The last Des Moines Register poll before Iowans caucus Thursday shows Barack Obama pulling ahead in the Democratic contest and Mike Huckabee maintaining a solid lead over Mitt Romney.
Obama has the backing of 32 percent of those surveyed compared with 25 percent for Hillary Clinton and 24 percent for John Edwards. Nonetheless, the DMR advises that the race is still fluid, with a third of likely caucusgoers indicating they could be persuaded to choose someone else.
"The findings mark the largest lead of any of the Democratic candidates in the Register's poll all year, underscoring what has been a hard-fought battle among the three well-organized Iowa frontrunners," the DMR's Thomas Beaumont writes this evening on the paper's Web site.
Voters surveyed said their votes will turn on who is the best change agent over who has the most experience.
"Thirty percent of the poll's respondents said a candidate's ability to bring about change is the most important, followed by 27 percent who said their priority is choosing a candidate who will be the most successful in unifying the country," Beaumont reports.
"Asked which candidate would do the best on these themes, caucusgoers most commonly name Obama. The first-term U.S. senator has argued in the closing weeks of the campaign that his newness to Washington, D.C., would help him bridge a politically divided nation and improve its standing overseas.
"Having the experience and competence to lead, which has been the crux of Clinton's closing argument, was seen as the most important to 18 percent of caucusgoers, with Clinton as the candidate most commonly rated best on this trait."
Meanwhile, in the GOP contest, Huckabee is at 32 percent, Romney is at 26 percent and John McCain garnered support from 13 percent of those polled. Ron Paul and Fred Thompson are each at 9 percent, while Rudy Giuliani is at 5 percent.
The DMR's Jonathan Roos writes that Huckabee has been buoyed by the support of Christian conservatives, while McCain's political resurrection -- thought until recently to be perhaps limited to the Granite State -- is affirmed in the survey as a broader phenomenon.
"The new poll, taken over four days ending on Sunday, shows a resurgent Arizona Sen. John McCain grabbing third place in the Republican race for the first-in-the-nation caucuses," Roos writes. "McCain tallies support from 13 percent in the poll -- a 6-point improvement since late November."
The telephone survey was taken Dec. 27-30. The margin of error is 3.5 percent in each contest.
First, a happy and healthy new year to all ... Eat plentifully tonight, drive carefully, and make a daily read of On Call one of your resolutions.
Today in campaign madness ...
John Edwards was asked to respond to an earlier assertion from Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, that he won't have the cash to make it to the summer convention. Here's JRE's response, per NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller:
"We have plenty of money to run a serious campaign, but I just want to say how unbelievably weak it is to be arguing that you should be the candidate because you have more money than the other candidate," Edwards said during an event in Emmetsburg. "I mean, really – does that convince anybody that that's who you should caucus for? You shouldn't even be here if that's what you're looking for! I mean, we could all just have our campaign fundraising events, send the totals in, the elections are over before you ever cast a vote! I don't think that's the way this works. I think you get to actually decide who you think is strongest, who has the fight, who has the ideas, and who's ready to be president of the United States. And I think that's exactly what's going to happen on Thursday night when you go to caucus."
Larry Rasky, Joe Biden's communications director, issued a memo today going after Edwards' argument that he's the most electable. A snippet: "So who has what it takes to carry the southern vote? Well, with so much riding on his southern electability argument, “native son” John Edwards actually fares only 4 points ahead of Joe Biden in the most recent Insider Advantage poll out of South Carolina. And if one thing is certain in the 2008 race, it’s that no Democrat will win using the same 20-plus-five strategy that has failed in the last two elections. In this general election, Joe Biden has set a 15-18 red state strategy, which not only sets him apart from the top tier, but gives him the most realistic shot at victory next November."
Bay Buchanan, sister of former presidential candidate and 1996 NH primary victor Pat Buchanan, endorsed Mitt Romney.
In the 'No he didn't category' ... Mike Huckabee pulled a negative ad against Romney but then held a press conference to show it to reporters.
Here's a New Year's web message -- called "Countdown" -- from Hillary Clinton. Production value had to be, uh, small.
And the RNC react to the HRC web spot: “Senator Clinton’s new ad is nothing more than a countdown to higher taxes, socialized medicine, government growth, greater bureaucracy, and increased spending," spokesman Danny Diaz said in a statement. " For the New Year, Clinton should resolve to be upfront and honest with the American people about her reckless fiscal policies.”
And after the jump, a bonus piece from NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann, who writes a mini profile of Damon Murphy, the bartender at 801 Grand Steak and Chop House in Des Moines.
Among those arriving in Des Moines today only to find that their luggage had been lost: CNN's Bill Schneider and PBS' Judy Woodruff (Caucus Call! luggage-losing).
On New Year's Day, Mitt Romney will be attending something called "House Party Huddles" in the Polk Co. area, where attendees will be watching the football games (Caucus Call! sources).
As a couple of dozen volunteers made phone calls on behalf of Barack Obama on 12/30, "Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh showed up with "that guy from 'Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle'" (Des Moines Register).
To help pay for the "Huckabeast" -- a purple and gold bus that five Mike Huckabee volunteers have brought to IA -- John Brewer, 46, says he sold his wedding ring on eBay for $150. Brewer: "It wasn't as popular as I thought it would be" (Des Moines Register).
Sydney Rieckhoff, 9, a Cedar Rapids fourth grader and "kid reporter" for Scholastic News, approached Chelsea Clinton after a 12/30 event and asked: "Do you think your dad would be a good 'first man' in the White House?" Chelsea "brushed her question aside," responding: "I'm sorry, I don't talk to the press and that applies to you, unfortunately" (AP).
Romney, in an Altoona coffee shop on 12/29, said: "I won't remember my friends here in Iowa. You've been an inspiration to me and Ann." A. Romney then "corrected him." Romney: "I said, 'I won't forget.' ... This is good. This is like spell check right here, you know" (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier).
"I think it's a bunch of crap, just a bunch of political nose blowing" -- Waterloo resident Staci Johnson, 32, showing some home state pride for the caucuses (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier).
At the '04 caucuses, John Edwards supporter Terrence Neuzil told a neighbor who was undecided: "If you vote for Senator Edwards, you can borrow anything out of my garage." And so it was (Washington Post).
Mitt Romney had great success with Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra and his son, Bryan, on Friday. The same was true Saturday, when he was traveling with former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent and his son, Michael, and attorney Jay Sekulow and his son, Jordan. But today, Romney was joined by former Colorado congressman and failed gubernatorial candidate, Bob Beauprez. And Beauprez had one bizarre foot-in-mouth moment.
Parts of Beauprez's introductions:
"I'm very, very proud of our Republican field."
"I tell people, 'Mitt Romney was to business what Elvis Presley was to music.' He was a rock star, he stood out, he set a whole new standard."
"Then he went to the Salt Lake Olympics -- extremely difficult circumstances -- and if it wasn't tough enough already, they threw in a little event called 9/11 on top of it to complicate matters. He pulled that off in great style."
Tim Russert said it first, but Rudy Giuliani's campaign seems to have adopted it as their mantra, "Florida, Florida, Florida."
The Giuliani campaign released its latest "strategy memo" to the press Monday, to reemphasize a late state strategy that is increasingly under scrutiny from the mainstream media.
The memo continues the usual Giuliani campaign refrain that few delegates will actually be awarded in the next couple of weeks and that the states Giuliani has focused on - Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New York, California, Georgia and New Jersey - will propel him to the nomination.
"Putting a high priority on spending our time and money in a proportional basis in Florida and the large delegate states voting on February 5th is clearly the right thing to do," said campaign strategy director Brent Seaborn.
The campaign has at times suffered from being outside the main dialogue by not exchanging barbs with Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee and campaigning in other states. Now, by leaving Iowa, Giuliani is entering into a long media blackout, as well as two days of no public events. The memo serves to validate the "slow and steady" mentality the Giuliani campaign has adopted and to try and draw the attention of reporters camped out in Des Moines.
Obviously, the Giuliani campaign is trying to downplay the significance of Iowa and New Hampshire, even as Giuliani will spend the first week of the new year in the Granite State. They believe that the contest will essentially start anew on Jan. 29, and that a Giuliani victory in Florida will make him look like the frontrunner.
Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, gave a 'State of the Race' talk to reporters this morning, saying that a number of factors indicate that Obama is running strongest in Iowa -- despite the deadlocked nature there of the Democratic contest.
Plouffe's key points:
Obama's crowds are the largest.
Obama is the strongest second choice candidate.
Obama is the pick of Independents.
Obama is drawing undecideds to his homestretch events.
Obama will be viable in more precincts that John F. Kerry was in 2004.(He said Kerry was not viable in about 10 percent of precincts.)
Plouffe said the campaign knocked on over 90,000 doors over the weekend. "We’ve been drawing consistently bigger crowds than either of our two main oppornents," he noted. "...We’re not just trying to build crowds for the sake of optics."
Plouffe also said that the Obama campaign has managed to hold its own in Iowa against a "blizzard of outside money" going to Hillary Clinton and John Edwards from AFSCME, Emily's List, "that shadowy 527 on behalf of Edwards." He estimated that more than $4M in outside cash has been used to bolster the Clinton and Edwards campaigns in Iowa.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Plouffe said, Obama is in a solid two-way race with Clinton, but Clinton, he said, is "receding" while Edwards is "kinda stuck in the teens." He said he doesn't believe that John McCain's surge in the Granite State will draw undeclared voters away from Obama. "McCain’s growth has principally come from Republican voters," Plouffe said.
He also cited these numbers for proof of a strong ground game in N.H. ...
Over 100 field staff on the ground
1.6M calls made
330,000 doors knocked
Plouffe argued that Obama's campaign is best positioned in South Carolina and will be the biggest draw for African American voters. And he said Obama has the strongest ground game in the Feb. 5 states, with offices in 17 of 22 states. And one note, more than 95 percent of Obama's donors haven't maxed out, Plouffe said.
Plouffe also offered up his own math scenario for an Edwards campaign that could run out of cash by the time the party convention rolls around in August. In 2007, Plouffe said, Edwards would have had $40M to spend on the primaries, because of his commitment to take matching funds. So bump that to $50M nationwide this year, and Plouffe said, "Our estimate that Edwards would have spent by the end of this year $32M" would leave him $17M to transact all of the remaining primaries.
The Nashua Telegraph announced today that John McCain deserves his party's nomination. It was the second time the paper endorsed the Arizona senator; its editors backed him in 2000 against George W. Bush.
Here's one question ... Does all this McCain momentum in the Granite State come to an abrupt halt if Romney scraps together a win in Iowa? Discuss. For now, read The Telegraph's reasoning, complete with those familiar McCain descriptors, integrity and forthrightness:
Eight years ago, when he was running as a political maverick against Republican establishment candidate George W. Bush, we endorsed John McCain for the GOP nomination for president of the United States.
We did so because of his integrity.
We did so because of his leadership.
We did so because of his forthrightness and his refusal to pander to voters by telling them what they wanted to hear.
A lot of things have changed in this country during these last eight years, starting with the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, which resulted in the tragic deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans and led to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
But not everything has changed. McCain is here once again, crisscrossing the Granite State in his Straight Talk Express tour bus, displaying the same integrity, vision and, yes, straight talk that marked his earlier, unsuccessful run for the presidency.
Oh, and one more thing hasn't changed: our support.
On the personal side, he is a devoted husband and loving father. He has satisfactorily, for most Republicans, clarified his position on abortion as pro-life and gave a speech on his faith to shed light on some of the concerns and misinformation on Mormonism.
The Romney campaign's favorite line from the same endorsement:
Romney is the most conservative candidate who is running.
BRETTON WOODS, NH -- As many Republican candidates sharpen their knives in the lead-up to Iowa, Rudy Giuliani -- signaling his focus on the longer contest ahead -- looked to stay above the fray today.
Even as he campaigned in New Hampshire, Giuliani did not exactly pursue the typical primary course. After a town hall meeting in Plymouth, he shook hands for just a few minutes before his staff asked the crowd to leave the room so Giuliani could do a live interview on Fox News Channel. He went on to a ski lodge in Lincoln, where he exchanged quick greetings with hordes of people who seemed surprised to see him there. And he ended his day at the Mount Washington Resort, where he addressed a crowd that likely included as many out-of-staters on vacation as it did primary voters.
And as Mitt Romney, John McCain and Mike Huckabee exchanged more pointed barbs, the former New York mayor urged restraint. In Plymouth, when Giuliani was asked specifically how he differed from his party rivals, he invoked Ronald Reagan's eleventh commandment, saying he'll stick to talking about his record. But he did offer a Giuliani amendment to that commandment: "Don't criticize other Republicans, comma, unless they criticize me," Giuliani said. "I have to make a little exception."
AMES, IA – With four days until the Iowa caucuses, Fred Thompson continued his bus tour across the north central part of the state on Sunday, and he was asked to answer the same question he faced when he entered the race nearly four months ago: Does he really want it?
Yesterday several journalists traveling with Thompson wrote stories about a response that Thompson gave to a 'fire in the belly' question. According to a transcript of the answer posted on the campaign's website Saturday night, Thompson's response included this line, along with a longer explanation about why it is unfair to criticize his desire to president:
"I'm offering myself up," Thompson said. "I'm saying that I have the background, the capability, and the concern to do this and I'm doing it for the right reasons. But I'm not particularly interested in running for president, but I think I'd make a good president. Nowadays, the process has become much more important than it used to be."
For journalists following a candidate who has been fighting the perception that he's not all that excited about running for president, hearing that he's "not particularly interested in running for president" was understandably newsworthy. Yet the Thompson campaign took issue with the way that the media represented his response, specifically targeting this article on USAToday's website as selective and unfair.
The campaign quickly issued a response to the article on its blog: "It is clear that there are those in the media who will exact a high price for candor and from those whom they consider to be insufficiently ambitious. But it is with increasing amazement that we see that those who are willing to slant or leave out important parts of a story to make their point."
Today on the stump, Thompson wasted no time before addressing the ambition issue during his first stop of the day, telling a crowd of less than 100 supporters, "I dance to no man's tune other than my own."
"They talk about who's got the most fire in their belly and personal ambition and things like that," Thompson said. "And I say, 'Well, you know, I've got ambition. It's not personal ambition. I don't thirst for the name of president. I really think we can do some wonderful things if we work together, we could achieve the presidency, but by making it on that basis and not a personal basis it allows me to be freed up a little bit.
"I always say what's on my mind and do what's on my mind and speak the truth," he added. "I leave it up to the good people of Iowa to judge what the proper characteristics are of what you're looking for in a President of the United States."
"I like to say that I'm only consumed by very, very few things, and politics is not one of them" -- Fred Thompson, really making sure that we know he doesn't care (Des Moines Register).
Asked at a town hall today to contrast himself with Mitt Romney, Barack Obama said when it comes to "swear words," Obama uses the "really harsh ones, the really good ones" ("The Swamp").
"One person even brought their pet goat out" to meet John McCain 12/29. And FYI, Dutch TV is "the consistently best dressed news outlet on the campaign trail" ("McCain Blogette").
At an event with his wife in IA today, a voter shouted to Romney: "She's cuter than you are." Romney agreed, saying: "She's a cute girl. She's hot, too." And then he mocked the motion with a lick of the finger and a "sss" (NBC/National Journal).
Bill Richardson spoke to 300 people in Des Moines where he said: "I am honored to be in this huge crowd. Thank you for giving up your Sunday. It is Sunday, right?" (“Real Clear Politics”).
Asked what he was doing the night of the caucuses, Rudy Giuliani said today: "We'll be in Florida. We'll be at a rally in Florida I believe" (NBC/National Journal).
The Washington Post's David Broder reports today ...
Bipartisan Group Eyes Independent Bid
First, Main Candidates Urged To Plan 'Unity' Government
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a potential independent candidate for president, has scheduled a meeting next week with a dozen leading Democrats and Republicans, who will join him in challenging the major-party contenders to spell out their plans for forming a "government of national unity" to end the gridlock in Washington.
Those who will be at the Jan. 7 session at the University of Oklahoma say that if the likely nominees of the two parties do not pledge to "go beyond tokenism" in building an administration that seeks national consensus, they will be prepared to back Bloomberg or someone else in a third-party campaign for president.
Conveners of the meeting include such prominent Democrats as former senators Sam Nunn (Ga.), Charles S. Robb (Va.) and David L. Boren (Okla.), and former presidential candidate Gary Hart. Republican organizers include Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.), former party chairman Bill Brock, former senator John Danforth (Mo.) and former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.
Serious people with serious credentials are saying enough to the partisanship polarizing Washington and dominating campaign discourse. For the full article, read here.
"He found the house, ate all the cookies, and he drank the milk, and he took the carrots for the reindeer" -- Chris Dodd, confirming that Santa found his family in IA (CBS News).
Some lady sewed a Mitt Romney Christmas stocking for her brother using an Ames Straw Poll shirt ("Five Brothers").
CAUCUS! THE DRAMA!
Des Moines dental assistant/"very attractive young woman" Diane Herndon said she was on a "runner's high" when, upon jogging past Mitt Romney, she started "screaming" ("Washington Wire").
Martha Wolf (D), who owns Ivy Bake Shoppe and Cafe in West Burlington, IA, planned on "baking 100 blackberry scones and 50 raspberry and apricot turnovers" for McCain's 12/28 visit. She was also planning to "bake some sugar cookies," but she wasn't sure whether to make "elephant-shaped or donkey-shaped" (Des Moines Register).
A "small group of Guardian Angels, wearing their distinctive red berets," showed up at a forum in Fort Dodge for Giuliani ("The Caucus")
At its first preview on 12/27, "Caucus! The Musical" "drew raves from an almost full house" in Des Moines. The play "features Nora Halliday, a black woman, and Benjamin Goldman, a gay Jew, duking it out on the left, and Rev. Stanley Jensen, a Christian conservative, and Sen. Harrison Tate, a moderate" GOPer, fighting on the right ("The Trail"). Spoiler Alert: Ultimately, the “fringe candidate with a simple message wins over” the undecided caucus-goers/actors (Caucus Call! sources).
BEAU BIDEN WATCH:
Obama's two sisters, Auma Obama and Maya Soetoro-Ng, will swing through Obama's Cedar Falls and Waterloo offices today "to visit with and fire up volunteers and supporters" (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier).
Ann Romney, speaking at an ice cream parlor in Le Mars, IA, on 12/28, said that Romney "makes extraordinary mashed potatoes." Later, in Sioux City, she said that "he taught her how to change their son's diapers" (Des Moines Register).
Elizabeth and Cate Edwards held a "coffee discussions" today with undecided caucus-goers at “Small Planet Restaurant” (release).
Beau Biden will "fan out" across IA for meet-and-greets this week (release).
OHHHHH, BEHIND THE SCENES:
"The snow covered campaign office on Grand Avenue in Des Moines begins to buzz somewhere around seven in the morning. A seemingly endless supply of doughnuts are brought in by staff and volunteers while the aroma of freshly brewed coffee swirls through the winding corridors of the headquarters" -- Dodd internet strategist Tim Tagaris, revealing the inner workings of the Dodd camp in a fundraising email appeal (Caucus Call! email).
The Clinton and Edwards camps "work out of a single building that has been divided into two separate business spaces" in Warren Co., IA. (Des Moines Register).
A “WEST WING” DIVIDED:
Actor/Activist Martin Sheen will campaign in IA for Bill Richardson tomorrow and Monday. Meanwhile, at several events this weekend Joe Biden was joined by Sheen’s fellow thespian, Richard Schiff, best known for his role as Toby Ziegler on “The West Wing” (Caucus Call! sources).
UPDATE: A "severe, contagious cold" has forced Martin Sheen to cancel his scheduled campaign stops with Richardson (release). Tear.
Nora McAlvanah, Editor Maura O'Brien and Holly Noe, Associate Editors
Joe Biden today received the endorsement of three County Democratic Party Chairs in Iowa, Pat Sass of Black Hawk County; Jean Hall of Clayton County; and Linda Carrillo, of Cedar County. All three will serve on the Biden for President Campaign statewide steering committee.
Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton will ring in 2008 at a 'New Year, New Beginnings Celebration' in Des Moines at Capitol Square at 10:00 p.m. CST.
Bill Richardson has centered his run for the White House on his call for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. A new mailer going out to Iowa Democrats highlights his plan and slams the three Democratic frontrunners for their more gradual strategy to pull US forces from the region, reports NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann. "Clinton, Edwards, Obama: Tens of Thousands Left Behind" reads the bold-lettered text. A carefully footnoted series of paragraphs follows: "Clinton, Edwards, and Obama have said they would leave tens of thousands of troops in Iraq." "What's more," it continues, "each has 'refused to promise to bring all American troops home from Iraq by January 2013.'"
Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota endorsed Barack Obama today.
And Obama has a new ad -- "Hope" -- up in Iowa today ...
UPDATE: Edwards Camp Responds ... From Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz: "Either you lobby the federal government, or you don't. Either you are paid to influence legislation and the people who write it, or you aren't. The line is clear - and only murky for rival campaigns or reporters who are trying to blur it," reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller.
The earlier On Call post:
John Edwards told a crowd at a Washington, Iowa, library this morning that he would not hire any former corporate or foreign government lobbyists in his administration.
"I want to make an announcement today, which is that when I am president of the United States, no corporate lobbyist or anyone who has lobbied for a foreign government will work in my White House," he said, reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller.
Following the town hall, Edwards reiterated to reporters that that means he will not hire anyone who has ever been registered as a federal lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He said that would include "people who have lobbied, been registered lobbyists in Washington on behalf of corporate interests at the federal level ... corporate lobbyists, those who've lobbied against the interests of the American people, those who've lobbied on behalf of foreign governments."
Asked whether that would include federal lobbyists who have worked on behalf of interests like labor that he champions, Edwards replied, "This will be a judgment I'll make, but my view is that anybody who has been lobbying on behalf of big corporations are part of the problem because corporate greed is at the heart and soul of what's stealing the future of our children and what's killing the middle class in our country."
He said his announcement has nothing to do with other candidates' choices. "I think it would be a great thing for America if the other Democrats would commit to the same thing, but this is about my presidency," he said.
But check out this On Call post, which was reported Dec. 21 and is pasted below, about a Wisconsin lobbyist who bundles for Edwards and helped kill a state ethanol mandate.
So there won't be place for federal lobbyists in an Edwards administration, but a state lobbyist can raise money for candidate Edwards???
Edwards said today that Tyre is a friend and supporter, Miller reports. He said he had "no idea" whether Tyre is a lobbyist. "I know he's not a Washington lobbyist," Edwards said.
Loyal Edwards Fundraiser Killed Ethanol Initiative In Wisc.
Scott Tyre, a Wisconsin lobbyist who sits on John Edwards' national finance committee, has worked to kill ethanol mandates in Madison. In fact, Tyre's own firm, Capitol Navigators, advertises his efforts to tank that bill next to quotes from longtime Edwards loyalists Ed Turlington and Nick Baldick praising Tyre's "work ethic" and "brain power."
"Scott is regarded as one of the top contract lobbyists at the Capitol. When it comes crunch time and you need votes as we did during the ethanol mandate debate in the 2005-06 session, Scott was one of the first persons I called for help. His contacts and lobbying skills are certainly one of the reasons we were able to kill the bill in the Senate."
--Erin Roth, Executive Director of Wisconsin Petroleum Council/Division of the American Petroleum Institute
Tyre is an Edwards bundler, according to Public Citizen.
Edwards has said on the campaign trail that ethanol is one key to moving the country toward energy independence.
Earlier, On Call reported that Joy Philippi, the rural co-chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign, has worked to kill ethanol subsidies. A former president of the National Pork Producers Council, Phillipi is a Nebraska farmer.
Certainly that item smacked of greater irony than this Edwards post. But Tyre's anti-ethanol efforts -- his firm has also represented the American Petroleum Institute -- contradict Edwards' campaign trail pitch for expanded production of renewable energy sources. And Edwards, as we all know, slams lobbyists at every diner, community center, debate and school rally. It seems perplexing at best then that he'd have one on his team who is fighting his very policies.
The Concord Monitor teased its Sunday endorsement of Hillary Clinton today, citing her "smarts, experience and toughness" as reasons, among others, for the pick.
Here is the link to the Primary Monitor blog, and an excerpt from the editorial:
Clinton's ambitious to-do list for her first few weeks in office gives us confidence that her priorities are right and that she would act swiftly to make a positive difference. She is the Monitor's choice in the Jan. 8 Democratic primary.
New Hampshire Democrats and independents are blessed with a strong field of presidential candidates at a time when a change of course is desperately needed. We have been impressed by Joe Biden's pragmatic foreign policy and by John Edwards's insistence that we pay attention to the poorest Americans.
Barack Obama, more than most, has the power to inspire. The positive tone of his campaign is not a gimmick. He is a serious candidate with sober ideas. For reasons symbolic and substantive, he would also be a nominee Democrats could feel proud to vote for.
But Hillary Clinton's unique combination of smarts, experience and toughness makes her the best choice to win the November election and truly get things done.
If Mike Huckabee can defeat Mitt Romney in Iowa and John McCain dispatches the former Massachusetts governor in the Granite State, the one-two punch could knock Romney right out of the race. And Huck, by expressing his admiration for McCain last night in Ottumwa, shows plainly that he hopes the two men can do just that. Read on for the details of Huck's praise for the Arizona senator, per NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy ...
