There are painters doing some repair work at my place, so I may have to move around my blogging station a time or two. Here are today’s lunch-time news items:

* At Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams argues that pro-choice Americans should concede “life begins at conception” but then fight back against presumption that fetal life trumps all interests.

* In other unapologetic pro-choice advocacy news, Fox freaks over feisty new ad from Center for Reproductive Rights.

* Politico‘s Allen/Martin/VandeHei boost horse race narrative with report on Joe Biden’s “intoxication” with the idea of a 2016 presidential run.

* Rand Paul tells HRC he’d have fired her over Benghazi had he been president. You can only imagine what she was thinking while he said that.

* Nate Silver tries to estimate Obama’s likely place in history of presidents.

And in non-political news:

* Prince mysteriously releases another new song. However you want to do it is fine with me.

Back after I take a break from paint fumes.

Ed Kilgore

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.