Marc Ambinder reports that a Super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton has already formed.

“ReadyForHillary aims to have its ducks in a row should Clinton decide
to press go on a 2016 bid. It will serve as a virtual gathering place
for supporters and donors. When prominent Democrats like Donna Brazile
offer their endorsements — like Brazile did today in a tweet — the
organization, which already claims close to 50,000 Twitter followers,
will document them and push them out to the world.”

A new Roanoke College poll in Virginia shows Ken Cuccinelli (R) topping Terry McAuliffe (D) in this year’s gubernatorial race, 33% to 26%.

In a three way race, Cuccinelli leads with 25%, followed by McAuliffe at 19% and Bill Bolling (I) at 12%.

Josh Green reports that a team of top Obama donors decided to surprise Hillary Clinton — “and thank her for her loyal service” — by raising enough money to pay off her 2008 campaign bills.

“The challenge was tougher than it may appear, since it required a particular kind of donor. In order not to run afoul of campaign finance laws, the Obama team had to find people who had not already given Clinton the 2008 maximum primary donation of $2,300 or maxed out their total federal candidate donations during the 2012 cycle ($46,200). And of course, those people also had to be warmly disposed toward Clinton and still have plenty of free cash on hand.”

“In the end, it took the checkbooks of about 120 people and several months to retire the debt… And as it turned out, the Obama folks substantially overshot the mark. Clinton’s campaign, which has not yet formally been shut down, now shows a surplus of about $205,000.”

The Cloakroom: 5 moments when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton weren’t so friendly.

Former Clinton chief of staff Mack McLarty told CNN that despite President Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s strong working relationship, the president would likely refrain from making an endorsement in the early stages of the 2016 race.

Said McLarty: “He probably stays neutral, certainly during the primaries. I think that’s been the standard for any sitting president. And look, it’s a long time. Four years is a long time.”

Richard Benedetto: “When an irate House Speaker John Boehner declared last week that President Obama was out to ‘annihilate‘ the Republican Party, he was exaggerating, or at least engaging in a bit of hyperbole. Obama is not out to destroy the Republican Party, just severely cripple it, and thereafter to cement his legacy in the final two years of his presidency.”

“What upset Boehner and many of his Republican colleagues is that they have finally recognized what Obama’s second inaugural address really was: the first speech of the 2014 congressional campaign.”

“That has them in a panic. It is now obvious to Republicans that Obama has no intention of becoming a lame duck president at the end of his second term. He’s seems willing to bide his time and push for a more-friendly Congress.”

The Cloakroom: 3 tensions that are breaking apart the Republican party.

“It looks like he’s running for president. He said he wasn’t going to raise taxes, and then he did, which probably helps you in a Democratic primary by saying, ‘See? I can lie to voters, vote for me!’ But I don’t know that it helps nationally.”

— Grover Norquist, quoted by the Albany Times Union, on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

Politico reports tea party activists “looking to oust Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a GOP primary may get some help from an unlikely source: Democrats.”

“Big Democratic donors, local liberal activists and a left-leaning super PAC in Kentucky are telling tea partiers that they are poised to throw financial and organizational support behind a right-wing candidate should one try to defeat the powerful GOP leader in a 2014 primary fight.”