(ABC News blog) -
- MITT ROMNEY ON THE EMERGING 2016 FIELD: The former Republican nominee assessed the fresh crop of potential 2016 Republican nominees yesterday, starting with newly-minted presidential candidate Ted Cruz: “He is a person of very sound capability and I think you’re going to hear a lot from him.” Romney said that he remembers Cruz speaking at the RNC in 2012 without notes and said he “spellbound the audience there” On his own 2016 endorsement, Romney said “I’m going to be very, very aggressively neutral in this process.” “I like Jeb Bush a lot. I think he’d be a terrific president. I like Marco Rubio. Scott Walker I like a lot…Chris Christie, boy a guy tells the truth in your face if he disagrees with you.” Asked if Christie can overcome low poll numbers, Romney said, “America loves a comeback, and Chris is poised to do that,” according to ABC’s ARLETTE SAENZ.
- TODAY ON THE TRAIL: Jeb Bush is in Dallas where his brother, former President George W. Bush, will be holding a fundraiser for him. Laura Bush will attend, as will Dallas billionaire T. Boone Pickens,ABC’s SHUSHANNAH WALSHE notes. Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is fundraising in Manhattan and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is raising money in Philadelphia.
- ANALYSIS — ABC’s RICK KLEIN: He’s his “own man,” sure, but look who’s helping to pay the way. The relationship with Jeb Bush and the odd-numbered presidents he calls his dad and brother will surely be an evolving one over the next year-plus, with questions of legacy, rivalry, and dynasty never far from the frame. But with fundraisers featuring his family members Wednesday and Thursday – including a Dallas fundraiser featuring George W. Bush Wednesday night – Jeb Bush and his campaign are making clear to GOP donors that he isn’t straying too far from his name, at least for the purposes of raking in cash. There will be phases in this campaign where being a Bush hurts his campaign prospects. For those moments, the candidate has his lines down pat. The fundraising phase – notice how little news Jeb has committed in the last few weeks? – is the opposite kind of time, where the name is a boon. It should, though, serve as a reminder for down the road that distancing oneself from a family legacy is only credible up to a point.
- JEB BUSH CALLS US APPROACH TO IRAN ‘FOOLISH’ in an Op-Ed posted today in the National Review: “Consider American policy towards Iran, a nation that has waged a relentless campaign of terror and war-by-proxy against U.S. troops and American allies for more than three decades. The administration believes Iran will become a responsible partner for peace once it signs up to a deal that largely leaves in place its nuclear infrastructure. In a region that is in a near-constant state of conflict — with Iran as a primary instigator — this approach is foolish. It is clear that nothing — not public opinion, not opposition from his own party in Congress, and not even the facts — will deter President Obama from a potentially risky agreement that may well allow Iran to intimidate the entire Middle East, menace Israel, and, most of all, threaten America.” READ MORE
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