POLITICO Playbook: BOEHNER ERA WANING: Conservatives could swamp him in reelection vote

BREAKING - Ken Doctor, writing on Politico: "Tribune Publishing will announce [today] the termination of highly regarded L.A. Times publisher Austin Beutner ... Beutner's quick departure ... should send shockwaves through the news publishing world. ... While Beutner had pushed forward strongly with civic involvement, ... Tribune leadership felt his contrarian spirit at every turn." https://politi.co/1EQX9ky

Good Tuesday morning, and welcome back. SIREN - "Boehner's future as speaker in doubt: The Republican leader faces a grueling next few months, and even allies believe this will be his last term atop the GOP conference," by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: "Figures in his close-knit circle of allies are starting to privately wonder whether he can survive an all-but-certain floor vote this fall to remain speaker of the House. And, for the first time, many top aides and lawmakers in the House do not believe he will run for another term as House leader in 2017.

"The Boehner era might be coming to an end ... As Congress returns [today] for what could be one of the most challenging stretches of his nearly five years as speaker, ... lawmakers and aides in direct contact with Boehner ... sympathized with his plight: Caught between an intractable right flank and a Democratic president, ... he's managed to get a remarkable amount done. But they also questioned Boehner's viability in the near- and long-term ... as the 65-year-old speaker approaches a quarter-century of service in the House." https://politi.co/1M7IXWR

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])

SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: https://politi.co/1VKXauI 

--FIRST LOOK - Memo from Jessica O'Connell, executive director of EMILY's List, and Dawn Laguens, EVP of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, "Welcome Back, GOP Congress": "They might be raising money off the videos in the short term, but ... this is a bad long-term strategy for the GOP." https://bit.ly/1i9CZIC

HILLARY STRATEGERY -- N.Y. Times, top of col. 1, "Clinton Aides Set New Focus For Campaign: A More Personal Tone of Humor and Heart," by Amy Chozick, with Maggie Haberman (online: "Clinton to Show More Humor and Heart, Aides Say"): "Previous attempts to introduce Mrs. Clinton's softer side ... have backfired amid criticism that the efforts seemed overly poll tested. ... 

"While Mrs. Clinton's central message will remain focused on addressing income inequality and lifting the middle class, she is scrapping the phrase 'everyday Americans,' which advisers said was confusing and did not resonate. (One compared it to the Walmart slogan, 'Everyday low prices.') 

"Mrs. Clinton will still invoke the joy brought into her life by her granddaughter, Charlotte, but, given the child's obvious advantages and privilege, will speak more broadly about building a better future for all Americans' children and grandchildren. And her husband, ... who has had virtually no presence on the campaign trail, will begin to travel the country to help with fund-raising this fall, with his first event planned for Chicago on Sept. 17." https://nyti.ms/1Nn09YN

JOE SCARBOROUGH on "Morning Joe": "It's the new Nixon!"

JEB BUSH appears on tonight's premiere of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m.), along with George Clooney and Jon Baptiste. Biden is on Thu., and Bernie Sanders is booked for Week 2, Sept. 18.  30-sec. trailerhttps://bit.ly/1NYignO CBS Sunday Morning segment with Colbert and Mo Rocca: https://cbsn.ws/1NfntpT

--SECRETARY CLINTON has been invited. When will she go on to show her humor and heart?

EXCLUSIVE: ABC's DAVID MUIR, marking one year as anchor of "World News Tonight," will interview Hillary this morning at network HQ in NYC, asking her about Iran, email and the state of the campaign. Muir last week moderated a "virtual audience" with Pope Francis; has interviewed President Obama, Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker; and traveled to Mexico City and the Syrian border.

HILLARY interview in Cedar Rapids yesterday with AP's Catherine Lucey: "Q: Has the email issue damaged your campaign? For example, in terms of morale among staff or in fundraising or getting your message to voters. A: 'No. Not at all. It's a distraction, certainly.' ... Q: Could Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders next year duplicate then-Ill. Sen Barack Obama's victory over you in 2008? A: 'You know, I'm not going to speculate. That's your job.'" https://bit.ly/1Nn14Zk

NEW THIS AM: Clinton YouTube as she unveils campaign finance reform plan today https://bit.ly/1itQkeT ... Gabe Debenedetti has deets. https://politi.co/1FveR85

ELIZABETH WARREN kicks off the new season of "The View" today, sitting down LIVE with Whoopi, Joy Behar and Paula Faris on the couch. (The couch is back!). ABC says: "Season 19 promises plenty of politics ahead!"

