January 2007 - Posts
From NBC's Mark Murray and Ken Strickland
Obviously not the way he wanted to kick off his presidential campaign, Sen. Joe Biden's conference call with reporters this afternoon announcing his White House bid was dominated by questions about his comments to the New York Observer regarding fellow Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.
In the New York Observer article, Biden called Clinton's plan for Iraq "nothing but disaster"; said Edwards doesn't know "what the heck he is talking about" on Iraq; and said this about Obama: "'You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy... I mean, that's a storybook, man.'"
In the conference call, Biden didn't question the accuracy of those quotes, but said they were being taken out of context. He said Clinton is "clearly qualified to be president," but that he disagreed with her plan for Iraq (especially the provision to cut off funding for Iraqis). "I think her policy is a serious mistake."
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From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
Politics abhors a vacuum, and the delay in the debate over the resolutions opposing a US troop increase in Iraq is giving some of the bigger participants time to jockey for better positions. Two leading presidential candidates have further fleshed out their stances on the war, and the White House and Democratic Hill leadership have announced the formation of a bipartisan working group to discuss the way forward.
NBC's Ken Strickland reports that the still unnamed group would be assembled by Senate Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, likely consisting of chairs and ranking members of the committees with oversight of national security issues. The group "offers the best prospect for meaningful bipartisan consultations," per Reid spokesman Jim Manley. He added that leadership will urge President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and some Cabinet members to attend the meetings, the first of which will be next week. Strickland notes that a similar idea was first introduced last December by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I) and Susan Collins (R), leaders of the Senate's Homeland Security Committee.
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Pelosi and members of her recent delegation to Iraq and Afghanistan plan to go to the White House later today to brief the President on their trip. Roll Call raises the possibility that even though House Democrats will have a limited Q+A session with Bush at their retreat this Saturday, there could be some unscripted moments on Iraq.
The Washington Post reports on internal splits among Republicans over which resolution(s) to support. "Vice President Cheney and senior military officials attended a Republican policy lunch yesterday, which turned into a raucous debate about the various resolutions... Bush will meet with GOP senators on Friday as the White House continues to try to tamp down opposition... Having chastised Democrats for not showing unity on Iraq, Republican leaders have decided they need a resolution of their own when the Senate begins debate on nonbinding resolutions of opposition next week."
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Also today, Bush will also give interviews to FOX and the Wall Street Journal editorial board.
The Wall Street Journal follows up on yesterday's New York Times report on Bush's latest controversial executive order: "A White House move to tighten its control over federal regulations is providing fresh evidence of the Bush administration's intent to leave its conservative imprint on government over the next two years... Most notably, the White House has given itself more review authority over many informal agency dictates known as guidance. Critics say the executive order gives the White House a chokehold over new guidance it dislikes. White House officials deny that, saying it is simply strengthening a review process that already occurs in many instances."
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Bush's visit to Caterpillar yesterday has returned the usually back-burner issue of trade to front sections this morning. Hill Democratic leaders are asking former top Clinton aides like Gene Sperling and Robert Rubin "to help persuade the freshman class of ’06 to moderate the militant critique of globalisation that helped get them elected."
The Los Angeles Times says House Ways and Means chair Charlie Rangel is willing to work with Bush on fast-track trade negotiating authority.
In an interview with the New York Observer, Biden has harsh words for his Democratic opponents on Iraq. He calls Sen. Hillary Clinton's plan to cap troops "'nothing but disaster,'" and says that former Sen. John Edwards, who has proposed an immediate withdrawal, doesn't know "'what the heck he is talking about.'" He also expressed his skepticism of newcomer Obama: "'You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy... I mean, that’s a storybook, man.'" Biden added the accusation that his rivals are posturing on the Iraq issue purely to advance their 2008 bids: "'You didn’t hear any one of them get in this debate at all until they announced for President.'"
Marring his announcement a bit, Bloomberg reports that Biden's son Hunter, a lobbyist, is being sued by a partner for fraudulently excluding him from the purchase of a hedge-fund investment firm. "Biden and his uncle James Biden squeezed investment consultant Anthony Lotito Jr. out of the 2006 acquisition of New York-based Paradigm Cos., Lotito says in a complaint filed Jan. 5 in New York state court. The Bidens lied to Lotito about their joint offer while negotiating a better deal alone, Lotito's complaint says... The Bidens have not yet filed a response to Lotito's complaint. Their attorney... e-mailed a statement denying Lotito's allegations."
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McCain has put together a House GOP whip team in an effort "to jump-start his effort to build support for his 2008 presidential bid in a chamber where he has never been terribly popular with his fellow Republicans," says Roll Call. "At times [McCain] has riled conservatives with his willingness to buck the Republican establishment, and his efforts to limit pork barrel spending also have drawn the ire of appropriators and other Members seeking to fund pet projects back home."
Campaigning in South Carolina this week, where he said his campaign would focus on grassroots support and not political endorsements, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said his decision to become pro-life was one based on the morality of the issue, not politics.
While there, Romney also faced questions about his Mormon faith.
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The New York Times on the testimony yesterday by its former reporter, Judy Miller, who spent 85 days in jail for originally refusing to reveal her sources: “In her more than two hours on the stand, Ms. Miller became the focal point for an intense drama involving three people in the room: herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Libby. As she provided the testimony that was most damaging to Mr. Libby, he sat almost motionless in his chair about 20 feet away and stared at her.”
The Washington Post's Kurtz: "Throughout the afternoon, an unspoken question hung in the air: What do journalists give up when they agree to protect high officials in exchange for juicy information?"
From NBC's Ken Strickland
Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama today introduced legislation calling for a phased redeployment of US troops in Iraq to be concluded by March 31, 2008. "The time for waiting in Iraq is over," he said this evening on the Senate floor. "The days of our open-ended commitment must come to a close. And the need to bring this war to an end is here."
His bill, "The Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007," also caps the number of US troops in Iraq to those there on January 10, 2007. Parts of his bill are consistent with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group -- which Obama says President Bush has "so assiduously ignored." If the Iraqi government is successful in meeting the 13 benchmarks laid out by the Bush Administration, Obama's plan allows for a temporary suspension of the redeployment, provided Congress agrees.
Introducing his bill on the senate floor moments ago, Obama called his legislation a responsible course of action: "Too many lives have been lost and too many billions have been spent for us to trust the president on another tried and failed policy." He concluded by saying, "It is time to give Iraqis their country back."
From NBC's Mark Murray
The first Democratic presidential cattle call will occur this weekend in DC at the Democratic National Committee's annual winter meeting, and the DNC has just released the speaking order for the 10 announced, all-but announced, or possible candidates who will participate. On Friday morning, after speeches by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and DNC chairman Howard Dean, Chris Dodd will kick off the cattle call -- and he'll be followed by Barack Obama, Wes Clark, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and (last but certainly not least) Hillary Clinton.
On Saturday morning, Joe Biden will lead things off -- followed by Bill Richardson, Mike Gravel, and Tom Vilsack. The DNC says that each candidate's speech will be limited to about seven minutes. And as we mentioned earlier, we'll find out which songs they all will be using for their entrance and exit music.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
Much anticipated Senate votes on the various non-binding resolutions opposing a US troop increase in Iraq won't take place until next week, NBC's Ken Strickland reports. While leadership aides on both sides expect the minimum wage bill to pass sometime on Thursday, no votes are scheduled for Friday because of a GOP retreat.
There's also no agreement between Senate leaders as of yet on the terms of the debate. One Senate Republican who opposes a troop increase claims that the White House strategy is to flood the zone with various resolutions that would provide fence-sitting Republicans with alternatives to the two measures that reject Bush's plan, Strickland reports. Siphoning GOP support away from those resolutions, this Republican believes, would ensure that no resolution musters the filibuster-proof 60 votes. The White House-backed resolutions could include one being drafted by GOP Sen. John McCain (on Iraq having to meet political, economic, and military benchmarks), and/or another by White House ally John Cornyn (on giving Iraq a reasonable chance to execute the new plan).
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The Chicago Tribune covers Bush’s remarks yesterday to National Public Radio, in which he said that Iranian aggression inside Iraq would be met with US force. “At the same time, Bush asserted his determination to resolve what the U.S. sees as Iran's ambitions for nuclear weaponry through diplomatic channels.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to hold a press conference this afternoon to review her findings from her recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Roll Call reports that with debate over the resolutions now a week away, "Senate Democratic leaders are expected to use the delay to push back against tough White House rhetoric and attempt to build a bipartisan coalition on the issue."
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The New York Times front-pages that Bush, in a recent executive order, directed each federal agency to have a regulatory policy office headed by a political appointee. “The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president’s priorities.” More: “This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats.”
The AP previews Bush’s stop at Caterpillar today, saying he'll tout the company as an example “of how his administration's trade agreements and tax breaks can boost global sales and create jobs for U.S. workers… Others, though, say Caterpillar itself is behind a global sales surge that helped the heavy equipment maker post record profits and revenues for three straight years, creating about 5,000 jobs at its U.S. plants in Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.”
While both are taking steps to tackle the huge issue of the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times says that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's agenda may conflict with Bush's. "Schwarzenegger wants $3.7 billion a year in new federal funding to cover a big chunk of his healthcare plan for Californians... The cost of helping states fund their health plans has already attracted the attention of budget cutters because it is complicating President Bush's stated goal of balancing the federal budget in five years. In his new budget,... Bush is expected to call for a substantial slowdown in federal healthcare spending. Some of the cuts Bush proposes could affect programs Schwarzenegger is counting on to help pay for his plan."
First Read has mentioned before how global warming has become a hot topic for some presidential candidates, in part because of the success of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing on the issue, and chairwoman Barbara Boxer has asked her colleagues who have offered pertinent legislation to testify. Among the witnesses expected are Biden, McCain, and Obama. Clinton is a member of the committee and is expected to attend. NBC's Strickland notes that some of the witnesses may wind up on the same panel.
The Wall Street Journal emphasizes the significance of House Democrats' $463.5 billion spending bill, which is "designed to keep the government operating for the rest of the fiscal year and bridge the gap left by the collapse of the budget process last fall. Never before in modern times has Congress attempted this type of streamlined funding resolution on such a large scale. The bill touches almost every corner of the government, down to securities transaction fees charged by federal regulators and even lawmakers' pay."
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The White House was asked yesterday if Bush has been asked to authorize Secret Service protection for any of the announced presidential candidates yet, and if the budget that comes out next week will provide for what may be an unusually large number of candidates. Snow said he knew "the answer to neither" at the time. Clinton already has Secret Service protection.
A new Quinnipiac poll shows Clinton performing well in the key battleground state of Ohio, besting McCain (46%-42%), Giuliani (46%-43%), and Romney (52%-31%). Also in the poll, McCain edges Obama (41%-38%) but loses to Edwards (44%-41%).
The New York Post notes that White House press secretary Tony Snow pounced yesterday on her comment over the weekend that Bush was being irresponsible for passing along the Iraq war to his successor.
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Bloomberg says Rudy Giuliani's affiliation with a big Texas-based law firm gives him a Southern base from which to raise his profile and possibly a lot of cash.
GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel may be acting like a possible presidential contender in some ways, but not in others. The Hill points out that Hagel's "year-end financial filing shows that he raised just $80,000 for his campaign committee in the final three months of 2006, bringing his cash on hand to $140,000 from $110,000." But: "Spokesman Mike Buttry said Hagel’s campaign financial filings offer no clue about his future plans and emphasized Hagel’s fundraising through his political action committee, which raised more than $400,000 during the last cycle."
The Wall Street Journal looks at how former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) benefited from "a little-noticed gap between federal and state law" which allowed Romney to "set up fund-raising committees in three" states which don't limit political contributions: Michigan, Iowa and Alabama. "During that time, his political action committees raised $7 million."
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The ethics bill being "unveiled in the House of Representatives today would limit lawmakers' ability to raise money from special interests for conventions but would not affect the 2008 events," says
USA Today. "A Senate bill passed this month would bar members from attending lobbyist-sponsored parties thrown in their honor but would leave intact the ability of special interests to pay for the quadrennial events. The host committee in Denver, where Democrats will gather next year, already has collected more than $16 million, some from companies lobbying Congress and federal agencies. Organizers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, site of the Republican event, also raise money from companies with business in Washington."
Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller is expected to take the stand today, "the first time the former New York Times reporter has testified publicly against the man she went to jail to protect as a source," the AP notes.
The Washington Post's Milbank lampoons former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer's testimony yesterday, saying that Libby's defense team learned "what any reporter could have told them: The longer you question Fleischer, the less knowledge you take away from the experience. And Fleischer, protecting his own role in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, was determined not to give even a kernel of fact to Libby's defense." As a main prosecution witness, Fleischer testified that Libby informed Fleischer of Plame's identity three days earlier than Libby has claimed to investigators that he first learned of it.
"During more than three hours of testimony that offered a rare glimpse inside the usually secretive Bush White House, Fleischer showed little of the unyielding discipline that defined his tenure as press secretary. He pointed fingers at a former colleague, acknowledged frustration at how powerless he often was to sway the media, and described in detail the frantic White House efforts to contain a spreading public relations debacle," says the Los Angeles Times.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
As we near the end of the current Bush presidency, with Iraq overshadowing the rest of his agenda and endangering his legacy, the question is no longer whether he'll be able to accomplish big things during these final two years. Poll after poll shows him lacking the influence to force his legislative priorities through, at least not without considerable compromising with the Democratic majority. The question going forward is whether Iraq will inflict long-term damage on his party's standing on national security, similar to how the Monica Lewinsky scandal wrought lasting damage on the Democratic party on moral values.
The Democratic party's hangover on values from the Clinton era lingers even today. The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Republicans retaining a 9-point advantage on the question of which party is better at promoting strong moral values -- though that's a far cry from their years of double-digit leads, presumably because Iraq is weighing them down on every issue.
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In Iowa yesterday, Clinton, still trying to get out from under her vote in favor of the war, asserted that it would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next president. White House spokesman Rob Saliterman responded, "It is disappointing that Senator Clinton is responding to the President's new strategy for Iraq with a partisan attack that sends the wrong message to our troops, our enemies, and the Iraqi people who are working to make this plan succeed. The height of irresponsibility would be to cap our troop numbers at an arbitrary figure and to cut off their funding."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Joe Biden said yesterday on ABC that he estimates that no more than 20 of his colleagues support a troop increase. Biden is expected to finally/formally enter the 2008 race this week.
On FOX yesterday, underdog 2008 contender and Sen. Sam Brownback (R), who opposes a troop increase, said, "'I think if the president would reach out to the Democratic leadership and ask them not what are you opposed to, but what are you for, we can start coming together. I thought that was the whole purpose of [the Iraq Study Group].'"
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The Wall Street Journal covers the start of Democratic efforts to divest spending bills of earmarks. "Restoring earmarks in future budgets will be that much harder once whole accounts have been wiped out... But eliminating earmarks doesn't always produce savings. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency will continue to distribute the roughly $197 million earmarked in fiscal 2006 for state water projects. However, that distribution now will be dictated by the agency or federal funding formulas -- not by lawmakers. That is the biggest rub, since Democrats know they are giving more spending discretion to a Republican, President Bush."
The White House schedule notes that Bush is attending and speaking at the House "Democrat" Conference this coming weekend.
Spotting a lot of Administration figures in the press lately? The Washington Post notes that Cheney's Newsweek interview "was the third granted to the media this month by the vice president, who had been relatively quiet since Republicans lost both houses of Congress in November's midterm elections."
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley touts Bush's focus on Baghdad in a Washington Post op-ed. And in a USA Today op-ed, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman touts Bush's plan to "reduce gasoline use by 20% in ten years," while the paper's editorial page calls Bush's energy proposals weak.
The Los Angeles Times, covering Clinton in Iowa, says her husband's White House legacy "led to her first stumble of the campaign" yesterday, "as she made a joke widely understood to be about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, then denied it had crossed her mind. Repeating a man's question for those who could not hear him..., Clinton said he wanted to know 'what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men'... When asked later at a news conference what was on her mind during the laughs, she said she was thinking she 'could do a pretty good job' in pursuing Osama bin Laden... Finally, asked whether the crowd was thinking of President Bill Clinton, she said no."
The New York Post: “Clinton's quip, made during a morning rally with about 500 Iowans, drew 31 seconds of straight laughter and applause that left little doubt among attendees that she'd made a joke at hubby Bill Clinton's expense… The flap over her quip overshadowed her slap at President Bush's war policy.”
The Wall Street Journal on the point of her trip: "Getting enough people to know her as she'd like to be known -- rather than as the cold figure that even some admirers perceive -- is critical to her hopes of getting the party's nomination, let alone being elected the first female president."
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McCain "has decided not to address House Republican conservatives when they convene at their annual retreat this week," Roll Call reports. "Republican sources said that McCain’s campaign never responded to the invitation." Rudy Giuliani has declined, but former Gov. Mitt Romney and former Speaker Newt Gingrich will attend and speak.
The Los Angeles Times leads its front-page look at the proliferation of both promotional and damaging web videos with a professional film producer's effort to cast McCain as a flip-flopper. "The explosion of video-sharing on the Web poses major risks for presidential candidates: Gaffes and inconsistent statements witnessed by dozens can be e-mailed instantly to millions." More: "Obama... is just starting to draw the sort of negative attention that the Clintons have long attracted. Last week, Chicago-area political consultant Joe Novak posted several Web videos taking aim at the Illinois senator's wife, Michelle, for her healthcare business dealings."
