memeorandum: Just 1 in 3 approves of Obama's handling of Iran (Jesse Byrnes/The Hill)

8:20 AM ET, August 14, 2015

Top Items:

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Al Gore Insiders “Figuring Out If There's A Path” For Him To Run — Supporters of Al Gore have begun a round of conversations among themselves and with the former vice president about his running for president in 2016, the latest sign that top Democrats have serious doubts that Hillary Clinton is a sure thing.

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Tennessean.com, NBC News, CNN, Reuters, Politico, RedState, Hot Air, Liberal Values, OnPolitics, Talking Points Memo, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Power Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Stranger …

New York Times:

Joe Biden Wades Further Into '16 Bid — WASHINGTON — Vice President Joseph R. Biden is vacationing on Kiawah Island off South Carolina's coast, riding bikes and walking the beaches with his family. But on Wednesday night, he called one of his most outspoken political supporters and wrestled …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Report: Al Gore insiders chatting potential 2016 bid — Al Gore's supporters have started chatting with the former vice president about a potential 2016 presidential bid, BuzzFeed News reported Thursday, citing an unnamed senior Democrat. — “They're figuring out if there's a path financially …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, American Spectator and RedState

Rick Klein / ABC News: Al Gore's Friends and Former Aides Eyeing 2016 Race

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Is Hillary Clinton Really in Danger of Losing the Primary?

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Washington Post, Politico, Vox and ABC News

Tom Harkin / Des Moines Register:

Clinton shares my values on social and economic justice — We all know Iowans have a sincere responsibility in nominating our next president. This year, that responsibility is as important as it's ever been. — As Iowans and as a nation we fought back from a terrible recession, but we are making progress.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and New York Times

Ron Fournier / National Journal:

Parsing Clinton: Deflection, Deception, and Untruths — Breaking down the campaign's talking points on her email fiasco. — Having covered Bill and Hillary Clinton since the mid-1980s in Arkansas, it's not hard for me to imagine this conversation taking place at her campaign headquarters.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Weekly Standard, NBC News, BREITBART.COM and Scared Monkeys

Fox News:
Official: Clinton ‘inner circle’ may have stripped email classification markings

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Hot Air and Power Line

Wolfgang Beylschmidt / USA Today:
Personal attack on Clinton misses mark: Objections

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Poll: Most want criminal probe of Clinton emails

Discussion: Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Washington Post:

An Iowa surprise: Donald Trump is actually trying to win — DES MOINES — For five days, the royal-blue bus rumbled through miles of cornfields alongside a popular annual bicycle trek across Iowa. It showed up at a country music concert in Cherokee and at a bacon festival in Ottumwa.

Discussion: Gawker, US News, Gothamist, Scared Monkeys and Daily Kos

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Iowa has an anger issue — Hawkeye State Republicans are fed up with Washington and ho-hum presidential candidates. Enter Donald Trump. — Iowans are mad as hell, and they know who to turn to — Donald Trump. — Outsider candidates have a history of gaining traction among Hawkeye …

Discussion: CNN

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Why Chris Wallace won't take Trump's call — Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace stands apart from his colleagues and competitors on Sunday mornings in at least one regard: He won't take a phone call from Donald Trump. — The Republican frontrunner has shown a strong preference for calling in to shows like …

Discussion: Mediaite

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Jeb Bush and the dangers of refighting the Iraq war — Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More — Jeb Bush based his first major foreign policy address, delivered this week at the Reagan Library, on the classic Republican interpretation of the war in Iraq.

Discussion: Washington Post

Caitlin Cruz / Talking Points Memo:

Jeb Bush: ‘Taking Out Saddam Hussein Turned Out To Be A Pretty Good Deal’ — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said on Thursday during a campaign stop in Iowa that “taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal,” according to multiple reports. — From the Wall Street Journal's Reid Epstein:

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite

Eli Stokols / Politico:
Jeb Bush defends George W.'s Iraq War legacy

Discussion: Hot Air, Unqualified Offerings and Daily Kos

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Just 1 in 3 approves of Obama's handling of Iran — Just one in three Americans supports President Obama's handling of the situation in Iran, lower approval than several other issues measured in a Gallup poll released Thursday. — While 33 percent surveyed in the poll approve Obama's handling …

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:
Obama Gets Low Marks for His Handling of Iran

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Ramin Setoodeh / Variety:

‘The View’: Nicolle Wallace on Getting Fired and Other Hot Topics (EXCLUSIVE) — When Nicolle Wallace was hired as a co-host of “The View” last September, ABC executives told her they wanted an intelligent, measured Republican at the Hot Topics table opposite Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell and Rosie Perez.

Discussion: TVNewser, Daily Mail and Jezebel

CBS News:

Pentagon: Reports “credible” mustard gas used in ISIS attack — Shares - — Pentagon sources tell CBS News that reports are “credible” that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) likely used mustard gas against Kurdish fighters in Iraq. — It is unclear if the gas was leftover …

Discussion: Business Insider

Adam Entous / Wall Street Journal:
Islamic State Suspected of Using Chemical Weapon, U.S. Says

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, ABC News and Politico

Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:
ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape

Discussion: Business Insider, National Review, Daily Mail, Jezebel, Washington Post and Diane Ravitch's blog

Scott Wise / WTVR-TV:

Henrico mom goes missing after sending bizarre text to worried husband — HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico mother Connie Ditto is missing. Her husband Mark said no one has seen or heard from his wife since Tuesday night when she checked into Patient First in Short Pump complaining of head pains.

Discussion: FOX2now.com and FOX6Now.com

Rong-Gong Lin II / Los Angeles Times:

Breaking Latest forecast suggests ‘Godzilla El Nino’ may be coming to California … Animated graphic: El Nino: 1997 vs. 2015

Discussion: NBC News, The San Diego Union …, Daily Mail, NPR and KTLA

Michael Ausiello / TVLine:

Fresh Prince ‘Reboot’ in Development, Will Smith on Board as Producer — TVLine has learned exclusively that the exploding revival craze is expanding to include the classic '90s sitcom, with original star Will Smith leading the charge (this time solely as a producer).

Discussion: Guardian and Mashable

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Jesse Ventura accuses Jeb of Cuban cigar cover-up — Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura said Thursday he was “astounded” that Jeb Bush's campaign would deny a decades-old gift of Cuban cigars. — The controversy centers on a box of Romeo y Julieta cigars Bush gave Ventura after a meeting …

People.com:

Alert: New Pecan Pie-Flavored M&Ms Have Officially Hit Store Shelves — While we're saddened by the nearing end of summer, we're pretty excited about the return of all those quintessential fall flavors — one of which, pecan pie, is spicing up the latest limited-edition M&Ms.

Discussion: WTVR-TV and WRIC-TV