The Note: The Clinton-Rubio Split Screen
— -- NOTABLES
--EXCLUSIVE -- ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS TO INTERVIEW MARCO RUBIO: Republican Sen. Marco Rubio will sit down for an exclusive interview with ABC News' Chief Anchor and "This Week" host, George Stephanopoulos, today -- just a few hours before the Florida senator will announce whether he will run for president in 2016. The interview will take place in Miami. Rubio, 43, has been considering a presidential bid and he has indicated he will reveal his decision tonight, according to ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ. http://abcn.ws/1CKGTKh
--EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (AND PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW) ABOUT MARCO RUBIO: http://abcn.ws/1CAHNd6
--HILLARY CLINTON TAKES PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ON THE ROAD: Hillary Clinton has already hit the road to the White House -- literally. The newly-minted candidate has embarked on a road trip to Iowa, the first major stop on a nationwide tour. But she will apparently be making a few pit stops along the way, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ reports. A Clinton aide tells ABC News, she left Sunday afternoon from her home in Chappaqua, New York right around the time of her announcement. She is headed for the small town of Monticello, Iowa where she is expected to hold her first campaign event on Tuesday. http://abcn.ws/1IWHbSQ
--THE MESSAGE: "Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top," Clinton said in a video message posted to her new campaign website yesterday. "Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion." WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1ynP3Nm
--THE NUMBERS: At this early stage in the campaign, Clinton holds a clear lead over her potential Republican rivals. A recent ABC News-Washington Post poll showed Clinton ahead of potential GOP candidate Jeb Bush by a 54 to 40 percent margin in a potential match-up, with even bigger leads against Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Scott Walker, and Sen. Marco Rubio. Despite Clinton's advantages, she has a challenging road ahead. Clinton has suffered a significant drop in her favorability rating since leaving the State Department. The early April ABC News-Washington Post poll showed Clinton with a 49 percent favorability rating -- down nearly 20 points from her all-time high of 67 percent two years ago. http://abcn.ws/1CyNLuV
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: The thing about "everyday Americans"...you have to live that spirit every day. Or Tweet that, or selfie that, or drive that, in a few senses of the word. Hillary Clinton's announcement video was a rare accomplishment in politics, featuring real people looking and talking like real people, upbeat and avoiding furrowed-brow concern for country or starry-eyed adulation for candidate. Now comes a tougher phase of the campaign, with Clinton needing to converse without condescension as - at this moment - she rumbles across the Midwest in search of more "everyday" people to interact with, while being driven by the Secret Service in a small caravan. It may be, as aides eagerly confess, all Clinton's idea to have a rollout that literally rolling. But the only inevitability this time is bumps on the road.
--SOCIAL SQUARE: According to Facebook: "In the 24 hour period between 12:01 a.m. ET April 12 and 12:01 a.m. ET April 13, 4.7 million people on Facebook in the U.S. generated 10.1 million interactions (likes, posts, comments, shares) related to Hillary Clinton and her announcement. Also note: Hillary Clinton's announcement video has been viewed well over 1.8 million times on Facebook." According to Twitter:"Hillary Clinton's announcement Tweet has now been viewed 12 million times, as of midnight eastern time (9 hours after it was sent). Hillary Clinton's Twitter account has now gained over 160k followers.
THE BUZZ
with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
JOHN KERRY PRAISES HILLARY, BUT PLANS TO AVOID 'HURLY BURLY' OF 2016 RACE. Secretary of State John Kerry is happy to avoid what he calls the "hurly burly" of the 2016 presidential race. While Kerry praised Clinton for having done a "terrific job" as secretary of state, he also said it wasn't his job to defend her record, ABC's LUIS MARTINEZ notes. He added that it was important for him to avoid discussing the race so he can "speak to both sides of the aisle about our foreign policy without being involved in partisan politics." "As you know, the secretary of state, happily, is able to not be involved in the presidential hurly burly. I'm not going to get involved in it now," Kerry told ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on "This Week" yesterday. "I wish her well in this race and I look forward to being able to stay well away from it."
