By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)
JUST POSTED -- “Bush loyalists concede the end may be in sight,” by Alex Isenstadt: “Frustration inside Bush world has begun to spill into open view, with even the most outspoken family loyalists admitting it may soon be time to move on. ... Many donors and influential supporters ... say they will remain with Bush no matter what. Yet others ... say they have come to terms with Bush’s long odds and the possibility they will eventually get behind someone else.” http://politi.co/1SWxpHA
Good Sunday morning. The Year of the Monkey begins in Beijing at 11 a.m. ET. Per AP, “The new lunar year is already boosting a fighting style that imitates the movements of a monkey.” http://apne.ws/1W23RYp
SUNDAY BEST – Trump to Jake Tapper for CNN’s “State of the Union,” which is live in Manchester with five candidates and zero commercials: “There wasn’t a loss. I came in second and I only came in second because of the fact that Cruz took a lot of votes away from Carson, that should not have been taken away. And he’s apologized but I don’t know what comes of that. Let’s see what happens. But that was the only reason I came in second, so I came in second out of the original 17 candidates. I don’t consider that a loss, Jake, and I probably came in first in actuality. ... I want to win New Hampshire but I don’t think I have to win it. No.”
--BERNIE SANDERS to Jake, taped yesterday at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H.: “[O]bviously, Vermont and New Hampshire are separated by a river, we are close states, but you know what? Secretary Clinton won this state in 2008. Her husband ran several campaigns in this state. When we began this campaign here in New Hampshire, we were 30 points down in the polls and she was much better known in this state than I was. So simply to say, you know, if we win this thing it was because Bernie lives in Vermont, yeah I’m not, that’s just not accurate.”
TAPPER: “David Brock, who is – ”
SANDERS: “I know who David Brock is! ... I happen to like Hillary Clinton but I am astounded by some of the people that she has hired, including David Brock.”
GLENN THRUSH’s “5 takeaways from the GOP debate: Christie goes Jersey, Trump tones it down and Bush hushes up”: “Rubio wasn’t great. The morning-after narrative is Marco the Rube -- and his weird triple talking-point repeat just might be enough to slow down the young man in hurry ... The reality is that the final Republican debate before the New Hampshire primaries was a messy, multi-level scrum that that didn't do much clarify an unpredictable race that seems ripe for big momentum changes in the final three days. ... [A]bout a third of GOP and independent primary voters remain up for grabs. ...
“It didn’t take long for Christie to go all schoolyard on the polished Florida senator: In the debate’s opening moments, he mocked Rubio spouting talking points and declared that he ‘simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States.’ Then Rubio got pantsed: He blasted Christie for failing to show up in his state until 36 hours after the recent East Coast blizzard – only to have the quick-witted prosecutor fire instantly back with a reference to Rubio’s D-minus Senate attendance record. ...
“Donald Trump, downsized. The Donald looked wan, thinner and more chastened after his humbling Iowa defeat, like an El Greco version of himself. He’s still the frontrunner, but he’s lost his maverick swagger – and now has the flop-sweat whiff of a tired horse harrumphing into the homestretch. Moreover, he seemed un-outsidery, reasonable, and reasonably well-informed ...
“Bush has been showing signs of life – leaping to double-digits in several recent polls here. And he’s been on a testosterone tear over the last week – lashing Rubio (his Florida protégé-turned-rival) for his inexperience and dumping on Trump with a vehemence not seen since he kicked off his thus-far disappointing campaign. Still, for the zillionth time in the GOP debates, Bush was offered Trump jugular – and delivered a decisive paper cut. ...
“The Iowa bubbly has turned flat awfully fast for Ted Cruz ... Cruz won’t win New Hampshire: his firebrand, religion-fueled conservatism is a hard sell north of the Mason-Dixon and east of the Missouri. Knowing he had little to win and lots to lose, Cruz kept his head down.” http://politi.co/20hT8dB
MARCO, MARCO, MARCO: “[L]et’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. ... Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing. ... This notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he's doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he's doing.”
CHRISTIE: “There it is! There it is! The memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody!”
