POLITICO Playbook: SOME JEB BIGWIGS think Saturday is finis – TRUMP v. POPE -- MIKE BLOOMBERG on why he might run
HAPPY FRIDAY! It's the 50th day of the year. How're you doing on your New Year's resolutions?
DEATHWATCH -- "Bush machine running of fumes," by Eli Stokols in Summerville, S.C. : "Some of Jeb Bush's most steadfast allies think Saturday might be the end. Donors, who poured millions into his campaign and super PAC, have stopped giving - one refusing a direct request to raise $1 million this week. Bush himself is hitting the phones, pleading for patience with his most influential supporters. ... [E]ven before [S.C. Gov. Nikki] Haley's endorsement [of Rubio], several long-time Bush donors were emailing each other Tuesday morning, expressing a collective readiness to intervene and tell Bush, depending on his finish here Saturday night, that his time is up.'" https://politi.co/1TtZh7D
--"Down on Jeb's Prospects, Bob Dole Says Marco Rubio is His Second Choice," by National Review's Eliana Johnson: "'I'm not seeing a lot of movement there,' Dole says. 'He's got Lindsey down there helping him, and his brother came in to help him, and he's still at about what, 10 percent? Which is way behind top three.'" https://bit.ly/1orQg1L
By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])
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MICHAEL KRUSE, Politico Magazine Friday Cover, "How Marco Slew His 'Mentor': It's seen as one of the great political betrayals of our time. But for Jeb, insiders say, the truth may be even more embarrassing": "Bush and Rubio ... relationship ... is less close and more transactional than previously reported." https://politi.co/24e7DUA
UNFORCED ERROR -- "Cruz rips Rubio for last-minute no-show at conservative conference," by Katie Glueck in Greenville: "Alex Conant said in an email that following scheduling issues, the candidate was 'running super late.'" https://politi.co/1PWaoAd
NOT SO FAST: John Weaver, Kasich campaign senior strategist, pushes back on the idea that this'll look like a Trump-Cruz-Rubio race after tomorrow's South Carolina GOP primary: The Ohio governor is certainly staying in through the, um, Ohio primary on March 15. "Our fundraising is going gangbusters, and Bush's departure will mean the spigots really open for us," Weaver told us. "We'll surprise a lot of people in Mississippi [March 8.] ... We'll spend about nine days in Michigan [also March 8]. ... We feel very good about Ohio. ... We're going to continue running an optimistic, positive campaign."
--THE HUG: "Kasich Video Reminds Us Politicians Are Actually Human" https://huff.to/1ovV5HW
TOMORROW's DEMOCRATIC CAUCUSES in Nevada, where there isn't a lot of polling, look like a coin flip to the campaigns. So even if HRC wins, it's likely to be razor-thin. Brooklyn will say a win is a win. But if it's a point or two, the press will say she got a scare.
DAVID PLOUFFE in Vegas, to John Heilemann on Bloomberg Politics' "With All Due Respect": "I don't think necessarily if she loses by a point or two here, that is going to make the campaign spiral out of control. But at some point, you do need to get back the momentum. ... Bernie Sanders is basically acting like Santa Claus, and people don't like to be told what they can't have. ... [P]rimaries are about excitement, and Sanders is kind of the excitement candidate.
"My sense is when we're talking 30 days from now, ... she's going to look a lot stronger. ... She's going to win a bunch of these Southern states by big margins and then have a delegate lead. ... She's just got to basically endure this crucible right now, which is not a lot of fun."
- "Superdelegates help Clinton expand her lead despite NH loss," by AP's Hope Yen and Stephen Ohlemacher: "After the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders has a small 36-32 lead among delegates won in primaries and caucuses. But when superdelegates are included, Clinton leads 481-55 ... It's essentially a parallel election that underscores Clinton's lopsided support from the Democratic establishment." https://apne.ws/1SDplwI
GOP LOVING THIS ... SCOTT PELLEY, to Hillary in Vegas for the "CBS Evening News": "Jimmy Carter said, 'I will never lie to you.'" HILLARY: "Well, you know, you're asking me to say, 'Have I ever?' ... I don't believe I ever have. I don't believe I ever will. I'm going to do the best I can to level with the American people." Video https://cbsn.ws/1owVAl4
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, at a book party in Manhattan last night at Bloomberg Philanthropies for Peggy Noonan, "The Time of Our Lives," making his most extensive remarks yet on why he might run as a third-party candidate: "Peggy has been writing quite a bit about the campaign, ... which really has been a race to the extremes. And she wrote so eloquently last week that candidates sense that ... America has lost faith with in its institutions. But instead of fix it, they are trying to exploit it. And the problems that we face are very real ... wage stagnation at home. American retreat around the world. And a corrupt, gridlocked, and broken two party system that answers to lobbyists and special interests instead of the American people." $20.26 on Amazon https://amzn.to/1Rc0GMA
IF YOU ONLY CLICK ONE THING: JEFF NUSSBAUM on FiveThirtyEight.com, "The Perfect Democratic Stump Speech": "a totally pandering stump speech for an imaginary Democratic presidential candidate - one who espouses only positions that a majority of Democrats agree with." https://53eig.ht/1RSB2yS
POWER PLAYERS -- TOM DONILON named chair of Obama cybersecurity commission. https://1.usa.gov/1LwnVwy
BIDEN ALUMNI -- In an interview with Rick Berke, executive editor of STAT, Ron Klain talks about the growing Zika threat and whether (or when) it will arrive on US shores, how the government's response to Zika is different from its response to Ebola and American democracy. Klain, also a longtime Biden aide, weighs in with his views of the Vice President's moonshot to cure cancer. Full Q&A https://bit.ly/1Qnsies
** A message from the U.S. Postal Service: Direct Mail Is Now a Digital Delivery System: Mail technologies can prepare campaigns for a digital home run. As more constituents are turning to digital channels, digitally enabled direct mail can break through political noise to bolster voter engagement. Know what mail can do. And know it can do more. DeliverTheWin.com **
SPOTTED: Wednesday night, dining at BLT Steak: Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Barack Obama.
WORTH THE CLICK -- MARK McKINNON is the star of a new compelling 8-min. NYT op-doc, "How to Win an Election," by Sarah Klein and Tom Mason: "[O]ne of the most influential American political strategists in recent history, Mark McKinnon ... burned out on presidential campaigns, and increasingly came to view the oversimplification and negativity at the heart of modern campaigning as a leading contributor to the toxic political climate in which we now live. ... Mr. McKinnon believes that the power of storytelling has a dark side that voters should be more aware of. His new message is a warning to all citizens: You're being manipulated, and our democracy relies on your ability to see that." https://nyti.ms/1RSXfg9
FIRST LOOK -- "Middle Class Taxes under Sanders" - Third Way report: "Bernie Sanders proposes a multitude of tax increases, several of which would impact the middle class. ... As a result the marginal tax rate on wages under $18,550 would rise from 25.3% to 34.1%. The marginal tax rate on wages between $18,550 and $75,300 would rise from 30.3% to 39.1%." https://politi.co/1VruEh1
WHAT WORKS -- FROM MILL TOWN TO NEW MILLENNIUM MARVEL : The newest installment of POLITICO's Magazine's "What Works" series explores how Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city, transformed itself from "a broken down mill town" into a teeming hive of 21st-century technological innovators and educational institutions. https://politi.co/1SV4Ax3
POPE v. TRUMP ... N.Y. Daily News cover, "ANTICHRIST! Pope calls out hateful Trump: 'A person who thinks only about building walls & not bridges is NOT CHRISTIAN.'" With Trump engulfed in flames looking like the Antichrist https://bit.ly/1KYA5Dk ... N.Y. Post cover (top half), "Trump & pope: Bible belters" (jabbing each other in a boxing ring) https://nyp.st/1oOJT9n ... Drudge banner, "POPE PICKS FIGHT WITH TRUMP -- ENTERS U.S. ELECTION BATTLE."
TOP TWEETS: @BrendanBuck: "LOL. Inquiries for the speaker to get in the middle of the trump/pope spat" ... @BuzzFeedAndrew: "Probably been said already but Pope really helped Trump. He'll dominate the news cycle going into SC primary."
FLASHBACK -- @realDonaldTrump, Dec. 25, 2013: "The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!"
HIS HOLINESS, when asked whether an American Catholic can vote for Trump, with his statements about deportation and a border wall (via AP): "[A] person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt."
TRUMP : "If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated ... For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President."
