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On the roster: - Trump makes Dems chase tails on Obama tapping - Sharp lines drawn as Gorsuch gets underway - What could determine Gorsuchs fate? - Audible: Better wed than red - What about Don?

TRUMP MAKES DEMS CHASE TAILS ON OBAMA TAPPING Say what you will aboutPresident Trumps claims that his predecessor was spying on him during the 2016 campaign, they have been a remarkably effective distraction.

Given the chance to publicly interrogate FBI DirectorJamesComeyand National Security Agency DirectorMikeRogersabout Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential campaign a topic that should be an absolute field day for the blue team Democrats instead devoted much of their questioning to disproving Trumps apparently baseless claim.

Yes, Democrats coaxed Comey into revealing some potent conclusions, especially the unambiguous declaration that Russian interference was aimed at harming Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and that the Kremlin had a distinct preference for Trump in the election.

But still, the foamy froth over Trumps tweeted allegations took up an enormous amount of time.

As one senior Republican aide on Capitol Hill put it to Halftime Report about Trump and his distractions: You never know if the guy is crazy or an absolute genius.

And, to be fair, it was pretty crazy for Trump as a sitting president to throw out an unsupported accusation againstBarackObamaof such magnitude. Reckless, even.

But the genius part was revealed today as Democrats continued to chase the red herring through much of Comeys and Rogers testimonies.

Democrats may think it a victory to get Comey to say publicly what everyone already knew: that there was no evidence of illegal Obama-ordered wiretaps of Trump, but thats pretty small beer.

The bigger takeaway for the days work ought to have been Comeys public confirmation of an ongoing investigation into whether or not anyone associated with Trumps campaign was colluding with Russian entities during the election. We knew, or at least had reason to suspect as much, before.

But because Comey has publicly declared the existence of an investigation, that means that in the probably near future there will be findings released. Either Trump and his associates will be given a clean bill of health, or criminal charges will be laid. And finally we can have some resolution.

Until that moment, however, its all about shaping the precious narrative. And in that game Trumps either intentional or accidental misinformation about Obama turns out to be very useful to the new president.

Many of Trumps supporters no doubt readily believe Trumps claims, despite debunking. Trumps critics, meanwhile, have been busy chasing their tails trying to disprove the disprovable.

As far as actually governing the nation, it hasnt been so hot. The resultant spat with Britain over some of the charges was a wasteful embarrassment. But as political theater, its been a pretty potent misdirection play.

THE RULEBOOK: CHOICE OF A LIFETIME The want of a provision for removing the judges on account of inability has been a subject of complaint. But all considerate men will be sensible that such a provision would either not be practiced upon or would be more liable to abuse than calculated to answer any good purpose.Alexander Hamilton,Federalist No. 79

TIME OUT:FEEL THE BEAT Legendary artist Chuck Berry, who died Saturday at 90-years-old, was often thought to be the father of rock n roll, with unparalleled talent. But his depictions of post-WWII America is what gives his music lasting meaning. Atlantic: The singer in Promised Land is, like the guitar-slinging [Johnny B. Goode], a young man on the make. Starting off from home in Norfolk, Virginia, in a Greyhound, the singer wants to make it to California to make his name. The song is an atlas of Americagreat cities like New Orleans and Atlanta crop up, but so do smaller ones like Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Like his contemporaries the Beat Poets, the singer is determined to travel, but unlike them he does not have the tendency toward (nor, perhaps, the privilege of) shiftlessness.

Flag on the play? -Email us atHALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COMwith your tips, comments or questions.

SHARP LINES DRAWN AS GORSUCH GETS UNDERWAY Fox News: The first day of hearings [on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court] in the Senate Judiciary Committee opened with Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley expressing his overarching views on the high court before championing Gorsuch, saying judges play a limited role in government and are not free to update the Constitution. Thats not their job. That power is retained by the people, acting through their elected representatives, the Iowa Republican said before arguing the Obama administration tried rewriting federal laws dozens of times.

[Heres a look at how the current Supreme Court justices made it through their hearings.]

