Obama meets the Pope: “Pope Francis greeted [President] Obama with a handshake as they approached each other just outside the Papal Library, where they met for nearly an hour.’Wonderful meeting you,’ Mr. Obama said, thanking Pope Francis for receiving him.” [WSJ]
A little backstory: The Catholic roots of Obama’s activism [NYT]
GOP says The Pope’s no liberal: “Republicans say the ‘liberal media’ has two world powerhouses all wrong: Barack Obama — and the pope.Democrats believe Pope Francis is their guy, arguing he’s softened the Catholic Church stance on gay rights and abortion and taken GOP economic theories to task. When he meets with Obama in Rome on Thursday, they’re hoping it’ll seal the deal.” [Politico]
Yes, Obama really is worried about a Manhattan nuke [TIME]
Military cuts render NATO less formidable as deterrent to Russia: “The United States, by far the most powerful NATO member, has drastically cut back its European forces from a decade ago. European countries, which have always lagged far behind the United States in military might, have struggled and largely failed to come up with additional military spending at a time of economic anemia and budget cuts.” [NYT]
“Even with more than two years left in his term, President Obama’s ability to fill many of his administration’s most important jobs is rapidly diminishing. White House officials are scrambling to reassess their confirmation strategy in the wake of two major setbacks this month: the Senate’s rejection of lawyer Debo P. Adegbile to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division and signs that surgeon general nominee Vivek H. Murthy could go down in defeat as well. On Tuesday, the administration appointed Karl Remón Thompson as acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel — bypassing the Senate confirmation process.” [Washington Post]
“Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) called on Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Wednesday to immediately make known Russian troop movements along the Ukrainian border. The congressman believes such a move would deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from readying his troops for further incursions into Ukrainian territory.” [TIME]
