CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 21, 2014 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle
BREAKING … CNN’s Jake Tapper reports: Intelligence from the field has WH 'very concerned' about Russia invading more of #Ukraine – possibly soon.
DEVELOPING ON THE LEFT …. BIDEN HEADS TO NEW HAMPSHIRE
As Vice President Joe Biden leaves open the door to another presidential run, his trip next week to New Hampshire will likely fuel more speculation about his interest in the job. The White House announced Friday that Biden will travel to the Granite State next Tuesday for an event highlighting workforce development and job training. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez will join him. – Ashley Killough
Scott P. Brown (@SenScottBrown)
Vice President Biden is coming to Nashua on Tuesday. Good opportunity for Senator Shaheen to join him & discuss ObamaCare. #NHpolitics
Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg)
Sen. Shaheen will not join VP Biden in NH next week #NHsen
Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN)
During Biden's trip to NH, Sen. Shaheen's camp says she'll be in DC next week chairing subcom. hearing. They also point to Ukraine votes.
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AND ON THE RIGHT …. RAND PAUL DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM DAD … Alex Pappas interviews Paul for the Daily Caller:. Reporters sometimes ask Rand Paul to comment on his father’s beliefs. “I’ve pretty much quit answering” those questions, Rand Paul said. “I’ve been in the Senate three years, and I have created a record of myself. …And I have my opinions.” He referenced George W. Bush’s campaign for president in 2000. “Did he get tons of questions about his dad?” Paul asked. “I don’t know that he did, to tell you the truth.”
CONGRESS CHECK from @LisaDCNN: Senate workdays in DC this year: 29.* Senate days outside DC: 24. House workdays in DC this year: 28.* House days outside DC: 25. Both chambers return from recess Monday. Next recess: April 14. *We are not counting minutes-long pro-forma sessions as workdays in DC.
THE BUZZ … U.S. MILITARY HAS SPENT OVER $2.5 MILLION ON THE SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 370 … according to Col Steven Warren. CNN’s Barbara Starr reports the Defense Department has allocated a total of $4 million for the search. It’s estimated that funding will last until early April. It is not known yet whether the US will seek reimbursement from Malaysia.
MARKET WATCH: Dow and S&P 500 finish up more than 1% for the week despite Friday decline. S&P 500 sets trading high of 1,884.
TRAIL TRIVIA
(Answer below)
Which four states are officially known as commonwealths?
the LEDE
Did you miss it?
Leading CNNPolitics.com: Inside Politics: Two days of reckoning for Obamacare
This year's first day of reckoning for President Barack Obama's signature domestic initiative is fast approaching. The second is seven-plus months away. The big question: Will the math on the first have anything to do with the math on the second? – John King
Gut Check DVR: Catch John King’s ‘Inside Politics’ on Sunday at 8:30am E.T. with guests Robert Costa, Maeve Reston, David Maraniss, and Julie Pace. The biggest stories, sourced by the best reporters.
Leading Drudge: Red!
First lady Michelle Obama is in China for an official visit to bolster Sino-American relations, but she will refrain from talking about political differences? Mrs. Obama, who flew Wednesday from Washington, D.C., is making a week-long trip to three Chinese cities and will speak with children at several schools about the importance of education and youth empowerment. – Miguel Martinez
Leading HuffPo: Paul Ryan Confronted At Town Hall Over Inner-City Poverty, Obamacare (Video)
A town hall in southeast Wisconsin turned testy for Republican Rep. Paul Ryan on Wednesday when constituents confronted the House Budget Committee chairman over his recent comments on inner-city poverty, as well as his opposition to Obamacare. The more heated exchange occurred when Alfonso Gardner, a black man from Mount Pleasant, read aloud remarks Ryan made last week on the "culture problem" among inner-city men. – Sabrina Siddiqui
Leading Politico: Chuck Schumer’s Wall Street dilemma
During the breakfast fundraiser (on the 50th floor of Nasdaq’s Wall Street headquarters last month) there was one thing left unsaid, but something virtually everyone wanted to know: whether Schumer will seek the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee next Congress … The choice will signify whether Schumer is aiming to recast his political career as Capitol Hill’s chief policymaker for his home-state industry — or is instead seeking to position himself as the next leader of a Senate Democratic Caucus that has railed against the excesses of Wall Street. – Manu Raju and Ben White
Leading New York Times: Obama and Tech Executives to Meet Again on Privacy Issues
President Obama will meet with technology executives on Friday afternoon to discuss “issues of privacy, technology and intelligence,” a senior White House official said, amid growing concerns in Silicon Valley that intelligence agencies’ cyber snooping is steering customers away from buying American technology. The White House has not provided a list of the executives who were invited to the Oval Office meeting, which is scheduled to begin around 4 p.m. – David S. Joachim
Gut Check Flashback: FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE LAST THURSDAY: “The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they're doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst. I've called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform.”
