Subject: Correct The Record Monday September 15, 2014 Morning Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 08:26:23 -0400
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*​**Correct The Record Monday September 15, 2014 Morning Roundup:*

*Headlines:*

*Washington Post: “In Iowa, Hillary Clinton issues populist call to action
ahead of midterm elections”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/all-eyes-on-hillary-clinton-as-she-returns-to-iowa-for-first-time-since-2008-caucus-loss/2014/09/14/32b9fc06-39dd-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html>*

“Hillary Rodham Clinton jumped back into the partisan fray here Sunday,
framing the November midterm elections as ‘a choice between the guardians
of gridlock and the champions of shared opportunity’ and warning Democrats
of the consequences of complacency.”

*New York Times: “At a Steak Fry in Iowa, the Clintons Sell Their Brand of
Sizzle”
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/us/at-a-steak-fry-in-iowa-the-clintons-sell-their-brand-of-sizzle.html?_r=0>*

“In a speech that was her most overtly political since she left the State
Department last year, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly hinted at her intentions. She
laced her remarks with all manner of pregnant references to the state that
kicks off the presidential nominating process and veiled asides about her
plans.”

*Associated Press: “Clinton Embraces Iowa, Obama In Return To State”
<http://bigstory.ap.org/article/clinton-embraces-iowa-obama-return-state>*

“Though Clinton is the favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination should
she run, she advised the audience and the media on Sunday that her focus
was on the November midterm elections.”

*Politico: “Hillary Clinton goes back to the state that haunts”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-iowa-2016-elections-110943.html>*

“Clinton delivered a measured speech, focused primarily on the 2014
campaigns. It had no explicit message of her own but at the same time was
unmistakably about her political future.”

*Bloomberg: “Clinton Hints at 2016 Run as Super-PAC Packs Iowa Steak Fry”
<http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-09-14/clinton-hints-at-2016-run-as-super-pac-packs-steak-fry#p1>*

“The real tell is that Clinton’s political machine was already humming in
the background, and many Iowa Democrats say she’s a prohibitive favorite to
win both their caucuses and the party’s nomination.”

*Des Moines Register: “'Ready for Hillary' supporters busy at Harkin Steak
Fry”
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-politics-insider/2014/09/14/harkin-steak-fry-ready-for-hillary-supporters/15628501/>*

“Hillary Clinton's supporters for president were out in force Sunday at the
Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, greeting people as soon as they arrived.”

*Time: “Hillary Clinton Flips a Steak in Iowa”
<http://time.com/3373772/hillary-clinton-iowa-steak-fry/>*

“Sitting on a beach chair nearby, Judy Keller, 66, Des Moines
consumer-affairs representative, is convinced. She says she regrets
supporting John Edwards in 2008. ‘I didn’t know that she’d have a chance in
’08,’ she says. ‘ I thought a man would win. But now it’s time. It’s time
for a woman. I won’t make the same mistake twice.’”

*Wall Street Journal: “As Hillary Clinton Returns to Iowa, a Debate Stirs
in Her Party”
<http://online.wsj.com/articles/as-hillary-clinton-returns-to-iowa-a-debate-stirs-in-her-party-1410738217>*

“Her appearance also fanned a debate among Democrats in Iowa over whether
they should use their first-in-the-nation nominating contest—and the rapt
attention that draws from candidates—to hash out differences on major
issues, or unite behind Mrs. Clinton to give her a running start against
Republicans.”

*MSNBC: “HIllary Clinton in Iowa: ‘I’m ba-ack!’”
<http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-returns-iowa-im-ba-ack>*

“‘I’m ba-ack!’ With those words, Hillary Clinton announced Sunday her
return to Iowa, the state that derailed her last presidential run and will
be critical to a second one, if she decides to take the plunge.”

*CBS News: “Has Hillary Clinton's road to Iowa redemption begun?”
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/has-hillary-clintons-road-to-iowa-redemption-begun/>*

“If Hillary Clinton decides a few months from now that she does, indeed,
want another shot at the White House, her speech to 6,000 Democrats at the
annual Harkin Steak Fry Sunday will be revisited as the unofficial kickoff
to her 2016 campaign.”

*BuzzFeed: “Harkin: Hillary Clinton’s ‘Fingerprints Are All Over’
Obamacare”
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/harkin-hillary-clintons-fingerprints-are-all-over-obamacare#2wk3999>*

“Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin said Sunday Hillary Clinton’s
‘fingerprints are all over’ Obamacare.”

*The Hill blog: Ballot Box: “Harkin: Other Dems will 'pop up' for 2016”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/217661-harkin-other-dems-will-pop-up-for-president>*

“Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (D) said Sunday he expects Hillary Clinton to face a
primary challenge if she runs for president, but it will be ‘tough’ for
another candidate to gain traction against her.”

*Politico column: Roger Simon: “Why Hillary hates Iowa”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/2016-elections-hillary-clinton-110942.html>*

“It is where her dream of being the first woman president was trumped by
Obama’s dream of becoming the first black president.”

*National Journal: “Is Hillary Clinton Too Hawkish for Iowa Democrats?”
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/is-hillary-clinton-too-hawkish-for-iowa-democrats-20140915>*

[Subtitle:] “Amid the pageantry of the Harkin Steak Fry, Iowa Democrats
still recall her vote for the Iraq War.”

*Fox News: “Benghazi panel begins hearings with questions on US diplomats'
safety”
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/14/special-benghazi-panel-starts-hearings-with-questions-on-us-diplomats-safety/>*

“The select Benghazi Committee holds its first open hearing Wednesday,
employing broad congressional powers to try to answer lingering questions
ranging from what led to the fatal 2012 terror strikes on a U.S. outpost in
Libya to what is being done to better protect U.S. diplomats worldwide.”

*Articles:*

*Washington Post: “In Iowa, Hillary Clinton issues populist call to action
ahead of midterm elections”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/all-eyes-on-hillary-clinton-as-she-returns-to-iowa-for-first-time-since-2008-caucus-loss/2014/09/14/32b9fc06-39dd-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html>*

By Philip Rucker and Dan Balz

September 14, 2014, 3:46 p.m. EDT

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton jumped back into the partisan fray
here Sunday, framing the November midterm elections as “a choice between
the guardians of gridlock and the champions of shared opportunity” and
warning Democrats of the consequences of complacency.

On a day when many activists were sizing her up as a potential 2016
presidential candidate , Clinton sprinkled her speech with playful teases
about what may be coming. She began her remarks with “I’m baaaaaack!” and
ended them by saying, “Let’s not let another seven years go by.”

Clinton’s visit to retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s 37th and final steak fry was
her first trip to Iowa since her demoralizing loss in the 2008 presidential
caucuses and one of her few partisan appearances since joining the Obama
administration as secretary of state. She acknowledged that she is thinking
about another run but urged her audience to focus squarely on the November
midterms, when control of the Senate is up for grabs and could be decided
in Iowa.

“In 50 days, every Iowa voter needs to know that from the president on down
to local officials, we Democrats are for raising the minimum wage, for
equal pay for equal work, for making college and technical training
affordable, for growing the economy to benefit everyone,” Clinton said.
“And our opponents are not.”

In a nod to the state’s role hosting the first presidential caucuses,
Clinton added: “Too many people only get excited about presidential
campaigns. Look, I get excited about presidential campaigns, too. But . . .
use the enthusiasm that Iowa is so well known for every presidential year
and channel that into these upcoming elections. Don’t wake up the day after
the election and feel bad and wonder what more you could have done.”

Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, drew an estimated
10,000 Democrats and some 200 members of the press corps on a crisp,
clear-skied Sunday to a sloping, grassy balloon field outside Indianola. As
the couple spoke from a stage adorned with bales of hay, pumpkins and a
giant American flag, the atmosphere was both festive and serious.

The Clintons paid tribute to Harkin, an unabashed prairie populist who
through 40 years in elective office has become a legendary Democratic
figure in the state. And the senator cast the Clintons as progressive
standard-bearers, dubbing them “the comeback couple in America,” a
reference to Bill Clinton calling himself “the comeback kid” in the 1992
campaign.

Harkin also credited Hillary Clinton with the fight for universal health
care, saying that even though she was secretary of state during the passage
of the Affordable Care Act, “her fingerprints are all over that
legislation.”

Hillary Clinton has been under pressure to address growing concerns in her
party about income inequality, not only because of her ties to Wall Street
and the business community but also because of the centrist economic
policies of her husband’s administration. She did so here on Sunday.

“Today, you know so well, American families are working harder than ever,
but maintaining a middle-class life feels like pushing a boulder uphill
every single day,” Clinton said. “That is not how it’s supposed to be in
America.”

Clinton talked about her late mother, Dorothy Rodham, who was abandoned and
mistreated by her parents but “channeled her own struggles into a deep
conviction that there is worth and dignity in every human being.”

Both Clintons urged Iowa Democrats to do all they could to elect Rep. Bruce
Braley (D), who is locked in a tight race to replace Harkin, and referenced
his opponent, state Sen. Joni Ernst (R), though not by name. Hillary
Clinton mentioned Ernst’s opposition to a federal minimum wage and noted
that women hold a majority of minimum-wage jobs, including those that rely
mostly on tips, such as waiters, bartenders and hairstylists.

Hillary Clinton was followed on stage by her husband, who delivered a more
conversational speech that mixed partisan criticism of the Republicans with
a lengthy call for Democrats and Republicans to find more ways to work
together.

“We have got to pull this country together to push this country forward,”
he said.

The former president noted that too many politicians go to work with
blinders over their eyes and their ears plugged up. “Think about America:
We are less racist, sexist and homophobic than we’ve ever been,” he said.
“But we do have one continuing problem. We don’t want to be around anyone
who disagrees with us.”

