October 2007 Archives
Hillary Clinton heads tomorrow to her alma mater, Wellesley College, and NBC/NJ campaign reporter Athena Jones said she can expect to be greeted by an enthusiastic crowd at the school's alumnae hall.
Amy Bisno, a 19-year-old political science major from New York, said today that she supports Clinton and "everything she stands for."
"I think her health care plan is on target, and I also love that she's from Wellesley," said Bisno, a sophomore.
Clinton and other famous alums are a source of pride for students - but that doesn't mean the campus is a lock for the senator, Jones reports.
"We're definitely really excited that one of our alums is running for president," said Shelly Anand, 21, the college government president, a position Clinton held during her last year in school. "I think it's fair to say, though, that students have their own political opinions. I've definitely seen Barack stickers roaming around and Ron Paul stickers. So I wouldn't say that there's a clear mandate that Wellesley is going to vote for Hillary, but we're definitely proud of her."
Alan Schechter -- Clinton's former politics professor, thesis adviser and long-time supporter -- said Wellesley prepared Clinton and her cohorts well to be leaders.
"There's something about the air around here that encourages women to achieve," he said.
The endorsement release:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Endorses Clinton
The Clinton Campaign today announced the endorsement of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). AFSCME is the nation’s largest public sector union, representing more than 1.4 million workers.
“As our President, Hillary Clinton will help rebuild America’s middle class and make sure that everyone shares in our country’s prosperity. She has a record of leadership, of bringing people together for more than 30 years. Hillary Clinton inspires our members. She sparks the flame we need to win,” said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee.
McEntee said after 10 months of polling and interviewing members and scrutinizing candidates’ records, Clinton stood out from the pack.
“We had the most talented and diverse field of Presidential candidates we’ve seen in years. But when all was said and done, among our members Hillary Clinton clearly emerged as the best candidate to take back the White House for America’s working families,” he said
AFSCME said it would activate a 40,000-member volunteer army to mobilize its members, and launch an unprecedented GOTV effort in Iowa, where it represents 30,000 workers.
“I am honored to receive the support of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,” Clinton said. “In my administration, America’s working families will again have a partner in the White House.”
Clinton has been endorsed by other leading national unions, including the American Federation of Teachers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, National Association of Letter Carriers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and the United Transportation Union.
Sen. John Edwards won the influential endorsement of the New Hampshire Service Employees Association by a slim margin Tuesday night – but only after an initial vote went to Sen. Barack Obama and a later tie vote was broken by the group’s president, a loyal Edwards supporter.
NBC/NJ campaign reporter Aswini Anurabajan reports that Edwards has Rodney Woodill to thank for the win. If Woodill, who represents 900 county and municipal employees, hadn’t received a call from his wife Tuesday night asking him to come home to care for his sick two-week-old baby instead of heading to Concord for the vote, Obama would likely gotten the association’s nod.
The board voted without Woodill, who obliged his wife and returned home. The final count was an eight-to-eight tie between Obama and Edwards. Local 1984’s president Gary Smith cast the deciding vote, handing the support of the 10,000 member union to Edwards.
“If I had gone straight to the meeting, there wouldn’t have been an endorsement for John Edwards last night,” Woodill said in an interview today.
The tight vote was indicative of a union leadership split between the two candidates and revealed a process fraught with internal politics.
The three leading Democratic candidates had lobbied intensely for the committee’s vote. President Clinton called members of the board on his wife’s behalf. Obama showed up to personally make his plea. Edwards also met with the board.
Continue reading "NH SEIU Shenanigans, Endorsement Discontent Abounds" »
From today's Hotline:
"I-- Katie Levinson -- have a better chance of becoming president than he does."
-- Giuliani comm. dir. Katie Levinson, on Joe Biden, release, 10/30.
With an earlier Iowa caucus date, the Des Moines Register will be moving its all-important debates to December 12th and 13th. With apologies to MSNBC, the back-to-back debates (the GOP goes first) in mid-December are probably the most important of the cycle. They represent the last word for candidates in the final weeks before the Jan. 3 caucuses. Expect the CW to be tossed out the window and for surprises to start brewing.
(NBC/NJ's CARRIE DANN)
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
It was their feistiest face-off to date. The Democratic presidential candidates didn't disappoint last night at Drexel U in Philly. In their seventh outing, they did indeed go after the frontrunner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton was hammered hardest by former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, not Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, as expected.
HRC held up relatively well, save two awkward and dodgy answers to questions about the transparency of National Archives records of her time as First Lady and whether she would back Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
Both responses, however, provided fodder for her opponents -- and critics at large -- who have charged she is overly calculating, scripted and engages, as Edwards said last night, in double speak. Clinton, on defense most of the night and lacking some of the humor she exhibited in previous debates, saluted Spitzer's proposal for its practical purposes but then pointed out she hadn't actually endorsed the plan. Losing some of her trademark cool, she chided Tim Russert of NBC for playing a "gotcha" game by even asking the license question.
Clinton also faced relentless criticism in the first third of the debate for her Iraq war vote and for voting with three-quarters of the Senate recently to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist threat. Her opponents stressed that the Iran vote showed HRC hadn't learned from Iraq, that she was making the same mistake in giving President Bush a powerful reason to engage in military action with Iran.
HRC said she does not believe in a "false choice" between doing nothing and going to war.
"I prefer vigorous diplomacy," she said. "I happen to think economic sanctions are part of a vigorous diplomacy."
Edwards, meanwhile, stepped up where Obama faltered. Looking ever the dogged trial attorney to Obama's sometimes meandering and long-winded law professor, Edwards scored points against Clinton -- chastising her for the Iran vote, for not setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and for not being the change agent the country needs.
With all eyes on Obama entering the contest, he failed to make a strong case either for his candidacy or against Clinton's. He even balked on question one of the evening from NBC's Brian Williams, urging him to draw clear distinctions between him and the senator from New York. Obama said last night's match-up was over-hyped. He did, however, seize on Russert's questioning about the National Archives docs. Clinton's non answer about whether they'd be made public exemplified how difficult it will be for the country to start fresh under a second President Clinton, Obama said.
"Not releasing the records at the same time, Hillary, as you're making the claim that this is the basis for your experience is, I think, a problem," he said. "Part of what we have to do is invite the American people back to participate in our government again."
With all the hoopla surrounding the top three Dems, however, the best line of the night -- and the most overlooked performance -- came from Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. In a slam worthy of yucks from a late-night television crowd, Biden took it to Rudy Giuliani. When asked about Rudy's recent rant that Clinton lacks relevant leadership experience, Biden went after the former New York mayor, not the Democratic frontrunner.
"Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency," he said, " ... There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 911. There's nothing else."
Biden's quip might have smacked of sucking up, a premature play for the veep spot perhaps should she win the nomination, but it was nothing compared with Gov. Bill Richardson's blatant move for Hillary's affections. With Hillary on defense on Iran and Iraq, Richardson jumped to her side.
"I'm hearing this holier than thou attitude towards Senator Clinton, and it's bothering me because it's pretty close to personal attacks. ... We need to be positive in this campaign," he said.
Richardson said it's important that the Democrats save their ammunition for the GOP. Sound familiar?
Dennis Kucinich might have offered a spate of thoughtful positions on gas prices and trade and health insurance, but all that will be remembered from his performance last night was that nutso admission that he did indeed see a U.F.O. over Shirley MacLaine's house. Not sure what was worse, his admission or that Russert actually asked about life on other planets.
Sen. Chris Dodd had a decent outing, but is still having trouble losing that Senate speak. I sponsored this, I drafted that ... He did jump in on the license question and was the one of two people onstage (Mr. U.F.O. was the other) to say ok to legalizing marijuana.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Coming in today's Hotline -- all your post-debate analysis, but first, Ron Paul was on the "Tonight Show" last night:
Jay Leno started off by asking him about his career as a doctor, including how many babies he's delivered. Paul: "About 4,000."
Leno: "Two noble professions -- Armed forces, doctor, how did you get into the sleazy one -- politics?"
Paul: "I got fascinating by studying economics and I figured we were on the wrong course."
Asked if he wants to abolish the IRS: "Yeah, that's a good idea."
On Iraq: "It was a mistake to go in. ... I still believe we should follow the Constitution." More: "We made a mistake. We should change it. We should admit it."
Asked his chances of winning: "I have my short comings but the message has no short comings." More: "There probably is a risk I could win."
Asked if he'd take the VP slot: "I probably wouldn't be offered one. It would be real hard for me to accept a vice presidency in an administration I didn't believe in" (NBC, 30). [EMILY GOODIN]
After intense lobbying by the top three Democratic presidential candidates, John Edwards' campaign announced tonight that he won the endorsement of the NH SEIU, reports NBC/NJ campaign reporter Aswini Anburajan. The group's backing brings key money and volunteers to Edwards' campaign in the first-in-the-nation primary state. This is the 12th state SEIU nod for Edwards, including Iowa and California.
Stay tuned for more debate analysis, spin and coverage tomorrow ...
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
And in a final turn of debate madness, Obama was asked about his Halloween plans.
One daughter will be a witch, he said, and the other a mad professor. The senator, however, is pondering wearing a Mitt Romney mask.
"It has two sides to it. It goes in both directions at once," he said.
Is this getting long and a bit loony or is it me? Yes, Russert actually asked Kucinich if he did indeed see a UFO over the actress Shirley MacLaine's house, as she has recounted. And yes, the congressman did see one, he said tonight. And then Kucinich had the good sense to mention that the sighting has not inspired him to move his campaign office to Roswell.
Obama, asked by Russert in a continuation of this other-worldly line of questioning if he believes in E.T. life:
"What i do know is that there's life here on earth," the senator said. "And that we're not attending to life here on earth."
Russert to Clinton -- Are you supportive of Gov. Elliot Spitzer's proposal to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants?
A dodgy HRC said it's a matter of probability. "We have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally" and accidents happen, Clinton said.
But then she bobbed a bit, adding that she did not say she supports the initiative but that she recognizes that Spitzer is attempting to address a broader immigration issue.
Dodd was having none of it. Driving, he said, "is a privilege, not a right."
Obama and Edwards seized the moment as evidence that Clinton is disingenous or prone to waffling. Both went after her for not giving a clear yes or no answer about the Spitzer plan.
Obama says that he's not worried that Republican Mitt Romney recently twice in the same day referred to him as Osama.
"I have confidence in the American people, and I don't pay much attention to what Mitt Romney has to say," Obama said. "... There's no doubt that my background is not typical of a presidential candidate. i think that everybody understands that."
In the only rant, er answer, to win laughs so far this evening, Biden said he's looking forward to running against the former New York mayor. His answer -- further evidence of the burgeoning and premature veepstakes -- came in response to a question about whether Clinton has the experience to be president.
"Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency," he said, " ... There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 911. There's nothing else."
The veepstakes is on in earnest apparently. Gov. Richardson steps up, much as he did when he filed his candidacy papers in Concord today, to defend Clinton from the JRE and Obama attacks.
"I'm hearing this holier than thou attitude towards Senator Clinton, and it's bothering me because it's pretty close to personal attacks. ... We need to be positive in this campaign."
Richardson insisted he has differences of opinion with HRC -- he wants out of Iraq, would get rid of NCLB and thinks Clinton's Iran vote was wrong.
"But I think it's important that we save the ammunition for the Republicans," he said.
Edwards, seizing on Obama's smack, said that Clinton is the candidate of the defense industry and of the drug companies, not a change agent as she pitches.
"Will she be the person who brings about the change in this country?" he said. "I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the tooth fairy but i don't think that's going to happen. ... If people want the status quo then Senator Clinton is your candidate. That's what I believe."
Clinton said progress was made in the 1990s -- until the Supco "handed the presidency to George Bush."
"Change is just a word if you don't have the strength and experience to actually make it happen," she said.
And about that White House experience... Russert asked HRC if she would be willing to release the archives of her communications with her husband during their time in the White House. So that people could evaluate the experience she touts on the campaign trail.
"The archives is moving as rapidly as the archives moves," she said, eyes darting about. "There's about 20 million pieces of paper there. And they are moving and they are releasing as they do their process, and I am fully in favor of that."
Right.
Obama said that answer exemplified "not turning the page."
"Not releasing the records at the same time, Hillary, as you're making the claim that this is the basis for your experience is i think a problem," he said. "Part of what we have to do is invite the American people back to participate in our government again."
Obama, rolling along, said one of the reasons the GOP is eager to fight Hillary is because it's a familiar battle.
