The Commentariat -- March 4, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Ian Millhiser of Vox: "Wednesday morning's arguments in the biggest threat to abortion rights to reach the Supreme Court in nearly 30 years went so badly for Louisiana Solicitor General Elizabeth Murrill, who was defending Louisiana's restrictive abortion law, that by the end even Chief Justice John Roberts appeared uncomfortable with her arguments.... Murrill's performance was so weak, and the liberal justices successfully exposed so many flaws in her argument, that it raised questions about whether Roberts might join his liberal colleagues to strike down Louisiana's law."

Jeffrey Smith of Public Integrity: "When confronted by House lawmakers angered about ... Donald Trump's halt in aid to Ukraine last summer, Trump administration officials repeatedly said the hiatus was meant to allow them to conduct a policy review about the aid program. But the Pentagon's deputy general counsel [Edwin S. Castle] -- in an email kept secret by the administration during the House and Senate impeachment proceedings in December and January -- told his colleagues during the aid halt there was, in fact, no such policy review under way inside the administration."

Patricia Mazzei, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael R. Bloomberg dropped out of the presidential race on Wednesday, just over three months after he began a campaign that was fueled by his vast fortune and quickly grew to a sprawling political operation but failed to win the groundswell of moderate support he had sought. Mr. Bloomberg endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr., saying that he had the best shot to beat President Trump.... In an unprecedented effort to self-finance a presidential campaign -- which some rivals derided as an attempt to buy the White House -- Mr. Bloomberg's bid cost him more than half a billion dollars in advertising alone. He also spent lavishly on robust on-the-ground operations, with more than 200 field offices across the country and thousands of paid staff. His operation dwarfed those of Democratic rivals who ultimately won states in which he had installed many dozens of employees and spent heavily on radio, television and direct mail ads." A Politico story is here.

Do not mess with Jill Biden's husband. She will slap you down:

     ~~~ Here's a WashPo story on Jill v. the Vegans.

Charles Pierce: "It's plain now that, for the moment, anyway, a large part of the Democratic primary electorate is hungering for a president that it can ignore for four or five days a week." Pierce cites a speech Warren Harding gave a hundred years ago (and does grant "that the Harding precedent doesn't bode well for a possible Biden presidency).:

America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.

German Lopez of Vox: "When Sen. Bernie Sanders talks about his presidential campaign, he emphasizes that it's a movement -- the start of a 'political revolution,' which he says will drive typically apathetic voters, particularly the young, to turn out and vote. But if Super Tuesday was anything to go by, Sanders's political revolution isn't happening -- and it's former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign, or perhaps general opposition to President Donald Trump, that seems to be driving turnout."

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State Democratic presidential primary results appear in the right column. Related stories linked below.

Matt Viser & Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden powered to a dominating sweep of the South and surprisingly strong showings in New England and the Upper Midwest on Tuesday night, as he sought to seize control of the Democratic presidential race and overtake Sen. Bernie Sanders as the delegate leader. Sanders was holding on to a lead in California, the state with the biggest delegate haul of the Super Tuesday primaries, as votes were slowly counted there. But Biden's victories ... threatened to at minimum erase the lopsided delegate advantage Sanders hoped to gain from the day's voting. The results set up a more vigorous fight ahead that presents the party with divergent choices, between a pragmatist vowing a return to normalcy and a populist promising a revolution." Politico's story is here.

The Guardian has the latest delegate count.

Fred Imbert & Thomas Franck of CNBC: "U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply higher open on Wednesday as early results on Super Tuesday showed former Vice President Joe Biden notching key wins and reassuring investors of his place amid the top candidates in the Democratic pool. As of 7:35 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 726 points and indicated a rise of 702 points at the open. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to solid opening gains. Still, the implied open could change as markets remain volatile. Biden's success early into Super Tuesday voting appeared to buoy U.S. equity futures...."

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Former Vice President Joe Biden went into Super Tuesday with fewer financial resources than other candidates. But he will be in much better shape by the end of the night. Bundlers loyal to Biden are seeing dozens of new donors, several maxing out with the top allowable $2,800..., according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. These people declined to be named because these developments were yet to be announced. Biden fundraising events started to sell out early in the night, the people added."

Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: "Lifted by a hasty unity among center-left Democrats disinclined toward political revolution, Mr. Biden has propelled himself in the span of three days from electoral failure to would-be juggernaut.... Yet any suggestion that Mr. Biden is now a risk-free option would appear to contradict the available evidence. He is no safer with a microphone, no likelier to complete a thought without exaggeration or bewildering detour. He has not, as a 77-year-old man proudly set in his ways, acquired new powers of persuasion or management in the 72 hours since the first primary state victory of his three presidential campaigns. In fact, Mr. Biden has blundered this chance before -- the establishment front-runner; the last, best hope for moderates -- fumbling his initial 2020 advantages in a hail of disappointing fund-raising, feeble campaign organization and staggering underperformance. When it mattered most, though, the judgment came swiftly from Sanders-averse Democrats. All right, we'll take him."

Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post suddenly remembers (satire): "Joe Biden is fine! He is the best hope. I know I said something about how his is the politics of the past and how his rallies put me into a state of abject gloom, that when he opens his mouth and starts to say things, you never exactly relax until he has put the microphone down, but, well -- that was all malarkey, and I guess I was a lying dog-faced pony soldier. Which, it turns out, is a good thing!"

