January 2008

HOLLYWOOD -- When it was over, he pulled her chair out for her. Then they hugged and whispered in each other's ears. They nodded and giggled quietly.

After several weeks of increasingly bitter rhetoric, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pulled back, again, from the brink of all-out warfare and conducted the final face-off before Super Tuesday with a self-consciously cordial, even warm, tone. (This despite repeated, and at times glaring, efforts by CNN's Wolf Blitzer to start a fight).

They each appeared to take one for the team -- for the Dems' broader mission of taking back the WH.

Just yesterday in Denver, Obama launched a new line of attack, calling HRC a tired symbol of the past who would be vulnerable to GOP critiques in a general-election campaign. But tonight, he pulled back. "I was friends with Hillary Clinton before we started this campaign; I will be friends with Hillary Clinton after this campaign is over," he said.

Clinton resisted an obvious chance to lay out her line of attack on Obama's Iraq record. "We're having such a wonderful time," she said, only half jokingly. "The differences between Barack and I pale in comparison to the differences that we have with Republicans, and I want to say that first and foremost."

Whether it was the historic nature of tonight's debate that gave them pause is unclear. But each Dem seemed to be thinking to him/herself: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Clinton sees the polls that show her ahead and wanted tonight to stop the bloodletting that's occurred since the bitter SC campaign by appearing friendly and, yes, likable. Obama sees the polls showing him gaining on HRC in key states like CA, NJ and NY, and he thought it made more sense for him to rise above the bitterness, highlighting the more noble qualities of his campaign that appeal to voters.

Also worth noting: On most debate nights, our email inboxes are deluged with oppo research emails from each campaign. Tonight, we received almost none. From Dems, at least (thanks, Danny Diaz!).

Then again, both Dems are in this for the long haul. Shortly before the debate began, Obama's campaign announced that he raised more than $30M during 1/08. The message? Regardless of what happens on 2/5, he's in this race to the finish [JOHN MERCURIO].

Witness the cyber conversation of your Hotline editor-in-chief, Amy Walter, and your Hotline On Call editor, Jennifer Skalka.

Scene: Our respective family rooms. Enter Jennifer ...

JS: Here’s my feeling … This debate is, on the surface, totally useless. BUT despite the frivolous niceness, we are actually seeing the candidates' true strengths. Obama consistently out-charms and out-inspires HRC (he even pulled Clinton's chair out for her at the start of the debate). Clinton’s fierceness shines through. Her depth of understanding of the issues, health care in particular, is without peer.

I do think that together – in either order – they’d make the strongest ticket the Democrats have had in modern times.

AW: Agree. Except on the joint ticket thing. The presidential candidate is like a bride - no one is allowed to outshine her. And, regardless of who tops the ticket, the other one is clearly able to overshadow.

... Curtain

(J.S.)

STEVIE WONDER in the audience. Here's your debate night bonus ...

(J.S.)

In a joint appearance on The Tonight Show with John McCain, Rudy Giuliani leaves the door open for a run as McCain's vice president.

"I was asked that question a number of times when I was the candidate for president," Giuliani said this evening. "And what I said was you don't make decisions like that until you're the nominee and then you give it a lot of reflection. Nobody runs for it, and the candidate has to have total, absolutely open choice as to whoever they think is the best."

Giuliani and McCain joked about football like old friends, but when asked how McCain was able to resurrect his campaign while Giuliani was not, the two got serious.

"There are a lot of things that explain it," Giuliani said, when asked about the downturn of his campaign. "I think the great campaign that [McCain] ran, coming from where it looked like it was over and John never accepted it was over."

McCain said that Giuliani had run an "honorable" campaign, and tried to keep his own campaign honorable by calling Romney a "fine family man" when asked about the tiff during the debate last night.

"I just think that I'm obviously more qualified," McCain said, to much applause. "It kind of erupted and you try to avoid that as much as you can. And I want to tell you this guy Governor Huckabee is a good guy. He really is. He's a good, sincere person."

McCain also downplayed the economic perils that the country is facing, saying as he as before that the country will get through it. He once again emphasized that the greatest challenge facing America is the threat of radical Islam, and Feb 5th will be his chance to see if voters agree.

(NBC/NJ's ADAM AIGNER-TREWORGY)

So far, here at the Kodak Theater, where the Oscars are held, we've seen ... Rob Reiner, Bradley Whitford, Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw, Diane Keaton, America Ferreira (wearing a Hillary button), Alfre Woodard (who's supporting Obama), Pierce Brosnan, Fran Drescher, Jason Alexander, Topher Grace or Hayden Christensen (sorry, guys, we can't tell you apart) and Lindsay Lohan (yeah, right).

Angie and Brad anyone? Barbra? Anyone?

HOLLYWOOD -- So far, we're watching a civil discussion about (gasp!) issues. Apparently HRC and Obama can sit on a stage for 30 minutes and resist the urge to pummel each other. If the rest of the debate maintains this tone, will it spark a fresh round of speculation that these two Dems could agree to run on the same ticket in 11/08 (top/bottom TBD)?

Also worth noting, don't policy-laden debates benefit HRC?

That's two John McCain references for Obama ... First was on McCain's changed position on the Bush tax cuts, the other on immigration ...

HOLLYWOOD -- How many times have Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton brought up John Edwards' name? A running tally:

Obama: II

HRC: II

Isn't it true that no matter which debate we're watching, GOP or Dem, when one candidate hits another on a matter that really, really hurts, the hit-ee starts scribbling notes?

Hillary Clinton started scratching away as Barack Obama noted his opposition to the Iraq war from the start ...

Oh, what must those notes say ... ?

(J.S.)

HOLLYWOOD -- Well, that didn't take long. Barack Obama waits approximately 0 seconds before appealing to John Edwards' supporters.

HOLLYWOOD -- CNN's Wolf Blitzer might be repeating the point too often during his pre-debate drumroll, and the countdown clock is, as always, overdone. But that doesn't mean the point is not true: We're about to watch history being made, the first-ever TV debate for a major-party WH nom between a (white) woman and a black man. John Edwards' departure on 1/30 sealed the deal: Dems will make history in '08.

What to expect? Edwards won't be on stage tonight, but his name will likely come up frequently as both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama court the parts of his hitherto constituency that are most likely to fall into their respective camps. Clinton will focus on "issues," like health care and poverty. Obama is likely to highlight a message he shared with Edwards: change.

Will tonight's tone resemble the constant gunfire in SC last week, or the GOP snoozer in Simi Valley 1/30? No one knows. We do know that Clinton is being strongly advised to keep her cool. What she's learned over the roller-coaster of the past month is her worst performances occur when she goes on the attack.

Obama needs to, well, win. Which is often a challenge for him; his rival is a skilled and well-prepared debater.

As the crowds continue to gather outside the Kodak Theater at Hollywood and Highland, one thing is a sure-fire bet: As soon as they walk onto the stage tonight, Clinton and Obama will have given an Oscar-worthy performance, one for the history books [JOHN MERCURIO].

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Forget Camelot. The latest mantle that Barack Obama is looking to inherit is that of former Sen. John Edwards. Edwards left the race yesterday after imploring the two remaining Dem candidates to make poverty a central issue in their campaigns.

Obama, sounding positively Edwards-esque today in a town hall at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, told the crowd that the system wasn't "designed for us."

"Too many people today feel like the system is not designed for people like us. They feel like the education system isn't designed for people like us, and the job market isn't designed for people like us," Obama said, apparently identifying himself with the predominantly Latino and African American crowd.

He added: "Well let me tell you something, this is our country. America should be designed for people like us. That's why I'm running for president of the United States, for all people – black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight -- all people."

Obama's statements on race and class were unusual for him. Even in South Carolina and Nevada, where blacks and Hispanics were critical constituencies, Obama rarely dwelled too much on the idea of institutional racial disparities -- or identified himself with a minority crowd in such a distinctive way.

But if anyone was unclear about the intention of his message, Obama spoke today directly about Edwards.

"This is our country, that's why we have to address the issue of poverty," he said. "I congratulate John Edwards for his outstanding race and the way in which he identified the forgotten America."

(NBC/NJ's ASWINI ANBURAJAN)

Paul A. Volcker, chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979-1987, has endorsed Barack Obama. Volcker was initially appointed to the Fed by Jimmy Carter, but he was reappointed by Ronald Reagan in 1983.

From the WSJ:

“After 30 years in government, serving under five Presidents of both parties and chairing two non-partisan commissions on the Public Service, I have been reluctant to engage in political campaigns. The time has come to overcome that reluctance,” Volcker, a Democrat, said in a statement today. “However, it is not the current turmoil in markets or the economic uncertainties that have impelled my decision. Rather, it is the breadth and depth of challenges that face our nation at home and abroad. Those challenges demand a new leadership and a fresh approach.”

LOS ANGELES, Ca. – Just six days before Super Tuesday, John McCain received yet another major endorsement that could help him in a delegate rich state. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threw his weight behind McCain this afternoon after a tour of Solar Integrated, a green technology company that builds solar roofing panels.

"[Green technology] will create a great, great future for California and for the United States and the world," the governor said. "Now talking about a great future, this is the very reason why I am endorsing Sen. McCain to be the next president of the United States, because I'm interested in a great future, and I think that Sen. McCain has proven over and over again that he is reaching across the aisle in order to get things done."

In an effort to tarnish his conservative credentials and paint him as out of step with the Republican base, McCain's rivals have criticized him this cycle for working too well with Democrats during his long Senate career. Endorsements from moderate Republicans like Schwarzenegger and Rudy Giuliani don't help him combat this reputation, but they do help continue his post Florida momentum.

"I could never, never, ever be anything but honored by the presence of these two great American heroes," McCain said, when asked about his two most recent endorsers, who stood with him today. "Today Governor Rick Perry, the governor of Texas will be endorsing me. You will see a flood of endorsements across this country from both liberal and conservative."

Today McCain talked about the need to unite the party – both conservative and liberal – around the eventual nominee.

"I'm prepared to lead our party in the nation, and I am prepared and am succeeding in uniting it," McCain said. "We need all parts of our party together if we're going to win in November. I believe our party is beginning to realize that."

McCain will appear on the Tonight Show this evening before taking off for the Midwest to begin the last big push towards Feb. 5th.

(NBC/NJ's ADAM AIGER-TREWORGY)

From today's Hotline:

"Who controls him?"

-- HRC endorser/Sen. Patty Murray, on B. Clinton, Seattle Post Intelligencer, 1/31

With John Edwards out, his supporters (and staff) are up for grabs. Per NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller, a list of the headliners (staff after the jump):

U.S. Congress

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa)
Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.D.) Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.)

Unions

Carpenters
Steelworkers
SEIU state councils: California, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia
Communication Workers of America: Nevada, South Carolina
Transport Workers
United Mine Workers

Entertainers

Actor Danny Glover
Actress Madeleine Stowe
Singer Bonnie Raitt
Singer Jackson Browne
Singer Ralph Stanley
Actor James Denton
Actor Kevin Bacon
Actor Tim Robbins
Actor and former Rep. Ben "Cooter" Jones
Singer John Mellencamp

Other notable groups

Friends of the Earth Action
Caucus 4 Priorities (Iowa)
Scads of former and current local officials

*Rep. Raul Grijalva and the Fresno Bee have already switched their Edwards endorsements to Obama ...

On a conference call with reporters this a.m., Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said that the campaign will be up w/ ads in the following post 2/5 states by tomorrow (2/1): LA, WA, NE, ME, DC, MD, and VA.

The campaign has raised $32M in primary dollars since the end of last quarter and have 170K new donors.

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

With a GOP debate, Rudy Giuliani endorsing John McCain and John Edwards abandoning his WH bid, TV had plenty to talk about last night.

We lead off with the debate talk, which focused on the tensions between McCain and Mitt Romney:

CNN's J. King: "I thought the highlight overwhelmingly was the crackling exchanges and the tension, you could see it, the looking and glaring at each other, between McCain and Romney" (1/30).

Bill Bennett: "I don't think it changes much, palpable as the tension between Romney and McCain. That exchange was quite interesting. I think Huckabee performed well. He didn't get a lot of time. This thing goes on and we'll see this fight continuing over the next few days" (CNN, 1/30).

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen: "Mitt Romney came into this needing ... to score a couple of touchdowns. At best, he got a couple of field goals. I think that John McCain maintains the momentum coming out of this. The Schwarzenegger endorsement tomorrow, coming on top of the Giuliani endorsement today, makes him look very formidable going into this. I don't think that Mitt Romney got what he needed tonight, even though he did score occasionally" (CNN, 1/30).

(EMILY GOODIN)

What were the final four GOPers selling at tonight's CNN debate?

McCain: Leadership. Experience. Reliability on national security issues (using the surge's success to make his point). Conservatism. His participation in the Reagan Revolution. His affection for tax cuts. And those newspaper endorsements (especially the two Massachusetts papers, which chose him over the homestate guv).

Romney: Leadership. Experience. Reliability on fiscal issues. Conservatism. Affection for strict constructionist judges. Washington outsiderism. Support for Iraq war (despite McCain's pointed references to Romney's statement in favor of a timetable for withdrawal).

Huckabee: The merits of including him in the debate. His modesty (ie I wouldn't presume to posit that RR would endorse me. Similarly dodged a question about appropriateness of Sandra Day O'Connor appointment to high court).

Paul: End to Iraq war. Less govt.

Ok, so this was a largely nicey nice debate, what gives? Bad questions (Would Reagan endorse you? Puleeze ...)? A leading challenger -- Romney -- who, as McCain collects high profile endorsements post Florida, is resigned to his fate?

Regardless of the reasons, the dynamic serves one candidate: McCain. The party seems to be coalescing around McCain; Gov. Charlie Crist pre Florida, Rudy Giuliani today, Cali Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tomorrow. Sure, these guys are moderates. They certainly don't represent the party's conservative base. But the conservative base seems to have lost its way this season. Maybe it was inevitable after eight years of losing its way with Mr. Compassionate Conservative himself in the White House.

Bottom line: "I do not think Mitt Romney got what he needed tonight." --David Gergen on CNN

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Ted Kennedy is hitting the trail for Barack Obama tomorrow. He'll be in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M., Thursday, and Los Angeles and Oakland, California Friday.

Kennedy's courting Latino voters. Remember ... HRC was carried to a surprise victory in Nevada by several constituencies, but Hispanics, in particular, gave her a huge boost.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts senator e-mailed a fundraising letter to voters on Obama's behalf, asking for $50 contributions. "As President Kennedy said in 1960, 'It is time for a new generation of leadership,' Kennedy wrote.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

"How many men are you willing to let die for something that has nothing to do with our national security?"

-- Ron Paul chastising McCain and Romney for squabbling over the "technicalities" of an Iraq pullout when they both ultimately supported the policy

Who forgot that Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul were participating in tonight's debate?

SIMI VALLEY -- The headline from this 90-minute debate looks to be this skirmish between McCain and Romney over McCain's claim that Romney once supported a "phased timetable" for withdrawal from Iraq. Which plays to McCain's biggest strength. But considering how strongly the economy has moved to the top of voters' priorities, how many 2/5 voters are voting with Iraq on their minds?

As this debate chug chugs along sans sparks, a thought occurs: Mitt Romney must find a way to hit John McCain successfully. Pick a topic, governor. Immigration, campaign finance reform, his reputed temper. Whatever. If, after tonight, there's no discernable shift in the dynamics of the GOP contest, Romney's going to lose. It's that simple. Time is not on his side ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

SIMI VALLEY -- No zingers, one-liners, knock-out punches, fireworks or particularly effective moments so far. The closest thing was probably John McCain noting that he's received the endorsement of two of Mitt Romney's home-state newspapers. If you look back at recent debates, the first 30 minutes usually set the tone for the evening, and usually featured the most notable fireworks.

Are the moderators not doing enough to mix it up? Have all four GOPers simply settled into pre-determined fates? Or do they all fear disobeying Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment while under his watchful gaze?

It's unlikely Clinton vs. Obama on 1/31 will be as cordial. Which is starting to sound like a pattern. Are the Dems simply more divided than GOPers? [J.M.]

SIMI VALLEY -- Mike Huckabee, just now: "This isn't a two-man race, there's another guy sitting here on the end of the stage. ... If we're going to talk conservatism, I'd like to be in on the discussion."

Sounds awfully similar to John Edwards' comment last week in SC when he felt that CNN's Wolf Blitzer was ignoring him. And we all know how things ended up for Edwards.

SIMI VALLEY -- John McCain's biggest problem in debates has been appearing tired and cranky. His biggest weakness in this WH campaign is his grasp of economic issues. He flubbed his response to the first question ("are we better off than we were eight years ago?"), on both counts [J.M.]

AP's David Espo reports : In a major boost for John McCain, Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney signaled Wednesday he's not ready to commit to a costly campaign in the states holding primaries and caucuses next week.

Instead, the former Massachusetts governor's current plans call for campaigning in California and other primary states, said the officials, who had knowledge of the internal discussions. There would be organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.

SIMI VALLEY -- The chattering class, who have little to do but chatter until the GOP debate begins in 38 minutes, has settled upon two pieces of CW: One, John McCain is now the clear GOP frontrunner and, two, all guns will be trained tonight on Mitt Romney.

Which raises a question: Why? If everyone agrees that McCain's the man to beat, why is everybody beating up on somebody else? Sure, Mike Huckabee is competing with Romney for conservative voters in key states like TN, GA, AL and MO. But is his real goal a spot on the GOP ticket this fall?

SIMI VALLEY -- CNN reports that CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "might" follow Rudy Giuliani's lead and endorse John McCain 1/31.

During a press conf. a few minutes ago at the Reagan library, Schwarzenegger definitely left the door open to making an endorsement 1/31 at an event with McCain on the environment.

Schwarzenegger: "I have no news to give you today. I know you'd like to have news because you have to fill your lovely columns. But I have to say that the dynamics of the race have now changed. Both of these guys [Giuliani and McCain] have been very close friends to me and have supported my campaigns in the past."

Homeland Security Sec. Schwarzenegger? You heard it here first. [JOHN MERCURIO].

SIMI VALLEY -- A few observations following Rudy Giuliani's endorsement of John McCain just now, less than two hours before the GOP debate:

* It's not a surprise and shouldn't be described as such. As Giuliani himself noted, he said many times during the campaign that if he hadn't run, he would have supported McCain. "If I endorsed anyone else, you would say I was flip-flopping."

* Which brings us to Mitt Romney. While he never specifically mentioned Romney, Giuliani suggested through his chosen words to describe McCain ("trust," "honor," "integrity") that there's no love lost between him and the ex-MA gov.

* Giuliani said he'd campaign for McCain "anywhere and everywhere he wants me to, or not." The "or not" part of that sentence should not be overlooked. How useful will he be in McCain's efforts to reach conservatives in his remaining fight with Romney and Mike Huckabee? Giuliani himself listed only blue states (CA, NY, NJ, CT and IL) as states where he's inclined to campaign. (Notably, he neglected to include FL).

* Giuliani doesn't seem to be ready to dwell on what went wrong, at least not publicly. When a reporter sought to ask the NYer to assess his campaign's fatal mistakes, McCain abruptly cut him off and ended the press conf

* While McCain was joined by his wife Cindy, Rudy was Judy-less [JOHN MERCURIO].

BURBANK - Rudy Giuliani said he would endorse John McCain Wednesday, calling him the "other best candidate" and said he has already started asking his campaign contributors to get behind the Arizona senator.

Giuliani will officially end his presidential bid and back McCain at a 3:00 PM PST press conference at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the site of this evening's Republican debate.

Speaking to a small group of reporters aboard his charter plane from Orlando Wednesday, Giuliani said "obviously the strategy didn't work" but said he was richer for the experience of running for chief executive.

"It was a great honor to run for president of the United States, despite of the result," he said. "I learned a tremendous amount from it that I will never forget. I grew as a person in doing it. It is a daunting experience that challenges everything about you and it either makes you better or maybe it makes you worse, but I believe it made me better."

Giuliani had made his personal affection for McCain clear during his campaign, and said it was an obvious choice to support him as part of his withdrawal.

"It's disappointing to lose a race for president because you believe you're the best candidate, but I had made it clear before I had to make this decision who I thought the other best candidate was," he said. "I think I made it clear during a debate that if I had not been running, I would be supporting John McCain.

He added that the campaign had not discussed any potential role for him beyond campaigning for McCain in the Northeast. He specifically said he was not seeking the vice presidential nomination.

"I am not seeking any position in government," he said. "I am going to be a very enthusiastic and active supporter of John McCain. I have offered, anything he or his campaign believe I can do, I will do for them."

(NBC/NJ's MATTHEW BERGER)

Tough words from Hillary Clinton's home state paper, the New York Post ...

We urge them to choose Obama - an untried candidate, to be sure, but preferable to the junior senator from New York.

It will - if Sen. Clinton becomes president.

"I began my campaign here to remind the country that we as citizens and as a government have a moral responsibility to each other and what we do together matters. ... It’s time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. We do not know who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but what we do know is our Democratic Party will make history."

-- John Edwards, bowing out of the presidential race today in New Orleans, where his campaign began 13 months ago.

Ron Kaufman - the now infamous Dutko lobbyist who was the source of the spat between Mitt Romney and AP reporter Glen Johnson in South Carolina two weeks ago over whether there are lobbyists running the campaign - reappeared at the Florida post-primary party last night and again on the plane to Burbank today. He headed to the back of the plane before take-off to chat up reporters, but his comments were mostly about stories from his past, not campaign strategy.

After landing moments ago in Cali, Romney was greeted by several dozen supporters and a couple TV crews. He shook hands and signed autographs, and said that he would fight on.

(NBC/NJ's ERIN MCPIKE)

From today's Hotline:

"This is going to be everybody against Romney from here on out."

-- MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 1/29

Washington State Sen. Patty Murray endorsed Hillary Clinton today in a statement released by the campaign:

“Hillary and I both came to Washington together in 1993, and since that time she hasn't stopped working on the priorities that matter most to America's families,” Murray said. “Together we have partnered to pass strong port security legislation, stand up to an Administration that put ideology above science, and provide the care that our nation's veterans have earned. She understands the challenges that face us here in Washington state from security at our Northern Border to cleaning up Hanford. Hillary is ready to lead this nation from her first day in office and deliver the change we need.”

Washington's primary is Feb. 9.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Love this statement sent to reporters a few minutes ago ... "John McCain To Receive Major Endorsement" ... 3 p.m. PT ... Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum ...

Whoever could it be? Insert 'wink, wink' here. A pre debate nod from Rudy G. ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

HRC on JRE exit – Per WBRC Birmingham

HRC: "Well Sen. Edwards is a friend of mine, he was a colleague in the Senate, and I have the highest regard for him, and I’m really admiring of what he has done to make sure that poverty was on the agenda here in America. He encouraged all of us in his passion and advocacy, and I hope he will continue that work because it is really important that we stay focused on what we’re going to do to help people.

"You know, I’m out here talking about making the economy work for everybody. And it needs to work for the middle class, working people, it needs to give a life line to poor people like we did in the 1990s, so in any way that I can be part of this effort to try to target poverty I am going to be."

ANCHOR: "Senator, there is no indication right now that he would endorse a candidate, would you hope and expect that his supporters would back you now and your candidacy?"

HRC: "Well, I’m certainly going to be reaching out to everyone who did support Sen. Edwards. I think that our emphasis on what happens in the real lives of Americans, making this about solving our problems, looking at taking on those interests that stand in the way of universal health care, and a tax system that doesn’t favor the wealthy and well-connected and making sure college is affordable. You know these are the causes that I’ve worked on for 35 years. Senator Edwards shares a lot of those passions with me, and I hope that I’ll be able tp persuade his supporters in the week ahead as we move toward Super Tuesday to come over and endorse and support me because I want to have a united Democratic Party with a very strong base going into the November 2008 election."

“John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn’t popular to do or covered in the news," said Barack Obama in a statement released by a spokesman. "At a time when our politics is too focused on who’s up and who’s down, he made a nation focus again on who matters – the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington.

"John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this – that two Americans can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America."

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reports that John Edwards phoned HRC and Barack Obama yesterday to notify them of his decision to leave the race and to urge them to make poverty a foremost issue in the ongoing contest. She said JRE hasn't any plans to endorse. Overall, she said, the campaign realized that the path to the nomination had become "very narrow" ...

By NBC News' John Yang and NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger:

The end is rarely pretty.

The morning after was particularly chaotic for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. The traveling press corps was asked to be in the lobby at 7:30 a.m. to be bused to the airport and a 9 a.m. flight to Los Angeles, including a refueling stop in Texas.

But the only buses were for a meeting of Wendy's franchisees.

The mayor departed the hotel--in a pick-up truck.

Still no buses. And no campaign aides to tell us exactly where we were going and what we'd do when we got there.

Calls to officials revealed that more and more of them were heading home to New York instead of accompanying the mayor.

And still no buses.

A camapign aide said there was a problem and that we should get ourselves to the aiport.

A fleet of cabs took the assembled reporters to the plane in time to see campaign officials campaign manager Mike DuHaime, campaign advisor Tony Carbonetti, former deputy mayors Randy Mastro and Joe Lhota and the ubiquitous celebrity endorser Jon Voight board the plane. Giuliani boarded carrying his own suit bag. His wife, Judith, was not with him.

And on the tarmac: The buses that were to carry the press to the plane.

Barack Obama heaping praise on John Edwards last night on ABC's Nightline ... Script after the jump, per NJ's Emily Goodin ...

1 p.m. announcement, New Orleans, where he launched his campaign this cycle ...

-- Aides are telling us that he’s not making the decision based on his wife’s health – CNN's Suzanne Malveaux

AP first reported. More to come.

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

Tonight marked a big win for John McCain in what was a hard-fought battle against Mitt Romney for Florida.

So as Mac and Mitt go head-to-head Super Tuesday, who has the true advantage? Mitt might have the cash, but Mac now has the Mo'...

Here's something to watch for as the contest broadens ... Mike Huckabee helped draw conservative votes tonight away from Romney. Look for Huck to do the same next week in Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia. Reason enough for him to stick it out. Well, that and the coveted veep slot.

As the race heads west as well, McCain has another critical built-in benefit. The west is McCain territory. The Arizona senator faces a homestate primary as well as battles in New Mexico and California, where Latino voters -- who helped produce tonight's victory -- are a friendly constituency for McCain.

Meanwhile, McCain will get Giuliani's nod tomorrow in Cali, and Huck was exceptionally flattering of him tonight. It's almost as McCain's rivals are willing the nomination his way ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

"He won across the board here. You do feel a certain drift to John McCain."

-- Tom Brokaw, on MSNBC

With 75% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 36-31% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 15%, Mike Huckabee at 14% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 75% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 50-33% among Dems, with John Edwards at 14%.

NBC News/National Journal has confirmed that Rudy Giuliani will endorse John McCain tomorrow in California.

NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy reports that John McCain's party-goers are wearing yellow "Team Super Tuesday" hats ...

John McCain takes the podium, Gov. Charlie Crist behind him:

"Florida has always been a special place to me, and it is all the more so tonight. Our victory might not have reached landslide proportions but was sweet nonetheless."

McCain first gave thanks to Crist and Sen. Mel Martinez ...
He saluted Mike Huckabee for his "good humor and grace" and his "dear friend" Rudy Giuliani "who invested his heart and soul in this primary and who conducted himself with all the qualities of the exceptional American leader he is." Of Mitt Romney, he said: "The margin isn't enough for me to brag about or him to despair."

"This was a hard fought election and worth fighting hard for," he added. He said that next week's Super Tuesday contest is as close to a national primary as this country has seen.

"I intend to win it and be the nominee of our party," McCain said.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Mitt Romney speech highlights:

"I am sure you are excited here this evening, but a little disappointed, as well" -- Romney (mult.).

“At a time like this, knowing how America works is more important that knowing how Washington works. … And so the right course for America isn’t to strengthen our government, but to strengthen our people. And to do that, we need to change Washington, and that change will begin with us” (mult.).

And one of several shout-outs to conservative voters ...

"Before they have babies, they should be married" -- Romney said of America's young people (mult.)

With 64% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 36-32% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 15%, Mike Huckabee at 13% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 64% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 50-32% among Dems, with John Edwards at 15%.

Reflecting on McCain's win:

CNN's Schneider: "This is yet another state that McCain has won without carrying conservatives. ... He hasn't carried conservatives yet."

CNN's Blitzer: "This is a win, a badly needed and impressive win."

CNN's Cooper: "What an extraordinary win when you consider a few months ago, he was walking through the airport carrying his own bags."

Bill Bennett: "He is likely on his way to the nomination."

Meanwhile, McCain's advisers have said that he will be "unstoppable" on Super Tuesday if he won FL (CNN). We'll see.

"It's not over until it's over," a woman yells to Rudy Giuliani from his election night audience ...

But it appears it is.

The former mayor congratulated his opponents on a hard-fought campaign. "They are truly all honorable people, honorable men who are fighting what they believe in," he said. "Our party will be stronger as a result of the competition that we are going through."

Speaking in the past tense about his bid, but not offering yet that he would exit, Giuliani said "winners dream of a better future and then they help to bring it into reality." But added, "the responsibility of leadership doesn't end in a single campaign, if you believe in a cause it goes on, and you continue to fight for it and we will."

Giuliani said he is proud that his campaign stayed "positive" and ran "a campaign of ideas."

"We ran a campaign that was uplifting," he said. "You don't always win, but you can always try to do it right and you did. That's what the American people deserve."

He went on to advocate for strength in the fight to preserve our national security and our economy. He pushed for school choice as well. And he said the GOP -- the party of Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reagan and George Bush -- must be the party of freedom.

"The best way to achieve peace is through overwhelming strength," he said.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

NBC News calls it for McCain ... 9:18 p.m. ...

McCain it is ... FOX, 9:11 p.m.; CNN, 9:12 p.m. ...

With 51% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 36-31% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 15%, Mike Huckabee at 13% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 48% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51-31% among Dems, with John Edwards at 15%.

It’s 9 p.m., two hours after the polls closed, and all that’s been counted in the Palm Beach Co. elections headquarters are absentee ballots and early votes (Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel).

Mike Huckabee just spoke to supporters in Creve Coeur, MO, and addressed the FL outcome.

Huckabee: "We're playing all nine innings of this ball game. ... Even the Cardinals, occasionally, have a rough inning."

More: “We’re just really getting started” (CNN).

The mood at the Romney party, "at least among some campaign officials, is a bit edgy." Barbara Comstock, a surrogate for the camp, "compared the waiting to 'going into labor'" ("The Caucus").

CNN's Malveaux, on how the Obama camp is reacting to HRC's FL win: "Wolf, they're really kind of laughing at it."

NEP exit polls posted by MSNBC show 63% of GOP voters believe the economy is in not so good or poor condition.

Exit polls also show…

-- GOPers believe McCain is more electable than Romney 45-33%, with Giuliani at 11%.

-- 44% of GOP voters were over the age of 60, a group which McCain leads 37-34% over Romney.

-- GOP college grads favor McCain 36-33% over Romney, while McCain and Romney tie 30-30% among non-grads.

Time's Mark Halperin is reporting that Giuliani will drop out and endorse McCain “as early as Wednesday – in Los Angeles or Simi Valley.” ...

HRC in Davie: "Thank you Florida Democrats! I could not come here to ask, in person, for your votes, but I am here to thank you for your votes today!" More: "This has been a record turnout because Floridians wanted to be heard" (mult.)

CNN reports that Democratic primary voters in South Carolina who made their presidential pick in the week before voting overwhelmingly chose Barack Obama. In Florida, according to exit polls, those last-minute deciders went for Hillary Clinton. The Dems had pledged not to campaign in Florida following national party sanctions that rendered the contest irrelevant to the presidential nominating process.