What could determine Gorsuchs fate? - FiveThirtyEights Harry Enten argues public opinion has a pretty hefty factor for Supreme Court nominees: Importantly, the public likes Gorsuch.And while the public doesnt vote on Supreme Court nominees, my analysis of past votes suggests public approval is correlated with how many votes a nominee receives in the Senate once you control for other factors. Public pressure, for example,is partof what helped Clarence Thomas get confirmed. In pretty muchevery single survey taken so far, more Americans have supported Gorsuchs confirmation than opposed it. Gorsuch doesnt have quite the approval5that many nominees over the past 30 years have had, but hes not far off.

Hurts so good: Gorsuch and the corpse flower - WashTimes: Already, Democrats in the Senate have declared that they have no interest in taking Judge Gorsuch or his confirmation hearings seriously. The high burden of proof that Judge Gorsuch has to meet is largely a result of the president who nominated him, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate from the ridiculous state of Connecticut despite repeatedly lying about fighting in the Vietnam War. In other words, according to Mr. Blumenthal, its all about politics. Nothing to do with the Constitution. He doesnt like the president, so he will never vote for Judge Gorsuchs confirmation.

PLAY-BY-PLAY Trumps new job approval rating hits new low - Gallup

Ryan says House GOP making fine-tuning adjustments to health bill - Fox News

Cabinet agencies reportedly crabby over White House minders in their midst - WaPo AUDIBLE: BETTER WED THAN RED You dont ever send anyone back to the commies. American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp recounting to the WaPo his opening gambit in his courtship with his now wife, Mercedes, the daughter of Cuban refugees who began their first debate demanding to know his position on the repatriation of Elian Gonzales.

FROM THE BLEACHERS Do you know or will you find out if the proposed American Health Care Act covers and mandates that [members of Congress], their staff and Federal employees use the system and their existing programs are abolished? Frank Bolton, Phoenix

[Ed. note: Good question! One of the requirements under ObamaCare is for members of Congress and their staffs to obtain coverage through the health insurance exchanges set up under the law. They are free to take their employer contribution and buy any coverage available, so its something of an empty gesture, but it does at least require lawmakers to experience the annoyances of an additional layer of bureaucracy in obtaining coverage. What we dont know is whether that requirement will persist if ObamaCare morphs into TrumpCare. With a proposed 3-step process for instituting the new system it may be too soon to say, and as reporters from the Columbus Dispatch found out, theres not a lot of clarity on the subject. But we will keep watching. Thanks for reading and taking the time to write.]

I am amazed that you call the President of the US Trump in most of you writings.I think I only saw one time President Trump. However, you call Pres. Obama, Pres. GW Bush, etc. Time to remind you who Trump is? Also you are the only one that calls the new Health care Trumpcare. Euthymia Hibbs, Cleveland

[Ed. note: Ms. Hibbs, there is no disrespect meant by referring to the president by his last name alone on second reference. We do deviate from the Associated Press style in one way, however. AP changed eight years ago to always use the sitting presidents full name on first reference, e.g. President Barack Obama, rather than President Obama. I find that unnecessary since everyone knows who were talking about when we say President Trump. But it is certainly not necessary to repeat any office holders title on second reference. Trump will do just fine. As for the health bill he has helped craft and is currently selling, TrumpCare is a helpful disambiguation from ObamaCare.]

In case the panda ribs business doesnt work out for you, it might be time to revisit Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal. Chuck Howard, Tunica, Miss.

[Ed. note: Now, Mr. Howard, unlike Swift and the poor children of Ireland, I am calling for more pandas. Were I to have my way, they would be as common as cows!]

Share your color commentary:Email us atHALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COMand please make sure to include your name and hometown. WHAT ABOUT DON? BBC: An archbishop in Sicily has moved to reclaim the term godfather from the mafia - by banning gangsters from taking the role at baptisms. Michele Pennisi, a vocal mafia critic, has his diocese in Monreale, near Palermo. He said he wanted to challenge the idea that crime bosses have a paternal side. The mafia has always taken the term godfather from the Church to give its bosses an air of religious respectability, he told AFP. Whereas in fact, the two worlds are completely incompatible. Archbishop Pennisis diocese includes the notorious village of Corleone, a vendetta-torn enclave made famous by Mario Puzos novel The Godfather.

