Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates: TRUMP would be most unpopular major-party nominee in 32 years – PLAYBOOK BREAKFAST with White House Counsel Neil Eggleston and Senior Adviser Brian Deese: Livestreams 7:57 a.m.
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 01 Apr 2016 04:51:27 -0600

04/01/2016 06:49 AM EDT

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

Happy Friday! Watch out for April fools. (Alas, everything in Playbook is real.)

JUST POSTED - "Trump's uphill delegate scramble: The Republican front-runner risks an exodus of delegates if he fails to clinch the nomination outright," by Kyle Cheney and Ben Schreckinger: "If Donald Trump loses in Wisconsin [on Tuesday], he will need to win roughly 60 percent of the remaining delegates to win the Republican presidential nomination outright - a daunting but not impossible challenge. ...

"[O]f the 168 Republican National Committee members - each of whom doubles as a convention delegate - only one publicly supports Trump [Diana Orrock of Nevada], and she knows of only a handful of others who support him privately. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz has been whipping Trump in the quiet, early race to elect his own loyalists to become delegates to the convention." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5ffb2c91606e0a47642d432c0aacefaf392ac8eee9a08388a

TOP TWEETS: @MarkHalperin: "Trump is playing into his opponents' memes: phony; unprepared; hostile to women; unelectable; not a Republican; sloppy; vindictive; chaotic" ... @BuzzFeedBen: "Surprisingly hard for wealthy proprietors not to destroy publications. The ones who don't deserve more credit" ...@BuzzFeedAndrew: "How Republicans feels about their chances this November w/Trump" ("Titanic" clip of the ship's lights flickering and then finally shutting off as it sinks) http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5c83430a537efb87654aee8d8d719c71263ed715e4f3729e2

BUZZ -- "Marco Rubio sets his sights on the NFL," by N.Y. Post's Emily Smith: "[R]umors are running wild that he could be heading to the Miami Dolphins. Sources said Rubio, who won't run again for his Florida Senate seat, could potentially land an executive role with the team. But a Dolphins insider insisted, 'Nope, nothing to it. He is a huge fan, though.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d54e4e0981d6b49760737fc949c88f97db997987ea7c1430cd 

- NYT's Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin and Ashley Parker: "At an off-the-record happy hour with reporters last week, [RNC Chair Reince] Priebus said clearly that, regardless of precedent, he would not be layered over by Mr. Trump's loyalists, according to two people present." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5bcea87a62a4291c85ebddfaa23890daaa9732a4a17bb8e34

--"Trump makes nice with the RNC," by Alex Isenstadt: "Those close to Trump say, despite appearances to the contrary, he's interested in coalescing the party around him and reaching out to key GOP figures. [Trump tweeted:] 'Just had a very nice meeting with @ReincePriebus and the @GOP. Looking forward to bringing the Party together --- and it will happen!'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5579185119ab179bc87f22c8201800379e691fd02d3c6fee9

--"Hillary tells celeb friends she could beat Trump in a 'landslide,'" by N.Y. Post Page Six's Ian Mohr:"'Really, I feel like we are watching an id - an id with hair,' Clinton huffed at the Capitale event for LGBT supporters, including Trump's old archenemy Rosie O'Donnell, Cynthia Nixon, Billie Jean King and Michael Urie. Clinton continued: 'I am hoping that as [Trump's] campaign keeps going, they will have insulted every American in every group in every part of our country. We could have a landslide.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d516bb49acadd26dfd8d76e0d1dd8b7d06812531a316949845

SNEAK PEEK: The Constitutional Responsibility Project, the outside group campaigning for Judge Merrick Garland's confirmation (#WeNeedNine), will be out today with a 9-page progress report: "[T]he longest recess since Scalia's death has been an absolute disaster for Republicans. ... While many Senate Republicans ... have gone into hiding and chosen not to hold any public town hall meetings over recess, they still got a taste of what they would hear in their local newspapers. ...

