Oh-eight (D): Another forum
Posted: Thursday, August 09, 2007 9:10 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats
In the last week, the Democratic presidential candidates have traveled to Chicago to address bloggers on Saturday at the YearlyKos convention, and then back to the Windy City for Tuesday’s AFL-CIO debate/forum. And tonight, these candidates -- minus Biden and Dodd -- will make yet another stop before a liberal-leaning interest group when they appear at a forum in Los Angeles sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group.
The event begins at 9:00 pm ET, and the candidates will appear individually before a panel consisting of Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese, musician Melissa Etheridge, and the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart. Obviously, the issue of gay marriage will be front and center, and all the Democratic candidates except for Kucinich oppose it, yet they favor civil unions. But when it comes to gay marriage and politics -- is it us, or does it seem like 2004 was a long time ago?
In its preview of tonight’s gay forum in West Hollywood, the Los Angeles Times notes that the Pentagon and other military leaders are starting to "soften" their stance on "Don't ask, don't tell."
The Chicago Tribune’s curtain-raiser reminds us how ballot initiatives on gay marriage hurt the Democrats in 2004.
It's official, for now: The AFL-CIO will not endorse a presidential candidate. Apparently, many of the larger AFL-CIO unions were split between Clinton and Edwards. Both AFSCME and AFT appear to be leaning toward Clinton, but both unions have strong Midwestern chapters and those folks favor Obama. That could be enough to keep both big players on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, check out the Washington Post's Dan Balz's seven lessons from the AFL-CIO debate -- which included praise for Clinton and Obama and a portrayal of Edwards as this year's Howard Dean. And most importantly, Balz notes how nobody missed Gravel. Could this be the turning point among the debate organizers to start, um, forgetting to send out Gravel's invites?
BIDEN: Newsweek.com interviews Biden, and the candidate comments on his 1988 presidential bid, his belief that Obama isn’t ready for the presidency, and his desire NOT to be Secretary of State.
CLINTON: When she speaks before the National Association of Black Journalists today, Clinton will unveil her Youth Opportunity Agenda targeted at the 4 million people ages 16-24 who are out of school and out of work, her campaign tells First Read. Clinton’s plan includes investing $10 billion in pre-K programs, establishing a $100 million internship program aimed at at-risk kids, rewarding responsible fatherhood, and investing $200 million in a program targeted at closing the revolving prison door.
“I will not accept half-steps or piecemeal measures,” she is expected to say, per an advanced press release. “We need a smart, bold, daring, comprehensive approach based on the fundamental premise that these young men are all our children – and all our responsibility. Because after all these years, I still believe it takes a village.”
Clinton will hit up Martha’s Vineyard for a fund-raiser on Aug. 24th with “actress Mary Steenburgen, who is co-hosting a $1,000-minimum bash along with her Hollywood husband Ted Danson, Maria Cuomo Cole and Kenneth Cole, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Marlo Thomas, Phil Donahue and others.” Obama follows in her path days later with “a $1,000-and-up reception hosted by broadcasting executive Ron Davenport and his wife, Judith,” according to the New York Daily News.
DODD: In New Hampshire yesterday, Dodd called for
free tuition at America’s community colleges.
EDWARDS: Trial lawyers only LIKE, not LOVE, Edwards this time around? So claims the
New York Times, noting that trial lawyers this cycle are hedging their bets with other candidates. "As of the end of June, donations from lawyers accounted for little more than a fourth of the $23 million raised by Mr. Edwards. By comparison, lawyers donated roughly half the $12 million he had raised by the end of the first half of 2003, two and a half months before he officially declared his candidacy."
OBAMA: The Boston Globe does an extensive analysis of the money Obama raised since he first entered politics in the '90s. And guess what: He's raised money from lobbyists and special interests. "But behind Obama's campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth. A Globe review of Obama's campaign finance records shows that he collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs as a state legislator in Illinois, a US senator, and a presidential aspirant."
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The campaign's defense: He's a recent convert. Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that after seeing the influence of lobbyists firsthand during his two years in Washington, Obama decided before he entered the presidential race that he would take a different approach to fund-raising than he had in the past. “‘He's leading by example and taking steps that he feels need to be taken on the national stage to clean up the undue influence of Washington lobbyists on the policies and priorities of Washington,’ Psaki said. ‘His leadership on this issue is an evolving process.’”
The Globe story is on the front page -- which, remember, folks, is seen by LOTS and LOTS of those reform-minded New Hampshire voters Obama is trying to appeal to.
And speaking of glass houses, Nevada political guru Jon Ralston notes in his "Flash" daily newsletter that Obama just signed up his third Carson City lobbyist to his campaign. As Ralston asks: "So D.C. lobbyists are bad and Carson City lobbyists are different?" Ralston wasn't kind to the Obama campaign in how they rolled out the support of ex-State Sen. Helen Foley. Notes Ralston: "Foley is identified as an ex-lawmaker and then this": "Following her time in office, Foley has worked to advance a large number of community programs and local causes, including the Clean Indoor Air Alliance and increasing women’s participation in elected politics. She is now the co-owner of a local public relations agency."
Time magazine has hired one of Obama's trusted foreign policy advisers, Samantha Power, as a foreign affairs columnist.
And Obama was re-asked the Bonds question from Tuesday's debate -- now that Bonds has passed Aaron. NBC's Andrew Merten reports that Obama said that he “probably would” go ahead and invite Barry Bonds to the White House today during a press conference in Oakland, after initially dodging the question at Tuesday night’s debate, as Bonds had not yet beaten the homerun record. He was cautious in warning that professional sports seems to be “suffering from a crisis of confidence,” adding, “Children look up to sports stars more than any other individuals, and right now I’m not sure that our kids are learning the right lessons.”
