Free Republic

NEW YORK — The biggest parlor game on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms these days is guessing whether former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will run for president and save the GOP’s old establishment base from its rising populist wing. The second most popular game is guessing what happens if Jeb says no. Two dozen interviews about the 2016 race with unaligned GOP donors, financial executives and their Washington lobbyists turned up a consistent — and unusual — consolation candidate if Bush demurs, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie doesn’t recover politically and no other establishment favorite gets nominated: Hillary Clinton....

WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders has been calling activists and traveling the country with a question: Could he vault from his US Senate seat representing what is fondly called the People’s Republic of Vermont to the White House? His next stop in search of an answer is the first presidential primary state of New Hampshire, where this weekend he plans to bring his campaign complaint about America becoming an “oligarchic society.’’ The lawmaker, who is possibly the most liberal of all members of Congress — and the only one to call himself a democratic socialist — said in an interview this...

VIDEO AT LINKOn Tuesday, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted during a post-speech question-and-answer session at the Marketo Marketing Summit at San Francisco's Moscone Center that she's thinking about running for president in 2016...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Asked again the question on the mind of everyone who follows U.S. politics, Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday she was "thinking" about running for president in 2016. Appearing at a marketing conference in San Francisco, Clinton, widely considered the Democratic front-runner if she enters the race, was asked by an interviewer: "What's your plan? Are you going to do it? You can announce it here if you'd like."

It's not likely the race for president in 2016 will pit former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and former Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol predicted. "I'm willing to go out on a limb," Kristol told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday. "I think there's no way there will be a Bush-Clinton race in 2016."

For those of you who don’t think Big Guy works hard enough: here’s concrete evidence to the contrary. He pulled an all-nighter working on this marketing schematic B4 he tweeted it out:Seriously, young-uns, Big Guy hates to be the one to deliver the bad news, butt you are NOT invincible; incredible? Yes:The Incrediblesbutt invincible? Nah. Not unless you’re a wise, bossy woman. Oh yes, I am wise But it's wisdom born of pain Yes, I've paid the price But look how much I gained If I have to, I can do anything I am strong (Strong) I am invincible (Invincible)...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The recent Conservative Political Action Conference provides a forum for big names. But it’s also a platform for the murmurs and asides from political strategists who’ve been everywhere and done everything, and like to speculate. Such is the case when the potential presidential candidacy ofHillary Clinton was parsed by a pair of insiders. Would she run? Maybe, if her health and vigor remain strong. But is she holding a place for someone else? Could be. The take-away suggestion: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is seriously being groomed as a White House contender. “Maybe in the lead role, maybe the running mate....

If you listen to the chattering class in Washington, D.C., Hillary Clinton is a virtual certainty for the 2016 Democratic nomination, and the front runner in the next presidential race. But in private, rumors persist that the former Secretary of State may not even be capable of making it to Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton, these skeptics often say, will not run for president again because of health concerns. These ubiquitous rumors of her health have been fueled in part by the supermarket tabloids. The National Enquirer wrote in 2012 that Clinton had brain cancer, something a spokesman dismissed then...

...."Is Hillary ready for Hillary? That's the question," said former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian, who said he plans to support Biden if he runs. "Is it a political organization or a fan club for a boy band? I just don't understand the idea that somehow you've got to encourage her to run. Either people want to run and have a coherent message about why they should be president, or not. She has been around the block. She knows that if she wants to run, she can get in and get the money." "I think it's a cult,...

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signaled Sunday that he would be open to a White House bid at some point, though the governor has previously ruled out seeking the presidency in 2016. Asked in an interview whether he could see himself as a national candidate — not necessarily in 2016 — the second-term Democrat responded: “Maybe. Maybe.” “That’s a decision I have to make along with my wife of 30 years, and she’s a tough one to convince,” Patrick said. Prodded further, the former Justice Department official responded: “Let’s just see what time tells.” Only the second African-American elected governor of...

The wide variety of potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination boils down to one question in many quarters — which one can beat Hillary Clinton? But to at least one powerful Republican consultant, Mary Matalin, the "Hillary" question is pointless. "Hillary Clinton’s lead is ephemeral," Matalin told Politico Magazine. "As soon as she gets in, if she gets in, she will be challenged and it will evaporate. Just the nature of the beast. I predict she doesn’t run." ---snip--- Political consultant and media strategist Mark McKinnon predicts a "Clash of the Titans" battle between Clinton and Bush for the...

