Subject: DNC Clips 5.3.2016
From: "Palermo, Rachel" <[email-masked]>
To: "Palermo, Rachel" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 04:41:35 -0700

WEATHER: 66F, SHOWERS

POTUS and the Administration

President Obama is urging Congress to pass TPP<http://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/278459-president-obama-is-urging-congress-to-pass-tpp>

THE HILL // VICKI NEEDHAM

President Obama on Monday said Congress needs to pass a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade agreement to ensure the United States takes the reins of global trade in the region instead of China. The Obama administration is working closely with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to build support for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), arguing that delaying votes on the deal will make it harder to pass the agreement, the president said in a Washington Post op-ed. "The world has changed," Obama said. "The rules are changing with it," he said. "The United States, not countries like China, should write them. Let's seize this opportunity, pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership and make sure America isn't holding the bag, but holding the pen." He argued that the deal will grow the U.S. economy and strengthen national security. "But none of this will happen if the TPP doesn't become a reality," Obama said. "That's because the Asia-Pacific region will continue its economic integration, with or without the United States," he said.

Obama on U.S. helicopter crash in bin Laden raid: 'Not an ideal start'<http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/02/politics/obama-osama-bin-laden-raid-helicopter-crash/>

CNN // NICOLE GAOUETTE

President Barack Obama entered the Situation Room to watch the raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani compound just in time to see one of the specially equipped Black Hawk helicopters hit the ground. The President remembered thinking it was "not an ideal start," he told CNN's Peter Bergen in a lengthy and exclusive interview about the May 2011 raid that killed the mastermind of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Obama and key members of his inner circle spoke to CNN's Peter Bergen about the raid that killed the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks for the "Anderson Cooper 360°" special on Monday at 8 p.m. ET: "'We Got Him': President Obama, Bin Laden and the Future of the War on Terror." Bergen's exclusive interview marks the first time Obama has sat down with a journalist in the main Situation Room, known as the John F. Kennedy Conference Room.

President Obama Says Donald Trump Is Not Equipped to Be President<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-donald-trump-equipped-president/story?id=38828409>

ABC NEWS // JORDYN PHELLPS

President Obama says that Republican front-runner Donald Trump is not equipped to deal with the challenges of being president. "I think that he is not somebody who even within the Republican Party can be considered as equipped to deal with the problems of this office, but look, we live in a democracy," President Obama said in an interview Monday with WMUR, an ABC affiliate in New Hampshire. If Trump does become the Republican nominee, Obama said he's confident that the Democratic nominee will win in a general election match-up. "If in fact the Republicans nominate Mr. Trump, then it's going to be an interesting fall season," he said. "I'm confident that ultimately the Democrat in that circumstance will win."

Obama reflects on raid that killed bin Laden five years ago<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/2/obama-reflects-raid-killed-bin-laden-five-years-ag/>

WASHIGNTON TIMES // DAVE BOYER

On the fifth anniversary of the Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden, President Obama reflected Monday that the mission was worth the risk because "I had confidence that I could get our guys back." In an interview with CNN conducted partly in the White House situation room, Mr. Obama outlined the choices he weighed prior to the 2011 raid that killed the al Qaeda leader at a walled residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. "After the discussions with the principals, it was clear to me that this was gonna be our best chance to get bin Laden," Mr. Obama said.

Obama barnstorms on TV for stalled nominee Garland<http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/02/politics/obama-garland-senate-republicans/>

CNN // ANTHENA JONES

The Senate may be in recess, but the White House and allied groups are working hard to keep the pressure on the chamber's Republicans to hold a hearing and a vote for the president's pick for the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland. Obama appeared on several local TV stations Monday afternoon making the case for Garland. No surprise, they were in markets with vulnerable Senate Republicans who Democrats are trying to pressure to move on the nomination -- or pay a steep electoral price. In Milwaukee, Obama's target was Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who has not yet sat down with Garland during the judge's meet-and-greet tour of the Senate. "What we're seeing is unprecedented which is the notion that you wouldn't meet with or provide a hearing or a vote for a nominee that everybody agrees is eminently qualified. I'm glad that Senator Johnson now has finally agreed to meet with him but he says he's not gonna give him a vote before the election and yet you haven't heard a good reason for it," Obama said on WISN.

