SEDONA, Ariz. -- In between her debate-prep sessions here,
called into the conservative Hugh Hewitt radio program Tuesday, decrying the lack of journalism ethics and repeatedly referring to herself as “Joe Six Pack.”
The interview comes amid new concerns that Palin is losing support among conservatives, as several prominent commentators have suggested she is unqualified for the vice presidency. The conversation touched on many of the key issues that made Palin popular in conservative circles when she was first named -- including her faith, support for Israel, and her decision to have a baby born with Down syndrome.
Palin linked herself to the financial situation many Americans now face, telling Hewitt: "I know what Americans are going through. Todd and I, heck, we’re going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who don’t like the idea of just an everyday, working-class American running for such an office." The governor of Alaska received a salary of $112,895 in 2007, according to stateline.org. The McCain campaign has not released the Palins' financial records.
“We’ve gone through periods of our life here with paying out of pocket for health coverage until Todd and I both landed a couple of good union jobs,” she added. “Early on in our marriage, we didn’t have health insurance, and we had to either make the choice of paying out of pocket for catastrophic coverage or just crossing our fingers, hoping that nobody would get hurt, nobody would get sick. So I know what Americans are going through there.”
She said her family probably took a $20,000 hit in the stock market last week, mostly through Todd’s 401K plan.
Some points, in case they aren't obvious by now...
-- It probably WON'T be Thursday. Most House members don't come into town until that evening. Any new proposal would have to go through the same closed door explanation process that we saw Sunday night. Thursday night is not impossible, however, and it has not been ruled out. But most likely Friday.
-- The FDIC expansion and the mark to market rule change that is being considered by the secretary (hearing that from both R and D on House side) are significant for Republicans. Notice the
in negotiations when he proposed it. Dems question that version of events, but Boehner may be phrasing it that way to portray it as a Republican victory.
-- On the Dem side, extension of unemployment benefits is something that could help with liberals and is being considered. Also, strengthening of the fee that would be imposed on companies whose assets do not improve after five years might be strengthened.
-- A top Republican source says that he thinks votes are there and gettable, with some help from a few Dem switches.
-- All sides agree that tweaks are going to be relatively minor.
to meet face-to-face tomorrow.
Boehner’s statement: "The presidential candidates' support for increasing the FDIC cap is welcome news. Increasing the FDIC cap is a proposal put on the table by Roy Blunt and House Republicans but ruled out by Democrats during the negotiations that led to yesterday's unsuccessful vote."
WILMINGTON, Del. – It appears that neither cheesesteak-craving vice presidential candidate is safe from voters’ questions.
took a break from debate prep this afternoon to enjoy a meal with his son, Beau, at the Charcoal Pit, a diner just outside Wilmington known for its burgers and milk shakes. As Beau ordered a cheesesteak (hold the onions) for his dad, Biden made a loop of the diner, where he said he’s been hanging out since high school.
“This is the usual luncheon crowd!” Biden said as he greeted Bert Boyle, who was manning the cash register. “Sorry to bring all this on you,” he added, referring to the media.
RENO, Nev. -- In an interview today with NBC News,
said House Democrats kept up their end of the deal to pass the rescue plan, but did not place blame squarely on the other side.
"I think that, the key now is just to not worry about credit blame publicity, let's just do the spade work to actually get this immediate crisis passed," he said, but added, "There was an agreement between Democratic leader
in the House that each side was going to come up with a certain number of votes and the Democrats, I think their number was 120 and they came up with 140."
Obama also hinted that had he known earlier the deal was going down to defeat he would have worked the phones even harder, especially given that some of those who voted no, were some of his early supporters .
"At this point, knowing that the Republicans may not be able to muster all the votes they had promised, if we need additional votes to get this done, then I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that that happens," he said, "because I think it's important for the country regardless of what the political alignments are."
Of the 47 House Dems who endorsed Obama BEFORE Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, 26 voted in favor of the bailout legislation. That leaves 21 -- almost half of the original Obama loyalists -- who voted against the bill he supported.
Two powerful House caucuses were also split. The Congressional Black Caucus voted 18 Yea votes to 21 Nays. The Hispanic Caucus also voted down the bailout, with eight members voting in favor and 12 voting against the bailout.
But is any of this a measure of the loyalty Barack Obama commands? Or was it the threat of a tough re-election race that was ultimately the best predictor of support or opposition to the bill?
Of 38 incumbents in House races rated by the Cook Political Report as competitive or Toss Ups, 30 voted against the bailout. That's all but five of 17 Dems in tough reelection races, and all but three of 21 Republican incumbents running for another term. And, as First Read noted this morning, most retiring members not running for office -- 19 out of 24 -- voted in favor of the recovery bill.
RENO, Nev. -- In a sweeping speech in battleground state Nevada,
made a direct appeal to the American people and to members of Congress to support the $700 billion rescue plan that failed to pass in the House of Representatives yesterday.
It was the first time since the need for such a rescue became clear that the Democratic nominee explained in direct and explicit terms what a total collapse of the credit markets would mean for ordinary people, many of whom are fiercely opposed to the bailout bill.
With an eye to casting the bailout deal as a time for patriotic action to save the American economy, Obama did not once mention John McCain . He said that now was not a time for politics or for taking credit or laying blame, and he compared the situation to putting out a fire in a neighbor’s house so that it would not spread to others. “We’ve got to make sure that we put the fire out and then go start making sure that these folks stop leaving the stove on,” he said. “But right now our job is to put out the fire and we can’t forget that.”
administration for immediate action.
“Inaction is not an option,” McCain said. “In light of the House’s failure to act, this morning, I spoke to the president about two things that the administration has not done, but should do following the inaction of Congress.”
In addition to raising the deposit insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 – something both McCain and Obama have suggested – McCain called on the treasury to use its Exchange Stabilization Fund as “creatively as possible to provide backstop” for financial accounts. He also pointed to the authority granted to the government in the recent housing bill to purchase nearly $1 trillion in mortgages and mortgage backed securities as a short term solution until a bill can be negotiated that will bass through congress.
“The Administration can take these actions with the stroke of a pen to help alleviate the crisis gripping our economy,” McCain said. “I urge them to do so.”
Renewing a call for bipartisanship that has spanned several days, McCain once again told several-hundred local employees gathered at EFCO Forms for the roundtable that this was not the time to place blame.
“This may be and is the greatest financial crisis of our lives,” McCain said. “And we have to act, and we have to act together in a bipartisan fashion. I'm committed to that. And I'm committed to doing whatever is necessary in a bipartisan fashion, and there'll be plenty of time to point the finger of blame."
But complicating matters for the McCain campaign on this front, is that that campaign manager Rick Davis "was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations," as the New York Times put it.
Also, there's an Obama ad running painting him as a centrist on health care in swing states Indiana, Wisconsin [Hat tip to Politico's Ben Smith ] and by the sound of Elizabeth Edwards on an SEIU call today, in North Carolina as well.
"John McCain wants America to keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq when we should be rebuilding America. That’s right. With banks failing because of Washington’s lax oversight, gas prices soaring, and jobs moving overseas. John McCain will keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq.
"Because of the housing crisis, we are now in a very dangerous situation where financial institutions across this country are afraid to lend money,"
is expected to say in Reno, NV, today. "If all that meant was the failure of a few big banks on Wall Street, it would be one thing. But that’s not what it means. What it means is that if we do not act, it will be harder for you to get a mortgage for your home or the loans you need to buy a car or send your children to college. What it means is that businesses won’t be able to get the loans they need to open new factories, or hire more workers, or make payroll for the workers they have. What it means is that thousands of businesses could close. Millions of jobs could be lost. A long and painful recession could follow. "
"Sonic Corporation, a drive-in restaurant chain based in Oklahoma, learned on Thursday that one of its lenders, GE Capital, had stopped extending new loans to the chain's franchisees. That will block plans to rebuild restaurants, add equipment and open new locations. When small businesses like Sonic franchisees can't borrow, contractors don't get the remodeling work, equipment-makers lose sales, and restaurants go out of business. It hurts the entire community."
Both candidates appear to be going full-speed ahead with making the financial meltdown relevant to everyday voters' lives. These new explanations are more direct, more explicit and do a better job of explaining the stakes than past remarks about the so-called "bailout" by either McCain or Obama.
Asked if he still believes that Obama and his Democratic colleagues fueled a partisan atmosphere on the Hill as lawmakers struggled over the economic recovery bill, McCain responded that he wants to "put that aside now."
"I believe that politics has played too great a role in this. I think that Speaker Pelosi's speech was very unnecessary and inflammatory," he said, "But that's not a reason for us not to work together and come up with a solution. I think it's time now not to fix the blame but to fix the problem."
An extended version of the latest Obama ad on the economy hits airwaves today. The two-minute television spot, airing in "key states," hits McCain for relying on "the old trickle-down theory" and responds specifically to the claim that Obama's economic plan would raise - and not cut - taxes on the middle class.
"My plan offers three times as much tax relief to the middle class as Senator McCain's," says the Illinois senator, who addresses the camera directly throughout. "If you make less than a quarter million a year, you won’t see your taxes raised one penny under my plan."
The ad is very similar - and looks as though it may have been filmed at the same time - as the one minute spot "A Stronger Economy " released by the campaign last Wednesday.
Here are some startling numbers from our last NBC/WSJ poll: 73% said we're on the wrong track; 65% disapprove of Bush’s job; 73% disapprove of the job Congress is doing; and only 19% have "a lot" of confidence in the federal government, and that's higher than the confidence level the public has in corporate America (11%) or the financial industry (10%). So given all these polling figures, is it any wonder the public logged so many calls into Congress demanding their members vote against this bill? By the way, while many (including us) are talking about a crisis in leadership in Washington, it is worth noting that a powerful bipartisan coalition against the bailout has come from both the left and the right.
: So who runs the Republican Party? Apparently nobody. Perhaps the most startling political development was the amazing lack of leadership on the GOP side of the aisle. Let's run down the list of Republican leaders who attempted to persuade skeptical House Republicans: President Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney, and John Boehner. (We'd add Newt Gingrich to this list, but no one is quite sure if his last-minute support was actually cover for his behind the scenes whipping against the bill.) Bush's leadership and trust issues within his party has been evidenced for quite some time, and the icing on the Bush legacy cake is that fact that he could only convince FOUR Texas House Republicans to support his bill. And then there's John McCain, who last week decided to insert himself into the process and then (before the bailout failed) took credit for getting wavering House Republicans on board. Perhaps he did get a few wayward House GOPers on board -- but it wasn’t enough. Now McCain gets a double stomach punch: He's stuck being seen as supportive of this bailout (which isn’t exactly popular with the conservative grassroots) and he gets to share in the blame for the defeat since he didn't have enough political capital to get this done (By the way, not a single member of the Arizona GOP delegation voted for this bill). Watching the McCain campaign deal with this yesterday, one could sense that they were fearful that they were going to look inept and take an even deeper political wound than they sustained last week.
Pelosi played into the stereotype she had been very adept at avoiding most of these last two years. That said, did it really cost any GOP votes? Unlikely. But it did give the House GOP leadership a talking point to deflect from its own failure. Obama, who as McCain pointed out (probably jealously) kept a healthy distance from this process, didn't seem to try and exert any influence on some of the "no" votes from the progressive/liberal side of the Democratic caucus. A large chunk of those "no" voters were very early supporters of Obama during the primary. Would a true campaign by Obama to vote for this bill have persuaded another handful of Dems? Possibly. Then again, Democrats were never going to jump off this cliff by themselves. Still, what's another 12 votes at this point if this legislation is so necessary?
: So while the "no" voters have tried to portray themselves as the courageous ones (and maybe they'll ultimately be proven right), it's interesting that some 90% of the members of Congress who are worried about the election hides -- either this November or in a GOP primary next cycle -- voted no. By our count, there appear to be, maybe, five potential profiles in courage (casting an unpopular vote with their constituents) with two members worth pointing out by name: Republican Jon Porter of Nevada, who is locked in an intense battle in Nevada's 3rd CD, and Democrat Jim Marshall, who never has an easy time at re-election in Georgia's 8th District.
Here are some other ways to slice and dice the "no" votes. Every Arizona House Republican voted against McCain's wishes; seven of the 11 Illinois House Democrats voted the way Obama wanted. Of the 24 retiring House Republicans who are not on the ballot for anything in November, 19 voted for the bailout, four voted against, and one didn't vote. Of the five statewide candidates still in the House, all but one voted AGAINST the bailout, including both Democratic Udalls and Republicans Pearce of New Mexico and Hulshof of Missouri. Only Maine's Tom Allen, who is a massive underdog to Susan Collins in Maine, voted “yes” of the state-widers.
Down the ballot in North Carolina, the Democratic hit that Elizabeth Dole spent just 20 days in the Tar Heel State in 2005 and 13 days there in 2006 might very well have been the final nail in her coffin in her race against Dem challenger Kay Hagan. Could the end of the Bush era also bring us the end of the Dole era? There has been a Dole in the Senate for nearly 50 straight years -- and either a Bush or a Dole on the national ticket going back to '72. Will Liddy Dole's potential defeat signal the true end of the two most powerful Republican families of the last 50 years?
: McCain holds a roundtable in Des Moines, IA. Obama attends a rally in Reno, NV.
.
The House yesterday rejected the Bush Administration’s $700 billion bailout proposal -- “a stunning turn of events that sent the stock market into a tailspin and added to concerns that the U.S. faces a prolonged recession if the legislation isn't revived,” the Wall Street Journal writes. “The 228-205 vote, which defied a full-court press from the president and the Treasury secretary, marked a dark moment in a month that has shaken the financial system to its core and forced the government to take a host of ad hoc measures to shore up confidence. Earlier Monday, U.S. authorities helped arrange the sale of Wachovia Corp. to Citigroup Inc., while the Federal Reserve joined other central banks in injecting more funds into credit markets.”
“If there was any doubt that President Bush had been left politically impotent by his travails over the last few years and his lame-duck status, it was erased on Monday when, despite his personal pleas, more than two-thirds of the Republicans in the House abandoned the plan.”
writes a piece noting Biden’s penchant for making gaffes. “Unlike his Republican counterpart, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Biden has not been shy about talking to reporters, but comments he has made since Obama chose him last month have presented Democrats with their own problems and revived the longtime senator's reputation for gaffes.”
reports that Biden will most likely go easy on Palin. “If Sarah Palin goofs, flounders, stumbles or blunders during her debate against Joe Biden on Thursday night, Biden is going to let it slide. ‘If she makes a gaffe, he underplays it,’ one of the people prepping Biden for his vice presidential debate told me. ‘At most, he says, “I am not sure what Gov. Palin meant there.”’”
“Second, Biden knows the press is going to pounce on any mistakes, and so he does not need to. Third, and most important, Sarah Palin is not Biden’s true target. ‘Joe Biden’s No. 1 job during the vice presidential debate is to keep the focus on the top of the ticket,’ the Biden debate prepper told me. ‘He is going to keep the focus on John McCain.’”
focuses on McCain’s crusade against earmarks. “But earmarks represent only a tiny portion of federal spending, and experts say the Arizona Republican has vastly overstated the savings available even if every earmark were eliminated. "They're a rounding error in the budget," said Robert Bixby of the Concord Coalition, which advocates for balanced federal budgets. Nor is it clear that voters are anywhere near as upset about earmarking as is Sen. McCain, who prides himself on never having requested such spending for his state. But the issue does resonate, analysts say, when it is connected with larger failures of Washington.”
More: “In his presidential platform, Mr. Obama has also proposed several measures to mitigate the impact of letting the Bush tax cuts expire. Under his plan, only individuals making $200,000 or more and families earning more than $250,000 a year, accounting for less than 2 percent of the population, would pay additional taxes, and more than 90 percent of the population would receive a tax break of some sort.”
Yesterday, the RNC pounced on Obama for saying “we’ve got the long-term fundamentals that will really make sure this economy grows” – after Obama and the Democrats ridiculed McCain for saying that the fundamentals for our economy are strong.
The Obama camp, however, notes that Obama was talking about his economic plan, not the condition of the US economy. Here’s the full context, per the campaign: “I have said it before and I’ll say it again: we need to pass, after this immediate crisis is over, an economic stimulus plan. Right now. For working families – a plan that will help folks cope with rising food and gas prices, that can save one million jobs by rebuilding our schools and our roads, and help states and cities avoid budget cuts and tax increases. A plan that would extend expiring unemployment benefits. For those Americans who have lost their jobs and have been working hard to find a new one, but haven’t found one yet. That’s part of the change we need.”
"Palin said Monday that her comment about attacking terrorist targets in Pakistan, which appeared to contradict the position of GOP presidential nominee John McCain, was a response to
from a voter… McCain, who sat with Palin, said in Monday's interview that he understands "the day and age of 'gotcha' journalism… In a conversation with someone who you didn't hear the question very well, you don't know the context of the conversation. Grab a phrase. Gov. Palin and I agree that you don't announce that you're going to attack another country." Though Palin heard the question clearly.”
"Asked what she learned from the experience, Palin said: 'That this is all about 'gotcha' journalism. A lot of it is. But that's OK, too.'"
asks: "Has Sarah Palin become a liability for John McCain? Since joining his ticket, the overnight political celebrity has seen the shine come off her poll standings and doubts surface among some conservatives once excited about her candidacy."
on Palin's latest interview with CBS: "In runup to debate, Sarah Palin turns up anger."
“He usually addresses every unit that we deploy,” Grattieri said. “What he usually talks about is the current situation in Iraq or Afghanistan, depending on where the unit is going, and wishes them good luck in their deployment.”
"This is a moment of national crisis, and today's inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the
campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington. Now is the time for Democrats and Republicans to join together and act in a way that prevents an economic catastrophe. Every American should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington has led us to this point, but now that we are here, the stability of our entire economy depends on us taking immediate action to ease this crisis," said Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
Republican-backed lawsuits went to the Ohio Supreme Court, and the court, by a 4-3 vote, "upheld a weeklong period in which new voters can register and cast an absentee ballot on the same day in Ohio. Another federal court decision was expected later in the day over the early voting window...." (The Ohio Supreme Court has six Republicans and one Democrat.)
Previously, voters had to be "registered for at least 30 days before receiving an absentee ballot."
This is the first presidential election in Ohio in which voters can vote absentee and early without excuse. Election officials have pushed the effort as a way to eliminate long lines and voting complications of years past. In 2004, Democrats alleged voter disenfranchisement in areas with large African-American populations, as voters waited hours and hours to vote.
It's unclear if he could hear the questions, but when he heard reporters shouting his name he turned and waved.
"And have no doubt about the magnitude of this crisis. And we're not talking about failure of institutions on Wall Street. We're talking about failures on Main Street, and people who will lose their jobs, and their credits, and their homes, if we don't fix the greatest fiscal crisis, probably in -- certainly in our time, and I've been around a little while. But the point is -- the point is, we have finally seen Republicans and Democrats sitting down and negotiating together and coming up with a package."
by extension -- for the vote's failure in the House. “Just before the vote, when the outcome was still in doubt, Speaker Pelosi gave a strongly worded partisan speech and poisoned the outcome," said McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin. “This bill failed because Barack Obama and the Democrats put politics ahead of country.”
Explaining why he was delayed at the start of his event, he said in this town about 20 minutes outside Denver, "I was on the phone with Secretary
as well as the Speaker of the House and the Congressional leaders, because they are still trying to work through this rescue package. And obviously this is a very difficult thing to do. It's difficult because we shouldn't have gotten here in the first place.
"We meet here at a time of great uncertainty for America. The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has led us to a financial crisis as serious as any we have faced since the Great Depression. They said they wanted to let the market run free but instead they let it run wild, and in the process they trampled our American values of fairness, balance, and responsibility to one another. Now, because of speculators who gamed the system and regulators who looked the other way, your jobs, your life savings, and the stability of our entire economy is at risk."
"I went to Washington last week to make sure that the taxpayers of Ohio and across this great country were not left footing the bill for mistakes made in Wall Street and evil and greed in Washington," McCain said. Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first, at first he didn't want to get involved. And then he was "monitoring the situation." That's not leadership, that's watching from the sidelines."
McCain's remarks came hours before the bailout legislation failed on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. House has rejected legislation to bail out the country's financial industry by a vote of 228-205.
"Last week, another bank went under. But its CEO could walk away with $19 million," an announcer says. "John McCain’s advisor, Carly Fiorina -- the fired CEO who left with $42 million. Barack Obama says it’s got to change, demanded any Wall St. bailout restricts CEO pay."
There has been some dispute as to the amount of Fiorina's severance package. In fact, the New York Times article from Feb. 12, 2005, cited in Obama's ad, notes that Fiorina "will receive a severance package worth about $21.4 million, and stands to gain at least $21.1 million more. The additional amount reflects the estimated value of her pension, stock options and Hewlett stock holdings, which the company did not include in her severance package."
The way it breaks down: $14 million in severance pay, an additional $7.38 million "bonus for meeting certain performance goals." HP also "agreed to pay her $50,000 for legal, financial and career counseling and will continue her health and personal security benefits for about a year." And: "Ms. Fiorina also received restricted grants of about 826,000 shares during her tenure, that along with her other Hewlett holdings, now have a market value of $18.2 million. In addition, Ms. Fiorina will receive a pension of at least $200,000 a year that was not included in the company's severance calculations. The pension could be worth at least $2 million, compensation specialists said. She will also keep her computer, receive technical support for three months, and have access to a secretary for six months."
Fiorina has been notably absent from what had been a highly visible role as a surrogate, since she said neither Palin nor McCain (nor Obama or Biden for that matter) were qualified to run a major corporation.
Mukasey's action follows this morning's release of a 300-plus page report on the firing saga, which resulted in the resignation of former attorney general
"At a minimum, the process by which nine U.S. attorneys were removed in 2006 was haphazard, arbitrary and unprofessional and the way in which the Justice Department handled those removals and the resulting public controversy was profoundly lacking," Mukasey said. But he said today's report leaves many questions unanswered. He wants the career prosecutor to look further into the firings and decide whether anyone should be prosecuted.
One reason the inspector general was unable to get all the answers is that his office has no subpoena authority.
Instead, the process was designed and carried out by an aide to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. It allowed partisan political considerations to be an important factor in several of the firings, most troublingly in the case of the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, David Iglesias, who was booted after complaints from Republican politicians and party activists, the report says.
The best estimates right now indicate that Republicans will garner about 70 votes in support of the bailout, less than half of the 199 GOPers in the House. Congressional Democrats are more optimistic, predicting that a majority of their 235 members will eventually climb aboard.
From some skeptics, scatological references abound. Minority Leader
, despite asking members to hold their noses and sit down at the bailout table with him, told colleagues that the bill is a "crap sandwich.” Rep.
(R-GA) rose on the floor to compare the bill to " a huge cow patty with a marshmallow stuck in the middle of it."
The 42nd president did it again: He's put into doubt how much he really supports Obama. His non-response about whether Obama -- like McCain -- was a "great man" made some wonder if Meet The Press was running the Darrell Hammond SNL parody yesterday rather than the actual Bill Clinton. Seriously, watch Hammond and Clinton side-by-side on the issue of Obama, you can't make it up.
If she's got true ambition to be the future leader of the Republican Party, she's got to pull out of this perception tailspin and fast. Perhaps it is getting close to being too late: With SNL, Tina Fey, and now the conservative elites, the concrete is drying around Palin's feet. The good news for her is that a record number of people apparently want to watch her debate Joe Biden. She'll have a good chunk of folks watching the debate who are downright rooting for her to not to screw up. A poor performance at the debate and not only will Palin start becoming a true liability for the McCain campaign, she'll damage her ability to transition into a national leader.
Congressional leaders reached a deal on the $700 billion bailout package. The House will vote on the measure today, and the Senate will likely go on Wednesday. Both McCain and Obama suggested that the back the compromise legislation.
“The final version of the bill included a deal-sealing plan for eventually recouping losses; if the Treasury program to purchase and resell troubled mortgage-backed securities has lost money after five years, the president must submit a plan to Congress to recover those losses from the financial industry. Presumably that plan would involve new fees or taxes, perhaps on securities transactions.”
"Obama [on Saturday] called Republican rival John McCain out of touch with middle-class Americans, telling supporters that the GOP senator never once uttered the words 'middle class' during their first debate," the AP writes. “‘Through 90 minutes of debate, John McCain had a lot to say about me, but he didn't have anything to say about you,' Obama told a cheering crowd at the J. Douglas Galyon Depot in downtown Greensboro. 'He didn't even say the words 'middle class.' He didn't even say the words 'working people.'"
Is the pressure on McCain again to figure out a way to change the subject this week? The Washington Post's Balz and Murray write, "The burden now falls on Sen. John McCain to reverse the effects of the focus on the economy, and to keep the contest close enough so that a dominant debate performance, a gaffe by Obama or some outside event can shift the momentum back to him. Although Friday's debate in Oxford, Miss., produced no outright winner, strategists in both parties said the coming weeks, which will include three more debates -- two between McCain and Obama and the third between vice presidential candidates Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. -- could be decisive in determining whether the election remains on a trajectory favorable to Obama or shifts back toward too-close-to-call status."
More: “‘The first lesson of this campaign, going back to 2007, is not to be panicky or reactive to poll numbers,’ said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt. ‘A few weeks back, we had a clear lead, albeit a narrow one, and there were a lot of people on the Democratic side haranguing the Obama campaign in the sense of panic. We always understood not only would that lead dissipate but bounce back the other way and then bounce back again.’”
Also: “Schmidt said the campaign will press two arguments as forcefully as possible in the coming days. One is that Obama is not ready to be commander in chief and that, in a time of two wars, ‘his policies will make the world more dangerous and America less secure.’ Second, he said, McCain will argue that, in a time of economic crisis, Obama will raise taxes and spending and ‘will make our economy worse.’”
"The mother of a Wisconsin soldier who died in Iraq says she was 'ecstatic' when Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama mentioned during Friday's debate the bracelet she gave him in honor of her son," AP writes. "Jopek criticized Internet reports suggesting Obama, D-Ill., exploited her son for political purposes. "'I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet,' she said. Jopek acknowledged e-mailing the Obama campaign in February asking that the presidential candidate not mention her son in speeches or debates. But she said Obama's mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, said a soldier's mother gave him a bracelet."
"Biden needs to be ready for two Sarah Palins: the smiling one and the attacking one. Actually, she is pretty good at doing both at the same time. Joe should not go after her at all, but only after McCain. And while he is doing it, Joe cannot adopt a posture of being aggressive toward her or, worse, condescending. He attacks McCain only on the economy -- the GOP ticket's weakest spot. As he does so, Biden talks about his blue-collar background."
Stuart Stevens on Palin: "She should be very aggressive, but primarily toward Obama. She should try to drive a wedge into the Democratic ticket by playing back Biden's own critical, dismissive words about Obama from the primary season. She would not be well served going after snarky debating points. Voters know she can tweak Obama with her gleeful combativeness. That kind of thing plays better to Republican audiences than to a national one. She shouldn't be delivering lines to the faithful.”
Per NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli, Obama strategist David Axelrod talked about the upcoming Biden-Palin debate. On the preparations: "You prepare like you would for any debate." Says VP debates are "the most difficult" though because "in a vice-presidential debate you gotta think about your own record, the candidate’s record, and your opponent’s record… This is primarily gonna be a debate about where the principals, the presidential candidates, want to take the country, but there’s more to keep track of."
On the fact that Biden seems to have the edge heading into Thursday: "Boy I sure don’t -- you know, I don’t see it that way. I think that if you go back and look at the debates that Governor Palin’s had as a candidate, she’s very skilled and she’ll be well-prepared."
To take one example: Democrats spent the week after the GOP convention desperately trying to debunk Sarah Palin 's claim that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to Alaska's famed Bridge to Nowhere. Curious truth-seekers used the web to learn more. About one in every five hundred web searches containing the phrase "Sarah Palin" during that week inquired about the Alaska governor's support for the pork project, making "Sarah Palin Bridge to Nowhere" the 72nd most frequent search term on her list. But ranking far above the earmark investigation in popularity (among the 10 million internet users in Hitwise's sample) were "Sarah Palin legs" (No. 16), "Sarah Palin Vogue" (No. 18), and "Sarah Palin sexy photos" (No. 49).
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. --
ventured out for cheesesteaks Saturday night, taking a break from her debate prep to get the city's specialty sandwich, wit whiz.
Palin went to Tony Luke's in South Philly, bypassing two better known establishments: Pat's, where
asked for a cheesesteak with provolone in 2004, and Geno's, which has run afoul of local groups for a sign on its exterior demanding patrons order in English.
Palin ordered a cheesesteak for herself and daughter Willow, with Cheez Whiz and fried onions. She told a pool reporter she watched Friday's debate.
did awesome," she said. "He was great. He was absolutely on his game.”
on Thursday.
“Look forward to it," she said. "Look forward to getting to speak to Americans through that debate, absolutely.”
addressed the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance via satellite last night after canceling his trip to Ohio to stay in D.C., where he said he would work on the bailout legislation in Congress. But he didn’t visit the Hill yesterday and did all his senatorial work on the legislation over the phone from his headquarters in Arlington, Va.
on his record on gun control and support for hunters and fishermen. This included a hit on a survey Obama filled out as a state senator and his “bitter” comments in San Francisco.
He also made a brief reference to the debate Friday and played the McCain campaign’s talking point about Obama not mentioning the word “victory” once.
Obama was campaigning in North Carolina and Virginia yesterday.
Obama told the crowd gathered outside a Detroit public library that it was an “outrage” that the government was being forced to clean up the mess on Wall Street, but said a bailout was necessary to avert a deeper crisis.
“Today, thanks to the hard work of Democrats and Republicans, it looks like we have a rescue plan that includes these taxpayer protections. It looks like we will pass that plan very soon,” he said, adding that he and Biden would continue to fight for passage of an economic stimulus plan to help struggling families.
“I will fight every day of this campaign and every day of my presidency to make sure a crisis like this never, ever happens again,” he continued, part of his effort to portray himself as a "fighter" and a champion for working families.
The campaign has said Obama would go to Washington if needed, with Press Sec. Bill Burton telling a television interviewer this morning the senator would “definitely be back if his vote is needed and, you know, he probably will come.” Obama himself said earlier this week that it was his sense that it could be necessary for both candidates to be present to vote on the bill because of the delicate nature of the negotiations and the controversy that has surrounded how the legislation would be structured.
Negotiations continue on the House side of the Capitol this evening. This is a full-on negotiation, with breakout groups and members and staff shuttling in and between the suites of
, situated on opposite sides of statuary hall.
Sen.
just took a meandering walk around the Capitol's second floor, followed by a swarm of reporters. Not much to report, although he did say that outside experts, including
, were being consulted by telephone. He says new proposals were being considered, debated, and vetted by the group.
Conrad was visibly tired, and repeatedly described the work as tedious. He would give no indication of when it might be finished, asserting that deadlines were counterproductive. He described the atmosphere inside the room as good, without an undue amount of argument.
At this point there is no way to know how long this will go on. If Pelosi gets her wish, and there is to be a bill on the House floor by Sunday night or Monday morning, it appears that we are in for a very late, wee hours kind of affair here this evening. That's because even if there is a deal made at some point before dawn, it still must be put into legislative language and bill form. That takes time.
Got a background briefing from an administration official with general details on agreement. But first, be mindful:
-- The deal will be on the House floor MOST LIKELY ON MONDAY MORNING, if everything goes as hoped. They want to put it out on the Internet for a while. They wanted it on the Web for 24 hours, but with the writing of it overnight and into the morning and the fact that they have a noon Monday deadline, so members can get back for Rosh Hashanah means it might be less than the full 24. Bottom line. Vote on House floor most likely Monday morning.
The campaigns both cut ads after the debate. McCain doesn't use footage of the debate (Obama does), but his uses a topic that was talked about at the debate -- troop funding. It also uses Biden's words about troop funding from the primary. But as nonpartisan groups have pointed out, and Obama said Friday, McCain also urged the President to veto a funding bill because it included a timetable for withdrawal. (
Obama's highlights McCain not using the word “middle class” -- something Obama camp was pushing after the debate. (See other word counts, including this one,
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Forbes : “Key lawmakers in Congress have reached a tentative agreement on a bailout proposal that they expect to roll out to their colleagues for final approval Sunday morning.”
AP on the deal on the $700 billion bailout: “The measure would allow the government to buy defaulted mortgages and other distressed housing-related assets, many of them held by Wall Street banks, in an effort to keep the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression from spreading throughout the entire economy.”
Forbes on the details: “The bailout, to be financed by government bonds, includes provisions to limit executive compensation for the firms that are being bailed out, an equity stake in those firms for taxpayers, an oversight board to account for the bailout process, and a measure to help prevent mortgage foreclosures. The $700 billion will be doled out in tranches of $250 billion immediately, $100 billion upon the approval of the president and $350 billion upon the approval of Congress. Lawmakers also said there is language in the plan to allow the government to recover some of the money it is spending to buy troubled assets, as well as a provision that allows firms to buy insurance for toxic securities--something House Republicans had requested.”
AP also notes that Obama and McCain “gingerly embraced” the deal and also “sought to take at least partial credit for the outcome.”
