Five Stories You'll Care About in Politics This Week
— -- Who said a presidential campaign isn't dangerous? You could lose a tooth. Someone could lick your camera. You might accidentally say you’re running before you actually are. You could find yourself raising money for the kind of super PAC you say you loathe.
Your brother's shadow could envelop your campaign. If you win, kings might still not come over when you invite them. And if you lose, you might wind up in the ring with the former heavyweight champion of the world.
Here's a look at some of the stories the ABC News political team will be tracking in the week ahead:
BROTHERLY LOVE
Jeb Bush stepped up his public game in recent days – only to have his week consumed by questions anyone close to his brother is far too familiar with. It took Bush four days and five different answers to land where he basically needed to be all along on Iraq, saying that he wouldn’t have invaded if he had known at the time of the war what we now know about faulty intelligence. In the meantime, his rivals pounced, sensing a soft spot that won’t go away. Other Republican candidates have their own foreign-policy questions to answer. But none appear as acute as Bush’s challenges, as he sorts through the legacies of two former presidents. And Republicans might find themselves spending another presidential campaign talking about Iraq.
HELLO AGAIN HILLARY
It’s almost as if Hillary Clinton will have a normal week of campaigning. She’s set to campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire – and not be forced back to Washington, at least not yet, to testify on Benghazi. But nothing’s quite normal about this campaign, not after a month-plus of campaigning brought a grand total of nine answers to questions from reporters. The pace of Clinton’s roll-out has actually slowed. This past week brought mostly closed-door fundraisers, with a stroll through Brooklyn perhaps the most notable campaign moments captured on camera. Plans for a larger-scale launch, complete with public rallies, are still in development. But frustration is growing, from both reporters and activists, about campaign access and accountability.
TRADE'S PLACE
President Obama’s bid for "fast-track" trade authority is back on track for a Senate vote in the coming days, with Republicans ready to provide the votes the bill will need. But this debate is more than about strange bedfellows – it’s about friendly fire inside the Democratic Party. To a remarkable degree, the fight has devolved into Barack Obama vs. Elizabeth Warren, with charges of sexism flying and thoughts of 2016 churning inside liberals' minds. Minus their dream candidate, progressives are pushing Hillary Clinton to move in their direction – and against the president's – on trade. It's just one of a series of issues that's providing angst inside the Democratic base. And even if the trade bill makes it through the Senate, it will have to get through a deeply skeptical Democratic leadership in the House.