Biden's Iraq hopes crash with reality<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/biden-iraq-222707>

POLITICO // NAHAL TOOSI

Vice President Joe Biden landed in Baghdad last week with his aides optimistically declaring that Iraq's political tumult had "trended in a more stabilizing direction." But the vice president's plane had barely left Iraqi airspace when the country's political divisions exploded, with hundreds of protesters storming into Baghdad's Green Zone, occupying the fortified area for much of the weekend to demand an end to government corruption. The developments threaten to distract from the fight against the Islamic State, which has grabbed vast swaths of Iraqi territory. At the same time, the situation underscores the limited influence U.S. officials - even one as deeply versed in Iraq as Biden - have over the politics of the country America invaded 13 years ago. Obama administration officials on Monday defended the optimistic overtures from Biden and his aides. They say the onus for resolving the political standoff between Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his opponents should rest on the shoulders of Iraqis because any overt U.S. role could lead to a backlash.

Syria conflict 'out of control' warns Kerry amid push to save truce<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36183569>

BBC // BBC STAFF

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the Syrian conflict is "in many ways out of control", as he made a fresh push to salvage a fragile truce. After talks with UN and Arab diplomats in Geneva, he said progress had been made on a plan to reduce violence in the second city of Aleppo. However, he said more work was needed and there was no guarantee of success. A cessation of hostilities has reduced fighting in Syria's five-year civil war but has unravelled in recent days. About 250 people have reportedly been killed in Aleppo in the past nine days. On Monday, fresh government air strikes and artillery attacks on rebel-held districts and suburbs of Aleppo left at least three dead, according to activists.

For Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, Divergent Paths to Iran Nuclear Talks<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/us/politics/for-hillary-clinton-and-john-kerry-divergent-paths-to-iran-nuclear-talks.html?ref=politics>

NEW YORK TIMES // MARK LANDLER

Early in 2011, after a hectic visit to Yemen, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in the tranquil Arab sultanate of Oman. She was there to talk to Sultan Qaboos bin Said about an idea one of his envoys first pitched to the State Department in the spring of 2009: that Oman serve as a conduit for secret nuclear talks between the United States and Iran. Mrs. Clinton agreed to explore the proposal but was dubious that it would go anywhere. "Even under the best of circumstances," she wrote later, "this was a long shot." It would be 18 months before she took up the sultan on his offer and dispatched a team of diplomats to Oman to meet with the Iranians. Mrs. Clinton, however, was not the only prominent American making discreet trips to Oman in those days. Senator John F. Kerry, then the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later her successor as secretary of state, was holding his own meetings with Sultan Qaboos and his trusted emissary, a businessman named Salem ben Nasser al-Ismaily.

Is DOJ inadvertently creating "copyright trolls?"<http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/278391-is-doj-inadvertently-creating-copyright-trolls>

THE HILL // ANDREW LAGNER

Since just prior to World War II, the primary collectives for the major music publishers - the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) have operated under antitrust consent decrees with the Department of Justice (DoJ). These consent decrees allow ASCAP and BMI to operate as monopolists, but protect the marketplace from price manipulation. ASCAP and BMI along with their major publisher affiliates rightly understand that these consent decrees limit their ability to obtain monopoly prices for the use of music. And despite no change in market concentration and a continued history of anticompetitive behavior, ASCAP, BMI, and their major publishers are lobbying DoJ to ease the protections in the consent decrees. Any relaxation of the consent decrees would raise costs on any business that licenses music - from radio stations to retail stores to gyms to restaurants, and everyone in between.

