June 2008 - Posts
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli
THE SHORT LIST. Mike Allen says Mitt
Romney is at the top of the list, but that a lack of “personal chemistry” may be the downfall. Allen also reports that
McCain will announce his pick shortly after
Obama’s , to limit his bounce.
Adam Nogourney looks at the “tricky” timing of unveiling a running mate, given the Olympics and convention dates. “It would appear that of the two candidates, Mr. Obama has the more complicated road to navigate, given the fact that the Democratic convention opens up the day after the Olympics end. … That could mean looking to, say, Monday Aug. 4, which is Mr. Obama’s birthday.” Better still is late July, “a week or two before the Olympics.”
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO. MN Gov. Tim
Pawlenty (R) talks to
David Brody about McCain’s relationship with evangelicals, and encourages the campaign to do more outreach. “I think there are a lot of Christian leaders, evangelical leaders who haven’t yet been contacted or who haven’t been part of meetings who are feeling perhaps, are they going to reach out to me and at a minimum we want to make sure that he is speaking on issues of concern to them and I think you’ll see perhaps more of that in the summer and fall."
After loads of criticism and even a recall petition, LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) reversed course and decided to veto the legislative pay raise after all. “I made a mistake by staying out if it,” he said, adding that he knows legislators “are going to be angry I broke my word to them.” “Let them direct their anger to me and not the people of this state,” Jindal said.
The recall effort was then dropped .
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
ALLENTOWN, PA -- While
Obama used
his speech this morning to distance himself from
Wes Clark's comments criticizing
McCain's military record, the McCain campaign spent much of the morning trying to tie Clark and Obama closer together.
After a conference call in which several of his supporters implied that Clark's comments were a part of the Obama campaign's strategy, McCain answered questions about the comments at a press conference, implying that Obama and his surrogates were participating in dirty politics.
VIDEO: Robert Gibbs, Obama communications director, addresses the recent comments made by General Wesley Clark, adding that no one should question the patriotism of either candidate, but rather the judgement each possesses. "I'm proud of my record of service and I have plenty of friends and leaders who will attest to that," McCain said when asked about Clark's criticism. "But the important thing is if that's the kind of campaign that Sen. Obama and his surrogates and his supporters want to engage, I understand that. But it doesn't reduce the price of a gallon gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence any -- make it come any closer. It doesn't help an American stay in their home who are in risk of losing it today, and it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges that Americans have in keeping their jobs, their homes and supporting their families."
McCain did not push for Obama to condemn the remarks, despite being asked about them several times. Instead, he said: "Gen. Clark is not an isolated incident, but I have no way of knowing how much involvement Sen. Obama has in that issue." And he said that he would "let the American people decide" if Obama was going back on his promise to practice a new kind of politics by letting Clark's comments stand.
In his speech today, Obama emphasized McCain's military service and patriotism. "We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform. Period. Full stop," he said. "Indeed, one of the good things to emerge from the current conflict in Iraq has been the widespread recognition that whether you support this war or oppose it, the sacrifice of our troops is always worthy of honor."
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones and NBC's Mark Murray Obama and Bill Clinton spoke on the phone today, despite reports that the former president was still upset at Obama after the conclusion of the spirited and contentious Democratic primary.
"Sen. Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "He has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation's great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come."
VIDEO: Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama spoke to former President Bill Clinton for the first time since the primaries, asking him for help in his quest for the White House. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. Added Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna: "President Clinton had a very good conversation with Sen. Obama today. He renewed his offer to do whatever he can to ensure Sen. Obama is our next President... The president believes that Sen. Obama has been a great inspiration for millions of people around the country and he knows that he will bring the change America needs as our next president."
Per Obama communications director Robert Gibbs, Obama and Clinton spoke for about 20 minutes during the Illinois senator's drive between Kansas City and Independence. Obama asked Bill Clinton to campaign with -- and for -- him in the fall.
"I believe the president wants to and was excited about it," Gibbs said.
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
INDEPENDENCE, MO -- No party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism,
Obama told the audience here Monday, spelling out his own definition of a concept increasingly at issue in this historic election.
Flanked by four American flags and wearing a flag pin on his lapel, the presumptive Democratic nominee used a variation of the word “patriot” some 35 times during his roughly 45-minute speech. He said the upcoming July 4th holiday was a good time to reflect on the meaning of the word, and argued it had been used “as a political sword or a political shield” since the birth of the Republic and in this election.
VIDEO: Barack Obama delivers a speech on patriotism in Independence, MO. Listen to the entire speech. “It is worth considering the meaning of patriotism because the question of who is -- or is not -- a patriot all too often poisons our political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us together,” he told an audience of about 1,150 people in the
Truman Auditorium here. “I have come to know this from my own experience on the campaign trail.”
Obama said he had taken his own patriotism as a given all his life, but had seen it questioned this election season. “At certain times over the last 16 months, I’ve found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged -- at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears and doubts about who I am and what I stand for,” he said. “So let me say at this at the outset of my remarks. I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Obama is up with his second general-election ad. It focuses on work -- his own and what he plans to do for others. He talks about his time as a community organizer and mentions that "He passed a law to move people from welfare to work, slashed the rolls by eighty percent." The word "work" (or some variation) is heard five times; the word "job" is heard three times.
The ad, according to the campaign, begins airing in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro, Caroline Gransee and Alex Wall Huffington Post writes, "the campaign brought on board a man quite familiar with how these types of attacks gain legs: Bud Day, a fellow POW who was part of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth squad that had worked so hard to defame Sen. John Kerry's own Vietnam record."
Day defended Swift Boats, Ben Smith and others note. "What the Swift Boat campaign was about was to lay out John Kerry's record. John Kerry has never produced any evidence to deny that," he said. "In contrast, he said, he and others on the call had produced 'evidence pointing out that [Clark's] remarks were completely inaccurate.'"
ThinkProgress was among those who pointed out Day's involvement in February.
McCain came out against Swift Boats efforts.
From NBC’s Alex Wall and Caroline Gransee Warner (R-VA), Col. Bud Day, USAF (Ret.), Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, USMC (Ret.), Lt. Commander Carl Smith, USNR (Ret.) and McCain spokesman Brian Rogers responded in a conference call to Gen. Wesley Clark’s (Ret.) most recent attack on McCain’s military experience.
The McCain campaign held the conference call in order to “keep his reputation clean” and point out the inconsistencies between the Obama camps’ actions and rhetoric.
“It is inconceivable that anyone take a shot at Senator McCain’s military experience,” Smith said. “Gen. Clark is way off base on this one.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Andrea Mitchell Obama will talk about McCain's military record in his noon speech on "patriotism" in Independence, MO -- and contradict Wes Clark , without naming him.
VIDEO: Responding to criticism by retired Gen. Wesley Clark, John McCain says, "I'm proud of my record of service." Listen to his entire response. Obama has frequently spoken of McCain's military record, but the campaign is making a point of it today in light of Clark's comments on Face the Nation (and similar remarks in recent weeks on Morning Joe) that "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president".
Earlier today, on Morning Joe, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs distanced the campaign from Gen. Clark's remarks.
*** UPDATE ***
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro Entering the lull : This week begins what’s essentially a two-month lull in the presidential race. Later this week is the July 4th holiday, next comes the Olympics in early August, and then we have the conventions -- the Democrats’ ending on August 28 and the GOP one on September 4. Then the day after, the sprint toward the November finish line truly begins. During this two-month lull, neither Obama nor McCain can win the election. But they both sure can lose it. That happened to John Kerry in August 2004, when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth effort began and when his campaign wasn’t spending much money (saving its millions in general election funds to begin at the same time as Bush’s kicked in after the September GOP convention). What these next two months in the Obama-McCain race are about is positioning for September 5. Obama begins that process by delivering a speech on patriotism in Independence, MO today and -- as Politico’s Mike Allen reports -- a faith-based address in Ohio tomorrow. McCain, meanwhile, hits Pennsylvania, a battleground state Republicans haven’t won since 1988. There are at least a combined four bounce opportunities: the two VP selections and the two conventions. McCain's goal for these next two months: to have this a low single-digit race by September 5. Obama's goal is more obvious: 1) to begin erasing character doubts about himself, 2) bankrupting McCain financially in the lean red states, and 3) building not only a national lead but double-digit leads in as many states as he can.
*** Patriot Games : Per his campaign, Obama today in Independence, MO -- just days after his event in Unity, NH -- will “discuss what patriotism means to him and what it requires of all Americans who loves this country and want to see it do better.” NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones notes that there haven’t been a lot of town halls lately (cue the RNC hit on Obama for not just refusing town halls with McCain but with any voters at all, but we digress), so the all-but-certain Democratic nominee hasn't been asked about flag pins or the incorrect rumors about why he doesn't believe in pledging allegiance to the flag. Those are questions he used to get (especially in Indiana and North Carolina.) Jones adds that there are still a lot of people out there who are iffy about Obama because of his name, his background, and his upbringing. It may be true that a lot of these folks are probably not Obama supporters -- still this issue is an important one to address if his campaign hopes to expand the electoral map. And this patriotism stuff isn't just about flag pins; it's about attempting to counter the real hit that may be having an effect on Obama: the "is he one of us" question.
VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd talks about John McCain and Barack Obama's patriotic messages this week and discusses McCain's trip to South America. ***
Patriot Games, Part II : Speaking of the topic of Obama’s speech today, it seems American presidential politics can’t quite get beyond this question: Just how big of a military hero were you? Yesterday on CBS’s Face The Nation, it was Wes Clark questioning McCain’s military record. "I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president," he said, as well as this: “[McCain] has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded -- that wasn't a wartime squadron." These comments weren’t helpful at all to the Obama campaign, as Team McCain used them -- and made sure reporters were aware of them -- by issuing this statement from retired Admiral Leighton “Snuffy” Smith: “If Barack Obama wants to question John McCain's service to his country, he should have the guts to do it himself and not hide behind his campaign surrogates. If he expects the American people to believe his pledges about a new kind of politics, Barack Obama has a responsibility to condemn these attacks." Clark, of course, was a Clinton surrogate during the primary season. What makes us think we won’t see Clark as an Obama surrogate again? Clark’s folks tell First Read that the general honors McCain’s service and would never disrespect it. However, they say that McCain is running for president “on his experience in national security, and Clark was talking about his qualifications in those terms.” It's a tricky hit. On one hand, Clark was looking like he was doing a VP audition by proving he's comfortable attack McCain. But did Clark go too far since now even Obama supporters will have to acknowledge McCain's military service honorably?
*** Does Obama have an Iraq problem? When the New Yorker is asking this question, then that means he MUST really have a problem. This isn't the Weekly Standard writing about this. “With the general election four months away, Obama’s rhetoric on [Iraq] now seems outdated and out of touch, and the nominee-apparent may have a political problem concerning the very issue that did so much to bring him this far," the New Yorker’s George Packer observes. “The relative success of the surge is one of the few issues going McCain’s way; we’ll be hearing about it more and more between now and November, and it might sway some centrist voters who have doubts about Obama." Then again, 54% in the latest NBC/WSJ poll said that victory in Iraq isn’t possible. The question on Iraq is whether Americans are paying attention to what’s going over there or whether they’ve already given up on the five-year-old conflict, no matter the progress. Still, it does seem as if more and more Americans are coming around to the "Pottery Barn" rule: If we broke it, we now own it.
*** Does McCain have a Bin Laden problem? Well, President Bush sure does, but will that carry over to the presumptive GOP nominee? The New York Times front-pages that Al Qaeda’s strength is growing in Pakistan. “[I]t is increasingly clear that the Bush administration will leave office with Al Qaeda having successfully relocated its base from Afghanistan to Pakistan’s tribal areas, where it has rebuilt much of its ability to attack from the region and broadcast its messages to militants across the world.” It's the type of national security reminder that can benefit the Democrats, even with someone supposedly as inexperienced on the issue as Obama who -- by the way -- was in the Illinois state senate on Sept. 11.
*** McCain’s pluses and minuses among Latinos : If it hadn’t been for those comments by Wes Clark, the chief political news from the weekend would have been Obama’s upcoming European and Middle tour, as well as McCain’s and Obama’s duel speeches before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). During the Democratic primary season, the CW was that Obama had a Hispanic problem. But after the first round of national polls, it’s not Obama who has this problem but McCain. Per the June NBC/WSJ poll, Obama got 62% of the Latino vote versus McCain’s 28%. McCain has strong credentials among Hispanics -- he’s from the border state of Arizona and he’s championed comprehensive immigration reform (although the DNC will be sure to remind you that McCain later walked away from supporting his own legislation). But the problem that he’s likely encountering is the Republican Party’s anti-immigration crusade of 2006 and 2007. After all, ask yourself this: To which party does Tom Tancredo belong? And what battleground state does he live in? That said, McCain’s upcoming trip to Latin America will get him lots of coverage in America's Spanish-language media. And that might help him distinguish himself from others in the Republican Party and start improving his standing among Hispanics, particularly in places like New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Florida.
VIDEO: This week, both Barack Obama and John McCain will be targeting the West, a key battleground in the race for the White House. NBC's Kevin Corke reports. ***
Speaking of western states : Both McCain and Obama targeting the west this week. McCain's doing it by heading south -- to places like Colombia and Mexico, hoping the Spanish-language media coverage gets him positive (and wall-to-wall) Spanish language media coverage. Meanwhile, Obama's spending most of his week out west, starting Wednesday in Colorado, then North Dakota on Thursday and spending the 4th in Butte, Montana.
*** Also worth pointing out : The centrist Democratic Leadership Council is holding its national meeting in Chicago. What’s interesting is that Obama isn’t attending. In addition, no Democratic presidential contender attended last year’s meeting, either. Obama might be moving to the center on some issues, but he certainly isn’t DLC-ing it….
*** On the trail : McCain makes two stops in Pennsylvania, touring and then holding a media avail at Turbine Airfoil Design in Harrisburg, and later conducting a town hall in Pipersville. Obama is in Missouri, hosting an event at the Truman Memorial Building in Independence.
Countdown to Dem convention: 56 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails .
“Obama, looking to bolster his expertise in foreign policy, will travel to Europe and the Middle East to consult on issues like terrorism and nuclear proliferation, his campaign said on Saturday,” Reuters writes. “The trip to France, Germany, Great Britain, Jordan and Israel will take place before the Democratic convention in late August… Obama also plans to visit Iraq and Afghanistan this summer as part of a congressional delegation, but the campaign would not confirm those visits would be part of the same trip and would not give the exact dates of any foreign trips.”
VIDEO: Barack Obama has announced he will be touring five European countries and the Middle East this summer. NBC Deputy Political Director Mark Murray reports. The
Wall Street Journal previews McCain's trip to Colombia and Mexico and notes it's an attempt to look like an international statesman.
John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times writes, "Colombia hardly constitutes a general election battleground. Neither does France nor Jordan. But Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are heading to those countries and others because votes can be won there. The votes are the reward that Americans confer for gravitas — the stature and experience that reassures them their would-be president can safeguard them from unforeseen events. What helps the candidates in this effort are the images of them consulting with foreign leaders and giving speeches on the international stage, as well as the knowledge they glean during these travels.” Obama accused McCain of walking away from comprehensive immigration reform … The two spoke separately to some 700 Hispanics attending the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. It's the first of three such appearances each is scheduled to make to Hispanic organizations in less than a month, underscoring the importance of the nation's fastest-growing minority group.”
The Washington Post's Shear notes, "McCain's allies have seized on a new and aggressive line of attack against Sen. Barack Obama, casting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as an opportunistic and self-obsessed politician who will do and say anything to get elected." Shear adds that "the abrupt shift in tone among his paid staff members, volunteer surrogates and other Republican staples of the cable news circuit is unmistakable, and it resembles the unified message the GOP used to paint the 2004 Democratic candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry, as a flip-flopper. It also reflects a growing belief among McCain's strategists that the campaign for the White House will be won or lost based on voters' view of Obama's character."
VIDEO: The Nation's Chris Hayes discusses the McCain campaign's recent efforts to cast Barack Obama as a partisan even though he's worked on numerous projects with GOP legislators. “Targeting a politician's character flaws is a time-tested strategy, but it is a complicated argument for McCain, who has also shifted his positions in the course of the campaign. This month, with gasoline prices soaring, the Republican reversed his position on offshore oil drilling." And: “Craig Shirley, a GOP consultant and biographer based in Virginia, said substantive issues are sometimes more powerful during a campaign than a focus on character. ‘Bush tried the same thing in 1992 and Dole tried the same thing in 1996 -- trying to make the election a character issue -- both failing, of course,’ Shirley said of George H.W. Bush and Robert J. Dole. ‘If these things were simply about character, then the two war heroes the GOP nominated in 1992 and 1996 would have beaten the draft-dodging, pot-smoking womanizer.’”
"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," Gen. Wes Clark (Ret.) said on CBS' Face the Nation. "It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded -- that wasn't a wartime squadron." He added, "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”CONTINUED >>
The New York Times looks at Obama's push to compete in the South. "Obama’s Southern strategy relies on significantly increasing black registration and turnout, as he did in the primary season. Mr. Hildebrand said that by some estimates there are 600,000 unregistered black voters in Georgia alone. The higher the black share of the vote, the lower the requirement for garnering white votes. But the Obama camp argues that it can increase its share of the white vote as well by focusing on younger, more progressive whites."
Also: "In the Republican camp, strategists say that for all the difficulties the party is facing, the South remains deeply conservative. ‘It would take an awful big shift in the electorate this year,’ said Mike DuHaime, a senior adviser to the McCain campaign. ‘It’s not like we’re talking about states that were won by one or two points last time. These Southern states, with the exception of Virginia and Florida, were double-digit wins.’”
Speaking of the South, the Wall Street Journal writes about Obama's voter registration campaign there.
The New Yorker’s George Packer writes: "In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office. At the time, this pledge represented conventional thinking among Democrats and was guaranteed to play well with primary voters. But in the year and a half since then two improbable, though not unforeseeable, events have occurred: Obama has won the Democratic nomination, and Iraq, despite myriad crises, has begun to stabilize. With the general election four months away, Obama’s rhetoric on the topic now seems outdated and out of touch, and the nominee-apparent may have a political problem concerning the very issue that did so much to bring him this far."
CONTINUED >>
Has Hillary Clinton worked her way back on the Obama short list? The New York Daily News’ Goodwin thinks so.
The Los Angeles Times' McManus goes through the VP process for both campaigns and notes how few leaks have come out of late, particularly from the McCain side.
VIDEO: The New York Time's Mark Leibovich discusses his take on possible VP candidates and their role in the presidential race. NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli’s wrap of the Sunday morning shows: Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) defended McCain on immigration on This Week, asking “when has Barack Obama stood up and taken on his party on anything of national significance?” “If you look at any argument that Senator McCain is an extension of George Bush, it does not hold water, in a whole bunch of categories,” Pawlenty said. “He’s the one who said we’ve got to change the conduct of the war. He’s the one that says we have to take a different approach on energy.”
Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) reiterated he wants to finish his terms as Pennsylvania governor. “Well, the national media didn’t listen,” he said on Fox News Sunday. “I said in 2011, it’s my intention to walk out the door of the capital, the Lord willing, in January of 2011. I know that disappoints some people in the capital, but that’s my intention.” “And if there was a position open that I was interested in, like energy or transportation, I’d be honored to serve in an Obama administration, but not at the beginning, not until my time is finished,” he said.
CONTINUED >>
The DCCC is going up with new radio ads in 13 GOP districts that link Republican incumbents to President Bush and high gas prices by using -- drum roll, please -- a Bush impersonator. “Wanted to thank you for continuing to support the Big Oil Energy Agenda,” the impersonator says. “‘Preciate you voting to keep giving billions in tax breaks to the big oil companies. Sure, gasoline is over four bucks a gallon and the oil companies are making record profits, but what’s good for Big Oil is good for America, right? I guess that’s why they call us the Grand OIL Party. Heh, heh, heh.” The districts: Brian Bilbray (CA-50), Charlie Dent (PA-15), Thelma Drake (VA-02), Shelly Moore Capito (WV-02), Steve Chabot (OH-01), Phil English (PA-03), Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Jim Gerlach (PA-06), Virgil Goode (VA-05), Robin Hayes (NC-08), Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Peter Roskam (IL-06), and Jean Schmidt (OH-02).
