Subject: ​Correct The Record Thursday November 13, 2014 Afternoon Roundup
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 13:56:45 -0500
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*​**Correct The Record Thursday November 13, 2014 Afternoon Roundup:*

*Tweets:*

*Pres. Bill Clinton* @billclinton: Received my copy of #41 by #43, George
W. Bush. Touching tribute! #HowAreYouSTILLNotOnTwitter
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/HowAreYouSTILLNotOnTwitter?src=hash>
#PresidentialTweeters
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentialTweeters?src=hash> [11/12/14, 5:59
p.m. EST <https://twitter.com/billclinton/status/532669062539931649>]

*Pres. Bill Clinton* @billclinton: Great news last night on historic
climate cooperation between the US and China #ActOnClimate
http://go.wh.gov/HY5PRG [11/12/14, 4:12 p.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/billclinton/status/532642059501703168>]

*Correct The Record* @CorrectRecord: .@HillaryClinton
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton> worked to increase youth suicide
prevention & intervention services#HRC365
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/HRC365?src=hash>
https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/2634?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Garrett+Lee+Smith+Memorial+Act%22%5D%7D
…
<https://t.co/Jv6lnZb0wU> [11/13/14, 10:11 a.m. EST
<https://twitter.com/CorrectRecord/status/532913626974519296>]

*Headlines:*

*New York Times: “Little Rock Celebration Draws Clinton Supporters,
Faithful and Hopeful”
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/us/politics/bill-hillary-clinton-presidential-center-little-rock.html?_r=0>*

“Advisers said fondness for the Clinton years, particularly among the white
working-class voters who have long identified with Mr. Clinton’s southern
roots and centrist politics, can only help should Mrs. Clinton run.”

*Politico: “Major Obama '08 backer hosting event for Clinton Foundation”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/orin-kramer-clinton-foundation-event-112863.html>*

“Three people familiar with the event said invitations have started going
out for a small gathering hosted by Boston Provident L.P. manager Orin
Kramer that would take place before the end of the year.”

*Wall Street Journal blog: Washington Wire: “David Axelrod: Democrats Need
a Coherent Economic Message”
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/11/13/david-axelrod-democrats-need-a-coherent-economic-message/?utm_content=bufferf1a2f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>*

“Mr. Axelrod warned that Mrs. Clinton has to ‘get out of the cocoon of
inevitability’ and must do a far better job articulating a strong economic
message than she has to date. ‘I think the danger for Secretary Clinton is
that, as was the case in 2007, her candidacy is out in front of the
rationale for it,’ Mr. Axelrod said. ‘She should not rely too much on that
we do have an electoral vote advantage and demographic advantages.’”

*Washington Post blog: Post Politics: “David Axelrod: Hillary Clinton needs
to ‘get out of the cocoon of inevitability’”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/11/13/david-axelrod-hillary-clinton-needs-to-get-out-of-the-cocoon-of-inevitability/>*

“David Axelrod, the chief strategist who guided President Obama into the
White House, offered a blunt assessment Thursdayof Hillary Rodham Clinton's
likely 2016 presidential campaign, saying she needs to ‘get out of the
cocoon of inevitability.’”

*Bloomberg: “Hillary Versus the Governors”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-13/hillary-versus-the-governors>*

[Subtitle:] “Three post-election takes on who may be best poised to take on
the Democratic frontrunner in 2016”

*NBC News: “A Favor to Hillary? Obama's Political Pros and Cons for
Immigration Action”
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/favor-hillary-obamas-political-pros-cons-immigration-action-n247701>*

“By now, we know that President Obama’s executive action on immigration is
likely coming… Politically speaking, Obama taking the action could be the
biggest favor he does for Hillary Clinton (if she ends up running).”

*Politico: “George Bush: 'When Jeb beats Hillary …'”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/george-w-bush-jeb-bush-running-112860.html>*

“They’ve come a long way since 1992, but former President George W. Bush
says his friendship with his predecessor Bill Clinton will remain intact
‘when Jeb beats Hillary.’”