Gee, I wonder if she’s running? Let’s put this another way. If anyone had a 6:1 lead over the closest potential opponent in a future race (with a 61-point lead), and that closest opponent’s name was Joe Biden, who wouldn’t run? Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a commanding 6 to 1 lead over other Democrats heading into the 2016 presidential campaign, while the Republican field is deeply divided with no clear front-runner, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Clinton trounces her potential primary rivals with 73 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, reinforcing a narrative of inevitability around her...

My Post colleague Dan Balz has some very interesting reporting from Democratic and Republican strategists. Both groups seem somewhat pessimistic about the GOP’s chances in 2016: A recent conversation with a veteran of GOP presidential campaigns raised this question: Which, if any, of the recent battleground states are likely to become more Republican by 2016? The consensus: very few. That reality highlights one problem Republicans face as they seek to regain the White House after six years under President Obama. Lots of factors affect elections: The quality of the candidates, the state of the economy, the effectiveness of the campaigns....

SHE MAKES IT OFFICIAL?http://drudgereport.com/flash3b.htm From: General Wes Clark [info@hillaryclinton.com] Date: January 5, 2014, 3:06:45 PM EST Subject: Free Hillary Clinton Bumper Sticker Reply-To: info@hillaryclinton.com Have you picked up your free Ready for Hillary bumper sticker yet? Please take a moment to read this special message from General Wes Clark. Ready For Hillary PAC is solely responsible for the content of this message. Grassroots movements happen when neighbors talk to neighbors and tell them to get involved. One of the best ways to spark these conversations about Hillary potentially running in 2016 is by showing your support right now. Have you...

Take a minute to play communications director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run. Your task: come up with a 30-second spot to run in the early primary states about your candidate’s four years as Secretary of State. What part of the world do you start with? Iran? John Kerry now owns, for better or worse, the effort to bar the mullahs from getting the bomb. The “pivot to Asia”? The pushback on China in the Pacific has yet to take any visible shape beyond President Obama’s patented phrase. The “reset” with Russia? Really? Putin’s a pal now? Anyone putting together...

The liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) this year promised corporate donors a chance to meet Hillary Rodham Clinton in return for a $250,000 donation, documents obtained by The Hill show. The meeting never happened, though Clinton spoke at the anniversary gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium that was cited on the solicitation. “None of the patrons were able to meet with Secretary Clinton but our board and trustees did meet with her at the event,” said Andrea Purse, a CAP spokeswoman. The documents ask prospective donors to contribute to CAP’s “Progressive Party,” which was held Oct. 24 to...

The left is scared to death that its favored 2016 candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, could be on the ropes. Hillary's favorable ratings are down dramatically from when she left office -- in April 2013, her favorability rating stood at 56 percent, but by the end of October, it had dropped to 46 percent. Among independents that number dropped to 35 percent; Hillary even saw a dip of 12 points among Democrats, from 88 percent to 76 percent. Young people in particular are not pleased with the former First Lady -- just 38 percent view her favorably, while...

Liberal leaders want Hillary Clinton to face a primary challenge in 2016 if she decides to run for president. The goal of such a challenge wouldn’t necessarily be to defeat Clinton. It would be to prevent her from moving to the middle during the Democratic primary. “I do think the country would be well served if we had somebody who would force a real debate about the policies of the Democratic Party and force the party to debate positions and avoid a coronation,” said Roger Hickey, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future, an influential progressive group.

NEW YORK — There are three words that strike terror in the hearts of Wall Street bankers and corporate executives across the land: President Elizabeth Warren. The anxiety over Warren grew Monday after a magazine report suggested the bank-bashing Democratic senator from Massachusetts could mount a presidential bid in 2016 and would not necessarily defer to Hillary Clinton — who is viewed as far more business-friendly — for the party’s nomination. And the fear is not only that Warren, who channels an increasingly popular strain of Occupy Wall Street-style anti-corporatism, might win. That is viewed by many political analysts as...

America is turning into an oligarchy — that was the message Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s self-styled socialist U.S. senator, preached to more than 100 progressive activists last Saturday at the annual fall getaway of the S.C. Progressive Network. Sanders had been on a week-long romp of the former Confederacy, and during his tour, he hit up the Progressive Network gathering taking place among the live oaks, Spanish moss, and scattered cabins of the historic Penn Center on St. Helena Island. Sanders said he had never spoken publicly in the South, but it’s been something the New Englander had always intended to...