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger McCain
today met with evangelical leader Billy Graham and his son Franklin, discussing his experience during the Vietnam War and praying for “God’s will to be done in the upcoming election.”
“I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Billy Graham and his son Franklin,” McCain said after the meeting in Asheville, NC. “We had a very excellent conversation, I appreciated the opportunity to visit with him. Rev. Billy Graham recalled that during the Vietnam War when I was in prison, he visited my parents in Hawaii twice, and he and my father and mother prayed together for me, and I expressed my appreciation for that a long time ago.”
The 45-minute meeting was expected to be just with Franklin, who is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. But the frail elder Graham attended as well.
“My father and I were pleased to have an opportunity to meet and visit with Sen. John McCain today,” Franklin Graham said in a statement. “Sen. McCain’s office had requested a meeting in recent months, and we appreciate the effort he made to travel to my father’s home. The senator and I both have sons currently serving in the military, and also have a common interest in aviation. I was impressed by his personal faith and his moral clarity on important social issues facing America today.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
WASHINGTON, D.C. --
Obama promised to be a partner and champion for America’s Hispanics if he wins the White House.
In a roughly 45-minute speech and question-and-answer session at a conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Saturday, Obama highlighted his work with Latino leaders and called the Hispanics “an aspirational community that embodies the best of the American Dream.”
VIDEO: When Barack Obama and John McCain spoke at a meeting of Hispanic voters in Washington D.C., they weren't side by side. But NBC's Lee Cowan reports that didn't stop them from sniping at one another.
The presumptive Democratic nominee hopes to win over Latino voters, a key voting bloc in several states, including places like Colorado and New Mexico, red states where he is campaigning in the hopes of turning them blue. The senator plans to address League of United Latin America Citizens national convention here on July 8 and the National Council of La Raza annual conference in San Diego on July 13.CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger
WASHINGTON, D.C. --
McCain praised Iraq’s president Saturday for “significant but fragile progress” and said he is committed to continuing the work that needs to be done in the country.
The Arizona senator met for 45 minutes with Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani in the morning, calling him an “old friend” and discussing plans for elections.
"I have the greatest respect and affection for the president," McCain said. "It's a great pleasure to get updated on the situation in Iraq.”
Talabani said the two spoke of “national unity and reconciliation, and also having this year good economy and good budgets.” He said the length of American presence in Iraq “depends on the United States” but said Iraq needs their presence.
“How much they will remain there in my personal opinion, we need to have some at least some military bases as a symbol for preventing others in interfering [with] internal affairs of Iraq,” Talabani said. “Now, with the presence of United States of America, some neighbors interfering in our internal affairs, what will happen if they leave before preparing Iraqi Army and the Iraqi police forces?”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger
WASHINGTON, D.C. --
McCain appealed to Hispanic voters Saturday with a message against raising taxes and highlighting his patriotism alongside Latinos during the Vietnam War.
McCain told the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials it is a “terrible mistake to raise taxes during an economic downturn” and said increasing business and individual tax rates could hurt Latino businesses.
VIDEO: During remarks at a conference of Latino leaders, presidential candidate John McCain's speech is disrupted by two demonstrators. MSNBC's Alex Witt reports. “There are two million Latino-owned businesses in America, a number that will be three million in the next decade, and a number that is growing very rapidly,” McCain said. “The first consideration we should have when debating tax policy is how we can help those companies grow and increase the prosperity of the millions of American families whose economic security depends on their successes.”
McCain was interrupted four times by anti-war protesters during the speech. He joked that one was a “very familiar voice to me.” Two others carried pink banners and accused McCain of being a war criminal.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli New York Times gets to the bottom of John McCain’s standard answer on potential veeps. Insert-name-here is part of the “the next generation of leadership” for the party.
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO. Sunday shows have their fill of potential VPs, including Wes Clark (D), Joe Lieberman (I-?), Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), ex-Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH), and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA).
UNITY! Hillary Clinton referred to the combined 36 million votes for her and Obama becoming an “unstoppable force for change” now that they’re together.
ON THE RECORD. CNN has some more reaction from Portman yesterday on his potential selection: “Well, you know, I’m happy to be home,” he said. “I commuted between Washington and Ohio where we are now for 15 years, and about nine months, so I made the decision to come home and it’s been great. I’ve got three teenagers, so I’m not looking for a way back to Washington right now."
BUZZ METER. Grover Norquist called Obama “John Kerry with a tan .” For VP, he likes Jindal or Pawlenty for VP.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew E. Berger CLEVELAND, Ohio -- McCain said he believes joint town-hall meetings with Obama are now “very, very unlikely.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones Clinton called on the 36 million Americans who supported her and Barack Obama to join together "to create an unstoppable force for change we can all believe in", echoing the slogan of her former rival's winning campaign as the two shared a stage for the first time in months.
After battling for the Democratic Party nomination for more than a year, debating each other nearly two dozen times and trading barbs over healthcare, trade and who was ready to lead the country in uncertain times, the two hit the trail together Friday in this small New Hampshire town, chosen both for the symbolism of its name and the fact that the candidates split the votes in the January primary -- winning 107 each.
Despite several recent polls showing Obama leading presumptive Republican nominee John McCain , many in the party believed a joint event like this one was needed to begin to heal the wounds of the 18 million people who supported the former first lady.
Bill and Hillary Clinton both contributed the maximum amount of $2,300 each to Obama’s campaign, a Clinton aide said, a move that seemed aimed at highlighting the sense of a coming together. Last night, the Obama’s contributed the maximum of $4,600 together to Clinton to help retire her debt.
Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch revved up the crowd of more than 4,000 gathered in the heat outside Unity Elementary School under a cloudy sky. Young children perched on shoulders as Obama and Clinton headed for the stage, many holding signs that read "Unite for Change" and a few holding some that read "Hillary for President."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
VIDEO: Joining Hillary Clinton at a rally in Unity, N.H., Barack Obama says, "I've admired her as a leader; I've learned from her as a candidate. She rocks." Watch his entire speech. Also joining the campaign is Melody Barnes, who currently serves as the executive vice president at the progressive group, Center for American Progress. Barnes will have the title of Senior Domestic Policy Advisor.
"Barnes also served as Chief Counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee," the campaign notes in its release. "In that role, she helped to fight for civil rights, women’s health and reproductive rights, shape commercial law and religious liberties laws, and review executive branch and judicial appointments."
*** UPDATE ***
And, of course, there was health care : “By choosing to forgo a mandate, it’s not universal,” said Neera Tanden, Clinton’s policy director. “It will leave 15 million Americans uninsured. Even with a generous subsidy, millions of Americans will not get health insurance.”
From NBC's Chuck Todd A day after Obama wrote a $4,600 check to Hillary Clinton, First Read has learned Bill and Hillary Clinton have returned the favor, donating the maximum to the Illinois senator's campaign, a Clinton spokesperson says.
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew E. Berger
WARREN, Ohio --
McCain brought his energy message to a General Motors plant Friday, touting green technology and new energy sources while rejecting changes to free trade agreements or a bailout for the auto industry.
McCain toured GM’s Lordstown Complex and learned how new models are getting more gas mileage than previous versions, and learned about a new Chevy Volt that will run predominantly on electricity, planned for 2010.
At a town hall meeting after the tour, McCain said the country needed to be more active in finding alternatives to gas-based vehicles, like hybrids and electric cars.
“We can lead again in the automotive industry and that can provide thousands of jobs,” McCain said.
McCain said he was opposed to limitations on free trade agreements, but said enforcement of violations could increase.
“I don’t believe that every trade agreement is totally fair, and we do have mechanisms in these agreements where you can bring suit where unfair practices exist,” he said. But, he added that trade restrictions would have a ripple effect.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro cover story of this month’s magazine on Ellen Malcolm and Emily’s List. (Kirk Victor also has a piece worth noting in the magazine called "Disbanded Brothers" about the "frayed, if not severed" ties that Kerry and Hagel "once had to John McCain." More after the jump.)
VIDEO: Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is with a group of ten women Democratic senators attempting to prevent Hillary Clinton supporters from voting for John McCain, talks with MSNBC's Contessa Brewers. Vaida and Skalka write: “Although EMILY's List is not to blame for
Clinton's narrow loss to Barack
Obama , the group had a lot riding on her candidacy--politically and psychologically. Her defeat calls into question the very core of EMILY's List's strategy--that women will back female candidates in the interest of equality, and that gender and identity politics can trump issues, message, and personality. Clinton's failure, in many ways, is also a reflection of the divide between Baby Boomer women (the foundation of EMILY's List) and their daughters, who, according to exit poll data, came out in force in the primaries for Obama. Among women age 29 and younger, Obama routinely defeated Clinton in key primary states, even in contests that Clinton won, while Clinton overwhelmingly beat Obama among women age 45 and older.
“Clinton's fall from front-runner to runner-up capped a challenging few years for EMILY's List, which pioneered the use of direct mail and donor bundling to raise early money for Democratic women candidates. In the 2006 election, Democrats triumphed mightily, yet EMILY's List faltered, as 74 percent of the challengers it backed lost their general election contests.
“In the current campaign cycle, meanwhile, the group has drawn fire from other Democrats for employing divisive tactics--from pitting abortion-rights Democratic women against Democratic congressmen who also favor abortion rights, to feuding publicly with another high-profile abortion-rights group about its decision to endorse Obama.
“EMILY's List has won wide praise over the years for leveraging the power of women at the polls and building an unprecedented network of progressive female donors. But now some political observers say that the group's influence may be waning.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro Clinton started out her opening speech at the Obama -Clinton unity event this way:
“Unity is not only a beautiful place; it’s also a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?
“What we build in Unity will end on the steps of the Capitol when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as our next president.”
From NBC’s Cherelle Kantey was asked about today’s Democratic display of “unity” in Unity and how his campaign has tried to woo Clinton supporters.
“Well, I understand it [the Obama -Clinton event],” McCain said. “And I've been noting in the media that they are making efforts in that direction, so I don't have any additional comment except to say that I do think we are able to attract some of Sen. Clinton's supporters, not so much because of any reason than that they think that I may serve America best. I had a woman at a town hall meeting yesterday at Xavier who was wearing a Hillary hat, I was pleased that she was there and I was pleased to respond to her comments. I continue to -- I think that this election I have to get Republican votes, Independent votes and the old and new Reagan Democrats.”
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro McCain has a new ad, focusing on energy, that is "being cycled into" the campaign's current buy, the campaign says. Notably it will run on national cable and in Nevada, New Hampshire, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa.
Note that even though the ad focuses on energy, there is a new McCain campaign message that has emerged this week: "Country First." The patriotism-focused slogan appears on screen at the end of the ad next above McCain's name. "Putting country first" is one of the last lines of the ad. A campaign memo by McCain adviser Steve Schmidt echoed the theme earlier this week. The title: "Country First Vs. Self-Serving Partisanship."
Obama has fought accusations of a lack of "patriotism," including his stated opposition to wearing a flag pin. (He now often wears one.) Obama's wife, Michelle, has also been the subject of this patriotism line for her first-time-being-proud-of-her-country comments. Cindy McCain also invoked the specter of her counterpart's love of country in TV interviews by talking up how much she, in fact, loves America.
CONTINUED >>
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro Get your gun : Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision on the 2nd Amendment elevated an issue -- guns -- that hadn’t received that much attention until now. Remembering that the subject hurt Al Gore in 2000 and somewhat damaged Kerry’s image in 2004 (after his widely panned hunting excursion) will guns also be a problem for Obama? On the one hand, many of the swing states (actually check that, EVERY swing state) are places where the electorate tends to have pro-gun views and where the Mike Bloomberg position wouldn’t fly. On the other hand, as some have pointed out today, the Supreme Court ruling may actually help Obama because Republicans might no longer be able to argue that Democrats want to take your guns away. “The Supreme Court has said you can't do that,” Democratic pollster Geoff Garin told the Washington Post. In addition, since Gore’s loss in 2000, many Dems have moved to the center on guns. Nothing was more emblematic of that than Obama’s statement on the court’s decision yesterday. "As president, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen. I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne.” And then there’s the question of whether wedge issues like guns -- or abortion or the death penalty or gay marriage -- will resonate at all in what’s looking to be a change election. Also, McCain hasn’t been seen as the NRA’s best friend in Congress. So while the pro-gun crowd is very leery of Obama, they aren’t necessarily that fired up about McCain.
VIDEO: In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees individuals right to own a gun, outlining the Constitutional protections for the 80 million Americans who do. NBC's Pete Williams reports. ***
Moving to the center, moving to the right : Pegged to Obama’s statement on guns, there are quite a few press accounts today noting how the Illinois senator has moved to the center on several issues (guns, FISA, death penalty for child rapists). And the Republican National Committee is seizing on these moves to label him a “typical politician.” But what we find fascinating is that as Obama has moved to the center on some thorny subjects, McCain keeps on making overtures to the right. At his meeting yesterday with social conservatives in Ohio, according to participants, McCain said that he was open to learning more about their opposition to embryonic stem cell research (which he supports), that he would talk more openly about his opposition to gay marriage, and that he would listen seriously to their requests that he choose an anti-abortion running mate (bad news for Tom Ridge?). In modern politics, the formula has always been the same: You curry favor with your base in the primaries and then you tack to the center in the general election. McCain isn’t necessarily following this path. Then again, McCain didn’t win his nomination by running to the right, either. Nothing he’s done this campaign year has been conventional.
*** A “typical” attack : Going back to the RNC labeling Obama a “typical politician,” it’s worth remembering that Clinton tried this, too. The problem with trying to use this line with Obama is that the historical nature of his candidacy makes it harder for the voter to think the word "typical" when they see him. (And, of course, Clinton had her own problems on this issue.) That said, Obama continues to fuel this line of attack by making conventional decisions like ducking the town hall idea, flipping on campaign finance, trying to straddle the fence on guns, etc. And unlike McCain, Obama doesn’t have years of good will with his brand; he only really has about 18 months. McCain has made a lot of subtle shifts away from his so-called maverick independent streak. But because his brand was cemented over years, he’s been given more of a benefit of the doubt with the public. Obama’s brand reservoir isn’t as deep, and he should be much more sensitive to this collecting narrative that he isn’t what he claims.
*** We are family … get up everybody and sing : Today is finally the day: Early this afternoon, Obama and Clinton will rally together in Unity, NH. Despite reports in the press, the Clinton-Obama rift is not as wide as some might think. The people who are most upset are major fundraisers who aren't happy about their role in the Obama campaign and, frankly, about their future place in the party. Many of these folks have been major players in the Democratic Party for 16 years, living off the reflected glory of the Clintons. Now, they aren't going to be the top dogs anymore and that's been a tough pill to swallow. It's simply human nature. That said, Obama’s meeting last night with Clinton and her top donors appeared to be a mostly positive event. Yes, there were some tough questions. And, yes, some of Clinton’s top supporters are still upset that Hillary won’t be the nominee. But as one attendee told First Read, Obama was received fairly well (remember, these are her top supporters). And he, in turn, was pretty humble and magnanimous.
VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd talks about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's joint event in Unity, New Hampshire and discusses who needs the event more. ***
Just asking: Who benefits more from today's Clinton-Obama event? Who needs it more? Two weeks ago, the unanimous CW would have said Obama. But now, an argument can be made that Clinton needs this event as much as Obama... Considering Obama’s place in the polls, it’s clear he’s already gotten his Clinton bounce. Today’s event is about Clinton showing the country one more time that she’s a good loser. Compare what Clinton has done for Obama with what McCain didn’t really do for Bush until much later in the 2000 campaign.
*** “There are no safe GOP seats in this election” : Just how worried are House Republicans about November? The AP reports that GOP leaders -- after their losses in special elections this year in Illinois, Louisiana, and Mississippi -- have come out with a report that underscores the potential for big losses this fall and that recommends Republican candidates show “deep empathy towards the voters” and rely on local issues rather than national ones. "This is a challenging environment," NRCC communications director Karen Hanretty told the AP. "Any Republican running for office has to run basically on an independent platform, localize the race and not take anything for granted. There are no safe Republican seats in this election." The mood among House Republicans is VERY bad; it’s as if they all went into the field in their own supposedly safe districts last month and came out with bad numbers.
*** On the trail : Elsewhere today, McCain is in Ohio, holding a town hall then a media avail at a GM plant in Warren and later raising money in Youngstown and Hunting Valley.
Countdown to Dem convention: 59 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails .
The Washington Post's Balz and Richburg write: "With yesterday's decision, the Supreme Court pushed the gun issue back to the forefront of the nation's agenda, opening a new chapter in what has been one of the most contentious and divisive debates in American politics for the past four decades. Advocacy groups braced for new skirmishes, both in courts and in legislatures. Gun rights advocates, hailing what they called a historic milestone, immediately targeted other jurisdictions with laws similar to those in the District of Columbia, whose handgun ban was struck down yesterday. Defenders of gun control took heart from language in the ruling acknowledging the constitutionality of some reasonable restrictions, but they warned of a new assault on those restrictions.”
VIDEO: On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that while gun laws can be Constitutional, the Constitution does protect an individual's right to have a gun. A Hardball panel talks about how this ruling will affect the 2008 election. “Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) endorsed the essential finding in the court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. But the gap between their past positions on gun control sparked the resurgence of a cultural debate between the presidential candidates that is likely to continue until November." More: "Some Democratic strategists saw yesterday's ruling as one that will deprive conservatives of one of their most extreme arguments -- that Democrats are trying to take away all guns. ‘Whatever you believe about the merits of the decision, it's a decision that protects Democrats from the charge that they want to ban all guns, because the Supreme Court has said you can't do that,’ said pollster Geoffrey Garin."
"Neil Newhouse, a GOP pollster, said the ruling could help McCain in Western battleground states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, where there is strong support for Second Amendment rights. But Democrats said McCain could face new problems among suburban women in other battlegrounds.
Salon's Madden takes the angle that the ruling somehow makes it harder for McCain and Republicans to make the case that Obama and the Democrats can somehow take guns away. "In one sense, the Supreme Court's watershed ruling on the incendiary issue of gun control was a stark reminder of what's at stake this November regarding the nation's top court. Given the age and health of several sitting justices, it is likely that the next U.S. president will appoint at least one new member to the now conservative-leaning bench. But rather than setting off a months-long debate and stirring partisans on both sides of the political divide, the court's decision may have shoved the gun control issue further aside -- and helped inoculate Obama from it.
CONTINUED >>
The Los Angeles Times reports, "McCain, who has struggled to win the trust of evangelical voters, met privately Thursday in Ohio with several influential social conservatives who have been critical of him -- and impressed them, while telling them only some of what they wanted to hear. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told the small assembly that he was open to learning more about their opposition to embryonic stem cell research despite his past disagreements with them on the issue."
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel debates: What does John McCain need to do to generate some momentum? “And, according to participants, he indicated that he would take seriously their requests that he choose an anti-abortion running mate and would talk more openly about his opposition to gay marriage -- a pledge he carried out later in the day by endorsing a ballot measure in California to ban gay marriage. ‘It was obvious there were a lot of changed hearts in the room,’ said Phil Burress, who led Ohio's anti-gay-marriage ballot measure in 2004. ‘We realized that he's with us on the majority of the issues we care about.’”
More: "McCain is scheduled to fly Sunday to Asheville, N.C., to meet privately with the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. The younger Graham met this month with McCain's rival, presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, who has launched his own effort to court skeptical evangelical leaders. McCain told the activists Thursday that he also hoped to meet with James C. Dobson, founder of the influential group Focus on the Family, who has said he would not vote for McCain. ‘The senator spoke fondly of him, but believes there's probably room for some bridge-building,’ said Mike Gonidakis, head of Ohio Right to Life."
Some prominent state Democrats are getting involved with McCain's effort in New Hampshire. "Two well-known New Hampshire Democrats have endorsed the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee. Jim McConaha and Valery Mitchell, who have pledged their support to U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), will serve as co-chairs of ‘New Hampshire Democrats for McCain.’”
Unity Day is finally here in the Democratic Party. Last night, at their meeting in front of major Clinton fundraisers , the two "showered each other with praise yesterday in their first joint appearance since the end of the Democratic presidential primary season at an event in which the senator from New York urged hundreds of her top donors to get behind the party's presumptive nominee."
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel talks about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigning together Friday in Unity, New Hampshire. "Obama faced some tough questions during the event, designed to help put 18 months of hard feelings aside and allow Democrats to focus on a general-election campaign against Republican Sen. John McCain. At one point, an attendee told Obama that if he wanted to be seen as a true leader, he needed acknowledge that sexism had played a role in the demise of Clinton's campaign. Obama agreed and said that the issue should be addressed.’
The New York Times notes that Obama said that “he had written a personal check of $2,300 to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a good-will gesture intended to nudge his top donors to help ease Mrs. Clinton’s campaign debt and help the two Democrats move beyond their rivalry to focus on the fall contest… ‘I wrote my check to the Hillary for President Committee,’ said Mr. Obama, who was greeted with booming applause. His wife, Michelle, also contributed $2,300.” is depending on the former first lady to give her voters and donors a clear signal that she doesn't consider it a betrayal for them to shift their loyalty his way. … Clinton, for her part, needs the Illinois senator's help in paying down her $10 million campaign debt, plus an assurance that she will be treated respectfully as a top surrogate on the campaign trail and at the Democratic Party convention later this summer. Some of her supporters want Clinton's name to be placed in nomination for a roll call vote at the Denver convention, an effort she hasn't formally discouraged.” CONTINUED >>
Compiled by NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli… Joe Lieberman (I) brings up Jeremiah Wright during an interview with ABC . “In fairness we don't know if Rev. Wright said these inflammatory, anti-American, racial comments every Sunday, but I would not continue to go to a synagogue where that kind of rhetoric was spoken,” Lieberman said, adding, “I think it did raise questions in people's minds about why did he stay in the church that long.”
VIDEO: CNBC's John Harwood and NBC's Andrea Mitchell discuss potential running mates for Barack Obama and John McCain with NBC's Brian Williams on "Meet the Press." McCain
refused to list names on his short list , and said a decision will likely come in August. He did say that Rob Portman is part of “the next generation of leaders in our Republican Party in America, and he has earned a significant place in the future of the Republican Party.”
According to someone at the donor meeting , one Clinton donor asked Obama directly whether he was going to add her to the ticket as his vice presidential nominee. Even Sen. Clinton looked uncomfortable, gesturing to Obama to move on, which he did.
CNBC's Larry Kudlow interviewed AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Asked about being John McCain’s VP, she said she’d “like the opportunity to get to change his mind about ANWR.” But beyond that: “I really enjoy my job here in Alaska as governor. I believe that there’s a lot that Alaska could be and should be doing to contribute to the rest of the U.S. And I think I can do that in my job here in Alaska. And I know that, again, the other potential VPs are saying the same thing that they like where they are today. So I also have to say though that it’s really probably out of the realm of possibility to be tapped for that position, so I don’t even have to worry about it.” She tells
CNN she thinks it should be a governor on the ticket, but doesn’t think it’ll be her. But, she says she would like an opportunity to serve “on a national level.”
CONTINUED >>
The AP : “House Republicans lost three recent elections when customary campaign themes failed to sway voters and their candidates could not overcome the ‘negative perception of the national party,’ according to an internal review that underscores the potential for widespread losses this fall. GOP candidates on the ballot in November must show "deep empathy towards the voters" and rely on local rather than national issues, according to the report, ordered by party leaders after the loss of formerly safe seats in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi that stunned the rank and file.”
VIDEO: Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., is running a re-election ad touting his work with Barack Obama. A Hardball panel discusses whether the GOP brand is so damaged that elected officials have to boast working with their party's opponent to win. In what could have far-reaching implications practically on Senate and House races this year, the Supreme Court
struck down the millionaire's amendment, a part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation, which allowed candidates who were running against self-funders to raise money at higher increments than the current standard of $2,300 an individual. Obama, in his '04 IL SEN race, was one of the first candidates to take major advantage of this amendment in his Dem primary. He faced a self-funder in Blair Hull, and that enabled Obama to raise money in $12,000 increments at one point during his campaign.
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO. Sen. Jim
Webb (D-VA)
celebrated the passage of the GI Bill of Rights.
Fred
Thompson will
attend a fundraiser for a Republican candidate for Virginia governor.
Hillary Clinton’s two public appearances today included no hint of a role as his VP, though she did indicate she’d be actively campaigning for him.
ON THE RECORD. Sebelius (D) called VP speculation “flattering and a little surreal ,” but wouldn’t say whether she’d accept. “The decision is his choice,” she said. "I'm sure he'll make a great choice for the country."
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is asked by a local newspaper in Minnesota if he’s being considered for VP. “I have no indication of that. … There’s just speculation -- and I think it is just speculation.” He said he has not been asked to submit information for the running mate selection process, nor has he been interviewed as a possible vice presidential candidate. “I feel honored to have my named mentioned,” he said.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC’s Mark Murray Clinton and Obama are to hold a meeting with fundraisers tonight.
Most of the protestors are from Code Pink and are protesting the Iraq war. Others are from Vote Both and there is one man with a sign that says Obama is bad for Israel. He is shouting, "Obama loves Hamas."
Big donors/names so far: Henry Cisneros, Haim Saban, Chung Seto, Julian Epstein, Betsy Ebeling.
All are walking through magnometers on the first floor -- the event is in one of those mini-ballrooms on the first floor. Dozens of folks have already passed the registration tables and walked through the magnometers.
About 150 to 200 people have gone through the magnometers. Will update with a better count later.
*** UPDATE ***
MSNBC just showed video of Clinton arriving.
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew E. Berger
CINCINNATI, Ohio --
McCain told conservative leaders that he would speak out more to highlight his pro-life record and views on other social issues to garner more Christian conservative support, leaders in the room said Thursday.
“He needs to find his voice a little better in Ohio,” said Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, one of several leaders who met with McCain for more than an hour. “He pledged to us we’d hear a lot more from him and that he’d be speaking his voice on these issues.”
VIDEO: Republican strategist Ed Rollins sits down with the "Morning Joe" team to discuss why John McCain's campaign strategy isn't working, and how the Republicans can get back on the right track. The officials said they walked away impressed with McCain’s positions, and said they believed the “ship is turning” in conservative support for the Republican presidential candidate.
The group spoke about McCain’s pro-life voting record, as well as his support for state amendments banning gay marriage (though he did not support a federal one). They urged him to highlight these stances, especially in events in their swing state.
The leaders said McCain also acknowledged where they disagree, specifically on embryonic stem-cell research, which McCain has supported. The candidate received literature on new research developments which they said made use of the cells from embryos unnecessary.
*** UPDATE *** John McCain will meet with Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical leader Billy Graham, on Sunday, the campaign announced Thursday.<
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum Hagel (R-NE) avoided partisanship while outlining what the next president will he have to do. He called on the candidates to avoid “political tension” and focus on important issues instead of “glib 10-second answers and clever 30-second television ads.”
"These two candidates must not allow this reality to control the process, thereby obfuscating the serious discussion of serious and specific issues so critical to the future of America and the world," Hagel, a rumored potential Obama VP, said at the left-leaning Bookings Institution in Washington, D.C. "Our candidates should also note that the world's leaders and citizens will also be carefully listening and observing this election. As the campaign unfolds, this global audience will begin to form expectations, shape judgments, and adjust their own national strategies and policies based on what they perceive to be America's direction under a new leader."
VIDEO: President Bush says he will lift sanctions against North Korea and remove it from the U.S. terrorism blacklist. North Korea. Hagel offered credit to Bush for several issues, including the North Korea deal announced by the president today.
"Although more work remains to verifiably end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, this important achievement for the Bush administration, for America, and the world is the direct result of painstaking, multilateral diplomacy," Hagel said. "The President and his administration, and in particular Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, deserve credit for their efforts and this accomplishment."
The Obama campaign put out a statement, which called this a "step forward," but cautioned that if the North Koreans do not continue to meet their obligations, the sanctions should be returned with possible new restrictions.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Carrie Dann
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Two days after Hillary
Clinton's husband raised eyebrows with a tepid endorsement of
Obama , the spouse on the other side of the Democratic equation praised the former First Lady for bringing women's issues to the forefront of this election's debate.
Before a roundtable discussion in New Hampshire -- the state that relaunched the Democratic battle after Clinton's surprise win in January -- Michelle Obama paid homage to those who have dreamed of equal rights in America.
"I know that we are closer to this America than ever before," she told an audience of about 300 in Manchester. "And that's largely because of an extraordinary woman who's not in this room, but she's traveling with my husband tomorrow, and that woman is Hillary Clinton."
"Because of Hillary Clinton's work," she added, "the issues of importance to women and to working families are front and center in this election."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli, Caroline Davis, Alex Wall and Katie Mulhall WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton received another warm welcome today from a group that supported her in strong numbers during her primary campaign, telling a room full of Latino elected officials that “we all have to be united.”
VIDEO: Hillary Clinton speaks to members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials at a gathering in Washington, D.C. “I was very honored to have so much support in the Hispanic community,” she said. “I believe this country is worth fighting for, and the best way to continue this fight is to elect Barack
Obama as president of the United States.”
She said that because President
Bush “sent our nation backwards,” and listed a host of problems facing the country from lack of affordable health insurance to unemployment to the mortgage crisis. Clinton recalled a familiar line from her campaign, saying she will continue standing up for the “invisible,” adding that the best way to help them “is to make sure that we have a Democratic president taking the oath of office.”
“And we need to elect more Democratic senators and more Democratic members of the House,” she added. “We need to show that the Democratic Party is ready to govern, to make it clear that the progress which we should take for granted in American can again be counted on.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC’s Mike Viqueira Pelosi totally thinks that Rep. Chet Edwards would make a great running mate for Obama .
"He's one of the finest people that I have ever served with," she says of Edwards, the Democrat who represents Waco (and Crawford), Texas here in your U.S. House. Citing Edwards work on veteran's issue, Pelosi concluded: "I think he would be a great addition to the ticket."
VIDEO: MSNBC Political Director Chuck Todd weighs in on the "chess match" for electoral votes that Obama and McCain will soon find themselves in. He tells us about the options and strategies that go into selecting a vice president. It's a curious choice for Pelosi in one respect. Edwards' district went for Bush with 70% of the vote in 2004, and the district must be considered red by any measure. There may not be many Democrats who could hold that seat if the long shot were to come in and Edwards, a moderate Dem, were nominated as veep.
Pelosi prefaced her remarks by expressing her desire to see Edwards run for House leadership at some point, assuming that he isn't already ensconced up at the Naval Observatory. But Edwards has made a conscious effort to do just the opposite in order to concentrate his energies on issues important to central Texas. He is known to credit this approach to his success over the years in getting elected.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
PITTSBURGH, PA -- Ingenuity, innovation, and alternative energy sources were the buzz words at the competitiveness summit
Obama hosted here this morning to wrap up a three-week economic tour.
As he has done at every event over the course of his tour, the Illinois senator drew a contrast between his vision for America and
McCain's . “He has supported and would continue an agenda that I believe has failed to keep pace with the challenges of the 21st century,” Obama said. “I’m convinced that we must move in a new direction. If we have the courage to commit to change, the American people cannot just seize -- but shape -- the opportunities of the global economy. Together, we can author our own story. Together, we can pursue a 21st century leadership agenda that’s focused on five areas: energy, education, health care, infrastructure, and innovation.”
VIDEO: Sen. Barack Obama's communications director David Aselrod talks to "Morning Joe" about how Obama will be able to help the economy. The presumptive Democratic nominee said the government, in partnership with the American people, must do more to help keep the country competitive, repeating the phrase “this can be the moment” to spell out the goals he hopes to achieve as president -- from ending the country’s dependence on oil to committing to making higher education and affordable healthcare accessible to everyone.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew E. Berger
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- McCain called the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the D.C. gun ban a “landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom” and said Obama has reversed his positions on guns.
Speaking on his bus before making a stop at Skyline Chili, McCain acknowledged the amicus brief he filed in the case and said he was “pleased with the ruling.” But he said Obama has changed his positions on gun control.
VIDEO: In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed the right for individuals to own firearms, striking down Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns. NBC's Pete Williams reports. “All I can say it’s one in a long, in a long series in reversals of positions,” McCain said. “In a few days he has gone from opposing nuclear power, to not a proponent, to willing to explore. I fully anticipate -- whether it be on his pledge on public financing or his position on the Second Amendment, or any other issues -- he is changing his positions. So it's not surprising.”
Obama released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling: “I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view, and while it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today’s ruling, the first clear statement on this issue in 127 years, will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In her first speech since conceding the Democratic nomination to
Obama , Hillary
Clinton urged some of her strongest supporters -- nurses -- to put their energy behind the Democratic nominee.
“I have served with Sen. Obama now for nearly four years in the Senate,” she told delegates of the American Nurses Association this morning. “I campaigned with him for more than 16 months across our country. I debated with in more debates than I can remember. And I have seen his passion and determination and his grit and his grace.”
VIDEO: Mike Barnicle joins the "Morning Joe" team to discuss the effect Hillary Clinton's support will have on Barack Obama's campaign. She said the stakes were too high not to unite, noting as she did in her concession speech that Democrats have won the White House only three times in the last 40 years.
“Think of how much progress we could have made over the last 40 years with different kinds of leadership, leadership that really trusted and believed in the American people and the American dream,” she said. “On the environment, on energy, on civil rights and human rights, on health care, on so much that mattered to us. That’s why it is critical that this election summon up the very best that America has to offer.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray Loverboy? Or John McCain ?Politico's Martin writes, "Since effectively capturing the Republican nomination when Mitt Romney dropped out of the race on Feb. 7, John McCain has held just one public campaign event on a weekend. Instead, after workweeks full of fundraisers, town hall meetings and interviews, McCain has been, in campaign parlance, 'down' on nearly every Saturday or Sunday for 20 weeks, largely sequestered away from the news media."
But: "That isn't to say McCain is kicking back and relaxing every weekend. He’s hosted reporters and donors on separate occasions at his Arizona cabin, done a guest turn on 'Saturday Night Live' and visited troops in both Iraq and at Walter Reed hospital. Yet aside from an April rally on the steps of the courthouse in Prescott, Ariz., McCain has done little to capture media attention on weekends for nearly five months."
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama leading McCain in four battleground states.
VIDEO: NBC's Chuck Todd talks about the latest national polls which show Barack Obama's lead growing over John McCain. In Colorado, Obama is up five points (49%-44%); in Michigan, he leads by six (48%-42%); in Minnesota, the edge is 17 points (54%-37%); and in Wisconsin, it's 13 (52%-39%).
The methodology:
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro Too much Clinton-Obama hype? Tonight, Obama huddles in DC with Hillary Clinton and some of her top fundraisers, who are expected to cut checks for the presumptive Democratic nominee. And tomorrow, of course, is the much-awaited joint rally in -- of all places -- Unity, NH. But is there a more over-hyped story than this Obama-Clinton event on Friday? Seriously, does Obama need the Clintons as much the media claims? Or does Obama need to get this Clinton situation behind simply so the press stops covering the story? Considering the bounce Obama's getting in some polls, it's clear that the unity issues in the party with Clinton and Obama are all inside the Amtrak corridor and nowhere else. Also, after reading today’s New York Times piece on Clinton and Obama -- which notes that some in Hillary Land are upset that Obama hasn’t written Clinton a $2,300 check, that his campaign isn’t hiring more of her staff, and that uber-lawyer Bob Barnett is negotiating things like Hillary’s role at the convention -- ask yourself this: Do you think Obama’s folks would be able to make similar complaints/demands, without getting laughed at, had the roles been reversed? Four years ago, remember, the Kerry campaign hired very few Howard Dean people, and no one batted an eyelash. Is this just another example of how Clinton folks continue to shape the campaign narrative, thanks to their personal relationships with media members inside the Amtrak corridor?
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel talks about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigning together Friday in Unity, New Hampshire. ***
Hitting Obama and Gordon Smith? McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt started the morning off -- at 6:45 am ET! -- with a memo contrasting McCain and Obama on the issue of bipartisanship. "There has never been a time when Barack Obama has bucked the party line to lead on an issue of national importance,” Schmidt wrote. “He has never been a part of a bipartisan group that came together to solve a controversial issue. He has never put his career on the line for a cause greater than himself… We don't need to trade Republican partisanship for Democratic partisanship. We need to put our country first and put our politics second. That is what John McCain has done his whole life, and that is what he will do as president." While it's not a memo that says it's designed to be a response to Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith's (R) ad touting his work with Obama across the aisle, it certainly reads that way. Smith did not do McCain any favors with this TV ad, as it ends up rebutting McCain's frequent attacks on Obama that his bipartisan rhetoric is just that -- rhetoric with few actions to back it up. And now Smith's actions are getting national attention and serve as too easy of a rebuttal to Schmidt's memo. Smith's decision in Oregon (a supposed swing state, folks, not just some deep blue state) also counters the national GOP committees here in DC that have been trying to paint Obama as out of touch. The Washington Post reports that House GOP strategists are now backing off their attempts to demonize Obama; clearly some GOP senators running for re-election aren't ready to run against Obama, and that leaves McCain going it alone. Not helpful to the McCain cause
*** The Obama map: Obama manager David Plouffe gave the DC chattering class a lot to chew on yesterday with a PowerPoint presentation on where they see the state of the race. Perhaps the item that will get the most weekend attention will be the non-traditional battleground red states Obama's pledging to contest seriously -- including Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, and North Dakota. What makes tossing these six states into the supposed battleground category is that all of them are states where McCain will not return the fire. For Obama, four of the six are actually fairly cheap states to target, with only Georgia and North Carolina being truly expensive. It's not dissimilar to what Bush did with California in 2000, when he spent real money and campaign time to see if he could dare Gore to follow suit. Gore didn't and the Bush strategy almost cost him the presidency. As for McCain, the campaign clearly has no choice but to call Obama's bluff in these six states. Obama has the money to mess around; the question is whether Republicans in these states will not hit the panic button and cause McCain extra headaches. California Democrats let Gore call the bluff without too much criticism. Will Indiana Republicans or Georgia Republicans or North Carolina Republicans give McCain similar slack?
*** Is Jim Jones the new Mike Bloomberg? Today, Obama ends his three-week economic tour with a summit on economic competitiveness in Pittsburgh. In attendance will be folks like Steve Case (formerly of America Online), Andy Stern (of the SEIU), G. Richard Wagoner, Jr (of GM), and James Jones (retired Marine general). Yes, that’s right: The same Jim Jones -- whose name was leaked as a possible Obama veep and then who appeared at a McCain event a few weeks ago -- is now attending Obama’s summit today. For those that don't know, Jones and McCain are actually quite close. So considering the Schmidt memo today on bipartisanship, Jones isn't helping his friend very well by providing a bipartisan picture for Obama.
VIDEO: President Bush says he will lift sanctions against North Korea and remove it from the U.S. terrorism blacklist. ***
Breaking with Bush? Per NBC’s John Yang, President Bush got an early start this morning, speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden to welcome North Korea's overnight declaration of its nuclear activities. Mr. Bush said the United States would respond by taking North Korea off the list of state sponsors of terror and lift economic sanctions under the Trading with the Enemy Act. It’s worth watching whether McCain today will break with Bush on this issue. Also worth watching: today’s Supreme Court ruling on the 2nd Amendment and how Obama responds.
*** A different kind of campaign? Hardly: There’s a common theme running in Dan Balz’s column (which notes that the McCain-Obama contest isn’t any different from past campaigns) and James Rainey’s piece (asking why the candidates aren’t getting tough questions on Iraq). The campaigns simply aren’t being challenged -- by the press or the public. And they are acting, well, just like any other modern presidential campaign. Where's the new and different type of campaign so many folks expected?
*** On the trail: McCain holds a town hall in Cincinnati, OH. Obama, as mentioned above, is in Pittsburgh.
*** Spouse watch: Cindy McCain raises money in London. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama -- along with Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen -- holds a “discussion with New Hampshire Women” in Manchester, NH. Obama then keynotes a Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council (GLLC) Gala in New York City.Veep watch: Hillary Clinton (in the early afternoon) and Bill Richardson (in the evening) address the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) meeting in DC. And Chuck Hagel, also in DC, speaks to the left-leaning Brookings Institute.