*Washington Post blog: The Fix: “That time George W. Bush called Bill
Clinton ‘#BrotherFromAnotherMother’”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/11/13/that-time-george-w-bush-called-bill-clinton-brotherfromanothermother/>*

“When Bill Clinton gets on Instagram, will his first photo be about Hillary
Clinton or Too Many Cooks?”

*Huffington Post: “Elizabeth Warren Gets Senate Democratic Leadership Spot”
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/elizabeth-warren-senate_n_6149454.html?&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016>*

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gained a leadership position in the Senate
Democratic caucus Thursday, giving the prominent progressive senator a seat
at the table in shaping the party's policy priorities.”

*Articles:*

*New York Times: “Little Rock Celebration Draws Clinton Supporters,
Faithful and Hopeful”
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/us/politics/bill-hillary-clinton-presidential-center-little-rock.html?_r=0>*

By Amy Chozick

November 13, 2014

For the 10th anniversary of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in
Little Rock, Ark., organizers have urged the guests to focus on Bill
Clinton’s accomplishments, rather than his wife’s presidential ambitions.

But, yes, they will also be starting to think about tomorrow.

On Friday, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s closest friends, aides and
donors will convene here where Mr. Clinton’s path to the presidency began
for a three-day, dual-purpose reunion to celebrate the Clinton Center,
which includes a museum and library, and opened on Nov. 18, 2004.

The events, including panel discussions about the Clinton administration, a
picnic dinner for 1,300 guests (complete with vegan and beef barbecue), a
community concert with Nick Jonas, exclusive after-parties and a private
dinner with major donors, will inevitably amount to an unofficial pep rally
ahead of Mrs. Clinton’s presumptive 2016 presidential campaign.

With the midterm elections over, the political momentum has quickly shifted
to Mrs. Clinton and her 2016 plans. In the coming months, Mrs. Clinton has
a less hectic schedule, with a limited number of speeches and events,
related to her charitable work. The Arkansas reunion will be one of her
most public, and raucous, commitments.

There are, after all, worse ways for Mrs. Clinton to ease into the long
presidential campaign cycle than amid hundreds of friends and several days
of talking up the robust economy and airbrushing the scandals of the 1990s.

The program, titled, “The Work Continues: Celebrating 10 Years of the
Clinton Presidential Center,” will focus on Mr. Clinton’s legacy, but the
theme gives a nod to the future that will not be lost on the Clinton
friends from around the country who plan to attend.

“One of the great things about the Clintons is that they integrate all the
people in their lives,” said Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist who
worked on Mr. Clinton’s 1992 campaign. “But to be a Clintonite is to focus
on the future,” he added. “So, in addition to reminiscing about the old
days, we’ll talk about the days to come.”

Among those expected to attend are former White House advisers like Cheryl
D. Mills and Erskine B. Bowles, along with the celebrities Kevin Spacey,
Barbra Streisand and Morgan Freeman. Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, a
close friend and longtime fund-raiser to the Clintons, is also scheduled to
attend.

“There are a lot of emails flying around: ‘Are you going?’ ‘Who’s going?' ”
said Michael Waldman, Mr. Clinton’s director of speechwriting from 1995 to
1999. “It’s like a high school reunion. I’m doing situps.”

The 94 rooms at the grand Capital Hotel, with its wood-paneled bar and
famous pimento cheese sandwiches, have been booked for months. And
attendees are planning to go back to all their old 1992 campaign haunts,
like Doe’s Eat Place, known for its steaks and tamales.

“The Clinton Library is exciting, but Doe’s is really exciting,” Mr.
Waldman said.

Richard Socarides, a White House adviser to Mr. Clinton, has not been to
Little Rock since the center’s inauguration. “It marked the end of the
first Clinton presidency, which we’re returning to celebrate,” he said. But
he added, “Let’s be real here. Most of us hope this marks the beginning of
the campaign for the next.”

While all of the 13 presidential libraries across the country highlight
their subjects’ accomplishments and gloss over the setbacks, critics have
said the Clinton Museum, which is owned by the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea
Clinton Foundation and jointly run with the National Archives and Records
Administration, has a particularly laudatory feel.

“The dominant impression is of a grand party that was disrupted in 2000 but
that might one day be resumed under other auspices,” the critic Edward
Rothstein wrote in a review in The New York Times, as if foretelling Mrs.
Clinton’s political ascent.

