The Edge: We Haven’t Seen the Last of Larry
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We Haven't Seen the Last of Larry
For now, the financial markets are surging on the news that the putatively more inflation-dovish Janet Yellen is once again the front-runner for Federal Reserve chair. And no one is lamenting the loss of what would surely have been an even uglier confirmation battle than Chuck Hagel's was for Defense. But have no doubt: Soon enough something of a backlash over Larry Summers's withdrawal will likely begin. Summers's defenders and admirers will tell us that the nation was deprived of one of its finest-ever economic minds when the Harvard professor took himself out of consideration on Sunday.
But it's likely the 58-year-old Summers will be back in public life at some point. And perhaps by the time the job of Fed chief comes open again Summers will have finally learned the lesson that, in 20 years of policy fights, he kept insisting he had learned but never really seemed to: Show some public humility and graciousness, acknowledge your past mistakes, and perhaps you won't have quite the same hill to climb for confirmation.
Capitol Hill, that is. Read more
Michael Hirsh
mhirsh@nationaljournal.com
TOP NEWS
AT LEAST A DOZEN DEAD IN NAVY YARD SHOOTING, MORE WOUNDED. At least one shooter opened fire at Washington Navy Yard today, leaving no fewer than 12 people dead and a number of others wounded, The Washington Post reports. One suspected shooter—identified as 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a Texas native—is dead, but authorities are still uncertain if the rampage was a lone attack. Earlier in the day police were looking for two additional suspects believed to be wearing green and tan military-style clothing, but it appears authorities have located and clear one of those persons of interest. Capitol Hill was on high alert during the day as police worked to contain the security threat amid rapid, confusing and sometimes contradictory updates. The Senate Sergeant at Arms issued a shelter-in-place order this afternoon; the House has not taken such action. Read more
The Navy Yard shooting immediately prompted discourse on guns and politics—before the violence was even over, National Journal reports. Read more
U.S., ALLIES TO SEEK STRONG U.N. RESOLUTION ON SYRIA ARMS DEADLINES. Joined in Paris by the foreign ministers of France and Britain, Secretary of State John Kerry said today that the allied countries would refuse to tolerate delays of the disarmament of Syria's chemical-weapons arsenal and that they would seek a resolution in the United Nations Security Council to enforce the plan, The New York Times reports. "If Assad fails in time to abide by the terms of this framework, make no mistake, we are all agreed—and that includes Russia—that there will be consequences," Kerry said. Russia, meanwhile, said it may be necessary to force Assad's opponents to attend an international peace conference. Read more
U.N. inspectors issued a report today citing "clear and convincing evidence" that sarin-equipped rockets were used during an Aug. 21 attack on a Damascus suburb, The Washington Post reports. Read more
POLLS REVEAL HIGH LEVEL OF CONFUSION ABOUT ACA. Two new polls show that many Americans are confused and skeptical about the Affordable Care Act just 15 days before open enrollment is set to begin, The Washington Post reports. An NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll found that "those most likely to benefit" from the law are "largely unaware of the overhaul—and also skeptical that they will use the new programs." Seventy-six percent of uninsured respondents reported a lack of understanding about the law and how it would affect them, while 32 percent said they were "fairly" or "very" likely to use the exchanges. The poll, in conjunction with one by Pew Research Center/USA Today, also shows that most people know about the law's individual mandate, but fewer know about subsidies to buy coverage, and that younger people are most receptive to the law. Read more
WITH THREE STABILITY THREATS LOOMING, FED TO MEET TUESDAY. The Federal Reserve will open two days of meetings on Tuesday with the uncertainty of rising U.S. interest rates, rapidly changing events overseas, and Washington's budget battle all serving as a troubling backdrop, The Wall Street Journal reports. The central bank can only influence one issue directly, but all could restrict the growth of the economy and each will inform its decision on whether to begin scaling back its $85 million in monthly bond purchases. Markets, meanwhile, reacted favorably today to news that Lawrence Summers would not be the next Fed chairman, possibly signaling enthusiasm for the prospect of Janet Yellen, the central bank's current vice chairwoman, assuming the top post. Read more
Summers's announcement Sunday that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for the top Fed spot illustrates the growing power liberal and conservative wings have in Congress, The Wall Street Journal reports. Read more
