Todays First Read Obama sets his sights small for upcoming State of the Union… Obama to hold presser with Cameron… A big speech tonight for Romney… Cory Gardner: House Republicans made mistake in voting to roll back Obama’s immigration action… Beware of the State of the Union response curse!!!... On “Meet” this Sunday: the new editor of Charlie Hebdo, WH’s Dan Pfeiffer, and Sen. Lindsey Graham. From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Carrie Dann. FIRST THOUGHTS. *** Obama sets his sights small for upcoming State of the Union: The details and proposals we’ve heard so far suggest that President Obama is set to go somewhat small in the upcoming State of the Union address, not dissimilar from his 2014 address. This, of course, shouldn’t be surprising given that Obama is entering the fourth quarter of his presidency, and that he now faces a Republican-controlled Congress -- hardly the formula for getting big things done in the modern era. Some of his proposals so far: free community college for qualified students, paid sick leave, expanded broadband. In fairness, these things are hardly akin to the school-uniform proposals during the Bill Clinton Era, and some are big ASPIRATIONAL ideas. But they aren’t the big concrete proposals that come across as doable in this political environment. In fact, this list of proposals looks more like an agenda for a presidential candidate. What say you, Hillary Clinton? *** Obama to hold presser with Cameron: At 12:20 pm ET, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron hold a joint press conference at the White House. This comes after a flurry of anti-terrorism raids in Europe. NBC News: “Anti-terror police in Belgium raided a town east of Brussels on Thursday, killing two terror suspects in a dramatic shootout that was part of a crackdown on Islamic extremists returning from Syria.” Also: “Other raids on the homes of men whod returned from Syria were conducted across the country, prosecutors said. The men were suspected of planning attacks on Belgian police stations.” In addition, the presser comes as NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski confirms, per senior Defense officials, that 400 American military forces will take part in the training of moderate opposition fighters from Syria. The first 300 will be deployed to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. The U.S. is negotiating with a fourth country in the region to provide training facilities. Oh, and will Obama and Cameron be able to top what Secretary of State John Kerry did in France today -- have James Taylor play, “You Got a Friend.” Seriously. *** A big speech for Romney: The Republican National Committee has billed tonight’s 10:00 pm ET speech by Romney as brief remarks at the RNC’s winter meeting. But make no mistake: This is an important speech for Romney, because the GOP pile on continues for him. The latest example: prominent establishment Republican Vin Weber. “Im not happy, frankly, with the way hes chosen to re-enter presidential politics, and I think his friends need to be honest with him about that. Hes a great man, hed be a great president but theres not a lot of precedent for somebody losing the election and coming back four years late, becoming the nominee,” he told Bloomberg. More Weber: “I think that Gov. Romney had two increasingly good years after losing the presidency and now he’s had one pretty bad week.” Ouch. (Weber is no bomb-thrower; realize he’s giving voice to what many establishment Republicans and conservatives have been saying behind the scenes over the last week.) Outside his loyalists and inner circle, Romney has a perception problem. And so tonight’s speech is a chance -- maybe his last? -- to turn that perception around if he’s indeed going to run. One other thing about Romney: Yes, he was his party’s 2012 nominee, and he’s earned plenty of chits campaigning for other Republicans recently. But he’s NEVER been a beloved figure by many in his party. That helps explain some of the reaction his reemergence is getting. *** Cory Gardner: House Republicans made mistake in voting to roll back Obama’s immigration action: Last November, maybe the most impressive GOP victory was Cory Gardner’s Senate win, because it came in a state where Republicans haven’t had success in 2004 and where there’s a growing diverse and urban population. Well, now he’s saying House Republicans -- he was one of them until two weeks ago -- made a mistake in voting to roll back Obama’s executive actions on immigration. “‘Instead of just saying “no,”’ Republicans need to ‘actually come up with a solution,’ Gardner said in an interview on Public Broadcasting Systems ‘Charlie Rose’ program, per Bloomberg’s Al Hunt. “Just to stop this or that isnt the best foot forward. *** Beware of the State of the Union response curse!!! Speaking of impressive GOP wins last November, another Republican star in the Senate is freshman Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who was tapped to deliver the GOP’s State of the Union response on Tuesday. Our immediate reaction: Have pity on Joni Ernst. Why? Because of the curse of the State of the Union responders. Here are the last eight: 2007: Jim Webb (out of politics, although he’s making a quixotic presidential bid) 2008: Kathleen Sebelius (Obamacare rollout!) 2009: Bobby Jindal (uncomfortably awkward intro, his star has fallen) 2010: Bob McDonnell (felony conviction) 2011: Paul Ryan (losing VP nominee, though he still a top GOP voice) 2012: Mitch Daniels (out of politics) 2013: Marco Rubio (the great water incident, maybe running for the White House) 2014: Cathy McMorris Rodgers (safe – SO FAR) *** On “Meet” this Sunday: NBC’s Chuck Todd will interview the new editor of Charlie Hebdo, White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer, and GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. Click here to sign up for First Read emails. Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone. Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter. Follow us @chucktodd, @mmurraypolitics, @carrienbcnews OBAMA AGENDA: When in doubt, bring James Taylor out “President Obama and Senator Robert Menendez traded sharp words on Thursday over whether Congress should impose new sanctions on Iran while the administration is negotiating with Tehran about its nuclear program, according to two people who witnessed the exchange,” reports the New York Times. Obama is asking Congress for as much as $68 billion more than the current budget, a 7 percent increase, writes Bloomberg. USA Today on David Cameron’s meeting with Obama today: “Cameron is looking at what could be a tough re-election battle in May as he, Obama and other world leaders deal with renewed fears of terrorism, tensions with Russia and concerns about global economic growth.” The Associated Press picks up a theme weve been seeing the last few days: The State of the Union just isnt what it used to be. The latest from Europe: Belgian police were questioning 13 suspects on Friday detained during raids against an Islamist group they feared planned to attack police and two other people were held in France, state prosecutors said. John Kerry is offering a “big hug” to the French with a trip including flowers and a James Taylor performance. CONGRESS: Ernst to deliver GOP’s State of the Union response Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst will deliver the GOP response to the State of the Union. NBCs Frank Thorp and Alex Moe report on Republicans debate over immigration strategy at their annual retreat. NBC’s Shaquille Brewster notes how the debate over voting rights has been reignited heading into the MLK holiday. OFF TO THE RACES: Romney’s big speech David Brooks offers this: Rating the Republicans. Atop his assessments: Kasich, the A-grade winner, is wildly underestimated; Bridgegate wasnt fatal for Christie, and he gets an A- for working to understand the worries of the poor; Scott Walker and Mike Pence both get a B+. (Somehow, Brooks didn’t bother to grade Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, or Mike Huckabee.) From the Washington Post: Republican leaders on Friday plan to unveil new rules for presidential debates, marking the most aggressive effort yet by a national party committee to limit the number of forums and to shape the environment for the nominating season. BUSH: The Bergen Record: At a time when Governor Christie continued to signal strong interest in a potential 2016 presidential campaign, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was courting a group of top-tier New Jersey Republican donors, activists and officials right in Christie’s own back yard. Bush met with about 15 New Jersey Republicans — some of whom backed Christie’s two campaigns for governor — in a private, sit-down dinner at the Union League Club in midtown Manhattan on Jan. 8, according to three people who attended the dinner. Sounds like Jeb is heading to New Hampshire? NHJournal: Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas told the New Hampshire Journal Thursday night he received a phone call from the likely presidential contender at about 4:30 p.m. and the two spoke for about 30 minutes about “quite a few issues,” including health care. CARSON: From Kasie Hunt: Neurosurgeon Ben Carson on Thursday suggested that Americans can learn from the Islamic States willingness to die for their cause, comparing ISIS to the Americans who waged the Revolutionary War against the British. CHRISTIE: NBCs Kelly ODonnell reports: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he can remain friends with the Bush family and run against Jeb Bush should he decide to enter the Republican presidential race. I dont think it means it has to end a relationship between me and Jeb or me and the president and Laura, Christie said during his monthly Ask the Governor appearance on a New Jersey radio station. PERRY: The outgoing Texas governor stressed bipartisanship in his farewell address. Analysis from the Texas Tribune: Everything he said made perfect sense if you were watching a governor in his last big public address. And a lot of it looked pretty good if you were tuning in to see a candidate making the turn from a successful run in one office to a bid for an even bigger job. Perry has spent $1 million fighting his indictment, reports the Houston Chronicle. ROMNEY: A scathing critique from Peggy Noonan: There is no such thing as Romneyism and there never will be. Mr. Romney has never encompassed a philosophical world. He has never become the symbol of an attitude toward government, or an approach to freedom or fairness. “Romneyism” is just “Mitt should be president.” That is not enough. The Wall Street Journal previews Romneys address at the RNC Winter Meeting: Many GOP officials have the same question for him: How would it be different this time? RUBIO: S.V. Date offers some perspective on the Bush-Rubio relationship. WALKER: The Wisconsin governor cast himself as a new, fresh leader during remarks to the RNC last night.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 14:26:28 +0000
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