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Washington Post's Balz notes how similar this campaign is so far with previous ones. "A campaign between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain once offered enormous possibilities for something new. Instead, the two presumptive nominees have opened their campaigns for the White House with what looks and sounds like a repeat of the kind of politics both have promised to leave behind. Since Obama (D-Ill.) wrapped up the Democratic nomination a few weeks ago, he and McCain (R-Ariz.) have served up a series of indignant exchanges over foreign policy, terrorism, the economy, energy and campaign money. Their aides have gone further, with snarling put-downs in conference calls and taunting e-mails that flow constantly out of the Chicago and Crystal City headquarters."
VIDEO: Barack Obama and John McCain are in a war of words over debates, campaign finance and remarks by advisors. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports on the latest in the presidential campaign. More: "Gone in the early stages of this campaign is any sense of the uniqueness of the nominees. McCain is certainly no garden-variety Republican, and the historic possibilities of Obama's candidacy cannot be overstated. But those realities have been submerged beneath a tactical shouting match that feeds the cable culture of contemporary politics."
The New York Daily News covers Obama campaign manager David Plouffe’s presentation in DC yesterday. “’We simply aren't going to wake up on Nov. 4 with our campaign worried about one state,’ David Plouffe declared, reeling off possible Democratic pickups from Alaska to Florida. ‘We are going to have a lot of states in play,’ the campaign manager told reporters, boldly predicting Obama won't wind up a state short of victory like Al Gore or John Kerry. Plouffe promised his campaign was going to ‘play hard’ everywhere, targeting states President Bush won in 2004. ‘Just as important, maybe more so, is our ability to have a persuasion army out there,’ Plouffe said.”
“Eight political watchdog groups on Wednesday asked Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama to disclose more about the fundraising for their presidential campaigns, including new details about those fundraisers who "bundle" tens of thousands of dollars,” the AP says. “The groups making the request are the Campaign Finance Institute, the Center for Responsive Politics, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters of the United States, Public Citizen, the Sunlight Foundation and U.S. PIRG.”
The San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at how Latinos are seen as a potentially competitive demographic.
At a fundraiser in Michigan yesterday, President Bush said that McCain “is the only candidate ‘who knows what it takes to defeat our enemies.’” More: “Casting the 2008 election as one in which ‘the American people are going to have a clear choice when it comes to protecting our country and winning the war on terror,’ Mr. Bush opened by talking about his own experience. ‘I know a lot about the Oval Office, the daily intelligence briefings, the unexpected challenges and the tough decisions that can only be made at the president’s desk,’ he said. ‘In trying times, America needs a president who has been tested and will not flinch.’”
The Washington Post adds, “The 20-minute speech was a relatively rare public fundraising event for Bush, whose 29 GOP fundraisers this year have generally been held inside private homes. The speech also underscores Bush's increasing engagement with the presidential campaign after months in which he and his aides have sought to keep him above the fray.”
Has a month gone by without a major print news organization doing a big profile on how much money either Rick Davis or Charlie Black has made off of political connections? Today’s Washington Post looks at Davis' lobbying firm and how Davis' McCain ties over the years have helped the firm land certain clients. In addition, the Post revisits some of the complaints from now ex-McCain staffers with how Davis' new media firm has made big money off the campaign.
The AP : “Without [Christian conservatives], the less-organized and lower-profile McCain campaign is likely to struggle to replicate Bush's success. And so far, there's been scant sign that the Republican nominee-in-waiting is making inroads among these fervent believers… Family groups in Ohio outlined their doubts about the Arizona senator in a meeting with McCain's advisers last weekend. They're concerned about his record on abortion rights and on campaign finance laws that they believe limited their ability to criticize candidates who are pro-choice on abortion.”
CONTINUED >>
The New York Times looks at how the Clinton team is negotiating for debt retirement, a role at the convention, and how to settle things between Obama and Bill Clinton. "On some levels, the melding of the two operations is moving ahead relatively smoothly. Mrs. Clinton will introduce some of her top donors to Mr. Obama on Thursday night in Washington, and on Friday the two of them will appear together at a rally in Unity, N.H. Mr. Obama is in talks to hire one of Mrs. Clinton’s most prominent advisers -- Neera Tanden, her policy director -- and has hired and dispatched a few of Mrs. Clinton’s field operatives to work in Missouri and Ohio.”
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel debates: Will Clinton supporters come home to Obama? “But nearly three weeks after Mrs. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed Mr. Obama, some loyalists, especially on the Clinton side, are having trouble moving on. Some Clinton supporters are grousing that Mr. Obama has yet to make the symbolic gesture of writing a check for $2,300, the maximum allowable campaign donation, to help retire her debt of over $12 million." More: "The question of how many of Mrs. Clinton’s former associates will end up working in Mr. Obama’s campaign is another source of tension. To date, there has been no large-scale effort to recruit Mrs. Clinton’s aides. Part of this is because Mr. Obama’s campaign high command is already fully formed and because it is based in Chicago, meaning a relocation for most former Clinton workers. (Her headquarters was in suburban Washington.)"
Karl Rove, not surprisingly, goes after Obama today in his Wall Street Journal column. "McCain will be helped if he uses Mr. Obama's actions to paint his opponent as someone driven by an all-powerful instinct to look out only for himself. In a contest over who is willing to put principle above personal ambition and self-interest, John McCain, a war hero and a former POW, wins hands down. That may not be the most important issue to voters in electing a president, but it's something they will rightly take into account."
Just how will Obama's online supporters stay involved should he win the White House?
The AFL-CIO appears set to endorse Obama today.
CONTINUED >>
L.A. Times' Rainey calls on the media to demand more answers from the candidates on Iraq. "Republicans pretend Sen. Obama can't lead on Iraq because he hasn't banked enough Green Zone photo ops. The Democratic charade is that Sen. McCain, who spent five years in a Vietnamese prison, doesn't care how long young Americans die in the desert. With the primary season over and conditions shifting on the ground in Iraq, it's time for the media to bear down on these would-be commanders in chief with a few tough questions. I called half a dozen of the most thoughtful commentators on Iraq, and they agreed that it's time, to re-mint a phrase, for some ‘straight talk.’”
VIDEO: What do the presidential candidates really have to say about Iraq and energy? A Race for the White House panel discusses where candidates stand. More: "’It drives me crazy,’ said retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq. ‘There is no post-surge strategy. We are talking about staying indefinitely. We have not mobilized the country in any real way. And the military is decaying before our eyes.’ Batiste wonders why we haven't heard a coherent strategy from McCain or Obama about what happens after ‘the surge,’ the troop buildup due to expire next month.”
And: "If McCain gets credit for supporting the surge, which has helped reduce violence, shouldn't he also be pressed to explain his less prescient moments, such as predicting an easy triumph in Iraq? How, despite his supposedly superior foreign policy credentials, could he have been so wrong? Obama gets credit for opposing a war whose initial goal -- protecting the world from weapons of mass destruction -- turned out to be an illusion. Shouldn't he have to account for opposing the surge, which has enhanced the safety of Iraqis and American GIs?"
Salon takes a look at the potential of Rob Portman being picked by McCain. "Portman is getting some buzz, among the GOP governors and ex-governors who also pop up in the summer's political gossip. One Republican strategist grumbled that it's mostly Portman's buddies at the White House talking him up. ‘I think that buzz is largely coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,’ the strategist said. ‘It's like a college radio station -- the further you get from campus, the more it dies down.’”
VIDEO: NBC News/National Journal reporter Mike Memoli discusses the Democratic and Republican veepstakes with MSNBC's Alex Witt. “What might attract McCain to Portman is easy to see: He's conservative, but not a bomb-thrower on social issues. He's friendly with big business interests supportive of Republicans. His work in Congress and in the administration gives him valuable insight. ‘Rob understands government to a degree and at a level that most people don't achieve without serving as vice president or president,’ said Robert Paduchik, Bush's campaign manager in Ohio in 2004. ‘Having worked on the Hill, having been the president's liaison there, having worked at USTR and OMB -- you really understand the nuts and bolts of how things happen in government with that kind of a résumé.’”
More from NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli… Obama talked about what he’s looking for in a running mate. "I want somebody who can be a good president if anything happened to me. I want somebody who can be a good adviser and counsel to me and tell me where he or she thinks I'm wrong, not just on national security policy but on domestic policy as well." added a speech to the American Nurses Association to her schedule for today. She’ll also speak at the NALEO Conference. These are her first two public speeches since withdrawing. Meanwhile Robert Barnett is working to hash out remaining issues between Obama and Clinton. CONTINUED >>
How upset is the McCain campaign and the NRSC and NRCC with GOP Sen. Gordon Smith today? His decision to run a TV ad talking up his work with Obama is making it harder for Republicans to make the claim that Obama is bad for Democrats down the ballot. The Washington Post : "The outbreak of enthusiasm is a striking shift from the spring, when Republican advertisements from North Carolina to Mississippi to Illinois ominously painted Obama as an out-of-touch liberal bringing his brand of politics to regions of the country that should shun it.”
VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd discusses Republican Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon reaching out to Barack Obama and the implications this has for the McCain campaign. “National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain said the GOP will stick to that script this fall ‘on a district-by-district basis.’ But a senior Republican strategist involved in House races said that strategy is now largely dead, ‘except in rare instances, and I'm not sure it was a good idea in the first place.’ The tactic initially caused some Democrats to distance themselves from the senator from Illinois, but now most are eager to be as closely associated with his campaign as possible."
More: "In New Hampshire, Democratic Senate candidate and former governor Jeanne Shaheen will campaign in Manchester today with Michelle Obama, whom Republicans have tried to turn into a political liability. Conservative House Democrat John Barrow has persuaded Obama to cut a radio advertisement for him ahead of his July primary in Georgia. Senate campaign spokesmen for Democrats Tom Allen in Maine, Kay Hagan in North Carolina, Al Franken in Minnesota and Rick Noriega in Texas all said they have reached out to the Obama campaign and are pleading for a visit from either the candidate or his wife."
And here’s something you don’t often hear. "I'm actually pretty happy about last night's results," U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon told The Associated Press after losing his primary bid for re-election. "I think I'll be able to do many of the things I would ordinarily do in Congress on the outside without having to suffer the sort of difficulties that come with that job."
From NBC's Abby Livingston
VIDEO: NBC's Pete Williams explains U.S. Supreme Court rulings striking down the death penalty in child rape cases and curring the payment to Exxon Valdez victims. When asked about the Supreme Court ruling against the use of the death penalty in instances of child rape today at a news conference in Chicago, Obama answered, “I disagree with the decision. I have said repeatedly that I think that the death penalty should be applied in very narrow circumstances for most egregious of crimes. I think that the rape of a small child, six or eight years old is a heinous crime, and if a state makes a decision that under narrow, limited, well-defined circumstances, the death penalty is at least potentially applicable. That does not violate our constitution.”
He continued , “Had the Supreme Court said, ‘We want to constrain ability of states to do this to make sure that it's done in a careful and appropriate way,’ that would've been one thing, but it basically had a blanket prohibition and I disagree with that decision.”
Previously, The Washington Post reported that Obama is a reluctant death penalty supporter.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Jim Popkin Obama states to David Plouffe.
Speaking for an hour today in rapid-fire bursts to a room full of reporters at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, the Obama campaign manager outlined the campaign’s “path to victory in November.”
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel takes a look at a map of Republican states Barack Obama plans to target in his campaign for the presidency. The Dem wunderkind tried to convince reporters that, actually, there are multiple paths to election-day success.
“We have a lot of ways to get to 270” electoral votes, Plouffe said.
Aided by a Power-Point demonstration with slides titled, “Expanding the Map: Turning Red States Blue” and “Enthusiasm Gap,” Plouffe whipped through state after state and predicted they may all be in play come November.
“We want to play a lot of offense,” Plouffe said.
His tone wasn’t cocky, but it was exceedingly confident, several reporters noted after the event.
CONTINUED >>
From MSNBC.com's Tom Curry “This session of the Supreme Court has been a winner for child rapists and terrorists.”
That is what John McCain’s best buddy in the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham , said in a statement today about the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 ruling in the Louisiana death penalty case. (The two Bush appointees on the court, Roberts and Alito , were in the minority.)
The decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy , struck down the Louisiana law that permitted the death penalty for those convicted of raping a child.
The word “terrorists” in Graham’s statement was a reference to the high court’s June 12 Boumediene decision which struck down a central part of the 2007 Military Commission Act and gave prisoners at Guantanamo the right to habeas corpus.
That decision, too, was written by Justice Kennedy.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Obama manager David Plouffe was asked if he thinks a VP candidate selection could help carry a state . “I don’t think that’s going to be a factor in selection,” he said. He pointed to Al Gore and Dick Cheney as examples of not choosing based simply on electoral math.
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO. Clinton spoke to members of the House today, for 10 minutes, “stressing the importance of electing more Democrats to Congress and Sen. Barack Obama to the White House.” “I will do everything I can to ensure Sen. Obama is elected president,” she said. “This was a very difficult campaign, let’s be honest. It caused some heartburn…but we are a family. We are the Democratic Party, and we are on the same team. So let’s go out and win in November,” she concluded, to a standing ovation.
KS Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) predicted that Republicans would undertake "a major effort to try and frighten people about" Obama because of his race. “That has been the Republican playbook for the last eight years," said Sebelius. “‘He’s not qualified, he’s somebody who should scare you. He’s too liberal.’” She also refused to comment on VP speculation.
FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R) “evoked President Kennedy's challenge to land on the moon and called for the same dedication and innovation” in tackling climate change.
He also clarified his oil drilling stance, saying it would have to be “far enough, safe enough, and clean enough.”
Florida Democrats meanwhile wonder if Crist’s Everglades announcement was more veep posturing.
LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) released a statement saying he was “outraged ” over the Supreme Court decision on child rape. “It is an affront to the people of Louisiana and the jury’s unanimous decision in this case. … The Supreme Court is dead wrong.”
Retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones is appearing with Obama , after being on the plane with McCain.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum Crist (R) has recently come under fire for (now) supporting offshore oil drilling after McCain , whom Crist supports, called for allowing states to make individual decisions about drilling for oil in American waters.
While hosting the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change today, Crist defended his decision.
"In fact, what we're talking about is a comprehensive approach to providing the resources and fuel that our people need and doing it in a way that is safe enough, far enough from our shore, and clean enough," Crist told reporters. "So I don't think there's any problem with that so long as those three tenets are met."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- With the
McCain camp highlighting a new poll that shows the Republican even with Obama, McCain himself downplayed the significance of current polls, especially those that show him trailing.
"It’s good to see yourself running, for us to be, most polls show us frankly two, three, four points down," McCain said at a fundraiser Wednesday. "That’s good for this stage of the game, particularly considering the headwind we have on our economy. And I’d like to give you a little straight talk. There was a poll last week that showed me three points down from Sen. Obama and the Republican Party 19 points down from the Democrats.”
The latest Gallup tracking poll today had McCain and Obama tied at 45 percent each, a high water mark for McCain. The poll came on the same day as a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey had Obama with a 12-point lead.
McCain acknowledged the Gallup tie score at the fundraiser, but suggested polling this summer will not be significant.
“The first lesson I want you to draw is that people are really are not gonna start focusing on the campaign until the conventions,” McCain said. “So a lot of this polling data is pretty much, sort of, you know, ‘Who do you like?’ and all that.”
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain gave something of a closing argument today, summarizing the proposals of the last 10 days and giving them a new name: “The Lexington Project.”
“In recent days, I have set before the American people an energy plan, the Lexington -- the Lexington Project, the Lexington Project -- remember that name,” McCain said. “Named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before. And let it begin today with this commitment: In a world of hostile and unstable suppliers of oil, this nation will achieve strategic independence by the year 2025.”
According to McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers, “strategic independence” is when “oil is no longer the primary fuel for transportation, and when the oil cartel no longer has the ability to undermine our economy or the paychecks of the American worker.”
The parts of this project as outlined during this tour are at least seven fold. Since last Monday, McCain has proposed lifting the moratorium on offshore oil exploration; putting the country on a path to build 45 new nuclear plants by 2030; cracking down on speculation in the oil futures market; committing $2 billion dollars per year to clean coal research; a $300 million prize for the first company that can create a zero-emissions automobile battery; and a $5,000 consumer tax credit for the purchase of any zero-emissions vehicles. All of this is in addition to the cap-and-trade system he has proposed as a senator.
*** UPDATE ***
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
The good news is that your elected representatives are still responsive to the concerns of average Americans. Everyone from Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell on down understands that this is an issue that has the potential to change the political dynamic this election year, and is rushing forward with proposals hoping to demonstrate that they are doing something -- or at least trying to.
The bad news is that the two sides are at present nowhere near agreement on what should be done. And ever mindful that this is an election year, they seem to be comfortable with where they are in their positions and don't mind letting the voters decide who is right in November (but not without a lot of noise along the way). In any event, on the very outside chance that they do find common ground, they are unlikely to enact anything that will affect the price of gas in the short term.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube Obama has asked for, and will soon receive, a military operational and intelligence briefing. Morrell said it will be his second such brief in recent months. The briefing, however, will be nothing more than any member of the Senate would receive.
Morrell said that McCain , as a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, receives operational and intelligence briefings more frequently, and by virtue of his position is cleared to receive more highly-classified information regarding military ops and intel. The press secretary added that McCain has requested one separate briefing in about the last six months. According to Morrell, once both senators are the official presidential candidates of their party, they will be briefed on an equal basis.
Morrell stressed that, for now, any requests for Pentagon briefings from either senator must come through their Senate offices or respective committees and not through their campaign offices.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC this afternoon if he would accept being vice president if asked, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) said, in part, It's not something you turn down. "The answer to that is 'Yes,'" he said.
VIDEO: Speaking with NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Sen. Evan Bayh says he would accept an invitation to join the Obama ticket. When asked if he was being vetted by the Obama campaign, he didn't say no, and, in fact, intimated that he is being vetted.
Here's the exchange:
MITCHELL: Let me ask you the question that Brian Williams asked Joe
Biden on Sunday on Meet the Press, if asked, would you serve, vice president?
BAYH: I don't think it's the kind of thing you say no to, Andrea. The answer to that is yes. I love my day job. I'm not looking to change, but if someone who will be leading the country comes to you and says I need your help. I want you to do this. Of course. If you care about serving your country that is the kind of thing that you do.
AM: And has the vetting begun?
EB: Well, I can't talk about that as you can appreciate, otherwise I disqualify myself from consideration [smiles]. But they have a process. That process should go forward. And we'll just see where it leads, and it's Sen. Obama's decision to make and his alone, and I think he's the one that should be allowed to speak about these kinds of things.
CONTINUED >>
From Alex Wall and Katie Mulhall Bush administration officials is calling on President Bush to issue an executive order banning the use of torture.
On a conference call today, the architects of the Statement of Principles said there were neither moral nor national security justifications for torture. The group includes six former Secretaries of State and Defense and former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum Clinton responded to statements that her husband is not enthusiastic about campaigning for Obama , telling reporters Bill "has said he will do whatever he can and whatever he's asked." Mandela's 90th birthday party today in London. And there will be a lot of work for all of us as Democrats to do, including him." Pelosi (D-CA), appearing with Clinton, commended Clinton on her run. "Because of her campaign, the Democratic Party is much more energized, is much more prepared to win in November,” Pelosi said, “and more important than that, much better prepared to govern come January."
From NBC's Mark Murray we reported on some of the findings of a focus group that was conducted here by Democratic pollster Peter Hart. Below are some more observations from the 12 likely voters (all of whom didn't support Obama or McCain in the April primary) from this important battleground state:
Hillary Clinton . Most of the participants had very positive views of the New York senator, especially the seven of the 12 who supported her in the primary. (Clinton beat Obama in York County, 55%-45%.) Words used to describe her: "personable," "experienced, "so smart," and "great first lady." Kirby, a Democrat who now says he backs Obama, noted that Clinton "knew her way around" Washington and the White House. He also added, "I think it's time for a woman president."