ChrisStirewaltis the politics editor for Fox News.Sally Personscontributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign uphere.

Chris Stirewalt joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in July of 2010 and serves as digital politics editor based in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he authors the daily "Fox News First" political news note and hosts "Power Play," a feature video series, on FoxNews.com. Stirewalt makes frequent appearances on the network, including "The Kelly File," "Special Report with Bret Baier," and "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace." He also provides expert political analysis for Fox News coverage of state, congressional and presidential elections.

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Trump makes Dems chase tails on Obama tapping - Fox News

WH: Certain Obama Political Appointees Had Access to the Names of 'Unmasked US Citizens' CNSNews.com Following this testimony, it's clear that nothing has changed. Senior Obama intelligence officials have gone on record to confirm that there is no evidence of a Trump-Russia collusion. The Obama CIA director said so, Obama's director of national ... and more »

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WH: Certain Obama Political Appointees Had Access to the Names of 'Unmasked US Citizens' - CNSNews.com

Where on earth did Jim Pilling (letters, March 15) get his numbers? President Obama spent billions in taxpayer dollars on vacations? Please. All presidents need to take vacations. According to AOL News and Im sure other sources may vary on this by December into his second term, President Obama had taken 161 vacation days compared with George W. Bush, 405; Bill Clinton, 174; and Ronald Reagan, 390.

So far, President Trump has spent most weekends at his resort in Mar-a-Lago at a cost of $10 million plus to taxpayers. In addition to that, while hes there, the local airport nine miles away has to shut down, causing thousands in lost dollars to local businesses.

At $10 million a month, Trump will surely cost the American taxpayer billions if we let him remain in office.

Patricia Chamberlain

Springfield

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Mail letters to: Mailbag, 3500 Chad Drive, Eugene, OR 97408-7348

E-mail: rgletters@registerguard.com

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Obama a bargain next to Trump - The Register-Guard

A prudent president, facing multiple battles on legislative and other priorities that are crucial to his first-year success, would find ways to avoid needless controversy. Not President Trump. Hes doing exactly the opposite, and the credibility gap continues to grow.

The House Republican leaderships proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which Trump has embraced, faces serious opposition within the party. The presidents newly proposed budget, which would slash domestic discretionary spending, the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, has been met with stiff resistance, even among some Republicans. The administrations second attempt to impose a travel ban is on hold, once again caught up in the courts.

Meanwhile, Trump will not let go of his claim that former president Barack Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower during the election, despite no supporting evidence. The president has been offered numerous exit ramps to put this self-created controversy behind him. Instead, he remains stubbornly defiant, perpetuating rather than closing a damaging chapter in his presidency that in the past few days became an international embarrassment.

The latest illustration of the presidents incapacity to admit error came Friday at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was asked by German reporter Ansgar Graw of Die Welt about the angry denial by British officials that Britain, at the behest of the Obama administration, had spied on Trump during the presidential campaign.

Do you think it was a mistake to blame British intelligence for this? the president was asked. White House press secretary Sean Spicer had pointed to an unverified report about British intelligence a day earlier. Trump began his answer with what he hoped would be a lighthearted comment, but one nonetheless that suggested he didnt believe the British.

Gesturing toward Merkel, he said, As far as wiretapping, I guess, by this past administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps. The president was referring to reports that the National Security Agency had listened in on the German chancellery during Obamas presidency.

Despite laughter in the East Room, Merkel appeared to find no humor in Trumps response, offering a look that charitably could be called one of puzzlement that the leader of the worlds most powerful country would try to drag her into his controversy.

[Trump drags allies into the controversy over unproven claims]

Trump might have stopped there, but he plunged ahead. And just to finish your question, he told the German reporter, we said nothing. All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television. I didnt make an opinion on it. That was a statement made by a very talented lawyer on Fox. And so you shouldnt be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox, okay?

With that response, Trump was following a playbook that has become standard for his White House, which is to duck, deflect and in all other ways do everything but acknowledge that there is no credible evidence for Trumps original claim, tweeted out a few weeks ago. Having made the allegation, the president has asked others to prove it. When the evidence points in the opposite direction, the White House prefers to look for questionable ways to support what Trump claimed.