THEN AND NOW: HILLARY CLINTON'S 2016 CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT VS. 2008. Much has changed since Hillary Clinton last entered a presidential field. While she chose the same format -- a pre-recorded video -- to announce the start of her campaign yesterday just as she did in Jan. 2007, her message has changed. ABC's BENJAMIN SIEGEL looks at the differences between Clinton's announcement pitch in 2007 vs. now: http://abcn.ws/1ynAEkl
MEET HILLARY CLINTON. ABC's ERIN DOOLEY highlights everything you need to know (and probably didn't know) about the woman who was formerly a first lady, a two-term senator, secretary of state, a 2008 presidential candidate -- and now a 2016 presidential candidate. http://abcn.ws/1CwbRXn Sunday's 'THIS WEEK' roundtable discussed whether this time around Hillary Clinton can avoid making the mistakes she made in her 2008 campaign. WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1CGlfXf
LAURA BUSH 'SHOCKED' AT BARBARA BUSH'S INITIAL HESITANCY TO SUPPORT JEB BUSH'S WHITE HOUSE BID. Former First Lady Laura Bush said she was completely taken aback when her mother-in-law Barbara Bush expressed disapproval - before eventually reversing her position - about a potential run for the presidency by her son, Jeb Bush, saying at the time that the country had had "enough Bushes" in the White House. "I was shocked," Bush told ABC's JONATHAN KARL during an interview Wednesday, adding that she disagreed with the Bush family matriarch's comments in 2013, but also making clear that she had no intention of making her aware of that fact. "Do you think I would tell my mother-in-law something?" she said with a smile, ABC's BEN BELL writes. http://abcn.ws/1z8aY5Y
WHAT CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER IS SAYING. In a call with supporters Sunday night, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook laid the groundwork for future campaign planning and messaging by taking a jab at one of Clinton's likely opponents: Jeb Bush. "Hillary was really clear with us that the core purpose of the campaign, and the organization supporting the campaign, needs to be creating a better economic future for everyday Americans, making the middle class mean something again," he said. Mook added that "a fundamental choice in this election is going to be between going back to a set of policies that crashed the economy, got us into this mess and robbed the middle class and every day Americans of their economic security versus a path forward where we tip the playing field back toward the middle class so they can have opportunities." Despite their campaign's excitement, Mook also noted that Hillary and her staff are fully expecting a tough battle on the way to the White House, ABC's ALISA WEIRSEMA reports. "We can't take anything for granted and we're going to have to fight really hard for every single vote and that obviously starts in the primary," he said.
CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS OBAMA SHOULD BYPASS CONGRESS ON EMBARGO. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told ABC news in an exclusive interview hours after the famous handshake between Raul Castro and Barack Obama that the U.S. president should use executive action to remove parts of the embargo immediately. "The U.S. president keeps very broad basis, very wide executive powers, for use in with a real determination and the president could make the difference in the practical implementation of the blockade," he said, ABC'S JIM AVILA and SERENA MARSHALL report. "And there is a practical indication to engage to the congress in a debate on these matters." Rodriguez, who was in the room with the two presidents for that historic meeting, told ABC News he expects Obama will soon take Cuba off the states sponsor of terrorism list, a major impediment to the new diplomacy between the two countries. http://abcn.ws/1JCzAKl
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
OBAMA, RAUL CASTRO MEET. President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro met face-to-face over the weekend, holding their first substantive conversation in person since the U.S. and Cuba committed to normalize relations in December. "This is obviously an historic meeting," Obama said as the two leaders sat just feet apart. The two men sat down for in-depth talks on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas here, a historic moment between two countries trying to repair relations after nearly six decades of mistrust and tension. Obama and Castro both said they have "agreed to disagree" on certain issues but are committed to maintaining a strong relationship between their two nations, according to ABC'S JIM AVILA and ARLETTE SAENZ. http://abcn.ws/1I3nrgo
IN THE NOTE'S INBOX
FORMER CONGRESSMAN BOB INGLIS TO RECEIVE "PROFILE IN COURAGE" AWARD. A Facebook message from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: "Former Congressman Bob Inglis initially opposed efforts to address climate change. But after interactions with scientists in Antarctica and elsewhere changed his views, he became an outspoken advocate for action. Please join us in congratulating Bob Inglis on receiving this year's Profile in Courage Award for his courage in pursuing the public interest over party politics." (The award will be presented at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on May 3, 2015). http://on.fb.me/1I69MFc
WHO'S TWEETING?
@JebBush: We must do better than Hillary. If you're committed to stopping her, add your name now. https://righttorisepac.org/stop-hillary/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hillaryannouncement_social_twitter_20150412_e_v1 …
@tedcruz: Is the world a safer place because Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State? No: http://tedcruz.org/landing/ready/
@RickSantorum: I know Hillary Clinton. I served with Hillary Clinton. She does not have the right vision to lead America. http://ptrtvoic.es/1FomGRe
@GovMikeHuckabee: .@HillaryClinton Congrats. Your announcement makes me nostalgic for our days doing political battle in Arkansas... #ImStillStanding
@GovernorOMalley: This week in Iowa, I sat down with @idaveprice on The Insiders. Check out my appearance & prediction: http://whotv.com/tag/insiders/
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