The 2016 notebook includes notes, quotes, and newsworthy tidbits of what potential presidential candidates are doing and have done that could be significant to 2016. It will run occasionally on Fridays on First Read between now and when candidates actually start declaring.

Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is more popular than almost any political figure in Washington over the past four years. And that's exactly why Democrats think Republicans are going so hard after Benghazi.

"It's obvious it's an attempt to embarrass President Obama and embarrass Hillary Clinton," Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told Capitol Hill reporters. He added, “I mean, most everyone knows, if she wants to run for president, she's going to get that nomination.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) made a similar point on CBS's Face the Nation Sunday. "This has been caught up in the 2016 presidential campaign, this effort to go after Hillary Clinton," Durbin said.

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod told MSNBC’s Morning Joe also went there. "I really view the Benghazi flare-up right now as throwing a high hard one at Hillary Clinton to try and dissuade her from running for president," he said.

For his part, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa insisted on Meet the Press Sunday that simply was not the case. "Hillary Clinton's not a target,” Issa said of his committee's investigation.

Still, there was plenty of criticism of the Clinton, the likely 2016 Democratic front-runner if she runs, from others, as First Read noted May 9. Lindsey Graham also this week said if Clinton were “in the military, she wouldn’t be promoted.” And opponents are readying a scandal-filled movie about her life.

Rand Paul, another likely 2016 candidate who told Clinton she should have been fired during questioning, said this on FOX: "It sounds like Hillary Clinton’s fingerprints are all over these talking points. And really her resignation was a beginning, but she never really accepted culpability, and I think she really needs to accept culpability for this disaster.”

Yet Clinton continues to lead in 2016 hypothetical polls. A New England College poll showed her winning a New Hampshire Democratic primary 65%-10% over Vice President Joe Biden.

In that same poll, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Paul were all in a statistical dead heat.

Clinton also beats Rubio in Virginia, 51%-38%.

Clinton is a linchpin in many ways for 2016. Democrats know they have few other choices. Biden cannot be dismissed, but it's not helpful to his cause that he continues to be a punchline for late-night comics.

“Remember in the old days when President Obama's biggest embarrassment was Joe Biden?" quipped Tonight Show host Jay Leno.

Clinton not only leads, but is up by sizable margins over potential GOP rivals. Republicans have to take notice. 

Other 2016 notes:

Speaking of Clinton, by the way, former Michigan Gov.-turned-TV-personality Jennifer Granholm lent her name to a draft Hillary group fundraising email.

Paul hit the op-ed circuit this week, going after President Obama. He went after the president in an one, calling the firing of the IRS acting commissioner “not enough. The executive branch has been aware of this scandal for nearly two years and now, only as a result of massive public pressure, the administration has found a scapegoat.”

He wrote another op-ed Thursday, in which he said, “Lincoln wrote that nearly any man can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man, give him power. I think Mr. Obama has failed that test of power. From the cover-up in Benghazi to letting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) target the Tea Party to First and Fourth Amendment violations in obtaining records from the press, Mr. Obama has shown disregard for the Bill of Rights and his responsibilities as commander in chief.”

Paul, by the way, is going to New Hampshire Monday, headlining the first-ever -- and sold-out -- Liberty Dinner in Concord, N.H. with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. It’s designed to merge factions of the GOP.

McClatchy looked at the preparations Biden has made to run in 2016. His 2012 financial disclosure was released. It showed that he took out a second home loan in two years, this one valued between $100,000 and $250,000. Biden’s net worth is between $239,000 and $867,000. He could have needed the home-equity line for his daughter’s June wedding reception which he hosted at his Delaware home.

And it showed he made virtually nothing -- $0 to $201 -- in book royalties.

Joked Biden during his commencement address at the University of Pennsylvania Monday: “When I did my financial disclosure as Vice President the first time, the Washington Post said ‘It’s probable: no man has assumed the office of Vice President with fewer assets than Joe Biden,’ I hope they were talking financial assets. Then there was all this discussion why I had no money. I’ll tell you why I had no money: four years at Penn, three years of Syracuse, four years at Georgetown, three years at Yale, two years at Tulane, two years at Penn, and now a granddaughter at Penn. … This is a much cheaper way to get a degree.”

Speaking of that commencement speech at Penn, FactCheck.org says he flubbed some details: “Vice President Joe Biden falsely claimed that U.S. workers ‘are three times as productive as any worker in the world.’ He’s not even close. By the standard measure for productivity, American workers ranked third in the world behind Norway and Ireland in 2011.Biden also stated that the U.S. economy is ‘two and a half times bigger than any other in the world.’ That’s close, but still wrong. Last year the U.S. economy was not quite double the size of China’s economy, which is the second largest in the world.” 

