February 2007 - Posts
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, and Andrew Merten
Everyone from economists to your average investor keeps their eyes on the market after yesterday’s big stock plunge; Senate Democrats have postponed debate over repealing the 2002 war authorization; their colleagues in the House continue to discuss how to proceed with Bush’s war-spending request; and the longest presidential campaign in memory keeps trucking along.
With the campaigns already skirmishing in public, rallies attracting thousands of attendees, numerous high-profile fundraisers raking in millions, and even one prominent candidate (Romney) already airing TV ads, it’s worth repeating that the presidential election is still more than 600 days away. Just how early has it started? Consider that your First Read team, who seemed to cover every minute of the 2004 presidential campaign for NBC, hadn't even begun working for the network at this point in the ’04 cycle.
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NBC’s Ken Strickland reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to postpone any Iraq debate for a couple of weeks. On the one hand, Reid suggested that had the debate started this week, Iraq resolutions would have been attached to a bill designed to implement most of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission -- and he didn't want to inject a fierce partisan battle into it. But on the other hand, Strickland says, it appears some moderate Democrats are unwilling to support the latest Democratic effort to repeal Congress' 2002 war authorization. That proposal was being considered for floor action this week as part of the 9/11 bill.
"I don't like it," said Kent Conrad (D) who voted against the original authorization. "It strikes me as attempting to rewrite history." Conrad said other moderate Democrats shared his view (as did some non-moderates). And with no Republicans publicly throwing their support behind it yet, Democrats appeared not only short the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, but probably short of the 51 votes within their own caucus.
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The New York Times says stock markets “fell sharply across most of Asia again today and continued declining in Europe as investors worried about weakness in the American economy. But share prices rebounded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, the mainland Chinese stock markets that had been the first to tumble during Tuesday’s global sell-off.”
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A Washington Post survey finds "a noticeable shift in sentiment among African American voters" toward Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy. That shift has helped Obama slice Clinton's overall lead in half. And on the GOP side, a shift among white evangelical Protestants in favor of Rudy Giuliani is behind Giuliani's "2 to 1 advantage over McCain among Republicans... Giuliani is doing well among this group of Americans despite his support of abortion rights and gay rights... McCain opposes abortion rights... Early national polls are not always good predictors for presidential campaigns, but the Post-ABC poll offers clues to the competition ahead."
As many as 23 states could hold their presidential nominating contests on February 5, The Hill reports, thanks to encouragement from the top presidential contenders who are looking to capitalize on their frontrunner status.
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Just when talk about Marc Rich was dying down… The Boston Globe reports that Hillary Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, "is battling an order to repay more than $100,000 he received from a couple pardoned by President Clinton." A judge has ordered Rodham to respond by March 16 to allegations that he failed to repay that money as he was ordered to do so. "Clinton critics have been seeking to revive an array of controversies, from the Whitewater land deal to the Monica Lewinsky case. The Clinton campaign has sought to depict them as old or moot cases. But the Tony Rodham case could be different because it is in court just as Senator Clinton's campaign reaches full speed."
The Globe also lists the money both of Clinton's brothers received from people who received pardons by President Clinton.
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He's leading in many of the polls there, but Rudy Giuliani has yet to step foot in Iowa to campaign. But that's about to change, the Des Moines Register says. Giuliani has hired his first Iowa staffer and plans a visit to the state in the coming weeks.
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A day before departing for New Orleans the Gulf Coast, President Bush meets this afternoon with military service organizations in the White House.
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation offers a "very preliminary" estimate that "Bush's plan to revamp the health-care system would increase taxes on Americans by $526.2 billion over the next decade."
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From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
The return of Congress means we're back to Iraq, with Democratic lawmakers in both chambers wrestling over whether and how to curtail President Bush's authority in pursuing military action there. Some Senate Democrats want to repeal the 2002 war resolution and replace it with one that's narrower in scope; some House Democrats want to tie funding for the war to troop readiness. A suicide bomber's attempted attack on Vice President Cheney earlier today also will direct Washington's attention to the situation in Afghanistan.