OTTUMWA, IA – After weeks of lobbing veiled criticisms towards his primary opponent in Iowa, Mike Huckabee finally invoked Mitt Romney's name here Friday night before nearly 500 supporters. Huckabee took advantage of the large crowd's enthusiasm by spending almost 45 minutes succinctly defending his record along with the record of fellow candidate John McCain, who has recently been the subject of Romney's attacks in New Hampshire.
"I'm kind of expecting to be attacked here in Iowa," Huckabee told the crowd. "We've spent one dollar for every twenty that Mitt Romney has spent in this state…and we're leading. We're ahead. And so when people get that far behind having spent that much money they get desperate. Desperate is one thing but dishonest is something else and when you get desperate and dishonest it's not a very pretty sight. But then I saw the ad that [Romney's] using against Sen. McCain in New Hampshire.
"Now folks, Sen. McCain is – I guess by many people's standards he's a rival. He's a candidate for president in the Republican Party like I am, but as I've said on national television and as I would say on any stage in America regardless of the politics John McCain is a true, honest to God American hero, and we should respect him and honor him for who he is."
Although Huckabee didn't discuss McCain's record in his speech, his campaign's senior advisor, Ed Rollins, implied afterwards that Romney's new video attacking McCain was the last straw.
"[Romney] fired on us before Christmas," Rollins said. "We thought okay, we'll finish this thing on a high note. We're winning. He fires off this terrible, distorted ad today on us again tonight. Fires off a terrible distorted ad against McCain – we sort of said, hey, there's plenty of stuff on this guy. He doesn't get to take free shots on everybody … He doesn't want to discuss his record, wants to distort ours, we're happy to discuss his record, and I think that's what the governor did tonight."
The Concord Monitor editorial ... This could be an even bigger boost for John McCain than the Globe's nod, for example. Why? Because the Monitor and the Manchester Union Leader are rarely on the same page in a race with so many candidates and so much at stake. And the critical points in both endorsements of McCain -- honesty, integrity, consistency, experience.
Like the gyroscopes that keep ships and planes on course, firm principles and a profound sense of honor guide Sen. John McCain. He learns from his mistakes, but he does not abandon long-held beliefs, even when his stands could cost him the presidency.
McCain's willingness to break with his party on issues like climate change and immigration, his honesty and his refusal to pander make him the Monitor's choice in the Jan. 8 Republican presidential primary.
Last summer in Concord, with his campaign broke and his unwavering support for the war in Iraq costing him politically, McCain said he would rather lose the presidential race than lose the war. No one in the room doubted that he meant exactly what he said. Since then, he has earned the support of New Hampshire voters by attending town meeting after town meeting, where he has invited tough questions and answered them.
McCain advocates an immigration policy that secures the border but stops short of the impossible task of summarily deporting the millions of people in the United States illegally. His attempt to pass immigration reform, McCain says, taught him that the American people won't trust politicians to deal with the issue unless they secure the borders first. This admission is proof that politicians can change for good reasons, not for expediency's sake.
MASON CITY, IA, Dec 28 – In a speech here Friday night Hillary Clinton drew the most direct link between the unrest in Pakistan and the Jan. 3rd caucuses.
"On Thursday night, in a very real way, those of you who caucus will be not only standing up for a candidate, but standing up for our democracy,” she said to applause.
Clinton has been talking about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in every speech over the last two days, and her message has slowly evolved from an emphasis on Pakistan to one urging people to participate in democracy in America and highlighting the importance of women’s rights.
"I hope that the people of Pakistan can now have the opportunity to perhaps stand up and be heard, that their government and the leadership of their country will realize that the path to democracy is the best path," she said. "It's the safest path. It is the most likely path to prevent a takeover of Pakistan or contuining violence by those extremists who are against democracy, against women’s rights, against the future."
Then she made her plea: "Now, maybe more than ever, we have to pick a president who is ready on day one to meet the challenges and provide the solutions that our country demands."
She ended with an appeal she has developed in the last week or so, urging Iowans to stand up for themselves -- and for others who can’t caucus.
"There will be people who are not in even Iowa who will be hoping and praying that you’ll caucus for them," she said. "People who care about the direction of our country."
College Women and Blue Collar Men:
Holding the Democratic Primary Nomination in Their Hands
Why is the Iowa Democratic presidential race so close? One key reason is that former Sen. John Edwards is executing a demographic squeeze on both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, the two candidates well ahead of him in the national polls.
From the outset of her campaign, Clinton in almost all surveys has run better among women than men and better among voters without a college education than those with college degrees or more. In most polls, in most places, Obama’s support has followed the reverse pattern-more male and particularly more college- educated. Edwards’ coalition hasn’t been as sharply defined: in almost all surveys, he has drawn about evenly from both men and women, and both better and less-educated voters.
The new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News poll in Iowa released Thursday shows this pattern largely persisting. But detailed data from the survey provided by Times Polling Director Susan Pinkus shows the dynamic also shifting in ways that carry important implications not only for Iowa but potentially other states to follow.
(Atlantic Media Political Director RON BROWNSTEIN)
Former New Hampshire First Lady Gale Thomson announced her endorsement of Mitt Romney today; Thomson is the wife of late Gov. Meldrim Thomson Jr., a prickly and quintessentially NH Republican. He hated taxes, loved guns and was a stalwart advocate for the state's "Live Free or Die" motto.
The National Troopers Coalition -- which has over 40,000 members throughout the nation -- endorsed Rudy Giuliani today. Meanwhile, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger reports that the Giuliani campaign circulated a new lit piece today, featuring a certain televangelist ...
Instead of the standard red, white and blue, Giuliani's latest pamphlet is gold, with "Shared Values Coalition" in bold letters at the top. And inside is Giuliani, side by side with Pat Robertson. It quotes his remarks on faith from the Value Voters Summit in October and other religious leaders. "Rudy Giuliani Shares Our Values" is in block letters along the top. It also includes a new set of "The Mayor's Commitments." It's not the standard "Twelve Commitments" Giuliani references on a daily basis. This set of ten includes supporting the Defense of Marriage Act, parental notifications for abortions and strengthening home schooling. The brochure looks to galvanize members behind a new, faith-based coalition, called the "Shared Values Coalition." This handout was nowhere to be seen in Florida the last few days, Berger reports.
On Thursday, Clinton's campaign announced that she would buy a two minute block of time on every 6pm newscast in the state.
Obama's camp countered by requesting either a two or five minute window of time during the stations' local newscasts, during the period between local news and primetime programming, or during primetime.
And they tried to one-up Clinton -- not only asking for more time, but asking if the Senator could make his pitch live via satellite.
And Ann Romney heads to Iowa tomorrow to campaign for her husband in Bondurant, Grimes, Waukee and Des Moines.
Mitt Romney hit John McCain earlier today in an ad running in N.H. It's Mike Huckabee's turn as target in a new Romney ad called "Ready" ... To run in Iowa, of course. Mitt's hits against Huck -- in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, pardons and commutations, and foreign policy.
And McCain smacks back in N.H. with "Consider" ... Script for the 30-second spot:
ANNCR: As you hear Mitt Romney attack John McCain, consider these words from New Hampshire newspapers. ... The Union Leader says John McCain has "conviction" and "Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth." "John McCain has done that." "Mitt Romney has not." The Concord Monitor writes, "If a candidate is a phony ... we'll know it." "Mitt Romney is such a candidate." That's why Romney's hometown newspaper says the "choice is clear:" John McCain.
Fred Thompson's new Iowa ad is called "Substance" ... Stresses his National Right to Life endorsement and other "conservative" credentials:
Announcer: The Wall Street Journal says Fred Thompson's tax cut plan "leads the GOP field." A leading economic group calls it a plan "conservatives can rally around." The conservative National Review says only Thompson has outlined "specific, conservative policies" on immigration. Investor's Daily says Thompson's national security plan features a "Reaganesque rebuilding of our military." And the National Right to Life Committee endorsed him because they know he can win. Fred Thompson. The clear conservative choice
Here's the lineup for the Sunday and other weekend public affairs shows:
Meet the Press hosts Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama.
This Week hosts John McCain and Hillary Clinton.
Face the Nation hosts John Edwards.
Fox News Sunday hosts Fred Thompson.
Late Edition hosts Chris Dodd and Joe Biden.
Washington Week hosts Bloomberg’s Janine Zacharia on the death of Benazir Bhutto; Slate’s John Dickerson on the final stretch before the IA caucuses and the Washington Post’s David Broder and Time’s Karen Tumulty on the Dem and GOP ‘08ers (PBS, FRI, 8 p.m.).
Political Capital hosts Edwards (Bloomberg, FRI, 10 p.m.).
Newsmakers hosts NH GOP Chair Fergus Cullen questioned by Politico's David Mark and Christian Science Monitor’s Gail Russell Chaddock (C-SPAN, SUN, 10 a.m./6 p.m.).
Chris Matthews Show hosts Time’s Joe Klein, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, and NPR’s Michele Norris on the IA caucuses (NBC, check local listings). [EMILY GOODIN]
Michelle Obama in the new Vanity Fair tells contributing editor Leslie Bennetts that “it’s now or never,” with regard to her husband’s bid for the presidency. “We’re not going to keep running and running and running, because at some point you do get the life beaten out of you. It hasn’t been beaten out of us yet. We need to be in there now, while we’re still fresh and open and fearless and bold. You lose some of that over time. Barack is not cautious yet; he’s ready to change the world, and we need that.”
Richard Schiff, who played Toby Ziegler on "The West Wing," will campaign for Joe Biden this week in Waterloo, Independence, Manchester, Elkader, Dubuque, Mason City, Ames, and Des Moines.
In a statement issued by the campaign, Schiff said this about the Delaware senator:
“The West Wing inspired its audience to seek the kind of presidential leadership that is based on experience, judgment, wisdom, and conscience,” said Schiff. “On January 3rd, Iowans will have the opportunity to choose a president who can deliver that leadership by caucusing for Joe Biden. I believe that the enormous challenges facing our country at home and abroad—from safely leaving Iraq, to improving our education system, to the crisis that erupted yesterday in Pakistan—require Joe Biden’s expertise in foreign affairs and constitutional law, his ability to unite the country, and his steadfast values, which include, most importantly, telling the truth. Iowa, and America, need Joe Biden because he is ready to lead from Day One and in the high-stakes world we live in, there are no re-takes.”
Meanwhile, Martin Sheen, the fictional president himself, endorsed Bill Richardson yesterday and will campaign for him Sunday and Monday in Iowa.
"Bill Richardson has the proven record of success and the real-world experience that this country needs in our next President: he is ready for prime time," Sheen said in a statement issued by Richardson's campaign. "In this, the most important Presidential election of our time, with so much on the line, I believe that Bill Richardson is the only one who can create the change that we so desperately need to restore America's standing in the world and to get our country back on the right path at home."
New Mitt Romney ad to run in the Granite State hits John McCain for voting against the Bush tax cuts (twice) and opposing a repeal of the death tax. He "pushed to allow every illegal immigrant to stay here permanently," the narrator says of McCain.
Hillary Clinton's campaign announced today that HRC will make her final closing argument to Iowans in a two-minute televised appearance on the eve of the caucuses. The taped message will air on every 6PM newscast throughout the state, reports NBC/NJ's Athena Jones.
Expensive closing message ... HRC spokesman Jay Carson would not provide Jones with the cost of the buys.
The speech John Edwards gives his homestretch defining speech tomorrow at 12:45 p.m. in Dubuque. This excerpt was circulated this afternoon by his campaign:
“Nobody who takes their money and defends the broken system is going to bring change. And, unfortunately, nobody who thinks we can just sit down and talk them into compromise is going to bring change either. Why on earth would we expect the corporate powers and their lobbyists – who make billions by selling out the middle-class – to just give up their power because we ask them nicely? Compromise and conciliation is the academic theory of change. It just doesn’t work in the real world. Fighting for conviction is the historic reality of change.”
The call
Meanwhile, Edwards was the only candidate to speak with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today. He told a crowd in Decorah about the call.
“He called me because I told the ambassador I’d like to speak to him. I met him a few years ago, which I think I told you earlier, and we had a conversation in which I urged him to continue the democratization process,” the former North Carolina senator said, reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller. “He told me – he gave me his assurances that he intended to do that, and we also spoke about having international independent investigators allowed into the country for transparency purposes, for credibility purposes, and we spoke briefly about the elections.”
The Madrasah mention
And finally, and Edwards had a Bob Kerreyesque Madrasah mention during an interview with Radio Iowa. Or didn't he? You decide. A snippet of the exchange. Fuller interview here.
Reporter: "How did you get in touch with Musharraf? What's the relationship there?"
Edwards: "I met Musharraf years ago in Islamabad. We talked about many of the problems that his country was faced with including kids being educated in Madrasahs and some of the struggles that he was having within his own country and so when I spoke to the ambassador earlier today I said if Musharraf, if the president had time would you have him give me a call because I'd like to speak with him directly and he called."
DES MOINES, IA -- Rooting his run for the presidency in what he said is his hope for a better America born from his own personal story, Barack Obama said today he has "the right kind of experience" to be president.
"The truth is, you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Mine is rooted in the real lives of real people, and it will bring real results -- if we have the courage to change. I believe deeply in those words. But they are not mine. They were Bill Clinton's in 1992, when Washington insiders questioned his readiness to lead," Obama told the crowd to laughs and cheers.
Saying that the change he provides is what "Washington needs now," Obama ran through a litany of attacks on why he should be chosen to be the next president of the United States over Sens. John Edwards and Hillary Clinton.
Turning Clinton's words from the Jefferson Jackson Dinner against her, Obama said, "There's no shortage of anger and bluster and bitter partisanship out there. We don't need more heat. We need more light."
Obama also criticized Edwards for not acting to reduce the power of lobbyists and special interest influence while he was a senator in Washington -- or the impact of 527s on the campaign.
"There are others in this race who say that this kind of change sounds good, but that I'm not angry or confrontational enough to get it done," he said. "…I'm the only candidate in this race who hasn't just talked about taking power away from lobbyists, I've actually done it. So if you want to know what kind of choices we'll make as President, you should take a look at the choices we made when we had the chance to bring about change that wasn't easy or convenient."
Returning to an argument raised by Democrats in the 2004 election against President Bush, Obama also implied that his fellow Democrats with using Republican scare tactics to prevent them from voting for him.
"We can't afford the same politics of fear that tells Democrats that the only way to look tough on national security is to talk, act, and vote like George Bush Republicans; that invokes 9/11 as a way to scare up votes instead of a challenge that should unite all Americans to defeat our real enemies," he said.
The speech was billed as Obama's final argument, but for the journalists who follow him on a daily basis there was little new to his pitch or his attacks. What he did do seven days before the Iowa caucuses was to clearly outline his case to be president, addressing both what he deems his strengths and perceived weaknesses -- and casting a message of hope.
Candidates issued statements this morning about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan. CNN is reporting that 22 other people were also killed in the suicide attack in Rawalpindi.
President Bush spoke as well from Crawford, Texas. His comments first. A wrap-up of the candidates' statements after the jump.
"The United States strongly condems this cowardly act by murderous extremists," Bush said. "... Those who have committed this crime must be brought to justice."
He added: "We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terrorism and extremism."
MT. PLEASANT, IA, Dec 26 -- Hillary Clinton began her final push before the Jan. 3 caucuses at an event in southeastern Iowa this afternoon with her husband, daughter and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, by stressing the problems the next president will face the day they are inaugurated.
"That person will go to the Oval office and on the desk in the Oval office will be a stack of problems," she said. "We know that the next president will face a daunting agenda."
It was a theme that emerged in the days before Christmas, as the New York senator, her husband and surrogates like Gen. Wesley Clark and childhood friends sought to combine the change and experience arguments while also showing Clinton's softer side.
Bill Clinton, who was set to split off and stump in several towns on his wife's behalf, introduced her by saying he wouldn't want her in this race if he didn't think she could win and arguing that it was important to vote for Hillary because this was a time of opportunity in the world, but also a time of great uncertainty, with rampant economic inequality at home and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to deal with abroad.
"Being president under the best of circumstances is a challenging job," the former president told an enthusiastic crowd, many of whom had been waiting at least an hour for them to arrive. The senator's plane was late leaving New York due to air traffic congestion.
A week after his plane was turned around midair so he could be evaluated at a St. Louis hospital, Rudy Giuliani's campaign released this information about his health status today. What was described at the time as a severe headache or flu-like symptoms is just that, so sayeth Giuliani's doc.
Maybe so, but the whole thing was handled so mysteriously. And still no explanation for the headache -- or what symptoms prompted the emergency return to St. Louis, hardly a standard response to flu-like symptoms. Or a headache.
Here's the statement issued by Giuliani's doctor via the campaign:
"I have been Rudy Giuliani's personal physician for more than seven years. I was informed late Wednesday evening that Mr. Giuliani was suffering from a significant headache and fatigue. These symptoms can be described as possibly "flu-like." As Mr. Giuliani's personal physician, I stayed in contact with the doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis throughout the course of the evening. Because of the significant headache, it was important to have as much information as possible and err on the side of caution. Mr. Giuliani underwent the following tests at Barnes-Jewish Hospital: CT-MRI of the brain, ultrasound of the carotid arteries, and spinal fluid evaluation. These tests all came back normal. Furthermore, a PSA taken within the past month was negligible or undetectable, and routine laboratory tests were normal. Upon returning to New York City, Mr. Giuliani came to me for an examination and a further test, a transesophageal echocardiogram, which was normal. I confirmed there was no change in his health status. Mr. Giuliani was not prescribed any medication and I recommended that he lighten his schedule only for a few days. It is my medical opinion that Rudy Giuliani is in very good health."
Valentin Fuster, M.D., PH.D.
Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
New HRC ad up in Iowa and N.H. tomorrow highlights the problems of the day, from the war and the foreclosure crisis to the swelling national debt. It says there's only one woman who can tackle them all ...
Despite a smattering of bad press over their last mail attack on Barack Obama's health care plan, Hillary-backers AFSCME aren't backing down. They're out with a new negative mailer slamming Obama's "Band-Aid solution" and griping that "15 million Americans can't afford to wait for Obama's actions to catch up to his promises."
Like the previous mailer, this one cites a quote from John Edwards (whose team has disavowed the attack.). The eye-catching new addition? A take-a-number machine spitting out a card printed with the number 15,000,000.
"There are 15 million reasons why Barack Obama's health care plan is not up to the job," reads the text.
OSCEOLA, IOWA -- Mike Huckabee, in the midst of a push to show his steely resolve in the face of direct attacks from former frontrunner Mitt Romney, polished his gun and set off into the snowy fields of Iowa for a pheasant hunt.
On a trip rich with metaphorical potential, Huckabee donned a blaze orange vest and ventured out into an icy Iowa countryside, with trusty bird-dog "Dude" and about 15 shivering members of the press corps in tow. It turns out that the governor, who says that he's been a hunter since childhood, is a pretty decent shot – he shot one of the three pheasants knocked down by the hunting party (the other two reportedly met their bird-maker at the hands of Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman.)
The imagery of a gun-totin' politico wasn't lost on journalists, who peppered Huckabee with joking prompts for analogies between his feathered victims and his Republican competitors.
"You prove that you can shoot, and that if somebody really messes with you with negative campaign ads, they just need to be prepared," Huckabee said.
On the cathartic satisfaction of going after the birds, he teased: "We will name the pheasants [after] other candidates. It gives us a real incentive."
"These three birds all said that they would not vote for me on caucus night," he joked when he returned with three bird carcasses. "The one that flew away," he added, "well, we saw a Huckabee button on his rear end so we knew not to take him."
The frigid venture wasn't all fun, games, and good-natured allusions to shooting uncooperative Iowans, though. It can't hurt that Huckabee publicly proved his varmint-hunting mettle in the wake of Mitt Romney's fib about being endorsed by the NRA.
"Its not something I had to go and get a primer in," Huckabee said of his lifelong hobby. "It's not out of the ordinary for me."
Gun in hand, the governor also had harsh words for the aggressive tactics of his main rival in Iowa. Negative campaigning, he said, "really lacks credibility. Because it's in an opponent's desperate interest to try to throw last-minute things at you."
"The magician plays the game of keeping your focus over here on this hand while he's doing something over here with the other," he continued, waving his gloved right hand and brandishing the gun in his left. "I think people understand that sleight of hand is not why you elect a president."
Full memo from Jonathan Prince, John Edwards' deputy campaign manager, after the jump.
Key elements ...
Prince says the campaign is drawing bigger crowds than rivals and that evidence of a growing interest in JRE can be gauged in an increase in online e-mail signups and small donations.
The theme for Edwards final swing through Iowa will be "America Rising: Fighting for the Middle Class." The tour begins tomorrow; Edwards is campaigning in New Hampshire today.
And then there's this hint that for all the talk of Edwards' momentum, the buzz that his expected caucus goers are the most experienced and therefore more apt to turn out and that labor will show for him, there's still concern JRE won't pull out a win.
Prince: "The results of the Iowa Caucus will kick-off a condensed nomination contest, and we are ready to use the momentum from a strong Iowa finish to propel us in New Hampshire and beyond. We have eight times the number of field staff in the state of New Hampshire than the Edwards campaign had in 2004; we recently added two dozen field staffers in Nevada; and we were the first candidate to run ads in South Carolina – a state Edwards won by 15 points in 2004. Given our support throughout the labor community and our advisors at work in all February 5th states, we will have the infrastructure in place to seize on momentum from strong early place finishes."
And On Call's favorite Freudian typo to date comes in a sentence from Prince about the campaign's expectation that Obama will continue to hammer Edwards. "We also expect Senator Obama to continue his attacks on Senator Edwards. As NBC News, ABC News, CNN, the New York Times, and the Des Moines Register have noted, Obama’s recent attacks on Edwards coincide with Edwards' gaining steam on the trial."
NewJohn Edwards ad up in New Hampshire today. Edwards still trails in state polls and finished a disappointing fourth in the Granite State in 2004. By most accounts he'd need a big win in Iowa to shift dynamics in N.H.
Edwards, seated in front of windows, a snowy yard behind him, talks to camera ... Full Transcript of “Power:”
What will our next president do with the enormous power that comes with the office?
I will restore America’s moral authority in the world, confront people who exploit their power for personal advantage, stand up for people whose voices are ignored – just like
I’ve done all my life – be honest about the challenges we face and the choices we have, keep the promises I make, work every day to restore the American Dream.
Because I know that the power that comes with the presidency comes from you.
The two (barely) leading Democrats begin their Iowa tours today. The tour names, for those who read into these things:
Barack Obama's "Stand for Change Tour" launched in Mason City.
Hillary Clinton's “Big Challenges, Real Solutions – Time To Pick A President Tour" starts in Mt. Pleasant. By her side are former President Bill Clinton, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack.
John Edwards, locked as we know in a three-way battle in Iowa, is investing time in New Hampshire today. He makes stops in Conway, Laconia, Manchester and Salem.
A seemingly unflappable Ron Paul was on Meet the Press this a.m. ... He told Tim Russert that the Civil War was unnecessary, that Ronald Reagan was indeed a "failure" as president, and that the country in the last 100 years has moved toward facism.
And here is Paul signing autographs outside NBC studios in Washington. Note that he says he was scheduled for a 16 minute interview but that Russert kept him on for 32 minutes. No commercials, Paul notes.
What does this tell you about Mike Huckabee's lead in Iowa?
After the Christmas holiday, Mitt Romney will spend Dec. 26th and 27th in New Hampshire.
That's two of eight critical days in the lead up to the Jan. 3 caucus. Two days that Romney would probably spend in Iowa if he had a prayer (had to, couldn't resist) of pulling it out there ...
Newspaper endorsements are lovely, oft fleeting, validations of a candidate and his or her campaign. Ultimately, though, they provide a nice pull quote for television ads in the waning days of a campaign.
It's rare, however, to see the blistering anti-endorsement, the 'wait-a-minute, don't you even think of voting for this guy or gal' missive. The Concord Monitor published just such a piece today about Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who owns a vacation home in the Granite State.
The Monitor hasn't endorsed yet in the Democratic or Republican race. And you'd think it would have been enough for the paper to simply back a Romney rival. But no, this time the Monitor's team apparently thought a stronger statement should be made. The paper briefly charted Romney's flips and flops on gay marriage and abortion, his inability to classify waterboarding as torture and more. And then this kicker:
When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it.
Mitt Romney is such a candidate. New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no.
SIOUX CITY, IA – The public's expectations for the success of Mike Huckabee's campaign have soared almost as high as his Iowa poll numbers. And now the campaign's newest advisor, Ed Rollins, is predicting an Iowa win. Rollins told CBS recently that he expects to emerge from the early caucus victorious, but the candidate seemed surprised by the confidence after a rally at North High School here on Saturday.
"We've never said we had to win Iowa," Huckabee said. "We certainly said we needed to be in one of the three seats out of here – either first class, business or coach. Now that Ed is willing to upgrade us to first class automatically I better call Ed and ask him…does he have the frequent flyer miles to make sure we get there?
The former-governor said that he is "playing to win" in Iowa, but if he doesn't, he feels that he can still be competitive in other early voting states like South Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Georgia and Texas. But you can't accuse Huckabee of downplaying the importance of a potential victory in the Iowa caucuses.
"If we do win in Iowa it is a true upset of the classic form," Huckabee said. "To be outspent like this and outmanned, to win here is huge and it gives us a great momentum going into the next several contests."
Also on the candidate's agenda on Saturday – Is Rush Limbaugh picking a fight with Huckabee? Some members of the media seem to think so. Rush had some harsh words for the newest GOP presidential frontrunner on his show last week, supposedly in response to a Huckabee aide calling Rush an "entertainer."
