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POLITICO Playbook, presented by Chase – 61 DAYS TO IOWA – A NEW WAY TRUMP is rewriting the rules – HOW HE TAPS INTO ‘fig...

2015-12-02

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; <a href="mailto:mallen@politico.com" target="_blank">mallen@politico.com</a>) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; <a href="mailto:dlippman@politico.com)" target="_blank">dlippman@politico.com)</a> Good Wednesday morning from Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel will join us onstage for our inaugural Illinois Playbook Breakfast. It’s the mayor’s first interview following one of the most momentous days of his career: his firing yesterday of Chicago’s top cop as tension rises over a long-withheld video of a white officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. At the end of an American year peppered with police confrontations, Emanuel’s announcement is the lead story of the WashPost, with above-the-fold coverage in the Times and Journal. The Times’ top editorial, “The Chicago Police Scandal,” flays the mayor for a “too little, too late” response.Natasha Korecki – who launched Politico’s Illinois Playbook this fall after a colorful run as one of the best-wired reporters at the still-scrappy Chicago Sun-Times – will co-moderate the conversation with Emanuel, livestreaming here at 9:30 a.m. ET. <a href="http://www.politico.com/livestream" target="_blank">www.politico.com/livestream</a> Please join the conversation: #PlaybookBreakfast. Subscribe to Illinois Playbook <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfd6d4bff376738b3cc9b795cde953f294cf858b75e52b1dffc" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1N7u5sb</a>BREAKING – “Ben Carson tumbles in [Quinnipiac] national poll … plummets 6 points from last month, while Trump solidifies his dominating lead,” by Nick Gass: Carson “dropped back to third place with 16 percent support among Republican voters, while Trump moved up three percentage points to dominate the field at 27 percent. Also enjoying a bump — Sen. Marco Rubio, who moved up 3 percentage points and into second place with 17 percent support, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who also gained 3 percentage points and tied with Carson at 16 percent. … [N]o other candidate finished in the double digits.” <a href="http://politi.co/1XxGgEj" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1XxGgEj</a> ... Poll results <a href="http://bit.ly/1OwEzB5" title="http://bit.ly/1OwEzB5 Cmd+Click or tap to follow the link" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1OwEzB5</a>THE CONVERSATION – “Trump treads on tradition in New Hampshire: Here, voters once demanded close contact. Now they are rewarding contenders who keep some distance,” by Shane Goldmacher: “Instead of the traditional one-on-one conversations at parties and handshakes in diners, New Hampshire voters are getting mostly distant waves and occasional autographs from Trump at big rallies … ‘Right now, Trump’s going to win New Hampshire,’ said Dave Carney, a longtime GOP strategist in the state who is not connected to any of the 2016 contenders. ‘It’s a jump ball for second.’” <a href="http://politi.co/1TujkzZ" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1TujkzZ</a>--NYT A16, “As Trump Barrels On, His Party Is Paralyzed,” by Jonathan Martin: “Many leading Republican officials, strategists and donors now say they fear that Mr. Trump’s nomination would lead to an electoral wipeout, a sweeping defeat that could undo some of the gains Republicans have made in recent congressional, state and local elections.” <a href="http://nyti.ms/1N2StGK" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1N2StGK</a> TOP TALKER – Boston Globe A1, below fold, “Rubio’s N.H. surge is freighted with doubts: GOP insiders bemoan lack of staff, activity,” by James Pindell in Laconia, N.H.: “Rubio’s staff remains small compared to other top campaigns. He has seven paid aides in New Hampshire … Trump has 15, … while Carson has 10. … Bush recently revealed he had increased the state staff to 20 people. Bush is also opening four offices in the state for a total of five; Rubio has one.“In addition to the staff gap, Rubio has not collected many high-profile endorsements. … Christie’s campaign boasts they have secured 100 endorsements, and Trump is drawing crowds of thousands also willing to volunteer for him.