Democratic Divide: What is the future of the Democratic Party now that President Obama has won re-election? Do they soldier into the future as a center-left party, or does the progressive wing of the party take the lead, returning the party to its populist traditions? That’s the lead story in Politico today.
Gun control: The New York Times reports that the Democrats who are split over how best to proceed.
Ballot Blocks: Florida Gov. Rick Scott is reversing course, and backing changes in his state meant to ease the crunch of voting that resulted when Republicans cut early-voting days and expanding the number of polling places.
Paul Krugman’s column is about why – despite what you hear constantly from Republicans – the budget deficit is far from our biggest problem. To the contrary, Krugman argues, it’s a problem that’s largely solved.
We’re also watching the hostage crisis in Algeria. Algerian troops launched a raid to free hostages, but the crisis is said to be ongoing.
And two sports stories are making national headlines: Lance Armstrong’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, and the mystery of Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o fictional girlfriend, who he said died of cancer during the season. She not only didn’t die, she never existed. And with word out that Te’o mentioned her in interviews even after supposedly learning he was the victim of a hoax, there are a lot of questions about whether he was somehow involved in the hoax.
Hardball staff