New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) “is returning to the format that helped make him famous,” Bloomberg reports.
“The likely Republican presidential candidate is set to host a town hall-style meeting in Moorestown, N.J., on Wednesday, according to his office. It will be his first such event since August.”
Domenico Montanaro: “Presidential candidates have to answer all kinds of questions. Sometimes they are relevant or germane to the event they’re at or the campaign at large — and sometimes they’re not. But how they answer, even these ‘gotcha’ questions – designed as a litmus test of rationality – can be revealing of their mindset, their depth and their mettle as a candidate.”
First Read: “One, the chief shortcoming the DNC highlighted was message… Two, this nine-page ‘preliminary’ report pales in comparison to the big report the RNC did after its losses in 2012. And three, the DNC omitted what is perhaps the organization’s biggest shortcoming in the Obama Era: Obama’s OFA (in many ways) has become a separate party organization that has diverted resources and attention away from the DNC. That’s a real problem as the party moves away from the Obama years. “
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First Read: “Few issues fire up a good chunk of conservatives more than personal attacks against President Obama. At the same time, these attacks also turn off swing voters and minorities that the Republican Party is trying to court. And this is the situation that Scott Walker now finds himself in, after refusing 1) to comment on Rudy Giuliani’s assertion that Barack Obama doesn’t love his country, and 2) declining to weigh in on whether Obama is a Christian. Notable conservatives have cheered Walker’s rhetoric and blasted the media for asking these types of questions…. Yet other conservative writers, like Matt Lewis, argue that this rhetoric is only going to alienate other voters… What’s more, as Democrat Robert Gibbs said on ‘Meet the Press’ yesterday, if you’re stirring up controversies on the EASY questions, think what happens when they become HARDER as a presidential candidate.”
“Here’s the thing about playing with fire: Sometimes you frighten your opposition by doing something they couldn’t do — or ever dream to do. Other times, you get burned.”
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), “who is flirting with a presidential run, spent about 165 days — or 45 percent — of 2014 in places other than Louisiana. In 2013, he was gone about 74 days,” the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
“Only one of those trips seems to have been for official state business — an economic development foray to Asia.”
Steve Kornacki: “There are multiple reasons for Christie’s struggles, but if there’s a common thread it’s this: The past – both recent and distant – is catching up with him. Decisions, actions, and calculations that helped him to move up the political ladder are now redounding in ways that are harmful to his national ambitions.”
“Maybe that’s the ultimate irony of Christie’s plight, as he watches some of his cash-rich state’s top donors and top Republican officials defect to Jeb Bush: The same machine that was once his salvation is now threatening to eviscerate the wobbly foundation of his own presidential campaign.”
“Billionaire Tom Steyer’s climate Super PAC is quietly drawing up plans to spend big money attacking Republican Senate and presidential candidates for their climate denialism — or, if you prefer, for their climate ‘skepticism’ — in the 2016 electoral cycle, according to someone briefed on NextGen’s evolving strategy. The plans will also include a major push to sell the positive attributes of clean energy to motivate core Democratic voters,” Greg Sargent reports.
Ana Marie Cox: “An ‘air of inevitability’ should be a good thing, right? It’s in the superhero toolbox, right next to the cloak of invisibility and hammer of invincibility. So why do journalists treat it like kryptonite?”
Rudy Giuliani: “Obviously, I cannot read President Obama’s mind or heart, and to the extent that my words suggested otherwise, it was not my intention. When asked last week whether I thought the president was a patriot, I said I did, and would repeat that. I bear him no ill will, and in fact think that his personal journey is inspiring and a testament to much of what makes this country great.”
“I hope and pray that President Obama can rise to the occasion and underscore America’s greatness as our history and values merit. If he does so, I will be the first to applaud him. But I can only be disheartened when I hear him claim, as he did last August, that our response to 9/11 betrayed the ideals of this country.”
Meanwhile, the Washington Post gives Giuliani four Pinocchios for false claims about Obama.