Today. Sally Goldenberg & Christopher Cadelago of Politico: "Mike Bloomberg is weighing dropping out as early as Wednesday after losing a string of Super Tuesday states where he invested a fortune in advertising, according to several people familiar with his plans. While the multi-billionaire former New York City mayor was on track to win delegates, he was roundly beaten by Joe Biden, on whose collapse Bloomberg had been counting." ~~~

~~~ Yesterday. The Washington Post's live updates of Tuesday's developments are here. Mike "Bloomberg struck a defiant tone Tuesday as polls opened in 14 states, saying he planned to stay in the race until the Democratic convention in July despite no expectation of winning any state in his first ballot test. 'I have shown that I have the management experience to do it,' Bloomberg said of the presidency during a stop at a campaign office in [Miami's] Little Havana neighborhood. 'And no other candidate in the race do I think could beat Donald Trump or could run the country.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Tennessee. Adrian Sainz of the AP: "A judge has extended voting hours in Tennessee's second-largest county after four Democratic presidential candidates sued to keep Super Tuesday polls open after a tornado devastated the area, a Democratic party spokeswoman said Tuesday. A Davidson County Chancery Court judge ruled that polling locations in the county whose seat is Nashville must remain open until 8 p.m. Central time. Five so-called megasites, where anyone in the tornado-hit county can go to vote, will be open until 10 p.m. under the judge's ruling...."

The New York Times' liveblog of Super Tuesday developments is here. "In the Northern California county where a mysterious case of the coronavirus had been reported and dozens of people were quarantined, a top election official said the county bought gloves for poll workers and expanded curbside ballot drop-off points for Super Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

All Girl Candidates Are Alike. Edward Moreno of the Hill: "Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a reporter Tuesday he 'didn't realize' that Sen. Elizabeth [Warren] (D-Mass.) was still in the primary race. His comments came in light of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Peter Buttigieg dropping from the race and consolidating support behind former Vice President Joe Biden.... 'If there's only 3 candidates, you can't do worse than that,' Bloomberg said, when asked if he would accept a third-place finish. The reporter reminded him that Warren, who currently has eight delegates, is still in the race. 'I didn't realize she's still in, is she?' Bloomberg asked." (Also linked yesterday.)

Senate Races

Alabama. Jane Timm of NBC News: "Former Sen. Jeff Sessions and onetime Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville were neck and neck in the Republican primary race for the Senate on Tuesday night and will face off in a runoff election later this month, NBC News projects.... Tuberville had 33.4 percent and Sessions took 31.6 percent, with 99 percent reporting.... On Wednesday morning..., Donald Trump trashed Sessions ... on Twitter, blaming Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation that wound up being led by former special counsel Robert Mueller. 'This is what happens to someone who loyally gets appointed Attorney General of the United States & then doesn't have the wisdom or courage to stare down & end the phony Russia Witch Hunt. Recuses himself on FIRST DAY in office, and the Mueller Scam begins!' [Trump tweeted.]"

North Carolina. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham won the Democratic nomination for the Senate on Tuesday, setting him up to face off against Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in November. Cunningham prevailed over three other Democrats who were running for the party's nomination in the North Carolina Senate primary. Cunningham was viewed as the front-runner and won the endorsement last year of national Democrats, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.... The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a super PAC with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), poured money into TV ads during the primary to try to boost state Sen. Erica Smith (D)."

Fred Imbert, et al., of CNBC: "Stocks fell sharply in volatile trading on Tuesday as an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to assuage concerns of slower economic growth due to the coronavirus outbreak.... The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 785.91 points lower, or nearly 3%, to 25,917.41; it rose more than 300 points earlier in the day. The 30-stock average gyrated between sharp gains and solid losses after the decision was announced. The S&P 500 fell 2.8% to 3,003.37 while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 3% to 8,684.09. Investors, in turn, loaded up on U.S. Treasurys, pushing the benchmark 10-year yield below 1% for the first time ever. Gold, meanwhile, jumped 2.9% to settle at $1,644.40 per ounce." ~~~

~~~ Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates on Tuesday as fears about the economic fallout of the coronavirus continued to mount, announcing its biggest single cut since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.... The central bank said it would cut interest rates by half a percentage point.... 'As usual, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve are slow to act,' [Donald Trump] wrote on Twitter Monday." CNBC's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday criticized the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point as insufficient, demanding 'more easing and cutting' in a tweet." (Also linked yesterday.)

Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "One week after Trump returned home from India to confront an unfolding health crisis and tasked Pence with managing the government-wide response, the effort has been undermined by mixed messages, contradictions and falsehoods -- many of them emanating from the president himself, including this week when he repeatedly spread false information about just how soon a coronavirus vaccine would be available. The White House is handling the rapidly expanding coronavirus as a public relations problem as much as a public health crisis. Officials are insisting on message discipline among government scientists and political aides alike...." ~~~

~~~ You Cannot Teach Trump What He Doesn't Want to Know. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... on Monday when he held a coronavirus roundtable with his task force and the heads of several pharmaceutical companies..., [Trump] still appears rather clueless on the subject.... Trump peppered the drug companies with questions that were some variant of 'How fast can you get it done?' But despite this having been a focal point in recent weeks, he still didn't seem to process the fact that producing a vaccine means conducting months and months of trials before it can be deployed.... What's remarkable ... is that [Dr. Anthony] Fauci has explained all of this -- in front of Trump and publicly.... 'I don't think they know what the time will be,' Trump said [to a reporter later, ignoring everything he'd been told repeatedly]. 'I've heard very quick numbers -- a matter of months -- and I've heard pretty much a year would be an outside number.'... Fauci had said a year to 18 months." Mrs. McC: If you read Blake's full report, you'll wonder why no one in the meeting throttled that dumb lummox. His wilful ignorance is infuriating.

Do Not Upset Der Furor. Eric Schmitt & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has urged American military commanders overseas not to make any decisions related to the coronavirus that might surprise the White House or run afoul of President Trump's messaging on the growing health challenge, American officials said. Mr. Esper's directive, delivered last week during a video teleconference call with combatant commanders around the world, is the latest iteration of Mr. Trump's efforts to manage public fears over the disease, even as it continues to spread around the world.... Mr. Esper told commanders deployed overseas that they should check in before making decisions related to protecting their troops." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon issued a sharp rebuttal Tuesday to a New York Times article saying Defense Secretary Mark Esper directed commanders to notify the Department of Defense (DOD) of their coronavirus responses to avoid surprising the White House, calling it a 'dangerous and inaccurate mischaracterization.'... The DOD disputed [the Times'] account, saying Esper instead directed commanders to take all force health protection measures and then notify their chain of command when actions are taken 'so that DOD leadership can inform the interagency -- including [Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Homeland Security], the State Department, and the White House -- and the American people,' top Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement." (Also linked yesterday.)

Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "A White House lawyer and former counsel to the House Intelligence Committee under Devin Nunes has been named senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council, the latest instance of ... Donald Trump elevating a trusted loyalist to control the intelligence community. Michael Ellis, a deputy to White House lawyer John Eisenberg, started in the role on Monday, according to a senior administration official and a former national security official. Ellis left the counsel's office so won't be dual-hatted with his new job." Mrs. McC: Lillis's primary job: Telling Trump those conspiracy theories he heard on Fox "News" are real. (Also linked yesterday.)

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "U.S. prosecutors say they have a witness who will directly implicate a Russian businessman known as 'Putin's chef' in schemes to carry out election interference overseas. The mystery witness is prepared to testify at a criminal trial set to open in Washington next month in a case ... Robert Mueller brought accusing three Russian companies and 13 Russian individuals of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a prosecutor declared at a recent court hearing. The anticipated testimony will focus on the most prominent Russian national charged in the indictment, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a St. Petersburg restaurateur who enjoys close ties to ... Vladimir Putin and who has expanded his business empire to become a key contractor for the Russian military. Prosecutors say Prigozhin ran the Internet Research Agency, a Russian firm that allegedly sponsored and coordinated online troll activity during the 2016 U.S. election."

Alexandra Svokos of ABC News: "The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments for the latest landmark abortion case on Wednesday morning, which could change the landscape of abortion law in America -- and abortion access -- for years to come. June Medical Services v. Russo (previously v. Gee) is a challenge from Louisiana abortion providers to a 2014 state law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges with a nearby hospital, which allows a patient to go to that hospital if they need urgent care. Because abortion statistically has very low complication rates, the need for hospital care is extremely rare." The New York Times story is here.

Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: Chris Matthews' "casual sexism wasn't at the heart of why he had to go. One of the most prominent and well-paid hosts in the cable-news game didn't listen, didn't do his homework and treated politics as a game in which noisy confrontation was a necessity. The problem was less about greenroom boorishness and far more about what you could see and hear on the air.... Frequently described as 'bombastic,' and certainly an excitable yeller, Matthews had a tendency to ask a question, and then, just as his subject was beginning to answer, interrupt, asking it differently or inserting his own opinion. His interview with Elizabeth Warren last month was a memorable case in point. The topic was whether her rival presidential candidate, Mike Bloomberg, had really suggested to one of his employees that she 'kill it' when he found out she was going to have a baby.... But the 'Hardball' host apparently hadn't done the reading. He seemed to want a confrontational interview with Warren no matter what the underlying evidence might be."

Beyond the Beltway

Oklahoma. Christine Hauser of the New York Times: "A college recruiter from Oklahoma Christian University is no longer working for the school after he told a group of high school students to line up organized by their skin color and hair texture, officials said on Tuesday. The recruiter, Cedric Sunray, visited Harding Charter Preparatory High School in Oklahoma City on Feb. 24, and met with 110 juniors and four teachers in the gymnasium to talk about opportunities at the college, said the principal, Steven Stefanick. 'The recruiter asked the students to line up from darkest to lightest skin complexion, and then line up from nappiest to straightest hair,' Mr. Stefanick said in a telephone interview. As the students did as they were told, some of the teachers got up and left to report the request to school administrators, who intervened, he said.... [Sunray later] said the exercise was meant to be an 'icebreaker' and that he has made the same presentation dozens of times at other institutions.... He described himself ... as a member of a Native American tribe with a 'white racial phenotype.'"

Way Beyond

David Sanger & William Broad of the New York Times: "Iran's growing stockpile of nuclear fuel recently crossed a critical threshold, according to a report issued Tuesday by international inspectors: For the first time since President Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran appears to have enough enriched uranium to produce a single nuclear weapon, though it would take months or years to manufacture a warhead and deliver it over long distances. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors nuclear capabilities and reports to the United Nations, also documented for the first time how Iran's leadership blocked its inspectors from visiting three critical sites where there was evidence of past nuclear activity."

News Lede

The New York Times' latest live updates on developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here. "The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that the global mortality rate for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, was 3.4 percent. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization's director general, said in a news conference in Geneva that Covid-19 was deadlier than the seasonal flu, but did not transmit as easily. 'Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported Covid-19 cases have died,' Dr. Tedros said. 'By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected.'"

The Commentariat -- March 3, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

All Girl Candidates Are Alike. Edward Moreno of the Hill: "Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a reporter Tuesday he 'didn't realize' that Sen. Elizabeth [Warren] (D-Mass.) was still in the primary race. His comments came in light of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Peter Buttigieg dropping from the race and consolidating support behind former Vice President Joe Biden.... 'If there's only 3 candidates, you can't do worse than that,' said, when asked if he would accept a third-place finish. The reporter reminded him that Warren, who currently has eight delegates, is still in the race. 'I didn't realize she's still in, is she?' Bloomberg asked."

Do Not Upset Der Furor. Eric Schmitt & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has urged American military commanders overseas not to make any decisions related to the coronavirus that might surprise the White House or run afoul of President Trump's messaging on the growing health challenge, American officials said. Mr. Esper's directive, delivered last week during a video teleconference call with combatant commanders around the world, is the latest iteration of Mr. Trump's efforts to manage public fears over the disease, even as it continues to spread around the world.... Mr. Esper told commanders deployed overseas that they should check in before making decisions related to protecting their troops." ~~~

     ~~~ Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon issued a sharp rebuttal Tuesday to a New York Times article saying Defense Secretary Mark Esper directed commanders to notify the Department of Defense (DOD) of their coronavirus responses to avoid surprising the White House, calling it a 'dangerous and inaccurate mischaracterization.'... The DOD disputed [the Times'] account, saying Esper instead directed commanders to take all force health protection measures and then notify their chain of command when actions are taken 'so that DOD leadership can inform the interagency -- including [Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Homeland Security], the State Department, and the White House -- and the American people,' top Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement."

The New York Times' liveblog of Super Tuesday developments is here. "In the Northern California county where a mysterious case of the coronavirus had been reported and dozens of people were quarantined, a top election official said the county bought gloves for poll workers and expanded curbside ballot drop-off points for Super Tuesday." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates are here. Mike "Bloomberg struck a defiant tone Tuesday as polls opened in 14 states, saying he planned to stay in the race until the Democratic convention in July despite no expectation of winning any state in his first ballot test. 'I have shown that I have the management experience to do it,' Bloomberg said of the presidency during a stop at a campaign office in [Miami's] Little Havana neighborhood. 'And no other candidate in the race do I think could beat Donald Trump or could run the country.'"

Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates on Tuesday as fears about the economic fallout of the coronavirus continued to mount, announcing its biggest single cut since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.... The central bank said it would cut interest rates by half a percentage point.... 'As usual, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve are slow to act,' [Donald Trump] wrote on Twitter Monday." CNBC's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday criticized the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point as insufficient, demanding 'more easing and cutting' in a tweet."

Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "A White House lawyer and former counsel to the House Intelligence Committee under Devin Nunes has been named senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council, the latest instance of ... Donald Trump elevating a trusted loyalist to control the intelligence community. Michael Ellis, a deputy to White House lawyer John Eisenberg, started in the role on Monday, according to a senior administration official and a former national security official. Ellis left the counsel's office so won't be dual-hatted with his new job." Mrs. McC: Lillis's primary job: Telling Trump those conspiracy theories he heard on Fox "News" are real. ~~~

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It's Super Thursday! (or Something Like That)

Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is poised to win the most delegates when 14 states vote on this cycle's Super Tuesday, while former Vice President Joe Biden is looking to solidify his position as the centrist alternative. Sanders is headed for a top finish in California and Texas, the two largest states to vote. The progressive independent should win California in blowout fashion, and he's maintained a healthy lead in polls of Texas throughout the early voting period, when more than 1 million people cast ballots in the Democratic primary.... Sanders also appears headed for victories in Colorado, Utah, Maine and Vermont. With [Amy] Klobuchar out of the race, Sanders is the favorite to win Minnesota, and he’s pushing to win in Sen. Elizabeth Warren's home state of Massachusetts."

The youngest person still running for president is 70 years old. -- Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times, in a tweet

Unless you count Tulsi Gabbard. And let's not. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

This Is Going to Be Painful. We Hold These Truths, Yada Yada Yada. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "During his campaign rally speech in Houston, TX Monday, [Joe] Biden seemingly forgot the words to the Declaration of Independence. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created by the you know, you know the thing,' he said to a confused audience. In the same speech, Biden also mistakenly referred to Super Tuesday as Super Thursday. 'Look, tomorrow's Super Thurs... Tuesday,' he said, just catching himself in time...." Mrs. McC: Go Warren!~~~

