The Note: What Jeb Bush Said About W., Rubio And His Wife
— -- NOTABLES
--JEB BUSH SAYS 'NO QUESTION' HE'S MORE EXPERIENCED THAN MARCO RUBIO: Although Jeb Bush called Marco Rubio a "good friend" and "real talent," the former Florida governor also said he's definitely more prepared than Rubio to become president of the United States. "There's no question of that at all," Bush told ABC's DAVID MUIR in an extensive sit-down interview in Iowa yesterday. "And that's not disparaging my good friend who I think is a real talent." "I think I'm more experienced and qualified than anybody running. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think that I have the skills to fix these things and to lead our country," Bush said. http://abcn.ws/1GtEgl8 WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1HWY3LW
--BUSH 'JUST CAN'T' THROW GEORGE W. BUSH 'UNDER THE BUS': In the interview Bush also acknowledged he may have trouble criticizing his brother, former President George W. Bush, on the campaign trail. "When you love someone as your brother or your dad, it's not easy for me to say, just kinda throw them under the bus to make myself look better," the former Florida governor said in the interview with MUIR. "I just can't do it." "There's a real fascination about where I'm different, where I'm the same. It's the human interest side of this, and I respect that," he said while campaigning in Iowa. "For me to be successful, this has to be about my ideas and about my life experience and about the future." http://abcn.ws/1SpkrAN WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1Sr1qOi
--WILL W. HIT THE TRAIL? Bush also told Muir he isn't sure whether his brother will join him on the trail, ABC's ERIN DOOLEY notes. "I don't know, I don't know yet, we just started," Bush said. "I'm George's brother, I love him." He added that his brother has "been helpful" to his campaign already. http://abcn.ws/1SpkrAN
--JEB OPENS UP ABOUT COLUMBA: Before Bush could run for president, he needed the full backing of the one person whose opinion mattered most: His wife, Columba. "She told me that not allowing me to pursue this mission would be like telling a musician you can't play music," Bush said. He revealed that the couple talked about him running for president and then prayed on it, until Columba was finally "all in." "She's not a political wife, which I love," Bush said of his wife of 41 years. "I like to go home and be with her and be as we've been." I don't have high expectations for her to have a 5 point plan on policy," Bush said. "She's campaigning and she's showing that she can do it and she's really good at it." http://bit.ly/1eoBWTa WATCH BUSH AND MUIR HAVE A CONVERSATION IN SPANISH: http://abcn.ws/1GQamJ9
--NOTED -- BUSH CANCELS EVENT TODAY IN CHARLESTON. "Governor Bush's thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by this tragedy," a campaign spokeswoman said in a statement.
TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's CHRIS GOOD: Hillary Clinton will address the National Association of Latino Elected Officials annual conference in Las Vegas at the ARIA Resort & Casino at 3:30 pm ET. Chris Christie will hold a town-hall in Hampton, NH at the Galley Hatch Restaurant at 5 pm ET. Carly Fiorina addresses the Conservative Party of New York's annual dinner at the Times Square Sheraton at 7:30 pm ET. In Philadelphia, the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania GOP, will feature remarks by George Pataki at 2 pm ET. In Washington, DC, the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Conference at the Omni Shoreham will feature speeches by Marco Rubio at 12:15 pm ET, followed by Rand Paul and Ted Cruz between 12:15 and 1:30 pm ET.
THE BUZZ
HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN HIRES UNPAID LABOR AS SHE TACKLES YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton yesterday rolled out a series of programs designed to reduce the youth unemployment rate, but Clinton, herself, is building out a portion of her campaign with unpaid labor. Clinton's campaign is establishing a network of grassroots trainees, called "Organizing Fellows," who are being signed on full-time to work for free. Some, even those who are young professionals with experience in politics, are reportedly being told they need to work without pay for at least the summer months. The Clinton campaign's decision to take on young, unpaid fellows is not unique to her campaign, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ writes. Volunteers are a critical part of all presidential campaigns, and President Obama famously developed a robust grassroots training program targeted toward high school and college students with no experience of political organizing during his 2008 campaign. http://abcn.ws/1J4CKcX
--FLASHBACK: Taking on unpaid internships has become common practice for many college-aged students hoping to break into the labor force. But in recent years the practice has come under fire by critics, including Hillary Clinton herself. "Businesses have taken advantage of unpaid internships to an extent that it is blocking the opportunities for young people to move on into paid employment," Clinton said at UCLA last March. "More businesses need to move their so-called interns to employees."
