… What CPAC underscored was not just how wide open the Republican nominating contest is at this early stage — not exactly new news — but also how much more substantial the 2016 field of prospective candidates looks compared with the 2012 field.
Setting aside applause meter readings or straw-poll results, the conference also showed that Republican voters have plenty of choices this cycle, no matter their criteria for choosing, whether it is ideology, philosophy, style, experience, generational appeal or the pragmatic question of who’s most capable of defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton.
All of that is important because candidates and campaigns matter. But fundamentals also matter, and few are more important than the changing face of America. That was highlighted anew by the study produced by three think tanks — the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for American Progress and the Brookings Institution — called States of Change. CONT.
Dan Balz, Washington Post