HUFFPOST HILL - Marco Poll Low

HUFFPOST HILL - Marco Poll Low

The White House delivered its budget proposal with just enough time remaining for pundits to not read it. New Hampshire is voting today, though we cannot say yet which dude in a pullover zipper sweater will take second. And tomorrow the campaigns switch gears and head to South Carolina, and future civilizations will wonder why, in the span of a day, our most important leaders went from to obsessing over national security to obsessing over corn pone. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, February 9th, 2016:

NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY, Y'ALL - Despite the Democratic Socialist-like results from Iowa where all the vote resources were evenly split, Sanders is hoping for a more uneven distribution this time around. Pat Grossmith: "Monday's snowstorm appears to have had little effect on New Hampshire residents heading to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. City Clerk Matt Normand said the tabulators are running smoothly; the lines at the polls have been moving along; and the weather has really cooperated. Polls opened at 6 a.m. in the city and by 8:10 a.m., about 700 people had cast ballots in Ward 1, whose residents vote at Webster Elementary School. A steady stream of voters made their way into the school as exuberant supporters of candidates carried on outside. Ward 1 Clerk Sharon Kelly said there are about 6,000 registered voters in the ward. About two hours after polls opened about 700, or 11 percent of them, had voted." [Union Leader]

@howardfineman: Here's news about likely #Democratic #NH results: #Hillary putting out word right now about how many #SouthCarolina endorsements she has.

Jason Linkins looks at the numbers: "On the Democratic side, there's more firmness, with 64 percent of respondents saying that they've settled on a choice. Of the remainder, 21 percent are leaning toward a candidate, and the level of genuine undecideds has fallen to 15 percent, down from 24 percent previously. Head to head, the last CNN/WMUR poll predicts a blowout win for Sanders by a margin of 61 percent to 35 percent...if Clinton is able to keep it reasonably close. As Daily Intelligencer's Eric Levitz explains, 'if Sanders wins by a margin of 55 to 45 percent, Hillary Clinton will walk away with an even share of New Hampshire’s delegate' … the GOP side of the poll is still looking like an unbaked cake. As the WMUR poll notes, 'Currently, only 46% of likely Republican Primary voters say they have definitely decided who they will support, 24% are leaning toward a candidate, and 31% are still trying to decide.' So, Republican voters have firmed up a little (the numbers in the prior poll were 39 percent, 24 percent and 37 percent, respectively), but they're leaving it late." [HuffPost]



It's almost like *he* hates Hillary. (via @AshleyRParker)

RUBIO IS A PANICKY GUY - McKay Coppins reports that "to those who have known him longest, Rubio’s flustered performance Saturday night fit perfectly with an all-too-familiar strain of his personality, one that his handlers and image-makers have labored for years to keep out of public view. Though generally seen as cool-headed and quick on his feet, Rubio is known to friends, allies, and advisers for a kind of incurable anxiousness -- and an occasional propensity to panic in moments of crisis, both real and imagined." [BuzzFeed]

Enjoy this video of Marco Rubio supporters angrily fighting people dressed up as Marco robots.

BERNIE SANDERS REGULARLY ASSOCIATED WITH DEMOCRATS: CLAIM - Also, he frequently took advantage of the facilities, according to this vivid Alex Seitz-Wald story sent to us by the Clinton campaign: "During his 10 years on the Senate, Bernie Sanders has been a regular presence at luxurious Democratic fundraising retreats, according to more than a half-dozen lobbyists, donors and former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staff members with whom he attended the events. Sanders most recently appeared at one last July, shortly after he announced his presidential run…. Some guests said they were surprised to see the populist crusader at these lavish events and suggested he was probably in it for the free vacation. Senators are flown on a private plane chartered by the DSCC to the retreats, which are held at five-star resorts like the Ritz-Carlton. Sanders was often spotted at the pool, walking on the beach, and at the buffet line. He went on a boat ride off Martha’s Vineyard organized by the committee. Sanders was even once spotted chatting sociably for close to an hour with a financial services lobbyist who was in a hot tub while the senator sat nearby." [spits coffee] [MSNBC]

[Attack ad voice] Bernie Sanders says he's a friend of American workers, but in 1998, Bernie Sanders withdrew money from a Fleet Bank. Bernie Sanders, taking money from banks. Whose side is he on? paidforbyheylookoverthereBernieisusingthebathroomataMcDonaldswhatasellout [/Attack ad voice]

WHAT HILLARY CLINTON SAID TO GOLDMAN SACHS: I LOVE YOU - Ben White: "When Hillary Clinton spoke to Goldman Sachs executives and technology titans at a summit in Arizona in October of 2013, she spoke glowingly of the work the bank was doing raising capital and helping create jobs, according to people who saw her remarks. Clinton, who received $225,000 for her appearance, praised the diversity of Goldman’s workforce and the prominent roles played by women at the blue-chip investment bank and the tech firms present at the event. She spent no time criticizing Goldman or Wall Street more broadly for its role in the 2008 financial crisis…. 'It was pretty glowing about us,' one person who watched the event said. 'It’s so far from what she sounds like as a candidate now. It was like a rah-rah speech. She sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director.'" [Politico]

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OBAMA SUBMITS LAST BUDGET REQUEST - And, just like everything you did your final semester of college, next to none of it will come to anything. Jackie Calmes: "His $19 billion cybersecurity request reflects a 35 percent increase -- $5 billion -- above current spending. But part of that, a $3.1 billion proposal to overhaul the federal government’s aging computer systems, was prompted by a huge embarrassment, the successful Chinese theft of security records on 22 million Americans from the system run by the Office of Personnel Management. The attackers were in the system for more than a year, undetected. They shipped the data out of the federal systems almost daily, also without being noticed...The president also has revived and added to a raft of proposals for closing or limiting tax breaks for the wealthy and some businesses, which would raise more than $1 trillion over 10 years to offset the costs for initiatives including worker retirement savings options, wage insurance, college assistance and early education. Most of those tax increases are likely to go nowhere in Congress, yet a few of Mr. Obama’s revenue ideas in the past ultimately have been embraced in bipartisan budget deals to offset the costs of initiatives popular in both parties." [NYT]

DONALD TRUMP DOESN'T UNDERSTAND DOGS - That could be because his closest connection to them is the golden retriever pelt on his head. Nick Wing: "For Trump, the lack of oratorical creativity hasn't just led him to speak with a fourth-grade vocabulary. It has tainted his speech like a dog. I know what you're thinking. Like a dog? That simile makes no sense in that context. Dogs don't really taint things. Wouldn't 'like toxic waste' make more sense? Or "like a turd floating in a pool?" Pretty much anything is better than saying 'like a dog.' 'Like a dog' is a stupid thing to say. But it's also one of Donald Trump's favorite insulting comparisons, and like much of his shit-talking game, it's stupid. While people typically use 'like a dog' with phrases like 'shot down,' 'treated' (poorly), 'worked' or maybe even 'walked,' Trump uses the expression to describe behavior that simply doesn't apply to dogs. It's unclear if he's just lazy, or if he's truly unfamiliar with canine behavior." [HuffPost]

Alternate headline: Make America Grrrrrrrrrrr-eat Again.

BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a dog who will be our boss one day.

YEAH, BILL? - Take my wife, please. Jason Silverstein: "Bill Clinton told a crowd of Hillary supporters in New Hampshire he sometimes wishes they weren't married — because then he could say whatever he wants. 'Sometimes when I am on a stage like this, I wish that we weren't married' the former president said, according to several reporters on the scene in Hudson...Before introducing his stumping wife, Bill quickly added: 'I don’t mean that in a negative way. I am happy.'" [Daily News]

PAUL RYAN FEELING THIS POVERTY BILL - Mike Lillis: "Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) and other top Republicans are taking a serious look at adopting a sweeping anti-poverty plan long championed by black Democrats on Capitol Hill. Ryan has told the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) he’s pressing GOP appropriators to consider the CBC’s strategy of shifting more federal money to parts of the country with persistent poverty… Ryan is placing more emphasis on alleviating poverty in a presidential election year when the GOP desperately needs to make inroads with minorities. He has expressed regret about not talking more about poverty during his vice presidential run in 2012 and is seeking to rectify that mistake now that he’s the top-ranking Republican on Capitol Hill." [The Hill]

COMFORT FOOD

- Let this rendition of "Clair de Lune" on the harp soothe your New Hampshire jitters.

- The fastest log-based car in the world.

- The sea is disgusting.

TWITTERAMA

@nickbaumann: Sounds like someone really needs to pull back on the Reines, amirite?

@simonmaloy: [grinds up early exit poll]
[snorts it off mirror]
GGGGGGGGGGGGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH that's the stuff

@pourmecoffee: Early exit polls:

Live Free: 59%
Die: 41%

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