~~~ Alexander Burns, et al., of the New York Times: "In a last-minute bid to unite the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg on Monday threw their support behind a presidential campaign rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., giving him an extraordinary boost ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries that promised to test his strength against the liberal front-runner, Senator Bernie Sanders. Even by the standards of the tumultuous 2020 campaign, the endorsements from Ms. Klobuchar and Mr. Buttigieg -- and their plan to join Mr. Biden at a rally in Dallas on Monday night -- was remarkable. Rarely, if ever, have opponents joined forces so dramatically, as Ms. Klobuchar and Mr. Buttigieg went from campaigning at full tilt in the South Carolina primary on Saturday to teaming up on a political rescue mission for a former competitor, Mr. Biden, whom they had once regarded as a spent force." An AP report is here. ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Martin of the New York Times (in the Times' liveblog of campaign developments): "Former Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas, who became a progressive star in his spirited race against Senator Ted Cruz before mounting a less-successful presidential campaign, will endorse Joseph R. Biden Jr. and appear with him in Dallas Monday night, according to two Democratic officials familiar with his plans. Mr. O'Rourke, who dropped out of the primary last fall, has returned to his native El Paso and largely stayed out of the campaign. But one night before the Texas primary, he will line up with his fellow former candidates, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, in their effort to coalesce behind Mr. Biden and slow the momentum of Bernie Sanders." The Hill has a summary report here. ~~~

~~~ Reid Epstein & Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Pete Buttigieg ... said Sunday night he was dropping out of the Democratic race, following a crushing loss in the South Carolina primary where his poor performance with black Democrats signaled an inability to build a broad coalition of voters.... Mr. Buttigieg talked with [Joe] Biden and former President Barack Obama on Sunday night, according to a Democratic official familiar with the conversations." (A different version of this story was linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nick Corasaniti & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who entered the Democratic presidential race with an appeal to moderate voters and offered herself as a candidate who could win in Midwestern swing states, has decided to quit the race and endorse ... Joseph R. Biden Jr., her campaign confirmed on Monday. Ms. Klobuchar will appear with Mr. Biden at his rally in Dallas Monday night." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Unless Warren can pull off a miracle, Trump just won four more years. If I were a bit younger, I'd buy a flat in Antibes & spend the last of my days staring out the window at the deep blue sea.

AND Away We Go! It's Benghaaazi! All Over Again. Felicia Sonmez & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is preparing to subpoena a witness tied to Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, in an escalation of the GOP probe of the firm that comes as former vice president Joe Biden's fortunes are rising in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.... If approved [by the Homeland Security committee he chairs], Johnson's move would mark the first subpoena Senate Republicans have issued in their probe into Biden and Burisma. Two other GOP senators -- Charles E. Grassley (Iowa) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) -- have also launched investigations into Hunter Biden." Mrs. McC: And bear in mind, though he's had months to do so, Joe Biden has yet to come up with a coherent response to the false charges against him.

Jessica Silver-Greenberg & Natalie Kitroeff of the New York Times: "Every year, hundreds of departing employees at Bloomberg L.P. are presented with a choice: Either leave the company empty-handed or accept a generous financial package and agree to never speak ill of the company. Many take the money. The result is that some employees at Michael R. Bloomberg's company are barred from publicly describing misconduct and what they perceived as an entrenched culture of bullying, where women are often objectified and sometimes face discrimination, according to interviews with more than a dozen former employees, as well as lawsuits and internal corporate documents reviewed by The New York Times. Bloomberg is not unique. In corporate America, in order to receive severance payments, fired or laid-off employees generally must sign agreements that require them to keep quiet about their experiences."

Trump Impeachment Retribution, Ctd. Connor O'Brien of Politico: "The White House is withdrawing the nominee for a top Pentagon post, according to two Senate aides, following reports that she questioned the legality of the administration's efforts to freeze military aid to Ukraine. Elaine McCusker was nominated late last year to be the Pentagon's comptroller. She has been the acting comptroller since the summer and was the public face of the Pentagon's budget rollout last month, briefing reporters on the details of the Defense Department's $741 billion military spending request.... The move comes as Trump and his allies seek to root out members of his administration they view as disloyal following the president's acquittal.... McCusker featured prominently in emails, published by The New York Times and Just Security, that showed the acting Pentagon comptroller expressing concerns over the legality of White House moves on Ukraine aid."

Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "... Donald Trump appears to have boxed in the Senate on the crucial question of who will lead the intelligence community in the months leading up to the November election.... Through a series of moves, Trump has presented senators with what many see as an unpalatable choice, multiple congressional aides of both parties told NBC News: Either confirm a conservative Texas congressman [as director of national intelligence] who misrepresented his background [Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas)], or leave in place as acting director a political firebrand with no experience in the intelligence world [Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell].

Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Shortly after health officials in Washington state confirmed the second U.S. death from the novel coronavirus in as many days, President Trump retweeted an animated video Sunday night in which he again bragged about his accomplishments, laughed at his political opponents and critics, and smiled as Mount Rushmore was reshaped to feature only his face.... The video, which had been viewed more than 1 million times as of early Monday, was retweeted late Sunday amid reports that the Trump administration has scrambled to gain control of an American response to the global crisis, a response that has been 'defined by bureaucratic infighting, confusion and misinformation,' The Washington Post reported." (Also linked yesterday.)

CDC Clams Up. Brianna Ehley & Lauren Morello of Politico: "The CDC [Monday] abruptly postponed a press briefing on the coronavirus response .... and did not provide an explanation as to why or when it would be rescheduled.... The postponement of the briefing comes after a number of states reported new cases over the weekend and federal officials confirmed the country's first and second deaths from the virus.... The CDC [Monday] also removed information on its website that detailed how many people in the country had been tested for the virus." Mrs. McC: My guess is that mike pence was unhappy with the CDC's "messaging": "People are dying" does not align with Trump's "They're all getting better."

Sarah Owermohle of Politico: "Anthony Fauci..., the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases..., is in the thick of the race to contain coronavirus when the nation is deeply polarized and misinformation can spread with one tweet -- sometimes, from the president himself. 'You should never destroy your own credibility. And you don't want to go to war with a president,' Fauci, who has been the country's top infectious diseases expert through a dozen outbreaks and six presidents, told Politico in an interview Friday. 'But you got to walk the fine balance of making sure you continue to tell the truth.'"

Carla Johnson of the AP: "An increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States, including in Washington state, where four people died at a nursing home and some schools were closed for disinfection. New diagnoses in several states pushed the tally of COVID-19 cases past 100, and New Hampshire reported its first case, raising the total of affected states to 11. Seattle officials announced four more deaths, bringing the total in the U.S. to six.... The deaths at a nursing home in suburban Kirkland, Washington, were especially troubling to health care experts because of the vulnerability of sick and elderly people to the illness and existing problems in nursing facilities. 'It's going to be a disaster,' said Charlene Harrington, who studies nursing homes at the University of California, San Francisco. Infection is already a huge problem in U.S. nursing homes because of a lack of nurses and training. In Texas, tension between U.S. and local officials brewed over the planned release Monday of more than 120 ex-passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in quarantine in San Antonio. Mayor Ron Nirenberg declared a public safety emergency in an attempt to continue the quarantine."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Fox News host Jesse Watters demanded a formal apology from China on Monday before pushing unproven rumors that the new coronavirus came from Chinese citizens 'eating raw bats and snakes.' With fears heightening around the virus as the death toll in the United States jumped to at least six on Monday, Watters began Monday's broadcast of Fox News chatfest The Five by lashing out at China, which has been the epicenter of the growing pandemic.... 'No, Jesse,' co-host Dana Perino pleaded as the other hosts could be seen face-palming."

Jason Leopold, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "The Justice Department and FBI have turned over to BuzzFeed News and CNN the latest cache of highly secretive interview summaries from ... Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and ... Donald Trump's attempts to obstruct the inquiry. The documents include interview summaries from Trump adviser Jared Kushner, former campaign chair Paul Manafort, former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, and former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon.... The summaries ... showed that senior advisers Stephen Miller and Kushner, along with former communications director Hope Hicks, sometimes drafted tweets for Trump, that Bannon didn't think the 'Putin stuff' was a big deal, and that former national security adviser Michael Flynn sought guidance from Obama administration officials Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes 'about how to do things.'" The article includes highlights & reproduces some of the heavily-redacted reports.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a third major case on the Affordable Care Act ... granting petitions from Democratic state officials and the House of Representatives in a case with the potential to wipe out the entire law. The court did not say when it would hear the case, but, under its ordinary practices, arguments would be held in the fall and a decision would land in the spring or summer of 2021. Democrats, who consider health care a winning issue and worry about possible changes in the composition of the Supreme Court, had urged the justices to act quickly even though lower courts had not issued definitive rulings. They wanted to keep the fate of the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare, in the public eye during the presidential campaign and to ensure that the appeal was decided while justices who had rejected earlier challenges remain the court." The NBC News report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Fred Imbert & Eustance Huang of CNBC: "Stocks rebounded sharply from their worst week since the financial crisis on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its best day in more than a decade. Expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut rates drove the gains, which accelerated aggressively into the close. The Dow closed 1,293.96 points higher, or 5.1%, at 26,703.32. The move on a percentage basis was the Dow's biggest since March 2009. It was the largest-ever points gain for the 30-stock average."

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change -- including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial -- into the agency's scientific reports, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, including environmental studies and impact statements on major watersheds in the American West that could be used to justify allocating increasingly scarce water farmers at the expense of wildlife conservation and fisheries. The effort was led by Indur M. Goklany, a longtime Interior Department employee who, in 2017 near the start of the Trump administration, was promoted to the office of the deputy secretary with responsibility for reviewing the agency's climate policies.... The wording, known internally as the 'Goks uncertainty language' based on Mr. Goklany's nickname, inaccurately claims that there is a lack of consensus among scientists that the earth is warming." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Ha! Jason Abbruzzese of NBC News: "Chris Matthews, one of the longest-tenured voices at MSNBC, announced his retirement during Monday's night's airing of his talk show, 'Hardball.' Matthews, 74, said he and MSNBC had mutually agreed to part ways. The decision followed a series of events that resulted in criticism of the host's statements about Bernie Sanders, African-American lawmakers, and comments he had made to female journalists and coworkers. 'I'm retiring,' Matthews said. 'This is the last "Hardball" on MSNBC.'" ~~~

~~~ Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: Matthews "also acknowledged giving 'compliments on a woman's appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK. For making such comments in the past, I'm sorry,' Mr. Matthews said. His sudden signoff, though negotiated with senior network executives, came as a shock to some of Mr. Matthews's most prominent on-air colleagues. Steve Kornacki, the anchor tasked with hosting the remainder of Monday's 'Hardball' episode, appeared stunned as the show returned from a commercial break. 'Um, that was a lot to take in,' Mr. Kornacki said, his eyes wide. 'I'm sure you're still absorbing that, and I am, too.' The anchor and correspondent Katy Tur posted a note on Twitter about Mr. Matthews's departure and added the caption: 'Wait. What?'" ~~~

AND King of the Nuisance Suit, Ctd. Kate Irby of the Fresno Bee: "California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes on Monday filed his seventh lawsuit in 12 months alleging that he was the victim of defamation or conspiracy, this time suing The Washington Post. Nunes, R-Tulare, in a complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia alleges a Feb. 21 news story describing an intelligence briefing given to members of Congress regarding Russia's perceived preference for ... Donald Trump's re-election was part of a long-running effort at The Post to damage Nunes' reputation.... Nunes is seeking $250 million in damages from The Post."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Israel. Aron Heller of the AP: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party on Monday emerged as the largest party in the country's third election in under a year, according to exit polls, but it was unclear whether the embattled Israeli leader could secure a parliamentary majority as he prepares to go on trial for corruption charges later this month. Exit polls on Israeli TV stations indicated that Likud and its smaller ultra-religious and nationalist allies had captured 59 seats, two short of the majority required to declare victory." ~~~

~~~ Update. Gil Hoffman of the Jerusalem Post: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on track to win 59 seats for his bloc of right-wing and religious parties in Monday's election, down by one from the 60 predicted by the initial exit polls. The new prediction leaves him two short of a majority in the Knesset.... Netanyahu spoke to the heads of the parties in his camp immediately after the exit polls were announced and agreed to form a strong nationalist government as soon as possible."

News Lede

CBS News: "Tornadoes touched down across Tennessee Tuesday, killing at least 19 people and leaving an undetermined number missing, according to authorities. Tennessee is now under a state of emergency. The death toll was nine Tuesday morning but jumped to 19 by midday, as bodies were recovered from fallen buildings, according to Tennessee Emergency Management Spokeswoman Maggie Hannan, The Associated Press reports. There are a number of people still missing across the state, according to officials. They would not provide a number of the missing on Tuesday morning, as search and rescue crews are still working. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said at a press conference that the number of fatalities will likely increase by the end of the day."

The Commentariat -- March 2, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Reid Epstein & Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg plans to endorse former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the Democratic presidential race, according to a person informed of the decision, as the Democratic Party's moderate wing quickly began coalescing around Mr. Biden in an effort to stop Senator Bernie Sanders from winning the Democratic nomination. Mr. Buttigieg's endorsement ... is set to come at a Biden campaign event Monday night...." ~~~