"I don't know [why he's mad]," Huckabee said. "I don't know, I mean I really don't. But all I can do is hope that Rush will love me as much as I love Rush because I think he's terrific, and he's been a very clarion voice for the conservative movement. Somebody said something that upset him. I don't know who, and I don't know what, and I can't fix what I don't know."
But Huckabee said he was willing to try. Asked by The Politico's Jonathan Martin if he had been in contact with the radio personality, Huckabee said, "I don't have his number. If you have it Jonathan why don't you give it to me. I'd love to talk to him. So, maybe put it on the web that if he'll call me I'd love to visit with him because I'd certainly like to clarify if there's any issue there. I think he's a person who would probably love to see my candidacy succeed if he knew me."
Huckabee will deliver the sermon at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX this morning where Pastor John Hagee has gotten some heat for being critical of the Catholic Church and its failure to condemn the actions of Adolf Hitler during WWII. On Friday Huckabee distanced himself from Hagee's comments but said it would not affect his visit on Sunday.
"I'm going to let Pastor Hagee speak to that because, you know, I can't speak for him anymore than he could speak for me. I'm sure that there're things I'll say that he disagrees with," Huckabee told reporters on his press bus.
"I would certainly never characterize the Catholic Church as being pro-Nazi, never. I don't know when he said those things or when he wrote them I have no idea…there's things I said 20 years ago I wouldn't say today. If that's still his position, I wouldn't agree."
Barack Obama is out front in a Boston Globe survey of New Hampshire voters released today. Meanwhile, in the most stunning revival of the cycle, John McCain is within a few points of Mitt Romney, the once solid frontrunner who with his Iowa campaign floundering must win New Hampshire to keep his hopes alive.
Obama 30%
Hillary Clinton 28%
John Edwards 14%
Bill Richardson 7%
Romney 28%
McCain 25%
Rudy Giuliani 14%
As if the numbers weren't exciting enough for the McCain team, there's this analysis in the Globe story ... Doesn't get much better two weeks out ...
"Republicans talked about the John McCain deathwatch back in the summer," said Andrew E. Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the Globe poll. "He's back to the John McCain of 2000."
The Globe indicates that the race in the first-in-the-nation primary state is still wide open, however, with about 40 percent of likely voters in each party undecided.
The survey of 422 likely Democratic voters and 410 likely Republican voters in New Hampshire, conducted from Dec. 16 to Dec. 20, has a margin of error for each party subsample of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
There's plenty of experience in Washington. What's lacking is inspired leadership that can speak directly to the people over the heads of the partisan politicians and craft a national consensus not seen in decades.
What's lacking is authenticity, transparency and courtesy. What's lacking are leaders who, rather than seeking high ground from which they can dispatch their opponents, will seek common ground and common-sense solutions.
Obama can provide that leadership, and deserves the support of New Hampshire Democrats.
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, landed the Quad-City Times' nod. Strangely though, the paper punctuated praise for her with this bizarre remark:
She passed perhaps the toughest personal test. Many Americans stand up for the sanctity of marriage. Hillary Clinton did something much harder. She very publicly stood up for her own marriage.
On the GOP side, Mitt Romney was endorsed today as well by the Sioux City Journal.
Personally, he is engaging, even charming, he has shown an ability to reach across partisan divides, and he is passionate on the campaign trail. In terms of leadership qualities, he possesses "it," and the importance of "it" should not be diminished. Let's be honest, a candidate for president can prepare volumes of detailed ideas, but if he or she is a polarizing figure within the halls of Congress or devoid of the personal traits necessary to inspire Americans to listen and follow, those plans don't have a chance of success.
And, finally, John McCain got the Quad-City Times' endorsement, too. It's headline? "Time for a real hero."
"Yes, we know. The doubts about Hillary Clinton's candidacy are widely discussed, often in terms of whether other voters would accept a woman, or accept this woman, as president. We are aware of the reservations some people have about aspects of the Bill Clinton years. But we find those arguments wanting, or at the very least misplaced. Many of today's Hillary doubters, regardless of party, would surely be impressed during the coming national campaign, just as many New Hampshire voters have been won over during the arduous primary campaign now coming to an end. Choosing a candidate on the Democratic ballot is a tough call this year. In the end, we are confident in our recommendation of Hillary Clinton."
Scott Tyre, a Wisconsin lobbyist who sits on John Edwards' national finance committee, has worked to kill ethanol mandates in Madison. In fact, Tyre's own firm, Capitol Navigators, advertises his efforts to tank that bill next to quotes from longtime Edwards loyalists Ed Turlington and Nick Baldick praising Tyre's "work ethic" and "brain power."
"Scott is regarded as one of the top contract lobbyists at the Capitol. When it comes crunch time and you need votes as we did during the ethanol mandate debate in the 2005-06 session, Scott was one of the first persons I called for help. His contacts and lobbying skills are certainly one of the reasons we were able to kill the bill in the Senate."
--Erin Roth, Executive Director of Wisconsin Petroleum Council/Division of the American Petroleum Institute
Tyre is an Edwards bundler, according to Public Citizen.
Edwards has said on the campaign trail that ethanol is one key to moving the country toward energy independence.
Earlier, On Call reported that Joy Philippi, the rural co-chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign, has worked to kill ethanol subsidies. A former president of the National Pork Producers Council, Phillipi is a Nebraska farmer.
Certainly that item smacked of greater irony than this Edwards post. But Tyre's anti-ethanol efforts -- his firm has also represented the American Petroleum Institute -- contradict Edwards' campaign trail pitch for expanded production of renewable energy sources. And Edwards, as we all know, slams lobbyists at every diner, community center, debate and school rally. It seems perplexing at best then that he'd have one on his team who is fighting his very policies.
SO, THEN, WHY Hillary? Her chief rival, Obama, has disappointed in the debates, appearing to lack confidence and talking mostly in generalities. George W. Bush has certainly lowered the bar when it comes to expecting experience in our presidential candidates, but Obama was an Illinois state senator just three years ago. Obama’s speeches are often inspirational and he has bravely stood up to homophobic black ministers and advocated for equal treatment of gays. He’s certainly earned his considerable gay support. But the world is a complicated mess: warring religious factions in the Middle East, rising anti-American sentiment around the globe, the dollar in a free-fall. Electing a president with virtually zero experience on the world stage would be a mistake.
By contrast, Clinton has demonstrated a mastery of detail during the campaign. Whatever you think of her, there’s no denying her intellect and willingness to work hard. She knows the issues, the history and players and has repeatedly pledged to work to restore the country’s reputation around the world. That’s a much-needed common sense perspective on where to start in 2009. And with an eight-year record of extensive globetrotting as first lady, she’s well positioned to serve as the diplomat the country needs.
The full editorial, written by Kevin Naff, after the jump.
Rudy Giuliani will resume campaigning this evening, attending a fundraiser in Rochester, NY, campaign aides told NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger.
Giuliani was sidelined yesterday with flu-like symptoms. He was hospitalized briefly in St. Louis, but later released. The campaign subsequently canceled all of his Friday schedule.
Without fanfare earlier this month, Hillary Clinton's campaign named Joy Philippi, the immediate past president of the National Pork Producers Council, co-chair of 'Rural Americans for Hillary.'
What the campaign failed to mention is that Philippi has made her opposition to ethanol subsidies quite clear in the past. Her position could miff those Iowa farmers who have seen ethanol production spark stagnant rural economies.
Here's Philippi, a fourth generation Nebraska pork, soybean and corn farmer, in the Christian Science Monitor in a March 28 article titled, "In corn belt, ethanol boom a bust for ranchers" ...
That's one reason livestock associations like the National Pork Producers Council are lobbying for some changes. For starters, they'd like a level playing field. Now, the ethanol industry enjoys a 51-cent per gallon tax credit and a 54-cent tariff on imported ethanol – both of which the council is pushing to have expire, at the end of 2010 and 2008, respectively.
"We're subsidizing the corn ethanol production, and we don't need to do that," says Joy Philippi, the immediate past president of the council. "We believe in free trade."
She'd also like to see more good acreage released from the Conservation Reserve Program to grow corn. "I don't fault the corn growers for wanting the $4 corn," Ms. Philippi says. "I'm a corn grower; I like it, too. But if we skew the whole balance in the economy, it hurts everybody."
And here she is in the May 2007 Farm Journal, advocating that the federal government expire ethanol subsidies:
Pork producer Joy Philippi truly wants the nation to wean itself from foreign oil. She revels in rural economic activity spurred by biofuels. She even thinks that government subsidies helped grow the ethanol industry.
But, enough is enough. The Bruning, Neb., producer's pork production costs have jumped $30 per head in less than a year thanks to $4 corn. Now, she wants the government to expire ethanol subsidies that she says unfairly support competition for corn.
"Since world crude oil prices hit $60 a barrel, the ethanol industry has not needed financial support," explains Philippi, who is the immediate past president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
Philippi is not alone in thinking ethanol gets special treatment. NPPC, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), National Chicken Council (NCC) and National Turkey Federation have asked Congress to end ethanol subsidies. Their common contention is the adoption of corn-based ethanol has been too swift, and government subsidies are creating unfair market competition for corn, putting them at a disadvantage.
This is Hillary's rural co-chair? How has this not gotten more attention in Iowa?
"What we see in McCain is a grown-up; a known quantity with a 30-year record of public service; a conservative who is confident in his abilities and yet smart enough to seek counsel. If he becomes the Republican nominee in 2008, the country has a chance of enjoying a substantive presidential contest, unburdened by fear-mongering and irrelevancies. The major candidates will differ sharply in their approaches to the many challenges we face, but their passion is likely to be tempered by civility."
Barack Obama, last night in Portsmouth, N.H., advised a guy wearing a Santa hat to go to his Web site to learn more about his plan to combat global warming. And then he said this:
"I talk to Al Gore about every three weeks, and we're going to make sure that your home at the North Pole is still available to you," Obama said, reports NBC/NJ's Erin McPike.
"If people think she's a little too edgy, I'd ask them to just remember what she's been through in the last 15 years," Bill Clinton said. "Many people would have been broken by what they did to her. Everything that Kenneth Starr and that crowd charged her with, every single thing has proved to be baseless."
More:
Later, Clinton remarked that "some people just don't like a strong woman, I guess." Hillary Clinton "is very firm," he said. "Part of what you need in a president people find more unsettling in a woman than a man, maybe."
And this about Barack Obama:
For the most part, Clinton held his fire yesterday, describing the Illinois senator as a "smart, attractive" candidate who is running "a Chicago-tough campaign." But he suggested that Obama's position in head-to-head poll match-ups with Republicans (a recent Monitor poll showed Obama faring best among the three highest-polling Democrats) resulted from "months of exceedingly favorable publicity."
This Boston Globe story is trouble for Mitt Romney, who is being proven wrong, wrong, wrong for indicating that he "saw" his father, George Romney, march with Martin Luther King Jr. On its own, the mistatement could've been catagorized as the fantastical remembrance of a child for his father. But this historical revisionism is proving a pattern for Romney, as he pushes the authenticity of his latest positions on choice and gay rights and health care reform.
Next, we'll hear, perhaps, that Love Story was written about him and Ann ...
The killer graphs in the Globe story:
Mitt Romney went a step further in a 1978 interview with the Boston Herald. Talking about the Mormon Church and racial discrimination, he said: "My father and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit."
Yesterday, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom acknowledged that was not true. "Mitt Romney did not march with Martin Luther King," he said in an e-mail statement to the Globe.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
For Mitt Romney to have to go up in Michigan right now is astounding, a plain acknowledgment of the fact that Iowans, in particular, and Granite State voters are shifting rapidly to other candidates. This ad is like Romney's Airborne. He can feel the cold coming on, the scratchy throat and watery eyes, so he takes those vitamins to make sure that when the sickness descends it doesn't last as long or hit as hard as it might.
And PS, doesn't hurt to remind voters of his dad ... Ad is 30-seconds, called "It's Personal To Me."
Tom Tancredo dropped out of the GOP race today and endorsed ... Mitt Romney. Could've been Fred Thompson, who is more in sync with Tancredo on a number of issues. But clearly even Tancredo is realistic about Thompson's chances after a primary season that's shown his distinct lack of passion for campaigning.
Word in Iowa today is that a key Bill Richardson backer showed for a Hillary Clinton event -- Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. Veepstakes?
A new Clinton ad running in New Hampshire knocks rival Barack Obama, though not by name. In the spot, called "Make It Happen," HRC says "I've seen what change takes. It doesn't happen because you want it to. Or because you hope for it. You have to work for it."
AND finally, a Ron Paul Christmas. The candidate wishes you and yours "an absolutely great 2008."
FT. DODGE, Iowa -- Mitt Romney says that it depends on what the definition of "saw" is.
A defensive Romney was peppered with questions today about exactly what he meant when he said during his Texas speech about faith that he "saw" his father march with Martin Luther King Jr..
"I saw him in the figurative sense," he told reporters today.
"The reference of seeing my father lead in civil rights," he addedd, "and seeing my father march with Martin Luther King is in the sense of this figurative awareness of and recognition of his leadership."
"I've tried to be as accurate as I can be," he continued, smiling firmly. "If you look at the literature or look at the dictionary, the term 'saw' includes being aware of - in the sense I've described."
Reporters did not relent.
"I'm an English literature major," he insisted at one point. "When we say I saw the Patriots win the World Series, it doesn't necessarily mean you were there." (He meant the Superbowl, of course.)
The exact time of the referenced march is a little fuzzy, although Romney notes that David Broder and others have written about the instance.
"I'm sorry, I don't know exactly where they were standing at the time," he replied to one reporter's inquiry.
Campaign officials tell NBC News/National Journal that Rudy Giuliani will return to regular campaign activities Saturday and Sunday in New Hampshire. His one scheduled event in the Granite State Friday has been cancelled, reports NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger.
Giuliani was admitted late last night to a St. Louis hospital for "flu-like symptoms." He was released today.
Take a look at this confusing Drudge Report out this afternoon, alleging that "Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has been waging a ferocious behind the scenes battle with the NEW YORK TIMES" to persuade the paper's top brass not to publish a report about key telecom legislation before the Senate Commerce Committee -- and the influence of a female lobbyist.
We might've shrugged it off if not for this denial from the McCain campaign. Sent to reporters today ...
ARLINGTON, VA -- John McCain 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker today issued the following statement:
"It is unfortunate that rumor and gossip enter into political campaigns. John McCain has a 24-year record of serving this country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the important issues facing our country.
"Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics. John McCain is the most experienced and prepared to lead as commander and chief, and he will continue to run a positive campaign on the issues."
Wanted to introduce On Call readers to theConcord Monitor's primary photo blog. Terrific shots of the candidates and crowds, an inside look at the Granite State tradition. Enjoy!
The Associated Press first reported in the early morning hours that Rudy Giuliani checked into Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis with flu-like symptoms.
Giuliani is resting comfortably, a hospital spokeswoman told NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger, and will be released today.
Time for his release has not yet been specified. Possible presser, but no guarantee, Berger reports. His scheduled NJ fundraising events will feature campaign manager Mike DuHaime instead.
Giuliani did not look ill yesterday on the campaign trail. No coughing. No sneezing. Seemed to have energy and good humor, Berger adds.
He has tapped into the hunger for change among the electorate, but has made no promises that he can't keep. He has framed the problems in the country not by blaming one person such as President Bush, but by calling for collective responsibility from Republican and Democratic politicians and voters alike. He has framed the solutions in the same manner to allow the country to move forward. We have been impressed by his campaign's tone of pragmatic hope and partisan reconciliation.
We have seen his evolution as a candidate throughout this primary season. Of all the Democratic candidates, we believe Obama has the best chance to break through the partisan gridlock that has dominated our national politics for the past 15 years.
The Valley News, meanwhile, also gave the nod to Obama ...
Ultimately, though, the case for Obama is not just what he proposes to do but how he proposes to do it. Voters who doubt Obama's leadership skills need only look at his well-run primary campaign, which has taken on the Hillary Clinton juggernaut. Clinton is a formidable candidate -- knowledgeable on the issues, a sharp debater, tenacious. She is more polished and more practiced than Obama. But she is less candid and less likely to create the working majority needed to govern effectively. She describes herself as battle-hardened, the candidate most able to beat back the Republicans. But that's precisely the problem: She is an armored warrior in a country weary of partisan and cultural warfare; Obama wears no armor. He seeks reconciliation -- at home and abroad — and steps forward, ready to speak a language of common understanding.
Once again, there were many '08ers on the tube last night:
Rudy Giuliani was in the "Situation Room" last night:
Asked about Huckabee saying the admin is "arrogant" on foreign policy: "During the campaign, we all write things and say things in certain ways, and then we go back later and say, I wish we had said it somewhat differently. And I give Mike certainly the room to do that. I'm not going to jump all over him for it."
Asked why he's campaigning in MO: "This is a long primary season that is compact. No, actually, it's a big primary season compacted into a month."
Asked if he's conceding he's not going to win IA and NH: "Of course I don't concede that we're not going to win. It's like saying you will begin a nine-inning game and you concede that you're going to lose the first inning or the second inning. I kind of look at it as a nine-inning baseball game. And I know I'm going to lose a few. And I'm hopefully going to win most of them. Right now, I'm ahead in probably 18, 19, 20 of the 28, 29 states. That's a pretty good position to be in. I'm not ahead in all of them. I'm not going to win all of them."
Asked if HRC has been a good senator for NY: "Not from my point of view, from the point of view of my ideology, my thinking, the things that I would like to see, which would be smaller government, tax cuts. She made the right vote on Iraq in having to deal with Saddam Hussein. I think her backing away from that vote, I know that was popular within the Democratic Party. To me, that was very disappointing. She's worked hard, if that is what you're saying. Has she been a hardworking senator? Absolutely. And, for the short time that we overlapped, when I was the mayor, I was able to work with her. And she was always cooperative in doing what the city needed. But her ideology is so different, her wanting to move toward mandated government medicine, socialized medicine" (CNN, 12/19).
And John Edwards speaking on "the season of miracles" ... His 30-second ad will air in all three early states, Iowa, N.H., and South Carolina starting Sunday.
MAYOR GIULIANI: “There are many things I wish for this holiday season. I wish for peace with strength. Secure borders. A government that spends less than it takes in. Lower taxes for our businesses and families. And I really hope, that all of the presidential candidates can just get along.
SANTA CLAUS: “Ho, ho, ho, ho. I was with you right up until that last one. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.”
MAYOR GIULIANI: “Can’t have everything! I’m Rudy Giuliani and I approved this message. Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!”
And as a bonus prize ... A new web ad -- "Same Gift" -- out of the Giuliani campaign that promises all of America a holiday gift of strict constructionist judges, a safe America, lower taxes ... and a really nice fruitcake with a big red bow on it. Ok ...
New York Senator Hillary Clinton has regained her lead over Illinois Senator Barack Obama, reports Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the poll.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney -- though slipping in recent Iowa surveys -- seems to be hanging on to his lead in New Hampshire. But note John McCain's move into the second slot.
Clinton 38%
Obama 26%
John Edwards 14%
Bill Richardson 8%
Dennis Kucinich 2%
Joe Biden 2%
undecided 8%
Romney 34%
John McCain 22%
Rudy Giuliani 16%
Mike Huckabee 10%
Ron Paul 5%
Fred Thompson 1%
undecided 8%
The field has been impressive, but it was Hillary Clinton who really impressed us as someone who is ready to lead — someone who is ready to be a consensus builder, not just in working with Republicans as well as Democrats and the nonaligned, but someone who is ready to heal the wounds we have had to suffer.
Experience and a real desire to serve are what has drawn us to Hillary Clinton's quest for the Democratic nomination for president.
Michelle Obama: We would like to take a moment to thank you and your family for the warmth and friendship that you have shown ours; for sharing your hospitality and your stories.
Barack Obama: In this holiday season we are reminded that the things that unite us as a people are more powerful and enduring than anything that sets us apart. And we all have a stake in each other, in something larger than ourselves.
So from my family to yours, I am Barack Obama and I approve this message.
Asked if the fighting between HRC and Obama will give him a win in IA: "I have no idea. I mean, there's been some fussing going on between them. ... I know what to do in Iowa. I know how to close there. People there want to see you speak from your gut. They want to see passion and energy. They want it to be real. And when I talk about doing something about corporate power and how it's affecting the government, they respond."
More: "I'm the guy who's going to fight for the change we need, not talk about it, not try to maneuver my way through a system that I think is broken. I'm going to fight for the change. I've been doing it for 54 years of my life. And I'm the one they can count on to stand up for them."
Asked if HRC is corrupt: "Well, she defends it, I mean, but saying she's part of it is a little tough. But I think she defends it, and I don't think we should defend it."
Ken Burns, creator of the epic PBS series "The War," among other award winning projects, told reporters today that he had intended to stay neutral in the presidential contest, but felt "compelled" to back Barack Obama. He also cited Obama's courage in opposing the "unnecessary and unwise" Iraq war, and decried what he called "slash and burn character attacks."
Burns, who lives in Walpole, also said "recent events" (Billy Shaheen's Obama drug comments?) prompted him to weigh in on the contest. He didn't elaborate much on that point, but added about Hillary Clinton's campaign: "I am really disappointed just in the tone that the campaign has taken on their part. I think she's getting some bad advice, and I'm sure she'll clean up the act, but it was time for some real change."
Ever the student of history, he had this to say as well ...
"If you were a political pundit in the 1850s, you would be certain that what the country needed was an old pro like Clay, or Webster, or Calhoun," Burns said. "In fact, what the country actually needed was a relatively -- or so it seemed -- inexperienced young, wiry figure from Illinois. And I'm willing to accept that at least in this case history does repeat itself."
Hillary Clinton 35%
Barack Obama 30%
John Edwards 14%
Rudy Giuliani 21%
Mike Huckabee 17%
Mitt Romney 13%
Fred Thompson 11%
John McCain 10%
Ron Paul 7%
Who has the best chance of winning the general?
HRC, 53%; Obama, 22%; Edwards, 11%.
Giuliani, 41%; Huck, 13%; Romney, 13%; Thompson, 7%; McCain, 6%.
Most important issue facing the U.S. today?
Iraq war 16% (Dems, 27%; GOP, 8%)
Economy 13% (Dems, 12%; GOP, 16%)
Immigration 8% (Dems, 3%; GOP, 14%)
Health care 5% (Dems, 6%; GOP, 6%)
Dissatisfaction with govt. 5% (Dems, 4%; GOP, 4%)
George W. Bush ...
33% approve of the job he is doing, 62% do not
Congress
22% approve of the way Congress is doing its job, 69% do not
An interesting pocketbook question -- Will you spend more, less or about the same on gifts this holiday season as last year?
13% said more; 39% said less; and 45% said about the same.
Survey was conducted between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14. Margin of error for all registered voters is 3.4 percent. For Dems, margin is 5.3%; Republicans, 5.7%.
Sensing a little John McCain momentum in the Granite State, Team Hillary? Imagine the worry about a match-up against McCain. Given his personal baggage (the multiple wives, disapproving children, shady business and political associates) , Rudy Giuliani would be a much easier fight for Clinton. And remember, McCain has that radio ad up in South Carolina featuring Graham -- who asserts that McCain is the only candidate who can beat HRC in the general.
WASHINGTON — Democratic voters increasingly are focused on nominating the most electable presidential candidate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama fares better than New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton against prospective Republican rivals.
Less than three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, the nationwide survey finds races in both parties that are fluid enough to defy predictions and could be reshaped by results from the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Among Republicans, five candidates are in competitive positions — four of them effectively tied for second place. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani continues to lead, supported by 27% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
Among Democrats, Clinton is backed by 45% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, up 6 percentage points from a poll taken two weeks earlier that showed her standing eroding. The modest rebound came despite recent controversy over the tone of her campaign toward Obama.
Obama is at 27%, up 3 points, and former North Carolina senator John Edwards is third at 15%.
In a shift, Democratic voters are almost evenly divided between those who want a nominee who agrees with them on almost all issues and those who want one with the best chance of beating the Republican. Last month, they preferred an ideological match by 3-2.
"The Democrats have become more comfortable with their field generally, so they think they'd all be a fairly decent president," says Democratic consultant Peter Fenn. "Then the question becomes, 'Who has the best chance of winning this thing?' " ...
In hypothetical matchups for the general presidential election, Clinton and Obama each led Giuliani, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Romney, although at times narrowly.
Obama was somewhat stronger, besting Giuliani by 6 points, Huckabee by 11 and Romney by 18. Clinton had an edge of 1 point over Giuliani, 9 points over Huckabee and 6 points over Romney.
DES MOINES, Dec 18 -- NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, joined Hillary and Bill Clinton at a Hy-Vee grocery store Tuesday morning, chatting up a mostly Black crowd of about 40 people, many of whom were high school and junior high school basketball players, school principals and their relatives.
Magic went around the room high-fiving the spectators, while the Clintons signed autographs. When asked why he is supporting the New York senator over Barack Obama, Magic cited HRC's years of experience.
"I love the Clintons, and I just know Sen. Clinton is the best candidate to move our country forward," he said during a hastilty-arranged press conference.
Hillary Clinton -- who pretended to do a jump shot as she entered the store -- spoke briefly, joking with a reporter who asked about her apparent good mood Monday by saying, "You mean I got my groove back?"
"I feel great," she added. "You know, I love campaigning. I like getting out and meeting new people, and this is the time when Iowans start making up their minds. So there's an intensity and sense of seriousness that is palpable."