Democrats

House Democrats Target Nine GOP Incumbents<https://morningconsult.com/alert/dccc-ad-reservations/>

MORNING CONSULT // ELI YOKLEY

The campaign arm for House Democrats on Monday unveiled its first advertising reservations for the fall campaign, targeting nine Republicans incumbents, defending two of their own and making their mark in three open-seat races. While the reservations are not set in stone, they do indicate some optimism by House Democrats as the GOP readies for the likely prospect of Donald Trump as their standard bearer in November. "There is little doubt that the size of the Democratic caucus will be larger next year - the only question is how much larger. This initial reservation shows we are going on offense in a big way," said Meredith Kelly, the national press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a statement. "Donald Trump continues to tear the Republican brand to shreds as he marches toward their nomination, and Republican incumbents will be dragged down by his trainwreck."

Overnight Healthcare: First House Republican backs Obama Zika request<http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/overnights/278441-overnight-healthcare-first-house-republican-backs-obama-zika>

THE HILL // SARAH FERRIS

The first House Republican has backed President Obama's funding request to fight Zika just days after the country's first recorded death from the virus. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) called on the White House and GOP leaders to end months of gridlock over the nearly $2 billion funding request, which has been flatly rejected by the vast majority of Republicans. Buchanan's support for the White House request comes after a Florida Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio, has already sounded the warning about the need for a robust Zika response. Another Florida Republican, Rep. Carlos Curbelo, also introduced a bill last week to immediately move all leftover funding from the U.S. Ebola virus response into the Zika response, though he didn't say he would support the full $1.9 billion.

Gov. Jerry Brown: 'Something strange' is fueling the rise of Donald Trump<http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-poli-gov-brown-says-something-strange-is-fueling-the-1462230707-htmlstory.html>

LOS ANGELES TIMES // JOHN MEYERS

Gov. Jerry Brown called Donald Trump's presidential campaign "a phenomenon worth examining" on Monday, but took a pass at offering any direct comment about the either the tone or the tenor of Trump's two-day campaign swing through California. Brown made the comments during a question-and-answer period after an event on fire prevention awareness at a Cal Fire facility near Sacramento. Asked about Trump's campaign, the governor labeled it as "something strange." "I think people are upset. Wherever you look, there's a lot of climate of discontent," he said.

Republicans

Default at hand, Congress faces new pressure to act on Puerto Rico<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/05/02/default-at-hand-congress-faces-new-pressure-to-act-on-puerto-rico/>

WASHINGTON POST // MIKE DEBONIS

Hours before Puerto Rico missed hundreds of millions of dollars of bond payments, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Monday issued a new and urgent call for Congress to pass legislation allowing the territory to restructure the $72 billion it owes to creditors. In a letter to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), Lew connected the island's fiscal crisis to the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has spread through the Caribbean and was recently confirmed to have claimed its first life on U.S. soil - a 70-year-old Puerto Rican man who died in February from a bleeding disorder linked to Zika. "This is not just a matter of financial liabilities and litigation," Lew wrote. "Hospitals continue to lay off workers, ration medication, reduce services, and close floors. Moreover, despite the intensifying threat from the Zika virus, financial constraints have made it extremely difficult to counteract. Unsealed septic tanks, abandoned homes, cemeteries, and piles of old tires, where mosquito larvae grow, for example, must all be treated, but the government is struggling to pay for the work to be done."

Time running out as Puerto Rico's default picks up steam<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/puerto-rico-default-congress-222718>

POLITICO // RACHEL BADE

When Puerto Rico took its first major step toward a catastrophic default on Monday, lawmakers on Capitol Hill - where Puerto Rican officials looked for help - were nowhere to be found, having gone home for a one week recess last Friday. The island began defaulting on most of a $422 million debt payment Sunday at midnight, but much bigger problems are just around the corner. Congress has just a handful of weeks to hammer out a legislative fix to save the island from financial ruin ahead of a second default on a $2 billion debt payment due in early July. But while GOP congressional staff is working through the break to sketch out a Plan B - with an eye towards unveiling it around May 10 - getting a fix off the ground before July could be a major lift: House GOP leadership will have to convince enough conservatives to back a bill that's been labeled a "bailout" by some. Democrats, too, will likely have to whip their own to back the deal - which could include provisions they don't like, perhaps even a minimum wage cut for the territory.

