POLITICO Playbook: COLBERT on TRUMP: ‘He’s my old character, with $10 billion’ -- BERNIE COURTS TRUMP VOTERS

BULLETIN -- AP: "'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' becomes fastest movie to $1 billion."

ARTICLE OF THE DAY - "Obama's team says the GOP earned Donald Trump : Loyalists say that after two terms of obstruction, Republicans are getting the anger candidate their rhetoric created," by Isaac Dovere: "According to people in the White House, Obama doesn't talk about Trump much. When he does, it's with a combination of amusement and disgust at the rhetoric, occasionally mentioning his amazement at GOP leaders' inability to understand Trump's supporters and the long-term damage the president thinks Trump is doing to the party with the groups of voters who will decide future elections. ... 

"It's personal. The West Wing still burns over Trump leading the birth certificate charge in 2012." https://politi.co/1NIDyUH

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

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AIR WAR -- "Bush to flood airwaves with ads prior to [N.H.] primary," by Boston Herald's Chris Cassidy: "Bush and his super PAC are set to dominate the TV airwaves between now and the Granite State primary, reserving more than $14 million in commercials on both New Hampshire and Boston stations - including two Super Bowl spots ... Bush operatives, despite criticism over already spending more than $35 million nationally on commercials for just 4 percent in the polls, are doubling down on a strategy of massive TV buys.

"Bush's forces plan to spend $14.1 million on ads on TV stations in New Hampshire and Boston, ... compared to $6.1 million by ... Rubio and his super PAC, Conservative Solutions ... Christie's super PAC, America Leads, is slated to spend $4.9 million, while ... Kasich's super PAC, New Day for America, reserved $1.4 million in ad space." https://bit.ly/1QPPYhr

HOT ONLINE - MIKE GRUNWALD, "Wild Ideas You Missed While Donald Trump Was Talking: Trump's not the only Republican making dubious claims": "I've watched all the debates as well as the undercards live, but when I reviewed the transcripts, I was amazed how many radical statements had slipped under my radar. ... Goldbuggery is crackpot economics. The U.S. military is still by far the strongest in the world. And what the government has done to people on Social Security and Medicare is give them pensions and health care." https://politi.co/1mcIBUt

SUNDAY BEST -- STEPHEN COLBERT to John Dickerson on "Face the Nation," taped Dec. 11 at Stephen's office in N.Y.: "Donald Trump is like - I'm not the first person to say this, but I completely agree that he's my old character with 10 billion dollars. You know? ... [H]e is completely playing on an emotional level and so beautifully. I mean it's one of the reasons why you can't do that old character anymore, because he's doing it better than I ever could. 

"Because he's willing to drink his own Kool-Aid. And manufacture and distribute it, because he's got all the cash. He's this very interesting like Frankenstein of the idea that facts don't matter and only money does. Because if money is speech, he's got a 10-billion-dollar mouth, and doesn't have to spend any of it because everyone will point a camera at him." Video https://cbsn.ws/1MBTWlO Transcript https://bit.ly/1NIINDO

--"Sanders says he's courting Trump supporters," by Austin Wright: "Sanders [told John Dickerson on 'Face the Nation' that] many of Trump's supporters are 'working-class people' who have 'legitimate' anger and fears because of decreasing wages and the rising cost of college tuition ... 'What Trump has done with some success is taken that anger, taken those fears, which are legitimate, and converted them into anger against Mexicans, anger against Muslims.'" https://politi.co/1JaED8L Transcript https://bit.ly/1ORIQea

THE CONVERSATION - "The GOP's New Hampshire nightmare ... This is where an anti-Trump contest becomes a four-way fight that could doom them all," by Eli Stokols in Berlin, N.H.: "Forget Iowa, which Cruz appears to be locking up. It's New Hampshire that will cull this field. And with Christie, Bush and John Kasich making this first primary state the singular focus of their campaigns, and Rubio, should he lose Iowa, needing a top-tier finish, the fight to be the mainstream alternative to Cruz or Trump could end here. ... 

