White House
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee absolutely tore into President George W. Bush for his comments from Israel, which appeared to take a swipe at Obama.
Bush said this morning, “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement."
An exasperated Biden skewered Bush over that in a conference call with reporters, calling the comments “pure politics,” “blatant,” “beneath the presidency,” “truly disgraceful,” “outrageous,” “disturbing,” “ridiculous hypocrisy” and “long-distance Swiftboating.” He even said Bush “oughta get a life.”
“For this president to go on the attack against Barack Obama,” Biden said. “It cannot go unanswered.” [Possible veep audition?]
Coupling Bush’s comments with McCain’s assertion that it’s clear who Hamas wants to be president, Biden said he sees “an ugly pattern emerging.”
He said the president should “get in touch with his administration.”
“I assume he’s going to fire his Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense,” Biden said. “They want engagement of Iran.”
He went on. “This is the kind of political rhetoric which continues to masquerade as policy,” Biden said. “All they have is masquerades.”
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From NBC's Mark Murray and Mike Viqueira
Top Democratic leaders wasted little time reacting to Bush's earlier swipe at Obama today, in which the president seemed to liken Obama's call to talk with US adversaries to negotiating with the Nazis.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Bush's remarks in Israel were "beneath the dignity of the office of the president." She added, in an obvious reference to McCain, that she hopes that "any serious person would disassociate themselves" from what the president said.
VIDEO: House Speaker Pelosi responds to Bush's remarks.
DNC chairman
Howard Dean fired a similar shot. "On the same day John McCain is talking about putting partisanship aside, the president launched a cheap political attack while on a state visit honoring the 60th anniversary of Israel," Dean said in a statement. "Bush's outrageous comments are an embarrassment to our country, not based in fact and bring us no closer to our goal of ending terrorist attacks against Israel and bringing peace to the region. If John McCain is really serious about being a different kind of Republican, he'll denounce these remarks in the strongest terms possible."
And Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chair of the House Democratic caucus, said in a statement, “The tradition has always been that when a US president is overseas, partisan politics stops at the water's edge. President Bush has now taken that principle and turned it on its head: For this White House, partisan politics now begins at the water’s edge, no matter the seriousness and gravity of the occasion. Does the president have no shame?”
The New York Times front-pages, "Clinton lined up with Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, in endorsing a plan to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for the summer travel season. But Senator Barack Obama, Mrs. Clinton’s Democratic rival, spoke out firmly against the proposal, saying it would save consumers little and do nothing to curtail oil consumption and imports.”
“While Mr. Obama’s view is shared by environmentalists and many independent energy analysts, his position allowed Mrs. Clinton to draw a contrast with her opponent in appealing to the hard-hit middle-class families and older Americans who have proven to be the bedrock of her support. She has accused Mr. Obama of being out of touch with ordinary Americans who are struggling to meet their mortgages and gas up their cars and trucks."
The Washington Post’s fact-checker weighs in on the matter. “The advocates of a ‘gas tax holiday’ are exaggerating the benefits to consumers from their proposal. If the Illinois experience is a guide, there is likely to be some reduction in the price of gas, but it would fall well short of the size of the tax reduction. In order to pay for the tax cut, the government would have to cut back on highway construction and maintenance or find some other way of plugging the shortfall in revenues to the Highway Trust Fund.”
Meanwhile, NBC’s John Yang reports that President Bush will hold a news conference today in the Rose Garden at 10:30 am. He will deliver an opening statement (approximately eight minutes long) regarding Americans’ understandable anxiety about issues affecting their pocketbooks. He will also call upon Congress to send him sensible and effective bills that will help Americans weather this difficult period and keep our country moving forward.
From NBC's Ken Strickland
The Senate Ethics Committee today issued GOP Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico a "public letter of qualified admonition" for his involvement in the Justice Department's firing of several US Attorneys last year. It was a scandal that helped lead to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
In March of 2007, former US Attorney David Iglesias testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Domenici had called him at home asking about an ongoing investigation of Democrats in the senator's home state of New Mexico. Iglesias said Domenici wanted to know the timing of indictments.
According to the transcript from the hearing, the US Attorney said the senator asked, "'Are these going to be filed before November?' And I said I didn't think so, to which [Domenici] replied, 'I'm very sorry to hear that.'" Iglesias then said, "the line went dead."
Domenici later apologized for the call, but said he did not pressure Iglesias to move on the case. The 75-year-old senator has since announced his retirement saying he was diagnosed with a dementia type brain ailment.
The committee said it "finds no substantial evidence to determine that you attempted to improperly influence an ongoing investigation." But it did find that Domenici should have known his actions "created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorable on the Senate."
From NBC's Gabriel Herman and Jessica Turtletaub
First Read got its hands on a DNC fundraising mailer that highlights the policy similarities between McCain and President Bush and calls them “two peas in a political pod.”
Inside an envelope highlighting an image of Bush and McCain shaking hands, the mailing calls on Democrats to contribute money to the DNC to ensure that McCain does not have the opportunity to bring “4 more years of dangerous and destructive Bush policies” to the United States.
The letter, penned by DNC chairman Howard Dean, also stresses the urgency for Democrats to prevent McCain from further establishing himself as “a straight talking maverick who is not afraid to buck the Republican Party line.” The DNC chairman contends that McCain is, in fact, “as conservative as they come,” and his administration would preserve “the radical right’s hateful social agenda.” He adds, “Like President Bush,” McCain follows a “shoot first, ask questions second” foreign policy strategy, supports tax cuts for the wealthy as well as corporations that ship jobs overseas, and promises to appoint “Bush-style” judges who will overturn Roe vs. Wade.