STATE OF THE ART --"Bernie's Army of Coders: Inside the DIY volunteer tech movement helping drive the insurgent campaign," by Darren Samuelsohn : "Behind Sanders' astonishing success in the primaries so far stands a coterie of more than 1,000 volunteer techies ... If viral videos, data analytics, Twitter and meet-up pages were the big breakthroughs of past presidential elections, 2016 could very well go down as the year of the app. And no one has been a bigger beneficiary than Sanders, an anti-establishment independent-turned-Democrat with legions of code-savvy, unpaid helpers." https://politi.co/1Vrzlaw
SUNDAY SO FAR:
--"Face the Nation": Kasich ... Sen. Cory Booker ... Bob Schieffer analysis from S.C. ... Panel: Susan Page, National Review's Reihan Salam, Ron Brownstein, Mark Leibovich
--ABC's "This Week" -- George Stephanopoulos anchors: RNC Chair Reince Priebus (exclusive) ... Roundtable: Alex Castellanos, Matthew Dowd, Jennifer Granholm, Roland Martin
--"Meet the Press": Roundtable: Hugh Hewitt, Jon Ralston, Joy-Ann Reid, Amy Walter
--CNN's "State of the Union": Mark Sanford ... Panel: Donna Brazile, Ana Navarro, Van Jones, Mark Sanford
--"Fox News Sunday": Power Player: Tad Devine of Sanders campaign
TRAIL PICS -- MARK McKINNON posts on Facebook , "Welcoming my old boss [W] to South Carolina" https://on.fb.me/1XAX4Gt ... @JebBush: "Taking a few minutes on the bus to discuss the #SCPrimary with @mboyle1" https://bit.ly/1QplFIH
2016 PLAYERS - "Kasich hires top Walker campaign official ahead of Midwestern push," by Alex Isenstadt:"Brian Tringali [is] a top Republican pollster who was a chief architect of Scott Walker's aborted 2016 presidential campaign. Tringali, a partner at the Tarrance Group, a Beltway-based firm, has been working with Kasich since late last year." https://politi.co/1TtBswE
CAUGHT ON TAPE -- "In 2002, Donald Trump Said He Supported Invading Iraq," by BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski and Nathan McDermott: "For months, Donald Trump has claimed that he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion began ... But in a 2002 interview ... Howard Stern ... asked Trump directly if he was for invading Iraq. 'Yeah I guess so,' Trump responded. 'I wish the first time it was done correctly.'" https://bzfd.it/1TtzegK
--@ZekeJMiller: "Trump explaining his flip-flop: 'By the time the war started, I was against the war.'"
CLICKER -- "Here are all the polls you missed today," by Eliza Collins: "Perhaps the biggest news is Bernie Sanders overtaking Hillary Clinton in a national poll - Fox News - for the first time." https://politi.co/1QpEAmJ
--"Trump accuses NBC/WSJ poll of being a 'Rupert Murdoch hit,'" by Nick Gass: "'In my opinion, it was a fix, you want to know the truth,' the Republican candidate told Sirius XM's Breitbart News Daily in an interview with host Stephen Bannon on Thursday. ... 'Well, it was a Rupert Murdoch hit.'" https://politi.co/1PVdfcN
--@RupertMurdoch: "Trump blames me for WSJ poll, fights FoxNews. Time to calm down. If I running anti-Trump conspiracy then doing lousy job!"
HOT VIDEO -- "Who said it, Trump or Kanye?" - 90-second video https://nyp.st/21djTCm
TV TONIGHT: Lester Holt anchors "NBC Nightly News" from Columbia, S.C. ... Fox's "Special Report with Bret Baier" will air live from Myrtle Beach at 6 p.m. "Hannity" has "behind-the-scenes interviews" with Rubio and Cruz.
ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE -- MICHAEL GRUNWALD in New Orleans, "Here's what a Biden campaign would look like: The VP launches a stimulus tour to deliver a very different kind of Democratic message": "Biden's cheery message was that whatever some high-flying candidates might say, America does not need to be made great again, because it already has the most dynamic and fastest growing economy in the industrial world." https://politi.co/1OiTr0I
NEERA TANDEN on Politico, "The Hillary Clinton I Know Will Do Wonders for Women: For decades she has practiced what she preached in the workplace": "I know I would not be where I am in my own career, as a mother of two, without a boss so committed to workplace flexibility early on (and a feminist husband)." https://politi.co/1RbqIje
REMEMBERING POCKETTS RITTER - ROMNEY alum Will Ritter posts on Facebook: "I'm hurting today because [Thursday] morning, at the ripe old age of 14, we had to say goodbye to my sweet little girl Pocketts. I loved her so much. Pocketts was one year old when I rescued her. She had been living in a house with 40 cats and on the drive home, I promised she'd always have a full bowl, a place at my feet and at the foot of my bed. Pock was a loyal sidekick for 13 years. Together we worked on two presidential campaigns, moved seven times, and she walked down the aisle at my wedding." https://on.fb.me/1RSyFMp ... Her Tumblr https://bit.ly/1Q4zccN
--Beth Myers: "[M]y favorite Pocketts story is when she outed you and Kelli as a couple, very early on in your romance. Kelli and Pocketts walked into my office for something. Pocketts looked up at Kelli, then looked squarely at me and her eyes told the score in no uncertain term."