Before the press conference, Bill Clinton greeted reporters who huddled around him and spoke briefly about Sen. Joe Lieberman's endorsement of Sen. John McCain. He said he believed the senator from Connecticut made his decision to endorse because of his friendship with McCain and their mutual belief in the importance of the war in Iraq, over and above the war in Afghanistan, and the search for the leadership of Al Qaeda after 9/11, including Osama bin Laden.
"I disagree; I think most of our Democrats disagree, but both of them seem to really believe that and it doesn't surprise me at all," the former president said. "I've known him 30 years. It doesn't surprise me."
The crowd at the store was ecstatic, with one woman overheard saying "I'm with Bill Clinton...Bill and Hillary, yeah, at the Hy-Vee in the hood."
In a funny moment on the way out of the store, a woman asked Bill to sign a greenback. Bill obliged, while pointing out "this isn't legal" to the amusement of folks standing nearby.
A few minutes later, the same request was made to the senator, who said that she couldn't do it. "I can't sign money. That's illegal. I'm so sorry," she said.
The Nashua Telegraph reports today about a new John McCain mailer in the Granite State that accuses Mitt Romney of being an untrustworthy flip-flopper.
CONCORD – Republican hopeful Sen. John McCain, of Arizona, launched an attack – a direct mail campaign labeling New Hampshire primary front-runner Mitt Romney as a serial flip-flopper that "voters can't trust.''
The mailing is believed to be the first, campaign-paid flier in New Hampshire by any candidate critical of former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, who holds onto a solid lead in GOP primary polls here.
The two-page flier cites a May 2007 article in the Tampa Tribune, which states Romney had once supported allowing illegal immigrants to "apply for citizenship and permanent residency''
It then refers to Romney's decision to re-hire a firm after it had been found to have used illegal immigrants to work on his Belmont, Mass., home.
"Like so many times before, Mitt Romney advocated totally inconsistent, policy positions,'' the mailing states.
"That's why voters don't trust Mitt Romney.
"No wonder why Mitt Romney is trying to cover up his own mixed-up record by smearing straight-talking John McCain.''
On allegations that his son David was involved in abusing a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in '98 and that he used his influence to keep the state police from investigating: "Well, let me categorically say that is absolutely not true. I never used my influence. In fact, if anything, I said treat it like you would anything else. I don't want special treatment for him or against him. My son was a minor at the time. It was not a criminal issue. It was an issue that was dealt with. But I'll tell you, if it was that bad, why did he get his Eagle Scout award within months of this? He's now a member of the Vigil, which, Scouts know, that's the highest honor you can have. You know, my son may have not handled the situation as well as he should have."
CNN's L. King: "Did he harm a dog?"
Huckabee: "There was a dog that came in. It was mangy. It looked like it was going to attack. He was a staffer at the camp. They put the dog down. They didn't do a good job of talking to the leaders. The way it was handled was not ideal, but there was no criminal activity. And, more importantly, Larry, my son -- all of this was thoroughly vetted 10 years ago -- 10 years ago, when he was -- again, he was under 18. But he got his Eagle Scout. And my son is an honorable kid.... There's a lot of political dumpster diving that goes on in the campaign. There are people from campaigns going back to my hometown of Hope. They're all over Little Rock. They're looking for any dirt they can find. And usually they'll find it. I always say this -- check the source. When the source is somebody that I fired from their job, when the source is someone who didn't get reappointed, you have to wonder, do they have an ax to grind more than they have a country to save?"
With another whopper of an online fundraiser yesterday, Rep. Ron Paul solidifies his status as the Internet sensation of the 2008 contest.
Paul spokesman Jesse Benton told On Call that the campaign raised $6M yesterday, for a total of $18.3M this quarter. He said the campaign will spend the cash in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
"We are currently staffing up in Florida and Feb. 5th states, and purchasing paid media," he added.
Benton said that more than 26,000 donations from first time contributors poured in over the Internet. The last big online fundraiser was Nov. 5th; Paul supporters gave $4.3M that day.
"We are planning to campaign hard until we win or are mathematically eliminated," Benton said. "Ron has no plans or intentions to run third party."
In Iowa today, the mild-mannered 10-term congressman said with that his fundraising take, he's finally getting some respect in Washington.
"Actually, there's a better rapport now with other Republicans when I go on the House floor," he said in response to a question about how fellow Republicans are reacting to his alternative anti-war message. "I think they respect fundraising. And their antennas are up!"
"They're having trouble raising money," he added, reports NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann. "So there's some respect for this."
This influx of money will allow Paul to tough out a Republican contest that appears totally in flux. On Call wonders ... Could Paul hurt McCain in NH, the early state that gave McCain a 19-point primary victory over George W. Bush in 2000. Given the Mike Huckabee surge in Iowa and Mitt Romney's focus on the state, McCain is unlikely to take the top two spots there. (Though stranger things have happened.) He's more likely to find fortune with Granite State voters.
But Paul is also a draw in New Hampshire. He's campaigned hard there. He's been on the air. And if he takes 10 or 12 points on Jan. 8, he could hamper McCain's hoped-for resurrection.
Mitt Romney has a new 30-second "contrast" ad up in Iowa. The spot is by anyone's account more of a hit ad, though, raising the issue of Mike Huckabee's pardons and commutations as governor of Arkansas.
Script For "Choice: Judgment" (TV:30):
GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."
ANNOUNCER:
"Two pro-life Governors. Both support a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage. The difference? Romney got tough on drugs like meth. He never pardoned a single criminal. And Mike Huckabee? He granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 convicted murderers. Huckabee granted more clemencies than the previous three governors combined. Even reduced penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine. On crime. The difference is judgment."
John Edwards today received the endorsement of Iowa First Lady Mari Culver.
Barack Obama won the backing of Iowa Rep. Dave Loebsack.
And former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey announced his support yesterday for Hillary Clinton.
Is one endorsement more important than another? Endorsements, big ones at least, matter in as much as they spark momentum within a campaign, prompt or color media coverage, or pave the way to newspaper endorsements. So these three Democrats, each a solid, worthwhile supporter, will probably ultimately cancel each other out. It's a wash, in On Call's view ...
The highlights of each ...
Culver on Edwards:
"I believe John Edwards can win," the first lady said, reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller. "Not just the caucuses but the general election too. He's ready. He's been battle-tested. He's been through this before, having been on our national ticket."
Loebsack on Obama:
“Obama is energizing, organizing, and mobilizing ordinary Americans to get involved in their democracy in a way I haven’t seen in a long time,” Loebsack said, in a release issued by the campaign. “And he’s building the kind of grassroots movement that will not just make him the most electable Democrat in a general election, but will help him enter the White House with a mandate for change that Washington can’t ignore.”
Kerrey on Clinton:
“Sen. Clinton inspires my confidence that she will be the leader we need at this moment in our history,” said Kerrey, a veteran who ran for president in 1992 against Bill Clinton, reports NBC/NJ's Athena Jones.
The Des Moines Register endorsement of Hillary Clinton is featured in a new Iowa ad launched today by the campaign.
“Great Things”
TV:30
ANNCR: The Des Moines Register just endorsed Hillary Clinton
ANNCR: Her readiness to lead sets her apart
ANNCR: From working for children’s rights as a young lawyer, to meeting with leaders around the world as first lady, to emerging as an effective legislator, every stage of her life has prepared her for the presidency.
ANNCR: She understands the changes needed
ANNCR: But also possess the discipline and skill to get things done
ANNCR: We believe Hillary Rodham Clinton can do great things for our country
CLINTON : I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.
John McCain launches his first radio ad in South Carolina today. The state -- and some seriously dirty politicking by the Bush team -- put an end to McCain's presidential aspirations in 2000. But it's a different year. And McCain can't afford to hold grudges.
The script:
Script for "Best Prepared" (:60-Radio):
ANNCR: "Seven months ago, Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid said the war in Iraq was lost. Well, he was wrong. Listen to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham."
LINDSEY GRAHAM: "I've been to Iraq nine times. The troop surge is working. Terrorists are on the run, and we need a president prepared to win."
ANNCR: "Only one candidate had the courage to call for the troop surge in spite of the polls, and that's John McCain."
LINDSEY GRAHAM: "John McCain is the only candidate for president prepared to be Commander-in-Chief on day one. No candidate can match his record of service. And as all the polls indicate, he's the only Republican who can beat Hillary Clinton in the general election. So our party and our nation need John McCain."
ANNCR: "When we vote, South Carolina can send a big message: Let our troops win."
LINDSEY GRAHAM: "John McCain is the right choice. He's ready to lead, and he's prepared to win."
JOHN MCCAIN: "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
Your On Call editor has been in a day of meetings. So forgive the delay in updates. BUT do read on for the latest news, which includes a slew of endorsements starting with Sen. Joe Lieberman the Connecticut Independent and one-time Democrat, backing the once floundering but newly resilient GOP presidential candidate John McCain.
Does Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic veep nominee, have sway with Republican primary voters? Unlikely. Still the move signals two things -- the complete evolution of Lieberman's political position, and an Arizona senator who could justifiably swipe John Edwards' 'America Rising' theme ...
Finally, could the endorsement signal a ticket tease? A bipartisan partnering at the highest level of American politics. Maybe, maybe. There's still a long way to go, though ...
Per the AP:
Lieberman Endorses McCain
HILLSBOROUGH, N.H. (AP) — Sen. John McCain, trying to build momentum toward a reprise of his 2000 New Hampshire primary victory, picked up the endorsement Monday of another political maverick, Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
The Connecticut senator, an independent who was the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee, said his support for McCain is based primarily on their common view of U.S. foreign policy and their support for the war in Iraq.
"I know that it is unusual for someone who is not a Republican to endorse a Republican candidate for President. And if this were an ordinary time and an ordinary election, I probably would not be here today. But this is no ordinary time," Lieberman said in prepared remarks released by the McCain campaign. "When others were silent, and it was thought politically unpopular, John had the courage and common sense to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq and to call for more troops and a new strategy there. And when others wavered, when others wanted to retreat from the field of battle, John had the courage and the common sense to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge in Iraq, where we are at last winning."
The longtime Senate colleagues were speaking at a VFW hall in Hillsborough Monday morning.
McCain said Lieberman "understands why we must succeed in Iraq and in the broader war against radical Islamic extremism."
Iowa's first lady to back Edwards for president
By TONY LEYS * REGISTER STAFF WRITER * December 16, 2007
Iowa's first lady, who had said she would stay neutral in the presidential race, has changed her mind and plans to endorse Democrat John Edwards Monday.
"I decided to join in the fray," Mari Culver said in an interview today.
Culver said her husband, Gov. Chet Culver, will not endorse anyone, and she said her stance does not imply that he supports Edwards. "If the governor wanted to show a preference for a candidate, he would do so," she said. "My endorsement is as Mari Culver, Iowan. ... I'm my own person. I have my own political interests."
Mari Culver's predecessor as first lady, Christie Vilsack, endorsed Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry before the 2004 caucuses, which he won.
Edwards, who also ran for president that year, said in an interview today that he believes Vilsack's endorsement helped Kerry. "She campaigned with him, did a number of events with him, and I think it gave some energy and momentum to his campaign."
Edwards said he hopes Culver's backing will help him the same way. "It's a big boost, and I'm proud to have her," he said. "She cares about children, families, battered women - a lot of the issues I care deeply about."
Culver, who like Edwards is an attorney, said she met him at a conference in 2001 and was immediately impressed by his intellect and accomplishments as a trial lawyer and as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. She said she agrees with his plans to fight poverty and to reform health care, and she thinks he offers Democrats the best chance to take back the White House.
"I think John is a winner. He's electable," she said. "He's been tested. He's been on the national ticket before. The national polls show him beating all Republicans in the general elections. He inspires me. I think he inspires other Iowans, and I think he can really rally Americans in the fall."
Culver said she and her husband sometimes differ on whom to support. In 2004, she caucused for Edwards, who finished second in Iowa and went on to be the party's vice-presidential candidate. Chet Culver, who was secretary of state, did not back a candidate.
Mari Culver said she will endorse Edwards at a rally in Des Moines at noon Monday, and she plans to appear at other events. "I've got two little kiddies at home, and with the holidays coming up, that's going to control my schedule," she said. "But I do expect to do anything they ask that works with my schedule."
News of her pending endorsement came on the same day Edwards lost out in the competition for The Des Moines Register's endorsement. The paper's editorial page backed him in 2004, but picked Hillary Clinton today.
Hillary Clinton took to the streets of Manchester Saturday, seeking to seal the deal with some local voters during the last weekend before the holiday season. She found a mostly supportive group of voters, as well as a few rambunctious canines.
En route between homes, Clinton stopped to greet the Roukey family, who was enjoying a walk with their brand new dog, Samantha. "I get to meet Samantha on the very first day!" Clinton said as the excited pooch jumped up to greet her. "Samantha, I will be a good president for dogs," she told the animal (NBC/NJ's MIKE MEMOLI).
After a Mason City event with Kevin Bacon and his band, John Edwards told reporters that the Des Moines Register endorsement, which he won in 2004 but failed to score this year, only guarantees the endorsee runner-up status.
"I do congratulate her," Edwards said of Hillary Clinton, who landed the DMR's backing. "It's a great thing for her, but at least in the last couple elections what it seems to have guaranteed is a second-place finish in the caucuses."
He emphasized that what the Register wrote about his harsh tone in 2007 was "a fundamental philosophical difference," reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller.
"I think [the endorsement] is one of the things that caucus-goers will consider, but it's pretty obvious from reading the discussion of the endorsement that I have a fundamental difference with them," Edwards said. "We just have a fundamental philosophical difference about what it's going to take to bring about change. I think if you don't have a president who has the fight and the backbone to stand up to these corporate powers and corporate greed, nothing is going to change in this country, and that's the difference I have with them."
Meanwhile, Barack Obama's team shrugged it off as well. Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, told reporters that he found out about the endorsement this evening via email; he told Obama as they got off their campaign bus.
Obama shrugged and said, "It's not surprising," according to Gibbs. "They had nice things to say about us, and we're happy with that."
Pressed by reporters for more of a reaction, Gibbs said Obama is simply not an "editorial board candidate," reports NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan.
"He's not the establishment candidate," Gibbs added.
Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have been endorsed by The Boston Globe editorial board ahead of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary on Jan. 8 in New Hampshire.
The board wrote that Obama, the Illinois Democrat, fulfills America's need for "a president with an intuitive sense of the wider world,'' and that McCain, the Arizona Republican, ''has done more than his share to transcend partisanship and promote an honest discussion of the problems facing the United States.''
The newspaper released early excerpts of its McCain and Obama endorsements, which will be published in full in Sunday's Globe and on Boston.com. The endorsements followed in-depth interviews with the presidential contenders.
Of Obama, the editorial board wrote that his diverse and international life experience was a plus. "The most sobering challenges that face this country — terrorism, climate change, disease pandemics — are global,'' the board wrote. "America needs a president with an intuitive sense of the wider world, with all its perils and opportunities. Barack Obama has this understanding at his core.''
The board, noting that Obama would be the country's first post-Baby Boom president if elected, addressed his relative lack of Washington experience compared to several of his Democratic rivals. ''It is true that all the other Democratic contenders have more conventional resumes, and have spent more time in Washington,'' the board wrote. "But that exposure has tended to give them a sense of government’s constraints. Obama is more open to its possibilities.''
McCain was praised as a straight talker whose honesty at political cost might help a polarized nation. The board called him an antidote to the "toxic political approach'' of the last two presidential elections.
''McCain’s views differ from those of this editorial page in a variety of ways. Yet McCain’s honesty has served him well,'' the board wrote. "As a lawmaker and as a candidate, he has done more than his share to transcend partisanship and promote an honest discussion of the problems facing the United States. He deserves the opportunity to represent his party in November’s election.''
The Des Moines Register’s editorial board has endorsed Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Iowa caucuses. The Register, Iowa’s statewide newspaper, calls McCain and Clinton the candidates it believes are most competent and ready to lead.
“With dissension at home and distrust abroad, as American troops continue to fight wars on two fronts, the times call for two essential qualities in the next American president,” the Register’s editorial board concluded. “Those qualities became the paramount considerations in making endorsements for the Democratic and Republican nominees in the 2008 Iowa caucuses.
“The times call for competence. Americans want their government to work again.The times call for readiness to lead. Americans want their country to do great things again. They’ll regain trust in their government when they see a president make that happen.”
In endorsing McCain, who was tied for fifth in the Register’s November Iowa Poll of likely caucus-goers, the newspaper’s editorial board wrote:
“Time after time, McCain has stuck to his beliefs in the face of opposition from other elected leaders and the public. He has criticized crop and ethanol subsidies during two presidential campaigns in Iowa. He bucked his party and president by opposing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. A year ago, in the face of growing criticism, he staunchly supported President Bush’s decision to increase troop strength in Iraq.
“McCain would enter the White House with deep knowledge of national-security and foreign-policy issues. He knows war, something we believe would make him reluctant to start one. He’s also a fierce defender of civil liberties. As a survivor of torture, he has stood resolutely against it. He pledges to start rebuilding America’s image abroad. …
“The force of John McCain’s moral authority could go a long way toward restoring Americans’ trust in government and inspiring new generations to believe in the goodness and greatness of America.”
The Register’s endorsement of Clinton comes at a time when polls show she has slipped behind Sen. Barack Obama in Iowa.
“Readiness to lead sets her apart from a constellation of possible stars in her party, particularly Barack Obama, who also demonstrates the potential to be a fine president,” the newspaper’s endorsement editorial concludes. “When Obama speaks before a crowd, he can be more inspirational than Clinton. Yet, with his relative inexperience, it’s hard to feel as confident he could accomplish the daunting agenda that lies ahead.”
Register editorial page editor Carol Hunter said the six editorial board members who participated in the endorsement process disregarded the candidates’ standing in Iowa or national polls.
“We believe our job as an editorial board is to arrive at the candidate in each party we think would be the best president, whether a person is leading the polls or garnering 1 percent support,” Hunter wrote in a column that accompanied the editorials. “It’s not to predict a winner.”
In 2004, the newspaper’s endorsement of John Edwards coincided with his dramatic surge in the state. Edwards, then a North Carolina senator, moved from single digits in an Iowa poll taken in November 2003 to a second-place finish in the state’s 2004 January caucuses.
This year’s endorsements come less than three weeks before the caucuses, set for Jan. 3. The caucuses, held five days before the New Hampshire primaries, start the nation’s 2008 presidential election process.
The Register’s editorial board members who participated in the endorsement process were: Laura Hollingsworth, publisher; Carolyn Washburn, editor; Carol Hunter, editorial page editor; Linda Lantor Fandel, deputy editorial page editor; Rox Laird, editorial writer; and Andie Dominick, editorial writer.
On Call is hearing that the Des Moines Register endorsements could be imminent, possibly tomorrow, and posted online tonight.
Buzz is that the odds are with Barack Obama...
The paper's support for John Edwards in 2004 catapulted him to a second place caucus finish. This year, though, he competes for the nod with a 'fresher' face in Obama.
Obama's anti-war position could be the deal sealer. Edwards supported the 2002 Iraq war resolution, but has since said the vote was a mistake.
Rudy Giuliani spoke in Tampa today. This was his introductory video, forwarded to reporters by his campaign. In it, the mayor's team is pushing that fear stuff -- that the terrorists are out to get you, America, and that there's only one man who can greet that threat with strength.
But On Call wonders ... Will that line work? Could it backfire? With just over two weeks until Iowans caucus, aren't voters gravitating toward candidates pitching a message of hope?
Here also is the AP write up of Giuliani's Tampa speech.
Boston, MA – Today, noted conservative jurist Judge Robert Bork endorsed Governor Mitt Romney for President of the United States.
Joining Romney for President, Judge Bork said, "Throughout my career, I have had the honor of serving under several Presidents and am proud to make today's endorsement. No other candidate will do more to advance the conservative judicial movement than Governor Mitt Romney. He knows firsthand how the judicial branch can profoundly affect the future course of a state and a nation. I greatly admired his leadership in Massachusetts in the way that he responded to the activist court's ruling legalizing same-sex 'marriage.' His leadership on the issue has served as a model to the nation on how to respect all of our citizens while respecting the rule of law at the same time."
Judge Bork continued, "Our next President may be called upon to make more than one Supreme Court nomination, and Governor Romney is committed to nominating judges who take their oath of office seriously and respect the rule of law in our nation. I also support Governor Romney because of his character, his integrity and his stands on the major issues facing the United States."
Welcoming Judge Bork's support, Governor Romney said, "For decades, Judge Bork has been a leader in moving the conservative legal movement forward. As one of our nation's premier conservative jurists, he has been an important voice for our conservative values in Washington. I look forward to his counsel and working with him on the most important judicial matters facing our nation today."
Barack Obama in Iowa today describes the conversation he had with Hillary Clinton last week after Billy Shaheen raised the issue of Obama's past drug use. Shaheen has, of course, since stepped down as Clinton's campaign co-chair. But the issue dominated news coverage out of the Des Moines Register debate and caused further tumult for HRC's team, which continues to struggle to right the Clinton ship as polls show a dead heat in Iowa and a tight race in New Hampshire.
Obama also told reporters that the "average American thinks that what somebody does when they were a teenager 30 years ago is probably not relevant to how they are going to be performing as the president of the United States," reports NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan.
Q: Two days ago in Washington you had a 10-minute meeting with Senator Clinton. Could you tell us about the tone of the conversation ... What did you talk about in those ten minutes?
OBAMA: I'm not sure it was ten minutes. We were both getting on our planes on our way to the debate. She asked my staff if I would come around the plan to speak to her. We met on the tarmac, she apologized for Billy Shaheen's remarks. I said I appreciated the apology. I suggested that both, that all candidates have surrogates that are eager to have their campaign win, and it was important for us as the heads of our campaigns to make sure that we are sending a clear message that this is not the kind of tone we should tolerate. And at that point she got on the plane.
Q: Were you satisfied with her apology? Did you feel it was an honest sincere apology or some tactics at work here?
OBAMA: I'm not going to characterize it beyond what I just said.
Q: Can you respond to President Clinton's comments last night when he asked when was the last time we elected a president with less than a year of service in the Senate before running for president. Can you respond?
OBAMA: Well look this is an argument they have been making during the duration of this campaign. I guess, here is a quote: (he reads) 'The same old experience is irreverent, you can have right kind of experience or the wrong kind of experience and mine is rooted in the real lives of real people and it will bring real results if we have the courage to change' ... and that was Bill Clinton in 1992.
Q: But he had been governor?
OBAMA: And I've been involved in government for over a decade so the notion that there is a particular kind of experience that he has had or his wife has had that is more relevant I would dispute. I believe that I have the experience that the country needs right now, of bringing people together, pushing against the special interests, of speaking to the American people about that needs to be done to move the country forward and I think that's why we're doing relatively well in this race.
Q: More broadly if you take Mr. Shaheen's comments going so far as to ask if you sold drugs, putting that on the table. Sen. Clinton said yesterday there are no surprises with my candidacy. Bill Clinton, the former President, says you have no more experience than a television commentator. Taken together do you feel think there's something more personal that trying to draw you out or make you angry or make you feel as if you're being demeaned in this campaign?
OBAMA:Well look I mean when I was 20 points down they all thought I was a wonderful guy. Obviously things have changed here in Iowa and the rest of the country and that's the kind of polticw we've beceome accustomed to. But I know that these families and families all across America are looking for someone to solve problems. They desperately want to see change and they're much less interested in my kindergarten years or my teenage years than they are in the futures of their children and their grandchildren. And that's what I'm going to be fighting for and talking about during the course of this campaign.
Q: Senator Obama do you think Americans are more forgiving of past personal drug use today than they were twenty or thirty years ago?
OBAMA: You know I can't say how Americans think generally about it. I do think that the average American thinks that what somebody does when they were a teenager 30 years ago is probably not relevant to how they are going to be performing as the president of the United States. And I think people have pretty good judgment about that.
This isn’t about petty politics or good intentions.
Corporate greed and influence in Washington are stealing our children’s future.
The moral test of our generation is whether we’re going to allow this broken system to go on without a fight or take on corporate greed and stand up for the middle class and American jobs before it’s too late.
They aren’t going to just give their power away.
Saving the middle class is going to be an epic battle, and that’s a fight I was born for.
CARROLL, Iowa - Mitt Romney just can't seem to get away from questions about religion.
At a town hall here this afternoon, a voter asked him what he thought about prayer in school.
"We ought to allow ceremonies, graduation ceremonies and public events that we have the ability to recognize the Creator," he said. "I think it's appropriate for us to recognize the Creator in the public square. I think that having nativity scenes and menorahs in public places [during] the holidays is totally appropriate.
"I'm not looking for us to have prayer in the classroom every day or teachers leading in prayer," he continued. "I don't think we should prohibit God from public places. I think "In God We Trust" belongs on our coin, and I think "Under God" belongs in our pledge of allegiance."
Romney said he thinks it would be "a sad omission" not to recognize the presence of God in history, because students should learn that "Congress believed that our rights came not from government, and not from the Constitution, but instead from the Creator.... The founders of this nation were fundamentally believing people. They came from different faiths and different religions, but they believed in the Creator."
"By the way, I also recognize the right of people not to believe," he said, a departure from a line he used in last week's speech in Texas. "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom."
He then said, "But I found something interesting in America, even those that don't believe in God typically believe in something greater than themselves."
