memeorandum: Rick Perry endorses Ted Cruz (Katie Glueck/Politico)

11:10 AM ET, January 25, 2016

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Exclusive: Obama on Iowa, Clinton, Sanders and 2016 — Barack Obama, that prematurely gray elder statesman, is laboring mightily to remain neutral during Hillary Clinton's battle with Bernie Sanders in Iowa, the state that cemented his political legend and secured his path to the presidency.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, The Daily Beast, TalkLeft, Washington Post, Shakesville, Slantpoint and The Week

Paul Starr / Politico:

I Get Sanders' Appeal. But He's Not a Credible President. — I have a strange idea about presidential primaries and elections: The purpose is to elect a president. — And I have a strange thought about primary voters: They have a choice between sending the country a message and sending it a president.

Discussion: Slantpoint, Daily Kos, FishbowlDC, The Reality-Based Community and Yahoo Politics

Politico:

Full transcript: POLITICO's Glenn Thrush interviews President Barack Obama on Iowa, 2016, and the choice between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders — This interview was conducted on Jan. 22, 2016 in the Oval Office. It has been edited only slightly, to remove crosstalk.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Business Insider, Political Wire, Mashable and New York Times

NBC News:

First Read: Get Ready for a Long Fight for the Democratic Nod — First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — Get ready for a longer-than-expected Democratic race

Discussion: Politico, Scared Monkeys and Outside the Beltway

BostonGlobe.com:

Hillary Clinton deserves Democratic nomination — America looks different in 2016 than it did the last time Hillary Clinton ran for president: The economy has come out of free fall, the military has left the quagmire of the Iraq war, barriers to equality have toppled, and universal access to health care has become a reality.

Discussion: Concord Monitor, New York Times, Washington Post and Politico

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:
Clinton vows to win nomination to keep Bloomberg out of race

Discussion: Instapundit

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Sanders: Clinton is running a ‘desperate’ campaign that lacks excitement

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly, NBC News, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, Washington Free Beacon and Hold Fast

Politico:
Podcast: President Barack Obama

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Business Insider and Political Wire

Monica Alba / NBC News:
Hillary Clinton: A Bloomberg Presidential Run Will Be Unnecessary

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Morning Consult and Power Line

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Rick Perry endorses Ted Cruz — Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is endorsing Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential primary, Perry told POLITICO in an interview Sunday night. — Perry, who also sought the GOP nomination before dropping out in September, said he now sees the race as one that is between Cruz …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, New York Times, Trail Blazers Blog, Des Moines Register, NBC News, Mediaite, Political Insider blog, Washington Post, AOL, The Week, The Right Scoop and Associated Press

Monica Langley / Wall Street Journal:

Behind Donald Trump's Attack Strategy — A behind-the-scenes look at how the GOP front-runner personally drives his pointed attacks — NASHUA, N.H.— Donald Trump made his decision to start skewering Sen. Ted Cruz as his private jet was approaching here earlier this month.

Discussion: Political Wire and Des Moines Register

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Guess which divisive Republican is now campaigning as a political uniter?

Discussion: Political Wire

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
GOP fear and loathing in New Hampshire

Discussion: Balloon Juice and The Last Refuge

CBS News:
Poll: Trump retakes IA lead, keeps big edge in NH and SC

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, YouGov US Opinion Center News, Political Wire and Fox News

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators: Anyone but Cruz

Discussion: Politico, ABC News and Hot Air

David Axelrod / New York Times:

The Obama Theory of Trump — It was so obvious, I'm embarrassed I missed it. — Like most of the other talking heads on TV, I was haughtily dismissive of Donald Trump's candidacy. “It's apparently open mike day in the Republican campaign for president,” I tweeted last June …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Politico

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

The Duel — Donald Trump has a rule at his rallies: for the fifty minutes before he takes the stage, the only music that can be played is from a set list that he put together. The list shows a sensitive side, mixing in Elton John's “Tiny Dancer” and music from “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:

5 things to watch in Internet privacy fight — Advocates are pressing the Federal Communications Commission to quickly propose strong Internet privacy rules, one of the unfinished parts of last year's net neutrality order. — The agency is expected to release a proposal any month now.

Discussion: Washington Post

Caitlin Cruz / Talking Points Memo:

Bush Praises Michigan Guv For His Handling Of Flint Water Crisis — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Sunday praised Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who is currently facing calls for his resignation over his handling of the Flint water crisis, for taking responsibility for the fiasco.

Discussion: The Week

Fox News:

New ISIS video shows Paris attackers committing prior atrocities, threatening UK — A new video released by the ISIS terror group late Sunday shows nine of the extremists who carried out the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris beheading and shooting captives, as well as training with weapons while plotting …

Discussion: Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon