Oh-eight (R): All about Hillary…
Posted: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 9:20 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Republicans
The toplines of the New York Times/CBS poll: In Iowa, Romney leads with 27%, followed by Huckabee at 21% and Giuliani at 15%. In New Hampshire, Romney is at 34%, with Giuliani and McCain tied at 16%.
The Times: “Republican voters in those two states say that Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, shares their values and views on immigration, a red-hot issue for Republicans in Iowa especially. But they are divided over whether Mr. Romney or Rudolph W. Giuliani, who Republican voters say does not share their values, would be the party’s strongest general-election candidate -- and electability looms as a crucial factor for Republican voters in those states."
The Washington Post's Shear looks at the role bashing Hillary is playing in the GOP primary. "Antipathy toward Clinton is hardly new for Republicans. During a McCain appearance in South Carolina on Monday, a woman in attendance used an unflattering term” -- rhymes with witch -- to describe Clinton in asking how Republicans could beat her next year. McCain offered to ‘give the translation’ but still made clear he understood whom the questioner was referring to, referencing a poll showing him beating Clinton in a head-to-head matchup. ‘I respect Senator Clinton,’ he added.”
“But the increasingly routine bashing is also about the future as the candidates seek to prove to a depressed and frustrated Republican base that someone -- anyone -- can beat the disciplined, well-financed Hillary Clinton machine if she becomes the Democratic nominee."
GIULIANI: Today's latest Kerik installment, per the New York Times: "Judith Regan, the former book publisher, says in a lawsuit filed yesterday protesting her dismissal by the News Corporation, the media conglomerate, that a senior executive there encouraged her to lie to federal investigators about her past affair with Bernard B. Kerik after he had been nominated to become homeland security secretary in late 2004. The lawsuit asserts that the News Corporation executive wanted to protect the presidential aspirations of Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Kerik’s mentor, who had appointed him New York City police commissioner and had recommended him for the federal post."
More: "In the civil complaint filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Ms. Regan says the company has long sought to promote Mr. Giuliani’s ambitions. But the lawsuit does not elaborate on that charge, identify the executive who she says pressured her to mislead investigators, or offer details to support her claim.”
And: "The Fox News Channel’s coverage of the presidential race has been a topic of some discussion within rival campaigns because the channel is directed by Mr. Giuliani’s friend of 20 years, Roger Ailes. But the network has strongly defended the balance of its coverage under Mr. Ailes, who served as media consultant to Mr. Giuliani’s first mayoral campaign in 1989. Mr. Giuliani, as mayor, later officiated at Mr. Ailes’s wedding."
The Boston Globe’s editorial page says Giuliani “will have to give better answers than he has so far about why he failed to look more closely into Kerik's background.” More: “If Kerik's ascent casts doubt on Giuliani's management style, so does the mayor's treatment of William Bratton, one of Kerik's predecessors as commissioner.”
Giuliani is coming out against a proposal that could allow convicted crack cocaine dealers out of prison sooner than their sentences demand, the New York Sun writes.
MCCAIN: The New York Times reports on the video clip making the rounds yesterday, in which a McCain supporter referred to Clinton as an expletive that rhymes with witch. "A spokesman for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton declined to comment on Mr. McCain’s response. But some of her advisers said they were surprised that he had not defused the moment more artfully, given the possibility that it might stir sympathy or outrage on Mrs. Clinton’s behalf in some quarters."
PAUL: The Boston Globe’s Scott Lehigh profiles Ron Paul and says he “has just reached the peak of geek chic…. So what explains Paul's appeal? For starters, the rumpled septuagenarian is light-years distant from your typical pol, and young people are drawn to someone who is different…” Lehigh also calls him “authentic” and says he sounds “generational themes.” But: “Paul now appears to be entering a classic arc in presidential politics: that of the quirky candidate who suddenly catches fire, but often fades when his unorthodox ideology comes into sharper focus.”
ROMNEY: So how much of a threat has Huckabee become to Romney in Iowa? He's now starting to attack Huckabee as well as Giuliani, at least on the issue of immigration. "Mitt Romney, seeking to protect his narrowing lead and fend off challenges from rivals in this early-voting state, assailed Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani over supporting tuition breaks and broader sanctuary for illegal immigrants or their children."
“In turn, Huckabee said in a phone interview with The Associated Press: ‘The attacks from a guy who has sanctuary cities in his state is interesting.’ Huckabee said he backed a bill in Arkansas -- and would do so again -- that gave children of illegal immigrants ‘the opportunity to be awarded for academic achievements’ based on merit provided they were in the process of applying for citizenship.”
The head of the Southern Baptist Convention, Richard Land, told Reuters that he believes Romney HAS to give a Kennedy-style speech on his faith if he has any hope of garnering significant evangelical support.
Politico's Martin is reporting that Romney's campaign has paid media attacking Giuliani ready to go "but so far has not used them because of an internal dispute about the risks of a backlash in going negative on the Republican front-runner, according to numerous sources in and close to the Romney campaign."
THOMPSON: Romney supporter Paul Weyrich speculated that the National Right to Life Committee endorsed Thompson out of some sort of financial arrangement. “‘I think in all probability the Thompson people were engaged with the National Right to Life people in financial dealing,’ said Mr. Weyrich.”
For those wondering why Fred Thompson didn't make an appearance at the National Right to Life Committee's endorsement press conference yesterday, NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy has an answer. Per Thompson spokesman Darrell Ng, the NRLC has been criticized in the past for appearing to coordinate their political efforts with campaigns by inviting candidates to their endorsement press conferences. Under FEC laws, independent political action groups are forbidden from coordinating their organizational efforts with a particular political campaign, and although personal appearances by a candidate at a press conference are not illegal, both the NRLC and the Thompson campaign wanted to avoid any possible appearance of coordination.