Earvin "Magic" Johnson will join Bill Clinton in Iowa Tuesday to campaign for Hillary Clinton. The NBA legend/entrepreneur will appear with the former president in Waterloo and Davenport as part of HRC's "Every County Counts Tour -- Working For Change, Working For You." The tour launches Sunday in Council Bluffs. The goal -- a five-day, 99-county campaign extravaganza ...
Edwards: I met a man named James Lowe who was born with a cleft palate. He had no voice for 50 years, because with no health care, he couldn’t get a simple operation. Fifty years without a voice – in America. This is wrong. It is immoral. When are we going to stop letting drug companies, insurance companies and their lobbyists run this country?
America belongs to us.James Lowe finally got his voice, now it’s time for yours. I’m John Edwards and I approve this message.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Dems
Hillary Clinton 27%
Barack Obama 27%
John Edwards 22%
Bill Richardson 8%
Joe Biden 5%
Chris Dodd 1%
Dennis Kucinich 1%
GOP
Mike Huckabee 36%
Mitt Romney 23%
Rudy Giuliani 12%
Fred Thompson 8%
John McCain 5%
Ron Paul 5%
Tom Tancredo 1%
Interesting notes ...
On the Republican side, 23% of voters said Romney would be their second choice if the caucuses were held today. Huck would be the runner up for 21% of voters.
Among the Democrats, meanwhile, Edwards is the favorite second choice pick, with 25% of voters' support. Obama would be No. 2 for 23% of those polled, while Clinton is the back-up selection for 18% of voters.
Democratic voters said overwhelmingly that Clinton has the experience to be president (an approximately 30 percentage point spread over her leading rivals). But by the converse margin, they said they believe Obama to be the more inspirational leader (45% for BHO to Clinton's 20%).
The all important question of who can really provide change ...
Answering an inquiry about who will "lead the country in a new direction" ... ?
Obama, 38%, Clinton, 27%, and Edwards, 16%. Score one big one for Obama, right? But wait, voters believe Clinton has the best chance of winning the general, 41% to Obama's 28 percent and Edwards' 16%.
Republican voters give Giuliani, Romney and Huckabee nearly comparable reviews when asked who has the best shot at winning the general (29%, 28%, 25% respectively) and who has the most experience necessary to be president. But voters believe strongly that Huck is the most inspirational candidate in the bunch (36% to Romney's 21% and Rudy's 19%).
The survey was conducted from Dec.7-12. Margin or error for Dems polled is 4 percent; GOP margin is 4.5 percent. Sample size was 1,105 likely Iowa caucus voters, 569 of whom are Dems, 446 are Republicans.
That's the question asked in the eye-pleasing whispy text of new mailers from Iowa Women Vote! (the state's political arm of pro-choice org Emily's List). Emily's List is throwing big money behind Hillary Clinton in the effort to maintain her grip on the female vote in Iowa; polls show HRC losing ground to Barack Obama among women. So the barrage of mail couldn't come at a better time.
Here's a description of the two of the mailers hitting boxes now (full color, 8.5x11) ...
The first one features photos of a mother of two who plugs Clinton's record with kids. She says: "I'm supporting Hillary Clinton because she has always stood up for our childen. The least I can do is stand up for her at the Caucus."
The second profiles a teacher, who echoes the praise for Clinton's focus on children. "I've been going to the caucus for 28 years because it's just too important to skip," reads her quote.
Both mailers direct readers to the pro-Hillary girl-power site www.yougogirl.com to learn more.
New Hillary Clinton ad debuting in Iowa and NH today. The first featuring Chelsea Clinton and the second to include Dorothy Rodham, the candidate's mother. It's an attempt to soften HRC's image at a time when the campaign is fighting charges of dirty politics (see Billy Shaheen and BHO smear e-mails). Polls show Barack Obama making inroads with women voters in Iowa and NH.
“Proud”
TV: 30
12.13.07
[Hillary Clinton:] “I’m thrilled that I have my mother and my daughter with me tonight. My mother, Dorothy Rodham, my daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
You know, as I travel around I see so many families who share the same values I was brought up with.
My mom taught me to stand up for myself and to stand up for those who can’t do it on their own.
I’m proud to live by those values. But what I’m most proud of is knowing who I’ve passed them on to.
CNN's Crowley: "You have never seen six such agreeable people." More: "Nobody slipped up. Nobody stuck out" ("AC 360," 12/13).
CQ's Crawford: "Nobody was on steroids during that debate, I can tell you that" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 12/13).
Ex-WH adviser David Gergen: "John Edwards was the best today. He was the most focused. I think he actually walked away with some honors today. ... Barack Obama, I think, was more at ease in this debate than I've ever seen him in the past Democratic debates and I think has some of that warmth" ("AC 360," 12/13).
MSNBC's Matthews: "Do you think that the campaign debate we watched ... was an attempt by people who hate television to destroy television?" ("Hardball," 12/13).
CNN's Yellin: "There were no fireworks in this debate. You could you call it the make nice debate" ("Situation Room," 12/13).
MSNBC's Shuster: "The debate was largely sort of friendly. There were a couple jabs, but the highlights from the debate will not necessarily be on policy issues" ("Hardball," 12/13).
Washington Post's Kornblut: "It was a pretty diligent public broadcasting display, I would say, yes, not the most riveting hour" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 12/13).
CNN's Borger, on HRC: "An incumbent is not what people are looking for in an election that's about the word we've been talking about -- which is about change. So she's trying to reposition herself and, also, in a way, to humanize herself. ... This is going to be a different kind of Hillary Clinton. We'll have to see if she continues to attack and how Obama reacts to this new Hillary Clinton" ("Situation Room," 12/13).
The muich-anticipated Democratic debate today at Iowa Public Television did little to change the dynamic of the race here. It was a three-way contest going in, and it looks the same on the back end.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are deadlocked in Iowa, and each made his or her appeal to voters today during the final debate before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.
None of this is new, but ... Clinton's plea was for experience, for a president who can start from the first day in office. Hope alone, she said, won't get the job done. Obama said he is the change candidate. Edwards, meanwhile, pitched a populist message. He spoke often of corporate greed and corruption hindering progress in Washington.
The debate moderator, Carolyn Washburn, was the big loser of the outing -- and yesterday's GOP contest, for that matter. Washburn provided few opportunities at either event for the candidates to contrast their records. Education, sure the panel of six Democrats are all for it. Health care, they're all for it. It was a snoozer, through and through.
Highlights:
1. Obama's move to defend Joe Biden when Washburn insinuated that Biden has uttered racist remarks.
2. HRC's line that you don't get change by "hoping for it."
3. Chris Dodd response to a question about his father being censured four decades ago. And then his suggestion that his New Year's wish is "that Iowans caucus and they caucus correctly."
MAYOR GIULIANI: “People are frustrated over immigration because the government has been talking about solving this for twenty or twenty-five years, and it’s just gotten worse. What we need here is leadership. Build a fence. Train the border patrol. Have a BorderStat system. Have a tamper-proof ID card. And then if you become a citizen you have to be able to read English, write English, speak English and understand American civics. We can end illegal immigration. The technology exists to do it, the people exist to do it. Now we need the political leadership and will to get it done. I’m Rudy Giuliani and I approve this message.”
A bit of controversy being aired in the spin room over two of the questions asked at the Des Moines Register debate. Asked what he thought of moderator Carolyn Washburn's questions about some of Joe Biden's less-than-politically-correct statements in the past, Senate colleague and Biden BFF Chris Dodd leapt to Biden's defense.
"I thought that was a harsh question of Joe," said Dodd, adding that it was "inappropriate" to ask again about something that Biden has addressed in the past. "The last thing you associate with Joe Biden is racism," he insisted.
Beau Biden, speaking for his father, had a different take. "I was happy he was asked it," he said, adding that civil rights are "really what motivated him to get into public life, public service."
"You can ask whatever you want," he said. "What I focus on is answers. And his answer was a great answer."
Elizabeth Edwards, for her part, thought that the short stick in the debate went to Dodd, who endured questioning about a sore spot in his father's past. (Dodd's father was censured by the Senate in 1967 after it was revleaed that he had diverted over $100,000 in campaign funds into a personal account.)
"I didn't think that mentioning Chris Dodd's father was appropriate," said Mrs. Edwards. "But what a passionate statement he made in response."
Dodd didn't criticize the question. Instead, he said, "Bring it on."
David Axelrod, Barack Obama's closest political adviser, said he was pleased that Bill Shaheen resigned his position today as Hillary Clinton's campaign co-chair.
"I think it's a good decision, because I think what he did is beyond the pale," Axelrod told reporters following today's Democratic debate at the Iowa Public Television studio in Johnston.
Shaheen told The Washington Post yesterday that he thought Obama's past drug use should have a bigger impact on the campaign.
Axelrod said he hopes Shaheen's resignation "will send a signal that you can't do those things," but he also suggested that a recent poll showing Obama and Clinton in a dead heat in the Granite State could get her operatives there, Shaheen included, "a little hot under the collar."
Shaheen is the husband of former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
A STATEMENT FROM BILL SHAHEEN
Shaheen announces decision to step down as Clinton campaign Co-Chair
“I would like to reiterate that I deeply regret my comments yesterday and say again that they were in no way authorized by Senator Clinton or the Clinton campaign. Senator Clinton has been running a positive campaign focused on the issues that matter to America’s families. She is the best qualified to be the next President of the United States because she can lead starting on day one. I made a mistake and in light of what happened, I have made the personal decision that I will step down as the Co-Chair of the Hillary for President campaign. This election is too important and we must all get back to electing the best qualified candidate who has the record of making change happen in this country. That candidate is Hillary Clinton.” -- per the Clinton campaign
HRC: Spending time with her family. Exercise. Resolved to do the very best job she can in this campaign. To run a campaign that Democrats can be proud of.
Edwards: In the midst of political hoopla … Remember that somewhere in America tonight a child will go to bed hungry, somewhere a parent has to beg for healthcare for a sick child ... (Stump speech alert)
Dodd: "I have a New Year's wish that Iowans caucus and they caucus correctly on Jan. 3."
Richardson. To lose weight. Health care. Ending the war. Aspires to continue to stay positive.
Biden: Remember where I came from.
Obama: Be a better father and husband. "Remind myself constantly that this is not about me, what I'm doing." Yesterday bought a Christmas tree with his girls. Only way this campaign is worth it, he said, is if he's having a broader impact on the lives of others.
"I learned a lot from that experience, and clearly one of the principal lessons is you’ve got to have a very strong communications strategy and we didn’t do that."
More: "I want to have an open and transparent government. … Let’s have as much sunlight as we can possibly gather."
She'd put as much as possible on the Internet. End the revolving door of lobbyists. Move toward public financing.
Obama
Convene joint chiefs Initiate the kind of diplomacy that would bring stability to Iraq. Would meet with AG and order that he/she reverse Bush's executive orders. Health care.
Biden
Abandon Bush policies on torture and holding prisoners. Provide catastrophic health coverage to every child in America before first year is out.
Richardson
I’d end the war, all troops out within a year. No residual forces.
Universal health care.
“Announce an energy revolution.”
Edwards:
"I will end the war. I'll close Gitmo. I'd restore people's civil liberties."
End to corporate greed (Third mention? fourth?)
HRC: Being to withdraw troops from Iraq.
"The era of cowboy diplomacy is over. Rescind those executive orders that undermine the Constitution. End Bush's war on science.
"You have to move quickly in order to get off to a good start and that's what I intend to do."
"I've worked on behalf of education reform for a very long time ... I'm privileged to have a family that supported me in my education. My daughter's here today. Obviously, Bill and I were incredibly focused on her education."
Biden attempts to one up ...
Biden: "The reason my wife's not here today is, she's teaching."
Biden: Increase mileage for autos. Flex fueled autos.
"Corn ethanol is not giong to take us the whole way. ... The president's going to have to make this a moral crusade for the American people."
Richardson: 50 mpg fuel standards. Reduce consumption of oil by 50 percent by 2020. Talking about an "energy revolution" ...
Dodd:Advocates a corporate carbon tax. Said he's aware of the implications of promoting a tax.
HRC: "This has to call for a new form of American patriotism. ... We cannot sustain the current energy profile in this country."
Obama: This is a moral imperative. Increases initially in electricity prices. People will learn they can make money through green technologies. Be courageous enough to bring this conversation to tough audiences -- like Detroit automakers.
Edwards: Oil cos, power companies "stand between America and the change that it needs." Effort to move America off carbon-based fuels. We have a responsibility to future generations.
Obama: Dr. King 40 years ago described the fierce urgency of now.
"I feel that urgency today," he said. "Our nation’s at war. The planet’s in peril. Americans and Iowans are working harder and harder just to keep pace."
He said he aims to bring the country together. And he'll push back against the special interests.
Edwards: Problem is that corporate power and corporate greed is controlling business in Washington, D.C.
"I want every caucusgoer to know I’ve been fighting these people my entire life," he said.
HRC: It's a particular problem with Medicare. Reform government programs.
"Medicare is especially vulnerable because the costs are going up so quickly," she said.
Health care reform is essential. HRC would establish a bipartisan commission to dig into reform. "Republicans and Democrats are going to have to agree to make the changes that are necessary," she said.
Obama: Prevention critical for savings in Medicare system." We are not going to make some of these changes unless we change how business is done in Washington."
Richardson: "I believe universal health care is a human right for every American." He added: "Prevention is going to be the key." Mandatory phys ed. Eliminate junk food in schools.
Would it be a priority of your admin to balance the federal budget?
JOHNSTON, Iowa --
"We are not going to be able to dig ourselves out of that hole in one or two years," said Barack Obama. He said he'd also seek an end to special interest loopholes and earmarks.
Bill Richardson: I believe balancing the budget should be viewed as an opportunity to have economic growth."
Joe Biden: Eliminate the war, eliminate the $200B in tax cuts for the rich, cut $20B annually in military spending.
Chris Dodd: "What we need to be doing is growing our economy, giving people a sense of optimism again." The national government is a very different entity than a state government.
John Edwards: Create jobs, protect American jobs, strengthen and grow the middle class. "Corporate power and greed have literally taken over the government. And we need a president who is willing to take these things on."
Hillary Clinton: "You can't do it in a year. It will take time. But the economy will grow again when we start acting fiscally responsible."
Ok, so Bill Shaheen, husband of former NH governor Jeanne Shaheen, apologized last night for telling The Washington Post that Barack Obama's past drug use should be a bigger issue in the campaign.
Today, Kathleen Strand, NH spokeswoman for Clinton, said the New York senator apologized directly to Obama this morning.
"Sen. Clinton personally apologized to Sen. Obama this morning, and reiterated that this was not anything that came from the campaign or that we condone," she told NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli.
But Obama's NH team isn't done using the gaffe to their favor. Martha Fuller Clark, Obama's state co-chair, said this morning that the episode is diverting attention from the critical matters of interest to voters.
"We're calling upon the Clinton campaign to return to discussing the real issues that are important to the voters of New Hampshire," she said. "That's what we want the campaign to do. We want them to have a positive campaign here in New Hampshire, not negative attacks."
But Ned Helms, the other Obama state co-chair, suggested Bill Shaheen's comments were no accident -- that they represent a pattern of smears executed by the Clinton camp.
"We heard that a week or so ago out in Iowa with the first person who was sending out emails," said Helms, former chairman of the state Democratic Party. "Then we heard it again last week in Iowa. And I think that's the same explanation we heard this week. I suppose you could say, well the first time, that's just what happened, and it's too bad. And then the second time that happened. But when you see a pattern of people making statements, and then there's the follow up statement that, 'Oh that wasn't authorized,' it doesn't take a genius to see that there's a thread going on here."
New Hillary Clinton ad airing in Iowa today, featuring Dorothy Rodham. An effort, of course, to draw back into the fold those women voters defecting to Barack Obama.
"Dorothy"
TV :30
DOROTHY RODHAM: What I would like people to know about Hillary is what a good person she is.
She never was envious of anybody—she was helpful. And she’s continued that with her adult life with helping other women.
She has empathy for other people’s unfortunate circumstances. I’ve always admired that because it isn’t always true of people.
I think she ought to be elected even if she weren’t my daughter.
HILLARY CLINTON: I’m Hillary Clinton and I approved this message.
Asked about the NYT's mag piece: "The reporter was actually telling me things about the Mormon faith that I didn't know, and I was asking and even said in the story, it was innocent. I went up to Mitt Romney today. I apologized because it was not a question of his faith. It's been blown totally out of proportion. I'm glad we're going to be able to move on past this and now start talking about things that really matter to the people of this country and that's why I think I'm doing well in the polls. It's not these little dumpster diving incidents."
Asked what he said to Romney: "Well, I told him that it was absolutely just amazing to me that that was lifted out of an 8100 word story. I told him that I deeply regretted it, that I personally wanted to look him in the eye and apologize, that I never would intend to question his faith, and that I wanted him to know from me face-to-face, and his being a Mormon was neither a reason that people should vote for or against him for president. And I believe that. ... No more than people ought to vote for or against me because I'm a Baptist" ("Tucker," MSNBC, 12/12).
Analysis of the CNN/WMUR poll indicates that Hillary Clinton led the field in New Hampshire since 2005 -- and by as much as 23 points in September. She can kiss that hefty advantage goodbye.
Now:
HRC 31%
Barack Obama 30%
John Edwards 16%
Bill Richardson 7%
Dennis Kucinich 3%
Joe Biden and Chris Dodd 1% each
This is critical ... just 10% of those surveyed are undecided.
Not much wiggle room for the former front-runner. Maybe that's why Billy Shaheen, who is helping to lead the charge for HRC in the Granite State, let slip that he believes Obama's past drug use should be (become?) a bigger issue in the waning weeks of the primary contest. The Washington Post reported Shaheen's comment's today. Take a read.
New Bill Richardson ad up in N.H. features Lee Iacocca ...
"I spent a lot of years as a CEO, and I am looking for a President with experience creating jobs and the guts to lead," Iacocca says in the ad. "And that is Bill Richardson. As a Governor, he turned his state's economy around by focusing on the jobs of tomorrow, like clean energy. He has balanced budgets, negotiated with foreign leaders, and he never gives up."
At some point watching today’s debate, it dawned on us: we’ve seen this no-nonsense demeanor, black and white wardrobe and excessive blush application before. Des Moines Register debate moderator Carolyn Washburn, it occured to us, is a dead ringer for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
Our remaining thoughts of the day lingered on where we’ve seen Alan Keyes before. The unemployment line, perhaps (NORA McALVANAH).
"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
That's Mike Huckabee in this Sunday's NYT Magazine. This morning, however, he called Mitt Romney's campaign to apologize, reports NBC/NJ's Erin McPike.
"The governor accepted the apology," said Kevin Madden, a Romney spokesman. "He continues to believe that the campaign should not be about questioning a candidate's faither. While it is fair to criticize an opponent's record or policy positions, it is out of bounds for one candidate to question another's personal faith."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) was given his own private concert today in the appropriations conference room, where he was serenaded by the Gandydancers-- who had performed earlier at the Library of Congress. Never one to just sit back and watch, Byrd joined the traditional string band from his home state, singing with them for a half-hour. We hear it was awesome (NORA McALVANAH).
JOHNSTON, IOWA -- When Alan Keyes is the hottest property in a crowded post debate spin room, it's clear that little news of note was uttered at today's GOP debate.
The candidates weren't questionned about immigration or the Iraq war. Iran ... just a quick mention during the Iowa Public Television debate.
So who benefits if the 90 minutes proved a wash? In this reporter's view, Mike Huckabee.
And Huckabee, the only leading candidate to show -- albeit briefly -- in the spin room, must agree.
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Huckabee said that his opponents' campaigns are looking for dirt on him.
"They're going through every ole wastebasket they can find to dig up anything I've ever said ... There's no way that this would be happening if I wasn't scaring some people."
Huckabee said everything ever written about his political obituary has been wrong. Surrounded by a pack of reporters, he added: "There's a lot of fight in this dog."
Mitt Romney, widely expected to go after Huckabee today, uttered nary a peep in Huckabee's direction. The only point of contrast he could muster was that his record on education as governor was every bit as impressive as Huckabee's. Hardly tittlating stuff.
Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani barely registered, reinforcing earlier statements in response to the Judy Nathan security controversy that he has made mistakes, that he isn't perfect.
Giuliani's campaign manager, Mike Duhaime, told reporters after the Iowa Public Television debate that the mayor is focused on the Feb. 5 states and beyond.
"I do feel good about it, the leads we have in certain states," Duhaime said. Iowa was not one of those states he mentioned.
Washburn asks the candidates to offer up a New Year's resolution for another candidate onstage ...
McCain
"Let’s raise the level of dialogue and discussion in this campaign, let’s not accuse each other of a lack of patriotism ..."
Huck
Be a lot more careful about what he says. Since what he says is getting amplified these days. Oh, and the other guys on stage could try the same approach.
Mitt
Come together real soon when this is resolved. And fight to make sure a Republican gets elected in November.
Your administration in NY has been accused of handling your security expenses in a way that obscured public disclosure ... How would your White House be different?
"The reality is that all that information was available and known to people, known six years ago. I would make sure my government was transparent ... I haven’t had a perfect life. I wish I had. I do the best I can to learn from my mistakes."
Follow up q -- Are there things you could’ve done in this situation that would’ve been more open?
The way it was handled made information more available to the public, Giuliani said.
"I can’t think of a public figure that’s had a more transparent life than I’ve had," he added.
And Alan Keyes, responding to the climate change question, launches into a rant about people not being represented by the candidates. Mitt yells out that he's interested in Keyes' answer on, uh, climate change. (Hello!) And then this from Keyes ...
"I think the most important emission we need to control is the hot air emission of politicians."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Show of hands, Washburn asks, for those who believe climate change is a problem. Seems like an easy request, but ...
Thompson
"I’m not doing hand shows today."
McCain
"I know that climate change is real."
Rudy
"Climate change is real it’s happening. I think human beings are contributing to it."
Only way to deal with it is through energy independence, he added.
Mitt
Invest in new technologies to get the country off dependence on foreign oil. Will lead to a cleaner environment. Help both the environment and the economy.
"We call it global warming. Not America warming," Romney said.
The problem is not something that should be tackled by the U.S. alone, he added.
John McCain
"We've got to reform the tax code. Nobody understands it. Nobody trusts it. And we have to fix it."
Mike Huckabee
He said he's back a Fair Tax -- "And that means that the rich people aren't going to be made poor but that the poor people might have a chance to be rich."
Fred Thompson
"My goal is to get to Mitt Romney's situation where I don't have to worry about taxes anymore."
Mitt responds, by saying he'd like to be in Thompson's situation.
"Well you're getting to be a pretty good actor actually," Thompson quips.
Rudy
Reduce taxes across the board. Create a simpler tax code, something that could be filed in a page. "And we should give the death penalty to the death tax. It really is an unfair tax."
DMR editor, Carolyn Washburn, asks what sacrifice candidates would ask Americans to make for debt reduction.
Ron Paul
Not necesary to ask for sacrifices. Cut military bases abroad. "There's no need to sacrifice. We need more liberty," he said.
Mike Huckabee
Do things differently. Sacrifices not necessarily required. Example -- Move from intervention-based health care model to prevention based. Kill the snake, he said, don't just treat the snake bite.
Fred Thompson
"We're bankrupting the next generation without any question ... " National security is affected, he said, because we're forced to queeze military spending. Twice as much, tho, going to entitlements.
Mitt Romney
"This is not a time to wring our hands and think the future is bleak. In fact, the future is bright."
Govt needs to promote policies that provide good jobs, good schools, good healthcare ...
(Not exactly an answer to the question.)
Mike Huckabee
"It's most certainly a national security threat," he said. "A country can only be free if it can do three things ... " feed itself, fight for itself and fuel itself.
John McCain
"We will in five years become oil independent."
And Alan Keyes
Wha????????
How did this happen again?
Barack Obama is in Chicago ($$$) today, but Tom Daschle stumps for him today and tomorrow in Iowa.
John Edwards is still on that bus in Iowa. It's Day 3, and his team is announcing the endorsement of 38 Iowa law enforcement officers. Also today, his campaign noted that Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne are due in N.H. next week to campaign for JRE.
Hillary Clinton doesn't have a public sched today. She travels to Iowa tomorrow for the DMR Dem debate.
RUDY GIULIANI: “There’s no question. Taxes go down. Revenues go up.”
VOICEOVER: “He cut taxes 23 times by 9 billion. Reduced welfare 640,000. Eliminated 20,000 bureaucrats. And cut real per capita spending. All in a place where people said it was impossible. Now, Rudy Giuliani has a new plan. He’ll cut taxes. Lower income taxes. Reduce business taxes. And do away with the marriage penalty and the death tax for good.”
RUDY GIULIANI: “We need accountability in the spending of our money so that people have confidence in government again.”
VOICEOVER: “Rudy will also rein in runaway federal spending. Do away with earmarks. Make agency heads find 5 to 10 percent savings in every budget. And when nearly half of the federal work force retires over the next 8 years, he’ll only replace half of them. Rudy Giuliani. He won’t just talk about cutting taxes and reducing government. He’ll deliver.”
RUDY GIULIANI: “I’m Rudy Giuliani and I approved this message.”
VOICEOVER: “Paid for by the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, Incorporated. JoinRudy2008.com”
As we wait for the serious stuff to start in Iowa, here's a bit of silly fare from Laura Vozzella, Baltimore Sun columnist extraordinaire. She writes this today about Mitt Romney's underwear of choice ...
