“I don’t have to defend everything that I’ve ever done.”
— Mike Huckabee, in an interview with CBS News, when asked about his role promoting a dietary supplement that claims to cure diabetes.
The Transformation of Hillary Clinton
My latest column in The Week: Is Hillary Clinton flip-flopping or just evolving?
Bill Won’t Campaign for Hillary This Year
Bill Clinton “does not plan to do any campaign activities for his wife in 2015, including fundraisers for her campaign or allied super PACs. He has said privately that she should lead the campaign on her own,” the Washington Post reports.
Candidates Stop Using ‘Middle Class’
New York Times: “The once ubiquitous term ‘middle class’ has gone conspicuously missing from the 2016 campaign trail, as candidates and their strategists grasp for new terms for an unsettled economic era. The phrase, long synonymous with the American dream, now evokes anxiety, an uncertain future and a lifestyle that is increasingly out of reach.”
“The move away from ‘middle class’ is the rhetorical result of a critical shift: After three decades of income gains favoring the highest earners and job growth being concentrated at the bottom of the pay scale, the middle has for millions of families become a precarious place to be.”
“A social stratum that once signified a secure, aspirational lifestyle, with a house in the suburbs, children set to attend college, retirement savings in the bank and, maybe, an occasional trip to Disneyland now connotes fears about falling behind, sociologists, economists and political scientists say.”
Clinton Campaigns in Home States of Rivals
Hillary Clinton “is leaving nothing to chance this time around,” the Boston Globe reports.
“The Clinton presidential operation may look like a juggernaut from the outside, but her attempts to marshal early support in the home states of long shots are evidence that she feels the need to protect every flank, no matter how weak the opposition appears.”
Christie Spent $82K on Food at Football Games
Gov. Chris Christie’s “most notable spending spree occurred during the 2010 and 2011 NFL football seasons at MetLife Stadium, where the New York’s Giants and Jets play their home games. New Jersey’s governor traditionally enjoys free use of luxury boxes for games and other events at the government-owned venue, but food and beverages cost extra,” according to New Jersey Watchdog.
“On 58 occasions, Christie used a debit card to pay a total of $82,594 to Delaware North Sportservice, which operates the concessions at MetLife. The governor’s office did not provide any receipts, business reasons or names of individuals entertained, but defended the expense.”
Jeb Bush Says He Would Have Invaded Iraq Too
Jeb Bush says he would have invaded Iraq, as his brother did in 2003, but told Fox News that mistakes were made, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Said Bush: “I would have [authorized the invasion], and so would have Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody. And so would almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got.”
McConnell vs. Reid on Trade
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s efforts to complete fast-track trade legislation by the end of the month are running into an old nemesis: Harry Reid,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The legislation, which would ease approval of the biggest-ever trade pact, involving the U.S. and 11 other countries around the Pacific Rim, was expected to sail smoothly through the Senate. The House had been seen as a bigger challenge. Mr. McConnell has scheduled a Tuesday vote to take up the trade bill, which is a priority for both Republicans and the Obama administration. In recent days, though, Mr. Reid has raised numerous objections that pose a threat to the bill’s quick passage.”
Bevin’s Improbable Comeback
Matt Bevin (R), “the upstart Kentucky Republican who famously locked horns with Mitch McConnell in a no-holds-barred 2014 Senate primary, is now running for governor. At first, his hopes for victory appeared all but impossible,” National Journal reports.
“But now, days before the May 19 primary, a dramatic turn of events—largely surrounding dueling allegations of domestic violence and accessory to slander between Bevin’s two primary rivals—have left the tea-party-aligned Bevin with a chance at victory.”
Bush Isn’t In a Hurry to Formally Announce
Politico: “It wasn’t clear at the time, but is increasingly so now, that Jeb Bush’s decision last December to signal, but not formally announce, his candidacy was a short-term logistical masterstroke befitting his family’s reputation for mastering the mechanics of elections. His undeclared status has freed him to raise what aides are saying will be as much as $100 million from rich patrons and outside groups (the second he files presidential paperwork, he’s prevented from requesting big super PAC checks), and it has temporarily shielded him from being the target of shots many of his would-be opponents are leveling at Hillary Clinton.”
“This inversion — building a campaign on the back of a super PAC instead of vice versa — is novel and could be a model for the future, but it also puts a lot of pressure on an opaque candidate who publicly has done little more than a set of sporadic, low-octane speeches with few specifics to offer.”
Saudi King Won’t Meet with Obama
“Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that its new monarch, King Salman, would not be attending meetings at the White House with President Obama or a summit gathering at Camp David this week, in an apparent signal of its continued displeasure with the administration over United States relations with Iran, its rising regional adversary,” the New York Times reports.
Wall Street Journal: “The decision marks a diplomatic snub from one of the top leaders in the region, and follows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Saudi capital last week.”
GOP Primary in Kentucky Is a Toss Up
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Kentucky finds the GOP race for governor is wide open.
James Comer barely leads with 28%, followed by Hal Heiner at 27% and Matt Bevin at 25%.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“The truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else. And you know, she’s got a voice that she wants to get out there. And I understand that. And on most issues, she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don’t stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”
— President Obama, quoted by Yahoo News, on his disagreement with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) over free trade.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We saw the ugly face of Islamic terrorism in my home state of Texas, in Garland where two jihadists came to commit murder. Thankfully one police officer helped them meet their virgins.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz, quoted by the Washington Post.
A Vote for Little England?
“After unexpected political charisma and cunning propelled him to another term as Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron will now need every ounce of those skills to avoid going down in history with an altogether different title: founding father of Little England,” the Washington Post reports.
“A result that maintained the status quo at 10 Downing Street masked the dramatic transformations roiling Britain, ones that threaten to leave this country more isolated than at any time in its modern history.”
“Thursday’s election may become just the first in a trilogy of rapid-fire votes that set this island adrift from Europe, divide it in half along ancient lines of national identity and ultimately leave behind a rump state of ever-diminishing value to its American allies.”
No Clear Leader in New Hampshire
A new Bloomberg Politics/Saint Anselm New Hampshire Poll finds Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Scott Walker leading the GOP presidential field with 12%, followed by Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio at 11%.
They are followed by Donald Trump at 8%, Chris Christie at 7%, Ted Cruz at 6%, Ben Carson at 5%, Mike Huckabee at 4% and Carly Fiorina at 3%.
Quote of the Day
“Hillary Clinton’s war in Libya, I think, made it less safe… It made it a hotbed for jihadists. And, in fact, I Libya is now a jihadist wonderland.”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by The Hill.
Obama Makes Personal Push for Trade Bill
President Obama’s “most aggressive and sustained legislative push since the Affordable Care Act faces a crucial first test this week, when a divided Senate considers a bill that would grant him accelerated power to finalize a massive trade accord with 11 nations across the Pacific Rim,” the New York Times reports.
“But after a lobbying campaign that has included giving members of Congress rides on Air Force One, pitching them at meetings in the West Wing, making private vows of political support and attacking publicly critics in his own party, Mr. Obama’s top legislative priority remains at risk.”