For Hillary Clinton, Sunday’s steak-fry appearance was a chance to rebuild
her ties to Iowa, where she finished a surprising third in the 2008
caucuses — behind Barack Obama and John Edwards. She left here feeling
scorned, and her husband voiced criticism of the state’s unique caucus
system. To many Democratic activists, her campaign came across as aloof and
presumptuous.

On Sunday, Clinton tried to make a more personal connection in Iowa. She
was chummy with Harkin and some supporters as she cheerfully flipped steaks
at a hot grill. Later, in her speech, she said she is eagerly awaiting her
first grandchild — “I’m calling Chelsea every five minutes,” she quipped.

In his introduction, Harkin said: “Over these years, both Bill and Hillary
have become a part of our Iowa Democratic family. They’ve been in our
homes, they’ve broken bread with us, they’ve become our friends and our
inspiration.”

Hillary Clinton’s speech resonated with the Democrats who packed the
balloon field, including some who backed Obama over her in 2008.

“I think she’s ready,” said Marilyn Reese, an Obama supporter from Des
Moines. “I’m ready for her. She has the intelligence and already the moxie
to make some headway.”

Glenn Camp, a retired middle school principal who lives in Indianola,
called her speech “outstanding.”

“The only thing she could have done better was to announce that she was
going to run, but I think she indicated that she is going to run,” Camp
said.

Harkin’s steak fry was an excuse for a weekend of political activity and
networking in anticipation of the 2016 campaign. The event drew people from
around the country, including many strategists and operatives in the
Clinton orbit who form the backbone of the outside groups already set up to
aid her if she runs.

The steak fry began modestly back when Harkin was a young member of
Congress. Tickets cost $2, and the first such event included a few dozen
friends and supporters of Harkin grilling their own steaks and sitting on
bales of hay, talking politics.

In the intervening years, the steak fry became one of the signal political
events on the fall calendar for Democrats. Bill Clinton was making his
fourth appearance as a featured speaker, the most of anyone who has
appeared on the stage.

Harkin was emotional in his remarks Sunday night — he thanked longtime
staffers, even calling one up on stage for a hug — but also resolute about
the political battles ahead. He called on his supporters to give
Republicans “a good whipping” in November.

“Since I got into politics, I always believed that an obligation of our
government is to make sure we leave the ladder down for others to climb,
too,” Harkin said. “I may be retiring from the Senate, but I’m not retiring
from the fight.”

*New York Times: “At a Steak Fry in Iowa, the Clintons Sell Their Brand of
Sizzle”
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/us/at-a-steak-fry-in-iowa-the-clintons-sell-their-brand-of-sizzle.html?_r=0>*

By Jonathan Martin and Amy Chozick

September 14, 2014

INDIANOLA, Iowa — It was a preview of coming distractions.

When Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to return to the state where
her presidential ambitions first came undone six years ago, the idea was
that they would remind Democratic activists about the importance of the
midterm elections and honor their host, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of
Iowa, who is retiring from Congress and held his final steak fry
fund-raiser here Sunday. And that was what transpired, in part, on a
sun-splashed day on a balloon field here, just south of Des Moines.

But as is often the case wherever Mr. Clinton goes, what amounted to the
unofficial start of the next Iowa presidential caucuses was as much about
the Clinton who already served as president as the one who appears to have
designs on the office.

The 37th Harkin Steak Fry began with an impromptu 15-minute
question-and-answer session between Mr. Clinton and a few dozen reporters
at what is traditionally only a brief photo-op with the V.I.P.s and the
beef on the grill.

It concluded with a 30-minute tour d’horizon from the former president on
topics including Haiti, his soon-to-arrive grandchild, Senator Mitch
McConnell and the impact of the billionaires the Koch brothers on American
politics. In between, Mr. Harkin; his wife, Ruth; and Mrs. Clinton herself
did their best to focus attention on the other half of the once and perhaps
future first couple.

In a speech that was her most overtly political since she left the State
Department last year, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly hinted at her intentions. She
laced her remarks with all manner of pregnant references to the state that
kicks off the presidential nominating process and veiled asides about her
plans.

“Hello, Iowa, I’m back!” she exclaimed upon taking the microphone,
stretching out the “a” in “back” as she smiled in front of hay bales, an
American flag and a John Deere tractor.

Speaking to about 10,000 Democrats — many of whom wore stickers distributed
by Ready for Hillary, an outside group that aims to build grass-roots
enthusiasm for a potential Clinton candidacy — the former first lady all
but winked and raised her eyebrows.

“It’s true,” she said, teasing the crowd. “I am thinking about it.”

In motivating the audience to vote in November, Mrs. Clinton said, “Too
many people only get excited about presidential campaigns.”

She added, after waiting a beat: “Look, I get excited about presidential
campaigns, too.” Just to make sure the crowd had not missed her point, she
concluded her first speech in Iowa since 2008 by saying, “Let’s not let
another seven years go by.”

On Sunday, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly said she was glad to be back in Iowa,
but the state holds bitter memories for her.

In the 2008 Democratic caucus, Mrs. Clinton came in third behind
then-Senator Barack Obama and John Edwards, a former senator from North
Carolina. Her top campaign aides went on to criticize Iowa’s caucus as
undemocratic and unimportant in selecting presidents, and she had not been
back since the late-night results came in on Jan. 3, 2008.

Mrs. Clinton’s first presidential campaign started here, with schmoozing at
Mr. Harkin’s steak fry. At the event in 2007, the Clinton campaign, once
seen as inevitable, saw firsthand the grass-roots support Mr. Obama had
garnered in the crucial early voting state.

“It really does feel like just yesterday when I was here,” Mrs. Clinton
told the crowd. “As I recall, there was a young senator from Illinois
there.”

Mrs. Clinton has devoted much of her time since leaving her post as
President Obama’s secretary of state to paid speeches and discussion of
foreign policy to promote her memoir “Hard Choices.” But on Sunday, she
jumped aggressively back into domestic politics with a populist message
that praised the president, but also acknowledged that much work needed to
be done to stem the tide of rising inequality.

“We can build a growing economy of shared prosperity,” Mrs. Clinton said.

Her speech also touched on women’s economic and reproductive rights —
hot-button issues in midterm elections that could be determined by female
voters.

The Harkins sought to make it clear that, while the Clintons were
co-headliners, it was Mrs. Clinton who was to be the focal point. Mr.
Harkin made sure to note that “there are many more chapters to be written
in the amazing life of Hillary Clinton.” Yet for all the effort to shine a
rhetorical light on Mrs. Clinton, it was Mr. Clinton who seemed most happy
to be back on the grand stage of presidential politics. As the Clintons and
Mr. Harkin stood a few feet away from the sizzling beef, Mr. Clinton
initially sought to deflect attention.

Asked how he was feeling, Mr. Clinton, his arm around Mrs. Clinton,
replied, “As long as I’m still married to her, I’m good.”

After indulging a few questions, Mrs. Clinton drifted away, and the
grill-side session soon became the Tom and Bill Show. Mostly it was the
latter.

It was a vintage bit of Clinton garrulousness, and the former president had
little appetite to cut it short, despite the increasingly urgent pleas from
aides behind him and Mr. Harkin. Mr. Clinton showered praise on Mr. Harkin,
who is retiring after 40 years in Congress and a failed presidential run
(cut short by an up-and-coming Arkansas governor by the name of Clinton).

But as has been the case throughout his political career, once Mr. Clinton
got going, there was no stopping him.

Mrs. Clinton was long gone by the time her husband was dishing out some of
his favorite lines (the Founding Fathers were pragmatists, and the
Constitution could be called “Let’s Make a Deal”), praising the Ready for
Hillary crew (he compared them to the Energizer Bunny) and assessing
midterm campaigns from Iowa to Arkansas.

About the only topic Mr. Clinton did not broach was the one that drew many
attendees and nearly all of the 200-plus credentialed reporters.

“I will not be baited,” he said with a knowing grin when he was asked
whether Mrs. Clinton would or would not disappoint all those activists
working for Ready for Hillary.

The event planners originally wanted Mrs. Clinton to follow her husband,
but protocol dictated that he speak last.

The former president recounted at some length his relationship and brief
rivalry with Mr. Harkin.

Additionally, Mr. Clinton used his remarks to decry dysfunction in
Washington, and Republicans’ inability to strike compromise.

He also lit into the billionaire conservative Kochs, who he said were
“running black-bag operations” in this year’s campaign.

After the speeches, Mrs. Clinton shook hands, signed copies of her book and
posed for selfies with supporters. The former president followed close
behind, also drawing a crowd of well-wishers.

*Associated Press: “Clinton Embraces Iowa, Obama In Return To State”
<http://bigstory.ap.org/article/clinton-embraces-iowa-obama-return-state>*

By Thomas Beaumont

September 15, 2014, 3:36 a.m. EDT

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton's third-place finish in the
2008 Iowa caucuses seemed but a fading memory when the former secretary of
state took the stage in front of roughly 10,000 loyal Democrats at outgoing
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin's annual fall fundraiser south of Des Moines.

Though Clinton is the favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination should
she run, she advised the audience and the media on Sunday that her focus
was on the November midterm elections. Still, she left just enough hints
that a second bid for president could come, and that it might begin in Iowa.

___

1. IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK IN IOWA

After posing for photographs turning a grill full of red meat at Harkin's
farewell "steak fry," Clinton stopped to say hello to the remaining
reporters, after many had left.

Asked whether she was glad to be back in Iowa, where her 2008 campaign hit
a costly bump, she said: "It's great, it's fabulous to be back. I love
Iowa."

And then she launched into an anecdote she often told in Iowa at the outset
of her 2008 campaign. "I first came to Iowa when I was about, I can't
remember, I was either 9 or 10," she said. "And we were with my dad, and we
went to Des Moines and we stayed at the Tall Corn Motel. I've had a great
impression ever since."