RUBIO: “We are not facing a president that doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows what he is doing. That’s why he’s done the things he's done.” YouTube http://bit.ly/1QOLZPo
“MARCO ROBOTO” PICS: American Bridge deploys cardboard cyborgs outside Rubio’s town hall in Londonderry this a.m. http://bit.ly/1PtSPYf ... http://bit.ly/1TMuouc
RUBIO CAMPAIGN pushes back: “Our campaign raised $600k last night ... 3x more than we raised during any other debate.” Marco advance director @DeeDuncan14 tweets: “It’s an hour until @marcorubio arrives here in Londonderry, and we are already at standing room only #Marcomentum.” Alex Conant talks to CNN’s Sara Murray in the spin room – Rubio YouTube, “Rubio Comms Director Talks Strong Debate Performance” http://bit.ly/1W2hiHU
AMERICAN BRIDGE tweet roundup includes: @rebeccagberg: “Rubio keeps repeating the same talking point that Christie brutally mocked him for. Mind-boggling” ... @RosieGray: “did Rubio short-circuit?” ... @marincogan: “Oh man Marco, let the talking point go. Let it go. Let it go” ... @igorvolsky: “RUBIO = VINE. ON LOOP” ... @MikeGrunwald: “Rubio staff working so hard on telepathic messages warning him not to use ‘Obama knows what he’s doing’ spiel in closing statement” ... @DouthatNYT: “I’ve watched Rubio for a long time, always thought that critique of him as a talking-points robot was way overblown. But oh dear” ...
... @RichLowry: “Rubio thinks he’s on message, when he is really validating a central critique against him ... Rubio now repeating Obama point for a fourth time” ... @WillieGeist: “True story: 8-year-old daughter walks through room as Rubio says, ‘Obama knows exactly what he’s doing’ and says, ‘Didn’t he just say that?’” ... @JohnJHarwood: “Rubio appears more rattled than in any other debate by far” ... @mckaycoppins: “How many times has Rubio said ‘referendum on our identity as a nation and as a people?’”
FRANK BRUNI: “The oddity of the exchange was compounded by the fact that on the campaign trail over recent days, Rubio ... had become looser, freer, better. Perhaps the second half of the debate, when he regained his bearings, saved him. ... But I think damage was definitely done. Rubio’s youth and youthful looks put an onus on him to show that he’s not easily rattled and brings more than an inspiring family story to the table.” http://nyti.ms/1L8eWBn
JOE SCARBOROUGH COLUMN for Politico, “On my backstory with Rubio: There isn’t one”: “Rubio’s campaign has spent the past six months shopping a story to news organizations that suggests my reporting has been influenced by some long-held personal grudge between Rubio and myself. It’s an interesting narrative, but it's not true. ... I have never met Rubio.” http://politi.co/1VZRwnH
WORTH THE CLICK -- “BERN YOUR ENTHUSIASM”: “With A Little Help From Larry David, Bernie Sanders Does SNL” Video http://n.pr/1nW5yME
BREAKING – “CNN to hold Democratic presidential debate in Flint,” by CNN’s Mark Preston: “The internationally televised event on March 6 will take place two days before the Michigan and Mississippi primaries and is part of a broader deal reached by Clinton and Sanders to add more DNC-sanctioned presidential primary debates.” http://cnn.it/1oi6k6D
SPOTTED by Elizabeth Wilner: “Tom Ridge in the TSA pre line at MHT. Funny to see the TSA guys stand up a little straighter. ... Ridge volunteers to move from a front row to a back row because there's not enough baggage on the flight. Many calls of ‘thanks, Governor!’”
NEW MEDIA -- “Independent Journal Review’s big debate moment,” by Hadas Gold: Founder Alex Skatell said the goal in hosting the debate with ABC “was to ‘incorporate people that can’t be in New Hampshire’ ... IJ staff were in the debate hall, livestreaming what happened during commercial breaks — something most people, including reporters in the filing center, don’t get to see.” http://politi.co/1Pfraw1
PUNDIT PREP – A pre-debate story on N.Y. Times A18, “Cruz Sets His Sights on Rubio, Not Trump, in New Hampshire,” by Matt Flegenheimer and Jonathan Martin in Nashua: “Cruz’s campaign, acknowledging that Mr. Rubio has the wind at his back going into Tuesday’s vote, has begun claiming that Mr. Cruz is unlikely to finish better than third, and will have to scrap for that. Gone are the boastful declarations that the Republican contest was narrowing to ‘a two-man race’ between Mr. Cruz and Mr. Trump.
