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For all the talk of Republican fractiousness, the party’s 2016 presidential field has united around one principle: erasing President Obama’s record. ... The candidates gathering to debate on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library merely start with the Affordable Care Act as a target.On larger initiatives, constitutional checks and balances pose high barriers. To repeal the Affordable Care Act, a Republican president would need to persuade Congress to disrupt existing health insurance for millions of Americans. Even policies subject to more executive control, under presidents with sharp ideological edges, often prove resistant to change. (Harwood, 9/15)

Anti-Washington sentiment has been churning for years—especially among Republicans—but no one candidate has emerged at a national level to harness it. Voters angry about the economy, President Barack Obama, and his health care law helped propel Republicans into control of the House in 2010 and of the Senate in 2014. Now, one reason many Republicans say they are chafing at the status quo is because they are disappointed in the GOP-controlled Congress, which they say hasn’t brought enough change or more effective opposition to the president. (Hook and O'Connor, 9/16)

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told NBC News/MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that a Wall Street Journal report that found his proposals will cost $18 trillion was "significantly exaggerated." ... The newspaper reported that Sanders calls for a government run health care program would alone total $15 trillion. When combined with his ideas for expanding social security, making tuition free at public colleges and investing in infrastructure, the total price tag comes to about $18 trillion over ten years, according to The Journal. (Rafferty, 9/15)