A new Pew Research poll finds that 52% of Americans don’t see President Obama as black but instead consider him mixed-race.
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Clinton Struggles to Define Her Legacy
Hillary Clinton “played an energetic role in virtually every foreign policy issue of President Obama’s first term, advocating generally hawkish views internally while using her celebrity to try to restore America’s global standing after the hit it took during the George W. Bush administration,” the New York Times reports.
“But her halting answer suggests a problem that Mrs. Clinton could confront as she recounts her record in Mr. Obama’s cabinet before a possible run for president in 2016: Much of what she labored over so conscientiously is either unfinished business or has gone awry in his second term.”
GOP Lawmaker Warns Colleagues on Immigration
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) told the Washington Post that President Obama would use executive action on immigration if Congress does not come up with a proposal by the August recess.
Said Diaz-Balart: “I’m convinced that if we don’t get it done by the August break, the president, who is feeling a lot of pressure from having not done anything on immigration reform, will feel that he has to act through executive action.”
However, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) “made it clear Wednesday that the legislation is as dead as ever in the House,” the Huffington Post reports.
Edwards Returns to Law
John Edwards “has returned to the courtroom to help represent a 4-year-old Virginia boy in a medical malpractice case,” the AP reports.
“In 2012, Edwards faced six felony charges in a case involving nearly $1 million provided by two wealthy political donors to help hide his pregnant mistress Rielle Hunter as he sought the White House in 2008. A jury acquitted Edwards on one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions and deadlocked on the remaining five.”
Republican Field is Wide Open
Al Hunt: “If you want to wager on who the 2016 Republican nominee will be and have only one choice, the best bet may be former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. However, the odds overwhelmingly suggest the former governor won’t win the nomination — assuming he even runs.”
“This underscores, more than any other time in memory, how unformed the contest for the Republican nomination is… The lack of any clear consensus in the party emerges after talking to several political wise men — none of them have committed to any of the potential 2016 candidates.”
An Opening to More Corruption
Norm Ornstein: “Thanks to McCutcheon, only quid pro quo corruption is sufficient to trigger any restrictions on campaign contributions–meaning, direct bribery of the Abscam or American Hustle variety, presumably captured on videotape for the world to see. The appearance of corruption? Forget about it. Restrictions on elected officials soliciting big money? Forget about them, too.”
“To anyone who has actually been around the lawmaking process or the political process more generally, this is mind-boggling. It makes legal what has for generations been illegal or at least immoral. It returns lawmaking to the kind of favor-trading bazaar that was common in the Gilded Age.”
Conversation with Skip Rutherford
Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, joins us on the Political Wire podcast for a fascinating discussion of Arkansas politics.
Listen here:
Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS to get episodes automatically downloaded.
Special thanks to Harry’s for sponsoring the show. They’re disrupting the shaving industry and highly recommended. Check them out and use promo code POLITICALWIRE for $5 off your first order.
Warren’s Book Out Next Week
The Boston Globe got an advance copy of A Fighting Chance by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and notes “the campaign-style book undoubtedly will stoke more calls for the Democratic Massachusetts senator, who won her Senate seat in 2012, to mount a 2016 presidential campaign. Warren has insisted she will not run for president in the next election, but even so the book and her heavy promotional tour will keep her in the national spotlight.”
“Unlike the former Harvard law professor’s previous books, which focused heavily on policy prescriptions and economic studies, this one is penned in a folksy style and contains extensive biographical sections and family photos, along with colorful stories from her battles over financial regulations in Washington.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“He was always nice and friendly and respectful of elder people, you know, he respected his elders greatly. As long as they were the same color as him.”
— Marionville, Missouri Mayor Dan Clevenger, quoted by KSPR, on the white supremacist accused of killing three people at a Jewish community center.
Could Sebelius Win in Kansas?
Harry Enten is doubtul that Kathleen Sebelius (D) could win the Senate race in Kansas she’s reportedly weighing.