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro and Lauren Appelbaum Obama campaign has put out a fundraising appeal, sure to make its base’s collective mouth drop. McCain winning the presidency, using past NBC election footage from 2004 and McCain’s introducing Palin as his VP, and editing over graphics showing him winning the Republican primary to show him as the 44th President of the United States.This is designed to create a sense of urgency among Obama voters, not to mention raise cash. Obama camp has ramped up get-out-the-vote efforts in key states like Virginia, calling would-be supporters to volunteer and bring laptops to local offices. In Maryland, for example, there is a focus on canvassing in Virginia and phone banking.
From NBC's Carrie Dann With much being made by both campaigns today out of the words both candidates did not say, here's a recap of some of the noteworthy counts from last night.
Obama used the phrase "middle class" three times, and "working families" once. McCain said neither, giving Team Obama a new stump line and fodder for a new ad set to air Monday.
Obama invoked "Bush" ten times, with most of the mentions linking McCain to the administration, at one point simply calling Bush "your president" directly to his rival. McCain said the name of the man he would succeed zero times.
Both candidates mentioned their running mates, although McCain did not refer to Palin by name, but as "a partner that's a good maverick."
With much talk about military strategy, "troops" were the subject of eighteen mentions for Obama and eleven for McCain. The Arizona senator mentioned General David Petraeus twelve times; Obama mentioned him once.
The McCain camp highlighted today that Obama "failed to utter the word 'victory' a single time" in last night's debate. That's correct; McCain himself mentioned it twice. (It's worth noting that the cautious Petraeus has said that he's not eager to use the word himself in describing his hopes for peace in the region.)
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones and Mike Memoli GREENSBORO, NC -- Obama kept the focus on the economy Saturday, arguing at a North Carolina rally that last night’s debate showed McCain was out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans who are struggling economically.
The senator was back in North Carolina for the second time in a week, a traditionally red state that his campaign still appears to have in its sights. It was the beginning of two days on the trail with his running mate Joe Biden , with whom he has not campaigned since just after the Democratic convention.
As they did in the days after Denver, during the Republican convention, the pair stressed what McCain did not talk about during the debate to show where his loyalties lay.
“Last night we had a debate and on issue after issue – from taxes to health care to the war in Iraq – you heard John McCain make the case for more of the same. The same policies that got us into this mess,” Obama told the crowd standing under the gray sky outside a bus and train depot. “But just as important as what we heard from John McCain was what we didn’t hear from John McCain. We talked about the economy for forty minutes, and not once did Sen. McCain talk about the struggles of middle class families.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Jill Hazelbaker (McCain communications director): -- Obama has a “lack of understanding” and “lack of clarity.” His “answers aren't tied to his record” on taxes. “Doesn't have much credibility.”
David Axelrod (Obama chief strategist):
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Chuck Todd
Neither candidate was "off," neither candidate was nervous. Both were on message (sometimes painfully so for those of us who have now witnessed our 38th presidential debate of the cycle). In fact, the primary debate practice clearly had them both prepared tonight.
All in all, the questions I have are viewer/voter related:
1) Did a majority of folks see two presidential level candidates on stage? This is an especially important question for Obama. I suspect that only the most partisan McCain supporters wouldn't say Obama looked as presidential as McCain. In fact, McCain may have helped the audience come to that conclusion when he attempted to make the case directly that Obama wasn't ready.
2) Did McCain look like someone ready to buck the status quo? It's hard to argue that he wasn't showing himself as someone wanting to shake things up. For every time Obama attempted to link McCain to Bush, the Arizona senator had no qualms going after his own party. In fact, Obama's "John is right" mantras were usually connected to one of McCain's anti-Republican establishment points.
3) Did the viewers get turned off by McCain's sometimes dismissive treatment of Obama or will they start asking themselves the same questions? While this was a very heavy and substantive debate, I do wonder if on style, McCain lost a point or two, and that may explain why he's not staying even in some of these insta-polls.
4) Who will the voters-viewers punish for what seemed like a completely tone deaf conversation between the two candidates on the economy. Neither candidate emphasized jobs and instead allowed themselves to get bogged down on taxes and spending, two issues that don't rank nearly as high with voters as other economic issues. Bottom line on the economy: they both need work.
Still, count me impressed by both candidates. I know it may sound a bit pollyannish, but I thought one would not bring their "A" game or that one would get complacent and that didn't happen. There are some who believe a "draw" is better for the candidate perceived to be ahead. If that's the case, then the polls will continue their Obama drift. But I wouldn't be surprised if the polls don't move much in either direction because neither candidate gave a reason why voters ought to stop listening and make their decision now. There are two more debates and this one was good enough that they may see audiences build on this one.
Up next: the very intriguing and potentially entertaining VP debate.
The McCain campaign just sent out an email to supporters that highlights his return to DC tonight to "to resume negotiations with the Administration and Congressional leaders from both parties to forge a bipartisan solution to our economic crisis."
More: "We cannot be interested in who would get credit for finding a solution and who would be blamed if an agreement cannot be reached. We must put our country first to solve this economic crisis. Because in the end, that's what leaders do in times of crisis."
Citing that "we are ready to lead and the Obama -Biden Democrats are not," the email ends with an appeal for fundraising dollars.
"In the final weeks of this campaign, we will need to fund crucial get-out-the-vote and grassroots activities that will assist our entire ticket, from the top to the bottom to secure victory on Election Day. I'm asking you to help us by making a contribution right now to McCain-Palin Victory 2008."
Hillary Clinton's statement on the debate:
"Tonight Barack Obama displayed beyond a doubt that he understands both the gravity of the financial crisis facing America, and the challenges we face in Iraq and around the world. Senator McCain offered only more of the same failed policies of the Bush Administration. America deserves better."
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones At least SIX times McCain said Obama did not understand something.
First on tactics vs strategy; and then on Pakistan being a failed state when Musharraf took office; then on the connection between winning in Iraq and in Afghanistan and about meeting with a leader like Ahmadinejad without preconditions and then on the Russia-Georgia conflict; then again on the need to succeed in Iraq so al Qaeda doesn't establish a base there.
If McCain's argument in the first half of the debate was all about earmarks, in the second, it seemed to be about Obama's lack of understanding.
The question is whether viewers will agree with him on these specific points or just internalize his oft-repeated argument.
In the debate over Obama's position that he would be willing to talk to unsavory world leaders without precondition, Obama brought up that Henry Kissinger -- an adviser to McCain -- actually favors that.
That is true. Kissinger favors direct talks -- without preconditions with Iran -- but he prefers doing at the Secretary of State level.
*** UPDATE ***
From Bloomberg, (3/14):
And from from CNN , (9/20):
Team McCain has just unveiled a new web video, featuring clips of Obama agreeing with McCain throughout tonight's debate.
NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger points out... the video starts with "I'm John McCain and I approve this message," but it is impossible for him to have seen it to approve it, since it uses lines from a debate he was still on stage at.
From NBC's Mark Murray McCain slammed Obama for threatening to "announce military strikes" on Pakistan.
"I'm not prepared to threaten it as Senator Obama apparently wants to do, as he has said that he would announce military strikes into Pakistan."
"Now, you don't do that," he added. "You don't say that out loud."
Is that what Obama really said in August 2007?
Not exactly. Then, Obama said: "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."
So Obama said that he'd go after al Qaida targets within Pakistan's borders, not attack the nation itself. That's a move that the Bush administration actually approved this summer on at least one occasion -- to much objection by the Pakistani government.
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
He's on message, hitting his talking points on the contrasts with John McCain on taxes, his plans for healthcare and energy independence. He seemed to cover more ground than McCain whose main points were about cutting government spending.
For several minutes, Obama was the only one to interrupt his opponent, which seemed to be an attempt to show his willingness to fight back.
Other observations:
*Both mentioned Tom Coburn
*Took 34 minutes for Iraq to be mentioned (unless I missed it before). Obama pointed to ending the war as a cost savings
*The strongest exchanges were on Iraq. Obama seeking to point out areas where McCain was wrong and McCain accusing him of not admitting the United States was succeeding in Iraq and talked about him voting to cut off funding for troops
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain clearly doesn't like Obama questioning his knowledge, understanding or positions on the war in Iraq...he's getting that uncomfortable smile again.
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama said that he will "make sure that we have a healthcare system that allows for everyone to have basic coverage. I think those are pretty important priorities. And I pay for every dime of them."
Take a look at these numbers from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (part of the New America Foundation) on the spending plans for BOTH candidates.
-- $173 billion in 2009 for Iraq and Afghanistan (Congressional Budget Office)
So for each presidential candidate, that comes to almost $1.3 trillion -- on top of everything else in the budget.
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy 'The next President of the United States will not have to address the issue of whether or not we should have gone into Iraq...'
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro More than a third of the way through, we get the first foreign policy question. Not surprising actually. I had the 30-minute mark as the over-under. It was at 9:40, we finally saw it. Who had the over?
In July, the McCain campaign unveiled a TV ad making this same claim: "Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan."
That is CORRECT. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, Obama has never held a hearing on Afghanistan. But the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- currently chaired by Joe Biden -- has addressed Afghanistan at the FULL COMMITTEE level. Indeed, in the past couple of years, the full committee has held three hearings on Afghanistan. And Obama has attended ONE of them.
-- January 31, 2008: "Afghanistan: A Plan to Turn the Tide ." Obama DID NOT attend
-- March 8, 2007: "Afghanistan: Time for a New Strategy?" Obama DID attend
-- September 21, 2006: "From Coalition to ISAF Command in Afghanistan ." Obama DID NOT attend
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro What if John Kerry had defended himself on the "most liberal senator" charge in 2004 by saying it was because he was so busy trying to stop bush"s "wrongheaded policies"? It took Democrats four years to figure out a response to this hit.
From MSNBC.com's Andy Merten Clinton , talking about his work with her in battling climate change.
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro
McCain's the first to mention jobs and he does it by proposing 700,000 new jobs through nuclear power plants.
From NBC's Mark Murray McCain brought up that Obama "has the most liberal voting record..."
He and his campaign have made this charge throughout the general election, but it's a bit misleading. The charge is based on the vote ratings for 2007 by the non-partisan National Journal magazine. Indeed, for that year, he ranked as the most liberal senator (voting the liberal way 65 out of 66 votes, per the magazine).
But in 2005, the magazine ranked Obama as the 16th-most liberal senator. And in 2006, his rank was 10th.
So it's correct for McCain to say that Obama was the most liberal senator for 2007. But the "most liberal senator" overall is a bit misleading….
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro
How did this debate become about taxes?Andy Merten points out... We’re over 20 minutes into this debate, which was supposed to focus on foreign policy, and there’s been barely a mention of the United States’ two foreign wars.
From NBC's Chuck Todd Obama is wearing a flag pin. McCain is not.
NBC's Doug Adams points out that Obama misspoke and said that under his plan 95% don’t pay higher tax cuts not that 95% get tax cuts.
From NBC's Chuck Todd Obama is responding to McCain more than McCain is responding to Obama...
McCain is delivering his standard lines about cutting pork barrel spending and eliminating earmarks; Obama's responding with a call for oversight and reform.
McCain's is the message that tests more strongly with voters. The latest NBC/WSJ poll showed that respondents prefer "a president who will go in and clean up Washington and take on the waste and fraud in the system" to "a president who will end the Bush administration policies, and have active government oversight.." by a margin of 67 to 29 percent.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Obama fights back to point out that it only accounts for only $18 billion. "Eliminating earmarks alone" aren't going to help middle class, he said. Obama went after him on taxes (more on that later), McCain defends businesses because they create jobs.
McCain said earmarks account for more than $18 billion.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Both sounded as if they'd vote for a plan. Obama said he hadn't seen language but he has laid out his principles. McCain said "sure."
Lehrer tries to get them to address each other.
McCain jokes about his age: "You afraid I couldn't hear him."
McCain went back to spending and earmarks on how to improve the economy. Does Main Street buy it?
McCain defends his declaration that he'd axe SEC Chair Christopher Cox. "We've got to start holding people responsible..."
Obama responds that we do need more responsibility, "but not just when we're in a crisis."
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones This economy note is the message Obama has been delivering on the stump all week. Important that he came out with a criticism of John McCain in first answer (And tied McCain directly to Bush.) Also interesting that McCain mentioned Kennedy and Obama didn't.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro No suprprise that the debate opens with the economy. Obama goes first. And not surprisingly, he outlines his six principles. Calls this "final verdict" on Bush's policies, "supported by McCain." First question, first shot.
From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell Advisors earlier described Sen. McCain's mood right now saying....
"He's up. In a good mood, joking around with Lindsey." [Senator Lindsey Graham]
Hi all. NBC First Readers Domenico Montanaro in Oxford, MS, and Carrie Dann in Washington D.C. -- along with the rest of the NBC political unit and our campaign reporters on the road -- will be offering fact checks, analysis, and observations live during tonight's debate.
So stay tuned, fasten your seatbelts, and enjoy the first presidential debate.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli CUDAHY, Wisc. -- Alluding to tonight's debate, Biden argued that any discussion of foreign policy needs to include supporting first responders, promising a strong federal partnership with local communities to ensure they are equipped to deal with a terrorist attack.
CONTINUED >>
In his latest entry over at iCue's Off Air blog , NBC's Luke Russert asks five big questions about tonight's debate. Here's a preview:
Will either Obama or McCain go for a knockout punch?
To read more of Luke's blog, visit Off Air here .
From NBC's Carrie Dann McCain campaign recommenced its campaign activities, including its television advertising nationwide.
But when did the ads come back?
According to one media buyer and advertising staff at two battleground state television stations, some stations were told yesterday afternoon that McCain’s ads -- first suspended at 5:00 pm ET Wednesday afternoon -- could be recommenced starting today.
One rep firm says that the directive to put ads back on the air came at 1:00 pm ET yesterday, shortly after McCain landed in Washington and around the time that he arrived on Capitol Hill. Another station was cleared to start running the ads by "late morning" yesterday.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland There was supposed to be a bipartisan meeting between the principle Congressional negotiators on the bailout legislation at 3pm today. No Paulson, no Bernanke--just House and Senate members.
But apparently, someone forgot to invite the Republicans.
The meeting didn't happen. They'll try to reschedule.
Who did show up? The Democrats. Democratic Senators Chris Dodd, Kent Conrad, Chuck Schumer, and Max Baucus , and Democratic House members Barney Frank and Rahm Emanuel came by.
It should have been obvious to us press folks that something was wrong. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire is the negotiator for Senate Republicans. He walked down the hall toward the meeting room door and then walked right passed it. He never even made a move to open the door.
The press assumed he was coming back. He never did.
From NBC's Jim Popkin
"SRA Wooten worked hard to locate and deliver appropriate supplies to use in our parade," the then-mayor of Wasilla wrote to Wooten's Air Force commander. "I believe Mike is a fine example of the high-caliber personnel we are blessed to have in the United States Air Force. He was extremely helpful to our community and I thank you for allowing his assistance," Palin wrote.
The unsigned letter is one of hundreds of documents released today to NBC News by the Wasilla city government, dating back to Palin's six-year term as mayor.
Read more at Deep Background , NBC's investigative blog.
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
This is the first evidence we've seen that the GOP is now targeting the Hoosier State, a state Bush won 60%-39% in 2004.
From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro McCain shows up and tonight and says, "I'm sorry I couldn't sign on to this Washington-Wall Street plan that I worried was putting an even bigger burden on taxpayers than this mess already has. Now, Sen. Obama , I understand that you are confident in these folks in Washington and New York who have everyone convinced this is the only plan. And I respect that, but I am hearing from people all over the country who don't get this plan and don't understand how it will work. And why should they trust a group of folks in Washington and New York who broke this system to fix it?"
McCain is not winning this political battle right now as the media elite do believe the White House, Wall Street and Congressional Democrats on this. It's a pretty strong united front for us not to believe this. That said, McCain and House Republicans are channeling their inner populist, something the Republican Party hasn't done in quite some time. Don't write off this McCain strategy just yet if Obama appears too cozy with Washington and New York elites, and it's McCain who is the one looking like the outsider.
And there might be an immigration analogy here. Has McCain learned a lesson from that first battle that almost sunk his campaign and decided to listen to the base on this? This whole fight looks a bit like immigration with media, political elites on one side and “conservative populists” on the other.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland Mitch McConnell today announced that Senator Judd Gregg will be their membership's sole negotiator in talks to reach a deal on a financial rescue package. Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Paulson recommended that each of the four congressional caucuses send just one representative to meetings.
(Earlier today, House Republicans appointed Roy Blunt as their point man. House Democrats have been sending over House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank . And while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he reserves the right to send as many representatives as he wants, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd has been the most visible Senate Democrat involved.)
At a brief news conference earlier today, Gregg said "the progress that has been made so far has been significant." He attributed some of that progress to yesterday's visit to Washington by McCain and Obama . "First, it got us focused," Gregg said. "And secondly, but more importantly, it got the American people focused on the seriousness of the issue."
From NBC's John Yang
Asked about the McCain campaign's contention that all of Obama's statements were political posturing, Perino responded, "Everybody there was constructive and focused on finding a solution." She declined to detail McCain's comments and participation in the meeting.
The administration still backs the central core of the Paulson proposal -- that the federal government assume the risks of "illiquid" assets. Perino said that she did not think that anyone involved believes that the mortgage-backed security insurance alternative proposed by House Republicans would "take over the whole package."
Perino also told reporters today that Bush is primarily communicating with congressional Republicans through House Republican Leader John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell . Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson remains the administration's point man in dealing with the Hill. National Economic Council director Keith Hennessey and Legislative Affairs Director Dan Meyer are also on the Hill. Information for the President is being channeled through White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan.
From NBC's Mark Murray McCain campaign just announced that the Arizona senator will attend tonight's presidential debate. "The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon," the statement reads. "Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."
Below is the entire statement...
"In response, Americans saw a familiar spectacle in Washington. At a moment of crisis that threatened the economic security of American families, Washington played the blame game rather than work together to find a solution that would avert a collapse of financial markets without squandering hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ money to bailout bankers and brokers who bet their fortunes on unsafe lending practices.
"Both parties in both houses of Congress and the administration needed to come together to find a solution that would deserve the trust of the American people. And while there were attempts to do that, much of yesterday was spent fighting over who would get the credit for a deal and who would get the blame for failure. There was no deal or offer yesterday that had a majority of support in Congress. There was no deal yesterday that included adequate protections for the taxpayers. It is not enough to cut deals behind closed doors and then try to force it on the rest of Congress -- especially when it amounts to thousands of dollars for every American family.
"The difference between Barack Obama and John McCain was apparent during the White House meeting yesterday where Barack Obama’s priority was political posturing in his opening monologue defending the package as it stands. John McCain listened to all sides so he could help focus the debate on finding a bipartisan resolution that is in the interest of taxpayers and homeowners. The Democratic interests stood together in opposition to an agreement that would accommodate additional taxpayer protections.
"Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House. He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Representative Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans. The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."
From NBC's Mark Murray Newsweek's Tammy Haddad at the Memphis Airport that he will know by noon if the first presidential debate will take place. If McCain does not come by law there will be no debate because it is an "illegal contribution."
From NBC's Ken Strickland and Mike Viqueira Chuck Schumer (D) urged President Bush to "respectfully tell Sen. McCain to get out of town. He's not helping."
Schumer also requested that Bush get the his House Republicans in line. "We need President Bush to take leadership. We need President Bush, first and foremost, to get the Republican House members to support his plan or modify it in some way to bring them on board," he said.
He added, "When you inject presidential politics into some of the most difficult negotiations under normal circumstances, it is fraught with difficulty. Before McCain made his announcement, we were making great progress. Now after his announcement, we are behind the 8 ball. We have to put things back together again."
"So this is a plea to President Bush, for the sake of America, please get your party in line. Get the House Republicans to be more constructive; get Sen. McCain to leave town and not throw fire on these flames. And maybe we can get something done."
Meanwhile, per a GOP congressional source, McCain has told House Republicans leaders this morning that it was time to get someone to the negotiating table and work towards a deal.
House Minority Leader Boehner has now designated the whip, Roy Blunt , to be that person.
*** UPDATE ***
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann New York Times ), and McCain can't have those awkward smiles slip in during a serious point (see: "hell, gates of"). Since McCain is behind ever so slightly right now, the burden is on him to start of well tonight. But given the chaotic events of the week, he does have a built-in excuse if he doesn't perform up to par -- he wasn't focused on the debate as much as Obama. Then again, is that a good excuse, especially when it was his decision to direct his focus elsewhere? Here’s one reason why so many folks are convinced McCain will show up: Does he really want to wake up on Monday morning having been a party both to Washington's inability to get a deal done and be perceived as he ducked a debate?
*** Losing the spin war : Speaking of, McCain's losing the spin war on the bailout plan for a couple of reasons. One, he's not just up against a fairly united Democratic Congress and Obama -- but also the White House and Hank Paulson. And Senate Republicans appear to be on board as well; GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander told CNBC’s John Harwood that as many of 40 out of the 49 Republicans in that chamber could support the bailout. It's only McCain and the House Republicans who are now opposing this. Last night, the McCain campaign sent a memo to reporters, saying: "At this moment, the plan that has been put forth by the Administration does not enjoy the confidence of the American people as it will not protect that taxpayers and will sacrifice Main Street in favor of Wall Street. The bottom line is that as of tonight, there are not enough Republican or Democrat votes for the current plan. However, we are still optimistic that a bipartisan solution will be found.” But by injecting himself into the bailout negotiations, McCain has forced himself into this either-or situation: convince House Republicans to back the plan, or come up with a plan of his own. If he can't do either, then why did he come to Washington? And what happens if the market collapses today? Does McCain own a market collapse?
*** Whose bright idea was this? NBC’s John Yang makes this other point: "Besides being a big stakeholder in Washington Mutual, the person I'd least like to be this morning is the Bush aide who told the president it was a good idea to adopt McCain's idea to call the congressional leaders and the two presidential nominees to the White House. (I can still hear him roaring to an aide during the 2000 primary campaign: "Whose brilliant idea was this?!?") By all accounts, what White House officials intended to be a meeting to bring everyone together, get them on the same page, propel them to a final deal -- and, McCain likely hoped, make the Republican nominee look like the hero -- turned into a politically charged session of finger-pointing and bitter recriminations." Also, it was just announced that Bush will make a statement on the financial crisis at 9:35 am ET.
*** Palin’s bad week gets worse : What has happened to the Sarah Palin who stepped onto the national stage with her well-received convention speech three weeks ago? That person is now a shell of her former self. Had it not been for McCain's debate gambit, Palin's near-disastrous two-part interview with Katie Couric would be dominating the political discussion right now. On Wednesday, she was unable to cite an example of McCain being in favor of more oversight outside the one Couric provided (“I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you,” she finally replied). And yesterday, she provided an interview clip heard ‘round the world . Was this a Roger Mudd moment? The news has only gotten worse for Palin, with the Washington Post reporting that she accepted $25,000 in gifts as Alaska governor, which brings into question her credentials as a reformer. Is there now a new meaning to the ”Palin Effect”? At this point, it really depends on how she performs at next week’s debate. If there is an upside to the Palin performance this week, she has moved her debate expectations to an all-time low.
*** The debate skinny : The first presidential debate between McCain and Obama -- if it takes place -- is scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm ET here at the University of Mississippi. The topic of the 90-minute debate is foreign policy, although moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS has suggested that he will ask questions about the economy and the Wall Street crisis. There will be two-minute answers, followed by a five-minute discussion for each question.
*** Talk about shaking things up : Oregon State beating USC last night is the equivalent of Obama carrying Mississippi or McCain carrying Massachusetts. It's not impossible, and we can explain it away if it somehow happened. But it sure is improbable.On the trail : Biden (along with his wife) attends a firehouse fish fry in Cudahy, WI. Palin hits a debate-watching party in Philadelphia, PA. Click here to sign up for First Read emails .
This New York Times analysis lead perhaps sums up best McCain’s gambit. "McCain had intended to ride back into Washington on Thursday as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis. Instead he found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end. At the bipartisan White House meeting that Mr. McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.”
More: "At the very least, Mr. McCain’s actions have shaken up the campaign and the negotiations over the bailout package. It has put him at center stage, permitted him to present himself as putting his country ahead of his campaign — a recurring theme of his candidacy — and put him on deck to, if not help orchestrate a deal, at least be associated with one. But Mr. McCain is certainly seeing the risks of making such a direct intervention. He now finds himself in the middle of an ideological war that pits conservative Republicans, loath to spending so much taxpayer money on Wall Street, against the Bush White House, which, with the support of Democrats and a sizable number of Republicans, sees a bailout package as essential to averting a potential economic disaster.”
While there is no doubt a middle ground, at the moment Mr. McCain finds himself between conservatives that he needs to keep on his side for the election … or being identified with the failure to complete a plan."
The AP has a similar story, which quotes many more folks criticizing McCain's role – and Republicans aren’t over the top in their praise. "Even the House's Republican leader, John Boehner of Ohio, passed up a chance to praise McCain's leadership powers shortly before the two met in the Capitol at midday Thursday. Asked by reporters if McCain could help win House Republican votes for the proposed package, Boehner shrugged and said, ‘Who knows?’”
CONTINUED >>
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger : "The Oxford debate remained listed among 'upcoming events' on McCain's official campaign Web site, and the event page proclaimed: 'Please watch John McCain debate Barack Obama in a presidential debate focusing on foreign policy on September 26th in Oxford.' Most people at the University of Mississippi acted Thursday as if there was little doubt that the debate will happen, though. Media poured onto campus, and satellite trucks filled several parking lots. During certain times of the day, those walking across campus with press credentials and cameras outnumbered those carrying textbooks. Tents went up in the Grove for 'Issues Alley' -- a sort of information fair for young voters. A stage was erected for the Rock the Debate celebration today on campus.”
"McCain's staff also was still working here to advance the senator's visit. His wife, Cindy, has events scheduled today. Ole Miss spokeswoman Barbara Lago confirmed that advance teams for Obama and McCain, as well as debate moderator Jim Lehrer, signed off on the debate facilities. 'Everything is in place and ready,' Lago said."
The Los Angeles Times' Z. Barabak does some expectations setting: "Obama, who once taught constitutional law, tends toward long, annotated answers and shrinks from verbal combat. His laid-back manner can seem aloof and, at times, condescending. McCain is blunt and relishes the cut and thrust of political battle, though his pugnacity can make him seem short-tempered and angry."
The LA Times also does a debate preview of sorts by comparing McCain’s and Obama’s foreign policies and noting that they've started to come closer together. “[O]n a striking list of particulars -- including Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq -- their differences have narrowed as election day has approached. In part, the migration reflects the complexity of this year's national security issues, knotty problems that have defied solutions proposed by partisans on the left or right. But the shift also reflects how the candidates are increasingly focusing on uncommitted voters."
A national New York Times/CBS poll shows Obama leading among registered voters by five points, 47%-42%, unchanged from last week. “Voters who said the economy was the key issue for them were far more likely to support Mr. Obama. And 64 percent of voters expressed confidence in Mr. Obama’s ability to make the right decision on the economy, compared with 55 percent who said they were confident in Mr. McCain’s ability, according to the poll.”
Here’s a new round of All State/National Journal battleground polls… Obama is up eight points in Michigan (47%-39%), up one point in New Hampshire (44%-43%), and up two points in Pennsylvania (43%-41%).
COLORADO : The debate over Social Security is rearing its head in Colorado's Senate race, and in the presidential debate as well. "Social Security reform and the stalled, Republican-backed plan to add personalized, market-invested retirement accounts to the system are back in the spotlight - just in time for the sprint to the November election." FLORIDA : The Orlando Sentinel breaks down just how much Central Florida matters to both campaigns' ad buyers. In the region's media markets, "The Obama campaign bought about $1.4 million worth of airtime since the Aug. 26 primary. By comparison, Sen. John McCain and the Republican National Committee have spent just more than $725,000. Both campaigns see the region as key to capturing Florida's 27 electoral votes."
CONTINUED >>
David Brooks writes what may become an oft-quoted column for those who want to write what- happened-to-McCain? stories. "Do I wish he was running a different campaign? Yes. It’s not that he has changed his political personality that bothers me. I’ve come to accept that in this media-circus environment, you simply cannot run for president as a candid, normal person.”
Brooks concludes by telling his readers to ignore what McCain has done in the last two weeks -- heck, the last two years. “If McCain is elected, he will retain his instinct for the hard challenge. With that Greatest Generation style of his, he will run the least partisan administration in recent times. He is not a sophisticated conceptual thinker, but he is a good judge of character. He is not an organized administrator, but he has become a practiced legislative craftsman. He is, above all — and this is completely impossible to convey in the midst of a campaign — a serious man prone to serious things.”
(Question for Brooks: Then how do you explain the Palin pick?)
The Boston Globe's Lehigh sees things a bit differently. “Campaigns teach you important things about the candidates, and we're learning this about John McCain: At heart, the former fighter pilot is a riverboat gambler. First came his pick of Sarah Palin… Now comes McCain's debate gambit… Despite McCain's attempt to portray this as an act of statesmanship, it is, of course, blatantly political. Off-balance since the financial market meltdown started, and slipping behind in the polls as the public's attention turns to the urgency of financial and economic matters, McCain is trying to regain the momentum. This move is designed to show him as a man of action, one who, as his campaign slogan goes, puts country first. Not everyone is buying, certainly."
If McCain is the emotional candidate (he channels voter anger better than most pols), then Obama is the cool customer. But is he too cool? The New York Times : "However forceful and passionate Mr. Obama can be, his speeches and public appearances this week have underscored how he is sometimes out of sync with the visceral anger of Americans who are losing their jobs and homes. He often talks about growing up on food stamps and about having paid off his student loans only recently, yet his tone and volume, body language, facial expressions and words convey a certain distance from the ache that many voters feel."
More: "Whereas former Vice President Al Gore and Senator John Kerry struck populist tones during their presidential bids, Mr. Obama is having none of it. For better or worse, his performance in this time of financial peril goes to the heart of who he is. Mr. Obama may have looked subdued as he arrived at the White House on Thursday for a meeting on the economy, but he also stayed calm and ultimately prevailed at a similarly urgent point in his primary campaign against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose turn toward populism helped her win the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries."
Of course, here’s your answer: "For Mr. Obama, the financial crisis poses different risks. He wants to appear fired up over the economy, but he has written before about wanting to avoid appearing like a stereotypical angry black man. Unlike Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other black leaders whose fulminations could scare white voters, Mr. Obama is not from and of New York, Detroit, or the segregated South; he grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. To some degree Mr. Obama faces the opposite challenge from fiery black leaders who came before him: Is he too cool for a crisis like this one?"
The New York Times also picks up on the fact that some of Obama's recent attack ads have not just stretched the truth but downright twisted it. Obama's up to four ads released in the last three weeks that have drawn the ire of fact-checkers. "Yet as Mr. McCain’s misleading advertisements became fodder on shows like ‘The View’ and “Saturday Night Live,” Mr. Obama began his own run of advertisements on radio and television that have matched the dubious nature of Mr. McCain’s more questionable spots.
Will the answer she gave to Katie Couric about Russia become her defining moment in this campaign? It's garnering a lot of attention. If there is an upside, it certainly lowers expectations again for the VP debate. New York Times’ Stanley critiques the performance. "While it is quite likely, and perhaps understandable, that Ms. Palin felt nervous and spooked by all the media attention, it wasn’t a reassuring performance. Ms. Palin looked more steady and confident when she took a few questions from reporters after a visit to ground zero in Lower Manhattan, her first, gingerly encounter with campaign reporters since her nomination.”
“The CBS interview, shown partly on Wednesday and partly on Thursday, was only a first taste — Ms. Couric is scheduled to go out on the campaign trail with the Palin team early next week. But it may be hard for Mr. McCain’s running mate to recoup. It wasn’t her first interview on national television, but in some ways it was the worst."
As if Palin's bad week needed to get worse, the Washington Post reports that, as governor, Palin accepted over $25,000 in gifts "from industry executives, municipalities and a cultural center whose board includes officials from some of the largest mining interests in the state, a review of state records shows. About a quarter of the entities bestowing gifts on the governor are represented by one of Alaska's most influential mining lobbyists, who said in an interview that she was not involved in the tributes. The lobbyist, Wendy Chamberlain, has a relationship with the governor's family through the friendship of their teenage daughters.”
CONTINUED >>
Here's a New York Times piece that's going to drive the Clintons and the Obama campaign nuts. "As comfortable as Mr. Clinton is in saying, ‘I like John McCain,’ and ‘I like Sarah Palin,’ no one seems to have heard him say the same for Mr. Obama. Instead, when speaking of Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee, Mr. Clinton has assumed a professorial stance that sometimes drifts toward emotional aloofness and disregard.”
“‘Is it me, or he didn’t want to say the name “Barack Obama”?’ the comedian Chris Rock asked with barely contained anger when he appeared Monday night on ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ immediately after Mr. Letterman’s 15-minute interview with Mr. Clinton.”