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1XGkgBL" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1XGkgBL</a>--“Bush readies his last stand in New Hampshire,” by Eli Stokols: “[H]is Right to Rise super PAC has … spent $12 million on TV ads and blanketed New Hampshire with four direct-mail pieces. Bush … has made 60 campaign appearances. Despite those efforts, polls show the former Florida governor remains mired in sixth place in the early state he most needs to win.” <a href="http://politi.co/1QdboCX" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1QdboCX</a> ** A message from Chase: You’ve got your list, you’re checking it twice and your credit cards are getting some serious use. To help protect yourself from fraud during this season of giving, we’ve got your back. From zero liability protection to 24/7 monitoring and chip technology, this is what you need to know: <a href="http://bit.ly/1OBURqq" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1OBURqq</a> ** SPEAKER RYAN -- Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: “Ryan called House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Tuesday morning with a somewhat urgent message: Time is short, and the House needs to speed up negotiations to fund the government. Federal agencies run out of money in 10 days … From the Republicans’ point of view, New York Rep. Nita Lowey, the top Democratic appropriator, is not empowered to negotiate, whereas Ryan – who is maniacally focused on empowering committee chairmen – is intent on giving Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) the room he needs to cut a deal.” <a href="http://politi.co/1RlbFVl" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1RlbFVl</a> MARK ZUCKERBERG, “A letter to our daughter [Max]”: “Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today. ... As you begin the next generation of the Chan Zuckerberg family, we also begin the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation. ... We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission.” <a href="http://on.fb.me/1N2SmuC" target="_blank">http://on.fb.me/1N2SmuC</a> ... Baby pic, which got over 1 million likes <a href="http://on.fb.me/1HFYyw0" target="_blank">http://on.fb.me/1HFYyw0</a>--“Zuckerberg immigration group launches 2016 reform blitz,” by Anna Palmer: “Fwd.us is launching a multi-pronged campaign that could spend as much as $10 million over the next year on digital and TV ads, research and polling ... The initiative includes an expansion of its ground operation into 12 states, focusing on presidential battlegrounds and targeted House seats held by Republicans. ... Voters prefer a candidate who supports a pathway to citizenship over one who supports mass deportation, 74 percent to 18 percent.” <a href="http://politi.co/1OvN6nX" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1OvN6nX</a> UNDERSTANDING HILLARY – “At State Dept., Hillary Clinton kept tabs on 2016,” by Annie Karni: “‘Pls print,’ Hillary Clinton emailed an aide, attaching a link to a gossipy blog post detailing Vice President Joe Biden’s guest list at a reception he hosted for prominent New Hampshire Democrats in 2013. … The latest email dump of 7,800 Clinton messages shows the former secretary of state dealing primarily with her day job … But … Clinton’s top aides fed her tidbits of gossip and updates on the movements of other political players who could affect the presidential election landscape, the new batch reveals.“Clinton’s return to the national political scene last April was pitched as a comeback story. She had been out of the national loop for so long, the narrative went, that she required down time to thoughtfully assess whether or not to run again. … But in the latest release of State Department emails, Clinton divulges an appetite for the gossip and granular detail of national politics that’s more typically associated with her husband … And it suggests that even after a brutal loss in 2008 and thoughts of ‘never again,’ Hillary Clinton never completely turned her gaze away from the mechanics of presidential politics.“‘If Mittens can’t beat Grinch in Florida,’ she wrote to her friend Sidney Blumenthal during the 2012 election, referring to Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, ‘there will be pressure on state Republican parties to reopen or liberalize ballot access especially in the caucuses, which as we know are creatures of the parties’ extremes.’” <a href="http://politi.co/1OwBocH" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1OwBocH</a>--“A new face for Clinton fundraising: Chelsea Clinton,” by Gabe Debendetti: “Chelsea ... and her mother are scheduled to co-host a ‘Family Holiday Celebration With Hillary and Chelsea’ in New York City on … Dec. 17. Tickets ... start at $250. Actress Drew Barrymore and her husband, Will Kopelman, will also serve as co-hosts.” <a href="http://politi.co/1TtFBh7" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1TtFBh7</a> --FIRST LOOK – “[Hillary for America] To Release Endorsement of Key Voices on Newly Release Infrastructure Plan”: “3 former Chairs of the White House Council of Economic Advisors – Alan Kreuger, Austan Goolsbee and Laura Tyson – as well as experts like Rosabeth Moss Kanter at Harvard and Alan Blinder at Princeton, CT Governor Malloy, former PA Governor Rendell.” --NYT, AP join WashPost in dropping “Rodham” from Hillary first reference – AP: “[T]he campaign has branded itself … as Hillary Clinton. When asked, the campaign says to go with Hillary Clinton. She is filing for ballots as Hillary Clinton and signing her name that way. … On second reference, she is Clinton.