POLITICO Playbook: POLLSTER: Trump lead UNDERstated; smart people ashamed to say they’re for him

Good Tuesday morning. Happy birthday, Senator Cruz. Politico's Shane Goldmacher: "They might not like him, but Washington Republicans are happy to raise money off his name ... In email after email, the political arm of Senate Republicans ... has teased Cruz's ... birthday to gin up new online supporters. ... While Cruz may be a persona-non-grata at ... luncheons on Capitol Hill, he remains a powerful force in drawing small donors." https://politi.co/1QVuLAO

MORE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS ... "Obama and DNC fundraise off Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric," by Politico's Nolan McCaskill: "In an email signed by Obama, ... the president said he's had his religion, birthplace and love for America questioned because of his name and background, and that he's learned to listen closely when fear and ignorance start creeping into conversation. ... Obama and the DNC are asking supporters to give ... 'to ... ensur[e] we never lead from a place of fear and divisiveness.'" https://politi.co/1QVv3b8

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

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TRAIL DIET - "Clinton avoids campaign diet pitfalls with hot peppers, yoga," by AP's Lisa Lerer : "When supporters offer Tex-Mex, she takes a salad. ... When her staff laid out a spread of pulled pork and beans from Whole Hog Cafe after a stop in Little Rock, [she] ate a single tomato slice. ... Clinton sends her campaign team to scout out secluded tracks for brisk walks and hotel rooms with space for yoga. And she swears by the weight-loss power of hot peppers, keeping red pepper flakes on hand when on the road. ... 

"[F]ormer Vermont Gov. Howard Dean ... said he added 35 pounds, ballooning up to 195, during his eight-month campaign for president in 2004." https://apne.ws/1NzO7tb

THE CONVERSATION - "Talk radio rallies around Ted Cruz: As Trump and Rubio attack, the 2016 contender's right-wing friends circle the wagons," by Politico's Hadas Gold: "'He's my guy. I like Ted Cruz a lot,' said Glenn Beck ... Talk radio shifted into Cruz defense ... after Trump called the Texan 'a little bit of a maniac' ... Mark Levin[:] 'My friend Donald Trump really screwed up' ... The conservative radio hosts have been on the Trump train for a while ... But few have come out and declared that they're Trump backers. ... Limbaugh ... also rushed to Cruz's defense." https://politi.co/1PhX7Un

--"Bush shows signs of life in New Hampshire: 'This is far from over up here,' a state GOP operative says," by Politico's Eli Stokols in Alton, N.H.: "[S]till awkward with the performance art of politics and burdened by his family's political baggage, Bush has embraced his inner wonk. ... [I]n the final days of 2015, he appears to have cycled through the various stages of grief, from the summer's denial of Trump upending his imagined 'shock and awe' campaign, to the anger and depression of autumn and, just in time for the final sprint toward the first contests on the primary calendar, an apparent upward turn toward hope." https://politi.co/1Oiaqkj

--"Bush picks up several Graham backers in South Carolina," by Reuters' Steve Holland: "Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, a veteran fundraiser who was Graham's state finance chairman, has signed on to help Bush ... Nine other members of Graham's operation have also chosen to help Bush, including three co-chairs of Graham's state finance operation ... Eddie Floyd, Anita Zucker and Bob Royall." https://reut.rs/1mxFjLr

--"Rand Paul ad: 'Where in the world is Marco Rubio?'" by Politico's Eliza Collins: "playing off the theme song of computer villain Carmen Sandiego ... Rubio being grilled about his track record of missing Senate votes." https://politi.co/1QVsMwu

DAILY TRUMP - L.A. Times 1-col. lead, "Trump may have bigger lead: Experiment suggests people in phone polls are less likely to admit to supporting the GOP front-runner," by David Lauter: "Trump generally has done better in online polls than in surveys done by phone. ... [O]nline surveys ... have tended to show Trump with support of nearly four-in-10 GOP voters [while] telephone surveys ... have typically shown him with the backing of one-third or fewer. ... Some significant number of Trump supporters, especially those with college educations, are 'less likely to say that they support him when they're talking to a live human,' ... said the [Morning Consult's] polling director, Kyle Dropp." https://lat.ms/1Oi9V9H