“Answering Mr. Letterman’s questions, Mr. Clinton gave a dispassionate discourse on the cultural and political dynamics of the race, which, he said, would ultimately play in Mr. Obama’s favor. Mr. Clinton mentioned his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had lost the Democratic primary to Mr. Obama, far more often than he mentioned the party’s standard-bearer. And in predicting victory for Mr. Obama, Mr. Clinton suggested that it would happen because people were hurting economically. He did not say that Mr. Obama’s victory would be because voters especially wanted Mr. Obama to be president."
In his latest National Journal column, Charlie Cook writes that the November outlook for Senate Republicans is looking grim. He says that Republicans are the underdogs in Virginia, New Mexico, and Alaska. Six other Republican seats are now basically toss-ups— those held by Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Gordon Smith of Oregon, John Sununu of New Hampshire, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, plus the seat that Wayne Allard is giving up in Colorado. The GOP’s prospects in Minnesota, Oregon, and North Carolina have dimmed a bit in the past month or two. The GOP candidates are trailing by a little in New Hampshire and Colorado; running about even in Minnesota, Oregon, and North Carolina; and polling a bit ahead in Mississippi.”
“Today, holding its losses down to four seats would be manna from heaven for the GOP. Party leaders would take a five- or six-seat loss in stride, given the circumstances. A seven-seat loss would be bad but not shockingly horrible. Even an eight-seat loss is possible if Democrats draw an inside straight, as they did in 2006… The bottom line is that things have gotten worse for Senate Republicans over the past few weeks, so much worse that a magnitude of losses that seemed impossible just a few months ago now seems entirely possible.”
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Republican Gov. Haley Barbour today called for the debate to go on. The state newspaper was filled with editorials and op-eds urging McCain to show up.
The Republican nominee may have thrown a wrench into the plans, but in the debate hall here, workers are drilling the final screws into the debate set; lights are being checked; podiums are being measured; the last of the set's panels are being put up and wires being weaved. Outside, security checkpoints are in place, network TV camera stands are built and set. (And never mind those hotel reservations and flight plans.)
"The debate will go on," University of Mississippi Vice Chancellor Gloria Kellum told NBC's local affiliate, adding, "We've spent two years working on this."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Jim Popkin Sarah Palin was not amused. Palin, who at the time was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, quickly drafted a terse letter to the editor of a San Francisco newspaper.
“Dear Editor,” Palin wrote in 2002. “San Francisco judges forbidding our Pledge of Allegiance? They will take the phrase ‘under God’ away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words,” Palin wrote.
“God Bless America,” she concluded.
Palin’s letter to the editor is one of hundreds of personal notes and letters written by the former Mayor, and obtained this week to NBC News and others. The documents shed light on the management style-- and personality -- of the small town mayor turned vice presidential candidate.
There are few headline grabbers in the lot. Even Palin’s Pledge-of-Allegiance rant was a commonly held view at the time. (The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the ruling on technical grounds. But not before Palin pushed through a city resolution stating that the Wasilla City Council “shall continue to recite America’s Pledge of Allegiance, in its entirety, including and especially the words, ‘…one nation, under God…”)
Click on to Deep Background for more on this story...
From CNBC's John Harwood and NBC's Alicia Jennings
Sen. Richard Shelby , a vociferous opponent of the bailout legislation, told reporters gathered outside of the White House that negotiators have not yet reached an agreement on the resolution to the financial crisis. “I don't believe we have an agreement,” he insisted of the group meeting inside, which included Bush, McCain, Obama, and bipartisan Congressional leaders. “There's still a lot of different opinions.”
The White House also issued a statement indicating that a deal is still being hammered out, saying via spokesperson Dana Perino that “members of the Administration and the Congressional leaders pledged to continue working together to finalize a bill that will address concerns and solve the problem as soon as possible."
But, CNBC’s John Harwood reports, GOP senators may be ready to sign on to the end product. Tennessee's Lamar Alexander tells Harwood that at least 40 of the 49 Republican senators are prepared to agree to the package.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Bush to discuss a compromise on the bailout package, Biden criticized the principles McCain outlined for such a deal, saying they were more notable for what was left out.
“The silence on issues relating to the middle class is deafening in the package John has put forward,” Biden said at a rally on the banks of the Susquehanna River, pointing to the absence of relief for homeowners facing foreclosure. “If John keeps changing his rhetoric but not changing the worn-out philosophy that got us in this spot … why is John expecting us to believe he will be an agent of change?
On the other hand, he praised Obama for reaching out to McCain yesterday, saying that “unlike all the rest of the people talking,” he showed that he “will be prepared to change the tone of Washington.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we mean by leadership, not posturing,” he said.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Robert Windrem Regarding the recurrent rumor that the Bush administration has ordered a renewed effort to "get bin Laden" before the election, a senior (career, not political) U.S. counter terrorism official says it's not true.
"This idea of a renewed effort assumes there has been a 'lull' in our pursuit of him," said the official. "There has been no 'lull.' We may have used different tactics, and our tactics may have changed, but our pursuit of him has not changed."
Asked if he would agree with a statement that the US still "doesnt have a clue" where bin Laden is located -- as a Western military analyst described the status of the search two months ago -- the official said, "I would agree that assessment."
That, of course, doesnt mean that things won't change tomorrow, but they haven't changed in seven years.
From NBC's Ken Strickland Chris Dodd and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said today their bipartisan meeting this morning produced an "agreement on a set of principles."
Here's what those principles are, according to a source involved in the talks.
(Note: This is NOT "the deal" -- just an agreement on principles between about 10 members on the relevant committees. These provisions must still be presented to the leaderships of the House and Senate, Republican and Democratic members, and the White House.)
MONEY : Under the agreement, Paulson would be allowed to get an overall amount of $700-billion, BUT only $250-billion would be available immediately. Then an additional $100-billion would be given to Paulson upon his certification that he needed it. And the final $350-billion would be subject to a "Congressional joint resolution of disapproval."
The other principles include:
TAXPAYER PROTECTIONS :
OVERSIGHT :
FORECLOSURES :
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger Palin made an unscheduled stop to Ground Zero and the World Trade Center memorials Thursday, and told reporters she agreed with President Bush’s decision to fight terrorism through military action.
“I agree with the Bush Administration that we take the fight to them,” she said outside the firehouse when asked if she would have conducted the war on terrorism differently. “We never again let them come onto our soil and try to destroy not only our democracy, but communities like the community of New York. Never again.”
Palin also was non-committal about whether she would support Republican Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young , who are both seeking re-election amid ethics investigations.
“Ted Stevens trial started a couple days ago,” she said. “We’ll see where that goes.” She later ignored a question on whether she would vote for them.
It was her first press availability with the reporters traveling with her in the four weeks since she was named McCain’s running mate. Palin and the McCain campaign had garnered some bad press in recent days for shielding the vice presidential candidate from the media during her visits with world leaders in New York City.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Joe Biden said this morning that McCain would not inspire the confidence of the nation at a time of economic crisis, at the same time praising Barack Obama for seeking a bipartisan approach to negotiations on a bailout package.
Referring to McCain’s “epiphany” on the Wall Street meltdown last week, when he declared the economy in crisis after calling its fundamentals "sound," Biden said that no one can lead the nation with a tendency to “lurch so rapidly from one fundamental position to another.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t gain the confidence of the nation and you can’t gain the confidence of the world when in fact you are not rooted and know exactly what you think,” he said.
At the Pennsylvania event, Biden lauded the kind of leadership he said Obama showed by reaching out to McCain yesterday.
“In the midst of all this political blather that’s going on, all the negative ads being heaped upon him, what did he do? He reached out,” Biden told a few hundred in a working-class community east of Pittsburgh. “He showed leadership by suggesting that we come together.”
RNC spokesperson Blair Latoff responded that McCain's timeout from the campaign to work on the bailout legislation represents the true leadership being shown between the rival tickets. “In times of crisis, Americans have always been able to bridge our divides and solve our problems but apparently Barack Obama’s running mate sees it as an opportunity for unfiltered partisanship and political opportunism. John McCain suspended his campaign and is working with the nation’s leaders to address this serious economic crisis and believes that it is more important to put his country before his political campaign.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's John Yang McCain says it is.
Perino acknowledged that the idea of the meeting came from McCain in his phone call to President Bush yesterday. "The President took a little time to think about that," Perino said, and staff called Barack Obama's campaign to see if he'd be available to fly to Washington. Told that Obama would be open to an invitation, Mr. Bush called the senator to ask him to the meeting.
The purpose of the meeting, Perino said, is to get everyone in the same room, on the same page and hash out the legislation. Isn't that what they're doing on the Hill? Well, yes, Perino acknowledged, but this will include the President. And what will he bring to the meeting? She couldn't say.
The greatest semantic pretzel was over Perino's statements that "we have a framework that we can try to close on" and that "we are driving to a conclusion" -- versus McCain's contention that the deal is dead. Perino wouldn't back away from her contention that a deal is close (though not imminent) and finally acknowledged that she didn't know where McCain was getting his information.
Is this all politics -- McCain declaring the deal dead so he can emerge from a White House meeting to declare that his insistence that the leaders and nominees gather in the Cabinet Room saved the day?
Perino was shocked -- SHOCKED! -- at the suggestion of politics. "We don't think this is a political event, we're not trying to make this a political event," she said.
All that was missing was the croupier handing Capt. Renault his winnings.
From NBC's Carrie Dann With the latest rash of polling showing Barack Obama winning the favor of voters concerned about the economy, the Illinois senator’s campaign is up today with a 60-second ad that lists the Democratic nominee’s economic goals.
At the start of the ad, Obama also digs into the Bush administration policies that he says encouraged the nation’s current financial distress. “Well, now we know the truth,” he says. “Instead of prosperity trickling down, pain has trickled up.”
The spot is running in “key targeted states."
In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday, respondents gave Obama a 12 point advantage over McCain when asked which candidate they believed would improve the economy.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy NEW YORK -- With mixed signals coming out of Capitol Hill on the progress of negotiations over the bailout legislation, McCain addressed the Clinton Global Initiative this morning and laid out a bipartisan rationale for his return to Washington.
“I cannot carry on a campaign as though this dangerous situation had not occurred, or as though a solution were at hand, which it clearly is not,” McCain said of the progress in Congress. “With so much on the line, for America and the world, the debate that matters most right now is taking place in the United States Capitol -- and I intend to join it. Senator Obama is doing the same. America should be proud of the bipartisanship that we are seeing.”
Some reports indicate that Democrats and Republicans are on the verge of agreement on the legislation, but this morning McCain asserted that "it has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal."
"I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands," he added, "And obviously we are running out of time."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Chuck Todd Sen. Bob Corker (and Banking Committee member) had this to say in a statement responding to Bush's primetime speech last night:
“I would prefer that Congress stay in session to develop a thoughtful and measured response to our fiscal crisis, but we have been watching the credit markets closely, and unfortunately, it appears the markets are responding to an artificial line in the sand drawn by Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke and are anticipating that we do something by this weekend . I believe the best, most prudent course is for Congress, at a minimum, to work through the weekend to get this right and we could still be done before the markets open on Monday.”
So, is this how skeptical Republicans convince themselves to climb aboard the compromise bailout?
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann *** Nine days later : Nine days after the public got a true sense of the urgency of this financial crisis, President Bush finally addressed the American people last night -- thanks mostly to the fact that the public (through Congress) was sending the message to the Administration and Hank Paulson that it didn't like this plan and didn't understand it. Last night's speech was a sobering one. It was the first time ever in Bush's presidency when he delivered bad economic news. It's not in his nature to talk down the economy, which is what made last night's speech so historic (and yet potentially ineffective). Will the public believe Bush's pleas on this? Of course, it's possible the audience for last night's speech wasn't the American people as much as it was the House and Senate Republican caucuses. Bush needed to actively engage his fellow party members in explaining why he -- himself a free marketer -- believes this to be the only answer. The one thing missing last night in his speech: the emphasis to the American people that this was a shared problem and the solution wasn't just money but potentially changing our own lifestyles.
*** McCain’s only choice : As for McCain's campaign suspension and proposal to postpone the debate until this bailout plan is negotiated and passed, he had no choice but to do this. Yes, he's going to get criticized for making what may look like a VERY political decision. Obama partisans are going to mock him for wanting to duck a debate and wanting to stop his falling poll numbers in the face of what's been 10 bad days for his campaign. But McCain is the head of a Republican Party that is already viewed negatively by the American people. What price would McCain pay if members of his own party ended up being responsible for killing this bailout plan? While McCain likes to say he's never been awarded Mr. Congeniality in his dealings on Capitol Hill, there are two Republican caucuses whose future statuses as strong or weak minority parties depend on a strong McCain-Palin showing in November. Could McCain afford carrying the baggage of being the head of the party that 1) was led by Bush and 2) turned its back on a financial bailout plan that if not enacted could do things like bring about a recession even more rapidly?
*** More guerilla warfare : McCain's campaign has been remarkable in its ability to -- in the words of NBCs Tom Brokaw -- engage in guerilla political tactics, which allow him to win political battles that on paper he shouldn't be winning. And this debate gambit is the latest example of this (following his town hall challenge the day after Obama clinched the Dem nomination, and even his pick of Sarah Palin). But while McCain has proven adept at winning these battles, can he ultimately win the war? By the way, look for McCain today to declare victory with the Bush decision to bring together McCain and Obama at the White House and then agree to let the debates go on as planned. This does seem to be a game of political chicken. Obama so far has indicated he's not going to blink. Neither has the Commission. And neither has the University of Mississippi. Will McCain?
*** McCain’s economic and Palin problems : Here’s a political reason why McCain called to postpone the debate and essentially ask for a timeout in the campaign: The latest NBC/WSJ poll -- which has Obama leading overall by just two points, 48%-46% (Obama's up five among very high interest voters) -- shows Obama with a 12-point advantage over McCain in handling the economy. And a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll -- which also has Obama up two among registered voters and four among likelies -- finds Obama with a 14-point edge on the economy. In addition, Palin, who two weeks ago was seen as a shot in the arm for McCain, has now potentially turned into a liability. Per the NBC/WSJ poll, 49% say she’s unqualified to be president if the need arises, versus just 40% who say she’s qualified. (By comparison, 64% say Biden is qualified.) NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) says that when you add that to concerns about McCain’s age (44% say they worry about McCain being able to serve for four years), that becomes a “lethal” problem for the McCain campaign. We've regularly asked a question in our poll about who is the riskier choice for president, Obama or McCain. Not surprisingly Obama has been viewed as the riskier choice by about 10-15 points. Has McCain now inserted his own risk into the campaign when you combine age and Palin's experience? By the way, one in four McCain-Palin voters believe she does not have the experience to be president.
*** Obama’s Indie problem : The NBC/WSJ poll, however, also shows that Obama has an indie problem. McCain leads him here by 14 points, up six from earlier this month. Moreover, Obama has just a 39%-35% fav/unfav among independents, which is down considerably from his 48%-36% overall favorability score. And while voters say they identify with Obama’s values and background by a 50%-44% margin, those numbers are essentially reversed among independents. Hart says that if Obama ends up losing the presidential election, you can attribute it to the indie problem -- particularly the values and background question. Just to let you know that these independents in the poll don’t lean Republican, they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress by 14 points (43%-29%).
*** McCain’s need for speed : McCain was always seen as having a good chance at appealing to indies, and with anger and frustration at the government and other institutions at an all-time high, it's possible McCain's benefiting from his "I'm mad as hell" attitude about government. CW says the more optimistic candidate usually wins election, but with a country tired of hearing all of the optimistic talk they got about the economy from the Bush Administration over the last four years, it may be they are looking for not just a straight-talking candidate, but one who channels their frustration. McCain's best political moments in his career are when he shows indignation. As Peggy Noonan said today on “Morning Joe,” McCain's got two speeds, 0 and 60. And while calm, cool, collected isn't McCain, like a good fighter pilot, McCain has the need for speed and for needing to always be dealing with a crisis. Lucky for him, there appear to be a lot of crises ahead for the next president.
*** Versus Obama’s cool: That said, don't miss yet ANOTHER very important number in the NBC/WSJ poll: A majority of voters agree that Obama could handle a military crisis well as president. Could it be his calm, cool demeanor that's been on display these last 10 days on the economy has helped on the leadership front overall when compared to McCain? Something to watch for in future polls. The New York Times’ Gail Collins put it well this morning: “This election is turning into a Goldilocks story. One candidate’s too hot, and one’s too cool.
*** Tied in Michigan : The latest TODAY Show/NBC/Mason-Dixon poll shows McCain and Obama tied at 46% each in the battleground state of Michigan. Per Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker, McCain is leading in the traditionally GOP regions of Western and Northern Michigan -- but is also holding his own in the Detroit suburbs (Oakland County, Macomb County, and western Wayne County), which is cutting into Obama’s margin in the Detroit Metro region. To win, Obama needs to run up a big margin in the Detroit Metro area, which means performing well in those suburbs. That said, a new CNN/Time poll has Obama up by five in Michigan among registered voters (51%-44%), and a new EPIC/MRA poll has Obama up 10 (48%-38%).
*** On the trail : McCain speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, then travels to Washington to meet with President Bush. Obama remains in Florida for debate prep, but addresses the Clinton Global Initiative via satellite and then heads to DC to meet with Bush and congressional leaders. Palin attends the Clinton Global Initiative. And Biden is in Pennsylvania, stumping in Greensburg and Wilkes-Barre.
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The Washington Post’s Dan Balz says McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign and seek to postpone Friday’s debate “may be among the biggest of his political life. The Republican presidential nominee is hoping that his abrupt decision … will be seen as the kind of country-first, bipartisan leadership he believes Americans want. What he risks, if things don't go as he hopes, is a judgment by voters that his move was a reckless act by an impetuous and struggling politician that hardened partisan lines in Washington at just the wrong moment and complicated efforts to deal with the biggest financial crisis in more than half a century.”
The New York Times writes that McCain’s “decision seeking to postpone the first debate was yet another unpredictable, daring step taken by his campaign over the last month: its selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate shook up the race in late August, and days later the campaign stripped down the first day of the Republican National Convention because of the threat of Hurricane Gustav. In the midst of the confusion, officials with the Commission on Presidential Debates said that they were moving forward with the debate and that talks with the McCain campaign throughout the day had not persuaded them on Mr. McCain’s position. ‘We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled,’ the commission said.”
The Boston Globe calls McCain's move in asking for the debate to be delayed "a high-wire political gambit." "McCain's move was another extraordinary twist in a race full of extraordinary twists. It reflects not only the deep concerns of Republican and Democratic leaders about the grave state of the economy, but also the shifting dynamics in a presidential contest that polls suggest has swung in Obama's favor. Voters' focus on the Wall Street crisis and the economy -- long an advantage for Obama -- has helped give him an edge this week nationally and in key battleground states."
The Los Angeles Times: "McCain's decision to up the ante was an audacious gambit to show leadership in a time of crisis. It drew the same kind of attention McCain received when he picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate and, earlier, when he retooled himself as an ally of oil drilling as gas prices soared."
CONTINUED >>
The Boston Globe: "While Bush's remarks were addressed to the American people, his immediate target was 435 US representatives and 100 senators, including many members of his own party who have responded with skepticism or outright anger to his call for what many have called a massive bailout of Wall Street.” More: “A vote could come within days. Bush, a staunch believer in free markets, acknowledged that he was going against his own philosophy in urging a massive government intervention in the financial industry. But he said the situation had grown so dire, and the banking regulations so outdated, that he had no choice."
The New York Times: “Mr. Bush’s televised address, and his extraordinary offer to bring together Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, and Senator John McCain, the Republican, just weeks before the election underscored a growing sense of urgency on the part of the administration that Congress must act to avert an economic collapse. It was the first time in Mr. Bush’s presidency that he delivered a prime-time speech devoted exclusively to the economy. It came at a time when deep public unease about shaky financial markets and the demise of Wall Street icons such as Lehman Brothers has been coupled with skepticism and anger directed at a government bailout that could become the most expensive in American history.”
More: “Mr. Bush used his speech to signal that he was willing to address lawmakers’ concerns, including fears that tax dollars will be used to pay Wall Street executives and that the plan would put too much authority in the hands of the Treasury secretary without sufficient oversight. ‘Any rescue plan should also be designed to ensure that taxpayers are protected,’ Mr. Bush said. ‘It should welcome the participation of financial institutions, large and small. It should make certain that failed executives do not receive a windfall from your tax dollars. It should establish a bipartisan board to oversee the plan’s implementation. And it should be enacted as soon as possible.’”
Obama spokesman Bill Burton issued this statement. “While Sen. Obama believed that the Administration’s initial proposal was flawed and unacceptable to the American taxpayer, he was heartened tonight that the President seemed to be moving in the direction of the principles that Sen. Obama outlined over the last week, including limits on CEO pay, independent oversight, and taxpayer protection. He was also encouraged that the President suggested strengthening an outdated regulatory structure that led to this crisis, something that Senator Obama specifically proposed last March.”
Unless we missed it, we didn’t see a statement from McCain or his campaign regarding Bush’s speech.
Per the Los Angeles Times , "Democrats had been waiting for Bush to speak out more prominently for the bailout plan and to demand that GOP lawmakers support it. They have argued that they should not have to take the political risk of passing the wildly unpopular measure without Republicans joining in, especially since they blame lax oversight by the administration and GOP advocacy of deregulation for causing the crisis."
New numbers from CNN/Time/Opinion Research show Obama up 51% to 45% among registered voters in Colorado, up from a 5-point deficit for the Illinois senator last month. The Democratic nominee bests McCain in Michigan by 51% to 44% percent among registered voters. And in Pennsylvania, he jumped to a nine point lead, 52% to McCain's 43%.
With Obama posting widened leads in notable battleground states, Politico's Mike Allen writes that "State by state, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill). is showing signs of breaking open a presidential race that looked deadlocked through much of September… This is the first time that one of the candidates has dominated state polls in the most closely contested battlegrounds."
COLORADO: Independent groups are shoveling money into Colorado's contested Senate race at an unprecedented rate. "Leave out the party committee spending, and independent groups allied to the GOP have spent $10.4 million in Colorado, while just $2.6 million in New Hampshire and $2.4 million in Minnesota, the two runners-up, data provided by Democratic media buyers show. (Attack groups supporting Democrats, by comparison, have spent $3.4 million in Colorado, $1.6 million in Minnesota, and $1.2 million in New Hampshire.)"
CONTINUED >>
"One former Fannie Mae executive downplayed the McCain connection in the decision to retain Davis' firm. 'Rick's broader experience as a GOP operative is what drew people to hire him,' said William R. Maloni, Fannie Mae's former chief lobbyist and a Democrat. McCain wasn't on the banking committee and wasn't particularly influential on such issues, he noted. 'The McCain relationship was icing on the cake.'"
The AP’s headline: "Who's running Alaska with Palin on stump?" Apparently, the McCain campaign. "The McCain campaign is speaking for the Alaska state government these days, especially when it wants to ensure that nothing embarrassing about Gov. Sarah Palin emerges before Election Day… Even Palin's lieutenant governor, Sean Parnell, said keeping in touch has been difficult. And since hackers broke into Palin's Yahoo e-mail account last week, he said, it has dropped off entirely… In Palin's absence, messages left with the governor's office are usually returned by the McCain campaign. A recent request for information was answered by a governor's spokesman with a sad smile and a shake of the head. Even a message left on the cell phone of a hometown friend of Palin was returned by a McCain campaign staffer."
"A grainy YouTube video surfaced Wednesday showing Sarah Palin being blessed in her hometown church three years ago by a Kenyan pastor who prayed for her protection from 'witchcraft' as she prepared to seek higher office. The video shows Palin standing before Bishop Thomas Muthee in the pulpit of the Wasilla Assembly of God church, holding her hands open as he asked Jesus Christ to keep her safe from 'every form of witchcraft.' 'Come on, talk to God about this woman. We declare, save her from Satan,' Muthee said as two attendants placed their hands on Palin's shoulders. 'Make her way my God. Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus. ... Use her to turn this nation the other way around.'"
"Palin said Wednesday that the United States could be headed for another Great Depression if Congress doesn't act on the financial crisis. Palin made the comment in an interview with 'CBS Evening News' anchor Katie Couric while visiting New York to meet foreign leaders for the first time in her political career. As Palin sought to establish her credentials in world affairs, first lady Laura Bush said Palin lacked sufficient foreign policy experience but was 'a quick study.' Recent surveys have shown that Palin's popularity, while still strong, has begun to fade."
Don’t miss this exchange between Couric and Palin…
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Chuck Todd
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama has just a two-point lead in the new NBC/WSJ poll, Democrats have a 13-point edge on the generic congressional ballot.
Fifty percent of registered voters prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, versus 37 percent who want a GOP-controlled one. In August, Democrats held an 11-point advantage on this question.
From NBC's Carrie Dann Virginia-based firm Smart Media, which conducts media buying around the country for the McCain campaign, sent out this urgent memo this afternoon addressed to "All National Managers."
The ad buyer adds that stations will likely have problems trying to stop ads from running tonight, and some may not be able to get off the air by tomorrow.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain campaign put out a statement saying, in part, "Senator Obama phoned Senator McCain at 8:30 am this morning but did not reach him. The topic of Senator Obama’s call to Senator McCain was never discussed. Senator McCain was meeting with economic advisers and talking to leaders in Congress throughout the day prior to calling Senator Obama. "
Yet, McCain wasn't all "meeting with economic advisers and talking to leaders in Congress throughout the day prior to calling Senator Obama."
McCain also met with the moneyed former Clinton fundraiser Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild , who recently threw her support to McCain.
From NBC's John Talty Some new battleground polls from CNN/Time . Obama leads in Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania and, according to this poll, is actually close in West Virginia.Colorado : Obama 51, McCain 47Michigan : Obama 51, McCain 46Montana : McCain 54, Obama 43Pennsylvania : Obama 53, McCain 44West Virginia : McCain 50, Obama 46
From NBC's Mark Murray According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll , Obama leads McCain , 48-46 percent, which is virtually unchanged from our poll released after the political conventions, when Obama was ahead by one point, 47-46 percent.
This two-point Obama lead is a much different result than what we saw in another recent poll, which had the Illinois Democrat up by a larger margin. The McCain campaign argued today that Democratic respondents outweighed Republican ones by 16 points in that poll’s sample. By comparison, the NBC/Journal poll has Democrats leading in party identification by just seven points.
Note *** UPDATE *** Cillizza , the Washington Post's polling director responds "that the actual party ID numbers among likely voters had Democrats plus six points. It was only when people who offer no original party ID were asked whether they leaned one direction or the other that the number jumped to Democrats +16."
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
McCain's call for a delay of the debate until a deal on the bailout was done, Obama said he thought the debate should go on and that it was more important than ever for the candidates to present themselves to the American people and talk about where they want to take the country.
Video: Sen. Barack Obama agreed with John McCain on the need to work together to rescue the finance industry, but says he's not halting his campaign, and would like to go ahead with the presidential debate. Henry Paulson and was available to go anywhere he could be helpful. He also said his sense was that it would be important for both he and McCain to be present to vote on the bill.
Obama added that a president is expected do be able to "multi task" -- that a president is going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time and can't do only one thing and suspend everything else.
He said his staff and McCain's were still discussing a joint statement saying there should be a bipartisan solution to bailout. And he said the economic stimulus and changes to bankruptcy laws should not be stuffed into the bailout legislation.
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Charlie Rangel (D-NY).
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
McCain's announcement.Barney Frank told a group of reporters outside the House chamber:
"It's the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys."
From NBC's David Gregory
Obama source -- He will appear soon to say debate should go on .. perhaps the subject matter can be augmented to include discussion of the economy, but a president should be able to multi-task. McCain's standing in the polls.
It's clear from speaking to Obama advisers they consider this a ploy by McCain to try to assert that he's putting country first. One adviser said, the time to do that was long before a few days before a debate.
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
From the Chancellor's Office, University of Mississippi :"At present, the University has received no notification of any change in the timing or venue of the debate.
"We have been notified by the Commission on Presidential Debates that we are proceeding as scheduled.
"We will keep you posted as information becomes available."
And the debates commission said the debate would go on: "The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS this Friday, September 26. The plans for this forum have been underway for more than a year and a half. The CPD's mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation. We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled."
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Hours before his rival's call to postpone Friday's presidential debate in light of bailout rancor on Capitol Hill, Obama called McCain' s populist bona fides into question at a rally in the Tampa Bay, FL area.
John McCain decided in the last few days to begin talking tough on CEO pay, Obama told a crowd of about 11,000 people filling a baseball stadium, going on to challenge the Arizona Republican's stance on tax cuts and so-called "golden parachutes" for corporate executives.
"He [McCain] is suddenly a hard-charging populist," Obama said. "That's all well and good, but I sure wish he was talking the same way over a year ago, when I introduced a bill that would've helped stop some of the multi-million-dollar bonus packages that CEOs grab on their way out the door, because he opposed that idea."
The senator said McCain had not joined him when he "blew the whistle" on the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who tried to walk away with "golden parachutes" when they were fired.
"I sure wish he felt the same outrage about CEO pay when his top economic advisor – who he calls a 'role model' – walked away with a $42 million paypackage after being fired from Hewlett Packard," Obama went on, repeating a new line of attack he's begun to use in recent days. "I sure wish he would change his current plan to give the average Fortune 500 CEO a $700- a $700,000 tax cut at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills."
Obama's campaign has increasingly tried to cast him as a man of the people who will be a champion for the middle class class and McCain as a man who is out of touch and beholden to lobbyists, corporate interests and the wealthy.
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro McCain called for Friday's first presidential debate to be postponed, according to prepared remarks released by the campaign. The dates for the debates were set more than 10 months ago by the Commission on Presidential Debates, on Nov. 19, 2007.
From a Senior McCain source:Obama before he made the statement and told him he was going to suspend his campaign and move back to DC until the economic crisis has been figured out.
Video: Sen. John McCain announces he is suspending his presidential campaign and returning to Washington D.C. to work on finance reform, and asks Barack Obama to reschedule their first presidential debate. *** UPDATE 2 ***
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
McCain’s judgment to be Commander-in-Chief and demonstrate his own expertise on foreign affairs, Biden said the Arizona senator has been “dangerously wrong” on many of the critical issues facing America in the world today.
Biden also stated emphatically that the man at the top of the Democratic ticket, Obama , “is ready to be Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is absolutely clear, it is absolutely clear to me that we need a candidate that has the judgment and the vision to renew the promise of America not only here at home but around the world,” he said. “I know. I don't guess. I know who that candidate is. That candidate is Barack Obama.”
Today’s event was meant to be the second of two “framing” speeches by the vice-presidential nominee making a clearer contrast between Obama and McCain on domestic and international policy. And to make the case on the latter, Biden spoke for 40 minutes on a range of challenges abroad, from the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism, to the threat posed by Iran and a “resurgent Russia.”
*** UPDATE ***
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion plan to bail out troubled financial firms, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the rest of which comes out at 6:30 pm ET.
Thirty-three percent disapprove of the plan. By comparison, 31 percent approve of it; 28 percent have no opinion.
This is the context for President Bush's speech tonight on the economy at 9:00 pm ET.
From NBC's Mark Murray
Forty-nine percent say that Palin is unqualified to be president if the need arises, compared with 40 percent who say she's qualified.
By contrast, 64 percent believe Biden is qualified to be president, versus just 21 percent who disagree.
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro McCain campaign took issue with the ABC/Washington Post poll which shows Obama up by 9. The reasoning, delivered by McCain pollster Bill McInturff (formerly the Republican half of the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll), was one of Party ID.
Those identifying as Democrats in the ABC/Washington Post poll outweighed Republican by 16 points, a wider-than-usual number, McInturff said.
“It’s way different than what other pollsters are showing,” McInturff said, citing many polls showing about a four-to-nine point Democratic Party ID advantage.
In the last NBC/WSJ survey (Sept. 6-8), there was an eight-point spread, 44% Democratic, 36% Republican. In August, the difference was nine points, 43% Dem, 34% Republican.
“I don’t think these results are indicative of what’s happening in the campaign,” McInturff said, calling the ABC/Washington Post poll an “outlier” and “unusual.”
*** UPDATE *** ABC Polling Director Gary Langer offers his explanation : "The reality is that partisan affiliation in our poll is just about where it’s been all year -- and just about where McInturff himself said it might end up on Election Day. What matters is whether you’re looking at 'unleaned' or 'leaned' party identification, and whether that’s among registered or likely voters. The most relevant number for this discussion is unleaned party ID among likely voters -- 37-30 percent Democratic to Republican in our poll. As it happens that’s precisely where McInturff said the election could turn out: the Republicans, he said, 'could be down 6 to 8.'
"McInturff’s focus was on a different number -- leaned party ID, not unleaned, and among registered voters, not likely voters. We have a 16-point, 54-38 percent Democratic advantage there, which he said was “an unusual outlier.” In fact, rather than an outlier, that almost exactly matches our average for this number all year, 52-38 percent."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Luke Russert Obama.
