POLITICO Playbook: CHRISTIE launch tomorrow – BLOCKBUSTER PLAYBOOK BREAKFAST on Wed.!

Good Monday morning. CHRISTIE LAUNCH DEETS: Gov. Christie's launch rally at his high school in New Jersey tomorrow will include friends who remember his years as class president - but no Teleprompter, in an effort to live up the Christie's campaign slogan, "Telling it like it is." With the independent-minded voters of New Hampshire the key to his come-from-behind strategy, Christie will spend five straight days in the Granite State, beginning the evening of his announcement. Plunging into the hand-to-hand campaigning that First Staters relish, he'll hold at least three town halls and a Fourth of July celebration, plus various house and diner stops.

Offering himself as a pragmatic, results-oriented conservative, Christie will signal his willingness to take on tough issues that others duck, notably entitlements. Another key part of Christie's message will be his ability to win and govern in a blue state, where he did well in his reelection race with women, Hispanics and even Democrats. A top adviser said the announcement tour is meant to showcase a Christie strength: "communicating to bring people to his side - even people who don't agree on every issue."

Christie's wife, Mary Pat, and the rest of his family, along with longtime supporters and friends, will jam the gym at Livingston High School, where he was president for three years, for the 11 a.m. bash. The invocation will be by Joe Carter, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, who has been a key voice for Christie in the African-American community.

--PLAYERS: Mike DuHaime, Christie's longtime strategist, will advise the campaign from the outside. Close adviser Maria Comella has moved to his PAC. Samantha Smith, the PAC's communications director, and James Garcia, the PAC's political director, will play similar roles from the campaign, which will be based in northern New Jersey. https://politi.co/1eektMy

--A preview video shows Christie at a town hall, saying that his loud candor has its roots in his loving, trusting family. YouTube https://bit.ly/1CE6Z2A

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JOHN KASICH will jump into the crowded GOP field on July 21 at the student union of his alma mater, The Ohio State University, in Columbus. The Ohio governor will aim to appear less scripted and guarded than the leading candidates. Advisers say he combines establishment appeal with a conservative record going back to his stint as House Budget Committee chairman, during his 18 years as a congressman from Ohio. An adviser said Kasich will be positioned "in Jeb's back right pocket" - with establishment appeal, but slightly more conservative.

Despite his late start, Kasich will be one of the most closely watched candidates - partly because Ohio is such a crucial state, putting Kasich on many short lists for vice president. Kasich, 63, briefly pursued a presidential bid in the 2000 cycle, but got no traction and dropped out in July 1999, endorsing George W. Bush.

The July launch gives Kasich a shot at raising his national profile enough to qualify for the first GOP debate, on Aug. 6 in his home state. But participation in the Cleveland debate will be based on national polling, and Kasich advisers admit that qualifying will be tough, even with his announcement bump. He'll follow his kickoff rally with an announcement tour that includes Iowa, N.H., S.C. and Michigan.

--PLAYERS: His chief strategist will be John Weaver, mastermind of John McCain's insurgent campaigns of 2000 and 2008. The lead consultant for Kasich's super PAC, New Day for America, will be ad maker Fred Davis, based in the Hollywood Hills, who worked on McCain '08 and has had several viral hits.

--Ohio Republican Chair Matt Borges held a 10-minute conference call last night with about 100 party leaders throughout the state, and said he has urged Kasich to run, and that the governor is close to hitting his financial and organizational goals.

--Website launched overnight, with sign-up for launch tickets: www.johnkasich.com.

YOU'RE INVITED to a blockbuster Playbook Breakfast, "Obama's historic week," on Wed. in downtown D.C. We'll kick off with U.S. Trade Representative MIKE FROMAN (Doug Palmer will join me), followed by back-to-back conversations on the Supreme Court with EVAN WOLFSON, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, and Dr. RUSSELL MOORE of the Southern Baptist Convention, who's helping pastors know how to preach about the decision. And for the big finish, JIM MESSINA, mastermind of President Obama's reelection, will talk about the progressive road ahead.

--Outside cameras and correspondents welcome. Doors open 7:30 a.m. RSVP here; we'll send location with your confirmation. https://bit.ly/1SV9sPE Hope to see you there. In the meantime, please tweet us your questions: #PlaybookBreakfast.

