CNN's GUT CHECK for January 20, 2014

CNN's GUT CHECK | for January 20, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

DEVELOPING FOR THE LEFT… WENDY DAVIS IN A FIGHT OVER HER OWN BIOGRAPHY … Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis admitted in an interview with the Dallas Morning News that she hasn't been totally accurate about her life's story, a compelling narrative she has used to appeal to voters in Texas and bolster her national profile. "My language should be tighter," the Democratic state senator said. "I'm learning about using broader, looser language. I need to be more focused on the detail." – CNN’s Ashley Killough

HOMETOWN PAPER’S TAKE: From Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News: As Wendy Davis touts life story in race for governor, key facts blurred
While her state Senate filibuster last year captured national attention, it is her biography — a divorced teenage mother living in a trailer who earned her way to Harvard and political achievement — that her team is using to attract voters and boost fundraising.

SOCIAL WATCH: #MoreFakeThanWendyDavis has been trending in the U.S. on Twitter since 11:30am, with nearly 10,000 mentions on Twitter according to Topsy. Over on Facebook, Wendy Davis is also a trending topic with more than 14,000 mentions so far today. – CNN’s Eric Weisbrod

LIMBAUGH WATCH: RUSH LIMBAUGH ON HIS NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO SHOW: “It seems, when you boil it all down, that Wendy Davis would have ended up being really poor and destitute were it not for a man, but that's no problem. They just made stuff up. It worked for Obama. … She's a liberal Democrat. They make things up. They lie, just like Hillary and Obama lied about a video in Benghazi.”

DEVELOPING FOR THE RIGHT … MORE NEW JERSEY SHE SAID, SHE SAID: Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno approached her in a parking lot last May and said her community would not receive Superstorm Sandy relief funds unless she backed a redevelopment program proposed by a group with ties to Christie.
Guadagno addressed Zimmer's version of the conversation on Monday at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday service project, calling them "not only false, but illogical."

Shortly after Guadagno spoke, Zimmer released a statement saying, "I met with the U.S. Attorney for over two hours yesterday, answered all their questions and turned over my journal in which I described my conversation with the Lieutenant Governor and Commissioner Constable. I stand by my word, remain willing to testify under oath, and I will continue to answer any questions asked of me by the U.S. Attorney's office." – Leigh Ann Caldwell

QUOTE OF THE DAY … GOES TO VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN (AGAIN): At the National Action Network Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast: “We may not be black, but I'll tell you what: We're Irish and we know how to fight.”

GUT CHECK: TWO OUT OF THREE UNHAPPY WITH AMERICA’S DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH …Two out of three Americans are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are currently distributed in the U.S. This includes three-fourths of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. – Gallup’s Rebecca Riffkin

THE BUZZ: CRISIS MANAGEMENT, NFL STYLE…Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman took to Sports Illustrated’s “The MMQB” blog Monday to defend his bizarre interview with Fox Sports reporter Erin Andrews on Sunday. Following a game-winning touchdown pass block, Sherman alleges that 49’ers receiver Michael Crabtree denied a “good game” handshake, prompting Sherman to go off in an interview with Andrews. The feud has spilled over to Twitter.

Michael Crabtree (‏@KingCrab15)
Film don't lie... @nflnetwork @espn pull up the tape of that game and show me where this guy is the best? #fake #fake #fake
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/01/20/richard-sherman-interview-michael-crabtree/

Richard Sherman (‏@RSherman_25)
A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of a sheep.

MARKET WATCH: U.S. stocks are closed today for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

TRAIL TRIVIA
(Answer below)
Who interrupted Martin Luther King, Jr.’s "I have a dream" speech by famously shouting at him mid-speech?

the LEDE
Did you miss it?

Leading CNNPolitics: Poll: Negative views of Christie on the rise
Unfavorable opinions of Chris Christie have doubled over the past year, according to a new national poll. A Pew Research Center survey released Monday also indicates that a majority who've heard about the George Washington Bridge controversy say that they don't believe the New Jersey governor when he says he wasn't aware of his aides alleged involvement in the closing of access lanes to the nation's busiest bridge, causing massive traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey. – Paul Steinhauser

Leading Star Ledger: Top N.J. Assembly Republican wants Legislature to call off Christie investigation
The top Republican in the state Assembly thinks the Legislature should stop investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal and let federal investigators take over. Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union) said the inquiry should be handled solely by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and not two legislative panels – one in the Assembly and one in the state Senate – led by Democrats. – Matt Friedman

Leading Oklahoman: Oklahoma Rep. James Lankford to run for Senate; Cole and Pruitt bow out
Rep. James Lankford has decided to run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Coburn and will announce his intentions Monday afternoon, multiple political sources in Oklahoma said Sunday. – Chris Casteel

Leading Drudge: TRUST
Senior officials said on Monday that Iran had begun suspending its most advanced nuclear enrichment as part of a deal with world powers from which Tehran is expecting positive economic changes with the lifting of some sanctions. – Thomas Erdbrink and Alan Cowell

