SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

NEW CHIEF – From The New York Times:  "President Obama plans on Tuesday to name Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., a former top commander in Afghanistan who now serves as commandant of the Marine Corps, to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to officials briefed on the selection.  If he is confirmed by the Senate, General Dunford, 59, will take over the top military leadership position at a time of daunting challenges for the armed forces. It would fall to him to complete Mr. Obama’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of next year while prosecuting a grinding air war against the Islamic State."  I don't know much about him.  He will succeed Army General Martin Dempsey, who is widely considered a favorite of Obama.  Why am I not thrilled?

TIN EAR – Bill Clinton is often called a superb politician, but the reality is that he's often had a tin ear.  The tin is showing again.  From The Hill:  "Bill Clinton is refusing to step away from the paid speaking circuit despite the political risk the appearances could pose for his wife’s presidential campaign.  'I got to pay our bills,' the former president said in an interview with NBC News. 'And I also give a lot of it to the [Clinton] Foundation every year.'  Democrats have long fretted about the role the former president would play in Hillary Clinton’s second White House bid, fearing a repeat of 2008, when he was at times seen as a liability on the campaign trail."  He'll be a liability again if he doesn't understand the image he's developed as a man who's made tens of millions after leaving the White House, trading on his public position.

SACRIFICE – From the New York Post:  "Thousands of mourners gathered to remember slain NYPD cop Brian Moore Monday night during a vigil at Plainedge High School on Long Island.  'He was a great friend. He always had a smile on his face,' said detective Mike Cerullo, who is working on the case.  'I helped pull him out of the car. It was devastating seeing a guy I went to high school with looking like that.'  Moore, who was shot in the face Saturday, died at Jamaica Hospital when he was taken off life support following brain surgery."  He is the fifth NYPD officer to be killed this year.  Police lives matter.

MAJOR JOURNALISTIC DISCOVERY – From CNBC:  "Credit cards can carry more than high interest rates—they actually might increase your chances of depression.  It's common sense that high levels of debt can stress you out. Now researchers have found a statistically significant link between short-term household debt, such as credit card debt and overdue bills, and increases in symptoms of depression.  The link between depression and debt was strongest among unmarried people, people near retirement and those who are less educated, according to the new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The study also found that, on average, people's depressive symptoms tend to increase as their short-term debt rises."  I never would have known.  I do appreciate hard-hitting journalism.

May 4, 2015