POLITICO's The Agenda debuts an engrossing package on the Internet of Things: Darren Samuelsohn finds Washington isn't facing the Internet of Things as a coherent national challenge https://politi.co/1Ns3eDd ... Lobbying piece by Tony Romm about how tech companies got ahead of Congress https://politi.co/1JhRoLc ... Also by Darren: "The Capitol building is not connected to the Internet." https://politi.co/1FJyubh

** A message from Fuels America: Working men and women in the heartland sent a clear message to the EPA last week: The Renewable Fuel Standard is working for Rural America, supporting over 850,000 jobs and strengthening rural economies. EPA, don't choose foreign oil over American workers. The RFS works for Rural America: https://bit.ly/1Gxh0QY **

TOP TALKER - WSJ A4, "Will He Run? Biden Speculation Mounts," by Colleen McCain Nelson and Peter Nicholas: "Before his death last month, elder son Beau Biden encouraged his father to get into the race, people familiar with the matter said. And Hunter Biden told a friend in recent weeks he, too, would like to see the vice president wage one more campaign for the White House." https://on.wsj.com/1Nt2xK1

BREAKING: "Global stocks sink on worsening Greece crisis" - CNBC liveblog https://cnb.cx/1FK1b7G

--N.Y. Times Upshot, "The Next Few Days Have the Potential to Transform Greece and Europe," by Neil Irwin: Greece's "left-wing government left the table Friday and said it would hold a referendum [next Sun.]. Greek leaders think the offer ... from European governments ... is lousy, requiring still more pension cuts and tax increases ... There may be a middle ground ... in which Greece semi-exits the euro ... keeping the currency but with such strict and permanent capital controls that Greek's euros are actually a different currency from the one used in Paris or Rome.

"Expect ... European institutions to deploy enormous financial firepower to prevent a Greek exit from spilling over to Portugal and Italy and Spain. ... [I]t would push Greece closer to a hostile Russia. It would set a precedent that the European currency, and the European Union more broadly, is more fragile than its leaders would like the world to think." https://nyti.ms/1g1hwAp

--HOW IT'S PLAYING: N.Y. Times 2-col. lead, "GREECE WILL SHUT BANKS IN FALLOUT FROM DEBT CRISIS: Alarm Rises in Europe as Talks Fail - Markets Brace for Disruptions" ... WSJ 5-col. lead, "Greece Closes Banks as Crisis Grows" ... Financial Times lead, "Greece closes banks to head off chaos as bailout talks break down" ... WashPost 1-col. lead, "Greek banks to close for 6 days: ATM WITHDRAWALS WILL BE LIMITED -- Staying in euro zone may not be possible."

DEEP DIVE - WashPost A1, middle of page, "As Bush built wealth, questions arose: Legal cases involving some of GOP hopeful's associates put his reputation at risk," by Bob O'Harrow and Tom Hamburger, with Alice Crites (online: "Jeb Bush dogged by decades of questions about business deals"): "Bush touts his business experience as a strength that gives him the skills and savvy to serve as the nation's chief executive ... Bush soon will be making financial disclosures that will reveal recent business successes and show a substantial increase in his wealth since he left office as Florida governor in 2007, individuals close to the candidate told The Post.

"But records, lawsuits, interviews and newspaper accounts stretching back more than three decades present a picture of a man who, before he was elected Florida governor in 1998, often benefited from his family connections and repeatedly put himself in situations that raised questions about his judgment and exposed him to reputational risk." https://wapo.st/1ds3aqM

STATE DEPT. ARRIVAL LOUNGE -- Romesh Ratnesar is leaving Bloomberg Businessweek and coming to work for Richard Stengel, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy as senior adviser for strategic messaging at the State Dept. That will reunite Stengel with Romesh, his deputy at TIME from 2008 till 2010. Per Stengel's memo going out today: "A historian by training -- he has a B.A. and M.A. in history from Stanford -- who helped lead journalism's digital revolution, Romesh brings a wealth of experience in communicating about foreign affairs and great insight into the constantly shifting information space."

