BuzzChatter Monday: McCain urges Obama to toughen up on Putin

By STEVE KRASKE

March 17, 2014 6:00 AM

May the luck of the Irish be with you today. And remember: A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.

• “The United States of America, first of all, has to have a fundamental reassessment of our relationship with Vladimir Putin.” — Arizona Sen. John McCain

on CNN Sunday

McCain urged President Barack Obama to take a firmer stand. That doesn’t mean, he said, another Cold War. “But it does mean treating him in the way that we understand an individual who believes in restoring the old Russian Empire.” McCain said he wasn’t advocating boots on the ground, but he does back economic sanctions.

• “There are 15 to 20 guys who have exhausted their appeals in the last few years.” — Kent Gipson, the Kansas City attorney for a Missouri death row inmate, on the growing list of execution candidates in the state.

Missouri is on pace for a record number of executions this year. The state already has put to death two inmates in the early months of this year, with two more close to receiving their execution dates. The all-time record for Missouri executions in any one years? Nine in 1999.

• “She is the most skilled legislator I have had the pleasure of working with during our time in the House, and I think she would make a great governor.” — Missouri Senate President Tom Dempsey endorsing Republican Catherine Hanaway for governor in 2016.

A pretty nifty endorsement for Hanaway who appears to be in a three-way scrum for the GOP nomination with state Auditor Tom Schweich and 2012 Senate contender John Brunner. Dempsey is a low-key but level-headed leader, and his backing will boost Hanaway.

• “These are the things we have to do.” — Reince Priebus, chair of the Republican National Committee, on the GOP’s decision to spend millions on technology to level the playing field with President Barack Obama's high-tech Democrats.

Republicans say they're out-spending the Democrats on technology by $2 million to $3 million a month to avoid a repeat of the 2012 elections when some Republicans thought they had the presidential election won. The RNC has hired a chief technology officer, a chief digital officer and a chief data officer. Also, it's opened an office in Silicon Valley.

This story was originally published March 17, 2014 at 6:00 AM with the headline "BuzzChatter Monday: McCain urges Obama to toughen up on Putin."

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