Two GOP House Members Battle for Senate Nomination in Indiana<http://www.wsj.com/articles/two-gop-house-members-battle-for-senate-nomination-in-indiana-1462224717>

WALL STREET JOURNAL // SIOBHAN HUGHES

Republicans in Indiana will choose between two House members in a U.S. Senate primary Tuesday that will determine whether a tea party-aligned lawmaker or more establishment figure will vie in November for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Dan Coats. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and other establishment forces are backing Rep. Todd Young. They also want to prevent a repeat of four years ago, when a tea-party Republican defeated Sen. Richard Lugar (R., Ind.) in a high-profile primary, then lost to Democrat Joe Donnelly in the general election. Mr. Young joined 86 Republicans who bucked the majority of their House GOP colleagues and joined Democrats in voting to end the October, 2013 government shutdown.

2016 Democrats

Clinton allies fume over Sanders's vow to fight on<http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/278463-sanderss-persistence-irks-dems>

THE HILL // JONATHAN EASELY

Hillary Clinton's allies are fuming over Bernie Sanders's vow to take the presidential nominating contest to a floor fight at the Democratic convention this summer. Many Democrats believe Clinton effectively clinched the nomination after a string of victories across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic gave her what looks to be an insurmountable lead in delegates. But rather than rein in his efforts, Sanders has declared that he's playing to win, even if he's trailing badly in delegates after the last votes are cast in the final primary contests next month. The Vermont senator says he plans to campaign and lobby superdelegates to support him over Clinton all the way through the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this July.

Clinton outraises Sanders for first time in months<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/02/clinton-outraises-sanders-for-first-time-in-months/>

WASHINGTON POST // ANNE GEARAN

Hillary Clinton brought in more campaign cash in April than rival Sen. Bernie Sanders, the first time in months that the Democratic front-runner has bested Sanders and his juggernaut of fervent supporters willing to donate over and over. Clinton's campaign said Monday it raised about $26.4 million in donations for the primary. Sanders's campaign said Sunday that it brought in $25.8 million in April. Clinton's success in April was due more to a dramatic drop-off in Sanders's donations rather than a big spike in hers. Sanders had brought in about $44 million a month in February and March; Clinton's haul for March was about $27 million. The drop-off for Sanders coincides with the narrowing of his chances to defeat Clinton, who remains far ahead of him in overall votes and delegates. Clinton has won six of the last seven state contests, including the two biggest prizes on the calendar in April - New York and Pennsylvania.

Clinton cleans up coal comments<http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/05/hillary-clinton-coal-222719>

POLITICO // NOLAN MCCASKILL

Hillary Clinton pledged to fight for coal miners Monday as she insisted that her comment last month about putting coal miners out of business was taken out of context. "I'm the only candidate which has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity using clean renewable energy as the key into coal country because we're gonna put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business," Clinton said last month during a Democratic town hall event hosted by CNN. Speaking to retired mine workers Monday in Williamson, West Virginia, the former secretary of state sought to explain that her remark was "totally taken out of context" from what she meant, pointing to her record and a policy she laid out last summer as evidence that she's been supportive of helping coal country. "It was a misstatement because what I was saying is that the way things are going now, we will continue to lose jobs. That's what I meant to say, and I think that that seems to be supported by the facts," Clinton said. "I didn't mean that we were going to do it. What I said was that is going to happen unless we take action to try to help and prevent it."