___

1. SOME VOTERS ARE READY

Clinton insisted the point of speaking at Harkin's event was to boost 2014
candidates. But she dropped hints of a potential 2016 candidacy into her
speech to an audience packed with people wearing "Ready" stickers, symbols
of the Ready for Hillary political action committee that is laying the
groundwork for a potential campaign.

Clinton described her personal concerns first as an expectant grandmother.
"And then of course, there's that other thing," she said, fueling a slow
but steady rise in cheers from the crowd. "Well, it is true, I am thinking
about it, but for today that is not why I'm here." The caveat prompted a
corresponding moan of disappointment.

"Too many people only get excited about presidential campaigns," she said
later. "Look, I get excited about presidential campaigns too." she said.
Again, cheers erupted.

___

1. OLD ADVERSARIES, NOW FRIENDS

Clinton, who dueled Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination
in 2008, joked about wondering whatever happened to that "young senator
from Illinois."

"It's been seven years and a lot has changed," she said. "We went from
rivals to partners to friends, and sometimes we would even reminisce about
old days."

She added, "Under President Obama's leadership, our country is on the road
to recovery," before rattling off a list of improving economic indicators
in Iowa, such as its unemployment rate of less than 5 percent.

Specifically, she cited Obama's signature domestic initiative, the 2010
health care bill, which Republicans have aggressively opposed. "President
Obama and the rest of us will be quick to say we've got a lot of work to
do," she said.

___

1. THE GENDER LINE

Clinton repeatedly noted during her 2008 campaign that she didn't want to
become president simply because of her gender. But she pressed hard on
gender issues Sunday.

Referring to U.S. House candidate Staci Appel of Iowa, Clinton connected
her pro-middle class message specifically to women. "Her experience with
the economic pressures facing Iowa families made her think, maybe we can do
better," said Clinton, who in 2008 had bemoaned Iowa's failure to elect a
woman to Congress.

"Iowans have a choice to make," she said, "a chance to elect a senator who
knows that women should be able to make our own health care decisions." The
comment, a reference to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Braley's
support for abortion rights, prompted loud sustained cheers — first from
women, then men — and a standing ovation.

___

1. BACK IN THE SCRUM

After seven years off the campaign trail, Clinton's "I'm back!" was not
just a friendly hello to Iowa, but seemed to mark her return to retail
campaigning.

After she and former President Clinton finished speaking, she bounded down
the stairs from the stage grinning, marching toward the throng of people
standing at the plastic partition that separated the stage and the crowd.

Bookended by Secret Service agents, she worked along the fence, shaking
hands, posing for pictures and signing copies of her latest book and "Ready
for Hillary" signs.

Asked by a reporter if she'll be back to Iowa again, she said, "Well, we'll
do what we can."

*Politico: “Hillary Clinton goes back to the state that haunts”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-iowa-2016-elections-110943.html>*

By Maggie Haberman

September 14, 2014, 8:05 p.m. EDT

INDIANOLA, Iowa – “Hello Iowa. I’m baaaack.”

That was how Hillary Clinton greeted Iowans when she took the stage at the
final Sen. Tom Harkin Steak Fry Sunday in her first step toward moving past
her phobia of the state that helped shatter her 2008 presidential hopes.

“It is true, I’m thinking about it,” she acknowledged to the crowd about
2016. But that was as far as she went in her first public political speech
in a year, since she stumped for Virgina Gov. Terry McAuliffe, her longtime
friend. “But for today, that’s not why I’m here.”

Clinton delivered a measured speech, focused primarily on the 2014
campaigns. It had no explicit message of her own but at the same time was
unmistakably about her political future. She tried to address the question
on everyone’s mind — whether she’ll launch a second run for the White House
— without being definitive or distracting completely from Harkin’s big day.
It was Clinton’s first retail politicking appearance since her summer book
tour, during which she caught flack for gaffes about her wealth and for
having difficulty pivoting from being a global figure to everyday domestic
issues.

She seemed at-ease on the stage, and accomplished what she set out to do —
getting her first trip to Iowa ahead of a likely campaign out of the way —
while also reminding people she’s about to become a grandmother and that
that is likely to be her main focus through the rest of the year.

“In just 50 days Iowans have a choice to make — a choice and a chance,” she
said, slamming Republicans and saying it’s “a choice between the guardians
of gridlock and the champions of shared opportunity and shared prosperity.”

Clinton spoke ahead of her husband, a far superior speech giver who went
last as part of a tradition in which former presidents give the final
address. But Bill Clinton, clearly trying to be mindful of not
overshadowing his wife, nonetheless gave a speech that was less of a
stemwinder than a potpourri of his thoughts on campaign finance issues and
his love of Harkin. He never mentioned the state rejecting his wife, but
riffed on topics ranging from “sexists” questioning a woman candidate in
Iowa to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell approving of what Clinton
called Koch brothers’ “black bag operations” in financing campaigns.

Neither Clinton has a deep relationship with Iowa, despite their love of
Harkin. Bill Clinton skipped the caucuses in his 1992 campaign, when Harkin
was running and didn’t attend a steak fry until he was the party’s nominee.
Hillary Clinton, never enamored with the type of exhaustive retail
campaigning Iowans demand and under fire among progressives over her vote
authorizing the Iraq war in 2002, knew she faced an uphill fight in the
state in 2008. She held it at arm’s length, assuming a loss wouldn’t be
detrimental. But that was before then-Sen. Barack Obama caught fire, and
her team scrambled to catch up.

For now, Clinton is well ahead in the polls in Iowa and people insist she
had a stronger base of support in 2008 than people give her credit for.
Still, her allies are mindful of shoring up support. The super PAC Ready
for Hillary has been working there for a year in her absence.But potential
candidates like Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has made trips to the state,
and Vice President Joe Biden has been here as well. Vermont Sen. Bernie
Sanders, who is considering a campaign, appeared in the state the night
before the Steak Fry, drawing a crowd of over 100 people.

Harkin, for his part, praised both Clintons – Bill Clinton on his economic
record, and Hillary Clinton on her work as Secretary of State and in the
Senate. The retiring senator credited her with playing a major role in
health care reform dating back to the 1990s and, in a comment Republicans
are likely to seize on later, said that her “fingerprints were all over”
the Affordable Care Act. And Harkin suggested there are more chapters to be
written in the Hillary Clinton story.

As for Clinton, she insisted she was thrilled to be back in the Hawkeye
State.

“I love Iowa!” she exclaimed to more than 50 reporters from national
outlets who squeezed along a barricade to watch her and Bill Clinton flip
steaks on a large grill with Harkin at a photo-op before the speaking
program. Being in town for Harkin’s final event was “just so nostalgic,”
she added.

“It’s great. It’s fabulous being back,” said Clinton, who initially ignored
reporters’ questions before turning back and approaching the throng. She
answered questions and demurred on 2016, as her husband held his own
separate gaggle with reporters, expounding on everything from the Arkansas
Senate race (“We should win”) to baby names for his soon-to-arrive
grandchild (“I don’t have a say”). He lingered well after his wife went
back inside.

“We’re going to be doing a lot,” Hillary Clinton told reporters about their
plans for the fall elections. “And we’ve already started. There’s so much
at stake.”

It was her first trip back to the state since she lost the 2008 caucuses to
then-Sen. Barack Obama, and the final Harkin event gave her cover to arrive
and leave quickly so as not to overshadow him. If she runs for president
again – her speech was coy but few believe she’ll against it – it remains
to be seen whether she will campaign harder in a state that she kept at
arm’s length, until a final scramble when it was clear a loss to Obama
would be devastating. (It was.)

Clinton began by talking about herself, acknowledging at the outset her
complicated last outing in the state.

“As I recall there was a young senator from Illinois [in Iowa] at the same
time and I wonder whatever happened to him,” Clinton said. “Well it’s been
seven years and a lot has changed. Sen. Obama became President Obama and to
my great surprise he asked me to join his team … and sometimes we would
even reminisce a little about old days.”

It was her first trip back to the state since she lost the 2008 caucuses to
Obama. Harkin’s final event gave her cover to arrive and leave quickly so
as not to overshadow him. If she were to run for president again — her
speech was coy but few believe she’ll decide not to — it remains to be seen
whether she will campaign harder in a state that she kept at arm’s length,
until a final scramble when it was clear a loss to Obama would be
devastating. (It was.)

Clinton began by talking about herself, acknowledging at the outset her
complicated last outing in the state.

“As I recall there was a young senator from Illinois [in Iowa] at the same
time and I wonder whatever happened to him,” Clinton said. “Well it’s been
seven years and a lot has changed. Sen. Obama became President Obama and to
my great surprise he asked me to join his team … and sometimes we would
even reminisce a little about old days.”

To laughter, she said, “Let me tell you, he sure loves Iowa.”

In between, Clinton talked at length about Democratic Senate candidate
Bruce Braley, who’s looking to succeed Harkin, and congressional hopeful
Staci Appel, who Clinton noted would become the first female congresswoman
elected from Iowa if she wins.

Clinton, who did not speak frequently about gender when she ran in 2008, is
signaling she would embrace the issue in another campaign. She talked about
women’s health and mentioned equal pay and the federal minimum wage, an
issue that has come up in Braley’s race against Republican Joni Ernst.

“Some are even talking about eliminating it,” she said in a clear reference
to Ernst.

“If you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the … same opportunity
as anyone else,” said Clinton, who ticked off statistics about Iowa’s
strengthened economy, including a mention of renewable energy.

She sounded standard Democratic stump themes on the economy, saying that
“maintaining a middle-class life feels like pushing a boulder up a hill
every single day.” Clinton remarked that she learned from her late mother
that there is “worth and dignity in every human being. That everyone
matters, everyone deserves not just a chance but a second chance and a
third chance to keep going and make something of themselves.”

And Clinton praised Obama on the economy, while acknowledging that
“President Obama and the rest of us will be quick to” say there is more
work to be done.

Clinton ended her speech by talking about her global travel as secretary of
state, earlier mentioning she was just as likely to be around the world
eating yak meat as sitting at a steak fry — attempting to tie her work as a
Cabinet secretary to the lives of the people listening.

“I know we face a lot of … challenges around the world,” said Clinton. “But
everything I’ve seen convinces me that we can meet those challenges.”

She added, “We have the human and natural resources to do it, we have the
knowledge to do it. … We can build a growing economy of shared prosperity
and a more equal sharing of responsibility for a secure world. That’s what
America has always done, and it’s time to summon that spirit again.”

When she finished speaking, she gave signs that she had learned some
lessons from last time, when she was criticized after the 2007 steak fry,
her first, for skipping the rope line. This time, she and her husband
worked the crowd for well over 20 minutes after the speeches ended at the
Balloon Field here.

Her supporters from the super PAC Ready for Hillary sought to boost her by
busing in college students, whose support eluded her last time around. They
waved signs, though in keeping with efforts not to crowd out Harkin’s
moment, they did not break into chants of “Run Hillary Run!” or “2016!” as
she spoke.

But a number of people wore stickers reading, “Ready.” Steak fry organizers
said there were 10,000 meals sold — outpacing the number they had hoped
would turn out on the sun-dappled day.

*Bloomberg: “Clinton Hints at 2016 Run as Super-PAC Packs Iowa Steak Fry”
<http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-09-14/clinton-hints-at-2016-run-as-super-pac-packs-steak-fry#p1>*

By Jonathan Allen and John McCormick

September 15, 2014

Hillary Clinton, an unofficial candidate with a juggernaut shadow campaign,
stepped into the light of a potential 2016 presidential race on a sunny
Sunday in Iowa, signaling with her appearance -- and repeated teases --
that she’s ready to run.

“It’s great to be back, but let’s not let another seven years go by,” said
Clinton, who was last in Iowa after finishing third in the January 2008
state caucuses.

Clinton drew the loudest cheers yesterday at Senator Tom Harkin’s 37th and
final Steak Fry in Indianola, the most overt political event she’s
participated in since becoming President Barack Obama’s secretary of state
in 2009.

Appearing on stage with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, she
said Democrats must focus on the 2014 midterm election -- even as she
flirted with her own presidential ambitions.

“I’ve got a few things on my mind these days,” she said, before pausing for
some audience applause.

The real tell is that Clinton’s political machine was already humming in
the background, and many Iowa Democrats say she’s a prohibitive favorite to
win both their caucuses and the party’s nomination. That’s a remarkable
turnaround for a candidate who finished third in Iowa in 2008, one that
reflects a change in her approach to campaigning and a tectonic shift in
the way Obama Democrats perceive her.

“A lot of people, myself included, have become disillusioned with a lot of
what Obama’s done versus what he ran on,” said Iowan Charlie Brinkerhoff,
71, who backed Obama over Clinton in 2008. “They think they might have made
a mistake.”

With Iowa Democrats moving toward her, a network of pro-Clinton operatives
spent the weekend organizing supporters and schmoozing with national
political reporters in the bars, hotel lobbies and steak joints of Des
Moines. In 2008, Obama out-hustled Clinton, building a grassroots
organization that carried him to victory. Now, it’s Clinton who has the
organizational jump on the Democratic field, without having formed a
campaign.

Ready for Hillary, a pro-Clinton super-political action committee,
organized college students from across Iowa, supplying tickets and
T-shirts, and then bused them to the steak fry. Even though Clinton says
she won’t announce whether she’s running until next year, Ready for Hillary
has collected contributions from almost 800 Iowans, according to Seth
Bringman, its communications director.

The Iowa caucuses have never been a field of dreams for the Clintons. In
their previous campaigns, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have skipped the
state, been encouraged to skip the state and most recently recorded the
third-place finish.

If all goes well for Hillary Clinton, she’ll be able to look back at
yesterday’s steak fry as a turning point.

Organizers said 10,000 meals were served and about 6,200 people purchased
tickets, the biggest attendance since 2007, when Clinton and Obama, then
the junior senators from New York and Illinois, shared the stage with other
prospective 2008 presidential candidates.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who has signaled interest in a 2016 bid,
appeared at the steak fry in 2012. Vice President Joe Biden, who will be in
Iowa later next week, headlined the event a year ago.

It was the first of several political appearances the Clintons will be
making in the next seven weeks ahead of the midterm elections.

More than half of registered Iowa Democratic (0575837D:US) voters -- 53
percent -- say they’d vote for her in 2016, according to a CNN/ORC
International poll released Sept. 12. She dominates others in the potential
field, including Biden, whose support was 15 percent, U.S. Senator
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at 7 percent and independent U.S. Senator
Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 5 percent.

Sanders held three town halls in Iowa this weekend while drawing little if
any attention away from Clinton. Some Democrats said they worry that
Sanders might run as a third-party candidate and drain votes from the
Democratic nominee. Sanders, during an appearance yesterday on NBC’s “Meet
the Press,” said he could run as a Democrat or independent.

There’s “profound anger at both political parties” and “more and more
people are becoming independent,” he said.

Although Clinton’s more than six-year absence may have left some Iowa
Democrats feeling jilted, prominent Iowa Democrats say all could be
forgiven should she campaign in the state in 2015.

Iowa Visits

“People understand that she couldn’t come here in a political context when
she was the secretary of state,” said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who
was one of Obama’s earliest top supporters in the state in 2007. “It’s a
cumulative thing. She and her husband have spent their time in Iowa.”

They’ve also had their share of hesitancy over the years about campaigning
in the quirky and unpredictable Iowa caucuses.

In 1992, Bill Clinton basically skipped the caucus campaign, ceding Iowa to
Harkin, who was also running for the Democratic nomination that year. In
1996, as the incumbent president, Clinton had no competition and didn’t
have to build a grassroots organization in the state.

In 2007, Clinton arrived without much of an existing network and Obama
out-worked and out-organized her. He won the caucuses and knocked the
front-runner off her stride.

In retrospect, Clinton should have taken the advice of her then-campaign
manager, Mike Henry, who wrote a May 2007 memo that later leaked to the
media suggesting that she skip Iowa and spend her campaign money elsewhere.

Old Advice

“If she walks away from Iowa she will devalue Iowa — our consistently
weakest state,” he wrote. Henry’s advice was never accepted and the Clinton
campaign publicly repudiated it.

Gordon Fischer, a former chairman of the Democratic Party of Iowa
(0178366D:US) who endorsed Obama in 2007, said he doesn’t see a scenario
where someone could overtake Clinton.

“I’m not sure there would be enough time,” he said. “It’s hard for me to
imagine because she is so well known and well respected by Iowa Democrats
and will have so much money.”

That said, Fischer predicts retail campaigning will be awkward for Clinton
because she’s even more of a celebrity than in 2007 and 2008.

“It’s tough to walk into a diner or the basement of a church and have small
group meetings with her,” he said. “But as challenges go, it’s a pretty
good one to have.”

*Des Moines Register: “'Ready for Hillary' supporters busy at Harkin Steak
Fry”
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-politics-insider/2014/09/14/harkin-steak-fry-ready-for-hillary-supporters/15628501/>*

By William Petroski

September 14, 2014, 1:46 p.m. CDT

Hillary Clinton's supporters for president were out in force Sunday at the
Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, greeting people as soon as they arrived.

Ready for Hillary volunteers Clarke Conner and Aya Kantorovich, both of
Washington, D.C., were handing out bumper stickers as prospective 2016 Iowa
caucus goers pulled into the parking area.

Signs boosting her candidacy were also on display, and lots of people
attending the event were wearing "READY" t-shirts.

*Time: “Hillary Clinton Flips a Steak in Iowa”
<http://time.com/3373772/hillary-clinton-iowa-steak-fry/>*

By Jay Newton-Small

September 14, 2014

[Subtitle:] As speculation about 2016 reaches fever pitch, former Secretary
of State teases crowd: "Well it is true, I am thinking about it"

Sitting under one of three huge white tents set up in a hot-air balloon
field outside of Indianola, Iowa, Bethany Moriarty was digging into a plate
of steak. The attraction of a “steak fry” should ostensibly be the meat,
but Moriarty, 30, who has “Ready for Hillary” buttons festooned across her
chest, is hopping with excitement to see former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton.

“I’m by far the most political person of my family, so I kinda dragged them
here,” she says, gesturing across the table to her mother, Rosemary, 65,
and her sister, Amanda, 35.

Like many other of the 7,000 Iowans who’ve gathered for Iowa Senator Tom
Harkin’s 37th annual Steak Fry, a Democratic fundraiser that has become
known as a presidential launchpad, their main topic of conversation is
Clinton’s potential candidacy in 2016. “I caucused for Barack Obama in
2008,” Bethany says. “A lot was the hype and the hope we felt behind him
and I still feel it. But I feel he’s been pushed aside.”

All three came to the Steak Fry this year to see Clinton speak on her first
trip back to Iowa since her 2008 caucus loss. Bethany says she’ll caucus
for Clinton in 2016, if she runs. But Rosemary is dubious. “I don’t think
America is ready,” she says. “There’s a lot of people who won’t vote for
her because she’s a woman. Like Barack Obama, the first African American,
when he got elected, but Congress wouldn’t work with him.”

Amanda, twirling her fork pensively in her potato salad, chimes in: “And if
you think that, than there are 100,000 people who think it,” she says.
“Well, if you say that it becomes true,” Bethany counters. “We have to
believe and work to make that not true.” Her mother and sister shrug,
clearly not moved to action.

Clinton’s candidacy is still a figment of Bethany’s — and most of the
national media’s — imagination. But that hasn’t stopped widespread
speculation that Clinton’s visit to the Harkin event represents the
unofficial kickoff of her 2016 run. Her shadow campaign, “Ready for
Hillary,” has parked a bus emblazoned with its logo outside the Steak Fry
and volunteers are waiting five deep to sign up.