"What's the celebration for?" -- MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, to NBC's Andrea Mitchell at HRC's victory party (MSNBC).

Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol said it would be "risky" for HRC to assume the FL results will mean anything for future results (FNC).

CNN's Borger, on HRC in FL: "Lots of Democrats turned out. ... However, this is a talking point for Hillary Clinton. This is not a huge victory."

On the bright side ... CNN's Schneider, on HRC: "She got a healthy share of the African American vote." However, Schneider points out, in FL, only 18% of the voters were African-American.

How You Really Know the Giuliani Campaign Is Not Expecting a Good Night ... ABC News' Tapper reports that the first sign that greets his supporters at his "celebration" party here at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando: "CASH BAR."

Winners usually pay for drinks.

Ba dum ching.

FNC's Brit Hume reports, Romney is leading among early and absentee voters, while McCain leads among people voting today.

CNN's J. King reports, Romney needed to win Orange Co. "by a decent margin," but he's currently in a dead heat there with McCain. Meanwhile, "the McCain camp believes if it wins Tampa, it wins the state" (CNN).

"I don't give a damn what anybody says tonight, John McCain will not get conservatives behind him in the fall" -- MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.

With 35% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 34-32% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 16%, Mike Huckabee at 13% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 35% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 49-30% among Dems, with John Edwards at 15%.

Try telling the crowd of 200 waiting in Davie, FL, for HRC to speak later tonight that the Dem race is a beauty contest. It’s been erupting into periodic chants of "Hill-a-ry! Hill-a-ry! Hill-a-ry!” (Miami Herald).

NEP exit polls posted by MSNBC show McCain leading Giuliani 51-25% among Hispanics/Latinos, with Romney at 15%. Hispanics/Latinos make up 10% of the GOP electorate.

Exit polls also show…

-- that one in three GOP primary voters is over the age of 65, a category in which McCain leads Romney 38-31%.

-- absentee/early voters make up 28% of the GOP electorate and split between McCain and Romney 31-31%, with Giuliani at 18%.

-- Huckabee and Romney leading McCain 30-30-28% among born-again/evangelical Christians, who make up nearly four in 10 GOP voters.

With 26% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 34-32% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 16%, Mike Huckabee at 14% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 28% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 49-29% among Dems, with John Edwards at 15%.

CNN's J. King, on Giuliani: "He will be 0 for 7 after tonight. ... It is a repudiation of the Giuliani strategy."

Bill Bennett, on Giuliani: "The campaign wasn't good. ... He needed to talk about his vision for the country, not just what he did on 9/11" (CNN).

CNN's Toobin: "The more people saw of Rudy Giuliani, the less they liked him. ... He just was not a good candidate. ... I think it's clear this is the worst campaign of this millennium."

And even this guy couldn’t save Rudy ("Beltway Confidential").

Meanwhile, the Giuliani campaign is so far tonight pushing a never-say-die storyline: "The plan is to go out to California. ... We've chartered a plane" -- Giuliani manager Mike DuHaime, looking past FL (MSNBC).

Obama Campaign manager David Plouffe brushed off the question of whether he would support or oppose seating Florida's delegates.

"That's obviously a long way down the road, he said. "...Obviously this could end up being a very, very close delegate race where we're fighting for every delegate." (St. Pete Times)

8:00 CNN projects “that Rudy Giuliani will not win” the GOP race.

FOX and CNN called Florida for Hillary Clinton at 8 p.m., with MSNBC calling it at 8:01 pm.

A reminder: A whopping zero Democratic delegates at stake tonight; the state was stripped of its delegates as punishment for pushing primary date up. HRC is in Davie, Fla., anyway to thank supporters.

Meanwhile, this breaking from Obama spokesman Bill Burton ... "Obama and Clinton tie for delegates in Florida. 0 for Obama, 0 for Clinton."

With 15% of FL precincts reporting, CNN shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 34-31% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 17%, Mike Huckabee at 13% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 15% of FL precincts reporting, CNN shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 52-29% among Dems, with John Edwards at 16%.

MSNBC's Olbermann reports that "it's too close to call" ...

CNN's J. King reports, McCain needs to do well in Miami-Dade Co., as well as in the Tampa Bay and Pensacola areas, where there are high concentrations of military veterans. Romney, meanwhile, is watching the more conservative strongholds of Orlando, Sarasota, and Jacksonville (CNN).

FNC's Shepard Smith predicts the votes in the Panhandle will give McCain a "late edge."

With 9% of FL precincts reporting, CNN shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 34-30% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 18%, Mike Huckabee at 13% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 10% of FL precincts reporting, CNN shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 52-29% among Dems, with John Edwards at 16%.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) has “ruled out” being John McCain's running mate. Speaking to the AP in DC, Lieberman said, “No, I’d tell him, ‘Thanks, John, I've been there, I've done that. You can find much better.’ … I'm not seeking anything else” (“On Politics”).

"Fasten your seat belt. It's going to be another Florida election" -- Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), warning us (MSNBC).

Shepard Smith reports a delay in reporting votes in Putnam Co. on the eastern side – “mechanical difficulties” – with electronic voting machines. “That’s going to ring bells all over the state” (FNC).

"Voters are reporting problems across Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Hunter's Creek. Among the precincts experiencing glitches was one in Orange County where voters were told by poll workers early on there was no Democratic primary today." (Orlando Sentinel)

A "steady turnout" of voters at the polls gives Secretary of State Kurt Browning cause to hope for better-than-average turnout in today's presidential primary. Browning: “Obviously we're going to beat our 20 percent that we had in 2004” (Fort Myers News-Press).

Newsweek's Howard Fineman said Giuliani spent approximately $50M-$60M to acquire "a grand total of 1 delegate" (in NV). Fineman also said it is "highly unlikely" Giuliani will participate in tomorrow night's GOP debate (MSNBC).

Pat Buchanan predicts Giuliani will endorse McCain by next Tuesday (MSNBC).

With 0.2% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows John McCain leading Mitt Romney 29-28% among GOPers, with Rudy Giuliani at 18%, Mike Huckabee at 18% and Ron Paul at 3%.

With 0.2% of FL precincts reporting, CBS News shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 58-21% among Dems, with John Edwards at 17%.

Early network exit polls "show the economy is the breakaway issue, with nearly half of GOP voters and more than half" of Dems calling it the nation's top concern.

About one-third of GOP voters "said experience is the top quality they're looking for in a candidate; that's more than said so in other states." On the GOP side, "six in 10 voters are conservative, including a quarter who are 'very conservative.' About three in 10 are military veterans, nearly four in 10 are seniors and about two in 10 describe themselves as" indies. "About one in eight is Hispanic; up somewhat" from '00.

Among GOPers:

The top issue: Economy (47%), terrorism (19%), immigration (17%), Iraq (13%). Top candidate quality: Shares my values (37%), has the best experience (32%), says what he believes (20%), best chance to win in the general election (9%). Feelings toward the Bush admin.'s policies: 66% positive, 33% negative ("The Trail").

National Review Online’s Jim Geraghty has what he says are “second wave” exit numbers from FL: McCain 34.3%, Romney 32.6%, Giuliani 15.3%, Huckabee 12%.

57 delegates at stake in the GOP primary ...

Most polls close now, panhandle 8 p.m. ET ...

According to Politico’s Josh Kraushaar, Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY 02) withdrew his re-election papers this p.m. and will retire. As the deadline to file for the race was this afternoon, two GOPers quickly entered: state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R) and Lewis CoS Daniel London (R). According to Kraushaar, the NRCC "indicated" that it "strongly favored" Guthrie.

State Sen. David Boswell (D) is one of two Dems to file for the race, and was touted earlier this cycle by Dems in a CD that gave Lewis just 55% in ’06. His conservative position on abortion and other social issues are a good fit for the CD, where Dems outnumber GOPers by about 100K voters, but where Pres. Bush took 65% in '04. Those Dems came home in the ’07 GOV race, and Dems are hoping they do so again in ’08, especially now that this is an open seat contest. (TIM SAHD)

Caroline Kennedy takes her pitch for Barack Obama to the airwaves ... New York, Philly, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles ... Note the footage of JFK, and man's first steps on the moon ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

With all that talk of whether Rudy Giuliani will or won't he drop out of the GOP race for president if he doesn't win Florida, note this: This afternoon, his campaign sent reporters the sign up sheet to fly with him to Los Angeles tomorrow ...

Head fake?

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

New HRC Spanish-language ad to air in Cali, Arizona, New York and Connecticut.

A reminder: Check in this evening with On Call for the latest Florida primary results. ...

Hillary Clinton will make her ninth appearance on CBS' "Late Show" on Monday, 2/4, but, more importantly, she's reaching a national audience on the eve on the so-called "national primary" of Super Tuesday. And it's worth noting the announcement comes the day after allegations she made last-minute cancellations on all the cable networks after President Bush's SOTU address.

The CBS show was Clinton's only late night option. David Letterman is the only host who has a deal with the striking TV writers -- and no Democrat will dare cross the picket line -- but, as noted in today's New York Post, NBC's "Tonight Show," even without its writers, is still beating Letterman in the ratings. Last week Jay Leno averaged 5 million viewers to Letterman's 4.1 million viewers.

Clinton isn't the only candidate to take to the late night stage the night before a big primary. Mike Huckabee stopped by Leno's couch the night before the Iowa caucuses and managed a victory in that state. And Huckabee has been most prolific on the last night circuit stopping by the "Late, Late Show" on Jan. 3, the "Late Show" on Jan. 7, and the "Colbert Report" on Jan. 9. But he's not the only one staying up late. Mitt Romney was on the "Tonight Show" on Jan. 18th and John Edwards was on the "Late Show" on Jan. 22nd. (EMILY GOODIN)

Check out this angry editorial from the conservative New Hampshire Union Leader, which chastises Hillary Clinton for dabbling with Florida ... The paper alleges that she violated her pledge not to campaign there because of the state's decision to move up the primary. The Clinton team has pushed in recent days for Florida's delegates to be seated at the convention. And HRC is in Florida tonight to thank voters, according to a campaign release ...

Hillary's word: It's worth nothing

New Hampshire voters, you were played for suckers.

EL DORADO, KS -- Barack Obama returned to one half of his roots in El Dorado today, weaving the tale of his mother's side of the family into the fabric of a larger American story of shared middle class values and aspirations. He also landed the potentially influential endorsement of the state's governor, Kathleen Sebelius.

In this centrist Heartland state, Obama hit on the theme that put him on the national stage -- breaking through the partisan divide to create a country that has a common purpose.

"We have been made to believe that differences of race and region; wealth and gender; party and religion have spearted us into warring factions," Obama said.

"It's a vision of America that's been exploited and encouraged by pundits and politicisan who need this division to score point sand win elections," he added.

Obama said that individuals from all walks of life shared the simplicity of his parents' and grandparents' dreams to be part of a prosperous middle class. He aims to convey that his story is the quintessential American tale. Obama even had a relative in the audience at Butler Community College in El Dorado, just outside Wichitaw – Ruth McCurry, his grandmother's first cousin.

"My story is an American story," Obama said. It's a theme the Obama campaign is hoping will help him as he competes Super Tuesday with Sen. Hillary Clinton in 22 states..

Obama also received the endorsement today of Gov. Sebelius, making her his 17th red state backer.

"This campaign for the presidency is transforming a generation," Sebelius said. "It's not just a political campaign, it's good for our country."

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) also traveled with Obama today and will introduce him when he speaks in Kansas City, Missouri.

(NBC/NJ's ASWINI ANBURAJAN)

Reading from a prepared statement, California Rep. Maxine Waters endorsed Hillary Clinton today saying she "is on a first-name basis with community leaders in our urban centers."

"Hillary Clinton is a no-nonsense, articulate and experienced public policy maker who has demonstrated the ability to solve real problems," she said.

Waters, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who represents Los Angeles, said that the Democratic Party this year is "blessed with a lot of confident, articulate and compassionate candidates," but that she's backing Clinton because she knows how to get things done.

Clinton said Waters would join her on the stump in the days leading up to California's critical Feb. 5 primary. HRC said the endorsement is one of the most meaningful she's received.

Asked by a reporter to offer her feelings about Ted Kennedy's support for rival Barack Obama, Clinton said: "We all have people who feel very committed to our candidacies, and that's all to the good."

"At the end of the day this comes down to a choice between individuals, each of us with our experience, our qualifications, our plans for the future," Clinton said.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

From today's Hotline:

"You just think victory. You don't contemplate defeat. If you contemplate defeat, you're going to have defeat."

-- Rudy Giuliani, "GMA," ABC, 1/29

In his role as Barack Obama surrogate, Sen. John Kerry held a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago, diminishing any outcome in tonight's Florida Democratic primary. He said the Clinton campaign has been pushing reporters to cover it "in some kind of serious fashion," but cautioned that that would be a mistake.

"I know what this race is about what it is ultimately about is delegates," he said. "The bottom line is that Florida does not offer any delegates. It is not a legit race. It should not become a fabricated race."

Kerry said that AFSCME is spending money in Florida on Clinton's behalf, calling the group's efforts a "subcampaign." And he reminded voters that Clinton, while campaigning in Iowa and NH, made clear that Michigan and Florida, because of their decisions to move their primary dates up, had been properly stripped of their delegates. HRC did not, however, take her name off the Michigan ballot.

Kerry also said that Clinton has had a broad lead in the Sunshine State throughout the campaign but that any so-called win there would not be reflective of the larger contest.

"I think people need to put this in its proper perspective," Kerry said.

Clinton's team has begun to push the notion in recent days that Florida's delegates should be seated at the convention (Michigan's, too, for that matter). While she hasn't overtly campaigned there, which would violate the early state pledge, she has raised money in Florida, and she will "thank supporters" in Davie tonight at 8 p.m.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan reports Barack Obama's mystification at today's news that he snubbed Hillary Clinton at last night's SOTU.

Here's Obama's react today ...

"I was turning away because (Sen.) Claire (McCaskill) asked me a question. As Sen. Kennedy was reaching for her. And Sen. Clinton and I have had very cordial relations on the floor and off the floor. I waved at her as we were coming into the Senate chamber before we walked over. I think there's a lot more tea leaf reading going on here than I think people are are suggesting. ... "

More: "It was not a snub. It was one of those accidents. Frankly, everyone's spoiling for a fight which is the politics of old, you know this thing isn't the politics of old. It's about new. It's unfortunate that everyone is so anxious for there to be problem on a personal level and I gotta tell yeah, it's just not there. And I hope that, that you guys help correct the impression that's out there. That somehow there was some kind of attempt on the part of Barack in any way be disrespectful or impolite."

Cali Rep. Maxine Waters, an influential member of the Congressional Black Caucus, will endorse HRC in a 1 p.m. ET conference call. AP first reported. Here's the story ...

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

Between Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama, Pres. Bush's SOTU, and today's FL vote, TV was in full on coverage mode:

National Journal's Cook, on Kennedy's endorsement: "We'll see if it helps with Hispanic voters. I mean, the thing is, there is a black/brown rivalry over which is going to become the dominant minority group in the Democratic Party" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 1/28).

Congressional Quarterly's Crawford: "Senator Clinton might want to get her buddy, the majority leader of the Senate, to keep the Senate very busy over the next few days and hope Ted Kennedy can't get out on the road too much" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 1/28).

NBC's Russert: "We have talked repeatedly in our discussions after the primaries and caucuses about two on one, how it was Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton against Barack Obama, how she was able to go to one state, he was able to go to another. Suddenly, when Ted Kennedy took to the podium today and ... he was emerging as the equivalent of Bill Clinton in the Obama campaign, the chief surrogate, the corner man, and basically saying, putting the Clintons on notice, that now this is going to be two on two if necessary" (MSNBC, 1/28).