~~~ Nick Corasaniti & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who entered the Democratic presidential race with an appeal to moderate voters and offered herself as a candidate who could win in Midwestern swing states, has decided to quit the race and endorse ... Joseph R. Biden Jr., her campaign confirmed on Monday. Ms. Klobuchar will appear with Mr. Biden at his rally in Dallas Monday night." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Unless Warren can pull off a miracle, Trump just won four more years. If I were a bit younger, I'd buy a flat in Antibes & spend the last of my days staring out the window at the deep blue sea.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a third major case on the Affordable Care Act ... granting petitions from Democratic state officials and the House of Representatives in a case with the potential to wipe out the entire law. The court did not say when it would hear the case, but, under its ordinary practices, arguments would be held in the fall and a decision would land in the spring or summer of 2021. Democrats, who consider health care a winning issue and worry about possible changes in the composition of the Supreme Court, had urged the justices to act quickly even though lower courts had not issued definitive rulings. They wanted to keep the fate of the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare, in the public eye during the presidential campaign and to ensure that the appeal was decided while justices who had rejected earlier challenges remain the court." The NBC News report is here.

Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Shortly after health officials in Washington state confirmed the second U.S. death from the novel coronavirus in as many days, President Trump retweeted an animated video Sunday night in which he again bragged about his accomplishments, laughed at his political opponents and critics, and smiled as Mount Rushmore was reshaped to feature only his face.... The video, which had been viewed more than 1 million times as of early Monday, was retweeted late Sunday amid reports that the Trump administration has scrambled to gain control of an American response to the global crisis, a response that has been 'defined by bureaucratic infighting, confusion and misinformation,' The Washington Post reported."

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change -- including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial -- into the agency's scientific reports, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, including environmental studies and impact statements on major watersheds in the American West that could be used to justify allocating increasingly scarce water to farmers at the expense of wildlife conservation and fisheries. The effort was led by Indur M. Goklany, a longtime Interior Department employee who, in 2017 near the start of the Trump administration, was promoted to the office of the deputy secretary with responsibility for reviewing the agency's climate policies.... The wording, known internally as the 'Goks uncertainty language' based on Mr. Goklany's nickname, inaccurately claims that there is a lack of consensus among scientists that the earth is warming."

~~~~~~~~~~

Meg Cunningham of ABC News: "Fifteen [presidential primary] contests will be held across the nation on Tuesday. Polls close at various times beginning at 7 p.m. eastern and extending until 11 p.m., though it is unlikely a winner will be projected in every state before the close of the night.... Fourteen states and American Samoa will head to the polls to weigh in on the presidential election on Tuesday.... This is the first year that delegate-rich California will vote on Super Tuesday. Coupled with Texas, the two are by far the most delegate-heavy states." Mrs. McC: I heard on the teevee that 34% of Democratic delegates will be chosen in the super-Tuesday primaries.

** Reid Epstein & Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Pete Buttigieg, the former small-city Indiana mayor and first openly gay major presidential candidate, has decided to quit the Democratic race, a person briefed on Mr. Buttigieg's plans said on Sunday, following a crushing loss in the South Carolina primary where his poor performance with black Democrats signaled an inability to build a broad coalition of voters. The decision comes just 48 hours before the biggest voting day of the primary, Super Tuesday, when 15 states and territories will allot a third of the delegates over all. The results were widely expected to show him far behind Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders. Mr. Buttigieg canceled plans for a Sunday night rally in Dallas and a Monday morning fund-raiser in Austin, Tex., to return to South Bend, Ind., to make a speech." An updated AP story is here; a Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ New NYT Lede: "Pete Buttigieg, the former small-city Indiana mayor and first openly gay major presidential candidate, said Sunday night he was dropping out of the Democratic race, following a crushing loss in the South Carolina primary where his poor performance with black Democrats signaled an inability to build a broad coalition of voters."

Dan Balz of the Washington Post: Bernie "Sanders heads toward Super Tuesday's contests in an enviable position. But given growing resistance to his candidacy among establishment Democrats, he needs a strong performance Tuesday to put a lock on becoming the delegate leader heading to the national convention in Milwaukee in July."

Jeff Zeleny of CNN: "Former President Barack Obama ... call[ed] former Vice President Joe Biden and offer[ed] his congratulations.... But the words of praise for Biden's commanding finish in the contest did not change the fact that Obama still plans to stay on the sidelines and not insert himself into the primary fight as it intensifies. A person close to Obama told CNN that the former president's view has not changed: He has no immediate plans to offer an endorsement of Biden -- or anyone -- as the nominating contest heads into Super Tuesday."

Alexandra Jaffe & Kathleen Ronayne of the AP: "... after [Joe] Biden's commanding win in South Carolina, which was powered by support from African Americans, [Mike] Bloomberg is facing mounting pressure to justify his presence in the race. Some Democrats fear that Bloomberg will take votes on Super Tuesday that would otherwise go to Biden, making it harder for the party to unite behind a single moderate alternative to Bernie Sanders, who some in the party establishment think is too liberal to beat ... Donald Trump.... Even if Bloomberg has a poor showing on Tuesday, he's likely to press on. His campaign hasn't set clear expectations for victory on Tuesday, but adviser Tim O'Brien said there's no scenario in which he exits the race due to the results."

Torey Van Oot of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Sen. Amy Klobuchar returned to Minnesota on Sunday hoping to pivot to Super Tuesday after a distant sixth-place finish in the South Carolina primary. But while hundreds of supporters gathered for her homecoming in a St. Louis Park High School gymnasium, dozens of protesters streamed in, chanting for her to exit the race over her handling of the case against Myon Burrell, a black teenager convicted in a 2002 child slaying when Klobuchar was Hennepin County attorney. As protesters took over the stage shouting 'Myon!' Klobuchar supporters shouted 'Amy!' back. Klobuchar was not in the gymnasium as the protest unfolded, disrupting the start of a program of campaign speeches."

Astead Herndon of the New York Times: "Presidential candidates and prominent social justice activists descended on Alabama on Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of the brutal attack on civil rights marchers here in 1965, one of the most violent episodes in the struggle for black participation in democracy. A who's who of political figures, including five Democratic presidential candidates, were marking the occasion, nearly 55 years after the day that became known as 'Bloody Sunday.'... During an early afternoon service on Sunday, people gathered at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, the starting point for the 1965 march.... [Joe] Biden and former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, addressed the congregation.... While Mr. Bloomberg spoke, a number of people stood and turned their backs.... Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat and voting rights activist who has often been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate, delivered a keynote speech.... Later, Mr. Bloomberg, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., joined the march on the bridge." ~~~

~~~ "Speak Up. Speak Out. Get in the Way." Devan Cole of CNN: "Civil rights icon and US Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia made a surprise appearance at this year's 'Bloody Sunday' commemorative march in Selma, Alabama, where he delivered an impassioned plea to voters to use the ballot box as 'a nonviolent instrument or tool to redeem the soul of America.' Lewis, who had his skull broken by white police officers during the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December. At the time, Lewis said he would undergo treatment for the cancer...." Includes video.

