— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) May 14, 2016
“Priorities USA, the big money pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC, will begin airing general election ads against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday,” CNN reports. “Priorities USA will spend $6 million on ads between May 18 and June 8, hitting Trump in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Nevada, all general election battleground states. The ads will try to do what no Republican could: Take down the businessman who beat a scrum of veteran politicians to all-but-win the Republican nomination.”
Thomas Friedman: “If I were critiquing Trump’s foreign policy views it would not be on inconsistency, hypocrisy or lying. It would be that he shows no sign of having asked the most important question: What are the real foreign policy challenges the next president will face? I don’t think he has a clue, because if he did, he wouldn’t want the job. This is one of the worst times to be conducting U.S. foreign policy.”
“The days of clear-cut, satisfying victories overseas, like opening up China or tearing down the Berlin Wall, are over. U.S. foreign policy now is all about containing disorder and messes. It is the exact opposite of running a beauty pageant. There’s no winner, and each contestant is uglier than the last.”
Kevin Drum is bullish on the economy. I’ll let you go look at the charts he put together, but here’s his conclusion.
This is an unusual situation. Usually one party wants to badmouth the economy and the other wants to celebrate it. This year, both parties are insisting that the economy is listless and stagnant, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. The truth is that for the past year the economy has been in pretty good shape. We’re all just afraid to say so.
So, to summarize: Obama has to release his birth certificate and college transcripts but Trump’s tax returns are, meh.
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) May 11, 2016
“Ignorance is not a virtue. It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real, or telling it like it is.” — President Obama, quoted by CBS News, in an attack on Donald Trump.
“Hillary Clinton is considering a running mate who could make a direct appeal to supporters of Bernie Sanders, bridging a generational and political divide,” USA Today reports.
“Clinton’s chief requirements include a candidate’s resume and a fighter capable of hand-to-hand combat with Trump. The campaign’s vetting also prioritizes demographics over someone from a key swing state as she seeks to unify the Democratic voting base, said the individuals coordinating with the campaign, who were not authorized to speak on the record about early deliberations.”
On that note, Warren’s audition for the job has been noticed by Hillary. Huffington Post: “One close Clinton confidant said that she and her aides were ‘thrilled to see Warren get under his skin.’ Another senior Clinton adviser, who is advocating internally for Warren as a vice presidential pick, said the senator has ‘very influential people in the campaign pushing for her.’” Said one longtime Clinton veteran: “You want a running mate who can take the fight to the other side with relish. Geography does not matter, but attitude and talent and energy and bringing excitement to the campaign, Senator Warren does all that.”
“The attributes that Warren would bring to the VP slot extend beyond vigorous mocking of Trump. Top Democrats increasingly see a dual-female ticket as a potent response to a GOP nominee with a well-documented past of sexist remarks.”
Clinton-Warren 2016!!!
Ben Carson told the Washington Post that former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is being considered as Donald Trump’s running mate, along with many of the real estate billionaire’s former challengers.
God doesn’t love me that much.
“A band of exasperated Republicans — including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a handful of veteran consultants and members of the conservative intelligentsia — is actively plotting to draft an independent presidential candidate who could keep Donald Trump from the White House,” the Washington Post reports.
“These GOP figures are commissioning private polling, lining up major funding sources and courting potential contenders… The effort has been sporadic all spring but has intensified significantly in the 10 days since Trump effectively locked up the Republican nomination.”
Their top recruiting prospects: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Gov. John Kasich.
“After days of confusion over Donald J. Trump’s hints that he would change his tax plan to reduce its budget-busting cost and make it less generous to the rich, his spokeswoman on Thursday sought to clear things up: He plans no changes, Hope Hicks said, and advisers who say otherwise do not speak for him,” the New York Times reports.