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "President Obama on Monday gleefully mocked the Republican presidential candidates [link fixed] who have called him weak on the world stage."

Kendall Breitman of Bloomberg: "Discussing the proposed changes to the party's presidential debates in a Monday interview with Bloomberg Politics..., Trump found a way to get in a dig at [Marco Rubio]..., saying he hoped the debate venues would be better air conditioned in the future. '[Rubio] is the one that sweats the most,' Trump said.... 'He's the youngest but I have never seen any human being sweat like that.'" With video, which is hilarious. ...

... Nick Gass of Politico: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a 'crazy,' 'highly neurotic woman' but the Democratic National Committee chairwoman 'negotiated a great deal' for Democratic debates, Donald Trump said Monday." ...

... Steve M. can't figure out what the new debate demands have to do with eliminating "liberal media bias": "So seated debate questioners are liberal, while True Patriot questioners are forced to stand? Or is it the other way around? Podiums are socialist, while constitutional conservatives insist on tables? Or vice versa?" And so forth. It is a puzzlement. ...

... Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "... while it's easy to mock some of these demands as petty and prima-donnish, many of them suggest a more insidious strategy: a concerted effort to extricate as much independent journalistic influence from the democratic process as possible and essentially turn the Fourth Estate into a bunch of stenographers.... Asked ... if candidates should be challenged by a free press, [Ben] Carson acknowledged, 'There's a place and time for that,' and indicated the debates were neither the place nor the time. Carson's camp has likewise proposed taking the debates out of the hands of journalistic organizations altogether and just streaming them over YouTube or Facebook. [If the candidates yet their way, they] won't have the media to kick around anymore. That's riskier than they may realize." ...

... Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "... the R.N.C. rejected the option of running these debates on its own. It is the media that is paying for the events, and it is over the media's airwaves that the events are broadcast.... What the candidates shouldn't be allowed to do is tell reporters what questions to ask or what graphics to show on the screen, or have any role whatsoever in the editorial judgments of a news organization. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan's famous quip, if the G.O.P. wants that much control, then it needs to pay for the microphone." ...

... Dana Milbank offers to serve as the debate moderator of Republican candidates' dreams. ...

... Bill Curry, in Salon on what's wrong with presidential "debates," in general. Specifically, he cites last week's "debate": "The candidates behaved like a high school class with a new substitute teacher -- shouting over one another, speaking without being called on. They'd beg for extra time to finish a point; a panelist would refuse, then cave, then sit mute as they took off on some other topic. The chaos reflected the panel's dearth of preparation and experience.... All night long: A candidate would lie; a moderator would thank him for it. Lack of preparation was part of the problem but not the only part. The larger culprit is the worldview of the network's top employees... If 'pay to play' politics and global finance capitalism are our real problem, you won't find out from a question posed by a network television employee. Few ever question the soundness of the economic system...."

Miles Johnson of Mother Jones: "On Monday morning, [Jeb] Bush delivered what was widely described as a 'reset' speech -- 'Our story is about action, doing, not just talking' he said -- and he debuted the new 'Jeb Can Fix It' motto. By Monday afternoon, #JebCanFixIt had gone viral, becoming a trending hashtag on Twitter. But not necessarily in the way the campaign wanted." ...

Memeographs ‏@memeographs BREAKING! @JebBush quits #GOP race, signs deal with @hgtv for new reality show: #JebCanFixIt!

... Greg Proops ✔ @GregProops  As a former voice of Bob the Builder I say. Can Jeb fix it? Well, he fixed the 2000 election. #JebCanFixIt http://bit.ly/1P6r4ZT ...

... digby takes a look at the New Jeb!'s big speech & asks, "Do they ever stop whining?" ...

... Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly: "... Jeb Bush this morning complain[ed] about the tone of the campaign right after he told everyone that the international effort to block Iran's nuclear ambitions will do absolutely nothing ... and that it has for the first time created a situation in which the United States is responsible for creating Israel's greatest existential crisis. Here Jeb is utilizing the same fear-mongering tactics that have wrecked the collective brain of the right and sunk his campaign. And he's endeavoring to use them to build enough 'credentials' with the deluded.... If you want to get beyond name-calling and bogus talking points and have a substantive discussion, you can't continue to try to prove your conservative bona fides by amplifying their stupid fear-mongering about Iran.... Whether you're in on the game or not, you've become a victim of epistemic closure. If you want to break out of that bubble, you have to stand with both feet outside it." ...

This Month, GOP Voters Embrace the Crazy. Mark Murray of NBC News: "Ben Carson has surged into the lead of the Republican presidential race, getting support from 29 percent of GOP primary voters, according to a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. That's the highest percentage any GOP candidate has obtained so far in the survey." ...

Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "Sen. Marco Rubio's star turn in last Wednesday's GOP presidential debate is already paying off, with a new poll showing his numbers rocketing upward in New Hampshire. The Florida senator surged to third place, behind real estate mogul Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, in the Monmouth University poll of the state's likely Republican primary voters. While Rubio trails Trump by 13 points, he is within 3 percentage points of Carson."

News Ledes

Unleash the Chaing! AP: "Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet this weekend with his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou in a historic first culminating nearly eight years of quickly improved relations between the two sides, their governments said Wednesday.... Presidents of the two sides have not met since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong's Communists and the Nationalists rebased in Taiwan 160 kilometers (100 miles) away in 1949."

Washington Post: "Scraps of suggestive but inconclusive evidence surfaced Tuesday in the fourth day of a tense investigation into the Russian plane that flew apart over Egypt's troubled Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 aboard and scattering debris over seven square miles of desert."

New York Times: "Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi politician who from exile helped persuade the United States to invade Iraq in 2003, and then unsuccessfully tried to attain power as his country was nearly torn apart by sectarian violence, died at his home in Baghdad on Tuesday. He was 71."