Hillary Clinton Hears Wrath of Coal Supporters in West Virginia<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/02/hillary-clinton-hears-wrath-of-coal-supporters-in-west-virginia/>

NEW YORK TIMES // AMY CHOZICK

Hillary Clinton came to campaign in coal country - and she had her feet held to the fire. As Mrs. Clinton stepped onto the sidewalk on Monday to tour a health and wellness center here, a crowd of protesters stood in the rain, many of them holding signs supporting the leading Republican candidate, Donald J. Trump, and chanted, "Go home!" Later, when Mrs. Clinton sat down with residents to discuss health care and other issues affecting the community and coal miners in particular, the chants of the protesters outside could still be heard. "No matter what they might be saying out there, they have a friend," Senator Joe Manchin III, who accompanied Mrs. Clinton, told the panel participants. But not everyone was buying it. "Supporting her hurts you," Bo Copley, a 39-year-old father who tearfully explained that he had lost his job in the coal industry and who struggled to support his family, pointedly told Mr. Manchin.

Clinton Feels Heat in Coal Country<https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/hillary-clinton-visits-coal-country>

ROLL CALL // NIELS LESNIEWSKI

The steel mill here shut down recently, costing 600 jobs, as China dumps cheaper steel on the market. The coal mines have been slowing down production for years as renewable energy gains traction. And Democrats who used to win elections in this patch of Appalachia are losing to Republicans. So when Hillary Clinton arrived here Monday for an event at a local restaurant, she drew protesters. "Coal and steel are the lifeblood here," said Jose Gonzalez, one of the first to arrive. "It kills me that people from this area are like, 'Yeah, Hillary.'" He was part of a small group of protesters waving signs. They included people who had lost jobs as part of the effects of the downturn in the state's coal industry.

How Bernie changed Hillary<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/how-bernie-changed-hillary-222726>

POLITICO // ANNIE KARNI

No candidate ever wants a tough primary challenge - and Hillary Clinton has found the mass appeal of a self-described socialist particularly irksome. But as she shifts her gaze toward the general election and Donald Trump, Clinton may have actually learned some lessons from Bernie Sanders<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/indiana-sanders-clinton-222687>. On the eve of the Indiana primary, Clinton was touring Appalachia, making an appeal to voters who have been energized by the anti-trade message of both Sanders and Trump. Sanders' focus on deep economic discontent, inequality and a political system dominated by big money helped inform and polish her response. "Talk about a ripple effect. It's just devastating communities," Clinton told steel workers at an Italian restaurant in Ashland, Kentucky.

Sanders seeks to end his free fall<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/indiana-sanders-clinton-222687>

POLITICO // DANIEL STRAUSS

Indiana won't have a dramatic effect on Bernie Sanders' fortunes - win or lose, he's said he's fighting on through the convention. But a win Tuesday would be a much-needed respite from a week of headlines suggesting his campaign is sputtering and his path to the nomination is all but gone. First came news of hundreds of staff layoffs. Then came word that his April fundraising had declined considerably compared to March - his haul dropped from $44 million to $26 million. The Northeastern primaries were unkind to him as well: Hillary Clinton won four of five states last week. Story Continued Below This week, though, all evidence points to a nail-biter in Tuesday's only primary. Sanders has barnstormed the Indiana college campus circuit. Clinton has worked the state's biggest cities, hoping to lock down the African-American vote. She's got strong support from the state's top Democrats, but Sanders has an ace-in-the-hole: Indiana's open primary format, which voters don't need to be Democrats to participate in the Democratic primary. Open primaries are where Sanders shines: They helped grease his path to victory in Midwestern wins in Michigan and Wisconsin. "It's close," said former Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, a top Clinton surrogate.

2016 Republicans

Ted Cruz Desperately Seeks to Stop Donald Trump in Indiana<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ted-cruz-desperately-seeks-stop-donald-trump-indiana-38834273>

ASSOCIATED PRESS // JULIE PACE AND SCOTT BAUER

Republican Ted Cruz faces a high-stakes test for his slumping presidential campaign in Tuesday's Indiana primary, one of the last opportunities for the Texas senator to halt Donald Trump's stunning march toward the GOP nomination.