--"Half of U.S. voters embarrassed with Trump as president" - Quinnipiac, off embargo at 6 a.m. -- Among GOP: Trump 28%, Cruz 24%, Rubio 12%, Carson 10% ... In GOP, "58 percent of those who name a candidate might change their mind ... Only 23 percent of all voters would be proud to have Trump as president." https://bit.ly/1Mtfpxe

PARAGRAPH OF THE DAY - Dave Shiflett, co-author of Trump's first campaign book (in 2000!), in a first-person op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, "Another Time, Another Trump": "[T]here is also a tragic element to the rise of candidate Trump. In what should be his finest hour, he acts as if he had been raised in a barn (as we rustics like to say). It isn't just his barking-dog stridency but also his habit of calling respectable, hardworking people 'losers.' For someone who has been given so much in life, it's an especially odious line of attack." https://on.wsj.com/1ImpOjr

PAGING GAIL COLLINS - Dallas Morning News p. 1A, below fold, "CAMPUS CARRY -- AG: Let guns in dorms -- Opinion that they can't be barred likely to set up clash with colleges," by Tom Benning in Austin: "Attorney General Ken Paxton ... [issued] a nonbinding legal opinion that universities may violate the contentious new firearms law if they try to bar concealed handguns in dorms." https://bit.ly/1OIcvq8

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POWER MOVES -- "Pope Francis taps an American as spokesman in communications shakeup," by Crux's John L. Allen Jr. in Rome: "On Monday, the Vatican announced that Greg Burke, a former Time magazine and Fox News correspondent in Rome who has served as senior communications adviser to the Secretariat of State since 2012, has been named the new vice director of the Holy See Press Office. Although the announcement did not say so explicitly, it's believed that the appointment sets Burke up as heir apparent to the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the 73-year-old Jesuit who's headed the press office and acted as spokesman for both Popes Benedict XVI and Francis since 2006." https://bit.ly/1Ytnxu1

YOLO OBAMA -- "Obama to appear [as Season 7 premiere guest] on Seinfeld's 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,'" by Yahoo's Dylan Stableford: "The episode, which debuts online Dec. 30 on Crackle, Sony's free streaming network, was shot earlier this month in Washington ... Seinfeld arrived in a 1963 Corvette Stingray Split Window Coupe and tooled around the White House grounds with Obama before they retreated to a basement dining room to talk shop over coffee." Pic of the two in the limo https://yhoo.it/1RCPjQn

OK, WE GET IT! -- NPR, Monday, "Meet Hillary Clinton's New Campaign Weapon - Bill" https://n.pr/1Ytgf9E ... ABC News Sunday, "Hillary Clinton to Unleash Her 'Not So Secret Weapon' Bill Clinton in January" https://abcn.ws/1QVszt8 ... Politico, Nov. 5, "Bill Clinton comes off the sidelines" https://politi.co/1Pk0zQ9 ... Reuters, Oct. 23, "Will Bill Clinton be a boon to Hillary's White House campaign?" https://reut.rs/1QVsEgr ... USA Today, Oct. 8, "Bill Clinton comes off sidelines of 2016 campaign" https://usat.ly/1kebSw5 ... Washington Times, Oct. 4, "Hillary Clinton campaign sending Bill out on the trail" https://bit.ly/1QHELzl ... AP, Sept. 28, "Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign set to get a boost from Bill" https://apne.ws/1Pk0CLI (h/t @BuzzFeedAndrew)