That was the case with Trumps words Friday. The talented lawyer to whom the president was referring was Andrew Napolitano, a former New Jersey Superior Court judge now working as a Fox News commentator. Napolitano was the originator of the assertion about the British role in the surveillance of Trump, basing what he said on three intelligence sources.

Spicer had cited Napolitano as he tried to defend his boss during an aggressively combative exchange with reporters Thursday. This is the same White House that has previously attacked accurate news stories that included the use of unnamed sources as fake news.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Spicers comments drew a swift and rare public rebuke from British intelligence, which called the claim utterly ridiculous. The dust up clearly strained tensions between the White House and Americas closest ally. Meanwhile, Fox News declined to stand behind Napolitanos claims, noting Friday that its news team has found no evidence to support what the judge had said. Thats one more case in which the White House has gone looking for a lifeline without success.

Day by day, the White House defense of Trump has been weakened, as one after another official has walked away from the presidents tweets about Obama. The four leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees have said they have seen no such evidence. FBI Director James B. Comey let it be known almost instantly two weeks ago that there was nothing to the claim.

Other elected officials, including Republicans, have demanded that the administration provide evidence. One Republican, Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), said Friday that the president should apologize to Obama.

[House Intelligence Committee receives DOJ documents on wiretap claim]

In the face of this, Trump had nothing to say until pressed twice by German reporters, to their credit, at Fridays session with Merkel. Spicer has been thrust into the role of leading the defense at the risk of his credibility. He has sought to redefine the English language by suggesting Trumps words did not mean what the words meant, hoping to take some of the sting out of the implication in Trumps tweets that Obama had broken the law by ordering surveillance on Trump.

This chapter could come to an end this week. Comey is scheduled to testify Monday in an open session before the House Intelligence Committee about Russian hacking in the election and related matters. He will certainly be asked directly about Trumps allegation against Obama.

The Russia investigation on Capitol Hill remains open and vitally important. That the Russians meddled in the election is not disputed, given the weight of the intelligence communitys findings. But much more needs to be known, and at this point, that responsibility falls to Congress.

One key aspect of that investigation is whether the Trump campaign or its close allies were in collusion with the Russians. That there were contacts between Trump officials and Russians also is not in dispute. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has acknowledged that he met with the Russian ambassador last fall, for example.

What is in dispute is whether those contacts were ordinary and legitimate, as the Sessions meeting was, or whether there were contacts between various Trump advisers and Russians that amounted to participation in a scheme to harm Hillary Clintons campaign and thereby help Trump.

James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, said earlier this month on NBCs Meet the Press, that, at the time he left office in January, he had seen no evidence of collusion between the Trump team and the Russians. Spicer was particularly irritated Thursday that this fact has gotten far less attention than Trumps tweets about Obama as he repeatedly chided reporters during the briefing.

If Comey shoots down Trumps allegation about Obama illegally ordering surveillance on Trump Tower, how will Trump respond? In other words, what kind of proof, evidence or testimony would satisfy him that what he said took place did not take place?

Based on his performance Friday, hes not prepared to accept the word of those who should know. If hes doubling down in the face of outright denial from the British intelligence community about a claim he saw on Fox News, whose testimony here would satisfy him? And what will his defenders say then? This week should provide the answer to that, at least.

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What will it take for the president to retract his tweets about Obama? - Washington Post

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) on Sunday said President Trump should apologize for former President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaGOP senator: Trump owes explanation for wiretap claims Paul predicts GOP healthcare plan will fail GOP rep: Trump should apologize to Obama MORE for accusing him of wiretapping Trump Tower.

It never hurts to say youre sorry, Hurd told ABCs This Week.

When pressed on whether Trump should apologize to Obama, Hurd said, I think so. I think it helps with our allies. We got to make sure that were all working together.

Its not just sorry to the president, but also to the U.K. for the claims or the intimation that the U.K. was involved in this as well, said.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer last week repeated claims made by a Fox News analyst whoaccusedBritain's GCHQ intelligence agency of aiding Obama in wiretapping Trump Tower.

Trump earlier this month accused Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower before the November election. Obama, through a spokesperson, denied that he or any White House official ordered surveillance.

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GOP rep: Trump should apologize to Obama - The Hill