HOT SOTS
The political bites of the day
– Obama: Dems get "clobbered" in midterm elections because of the "toxic" nature of Washington –
PRESIDENT OBAMA AT A DINNER IN MIAMI ON THURSDAY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE: “The problem is not that the American people disagree with us on the issues … The challenge is, is that our politics in Washington have become so toxic that people just lose faith and finally they just say, 'You know what, I’m not interested, I’m not going to bother, I’m not going to vote.' ”
– Biden to healthcare groups: Push! –
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN DELIVERS REMARKS AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS FORUM: “The point of the matter is that we only have 10 days left and the bigger number we bank the more certain (we can be that) there will be no ability to turn this back no matter what happens in the Congress, no matter where this moves. The next enrollment date is in November and we've got to roll into that date strong. And so this final point – remember why you are doing this in the first place. In the last 10 days push as hard as you can. Expanding access makes a gigantic difference.”
– Limbaugh: Obama impeachment not going to happen –
RUSH LIMBAUGH ON HIS NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO SHOW THURSDAY: “There isn't going to be any impeachment because there isn't any political will. Even if you had a slam-dunk legal case for it, you're never going to succeed in impeaching a president unless there's the political will for it.”
– Jindal: Edwin has never lost –
LOUISIANA REPUBLICAN GOV. BOBBY JINDAL TO THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE ON FORMER LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC GOV. EDWIN EDWARDS' CONGRESSIONAL BID: "I wouldn't bet against Edwin. He's never lost an election. But the reality is the voters will decide who they want to represent them in Congress, and I have great confidence in the voters of Louisiana."
TOP TWEETS
What stopped us in 140 characters or less
Mark Knoller (@markknoller)
WH National Security Advisor @AmbassadorRice says "fundamental reassessment" of US-Russian relations is underway. pic.twitter.com/LVuHBDwbtx
Ali Arikan (@aliarikan)
Twitter is banned in Turkey, yet even people who have never even sent a tweet in their lives are on Twitter right now. Nice going, fellas.
Eric Schultz (@Schultz44)
.@PressSec onblocking of twitter in Turkey: we support the people of Turkey in their calls to restore full access to the blocked technologies
MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE)
Just paid the Obamacare penalty for not 'getting covered'... I'M CALLING IT A LIBERTY TAX!
Jacqui Corba (@jm_corba)
. @WSJ reports WH testing @SamsungMobile & @LGUSAMobile phones as potential switch from @BlackBerry for internal use http://on.wsj.com/1gNZgqE
Mike Jackson (@CEOMikeJackson)
At Broward Workshop @JebBush talking about fiscal responsibility and that Florida is well positioned for economic growth #Broward #Florida
Broward Politics (@browardpolitics)
When @CEOMikeJackson asked @JebBush if he'd ever closed bridge for "traffic study," Bush indicated lips are sealed. /AM
NYT Sports (@NYTSports)
Duke is hated 2x as much as any other team in our emotional toll tracker. Lots of people are dancing in their chairs nyti.ms/PYh4WG
David Lazarus (@Davidlaz)
Your chances now of winning $1 billion March Madness challenge: Pretty much zero http://cnnmon.ie/NA9MpY via @CNNMoney
TRIVIA ANSWER from @sarafischer
Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania are the four U.S. states that are officially known as commonwealths. Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands are also known as commonwealths.
GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE
(why aren’t you in it)
Congrats to David Daniel (@CNNLADavid) and Southside Central (@sosidecentral) for correctly answering today’s Gut Check Trivia question.
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