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More real estate issues for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? The Los Angeles Times reports that in 2002, Reid bought land in fast-growing northern Arizona for $166 per acre from a friend whose pension fund had owned the land jointly with Reid. "Reid's price... was less than one-tenth of the value the assessor placed on it at the time. Six months after the deal closed, Reid introduced legislation to address" an issue that his friend's "family had brought to Reid's attention in 1994... If Reid were to sell the property for any of the various estimates of its value, his gain on the $10,000 investment could range from $50,000 to $290,000... In a statement, Reid's spokesman Jon Summers said that the transaction was not a gift and that the price was due to the property's history and the fact that only a partial interest was sold." Summers also said Reid's action on the legislation "was unrelated to the sale."
USA Today, sticking to the ethics beat, reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fourth-ranking House Democrat Rahm Emanuel, and Sen. Evan Bayh (D) "have failed to disclose they are officers of family charities, in violation of a law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles... All three foundations are funded and controlled by the lawmakers and their spouses, and do not solicit donations from outside sources."
NBC's Joel Seidman reports that former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, a key prosecution witness, is scheduled to testify today. He is expected to say that Scooter Libby told him about Valerie Plame Wilson's identity as the wife of Joseph Wilson.
From NBC's Mark Murray
According to the AP, a source says that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is expected to file paperwork on Monday to form a presidential exploratory committee, which would make him the latest person to make this serious move for the White House. A Huckabee spokesperson, though, would not confirm the AP story to First Read.
While GOP presidential hopefuls like John McCain and Mitt Romney have spent the past year hiring staff and luring top party fundraisers, Huckabee has been relatively quiet, giving political observers the impression that he wasn’t interested in running for the White House. If he does run, however, Huckabee has some qualities that would make him an attractive candidate -- including his weight loss of approximately 100 pounds (which voters could find inspiring) and his record as a pragmatic, yet conservative, governor.
We'll learn the full story about Huckabee's intentions when he appears on NBC's Meet the Press this Sunday.
From NBC's Andrew Merten
Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who could still jump into the 2008 presidential race, called President Bush’s call for a troop increase “unnecessary” -- given that the Iraqi government has not offered an “expression of will and clear commitment” to stem sectarian violence and promote a unity government there. Pataki, who spoke at Georgetown University this morning, is the third possible GOP presidential contender to come out against Bush's troop increase. The other two are Sens. Sam Brownback (who has declared he's running) and Chuck Hagel (who hasn't just yet).
Despite his opposition to the troop surge, Pataki doesn't think the US should leave Iraq just yet. "We cannot simply withdraw,” Pataki said, explaining that it would leave regions of the country vulnerable to complete control by al-Qaeda. But he added that if the Iraqi government does not reel in Shiite extremists, then “we should withdraw our troops from all areas where the war is essentially civil” and focus solely on defeating al-Qaeda remnants in the Anbar province.
Pataki also commented on the lack of coordination by federal, state, and local leaders after Hurricane Katrina, contrasting it with the effective integration of relief work from all levels of government under his lead in New York after September 11.
From NBC's Mark Murray
Asked about the Senate's work on a non-binding resolution opposing his troop increase, President Bush replied, "I'm the decision-maker," in remarks he made this morning during his Oval Office meeting with David Petraeus and his Pentagon brass. Per the AP, he added: "I've picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed… Some are condemning a plan before it's even had a chance to work."
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
If it’s Friday, it’s another round of weekend travel by the presidential hopefuls. Among the events to watch: Hillary Clinton’s trip to Iowa tomorrow and Sunday -- her first to the Hawkeye State since 2003; Mitt Romney’s own three stops there today; Rudy Giuliani’s appearance in Bretton Woods, NH tonight and his keynote address tomorrow at the New Hampshire GOP convention; and Bill Richardson’s Saturday visit at a Nevada Democratic fundraiser. Also, the National Review Institute’s three-day “Conservative Summit” in DC begins today, and it will include speeches on Saturday by Romney, Newt Gingrich, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
President Bush, meanwhile, has returned to Washington after spending the last two days stumping for the energy and health-care proposals he unveiled in his State of the Union address. As of this writing, he's meeting with his top Pentagon brass, including David Petraeus, who will receive a full Senate vote later this morning on his nomination to be the top US commander in Iraq. After that, Bush will deliver remarks to House Republicans at their retreat in Cambridge, MD.
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Many had been assuming that the sponsors of the competing non-binding resolutions opposing Bush’s troop increase would eventually reach some kind of compromise. But the AP says Sen. John Warner (R) refused yesterday to cut a deal with Sens. Joe Biden, Carl Levin, and Chuck Hagel -- whose resolution passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. “Warner's decision bolsters chances that his resolution will be the one to win final Senate approval. Democrats are expected to vote for his proposal if their measure fails, and several Republicans said they prefer Warner's approach because it is less divisive.” Also: “His decision to avoid bargaining also decreases the odds that a single resolution would emerge that would garner a strong, bipartisan vote reproaching Bush's plan, which the White House hopes to avoid.”
On TODAY, Hagel said the resolution he’s co-sponsoring with Biden and Levin isn’t confrontational, as his critics complain. “We’re asking some tough questions,” Hagel said. “This is not confrontational… We’re not trying to hurt the president.”
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The New York Times covers Bush stumping yesterday for his new health-care proposal and indicating “he was ready for a fight. ‘If people in Washington are serious about dealing with the uninsured, here is a serious idea for them to consider,’ Mr. Bush said of his health care plan. ‘They’re just dismissing things because of pure politics.’”
USA Today: “White House spokesman Tony Fratto said public pressure — and demand for better health care — would force Republicans in Bush's party and Democrats who control Congress to work together.”
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Proving that Bush and his Cabinet members aren’t the only ones who can make a secret trip to Iraq, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats have traveled to Baghdad. “The congressional delegation … includes Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa… The delegation is scheduled to return to Washington on Monday.”
Meanwhile, Pelosi’s No.2 -- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer -- gives a speech today on Iraq at the Brookings Institution.
Yesterday, Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D) office released another statement suggesting that the senator is continuing to make progress after suffering a brain hemorrhage in December. "Senator Johnson is showing evidence of more functional, spontaneous speech and is indicating preferences,” Dr. Philip Marion of George Washington University Hospital said in the statement. “He is answering questions and following commands appropriately."
Al Sharpton yesterday made the rounds on Capitol Hill, chatting with presidential contenders Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, and Joe Biden -- because he's concerned that they're not addressing important issues that affect the African-American community. Specifically, Sharpton's spokeswoman Rachel Nordlinger told First Read that he is concerned that he "hasn't heard candidates talk about civil rights issues."
The New York Times: “One purpose of the visit, two New York advisers and confidants of Mr. Sharpton said, was to send a signal to … Obama … that he should not take for granted the political support of Mr. Sharpton.”
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The Washington Post examines whether Sen. Chuck Hagel will enter the presidential field. “Hagel said in a wide-ranging interview this week that he is discussing his options with his family and other confidants and will make a decision in the next six weeks. He said one possibility is forming a presidential exploratory committee and … seeking the Republican nomination. Or he may seek a third Senate term. Then again, he might take a more creative path” -- running for president on a unity ticket.
When asked by NBC’s Meredith Vieira on TODAY whether he’ll run for president, Hagel responded, “You’ll be one of the first I let know.”
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In the most dramatic testimony yet in the Libby trial, MSNBC’s David Shuster reports that Cathie Martin -- Vice President Cheney’s former press aide -- yesterday told Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald she informed Cheney and Libby that Valerie Plame Wilson worked for the CIA. This revelation about Plame Wilson’s identity apparently came before Libby said he learned it from reporters.
NBC’s Joel Seidman says the Libby trial is now recessed until Monday, when Martin will continue to be on the stand. The next witness scheduled to appear for the prosecution will be former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
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From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Rev. Al Sharpton is making rounds on the Hill today, meeting with potential Democratic presidential candidates because he's concerned that they're not addressing important issues that affect the African-American community. Specifically, Sharpton's spokeswoman Rachel Nordlinger says he is concerned that he "hasn't heard candidates talk about civil rights issues." So far today, Sharpton has met with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd. This afternoon he'll meet with Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Sharpton's visit is notable given questions over whether Obama can appeal to both white and African-American voters, without alienating one or the other. Clinton, who has strong support in the African-American community according to some polls, could complicate Obama's success with this key constituency.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
Certainly, no one is more aware than John Kerry (D) that when a member of the Senate runs for the White House these days, the position he or she stakes out on Iraq is viewed through the prism of presidential politics.
And, as in Kerry's own case, a candidate's presidential prospects may come to depend on how clearly he or she stakes out that position. Kerry's inarticulateness in talking about the war -- "I voted for it before I voted against it," the botched joke he made in late October about getting "stuck in Iraq" -- was used by Republicans to undermine his credibility on an issue on which the decorated Vietnam veteran seemed otherwise well-poised to lead the charge for his party in 2004.
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Not surprisingly, Cheney's tone in talking about Iraq was much more combative during his CNN interview yesterday than Bush's was on Tuesday night. Cheney criticized the media for allegedly focusing too much on bad news coming out of Iraq, and noted that there have been "enormous successes" in the war.
USA Today on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote on the resolution opposing a troop increase yesterday: "The four-hour committee debate produced far more consensus than the roll call indicated, exposing deep misgivings in both parties about Bush's plans. Only Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said he backed the president's policy... Other Republicans who opposed the resolution made it plain their vote should not be interpreted as support for Bush's plan... In order to pass the Senate, any anti-war resolution may need 60 votes: Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is threatening a filibuster."
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"Although it had been billed as one of the most important speeches of his presidency, there were few signs on Wednesday that [Bush’s] State of the Union address had succeeded in stemming the rapid haemorrhaging of his authority," says the Financial Times. "In spite of an impassioned plea for Congress to give his Iraq strategy a chance, Mr Bush failed even to sway waverers within his own party... On domestic policy, meanwhile, the Democratic leadership in both houses dismissed Mr Bush’s proposals as either too timid or irrelevant. Mr Bush was also criticised for failing to mention reconstruction in New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005."
The Wall Street Journal reports that for social and economic conservatives, Bush's speech "aggravated their underlying fear: that the president might become so consumed by the worsening conflict in Iraq -- and chastened by Democrats' takeover of Congress -- that he will give up on the issues they care about." They are "becoming more openly critical, adding to the president's woes and emboldening Democrats for battles ahead. Increasingly, they are looking beyond Mr. Bush for a new standard-bearer, though no one in Republicans' emerging 2008 presidential field has yet captured conservatives."
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells The Politico in an interview that Bush "did not consult her before announcing his new strategy for the war in Iraq... She also said during the interview in her spacious Capitol suite that no one else in the White House had asked her what she would do, or what the administration should do about Iraq... Pelosi made it clear the issue was the essential backdrop in Washington for the foreseeable future, however much Bush wants to talk about domestic issues."
The New York Times covers the Senate's failure yesterday to pass a “clean” minimum wage hike. “The measure may now be headed for deadlock. Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York and chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, has suggested he will block any minimum-wage measure that includes tax provisions.”
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The presidential field may soon expand even further. Not only will Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) announce his candidacy today at the Marriott in Spartanburg, SC, but former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) told MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell yesterday that an announcement on his presidential plans is "imminent." Huckabee will be in Iowa next week for a two-day swing.
Kerry aides and advisers said his decision not to run "came down to a political calculation that he would face long odds in capturing the presidential nomination for a second time, given his diminished public standing after his 2004 defeat by Bush," says the Boston Globe. Also, "a growing number of Democratic operatives, including some key Massachusetts supporters in the past weeks, counseled Kerry publicly and privately to stay on the sidelines."
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A star-struck chief of staff to Vice President Cheney was so moved by the appearance of two Hollywood celebs at his office in June 2003 that he had to mention it to his CIA briefer the next morning, NBC's Joel Seidman reports. The disclosure of Scooter Libby's brush with movie stars Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz caused a brief roar of laughter in Courtroom #16, where Libby is on trial for perjury and obstruction of justice.
The Hollywood stars visited Libby at his office in the Old Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex, according to prosecution witness Craig Schmall. When Schmall, Libby's CIA briefer, arrived at his home that Saturday, Libby had to impart his exuberance about the meeting. Schmall, told prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that Libby was truly "excited about it." So excited, apparently, that Schmall noted it on the table of contents of his briefing book. Schmall said Libby told him that Cruise and Cruz came by to lobby him about how Germany treats Scientologists. The CIA briefer, who made regular 7:00 am visits to Libby and Cheney at the White House, would also come to Libby's house in Virginia on Saturdays.
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From NBC's Mark Murray, Elizabeth Wilner, and Huma Zaidi
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee who narrowly lost to President George W. Bush in 2004, will not run in the upcoming presidential contest, say sources close to the senator. Kerry's decision comes after several high-profile Democrats -- including Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- have already filed paperwork establishing exploratory committees. It also comes after Kerry's widely reported "botched joke" right before the 2006 midterm elections, which hurt his political standing.
At a campaign event for then-California gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides (D), Kerry set off a political firestorm with this comment at the top of his speech: "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you - you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." Kerry and associates said the remark was a botched joke about the President -- not about the troops. Still, the joke earned him criticism from both Republicans and even some Democrats.
Kerry, so far, is the third high-profile Democrat to announce that he's not running for president. In October of last year, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner decided against making a White House bid, as did Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh last month. Still looming out there as the potential 800-pound gorilla -- should he decide to run -- is former Vice President Al Gore.
From NBC's Ken Strickland
At today's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) -- a possible presidential candidate -- gave a passionate plea to his colleagues to pass his non-binding resolution opposing Bush's plan for more troops in Iraq. At times pounding on the desk, he said we owe it to "the men and women we continue to send into that grinder."
Hagel said debating this resolution may be difficult for some, but that's too bad. "You want a safe job?" he asked. "Go sell shoes!" He challenged the Bush Administration to "show us the plan [for Iraq]. There is no plan. This is a ping-pong game with American lives." In addition, he made the case the while American lives are being lost in Iraq, the Iraqi government -- which the president "boasts" about -- can't even get enough people go convene their parliament to conduct business.
Hagel added that Congress is also to blame: "We didn't involve the Congress when we should have. I'm to blame. Everyone who has been here for [the last] four years is to blame." And referring to his possible White House bid -- or bid for re-election in 2008 -- he said "maybe I'm wrong" for standing up against the Administration's policy. "Maybe I'll have no political future."
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
Taking his State of the Union show on the road, as he typically does when trying to sell policy initiatives, President Bush travels to DuPont in Wilmington, DE to talk about energy. Tomorrow, he'll visit Missouri to talk about health care. Expect the usual campaign-like trappings of a Bush sales pitch, including banners and e-mails titled, "What They're Saying About..." What will be missing is the personal popularity Bush has relied upon to sell his policies in the past.
While Bush is in Delaware talking about energy, one of several domestic issues on which he's hoping to find common ground with Democrats, Delaware's senior senator will be in Washington overseeing a bipartisan rejection of Bush's proposal to send more US troops to Iraq. Senate Foreign Relations chair Joe Biden (D) is the co-sponsor of the original bipartisan resolution opposing Bush's plan, which the committee will debate and vote on today. Biden touts the measure in a USA Today op-ed together with co-author and potential fellow presidential contender Chuck Hagel (R).
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A Los Angeles Times analysis observes that Bush’s proposals might have been “too modest to accomplish the broader challenge facing him: how to rescue the last quarter of his presidency from irrelevance and patch his tattered legacy… ‘This represents the end of the Bush era," said Michael Tanner, a policy analyst for the Cato Institute... ‘This speech shows that outside Iraq, he is increasingly irrelevant.’”
The Boston Globe: "There was no talk of bold initiatives, such as remaking Social Security, or blustery rhetoric that mirrored his famous construct 'axis of evil' -- a bow to his new political realities."
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After the words "America" and "Americans," the word Bush used most often in his speech was "Iraq."
Bob Novak notes that Bush didn’t mention the war on terrorism or Iraq until the 23rd minute of his 50-minute speech. “When Bush got around to Iraq specifically, it was an anticlimax because of his speech on that crisis a week earlier.”
Bloomberg casts Bush's proposed advisory council on the war against terror as a "concession to lawmakers who've complained that Bush's failure to consult with them is part of the reason he's lost support on the war... It would be made up of Democratic and Republican congressional leaders."
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USA Today notes that wartime presidents "have found domestic proposals difficult to deliver," as one historian said. "Still, scoring progress on these domestic issues would bolster Bush's legacy, now defined by the war... The White House is calculating that the president can tap Americans' desire for action on the domestic front even as the war continues to rage."
The New York Daily News: “White House loyalists privately conceded that with the possible exception of his immigration and education proposals, Bush's legislative agenda stands little chance of being enacted by a Congress controlled by the Democrats.”
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"The aggressive note struck by Webb... Reflected the changed political reality on Capitol Hill."
The Boston Globe says Webb's remarks on Iraq were in stark contrast to the "gingerly" remarks Gov. Tim Kaine (D) gave on the same issue during his response last year.
The Washington Post's Milbank cheekily notes the seesawing between Vice President Cheney and Speaker Nancy Pelosi as they stood to applaud at alternating points during Bush's speech.
The New York Times has this nugget: that Pelosi had been coached by her staff to keep a neutral face during Bush’s speech. “They warned that any raised eyebrow or pursed lip would be captured by the cameras trained on the president.”
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The Washington Post rounds up the presidential contenders' reactions to the speech.
Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama got caught in a logjam last night, as one of us witnessed first-hand. Because of the circular shape of the Russell rotunda balcony, Clinton and Obama were forced to be in very close proximity. In one instance, Obama was doing a liveshot for CNN while Clinton waited, and waited, and waited for him to finish. After realizing that it would take a long time (and, perhaps, that they looked silly just standing there), Clinton's aide had her walk all the way around the rotunda to avoid Obama. Likewise, when Clinton was doing a liveshot, Obama wouldn't come near the TV crew until she was clear. He hung out at the back of the hallway acting like he was doing something.