“The last time a Democrat was elected to the Senate from Kansas was 1932. That’s not only the longest drought for the party, it’s by far the longest winless streak. (The next longest drought for Democrats is in Wyoming, where they haven’t won a Senate seat since 1970.) Democrats have lost 29 consecutive Senate races in Kansas, and they just don’t win federal statewide races. Since 1940, Lyndon Johnson, in 1964, was the only Democratic presidential nominee to win in the Sunflower State.”
Graham’s Approval Rate Still Negative
A new Winthrop poll in South Carolina finds Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) still upside down, 40% to 44%, despite months of television ads from his re-election campaign.
Law Firm Leading Internal Christie Probe Donated $10K
“Nine days before a team of its top lawyers made public a report clearing Governor Christie in the George Washington Bridge scandal, the law firm donated $10,000 to the Republican Governors Association, a group he heads,” the Bergen Record reports.
Jeb Bush’s Wife Key to 2016 Decision
“Republican donors and operatives are chattering about Bush’s publicity-shy wife, so worried she isn’t on board with a 2016 White House run that they’re urging people in the family’s orbit to make the case,” Politico reports.
“Columba Bush has long been deeply averse to the spotlight, especially after an embarrassing encounter with U.S. Customs while her husband was still in office. Donors also wonder whether Bush is willing to subject his family and their personal lives to the inevitable scrutiny that comes with a national campaign. Two of his children have been in the news in past years for arrests linked to drug problems and public intoxication.”
Outside Spending on Record Pace
Morning Line: “Federal campaign finance reports were (in theory) due at midnight for the first quarter of 2014, and we’re going to be looking at a few different angles on money in this election. First, what’s available comprehensively is outside spending (because it’s updated more regularly). So far, outside groups have spent $56 million, outpacing every other midterm election to this point and more than doubling 2010 spending (which was $23 million at this point), the previous record year for midterms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, outside spending has already outpaced every PRESIDENTIAL election except 2012.”
Sebelius Weighs Senate Bid
Kathleen Sebelius (D) is considering running against Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), who called on her to resign after the bungled launch of Obamacare last fall, the New York Times reports.
“Several Democrats said this week that Ms. Sebelius had been mentioned with growing frequency as someone who could wage a serious challenge to Mr. Roberts, 77, who is running for a fourth term and is considered vulnerable. One person who spoke directly to Ms. Sebelius said that she was thinking about it, but added that it was too soon to say how seriously she was taking the idea.”
The Downside of Pay Equality?
Wonk Wire: Phyllis Schlafly says women won’t find husbands if paid the same as men.
The Martinez Tapes
Mother Jones published previously unreleased audio recordings, text messages and emails which reveal a side of New Mexico Gov. Susanna Martinez (R) the public “has rarely, if ever, seen.”
“In private, Martinez can be nasty, juvenile, and vindictive. She appears ignorant about basic policy issues and has surrounded herself with a clique of advisers who are prone to a foxhole mentality.”
Top Bush Official Advised Obama on Gay Marriage
The New York Times has a must-read look at how President Obama reversed his position on same-sex marriage.
“David Plouffe, a mastermind of the 2008 victory and a senior adviser to the president, reached out to Ken Mehlman for advice. The previous year, Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who engineered President George W. Bush’s re-election, came out as gay and began working with the foundation Griffin set up to fund the Proposition 8 lawsuit, attracting well-known G.O.P. donors, strategists and officials to the cause. Mehlman had already met with Obama over lunch at the White House and told him that people voted for him in 2008 because they viewed him as an idealist who would put politics aside and do what was right. Endorsing same-sex marriage would remind voters that he was still that man.”
“Mehlman sent Plouffe an email suggesting that the president announce his support for same-sex marriage in a TV interview with a female host. He also laid out specific language for Obama to use. Explain that this was a family decision and not a political one, he advised.”
