​Correct The Record Friday February 6, 2015 Morning Roundup

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*​**Correct The Record Friday February 6, 2015 Morning Roundup:* *Headlines:* *Cleveland.com opinion: Rep. Tim Ryan: “Ohio has always been Clinton Country” <http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/ohio_has_always_been_clinton_c.html>* “I believe that Hillary would be the best person to continue the fight and to strongly and boldly lead Ohio and our country forward.” *National Journal: Charlie Cook: “The Front-Runner’s Peril” <http://www.nationaljournal.com/the-cook-report/the-front-runner-s-peril-20150206>* “Clinton looks awfully strong for the Democratic nomination, and for good reason. We will see if it is true that politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum.” *Washington Post blog: The Fix: “Are men afraid to run against Hillary Clinton BECAUSE she’s a woman?” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/05/are-men-afraid-to-run-against-hillary-clinton-because-shes-a-woman/>* “Clinton, like her or not, has done what many countless men have done before her. She has plotted a course to the White House, clearing a path not because of her gender, but because of her strength and her power. To suggest otherwise is to deny her proper credit and gives too much to those who haven't ‘manned up.’” *Mediaite: “Jon Stewart Mocks Dems ‘Scared’ of Daring to Challenge Hillary” <http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-mocks-dems-scared-of-daring-to-challenge-hillary/>* “Jon Stewart tonight broke down the 2016 ‘invisible primary’ and laughed at how Democrats are so utterly “scared” of daring to challenge Hillary Clinton.” *Washington Post: “Rules for Benghazi panel fuel Democrats’ suspicion of political motive” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/rules-for-benghazi-panel-fuel-democrats-suspicion-of-political-motive/2015/02/05/5524c372-ad67-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html>* “A congressional investigation of the 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, is operating outside rules that require other House committees to disclose publicly how much money they spend and the issues they intend to pursue, according to Democrats on the panel.” *New York Times: First Draft: “Mandy Grunwald to Join Clinton Team” <http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/05/mandy-grunwald-to-join-clinton-team/?_r=0>* “The move to bring Ms. Grunwald onto the nascent campaign also underscores how unlikely it is that Ms. Warren will run for president.” *Bloomberg: “Can Jennnifer Palmieri Keep Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign On Message?” <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-06/can-jennnifer-palmieri-keep-hillary-clinton-s-presidential-campaign-on-message->* [Subtitle:] “Battle-hardened during the John Edwards scandal, mind-melded with presumptive Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, trusted by the media, the Obama press aide sends a message about Hillary's reset.” *Articles:* *Cleveland.com opinion: Rep. Tim Ryan: “Ohio has always been Clinton Country” <http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/ohio_has_always_been_clinton_c.html>* By Rep. Tim Ryan February 6, 2015, 4:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton understands our working class values, and that Ohio is a state that is deeply proud of its work ethic and history of innovation. We vote for candidates who understand our principles and believe in our future. In the next few years, we must continue to focus on creating good-paying jobs and building economic opportunity for every citizen. To help make this goal a reality, I'm joining millions of Democrats across Ohio in my excitement for a potential Hillary Clinton candidacy and the values she represents. She knows that when you support middle class workers and families, you help strengthen the economy and give our citizens the chance to succeed. Secretary Clinton has the experience and leadership on the issues that matter most to Ohioans. In Arkansas, she expanded childhood education throughout the state. As First Lady, Hillary worked to increase access to health care for every American. As a senator, she repeatedly fought to increase the minimum wage and extend unemployment benefits and job-retraining programs. As secretary of state, Hillary worked to strengthen our country's global standing and gained valuable experience that will help her eliminate unfair trade practices that could create thousands of jobs in Ohio alone. Most recently, through the Clinton Foundation, Hillary has developed initiatives to help children and low-income families. Simply put, Hillary understands the importance of investing in the fundamental building blocks that make America great. After all, being a leader is about assuring the safety of our citizens and creating an environment that enables our economy to grow and thrive. That is what I have spent more than a decade fighting for on behalf of Ohioans in Congress. I believe that one of the best ways to achieve this is by doubling down on our already strong manufacturing base, including old-line manufacturing and the newer field of advanced manufacturing. We must re-establish the United States of America as the world's leading innovator in manufacturing, and Ohio should lead the way. Youngstown is home to America Makes, the national additive manufacturing center and the number one ranked university incubator in the world. In Akron we have the Bits and Atoms Innovation Center, which gives entrepreneurs a creative space to build and develop new technologies. In Kent, a federal investment