- All eyes are on Congress to get something done before the nation defaults... (NBC Politics)
- President Obama about Speaker Boehner: "He can't control his caucus." (Politico)
- The White House doesn't have a backup plan if the Senate fails to act (Politico)
- Even if a short-term debt deal is agreed upon—hold the champagne (AP)
- "Boehner and his colleagues can sing 'Amazing Grace' in the Capitol basement, but if they get the blame for a shutdown and a default, the only way they'll be able to preserve their majority is with embalming fluid." (Dana Milbank, Washington Post)
- GOP Rep. Peter King: "This party is going nuts." (Huffington Post)
- While listening to oral arguments in an affirmative action case Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reportedly said, "the Fourteenth Amendment protects all races," not "only the blacks." (The Grio)
- Sen. Ted Cruz's father Rafael Cruz repeatedly compared President Obama to Fidel Castro in a YouTube video uploaded in July by Freedom Works (Huffington Post)
Top Links: October 16
"I guess our secret lower level dining area is not so secret anymore." -@TortillaCoast