Video: NBC’s Luke Russert goes to the University of Virginia to find out how the students there plan on voting this election. John McCain from UVA, and plenty of smart kids go to Virginia Tech or George Mason and they, too, could end up being big Obama voters.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann All eyes on Congress : Who knew that in the week preceding the first presidential debate -- on the subject of foreign policy! -- that Congress would be dominating and driving the political debate. Obviously, the bailout politics are tricky. The leadership of both parties in Congress seems ready to sign off on the Paulson/Bernanke bailout plan, but the rank-and-file want to extract something from the Administration and Wall Street. Moreover, congressional Democrats fear being the party of the bailout. (If 100-plus House Republicans come out against the bailout, does that make it harder for the Dem leadership to keep their troops in line?) Is there going to be a magic number Nancy Pelosi tells John Boehner and the White House that the GOP needs to get this done by the weekend? And what about the presidential candidates? How much power does McCain have in this? If he comes out against the bailout, he probably can kill it or radically alter it. But then the Republicans own the alternative, right? What a mess. Meanwhile, without fanfare, congressional Dems are allowing the oil-drilling moratorium to expire. Cave, baby, cave. Rural Democrats in tough House races are breathing a sigh of relief this morning.
Video: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd gives his first read on McCain campaign manager Rick Davis' connection to Freddie Mac and looks at a new NBC poll in Virginia. Here’s your Obama bounce, part II? The latest Washington Post/ABC poll has Obama with a clear nine-point lead nationally over McCain, 52%-43% -- fueled by the current concerns about the economy. “More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support.” In addition, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey has Obama leading McCain 47%-35% among registered voters on the question of who would do a better job handling the economic troubles. Heads up: The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal comes out tonight at 6:30 pm ET. Will it match these numbers or show something else? By the way, what moves numbers more in the polls -- voters changing their minds or the number of Democrats vs. Republicans that are included in the sample? You know the answer.
*** Don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house : Are the McCain folks now re-thinking their hit last week tying Fannie Mae’s Frank Raines and Jim Johnson to Obama? The New York Times reports that Freddie Mac paid the firm that carries the name of McCain campaign manager Rick Davis $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month. The McCain camp tells First Read that Davis left his firm and stopped taking salary from it in 2006, and that Davis was never a lobbyist for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. But here are the facts: Davis’ name remains attached to the firm; he continues to have an equity stake in it (though equity stakes on consulting firms are sometimes worthless; then again, the firm could market Rick's name); and it now appears that McCain misspoke when he told John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times that Davis had no involvement with either Fannie or Freddie in the past several years. The good news for the McCain campaign is that Davis didn’t seem to influence McCain, given that the Arizona senator co-sponsored legislation to regulate Fannie and Freddie. The bad news: They no longer can legitimately tie those institutions to Obama without being called out for hypocrisy. This has always been the risk for McCain when he chose to have two of Washington's more well-known power players -- Davis and Charlie Black -- at the top of his campaign pyramid. Their status in DC can undermine McCain's anti-Washington message, on which he’s now betting the house. Lucky for the campaign, McCain's brand is better established than Davis or Black. And neither campaign is clean on the Washington insider stuff.
*** Virginia is for lovers of a close race : The latest TODAY Show/NBC/Mason-Dixon poll has McCain ahead by three points in Virginia, 47%-44%. To see the difference between winning and losing in the Old Dominion, check out these numbers in the poll: Obama wins Northern Virginia by a 55%-37% margin, while McCain wins the crucial Hampton Roads area by 48%-44%. But in the recent Washington Post/ABC survey, which had Obama leading in Virginia by three points among likely voters, Obama was at 59% in Northern Virginia and was up 50%-45% in Hampton Roads. This tells you that if Obama does get to 60% in NoVa, he just might win the state even if he loses every other region. But Hampton Roads may very well be the ballgame in the state. By the way, it’s worth noting in the TODAY/NBC/Mason-Dixon poll that 58% of undecided voters in the presidential contest are backing Democratic Senate candidate Mark Warner, who leads Republican Jim Gilmore 61%-28% in the poll. Can Obama reel in more of those Warner voters? Will Warner risk alienating any of those wavering presidential Democrats by using his political capital to campaign heavily for Obama in places where Obama isn't doing well by Warner is?
*** Below the radar : While Wall Street’s troubles and the debate over the size and scope of a bailout are dominating the national headlines and cable TV, the campaigns are still doing plenty state-by-state basis that’s below the radar. For instance, the Obama camp went up with a TV ad in Michigan hitting McCain on his family’s 13 cars (three of which are foreign owned), and it also is airing a Social Security attack on McCain in West Palm Beach, FL. Meanwhile, the McCain campaign is making political hay out of Biden’s gaffe on clean coal in coal-producing battlegrounds like Virginia. And sticking with the “under-the-radar" theme, the New York Times sent a reporter to Michigan and he noticed a lot of suburban cable attack ads that even use Rev. Wright against Obama.
*** A tale of two VPs : Speaking of that Biden gaffe on clean coal -- saying that the Obama-Biden ticket opposes it when Obama has a clear record supporting it -- the last 48 hours haven’t been kind to the Delaware Democrat. We found out that he criticized an Obama campaign ad; he said that people watched FDR on TV during the Great Depression (when the television hadn’t even been invented yet); and Obama even seemed to rebuke his running mate for initially opposing the AIG bailout. Meanwhile, Palin is getting plenty of negative attention for restricting media access to an innocent camera spray of her meeting yesterday with Karzai of Afghanistan. In way, Biden and Palin represent two extremes: One gives way too much access and commits gaffes in the process, while the other gives almost no access at all, which opens her up to suggestions that she might not be ready for prime time. While it appears the Obama campaign is attempting to restrict some access to Biden, there's no evidence the McCain campaign wants to open up things at all with Palin.
*** Obama ramping up his ad spending : Here’s one other thing worth pointing out today: Liberal-leaning Talking Points Memo reports that Obama’s overall ad spending has increased 50% in the past two weeks, while McCain’s has remained steady. “In the week ending Sept. 21, Obama spent $9.4 million on TV ads in roughly 15 states, up from $6.5 million in the week that ended two weeks ago, Evan Tracey, who tracks national ad buys for the Campaign Media Analysis Group, tells me. Tracey's analysis is based on fresh data he obtained [yesterday] afternoon. Obama's increased spending -- which has gone up at the rate of over 20% per week over the past three weeks -- is largely fueled by boosts in spending in Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, according to Tracey.” More: “In contrast to Obama's ratcheted up spending, his data shows, McCain's outlay has held steady at around $7.5 million in roughly a dozen states -- a number that Obama's expenditures have now surpassed.” And something's up in Indiana -- lots of evidence that a Republican ad buy in the Hoosier state is coming, either from the McCain campaign, the RNC independent expenditure, or the RNC-McCain joint committee.On the trail : In New York, McCain meets with the leaders of Georgia and Ukraine, chats with Bono, tapes an interview with Letterman, and then visits with India’s prime minister. Obama, in between debate preparation, holds a rally in Dunedin, FL. Palin joins McCain to meet with the leaders of Georgia and Ukraine, Bono and India’s prime minister, and she also visits separately with Iraqi President Talabani and Pakistan President Zardari. Biden stumps in Cincinnati, OH and Jeffersonville, IN. And Michelle Obama is in Pennsylvania, stopping in Allentown and Philadelphia.
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The new Washington Post/ABC poll : “Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain… More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support.”
“The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.”
The Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll : “Asked which candidate could do a better job of handling the financial crisis as president next year, 48% of registered voters named Obama and 35% named McCain.”
More: “Most Americans don't believe the government has responsibility for bailing out financial firms with taxpayer money, a core part of the rescue plan Congress is considering to halt the near-meltdown of the nation's financial markets.”
CONTINUED >>
Al Sharpton is hitting the road on a bus tour for voter registration. His goal -- to register an “estimated 9.5 million unregistered blacks nationally. The campaign is targeting Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan, possibly pivotal states in the contest between Obama, a Democrat who would be the first black U.S. president, and Republican John McCain."Sun-Times' Sweet looks at the big money that Team Obama sent to battleground states last month. pouring into Planned Parenthood from donors galvanized against Sarah Palin. "A three-week-old Internet campaign is asking abortion-rights activists to send donations to Planned Parenthood in honor of the Alaska governor. The origin of the campaign is unknown and Planned Parenthood officials insist it is not their doing." More: "Katie Groke Ellis, field manager for the Planned Parenthood of the Rockies Action Fund, predicts that the five-state chapter of the group alone could draw $100,000 in donations."
COLORADO : Per the Denver Post : "Colorado Republicans have nearly a 30,000-voter edge in requests for mail-in ballots, but strategists on both sides of the aisle say that may not be enough to overcome the Democrats' historically strong get-out-the-vote efforts on Election Day. The GOP, whose overall voter-registration advantage over Democrats has plummeted 60 percent since the last presidential election, usually excels at racking up early votes. That effort counterbalances the Democrats' Election Day mobilization and the unpredictability of those registered as unaffiliated -- a third of the electorate."
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times front-page article on Rick Davis: “One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. The disclosure undercuts a remark by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years.”
“Mr. Davis’s firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the two people said.”
After tire gauges and styrofoam oil barrels, here’s the latest... Democrats pile on McCain and Bermuda offering traveling press a "John McCain Bermuda Survival Kit: A Care Package From His Favorite Tax Haven," with a "A John McCain-Greetings from Bermuda Postcard," a John McCain-Greetings from Bermuda snow globe," a McRum cake, and a flash drive with a copy of the campaign ad hitting McCain on the subject.
"Some residents of a northwestern New Jersey town received fliers last weekend that criticized the prospect of Democrat Barack Obama becoming the first black president. One national watchdog group said it may be the first distribution of racist fliers during the campaign… They are signed by the League of American Patriots, a white supremacist group with an address in Butler, N.J., about 45 minutes from Roxbury.
The Boston Globe called Palin's appearance at the U.N. "a crash course in diplomacy." And it highlights: "[T]he carefully orchestrated visits also highlighted the degree to which John McCain's presidential campaign will go to shield the first-term Alaska governor from the press."Maureen Dowd lampoons Palin meeting yesterday with Henry Kissinger. “How the mighty 85-year-old Henry the K has fallen from his days chasing Jill St. John and running the world to his hour briefing of a 44-year-old Wasilla hockey mom who may end up running the world.”AP : "Palin meets her first world leaders in New York." New York Post does what it does best... it has photos of Todd Palin in Central Park with the kids and puts it on the cover: "Daddy day care."
How bad is the GOP brand in Washington State?A candidate won't even list himself as Republican on the ballot ... "Washington state Democrats sued a state official Tuesday to get a Republican listed on the ballot, arguing a candidate is obscuring his party identity by ballot language that says he 'prefers GOP party.' The candidate, Dino Rossi, is facing a rematch this November with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, who beat him by 133 votes four years ago after three counts and a court challenge."
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In his strongest language to date regarding the hotly-debated plan to rescue America's financial system, Obama called on President Bush to be more flexible about changes to the proposal and warned Wall Street CEOs against being selfish about the terms of the bailout.
“Yesterday, the President said that Congress should pass this proposal to ease the crisis on Wall Street without significant changes or improvements,” the Illinois senator told reporters, arguing that everyone has a stake in solving the crisis to protect the jobs and the life savings of millions. “Given that fact, the President’s stubborn inflexibility is both unacceptable and disturbingly familiar. This is not the time for my-way-or-the-highway intransigence from anybody involved.”
In a roughly 20-minute press conference here Tuesday at the hotel where he is set to spend the rest of the week preparing for Friday’s debate, the Democratic nominee said power over $700 billion in taxpayer money should not be placed in the hands of one person without adequate oversight. Obama suggested an independent, bipartisan board be set up to “provide oversight and accountability at every step of the way”. And he noted he was pleased that in testimony on Capitol Hill this morning Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson appeared to be softening his position on the oversight matter.
Obama said the country was being “tested by a very serious crisis” and he committed to returning to the Senate to vote on the bill if it appears that the vote will be close. He repeated and expanded on some of the other principles he has said must be part of the legislation, including providing a mechanism for taxpayers to benefit from any future profits as Wall Street recovers - -for instance through a Financial Stability Fee on the entire financial services industry that would repay any losses to the American people; help for families that are struggling to stay in their homes and protections against rewarding the “bad behavior” of Wall Street CEOs.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Just how big is the proposed Wall Street bailout? Let's look at how it compares to some other numbers...$700 billion: proposed Wall St. bailout$695.4 billion: GDP of Taiwan. If the bailout were a country it would be the 21st largest GDP, larger than most nations.$653 billion: cost of Iraq war (so far)$515.4 billion: proposed 2009 Pentagon budget $315 billion: McCain's nuclear energy plan $295 billion: amount Pentagon overspent original budgets by. $150 billion: Obama's energy plan $50-$65 billion: Obama's health care plan, per year $59.2 billion: proposed 2009 U.S. education budget $10 billion: McCain health care proposals, per year $38 million: Hank Paulson's post-2004 salary as Chairman, CEO of Goldman Sachs 16.1 million: number of median Ohio household incomes ($43,371 as of 2004) that would add up to the bailout -- or about THREE Ohios.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly listed where on the GDP list the bailout would be. It's actually higher.]
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy and Mike Memoli McCain’s first press conference today since August 13, his campaign is pushing a very different talking point -- the Obama -Biden campaign’s alleged opposition to clean coal.
After receiving the endorsement of the International Union of Operating Engineers’ Local 18 in Strongsville this morning, McCain gave a brief statement to the media, saying that clean coal would be a large part of his job-creation agenda. He then pointed to an exchange that Biden had with a questioner last week in Ohio, which is now making the rounds in the form of a YouTube video . When asked why he is supporting clean coal when “wind and solar are flourishing” in Ohio, Biden said that his ticket wasn’t supporting increased use of coal.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
NEW YORK – The McCain -Palin campaign tried to prevent reporters and television producers from viewing the vice presidential nominee's meetings with world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday.The five television networks protested, threatening not to shoot video of the meeting at all unless an editorial presence was allowed into the meeting.
The campaign relented, and a CNN pool producer was permitted to view the beginning of Palin's meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the first of the day. CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Carrie Dann
A new Obama ad up in Michigan today hits McCain not just on the number of cars he and his wife own, but the three foreign autos in their fleet. The spot pits that fact, first reported this weekend by NEWSWEEK , against a September 8th clip in which the GOP nominee tells a Denver television station that he’s “bought American literally all of my life.”
NEWSWEEK reported Saturday that the McCains have 13 cars on the books, including a 2005 Volkswagen convertible, a 2001 Honda, and a Lexus driven by wife Cindy. None of the three foreign cars are registered to the Arizona senator (Two are in his wife’s name and one – the Lexus – is registered to her family’s business. Only one of the thirteen cars – a Cadillac CTS from 2004 – is under McCain’s name.)
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Obama has his own complications in battleground states, but is this McCain's toughest hurdle the more voters associate him with Bush ?
Video: NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd explains how recent economic events factor into changes in recent polling and campaign strategy in Florida. Bush Battleground Approval -- Quinnipiac/WashingtonPost.com
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann Sunshine on Obama’s shoulders : If you want to know why Obama is doing his debate prep today in -- of all places -- Tampa, FL, look no further than the latest TODAY Show/NBC/Mason-Dixon poll, which has Obama up in the Sunshine State by two points, 47%-45%. Yet inside those numbers, Obama leads McCain in the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Polk counties) by a 49%-43% margin. Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker says the key to winning Florida statewide is usually through Tampa Bay, and Obama’s six-point lead in the area explains why he’s ahead in this poll. Moreover, outside of Nevada, there is probably not another state that has been hurt more by the housing and credit crunch, and that may be benefiting Obama right now. Also potentially troublesome for McCain in this must-win GOP state, he leads by just six among Hispanics (49%-43%), which in Florida is made up of a majority of Cubans. (If Obama does pick off younger Cubans, he may close the overall gap thanks to his large lead among non-Cuban Hispanics in the I-4 corridor.) Also, McCain's four-point lead among seniors (48%-44%) is not as big as he needs it to be to offset the electorate-changing demographics among blacks and young voters. So Obama's decision to prep for Friday's debate in Florida is turning into a smart play, huh? Any extra day in Florida might pay off…
Video: NBC political director Chuck Todd breaks down the latest poll numbers from the battleground state of Florida, which is attracting particular attention from the presidential candidates Here’s your Obama bounce : Florida isn’t the only state looking good for Obama after the political winds shifted last week. In Virginia, he’s up by three points among likely voters (49%-46%) and six points among registered ones (50%-44%), according to a new Washington Post/ABC survey . Also, a new round of Wall Street Journal/WashingtonPost.com/Quinnipiac polling shows Obama leading among likelies in Colorado (49%-45%), Michigan (48%-44%), Minnesota (47%-45%), and Wisconsin (49%-42%). The lone piece of good battleground news for McCain comes from New Hampshire, where the latest University of New Hampshire poll has the Arizona senator up by two points (47%-45%).
*** The growing South vs. the shrinking North : What's going on here? Why is Obama seeming to make gains in some of the big growth states (see FL, NC, and VA), but McCain is making progress -- or at least keeping it close -- in the shrinking population states (NH, WI, PA, and MI)? The growing states have electorates that tune in later and the swing voters in those states may also be more sensitive to the current economy issue. Take Florida, for instance: The state's economy was built not just on tourism but homebuilding. As for McCain's improvement in the North and Industrial Midwest? The Republican base was really underperforming in many of those shrinking population states. Also, Obama's ability to change the electorates in those states is much more limited than in places like Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida.
*** I’m Joe Biden, and I don’t approve that message : You knew this was coming, right? Biden told CBS that he didn’t approve of the Obama ad that questioned McCain’s computer literacy. "I thought that was terrible by the way… If I had anything to do with it, we would have never done it," he said. Republicans made quick political hay of Biden’s remark -- one emailing First Read, “For the rest of the election, Republicans can say ‘Even Joe Biden thinks Obama’s attacks are “terrible” and embarrassing.” Biden released a statement last night to clarify things. “I was asked about an ad I’d never seen, reacting merely to press reports… Having now reviewed the ad, it is even more clear to me that given the disgraceful tenor of Sen. McCain’s ads and their persistent falsehoods, his campaign is in no position to criticize, especially when they continue to distort Barack’s votes on an issue as personal as keeping kids safe from sexual predators.” Biden’s not being his best Biden.
*** Palin at the UN : Today and tomorrow at the United Nations, Palin gets her first true opportunity to bolster her foreign policy credentials when she meets with various world leaders, many of whom have ties to McCain or his campaign. Today, she meets with Afghanistan President Karzai, Colombia President Uribe, and Henry Kissinger. And tomorrow, McCain joins her in meetings with Georgia’s Saakashvili and Ukraine’s Yushchenko. In one way, Palin’s two days of pressing the flesh with world leaders is analogous to Obama’s trip to the Middle East and Europe. Then again, Obama -- by holding a press conference in Jordan and a bilateral newser with Sarkozy -- performed at a higher degree of difficulty than Palin, who won’t be talking to the press. By the way, as NBC’s John Yang reminds us, Palin won’t be the only elected US executive sitting down with world leaders today. President Bush meets with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and later delivers his final address to the United Nations General Assembly. The speech, which times out at about 30 minutes, will include language about the global impact of his administration's actions to stabilize the US financial system. But the bulk of it will be a discussion of what the UN can do to better combat terrorism and spread freedom.
*** A pivotal day : Today may be a pivotal day for Hank Paulson's bailout plan as he testifies in front of the Senate Banking Committee. Quite a few lawmakers -- from the left and right -- are questioning the size and scope of the bailout and the transfer of financial power to one person. We were surprised by the type of lawmakers who we saw releases from yesterday questioning the bailout. They weren't from wingers on either side. This is such a tricky game for both parties on the Hill. Neither side wants to be seen as handing over a blank check to Wall Street, and neither wants to be seen as the party who hurt the financial markets longer than necessary.
*** Those pigs didn’t oink : Notice how the McCain campaign tried to change the subject yesterday? It cut its first Tony Rezko ad, which tied Obama to the “corrupt Chicago machine”; it angrily denounced the New York Times on a conference call with reporters; and it brought up Obama’s tenuous ties to ‘60s radical William Ayers on that same conference call. But unlike two weeks ago, when the McCain camp’s “lipstick on a pig” and “sex-ed for kindergartners” TV ad dominated the political discussion, those weapons of mass distraction got very little attention yesterday. The economy and the current Wall Street crisis have become THE story, and nothing right now is going to stop that. All the cable outlets will be covering the Paulson/Bernanke hearings as big news today -- making subject-changing efforts much more difficult.
*** Voting is underway : For most, Election Day is November 4, but voting is already underway in 11 states. Voters in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Georgia, Missouri, and South Dakota already have the chance to cast ballots. In fact, in Kentucky -- which started voting on Thursday -- the first ballot in the state was cast for McCain (and the second went for Obama). The first absentee ballots went out Aug. 26th, more than two months before Election Day. By the end of this week, voters in 15 states will have the opportunity to cast their ballots. And by October 5, a month before Election Day, some form of early voting will happen in 23 states.
*** On the trail : McCain, in Ohio, makes a statement in Strongsville and tours a factory in Middleburg before heading to Freeland, MI for yet another factory tour. Obama will be doing debate prep in Tampa, FL. Biden, in DC, addresses the National Jewish Democratic Council. And Palin is at the United Nations, meeting with Afghanistan President Karzai, Colombia President Uribe, and Henry Kissinger.
Countdown to the first presidential debate: 3 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails .
The New York Times : "As heated debate began on Capitol Hill, Congress and the administration remained at odds over the demands of some lawmakers, including limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help, and new authority to allow bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage payments for borrowers facing foreclosure. Congressional leaders and Treasury officials also said they were close to an agreement over a proposal by some Democrats in which taxpayers could receive an ownership stake, in the form of warrants to buy stock, from firms seeking to sell distressed debt."
Video: Fearing he wouldn't have much influence, Henry Paulson had to be talked into becoming Treasury Secretary two years ago; now he's putting his stamp on the entire global economy. NBC's Pete Williams reports. Washington Post : "Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain indicated they will not stand in the way of the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue of U.S. financial markets, and each offered his own proposals for making it more palatable to voters: Obama laid out a plan to overhaul federal contracting and save an estimated $40 billion a year, while McCain proposed an oversight board to monitor the bailout.” CONTINUED >>
The New York Times does its expectations-setting story for the debates, and it lowers the bar a bit for Obama. "Some of his chief strengths — his facility with words, his wry detachment, his reasoning skills, his youthful cool — have not always served him well and may pose significant vulnerabilities in the series of presidential debates that begins Friday, according to political analysts and a review of his earlier debate performances.”
”Mr. Obama has a tendency to overintellectualize and to lecture, befitting his training as a lawyer and law professor. He exudes disdain for the quips and sound bites that some deride as trivializing political debates but that have become a central part of scoring them. He tends to the earnest and humorless when audiences seem to crave passion and personality. He frequently rises above the mire of political combat when the battle calls for engagement."
The Times runs a similar story for McCain, and it seems to give the Republican the edge on Friday because of the subject matter: foreign policy. "He has used fairly consistent techniques during his roughly 30 debates on the national stage: he is an aggressive competitor who scolds his opponents, grins when he scores and is handy with the rhetorical shiv. Just ask Mitt Romney, whom Mr. McCain filleted on several occasions in debates during the primaries, perhaps most infuriatingly for Mr. Romney when Mr. McCain misleadingly asserted that Mr. Romney favored a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.”
“A review of several of Mr. McCain’s debates shows that he is most comfortable and authentic when the subject is foreign policy. And in a stroke of good fortune, foreign policy is the topic for Friday, the first of three 90-minute debates with Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee."
CONTINUED >>
Conservative columnist George Will uses McCain’s call to fire SEC Chairman Chris Cox to question the presumptive GOP nominee’s temperament. “Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated… In any case, McCain's smear -- that Cox ‘betrayed the public's trust’ -- is a harbinger of a McCain presidency. For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are ‘corrupt’ or ‘betray the public's trust,’ two categories that seem to be exhaustive -- there are no other people.”
And then Will concludes with this coup de grace: “It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?”
Meanwhile, McCain has a new TV ad on the economic troubles. McCain is hoping to emphasize the word "crisis" more so than economy. And this new ad does that. The problem for McCain today? George Will has given the Obama campaign fodder for a response ad. One can see this coming.
Bloomberg News found another McCain aide who has ties to lobbying for Freddie and Fannie.
CONTINUED >>
The Obama campaign announced it’s up with a new TV ad -- to air on national cable -- whacking McCain for going to Bermuda, where (according to the ad) he “pledged to protect tax breaks for American corporations that hide their profits offshore.” The script: “Bermuda. It’s more than just a vacation destination for John McCain. McCain went to Bermuda … and while he was there pledged to protect tax breaks for American corporations that hide their profits offshore. And grateful insurance company executives and their lobbyists who benefit from the tax scheme, gave McCain $50,000. John McCain. He took a vacation, and so much more. And we get more of the same.”
Note that this is a cable ad -- which may mean it's simply for the chattering class, not for voters.
Fact-checkers are currently going after Obama’s ads . "Indeed, nonpartisan fact-checkers accuse Obama of distorting some facts to score political points, but Obama's campaign, in now also targeting healthcare and Social Security, is seizing what it considers an opportunity to keep McCain on the defensive as the magnitude of the financial meltdown grows with each day."
CONTINUED >>
This is quite a lead from the AP . "Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature's investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire. An attorney for the GOP vice presidential nominee met with an investigator for the state Personnel Board to discuss sharing documents and schedule witness interviews, McCain spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said. Neither she nor McCain spokesman Ed O'Callaghan had further details about the meeting and said they did not know if the governor or her husband would be interviewed."
Palin is so needed on the trail that they don't have her raising money anymore ?
Time magazine looks at how Obama's 50-state strategy is rapidly shrinking into a more familiar map -- but one that still retains multiple paths to an electoral victory.
ARIZONA : The AP : "[I]f McCain didn't hold a home-field advantage, Arizona probably would stand with Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada as toss-up states in the West, where both campaigns are investing heavily. The reality, however, is that McCain is in no danger of losing Arizona and its 10 electoral votes."
FLORIDA : Per the Miami Herald : "Republican John McCain raised twice as much money as Democrat Barack Obama in Florida last month, buoyed by a $619,000 spike over two days following the introduction of his surprise pick for vice president."
MICHIGAN : The Detroit Free Press front-pages Team Obama's efforts at expanding their registration universe. The headline: "Obama's goal, Register 150,000 Mich. voters fast." paint as grim a picture as ever . "The median household income for Michigan slid by more than $7,100 to $47,950 while the national average dipped by just over $1,000 to 50,740. Meanwhile, Michigan homeowners saw more than $4,200 in value slip away while home values nationwide rose by nearly $18,000."CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy and Matthew E. Berger McCain got a little surprise. After his running mate revved up the crowd -- and tried to drown out the Obama supporters chanting just beyond the gates -- she introduced the Teutul family, most famous for their Discovery Channel reality show "American Chopper."
Paul Teutul, the family's patriarch and a Vietnam veteran, presented McCain with a special POW/MIA chopper, which the Teutul's will hold on to and bring to special events honoring other prisoners of war.
"Sarah and I are going to get on that chopper and ride it right to Washington and raise hell when we get there," McCain said enthusiastically.
The GOP nominee then spent most of his stump speech talking about the economy, and criticizing Obama for his lack of "leadership" on the issue.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray Washington Post/ABC poll has Obama leading McCain in the battleground state of Virginia by three points, 49%-46%. Inside the numbers: Kaine and Webb achieved in their wins.
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones Obama talked about how he would make government more transparent and more accountable, expanding on previously announced proposals to increase efficiency and reduce wasteful spending at a time when the nation’s attention is on the plan to use $700 billion in taxpayer money to rescue the financial system.
Obama spoke about long-term proposals, including opening up the practice of writing legislation, making information about tax breaks provided to corporations publicly available, cutting federal spending on contractors by at least 10 percent, or $40 billion a year, banning gifts from lobbyists and instituting what he calls a SWAT team to make federal agencies more efficient.
Over the weekend, the senator laid out the elements he wants included in the bailout legislation lawmakers aim to pass in the coming days and he touched on them again today, while responding to news reports about Wall Street firms that are hoping to reap profits from fees related to managing the bad assets the government plans to buy in the bailout.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli BALTIMORE, Md. -- Joe Biden , calling himself a “gigantic supporter” of the National Guard, pledged that Democrats would be a stronger ally for Guard members both at war and at home, offering added support to match what he said was an increasingly important role they play for the country.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee also offered a rebuttal to the style and substance of John McCain’s speech before the National Guard Association conference here yesterday, criticizing his foe for maligning Barack Obama’s motives.
“I heard John claim that behind Barack’s positions quote, ‘lies the ambition to be president,’” Biden recalled. “I do not think it’s appropriate to question a man or a woman’s motive. … After the last eight years, the last thing we need now is more politics of division, more characterizations of personal motivation rather than strong and important disagreements on judgment.”
And borrowing a line from his running mate, Biden alluded to his and McCain’s sons’ service to make the point that no party has a monopoly on patriotism.
“We all, we all put country first,” he said. “When John and I send our sons to war, they don’t wear a Republican flag or a Democratic flag. They wear an American flag.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mike Viqueira Among the voices from the House floor this morning are some significant -- but as yet not overwhelming -- objections to the rapidly developing financial bailout plan. The opposition to the bailout is coming from both sides, especially with regard to its proposed concentration of power in the hands of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) issued a dire warning that an opaque transfer of the huge sum to Wall Street powerbrokers would encourage "as much politics and as much cronyism as they are able to conceal." Congressman Cliff Stearns called the last week's series of economic rescue strategies "an assault on American capitalism," adding that "bailout after bailout is not a strategy, and it's certainly not a sustainable cure to our financial ills."Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who accused Paulson of being a "Wall Street exec masquerading as Secretary of the Treasury," urged a more deliberate solution to the crisis. "If it takes a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month, the world will wait," he said. "They'll wait for a thoughtful plan that cures the disease in addition to getting us beyond this initial problem."
From NBC's Carrie Dann On a day that kicks off the second week of coverage of the crisis on Wall Street, here's some new numbers that shed some retrospective light on the support that appeared to be gelling for McCain two weeks ago, when Palin ’s name was on still everyone’s lips instead of Fannie’s, Freddie’s, and Secretary Paulson’s.
A new Lifetime TV poll – conducted at the tail end of the Palin bubble and before last week’s economic seachange – indicates a major post-pick swing towards McCain-Palin from women who say that the GOP ticket offers a “better understanding of women and what is important to women.”
In Lifetime’s previous poll in late July, Obama easily won that metric by a margin of 52% to McCain’s 18%. But after the Republican nominee tapped the Alaska governor, who enjoyed a mostly positive opinion rating from 52% of respondents during the polling period, the percentage of women who responded that McCain better understands their needs jumped to 44%. Forty-two percent of respondents answered that Obama would make a better Understander-in-Chief for women.
The breakdowns among that 26 point upswing for McCain on the “understanding” question? Since July, the GOP nominee garnered an increase of 38 points among 35-44 year old women; more than 35 points apiece among married women and moms; and a rise among Republican women. Only 39% of female GOP voters viewed McCain as the more woman-friendly candidate in July compared to 83% today.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain criticized the plan put out by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
"Never before in the history of our nation has so much power and money been concentrated in the hands of one person, a person I admire and respect a great deal, Secretary Paulson," McCain said. "This arrangement makes me deeply uncomfortable. And when we're talking about a trillion dollars of taxpayer money, 'trust me' just isn't good enough.""I believe we need a high-level oversight board to impose accountability and establish concrete criteria for who gets helped and who doesn't," McCain said. "It must ensure that throughout this crisis the government is a careful steward of the taxpayers dollars. This oversight board should be bipartisan, have qualified citizens who have no agenda but the protection of taxpayers and the financial markets. People like Warren Buffet who supports my opponent, Gov. Mitt Romney , maybe Michael Bloomberg , an independent to oversee this."
On the issue of CEO compensation, McCain said no CEO of a corporation bailed out by the government should "be making more money than the highest paid government official."
"We can't have taxpayers footing the bill for bloated golden parachutes like we see in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy," McCain said. "My friends, the top executives are asking for $2-and-a-half billion in bonuses after they ran the company into the ground."
Will voters embrace McCain's plan to tax health benefits and create credits to pay for competitive private insurance? Or will they choose Obama's federally funded National Health Plan and stricter rules for providers?
Check out MSNBC.com's Health Care Briefing Book for detailed information on where both candidates stand on the issue.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Biden accepted the endorsement of the National Association of Police Organizations this morning on behalf of the Democratic ticket, pledging to again provide a seat at the table for local law enforcement.
Biden, speaking on a conference call with NAPO President Tom Nee, made a plug for the “Biden Crime Bill,” which he said was contributed to a 30 percent drop in violent crime in the 1990s.CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Palin has an op-ed in the New York Sun , with what would have been her remarks had she still been attending an anti-Iran rally.Clinton said that 'Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that' effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more. Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it."