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A spokesman for Karl Rove said he had "no comment" on the allegation made by Scooter Libby's attorney Ted Wells in his opening statements to the jury yesterday that Libby was "sacrificed" to protect Rove, NBC's Joel Seidman reports. Attorneys for Libby said that Administration officials tried to blame him for the leak of a CIA operative's name to cover up for Rove's own disclosures. "They're trying to set me up. They want me to be the sacrificial lamb," Wells said, recalling a conversation between Libby and his boss, Vice President Cheney, as the leak investigation heated up in 2003. "I will not be sacrificed so Karl Rove can be protected." Wells said that Rove was protected because "his fate was important to the Republican party."
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From NBC's Mike Viqueira
American politicians have taken the message of the November elections to heart, at least the one where voters said they were sick of bickering and negativity. The Capitol has been full of uplifting rhetoric over the past weeks, with the words "hope" and "optimism" getting frequent airing. Just moments ago House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked what she wanted to hear from the president this evening. The first thing she mentioned was a message of "hope and optimism." Earlier today she said she is "very optimistic that the president will present positive initiatives."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid feels the same way. "I hope that he can bring us some hope," he said, referring to the portion of the speech that will address the situation in Iraq. Last week it was potential presidential candidate Mitt Romney who, somewhat improbably, praised Sen. Barack Obama for his "message of hope." Even more remarkable was that he said this to a meeting of House Republicans.
From NBC Boston affiliate WHDH's Scott MacEachern
A random sample of New Hampshire voters actually believe it's too early to have so many candidates jostling in the presidential field. One voter in Nashua, calling the large contingent "offensive," said there's too much politics in the state and the primary season shouldn't be starting so early. Others think the big group will give interested voters more time to listen and meet with the candidates in order to make more educated decisions.
One waitress at the popular Merrimack Coffee Shop in Manchester, a must-stop for all presidential hopefuls, said New Hampshire is "retail politics" where the candidates and voters can try each other on before buying.
Although many candidates have visited New Hampshire to campaign, it's those who have visited for other reasons who are generating the most buzz. In Nashua, one young female voter said she was excited that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) had joined the race and that she hadn't thought she'd see a serious female candidate in her lifetime. In Manchester, a veteran said he's definately voting for Clinton.
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From NBC's Ian Williams
As mentioned here earlier this morning, a number of hacks have descended on Jakarta to try and find more about what Sen. Barack Obama (D) did and where he studied during his five years as a child in Indonesia. This follows suggestions in conservative circles that Obama attended a radical madrassa and was less than truthful about this in his book.
CNN's "Situation Room" last night visited Basuki School in Jakarta, where Obama studied for two of his years in Indonesia (1969-1971). It turned out to be a mixed public school -- girls and boys, Muslim and Christian -- where religion was taught as one subject among many. It certainly was not a madrassa. CNN presented the report as a debunking of FOX News and others, and it may well take the sting out of the story, but it doesn't answer all the questions.
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From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
LENGTH: Advisers say the president's speech is running about 40 minutes. They also estimate that the president's walk to the podium takes 12 minutes, so with interruptions/applause and the speech itself, advisers guess at roughly an hour.
BRIEFING: Senior advisers will provide reporters with an on-the-record briefing which will be embargoed and reportable at speech time.
EXCERPTS: Excerpts of the president's address will be released at about 5:00 pm ET, with fact sheets early in the afternoon.
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From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi.
When President Bush takes the podium this evening, he will face an American public that is, for the most part, dubious of his ability to accomplish anything for the remainder of his presidency and resigned to what he considers an unacceptable conclusion to the war in Iraq, according to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
Tonight will mark Bush's sixth State of the Union address and his first to come on the heels of a losing election, as will be evidenced by the majority-Democrat audience in the chamber. In acknowledgement of the role the Iraq war played in those November losses and resistance from lawmakers on both sides, Bush isn't expected to talk at length about his plan to send more US troops to the region. Instead, he will focus on domestic issues with bipartisan appeal, proposing -- or re-proposing -- ways to provide more Americans with health insurance, combat global warming and illegal immigration, and improve education.
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The Washington Post says "the uproar over [Bush's] decision to send more U.S. troops to Iraq has eclipsed potential consensus on domestic policy… Aides said Bush will not directly engage in a debate over congressional efforts to block the troop increase. But in private briefings for administration allies yesterday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove said Bush will challenge Congress to put up its own plan if it does not like his 'new way forward.'"
The Wall Street Journal reports on Warner's new resolution that he allowed his GOP colleague Chuck Hagel, a possible presidential contender and co-sponsor of the other resolution opposing a troop increase, "to preview the language on Friday." "'The bottom line is this is a pretty significant piece of legislation,' Mr. Hagel said. 'In no way is this good news for the administration.'"
The New York Times agrees: “While details of the competing Iraq plans varied, one point could not be mistaken: a growing number of senators in both parties find the president’s strategy flawed.”
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Our polling partner, the Wall Street Journal, looks at our new data and also finds that Bush has lost the public's ear.
The New York Daily News says Bush “will try to rally Americans around his plans for the country tonight despite approval ratings that rival the worst days of Richard Nixon's presidency.”
The AP suggests that Bush's more thematic speech is designed to help him compete with the 2008 presidential contenders and new Democratic leaders" who "present fierce competition for headlines."
There will be a battle of the guest boxes tonight. Speaker Nancy Pelosi will fill her box with former and current Democratic party leaders, including former Speakers Jim Wright and Tom Foley. She'll also steal a page from former President Reagan and all the presidents who've followed by including two September 11 widows. And she's invited the wives of the chairmen and vice chairmen of the Joint Chiefs. New Washington, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, will also sit in the Pelosi box -- after turning down Laura Bush's invitation to sit with her because the President opposes voting rights for DC. NBC's Andrea Mitchell notes that the practice of inviting heroes or other political guests began when Reagan's staff invited the hero of the Air Florida crash rescue to sit with Nancy Reagan, Mitchell notes.
Despite appearing to strike a more "conciliatory" tone tonight, Bush is not expected to compromise on any of this domestic or foreign policy agenda, reports the Boston Globe. In turn, "members of both parties see the State of the Union address more as a preview of coming battles than an invitation to negotiate on important domestic issues.
Bloomberg says Bush's health care proposal "has already divided lawmakers and interest groups along partisan lines" -- basically Democrats and unions versus Republicans and business.
"Former President Clinton has signaled privately that his wife... will include aggressive healthcare proposals in her campaign for the White House, despite the debacle of what critics labeled 'Hillary Care' 14 years ago," The Hill reports. "The indications are that Sen. Clinton’s strategy will be to turn healthcare, a political weakness, into a strength." Clinton "does not want her opponents to own healthcare, an area in which Democrats have traditionally enjoyed huge poll leads over Republicans."
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NBC's Chris Donovan notes that if "An Inconvenient Truth" is nominated this morning for an Oscar for best documentary feature, chances are good that its star, former Vice President Al Gore, will be walking down the red carpet come February. But before he starts getting billed as an Academy Award nominee, it's important to note that he probably won't have to worry about writing an acceptance speech. The Academy confirms that if the film is nominated, Davis Guggenheim, the film's director and executive producer, will be the sole nominee and the only person eligible to win an Oscar statuette, something all the parties involved sign off on when the forms are submitted.
Sen. Hillary Clinton is "in to win" -- and also to chat, notes NBC's Carrie Dann. A professional lifetime in politics has given Clinton a stock of conversational tones, and she showed them off last night in her first of three webcasts streamed live on her campaign site. In the 30-minute online production, Clinton's tone ranged from stern to chummy in her answers to strategically ordered questions submitted by audience members. She checked the big boxes, addressing the war, health care and education costs, and energy independence. She took some shots at the Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina and criticized Bush’s “blank check” given to the Maliki government in Iraq. Her harshest tone was reserved for Bush's stance on environmental issues.
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Newt Gingrich's new political organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, has kicked off "with a check for $1 million from a source many in his conservative base would shun -- the gambling industry." The "donation marks a new frontier in political fundraising -- a seven-figure check to a group associated with a single politician whose aspirations may include the White House."
The Wall Street Journal editorial page whacks former Gov. Mitt Romney's health care plan, saying it has made him a media darling, but may be illegal. Romney is in Israel today meeting with government officials and giving what his campaign calls "a major policy speech," consisting of a "strategy on how to deal with the threat of Iran."
"To many marchers" in the March for Life yesterday, Sen. Sam "Brownback isn't an asterisk, he's a hero. And that's what gives Brownback hope that his grassroots-oriented campaign could take the establishment by surprise," McClatchy writes. Brownback -- who participated in the march -- "so far is the only Republican presidential hopeful who appeals strongly to the party's social conservative wing, and his candidacy is a test of how influential that wing of the party remains."
The AP previews the opening statements that begin today in the trial.
The New York Times: “The jury selection spanned four days, an unusually long time, because so many prospective candidates said they might be biased because they were so strongly critical of the administration, especially Mr. Cheney. The vice president is expected to be a major witness for Mr. Libby.”
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Sen. Jim Webb says he's still thinking through what he wants to say tomorrow night when he delivers the Democratic Party's response to Bush's State of the Union address but he does not intend to deliver a "particularly partisan" speech. "My speech will highlight areas where Democrats in Congress have different priorities," Webb said in a conference call with reporters this afternoon. "That part of the campaign is over. It's now time to govern," he added.
Webb would not comment specifically on what else he plans to say in his speech, but he did say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have made a "number of recommendations" and given their "thoughts" but that he will write the speech himself. Webb said he will make some comments about Iraq. While it's not clear that he will address this particular issue, Webb expressed concern over the amount of money being spent on reconstruction efforts in Iraq versus the money that is being used to rebuild New Orleans. He also said that Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq is more like "flailing around" than coming up with a real strategy.
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
House Republicans want to see "tangible results" from the President's planned troop increase in Iraq, and they want Congress to play a bigger role in making sure it happens. House Minority Leader John Boehner and others will announce later today their desire to form a "select committee" in the House "to oversee the implementation of benchmarks" to be met by the Iraqis themselves, according to a top House GOP aide.
They want to see more military coordination and cooperation between Iraqi and US forces, an increased level of training for Iraqis, and more efficiency from Iraqi government ministries. And they would demand that the President report back to Congress every 30 days with a progress report.
Boehner also will send a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi later today requesting her agreement in forming this special, or "select," committee of the House. The idea is the product of weeks of "listening sessions" that Boehner has held with rank-and-file in an effort to come up with a GOP political strategy in response to the situation in Iraq, short of having dozens of Republicans jump ship and vote for resolutions disapproving of the Bush plan.
Formation of the committee would require the acquiescence of Pelosi, who's likely to see this as political cover for Republicans unhappy with the Bush policy, and reject it. Republicans could be expected to counter that this select committee would beef up oversight, something that Pelosi and Democrats have called for since the war began.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray, and Huma Zaidi
Enter Hillary. In making her 2008 exploratory committee official today, she plants herself at the front lines of President Bush's effort to focus on domestic issues in his upcoming State of the Union address, and the escalating debate over his plan to send more US troops to Iraq.
Borrowing a page from the Bush playbook, Clinton's campaign is trying to cement the perception that she's the inevitable Democratic nominee, not only by setting her up as the party's chief foil to Bush's State of the Union proposals, but also by issuing a stream of e-mails touting her wide leads over her Democratic rivals in national polls. Surveys in Iowa and New Hampshire, on the other hand, show her jostling with former Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton is expected to visit Iowa this weekend and New Hampshire shortly. New early primaries in big states like California, where better-known and -funded candidates would have an edge, could also help her.
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Bush tells USA Today in an interview that he "can't guarantee that all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of his presidency because 'we don't set timetables.'" He "believes Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki can clamp down on sectarian violence, and he warned Iran not to aid Iraqi insurgents." And he "said he'll use Tuesday's speech to assuage skeptics in both parties about his new Iraq plan."
He also tells the paper that he's not worried about his legacy: "'You can ask the legacy question 20 different ways... People are going to analyze my presidency for a long time. All you can do is do the best you can, make decisions based upon principles and lead.'"
CONTINUED >>
The Washington Post notes that Democrats' choice of Webb to respond to Bush speech tomorrow night underscores the growing role Virginia is playing in Democratic politics," as Webb follows Gov. Tim Kaine, who gave the response last year."
Roll Call notes that "the first 100 hours didn’t take 100 hours. According to the clock on the House Majority Leader Web site, they came in at a tidy 42 hours and 25 minutes."
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The Washington Times reports that "Bush's record of getting his State of the Union proposals enacted, after successes in his early years in office, has dropped off substantially. Of the 12 initiatives that he proposed or called on Congress to pass in 2006, the White House can claim complete success on just three: renewing the Patriot Act, expanding health savings accounts and expanding electronic medical records. That followed unfulfilled calls in 2005 to reform Social Security and the tax code and to pass a guest-worker program for illegal aliens and future immigrants."
Also in his USA Today interview, Bush "vowed that the Iraq war would not deter him from engaging the Democratic-controlled Congress on a sweeping domestic agenda, including helping states tailor their own plans for health insurance." He's also proposing that "health insurance benefits from employers... be considered taxable income. That means people with generous health coverage would pay taxes on the amount that exceeds the tax deduction." Bush also "said he will submit a budget to be balanced by 2012 without raising taxes, but did not say whether it would depend on major cuts to existing programs, future economic growth or some combination of both."
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Clinton has an event at Ground Zero today. Starting this evening, she'll hold a series of 30-minute online "conversations" in which she will appear live and will take questions submitted online by visitors to her website. (Aspiring questioners have to register with the site.) NBC's Andrea Mitchell points out that the webchats are an updated version of the town meetings she held when she first ran for the Senate.
Per yesterday's Des Moines Register, "Clinton plans to visit Des Moines and Cedar Rapids on Saturday and name Iowa campaign leaders early this week, aides said." And she could make her first appearance in New Hampshire sometime in mid-March.
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Jury selection is coming to a close, but that "may not be the end of disputes over how much jurors should hear about the Iraq war," the
AP says. "Libby's lawyers, Theodore Wells and William Jeffress, have labored to keep opponents of the Iraq war and the administration off the jury... The potential jurors are drawn from a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 9-to-1."
From NBC's Mark Murray
What a day! We already knew that Sam Brownback (R) was going to throw his hat into the presidential ring this Saturday. And as the AP reported on Friday, Bill Richardson (D) is slated to make his announcement on Sunday. But what we didn't know -- although we knew it was eventually coming -- was that Hillary Clinton (D) would also be making an announcement today.
On her Web site, Clinton made the news we had been waiting for: that she's forming an exploratory committee. "I'm in. And I'm in to win," she said. Recent national polls show Clinton to be leading Democratic rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards. But surveys taken in the important early battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire show either Edwards or Obama to be ahead.
Meanwhile, Brownback made his announcement -- which was obviously overshadowed by the Clinton news. "I am declaring today my candidacy for President of the United States," he said. "Ours is a great nation and I make one pledge to you, to use our greatness for goodness.
From NBC's Elizabeth Wilner
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) plans to post a statement on her website today announcing her plans to file a presidential exploratory committee for 2008. The timing of the actual filing is TBD. Clinton's announcement comes just days after Sen. Barack Obama (D) filed his exploratory committee, making him the first African-American candidate with a real shot at winning the presidency. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), who is expected to announce his intentions this month, would become the first serious Latino candidate for the White House.
From NBC's Mary Beth Fay
Having been recommended by President Bush, Sen. Mel Martinez was chosen by his party leaders to become the RNC's general chairman as was widely expected. An official voice vote took place at today's session of the RNC winter meeting. Some members were expected to protest his nomination because of his pro-immigration views but only a handful voiced opposition. In addition, Mike Duncan, a national committeeman from Kentucky, was elected to replace outgoing chair Ken Mehlman. Duncan will be running most of the daily operations at the RNC while Martinez will emerge as the new face of the party.
In a media availability after the nearly two hour meeting, Martinez said that -- as a Hispanic -- his nomination for general chairman is a "pretty good step" towards diversity within the organization. On Iraq, Martinez said that "those who oppose the president on his new plan and his new approach on Iraq owe the country a response on how they would treat it differently."
From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
President Bush will do a full rehearsal of his State of the Union address today. As is customary, it will take place in the "family theater" inside the White House. Advisers say Bush's speech will discuss the "war on terror" and Iraq ,but it will be more "global" than that. They add that he is not expected to repeat his new Iraq strategy in detail -- since that was the subject of his primetime speech on January 10.
From NBC's Mike ViqueiraThe House will vote later this morning to revamp its Page Board, the much maligned panel that stood accused of complicity in a partisan cover-up during the Mark Foley scandal. You'll recall that the then-chairman of the Board, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Il), responded to initial allegations of salacious e-mails by joining the House Clerk and going to Foley. The two men gave the Florida Republican a stern talking to in private but it proved to be ineffective in curbing his behavior. The meeting and the allegations were all kept hush-hush. Shimkus neglected to inform the other members of the Board of what had transpired, including Democrat Dale Kildee and Republican Shelley Moore Capito. Today, Kildee has sponsored legislation that would equalize the number of Republicans and Democrats on the Board, as well as include a parent of a page and a representative of former pages on the panel.
