memeorandum: E.J. Dionne Jr.: The Hillary difference (Washington Post)

9:30 AM ET, May 5, 2014

Top Items:

Poll: For the midterms, a tilt to the GOP … LEANING REPUBLICAN OBAMA'S IMPACT — IMPORTANT ISSUES — VIEWPOINTS — Source: USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll taken April 23-27 of 1,501 adults. Margin of error: +/-3 percentage points. — WASHINGTON — Democrats hoping improvements …

Discussion: National Review and Democratic Strategist

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Midterm Election Indicators Daunting for Democrats — No Improvement in Perceptions of Job Market — With the midterm elections six months away, Democrats are burdened by an uneven economic recovery and a stubbornly unpopular health care law. Perhaps equally important …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, Politico, Hot Air and Real Clear Politics

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Inventing a Failure — Last week, House Republicans released a deliberately misleading report on the status of health reform, crudely rigging the numbers to sustain the illusion of failure in the face of unexpected success. Are you shocked? — You aren't, but you should be.

Discussion: Washington Post

Michael Hirsh / Politico:

The Benghazi-Industrial Complex — Will the pseudo-scandal be enough to stop Hillary from running? — Perhaps if the Republicans can't beat Hillary Clinton fairly in 2016, they can make her so disgusted by the prospect of running that she'll stay out of the race. — That's where the Benghazi-Industrial Complex comes in.

Discussion: Mediaite and Taylor Marsh

Peter Nicholas / Wall Street Journal:

Obama Plays to Liberal Base, Not Independents — At a low point in President Barack Obama's first term, a White House official conceded the president had lost a disturbing amount of ground with independent voters. — We have to get them back, the official said in an interview.

Fox News:
GOP Rep. King blasts Dem rep's ‘arrogant’ call to boycott Benghazi probe

Discussion: The Other McCain, Scared Monkeys, American Thinker, The PJ Tatler, Fox News Insider, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, protein wisdom and RealClearPolitics Video Log

William Harms / UChicago News:

Gary S. Becker, Nobel-winning scholar of economics and sociology, 1930-2014 — Nobel Laureate Gary S. Becker, AM'53, PhD'55, made historic changes to the study of economics and the social sciences, combining disciplines to understand decisions in everyday life, while spawning rich new questions for scholars in diverse fields to pursue.

Ilya Somin / Washington Post:

Gary Becker, RIP — Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker, one of the greatest economists of the last century, passed away on Saturday. Gary Becker did pathbreaking work on numerous issues, including the economics of discrimination, criminal behavior, the family, and the dynamics of political interest groups.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Power Line, EconLog and ProfessorBainbridge.com

Robert D. Hershey Jr / New York Times: Gary S. Becker, 83, Nobel Winner Who Applied Economics to Everyday Life, Dies

Jenna Levy / Gallup:

U.S. Uninsured Rate Drops to 13.4% — Uninsured rate down nearly four percentage points since late 2013 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The uninsured rate for U.S. adults in April was 13.4%, down from 15.0% in March. This is the lowest monthly uninsured rate recorded since Gallup and Healthways began tracking it in January 2008.

Discussion: The New Republic, Washington Post, Mediaite and Real Clear Politics

Washington Post:

E.J. Dionne Jr.: The Hillary difference — There are two majorities in the country right now. One disapproves of President Obama. The other is still inclined to vote Democratic. The key question for the 2014 elections is whether voting this fall — and Obama's approval ratings …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:

At Derby Day With Murdoch, Rand Paul Goes Through His Paces — LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On the afternoon of the Kentucky Derby, Rand Paul, the state's junior Republican senator and likely presidential candidate, spilled out of an elevator in the exclusive Jockey Club Suites of Churchill Downs …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Week

Chris Wallace / Fox News:

Answers sought following Benghazi revelations; ObamaCare's impact on job creation — Special Guests: Rep. Adam Schiff, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Fred Smith, Robert Wolf — This is a rush transcript from “Fox News Sunday,” May 4, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Discussion: Althouse and Washington Post

Fox News:

GOP candidate booted from editorial meeting after calling out ‘blah blah’ dis — A Republican Senate candidate was kicked out of a local Oregon newspaper's editorial board meeting after daring to challenge a reporter who dissed a fellow candidate by writing “blah blah blah” in his notes instead of her actual quotes.

Discussion: Hot Air