"That's a fight they're very comfortable having," he said. "It is the fight that we've been through since the 90s."
The country doesn't need "eight more years of bickering," Obama added.
Game on?
Asked by Russert to respond to Rudy Giuliani's recent assertion that she hasn't the experience, the leadership chops, to be president, HRC cited her 35 years working for children and families, her time in the Senate and the White House as proof she's ready for the job.
"In a perverse way I think that the Republicans and their constant obsession with me demonstrates clearly that they obviously think that i'm communicating effectively about what i will do as president," she said.
She added, her speech quickening: "We've got to turn the page on George Bush and Cheney. In fact we have to throw the book away. This has been a disasterous period in American history."
Seeking to draw attention away from the teased Obama/Clinton showdown, a well prepared and dogged Edwards says that Clinton refuses to impose a timetable on troop withdrawal in Iraq. He, on the other hand, will get combat troops out of Iraq by the end of his first year in office. There is, he said, "a clear difference" between his position and Hillary's.
Because of Clinton's vote last month allowing the Bush administration to declare Iran's 125k Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization, talk of Iran is dominating early debate questioning.
"I am not in favor of this rush for war," Clinton said. " I am also not in favor of doing nothing. Iran is seeking nuclear weapons."
Sanctions and diplomacy are the way to go, Clinton said. Make no mistake about it, though, she will do everything she can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
Sen. Joe Biden said he "will never take my eye off" the Iranian nuclear threat but that an "out of control Pakistan is a bigger threat."
"It's not close," he said.
Sen. Chris Dodd agrees. Pakistan is the "more immediate problem."
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich said he would go a step further, signing a non proliferation treaty. "We must lead the way. We must have a president who understands the danger of these nuclear weapons."
Obama injected some sense into the conversation: "I think all of us are committed to Iran not having nuclear weapons."
Clinton's response:
"I don't think the Republicans got the message that I’m voting and sounding like them," she said. "If you watch their debate last week I seem to be the subject of much conversation and consternation."
HRC said the Republicans are waving their "sabers" for war.
"I want to prevent a rush to war," she said.
Question one from Brian Williams to Obama ... What would come of Obama's get tough on HRC promise to the NYT ... Not so much.
"Some of this stuff gets over-hyped," Obama said, adding that their rivalry was exaggerated.
Obama went on to say, however, that Clinton has been sounding awfully Republicanesque -- for NAFTA before she was against it, for torture before she was against it, for the war in Iraq before she was against it.
"That may be politically savvy, but I don’t tink that offers the clear contrast that we need," Obama said.
If you’re listening to the media reports of the day, tonight’s Democratic presidential debate at Drexel University in Philly promises a bloodbath.
It is, the pundits say, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s moment to leave a floundering field of also-rans behind, to show, as her campaign has pitched again and again, that she has the strength and experience to be president.
Those same marketers of conventional wisdom assert that if Illinois Sen. Barack Obama doesn’t step up tonight with a firm and convincing argument for his candidacy, and with a meaningful critique of Clinton (see Iran or health care or her Iraq vote or the fear of a Bush/Clinton cyclical dynasty), he’s through. He is under enormous pressure to draw tangible distinctions, to get tough, to show his supporters (and funders) that he’s in the fight. Politics of hope, be damned. We’ll see.
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, meanwhile, has so struggled to make headway in the polls that he, too, despite a solid following in Iowa, faces a growing challenge in defining how an Edwards presidency would actually differ from a Clinton or Obama administration. Talk of public financing of campaigns and Clinton’s special interest cash just hasn’t jazzed voters.
But with all the build-up, the candidates have only to look back four years to see that sometimes patience alone, coupled with a steady message of electability, wins out -- even if the on-fire frontrunner once seemed invincible. Frontrunners have a knack for fumbling.
Ask Howard Dean.
But a relentlessly-disciplined Clinton enters the Drexel face-off with undeniably strong national poll numbers and a growing lead in New Hampshire. According to a survey released late last week by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, HRC has a 21-point lead over Obama. And her team is prepping for those anticipated attacks, which could be levied by second tier candidates as well.
“Does the’ politics of hope’ mean launching attacks on one candidate?” wrote Mark Penn, Clinton’s chief strategist, in a memo posted on the campaign’s Website. “Or does it mean laying out a vision for the American people? Does it mean questioning a rival’s integrity? Or does it mean talking about the change we need?”
The debate – the Democrats’ seventh – will be hosted by NBC’s Brian Williams with questions from Tim Russert.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
From today's Hotline:
"The government of the United States is not a place for a president to be an intern."
-- Mitt Romney, on Hillary Clinton's experience, "Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 10/29.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Mitt and Ann Romney sat down with FNC's Hannity:
M. Romney, asked what he thinks of HRC: "I'm sure she's a lovely person. I just think she would take America in a course towards Europe, which would lead us to be a weaker nation. We'd get a weaker military. I think we'd have a weaker economy. I think our family structure would be weaker. And on all those bases, I think America would not remain the great nation it has always been if she were the leader." More: "I think the greatest drawback, beyond the direction she'd take us, is that she's never run anything. She's never had the occasion of being in the private sector running a business or, for that matter, running a state or a city. She hasn't run anything. The government of the United States is not a place for a president to be an intern. You need to have experience actually leading and running things."
A. Romney, on the Mormon issue: "I have been in the perspective where a lot of people are, where they're not familiar with the faith. And I can understand how people would have questions or reservations, because I've been there. I know where people are coming from. ... I think that they don't understand it's a faith based on Christ, and it's a faith based on very Judeo-Christian principles."
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- Bringing Back The I Word" »
Browsing the news today, one cannot help but notice a few interesting parallels between U.S. politicians and their int'l counterparts.
This a.m., Israeli PM Ehud Olmert announced that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and will be undergoing surgery "over the next few months." Olmert, as reported by the AP: "I will be able to carry out my duties fully before the treatment and within hours afterward. ... My doctors ... informed me that there is a full chance of recovery and there is nothing about the tumor that is life-threatening or liable to impair my performance or my ability to carry out the mission which has been bestowed upon me."
Ironically, as NBC/National Journal's Matthew Berger points out, Rudy Giuliani began airing a new radio ad in NH this a.m., "using his prostate cancer experience to drive home his healthcare message." Giuliani, in the ad: "My chance of surviving prostate cancer, and thank God I was cured of it, in the United States, 82%. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44% under socialized medicine." And today, Giuliani again finds himself engaged in a fierce political battle with Hillary Clinton -- just as he was seven and a half years ago (almost exactly to the day) when he first announced his diagnosis.
Meanwhile, on the same day that Giuliani and Olmert are sharing an ironic twist of fate, it is impossible to ignore the parallels presented by the 10/28 election of Argentinian Pres.-elect/First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the first woman elected president in Argentina. Kirchner shares various common threads with HRC -- but as a First Lady, as well as a veteran atty and senator, even Kirchner's resume alone invites the comparisons. Could this possibly be a foreshadowing of things to come in the U.S.?
And although these parallels are mere coincidences, they cannot help but further the perception that the current WH race is, nationally at least, something of a two-man race. Giuliani's primary strategy has centered on presenting himself as the strongest general election candidate against HRC, while many in the media are giddy over the prospect of revisiting the '00 NY SEN street-fight-that-almost-was. So when HRC and Giuliani's storylines somehow find their way into even the int'l news, you have to wonder, how much hope is there for anyone else to really break through? [MAURA O'BRIEN].
Barack Obama appeared on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" this afternoon. And yes, he danced, making his entrance to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love."
The interview wasn't news-making or ground-breaking. Obama danced for a few minutes with host Ellen DeGeneres, made a "surprise" phone call to an "Ellen" viewer and talked about his wife and kids. Some highlights:
DeGeneres, on his dancing: "You got some moves."
Obama: "For a presidential candidate."
DeGeneres: "You're the best dancer so far of the presidential candidates."
Obama: "It's a low bar but I'm pretty sure I've got better moves than Giuliani."
Obama, asked if he'd known he was related to VP Cheney: "We had kept it hidden. He's the black sheep of the family."
DeGeneres: "Maybe you could be him for Halloween."
Obama: "I was thinking about that."
Asked if he feels the pressure, possibly being the first African-American POTUS: "Just being the president, that's pressure enough and so I spend most of my time just thinking about how can I communicate a message of change."
Asked if he would considered HRC for a running mate: "I am just thinking right now about how do I get through the primary. But Hillary Clinton a terrifically accomplished woman. And she is going to be, I think, a formidable candidate during the primary, but she's just a terrific public servant. But, right now, my job is just to make sure I just get through this primary and get the nomination. And to make sure that my wife and kids don't forget who I am during the process."
On gay marriage: "What I would do is immediately set up a civil union that is equal in federal rights so that all the rights conferred by the states are the same. ... In terms of marriage I would say that each religious denomination would make their own decisions."
More Obama: "I do hope I start a trend with the presidential candidate dancing."
DeGeneres: "We have this on tape to taunt them."
And at the beginning of the show, DeGeneres noted: "I haven't paid a lot of attention to the presidential race. I like my politics like I like my men." More DeGeneres: "I have invited all the candidates on the show, including the Republicans, but so far none of them have returned of my calls. So I thought well maybe I need to give them some incentive. So that's why today I'm announcing for the first that the first Republican to appear on my show will get this big basket of Halloween candy." [EMILY GOODIN]
From today's Hotline:
"You never point your gun at the carcass of a dead animal."
-- Mike Huckabee, CNN's "Late Edition," 10/28.
There was a lot of discussion about the situation with Iran and the federal response to the CA wildfires on the Sunday shows this past weekend. But here are are the political highlights:
THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING
Chris Dodd was on "Meet the Press":
Asked if the Senate vote on the Iranian Guards was a de facto vote for war with Iran: "I think it gives a justification for it. That's my concern with it here. Much as you saw back in '02, 2002 in October, the resolution which I supported at the time, said the president ought to look at diplomatic approaches in that language, but clearly had no intention of doing that as we've subsequently learned. And it gave them the argument that the Congress gave overwhelming support, almost by the same vote, I might add. ... Seems to me that's why that vote was such a bad one, and I think Mrs. Clinton, my colleague from New York, cast the wrong vote on that issue, terribly so."
Continue reading "Sunday Snapshot" »
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
From today's Hotline:
"Let's go Rockies!"
-- Giuliani ex-wife Donna Hanover, WOR radio, 10/25.
TV once again, was heavy on the coverage of the CA wildfire. However, there was a little political news:
ABC's Tapper joined Fred Thompson on the campaign trail in FL for "Nightline":
Thompson, on his campaign: "I do things my way. I don't feel like I have to come out and explain to the national media every time I make a decision as to how, when where I want to campaign."
More: "You can't live as much life as I have lived, not just in length but in quality and in terms of things that I have seen, and remain exactly the same person. ... I've had the worst thing that can happen to a father and the best thing that can happen to a father. It gives you a sense of perspective and it frees you up in some ways."
On wife Jeri being one of the most searched terms on Google: "That's one of the things I'm most interested in, too."
More on Jeri: "She refused to behave like a candidate's wife until her husband became a candidate but she refused to go out and refused to go out and defend herself from against being a 'trophy wife' or whatever it is they decided to called her."
Asked if she wanted him to run: "Not that's not a fair characterization of it. She wanted me to do what I felt like I ought to do. She thought that I could do some things for the country and I probably ought to step forward."
Thompson: "I think that when a man has been through the heights and depths of life, and when he's had the tragedies and the blessings of life, as I have, I think you develop an even greater sense of what's important and what's not" (ABC, 10/25). [EMILY GOODIN]
Refuting rumors that an endorsement was imminent, Sen. Sam Brownback declined to pick a horse in the GOP presidential primary this afternoon after an hour-long meeting with Rudy Giuliani in his senate offices. Just a week ago, Brownback told reporters after his speech at the Values Voters Summit that the Republican Party was a pro-life party, which would not nominate a pro-choice candidate and Giuliani was pro-choice.
Today, however, Brownback refused to call Giuliani pro-choice, instead allowing the mayor to explain his own stance on abortion.
“I oppose abortion,” Giuliani said. “I would like to see a society in which there’s no abortion. I think you have to get there by changing people’s minds and hearts. I’m not in favor of changing the law or the rights that presently we give. But I do think that I’m in favor of everything else that would limit the number of abortions, that would increase the number of adoptions and that would move us in a direction of many fewer abortions and if we could get to no abortions based on people’s decisions…I would be in favor of that.”
Brownback didn’t officially confirm whether he would endorse any candidate in the GOP field, but he did say that he was open to meeting with any presidential candidate who was interested in meeting with him.
Given Brownback’s past public criticism of Mitt Romney and his discomfort over Giuliani’s stance on abortion, Fred Thompson is the only other candidate competitive in the national polls who might succeed in gaining an endorsement out of a meeting with Brownback.
“Don’t assume that we’re not [setting up a meeting with Brownback],” said a spokesman for Thompson’s campaign. The Thompson campaign would not confirm if it has tried or will try to arrange a sit down.
[ADAM AIGNER-TREWORGY]
From today's Hotline:
"I have a lot of trouble growing a beard. I don't have a lot of facial hair. He lives in a cave."
-- Barack Obama, on how he differs from Osama bin Laden, NBC/National Journal, 10/24
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
TV, once again, was mostly coverage of the CA wildfires:
Duncan Hunter played "Hardball" last night:
Asked how he accounted for the differences between the people evacuated by the CA wildfires and those evacuated by Katrina: "I went in with rescue task force into New Orleans almost immediately after the hurricane, and when we went to, for example, to the refugee shelters in Houma, Louisiana, which is right next to New Orleans, you had mountains of clothes. They had hot meals. They had good medical care being given right there. And people, in fact, they had a big sign that said, Don't donate any more clothes, we're full up. So sure, you had the downtown disaster scenes that have been played over and over again, but as I went around to the rescue centers and as I was inside the city helping out there, I saw lots of neighbors helping neighbors. But I'll just tell you, in San Diego, we're used to taking hits like this. We're optimistic folks. One of the amazing statistics coming out of this major fire is this. There have been almost no incidents of looting. You have places that have been left open, a lot of them unlocked, and you've got neighbors taking care of neighbors. And you know, San Diegans are optimistic. We're going to rebuild. That's the spirit of this community."
Asked if having Nat'l Guard in Iraq is hurting the fire fighting efforts: "When you have these fires coming off out of these sagebrush flats and canyons, pushed by winds up to 60 miles an hour, you don't put a bunch of bodies in front of them. You try to choke them off at chokepoints, and you try to get your planes and your choppers into the air. So this idea that somehow Afghanistan and Iraq are keeping us in forest fires is nuts" (MSNBC, 10/24).
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- So Far, It's A Red Sox Nation" »
Chris Dodd is up with a new TV ad today, highlighting his ability to achieve results.
The 60-second spot, which will run in IA and on nat'l cable networks, introduces John and Jesse -- two barbers at Jim's in Winterset, IA -- who are engaged in a debate over how Dodd's hair got so white.
Continue reading "A Hairy Situation" »
From today's Hotline:
"If you don't have any self-control, we can deal with that."
-- Bill Clinton, to a "heckler" who claimed 9/11 was a fraud, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 10/24.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Lots of coverage of the CA wildfires last night:
CNN's Henry, on Pres. Bush's trip to CA: "This administration burned so much by Hurricane Katrina, the slow response, they obviously want to show that they have learned lessons, that they want to get a firsthand look, that they want to get as much federal help to the scene as quickly as possible. ... And White House spokeswoman Dana Perino acknowledging that all of this in part sparked by Hurricane Katrina."
More Henry: "Barbara Boxer is jumping on the fact that the California National Guard may not be fully up to speed with all of its equipment because some of its equipment is in Iraq. Dana Perino acknowledging this is a time of war, that's a reality, but she is insisting that the president will make good on his promise to get all the federal assets to California as quickly as possible" ("Situation Room," 10/23).
Duncan Hunter, on Boxer's allegation: "Listen, this is a big stretch and I can tell you I've been chairman of the Armed Services Committee for the last four years. We got 2.5 million people under arms. We got less than 8 percent of those people in the war fighting ... in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... You get a 60 mile an hour wind hitting tender dry sage brush, you can put the entire U.S. Army in front of it and you are not going to stop it and the proof of that is this. ... You simply don't throw a wall of bodies up against an incoming wall of flame that is coming with high winds behind it" ("Live with Dan Abrams," MSNBC, 10/23).
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- Fire Coverage Burns Bright" »
BOSTON, MA -- Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick endorsed Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency on a warm, gusty autumn night in Boston Tuesday.
Several thousand people had gathered on Boston Common to hear Obama speak but it was Patrick who stole the show. He zealously delivered Obama’s message of national reconciliation, while slamming Senator Hillary Clinton without once mentioning her by name.
“A lot of the Democrats are feeling heady these days – we’re sensing victory. We feel like we can reach out and grab at the White House again,” Patrick told the crowd, before warning, “but I’m asking you to beware my friends. Beware because this discontent with Republicans is not enough to ensure a Democratic victory, nor should it be. I believe the challenges before us transcend party partisan politics. We don’t just need a Democrat – we need a leader.”
Continue reading "Patrick Steals The Show At Obama Rally" »
CONCORD -- John McCain has a message to New Hampshire voters -- "I'm baaaack."
That's what the Arizona senator wrote on the notice of elections poster as he filed for the first-in-the-nation primary in Concord 10/23. Eight years after he won the contest, McCain, vowed to do everything he could to preserve the primary tradition, adding that nomination process is "badly broken."
Last week in New Hampshire, McCain hit Mitt Romney on the question of who was a more reliable conservative. Today, he moved the debate to a question of experience, and he put his national security credentials up against the executive backgrounds his main rivals.
"I think it's great to have been mayor of a big city. I think it's great to have been governor of a state," McCain said. "I think it's important that I've been part of every national security issue since. ... My qualifications I think make me far more qualified. I'm not saying anyone's disqualified, I'm saying I'm more qualified."
Continue reading "McCain Files In NH: "I'm Baaaack"" »
Fred Thompson's campaign lost the support of a key GOP operative in New Hampshire, a state he hasn't visited in over 6 weeks. Former Thompson supporter Dan Hughes, a US Marine Corps veteran who served in the White House under Gerald Ford, was announced as the new Vice Chairman of John McCain's New Hampshire leadership team.
The Thompson campaign did not immediately comment on the effect of Hughes' departure to its success in New Hampshire, nor did it release any information on when it plans to file for the NH primary. Tomorrow the campaign travels to South Carolina. Then, after two days with no public events, Thompson heads out west with events planned through Oct. 31, which is cutting it close to New Hampshire's Nov. 2 filing deadline. [ADAM AIGNER TREWORGY]
CONCORD, N.H. - Rudy Giuliani continued to take on his Republican rivals, saying he was the only presidential candidate in either party who has lowered taxes.
Speaking to Lincoln Financial Group staffers, he said his experience helps him understand that lowering taxes will bring more money into the government.
"There's a big difference between all of the candidates and me on taxes," he said. "None of them have ever lowered taxes. Some of them have voted for lowering taxes, some of them haven't. But none of them have ever done it. I actually did it."
Continue reading "Giuliani Goes On Tax Offensive In NH" »
With a community meeting in Coulter in Franklin County on Saturday, John Edwards will become the first Democratic candidate for president to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Tommy Thompson, the Republican former governor of Wisconsin who dropped out in August, had also visited every county, as has Josh Romney, the third son of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Edwards will celebrate the milestone with a “99 County, 50 State Path to Victory” event at Drake University on Saturday [TRICIA MILLER].
From today's Hotline:
"I am well aware this is 'pile on.' I used to play touch football with my brothers and my friends, and I am on the bottom and they are piling on."
-- Hillary Clinton, Des Moines Register, 10/23
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Lots of coverage of the CA wildfires on TV last night but here are highlights from last night's political news:
Valerie Plame Wilson continued her TV rounds, appearing on "LKL" last night:
Wilson, on the CIA editing out large chunks of her book: "The agency has taken the position that I'm not permitted to acknowledge my agency affiliation prior to January 2002. And I can tell you it has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with continual political payback."
Wilson, on why she wrote the book: "I wrote it because I think it's a cautionary tale of the consequences of speaking truth to power. And we are living, I think, in some perilous times. And it's very important that we hold our government to account for its words and deeds" (CNN, 10/22).
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- Eternal Plame" »
In a new mailing sent to IA voters today, Barack Obama’s camp notes the Senator voted against the recent “amendment that raises the risk of war with Iran.”
The piece says, “While other Democrats voted for the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment, Barack Obama opposed another Bush foreign policy fiasco.”
The direct-mail piece comes days after Hillary Clinton sent out a similar letter defending her vote on the Iranian Guard, using one of Obama's key supporters, IL Sen. Dick Durbin, to defend her vote [NORA McALVANAH].
From today's Hotline:
"I think the reason that some 28, 29 percent are not comfortable voting for a Mormon is they think they're voting for Harry Reid."
-- Mitt Romney, on polls showing people aren't comfortable voting for a Mormon, "Face the Nation," CBS, 10/21
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Mitt Romney was on "Face the Nation":
Asked about a Newsweek poll that says 28% won't vote for a Mormon: "I think the reason that some 28, 29 percent are not comfortable voting for a Mormon is they think they're voting for Harry Reid. That's not the case. I think as people say, would you vote for Mitt Romney, and they get to know me and my wife and my family, they realize that our values are as American as any values you'll find in the country, and they're comfortable with us. Of course there will be some who don't come on board. But by and large, people will make their decision not based on where you go to church but instead based upon your values, your vision for the country and your ability to actually help the country at a time of great need."
Asked if he'll ever make a JFK-type speech on religion: "I certainly get a chance almost every day to add one or two things to that speech. I probably could never do something that would compare to what John F. Kennedy did. His was a masterpiece in American political history. But maybe there's a time when I talk mostly about religion, although I don't know. At this stage I'm getting good support across the country. People want to know a bit about my faith. They learned a bit about it. And they say, OK, well, that's fine. Now, what do you think about the jihad? What do you think about being competitive with China? How can you fix our schools? What are you going to do about health care? And those issues overtake any differences with regards to religion they might see. But maybe down the road there will be a speech. Just haven't made a final decision on that."
Continue reading "Sunday Snapshot" »
Hillary Clinton raised an estimated $500,000 at director Rob Reiner's Brentwood home Sunday night, according to her campaign.
"We're all here for one reason," Reiner told a crowd the campaign estimated at around 250 people. "To put the best person in the White House."
Guest donated $2,300 to attend. Chicken and pasta were served.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Former California Gov. Gray Davis, Norman Lear, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Lloyd, and Mary Steenburgen were among the guests who arrived to meet and dine with the New York Senator behind a twenty-five-foot hedge in the tony neighborhood on the west side of the city.
Continue reading "Reiner Raises Big Bucks for Clinton" »
ORLANDO - Rudy Giuliani scored points with Florida voters yesterday with a nearly 30-minute speech at the state GOP's presidential rally ahead of the 10/21 debate. Meanwhile, Fred Thompson's five-minute speech left some undecided voters dissatisfied. The rally was part of Presidency 4, a weekend-long event sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida and costing each candidate $100K to participate in.
The convention crowd was buzzing about Giuliani for hours after yesterday's speech, and even rival campaigns acknowledged that he performed very well. The mayor also managed to sway some voter opinions in his direction. June Hahn, an ambassador for the state party (a selected post similar to a delegate), attended Romney's ice cream social after the rally and said she had been vacillating between Mitt Romney and Giuliani. After the candidates' rally, however, she said her mind was made up and she would vote for Giuliani.
"Rudy set the place on fire," she said. Hahn added that all of the GOP candidates "have the same values," and suggested that the Republican contest will be decided on strength, personality and electability. "We're going up against a woman who's really strong," she noted, explaining that "you can't hate her - she's just really strong."
Continue reading "Rudy's Hot, Fred's Not at Presidency 4 Rally in Fla." »
Although GOPers will end up winning 4 to 6 of LA's 7 statewide offices (including the governorship), the 10/20 election results certainly could have been worse for Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) as she tries to retain her seat in 2008. Saturday's voting showed an LA electorate that is about 1/3 straight-ticket GOPers, 1/3 straight-ticket Dems, and 1/3 swing voters. Taken in aggregate, 64% voted Republican for Insurance Commis, while 68% voted Dem for AG. On the bottom-end of the scale, only 30% voted Dem for GOV, while 32% voted GOP for AG.
Continue reading "Some Southern Comfort For Mary Landrieu" »
The Obama campaign managed to raise $2.1 million dollars in five days as a sign of their determination to close the fundraising gap between itself and the Clinton campaign.
When fundraising totals from the third quarter showed that Hillary Clinton had outraised Barack Obama by $2.1 million, the campaign's grassroots fundraising drive kicked into high gear, and a message was sent out to supporters from Obama that said quite simply, "I need you to make a donation to close the gap."
They finally managed to do so late Friday night, five days after they launched their appeal. The campaign posted a "Thank You, You Closed the Gap," on their website around 2 p.m. 10/20, which was followed by an email to supporters from campaign manager, David Plouffe.
"Late last night your extraordinary efforts closed the gap in resources between us and the Clinton campaign. We had expected that the drive would continue into next week, but the overwhelming response from so many of you accelerated that timetable," Plouffe's email said.
Continue reading "Mind The Gap: Obama Hits Fundraising Goal" »
Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-01) garnered an impressive 54% victory 10/20, becoming the state's fourth GOP Gov since 1900 and avoiding the runoff that four years ago denied him the governorship. State Sen. Walter Boasso (D), businessman John Georges (I) and PSC Commis. Foster Campbell (D) all lagged, coming in below 20%.
Jindal's victory was wide-reaching, as he won 60 of LA's 64 parishes. Most importantly, he captured impressive majorities in the heavily GOP N. LA parishes that he lost to Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) in the '03 runoff. Jindal focused on winning those areas, and recently boasted that he's made 77 trips to N. LA during the campaign. Those trips appeared to have paid off.
Emblematic of their problems statewide, Dems could do no better than 3rd place in the heavily Dem territory of Orleans Parish, home of New Orleans. Georges came in first, and Jindal captured second. Mayor Ray Nagin's (D) endorsement of Georges appeared to have moved undecided voters to Georges in the waning days there.
With Jindal's victory, there will now be a special election in his First Congressional District. There will be no shortage of candidates in the heavily GOP CD. [TIM SAHD] For full results click here :
Continue reading "Jindal All The Way" »
From today's Hotline:
"Well, the president first and foremost is grateful he's not a candidate this year. He's glad he's not out there."
-- WH press. sec. Dana Perino, on the early '08 primary calendar, Des Moines Register, 10/19.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Sam Brownback drops out of the WH race and Mike Huckabee gets a lot of TV interviews:
Huckabee was profiled on "World News Tonight" as part of its "Who Is" series:
Huckabee: "I still remember my father taking me to meet the governor of Arkansas when I was eight years old. And he said 'Son, you may live your whole life and you may never get to meet a governor in person.' And to think and his son could become one. Only in America."
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- TV Likes Mike" »
On the day of the unveiling of his four-day “true blue majority” campaign, John Edwards continues to aggressively push his message of electability. Elected Democrats in battleground states will hold press conferences to argue that with Edwards at the top of the ticket, Democrats can build on their majorities in the House and the Senate.
Senior adviser Joe Trippi sent out a fundraising e-mail touting the new initiative:
“In states like Texas, Oklahoma, Maine, Wisconsin, Georgia, Virginia, North Dakota and Missouri, John Edwards enjoys strong support from Democratic legislators and leaders,” he wrote. “They understand that the Democratic Party needs a nominee who can compete – and win – in red, blue and purple states across the country and help sweep Democrats at all levels to victory in 2008.”
Continue reading "Don't Be Blue: Edwards Pushes Red State Electability Message" »
Hillary Clinton strategist/Microtrends author Mark Penn spoke to reporters at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast this a.m., where he downplayed recent talk of Clinton's inevitability. With his trademark Diet Coke in front of him and a PowerPoint presentation behind him (which, sadly, went unused), Penn confidently asserted, "we are running a primary campaign" and "this race is certainty not over."
Penn added: "She's out there virtually every day with new policy proposals. She's doing the opposite of someone sitting back. ... We understand full well how quickly these things change."
When asked about the GOP field, Penn said: "I don't think the Republican Party has any, real outstanding stars, and I don't think the Republicans even think that they have that."
As for interesting Penn-isms, there weren't many, although he did talk a little about how "Swing is King." The self-described numbers junkie also stayed away from showing his polling hand, but he did tip-off reporters to one "major unexpected factor." Noting the "emotional element" of having a women in the WH, Penn said: "I think you're going to see 24% of Republican women defect and make a major difference nationwide" [NORA MCALVANAH]
From today's Hotline:
"I'm still adjusting because I don't like going to church for three hours every Sunday. That's rough!"
-- Ann Romney, on her conversion to Mormonism, NBC/National Journal, 10/18.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
AP is reporting that Sen. Sam Brownback will withdraw from the WH'08 race today. More coming ...
Barack Obama appeared on the "Tonight Show" last night:
On Lynne Cheney saying he and Dick Cheney are eighth cousins: "How 'bout that? Not kissing cousins. ... I actually did know. People have been doing these genealogical studies of me, and I've got all sorts of rogues in my background. You're always hoping for kings and great leaders. ... Turns out it's the cattle wrestler."
Asked if his approval rating has dropped as a result of this discovery: "The truth is, I'm okay with it. Now, I don't want to be invited to the family hunting party. ... True story: My three-year-old, who is now six ... was at the mock swearing in, where you become a senator. Cheney shakes hands with me and Michelle and our older daughter, and my youngest daughter decides to give him a five. So, she was trying to get him accustomed to his peeps."
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- All About Tonight" »
"I wasn't the world's greatest athlete, if you hadn't heard that. You might think 'Well, you're tall enough, you're six-foot-two, you must have been good at basketball.' No, not really."
- Mitt Romney, in Davenport, IA, 10/17.
From today's Hotline:
"We were going to have to move to stay first, so we just did."
-- IA GOP exec. dir. Chuck Launder, on moving the caucus to 1/3, Los Angeles Times, 10/17.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Judith Giuliani proves there are second acts in life with her interview on "Hannity & Colmes" last night:
Rudy and Judith Giuliani were on "Hannity & Colmes" last night:
J. Giuliani, asked to tell people about herself: "Well, I have never been in politics before ... so this is all completely new to me. And I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. My parents were married 55 years this year. And I trained as registered nurse in a town not too far away from the house I grew up in. And I spent nearly a decade of my life working as a single mom. I struggled financially during that period of time. And I worked and went to New York University both at night and on the weekends. Sometimes I had to take my daughter with me when I couldn't afford a babysitter. And eventually I landed a job at Bristol-Myers Squibb. So by the time I met Rudy, I was one of the top managers in the country. And so I'm an optimist; I know that, through hard work, everyone can prevail."
FNC's Hannity: "That's the American story."
R. Giuliani, on J. Giuliani calling him during his speech: "I've become technologically more proficient. I figured out how to put it on vibrate. She helped me put it on vibrate. If anybody is offended by it, won't do it again."
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- Second Acts" »
You can now call her Rep. Niki Tsongas (D). Her campaign declared victory just after 9 PM over the insurgent campaign of ret. USAF Lt. Col. Jim Ogonowski (R). Results, with 86% of precincts reporting:
Tsongas (D) 51% 46,542
Ogonowski (R) 46% 41,508
Murphy (I) 2% 1,428
Hayes (I) 1% 970
Thompson (C) 0% 429
Ogonowski, who was outraised 4-1, ran an underdog, outsider-themed campaign. Leading up to election day, polls showed a close race, and Ogonowski appeared to have the momentum. But in the end, the demographics of the CD, as well as Tsongas' financial advantage, proved to be the difference. [TIM SAHD]
The following are derived from FEC filings for the 2008 cycle ending 09/30/07. Incumbents are in CAPS. The column "Total Receipts" (Line 16 on FEC form 3) includes all donations, transfers, cmte money, loans/contributions made by the candidate, and interest earned on the account. The "Individual Contributions" column reflects FEC line 11(a-iii), which only includes money raised from individuals other than the candidate. "PACs" (FEC line 11c) may include money transferred from other candidates' cmtes. "Operating Expenditures" is line 7(c).
Continue reading "Senate FEC Reports -- Watts, Warner Bust A Move" »
From today's Hotline:
"Well, I certainly am now."
-- Sen. Larry Craig, asked if he was aware of the MN airport bathroom's "reputation," NBC release, 10/15.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Hillary Clinton was on "The View" 10/15:
On the difference of running as a woman: "Look how much longer it takes for me to get ready." More: "I do think that there still is, you know, probably a tougher standard for women, especially running for president. I mean, we've all been through it in some way or another. Where you go and you try to break a barrier, you try to do the best you can, and people are saying, 'Well, I don't like her clothes,' or, 'I don't like her hair,' or whatever." [EMILY GOODIN]
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- The View From The Couch" »
Ex-New Hampshire Democractic Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan endorsed Hillary Clinton for president 10/15 on a call with NH reporters.
Sullivan will serve as HRC's New Hampshire co-chair, reports "New Hampshire Presidential Watch", and said she is supporting Hillary because "she's the best person to be president."
Unionleader.com notes that Sullivan has "strongly defended Clinton" as other campaigns attacked her last week for remaining on the MI primary ballot.
From today's Hotline:
"If I believed in polls, then five years ago I would have backed the war in Iraq like she did."
-- Barack Obama, on polls showing he continues to trail Hillary Clinton, "Early Show," CBS, 10/15.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
John McCain was on "Face the Nation":
Asked if he was accusing Romney of being a con when he said he was the only real GOPer in the race, McCain: "I don't think that it's appropriate to say, as Governor Romney did, that he's the only person that represents the Republican Party. In fact, he certainly doesn't represent the Republican Party that he characterized himself as such some years ago."
Asked if it's Romney's abortion position: "It's not just the abortion issue, although he certainly was passionate in his advocacy for being pro-choice. ... I mean, look at literally every major issue, whether it be immigration reform or taxes or immigration or any other issue. There has been changes in his position and perhaps all of those are evolved. But I think that that brings to mind the question is, isn't consistency on fundamental issues an important factor in this race? And I don't think that consistency has been there."
On Giuliani being against the line-item veto: "I think an advocacy of opposing the line-item veto is opposing what 43 governors or 50 governors have, taking to court so that you can preserve pork-barrel projects within the City of New York is not what Republicans are all about. ... And so it is in direct contradiction, I think, to a fundamental Republican principle of being economic conservatives and eliminating waste and pork-barrel projects if you oppose the line-item veto. We can write and have now written a line-item veto which we are confident the United States Supreme Court will declare constitutional. And with all this wasteful spending out of control, with our Republican base becoming angered and dispirited, the former members of Congress in jail, then we ought to give the president of the United States the same power that 43 governors in America have, and they have to balance their budgets."
On Iran: "That's not the time to call in the lawyers, as Governor Romney stated. I meant that there are many experts, as is well known, believe that Iran is within about two years of reaching a tipping point. In other words, they have achieved enough technical capability and enough material that inexorably they would acquire a nuclear weapon or weapons. That's the tipping point in the view of many experts. And in the view of some, that if we didn't take action before that time, then we would be placing -- then Iran would be on the path that is -- would lead to the acquisition of nuclear weapons" (CBS, 10/14).
Continue reading "Sunday Snapshot" »
John Edwards has made his criticism of Hillary Clinton's vote to classify the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization part of his stump speech, but at a house party in Dover, NH on 10/14 he added to it.
On, 10/13, Clinton repeated her response to Edwards' criticism, saying that she saw her vote as a way to apply diplomatic pressure to Iran. In 10/14 New York Times, however, "backers" were cited as saying it was a sign that Clinton was shifting from primary to general election mode, bulking up her national security credentials in anticipation of facing a Republican with a tough national security reputation iin the general election.
"Instead of primary mode and general election mode," Edwards said, "how about we do tell the truth mode all the time?" [TRICIA MILLER]
Rudy Giuliani looked to take the high road in a simmering debate about Republican bona fides while touting his record as a fiscal conservative in New Hampshire today. And, he said he'd keep this nation safe, even if an attack came from outer space.
Giuliani started his day with a visit to a diner in Portsmouth, where he sampled a bagel and some coffee and mingled with patrons. Asked by reporters afterward about the back-and-forth over GOP credentials, Giuliani noted his record as mayor of New York and said he had "the strongest results." "Honestly I have the only results," he said. "I'm the only one who reduced taxes. ... I'm the one who supported the Bush tax cuts from the very, very beginning."
Continue reading "Giuliani in NH: Putting Up His GOP Creds" »
White House Democrats continued to skirmish 10/12 over Iran:
---In Atlanta, where she received the endorsement of Rep. John Lewis, Hillary Clinton said her statement 10/11 in New Hampshire that the United States should negotiate with Iran was not the same as saying the U.S. president should meet with the country's leader.
Rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards have pounced on what they have called a flip-flop on this issue.
"What I have been saying for a long time is that the United States of America should negotiate with Iran," Clinton said. "That's a very big difference between setting up a structure for diplomatic negotiations than saying that as president, any president, would meet with dictators of countries like that in the first year personally without preconditions," she said, referring to Obama's statement in a July debate that he would meet personally with the leaders of Iran and other countries in his first year.
Clinton reiterated that her vote to call Iran's army a terrorist organization was in no way meant to lay the foundation for a later attack on the country, but to apply diplomatic pressure to the country. [ATHENA JONES]
--In Iowa, Joe Biden responded to a question about Hillary Clinton's vote for the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment by criticizing both Clinton and Obama. Biden: "I think from my perspective it was a serious mistake. And I think Sen. Obama who was campaigning instead of voting, I wonder why he wasn't there to vote. We all knew that this vote was coming up." [CARRIE DANN]
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Rudy Giuliani became the first Republican presidential candidate to pick up the support from one of his formal rivals, as former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson gave the former New York City mayor his endorsement.
"I want a candidate that can lead and bring America together," Thompson told a small group of supporters at a downtown hotel. "And that's Rudy Giuliani."
Thompson, who served the Bush administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said he heard from some people that Giuliani was not conservative enough, but believed he showed his true colors by cutting taxes and welfare roles in New York.
"Then I thought to myself, if in fact I have to wait around for the perfect candidate ... I might as well wait another five years," he said. In the end, Thompson said he believed Giuliani was the most likely to defeat Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Continue reading "Thompson (Tommy That Is) Endorses Giuliani" »
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Rudy Giuliani took "full responsibility" for not properly vetting Bernard Kerik Friday, as news surfaced in New York City that the former mayor's police commissioner is likely to be indicted on federal bribery and tax evasion charges.
"I take the responsibility," Giuliani said at a press conference, where former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson announced his endorsement. "We should have known about [Kerik's problems.] We should have dealt with them. We didn't. It was my mistake. I made it. I am sorry for it. I've learned from it."
At the same time, Giuliani defended Kerik as an "excellent police commissioner" and said that on balance, his thousands of appointments were predominantly positive.
"But I think you have to look at the thousands of choices I've made of people, and you have to look at the results that I got," he said. "I must have been making the decisions about people mostly correctly, because I was able to reduce crime by 66 percent."
Giuliani said he would not comment on the specifics of Kerik's case. The New York Daily News reported Friday that federal prosecutors were planning to indict Kerik on charges of bribery, tax fraud and obstruction of justice next month. Kerik's attorney's said Friday that they would meet with prosecutors before indictments came down. [MATT BERGER]
From today's Hotline:
"Last time I checked, the vast majority of Kentuckians had never been indicted."
-- KY GOV nominee Steve Beshear (D), responding to Gov. Fletcher's claim that Beshear lacks KY values (AP, 10/11).
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
The '08ers continue to get in their tube time:
Hillary Clinton was on "Countdown" last night:
On the GOPers mentioning her at their debate: "I guess if you don't have anything positive to say about yourself or your record or your vision for America, that might be an alternative, but you know, I'm running my campaign. I can't worry about what they're doing. It is something, though, that a lot of my friends have noticed, and one of them I thought, rather funny, who said to me, you know, when you get to be our age, it's kind of nice to have all these men obsessed with you. I guess I could put that spin on it." [EMILY GOODIN]
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- Before The Gore Coverage Begins" »
From today's Hotline:
"Let's go back to Iraq. That's easier."
-- Lynne Cheney, after Jon Stewart asked her about the Cheneys' home life, "Daily Show," Comedy Central, 10/10.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
There was still a lot of post-debate talk last night but we'll focus on the '08ers who were on TV last night:
John Edwards was on "NewsHour" as part of their WH '08 series:
Asked if the country is in the mood for his poverty message: "It's going to be the message, whether they listen or not, because I do believe deeply in it. I don't think poverty is the only issue facing the country. I think the middle class is struggling dramatically. We're becoming a country made up of a few rich people and everybody else."
On being criticized for being rich and talking about poverty: "I think people are naturally cynical, and it's understandable. I mean, they've had politicians deceiving them for a long time, and it's not surprising to me at all that people would be cynical of somebody who's done well, like myself, talking about these issues. But it is at the core of why I'm running for president, to speak for the kind of people that I come from and grew up with."
Continue reading "Hotline After Dark -- Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor ..." »
"Lifelong" Boston Red Sox fan Chris Dodd announced today that he and "one supporter chosen at random" will watch Game Six of the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park on 10/20.
Entrants must make a minimum contribution of $20.04 -- "in honor of" 2004, "the last time the Red Sox won the World Series" -- "and you have as good a shot as anyone else to attend the game." Meanwhile, supporters who recruit 24 friends to sign up at ChrisDodd.com are also entered. Dodd, in a statement: "My campaign is about getting results, and I'm confident the Red Sox are as well. But they can't do it alone, nor can I, so I am hoping for some help by my side when I cheer them to victory."
But what if the Red Sox clinch the ALCS before Game Six? Dodd and the winning supporter will "be sitting together for Game Two of the World Series in Fenway Park." Okay, but here's the real question: What if the Red Sox are knocked out before Game Six? The Dodd camp notes, "if by some strange twist of fate our Red Sox don't play a Game 6, or don't make it to the World Series, you and your guest are invited to spend a day on the Presidential campaign trail with Senator Dodd in Iowa or New Hampshire. We will fly you to Iowa or New Hampshire (if necessary) and put you up for a night." Boy, talk about a consolation prize.
And keep in mind, Dodd doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to baseball challenges. On 9/14, Dodd challenged Bill Richardson to a "friendly wager" over the 9/14-9/16 Red Sox series against the New York Yankees. However, Richardson did not accept the bet, and denied that he was even a Yankees fan, as Dodd had claimed. Meanwhile, the Yankees won the three-game series, two games to one. [MAURA O'BRIEN]
From today's Hotline:
"It wasn't government's job to spend millions to save buggy whip factories and haberdashers when cars replaced carriages and men stopped wearing hats."
-- John McCain, on MI's struggling economy, Chicago Tribune, 10/10.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Fred Thompson joins his first GOP debate and dominates the post-pundit talk:
Newsweek's Fineman: "Overall Rudy did himself the most good. And I think it was interesting that he took on Romney, because Romney is still ahead in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. So Rudy, who has a national lead, is trying to now play local politics, going after him in the two states where Romney is still ahead" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
NBC's Todd: "Romney, you know, he mentioned Michigan. He was very careful. He knew exactly where he was. So he mentioned Michigan and drop of a hat had a Jennifer Granholm joke. So it was like, note M for Michigan" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
FNC's Cameron, on Thompson: "He came to this with an awful high expectation in folks thinking that he really needed to knock it out of the park, perhaps falling short of that. But no major mistakes and with Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani going at it hammer and tongue, Fred Thompson took center stage and gets out unscathed" ("Special Report," 10/9).
Politico's Simon: "I thought it was a lost opportunity for Fred Thompson. I mean, he had a good chance to make a strong first impression, I don't think he made it" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
CNN's J. King, on Thompson: "He seemed a bit rusty ... right at the top. He hasn't debated in more than a dozen years but more and more sure footed as the debate went on" ("Situation Room," 10/9).
Weekly Standard's Hayes: "I don't think people were sitting at home watching Fred Thompson saying, that's definitely my guy. But at the same time, I don't think he did anything that made people -- you know, Republicans or specifically conservatives who would say, meh, he's not the guy, he clearly was out of his league, anything like that. So I think he did fine" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
WashingtonPost.com's Cillizza, on Thompson: "He did enough. ... As it went on he got more and more comfortable." More: "With these debates a lot tends to be what you looked like as opposed to what you said and he looked okay. He was conversant on the issues. ... He didn't hit it out of the park but he also didn't swing and miss and swinging and missing was a real danger for him today" ("NewsHour," PBS, 10/9).
FNC's Barnes, on Thompson: "It wasn't a commanding performance. He did get a hook, as some people have called it. I am the consistent conservative, he didn't make that point particularly well, but I thought he did fine, particularly at the end" ("Special Report," 10/9).
NPR's Liasson, on Thompson: "He was the tallest candidate, but he was not the dominant one. And I think, once again, Rudy Giuliani was, has been consistently the best performer in this debate" ("Special Report," FNC, 10/9).
THE CANDIDATES SPEAK
Rudy Giuliani was on CNBC post-debate:
On HRC's economic plan: "Don't be sending money out to be people. This is a George McGovern idea. ... This is going in reverse. ... This is a George McGovern idea of sending out money. This is a Walter Mondale idea of taxing people people.
On arguing with Romney on the line-item veto: "The reality is if you're a strict constructionist and you read the constitution, this would be a major alteration of separation of powers that the framers did not intend. You can't have it both ways of if you're strict constructionist. You can't have the constitution come out the way you want it to come out."
Asked why he won't take the no-taxes pledge: "I take only one pledge -- to uphold the constitution of the United States" (10/9).
John McCain was on CNBC post-debate:
On the line item veto: "My one regret is I wasn't in that discussion because I wanted to get into it. I was one of the prime sponsors of the line item veto. ... We've got to have the line item veto. Ronald Reagan wanted it. ... It's got to be done otherwise we're not going to get rid of these pork barrel projects. ... It is a vital tool" (10/9).
Mitt Romney was on CNBC post-debate:
On the line item veto: "The line item veto is the best tool the president has to rein in spending. ... The real difference between [him and Giuliani] is when it comes to the line item veto is that I'm in favor of it. ... And he went all the way to the Supreme Court to take it away from the president. And it was not about a constitutional issue as he said. It was about getting more money for New York City. That's the very reason the line item veto should be there" (10/9).
Mike Huckabee played "Hardball" post-debate:
On Thompson: "Well, I'm glad he showed up for this one. It was good. And I thought it gave him a chance to play ball with the rest of us. But as far as evaluating his performance, I'm not a good person to do that, I'm sitting there trying to evaluate my own."
Asking if his last name is a problem: "No, it's not a problem. The American people aren't that bigoted where they would discount me because of my name. What they want is a president with ideas, not a last name they like. And you know, I'm proud of my last name. It's not a name that's like Clinton or Bush where we will have 28 years of the same family, it's a name that is different. It's a name that resonates with people that had to work hard for a living and know struggle. And so I'm proud of the kind of with blue collar roots I've got. And if somebody wants to make fun of it, they're making fun of the vast majority of America out there."
More: "Well, you know, there's an old thing that says at first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then they swear you in" (MSNBC, 10/9).
Duncan Hunter played "Hardball" post-debate:
There's only two Republicans on Mount Rushmore, Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln, neither one of them were free traders. And the Republican center has always been with the middle class of this country. Right now you've got China is cheating on trade, my gosh ... they're devaluing their currency by 40 percent below where it should be. That means they move a product into the United States and that product is less than the cost of materials alone for an American manufacturer" (MSNBC, 10/9).
Ron Paul was on CNBC post-debate:
Asked if he meant to sound pessimistic at the debate: "No, not all, because what's existing is very pessimistic but I'm very optimistic" (10/9). [EMILY GOODIN]
The only time Barack Obama ever mentions Hillary Clinton on the campaign is when he says he had a "spat" with her on the issue of talking to foreign dictators. But lately Obama has been dropping the "H" bomb more often, usually to say that the candidates' health plans are similar or to talk about why he is a different from Hillary and Edwards as he makes his closing pitch for support on the campaign stump.
But in Plymouth, NH on 10/9, Obama drew one of his first clear distinctions with Clinton, mentioning her by name and accusing her of being disingenuous in her answer on torture during the Dartmouth debate with NBC's Tim Russert.
Continue reading "Obama in NH: Clinton Misled In Torture Response" »
Marc Ambinder reports that HRC won't withdraw from the MI WH primaries. Per a campaign aide: "We will honor the pledge and not campaign or spend money in any state that is not in compliance with the DNC calendar, but it is not necessary to take the steps necessary to remove Senator Clinton's name from the ballot."
DAKOTA CITY, Iowa -- One older man at an event here, the last stop on Hillary Clinton's "Middle Class Express" bus tour, had a bit of beauty advice for the Democratic senator.
Ernest Kellenberger, 84, brought a printout from the Internet with several pictures of ... Paris Hilton.