VIDEO: A Hardball panel debates: Will the Democrats' attacks on John McCain's age backfire? McCain's Age . The participants brought up this subject frequently, particularly when Hart asked them about uncertainties concerning McCain. Kim, who voted for
Bush in '04, backed Clinton in the primary and is undecided in the Obama-McCain contest, responded to this question with one word: "age." She even mentioned the possibility of Alzheimer's. Michelle B., who supports Obama, said: "I am looking for somebody younger."
Obama's Race . Near the end of the 2 1/2-hour focus group, Hart asked what the effect would be of having the country's first black president. William, who backs McCain, said the "world will be watching" -- in how whites, blacks, and other races react to it. Janell, the Republican who remains undecided, argued that it shouldn't make a difference (that Obama being elected should have the same impact if a white person was elected to the United States). Tony, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and supports McCain, added: "I think there is still a lot of racism in the country."
When Hart asked whether race was a barrier for Obama, Janell replied that this country needs the best candidate, regardless of color or race. Kirby answered that he's disappointed the topic even comes up, especially given that Obama's multi-racial. Terry, who won't vote for Obama, said she is fearful for the safety of Obama and his wife. "The real world doesn't do well with change." And Charles, the Hillary supporter who said he's backing McCain, said there could be riots if Obama is elected. He was the only person out of the 12 to share that opinion.
The Media . There was one universal opinion at the focus group -- shared by men, women, Republicans, Democrats, Obama supporters, and McCain backers -- the media haven't done a good job covering the election. Susan, a Democrat who's for Obama, talked about the "overkill" of analysis; Charles said there was a pro-Obama bias; and Michelle B. didn't like the constant discussion of race. Kirby put it this way: When you have 24-hour cable news, "there is not that much [else] to talk about."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Republcian Sen. Gordon Smith, of Oregon, touts his affiliation with a leader of a national party -- it's just that it's not his own.
In Smith's new ad, "Truth," the opening line: "Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment -- Barack Obama.
"He joined with Gordon and broke through a 20-year deadlock to pass new laws which increased gas mileage for automobiles."
AP's take : “Republicans usually demonize Barack Obama in their political advertising, but GOP Sen. Gordon Smith aligns himself with the Democratic presidential candidate in a new ad, citing legislation they worked on to improve fuel efficiency standards. Observers in both parties said it appeared to be the first time in this election cycle that a GOP Senate candidate had aligned with Obama.
"The ad, responding to an independent Democratic ad linking Smith to high gas prices, credits Obama with saying that ‘Gordon Smith led the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment.’ …
"Obama's campaign said the Illinois senator appreciated that his ‘record of bipartisan achievement is respected by his Democratic and Republican colleagues.’ But Obama is backing Democrat Jeff Merkley in the Oregon Senate race, said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.”
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Clinton released this statement on Obama asking donors to help her raise money to pay off debt:
"Senator Clinton appreciates Senator Obama's generous efforts and is continuing her efforts to raise the monies he needs to ensure a victory in November."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Rocky Mountain News , Ralph Nader says this on Obama :
"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader said. "Whether that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards." ...
VIDEO: Ralph Nader accuses Obama of downplaying poverty issues. "Asked to clarify whether he thought Obama does try to 'talk white,' Nader said: 'Of course. ... I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law,' Nader said. 'Haven't heard a thing.'" ...
" 'He wants to show that he is not a threatening . . . another politically threatening African-American politician,' Nader said. 'He wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.'"
The Obama campaign responded to the paper this way: "We are obviously disappointed with these very backward-looking remarks," Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said.
From NBC's Chuck Todd
When looking at national polls, it's better to study ideology (those who identify as "conservative" or "liberal") rather than party ID ("Republican," "Independent" or "Democrat").
Just something to keep in mind when examining these national polls.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Views of Obama : Overall, however, Obama fared pretty well in this focus group, which was striking given that it was all white, that not a single person voted for him in the primary, and that it took place in a region not considered a strength for him. Five said they would vote for him, four backed McCain, and three said they were undecided. Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the focus group for the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania, said Obama benefited from a room wanting change and to move beyond Bush. What skeptics were looking for, he added, was some “meat on the bone.” The five who said they would vote for him cited his fresh ideas, intelligence, grasp of the issues, and excitement and energy. The four who opposed him -- all Bush voters, save Charles, the Hillary supporter -- stressed his inexperience and their fears of him being commander-in-chief. And of the three who were undecided, one said they wanted to know more about his health-care plans; another wanted to know more about the kind of change he would bring; and the third said she was considering Obama because of change.
VIDEO: Barack Obama and John McCain are in a war of words over debates, campaign finance and remarks by advisers. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports on the latest in the presidential campaign. ***
Views of McCain : As for McCain, many of the focus group participants cited his experience, his POW past, and his love of the country. But it was noteworthy that of the three undecideds, all of them voted for Bush in 2004 -- but they were unwilling to announce their support for McCain. One of them, Kim, expressed concern about the Arizona senator’s age. Another, Janell, even recalled him saying at a GOP debate that the economy wasn’t in that bad of shape, and she said that McCain must chose a running mate “I have absolute confidence in” to win her vote. Hart said the fact that a GOP voter like Janell wasn’t supporting McCain right now was telling. “If [she] isn’t a locked-in vote for John McCain, that is bad news.” What’s more, except for only the strongest Republicans in the group, the opinions of President Bush were unflattering. “Ineffective,” “deceptive,” and “disgusted” were some of the words they said to describe him. Also in the focus group, the economy was the top concern (only one said Iraq), and all of them were critical of the way the media have covered the presidential contest. We’ll have more about the focus group later today.
*** Bill's beefs with Obama : The budding rivalry between Bill Clinton and Obama is coming into clearer focus thanks to a VERY tepid supporting statement yesterday from Bill Clinton about Obama. It's been no secret in Clinton circles that the FPOTUS took the primary campaign personally, particularly on two fronts: 1) the fact that Obama was so quick to pooh-pooh the '90s and 2) the way he believes the Obama campaign turned him into a racist. While Hillary Clinton is very pragmatic about what she needs to do in this campaign now regarding Obama, Bill's just not there yet. That said, one Bill confidante recently said to us that the former president still loves to heal rifts, that he thrives on it, and that at some point he'll go on his own Obama charm offensive so that suddenly the Democratic nominee finds himself so smitten that he begins begging 42 to start campaigning for him. But when will Bill Clinton's seduction of Obama begin? Will it be in time for the convention so that Bill gets his speaking slot? Or will he be reduced to tribute video status while Hillary Clinton gets the Monday prime time slot?
*** When Juan Valdez meets Pablo Escobar : Per NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy, McCain will travel to Colombia next week. The purpose of the trip, the campaign says, is because the country “is a vital ally in our struggle against the scourge of drugs." But it also goes beyond that: Ever since the issue of NAFTA became a hot-button issue in the Democratic primary, McCain has been going out of his way to emphasize his own free-trade credentials. This includes several weeks of advocating the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, as well as last week's trip to Canada, where McCain refused to mention his opponent by name but said that Americans have "to defend [NAFTA] without equivocation in political debate." Aigner-Treworgy adds that next week's trip -- McCain will also stop in Mexico -- serves to make McCain look presidential (meeting with foreign leaders whom he calls "friends") and also provides him a forum in which he can promote his position on free trade while appearing to be above the back-and-forth partisan name-calling that takes place stateside.
*** Another incumbent bites the dust : After surviving past GOP primary challenges -- all focused on his support for comprehensive immigration reform -- Utah Rep. Chris Cannon (R) finally lost. He was defeated by challenger Jason Chaffetz, who served as Gov. Jon Huntsman’s chief of staff and also was a placekicker for BYU. Cannon becomes the third congressional incumbent this cycle (Democrat Al Wynn and Republican Wayne Gilchrist were the others) to lose a primary challenge. All the attention the presidential contest has received has buried this point, but it’s an important one to stress after yesterday’s news: The country isn’t happy with the US Congress. Indeed, just 13% in the latest NBC/WSJ poll -- an all-time low -- said they approved of the job it’s doing. No wonder the most strident activists are so eager to kick out incumbents.
*** On the trail : McCain is in Nevada, giving an energy speech and raising money in Las Vegas and then opening a campaign office in Henderson. Obama is in Chicago, where he holds a media avail in the afternoon.
Countdown to Dem convention: 61 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails .
A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll seems to back up the Newsweek poll. This new survey has Obama up 12 points over McCain (49%-37%). More: "On a four-man ballot that included independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr, voters chose Obama over McCain by 48% to 33%.”
VIDEO: Newsweek's Jon Meacham comes in to talk about his magazine's poll, which has Barack Obama leading by 14 percent. He also talks with the Morning Joe crew about Obama's response to the GOP's criticism. “Obama's lead -- bigger in this poll than in most other national surveys -- appears to stem largely from his positions on domestic issues. Both Democrats and independent voters said Obama would do a better job than McCain at handling the nation's economic problems, the public's top concern. In contrast, many voters said McCain was the more experienced candidate and better equipped to protect the nation against terrorism -- but they ranked those concerns below economic issues.”
“McCain suffers from a pronounced ‘passion gap,’ especially among conservatives who usually give Republican candidates a reliable base of support. Among voters who described themselves as conservative, 58% said they would vote for McCain; 15% said they would vote for Obama, 14% said they would vote for someone else, and 13% said they were undecided. By contrast, 79% of voters who described themselves as liberal said they planned to vote for Obama."
Bloomberg News : "One bright spot for McCain, who recently abandoned his opposition to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, is a high level of support for more drilling."
Remember those exurbs that were so good to Bush in 2004? Well, the New York Times takes a look at how the rising cost of living is making life in the exurbs harder.
Did McCain lose some of his enviro mojo with the offshore oil drilling announcement? He had a credible pro-environment reputation and clearly wants to keep that reputation, but the offshore oil drilling stance has caused him some problems, potentially.
The Washington Post: "In a speech in Santa Barbara, Calif., McCain (R-Ariz.) vowed to ‘put the purchasing power of the United States government on the side of green technology’ by buying fuel-efficient vehicles for its civilian fleet of cars and trucks and by retrofitting federal office space. The pledge comes months after Obama (D-Ill.) outlined a more detailed and ambitious proposal on the subject, virtually ensuring that the next administration will take significant steps to lower the government's output of energy and pollution."
VIDEO: Newsweek's Richard Wolffe discusses strategist Charlie Black's comments that another terror attack on the U.S. would be an advantage to John McCain. Charlie Black's comments about terrorist attack helping McCain
continue to reverberate . "Obama and his surrogates continued to criticize Charles R. Black Jr., a top adviser to Sen. John McCain, on Tuesday for saying a terrorist attack before the November election would help the presumptive Republican nominee. But behind their protests lay a question that has dogged Democrats since Sept. 11, 2001: Was Black speaking the truth?"
More: "[R]adio host Rush Limbaugh said aloud what other Republicans have been saying privately for months. Black's comments were ‘obvious,’ Limbaugh said yesterday on his program as he criticized McCain for distancing himself from them. Limbaugh said in no uncertain terms that Obama would be weak in the face of terrorism. ‘We know damn well it's Obama who would seek to appease our enemies. We know damn well it's McCain who won't put up with another attack,’ Limbaugh said.”
To this day, Kerry (D-Mass.) has blamed an Osama bin Laden videotape released on Oct. 29, 2004, for his defeat in the election the following week. And McCain, while campaigning in Connecticut for Rep. Christopher Shays that week in 2004, described the bin Laden video as a boost for Bush. ‘I think it's very helpful to President Bush,’ McCain said at the time. ‘It focuses America's attention on the war on terrorism. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but I think it does have an effect.’”
McCain held a tele-townhall with South Florida voters . "[T]he McCain campaign Tuesday night called 50,000 Democratic and independent voters who live in Broward and Palm Beach counties for a 'tele-townhall meeting' with the presidential candidate. About 4,500 people participated. The campaign says the voters were randomly selected and could ask the presumptive Republican nominee whatever they wanted, though the topics were screened. The event was part of a series of in-person and call-in meetings that McCain is hosting with Democrats and independent voters as he tries to distance himself from an unpopular Republican administration."
More: "The callers Tuesday night were all friendly and mostly complimentary. McCain fielded questions for about 45 minutes on taxes, public education and healthcare. In a nod to South Florida's large Jewish population, McCain vowed to enforce tough sanctions against the anti-Israel leader of Iran and to 'prevent another Holocaust.' He also repeated his call for the federal government to allow oil drilling off Florida's coast."
The Palm Beach Post added, "Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut who usually votes with the Democrats but has endorsed McCain, introduced the Republican candidate. Lieberman, the first Jewish candidate to run for vice president on a major party ticket, received strong support eight year ago among the large Jewish populations in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Speaking in a quiet, conversational tone, McCain recalled his recent trip to the Middle East with Lieberman – including a visit to Israel – and said he would do everything he could ‘to prevent another Holocaust.’” by visiting the South American ally ... His staff committed one mistake in announcing the trip, though, repeatedly misspelling the country as ‘Columbia.’ Nonetheless, McCain cast his support for Colombia, its leaders and its people in the friendliest of terms.”
“Obama asked members of his finance team Tuesday to help Hillary Rodham Clinton pay off at least $10 million of the debt from her failed White House bid . In an afternoon teleconference with his top fundraisers, Obama asked them to ‘do what they could do’ to help Clinton, according to a Democrat familiar with the call.”New York Post’s headline: “Passing plate for Hill.”
VIDEO: When push comes to shove, will Bill and Hillary Clinton unite with Barack Obama? Lisa Caputo, her former White House press secretary, talks to TODAY's Meredith Vieira. The
AP on Bill Clinton’s one-line endorsement of Obama: “Former President Bill Clinton, who has been noticeably reticent in his backing for Barack Obama, finally offered his endorsement yesterday, issuing a one-sentence statement through a spokesman.”
It looks like Obama survived his Hollywood fundraiser without anything embarrassing taking place.
He raised nearly $5 million at the event . The guest list included actor Jennifer Beals; Sugar Ray Leonard; Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who created two music videos for Obama during the primary season; Singer Seal performed two songs; Don Cheadle; and Dennis Quaid. CONTINUED >>
In an interview with Newsweek's Tammy Haddad , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added a new name to the veepstakes long list: Texas Rep. Chet Edwards.
VIDEO: MSNBC Political Director Chuck Todd weighs in on the "chess match" for electoral votes that Obama and McCain will soon find themselves in. He tells us about the options and strategies that go into selecting a vice president. More from NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli… Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA)
talks about the input he gave Obama’s search committee, saying he spoke “about the merits” of Hillary Clinton, as well as Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, and John Edwards. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA): “I haven't got a clue what they're thinking.”
Chris Cillizza makes the case for Hillary Clinton. “If a vice president is meant to strengthen the presidential nominee where he is weak, Clinton is the obvious choice. The two fit together like pieces of a puzzle -- bringing different geographic and resume strengths that would make a potent combination if joined together.”
According to a
local poll , 34% of Kansans think Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will be tapped as Obama’s running mate; 28% say they’d be more likely to vote for that ticket, while 35% would be less likely.
The Wall Street Journal online profiles Jindal, “a fresh face” with “conservative credentials and a reformist streak.” CONTINUED >>
After surviving tough primary challenges in recent elections, Republican Congressman Chris Cannon finally met his match in Jason Chaffetz, a former chief of staff to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Chaffetz won the primary with 60% of the vote.
Cannon is the third incumbent to lose a primary this year. The other two were both in Maryland: Republican Wayne Gilchrest lost to a more conservative primary challenger and Democrat Al Wynn lost a more liberal primary foe. Per CQ : "Chaffetz, running in a less vitriolic campaign environment, parlayed a bit of celebrity — he was the football placekicker for Utah’s Brigham Young University in the mid 1980s — and a theme of change that resonated in a year when many voters are expressing dissatisfaction with political ‘insiders.’ Chaffetz overcame the support Cannon drew from the Republican Party establishment, including Bush and Utah’s two Republican senators, Orrin G. Hatch and Robert F. Bennett.”
“Chaffetz argued that Congress needs new blood, repeatedly stating that he wasn’t the guy for voters who want the status quo. Calling himself results-oriented, he portrayed Cannon as an incumbent who has little to show for his 11 and a half years in Congress."
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli Hillary Clinton got enthusiastic applause from colleagues as she returned to the Hill. And she quickly shot down any lingering doubts that she's seeking the VP slot saying, "I am not seeking any other position." She added, "It is not something that I think about. This is totally Sen. Obama's decision and that's the way it should be."
Clinton and Barack Obama reportedly talked by phone about her debt on Sunday.
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO. Crist (R), on crutches , announced the purchase of Everglades land, calling the deal "as monumental as the creation of our nation's first national park, Yellowstone."
And the St. Pete Times reports it was, in fact, Crist’s idea.
Sen. Chuck Hagel was the featured speaker at the launch of Impact ’08 in Ohio, which was formed to “raise awareness of the global challenges and opportunities facing Ohio and America, and to encourage the 2008 presidential candidates to incorporate 'smart power' -- the strategic use of development, diplomacy and defense -- into their foreign policy platforms.”
Hagel also speaks at Brookings on Thursday.
Joe Lieberman will join John McCain on a trip to Colombia and Mexico next week.
Michael Bloomberg spoke at the opening of the new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, called “Campaigning for President.”
Jim Webb spoke to a room full of celebs at an event for the Campaign for a New G.I. Bill, which the Virginia senator “was dragging, shoving, pushing and nudging” through.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Alex Wall and Katie Mulhall Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), McCain senior policy advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin and McCain spokesman Brian Rogers railed against Obama’s remarks on energy today in Las Vegas. The trio contrasted McCain’s proposals of offshore exploration and a $300 million battery prize with Obama’s “lack of solutions.”
VIDEO: McCain proposed a $300 million bounty for inventing a new Flas Gordon-y car battery. At the same time Congress heard that gas prices could be reduced throught he elimination of loopholes that McCain economic guru Phil Gramm played a role in creating. The Nation's Chris Hayes discusses with Keith Olbermann. “It’s just very clear at this point that Sen. Obama is ‘Dr. No’ on energy security,” Rogers said in a conference call with reporters. “It was, ‘No’ on gas-tax relief, ‘No’ on expanded nuclear power and investment, ‘No’ on exploration. …We think we’re seeing a pattern here.”
On offshore drilling: Sen. Burr criticized Obama’s opposition to offshore drilling, claiming that, “Had the Congress 10 years ago opened up new exploration then, we would not be where we are today.” Burr went on to emphasize that McCain’s position on offshore drilling allows states to decide individually, but that failing to act would cripple the tourist industry that opponents of exploration are trying to protect.
“Whether you’re in the state of Florida or North Carolina, if people can’t afford to drive there, tourism is not as important,” Burr said. “[But] if any other governor says [offshore drilling] is not right for them, then that’s their right.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones
The
Obama campaign hosted a call with Florida legislators to slam
McCain as a poor candidate for South Florida who would have a big, uphill climb if he is to appeal to voters there.
On the roughly 25-minute call -- which the campaign called to discuss what it called McCain’s upcoming “tele-town hall with “Independent and Democratic” voters” -- were U.S. Reps. Debbie
Wasserman-Schultz (FL-D), formerly a staunch Clinton backer, and Robert
Wexler (FL-D).
Wasserman-Schultz said South Florida had never supported a Republican as a presidential candidate in the 20 years she had lived there and argued McCain was “not a candidate that shares any of the prior that Democratic and Independent women care about in South Florida.” She spoke specifically about his opposition to Roe v. Wade.
She also mentioned McCain advisor Charlie Black’s comment that a terrorist attack on U.S. soil could benefit his campaign. She said using terrorism as a political tool was “disgusting” and suggested McCain’s association with Black raised questions about his judgment.
The congresswoman said Obama had work to do in Florida because he had not campaigned there very much, but argued his positions on the issues of concern to the state’s voters would put him in good stead.
Wexler called McCain the “most anti-Florida candidate in modern history” citing among other things his support for lifting the moratorium for offshore drilling along Florida’s “pristine” coastline.
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones
LAS VEGAS, Nev. --
Obama kept the focus on energy at an event with green technology workers at Springs Preserve -- a site outside Las Vegas dedicated to sustainability -- arguing he offered a different vision for America’s energy future than his Republican rival.
