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Hillary Clinton said that she hasn’t driven a car since 1996, TPM reports.
Said Clinton: “I have to confess that one of the regrets I have about my public life is that I can’t drive anymore. My husband thinks that’s a blessing, but he’s the one who should talk. Last time I actually drove a car myself was 1996, and I remember it very well. Unfortunately so does the Secret Service, which is why I haven’t driven since then.”
Wonk Wire notes most Americans don’t know the date they have to have health insurance.
A new Marquette Law School Poll in Wisconsin finds Gov. Scott Walker (R) leading Democratic candidate Mary Burke (D), 47% to 41%. The poll also finds that most voters think the state is headed in the right direction and believe the state budget to be in better shape than a few years ago.
Some great clicks over at Wonk Wire:
A new Pew Research poll shows Americans perceive Democrats as more willing to work with the other party than Republicans, by a margin of 52% to 27%.
“Democrats also hold a 20-point advantage when it comes to which party ‘is more concerned with the needs of people like me’ and a 10-point edge when it comes to governing in a more ethical and honest way. The GOP, meanwhile, is viewed as much more ‘extreme’ in its issue positions (54% to 35%) and more influenced by lobbyists (47% to 30%).”
A new Pew Research poll finds that for the first time since President Obama took office in 2009, deficit reduction has slipped as a policy priority among the public.
Overall, 63% say reducing the budget deficit should be a top priority for Congress and the president this year, down from 72% a year ago. Most of the decline has come among Democrats: Only about half of Democrats – 49% – view deficit reduction as a top priority, down 18 points since last January.
Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) will resign from Congress today, Politico reports.
“Radel was caught buying cocaine in November from an undercover federal agent in Washington and spent nearly a month in a rehabilitation facility.”
“He had determined that I had to die, that I was an evil man, and that
he had to execute me and then he’d go straight to heaven.”
— Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D), on 60 Minutes, recounting how his son attacked him before committing suicide.
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) will stand trial today on corruption charges, “barring any last-minute plea deal,” the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
“Federal prosecutors charged Nagin in January 2013 with 21 counts of bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy, stemming from misdeeds they say go back to 2004. He could get more than 20 years in prison if prosecutors can prove he broke the law for a meager bounty of $300,000, a truckload or two of granite, a ride in a limousine and a few trips on a private jet.”
President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night “will seek to shift the public’s souring view of his leadership, a challenge the White House sees as critical to shaping the nation’s policy direction over the next three years,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mr. Obama will emphasize his intention to use unilateral presidential authority–bypassing Congress when necessary–to an extent not seen in his previous State of the Union speeches, White House officials said.”
Wonk Wire: How policy is made in the State of the Union address.
Los Angeles Times: “Beleaguered and outnumbered, California Republicans think they may have found a crucial ally — drought.”
“Up and down the state’s increasingly dry Central Valley, Republicans have pounded away at the argument that Democratic policies — particularly environmental rules — are to blame for the parched fields and dwindling reservoirs that threaten to bankrupt farms and wipe out jobs.”
Washington Post: “In the annals of Iowa politics, there may be no precedent for what happened at a downtown brewery here this weekend: Two years out from the state’s next caucuses, Democrats of all stripes began building a presidential campaign without a candidate.”
“Hillary Rodham Clinton is not officially running for anything. But here in the first-in-the-nation caucus state that bedeviled her in 2008, Democrats are busy laying the groundwork for what they see as Clinton’s near-certain 2016 presidential campaign.”
Ruby Cramer: “But despite a sense of excitement over the specter of Hillary Clinton’s could-be campaign, the meetings revealed a tension between what an early primary state like Iowa wants and what a group like Ready Hillary can actually offer.”
New York Times: “With the 2014 political landscape becoming more defined, it is increasingly likely that the midterm elections in November will maintain divided government in the capital for the final two years of President Obama’s second term, with the chief unknown being exactly how divided it will be.”
“A review of competitive congressional contests suggests that, at the moment, Republicans will hold on to the House, though Democrats could defy midterm history and gain a few seats. Senate Democrats, at the same time, are defending unfavorable terrain and will almost certainly see their majority narrowed. They are at risk of losing it altogether, an outcome that would leave Capitol Hill entirely in Republican control for the conclusion of Mr. Obama’s presidency.”
New York Times: “The protocol is staid and formulaic. The president addresses Congress on the State of the Union, then the opposition party’s designee follows with a reply. The choreography is tight, predictable and usually forgettable.”
“Not this year. The response, a once careful attempt at stagecraft fashioned under the close watch of party chiefs to be as uniform and on message as possible, has given way to political free agency.”
“The shift speaks volumes about politics today: the value placed on the individual brand over the larger organization, and the way social media and technology have torn down barriers to fame and influence.”
Gallup: “Overall, Americans are as likely to be positive (39%) about the current state of the country as they are to be negative (40%). However, the gap between whites’ and nonwhites’ views of where the country stands is wider than at any point in recent history, with nonwhites now almost twice as likely as whites to view the nation’s situation positively.”
For the latest episode of the Political Wire podcast, we spoke to speechwriters for the last three presidents — Jon Favreau, David Frum and Michael Waldman — about what it takes to put together the president’s biggest speech of the year.
They gave us some amazing insights.
Listen here:
Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS to get episodes automatically downloaded.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested that “the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal should give Americans pause when it comes to evaluating the Clinton legacy — and, by extension, Hillary Clinton’s potential presidential campaign,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Paul: “One of the workplace laws and rules that I think are good is that bosses shouldn’t prey on young interns in their office. And I think really the media seems to have given President Clinton a pass on this. He took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. There is no excuse for that, and it is predatory behavior.”
He noted that “sometimes it’s hard to separate” Bill and Hillary Clinton and then added, “And then they have the gall to stand up and say Republicans are having a war on women? So yes, I think it’s a factor. It’s not Hillary’s fault, but it is a factor in judging Bill Clinton and history.”
“I think for the president to ask for a clean debt ceiling, when we have a
debt the size of our economy, is irresponsible. So we ought to discuss adding something to his request to raise the
debt ceiling that does something about the debt or produces at least
something positive for our country.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnnell (R-KY), quoted by National Journal.
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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