The American electorate has matured in the years since Bill Clinton got that boxers-or-briefs query. These days voters only want to know if Mitt Romney wears Mormon underwear.
Romney has declined to answer questions about it, and his big speech on Mormonism steered clear of holy skivvies. Anybody out there who thinks presidential unmentionables should remain unmentioned, read no more. Because I know somebody who has seen Romney's underwear. One pair of it, anyway.
On the eve of the 2002 Olympics, The Sun's Candus Thomson was one of a handful of reporters invited to dinner at Mitt and Ann Romney's Park City, Utah, home, a $5 million "cabin" on Rising Star Lane.
The Olympics CEO and future Massachusetts governor talked about his role in the Games as a waiter served a luscious spread that included sea bass, wine and mixed drinks. When it was time to go, Romney suggested that everyone visit the bathroom on the way out, since the outside temperature was well below zero and Salt Lake City 50 minutes away.
Rather than make the reporters line up to use the facilities off the kitchen, Romney sprinted down the hallways of his home, pointing out other bathrooms. Thomson ended up in the one off the Romneys' master bedroom.
With its Pendleton wool shower curtain and lodge-style furnishings, the bathroom was the best Thomson had ever seen - a final, luxurious touch to an evening that should have softened up even the most hard-bitten reporter. But Thomson, ever on duty, noticed a pair of underwear hanging on the back of the door as she reached for the knob to leave.
Not that she'd really care about her host's undies. (Assuming, of course, they were his and not somebody else's.) That is, unless five years later, he was running for president, and TV talking heads were wondering aloud if he wore regular underwear or the Mormon kind - a garment similar to an old-fashioned union suit that's sacred to Mormons and, well, a little odd to the rest of us.
"I never thought I might have peeked at the underwear of the next president," Thomson told me. "It was just going to be the answer to a bar trivia question someday, you know, good for a free drink."
The answer, which should be good for a free drink anywhere but the Romney White House: regular, off-the-rack Fruit of the Loom briefs, size 34.
I ran all that by Romney spokeswoman Sarah Pompei. She was not amused and not commenting.
JOHNSTON, IOWA -- So the big looming question here in Johnston, Iowa, at the home of Iowa Public Television, just a half hour from the start of the Des Moines Register's Republican debate is ... Not will Mitt Romney take on Mike Huckabee, but how hard will he hit him? And the follow ... Will Rudy Giuliani, who needs Huck to do well here, step up somehow to divert the onslaught.
Much has been written since Huck's last debate performance about the consistency of his message, his appealing personality, the campy Chuck Norris ad, and, of course, his soaring poll numbers. But much is also starting to be written about how he's still untested, how his record hasn't yet been vetted and revetted. And this seems like the do or die moment, the pre Xmas opportunity when all of Iowa is watching, for Romney, in particular, to shine a bright light on Huck's vulnerabilities.
Wayne DuMond. Scholarships for the children of illegal immigrants. Support for a sales tax. And more.
Romney, meanwhile, desperately needs to make up some ground here. He has a new ad up in Iowa, a contrast ad, comparing his position on immigration to Huckabee's. There's always a danger in going negative, however, in Iowa, where voters like their candidates nice, hopeful, decent. There's potentially a price to be paid by the guy who gets nasty. So Romney's taken a big gamble with the ad, and if he goes after Huck even harder today, which he is expected to do, he could see those poll numbers tick down even further.
Others to watch... Giuliani, of course. How does he handle Huck's emergence as the media darling of the day and the undeniable frontrunner? And will he field more questions, which he answered rather clumsily last weekend on Meet the Press, about his relationship with Bernard Kerik and security detail for then girlfriend Judy Nathan.
Finally, will John McCain emerge from today's battle unscathed -- as the 'higher ground' candidate -- if Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani fight dirty.
I'll be blogging from the media room at IPT. Keep reading ...
As part of their ongoing attempt to make your Christmas something of meaning and perhaps of significance, political parties and candidates are offering some politically minded gift ideas this holiday season. It seems the primary calendar and the advent calendar have morphed into a one-stop-shop for all your partisan needs, creating the possibility of a real miracle this holiday season. It warms our hearts, really.
Here’s a sample of some gift ideas rolling into our inboxes:
Fred Thompson's camp is counting down the 12 days leading to Christmas by providing supporters with a Christmas-wish-list of important items the campaign will need in the coming days. Your gift of $1000 will make a day on the bus possible. $500 today will allow the campaign to run four television ads in Iowa, etc, etc, etc.
For a limited time, the MI GOP is offering a 15% "Holiday Discount" on select gift items, including their "I am a Black Republican" T-shirt, now $16.
“Ron Paul Christmas” -- an entire grassroots effort devoted to raising money for Paul during the holiday season, seems like they're expecting a blimp full of donations dipped in egg nog. “Instead of asking for the newest iPod this holiday season, ask your loved ones for the gift of liberty,” the site instructs.
And if money is a little tight this year and you can’t afford liberty, there is always thisJoe Biden Christmas ornament for $7.90.
And sadly, there are always a few Grinchs in the group. The AP reports, members of the advocacy group Citizen Action are planning to deliver empty presents to Rep. Jim Saxton's (R-NJ) office. The group says gifts are meant to symbolize Saxton's empty promises to people he represents (NORA McALVANAH).
NBC's Myers examined the gifts Huckabee received as AR GOV in a piece for "Nightly News":
Myers: "Financial disclosure forms reveal in more than 10 years, Huckabee and his wife took hundreds of gifts -- large and small -- more than $112,000 worth in one year alone. Guitars, gold jewelry and diamonds, vacations, gift certificates, free dental care and dry cleaning, $23,000 for Mrs. Huckabee inaugural wardrobe and 50% off hamburgers at Wendys."
More Myers: "All the gifts were legal but over the years the state ethics commission admonished Huckabee five times for failing to report gifts and for failing to report thousands he paid himself and his family from campaign funds."
Myers: "Today Huckabee vigorously defended his record."
Huckabee: "In all of the complaints ever filed, there was never, ever once, one instance where I was found ever to have taken an illegal gift" (NBC, 12/11).
Karl Rove, on Huckabee: "I think he stands a good chance of running well in Iowa. I'm not certain that he is organized in-depth beyond that. We will see" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 12/11).
Hello to all from icy Des Moines. Big cheers for former Iowa senator John Culver, father of Gov. Chet Culver and my seatmate on Northwest Airlines direct from National. He made the delays totally bearable.
I'll be blogging from the Des Moines Register debates this week. Starting with the Repubs. Check in tomorrow 1 p.m. central ...
The AP called OH-05 for state Rep. Bob Latta (R) just before 9 p.m. Results have been slow to trickle in, but it appears that Latta will win a comfortable victory over ‘04/’06 nominee Robin Weirauch (D).
Results with 79% of the precincts reporting:
Latta 45,444 56%
Weirauch 35,490 44
The results nearly mirror late-Rep. Paul Gillmor’s (R) ’06 victory over Weirauch. In one of Latta’s biggest triumphs, he carried his home county, Wood Co., 55%-45%. That was the one county in the CD that Weirauch came close to winning in ‘06, holding Gillmor to just 50%.
The first sign that this could be a competitive race occurred on 12/2, when the DCCC poured $157K into a TV ad attacking Latta for his ties to ex-Gov. Bob Taft (R) and jailed GOP fundraiser Tom Noe. The NRCC answered with an ad of its own, and in the end put in about $443K into the race. That’s a large sum for a cmte that had only $2.5M CoH at the end of Oct.
Even though Weirauch lost, Dems crow that they forced the NRCC to spend nearly 18% of their total CoH in a CD that Pres. Bush took 61% in ’04. GOPers answer that the close special election in MA-05, along with tonight’s surprisingly easy victory for Latta, mean Dems won’t have two ’06-wave type elections in a row.
It’s impossible to read too much into these results, but the GOP dodged a bullet here. They invested heavily in keeping the strong GOP seat, and in the end, the seat performed as it should have. But GOPers will take this result, considering they were deeply concerned about their survival here just a week ago [TIM SAHD].
The unlikeliest GOP candidate to emerge from the 11/10 GOP nominating convo is now the new VA-01 Rep. Del. Rob Wittman (R) will replace the late-Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R) after defeating Iraq Vet Philip Forgit (D) and grant writer Lucky Narain (I) this p.m. The race was practically ignored by pol. observers, whose eyes are fixed instead on the results in OH-05.
With his easy victory, Wittman pulled the same % that Davis got in ’06.
By WH election numbers, VA-01 is slightly less GOP than OH-05, but Dems made the decision to invest in OH-05 instead. The NRCC aided Wittman early in the general election race, putting in a total of about $80K, but stopped in early Dec. after it became apparent that Dems were more interested in OH.
Wittman was the least likely GOPer to emerge from the nominating convo. Davis’ husband, Chuck Davis (R), and Club for Growth-backed Paul Jost (R) were the early frontrunners, but a long floor battle yielded the consensus choice of Wittman.
Forgit ran a good campaign, and Dems talked up his profile, but in the end he didn’t have the time or the funds to mount a strong campaign [TIM SAHD]
Scrutiny of Mike Huckabee's time in Arkansas continues today with the report that during his years in the governor's mansion, Huckabee denounced the embargo against Cuba. Now five years later and running for president, Huckabee praised that same embargo as "an important tool.”
Huckabee acknowledged his shifting views yesterday, saying the change is due to the “simple reality that I’m running for president.” As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee was carrying around 100 extra pounds, and apparently, over 1,000 pardons. Translation: had he known he was going to run for president, he probably would have done a few things differently.
Exhibit A: This annual Christmas card sent while Huckabee was governor. Hopefully, Huckabee now favors an embargo on coordinated, pinstriped shirts with reinforced suede elbow patches. No one would criticize him for that flip-flop (NORA McALVANAH).
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Mike Huckabee announced the endorsement of Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist today.
The timing of the endorsement could help Huckabee buffer allegations made in a Mitt Romney attack ad released yesterday that the former Arkansas governor is lax in enforcing immigration laws.
"I'm somewhat flattered as I seem to be the recipient of the first negative attack ad in the Republican Primary," Huckabee said. "That's usually a sign of desperation on the part of an opponent who feels that his only way of winning is to attack and to destroy."
When asked why he chose to endorse Huckabee over Congressman Tom Tancredo – who Gilchrist admitted was the "inspiration for launching the Minuteman Project" – Gilchrist said that he would put Huckabee at the same level as Tancredo on the immigration issue.
"Whatever the governor might have done 10 or 20 years ago regarding this issue, that was then, this is now," Gilchrist said. "Governor Huckabee actually wrote a plan, actually presented a plan. I'd seen other candidates' plans but they were two sentences or three sentences or nothing at all, earlier in the campaign. Governor Huckabee was the first, in my opinion, to come out with a written plan."
Kevin Madden, a Romney spokesman, said that one endorsement can't alter Huckabee's record on immigration.
"It’s one person’s viewpoint, and we respect anyone’s decision to endorse a given candidate," Madden told On Call. "An endorsement won’t change the fact that Mike Huckabee has an abysmal record on immigration enforcement.
Huckabee said that he has been trying to follow Ronald Reagan's "eleventh commandment," that thou shall not attack a fellow Republican, and that the longer he's out front the more attacks will be directed toward him. Huckabee said he believes Romney risks alienating Iowa voters who are notorious for disliking negative campaigns.
"If the basis of running for the presidency is, 'Let me tell you what's wrong with the other guy,' not 'Let me tell you what I'd do for America,' I think the people of Iowa – who have been through this so many times, will say, 'I vote for the guy who has a plan for the future of America' not just somebody looking around and saying, as the tattle tale in the third grade, let me tell you what this guy's doing," Huckabee said. "We didn't like it when we were in the third grade. I don't think we like it electing a president either."
Meanwhile, Gilchrist defined the Minuteman Project as a "multi-ethnic immigration law enforcement advocacy group," but in his endorsement statement he said that his group's goal was to combat the "illegal alien invasion," which he later clarified as a "covert, Trojan horse-like…nonviolent invasion." These statements add fuel to the fire stoked by the Minuteman Project's critics who see the group as a vigilante organization who have taken border enforcement into their own hands.
(NBC/NJ's ADAM AIGNER-TREWORGY and JENNIFER SKALKA)
IOWA CITY, IA, Dec 10 - A man dressed in a silver metallic suit, a matching helmet and dark glasses heckled Bill Clinton Monday at his last campaign stop.
About seven minutes into the former president’s fourth speech of the day, the man stood on a chair on the press riser and shouted that robots wanted Clinton to say he was sorry for statements he made 15 years ago.
"Bill Clinton, I want you to apologize to Sister Souljah. Robots of the world want you to apologize to Sister Souljah. We want you to apologize,” the man said as one observer gasped "Oh my God.”
A volunteer demanded to know who had let him in and the audience heckled the heckler with boos and screams of "Get out of here!” He then threw dozens of orange, green, hot pink and yellow cards into the air. A woman yanked what appeared to be a microphone out of the man’s hands, and he was escorted out of the room without further incident.
The cards read: "Robots are mad at Bill. MR-IFOBCA stands for Mad Robots In Favor Of Bill Clinton Apologizing. Mr. Ifobca says, "Bill Clinton should be ashamed of himself for slandering a Black woman named Sister Souljah," followed by a website address (www.Mr-Ifobca.org ). Posted on the site is a "manifesto" entitled “"Why Did I Bum Rush Bill Clinton?”
During his 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton criticized the black rapper and community activist for statements she made about black-on-black crime. He compared her to David Duke for saying "If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?"
Clinton’s response to the man drew roars and applause from the boisterous crowd of several hundred.
"Look at America,” he said, apparently referring to the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. “"You need to find more environmentally responsible ways to protest than throwing graffiti around.”
The unruffled former president noted the cards the man tossed into the air: “"You can disagree with me without killing another tree,” he added, before saying “Anyway” and picking right up with his speech.
Asked why he didn't explain the tenants of faith in his speech: "I can't imagine doing that other speech as you're running for president because, what it would do, is it would say if you're running for president you really need to describe your religion in some depth and that would really open the door to the kind of religious test where people would listen and say 'Do I believe that? Do I disagree with that? Does it conform to my own view?' It would say -- we're going to evaluate candidates based on their explanation of their religion and that's precisely what the constitution and the founders said we should not do."
Asked what's wrong with a little religious clarification: "And that's what I think I did. I pointed out and provided answers to the questions I think are appropriate."
Asked about Huckabee's "Christian" TV ads: "People run their own campaigns they way they want to. I do think it's important we don't reject someone from political office based on their faith but also we don't select someone or elect someone merely because of their faith. And I think it's unusual to advertise your faith in your political campaign."
Asked what he thinks of Huckabee's surge: "I watched the surge with interest and there have been several before it. We began with a the McCain surge and we took a closer look and then we moved on. And the reason is when someone surges then comes the close inspection of their record. You know, I'm convinced as people take a good, hard look at Mike Huckabee's record they'll see this is a guy that is soft on criminals, soft on illegal aliens but hard on tax payers and that's not what going lead the Republican Party to take the White House" (CBS, 12/10).
Joe Biden today becomes the last of the six Democratic campaigns playing in Iowa to go up on TV in the state. On its shoestring budget, the Biden camp has waited til the eleventh hour to drop a television ad in the hopes that a late bump in name recognition will identify him as an alternative choice to undecided voters.
In the ad, called "Action," Biden appears in front of a plain background and plainly plugs his low-celebrity status and his experience, reports NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann.
"Being president isn't the same thing as running for president," he begins, going to on say that "When this campaign is over, political slogans like 'Experience' and 'Change' will mean absolutely nothing."
He notes the bipartisan approval in the Senate of his plan to federalize Iraq and mentions that he spoke with the Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf before Bush did after Musharraf declared emergency rule earlier this year.
So that's a clean sweep of NH's two U.S. reps for Barack Obama ...
Per the Manchester Union Leader:
U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter has decided to endorse Barack Obama for President, UnionLeader.com has learned.
The freshman 1st District congresswoman had been considering staying neutral in the primary, but has now decided to get involved.
Obama, who has been gaining on Hillary Clinton in recent New Hampshire polls, won the endorsement of the state's other member of Congress, 2nd District Rep. Paul Hodes, in July.
Shea-Porter defeated former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley in the November 2006 general election after upsetting Democratic former state Rep. James Craig in the September party primary.
Word of the pending Shea-Porter endorsement comes a day after Obama appeared with television star Oprah Winfrey at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Her backing may be a plus for Obama especially among women, who have strongly favored Clinton so far in the New Hampshire Democratic primary race, according to polls.
Bad weather in Iowa today. Ice, freezing rain, reports of hail and looming threats of snow. President Bill Clinton's events and Michelle Obama's have been nixed.
NOAA advises caution: THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN IOWA...ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM OTTUMWA...TO CHARITON...TO LEON.
Mike Huckabee is starting to bury Mitt Romney in Iowa polls, and South Carolina isn't looking much better. To try to turn things around (cue the Van Halen), the Romney campaign is taking him on -- head on -- in a new Iowa spot called "Choice: The Record" ...
Script For "Choice: The Record" (TV:30):
GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."
ANNOUNCER: "Two former governors, two good family men.
"Both pro-life, both support a Constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage.
"The difference?
"Mitt Romney stood up, and vetoed in-state tuition for illegal aliens, opposed driver's licenses for illegals.
"Mike Huckabee? Supported in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants.
"Huckabee even supported taxpayer-funded scholarships for illegal aliens.
New Chris Dodd ad up tomorrow in Iowa called "I Am" ... On cable and broadcast.
Dodd to camera...
"As you might have guessed I'm not a former first lady or a celebrity. But I am the only Democrat running who's a veteran. And I served in the Peace Corps. I am the candidate who authored the Family and Medical Leave Act. I am the candidate who negotiated the end to wars. These aren't campaign slogans. It's what I've done over a lifetime of service. I'm Chris Dodd, and I approve this message, because I'm the candidate who can win next November. And I am ready to be president."
Bob Vila will be in Iowa for three days -- three days!! -- this week campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Seriously.
He's been to Iowa and New Hampshire for HRC already. And clearly there's just something about the guy that appeals particularly to the early state voting crew, so apparently think the Clintonites. Or maybe, as my colleague Nora McAlvanah pointed out, he and HRC are insulating homes together.
It is 23 degrees in Des Moines tonight. Feels like 16 degrees, according to the good folks at weather.com.
Hillary Clinton will attend an event with the Oracle of Omaha in San Fran tomorrow, billed as a “"Conversation with Warren Buffett."
Bill Clinton campaigns in West Branch, Wapello and Burlington, Iowa. He is due in New Hampshire Friday.
Barack Obama is in L.A. (no public events) and then Seattle for an evening Generation Obama event.
Michelle Obama is also in ... drumroll ... Iowa. Iowa City, Sigourney, Mt. Pleasant and Burlington.
John Edwards is on that big ole bus in Iowa. Day 2 of his tour ...
Bill Richardson raises money in Cali.
Chris Dodd appears is in Cali, too, for very vague "media and meetings," according to a spokesman. He travels next to Iowa.
Mitt and Ann Romney are in Iowa tomorrow. Ann is in Creston, Lamoni, Cedar Falls and Dubuque. The former governor is there the next three days, hitting Des Moines tomorrow, and Johnston, Marion, Muscatine and Bettendorf later in the week.
Rudy Giuliani appears in Santa Monica for a visit with local supporters at The Counter. He only has the one event on his public sched. His campaign would not say if he's out there raising coin.
Cindy McCain will file John McCain's ballot paperwork for the state of Arizona at 10:00 a.m. MT tomorrow at the Secretary of State's office. A brief media availability will follow.
By SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press Write Mon Dec 10
Poet Maya Angelou calls Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton "my girl" in a new radio ad airing in South Carolina.
"Each generation of African-Americans stands on the shoulders of those who came before," Angelou says in the 60-second ad that began airing over the weekend in this early voting state. "Today, the challenges facing us threaten the dreams we have had for our children. We need a president with the experience and strength to meet those challenges."
Clinton's friendship with Angelou back to her days as first lady of Arkansas, where Angelou grew up, the New York senator's campaign said.
"Let me tell you about my girl," Angelou says in the ad. "I am inspired by Hillary Clinton — a daughter, a wife, a mother. My girl." Angelou, whose works include "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," was the inaugural poet for President Bill Clinton in 1993. She endorsed Hillary Clinton in June.
Clinton's campaign would not say exactly where the ad was running or how long it will air.
The ad's release came as more than 29,000 people attended a rally Sunday featuring media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama at Williams-Brice Stadium in South Carolina.
On Saturday, former President Clinton campaigned for his wife in Charleston, S.C.
Do celebrity endorsements matter to voters? Most say no, big names don't drive voters to the polls -- or sway their ultimate decisions. But they do create a buzz -- the Oprah Winfrey coverage could continue right through the week -- and prompt softer, personality-driven reporting on Obama.
So we at On Call have compiled an endorsement list for all the candidates. The Dems, not surprisingly, outshine the Republicans. If we've missed any, let us know ...
DEMS
Hillary Clinton:
Tony Bennett
Barbara Streisand
Magic Johnson
Maya Angelou
Steven Spielberg
Rob Reiner
John Grisham
Carly Simon
Mary Steenburgen
Ted Danson
Billie Jean King
Victoria Rowell
Quincy Jones
Carole King
Barack Obama:
Oprah Winfrey
George Clooney
Scarlett Johanson
Will Smith
Halle Barry
Zach Braff
Jessica Biel
John Edwards:
Jackson Browne
Kevin Bacon
Tim Robbins
Bonnie Raitt
John Mellencamp
Jean Smart
Madeleine Stowe
Lance Armstrong
Chris Dodd:
Paul Simon
Lorne Michaels
Richard Plepler
Paul Newman (did an event for Dodd in Ct., but hasn’t endorsed officially)
Bill Richardson:
Unser brothers (racing legends)
Lee Iacocoa
Martin Sheen
Dennis Kucinich
Sean Penn
REPUBLICANS
Rudy Giuliani:
Bo Derek
Robert Duvall
Kelsey Grammer
Cheryl Ladd
Dennis Miller
John O’Hurley
Adam Sandler
Tom Selleck
Ron Silver
David Zucker
A third volunteer for Hillary Clinton's campaign was aware of a propaganda e-mail alleging that Barack Obama is a Muslim who plans on "destroying the U.S. from the inside out."
"Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential Candidacy," the email reads. "Please forward to everyone you know. The Muslims have said they Plan on destroying the U.S. from the inside out, what better way to start than at The highest level."
Two Clinton volunteers, Linda Olson and Judy Rose, have already been asked to resign from the campaign for their roles in forwarding the e-mail. The AP reported yesterday that Olson, a volunteer coordinator in Iowa County, sent a version of the e-mail to 11 people, including Ben Young, a regional field director for Chris Dodd's campaign. Young passed it on to the AP.
Rose, a Jones County coordinator, was forced out last week after the campaign learned that she'd forwarded a similar e-mail.
But On Call has obtained a copy of the email, which shows that a third Clinton volunteer staffer, Iowa County Coordinator Linda Yoder, was also on the e-mail chain.
Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said Yoder, who is also on the Women's Leadership Council for Hillary, did not notify the campaign about the e-mail, but she did not forward it to anyone. Olson sent Yoder the e-mail on Oct. 5. The campaign did not learn of it until this weekend, Elleithee said.
"We’ve made it clear to all paid staff and volunteer leaders that the senator and the campaign have a zero tolerance policy for this type of activity," Elleithee said.
Elleithee said Yoder has not been asked to step down from her unpaid post.
Will Al Gore endorse? Won't he? Could Oprah + Al = victory for Barack Obama?
Obama, in a statement released today by the campaign, congratulating Gore on his Nobel Prize:
"By having the courage to challenge the skeptics in Washington and lead on the climate crisis facing our planet, Al Gore has advanced the cause of peace and richly deserves the Nobel Prize he's receiving today," Obama said. " His voice and his vision have awakened the conscience of America to the urgency of this threat, and now we must take bold action so that our children inherit a planet that is cleaner, safer, and more peaceful for generations to come."
Meanwhile, Gore in Oslo accepting the prize today said that climate change is a "planetary emergency," reports the NYT.
Latest MSNBC/McClatchy/Mason-Dixon numbers, released this weekend, show it's anyone's game in Iowa, N.H. and S.C. ...
In Iowa, Hillary Clinton has the lead over Barack Obama, 27%-25% (although that’s within the poll’s 5% margin of error), while John Edwards comes in third at 21%.
New Hampshire ... Clinton 30%, Obama 27% and Edwards 10%.
South Carolina ... Clinton 28%, Obama 25% and Edwards 18%, per NBC.
Meanwhile, the GOP story is all about Mike Huckabee:
In Iowa, he leads Mitt Romney, 32%-20%. Fred Thompson is in third at 11%, John McCain in fourth at 7%, and the national front-runner, Rudy Giuliani, is in fifth at 5%.
New Hampshire ... Romney 25%, Giuliani 17%, McCain 16%, and Huckabee 11%.
South Carolina ... Huckabee 20%, Giuliani 17%, Romney 15%, Thompson 14%, and McCain 10%.
Once again, many '08ers were on your TVs this Sunday:
Rudy Giuliani was on "Meet the Press":
Asked if being 5th in IA polls is a problem: "I wish you had shown Florida. It would have looked better, where we have an 18-point lead. There are some polls we're behind, some where we're ahead. I think there are 21, 22, 23 primaries and caucuses going up to February 5th. I think we're ahead in 16, 18 of them. I don't expect to win all of them. We're going to work real hard in every single one of them, maybe surprise some people in Iowa, maybe in New Hampshire, work real hard there. South Carolina, Michigan, Nevada. Then we get to Florida, where I think the latest poll was 16 to 18-point lead, and we've had a lead there of that magnitude pretty much throughout. Every once in a while it slipped back to like seven or eight."