The Steak Fry has a carnival-like atmosphere. Iowans in droves wear
T-shirts colored for their favorite state and local candidates. By far the
most T-shirts are light blue with a simply stated, “Ready” on them —
shorthand for “Ready for Hillary.” Attendees carry coolers of beer and
lemonade and lay out blankets on the slightly damp ground. They sing along
to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” as they wait for the show to
begin.

As is his prerogative on his big day, Harkin is keeping his own schedule.
He is retiring and this will be his final Steak Fry. The event is a far cry
from the 52 people who attended the first one in 1972. The largest year
yet, 2007, saw more than 10,000 people arrive to watch Clinton and then
rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards. This year, Harkin and the Clintons
arrive from a morning event in Des Moines with 450 Harkin donors 20 minutes
after the speaking schedule was due to begin. But they take their time,
eating lunch, as Harkin always does, before greeting the press and flipping
the traditional steak for the assembled cameras. More than 200 reporters
from around the world are present to witness potential history.

“Are you running?” reporters repeatedly shout at Hillary. She demurs. She
even pretends not to notice when, the event having finally started down the
hill, a speaker starts asking the crowd: “Are you fired up? Are you ready
to go? Are you ready for Hillary? ARE YOU READY FOR HILLARY?” he screams as
the crowd roars.

“Are you ready, Hillary?” a reporter yells. She ignores all this and chats
away with Harkin and his wife Ruth. Her husband can be heard saying: “As
long as I’m still married to her, I’m doing good.”

After Harkin introduces the Clintons as the “comeback couple,” Hillary
takes the stage to chants of her name. “Wow!” she says. “Hello Iowa. I’m
baaaaack!” — a line made famous by the movie Independence Day.

As the crowd cheers and whistles, Clinton says she has a lot to look
forward to these days. “First, Bill and I are on constant grandchild watch
… So don’t be surprised if we suddenly go sprinting off the stage.”

“And then of course there’s that other thing,” she adds, to a standing
ovation. “Well it is true, I am thinking about it. But for today, that is
not why I’m here,” she says.

The crowd expresses disapproval at this. “I’m here for the steak!” she
says, which gets them cheering again. “For years I was more likely to be
eating yak meat in Mongolia, and enjoying it, but thinking a lot of being
back home.”

It’s all red meat for the “Ready for Hillary” crowd, of course. But others
say her election to the presidency isn’t a sure thing. Carter Bell, 20,
president of the University of Iowa Democrats, says she likes what she’s
hearing from Clinton, but she’s keeping an open mind for the 2016 caucuses.
“I like [Vice President] Joe Biden a lot too. And I’ve met [Maryland
Governor] Martin O’Malley a bunch of times as he’s been out here a lot,”
she says. “And I love Elizabeth Warren, she’s great, but she may not run.”
Bell says Clinton will have to do some work to earn her support.

Sitting on a beach chair nearby, Judy Keller, 66, Des Moines
consumer-affairs representative, is convinced. She says she regrets
supporting John Edwards in 2008. “I didn’t know that she’d have a chance in
’08,” she says. “ I thought a man would win. But now it’s time. It’s time
for a woman. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

*Wall Street Journal: “As Hillary Clinton Returns to Iowa, a Debate Stirs
in Her Party”
<http://online.wsj.com/articles/as-hillary-clinton-returns-to-iowa-a-debate-stirs-in-her-party-1410738217>*

By Peter Nicholas and Elizabeth  Williamson

September 14, 2014, 7:43 p.m. EDT

[Subtitle:] Whether to Use Contest to Hash Out Policy Differences—or to
Unite Against Republicans

INDIANOLA, Iowa—With a teasing statement, "It's true I'm thinking about
it," Hillary Clinton marked the unofficial start to the 2016 campaign
Sunday with the clearest message to date that, while not yet in the race,
she will try once more to win the presidency.

Mrs. Clinton's appearance at the Harkin Steak Fry, an annual party
fundraiser hosted by longtime Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa), marked her first
visit to Iowa since finishing third in the state's caucuses nearly seven
years ago—and showed that the next presidential race has, in essence,
begun. Her opening words drew a laugh: "Hello, Iowa! I'm baaack."

But her appearance also fanned a debate among Democrats in Iowa over
whether they should use their first-in-the-nation nominating contest—and
the rapt attention that draws from candidates—to hash out differences on
major issues, or unite behind Mrs. Clinton to give her a running start
against Republicans. Some Iowans said that on several issues, they want to
push party policy to the left of what they expect to be Mrs. Clinton's
stances.

The former first lady, senator and secretary of state made no announcement
about her political ambitions but acknowledged her unusual status as a
not-yet-candidate who is widely expected to enter, and dominate, the
Democratic field.

"I've got a few things on my mind these days," Mrs. Clinton noted to about
7,000 Democrats, as well as 200 reporters, on hand for the Harkin Steak
Fry, in remarks carried live on cable television.

What might those be? She mentioned her daughter Chelsea's pregnancy: "Bill
and I are on constant grandchild watch," she said. She added: "And then
there's that other thing."

The other thing, of course, is the White House. Mrs. Clinton in 2008 lost
the party nomination to then-Sen. Barack Obama in a prolonged primary fight
that bitterly divided the party.

Trying to build a connection with Iowa Democrats, Mrs. Clinton used her
time at the podium Sunday to praise Mr. Harkin, a party icon in the state,
and Democratic candidate slate for the fall.

She included a few partisan jabs—blaming Republicans for gridlock in
Washington—and offered a subtle reminder of her husband's time in the White
House.

Echoing Bill Clinton's language from the early 1990s, Mrs. Clinton said the
"basic bargain of America" is that "if you work hard, you play by the
rules, you deserve the opportunity, the same opportunity as everyone else,
to build a good life for yourself and your family."

She closed her speech with another hint at her plans: "It's really great to
be back. Let's not let another seven years go by."

If Mrs. Clinton runs this time, she would be the overwhelming favorite to
win the nomination, polls show. A recent CNN survey showed that 53% of
Iowa's registered Democrats favored her for the nomination. Vice President
Joe Biden was a distant second, at 15%.

Still, other Democrats are giving signals that they may not step aside, and
many voters in Iowa say they would like the nominating process to produce a
debate over Democratic policy, rather than a coronation.

Mr. Biden, who appeared at the Harkin Steak Fry last year, will speak at an
event in Iowa on Wednesday aimed at promoting social justice. Democratic
Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland has visited the state three times and
recently sent about a dozen campaign aides to help in the midterm
elections—the sort of gesture that earns goodwill among party activists.

In a bit of counterprogramming, liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an
independent who aligns with Democrats in the Senate, was also in Iowa over
the weekend for appearances at three town meetings.

"Regardless of how people may feel about Hillary Clinton or anyone else,
they understand it's not in the best interests of this country…when we
anoint our candidate," Mr. Sanders said in an interview. "There should be
debate."

Democrats seem divided about whether they want one.

"I would like to see the Democrats get behind Hillary rather than spreading
their energy out," said Joan Hennigan of Eldridge, as she arrived for a
football game on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City on Saturday.
"One big energy behind Hillary. If Iowa can get behind Hillary, that would
benefit her very much."

Others insist the party must define itself when it comes to pressing
issues: the extremist threat in the Middle East, job creation, stagnant
wages, health-care costs and student-loan debt, among them.

Charles Crawley of Cedar Rapids said he is leaning toward Mrs. Clinton but
hopes to hear answers from her on a trio of issues of great importance to
him: climate change, income inequality and the Middle East turmoil.

He described himself as "not completely convinced" that the former first
lady, senator and secretary of state is his choice and that the door
remains "open," depending on the substantive positions she takes.

As she walked in the steak fry Sunday, Teresa Lawler, a 52-year-old
teacher, said that Democrats need to return to their "liberal roots,"
adding that she would welcome a campaign debate between Mrs. Clinton and
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has been a fierce critic of
Wall Street.

If Mrs. Clinton moved left on various economic issues as a result of a
challenge from Ms. Warren, Ms. Lawler said she would welcome that
development.

"I would like to see her be a little more left," she added. Ms. Warren has
said she isn't running.

That scenario worries another Clinton supporter, 72-year-old Russ Lett.
Wearing a "Hillary Fan Club" T-shirt to the steak fry, Mr. Lett said the
savviest course for Democrats is to enable Mrs. Clinton to avoid the sorts
of fights that would pull her to the left.

"If she's too far to the left, she's not going to be electable in the
fall," he said.

The debate mirrors one that Republicans had during and after the 2012
presidential campaign, in which the party's eventual nominee, Mitt Romney,
tacked to the right to win the nomination. Statements he made in various
GOP debates, including his call for "self-deportation" by illegal
immigrants, were widely seen as limiting his appeal in the general election.

Republican Party leaders have since taken steps to curb the number of
debates in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, praised that move. In an interview
Saturday as he greeted voters before the football game, he said: "I've
always focused on winning the general election—not cutting up other
Republicans," he said. "I believe in Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment:
Speak no ill of other Republicans."

*MSNBC: “HIllary Clinton in Iowa: ‘I’m ba-ack!’”
<http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-returns-iowa-im-ba-ack>*

By Alex Seitz-Wald

September 14, 2014, 8:10 p.m. EDT

INDIANOLA, IOWA — “I’m ba-ack!” With those words, Hillary Clinton announced
Sunday her return to Iowa, the state that derailed her last presidential
run and will be critical to a second one, if she decides to take the
plunge. And almost all of the 7,000 die-hard Democrats here at the Iowa
Steak Fry — 2,000 more than expected — seemed ready to welcome her.