He said Clinton should copy Hilton's hairstyle, pointing out a picture of the heiress with an upsweep.
He said Clinton having her hair "all hanging down like she just got out of bed" isn't going to work, especially in foreign countries [ATHENA JONES].
DEARBORN, MI -- Rudy Giuliani somehow brought combating terrorism into the GOP debate about fiscal issues. When asked about foreign ownership of NASDAQ, Giuliani said the country has not done enough to enact safety and security agreements with foreign countries, but said that shouldn't impact free trade agreements.
"We cannot stop doing business with the rest of the world," he said [MATT BERGER].
DEARBORN, MI -- Rudy Giuliani just said the United States has disrupted 23 terrorist attacks against the United States since 9/11/01. That number seems high. Even if you count attacks that were disrupted in their infancy, there have not been more than a dozen that were targeting the United States.
A quick check of homeland security experts found some bafflement at the 23 number. Maybe Giuliani knows some things we don't, which would be surprising considering he has not held a public sector job since 2001
Continue reading "23?" »
From today's Hotline:
"Fred will look Presidential and be substantive. "
-- Thompson camp manager William Lacy, on today's GOP debate, release, 10/9.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
John Edwards was on "Meet the Press":
On Richardson saying Edwards would "change the mission" while Richardson would "end the war": "What I would do instead is outside of Iraq, probably in Kuwait, maintain a quick reaction force. And that quick reaction force would be focused on the possibility of al- aeda operations, not terrorism at large. The problem with what I hear with Senator Clinton saying, and I've heard others say is when you talk about maintaining troops, combat troops inside Iraq, based there, and they're focused on anti-terrorism activity within Iraq, that's very similar to what President Bush says. It's very hard to understand where that ends, where the limits are. I do think we need to end this war in Iraq. I'm for getting our combat troops out of Iraq. I'm going to be responsible and protect the embassy like we do everywhere else in the world, but we will maintain a quick reaction force just outside of Iraq in Kuwait, so that if there are al Qaeda -- let me be very specific, not general terrorist activity. I mean, terrorist activity can include any sort of action against civilians and against the state. I'm talking specifically about public enemy number one, al Qaeda, that's responsible for a small percentage of the insurgent activity in Iraq."
Continue reading "Sunday Snapshot" »
George McGovern, the former South Dakota senator and presidential candidate, endorsed Hillary Clinton in Iowa City on Saturday.
"I think that if we can elect her president, she'll be a greater president even than her brilliant husband," McGovern told the crowd gathered in a hot barn at the Johnson County Democrats' annual barbeque.
Organizers estimated 1,800 people showed up for the event, calling it the biggest crowd in the barbeque's history and noting they had to run out twice for more food.
McGovern talked about the challenges Clinton and her then-boyfriend Bill Clinton faced when they helped run his organization in Texas during his 1972 presidential campaign, predicting he would have an easier time selling her in Iowa than she did selling him in Texas.
He praised John Edwards and Barack Obama and said he hoped to live to see America elect a black president, but said," We have an old rule of courtesy in the United States: Ladies first."
Clinton thanked McGovern and went on to deliver a stump speech that touched on health care, rebuilding the middle class and investing in clean energy, before ending with a direct appeal to Iowans to support her in the caucuses.
"Take a hard look at my candidacy. Judge me for who I am. See what I stand for and what I have done for 35 years," Clinton told the audience, many of whom sat on bleachers or folding chairs fanning themselves. "Let's start right here in Iowa and go all the way to the White House."
For the most part, her speech prompted cheers and applause from the audience, but when she criticized the Iraq war, one young man shouted, "You voted for it!" a comment that was all but ignored by the candidate and the crowd.
McGovern was a leading opponent of the war in Vietnam. He lost the race for the White House in 1972 to Richard Nixon. He also opposes the Iraq war and has said the United States' presence in the country has increased the threat of terrorism.
Clinton was the last to speak at the event and she stuck around for nearly an hour afterwards, posing for pictures, signing autographs and chatting with supporters and young people there to talk to her about causes like fighting global wamring and ending the genocide in Darfur.
Hours before Clinton and McGovern arrived at the fairgrounds, volunteers stood at the door of the barn housing the stage, passing out handmade signs reading "McGovern Clinton" - with the "C" in "McGovern" also serving as the "C" in "Clinton" and "Jo Co [Johnson County] loves McGovern." (The "love" was a heart.)
"I believe the experience she has is valuable. She's learned some lessons and I think that she has a good history internationally," said Iowa City resident Linda Greene, after the speech.
As Clinton left, supporters chanted "I-O-W-A, Hillary Clinton all the way."
Dennis Kucinich, Edwards,Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson also spoke at the event. The actor Forest Whitaker spoke on behalf of Obama and Delaware Atty. Gen. Beau Biden, Joe Biden's son, spoke on his behalf. [ATHENA JONES]
Bill Richardson's proposal for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq has won him accolades from the anti-war left and in the blogosphere, but it lost him a key supporter in South Carolina today. State Representative Fletcher Smith of Greenville County, formerly a co-chair for Richardson's South Carolina campaign, announced this morning that he is endorsing Joe Biden instead.
Smith told NBC News/National Journal that he became concerned about his support of Richardson after hearing the Governor advocate for a six-month timeline for withdrawal from Iraq.
"Those of us who have had some idea about military evacuations understand that you cannot redeploy troops, or take troops out, or evacuate them within a six-month period of time," he said. He noted that Richardson's plan could bring about the same morale-damaging image evoked when Americans were airlifted from Saigon in 1975. "We do not need a Vietnam-style evacuation," he said.
While Richardson has called for immediate withdrawal from the region with no residual troops, Biden has acknowledged that his three-way partitioning plan for the state will require a US military presence in the region for many years.
Smith called Biden's plan to divide Iraq into three regions as "the only rational approach" to ending the war, and cited the success of that proposal in the Senate as a major reason for his decision to endorse him for president. "He is the man at the right time, with the right approach, to lead our nation out of this morass."
Smith, who is a member of the state's Legislative Black Caucus, represents Biden's eighth legislative endorsement in the state, and his third from an African-American in the South Carolina statehouse. Smith said that neither Richardson nor Biden have raised money on the representative's behalf. [CARRIE DANN]
From today's Hotline:
"Voters have a very strange way of not listening to the pundits."
-- Gary Hart, on the "inevitability" of Hillary Clinton's election victory, Boston Globe, 10/5.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Lots of '08ers on the tube again last night:
PBS' Woodruff talked with Dennis Kucinich as part of "NewsHour" WH '08 candidate series:
On Iraq: "I have a plan that would bring our troops home and stabilize Iraq at the same time, and also leave Iraq in control of their oil."
More: "I'm the only one running for president who's been right from the start on this issue and has demonstrated a quality of judgment that people have a right to expect in a president of the United States about matters of international security."
Kucinich: "What's happened is the Democratic Party, we're forgetting who we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be the party of the people. We've become the party of the insurance companies. We've become the party of the oil companies. We've become the party of the arms merchants. And somebody has to stand up and say, 'Hey, where are the Democrats? Where are the real Democrats?' And I'm a real Democrat running for president."
More: "We're called upon, those of us who run for president, to have a kind of wisdom which comes from understanding what people go through, not that I'm smarter than anyone else, but I understand the kind of difficulties that people have, how complicated life can be for people."
On a Plain-Dealer columnist saying Kucinich's arguments had gotten old: "Can you imagine what a burden he's had, having to cover me for 37 years? He ought to take a break" (PBS, 10/4).
RATING THE COMPETITION
John Edwards was in the "Situation Room":
Asked what he meant when he said HRC wants to extend the war while he will end it: "What I mean is voters in this primary are going to have a choice. I have said I would take all combat troops out of Iraq, end the war, end the combat in Iraq. Senator Clinton has a different view. She said that she will continue -- and I think I'm quoting her now -- combat mission in Iraq. And from my perspective, continuing combat missions in Iraq is a continuation of the war. And I want to have very clear differences between myself as the Democratic nominee next fall and the Republican. They'll be for continuing the war, I want to end the war. Senator Clinton wants less war, but wants to keep the war going."
Asked if he'd leave troops to protect the Embassy: "I think there's a difference between having troops there to protect the embassy, for example -- and we don't want it to be the only unprotected embassy in the world. The embassy in Baghdad has to be protected, but there's a difference between having a protective force there just to protect the embassy and having combat troops there for the purpose of carrying on combat missions. One I believe is a continuation of the war. Protecting the embassy is not. We're doing that all over the world."
Asked if he agrees with Richardson's plan for an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops: "I have a difference with Senator Clinton. I have a little trouble understanding exactly what Governor Richardson is saying. If he's saying that he's going to take all troops out, that's impossible. We have to keep at least around a brigade for the purpose of protecting the embassy, and I would do that. But I would not continue combat missions as Senator Clinton is talking about."
More: "Senator Clinton and I both voted for the war in Iraq. I've made it very clear that I believe my vote was wrong. And there was a vote last week, a really important vote that took place in the Senate, on whether to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Senator Dodd, Senator Biden voted against it. Senator Clinton voted for it. I think that's wrong. I think the lesson that I learned from Iraq and the vote on Iraq is you cannot give this president even an inch when it comes to moving forward with the possibility of a war. And declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, I believe, gives George Bush that authority, and I would not do that."
Asked about someone in his campaign suggesting Obama was stealing his ideas: "Well, first of all, I don't know what they were saying. There's no such thing as stealing ideas. Ideas out for the purpose of helping America. I'm proud of the fact that I came up with the first universal health care plan, the first plan to fight global warming, the first tax reform plan, the first trade policy plan, the first comprehensive policy to fight poverty here in America, the first comprehensive policy to fight poverty around the world. And just in the last couple of days I've come out with a series of ideas about what we do about Blackwater and private security firms like that that have been operating unchecked in Iraq. And I suppose what they were saying is in some of these areas, Senator Obama has come along later and come out with similar ideas. My own view about that is, I'm proud of having led, but I think that debate and that discussion is good for America" (CNN, 10/4).
GIVING THE GRADE
John McCain was on "Money & Politics":
Asked the grade he would give Pres. Bush on fiscal issues: "On spending I have to give him a very low grade."
Asked if he'd give him an F: "I don't know about an F. I'm glad to see he's doing what he is doing now, but I begged those people to veto these bills. He said, oh, we will lose this people, or we'll lose our Senate seats or -- yeah, we did; we lost them all -- not all, but we certainly lost our majority, and we betrayed our base, and our base became dispirited. And now I see polls that think that Democrats are more fiscally conservative than Republicans. That is what you get when you don't pay attention to the fundamental principles of your party."
Asked since HRC gave her healthcare plan, when he's going to give his: "We're going to give it on October 11th. But I can tell you from examining this, it's a 1993 Hillarycare repeat. And it's putting lipstick on the same pig. And it's a big government, single-payer system that would be terrible for America. And I think if you like that system, then you should go to Canada or England and see how it works out there" (Bloomberg, 10/4).
FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART
Ron Paul was in the "Situation Room":
On his fundraising: "Yeah I'm always surprised of how well we are doing. Our numbers keep growing, support keeps growing. We get more volunteers and this money coming in was a pleasant surprise, but we were very pleased."
Asked if most of his donations come through the internet: "The larger part of it is coming through the internet which makes it easier."
Asked why he thinks he's doing so well: "I think it's a couple of things. I think the message, obviously, is popular enough that they say yes, we like the ideas of freedom, the constitution, limited government, less taxes. But I think the other part is people are worried, more so than, I think the politicians on the Hill understand. That people are worried about their economic future, kids are worried about, you know, Social Security system. They would like to get out and I give them an option. The young people are certainly worried about the war spreading into Iran. And the fact that we might end up with a draft so all these things resonate and the campus rallies have been huge. They keep getting bigger" (CNN, 10/4). [EMILY GOODIN]
No two events exposed the chasm that Barack Obama’s message needs to cross in Iowa than his speeches at Independence and Decorah on Thursday.
While the crowds weren’t quite Main St. versus Wall St, they did expose the two distinct, if not competing sects of the Democratic party, from blue collar, Reagan era Democrats against illegal immigration in Independence to the globally-oriented mindset of Luther College students in Decorah.
In Independence, under a creaky pavilion on country fairgrounds, voters asked Obama about a strike at the local Cargill plant, his stance on illegal immigration, foreign trade, and health care. While Obama was well received, his answers were at times greeted with silence when he said that he doesn't believe in sending 12 million illegal immigrants back to their home countries.