JAKE TAPPER's "State of the Union" on CNN: "Former Obama campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt told Obama he is gay, but Obama thought he said 'I've got game'": https://cnn.it/1NqqiSU ... Trump on gay marriage https://cnn.it/1fYAabV ... Jake showed Trump that his own Trump tie was made in China. See the label: https://bit.ly/1drr8m0 "State of the Cartoon," drawn by Jake: Scalia writing his dissents https://cnn.it/1edxZQJ

SCOOP DU JOUR - WSJ A1, above fold, "Assad Chemical Threat Mounts," by Adam Entous: "U.S. intelligence agencies believe there is a strong possibility the Assad regime will use chemical weapons on a large scale as part of a last-ditch effort to protect ... Syrian government strongholds if Islamist fighters and other rebels try to overrun them ... The intelligence is 'being taken very seriously because he's getting desperate' and because of doubts within the ... intelligence community that ... Assad gave up all of his deadliest chemical weapons." https://on.wsj.com/1BQ67Nl

#PlaybookNew10 CONTEST WINNER: Sara Bonjean of Rose Strategies, who submitted Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was the first female governor in the United States (Wyo.). And as the first female director of the U.S. Mint, she established the Franklin Half Dollar. Ross got 26% of your votes ... Helen Keller 23% ... Jeannette Rankin 20% ... Eleanor Roosevelt 12% ... Sojourner Truth 6% ... Abigail Adams 5% ... Susan B. Anthony 3% ... Henrietta Lacks 2% ... Alice Paul 2%.

--IPSOS did its own survey (1,044 respondents): Eleanor Roosevelt 33% ... Susan B. Anthony 18% ... Helen Keller 12% ... Sojourner Truth 11% ... Abigail Adams 10% ... Nellie Tayloe Ross 5% ... Henrietta Lacks 4% ... Alice Paul 3% ... Jeanette Rankin 3% ... Martha Rountree 1%.

KATIE COURIC interviews Sen. Ted Cruz at 9 a.m., live on Yahoo: https://yhoo.it/1Jq2HUi

FIRST LOOK - American Bridge's forthcoming, "The Pope or the Kochs? : New Ads in NH & IA Press GOP Presidential Hopefuls to Answer Pope Francis' Urgent Moral Call to Address Climate Change" -- Videohttps://bit.ly/1KoOIyj

THE BIG IDEA -- GEORGE PACKER's new essay/book review in next Sunday's Times Book Review, reviewing "By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission," by Charles Murray and "Wages of Rebellion," by Chris Hedges : "In the absence of any perceptible contractions of revolt, two writers - Charles Murray on the libertarian right, Chris Hedges on the apocalyptic left -- have given up waiting and decided to induce labor. Their methods are different: Murray's 'By The People' administers a strong dose of Pitocin, while Hedges' 'Wages of Rebellion' counsels lots of sex, which is called 'sublime madness.'" https://nyti.ms/1NpAMCE See the cover page, illustrated by Michael Bierut who created Hillary Clinton's campaign logo: https://bit.ly/1NqUHAp Murray's book -- $17.18 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/1eS21dC Hedges -- $16.95 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/1HofZyC

THOUGHT LEADERS -- MICHAEL BLOOMBERG in WSJ, "Realistic Goals for the Paris Climate Conference":"The world is not going to solve this problem in one big negotiating session. Paris is a progress report, not a final exam." https://on.wsj.com/1GUyCsf

TRANSITIONS -- Casey Aden-Wansbury is leaving in July as the chief of staff to Sen. Al Franken. Her husband has a new job in S.F., so she's moving with him and figuring out what her next gig will be. Jeff Lomonaco, Franken's current legislative director, is succeeding her as chief of staff.

FIRST LOOK - "EMILY's List Announces Lucinda Guinn as [VP] of Campaigns": "Lucinda served as vice president of Independent Expenditures, where she ran WOMEN VOTE!, EMILY's List independent expenditure arm. ... [She] previously was the Western political director at the [DCCC].' https://bit.ly/1HqOS7Y

WEEKEND WEDDINGS - "Erin Mahn, Josh Zumbrun" -- N.Y. Times: "Mrs. Zumbrun, 30, is a government affairs and policy manager and a registered lobbyist for the National Rural Health Association in Washington. ... Mr. Zumbrun, 33, is the national economics correspondent in Washington for The Wall Street Journal." https://nyti.ms/1LCW0Pl 2 pics: https://bit.ly/1JhLcml ... https://bit.ly/1GGIySX

