Jeb Bush “may not be nearly as strong in Florida as his reputation suggests. A Bloomberg Politics study conducted with University of Florida political scientist Daniel A. Smith found that nearly three-quarters of Florida’s 12.9 million currently registered voters have never even seen Bush’s name on a ballot.”
“By contrast, 92 percent of Floridians who voted when Marco Rubio was last on the ballot, in 2010, are still registered.”
“With all that bad news, is it not true that arguably President Obama is the worst foreign policy president in history? I think he is.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by the Washington Post, after giving a presentation to about 200 GOP donors.
Washington Post: “It has long been said that voters use presidential elections to correct perceived deficiencies in the incumbent. Asking for continuity of power while nevertheless advocating changes, Clinton appears eager to contrast herself with Obama in ways that are both subtle and direct.”
“If Obama spoke of transformation, Clinton is running as a workaday problem solver with a lengthy to-do list and the policies to match — an incrementalist who will measure progress in small changes as much as grand achievements. If the Obama who defeated her eight years ago was the candidate of soaring rhetoric, of hope and inspiration, Clinton is running as a dogged and determined fighter at a time when many voters are looking for evidence of achievable results.”
“If Obama is faulted for having failed to develop relationships with Republicans — or even Democrats, as Friday’s trade vote in the House reminded — Clinton will be presented as someone whose approach is not that of a president often described as distant from other elected officials.”
Wall Street Journal: Why Hillary Clinton will be tough to beat
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New York Times: “On Thursday, Pope Francis will release his first major teaching letter, known as an encyclical, on the theme of the environment and the poor. Given the pope’s widespread popularity, and his penchant for speaking out on major global issues, the encyclical is being treated as a milestone that could place the Roman Catholic Church at the forefront of a new coalition of religion and science.”
Wonk Wire: Climate change deniers will be the big money losers
“In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries,” the New York Times reports.
“The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine have caused alarm and prompted new military planning in NATO capitals.”
“Sketching a vision of a more hopeful, inclusive America that takes care of own while taking on big challenges such as climate change, Hillary Clinton said Saturday she is running for president to be the champion the country needs now, as well as its history-making first female commander in chief,” the Washington Post reports.
“Clinton launched her campaign in earnest with a 45-minute address that melded her personal biography as an advocate for women and children with promises of policy changes she promised would make the country fairer for all. It was the first time since entering the race in April that Clinton made a sustained case for her second run for the White House and told voters why she thinks she deserves to win.”
Said Clinton: “I may not be the youngest candidate in this race, but I’ll be the youngest woman president in the history of the United States.”
“There is only one thing that I really miss about being president, and that’s being the commander-in-chief.”
— George W. Bush, quoted by The Hill.
“You know, it’s wonderful watching a campaign when you’re seeing it from the outside. I don’t look back and second guess. I don’t say, ‘Oh I wish I made a different decision.’ I’m glad I made the decision I did. And I’m looking forward to playing what limited role a guy who lost can play in a presidential contest.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by the Boston Globe.
Former President George W. Bush told Israel Hayom that the United States will need combat troops on the ground to defeat the Islamic State.
Said Bush: “The president will have to make that determination. My position was that you need to have boots on the ground… We will see whether or not our government adjusts to the realities on the ground.”
“The problem is not that I don’t understand the global banking system. The problem for these guys is that I fully understand the system and I understand how they make their money. And that’s what they don’t like about me.”
— Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), quoted by Politico, firing back at JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon for suggesting she has no clue what she’s talking about in her attacks on Wall Street.
California Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R) suggested her state’s worst drought in 1,200 years may be God’s retribution for laws providing women with access to abortions, the Huffington Post reports.
Said Grove: “Texas was in a long period of drought until Governor Perry signed the fetal pain bill. It rained that night. Now God has his hold on California.”
The campaign staffer who accused former congressional candidate Carl DeMaio (R) of sexual harassment pleaded guilty to obstructing justice, the San Diego Union Tribune reports.
Todd Bosnich admitted he fabricated a threatening email and then lied about it to FBI investigators in an act of revenge against his former boss.
“Mitt Romney is working with an unlikely collaborator — Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who bankrolled Newt Gingrich’s 2012 campaign — in the hopes of ensuring that the GOP primary produces a mainstream conservative without any of the mayhem that marked his own race,” Politico reports.
“The two, who speak monthly, aim to convince the wealthy contributors bankrolling various candidates to work together to avoid the kind of primary election chaos that Romney believes laid the seeds for his defeat in 2012. The former Massachusetts governor is also considering endorsing a candidate to achieve his goal.”
“They’re unmistakable signs of Romney’s newly assertive role in the Republican Party but also of his determination to guarantee the GOP an unbloodied nominee with broad-based appeal.”
New York Times: “When Mr. Bush’s brother George first ran for president, he erroneously referred to Greeks as ‘Grecians,’ flubbed the name of India’s president and confused Slovenia with Slovakia, offering the world an unabashed portrait of provinciality.”
“But across Europe this week, Jeb Bush revealed himself to be a very different kind of Bush: well traveled, almost encyclopedically knowledgeable about foreign countries, and possessing the genuine inquisitiveness that his brother had so notably lacked… Mr. Bush’s trip here has been a reminder that his attempt to escape the shadow of his older brother, as awkward and halting as it may be, is not just a political strategy. It reflects how dissimilar the two men really are, in temperament, interests and preparation.”
“Here’s the question for the country: Can you be single and still be president? Is it a job for married people only? Is there a sign on the White House, ‘Single people may not apply?’ I don’t know, I haven’t seen it.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in an interview with Yahoo, on being unmarried and running for president.
“Despair about the tax-and-budget impasse overwhelming the Capitol exacted a toll on Gov. Sam Brownback (R),” the Topic Capital Journal reports.
“Brownback apparently choked up in a private meeting with House Republicans who sought an audience with the state’s chief executive to talk about a possible compromise to close a $400 million deficit and protect core government functions.”
Said one GOP legislator: “He got emotional. He was eager for us to come together as a party.”
President Obama “suffered a major blow Friday in his bid to complete a Pacific trade deal, as opponents of the accord derailed a fast-track trade bill by voting against a worker-aid program that was a key bill component,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The 126-302 vote against a program to help workers hurt by international trade came at the hands of a longtime ally, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. It was a major move by the California Democrat, who until now has remained undeclared in the fight, trying to balance her ties to the progressive wing of the party against her loyalty to a president she has long supported.”
New York Times: “In a remarkable rejection of a president they have resolutely backed, House Democrats voted to kill assistance to workers displaced by global trade, a program their party created and has stood by for four decades. By doing so, they brought down legislation granting the president trade promotion authority — the power to negotiate trade deals that cannot be amended or filibustered by Congress — before it could even come to a final vote.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “in a meandering but dramatic floor speech on Friday said she will vote against a measure providing assistance to workers displaced by trade,” The Hill reports.
“Pelosi’s opposition to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program casts doubt on whether the measure will pass. If it fails, it could sink a broader trade package that includes President Obama’s request for fast-track trade authority.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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