“Privately, Cruz aides say they are hoping for a significant Trump win in New Hampshire, believing that a story line about his comeback here would be preferable to another wave of Rubio-exceeds-expectations coverage.” http://nyti.ms/1PtEVVZ
HOW DEBATE IS PLAYING: Boston Globe, 2-line banner, “A Saturday night fight breaks out, as campaign hurtles toward the vote” ... N.Y. Times, top of col. 1, “G.O.P. RIVALS JAB AT RUBIO TO TRY TO SLOW HIS RISE: CHRISTIE GOES ON ATTACK -- A High-Stakes Debate as Tuesday Vote Could Winnow Field” ... WashPost 5-col. lead, “An urgent push in restive N.H.: Third-place Rubio becomes first-place target at debate” ... L.A. Times 2-col. lead, “GOP rivals focus their aim at Rubio: The senator, rising in the polls, is put on the defensive in the New Hampshire debate.”
WHAT N.H. IS READING: Union Leader front-page editorial, “Christie is [still] the real deal,” by Publisher Joe McQuaid http://bit.ly/1TMkzML
BACK IN IOWA – Des Moines Register banner, “Uproar could lead to revamping process: Confusion over counts leads to doubts about winner — and ridicule; change ‘not as simple as it sounds,’” by Jennifer Jacobs: “‘We can’t change our process without running the risk of endangering our relationship with New Hampshire,’ said Dave Nagle, a former Democratic Party chairman whose mission for years was to ensure Iowa maintains its pole position in the nation’s presidential voting. ... New Hampshire ... elections chief Bill Gardner [might] object if Iowa Democrats echo the way Iowa Republicans hold their caucuses.” http://dmreg.co/1W223Pl
TRAIL PIX -- @betsyfischermartin: “Laughs over breakfast w #dailyshow Trevor Noah [and Jonathan Martin]” http://bit.ly/1PfvVFS ... @smahaskey: “As @GOP candidates make final remarks, @CarlyFiorina bus view of NH road from [Marriott Residence Inn] parking lot.” http://bit.ly/1KyV4wh
USED NEWS – NYT, yesterday, “Donald Trump’s Campaign, Billed as Self-Funded, Risks Little of His Fortune” http://nyti.ms/23Rkgoy ... Politico’s Ben Schreckinger, Oct. 15, “Trump not exactly self-funding his campaign” http://politi.co/1XbSpdY
CAMPAIGN EMAIL SUBJECT LINES OF THE DAY – From Chelsea: “Can my mom count on you to help her win?” ... From Huma: “I’d love to get to know you better”.
BACKSTAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE – WashPost A1, lower left corner, “A family’s White House tradition nears an end: John Wrory Ficklin, a descendant of a slave, may be the last in a long line to work at the mansion,” by Juliet Eilerpin: “Ficklin is the 10th member of his family ... to have worked in the White House ... Ficklin’s uncle Charles got a job as a White House butler in 1939. His father, John Woodson Ficklin, joined the staff a year later and stayed for 43 years. The long family streak may end with Ficklin, who retired last month ...
“But he was also the first whose work would range beyond the kitchens, pantries and dining rooms ... Ficklin retired as a special assistant to the president and senior director for records and access management at the National Security Council.” http://wapo.st/1TMj3dJ
SUPER BOWL ADS TO WATCH – “Super Bowl ads go for the safety,” by AP Business Writer Mae Anderson: “Skittles will showcase Steven Tyler’s high range on ‘Dream On,’ Budweiser is enlisting Helen Mirren to chide drunk drivers, and Audi will have an astronaut drive its luxury R8 sports car to the tune of David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ ... A trade group for Mexican avocados signed up Scott Baio to appear in a fictional alien history exhibit about humans in the 1980s. Snickers brings us Willem Defoe as a hungry Marilyn Monroe. Six celebrities such as Harvey Keitel and Serena Williams appear to praise the BMW Mini Clubman as a ‘chick car’ and urge people to ‘defy labels.’ Christopher Walken compares the Kia Optima sedan to wearing colorful socks. ...