HOUSE GOP BILL OFFERS DEEPER CUTS TO FOOD STAMPS. A Republican proposal in the House would slash spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by about $40 billion over a decade, but the figure is larger than what most Democrats are willing to support, The Wall Street Journal reports. Figuring out how much to cut food-stamp costs, which doubled to about $80 billion last fiscal year from its 2008 level in large part because of the recession, has been an ongoing source of frustration for both parties, but this new measure would further distance the House GOP from Senate Democrats, who want cuts closer to $4 billion. Read more
WHY EVERYONE IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. Less than 24 hours after Rep. Peter King suggested he was interested in running for president in 2016, the outspoken New York Republican was mic'd up and staring into a morning television live shot, National Journal's Shane Goldmacher reports. The King media boomlet is the latest proof that having your name in the presidential hopper is one of the most valuable currencies in American politics. It creates an influx of media attention and a potential national base for campaign cash. It's why so many politicians are testing the presidential waters these days—with visits to the key early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. They get a national megaphone for the price of a plane ticket and a press release. Read more
Vice President Joe Biden fueled 2016 speculation Sunday by speaking to Iowa Democrats at an annual steak-fry fundraiser put on by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Politico reports. Read more
FORMER NSA CHIEF: TERRORISTS BIG FAN OF GMAIL. Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, said Sunday during a speech discussing "the tension between security and liberty," that terrorists prefer to use Gmail over other online communication services, The Washington Post reports. "Gmail is the preferred (online service) of terrorists worldwide," Hayden said. "I don't think you're going to see that in a Google commercial, but it's free, it's ubiquitous, so of course it is." Hayden also defended the legal basis of the NSA's controversial PRISM program offered that the Internet's origin as a U.S. product partially justifies some of the NSA's sweeping surveillance programs. Read more
TOMORROW
CENSUS TO RELEASE REPORT ON ECONOMIC FINDINGS. The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a conference-call briefing and webcast, beginning at 10 a.m., to announce the findings from its report, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2012."
FALLIN TO SPEAK AT NATIONAL PRESS CLUB. Gov. Mary Fallin, R-Okla., vice chairman of the National Governors Association, will deliver a National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon address, "America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow's Jobs," at 12:30 p.m. at 529 14th St. NW.
McCAIN TO ADDRESS SYRIA SITUATION. The Council on Foreign Relations will hold a discussion on recent developments in Syria at 6:30 p.m. at 1777 F St. NW. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is scheduled to participate.
QUOTABLE
"I'm not a kamikaze pilot. If I'm going to spend 2014 doing what I did in 2012, I want an assessment that I am likely to be successful." -- Retired Air Force Col. Martha McSally, the 2012 Republican nominee in Arizona's 2nd District, on a potential 2014 House bid (The Arizona Republic)
BEDTIME READING
LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION. A male caller told Dely Santiago, a worker at New York City's suicide-prevention call center, that "he feels like he's going to die. Actually, he says he already feels dead. This isn't unusual. This is the kind of thing Santiago and the rest of the operators deal with every day," Time's Josh Sanburn reports. In 2010, for the first time, the number of suicides topped the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, which showed more than 38,000 people committed suicide in the United States in 2010. Meanwhile, experts are divided on which strategies are most effective in preventing suicide, with Lanny Berman, the executive director for the American Association of Suicidology, worried that the government's approach is too "upstream," focusing on things like increasing awareness. Read more
THE QUIRK
UP, UP, AND DOWN. IT manager and "cluster balloon specialist" Jonathan Trappe, a veteran of "Up-worthy adventures," has set his sights on crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a basket suspended from 370 helium balloons, The Atlantic's Megan Garber writes. Trappe, who previously crossed the Alps and the English Channel in similar contraptions, set off from Caribou, Maine, on Sept. 12. After traveling just 350 miles, Trappe landed his craft in Newfoundland, Canada, on Friday, having encountered equipment problems. Read more
TODAY'S PHOTO GALLERY
HOW BIG IS TEXAS AGAIN? About 40 years ago, Japanese artist Hisachika Takahashi asked 22 of his colleagues to draw a map of the United States—his new home at the time—from memory, The Atlantic Cities' Eric Jaffe writes. A new exhibit in Manhattan revives Takahashi's unusual request and displays the submissions he received, which range from earnest to humorous to entirely abstract, as Takahashi's own contribution proves. See it here
