Oh, Look Who's Suddenly Tied With Hillary . . . Just About Everybody!
D.C. conventional wisdom: "Hillary's unstoppable, Republicans begin with giant disadvantages, Rand Paul is this wacko libertarian fruitcake, and he could never wiiiii-WHA?" Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's lead is wilting against leading Republican presidential candidates in three critical swing states, Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, and she finds herself in a close race with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in each state, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today. In head-to-head matchups, every Republican candidate effectively ties her in Colorado and almost all Republicans effectively tie her in Iowa. Paul Begala and everybody who insisted "voters do not give a [hoot]" about the e-mail story are invited to enjoy a big glass of shut the heck up. "These numbers are a boost for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky as he formally launches his campaign," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Ominous for Hillary Clinton is the broad scope of the movement today compared to her showing in Quinnipiac University's mid-February survey. It isn't just one or two Republicans who are stepping up; it's virtually the entire GOP field that is running better against her. "That's why it is difficult to see Secretary Clinton's slippage as anything other than a further toll on her image from the furor over her e-mail." "In all three of these states, more, and in Colorado many more, registered voters say she is not honest and trustworthy," Brown added. "Voters do think she is a strong leader -- a key metric -- but unless she can change the honesty perception, running as a competent but dishonest candidate has serious potential problems." Yes, it's early, other polls may show different results, and all standard caveats. Iran: Oh, By the Way, You're Not Allowed to Inspect Our Military Sites Obama in the Rose Garden, April 2, 2015: Iran will face strict limitations on its program, and Iran has also agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history. So this deal is not based on trust, it's based on unprecedented verification . . . International inspectors will have unprecedented access not only to Iranian nuclear facilities, but to the entire supply chain that supports Iran's nuclear program -- from uranium mills that provide the raw materials, to the centrifuge production and storage facilities that support the program. If Iran cheats, the world will know it. If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it. Iran's past efforts to weaponize its program will be addressed. With this deal, Iran will face more inspections than any other country in the world. Stop lying. Just stop flipping lying, Mr. President. Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan categorically rejected as a "lie" a Guardian report alleging that Tehran has granted access to its military facilities under the recent framework agreement with the world powers. "No such agreement has been made; principally speaking, visit to military centers is among our redlines and no such visit will be accepted," Gen. Dehqan stressed on Wednesday, rejecting "the report by foreign media outlets, such as the Guardian, as "untruthful allegations". The Iranian defense minister reiterated that the Supreme Leader's guidelines, government's strategy and the negotiating team's resolve have placed the Iranian diplomacy on a path that it would never allow the opposite parties to the talks impose their will on the Iranian nation. If we can't inspect anywhere and everywhere, there's no point. It's like saying, "We are going to play, 'hide and seek' and under my rules, you're allowed to look everywhere except where I'm hiding." Allahpundit: Presumably the same logic applies to John Kerry's pal Javad Zarif promising Iran's parliament that they'll test a highly advanced uranium centrifuge on the day the final deal is reached, which is sort of like celebrating a disarmament treaty by test-firing an ICBM. One of the key planks of the deal for the west is to restrict Iran's research and development of high-end centrifuges, knowing that the more sophisticated models are capable of producing bomb-grade uranium much, much more quickly than the primitive models Iran uses now. Obama's goal with this deal was to slow Iran down to the point that it'll take them at least a year to enrich their current uranium supply to make it bomb-caliber; Zarif, meanwhile, is now promising his own side that he'll roll out technology that would make a mockery of that one-year "breakout" timeline. We're already at odds over the most basic terms of the agreement even though the deal is less than a week old. Eli Lake notices that Obama is arguing that we have to accept this deal because the sanctions against Iran weren't really slowing down their nuclear development . . . while promising that if Iran breaks their word in this agreement, they'll face sanctions again. Have we ever seen an administration so strenuously, passionately, vigorously, and indignantly insist that 2+2 = 5? Defense