CNN's Toobin: "You couldn't help but love that scene today. ... It was a generational passing of the torch. It was the Kennedy mystique being bestowed upon a new young man. I have to say, one of the things Obama said that resonated with me -- because we're the same age -- he said, you know, I didn't know President Kennedy. I don't have any memories of President Kennedy, either. Is the Kennedy name the same magic that it was many years ago? ... He is a campaign geared toward younger people. I just wonder whether that matters as much" ("Situation Room," 1/28).

New John McCain Web video, knocking Mitt Romney for his "flip flops" on abortion and guns.

WASHINGTON, D.C., American University -- For Barack Obama, today's endorsement from the Kennedy family's patriarch marked a critical turning point in the senator's presidential campaign. Sure, after a half century in public life, there is irony in placing Sen. Edward M. Kennedy next a sign proclaiming "Change You Can Believe In," but the symbolism inherent in Kennedy's decision, the legitimacy it conveys, overwhelms it.

Kennedy, joined today by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, and son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, is the liberal standard bearer of the Democratic Party. His decision not to stay neutral in the contentious primary contest between frontrunners Obama and Hillary Clinton, speaks loudly of Kennedy's dismay with the tenor of the discourse offered by the other side.

And though he saluted Clinton and John Edwards, too, for their respective commitments to health care and economic and social justice, he said today that it is Obama who has shown "grit and grace" in conveying that this campaign is "not just about himself but about all of us."

"In Barack Obama I see not just the audacity but the possibility of hope for the America that has yet to be," the Massachusetts senator said.

Without naming Clinton or her husband, Kennedy also sought to disavow several of their routine claims on the stump.

"From the beginning he opposed the war in Iraq, and let no one deny that truth," Kennedy said of Obama.

Clinton also routinely sells herself as the only candidate in the race who can govern from her first day in office.

"I know," Kennedy said today of Obama, but echoing Clinton's frequent refrain, "I know that he's ready to be president from Day One."

Perhaps more evident of change than Kennedy's endorsement was that of his often press-shy, politics-averse niece. Caroline Kennedy told the crowd of 4,000 (many were turned away at the door of Bender Arena because the gym was at capacity) that her three children had first urged her to take a close look at Obama. She said he has urged Americans to believe in themselves again, linking the ideals of hope, justice opportunity and peace to their dreams of a better country. He has instilled in people, she said, the ability again "to imagine that together we can do great things."

Obama said he was humbled by the Kennedy endorsements. "I know what your support means," he said. "I know the cherished place the Kennedy family holds in the hearts of the American people."

But with the Kennedy blessing -- and make no mistake, no matter the Kennedy baggage, it is a blessing -- Obama can move forward with the establishment's seal of approval. He is the outsider, the neophyte, but he now also trudges toward Feb. 5's critical contests with a new bona fide. He can say to those working class and blue collar voters who have long lionized the Kennedy family that he has their endorsement and support.

The election, Obama said today striking a typically Kennedyesque populist tone, is "not about black versus white. It is about the past versus the future. It is about looking back or marching forward."

Sen. Kennedy put it simply. "I feel change in the air," he said.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Poised on each seat in the press section of Rudy Giuliani's charter this afternoon sat a baseball, with the former mayor's name scribbled between the stitching.

It seemed like a going away present from a campaign that has appeared more resigned to its fate in recent days. Campaign staffers and the press have been dancing around the future throughout the day, with one reporter even joking with a press aide about finding new jobs.

The crowd at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport was thing. At times on the trail, Giuliani's surrogates - actor Jon Voight and Texas Gov. Rick Perry - have seemed to have more enthusiasm than the candidate himself.

But Giuliani, with wife Judith by his side and holding his hand throughout a press availability, has been hitting home his message, placing himself as the most experienced on both economic policy and national security, and believing early voting will give them a more reliable turnout than his opponents.

(NBC/NJ's MATTHEW BERGER)

From today's Hotline:

"It is time again for a new generation of leadership. It is time now for Barack Obama."

-- Sen. Ted Kennedy, release, 1/28.

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

In a new Web ad, Rudy Giuliani's team is thanking their lucky stars he was NOT, that's right not, endorsed by several well-known Florida newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Tribune. Why? Because they're too liberal, says a narrator. Same voiceover also diminishes the NYT endorsement, which went to John McCain and included a scathing rebuke of Giuliani's leadership of NYC and his character.

Watch "Not Endorsed" here ... Script after the jump.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

The Kennedy patriarch and the former president's daughter are endorsing Barack Obama today at American University in Washington, but Hillary Clinton's campaign sent out a reminder yesterday that not all of the Kennedy clan is with the Illinois senator.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert Kennedy and a failed candidate for Maryland governor, issued this statement through HRC's campaign:

“I respect Caroline and Teddy's decision but I have made a different choice," said the former MD lt. gov. " While I admire Senator Obama greatly, I have known Hillary Clinton for over 25 years and have seen first hand how she gets results. As a woman, leader, and person of deep convictions, I believe Hillary Clinton would make the best possible choice for president. She shares so many of the concerns of my father. Hillary has spent a lifetime speaking out on behalf of the powerless and working to alleviate poverty, in our country and around the world. I have seen her work up close and know she will be a great President. At this moment when so much is at stake at home and overseas, I urge our fellow Americans to support Hillary Clinton. That is why my brother Bobby, my sister Kerry, and I are supporting Hillary Clinton.”

Her brother, Robert Kennedy Jr., lives in NY. Rumors routinely abound about his potential interest in running for office there.

Meanwhile, this just in from Obama's campaign ... Featured at AU today: Sen. Ted Kennedy, Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

West Palm Beach -- Mitt Romney came out swinging against John McCain this morning, hitting him --before 7 am. -- for co-sponsoring a bill to cap emissions standards, which he said would increase gas prices.

At a gas station session, Romney also addressed and the death of Gordon B. Hinckley, the leader of the Mormon church.

"We will miss his leadership," Romney said after heaping praise on Hinckley, including "his effort to reach out across the world and to faraway lands and to build temples for our church."

Romney said he would try to attend Hinckley's funeral, if it meshes with his schedule. He said he spoke with Hinckley when he was thinking about a White House bid, and "he smiled and said it would be great experience if you won and a great experience if you lost."

Meanwhile, Romney said he scheduled the session at a gas station to "underscore the fact that Sen. McCain's McCain-Lieberman would be a very expensive bill for the people of Florida." He explained, "By our calculation, a family of four would have to spend about an extra $1,000 a year when McCain-Lieberman became law, and again that's because gas would rise in price approximately 50 cents a gallon and natural gas would rise about 20 percent."

The former Massachusetts furthered his attacks by asserting that McCain is best known for three bills -- all of them flawed according to Romney. They are McCain-Feingold, which he said has made the impact of money on politics worse; McCain-Kennedy, which he tagged as an "amnesty bill"; and McCain-Lieberman.

The underlying message? McCain likes liberal Democrats ... and their policies.

He made the same attacks at a small airport rally a few miles away just minutes later, saying that McCain ought to be the nominee if voters wanted a "liberal Democrat" in the White House.

(NBC/NJ's ERIN MCPIKE)

Lots of '08ers on the Sunday shows this weekend:

Barack Obama was on "This Week":

On SC: "We actually had more Democrats vote in the Democratic primary, or more individuals vote in the Democratic primary than in the Republican primary. It was 200,000 more people voting this time than last time. And I think that shows you the enormous enthusiasm you're seeing, not only for change but also for the Democratic Party right now."

According to Obama sources, Toni Morrison, who famously declared Bill Clinton "the first black president,” will endorse Barack Obama today. The Obama camp will be releasing a letter she sent to the senator this morning (NORA MCALVANAH).

Sen. Ted Kennedy is reportedly set to endorse Barack Obama tomorrow at American University, reports the Wash Post and others.

His backing is a huge boost to the Illinois senator coming off a stunning 2-1 win in South Carolina over Hillary Clinton. Caroline Kennedy, meanwhile, wrote today in the NYT that Obama is inspiring Americans in a way her father once did.

The endorsements follow a charged battle in S.C. between Obama and HRC. Both HRC and her husband were accused of using divisive campaign tactics in Nevada and then, more intensely, in S.C., an effort to polarize blacks and whites in a state where African Americans make up more than half of the Democratic primary vote.

Kennedy campaigned for John Kerry, another Obama supporter, in New Hampshire in 2004 -- drawing huge crowds and much enthusiasm from the Democratic base in the waning days of that primary contest.

This year, Massachusetts, of course, is a Feb. 5 primary state.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

**SC Dems blew the doors off of their 2004 turn-out (and GOP vote from 1/19), but were unable to match GOP turn-out from 2000.

With 99% of the vote in, 530,322 Democrats voted this time, compared to 293,843 four years ago. Still, it doesn't match the turn-out Republicans had in 2000 when 573,101 voted.

About 87K more Democrats than Republicans turned out for the 2008 SC primary.

** African-American vote: It was much higher today than it was in 2004. This time, it was 55% of the vote. Four years ago, it was 47%.

Clinton, who left SC late Saturday afternoon, held a townhall in Nashville, TN, this evening. Following his SC win, Obama has scheduled an immediate campaign swing to GA and AL. Edwards will leave SC tomorrow for GA, MO and TN (Hotline reporting).

“Late tonight, a Clinton aide said that Bill Clinton would continue campaigning for his wife” (“Top of the Ticket”).

Ex-Senate Maj. Leader/Fred Thompson supporter Howard Baker endorsed John McCain today (release).

Mike Huckabee told a cheering crowd at Samford University tonight: "We need Alabama!" (AP).

TX Gov. Rick Perry, “in a sudden change of plans,” is flying to FL to help Rudy Giuliani “pump up his struggling campaign,” aides announced (Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Our Nora McAlvanah's take on CNN's election-night coverage: "As always, CNN’s election reporting is an impressive technical achievement full of virtual pie charts and billboard-sized electronic screens. Wolf, of course, is the big car chase, the centerpiece, the consigliore--- the little man standing behind the big, room-length TV wall. One platform down, surrounded by 4 giant screens, Bill Schneider and Soledad O'Brien offer a more stylized and statistics driven analysis. They come across like ones of those unconventional Oscar presenter pairings.

No big surprise here, but the Chicago Tribune endorses Barack Obama and John McCain.

TNR points out one very important exit poll result, which I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about in the days to come: Obama tied Hillary among white men. Just asking: Does gender polarization replace racial polarization as the new identity storyline of the campaign? Probably not. But that figure does get at how overdone the race theme is.

On the other hand, MSNBC's Buchanan points out, Bill Clinton "is smiling tonight" because the racial-polarization strategy "is working."

AP reports that ex-Senate Maj. Leader Howard Baker (R-TN) is endorsing John McCain. Baker helped convince fellow Tennessean Fred Thompson to run and was an honorary nat'l chair on his campaign.

The mood in John Edwards' camp tonight is, “fight on.” Camp aides point to the fact that polls just a couple months ago had Edwards 35 points behind HRC, and that he closed the gap today. They also point to the fact that he did much better in SC than in NV where he got just 4%. Edwards aides say the returns are actually a boost to the campaign, and stress this is still a three-way contest.

And, notably, Edwards exited the stage tonight in SC to Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” [NORA McALVANAH].

The Atlantic's Ambinder reports that Edwards' camp is "confident" and is preparing for battle. The candidate gives approval for 9-state ad buy.

And National Journal/NBC's Miller writes that Edwards is turning his attention to 2/5 states, appearing first tomorrow in Dublin, GA and continuing on to TN, MO, OK, MN and ND by mid-week. Senior adviser Joe Trippi maintained that Edwards will be competitive on Super Tuesday - doing better in some states than he did today in SC.

Kos was right. More SC Dems turned out than did SC GOPers, even w/out 100% of the vote in.

This, in a state that gave Pres. Bush 58% of the vote in '04. According to CNN, w/ 93% of the vote in, 487,511 Dems have voted. On 1/19, 442,918 GOPers voted. The turn-out is also almost 200K higher than it was in the 2004 Dem primary.

Wow.

Celebrating a stunning broad-based win in South Carolina after a week of heated exchanges with his leading rival, Barack Obama said tonight that his victory proves that no one should doubt the country’s unified pull toward change. He said it signifies the rejection of political “tactics that divide and distract us from solving the problems that people face.”

“We have the most votes, the most delegates and the most diverse coalition of Americans that we've seen in a long, long time,” said Obama after a crushing victory over Hillary Clinton. “You can see it in the faces here tonight. There are young and old. Rich and poor. They are black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American.

“In nine days, in nine short days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying we are tired of business as usual in Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again.”

He said that the win over Clinton, fueled by overwhelming support from blacks, women and younger voters, and an apparent rejection of the Clintons use of bare knuckle politics, proves Iowa was no fluke. He advised his backers that the road through Feb. 5 -- if it's anything like the last two weeks, which saw talk of race and negative campaigning dominating the discourse -- will be bumpy.

“But if there's anything, though, that we've been reminded of since Iowa is that the kind of change we seek will not come easy,” he said. “Partly because we have fine candidates in this field, fierce competitors who are worthy of our respect and admiration. And as contentious as this campaign may get, we have to remember that this is the contest for the Democratic nomination and that all of us share an abiding desire to end the policies of the current administration."

Then he pivoted, saying that there are “real differences” between the Democratic candidates. And without naming Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, Obama cautioned that there are some who will “say anything and do anything to win an election” and that their approach causes voters to “tune out.”

“We are looking for more than just a change of party in the White House,” he said during a speech punctuated by chants of ‘Yes We Can.’ “We are looking to fundamentally change the status quo in Washington.”

“This will not be easy,” he advised, “make no mistake about what we're up against.” But he promised to “give the American people a reason to believe again.”

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg's endorsement of Barack Obama is up on the NYT website. Notably, she's dropped her married name for the purposes of the op-ed.

Meanwhile, Newsweek's Fineman: "What will Ted Kennedy do? ... The answer I get is that he's not going to do anything. ... He can play the role of peacemaker down the road" (MSNBC).

Here's another interesting tidbit from the MSNBC exit polls ...

Voters were asked if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama unfairly attacked each other ...

HRC did attack unfairly
70% said yes
27% said no

Obama did attack unfairly
56% said yes
41% said no

Okay, so HRC appeared to more voters to be the aggressor in this week's feud between the candidates. BUT scratching the surface of those numbers shows that more voters abandoned HRC as a result.

Of the 70% who said Clinton unfairly attacked her rival, 55% voted for Obama, while 24% went for Clinton and 21% voted for John Edwards.

Those who thought Obama was behaving badly, however, stuck with him in greater numbers. Of the 56% who said that he attacked HRC unfairly, 41% voted for Obama, compared with 33% for Clinton and 25% for JRE.

So Clinton was more likely to pay the price for hitting her rival ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

In exit polling today, MSNBC asked voters: Which one of four candidate qualities mattered most in determining how you voted today?

The answers offered:

Can bring about needed change
Cares about people like me
Has the right experience
Has the best chance to win in November

Of the two frontrunners, who rocked out on three of the four? Barack Obama. The one he lost to Hillary Clinton: experience.

More than half of voters -- 53% -- said their decision to support a candidate stemmed from that pesky but persistant question about who among the candidates can bring change. Of that 53 percent, 75% said Obama was their man, compared with 15% for John Edwards and 10% for Clinton.

While the change argument didn't work for Clinton in S.C., so, too, do the numbers make apparent that she has a compassion deficit. She performed equally poorly among those 24% of voters who said that they cast their ballots today after determing who "cares about people like me." Edwards actually edged Obama in this category, 42% to 40%. Clinton's take on the question of caring? A paltry 17%.

Not surprisingly, Clinton's best showing was among those 15% who said that experience drove their decision. She won support from 83% of those voters, compared with 9% for JRE and 7% for Obama.

Obama, however, also won on the very important general election question of electability. Though only 6% of respondents indicated that they cast their ballots with a November win in mind, Obama scored with 40% of them. Clinton took 36% and Edwards landed 23%.