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1lupkNk" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1lupkNk</a> … NYT <a href="http://nyti.ms/1jyaYKJ" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1jyaYKJ</a> HAPPENING TODAY: “Taylor Griffin will officially file for the 2015 Republican Congressional Primary for the Third District of North Carolina. Griffin ran a close primary race against incumbent Rep. Walter Jones during the 2014 cycle ... Griffin ended up losing by only six points and is back for a second try ... Political Director [is] Jeff Hauser.” <a href="http://www.taylorgriffin.org/" target="_blank">www.taylorgriffin.org</a> #POLITICO28: In Brussels, Politico today unveiled “the inaugural POLITICO 28 list—28 people from the European Union’s 28 member states who are transforming European politics. From Viktor Orbán, Europe’s conservative subversive – to Margrethe Vestager’s showdown against global business titans – to the founders of the Refugees Welcome movement – to international pop star Stromae – to Panti Bliss’s gender-bending gay rights activism – the people on the inaugural POLITICO 28 list are stirring and shaping European public life.”--The inaugural POLITICO 28 are: Viktor Orbán (Hungary); Margrethe Vestager (Denmark); Nicola Sturgeon (United Kingdom); Mareike Geiling, Jonas Kakoschke, Golde Ebding, and Horst Seehofer (Germany); Stromae (Belgium);Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin (France); Albert Rivera (Spain); Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia); Maria Elena Boschi (Italy);Thomas Wieser (Austria); Mats Persson (Sweden); Panti Bliss (Ireland); Stanisław Gądecki (Poland); Karel Janeček(Czech Republic); Alexis Papahelas (Greece); Princess Mabel (Netherlands); Taavet Hinrikus (Estonia); Harris Georgiades(Cyprus); Tomáš Valášek (Slovakia); Ozan Yanar (Finland); Laura Codruța Kövesi (Romania); Ivo Boscarol and Matevž Lenarčič (Slovenia); Antanas Guoga (Lithuania); Mate Rimac (Croatia); Eva Paunova (Bulgaria); Katrine Camilleri(Malta); Catarina Martins (Portugal); and Liz Wenger (Luxembourg). <a href="http://www.politico.eu/politico28" target="_blank">www.politico.eu/politico28</a> WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- “Mary Katharine Ham gives birth, two months after White House staffer husband Jake Brewer died,” by WashPost’s Jessica Contrera: “Ham gave birth on Saturday to a little girl she named in honor of husband, White House technology adviser Jake Brewer. Brewer was killed in September when he was struck by a car during a charity bike race in Maryland. ‘World, meet Garnet J. Brewer!’ Ham wrote on Instagram Monday. ‘At 7 lbs., 13 oz. & 21 in., she made her appearance after 5.5 hours of blessedly safe & awesome natural labor Nov. 28 at 5:15 am, reminding her mom this childbirth thing is no joke, hard core, & beautiful. Her middle initial is for her dad, Jake.’“‘Garnet has a head full of dark hair and was wrapped in one of Jake’s favorite blue shirts immediately after birth,” Ham wrote in a message to friends.’” <a href="http://wapo.st/1lWverd" target="_blank">http://wapo.st/1lWverd</a> Baby pics <a href="http://bit.ly/1jxJDrS" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1jxJDrS</a> ... <a href="http://bit.ly/21tRglv" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/21tRglv</a> PLAYBOOK HIGHLIGHT REEL: ARTICLE OF THE DAY – NYT, bottom of A1, “Statehood Project Is Troubled, Those Who Escaped ISIS Say,” by Ben Hubbard in Sanliurfa, Turkey, where he talked to people who have fled Raqqa, Syria, the capital of Isis: The “call to join the Islamic State is still … having an effect … on social media and within jihadist circles. But its promises ring increasingly hollow as residents living in ISIS-controlled areas flee deprivation … and an organization that many Sunni Muslims say has acted more like an organized-crime ring than their defender. Even some residents who chose to stay when the jihadists took over are now paying smugglers to get them around checkpoints designed to keep them in.” <a href="http://nyti.ms/1TkgpJp" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1TkgpJp</a> TOM EDSALL, writing for the NYT online, queried academics about “Donald Trump’s Appeal”: “David Berg, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, … observes that for many voters, perceived threats to their security are now coming ‘from both inside the group (e.g. changing demographics, Wall Street greed, immigration, income inequality repercussions) — as well as from outside the group (international disorder, ISIS, China, Russia).’“Individuals facing multiple threats like these experience an instinctive choice between fight or flight, but flight is not an option, Berg claims, because ‘there is no longer any place to run to. The ocean no longer protects us and we are fearful of losing control of our boundaries, much like Europe, so unless we confront the threat, it will find us no matter how much we try’ …“[D]eep within our primitive unconscious, those regions of the brain that process fear before the cerebral cortex construct a story to explain it. We are in search of someone to help us fight what we perceive as both internal and external threats to our ‘group’ as if such a fight will make us safe.” <a href="http://nyti.ms/1Sw0OpZ" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1Sw0OpZ</a> FRANK BRUNI, “Anyone but Ted Cruz: He wants the ultimate promotion. Check his references first”: “Anyone but Cruz: That’s the leitmotif of his life, stretching back to college at Princeton. … [A] Bush 2000 alumnus said to me: ‘Why do people take such an instant dislike to Ted Cruz? It just saves time.’” <a href="http://nyti.ms/1N3f0Dn" target="_blank">http://nyti.ms/1N3f0Dn</a>AIR WAR -- Daniel Strauss: Kasich super PAC “New Day for America … is following up with another attack timed to coincide with a campaign rally Trump is hosting [today] in Manassas, Virginia. The super PAC is mailing flyers to New Hampshire as part of an effort to criticize Trump’s rhetoric on illegal immigration.” <a href="http://politi.co/1YGDGsK" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1YGDGsK</a>VIDEO DU JOUR -- Ashley Killough @KilloughCNN: “This reaction from @JebBush to a Q on Cruz’s ‘rubbers’ comment is priceless. cc: @kasie” <a href="http://bit.ly/1XwO74W" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1XwO74W</a> ... Cruz’s original comment<a href="http://bit.ly/1NmYCNc" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1NmYCNc</a>FIRST PERSON -- “Climate Confidential: A reporter’s guide to the world’s most predictable news event,” by Darren Samuelsohn: “The all-nighters, the bland food, the deadline stress. I flew home from tropical Indonesia in 2007 with a double ear infection; after 10 days reporting from frozen Copenhagen in 2009, I ended up in a hotel room with a desperate fever.” <a href="http://politi.co/1NpvvNr" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1NpvvNr</a>-- “John Kerry on Climate Change: The Fight of Our Time,” by Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell: “In the climate wars, … Kerry is a forgotten soldier. Al Gore won all the glory (and the ridicule), and President Obama has the muscle. But the truth is, no one has done more in the trenches of this battle than Kerry. He has been in the fight since the first Earth Day, in 1970, and has not let up since, participating in practically every climate conference and U.N. climate meeting in the past 30 years.” <a href="http://rol.st/21tTH7z" target="_blank">http://rol.st/21tTH7z</a>-- “Bloomberg unveils The Bloomberg Carbon Clock”: “Atmospheric CO2 is measured in parts per million, a tiny increment with huge effects. When the U.S. started measuring airborne CO2 regularly in 1958, it stood at 316 ppm. We’re now around 400 ppm. The danger zone? 450 ppm, which we may hit by 2040.” <a href="http://bloom.bg/1QSTY04" target="_blank">http://bloom.bg/1QSTY04</a> CLICKER -- “We just got our best look yet at Amazon’s drone-delivery program,” by Business Insider’s Matt Weinberger: “[A] pair of new videos ... [detail] what Amazon Prime Air will be like in real life. That includes some sweet footage of the drone grabbing a package and taking flight.” <a href="http://read.bi/1lupjcg" target="_blank">http://read.bi/1lupjcg</a>PIC DU JOUR -- @kenvogel: “.@ryangrim goes @OBJ_3, reaching for a pass* over me, @ErikWemple, @EamonJavers & @hyyoon. *not sure if he caught it” <a href="http://bit.ly/1Rlb1XR" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1Rlb1XR</a>TRAILER OF THE DAY – “Batman Gets Gitmo-Like Treatment In New ‘Batman v Superman’ Teaser” <a href="http://huff.to/1InVhS6" target="_blank">http://huff.to/1InVhS6</a>MEDIAWATCH -- “Scarborough and Brzezinski on Who They’re Really Looking to Impress on Morning Joe,” by Mediaite’s J.D. Durkin: “That casual informality on the set of Morning Joe is palpable; first names, laughs, and extensions of appreciation for the crew seem common place for the show #1 in its time slot at least amongst the media elite in Manhattan and the Beltway.