CNN's GUT CHECK for February 28, 2014

CNN's GUT CHECK | for February 28, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING … PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WARNED RUSSIA ON UKRAINE WITH A STERN STATEMENT FROM THE PODIUM: President Barack Obama said the United States is "deeply concerned" by reports of Russian military movements in Ukraine, adding that any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty would be "deeply destabilizing."

THE CLINTON FILES… PREVIOUSLY SECRET, NOW SEARCHABLE
CNN combed through 3,546 pages of newly released documents from President Bill Clinton’s administration on Friday, the first in a series of disclosures that could shed new light on how decisions were made during his time in the White House. Of particular interest could be, what day-to-day role his wife, Hillary, played in helping to shape policy and how she interacted with his top aides.

WHAT WE’RE LEARNING …

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THE ‘LISTENING TOUR’ … Mandy Grunwald wrote Hillary Clinton a memo July 6, 1999 "re: Key Points to Remember for the Trip." The memo seems to be in regard to a listening tour the then-first lady did in New York following her creation of an exploratory committee for a Senate bid. A few pointers included:

"Don't be defensive. Look like you want the questions. The press is obviously watching to see if they can make you uncomfortable or testy. Even on the annoying questions, give relaxed answers.”

“Look for opportunities for humor. It's important that people see more sides of you, and they often see you only in very stern situations.”

“Don't use the Administrations record as your own: You've spent a lot of years saying, ‘My husband did X.’ This trip is about you. And you are not an incumbent. If you want to talk about something like CHIP, talk about what you did.”

Also Grunwald lists a question "you might prepare for"

"Have you ever used drugs?"

BILL CLINTON WAS URGED TO SPEAK OUT ON RACE AFTER O.J. SIMPSON WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY OF MURDER: Then-White House Speechwriter David Shipley writes in strident terms to urge President Clinton to weigh in on the Simpson verdict in October 1995, “This is a defining moment. The country is waiting for the President to talk.”

MOVE OVER VH-1, WE LOVE THE 90’S TOO: An August 1995 memo from Lisa Caputo on "HRC media possibilities" recommends the first lady reach out to young women through a new vehicle: "Internet – As Karen has said, Internet has become a very popular mode of communication. Hillary could speak to young women through Internet. I think Hillary would have fun with this, and I believe it would: not be too difficult to organize."

GRAB A ZIMA AND SEARCH THE DOCS FOR YOURSELF …. http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/02/politics/clinton-documents/

AND THERE’S MORE … Over the next month, more than 29,000 more documents will be released.

MEANWHILE, IN FORT LEE … 911 AUDIO RELEASED
Officials in Fort Lee, New Jersey, released 911 audio Friday from September when two out of three access lanes were closed to the George Washington Bridge, ultimately causing massive traffic gridlock across the city for four days in a controversy that has roiled the Christie administration.

The 26 hours of emergency dispatch audio opens a window into the agitation experienced by motorists that week and whether the traffic jam … Audio between dispatchers and first responders shows that traffic was quickly becoming a problem on the first day of the lane closures, as they were "getting calls from irate motorists" by 9 a.m. ET. – Ashley Killough, Steve Kastenbaum and Chris Frates

THE BUZZ: THE ATHLETIC VERSION OF THE ODD COUPLE …
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden showed off their athletic sides in a new video filmed for the first Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign. The video shows the two men jogging around the White House and into the Rose Garden, before returning back to the Oval Office, panting and sharing a glass of water to hydrate.

MARKET WATCH: U.S. stocks post strong gains for February. Dow and S&P 500 each gain 4%, NASDAQ adds 5%.

TRAIL TRIVIA
(Answer below)
Which politician is responsible for Dr. Seuss' permanent case of stage fright?

the LEDE
Did you miss it?

Leading CNNPolitics: Inside Politics: Is Brewer part of a GOP evolution?
Tolerance is an issue for Republicans among key voting blocs, especially independents and younger voters. So some GOP strategists were quick to applaud Brewer for a move they say shows Republicans are listening and adapting to changing times - and changing views on gay rights. – John King

Gut Check DVR: Catch John King’s new show ‘Inside Politics’ on Sunday at 8:30am E.T. with guests Robert Costa, Maggie Haberman, Nia-Malika Henderson, and Peter Hamby.