Cruz has spent the past week camped out in Indiana, securing the support of the state's governor and announcing retired technology executive Carly Fiorina as his running mate. Yet his aides were pessimistic heading into Tuesday's voting and were prepared for Cruz to fall short, though the senator vowed to stay in the race, regardless of the results.

"I am in for the distance, as long as we have a viable path to victory," Cruz told reporters on Monday during a campaign stop.

The Republican-big business alliance is fraying. Now what?<http://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2016/5/2/11565278/gop-big-business-alliance>

VOX // LEE DRUTMAN

For a long time, the Republicans have been the party of big business. But for the last several years, that relationship has grown more and more strained. This strain is about far more than major companies pulling out of the 2016 GOP convention. It's about the way in which the GOP-big business consensus is now being powerfully squeezed by two separate factions within the party: one ultra-conservative, one populist. After four decades of unusual success, the old corporate-Republican alliance looks increasingly weak. On the ultra-conservative front, a growing movement in and around the House Freedom Caucus has increasingly used the banner of "crony capitalism" to oppose more and more of the mainstream business, Chamber of Commerce agenda. These extremists (who have included Ted Cruz) continue to demand ever-greater government spending cuts. They are willing to hold the debt ceiling hostage.

Trump sees a decisive Indiana victory at hand, gears up to take on Clinton<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-sees-a-decisive-indiana-victory-at-hand-gears-up-to-take-on-clinton/2016/05/02/eaa392da-1070-11e6-81b4-581a5c4c42df_story.html>

WASHINGTON POST // PHILLIP RUCKER

This was supposed to be the pragmatic Midwestern state that would deny Donald Trump the delegates he needs to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Yet on the eve of Tuesday's critical primary, Indiana appeared poised to help the front-runner get closer to locking it up. Trump campaigned Monday across the Hoosier State with characteristic gusto, boasting about his polling lead and endorsements from local celebrities and relishing a fight with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Certain that victory was at hand, Trump predicted Tuesday's balloting would bring the demise of top rival Ted Cruz. From here, he said, it is on to the general election. "If we win Indiana, it's over," Trump declared at a boisterous Monday afternoon rally in Carmel. "They're finished. They're gone." The Indiana primary, with 57 delegates at stake, stands in the minds of many Republicans as the last major hurdle for Trump to clear. Cruz and his allies have poured every resource and maneuver at their disposal into the state in an urgent, last-ditch effort to derail the controversial billionaire mogul.

New polls continue to undercut the effort to stop a Donald Trump nomination<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/05/02/new-polls-continue-to-undercut-the-effort-to-stop-a-donald-trump-nomination/>

WASHINGTON POST // PHILIP BUMP

There are two things that Donald Trump's opponents need to do to keep him from getting the Republican presidential nomination. The first is that they need to block him from getting 1,237 pledged delegates by the time voting wraps up in early June. The second is that they need to get people used to the idea that a guy could walk into the convention with the most delegates and the most votes and walk out a very angry non-politician real estate magnate. Both of those efforts are going badly. A new poll from CNN makes clear the challenge Trump opponents face on that second point. Ninety-one percent of Republicans think that Trump will be the nominee, and more people say they would be dissatisfied or upset with Ted Cruz or John Kasich winning the nomination than say the same about Trump. What's more, Trump is the preferred second choice of 43 percent of those currently backing Cruz or Kasich. So people think he'll win, more people will be more frustrated if he doesn't than if he does, and he has got a broader base of support.

