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’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
Scott Walker had it all: biography, geography, executive experience, a record of wins and enough superPAC cash to buy a heck of a lot of $1 Kohls sweaters. (Though since campaigns and superPACs can’t coordinate, finding the right color and size can be an issue!) So how did he go from leading - decisively! - in Iowa polls in mid-July to earning just three percent in the latest Quinnipiac poll in the caucus state? It doesn’t seem to be that Iowa voters *like* him less. His net favorable rating in the Q-poll is almost unchanged since May, and his numbers on being honest/trustworthy and understanding regular voters have only slipped a little bit. (He took a slightly bigger hit on “leadership qualities” over the summer.) Apart from his obvious unforced errors on policy questions, we see two more structural problems. One: waffling answers on issues - particularly on immigration - never sit well with a GOP electorate even without Trump in the mix (a man who has said he CAN’T REMEMBER the last time he apologized for anything.) And two: Walker’s first rise to fame came after a fiery Iowa speech that seemed to put to rest concerns that the Wisconsin governor was too boring for primetime. In the Trump world, “boring” has a completely different meaning -- and until the entertainment part of 2016 is recalibrated (if it is at all!), even a fired-up Scott Walker has little chance of recapturing voters’ imaginations.
Programming note: With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, we’ve rearranged our wardrobes accordingly and also returned to publishing The Lid on Fridays. So keep tuning in five days a week for political analysis, news you might have missed, and jokes about sad baseball teams and exs!
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Hillary Clinton will have no formal role in this year's Clinton Global Initiative, msnbc’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
- In a visit to Ferguson, Missouri, on Friday, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Michael Brown "had done bad things, but his body didn't have to be disrespected" by being left in the street for hours, one of uswrites.
- The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee wants to know why Huma Abedin’s lawyers did not disclose that the State Department IG opened a “criminal investigation” into Abedin’s compensation in 2013.
- CNN has set the lineup for Wednesday’s debate and Carly Fiorina will be among the 11 candidates on stage for the prime-time showdown.
- Vice President Joe Biden suggested he is not yet emotionally prepared to run for president in 2016 during an appearance on “The Late Show” last night, msnbc’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
CAMPAIGN QUICK READS
CLINTON: The New York Times chronicles Clinton’s long road to “I’m sorry.”
The Washington Post makes the case that Hillary Clinton has opened herself up to potential attacks with her foreign policy stances during this campaign.
TRUMP: Bloomberg writes that he poses an existential threat to Marco Rubio.
He’s said to be in talks to sell the Miss Universe organization to WME/IMG the same day after buying NBCUniversal’s stake in the group.
FOR THE RECORD…
“Like many decisions that are made probably on Tuesday night at Tortilla Coast, they seem like a great idea after a couple margaritas, but when faced with the scrutiny of the light of day, they don’t seem quite as realistic.”
- White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on GOP talking about using the courts to block the Iran deal.
WEEKEND SKED
Donald Trump, Scott Walker, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio all attend the Iowa v. Iowa State game in Ames on Saturday.
Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, George Pataki, and Lindsey Graham campaign in New Hampshire.
Ben Carson and Bernie Sanders are in South Carolina. Jeb Bush opens a field office in Miami, Florida.
