OFF THE RACES: Trump’s struggle to make a “lasting, durable enterprise.”
Here’s the full polling memo from our NBC News/SurveyMonkey post-debate poll.
CLINTON: The New York Times on Clinton’s college affordability plan: “The Clinton proposals might fare better than those offered by her two main opponents for the Democratic nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, because unlike them, she is not relying mostly on the government to deal with student debt. Colleges would have to hold down costs and show improvements on graduation rates, for instance. Mr. Sanders has proposed spending about $47 billion a year to end public college tuition, with another $23 billion a year coming from states; Mr. O’Malley has proposed his own debt-free plan, though a campaign spokeswoman said there was no cost estimate yet.”
More, from Alez Seitz-Wald: “In response to rising student debt burdens and the need to entice young voters, Hillary Clinton on Monday will propose a $350 billion student debt reform plan that aims to make college accessible to Americans without loans.
She’s going on offense against Republicans as she continues to suffer erosion in her poll numbers, notes the Washington Post.
KASICH: He weighed in on Donald Trump in an interview with one of us(!), saying “"It's up to me to tell people about me and not be worrying about somebody else.”
RUBIO: On Meet the Press, he offered this clarification on his comments about abortion: “I'll support any legislation that reduces the number of abortions. And there are those that have that exception. What I've never done is said I require that it must have or not have exceptions."
TRUMP: The Washington Post does a deep dive on his struggles to turn his operation into a real political campaign. “Trump’s improvisations have created the defining friction in his unorthodox universe: He has struggled to expand his campaign from one appealing to an angry fraction of the electorate into a lasting, durable enterprise that can secure the presidency.”
And from the AP: “As Trump pushes ahead with an establishment-bucking campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, the real estate developer and former reality TV star's decidedly unconventional approach to politics includes foregoing — so far — any substantive discussion of public policy.”
PROGRAMMING NOTES.
*** Friday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: Today on News Nation, Tamron Hall speaks with Republican Strategist John Feehery and Daily Beast columnist Jackie Kucinich about the latest political headlines and 2016, Senior Fellow with DEMOS Rich Benjamin and Freelance Photographer Bradley Rayford about the latest on the anniversary of the events in Ferguson and the protest held there last night, and CEO Dan Price about his company Gravity Payments.
*** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports live from the campaign trail with Hillary Clinton in Exeter, NH. She’ll interview Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, Fmr. Gov. John Sununu, Fmr. Gov. James Florio, Missouri State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, the New York Times’ Patrick Healy, the Washington Post’s Anne Gearan and Chris Cillizza and NBC’s Richard Engel