--Peter Hamby: "Pocketts kept me company when I used your apartment as a filing center during the Boston marathon bombing. She was a great American."
COMING ATTRACTIONS -- "HBO Prepping Campaign Finance Reform Film From Alexandra Pelosi," by The Hollywood Reporter's Tatiana Siegel: "Alexandra Pelosi, a four-time Emmy nominee, is directing, producing and doing the cinematography for the untitled film, which HBO will debut in the fall. There's no exact air date yet, but the network is eyeing a September slot for the film." https://bit.ly/1KYCVbJ
--"HBO's 'Confirmation' film rattles some Washington power players," by Hadas Gold: "A group of former politicians and their aides are bracing themselves for a new HBO movie that dramatizes the 1991 confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and claims of sexual harassment made by Anita Hill, with some suggesting the possibility of legal action. ... [S]et to debut in April." https://politi.co/1LwoJl5 ... Teaser trailerhttps://bit.ly/1LwUGcS
HAPPENING TODAY -- "Mourners to pay respects [today] to late Justice Scalia," by AP's Sam Hananel: "A private ceremony including family, friends and justices will take place at the court at 9:30 a.m. Scalia's casket will be on public view in the court's Great Hall from 10:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. A funeral mass open to family and friends will take place [tomorrow] at 11 a.m. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington." https://yhoo.it/1Rbv4GU
--"White House defends Obama's decision to skip Scalia's funeral," by Nolan D. McCaskill : "Earnest reiterated that while Obama won't attend Scalia's funeral, he and first lady Michelle Obama will pay their respects Friday as Scalia lies in repose. 'Vice President [Joe] Biden, who is somebody that had his own personal relationship with Justice Scalia and his family, will be representing the administration at the funeral,' he reminded reporters. ... [P]eople close to the Scalia family said Obama was making the right choice and that the Fridayceremony at the Supreme Court was the better place for Obama to pay his respects." https://politi.co/1SVrhkH
HAPPENING TONIGHT IN CHARLESTON - Uber's UberMILITARY is hosting a book party for "Charlie Mike: A True Story of Heroes Who Brought Their Mission Home" by Joe Klein of TIME in the downtown historic district. $18 on Amazon https://amzn.to/1M7n0Sf ... RSVP for Playbookers https://bit.ly/1SVpWKK
CHARLES KOCH in WashPost, "This is the one issue where Bernie Sanders is right": "He thinks many corporations seek and benefit from corporate welfare while ordinary citizens are denied opportunities and a level playing field. I agree with him." https://wapo.st/1OiX3jt
--"The Kochs Are Plotting A Multimillion-Dollar Assault On Electric Vehicles," by HuffPost's Peter Stone:"A new group that's being cobbled together with fossil fuel backing hopes to spend about $10 million dollars per year to boost petroleum-based transportation fuels and attack government subsidies for electric vehicles ... A Koch Industries board member [James Mahoney] and a veteran Washington energy lobbyist [Charlie Drevna] are working quietly to fund and launch the new advocacy outfit." https://huff.to/1WvDA5b
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION - Tickets go on sale TODAY at 10 a.m. for John Oliver's three shows at the Kennedy Center in August https://bit.ly/1OjlugI
WASHINGTON, INC. -- "Prime Policy Group Announces Bailey Promotion & New Online Presence": "Prime Policy Group ... is pleased to announce the promotion of Stefan Bailey to Managing Director, the launch of its redesigned website ... and the hiring of Owen E. Taylor as Client Staff Assistant. ... Prior to joining Prime, Bailey served on the legislative staff of Senator Evan Bayh, and as Legislative Director for Reps. Nick J. Rahall II and Baron P. Hill." https://bit.ly/1Tpz6xp ... www.prime-policy.com
BUSH ALUMNI - "Former Department of Commerce Official Joins SmartPower": "Steven J. Meyers, a former Senior Policy Advisor at ... NOAA and Chief of Staff at the US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration under President George W. Bush has joined SmartPower ... as the organization's newest Program Manager."
MEDIAWATCH -- "'Live From D.C.'...It's The NPR Newscast!" by Elizabeth Jensen : "Earlier this month, NPR started introducing many of its newscasts with the words 'Live from NPR News in Washington.' ... Christopher Turpin, vice president for news programming and operations, said the 'live' introduction is 'one small part of a broader strategy to try to reinforce one of terrestrial radio's greatest virtues, which is live-ness and a sense of immediacy.'" https://n.pr/1QN5JR9
--"Twenty eight year NYT veteran Tom Kuntz has joined the American Media Institute, a non-profit news media start up enterprise featuring veteran journalists such as former CBS News SVP Jeff Ballabon (Board of Directors) and John Tierney, storied NYT reporter and best selling author, who sits on the Media Advisory Board."
OUT AND ABOUT - "On Wednesday evening, NARAL Pro-Choice America held its annual gala at Union Market. The focus this year was on the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the important Supreme Court case that will be heard on March 2nd (Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt) - the most consequential case for abortion rights since Roe."
BIRTHDAYS: Andrew Ross Sorkin, the pride of Scarsdale and co-creator of Showtime "Billions" ... NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 57 ... former Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer is 74 ... Sean Conner, Sen. Tim Scott's press secretary, is 32 (h/t Ashley R. Tate-Gilmore) ... Gary Andres, majority staff director for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a wonderful father and Dutko alumnus ... John Stanton, BuzzFeed D.C. bureau chief ... Judy Kurtz Altscher of The Hill ... Politico's Jennifer Plesniak and Sandeep Hulsandra ... Katharine Zaleski, cofounder and president of PowerToFly and a HuffPost and WashPost alum ... National Review's John J. Miller, director of the journalism program at Hillsdale College ... Peter Van Buren ... Joshua Schank, the first-ever chief innovation officer for the LA County Metro and an alum of EnoTrans ... Rebecca Brown, daughter of Gay and Dale ... Jim Green, senior account executive at Quantcast ... Evan Feinman, executive director of Virginia's Tobacco Commission ... Tucker Warren of Hamilton Place Strategies ...
... Olga Ramirez Kornacki, director of the House-Radio TV Gallery ... John Gentzel, managing director at DCI Group and a Snowe alum ... Chris Faulkner ... Ken Shepherd, managing editor of NewsBusters.org at Media Research Center ... Carrie Johnson O'Brion ... Daniel Blum ... USA Today commentary editor Jill Lawrence ... Chris Faulkner ... Molly Weaver, director of Watson Green LLC and an HPS alum (h/ts Taylor Griffin and Sergio Rodriguera Jr.) ... Eric Sherred, Ron Johnson campaign's digital director and an RNC alum ... Jonathan Pantano in Gov. Chris Christie's Attorney General's office (h/ts your birthday twin and friend Sean Conner) ... Melody Miller, Kennedy alum (h/t Jon Haber) ...
... Stewart McLaurin, the pride of Alabama and president of the White House Historical Association (h/t Fred Ryan) ... Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark (h/t Jewish Insider) ... Julie Terrell ... Celia Schur is 94, who's lived in New York and Florida and used to volunteer for American Red Magen David for Israel and the National Gallery of Art (h/t grandson Isaac Arnsdorf, the Politico rising star who writes Politico Influence) ... Smokey Robinson is 76 ... author Amy Tan is 64 ... Leslie David Baker ("The Office") is 58 ... Britain's Prince Andrew is 56 ... Seal is 53 ... actress Victoria Justice is 23 (h/ts AP)
DESSERT -- "Making soda cool: Coke, Pepsi try giving soda hipster appeal," by AP Food Industry Writer Candice Choi: "The two soda giants are trying to rehabilitate soda's cheap image and fetch higher prices as Americans keep cutting back on sugary fizz. That means more stylized cans and bottles of Coke and the expansion of Mexican Coke, which is sweetened with sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Pepsi is pushing 'craft sodas' and even plans to open an eatery 'honoring the kola nut' in New York City in the spring. A press release for Pepsi's Kola House last month was peppered with marketing buzzwords, and said the lounge would have a 'resident cocktail curator' and 'artisanal menu.'" https://yhoo.it/1orQUfF
** A message from the U.S. Postal Service: Direct Mail is Now a Digital Delivery System: Mail technologies can prepare campaigns for a digital home run. As more constituents are turning to digital channels, digitally enabled direct mail can break through political noise to bolster voter engagement. Know what mail can do. And know it can do more.
Thanks to augmented reality (AR), QR codes, Intelligent Mail Barcode tracking, personalization, and omni-channel integration, mailboxes are the new inboxes. Learn more about tangible messaging and digital engagement at DeliverTheWin.com. **
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Truly a very interesting election period and fun to watch for a change.