Built on a once desolate stretch of abandoned warehouses in downtown Little
Rock that a local journalist dubbed “Murky Bottoms,” the Clinton Center has
had more than 3.3 million visitors and has brought more than $2.5 billion
in economic development to the area. The downtown district is now lined
with restaurants, bars, shops and apartment buildings.

“It’s exceeded the expectations of the guy who walked around here in 1997,
looked around this abandoned warehouse district and thought ‘Where do I
start?' ” said James L. Rutherford, who led the project and is now dean of
the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, which is part
of the Clinton Center.

Mr. Clinton had such an active role in the establishment of his library
that the exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum called him “our curator in chief
and even our art director at times.” The former president wanted the
edifice to resemble the library at Trinity College in Dublin, though locals
have said (affectionately) that the building looks more like a mobile home
perched over the Arkansas River.

Stephanie S. Streett, the executive director of the library and former
director of scheduling in the White House, made an extra effort to
encourage guests to attend the anniversary festivities, which officially
span 10 days with discussions and events all over town, including a
requisite screening of the 1993 documentary “The War Room” about the
Clinton-Gore campaign.

Three panel discussions on Friday will coincide with the release of an
independent oral history of the Clinton White House put out by the Miller
Center at the University of Virginia. The library’s more than 35,000 cubic
feet of archival material, including 80 million documents, 20 million
emails and two million photographs, have been particularly pored over given
the possibility of Mrs. Clinton running.

The Arkansas Travelers, a cohort of locals who traveled the country to
campaign for Mr. Clinton in 1992, will join out-of-town supporters and are
not shy about pledging their support again in 2016. (Though several of the
self-described Arkansas Travelers said they would enlist their
grandchildren to do the traveling this time around.)

“There’s no question that Hillary is gonna generate a bunch of enthusiasm
here among the faithful,” said Joe Purvis, a traveler who attended
kindergarten in Hope, Ark., with Mr. Clinton.

The nostalgia for the 1990s that will be on display in Little Rock may not
be as valuable on the campaign trail in 2016. Many of the midterm
candidates the Clintons campaigned for this year were defeated. Arkansas
delivered particular disappointments to Mr. Clinton who campaigned
frequently for the incumbent Democrat, Senator Mark Pryor, who lost to
Representative Tom Cotton by 17 percentage points.

Still, advisers said fondness for the Clinton years, particularly among the
white working-class voters who have long identified with Mr. Clinton’s
southern roots and centrist politics, can only help should Mrs. Clinton
run. During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, when her rivals
accused her of relying too heavily on her husband’s record, Mrs. Clinton
would often respond: “I always wonder what part of the 1990s they didn’t
like: the peace or the prosperity?”

Despite speculation about 2016, the official lineup for the weekend will be
focused on the Clinton Center, the work of the Clinton Foundation and Mr.
Clinton’s legacy. “There will be more nostalgia and talk of the good old
days” than of what’s next, said Thomas F. McLarty III, a White House chief
of staff to Mr. Clinton. “He’ll have created 28 million new jobs rather
than 22 million by the time the weekend’s over.”

*Politico: “Major Obama '08 backer hosting event for Clinton Foundation”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/orin-kramer-clinton-foundation-event-112863.html>*

By Maggie Haberman

November 13, 2014, 11:30 a.m. EST

[Subtitle:] Three people familiar with the event say invitations have
started going out for a small gathering.

A major New York hedge fund executive and crucial early backer of Barack
Obama in 2007 is hosting an event for Hillary Clinton’s family foundation
in the coming weeks, just ahead of a potential presidential run by the
former secretary of state, sources told POLITICO.

Three people familiar with the event said invitations have started going
out for a small gathering hosted by Boston Provident L.P. manager Orin
Kramer that would take place before the end of the year.

The event, which will be at the elite Core Club in Manhattan, is being
coordinated through Dennis Cheng, who is in charge of fundraising at the
Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the sources said.

Kramer was not available for comment, and a Clinton spokesman did not
respond to emails.

Kramer, a longtime Democratic bundler, was an early validator for Obama as
the first-term senator began to put down a mark in the New York fundraising
community, which had long backed Clinton, its own senator. The hedge fund
executive’s event will put Clinton in front of his donor network at a time
when she is preparing for a likely second presidential bid.

