Last Call

Cory Booker is running for Senate in 2014, probably eliciting a sigh of relief from Gov. Chris Christie.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker will not challenge New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in next year's gubernatorial race and will instead run for U.S. Senate in 2014, political sources familiar with his decision tell NBC 4 New York.

 

Booker will seek the seat held by fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg when his term is up in 2014, those sources tell NBC 4 New York. Lautenberg, 88, is the oldest current senator. He first served in the U.S. Senate from 1982 to 2001 and has served since his re-election in 2003.

Booker's decision not to challenge Christie comes as the Republican incumbent enjoys record-high approval ratings in polls taken since Sandy hit the Garden State.

Considering Lautenberg will be 90 in 2014, I think it's a pretty safe bet he'll be retiring.   Can Booker win the primary?

Well...I guess.  But nothing in New Jersey politics is a safe bet.  We'll see.

Asked And Answered On Gun Control

Having slept on it and looking again at yesterday's POTUS presser on gun control, Jake Tapper's question (as Emily Hauser says) was a fair one when the subject is announced to be gun control legislation:  Where's the President been on gun control up until now?  President Obama's answer, as James Joyner correctly assesses, is a worthy one:

The tone of the question borders on the smug but the substance is absolutely fair. And White House reporters, in particular, have tended to shy away from such pointed questions in recent years. But Obama’s answer struck me as pretty powerful, too:

“Well, here’s where I’ve been, Jake,” Obama replied. “I’ve been president of the United States dealing with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, an auto industry on the verge of collapse, two wars. I don’t think I’ve been on vacation. And so, you know, I think all of us have to do some reflection on how we prioritize what we do here in Washington.”

Obama added that there was more involved in keeping children safe beyond dealing only with guns and reiterated his confidence in Biden and his task force.

“And as I said on Sunday, you know, this should be a wake-up call for all of us to say that if we are not getting right the need to keep our children safe, then nothing else matters,” he continued. “It’s my commitment to make sure we do everything we can to keep our children safe. A lot of things are involved in that, Jake. So making sure they have decent health care, making sure they got a good education, making sure that their parents have jobs — those are all relevant as well. Those aren’t just sort of side issues. But there’s no doubt that this has to be a central issue. And that’s exactly why I’m confident that Joe [Biden] is going to take this so seriously over the next couple months.”

Presumably, the president was expecting the question and was well prepared; otherwise, this is some world class thinking on his feet on display.

Once again I'm glad the guy in the White House is not Mitt Romney, because his answer would have been completely self-serving gobbledegook.    But the current President got this one right.

The B Stands For "Blown Up In His Face"

House Speaker John Boehner has boxed himself into a corner on the fiscal slope, trying to checkmate the President with a "plan B" bill that his own party will most likely walk away from.

In response to President Obama’s extensive comments about the fiscal cliff at the White House Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner left himself little if any room to continue negotiations.

Here’s the key piece of Boehner’s brief comments from his appearance before reporters in the Capitol:

“Tomorrow the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American — 99.81 percent of the American people,” he said, referring to his own so-called Plan B. “Then the President will have a decision to make. He can call on Senate Democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.”

That sounds like he’s giving Obama a choice between Plan B or the fiscal cliff. No more negotiations over a broader deficit reduction plan. 

I agree.  It very much sounds like Boehner is telling the President to accept his Plan B or else.   The stock market certainly thought that's what Boehner's message was as stocks dropped 75 points directly after Orange Julius opened his yap.

The problem for Boehner is that even if he can get enough votes to pass his scheme, President Obama has already promised to veto it, because he knows he wins in January.

He can then make the Republicans an offer they can't and won't refuse.  And Obama wins again.

StupidiNews!

• A new snag in the fiscal cliff slope talks:  without a deal to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax, some 100 million Americans could see their tax returns delayed for months.
• House Republicans are vowing that despite the President's call for a new assault weapons ban that new gun control legislation will not pass the House.
• The US Army is seeking the death penalty for the soldier charged with the deaths of 16 Afghan civilians, including 9 children.
• The Justice Department wants UBS trader Tom Hayes extradited, calling him the "kingpin" of the Swiss bank's three year campaign to manipulate the key global Libor interest rate.
• Scientists say a habitable planet may be only 12 light years away in the Tau Ceti system.