In Decorah, Obama stepped out on a platform amidst a sea of shiny young faces, waving red, white and blue “Os” against the night sky. The senator was introduced by a man that railed against America foreign policy and its role on the world stage, and Obama’s remarks to the crowd of 3,000 people underscored much of his foreign policy message in the past few weeks – greater involvement in the world with a strong focus on diplomacy and humanitarian outreach.
In Independence Obama urged the crowd to look to him to help dismantle the special interests in Washington; in Decorah, Obama urged the crowd to help him create a new role for the United States in the world. He said to the assembled students that if they joined him they could “put their shoulders to the wheel and move history.”
Obama appears to have the 22 and under crowd safely in hand, but it was at Independence where his message of change and hope found it harder to break through. At one point to underscore his similarities with the crowd, Obama said that it was only selling his books that had allowed him and his wife Michelle to not worry about paying the bills and saving for college for their two daughters. [ASWINI ANBURAJAN]
AP reporting that a judge has denied Sen. Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea in the Minneapolis airport bathroom saga. Stay tuned ...
Rudy Giuliani's camp announced today that Giuliani raised "over" $11M in the 3rdQ (more than $10.5M for the primary), and has "over" $16M CoH. The camp notes, "for the second quarter in a row," Giuliani "leads" the GOP field in fundraising.
Giuliani manager Mike DuHaime: "In a continued sign of growing support, our campaign has led the Republican field for the second quarter in a row in the fundraising race. We're receiving real support from across the country because voters know Rudy Giuliani is the only candidate who has proven leadership, executive experience and can beat the Democrats in November."
Meanwhile, John McCain's campaign will likely report $6M in contribs for the quarter and $3.6M on hand 9/30.
Camp mgrRick Davis: "We are thrilled that with so many Americans supporting John McCain, we're now on sound financial footing and running a robust campaign gaining clear momentum in the early states. Heading into the fall, we have the resources to communicate that John McCain is the only candidate with the experience, character and judgment to lead as commander in chief from day one."
That means, for those keeping count, that McCain outraised Ron Paul by roughly $1M.
As polls tighten in the early-voting state of NH, Mitt Romney hit Rudy Giuliani today, suggesting the ex-mayor isn't the fiscal conservative he claims to be.
Continue reading "Romney Takes Off The Mitts" »
From today's Hotline:
"I'm not going to let the bright lights affect what I'm doing."
-- Benator (D-NE), on speculation Hillary Clinton's considering him for VP, AP, 10/3.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Lots of '08ers on last night:
Fred and Jeri Thompson sat down with FNC's Hannityt:
J. Thompson, on reports she wields the power behind her husband's campaign: "If I had time to do that it would be a different story, but I have two kids under four. I think most people in America understand how much time and effort that takes."
J. Thompson, on being the youngest first lady since Jackie Kennedy: "I have one question. Do I get the clothes?"
More J. Thompson: "I knew when we started talking about it that the most important thing that I could do was to support Fred in his decision, and no one knows him better than I do. And no one knows that he will secure our prosperity and our security better than anyone I know. And that is more important to me and to us because of our kids and because of his grandkids. And that's what motivates me. And that's why I'm here."
On her role in the campaign: "The role that I have probably would be no different than any other spouse, and that's you're the most important, probably, surrogate for that husband or wife."
J. Thompson, asked about the attack roles Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Edwards have been playing: "I think Fred is such an eloquent spokesman, I'd leave it to him."
F. Thompson, in response: "You're a better politician than I am. That was great!"
J. Thompson: "The one thing that I might express if I have the opportunity ... is that it does seem surprising to me that there isn't more coverage of women's rights in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Iran."
F. Thompson, asked about James Dobson: "Well, don't read too much into the Dobson thing." More: " I have never talked to him on the phone. I did have one of his aides call me up and kind of apologize the first time he attacked me and said I wasn't a Christian. But I haven't spoken out publicly and, you know, chastised him for that. I'm not going to. I don't know the gentleman. I do know that I have a lot of people who are of strong faith and who were involved in the same organizations that he is in, that I've met with -- Jeri and I, both, have met with. And I'd like to think that we have some strong friendships and support there."
Asked if it would help if he spoke with Dobson, F. Thompson: "I have no idea. I don't particularly care to have a conversation with him. If he wants to call up and apologize again, you know, it's OK with me. But I'm not going to dance to anybody's tune" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 10/3).
A SURGE OF A DIFFERENT KIND
John Edwards was on "Countdown" to discuss his plan to stop sending private contractors on military missions:
Edwards: "These things that are going on with Blackwater, they worry all Americans. I hear it everywhere I go. You know, people wonder, first of all, why a company whose executives gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bush and to Republicans are getting these no-bid contracts with hundreds of millions of dollars. There is something wrong with this
picture. Then, on top of that, why are they usurping what the American voluntary military normally does in providing security? I mean, it doesn't make any sense. It has got to stop. I will stop it as president."
More: "We don't need a surge in Baghdad. We need a surge in New Orleans. We need to help the people of New Orleans rebuild their own city. That job should not be outsourced to Halliburton and other multi-national corporations. It ought to be done by the people of New Orleans, who are given a decent job, paid a prevailing wage, getting health care coverage, having pension protection, and them being able to rebuild their own city that they love so much."
Asked about criticizing Hillary Clinton for refusing to pledge to end all combat missions in Iraq: "I respect Senator Clinton, but we disagree about this. I think if you are going to continue combat missions in Iraq, that is a form of war. And I think the war needs to be ended. I think the combat missions need to be stopped. I think our combat troops ought to be out of Iraq. There is a very clear choice for Democratic voters. One candidate, Senator Clinton will continue combat missions. She has said that repeatedly now. I will end combat missions. If the Democratic voters want a candidate for president who wants to continue combat missions, they should vote for her. If, on the other hand, they want this war actually ended, they should vote for me."
More: "I mean, I listen to the Senator Clinton's explanation for voting for a Senate resolution that declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, which, to me, is the equivalent of giving George Bush the authority of the first step to go to war in Iran. I'm against that. And there is another choice that voters have. We want voters to know what those choices are. It doesn't mean Senator Clinton is not a good person. It just means that we have different views and voters are entitled to know that" (MSNBC, 10/3).
GOD BLESS YOU
CNN's J. King talked with John McCain:
McCain, on his Christian nation comments: "My views are ... that this nation was founded by our founders, who were formed by Judeo-Christian values. I believe that, and I think it's evident by reading the Federalist Papers, the Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution. And, yes, I believe a Muslim could be president. I believe anybody can be president in America. And I, again, believe that our country was founded and informed by Judeo-Christian values. And I believe that. And that's fundamentally all, really, I can say on it, except that that's my views and belief."
On Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid demanding an apology from Rush Limbaugh: "I'm a little disturbed about bringing that aspect into the political arena. But they are citizens, and they have the right to vote, obviously. But, on the issue, I don't know exactly about the back-and-forth between Senator Reid and Rush Limbaugh. I did issue a statement saying that I thought it was inappropriate. And perhaps Mr. Limbaugh didn't mean it, but he should not have said it."
On Christian leaders saying they will consider supporting a third-party candidate if Rudy Giuliani wins the GOP nod: "Obviously, it would hurt the Republican Party if there was some breaking off. I think that's obvious. And I respect any individual or group's right to do whatever they want to do. But I'm a Republican. I believe in Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment. And I believe that, if it is a fair and open contest -- and I have every confidence it will be -- that we should support the nominee of our party, if we are Republicans" ("Situation Room," CNN, 10/3). [EMILY GOODIN]
The Fix's Chris Cillizza reports that NM Sen Pete Domenici is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow, making him the fourth GOP Sen. to leave the Senate next year. There are no Dem retirements at this point.
The battle for this seat should be intense and could have significant ripple effects up and down the ballot.
All three of the state's congressional members - GOP Reps. Heather Wilson (NM-01) and Steve Pearce (NM-02) as well as Dem. Tom Udall (NM-03) - are considered serious potential contenders.
Wilson, a perennial target who only narrowly won re-election last year, might see a Senate run as no less risky than re-election to this marginal district. She has also been mentioned as a potential 2010 Gov. candidate (current Gov. Bill Richardson is termed-out).
Then there's the Richardson question. While his camp insists that he is focused on his presidential bid, there are many in New Mexico who believe that he could run, which will likely freeze developments in the race for awhile. The filing deadline in the state is 2/08 with a 6/08 primary.
There are two Democrats currently seeking the Democratic nomination: wealthy developer Don Wiviott (who's already loaned himself $400k) and Jim Hannan, finance director for the Santa Fe Community Housing Trust.
[AMY WALTER]
* The American Federation of Teachers will endorse Hillary Clinton at a presser today in DC.
* Citing his intended audience at the Camden Military Academy-- students grades 7 to 12-- John McCain pulled his speech today.
* Bill Richardson said of Bush's SCHIP veto: "The Grinch came three months early this year and stole children's health care."
* And Mitt Romney treaded carefully: “I agree with the President that this legislation – while well intentioned – took the wrong approach” [NORA McALVANAH].
From today's Hotline:
"I was never an older-man dater kind of girl before."
-- Jeri Thompson, People magazine, 10/15 issue.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
The two WH candidates swinging through IA this week have some unlikely characteristics in common. For one, they're both being compared to dead presidents.
Fred Thompson and Barack Obama are both coming off a surprisingly good poll showing, a less-than-perfect fundraising Q, and a rash of tough treatment from the press. But one similarity that's rising to the bubble today is that they're both negotiating the double-edged sword of being compared to legendary late presidents.
IA guru David Yepsen's response to Obama's new "Judgment and Experience" pitch; Yepsen's largely favorable piece this a.m. entitled "Barack Fitzgerald Obama." In it Yepsen writes that, "Invoking Kennedy imagery is a delicate thing for any politician to do but Obama succeeded in pulling it off."
Meanwhile, Thompson is also being compared - as he is often - to Ronald Reagn. He's responding with a characteristic "phsaw-not-lil-ol'-me" attitude. Asked by an audience member in Clinton yesterday to discuss his Reaganesque qualities, Thompson responded, "I'll slide over the Reagan comparison. I don't ever do that. If others do that I wish they'd quit."
"Nobody could live up to that standard," he added [CARRIE DANN].
CNN's Crowley talked with Barack Obama in Chicago:
Asked about saying he wasn't sure what he would have done on Iraq if he'd been in the Senate since he didn't have access to intel data: "The only time when I said I'm not sure what I would do if I were in the Senate was right before the Democratic convention, when we had two nominees that obviously I did not want to be criticizing right before they got up and received the nomination."
Crowley: "But you didn't mean it?"
Obama: "Well, no. What I'm suggesting is, everybody had difficult choices to make. And these were difficult choices. I made the right choice. And I think that is relevant not to the past, but to the future, because in this campaign, we have seen emerge the question of, who has got the experience to lead the country during difficult times? And what I'm absolutely confident about is that how we've made decisions on the most important foreign policy issue facing us in this generation, I did not only oppose the war, but laid out reasons that have proven to be prescient over time. And I think that says something about my judgment and my ability to assess the challenges that we are going face in the future."
Asked about polls that say HRC is best able to end the war: "I think that Senator Clinton has been effective in trying to blur the distinctions. And it's our job to make these distinctions clear to the American people, because it really ends up speaking to how we are going to make decisions in the future, how we're going to be making decisions about a series of significant threats and how we are going to make decisions about getting out of Iraq, which I think is going to be a top priority during the course of this election."
On his campaign: "I recognize that there has been a sense that this campaign has been lasting in perpetuity. But the American people are just now starting to focus on it. We just went up for first time in New Hampshire on television. We have got three months of campaigning before the first Iowa caucus, and then we've got a number of primaries and caucuses after that. So we feel very comfortable with the pace that we're on, and part of the reason that you are seeing us raise more small donations than all the other candidates combined. Part of the reason that you are seeing these enormous crowds and terrific organization on the ground in these early states is because the message does resonate when people hear it" ("Situation Room," CNN, 10/2).
SHOWING US THE MONEY
HRC adviser Terry McAuliffe, on their fundraising: "We'll do over $100 million. ... We're just hitting our stride."