Leading Seattle Times: Fellow Microsoft alum to run against DelBene for Congress
First-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene will face a re-election challenge this year from a fellow ex-Microsoft employee. Republican Pedro Celis, a retired Microsoft software engineer from Redmond, plans to announce his candidacy officially Thursday morning. – Jim Brunner

Leading Politico: Wall Street threatens GOP on bank tax
Private equity and investment firms in New York are telling key Republican players in D.C. that commitments for big-dollar fundraising have been “canceled for the foreseeable future,” according to one GOP lobbyist with knowledge of the conversations. – Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and Lauren French

Leading Drudge: Is she sick?
If you listen to the chattering class in Washington, D.C., Hillary Clinton is a virtual certainty for the 2016 Democratic nomination, and the front-runner in the next presidential race. But in private, rumors persist that the former Secretary of State may not even be capable of making it to Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton, these skeptics often say, will not run for president again because of health concerns. – Alex Pappas

Leading New York Times: Outrage Over Sexist Remarks Turns Into a Political Fund-Raising Tool
With a record number of women in Congress and dozens more on the ballot, attacks on figures like Wendy Davis, Claire McCaskill and Hillary Rodham Clinton can instantly generate contributions. – Amy Chozick

Leading HuffPo: Tea Party: We're Still Here
Tea partyers insist they're not to blame for Republican election losses in congressional and presidential elections, faulting the GOP establishment for showing little fight. This election year, the establishment is fighting — against the tea party insurgents challenging incumbents who the Republican Party is convinced stand a far better chance in November.

HOT SOTS
The political bites of the day

- Sessions to the GOP: Ditch Wall Street -
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, R-ALABAMA, AT A TEA PARTY PATRIOTS GROUP FIFTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: “The elites are failing America, they’re failing the people of America… My party, the Republican party, needs to sever itself from the elite consensus, we need to break from it.”

- Priorities sets priorities -
PRIORITIES USA SUPER PAC SPOKESMAN PETER KAUFFMANN TO POLITICO: “Priorities USA Action is all-in for 2014, and we will not aggressively raise for 2016 until after the midterms.”

- Kerry on Ukraine: Intervention would be a ‘grave mistake’ -
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY TAKING QUESTIONS ON RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: “Intervention would, in our judgment, be a very grave mistake. It would be completely contrary to Russian policies as stated now with respect to in Libya, Syria and other places.”

TOP TWEETS
What stopped us in 140 characters or less

Terri Saarten ‏(@terrisarten)
Today, many people are canceling their subscription to Foreign Policy RT @jaketapper http://ln.is/cnn.it/FpKDO Palin on Ukraine: I told you so

Reince Priebus (@Reince)
Congratulations to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas & Phoenix for moving on to the next phase.

James Hohmann ‏(@jameshohmann)
Dems recruit Travis Childers to run for Mississippi Senate in hopes that McDaniel beats Cochran and then implodes, a la Mourdock.

Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew)
Republican Congressional Candidate Launches “House Of Cards” Themed Ads http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/republican-congressional-candidate-launches-house-of-cards-t …

Brad Todd (@BradOnMessage)
Real bad day for Kay Hagan. Wilmington TV news caught her. Cant escape #Obamacare drag. Chk out new @thomtillis ad. thomtillis.com/new-ad-kay-hag…

Kay Hagan ‏(@kayhagan)
While Kay works on commonsense fixes for the ACA, @thomtillis is hiding his position on healthcare from NCians: http://bit.ly/1o8QJz0

Greg Abbott ‏(@GregAbbott_TX)
It's deeply offensive that a Democrat elected official called my Latina wife of 32 years a "prop". http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2014/02/27/apparently-greg-abbott-need-democrats-permission-to-go-to-lubbock/?utm_content=buffer8c951&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer …

Sunny Hostin (@SunnyHostin)
Kerry Kennedy has been acquitted on charges she was driving while ability impaired.

Sarah Valerio ‏(@Sarah_SV)
PHOTOS: Kitties of Congress Campaign by @bennyjohnson pictures politicians with their cat doppelgangers http://hoh.rollcall.com/pols-pounce-on-kitties-of-congress-campaign/ … Outstanding.

TRIVIA ANSWER from @sarafischer

Ted Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, suffered from a lifelong fear of stage fright stemming from an incident with President Teddy Roosevelt.

At age 14, Geisel became one of Springfield, Massachusetts’ top sellers of war bonds. To honor his commitment, Geisel was supposed to be awarded a medal by former President Roosevelt in front of a crowd of thousands at a Boy Scouts ceremony. When Roosevelt was only given nine medals to hand out to ten Boy Scouts he joked loudly to the crowd, “What’s this little boy doing here?”

Geisel was humiliated and the scoutmaster quickly escorted Roosevelt off the stage. Seuss remained stricken with stage fright for the rest of his life. Seuss’ 110th birthday would have been this Sunday.

GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE
(why aren’t you in it)

Congrats to Peter Ubertaccio (@ProfessorU) and Steve Liguori (@SteveL3877) for correctly answering today’s Gut Check Trivia question.

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