Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

A Sad Day -  Few tragedies loom as large in the American psyche as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was gunned down in Dallas a half-century ago today.

Now, we pause to remember that dark day in the country's history — recalling a shared trauma that can feel both political and personal.

"I remember it as if it were yesterday," President Bill Clinton told NBC News' Tom Brokaw earlier this year. "He meant something to the country and he symbolized the future. And it was as if he was snuffed out."

It was raining in Dallas on the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, when Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy touched down at Love Field amid a five-city swing through the Lone Star State.  NBC News has more here.

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Democrats End Senate Filibuster on Executive Nominations - The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, in a historic and bitterly fought rule change, stripped Republicans on Thursday of their ability to block President Barack Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees.

The action fundamentally altered the way Congress' upper chamber has worked since the mid-19th century by making it impossible for a minority party, on its own, to block presidential appointments, except those to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The change in the so-called "filibuster" rule does not apply to legislation, which can still be held up by a handful of senators.  Reuters.com has more here.

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Hillary Clinton Beats Bush, Rubio in Florida Poll - Former Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are tops in their respective party primaries and run neck and neck in Florida in an early look at the 2016 White House race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Secretary Clinton tops U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and other possible Republican candidates, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

Gov. Bush gets 22 percent in a hypothetical GOP primary with Rubio at 18 percent, New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie at 14 percent and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 12 percent. No other candidate tops 9 percent, with 12 percent undecided.

Clinton sweeps a Democratic primary with 70 percent, followed by Vice President Joseph Biden at 9 percent and no other candidate above 4 percent. Ten percent are undecided.

Head to head, Clinton gets 47 percent to Bush's 45 percent. She tops other Republicans: 45 - 41 percent over Christie; 50 - 43 percent over Rubio; 51 - 41 percent over U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky; 50 - 42 percent over U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin; 52 - 36 percent over Cruz. Quinnipiac has more here. --- Afghanistan Rejects U.S. Offer for Quick Security Deal - The future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan remained in doubt on Friday after a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai rejected a U.S. call to sign a security pact by the end of the year rather than after next year's presidential election. The United States has repeatedly said it will not wait until after the April 2014 vote to seal the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and rejected Karzai's suggestion for the signing to take place next year "properly and with dignity". Without an accord, the United States could pull out most of its troops by the end of 2014, as it did two years ago when it failed to negotiate a deal with Iraq. "We do not recognize any deadline from the U.S. side," said Aimal Faizi, a spokesman for Karzai, as Afghan tribal elders considered the pact for a second day. "They have set other deadlines also, so this is nothing new to us."  You can read more here. --- Please donate today to Frederick Politics by clicking on a Donation Button in the right hand margin of page - Thank You!