"By the Numbers[:] 1,500,000: the number of #DoYourJob petition signatures collected ... 42,000: the number of #DoYourJob petition signatures delivered to Chairman Grassley by Iowans ... 429: the number of editorials telling GOP Senators to #DoYourJob ... 356: the number of law professors and legal scholars, including Norm Ornstein and Doris Kearns Goodwin, who have signed their name urging Senate leadership to #DoYourJob ... 300: the number of media stories that covered the #DoYourJob rallies that took place across the country on March 21." See the report. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5607c71586eb346925146aee7c81e93315a82ca590592ea91 ... www.weneednine.org

PLEASE JOIN US for #PlaybookBreakfast THIS MORNING with White House Counsel Neil Eggleston and Senior Adviser Brian Deese, who'll take us inside President Obama's Supreme Court strategy, and the unusual confirmation process for Judge Garland. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. at the Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW (Metro: Farragut North or West). Livestreams here at 7:57 a.m. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d505fd3169900f07a52bef6b775e013fbd380144679fae465b

POLITICO CAUCUS, our weekly insider poll - Steve Shepard: Democratic "Caucus members by a nearly two-to-one margin predicted Bernie Sanders would defeat Hillary Clinton [in the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday]. In the Republican race, insiders said Cruz has surged ahead of Trump in Wisconsin thanks to GOP Gov. Scott Walker's endorsement and an electorate that isn't as favorable to Trump as those in other states." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d58f8b5ec4e7e51a98b8d1d2a88cc30dc005155e1908f771cb

--"Trump's rock-bottom ratings with women: 'Historically, I can't imagine anyone having worse numbers with women,' says one pollster," by Steve Shepard: "The percentages of women who had an unfavorable or negative impression of Trump ... 67 percent (Fox News), 67 percent (Quinnipiac University), 70 percent (NBC News/Wall Street Journal), 73 percent (CNN/ORC) and 74 percent (ABC News/Washington Post)." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d58e8f50ec70f750fcf91f7a168d7e05af09600b7735c24018

--WashPost A1, at fold, "Trump at historic high in poll - not in a good way," by Phil Rucker and Bob Costa (online: "Trump would be least-popular major-party nominee in modern times"): Per WashPost/ABC, "Three-quarters of women view him unfavorably. So do nearly two-thirds of independents, 80 percent of young adults, 85 percent of Hispanics and nearly half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. ...

"Trump's overall 67 percent unfavorable rating [makes him] more disliked than any major-party nominee in the 32 years the survey has been tracking candidates." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5827a1bed819422958d19e1742c3778e385dc95b5810498fe

HOT VIDEO: 30-second supercut of Trump saying "What's going on?" 11 times http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d50b06e23194b28bba3042045966dd5ccbfabace4a2a482686

** A message from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates: The UAE stands with the US and President Obama in a shared commitment to stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons. This is one of many areas where the UAE and US work together to strengthen stability and security in the Mideast and around the world. Learn more: bit.ly/1WFzIyE **

JEB! TO JEB$ -- "Bush returns to giving paid speeches," by Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary: Washington Speakers Bureau says he "elevates the conversation on how to address the key challenges facing America today." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5ac42a80b7cea57c6cc6c25e2e37f5f575a0586107804cf18 (h/t Marc Caputo's Florida Playbook)

ONLY WINNING BY 12 POINTS! N.Y. POST wood, "HILL'S SLIP IS SHOWING: Bernie surges in NY poll" ... "Hillary is losing her grip on New York," by Carl Campanile, Reuven Fenton and Bob Fredericks: "The Quinnipiac University poll shows Clinton leading 54 to 42 percent heading into the New York primary on April 19 ... That's a dramatic shift from two polls earlier in March - an Emerson College survey that showed Clinton crushing Sanders 71-23 and a Siena College poll with her ahead 55-34." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d597c3f5a056c8a03747307d574a6f3ced7de3db67263b6569

--"Inside the FBI Investigation of Hillary Clinton's E-Mail," by Time's Massimo Calabresi: "20 to 30 agents, technical specialists and analysts have been assigned to the investigation, The agents have conducted interviews and done forensic analysis of the evidence collected. ... [FBI director Jim] Comey is keeping a close watch on the investigation, getting briefings from team leaders and personally overseeing the case. Agents have been told they may be polygraphed to prevent leaks." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5a0ff558c44acd628123a7d7b50d256fd5a42dce39d9a1d16

--"Parents of Aurora, CO, Shooting Victim to Headline Press Call on Sanders' Poor Record on Gun Violence Prevention": "Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, who lost their daughter in the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, will join Congresswoman Nydia Vel&aacute;zquez and New York State Assemblyman Michael Blake for a Hillary for New York press call at 10:30 AM [today] to discuss Senator Sanders' poor record on gun violence prevention."

