Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Clinton continues to lead potential 2016 presidential candidates - Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead among voters over Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) in hypothetical matchups of the 2016 presidential race, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Friday. 
 
Clinton leads Paul 49-41 percent and is out ahead of Bush 48-40 percent. Her favorability rating, though, has fallen from an all-time high of 61 percent in February to 52 percent in this survey.

The survey also found Vice President Joe Biden trailing Paul 43-39 percent and falling behind Bush 44-38 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,419 registered voters between May 22-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. TPM.com has more here.

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68% Oppose U.S. military intervention in Syria - According to a Gallup survey out Friday, 68 percent of Americans say that the U.S. should not resort to military action if diplomatic and economic efforts don’t stop the civil war that is raging in Syria. Twenty-four percent of Americans would back military action. But Americans aren’t hopeful that other efforts to stop the conflict will succeed: 58 percent don’t think that economic and diplomatic measures alone will stop the war; 27 percent do.  Politico.com has more here.

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Lawmakers begin debate on use of Drones - House defense lawmakers are debating whether to change the rules of war for U.S. counter-terrorism operations as part of the Defense Authorization bill for 2014.

According to draft language obtained by The Hill, the changes would require President Obama and the Pentagon to review all groups or individuals now characterized as “associated forces” under the current rules.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Unemployment in Euro Zone reaches new high - in the 17-nation currency area rose to 12.2 percent in April, statistics agency Eurostat said on Friday, marking a new record since the data series began in 1995.

With the euro zone also in its longest recession since its creation in 1999, consumer price inflation was far below the ECB's target of just below 2 percent, coming in at 1.4 percent in May, slightly above April's 1.2 percent rate.

That rise may quieten concerns about deflation, but the deepening unemployment crisis is a threat to the social fabric of the euro zone, with almost two-thirds of young Greeks unable to find work exemplifying southern Europe's threat of creating a 'lost generation'.  Reuters.com has more here.

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