And there was the hand-written note Biden sent to a 7-year-old in Wisconsin about guns being able to shoot chocolate: “Dear Myles, I am sorry it took so very long to respond to your letter. I really like your idea. If we had guns that shot chocolate, not only would our country be safer, it would be happier. People love chocolate. You are a good boy, Joe Biden.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s financial disclosure was also filed (but it doesn’t show a net worth). The main source of his income was his $128,000 a year salary with some dividends from stocks.

Jindal, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is calling on President Obama to appoint a special prosecutor in the IRS controversy. Jindal was also in New Hampshire last weekend. "We don't need to be focused on 2016 right now,” he said. “Let's focus on the debate. Let's win the debate.”

Martin O’Malley, who got 0% in the New Hampshire poll, “signed a gun-control bill that is among the country's most sweeping legislative responses to the December mass shooting in Newtown, Conn,” the Baltimore Sun writes. “The law bans the sale of assault-style rifles, including the AR-15 used in the Newtown killing of six educators and 20 first- and second-graders. The law limits gun ownership for people with mental illness, outlaws the sale of high-capacity magazines and establishes the nation's first new handgun licensing scheme in two decades. Maryland will join five other states in requiring such licenses, a move that O'Malley said "will substantially lower gun deaths."

He also signed into law “Maryland's first gas tax increase in 20 years into law on Thursday and announced $1.2 billion in highway and transit projects,” NBC Washington reports. So if you live in Maryland, that means it’ll cost you about 4 cents a gallon more to fill up your tank.

If Clinton doesn’t run, some have floated Kirsten Gillibrand as a potential candidate. She’s taken the lead on a host of family related issues and been out front on military sexual assault cases.

Or could it be Elizabeth Warren, who proposed legislation reducing student-loan rates and she wants the Obama Justice Department to take the big banks to court.

Marco Rubio accused the White House of creating a “culture of intimidation” on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd. He echoed that on FOX: “The president doesn’t have clean hands in this because, as I said yesterday on the floor of the Senate … this administration has created a culture of intimidation.” He added, “These are things you typically see in the Third World from unestablished republics and other places.”

Some conservatives are still hammering him for his pursuit of comprehensive immigration.

Chris Christie was showing Prince Harry around the Jersey Shore. He also went negative despite huge leads in his bid for reelection this year.

Bob McDonnell’s approval “dipped to his lowest job-approval rating in two years,” AP wrote of his 49% rating in Quinnipiac. But “few voters are aware” of the FBI inquiry into his accepting of money from a major donor for his daughter’s wedding.

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush was honored as a “Friend of Armenians.”

Rick Santorum has an op-ed with another heart-tugging story of a child who died.

“Republican soul-searching begins in earnest this week as GOP officials from every state in the nation come together for the first time since their party’s November shellacking,” AP writes. “There is broad agreement that the Republican Party needs to undergo fundamental changes to remain competitive as surging minority populations re-shape the American electorate. But there is no clear path forward. And even as they gather in a Charlotte, N.C., hotel this week — just days after President Barack Obama began his second term — Republicans are in some ways as divided as ever.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal delivers the keynote tonight. Political Wire: “Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) ‘will deliver a forceful denunciation of his party's Washington-centric focus in a speech to the Republican National Committee on Thursday evening, arguing that the GOP is fighting the wrong fight as it seeks to rebuild from losses at the ballot box last November,’ the Washington Post reports.”

Beth Reinhard: “With President Obama’s second inauguration still ringing in their ears, Republican national party leaders are hunkering down for three days of soul-searching. The presidential election was the toughest, but not the last indignity. Congressional Republicans were backed into a corner during the negotiations to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff and forced to accept tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans. Still seeking leverage, GOP leaders are backing off a showdown over the debt ceiling. At Monday’s swearing-in, President Obama stuck it to the opposition party by laying out an unapologetically liberal agenda for the next four years.”

CORALVILLE, Iowa -- “The Bob brigade” kicked off a weekend of high profile surrogate events for Mitt Romney in battleground states across the country as the GOP nominee is overseas.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke to voters in the swing state of Iowa on Thursday, calling President Obama a good, “family man,” while arguing his policies are failing and it’s time for a new president in the White House.