TOM BROKAW AWARD - Per Poynter: "Legendary journalist and New York Times best-selling author Tom Brokaw will be awarded the 2016 Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism that serves democracy. Brokaw, best known as news anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004, will be honored in an event in St. Petersburg, Florida on Dec. 9." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5c4facc011018bd1c6b2db02979266be94fe2b06480066c9c 

WHAT THE RIGHT IS READING - "Top Conservative Writer Is a Group Effort, Sources Say," by BuzzFeed's Joe Bernstein: "A leading voice of the new 'alt-right,' Breitbart.com tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, does not write many of the articles that appear under his byline on the conservative news site ... Yiannopoulos confirmed in an interview ... that he has 'about 44' [!] interns - 'a mix of paid and unpaid' - writing and conducting research for him. ... 'Milo Yiannopoulos is not one person,' said [a] Breitbart employee. 'That person does not exist. It is a collective consciousness of various different people who come and go.' ... Yiannopoulos directs these personal interns - who are not
 associated with Breitbart - through a private group on ... Slack ... called PROJECT MILO." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d54d41945f2c0b039a91c3c75a5fa285284ac124e53cfe0257

MASSIVE HAPPY HOUR at Johnny's Half Shell for PAM STEVENS, House GOP Director of Media Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, who's headed to Cleveland to be the Republican convention's media affairs director -- overseeing TV, radio, specialty media and media events. She joins Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Committee on Arrangements. Pam is taking a leave from the House and returns Aug. 1.

--PARTY PIC of Don Stewart of Leader McConnell's office (@StewSays), and Pam, who's holding a tchotchke that had just been given to her by C-SPAN's Steve Scully (a squeezable elephant from the 2004 convention in Madison Square Garden http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d591c5ff1c10c0bb4103d1e2ece447566d841a9a184741cec0

--CO-HOSTS: Nate Hodson, AshLee Strong, Mark Pfeifle, Ellen Ratner, Andrea Mitchell, Susan Page, Virginia Coyne, Mike Long, Chris Bond, TJ Tatum, Brendan Buck, Matt Sparks, Curt Cashour, Kevin Smith, Don Stewart, Liz Johnson, Claude Chafin, Michelle Jaconi, Pat Harrison, Judy Woodruff, Sarah Baker, James Davis and Mary Hager.

--SPOTTED: Mark Shields (a former Pam boss), Carl Hulse, Al Hunt, Chris Isham, Jill Jackson, Speaker's comms team, Katie Walsh, Kirsten Kukowski, Sarah Flores, Michael LaRosa, Greta Van Susteren, Wolf Blitzer, Jennifer Griffin, Manu Raju, Luke Russert, Reince Priebus, Cherylyn LeBon, Emily Goodin, Sam Feist, Sue Davis, Tony Capra, Robert O'Donnell, Melinda Henneberger, Katie Hinman, Becca Watkins, Taylor Holgate, Greg Martin, Paul Kane, Antonia Ferrier, Nikki Schwab, Pat Reap, Rebecca Cooper, Polson Kanneth, Brian Doherty, Cherie Paquette, Alex Moe, Janet Donovon, Michael Steel, Kyle Downey, Emily Schillinger, Teddy Davis, Shawna Thomas, and so many more.

SUNDAY SO FAR:

--CBS's "Face the Nation": John Dickerson sits down with Trump today at Trump Tower in NYC ... CBS News Battleground Tracker polls from Wis., N.Y. and Pa. ... CBS Director of Elections Anthony Salvanto ... Panel: Peggy Noonan, Ruth Marcus, Ed O'Keefe, Mark Leibovich

--"Fox News Sunday": RNC Chairman Reince Priebus ... Donald Trump ... Power Player: John Ficklin, 10th member of family to work in White House ... Panel: George Will, Julie Pace, Stephen Dinan, Charles Lane

--ABC's "This Week": Roundtable: Donna Brazile, Matthew Dowd, Hugh Hewitt, Juan Williams