The presumptive Democratic nominee called oil a “a 19th century fossil fuel that is dirty, dwindling, and dangerously expensive” and said a renewable energy economy was not “some pie-in-the-sky, far-off future, it is now." He said making progress toward energy independence and encouraging clean energy was one of the top three goals of an Obama administration -- along with ending the war in Iraq and reforming the healthcare system.
VIDEO: A new poll says voters give Barack Obama's energy policy an edge over John McCain's. MSNBC's David Shuster talks with Obama advisor Susan Rice and McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer. “I have a very different vision of what this country can and should achieve on energy in the next four years -- and in the next 10 years,” he said. “My entire energy plan will produce three times the oil savings that John
McCain ’s ever could -- and what’s more, it will actually decrease our dependence on oil while his will only grow our addiction further.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
Tammy Dowd, secretary to the Selectmen of Unity, N.H., confirms the Clinton-Obama event will be held outside of the Unity Elementary School. Dowd says Secret Service is there now "setting up shop." The staff at town hall has been told otherwise that they'll be given information on a "need-to-know basis."
They've been getting a lot of calls from people in New Hampshire asking how to get there, and also from people in New York and Massachusetts looking for directions from the closest airports.
"I'm guessing the entire town will show up," Dowd said, which would account for about 1,700 people. As for other visitors, "I'm hoping our one store stocks up," Dowd said.
From NBC's Ken Strickland After addressing her Democratic colleagues today in their weekly luncheon, Sen. Hillary Clinton emerged with the Dem leadership at her side. She vowed to be "the very best senator I can be and to represent the greatest state in our country."
VIDEO: Hillary Clinton goes back to work at the Senate Tuesday. MSNBC's Mike Viqueira reports. In a brief Q&A with reporters, she quickly shot down any lingering doubts that she's seeking the VP slot saying, "I am not seeking any other position." She added, "It is not something that I think about. This is totally Sen. Obama's decision and that's the way it should be.
When asked about McCain's efforts to court her supporters, Clinton said, "Anyone who voted for me has very little in common with the Republican Party." She then seemed to speak directly to her supporters: "If you care about the issues I care about and the future that I outlined in my campaign, then you really have to stay with us in the Democratic Party and vote Sen. Obama to be our next president."
Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, a McCain ally and supporter, attended today luncheon. Fellow Sen. Evan Bayh told reporters that Lieberman sat at Clinton's table and the two briefly exchanged pleasantries.
"We're going to work very hard to elect Sen. Obama our president," she said. "And we're going to work very hard to add to our numbers here in the Senate... I'm just hoping that we'll have a very significant victory this November... I am rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work."
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
SANTA BARBARA, CA -- Usually
McCain's panel discussions feature a stage full of experts in a given field telling the Arizona senator how great his proposals would be for the country. But at today's discussion on energy at the Museum of Natural History here, one panelist didn't get the memo.
VIDEO: In a speech in California, John McCain says nothing is more urgent than regaining our energy security. Michael Feeney, the executive director of the land trust for Santa Barbara County and a professional land conservationist, took issue with some of McCain's environmental policies, accusing both McCain and fellow panelist Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger of being too willing to compromise on environmental standards in devising energy solutions.
"I've heard both of the elected officials here [today] say in various forms and others say that we need to solve our energy and our national security and our economic security problems without compromising or stepping back from our environmental standards," Feeney began. But he then gave several examples of proposals that McCain supports that -- in his view -- would compromise the advances this country has made in cleaning up the air and "protecting land for future generations."
"I don't understand how it's not compromising our environmental standards to propose a crash program to build more nuclear power plants when the industry has not complied with the federal law that requires there to be safe disposal for the radioactive waste," Feeney said, alluding to McCain's proposal to put the country on a path to building 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030.
Feeney also took issue with McCain's controversial proposal to lift the moratorium on offshore oil exploration: "It makes me nervous to think about those who are proposing to drain America's offshore oil and gas reserves as quickly as possible in the hopes of driving down the price of gasoline, because I think when you look at the good sources of information, were we to open up the California coast or the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, it would be 12, 15, maybe 20 years before those resources came online and got to full productions."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro Obama camp is pressing to keep the Charlie Black flap alive, but not quite asking for him to be fired. Today, the Obama campaign hit McCain and Black with a conference call with 9/11 Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste.
“Charlie Black’s statement that a new terrorist attack on U.S. soil would be a big advantage provides a candid and very disappointing glimpse into [what] one of his [McCain’s] closest advisors [thinks],” Ben-Veniste said.
Ben-Veniste demurred when asked if Black should be fired. There should be a “call for a recalibration in the thinking… staying away from the politics of fear.” He said it would be a “good idea” for McCain “to caution those … who’ve created this turmoil.”
Ben-Veniste said he was particularly disappointed in McCain, who he called “a supporter of the 9/11 commission.” “But his support of Bush’s policies,” Ben-Veniste said, adding, “put him at odds with Obama’s ‘principled’ stands.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland and Mark Murray Hillary Clinton returns to the Senate this afternoon. Today, she'll attend the Senate Democrats weekly Tuesday luncheon in the Capitol, which is closed to the press.
And tomorrow, she'll attend a meeting with House Democrats, according to her office.
Meanwhile, the AP has this story out today: "Former President Clinton said through a spokesman Tuesday that he is committed to helping Barack Obama become president, his first comments in support of his wife's former rival since their primary ended three weeks ago."
Relations between the last Democratic president and the candidate who wants to be the next one are still frosty -- they still haven't spoken in the aftermath of the heated campaign. But Bill Clinton extended an offer to help in a one-sentence statement from spokesman Matt McKenna. 'President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States,' McKenna said."
*** UPDATE ***
She shook several hands and greeted many of them as she walked up the Capitol steps into the building. She did not address reporters.
Inside the Capitol, she was greeted by Sens. Schumer, Stabenow, and Mikulski. Mikuski said loudly, "We miss you. We need you."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro McCain camp continues to hit Obama on his declining public funding -- now with this Web video.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama's reversal on public financing, liberal bloggers like Arianna Huffington and Josh Marshall have wondered why McCain's own apparent flip flop on the subject hasn't received as much scrutiny.
Well, the Democratic National Committee is trying to change that by filing a lawsuit in US District Court in DC to force the Federal Election Commission to investigate McCain's decision to opt in the public matching funds system for the primaries, secure a loan based on those public funds, and then withdraw from the system after becoming the GOP front-runner. McCain, though, never actually received those public funds before opting out.
"The chairman of the FEC," the lawsuit states, "has already advised Sen. McCain that he is not free to withdraw unilaterally from his agreement with the FEC and to ignore the legal requirements of the Matching Payments Act, without the FEC's approval. Yet Sen. McCain cannot obtain such approval, because he already violated a key condition for dispensing with the Agreement by which he entered the matching funds program: he has pledged matching funds as collateral for a loan to his campaign."
Had McCain not opted out of the matching funds program, he would be limited in how much he can raise and spend up until the GOP convention -- which would put him at an enormous disadvantage against Obama's fundraising machine.
Republican National Committee chief counsel Sean Cairncross issued this statement in response to the DNC's lawsuit: "The law states that a candidate must actually receive public funds to be subject to the primary campaign spending limit. The McCain campaign never received any primary matching funds, and the campaign’s lending bank has made clear that no entitlements to public funds were used as collateral to secure any loan. The DNC should spend more time explaining why its candidate broke his word to the American people on public financing and less time on reckless lawsuits. We are confident the FEC will throw this meritless complaint out and that the court will recognize it as a waste of judicial resources.”
From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro McCain advocated lifting the moratorium on off-shore oil driling, the campaign chose to hold an environmental event -- an "Environmental Briefing with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger" -- in Santa Barbara, Calif. Why was Santa Barbara a poor choice? Well...
VIDEO: MSNBC's Contessa Brewer talks with John McCain's domestic policy advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer about the presumptive Republican presidential candidate's support of President Bush's call to lift the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling. Per the
LA Times : "In the winter of 1969, 3 million gallons of oil began leaking from an offshore drilling site off the Santa Barbara coast. It would eventually be contained, but the incident helped spark landmark environmental legislation to protect the nation's waters and air."
Just Monday, NPR wrote, "As the presidential hopefuls debate the pros and cons of offshore drilling, natives of Santa Barbara, California remember the huge spill of 1969. Many say that disaster was the catalyst for the U.S. environmental movement."
The Santa Barbara County League of Conservation Voters is planning a protest of McCain's event today. *** UPDATE ***
CONTINUED >>
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro Charlie Black's gaffe: Yesterday, McCain chief strategist Charlie Black -- who already has drawn controversy for his past lobbyist work -- made one of those classic Washington gaffes, as Michael Kinsley once put it: accidentally speaking a truth that many people on both sides of the aisle believe. In an interview with Fortune, Black said that a terrorist attack would be a “big advantage” to McCain, a comment the all-but-certain GOP candidate immediately distanced himself from. Not only did the controversy distract McCain from his message of the day (that $300 million prize for inventing a new car battery), but it also resurrected the politics of 2004, which as we’ve argued before might not benefit McCain’s prospects. But for what it's worth, there's been chatter among some Democrats that the big fear Obama aides have is just what Black spoke about -- some sort of national security crisis popping up in October. This is why most Democrats who have given their two cents to the Obama VP vetters seem to come away convinced Obama will picked a No. 2 who has obvious national security credentials. That said, what the impact of a national security crisis in October is unknown for this reason: It depends on who initiates it. If it's an outside force, then Black's probably right. But if it's something that President Bush sparks, then Obama could benefit.
VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd gives his first read on McCain adviser Charlie Black's comment that a terrorist attack would be a "big advantage" to his campaign. ***
Off-message on offshore drilling? That Charlie Black comment wasn’t McCain’s only off-message moment yesterday. At a town hall in Fresno, CA, McCain admitted that the offshore drilling proposal he unveiled last week would probably have mostly “psychological” benefits, NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy notes. “Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial." Uh oh. Then at a fundraiser in tony (and coastal) Santa Barbara, one attendee took issue with McCain’s offshore drilling proposal, according to the pool report. "We're really kind of goosey here about oil spills, and we're goosey here about federal drilling and oil lands, which are abundant offshore,” the attendee said. “So we ask you to look out there to the south and the southeast and remember the greatest environmental catastrophe that's hit this state and then balance that with the notion of winning California.” Today, McCain remains in Santa Barbara, where he holds a briefing on the environment with Gov. Schwarzenegger, who also opposes the offshore measure. Even though public polls show that majorities support lifting the ban on offshore drilling, McCain isn’t having an easy time with the issue when campaigning on the coasts.
*** The enthusiasm gap: Two polls in the last two days signal a big problem McCain has, and it’s perhaps why it's so important that James Dobson is going after Obama, accusing him “of distorting the Bible and pushing a ‘fruitcake interpretation’ of the Constitution,” the AP says. In the Newsweek poll showing Obama sporting a 15-point lead, the reason for that large lead had to do with the 19-point party identification gap between the Democrats and Republicans. Bottom line: All pollsters these days are finding fewer and fewer folks wanting to call themselves Republicans. And in the USA Today/Gallup poll, 61% of Democrats said they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting in November, while just 35% of Republicans said that. This goes to the heart of the two-fold problem McCain's facing: 1) unhappiness over Bush has driven some Republicans away from the GOP and into either the indie camp or even to the Democrats and 2) some conservatives are just not happy about McCain. Perhaps James Dobson's shot across the bow against Obama will, at a minimum, create uneasiness among evangelicals and move these voters back in McCain's column, even if unenthusiastically.
*** Rove as catnip: Karl Rove has become to the media this cycle what Dick Morris was for a period of time in the late '90s: media catnip. Whatever Rove says these days -- be it at an event or in a column -- it seems to carry extra cachet with members of the media. We're all fascinated with how Rove's brain works (so fascinated, in fact, a couple of reporters got book deal profiling Rove's brain). But the McCain folks, whether they are actually using Rove or not, seem to benefit every time. Rove is able to start cable conversations with some of his observations, whether it’s an over-the-top description of Obama as a country club Democrat or with his electoral maps. But then again, Rove -- even though he no longer works for him -- is tied in voters’ minds to the president with the 28% approval rating. Still, this power Rove still has with the political media is something that McCain's campaign is likely going to attempt to bottle and use at their own will. Rove's independence was helped earlier this week when he attacked both McCain and Obama on the economy.
VIDEO: John McCain has proposed weekly town hall-style debates with Barack Obama leading up to the Democratic convention, but so far Obama hasn't accepted. Should he take McCain up on his offer? A Hardball panel discusses. ***
Two just askin's: How has it Obama hasn't agreed to a town hall schedule with McCain yet? The time between now and the debate season, which begins in late September, is getting smaller and smaller… Also, with the new media narrative that there is in fact progress going on in Iraq -- see Saturday’s New York Times story, for example -- how does that impact the Obama-McCain contest? And as conservative commentator
Jennifer Rubin asks, can the McCain camp turn it to its advantage?
***
Mr. Hollywood: Later today, Obama heads to Hollywood for a fundraiser that will include, as the AP reported yesterday, Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Quaid, Cindy Crawford and Sugar Ray Leonard. Remember: It was around this time in 2004 when Whoopi Goldberg delivered X-rated insults at President Bush at star-studded fundraiser for Kerry in New York -- which turned into a distraction for the Kerry campaign. The AP says that tickets for today’s event are priced at $30,000, with the money split between Obama’s campaign and the DNC.
*** On the trail: McCain remains in California, holding a discussion on the environment in Santa Barbara and raising money in Riverside and Newport Beach. Obama is in Las Vegas, where he has a discussion on energy and the economy before hitting that Los Angeles fundraiser mentioned above.
Countdown to Dem convention: 62 daysClick here to sign up for First Read emails.
Yesterday, McCain admitted that his offshore drilling proposal would probably have mostly "psychological" benefits, NBC/NJ’s Adam Aigner-Treworgy reports. At a town hall in Fresno that primarily focused on energy issues, McCain was asked a question about the price of gas and the viability of various short-term solutions.
VIDEO: Obama supporter, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and McCain supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., discuss their candidates' differing views on offshore drilling with NBC's Brian Williams on "Meet the Press." "In the short term I'd like to give you a little relief for the summer on the gas tax," McCain began, referring to his controversial proposal to temporarily suspend the federal tax on gasoline. But then he made a surprisingly candid admission: "I don't see an immediate relief, but I do see that exploitation of existing reserves that may exist -- and in view of many experts that do exist off our coasts -- is also a way that we need to provide relief. Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have psychological impact that I think is beneficial."
The Los Angeles Times : "In a visit to Fresno on Monday, McCain did not bring up offshore drilling, instead emphasizing alternative energy sources such as alcohol fuels and announcing a $300-million challenge to develop a more efficient electric car battery. In response to a question, he said he still did not favor drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it was pristine. When pressed, he declined to say whether the California coast was any less so, but argued that offshore drilling was safe. ‘I envision they would be somewhat further offshore but that would be, again, a decision by the people of this state,’ said McCain, who has said his views changed because of the impact gas prices are having on everyday Americans and concerns about the nation's dependence on foreign powers."
The AP : “Like two rival filling-station owners across the highway in long-bygone price wars, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain keep putting up flashy signs and offering new incentives in hopes of attracting customers battered by $4 gas prices.” More: “Yet energy experts and economists -- and even some of the candidates' own advisers -- say none of their signature proposals will have any impact on $4 gasoline or $130 a barrel oil in the near term, or even the intermediate term. Is it open season for pandering?”
CONTINUED >>
McCain chief strategist Charlie Black yesterday “said that a terrorist attack in the United States would be a political benefit to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a comment that was immediately disputed by the candidate and denounced by his Democratic rival,” the Washington Post writes. “The comment reinjected the fear of terrorism into the campaign as both candidates had been shifting their conversation to the economy and $4-per-gallon gasoline. It also vividly recalled the 2004 contest between President Bush and Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry, in which Republicans repeatedly questioned Kerry's ability to protect the country from terrorists.”
“The comments also returned the political spotlight to McCain's advisers and, in particular, to Black, who has drawn criticism for his long lobbying career and his representation of controversial foreign governments. McCain has been criticized for surrounding himself with top advisers who were lobbyists.”
Black’s “remarks caught McCain flat-footed on a day when he focused on energy issues -- first in a speech, then at a town-hall meeting and then during a news conference as he stood beside two $100,000 electric cars,” the AP adds.
The New York Sun notes McCain's idea for a cash reward in exchange for someone who comes up with a zero emission car battery was inspired by Newt Gingrich, who has long advocated more cash rewards for new government ideas.
Cindy McCain will host a fundraiser in London Thursday. “The evening event was expected to raise more than $500,000 for the Arizona senator's presidential bid, a person familiar with the planning said Monday,” the AP says. “Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was scheduled to join Cindy McCain as a headliner of the event… John McCain was criticized for holding a campaign fundraiser in London in March, shortly after he clinched the GOP nomination, as he returned from a Senate trip to Europe and the Middle East. He reimbursed the U.S. government for part of the cost of the trip, under terms reviewed by the Federal Election Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee.”scrape he got while getting out of a car in Canada, his campaign said.
The Washington Post reports why Obama picked New Hampshire for his first joint event with Clinton. "New Hampshire is also the state in which Clinton first demonstrated her strong connection with older, working-class women, a group that Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, is now working hard to attract by lauding Clinton and depicting Obama as inexperienced."
VIDEO: With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton agreeing to hit the campaign trail together next week, will the Democratic Party finally be united? Newsweek's Jonathan Alter discusses. NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli, who was the campaign embed covering the state of New Hampshire last year, has some notes on the town where Obama and Clinton will appear: Unity, NH:
-- The town was first incorporated as Buckingham in 1753, and now has a population of 1,715. According to a state Web site, the town was renamed Unity in 1764 after the “friendly resolution” of a land dispute.
-- According to the 2000 census, the population is 1,535. The ocasionally accurate Wikipedia says the demographics are: 99.35 percent white, 0.07 percent African American (I did the calculation, and that would be equal to one person).
-- Unity is about 60 miles from Manchester, mostly on local roads. The seldom-reliable estimate from Google Maps calls for about a 90-minute drive time.
-- By my recollection, not one candidate visited Unity during the entire New Hampshire primary campaign. Claremont, about 15 minutes away, did see its share of visitors, mostly on the Democratic side.
-- Obama and Clinton did indeed tie with 107 votes in the Democratic primary. Edwards got 78, Richardson 15, Kucinich 2, and Biden and Gravel each got 1. Chris Dodd? Nothin’ (though to be fair, he had dropped out already).
-- McCain got 81 votes on the Republican side, beating Romney who had 70. Huckabee was third with 21, followed by Rudy with 20. Duncan Hunter had 2, two more than Dodd.
The Boston Globe also notes that Unity has no high-speed Internet, no restaurants or gas stations, not even a traffic light.”
“But experts and Clinton loyalists say it will take more than a town called Unity or a coincidental tie in a primary vote to bring the two camps together,” the New York Daily News writes. “A more significant unity event is set for Thursday night when Clinton and Obama huddle privately in Washington with Hillary's deep-pocketed donors and fund-raisers.”
Obama was in New Mexico yesterday focusing on women's issues . "Obama challenged the women's rights record of his Republican rival, John McCain, on Monday as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee stepped up efforts to win over female voters. Opening a Southwest campaign swing here at a baked-goods business, Illinois Sen. Obama criticized Arizona Sen. McCain for opposing a bill that would make it easier for women to sue for pay discrimination."
CONTINUED >>
On Morning Joe, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was asked by MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski what would make him a good running mate, and he demurred. “I don’t think it’s up to me to decide that,” Pawlenty said, pivoting instead to McCain’s strengths. “He will find a vice president that will amplify his strengths.”
VIDEO: The New York Time's Mark Leibovich discusses his take on possible VP candidates and their role in the presidential race. He also called Charlie Black’s comments “inappropriate.” “I think Charlie was just trying to emphasize rightly that Sen. McCain is stronger on national security. But the way he said it was inappropriate.”
Huckabee sat down for an interview with
Reuters while in Japan and told the news service that he’d accept the veep slot if asked, but doesn’t expect to be asked. He also weighed in on the Democratic veep selection process and said he doesn’t think an Obama-Clinton ticket would happen, because of “some real tensions.”
NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli has more on the veepstakes front… The AP profiles McCain vetter Arthur B. Culvahouse. “Culvahouse has been involved in vetting people for positions at all levels of government for three decades, roles he's gotten partly because of his reputation for under-the-radar maneuvering.” Roll Call says former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge failed for nearly two years to register a $500,000 lobbying contract. New York Times looks at Jindal’s handling of the legislative pay raise. Jindal had been propelled “into the front ranks of Senator John McCain’s possible running-mate choices. But now some conservative critics are saying the pay-increase episode demonstrates weakness as well as Mr. Jindal’s unreadiness for the prime time of the vice presidency.” Miami Herald poll of South Florida voters finds Crist’s approval rating down for the first time in his 18 months as governor. head up Obama’s press shop in Indiana. denying he got special treatment from Countrywide Financial, and says the controversy won’t hurt his standing to handle the mortgage crisis. threw cold water on the rumor ” that Obama will announce Hillary Clinton as his running Friday.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli THE SHORT LIST Marc Ambinder reports that both the Obama and McCain camps will likely announce in early August, with both aware of the Olympics starting August 8.
VIDEO: Questions are intensifying as to who each presidential candidate will pick as his running mate. MSNBC Political Analyst Howard Fineman and The Politico's Roger Simon join guest host Mike Barnicle and look at the veepstakes. WHAT THEY’RE UP TO: - Hillary Clinton is
asking supporters for help with her campaign debt.
- Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) is
addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors
- Rob Portman (R-OH) says he’ll
decide by the end of this year if he’ll run for Ohio Governor or Senate in 2010.
- Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
convened a special session of the VA Assembly on transportation funding.
- Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
won’t hold a traditional post-session press conference with state legislators this week, instead opting for a solo event after they’ve left town.
- Fred Thompson blogs about the Guantanamo decision at Real Clear Politics.
- Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)
will be taking viewer questions on CNN tomorrow.
ON THE RECORD: Elizabeth Edwards was asked on “GMA” about speculation her husband may be on the ticket again. “This is not a subject of conversation at our house. ... We're both going to work as hard as we can to make certain that Senator Obama is the president. And we'll let everything else take care of itself.”
BUZZ METER: Mitt Romney’s former chair in NJ, Joe Kyrillos, likes the sound of McCain-Romney, not surprisingly. He says there is now a “real warmth” between the two. Andrew Romano runs down the Pawlenty speculation, saying that despite “the faddish feel of the current Pawlenty chatter, he's long been considered a top veep possibility,” and started lobbying fellow governors in 2006. Joe Klein hears that McCain is frustrated with the process because he can’t go with his personal favorites – led by Tom Ridge.
CHATTERING CLASS: Don Frederick thinks Tim Pawlenty better stop telling jokes that include his wife.
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain is favored on national security issues and that any day that national security leads the news is a good day for McCain.
Outside McCain’s Fresno fundraiser, Black read his statement, soon to be released by the campaign, from his handwritten notes. “I deeply regret the comments -- they were inappropriate. I recognize that John McCain had devoted his entire adult life to protecting this country ... and placing its security above every other consideration.”
Fortune had reported Black said, The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an ‘unfortunate event,’ says Black. ‘But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us.’ As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. ‘Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,’ says Black.”
*** UPDATE *** Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton writes in response: "Barack Obama welcomes a debate about terrorism with John McCain, who has fully supported the Bush policies that have taken our eye off of al Qaeda, failed to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, and made us less safe. The fact that John McCain’s top advisor says that a terrorist attack on American soil would be a ‘big advantage’ for their political campaign is a complete disgrace, and is exactly the kind of politics that needs to change. Barack Obama will turn the page on these failed policies and this cynical and divisive brand of politics so that we can unite this nation around a common purpose to finish the fight against al Qaeda."
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Obama launched the third week of a tour focused on the economy, an issue at the top of voters’ minds this election year, with a roundtable discussion with a group of women workers at a female-owned café here Monday.
VIDEO: Sens. Barbara Boxer, Clare McCaskill and Beddie Sabato acknowledge the difficulties both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced in their campaigns, and go through their list of the most important issues for women that need to be addressed by the next administration. In his brief opening remarks, he talked about his support for legislation to ensure equal pay for women, expanding family and medical leave as well as the tax credit for children and dependents and his plans to offer more after-school and early education programs. He began by talking about his appreciation for working women, noting that he was raised by a single mother, and about his grandmother who rose to become a bank vice president. He also talked about his wife.
“I am here because of my wife Michelle, who is the rock of the Obama family and who worked her way up from modest roots on the South Side of Chicago, and who’s juggled jobs and parenting with more skill and grace than anybody that I know and looks good doing it too,” he said to laughter. “Michelle and I want our two daughters, Malia and Sasha, to grow up in an America where they have the freedom and opportunity to live their dreams and raise their own families.”
Obama said women in America had come a long way but still faced obstacles, including a lack of equal pay, due in part to an federal policies that have not valued families. He argued John
McCain ’s record on women’s issues was lacking, saying he was a better choice.
*** UPDATE *** The McCain campaign responds this way:
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody was nominated to the rank of general and, if confirmed by Congress, will be assigned to be commanding general of U.S. Army Materiel Command.
The U.S. Army says that approximately five percent of general officers in the Army are women, which includes mobilized Army Reserve and Army National Guard general officers.
Dunwoody has been in the Army for 33 years, after graduating from State University of New York and receiving her commission in 1975.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro McCain , says McCain adviser Charlie Black…Obama reminds him of “the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."Fortune : “On national security McCain wins. We saw how that might play out early in the campaign, when one good scare, one timely reminder of the chaos lurking in the world, probably saved McCain in New Hampshire, a state he had to win to save his candidacy - this according to McCain's chief strategist, Charlie Black. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an ‘unfortunate event,’ says Black. ‘But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us.’ As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. ‘Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,’ says Black.”
AmericaBlog , in response, says, “John McCain really is running Bush's 2004 campaign all over again. The politics of fear are front and center.”
Then this from Karl Rove: At the Capitol Hill Club, Rove referred to Obama as "coolly arrogant," per ABC . "Even if you never met him, you know this guy," Rove said. "He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."
Remember back in April, Rove told GQ , "Obama is coolly detached and very arrogant. I think he's very smart and knows he's smart, but as a result doesn't do his homework."
Of the latest comments, TPM's Greg Sargent writes: "It should also be noted, of course, that Rove took a man who actually is a country club denizen who makes "snide comments" about others -- that would be George W. Bush -- and turned him into a regular Joe. Meanwhile, the guy who would struggle for admittance to some of these exclusive enclaves -- Obama -- is now "the guy at the country club." Rovian up-is-downism at its finest."
*** UPDATE ***
From NBC's Mark Murray Obama advisers -- like veep-vetters Jim Johnson (who stepped down from that post) and Eric Holder (who has become their chief target now with Johnson gone).
The Democratic National Committee, however, is making sure that the public doesn't forget about McCain's own advisers and their controversies. Today, it unveiled a Web site -- dubbed "With Advisers Like These..." -- that takes aim at former US Sen. Phil Gramm , Carly Fiorina, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
In particular, Democrats have singled out Gramm, whom McCain has called the smartest economist and political strategist he knows , for helping to exempt energy trading from regulation and oversight -- what Obama yesterday called the "Enron loophole."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Obama , Clinton joint campaigning will happen in New Hampshire Friday.
The event is dubbed a "Unite for Change" rally. The Obama campaign notes in its release that both candidates got 107 votes each from the town in the New Hampshire primary earlier this.
Get the message?
*** UPDATE ***
- The town was first incorporated as Buckingham in 1753, and now has a population of 1,715. According to a state Web site, the town was renamed Unity in 1764 after the “friendly resolution” of a land dispute.
From NBC's Mark Murray USA Today/Gallup poll has Obama leading McCain among likely voters by six points, 50%-44%.
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel takes a look at which supporters-John McCain's or Barack Obama's-are enthusiastic about their candidate's campaign and potential presidency. But the most revealing numbers in the survey were the ones measuring voter enthusiasm: 61% of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting in this year's election, while just 35% of Republicans said that.
Also in the poll, Obama's fav/unfav is 64%-31%, while McCain's is 59%-35%.
On the issues -- when asked which candidate would do a better job on each -- Obama held advantages on health care (51%-26%), the economy (48%-32%), energy/gas (47%-28%), taxes (44%-35%), and moral values (40%-39%). McCain had the edge on terrorism (52%-33%) and illegal immigration (36%-34%). And they were tied on Iraq (43%-43%).
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro The New Arms Race : As we've mentioned before, one of the more underappreciated ways that Obama defeated Clinton in the Democratic primaries is that he forced her to compete in a political arms race that she couldn't win. Think about it: Clinton raised more than $200 million, and she now finds herself $22.5 million in debt. It was Obama playing Reagan to Clinton's role as Gorbachev. Now that Obama has decided to opt out of the public financing system -- enabling him to perhaps raise $300 million between now and Election Day -- could history repeat itself? Over the weekend, via the New York Times , we learned that he’s dispatching paid staffers to all states and that he might run national TV ads tied to the Olympics, as well as targeted ones on MTV and BET. For the first time in quite a while, Republicans are going to be outspent significantly in a presidential election. Can they prove they can win when being outspent? (Have they ever done it before?) McCain having $84 million to spend between the GOP convention and November -- less than 60 days -- is a lot of money. Then again, Clinton's $200 million-plus was a lot of money, too.
VIDEO: Critics are crying foul over what they say is a suspiciously "presidential" looking logo at a recent Obama campaign event. Pundits Pat Buchanan and Peter Fenn discuss the controversy. ***
Obama’s Mixed Week : For someone who's poised to raise a considerable amount of money -- and who also is ahead 15 points nationally in a new Newsweek poll (thanks to a large party advantage), as well as in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, according to Quinnipiac surveys -- Obama's week wasn't his best. His decision to opt out of the public financing system was criticized by Republicans, liberal and conservative columnists, editorial boards, and good-government groups. (Sticking with the Cold War metaphor above, didn't Reagan's own arms build-up generate a fair amount of criticism?) He raised just $22 million in May, his worst monthly haul this year. And then there was that faux presidential seal that was affixed to Obama’s rostrum on Friday, which got mocked from all quarters. What a bizarre and dumb idea. Why do we have a feeling we won't see this again? It really feeds the arrogance narrative.
*** Does Broder Have A Point? Here’s one person who criticized Obama’s decision to opt out of the financing system: Washington Post columnist David Broder . With Obama so unknown still, is it good for him to be ducking town hall meetings and deciding to fund his campaign privately? The more he does things that give the appearance of just another politician, doesn't that undercut the delicate nature of his fresh face image? It's the talking point of the weekend by McCain surrogates, and it could be one that's effective. The Clinton campaign never could make the "he's just another craven politician" tag stick, because Clinton had the whole pot-kettle problem. But with McCain's reform image engrained with many voters -- even if it’s been dented by some reversals of his own -- Obama could see this tactic used against more effectively now than it was during the primary. Also, the Chicago Tribune wonders if Obama will get tagged with Chicago’s negative political image. Then again, as the Washington Post notes this morning, Obama is also demonstrating something with these decisions that his critics found lacking during the primaries: toughness.
VIDEO: John McCain had his best fundraising month yet, raising $21.5 million in May, but that's still $15 million less than Barack Obama had in April. A Race for the White House panel discusses. ***
Behind Obama’s $22 Million : To put Obama’s haul into perspective, do note that it came in the last month of a protracted, 17-month campaign against Clinton. And there was probably plenty of donor fatigue, especially since Obama’s campaign and supporters were pretty sure he had locked up the nomination on May 6 after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. Clinton, for her part, raised $12.6 million. Also, Obama’s haul still exceeded McCain’s amount -- at a time when McCain was hitting nearly a fundraiser per day, when he received $4.3 million from three big joint fundraisers, and with a unified Republican Party behind him. What’s more, Obama couldn’t really begin raising money for the general election in May, given that he didn’t want to look like he was shoving Clinton out of the race. And Obama’s ability to raise money over the internet has largely depended on news events. Besides his victory in North Carolina, May included blowout defeats in West Virginia and Kentucky. To see if Obama is on pace to bring in $300 million in five months, we'll find out quite a bit next month, when the June numbers are released.
*** The Energy Fight : It looks like we know the issue that's going to drive the presidential campaign for the rest of the summer. With gas prices continuing to go up, it's not shocking but now both campaigns seem to embracing the issue and trying to for new ways to create a wedge between the two campaigns. Obama played the Enron card yesterday, while McCain -- a week after calling for offshore drilling -- gives a speech advocating innovation to replace fossil fuels. (A little ironic, don’t ya think?) “My friends, energy security is the great national challenge of our time. And rising to this challenge will take all of the vision, creativity, and resolve of which we are capable,” McCain will say, according to excerpts released by his campaign.
*** Go West, Young (Or Not So Young) Men : Over the next couple of days, McCain and Obama are both out West. Obama spends Monday in New Mexico and Tuesday in Las Vegas, while McCain spends both days in California, where he mostly raises money. McCain then goes to Las Vegas on Wednesday for yet another fundraiser. Today, McCain is California, speaking at Fresno State University and raising money near there and then in Santa Barbara. Obama campaigns in New Mexico, holding an event in Albuquerque. Click here to sign up for First Read emails .
The New York Times says Obama yesterday “proposed tightening the regulation of oil speculators in an effort to ease record high gasoline prices and address one of Americans’ top concerns. Mr. Obama proposed closing the so-called Enron loophole, a legal provision requested by that company in 2000 that exempts crucial energy commodities from government oversight.” More: “How large a role speculative investment plays in pushing up oil and other commodity prices is not entirely clear. While some analysts believe that large flows of money into largely unregulated exchanges have distorted markets and pushed up prices, most energy experts see no support for that theory.”
VIDEO: Newsweek senior Washington correspondent Howard Fineman talks with TODAY's Ann Curry about the presidential candidates' positions on taxes and energy. Reuters : The campaign also said he backed legislation that would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the top US futures market regulator, to investigate proposals such as increasing margin requirements in the market."
"McCain hopes to solve the country's energy crisis with cold hard cash," the
AP says. "The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting is proposing a $300 million government prize to whomever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, 'a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency,' McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California."
Excerpts of the speech on energy independence McCain will deliver in Fresno, CA: “[T]he CAFE standards we apply to automakers -- to increase the fuel efficiency of their cars -- are lightly enforced by a small fine. The result is that some companies don’t even bother to observe CAFE standards. Instead they just write a check to the government and pass the cost along to you… CAFE standards should serve large national goals in energy independence, not the purpose of small-time revenue collection.”
CONTINUED >>
Newsweek released a poll that has Obama sporting a 15-point lead. It's the largest lead in any Obama-vs.-McCain poll to date. Will it be an outlier? An important point about THIS poll: "Obama's current lead also reflects the large party-identification advantage the Democrats now enjoy—55 percent of all voters call themselves Democrats or say they lean toward the party while just 36 percent call themselves Republicans or lean that way. Even as McCain seeks to gain voters by distancing himself from the unpopular Bush and emphasizing his maverick image, he is suffering from the GOP's poor reputation among many voters. Still, history provides hope for the GOP."
VIDEO: Hardball guest host David Shuster and panel discuss the latest Newsweek poll in which Barack Obama leads John McCain 51 percent to 36 percent among registered voters. We learned a lot about Obama's summer campaign plans in the
Sunday New York Times . "Future commercials could run on big national showcases like the Olympics in August and smaller cable networks like MTV and Black Entertainment Television that appeal to specific demographic and interest groups. He is also dispatching paid staff members to all states, an unusual move by the standards of modern presidential campaigns where the fight is often contained to contested territories.”
More: "Free from the constraints of public financing, Mr. Obama’s budget for the rest of the year could exceed $300 million, campaign and party officials have said. But his fund-raising slowed in May, when the campaign raised about $22 million — almost $10 million less than in April and a large decline from the record amounts he was taking in earlier this year. The decline was evidence that he might have to invest substantial time at fund-raising to match the levels he set in the first quarter this year."
The Washington Post : "[E]ven as McCain's strategists claim tactical victories, Republicans outside the campaign worry that underlying weaknesses in its organization and message are costing him valuable time to make the case for his own candidacy. Allies complain that the campaign has offered myriad confusing themes that lurch between pitching McCain as a committed conservative one day and an independent-minded reformer the next, while displaying little of the discipline and focus that characterized President Bush's successful campaigns. Several Republican supporters of the presumptive nominee said they were puzzled by a series of easily avoidable mistakes, including sloppy political stagecraft and poorly timed comments that undercut McCain's reputation as a maverick."
"But as the criticisms mount, McCain has begun to make some changes to his operation and adapt to a general-election race against a well-funded opponent with a large and sophisticated political organization. At the request of campaign manager Rick Davis, senior adviser Steve Schmidt will leave McCain's side on the trail and return to headquarters for what a source said will be a ‘much greater operational role’ in the campaign… Former Bush communications director Nicolle Wallace joined McCain's campaign as a senior strategist in May. Last week, she spent time with McCain on his plane for the first time. Matt McDonald, another veteran of the Bush and Schwarzenegger teams, has also been added to the campaign.”
Newsweek profiled Cindy McCain and notes how badly she would like to keep her privacy. "Occasionally, Cindy has allowed some of the walls to come down. She's clearly more comfortable when her kids are near. Her daughter Meghan regularly publishes candid pictures of her mom on her blog—including photos of Cindy in the giant fuzzy slippers she wears in hotel rooms on the road, and dressed in pink polka-dot pajamas before bed. In Vietnam, Meghan teased her mother for committing a major fashion faux pas: wearing her hair in a scrunchy. ‘A scrunchy, Mom? Really?’ Meghan said. ‘What?’ Cindy said. ‘I'm not cool?’”
CONTINUED >>
The Washington Post front-pages that Obama has worked to reintroduce himself in the opening weeks of the general election. Obama “has moved aggressively to shape his campaign and offered a clear road map for the kind of candidate he is likely to become in the months ahead: an ambitious gamer of the electoral map, a ruthless fundraiser and a scrupulous manager of his own biography in the face of persistent concerns about how he is perceived. Obama's early maneuvers suggest a clear understanding within the campaign of his strengths and weaknesses.”
VIDEO: The race for the White House is entering a new stage, with the Republican and Democratic candidates outlining strategies for the general election. NBC's Kevin Corke reports. The piece also makes this point about Obama’s decision to opt out of the public financing system, which has drawn plenty of criticism. “Yet Obama's advocates also argue a positive lesson about their candidate's character can be drawn from the decision: that Obama is willing to take political risks in order to win. His toughness as a politician was often questioned during the Democratic primary, as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton cast herself as the only Democrat able to do hand-to-hand combat with Republicans. ‘People and commentators have been saying we know Barack is hopeful and that he appeals to a broad cross section of the public,’ [Obama friend and adviser Valerie] Jarrett said. ‘But perhaps people didn't know how tough he is. He's been saying all along, don't confuse hope with naivete.’”
The Los Angeles Times notes that Obama’s campaign is “quietly laying plans to draw African American voters to the polls in unprecedented numbers by capitalizing on the excitement over the prospect of electing the nation's first black president. Obama strategists believe they have identified a gold mine of new and potentially decisive Democratic voters in at least five battleground states -- voters who failed to turn out in the past but can be mobilized this time… In Florida alone, more than half a million black registered voters stayed home in 2004. Hundreds of thousands more African Americans are eligible to vote but not registered. And campaign analysts have identified similar potential in North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri and Ohio.”
But: “The strategy requires a deft touch and carries risks… Strategists say he cannot afford to appear to be exploiting race or running solely as a black candidate -- particularly as he courts moderate whites and blue-collar workers who did not support him in the primaries.”
CONTINUED >>
Biden, on NBC's Meet the Press, said of being VP: "'When I was asked that question, I thought I was still going to be president. Now - number one, I am not interested in being vice president. I've let the candidate know. If the candidate asks me to be vice president, the answer is I got to say yes. But he's not going to ask me." He continued, "If asked, I will do it," "I've made it clear I do not want to be asked." So his answer would be yes? "Of course it would," Biden said, "because if the presidential nominee thought I could help him win -- am I going to say to the first African-American candidate about to make history in the world that, 'No, I will not help you out like you want me to'? Of course . . . I'll say yes."
