My last post on the Virginia governor’s race was a reminder that this is the first such contest I haven’t followed intensely since 1997. (Last time around I live-blogged the primary returns with Nate Silver, who’s come a long way since then). Cuccinelli has taken all the fun out of this crucial off-year election in a state I know pretty well. That will not, however, keep me from enjoying his humiliation two weeks from today.
Here’s a diverse assortment of midday news/views snacks:
* TNR’s Nate Cohen argues lack of House GOP “exposure” in competitive seats means even 2006-level popular vote margin for Dems might not flip control.
* FT’s Gideon Rachman predicts rise of Tea Partyish right-wing populist movement in Europe.
* At The Atlantic, Garance Franke-Ruta lays out revised five-month White House rollout strategy for Obamacare.
* Democrats building large fundraising advantage for 2014 federal races in Iowa.
* MoJo’s Jeremy Schulman examines newspaper policies on mendacious letters to the editor about climate change.
And in non-political news:
* Whiskey boom in U.S. a boon to Irish economy.
Today also marks the 51st anniversary of JFK’s speech to the country disclosing Soviet missiles in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis (about which, as I have noted before, I still have nightmares) inspired one of Dylan’s best tunes, “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall,” performed here live in 1963.