--WHAT THE CLINTON CAMP IS SAYING: In a statement, Clinton campaign spokesman Jesse Ferguson said: "We're thrilled to welcome volunteers for the summer, just like other campaigns in both parties have done in the past. Many successful fellows from a similar program during the Obama campaign now work with us on the campaign while others have gone on to other careers. The latest evidence of the intense grassroots interest in Hillary Clinton's campaign comes from the tremendous interest in our fellows program."
NOTED: CLINTON CALLS WALTER SCOTT'S MOTHER. Hillary Clinton yesterday called the mother of Walter Scott, the unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a white South Carolina police officer in April, prior to a campaign event that took place roughly two miles from the site of his death, according to ABC's SENI TIENABESO. A source said the call lasted five minutes during which Clinton told Judy Scott that she knows the family is going through a difficult time and that bereaved mother has shown such grace during the ordeal. Clinton also told Scott's mother that if elected president she would work to ensure that similar tragedies don't continue to happen. The call took place before last night's mass shooting at a Charleston church. http://abcn.ws/1RaB1BL
MEET THE MAN BEHIND HILLARY CLINTON'S PRIVATE LIBYA INTEL. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had access to the world's top intelligence agencies and their resources, but at the most turbulent moment of her tenure as the nation's top diplomat, she received a stream of intelligence on Libya and the Benghazi attack by a former CIA official working outside the government, sources told ABC's BENJAMIN SIEGEL and JOHN PARKINSON. Sidney Blumenthal, a confidant who was paid by the Clinton Foundation, told the Select Committee on Benghazi Tuesday that the information he supplied the sitting Secretary of State came from a "respected former high-ranking CIA official," rankling Republicans charged with investigating the events around the embassy attack. "We have a CIA, so why would you not rely on your own, vetted, sourced intelligence agency?" Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, asked reporters Tuesday. Sources close to the Benghazi investigation identified the official as Tyler Drumheller, a 25-year veteran of the CIA who retired from the agency in 2005 and has since worked in private consulting. http://abcn.ws/1eoZ97Z
ONLY HILLARY TRUMPS THE DONALD IN FACEBOOK SOCIAL CONVERSATION. In the hours surrounding his announcement for president, real estate mogul Donald Trump generated more social conversation on Facebook than any other of his Republican counterparts did in the hours surrounding their own declarations that they'd be seeking the White House in 2016, ABC's BENJAMIN BELL notes. According to estimated data released by the social media giant Facebook, "in the 24 hour period between 12:01 a.m. ET June 16 and 12:01 a.m. ET June 17, 3.4 million people on Facebook in the U.S. generated 6.4 million interactions" related to Trump and his announcement Tuesday. Facebook defines interactions as "likes, posts, comments, shares." The sentiment -- positive, negative or neutral -- of these interactions on Facebook was not identified. http://abcn.ws/1GPjOfK
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
FIND OUT WHY A 72-YEAR-OLD FLORIDA SENATOR DID 46 PUSH-UPS ON CAPITOL HILL. It's not every day you see one senator doing push-ups on another's office floor, ABC's ALI WEINBERG notes. But that's exactly what happened yesterday as Florida Sen. Bill Nelson paid off the debt he owed Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin as part of their friendly Stanley Cup wager, after Nelson's Tampa Bay Lightning lost to Durbin's Chicago Blackhawks. WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1GZSWM7
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA SAYS PRESIDENT OBAMA 'SHOVELS' HIS FOOD SOMETIMES. When you're the leader of the free world, sometimes you have to scarf down your food. In Milan on Wednesday, first lady Michelle Obama shared the importance of eating as a family, according to ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ. "We've preserved our family dinner time. No matter what the president is doing, between 6:30 and 7:00, he stops. We come up, we sit down, we have a meal," Mrs. Obama told students assembled at the James Beard American Restaurant in Milan. "You're actually tasting it and you probably eat less because you're not just shoveling. Shoveling is probably not a good thing. We don't shovel." The first lady then paused before saying to laughter, "Well, the president shovels sometimes." http://abcn.ws/1dKrynT
WHO'S TWEETING?
@wpjenna: 'Who the Hell is Bernie Sanders?' These Southerners want everyone to know: http://wpo.st/Ce3M0
@JillDLawrence: If every state were IA: "He said he needs to meet me...he committed to me he's not making a decision until we meet." http://dmreg.co/1J5JYxj
@DavidMDrucker: Notable about @RandPaul's otherwise major tax overhaul plan: It protects mortgage, charitable deductions & earned income tax credit.
@thehill: Jeb Bush slams Pope's climate change push: "I don't go to Mass" for politics http://hill.cm/MKyJCa4
@ConsultReid: Smart @JamesPindell look at NH, IA fears that their first-in-the-nation status means less as primaries go national - http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/06/17/iowa-republicans-fret-primary-power-loss/Sz0sgqTRE0Smg7RFjWNtUI/story.html ...