WASHINGTON, INC. -- "Hockey, cigars, 'Star Wars' and campaign cash: In a year-end frenzy, lawmakers try unusual venues and promotions to boost their campaign coffers," by Politico Influence writer Isaac Arnsdorf: "Event listings ... from the DCCC and ... the [NRCC], offer a snapshot of the influence economy at full seasonal roar. They show fundraising gimmicks bringing in from $250 to $5,000-per-person -- parties with frills like video games, Korean barbecue, mojitos, oyster shooters, Veuve Clicquot champagne and bourbon tastings." https://politi.co/1Pk4SuS ... Subscribe to Politico Influence https://politi.co/1Oianoy

DAVID BROOKS, "The 2015 Sidney Awards, Part 2": "This second batch of Sidney Awards, given for some of the year's best long-form essays, congregate, coincidentally, around a theme: the excessive individualism of American society, and the ways human beings try to create community for good or ill. The first winner is Sebastian Junger's piece 'How PTSD Became a Problem Far Beyond the Battlefield,' from Vanity Fair." https://nyti.ms/1Oi8YyrPart 1 of this year's Sydneys https://nyti.ms/1V14OAu

PLAYBOOK TRAVEL SECTION -- "Penn Station is getting an upscale food court," by N.Y. Post's Lisa Fickenscher: "An upscale food court featuring celebrity chef Mario Batali and celebrity butcher Pat LaFrieda is moving into the former Borders book store at 2 Penn Plaza - located on the street level above the busy Pennsylvania Station railroad terminal. A year in the works, the [8,000-square-foot] food court, to be called The Pennsy at Pennsylvania Plaza, is expected to open in early January." https://nyp.st/1OkM1Ri

COMING ATRACTIONS -- "FOX News Channel to Host Final Republican Presidential primary debate before Iowa caucus": "on Thursday, January 28, 2016 from Des Moines, Iowa. The two-hour debate will be presented live from the Iowa Events Center at 9PM/ET ... Special Report anchor Bret Baier, The Kelly File anchor Megyn Kelly and FOX News Sunday host Chris Wallace will return as moderators."

POLL DU JOUR -- "Three-state poll: Rubio struggles, Trump benefits from big GOP field," by Politico's Marc Caputo: "[A]ccording to a memo on the three surveys that were conducted after last week's debate for Associated Industries of Florida": SC: Cruz, Trump: 27% ... Rubio: 12% ... Carson: 11%. New Hampshire: Trump: 24% ... Cruz: 16% ... Christie: 13% ... Jeb: 9% ... Florida: Trump: 29% ... Cruz: 18% ... Rubio: 17% ... Jeb: 10%. https://politi.co/1Pk1FLO

HAPPENING TODAY -- "Clinton to call for Alzheimer's cure, increase spending to $2 billion annually," by USA Today's Heidi Przybyla: "In her last campaign speech [today] before the Christmas holiday ... [T]he Democratic front-runner will propose spending $2 billion a year in an attempt to cure the degenerative brain disease by 2025 ... Clinton plans to make her proposal at a campaign stop in Fairfield, Iowa." https://usat.ly/1RCIT3v

CONGRATS, or something -- "2015 Lie of the Year: the campaign misstatements of Donald Trump," by Politifact's Angie Drobnic Holan and Linda Qiu: "PolitiFact has been documenting Trump's statements on our Truth-O-Meter, where we've rated 76 percent of them Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire, out of 77 statements checked." https://bit.ly/1PhyRBM

EXPECTING -- Chelsea Clinton posts on Facebook: "Next summer, Charlotte is going to be a big sister! We are feeling particularly blessed and grateful this holiday season. Being Charlotte's parents has been the most joyous, meaningful and loving experience of our lives and we are very excited about growing our family in the new year." With a pic of Charlotte looking at a book called "Big Sisters are the Best" https://on.fb.me/1ImcuLY

--EMAIL SUBJECT LINE - From Chelsea to the Clinton Foundation list, "An incredible year."

POWER PLAYERS - JON HUNTSMAN dips his toes into the 2016 pool -- USA Today's Susan Page: "Huntsman ... says he's getting 'a lot' of encouragement to launch another White House bid from Republicans concerned about ... Trump." https://usat.ly/1YxXFb6

--PLAYBOOK FACTS OF LIFE: Please review 2012 performance before taking this seriously.