From NBC's Huma ZaidiFormer Ohio Congressman Bob Ney has been sentenced to 30 months in jail -- more than what federal prosecutors recommended to the judge -- for his role in the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal. Last year, Ney pleaded guilty to accepting costly gifts and trips in exchange for using his position to do favors for Abramoff and his clients. Abramoff, meanwhile, is serving a six year sentence for his involvement in another scandal.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
Four days until Bush’s State of the Union address, here’s where things stand: House Democrats have passed their entire “Six for ’06” agenda; the Iraqi government has arrested a top aide to the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr; the bipartisan Senate resolution condemning Bush’s troop increase has been introduced and will hit the floor in the next couple of weeks; and the presidential contest -- even if some candidates aren’t officially in -- is already well underway.
Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi deliver their own kind of State of the Union address this morning at the National Press Club. According to excerpts, Reid will say this about Bush’s troop increase in Iraq: “The President's plan will receive an up-or-down vote in both chambers of Congress. It is the only way the American people can have their voice heard. Our hope ... is that the President will hear the bipartisan chorus opposing escalation, and work with Democrats to find a new course.” Pelosi will add that many House members support the non-binding resolution on Bush’s plan, and she will also touch on her next legislative priority: curbing global warming. “We want to work with President Bush on this important issue in a bipartisan way. But we cannot afford to wait.”
CONTINUED >>
After the third day of jury selection in the Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s trial, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell says a total of 49 prospective jurors have been brought forward for questioning. Thirty of them have been accepted as qualified to serve, while 19 have been rejected -- mostly for expressing bias towards the Bush Administration, Vice President Cheney, and the Iraq war. Six more qualified jurors are still needed before the two sides can exercise "strikes" to reach a jury of 12, plus four alternates.
O’Donnell adds that there is no jury work today due to the judge’s calendar. So the next questioning will occur on Monday. Opening statements are now projected for Tuesday -- the same day as Bush’s State of the Union address.
CONTINUED >>
The Washington Post says the arrest of a top aide to Muslim Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr comes “as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, is under pressure from Washington to demonstrate that he's unafraid to take on Sadr and other Shiite militias.”
Already in the Middle East meeting with Arab leaders, Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a surprise stop in Iraq today to meet with American and British military officials.
The Chicago Tribune says that “with opinion polls registering opposition at a ratio of 2-1 to the president's plan for more U.S. troops in Iraq, many Democrats now are looking well beyond the mere symbolism of a non-binding resolution and proposing ways to gain more control over war spending."
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D), who has voted with Republicans against troop withdrawal in the past, said yesterday that he cannot support the troop increase and that he will "no longer acquiesce to a failed and tragic military exercise in Iraq," the Des Moines Register says. "It was somewhat of a shift for Boswell, a political moderate who is a member of the House intelligence committee and has not been as critical in his remarks about the war as some Democrats."
The New York Times covers the grilling AG Alberto Gonzales received from lawmakers, the day after the Bush Administration announced it was placing its warrantless surveillance program under court supervision. “A central question is whether the court will approve eavesdropping case by case, its traditional practice, or will it issue broader orders that provide additional government leeway in selecting targets.” Also: “Some lawmakers wanted to know why the administration had waited five years from the start of the program to put it under the supervision of the secret intelligence court.”
The Los Angeles Times adds that the Administration refused to provide details of how the surveillance program would work, “triggering a fresh round of complaints and suspicions from Democrats about what the administration was doing.”
Per NBC's Mike Viqueira, the kickoff to Rep. Henry Waxman's (D) long-awaited investigation into contracting waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq appears to be underway. Waxman’s committee says it has invited three people -- including Coalition Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer -- to testify at a hearing the week of February 6.
USA Today writes that when he delivers his State of the Union address, Bush will be facing a new audience (a Democratic-controlled Congress) on an old issue (Iraq). Yet: “Unlike Bush's prime-time address on Iraq last week, [press secretary Tony] Snow said, the State of the Union ‘has a large domestic component’ that will be crafted to find common ground with the Democrats who control Congress. The agenda includes immigration, education and energy.” http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-18-prez-sotu_x.htm
The Washington Times also discusses the new audience Bush will face. "For the first time, he will address a Democratic majority in the joint chamber. Behind him, right next to Vice President Dick Cheney, will be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. This scenario has influenced the speech, which will seek to enunciate issues on which Republicans and Democrats can agree."
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times says that Fed chief Ben Bernanke testified yesterday about the “danger posed by looming deficits in Social Security and Medicare. ‘The longer we wait, the more severe, the more draconian, the more difficult the adjustment is going to be,’ Mr. Bernanke said…’I think the right time to start is about 10 years ago.’”
While more people have a positive outlook on the economy since 2001, the Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll finds that an increasing number believe free trade has actually hurt the economy. "The fraying pro-trade consensus may give support to newly empowered Democrats in Congress, many of whom want to retreat from the free-trade position established by former President Bill Clinton, political analysts say."
The House yesterday passed its rollback of oil industry subsidies by a 264-163 vote, the AP says. “The bill's prospects are uncertain the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow majority. The top Republican on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, said the bill was ‘another pig in the poke’ that targets incentives necessary to promote domestic drilling.”
With that passage, House Democrats completed their 100-hour “Six for ’06” agenda. The New York Times writes that Democrats cheered that accomplishment, while Republicans derided the hurry-up nature of the effort as a bit of one-sided political showmanship that undercut the Democrats’ pledge that the new Congress would be more bipartisan.” More: “The $2.10-an-hour increase in the minimum wage may be the legislation with the best chance of becoming law… The outlook for other 100-hour measures is more problematic.”
CONTINUED >>
How early is this presidential race starting? Investigative reporters are already doing their digging on the candidates. The Washington Post reports that the people who purchased John Edwards’ Georgetown home for $5.2 million were Paul and Terry Klaassen, the wealthy founders of the nation’s largest assisted-living housing chain for seniors -- who have been criticized by some of the very unions Edwards is courting, and who are the subject of an SEC inquiry. “Edwards was told the Klaassens' name ‘in passing’ around the time the offer came in on Dec. 18, [an Edwards spokeswoman] said last night, but he did not investigate further and had no knowledge of their business until a reporter's inquiry Wednesday.”
The Los Angeles Times notes that some African-American politicians and leaders have doubts about Barack Obama and will be supporting other Democratic presidential candidates (like Edwards or Clinton). “Excitement is spreading among Democratic Party activists that Obama might have a shot at winning the White House, but black opinion leaders are still sizing him up - and some are already expressing greater kinship with other candidates.”
The Washington Times looks at how and why global warming will be a key issue in the next presidential race.
From NBC's Mark Murray
In his last speech as chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman listed four lessons that he said his party should learn from its midterm losses last fall. First, he made the argument that House Minority Leader John Boehner made earlier: that Republicans must be the party of reform. "It must be our party that recommits itself to being the party of change." Second, he contended that Republicans shouldn't tolerate corruption or ethical transgressions. "Public service is a sacred trust," he said, "and we cannot allow it to be sullied by anybody -- Republican or Democrat."
The third lesson, Mehlman said, is that Republicans need to continue to grow the party by reaching out to minorities. And his fourth lesson -- which might surprise some of his political opponents -- is that Republicans need to do a better job of working with Democrats. "This doesn't mean we abandon our philosophy," Mehlman explained. "But on many issues, we can ... think broadly about how to work with Democrats and independents to accomplish our mission."
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney dropped by the House side this afternoon to give a chat and take some questions from House Republicans. A brief bit of eavesdropping revealed that Romney is, like a lot of people these days, something of a Barack Obama fan
At least three dozen members jammed the small basement meeting room that -- now that they are in the minority -- is the only real estate available to Republicans in the Capitol. It was so crowded, in fact, that the doors were left open and a nosy reporter could observe the gathered politicians in their natural habitat.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
In their first gathering since losing the majority in both houses of Congress, RNC members gathered this afternoon to hear House Minority Leader John Boehner tell them why they lost and what they plan on doing about it. He didn't stop there, though. Boehner took a few shots at Democrats, arguing that while they were the minority party they expressed "constant negativity" and that their efforts to work with the GOP lacked civility. Republicans will do better, Boehner said. He added that with Democrats now in the majority, they're in for a "rude awakening" when they try to move their "big agenda" through Congress. (Democrats will hold a press conference later today touting their completion of their "Six for '06 agenda).
In his post-mortem of why Republicans lost in last year's midterms, Boehner said that a multitude of problems could be to blame (such as Iraq and ethics problems) but ultimately they lost because they lost their way and didn't give Americans a reason to vote for them. Boehner said the party must "rebuild voters' confidence" and make an effort to be seen as "relevant" to the issues facing Americans. In order to do that, Boehner said Congress must tackle issues like health care, welfare and entitelement reform and balancing the budget. (There was no mention of national security or Iraq in that list of agenda items). Boehner also said that the RNC needs to reach out to nontraditional voters.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
As he prepares for his State of the Union address next week, President Bush has no public events today or tomorrow. Consequently, the center of the GOP universe shifts a few blocks -- from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to the downtown Grand Hyatt in DC, where Republicans are gathering for the RNC’s winter meeting to discuss their lessons learned from the 2006 midterms. There are two big events today: House Minority Leader John Boehner’s speech at lunch and outgoing RNC chairman Ken Mehlman’s farewell address later in the afternoon. Tomorrow, the party elects its new chair, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez.
Per excerpts provided by his office, Boehner will say, "Democrats didn't win this election. Republicans lost.” He will add: "Over time, we became less interested in developing new, innovative, conservative solutions to America's problems. The Republican brand became diluted and voters went the other way." Mehlman, meanwhile, will discuss how ethics problems and scandals hurt the party in 2006. “If there are Republicans for whom influence or power or money have become more important than serving the public and the nation, then let me make it perfectly clear: We don’t want you,” he will say, according to an advanced copy of the speech.
CONTINUED >>
Per a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, three-fifths of the public oppose Bush’s plan to send more US troops to Iraq, and 51% say they want to block that deployment. Moreover, just 33% approve of Bush’s handling of the Iraq war, and 39% approve of Bush’s overall job performance. “The sole ray of light for Bush in the poll may be signs of public ambivalence about how Congress should respond to his plans on Iraq. Despite the widespread opposition to the troop escalation, Americans divide more closely on whether lawmakers should try to stop it.”
"The poll also shows the potential saliency of the war in the 2008 presidential elections, especially for Senator John McCain of Arizona… A plurality of self-defined moderates and independents, a key McCain constituency, said his advocacy of a troop escalation even larger than the one Bush has announced makes them less likely to support him if he runs for the White House."
CONTINUED >>
It's the third -- and probably final -- day of jury selection in the trial of former Cheney chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell says 24 prospective jurors remain the pool; nine have been dismissed (two for financial hardship, one for insufficient English, one for medical problems, and five for bias). Judge Reggie Walton said he wants to finish selection today and will work past 5:00 pm, if necessary. Per O'Donnell, some of yesterday's more interesting prospective jurors included:
-- a white woman who said: "I can't believe any statement by the Bush Administration." She was dismissed.
-- a retired high school math teacher from North Carolina who said this about Cheney: "I think the vice president played a pivotal role in Desert Storm, the first war. I think as Defense secretary, he deserves a lot of credit for that. The man added: "Not sure about his health with his heart. Not sure I'd like to go bird hunting with him, either."
-- a white male who said he was a former Washington Post reporter and also a former neighbor of NBC's Tim Russert. He described Russert as "entertaining" and "friendly" but added that he doesn't watch Meet the Press. He also stressed his ability to be fair and weigh facts, but also said, "I'm not making a pitch to get on this jury."
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times reports that, due to budgeting problems at the Small Business Administration, the federal government’s biggest program to help people recover from natural disasters is about to run out of money. “If Congress does not intervene in the next month or so to cover the administrative costs of the program, it will have to shut down… [E]ven a temporary shutdown could delay aid to victims of the ice storms in the Midwest and other recent natural disasters, and would further hamper a program that was widely criticized for its slow response to the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.”
The Washington Times again covers some of the opposition to incoming RNC chair Mel Martinez. “Texas RNC member Denise McNamara said the attempt by Mr. Bush's supporters on the national committee to name Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida as general chairman ‘is like pouring gas on an already smoldering electorate’ … ‘Choosing an RNC chairman who supports amnesty [for illegal aliens] is tantamount to telling the conservative majority of Americans that they do not matter.’”
CONTINUED >>
The Democrats will conclude their “Six for ‘06” agenda today with a vote on repealing tax breaks for oil companies. As USA Today puts it: “After taking on the restaurant, drug and banking industries, House Democrats top off their first 100 hours of majority status Thursday with a swipe at Big Oil.” House Democratic leaders will hold a press conference later this afternoon to discuss their “Six for ’06” accomplishments.
The AP notes, however, that the measure’s prospects in the Senate are uncertain given the Democrats' narrow majority there and sharp opposition from some Republicans as well as the White House.
CONTINUED >>
Per CNBC’s Patti Domm, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke today testifies before the Senate Budget Committee on the long-term fiscal challenges facing the US. Bernanke, she says, will be closely watched for any comments on economic direction and Fed thinking.
USA Today examines how Barack Obama’s candidacy might impact African-American voters. “Black voters don't figure largely in the nomination race until early February 2008. The competition moves at that point to South Carolina and Alabama, two states in which nearly half of Democratic primary voters are black.”
The New York Times, meanwhile, notes that Obama is only the latest politician promising to be the fresh face to change Washington. The problem is, those folks usually go on to lose. “Think John Anderson, Gary Hart, Ross Perot. How can Mr. Obama avoid a similar fate?”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Army Chief of Staff General Pete Schoomaker has told a key House panel that the president's new plan for Iraq stands a "50/50 chance" of success, per one Republican and one Democratic source.
Schoomaker appeared at a closed-door meeting of the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee to discuss military readiness. He is due to retire as soon as his replacement, General George Casey, is confirmed.
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
In addition to Senate Republicans, the White House has invited Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee to discuss Iraq policy this afternoon. But is it too late? One conservative House Republican says that the feeling among "thinking members" on his side is that "the president has no credibility" left on the subject of Iraq. House leaders, led by John Boehner, have been hosting a series of "listening sessions" with the rank-and-file to determine what can be done to head off a mass exodus on Iraq policy, short of voting with Democrats.
In the meantime, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats had planned to simply put the president's new policy into legislative form and have an up or down "vote of confidence" on the plan, they are now expected to do something similar to follow the Senate's lead. The Senate plan, to be announced by Sens. Chuck Hagel, Joe Biden, and Carl Levin later today, more forthrightly states that it is "not in the national interest" to escalate the troop levels in Iraq. House Majority Leader Harry Reid has come to them and said that he expects 12 Republicans to vote with him and against the president.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland
In what appears to be a Bush Administration effort to persuade skeptical Senate Republicans to support the president's new Iraq strategy, several of them have been summoned to the White House for a meeting this morning with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. The invited Republicans included Sens. Sam Brownback, George Voinovich, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins. All of them have expressed at least some misgivings about Bush's plan for sending more troops into Iraq.
Inviting Voinovich, Sununu, and Murkowski is especially key because they sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and are being courted by Democrats to sign on to the non-binding resolution against the troop increase.
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Liberal MoveOn PAC is launching a new $250,000 TV ad campaign today that attacks Sen. John McCain's position on the war. The ad -- which will run in Iowa, New Hampshire, and nationally -- notes that the Administration's plan to send additional troops to Iraq was actually McCain's idea. "It’s John McCain’s idea to send tens of thousands more soldiers to Iraq. And to keep them there, with no timeline for bringing them home," the ad goes.
As public support for the war slips, analysts believe McCain's stance could hurt his chances if he decides to run for president. While other potential GOP candidates like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani both say they support Bush's plan, McCain is the person (other than Bush) most closely identified with the troop increase -- and thus the subject of MoveOn's new ad.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
If there was a collective fasten-your-seatbelts moment in the emerging presidential race, it might have occurred yesterday. First, Barack Obama -- via a video on the Web -- declares he’s filing paperwork to form an exploratory committee. Then, just minutes later, an email from Hillary Clinton’s office announces that a press conference on the senator’s recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan is being rescheduled until the next day, fueling speculation that she wanted to avoid comment about Obama’s decision. After that, we learn the press conference had actually been cancelled the day before (although we never got the heads up), because fellow traveler GOP Rep. John McHugh was ill. And on top of it all, anti-immigration Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) also announces he’s forming an exploratory committee. Whew.
Well, Clinton’s rescheduled press conference -- with McHugh and Sen. Evan Bayh (D) -- is set for this afternoon. And she previewed her remarks this morning on TODAY, where she stepped up her criticism of President Bush’s plans in Iraq. Clinton said she’s opposed to sending more US troops and supports placing a cap on the number of them there; she wants to set up conditions on the amount of US funding sent to the Iraqi government; and she believes more troops are needed in Afghanistan. When NBC's Matt Lauer asked her if Obama has enough experience to be president, Clinton replied, “Voters will make these decisions. That's what's so great about our system." Asked when she would make her own decision about running for president, she told Lauer, “I'll certainly come back and talk to you about that when a decision is made."
With less than a week before his State of the Union address
CONTINUED >>
Covering the president’s interview with PBS yesterday, USA Today says Bush criticized the handling of Saddam Hussein’s execution. “Bush said the hanging showed that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government ‘still has some maturation to do’ as U.S. and Iraqi forces make a new push to secure Baghdad.”
The Washington Post adds that Bush admitted in the interview his Iraq policy “was headed to ‘a slow failure’ until he changed course last week” -- “perhaps the president's frankest admission that the previous strategy was not working.” More: “‘I had a choice to make,’ Bush said. ‘Do what we're doing -- and one could define that maybe a slow failure. Secondly, withdraw out of Baghdad and hope for the best. I think that would be expedited failure. And thirdly is to help this Iraqi government with additional forces -- help them do what they need to do, which is to provide security in Baghdad.’”