And mocking McCain’s “Straight Talk Express,” the mailer includes a brochure documenting McCain’s “politically motivated double talk,” citing examples of his flip-flopping on the issues of Iraq, the Bush tax cuts, and campaign finance reform.
*** UPDATE *** RNC spokesman Alex Conant has this response: “If these are the sort of cheap political attacks Howard Dean’s using to raise money, no wonder the RNC has a six-to-one cash-on-hand advantage!”
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
The House has begun voting on a rule change that will indefinitely delay consideration of the free trade agreement with Colombia.
The move, engineered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has enraged the White House, the business lobby and House Republicans.
From NBC’s Jeannie Ohm
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino reacted to the move announced by Speaker Pelosi to try and put off the vote for the Colombia Free Trade agreement, saying Pelosi did "something unprecedented changing the rules in the middle of the game."
She added the White House doesn't think the deal is dead yet, because no vote has been taken, but they are very concerned about the signal Pelosi gave today and that it's not just bad for this administration but future administrations.
Pelosi will be at the bicameral meeting at 3 p.m. ET today with the President. "You can bet he will bring it up at the leader meeting," Perino said.
When a reporter asked why Perino sounded angry, she responded, "I think we are pretty fired up about it."
She added that the Colombia Free Trade agreement is the right thing to do and they know it. That's why they don't want a vote and special-interest groups are pressuring them.
Here is a statement, per NBC’s Mike Viqueira, from Pelosi on the move to delay the vote on Colombia:
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From NBC’s Mike Viqueira
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that while she does not advocate a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, she does think that the attendance of world leaders at the Opening Ceremonies would "give credibility and face" to the Chinese government and that a boycott should be considered by the president.
Pelosi, who made her bones in national politics on the issue of human rights in China, says "the games should go on," and that if the decision is ultimately made by the president and other world leaders to lend their "aura" to the ceremonies then they get some "change" from the Chinese in return.
She also expressed her hope that the journey of the Olympic torch through her native San Francisco today is conducted in a "safe way," but notes that that the situation in Tibet and Darfur "challenges the conscience of the world."
*** UPDATE *** From NBC's John Yang
In her on-camera briefing, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino refused to be nailed down on whether President Bush would attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on him to skip the ceremonies to show displeasure with the Chinese government but attend events to show support for the athletes.
Also, after meeting with the First Minister of Singapore, Bush continued to pressure China on Tibet: "We both agree that it would stand the Chinese government in good stead if they would begin a dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama. They'll find -- if they ever were to reach out to the Dalai Lama -- they'd find him to be a really fine man, a peaceful man, a man who is anti-violence, a man who is not for independence but for the cultural identity of the Tibetans being maintained."
From NBC's John Boxley and Mark Murray
A campaign source confirms the report from Drudge that Clinton will call for Bush to boycott the opening ceremony at the upcoming Olympics. The source says a campaign release will be going out shortly.
Not a bad way to change the subject, eh?
*** UPDATE *** Here is the statement: "The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for Presidential leadership. These events underscore why I believe the Bush Administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government."
"I encourage the Chinese to take advantage of this moment as an opportunity to live up to universal human aspirations of respect for human rights and unity, ideals that the Olympic games have come to represent. Americans will stand strong in support of freedom of religious and political expression and human rights. Americans will also stand strong and root for the success of American athletes who have worked hard and earned the right to compete in the Olympic Games of 2008."
*** UPDATE 2 *** At a March 25th press conference (where she said Jeremiah Wright would not have been her pastor), Clinton demurred when asked if the U.S. should boycott the Olympics. “Let’s wait on that; I don’t have an opinion on that,” Clinton said with a look of uncertainty when asked if the U.S. should avoid the Olympics.
Here’s the video. The question relevant to the Olympics starts 6 minutes, 30 seconds in:
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From NBC's Libby Leist
Condoleezza Rice's spokesman laughed this morning when reporters asked him if Secretary Rice has been actively campaigning for the vice presidential slot on McCain's ticket, as Dan Senor suggested this weekend.
"If she is, she's the last one to know about it," Sean McCormack said chuckling.
"I don’t know how many ways she can say no," he added.
He pointed to her most recent remarks last month to the Washington Times editorial board where she said flatly that she is "not interested" in the slot.
VIDEO: NBC political director Chuck Todd discusses all of the troubles facing the Clinton campaign and the chances that Condoleezza Rice might be John McCain's choice for vice president. When a reporter noted that "not interested" wasn't a firm "No" and that it might be time for Rice to make a Sherman-esque statement, McCormack said, "I'll pass your talking points along to her."
So what are her plans?
Rice has said she wants to serve as Secretary of State until the end of the Bush Administration and then had back to California.
"She is still a tenured professor at Stanford," McCormack reminded reporters.
*** UPDATE *** Here's some more from Leist... In the past two weeks, Rice has fueled speculation about her future with a series of apperances and comments that seem unusual for a Secretary of State.
She conducted a closed-door session on March 26 with a conservative audience organized by Grover Norquist, then the following day offered extensive remarks to the Washington Times editorial board about education and race in America and now she is featured in the latest issue of Fitness Magazine flexing her muscles and showing off her workout routine.
McCormack defended those moves as nothing unusual for Secretary of State Rice.
"I think if you look back at her tenure, in terms of her activities, you will find all of these activities perfectly normal and consistent with the way she has done her job over the past three years or so."
