Former President Bill Clinton will start campaigning for Hillary Clinton in January, she told supporters at a party after the third Democratic presidential debate, Bloomberg reports.
Said Mrs. Clinton: “Starting in January, I’ll have my not-so-secret weapon.”
“Thank you, good night and may the force be with you.”
— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, at last night’s Democratic presidential debate.
Hillary Clinton “largely looked past her Democratic rivals in Saturday night’s debate, instead repeatedly assailing the Republican field, led by Donald Trump,” the New York Times reports.
“Deflecting persistent attacks from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland over gun control, Wall Street and foreign military entanglements, she accused Mr. Trump of undermining the fight against terrorism.”
Wall Street Journal: “Clinton reserved her sharpest criticism for the Republican candidates she might face in a general election next fall, notably front-runner Donald Trump. She mentioned Mr. Trump repeatedly in the two-hour debate and accused him of stirring up anti-U. S. sentiment in Muslim countries whose cooperation is needed to foil terrorist plots.”
Saturday Night Live opened with the Republican presidential debate.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders “put aside the hard feelings over his campaign’s breach of her voter data in the third Democratic presidential debate on Saturday night, opting to stick to the civil discourse that has marked the race,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Sanders explained what he knew about the data breach and offered an apology to Mrs. Clinton and to his supporters for letting them down… Mrs. Clinton said that she accepted the apology and that she also wanted to move forward.”
Politico: “The kind words came after a nasty hurling of accusations among the Sanders campaign, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee… But on Saturday night the Democratic candidates seemed eager to unite the party, painting Republicans as out of touch and dangerous.”
Bernie Sanders “has seen an uptick in fundraising, bringing in more than $1 million on Friday alone, amid his campaign’s dust-up with the Democratic National Committee,” the Washington Post reports.
“The campaign said it did not send out any solicitations Friday directly asking for money, although an email was blasted to supporters urging them to sign a petition protesting the DNC’s punishment. That email contained a ‘donate’ button at the bottom that allowed supporters to make contributions.”
“Donald Trump is a jerk.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by the New York Times.
Donald Trump said that anyone who criticizes the warm compliments he has swapped with Russian President Vladimir Putin is simply “jealous as hell,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “You know, he feels good about me. I feel, frankly, good about him. I think that we can do things with Russia that are to our advantage… It’s a mutual advantage. Now, they’re jealous as hell because he’s not mentioning these people. He’s not going to mention them, so they’re jealous as hell.”
“Sanders will come out swinging. Clinton will punch back, maybe harder. That much is clear,” Politico reports.
“The underdog’s aides are open about the fact that Sanders sees his brawl — and lawsuit in federal court — with the DNC as an opportunity to fire up his loyal backers and to persuade any liberals who are still uncertain about Clinton. The front-runner has the DNC’s leadership — including chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz — in her pocket, Sanders will say, and their relationship endangers the integrity of the party.”
“Clinton, meanwhile, won’t shy from the fight: her allies are saying that the data stolen by Sanders staffers was worth millions of dollars, and members of her political team were genuinely shaken by the revelation on Friday. Look for the former secretary of state — backed by almost the entire Democratic establishment — to lay into Sanders and what her staff sees as his dishonesty, and his campaign’s theft. His team went way too far, she will likely say, and now the senator is trying to distract from that.”
“I’m sorry, there is no one on the balcony, and there’s no one throwing bottles off the balcony. And if they were, it was about six hours ago.”
— New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R), on a phone call after police were called to her hotel room.
Washington Post: “It is a habit with Rubio, a candidate aiming at moderate and conservative voters who often seems to advocate two positions at once. He tells voters that he has a personal view on the subject — whether abortion, immigration, Syrian refugees or gay marriage. But he also has a view of what is politically possible. Which, usually, is not what he personally wants.”
“That tactic allows Rubio to offer two right answers to the same question, and lets him carve out wiggle room on topics where none seemed possible.”
“In a shift of strategy hours before the third Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton’s campaign went for Bernie Sanders’ jugular, accusing his team of stealing valuable campaign data, misrepresenting what happened and inflicting ‘damage here that cannot be undone,'” Politico reports.
“The offensive came after the Sanders camp admitted its staffers reviewed, searched and saved data from Clinton’s voter file made accessible briefly Wednesday because of a data breach — and it represented a complete shift of tone in the Democratic race where the hits have remained impersonal and focused on the issues.”
The Hill: Democratic rivalry takes a nasty turn.
A trust linked to former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) has purchased a house for Rielle Hunter, the mistress whose discovery helped bring down his political career, according to Gossip Extra.
Public records show that the house in Florida is owned by a trust that has a mailing address in Edwards’ law office in Raleigh, North Carolina.
A new Fox News poll finds Donald Trump leading the GOP field nationally with 39% — up 10 points since last month — followed by Ted Cruz at 18%, Marco Rubio at 11% and Ben Carson at 9%. All other candidates are at 3% or less.
A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Trump at 34%, Cruz at 18%, Rubio at 13%, Bush at 7%, Carson at 6% and Christie at 5%.
“Donald Trump is like that stray dog anybody can pet and it will follow you home. Putin praises him so he loves Putin. It’s embarrassing and sad. He’s a seriously damaged individual who is deeply insecure and needs attention and praise and the source doesn’t matter.”
— GOP strategist Stuart Stevens, quoted by Politico.
New York Times: “As attendees packed a reception hall in Minnesota on the first night of Senator Ted Cruz’s seven-day, 12-city tour, they were greeted by an uncommon supporter: a costumed Santa Claus, posing with children and more than a few adults beside a fireplace.”
“But the campaign’s aim was not exclusively festive. To retrieve photos taken with the Santa, visitors were handed cards directing them to Mr. Cruz’s website, where they were asked to provide their names, email addresses and ZIP codes.”
New York Times: “Translating a personality-driven campaign to the voting booth is no easy feat, especially for a candidate who has never run before. But here in the state with the first nominating contest, about six weeks away, Mr. Trump has put off the nuts and bolts of organizing. A loss in Iowa for Mr. Trump, where he has devoted the most resources of his campaign, could imperil his leads in the next two nominating states, New Hampshire and South Carolina, where his get-out-the-vote organizations are even less robust.”
“A successful ground game is crucial in Iowa because of the state’s complicated method of caucus voting, but the Trump campaign has fallen behind some of its own benchmarks.”
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.