Happy Hour Roundup

Opinion writer

October 24 at 5:16 PM

* Devlin Barrett, Mark Berman, and Cleve Wootson have the latest on the bombings:

Authorities said Wednesday they had intercepted packages containing homemade explosive devices addressed to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in New York and former president Barack Obama in Washington, while another bomb was discovered at CNN’s offices in Manhattan.

These devices in Washington and New York — sent to the homes of former presidents and a cable news network in what politicians called attempted terror attacks — prompted bipartisan condemnation and set off spasms of unease across the country, as security and law enforcement officers rushed to scour incoming mail for other potential undiscovered bombs.

The bombs and other suspicious packages were located after an explosive device was found this week in a mailbox at the Bedford, N.Y., home of George Soros, the liberal philanthropist who is a frequent target of criticism from far-right groups.

The devices sent to Clinton and Obama were found during screening and did not make it to them, officials said.

Don’t be surprised if we get some copycat crimes too.

* Philip Rucker and David Weigel have the reaction from Republicans:

With just 13 days until the midterm election, the packages appeared to prompt some politicians to pause to reflect on a political atmosphere notable for apocalyptic imagery, violent confrontations and Trump’s mantra that the GOP is “the party of jobs and the Democrats are the party of mobs.”

The White House characterized the mailing of explosive devices as “terrorizing acts,” while prominent Republican lawmakers condemned it as a cowardly attack aimed at terrorizing public figures. Universal calls were made to quickly bring to justice those responsible.

Trump, speaking from the East Room of the White House, said he and officials in his administration were “extremely angry, upset, unhappy about what we witnessed this morning.” He vowed that “the safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority.”

“The full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice,” Trump said. “In these times, we have to unify. We have to come together and send one clear, strong and unmistakable message. . .acts of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America.”

Let’s wait to see what he says when he gets in front of a crowd of supporters tonight. Then we’ll know what he really feels.

* Kelly Weill and Will Sommer report that the right wing is already claiming that the bombs sent to prominent Democrats are a “false flag” operation.

* Heidi Przybyla reports that Mitch McConnell gave Democrats a gift with his talk about cutting entitlements, and they’re now making it into very effective ads.

* Dana Ferguson reports on a new poll showing a surprising dead heat in the race for South Dakota governor.

* Nick Miroff takes a detailed and important look at why people seek asylum from Central America.

* Matt Gertz explains how the caravan panic is playing out exactly like the Ebola panic of 2014.

* Simon Rosenberg offers thoughtful reflections on the deeper meaning of the caravan battle, and on what we could do to make situations like this less likely in the future.

* Rachel West argues that expanding Medicaid to the states that have refused to accept the expansion would save over 14,000 lives per year.

* An important point from John Harwood: Despite GOP efforts at sabotage, Medicaid could expand to serve more people after the election.

* Jason Sattler offers ten reasons why you should vote Democratic in the midterms.

* Eric Levitz explains what the strong poll numbers for Medicare For All actually tell us about the next health care battle.

* Stanley McChrystal explains why he finally threw away his Robert E. Lee portrait.