CLICKER -- "Lindsey Graham's best one-liners from the 2016 campaign" https://yhoo.it/1RCpsb6

TV TONIGHT: At 7, "MSNBC will premiere an original documentary, 'Citizen Trump with Chris Matthews.' ... This is the first in a series of candidate profiles that will air on MSNBC."

PICS DU JOUR: NYT's "Year in Pictures 2015" https://nyti.ms/1MsTOFg

USED NEWS -- WashPost, online yesterday, "How America's dying white supremacist movement is seizing on Donald Trump's appeal" https://wapo.st/1kebqxV ... Politico's Ben Schreckinger, Dec 10, "White supremacist groups see Trump bump" https://politi.co/1Im5Aqa

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS -- "How To Fight Your Seamless Addiction-And Win," by Johnny Adamic in The Daily Beast: https://thebea.st/1OiuyJa ... "Help, I'm Addicted to Frequent-Flier Miles" - New York Magazine's The Cut blog https://thecut.io/1OiuxVI

SPOTTED: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) yesterday at Union Station with a heck of a lot of luggage.

REMEMBERING EVELYN LIEBERMAN - CARL LEUBSDORF emails Playbook: "As President of the White House Correspondents Association, I worked closely with Evelyn to repair the damage in relations that stemmed from the Travel Office fiasco and some other heavy-handed acts early in the Clinton administration. She was Deputy Press Secretary, and dealing with her and Press Secretary Mike McCurry was a pleasure, both businesslike and personally satisfying. I can't think of any White House official who was better at her job and so understanding of the relationship between the press and officialdom. No wonder she soon was promoted to more responsible jobs."

DEEP DIVE - "How Obama Let Big Oil Drill in the Pristine Alaska Wilderness: The land was supposed to be protected. Until one company brought in the ultimate inside player," by Alec MacGillis on Politico: "The fight was unfolding in the real Washington-where influence accrues across election cycles almost without regard to who's in power. In this Washington, companies bend decisions of major import in their direction by overwhelming a bureaucracy that, after years of budget cuts, outsourcing and inattention, lacks the resources and morale to hold its own." https://politi.co/1S4lLKL

LIFE ONLINE - "Facebook to enable viewing of Apple's animated photos," by AP's Anick Jesdanun: "The latest iPhones come with the ability to turn still images into video - just like magic - but sharing options had been limited to other Apple apps. That's changing as Facebook ... adds Apple's Live Photos feature to Facebook's iPhone and iPad app. Facebook [started] offering it Monday to a limited number of users initially, with a broader rollout planned in the coming weeks." https://apne.ws/1kec5iW

BUSINESS BURST -- "Global dealmaking breaks 2007 record," by FT's James Fontanella-Khan and Arash Massoudi: "A surge of deals in the pharmaceuticals, energy and consumer sectors has pushed merger and acquisition activity to an all-time high, surpassing 2007's peak ... with the total value of announced transactions climbing to $4.6tn, compared with $4.3tn eight years ago ... Hunger for growth in a weak economic environment, cheap financing and continued pressure from activist shareholders to boost returns drove many companies to combine." https://on.ft.com/1mfqfBM

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Patricia Rojas-Ungar, V.P. for gov't relations for U.S. Travel Association, and husband Michael , director of personal training at Balance Gym in Thomas Circle, welcomed twins (names TBD) last Friday. "Our baby girl weighed 4lbs 7.8 oz and was 17.7 inches long. Our baby boy weighed 4lbs 5 oz and was 17.3 inches long. While they were born early, they were born healthy and are doing very well." Pic https://bit.ly/1mxtMfc

ENGAGED - Politico's Kate Gaertner writes: "My fiancé's name is Chris Meissner. We met in 2010 when I was a senior in college and he interviewed me for my first job (at Avascent, a consulting firm in D.C.). I remember thinking at the time that we thought similarly and communicated well, but didn't make much of it until two years later when the two of us, both dateless and recently single, were haphazardly seated next to each other at a company black tie function at a table full of married couples. We talked all night, and we've been together since.