John Edwards launches an eight-day bus tour in Iowa tomorrow with two talented actors who have, let's say, a fraction of Oprah's star power. I'll give you a hint ... Six Degrees of ...
Kevin Bacon. Yes, that's right. And Tim Robbins, too.
A preview, per the AP:
In this newest effort, Edwards' campaign is offering memorabilia signed by the former North Carolina senator and Bacon and Robbins. It's part of a program to get supporters to tell their undecided friends and family about Edwards.
The organizing drive is called the "Six Degrees of John Edwards" and is a play on a game called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," which supposes that Bacon can be connected to any actor in the universe in six steps.
Edwards' campaign is asking that supporters encourage one of six efforts including:
-Perform six hours of volunteer work or canvass for the campaign.
-Bring six signed supporter cards to an event.
-Bring six undecided caucus-goers to an event, or hold a John Edwards Book Club with at least six undecided friends to review the senator's 80-page policy booklet.
-Write six letters to an editor.
-Tell six friends about Edwards and his policy book.
Any supporter completing the organizing action will get a voucher for memorabilia from Bacon, Robbins or Edwards, his campaign said.
Meanwhile, it's Monday and all, so I think you deserve this:
Tim Russert worked over Rudy Giuliani today in the most merciless fashion, leaving the candidate at a loss to explain security protections for then girlfriend Judith Nathan and struggling as well to justify his decision not to release the client list for Giuliani Partners.
On disclosing his clients ...
RUSSERT: Why not just sever ties and put out a list of all your clients?
GIULIANI: Well, first of all, I, I, I couldn’t do that. I mean, I couldn’t put out a list of all my clients. There are confidentiality agreements that surround the relationship that businesses have with law firms, in particular, in some cases with security firms. So I can’t do that. All, all I can tell you is the following: I can tell you that every client of GP of any significance while I was there, while I was involved in the day-to-day, day-to-day operations of it has been discussed, significant number of the Bracewell, Giuliani clients have been discussed, and the reality is that none of them amount to anything other than ethical, lawful, decent work done by both companies, sometimes of the highest standards, always ethical and decent. And none of them involve any kind of conflict of any kind. And as we go along, we’ll explore more of it.
On appointing Bernard Kerik ...
GIULIANI: Well, look, I’ve, I’ve recommended and appointed thousands of people over the years. So I think the way you find out is my judgment generally very good and sometimes bad, like any other human being is, what kind of results have I gotten with the people that I appointed? How, how could I have mostly bad judgment about people and have reduced crime in New York by 60 percent? How can I, how can I not have pretty good judgment about the people who work for me and not been able to turn around the United States attorney’s office or do the turnaround of New York City or be successful in, in business? So the reality is—and I, I write about this in my book—I know my judgment is not going to be 100 percent correct. You try to get to 100 percent. It’s been correct enough so that I’ve had a great deal of success, I’ve been able to deal with crises very effectively, and I’ve been able to turn things around that other people haven’t been able to turn around. It doesn’t mean that I can’t make—as one of my predecessors, Fiorello LaGuardia, used to say, he used to say, “I don’t make many mistakes, but when I make them, they’re big ones.”
And about his now wife ...
RUSSERT: But this, this was when, this was when no one knew she was your girlfriend. This was before September 11th, 2001. There were—no one knew who she was.
GIULIANI: They were—well, first of all, that isn’t correct. Secondly, these were all based upon threat assessments made by the New York City Police Department and all based on their analysis of what was necessary to protect her life, my life, other people’s lives.
RUSSERT: Before it was known that you were even dating her, there were threats against her?
GIULIANI: The threats were—the threats were after. The threats were after.
"I'm here to tell you, Iowa, he is the one. He is the one. Barack Obama."
-- Oprah Winfrey in Des Moines Saturday
Oprah reached an estimated 50,000 voters this weekend during a four-stop tour through Iowa, N.H. and S.C. -- her first foray into national politics. The queen of talk explained her decision to back Obama quite simply. She said that she -- like many voters -- has grown tired of politics today. She said that if you keep doing the same thing (or electing the same people), you're bound to get the same results. And she said that she was personally inspired by Obama to take action, to get involved, to make a difference.
Oprah, she of Broadway and book clubs and the Academy Awards, confessed a nervousness about her journey into American politics, but rose -- no surprise here -- to the challenge.
"For the first time I am stepping out of my pew because I've been inspired," she said in front of a 29,000 person crowd at the University of South Carolina's football stadium.
And this:
"Dr. King dreamed the dream, but we don't have to just dream the dream anymore," she said. "We get to vote that dream into reality."
Obama noted the unparalleled and unexpected union of the media and political powerhouses.
"Oprah and I share something, and that is nobody could expect that we would be on this stage today," he said, also in S.C.
It was an historic moment. Without question. So much so that Clinton's campaign kept mum about the events while all the while doing their best to counter with Chelsea Clinton and Dorothy Rodham joining HRC in Iowa.
John Edwards' campaign, scrapping to emerge from the shadows of the two Democratic frontrunners, forwarded to reporters this evening a copy of Howard Fineman's Newsweek article, which posits that Oprah actually outshone Obama.
The power of Oprah's endorsement remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, she put a lot on the line personally, professionally, but picking sides in this fight. She could have just as understandably backed Hillary Clinton. Or she could have kept mum, inviting the eventual nominees to appear on her show to talk about their childhoods or favorite foods.
But the times call for action, Oprah said. Everyone is watching Dancing With the Stars, she lamented, to wipe away their fears about this dangerous world, this morass of a war. This weekend, she all but asked them to turn off their televisions and get politically involved.
Hillary Clinton's new ad, "New Beginning," up in NH and Iowa ...
“New Beginning” TV :60
CLINTON: I'm Hillary Clinton and I approved this message.
CLINTON: It is time for America to set and reach big goals again.
CLINTON: To restore our standing in the world.
CLINTON: To rebuild the middle class dream and to reclaim the future for our children.
CLINTON: We need a new beginning on health care. We need to provide health care for every single man, woman and child at a price that people can afford.
CLINTON: We need a new beginning on education. We need to end the unfunded mandate known as No Child Left Behind which has been so difficult for so many.
CLINTON: We need a new beginning in our foreign policy. If the President won't end this war before he leaves office, when I am President I will.
CLINTON: It takes strength and experience to bring about change. I have a very clear record of 35 years fighting for children and families, fighting for working people, fighting for our future.
CLINTON: I will stand up for you every single day in the White House.
New John McCain ad up this weekend in NH featuring BoSox pitcher Curt Schilling. Sources say the buy is targeted to include the New England Sports Network, which goes to all households with both cable and satellite dishes, as well as ESPN and regular network sports programming.
Script for "Backbone Of Steel" (:30-TV)
CURT SCHILLING: “We are living in a complex and dangerous world that requires a leader who embodies character, judgment and experience.”
ANNCR: “Curt Schilling on John McCain.”
CURT SCHILLING: “John McCain is that man.
“John has a backbone of steel.
“He’s a man of principle who sticks to his guns.
“He’s been tested like no other politician in America. As a prisoner of war, he turned down an offer for early release because he refused preferential treatment.
“I’ve seen some tough competitors in my time. But none tougher than John McCain. He’s a winner.”
JOHN MCCAIN: “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.”
A new Newsweek poll out today shows Mike Huckabee with his largest lead yet Iowa, a two-to-one margin over Mitt Romney. His surging numbers appear to be affecting all of the other leading candidates. In Newsweek's Sept. survey, Huckabee was at 6 percent. Romney was at 25 percent.
Huck 39%
Romney 17%
Fred Thompson 10%
Rudy Giuliani 9%
John McCain 6%
Newsweek:
Questions about religion—in particular skepticism about Romney's Mormonism—appeared to play a role in the latest results on the GOP side. The survey was completed on the day of the former Massachusetts governor's much-heralded speech in College Station, Texas, addressing his religion, though most respondents probably had not heard it. Still, only a small number of the 540 Republican voters surveyed in Iowa (10 percent) said they wanted to hear more from Romney about that issue, and close to half (46 percent) said at least some Iowa Republican voters will not consider supporting Romney because of his Mormon faith. More than a quarter (27 percent) said they don't consider Mormons to be Christians, and one in six (16 percent) said they are less likely to support Romney because he is a Mormon.
Huckabee's religious credibility, by the same token, appears to be a key factor behind his surge. Huckabee has opened up a huge lead among evangelicals, who are likely to make up about 40 percent of GOP caucus-goers on Jan. 3, the survey found. Among all Republican voters who identify themselves as evangelicals, 47 percent support Huckabee while only 14 percent back Romney. Among nonevangelicals, the two candidates are dead even at 24 percent apiece. Even so, a majority of Republican voters indicated that other issues, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, immigration, health care and Iraq, are more important than religion.
Meanwhile, on the Dem side, Barack Obama is up in another poll. His largest lead yet over Hillary Clinton. And on the eve of the Oprah visit, watch for another bounce next week.
Obama 35%
Clinton 29%
John Edwards 18%
Newsweek:
The close duel between Obama and Clinton depends a great deal on the way their competing strengths are perceived, the survey shows. Obama is much more likely than Clinton to be viewed as the candidate best able to bring about change (42 percent vs. 28 percent for Clinton) and as more personally likable (41 percent vs. 18 percent). Clinton, however, is viewed far more as the candidate with the right experience for the job (48 percent vs. 15 percent for Obama) and as the person most likely to defeat the GOP nominee (36 percent vs. 27 percent). One potential trouble sign for Hillary, however, is that in contrast to the 2004 Iowa caucuses, when John Kerry leaped into the lead on the basis of his electability, only about one quarter (23 percent) of likely Democratic caucus-goers say they are inclined to support a candidate with the best chance of defeating the GOP nominee.
Campaign statement first, script of the ad after the jump:
The Obama campaign announced today that television ads will begin running statewide next Tuesday, following Obama's tenth trip to the state on Monday. The thirty-second spot entitled "Take It Back" highlights Barack Obama's record of reform and his refusal to take contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interests PACs.
Barack Obama is the first among the Democratic and Republican candidates to place a sustained general television ad buy in Nevada for the January caucuses.
“Take It Back” features footage from Senator Obama’s announcement speech on February 9th, 2007 in Springfield, Illinois.
The ad begins running Tuesday on broadcast and cable in the Las Vegas and Reno markets.
FORT DES MOINES - Mitt Romney was deluged today with questions about yesterday's speech on faith, specifically about the statement that: "Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom."
“It was a speech on faith in America, first of all,” Romney said, during a testy exchange with reporters after a town hall forum here. He said he was paraphrasing what John Adams and George Washington once said and added that, “For a nation like ours to be great and to thrive, that our Constitution was written for people of faith, and religion is a very extraordinary element and very necessary foundation for our nation. I believe that’s the case.”
Near the end of the media avail, he was asked if he thought a non-spiritual person could be a free person, and he said: “Of course not, that’s not what I said.” Pressed again about the freedom requiring religion line, he said, “I was talking about the nation.”
Romney was also asked about the politics of his speech and reiterated, “You know that’s not what the speech was about,” and then again said it was about the role of faith in America.
Romney was also asked about the lawn service company that he used at his Belmont home. In a statement released by his campaign this week, Romney said he had given the company a "second chance" to fire all illegal workers but that they had not complied and he finally broke ties with them.
Asked if he should take additional precautions, he said, “It’s not something as a homeowner that I’m able to do, and it’s not something which is available under our current system in this country.”
After being pressed again, he turned the question back at the reporter and asked if he should ask every waiter in each restaurant he dines in if they are legal.
He tried instead to tout his own employee verification system to identify illegal immigrants and suggested that the onus should be with employers, not homeowners, to vet workers.
(NBC/NJ's ERIN MCPIKE)
From Rudy Giuliani campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella:
"Mitt Romney’s already changed his own position on illegal immigration, so it should come as no surprise that he’s trying to change everybody else’s position as well."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Last night, Bill Clinton told Barbara Walters that he thinks McCain might be the most electable GOPer. Or, in Clintonspeak, must that mean that the former president thinks McCain is the most beatable?
Brian Rogers, a spokesman for John McCain, said that Romney's immigration mailer (see last On Call posting) shows he'll "say anything to get elected."
"It's disturbing but not surprising that only one day after saying Americans 'do not respect believers of convenience,' Mitt Romney launches another hypocritical attack on an issue he's flip-flopped on," Rogers said. "Just last year Mitt Romney had the exact same position on immigration as President Bush and John McCain, and said it wasn't amnesty. Now he says something different. We agree with Mitt Romney: Voters don't trust or respect politicians who try to say anything to get elected - and that's come to define Mitt Romney's candidacy."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
NJ Contributing Editor Linda Douglass has snagged a copy of the new Mitt Romney mailer that hits John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson on immigration. The piece, sent to Granite State voters, accuses the three of supporting amnesty, benefits for illegal immigrants and more.
"People were saying, 'It was like George Washington,' 'It was the Gettysburg Address,' " she said in an interview just after working a room of about 120 audience members, mostly women, at a restaurant in the JW Marriott in Summerlin.
"I mean, it was unbelievable, the response I heard from the people in there that heard it today. Almost everyone said they were moved to tears" by the speech, she said.
Still, there was no escaping the reality of the moment. Mr. Romney was not there to defend freedom of religion, or to champion the indisputable notion that belief in God and religious observance are longstanding parts of American life. He was trying to persuade Christian fundamentalists in the Republican Party, who do want to impose their faith on the Oval Office, that he is sufficiently Christian for them to support his bid for the Republican nomination. No matter how dignified he looked, and how many times he quoted the founding fathers, he could not disguise that sad fact.
Mr. Romney tried to cloak himself in the memory of John F. Kennedy, who had to defend his Catholicism in the 1960 campaign. But Mr. Kennedy had the moral courage to do so in front of an audience of Southern Baptist leaders and to declare: “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”
Romney's speech at the George H.W. Bush library in College Station, Tex., was by turns brilliant and frustrating, inspiring yet also transparently political in its effort to find the precise balance that would satisfy Republican primary voters.
Romney, a third-generation Mormon, did not talk about the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his speech. Instead, he promised to "serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."
That wasn't enough for the Rev. Frank Cook, pastor of Union Park Baptist Church in Des Moines, who remains unconvinced that Romney would make a good president.
"He was doing the Potomac two-step around the issues that concern many evangelicals," Cook said. "Most evangelicals, including myself and my church, agree with Governor Romney's stand on most moral issues in our country. Our objection with his candidacy is not so much with his public stance as it is with how the Mormon faith has tried to disguise the tenets of their faith."
The reviews are in of Mitt Romney's speech. Talk of it dominated the airwaves last night:
MSNBC's Shuster: "Most of the reaction came from observers on television, not the candidates in the race" ("Hardball," 12/6).
FNC's Cameron: "Like Kennedy, Romney did not delve into specific doctrine. And a hand picked audience of friends, family and religious leaders eagerly agreed with his explanation" ("Special Report," 12/6).
ABC's Berman: "Time and again he used language designed to find common ground with religious voters" ("World News," 12/6).
CBS' Whitaker: "Romney gave a speech heavy on America's history of religious tolerance but light on his own religious beliefs" ("Evening News," 12/6).
NBC's Allen: "Despite the soaring rhetoric and presidential setting Romney's speech was pure politics" ("Nightly News," 12/6).
Mike Huckabee in Greensboro, N.C. tonight tried to respond to concerns about his lack of familiarity with the National Intelligence Estimate. Digging a deeper ditch? You decide ...
"Well, first of all it was kind of an ambush question. It came out at ten in the morning, I think it was late that afternoon and the reporter said: Have you read it? You know, George Bush had had it for four years, and he hadn't read it yet, so I don't really know that it was a big deal that I had not yet seen it and read it because we had been on the campaign trail nonstop. In fact I was saying to the reporters, you know the reason I haven't seen it is because you guys have been tailing me all day asking me questions."
On NIE findings, per NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy:
"There were sixteen different agencies that had contributed to that report. It's four years old. The other thing about it is a lot of the material in it is classified, so I'm assuming only a handful of people have actually seen the full report. In a way the report tells us that we've got a serious problems with our intelligence agencies. The same intelligence agencies that told us that it was a slam-dunk, there were weapons of mass destruction, it would be no difficulty taking Iraq, were the ones who issued this report. So it's interesting to me that a lot of people who have now pilloried the intelligence community for that report that said Iraq would be a slam-dunk are now heralding this report as being the gospel truth. Well we can't have it both ways. So if you want to pound the intelligence agencies for that report, I think you have to do what perhaps was best said by Ronald Reagan, trust but verify. So, does Iran have an ongoing reactor program? The honest answer is we don't absolutely, positively know if our only source of information is the same body of agencies that gave us the WMD report before."
MANCHESTER -- During her first visit to the state since last week's hostage incident, Hillary Clinton accepted the endorsement of the state's largest union. Clinton told a roomful of supporters that she actually learned of the nod during some of the tensest moments of the situation.
"The cell phone rang about 5:30, 5:45, and I thought, oh you know I'm getting a report from one of the police captains or maybe the public safety commissioner, a state trooper," Clinton recalled. Instead, it was Rhonda Wesolowski, president of the state NEA. "Rhonda says, 'Well I'm calling with some very good news.' 'How did Ronda get the hostages out,' I thought to myself," Clinton said, reports NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli.
Clinton said it was a "surreal" moment, and a "welcome change of subject" on that day. "But what a welcome change of subject, and what a tremendous vote of confidence," she told the audience at Manchester Community College. "I pledge to you I will do everything I can to be a president who's a good partner for you."
Earlier today, Clinton spoke to supporters in a crowded ski lodge in Gilford, where she said she would bring about change as president. "People ask me all the time, do you really think we can make these changes? Of course I do," she said. "I am not running to live in the White House again. I am running because I love this country and I know we can make these changes."
She outlined what she said was a "dangerous experiment in extremism" in the Bush administration. And compared it with her husband's term, which ended with a budget surplus. "I give my husband a lot of credit for eight years of hard work, getting us to that position," she said. "I want to put our country on such a firm foundation that if we ever once again make a detour from American history and elect a president like George W. Bush it will not knock us off course."
Clinton spoke at the Gunstock Ski Lodge just one day before the slopes open to the public. She was introduced by Penny Pitou, a Granite State native who was the first American to win an Olympic downhill medal. "I have the most incredible admiration for her career and for her accomplishments," Clinton said, adding that she also learned to ski in New Hampshire during her college years. "Somehow I didn't turn out the way that you did. I didn't get very much further advanced than trying to just keep myself vertical."
Barack Obama’s 11/10 IA J-J Dinner speech was roundly praised, and now the campaign has decided to use parts of his address for a new IA TV ad, called “Moment.” Full script:
OBAMA: “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.” OBAMA: “We are in a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war. The planet is in peril. The dream that so many generations fought for feels as if it’s slowly slipping away. And that is why, the same old Washington textbook campaigns just won’t do. That’s why, telling the American people what we think they want to hear instead of telling the American people what they need to hear, just won’t do. America, our moment is now. I don’t wanna spend the next year or the next four years re-fighting the same fights that we had,in the 1990’s. I don’t wanna pit red America, against blue America, I wanna be the President of the United States of America."
Lots of talk last night about Mike Huckabee and his role in convicted rapist Wayne Dumond's release from prison:
ABC's Gibson, on Huckabee: "People are beginning to take a closer look at his record" ("World News," 12/5).
Huckabee, on the parole board for Wayne Dumond: "I did not pressure that board. Frankly, it's ludicrous to think that I could." More Huckabee, on Dumond: "He had the kind of the record that showed an exemplary prison record, the recommendation of the officials, and he had met the criteria."
ABC's Ross: "But former aides to Huckabee tell ABC News that the governor's office received a series of letters, including one read by Huckabee, alledging other rapes committed by Dumond" ("World News," ABC, 12/5).
FNC's Brown: "Along with new found political success, Mike Huckabee faces added scrutiny about what he did or did not do that led to convicted rapist Wayne Dumond" ("Special Report," 12/5).
Echoing Mike Huckabee's CNN interview yesterday, Huck's Iowa State Director Eric Woolson also blames his boss's blank looks Tuesday night on a packed campaign schedule. Woolson says that the governor was up at 5 AM that morning after a paltry few hours of sleep, and he said that he didn't know whether or not the travelling staff routinely briefs the candidate during the day at all.
Woolson said that the rigors of a campaign can create a bubble that makes it hard to keep track of the news of the day. "When I'm working, I'm doing this," he said, gesturing to the foot-high stacks of paper strewn around his desk in his Des Moines office last night. "You're not in a place where you're gathering information."
He went on to say that it's the candidate's staff, and not the governor himself, who's to blame for Tuesday's oops, reports NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann.
"He's too polite to say it," he said, "but I think it's more a reflection of us not doing our jobs."
Mitt Romney gives his "Faith in America" speech at 9:30 tomorrow morning at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
Clearly given the week's polling news out of Iowa -- and nationally -- Romney has a great deal riding on the speech. For anyone who doubts that the campaign thinks this is a gamble that will ultimately pay off, check out the many photos sent to reporters today of Romney editing, yes editing, the speech. Romney, in a white dress shirt, reading copy, and again, same shirt, more reading. And then this, reading in a different blue checked shirt, and yet again, blue.checked.shirt.
So is this merely political theater? Or is there something to be said for a candidate making an earnest plea to voters to better understand his beliefs, and more importantly, how his religious views might shape his approach as president?
Because certainly, in America, his religion should not be shape his policies. (Right?) But Romney said this week that the speech won't focus on the tenants of Mormonism, that it won't be a primer for a voting public unfamiliar with LDS doctrine.
So why would he not simply pull up a chair in someone's living room in Des Moines, and answer voters' questions about his faith. Let in a camera, even. But talk directlly to those Christian conservatives who hold his political fate in their hands. Otherwise, the speech is borne of pure and unabashed political necessity. Less like the Jack Kennedy speech of a like purpose. And more like the Clintons' 60 Minutes interview before the NH primary in 1992 ...
After getting dinged in the NPR debate on Iran, Hillary Clinton’s camp unveiled an ad in IA today that features Wes Clark. In the ad, Clark “dismisses the recent attacks” against HRC as “politics.” Full script of “Wes Clark”:
HRC: “I’m Hillary Clinton and I approved this message.” CLARK: “I see that Hillary’s opponents have started attacking her. That’s politics. What this country needs is leadership. I’m Wes Clark; I commanded our forces in Europe when we won the fight to halt ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. I’ve known Hillary Clinton for twenty-four years. I know she has what it takes to end the war in Iraq, avert war with Iran, and restore our country’s standing in the world. These are tough times and Hillary Clinton is the right choice for America.”
John Edwards is on day three of “Building a Better America Week,” and to celebrate, he launched his fifth NH ad, “Rigged,” which features Edwards speaking to a NH audience about how the system in D.C. “is corrupt and rigged against hardworking Americans.” The ad will air beginning today across the state on cable and network TV. The script:
EDWARDS: “This system is corrupt. And it’s rigged, and it’s rigged against you.” ANNCR: “Finally, someone telling the truth.” EDWARDS: “And we can say, ‘as long as we get Democrats in, everything’s going to be ok.’ It’s a lie, it’s not the truth. Do you really believe if we replace a crowd of corporate Republicans with a crowd of corporate Democrats that anything meaningful is going to change? This has to stop, it’s that simple.” EDWARDS VO: “I’m John Edwards, and I approved this message.”
The 16,000-member New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association has chosen to recommend to its members Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary, according to a source within the state NEA. This is the first time the state affiliate has picked a candidate in the Republican primary; Huckabee was the only Republican who spoke to the NEA convention in July.
The state chapter's membership is more than 25 percent Republican, said the source, and the committee didn't want those members to be ignored. When Huckabee spoke at the convention and participated in an interview with the state affiliate, deciding members felt it would be right to point that out to members. Only education and related positions were considered, and the board appreciated Huckabee's "strong views on public education," especially supporting the arts and music. The board might have felt differently if it had considered the former Arkansas governor's opinions on "social values issues" and "war issues," the source said.
The state chapter’s process began with its government relations committee, made up of 15 retired and active members appointed by the state president, interviewing each of the candidates, according to Rick Trombley, director of public affairs for the state affiliate. Last Wednesday committee members had the choice of not recommending any candidates, recommending one candidate or recommending multiple candidates to the executive board, a group of more than 20 elected representatives. At that time it chose Clinton and Huckabee.
The board met Friday with the option of ratifying or not ratifying the committee’s recommendation. It could not consider any recommendations other than the one given by the government relations committee. The chapter plans to announce its decision to members as early as this week and has asked the two candidates to be present.
Reg Weaver, president of the national NEA, said he met with all of the Democratic candidates and one Republican, Mike Huckabee, in September, and would, in accordance with the NEA's process, make his recommendation to the national organization’s PAC Council in the next couple weeks. The council will accept or reject his recommendation. He said he understands that some state affiliates, like New Mexico and North Carolina, have already endorsed their favorite sons, but he hopes other affiliates will wait to “concur or not concur” with his recommendation.
Scott McGilvray, president of the Manchester Education Association, endorsed John Edwards Monday at a roundtable with about 20 teachers. The MEA is the largest of about 200 affililates of the New Hampshire state chapter of the National Education Association, according to communications coordinator Carol Backus at the state chapter.
