Nov 12, 2015 8 min read

Wake Up To Politics - November 12, 2015

To read today's edition of Wake Up To Politics in a PDF format, click here. Continue reading to find the text of the Wake Up in the body of the email!

Thursday, November 12, 2015
362 Days until Election Day 2016
81 Days until the Iowa Caucuses It's Thursday, November 12, 2015, I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!
To send me questions, comments, tips, new subscribers, and more: email me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com. To learn more about WUTP and subscribe, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or like me on Twitter and Facebook. More ways to engage with WUTP at the bottom. 2016 Central

Bob Dole Endorses Jeb Bush Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican nominee for President, endorsed Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign Wednesday.
“I consider nearly all of the Republican candidates to be my friends, but I have determined that Jeb Bush is the most qualified,” Dole said in a statement. “Jeb has the proven leadership skills and executive experience needed to fix the problems facing our country – from the anemic economy to America’s weakened standing among world leaders.”
Dole also announced Wednesday (Veterans Day) that he would serve as Bush’s National Veterans Chairman. “I will do all I can to be helpful to Jeb’s campaign,” he said.
Dole served in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant during World War II, until he was wounded in combat in Italy, receiving two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star for his injuries.
The Kansan served in the U.S. Senate for over 27 years, rising to Majority Leader before resigning after winning the Republican presidential nomination in 1996.
According to Wake Up To Politics research on other living presidential nominees, Dole is the third to endorse Jeb Bush. The two others? His father, George H.W. Bush (1988, 1992) and brother, George W. Bush (2000, 2004). Meanwhile, John McCain (2008) has endorsed his Senate colleague Lindsey Graham; Mitt Romney (2012) will not endorse anyone during the primaries, instead planning to wait until a nominee is chosen. “Up until that point, I don’t expect to be becoming associated with any one campaign,” Romney told reporters in June, although he praised both Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads in endorsements by past presidential nominees, having won the support of Walter Mondale (1984), Michael Dukakis (1988), and her husband, Bill Clinton (1992, 1996). Jimmy Carter (1976, 1980) has signaled support for Hillary Clinton, as well, but will not formally endorse until after the nominating convention. None of the past three Democratic presidential nominees – Al Gore (2000), John Kerry (2004), and Barack Obama (2008, 2012) – have endorsed a 2016 candidate yet. Kerry has said he is totally staying out of the 2016 race, while it is still possible that Obama will weigh in.
As for Gore? In a People interview published Tuesday, Gore refused to endorse Hillary Clinton, whose husband he served under as Vice President for eight years. “It’s still too early…to endorse a candidate or pick a candidate,” he told the magazine.
Postal Workers Announce Sanders Endorsement The American Postal Workers’ Union (APWU) announced Thursday it was endorsing Bernie Sanders, a Democratic candidate for President.
“We should judge candidates not by their political party, not by what they say, not by what we think they stand for, but by what they do,” AWMU president Mark Dimondstein wrote in a statement. “Applying that criteria, Sen. Bernie Sanders stands above all others as a true champion of postal workers and other workers throughout the country.”
“No other candidate has his record of fighting to defend and expand Social Security, promoting ‘Medicare for all,’ and opposing ‘fast track trade authority’ and rotten deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP),” Dimondstein continued.
The APWU is made up over 200,000 current former U.S. Postal Service employees. Their endorsement represents a major victory for Sanders, who has been losing the battle over union endorsements to Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, was endorsed by the 1.6 million-strong American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees last month, the largest U.S. trade union. She has also received the support of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, and other unions

**Whiteboard Wedne(*Thur)*sday** It’s time for Whiteboard Wednesday! (on Thursday)

Every Wednesday, I take the averages from all the polls released in the past week and draw them on my whiteboard.

Here, you can see how both parties’ nomination races stack up. The logos show each represent a candidate, the brown percentage next to the logos is their average support from the week’s polls. The red/green number is the net change from last week’s average.

Interestingly, on the GOP side, almost everyone gains ground (although some increases are very small): except for Carly Fiorina, who does not lose or gain (symbolic of her once-rising, now stagnant campaign), and the two men at the top: Donald Trump and Ben Carson, who remain in the lead, but both lose small amounts of support.

On the Democratic side, the much smaller field remains largely unchanged. Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley both decline, while Bernie Sanders gains – although these are all 0.5-1.5% changes.