In the House, NBC's Mike Viqueira advises, Iraq is percolating mainly behind the scenes while members focus publicly this week on matters of concern to business and labor. The House will consider reforming the way the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States -- remember the Dubai Ports World controversy? -- conducts it reviews, and also a hotly contested bill that would facilitate union organizing. The war, by contrast, is causing more private hemming and hawing and Democrats ponder what to do about Rep. John Murtha's proposal to tie Bush's $100 billion supplemental funding request to US troop readiness.
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The New York Times says that the suicide bombing outside the US military base in Afghanistan “killed and wounded American soldiers and Afghan and Pakistani truck drivers and laborers waiting for access at the gate. The incident was at the first security gate of the base, far from where Mr. Cheney was staying.” More: “Mr. Cheney’s trip to the region had been shrouded in unusual secrecy… This appeared to reflect growing concern about the strength of Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the region.”
President Bush today takes part in the swearing-in of his new Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte. Iraq and the war on terror will surface in several other venues in the Senate this week, Strick advises. Today, Iraq war costs and troop funding will likely come up when Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates testify about Bush's emergency funding request. And there will more talk about war costs on Thursday, when the Budget Committee hears from Pentagon officials about their annual funding request. The war in Afghanistan also goes under the microscope on Thursday when the Armed Services panel hears from mid-level military types.
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Add Rudy Giuliani to the list of Republican presidential candidates speaking at the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual conference next week. Also speaking: former Gov. Mitt Romney, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Sen. Sam Brownback, along with Vice President Cheney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
And add Romney to the list of Republican contenders whose campaign playbook appears to have leaked to the press. First a New York tabloid got hold of Giuliani's. Now the Boston Globe has gotten its hands on a 77-slide PowerPoint presentation that "offers a revealing look at Romney's pursuit of the White House, outlining a plan for branding himself, framing his competitors, and allaying voter concerns about his record, his Mormon faith, and his shifts on key issues like abortion." The document "is wide-ranging and analyzes in detail the strengths and weaknesses of Romney and his two main Republican rivals," McCain and Giuliani. "The plan… charts a course for Romney to emerge as the nominee, but acknowledges that the 'electorate is not where it needs to be for us to succeed.'" A Romney spokesman calls it "'a compilation of political conventional wisdom.'"
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Several news organizations -- including NBC's TODAY -- look at how his turn at the Oscars has buffed up Al Gore, if not whetted his appetite, for another run in 2008. and
Dueling speeches in Selma? The New York Daily News writes that Sen. Hillary Clinton will also speak in Selma, AL over the weekend to commemorate the infamous 1965 march across the bridge there -- joining Sen. Barack Obama, whose campaign had earlier announced that he would be there. “The two high-profile speeches - both at 11 a.m. and at virtually adjacent churches in Selma, Ala. - sent officials scrambling to figure out how to accommodate both senators without offending either.”
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In his luncheon speech at the National Press Club yesterday, GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger emphasized bipartisanship while still making it clear that he has not become an Independent, NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reports. "I am still a proud Republican," he said. "I support the guiding principles of the Republican Party." He continued, "Isn't the ultimate principle to serve the people, to do the things that are good for the people? We are elected as public servants, not party servants."
Schwarzenegger focused on the issues of health care and immigration, calling for mandatory medical insurance for everyone. And while he recognized that some consider it controversial, he also called for coverage of children of undocumented immigrants: "The fact is that we have no choice about paying the medical bills of people that are here illegally in California... So the question really is not, should we treat them or not or should we cover them or not, but the real question is do we treat them in an emergency room at three or four times the cost of a doctor's office or health clinic, or do we treat them more efficiently and more cost-effectively?"
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Down one, the jurors in the Libby trial will deliberate for a fourth day today.
The New York Times speculates why Libby’s defense team pushed to proceed with just 11 jurors -- instead of adding the alternate to make it 12 after the juror was dismissed. “In this case, the replacement juror would have been a middle-aged woman who identified herself as an insurance industry consultant. Some reporters at the trial observed her taking notes assiduously during the monthlong proceedings.”