Asked about John Edwards' decision to accept matching funds: "I think he made his decision -- you'll see why when his numbers come out -- he'll probably not hit the $50 million, which is what you get ultimately with the match from the federal government. Clearly Barack Obama, Hillary -- they're going to go above that number. He made his decision based upon his own campaign and they weren't going to raise that $50 million in resources" ("Money & Politics," Bloomberg, 10/2). [EMILY GOODIN]
The Democratic dominoes began falling in CO-04 last week, when ’06 nominee Angie Paccione (D) left the race. But an announcement 10/2 p.m. by ’06 indie nominee Eric Eidsness (D) that he’s leaving the race as well clears the field for Sen. Salazar (D) ex-aide Betsy Markey (D). According to the Rocky Mountain News, Markey will have a clear shot at the nomination and at Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R), who has made it a habit of making campaigns tough for herself, even in her strong GOP CD.
Musgrave has worked the district hard over the last year, trying to rehab her image and claim control of a CD that voted for Pres. Bush with 58% in ‘04. But now that Markey can spend the next year focused on defining Musgrave, this seat is one of the nation’s top pickup opportunities for Democrats.
Eidsness’s departure continues an uncanny trend for Democrats nationwide this cycle. Even though the environment is as good as it’s been for Dems as it’s been in a long time, fields are being cleared for top-tier Dem challengers in many CDs. If this continues, Dems will be extremely hard to stop in ’08. [TIM SAHD]
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- On the same day that reports confirmed Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) will step down as RNC chair following the GOP's selection of a WH nom next year, SC GOP Chair Katon Dawson confirmed he's eyeing the post.
Continue reading "SC's Dawson Eyes RNC Post" »
Across New Hampshire today, Barack Obama's campaign held events to draw attention to the anniversary of his '02 speech against the war in Iraq. Among them were viewing parties in 14 towns to watch a DVD documenting that speech and others since then, as well as stories of New Hampshire servicemen and women and their families.
As a handful of voters gathered around a computer monitor in the campaign's Concord office to watch, Obama NH steering committee member Ann McLane Kuster spoke after about how the Bush administration misled the country into war. "The fact that so many Democrats in the United States Senate got swept up in that ... I find really disappointing," she said. "And to me it's very courageous to look back at Barack's judgment at that point of time."
Also today, canvassers went out armed with palm pilots to show video clips of Obama's '02 speech. And tomorrow, retired Air Force General Scott Gration will attend house parties to discuss Obama's foreign policy views. [MIKE MEMOLI]
But at least now she has her own Web site.
Yesterday, Mitt Romney’s campaign launched its newest website, AnnRomney.com.
Billed as the “premier location” for all things Ann Romney, the site is spin-off of the popular “Five Brothers” blog, which chronicles the wholesome daily happenings of Mitt Romney’s five adult children.
The campaign hopes to continue the feel-good tone of the “Five Brothers Blog” -- recent postings include something about Matt Romney catching a lobster and a photo of Josh wearing a headlamp-- with a forum for Ann to share, among other things, her popular “Meatloaf Cakes Recipe.”
In addition to Ann's Recipes, visitors to AnnRomney.com will get to peruse Ann's Causes, AnnTV, and AnnWire [NORA MCALVANAH]
From today's Hotline:
"I think I'd like to be a jaguar."
-- John McCain, asked what kind of animal he'd like to be, Grist Magazine, 10/1.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
Hillary Clinton raised a total of $27M for the 3rdQ, with $22M for the primary and 100K new donors. For the first time, Clinton beat Barack Obama in the 3rdQ money race and the totals mean she’s raised more than anyone else this year.
For the Clinton camp, the numbers are undoubtedly the cherry on top of what has been a very successful political quarter. This cycle, Clinton managed to expand her lead in nat'l and some early state polls, roll out a health care plan and continue to trounce her rivals in endorsements and debate reviews.
In a "thank you" message to supporters, campaign mgr Patti Solis Doyle said their haul was "substantially more than any other race."
Barack Obama was on the "Tyra Banks Show" 10/1:
Tyra Banks offered Obama gift suggestions for his upcoming 15th wedding anniversary, which is the crystal anniversary. Banks suggested a crystal vase or a crystal ball. She show Obama the crystal ball and asked him what he saw in it:
Obama: "I see the White House right there."
Obama, on going out in disguise so he's not bothered when he's with his daughters: "I've got to wear my hat and my glasses. And then they said since I always dress really boring in blues and blacks that I should wear something pink. And I said that actually was a bad idea because that would attract more attention."
On how he keeps his daughters from bad influences: "My nine-year-old Malia is very down on very Paris Hilton and all that. In fact, when she finds out we're staying in a hotel she asks, 'We're not staying in a Hilton hotel?'"
Asked the last time he had a cigarette: "It's been many months."
Banks: "If you become the president of the United States, can my momma and I have a slumber party in the Lincoln bedroom?"
Obama: "I've got to get elected first. ... I've been in the Lincoln bedroom and it's not as fancy as you think. It's just an old bed." More: "I generally don't make promises about the Lincoln bedroom."
Asked who'd play him in the movie version of his life: "Denzel, of course. But somebody pointed out with my ears it might have to be Will" (Fox, 10/1).
AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT LIKE MIKE
Mike Gravel was on "NewsHour" last night as part of their '08 candidates series:
On how he did in Q3: "To tell you the truth, I don't know. For some candidates, it may be big news. It's not big news for me. Stop and think. We all know that money is the corrupting element of politics. Why should we pay attention to who's got big money, except to define who are the most corrupt running for office?"
Asked if he has what he needs to keep his campaign going: "I have this interview. This is big money. We're being viewed by thousands and thousands of Americans. They're going to hear my voice, not translated by watching a spot that I may pay $100,000 for."
On his campaign: "I've taken the bus back from New York because I couldn't afford to take a plane ride or didn't want to take a plane ride. I take the train. You know, we don't travel around with a retinue of media in a private jet. And, of course, I pay a price for that, because they don't cover me on a continuous basis like they do the other candidates, but that's the nature of the beast. I am an ordinary person, and I will be an extraordinary president" (PBS, 10/1).
ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
And there was a lot of talk on the Christian conservatives threatening to bolt the GOP if Rudy Giuiliani is the nominee:
ABC's Gibson: "Usually it's the Democratic Party that has problems keeping its factions in line" ("World News," 10/1).
NBC's Gregory: "The turmoil within the party is rare and could ultimately undermine the nominee's chances" ("Nightly News," 10/1).
CNN's J. King: "The Giuliani camp plays down the threat, noting polls showing strong support among churchgoing Evangelicals and Catholics. ... But while there are huge hurdles to third party candidacies, one born of social conservative frustration would be a huge threat to Giuliani" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 10/1).
Family Research Council's Tony Perkins: "This was more of a proclamation of principle, rather than a declaration of intent. There's no desire to run a third-party candidate. But there's been a line drawn, which I think most pro-life conservatives are not willing to cross."
More Perkins: "The vast majority of social conservatives came to the Republican Party because of the life issue and the other social issues. If the party leaves those issues, I think it's unreasonable for them to demand that they stay in the party. And I don't think they will."
Perkins: "Social conservatives are about a third of the Republican primary voters. ... There will be some that vote for Mayor Giuliani. But I'm hard pressed to think he's going to get the majority. There's no way" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/1).
Rep. Peter King (R-NY): "I'm pro-life myself. I'm supporting Rudy Giuliani for a number of reasons, one of which is that, on the life issue, the judges he would support to the Supreme Court, judges like Alito and Scalia and Roberts, they are strict constructionists. And that is where the battle is going to be fought. It's going to be fought in the courts. And, on federal funding of abortion, he supports the Hyde amendment, would not allow federal funding of abortion. But, also, among Republican primary voters, those who are church-going, those who are self-professed evangelicals, Rudy Giuliani is getting the most votes of any of the Republican candidates among them. And I think it's because of leadership, because of terrorism, and because he is basically a neighborhood guy who does represent basic values. People may disagree with certain aspects, but, on the overall issue, he's the one who can defeat Hillary Clinton. And he's the one who, on issues such as life, will be able to advance, I believe, the pro-life cause by his appointments to the courts."
More King: "Whether it is Governor Romney, or Senator Thompson, or Senator McCain, none of them has a perfect pro-life record. ... I think it would advance the cause of pro-choice -- or pro-abortion, if Mr. Perkins wants to say -- if we run a third party, or if we block Giuliani, and we allow someone like Senator Clinton to become the president. That's the moral decision you have to face" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/1).
Perkins, asked if Giuliani is the only GOPer that can beat HRC:"Actually, I believe that Rudy Giuliani is Hillary's ticket to the White House. ... I cannot under any circumstance see the conservative base of the Republican Party being excited and working for a ... presidential candidate that is pro-abortion. I think turnout will be depressed, and I think Hillary's base will be motivated. I think he is her ticket to the White House" ("AC 360," CNN, 10/1). [EMILY GOODIN]
LOS ANGELES -- CA Dem activists filed an FEC complaint 10/1 about a $175K donation given to a GOP-friendly CA ballot initiative by Rudy Giuliani '08 regional finance chair Paul Singer.
The complaint seeks FEC and DOJ opinions of whether Singer's money possibly violated the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Named as the complaint's respondents are Giuliani and Singer, a NY hedge fund billionaire and GOP donor who's very tight with the ex-NYC mayor.
Continue reading "CA Dems Want FEC, DOJ Probes of Rudy Donor's Dollars" »
Barack Obama's camp just announced its 3rdQ totals: More than 93K donors gave him "at least" $19M in primary dollars alone, for a total of at least $20M, including 11/08 funds.
Obama camp mgr David Plouffe said the totals discredit claims by "many in Washington" who "have spent the last weeks declaring that outcome of this race to be pre-ordained, and the primary process a mere formality.” More Plouffe: “In this quarter alone, 93,000 more Americans joined our campaign, because they desire real change and believe Barack Obama is the one candidate who can deliver it. This grassroots movement for change will not be deterred by Washington conventional wisdom because in many ways it is built to challenge it.”
Continue reading "Obama: $20M" »
From today's Hotline:
"The choice was pretty easy for me, obviously. Not like Giuliani's daughter."
-- Cate Edwards, NBC/National Journal, 9/29.
Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates -- Updated 24/7
On "This Week," Newt Gingrich confirmed his decision not to run in '08:
Asked if he had second thoughts, Gingrich: "No. The McCain-Feingold Act criminalizes politics."
Asked what that meant: "Well, we learned yesterday morning -- this was the decisive moment. I had taken leave from Fox. Randy Evans had taken leave from his law firm. We had a Web site set up to launch on Monday. And we were informed yesterday morning that if I had any communication with American Solutions after I became a candidate, it was a criminal offense."
More: "American Solutions is technically a 527, which is a form of fund-raising, which allows us to develop ideas. We've said publicly that any polling data we release we'd be releasing to both parties. We launched a workshop Thursday night, and all day Saturday we had 35 different workshops being broadcast to over 2,000 locations. It's an effort to reach out on a bipartisan basis. ... And I'm very proud of it, and we've had about a year of work going into it. And I thought there was a way that you could continue the momentum of those ideas while I began to prepare a presidential campaign. What we learned yesterday morning was, I mean, it's a literally a go to jail, criminal activity."
Asked if it was a money factor: "Without having even set the Web site up, Randy's estimate was we had several million dollars in pledges. I think we would clearly have been competitive financially within three weeks, and we literally had not even set up the Web site yet. But what hit me was it would have been an underdog campaign. I mean, clearly, if you were going to come from behind, I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win. But to give up and kill an organization we spent a year on and that had 2,000 sites around the country where people had now invested their time and effort just to look at whether or not you could run I thought would be irresponsible."
On the state of the GOP: "I think it's conceivable if we nominate the wrong person you could end up in a '64. I think it's more likely you end up in a 1976."
Asked what that means: "That Senator Clinton comes out of the Democratic Convention ahead, that the Republicans nominate somebody and that they close the gap every day until the election but don't quite win, because I think Senator Clinton, in the end, is such a polarizing figure that while I think she's the most likely winner, I don't think she's likely to be a landslide winner under the circumstances."
More: "The Republicans have got to get out from under Washington. And if we nominate somebody who is a continuation of where we are right now, we're going to lose."
Asked which GOPer comes closest to advocating his ideas: "Both Giuliani and Romney are beginning to articulate really dramatic change. I think that Thompson has not yet -- I think Huckabee is very effective, and if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight."
Asked if Huckabee can win: "He's got to get money. I mean, if he gets money, he becomes instantly competitive, I think" (ABC, 9/30) [EMILY GOODIN].
Continue reading "Sunday Snapshot" »