of $20 million led to over $120 million in other investments that have transformed their downtown. These types of ideas and innovations are happening in places like Youngstown, Kent and Akron largely thanks to the type of long-term vision and public-private partnerships that Secretary Clinton has spent a lifetime forging. Hillary Clinton has consistently been on the frontline of the battles to put more money in the pockets of middle-class workers, ensuring that all Americans have the means to support their families. I believe that Hillary would be the best person to continue the fight and to strongly and boldly lead Ohio and our country forward. *National Journal: Charlie Cook: “The Front-Runner’s Peril” <http://www.nationaljournal.com/the-cook-report/the-front-runner-s-peril-20150206>* By Charlie Cook February 6, 2015 While the fight for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination looks like it will be a wild roller-coaster ride, the Democratic contest, at least today, looks like a pretty boring affair. History suggests that in open presidential nomination contests, front-runners rarely go from the starting line to the finish without losing a few primaries or caucuses along the way. Usually the leader stumbles, or a protest vote develops somewhere in the process, or another candidate catches a bit of luck or sparks a bit of interest. Typically, an element of doubt creeps in at some point, even if the front-runner ultimately recovers and wins the nomination. But more so in some races than in others. In 2012, many of us assumed early on that Mitt Romney would win the GOP nomination, and he of course ended up with it—but it turned out to be a pretty rocky trip. In the 2008 Democratic contest, Hillary Clinton started off as the front-runner. Barack Obama upset her in Iowa, but then she won in New Hampshire. Back and forth it went, with Obama coming out on top, but you could have driven from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Los Angeles without passing through a state where Obama won a primary or caucus. (Hint: It is a Southern route that goes through Arkansas.) Even while George W. Bush was rolling to the Republican nomination in 2000, he lost seven states to John McCain. Al Gore's 2000 coronation stands out as an exception to the rule that front-runners usually face setbacks in some states. So what about Clinton? Could she really lose somewhere to Sen. Bernie Sanders or to former Sen. Jim Webb? Sure, it's possible, but it takes a pretty fertile imagination to picture it right now without Clinton really face-planting somewhere. What about former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley? While folks in the Washington area, and certainly those in Maryland, know that he left office under less-than-auspicious circumstances (you sure can't blame former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown entirely for the Democrats' loss of the governorship in November), that might not hurt him much in a Democratic fight that is still a long way off. But H-Rod's people probably aren't losing a lot of sleep worrying about O'Malley. If there is any buzz at all on the Democratic side about a potential challenge to Clinton, it's around Sen. Elizabeth Warren, not O'Malley or anyone else. In a recent lunch conversation with 10 Democratic operatives, I heard more people name California Gov. Jerry Brown as a long-shot alternative to Clinton than mention O'Malley. Warren and her folks insist that she is not going to run in 2016, and I suspect that if you gave the Massachusetts Democrat a shot of Sodium Pentothal and wired her to a polygraph machine, the evidence would probably indicate that she's being forthright (though it would be interesting to see if there was any change in breathing, skin clamminess, or other indicators of stress). But at the same time, Warren is 65 years old, just two years younger than Clinton. If she ever wants to run for president, this might be her last shot, and there appears to be little love lost between the two women and their camps. Clinton will have to perform a delicate balancing act. She must sit far enough to the left to forestall a serious nomination challenge, but not so far that it would jeopardize winning the general election. Let's face it: Hillary Clinton is the least-liberal Democrat who can plausibly win the nomination in 2016. Indeed, if she is not the nominee, it probably will be someone to her left—and also to the left of President Obama, who is seen by the party's more ideological elements as having compromised too much. While the past two Democratic nomination fights, in 2004 and 2008, were not so much about ideology, if there is a contest in 2016, it very likely will have more such overtones. Clinton looks awfully strong for the Democratic nomination, and for good reason. We will see if it is true that politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum. *Washington Post blog: The Fix: “Are men afraid to run against Hillary Clinton BECAUSE she’s a woman?” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/05/are-men-afraid-to-run-against-hillary-clinton-because-shes-a-woman/>* By Nia-Malika Henderson February 5, 2015, 3:24 p.m. EST Hillary Clinton is on the glide path to the Democratic nomination, with few credible challengers stepping forward. And Ross Baker, a political scientist professor at Rutgers University, thinks he knows why. Clinton and the political "colossus" that is Nancy Pelosi are scaring away all the good male rivals, Nurse Ratched-style. They are "towering and intimidating figures, who have sucked the oxygen out of the spheres they dominate." He writes more in USA Today: “While the Democratic bench isn't as full as it has been, there is still no shortage of qualified male candidates who will probably not step forward in 2016. In the Senate there are potential hopefuls who could win the hearts of the very people who consider Clinton too middle-of-the-road: Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. There are well-regarded governors such as Jack Markell of Delaware and Andrew Cuomo of New York or former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. None of them has given the slightest hint that they might consider a run.” First off, if I was to make a list of who would mount a run for the White House if Clinton didn't, I'm not sure many of these people would make it (s0rry, Sen. Merkley). Which leads to this: If these candidates were so formidable, wouldn't they just run against Clinton? If they thought they could amass the millions and millions of dollars it would take to mount a run for the White House -- against Clinton or anyone else -- wouldn't they do it? She's a clear favorite, yes, but an open primary doesn't come around every four years. To Baker, it is Clinton's gender that is a big, big stop sign. He doesn't seem to see a failure on the part of any of these potential male candidates to do the years and years of work it requires to become a contender. Nope, all of them are just afraid to run against Clinton because she is a woman -- not because she has a much higher profile, much better presidential resume and political network. He calls this failure or fear of going "toe-to-toe with a powerful woman is, in the final analysis, a form of patronizing that ill-becomes a party that has stood so steadfastly for women." But haven't male Democrats run against women before, you might ask? Yes, they most certainly have. Like in 2008, for instance. That contest was rough and tumble early on, with none of the candidates shaking in their boots at the thought of challenging Clinton, who after all was a powerful woman back then, too. (Baker argues that Obama's race gave him a special angle. He was also a much better candidate and reshaped the electorate as a result, but never mind that). So what to make of Baker's argument, one that doesn't account for the fact that men dominate every single level of politics and nearly every other powerful industry you can think of? I have never thought of Clinton scaring away all the good men because of her gender. In fact, she is "scaring away" women candidates too: Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.). Clinton, like her or not, has done what many countless men have done before her. She has plotted a course to the White House, clearing a path not because of her gender, but because of her strength and her power. To suggest otherwise is to deny her proper credit and gives too much to those who haven't "manned up." *Mediaite: “Jon Stewart Mocks Dems ‘Scared’ of Daring to Challenge Hillary” <http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-mocks-dems-scared-of-daring-to-challenge-hillary/>* By Josh Feldman February 5, 2015, 11:27 p.m. EST Jon Stewart tonight broke down the 2016 “invisible primary” and laughed at how Democrats are so utterly “scared” of daring to challenge Hillary Clinton. Right now, he said, Clinton’s only running against “nobody” and “bupkis,” and “not a single Democrat wants to pursue the nomination on the off chance that Hillary may throw her hat in the ring.” But Stewart also had some jabs at Republicans, from Mitt Romney (“sometimes unwanted people do self-deport”) to Chris Christie (and his “comfort for corruption”) to Jeb Bush. Watch the video below, via Comedy Central: [VIDEO] *Washington Post: “Rules for Benghazi panel fuel Democrats’ suspicion of political motive” <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/rules-for-benghazi-panel-fuel-democrats-suspicion-of-political-motive/2015/02/05/5524c372-ad67-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html>* By Greg Miller February 5, 2015, 5:30 p.m. EST A congressional investigation of the 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, is operating outside rules that require other House committees to disclose publicly how much money they spend and the issues they intend to pursue, according to Democrats on the panel. The arrangement has added to suspicion among Democrats that the Republican-led committee — with no budget constraints or clear end-date — is politically motivated and aimed primarily at damaging a likely White House run by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time of the attacks in Libya. The House investigation of Benghazi “operates with no limit on its budget or timeframe,” according to a letter of protest submitted by Democrats to the House Administration Committee, which oversees the chamber’s other panels. The letter calls for a “public debate about the amount of additional time and money Congress plans to spend” investigating Benghazi, and for a public hearing before the House Administration committee, as is typically required of other panels. The Benghazi committee is on course to spend more than $3 million, exceeding the annual budgets of long-standing committees that oversee veterans affairs and other issues, according to the letter. The letter was signed by all five Democrats on the Benghazi panel, including Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking minority member. A spokesman for the Republican chairman of the Benghazi committee, Trey Gowdy (S.C.), declined to comment. Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Administration Committee, said in a written response that the issues being raised by Democrats could have been debated on the House floor, and described the Democrats' letter as "remarkably odd." The conflict reflects the extent to which political tensions persist more than two years after attacks by Islamist militants killed four Americans in eastern Libya, including the U.S. ambassador to the country at the time, J. Christopher Stevens. As many as eight previous investigations have rejected many of the most politically charged Benghazi allegations. A two-year inquiry by the House intelligence committee criticized a “flawed” process that led White House officials to make erroneous assertions about the nature of the Benghazi attack, and concluded that the State Department facility where Stevens was killed had been inadequately protected. But the committee found no evidence that interference from Washington undermined efforts to defend the besieged State compound or a nearby CIA facility, or that there was a politically motivated cover-up afterward. Despite those findings, House Republicans created a stand-alone panel last year to focus exclusively on Benghazi. The panel has held three hearings since its inception in May, and been beset by political skirmishes. Democrats have said that they were excluded from interviews that Republican members conducted with Benghazi witnesses, meetings that Democrats said they found out about only after Gowdy had mentioned them publicly. Both sides have voiced frustration over the committee’s pace. Gowdy has accused the Obama administration of being slow to turn over records, and recently vowed to “ratchet up” pressure on the executive branch. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), who serves on the panel and is also the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said during a recent hearing that the Benghazi inquiry has already taken longer than previous House probes — including a 2005 examination of the response to Hurricane Katrina — with no clear finish line. “This committee has such an indefinite scope, we don’t know exactly what we’re looking for,” Schiff said. The letter from Democrats said the funding mechanism for the Benghazi committee amounts to a “blank check,” bypassing rules that require other panels to outline their budgets and plans in public. *New York Times: First Draft: “Mandy Grunwald to Join Clinton Team” <http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/05/mandy-grunwald-to-join-clinton-team/?_r=0>* By Jonathan Martin February 5, 2015 5:41 p.m. EST Mandy Grunwald, an adviser to the Clintons for over two decades and a top strategist to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, is expected to serve as a senior adviser for communications to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s all-but-certain presidential bid. Ms. Grunwald will advise Mrs. Clinton on strategy and make some of the television ads along with Jim Margolis, whose firm, GMMB, is expected to take the lead on producing and buying the commercials. The pollster Joel Benenson is another senior adviser poised to work for Mrs. Clinton on her second White House run. Ms. Grunwald, an original member of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign team who also worked on Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 White House bid, represents a nod to continuity after a stream of recent stories about Mrs. Clinton’s plans to hire advisers close to her one-time rival for the White House, President Obama. Mrs. Clinton’s camp has put out word that she will look to Mr. Margolis, Mr. Benenson, Robby Mook, John D. Podesta and Jennifer Palmieri — each of whom has worked or now works for Mr. Obama — to build her campaign. (Some of them, it should be noted, also have ties to the Clintons.) The move to bring Ms. Grunwald onto the nascent campaign also underscores how unlikely it is that Ms. Warren will run for president. Ms. Grunwald produced Ms. Warren’s TV ads in her 2012 Senate campaign, and the two remain close; Ms. Grunwald hosted a book party last year to celebrate the release of Ms. Warren’s autobiography. The decision to tap Ms. Grunwald, as well as Ms. Palmieri as communications director, could also address questions about gender diversity in Mrs. Clinton’s still-developing campaign team. Mrs. Clinton has a number of women in her inner circle, including Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, but grumbles have been growing louder in recent weeks from some female Democratic operatives about the number of men who appear bound to take senior roles on Mrs. Clinton’s likely campaign. Ms. Grunwald counts a number of Democratic senators as her clients and is particularly close to several women in the Senate, including Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who was one of the only Democratic senators last year to fend off a Republican challenge. *Bloomberg: “Can Jennnifer Palmieri Keep Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign On Message?” <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-06/can-jennnifer-palmieri-keep-hillary-clinton-s-presidential-campaign-on-message->* By Margaret Talev February 6, 2015, 5:50 a.m. EST [Subtitle:] Battle-hardened during the John Edwards scandal, mind-melded with presumptive Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, trusted by the media, the Obama press aide sends a message about Hillary's reset. Among watchers of Barack Obama's presidency and Hillary Clinton's expected 2016 campaign launch, the coming departures of two top White House aides got lots of attention: senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, because he's been with Obama since before his 2008 win, and counselor John Podesta, because he's a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton whose move is