Washington Post: “As she readies her second presidential campaign, Clinton has recruited consumer marketing specialists onto her team of trusted political advisers. Their job is to help imagine Hillary 5.0 — the rebranding of a first lady turned senator turned failed presidential candidate turned secretary of state turned likely 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.”
“Clinton and her image-makers are sketching ways to refresh the well-established brand for tomorrow’s marketplace. In their mission to present voters with a winning picture of the likely candidate, no detail is too big or too small — from her economic opportunity agenda to the design of the ‘H’ in her future campaign logo.”
The Washington Post looks at Columba Bush’s fondness for shopping.
“Jeb Bush’s political team insisted that her tastes and shopping habits should not be an issue…That kind of spending, though well within his means, may present a challenge for Jeb Bush as he prepares for a presidential run with a message that the playing field between rich and poor is not fair or level.”
“While spouses are not on the ballot, they too find their lifestyles the focus of curiosity — and, frequently, partisan attack. Americans view a candidate’s family as an indicator of how closely connected he or she is to average people.”
Tampa Bay Times: “As Bush transitions from ex-politician — capitalizing on his smarts, vast connections and door-opening name to grow rich through speeches, consulting deals and direct investments — to presidential candidate, his enthusiasm for fracking stands to be one of his biggest potential conflicts of interests, and one of the toughest from which to extricate himself.”
“Lawmakers will begin returning to Washington on Monday with only five days left to prevent a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security,” The Hill reports.
“Legislation funding the agency is at an impasse over provisions demanded by House Republicans that would overturn President Obama’s executive actions on immigration shielding millions from deportation.”
“Over the recess, both sides dug in, with many Republicans arguing that there is no reason for their party to bend now that a federal court has ruled in their favor by blocking Obama’s most recent actions.”
Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Biden has taken no overt steps toward building a national campaign machinery, and few people expect him to run. Nonetheless, Mr. Biden in recent weeks has fanned the will-he-or-won’t-he conversation by suggesting that he’s still considering a bid and by scheduling trips to three states that hold the earliest presidential nominating contests.”
H”is recent travels to Iowa and South Carolina—as well as a planned Wednesday excursion to New Hampshire—have been official White House business to promote the administration’s agenda. But inevitably, talk turns to the presidential campaign in private conversations. Mr. Biden doesn’t seem to mind, fellow Democrats say, but he remains consistently noncommittal.”
“It was a memorable political ad: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an ‘agonizing’ decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves ‘the final decision to a woman and her doctor,'” the New York Times reports.
“That language was gone when Mr. Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended the meeting. There, he highlighted his early support for a ‘personhood amendment,’ which defines life as beginning at conception and would effectively prohibit all abortions and some methods of birth control.”
“The fledgling GOP-controlled Congress returns to the Capitol just days before its first major fiscal deadline as a battle over President Obama’s immigration policies has set up a showdown on whether to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Set to expire Friday, the agency’s funding has been tied up by Republican leaders angered over President Obama’s executive actions that shielded millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. GOP leaders haven’t yet signaled how they plan to resolve the weekslong impasse, which already has spotlighted divisions between House and Senate Republicans that could intensify and escalate in the next few days.”
Politico: Homeland Security fight goes into crunch time
“The anti-union law passed here four years ago, which made Gov. Scott Walker a national Republican star and a possible presidential candidate, has turned out to be even more transformative than many had predicted,” the Washington Post reports.
“Walker had vowed that union power would shrink, workers would be judged on their merits, and local governments would save money. Unions had warned that workers would lose benefits and be forced to take on second jobs or find new careers.”
“Many of those changes came to pass, but the once-thriving public-sector unions were not just shrunken — they were crippled.”
Rudy Giuliani doubled down on his claims that President Obama doesn’t “love America” in an interview with the New York Post — “claiming the commander-in-chief has been influenced by communists since his youth.”
Said Giuliani: “From the time he was 9 years old, he was influenced by Frank Marshall Davis, who was a communist.”
“Giuliani also said another bad influence on Obama was Saul Alinsky, a community organizer whom the ex-mayor called a ‘socialist.'”
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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