It appears this frequent Clinton stump speech line, uttered across the country over the last six weeks, fell short for S.C. voters today: "Some believe you get change by demanding it. Some believe you get it by hoping for it. I believe you get it by working hard for change. That's what I've done my entire life. That's what I will do as president."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Updating our Kennedy endorsement watch: NBC's Todd reports Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg will endorse Obama on 1/27 in a New York Times op-ed.

NBC's Todd, on Edwards' campaign: "They don't feel at all bad about their place tonight. ... You're going to see them target ... Oklahoma and Tennessee. ... And he's also going to spend a lot of time in these smaller caucus states."

Politico's Smith writes that the image of B. Clinton, speaking live at an event in MO, "came up on the screen at Obama's packed victory party in Columbia, and was met by loud, sustained boos.”

More Smith: "For the first time, it occurs to me, Obama really won the expectations game: Those recent polls set up an expectation of racial polarization, and primed us to write that story, and now the story will be about Obama's healthy support from whites."

"The Swamp" notes Obama's victory speech "will be timed to hit for local newscasts on the West Coast."

Jonathan Chait blogs at TNR there could be a "possible test" for his "reverse Bradley-Effect hypothesis," which is that "some black voters would tell pollsters they support Hillary (or that they're undecided) because they don't want to sound like they're voting mainly out of racial solidarity, even though they actually intend to vote for Obama." The result of this would be that "polling understated support for the black candidate in a primary with a large African American population (i.e., Obama in South Carolina).

"If Obama consistently did better among black voters in automated polls, which eliminate the "social discomfort" that might discourage them from telling (presumably white) interviewers they support him, we'd have evidence for this hypothesis."

John Edwards, the guy who railed against corporate greed, talked up his milltown roots, and stumped in small towns hit hard by unemployment did best among….the wealthiest voters. Really? According to exit polls, voters making under $50K a year gave 15% of their vote to Edwards. Of those who made more than $50K, 23% of them voted for the son of the millworker.

The fact that Edwards took just 2% of the African-American vote may be one explanation. However, he also did poorly among those making under $50,000 in NH, taking just 16% of their vote. But, he did just as poorly among those in the “Live Free or Die” state making more than $50,000, taking 17% of the vote.

With GOP turnout down by more than 100K from '00, Kos writes that there's even the chance that Dem turnout could actually better that of GOPers. "Considering the numeric advantage Republicans hold in South Carolina, that would be amazing.”

Our take: Democrats may be more energized than their GOP counterparts in the state, but independents weren’t any more interested in Dems than they were in 2004. Even though participation among indies in the GOP primary last weekend was significantly below what it was in ’00 (18% of the vote compared to 30% 8 years ago), indies made up same percentage of vote in Dem primary as they did in ’04. This year, Dems made up 73% of the vote (compared to 71% four years ago) and indies made up 23% of the vote compared to 24% in ’04.

Camp Clinton just released her statement on her SC loss. She devotes 45 words to her SC supporters before turning to Super Tuesday:

Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet reports that Obama is poised to receive a "big endorsement" within the next 48 hours. The two biggest out there, she writes, are Ted Kennedy and Al Gore.

But Marc Ambinder says that "the betting" among "longtime Kennedy watchers" is that he will stay "comfortably neutral."

"This was a good, old fashioned butt kicking -- as we say in this business" -- Obama chief strategist David Axelrod. He added tonight is “just a harbinger of things to come,” because Obama is “bringing new people into the party” ("First Read").

Axelrod said the apparent results were gratifying because it sends a message about the Clintons' divisive campaign tactics. "This was a very, very strong repudiation of the tactics used here," he said. "Divisiveness would rule, the old techniques of slash and burn politics was working -- that was the story line for the past 10 days. The people of South Carolina were resolute that, 'We don't want to go there. This is about the future, not the past.' "

Asked today in Columbia what it said about Obama that it "took two people to beat him," Bill Clinton said: "That's just bait, too. Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice, in '84 and '88. And he ran a good campaign. Senator Obama's run a good campaign here, he's run a good campaign everywhere" (National Journal/NBC).

B. Clinton will "appear at an event in Independence, Missouri this evening" to stump for HRC ("Political Ticker").

Despite her loss in SC, Hillary Clinton showed her biggest margin of victory yet this primary season over Barack Obama in one area: white women.

According to the exit polls, white women made up 27% of the vote in SC, and Clinton took 42% to Obama's 22%.

In New Hampshire, where white women made up 54% of the vote, Clinton took 46% of the vote to Obama's 33%. The difference: John Edwards. Edwards came in second among SC white women with 35%. Among New Hampshire women, Edwards took just 16%.

In Iowa, of course, Clinton lost the women's vote (which was almost exclusively white) to Obama 35% to 30%. Edwards took 25%.

[AMY WALTER]

FNC (begrudgingly?) says that if trends continue Clinton will take 2nd, although Shep Smith says that "we still don't know who's gonna win second place."

The State newspaper lays out the five reasons that Barack Obama won SC tonight.

John McCain has won the highly coveted endorsement of popular FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R). McCain was endorsed yesterday by FL Sen./ex-RNC Chair Mel Martinez (R).

"I don't know anybody would do better than the man who stands next to me -- Senator John McCain," Crist said this evening in Pinellas County. "That's an endorsement."

Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani aides "were visibly upset" tonight at the news that FL Gov. Charlie Crist was backing John McCain. Giuliani camp sources "said Crist pledged his endorsement to Giuliani in early fall" ("First Read").

From camp Romney's Kevin Madden: "Governor Crist is a good man and a good governor. We have a great deal of respect for him. The endorsement that matters most to Governor Romney is the endorsement of the voters of Florida."

"Bill Clinton put down the blunt instrument and picked up a chainsaw." -- Margaret Carlson tonight on MSNBC on the former president's earlier S.C. spin ...

Newsweek's Fineman, on what HRC's campaign will do with Bill Clinton: "They'd rather leave him to free lance on his own" (MSNBC).

Meanwhile, B. Clinton told reporters today: "My message has been 99.9% positive for 100% of this campaign." He also said: "I have not said anything that is factually inaccurate" (NBC/National Journal).

Ex-Rep. John Kasich: "The African American voters decided to take on Bill Clinton and teach him a lesson” (FNC).

CNN’s Bernstein: “Bill Clinton is a huge loser in this…the luster of this beloved figure is off.”

"Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the racially-charged South Carolina primary Saturday night, regaining campaign momentum in the prelude to a February 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 Democratic National Convention delegates" (AP).

While she heads for TN, HRC's camp is moving to frame their SC loss, sending out a new campaign memo from adviser Howard Wolfson that returns to the post-IA argument that this race is all about delegate totals.

Meanwhile, HRC's camp is holding its election night party at a downtown Columbia bar, but have only "rented the establishment until approximately 9 p.m." On the menu: "Hill Dip," "Victory Egg Rolls," and "Carolina Chicken Fingers" ("The Trail").

Nets (FNC, MSNBC, CNN) call SC for Barack Obama at 7 p.m. ET. Can we all go home now?

NBC's Gregory, on Obama's win: "It's what we've been expecting."

NPR’s Williams: "What a victory for Barack Obama over the Democratic establishment, even the black Democratic establishment."

Ex-Rep. Harold Ford. Jr., on Obama receiving a quarter of the white vote: "We must remember how well he performed in Iowa and New Hampshire" among white voters (FNC).

NBC's Russert: "I think we all ought to sit back and reflect just how significant this victory is for Barack Obama tonight. ... It is an enormous victory" (MSNBC).

* CNN exit polls indicate:
SC primary voters overwhelmingly ranked the economy as the top issue, and close to 90% of all primary voters view the economy as not good or poor;
74% ready for a woman president;
77% ready to elect a black president .

* AP early exit poll results:

African-Americans Obama 81%, Clinton 17%, Edwards 1%
African-American women Obama 82%, Clinton 17%, Edwards 0%
Whites Edwards 39%, Clinton 36%, Obama 24%
Edwards winning white men, Clinton white women.

* “Fifty-seven percent of SC Den primary voters said Bill Clinton’s campaigning was important in their vote.”

* Sources in SC say turnout was extremely high in several black precincts in Richland County today (Hotline sources).

* Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said he voted around 8 a.m. but "I'm still not going to tell who I voted for" (MSNBC).

* Edwards adviser Joe Trippi was on MSNBC tonight complaining about robo calls the Clinton camp made throughout SC last night. ABC News reports that a series of anti-Edwards robo calls are being conducted on behalf of the HRC campaign, reminding voters that Edwards worked for a hedge fund “that had ties to sub prime lending and home foreclosures” (“Political Radar”). Read the text of the robo-call here.

The Edwards camp responded to HRC "robocalls" saying Edwards supports permanent trade relations with China and Wall Street interests, calling the charges "outrageous." Edwards chair David Bonior: "We've been moving up and they obviously don't want to place second" ("The Trail").

New Mitt Romney Web vid hits John McCain:

With a day until Democrats cast their ballots in the Palmetto State, Pollster.com's Mark Blumenthal investigates the discrepancies in state surveys ...

Here's the guest lineup for the Sunday talk shows, the cable networks' plans for their South Carolina Democratic Primary coverage and other weekend happenings:

SUNDAY PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHOWS:

Meet the Press hosts John McCain and a roundtable with New York Times' Maureen Dowd, NBC's Chuck Todd, and National Review's Byron York.

Face the Nation hosts Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.

This Week hosts Barack Obama and a roundtable with Slate's Jacob Weisberg, Dem strategist Donna Brazile, ABC's Cokie Roberts, and George Will.

Fox News Sunday hosts Treas Sec. Henry Paulson and Mike Huckabee.

Late Edition hosts Gen. David Petraeus, Paulson, Huckabee, and a roundtable with Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria, CNN's Jeffrey Toobin, and CNN's Gloria Borger.

SATURDAY SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY COVERAGE:

CNN begins its coverage at 6:30 pm. ... FNC kicks off its coverage at 6:30 pm. ... MSNBC: Keith Olbermann and David Gregory anchor live results starting at 6 pm.

OTHER WEEKEND SHOWS:

Washington Week hosts NBC's Michael Viqueira on the economic stimulus package; CNN's Gloria Borger and Time's Michael Duffy on WH '08; and The State's Wayne Washington on the SC Dem primary (PBS, FRI, 8 pm).

Political Capital hosts Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (Bloomberg, FRI, 10 pm).

Newsmakers features Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) interviewed by CongressNow's George Cahlink and Cox Newspaper's Marily Geewax (C-SPAN, SUN, 10am/6pm).

Road to the White House features an interview with McCain's mom Roberta McCain and GOP candidate events in FL (C-SPAN, SUN, 6:30pm/9:30pm). Q&A features Center for Public Integrity exec. dir. Bill Buzenberg (C-SPAN, SUN, 8pm/11pm).

Chris Matthews Show features Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page, New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller, New York mag's John Heilemann, and the BBC's Katty Kay (NBC, check local listings).

(EMILY GOODIN)

Big get for John McCain ... MSNBC is reporting that Florida Sen. Mel Martinez will endorse the Arizona senator. Martinez, a former HUD secretary under George W. Bush, is a Cuban American.

According to recent Florida polls, McCain and Mitt Romney are running close to even just four days before the state's primary. Cuban Americans are by many estimations the fastest growing Hispanic community in the Sunshine State and they helped carry Bush to his highly controversial win there in 2000. Unlike other segments of the Latino community, Cuban Americans tend to lean Republican.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

John Edwards appeared on the "Tyra Banks Show" this afternoon in an interview that can only be described (in a word familiar to "America's Next Top Model" fans) as "fierce" -- more because of the questions the host posed than anything else.

To start off, Tyra Banks greeted Edwards with: "You're really hot." She followed it up with: "Are you embarrassed right now?" "Yes," Edwards replied.

She asked him about Elizabeth Edwards' illness and the media's reaction to their decision to continue the campaign. Edwards said: "Here's what bothers me about it. First of all, they know nothing about how we make the decision. ... This is the cause of our life. ... But more importantly it shows disrespect for women because the idea that Elizabeth can't make her own decision about what she wants to see happen. I don't make decisions for her. She makes her own decisions. It's absurd ... I said to her 'Whatever you need from me I'll do.'"

Banks also brought out some food from Wendy's in honor of the Edwards tradition of going there for their anniversary. Edwards sipped a milkshake but declined to eat the french fries.

(EMILY GOODIN)

This is a terrific E.J. Dionne column. And even though it was forwarded to reporters by Barack Obama's campaign, we'll say, too, that it's worth a wider read. It perfectly crystalizes the lunacy of the Clinton attacks on Obama for praising Ronald Reagan. Once upon a time, Dionne remembers, Bill Clinton tipped his hat to Reagan for defending freedom and "advancing the idea that communism could be rolled back." In praising the Republican president, the Wash Post columnist writes, Clinton set himself apart as the candidate to watch in 1991 ...

A few snippets:

I have been thinking about that episode ever since Hillary Clinton's campaign started unloading on Barack Obama for making statements about Reagan that were, if anything, more measured than Bill Clinton's 1991 comments. Obama simply acknowledged Reagan's long-term impact on politics and the fact that conservatives once constituted the camp producing new ideas, flawed though they were.

That's why the Clintons' assault on Obama is so depressing. In many ways, Obama is running the 2008 version of the 1992 Clinton campaign. You have the feeling that if Bill Clinton did not have another candidate in this contest, he'd be advising Obama and cheering him on.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Statement from Hillary Clinton's campaign:

Kimora Lee Simmons Endorses Hillary Clinton

“I have known Hillary for many years and have seen her work passionately on many issues, including poverty, education, and prison reform,” said Simmons. “I'm proud to support Hillary because she has the experience necessary to deliver real solutions and turn our country around. In addition, seeing Hillary as President would be an inspiration to my daughters, knowing that they too can be anything they want if they have the determination to make it happen. As a mother, I have learned that you must lead with your head, not just your heart, and I'm confident that Hillary will be the President to bring our country together and deliver a brighter future for all Americans.”

We are just speechless ...

From today's Hotline:

"It's like one of my Top Model judges siding with, I don't know, Paula Abdul."

-- Tyra Banks, to Edwards, on Kerry endorsing Obama, "Tyra Banks Show," 1/25.

Hillary Clinton's campaign released a statement today urging Dem convention delegates -- and her primary rivals -- to support seating delegations from Florida and Michigan.

“I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee," she says in a statement released by her campaign. “I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan. I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention."

She added: “I hope my fellow potential nominees will join me in this."

Wait a minute! HRC's campaign has been hammering Barack Obama's team over the last several days for allowing an ad he has up nationally to appear on Florida television; Obama's campaign has said it's impossible to run an ad on national networks and pull it from the Sunshine State airwaves.

Fair enough, but if that was viewed by HRC as a sin, a violation of the Dems' early state pledge -- which indicated that the candidates would not campaign in states that violated the order of the early primary contests -- then isn't Clinton's assertion today equally hazy?

“I will of course be following the no-campaigning pledge that I signed, and expect others will as well,” she says in the statement.

Maybe it's just a shout out to Floridians as they go to the polls Tuesday, a reminder that HRC won't hold any grudges in the general. But after the protestation over Obama's ad buy ...

Thoughts?

UPDATE: Comment from Obama campaign ... “No one is more disappointed that Florida Democrats will have no role in selecting delegates for the nomination of the party’s standard bearer than Senator Obama,” said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe. “When Senator Clinton was campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, she made it clear that states like Michigan and Florida that wouldn’t produce any delegates, ‘don’t count for anything.’ Now that Senator Clinton’s worried about losing the first Southern primary, she’s using Florida for her own political gain by trying to assign meaning to a contest that awards zero delegates and where no campaigning has occurred. Senator Clinton’s own campaign has repeatedly said that this is a ‘contest for delegates’, and Florida is a contest that offers zero. Whether it is Barack Obama’s record, her position on Social Security, or even the meaning of the Florida Primary, it seems like Hillary Clinton will do or say anything to win an election. When he is the nominee, Barack Obama will campaign vigorously in Florida and Michigan to put them in the Democratic column in 2008.”

