Politico: “He has more cash than any other Republican candidate. He is organized in every county in the first four voting states. And he has served up one strong debate performance after the next. Now, not three months from primary season, rivals concede they have begun to fear Ted Cruz has an increasingly clear path to the Republican nomination.”
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
Carson Shuts Out Long Term Adviser
“Texas businessman Terry Giles, Ben Carson’s former campaign chairman and close friend of more than 20 years, has been ‘shut out’ from his presidential campaign just as the retired former neurosurgeon has ascended to the level of Republican front-runner,” Bloomberg reports.
“Giles, who was one of the dominant forces behind Carson’s exploratory committee back in early 2015, is no longer formally connected to the campaign nor is he acting as an adviser.”
Obama Foreign Policy at a Crossroads
President Obama “came into office with a single, driving foreign-policy principle that shaped his approach to international crises: Avoid another protracted war like those in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed at least 129 people, present Mr. Obama with a fundamental test of whether the approach is sustainable.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think that when you look at the dimensions of this tragedy, most Republican voters will not be satisfied with ‘We’ll bomb the shit out of them.'”
— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by the New York Times, on how the GOP presidential race will change after the French terror attacks.
Cruz Says No Risk of Christians Committing Terrorism
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “continued to call for Muslim refugees from Syria to be barred from entering the United States but opening the borders to displaced Christians,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Cruz: “There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror. If there were a group of radical Christians pledging to murder anyone who had a different religious view than they, we would have a different national security situation.”
Trump Way Ahead in New Hampshire
A new Gravis Marketing poll in New Hampshire shows Donald Trump way ahead in the GOP presidential race with 29%, followed by Ted Cruz at 12%, Marco Rubio at 10%, Chris Christie at 8%, Jeb Bush at 8% and Ben Carson at 7%.
Terror Attacks Threaten to Upend GOP Race
“It took just 48 hours, but the tragic terror attacks on Paris have quickly cleaved the 2016 Republican primary into a contest between those with serious foreign policy experience and those without, shifting the race, at least for now, from a campaign for the presidency to a test for commander in chief,” Politico reports.
“The disparity between candidates has been present and glaring for months, of course, but it took a backseat in a primary where experience has been akin to a dirty word, and early state voters haven’t demanded great familiarity with world affairs. The question for 2016 now turns on whether foreign policy fluency and the seasoning of elected office somehow morphs into an asset, a development which could dislodge the two outsiders who are currently perched comfortably atop the polls – Donald Trump and Ben Carson – and reorder the race.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We should declare war and harness all of the power the U.S. can bring to bear, both diplomatic and military, of course, to be able to take out ISIS… We have the capabilities of doing this, we just haven’t shown the will.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by The Hill.
U.S. Assists France with Retaliatory Strike on ISIS
“French warplanes launched a ferocious retaliatory assault late Sunday on targets in Raqqa, Syria — the Islamic State’s de facto capital — after coordination with U.S. defense officials who helped with the targeting,” the Washington Post reports.
“The French Defense Ministry said that 10 aircraft dropped 20 bombs on facilities used by the militant group, which has claimed responsibility for Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, striking a command center, a militant-training facility and an arms depot.”
New York Times: “The French military response capped another tense day in the wake of the attacks across Paris on Friday night. The authorities hunted for an eighth suspect believed to be on the loose, while seeking to piece together how the assailants got the training, weapons and explosives they used.”
Clinton Bungles Response on Ties to Wall Street
The Economist says the low point of last night’s Democratic debate “involved a tussle about campaign finance, as Mr Sanders came close to accusing Mrs Clinton of being in hock to big banks on Wall Street, thanks to years of hefty donations from bankers and titans of finance.”
“Mrs Clinton’s reply combined indignation, an irrelevant appeal to feminist pride, and a bizarre riff about the September 11th attacks, by which she seemed to imply that taking money from big banks was her way of making sure that the terrorists behind that 2001 atrocity did not win. It was so odd, and so shameless, that it is worth quoting in full.”
Glenn Thrush: “The pressure of the dual Sanders-O’Malley attack on Clinton’s Wall Street connections prompted her to say one of the craziest things she’s uttered in public during this campaign or any other.”
Chris Cillizza said it is “hard to overstate how little sense Clinton’s … argument makes.”
Quote of the Day
“I recognize that Barack Obama does not wish to defend this country. He may have been tired of war, but our enemies are not tired of killing us. And they’re getting stronger.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Washington Post.
Terrorist Attacks Call Obama Strategy Into Question
Coming just a day after President Obama’s comment that the Islamic State had been “contained,” the terrorist attacks in Paris “have cast doubt on the administration’s strategy and efforts to show gains against the jihadist group, which claimed credit for the carnage,” Politico reports.
“Even as the carnage unfolded in Paris, critics questioned whether Obama has oversold the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.”
Poll Finds Clinton Big Winner of Debate
“Immediately after Saturday night’s Democratic debate, CBS News interviewed a nationally representative sample of debate watchers assembled by GfK’s Knowledge Panel who identified themselves as Democrats or independents. By a 23 point margin, these debate watchers say Hillary Clinton won the debate. Fifty-one percent say Clinton won, compared to 28% who favor Bernie Sanders. Just 7% picked Martin O’Malley as the winner.”
The Adventures of Young Ben Carson
Saturday Night Live had fun with Ben Carson’s life story.
Dickerson Was the Best Moderator Yet
Politico: “The debate season hasn’t been entirely kind to TV moderators and their often-ignored panels of questioners. From boos for ‘gotcha’ questions and angry complaints directly from the candidates — sometimes right on stage — over debate formats, it’s been a brutal run for some moderators (though a ratings bonanza for the networks).”
“The ferret-like journalistic questioning of CBS’s John Dickerson, the moderator of Saturday night’s debate and host of Face the Nation, represented something of an honorable mean between the contentiousness of the CNBC anchors at last month’s unruly Republican debate and the cautiousness of Fox Business anchors at this month’s GOP encounter.”
Quote of the Day
“I come from the ’60s, a long time ago.”
— Hillary Clinton, quoted by ABC News, in the second Democratic presidential debate.
Clinton Fends Off Attacks in Second Debate
Hillary Clinton, “after coasting through the first Democratic debate, was thrown on the defensive throughout the second showdown Saturday night, facing sharp questions and attacks on her foreign policy record, her ties to Wall Street, and shifting positions on gun control,” Politico reports.
New York Times: “Sen. Bernie Sanders, after a month in which he has lost some ground in the polls, quickly went on offense, criticizing Hillary Clinton’s 2002 vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq, which he blamed for the rise of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.”
Said Sanders: “I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely.”
BuzzFeed News: “The second Democratic debate was a largely staid affair, especially compared to the often tense GOP debates over the last several months.”
Democratic Debate Ends Early
Politico notes that CBS News actually ended the second Democratic debate with seven minutes to spare.