“You’re probably wondering why’s a guy from Virginia out here in Iowa. But Iowa and Virginia have a lot in common,” McDonnell told employees at Per Mar Security in Davenport early this morning. “Both are swing states, you know the president won big in both of our states last time, but the polls are a dead even heat now. So what happens in Virginia, what happens in Iowa could determine who’s going to be the next president of the United States.”

The two prominent GOP governors -- who have been rumored as potential vice presidential picks for Romney -- criticized Obama for his handling of the economy and not creating jobs.

“You know it's bad when the Europeans are giving us advice about too much spending and too much borrowing. That's like the town drunk telling you you've got a drinking problem,” Jindal told the crowd inside the Johnston County GOP Victory office. “You know it's bad when the Europeans are saying ‘Americans, you are spending and borrowing too much. Don't bother lecturing us about our problems.'"

Jindal came to Romney's additional defense in an afternoon conference call, when he was asked about a kerfuffle over Romney's assessment of London's preparation for the Olympics.

"We're not worried about overseas headlines, we're worried about voters here at home in America," Jindal told reporters.

Standing in front of a “191” poster at the first two events today, McDonnell pointed out that is the number of days since President Obama met with his jobs council. In that amount of time, the Virginia governor said, the president has had time to host numerous fundraisers and go golfing.

Both McDonnell and Jindal, whose trip today marks the first time they’ve stumped in Iowa for Romney, made a few phone calls to Republican super voters in the area following their speeches here.

While McDonnell heads back to the Old Dominion State, Jindal will continue heading West -- making two more stops today in the Hawkeye State on behalf of Romney, in Newton and West Des Moines.

BATON ROUGE, LA -– Mitt Romney’s campaign is tamping down speculation that a decision has been reached on a running mate, after a report today that the former Massachusetts Governor had made up his mind.

Eric Ferhnstrom, a top Romney aide, told reporters today “no decision has been made” on vice president. Ferhnstrom told the AP separately a decision could be reached this week.

The remarks occurred during a lunchtime fundraiser here in Baton Rouge, where Romney was joined by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a buzzed-about Republican whom some consider to be on Romney’s shortlist.

This morning, the New York Times reported that people close to Romney say a decision had been made.  The report also speculated about how former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty may appeal to Romney.

But today’s fundraiser, at the City Club of Baton Rouge, marked Jindal’s debut at Romney’s side.  In remarks to guests, Jindal called President Obama “incompetent,” and described Obama’s politics as too liberal for the American people.

“This president, President Obama, he cannot run on his record, he can’t run on his political philosophy so he has to attack and distort Governor Romney’s record,” Jindal said, referring to what he described as the Obama campaign’s negative tactics.

Last week, the Romney campaign fielded attacks from the Obama team over questions about when Romney left the helm of the venture capital firm Bain Capital, kickstarting new discussions about venture capitalism, and the financial economy.

“I am thrilled he’s a successful businessman. You don’t want an unsuccessful businessman in the White House,” Jindal said.

About 40 donors attended today’s luncheon, at $50,000 a plate.  Guests ate Louisiana gulf shrimp and beef tenderloin. 

One guest, Andie Bollinger of Thibodaux, LA, later told reporters that Governor Romney told guests privately about his plans for a Romney presidency, though she didn’t elaborate.

“He’s a brilliant man,” Bollinger said of Romney.

Jindal, who supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry during the Republican primary, has recently become a more visible surrogate for Romney’s campaign, deploying sharp attacks on President Obama and defending conservative issues.

This weekend, Jindal addressed the Nebraska GOP convention, where he touted Gov. Romney’s business background and was met with applause when he said the U.S. Supreme Court made an “awful choice” upholding President Obama’s health care law.

Today Romney and Jindal arrived for the fundraiser only minutes apart, and about half an hour early.  Fehrnstrom said the two men met privately and spoke about education -- a focus for Jindal here in Louisiana -- but didn't discuss the vice presidency.

Updated 1:00 p.m. - Among the flurry of conservatives vowing to redouble their efforts to repeal President Obama’s health reform law was the handful of Republicans whom Mitt Romney might pick as a running mate.

Below is a rundown of portions of their statements, which we will continue to update throughout the day.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman:

While the Court has deemed the law constitutional as a tax on the American people, it is still flawed policy that is unaffordable for our families, our small businesses, and our government.  The President's one-size-fits-all health care spending law is the centerpiece of a failed agenda that has increased economic uncertainty, stalled job creation, and deepened the spending hole that Washington has dug. 