From NBC's Carrie Dann
Speaking in Washington today at a luncheon hosted by the conservative Hoover Institute, presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani delighted his conservative audience, annoyed TV camera crews with his characteristic pacing, and exasperated reporters with a lack of news in his remarks. With the Q&A for audience members only, the press was hoping that one of the guests might pitch him a hardball -- perhaps about his plan for Iraq or his fairly liberal social views. But when the last question turned out to be about incentive pay for teachers, the journalists covering the event let out a collective sigh of disappointment.
One of Giuliani's comments, however, did prompt a flurry of scribbling. When an audience member expressed concern about his lack of foreign policy experience, Giuliani quipped, "What makes you think the mayor of New York City doesn't need a foreign policy?" He added, "It's something that I think I know as well as anybody else who's running for president, and probably better than a lot."
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi.
The nation's governors visit today with President Bush, who may well be the last member of their alumni association to occupy the White House before 2012 or even 2016. At least as of today, the public's habit of picking presidents with gubernatorial experience seems likely to be broken in 2008. None of the current top contenders for either party's nomination -- three senators and a mayor -- has held that job.
When he quit the race last Friday, Democrat Tom Vilsack became the third former governor to do so, after Sen. Evan Bayh and Mark Warner, the former governors of Indiana and Virginia. All three had counted on running on their credentials as centrist Democratic executives of red or swing states. Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R), after never quite getting in the race, now seems to be all but out of it.
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Vice President Cheney made unannounced stops in Pakistan and Afghanistan this morning. The pool reporter notes that Cheney "looks pretty chipper, near the end of a week-long odyssey." The New York Times front-pages that the White House is warning Pakistan’s prime minister that the Democratic-controlled Congress could cut off funding to his country unless he becomes more aggressive in hunting down al Qaeda operatives.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday on ABC called Hill Democrats' efforts to narrow Bush's authority in Iraq "'the worst of micromanagement' that would intrude on the president's power as commander in chief to manage the war."
Conservative columnist Bob Novak writes that very few Republican senators -- even those like Norm Coleman and Chuck Hagel, who backed the non-binding resolution opposing Bush’s troop increase -- are now behind the move to repeal the 2002 war authorization. “If Hagel is lost, Democrats might fall short of the 50 senators necessary for passage, much less the 60 senators necessary to close off debate. Bush may be an unpopular president fighting an unpopular war, but Democrats are finding it hard to make war policy from Capitol Hill.”
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The AP follows up on the New York Daily News report that the Rev. Al Sharpton, who occasionally still threatens to run for president, is descended from a slave who was once owned by the family of the late GOP Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Al Gore passed on repeated invitations to announce another run for president at the Oscars last night. "My fellow Americans," he said to laughter in the audience, "people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act, that's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."
The Des Moines Register ran a slew of stories over the weekend about Vilsack's withdrawal from the race -- one about his bid farewell, one about reaction from his supporters and one about the reasons why he dropped out.
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The New York Daily News notes that Rudy Giuliani and McCain plan to skip an upcoming debate in New Hampshire in early April. “McCain is expected to be in the Middle East on April 4 and Giuliani has an unspecified scheduling conflict, sources said.” The first GOP presidential primary debate including the two frontrunners will take place at the Reagan presidential library in California on May 3, brought to you by MSNBC and The Politico.
USA Today, covering GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel's criticisms of the Administration on Iraq, has Hagel saying in an interview "that if he ran" for president, "he would seek the Republican nomination. Yet he's also talking up Unity08," which is "a plan by a bipartisan group of political operatives to draft a bipartisan presidential ticket on the Internet and offer voters an alternative to the Democratic and Republican candidates next year."
Per The State, McCain is leading his GOP rivals in polls in South Carolina, but his numbers lag behind what he had in 2000. Since he has "almost universal name identification among S.C. Republican primary voters," it may be "more difficult to find voters who haven’t formed an opinion of him."
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The AP uses the governors' gathering to look at the presidential candidates' efforts to win their support.
