Subject: Stitch — Clinton's Lead Narrows
From: Jonathan Allen <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 12:51:58 +0000
List-Id: dff5dea186e38c29c57ca6f8fmc list <dff5dea186e38c29c57ca6f8f.326717.list-id.mcsv.net>

** WHAT'S THE STITCH?
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The Stitch is a morning news speed-read highlighting the work and insights of Newsmakers. It's followed by a daily chat on hot political topics.

** TODAY'S SIDEWIRE CHAT
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10 a.m. Eastern — Republican operative REED GALEN, who was deputy campaign manager for John McCain's 2008 presidential bid and Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 gubernatorial run, joins Stitch to talk politics.

** CLINTON'S LEAD OVER TRUMP NARROWS, BUT SHE HOLDS EDGE ON TEMPERAMENT QUESTION
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Hillary Clinton holds a 47 precent to 41 percent advantage over Donald Trump, according to a new CBS/New York Times poll (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbsnyt-national-poll-hillary-clintons-lead-over-donald-trump-narrows/) . That's narrower than the 10-point edge the former secretary of State had in the last CBS/NYT poll.

The vast majority of registered voters say both Clinton and Trump are untrustworthy. Clinton and Trump are under water on the honesty and trustworthiness question in almost equal measure. For each candidate, about one-third of registered voters say they are honest and trustworthy and two-thirds say they are not.

The big difference between the candidates is on the question of temperament. Americans are split — 48 percent to 49 percent — on whether Clinton has the right temperament for the presidency. But 70 percent say Trump's temperament doesn't match the presidency.

That helps explain why Clinton is not responding to Trump's most charged charges. As AMY CHOZICK writes for the Times, Clinton declined yesterday to address Trump's allegation that Bill Clinton committed rape when CNN's Chris Cuomo invited her to defend her family.
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"No, not at all. I know that is exactly what he is fishing for, and I’m not going to be responding.”

—Hillary Clinton / CNN via NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/politics/hillary-clinton-says-donald-trump-is-not-qualified-to-be-president.html?ref=politics)

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MO ELLEITHEE of Georgetown University, who worked for Clinton on her 2008 campaign, told AP's JULIE PACE that just punching back at Trump won't win Clinton the presidency.
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"The road to the White House in 2016 is littered with the carcasses of candidacies that were equally as offended. ... Being upset about him, being angry about him isn't enough."

—Mo Elleithee / AP (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bbe5a84b89294ce49fd18309ecdcc413/clinton-grapples-trumps-ability-stay-spotlight)

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BUT CLINTON'S NOT OUT OF THE BERNIE SANDERS WOODS YET

Sanders' team is starting to detail its policy demands for the Democratic platform,according to ABBY PHILLIP & ANNE GEARAN (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dnc-to-offer-sanders-a-convention-concession/2016/05/19/99706b54-1df4-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_democrats-11pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory)  of the Washington Post. They include shifting the balance of the Democratic platform on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pushing for a $15 minimum wage.

IF YOU ARE A TRUMP AIDE OR GOP OPERATIVE who wants to win FLORIDA in November, you may want to re-read the paragraph above.

Meanwhile, Democrats are wringing their hands over the vitriol at the end of their primary process. Many of them are again convinced that there's no repairing the party after a heated primary.

While Clinton's campaign apparatus is studiously avoiding public calls for Sanders to shut down his campaign, Clinton aides and allies are starting to trash Sanders on background, as The Hill's AMIE PARNES reports.
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"Unfortunately, he's choosing the path of burning down the house. ... He continues with character attacks against Hillary. He continues with calling the Democratic Party corrupt and [he] not only risks damaging Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, but he's currently doing it."

—A Clinton ally / The Hill (http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/280622-clinton-fury-grows-with-sanders)

BUT JONATHAN MARTIN & DALIA SUSSMAN of the Times make a very good point about the state of the division in the Democratic Party: statistically speaking, it's not as bad as it was in 2008.
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"Still, the Democratic resistance is less widespread than it was in the 2008 primary. While 72 percent of Mr. Sanders’s supporters say they would vote for Mrs. Clinton this fall, a Times/CBS News survey taken in early May 2008 found that only 60 percent of Mrs. Clinton’s supporters said they would vote for Barack Obama in the general election."

—Jonathan Martin & Dalia Sussman / NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-poll.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news)

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It's too early to tell what's going to happen in the general election.

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**
TRIVIAL PURSUITS
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ABOUT TODAY
William Thornton, who designed the Capitol Building, was born on this day in 1759.

ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT SPORTS TODAY
Vanderbilt's baseball team executed a triple steal (http://deadspin.com/vanderbilt-pulled-off-another-rare-triple-steal-1777687313)  against Auburn yesterday.

ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT MUSIC TODAY
John Berry, a founding member of the Beastie Boys, died yesterday (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/beastie-boys-original-member-john-berry-dies-52-article-1.2643522)  at the age of 52.

YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA
Frank Ryan was the former NFL quarterback who designed the House's electronic voting system.

TODAY'S TRIVIA
Who is the oldest current members of the U.S. Senate?
Send answers to [email-masked]. The first person to answer correctly wins a string of emojis and the right to pose Saturday's trivia question.

WHERE TO SEND NEWS TIPS, SUGGESTIONS & CORRECTIONS
Please send them to [email-masked].

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** SIDEWIRE CHAT RECAP: JAIME HARRISON'S 'CHAIR CHATS' WITH ANITA DUNN
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South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman JAIME HARRISON debuted the Sidewire version of his "Chair Chats" video series by talking vice presidential picks with former White House Communications Director and Obama campaign adviser ANITA DUNN. Travis Considine of Hill & Knowlton, who served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, jumped in, too.

DUNN ON THE MECHANICS OF THE VETTING PROCESS
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"The vetting process is political, personal, and a question of how the nominee and potential vp candidate get along. After the vetting process is done, the group is winnowed down to a few finallists, and the nominee makes the choice."

—Anita Dunn / 'Chair Chats' on Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/b670ec2ae368eef818eebc9897887257/commentary/7b8455e7-7d31-4f9e-bcb7-707387c3ff69)

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ON THE PERMANENT QB VERSION OF A VP
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"Anita: Can I challenge you to name one person who would be a good VP choice for Trump AND Clinton? My answer: Condoleeza Rice."

—Travis Considine / 'Chair Chats' on Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/b670ec2ae368eef818eebc9897887257/commentary/4dd9e077-6909-410e-9d50-3b6614aa91f4)

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"Travis, love this question! My personal favorite for outside the box VP choice right now is Sheryl Sandberg — Washington chops, innovator, business experience, and leadership!"

—Anita Dunn / 'Chair Chats' on Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/b670ec2ae368eef818eebc9897887257/commentary/b716fdeb-df8e-4e62-9dad-068fb45084db)

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"Travis, just my thought, I think the Democratic Base would erupt with a selection of Secretary Rice. I greatly admire her as a person but I think a Colin Powell would be more acceptable."

—Jaime Harrison / 'Chair Chats' on Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/b670ec2ae368eef818eebc9897887257/commentary/d9d62abb-357a-4573-8014-27dbcd952b4f)

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Click here (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/b670ec2ae368eef818eebc9897887257)  for the full chat.

** SIDEWIRE CHAT RECAP: SEN. CHRIS COONS TALKS FOREIGN POLICY
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SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE) joined Stitch yesterday to talk about the Iran nuclear deal and 2016 politics. He made clear that he doesn't agree with the White House view of the Iran deal as a catalyst for pulling back from the Middle East.

ON ASSESSING THE IRAN DEAL
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"The JCPOA has a mixed record - it has succeeded for the moment in restraining Iran's nuclear program but has not changed its basic behavior and Iran continues to be a real threat to Israel, the US, and the region."

—Sen. Chris Coons / Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/cad6d9407aea5964fc475e3f7fd4863a/commentary/c119b16a-2b4d-44de-a1bd-780b7f790597)

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ON WHETHER IT SHOULD BE A STEPPING STONE OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST
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"It seems the White House view of the deal, according to the NYT magazine piece a couple of weeks ago, is that it's a launch point from which to retrench from the Middle East. Do you look at it that way?"

—Jonathan Allen / Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/cad6d9407aea5964fc475e3f7fd4863a/commentary/a7c85daf-52ce-44ff-bff9-ade2a148253a)

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"Simple answer: no."

—Coons / Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/cad6d9407aea5964fc475e3f7fd4863a/commentary/9557ead1-dc51-4650-bea0-ec72fe4a016a)

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"How do you look at it? What's it's importance? Is it more of a one-time transaction to limit Iran's nuclear capability and protect our allies in the region, both Israel and Arab/Muslim-majority neighbors?"

—Allen / Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/cad6d9407aea5964fc475e3f7fd4863a/commentary/d88527dd-95b3-4887-af1b-f3f067ee384e)

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"I viewed it as the least-bad option for restraining Iran’s nuclear weapons program, but it clearly hasn’t changed Iran’s behavior in the region or their basic orientation."

—Coons / Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/cad6d9407aea5964fc475e3f7fd4863a/commentary/76e1f7ff-2982-4f14-80e4-6ab9f97fed90)

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Click here (https://sidewire.com/politics/articles/cad6d9407aea5964fc475e3f7fd4863a)  for the full chat.

THE BIG QUESTION

Is Hillary Clinton better off ignoring Trump's attacks and playing on temperament or will she suffer the same fate as Republicans who tried to take the high road in primaries?

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