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio:

What's important to remember is that what the Court rules on is whether something is constitutional or not, not whether it's a good idea. And while the Court has said that the law is constitutional, it remains a bad idea for our economy, and I hope that in the fall we will have a majority here that will not just repeal this law, but replace it with real solutions that will insure more people and cost a lot less money.

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan

Today’s decision strengthens the case for repeal and replace. With the right leadership in place, I am confident we can advance real health care solutions for the American people. It is now in the hands of the American people to determine whether this disastrous law will stand.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell:

Today's ruling crystallizes all that's at stake in November's election.  The only way to stop Barack Obama's budget-busting health care takeover is by electing a new president. Barack Obama's health care takeover encapsulates his Presidency: Obamacare increases taxes, grows the size of government and puts bureaucrats over patients while doing nothing to improve the economy.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie:

Today's Supreme Court decision is disappointing and I still believe this is the wrong approach for the people of New Jersey who should be able to make their own judgments about health care. Most importantly, the Supreme Court is confirming what we knew all along about this law - it is a tax on middle class Americans.

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte:

By imposing a coercive tax on the American people, the president's health care law represents an unprecedented federal overreach into individuals' personal lives. ... If we don't repeal it, Americans can expect to see higher costs, less choice and fewer jobs.  I will continue to fight to repeal this law and replace it with market-based reforms that reduce costs and expand consumer choice.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal:

Ironically, the Supreme Court has decided to be far more honest about Obamacare than Obama was.  They rightly have called it a tax. Today's decision is a blow to our freedoms. The Court should have protected our constitutional freedoms, but remember, it was the President that forced this law on us.

AYOTTE: The Boston Herald interviewed New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte: “In a sneak peek at a potential fall showdown, New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte said tangling with Vice President Joe Biden on a debate stage ‘would be quite enjoyable’ and poked fun at Biden’s foot-in-mouth malady. ‘The vice president does have a way with words,’” she said. Of being veep, she said: “It’s certainly an honor to be mentioned for consideration as vice president, but serving New Hampshire in the Senate is the greatest honor I could ask for.”

And: “I think Gov. Romney is going to pick who he thinks is best and he will do that not worried about the gender of the person or what their particular background is, except for when it comes to qualifications,” she said. “I think that anyone who is nominated to serve as vice president will expect there will be tremendous media scrutiny on them.”

JINDAL: Awwwkward: GOP 12: “On The Daily Rundown, Chuck Todd asks Bobby Jindal if he'd be Mitt Romney's running mate. Jindal runs through some talking points; then Todd notes ‘Governor, that's not a denial. You know that, right?’ Bobby then smiles (see screencap above) and does nothing else, making this the most uncomfortable pause since Jim Irsay asked Peyton Manning if he wanted to be Andrew Luck's backup.”

PORTMAN: Why did John McCain want to punch Rob Portman in the face?

RUBIO: “Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday blamed Washington’s inability to produce a comprehensive immigration policy on Democrats who prefer that the issue remain unresolved so they can continue to leverage it to win the Hispanic vote,” Politico writes. Rubio said on FOX: “I think there are some people in the Democratic Party that think that the immigration issue’s more valuable to them unsolved, that it gives them something to talk about, that they can go back to Hispanic communities and make unrealistic promises every two years and win votes.”

It’s worth pointing out, however, that Democrats were just a few votes short of passing the DREAM Act, which was blocked by Republicans.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks at the 2012 New York Republican State Dinner on April 19, 2012 in New York City. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has urged Gingrich to give up his Secret Service protection, which he has had for about a month, in order to save taxpayer dollars.

NEW YORK -- Speaking before several thousand Republicans Thursday evening, Newt Gingrich said he is committed to having a “unified” party going forward and seemed to change his rhetoric towards the GOP presidential frontrunner.
 
Gingrich, giving remarks at the New York State Committee Annual Dinner, vowed that whether he or Mitt Romney become the nominee, they will work together to defeat President Obama in the fall.
 
“If I were to become the nominee, he [Romney] would work all out because it is our grandchildren’s future at stake. If he becomes the nominee, Callista and I will work out because it is our grandchildren’s future at stake,” the former House speaker promised, acknowledging he is clearly the underdog. “The fact is, we are dedicated to a unified Republican Party, winning the presidency on behalf of America’s future.”
 
Late last month, campaigning in Green Bay, Wis., Gingrich said while he is going to Tampa and is committed to party unity it was only with a caveat.
 
“We are deeply committed to going to Tampa, we are deeply committed to fighting for these ideas, that we are prepared to compete all the way, that while I am committed to party unity I think it ought to be party unity for a purpose, with a platform that matters and with ideas that enable us to say to the American people if you hire us, we’re not just anti-Obama, we are pro success for America and here are ideas that will make America successful,” he said at Kroll’s West Restaurant on March 30.
 