The San Francisco Chronicle previews Schwarzenegger’s speech today at the National Press Club, in which he's expected to continue talking about moving away from partisanship. “‘I'm going to talk about how important it is to work together, which doesn't mean that you have to sell out your principles,’ Schwarzenegger said Sunday on CBS' ‘Face the Nation.’ ‘It just means that you ultimately want to serve the people rather than your party, because I think the elected officials are public servants and not party servants.’”
USA Today's former White House correspondent looks at the paper's latest Gallup polling and finds more Republicans standing by Bush than you might think based upon the news. As he writes, "despite bad news from Baghdad and carefully crafted hand-wringing by high-profile GOP war critics in Congress such as [Hagel], three of four Republicans in the country are hanging in there with the president... The poll also shows that rank-and-file Republicans have higher regard for the president than they do Republicans in Congress... And 72% of Republicans do not think Bush made a mistake sending U.S. troops to Iraq. So if congressional Republicans figure the key to re-election in 2008 is taking a hard line against Bush on Iraq,... [t]hey might lure some independents, but they risk alienating their GOP base."
"Lawmakers have continued to take trips paid for by outside groups since the House voted last month to restrict who can pay for such travel,"
USA Today reports. "House travel records show that 19 members since Jan. 5 have accepted airfare, meals and lodging from special interests, including groups that employ lobbyists. The records were compiled by the non-partisan PoliticalMoneyLine."
From NBC's Huma Zaidi and Lauren AppelbaumIn a conference call with reporters this afternoon, a somber Tom Vilsack (D) reiterated much of what he said in a news conference earlier today, which is that he's dropping out of the race because his campaign could simply not raise enough money to be competitive. "It is ultimately about money," Vilsack said while lamenting that he'd wished the race was more focused on the issues he cares most about, like Iraq and energy. While the former Iowa governor said he's confident that his campaign would have done well in his home state and New Hampshire, Vilsack added that a frontloaded primary calendar would complicate his fundraising efforts. "The premium on money became even more compelling," he said.
Vilsack said he does not have any plans on endorsing any candidate soon or and said he's not even thinking about whether he would accept an offer to be a vice presidential nominee. Vilsack said today he is thinking about his family, his staff and supporters who have devoted so much time into his presidential campaign.
From NBC's Mark Murray and Elizabeth Wilner
NBC News has learned that former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) is dropping out of the presidential race. This announcement, which Vilsack will make outside his campaign headquarters at noon ET, comes as quite a surprise given that he was heading to campaign in New Hampshire on Monday and Tuesday
Vilsack, the first major Democrat to announce that he was running for president in 2008, made his decision after realizing he wouldn't have the money to compete against the likes of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. "This comes down to money," says a Democratic source close the campaign, noting that Vilsack had -- by far -- the strongest organization in Iowa, the site of the first Democratic nominating contest.
Vilsack, of course, isn't the first high-profile Democrat to announce he's not running. Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh also decided -- to the surprise of many -- that they would not run. Interestingly, all three of these Democrats are similar: They are considered centrists who hail from red states.
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From NBC's Chris Donovan Former Vice President Al Gore might be walking the red carpet come Oscar night on Sunday, but if "An Inconvenient Truth" wins the Oscar for best Documentary Feature, Gore won't be taking home an Oscar statuette. The Academy told NBC News recently that Davis Guggenheim, the film's director/executive producer, is the only person eligible to win an Oscar, something all the parties involved sign off on when the forms are submitted. So let's hope Gore doesn't want it as much as President Bill Clinton pretended he did in 2000 in that video spoof he made for the White House Correspondents' Dinner, in which he was holding an Oscar and giving an acceptance speech to the mirror before Kevin Spacey came in and took his award back.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
Have things finally calmed down? The candidates at the center of this week's political brouhaha, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, appear today in two different liberal strongholds. Clinton headlines a “Make History With Hillary” luncheon fundraiser in San Francisco, which is open to the press. Meanwhile, Obama holds a rally this afternoon in Austin, TX, for which 16,000 tickets had been requested online as of midweek, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Per Obama’s campaign, his remarks will focus on Iraq, especially Britain’s announcement that it will begin withdrawing some of its troops there.
