Subject: CTR: Your Weekend Talking Points...
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 11:05:17 -0700
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*“Well, that’s because most Americans think of engagement and go
immediately to military engagement. That’s why I use the phrase ‘smart
power.’ I did it deliberately because I thought we had to have another way
of talking about American engagement, other than unilateralism and the
so-called boots on the ground." **–* Hillary Clinton [Atlantic, 8/10/14
<http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/?single_page=true>
]

*8.15.14 Weekend Package*

1.       After Onslaught of Right-Wing Attacks, Clinton Still Leads in
Every Matchup

2.       Hillary Clinton Interview with Jeff Goldberg

3.       “Hard Choices” Continues to Ride High for 9th Week in a Row

*AFTER ONSLAUGHT OF RIGHT-WING ATTACKS, CLINTON STILL LEADS IN EVERY
MATCHUP*

*ATTACK: A new **poll*
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/poll-hillary-clinton-2016-110009.html?hp=l6>*
by
McClatchy-Marist shows that a potential Hillary Clinton candidacy's lead
against potential Republican contenders in a hypothetical 2016 matchup is
narrowing from past polls, neglecting the fact that after an onslaught of
right-wing attacks, Clinton maintains a lead.*

Even as right-wing attack groups throw everything but the kitchen sink at
Hillary Clinton this summer, including three tabloid-style anti-Clinton
books, the potential of a Hillary Clinton 2016 candidacy still outpaces
every hypothetical Republican matchup.

Americans know who to trust.  They know who has been working for the middle
class and working for a lifetime to grow income opportunity.

These numbers offer more evidence that the American people are rejecting
the garbage right-wing attack groups are tossing at Hillary Clinton.

*THE POLL:*

 -          Even with an onslaught of Republican attacks, including three
tabloid-style attack books, Hillary Clinton leads every Republican
contender out there.

 -          The McClatchy poll shows Hillary Clinton leading every
potential GOP 2016 contender.

 -          In head-to-head matchups against three Republican
front-runners, Hillary Clinton wins them all.

 -          Clinton beats Chris Christie and Jeb Bush by 7 points and Rand
Paul by 6 points.

*THE BIG PICTURE:*

·         The sky-high approval numbers Hillary Clinton has had for most of
the past few years are reserved for leaders who are viewed as *outside* of
the typical partisan political battles. As Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton certainly was in that unique role.

·         But as Hillary becomes more involved with domestic issues, as the
media begins framing her in terms of a 2016 Presidential Election and as
the Republican attack machine looks for anything and everything to throw at
her it is no surprise that her numbers are coming back to earth.

Despite all of this – despite the fact that Republicans are resorting to
personal, misinformed and even blatantly false attacks on Hillary Clinton –
she is still one of the most popular leaders in our country.

 -          As Dave Weigel wrote
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/07/21/the_poll_that_will_make_democrats_panic_about_hillary_clinton.html>,
“few doubt that Hillary is the most electable, most Republican-infuriating
candidate on the horizon.”

 -          Most Americans believe that Hillary Clinton can relate to and
is in touch with average Americans. Fifty-five percent of Americans say
that Hillary Clinton can relate to and understand the problems of average
citizens, according to a recent NBC poll
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/hillary-clinton/most-believe-hillary-clinton-can-relate-average-americans-poll-finds-n142911>
.

 -          Clinton is extremely popular among Democrats: a new NBC/Marist
poll
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/hillary-clinton/most-believe-hillary-clinton-can-relate-average-americans-poll-finds-n142911>puts
her favorability/unfavorability rating in Iowa at 89 percent/6 percent; in
New Hampshire it’s even higher, at 94 percent/4 percent.

 -          In recent polls conducted in Ohio
<http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/ohio/release-detail?ReleaseID=2066>
, New Jersey
<http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/new-jersey/release-detail?ReleaseID=2068>,
and Florida
<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/24/clinton-polling-well-in-key-presidential-battleground/>,
Hillary Clinton has commanding leads over all the potential 2016 GOP
contenders.

 -          According to a Quinnipiac press release
<http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/ohio/release-detail?ReleaseID=2066>
on
the Ohio poll, "Secretary Clinton, on the other hand, is almost everyone's
favorite candidate.

 -          Regarding the New Jersey poll, a Quinnipiac official stated,
“As Gov. Christopher Christie traipses around the nation, his presidential
potential seems alive, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the
adopted girl next door, easily beats him in his home state.” [Star-Ledger,
8/6/14
<http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/08/hillary_clinton_leads_christie_for_president_in_nj_poll_finds.html>
]

 -          Based on the Florida poll, CNN reported
<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/24/clinton-polling-well-in-key-presidential-battleground/>
that
“Hillary Clinton is the clear 2016 frontrunner in the nation's largest
presidential battleground state.”

 -          “Inside the Beltway they may be talking about Mrs. Clinton’s
potential weaknesses should she run in 2016. But at this point in
Florida…she remains queen of the political prom.” [MSNBC, 7/24/14
<http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-tops-all-potential-2016-gopers-florida>
; CNN, 7/24/14
<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/24/clinton-polling-well-in-key-presidential-battleground/>
]

 -          At her latest book signing event, crowds stood in the rain for
hours to get a signed copy of Clinton’s memoir, “Hard Choices.” [MV Times,
8/13/14
<http://www.mvtimes.com/2014/08/13/hillary-clinton-steals-vineyard-spotlight/>
]

*HILLARY CLINTON INTERVIEW WITH JEFF GOLDBERG*

*BACKGROUND: **In a story published Sunday in The Atlantic, Jeffrey
Goldberg writes about his extensive interview the week before with Hillary
Clinton regarding foreign policy, including the situation in Syria.  *

*KEY TAKEAWAYS:*

 ·         “Great nations need organizing principles, and ‘Don’t do stupid
stuff’ is not an organizing principle. It may be a necessary brake on the
actions you might take in order to promote a vision,” said Hillary Clinton.

 ·         According to Clinton, Obama’s statement was “a political
message…it’s not his worldview.” She explained that Obama was simply
“trying to communicate to the American people that he’s not going to do
something crazy…He’s thoughtful, he’s incredibly smart.”

 ·         Asked what her organizing principle is, Secretary Clinton said,
“Peace, progress, and prosperity.”

 ·         “If we don’t restore the American dream for Americans, then you
can forget about any kind of continuing leadership in the world.”

 ·         Asked whether the situation with ISIS would be different if we’d
done more to support the Syrian opposition, Clinton said:  “I know that the
failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were
the originators of the protests against Assad…the failure to do that left a
big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled….I totally understand the
cautions that we had to contend with, but we’ll never know.”

*SECRETARY CLINTON’S STATEMENTS ARE SIMILAR TO WHAT SHE HAS PREVIOUSLY SAID
ABOUT THE SITUATION IN SYRIA:*

·          “Wicked problems rarely have a right answer; in fact, part of
what makes them wicked is that every option appears worse than the next.
Increasingly that's how Syria appeared.”  [“Hard Choices,” CBS News, 6/5/14
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clintons-hard-choices-bergdahl-benghazi-and-more/>
]

·         “I recommended that we do more in the very beginning to support
the moderate opposition, because I believed, at the time, that they would
be overwhelmed by Assad’s military force and that they would open up the
door to extremists coming in.”  [Politico, 6/17/14
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/hillary-clinton-benghazi-107976.html>
]

·         Regarding whether to arm the Syrian rebels, Clinton said, “The
risks of both action and inaction were high. Both choices would bring
unintended consequences. The Presidents' inclination was to stay the
present course and not take the significant further step of arming rebels.”
[“Hard Choices”, CBS News, 6/5/14
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clintons-hard-choices-bergdahl-benghazi-and-more/>
]

·         “No one likes to lose a debate, including me. But this was the
President's call and I respected his deliberations and decision. From the
beginning of our partnership, he had promised me that would always get a
fair hearing. And I always did. In this case, my position didn't prevail.”
[“Hard Choices”, CBS News, 6/5/14
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clintons-hard-choices-bergdahl-benghazi-and-more/>
]

·          “I could not have predicted the extent to which ISIS was
effective in seizing cities in Iraq and taking over the region.” [The Hill,
6/12/14
<http://thehill.com/policy/international/209153-hillary-clinton-warns-of-extremist-spillover-from-syria>
]

*“HARD CHOICES” CONTINUES TO RIDE HIGH FOR 9th WEEK IN A ROW*

*TALKING POINTS:*

   - For the 9th week
   <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/nielsen/HardcoverNonfiction.html> in
   a row, “Hard Choices” is on the Nielsen Bookscan Bestsellers List.
   - “Hard Choices” remains on track to be one of the bestselling political
   memoirs of the decade, spending its first three weeks at number one on the
   New York Times’ Bestsellers List and landing at number 5 in its seventh
   week.
   - “Hard Choices” surpassed
   <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/nielsen/HardcoverNonfiction.html> Edward
   Klein’s “Blood Feud” this week on the Nielsen Bookscan Bestsellers List,
   where Clinton’s book ranks 5th on the list of bestselling hardcover
   nonfiction books.
   - The book’s strong sales numbers have led to a boost in profits for its
   publisher.
   - According to Bloomberg Businessweek
   <http://action.americanbridgepac.org/page/m/-65489232/3cfd923e/-46e5d09d/60805101/793787327/VEsB/>,
   “Operating income at Simon & Schuster, the publishing arm of CBS, rose 15
   percent to $23 million in the period ended June 30, buoyed by ‘Hard
   Choices,’ Clinton’s memoir of her time as U.S. Secretary of State.”
   - Hillary Clinton’s “Hard Choices” has one of the highest rankings on
   the New York Times’ Bestsellers List in its seventh week of all recent
   political memoirs, beating out Robert Gates’ “Duty,” Dick Cheney’s “In My
   Time,” Mitt Romney’s “No Apology,” and John McCain’s “Faith of My Fathers.”
   - “Hard Choices” spent three weeks at #1 on the New York Times’ Best
   Sellers List for Hardcover Nonfiction Books, making it one of only a few
   political memoirs from this century to reach that milestone.
   - Secretary Clinton’s “Hard Choices” spent more weeks at #1 than any of
   her recent predecessors, including Condoleezza Rice’s “No Higher Honor,”
   Colin Powell’s “It Worked for Me,” Madeleine Albright’s “Madam Secretary,”
   and Warren Christopher’s “Chances of a Lifetime.”
   - “Hard Choices” has far outpaced all of the books by potential
   Republican presidential contenders – none of which ever made it to #1 –
   including Marco Rubio’s “An American Son,” Scott Walker’s “Unintimidated,”
   Jeb Bush’s “Immigration Wars,” Rand Paul’s “Government Bullies,” and Rick
   Perry’s “Fed Up!”