If elected, Bruce Carroll would be the first openly gay Republican Senator.
Hamid Karzai Welcomes Chuck Hagel to Kabul—His Own Way
The Afghan president went on a tirade supposedly about how the Taliban were virtually in collusion with the U.S.—just in …
The Jeb Riddle
Jeb Bush is expressing a greater openness to making the presidential race than he has in a long time. Here are two reminders to those who discount Bush’s strength as a candidate.
$10,476,451
— Average raised per winning Senator during the 2012 cycle, according to MapLight.
“The bombs that went off in Kabul and Khost [Saturday] were not a show of power to America, but were in service to America...It was in the service of foreigners not withdrawing from Afghanistan.”
— Afghan President Hamid Karzi claiming Sunday that the Taliban suicide bombings, which killed at least 18 people, are part of a joint U.S.-Taliban plot so that U.S. combat forces can stay in the country beyond their 2014 deadline for pulling out. U.S. officials denounced the claim as "totally false."
How to Dismantle an Occupation: U.S. Soldiers Tear Down Afghan Bases, Take Home Memories
Closing smaller bases is the first step in what the military calls retrograde–the arduous and complex process of bringing home all of the U.S.’s equipment in Afghanistan.
Morning Must Reads: March 11
In the news: powerful small states, North Korea, Hamid Karzai, outsourced battles, and the new three amigos in the Senate.
How Gun Control Ends: Not With A Bang, But A Whimper
Here’s a hard truth: all the emotion and outrage and sadness that followed the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting may make almost no difference in federal gun control laws.
President Obama Speaks at Gridiron Dinner
Here are President Obama’s remarks from last night’s Gridiron Dinner.
Bob Ney, “Sideswiped”
Ex-Congressman Bob Ney’s new book is an odd mix of self-help and Boehner hate.
“The book was written last year in a certain environment. The goal was to persuade people against immigration reform to be for it. Since that time, eight of 100 senators have moved, and not much in the House...When we were working on this, Marco Rubio wasn't for a path to citizenship.”
— Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush explaining to Michael Gerson his position on immigration and why it seems at odds with his new book with Clint Bolick, 'Immigration Wars.'
236,000
— Number of jobs the U.S. added in February, pushing the unemployment rate down from 7.9% to 7.7%.
Morning Must Reads: March 8
In the news: dining diplomacy, Defense of Marriage Act, a July grand bargain, a possibly rigged Kenyan election, Rand Paul for 2016, and steady banks.