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann No change to the map: Although we saw the needle move in Obama’s direction after last week’s events -- including McCain's own stumbles -- the newest NBC electoral map this week is essentially unchanged. Obama holds a slight 233-227 lead over McCain. Our only change was moving New Jersey from Likely Obama to Lean Obama after various polls showed him with a single-digit lead there.
Likely Obama: CA, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, RI, VT (157 electoral votes)Lean Obama: IA, MN, NJ, NM OR, PA, WA (76 votes)Toss-up: CO, MI, NV, NH, OH, VA, WI (78 votes)Lean McCain: FL, IN, MO, MT, NC (67 votes)Likely McCain: AL, AK, AZ, AR, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MS, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WY (160 votes)
Video: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd discusses how the government's Wall Street bailout plan may force McCain and Obama to ratchet back spending promises and looks at new polling from the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Three states to watch: But we have our eyes on three “Lean” states that we could move back to the Toss-up column. The first is Pennsylvania, where a new TODAY Show/NBC/Mason-Dixon poll shows Obama with a two-point advantage, 46%-44%. And the other two are Florida and North Carolina, where polls show Obama closing in on McCain. For now, because all three states show the same leader in polls that we trust, we're leaving them in their lean status. But do note that many a Democrat believes North Carolina is a state where the electorate really may have changed. It's a fascinating state this cycle, actually -- not a single white male Democrat is in the top three races on the state's ballot.
*** Bailing out the bailout: Is this bailout going to make it through? It seemed like a slam-dunk Friday, but there are enough folks on both sides who seem intent on making sure this bill is debated somewhat. Will Congress roll over like they did for the Patriot Act and for Homeland Security? And what about Obama and McCain -- will they come back to DC to vote on the bailout and to introduce their own reforms?
*** Race affecting the race: Not too long ago, we implored Democrats and the media against saying that an Obama loss would reflect poorly on America -- i.e., the only reason he could lose in this political environment is because of the color of his skin. Yet according to a new AP-Yahoo poll , race is certainly out there. The poll found that one-third of white Democrats harbor negative feelings about blacks, and it also noted this: “Statistical models derived from the poll suggest that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage points higher if there were no white racial prejudice.” “Look, if you're asking me are there some people who might not vote for me because of my race? Of course,” Obama told John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times . “Are there some who might vote for me because of my race? You bet. I think ultimately, though, the question's going to be decided by a guy or a woman who is working hard every day trying to save enough to send their kid to college, trying to pay the bills.”
*** Debate prep: What's going on with this report about Michael Steele playing Obama for McCain’s debate preparations? Is this really the case? Or is it really Rob Portman? We'll find out later today. Meanwhile, the Obama camp is using uber-lawyer Greg Craig as their McCain stand-in.
*** So who’s campaign is more negative? While Saturday Night Live drove home the narrative of McCain’s misleading TV ads, it’s again worth noting that McCain isn’t the only one running them. In addition to that earlier Spanish-language hit linking McCain with Rush Limbaugh on the thorny issue of immigration, Obama began airing a new ad on Social Security, which argues that the Bush privatization plan that McCain backed in 2005 would cut benefits in half. But that’s not quite true, according to the folks at Factcheck.org; they cite a report by Obama economic adviser Jason Furman noting that benefits would by cut by about 28%, not 50%. On the stump, moreover, Obama has suggested that had the privatization plan succeeded, seniors’ retirement money would now be at risk given the current financial crisis. But that’s not fair either, since the Bush plan would only affect young workers. Of course, McCain is now up with his first Tony Rezko ad . “His economic adviser, William Daley. Lobbyist. Mayor's brother,” the ad goes. “His money man, Tony Rezko. Client. Patron. Convicted Felon. His ‘political godfather.’ Emil Jones. Under ethical cloud. His governor, Rod Blagojevich. A legacy of federal and state investigations. With friends like that, Obama is not ready to lead.”
*** Get out of my dreams, get into my car(s): Last week wasn’t a kind week for McCain, and his weekend didn’t get much better after Newsweek reported that the McCains own 13 cars -- three of which are foreign made. Michigan Dems jumped all over that news.
*** On the trail: McCain, in Pennsylvania, holds an Irish-American town hall in Scranton before meeting up with Palin for a rally in Media. Obama attends a rally in Green Bay, WI. Biden speaks to the National Guard Association in Baltimore. And Michelle Obama campaigns for her husband in Wisconsin, hitting Madison, Wausau, and West Allis.
Countdown to the first presidential debate: 4 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails.
It's a good, old-fashioned lobby campaign on the Hill this week. "Congressional Democrats began to set their own terms on Sunday for a plan to rescue the nation’s financial institutions, including greater legislative oversight of the Treasury Department, more direct assistance for homeowners and limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help. The Democrats’ demands came as Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. blanketed the Sunday talk shows to promote the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout package, emphasizing that it was needed not just for Wall Street, but for all Americans. He urged Congress to move swiftly to approve a “clean” rescue plan without tacking on extra programs."
Video: TODAY’s Meredith Vieira talks to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who says the economy, though fundamentally strong, is facing its “most serious crisis since World War II.” And: "Congressional Republicans, too, put the Bush administration on notice that they would not rubber-stamp the bailout proposal but would insist on a number of changes, including specific protections for taxpayers. Those would include a requirement that any profits from the program be returned to the Treasury.
So will both Obama and McCain come back to DC to vote on the bailout? In interviews with John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times, "Senators John McCain and Barack Obama warned Sunday that there should be more oversight built into the government’s $700 billion plan to stabilize the financial markets but said the potentially enormous expenditure would not force them to scale back their ambitious governing agendas."
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You gotta love the Washington Times lead about Obama's debate prep. Biased much? "Obama will hunker down nearly all week to prepare for the most crucial 90 minutes of his political life - the first presidential debate - and has chosen a famous Washington lawyer who defended the would-be assassin of President Reagan to play Sen. John McCain in preparations."
More: "Obama will hole up in Tampa, Fla., where veteran lawyer Greg Craig will play the role of Mr. McCain in practice sessions. Mr. Craig was a member of President Clinton's defense team during Senate impeachment proceedings after the president lied about his sexual affair with a White House intern."
McCain is sparring with Maryland Republican Michael Steele for his debate prep, the Wall Street Journal reports. (Is Steele known for his debating skills?) "Obama advisers, for example, are considering how to provoke Sen. McCain into anger or showing what they say is how out of touch, or old, he is. Advisers have told Sen. McCain to watch out when Sen. Obama uses the phrase, ‘As I've said before...’ One McCain adviser said it is used ‘when Obama actually changes his position, to pretend it's what he's always said.’”
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The Washington Post examines the fact that so many Bush veterans are helping McCain and Palin. "The clutch of Bush veterans helping to coach Palin reflects a larger reality about Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign: Far from being a group of outsiders to the Republican Party power structure, it is now run largely by skilled operatives who learned their crafts in successive Bush campaigns and various jobs across the Bush government over the past eight years."
“Republicans have been heartened by the effectiveness of the new McCain organization, which has helped put McCain back in serious contention for the White House, causing restlessness among Democrats who believed the race was Sen. Barack Obama's to lose. Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, expressed pride at what her former colleagues have been able to accomplish… Yet others, including some sympathetic Republicans, have begun to quietly question whether McCain and Palin are well served by strategists so firmly anchored in the Bush establishment when the candidates are presenting themselves as a ‘team of mavericks’ and agents of change. One Republican with long-standing ties to the Bush administration described the situation as a paradox in which Palin is especially vulnerable.”
By the way, far fewer Clinton/Gore/Kerry veterans are with Obama than Bush veterans with McCain.
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So who at the Obama research department gets credit for reading Contingencies Magazine? (Or did they simply read Paul Krugman’s blog about it?) Ah, nothing like those innocuous articles the campaign submits to all-comers, which then provides fodder for a TV ad. And this is why research departments play the game.
Here is the latest Obama ad on the subject. Washington Post's Ruth Marcus unloads on Obama for exaggerating or distorting McCain's views on immigration and Social Security. As Billie Jean would say, “Fair is fair.”
The Boston Globe unearths part of Obama's father's past, in which he testified at the murder trial of a friend and mentor who was shot in Kenya minutes after he spoke with him. Friends believe Obama himself was targeted after testifying. "It was a crime that convulsed the newly independent nation and would, in Obama's eyes, trigger a steep decline in his own promising career. Then 33, and a freshly minted government economist, he testified in the ensuing trial, an act which probably enraged those responsible for Mboya's assassination. ...
Another Todd Palin profile in today's Washington Post . "He has supervised renovations to the governor's mansion and hopscotched by plane back and forth to Juneau to juggle duties as father and ‘First Dude,’ as he has come to be known. And to a degree that has surprised many state government observers, Todd Palin also has become involved in policy, sitting in on his wife's meetings, traveling on state business and weighing in on some legislative issues.”
“John Harris, the Republican speaker of the Alaska House, said he had never been called by the spouse of a governor before the two calls he got from Todd Palin. One was to argue for moving the state capital to Anchorage. The other was to ask Harris to ‘keep an eye’ on a key aide who had an affair with the wife of one of Todd's best friends. Political hands in both parties say the Palins are often referred to as a team -- ‘Sarah and Todd’ -- and one Democratic lawmaker said Todd Palin has become her ‘de facto chief of staff.’” campaigned in safe GOP territory.report , was much more moderate than conservative.
How big was the turnout for Palinat The Villages? The Palm Beach Post uses the estimate of 60,000!
Per NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger, Palin will meet with the presidents of Iraq, Pakistan, Georgia and the Ukraine, as well as singer and activist Bono during her three-day trip to New York, the McCain campaign announced yesterday.
All week long, the TODAY show will be debuting new state poll numbers from Mason-Dixon in the states the show will be visiting. Today, the show was in Pennsylvania (where Obama leads 46%-44%). Tomorrow, it’s Florida; Wednesday is Virginia, and Thursday is Michigan.
Last week, we moved North Dakota to "likely" McCain and this week: the Obama campaign pulled its staff from the state. The North Dakota staff is being sent to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Post’s Cillizza and Pershing offer a swing-state rundown with fingers on the pulses of Florida, Indiana and Minnesota.
Early voting starts today in many states in the U.S. “Residents of Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia are among the first in the nation eligible to vote in person, as well as by mail. During the next few weeks, at least 34 states and the District of Columbia will allow early in-person voting for Nov. 4 elections.Experts such as Paul Gronke of the Early Voting Information Center predict nearly a third of the electorate will vote early this year, up from 15% in 2000 and 20% in 2004. In closely contested Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, about half the voters are expected to cast ballots before Election Day. Florida could be 40%.”
COLORADO: The Rocky Mountain News takes a look at how Sarah Palin’s veep candidacy could aid downballot GOP candidates. “GOP officials identified as many as eight legislative races for suburban seats that are held or targeted by Democrats in which Republican women candidates could benefit from the so-called Palin effect.”
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From NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger Palin will meet with the presidents of Iraq, Pakistan, Georgia and the Ukraine, as well as singer and activist Bono during her three-day trip to New York, the McCain campaign announced Sunday.Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko together, according to campaign officials. She will then meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari before hosting Bono, the lead singer of U2. Later in the day, she will meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh .Hamid Karzai and Columbian President Alvaro Uribe .
From NBC's Cherelle Kantey Clinton campaign staffers charged Obama with being too inexperienced for the presidency, shifting their support to McCain , on a conference call sponsored by the McCain campaign Friday afternoon.
"Obama really doesn't have the experience,” said Miguel Lausell, senior national political advisor to Hillary Clinton. “We don't know what he's going to be doing. We don't really know where he's coming from, and that's the big difference."
Luchy Secaira, former Sen. Hillary Clinton Delegate-at-Large, said that
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Savannah Guthrie, Cherelle Kantey, and Ben Weltman THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- Has Sarah Palin said "thanks but no thanks" to one of her most well-known applause lines?
In her speech today in Florida, Palin did not mention the infamous "bridge to nowhere." Nor have we heard the line in her last few joint appearances with John McCain . In fact, according to NBC's logs, the last time she mentioned the bridge was six days ago at a rally in Golden, CO. Prior to that, the bridge refrain was a fixture of Palin's stump speech (used at least 11 different times).
A campaign advisor rejected the notion that the absence of the line is a tacit concession that Palin's claims about the bridge project have been misleading. The advisor suggests this is just the normal course of varying the stump speech and that we may hear reference to the bridge again soon.
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger Palin chastised Obama Sunday for not taking a position on plans for the recovery of the nation’s financial system, and said it was akin to voting present in the Illinois state legislature.
Palin said McCain offered a recovery plan this week, while “our opponent refused to even take a stand on the position,” and reminded voters he voted present in the state legislature “about 130 times.”
“This week he voted present on the major economic issues of the day,” she said. “And that is not leadership, America, it’s not leadership Americans can afford.”
Palin spoke at her first event before tens of thousands at The Villages, a large retirement community in Central Florida. She was joined on stage by husband Todd and her three younger children, including Piper, who thanked the crowd for having them.
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From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones Barack Obama said Sunday that the government’s $700 billion proposal to help stem the crisis on Wall Street should not be a “blank check” and should include help for ordinary Americans.
While saying that circumstances required decisive action and a bipartisan solution, because "your jobs, your savings, your economic security, your house" are at risk, the senator did not offer his explicit support for a plan that his campaign says he is still reviewing closely.
"As of now, the Bush Administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan," he told a crowd estimated at more than 25,000 people. "Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering. And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency and fairness and reform."
Repeating his sentiments from earlier in the week, Obama said the plan should not reward Wall Street CEOs responsible for the crisis, and should focus on helping homeowners stay in their homes. The recovery effort must include help from other nations in securing the financial markets, he said.
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From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Joe Biden took on an even folksier tone than usual as he campaigned in rural southwest Virginia this afternoon. Though his focus was again on economic issues, he deviated from script to talk about an issue not often discussed by the Democrats: guns.
The Delaware senator predicted that Republicans would seek to sway voters by threatening that Obama would take away guns. Biden, claiming to be a gun-owner himself who likes “that little over and under,” called that notion bogus.
“Barack Obama ain’t taking my shotguns, so don't buy that malarkey,” he said. “If he tries to fool with my Beretta, he's got a problem.”
The riff came as he criticized McCain again for being out of touch on the economy, quoting another Republican as he made the case for putting a new philosophy in the White House.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama TV ad has been running in battleground states since earlier in the week. But the campaign finally issued a press release about it.
Its message: 1) McCain backed Bush's plan in 2005 to partially privatize Social Security, allowing workers to put some of their Social Security money in the stock market; 2) Had such a plan passed, people's retirement money would be at risk given the current crisis on Wall Street.
The script:
*** UPDATE *** Factcheck.org takes issue with the ad's contention that the Bush Social Security plan would have cut benefits in half. Citing a report by Obama economic adviser Jason Furman, Factcheck.org says that the plan would have cut benefits by 28% -- not half. (Hat tip: Politico's Ben Smith .)
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones and NBC's Mark Murray Obama’s latest line of attack against his rival. The senator blasted McCain for his support for opening up the health insurance market to increased competition, for wanting to privatize Social Security, and for his ties to lobbyists.
The Illinois senator has seized on these issues as the country’s economic troubles have taken center stage, using McCain’s positions to paint him as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans. He bashed McCain for his statement that he's “fundamentally a deregulator” -- when deregulation is part of the problem on Wall Street.
“My opponent actually wrote in the current issue of a health care magazine -- the current issue -- I’m quoting here, 'Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation,' he told a crowd of about 2,500 people packed into a school theater here in central Florida. He was referring to this article by McCain.
“There’s only one candidate who said [that]. That it wasn’t me. So let me get this straight: He wants to run health care like they’ve been running Wall Street. Well, senator, I know some folks on Main Street who aren’t going to think that’s such a good idea.”
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From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann Bush ’s low approval ratings– the folks at the National Republican Senatorial Committee have been feeling a little bit of heartburn.
But the most recent fundraising numbers for August might just offer them a numerical dose of Pepsid AC.
In August, the NRSC outraised their Democratic counterparts by almost a million dollars. Republicans raised $5.2 million for the month, compared to a $4.36 haul by Democrats.
Dems still have the advantage in terms of their campaign war chest, with $33.67 million in cash on hand – compared to $26.8 for Republicans.
Still, the GOP’s candidates are keeping pace in states like North Carolina, Minnesota, and Oregon despite the money disadvantage. The DSCC, which is pouring cash into campaigns like Kay Hagan's in North Carolina and Jeff Merkley's in Oregon, has vastly outspent Republicans, shelling out $13.69 million in August. The GOP Senate committee spent only $3.8 million for the month.
From NBC's Mark Murray and NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain incorrectly suggested that the executive pay that former Fannie Mae CEOs Frank Raines and Jim Johnson earned came from taxpayers.
"That same executive got $21 million of your money," McCain said of Johnson. "And the other CEO, another supporter of Senator Obama, Mr. Raines got $25 million of your money. Let's tell them to give it back. Let's tell them to give it back."
Lucian Bebchuk of Harvard Law School, an expert on corporate governance, confirmed to First Read that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were private companies until being recently taken over by the federal government (which came after Raines' and Johnson's tenures).
Bebchuk said that maybe McCain was referring to past Fannie shareholders in the audience when he asserted that the executive compensation was "your money." Or perhaps McCain was making the point -- very loosely -- that now the federal government has taken over Fannie, any money that Raines or Johnson received is money taxpayers no longer have. But both assertions, he said, would be stretches.
Rich Ferlauto, the director of corporate governance and pension investment at the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees -- a union which has endorsed Obama in the presidential contest -- was more blunt about Raines' and Johnson's compensation
"It was not taxpayer money," he said. "It was shareholder money."
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger and Adam Aigner-Treworgy Palin said that her revoked invitation to next week's "Stop Iran" rally is the fault of "Democrat partisans" who politicized the event.
"Some Democrat partisans put politics first and now no elected official will be able to appear at that Stop Iran Rally," Palin told the crowd. "Iran's pursuit of these weapons should concern all Americans, this should not be a matter for partisan politics."
Yesterday, First Read reported that the group's invitation to Palin, which was revoked yesterday along with invitations to all political figures, was originally extended by Jewish leader Malcolm Hoenlein, an associate of Palin advisor Mark Wallace.
Hoenlein tells NBC/NJ that Palin was invited -- with the approval of all the event organizers -- after efforts to secure a Republican senator to speak were unsuccessful. He said there was no initial effort to reach out to the Obama campaign because they already had a prominent Democrat on board -- Hillary Clinton, who canceled the appearance after hearing of Palin's intention to attend.
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From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli Biden made a pitch directly to women voters here today, focusing on economic issues in particular as he promised to end “a cowboy mentality of the Bush and McCain era.”
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From NBC's Libby Leist Sarah Palin has asked to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at next week's meeting of the United Nations' General Assembly, diplomatic sources tell NBC News. There is no confirmation the meeting will actually take place, however. Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari , according to the Pakistani officials. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto , won election earlier this month, replacing Pervez Musharraf . There is no word, as yet, on a meeting with Palin.Nicolas Sarkozy or Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner , and the Georgians are saying no meetings yet are scheduled with President Mikheil Saakashvili .
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy Obama a “risk” during these dangerous economic times, McCain continued the line of attack that he laid out for the first time in Green Bay last night.
“The crisis on Wall Street, my friends, started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence pedaling and he was right square in the middle of it,” McCain said, painting Obama as a Washington insider. “My friends, this is the problem in Washington. People like Sen. Obama have been too busy gaming the system and haven’t ever done a thing to actually challenge the system. That’s not country first, that’s Obama first.”
McCain once again drew the connection between Obama and two former CEO’s of Fannie Mae, Fred Raines and Jim Johnson. McCain argued that Raines was an advisor to his opponent’s campaign -- something the Obama camp denies. A campaign aide said Obama camp has asked the Washington Post for a correction to a July 16 story identifying Raines as having taken calls from the campaign. The Washington Post has not issued one.
McCain said Johnson was at one point in charge of Obama’s VP selection process.
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From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- As officials in Washington continued work on a plan to rescue a teetering financial system, Obama responded to McCain's efforts to paint him as a "Washington insider " complicit in the financial crisis, calling it a "panicked" move by the Arizona senator.
“This morning, Senator McCain gave a speech in which his big solution to this world wide economic crisis was to blame me for it,” Obama said to boos from the crowd of about 8,000 people at a South Florida rally. “This is the guy who spent nearly three decades in Washington and after spending the entire campaign saying I haven’t been in Washington long enough he apparently now is willing to assign me the responsibility for all of Washington’s failures.”
“I think it’s pretty clear that Sen. McCain is a little panicked right now,” he added. “At this point he seems to be willing to say anything or do anything or change any position or violate any principle to try and win this election.”
Throughout his roughly 40 minute speech, the senator also stressed the differences between himself and John McCain on issues of concern to women.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones Obama told reporters during a brief press conference Friday morning.
Video: Presidential candidate Barack Obama calls for taxpayers to share in the upside, not just the downside, of the government bailout of struggling financial firms. Flanked by seven of his economic advisers, the senator read a statement in support of efforts by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and Congress to find a bipartisan solution to the financial crisis, that largely echoed the one his campaign put out early this morning.
That plan would likely involve a government purchase of bad mortgages from banks and other institutions and would cost billions of dollars in taxpayer money, potentially making it difficult for either candidate to deliver on promises to cut taxes and on various other programs and policy proposals. Congress is aiming to complete the legislation to allow the rescue by the end of next week.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro McCain's ads released in the past two weeks (and there were some really misleading ones -- the latest "Dome" one, in fact, continues to misrepresent on Obama 's tax plan.) Thoughts , McCain isn't the only one stretching a bit.
In addition to that Spanish-language ad that links McCain to Rush Limbaugh on immigration, Politifact and FactCheck.org point out Obama's ad on education up last week isn't exactly square with the facts.
The ad claims McCain "voted to cut education funding, against accountability standards. He even proposed abolishing the Department of Education." That Politifact gives a "Barely True;" FactCheck says it "misleads."
There are clear differences on education policy between these two candidates -- as there are on almost every issue -- but Obama's ad on the subject is "cherry picking" McCain's record, Politifact writes.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner and NBC's Carrie Dann John McCain addressed members of the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce this morning, giving a distilled version of his plan for the economy that offered few new specifics but ample critiques of his opponent’s proposals to fix the nation’s money woes.
Video: Presidential candidate John McCain lays out his plan to reform the U.S. financial sector and its regulation, and also proposes tax cuts for workers “The underlying principle of the MFI or any approach considered by Congress should be to keep people in their homes and safe guard the life savings of all Americans by protecting our financial system and capital markets,” he said. “That has to be the fundamental principle.”
McCain did not identify how the MFI would fix these institutions, but he did differentiate it from the Resolution Trust Corporation, which McCain said acted reactively rather than proactively.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Marist battleground polls (among registered voters):Obama 50%, McCain 41%
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger Sarah Palin had delivered 14 campaign speeches since her well-received address more than two weeks ago at the Republican National Convention. And each time, she's packed in thousands of excited Republicans eager to see this new star of the GOP.
Video: Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin tells a Colorado rally that "every small business will have a friend in the White House" during a McCain/Palin administration. “In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain , who use their careers to promote change.” According to this reporter's count, she has delivered this line more than a dozen times.
“There's a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first,” she says nearly every time as well.
She almost always ends with, “There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.”
And, of course, she says this: “I told the Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.” In fact, because fact-checkers have said the statement is misleading, she gets more attention when she doesn’t include that line than when she does.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray Chris Cox , McCain mistakenly said: "The chairman of the FEC should resign and leave office and be replaced."
McGahn is chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro McCain camp linked Obama to Franklin Raines, they're now targeting Jim Johnson.
"Meet Jim Johnson, former Fannie Mae CEO," a new McCain TV ad goes. "Fannie cooked the books and Johnson made millions. Then Obama asked him to pick his VP. And raise thousands for his campaign. Barack Obama. More empty words."
Note: Johnson stepped down from Obama's VP selection team on June 11, more than two months before Obama selected Biden to be his running mate.
Script: ANNCR: What Obama says...
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann It’s still the economy : The Fed, the Treasury Department, and Congress are all working together (throughout the weekend) to structure a massive bailout plan, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson holds a press conference at 10:00 am ET to discuss that. Meanwhile, Obama meets with his economic advisers in Florida to discuss the economic crisis and the Fed-Treasury proposal. Although Obama had promised to unveil his plan to deal with the economic problems, he released a statement saying he was going to delay that until seeing the Fed-Treasury plan. “Given the gravity of this situation, and based on conversations I have had with both Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, I have asked my economic team to refrain from presenting a more detailed blue-print of how an immediate plan might be structured until the Treasury and the Federal Reserve have had an opportunity to present their proposal.” And, as the New York Times writes, McCain “is expected to lay out a broader view of his approach to the crisis” when he speaks to the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce this morning. This has all turned into an on-the-fly audition for the presidential candidates -- or, as Howard Wolfson put it earlier in the week, a challenge to see who can best answer that 3:00 am phone call.
*** McCain flailing? But you probably know you're not winning the 3:00 am phone call challenge on the economy when 1) you resort to saying your opponent is trying to reap political gain of the current Wall Street troubles; 2) you call for the firing of a guy -- Republican SEC Chairman Chris Cox -- who doesn’t appear to be the culprit here; and 3) your campaign cuts a new TV ad linking your opponent to the former CEO of Fannie Mae, when your own top advisers come from many of the troubled financial institutions (Merrill Lynch’s John Thain and Martin Feldstein, who serves on AIG’s board). Indeed, the McCain campaign has been scrambling to change focus slightly. It launched a Web ad hitting Biden over his remark on taxes yesterday. And last night, McCain took a shot a “risky” Obama, per NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy. (“A vote for Sen. Obama will leave this country at risk during one of the most severe challenges to America’s economy since the Great Depression.”) But is this current economic crisis too consuming for all of these slight distractions to work? McCain's campaign knows it has to be on topic, but if they loosely change the focus to taxes or leadership, it gives him a chance on this issue. If the focus is strictly on the economy, then he's got problems. And this week -- clearly -- the McCain campaign has been off its game.
*** Some needed help : That said, McCain today gets some good news from Fred Hiatt and the Washington Post editorial page, who argue that Obama’s attack that McCain’s “always for less regulation” isn’t quite fair. “But the full quotation from Mr. McCain's March interview with the Journal's editorial board belies Mr. Obama's one-sided rendition. The Republican candidate went on to say, ‘But I am aware of the view that there is a need for government oversight. I think we found this in the subprime lending crisis -- that there are people that game the system and if not outright broke the law, they certainly engaged in unethical conduct which made this problem worse. So I do believe that there is role for oversight.’” More: “It's a reasonable question which candidate has been more attentive to the brewing problems on Wall Street and which has a better prescription for them. But Mr. Obama's attack does not give a fair reading of the McCain record.”
*** Missing In Action, Part XIII : Congress is now getting into the act but President Bush is still choosing to remain largely on the sidelines -- and more media are noticing and wondering why. He is the nation's first MBA president, so one would think he'd have a lot to say about this mess, right?
*** Dude, where’s my testimony? It might be a he-said-she-said matter, and the Democrat in charge of the investigation didn't help his cause when he talked about "an October surprise." But the latest news in the Troopergate scandal in Alaska doesn't make Sarah Palin -- who's promising to reform and shake up Washington -- look too good. We've now learned that Todd Palin is refusing to testify under subpoena.
*** Poll-a-palooza...: So many new battleground polls have come out in the last 24 hours, in particular new All State/National Journal and University of Wisconsin surveys. And we think others will be released today. This is the day that RealClear and Pollster.com earn their readers.
*** On the trail : McCain and Palin campaign in Blaine, Minnesota. Obama holds a “Women’s Change” rally in Coral Gables, FL. And Biden stumps in Sterling, VA.
Countdown to the first presidential debate: 7 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails .
The Fed, Treasury, and Congress are now all working together (and through the weekend) to figure out a bailout plan . "While details remain to be worked out, the plan is likely to authorize the government to buy distressed mortgages at deep discounts from banks and other institutions. The proposal could result in the most direct commitment of taxpayer funds so far in the financial crisis that Fed and Treasury officials say is the worst they have ever seen.”
“Senior aides and lawmakers said the goal was to complete the legislation by the end of next week, when Congress is scheduled to adjourn. The legislation would grant new authority to the administration and require what several officials said would be a substantial appropriation of federal dollars, though no figures were disclosed in the meeting."
The New York Times examines how this economic crisis is turning the campaign into an on-the-fly audition for handling a crisis. "McCain, who early in the week seemed to struggle to find a consistent message on the economy, also proposed a government body to relieve struggling financial institutions of some bad debt in hopes of keeping them solvent. A similar approach was being considered Thursday night by the Bush administration and Congressional leaders. Mr. McCain is expected to lay out a broader view of his approach to the crisis on Friday morning in Wisconsin.”
“His Democratic rival for president, Mr. Obama, campaigning in New Mexico, issued the outlines of his own plan later Thursday. His campaign said he would fill in the details after he met Friday with his economic advisers in Miami, his next campaign stop.”
“The actions of both men captured how they were being forced to make policy proposals and pronouncements on the fly, from one campaign rally to another, as each day’s developments in the financial markets and in Washington were overtaken by new ones the following day."
CONTINUED >>
At last night’s rally in Wisconsin, McCain said this: “And that’s how we see this election, country first or Obama first and I have a feeling [chant of “Country First, Country First”]… So when it comes to cutting taxes for seniors, for working families, for small businesses my opponent didn’t put the hardworking people of this country first. When it came time to support our troops fighting to protect our freedoms and way of life my opponent said he’d never deprive them of the funds they needed to fight and then did just that.”
He later added, “A vote for me will guarantee that the forces that have brought down our economy will be out of business. I will end the corrupt practices on Wall Street and backroom deals in Washington DC. I will hold accountable those responsible for the oversight and protection of consumers, taxpayers and homeowners. A vote for Sen. Obama will leave this country at risk during one of the most severe challenges to America’s economy since the Great Depression, and that’s straight talk, my friends.”
The New York Times’ Nagourney spends some time on the trail with McCain and isn't impressed. "McCain’s once easygoing if irreverent campaign presence — endearing to crowds, though often the kind of undisciplined excursions that landed him in the gaffe doghouse — has been put out to pasture. He takes far fewer chances, meaning there are fewer risqué jokes, zingers at a familiar face in the crowd, provocative observations on policy or politics, or exercises in self-derogatory humor. By every appearance, this Mr. McCain is, or at least is struggling to be, disciplined and on message in a way befitting of American politics today, if not quite befitting of the McCain of yesterday."
Here's the roughest part of the analysis: "For years, Mr. McCain has struck a different kind of cloth as a presidential candidate: as a politician capable of defying his party or embracing it; holding a world view that defied any easy ideological setting; having an ironic detachment as he observed himself on the campaign trail, combined with a sly sense of humor that leavened his occasional bursts of temper.”
“These days, Mr. McCain sounds less like his old self than Bob Dole, another Republican senator who ran for president in 1996, sounded in the closing days of his campaign — speaking louder or repeating statements that he thinks might be overlooked. ‘The American economy is in a crisis!’ Mr. McCain said. ‘It’s in a crisis!’”
CONTINUED >>
Obama is going to hold off presenting a more detailed plan. Here's his explanation: “The events of the last few days have made it clear that we must take further bold and decisive action to shore up confidence in our financial markets and avoid a deepening economic crisis that could jeopardize the life savings and well-being of millions of Americans. I support the effort of Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with the Congressional leadership to find a systemic solution to our deepening crisis, and I will closely examine the specifics of their effort and the opportunities for swift action. As I review the emerging details of Fed-Treasury proposal with my top economic advisors this morning I will be guided by four basic principles:
“First, we cannot lose sight that we are in the midst of a broad economic crisis that also requires immediate action to create jobs and help support distressed homeowners and communities.
“Second, any taxpayer-funded support must have as its focus protecting our nation's long-term interest in a stable financial market and a growing economy rather than rewarding particular companies or the imprudent decisions of borrowers or lenders.
“Third, this plan must be temporary and coupled with tough new oversight and regulations of our financial institutions.
“Finally, this plan should be part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”
Obama concludes: “Given the gravity of this situation, and based on conversations I have had with both Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, I have asked my economic team to refrain from presenting a more detailed blue-print of how an immediate plan might be structured until the Treasury and the Federal Reserve have had an opportunity to present their proposal. It is critical at this point that the markets and the public have confidence that their work will be unimpeded by partisan wrangling, and that leaders in both parties work in concert to solve the problem at hand.”
CONTINUED >>
The AP : “Todd Palin is refusing to testify in an abuse-of-power investigation into his wife, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Palin had been subpoenaed to appear Friday before Alaska lawmakers to testify as to whether Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was fired because he refused to dismiss a state trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with Sarah Palin’s sister. McCain-Palin spokesman Ed O’Callaghan said Thursday that Todd Palin no longer believes the Legislature’s investigation is legitimate.”