Mike Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "... there were troubling new signs that [the coronavirus] was spreading undetected in some American communities for weeks while the government resisted calls for more widespread testing. With testing now ramping up, the Seattle suburb of Kirkland has become an epicenter of both illness and fear, much of it focused on a nursing facility where six coronavirus cases have been confirmed and many more residents and employees have complained of illness. Health authorities in King County, Wash., announced on Sunday evening that one of the six, a resident of the nursing home, had died of the virus at the EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland, and that three more were in critical condition. The death was the second on U.S. soil from the virus; the first also occurred at that hospital."

Elizabeth Cohen of CNN: "As new cases of coronavirus arise daily in the United States..., the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has failed to release crucial information physicians say could help save the lives of Americans diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Several US patients have recovered from coronavirus, but so far, the CDC has shared detailed clinical information about only one of those patients.... That means doctors who now unexpectedly find themselves treating new coronavirus patients aren't able to benefit from the findings of doctors who preceded them.... Not sharing such information ... 'is inexplicable and inappropriate,' ... said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University."

Jonathan Swan & Caitlin Owens of Axios: "A top federal scientist sounded the alarm about what he feared was contamination in an Atlanta lab where the government made test kits for the coronavirus, according to sources familiar with the situation in Atlanta.... The Trump administration has ordered an independent investigation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab, and manufacturing of the virus test kits has been moved, the sources said.... At the time the administration is under scrutiny for its early preparations for the virus, the potential problems at the lab became a top internal priority for some officials. But the Trump administration did not talk publicly about the Food and Drug Administration's specific concerns about the Atlanta lab."

The New York Times is liveblogging market developments. "Stocks rose in global markets on Monday as investors bet that the world's governments and central banks would step in to help a global economy slammed by the coronavirus outbreak. In Europe, stock markets started the day with gains, but those began to fade as trading continued. Most Asian indexes finished the trading session higher. Futures markets indicated that investors expect Wall Street to open slightly higher later on Monday."

News Flash! Gail Collins Hopes Millions Will Die & Make Trump Look Bad. Zack Budryk of the Hill: "NBC's Chuck Todd in an interview broadcast Sunday pressed Vice President Pence on his condemnation of 'irresponsible rhetoric' from Democrats on the coronavirus, asking him to cite specific examples. Todd played a series of clips from conservative commentators, including talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who accused Democrats of having 'weaponized' the virus, and Donald Trump Jr., who said his father's opponents were trying to 'take a pandemic and seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so that they could end Donald Trump's streak of winning.' 'None of this seems to match the facts. What facts are there that Democrats are doing this?... ' Todd said. 'Well, I will tell you, there's been a lot of irresponsible rhetoric among Democrats and commentators on the left,' Pence ... said. 'Name some names, sir. Because it just feels like gaslighting...," Todd responded. Pence eventually cited a New York Times column by Gail Collins, whom he did not name, with the headline 'Let's Call It Trumpvirus,' demurring when Todd asked if that applies 'to all people.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mediaite has video here (begins at about 45 sec. in). Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: If pence had actually read Collins' column, he would find that nowhere in the column does she suggest that the coronavirus needs a new name. Rather, the column cites example after example -- all culled from the news/those nasty little things called facts -- of how Trump & the gang are downplaying the seriousness of the epidemic and mismanaging mitigation. Or are just plain clueless. But still. In her heart, I'll bet Gail -- whom Trump once criticized for having "The Face of a Dog!" -- wants to kill off a sizable chunk of the population so Donald Trump won't enjoy so much winning.

An Obvious Reason for Universal Health Coverage. Claire Miller, et al., of the New York Times: "Stay home from work if you get sick. See a doctor. Use a separate bathroom from the people you live with. Prepare for schools to close, and to work from home. These are measures the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended to slow a coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Yet these are much easier to do for certain people -- in particular, high-earning professionals. Service industry workers, like those in restaurants, retail, child care and the gig economy, are much less likely to have paid sick days, the ability to work remotely or employer-provided health insurance. The disparity could make the new coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness known as Covid-19, harder to contain in the United States than in other rich countries that have universal benefits like health care and sick leave, experts say. A large segment of workers are not able to stay home, and many of them work in jobs that include high contact with other people. It could also mean that low-income workers are hit harder by the virus." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you know someone who resents having to help pay for health insurance for "lazy poor people" -- and you do -- you might want to explain to him why it's in his self-interest to do so.