VIDEO: Obama supporter Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. and McCain supporter Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. discuss the vice presidency with NBC's Brian Williams on "Meet the Press." A wrap of other comments from NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli… Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)
on CNN : "I am very happy being the governor of the state of Minnesota. [being vice president] is not something I have designs on.”
Tom Ridge on CBS: “If he asks me, we'll have a private conversation and we'll decide whether or not we ought to tell you what we said.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones The debate over how to bring down energy prices has occupied the center of the political stage in recent days, as drivers across the nation face sky-high gas prices, which in turn are driving up costs of food and other goods. Obama campaign's said today that he plans to ease the impact of rising gas prices by cracking down on excessive energy speculation through closing the so-called “Enron Loophole.”
VIDEO: What are the presidential candidates' positions on energy and taxes? NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports on the latest in politics, including recent polling numbers. On the 25-minute call were New Jersey Gov.
Jon Corzine , economic policy director Jason Furman, and energy adviser Elgie Holstein, who was chief of staff at the Department of Energy during the Clinton Administration. The overall theme was a common one -- that
McCain is out of touch with the concerns of working people and more in touch with those of big business. Today, they applied that argument to the issue of energy policy.
"What we’re talking about today is one very important part of Barack Obama’s overall plan, and it’s an overall plan that John McCain disagrees with. In almost every instance, he sides with oil companies and Barack Obama sides with consumers,” Furman said.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli and Matthew E. Berger THE SHORT LIST: a little extra bounce in Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s step” today, after his appearance with McCain last night. “Nobody has asked me for any information or to submit any information and I haven’t talked to Sen. McCain about it or anyone from his campaign about it,” Pawlenty said of the VP question. He added that he and McCain did spend some private time together, chatting about “sports, movies, politics and policy, family.”
VIDEO: CNBC's John Harwood and NBC's Andrea Mitchell discuss potential running mates for Barack Obama and John McCain with NBC's Brian Williams on "Meet the Press." WHAT THEY’RE UP TO: --
Hillary Clinton will speak in DC next Thursday at the Latino Political Leadership Conference, which the organization says will be her “first major political appearance” after suspending her campaign. It comes one day before she is scheduled to join Obama on the trail.
--
Bill Richardson will be honored by the group with the Award for Outstanding Public Service.
Obama’s
meeting with 16 Democratic governors on the economy included several veep candidates, including:
Ted Strickland (OH),
Kathleen Sebelius (KS),
Edward Rendell (PA),
Janet Napolitano (AZ.), and
Richardson .
--
Mike Huckabee again is calling on Republicans to take the high-brow approach, taking on Obama based on his ideas. “Elections ought to be about elevating the best ideas and exposing the worst ones—not engaging in character assassination with half truths, innuendoes, and disputable ‘internet facts,’” Huck writes at his
blog .
ON THE RECORD: Gov.
Tim Kaine (D-VA) tells the
Fredericksburg Free Lance Star that there is “no circumstance” under which he’d leave office early to serve in Obama’s Cabinet, but he didn’t rule out serving as VP if asked. “I’d have a tough choice to make,” he says. Here’s the
video .
The St. Pete Times delves into how Gov. Charlie Crist’s (R-FL) drilling about-face may be tied to VP hopes. In a phone interview, Crist says he believes most Floridians agree with him on at least studying the need for drilling, and discounted the McCain connection as a factor as well. "I'm not going to advocate anything that would hurt Florida," Crist said. "I'm not going to do it."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli and NBC's Cherelle KanteyMichelle Obama received a warm welcome today as she spoke about family issues to a crowd that included some of Hillary Clinton’s top backers.
She praised the effort of the National Partnership for Women and Families to expand policies like paid medical leave and equal pay. “We can work together to make a more mom- and family-friendly nation,” she said. “It’s time for the leaders of this country not only to champion these causes but to fight for the issues every single day.”
VIDEO: As the press speculates about a possible image makeover for Michelle Obama, the potential first lady is suddenly appearing everywhere. NBC's Brian Williams reports. Obama also talked about the demands that campaigning have had on the family, even if her two daughters haven’t been fazed by the attention.
“I’ve always been and will probably always been in some way, shape, or form a working mom,” she said. “I used to get up in the morning and go to an office. Now I get up and go to plane, stand before thousands of people. My kids still don’t care where I am. They’ve always known two parents to work in the household, and as long as we’re back in time for bedtime they could care less where we are.”
Obama also singled out EMILY’s List’s Ellen Malcolm -- a board member of the Partnership and a top Clinton supporter -- for her efforts to elect women across the country.
Speaking earlier, Malcolm struck a note for unity, saying that though one candidate emerged from the primary with more delegates, “both candidates emerged as winners.”
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick immediately followed Michelle Obama, whom he called a "force of nature." “I’m so proud of you, I can’t stand it," Patrick said of the potential future first lady.
Patrick quickly moved to an appeal to former Clinton supporters, using Obama-style rhetoric to unite the bloc of women voters behind Obama’s candidacy and saying he knows there are people out there who have “deep frustration” that her road to the White House has ended.
“Nothing ended this month,” said Patrick. “And nothing will unless we come together.”
Patrick complimented both candidates on their historic runs for the presidency, saying that both Clinton and Obama have the ability to inspire young people. “Thanks to Hillary Clinton, my daughters own imagination is broader,” said Patrick. “And thanks to Obama, ethnicity isn’t destiny.”
“The long march to gender equity didn’t end,” he added, rallying the group to come together to support women’s issues. “Whether we mourn one campaign, or celebrate another, the national community is not repaired.”
Patrick’s rhetoric was reminiscent of an Obama stump speech about uniting the country behind a message of hope. “The nation is ready to consider new politics,” he said. “[But] it requires all of us to reach across our differences, see a stake in our neighbor’s dreams and struggles.”
Months after the Clinton campaign accused Obama of borrowing lines from Patrick speeches, the Massachusetts governor seemed to repeat familiar themes used on the Obama trail. He remarked about the pressing need for change in Washington, similar to Obama’s line about Dr. Martin Luther King’s “fierce urgency of now.”
“People say, why are you so impatient?” he said. “I say, ‘why aren’t you?’ We don’t have time for division. Let’s get on with it.”
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum Mike Bloomberg called on those in attendance to defend Obama against a "whisper campaign" that the presumptive Democratic nominee is a radical Muslim and commended McCain for sticking up for his opponent.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain defended the North American Free Trade Agreement and notably avoided any talk of his opponent.
Speaking over lunch, McCain lauded NAFTA as the creator of 25 million jobs in the United States and more than 4 million jobs here in Canada, but rather than explicitly attacking Obama over his desire to renegotiate the agreement -- as he has done for months when speaking on the topic -- today McCain merely nodded in his direction.
“Even now, for all the successes of NAFTA, we have to defend it without equivocation in political debate, because it is critical to the future of so many Canadian and American workers and businesses,” McCain said, vaguely alluding to his opponent. “Demanding unilateral changes and threatening to abrogate an agreement that has increased trade and prosperity is nothing more than retreating behind protectionist walls.”
For much of the speech, McCain stuck to the stated intent of his trip up north, thanking Canada for its support as a partner in trade and in Afghanistan, and he assured those present that if he were to become president he would do his best “to expand these ties of friendship and cooperation between our two nations.”
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy McCain's campaign issued a statement under his name, hitting Obama on NAFTA:
"For months, Barack Obama said that he would 'make sure that we renegotiate' NAFTA, demanded unilateral changes and threatened to unilaterally withdraw if he did not get his way. Barack Obama knew better. America has not had a protectionist president since Herbert Hoover, but Barack Obama held his position anyway to further his cynical political purposes in the primary campaign. Now he claims: 'I'm not a big believer in doing things unilaterally.' Barack Obama should know words matter -- especially in a campaign based on rhetoric rather than a record of accomplishment. The American people and our allies deserve better than calculated efforts to re-invent positions to sound less irresponsible."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro As expected, Brad Woodhouse is moving to the DNC.
WashingtonPost.com's Chris Cillizza reports : "The takeover of the Democratic National Committee by Barack Obama's campaign continues apace with the hiring of communications operative Brad Woodhouse at the national party committee.
"Woodhouse will share duties with current communications director Karen Finney -- a similar setup to the one the Obama campaign has put in place with other recent moves such as installing Paul Tewes as the de facto executive director of the committee but leaving current DNC executive director Tom McMahon in his job. Those familiar with the setup say that Finney will remain a spokesperson for the DNC while Woodhouse will run the day to day operations of the organization. All of the current DNC press staff will remain in place."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro It wasn't just the Obama campaign on the attack today. The McCain campaign got in a few shots of its own.
"Because of his rapid ascent and the relative lack of record from which the American people can judge, the words that Barack Obama uses deserve a level of scrutiny befitting the importance that he places on them," writes McCain message maestro Steve Schmidt in a memo to reporters (see full memo after the jump.) "But when examined closely, more often than not these words are empty of any meaning in the light of his record and reality."
VIDEO: Flip-flopping on a prior pledge, Barack Obama says he's not going to take public funding for his White House bid. His opponent, John McCain blasts the decision. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. The memo goes on to hit Obama on public financing, "running a different type Of campaign," trade, taxes, the 2005 energy bill, Iraq and Jerusalem.
Some key shots: On public financing: "This change in position comes after nearly two years of speaking to and signing his name to his commitment to the public financing system. ... Yet, in the end, Barack Obama's words were empty and he decided to break his pledge to accept public financing in the general election.
On running a different type of campaign: "The McCain campaign has made a good faith effort to reach out to Barack Obama offering to go Iraq together and hold 10 joint town hall meetings. These offers came after Barack Obama pledged to meet "anywhere, anytime" However, Barack Obama has rejected each and every offer to raise the dialogue in this campaign. As the St. Petersburg Times wrote today, Barack Obama's words come down to "cynical political calculations," not the new politics he promised.
On Jerusalem: "Obama clearly said that Jerusalem should be the "undivided" capital of Israel. Barack Obama and his advisers knew what this word would mean to his audience. ... Yet, only a day later, Barack Obama said the future of Jerusalem would have to be negotiated by Israel and the Palestinians. Barack Obama was no longer prepared to say that Jerusalem should be undivided."
And there's plenty more where that came from.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones McCain is speaking in Canada, a partner in the North American Free Trade agreement, Obama surrogates held a conference call to bash the Arizona senator on his record on trade, saying he would continue George Bush's "failed trade policies" that have hurt America's industrial heartland.
On the call were Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown , Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm . Ohio and Michigan are key battleground states that Obama is fighting to win in November and they are also states that have faced particular economic hardship, with numerous jobs lost, many of them as companies shipped them overseas.
The call coincided with the end Obama's two-week economic tour during which he delivered policy speeches and held roundtables on an issue that is at the top of voters minds this election year.
Brown talked about the job losses faced in Ohio, some 200,000 lost manufacturing jobs since Bush took office.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro
While trade has been the dominant topic today with McCain speaking in Canada on the topic (and both campaign criticizing each other), the Obama campaign also took time out to hit McCain on a meeting he had with Hispanic leaders and various other perceived “flip flops” this week.
Politico reports McCain assured Hispanics that he would push for comprehensive immigration reform. To that, Obama Communications Director Robert Gibbs dubbed today, “The end of pander week aboard the Double Talk Express.”
Gibbs said his stance on immigration reform is a contradiction from what he said at the Republican debate at the Reagan Library where he said, “No I would not” vote again for the comprehensive immigration reform package he had voted for the previous year. In New Hampshire, McCain called that vote a mistake after an outcry from the right.
Gibbs went on to cite McCain’s positions on off shore oil drilling and abortion. On Tuesday, McCain proposed lifting the moratorium on off shore drilling, but in 1999, “championed the off shore oil drilling ban in California,” Gibbs said. Gibbs added that McCain’s new position was a pander to the oil executives McCain was speaking to in Houston where he proposed lifting the ban.
McCain said that with gas prices at record highs it was imperative to expand energy options.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Obama campaign wanting to show more control over Democratic independent groups -- and maybe more importantly, those groups listening -- MoveOn.org has shuttered its 527. (See release and e-mail to supporters after the jump.)
Obama camp will likely try to take the high road on the issue of 527s, particularly if 527s ramp up efforts for McCain . Thus far, Obama has benefitted more than McCain from independent groups like MoveOn.
*** UPDATE ***
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew E. Berger
In his first primary ad, “Choices,” Obama opened the ad with excerpts from his 2004 Democratic National Convention to give him instant credibility. It focused on his time as a community organizer, highlighting his community service and value in social change. It featured Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe describing him as “brilliant,” and the ad shows Obama working with a diverse community in Chicago.
As he unveils himself to general-election audiences in the new ad, “Country I Love,” Obama is more subdued. The first still image is of a young Obama in the arms of his white mother (also ran in his ad “Mother”). The script speaks not of his post-college years, but of his Kansas roots and the values he learned along the way. Instead of showing Obama in urban environment, he is surrounded in this ad by working-class people, military men and even an elderly woman.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones CHICAGO, Ill. -- The economy was the topic when Obama met with just over half the nation's Democratic governors Friday morning in the city his campaign has made a center of national party politics this election year.
The 16 governors -- there are 28 Democratic governors nationwide -- hail from blue states, red states and swing states. In attendance were Dave Freudenthal (WY), John Baldacci (ME), David Paterson (NY), Joe Manchin , III (WV), Ted Strickland (OH), Kathleen Sebelius (KS), Edward Rendell (PA), Janet Napolitano (AZ), Jim Doyle (WS), Jennifer Granholm (MI), Bill Richardson (NM), Martin O'Malley (MD), Christine Gregoire (WA), Jon Corzine (NJ), Mike Easley (NC) and Ted Kulongoski (OR).
Obama said he brought the group together in part because the unique role of governors requires a focus on solutions rather than partisanship
"I've always been struck by the essential common sense and pragmatism of governors in comparison to some of the stuff that goes on in Washington," he said in talking about his interest in working closely with governors during his campaign and during an Obama administration. "You've gotta solve problems; ultimately the buck stops with you. You've gotta balance your budget. If you've got a badly drafted piece of legislation, you're the ones who have to live with it and as a consequence you end up spending less time posturing and trying to score ideological points and more time trying to govern. We need that same approach in Washington."
*** UPDATE ***
CONTINUED >>
NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger , writing for National Journal takes a look at what, if any, harm former President Bill Clinton has done to his legacy:
Hitting the road for his wife's presidential campaign this year, President Clinton largely walked away from the humanitarian work he had become known for since leaving office. Through his advocacy of HIV/AIDS treatment programs in Africa and environmental projects in the United States, Clinton had burnished his image, arguably becoming the most popular Democrat in America.
But with his no-holds-barred style of campaigning for Hillary Rodham Clinton--and of lashing out against the new media, the Democratic Party, and his wife's chief rival, Barack Obama--Clinton lost some of his luster, many observers say.
Some political insiders and the ex-president's associates, though, said they do not think his behavior during the primary season will leave a lasting stain on his reputation. That's especially true abroad, where he is almost universally praised for his good works, analysts say.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro McCain and Obama are in a statistical dead heat in Georgia, according to an InsiderAdvantage poll . McCain leads 44% to 43% over Obama with the Libertarian candidate, former GOP Rep. Bob Barr, getting 6%.
The poll's results are a change from the same poll a month ago, indicating another state where Obama has benefitted from his winning the Democratic nomination. A May 20th InsiderAdvantage poll showed McCain with a 10-point lead, 45% to 35% over Obama with Barr getting 8%.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Once fierce rivals for their party's nomination, Obama and Clinton will make their most public display of unity to date next Friday.
The two Democrats will campaign together then, the Obama campaign announced. No word yet as to where they will do it or how.
The e-mail release simply stated, "Further details to be announced soon."
*** UPDATE ***
From Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro Two no-brainers: Obama’s decision yesterday to opt out of the public financing system drew plenty of criticism from good-government groups, editorial pages, and the Republican Party. So did his Web video announcing the move. (Instead of raising the specter of GOP 527s, why not simply say that he owed it to his supporters to do everything possible to win in November, and that McCain would do the same thing if he had the opportunity?) But the decision was a no-brainer. As one very smart political observer told us yesterday, if Obama had stayed in the system -- bypassing the opportunity to raise about three times amount what the system offers -- then he’d question Obama’s judgment and ability to be president. Simply put, it would have been a dumb move. Likewise, McCain’s decision to accept public financing for the general seems like the smart move, too. One, $84 million is PLENTY of money to spend in two months when your goal is to hold on to the states Bush won in 2004. Two, even if McCain had opted out, it’s unlikely he’d raise considerably more than that amount. And three, this issue gives him the opportunity to play the reformer card, something he hasn’t done much of lately. Heads up: Obama’s May fundraising report to the FEC is due today. The McCain campaign already announced that it had raised $21.5 million last month, its best haul to date. What will Obama’s campaign show?
VIDEO: Newsweek's Howard Fineman discusses campaign finance politics with Countdown's Keith Olberman after the news that Barack Obama has decided agaisnt using public financing. ***
Obama’s map: The most striking thing about Obama’s first general election TV ad isn’t its content. (And don’t get us wrong, its messages of patriotism and personal responsibility, plus Obama wearing a flag pin in it, are plenty interesting.) Rather, it’s the 18 states where the ad is running. They include your usual battlegrounds of Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- but also some surprising states like Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. Of course, few expect Obama to carry a state like Alaska in the general election (although as the
Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza noted, there’s a poll showing Obama trailing there by just two points). But what the ad placement suggests is that Obama is on the Electoral Map offensive, trying to turn as many red states as possible blue. By comparison, Obama isn’t airing the ad in “Lean Obama” states like Minnesota, which
we profiled here yesterday . And this is perhaps the biggest consequence from Obama’s decision yesterday to opt out of the public financing system: It enables him to play almost anywhere on the map to get to 270.
*** Oh, Canada: Today, McCain heads north of the border to Ottawa, where he gives a speech to the Economic Club of Canada and then has a media avail there. Canada and its conservative government have already played a minor role in this year's presidential race. It was about four months ago -- but it seems much longer ago than that, right? -- when NAFTA-gate exploded as an issue before the Ohio primary. That controversy erupted after someone in the Canadian government leaked word that Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee had told Canadian officials to take Obama's opposition to NAFTA with a grain of salt, something Goolsbee denied saying. Since then, we’ve learned that: 1) Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s top adviser, Ian Brodie, decided to step down from his position, although he insisted NAFTA-gate had nothing to do with it; 2) a Canadian government report concluded that its Foreign Affairs Department was wrong to email an internal report on Obama’s stance to more than 200 Canadian officials, one of whom leaked it to the AP ; and 3) Obama's opposition to NAFTA has softened somewhat. "Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," Obama told Fortune magazine.
*** Breaking the law? Meanwhile, the Washington Post notes that “a Canadian newspaper reported Thursday that Friday's scheduled $100-a-plate luncheon speech by Sen. John McCain in Ottawa was organized in part by U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins, a former South Carolina lawmaker whom President Bush appointed in 2005. Democrats pointed out the article late Thursday night, and alleged that Wilkins's actions could be construed as a violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits many kinds of political activities by government employees.” More: “The McCain campaign said Wilkins did nothing more than help gather a crowd for a speech by a U.S. official, something that is well within his role as an ambassador… [A spokesman] said the $100-per-person ticket price for the event is to cover the cost of the lunch and will not benefit the campaign.”
*** Sunday’s Meet The Press: NBC’s Brian Williams fills in for the late Tim Russert to moderate Sunday’s edition of Meet The Press. The guests will be Sens. Joe Biden (D) and Lindsey Graham (R).
*** On the trail: McCain, as mentioned above, is in Canada. Obama holds an economic discussion with Democratic governors in Chicago and then heads to Jacksonville, FL, where he has a media avail. And Michelle Obama is in DC, where she speaks to the National Partnership for Women and Families.Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
The Washington Post : “Obama will become the first major-party presidential nominee to reject the public funds, passing up nearly $85 million in taxpayer money and instead looking to the 1.5 million donors who contributed to his primary campaign. Given his groundbreaking success in raising money in the Democratic primaries, estimates of how much he could collect for the general-election run to $300 million or more, a sum that would allow the senator from Illinois to compete even in traditionally Republican states.”