“He's put, in my belief, the most comprehensive education policy on the table of any of the candidates. He is a product - his wife and family - of public schools," McGilvray said in his introduction. "[He] was a big proponent, or is a big proponent, of unionized labor and lent his support to the Manchester Education Association in our contract fight earlier in the year and went out and reached out to the mayor and board of aldermen through a letter and conversation and assisted us greatly in that."
Hillary Clinton's team is billing her NYC speech as "MAJOR" (yes, all caps). She will call for Wall street to "play a part in solving a problem it helped create" by ...
1. voluntarily supporting a foreclosure moratorium of at least 90 days on subprime, owner-occupied homes,
2. freezing the monthly rates on subprime loans for at least five years or until the mortgages have been converted into affordable loans, and
3. requiring the mortgage industry to provide status reports on progress modifying loans.
Pres. Bush's presser got a good bit of coverage last night:
CNN's Henry: "Classic President Bush. Confronted with new facts on Iran, he insisted the national intelligence estimate changes nothing" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 12/4).
ABC's Raddatz: "The president was adamant ... he would not change policy toward Iran" ("World News," 12/4).
NBC's Gregory: "The president dug in, continuing to take a hard line" ("Nightly News," 12/4).
FNC's Baier: "One day after U.S. intelligence officials revealed that Iran's nuclear weapons program has been dormant since 2003, President Bush told reporters says he sees the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran as ammunition against Tehran" ("Special Report," 12/4).
MSNBC's Matthews: "Bush faced some tough questioning at his morning press conference, but the key question is still, What did President Bush know, and when did he know it?" ("Hardball," 12/4).
FNC's Angle: "Some Democrats jumped on the president's remarks today, accusing Mr. Bush of intentionally misrepresenting the intelligence on Iraq when he made statements this fall warning Americans about Iran's nuclear weapons program" ("Special Report," 12/4).
The LAT analysis, and the national survey (taken Friday through Monday) results:
Likely GOP primary voters: Rudy Giuliani 23% (down from 32% in October)
Mike Huckabee 17%
Fred Thompson 14%
John McCain 11%
Mitt Romney 9%
Ron Paul 5%
Key findings:
Although independents voting in the Republican primaries are dividing among most of the major Republican presidential candidates, 22% of this group said they would vote for Huckabee, compared to 14% for Thompson, 13% for Texas Representative Ron Paul, 13% for McCain and 15% for Giuliani. In the October poll, (although the independent group was a small base) Huckabee was in fifth place and single digits with this group.
Roughly a quarter each of likely voters who identify as Republicans and conservative Republicans would vote for Giuliani, followed closely by Huckabee (17%, 18% respectively). Twelve percent of Republicans would support Thompson, 11% for McCain and 10% for Romney.
Likely Dem primary voters: Hillary Clinton 45%
Barack Obama 21%
John Edwards 11%
Bill Richardson 3%
Joe Biden 3%
Key findings:
A soft spot for Clinton may be independents that vote in the Democratic primaries. They are divided between Clinton at 29% and Obama at 23% with Edwards following at 16%.
Clinton lost some support from the affluent – A plurality of voters (43%) in households with income of $60,000 or more support the NY Senator in the current poll, while in October, 51% supported her.
Gender gap: There seems to be a small gender gap (that disappeared in the October poll). Now, 38% of men support Clinton, 26% back Obama and 12% support Edwards. In October 47% of men supported Clinton, 15% backed Obama and 13% supported Edwards. Among women, 50% back the woman candidate, the same share as in the previous poll.
African Americans are supporting Clinton over Obama by 40% to 28%. But a large 31% are still undecided.
When all else isn't quite working, when Mitt Romney's still on top in N.H. and John McCain is gaining ground there, and when Mike Huckabee is stealing everyone else's thunder nationally, what's a Rudy Giuliani to do? Why not throw 9/11, Ronald Reagan and the Iranian hostage crisis in one new 30-second ad to run in N.H. and Boston? That's fear in triplicate.
MAYOR GIULIANI: “I remember back to the 1970s and the early 1980s. Iranian mullahs took American hostages and they held the American hostages for 444 days. And they released the American hostages in one hour, and that should tell us a lot about these Islamic terrorists that we’re facing. The one hour in which they released them was the one hour in which Ronald Reagan was taking the Oath of Office as President of the United States. The best way you deal with dictators, the best way you deal with tyrants and terrorists, you stand up to them. You don’t back down. I’m Rudy Giuliani and I approve this message.”
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Des Moines, Iowa -- During an on-the-record dinner here at the conclusion of Mike Huckabee's two-day swing through the state, the governor hoped to impress national and local reporters with all that he knew about about governance, education, and Iowa know-how.
But journalists came away amazed by what he didn't know - almost anything about today's National Intelligence Estimate report on nuclear weapons in Iran, reports NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann.
Asked about the report, Huckabee shook his head slightly to indicate he wasn't familiar with its content.
The Politico's David Paul Kuhn incredulously asked if he had seen the report or had been briefed on it. "No," replied the governor. Greene proceeded to explain the NIE's findings.
Huckabee's ignorance of the news of the day, which not only dominated the Democrats' debate here in town but also prompted a presidential press conference in response, came as Huckabee faced questioning about his foreign policy credentials on Don Imus's new show. Huckabee joked that he's "not an expert... but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night" -- a play on a current silly ad for a motel. Fred Thompson's campaign responded by slamming HUCKABEE as a "court jester" who doesn't take foreign policy seriously.
Huckabee today said that Thompson's attack demonstrates the Tennessee senator's "desperation."
Mitt Romney announced today that he has finally ended his relationship with a lawn care company that employed illegal workers on his property. In a statement issued by the campaign, Romney revealed that he allowed the service a second chance to comply with the law by ensuring that their employees had legal status.
"Today, I fired a landscaping company that I learned was employing people who are not permitted to work here in the United States," Romney said. "After this same issue arose last year, I gave the company a second chance with very specific conditions. They were instructed to make sure people working for the company were of legal status. We personally met with the company in order to inform them about the importance of this matter. The owner of the company guaranteed us, in very certain terms, that the company would be in total compliance with the law going forward. The company's failure to comply with the law is disappointing and inexcusable, and I believe it is important I take this action."
Earlier this year, the former Bay State governor came under fire when news broke of his contract with the company, as he was telling voters that employers who hire them should be penalized. He hasn't mentioned on the trail in the time since, however, that he never cut ties with the group.
Romney's chief opponents in the GOP primary continue to bring up the matter when they can (see Rudy Giuliani and "sanctuary mansion"). With Mike Huckabee's rise in Iowa, Romney's had a rough week, and you can expect this to keep Romney on defense.
Hillary Clinton told NPR during today's Democratic debate that when she returned from China as First Lady she reported to President Clinton about her trip. But more than that, she said that she often advised him on foreign policy matters.
"I certainly did. I not only advised him. I often met with he and his advisers ... I was deeply involved in being part of the Clinton team in the first administration."
Danny Diaz, RNC spokesman, responding to Hillary Clinton's remark during today's NPR debate that it takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush.
“The sad truth is Hillary Clinton doesn’t yet realize that the American were happy to be done cleaning up after her and her husband in 2001," Diaz told On Call. " Instead of launching an attack against our president, maybe Hillary Clinton should be focusing on regaining the trust of voters who are currently abandoning her en masse.”
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani has stepped down as head of his consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, after months of refusing to disclose the firm's clients or the role he played.
Giuliani was replaced as chairman by Peter Powers, Giuliani's longtime friend and former aide, said Sunny Mindel, the firm's spokeswoman. The change was reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier Tuesday, and Mindel noted news stories in recent months have said Giuliani was handing control to Powers.
The firm, started by the former New York mayor after his term ended, earned Giuliani around $4 million last year. Mindel did not say whether he would retain his interest in the company.
Confidential Clients
Although Giuliani has insisted the firm's client list is confidential, media reports have named a number of clients, including the country of Qatar. The Persian Gulf nation was accused of sheltering suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, although Qatar is now a U.S. ally.
Giuliani aides said he has not been involved in the firm's day-to-day operations since last spring. Yet, Giuliani has not said that until now, despite being asked about it repeatedly. The firm's Web site listed him as chairman as recently as last month.
During this afternoon's Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton did, indeed, say that. But she was pressed by an NPR reporter to explain why voters shouldn't be reluctant to give the White House to two families for two decades.
"I don’t think it was prudent to have the Bush family in the White House at all," Clinton said. "What’s great about this country is that people get to make up their minds. To judge everyone who’s running. There is no dynasty."
NPR's full coverage of the debate here. Seven of eight Democrats participated in the two-hour event. Gov. Bill Richardson did not attend. NPR indicated that the GOPers were invited to a similar panel but their schedules have made it impossible thus far to coordinate.
CLAREMONT -- Hillary Clinton says she has a track record of standing up to the Republican machine. But today in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton noted the ways she's worked with the opposite party, including a would-be rival. And he argued that more attention needs to be paid to candidates' records and not to "pure politics."
Speaking at Keene State College this morning, Clinton said that there is "a lot of dispute" among candidates, which he called healthy.
"I didn't like it very much for months when it was just a one-way street. At least it's getting balanced up a little," he said. "But, there seems to be this fashionable idea that not just Hillary, but some of the other people who are running for president -- Senator Biden, Senator Dodd, Governor Richardson, people who have rendered enormous service to this country -- should somehow be disqualified from our leadership because they have actually been change makers in the past."
"I argue to you based on a lifetime of experience that if you have spent as my wife has 35 years ... being a positive change maker, that indicates that you would be more likely to successfully execute change as president," he continued. "If you have proved in the U.S. Senate that you could get things done with Republicans as well as Democrats, that indicates you'd be more likely to succeed as president."
Later, speaking to a packed gymnasium at Stevens High School in Claremont, Clinton mentioned his wife's work with former Sen. Bill Frist on legislation to computerize medical records, and with Sen. Lindsay Graham on legislation to provide body armor and medical benefits for National Guardsmen. "She and Senator John McCain ... took Republican senators all over the world showing them the physical changes happening because of climate change," Clinton added. "This is an important thing. Doing things together."
The former president said he "felt very badly" for all of the candidates, referring to an article that analyzed press coverage of the race. "One percent of the press coverage was devoted to their record in public life," he said. "No wonder people think experience is irrelevant. A lot of people covering the race think it is."
Clinton was one hour late for his first stop this morning, which he attributed to slow travel from Boston on the newly-snow-covered roads in New Hampshire. At both stops, he referred to his first campaign in the state. "I had some of the great and most important days of my campaign for president in 1992 here," he said.
You have to hand it to Chris Dodd. If at first his HRC slams don't succeed, he tries, tries again ... While Bill Richardson attempts to cozy up to Hillary Clinton, Dodd goes after her.
The latest:
Des Moines, IA - Senator and Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd released the following statement on Senator Clinton's vote for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment in light of the latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report regarding Iran.
"As was the case with Iraq, the latest NIE makes it clear that this President is offering another false bill of goods to Congress and the American people in an attempt to build the case for war with Iran.
"The only difference this time is that we didn't start a disastrous war before we found out that the intelligence didn't hold up.
"Our experience should have shown us the danger in trusting this Administration as it marched to war. That is why I and many of my colleagues - at least many of those who bothered to vote - opposed the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment. Unfortunately, Senator Clinton instead chose to lend credence to the Administration's position.
"It's easy to say 'fool me once, shame on George Bush,' but when she's been fooled twice, shame on her."
When Mitt Romney supporter Jim Bopp said last week that "a vote for any other candidate in the Iowa caucuses is a vote for Rudy Giuliani," it raised a few GOP eyebrows. It wasn't just Bopp's claim, which he followed up with knocks on the electability of Romney rival Mike Huckabee, but rather that he made it at a house party hosted by the Iowa Christian Alliance, a powerful conservative group in the state that has promised not to endorse. His remarks preceeded a speech by Romney himself, and they followed a powerful diatribe by ICA president Steve Scheffler -- a known Giuliani opponent -- who said that the election of the former New York mayor would result in a "bloodbath" within the Republican Party.
The whole exchange started whispers that the ICA's fear of a Giuliani presidency was fueling an effort to undermine Huckabee's surging candidacy. That's because Huckabee's recent ascent in Iowa could be seen as a boon for Giuliani, who needs Romney to hit some bumps in the road before February 5th to protect the effectiveness of the mayor's Super Tuesday strategy.
Enter THIS email that Scheffler sent to the ICA mailing list yesterday.
"It has come to my attention that an individual called into [Iowa radio host] Jan Mickelson's program this morning," he writes. "The caller said that Marlene Elwell was using the Iowa Christian Alliance telephones for the purpose of encouraging people not to support Mike Huckabee." (Elwell is a pro-life activist and a former McCain staffer who was fired in the campaign's early shakeup. Scheffler describes her as a longtime friend.)
The email continues: "Upon Marlene's request I gave her permission to make phone calls from the ICA office... I have no absolutely no knowledge of what she was talking about or what she said on the phone."
More: "Iowa Christian Alliance is not involved in any activity against Mike Huckabee... Marlene Elwell has been told that she can not use our offices and telephones for any purpose in the future."
Elwell says that the caller's claim is "absolutely wrong." She says that although she has been making calls to "get the lay of the land," she argued that "most of the people I've talked to in Iowa have been people that I know." And she insists that she did not use ICA phone lines for any of those calls.
But the woman who phoned in to Mickelson's show disagrees. More after the jump ...
John Edwards hits President Bush for advocating continued pressure on Iran during his morning presser. Can Hillary Clinton because of her Iran vote not afford to weigh in? Can she afford not to weigh in? Where's Barack Obama? Plenty of material in Bush's presser for the Dems to jump on ... So quiet out there ...
JRE release:
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement:
“Just a couple of months ago, George Bush was telling us Iran was about to start World War III. Today – even after his own government just said that Iran stopped its program in 2003 and is no longer pursuing nuclear weapons – Bush still refuses to back down from his outrageous rhetoric.
“Enough is enough. At long last, the spin and the saber-rattling must stop. We must once and for all reject the failed, bellicose, neoconservative foreign policy of the Bush Administration, and get back to the foreign policy I have proposed based on diplomacy, reengagement, and restoring the moral authority of America.”
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Yes, that was the introduction for Ron Paul on ABC's The View today.
Friction from the get-go between the ladies and Paul on abortion.
"As a physician, I've been trained to bring life into the world. If i do harm to the baby, I get sued," Paul said.
More: "The question is whether abortion should be done on demand and who controls it."
Q on Immigration ...
"We have a weak economy, and immigrants are scapegoats ... If we had a healthy economy I think immigrants would be much more welcome."
This from Joy Behar: "You probably are not going to win, and you know that right?"
"No, I don't," Paul said, asking if she'd prefer that a candidate supportive of the Iraq war win instead.
Behar then asked Paul if he had to endorse one of his GOP opponents who it would be ...
"It would be difficult," he said. "I don't have anybody now that I can vote for."
President Bush, in his press conference today, said he is, of course, watching the 2008 presidential contest with interest and that any candidate who says he or she doesn't like campaigning is fibbing.
"I enjoy it. I enjoy the crowds. I enjoy the news. I enjoy giving that message. I enjoy the competition. Yeah, I’m going to miss it," Bush said.
Then he said what he was really going to miss was Candy Crowley, whom he called his "friend," passing around a virus during the 2000 contest. Say what?
"I got a respiratory infection," he said, as reporters laughed uncomfortably in the White House briefing room.
Mike Huckabee continues to get a lot of attention. ABC's Donvan joined Huckabee in IA for a piece on "Nightline":
Donvan, on Huckabee: "The humor usually gets him somewhere serious."
Huckabee, on not running negative ads: "I think when people spend most of their time attacking their opponents it's because they're not very confident of their own platforms. They don't have a whole lot to say 'Here's my vision for America.' ... It's more of 'Hey elect me because I'm not as bad as this guy.'
Huckabee, on faith: "I don't think Mitt's been called upon to talk about his faith nearly as much as I have about mine. I keep hearing about you know, 'Mitt's faith, Mitt's faith.' I'm the one that they always ask the religious questions to on the debates. I'm the one that in every interview someone says, 'OK let's talk about your belief' ... which is fine for me. I don't mind."
Donvan asked Huckabee to show him what was in his wallet: a Duck's Unlimited Card, a concealed carry card, a hunting and fishing card, and a permit for AR's duck season (12/3).
Rudy Giuliani's campaign twice circulated to reporters today a very chummy exchange of letters between the candidate and Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist.
In Giuliani's letter to Norquist, dated Dec. 3, the former mayor promises to cut taxes, reform the tax code and cut spending. The mayor writes that he would make the Bush administration's tax cuts permanent and vows to work with ATR.
In Norquist's response, also written today, he expresses his "delight" with Giuliani's answer to his question during last week's CNN/You Tube debate. Would the candidates oppose or veto any tax increases? "You simply said, 'yes'," Norquist writes.
“In looking at the records of all the Republican candidates, yours clearly stands out," he continues. "You cut the income tax, business taxes, sales taxes, property-related taxes, and nuisance taxes. You are the most successful tax cutter in modern New York history and, on balance, the most successful tax cutter in the Republican field today. If you are elected president, I will look forward to working with you to reduce and reform taxes, restore fiscal discipline, increase government transparency, and pursue pro-growth policies that will improve America's competitiveness in the global economy.”
With Mike Huckabee's ascent as a top tier candidate, New Hampshire is looking ever more critical for Giuliani. If he is outmatched by Mitt Romney there and/or Huckabee or John McCain, the former NYC mayor is in trouble. Hence the tax averse message ... If N.H. voters are listening, this might be music to their ears.
Much of the talk about Mike Huckabee's rise in Iowa turns on this -- Even with a win there he would struggle in N.H., where Mitt Romney has been the frontrunner and John McCain appears to be gaining some steam. But it seems to On Call, that there's one thing that could provide Huckabee some serious leverage in the Granite State, should he actually come out on top in Iowa and that's the endorsement of the National Rifle Association.
Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs for the NRA, said the group usually holds off until the conventions to pick a candidate.
"Typically, we don’t endorse until after the nominations at conventions," he said. "That has been standard operating procedure as far as NRA in presidential races. For us to make any endorsement in the primary is definitely out of the ordinary as far as what we usually do."
Out of the ordinary, perhaps, but not out of the realm of the possible, Arulanandam said.
By On Call's estimation, the group would rather sit out the primary season than back Rudy Giuliani or Romney, whose records on the Second Amendment leave much to be desired for the sporting set. So wouldn't it be interesting, and couldn't it potentially shake things up in the Live Free or Die state, if the NRA made a critical announcement between the Iowa caucuses and N.H. primary? An announcement that could carry Huckabee or McCain to a top three finish ...
" I think guns have as much a role to play up here as abortion does," said Dante Scala, an assistant professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire.
Arulanandam said NRA officials have met privately with each of the GOP candidates, except Ron Paul. In many ways, the NRA is in an enviable position. There are five guys, a flailing Fred Thompson included, who could hugely use the endorsement and are making it known that they want it. Two of them -- Mitt and Rudy -- have tried to finesse their records to meet the NRA's standards. Thus far, however, none of them has sealed the deal.
Arulanandam said the NRA always aims to endorse a "viable" candidate. Take from that what you will about the state of the GOP contest.
"We’re still kicking it around," Arulanandam said of a primary season endorsement. "We haven’t really come up with a decision one way or another."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
'I Believe in an America Where the Separation of Church and State is Absolute'
September 12, 1960, address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association John F. Kennedy
While the so-called religious issue is necessarily and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that we have far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election; the spread of Communist influence, until it now festers 90 miles off the coast of Florida--the humiliating treatment of our President and Vice President by those who no longer respect our power--the hungry children I saw in West Virginia, the old people who cannot pay their doctor bills, the families forced to give up their farms--an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and too late to the moon and outer space.
These are the real issues which should decide this campaign. And they are not religious issues--for war and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.
But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured--perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again--not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me--but what kind of America I believe in.
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish--where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source--where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials--and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.
For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew--or a Quaker--or a Unitarian--or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim--but tomorrow it may be you--until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.
Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end--where all men and all churches are treated as equal--where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice--where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind--and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.
A weekend of squabbling between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has prompted the Obama campaign to create a Web site to track all HRC attacks -- called, well, Hillary Attacks -- launched since the Nov. 10 Jefferson-Jackson dinner ...
Yes, it's come to this, voters. No longer are you being implored to evaluate differences between job creation and health care plans. Instead you're asked to keep a tally of every slam and dig issued by phone, mail, radio and television.
"We're asking all of you to be vigilant and notify us immediately of any attacks from Senator Clinton or her supporters as soon as you see them so that we can respond swiftly and forcefully," writes Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Presidential hopeful John Edwards on Monday planned to air a television ad in New Hampshire that blames lobbyists for keeping 47 millions Americans without health insurance.
The ad dovetails with his criticism of his chief rivals' health care plans in recent weeks. The former North Carolina senator says there is no way to ensure health care for all citizens without fundamentally changing how Washington works.
``You're going to sit at a table with drug companies and oil companies and they're going to give away their power. Right,'' Edwards says as the ad shows voters laughing at his sarcasm. ``You have to take their power away from them. There's nothing we can't do - if we do it together.''
``We don't have universal health care because of drug companies, insurance companies and their lobbyists in Washington, D.C.,'' Edwards says in the ad, filmed during one such town hall-style meeting.
``Anybody who argues that every American is not entitled to health care, I want them to explain to you: What child in this country is not worthy of health care?''
Edwards was the first of the major presidential candidate to introduce his health care plan, which would require that all Americans sign up for health insurance. He estimates his plan could cost up to $120 billion and would be paid for with higher taxes.
He also would require insurance companies to spend at least 85 percent of their premiums on patient care. He complains that 30 percent of insurance premiums currently go toward administrative expenses and profit. Some states, such as New York, Minnesota and New Jersey, already impose similar requirements.
This weekend was chock full of news. Here are the headlines.
A new Des Moines Register poll has Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee leading their respective fields.
Obama 28%
Hillary Clinton 25%
John Edwards 23%
Bill Richardson 9%
Joe Biden 6%
Chris Dodd 1%
Huckabee 29%
Mitt Romney 24%
Rudy Giuliani 13%
Fred Thompson 9%
Ron Paul 7%
John McCain 7%
Tom Tancredo 6%
"Faith in America"
The survey, which was conducted Nov.25-28 and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points, appeared to prompt Mitt Romney's team to get off the dime and announce that the former Massachusetts governor will indeed deliver that speech about faith Thursday at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. The former president will introduce Romney, according to campaign spokesman Kevin Madden, but is not endorsing him.
"Gov. Romney has made a decision to deliver a speech titled 'Faith in America'," Madden said in a statement. "... This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his Presidency if he were elected. Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation."
A pair of endorsements
Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley, the first member of the state's congressional delegation to endorse, is supporting Edwards. The announcement comes today at noon in Waterloo. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, meanwhile, is supporting Obama.
Bill and Oprah
In other news, the Bill Clinton/Oprah Winfrey face-off continues. The former president is back in Iowa tomorrow. Oprah, of course touring for Obama, will be in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids Saturday. She heads Sunday to Columbia, S.C., and Manchester, N.H.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
The Union Leader is, of course, the Granite State's conservative newspaper, and the UL's endorsement of John McCain today, some say, is a reflection of the GOP's deep dissatisfaction with frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney on a range of social issues.
McCain couldn't have asked for a better holiday gift. He desperately needs to win NH -- or come in a close second to sustain his run. Without a strong showing in NH, it's likely curtains for the 2000 primary state victor.
The UL...
On Jan. 8, New Hampshire Republicans will make one of the most important choices for their party and nation in the history of our presidential primary. Their choice ought to be John McCain.
We don't agree with him on every issue. We disagree with him strongly on campaign finance reform. What is most compelling about McCain, however, is that his record, his character, and his courage show him to be the most trustworthy, competent, and conservative of all those seeking the nomination. Simply put, McCain can be trusted to make informed decisions based on the best interests of his country, come hell or high water.
dec2 McCain 135px
Competence, courage, and conviction are enormously important for our next President to possess. No one has a better understanding of U.S. interests and dangers right now than does McCain. He was right on the mistakes made by the Bush administration in prosecuting the Islamic terrorist war in Iraq and he is being proved right on the way forward both there and worldwide.
McCain is pro-life. Always has been. He fights against special-interest and pork-barrel spending, and high spending in general, which ticks off liberals and many in the GOP who have wallowed at the public trough. Yet he also has the proven ability, unique among the contenders, to work across the political divide that has led our government into petty bickering when important problems need to be solved.
We have known John McCain for many years. We will write more about him in the days ahead. For now, we leave you with this to ponder:
When McCain was shot down and taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese, he was repeatedly beaten. When his captors discovered that his father was a top U.S. admiral, they ordered him released for propaganda purposes. But McCain refused, insisting that longer-held prisoners be released before him. So they beat him some more. He never gave in then, and he won't give in to our enemies now.
Contributing Editors: John Mercurio, Quinn McCord, Tim Sahd, Maura O'Brien, and Abby Livingston
Contributing Writers: Holly Noe, Ian Faerstein, Rachelle Douillard-Proulx, Sean J. Miller, Steven Shepard, and Felicia Sonmez
On Call editors reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments. The Hotline, National Journal Group, Inc. and Atlantic Media Company are not responsible for the content of the comments that remain.
