Good morning from Washington. The New Hampshire primary is gaining influence at the expense of the Iowa caucuses—a win for more moderate candidates like Jeb Bush. The Pentagon’s tongue-twisting on the fall of Ramadi comes at a cost. And Obama dreams of Cuba as he works to soothe Jewish concerns over the emerging Iran deal. Here are your Friday must reads:
Must Reads
Why New Hampshire Will Be the First Real Test for Republicans
Iowa’s importance is waning, and that’s only good for the first-in-the-nation primary, TIME’s Philip Elliott writes
Rove’s Crossroads PAC Is No Longer G.O.P.’s ‘Big Dog’
The former Bush adviser’s political groups are being supplanted in the early days of the 2016 race (New York Times)
Clinton Foundation Reveals Millions in Previously Undisclosed Speaker Payments
The foundations plays it loose on its transparency pledge (Washington Post)
Obama Seeks to Boost Ties With Jewish Americans Amid Iran Talks
The president steps up his outreach effort as negotiations continue (Wall Street Journal)
Jeb Bush: George W. Spent Too Much Money
The former Florida Gov. finds another breaking point with his brother (Politico)
Student Debt Is Hot Topic for 2016 Field
Democrats call for more aid, while Republicans stress cost controls (Wall Street Journal)
Pentagon Rhetoric About Ramadi’s Fall Risks U.S. Credibility
TIME’s Mark Thompson looks beyond the Pentagon spin
Sound Off
“Let me tell you something that was even sadder, was just how many Republicans ran for the hills. I’ll point out some of the Republicans running in 2016 were nowhere to be found when Indiana was being fought. I will tell you this—I will always, always, always stand and fight for religious liberty of every American.” — Sen Ted. Cruz showing off his conservative credentials to a group of pastors in Washington Thursday
“I know there’s one person particularly that hopes President Obama will be in Havana at some point in the — at some point in the relatively recent future, and that’s President Obama himself.” —White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest teasing the potential for Obama to be the first sitting president to visit Cuba in more than 50 years
Bits and Bites
A whole new world of campaign tech (Boston Globe)
Rick Santorum rips Fox News over ‘arbitrary’ debate rules (National Journal)
Chris Christie teases New Jersey news media with profanity, jokes (for charity) (New York Times)
Senators offer compromise on domestic surveillance changes (Associated Press)
Ron Paul ads warn of financial crisis (Wall Street Journal)
Test your campaign gimmicks knowledge (Boston Globe)
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