"If Trump wins the Feb. 9 [N.H.] primary a week after Cruz wins Iowa, only one or two candidates finishing behind him will likely have the momentum to carry on. If four or even five candidates split the vote of an establishment electorate that never coalesces behind one standard bearer, there may be only hollow victories to declare on primary night because none will have the firepower to challenge Cruz or Trump in South Carolina. Just ask Cruz; he's counting on it." https://politi.co/1ZvzkVD

CHASER - Upshot's Nate Cohn, "How Marco Rubio Could Lose All the Key Early States and Still Win": "The opposition [to Cruz and Trump] will not evaporate, even if one of them wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Opposition could even grow in a desperate, last-ditch effort to stop them. ... Rubio would need to ... emerge as the natural [mainstream] candidate ... The easiest way ... would be to beat those who are in the more moderate lane - Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and John Kasich - by a clear margin in New Hampshire ... 

"Rubio would need to hang on until more favorable states on March 8 and particularly March 15, because he probably won't be doing much winning before then." https://nyti.ms/1NRzpvz

--House Benghazi Committee Chair Trey Gowdy to campaign with Rubio in Iowa on Tue. and Wed. -- Kristen East https://politi.co/1IwcOrI

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TOP TWEET - Florida GOP Congressman @carloslcurbelo : "Confirmed - #hoverboard is for kids. My daughter got it. I ended up in @BaptistHealthSF #ER. #hoverboardChristmas." With pic of him with his left arm in a slinghttps://bit.ly/22teIzC

DATA DU JOUR - WashPost 2-col. lead, "Officers fatally shoot 965: TALLY MORE THAN TWICE FBI'S USUAL COUNT - Project compiles 2016 list of civilians killed by police ... 266: The number fatally shot after fleeing from officers," by Kimberly Kindy and Marc Fisher; reported by Julie Tate and Jennifer Jenkins; with Steven Rich and Kimbriell Kelly (online: "Year of reckoning: Police kill nearly 1,000"): "[T]he great majority of people who died ... fit at least one of three categories: they were wielding weapons, they were suicidal or mentally troubled, or they ran when officers told them to halt." https://wapo.st/1OfIJwL

TOMORROW'S NYT - Amy Chozick in Dothan, Ala., with Steve Eder in N.Y. and Kitty Bennett: "How Hillary Clinton Went Undercover to Examine Race in Education: Mrs. Clinton's work, as a young law student in 1972, to determine whether an Alabama school discriminated against blacks was a moment of awakening for her": "The future Mrs. Clinton, then a 24-year-old law student, was working for Marian Wright Edelman ... A look at Mrs. Clinton's efforts that summer, through archives and interviews with more than 50 local officials, civil rights activists and people who knew her, reveals a summer job that was both out of character for the bookish law student and a moment of awakening." https://nyti.ms/1QPIfjy

CLICKERS - "The 29 craziest things that came out of candidates' mouths in 2015," by Nick Gass https://politi.co/1Ppxhh4

- "Politico's Best Photos of 2015": "Politico photographers M. Scott Mahaskey and John Shinkle pick their best of the year, from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail." 35 pix https://politi.co/1OtimW4

SHOTS FIRED -- NYT A1, "Christie Spins His Narrative Of Security Record on the Trail," by Alex Burns and Charlie Savage: "[H]e has, at times, overstated the significance of the terrorism prosecutions he oversaw ... and appears to have exaggerated his personal role in obtaining court permission for surveillance of terrorism suspects." https://nyti.ms/1Ja3kCp

AP for MON. PAPERS - "Activists predict abortion will be a hot issue in [Senate, presidential] campaigns," by AP National Writer David Crary: "[C]amps will be ... energized by Republican-led congressional investigations of Planned Parenthood and ... Supreme Court consideration of tough anti-abortion laws in Texas. 'It's an amazing convergence of events,' said Charmaine Yoest, CEO of the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. 'We haven't seen a moment like this for 40 years.' ... 'We may very well have the most extreme Republican presidential nominee since Roe,' ... said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List. ...

"The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments, probably in March, regarding a Texas law enacted in 2013 that would force numerous abortion clinics to close. One contested provision requires abortion facilities to be constructed like surgical centers; another says doctors performing abortions at clinics must have admitting privileges at a local hospital. ... 

