NEWS AND OPINION:
The upcoming Iowa caucuses have drawn keen attention from Hillary Clinton, who is now tapping the talents of famous folks to impress voters in the Hawkeye State — perhaps due to all those headlines chronicling the “Sanders Surge.” Indeed, her rival Sen. Bernard Sanders has gained momentum in multiple polls; he’s winning in a recent CNN poll of Iowa voters for example, while a YouGov survey finds that the majority of Americans deem him “electable.” No wonder Mrs. Clinton is getting jittery. So make way for the big names.
In the next four days, her high-profile brigade will be out in force on the Iowa campaign trail. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis heads to six towns to emphasize “what’s at stake for Iowa women in this election,” or words to that effect. Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards appear at eight events in eight cities. Sens. Tim Kaine, Cory Booker and Kristen Gillibrand also journey to Iowa on behalf of Mrs. Clinton, appearing at 14 events between them. Tennis great Billie Jean King appears at four rallies, as does former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro and actor/director Tony Goldwyn. In the last week, singer Demi Lovato and Madeleine Albright have also campaigned in Iowa for the candidate. Next week, Rock icon Jon Bon Jovi hosts a fundraiser, this in Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Clinton has not cornered the market on the famous, however. Mr. Sanders has won the endorsement of multiple celebrities, musicians and artists. Among the creative throng: actors Danny DeVito, Will Ferrell and Susan Sarandon plus musicians Bonnie Raitt, Belinda Carlisle and Flea.
FOR THE LEXICON
“Weiner”
— Title of independent documentary premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Sunday. “It chronicles the tawdry saga of former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s bid to rehabilitate his public image following a sexting scandal, only later to be engulfed in a nearly identical embarrassment,” notes a Hollywood Reporter review, which suggests that certain scenes perceived as “damaging to Hillary Clinton” were edited out of the film.
SEE ALSO: March for Life buoyed by young people opposing abortion in increasing numbers
“When we started this, we thought this could be a remarkable comeback story, but obviously things took an unexpected turn,” director Elyse Steinberg told the industry publication.
THE BOOKMAKER WEIGHS IN
London-based William Hill, the world’s biggest bookmaker, has this to say about the 2016 White House bout: “We can report that Donald Trump is for the first time the favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination at 5/4, having started at 33/1. He is 10/3 second favorite to become the next President of the United States,” says spokesman Rupert Adams. The betting public has taken note, apparently
“The run of cash for Donald Trump has been astonishing. He is a six-figure loser for us and by far our worst result,” Mr. Adams adds.
Even more numbers: To become Republican presidential nominee: 5/4 Donald Trump. 9/4 Marco Rubio, 7/2 Ted Cruz, 10/1 Jeb Bush, 20/1 Chris Christie, 25/1 John Kasich, 33/1 Mitt Romney, 80/1 Ben Carson. And for the next president, at this juncture: 8/11 Hillary Clinton, 10/3 Donald Trump, 6/1 Bernard Sanders, 6/1 Marco Rubio, 16/1 Ted Cruz, 22/1 Jeb Bush. Among the fantasy candidates, George Clooney is currently 100/1 to become U.S. president in his lifetime, with Kanye West at 200/1 and Will Smith at 250/1.
WEEKEND CANDIDATE TRACKER
SEE ALSO: Bernie Sanders running well ahead of Hillary Clinton against GOP in N.H.: poll
New Hampshire is favorite for Republican hopefuls this weekend. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Govs. John Kasich and Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore and Rick Santorum head to Nashua for “NHGOP First-in-the-Nation Presidential Town Hall.” In addition, Mr. Bush has six of his town halls scheduled, accompanied part of the time by Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has endorsed him. Mr. Christie has four town halls as does Mr. Gilmore; Mr. Santorum will be the featured guest speaker at a security summit in Manchester. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton whisks in to the Granite State for 24 hours on Friday for two town halls and the NARAL Pro-Choice Roe v. Wade Dinner in Concord.
In Iowa, Martin O’Malley is on the third leg of his “Unplugged Tour,” with a dozen events planned, including coffee and doughnuts in Waterloo and a clean energy summit in Pella. The equally ambitious Sen. Bernard Sanders also has 12 events in the Hawkeye State. Not to be outdone, Mrs. Clinton appears at six “Get out the Caucus” events on Saturday and Sunday.
As for the GOPers, Ben Carson has eight “Trust in God” town halls plus one praise meeting in Sioux City hosted by Kirk Cameron. Donald Trump plans a jumbo rally in Pella on Saturday, followed by another in Muscatine. Mr. Rubio has a 24-hour whirlwind visit for town halls in Ames and Indianola before heading east to New Hampshire.
WEEKEND REAL ESTATE
For sale: Haights Cross Road mansion, built in 2004 in Chappaqua, New York. Georgian style. Six bedrooms, 10 baths, 19,306 square feet on 86 acres adjacent to scenic lake; the neighborhood is also home to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Stone exterior, rotunda, vaulted ceilings, sweeping staircase, multiple fireplaces. Two-story mahogany library, formal dining room, great room with bar and theater, oval-shaped master bedroom, chef’s kitchen, indoor gym with basketball court, pool, pool house, tennis courts, formal gardens, hiking trails. Located 45 minutes from New York City. Priced at $17.9 million through ChristiesRealEstate; enter 4511892 in search function.
POLL DU JOUR
• 75 percent of likely Republican primary voters describe Donald Trump as “bold”; 39 percent say the same of Sen. Ted Cruz, 23 percent of Sen. Marco Rubio.
• 64 percent say Mr. Trump is a “Washington outsider”; 20 percent say the same of Mr. Cruz, 5 percent of Mr. Rubio.
• 62 percent say Mr. Trump is “strong”; 45 percent say the same of Mr. Cruz, 29 percent of Mr. Rubio.
• 37 percent say Mr. Trump is “inspiring”; 32 percent say the same of Mr. Cruz, 28 percent of Mr. Rubio.
• 32 percent say Mr. Trump is honest; 42 percent say the same of Mr. Cruz, 34 percent of Mr. Rubio.
• 14 percent say Mr. Trump is a “true conservative”; 54 percent say the same of Mr. Cruz, 24 percent of Mr. Rubio.
Source: A YouGov poll of 550 likely Republican primary voters conducted Jan. 9-11 and released Tuesday.
• Churlish remarks to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.