5 Stories You'll Care About in Politics This Week

— -- The Al Gore trial balloon popped while Joe Biden’s is still out there floating, email problems morphed into Bernie Sanders problems for Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump (and his helicopter) is still the King of Iowa, and get your deep fried food on a stick fix, there’s even more high caloric politics coming from the Iowa State Fair next week.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the stories the ABC News political team is tracking in the week ahead:

TEFLON DON

Polls this week show The Donald’s popularity is keeping steady, topping Iowa and New Hampshire surveys with a commanding lead. He’s offended women, Hispanics and veterans, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Even the candidates trying to knock out Trump haven’t even gotten a scratch.

We know he is staffing up in the early states and now we know we will see some policy papers as soon as this week. Expect them to be scrutinized for the details that seem to be missing when he’s on the stump. But there’s no denying it, Trump is the GOP frontrunner and with that will come increased scrutiny, not just of his policy positions, but also those many eye-popping statements he’s making now and throughout his long history in the public eye. On Monday he won’t be in Iowa or New Hampshire, but home in New York City where he is serving jury duty. There is interest in every move Trump makes and this is likely to be the same.

EMAIL TRAIL

It was another week dominated by Hillary Clinton’s emails and the questions surrounding her private server and what was classified and when are going nowhere. They are just getting more complicated.

A new poll from Fox News on Friday night shows that a majority of Americans think that Clinton "knowingly lied" about whether she had classified information in her emails, and a majority also thinks that she put national security at risk. Yes, it’s just one poll, but those along with her trustworthiness numbers make it clear the Democratic frontrunner has some work cut out for her. There’s also been the rise of Bernie Sanders and the massive crowds he’s pulling as another sign of lacking enthusiasm for Clinton. Sanders’ Sunday night event in Dubuque, Iowa, had to be moved -- per the campaign -- to a bigger venue. She’s trying to shake this story and shift to college affordability, but with the news that her server may have been copied while in the possession of the firm she hired to manage it, these questions will dog her in the coming week or more.

HAMPTONS HOLIDAY

The Clintons will be off the trail and are going to the Hamptons for their annual August vacation snagging the same Amagansett home they rented last year, according to the New York Post. They paid $100,000 for the two week rental with the vacation starting at the end of next week. But, don’t call it a break, she will be spending her time in the ritzy enclave wisely raising money from the very deep pockets that also spend their summers in the playground for the rich and famous, per The Post's Page Six. Chelsea, her husband Mark and baby Charlotte will also vacation with her parents while she takes a break from the early states.

VEEP BEAT

Al Gore was in and out of the 2016 speculation in just a few hours, but the buzz around Joe Biden remains. This week he was on vacation with his family in South Carolina where he was expected to be discussing the possibility of running with his family. Two long-time supporters of Biden told ABC News they spoke with the vice president this week about the possibility of another White House bid.

"No decision made but definitely there's no decision not to run," one supporter who spoke with the VP told ABC News' Arlette Saenz.

It's likely these discussions are continuing, both with friends, advisers and family. He's said his timeline is the end of the summer, which we are creeping towards. On Friday, Politico reported a final decision will be made at a meeting at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, but that meeting hasn't been scheduled. The article does mention detailed strategy including focusing on South Carolina and writing off New Hampshire, showing there is at least some thought being made to how Biden would attempt a run.

RAND’S PLAN

Mark your calendars for Aug. 22, it’s an important date for Rand Paul and his aspirations for the White House -- and his backup plan. It's the day the Kentucky GOP central committee will vote on whether to change their May primary to a March caucus. It doesn’t exactly allow Paul to appear on the ballot twice -- illegal in Kentucky -- but it kicks the issue down the road a bit. It will only rear its head again if he becomes the GOP nominee.

The issue now for the state party is how much a caucus will cost and if the Paul campaign will pay. State GOP Chairman Steve Robertson stressed that the committee members in order to vote for Paul’s plan must not feel the party will be “financially impaired,” and the first caucus they have will likely be the “most expensive.” The upside is Kentucky will be more “relevant” and competitive in the presidential picking process and Robertson said a “critical feature” of the new plan is to ensure candidates campaign in the state. So, if it all comes down to money, will the Paul campaign pay? Paul’s spokesperson Sergio Gor said only “Sen. Paul will honor his commitment.” If they vote down the measure it will move to the courts and a more uncertain tricky legal fate.

ABC News’ Ryan Struyk, Arlette Saenz and Justin Fishel contributed to this report.