Many came for Tom Harkin, the venerated senator who has organized the Steak
Fry for the past 37 years and is retiring this year. But even Harkin, who
got choked up while thanking his supporters, acknowledged why this year’s
event was the largest since 2007. “And to think you all came here to see
me. Ah, who am I kidding…” he joked before introducing Bill and Hillary
Clinton.

Stepping up to the stage amid chants of “Hillary! Hillary!,” the former
secretary of state got 2016 right out of the way.

“I’ve got a few things on my mind these days,” she said to whoops of
anticipation. First, there’s the grandchild that is due any day, she said,
“And then, of course, there’s that other thing.”

The crowd, fired up and hoping for some big news, grew anxious. “It is
true, I am thinking about it. But that is not why I’m here today,” she said
to audible disappointment.  She then got down to the task at hand and spent
the bulk of her speech praising Iowa, it’s Democratic candidates, and
Harkin.

The Iowa senator heaped praise on the Clintons in turn, vouching for them
“a part of our Iowa Democratic family” and the “comeback couple,” a
reference to Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign — and perhaps
Clinton’s return to the state where she came in an embarrassing third place
in 2008.

Even on his own special day, the senator couldn’t help but hint at Hillary
Clinton’s unkown future. Noting that her book, “Hard Choices,” has 25
chapters, Harkin continued there are “many more chapters to be written.”
And he joked that the former president has recently been so overshadowed by
his wife that he was little more than the “man who accompanied Hillary back
to Iowa.”

No one expected her to spend much time talking about a potential
presidential bid, let alone announce one. But her reference to the
future-that-shall-not-be-named was a perfect encapsulation of the big
question hanging over the event, which attracted unusually large crowds and
hundreds of reporters. Despite the coy allusions, the question was never
addressed outright.

Still, there were hints about Clinton’s difficult past everywhere in the
state for those inclined to look. Clinton, who jokingly wondered about what
happened to a young senator named Barack Obama with whom she shared the
stage at the 2007 Steak Fry, at one point said, “When you get knocked down,
get right back up.”

Ruth Harkin, Tom’s wife, and a pioneering female politician in her own
right, said, “It’s great to look back, but don’t stare.”

But mostly, Clinton lauded Harkin and encouraged Iowans to vote down the
party line: Bruce Braley for Senate, Jack Hatch for governor, and the rest
of the Democratic ticket.

Afterwards, she worked a lengthy rope line, shaking hands, taking selfies,
and signing books — a rare sight for a women who has lived largely
insulated by Secret Service and private airplanes since becoming secretary
of state in 2009.

Thanks to the work of Ready for Hillary, the super PAC formed early last
year to boost the former secretary of state, it was easy to mistake the
event for a Clinton campaign rally.

The group bused in students from eight colleges and universities, had 60
volunteers handing out bumper stickers — many of which were quickly affixed
to cars — and spent Saturday planting hundreds of yard signs around the
National Balloon fields were the event was held. Organizers even hung giant
signs from cherry pickers rented by the group. Every other attendee seemed
to be wearing one of the group’s t-shirts.

“Just like Energizer Bunnies. They’re everywhere,” Bill Clinton said
approvingly when asked at the event about the group’s efforts.

Eager to respect Harkin, most of the group’s signs said only “Ready,” while
others thanked “Tom” — but it was clear who the signs were meant to support.

Nonetheless, while difficult, it was not impossible to find people who
weren’t quite ready yet to sign on dotted line for Clinton. Caucus night is
still more than a year away, after all.

Bert Stole, a retiree from Atalissa, was a holding an “Elizabeth Warren for
President” sign, which was passed out by the super PAC Ready for Warren. “I
would like to see a run off. I don’t feel there should be a coronation,” he
said. “If there is a runoff, and if Hilary wins, which probably she will, I
think she will be a better candidate. The worst strategy, probably the
reason why she lost to Obama, was that she walked in thinking that she
owned the nomination. And that turned a lot of people off.”

Erica Sagrans, Ready for Warren’s founder, stood by the group’s small table
— a far cry from Ready for Hillary’s massive infrastructure. She said her
group handed out a few hundred signs and signed up about “half that” on
their mailing list.

People just like Warren, Sagrans said, even if they like other candidates
or are not sure if Warren should run. “In Iowa, the Caucus process isn’t as
relevant if there’s only one candidate. People here take that process
really seriously, and it’s still very early, so people still want to have
that process and debate before they decide anything,” she said.

Clinton is hugely popular in the state, and much stronger than she was in
2008, as evidenced by the sea of Clinton supporters here Sunday and a
recent CNN/ORC poll, which showed that more than 50% of Iowa Democrats
support her.

At the close of her remarks, Clinton concluded, “It’s great to be back,
let’s not let another seven years go by.”

She may be back very soon indeed.

*CBS News: “Has Hillary Clinton's road to Iowa redemption begun?”
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/has-hillary-clintons-road-to-iowa-redemption-begun/>*

By Rebecca Kaplan

September 15, 2014, 5:35 a.m. EDT

If Hillary Clinton decides a few months from now that she does, indeed,
want another shot at the White House, her speech to 6,000 Democrats at the
annual Harkin Steak Fry Sunday will be revisited as the unofficial kickoff
to her 2016 campaign.

Whether it was a successful kickoff will be determined by how the
Democratic field shapes up - and just how big a challenge the former first
lady and secretary of state will face in the state that forever changed the
course of her 2008 campaign.

At the final of 37 steak fry fundraisers held by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa,
who is retiring, Clinton checked many of the
potential-presidential-candidate boxes as she took the stage and announced,
"I'm baaaaack!"

She had a nod to the grandchild watch underway for daughter Chelsea, who is
expecting a baby, a coy answer on whether she is running in 2016 ("I'm here
for the steak," Clinton said), and effusive praise for both Harkin and the
handful of statewide and national Democratic candidates gathered at the
event.

"If you were a candidate trying to reenter the state where you had had such
a bumpy ride last time there's no better way to do it than this," CBS News
Political Director John Dickerson said after her speech. "She comes to pay
tribute to an icon of the Democratic Party, to cherish its ideals in a
public way, while maintaining the patina of not running."

The X factor is just how steep a challenge Clinton will face if she runs
again.

In 2008, Iowa was the state that demolished her front-runner status,
delivering a decisive win to then-Sen. Barack Obama that propelled him to
the Democratic nomination, and eventually, the White House.

Clinton, who came in third place behind Mr. Obama and John Edwards,
struggled to win over voters in a state that cherishes its face time with
candidates. She often faced accusations of being in a bubble voters could
not penetrate, of being unexcited about mastering the complicated art of
winning an Iowa caucus - which takes extensive ground organization - and
lacking a rationale for her candidacy.

But Mr. Obama also challenged her by presenting a fresh and compelling
alternative, and a superior ground game to boot.

"It depends on whether she really needs to be redeemed," Dickerson said.
"She has no challenger, really. If Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders run they're not going to provide her with the
kind of close contest that's going to require her to need to have redeemed
herself."

Right now, there is no other potential candidate that presents a challenge
like Mr. Obama did. A CNN/Opinion Research poll released last week showed
Clinton with a commanding 38 point lead in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, securing
53 percent support to 15 percent for Vice President Joe Biden, who is
visiting Iowa on Wednesday. National polls similarly show Clinton all but
running away with the Democratic nomination.

Timothy Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa said
that Clinton "does need to be aware" of her deficiencies as a campaigner,
but "if she doesn't have any serious competition, then not so much and
that's the question at this point."

 Can Hillary Clinton and Obama still connect to everyday Americans?

Clinton certainly had an eye toward the task of reintroducing herself to
voters Sunday with the personal anecdotes about becoming a grandmother and
recalling her experience growing up in a middle-class family outside of
Chicago. And she attempted to plant herself firmly in Harkin's legacy,
hailing what she said were tireless efforts to improve the lives of those
around him.

Harkin, for his part, irreversibly tied Clinton to the Affordable Care Act
by saying that the work she did as a senator means her "fingerprints are
all over that legislation." And Clinton did not attempt to distance herself
from Mr. Obama, who's approval numbers have lagged for months, praising his
work during four years in office.

"In this type of event she's probably not going to want to distance herself
too much from President Obama even if the lines regarding him aren't
getting the greatest amount of applause," Hagle said.

It's a tricky road to navigate: Mr. Obama's approval rating has sunk in
Iowa to just 38 percent, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Clinton fully embraced the Democrats' midterm platform, detailing her
support for the minimum wage and equal pay for women, for instance, but she
said little beyond the basics of the party platform that might show why she
would be best to lead the nation going forward.

Will Hillary Clinton's awkward answers about wealth hurt her?

Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Iowa, said
that it "helped" that Clinton talked about an agenda, even if it was
Harkin's agenda. But, he cautioned, "she still is in the position so far
that she was in '07 and '08 - she's got a resume but not a rationale."

"Hillary in '07 and '08 never gave people a convincing reason why she
should be the nominee, let alone president," he added. "That's always a
recipe for political disaster."

But a lack of a real agenda will pose less of a problem in the 2016 Iowa
caucuses if no other candidate presents a serious challenge or offers a
compelling fresh face to entice voters the way Mr. Obama did in 2008.

That's why many people doubt that Biden, whose distant fifth place finish
in Iowa in 2008 marked the end of his campaign and who is considering 2016
run himself, presents much of a challenge.

"Anyone you talk to in Democratic politics in Iowa says there's not room"
for Biden, Dickerson said.

"Clearly [Clinton] is of the past, in a sense, but because she's the first
woman or would be the first woman nominee of a major party that is future,
that sort of speaks to the future in a way. That's obviously never happened
before and Joe Biden has nothing like that going for him. He's the past."

Goldford said that "right now, there's room for everybody," and argued that
Clinton will need an opponent to sharpen her campaign for the general
election.

"But I don't know that Biden would have a lot of support here," he said.

