<p><b>By Mike Allen </b>(@mikeallen; <a href="mailto:mallen@politico.com" target="_blank">mallen@politico.com</a>)<b> and Daniel Lippman </b>(@dlippman;<a href="mailto:dlippman@politico.com" target="_blank">dlippman@politico.com</a>)</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>FROM A LITTLE BIRD:</b> Expect more conservatives to endorse Marco this week. Keep an eye on some of the younger, newer U.S. senators who like Marco’s generational appeal.</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>Good Monday morning. THE CONVERSATION – “GOP campaigns push to take more control of debates,” by Alex Isenstadt:</b> “After the two-hour meeting, held at a Hilton in Alexandria, ... advisers to the ... campaigns ... said they were prepared to negotiate critical formatting issues with networks that will be broadcasting the future debates, a matter that until now had been overseen by the RNC. The campaigns said they were preparing to send a letter to TV networks informing them of their collective view of how future debates should look. ... ‘[C]ampaigns will now assume negotiation of format instead of the RNC,’ said Gail Gitcho, a spokeswoman for Bobby Jindal, whose campaign helped organize the gathering.</p><p><b>“It was a stunning development</b> for a party committee that entered the election cycle determined to take greater control of a debate process that, four years ago, went badly off track. ... The changes will take effect after the next debate, which is slated to be held [in Milwaukee] Nov. 10 on Fox Business. One flash point ... came when Jeb Bush's campaign manager Danny Diaz urged the group to reinstate the planned Feb. 26 debate with Telemundo, which the RNC suspended ...</p><p><b>“Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski</b> pushed back hard, threatening to boycott the event ... Immediately after the meeting wrapped up, Ben Ginsberg, a veteran Republican election attorney who had been overseeing the discussion, placed a call to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. But Ginsberg got the chairman’s voicemail, so he then reached out to [RNC COO] Sean Cairncross ... to inform him of the group’s decisions.” <a href="http://politi.co/1KSOryg" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1KSOryg</a></p><p>**<b>SUBSCRIBE to Playbook by email: </b><a href="http://politi.co/1M75UbX">http://politi.co/1M75UbX</a></p><p><b>--Ben Ginsberg’s</b> suggested demands for media sponsors <a href="http://wapo.st/1KS1eRJ" target="_blank">http://wapo.st/1KS1eRJ</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--PIC DU JOUR -- @ryanstruyk:</b> “Here’s the aftermath of the GOP debates meeting.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1RIu7VM" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1RIu7VM</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--Narrator in Fox debate ad (via CNN’s Brian Stelter): </b>“‘CNBC never asked the real questions, never covered the real issues,’ a Fox narrator says in a commercial. ‘That’s why on November 10<sup>th</sup>, the real debate about our economy and our future is only on Fox Business Network.’” <a href="http://cnnmon.ie/1iwS6uU" target="_blank">http://cnnmon.ie/1iwS6uU</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>IN A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE </b>half an hour before the meeting began, RNC Chief of Staff Katie Walsh (on her birthday) emailed the 14 campaign managers, saying Cairncross will “take the central role in the debate process, specifically as it pertains to working with Sean Spicer and negotiating with the networks.” Spicer, the party’s chief strategist and communications director, has been the RNC point person in debate negotiations. Walsh also wrote: “I will be assuming the role of lead point of contact for all of the campaigns.” <i><b>Text of her email</b></i> <a href="http://politi.co/1l2ninC" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1l2ninC</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>TV TONIGHT: You GOTTA watch -- TODD PURDUM for Vanity Fair, “The Diplomat’ Is a Riveting Look at the Triumphs and Defeats of Richard Holbrooke”: </b>“[I]f Holbrooke was a painfully absent father and husband for much of his life, he is a riveting, radiant presence in ‘The Diplomat,’ his son’s [David Holbrooke] new documentary film about him, which premieres [at 8 p.m.] on HBO. ... The younger Holbrooke, a former network-television news producer and, since 2007, the director of the Telluride Mountain documentary-film festival, retraces his father’s career, from his earliest days as a young Foreign Service officer in Vietnam through his work for every Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson ...</p><p><b>“He revisits the scenes</b> of Holbrooke’s triumphs and defeats in far-flung corners of the globe—Vietnam, Bosnia, Afghanistan—often in the company of the star journalists who covered him.” <a href="http://vnty.fr/1klnq0W" target="_blank">http://vnty.fr/1klnq0W</a><i><b>Trailer</b></i> <a href="http://bit.ly/1ShJR2X" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ShJR2X</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>** Presented by Chevron:</b> Our nation’s heroes deserve the very best when they return home. The USO has created programs to help veterans and their families restore their lives. Chevron is proud to support the USO in this essential mission. Learn more about the USO at: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/q3p768u" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/q3p768u</a> **</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>WHAT IOWA IS READING – Des Moines Register lead story, “Iowans remain open to Bush’s campaign: </b>Experts say voters still settling on choices with 3 months until caucuses,” by Brianne Pfannenstiel (online: “In fluid race, Iowans remain open to Bush's candidacy”): “Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, ... said the number of precinct captains ... (129 in Iowa’s more than 1,700 precincts) causes some concern.” <a href="http://dmreg.co/1Wt9Bd1" target="_blank">http://dmreg.co/1Wt9Bd1</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>STORY OF THE DAY – BEN SMITH, “What Changed While Jeb Was Gone: </b>A man from another media moment”: “[I]magine a media executive who retired in 2006. He was the editor-in-chief of a regional newspaper — the Tampa Times, say ... He came from a great media family ... Here’s what’s pretty hard to imagine: a media company in this era of extreme change reaching back a decade and pulling him out of retirement. ... Bush has been largely defined by petulant asides, sad rants, and poorly chosen words.” <a href="http://bzfd.it/20neuJz" target="_blank">http://bzfd.it/20neuJz</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>PLAYBOOK IN-BOX, from our GOP Kitchen Cabinet: </b>“I can’t believe Jeb tried to act like he didn’t or had no clue about the Marco-like-Obama slide in the donor deck. He can’t be a man a hope when his staff is trashing everyone in the race -- looks out of touch. AND I’m sorry, but the word ‘grinder’ doesn’t mean what it used to mean. Find another word, please.”</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>WASHINGTON, INC. – “K Street braces for Ryan:</b> The new speaker has kept his distance from lobbyists, despite a political career spent on Capitol Hill,” by Anna Palmer: “‘Paul has never been a downtown guy, and I don’t expect that to change,’ said his spokesman, Brendan Buck. ... Downtowners are anxious to see what kind of treatment they’ll get from the Wisconsin Republican compared with the clubby Boehner. At the same time, they’re bullish that the new speaker will be able to break the logjam on some of their top priorities, such as reforms to taxes and entitlements.</p><p><b>“Boehner schmoozed</b> his network of lobbyists and former staffers, a group so ubiquitous on D.C.’s cocktail circuit it was dubbed ‘Boehnerland.’ He favored golf fundraisers and other junkets that allowed lobbyists and industry executives to spend several hours at a time with him. ... [W]hereas Boehner was willing to do a favor for a friend, several lobbyists said they don’t expect the same from Ryan. ...</p><p><b>“The new speaker is expected to create</b> a spike in lobbying retainers going into a presidential election year, a time when companies typically draw down Washington spending. ‘Business likes him. This is a guy they think can finally break the gridlock of Capitol Hill and get some things going, especially on the tax side, which would be an absolute boon to K Street because it’s a game that everybody plays in,’ said Ivan Adler, a headhunter at the McCormick Group. ...</p><p><b>“Ryan maintains friendships</b> with Kent Knutson of Home Depot and his wife, Karen Knutson of General Electric. The new speaker is in regular contact with Tim McGivern, who recently joined Ogilvy Government Relations, and [Cesar] Conda of Navigators Global. Charlotte Ivancic is one of a small number of former senior Ryan aides who has gone on to work downtown. Ivancic, who also advised Boehner on health policy, is now at Tarplin, Downs & Young.” <a href="http://politi.co/1HmZAHi" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1HmZAHi</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--“Ryan’s move could be big boost for tax reform,” </b>by Brian Faler: “[N]ow Ryan has far more power to put the issue on Washington’s agenda — and the latest budget deal between congressional leaders and the White House should give him ample room to launch his speakership without being distracted by constant battles ... Some say Ryan will likely be preoccupied with the daily demands of running the House, when he might otherwise be in the legislative trenches, pushing a plan through all the competing interests in the chamber.” <a href="http://politi.co/1Sih8Lb" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1Sih8Lb</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>SCOOP --“Ryan hires 8 communications staffers,” by Jake Sherman:</b> “Ryan ... has said he’ll spend a lot of time on television communicating the party’s message. He plans to hire upwards of a dozen communications hands. Brendan Buck, who worked for Ryan on the Ways and Means Committee and for former Speaker John Boehner, will run the operation. The other additions are: Mike Ricci, another former Boehner hand, will be communications director. ...