Obama has tried to reclaim the high ground after the tussle over David Geffen’s less-than-flattering comments regarding the Clintons. NBC’s Carrie Dann says that on an unscheduled stop en route to Houston yesterday, Obama told reporters in St. Louis that "pundits in Washington" are responsible for fueling the entire controversy, adding: "This should be a campaign about the issues and not about personalities or what supporters say." He also said this about Clinton: "She and I have a good relationship, and I expect that will continue." And Obama told today’s New York Times he had not been aware that his staff released a counterpunch against the Clinton camp. “I told my staff that I don’t want us to be a party to these kinds of distractions because I want to make sure that we’re spending time talking about issues,” he said. “My preference going forward is that we have to be careful not to slip into playing the game as it customarily is played.”
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The New York Daily News notes that this week’s Clinton-Obama feud will likely be a “blip in a campaign with 620 tortured days left to play out. But Clinton and Obama both emerge as losers from this skirmish, with potentially unsavory implications for the party in November 2008. Historically, Democrats seldom miss an opportunity to blow elections by indulging in fratricidal warfare that ruptures their party and gladdens Republican hearts.
The Los Angeles Times editorial page, calling the Geffen brouhaha "amusingly overwrought," weighs in on his behalf on this point: "Regardless of what you think of Bill Clinton's presidency, or his wife's talent, the dynastic aspect of Hillary Clinton's candidacy is an issue that will increasingly come to occupy center stage in this campaign. Is the country prepared to be governed, potentially, for 28 years by two families who alternate turns in the White House?"
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The Washington Post front-pages former President Bill Clinton's haul from speaking fees since he left the White House: "nearly $40 million," including $9 million to $10 million just last year, all per his wife's financial disclosure and other records. "Two-thirds" of the fees have come from foreign sources. The former President directs many of his fees to his various non-profit groups. The Clintons are "worth an estimated $10 million to $50 million," some of which they could use for the Senator's presidential bid.
The New York Times covers the FEC’s draft advisory on Obama’s proposal that “would allow the nominees, if both agreed, to return contributions they had solicited for the general election campaign and limit themselves to public financing for it instead.” But: “The plausibility of such an agreement is not clear. One nominee is likely to have a financial edge on the other at the outset of the campaign,
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The New York Times reports that unlike other presidential contenders, Rudy Giuliani “has limited himself to events with narrowly defined, friendly audiences, avoiding the kind of uncomfortable interrogations his rivals have occasionally faced. Aside from a couple of brief swings through diners, including one yesterday in Delray Beach, Fla., he has done little of the politicking that exposes candidates to random sets of people — at shopping malls or train stations — who might be of any political stripe, and can raise any issue.”
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In his latest National Journal column, NBC political analyst Charlie Cook notes that the new Cook Political Report/RT Strategies poll has Clinton in the Democratic lead with 42% (up 8 points from November), followed by Obama at 20% (unchanged), Edwards at 16% (up 7), and Richardson at 5%. In the GOP field, Giuliani is at 32%, followed by McCain at 23%, Gingrich at 13%, and Romney at 10%. "For Democrats, the bottom line is whether Clinton can be stopped. For Republicans it’s that this remains a very open contest and the GOP nomination is unquestionably up for grabs."
Meanwhile, National Journal’s latest poll of Democratic insiders asks who would be the party’s strongest general election candidate. Clinton leads with pack on that question with 31%, up 6 points since December. Among GOP insiders, McCain leads with 39% -- but that’s down significantly from 55% in December.
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Senate Democrats are planning to repeal the 2002 Iraq war resolution and replace it with a measure granting Bush and the military a narrower role, while House Democrats have "pulled back from efforts" to tie more funding for the war to troop readiness, but are looking for other ways to limit Bush's authority. The Washington Post says Senate Democrats, led by presidential candidate and Sen. Joe Biden, are likely to face procedural roadblocks again in seeking to repeal the 2002 resolution and pass a narrower measure. Rep. John Murtha "doomed his own plan" to tie funding to troop readiness "in part by unveiling it on a left-wing website."