More : "Sarah Palin initially welcomed the bipartisan investigation into accusations that she dismissed the state's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. 'Hold me accountable,' she said. But she has increasingly opposed it since Republican presidential candidate John McCain tapped her as his running mate. The McCain campaign dispatched a legal team to Alaska including O'Callaghan, a former top U.S. terrorism prosecutor from New York to bolster Palin's local lawyer." Los Angeles Times writes. “The 3.2-mile-long partially paved ‘road to nowhere’ meanders from a small international airport on Gravina Island, home to 50 people, ending in a cul-de-sac close to a beach. Crews are working to finish it. But no one knows when anyone will need to drive it.”
“That's because the $26-million road was designed to connect to the $398-million Gravina Island Bridge, more infamously known as the ‘bridge to nowhere.’ Alaskan officials thought federal money would pay for the bridge, but Gov. Sarah Palin killed the project after it was ridiculed and Congress rescinded the money. Plans for the road moved forward anyway.”
CONTINUED >>
National Journal’s Brownstein on that latest round of battleground state polls: “McCain leads among independents in Florida, Ohio, and Virginia. (That Ohio result is a big turnaround from 2004, when exit polls showed Kerry with a double-digit advantage among Ohio independents.) Obama holds a 10-point lead among independents in New Mexico, and the two men split independents almost evenly in Colorado, where they are the fastest-growing segment of the electorate. These independents could prove especially crucial because the portion who are undecided (22 percent across the five states) is much higher than the percentage of undecideds among Democrats or Republicans.”
A new Pew poll shows Hispanics more pessimistic than ever. "Nearly 15% said it had been hard to find or keep a job because they were Latino, and 10% said the same thing about finding or keeping housing. And 57% of Latinos worry that they or a friend or family member will be deported, up from 53% last year. Half of those surveyed by the Pew Hispanic Center said the situation for Latinos in the U.S. was worse now than a year ago. In last year’s survey, a third took that view." COLORADO : The Colorado ballot continues to be in flux as labor and business interests duke it out in a battle over ballot initiatives. FLORIDA : The Miami Herald curtain-raises Obama's visit to the Sunshine State, noting the saturation of economic ads in the state. "In dueling ads in Florida, McCain says he's a ‘proven reformer'’ and calls his rival all ‘talk and taxes,’ while Obama says that only he can bring ‘real change’ and promises a $1,000 tax cut for middle-class families. Obama also tries to capitalize on stock-market jitters by tying McCain to President Bush's unsuccessful plan to ‘privatize’ Social Security in a new ad airing in retiree-rich Palm Beach County. A longer spot, airing in Orlando and Tampa, paints a bleak economic picture: flat paychecks, falling property values, rising healthcare costs."
CONTINUED >>
The Washington Post does the "GOP prospects in congressional races are improving" story, thanks to Palin and base enthusiasm. But what’s the opinion from GOP strategist now that presidential poll numbers have moved in the other direction?
“After months of fundraising doldrums, recruitment misfires and daunting polls, Republicans believe they are finally on the rebound in the battle for Congress. Both sides concede that the GOP stands almost no chance of taking back the House or Senate in November, but party leaders think the Palin factor and an increasingly competitive fight for the White House have generated enthusiasm and momentum that could limit GOP losses to only a few Senate seats and perhaps fewer than a dozen House seats.” AP repots. "Barbour's decision came after the state Supreme Court ruled that putting the election near the bottom of the ballot was against the law, but stopped short of ordering him to move it. Opponents had accused Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman, of attempting to bury the race to try to confuse voters and hurt the chances of the Democratic candidate, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove."
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones Obama said Thursday, telling the audience at a rally he would announce new plans for dealing with the economy tomorrow.
Both campaigns have been scrambling to stay out in front on economic issues this week as news of bank failures and bailouts have roiled financial markets worldwide.
Obama has consistently argued that McCain ’s response to the crisis on Wall Street has been inadequate and that he was now trying to reverse course on issues like market regulation, because it was politically expedient. It's all part of his campaign’s continued effort to convince worried voters the Illinois senator will be a better steward of the economy than his rival.
At the rally here in Northern New Mexico, a state he hopes to snatch away from the Republican column in 47 days, Obama announced plans to host a meeting tomorrow with his top economic advisors.
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From NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger The group organizing a rally on Monday to protest the appearance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations has disinvited all politicians, including Sarah Palin.
A Jewish organizational leader says the decision to disinvite Palin came after two days of conference calls by the planners, most of whom were angry that Palin had been invited and confirmed without the consultation of other organizers.Hillary Clinton , who cancelled her scheduled appearance at the event after learning of Palin's plans to attend, had been confirmed months earlier. But Palin's participation made the non-profit groups planning the event concerned they would lose their tax-exempt status, if only one party's presidential or vice presidential candiate was invited to speak.Obama campaign for the first time Wednesday morning, asking Joe Biden to speak to balance Palin, but in the end the decision was made to not allow political candidates at the event at all, the organizer said.
Organizers of the rally announced the decision today in a press release. “In order to keep the focus on Iranian threats and to ensure that this critical message not be obscured,” noted the release, “the organizers of the rally have decided not to have any American political personalities appear.”
*** UPDATE ***
Mark Wallace, a Palin advisor who is reportedly prepping her for her debates later this month, is serving as executive director of United Against Nuclear Iran, a fledgling coalition of primarily American Jewish groups. Both the organization and the rally were the brainchild of Malcolm Hoenlein, the longtime vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, several American Jewish leaders. Wallace, who is married to McCain campaign communications director Nicole Wallace, was brought on board by Hoenlein, and Jewish leaders say Hoenelin extended the invitation to Palin to speak at the rally.
The McCain campaign also just issued a press release in regard to Palin's cancellation.
From NBC's Carrie Dann McCain ad now airing in Michigan highlights the GOP nominee’s plan to reinvigorate the state’s auto industry.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Jim Popkin Sarah Palin has railed against federal earmarks, or congressional funding for pork-barrel projects. "In our state, we reformed the abuses of earmarks," Palin recently boasted to a rally in Lancaster, Pa. "We championed earmark reform up there," she said, "to stop Congress from wasting public money on things that didn't serve the public interest."
But musty records culled from the archives of the Wasilla, Alaska, city government reveal that Palin was directly involved in soliciting millions of dollars in earmarks for Wasilla when she was mayor. And she got help from a well-connected Washington lobbyist.
In a monthly status report to the city on March 7, 2000, newly hired "City Lobbyist" Steve Silver describes how the Palin administration had requested $6.6 million in federal earmarks for water and sewer improvements for Wasilla, and another $1 million for police equipment. Mayor Palin reviewed and signed the lobbyist's report, dated April 5, 2000.
For more, check out NBC's Deep Background investigative blog.
From NBC's Mark Murray Chris Cox just released this statement: "While I have great respect for Sen. McCain , we have sometimes disagreed, and this is one such occasion. The SEC has made plain that we have zero tolerance for naked short selling. In this market crisis, the men and women of the SEC have responded valiantly as they always do -- with the utmost dedication and professionalism. Addressing the extraordinary challenges facing our markets, the independent and bipartisan SEC has taken the following decisive actions."
More: "I very much appreciate the strong and immediate support of the president. As someone who has been in public life for over 20 years, I know as well as anyone that occasionally this sort of thing can come with the territory. The best response to political jabs like this is simply to put your head down and not lose a step doing the best job you can possibly do on behalf of those you serve. For my part, I plan to do just that. I leave the political campaigns to pursue their own course."
There is also the question whether McCain -- constitutionally -- could actually fire Cox if he were president. A 1935 Supreme Court decision said that FDR overstepped his bounds when he tried to dismiss a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission.
However, the McCain camp argues that McCain could remove Cox as chairman, since the president gets to designate one of the SEC commissioners as chairman. "Not only is there historical precedent for SEC Chairs to be removed, the president of the United States always reserves the right to request the resignation of an appointee and to maintain the customary expectation that it will be delivered,” said spokesman Tucker Bounds in an email.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Biden called McCain’s economic plan “the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere,” while claiming that the Arizona senator is so disconnected from reality that even the Bush Administration has more of a grasp than him.
Speaking outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame here, the former halfback continued to ratchet up the rhetoric against his “good friend” McCain, who he said is “absolutely, profoundly out of touch where we are right now.” He said McCain had just years ago been “bragging” to the same Wall Street executives he now criticizes about “shredding” regulation.
“John McCain basically says I never seen a regulation I like,” he said. “He talked about cutting away all those consumer protections. And now we’re sitting here going, ‘Oh my goodness. How bout those greedy guys on Wall Street.’ The very things that were in place to protect you, this administration and John McCain got rid of.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Joe Biden angrily defended both his ticket’s tax plan and his own claim that tax hikes for the rich are patriotic , while urging fellow Democrats to stand their ground on what he said was a values debate.
Biden, speaking to members of the Laborers International Union of North America, began by saying that there is “no disagreement” between John McCain and Barack Obama on the need for tax cuts. The real issue, he said, is who gets them.
“Catholic social doctrine as I was taught it is, you take care of people who need the help the most,” he said. “Now it'd be different if you could make the case to me that by giving this tax cut to the very wealthy, everybody else was going to be better off. We saw what happened the last eight years when we gave that tax cut."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy and NBC’s Les Kretman CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Appearing at an Iowa rally with his running mate today, John McCain called for the firing of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox , saying that the Bush appointee has “betrayed the public’s trust.”
“The Chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the President and in my view has betrayed the public's trust,” McCain said. “If I were President today, I would fire him.”
Video: Saying financial "markets were turned into a casino," Presidential candidate John McCain calls for the firing of SEC chief Christopher Cox. In their remarks today, both McCain and Sarah Palin launched hits aplenty against Joe Biden , who said in an interview this morning that, when it comes to tax hikes on those making over $250,000, “It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."
Telling his audience that “today Senator Obama's running mate said that raising taxes is patriotic,” McCain responded that “Raising taxes in a tough economy isn't patriotic. It's not a badge of honor. It's just plain dumb.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Charlie Rangel (D-NY) to the floor of the House.The Democratic leader just stood up and moved to "table," or kill the resolution. The House is now voting on that tabling resolution. It is likely to pass, and Rangel will not have to step down from Ways and Means.
From NBC's Mark Murray AllState/National Journal :Obama 45%, McCain 44%
From NBC's Mark Murray and Lauren Appelbaum generated a lot blogosphere chatter... In an interview with Radio Caracol Miami , McCain appeared to either not know who the leader of Spain is (Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ), confused him with a Latin American dictator, or just didn't hear the question (although the interviewer did say: "I'm talking about the president of Spain"). Note: Zapatero is prime minister of Spain, not president.Washington Post that McCain knew who the interviewer was talking about. "The questioner asked several times about Senator McCain's willingness to meet Zapatero (and id'd him in the question so there is no doubt Senator McCain knew exactly to whom the question referred)," he said in an email. "Sen. McCain refused to commit to a White House meeting with President Zapatero in this interview."
Below is McCain's conversation with the interviewer...
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray
Omaha World-Herald , Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) suggested that Palin doesn't have the foreign-policy experience to be president. "'She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials,' Hagel said in an interview. 'You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything.'"And this one: "'I think it's a stretch to, in any way, to say that she's got the experience to be president of the United States,' Hagel said."
NBC's own Luke Russert looks at the unfolding financial crisis and the ramifications that it may have for the presidential race. Sarah Palin , which is exactly what the Obama campaign needs and wants. It also puts the media’s focus back on a real issue, instead of ‘lipstick on a pig.’ Most importantly, it gives both candidates a chance to act presidential and define themselves on economic issues when they have the full attention of the voting public."here , at the Off Air blog at NBC's iCue.com.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann We’re back to August? This presidential contest has certainly been a roller-coaster ride. And as we suggested yesterday, something in the race turned this week. Two new national polls now show Obama with single-digit leads over McCain -- about where the race was before the conventions. The reason why Obama’s up: women. According to the latest New York Times/CBS survey , Obama is ahead overall by five points (48%-43%); a week ago after the GOP convention, CBS had McCain up two points overall (46%-44%) and five points among women (47%-42%). But in the latest poll, Obama once again has the advantage with female voters (54%-38%). The same holds true in a new national Quinnipiac survey, which finds Obama with a four-point lead over McCain (49%-45%) and a 14-point edge among women (54%-40%). Every poll out this week -- whether by a good pollster or a mediocre one -- has shown the same trend: movement towards Obama. It's hard to ignore and one can sense the conventional wisdom shifting again. We have literally lived the adage this week: seven days is a lifetime in politics. If we really back to the pre-convention numbers, this is not a good development for McCain going into the debates. He needed the tie to hold until the debates. The last thing he needs is for the debates to be another moment where he has to catch up rather than solidify his lead. Because after the debates, there really are no more chances to move the race.
Video: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd talks about how drastically the country's financial situation has altered the campaign in the last seven days. Update on the “Palin Effect”: Has Palin’s luster worn off? Has the bubble popped? The New York Times on its survey: “The poll also underlined the extent to which Mr. McCain’s convention, and his selection of Ms. Palin, had excited Republican base voters about his candidacy, which is no small thing in a contest that continues to be so tight: 47 percent of Mr. McCain’s supporters described themselves as enthused about the Republican Party’s presidential ticket, almost twice what it was before the conventions… But the Times/CBS News poll suggested that Ms. Palin’s selection has, to date, helped Mr. McCain only among Republican base voters; there was no evidence of significantly increased support for him among women in general. White women were evenly divided between Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama; before the conventions, Mr. McCain led Mr. Obama among white women, 44 percent to 37 percent. By contrast, at this point in the 2004 campaign, President Bush was leading Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic challenger, by 56 percent to 37 percent among white women.” And don’t miss Karl Rove calling her a “political pick.”
Video: Hackers have broken into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports. Fools rush in: Over the past week, independent analysts and news organizations have criticized -- deservedly so -- the falsehoods and misleading statements from McCain’s TV ads and remarks on the stump. But now the Obama campaign has unveiled a whopper of its own by comparing McCain to Rush Limbaugh in a new Spanish-language ad on immigration. "They want us to forget the insults we've put up with, the intolerance," the ad’s announcer says, per the Washington Post . Then a picture of Limbaugh appears onscreen with quotes of him saying, "Mexicans are stupid and unqualified" and "Shut your mouth or get out." The narrator continues, "John McCain and his Republican friends have two faces. One that says lies just to get our vote and another, even worse, that continues the failed policies of George Bush that put special interests ahead of working families." The big problem with this ad: McCain and Limbaugh don’t agree on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. It’s a pretty low blow, particularly since McCain did see his campaign nearly die because of his support for immigration and the attacks he was receiving on the right from Limbaugh and other talk radio conservatives. Then again, the McCain camp and RNC are airing radio ads blaming Obama for scuttling comprehensive immigration reform because he backed “poison pill” amendments. But that’s not true, either: The GOP base killed immigration reform, not some amendments that immigration advocates also supported.
*** The new Mr. Negative: But -- in a bit of a CW shocker -- it’s certainly true that Obama has gone negative more than McCain since the GOP convention, according to the Wisconsin Advertising Project: 77% of Obama’s commercials were negative, compared with 56% of McCain’s. After McCain’s poll numbers shot up after the GOP convention, the Obama campaign and the DNC fired the heavy artillery at McCain. These percentages are the result of that. And perhaps so is the new state of this race. Could it be that negative ads work?
*** Just wonderin’: Where has Congress been during the financial mess on Wall Street? Bush, too? Everything, it seems, is being left to a former Goldman Sachs guy, Hank Paulson, as well as Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. Congress has literally been on the sidelines, despite the fact that it’s in session.
*** Stat of the day: 500,000 new voters have registered in Indiana since the beginning of the year?!?! That is amazing and explains why McCain can't get the state off the battleground map.
*** On the trail: McCain and Palin campaign together in Cedar Rapids, IA (around noon ET) and then in Green Bay, WI (around 8:00 pm ET). Obama stumps in New Mexico, hitting Española and Albuquerque. Biden remains in Ohio, visiting Canton (at the Pro Football Hall of Fame!), Akron, and Youngstown. And Michelle Obama, in North Carolina, attends a women’s economic roundtable in Charlotte and then a “Women for Obama” rally in Greensboro.
Countdown to the first presidential debate: 8 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails.
The Washington Post's Balz sets the CW on McCain right now. "As with his Monday ["fundamentals"] misstep, once again the message is mixed. Guns blazing, McCain is promising to ride into town to . . . oversee the creation of a commission to study the problem. He is speaking out in favor of regulation but against a history of opposing a heavy government hand. He has expressed his outrage, but what is the balance he would strike between the old and new McCain?”
“In many ways, the opening provided to Obama by McCain's verbal misstep is the least of his problems. What should worry the McCain camp most is the intersection of a renewed focus on the economy and the underlying political climate that has created such difficulties for McCain and his party all year."
The Boston Globe notes McCain's rhetorical turn toward regulation but notes that contradicts his record. "McCain's economic worldview could suddenly be a political liability. Since he has said he supports government intervention only in catastrophic times, he is open to criticism from liberals who see deregulation as the root of the problem and conservatives who see the taxpayer bailouts as rewarding reckless decisions. Fifty-three percent of voters surveyed said they were confident in McCain's ability to make the right decisions about the economy, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll released yesterday, while 60 percent are confident in Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama. The poll showed stark pessimism about the economy - nearly 80 percent rated conditions as negative and 6 in 10 said they are getting worse."
The Los Angeles Times has a similar piece. "The wildly swinging rhetoric from the McCain campaign has delighted Barack Obama, who just last week was struggling to respond to the enthusiasm whipped up by Palin's unexpected arrival on the national stage. Campaigning in Nevada on Wednesday, the Democratic nominee mocked McCain's attempts to cast himself as a reformer. ‘This is somebody who's been in Congress for 26 years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign,’ Obama said.”
CONTINUED >>
Per NBC’s Ron Allen, Biden's stump speech took a new turn last night at Wooster College in battleground Ohio. The change: It was heavy on foreign policy. Biden reminded his audience he was first elected to the Senate when he was just 29, and soon became a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. Biden talked about how he's traveled the world ever since, how he knows," a significant number of world leaders by their first names," people he said he's known since the 1970's and 80's. He asked the crowd to "imagine a country that once again is the most respected in the world?"
Allen adds that it's probably no coincidence Biden was talking about his world view as Palin prepares to visit the United Nations next week. It will be her first meetings with any foreign heads of state, at a time when Palin's foreign experience is being more closely examined.
The campaign is out with yet another ad on the economy. This one hits Obama on the issue of taxes and government spending.
The USA Today editorial page labels McCain the candidate who has a better track record on bipartisanship.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Donald Trump is endorsing McCain.
In speech to a crowd of about 12,000 in Las Vegas last night, Obama hit McCain over his claims that his experience on the Commerce Committee shows he understands the economy, NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones notes. “Sen. McCain then bragged about how as chairman of the Commerce Committee in the Senate, he had oversight of every part of the economy. Well, all I can say to Sen. McCain is nice job. Nice job. I mean where is he getting these lines? The lobbyists running his campaign?”
Obama then compared McCain’s economic plan to a Saturday Night Live skit after talking about McCain adviser Phil Gramm being for deregulation on Wall Street and calling America a nation of whiners. “You can’t make this up. It’s like a Saturday Night Live routine. So then yesterday, Sen. McCain’s big solution to the crisis we’re facing is, ‘Put on your seatbelts, a commission, a commission.’ Well, that’s Washington speak for we’ll get back to you later.”
CW shocker: Obama's run more negative ads than McCain since the conventions. The Washington Post : “Despite perceptions that Sen. John McCain has spent more time on the attack, Sen. Barack Obama aired more negative advertising last week than did the Arizona Republican, says a study released yesterday. Seventy-seven percent of the Illinois Democrat's commercials were negative during the week after the Republican National Convention, compared with 56 percent of the spots run by McCain.”
CONTINUED >>
At last night’s town hall meeting in Michigan, NBC/NJ’s Matthew E. Berger reports, Palin offered to be quizzed on foreign policy issues, but did not give her specific qualifications on international affairs. She was asked what “specific skills” she would bring to the White House on international issues. She responded by saying she was prepared and has the confidence to be vice president, but did not enunciate them. “I have that readiness and if you want specifics with specific policy or countries, go ahead, you can ask you can play stump the candidate if you want to,” she said. “But we are ready to serve."
McCain picked up where she left off, reminding the audience that she is commander of the Alaskan National Guard and had been involved in the construction of the natural gas pipeline in Alaska. He also mentioned that her eldest son is being shipped to Iraq, but mistakenly said he was going as part of the Guard. Track Palin enlisted last year in the Army.
"Palin, in her second national interview since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee, said last night that she and running mate John McCain disagree on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , but that she's 'going to keep working on him."
CONTINUED >>
CNN/Time/Opinion Research polls in five battleground states show the candidates locked in virtual dead heats. In a poll, conducted Sunday through Tuesday, Obama and McCain are tied at 48%-48% in Florida. According to the new numbers, McCain leads by six in Indiana and by a single point in North Carolina -- a traditionally red state where most other polls show him with a more pronounced advantage. Obama leads by two points in Ohio and three points in Wisconsin, the CNN poll says.
COLORADO: Colorado officials, mindful of the effects that their state's lengthy ballot could have on eleventh-hour vote counting on Election Night, are urging voters to cast their ballots early. Fun fact from the Denver Post : "The task confronting voters heading to the polls this November is considerable. With 18 ballot measures and referendums, plus numerous national, state and local political races, the ballot is the longest in the nation and the longest it's been in Colorado since 1912." FLORIDA: The new CNN poll shows Florida, the state that decided the 2000 presidential election and thought to lean in McCain's direction this year, at a dead heat at 48-48. More: "When Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney are added to the choices the 9/14-16 poll has it Obama 48%, McCain 44%." And: "Sixty-seven percent of Florida voters support expanded offshore drilling." hefty price tag he plans for the Florida competition. In a Web video for donors, Plouffe said that spending on ads, staff, and the campaign's ground game "is going to cost a little over $39 million, which is a big number."
INDIANA: Did we know that more than 500,000 new voters have registered in the Hoosier State since the beginning of the year? So reports the Wash. Post this morning. “In the battleground state of Nevada, there are 400,000 more voters registered than four years ago. More than 500,000 have registered in Indiana since the beginning of the year, prompting Secretary of State Todd Rokita to say this could be ‘the biggest Election Day in our nation's history in terms of turnout.’”
IOWA: "McCain's decision to hold an airport rally while skipping a tour of a city still reeling from summer flooding has some in Cedar Rapids grumbling. McCain, they say, is only the latest official to ignore their city's pain. 'That's exactly what's happening,' said Lee Clancy, a Republican and a former mayor who is coordinating flood recovery efforts. 'I don't know if his advance team is making him aware that there are significant needs here.'”
CONTINUED >>
"Rep. Don Young, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. House and currently under federal investigation, narrowly won the Republican primary battle Wednesday to keep his seat, Alaska's only one in the House of Representatives," the AP says. "In a close race only decided with the final counting of about 350 outstanding absentee and questioned ballots, Young beat Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell by 304 votes. Young finished with 48,195 votes; Parnell had 47,891 votes.
More: "Parnell entered the race in dramatic fashion, blindsiding Young at the state GOP convention with his surprise announcement that he would enter the race and pollsters had him ahead of Young. But Parnell squandered the opportunity with a very low-profile campaign. He also may have lost favor with Alaska voters by having his campaign largely funded by individual contributions through the Washington, D.C., anti-earmark group Club for Growth." The Post that Rangel's car has been sitting there for years." pragmatic is business? BIPAC, one of the leading pro-business political organizations, is adding more Dems to its endorsement list.
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain campaign held a conference call this afternoon with two Republican members of Congress from this battleground state, both of whom commended the GOP nominee for his statement this morning -- which they asserted was an announcement of support for $25 billion in government loans to the auto industry.
While visiting a GM plant in Orion this morning, McCain pledged his support for the auto industry, including the need for new innovation in automobile design and loans for new factories.
“I’m here to send a message to Washington and to Wall Street,” McCain said. “We’re not going to leave the workers here in Michigan hung out to dry while we give billions in taxpayers’ dollars to Wall Street. We’re going to take care of the workers. The workers, they’re the ones that deserve our help. It’s time to get our auto industry back on its feet. And it’s time for a new generation of cars and for loans to build the facilities to make them.”
But McCain had previously expressed skepticism about the necessity for the current automotive industry loan proposal circulating in Congress when he was asked about it at his last press conference with national media on August 13 in Birmingham, MI.
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From NBC's Mark Murray CNN/Time , conducted among registered voters September 14-16:McCain 48%, Obama 48%
From NBC's Jeff Hanley and John Talty Obama's event today in Nevada , Republican National Committee chairman Robert Duncan blasted Obama on the economy, stating that “his policies are ones that we’ve seen before … propose a trillion dollars in new government spending and a billion dollars in earmarks… It shows that he is an out of control tax-and-spender.”
Nancy Pfotenhauer, a policy adviser for the McCain campaign, added on the call that it’s McCain’s goal to keep taxes low, and that in an economic downturn you do not want to tax capital formation.
A decade ago, McCain strongly supported policies of deregulation in the banking sector. And asked about the evolution of McCain’s thoughts on policies related to regulation, Duncan replied that it was a “patchwork of regulatory agencies” to blame for the current crisis, and that “better regulation was needed and not necessarily more regulation.”
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones Obama used his third campaign trip to this city in northern Nevada to link McCain to the very “old boys’ network” the GOP presidential nominee says he has promised to fight.
Obama, who has consistently argued that McCain does not understand the magnitude of the economic troubles facing the country and hardworking families, told a crowd of more than 1,500 people gathered in a park here today that, unlike McCain, it didn’t take a crisis on Wall Street for him to realize people were suffering on Main Street.
“We can’t steer ourselves out of this crisis by taking the same disastrous road, and that’s what this election’s about,” he said, repeating his earlier criticisms of McCain’s response to the news of the problems at two of the country’s top investment banks.
Obama went on to argue, as he often does, that the Arizona senator would mean more of the same when it came to Washington politics and a trickle down economic philosophy.
“Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he’s president he’ll take on, and I quote, 'the old boys’ network in Washington.' I’m not making this up. This is somebody been in Congress for 26 years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he’s the one who’s gonna take on the old boys' network,” he said. “In the McCain campaign that’s called a staff meeting!”
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From NBC's Mike Viqueira The big wheels of American auto-making are coming up to your U.S. Capitol this afternoon for a visit with Congressional leaders. Subject: The $25 billion in loans coming to them for the purpose of "re-equipping" the domestic fleet to make it more fuel-efficient.
House minority leader John Boehner said last week the $25 billion in federal loans in the offing for Detroit automakers "looks like a bailout to me." He added that he still hasn't seen all the details.
At issue is a piece of legislation being considering in Congress that would make the money available to Ford, GM, and Chrysler to help them develop and market more fuel efficient vehicles. The automakers are asking for the loans in accordance with a law passed last year by Congress that raised CAFE standards. But many lawmakers, including notable conservatives like Boehner, are wary.
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From NBC's Jeannie Ohm
When repeatedly pressed as to whether the White House still believed the fundamentals are strong, Perino instead used phrases like, "Our economy has the strength to deal with these shocks" and "We are in a position of strength to deal with this crisis."
As for why Perino would not use the word "fundamentals," she said because it had become part of the 2008 campaign, she was not going to be drawn in and become "part of the game."
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From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger Palin said Wednesday that she is "disappointed that taxpayers are called upon to bail out another one" in response to the AIG loan by the Federal Reserve.
From NBC's Carrie Dann Obama’s team airing a higher percentage of negative ads than McCain’s.
New numbers from the Wisconsin Advertising Project , the ad coding venture of the University of Wisconsin’s political science department, show that the two campaigns were almost neck-and-neck in terms of total spending, with both hitting around $7.8 million in total ad expenditures for the week. Campaign ads hitting the airwaves as McCain returned to the road after Minneapolis showed a trend away from positivism, with 77% of ads from the Democratic nominee coding negative, compared to 56% of McCain’s spots.
Another nugget worth noting: although their total spending was similar, Obama’s campaign sponsored 97% of ads in support of its candidate, while the RNC pitched in for over half of McCain’s ads – a total of 57%. CONTINUED >>
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann Has the worm turned? After the news of the crisis on Wall Street, McCain’s “the fundamentals of our economy are strong” stumble on Monday, the slip-ups yesterday by McCain’s two biggest economic surrogates (see below for more on that), and four days of sustained TV ad and email blasts by the Obama campaign and the DNC, the political worm seems to have turned a tad since the Palin bounce. Indeed, while we’re not crazy about focusing too much on those daily tracking polls, their needles have moved in Obama’s direction the past couple of days (and we bet that continues today). And guess what -- we’re not talking as much about Palin as we were last week, except for the latest developments in the Troopergate scandal in Alaska. The race has turned back into McCain vs. Obama, and it currently is sitting on turf (the economy) that should favor Democrats. In fact, even the McCain campaign tacitly acknowledges Palin's off the front pages with a new TV ad today that doesn't mention Palin at all -- not even a "McCain-Palin" Administration. It’s simply McCain. By the way, a car-bomb attack today on the US embassy in Yemen (which killed 16 people, including six security forces, six terrorists, and four civilians) reminds us that the focus of the presidential race -- as well as that political worm -- can turn at a moment’s notice.
*** McCain targeting Gordon Gekko : But even with the attack in Yemen, today’s focus will probably remain on the economy. Both candidates have new TV ads in which they speak to the camera about the current troubles on Wall Street. Here’s McCain’s , which his campaign says will be televised nationally: “You, the American workers, are the best in the world. But your economic security has been put at risk by the greed of Wall Street. That's unacceptable. My opponent's only solutions are talk and taxes. I'll reform Wall Street and fix Washington. I've taken on tougher guys than this before.”
VIDEO: Obama raises millions at a Hollywood fundraiser, while McCain mocks him for attending such an event during tough economic times. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. Gone in 120 seconds : Meanwhile, Obama’s out with a two-minute TV ad on the economy -- a sort of a mini-address to show he's taking the current Wall Street crisis seriously. "Here’s what I believe we need to do,” he says in the ad. “Reform our tax system to give a $1,000 tax break to the middle class instead of showering more on oil companies and corporations that outsource our jobs. End the ‘anything goes’ culture on Wall Street with real regulation that protects your investments and pensions. Fast track a plan for energy ‘made-in-America’ that will free us from our dependence on mid-east oil in 10 years and put millions of Americans to work. Crack down on lobbyists… And yes, bring a responsible end to this war in Iraq so we stop spending billions each month rebuilding their country when we should be rebuilding ours. Doing these things won’t be easy. But we’re Americans. We’ve met tough challenges before. And we can again." This ad isn't just a contrast with McCain; it's actually a contrast with President Bush. In the last six months since the country's economic problems have been front-page news, Bush hasn't done a major address to the nation like he has when there has been international news. By the way, neither this Obama ad nor McCain’s emphasizes jobs. They both talk about them (or imply them), but they aren’t the lead.
*** When surrogates screw up : McCain’s top two economic surrogates had a tough day yesterday. First, Douglas Holtz-Eakin -- in a response to reporters’ questions about what McCain did at the Senate Commerce Committee to understand how markets work -- whipped out his BlackBerry. "He did this," he replied. “Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce committee so you're looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that's what he did." That produced a slew of McCain-invented-the-BlackBerry jokes. Next, Carly Fiorina answered “no” to a question in a radio interview whether Palin has the experience to run a corporation like Hewlett-Packard. In a later interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, Fiorina said that none of the candidates was qualifed. "Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation; I don't think Barack Obama could run a major corporation; I don't think Joe Biden could run a major corporation.” The Obama camp immediately pounced. “If John McCain’s top economic advisor doesn’t think he can run a corporation, how on Earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis?" Ouch.
VIDEO: NBC's Chuck Todd gives his first read on McCain's difficulty addressing economic concerns over the past couple days and discusses the lack of emphasis on job creation from either candidate. A stroll through memory lane : Remember when two of the leading voices against Wall Street in the Dem Party were John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer? The Edwards and Spitzer rhetoric, even if from flawed characters, is being borrowed from heavily by both campaigns right now.
*** The Beltway buzzer : The buzzy piece of the day comes courtesy of the Politico’s Roger Simon , who has some former Dem bigwigs wringing their hands slightly at the position Obama finds himself in. The most interesting criticism comes from Donna Brazile, who believes Obama’s media strategists “need to sharpen their ads so they are more memorable and have a shelf life of more than 24 hours.” This gets at a whisper campaign that we've been privvy to for some time about Obama's media team. A lot of smart political types have been surprised by the lack of "stickiness" of Obama's TV ads. McCain's ads might be getting killed by the truth-squadders, but they are being talked about and voters seem to remember them. There's not a memorable Obama TV ad that anyone can point to and say, "Wow, that's an interesting ad," even as they seem well produced and well focus-grouped. The most memorable Dem ad we can think of is one that has to do with a 3:00 am phone call. By the way, speaking of "sticky," there's a new MoveOn ad that uses McCain's "my friends" catch phrase very cleverly. Yet another ad from the Dem side that's catchy but not from Team Obama.