</p><p><b>“AshLee Strong</b>, who worked for Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Gov. Scott Walker's presidential campaign, will serve as press secretary. ... Sarah Swinehart, who worked for Ways and Means and Boehner's press operation, will be director of media affairs. ... Doug Andres, a former Rules Committee staffer and Ryan aide, will be the press secretary for White House press. ...</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>“Caleb Smith</b> will be digital communications director. ... Molly Edwards will be deputy press secretary. ... Vanessa Day will be senior communications adviser. ... Brian Bolduc will be Ryan's director of speech writing.” <a href="http://politi.co/1MsGp0h" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1MsGp0h</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--FIRST LOOK – “House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) today [will announce]: </b>... Cory Fritz will serve as Deputy Staff Director for Communications. Fritz joins Chairman Royce’s staff after six years with ... Boehner, ... including Press Secretary and Political Communications Director. ... Audra McGeorge has been promoted to Communications Director [replacing Shane Wolfe, who has left the Hill]. McGeorge [was] Deputy Communications Director.”</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>USED NEWS –</b> WashPost yesterday, by Robert Samuels, “Jeb Bush gave this black community a charter school. Then he moved on” <a href="http://wapo.st/1iwJwMM" target="_blank">http://wapo.st/1iwJwMM</a> ... NYT, <b>March 7</b>, Jason Horowitz, “Charter School in Miami Fails, but Proves Useful on Jeb Bush’s Résumé” <a href="http://nyti.ms/20mrWNP" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/20mrWNP</a></p><p><b>AIR WARS – Bernie Sanders first TV ad, “Real Change”:</b> “Bernie Sanders: an honest leader – building a movement with you, to give us a future to believe in.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1HmDVit" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1HmDVit</a></p><p><b>2016 PLAYERS -- “Clinton’s Press Operation Gets an Overhaul,” by NYT’s Maggie Haberman: </b>“Zac Petkanas, a former communications director for Harry Reid and ... Media Matters, [is] the new director of rapid response ... The person currently doing that job, Christina Reynolds, ... will be promoted [to] deputy communications director ... Josh Schwerin, who has been handling issues related to campaign finance as well as rapid response, will formally become Mr. Petkanas’s deputy. ... Adrienne Elrod, ... who worked on Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 race, is being promoted to head of surrogate operations.” <a href="http://nyti.ms/20msfbg" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/20msfbg</a></p><p><b>--JOE KILDEA’s new job: </b>His last full day at Rand’s campaign as rapid-response director was about two weeks ago, but he went in to help out with the war room around the last debate. Forthcoming release: “The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is pleased to announce Joe Kildea’s appointment as Director of Media Relations. ... Kildea is a student pilot whose first solo flight was at AOPA’s home airport in Frederick, Maryland.”</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>HAPPENING TODAY, per Jeb campaign: </b>“Bush’s new book, ‘Reply All,’ [is out] on Amazon.com. It is a memoir of his governorship through the email exchanges he had with his staff, members of the media and ... Floridians he represented. Governor Bush spent 30 hours a week doing email ... Coinciding with the release of his book is Jeb’s speech [this] morning in Tampa, [that will reject] ‘competing pessimisms’ created in the Obama era in favor of leadership that solves problems. ...</p><p><b>“The Tampa event</b> kicks off a four-day tour of Florida, South Carolina and New Hampshire that will be marked by events highlighting that “Jeb Can Fix It,” because he’s done it in Florida.” <i><b>$15.29 on Amazon</b></i> <a href="http://amzn.to/1P5HH81" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/1P5HH81</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--FROM BUSH’S PREPARED REMARKS for Tampa:</b> “After seven years of incompetence, corruption and gridlock in Washington, we need a president who can fix it. I can fix it.”</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--“Huckabee files Ark. paperwork for president in Little Rock Mon.”: </b>“Huckabee will file paperwork for President of the United States with the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office [today]. Later [this] evening, he will address the Republican Party of Arkansas’ ‘Raise the Roof Rally.’”