CONTINUED >>
In his State of the Union address next week,
Reuters says Bush is expected to outline his policy to address global warming, but hasn’t dropped his opposition to mandatory emission caps. "Bush has pushed a series of initiatives aimed at encouraging the development of alternative energy sources such as hydrogen and ethanol. That theme is expected to be emphasized in his speech."
It’s Day Two of the jury selection in the trial of former Cheney chief of staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports that nine potential jurors were interviewed yesterday for the Libby trial. Six were asked to return today, and three were dismissed. Among those dismissed:
-- a young African-American woman who was asked about her views of the Bush Administration and said, "I am completely without objectivity. Nothing they can say or do would make me think anything positive about them."
-- a white financial analyst who admitted that he regularly reads the gossip blog Wonkette and said, "I don't have the highest opinion of [Cheney].”
-- and a young white woman who said she is a freelance photographer and could not afford to spend six weeks at trial; the judge will have her called again for a shorter case.
CONTINUED >>
In advance of Bush’s State of the Union address, Roll Call reports that Democrats are planning to hold numerous pre-buttal events “to ensure they go into Tuesday night’s speech with an upper hand on the issues they believe Bush is set to address, including the Iraq War, balancing the budget, global warming and energy independence. Democrats already are fanning out to the rank-and-file Members, urging them to set expectations high, so that the onus is on Bush to measure up.”
The AP says the Senate yesterday vote “to shine more light on thousands of expensive pet projects buried in legislation every year after the new Democratic majority bowed to a successful push by Republicans to make new disclosure rules even tougher than originally planned.”
The New York Times notes that Obama’s candidacy “changes the contours of the Democratic landscape. He is the only major candidate, at least among those from the Senate, who is not on record voting about whether to go to war with Iraq… Since then, though, Mr. Edwards has renounced his support of the war and become a stronger critic than Mr. Obama. And Mrs. Clinton, who has expressed skepticism about President Bush’s revised Iraq strategy, has struggled to convince many in the Democratic Party’s base that she has spoken out strongly enough.”
A Washington Post analysis adds, “Never has a party begun a nomination contest with its two most celebrated candidates a woman and an African American… The coming campaign will provide ample opportunity for Democratic voters to decide what they want in their nominee, and in Clinton and Obama they will have strikingly different models to choose from.”
CONTINUED >>
Former Iowa Rep. (and gubernatorial nominee) Jim Nussle (R) will join Rudy Giuliani's campaign as his top advisor in Iowa, the Des Moines Register says. "Having Nussle on board could help Giuliani among conservatives, although the two disagree on a key social issue. Giuliani backs abortion rights, while Nussle supports making abortion illegal in all cases except to save the life of the mother."
After conservative Christian leader James Dobson made critical remarks about John McCain, the AP says, the Republican senator replied, “‘I'm obviously disappointed and I'd like to continue and have a dialogue with Dr. Dobson and other members of the community’”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland
In a sign of how awkward things may get in the Senate over the next few months, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama now both serve on the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee -- commonly referred to as the HELP Committee. With the tradition of seating members in order of seniority, Clinton and Obama should be seated next to each other.
Coincidentally, there's a HELP Committee hearing going on at this moment on Capitol Hill. It should come as no surprise that neither is in attendance and not expected to show. Their absence is not of much significance since Monday morning hearings are usually light in attendance of both Democrats and Republicans. However, there is one presidential aspirant in attendance today, Sen. Chris Dodd. (The Senate committee with the most presidential wannabes is Foreign Relations: Sens. Joe Biden, Dodd, John Kerry, Obama, and Chuck Hagel all sit on the committee.)
From NBC's Huma Zaidi and Mark Murray
Ending weeks of speculation, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) announced this morning that he is forming a presidential exploratory committee. (His office officially filed just after 10:00 am ET.) In a videotaped message on his new website, Obama said he will announce his final decision on February 10 in Chicago. "As many of you know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008," he said. "Running for the presidency is a profound decision -- a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone -- and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country."
If he officially decides to run, the junior senator from Illinois will certainly be among the front-runners for the Democratic nomination -- who will likely also include New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards. During the 2006 midterm elections, Obama became a fund-raising rock star for Democratic candidates across the country, and his message of hope and unity could have wide appeal in this political environment. At the same time, however, critics will obviously point to his lack of experience -- he has spent just two years in the US Senate -- as the country faces numerous domestic and foreign challenges.
Among those challenges is the situation in the Middle East, which Clinton -- who just returned from a tour of the Middle East -- was scheduled to address today in a press conference. However, shortly after Obama's announcement, Clinton postponed her presser until tomorrow afternoon, possibly to avoid questions about Obama.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
It was a story that once captivated Washington, that led to the federal investigation of whether officials in the Bush Administration illegally disclosed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, and that even seemed certain to ensnare President Bush’s top political aide Karl Rove (but never did). Yet what’s now left of that CIA leak story -- the perjury charges against Cheney former chief of staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby -- nears its conclusion today with the jury selection for Libby’s trial. Libby is accused of lying to a grand jury and investigators about how he learned of Valerie Plame Wilson’s identity. Jury selection is supposed to take two or three days, and the entire trial will last up to six weeks.
Politically, the trial will likely thrust back into the news the Bush Administration’s decision to go war against in Iraq -- at the very time that Washington and the country debate Bush’s plan to send more troops there. Speaking of, a new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that nearly six in 10 Americans are opposed to the troop increase.
CONTINUED >>
A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that just 38% support Bush’s call for an increase of troops to Iraq, while 59% oppose it. Moreover, 61% say they favor a non-binding Democratic resolution opposing Bush’s plan, yet just 47% say they support Congress blocking funding for the new troops. Also in the poll, Bush’s job approval is at 34% and his Iraq handling is 28%.
Another GOP senator who’s opposed to the troop increase? In an interview with the Manchester Union Leader, Sen. John Sununu said he doesn't think additional troops should be sent to Iraq until the country "has proven it is ready to take control of its own nation on several fronts and before U.S. commanders show that new military tactics and rules of engagement are working."
CONTINUED >>
The Los Angeles Times on the trial: “At a time when most high-profile Washington criminal defendants cop pleas to avoid the glare of the courtroom, the case should provide a rare display of political theater, a throwback to the days of Watergate and the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal, which played out in the same federal courthouse where Libby's fate will be decided.” More: “The politically charged case against Libby may be the closest thing that critics of the Bush administration ever get to a public trial dealing with the justifications for the Iraq war.”
As the Washington Post reported yesterday, the jury selection isn’t expected to be easy, given the case’s publicity, the politics over the Iraq war, and the likely testimony from figures like Vice President Dick Cheney, NBC’s Tim Russert, and the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward.
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times notes how congressional Democrats are trying to seek the center, especially on social issues. “But the Democrats’ moves toward consensus-building on issues that often resist consensus reflect their effort to adjust to a new political reality. Their majority is slimmer than it was the last time they were in power, especially in the Senate. The country, some pollsters say, has grown more conservative on abortion and other social issues.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger both made appearances at a high-profile San Francisco MLK breakfast yesterday. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “the Democratic leader's tough comments warning President Bush against what she called an abuse of power in a troop escalation were greeted with cheers -- while Schwarzenegger, who on Sunday said he supports the president's decision to increase the troop levels by 21,500 in Iraq, studiously avoided the topic.”
CONTINUED >>
President Bush meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and then has a photo opportunity with the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the World Series last fall.
The Washington Post front-pages that one of Bush’s goals in his State of the Union address will be a move towards a balanced budget. “Politically, analysts say, the president is calling the bluff of Democrats, who won control of Congress in part by accusing Bush of reckless fiscal policies. While Bush now shares the Democrats' goal to erase the deficit by 2012, the politically perilous work of making that happen … falls to the Democratic-run Congress.” The article adds that pushing for a balanced budget has another purpose: reining in entitlement spending.
CONTINUED >>
USA Today writes that gas prices dropped over the holiday weekend and are down 4% this year. “But drivers who expect gas prices to fall as sharply as oil prices in recent weeks will likely be disappointed… [S]tudies have shown retail gas prices ‘rise much more quickly when oil prices rise, and they fall much more slowly when oil prices fall,’ says Stephen Brown, director of energy economics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.”
The AP covers yesterday’s MLK Day politicking -- with Joe Biden in South Carolina saying he would vote to keep the Confederate flag off of the statehouse’s grounds, and Barack Obama in Chicago at a breakfast with Jesse Jackson, where “he didn't deliver what much of the crowd clearly wanted: a declaration that he will run for president.”
At another MLK event in Harvey, IL, Obama received a chorus of "Amens" for his criticisms of the Bush’ Administration’s policies on Iraq and its post-Katrina reconstruction effort. Alluding to the funds being poured into the surge effort, Obama declared "there's no reason why they couldn't help rebuild Harvey just like they say they want to rebuild Baghdad." His voice becoming hoarse at times, he questioned why people displaced by Katrina are still struggling despite the "hooplah" about preventing poverty and racism that the president promoted after the hurricane.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Huma Zaidi and Mark Murray
Sen. John McCain's exploratory committee announced this morning that Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will serve as the national co-chair of McCain's campaign, if he runs for president.
Pawlenty narrowly won reelection last fall during the Democratic wave that took down Republicans across the country, including in Minnesota. Calling him "a good friend and a great leader," McCain said he would depend on Pawlenty's advice during a possible presidential campaign.
We'll be hearing a lot more fom Pawlenty in the future. His state will host the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul next year and Pawlenty is mentioned as a possible GOP vice presidential nominee. This summer, Pawlenty will also become chairman of the National Governors Association.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
A handful of the oh-eighters are busy on this Martin Luther King Day holiday -- just another sign how early this presidential contest has started. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd are in South Carolina, while Mitt Romney is in Boston, where he attends a service at the First Holiness Church. Yesterday, John Edwards gave an MLK Day sermon at the Riverside Church in New York City, where he seems to have launched the first broadside in the emerging contest for the Democratic nomination -- apparently against Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama over their refusal (so far) to come out against funding President Bush’s troop increase. “If you are in Congress and you know this war is going in the wrong direction, it is no longer enough to study your options,” Edwards said.
Clinton and John McCain are also on the road today, albeit in two different countries. Clinton ends her four-day trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with a visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, while McCain attends Alabama Gov. Bob Riley’s (R) inauguration. And there could be some major activity by Obama this week: A spokesman for the senator tells First Read that an announcement Obama will form an exploratory committee could come as early as this week. Bob Novak reported the same on Sunday (see below).
CONTINUED >>
In his appearance on “60 Minutes” last night, his second prime-time opportunity in the past week, the AP notes that Bush conceded that he’s not popular -- nor is the Iraq war. “Yet none of that changes his view that more U.S. troops are needed to win in Iraq. ‘I'm not going to try to be popular and change principles to do so,’ Bush said.”
The Los Angeles Times: “The president's comments were part of an administration effort to quell the growing roar of criticism about its Iraq strategy, as Democrats plan nonbinding resolutions opposing the troop increase and as some Republicans echo their resistance to the plan.”
Bush also said that, as commander-in-chief, he has the authority to move along with his plan, no matter what the Democratic-controlled Congress tries to do in opposition, the Washington Post writes. “‘I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it. But I've made my decision. And we're going forward.’”
CONTINUED >>
The London Observer reports that, per British officials, Bush is “preparing to make a historic shift on his position on global warming” in his State of the Union. Bush and Blair held private talks on climate change before Christmas, and there is a feeling that the US President will now agree a cap on emissions in the US, meaning that, for the first time, American industry and consumers would be expected to start conserving energy and curbing pollution.
The New York Times editorializes against the appointment of former GOP operative and RNC research chief Tim Griffin -- through an end-run around the Senate -- as the US attorney for Arkansas.
Saddam Hussein’s half brother, as well as the former head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court, were hanged before dawn, the AP reports.
Cheney said that the CIA and Pentagon “are not violating people's rights by examining the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage in the United States” -- a practice the New York Times reported over the weekend.
But, per the New York Times: “Representative Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat who is the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel would examine the matter. Mr. Reyes also indicated that he might renew efforts to pass a law requiring various agencies to get court approval before issuing national security letters.”
Following the House’s lead, the Senate “is moving this week to ban members from accepting free tickets to sporting events,”
USA Today says. “Lawmakers have long enjoyed seats in luxury skyboxes paid for by lobbyists and corporations, despite a $50 limit on the gifts they can accept. That's because the tickets often bore no prices or were valued at below the gift limit.”
In his Sunday column, Bob Novak reported some potential big news: Sen.Barack Obama informed a major Democratic financial contributor that he probably will announce formation of a 2008 presidential exploration committee this coming week.”
The Sunday Chicago Tribune profiled Obama’s inner circle.
The New York Times covers Edwards’ speech yesterday at Riverside Church, the same venue where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his harshest speech against the Vietnam War in 1967. “‘If you are in Congress and you know this war is going in the wrong direction, it is no longer enough to study your options,’ Mr. Edwards said… He said members of Congress ‘have the power to prohibit the president from spending money to escalate the war,’ adding, ‘Use that power.’”
CONTINUED >>
Jury selection in the Lewis “Scooter” Libby trial begins tomorrow. The Washington Post: “The estimated six-week trial will pit current and former Bush administration officials against one another… It also will force the media into painful territory, with as many as 10 journalists called to testify for or against an official who was, for some of them, a confidential source.”
The AP: “Libby's lawyers say they plan to call Cheney, who can bolster claims that Libby had more pressing things on his mind than Plame.” NBC’s Joel Seidman reports that, per legal experts, this would be the first time a sitting vice president has ever testified at a criminal trial.
In his interview on FOX yesterday, the New York Times writes, Cheney called Libby “‘one of the finest individuals I’ve ever known.’ Pressed about his former aide’s honesty, Mr. Cheney replied, ‘I believe he’s one of the more honest men I know.’” More: “Whatever the nature of Mr. Cheney’s remarks, if he testifies, the very fact of his appearance would underscore how the trial has created a deeply uncomfortable moment for the White House. It is a problem not only because a former official faces serious charges, but also because the subject is connected closely with how the administration may have used flawed intelligence about Iraq to justify going to war.”
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, the respective House and Senate Republican leaders, have accepted an invitation from President Bush to come to Camp David this weekend for a strategy session -- to talk about Iraq and legislative strategy for the minority Republicans.
Both men are headed up Camp David tonight.
From NBC's Mike Viqueira -- Updated 3:02 pm ET
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that she will look into an alleged loophole in the just-passed minimum wage bill that critics say gives a break to a business based in her district.
The issue centers around StarKist, which employs a significant percentage of citizens of American Samoa and is owned by San Francisco-based Del Monte Corporation. Republicans point out that the minimum wage bill - passed Wednesday as part of the Democratic "100 Hours" initiative - does not apply to American Samoa. Republicans have seized on this fact, alleging that Pelosi has "earmarked" the bill to protect a hometown company from having to raise the pay of its employees. They point to the fact that the Marianas Islands, another US territory, is subject to the wage hike.
At a photo-op today, Pelosi says that she has asked a congressional committee to make sure that they go back and make sure that all territories are treated equally. In the meantime, Democrats say this is all politically driven nonsense. They point out that Samoans are US Nationals whereas CNMI (Marianas) residents are U.S. Citizens; Samoa falls under the Fair Labor Standards Act, CNMI does not; and Del Monte bought StarKist in 2003. The first Democratic minimum wage bill was introduced in 1999 and was written the same way and that Pelosi had no input on this particular matter.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
Unidentified attackers struck the US embassy in Athens late last night (Eastern Time), but there are no reported injuries or casualties. Greek police say the attackers fired a rocket from the street, and it went through a window on the embassy’s third floor. Per the AP, “Greece's Public Order Minister said the blast was probably an act of domestic terrorism -- raising fears of resurgent violence by far-left Greek militants.”
Much of the rest of today’s news focuses on the grilling that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates received yesterday on Capitol Hill -- particularly from senators either running for president or up for re-election in 2008 -- over Bush’s new Iraq plan. Gates returns to Capitol Hill today, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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USA Today says the White House is embarking this weekend on a campaign to sell its plan to the public. Bush will appear on CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, while Cheney hits FOX News Sunday.
In a front-page article, the New York Times traces how Bush reached his decision to send more troops to Iraq. “A narrative pieced together … suggests that through much of the process, generals who had been on the ground in Iraq during the past year had favored that the new strategy begin with a substantially smaller force than the one that President Bush announced to the nation on Wednesday night. In the end, it was Mr. Bush who appeared to drive his commanders along to the conclusion that more troops were needed.”
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The Washington Post notes that Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates “were greeted with a skepticism not seen from Congress over the past six years… Rice appeared to be on the receiving end of the toughest grilling yesterday, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Not a single senator from either party expressed support for the president's plan, many posed hostile questions, and others expressed deep doubt about the Bush administration's premise of creating a viable democracy in the heart of the Middle East.”
The New York Times: “The reception she received suggested that Mr. Bush’s prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday had done little to build political support for sending additional troops to Baghdad.”
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[excerpt]
In his latest National Journal column, NBC political analyst Charlie Cook interviews three veteran GOP campaign consultants, who express concern that the “GOP brand” has been tarnished. “For top strategists to be so candid about their party’s problems is fairly unusual, and it reflects just how urgent they consider the party’s need to redefine itself as it prepares for the 2008 campaign.”
An AP-Ipsos poll that came out yesterday shows that 70% of Americans oppose sending additional troops to Iraq, and just 35% still think the US should have gone to war in the first place -- "a new low in AP polling and a reversal from two years ago, when two-thirds of Americans thought it was the correct move." Bush's job approval rating is 32%, also a new low in the poll.