The AP: “Officials said Thursday the precise wording of the [Senate] measure remains unsettled. One version would restrict American troops in Iraq to fighting al-Qaeda, training Iraqi army and police forces, maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity and otherwise proceeding with the withdrawal of combat forces.”
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This morning in DC, President Bush meets with transportation fuel experts and researchers, and then he views a demonstration of alternative-fuel automobiles. Per the New York Times, Bush yesterday “put on a white coat and visited a laboratory [in North Carolina] to promote his goals for making alternative fuels from switch grass, woodchips and other plant waste.” The paper adds that the trip was “the latest event this week in which Mr. Bush has stepped away from grim questions about the war in Iraq to focus on domestic themes like energy and health care.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he will hold hearings next week to push the Bush Administration "to confirm publicly that it wants 'comprehensive immigration reform' this year," the Washington Times notes. "With Democrats now controlling both chambers and Mr. Bush sharing their views on immigration, conservatives worry about what will come of legislation this year. But Democrats have been adamant that Mr. Bush take an active role in the immigration debate so that he will share equally any criticism over the legislation."
When the jury returns with its verdict, "its decision also will intensify the debate over whether Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald should have brought the case in the first place," says the
Washington Post in a look at the stakes for the prosecutor's reputation.
From NBC's Lauren AppelbaumWill we see the Clinton campaign ask for Mitt Romney to apologize? In South Carolina today, Romney told voters, "If I'm lucky enough to be your president, I will not embarrass you in the White House. This sweetheart [wife Ann] and I have been in love far too long for that to be issue." Romney didn't mention anyone by name, but he seemed to be referring to Bill Clinton's infidelity in the Monica Lewinsky affair. Or maybe it was a subtle jab at the thrice-married Rudy Giuliani. Or the twice-married John McCain.
In his remarks, Romney went on to make his stance on family values extremely clear. "It will be our mission to strengthen the American family, to make sure that kids understand once again that babies come after marriage, and that having a mom and a dad in a home helps build stronger kids."
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi.
After a week of big apologies from Jet Blue, Tim Hardaway, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg for actions that angered or inconvenienced countless numbers of Americans comes a series of hollow-sounding, politically motivated demands that so-called offenses be repudiated.
Vice President Cheney suggested that Sen. John McCain (R) apologize to his friend Donald Rumsfeld for calling Rumsfeld possibly the worst defense secretary ever. McCain has refused to.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants President Bush to "repudiate and distance himself" from Cheney's remarks that her opposition to the troop increase validates al Qaeda's strategy. We're guessing that Bush won't.
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The White House and Democratic lawmakers continue to dispute the meaning of Britain's withdrawal of 1,600 troops from Iraq. Vice President Cheney told ABC that it's "an affirmation of the fact that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well." Democrats argue that it's a sign of recognition from a key ally that things are going pretty poorly.
The Washington Post says that while National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley called it "'basically a good-news story'… for an already besieged White House, the decision was doing a good job masquerading as a bad-news story… No matter the military merits, the British move, followed by a similar announcement by Denmark, roiled the political debate in Washington at perhaps the worst moment for the White House… Republicans were put back on their heels, just as they were beginning to feel more confident that the fight over war strategy was shifting their way."
"The Bush administration maintained yesterday that its Iraq coalition was still in good shape despite announcements by Britain," Denmark, and Lithuania "that they would withdraw all or some of their troops by the end of the year," says the Washington Times.
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Geffen yesterday "said his remarks reflect 'my personal beliefs regarding the Clintons' and he has 'no formal role' in Obama's campaign." Clinton herself, asked whether Obama should renounce Geffen's support, said, "I'm going to leave that up to the other campaign," and that she wants to run "a very positive campaign. I sure don't want Democrats or supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction."