Ted Cruz Stays Positive Despite Grim Numbers in Indiana<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/us/politics/indiana-primary-ted-cruz-donald-trump.html?ref=politics>

NEW YORK TIMES // THOMAS KAPLAN

It almost resembled Iowa, if you squinted. Senator Ted Cruz expressed gratitude for the "common-sense good judgment" of Midwesterners. His stump speech had scarcely changed, from a favorite anecdote about a drawling West Texas farmer to a running countdown of the time remaining before the primary. ("Fifty-one hours," he said sternly.) He drew a crowd of several hundred at a faith-based community center here, whose cheers at times coaxed the Texas senator to guttural shouts. One woman held a sign: "Pray'n For Ted." "The eyes of the entire country," Mr. Cruz said, "now rest on Indiana." Yet two days before what is widely viewed as a must-win primary, Mr. Cruz strained to conceal a grim reality: He is in serious trouble. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released on Sunday showed Donald J. Trump with a lead of 15 points among likely Republican primary voters, 49 percent to 34 percent.

Cruz confronts Trump supporter<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/278389-cruz-confronts-trump-supporter-at-indiana-event>

THE HILL // BEN KASIMAR

Ted Cruz on Monday faced off against Donald Trump supporters who crashed an event in Indiana, where the GOP hopeful is desperately working to upset the front-runner and keep his White House dreams alive. Protestors started chanting "Do the math" during Cruz's stop in Marion, Ind., prompting the Texas senator to walk up to to a demonstrator holding a Trump campaign sign. The man, who refused to give his name to reporters but said he had come from Ohio, interrupted Cruz and repeatedly called him "Lyin' Ted," Trump's favorite nickname for his rival.

This is what it looks like when the campaign comes to California<http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-essential-politics-20160502-story.html>

LOS ANGELES TIMES // CHRISTINA BELLATONI

It was supposed to be a snoozer of a state party convention. Then the presidential race came to California. And the events in Burlingame Friday through Sunday gave a little taste of what the next five weeks could be like on the Republican side. It started Friday when Donald Trump attracted angry protesters who forced him to traipse through a field to get into the convention site, then dismissed them during his brief speech to California Republican activists. He declared the race was close to over. "I think it's going to come to an end very soon," Trump said. "And really, I'm speaking to the people in this room, because there has to be unity in our party." Sen. Ted Cruz went after Trump for donating to Democrats, and his new running mate Carly Fiorina offered a feisty stump speech to delegates Saturday night, taking sharp jabs at Trump and those who oppose Cruz.

California Prepares for Long-Denied Star Turn in Presidential Race<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/us/politics/california-primary.html?ref=politics&_r=0>

NEW YORK TIMES // ADAM NAGOURNEY

This is the most populous state in the nation, but in presidential elections, it has almost always found itself on the sidelines. The last time a Republican primary in California mattered was 52 years ago, when the party nominated Barry Goldwater. But California will finally play an important role in the drama of presidential politics. The 172 Republican delegates up for grabs in the state's June 7 primary, which in most years has taken place well after the party's presidential standard-bearer was known, will determine whether Donald J. Trump can clinch the nomination on the last day of voting and avoid having to wrangle uncommitted delegates at the national convention in July. All three Republican presidential candidates, along with hundreds of reporters, turned up for the party's state convention here over the weekend, the biggest show in memory of presidential candidate firepower at this yearly gathering.

Editorials/Op-Eds

Bernie Sanders's Gift to His Party<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/opinion/bernie-sanderss-gift-to-his-party.html?ref=opinion>

