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From The Reporter’s Notebook
Virginia McLaurin, the 106 year-old who danced with the Obamas during her White House visit, has lived through 18 different presidencies. But, according to TPM reporter Sara Jerde, she started a social media campaign to see President Barack Obama. As McLaurin said in a YouTube video, “I didn’t think I’d ever live to see a colored president. I am so happy. I pray for you every day of my life.”
Agree or Disagree?
TPM’s Managing Editor David Kurtz: “There are countless reasons why Trump’s frontrunner status is stunning, unexpected, earth-shaking and all the rest. But I can’t get past the fact that they guy who won New Hampshire and South Carolina openly and sneeringly bucked GOP orthodoxy on George W. Bush’s 9/11 record. I didn’t expect any Republican candidate to do that in my lifetime and win.“
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From a TPM Prime member: “There are a few windows each year when SCOTUS is in the news. The May/June time when they are releasing decisions is the most noteworthy. The period when oral arguments on big cases are held in late winter and early spring is another, and the beginning of the SCOTUS term in early October is the third. October is too late to do anything but make this a campaign issue. Late winter/early spring is too early. I would focus a campaign during SCOTUS decision time in May/June highlighting the most important High Court rulings and why Obama’s nominee should at that very least be given a floor vote. The Republican’s 4 corner offense will only work if Dem’s do not incessantly trap the ball handler. I understand this ball-hawking defense is a long shot. I also get that this is not an issue that merely plays out one way or another guided by the gods of chance as the clock winds down. This is an issue that gets moved through proactive organizing and fastidious clock management, much like the 2000 election recount (Dem’s got their asses beat on that campaign). As much as I love that curmudgeon Bernie, I am fully aware that not a single plank of his platform can be put in place through Congress as it is currently constituted. However, if Bernie Bro’s wanted to do one effective thing toward overturning Citizen’s United, they would be working night and day the next 4 months to ensure Obama’s nominee is seated on SCOTUS.”
Related: GOP Senator Mark Kirk strayed from the hard line issued by Senate Republican leaders on President Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
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What We’re Reading
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s big bet that Facebook can make virtual reality social. (Wired)
New Delhi’s evolution on gay rights. (Foreign Affairs)
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