Tonight marks the beginning of Yom Kippur, and since sundown in the East may arrive soon after I finish blogging today, let me wish my Jewish friends an easy fast.
Here are some midday news/views bites:
* Kerry races from negotiations with Russians in Geneva to negotiations on Sunday with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Abbas in Ramallah.
* Andrew Sullivan turns CW on its head, arguing that Obama’s the one who has “played” Putin.
* TAP’s Paul Waldman meditates on Twitter, which Paul Krugman can well afford to avoid, but not us lesser scribblers.
* The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball provides ultimate buzzkill take on significance of Colorado recall for gun control measures.
* Deep dive from Richard Wolffe’s 2012 campaign book into disputes over Stephanie Cutter’s role in Team Obama, if anyone still cares.
And in non-political news:
* Huge Jersey Shore boardwalk fire contained, but post-Sandy rebuilding will have to be repeated.
As I break to finish thinking through another post on Mr. Beinart’s struggle-for-the-soul essay, here’s some more music about superstition, with Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborating with Stevie Wonder on his classic hit:
