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It is true. There’s no reason to be coy. I am thinking, I am praying about whether I’ll run in 2016. I said I won’t make that decision until after November.
— Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) told TPM that he’s considering a White House bid and, apparently, awaiting a sign from God.
Christians have no greater ally than Israel … if you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, I will not stand with you. Good night and God bless.
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), “abruptly walked off stage at a gala for Middle Eastern Christians after he was booed for urging the audience to stand behind Israel and Jews,” Bloomberg reports. Cruz was the keynote speaker at the inaugural conference of a nonprofit group called In Defense of Christians.
I may not run in 2016, but I’ve spent the last 20-plus months preparing. If I don’t run, it won’t be because I’m not prepared.
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
8
Number of times the state of New Jersey has had its credit rating downgraded during Gov. Chris Christie’s tenure — “the most ever for a Garden State governor,” Bloomberg reports.
My time has come and gone.
— Mitt Romney, in an interview on Fox News, insisting he’s not running for president again.
Some pundits are surprised that I support destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) militarily. They shouldn’t be. I’ve said since I began public life that I am not an isolationist, nor am I an interventionist. I look at the world, and consider war, realistically and constitutionally. … I still see war as the last resort. But I agree with Reagan’s idea that no country should mistake U.S. reluctance for war for a lack of resolve.
— Sen. Rand Paul, in a Time magazine op-ed, explaining why he favors destroying Islamist militants.
I’ve been indicted by that same body now for I think two counts, one of bribery, which I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t really understand the details here.
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by the Houston Chronicle, talking about the indictments against him of which bribery was not one.
I had the chance of running. I didn’t win. Someone else has a better chance than I do. And that’s what we believe, and that’s why I’m not running. And you know, circumstances can change, but I’m just not going to let my head go there.
— Mitt Romney, in an interview with Hugh Hewitt.
I think that’s what scares the Democrats the most, is that in a general election, were I to run, there’s going to be a lot of independents and even some Democrats who say, ‘You know what? We are tired of war. We’re worried that Hillary Clinton will get us involved in another Middle Eastern war, because she’s so gung-ho.
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by the Associated Press, labeling Hillary Clinton a “war hawk.”
There are plenty of ambitious but little-known Democratic governors or senators who are a decade or two younger than Clinton. So why aren’t more of them considering a presidential campaign that might set them up to be Clinton’s successor? The answer speaks to one of Clinton’s under-appreciated assets: her ability to instill fear.
— Peter Beinart, writing in the Atlantic.
