NEW YORK—President Barack Obama’s decision to travel to Copenhagen to boost Chicago’s chances of winning the 2016 Olympics has drawn criticism from some Republicans, who call it a boondoggle for Obama’s hometown allies and evidence the president has blurred his priorities. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele denounced the visit on a conference call with reporters yesterday. He called it “noble for the president to pitch his home city, Chi-town,“ before the International Olympic Committee on Friday. But Steele said it was a distraction from more pressing issues such as health care, job creation and other urgent demands on Obama’s time.

WASHINGTON—A GOP congresswoman grateful for quick detection of her breast cancer says Democratic health overhaul plans could mean life-threatening delays in treatment. Rep. Sue Myrick of North Carolina said in her party’s weekly radio and Internet address that her diagnosis “took six doctors, three mammograms and one ultrasound before they finally they found my cancer. This process took only a few weeks.“

Virginia Republicans will appeal to the court of public opinion instead of a court of law to fight over access to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s out-of-town travel records as Democratic National Committee chairman. “To continue our pursuit of the documents in question would leave us with the only option of taking the issue to litigation,“ state GOP Chairman Pat Mullins said in a statement released yesterday, responding to a letter sent by Kaine’s office late last week denying his request for the records.

Prior to recent events, I intended to write about the GOP’s message problem with the headline: “Shoot the Messenger.“ Last Sunday’s murder of abortion doctor George Tiller makes my title inappropriate, but the idea remains relevant. The adage, of course, is “Don’t shoot the messenger,“ meaning we shouldn’t necessarily blame the person who delivers bad news. For the GOP these days, however, the problem isn’t so much the message. It’s the messenger.

Members of the Virginia Republican central committee have voted to remove state party chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick.

McCain wants to see who’s running in 2012 before he makes an endorsement for the Republican candidate for president.

The House Republican leader says the automaker has avoided making tough choices in the past 30 years and needs to demonstrate that the money it receives can be paid back.

Although George Bush’s unpopularity contributed to significant GOP losses in 2006 and 2008, the departing president recently gave his party some good advice. Bush restated his confidence in “compassionate conservatism,“ and identified immigration as an area where rhetoric and posture have hurt Republicans seriously—and, if the party does not correct itself soon, perhaps fatally.

Some Virginia Republicans get it; others do not. Regarding Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine’s budget presentation, House Speaker Bill Howell and Appropriations Committee Chairman Lacey Putney reacted appropriately.

This week Missouri’s Roy Blunt said he will not run for another term as House Republican whip. The way appears clear for Eric Cantor to rise to the GOP’s No. 2 leadership position. No one who has followed Cantor’s career is surprised. Cantor—whose wife Diana serves on the board of directors of Media General, this newspaper’s corporate parent—arrived in Washington in 2001 well-prepared. During his nine years in the House of Delegates he earned a reputation as a budget hawk. Indeed, the legislature might have avoided much of the fiscal discomfort of the past decade if it had followed his advice. His knowledge of foreign policy and national security gave him a post-9/11 mind-set prior to 9/11. Blunt recognized Cantor’s gifts when he appointed him chief deputy whip.