“Anheuser-Busch, traditionally the biggest advertiser on the Super Bowl, has tapped Helen Mirren to stringently call out drunk drivers for being ‘pillocks’ (British slang for idiots). Colgate-Palmolive is running a spot urging people to save water by turning off the tap when they brush their teeth. The NFL is back with a domestic abuse message for the second year with a somber ad that shows how texting can convey signs of domestic abuse. ... Axe ... is going for a mature message that urges millennials to focus on what makes them unique rather than traditional status symbols. The tagline is ‘Find Your Magic.’ ...
“Bud Light spoofs the presidential election ... with Amy Schumer and Seth Rogan drumming up enthusiasm for the make-believe ‘Bud Light Party.’ Jeff Goldblum plays piano and sings ‘Movin’ on Up’ while suspended in midair for Apartments.com. Kevin Hart stalks his daughter's date in a Hyundai spot. And Mountain Dew takes weirdness to a new level with a ‘Puppymonkeybaby’ — pretty much exactly what it sounds like — mascot in an ad for its Kickstart drink. ...
“Acura introduces its luxury NSX sports car to the tune of Van Halen's ‘Runnin’ with the Devil.’ Sheep sing Queen’s ‘Somebody to Love’ ... for Honda’s Ridgeline truck. Steven Tyler sings ‘Dream On’ with a portrait of himself made of Skittles. ... Heinz ... features adorable wiener dogs running in a field toward people dressed as Heinz ketchup bottles to Harry Nilsson's ‘Without You.’ Taco Bell [announces] a top-secret new food item.” http://apne.ws/20P5Qmg
--AD SPOILER ALERT: Online clues suggest the Taco Bell item is the “Quesalupa,” described by Adweek as “a chalupa (taco made with fried flat bread) with the new twist being that the puffy shell is stuffed with cheese.” With pics http://bit.ly/1XbHfGe
--YOUTUBES embedded: “10 Super Bowl ads everyone will be talking about” http://apne.ws/1Q1xWTk
--NFL’s “Ways to watch Super Bowl 50” http://bit.ly/1NYgv4M
BIRTHDAYS: Deborah Bodin Cohen (hubby tip: Politico Senior Editor David Cohen, who brings you Playbook on Sundays) ... Gay Talese is 84 ... former Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) is 81 (h/t Teresa Vilmain)... Dave Levinthal, senior political reporter for the Center for Public Integrity, the pride of Buffalo and a Politico alum ... Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) ... Jessica Kershaw, press secretary and senior advisor at the Dept of Interior ... Beth Frerking, editor in chief of The National Law Journal, the pride of Seguin, Tex., and a Politico alum ... Matt Aiello (h/t Deckard) ... Jeff Kearns, Bloomberg’s China economy editor, who used to cover the Fed ... Sterling Emerling, digital marketing manager at International Justice Mission and an AEI and Red Edge alum ... Jennifer Diamond Haber, VP and managing director at Qorvis MSLGROUP and a Washingtonian, ABC and CBS alum ... Jim Burns, comms. specialist for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at DHS ... WashTimes alum Carleton Bryant ...
... Powell Tate’s Robert Howard, dedicated Houstonian and diehard Wisconsin Badger alum (h/t Geoff Burgan) ... Hon. James Gilbert, chief administrative law judge, U.S. Postal Service ... SiriusXM’s Patrick Ferrise ... Frank Binzoni … Miguel L’Heureux, SBA White House Liaison, former White House PPO Economics Director, OFA and University of Kansas alum (h/t Sophia Kim) ... Washington Examiner healthcare reporter Paige W. Connor, a Politico alum ... Jeanne Marcarelli Mccann, VP of digital strategies at the Hatcher Group ... Jeffrey Marschner, a Citizens United alum now working on the Hill, is 38 ... Marie Assali ... Christine Grimaldi ... Boehner world’s John Criscuolo, executive director of The Freedom Project ...
... Monica Medina, senior director of international ocean policy at National Geographic and former Obama DoD and NOAA official (h/t Jon Haber) ... Marielle Kress, senior advisor to the director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services at CMS … Christina Miller, marketing manager at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner … Lisanne Nelson Brandon (h/t Teresa) ... movie director Hector Babenco is 70 ... comedy writer Robert Smigel is 56 ... James Spader is 56 ... Garth Brooks is 54 ... David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 54 ... actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 54 ... Chris Rock is 51 ... Ashton Kutcher is 38 ... actress Tina Majorino is 31 ... actress Deborah Ann Woll is 31 (h/ts AP)
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