White House Watch

The President’s Schedule At 11:15am, President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to retired Army Captain Florent A. Groberg, for conspicuous gallantry in combat in Afghanistan on August 8, 2012.
Groberg, 31, was born in France, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen at age 17.
The Medal of Honor is the highest U.S. military honor, awarded for “acts off valor above and beyond the call of duty”. Groberg is the 17^th Medal of Honor recipient for service in Iraq or Afghanistan, and the 10^th living recipient for Iraq/Afghanistan service.
Today’s will be the 46^th Medal of Honor awarded by President Obama, in the 20 Medal of Honor ceremonies he has led.

Political Inbox

Post-Debate Spin There were only two debates Tuesday, but apparently, an awful lot of winners. Here’s are excerpts from emails Republican presidential campaigns sent supporters after the debate:
Bush Jeb Bush: “Friend, last night I stepped on that stage and I brought the fight straight to Hillary Clinton. I was the only candidate who repeatedly pointed out how her stances are just doubling down on President Obama’s failed policies, and contrasted that with my pro-growth, optimistic plans.”
Christie Chris Christie: “Gabe, tonight, all I needed was a podium and a microphone so that I could continue to talk about the real issues Americans are facing and the clear need to make sure that a Hillary Clinton presidency remains a liberal fantasy. I hope you heard me loud and clear.”

Cruz Ted Cruz: “Two weeks ago, with your help, we declared war on the media and won our first battle -- NBC will not be allowed to host another GOP debate. Last night, we won our second battle in the war against the media. AND it was a BIG win... I stood up to the media, united our party, and we won a HUGE battle.”
Fiorina Deputy campaign manager Sarah Isgur Flores: “Did you see Carly debate tonight? She did us proud—and proved, once again, why she's the candidate we need to take on Hillary Clinton next November.”
Paul Rand Paul: “The reviews are in and last night was a resounding success. The moderators did a good job and I had enough time to get my message out. Analysts across the country are saying this was a big moment for our campaign. Even the New York Times said I won the debate. We won several polls including the Fox News Poll.”
Rubio Campaign manager Terry Sullivan: “Strong, Confident Command of the Issues. That's exactly what Marco demonstrated on the debate stage in Milwaukee tonight. It's exactly what we need in our next President and Commander in Chief…As he has during every one of the previous debates, Marco stood head and shoulders above the rest of the stage.”
Santorum Rick Santorum: “What a debate! It takes a lot to build a history of being a true conservative while winning in a blue state, and I'm proud to have taken the debate stage tonight as the only candidate to have both on his resume. While other candidates bickered, I continued to stand and fight for the American worker. That's how I won tonight's debate.”
Trump Donald Trump: “Thank you for watching! It was a great night. Prior to the start of the debate two national polls were released that show the strength of our support. The latest results from Reuters have me as the leader of the field with 29.6% and the latest Morning Consult survey shows me as the undisputed frontrunner with 34% support… With your support, we will dominate the post- debate polls and Make America Great Again!”

Question of the Day

Today’s Question The trivia question today comes from Ken Dukes: “Who was the only person who ran for Vice-President and was defeated, then ran for President and won?”
Wednesday’s Answer With Ben Carson and Donald Trump gaining Secret Service protection, the trivia question Tuesday asked for the 2012 Republican presidential candidates who were protected by the agency.
THE ANSWERS: Mitt Romney (codename: Javelin), Rick Santorum (codename: Petrus), and Newt Gingrich (codename: T-Rex).
For more on the criteria for candidates given Secret Service protection, there was a full summary in yesterday’s Wake Up.
THE WINNERS: Jim Wilbat, Jordan “JBurg” Burger, Marlee Millman, Rick Isserman, and Steve Gitnik! Great job!
Tuesday’s Answer The day of the fourth Republican debate, the trivia question Tuesday asked about the historical significance of the debate venue.
THE ANSWER: Milwaukee Theater, where the debate was held Tuesday, was also the venue for an October 14, 1912 speech by former President Theodore Roosevelt…which he delivered minutes after being shot in the chest. Roosevelt, who was running for a third, non-consecutive term as President, had a 90-minute address at the Milwaukee Theater (then known as the Milwaukee Auditorium) scheduled when he was shot by a saloonkeeper outside a Milwaukee hotel.
“It’s takes more than that to kill a bull moose,” Roosevelt famously declared.
THE WINNERS: Jordan Burger (again), James Woolley, Jim Wilbat, Joe Bookman, @IQ_KC, and Joan Zucker. Great job all!