*BuzzFeed: “Harkin: Hillary Clinton’s ‘Fingerprints Are All Over’
Obamacare”
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/harkin-hillary-clintons-fingerprints-are-all-over-obamacare#2wk3999>*

By Andrew Kaczynski

September 14, 2014, 6:02 p.m. EDT

[Subtitle:] “I want you all to know that her fingerprints are all over that
legislation.”

Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin said Sunday Hillary Clinton’s “fingerprints
are all over” Obamacare. The Iowa senator was introducing Clinton to speak
at his 37th annual Steak Fry.

“One of the things she always worked on was advancing this concept, this
idea that health care should be a right and not a privilege in this
country,” Harkin said. “So, Hillary was not there when the Affordable Care
Act was signed into law, she was of course secretary of state, but I want
you all to know that her fingerprints are all over that legislation. It
would not have happened without her strenuous advocacy in that committee
all those years.”

Speaking at high-profile event, headlined this year by former President
Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is often seen
as a sign of laying the foundation for a presidential run.

*The Hill blog: Ballot Box: “Harkin: Other Dems will 'pop up' for 2016”
<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/217661-harkin-other-dems-will-pop-up-for-president>*

By Alexandra Jaffe

September 14, 2014, 10:48 a.m. EDT

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (D) said Sunday he expects Hillary Clinton to face a
primary challenge if she runs for president, but it will be “tough” for
another candidate to gain traction against her.

His comments, made on CNN’s “State of the Union,” come as Clinton is set to
headline his annual steak fry fundraiser on Sunday.

Asked by host Candy Crowley to name the “new face” of the Democratic Party
who could “take her on,” Harkin said, “I don’t know.”

But he added: “I’m sure that different people will come to the forefront.”

Harkin named Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who he called a “great
governor” who’s “done great things” and is “certainly out there as a viable
person.” O’Malley has publicly acknowledged his interest in a presidential
bid and is reportedly building a campaign infrastructure in Iowa, but
hasn’t yet made an official decision.

“You may see one or two senators come up that might want to do something,”
he said.

As an example, Harkin named Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who is up for
reelection this year and has been talked about more as a potential
vice-presidential pick than a serious contender for the White House.

“Let's be honest about this. If Hillary decides to run, I think it’s going
to be very tough for anyone else," he said. "That’s not to say they won’t
do it. They might. Some other Democrats might pop up."

He said some people may "come to the forefront that maybe want to stress
certain issues in a campaign." Harkin noted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has
expressed interest in running as an independent to try to shape the
discussion surrounding issues significant to him and his supporters.
Sanders is barnstorming Iowa this weekend as well, bracketing Clinton's
stops in the state.

He cautioned, however: "If Hillary decides to run, I think it’s going to be
very tough for any Democrat to  try to get ahead of her. I’m not saying it
can’t be done. it’ll be very tough though."

But his belief that Clinton, should she run, may face a challenge is not
one caused by lack of esteem for the former secretary of State. He said she
and her husband have been providing “inspiring leadership to our country
for a long time,” and called her performance as secretary of State
“amazing.”

Harkin had no read, however, on whether a good friend of his, Vice
President Joe Biden, would run.

But he offered his most effusive praise for the vice president: “I love Joe
Biden,” Harkin said.

*Politico column: Roger Simon: “Why Hillary hates Iowa”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/2016-elections-hillary-clinton-110942.html>*

By Roger Simon

September 14, 2014, 7:58 p.m. EDT

INDIANOLA Iowa — “Hello, Iowa!” says Hillary Clinton, who has not set foot
in Iowa for six years and eight months, and in fact, until quite recently
has loathed the place.

She cautiously enunciates each word from her prepared text, even the jokes.
She is careful, modulated, meticulous. She is Hillary.

“It feels like just yesterday that I was here,” she says, and the crowd
laughs. “As I recall, there was a young senator from Illinois here, and I
wonder whatever became of him.”

There is more laughter at the reference to Barack Obama.

Perfect, rolling green pastures provide the background. There is a red
tractor and a green hay wagon. A crowd of 10,000 is arrayed on lawn chairs.
A large American flag is the backdrop on a low stage where the honored
guests, men and women, sit in their shirt sleeves under a sunny sky.

Correction. Everyone is in shirt sleeves except Hillary Clinton, who keeps
the green jacket of her green pantsuit on. She can make a steak fry seem
formal. Her husband, Bill, is in a red gingham shirt. “I always thought I
look like a tablecloth,” he will say later, “but I am told it is
appropriate.”

This is Sen. Tom Harkin’s 37th and last steak fry. The liberal Democratic
firebrand is retiring. But not before Hillary and Bill Clinton headline his
last event.

Hillary was supposed to speak last, but that would have violated protocol.
Bill is a former president, and Hillary is merely someone who wants to be a
former president.

So she speaks before him. “Of course there’s that other thing,” she says of
her possible presidential pursuit. “It is true I am thinking about it. But
for today that is not why I am here. I am here for the steak.”

More laughter. Iowa is a nice place for presidential campaign talk. It is
not representative of America — it is made up largely of small towns and
farms — but it goes first in the presidential selection process and thus it
can make or break campaigns.

In 2008, it broke Hillary Clinton. She had been ballyhooed as the
“inevitable” Democratic nominee, but her third-place finish made her look a
lot less inevitable. She won in the next contest, New Hampshire, but Barack
Obama ran a nearly flawless campaign and easily outmaneuvered her for the
nomination.

“I grew up in a middle-class family in the middle of America,” she likes to
say. But her middle of America was an affluent suburb of Chicago. The
middle of America here are farm fields like the one she is apparently
standing on.

Though, in reality, this is a hot air balloon field. Insert your own joke
about politicians and hot air here.

She carefully checks off the boxes in her 20-minute speech:

“Equal pay for equal work.

“If you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the possibility of a
good life for you and your family.”

“When you get knocked down, get right back up!”

“Under President Obama’s leadership, our economy is on the road to
recovery.”

And one last joke. “Look, I get excited by presidential campaigns, too,”
she says but reminds those in the audience that they must elect Democrats
to the House and Senate in November.

On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden will be in Des Moines for an
official visit to a group called “Nuns on the Bus,” who are, as it turns
out, nuns on a bus. The real purpose of Biden’s visit, however, may be to
drive Hillary crazy. And it appears he may have succeeded.

Does she really need this? She makes a number of references in her speech
to the impending birth of her first grandchild, and some believe she will
pass up a run for the presidency to be a grandmother.

I doubt it. This is the woman who said to her supporters in June 2008:
“Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling
this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it.”

And it feels like she is quite prepared to multitask: be a grandmother and
run the nation, too.

And there was one very good sign here: Bill is playing along this time.
When he got up to speak after Hillary was done, he was very careful not to
overshadow her. He even started with a shopworn joke.

“Thank kyew! Thank kyew!” he said to the applause as he began. “Everybody
has said everything that needs to be said, but not everybody has said it
yet.”

This was his fourth steak fry. “In 2003 it rained like crazy,” he said. “I
felt like a 20-something at Woodstock.”

But then he spoke about Haiti and the economy and the state of the America
and his only really memorable line was: “We are less racist, sexist and
homophobic than we have ever been, but we don’t want to spend time around
anyone who doesn’t agree with us.” Which is what he said, virtually word
for word, at the Newseum in Washington on Sept. 8.

So he did what was required of him, which was to fade into the background.

After the speeches were over, Hillary worked the rope line, autographing
signs and posing for pictures.

“Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are now the comeback couple!” Tom Harkin
had said of them in his speech.

But he was careful not to endorse Hillary. Hillary Clinton spent all eight
years of her Senate term working with Harkin. But Harkin told The
Washington Post this weekend: “I’m not terribly close [to her], but we’ve
known each other for a long time.”

Translation: Nobody gets close to Hillary.

She is going to have to change that impression for Iowans this time around,
however. And she has work to do.

She has gone out of her way to avoid the state. Forget about her years as
secretary of state. Iowa is not a foreign country (though it appeared to be
one to Hillary), and she had no obligation to come here.

But if you examine her speaking schedule since leaving office and her
book-signing schedule, you can see that she has flown over Iowa several
times in search of friendlier locales such as Connecticut, Florida, Nevada,
California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, even Canada, and the
list goes on.

The closest she came to Iowa was a June book-signing in Kansas City,
Missouri, which is only three hours from Des Moines by car and 52 minutes
by plane. There are bookstores in Des Moines. But Hillary was not
interested in going to them.

For a simple reason: She hated the place. It is where her dream of being
the first woman president was trumped by Obama’s dream of becoming the
first black president. (And considering Iowa is only 2.9 percent black,
Obama’s achievement was considerable.)

How did she rationalize her loss in Iowa? Iowa hates women. “I was shocked
when I learned Iowa and Mississippi have never elected a woman governor,
senator or member of Congress,” Hillary told the Des Moines Register in
October 2007. “There has got to be something at work here.”

Maybe there is something at work. Maybe there is something in the air or
water that causes Iowans to spurn female candidates. But was this a good
thing to accuse Iowans of just three months before they voted on your
future?

And then there was the whole caucus process, of which Iowa is very proud.
Hillary hates that, too. “You have a limited period of time on one day to
have your voices heard,” Hillary said after she lost Iowa. “That is
troubling to me.”

She didn’t like Obama much, either.

“There’s a big difference between our courage and our convictions, what we
believe and what we’re willing to fight for,” Hillary told reporters as she
campaigned in 2007.

Asked whether she was raising questions about Obama’s character, she said:
“It’s beginning to look a lot like that. You know, it really is.”

She said the Obama campaign had been attacking her and she was tired of it
and she was going to respond. “Now the fun part starts,” she said.

But the fun part never started for her. Iowa was a body blow to Hillary. It
established Obama as a serious candidate and, though he would lose some
states to her, he never really looked back.

“I have absolutely no interest in running for president again,” Hillary
told ABC News on Oct. 14, 2009.