Thursday night’s speech at a New York City hotel seemed to take a different tone – a much more conciliatory tone from Gingrich. He reiterated he has stayed in the GOP race to articulate big themes and big issues across the country.
 
The keynote speaker at tonight’s annual dinner was potential vice presidential candidate, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
 
After taking the stage following a bagpiper, Gingrich praised Gov. Jindal as “one of the brightest people in all of American politics.”
 
Gingrich heads to upstate New York Friday for one public event in Buffalo.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- While Rick Perry makes an all-out sprint in Iowa, he’s keeping a hand in South Carolina by releasing a robo-call featuring Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is campaigning for Perry in the Hawkeye State.

In the call, acquired from sources within the Perry campaign, Jindal says Perry’s campaign is “finishing strong in Iowa,“ adding that Perry is a “consistent conservative who will completely overhaul Washington” and who “is not afraid to tell the truth about the danger our country is in.”

“South Carolina can make sure that we have a conservative nominee. I believe Rick Perry is the strong conservative we need,” Jindal continues on the 23-second robo call.

Jindal, a fellow southern governor with a high national profile, hit the trail with Perry in Iowa last week, at one point correcting the Texas governor about details in his tax plan.
 
Listen to the audio here. The full script of call:

Hi, this is Governor Bobby Jindal. I’ve been on the road with Rick Perry in Iowa where his campaign is finishing strong. Governor Perry is a consistent conservative who will completely overhaul Washington. Rick Perry is not afraid to tell the truth about the danger our country is in. South Carolina can make sure that we have a conservative nominee. I believe Rick Perry is the strong conservative we need. Paid for by Rick Perry.org, Inc.

DEWITT, Iowa -- Sauntering through snowy streets with a dozen cameras in tow, two sitting United States governors on Tuesday talked haircuts and football with the residents of an eastern Iowa town, population about 5,000. 

Must be caucus season. 

Gov. Rick Perry, accompanied by endorser Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, stopped in DeWitt for a tour with the mayor as part of Perry's last-ditch-effort bus tour of over 40 cities in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. 

Perry signed an NFL jersey, played with an infant, and even mimed giving a customer at Art's barbershop a haircut as he made his way through town, insisting on shaking the hand or slapping the back of everyone he met -- even a bystander absorbed in a frosted danish. 

“Two things you don’t want from me: Singing to you and giving you a haircut," Perry joked with haircut-recipient Leroy Claussen, moments after holding the barber's tools inches from Claussen's head. 

It's the retail campaigning for which Perry is known, and which his campaign team hopes will vault him above his conservative rivals to a better-than-expected finish in the Jan. 3 contest. 

Jindal, who endorsed Perry in September, joined him on the road Tuesday for two days of the bus tour. At the first stop of the day, Jindal introduced his neighboring chief executive with a specific focus on Perry's leadership. 

"I've seen Rick Perry lead," he said in his introduction speech at the Decker Hotel in Maquoketa. "I have seen first hand the difference between a man who's been governor of a state for 11 years and another man who gives a great speech, was a senator for a couple of years and then ran for president of the United States." 

The Louisiana Republican's steady and deliberate delivery of five reasons he's supporting Perry came with a fluidity that often escapes the candidate that he's endorsed. At one point, Jindal even came to his rescue after Perry flubbed one of the details of his own tax plan. 

"Thank you for correcting me on that governor," Perry replied when Jindal gently chimed in with the facts about deductions under Perry's flat tax proposal. "Not that I ever make a mistake. It's always good to have Bobby here to correct me."

With Jindal at his side, Perry largely avoided his usual daily attacks on rivals in front of Iowa audiences. But he told reporters that his "outsider" status differentiates him from Romney and Gingrich, both of whom formerly supported the individual health insurance mandate much-reviled by conservatives. 

"[Romney] has a real problem with this issue of being consistent on this Obamacare/Romneycare issue," he said at a brief press conference outside his bus as snow flurries swirled above. "Newt's an insider. So the issue's going to be do you want an insider - whether it's Wall Street or whether it's Washington - or do you want an outsider like myself." 

Perry, unlike Gingrich, has not called for a ceasefire of inter-candidate punches, and he said Tuesday that such contrasts are fair rather than wholly "negative." 

"As long as no one's misstating the facts then I don't consider that to be negative," he said. "I think it's always in the eye of the beholder."