Leading HuffPo: Republican Image Still Muddled One Year After Suggestions For Change
The Republican Party's image hasn't changed much since national chairman Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) published his prescription for broadening the party's appeal. And that's despite investing in outreach to racial minorities, women and gay voters who backed Democrats decisively in 2012. – Thomas Beaumont

Leading New York Times: A Loophole Allows Lawmakers to Reel In Trips and Donations
Weekend fund-raisers at high-end resorts prove well worth the trip for the members of Congress who host the events, and those seeking influence in Washington. – Eric Lipton

HOT SOTS
The political bites of the day
- Obama on pot: ‘don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol’ -
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE NEW YORKER: “As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”

- Biden surprised by fight for voting rights -
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AT THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK ANNUAL MLK DAY BREAKFAST: “It's the everyday actions that you inspire that are going to keep human progress going forward and keep it from sliding back … But I have to admit, I never thought we'd be fighting the fight again on voting rights.”

- Christie: The scariest part about being governor is … -
GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MATT BAI: “You know what one of the scariest things about being governor is? The fact that every day, 65,000 people have letterhead with my name on it and I don’t know what they’re doing all day.”

Gut Check Full Service: Governor Chris Christie’s second inauguration day is Tuesday, January 21st. Watch his speech live on CNN at 12:00 p.m. ET.

- Fallon: I gave Christie a heads up -
JIMMY FALLON TALKING ABOUT HIS SPRINGSTEEN DUET MOCKING CHRIS CHRISTIE: “I let Chris Christie know we were doing it. And I said, 'The silver lining is Bruce Springsteen says your name.' "

- Christie not mad about Springsteen parody -
GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE IN AN INTERVIEW WITH YAHOO! NEWS: "It's actually kind of cool to have Bruce saying your name."

TOP TWEETS
What stopped us in 140 characters or less

Dan Donahue ‏(@dandonahuecnn)
Open of @TheLeadCNN: You can't call it a manhunt, because the suspect Russians believe may be planning to attack the Olympics...isn't a man

Christiane Amanpour ‏(@camanpour)
EXCLUSIVE: Renowned Tribunal prosecutors show “smoking gun” alleging torture by Assad regime in Syria http://cnn.it/1mlxVLT

Security Clearance ‏(@natlsecuritycnn)
Warships part of U.S. contingency plan for Sochi Olympics http://wp.me/p1xuqq-6l4

Kelly Sellers (‏@Kelly_S_Sellers)
#MoreFakeThanWendyDavis... when #Obama says he will work with Congress!

John Fugelsang (‏@JohnFugelsang)
#MoreFakeThanWendyDavis the belief that the GOP can win over women voters with woman-hating hashtags. Carry on.

Aman Batheja ‏(@amanbatheja)
Weird. #MoreFakeThanWendyDavis is trending nationally on Twitter, but not in any major Texas cities. pic.twitter.com/Ua8DRs5iv1

Governor Christie ‏(@GovChristie)
I’m trying to get my arms around an awful situation, and understand it, and then address it, and then resolve it. http://yhoo.it/19Hzi7p

The Times of Israel ‏(@TimesofIsrael)
Only one in five Israelis trusts @BarackObama on #Iran http://toi.sr/1dmCOyZ via @timesofisrael cc @daroff @aiac

Philip Rucker ‏(@PhilipRucker)
Dems in Clinton's orbit growing alarmed that conventional wisdom of "minimal accomplishments" is taking hold http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-clinton-finishes-new-memoir-the-battle-to-define-her-state-department-legacy-heats-up/2014/01/19/0be30c34-7e2c-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html?hpid=z1

Mike Memoli (‏@mikememoli)
Greetings from NH, where last week the state House passed a preliminary marijuana legalization bill, and tomorrow Donald Trump visits #FITN

Donald J. Trump ‏(@realDonaldTrump)
Movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who lost his company to Colony Capital, is against guns but makes movies w/ major gun violence–really!

Alex Weprin ‏(@alexweprin)
Wow. Prelim ratings for Denver-New England NFL game draw a 29.5 rating/52 share. 2nd highest-rated AFC Champ game in 27 years.

John Lewis ‏(@repjohnlewis)
Today is a day not just to remember the legacy and sacrifice of Dr. King but a day to reaffirm our own commitment to continuing the struggle

TRIVIA ANSWER from @sarafischer

Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I have a dream” speech was not the speech he intended to give at the March on Washington 50 years ago. While giving his original speech, King was urged by a voice in the crowd to pivot his message.

According to the New York Times, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who sang earlier at the event, yelled at King Jr. mid-speech, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!"

In response, King put down his original speech and started to describe his dream of racial equality and peace in a sermon-like manner. That part of his address later became known as the famous “I have a dream” speech.

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