But that was then, and this is now. And now she has to face Iowans once
more.

Bonnie Campbell, Iowa co-chair of Hillary’s 2008 campaign, told CNN
recently: “She knows Iowa now. Yes, it’s possible some very compelling
person could come along and strike a chord. That has happened. I just think
it’s harder this time.”

Which is the best thing Hillary has going for her: Very little serious
competition.

She ended her speech this day with a promise.

“I will not let another seven years go by,” she said, assuring the crowd
that she will return.

You bet she will. She has no choice.

*National Journal: “Is Hillary Clinton Too Hawkish for Iowa Democrats?”
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/is-hillary-clinton-too-hawkish-for-iowa-democrats-20140915>*

By Matt Vasilogambros

September 15, 2014

[Subtitle:] Amid the pageantry of the Harkin Steak Fry, Iowa Democrats
still recall her vote for the Iraq War.

INDIANOLA, Iowa—"Hello, Iowa. I'm back!" Hillary Clinton announced to a
crowd of thousands of cheering Democratic supporters here on Sunday.

The pageantry was alive for the expected 2016 presidential candidate at the
Iowa Steak Fry, a fundraiser hosted by retiring Sen. Tom Harkin. As she
joined with her husband, President Clinton (now a vegan), to flip steaks
over a grill fenced off from dozens of out-of-town reporters, congressional
candidate Pat Murphy riled up the crowd, most of whom don Ready for Hillary
stickers and posters. "Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? Are you ready
for Hillary?" he yells to the elated crowd.

But while the scene painted a picture of redemption in the pivotal
presidential state, the memories of her last time in Iowa are still on the
minds of people who came out for the 37th and final steak fry—the crushing
third-place finish behind President Obama and John Edwards in the 2008 Iowa
caucuses.

Many factors went into Clinton's loss: she didn't spend much time
campaigning here, she didn't connect with the activists, and many Democrats
disagreed with her vote to support the Iraq War.

Iraq is a sensitive topic in Iowa Democratic circles, especially among the
passionate grassroots activists of the Hawkeye State. With the threat of
ISIS growing, and the possibility of American engagement in yet another
conflict in the region, could the newfound talk about another war in Iraq
haunt Clinton in Iowa? Iowans still haven't forgotten her vote supporting
the war.

"I think it'll keep coming up," said Sue Dinsdale, the executive director
of Iowa Citizen Action Network. "I don't think anybody forgets that."

James Marren, an organizer for Beds for Peace, still recalls her original
support for that war. "I think that she may be a little too hawkish," he
said.

Iowa Democrats' dovish tendencies are in contrast with Clinton's foreign
policy positions. Last week, Harkin told the Huffington Post that the push
to war by Obama and lawmakers was "fear-mongering." He continued, "It's
what happened after 9/11. 'Oh my god, they've got these planes crashing.
Now they're going to take over America.' That's nonsense."

This stands in stark contrast to Clinton's positioning. She distanced
herself from President Obama's foreign policy vision last month in a
much-discussed interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg. Her aides
last week told The Hill that she would have been tougher than Obama on this
issue and been less "passive." Harkin even acknowledged to ABC News that he
has real questions about some of her positions.

Activists in Iowa are tired of war. The road into the Steak Fry was adorned
with large signs protesting air strikes in the Middle East. But Iowans
aren't rushing to judgment on Clinton.

"I think Iowans in general are very conscience voters," state Rep. Chris
Hall says. "Hillary has served admirably in the role of secretary of state.
She has done important work on national security matters."

Matt Sinovic, the executive director of Progress Iowa, thinks it's too
early to make any decisions about Clinton as a candidate. "Iowans will take
their time and learn everything there is to know about every potential
candidate and every potential issue before making up their mind," he says.
"I think that's what's happening right now with Hillary."

And while the cheers from the crowd may have looked like unified support
for a presidential run, many in the crowd threw around names of other
candidates they're looking at: Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie
Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. Outside
of Biden, all have ample space to run to Clinton's left on foreign policy.

*Fox News: “Benghazi panel begins hearings with questions on US diplomats'
safety”
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/14/special-benghazi-panel-starts-hearings-with-questions-on-us-diplomats-safety/>*

[No Writer Mentioned]

September 14, 2014

The select Benghazi Committee holds its first open hearing Wednesday,
employing broad congressional powers to try to answer lingering questions
ranging from what led to the fatal 2012 terror strikes on a U.S. outpost in
Libya to what is being done to better protect U.S. diplomats worldwide.

The hearing by the Republican-led House committee will focus on the extent
to which the State Department has implemented post–attack recommendations
made by the Accountability Review Board.

The department created the five-member, independent board just weeks after
the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in which four Americans -- Ambassador Chris
Stevens, information specialist Sean Smith and Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and
Glen Doherty -- were killed.

“There are still facts to learn about Benghazi and information that needs
to be explained in greater detail to the American people,” Rep. Trey Gowdy,
R-S.C., the committee chairman and a former federal prosecutor, said
earlier this month. “And this committee will do just that.”

In a December 2012 report, the board issued 29 recommendations to fix what
it called “systemic” leadership and senior management failures that led to
the “grossly” inadequate security at the U.S. outpost.

Congressional Republicans were immediately critical of the report and its
authors, saying they downplayed key decisions by top department officials,
instead putting too much blame on their subordinates.

Scheduled to testify Wednesday are Greg Starr, the department’s assistant
secretary for Diplomatic Security, and Mark Sullivan and Todd Keil, members
of the Independent Panel on Best Practices, created to review the
accountability board’s efforts.

Sullivan is the panel chairman and a former Secret Service director. Keil
is a former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary.

The board was led by Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Adm. Michael Mullin,
who have already testified before Congress and are expected to be called
before the select committee.

The fatal attacks, which the White House said in the immediate aftermath
were sparked by an anti-Islamic video, have been the subject of roughly 12
congressional hearings.

However, the House created the select committee in May 2014 with the
expectation that its subpoena powers and other tools would bring forth new
witnesses and resolve unanswered questions.

The committee is expected to address several other key issues, including to
what extend the U.S. attempted to stop the attacks and rescue U.S.
personnel and whether the White House response, weeks before voters decided
whether to re-elect President Obama, was politically motivated.

U.S. Special Forces captured and arrested Libyan Ahmed Abu Khattala in June
in connection with the attacks on the two U.S. facilities, and he is
awaiting trial in the United States.

The committee’s 12 members -- seven Republicans and five Democrats -- have
been working since being appointed by hiring staff, gathering information
and meeting with family members of the four men killed.

House Democrats were reluctant at first to join the committee.

They argued the issue has been full investigated and that further efforts
are just politically-motivated attempts to keep Benghazi in Americans’
minds through the 2014 midterms and the 2016 presidential elections, in
which Hillary Clinton, secretary of state at the time of the attacks, is
the presumptive Democratic front-runner.

“I do not believe a select committee is called for after eight reports,
dozens of witness interviews and a review of more than 25,000 pages of
documents,” Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the select
committee, said this spring. But “I believe we need someone in that room to
defend the truth.”

*Calendar:*

*Sec. Clinton's upcoming appearances as reported online. Not an official
schedule.*

·  September 15 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton speaks at the Transcatheter
Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference (CRF
<http://www.crf.org/tct/agenda/keynote-address>)

·  September 15 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton speaks at Legal Services
Corp. 40th Anniversary (Twitter
<https://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas/status/507549332846178304>)

·  September 16 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton headlines a 9/11 Health Watch
fundraiser (NY Daily News
<http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/hillary-clinton-mark-9-11-anniversary-nyc-fundraiser-responders-kin-blog-entry-1.1926372>
)

·  September 18 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton participates in a CAP
roundtable (Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-center-for-american-progress-110874.html>
)

·  September 19 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton fundraises for the DNC with
Pres. Obama (CNN
<http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/27/politics/obama-clinton-dnc/index.html>)

·  September 21 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton attends CGI kickoff  (The
Hollywood Reporter
<http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/clintons-honor-leonardo-dicaprios-environmental-731964>
)

·  September 22 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton at CGI (CGI
<http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/public/2014/pdf/agenda.pdf>)

·  September 23 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton at CGI (CGI
<http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/public/2014/pdf/agenda.pdf>)

·  September 23 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton headlines the Goldman Sachs
10,000 Women CGI Dinner (Twitter
<https://twitter.com/danmericaCNN/status/510157741957316609>)

·  September 29 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton headlines fundraiser for DCCC
for NY and NJ candidates (Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-new-york-fundraiser-110902.html?hp=r4>
)

·  September 29 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton headlines another fundraiser
for DCCC (Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-headline-dccc-fundraiser-110764.html?hp=l8_b1>
)

·  October 2 – Miami Beach, FL: Sec. Clinton keynotes the CREW Network
Convention & Marketplace (CREW Network
<http://events.crewnetwork.org/2014convention/>)

·  October 6 – Ottawa, Canada: Sec. Clinton speaks at Canada 2020 event (Ottawa
Citizen
<http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/hillary-clinton-speaking-in-ottawa-oct-6>
)

·  October 13 – Las Vegas, NV: Sec. Clinton keynotes the UNLV Foundation
Annual Dinner (UNLV
<http://www.unlv.edu/event/unlv-foundation-annual-dinner?delta=0>)

·  October 14 – San Francisco, CA: Sec. Clinton keynotes
salesforce.com Dreamforce
conference (salesforce.com
<http://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/DF14/highlights.jsp#tuesday>)

·  October 28 – San Francisco, CA: Sec. Clinton fundraises for House
Democratic women candidates with Nancy Pelosi (Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/hillary-clinton-nancy-pelosi-110387.html?hp=r7>
)

 ·  December 4 – Boston, MA: Sec. Clinton speaks at the Massachusetts
Conference for Women (MCFW <http://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/>)