OFF TO THE RACES: The Pile-On
CARSON: An emotional Ben Carson honored the young campaign volunteer killed in an Iowa car crash yesterday.
CLINTON: From the New York Times: "Democrats backing Hillary Clinton, nervously eyeing Senator Bernie Sanders’s growing strength in the early nominating states, are turning to a new strategy to raise doubts about his candidacy, highlighting his socialist beliefs to warn that he would be an electoral disaster who would frighten swing voters and send Democrats in tight congressional and governor’s races to defeat."
NBCNews.com: "Emails from Hillary Clinton's home server contained information classified at levels higher than previously known, including a level meant to protect some of the most sensitive U.S. intelligence, according to a document obtained by NBC News. In a letter to lawmakers, the intelligence community's internal watchdog says some of Clinton's emails contained information classified Top Secret/Special Access Program, a secrecy designation that includes some of the most closely held U.S. intelligence matters."
The New York Times looks at how liberal women are struggling to reconcile Clinton's own career with her role dealing with allegations regarding her husband's sexual misconduct.
CRUZ: After Palin backed Trump, Cruz told NH1.com that conservatives will determine "who's the real conservative."
KASICH: He's trying to campaign with optimism in New Hampshire.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said: “I’m not sugarcoating anything, but I’m not walking in there as the prince of darkness.”
O'MALLEY: The Des Moines Register writes that Iowans like Martin O'Malley, even if they're not planning to support him.
RUBIO: He's out with a new ad calling Clinton "disqualified" from serving as commander in chief.
He's betting on a long-haul strategy, writes the AP. "I won't be able to appeal to everybody on everything. I want to get enough delegates to be the nominee."
SANDERS: He's in People Magazine. "Bernie Sanders Does His Own Laundry (and Grocery Shopping): Inside the Family Life of the Down-to-Earth Democratic Candidate"
The Wall Street Journal op-ed page: “It’s time to take Bernie Sanders seriously. The Vermont Senator is leading in Iowa and New Hampshire and in Sunday’s debate he sounded for the first time like a candidate who thinks he can win. He still isn’t the favorite against the Clinton machine, but it’s no longer impossible to imagine the 74-year-old socialist as the Democratic nominee.”
TRUMP: A day after his vice presidential pick endorsed The Donald, John McCain says he's "not taking sides" at this point in the race, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports.
In her endorsement of Trump, Palin said he'd "let our warriors do their job and go kick ISIS' ass!"
"The GOP machine, the establishment, they who would assemble the political landscape, they're attacking their own frontrunner," she added. "Would the left ever, the DNC ever, come after their frontrunner and her supporters? No because they don't eat their own," she said, per NBCNews.com's report.
Less than 24 hours before she endorsed Trump, Palin's son was arrested on domestic violence charges.
Jane Timm looks at how much Palin's nod could give Trump a bump in Iowa.
And around the country...
MICHIGAN: The latest from Flint, via the Detroit Free Press: “Facing the biggest crisis of his five years as governor, demands for his resignation and even calls for his criminal prosecution, Gov. Rick Snyder accepted major responsibility for the Flint drinking water catastrophe in his State of the State address Tuesday and set out short-term plans and long-term promises to put things right. 'I'm sorry and I will fix it,' Snyder said near the opening of his 50-minute speech, directly addressing the residents of Flint. 'You did not create this crisis, and you do not deserve this.'"
PROGRAMMING NOTES.
*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: Andrea Mitchell interviews at 12p ET – Senior strategist for the Hillary Clinton campaign Joel Benenson, Senior Advisor to the Bernie Sanders campaign, Tad Devine, Delaware Senator Chris Coons on the Syrian refugee vote, and two documentary filmmakers who lived in a Syrian refugee camp for a month.