memeorandum: Huge Head Start for Hillary Clinton, but the Big Race Is Far From Won (Nate Cohn/New York Times)

11:55 AM ET, April 13, 2015

Top Items:

CNN:

First on CNN: Hillary Clinton takes road trip to Iowa — (CNN)Iowa or bust. — Hillary Clinton is kicking off her second bid for the White House with a road trip, riding from New York to her first campaign stop on Tuesday in Iowa. She was spotted on Sunday evening chatting with people at a gas station in Pennsylvania.

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Washington Monthly, Los Angeles Times, PoliticusUSA, OnPolitics, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, New York Post, Taylor Marsh, The Huffington Post, RedState, Mediaite, WISH-TV, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine and USA Today

Heather / Crooks and Liars:

Bill Kristol: If They Get To Nominate Hillary Clinton, Why Don't We Get To Nominate Dick Cheney? — Here's Bloody Bill Kristol with the false equivalency of the day when asked who is the most promising Republican candidate not in the race yet by This Week host George Stephanopoulos:

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Political Wire and Addicting Info

Associated Press:

RUBIO TELLS DONORS HE IS RUNNING FOR WHITE HOUSE — MIAMI (AP) — Sen. Marco Rubio on Monday took on Hillary Rodham Clinton in his first words as a presidential candidate, telling top donors he is running for the Republican nomination because the 2016 race for the White House should be about the future, not the past.

Discussion: Mediaite, Post On Politics, The Week, The Daily Caller and Chicago

Catalina Camia / USA Today:

Marco Rubio set to launch 2016 bid — WASHINGTON — Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a telegenic rising star with appeal to conservative and establishment Republicans, is poised to jump into the presidential race today. — Rubio has scheduled a “big announcement” this evening at Miami's Freedom Tower.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, OnPolitics, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and NBC News

Julie Bykowicz / Bloomberg Business:

Why Hillary Clinton Can't Win the Fundraising Expectations Game — As Hillary Clinton begins her second presidential bid, and the business of paying for it, her supporters predict that she will be deemed a fundraising failure no matter how much money she collects.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, New York Times, Democratic Strategist, The National Interest and American Spectator

Bill Curry / Salon:

Hillary Clinton just doesn't get it: She's already running a losing campaign — Hillary Clinton joins the race for president today. If you believe the leaks from her staff, and there's no reason you shouldn't, she'll do it in a video released at noon as she herself flies high above the nation in a chartered plane.

Discussion: Reuters, New York Post, On Point with Tom Ashbrook, Common Dreams, Betsy's Page, Politico, Washington Post, The Mahablog, Liberal Values, Roger's Rules and New York Times

Paul Lewis / Guardian:

Hillary Clinton's journey to Iowa: 1,000-mile road trip in a ‘Scooby-Doo’ van — Itinerary unclear for Democratic frontrunner, who has nicknamed her van ‘Scooby’, as she looks to put human touch on nascent presidential campaign — Hillary Clinton has begun her presidential campaign …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Althouse and Mashable

Matt Higgins / CBS DC:
Romney: ‘Hillary Clinton Is Just Not Trustworthy’

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Politico:
Why Marco Rubio couldn't say no

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NPR, Salon, Bloomberg Business, BREITBART.COM, Bloomberg View, SaintPetersBlog, Hot Air, Associated Press and Post On Politics

Hillary Clinton / Guardian:
The Guardian view on Hillary Clinton: hammering the glass ceiling (again)

Discussion: Hit & Run, Washington Post, France 24, Common Dreams, WIS-TV and Daily Kos

Agence France-Presse:
Gay couple overjoyed to feature in Clinton launch video

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:
The Official 2016 GOP Field Gets Its First Real Contender: Marco Rubio

Discussion: The National Memo, New York Magazine, Political Wire and The Reaction

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Can Hillary hold together the Obama coalition?

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Washington Post, Post On Politics, ABC and Bloomberg Business

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
Anti-Clinton Posters Hit New York, Las Vegas

Discussion: BizPac Review

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Hillary Clinton to drive to Iowa

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Vox, Althouse, Washington Times, New York Times and Twitchy

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Mayor de Blasio, Saying He Wants More Policy Details, Holds Off on Endorsing Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Brooklyn Magazine, Hot Air, Fox News Insider, ABC News and The Week

Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Huge Head Start for Hillary Clinton, but the Big Race Is Far From Won

Discussion: VodkaPundit, The Atlantic Online, Reuters, Washington Post, The Fifth Column, The New Republic, Bloomberg View and Daily Kos

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Romney: Clinton a ‘creature of Washington’

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Shakesville, Daily Kos, Politico, Caffeinated Thoughts, Wall Street Journal and Scared Monkeys

Jon Swaine / Guardian:

Walter Scott shooting: officer describes adrenaline rush in recording — Michael Slager appears to laugh nervously in audio recording as he discusses what will happen next with a senior officer — The police officer who killed Walter Scott in South Carolina said afterwards that he was experiencing …

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Free Thought Project, Addicting Info and New York Magazine

Jenna Levy / Gallup:

In U.S., Uninsured Rate Dips to 11.9% in First Quarter — Story Highlights — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The uninsured rate among U.S. adults declined to 11.9% for the first quarter of 2015 — down one percentage point from the previous quarter and 5.2 points since the end of 2013, just before the Affordable Care Act went into effect.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, New York Magazine and Daily Kos

Jeffrey Young / The Huffington Post:
Uninsured Rate Gets Lower And Lower, Thanks To Obamacare

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Balloon Juice

Maria Abi-Habib / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Widens Role in Saudi-led Campaign Against Houthi Rebels in Yemen — Washington has concerns about Riyadh's goals in the conflict — The U.S. is expanding its role in Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen, vetting military targets and searching vessels for Yemen-bound Iranian arms amid growing concerns …

Discussion: Fox News and The American Conservative

Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi / New York Times:
Yemen's President: The Houthis Must Be Stopped

Discussion: Middle East Eye and The American Conservative

Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Moves to Stem Iran Arms Flow to Yemen

Discussion: Israel Matzav and The Times of Israel

Matea Gold / Washington Post:

Wealthy donors on left launch new plan to wrest back control in the states — SAN FRANCISCO — A cadre of wealthy liberal donors aims to pour tens of millions of dollars into rebuilding the left's political might in the states, racing to catch up with a decades-old conservative effort that has reshaped statehouses across the country.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Prairie Weather

Tom Kertscher / JSOnline:

Driver, teen shot to death after van hits and kills toddler — The van that struck and killed a toddler in the 4600 block of N. 48th St. and the area surrounding it are cordoned off by police tape. The driver, who stayed at the scene, was fatally shot. And a 15-year-old at the scene also was fatally shot.

Discussion: FOX6Now.com, The Gateway Pundit and ABC News

Elizabeth Harrington / Washington Free Beacon:

Pentagon Deploys ‘May I Kiss You?’ Training — An issue that could “dramatically affect” the mission of the United States Armed Forces is telling soldiers when it is okay to kiss a girl. — The Air Force is the latest branch to employ the services of Mike Domitrz, a speaker and author known for his …

Discussion: BizPac Review

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

It Takes a Party — So Hillary Clinton is officially running, to nobody's surprise. And you know what's coming: endless attempts to psychoanalyze the candidate, endless attempts to read significance into what she says or doesn't say about President Obama, endless thumb-sucking about her “positioning” on this or that issue.

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine