Hillary basically made a cameo appearance in her own campaign announcement video, preferring instead to highlight a “diverse group of Americans,” as The New York Times put it.

To paraphrase William F. Buckley, Jr., I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 diverse Americans in the phone directory — a book that listed people’s telephone numbers, popular back in the days when Hillary was young — than the Clintons.

Rubio Thinks About Tomorrow

Stephen F. Hayes – The Weekly Standard

Florida senator Marco Rubio announced his campaign for the presidency Monday in a stirring speech at Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, just miles away from his childhood home.

The well-choreographed announcement showcased Rubio’s gifts as an orator and gave his audience glimpses of the personal story he will use to sell his candidacy over the next year, perhaps longer. It’s a powerful story and Rubio tells it well. The son of Cuban exiles who worked long hours—his father was a bartender and his mother a maid—to provide for their children, Rubio speaks to middle class voters as one of their own …

In a passage that will likely be seen as a gentle shot at Rubio’s friend and now rival, Jeb Bush, the Florida senator noted that opportunity in America isn’t reserved to those with connections or a celebrated name. “In many countries, the highest office in the land is reserved for the rich and powerful. But I live in an exceptional country where even the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege.”

Lincoln’s Lessons for Presidential Hopefuls: Column

James L. Swanson and Andrea Mays – USA Today

150 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln died in the back bedroom of a Washington boarding house across the street from Ford’s Theater, where he had been assassinated the previous night by the celebrated actor and notorious Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth …

But on this melancholy anniversary, we can do more than worship Lincoln and recite vague and tired bromides about his greatness. We can instead remember the four key characteristics that made him exceptional, and that make him relevant today.

First, Abraham Lincoln was a simple, unpretentious man who never forgot where he came from. His ambition carried him to the presidency, but he disdained pomp and circumstance. The trappings of power never turned his head.

Second, Lincoln possessed an almost supernatural sense of empathy. He was willing to see any situation through the eyes of others …

Third, Lincoln was flexible, effectively blending principle and pragmatism. He knew that the Civil War demanded unprecedented executive action. “As our case is new,” he told Congress in 1862, “so we must think anew, and act anew.” …

Fourth, Lincoln was a great communicator.