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  • Kagan: The charmer

    AP

    The Washington Post observes, By the end of 17 hours of senatorial grilling, lecturing and badgering, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan had revealed at least one passion: She loves this stuff. Put the woman in front of some stern interrogators who make her explain a dozen times why Harvard Law School doesn't require constitutional law in the very first year, and she comes alive."

    More: "Over two days at the microphone, Kagan gave the impression that there was no place she would rather be than seeking to address all questions of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She assured even the openly hostile Republican members that she knows they are men of 'good faith.' And when the Democrats grumbled about the court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., she enthusiastically responded that he, too, certainly is a man of 'good faith.'"

    "Elena Kagan declined to discuss her passions, demurred when asked anything that might tip her hand on the Supreme Court and invoked her right to remain inscrutable even on cases buried in the past," the AP writes, adding, "Her dodges over two days of questioning prompted chuckles in the Senate Judiciary Committee as members, keenly aware of what she wrote in 1995, watched her rhetorical dances. But the evasive maneuvers created frustration, too."

    Per NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, aides to the Senate Judiciary Committee do not expect a vote on Kagan's nomination until after the July 4th recess. Today, the committee will hear from outside witnesses late in the day after the memorial events for Robert Byrd. Although Kagan's public testimony is complete, she has been asked to submit some additional information in writing which is typical. The committee will review that before taking its vote in executive session.

    Not surprisingly, the New York Times' editorial page supports Kagan's confirmation. "Elena Kagan delivered an impressive performance at her Senate confirmation hearing. Assuming the commitments she made were authentic and not simply designed to tranquilize the members of the Judiciary Committee, she could act as an important brake on the current Supreme Court's alarming tendency to bulldoze through decades of settled precedents. She deserves confirmation as an associate justice."

    "The National Rifle Association scored the Senate's confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor as a "key vote" after her hearings last summer, and people are anticipating whether the group will do it again with Kagan," The Hill reports.

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  • Congress: House passes financial reform

    The House goes first -- again... "The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a massive restructuring to the nation’s financial laws last night, but the Senate canceled plans to vote on the legislation this week after Senator Scott Brown said he was not ready to pledge support for the measure. The House, voting 237 to 192, capped an intense, yearlong debate spearheaded by Representative Barney Frank, who was hailed with handshakes, hugs, and applause from Democrats after the vote. The new legislation would bolster consumer protections, create an oversight council, and restrict financial institutions from making some of the risky maneuvers that contributed to the near-collapse of the economy in 2008."

    Roll Call: "With the Senate failure of an unemployment benefits bill and the fate of a major financial reform bill in peril, Democrats appeared to be limping into the July Fourth recess with less to brag about than they had hoped."

    The AP: "Sen. Robert C. Byrd is making his final sojourn to a Senate chamber that for 51 years echoed with his impassioned speeches and came to be the place he called home. Byrd, who died Monday at age 92, was to lie in repose for six hours in the Senate chamber, his casket resting on the Lincoln Catafalque, a bier that was built for the coffin of Abraham Lincoln."

    But Senate cameras apparently won't be there to capture it, The Hill reports.

  • Obama agenda: A jump start?

    "President Barack Obama hopes to rally new momentum behind the push for an immigration overhaul by explaining why he thinks a comprehensive approach is the only way to fix what he and others say is a system badly in need of repair," the AP writes, adding, "Obama wasn't expected to announce any new proposals or policy changes. But feeling pressure from a range of supporters, he was aiming to jump-start the effort he had promised to make a priority in his first year and which advocates had hoped would be completed by now."

    The New York Daily News: "Congress isn't likely to take up immigration reform before the November midterm elections, but Obama 'thought this was a good time to talk plainly with the American people about his views,' said spokesman Bill Burton. 'Most specifically, he thinks this debate is about accountability -- accountability for securing the border, accountability for employers who are hiring illegal immigrants, and accountability for those who are in this country illegally,' Burton added."