The Method to His Madness. George Conway in a Washington Post op-ed: "In 2016, CBS '60 Minutes' correspondent Lesley Stahl asked Trump off camera why he persisted in going after journalists. In one of those sporadic moments in which he reveals the raw truth, Trump replied, according to Stahl, 'I do it to discredit you all and demean you all, so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.' That's just what Trump ... has been doing for some time, with judges.... Now, even more ominously, Trump has turned his fire on the Supreme Court. In tweets and in a bizarre news conference in India, he demanded that two justices -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor -- refrain from ruling on all things Trump.... The demand was a sham. The right way to seek recusal is with a motion, filed by lawyers, in court, laying out precise legal arguments.... Any such motion would be meritless. Trump's charge against Sotomayor was based on an opinion that he clearly hadn't read and didn't understand.... It is a dangerous thing for the country to have a man whose office charges him with faithfully executing the law instead so brazenly seek to undermine respect for it." ~~~

~~~ George Packer of the Atlantic has a long piece on how Trump "is winning his war on American institutions." In one graf, Packer sums up how Trump did it: elite assumptions were wrong. "The [political class] were too sophisticated to see Trump's special political talents -- his instinct for every adversary's weakness, his fanatical devotion to himself, his knack for imposing his will, his sheer staying power. They also failed to appreciate the advanced decay of the Republican Party, which by 2016 was far gone in a nihilistic pursuit of power at all costs. They didn't grasp the readiness of large numbers of Americans to accept, even relish, Trump's contempt for democratic norms and basic decency. It took the arrival of such a leader to reveal how many things that had always seemed engraved in monumental stone turned out to depend on those flimsy norms, and how much the norms depended on public opinion. Their vanishing exposed the real power of the presidency. Legal precedent could be deleted with a keystroke; law enforcement's independence from the White House was optional; the separation of powers turned out to be a gentleman's agreement; transparent lies were more potent than solid facts."

Susannah George & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Afghan government objected Sunday to parts of the historic peace deal[*] between the United States and the Taliban, showing the difficulties that lie ahead for the country as the 18-year conflict enters a new phase. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, speaking at a news conference less than 24 hours after the agreement was signed, questioned several elements of the deal, including the timeline for a controversial prisoner exchange and the conditions surrounding the start of talks between the Taliban and his government. The U.S.-Taliban deal, the result of talks from which the Afghan government was excluded, charts a path for the full withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the country it invaded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It stipulates that talks between the Taliban and Ghani's government must begin by March 10 -- at which point the sides must have completed a prisoner exchange." ~~~

     ~~~ * Mrs. McCrabbie: "Historical peace deal" is likely more Trumpy than reality. ~~~

~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times takes a sober look at Trump's Afghan "peace deal": "President Trump has left no doubt that his first priority in Afghanistan is a peace treaty that would enable him to claim that he is fulfilling his vow to withdraw American troops. But a parade of his former national security aides say he is far less interested in an actual Afghan peace. And that creates an enormous risk for Mr. Trump and for Afghanistan: that, like President Richard M. Nixon's peace deal with North Vietnam in January 1973, the accord signed Saturday will speed an American exit and do little to stabilize an allied government.... The accord signed on Saturday -- with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo overseeing the moment but not actually signing it himself -- will initially bring down American troop levels to about 8,600 from about 12,000 now. That is almost exactly where they were three years ago, at the end of Mr. Obama';s term." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Cooch Cancelled. Stef Kight of Axios: "A federal district judge in D.C. ruled on Sunday that Ken Cuccinelli's placement as the acting top official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.... Policies that were put in place under Cuccinelli are now void, including a directive that gave asylum-seekers less time to consult with legal counsel before their initial 'credible fear' interview with a USCIS officer." Emphasis added. Update: An AP story is here.

Josh Gerstein of Politico pulls out "highlights" of a deposition of Roger Stone for Florida civil cases unrelated to the federal criminal case in which a jury convicted Stone: "Roger Stone looked like a man on edge, under extreme stress and struggling to contain pent-up fury. The GOP provocateur was just days away from finding out his fate from a criminal case that drew nationwide attention.... In five-and-a-half hours of video recorded over two days, Stone's hands shake, he bares his teeth, his lips twitch and he repeatedly loses his temper in the face of goading from conservative lawyer Larry Klayman, who has several libel suits pending against Stone and his associates." Mrs. McC: Bearing in mind that this barely-hinged lunatic is a sort of "presidential advisor." Thanks to safari for the link. ~~~

About That Latte. Jamie Doward of the Observer (Guardian): "High street coffee shop giant Starbucks has been caught up in a child labour row after an investigation revealed that children under 13 were working on farms in Guatemala that supply the chain with its beans. Channel 4's Dispatches filmed the children working 40-hour weeks in gruelling conditions, picking coffee for a daily wage little more than the price of a latte. The beans are also supplied to Nespresso, owned by Nestlé. Last week, actor George Clooney, the advertising face of Nespresso, praised the investigation and said he was saddened by its findings. The Dispatches team said some of the children, who worked around eight hours a day, six days a week, looked as young as eight. They, were paid depending on the weight of beans they picked, with sacks weighing up to 45kg. Typically, a child would earn less than £5 a day, although sometimes it could be as low as 31p an hour.... Starbucks also said it had a 'tolerance for child labour anywhere in our supply chain'. It told Dispatches: 'We've launched a full investigation into the claims brought by Channel 4, carried out in partnership with a leading third-party auditor.' Starbucks has since said that its investigation confirmed 'we have not purchased coffee from the farms in question during the most recent harvest season'."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Israel. Aron Heller of the AP: "Israelis were voting Monday in the country's unprecedented third election in less than a year to decide whether longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in power despite his upcoming criminal trial on corruption charges. Netanyahu, the longest serving leader in Israeli history, has been the caretaker prime minister for more than a year as a divided Israel has weathered two inconclusive elections and a prolonged political paralysis. With opinion polls forecasting another deadlock, Netanyahu is seeking a late surge in support to score a parliamentary majority along with other nationalist parties that will deliver him a fourth consecutive term in office, and fifth overall." Mrs. McC: It would be hard to believe Israel couldn't come up with better candidates for PM if our own presidential choices weren't Butthead, Biden & Bernie.

Turkey, Etc. Liz Sly of the Washington Post: "Turkey shot down two warplanes and inflicted heavy losses on ground forces in northwestern Syria on Sunday as the two countries edged closer to an all-out war. The operation came in retaliation for an airstrike blamed on the Syrian government that killed 36 Turkish soldiers on Thursday, Turkey's Defense Ministry said. It followed weeks of Turkish threats to attack Syrian forces if they continued to advance toward the Turkish border, risking a new wave of refugees. Armed Turkish drones struck military airports and loyalist bases deep in Syrian government-held territory as Turkish troops and allied rebels pushed forward to drive Syrian troops out of towns and villages they had recaptured from opposition forces in recent weeks." An AP story is here.

News Ledes

New York Times: "James Lipton, who plumbed the dramatic arts through perceptive, mostly admiring interviews with celebrity actors as host of the Bravo television series 'Inside the Actors Studio,' died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 93."

CNBC: "Jack Welch, a railroad conductor's son who became chairman and CEO of General Electric and led it for two decades, growing its market value from $12 billion to $410 billion, has died. He was 84." ~~~

~~~ Washington Post: "The hallmarks of Mr. Welch's tenure during the 1980s and 1990s have become part of the playbook for chief executives everywhere: unflinching layoffs, ambitious expansion around the world, lucrative stock options for high-performing executives and a relentless drive to reward shareholders with stellar earnings quarter after quarter. His methods were divisive. Nicknamed 'Neutron Jack' for his massive firings of GE employees, he was hailed in 1999 as 'manager of the century' by Fortune magazine."

The New York Times' live updates of developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here. Guardian live updates are here. ~~~

~~~ Washington Post live updates: "Washington state announced four more coronavirus deaths on Monday, bringing the total death toll in the United States to six, officials said, as the virus continues to spread despite travel restrictions aimed at curtailing it. As the global death toll passed 3,000, South Korea on Monday confirmed 599 new cases, far higher than the daily tally reported in China. With 4,335 confirmed infections and at least 22 deaths, South Korea has the second-largest national caseload. However, it has tested more than 100,000 people, far more than most nations. In the United States, tests have taken place at a far slower pace. A genetic analysis suggested that the coronavirus, which causes a highly infectious respiratory disease called covid-19, has been spreading undetected for about six weeks in Washington state. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday took steps to sharply expand testing. Italy has more than 1,600 confirmed cases, while Iran surpassed 1,500, with 66 deaths. Travelers from both countries appear to have spread the virus to other nations in the Middle East and Europe."