--NBC's "Meet the Press": Roundtable: Charles Benson, political reporter for WTMJ-TV Milwaukee (NBC); David Brooks; Helene Cooper; Amy Walter

--CNN's "State of the Union": Panel: Bakari Sellers, former member, South Carolina House of Representatives; Amanda Carpenter; Nina Turner, former member, Ohio State Senate; Andre Bauer, former South Carolina Lieutenant Governor

--CNN's "Inside Politics" (1 hour from 8 to 9 a.m.): Jackie Kucinich, Ed O'Keefe, Jeff Zeleny, Abby Phillip

THE NARRATIVE -- Chicago Tribune p. 1, above fold, "Trump hits a rough patch: Wis. voters poised to add to hopeful's swelling problems," by Tribune Newspapers' David Lauter and Michael Finnegan (online: "Trump is enduring one of the worst weeks of his campaign. Is it a bump or a turning point?"): "Many Republican strategists worry about his staggering level of unpopularity with female voters ... 'You're seeing a campaign that's making it up as they go along every day,' ... said John Brabender, who was chief strategist for former Sen. Rick Santorum's campaign and is now neutral on the race. ...

"Trump's 'renegade campaign' and defiance of political norms 'served them fine in the early phases' Brabender said. Now, ... it's 'hurting Trump a great deal.'" Same Tribune story runs at top of L.A. Times front page, "This time, Trump may be at a turning point: The GOP presidential front-runner has an extra-rocky week, and the upcoming Wisconsin primary looks like more bad news." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d55c77b3c65b64ac60f4ebed91d5d145e2a901deff7a85ac03

--N.Y. Times 1-col. lead in National Edition (swings to col. 5 in New York, for minimum-wage deal in Albany), "OPPONENTS SEE WISCONSIN VOTE HOBBLING TRUMP: KEY TEST AS RACE SHIFTS -- Momentum Challenged- State G.O.P. Lines Up in Opposition," by Trip Gabriel in Janesville: "A poll released Wednesday by Marquette University Law School showed Mr. Cruz leading the Republican field with 40 percent and Mr. Trump with 30 percent, a reversal from a month earlier when Mr. Trump held a 10-point lead. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio was third, with 21 percent." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5b2f34db0454db854d4b02134a4f4128c1d9198261649e606

--"Trump stumbling in Wisconsin as forces coalesce against him," by AP's Scott Bauer in Madison and Julie Pace in N.Y.: "Tuesday's Wisconsin presidential primary is emerging as a crucial lifeline for Republicans desperate to stop Donald Trump ... One of his worst weeks of the 2016 campaign is colliding with a state already skeptical of his brash brand of politics. A big loss for Trump in Wisconsin would greatly reduce his chances of securing the delegates he needs to clinch the GOP nomination ... It could also offer new hope to rival Ted Cruz and outside groups that see Trump as a threat to the future of the Republican Party." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5e9de366d52fc2aadb408011ddfa6ab336b227c807a5d7ae4

--"Trump's abortion flub shows risks of 'winging it' on policy," by AP's Jill Colvin in Appleton, Wis.:"The episode demonstrated the extent to which Trump has glossed over the rigorous policy preparation that is fundamental to most presidential campaigns ... At a town hall on CNN earlier this week, Trump appeared to falter when asked to name what he believed were the top three priorities of the federal government. Among his answers: health care and education. Trump has vowed to repeal President Barack Obama's landmark health care law and gut the budget of the Department of Education. ...

"This week, Trump called into a series of radio stations in Wisconsin, apparently unaware the interviews were likely to be combative. At the end of a remarkable interview in which he compared Trump's behavior to that of 'a 12-year-old bully on the playground,' WTMJ-AM's Charlie Sykes asked Trump if he was aware he'd called into someone unabashedly opposed to his candidacy. 'That I didn't know,' Trump said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d51ce1295312b003ca5029c4c600388b1f538a9f03cee9da1c

AIR WARS -- "Trump super PAC unloads on Cruz ahead of Wisconsin primary," by CNN's Manu Raju: "The Great America PAC released an ad Thursday accusing his closest rival, Ted Cruz, of seeking to 'give amnesty' to illegal immigrants and allow more Syrian refugees into the United States. The ad appears aimed in part at attracting women voters, a liability of Trump's, by featuring a mother speaking directly into the camera saying she's backing Trump because of his national security and immigration views. ... The ad is part of a seven-figure ad buy that will run nationally and statewide in Wisconsin ... according to Jesse Benton, a spokesman for the group." With the ad 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d59714261b530695f63488b3ee6aecb5267480a4c10b78a787 