"New Hampshire features an intriguing race between two women. Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, a supporter of abortion rights, hopes to unseat GOP incumbent Kelly Ayotte, who is endorsed by anti-abortion groups and favors halting Planned Parenthood's federal funding. Other key Senate races likely to feature sharp divisions over abortion include those in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin and ... Ohio, where GOP incumbent Rob Portman is expected to be challenged by former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland." https://apne.ws/1QU3L6g

FIRST LOOK - American Bridge, "The Year Trump Took Over, Pt. 1: Anti-Immigrants": "[A]s far as the Republican Party is concerned, Donald Trump is the center of the universe. The Summer of Trump turned to autumn, then winter, and he's continued to thrive through pundit-predicted fall, after fall, after fall -- because the GOP base loves him and everything he stands for. To commemorate the year Trump took over ... American Bridge is closing out 2015 with a five-day countdown of the extreme, far-right policies that Donald Trump has reinforced and left as his legacy." https://bit.ly/1YJ12vP

USED NEWS - WashPost, yesterday, "Donald Trump wants to be America's [expletive] president" https://wapo.st/1Ja3fPb ... NYT's Matt Flegenheimer and Maggie Haberman, Nov. 27, "Foul-Mouthed and Proud of It on the '16 Campaign Trail" https://nyti.ms/1IwcObb

SPORTS BLINK -- WORST TO FIRST! WashPost Sports banner, "Postseason's greetings: Redskins handle Eagles to clinch first NFC East title since 2012 [guaranteeing first-round game at FedEx Field]" - Thomas Boswell in Philly, "Finally ready for prime time": QB "Kirk Cousins can now add 'icy' to his rapidly expanding résumé, along with four more touchdown passes, for a season total of 26. ... [P]oise, composure ... was the subtext ... Philly was awful. Washington could have been better. But it was more than good enough. And that is a new story line. ... 

"Many teams in many sports have made more amazing one-season turnarounds ... But few teams have undergone a more exciting, unexpected and, for their fans, almost enchanting transformation in just one season. That total flip of a sad 7-25 script the past two seasons has not just been in won-loss record, and in congenial team-first locker room tone, but in the ability to face pressure, on the road, with a division crown at stake." https://wapo.st/1ZvANLw

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- "Arizona congressman [Rep. Dave Schweikert] who was adopted brings home baby girl," by Arizona Republic's Rebekah Sanders: "Adorable with a wisp of dark hair and an infectious smile, Olivia [born in Phoenix] is now not only the daughter of a prominent Arizona politician, she represents three generations of adoption in Schweikert's family. The congressman himself was taken in at a young age by a father, Bill, who was adopted, and a mother, Lee, who dedicated her life to helping drug addicts and homeless people. In addition to Schweikert, they adopted two other children." With 3 pix https://bit.ly/1UaFx5K

BIRTHDAYS: Savannah Guthrie, the pride of Tucson (Vale tip: Michael) ... Karen Hughes ... Cokie Roberts, author of "Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868" (hat tip: Steve) ... "Scud Stud" Arthur Kent is 62 ... Max Band, son of Doug and Lily ... Mercedes Viana Schlapp of Cove Strategies ... Brennan Bilberry of the Messina Group and alum of Terry McAuliffe, Priorities USA and DCCC ... Trygve Olson, a longtime campaign veteran and D.C. hockey guy ... Christina Glenn, of SKDKnickerbocker's D.C. office ... Jessica McCreight, VP at SKDK Knickerbocker and an Obama WH alum ... Bloomberg's Glen Carey ... Reuters alum Jessica Bachman ... Ben Lazarus ... Joseph Grieboski ... Kurt Volker ... Hemanshu Nigam ... Mike Thomas ... Jacqueline Policastro, Gray Television's D.C. bureau chief ... 

... Talking Points Memo's Tierney Sneed ... Jill Meadows Hoppin (hat tips: Rob, Keil) ... Joseph Collins ... Sarah Guinan Nixon ... Joe Harris, legislative representative for the National Association of Realtors, a proud native of Columbia, S.C., and a Lieberman alum ... Geri Palast ... Yael Belkind ... UPenn student Jacob Levy ... Andrew Chesley, a 3L at Columbia Law School ... Susie Weinrauch Leach ... rockabilly musician Scotty Moore is 84 ... Charmian Carr (Liesl von Trapp in "The Sound of Music") is 73 ... T.S. Monk is 66 ... Hayley Williams (Paramore) is 27 ... country singer Shay Mooney (Dan & Shay) is 24 (h/ts AP)

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