She has said she’ll make up her mind about running after the first of the
year, although there is a debate among her allies about whether she should
declare earlier than that, or wait until several weeks into 2015.

People familiar with the event said the foundation is working to complete
an endowment that would avoid conflicts of interest in the midst of a
Clinton campaign and would allow the group’s work to continue.

*Wall Street Journal blog: Washington Wire: “David Axelrod: Democrats Need
a Coherent Economic Message”
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/11/13/david-axelrod-democrats-need-a-coherent-economic-message/?utm_content=bufferf1a2f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>*

By Reid J. Epstein

November 13, 2014, 8:59 a.m. EST

Democrats must develop a coherent economic message ahead of the 2016
elections if they hope to retain the White House and win back the Senate,
Democratic strategist David Axelrod warned at Thursday’s Capital Journal
breakfast.

Mr. Axelrod, the man who tended President Barack Obama’s political message
through two successful presidential campaigns, said Democrats in 2014
leaned too heavily on their belief that they have a superior turnout and
data operations and didn’t spend enough energy cultivating an economic
message.

“Tactics are not a substitute for a compelling message,” Mr. Axelrod said.
“That’s a lesson that the Democratic Party should learn.”

Of course the overwhelming favorite to be the Democrats’ 2016 presidential
nominee is Hillary Clinton, whom Mr. Axelrod built Mr. Obama’s 2008
campaign to defeat. Mr. Axelrod warned that Mrs. Clinton has to “get out of
the cocoon of inevitability” and must do a far better job articulating a
strong economic message than she has to date.

“I think the danger for Secretary Clinton is that, as was the case in 2007,
her candidacy is out in front of the rationale for it,” Mr. Axelrod said.
“She should not rely too much on that we do have an electoral vote
advantage and demographic advantages.”

*Washington Post blog: Post Politics: “David Axelrod: Hillary Clinton needs
to ‘get out of the cocoon of inevitability’”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/11/13/david-axelrod-hillary-clinton-needs-to-get-out-of-the-cocoon-of-inevitability/>*

By Philip Rucker

November 13, 2014, 10:51 a.m. EST

David Axelrod, the chief strategist who guided President Obama into the
White House, offered a blunt assessment Thursday of Hillary Rodham
Clinton's likely 2016 presidential campaign, saying she needs to "get out
of the cocoon of inevitability."

Axelrod, appearing on a political panel in Washington sponsored by The Wall
Street Journal, said Clinton needs to develop a strategy and message for
her candidacy rather than rely on tactics and the Democratic Party's
demographic advantages in presidential elections.

"Tactics have to follow strategy," Axelrod said. "I think the danger for
Secretary Clinton is that, as was the case in 2007, her candidacy is out in
front of the rationale for it."

Axelrod said Clinton became "a very effective candidate" late in the 2008
primary cycle. "She was much more visceral, she was closer to the ground,
she was talking about people and their lives," he said. In 2016, Axelrod
said, "she has to throw caution to the wind and essentially get out of the
cocoon of inevitability and really compete for it."

Some Democrats believe that after Obama built a powerful coalition of
black, Latino, women and young voters in the 2008 and 2012 campaigns,
demographics are destiny and ensure the party will keep hold of the White
House for years to come. But Axelrod said Clinton would be foolish to
believe this.

"That should not give her solace that the job is done," Axelrod said. "I
think the candidate who's going to win in 2016 is the candidate who
aggressively and in a forward-thinking way deals with this fundamental
issue of the stagnancy of wages, the problems of the middle class, the lack
of economic mobility that are central to who we are as a country."

Axelrod noted that running away from Obama and his record did not work for
Democratic senators in 2014 and cautioned Clinton against repeating that
strategy. Instead, he said, Clinton should develop a message that builds on
his legacy, especially on economic issues, without simply running for a
repeat term.

"People seek the remedy and not the replica," Axelrod said. "I think that
in 2016, people will want someone who is a little less nuanced, someone who
projects more of a sense of black and white certainty.... I actually think
that is an environment that favors Hillary Clinton more than the 2008
environment because she tends to be someone that speaks in simple,
declarative sentences and with great certainty."

