CNN's GUT CHECK for November 27, 2013

CNN's GUT CHECK | for November 27, 2013 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

DEVELOPING … BIG DELAY FOR SMALL BUSINESS:
Small businesses looking to purchase insurance coverage for their employees will not be able to do so online for another year, the Obama administration announced Wednesday. The delay will give the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services until November 2014 to develop a functioning online enrollment feature for those employers. – Jim Acosta

Fox News’s Take: “ANOTHER SETBACK: Small biz hit
with 'onerous' ObamaCare change:” “OBAMA ADMINISTRATION announces it will push off ObamaCare online enrollment for small businesses until November 2014, a move critics say will create more paperwork for job creators.”

GOP Consultant Mike Murphy’s Take: “Obamacare Is a GOP Jackpot:”
“Without even buying a ticket, the GOP has won the Powerball of politics. But in our happy delirium, we Republicans should be brutally honest with ourselves. Democrats are flailing right now–but that doesn't mean Republicans are in control. We didn't earn this. Sure, we were right about Obamacare. But telling the country what we are against is only a start. To really run the table and take back the White House and the Senate, the GOP must do the hard work of a true party reset. If we don't, a big Democratic comeback in 2016 is quite likely, even with the failures of Obamacare.”

The People’s Take: Jury’s Out on Obamacare: Polling Director Keating Holland writes about the new CNN/ORC poll: “Support for Obamacare remains low, although Americans seem to have an open mind on whether it will eventually work and most think that the current problems the system faces can eventually be solved. Currently, 40% favor the new health care law - pretty much the level of support Obamacare has faced for months. And with 14% saying that they oppose the new law because it is not liberal enough, that leaves only four in ten who agree with the GOP that the law is bad because it is too liberal. Is the new law a success or failure? 39% say it is a failure, with 53% saying it is too soon to tell. Will the current problems faced by Obamacare be eventually solved? 54% express optimism on this question; 45% believe that Obamacare's flaws will never be fixed.”

MEANWHILE … IN THE BATTLE FOR THE BUCKEYE: In the crucial swing state of Ohio, voters are practically split between Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie in a hypothetical 2016 presidential matchup, according to a new survey. – Ashley Killough

THE BUZZ: Mike Huckabee announces his radio show is over.
Huckabee writes on his Facebook page: “The Mike Huckabee Show on radio, which was heard 3 hours a day on over 200 radio stations across the country since April of 2012 will conclude its run at the end of the final show on Thursday, December 12.”

TRAIL TRIVIA
(Answer below)
Which NFL team is credited with starting the Thanksgiving football game tradition?

the LEDE
Did you miss it?

Leading CNNPolitics: In cash blitz, Obama rakes it in for Democrats
President Barack Obama's approval rating may be struggling, but he's still bringing in money on the fundraising trail. For the past month, the President has been crisscrossing the country raising cash for Democratic campaign groups. At 13 separate events in eight cities, he may have helped raise up to $21.6 million. – Ashley Killough and Kevin Liptak

Leading Roll Call: Radel Press Crew Jumps Into Kurt Bardella's Waiting Arms
As if the cocaine-busted Rep. Trey Radel needed another problem, he now has an empty press shop to deal with. His communications director, Amanda Nunez, and a press aide, Caitlin Rush, announced Monday that they were leaving the Florida Republican’s office to join Endeavor Strategic Communications, the public relations shop headed by Kurt Bardella, former press aide, most famously, for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. #ThisTown – Matt Fuller

Mark Leibovich (‏@MarkLeibovich)
#ThisTown writes itself / “@politico: Kurt Bardella's firm hires 2 Trey Radel staffers following leave from Congress: http://politi.co/17UmtWg

Leading Drudge: OBAMACARE HOLIDAY PRIZE: FREE CONDOMS
The Obamacare event took place at the University of Central Arkansas last weekend. It was hosted by a group called the Living Affected Corporation, which apparently has received a grant from the federal government to educate the public about Obamacare. The event organizer spilled out a bag of condoms - as a couple whoops and hollers could be heard from the small crowd. – Daniel Halper

Leading HuffPo: Obama Has Pardoned Almost As Many Turkeys As Drug Offenders
Despite the administration's recent talk of reforming the criminal justice system, Obama has granted the fewest pardons of any modern president. Of the 39 pardons Obama has granted, just 11 have been for people convicted of drug crimes, according to Department of Justice records. He's granted 10 turkey pardons, sparing the birds from Thanksgiving execution to live out their lives on a farm. – Ryan J. Reilly

HOT SOTS
The political bites of the day

- Thanksgiving prep: What Obama really said about immigrants -
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ON TUESDAY: "As I was getting a tour of DreamWorks, I didn't ask, but just looking at faces, I could tell there were some folks who are here not because they were born here, but because they want to be here and they bring extraordinary talents to the United States. And that's part of what makes America special."