--"Hackers declare war on Trump: Anonymous readies a new wave of attacks--a threat that highlights cybersecurity problems across the 2016 field," by Darren Samuelsohn: "Donald Trump has more to worry about on Friday than just some silly pranks for April Fool's Day: The Internet hacking collective Anonymous and its allies have promised April 1 will mark the launch of a 'total war' on the Republican frontrunner that includes shutting down his websites and other attacks to 'dismantle his campaign and sabotage his brand.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d58fca94009c2919ba719af48099befcb92a3b112b18a9e6fd

SPOTTED: Alex Castellanos yesterday in TSA pre check line, with just a briefcase, at DCA ... Donna Brazile, on her iPad at American Tap Room before flight at DCA. The two eventually sat together and flew to Ohio, where they both spoke at Ohio State.

--SEND YOUR SPOTTINGS to [email-masked].

POWER PLAYERS -- "Rupert Murdoch's Ex-Wife Wendi Deng Is Dating Vladimir Putin," by US Weekly's Sierra Marquina: "How's this for a new couple alert? The rumor circulating around the corridors of power - from Washington, D.C., to Europe and Asia - is that Vladimir Putin and Wendi Deng, Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife, are dating. Reports of the pair have been floating around for years, ever since their respective divorces in 2014 and 2013. One insider close to the powerful leader tells Us Weekly the relationship is 'serious.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d539d1114c42c4c464a209ebf95c1ef264a1e57d0360e6505c

--"Howard Schultz Calls for Civility and Values-Based Leadership": "Schultz said [at Starbucks' 2016 annual meeting] he has 'struggled for weeks to find the right words to express the pain I feel in my heart about where America is headed and the cloud hanging over the American people.' And he said there are times when he's had a hard time recognizing 'who we are and who we are becoming.'" 9-min. video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d52e0d162876855edd182bc1ab46313e7c59561bc710229a8a

BACK ON THE TWITTERS -- "After a 20 month post ambassadorial hiatus, [Norm Eisen is] back on Twitter as of [yesterday] @NormEisen and had an eventful day of tweeting -- from interviewing the Czech PM to eating burgers with the first orthodox Jewish UK cabinet minister, Baroness Altmann. Even worked in an @mikeallen reference!"

IF YOU'RE IN CHICAGO - UChicago's Institute of Politics has released their Spring Quarter schedule with headliners like Jon Stewart, Edward Snowden, Eric Holder, Arianna Huffington, Arthur Brooks, Ben Rhodes and Oliver Stone. Full sked http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d527bf9747d6486941bd140f3e8dfffd80b90e2643a47b2afd

LIST DU JOUR -- TOP 10 FITTEST SENATORS - Per Huddle: Who knew Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) stays fit by hunting for pythons in the Everglades? The list, via Health Fitness Revolution: Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d529d3bc7e1daebabcf0b3f12f36964624c454c7c3b2e54b87

PLAYBOOK IN-BOX -- A top Hill aide responds to the list and suggests they forgot the fittest king of Capitol Hill: "Tom Cotton could kill anyone on that list."

SCOOP - "Saudi Arabia Plans $2 Trillion Megafund for Post-Oil Era: Deputy Crown Prince," by Bloomberg's John Micklethwait, Glen Carey, Alaa Shahine and Matthew Martin: "Over a five-hour conversation, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out his vision for the Public Investment Fund, which will eventually control more than $2 trillion and help wean the kingdom off oil." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5a52d78fc876f20f61fa58485beafbe8ec86d2bc2f848a540

MEDIAWATCH -- "'Today is #1 in Total Viewers and Key Demos for First Week Since 2012": "Today was the number-one morning news show in total viewers and the key demos for the week of March 21, the first outright win in both categories in a non- Olympic week since June 2012. For the week, Today topped ABC's 'Good Morning America' by 49,000 total viewers, 180,000 in A25-54, and by 185,000 in A18-49."