[/excerp]t
In his latest National Journal column, NBC political analyst Charlie Cook interviews three veteran GOP campaign consultants, who express concern that the “GOP brand” has been tarnished. “For top strategists to be so candid about their party’s problems is fairly unusual, and it reflects just how urgent they consider the party’s need to redefine itself as it prepares for the 2008 campaign.”
An AP-Ipsos poll that came out yesterday shows that 70% of Americans oppose sending additional troops to Iraq, and just 35% still think the US should have gone to war in the first place -- "a new low in AP polling and a reversal from two years ago, when two-thirds of Americans thought it was the correct move." Bush's job approval rating is 32%, also a new low in the poll.
The Washington Times writes how some conservatives are worried that Bush will band together with Democrats to help reauthorize the controversial No Child Left Behind education law.
The
New York Times reports that a group called Revolutionary Struggle anonymously telephoned local security to say it was responsible behind the Athens attack. Revolutionary Struggle, a Marxist group with strong anti-American sentiments, emerged in 2003, bombing an Athens courthouse complex. The group remains the most active Greek terror organization since the downfall of the country’s most deadly urban guerrilla group, November 17, blamed for killing 23 people - including U.S., British and Turkish officials - and for dozens of bomb attacks.”
House Democrats today take on the fourth item of their “Six for ’06” agenda: allowing the federal government to negotiate for lower Medicare drug prices. But the AP says Bush has promised to veto the legislation. “‘Government interference impedes competition, limits access to lifesaving drugs, reduces convenience for beneficiaries and ultimately increases costs to taxpayers, beneficiaries and all American citizens alike,’ the administration said in a written statement.”
Another thing standing in the Democrats’ way: the powerful pharmaceutical lobby. “Despite years of lopsidedly favoring GOP lawmakers with campaign cash and other benefits, the drug lobby continues to wield tremendous power in the Democratic-controlled Congress. It also still has the backing of the White House.”
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The Des Moines Register reports on Dodd’s announcement yesterday that he’s running for president, and his visit to the state today.
The AP suggests that Dodd may have John Kerry to blame for a tough road to the White House, because they both share the image of a New England liberal. “Kerry’s losing 2004 campaign embittered some Democrats who contended he squandered a prime chance for his party to capture the White House. Those bad feelings have lingered as the 2008 contest begins to unfold.”
Another Republican appears to be running for president: Texas congressman Ron Paul. The Galveston Daily News notes that he has formed an exploratory committee and will formally announce his intentions in the next wee or two. The paper also reminds us that Paul ran for president on the Libertarian ticket in 1988.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Last year, 11 cities expressed interest in hosting the DNC's 2008 presidential nominating convention and after months of lobbying, Denver emerged today as the city of choice -- beating out it's last standing competitor, New York City.
In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, DNC Chairman Howard Dean cited Denver's "state-of-the art facilities" and "outstanding accommodations" as some of the reasons for its selection. More importantly, though, Dean said holding the party's next convention there is key to building on gains the Democratic party has made in the west. "If we win the west... we win the presidency," Dean said. He added that the convention will give the party a chance to show that "Democratic party values are American values."
CONTINUED >>
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Jennifer Yuille
Democratic presidential hopefuls John Edwards and Tom Vilsack both said on MSNBC today that Congress should block funding for any troop increase. Edwards, the Democrats' vice presidential nominee in 2004, said he does "not believe we should fund an escalation of this war." When asked if he supported Senator Ted Kennedy's plan to bar funding for new troops, the former North Carolina senator said, "I am against Congress providing more funding for an escalation of this war. There have been a series of mistakes this president has made. Congress should not empower him to make another mistake."
Vilsack, the outgoing governor of Iowa, also voiced his support for Kennedy's plan. When asked if he would vote in favor of Kennedy's measure, Vilsack said "I would say Mr. President, we are not going to provide the resources to carry this plan out." He went onto say that "Senator Kennedy is raising important questions. This is precisely what Congress ought to be doing."
When asked about recent polls in his home state showing him running behind other potential Democratic candidates (including Edwards and Hillary Clinton), Vilsack joked, "I'm not a rock star but I'm rock solid." He said "people in Iowa still see me as their governor and not a presidential candidate." On Thursday, the Vilsack campaign announced he would be stepping down as the chair of the Democratic Leadership Council to focus on a presidential run.
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is jumping head first into the presidential candidate pool. On IMUS this morning, Dodd said he was skipping the "exploratory" stage and would begin campaigning as an official candidate. He'll be in Iowa and South Carolina this weekend.
"There is a sense of urgency. The country wants leadership. Iraq is the clearest example of the need for change," Dodd said in a statement issued this afternoon. "In my view, the President's new plan for Iraq is not simply a 'surge' but rather an escalation of the Administration's current failed strategy that will needlessly place additional troops in harms way." The announcement comes on the heels of President Bush's decision to send additional troops to Iraq, which has caused consternation on both sides of the political aisle.
From NBC's Mark Murray
The Democratic National Committee has announced that it has selected Denver over New York City to host the Democrats' convention in 2008. The pick allows the Democrats to highlight a success story for the party -- and also avoid a huge P.R. embarrassment.
Democrats have made substantial political gains in Colorado. In 2004, despite John Kerry's loss, they picked up a GOP-held U.S. Senate seat and a GOP-held U.S. House seat there, as well as control of the state House and state Senate. In 2006, Democrats won the governor's mansion, another GOP-held U.S. House seat, and kept control of the state legislature. And not only have Democrats had success in Colorado, they've had success in the entire Mountain West -- notably Montana.
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From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
Some of what we learned from Bush’s speech last night:
-- that the 20,000-plus additional US troops would be used, for the most part, to support Iraqi forces
-- that the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of its provinces by November
-- that there weren’t enough US and Iraqi troops to secure Baghdad, and that was a mistake (“Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.”)
-- that if Iraq’s government doesn’t follow through with its promises, US support there could end (“America’s commitment is not open-ended.”)
-- that his focus is just not on Iraq, but also Iran (“Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces.”)
What we didn’t learn:
-- whether the additional troops will actually guarantee success
-- whether the US can truly trust that an Iraqi government that has so far failed at every turn to get the job done
-- why it took him this long to admit there weren’t enough US troops in Iraq
-- when the US involvement there will come to an end
-- whether the speech might convince any of the seven in 10 Americans (now including some GOP senators) who disagree with his handling of the war
CONTINUED >>
In a one-day Washington Post/ABC poll taken after Bush’s speech, 61% of respondents said they opposed Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq, while 36% said they supported it.
A USA Today analysis notes, “Except for the troop increase, none of the ideas is new. All are familiar parts of the administration's strategy in Iraq and Bush's prior speeches defending it.”
The San Francisco Chronicle says, “Administration officials emphasized the plan is Iraqi-conceived, will be Iraqi-led and was initiated by al-Maliki at his meeting with Bush last November in Amman, Jordan.”
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The Washington Post says that House Democrats “will attempt to derail funding” for Bush’s plan, “setting up what could become the most significant confrontation between the White House and Congress over military policy since the Vietnam War.” More: “Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said Democratic leaders have made no decision to hold back funds, but he added: ‘We are not going to give the president a blank check. We will subject any proposal to escalate the war to harsh scrutiny, and we will set benchmarks he has to attain to get that money.’”
Rep. Jack Murtha tells USA Today that he plans to use his position as chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee to thwart Bush’s course in Iraq. “Specifically, Murtha … said he'll focus on the administration's supplemental spending request for Iraq, which is expected to be as high as $160 billion. Murtha says he will hold extensive hearings on the budget request. ‘We're going to make them justify every cent,’ he said. He also said he may use the funding bill to hamstring the efforts to add more troops to Iraq.”
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NBC’s Strickland notes that at least seven GOP senators released statements yesterday that were either skeptical of Bush’s plan -- or flat-out against it. Among those seven are two possible presidential hopefuls: Sam Brownback and Chuck Hagel. Brownback said, "I do not believe that sending more troops to Iraq is the answer." Over the last two days, he has met with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki and others and came away "convinced that the United States should not increase its involvement until Sunnis and Shi'a are more willing to cooperate with each other instead of shooting at each other.”
Hagel was more blunt. “This is a dangerously wrong-headed strategy that will drive America deeper into an un-winnable swamp at a great cost. It is wrong to place American troops into the middle of Iraq's civil war. It is not in America's national interest to increase our troop presence in Iraq.”
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The AP says that Sen. Dodd “will travel late Thursday to Iowa, which will host the first presidential nominating caucus next January. He heads to South Carolina, an early primary state, on Sunday.”
The Hartford Courant notes that Dodd “has serious hurdles as he enters a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls. Dodd is perceived as a New England liberal, does not have the kind of cash on hand that others have, and will have to take on New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards - all of whom are viewed as top-tier candidates.”
The Wall Street Journal looks at the "electability" factor that is consuming Democrats as the field of presidential hopefuls grows.
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Bob Novak devotes his column to why John Negroponte left his job as director of national intelligence for the No. 2 post at the State Department. “Just what career diplomat Negroponte was doing as the new intelligence czar in the first place was puzzling. But to pull him out just as his on-the-job training as director had been completed reflects a panicky desire to fill the deputy secretary's post that had been unfilled for an unprecedented six months.” The reason why? “Republicans in Congress, who do not want to be quoted, tell me the State Department under Secretary Condoleezza Rice is a mess.”
With House Democrats voting on their stem cell bill today, the New York Times notes that the White House yesterday “urged” lawmakers to vote against it. “In a White House position paper, officials pressed for consideration of alternative research strategies that would be ‘free of the ethical violations of embryo destruction.’” More: The “White House’s engagement on the issue on Wednesday appeared to be aimed primarily at limiting the size of the votes in favor of the bill in Congress.”
USA Today covers yesterday’s House passage, by a 315-116 vote, of legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $7.25. “All 233 Democrats voted yes, along with 82 Republicans… To pass the Senate, the higher wage probably will be combined with tax breaks for small businesses, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said. That action, backed by Bush, could come late next week.”
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From NBC's Mark Murray
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R), who is eyeing a presidential bid, just released a statement saying he opposes a troop increase in Iraq. "I do not believe that sending more troops to Iraq is the answer," said Brownback, who is currently on a two-day tour of that country. "Iraq requires a political rather than a military solution. In the last two days, I have met with Prime Minister Maliki, with two deputy presidents and the president of the Kurdish region. I came away from these meetings convinced that the United States should not increase its involvement until Sunnis and Shi'a are more willing to cooperate with each other instead of shooting at each other."
Not only does Brownback become another Republican senator who opposes sending more troops to Iraq, but his statement also puts him at odds with two other prominent Republicans gunning for the White House: John McCain and Mitt Romney, who both support sending more troops there. In fact, this could produce an interesting dynamic in the GOP field: Brownback would be running to the right of McCain and Romney on social issues, and to the left of them on the war.
From NBC's Adam Verdugo
By now, you've probably heard it from everyone: This could be the most important speech President Bush will give. Given these stakes, it's worth pointing out that during times when America has needed leadership, US president's have often delivered with powerful speeches. Two examples that come to mind are Franklin Roosevelt's "Fear itself" speech and Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." But perhaps no speech was as important and memorable as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. "Now we are engaged in a great civil war," Lincoln said, "testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."
Of course, no one is comparing Lincoln to Bush -- especially when it comes to oratory! -- but some Republicans and Democrats have recently evoked Lincoln and Gettysburg to describe both the stakes of Bush's speech tonight and the civil war in Iraq. Lee Hamilton (D), co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, mentioned Gettysburg in an interview with NBC's Brian Williams last month: “The question that Lincoln asked, 'Whether this nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure,' that was the operative question at Gettysburg. It is still the operative question today.” Moreover, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), speaking to reporters after his appearance on Meet the Press last weekend, also evoked Lincoln’s name: “General [David] Petraeus represents the best hope of this country to start over. I hope that he will be the General Grant for President Bush, as General Grant was the savior of the Union army for President Lincoln.”
From NBC's Ken Strickland
If the White House was counting on any moderate, red-state Democrats to support the President's plan for more troops in Iraq, he shouldn't count on the senior senator from Montana. Besides coming out against the so-called surge plan, Sen. Max Baucus just spoke on the Senate floor, announcing for the first time that he would not have voted to authorize force in 2003 "if we knew then what we know now."
He added, per a copy of his prepared remarks: "If we knew then what we know now, I believe that results of that vote would have been different." Baucus, whose nephew was kill in Iraq last summer, also called for troop redeployment within six months. "It is time for our combat troops to come home from Iraq," Baucus said. "America entered into this war with motivations that were honorable. But they were mistaken."
Baucus is up for re-election in 2008.
From NBC's Ken Strickland
The Senate's second ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin, will hold a news conference following the president's address tonight to give the Democrats' "response."
It will happen in the Senate Radio/TV gallery shortly after the president's speech. He'll have about three to five minutes of opening remarks and then take a few questions.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
The latest news before President Bush’s speech tonight: US and Iraq troops yesterday battled insurgents in downtown Baghdad in some of the most intense fighting since 2003. Also, per NBC’s Mike Viqueira, the top five House leaders (Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn, Boehner, and Blunt) and the top four Senate leaders (Reid, Durbin, McConnell, and Lott) head to the White House this afternoon to meet with president. And early this morning, Mitt Romney released a statement saying that he supports increasing troops in Iraq, which puts him in agreement with likely GOP presidential rival John McCain. "The road ahead will be difficult but success is still possible in Iraq,” he says. “I believe it is in America's national security interest to achieve it."
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports that the speech will take place in the White House Library, not the Map Room as was previously announced. According to Administration officials, it will run about 23 minutes and there will be some poetic language -- but mostly complex explanation of Bush’s plan and the circumstances that have led to this point. The advisers note the president will say, in effect, "I get it." He will take responsibility and acknowledge that past attempts to secure Baghdad have failed, and he will explain how and why he expects different results this time.
CONTINUED >>
Although the House easily passed a bill yesterday implementing many of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, the AP notes that the anti-terrorism measure “faces tougher scrutiny from senators skeptical of its call for tougher screening for cargo aboard ships, a new way to divide federal security aid among states and other provisions. Raising further questions about the bill's future, the Bush administration said it opposed the measure's collective bargaining rights for airport screeners, inspections of cargo on passenger airliners and the cargo-scanning requirement for ships bound for U.S. ports. A White House statement, however, did not threaten a veto.”
The AP has an official stating that the suspected Al Qaeda militant responsible for the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa was killed in the US air strike in Somalia.
The Washington Post: “When President Bush goes before the American people tonight to outline his new strategy for Iraq, he will be doing something he has avoided since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003: ordering his top military brass to take action they initially resisted and advised against.” More: “Pentagon insiders say members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have long opposed the increase in troops and are only grudgingly going along with the plan because they have been promised that the military escalation will be matched by renewed political and economic efforts in Iraq.”
The Los Angeles Times: “Many U.S. officials and outside Iraq experts view the economic and political portion of Bush's package … to be a big gamble with a limited chance of success. ‘There's reason to try all of these ideas, and that's why we have tried them before,’ said one U.S. official... ‘We're reliving all of the issues that have been discussed since 2003. It's like “Groundhog Day”.'”
CONTINUED >>
While the president works on the finishing touches of his speech, Vice President Cheney heads to Jamestown, VA, to make remarks this afternoon before a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly.
The New York Times covers Bush’s decision to drop his plan to nominate three conservative (and controversial) judges: William J. Haynes II, William Myers III and Terrence Boyle. “[T]he announcement was widely taken to mean that the president had decided that renominating them would be a needlessly provocative act, one that would anger Democrats without sufficient political payoff from conservatives for sticking by the nominees.”
CONTINUED >>
On today’s “Six for ’06” agenda, the House will vote on (and pass) legislation raising the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years and two months. After passage, congressional Democrats and labor leaders hold a press conference to urge the Senate to quickly pass its own minimum-wage hike. Yet over in the Senate, USA Today writes that the Senate Finance Committee “is set to hold a hearing today on possible tax breaks that could be added to the wage bill to attract business support.”
The New York Times: “Senate Republicans have hinted that, without such tax cuts, they will filibuster the measure, a move that the bill’s supporters would need 60 votes to overcome.”
CONTINUED >>
Mitt Romney isn’t the only presidential wannabe who has commented on Bush’s likely plan for Iraq. In a statement released last night, John Edwards said he opposed an increase in troops and -- once again -- referred to it as “McCain Doctrine.” "George Bush's expected decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is a grave mistake,” he said. "The new Congress must intercede to stop Bush from stubbornly sticking to the same failed course in Iraq and refuse to authorize funding for an escalation of troops.”
And in his Condition of the State address yesterday, outgoing Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack called on Iowa state legislators to pass a non-binding resolution to oppose the Bush Administration's expected plan. "President Bush has ignored the message sent by voters in November and the advice of commanders on the ground at home and abroad by proposing another escalation of troop levels in Iraq,” Vilsack said, per a release. “Americans should take action and ask their federal, state and local elected officials to take a stand against this policy.”
CONTINUED >>
The Los Angeles Times covers Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) State of the State address, in which he called for stripping lawmakers of the power to create political districts, curbing global warming, building more infrastructure in the state. “Schwarzenegger has angered fellow Republicans with his turn to the left, evidenced most recently by his call for expanding healthcare coverage through levies on doctors, hospitals and businesses.”
The San Francisco Chronicle describes Schwarzenegger’s address last night as “part pep talk, part laundry list of proposals” for the hot-button energy, health-care, and education initiatives that anchor his ambitious 2007 agenda.