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1jxL4Xt" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1jxL4Xt</a> –WashPost Style cover, below fold, “Ellerbee is retiring from ‘Nick News’ after 25 years,” by Emily Yahr: “‘Nick News’ hung on for 25 years … [t]eaching kids about important, sometimes controversial current events in an intelligent, straightforward manner. Much of this is a testament to the power of Ellerbee, the veteran broadcast journalist who has hosted the program since 1991. … Ellerbee confirmed she will retire after 44 years in the news business. Ellerbee, 71, says it’s her decision to leave.” And so it goes! <a href="http://wapo.st/1Nq0MzT" target="_blank">http://wapo.st/1Nq0MzT</a>--“Times Adds ‘Mx.’ to the Honorific Mix,” by N.Y. Observer’s Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke: “This past weekend, the gender neutral honorific ‘Mx.’ was used in a story in The New York Times. ... Like the idea of non-binary gender identification itself, the pronoun has been gaining cultural acceptance. Mx. may have a way to go until it is seamlessly added to the general usage. But it is worth remembering that it wasn’t long ago that newspapers defaulted to generic male pronouns and women were identified by marital status.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1OEEMQR" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1OEEMQR</a>--ROY GUTMAN to leave McClatchy -- Cheryl Carpenter emails the bureau: “Roy Gutman, a world renowned reporter and author, is leaving us to take on a new adventure. Roy has several ideas for his life after McClatchy, including organizing a news service devoted to Syria and finishing off several personal projects. ... Roy watched the Berlin wall fall and the collapse of the Soviet bloc. He documented the ethnic cleansing of Bosnia. In 2010, to honor that record, Roy was declared an honorary citizen of Sarajevo in a televised ceremony.”KEFALAS LAUNCHING in Maryland — “Chrys Kefalas, VP of executive comms. for the National Association of Manufacturers, last night officially launched his campaign to replace outgoing Sen. Barbara Mikulski to become MD’s first Republican US Senator since 1987. Kefalas appeared last night on Fox News’ On The Record with Greta Van Susteren to announce his campaign.” Video <a href="http://bit.ly/1LMUIvK" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1LMUIvK</a> Announcement video <a href="http://bit.ly/1XFIsUW" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1XFIsUW</a>REMEMBERING HARRY RADLIFFE II: “Harry Radliffe II, the first African American to head a CBS News bureau and an award-wining 60 MINUTES producer for 26 years, died [Tuesday]. ... Radliffe traveled around the world to produce stories for the top CBS News correspondents, including Walter Cronkite, Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft, Bob Simon and Scott Pelley. … He contributed nearly 100 stories to 60 MINUTES.” <a href="http://cbsn.ws/1LMUTav" target="_blank">http://cbsn.ws/1LMUTav</a> AWARD FOR SANDY BERGER -- “World Food Program USA Honors Samuel R. Berger With Inaugural Global Humanitarian Award”: “Berger’s foresight and political acumen led him to identify early on the nexus between conflict and global food security that defines humanitarian assistance in the modern era. ... [T]he Samuel R. Berger Humanitarian Fund has been established by WFP USA to focus on creating innovative solutions to address the unique challenges confronting humanitarian organizations today.” <a href="http://bit.ly/1InV9Sp" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1InV9Sp</a> TRANSITIONS -- Malika Saada Saar: “I will be Google’s Senior Counsel on Civil and Human Rights. In this new role, I will continue my work addressing modern day slavery, gender-based violence and the need for racial justice. But, it is with a heavy heart that I leave the Human Rights Project for Girls. … Rights4Girls was started as a brazen attempt on the part of me and Yasmin Vafa, Director of Law and Policy, as well as Shakira Washington, now the Senior Director of the National Crittenton Foundation, to insist that the issues of violence, exploitation, and trafficking of young women and girls in the U.S. be understood and framed as human rights violations.”