** A message from Comcast: Helping to Close the Digital Divide: Learn more about how Comcast's Internet Essentials program is helping to close the digital divide by providing low-cost high-speed Internet to millions of low-income people at https://comca.st/ie. **

SIREN -- EXCLUSIVE: White House personally attacks Dick Cheney (speaking today at AEI) with new YouTube: "Vice President Dick Cheney: Wrong Then, Wrong Now." Will be featured on WH.gov's Iran-deal landing page. https://bit.ly/1Nnd4tP

--A senior administration official: "As the former Vice President and others continue to make the case against the Iran deal, it's important that the American people remember that many of these same voices were among the strong proponents of the Iraq war. They were wrong then and remain wrong now. This video, which highlights that stark fact, is another element in our aggressive effort to ensure the American people understand the facts and are able to judge the deal on its merits."

FIRST LOOKS - DICK CHENEY remarks to AEI today: "[T]his agreement will give Iran the means to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. homeland. I know of no nation in history that has agreed to guarantee that the means of its own destruction will be in the hands of another nation, particularly one that is hostile. What President Obama is asking the United States Congress to do is unique-historically and dangerously unique. The results may be catastrophic. ... It is not, as President Obama claims, the only alternative to war. It is madness."

--Americans United for Change's new PPP poll "found ... Members [who haven't decided on Iran] have the high political ground if they support the deal, with 55% of voters supporting the deal; aggregate results also shows overall 57% of Jewish voters support the deal." https://bit.ly/1VKNMXP Their new video on Cheney https://bit.ly/1NfqYMT

JOIN JON KARL tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. at the National Press Club as he interviews Leslie Michelson about his new book, "The Patient's Playbook: How to Save Your Life and the Lives of Those You Love." Rick Kaplan, one of the great network-news executives, will be there! RSVP https://bit.ly/1NfjIRm ... www.patientsplaybook.com

MARK ZUCKERBERG is on the cover of Oct.'s Vanity Fair as "This Year's New Establishment King . .. He changed the world once. He says he'll to do it again with Oculus Rift," by Max Chafkin; photos by Annie Leibovitz: "'At 31, Mark Zuckerberg stands out as something of an elder statesman,' Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter writes in his October editor's letter. 'He is far and away the youngest person ever to grab the top spot on the New Establishment list. 

"'He has not only proved himself as a brilliant entrepreneur; he may well become one of the great long-haul corporate leaders of the past half-century. . . . The $240 billion company he scratched out of his dorm room at Harvard is apparently just his first step toward world domination in the realm of social networking.'

"The Disrupters list ranks 50 innovators who have defined the year in terms of how we interact, how we work and play, and what cultural products we consume and how. Uber's Travis Kalanick, comedian Amy Schumer, and Instagram C.E.O. Kevin Systrom join Zuckerberg in this year's group of wave makers." See the cover.https://vnty.fr/1Nfki1t ... Full list https://vnty.fr/1Lh4Ey4

JOE NOCERA column in today's N.Y. Times, "Zuckerberg's Expensive Lesson": "Dale Russakoff's new book, 'The Prize: Who's in Charge of America's Schools?' [out today] ... revolves around what happened to the Newark school system after Mark Zuckerberg ... donated $100 million in 2010 to transform the city's schools, a sum that was matched by the prodigious fund-raising of Cory Booker, Newark's former mayor (now the state's junior senator). ...

"Russakoff's story ... is that Zuckerberg, knowing little about education reform, na?vely put his faith in the charismatic Booker ... She goes on to describe a series of blunders by the reformers, including huge sums for consultants ... Almost half of Zuckerberg's grant was spent (or committed) to help gain new labor contracts ... The education reform community is furious at the way it is portrayed in the book ... [Some] believe ... that the public schools are at least marginally better ... 

"Last year [Zuckerberg] pledged to give $120 million in grants to high-poverty schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. This time, ... he will collaborate with parents, teachers, school leaders and officials of both charter organizations and school districts ... Apparently, Zuckerberg has learned his lesson." https://nyti.ms/1K3lFLe

TOP TALKER - JON CHAIT cover of New York mag, "Maybe the Planet Isn't Doomed After All: A sudden reversal on climate change -- The Sunniest Climate-Change Story You've Ever Read: This is the year humans finally got serious about saving themselves from themselves": "[A]s world leaders prepare to gather in Paris for the United Nations climate-change conference in December ... [t]here is ... transformational good news, developments that have the potential to mitigate the worst effects of climate change to a degree many had feared impossible. Those who have consigned the world to its doom should reconsider. 