"He proposed Sunday in Rock Creek Park on a walk we take frequently from our apartment in Adams Morgan to brunch in Georgetown -- it was a total surprise and I never would have guessed it! It was perfect timing since we have plans to spend the holidays celebrating with both his family and mine. I'm attaching a selfie we took shortly after." Pic https://bit.ly/1J2W0bx

--WSJ's Shayndi Raice, an M&A reporter for the Journal based in London, to Dov Weiss, a professor of religion (Jewish thought) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who lives in Chicago. A very good mutual friend had been telling them for months that they should meet, and they were finally both in NYC in August and pretty much knew right away there was something special. They've been doing long distance for the last four months and last Sunday, when they were in New York together, Dov proposed to Shayndi at the Parkview Lounge in Columbus Circle overlooking Central Park. Pic https://bit.ly/1Jn6PAd Instagram video https://bit.ly/1meNmMQ

SPORTS BLINK -- "1 and done: Redskins can clinch NFC East by beating Eagles [next Sunday]," by AP's Howard Fendrich: "After finishing last in their division in six of the past seven seasons, the Redskins (7-7) are in charge of things, thanks in part to finally claiming two consecutive victories for the first time all season by beating the Buffalo Bills 35-25 on Sunday, behind Kirk Cousins' four touchdown passes, zero interceptions and a run for a score." https://yhoo.it/1kec4vv

BIRTHDAYS : Sen. Ted Cruz, the pride of Calgary, is 45 (h/t Mitch McConnell) ... Rich Ward, manager of national security policy at the Edison Electric Institute, is 35 (h/ts Deckard, Stu, Jesse, Peter) ... IJ's Matt Manda ... Diane Sawyer is ageless ... Hank Sheinkopf ... Piper Adams is 4 (h/ts Ben, Alli, Nora and the Adams Family CG) ... former World Bank Group President Paul Wolfowitz is 72 ... Adam Verdugo, "CBS This Morning" senior producer in Los Angeles and an NBC alum (h/t Erika Masonhall) ... Jamie Kirchick is 32 ... Michele Kelemen, NPR diplomatic correspondent ... Maeve Coyle, DSCC's deputy press secretary, is 23 (h/t Lauren Passalacqua) ... CNN Politics' Daniella Diaz, a Politico alum ... Mary Baskerville, a WH Travel Office alum now up in New York at the Clinton Global Initiative (h/t Caroline Coscia) ... Libby Rosenbaum ... Chris Austin, a John Garamendi alum ... Cherylyn Harley LeBon ... Michael Huttner, founder of ProgressNow ... Tamara Fuhrman Spilka ... Eugene Steuerle ...

... Scott Pellegrino is 5-0 ... Mary Elizabeth ... Beau Phillips, managing partner at Reset Public Affairs ... Justin Duckham ... Mark Bowles, partner at McGuireWoods ... Sam Harper ... Matt Kaplan ... WaPo's Valerie Strauss (h/t Maralee) ... Rachel Manfredi, managing director of development and strategic initiatives at AEI (hubby tip: Stephen) ... Cherylyn Harley LeBon, former senior counsel on Senate Judiciary Committee ... Sonya Medina, a Laura Bush WH alum ... AP's Matt Small ... Sally Probasco ... John Kiely ... Linda Sinoway ... Karen Defilippi (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Beau Phillips ... Baseball Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton is 71 ... Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) is 67 ... Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey is 67 ... pop singer Meghan Trainor is 22 (h/ts AP)

DESSERT - "The 10 best food cities in America, ranked," by WashPost's Tom Sietsema: "10. Charleston ... 9. Washington ... 8. New York ... 7. Chicago ... 6. Philadelphia ... 5. Houston ... 4. New Orleans ... 3. Los Angeles ... 2. San Francisco ... 1. Portland." https://wapo.st/1Yt0oaW

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