From NBC's Mark Murray
In his Condition of the State address -- his last speech as Iowa governor -- already-declared presidential candidate Tom Vilsack (D) called on Iowa state legislators to pass a non-binding resolution to oppose the Bush Administration's expected plan to increase troops in Iraq. "President Bush has ignored the message sent by voters in November and the advice of commanders on the ground at home and abroad by proposing another escalation of troop levels in Iraq,” Vilsack said, per a release. “Americans should take action and ask their federal, state and local elected officials to take a stand against this policy.”
Ever since announcing his presidential bid, Vilsack -- who, as a Midwestern governor, has little foreign policy experience -- has been critical about the Iraq war and America's involvement there. "In Iraq, we must act, take our troops out of harm's way, and allow Iraqis to begin providing their own security," he said when he kicked off his presidential campaign.
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Just before Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) delivers his speech this afternoon on Iraq at the National Press Club, where he will call for Bush's likely troop increase to Iraq to be subject to congressional approval, at least one member of the Democratic leadership is questioning the "constitutionality" of his proposal. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters he thinks the president does not need to come back to Congress to authorize surge operations. "I think as a practical matter, the president needs to have the cooperation of Congress in doing that," Hoyer said. "Whether he needs authority is probably, constitutionally, I think there's a question as to whether he has that authority under his Article 2 powers in prosecuting the war as commander in chief. My own view is he probably does."
Hoyer's comments largely echo what Sen. Joe Biden (D) said on Meet the Press on Sunday, and reflect a divergence of views among congressional Democrats on how best to respond to the president's expected proposals.
Liberal MoveOn came out immediately in favor of Kennedy's proposal, and it said it will work to keep pressure on Democratic leaders. Last week, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan blew up a Democratic leadership presser to demand action on Iraq. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has announced a forum on Friday, featuring George McGovern, titled, "Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now."
Elements within the party have also been debating whether to formally ask for "equal time" tomorrow night after Bush's address, but leaders have tentatively decided against it. Some felt that to do so would step on their message that it is the president who must "articulate" and implement a policy, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it last Thursday. Others feel that a more direct confrontation is in order.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
President Bush’s Iraq speech, in which he’s expected to call for an increase in US troops to Baghdad, is now officially set for Wednesday at 9:00 pm ET. Bush has added two new events to his schedule that take place the next day: 1) a lunch with military personnel at Fort Benning, GA, and 2) his participation in a military demonstration there. The speech now also will come after an Air Force gunship made raids in Somalia yesterday in search of Al Qaeda operatives believed responsible for the 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. And it will come on the heels of a new USA Today/Gallup poll showing that more than 60% oppose sending more troops into Iraq.
President Bush’s previous failures with Social Security, immigration reform, and John Bolton’s nomination as UN ambassador all had at least one thing in common: They were doomed by GOP opposition, even if it happened to be just one recalcitrant Republican. And that’s why Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R) remarks yesterday opposing Bush’s likely call for an increase in troops were significant. Per NBC’s Ken Strickland, Smith -- who already criticized the war before the holidays -- said US troops should not "shed blood" over issues that "Iraqis must settle." "We cannot want democracy for Iraq more than they want it for themselves," he concluded (although he said he doesn’t want to cut funding). GOP Sens. Norm Coleman and Susan Collins also oppose the increase. All three are up for re-election in 2008.
CONTINUED >>
Released on the eve of tomorrow night’s speech, a new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that respondents oppose the idea of sending more troops to Iraq by a 61%-36% margin. In addition, Bush’s Iraq handling is 26% (a record low in the poll), and his overall job approval is 37% (up two points since December).
Per the Washington Times, "British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr. Bush's strongest Iraq war ally, said he will make it clear this week that Britain will not send more troops to Iraq, London's Daily Mail reported. It said Mr. Blair will insist that the United Kingdom will stick to its own strategy of gradually handing over to the Iraqi army."
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times says that as House Democrats move to pass the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, “some Senate Democrats and the Bush administration object to security mandates in the plan, citing concerns about their cost and practicality… The bill requires that within three years, all cargo on passenger jets be inspected for explosives, as checked baggage is now. The House bill also requires that within five years all ship cargo containers headed to the United States be scanned overseas for components of a nuclear bomb.”
The AP adds, however, that “House leaders, who symbolically labeled the bill H.R. 1, were eager to contrast their action on the issue with the Republican-run Congress' failure to approve some of the 41 recommendations the commission. That panel made its proposals three years ago in an effort to prevent a repeat of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”
NBC’s Strickland reports that the House isn’t the only body focusing on the 9/11 Commission recommendations. The Senate Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing today on implementing the recommendations. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (after dealing with yesterday’s gas leak in the city) is scheduled to appear before the committee, as well as the former 9/11 commissioners.
The Washington Post says the White House is expected to announce that Fred Fielding will succeed Harriet Miers as White House counsel; Fielding served in that same role in the Reagan Administration. “Smooth and soft-spoken yet battle-hardened, Fielding is considered a Republican ‘wise man’ who Bush aides believe will be able to negotiate compromise without surrendering on the most important priorities.”
NBC’s Pete Williams says that by choosing Fielding, Bush is turning to someone who has experience in battles with Congress over such issues as executive privilege. Fielding, Williams adds, knows not only the issue of executive privilege but also some of his likely opponents. When he fought earlier battles over congressional demands for documents, one adversary was Rep. John Dingell (D), who will likely be picking up where he left off now that he’s once again chairing an important House committee.
After working on the 9/11 Commission recommendations today, the Democratic-controlled House votes to raise the federal minimum wage tomorrow; on Thursday, it does embryonic stem cell research; Friday, it focuses on allowing the government to negotiate lower Medicare drug prices; next Wednesday, it turns to reducing interest rates on student loans; and next Thursday, it votes to roll back tax breaks for oil companies. Add it all up, NBC’s Mike Viqueira says, and you've got the “Six for '06.”
Regarding stem cells, Reps. Diana DeGette (D) and Mike Castle (R) said yesterday they'll continue to push a similar bill they co-sponsored last year that calls for additional federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, despite news that there's hope in developing stem cells from amniotic fluid instead of human embryos. Viq says DeGette and Castle argue that amniotic stem cells do not have as many applications, and that their measure is still needed.
CONTINUED >>
Did anyone else notice John McCain administering the coin toss at last night’s college football championship game? Not a bad gig when the two teams hail from the battleground states of Florida and Ohio. (Florida won the toss -- and the game.)
Depending on what happens on the ground, the Boston Globe's Canellos says an increase in troops will have a political impact on Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. "McCain has long argued for more troops, and has suggested that Iraq would be different today if the White House had heeded his call. But once more troops head into the war zone, McCain's credibility will be on the line… If the situation on the ground hasn't improved, his rivals are certain to hold him at least partially responsible for the flawed strategy."
CONTINUED >>
The Los Angeles Times covers Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $12-billion proposal yesterday “that would require all Californians to obtain medical insurance while helping the poorest to afford it… Only Massachusetts has required all residents to carry insurance, but California's larger population of uninsured and poor makes Schwarzenegger's goals much more challenging. To pay for the plan, Schwarzenegger proposed placing new fees and obligations on doctors, hospitals, employers and insurers - all powerful lobbies in Sacramento.”
The San Francisco Chronicle says the proposal “would deliver both pain and reward to the many powerful interests in the health care industry, giving the plan an uncertain future before the Legislature.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), one of the few senators who has publicly announced his support for a "surge" of US troops in Iraq, said at a news conference this morning that any troop increase has to be substantial. "It has to be at least 20,000 to make a difference. And it has to go on long enough to make a difference," he argued, repeating what he told Tim Russert yesterday on Meet the Press. Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman agreed, adding that "the commitment of additional troops should be substantial and it should be sustained... Victory [in Iraq] is still attainable." In a letter they sent to President Bush today, the two senators criticized calls from the congressional Democratic leadership to redeploy troops in four to six months.
As for recent talk by Democrats toying with the idea of restraining some funding for a troop surge? "Any effort by Congress to control troop levels and cut off funding for those in harms way, I think would run against the advice of the new military leadership on the ground," Graham said. He added that Gens. General David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno -- who both just replaced top military leaders in Iraq -- believe in sending additional troops to Iraq.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Huma Zaidi
Iowa has the pleasure of being the first nominating contest of the 2008 presidential race, but it's South Carolina that gets the race's first major debate. We are pleased to announce that MSNBC and the South Carolina Democratic Party will host the first presidential primary debate on April 26 from South Carolina State University. The debate, which will air from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm ET on MSNBC, will also be carried on three NBC affiliates in South Carolina. MSNBC will also carry extensive political coverage leading up to the debate including a debate preview and a special edition of Hardball which will air live from the university.
In a statement, South Carolina State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin expressed his enthusiasm at having the debate at the alma mater of South Carolina's own Rep. Jim Clyburn, who serves as majority whip. “Having worked closely with the top-notch NBC News team in 2004 for the Presidential primary and debate, we know just what kinds of results they can produce when it comes for viewership, voter education and voter participation," Erwin said. "Democratic candidates can rest assured that their campaign messages will be heard by millions of South Carolina voters and NBC viewers across the country," he added.
From NBC's Mark Murray
President Bush's address on Iraq will take place this Wednesday at 9:00 pm ET. The speech, which will be about "the way forward in Iraq," will last about 25 minutes.
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
With President Bush’s big Iraq speech, the House Democrats’ legislative blitz, and more maneuvering by the oh-eight candidates all on the schedule, this is shaping up to be quite a week. What we’ve learned about the speech so far: that it will occur as early as Wednesday, that it will likely call for an additional 20,000 US troops to Baghdad, and that it will also likely recommend spending up to $1 billion on jobs and reconstruction in Iraq.
Of course, Democrats -- along with some Republicans -- oppose the increase in troops. “Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed,” Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to Bush on Friday. “Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain… We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq.”
CONTINUED >>
The Sunday New York Times wrote that Bush’s Iraq speech this week will likely consist of sending as many as 20,000 additional US troops to Baghdad and provide $1 billion to help rebuild Iraq. And today’s Times front-pages that Bush’s new policy will establish a series of benchmarks that Iraqis will need to meet, including drawing more Sunnis into the political process and finalizing the distribution of oil revenue. and
Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, previewed what is likely to be the thrust of Bush’s message: He “believes that the United States still has a chance to stop Iraq from descending into civil war - and, on the other side of the equation, that the consequences of withdrawal would be disastrous. He thinks it's too early to turn primary responsibility for security in Baghdad over to Iraqi security forces, whose performance has been disappointing.”
CONTINUED >>
After meeting with the president of the European Commission, Bush appears at the White House with bipartisan members of Congress to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the controversial No Child Left Behind Act. Speaking of, USA Today looks at how the law has changed America’s schools.
Bob Novak writes about Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s consideration of raising the cap on Social Security payroll taxes, as part of a way to make the system solvent. “Presidential adviser Karl Rove attended conservative activist Grover Norquist's weekly meeting Wednesday and offered to bet anyone $5 that there would be no increase in the payroll tax base. But Bush himself has not unequivocally ruled out such a move.”
CONTINUED >>
Pelosi also said yesterday that Democrats might consider raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, to pay for middle-class tax cuts. “'As we review what we get from ... collecting our taxes a reducing waste, fraud and abuse, investing in education and in initiatives which will bring money into the treasury, it may be that tax cuts for those making over a certain amount of money, $500,000 a year, might be more important to the American people than ignoring the educational and health needs of America's children.’”
Those remarks came as a new study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that families earning more than $1 million saw their federal tax rates decline more sharply than other group, the New York Times reports. “Based on an exhaustive analysis of tax records and census data, the study reinforced the sense that while Mr. Bush’s tax cuts reduced rates for people at every income level, they offered the biggest benefits by far to people at the very top… The study offers ammunition to supporters and opponents of Mr. Bush’s tax cuts, which are all but certain to touch off a battle between the president and the Democrats who just took control of Congress.”
CONTINUED >>
Roll Call’s Stu Rothenberg says that Democrats have the early advantage of winning the White House in 2008. “Only once in the past 50 years, in 1988, has a political party won a third consecutive four-year presidential term. That’s not an accident. It’s the result of inevitable voter fatigue and impatience, as well as the public’s (and media’s) desire for periodic change.”
On Meet the Press yesterday, Joe Biden said: “I am running for president… I’m filing exploratory committee before the month is out… I’m going to be Joe Biden, and I’m going to try to be the best Biden I can be. If I can, I got a shot. If I can’t, I lose.”
CONTINUED >>
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today unveils a plan to provide more health insurance to children in his state. However, the
Los Angeles Times notes that Schwarzenegger will propose “a major rollback of the state's welfare system this week, including a cutoff of aid to tens of thousands of children whose parents do not meet minimum work requirements or are in the country illegally… It was met immediately with resistance from Democrats, who expressed bewilderment that the governor would attempt to cut welfare aid to children in the same week his administration is expected to move forward with a plan to expand health insurance to many of the same children.”
From NBC's Elizabeth Wilner and Huma Zaidi
Newly elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have sent a letter to President Bush expressing their opposition to sending additional troops to Iraq. "Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed. Like many current and former military leaders, we believe that trying again would be a serious mistake," Pelosi and Reid write in the letter. The two go on to call for a "phased redeployment" of troops over the next four to six months.
The letter comes in advance of Bush's highly anticipated speech on Iraq next week during which he is expected to call for a "surge" in forces. Earlier this week, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and other protestors disrupted a Democratic news conference to call on the new majority party to address the war, which was absent from their agenda for the first 100 hours.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Elizabeth Wilner and Mark Murray
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) -- who filed paperwork earlier in the week to form a presidential exploratory committee, but who hasn't yet officially announced he's running -- has a big day scheduled on Monday, when he and his supporters will hold a "National Call Day." Per a Romney spokeswoman, it's a daylong event at the Boston convention center, where family, friends, and supporters will be making calls to raise money. The spokeswoman says they're hoping to bring in more than $1 million.
As we and others have written before, Romney is trying to position himself as the Establishment conservative alternative to Arizona Sen. John McCain (and perhaps also former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani). And the amount of money Romney can raise will determine, in part, just how strong of an alternative he is.
From NBC's Kevin Corke
Now that he's announced changes to his civilian national security team, President Bush
will continue his outreach to members of Congress today by welcoming members of the Senate to the White House Cabinet Room. The discussion will center on option in Iraq, but there will be no briefing on any decision on the way forward there. The group will include moderate Democrats like Sens. Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu. Bush press secretary Tony Snow says there will be more meetings like this one in the coming days.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi
A day after the new Democratic-run House passed its ethics-and-rules package, it now turns its attention to a practice that some in Washington embrace while others deplore: earmarks, a/k/a pork. The measure coming up for a vote today would require more transparency for members sponsoring earmarks and assurances that they and their spouses wouldn't personally benefit from the projects. In addition, the House will vote on the Democrats' "paygo" provision, which would mandate that any new spending be offset by corresponding cuts.
From the infamous "bridge to nowhere" to the scandal that led to the jailing of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R), the abuse of earmarks became one of the many subplots that led to the GOP's losses last November. But earmarks have been a bipartisan affair. They were at the center of allegations that forced Rep. Alan Mollohan (D) to step down from the House Ethics Committee, and newly minted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid late last year had to parry charges, which his office denied, that he inserted a new Nevada bridge which could have benefited a real estate investment of his.
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times says, per Administration officials, that the choice of new military commanders “was part of a broader effort to change almost all of the top American officials in Iraq as Mr. Bush changes his strategy there. ‘The idea is to put the whole new team in at roughly the same time, and send some clear messages that we are trying a new approach,’ a senior administration official said Thursday.”
NBC's Andrea Mitchell provides some background on the civilian personnel changes Bush will announce today, noting that Bush's nominee to replace John Negroponte as director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, had turned down requests to replace Negroponte before. What changed? Primarily, he has told friends, the replacement of Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. Rumsfeld had jousted with intelligence leaders over turf. New Defense Secretary Robert Gates and McConnell have worked together in the past and have a good relationship.
CONTINUED >>
Expect President Bush and his Administration to jump on this today: "Employers stepped up hiring last month, boosting payrolls by a brisk 167,000 and keeping the unemployment rate steady at a still historically low 4.5 percent. Workers' wages grew briskly... The tally of new jobs added to the economy last month exceeded analysts' forecasts for a gain of around 115,000 and was the best showing since September," the
AP says.
The White House yesterday responded to a New York Daily News report that Bush, in a signing statement just before the holidays, asserted government authority to open Americans' mail without a warrant. White House spokesman Tony "Snow said Bush was simply reiterating authority the government already has under the law... Snow did not say what emergency circumstances might warrant inspections of the mail."
The Daily News writes that the GOP sponsor of the postal reform bill, Sen. Susan Collins, “called on President Bush yesterday to explain why he used it to claim he can open domestic mail without a search warrant.”
CONTINUED >>
A New York Times analysis notes that Democrats face a choice and appear to be choosing the latter: “They can spend their energy trying to reverse what they see as the flaws of the Bush administration and a dozen years in which conservative philosophy dominated Congress. Or they can accept the rightward tilt of that period and grudgingly concede that big tax cuts, deregulation, restrictions on abortion and other Republican-inspired changes are now a permanent part of the legislative framework."
The Wall Street Journal says of the earmark reforms coming up for a House vote today, "There are sure to be tensions when the Senate turns to these subjects next week. [Reid] is a frequent user of corporate jets, while the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Robert Byrd (D., W.Va.) is famous for his pork-barrel appetite."
CONTINUED >>
Pelosi’s hometown paper says that in her speech, she “challenged President Bush on the Iraq war, an issue that more than anything else paved the way for her leadership. ‘The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end in November's election,’ said Pelosi, who has opposed the war from its outset.”