"The technological and political underpinnings are at last in place to actually consummate the first global pact to limit greenhouse-gas emissions. The world is suddenly responding to the climate emergency with - by the standards of its previous behavior - astonishing speed. ... [T]he good guys are starting to win. ...

"If this sounds surprisingly optimistic, that may be because you reside in ... the United States of America. If there is a single vantage point from which the new global consensus on climate change is least evident, other than perhaps Saudi Arabia, it is the U.S. ... The unique quality of the Republican Party's climate doctrine can be found not in its Donald Trumps and its Ted Cruzes but in their putatively sane competitors in the 2016 presidential primary [Rubio, Walker, Kasich, Bush]. ... 

"After the 2010 collapse of Obama's attempt to pass a cap-and-trade bill, the world appeared well and truly doomed. ... Since that point, the long-awaited green revolution has finally arrived. Both energy technology and cooperative international willpower ... have been set into furious motion." https://nym.ag/1K3mAeA See the cover. https://bit.ly/1itIYYJ

P.S. "GOP to attack climate pact at home and abroad: An aide to ... McConnell has been informing foreign embassies about GOP plans to oppose Obama's strategy on global warming," by Politico's Andrew Restuccia: "[T]he aide, Neil Chatterjee, hasn't tried to persuade other countries to oppose a climate deal, though he is informing them about the GOP's options for undercutting it. He has had conversations with ... both developed and developing countries." https://politi.co/1VKmMbd

DAVID BROOKS column today, "The Anti-Party Men" - Trump, Carson, Sanders: "This phenomenon is even more extreme in Britain. ... [T]he favorite to become the next leader of the British Labour Party is Jeremy Corbyn. Mr. Corbyn has existed for decades on the leftward fringe of the Labour Party, tolerated as sort of a nice but dotty uncle. ... These four anti-party men ... have no plausible path toward winning 50.1 percent of the vote in any national election. ... These sudden stars are not really about governing. They are tools for their supporters' self-expression. ... 

"I wonder what would happen if a sensible Donald Trump appeared - a former cabinet secretary or somebody who could express the disgust for the political system many people feel, but who instead of adding to the cycle of cynicism, channeled it into citizenship." https://nyti.ms/1FvaKsQ

--PLAYBOOK READERS: Who could that person be? Besides Michael Bloomberg or Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who could plausibly run as a viable independent or third-party candidate if the two major parties wind up with unelectable nominees? We'll share the best answers in Playbook: [email protected].

BEHIND THE MUSIC -- WashPost, bottom right corner of Style section, "In the Arctic, showcasing the president's message: Rolling Stone exclusive exemplifies access strategy of White House," by Paul Farhi (online: "Why did Obama go all the way to the Arctic for an interview with Rolling Stone?"): "During a three-day trip to Alaska, ... Obama briefly traveled to the tiny village of Kotzebue. While there, Obama spent about a quarter of his time in an exclusive interview [with Rolling Stone contributing editor Jeff Goodell about climate change] and private photo shoot ...

"The encounter wasn't on the president's official schedule, and the White House made no formal mention of it to reporters covering the trip. The unannounced interview appears to be part of the White House's media strategy of giving exclusive access to news outlets deemed sympathetic to the president's message on a particular topic, in a dramatic setting that showcases and reinforces that message. ... In July, Obama went to a prison in Oklahoma ... to [and] gave special access ... for a documentary Vice is producing for HBO about the criminal justice system. ... 

"Colleen McCain Nelson, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was the 'pooler,' ... [said:] 'The White House never offered confirmation ... about the interview' ... As a result, she said, she didn't include information ... in her pool reports. Nelson added that ... pool reporters were aware [of the] interview ... because Goodell had been traveling with the pool. ... [T]he pool was held in vans while Rolling Stone's photographers shot photos of Obama at the seaside." https://wapo.st/1JQqdrl

TOP-ED -- MICHAEL FROMAN in Democracy Journal, "Getting Trade Right" : "An open, rules-based trading system was one of twentieth-century progressivism's great triumphs. We are building on that today." https://bit.ly/1PY9kwk

NYC MAYOR BILL de BLASIO interview by BRYAN BURROUGH in Vanity Fair (Mayor photographed alone, seemingly forlorn, on back porch of Gracie Mansion), "The Longest Summer: Since his 2014 inauguration, ... de Blasio has alienated the Park Avenue elite, earned the hatred of his Police Department, and clashed with the governor. And despite his progressive agenda, his relationship with the city's black leaders has steadily deteriorated. So why does the smart money say he's almost guaranteed a second term?": 

"Asked whom de Blasio can be compared to, one of his three deputy mayors, Alicia Glen, 48, says, 'I don't know. No doubt there is some hippie mayor somewhere who is focused on these issues. Maybe Jerry Brown when he was mayor of Oakland.' ... 