-- "MSNBC #1 in primetime": "MSNBC's night of four candidate events scored big in the ratings Wednesday night, beating both Fox News and CNN in the demo and topping CNN among total viewers for the 8-11pm daypart. ... This big night comes on the heels of MSNBC's recording setting growth in the first quarter of 2016. This quarter was the highest for the network in over three years."

--"Fox Business Network's Stossel Will Host Two Part Libertarian Presidential Forum Beginning" Tonight at 9 p.m.: "John Stossel will host a forum amongst the three leading Libertarian candidates: New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, technology entrepreneur John McAfee, and Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen."

FIRST LOOK -- "1776 Announces $7.2 Million in Strategic Funding to Boost Global Impact": The new"investment led by Pepper Group, a global financial services company ... Among the other investors in this round are: [AOL founder] Steve & Jean Case [who] are dedicated to accelerating high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the United States and around the world, and leveraging new technologies and innovative approaches to address significant global challenges through Revolution and the Case Foundation ... Now joining the 1776 board of directors are [Pepper Group's Michael] Culhane and Ronald Klain, former chief of staff to Vice President Biden and Revolution's Executive Vice President and
 General Counsel." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d53641696cea888e148c220d38be967a2433720279ad48b43d

WASHINGTON, INC. -- "Inside the Surprisingly Sober World of the Pot Lobby," by Tim Burger in Dujour Magazine: "Lobbyists are a new thing for an industry that has until recently operated somewhat in the shadows. For perspective, between 2010 and late 2015, there were 310 lobbying filings with the House of Representatives clerk's registry that mentioned 'marijuana.' Search 'bank' and you get 12,450 filings; 'transportation,' 64,190; 'energy,' 85,290." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5b06a2090284cf13d55a456a88f910d5e76ee4b9d633975b0

OUT AND ABOUT IN DALLAS -- Tuesday night at the Bush Center in Dallas, Mark McKinnon moderated a discussion about campaigns and political advertising. At the end, he asked the three panelists (David Plouffe, Sara Fagen and Russ Schriefer) what advice they would give to young people who wanted to get into politics.McKinnon: "This is not corporate America, if you have got the hustle and the smarts, campaigns are great meritocracies and you know, the next thing you know you will be the campaign manager." ...

--Fagen: "Pick a discipline. Even if you love politics, figure out quickly about the campaign what you love the best whether that is finance, or research, or field organizing, because it is a great way to have an impact in the political arena and the public policy to be involved, but life will go on at some point and very few people make a living out of this forever. It is important to gain some skills that you can take after that portion of your life."Video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d5481e5d5dfc949e43daba2aa18ae41741600432527acec750

LATEST FAVREAU/PFEIFFER PODCAST -- "Jon and Dan rename the podcast to kick things off, then they recap the ridiculous week of Ted Cruz coverage, discuss Donald Trump's phony conservatism (10:00), and list Twitter must-follows for Election 2016 (17:00). Then Jeb Bush's former top communications aide, Tim Miller, joins to promote his #NeverTrump stance (24:00) and dissect the next step for the Republican Party before the RNC in Cleveland (40:00)." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d59754726d5a04cb36ea8b21893aa117228390fa6e9b1dbd6d

OUT THIS WEEK -- Yesterday marked the official publication of the new book from Vice President Gore's former Communications Director, Larry Haas, "Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World." Haas, now a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and a foreign affairs columnist, speaks about it at Politics and Prose on April 9 and elsewhere throughout April and May. $22.61 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d578561cac64fad1595c96a80475a9fead5eb4093b4983bd39

TRANSITIONS -- Katherina "Kat" Dimenstein is leaving Rep. David Schweikert's office to join the legislative team of her home state Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

MARCH MADNESS - "Before Syracuse, 3 other double-digits seeds in Final Four," by AP Basketball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Houston: "Syracuse, the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Regional, still hasn't needed an overtime victory to keep playing like the 1986 LSU Tigers, 2006 George Mason Patriots and the 2011 VCU Rams did on their way to the Final Four. Before the Orange try to become the first double-digit seed to get to the championship game Saturday night when they play top seed and ACC-rival North Carolina, a look back at the No. 11 seeds that made it to ... semifinal games in 1986, 2006 and 2011." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d55f11113630119065232133a8cbec12d397732f727b9dc6a1