Secretary Carter Misses Spin Memo, Admits al-Qaeda Growing in Yemen Speaking of blatant lies about threats, let's think back to September 2014: Talking about the threat posed by the Islamic State, Obama pointed toward Yemen and Somalia as possible examples: This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out [the Islamic State] wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. A few months later, the Yemeni government collapsed and we pulled out all of our counterterrorism forces. Yes, the "successful" country became too dangerous for our CIA operatives, special forces, and their support staff to operate in-country on a day-to-day basis. Credit Ash Carter, the new Defense Secretary. He didn't get the memo about lying through his teeth and insisting that all is well: The new American defense secretary acknowledged Wednesday that Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen had exploited the tumult partly created by the Saudi-led airstrikes there to capture territory, in what has become a broad expansion by the Sunni extremist group. Calling the situation "obviously very unsettled," Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said that the war in Yemen had left a number of groups vying for power, including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as A.Q.A.P., an enemy of the United States. "A.Q.A.P.," Mr. Carter said, "has seized the opportunity of the disorder there and the collapse of the central government." He warned that the group had "ambition to strike Western targets including the United States," and said that American counterterrorism efforts had been stymied by the fall of the Yemeni government. Way to go! Moroccan-Funded Candidate Preparing to Announce Bid for President Brace yourselves. Hillary is coming: The specific moment she jumps into the race remains a closely guarded secret, even inside the crowded corridors of her small office suite in Manhattan, which new aides have descended upon to build the operation. Only a handful of confidantes actually know the precise time Clinton will pull the trigger — first on social media — yet aides have been instructed to be ready from Monday forward . . . One approach is to avoid blatant suggestions of the historic nature of her candidacy, hoping to fight impressions that Clinton's presidential aspirations are all about her. That was one of the key findings of research already conducted through focus groups in Iowa and New Hampshire. Those conversations, coupled with the searing lessons from 2008, have led aides to impress upon Clinton and her loyal circle of admirers that, far more than her own political ambitions, this race must be about what voters want. First observation: Hillary and her team won't be able to resist "blatant suggestions of the historic nature of her candidacy," and the media will trumpet that anyway. "It's time for a woman" is simple, easy to agree with, easy to remember, and perhaps most usefully, has very little to do with her. Don't focus on what Hillary Clinton has done in her positions of responsibility, her decision-making honesty, her character, her approach to governing, or her philosophy, voters! Focus on her gender! Second observation: We need some ringers to slip through in those "small gatherings" she envisions. Here's a nice easy question for any volunteer who wants to try to get into those small gatherings: "How are the foreign-government donations to the Foundation you control different from bribes? If you learned that any of your rivals accepted a million dollars from a foreign government, how would you react?" Because she's taking another big one: The Clinton Foundation is accepting a major donation from a Moroccan government-owned company to hold a high-profile conference next month in Marrakech with the king of Morocco — an event likely to reignite concerns about the foundation's acceptance of foreign money just as Hillary Clinton prepares to announce her presidential candidacy. Clinton had been scheduled to appear at the meeting in Marrakech, dubbed the Clinton Global Initiative Middle East and Africa Meeting, on May 5-7. But an official with the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation told POLITICO it's "unlikely" the former secretary of state will join her husband, Bill. He is still expected at the event, as is Moroccan King Mohammed VI. The event is being funded largely by a contribution of at least $1 million from OCP, a phosphate exporter owned by Morocco's constitutional monarchy, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the event. Of course, she'll probably answer, "At this point, what difference does it make?" ADDENDA: Hey, Floridians! Do you want to see our Charlie Cooke speak about The Conservatarian Manifesto? Of course you do! The National Review Institute and the James Madison Institute are sponsoring an event with Charlie a week from today -- that's Thursday, April 16, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Naples, Florida. It's at the Naples Hilton; reserve your tickets here. There's also a JMI event with Charlie in Orlando, Florida, on Friday | 
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