The Politico points out this morning that comments from fans on the Clinton campaign's own blog suggest that their complaint about Geffen is getting mixed reviews.
"Aides argued all day over who started the exchange," the Wall Street Journal says. "Unaffiliated strategists in both parties suggested the Clinton campaign had overreacted, thus telegraphing concern over Mr. Obama's fresh-faced appeal and risking the ire of Hollywood backers and black voters. But they also said the Obama camp shouldn't have taken the bait and muddied its candidate's call for a new, positive politics."
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During a press conference on global warming yesterday with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), McCain commented on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan to withdraw 1,600 troops from Iraq over the coming months, saying he wishes they would stay longer, but adding that he respects the decision and appreciates the "incredible service and sacrifice" they've given over the past four years, NBC's Andrew Merten reports. McCain also made a point of saying that he's had "no cooperation" from the Bush Administration for hearings on global warming until now, adding that he is happy to see a renewed commitment from the Administration, but calling it "long overdue."
The Washington Times notes that neither McCain nor former Mayor Rudy Giuliani have signed "an anti-tax-increase pledge that has been embraced by several of their rivals." The reluctance of the two GOP frontrunners "to sign the pledge, which has been signed by every Republican presidential nominee since 1988, raised concerns among conservative tax cutters about Mr. McCain's and Mr. Giuliani's commitment to reduce tax rates at a time when all of the Democratic presidential contenders have vowed to raise income taxes if they are elected."
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President Bush's domestic issue of the day is alternative fuels, with events in Franklinton, NC. The pool report from yesterday's trip to Chattanooga notes that Bush "was in full campaign mode" during an unscheduled stop at a barbecue joint. "POTUS was said to eat ribs, and emerged about 25 minutes later to a cheering crowd." The New York Times on Bush's scheduled event: “The participants had been carefully selected, the tone was confessional, and the president, describing himself as the ‘educator in chief,’ sounded more like talk-show host in chief.”
Tennessee's Democratic governor, who was in attendance yesterday, "said it was the first time he had been invited to appear with Bush in such a setting," the Washington Post notes. "Democrats in Washington are showing little enthusiasm for the Bush health agenda, but the president is plugging away, insisting he sees hope for compromise before his term ends in less than two years."
Laura Bush makes stops in Mississippi to review Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
The Wall Street Journal looks at how the Libby case "has added fuel to calls for a broader examination of how intelligence was used in political arguments in the past six years. Moreover, some current and former administration officials say, the trial's airing of the use of intelligence -- especially over the Iraq war -- threatens to further undermine confidence in American claims on other sensitive matters. That could be a particular problem in the U.S. campaign to convince the world to curb Iran's nuclear program."
USA Today, continuing its scrutiny of the ties between lobbyists and lawmakers, reports that five of the 39 former members of Congress who were "rejected by voters three months ago landed jobs at firms that seek to influence Congress. The hires include two Republicans — Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania and Conrad Burns of Montana — who lost in part because of allegations of ethical lapses. Federal law requires lawmakers to wait a year after leaving office to lobby Congress, but lets former Congress members advise lobbyists and clients."
From NBC's Andrew Merten
Responding to Vice President Dick Cheney's comments today, Sen. John McCain said that he stands by his prior comments about former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and added that he has voiced concerns over the conduct of the Iraq war over the past three years. During a press conference in California today with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, McCain also commented on the recent news of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan to withdraw 1,600 troops from Iraq over the coming months, saying he wishes they would stay longer, but adding that he respects the decision and appreciates the "incredible service and sacrifice" they've given over the past four years.
McCain appeared with Schwarzenegger earlier this afternoon to discuss the governor's current global warming strategy, which aims to reduce the state's emissions by 13 million tons by 2020. In sharp contrast with his recent support of President Bush's Iraq policies, McCain made it a point to say that he has had "no cooperation" from the administration for hearings on global warming until now, adding that he is happy to see a renewed commitment from the administration, but called it "long overdue."