--Obama alums to Kivvit: “Thomas Kelley, who spent the last five years in the White House Office of Digital Strategy and Damian Bednarz, former U.S. Department of Energy Chief of Staff in the Office of International Affairs have joined the DC office of Kivvit.” SPORTS BLINK: NFL Network’s new series “The Timeline” airs the documentary “Favre Returns,” premiering tomorrow on NFL Network following Packers-Lions on “Thursday Night Football.” Preview clips: Favre and the Vikings <a href="http://bit.ly/1LMUOn7" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1LMUOn7</a> ... Favre returns to Lambeau in July <a href="http://bit.ly/1PtIOyT" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1PtIOyT</a>ENGAGED -- Booker CoS Matt Klapper, to girlfriend Victoria Edelman of UBS, with help of his “brothers at the Summit, N.J., fire department.” Booker makes an appearance in the video featuring family and friends: <a href="http://bit.ly/1luAYIc" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1luAYIc</a> Pic <a href="http://politi.co/1TtEiPu" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1TtEiPu</a>OUT AND ABOUT -- Bruce Kieloch turned 50 on Monday and had a party hosted by Nancy Bagley and Soroush Shehabi at their home. SPOTTED: Rep. Linda Sanchez, Mark Pocan, Michael Isikoff, Hallah Al-Jubier, Meighan Stone, Diane Blagman, Ali Lapp.ANNIVERSARY: Autumn and Jim VandeHei celebrate 15 today. (hat tip: Sophia Lois, James) BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Marty Chase is 75 ... Bush WH alum Jenny Lynn Buntin ... Senator Gary Peters (h/t Amber Moon) ... Bruce Kieloch is 5-0 (h/t Kimball Stroud)BIRTHDAYS: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is 76 … Packers QB Aaron “A-Rod” Rodgers is 32 … former Attorney General Edwin Meese III is 84 … Stone Phillips is 61 … Nancy Haberman (h/t daughter Maggie), the pride of the Upper West Side ... Cal Thomas ... Ken Babby ... Grant Everett Starrett ... Paul Walhaus ... RNC’s Bob Carey ... Jason Huntsberry ... Mayor Bloomberg alum Marc La Vorgna ... Emily Schultheis … Megan McCafferty ... Caroline Gangware, pride and joy of Riverside, Ill. ... Mark Irion, president at Levick and resident sommelier (h/t Joe Brettell) ... Bush WH alum Eleanor Schiff ... country music superstar Jana Kramer, whose latest single, “I Got The Boy,” has been RIAA certified Gold (h/t Kurt Bardella) ...… Dan Puskar of the Association for the Partners of Public Lands (h/t Jedd Rosche) ... SKDK’s Mairead Lynn is 26. She celebrated last night with her friends/SKDK colleagues at Stoney’s and Black Rooster before heading off to Colorado (h/t Gabriela Melendez) ... Erin Bailey, executive director of the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute (h/t Chris Schmitter) ... Audrey Lavin ... Ken Babby … Cathy Lee Crosby is 71 … Rick Savage (Def Leppard) is 55 … Brendan Coyle (“Downton Abbey”) is 52 … Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) is 47 … Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 45 … Monica Seles is 42 … Britney Spears is 34 … actresses Deanna and Daniella Canterman are 23 (h/ts AP)** A message from Chase: You’ve got your list, you’re checking it twice and your credit cards are getting some serious use. To help protect yourself from fraud during this season of giving, we’ve got your back. From zero liability protection to 24/7 monitoring and chip technology, this is what you need to know: <a href="http://bit.ly/1OBURqq" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1OBURqq</a> **SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfdf6a1974229c1d9ebdd76fec80e3e0b9c4f389a6aebb15331" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1M75UbX</a> ... New York Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfdd95a477c264b940d3d68e1bf06d895022c7331c2d59002ba" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1ON8bqW</a> ... Florida Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfdf6adbc9a5e2ca9fb024caa7dd707c64d9f8d05282a7904f0" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1JDm23W</a> ... New Jersey Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfd43ea324572eabb35237a2c8ff38089b777628beacc2d4337" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1HLKltF</a> ... Massachusetts Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfd4109bd5463ef8db58d28d5151d70170c0d641b0aeacfb453" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v</a> ... Illinois Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfd6d4bff376738b3cc9b795cde953f294cf858b75e52b1dffc" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1N7u5sb</a> ... California Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfdd58947052fda88f4ea11d09a07f7f5eb6c84873711479543" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1N8zdJU</a> and our friends atPOLITICO Brussels Playbook: <a href="http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b48cc63abe2b3bfdc6d26c38b244d39857441567733e7f3775cbd8ffde507bef" target="_blank">http://politi.co/1FZeLcw</a>