"When I asked him if he's aware of the perception that he has little interest in the details of city management, de Blasio's eyes flashed. 'Sure,' he said. 'And it's wrong. But I hear it all the time.' ... 'I do believe [the elites] all think we're raving Communists,' says Alicia Glen, who joined de Blasio's team in 2013, after working at Goldman Sachs. ... For all the complaints, City Hall under de Blasio has been a surprisingly tight ship. ... Love him or hate him, the smart money in New York City says that de Blasio is virtually ensured a second term. 

"'What Manhattanites in the "Bloomberg Bubble" don't understand,' says [an] organization head who deals regularly with the mayor's office, 'is that many people in the outer boroughs love him as much as Manhattanites hate him. But even more important is that the city's builders love him, and they have always elected the mayor in New York City, by funneling more money than anyone else to their chosen candidate. Why do they love de Blasio? Because he doesn't give a damn about urban planning, density, or architecture. He only cares about more affordable housing. For the builders that means they get to build an extra 20 floors and do it with fewer restrictions.'" https://vnty.fr/1JQzhwl

TRANSITIONS - FIRST LOOK -- "Glen Caplin Joins Global Strategy Group" - forthcoming release: "Caplin has joined the firm as Senior Vice President. Caplin will be based in GSG's New York office and will be responsible for strategic communications and public affairs, and will also focus on media relations campaigns for the NY, DC and national media markets. Caplin ... most recently served as Senior Communications Director to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) - managing the Senate office's communications department, leading social media strategy, and acting as on-the-record spokesman." https://bit.ly/1JOfWd7

MIKE BARNICLE in The Daily Beast, "As Thousands Drown Trying to Reach Freedom, Where Is the U.S.?":"In the United States, the calamity consuming Europe is so far just another clip on TV, one more sad story streaming across a screen of a smart phone or a tablet. ... America provided things that form the foundation of who we used to be: the prospect and potential of hope, mercy and freedom for strangers ... Who are we now?" https://thebea.st/1IUJVye

LIFE IN LOCAL TV NEWS - WashPost Style cover, "Live from the scene (or close enough): For a Richmond TV crew, getting 'breaking news' to viewers means early mornings in empty places," by Jessica Contrera (online: "Why the old-school 'live shot' is still the gold standard of local TV news"): "going live from where not much is happening, so that 'BREAKING NEWS' can be flashed across the screen. ... The term now seems disrespectful, after the morning of Aug. 26, when WDBJ's Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot and killed while they were going live from a shopping center at 6 a.m. outside of Roanoke.

"It was what they did almost every weekday since Parker was hired as the station's 'mornin' reporter' last year. She frequently shared the 5 a.m. stage with interviewees she questioned about school buses or bacon festivals or Take Your Dog to Work Day. ... Standing where something is going to happen, even if it's not happening yet, makes stations look like part of their communities and recycled information look like breaking updates." https://wapo.st/1itEIZ8

WHAT N.H. IS READING - "Chris Sununu Announces Candidacy for Governor" - Release : "Executive Councilor Chris Sununu announced his candidacy for Governor of New Hampshire. Speaking at the Salem Republican Committee Labor Day Picnic, Sununu said he would be a problem solver and offer a new brand of leadership. ...

An environmental engineer by trade and business owner with 700 employees in the North Country, Sununu said that strengthening education would be a priority and a necessary step toward closing the opportunity gap."