*Bloomberg: “Hillary Versus the Governors”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-13/hillary-versus-the-governors>*

By Margaret Talev

November 13, 2014, 9:49 a.m. EST

[Subtitle:] Three post-election takes on who may be best poised to take on
the Democratic frontrunner in 2016.

What are Hillary Clinton's odds of being elected president in 2016, and
what kind of Republican would be best poised to beat her? Political
strategists and pollsters weighed in at a Wall Street Journal breakfast in
Washington on Thursday and here's what they concluded.

Bush 'formidable'

Clinton “should not rely too much” on apparent electoral and demographic
advantages for Democrats, said Democratic strategist and former Obama
adviser David Axelrod. Whoever wins must “aggressively” tackle the economic
stagnation and problems of the middle class. “She has to throw caution to
the wind” and get out of the “cocoon of inevitability.” For Republicans,
“if you don't stand up to the base somewhere,” he said, “I don't think you
can win the general election.” Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, if he
runs, would be a “very formidable” candidate if he stood by his stances on
immigration and education and survived the primary process.

Look outside the bubble

The ideal Republican presidential candidate would be a governor from a
“blue or purple state,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff.
Republicans in states are “out there crafting right-of-center policy” and
implementing it. “Someone outside of Washington who's a governor” is
probably better poised than a senator, he said, in part because they “also
get to run against Washington.”

Midwest bench

Republican governors from the Midwest are well-poised, said U.S. Chamber of
Commerce senior political strategist Scott Reed (read: Wisconsin's Scott
Walker, Indiana's Mike Pence, Ohio's John Kasich and Michigan's Rick
Snyder). Lots of prospective candidates are waiting to see what Bush and
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will do, he said, while one “can't
underestimate [Kentucky Senator] Rand Paul's ability” to do
“nontraditional” things.

*NBC News: “A Favor to Hillary? Obama's Political Pros and Cons for
Immigration Action”
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/favor-hillary-obamas-political-pros-cons-immigration-action-n247701>*

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Carrie Dann

November 13, 2014

By now, we know that President Obama’s executive action on immigration is
likely coming. (Fox News says it could come as early as next Friday, but
the White House says that President Obama still hasn’t made up his mind.)
Politically, the question is whether such action would be a smart move --
or a dumb one. MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin has a good look at the political pros
and cons here. The pros: It’s the best chance for Obama to reform the
system in the short term (especially since House Republicans are unwilling
to pass their own legislation), and it will fire up Latino voters, who will
be a critical bloc to Democrats’ success in 2016. The cons: It would spark
a policy fight with Republicans (the outcome of which is impossible to
predict), and it could alienate the white voters Democrats lost in 2014.
But maybe the biggest political reason to undertake executive action is
that it would ensure the action becomes a key part of the 2016 race. Every
Republican running for president would have to denounce the move. And then
the GOP contest then would turn into who’s tougher against the action: Do
they promise to deport the undocumented immigrants (if Obama’s ultimate
executive action entails allowing them to stay in the country)? Like we saw
in 2008 and 2012, that would push the eventual GOP nominee farther to the
right than he or she might want to go -- and make it harder for the nominee
to return to the middle in the general election. Politically speaking,
Obama taking the action could be the biggest favor he does for Hillary
Clinton (if she ends up running).

Is that expected executive action already dividing Republicans?

And there’s the question of whether Obama’s expected executive action could
splinter the Republican even before the 114th Congress begins next year.
The Wall Street Journal: “A bloc of Republican lawmakers is seeking to use
must-pass spending legislation in the final weeks of the year to place
limits on President Barack Obama’s ability to loosen immigration rules,
threatening to split the party in Congress… Now, some Republicans are
pushing for Congress to make a move before Mr. Obama does. More than 50
House lawmakers have signed a letter saying that language barring the
president from acting alone should be attached to legislation needed to
keep the government operating after Dec. 11, when its current funding
expires.” More from the WSJ: “The result is that barely a week after their
broad election victories, party leaders will have to decide whether to
override conservatives’ demands in favor of a more pragmatic approach.
Party leaders also will have to decide when and how hard to fight the
president over immigration.”