--"Jamie Tricarico and Trevor Matese" -Times: "The couple, both 27, met at Georgetown, from which they graduated. Mrs. Matese works in Washington as the legislative director for Representative Peter T. King ... She is also studying for a master's degree in public policy at Georgetown. ... Mr. Matese is a loan origination manager in the commercial real estate group at Eagle Bancorp." https://nyti.ms/1HplD5t

--"Alana Horowitz, Zachary Satlin" - Times: "The bride, 25, will take her husband's name. She is a senior editor at The Huffington Post and worked in the company's Chicago office until earlier this month. ... Earlier this month, the groom, 27, received an M.B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago. In August, he is to become a senior financial analyst for retail in the London office of Amazon." https://nyti.ms/1GTWEDP

--Adam Kwasman, former Arizona state rep, and Orit Sklar, director of development at the Faith & Freedom Coalition, wed Sunday at historic Naylor Hall in Roswell, Georgia (suburban Atlanta), in a ceremony performed by Cantor Ivor Lichterman. Under the chuppah https://bit.ly/1HoORPL Getting toasted https://bit.ly/1CCBOF2

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Ashley Hickey, a Chicago native formerly of the GWB White House and Bush Center in Dallas, and now with Glover Park Group (h/t Garrett Marquis, who was on time)

BIRTHDAYS: Old Dominion University basketball coach Jeff Jones, a.k.a Mr. Danielle Jones ... Carl Forti, political director American Crossroads super PAC and Black Rock Group co-founder, celebrates Forti-3 by joining Twitter: @CarlForti (h/t Christopher Maloney) ... Emily Spain ... Macon Phillips, coordinator of State's Bureau of International Information Programs and the pride of Huntsville, Ala., is 37 ... Tamera Luzzatto, former HRC and Rockefeller chief of staff, managing director at Pew Charitable Trusts and Board Chair of the Bach Consort (h/t Jon Haber) ... Amy McDonald (h/t Matt) ... Paul Francis Baier, miracle son of Bret and Amy ... Politico's Hanna Trudo

... Harry Hartfield, deputy press secretary at NYC Dept. of Education ... Katie Zirklebach, senior director of congressional affairs at Anthem and AHIP alum ... Solicitor General Don Verrilli, who can really celebrate ... Owen Kilmer ... Jacob Levine of Houston ... photojournalist Gabriella Demczuk ... Eric Washburn ... Patty McHugh (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Cathy Rought, V.P. of BerlinRosen and Podesta Group alum, gearing up for Ragbrai - "Riding in Gratitude for 40 Amazing Years:" https://bit.ly/1Hpa4cA (h/t Melanie Fonder Kaye, Teresa, and Haber) ... campaign finance consultant David Wolf ...

... Christina Pearson, senior director of public relations at Microsoft and alum of Fleishman-Hillard and HHS ... U.S. Chamber's Christopher Wenk ... Bobby Watson, SVP of the Hudson Group and DNC alum ... Josh Meyer of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, an L.A. Times alum ... Ed Black ... Christian Marrone ... William Pinzler ... Bruce Soll ... Gary Busey is 71 ... comedian Richard Lewis is 68 ... actor-turned-politican-turned-radio personality Fred Grandy is 67 ... Colin Jost is 33 ... rhythm-and-blues singer Aundrea Fimbres is 32 (h/ts AP)

** A message from Fuels America: Governors, farmers, small business owners, investors, students and families from across the Midwest sent a clear message to the EPA last week: The Renewable Fuel Standard is working for Rural America.

The EPA's proposed changes to the RFS strengthen the oil industry's monopoly over the gas pump and put American family farmers, workers and rural economies at risk. After ten years, the RFS is helping family farmers and American innovators power a clean, secure domestic energy future for our nation. We can't afford to turn back on that progress now.

Hundreds of working men and women traveled to Kansas City from across the country to rally for Rural America. Now it's time for the EPA to stop choosing foreign oil over America's economy, consumers and jobs. The RFS works for Rural America. Learn more: https://bit.ly/1Gxh0QY **

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