NBC's Chris Donovan points out that Pelosi is now the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in the federal government, at least according to the presidential line of succession. Madeleine Albright made history in 1997 when she became Secretary of State and thus the highest-ranking woman (as the New York Times and Washington Post both pointed out the day after Clinton named her), and that position is fourth in the line of presidential succession. Condoleezza Rice can now claim that same distinction. But Pelosi is now second in line of succession.
CONTINUED >>
Former Gov. Mitt Romney's camp is touting him as "the first prospective 2008 candidate to sign a 'taxpayer protection pledge,' in which he promised to oppose 'any and all efforts' to increase income taxes on people or businesses." Romney refused to sign such a pledge in 2002 when running for governor. "Romney's announcement about signing the pledge came on his first day out of office, and it symbolized what's now his biggest priority: building support from GOP activists and voters, especially in states with early primaries."
The State reports that Sen. John McCain has "locked up nearly every major Republican donor in South Carolina" to lead his finance committee. "The decision by such high-level Republican donors is significant because it continues the trend of McCain picking up the endorsement of many of Bush’s top backers from 2000."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray and Kelly O'Donnell
It doesn't quite rank up there with the Iraq war, the Abramoff scandal, or even the losing pushes for Social Security and immigration reform, but Harriet Miers' failed nomination to the Supreme Court was certainly another sign of the White House and GOP struggles in 2005 and 2006 that eventually led to their midterm losses. And today -- the very day that Democrats take control of Congress -- the Administration has announced that Miers is resigning from her job as White House counsel.
White House officials say her letter of resignation was sent this morning and was "reluctantly accepted by the president," and she will be "missed dearly." Since February 2005, Miers has served as counsel, essentially the president's lawyer; she had also been his personal lawyer in the past. Miers succeeded Alberto Gonzales, who became attorney general, and she was appointed in 2001 as the staff secretary to the president, which is a high level position controlling all paper that appears on his desk.
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi.
One year ago yesterday, Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in Washington to felony counts of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe officials. A year ago today, he pleaded guilty in Miami to counts of wire and mail fraud. The timing cannot be lost on the new majority party as they prepare to do what the former majority party failed to do: pass ethics and lobbying reform. Immediately after the new House is sworn in, Democrats will bring up proposals to curb gifts and travel paid for by corporations and lobbyists. The proposals are less than sweeping, but more than Republicans offered.
After an initial frenzy to put together a congressional reform plan last January in the wake of Abramoff's infamous perp walk, the GOP majority merely passed a searchable database of earmarks, a/k/a pork. Up until the day the Mark Foley scandal broke, they figured that the difficulty Democrats were having in making their "GOP culture of corruption" charge stick, and the absence of a drumbeat among voters for reform, meant that the worst had passed.
CONTINUED >>
Bush's announcement yesterday that he'll present a budget in February that would eliminate the deficit by 2012 while making his tax cuts permanent has suddenly returned fiscal and economic issues to the fore. The Wall Street Journal says that "getting to a balanced budget by 2012 will require some big assumptions. Among them, the president's budget is unlikely to reflect the full cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the cost of preventing the Alternative Minimum Tax from affecting more middle-class Americans."
Bush "reasserted his role in domestic policy as the spender in chief and ultimate legislative backstop," says the Washington Times, which points out, "Mr. Bush has increased the annual federal budget by $800 billion, from $1.86 trillion in 2001 to $2.65 trillion in 2006, and has rung up deficits every year from 2002 to 2006."
His proposal drew criticism from prominent Democratic economists, says the Financial Times. "A former budget official said only the detail of the president’s budget proposal would show whether he was serious about cutting the deficit."
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times says Democrats' proposed ethics rules "do not address the most valuable gifts that come from lobbyists and others interested in legislation: campaign donations. And the Democratic Party’s fund-raising machine - revved up by the advantages of being in the majority - continued apace this week with individual members inviting lobbyists and other contributors to a host of events.”
The Washington Post: "a number of loopholes in the proposal have led ethics watchdogs to warn Democrats that their work will be far from done, even if the new rules are secured today. Under the changes, lobbying groups would be able to finance lawmakers' travel as long as those funds were channeled through a nonprofit foundation. And almost all banned perks would still be permitted if given in the context of a campaign fundraiser."
CONTINUED >>
Bloomberg says Pelosi "is taking office with two goals: becoming an effective counterweight to [Bush], and proving that a woman can thrive at the summit of U.S. political power... Her success at retiring the notion that women aren't qualified to manage the responsibilities of top leadership may affect others' aspirations, including New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's possible bid for the White House in 2008."
The Los Angeles Times, covering the three-day series of events celebrating Pelosi's new job, says, "The installation of a new speaker is the closest Congress comes to a presidential inauguration. Some critics accused her of putting on a 'Nancy Fest,' but supporters said the events were as much political roadmap as biography."
USA Today says Pelosi's ascension is just the most prominent of a number of recent breakthroughs for women in politics.
NBC's Courtney Kube reports that signs continue to point to Bush delivering his speech about the new way forward in Iraq next Tuesday. Pentagon officials have been told not to schedule events that would overshadow the President that day. The speech could slide to Wednesday, Kube says.
Per NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, repeated attempts by reporters to get some kind of White House comment on Saddam Hussein's execution netted little. Clearly the White House is not prepared to draw Bush into the controversy, despite his statement praising the "fair" process prior to the execution, and despite his willingness to comment on the Abu Ghraib detainee scandal. As of yesterday, Bush had not seen the video of the execution because that "is not his focus." His focus is the "new way forward," according to his advisors.
CONTINUED >>
Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is now focusing full-time on his presidential bid. "Today, Romney is to address the media from his new presidential campaign headquarters in the North End." This weekend, he will "head to Georgia for a gathering of southern conservatives, and on Monday hold a major fund-raiser... at the South Boston convention center," reports the Boston Globe. Romney will not be present today for the inauguration of his Democratic successor.
The Manchester Union Leader says it's hearing "that quiet meetings are being held throughout the state these days laying the groundwork" for Rudy Giuliani's campaign. "We don't believe that information is in the plan leaked to the New York Daily News this week."
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) tells the Des Moines Register he'll be in Iowa at least one day a week as he campaigns for the presidency.
CONTINUED >>
Incoming House Financial Services chair Barney Frank said in a speech at the National Press Club yesterday that he'll try to enforce laws which reverse income inequality. He also said he'll hold hearings on executive compensation in the wake of Home Depot outgoing CEO Robert Nardelli's $210 million severance package. "A measure on executive pay that Frank wrote stalled in the Republican-controlled Congress last year," Bloomberg notes.
And Democrats' return to power is being accompanied by a rise in the influence of Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Bloomberg says, as evidenced by Democrats' attitude toward Wall Street.
David Stanton of NBC's Columbia, SC affiliate WIS-TV has started a
political blog, and with presidential candidates already trooping through his state, which is scheduled to hold the first Southern primaries in late January (Democrats) and early February (Republicans) 2008, Stanton has plenty to write about. In his inaugural entry, about John Edwards' visit to the state last weekend, Stanton notes how Edwards "drew enthusiastic cheers when he said he opposed sending any more U.S. troops to Iraq. Edwards also called for universal health care, increasing the minimum wage and college financial aid for students from poor families. And he took a shot at Wal-Mart, charging that half the retail giant's workers are on Medicaid. The Edwards campaign in South Carolina is again being run by Columbia lawyer John Moylan. Among those attending Saturday's event was Terry Richardson, one of South Carolina's wealthiest trial lawyers..."
More from Stanton: "The S.C. Republican Party is considering having a straw poll at its convention on May 19th. That would be four days after the state GOP holds a presidential debate. Executive Director Scott Malyerck says a straw poll of the 2,000 delegates from around the state would be a good test for the candidates."
From NBC's Chip Reid and Mark Murray
As the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress prepares to officially begin tomorrow, Sen. Tim Johnson's (D) office today just released a statement, saying that the senator from South Dakota underwent an angiogram this morning, and that he appears to be improving from the intracranial hemorrhage he suffered last month. That hemorrhage sparked speculation that the Democrats could possibly lose their newly gained one-vote majority in the Senate, since South Dakota's GOP governor would be able to appoint someone if Johnson's seat became vacant.
"Today's angiogram revealed no evidence of residual arteriovenous malformation," said neurosurgeon Dr. Vivek Deshmukh in the statement. "Senator Johnson continues to be responsive to both his family and physicians -- following commands, squeezing his wife's hand, and understanding speech."
Johnson's wife, Barb, added: "My family and I are so pleased with today's angiogram results, and I want thank everyone for their constant prayers and support. Tim has had some challenging days since surgery, but step by step, he's been making great progress. We know there is a long road in front of us, but Tim's determination will make all the difference and he'll be back at work as soon as he can be."
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Democrats announced their day-to-day schedule for the "100 Hours" legislative agenda today but ran into some opposition. Just as Rep. Rahm Emanuel and other House Democrats were speaking wtih reporters in the Cannon building, Sheehan and her followers, who were in the building visiting offices and demanding that war funding be stopped and investigations begin in Congress into the conduct of the war, began chanting: DE-ESCALATE, INVESTIGATE, TROOPS HOME NOW!
Emanuel and other Democrats were forced to retreat to another room at which point Sheehan took to the microphone. "We are here to let the Democrats know that the grassroots movement and the peace movement elected them for change," Sheehan declared. "Pelosi and leadership can no longer tell us what is on the table," she added.
CONTINUED >>
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi
On this first workday of 2007, President Bush meets with his Cabinet and publishes an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, both efforts to get out in front of the new majority in Congress and their much-publicized agenda for their first 100 hours. On the nation's most prominent conservative-leaning editorial page, Bush reiterates his desire to find common ground with Democrats.
Beyond calls for immigration and entitlement reform, the Administration hasn't communicated much to the public lately about their vision for domestic policy during Bush's final two years in office. In the Journal today, he repeats his calls for his tax cuts to be made permanent and for line-item veto authority as part of earmark reform. The one hint of new policy is his comment that today, presumably after his Cabinet meeting, he'll propose his own earmark reform plan. House Democrats have scheduled debate on earmark reform for Friday.
CONTINUED >>
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell notes that it's uncommon for the President to write op-eds. Advisors recall that he did one on the first anniversary of September 11 and wrote a letter to the editor for USA Today as a message to US troops.
The Wall Street Journal, covering the op-ed, focuses on Bush's call for his tax cuts to be made permanent: "Mr. Bush's comments reflect his administration's reliance on tax cuts as both an economic elixir and a political weapon. During the 2006 congressional campaign, as Republican scandals and the Iraq war increasingly dominated the debate, the White House leaned heavily on tax cuts as an antidote for bad news... He also frequently attacked Democrats on the campaign trail -- including incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- for claiming to support tax cuts while voting against many of his."
CONTINUED >>
NBC's Mike Viqueira reports that after Pelosi and the rest of the 110th Congress are sworn in tomorrow, the House will immediately turn to a couple of the items on their "Six for '06" agenda, starting with a vote on their ethics rules package, which would curb gifts and travel paid for by corporations and lobbyists and change some inner workings of the House. On Friday, they will vote on a resolution on earmark reform which would require the sponsor of an earmark to publicly declare and acknowledge their provision, as well as sign something swearing that they or their spouse will not personally benefit from that spending project.
Also on Friday, Viq says, the House will vote on a so-called pay-as-you-go ("paygo") provision, which simply states that any new spending must be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget. Next week will come debate and votes on stem cell research funding, the first federal minimum wage increase in a decade, and the federal government's ability to negotiate drug prices directly within Medicare. The week after will see a vote on cutting student loan rates.
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times notes that former President Gerald Ford's funeral yesterday “provided a stage for those thinking about the politics of tomorrow, as well as those of yesterday. Along with the three former presidents sat several of those who may aspire to the job, including" Sen. Hillary Clinton (D), Rudy Giuliani (R), and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D).
The Washington Times points out, as MSNBC.com has before, that Romney's "entry into the ranks of Republicans officially exploring a run for the presidency underscores the strange nature of the field at this point - there is no candidate able to claim the position of the clear conservative standard-bearer, so all of the candidates think they can win a sizable chunk of those all-important primary voters." Romney "took steps in the final days to shore up his credentials as tough on illegal immigration."
CONTINUED >>
A hobbled Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "will deliver his inaugural address outlining a long-term vision for California when he is sworn in for a second term Friday. He is also expected on Monday to put forward his plan for revamping the state's healthcare system. The next day, he will make his annual State of the State speech, and his budget proposal is scheduled the day after. In these four speeches, Schwarzenegger will offer his most concrete proposals yet for insuring the millions of Californians who lack healthcare coverage, the centerpiece of his 2007 agenda. But he also hopes to establish a legacy as a builder on a par with former Gov. Pat Brown."
CONTINUED >>
From Elizabeth Wilner, Mark Murray and Huma Zaidi.
Before Washington becomes consumed by the world's first $1 billion presidential campaign, it will pause to salute a man who won the office without ever seeking or even appearing to aspire to it. The city will then get down to business of governing, and the race to replace the lame-duck President Bush will be the running subtext to all that happens here from January 4, 2007 until November 4, 2008.
With both parties wanting to demonstrate lessons learned from the midterm elections, the first few weeks of the 110th Congress will feature a degree of bipartisanship not seen since the days after September 11, 2001. Democrats, aware that they didn't win the election so much as Republicans lost it, hope to spend much of January passing ethics reform and wish-list items like a minimum wage hike and cuts in oil industry tax breaks. Republicans chastened by their November losses will let many items pass without a fight. House Democrats will seat a Florida Republican member-elect despite an ongoing probe into his narrow election victory; Senate Republicans will continue to extend every courtesy to Sen. Tim Johnson (D), who remains in intensive care.
CONTINUED >>
The ceremonies for the late Gerald Ford have prompted some adjustments to long-planned events for this first week of the new Congress. NBC's Mike Viqueira reports that Pelosi's four-day coming-out party is being bumped back a day, sort of: The Tuesday event in Baltimore's Little Italy has been postponed until Friday. City leaders plan to rename the street where Pelosi grew up Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi Way.
The countdown on House Democrats' agenda for the first 100 legislative hours will start on Thursday afternoon with ethics reform and should wrap up, by their estimation, shortly before Bush's State of the Union address -- with the help of votes on Mondays after 6:00 pm and on Friday mornings.
Business and government strategist Billy Moore (D) tells First Read, "I think we are continuing to struggle to define the bipartisanship angle." Moore writes in a memo, "Democratic leaders claim a strategy of selective bipartisanship, but Republicans complain of being in the dark on the details of the January agenda, leaving them skeptical of Democrats' bipartisan promise. Longer-term priorities, including immigration and an outside ethics monitor, are the subject of bipartisan negotiations."
CONTINUED >>
The Chicago Tribune notes that Democrats won’t find it easy to pass legislation, let alone enact new laws. “‘I don't think the 110th Congress is going to be very productive,’ said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution. ‘If you thought the 109th was down the drain, wait till you see this.’”
The New York Times examines the upcoming battle over the Democrats’ plan to require the federal government to negotiate lower Medicare drug prices. “Administration officials suggested that Mr. Bush would veto a bill calling for price negotiations. Democrats could then exploit the issue in the 2008 campaign, as they did in the midterm elections.”
The Times also looks at what might be a divide between the old bulls among House Democrats and their newly elected colleagues. “While most attention will be focused on the divide between Republicans and Democrats, members of the new majority have their own differing perspectives, corresponding largely to length of service, that could ultimately prove more crucial to their success or failure.”
CONTINUED >>
The BBC reports that President Bush's Iraq speech is likely to come mid-week next week. Add to the challenge already facing Bush in selling Americans on his way forward in Iraq, where US troop fatalities have now passed 3,000, the new challenge of overcoming the international PR debacle that Saddam Hussein's execution has become. NBC's Richard Engel reported last night that although "US officials were pushing to delay the execution until after a Muslim holiday this week, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, rushed it through, in part to assert his authority." Now the Iraqi government has launched an inquiry "into how guards filmed and taunted Saddam Hussein on the gallows, turning his execution into a televised spectacle that has inflamed sectarian anger," per the Financial Times.
And the Wall Street Journal says that for Bush, "deploying tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq may not be as tough a call as deciding when to bring them home." The debate "stems from tension between the political and military aspects of the emerging proposal. Mr. Bush has staked his presidency on Iraq, and several White House aides say they believe he would be inclined to leave the extra troops there until improvement is evident. Senior commanders, by contrast, have expressed concerned that leaving extra troops too long risks lasting damage to the U.S. armed forces."
CONTINUED >>
While we were on holiday break, the outgoing chairman of the FEC told the Washington Times that "2008 will produce the first $1 billion presidential race and that the $500 million that each party's candidate will need to compete will severely limit the field of contenders."
The Washington Times says three of the Senate Democrats eyeing the presidency -- Biden, Dodd, and Kerry -- will have soapboxes at their disposal in the form of committee chairmanships, and that their more junior colleagues Clinton and Obama also sit on key committees.
The paper also says of incoming Senate Armed Services ranking member John McCain that his "staff and outside advisers have been working in recent weeks to piece together a minority committee staff that can operate while he is on the campaign trial... Former staffers say Mr. McCain's search team has used the word 'adult' to describe the kind of staff director they were seeking."
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CNBC has day-long coverage Tuesday of the 2007 outlook for the markets and business. This first week of 2007 is awash in data, CNBC's Patti Domm notes, including the Friday jobs report, auto sales, and retailers' December sales. But most markets will be closed today for the national day of mourning for Ford. The Wall Street Journal's latest survey of economists shows predictions of an economic rebound this year.