WASHINGTON, INC. - Hamilton Place Strategies is putting out a client note today, defining HPS's approach and "Analytical Public Affairs": "As we engage in the debate over too-big-to-fail, we want to surface the facts of how Dodd-Frank affects the financial sector and what has actually happened, as opposed to political attacks on banks. And when we look at the political space, we work to understand the mechanics and metrics that make for successful debates and successful campaigns." https://bit.ly/1QkWBom

WEEKEND WEDDINGS - OBAMA ALUMNI -- Jamie Citron, external affairs with the Obama Foundation, and Tyler Hagenbuch , an associate in the political law group at Perkins Coie, were married Saturday night in Chicago in a ceremony officiated by 270 Strategies partner Meg Ansara. Alumni of the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns and the White House, the grooms met in 2007 at an LGBT youth fundraiser Jamie helped organize. For his $25 ticket, Tyler got two drinks - and a husband. Pic https://bit.ly/1K3IJ0H

SPOTTED : Teddy Goff, Amy Dudley and Kip Wainscott, Brian Bond, Sammi and Max Verhey, Liz Jarvis-Shean, Zach Allen and Josh Barro, Aditi Hardikar, Sam Brown, Travis Hagenbuch, Meagan Gardner, Hannah Fried, Josh Teitelbaum, and Christian Mitchell. 

--Liz Purchia, EPA's deputy associate administrator in the office of public affairs, and Tim Gannon, USDA's deputy administrator of the risk management agency, were married Sunday in the bride's hometown of Winchester, Mass. Liz and Tim worked and met on the 2008 Obama presidential campaign in Iowa. They didn't meet again until unknowingly beginning new jobs at USDA, in the same office and a day apart in early 2009. Wedding guests celebrated this Mingo, Iowa and Winchester, Massachusetts union with gusto at the Winchester Town Hall.

SPOTTED : Brent Colburn, Rohan Patel, Courtney Rowe, Ross Nodurft, Bobby Gravitz, Erin Hannigan, Jason Sime, Matt Hartwig, Belinda Garza, Matt Gannon , Emily Crane Pimentel, Paul Pimentel, Andy Wison, Arija Flowers Wilson, Laura Walther, Rob Walther, Lauren Cozzi, Lauren Olsen Herchert, Kate Houston Gatto, Joey Gatto, Clare Gannon, Jano Cabrera, Karla Theiman, Matt Sloan, Brian Purchia, Colby Bishop and Caitlin Dodge. Pic https://bit.ly/1g6k937 Pic of USDA wedding attendees https://bit.ly/1EPxJnm

BIRTHDAYS : Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (h/t Jonathan Tasini, author of "The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America," out today) ... Steve McMahon, co-founder and CEO at Purple Strategies ... David Carr would have been 59 (h/ts Jon Haber) ... FP1 Strategies' Richard Cullen ... Madigan Schmidt, Steve and Angela's daughter, is 12 ... Jonathan Rosen, de Blasio adviser and principal at BerlinRosen ... Morgan Hook of SKD Knickerbocker ... POLITICO New York's Will Brunelle ... Sharon Páez, partner at Hilltop Public Solutions ... Harry Liberman ... Politico's Rhea Beal ... JoAnne Anton ... David Dixon ... Don Schimanski ... Gail Leftwich Kitch ... former Congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.) ... Romney alum Samantha Osborne, now director of client strategy at Targeted Victory ... 

... Michael Pratt, Warren and Markey finance alum and amazing Iowan ... RNC's Ali Pardo, a Rubio alum ... Sen. Christopher Coons ... Zack Ford, editor of Think Progress LBGT ... Jason Mattera ... Andrew Golis ... Jill McClain, executive director at the VING project and an ABC News alum ... CNBC's Jillian Harding ... Andrei Berman, editorial manager at Everytown for Gun Safety, is 3-0, celebrating by performing in his Upright Citizens Brigade 301 class improv show and grabbing drinks with friends in New York, then taking the first train to DC tomorrow morning to put on Everytown's National Day of Action and its accompanying press conference on the Hill this Thursday (h/t Danny G.) ... 

... Matthew McGregor , an Obama 2012 alum currently a director of Precision Strategies -- Go Bulldogs (h/t Laura Olin) ... Janelle Kovacevich ... JoAnne Anton ... David Dixon ... Don Schimanski ... Sara Fellenz ... former Clinton aide Lenore Cho ... Nick Bouknight ... Al Hubbard ... Brookly McLaughlin ... Andrea Hoffman, president of political operations at GR Seppala and Associates ... Diedtra Henderson ... Paul Fletcher ... Charlotte Spears Ivancic ... Jillian Wikler Black ... Michael Johns ... Brandon Wright ... ventriloquist Willie Tyler is 75 ... author Ann Beattie is 68 ... David Arquette is 44 ... Jonathan Taylor Thomas is 34 ... Wiz Khalifa is 28 ... dance music artist AVICII is 26 (h/ts AP)

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