all but proof of what everyone already assumed was true about Hillary's plans to run again. But a more telling figure in the second-term White House departure lounge may actually be Jennifer Palmieri, Obama's affable but battle-tested communications director. Palmieri is leaving this spring to become the communications director for what doesn't yet exist as but will become the Clinton 2016 campaign. Palmieri, 48, is viewed in the White House and national political press corps as accessible and an honest broker whose loyalty to politicians comes with expectations of professionalism and propriety by the candidate, but has its limits (see: John Edwards). Her hiring suggests that Clinton, a former first lady, U.S. senator, failed 2008 presidential candidate and secretary of state, either really is serious about wanting to reset her own infamously antagonistic relationship with the media or at least wants to send that signal. Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said Palmieri is "as formidable an opponent as I've ever come across in political campaigns" and is someone so organized that "everyone in Palmieri's line of sight will know exactly what the campaign plan is and what they need to do to execute." She also has the credentials, Madden said, to push back when she thinks the candidate or eager-to-please aides are making a mistake. "She knows her stuff," Madden said. "That's critical when you're the staffer that has to stare down the sycophants inside every campaign and offer the candidate unvarnished truths. It's important when you're developing the message and strategy privately and when you're executing it publicly." Palmieri declined to comment for the story. While Palmieri hasn't worked directly for Hillary Clinton before, the two women have gotten to know one another over the course of the last two decades because Palmieri worked for the Bill Clinton White House both terms and during a six-month transition period after he left office. She and Podesta also are close with a long history of working well, even between the Clinton and the Obama administrations. Podesta founded the Center for American Progress, where Palmieri, during her time there from 2005-2011, built a reputation among Democrats for her ability to stand up a progressive war room of sorts, with a communications operation of about 50 people. Obama pollster Joel Benenson and Jim Margolis, a media consultant who has advised the Obama campaign as well as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, are among the other cross-over advisers expected to join the Clinton effort. In the world of presidential runs, Palmieri was John Edwards' 2004 campaign press secretary and in a less formal capacity an adviser in 2008. Before Edwards' reputation was felled by an extramarital scandal and a trial, the 2004 vice presidential nominee was known for his "two Americas" speech in which he addressed the gulf between the wealthy and Americans living to paycheck to paycheck. With Obama and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren prodding for income inequality to be a rallying cry for Democrats in 2016, Hillary Clinton must consider how she wants to address the issue. Perhaps even more important for the Clintons is the value of Palmieri's experience with scandal. A large part of her battle-testing was during the extended drama surrounding Edwards' affair with videographer Rielle Hunter, his trial on charges related to allegations of illegal campaign contributions, and the death from cancer of his embattled wife Elizabeth Edwards, to whom Palmieri was a devoted friend. "There's an old saying in campaign world, you learn more from the losing ones than the winning ones and there's some truth in that," said Mike Feldman, a former top adviser to Vice President Al Gore. "You don't control all the variables." "If you're looking to establish trust and credibility from the beginning," he said of Palmieri, "you couldn't do any better." Democrat strategist Bill Burton, a former Obama spokesman, said Palmieri "is one of the greatest communicators in the Democratic Party and a huge get" for Clinton. "She will help to bridge the White House and the Clinton campaign in a way that few people could," and be "instrumental to Secretary Clinton's success." *Calendar:* *Sec. Clinton's upcoming appearances as reported online. Not an official schedule.* · February 24 – Santa Clara, CA: Sec. Clinton to Keynote Address at Inaugural Watermark Conference for Women (PR Newswire <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hillary-rodham-clinton-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-inaugural-watermark-conference-for-women-283200361.html> ) · March 3 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton honored by EMILY’s List (AP <http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268798/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=SUjRlg8K>) · March 4 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton to fundraise for the Clinton Foundation (WSJ <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/01/15/carole-king-hillary-clinton-live-top-tickets-100000/> ) · March 16 – New York, NY: Sec. Clinton to keynote Irish American Hall of Fame (NYT <https://twitter.com/amychozick/status/562349766731108352>) · March 19 – Atlantic City, NJ: Sec. Clinton keynotes American Camp Association conference (PR Newswire <http://www.sys-con.com/node/3254649>) · March 23 – Washington, DC: Sec. Clinton to keynote award ceremony for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting (Syracuse <http://newhouse.syr.edu/news-events/news/former-secretary-state-hillary-rodham-clinton-deliver-keynote-newhouse-school-s> )