    The Washington Post: "Democrats are pessimistic about actually passing any new immigration laws this year, in part because the lead Republican partner in Congress, Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.), has said Congress should proceed with other issues instead. Nonetheless, the president has been looking for ways to appear more proactive, rather than reactive, on immigration -- a hot-button political issue that is important to Hispanics in the Democratic base, who could play an important part in the outcome of the midterm elections."

    The AP says that in addition to his immigration speech, the president "will sign tough new sanctions Thursday against Iran over its nuclear development program."

    Harry Reid is also meeting with Obama this afternoon.

    The Wall Street Journal points out that the tax on tanning salons -- to help finance the health-care bill -- begins today.

    The New York Times: "Despite Arrests, Obama Works to Rebuild Ties With Russia."

    "On the heels of a sensational Russian spy scandal, Hillary Rodham Clinton is making her first visit as secretary of state to four post-Soviet states, each with a direct stake in the Obama administration's campaign to 'reset' relations with its former Cold War foe," the AP writes. "Clinton was headed Thursday to Ukraine, to be followed by stops in the south Caucasus states of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia -- all once part of the Soviet Union. She also is scheduled to visit Poland, a NATO ally whose ties to Moscow have been marked by tensions throughout history."

    (By the way, we doubt we'll hear her say anything like Joe Biden's comments when he visited Ukraine last July: "The most beautiful women in the world. That's my observation.")

    "Both Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the police sergeant who arrested him last year were to blame for the high-profile dispute that followed, according to an independent panel's report yesterday on a case that sparked a national discussion on racial profiling," the Boston Globe reports.

    The New York Times on the report.

  • GOP watch: American Crossroads boosts its $$$

    “American Crossroads, a conservative group created in March to air ads boosting Republicans, combined with a newer offshoot called American Crossroads GPS to pull in nearly $8.5 million in June, according to American Crossroads president Steven Law,” Politico writes. “‘For us it’s a down payment on what we expect to do in the months ahead, and we’re going to continue to be just as aggressive in July,’ said Law, who found himself on the defensive a bit after POLITICO revealed that American Crossroads raised just $200 in May.”

  • The midterms: DeMint to stump for Buck

    ALABAMA: Robert Bentley, a Republican candidate for governor, defended himself yesterday against criticism from veterans who said an ad saying Bentley treated soldiers who fought in Vietnam (while not mentioning Bentley never served there), the AP reports.

    FLORIDA: “After weeks of denying it, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum has disclosed that he is raising money for two of three secretive political committees attacking his primary opponent, Rick Scott,” the Florida First Initiative and the Sunshine State Freedom Fund, the Tampa Tribune reported.

    Also yesterday, Scott “attacked his Republican primary rival today for having backed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2008.”

    NEVADA: The 527 running ads against Harry Reid, American Crossroads, extended its ad buy a week.

    OHIO: In a campaign stop for Senate nominee Lee Fisher, “Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Democrats may be vulnerable in the summer but voters will look at contrasts in the fall,” the AP writes. “Biden, noting the science center overlooking Lake Erie, also said ‘Republicans don't believe in science.’”

    SOUTH CAROLINA: After endorsing him in April, “South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a Tea Party idol and aspiring conservative kingmaker, is coming to Colorado next week to rally supporters on behalf of Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck,” South Carolina station KDVR reports.

    VIRGINIA: “Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D) is ramping up his reelection campaign, putting a pair of television spots on the air touting his efforts to boost the economy in Virginia's 5th district,” the Washington Post writes.

    WEST VIRGINIA: “Charleston Mayor Danny Jones (R) said Wednesday morning that he believes the state legislature will take up legislation that would move the special election [to fill late Sen. Robert Byrd’s seat] to this year,” the Washington Post writes. “According to local reports, Jones said he has reason to believe Gov. Joe Manchin (D) will add the issue to the slate for a special session next month. (The special session, which is focused on education, is set to start on July 19.)”

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