House and Senate Republicans hold their leadership elections today

With Congress back to work for the lame-duck session, the House and Senate
will begin holding elections today to pick the leaders of each party in
each chamber, NBC’s Frank Thorp and Alex Moe report. Senate Republicans --
including new members elected last Tuesday -- will vote for six leadership
positions for their new majority, including Senate majority leader,
majority whip, and the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial
Committee. On the other side of the Capitol, House Republicans will make
their picks for top positions, including for speaker, House majority
leader, House Republican conference chair and House Republican policy
chairman. The secret-ballot elections are held behind closed doors.
Democrats, Thorp and Moe add, are expected to hold their side’s elections
next week.

The Keystone XL pipeline and next month’s Louisiana Senate runoff

Next month’s Senate runoff in Louisiana between Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
and GOP challenger Bill Cassidy is already spurring lawmakers to push
forward legislation green-lighting the Keystone XL pipeline project. Per
NBC’s Frank Thorp and one of us: “Landrieu … pushed aggressively for a vote
Wednesday, speaking on the Senate floor and at a press conference on
Capitol Hill. That vote, now scheduled for as early as next Tuesday, will
need 60 votes to move forward. Within an hour of Landrieu’s push on the
Senate floor, House leaders announced plans to hold a vote Thursday on a
Keystone XL pipeline measure authored by Cassidy.” But folks, if you think
the runoff will be decided over a contest of who’s the bigger Keystone
champion, well, you might want to think again. That runoff is going to be
determined if Landrieu can find enough Democrats to come to the polls, and
if Republicans continue to be as enthusiastic after winning control of the
Senate last week.

The Gruber Tapes

Conservatives have jumped all over comments by MIT economist Jonathan
Gruber -- who played a role in drafting both the federal health-care law
and the earlier Massachusetts health law -- made about Affordable Care Act
during a 2013 academic panel. "This bill was written in a tortured way to
make sure CBO did not score the mandate as taxes," he said, per the
Washington Post. "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And
basically, call it the 'stupidity of the American voter' or whatever, but
basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.”
And those comments are spurring Republicans to launch new hearings. But the
New York Times’ Neil Irwin makes the point is that this is how Congress --
whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans -- always plays the game.
“Mr. Gruber was exposing something sordid yet completely commonplace about
how Congress makes policy of all types: Legislators frequently game policy
to fit the sometimes arbitrary conventions by which the Congressional
Budget Office evaluates laws and the public debates them. In the case of
the Affordable Care Act, that meant structuring the law so that the money
Americans must pay the Internal Revenue Service if they fail to obtain
health insurance under the law’s mandate is a penalty, not a tax.” Of
course, remember that the Supreme Court upheld the law precisely because it
saw the mandate as a tax.

Huckabee is definitely dipping his toes into the 2016 waters

Turning to 2016 news, it’s now time for all of us to start viewing former
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 -- as a
possible, if not likely, presidential candidate. As one of reported
yesterday, Huckabee on Wednesdaydeparted on a 10-day trip to Poland,
England, and California with more than 100 pastors and leaders from Iowa,
New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. (Gee, what do those states all
have in common?) The trip is billed as the “Mike Huckabee’s Reagan,
Thatcher, Pope John Paul II Tour.” The Washington Post, which first
reported on Huckabee's travel, also reports that the former GOP governor is
set to meet with deep-walleted Republican donors later this month. And in
January, the Post adds, Huckabee is set to release a new book, "God, Guns,
Grits, and Gravy." We assume this all means that Fox News will be
suspending his contract with the news channel, right?

McCain is planning to run for re-election

Per MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he’s “absolutely”
leaning toward running for re-election in 2016, and that he’s begun
preparing for another bid. More from Hunt: “McCain, who will be 80 years
old in 2016, told a small group of reporters that he expects that he’ll get
a challenge from a Tea Party candidate – as he did during his 2010
re-election race – but that he’s already marshaling support from business
and defense groups to help him. “You have to hope for the best and prepare
for the worst,” McCain said. “I definitely think that I would have to
absolutely anticipate a Tea Party candidate or two or three… Everybody
tells me that I'm the No. 1 target of the Tea Partiers, so I hope that's
not the case.”

