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Exchange of the Day
Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Scott Pelley on CBS News:
PELLEY: You know, in ’76, Jimmy Carter famously said, “I will not lie to you.”
CLINTON: Well, I have to tell you I have tried in every way I know how literally from my years as a young lawyer all the way through my time as secretary of state to level with the American people.
PELLEY: You talk about leveling with the American people. Have you always told the truth?
CLINTON: I’ve always tried to. Always. Always.
PELLEY: Some people are gonna call that wiggle room that you just gave yourself.
CLINTON: Well, no, I’ve always tried —
PELLEY: I mean, Jimmy Carter said, “I will never lie to you.”
CLINTON: Well, but, you know, you’re asking me to say, “Have I ever?” I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever will. I’m gonna do the best I can to level with the American people.
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Optimus calculates that the air time Donald Trump’s Monday press conference received from cable news networks was worth more than $1 million in paid media.
Quote of the Day
“Listen, that’s between Donald and the pope… I’m not going to get in the middle of that. I’ll leave it to the two of them to work it out.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz, quoted by the Dallas Morning News, on Donald Trump’s dispute with Pope Francis.
A Big Gap Between Insiders and Voters
John Fund: “One factor that has sustained and elevated the rise of Trump and Sanders is a gap between what political insiders think and the views of the broader electorate. Insiders in both parties believe Trump would be a weak general-election candidate. For example, the Quinnipiac poll shows him winning only 17 percent of Hispanics, a full ten points below Mitt Romney’s 2012 showing. Ditto with Bernie Sanders. Despite a more favorable attitude toward socialism among young people, the general public is not likely to warm to a radical once the implications of his views are known. Remember, Bernie hasn’t had a single negative ad run against him from the right.”
“But the general public doesn’t share the insider view. In the Quinnipiac poll, a full 78 percent of Republicans believe Donald Trump “would have a good chance” of winning in November. Among Democrats, 69 percent believe the same thing about Bernie Sanders.”
Can Rubio Finally Push Bush and Kasich Out?
Amy Walter: “What Rubio needs more than anything, however, is a solid victory over his “establishment” rivals Jeb Bush and John Kasich. A solid showing in South Carolina by Rubio would put intense pressure on both, but especially Bush, to drop out. Should Rubio fail to get past Bush by a significant margin it would suggest that: 1. endorsements are meaningless these days; and 2. Rubio has deeper, more fundamental problems than just Bush and Kasich standing in his way.”
Tim Alberta: “To be clear: Rubio’s expectations are rightfully high here not just because he has these three influential state Republicans in his corner, but because his campaign has deep roots in South Carolina and always viewed it as Rubio’s best chance to score an early-state victory.”
Nevada Is No Longer a Firewall for Clinton
New York Times: “A victory for Mrs. Clinton would not be as remarkable a feat as it would be for Mr. Sanders, given her history in Nevada and months of hard preparatory work. But a loss could raise concerns among Democrats about her viability.”
“Mrs. Clinton’s aides have appeared to brace for the worst here, playing down expectations and shifting their attention to the South Carolina primary the following weekend and on the 11 states that hold contests on Super Tuesday, March 1.”
Amy Walter: “How she performs in Nevada is also going to set the table, and the narrative, for the South Carolina primary on February 27th. And, already, there are signs that her firewall has some serious cracks.”
Politico: How Bernie Sanders surged in Nevada
Trump’s Lead Narrows in South Carolina
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll in South Carolina finds Donald Trump leading the GOP field with 28%, followed by Ted Cruz at 23%, Marco Rubio at 15%, Jeb Bush at 13%, John Kasich at 9% and Ben Carson at 9%.
Last month, Trump held a 16-point lead over Cruz.
A new tracking poll from South Carolina House Republicans finds Trump ahead at 34%, followed by Cruz at 18%, Rubio at 16%, Bush at 15%, Kasich at 9% and Carson at 5%.
Biden Says Trump Could Win
Vice President Joe Biden believes Donald Trump could end up clinching the Republican nomination, while adding that he “would be surprised” if Trump got elected, Politico reports.
Said Biden: “I think it is very possible he could be nominated and depending on how this all plays out. I would take him seriously in terms of being able to win because he’s appealing to fear.”
