Mitt Romney placed a phone call to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), “a sign he is attempting to recapture his support before launching another bid,” National Journal reports.
Said Romney: “He told me he is seriously considering it, and we discussed issues and friendships and things like that. We had a long conversation. We are very good friends.”
“I need to first apologize to all those offended by my tweet. It was not my intention to trivialize the Holocaust nor to compare the President to Adolf Hitler.”
— Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), quoted by The Hill.
Mitt Romney is now telling former supporters “that he came very close in the last election against an incumbent president with a good economy. He wouldn’t face an opponent with those kinds of advantages again,” according to Slate.
“Romney ran against Obama arguing that the economy was terrible; now its health in 2012 is part of the case why he should run again.”
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A new Fairleigh Dickinson poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie’s approval rating has slumped to a lackluster 39% with his disapproval rating at 47%.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “has now rejected a 2016 presidential campaign in both the present and future tenses,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Massachusetts Democrat has for months gently patted away questions about her presidential ambitions with a present-tense ‘I am not running for president.’ But in an interview published Tuesday in Fortune magazine, Ms. Warren gave a categorical response to the future-tense question: “Are you going to run for president?”
“No,” Ms. Warren responded.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) “must report to prison on Feb. 9 after a federal judge today turned down his request to remain free on bond while he appeals his 11 corruption convictions,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
A new Gravis Marketing poll in Iowa finds Mitt Romney leads Republican presidential field with 21%, followed by Jeb Bush at 14%, Scott Walker at 10%, Mike Huckabee at 9%, Rand Paul at 8% and Ted Cruz at 7%.
Rick Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2012, was not included in the poll.
“Six years before he spoke to a white supremacist group, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) voted as a state lawmaker against a resolution apologizing for slavery,” The Hill reports.
A 1996 article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune says that Scalise later backed a watered-down version that expressed “regret” for slavery. But the article identifies him as one of two lawmakers who tried to kill the original resolution, which apologized to African Americans for the state’s role “in the establishment and maintenance of the institution of slavery.”
Jonathan Chait: “Eight years ago, John Kerry briefly considered another run for president, after also having failed to oust an incumbent despised by his own party’s base and mistaking the outpouring of commitment on his behalf as an expression of personal loyalty, rather than the partisan loyalty it actually was. Soon enough, Kerry came to his senses. Romney will, too.”
“I’ll tell you what, if you guys need any tips on winning back-to-back, you know where to find me.”
— President Obama, quoted by the Texas Tribune, meeting with the 2014 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.
The New York Observer has learned that Gov. Chris Christie “has landed a highly coveted name to be its finance chairman for a 2016 campaign that is quickly taking shape. As soon as the end of this week, Mr. Christie will announce that Dallas investor Ray Washburne will be its new finance chair, tasked with raising the $80-100 million it is expected to cost to win the GOP nomination.”
First Read: “Well, history tends to suggest that a party fares pretty well after the opposing party has held on to the White House for eight years. The one modern exception, of course, was 1988, when George H.W. Bush succeeded Reagan. So it’s worth noting that Hillary Clinton’s probable candidacy isn’t intimidating Republicans — in fact, it appears to be the reverse. Then again, the more Republicans who run and spend millions upon millions in beating each other up is all POTENTIALLY good news for Clinton. Of course, the more crowded the GOP field gets could also entice a high-profile Democrat like Elizabeth Warren to get in.”
Morning Line: “It would upend the race. He leads in national GOP polls, but more importantly, Romney would start as the favorite in New Hampshire. The winner of the New Hampshire primary on the Republican side has gone on to the be the party’s nominee in nine of the last 11 presidential elections. Notably, that includes all of the last three cycles. Romney would also threaten former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and move New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie down a notch for the establishment track, setting up the potential for a protracted nomination fight between a couple of establishment candidates, the most viable harder-line conservative and possibly Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). Of course, Romney came within 34 caucus votes of winning Iowa. And if conservatives split like they did last time, a Romney Iowa and New Hampshire sweep is possible.”
First Read: “And don’t forget this about Romney: Before his presidential aspirations, he had really never failed at anything before. That could be driving him more than anything else. “
Former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden “didn’t waste time finding a job,” the Wilmington News Journal reports.
“Biden, who left office last week ahead of a planned campaign for governor in 2016, will work as a lawyer at Grant & Eisenhofer, the law firm run by Stuart Grant, a prominent Democratic donor and plaintiffs’ lawyer who represents institutional investors in Delaware Chancery Court.”
“There are some who believe that the path to Republican victory is to run to the mushy middle, is to blur distinctions. I think recent history has shown us that’s not a path to success.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on Mitt Romney flirting with another presidential bid.
In his first official act as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller “granted full amnesty to cupcakes. Cakes, pies, and brownies made the list, too,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“Miller was seeking to reassure Texas parents that it’s legal to bring cupcakes and other treats to school — and that he’ll protect that right.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said that he is considering running against Sen. Angus King (I-ME) in 2018, the Portland Press Herald reports.
The White House admitted that “it should have sent a higher-profile official to a Paris rally where 1.5 million people marched in a show of unity against terrorism,” the Washington Post reports.
“The White House cited security concerns and the fact that the rally came together quickly, in about 36 hours.”
However, a Secret Service official “said the agency was not asked or notified about a potential trip to Paris.”
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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