*** Republican Jews swift-boating Obama? Don’t miss the Politico story about the Republican Jewish Coalition commissioning a negative poll about Obama in some battleground states. “The poll asked voters their response to negative statements about Obama, including reported praise for him from a leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas and a friendship early in his career with a pro-Palestinian university professor. Some Jewish Democrats who received the poll – including a New Republic writer who lives in Michigan – were outraged by the poll, describing it in interviews as ‘ugly’ and disturbing. A group that supports Obama, the Jewish Council for Education and Research even staged a protest outside the Manhattan call center from which the calls originated Tuesday.” It appears to truly be a message-testing poll -- and not a so-called "push poll" -- which goes to tens of thousands of voters. This was an actual survey testing the most effective attack against Obama.
*** Clinton's no second fiddle : In the span of about four hours yesterday, Hillary Clinton committed then decommitted to a planned Monday protest of Ahmadienjad in New York. For the opening of the UN General Assembly, a coalition of Jewish groups hoped to flex its political muscle by convincing both Clinton and Palin to participate in an anti-Iran protest. Well, no one told Clinton's folks Palin would also be there. When they found out, they felt blindsided and backed out. Palin isn't 100% yet on the protest -- but her attendance is very likely, particularly since her first meeting with some key Jewish leaders in the US didn't go so well. She needs to show some Israeli solidarity. Palin's appearance at the UN is a tricky decision by the McCain campaign because there's a fine line between introducing a future VP to the world and looking like someone participating in their first model UN.
*** On the trail : McCain and Palin hold an evening rally in Grand Rapids, MI. Obama is in Nevada, stumping in Elko and attending a rally in North Las Vegas. Biden, in Ohio, campaigns in Maumee and Wooster. And Michelle Obama visits Virginia, attending a women’s economic roundtable in Richmond and then a voter-registration rally in Charlottesville.
*** Elsewhere : On Capitol Hill today, at the DNC headquarters, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Rosa DeLauro, Donna Edwards, Linda Sanchez, and Diana DeGette hold a press conference contrasting the Obama and McCain records on women’s issues. Meanwhile, Clinton supporter and DNC Platform Committee member Lynn Forester de Rothschild (wife of international banker Sir Evelyn de Rothschild) holds a presser announcing her support for McCain.
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The Wall Street Journal looks at the two candidates' responses to the current economic crisis and notes both are talking up more regulation. "Both say regulators should tighten rules on the type and amount of funds financial institutions should hold. Both say the government must consolidate the patchwork of financial regulators into a more streamlined system."
More: "Neither candidate has embraced a more radical plan that would allow the government to take over the bad assets currently fouling the financial system. During the 1980s, Resolution Trust Corp. liquidated savings-and-loan institutions and sold off their real-estate portfolios. One popular idea would empower a federal agency to do the same with securities held by troubled financial institutions."
Bloomberg News also notices the pro-regulation campaign rhetoric and finds that "Obama's record in this area is thin, and McCain has spent most of his quarter- century in Congress advocating deregulation.”
However, the Washington Post notes McCain's more regulation talk is new. "A decade ago, Sen. John McCain embraced legislation to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries, helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades in favor of a less restricted financial marketplace that proponents said would result in greater economic growth. Now, as the Bush administration scrambles to prevent the collapse of the American International Group (AIG), the nation's largest insurance company, and stabilize a tumultuous Wall Street, the Republican presidential nominee is scrambling to recast himself as a champion of regulation to end ‘reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed’ on Wall Street."
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The New York Times delves into the debate among Catholics about whether pro-choice Catholic Dem leaders should be punished politically in the church. "A struggle within the church over how Catholic voters should think about abortion is once again flaring up just as political partisans prepare an all-out battle for the votes of Mass-going Catholics in swing-state towns like Scranton. The theological dispute is playing out in diocesan newspapers and weekly homilies, while the campaigns scramble to set up phone banks of nuns and private meetings with influential bishops.”
Biden has hired a lobbyist to look after his Senate re-election bid , which is taking place simultaneously with his VP run. "Lobbyist William Oldaker continues to represent the Delaware Democrat in his simultaneous bid for Senate re-election, serving as legal counsel just as he has for Biden's campaigns for the past 25 years. Oldaker is an election law attorney and partners with Biden's son Hunter at the Washington firm, Oldaker, Biden & Belair. He is also an appropriations lobbyist who represents lawyers, American Indians, and educational and health care institutions and who drew fire in 2005 for serving on numerous fundraising committees that donate to the lawmakers he lobbies."
Biden spokesman David Wade responds to the story, "I mean, my lord, news at 11:00 -- a former general counsel to the FEC, who has been an election lawyer to a former speaker of the House, to Sen. Ted Kennedy, and to Gen. Wes Clark, is still legal counsel to a campaign he's represented for 25 yrs. And, oh by the way, he doesn't lobby Joe Biden or his office. Mercy. Meanwhile John McCain's foreign policy is written by guys who lobby for foreign governments and his economic policy (and boy does it show) is transcribed by big corporate lobbyists."
"McCain has long considered himself a political maverick, and there's no doubt that the Arizona senator has bucked the system -- especially later in his career," the AP writes. "A guy who was so close to the establishment that he once had his own number in the Keating Five scandal over time has challenged the institutions of Congress with campaign finance legislation and other reform measures. A character so prominent in his party he could credibly run for its 2000 presidential nomination was enough of a bipartisan figure that Democrat John Kerry considered McCain as a running mate during the 2004 election.”
The New York Times examines McCain’s struggles pivoting to the economy. "With economic conditions worsening over the course of this year and voter anxiety on the rise, Mr. McCain has had to labor to get past the impression — fostered by his own admissions as recently as last year that the subject is not his strongest suit — that he lacks the experience and understanding to address the nation’s economic woes. In the most recent case, he first sought to explain away his remarks about the economy’s fundamental soundness by saying he had been referring to the American people, almost daring his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, to contradict him on that score. But within hours his aides were scheduling appearances for him Tuesday on all the morning television news shows so that he could try to erase the notion, being promoted aggressively by Democrats, that he was out of touch."
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The New York Times looks at Obama's efforts to take advantage of the nation's shift in focus to the economy. "Obama is striving to boil down the argument of Wall Street to make it more applicable to the lives of all voters, no matter where they are. In hundreds of town meetings with voters in the last 19 months, he has heard countless stories about Americans who have lost their jobs, their homes and their quality of life. While many stories are similar to his own — growing up with a single mother of modest means — even some supporters concede he has not always made the connection. His advisers play down the possibility that his race has hampered his effort to build the trust of some voters."
More: "Neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. McCain won their respective nominations through their economic messages. Mr. Obama was a candidate of change, who campaigned on his judgment in opposing the Iraq war. And Mr. McCain largely appealed to Republicans because of his national security credentials and support for the war. The economy may not have been their initial playing field, but both have no choice but to urgently adapt."
The Hill notes some backseat driving of the Obama campaign. A bunch of Dems are quoted questioning Obama's decision to discourage third party efforts during the summer from attacking McCain, a time of the campaign where it was possible to define McCain before McCain got the chance to redefine himself with Palin.
Politico reports, "The Republican Jewish Coalition, which is launching a campaign against Obama on behalf of Senator John McCain, sponsored the poll to ‘understand why Barack Obama continues to have a problem among Jewish voters,’ the group's executive director, Matt Brooks, told Politico. The poll asked voters their response to negative statements about Obama, including reported praise for him from a leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas and a friendship early in his career with a pro-Palestinian university professor. Some Jewish Democrats who received the poll – including a New Republic writer who lives in Michigan – were outraged by the poll, describing it in interviews as ‘ugly’ and disturbing. A group that supports Obama, the Jewish Council for Education and Research even staged a protest outside the Manhattan call center from which the calls originated Tuesday.
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Per NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, at Palin’s joint event tonight with McCain in Michigan, Palin will take her first questions from town hall participants -- the first time she has done this since being selected as McCain’s running mate. As for Palin taking questions from the traveling press corps, well, that still hasn’t happened yet. In fact, the DNC has unveiled a new clock counting the days, hours, and minutes since McCain’s last press conference (34 days) and the time between Palin was picked and her first press conference (18 days and counting).
The Palin-appointed Alaska attorney general said "state employees would refuse to honor subpoenas in the case ." "In a letter to state Sen. Hollis French, the Democrat overseeing the investigation, Republican Attorney General Talis Colberg asked that the subpoenas be withdrawn. He also said the employees would refuse to appear unless either the full state Senate or the entire Legislature votes to compel their testimony." are trying to help suspend or shut down the legislative role in the trooper investigation . “Five Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to halt an inquiry into Gov. Sarah Palin’s dismissal of her public safety commissioner, arguing that the Legislature has exceeded its authority by conducting a ‘McCarthyistic investigation.’”
Newsweek's Isikoff, reporting from Alaska, notes how seriously the McCain folks are taking the trooper investigation. "A former top Justice Department prosecutor now working for John McCain's presidential campaign has been helping to direct an aggressive legal strategy aimed at shutting down a pre-election ethics investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The growing role of Edward O'Callaghan, who until six weeks ago served as co-chief of the terrorism and national security unit of the U.S. attorney's office in New York, illustrates just how seriously the McCain campaign is taking the so-called ‘troopergate’ inquiry into Palin's firing last summer of Walt Monegan, Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner.”
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"Obama is calling for a $5 billion trust fund for Great Lakes cleanup and restoration as he focuses on states critical to winning the White House," AP reports. "The fund, to be phased in over 10 years, would be the centerpiece of a plan that also calls for a coordinator to oversee Greats Lakes programs and would step up the fight against invasive species." COLORADO : Per the Rocky Mountain News : "More than $6 million flowed into the campaigns for and against the state ballot measures during the past two weeks, and not a dime was from oil and gas companies. Almost all of the money came from fewer than a dozen donors, ranging from unions to casinos to auto dealers, campaign-finance filings show."FLORIDA : The Miami Herald reports: "The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and American Civil Liberties Union of Florida launched a voter registration campaign Monday targeting convicted felons whose rights have been restored. 'Our nation's future is at stake,' say campaign ads featuring models with booking photos over their mouths. 'Your voice shouldn't be silenced by your past.' Designed by a Miami ad agency, the ads will be displayed in minority communities across the state, including in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and will be splashed on buses in English and Spanish."
MICHIGAN : The Detroit News covers Dems' unfolding lawsuit over alleged GOP "caging" practices in the state.
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From NBC's Carrie Dann
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From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger Palin accused Obama of supporting tax increases that would “equate to billions and billions of dollars taken from you,” and said Democrats would need even more tax increases to support their proposals.
“His tax plans really would kill jobs and hurt small businesses and make even today's bad economy look like the good old days,” Palin said at a joint rally with McCain at an airplane hangar. (Obama's tax plan, however, raises taxes only on families who make more than $250,000 per year, and it gives larger tax cuts than McCain's plan does to those who make less than that amount.)
Palin said McCain would help put the economy “back on track” by helping small business owners so they can expand and create more jobs, as well as reform the banking industry that has had a serious of bankruptcies and purchases in recent days.
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From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Joe Biden headed to Union Station to take Amtrak back to Wilmington, as he has for most of his 36 years in the United States Senate. All that was different today was the accompanying Secret Service and media contingent with him.
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From NBC's Chuck Todd Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin will participate in a protest on Monday of the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadienjad , NBC News has learned.
The two politicians will not appear together at the protest but will both participate, according to those close to the organizing of this protest. The event is being organized by a coalition of groups (mostly Jewish) upset by the presence of Ahmadienjad in New York at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly and the threat Iran presents to "global security."
The protest will take place across the street from the U.N.
*** UPDATE ***
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina , a chief McCain surrogate, said on a radio show Palin is not qualified to run a major corporation. Sam Stein at Huffington Post . Fiorina later confirmed and defended what she said, going further in an interview this afternoon with NBC's Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC dismissing McCain, Obama or Biden 's capability to run a company.)
Video: Current McCain supporter, and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, tells NBC's Andrea Mitchell that in her opinion, none of the candidates are up to running a major corporation. CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray McCain camp has released a TV ad on Wall Street's current troubles. In the ad, which the campaign says will run nationally, McCain serves as the narrator.
Note: Critics might seize on the kicker in the ad: "Experience and leadership in a time of crisis." While the word "crisis" was the title of yesterday's TV ad , it doesn't necessarily square with McCain's "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" line.
Script: MCCAIN: The economy is in crisis. Enough is enough. I'll meet this financial crisis head on.
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones Barack Obama sought to spell out for voters why he has a better plan for the economy and for avoiding future economic crises than his rival.
Citing Democrats Franklin D. Roosevelt , Harry Truman and Bill Clinton as examples of presidents who had led during tough times, Obama told an audience at a Colorado rally that he would offer a specific plan rather than a '9/11-style' commission to investigate the financial crisis, as John McCain proposed in a series of morning show interviews.
“This morning, instead of offering up concrete plans to solve these issues, Sen. McCain offered up the oldest Washington stunt in the book – you pass the buck to a commission to study the problem,” he said to laughter from the crowd of about 2,200 people packed into a gym. “But here’s the thing – this isn’t 9/11. We know how we got into this mess. What we need now is leadership that gets us out.”
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From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
Sarah Palin originally supported the so-called “Bridge to Nowhere,” the McCain campaign released a timeline Tuesday to emphasize her consistent opposition to the project since her inauguration as governor. But the document also shows that she once backed the Alaskan congressional delegation, which was working to secure funds for the project.
The timeline, which begins with the bill’s passage in Congress in 2005, acknowledges that Palin initially supported the project, denying it was a “Bridge to Nowhere” and saying it should be made available for a “link” between Ketchikan and a sparsely populated island.
But, the campaign said, Palin’s first budget as governor -- which she offered less than a month after taking office in Dec. 2006 -- did not include funding for the bridge. Her administration began criticizing the bridge project as it ballooned early the next year.
By Sept. 2006, the project was dead. Palin said the state was $329 million short in funding the construction, “despite the work of our congressional delegation.” Palin then began receiving praise and criticism for killing the project.
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From NBC's Andrea Mitchell Richard Shelby of Alabama, just said on MSNBC that he talked to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson within the hour and told him he opposes any federal bailout for AIG.
Video: CNBC's Jim Cramer tells Erin Burnett that "AIG is the number one institution in the world that must be saved," as risks to banks are too great should it fail. McCain's call today for a 9/11 Commission to investigate corporate pay packages and other issues related to the economy. Shelby said he thinks it should be up to corporate directors to determine CEO pay.
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain' s plan for repairing the market's problems.
"The story line that people want to write that somehow McCain himself or the McCain campaign doesn't understand what's going on in the economy is just wrong," Holtz-Eakin said. "We do. But you shouldn't run for president by denigrating everything in sight and trying to scare people."
Video: Sen. John McCain promises to "end unbridled greed" on Wall Street by streamlining existing regulatory bodies and enacting laws to reform the "wild speculation that has put our markets at risk." "Now, there's no magic solution and I don't think it's at this moment imperative to write down exactly what the plan has to be" Holtz-Eakin said. "But there should be an understanding that when you walk out of the Congress with a piece of legislation in the next administration, those boxes are checked and those things are effectively accomplished."
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From NBC's Mark Murray
Earlier this morning, the Republican National Committee pounced on Biden talking about how Obama's middle-class tax cuts can benefit Americans. "Our tax plan would take that tax cut of another $130 billion that John [McCain] wants to give to people making over $250,000 next year ... and give it to the middle class -- the very people who desperately need it to stay in their homes, to buy food, take care of their gas, to fill up their tank, to buy a toaster, to employ people."
RNC spokesman Alex Conant focused solely on the "toaster" part of Biden's remarks. “John McCain’s economic plan is focused on adding jobs, and the Obama -Biden plan is focused on adding ‘toasters.'"
Next, Democrats seized on McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin's response to what McCain did at the Senate Commerce Committee to understand how markets work. "He did this," Douglas Holtz-Eakin told reporters this morning, holding up his BlackBerry. "Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce committee so you're looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that's what he did." (Hat tip, Politico's Jonathan Martin .)
And Al Gore invented the internet! Obama spokesman Bill Burton piles on: “If John McCain hadn’t said that ‘the fundamentals of our economy are strong’ on the day of one of our nation’s worst financial crises, the claim that he invented the BlackBerry would have been the most preposterous thing said all week."
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Nancy Pelosi , who for the past months, has resisted any and all calls to expand off-shore drilling.
Now, after a summer of quasi-sessions held by Republicans on the House floor and "drill baby, drill" at the GOP convention and Democratic nominee Obama saying he would be for off-shore drilling as part of a larger energy plan, Pelosi and Dem leadership have had a change of heart.
But it doesn't go far enough for Republicans.
The Democratic measure sets a 50-mile boundary off shore if individual states permit drilling off their coasts; that's too far, say Republicans, because it would leave vast reserves closer to shore untouched.
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From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann Pivoting to the economy: Yesterday, we were no longer talking about “lipstick on a pig.” Or whose TV ads are more misleading. Or even -- at least compared with the last two weeks -- Sarah Palin. Instead, the focus was squarely on the economy after Lehman Brothers went under, Bank of America had to rescue Merrill Lynch, and giant insurer AIG is now in trouble. Obama appears to benefit at least in the short term, since we’re talking about the issues, particularly one that traditionally favors Democrats. And, perception-wise, McCain didn’t help himself when he said the “fundamentals of our economy are strong” -- words that Obama’s campaign yesterday pounced on and McCain later backtracked from. In fact, the Obama camp is up with a brand-new TV ad today (airing in “key states”) that whacks McCain for saying that. However, it’s worth pointing out that those words from McCain weren’t new. By our count, he has used that phrase at least 16 times between Jan. 1 and June 5th of this year. So why the outrage now ? By the way, before yesterday, McCain had been closing the gap on the economy in the polls. Will that movement continue? Is this the time for Obama to unveil Bubba?
VIDEO: As the stock market dips, rocked by the continuing credit crisis, McCain and Obama give differing views on how they would handle the economy. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. Is two better than one? Well, it didn’t last long. One day after stumping solo in Florida -- and attracting smaller crowds in the process -- McCain joins Palin on the campaign trail again, in the battleground of Ohio. But this comes after a final solo stop today by McCain in Tampa, FL. As NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger reported last week, the campaign says that McCain and Palin might appear together more often than not for the remainder of the race. This unprecedented joint campaigning certainly has its rewards (producing bigger crowds as well as more excitement and enthusiasm from the base). But it also has its risks (limiting the ground the ticket can cover and making McCain seem beholden to Palin to produce big crowds for him). Then again, McCain isn't trying to win a bigger battleground; the GOP ticket is trying to win just a handful of states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, while assuming it can hold Virginia and Florida. So if you believe the McCain battleground is essentially a seven state strategy, then you can afford joint ticket campaigning. Also, don’t miss David Brooks’ column, in which he says -- very nicely -- that Palin doesn’t seem ready to be VP. Brooks becomes the latest member of the conservative intelligentsia (joining Frum, Krauthammer, Douthat, and Will) who likes Palin but doesn't believe she’s ready for primetime.
VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd discusses how the candidates are reacting to economic concerns, as McCain and Palin reunite on the campaign trail and Obama targets female voters. Troopergate news: Speaking of Palin, the Troopergate story in Alaska is garnering more headlines today, especially after a McCain spokesman said that Palin is unlikely to cooperate with investigators looking into the matter. Also, the McCain campaign dumped a slew of emails last night to suggest that ex-Public Safety head Walt Monegan was fired because of insubordination and not because he refused to dismiss Palin’s ex-brother-in-law. But it’s not helpful to Palin that Monegan is talking to reporters. Here’s what Monegan told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow about the news that Palin is unlikely to cooperate: “I'm disappointed on two areas here. First off, because initially she said she was going to cooperate like you mentioned. But the other part, probably more fundamental, is that she campaigned and was all of Alaska's hope for an open and transparent government. And now, it's thwarted.” This is a nagging issue, one that won't go away but without any major moment (like either Palin testifying before the election). It strikes us as one that won't get major attention because it does smack of petty small-town politics. Then again, the investigation seems to undermine her reformer credentials.
VIDEO: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow speaks with Walt Monegan about news that Palin will likely not cooperate with Troopergate investigators. A star is born: By the way, after stumping for a second day in the battleground of Colorado, Obama heads to LA for a star-studded fundraiser (Barbra Streisand will perform!), where he’s expected to rake in big bucks for his campaign and the DNC. Of course, it’s always a risk for Democratic candidates – especially ones that Republicans are trying to paint as elitist -- to be seen hob-knobbing with celebrities. And remember that Whoopi Goldberg remark at that 2004 fundraiser for John Kerry? All of this is probably why the Obama camp is only allowing a print pooler to cover tonight’s fundraiser. Then again, why is that when Republican candidates attend fundraisers with celebrities (like McCain’s recent event with Jon Voight, Jon Cryer, Patricia Heaton, Angie Harmon, Robert Duvall), it garners less attention than when Democrats do? By the way, this fundraiser -- fair or not -- may spark questions as to why Obama has to spend precious fall campaign time in a non-battleground state to raise money. Couldn't a surrogate attend this event? Michelle and all the Bidens? Wouldn't that suffice?
*** Wooing women: One of the biggest reasons for the dead-even presidential race: The Palin pick has cut into Obama’s lead among women. So the Obama camp has ramped up effort to woo women with increased women surrogates. As the Washington Post reports today, “It rolled out a women's outreach effort Monday, led by scores of prominent female entrepreneurs, athletes and politicians, including former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright, cosmetics entrepreneur Bobbi Brown and Yahoo! Inc. President Sue Decker. The women will act as surrogates for Obama, advocating his support for issues such as equal pay, expansion of family leave and reduction of health care costs. Prominent women also are flooding the airwaves on Obama's behalf, including Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Govs. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), a former Hillary Rodham Clinton backer." Obama getting women to come back to his side is probably the difference between winning and losing.
*** Two additional questions for today: One, anyone notice what a lower profile Michelle Obama has been taking since the naming of Palin? Two, has anyone else noticed that the Obama campaign doesn't use his acceptance speech as the stump like McCain does? While Obama seemed to win the immediate convention speech contest with McCain, it's McCain who is taking his speech on the road and turning it into his stump -- amplifying the reform aspect of his speech. It's not that Obama doesn't use many parts of his acceptance speech on the stump; it's that there's nothing from that speech the campaign is amplifying -- whether it's his biography or the tough McCain lines. About the only line that comes across as memorable right now from Obama and that speech is the "enough is enough" stuff. McCain's speech, while not widely praised in the media, has had more legs. Could this be another lesson for the press not to judge an acceptance speech immediately? Remember, Al Gore's acceptance speech was widely panned on the night he gave it and it turned out to have more legs. Then again, maybe it's simply the advantage of going second.
*** On the trail: McCain holds a solo rally in Tampa, FL before joining up with Palin for another rally in Vienna, OH. Obama stumps in Golden, CO just a day after Palin campaigned there, and he later hits a fundraiser in Los Angeles (where Barbra Streisand will perform). And Biden attends a community gathering in Media, PA.
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The Washington Post looks at how the current financial crisis brings the economy back to the forefront. "McCain faces the bigger challenge. As the Republican nominee, he must answer for what has happened on President Bush's watch and offer a plausible explanation for why his conservative administration would be genuinely different. Obama already is attacking him as ill-equipped to deal with the financial crisis and has aggressively moved to tie a future McCain administration to a lobbyist-dominated Washington culture.”
VIDEO: McCain talks about the economy, talks politics, and defends his 'kindergarten-sex education' attack ad on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe'. More: "McCain's own admission, the economy is not his natural turf, and his comments yesterday seemed less than sure-footed. At his first event of the day, he acknowledged that the economy is in difficult straits and promised to shake up Washington and Wall Street. But he also said he still thinks that ‘the fundamentals of our economy are strong’… By the time the Republican nominee had made the short flight to Orlando for a town hall meeting, his campaign had e-mailed reporters new remarks he would deliver. They seemed a 180-degree turn. If McCain's earlier comments had seemed designed to reassure, his new ones were dire. ‘The American economy is in a crisis -- in a crisis,’ he repeated.”
VIDEO: Biden talks about what he meant when he said Republicans aren't used to "smart people," and the differences in running for the Senate as opposed to vice president is that America is in trouble right now New York Times looks at how both McCain and Obama might handle the mess on Wall Street. McCain's "record on the issue, and the views of those he has always cited as his most influential advisers, suggest that he has never departed in any major way from his party’s embrace of deregulation and relying more on market forces than on the government to exert discipline. While Mr. McCain has cited the need for additional oversight when it comes to specific situations, like the mortgage problems behind the current shocks on Wall Street, he has consistently characterized himself as fundamentally a deregulator and he has no history prior to the presidential campaign of advocating steps to tighten standards on investment firms." CONTINUED >>
FLORIDA: The Miami Herald notes McCain's focus on immigration yesterday in Orlando. "Once pummeled for backing what critics tarred as ‘amnesty,’ McCain has talked little about immigration during the general election campaign. He did not raise the issue Monday in Jacksonville, reliably Republican turf where he began a two-day tour that wraps up Tuesday in Tampa. But Orlando offered a different audience. Central Florida is home to a fast-growing Hispanic community coveted for its political independence, unlike the staunchly Republican Cuban-American voters who have dominated Miami-Dade politics."NEW JERSEY: This is the third poll in three days out of New Jersey -- yes, New Jersey -- that has McCain within single digits. Quinnipiac has the race at three points, and that's probably as close as McCain can get. Republicans, of course, have seen this NJ movie before, but clearly the state is going to be closer than the experts thought.
NORTH CAROLINA: New voter registration numbers favor the Dems by an 8-1 ratio.
OHIO: A new Suffolk University poll shows McCain up 46-42 in the Buckeye State. "As for which candidate they trusted more, sampled voters chose Mr. McCain over Mr. Obama by an eight-point margin, 49 percent to 41 percent. By an even larger margin, 41 percent to 31 percent, they said the Arizona senator is more likely than the Illinois senator to fulfill his pledge to lower taxes."
VIRGINIA: The AP looks at Obama's uphill battle in traditionally red Virginia, noting that even promising Democratic voter registration numbers don't always signal success. "Obama still could defy the old electoral formulas. He has opened about 40 campaign offices across the state. His supporters have fanned out to register tens of thousands of new voters by the Oct. 6 deadline. Registration drives, however, don't always translate into votes. Democrats led a voting drive that accounted for many of the 270,000 Virginia voters newly registered in 2004, but John Kerry lost Virginia by 9 percentage points."
Now McCain says Obama DIDN'T call Sarah Palin a pig -- despite defending his campaign's "ad anyway, saying Obama 'chooses his words very carefully.' The implication: Obama was slyly up to something when he said McCain's call for change in Washington is 'lipstick on a pig,' days after Palin made a lipstick joke at the Republican convention. 'He's very eloquent,' McCain told The Associated Press and Florida newspapers in an interview, and 'it was the wrong thing to say.'"
The retooling of the Obama message is the focus of this Washington Post story: "After a string of tactical successes by McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, over the past two weeks, the Obama campaign sought to regain its footing on Monday. The shift followed a series of internal meetings, including a rare Sunday evening session at the campaign's Chicago headquarters that Obama attended. Advisers reinforced the division of labor in the days ahead: Obama will articulate the campaign's broader message of ‘change’ and outline how the Democratic ticket will govern, while Biden will deliver attacks against the GOP ticket, drawing on his 30-year-old relationship with McCain to undercut the Arizona senator's standing, especially among working-class voters."
Video: As the stock market dips, rocked by the continuing credit crisis, Barack Obama and John McCain give differing views on how they would handle the economy. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports. “The women will act as surrogates for Obama, advocating his support for issues such as equal pay, expansion of family leave and reduction of health care costs. Prominent women also are flooding the airwaves on Obama's behalf, including Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Govs. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), a former Hillary Rodham Clinton backer."
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Has David Brooks come out against the idea of a VP Palin? It seems so. "Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.”
“The idea that ‘the people’ will take on and destroy ‘the establishment’ is a utopian fantasy that corrupted the left before it corrupted the right. Surely the response to the current crisis of authority is not to throw away standards of experience and prudence, but to select leaders who have those qualities but not the smug condescension that has so marked the reaction to the Palin nomination in the first place."
The Washington Post reports that Palin “is unlikely to meet with a special prosecutor looking into whether she or other state officials improperly pushed to punish a trooper, a spokesman for John McCain's presidential campaign announced Monday. Since Palin was named as McCain's running mate Aug. 29, the campaign has dismissed the state legislature's investigation into her dismissal of the state's director of public safety, saying that Democrats are exploiting the probe for political gain.”
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow spoke with Monegan. Some excerpts:
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Charlie Rangel is fighting for his political life right now as he tries to keep his Ways and Means gavel for the next Congress. "Rangel has privately discussed the idea of stepping aside temporarily, pending the outcome of a House ethics inquiry, Democrats said. But leaders are concerned that it could set a precedent in which chairmen who have not been charged criminally may be forced out of their positions.”
“Mr. Rangel, a 19-term congressman, has been rattled by an assortment of ethics questions since July, when The New York Times reported that a prominent developer had allowed him to lease rent-stabilized apartments, including one that he used as a fund-raising office, in violation of state regulations."
From NBC’s Ben Weltman and Domenico Montanaro
With Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy, both presidential candidates had the opportunity to make their case on the state of the American economy.
The Democratic ticket, though, was quick to seize on part of McCain ’s speech this morning when he said, “Our economy, I think, still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times."
“Fundamentals of our economy are strong” was the key phrase. But it wasn’t new. And neither was the Obama response. (McCain later tried to clarify and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he agreed with the characterization.)
First Read searched through our database of the candidates' speeches and found McCain had used the phrase at least 16 other times, between Jan. 1st and June 5th of this year.
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From NBC's Libby Leist Colin Powell , the first African-American Secretary of State, said this afternoon that electing an African-American US president would be “electrifying” for the world, but he said he still remains undecided between McCain and Obama .
Appearing today at George Washington University with four other former US Secretaries of State -- Madeleine Albright , James Baker , Warren Christopher , and Henry Kissinger -- Powell and the panel were asked by a student whether they thought America electing Obama president would send a more powerful image overseas than John McCain.
Baker and Albright spoke first and said they both thought it would be significant, but Baker noted he was still voting Republican. “I think electing the first African-American president would send a powerful message not just abroad but in this country as well. Having said that I have, of course, endorsed Sen. McCain,” Baker said to much laughter.
Albright followed up and got a huge round of applause from the college audience for her presidential choice. “I think it would send a huge message in terms of what America stands for and in terms of diversity and potential. And I, of course, am supporting Sen. Obama,” she said.
Then came Powell. “[T]o send that kind of a message, I think would be electrifying,” he said, “but at the same time, we have to make a judgment here ... which of the candidates blends a right measure of experience and judgment? I have been watching both of these individuals, and I know them both extremely well and I have not decided who I’m going to vote for yet.”
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From NBC's Mark Murray Obama camp released excerpts of the speech he's expected to deliver in Pueblo, CO, in which he mocks McCain's clarification of his earlier remark today that the "fundamentals of our economy are strong."
"Now, a few hours later, John McCain’s campaign sent him back out to clean up his remarks. And he explained that what he really meant to say was that American workers are strong. Now come on, Sen. McCain. We know you meant what you said the first time because you’ve said it before. And your chief economic adviser -- the man who wrote your economic plan -- said that we’re in a 'mental recession'; that this is all in our heads; that we’re a nation of whiners."
"Don’t get me wrong," Obama adds. "When Sen. McCain says that American workers are the backbone of our economy, and that they aren’t getting a fair shake from Washington, he’ll get no argument from me. I’ve been making that case for 19 months."
But: "Sen. McCain, you can’t run away from your words or your record. When it comes to this economy, you’ve stood firmly with George Bush and a failed economic theory, and what you’re offering the American people is more of the same."
From NBC's Cherelle Kantey McCain attacked Obama -- accusing him of having a thin record on reform.Palin's -- are what's needed to address the economic crisis. He also confronted talk that he's adopted Sen. Obama's change slogan rather than focusing on experience, by saying his reform strategy is nothing new.
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones Obama argued here today that McCain's earlier statement that the fundamentals of the economy are strong shows that the GOP presidential nominee is out of touch with voters' economic concerns.
Obama, in fact, said that voters must ask themselves whether they can afford to vote for McCain. “He doesn’t get what’s happening between the mountain in Sedona where he lives and the corridors of power where he works,” he said. “Think about this: We just woke up to news of financial disaster and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong. Sen. McCain, what economy are you talking about?”
Saying change was not just a slogan, Obama bashed McCain for hiring lobbyists to run his campaign while at the same time promising to change Washington. He quipped that if you believed those lobbyists were working for the Arizona senator only to put themselves out of business “I’ve got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska.”
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From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain said that the "American worker" is being "threatened today because of the greed and corruption that some engaged in [on] Wall Street."
Responding to criticism over his comment from earlier in the day that the "fundamentals of our economy are strong," this afternoon McCain defined those fundamentals.
"My opponents may disagree, but those fundamentals, the American worker and their innovation, their entrepreneurship, the small business, those are the fundamentals of America and I think they're strong," McCain said.