Updates on the undecided races

In California, it looks like Julia Brownley (D-CA) hung onto her seat in
the tight race against Jeff Gorrell. And per the Sacramento Bee, “Freshman
Democratic Rep. Ami Bera has captured the lead over Republican Doug Ose in
the expensive and closely watched race for suburban Sacramento’s 7th
Congressional District.”… In Arizona, the Ron Barber (D)-vs.-Martha
McSally-race is headed to a recount.... And in New York, Rep. Louise
Slaughter (D-NY) is the winner in her re-election bid against Republican
Mark Assini.

*Politico: “George Bush: 'When Jeb beats Hillary …'”
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/george-w-bush-jeb-bush-running-112860.html>*

By Lucy McCalmont

November 13, 2014, 10:15 a.m. EST

They’ve come a long way since 1992, but former President George W. Bush
says his friendship with his predecessor Bill Clinton will remain intact
“when Jeb beats Hillary.”

“Look, I’ll still like him [Bill Clinton], if Jeb—when Jeb beats Hillary,”
a smiling Bush told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in a clip of an interview that
aired Thursday on the network.

“Are you betting on that?” Hannity asked.

“If Jeb runs, I think, yeah—Look, I don’t know if he’s going to run, I
really don’t. I hope he does because he’d be a great president,” Bush said
in the interview, which will air in full Thursday evening on “Hannity.”

Jeb Bush is currently weighing a bid for the White House but has yet to
reach a final decision. George W. Bush has said he thinks the chances of
his younger brother running are “50-50.”

Bush has been making numerous media appearances recently to promote his
recently released book, “41: A Portrait of My Father.”

*Washington Post blog: The Fix: “That time George W. Bush called Bill
Clinton ‘#BrotherFromAnotherMother’”
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/11/13/that-time-george-w-bush-called-bill-clinton-brotherfromanothermother/>*

By Jaime Fuller

November 13, 2014, 10:02 a.m. EST

[PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH INSTAGRAM]

Questions raised by this Instagram photo:

1. Is George W. Bush the first president to ever call another president a
brother from another mother?

2. Is George W. Bush the first man over the age of 50 to call another
person a brother from another mother?

3. What would Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft have talked about if
one of them was on Instagram and the other was on Twitter?

4. Did Teddy Roosevelt call his one-legged rooster a presidential tweeter?
Did Calvin Coolidge call his canaries, Nip and Tuck, presidential tweeters?
Why not?

5. Who took the photo of Bill Clinton reading George W. Bush's book on
George H.W. Bush?

6. How many days until Bill Clinton gets on Instagram?

7. When Bill Clinton gets on Instagram, will his first photo be about
Hillary Clinton or Too Many Cooks?

[PRES. CLINTON’S TWEET]

*Huffington Post: “Elizabeth Warren Gets Senate Democratic Leadership Spot”
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/elizabeth-warren-senate_n_6149454.html?&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016>*

By Amanda Terkel

November 13, 2014, 10:51 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gained a leadership position
in the Senate Democratic caucus Thursday, giving the prominent progressive
senator a seat at the table in shaping the party's policy priorities.

Warren's role, which is a new position created specifically for her, will
be in crafting the party's messaging and policy. She will also serve as a
liaison to progressive groups. The progressive senator was elevated to the
role Thursday morning, when Senate Democrats held their leadership
elections in the Capitol.

Sources told The Huffington Post that Warren had the strong support of
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who wanted her as part of his
team. Warren's presence in the weekly leadership meetings and her role
helping to shape the caucus' policies are significant for progressives.

Reid's support for Warren also underscores his desire to push progressive
policies in the next Congress, a priority his office has confirmed.

After the midterm elections, Warren wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post
that called on Congress and the administration to move forward with
progressive proposals instead of cutting deals with Republicans simply for
the sake of doing so.

"Yes, we need action," she wrote. "But action must be focused in the right
place: on ending tax laws riddled with loopholes that favor giant
corporations, on breaking up the financial institutions that continue to
threaten our economy, and on giving people struggling with high-interest
student loans the same chance to refinance their debt that every Wall
Street corporation enjoys."