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Former President Bill Clinton's political family reunited Friday in Arkansas, reminiscing about his two terms in office and relishing the prospect of a first for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"In the world of Clinton, there is not an end. There is always tomorrow," said Skip Rutherford, dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. He first met Bill Clinton in 1973.

What the future might mean for the couple depends heavily on Hillary Clinton's decision on whether to make a second bid for president and if so, the degree to which she would defend or distance herself from President Barack Obama and her husband's terms in office.

Presidential politics in 2016 swirled around the reunion. In an hourlong address capping the first day, Bill Clinton made no mention of the possibility of another Hillary Clinton campaign but said his two terms had accomplished the goals that it had set.

"At the end, on foreign and domestic policy, economic and social, you could honestly say that people were better off when we quit," Clinton said.

Even as the Clinton alumni streamed to Little Rock, the former first couple took a touch of friendly fire from Vice President Joe Biden, a potential Clinton presidential rival, on her husband's record of creating jobs during the 1990s.

The Clintons often speak of having created 23 million jobs and cutting the poverty rate during Bill Clinton's presidency. But in a speech Thursday, Biden highlighted that how that period is remembered will be important to Hillary Clinton's ambitions.

The "middle class started to get into trouble in the late '80s," Biden said. "All through the '90s ... the middle class was declining except the last two years."

Republicans, still giddy about their midterm election triumph that handed them complete control of Congress, are busily preparing for 2016.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul assembled his political team at a Washington hotel this week for strategy sessions while former President George W. Bush has encouraged his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to run. Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana will head to Florida next week for an annual Republican Governors Association meeting replete with presidential overtones.

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Clinton Alums Remember the Past, Look to Future

Vice President Joseph R. Biden, check. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, check. But noticeably absent from the guest list of the annual meeting of the Democracy Alliance, a progressive-minded group that funds similarly liberal causes, was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The meeting isnt explicitly designed to drum up support for the next presidential contender for the Democratic Party but past gatherings have indeed included debates and discussions about the emerging field of presidential hopefuls, Politico reported.

The fact that Mrs. Clinton wasnt invited to the gathering is raising eyebrows among some of her supporters who also recall the Democracy Alliances perceived jump to then-candidate Barack Obamas bandwagon in 2008, and abandonment of the former first lady, with a similarly sour taste, Politico reported.

On top of that, the Democracy Alliances former executive director, Kelly Craighead a loyalist of the Clinton family is no longer with the group. She was replaced by Gara LaMarche, whos not as cozy with the Clintons, after group members raised concerns that the Democracy Alliance was trending too Democratic and not enough progressive, Politico reported.

Mr. LaMarche, however, said his group wasnt playing favorites and that reading too much into Mrs. Clintons absence would be folly and little more than drummed-up media speculations. Politico said.

None of this has to do with presidential politics, and none of the people you asked about [Warren, Biden] are declared presidential candidates, he told a Politico reporter. Once we have an actual contest, if we do have one, the DA will have to thread carefully through it, since we are scrupulously neutral, and people like you are always looking for signs.

He also said we invited Sen. Warren because, as Secretary Clinton herself has said, she is a leading progressive voice on the economy and she is kicking off an economics discussion, Politico reported.

At the same time, some in attendance called it very surprising that Mrs. Clinton wasnt invited.

Ms. Warren a rock star among progressives, who see her as the solution to Mrs. Clintons perceived too-conservative approach to Wall Street and on U.S. military missions was due to speak on Thursday on An Economy That Works For All A Progressive Plan and the Path to Making It Happen.

Neither Mrs. Clinton nor Ms. Warren have announced candidacies for the White House in 2016. But a super PAC called Ready for Warren has been formed to convince her to run.

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Hillary Clinton snubbed by progressives; Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren on guest list

David Axelrod has lots of thoughts about the probable Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential candidacy most of which come with some criticism of the woman he helped to defeat in the Democratic primary six years ago.

Speaking Thursday at The Wall Street Journals Capital Journal breakfast, the architect of President Barack Obamas winning presidential campaign messages said Mrs. Clinton could serve as a contrast to the Obama presidency.

Even when a president is popular, people tend to seek the remedy and not the replica. They want someone who has the qualities that they miss in the president, Mr. Axelrod said. This tends to be a pendular thing. I think in 2016 people are going to want someone who is a little less nuanced and a little less attuned to the complexity, someone who projects more of a sense of black and white certainty.

That environment favors Hillary Clinton more than the 2008 environment because she tends to be someone who speaks in simple, declarative sentences with great certainty, he said.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Mr. Obamas 2008 campaign was hardly subtle. His campaign plastered CHANGE placards and banners at every event a direct implication that electing Mrs. Clinton would be more of the same. Sure, Mr. Obama often speaks in digressions something that hasnt always been helpful to his presidency.

Throughout the event, Mr. Axelrod attributed the Democrats midterm losses to a failure to articulate a coherent economic message. He included Mrs. Clinton among the offenders, saying that she must get out of the cocoon of inevitability and suggested she is already out in front of the rationale for her candidacy.

Afterward, Mr. Axelrod, who is now based in Chicago, said Mrs. Clinton is perfectly capable of delivering a strong economic pitch to the sort of middle-class voters who will decide the next presidential election. She did so, he said, while campaigning for Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Wolf, but didnt always do so while stumping for other 2014 candidates.

I saw her deliver this message very effectively in 2008, he said. She just got to it way too late.

As far as his own political client, Mr. Axelrod attributed the presidents own communication failures to his inability to hew to an economic message of his own.

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Axelrod Sees Hillary Clinton as Contrast to Obama

Will Democrats listen to Krystal Ball #39;s crystal ball
Krystal Ball cautions Democrats about their complacency in believing that Hillary Clinton is inevitable. She lays out a case that Democrats should consider.

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Will Democrats listen to Krystal Ball's crystal ball - Video

Left and Right Unite Against the War Party
Murray Polner and Tom Woods, co-authors of We Who Dared to Say No to War, discuss war, Hillary Clinton, and more. Subscribe to the Tom Woods Show: ...

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Left and Right Unite Against the War Party - Video