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
In an interview this afternoon, Vice President Dick Cheney responded to Sen. John McCain's criticism of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. McCain, who is considered a top Republican presidential contender, said over the weekend that Rumsfeld would "go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of Defense in history." When asked about that statement, Cheney said: "I just fundamentally disagree with John. John said some nasty things about me the other day, and then next time he saw me, ran over to me and apologized. Maybe he'll apologize to Rumsfeld."
Those "nasty" remarks Cheney's referring is when McCain said Cheney has not served President Bush well during the Iraq war. "He and John McCain had a number of dust-ups over policy, didn't have anything to do with Iraq -- other issues that were involved," Cheney said of Rumsfeld. "John's entitled to his opinion. I just think he's wrong," he added.
From NBC's Mark Murray
Obama communications director Robert Gibbs just released this statement regarding the Clinton campaign's demand that Obama denounce the comments that supporter David Geffen made to Maureen Dowd of the New York Times:
“We aren’t going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters," Gibbs said. "It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom. It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because 'he's black.'"
From NBC's Mark Murray
Further proving that the Democratic presidential candidates are already pulling out their swords -- even over the most minor of matters -- the Clinton campaign is up in arms over comments that Hollywood mogul and Obama supporter David Geffen made to the New York Times' Maureen Dowd. In a statement, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said, "While Sen. Obama was denouncing slash-and-burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Sen. Clinton and her husband. If Sen. Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign, and return this money."
So what exactly did Geffen -- who holds no formal role in Obama's campaign -- say to get the Clinton camp so wound up? It was apparently this in Dowd's column today: "'It's not a very big thing to say "I made a mistake" on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can't,' Mr. Geffen says. 'She's so advised by so many smart advisers who are covering every base. I think that America was better served when the candidates were chosen in smoke-filled rooms.'" More from Dowd: "Did Mr. Spielberg get in trouble with the Clintons for helping Senator Obama? 'Yes,' Mr. Geffen replies, slyly. Can Obambi stand up to Clinton Inc.? 'I hope so," he says, 'because that machine is going to be very unpleasant and unattractive and effective."
Of course, you could argue that the Clinton camp's response to those comments by Geffen actually proves his last point. Last week, when First Read published some recent, ill-judged comments made by Clinton campaign chair Terry McAuliffe about immigration, Clinton aides registered their unhappiness at being tied to those remarks.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
All of the Democratic presidential candidates save Sen. Barack Obama troop one by one before an audience of government employee union members and national reporters today in the unlikely political hotspot of Carson City, NV. Although the contenders have paraded before a big crowd before, at the Democratic National Committee meeting earlier this month, this is the first such event at which they will take questions posed by a moderator, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, and will have to adhere to time limits (the DNC's utterly ignored time limit notwithstanding). Yet the event technically is not a debate, since the candidates will appear one at a time and won't have a chance to engage each other.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees' forum is the first of several candidate gatherings organized to help highlight Nevada's new place on the Democratic nominating calendar. The state will host a second-in-the-nation caucus on January 19, 2008, although details like the timing of the caucuses are up in the air because of concerns about the number of casino workers who pull night shifts. AFSCME and home state Sen. Harry Reid are calling today's event an opportunity to lay groundwork for Democrats to "win the West," something New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson emphasized in making the case for his candidacy to the DNC earlier this month.
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Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally on Iraq, announced the upcoming withdrawal of 1,600 British troops from Iraq earlier this morning. "After being dogged by the debacle in Iraq for nearly four years, Wednesday’s statement allows [Blair] to leave office conveying the impression - albeit a limited one - that the UK intervention has had some success," says the Financial Times. "However, the announcement will be watched with anxiety by politicians across the political divide in the US. Britain’s troop reduction comes as [Bush] has started to commit the US to a 'surge' of US troop numbers in Iraq."
“‘The actual reduction in forces will be from the present 7,100 -- itself down from over 9,000 two years ago and 40,000 at the time of the conflict -- to roughly 5,500,’ Blair told parliament. ‘The UK military presence will continue into 2008, for as long as we are wanted and have a job to do,’ he said.”
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Pool reporter Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle provides an account of Obama's $1.3 mill