Bush Campaign Running on Fumes
Politico: “Donors, who poured millions into his campaign and super PAC, have stopped giving – one refusing a direct request to raise $1 million this week. Bush himself is hitting the phones, pleading for patience with his most influential supporters. And even some of his confidants are suddenly dejected after a dispiriting week capped off by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley rejecting Bush in favor of Marco Rubio.
“The Bush team had been banking on a strong week, believing their candidate’s first solid debate performance last weekend would move the numbers in South Carolina. They thought bringing in George W. Bush on Monday night would generate more enthusiasm and positive earned media than it did. They held out hope that the former president could convince Haley, who’d hedged on backing Rubio after his slip in New Hampshire, to support a fellow governor. But none of it panned out.”
Trump Supported Iraq Invasion in 2002 Interview
“For months, Donald Trump has claimed that he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion began — as an example of his great judgment on foreign policy issues,” BuzzFeed reports.
“But in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern, Donald Trump said he supported an Iraq invasion.”
Looking More Like a Three-Man Race
Washington Post: “The race has resembled a three-man contest more than ever during the final push before voters head to the polls here Saturday. Trump is heavily favored to win, and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida are furiously vying for second-place.”
“Trump, Cruz and Rubio have directed most of their fire at each other this week, trading the kind of petty insults and underhanded tactics that have come to define South Carolina’s primary. With each day, the sniping has escalated.”
Trump Denounces Pope Francis
“In his most audacious attack yet on a revered public figure, Donald Trump veered into risky political territory as he denounced Pope Francis, seeking to galvanize Republicans who worry about border security and appeal to evangelical voters who regard Francis as too liberal,” the New York Times reports.
“Following the pontiff’s remarkable contention that Mr. Trump ‘is not Christian‘ in proposing deportations and a wall with Mexico, the candidate said Francis’s criticisms were ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unbelievable,’ and charged that the Mexican government had hoodwinked the pope into criticizing him.”
Politico: Pope attack could help Trump in South Carolina
Court Will Hear Case to Knock Cruz Off Ballot
A Chicago judge will hear testimony in a lawsuit filed by an Illinois voter that alleges Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz should not be allowed to run for president, USA Today reports.
Clinton Racks Up More Superdelegates
Since her New Hampshire loss, Hillary Clinton “has picked up endorsements from 87 more superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention, dwarfing Sanders’ gain from the New Hampshire primary,” according to a new Associated Press survey.
Bernie Sanders has added just 11 superdelegate endorsements.
“If these party insiders continue to back Clinton overwhelmingly — and they can change their minds — Sanders would have to win the remaining primaries by a landslide just to catch up. He would have to roll up big margins because every Democratic contest awards delegates in proportion to the vote, so even the loser can get some.”
Bloomberg Hints at Third Party Bid
Michael Bloomberg “bemoaned a lack of solutions from the 2016 presidential candidates on Thursday night, the most explicit rationale he has offered for why he is considering a third-party campaign of his own,” the New York Times reports.
Who Has the Most to Lose in South Carolina?
“It is not yet clear which Republican presidential candidate will emerge from Saturday’s South Carolina primary with the biggest boost. But it is becoming increasingly apparent which two would suffer most from a disappointing performance,” the New York Times reports.
“South Carolina will render a brutal and perhaps final verdict on Jeb Bush’s campaign if he does not at least finish close to Sen. Marco Rubio… Among the hard-line conservatives in the race, Sen. Ted Cruz will face new questions about the potential of his campaign if he is unable to broaden his appeal and continues to allow Donald Trump, the heavy favorite here, to cut into his support from evangelical Christians.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“The senator is upset with a political and economic system that is often rigged to help the privileged few at the expense of everyone else, particularly the least advantaged. He believes that we have a two-tiered society that increasingly dooms millions of our fellow citizens to lives of poverty and hopelessness. He thinks many corporations seek and benefit from corporate welfare while ordinary citizens are denied opportunities and a level playing field. I agree with him.”
— Charles Koch, writing in the Washington Post, saying he agrees with Sen. Bernie Sanders on the problem with money in politics.
