Top Story: Vice President Joe Biden kicks off a two-day summit with pro- and then anti-gun control groups at the White House. In attendance: the NRA. Also in attendance: Walmart's tail, tucked neatly between its legs.
- Biden on Wednesday meets with the people who want to go "big" on gun control. Thursday, he meets with the people who just like the idea of a free lunch. (First Read) and (Roll Call)
- So what does "big" and "small" look like on gun control? "Small” would focus on magazine size and mental-health screenings, while “big” could include universal background checks, a beefed up national firearms database and total assault weapons ban. (First Read) (third item)
- For a brief moment this morning, Walmart, the nation’s largest gun retailer, said it couldn’t make the meeting. The reason? Well, wouldn’t ya know it, all two million of its employees had a scheduling conflict.(Washington Wire)
- Yes, the NRA was willing to meet with the White House, but Walmart wasn’t. (The Atlantic Wire)
- "And here come the pretzels." A backlash ensued, and Walmart caved, saying in a statement: “We underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person, so we are sending an appropriate representative to participate.” Didja now. (CNBC)
- Why, oh, why would Walmart balk at a White House meeting? Well, its “decision to return to selling firearms at many stores in 2011 … may have led to its first increase in same-store sales in more than two years in October 2011.” (Forbes)
- Possible 2016 presidential candidate, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., is pushing for more restrictive state ban on assault weapons. (The New York Times)
And in another news ..
- President Obama may name Jack Lew as the next treasury secretary as early as tomorrow. (John Harwood)
- That means Lew’s signature will appear on the money in your wallet. And Lew’s handwriting is, well, let's just call it evidence that maybe Obamacare should cover vision care for adults, too. (Daily Intelligencer)
- So what does Lew know about financial markets? Well, as an executive at Citigroup he was smart enough to short the housing market in the months before Lehman’s collapse. (The Huffington Post)
- It’s a man’s life in the White House! (The New York Times)
- “Neil Barofsky, former inspector general for the Wall Street bailout said AIG’s possible lawsuit would be a ‘giant middle finger to the taxpayer.’" (Morning Money)
- Every curious why Dick Armey gave that scabrous interview about his former employer, FreedomWorks, to the very liberal Media Matters? Because he confused that organization with Brent Bozell’s very conservative Media Research Center. Whoops. (The Daily Caller)
- By getting into financial bed with the oil industry post politics, Al Gore is curiously following in the footsteps of his father. (The Washington Post)
- And a happy 100th birthday to Richard Nixon – “crook, idealist, dog lover and accomplished pianist.” (The Telegraph)