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

John Edwards attempts to capitalize on the squabbling between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, releasing a new S.C. tv ad that uses footage from their heated Monday debate exchanges. He also has a new radio ad in the Palmetto State. Transcript of the latter after the jump.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

NEWBERRY, SC, Jan. 25 – Chelsea Clinton spent the day before the first-in-the-South primary stumping for her mother at colleges across northwestern South Carolina, pitching her mother as the candidate who will enact universal health care and address the genocide in Darfur.

"I am here to take your questions," she told an audience in the cafeteria at Newberry College. "I do want to make my mom and her campaign more accessible to you as you think about who to vote for tomorrow."

The notoriously media-shy Chelsea has been campaigning more extensively for her mother since the Iowa caucuses, which rival Barack Obama won with a large segment of the youth vote.

(NBC/NJ's ATHENA JONES)

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

On the "Today" show this a.m., NBC's Lauer showed a picture of Hillary Clinton and ex-Pres. Clinton with lobbyist Tony Rezko. Lauer said NBC did not know when the pic was taken but thought it was when Bill Clinton was POTUS.

Asked if she knew when it was taken, HRC: "No I don't know. I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. ... I don't know the man. ... I don't have a 17-year relationship with him."

More HRC: "There's a big difference between standing and taking a picture with someone you don't know and haven't seen since and having a 17-year relationship with him" ("Today").

Winners:

Hillary Rodham Clinton -- The GOP anointed her the nominee tonight. Mentioned HRC at every possible turn and each set themselves up as the most worthy adversary. She is the Republicans' battle cry ...

Mitt Romney -- Mistake-free night -- with small bobbles on that question about running against Hillary AND Bill Clinton, and another inquiry about his support for the Second Amendment. Overall, as expected, Romney stressed his economic credentials and deftly pitched himself as a Washington outsider. Romney's good when he's not on defense -- as he was in N.H. at Saint Anselm College. He was flustered that night. Tonight, he was confident. Ably dodged that question about sinking his personal fortune into the campaign.

John McCain -- A very fine night for McCain. The toast to Rudy Giuliani, after the former NYC mayor was eviscerated by the NYT in the paper's endorsement of McCain, was well done. Collegial. Thoughful. Spontaneous even. McCain's goal was to position himself as an acceptable conservative. And he did that. Tweaking his position on taxes, however believably, to show that he now favors making the Bush tax cut permanent. McCain has been as hawkish as they come on the war and the surge, and he stated as much again this evening. And then there was this ... Temper? What temper?

Mike Huckabee -- He's looking more and more like the leading Veep contender. He and McCain even had a chummy off-mic moment at the conclusion of the debate. Huck knows where he stands on the issues. Guns? Loves 'em. Flat tax? Bring it on. His faith? A central part of his life. His straight talk is appealing, no doubt, to many voters. But money problems could sink him Feb. 5.

Losers

Rudy Giuliani -- 6th, 4th and 6th. Those were his finishes in the last three primaries. And, frankly, when that question was asked of him -- How do you rebound from those defeats? Was the Florida strategy misguided? -- he seemed deflated. No wide, toothy grin. No chuckle. Beyond that, he's just not a good fit for the GOP base. Unlike Romney, and perhaps admirably, he has not as effectively shuffled his positions to appeal to conservatives. On choice, guns and more.

Ron Paul -- The time has come and gone for Paul. His opposition to the war injects a different perspective into the GOP contest. But at this point, we're looking at a three-person race, assuming Giuliani doesn't miraculously rebound in Florida. Paul got limited air time tonight.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Q -- Mitt changes positions "with the wind" ... ? NYT wrote yesterday that he is the most disliked of the candidates.

"Gosh, that's tough on their part, but I'm not terribly worried about their attacks," Romney said. "I'm not going to Washington to make friends with politicians. I'm going to Washington to change things."

Q -- McCain -- Your temper has been an impediment for years ...

McCain: Not a problem ... Then ads this to defend Giuliani, who was crucified by the NYT in the paper's endorsement of McCain. "I happen to know Rudy Giuliani. I happen to know he is an American hero. All these are good people who are running here, and I respect them and I intend to respect them both during and after this campaign is over."

Q -- Huck -- Too much of his faith injected in the campaign? Gives some people a queasy feeling?

Huck -- "My faith grounds me. It gives me a sense of direction and purpose." "I don't feel liek a person has to share my faith to share my love of this country."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Huck: "I don't think Sen. McCain lacks the rigor and capacity to be president." ... Of all the things we could pick on Sen. McCain about, that wouldn't be one of them, Huck ads.

McCain: "Now that Sylvestor Stallone has endorsed me, I'm sending him over to take care of Chuck Norris right away."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Why is your campaign airing an ad in Spanish, if you support English only education?

Rudy: "I believe that America is a country that is built around the English language." If you want to become a citizen, demonstrate facility with English.

But Rudy said he's comfortable reaching voters via different means.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

"I just don't believe that people in this country are going to choose their candidate based on which church he or she goes to."

--Romney

Russert -- One thing is clear in last few weeks. If HRC is the nominee, the GOPer will have to run against both Bill and Hillary Clinton How would you run against the two of them?

Mitt: "The idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I can't imagine."

What does that mean? Russert asks.

Mitt avoids an explanation, saying that HRC is wrong on a whole host of issues. "She is exactly what's wrong in Washington. I said before Washington is broken. She is Washington to the core."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

How many times has McCain mentioned the bridge to nowhere ???

Rudy's last three primary finishes. ...

"I believe I'm going to have the same fate that the New York Giants did last week."

They're "lulled into a false sense of security," Giuliani said of his rivals.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Q -- For Brady and so-called assault gun ban but support of Second Amendment? Not consistent? Please clarify ...

Mitt -- "I do support the Second Amendment. And I do believe this is an individual right of citizens. ..." Also would've signed assault weapons ban. "I don't believe we need new legislation."

(Got it? That Romney, hazy dazy on guns.)

Q -- Giuliani to Mitt -- National Catastrophic Fund? Hey, McCain doesn't support it, he thinks FEMA can do the job. What about you?

Mitt -- Does support it. We also had the problem in Massachusetts. Folks in Iowa shouldn't have to subsidize it, however. "Frankly, I took on tough problems like that with health insurance."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Q -- Romney to Giuliani ... On China ... How do we make sure that trade is done in a way that levels the playing field? Protect American jobs?

Giuliani -- "China is a great opportunity for America and a great caution for America, both." I think we should be working with China to try to push down some of these barriers (ex. ability to sue in China), but be careful about what we import from China. Look at rise of China "as a wonderful opportunity."

(Romney, across the stage, is grimacing.)

More Rudy -- Increase the size of the military.

Q -- McCain to Huck ... You have been one of the strongest and most persuasive proponents of a so-called fair tax. There's enormous groundwell for it. How do you answer the criticism that a flat out sales tax wouldn't cause lower income Americans more of the pain and the burden of running our govt and paying for its operations?

Huck -- Fair tax -- Encourages people to work and get something for it. Ought to be embraced by GOP and Dems. "The poor come out best of all because of a provision in the fair tax called the prebate. ... It actually untaxes the poor."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

So far, the GOPers are running against HRC, not hitting each other. Even Romney's mention of McCain's opposition to the Bush tax cuts was polite ...

Thoughts??

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

"What an audacious and arrogant thing for the Dems to say that they are responsibly for the progress that the surge has seen" because they wanted to pull out of Iraq quickly. -- Mitt Romney

Calls HRC, Gen. Clinton ...

Q -- Was war worth blood and cost?

McCain -- "It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons of mass destruction. ... "

"It was a good idea. It was not worth the failures that happened. But it is worth it at the end of the day because we will have peace and success in the Middle East."

Giuliani --

Paul -- "It was a very bad idea, and it wasn't worth it. (First applause of the evening.) The Al Qaeda wasn't there then, they're there now. ... We should never be a country that starts war needlessly."

Huck -- Supported war. "There was a potential of weapons of mass destruction. ... Just because you didn't find every Easter egg doesn't mean it wasn't planted."

Romney -- "I supported it at the time. I support it now. It was not well managed."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Leave Iraq? No surrender, McCain says.

"I know of no military leader, including Gen. Petraeus, who says we can't sustain our effort in Iraq"

"We are succeeding in Iraq, and every indicator is that. And we will reduce casualties and gradually eliminate them. ... It's not American presence, it's American casualities."

Touted his support for surge.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

To Mitt: Will he run on record of Bush White House?

Said he'll run against Washington because Washington is "fundamentally broken" ...

"When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses," Romney said.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Voters say Dems better suited to fix nation's ec probs ...

McCain: "You can be sure if you watch the Dem debates that they will increase spending, they will increase taxes ... and they will not restore the civility of the entitlement programs, which are becoming more and more unfunded in their liabilities in the future."

"I will, as president, veto every one of these big spending bills."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Q -- Should govt have any role in regulating all of this? Taxes ..

"It's supposed to lower taxes, get rid of regulations and devise a monetary policy that makes some sense."

"Just look at what's happening today, the dollar is crashing."

"We're literally spending ourselves into oblivion."

"I'd like to see things frozen. I'd like to see massive tax cuts."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Russert to McCain -- Is it a problem for your campaign that the economy is the most important issue to voters, not national security?

McCain said he was part of the Reagan revolution ... Thinks he's well versed in economic issues.

To Huck -- Do you trust Romney as a tax cutter, when he raised fees in Mass?

Huck: Voters will have to make a decision about Mitt. Huck says he signed first ever broad based tax cuts in Arkansas.

To Romney: Criticized McCain and Rudy for opposing Bush tax cuts. Do you trust them on issue of being tax cutters. "I trust these gentlemen, and I respect them greatly." Said he worked with Dems in Mass to balance budget -- without raising taxes. That said to the business community -- You don't have to worry about Taxachusetts coming back again. NOTES that McCain opposed Bush tax cuts: "That's just a difference of viewpoint."

McCain: "I voted on (against) the (Bush) tax cuts because I knew that unless we had spending under control we were going to face a disaster. We let spending get out of control."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

NBC's Brian Williams and Tim Russert host ...

Q -- Ec stimulus plan ... To Mitt Romney -- Are you disappointed that your recipe for the economy was not embraced?

Romney: Good start, but "I wish it went further." Glad that Americans will get some money back. Loosening FHA requirements. "Net net it's something i support and i look forward to taking it further.

McCain: Said it's "very important" to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Cut corporate income taxes, too. "That will keep businesses here." Rate cuts by Ben Bernanke "are a good beginning" ... Also have to restrain spending.

Giuliani: "I think this package for what it does is ok ... but it doesn't go far enough." His tax package would include the be the largest deduction in American history. "Sen. McCain is right -- we have to put as much emphasis on reducting spending."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

NYT endorses Hillary Clinton and John McCain ...

Does this help or hurt McCain going into the Florida primary??? The lib NYT gives him the nod ... hard sell to the base.

On HRC:

As strongly as we back her candidacy, we urge Mrs. Clinton to take the lead in changing the tone of the campaign. It is not good for the country, the Democratic Party or for Mrs. Clinton, who is often tagged as divisive, in part because of bitter feeling about her husband’s administration and the so-called permanent campaign. (Indeed, Bill Clinton’s overheated comments are feeding those resentments, and could do long-term damage to her candidacy if he continues this way.)

We know that she is capable of both uniting and leading. We saw her going town by town through New York in 2000, including places where Clinton-bashing was a popular sport. She won over skeptical voters and then delivered on her promises and handily won re-election in 2006.

On McCain:

Still, there is a choice to be made, and it is an easy one. Senator John McCain of Arizona is the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe. With a record of working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation, he would offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field.

That man is not running for president.

THE "LATE SHOW" TOP TEN, per NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan:

"Barack Obama Campaign Promises"

[As presented by Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama on the Thursday, Jan. 24 broadcast of the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, seen weeknights (11:35 PM12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.]

10. To keep the budget balanced, I’ll rent the situation room for sweet sixteens.

9. I will double your tax money at the craps table.

8. Appoint Mitt Romney secretary of lookin’ good.

7. If you bring a gator to the White House, I’ll wrassle it.

6. I’ll put Regis on the nickel.

5. I’ll rename the tenth month of the year “Barack-tober.”

4. I won’t let Apple release the new and improved Ipod the day after you bought the previous model.

3. I’ll find money in the budget to buy Letterman a decent hairpiece.

2. Pronounce the word nuclear, nuclear.

1. Three words: Vice President Oprah.

When the Top Ten was finished, Dave said, “Senator Barack Obama, thank you very much for helping us out, Senator. Good luck with the campaign.” Sen. Obama replied, “Thank you so much, David, but you can’t muss my hair,” referring to Dave messing up John Edwards hair during Edwards’ LATE SHOW appearance Tuesday. Dave then said, “Okay, whatever you say.”

The final five Republican presidential candidates will meet at 9 p.m. this evening in Boca Raton for a critical last debate before the Jan. 29 Florida primary. The 90-minute showdown will air on NBC, and I'll be live blogging all the fun on On Call.

What's at stake?

For Rudy Giuliani, everything. He has waged his entire campaign on the Sunshine State, campaigning there intensely while his rivals focused on Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But polls out today show his efforts aren't likely paying off. A Miami Herald survey indicates that Giuliani is tied for third there with Mike Huckabee. The storyline of the campaign has, in many ways, already passed him by. John McCain, Mitt Romney and Huck have wins under the belts. So look for an assertive Giuliani tonight. The snowbirds alone won't win Florida for him ...

Meanwhile, Team McCain would love nothing more than to see Giuliani fizzle and pop in Florida. Where would America's mayor go from there? If Rudy loses, that's one potential giant felled. It would clear the way for a Feb.5 showdown between McCain and Romney, who has the money to make a go of it on Tsunami Tuesday. Unlike Huckabee, who is campaign cash poor these days.

With Fred Thompson out of the race, McCain has worked hard this week to reassert his conservative credentials, issuing a statement affirming his opposition to Roe v. Wade on the 35th anniversary of the high court's landmark ruling. Look for McCain to go after Romney, much like the entire field did during that Saint Anselm College debate in Manchester.

Romney, we're guessing, will stress his business credentials and push the economy as the critical issue of the 2008 contest. He's been on the air this week in Florida making similar points, and if this race is about pocketbook issues, not national security or the war, he stands a greater chance of coming out on top. If the reverse is true, McCain could find himself triumphant.

Stay tuned ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Hillary Clinton's campaign today pulled a radio ad off the air in South Carolina that quoted Barack Obama calling the GOP the "party of ideas." But top Clinton advisers firmly defended the spot this afternoon in a conference call with reporters.

"I have yet to hear what Sen. Obama, what ideas he was talking about specifically when he said the Republican Party was the party of ideas," said Howard Wolfson, communications director for the Clinton campaign. "Let him come forward and say, here are the ideas I was talking about, instead of saying President Clinton was a liar."

Clinton consultant Mark Penn added: "He was pitching and pandering to a conservative-leaning ed board to get their endorsement. This was not a comment at a JFK symposium on government."

The spiked Clinton ad uses Obama's remarks, made early this month in a meeting with editors from the Reno Gazette-Journal, to link him to policies that would potentially be unpopular with Democratic voters.

"Aren’t those the ideas that got us into the economic mess we’re in today?" a narrator asks in the Clinton ad. "Ideas like special tax breaks for Wall Street. Running up a $9 trillion debt. Refusing to raise the minimum wage or deal with the housing crisis. Are those the ideas Barack Obama’s talking about?”

Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman, said the ad was "dishonest" -- and several media publications, including ABC News and the Washington Post reported that, at best, the spot stretched the truth.

"Regardless of their confused retreat -- the ad was dishonest, the attack is disingenuous and I think we’re all just getting tired of the Clinton campaign’s penchant to absolutely say or do anything to win this election," Burton said.

