The Note: Hillary Clinton’s Big Break

ByABC News
October 8, 2015, 9:29 AM

— -- NOTABLES

--HILLARY CLINTON TAKES A STANCE ON TPP: In yet another move that distances herself from the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton yesterday announced her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying that "what I know about it as of today I am not in favor of what I have learned about it." Clinton came out against the trade agreement in an interview with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ and SHUSHANNAH WALSHE note. The move comes two days after the White House announced it had reached an agreement on the deal. http://abcn.ws/1Lznk27

--WHAT THE OTHER DEMOCRATS ARE SAYING: Martin O'Malley reacted to Clinton's TPP announcement, saying, "Secretary Clinton can justify her own reversal of opinion on this. I didn't have one opinion eight months ago and switch that opinion on the eve of a debate." Bernie Sanders also responded, ABC's MARYALICE PARKS notes, saying "I am glad that she reached that conclusion. This is a conclusion I reached from day one." Asked if she was credible on this issue, Sanders said, "I will let American people decide." "I am delighted Secretary Clinton is onboard," Sanders said but he added if he is being totally honest, "It would have been more helpful to have had her on board a few months ago."

--PAUL HITS HILLARY: In an appearance on Fox News, Rand Paul jabbed Clinton: "I can promise you once I take a final position, I'm only going to take one. Hillary has been on both sides of the issue." He said that he was still deciding where he stood on TPP. According to ABC's JESSICA HOPPER, Paul also was asked about running for both the Senate and president at the same time. He joked that he was doing better in his Senate race than the presidential race. When pressed for when he would decide whether to give up his presidential bid, he said, "I'm going to let people vote. I think the polls don't accurately represent our organizational strength in Iowa."

--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: Daylight is poking out all around the gaps between Hillary Clinton and the Obama White House she once served: deportations, Syria, Obamacare's "Cadillac tax," Keystone, and now, of course, TPP. The latest move is not only a shift in position for the former secretary of state -- it also has the biggest policy implications for an administration trying to sell its high-priority trade initiative. That move, like the Wall Street reforms Clinton is outlining today, appears to be designed to guard her left flank, providing an answer to the rising threat posed by Bernie Sanders and the progressive base he's gathering momentum around. But it's also a subtle piece of positioning against Vice President Joe Biden. Biden has no real choice but to back TPP and stay as neutral as the president on Keystone, to cite just two places where his flexibility as a candidate would be limited in ways Clinton's isn't. The skirmishing has already begun, of course. What did Biden mean by this joke on Wednesday, delivered as he wrapped up a speech? "If I don't move, I'll be demoted to Secretary of State," the vice president said.

TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: Sin City is the place to be today as both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio stump in Las Vegas. Trump holds a rally this afternoon at Treasure Island and Rubio's rally is this evening, the first of a three day visit. Jeb Bush is in Iowa and participates in the Candidate Caucus Forum Series this morning in Des Moines. He will hold a meet and greet this afternoon in nearby Indianola. Janet Huckabee is also stumping for her husband in the state, this time in Des Moines. Chris Christie, Rand Paul, and Lindsey Graham are in New Hampshire. Christie holds three town halls, including two in Manchester. Hillary Clinton is in Washington, DC where she will speak at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala this evening. Joe Biden speaks at the American Job Creation and Infrastructure Forum.

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ

KOCH BROTHERS ADD CARLY FIORINA TO THE SHORT LIST. Carly Fiorina has officially made it onto the short list of candidates being considered by the Koch Brothers' network of donors -- potentially opening the door to a deep pool of money, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS notes. Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the Koch brothers' umbrella group, which includes a sprawling network of conservative donors, confirmed to ABC News that Fiorina is one of the five candidates on the donor network's watch list. "Governor Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are leading a thoughtful and substantive discussion on the issues and we look forward to hearing more about their vision for the country," Freedom Partners spokesman James Davis told ABC News. http://abcn.ws/1VFuotm

NOTED: WHY FIORINA KEEPS TALKING ABOUT HOT DOGS. In a presidential campaign in which the candidates are constantly peppered with questions on everything from how to defeat ISIS to how to reform the tax code, Carly Fiorina is still wrestling with the answer to one of the first questions she ever received as a candidate. The great hot dog debate, which began during a Periscope town hall on the same day she launched her White House bid in May, has now become a frequent topic of conversation for her on the campaign trail. She's even taken to posing it to the audiences she speaks to across the country. ABC's JORDYN PHELPS has more. http://abcn.ws/1WMS2Xx

JOHN KASICH IS CHUGGING ALONG (BUT STRUGGLING TO GET HIS NAME OUT). A jovial John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, stood before a friendly audience at the University of Richmond on Monday, saying he would take just "one simple, last question" from the crowd. According to ABC's BEN GITTLESON, a man stood up and looked Kasich, who's running for president, straight in the eye. "People have called you the 'Happy Warrior," he said. "But whenever I see you on TV, I see a lot more happy, and I just, I don't really feel like, a visceral sense that, like, you're the guy that can, like, do it." http://abcn.ws/1OXTHIc

BEN CARSON APPEARS TO BE SECOND-GUESSING OREGON SHOOTING VICTIMS. As the GOP candidate has come under fire for his controversial gun control comments, Ben Carson has repeatedly attempted to provide the American people with a solution if a massacre -- such as the one that happened at Umpqua Community College in Oregon last week -- were to happen again. Carson suggested that the victims should have rushed the shooter to prevent more lives from being lost, and he said he would have confronted the gunman and would have instructed people to attack the gunman, ABC's KATHERINE FAULDERS reports. http://abcn.ws/1Pit1kP

RUBIO'S CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORD DRAWS FIRE FROM DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ALIKE. Out on the stump, this presidential candidate often talks about the need for a fully-funded military. But when the Senate got together to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Marco Rubio was nowhere to be found. Instead, the GOP hopeful was in the air, on a flight headed from LaGuardia Airport to Manchester, N.H., for a two-day campaign swing through the state. ABC's INES DE LA CUETARA has more. http://abcn.ws/1QZC6xa

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE AN EX-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: THE SCOTT WALKER STORY. It's been two weeks and two days since Scott Walker suspended his presidential campaign, and the former GOP contender- who was once leading the polls in Iowa and gaining early support from the likes of the Koch brothers -- is settling back into his day job as governor of Wisconsin. According to Twitter, he's been busy, but leading a very different life than he had before dropping out of the race on Sept. 21. ABC's MADISON JAROS has more. http://abcn.ws/1KZQlk6

WHO'S TWEETING?

@pivit: State of the Race: The Democratic Candidates http://articles.pivit.io/state-of-the-race-the-democratic-candidates/ ...

@OWHnews: Carly Fiorina says she has the support of Jeff Fortenberry, Howard and Rhonda Hawks #election2016: http://bit.ly/1LmbP7L

@TheBradMielke: At a town hall at MoJoe's restaurant in Manchester, @GovChristie says immigration debate has become "sophomoric."

@llerer: Anonymous donors send millions to pro-Rubio group by @bykowicz http://apne.ws/1L8owEa

@adamslily: "She's very genuine and not afraid to be articulate on things." #iacaucus http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/local/clinton-touts-gun-safety-drug-court-and-equal-pay-during/article_436237ca-6d45-11e5-b6a7-9bda06c780a1.html ...