NEW YORK TIMES // EDITORIAL BOARD

Though some opinion polls on Tuesday's primary in Indiana show Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in a tight race<http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/donald-trump-leads-cruz-15-points-crucial-indiana-race-n565356>, the plunge in Mr. Sanders's latest fund-raising numbers makes clear what he doesn't yet want to say. His campaign - for the presidency, anyway - is most likely nearing its end. "We intend to fight for every vote and delegate remaining," Mr. Sanders said<https://berniesanders.com/remarks-national-press-club/> in Washington on Sunday. While he continues to infuriate the Clinton campaign by battling for Mrs. Clinton's superdelegates<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/01/bernie-sanders-says-superdelegates-should-follow-voters-will-in-landslide-states/>, his tone suggests that he's no longer in it to win. He's fighting to ensure that all his supporters get a chance to cast a ballot during the primary season ending in June, and most of all, that Democratic leaders pay attention to their views. The Democratic Party and Mrs. Clinton are better off for Mr. Sanders's presence in this race. His criticism, as Winston Churchill might say, was not agreeable. But it called necessary attention to unhealthy developments in the Democratic Party, including its at-times obliviousness to the lingering economic pain of the middle class and the young, and its drift toward political caution over aspiration.

President Obama: The TPP would let America, not China, lead the way on global trade<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/president-obama-the-tpp-would-let-america-not-china-lead-the-way-on-global-trade/2016/05/02/680540e4-0fd0-11e6-93ae-50921721165d_story.html>

WASHINGTON POST // PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Over the past six years, America's businesses have created more than 14 million new jobs. To keep this progress going, we need to pursue every avenue of economic growth. Today, some of our greatest economic opportunities abroad are in the Asia-Pacific region, which is on its way to becoming the most populous and lucrative market on the planet. Increasing trade in this area of the world would be a boon to American businesses and American workers, and it would give us a leg up on our economic competitors, including one we hear a lot about on the campaign trail these days: China. Of course, China's greatest economic opportunities also lie in its own neighborhood, which is why China is not wasting any time. As we speak, China is negotiating a trade deal that would carve up some of the fastest-growing markets in the world at our expense, putting American jobs, businesses and goods at risk.

Joe Biden Didn't Lose Iraq<http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/02/joe-biden-didnt-lose-iraq-obama-did/>

FOREIGN POLICY // JAMES JEFFERY

The sudden trip of Vice President Joe Biden to Iraq this weekend - his first to Baghdad since U.S. troops left in late 2011 - was rudely upstaged by the storming of the Green Zone by angry protesters on Sunday, just after the veep had decamped to Erbil. But while the optics looked ugly, the trip - and focus on righting the ship in Iraq - has long been central to Biden. Since the first days of the Obama White House, Biden has been the president's point man for what may be the administration's toughest portfolio. President Barack Obama ran on a "get out of Iraq" ticket in 2007, although he tried after a fashion three years later to keep some forces on, and now has ordered 5,000 back to support operations against the Islamic State. In all of this, Biden's role has been central. This should not surprise, given his energy, his family relationship to Iraq (where his son served), his vote for the invasion in 2002, and his close focus on events there as Senate Foreign Relations chair. But this long history is not without controversy. For example, in 2006, he authored with Les Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, a plan, dead-on-arrival in Baghdad, for a soft petition of the country into Sunni Arab, Kurdish, and Shiite Arab cantons. That year, he also leaned toward a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces - before the surge reduced violence and, of course, before he was tapped as Obama's No. 2.

Will Hoosiers save Ted Cruz?<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-ted-cruz-indiana-donald-trump-delegates-edit-20160502-story.html>

CHICAGO TRIBUNE // EDITORIAL BOARD

In the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament a few weeks ago, Texas A&M was in a hopeless spot, trailing Northern Iowa by 12 points with just 44 seconds remaining. Everyone knew A&M was done for. But the Aggies staged a stunning rally, sending the game into overtime, where they came out on top. Fans - particularly those in Iowa - learned then that victory can be elusive even when it looks certain. Ted Cruz, who like the Aggies is from Texas, needs a dramatic surprise to have a real chance of winning the Republican nomination for president. But at least until Indiana votes on Tuesday, it's too early to assume Donald Trump has the nomination wrapped up. Plenty of observers, of course, are eager to pronounce him the GOP winner so they can get on to obsessing about the general election. Trump himself, with a comfortable lead in the Indiana polls, shares that impulse.