--FOR SCOTT SENDEK: "Denzel Valentine of Michigan State is [AP's] Player of the Year in men's college basketball, edging Oklahoma's Buddy Hield in a close vote." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c7098218f86742d52c31c7fa4439e8cf03909b4dfbc3d45060c8a86d950f10bd

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Wine enthusiast Aaron Sherman ... Treasury alum Kara Alaimo, now a professor at Hofstra

BIRTHDAYS: Rachel Maddow, the pride of Castro Valley, Calif., is 43 ... Justice Alito is 66 ... Politico's Michael Crowley and Ali Breland ... Jennifer Friedman, White House deputy press secretary, celebrating at Red Hen (h/t Eric Schultz and her Lower Press crew) ... Matt Haller, SVP of public affairs at International Franchise Association, fresh off a trip to spring training, celebrating tonight at his summer home, Nats Park (h/t wife Rebecca Heslin Haller) ... Antonio White, a Treasury alum now at Hamilton Place Strategies (h/t Sabrina Siddiqui) ... CNN's Dan Lothian ... Nicole Harburger Stafford, SVP at GMMB and a DGA alum ... Sean Walsh of Morgan Lewis, former top aide to California
 Govs. Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and proud UCLA alum (h/t Gary Karr) ... Kevin McDonald (h/t Jon Haber) ... Hayley Andrews, policy analyst at The Charles Group ...

... Nevada Dems press secretary Stewart Boss, alum of Sen. Gary Peters and Kay Hagan's most recent campaign (h/t Sean Spitzer) ... Sean Weppner, senior lead technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton and the pride of Williamsville, N.Y. ... Mike D. Smith, a.k.a. Smitty, Democratic corporate superlobbyist and friend of the Senate ... Matt Harakal ... Limestone Strategies' Cam Savage, Indiana expert, NRSC alum, GOP consultant ... Nick "Buckeye" Benson, N.Y. AG Eric Schneiderman's senior deputy press secretary ... Max Segan, a software engineer at Facebook ... Jacob Spiering, 1st LT in the U.S. Air Force (h/t Christina Arvanites) ...

... Johnny Beavers (h/t Josh, Phil) ... Julie Sweet of Hamburger Gibson Creative and a DCCC alum ... Jess Smith, managing director of the public affairs and crisis group at Burson-Marsteller and a DHS, DOJ, Webb, DCCC and Gore alum ... Jon Friedman, a MarketWatch alum now adjunct professor at Stony Brook's School of Journalism ... Monica Dixon ... Bloomberg alum Bob Drummond ... Jason McNamara, senior director of emergency management programs at CNA Corporation and a FEMA alum ... Natalia Brzezinski ... Liz Belanger McGarvey ...

... Stefan Fatsis, a WSJ alum ... David Eisenhower ... Porter Davis ... Rachel Motte ... Jill Dowell, VP of gov't affairs at Naacos ... David Brunori, deputy publisher of Tax Analysts ... Catherine Goode, program officer at the Gates Foundation and a Gephardt and QGA alum ... Janet Jenness ... Chuck Larson, partner at LS2group ... Michael McAdams ... Nancy Lee ... Mike Smith ... Timothy Cavanaugh ... Kyle Peyton (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... actress Jane Powell is 87 ... Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro is 77 ... Ali MacGraw is 77 ... movie director Barry Sonnenfeld is 63 ... singer Susan Boyle is 55 ... actor Sam Huntington is 34 ... Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum) is 30 ... actor Asa
 Butterfield is 19

BIRTHDAYS SUNDAY: Alex Burns is 3-0 ... Jonathan Martin (h/t Mom, Dad, Betsy, Ella, Jeremy, Josie)

** A message from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates: Together, the UAE and US are working to make the Middle East more secure and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The UAE is the only country in the Arabian Gulf to have a civilian nuclear energy accord (also known as a 123 Agreement) with the US. Called the "gold standard" by nonproliferation experts and government leaders, the UAE has boldly pledged not to enrich uranium or extract plutonium.

Next year, the UAE's first nuclear energy station will begin generating safe, clean electricity. A leader in developing new technologies for renewable and sustainable energy, the UAE is also home to the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Masdar Institute.

Learn about how the UAE and US are united for a better future: bit.ly/1WFzIyE **

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