President Obama again blamed House Speaker John Boehner for the government shutdown in an interview with the AP. He noted that there are enough votes to pass a clean continuing resolution out of the House. Boehner denies that, but public whip counts make it clear that a clean CR to keep the government open would pass. Said Obama: “There are enough votes in the House of Representatives to make sure that the government reopens today. And I'm pretty willing to bet that there are enough votes in the House of Representatives right now to make sure that the United States doesn’t end up being a deadbeat.”
Here’s the transcript of Obama’s interview with AP.
Obama, a Chicago Bears fan, also said that he thinks it would be a good idea for the Redskins to consider changing their name. Well, the Redskins’ attorney – Lanny Davis (!!!) -- responded: "We at the Redskins respect everyone. But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama's hometown), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group."
NBC News: "Organizing for Action is set to double down on Republicans over the government shutdown with a new TV ad hammering the 'irresponsible' and 'reckless' House GOP leadership ahead of the debt limit showdown. The cable television ad from the president’s former campaign arm... will run nationally on cable news."
Wall Street Journal: "Six days into the launch of insurance marketplaces created by the new health-care law, the federal government acknowledged for the first time Sunday it needed to fix design and software problems that have kept customers from applying online for coverage. The Obama administration said last week that an unanticipated surge of Web traffic caused most of the problems and was a sign of high demand by people seeking to buy coverage under the new law. But federal officials said Sunday the online marketplace needed design changes, as well as more server capacity to improve efficiency on the federally run exchange that serves 36 states."
Politico goes to Texas: “The ground war over Obamacare — the one that will determine whether people sign up — will be won and lost in places like Texas. If Obamacare fails in the Lone Star State — that is, if a significant portion of the 6.1 million uninsured Texans don’t or can’t enroll — then the White House could miss its national enrollment targets, the new health insurance exchanges could falter and insurance rates could spike. Obamacare could be unsustainable. And that’s exactly what leading Texas politicians like Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Ted Cruz would like to see happen. With the political leaders’ ‘hell no’ approach to Obamacare, Texas may not seem like a health law battleground. But the demographics — a huge, hard-to-reach uninsured population — mean it’s a make-or-break state for making the law work.”
(Question: But why is Texas any more important than, say, California?)
New York Times: "After back-to-back terms ending in historic rulings that riveted the nation, the Supreme Court might have been expected to return to its usual diet of routine cases that rarely engage the public. Instead, the court’s new term, which starts Monday, will feature an extraordinary series of cases on consequential constitutional issues, including campaign contributions, abortion rights, affirmative action, public prayer and presidential power."