Today's clarification however, adds to a somewhat muddled message coming from McCain on the state of the economy. At last week's forum on national service, McCain said, "our economy is broken," but today he seemed to imply that it's not broken yet.
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From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Biden said that the McCain he once knew has been replaced by a new McCain, one who should really be called “Bush 44.”
“Folks, we’ve seen this movie before,” Biden said, reminding voters what George Bush had promised reform and a new tone in Washington as a candidate, but failed to deliver. “And we know, the sequel is always worse than the original.”
VIDEO: Sen. Joe Biden says Sen. John McCain's economic plan would provide additional tax breaks for the rich and the oil industry while hurting the middle class. Reagan Democratic terrain, Biden focused primarily on the economy, pouncing especially on McCain saying again today that he fundamentals of the economy remain strong.
“That’s what John said,” Biden assured a booing crowd. “He says that, ‘We’ve made great progress economically’ in the Bush years. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I could walk from here to Lansing, and I wouldn’t run into a single person who thought our economy was doing well -- unless I ran into John McCain.”
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From NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger Sarah Palin outlined the role she would play in the next administration Monday, saying she and McCain have agreed that she would focus on energy issues, government reform and helping families with special needs.
“John and I have worked out a plan, what I would like to concentrate on and what he would like to kinda tap into me to help with,” she said today at a rally at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Golden, Colorado. “My mission is going to be energy security and government reform.”
As today’s crumpling of two Wall Street giants continued to dominate headlines, Palin also joined McCain in blaming the unfolding financial crisis on an outdated regulatory system and calling for its overhaul. The Alaska governor said that the fall of Lehman Brothers is “taking a toll on our economy” and that it needed some “shakin’ up and some fixin’.”
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From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain said this morning that, despite fears over the "turmoil" on Wall Street, “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”
“But,” he added, “These are very, very difficult times."
VIDEO: Campaigning in Florida, John McCain says that though 'the fundamentals of the economy are strong,' his administration would bring regulatory reform and transparency to financial markets. Obama campaign seized on the statement, contrasting it with McCain's new ad -- "Crisis" -- which paints a more foreboding picture of the American economy.
"That shows that he is extraordinarily out of touch," said campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor. "It's even more surprising when you look at his ad today that shows the economy in crisis, that's the lead of his ad.”
In addressing the Wall Street troubles today, McCain criticized the existing system of oversight over financial markets and voiced his opposition to a bailout of Lehman brothers funded by taxpayer dollars.
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From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
Palin since selecting her as his running mate, McCain attracted roughly 3,000 people at an arena here with 16,000 seats.
From NBC's Mark Murray First Thoughts , McCain camp is up with a new TV ad that responds to the current troubles on Wall Street. Per the campaign, the ad is airing nationally on broadcast and cable.
Script: Our economy in crisis. Only proven reformers John McCain and Sarah Palin can fix it. .
Obama spokesman Bill Burton fires back: "John McCain has been in Washington for 26 years and hasn't lifted a finger to reform the regulations that could've prevented this crisis. In fact, his campaign is run by some of the very same lobbyists who fought against these regulations and worked to put special interest giveaways in our federal budget. Now he's proposing $200 billion in tax breaks for the biggest corporations in America but not one penny of relief to more than 100 million Americans who are worried about their life savings and their ability to make their mortgage payments. John McCain buys into the same failed economic theory that landed us in this mess in the first place, and we can't afford to take a chance on his disturbingly out-of-touch policies at a time when our economy is in crisis."
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann *** The map 50 days out : The Palin bounce has erased Obama's lead in the national polls, and it has now cut into his electoral-vote advantage, according to NBC’s latest map. Obama holds a 233-227 edge here, down from his 228-200 advantage from last week. The biggest changes: We moved Florida -- with its 27 electoral votes -- from Toss-up to Lean McCain, and New Mexico from Toss-up to Lean Obama. We also shifted Oregon and Washington from Likely Obama to Lean Obama, as well as Alaska, Georgia, North Dakota and South Dakota from Lean McCain to Likely McCain. The good news for McCain is that the map looks better for him than at any point so far in this race, and many of those red states that looked like opportunities for Obama (AK, GA, IN) look to be longer shots for him. The bad news for McCain is that given the wave his campaign has been riding from the Palin bounce, is this as good as it gets? If he isn’t leading in some states now, he might not ever lead in them. Bottom line: You'll know the map is starting to move in one direction or the other if either Pennsylvania or Florida moves back into Toss-up before Election Day.
VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd discusses the Sarah Palin affect on the NBC electoral vote map. *** A bearish turn on Wall Street : The big news today is that Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, while Merrill Lynch had to sell itself to Bank of America. As ex-Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson puts it, this Wall Street crisis is a 3:00 am moment for both the McCain and Obama campaigns. They each issued statements this morning, but what else do they do to seize the economic issue as their own? And just what is the role of the government in this Wall Street mess supposed to be? That's also going to be a question to the two nominees. The two statements, by the way, really are striking in their differences. One can clearly see that Obama would be an interventionist on the economy -- much more so than McCain. This is going to be a tricky issue for McCain, since most folks want government involved when there is a crisis; they don't want government involved when things are going well. McCain's going up with a new TV ad on the economy, acknowledging the crisis. But this is one that may be harder for him to distance from than other issues.
*** Liar, liar, pants on fire? For someone who prides himself on his "straight talk" -- and whose political reputation is based in part on that truth-telling reputation -- it was a brutal weekend for McCain and his campaign. The New York Times front-paged a piece noting all the criticism he has received for “stretching the truth; the Washington Post gave him “Four Pinocchios” for asserting on “The View” that Palin has never taken earmarks as Alaska’s governor; and Bloomberg News reported that the campaign may not have been exactly truthful in estimating the size of its recent crowds. Even Karl Rove said that some of McCain’s ads have gone “beyond the 100% truth test.” Now the Obama camp is doubling down on this criticism with a new hard-hitting TV ad that questions McCain's honor and the conduct of his campaign. “What’s happened to John McCain?” the ad asks. "He’s running ‘the sleaziest ads ever.’… After voting with Bush 90% of the time, proposing the same disastrous economic policies. It seems ‘deception' is all he has left.” But here's an important question to ask: Do campaigns that complain about tone win? Are those campaigns ahead when they complain about negativity?
VIDEO: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports as the presidential race heats up in the wake of the pick of Sarah Palin, the McCain and Obama campaigns are hitting the airwaves with attack ads. Welcome back, Joe : After being overshadowed by his VP counterpart for much of the past two weeks, Joe Biden will echo that line of attack above in speeches he’ll give today in Michigan. “The campaign a person runs says everything about the way they’ll govern. John McCain has decided to bet the house on the politics perfected by Karl Rove,” he is expected to say, according to excerpts. “Those tactics may be good at squeaking by in an election but they are bad if you want to lead one nation, indivisible.” Biden will also refer to McCain as “Bush 44.” “If you’re ready for four more years of George Bush, John McCain is your man. Just as George Herbert Walker Bush was nicknamed ‘Bush 41’ and his son is known as ‘Bush 43,’ John McCain could easily become known as ‘Bush 44.’”
*** Northern Exposure : We were all waiting for the Saturday Night Live impression of Palin, and Tina Fey’s version wasn’t a favorable one. But the biggest worry for the McCain camp over the weekend was a New York Times investigation that found Palin’s management style to be eerily similar to the Bush Administration’s. The article alleged cronyism (making a high school friend the head of the State Division of Agriculture), punishing enemies (Troopergate may not have been an isolated incident), and secrecy (using a Yahoo email account to hide emails from FOIA requests). In fact, this piece, the reviews of her interview with Charlie Gibson, and even the SNL skits might have been the toughest coverage we’ve seen of any of the four principles this cycle. Will this bounce off of her? Or will it stick? No candidate for president or VP has gotten this kind of sustained negative print coverage since Rudy Giuliani (during those Bernie Kerik days) or Obama (with the Jeremiah Wright headaches).
*** Here come the indies : No, not independent voters, but independent groups. Whether they are 527s, 501c3s or 4s or something else, the outside groups are getting ready to bombard the airwaves. Defenders of Wildlife is up with a vicious ad against Palin regarding aerial hunting, and something called BraveNewPac is up with a Swift Boat-like interview ad with a POW saying McCain's unfit to lead. We've already seen an ad against Obama involving William Ayres. Is Rev. Wright about to pop up in an indie TV ad soon? With the race now so close, it appears these outside groups are going to have no problems finding sugar mommies and daddies to fund their weapons of mass distractions.
*** The week ahead : Obama is focusing on the West, while McCain teams back up with Palin for a trek through the Rust Belt and Midwest. Check out our new map: If Obama sweeps the three Western battleground states (CO, NV and NM), but McCain wins MI or WI, Obama still comes up short if he doesn’t win Ohio.
*** 50 questions for 50 days : With 50 days left in this campaign, we list 50 questions that we need to be able to answer by Election Day in order to get an idea of who is going to win. Scroll down to the end for all 50 questions.
*** On the trail : In his first solo rally since selecting Palin as his running mate, McCain stumps in Jacksonville, FL, then holds a town hall in Orlando, and raises money in Miami. Obama campaigns in Colorado, holding events in Grand Junction and Pueblo. Palin also stumps in Colorado, where she hits a rally in Golden before traveling to a fundraiser in Canton, OH. And Biden is in Michigan, where he attends rallies in Claire Shores and Flat Rock.
Countdown to the first presidential debate: 11 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails .
The big news of the day: “In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself on Sunday to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy protection and hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer,” the New York Times reports. “The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees as a result of hundreds of billions of dollars in losses because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments.”
Ex-Clinton senior adviser Howard Wolfson writes on his TNR blog that it's 3am on Wall Street and wonders which candidate will answer the call.
Obama released this statement at 6:18 am ET: “The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren’t minding the store. Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.”
“I certainly don’t fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It’s a philosophy we’ve had for the last eight years – one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It’s a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises. Well now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up – from the struggles of hardworking Americans on Main Street to the largest firms of Wall Street.”
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The Washington Post whittles down the map to 11 states. "As in the past two campaigns, four big states -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Florida -- are expected to dominate the attention of the candidates. Democrats won the first two in both 2000 and 2004; Republicans won the other two both times. Additionally, there will be battles in a group of smaller states now seen by the campaigns as most vulnerable to shifting sides. Five states that went for President Bush in 2004 are now high on the list of potential Obama states: Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Virginia. Two states that went for Sen. John F. Kerry are top targets of McCain's campaign: Wisconsin and New Hampshire."
More: "Obama advisers say they still have their sights on a number of Republican strongholds, among them Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana, Montana and North Dakota. With the benefit of a massive fundraising operation -- the Obama campaign announced Sunday it raised a record $66 million in August -- and huge numbers of volunteers, the Democratic nominee has the luxury to compete in states this fall that past campaigns would have had to abandon"
COLORADO : Early voting promises to be a major force in battleground state Colorado, where both Obama and Palin appear today. Per the Denver Post : "Already, nearly 1 million Colorado voters have requested mail-in ballots -- a 35 percent increase from four years ago. The ballots are expected to be sent out as early as Oct. 3, according to the secretary of state's office."
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The Washington Times looks at the bipartisan record of both candidates and finds McCain has worked across the aisle more often than Obama. "Whether looking at bills they have led on or bills they have signed onto, Mr. McCain has reached across the aisle far more frequently and with more members than Mr. Obama since the latter came to the Senate in 2005.”
“In fact, by several measures, Mr. McCain has been more likely to team up with Democrats than with members of his own party. Democrats made up 55 percent of his political partners over the last two Congresses, including on the tough issues of campaign finance and global warming. For Mr. Obama, Republicans were only 13 percent of his co-sponsors during his time in the Senate, and he had his biggest bipartisan successes on noncontroversial measures, such as issuing a postage stamp in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks."
The Wall Street Journal reports the McCain campaign is using the newfound interest in the GOP ticket to start expanding its ground game. "The campaign is expanding the number of Pennsylvania offices to 30 from 14, and its Ohio offices to more than 35 from 18. The formerly lean McCain campaign and Republican National Committee payrolls have doubled in size in recent weeks, an expansion that can be attributed in large part to Gov. Palin joining the team."
The DNC has unveiled a “Lie Counter” that counts what the DNC sees as the number of falsehoods the McCain camp has told. The current count: 51.
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The most impressive part of Obama's August fundraising haul was not the $66 million he brought -- but rather the 500,000 new donors. In just ONE month. The New York Times says Obama “raised more money in August than any presidential candidate has ever recorded in a one-month period, with his campaign disclosing on Sunday that it collected $66 million and drew 500,000 first-time donors to his candidacy.”
Yet Politico adds that the “haul in August donations may set records but it's only a down payment on the huge sums the Democratic presidential nominee must continue to collect in order to compete through the Nov. 4 election… His announcement that he had $77 million in cash in the bank at the end of August came strikingly close to the roughly $85 million in taxpayer funds that Republican John McCain has to spend on the entire general election.”
The Washington Post : "On a range of major foreign policy issues over the past year, Bush has pursued strategies and actions very much along the lines of what Sen. Obama has advocated during his presidential race, according to the Illinois Democrat's campaign and many diplomatic and security experts."
Hillary Clinton stumped for Obama in Ohio Sunday and barely mentioned Palin by name. (Then again, the Obama folks don’t want this race to be about Palin, right?)
Sunday's New York Times : “Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal. So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.”
More: “When Ms. Palin had to cut her first state budget, she avoided the legion of frustrated legislators and mayors. Instead, she huddled with her budget director and her husband, Todd, an oil field worker who is not a state employee, and vetoed millions of dollars of legislative projects. And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said. ‘You should be ashamed!’ Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. ‘Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!’”
And: “[A]n examination of her swift rise and record as mayor of Wasilla and then governor finds that her visceral style and penchant for attacking critics — she sometimes calls local opponents “haters” — contrasts with her carefully crafted public image. Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.”
"With a little help from Tina Fey doubling as Sarah Palin and from guest host Michael Phelps, 'Saturday Night Live' logged its best season premiere since 2001," Reuters reports. "It was also the most-watched 'SNL' for any date since December 17, 2002." SNL's take on Sarah Palin/Clinton.
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Answer these questions, and we think you'll be just as confused about who's going to win in November than before attempting to answer. The only difference: You'll be well informed. 1. Can Obama be new again?2. Do voters care what FactCheck.org thinks?3. Does Palin continue to draw better than McCain?4. How many solo rallies do McCain-Palin hold and where are they?5. Can Sarah Palin look as engaged as Joe Biden in the debate and can Joe Biden not look condescending to Sarah Palin?6. What happens when Palin asks for a second debate with Biden?7. Will 100 million people tune into first debate?8. Will the four debates collectively top 250 million viewers?9. Does McCain go the next two months without any health scares?10. How credible is the Clintons' support?11. Will McCain directly take on a current or former Bush administration official in an ad?12. Does bin Laden stay silent?13. Does the Dow drop below 10,000? 14. Does oil drop below $100 a barrel? 15. Who at the top of the GOP ticket is on the minds of independent voters and moderate Republicans, Sarah Palin or John McCain?16. Do voters care about how often candidates talk to the media?17. Can John McCain get less Hispanic votes than George Bush and still win the election?18. How much do average voters dislike 'lobbyists' and can Obama succeed by linking the term with McCain's campaign?19. When does McCain start talking about working with a Dem Congress?20. Does Palin endorse Ted Stevens for re-election?21. Obama organized for Democratic caucuses in four battleground states: Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, and Nevada. Will his preexisting infrastructures there help him? Can he sweep all four? 22. Will youth and black turnout meet, exceed, or fall short of expectations? 23. Will Biden make The Game-Changing Gaffe that we're all supposedly waiting for or or not? 24. When will we see a Jeremiah Wright ad? And who makes it? 25. Can issues matter in a 24/7 cable news enviro?26. Will Bush admin catch bin laden before Nov. 5?27. How many people will vote for Mark Warner and John McCain in Virginia?28. Will Florida be close enough for Obama to make McCain spend real money there? Or North Carolina or Montana for that matter?29. How good really will that Obama ground game prove to be? 30. Can Obama win this election by winning big among blacks, Hispanics, young voters, and intellectual elites but lose blue-collar whites, Catholics and married women?31. Will Obama lose 70% of the late deciders? 32. Does Obama have so much money that he doesn't have to pull out of any state even if he stops visiting some of those states?33. Will Obama win the absentee ballot vote?34. Will the revitalized GOP chances mean more money for Chris Lacivita to do his anti-Obama indie thing?35. Did Obama cut off his nose to spite his face on third party groups? Didn't you used to be MoveOn?36. Will the debates decide the election and if so, then what's the final two weeks post-October 15 going to be about?37. Can McCain win the election and lose the economy issue?38. Will Obama play the age card in paid TV ads? And if he does, will the media criticize him for it as harshly as they would if the race card were played against Obama?39. Has anyone seen any data out of that Omaha congressional district?40. Will Bill Clinton stay on message when he is deployed, where will he be deployed and how much will he help Obama?41. Can Obama stay on message? On offense? Or will his rivals keep him on defense? For instance, with distractions?42. Can Obama lose more news cycles between now and Election Day and still win?43. How many newly registered voters will ultimately show up at the polls?44. Will the sniping tone of the race end up increasing the negatives for both candidates? Who will be hurt more?45. Will Palin sit down for five or more non-fox interviews? 46. Does Pres. Bush have an October surprise up his sleeve that ends up cutting both ways in the campaign?47. How many Republican Congressional candidates start running against Obama? And vice versa?48. How many congressional candidates will praise the opposing party's ticket in paid TV ads? 49. Will Dems touch Keating Five? 50. Did we really come up with 50 questions without mentioning the word Iraq?
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro Sarah Palin ’s life were ever to be made, the script would probably be based on “Sarah” by Kaylene Johnson.A lack of specifics With her or against her CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray New York Times piece last Tuesday suggested that the Obama campaign's fundraising operation was struggling to reach its ambitious fundraising goals.
Well, think again.
NBC News has learned that Obama raised $66 million in August -- his biggest monthly haul of the campaign, which surpasses the more than $55 million the campaign raised in February. The Obama camp also notes that it added an additional 500,000 donors to its fundraising base.
By comparison, McCain raised at least $47 million in August, which also amounted to his biggest money month. Since the GOP convention, however, the Republican presidential nominee must now rely on the $84 million he received from the federal government.
Obama bypassed those federal funds, so he is free to raise and spend as much money as he can get his hands on.
*** UPDATE ***
The release: "Senator Barack Obama’s campaign announced today that more than half a million new donors contributed to the Obama campaign during the month of August, bringing the total raised for the month to over $66 million and the cash on hand to more than $77 million. More than 2.5 million people have contributed to the campaign."
"'John McCain says that he’ll take on the special interests and lobbyists, but McCain can’t fix a problem he’s been part of for three decades. The 500,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to kick the special interests out and change Washington. We are proud of the millions of volunteers and more than 2.5 million donors to the Obama campaign who are contributing to help us deliver the change we need instead of letting John McCain just continue the same failed Bush policies while middle class Americans struggle,' said David Plouffe, campaign manager of Obama for America."
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger CARSON CITY, Nev. -- In her first solo campaign rally outside of Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin drew an enthusiastic crowd at the Pony Express Pavilion Saturday and returned to a familiar refrain about the “Bridge to Nowhere.”
Palin has come under fire in recent days for misleadingly saying she told Congress “thanks but no thanks,” refusing an earmark for a bridge to a sparsely inhabited island in her home state. Independent groups and media fact-checkers have said Palin advocated for the federal earmark before opposing it, only ended after Congress had essentially killed it, and kept the $223 million for the appropriation after the project was killed.
Palin had cut the refrain from her speech during her three-day visit to Alaska. But she came back to it today, citing it as an example of earmark reform she and McCain would push for in the White House.
“I told Congress thanks but no thanks to that Bridge to Nowhere -- that if our state wanted to build that bridge, we would build it ourselves," she said.
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From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones McCain not being up on economics)
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From NBC's Mark Murray John McCain and his campaign.
First came a front-page New York Times piece noting that McCain "has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats, independent groups and even some Republicans for regularly stretching the truth." There was also an accompanying fact-check of McCain's latest TV ad, which called it the "latest in a number that resort to a dubious disregard for the facts."
The Washington Post gave "four Pinnochios" to McCain's recent assertion on "The View" that Palin never took earmarks as Alaska governor. Then the Boston Globe reported that Palin didn't really travel inside Iraq as has been claimed. And Bloomberg News Politico about the increased media scrutiny of the campaign's factual claims: "We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.”
Not surprisingly, the Obama camp has pounced on all this, issuing a memo to reporters entitled "Unraveling the myth of the Straight Talk Express." The memo argues, "Since naming Governor Palin as their vice presidential nominee, the McCain campaign has distorted, distracted, and outright lied to the American people about her record in a desperate attempt to hide the fact that a McCain/Palin Administration would be nothing more than a continuation of the failed Bush policies of the last eight years."
And it concludes, "While the media is slowly starting to call the McCain campaign on their dishonest tactics, McCain’s staff boasts that they don’t care. As a McCain spokesman told the Politico, 'We’re running a campaign to win. And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say about it.'"
See below for the entire memo...
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From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones McCain camp's response to Obama's tough words on the campaign trail -- on a day that Hurricane Ike crashed into the Texas Gulf coast.
“It says a lot about Barack Obama’s judgment that while his campaign canceled his appearance on Saturday Night Live and his running mate stayed home, Obama went ahead and delivered a series of scathing personal attacks. Today’s attacks mark a new low from Barack Obama,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton fired back, “We will take no lectures from John McCain who is cynically running the sleaziest and least honorable campaign in modern presidential campaign history. His discredited ads with disgusting lies are running all over the country today. He runs a campaign not worthy of the office he is seeking."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro New York Times reports: “R. Hunter Biden, the 38-year-old son of the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., has quit working as a Washington lobbyist, a job that had sparked controversy given Senator Barack Obama's denunciations of influence-peddling in the capital.
“Mr. Obama's presidential campaign said Friday that Mr. Biden had stopped lobbying for nine clients shortly after his father was chosen last month as Mr. Obama's running mate. But the campaign did not announce that he had given up lobbying until Friday after reporters asked questions about his recent work for a couple under federal investigation over online gambling.
“Federal lobbying records show that Hunter Biden's firm was hired in June by lawyers for J. Russell DeLeon and his wife, Ruth Parasol, billionaire expatriates who founded a Web site called PartyPoker. Their company, PartyGaming P.L.C., which later went public in London, stopped doing business in the United States after President Bush signed a bill into law in 2006 aimed at curbing online gambling.”
Republicans have pushed the issue of the Democratic vice presidential nominee's son's lobbying. On NBC's Meet the Press last Sunday, Tom Brokaw asked Sen. Biden about his son's lobbying:
BIDEN: Absolutely not. My son graduated from Yale Law School. The starting salary in Wall Street is $140,000 a year if you want to lawyer. Options he had. He came home to work for a bank. Surprise, surprise, number one.
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From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones Obama , who canceled a planned appearance on Saturday Night Live tonight out of concern over Hurricane Ike, asked supporters gathered in a park here Saturday morning to keep storm victims in their thoughts and be prepared to help. McCain as the opposite of change. Comparing their plans on taxes, health care, education, national security and energy and warning a crowd the campaign put at 8,000, citing the fire chief, not to "be fooled" by McCain and Palin's promises of reform.
Before moving on to McCain, though, he told the crowd he had spoken with FEMADavid Paulison as well as the mayor of Houston, Bill White . Hurricane Ike struck the area early this morning.
"We don't yet know what the damage is going to be, but we know that 100,000 homes have probably been lost. We know that four million people are without power. Search-and-rescue teams are just now getting into Galveston where we know that a large proportion of the population did not evacuate and so this could be a very difficult and trying time for the people who live in the Gulf," he said, adding that Americans come together during times of tragedy regardless of political party or ethnic group.
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From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones does not believe the government should be involved in rescuing beleaguered investment bank Lehman Brothers, according to an advisor.
"Sen. Obama believes we should have a private solution to Lehman's problem," Obama's economic adviser Jason Furman told reporters on a conference call. "And, unlike Bear Stearns, the Federal Reserve now has a special lending facility in place that could prevent a wider run on the market."
The bank, which is looking for a buyer, is the latest to be hurt by the credit crisis. Its shares slid to a 14-year low on Friday.
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Palin said goodbye to hundreds of her Alaskan brethren Saturday, reflecting on her state's newfound notoriety and the destruction by Hurricane Ike.
Palin spoke at a rally that was at once a welcome home and a going away party for the governor, who ended her three-day trip back to Alaska. Wearing a pendant with the word "Alaska" prominently just below her shoulder, Palin said people were learning more about the state and its idiosyncrasies in the two weeks since she was named to the national Republican ticket.
"We've got a little travel planned for the next 52 days," she said. "But I'll be home come November, and I do like to bring along my friend, our friend, Sen. John McCain , as the president-elect of the United States."
Palin joked about how the national press and campaign staff that arrived in Alaska for the first time were surprised about the abundance of espresso stands, and that snowmobiles are known as "snow machines." And the state has two seasons -- winter and construction.
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From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Carrie Dann we noted that McCain and Palin differ on stem-cell research. But the Republican ticket also appears to differ greatly on ... polar bears.
As governor, Palin sued the federal government over the Interior Department's potential listing of the animal as an "endangered" species. (It actually wound up giving polar bears "threatened " status under the Endangered Species Act in May of this year.)
"We are suing the federal government recognizing that the endangered species act is not a place to kinda mess around with in terms of listing a species that right now is very, very healthy," Palin said on the Glenn Beck show earlier this year (About five minutes into this video ). "In fact, the number of polar bear has risen dramatically in the last 30 years. Our fear being that the extreme environmentalists will use this tool -- the ESA -- to curtail or halt North Slope production of very rich resources that America needs. And we need that oil. We need that gas."
But that puts her at odds with McCain.
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From NBC's Mark Murray Palin's campaign spokeswoman, just passed along the following statement about the "Democrat-led Walt Monegan inquiry" from Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell:
“As a lifelong Alaskan and public servant, I’m disappointed by the complete hijacking of what should be a fair and objective process. It is troubling to see partisan Democrats and Obama supporters abuse their power, the legal system and trust of Alaskans to smear Governor Palin to score political points. Arbitrary deadlines, inappropriate public comments and secret deals between Sen. French and 'independent' investigator Branchflower, have turned this process into a complete farce. This use of government power for political gain is an embarrassment to Alaska and the landmark ethics reform our state has achieved under Gov. Sarah Palin.”
Of course, it's worth pointing out that before McCain selected her as his running mate, Palin said she welcomed the legislative investigation into the so-called "Troopergate" controversy in Alaska. "Hold me accountable," she told Alaska reporters in July.
That said, Republicans criticized the Democratic state senator leading the probe -- Hollis French -- for politicizing the investigation when news accounts quoted him saying the investigation could be an "October surprise" that is "likely to be damaging to the [Palin] administration."
From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann Pair the phrases “controversy” and “Ohio Secretary of State,” and folks are bound to get antsy.
That’s what erupted today, after some absentee ballot forms - distributed to Buckeye State residents by the McCain campaign - were deemed incomplete by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. absentee ballot application , above lines where voters write their address and other identifying information to verify their voting eligibility, a statement reads: “I am a qualified elector and would like to receive an Absentee Ballot for the November 4, 2008 General Election.” Next to the statement is a small checkbox.
Many applicants who filled out and returned the forms forgot to – or didn’t realize they were supposed to - check that box.
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From NBC's Jim Popkin Obama campaign released 10 years of Biden's tax returns, and the returns are, well, humdrum. Biden has boasted on the campaign trail about being one of the poorest U.S. Senators, and his returns show modest wages--compared to some of the well-heeled titans on the Hill.
Biden and his wife, Jill, reported gross income of $215,432 in 1998 and their income stays roughly in the same ballpark for the next decade. His highest grossing year was 2005, when the Bidens reported total income of $321,379. That figure included $81,250 from the Sterling Lord literary agency.
In 2007, the most recent year available, the Bidens reported gross income of $319,853. By contrast, Sen. John Kerry had a maximum net worth of $313 million, according to a review by the Center for Responsive Politics.
One odd note: Biden's charitable giving is not exactly blockbuster. In 1998, for example, he reported just $195 in charitable gifts (on income of more than $215,000.) The next year he gave $120. The most he's given in one year was $995, on income that exceeded $319,000.
In an email to reporters titled "Nonpartisan Alaska Elected Official Calls on Gov. Palin to Release Tax Returns," the Obama campaign tried to put Gov. Palin on the defensive by calling for her to release her tax returns.
For more, check out NBC investigative blog, Deep Background.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro McCain radio ad Palin in with that stance. no, stem-cell research would ultimately end in destruction of life. I couldn’t support (it). '"
Skalka adds, "It's worth noting, too, that the GOP's 2008 platform included strong language" calling for a ban on "all embryonic stem-cell research, public or private."
From NBC’s Aram Roston Sarah Palin , is on a list of thirteen witnesses for whom investigator Stephen Branchflower is seeking subpoenas in the ethics investigation surrounding the Alaska governor.
The state's House and Senate Judiciary Committees moved to approve Branchflower's request during an ongoing hearing this afternoon.
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From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones DOVER, N.H. -- It was supposed to be the day Obama came out swinging at his rival McCain .
His campaign launched two new ads -- one of which appeared to mock McCain’s age and his long career in Washington -- and held a conference call this morning to highlight what it is calling a new stage in the race, one in which the Illinois senator would challenge McCain’s attempts to claim the “change” mantle and respond “with speed and ferocity” to Republican attacks.
But while he added a few new lines to his usual stump at a town hall here Friday and made a point of laying out how he differs from McCain, especially on tax policy, the senator lacked the kind of fire expected after his campaign manager sent reporters a memo and surrogates announced the tougher tone.
In fact, one audience member asked, on behalf of supporters and campaign donors, “When and how are you going to start fighting back against attack ads and smear campaigns?” -- a question that was greeted with applause.
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From NBC's Abby Livingston
With gender issues and campaign rhetoric reaching a near boil, McCain sat on the hot seat of the couch on this popular daytime talk show.
McCain laughed, not flinched, when co-host Joy Behar said off the bat, “I said to him before that I believe that after -- if he's elected, he will go back to the old John McCain that he used to be unless the Republican base has him by the short hairs. “
And the questions only grew more heated. Despite the fact that McCain has been a regular on the morning show circuit for years, and loves to engage with angry town hall-ers, it was from this gang of women -- including a movie star and stand-up comedian -- that McCain faced some of his fiercest questioning of this campaign season.
On the topic of Palin , Barbara Walters asked, “What is she going to reform, specifically, senator?”
McCain replied, “First of all, earmark spending, which she vetoed a half a billion dollars worth in the state of Alaska.”
Walters said, “She also took some earmarks.”
McCain replied, “No. Not as governor, she didn't. She vetoed -- “ Walters interjected, “As mayor.”
(In fact, as the AP and others have noted, Palin requested nearly $200 million in earmarks this year alone, although that amount is down from previous years.)
McCain followed up with, “Uh, well, look, the fact is that she was a reform governor, she took on a Republican governor of her own -- incumbent governor of her own party and defeated him. She sold the airplane. She fired the chef.”
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From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Palin -- in addition to the reviews of her interview performance -- ranging from her asking Rick Warren for advice, more on her role in the library books controversy, her town billing for rape kits, as well as a question of ethics.
--
Palin reached out to Pastor Rick Warren for advice. "The question I asked her was, 'How can I pray for you?' " Warren said, The Hill newspaper reported online yesterday. Palin then "asked me to send her some Bible verses on how do you deal with the unfair, unjust attacks and the mean-spirited criticism that comes in," Warren said. BOOKS: "Shortly after taking office in 1996 as mayor of Wasilla, a city of about 7,000 people, Palin asked the city's head librarian about banning books," AP writes. "Later, the librarian was notified by Palin that she was being fired, although Palin backed off under pressure. Palin alleged attempt at book-banning has been a matter of intense interest since Republican presidential nominee John McCain named her as his running mate last month. Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, said Thursday that Palin asked the head librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, on three occasions how she would react to attempts at banning books. He said the questions, in the fall of 1996, were hypothetical and entirely appropriate. He said a patron had asked the library to remove a title the year before and the mayor wanted to understand how such disputes were handled.
"Palin notified Emmons she would be fired in January 1997 because the mayor didn't feel she had the librarian's 'full support.' Emmons was reinstated the next day after public outcry, according to newspaper reports at the time." ...
"The Rev. Howard Bess, a liberal Christian preacher in the nearby town of Palmer, said the church Palin and her family attended until 2002, the Wasilla Assembly of God, was pushing to remove his book from local bookstores. Emmons told him that year that several copies of 'Pastor I Am Gay' had disappeared from the library shelves, Bess said. 'Sarah brought pressure on the library about things she didn't like,' Bess said. 'To believe that my book was not targeted in this is a joke.'"
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From NBC's Mark Murray Web site .
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama , will begin airing today an aggressive new TV ad to counter the McCain campaign's earlier sex-ed hit on Obama, which charged that the Illinois senator's sole accomplishment in education was legislation teaching "'comprehensive sex educ