</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>POLL DU JOUR -- “FL poll: Trump is clear frontrunner --with Bush’s help,” by Marc Caputo</b>: “Trump leads with a solid 27% support, with Sen. Marco Rubio a distant second at 16%, followed by Dr. Ben Carson (15%), and Sen. Ted Cruz and Bush (about 12% each), according to Viewpoint Florida’s newly released survey of 2,047 likely Republican voters in the state.” <a href="http://politi.co/1Pf4BZ7" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1Pf4BZ7</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>WHO THEY ARE -- “‘I Have Buried a Child’: How Carly Fiorina has made the death of her addicted stepdaughter a central story in her campaign,” by Michael Kruse: </b>“The way she has told audiences about the death of her stepdaughter, dramatically but without specifying the nature of her addiction, gives people wide latitude to fill in the blanks and lets her pivot quickly to brief mentions of policies she supports ... Largely, though, she has stripped the painful experience of its most painful details.” <a href="http://politi.co/1MBcNnL" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1MBcNnL</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>GEORGE PACKER in The New Yorker’s Political Scene, “The Republican Class War: In 2016, will conservatives finally face the realities of inequality?”: </b>“For fresh ideas, ... a candidate had only to turn to a group of Republican thinkers who call themselves ‘reformocons,’ of whom [Peter] Wehner is a leader. ... The reformocon project shows how extreme mainstream conservatism has become in its opposition to anything involving the state.” <a href="http://nyr.kr/1M666nT" target="_blank">http://nyr.kr/1M666nT</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>REMEMBERING FRED THOMPSON – The Tennessean’s Dave Boucher and Joey Garrison:</b>“Thompson, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee, GOP presidential candidate, Watergate attorney and actor who starred on the television drama ‘Law and Order,’ died on Sunday in Nashville. He was 73. Mr. Thompson died after a recurrence of lymphoma ... Standing at least 6 feet, 5 inches with a booming voice, Mr. Thompson ... [a]s an attorney ... helped lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.” <a href="http://tnne.ws/1M66fI7" target="_blank">http://tnne.ws/1M66fI7</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>--Send us your best Fred Thompson story or memory, </b>and we’ll share them: <a href="mailto:dlippman@politico.com" target="_blank">dlippman@politico.com</a>.</p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>TOP-ED -- MIKE BARNICLE in The Daily Beast, “Will Syria Be Obama’s Vietnam?”:</b> “History is like a nagging friend, a back-seat driver or a Monday morning quarterback always ready to tap you on the shoulder with an often annoying reminder of the obvious, of something startling that’s been forgotten in the dust of time passed. ... [T]here is a growing feeling among many that we simply cannot kill our way to a solution. And what is the greater probability? That inserting 50 superb and courageous Americans into Syria will reduce or eliminate the threat ISIS poses to the region or that the inevitable request will soon cross President Obama’s desk for fifty more? For a whole company? A division?” <a href="http://thebea.st/1M6357j" target="_blank">http://thebea.st/1M6357j</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>PETER BAKER, “If Cancer Becomes Biden’s Cause, a Bold but Polarizing Doctor Is On Call”:</b> “Having concluded that he did not have enough time to defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mr. Biden is instead embarking on a campaign perhaps more daunting: finally defeating cancer ... For a politician whose career has been built on passion, this is when Mr. Biden is figuring out what comes next. ... While friends ruled out another elective office or post like secretary of state, they said Mr. Biden could serve as a university president or special envoy for specific international missions.” <a href="http://nyti.ms/1MBcHwn" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1MBcHwn</a></p><p><b>MEDIAWATCH -- “Henry Blodget’s big plans for Business Insider,” by Joe Pompeo: </b>“Blodget spent the past eight years transforming Business Insider from a scrappy three-man show into a new-media heavyweight ... He will spend the next five trying to make it a global financial-news powerhouse with a subscription component, regional editions throughout Europe and Asia, a headcount that could top 1,300 by the end of 2020.” <a href="http://politi.co/1k3CaCi" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1k3CaCi</a></p><p><b>-- “Breitbart News Announces Addition of Michelle Fields” – Forthcoming release: </b>“Fields has previously been a reporter for The Daily Caller and for PJ Media.”</p><p><b>SPORTS BLINK:</b> N.Y. Post cover, “AMAZIN’ DISGRACE: Mets blow it again, lose World Series” ... BuzzFeed: “Crown Royal” ... SI.com, “ROYALTY: Kansas City rallies again to beat New York in 12 innings, wins first World Series since 1985 ... Fearless and indomitable Royals construct a lasting title legacy,” by Albert Chen: “It was half-past 1 a.m. at Citi Field, after the 7–2, 12-inning, four-hour win that embodied this team, its exhilarating October and its championship season. ...</p><p><b>“[A]fter three decades</b> without a title in Kansas City, ... those 100-loss seasons in the early 2000s, those years of waiting for the prospects from The Best Farm System Ever to arrive, those interminable months that followed the 2014 miracle run that left them 90 feet short, the moment at last arrived at 12:30 a.m. in New York on Nov. 2nd, with a 95-mph strike from Wade Davis into the glove of Drew Butera to end Game 5 of the World Series.” <a href="http://on.si.com/1Q5mo5K" target="_blank">http://on.si.com/1Q5mo5K</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>EXPECTING: Winston Lord</b>, co-founder and CMO at Venga and wife <b>Stephanie Cate,</b> executive director at The Batonga Foundation, email: “We’re due March 2016. Stephanie may be carrying the team but I get the crucial assist.” <i><b>Pic </b></i><a href="http://bit.ly/1NLxKcB" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1NLxKcB</a></p><p><b>WEEKEND WEDDINGS: Erik Telford, </b>president of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity and publisher of Watchdog.org, and Herald Group senior director <b>Kristine Esposo </b>were married Saturday with Guy Benson giving the groomsman toast, with a reception at The Hamilton afterwards and guests rocking all night to a bachelor boys band. The pair first met in 2007 when Kristine recommended Erik for a job at Americans for Prosperity. <i><b>Pics </b></i><a href="http://bit.ly/1NLyiPO" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1NLyiPO</a> ... <a href="http://bit.ly/1MAj7M0" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1MAj7M0</a> ...<i><b> Benson’s toast:</b></i> <a href="http://bit.ly/1RkFYcw" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1RkFYcw</a></p><p><b>--Ted Greener</b> and <b>Elizabeth Bender</b> were married Saturday at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Warrenton, Va. Greener is a director at DCI Group and Bender is director of comms and policy at the American Forest Foundation. Guests danced the night away at a reception at The Airlie Center. <i><b>Pic</b></i> <a href="http://bit.ly/1Wqk6Db" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1Wqk6Db</a></p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>OBAMA ALUMNI --</b> <b>“Mary Van Houten, Ryan Harper” – NYT:</b> “The couple met at Stanford ... The bride, 26, is an associate in the Washington law firm Hogan Lovells. ... Harper, 31, is an associate in Washington for McKinsey & Company ... From 2009 to 2010, he served at the White House under President Obama as the domestic director in the Office of Presidential Personnel. <i><b>With pic </b></i> <a href="http://nyti.ms/1XJ8SXK" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1XJ8SXK</a></p><p><b>OUT AND ABOUT in LA --</b> The Hollywood award show season kicked off last night at The Beverly Hilton Hotel with the Hollywood Film Awards. <b>SPOTTED</b>: Marc Adelman, Will Smith, Amy Schumer, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro, Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Amy Poehler, Robert DeNiro with a big performance by Wiz Khalifa. <i><b>Pic of Kim Kingsley with Adelman on the red carpet</b></i> <a href="http://bit.ly/1WqplCS" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1WqplCS</a></p><p><b>BIRTHDAYS:</b> David Sirota is 4-0 … Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is 48 ... Pat Buchanan is 77 ... Katie Hogan ... Pat Buchanan … WashPost Outlook editor Adam Kushner … U.S. Travel’s President and CEO Roger Dow … Alex Markowits is 42 … AARP’s Bill Walsh is 51 … Christopher Graves, chairman of Ogilvy PR Worldwide … John Sampson, director of federal gov’t affairs for Microsoft ... Celeste Lavin, associate producer at the Rachel Maddow Show (h/t dad Carl) ... Catherine Lyons, director at FWD.us, proud USC Trojan, and roll dog in chief celebrates by taking a break from wedding planning (h/t Ronnie Cho) ... Alliance for American Manufacturing alum Steven Capozzola ... Kayla Benker, data analyst at Civis Analytics and an OFA alum …</p><p><b>... former Palin press advance man Clint Nichols</b> is 35 ... Sarah Smith Elliott, managing director at the American European Business Association and an Americans for Prosperity alum ... Jen Dlouhy, reporter for Hearst Newspapers and The Houston Chronicle and a CQ alum ... Raynel Knight ... Judy Vale (Eddie’s sister) … Travis Hill … Mike Vilmain … Paula Zellner … Anna Landmark … Patty Judge (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Mark Benjamin is 45 ... Tony Fazio ... Marie Antoinette would have been 260, definitely eating cake to celebrate (h/t Paul Equale) ... singer Jay Black (Jay and the Americans) is 77 ... author Shere Hite is 73 ... Carter Beauford (The Dave Matthews Band) is 58 ... k.d. lang is 54 ... Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage is 51 ... David Schwimmer is 49 ... Nelly is 41 ... Prodigy (Mobb Deep) is 41 actor-singer Kendall Schmidt is 25 (h/ts AP)</p><p><b>** Presented by Chevron:</b> Our nation’s heroes deserve the very best when they return home. The USO has created programs to help veterans and their families restore their lives. Chevron is proud to support the USO in this essential mission. Learn more about the USO at: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/oh7wmap" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/oh7wmap</a> **<br /></p><br>