This afternoon's ad spat -- don't forget Obama's campaign had already countered with a radio spot in S.C. that said HRC "would say anything to get elected" -- marked the latest tit-for-tat confrontation between the rivals in this increasingly personal fight for the Democratic nomination.

Also on the call, HRC advisers blamed Obama for dragging former President Clinton into the brawl. The Obama folks have said that HRC is using her husband on the campaign trail as her attack dog -- and they've fought back accordingly, responding to what they believe are his misrepresentations of the Illinois senator's record, on the war in Iraq, in particular.

But Wolfson called Obama's comments this week to respond to the former president a "sub rosa" attempt "to drive criticism and negativity of President Clinton."

"Voters, I think, are going to judge someone who started out this campaign promising a politics of hope, a new kind of politics, who is now questioning the veracity of the former president," Wolfson said.

Though reporters probed for a reason the Clinton campaign pulled the ad, Wolfson and Penn wouldn't bite. They stressed that the ad used Obama's own words and rejected any suggestion that the ad had taken Obama's statement out of context.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Breaking ... He tells the Cleveland Plain Dealer ... "I want to continue to serve in Congress."

Kucinich also says that he will not endorse another Democrat in the primary.

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani said that no matter the outcome in Florida Tuesday, he will continue his campaign for the Republican nomination.

"I'm gonna continue my campaign. I have no plans to end my campaign," Giuliani told reporters today. "Of course, I anticipate winning in Florida because I don't go into a campaign anticipating losing.

"And I have no reason not to anticipate winning," he continued. "We're very competitive. In some polls it's very, very close. In some polls, we even had a poll where we are first. We've been second to Mitt Romney, second to John McCain. So we think we're in good shape here."

Giuliani said it was not a mistake to skip the early states, even as polls showed him trailing in third in Florida, where he had a healthy lead over the summer.

"I think that it was politically correct to focus on Florida," Giuliani said. "It was the best choice when you consider all the circumstances that were presented to us about resources and strengths and weaknesses and the place where you can make your case most effectively. And the fact that this is a wide open race means that, no, I don't think that it was a mistake."

(NBC/NJ's MATTHEW BERGER)

New Miami Herald poll shows Rudy Giuliani slipping in the must-win state of Florida ...

John McCain 25%
Mitt Romney 23%
Rudy Giuliani 15%
Mike Huckabee 15%

From today's Hotline:

"They're trying to bamboozle you. It's the same old okey-doke."

-- Barack Obama, on the Clinton campaign, AP, 1/24.

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani's deputy campaign manager for operations is no longer working full-time for the campaign, NBC News/National Journal has learned.

Veteran Republican operative Rick Ahearn is now working as a volunteer, part-time consultant for the campaign, officials said. He is helping with logistical debate preparation but is not involved in day-to-day event planning.

Ahearn, who worked advance for Ronald Reagan the day he was shot in Washington, D.C. in 1981, had been running Giuliani's advance team. Sources said Ahearn stopped working full-time after the New Hampshire primaries, at the time senior campaign aides were asked to work without pay.

"Rick Ahearn continues to be a valued member of the Giuliani team," campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella said. "He is working on a volunteer basis because of his commitments to the Mayor and this campaign."

An e-mail request to Ahearn for comment was not returned.

Sources also said the campaign has been doing less advance work in recent weeks in Florida, because of budget cuts and a growing number of smaller rallies throughout the state.

(NBC/NJ's MATTHEW BERGER)

LEXINGTON, S.C. -- A subdued Bill Clinton got some helpful advice this morning from a voter who weighed in on the contentious battle for the Democratic nomination.

"Stop taking the bait from Obama," said a woman voter, adding that she didn't want to see more bickering. "I know that when he says something she feels like she needs to reply. I think she just needs to say, this is bait, we don't need the bait, we need the issue."

"That's pretty good advice," Clinton said, to laughter. "You know, that's probably good advice for me, too," he added, generating an even louder audience reaction.

Clinton said that he's found that campaigning for her is harder than it campaigning for himself. "When I was running I didn't give a rip what anybody said about me," he said. "It's weird, you know, but you love somebody you think they'd be good, [it's] harder. But I think that's good advice."

The former president made introductory remarks for about 15 minutes -- about half as long as his usual pitch -- and the event wrapped up in just over an hour. Clinton indicated at the outset that he was feeling the effects of a long night; a town hall meeting in Myrtle Beach last night lasted nearly three hours, kicking off after 9 pm and wrapping up with a few hundred hand shakes just before midnight.

"I got home about 1 o'clock," he said. "I stayed three hours answering their questions. So I feel like a little scrambled eggs this morning."

During the event at Gibson Commons, Clinton was also asked about Barack Obama's criticism of HRC for being on the board of Wal-Mart. Clinton defended his wife's time there, saying she helped the mega store take some progressive turns. "When she was asked to go on the board of Wal Mart, they had no women in positions of management, and they had no environmental profile," he said.

He also credited HRC with starting the company's Buy America program, which he claimed helped save union jobs in the state. "Yes she served on the board, and yes I think it was the right thing to do under the circumstances of the time, the 1980s," he said. "And she didn't exactly get rich doing it."

(NBC/NJ's MIKE MEMOLI)

Must.watch.whole.clip.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

To: Interested Parties
Fr: Joe Erwin, Former South Carolina Democratic Party Chair
Re: Hillary Clinton going all out to win in South Carolina

There’s an old South Carolina saying that goes like this – some people would rather climb a tree to tell a fib than stand on the ground and tell the truth. The truth is Hillary Clinton’s campaign is pulling out all the stops to win in South Carolina. And it includes saying and doing just about anything to win.

Judge the Clinton campaign on their actions rather than their spin:

· On Monday, Clinton’s own state chairman, Don Fowler, publicly stated that despite negative ratings in the 40s, Hillary Clinton would win South Carolina. [SC ETV, January 21, 2008] The day before, Fowler said “I’m confident with the kind of campaign we’re running, next week we’re going to win.” [AP, January 20, 2008]

· The Clinton campaign has made a long-term investment in South Carolina starting 7 months ago, opening offices across the state and hiring over 100 staff, in addition to importing scores of staff from Iowa and Nevada.

· Just before Christmas, the Clinton campaign brought in Steve Bouchard, nationally renowned political and field expert, to take over the South Carolina operation.

· The Clinton campaign has spent well over $135,000 on consultants like State Senator Darrell Jackson specifically to compete for votes in South Carolina’s African-American community.

· Hillary Clinton has the support of former Governor Richard Riley, former Congressman Butler Derrick and dozens of state legislators and local officials. They are pulling out all the stops to win.

· In the last week, the Clinton campaign nearly doubled their TV buy, expanding from spending about $236,000 on a mostly cable TV buy to more than $414,000 on wall-to-wall broadcast TV in every major market in the state.

· On Wednesday, the Clinton campaign launched a dishonest statewide radio ad falsely attacking Barack Obama. It’s the first negative ad aired by any Democratic presidential campaign in South Carolina this year.

· South Carolina women are getting calls from the National Organization for Women (NOW) deliberately distorting Barack Obama’s record on women’s issues, just as the Clinton campaign and their allies did in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

· At stop after stop, Bill Clinton repeated attacks on the Obama health care plan, remarks on Ronald Reagan and record of opposing the war in Iraq that experts like Robert Reich and media outlets like factcheck.org and the Washington Post have shown to be false.

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

New John McCain Web ad ... It's clever. But question -- Who sees these Web ads? Harder to target voters with them. Also, what does it say about the state of the McCain campaign's cash flow that they're debuting more Web ads than television ads just five days before the critical Florida primary??

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Mitt Romney's new 30-second ad in Florida. "The economy is emerging as the overriding issue in the 2008 presidential race, and Mitt Romney's message is stronger," the announcer says. Why? Because if this race becomes about the economy, Romney has an easier case to make for his candidacy than if voters are most worried about national security or the war. If the latter proves true, advantage John McCain.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Lots of '08ers on TV last night but first another clash between ex-Pres. Clinton and a reporter:

CNN showed footage of ex-Pres. Clinton aruging with CNN's Jessica Yellin when she asked him about the arguments with Obama's campaign.

Clinton: "Long before South Carolina was in play, when we were in Iowa months ago, I never uttered a word of public complaint when Mr. Obama said Hillary was not truthful, enough character, was poll-driven, when he had more pollsters than she did, when he put out a hit job on me. At the same time, he called her the senator from Punjab. I never said a word. And I don't care about it today. I'm not upset about it. The only thing I pointed out was that there was substantially no difference in her record than his on Iraq and that he had said, in 2004, there was no difference between his position and President Bush. And he said that was somehow dishonest, but he never answers how it is not accurate.

"So, this is crazy. This rhetoric is getting a little carried away here. They are feeding you this because they know this is what you want to cover. This is what you live for. But this hurts the people of South Carolina, because the people of South Carolina are coming to these meetings and asking questions about what they care about. And what they care about is not going to be in the news coverage tonight, because you don't care about it. What you care about is this, and the Obama people know that. So they just spin you up on this and you happily go along. The people don't care about this. They never ask about it. And you are determined to take this election away from them. And that's not right."

Yellin, on Clinton's words to her: "What he's doing it's a classic crisis P.R. tactic, which is, when you're asked about something that you don't want to have to deal with, that makes you uncomfortable, you attack or intimidate the questioner, because that should shame them into silence" ("CNN Election Center," 1/23).

With Fred Thompson out of the race, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran tossed his support to Mitt Romney today.

"It is an honor to join Governor Romney and his campaign for our nation's highest office. At this moment our nation faces unprecedented challenges, and Governor Romney has the experience, vision and values needed to strengthen our country for future generations," Cochran said in a statement released by Team Romney. "Governor Romney is a man of outstanding judgment and strong character. I look forward to working with him and helping to implement his conservative vision when he is elected our next President."

Barack Obama has television ads up in six Feb. 5 states: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Mexico and Utah. Campaign claims to be first on the air in Alabama, Georgia and Delaware. Meanwhile, the Rock Hill Herald and the Greenville News joined the The State today in endorsing Obama.

John McCain contines to mark his NY territory, snagging the endorsement of former NY Secretary of State Randy Daniels, who served under former Gov. George Pataki.

Hillary Clinton is speaking tomorrow on the economy, again because it's working for her, in South Carolina. 11 a.m. Greenville.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Duncan Hunter endorsed Mike Huckabee today ...

“I got to know Governor Huckabee well on the campaign trail,” Hunter said in a statement. “Of the remaining candidates I feel that he is strongly committed to strengthening national defense, constructing the border fence and meeting the challenge of China’s emergence as a military superpower that is taking large portions of America’s industrial base.

"Along with these issues of national security, border enforcement and protecting the U.S. industrial base, I see another quality of Mike Huckabee’s candidacy that compels my endorsement. Mike Huckabee is a man of outstanding character and integrity. I saw that character over the last year of campaigning and was greatly impressed. The other Republican candidates have many strengths and I wish them all well. My personal choice is Mike Huckabee," Hunter concluded.

From today's Hotline:

"The South Carolina Democratic Party apologizes for any inconvenience."

-- SC Dems, canceling their "Race in Southern Politics" forum, scheduled for 1/23, release.

Stormin' Norman has endorsed John McCain. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army (Ret.) lauded the Arizona senator in a statement released by McCain's campaign: "Senator John McCain has served our country with honor in war and in peace. He has demonstrated the type of courageous leadership our country sorely needs at this time. For that reason, he has my complete support."

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell will announce his support for Hillary Clinton at an event in Philly this afternoon, reports the The Morning Call of Allentown. Per the paper: "Rendell often has been mentioned as a possible pick for vice president -- despite his insisting he'll finish his term -- and the endorsement is sure to fuel fresh speculation that he could be on Clinton's short-list, should she win the nomination."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Hillary Clinton attacks Barack Obama in a new radio ad in S.C. for his remark that the GOP was the party of ideas for several years. Echoes attacks made by HRC and her husband over the last week, most prominently by HRC during Monday's contentious debate in Myrtle Beach.

A Clinton spokesman has not responded to an email about the ad, which was forwarded to reporters by Obama's campaign.

Script:
VO: “Listen to Barack Obama last week talking about Republicans.
BO: “The Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last 10, 15 years.”
VO: “Really? Aren’t those the ideas that got us into the economic mess we’re in today? Ideas like special tax breaks for Wall Street. Running up a $9 trillion debt. Refusing to raise the minimum wage or deal with the housing crisis. Are those the ideas Barack Obama’s talking about?”
BO: “The Republicans were the party of ideas.”
VO: Hillary Clinton thinks this election is about replacing disastrous Republican ideas with new ones, like jumpstarting the economy. Putting an immediate freeze on foreclosures and mortgages. Cutting taxes for the middle class. and creating millions of new jobs. With the economy in crisis, we need a president with the ideas, the solutions that get our economy working for all of us. Hillary Clinton. Solutions for America.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Rudy Giuliani, in a new Florida Web spot, says he's the only candidate to support a National Catastrophe Fund. Cuts to photo of Giuliani wearing a breathing mask. "Tested in crisis, ready to lead," says a narrator.

(JENINFER SKALKA)

GREENWOOD, S.C. -- The "little woman" from Greenwood who inspired Barack Obama to use "Fired Up! Ready to Go!" as his central campaign chant has been part mystery, part myth since the candidate started telling her story four or five times a day on the stump.

But yesterday, "the little woman," Councilwoman Edith Childs, made an in-the-flesh appearance with her favorite presidential candidate. Dressed in a purple suit with her trademark hat, "a church hat" as Obama often refers to it, Childs joined Obama on stage at a town hall here to lead the crowd in her own rendition of "Fired Up! Ready to Go!"

"Fired Up! Ready to Go! Fired Up! Ready to Go!" Childs chanted in a singsong. (Obama's delivery usually has a little more punch.) Childs added a twist to her call this time, getting the crowd to repeat after her, "Obama! Obama! Obama!" and "Will be! Will be! Will be!" followed by "Our next! Our next! Our next!" and finally "Pres-ah-dent! Pres-ah-dent! Pres-ah-dent!"

Obama doubled over with laughter as Childs lead the crowd in the chant and hugged her after she finished.

Childs later held court with reporters, and she corrected some facts about Obama's trail tale of the day the chant was born. There were 38 people who showed up to hear him speak that day, not twenty as he likes to tell it. He was annoyed, Childs said, rather than bewildered when he first heard her chanting slowly and the assembled crowd began to join in. And she joked that he doesn't get her age right; Childs is 59 and not in her sixties as Obama always says.

She also said that she thinks Obama will win S.C. in a "landslide" Saturday and that Bill Clinton is crossing the line with his attacks. And she has only one request for Obama should he win the presidency.

"I want an invitation to an inaugural ball!" Childs said, looking straight into the TV cameras.

(NBC/NJ's ASWINI ANBURAJAN)

New John McCain ad in Florida:

"Floridians are concerned about the threat of radical Islamic extremism and their economic security," he says.

NY Observer endorses Barack Obama:

New Yorkers might ask why they should not pull a lever for our junior senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton. While Mrs. Clinton is an extraordinary United States senator for New York, we believe that Mr. Obama can be a great president for the United States of America. ...

Because of who he is and what he stands for, a former constitutional law teacher with few ties to the Washington establishment yet a sophisticated respect for it, Mr. Obama stands the best chance of restoring the essential relationship between power and the American people. He is not flanked and blocked by an existing, entrenched power structure; his words are not muddied by layers of handlers; he still says what he means.

