memeorandum: Shock new video shows ISIS thugs smashing historic Iraqi city of Nimrud with barrel bombs … (Associated Press)

8:15 AM ET, April 13, 2015

Top Items:

Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid — Ending two years of speculation and coy denials, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on Sunday that she would seek the presidency for a second time, immediately establishing herself as the likely 2016 Democratic nominee.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Why Hillary Clinton Is Probably Going to Win the 2016 Election — This is not a toss-up. — Shares — Unless the economy goes into a recession over the next year and a half, Hillary Clinton is probably going to win the presidential election. The United States has polarized into stable voting blocs …

Discussion: SaintPetersBlog, The Reaction, NPR, AMERICAblog News, Daily Kos, Addicting Info, FiveThirtyEight, National Review and Guardian

Hillary Clinton / Guardian:

The Guardian view on Hillary Clinton: hammering the glass ceiling (again) — The case for a first Madam President is inarguable. The case for a second President Clinton is still to be made — he couldn't quite shatter the glass ceiling in 2008, but she vowed that the “18 million cracks” …

Discussion: Washington Post, WIS-TV, France 24, Chicago Tribune, Daily Kos and Daily Maverick

Julie Bykowicz / Bloomberg Business:

Why Hillary Clinton Can't Win the Fundraising Expectations Game — As Hillary Clinton begins her second presidential bid, and the business of paying for it, her supporters predict that she will be deemed a fundraising failure no matter how much money she collects.

Discussion: Politico and New York Times

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Romney: Clinton a ‘creature of Washington’ — Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) on Sunday said that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spent too much time in Washington, D.C. to benefit Americans as their next president. — “People want to see change and Hillary Clinton is not that person …

Discussion: Caffeinated Thoughts and Bloomberg Business

CNN:

First on CNN: Hillary Clinton takes road trip to Iowa — (CNN)Iowa or bust. — Hillary Clinton is kicking off her second bid for the White House with a road trip, riding from New York to her first campaign stop on Tuesday in Iowa. She was spotted on Sunday evening chatting with people at a gas station in Pennsylvania.

Discussion: New York Post, Politico, OnPolitics, RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine and USA Today

Bill Curry / Salon:
Hillary Clinton just doesn't get it: She's already running a losing campaign

Discussion: On Point with Tom Ashbrook, The Mahablog and Liberal Values

Maureen Callahan / New York Post:
Hillary Clinton faces scandal amid expectant presidential run

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Annie Karni / Politico:
Hillary Clinton formally announces 2016 presidential run

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Deadline, Democratic Strategist, The National Interest and American Spectator

Niall Stanage / The Hill:
Hillary: 'I'm running for president'

Discussion: msnbc.com

Daily Mail:
'I'm running for President': Hillary Clinton enters 2016 race

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Ed Driscoll

Roger Kimball / Roger's Rules:
Clinton Fatigue Returns

Discussion: Washington Examiner, VodkaPundit, Politico and The Gateway Pundit

Jennifer Epstein / Bloomberg Business:
Hillary Clinton Makes it Official: 'I'm Running for President'

Discussion: Politico, Common Dreams, Bloomberg View, Washington Post, The Federalist, The Diplomat, Talking Points Memo and Scared Monkeys

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Grandmama Mia! — WASHINGTON — WHEN my brother Michael …

Discussion: Hot Air, Mediaite, ABC News, Washington Post, The Huffington Post and RedState

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Brooklyn Hit With Anti-Hillary Street Art

Discussion: Liberal Values, BizPac Review and Moe Lane

Juan Williams / The Hill:

For 2016, a tidal wave of cash — The most stunning political news of the year to date is last week's revelation that a group of super-PACs has already raised $31 million to support the presidential bid of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). — And last week also brought the most intriguing political news …

Politico:

Why Marco Rubio couldn't say no — “For Marco, being told he can't do something is a challenge.” — Some of Marco Rubio's early backers called themselves the Three Percent Club, because that's where the ambitious young Republican was polling when he began running for U.S. Senate six years ago.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, SaintPetersBlog, The National Memo and Hot Air

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

It Takes a Party — So Hillary Clinton is officially running, to nobody's surprise. And you know what's coming: endless attempts to psychoanalyze the candidate, endless attempts to read significance into what she says or doesn't say about President Obama, endless thumb-sucking about her “positioning” on this or that issue.

Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:

Obama conquered the West for Democrats, but now it's back in play — When President Obama claimed the Democratic nomination en route to the White House, he planted his party flag in this Rocky Mountain capital, vowing to end Washington's dysfunction and find elusive consensus around issues such as immigration, guns and abortion.

Maria Abi-Habib / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Widens Role in Saudi-led Campaign Against Houthi Rebels in Yemen — Washington has concerns about Riyadh's goals in the conflict — The U.S. is expanding its role in Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen, vetting military targets and searching vessels for Yemen-bound Iranian arms amid growing concerns …

Discussion: Fox News and The American Conservative

Matea Gold / Washington Post:

Wealthy donors on left launch new plan to wrest back control in the states — SAN FRANCISCO — A cadre of wealthy liberal donors aims to pour tens of millions of dollars into rebuilding the left's political might in the states, racing to catch up with a decades-old conservative effort that has reshaped statehouses across the country.

Discussion: Political Wire and Prairie Weather