How it’s being circulated online: “Obama says he can identify immigrants just by looking at their faces … Grab your ‘what if a Republican had said that?’ file, because we have a red hot entry.”

- FL GOP Chairman calls for Radel to resign -
CHAIRMAN OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FL LENNY CURRY IN A NEWS RELEASE MONDAY NIGHT: "The people of Florida's 19th Congressional District need a Congressman who is 100 percent focused on the needs of Southwest Florida ... Therefore, Congressman Radel should step down and focus his attention on rehabilitation and his family."

- FL Gov. Scott agrees with FL GOP -
FL. GOV. RICK SCOTT TO REPORTERS AT A CEREMONIAL GROUNDBREAKING TUESDAY IN ESTERO, FL: "I agree with the party chairman ... Look, Trey is going through a tough time. My prayers and my wife's prayers are with his family. But we have to hold all of our elected officials to the highest standards."

TOP TWEETS
What stopped us in 140 characters or less

Morgan Little ‏(@mlittledc)
"Thanksgivukkah" makes it into the White House statement on Hanukkah. Oi.

Samius Gurobo ‏(@SamiusGurobo)
Let's be thankful that Michelle Obama isn't regulating our servings of pumpkin pie. http://thanksgiving.heritage.org

Talking Points Memo ‏(@TPM)
DNC wants to help you talk with "your Republican uncle" on Thanksgiving: http://bit.ly/1aV0GwA

Byron Tau‏ (@ByronTau)
Joe Lieberman will do government relations work for a Libyan politician. http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/ …

Matt Stoller (‏@matthewstoller)
Top-Secret Document Reveals NSA Spied On Porn Habits As Part Of Plan To Discredit 'Radicalizers' http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4346128?1385526024 …

Deirdre Walsh (‏@deirdrewalshcnn)
Move over Martha Stewart, @SpeakerBoehner boasts his turkey brine is the best - http://cnn.it/1eoEeMa

Science Channel ‏(@ScienceChannel)
The average American will consume about 2,500 calories at Thanksgiving dinner. How to prep your body: http://ow.ly/reA0K

Hala Gorani (‏@HalaGorani)
Gap's response to the racist defacing of one of their ads is pretty cool: http://huff.to/1exbFgg via @HuffPostRelig

TRIVIA ANSWER from @sarafischer

In 1934, George A. Richards, owner of the Detroit Lions, scheduled the first professional football game for his team against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day.

Richards, a local radio executive, purchased the Portsmouth Spartans of Portsmouth, Ohio and moved the team to Detroit, renaming the team the Detroit Lions. While Richards acknowledged some risks in scheduling a game on Thanksgiving Day, he thought that doing so would provide some much-needed exposure to the team that was battling the Detroit Tigers baseball team for the city’s attention.

With an understanding of the power of radio publicity, Richards teamed with NBC Radio to broadcast the game. The tradition of the Thanksgiving football game began following the success of the game’s popularity that day. Tomorrow the Detroit Lions will play the Green Bay Packers in Detroit, the Dallas Cowboys will play the Oakland Raiders in Dallas, and the Baltimore Ravens will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Baltimore.

Carrying on the tradition, NBC Sports Radio in Detroit will be simulcasting local affiliate, WestwoodOne’s coverage of the game in Detroit tomorrow.

GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE
(why aren’t you in it)

Congrats to Steve Liguori (@SteveL3877) and Joe Kildea (@kildea) for correctly answering today’s Gut Check Trivia question. We are off tomorrow to celebrate with our families, and we shall toast you, our loyal readers, in our thanks.

GOT NEWS?
Tips or comments? Our inbox awaits: gutcheck@cnn.com
Anyone can sign up for Gut Check by emailing gutcheck@cnn.com

WANT TO SIGN UP?
Do you have a friend who wants to sign up for GUT CHECK or our new CNNPolitics Breaking News Alerts? Click here, log on and scroll down.