Lots of talk on TV last night about the stock market and the death of actor Heath Ledger. But here are the hightlights of the political coverage:

CNN played a clip of Barack Obama talking to CBN's Brody, addressing an email claiming Obama was a Muslim:

Obama: "This is obviously a systematic political strategy by somebody because, you know, these e-mails don't just keep on coming out the way they have without somebody being behind it. Basically, the e-mail falsely states that I'm Muslim, that I pledged my oath of office on a Koran instead of a bible, that I don't pledge allegiance to the flag. Scurrilous stuff. And I want to make sure that your viewers understand that I am a Christian who has belonged to the same church for almost 20 years now. It's where Michelle and I got married. It's where our kids were dedicated. You know, I took my oath of office on our family bible. I lead the Pledge of Allegiance when I open up the Senate. I've been saying the Pledge of Allegiance since I was three-years-old.

"And, you know, I think it's very important not to buy into the kinds of dirty tricks that we've become so accustomed to in our politics. And people need to understand so that -- you know, I'm unequivocal about this. I have not and never have been of the Muslim faith. I think that those who are of the Muslim faith are deserving of respect and dignity. But try to feed into this fear mongering and to try to, you know, question my faith commitments and -- and my belief in Jesus Christ, I think, is offensive.

"And I want to make sure that people are absolutely clear about what's going on with this and if they get another one of these e-mails, that they're the deleting it and letting their friends know that it's nonsense."

Brody, on his Obama interview: "I was about to bring it up. But before I could even get to it, he wanted to bring it up. And, you know, clearly, an attempt by the Obama campaign to put an end to what he calls scurrilous attacks here" ("Situation Room," CNN, 1/22).

Gov. Matt Blunt's (R-MO) decision not to seek a second term today throws an already turbulent MO GOV race into further chaos. For months, the Blunt admin has had to endure near-weekly stories regarding fired dep. legal counsel Scott Eckersley, who says he was let go for insisting on compliance with the state's Sunshine Law. The Blunt admin has said Eckersley was fired for poor performance and doing personal work on gov't time.

The Kansas City Star this p.m. reports that Blunt posted a video address to Missourians on YouTube, and in a "stunning announcement, he said he had achieved virtually everything he set out to accomplish when he ran for governor and therefore would not seek re-election."

The presumed Dem nominee, AG Jay Nixon (D), has led Blunt in several polls, most recently in an 11/07 Research 2000 match-up, in which Nixon led Blunt 51%-42%. The Blunt-Nixon blood feud seemed to get nasty almost as soon as the 2006 elections concluded, and no issue seemed too trivial to argue about. The MO GOP issued one release stating: "Jay Nixon's Grandstanding on 'Hannah Montana' Tickets Makes Little Kids Cry." Meawhile, the Kansas City Star reported at one point: "Nixon's office notified the Blunt administration that it would no longer allow janitorial workers in the attorney general's office because some workers had criminal records and lacked proper identification."

Blunt's decision to step down leaves a wide open field on the GOP side, which could possibly result in a stronger eventual nominee than the governor himself. Potential candidates might include: LG Peter Kinder (R), Treas. Sarah Steelman (R), or Reps. Kenny Hulshof (R), Jo Ann Emerson (R), or Sam Graves (R). St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Mannies reports Kinder says there’s “a decent chance” that he’ll run and that Emerson plans 24 hours to think it over.

(QUINN MCCORD)

Subject line: Swiftboating

In a new fundraising letter from John Kerry to Barack Obama's supporters, the 2004 Democratic nominee implores voters to help Obama "defeat the hateful tactics that have been used to tear us apart for too long." In a line clearly directed at Bill and Hillary Clinton, Kerry rails against the use of negative campaigning perfected by Karl Rove and the Republicans, saying that Obama's opponents are attempting to 'Swiftboat' him.

"As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove's twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone's character just to win an election," Kerry writes. "But as someone who cares about winning this election and changing the country I love, I know it's not enough to complain about a past we can't change when our challenge is to win the future -- which is why we must stop the Swiftboating, stop the push-polling, stop the front groups, and stop the email chain smears."

He adds: "This year, the attacks are already starting. Some of you may have heard about the disgusting lies about Barack Obama that are being circulated by email. These attacks smear Barack's Christian faith and deep patriotism, and they distort his record of more than two decades of public service. They are nothing short of "Swiftboat" style anonymous attacks."

Kerry does not name the Clintons, but he writes that it's time to "turn the page on an era of small, divisive politics" and that Obama is dedicated to fighting "every smear, every time."

"Barack Obama is committed to bringing our country together to meet the challenges we face, but he knows that power gives up nothing without a struggle -- and to win the chance to change America, we must first defeat the hateful tactics that have been used to tear us apart for too long," he adds.

This letter deserves a big, 'Wow.'

Wow, because this is the first time, by our estimation, Kerry has accused a fellow Democrat of "Swiftboating." Wow, because, seriously? Kerry didn't effectively push back efforts to 'Swiftboat' his own campaign. And a final, wow, to the Obama folks for allowing Kerry, still regarded by many Democrats as a disappointment, to take such a public role in the contest since endorsing Obama last week.

Full letter after the jump.

UPDATE: Kerry spokesman David Wade wrote to say that On Call has this all wrong. That Kerry's letter clearly aims to combat those Internet rumors circulating about Obama's faith. Here's Wade's comment: "The right wing has been hard at work to unleash the politics of fear and smear before we Democrats have even chosen a nominee, and that's why they've been slandering Barack Obama with email chains maligning his patriotism and questioning his Christian faith. John Kerry won't allow those despicable tactics to go unanswered. Karl Rove and his friends aren't going to steal another election with the politics of character assasination."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

From the transcript of John Edwards' appearance tonight on the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN ...

Dave: “Yeah, yeah, well, good luck to you. What a grueling grind this is. And this is the second time now that you’ve been through this, first as vice president, now as a presidential nominee, or candidate, campaigning. Could I just mess your hair up a little bit?” (audience laughs)

Edwards: “You want to? Go ahead.”

Dave: “Do you mind?”

Edwards: “I don’t mind.”

Dave: “Has it ever been messed up?” (Edwards laughs; Edwards runs his hands through his own hair) “No, no.” (Dave runs his hands through Edwards hair, really messing it up, and Edwards, laughing, tries to mess up Dave’s hair; audience applauds) “Senator John Edwards, ladies and gentlemen. Good luck the rest of the way, thank you for being here.”

(Dave and Edwards shake hands. Then, Dave tries to fix Edwards’ hair; audience applauds)

Full interview after the jump.

Here's a question ... With Fred Thompson out, will the group re-endorse? Might John McCain, who was quick to commemorate today's 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade with a statement affirming his commitment to pro-life policies, be the beneficiary of Thompson's exit?

And will Thompson, an old pal of McCain's, endorse as well? After a lackluster campaign, would FT's support sway primary voters?

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Mike Huckabee's press secretary Alice Stewart confirmed to NBC/NJ today that some members of Huckabee's senior staff have volunteered to continue working without pay in the run up to February 5th.

"We've got plenty of cash on hand to compete in the February 5th states," Stewart said, adding that the campaign raised over $250,000 at last Sunday's Virtual BBQ at Chuck Norris' ranch in Texas. But in an effort to scale back, Stewart said "there are some folks who have volunteered to stay on without pay," and there are some employees from early states that have been let go because "it's just not necessary to keep those folks on staff."

This decision was made in the past couple of days, Stewart said, and
there will probably be additional efforts to maintain a frugal approach. But she also emphasized that Huckabee would not pull out of Florida and would compete in Feb. 5 states.

(NBC/NJ's ADAM AIGNER-TREWORGY)

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

In Salinas, Ca., today, the union -- 27,000 strong -- threw its support behind Hillary Clinton.

"After meeting with and talking to the candidates, the UFW board believes Hillary Clinton to be the strongest, most experienced candidate for President of the United States. She will be able to tackle our nation's toughest problems – health care, improving the economy for working people and repairing our country's standing in the world. Senator Clinton has stood with farm workers and immigrants - fighting for comprehensive immigration reform, sponsoring the UFW sponsored AgJOBS and helping 1,800 farm workers sign a union contract with D'Arrigo after 30 years," said UFW President Arturo Rodriguez in a statement released by HRC's campaign.

This letter, emailed to reporters from John McCain's campaign, was read by Sam Brownback today at the March for Life in Washington. Today is the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Just in case Christian conservatives in Florida might be listening ...

Dear Fellow Pro-Lifers,

Whenever the value of one class of persons is not respected whether they are unborn, handicapped, elderly the dignity of all mankind is threatened.

Read on ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Dear XYZ:

These last couple of weeks have been blessedly peaceful. After living inside the tornado of a presidential campaign for 11 months, it has been so good to get back to New Mexico and the business of running this wonderful state I call home. I've had a lot of calls from the media asking me which of the remaining Democratic candidates I'm going to endorse. And I thought you should be the first to hear my answer. I'm not endorsing any of them -- at least not for now.

More from Bill Richardson's letter to supporters asking for help retiring his campaign debt.

John Edwards hits Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a new ad up in South Carolina ...

Statement from Sen. Fred Thompson

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

MSNBC reports that Fred Thompson will drop out of the presidential contest. He's in Tennessee today with his ailing mother. More information to come ...

From today's Hotline:

"I was proud to represent the grown-up wing of the Democratic Party last night."

-- John Edwards, on his SC debate performance, National Journal/NBC, 1/22.

MSNBC reports that the former NY Sen. Alfonse D'Amato will endorse John McCain. ...

New web video out of Camp Clinton today, seeking to catch Barack Obama in a flip flop on the issue of single payer health care.

"Did Senator Obama say he was for single payer health care?" the Clinton team asks.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Updates from our Hotline Political Network Affiliates

Barack Obama's campaign has set up a free call line -- 877 622 6228 -- for S.C. voters to notify them if they receive smear mall or robo calls bashing the candidate. They've dubbed the effort the South Carolina Truth Squad ...

"We wanted to talk a little bit today about the incredible distortions that are coming from the Clinton campaign, in particular, and our desire to set the record straight," said former Sen. Tom Daschle, an Obama supporter who is campaigning in Greenville today for the candidate. "Our purpose is to reponsd forcefully to each and every one of these allegations."

Daschle, joined on a call with reporters by Inez Tenenbaum, the former S.C. schools chief, mentioned one NV robo call that indicates erroneously that Obama would dismantle the minimum wage.

"This is the kind of low road to campaigning that South Carolinians abhor and that Americans shouldn’t have to be subjected to," he said.

The former Senate majority leader said that the dirty politicking coming out of Clinton's camp is "wrong, everybody knows it's wrong, and it's got to stop."

"I think it’s going to divide us," he said, the 'us' being the Democratic Party. "It’s going to have a lasting effect down the road if it doesn’t stop soon."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

New Mitt Romney spot running in Florida ...

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

There was a Dem debate last night. Here's what the pundits had to say about it:

CNN's Cooper: "An unprecedented debate in Myrtle Beach. And, if you thought the last several weeks on the campaign trail have been tough, it's nothing compared to the some of the exchanges that we saw on that stage tonight" ("AC 360," 1/21).

CNN's Crowley: "Anyone who thinks that this race is not personal wasn't watching tonight. This was a debate of moments" ("AC 360," 1/21).

CNN's Johns: "Barack Obama was sort of in the middle taking fire from both sides. He gave, it appeared, as well as he got it. It was clear coming in here that he would be a target, because a lot of people have said he's doing well among African-American voters here in South Carolina. Certainly, Senator Clinton was very aggressive with him, but it was also interesting to see how he fired back, particularly on this issue of Ronald Reagan" ("AC 360," 1/21).

Time's Halperin: "I gave Obama an A-minus, the top grade, the other two B-pluses. I think the crowd was clearly with Obama. ... I think the way he presented himself, the way he stood up to Senator Clinton and her husband ... I think, will help him. I think people in South Carolina want to see him be willing to stand up. Senator Clinton and Senator Obama brought a lot of opposition research with them today. They brought up personal things, pretty incredible. A lot of political people I have talked to said they haven't seen a debate like this in a very long time" ("AC 360," CNN, 1/21).

Talk radio host Carl Jeffers: "Tonight was John Edwards' best performance, and, actually, he came out better than he has in any other debate. And one of the reasons is because I think that there are a lot of Democrats, let alone mainstream Americans, who were turned off by this personal animosity between Senator Clinton and Barack Obama. And that benefited John Edwards. ... Even if he comes in third, as a result of his performance tonight, can keep going to the convention, where he may still have a role to play" ("AC 360," CNN, 1/21).

This was the rowdiest debate by far in the Democratic contest. And while each of the candidates had fine moments, I'd score this one for John Edwards. Especially in the standing portion of this two-hour rumble.

Why?

Because at this point, Edwards is trailing perhaps irreparably in the polls. He is, by anyone's estimation, the also-ran in this historic face-off between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But, tonight, he was the catalyst for the action. In the first half of the debate, he helped Clinton effectively hammer Barack Obama on credit card legislation, health care and those pesky present votes. On the latter, in particular, Edwards asked and reasked the same question. Dogged, unrelenting.

"It does not make sense to me," he said to Obama, finger wagging, as Clinton looked on. "What if I had just not shown up to vote on things that really matter to this country?"

Obama still has not crafted a clear, concise response to the question of those 129 votes he cast as 'present' while an Illinois state senator. A seemingly minor matter (a la driver's licenses for illegal immigrants), it's still throwing him off his game. And it was this exchange that capped a series of heated exchanges between he and Clinton that left Obama struggling to regain his composure. Ronald Reagan and Tony Rezko. Clinton tried to paint Obama as hazy on the issues, saying his position on Iraq has evolved, that his health care plan doesn't provide universal coverage, that he all but lauded the GOP for being the party of ideas.

Edwards, meanwhile, used his oft overused personal story well tonight. His talk of poverty as the 'cause of my life' felt, however, dramatically overstated -- especially on this MLK holiday and in front of a largely African-American audience.

That said, the friction between Clinton and Obama remains the overarching storyline of this campaign. And this evening there were ample fireworks between the two frontrunners. Though the crowd was clearly with Obama, Clinton scored several points -- even effectively defending her husband's attacks on Obama. With firm, clear, tough, yes, sometimes shrill, answers, she played tonight to win the general; Obama, meanwhile, was wooing South Carolinians.

Still, the second half proved a better outing for Obama. He almost always lands well when he uses humor to make his point. Example ... His answer to a question about Bill Clinton being the first black president, saying he'd have to see him dance before passing judgment. And he offered the line of the night about President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney:

"The one good thing that they have done for us is that they have given their party a very bad name," he said.

At least the three candidates could utter a collective "Amen" to that.

(JENNIIFER SKALKA)

Q -- If Dr. MLK were alive today, why should he endorse you?

Edwards: I met with Martin III in Atlanta on Saturday. Pushing equality and ending poverty in America. "I have been pushing this issue as aggressively and as loudly as I can." Fighting to end poverty doesn't get you votes, but is cause of JRE's life, he says.

Obama: "I don't think Dr. King would endorse any of us. I think what he would call upon the American people to do is to hold us accountable." Change comes from the ground up.

Clinton: Will do everything she can to extend his legacy.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Edwards posits, not for the first time but for the first time in a debate, that John McCain will be the Republican nominee. Says that South Carolinians need to not just to consider their vote Saturday as a primary vote, but as a vote for the candidate who can beat McCain in November. Democrats, Edwards says, must be able to compete in rural and more moderate communities, not just in large urban centers.

"I think that I can go everywhere and compete head-to-head with John McCain," he says.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

"The one good thing that they have done for us is that they have given their party a very bad name."

-- Obama on President Bush and Dick Cheney

Q -- To HRC -- Is Bill overshadowing your message?

"He is very much advocating on my behalf," she said. "He is a tremendous asset."

"I believe that this campaign is not about our spouses, it is about us. It is about each of us individually."

"I think that we need to keep our focus on what is at stake in the election."

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Q -- Toni Morrison famously observed about Bill Clinton, "this is our first black present, blacker than any actual" president who could be elected in our lifetime. Do you think Bill Clinton was our first black president?

Obama: "Well, I think Bill Clinton did have an enormous affinity with the African American community and still does." ... Obama salutes the changes in attitudes about race from generation to generation. Especially among southerners.