Hotline After Dark -- About Obama ...

As the nets look ahead to NV and SC, they turn to the '08ers for their takes:

Hillary Clinton was on "Money & Politics":

Asked if she doubts the economy has replaced Iraq as the top issue for voters: "No, not at all, and for good reason. ... I mean, look at what's happening. Unemployment is up, $100 a barrel oil. Energy costs therefore are up. We have got more and more people who are worried about losing their homes to foreclosure. Across the board, people are coming to me and saying, look, what can you do, what can anybody do because they are feeling incredibly anxiety. Consumer confidence is down and the American consumer has basically held up the global economy. You know, the American people need a president who will run the government and manage the economy. We've got a lot of tough choices ahead of us. Obviously I'm putting forth what I would do were I president, but we don't have time to wait; we've got to get the president and the Congress working together because we've got to begin to take the fiscal steps that will hopefully try to eliminate some of the pain that will come with this economic slowdown."

Asked if she has confidence in Fed chief Bernard Bernanke: "I think that Chairman Bernanke is walking a very delicate line trying to figure out how to stimulate the economy, try to increase demand, again, for credit and make that credit available and worrying about inflation, which, you know, we always do have to keep in mind. You know, the global economy has been, in my view, radically changed over the last decade. And a lot of what used to work may not work. So we've got to figure out how to partner the monetary and fiscal side of this."

Asked if Obama has the experience to run the world's largest economy: "Well, you know, I was somewhat taken aback by what he said that was reported yesterday. I think it's important that we have a president who understands that you have to run the government. We all need to be inspirational and set goals, and I've been doing that throughout this campaign. We need to set big goals for our standing in the world, for our economy to deal with energy and health care and so much else that is really on the minds of the people who talk to me as I go in and out of their homes. ... That is what they are talking to me about. They want a president who they believe gets up every single day and works for them. That requires a president who is hands-on, who after you set the goals and you give the speeches, you go back to the White House, and you start holding people accountable. And you want to know what they've done today to help the American people. You've got to take on this government; you've got to run this government. You can't leave it to others. You've got to manage this economy. That's why I've been calling for a stimulus package for a number of weeks because I know that if we don't move now, we'll have a much deeper and longer recession than we might otherwise have" (Bloomberg, 1/16).

She also talked with NBC's Brian Williams. The net released a full transcript of the interview, portions of which aired on the "Nightly News":

On Obama: "I campaigned for him. I raised money for him. I was thrilled when he was elected. And when he asked me for advice about how to be an effective Senator, I certainly gave it to him. Because what I believe is that we should all do the best job we can. And when I got to the Senate, there were a lot of people who said I wouldn't work with Republicans and Republicans wouldn't work with me. They didn't know me. You know, I rolled up my sleeves and I got to work. And I'm proud of the record that I achieved in my first term as a senator."

More: "I was taken aback when Senator Obama said yesterday that he didn't intend to try to manage or run the government -- that he was going to have advisors to do that. That is very reminiscent of what we've had for the last seven years. I intend to run the government. I intend to manage the economy. I intend to take personal responsibility. And I intend to hold the government of the United States accountable to the taxpayers and the citizens of America. I think I know what it will take to translate all of our vision and all of our ideals. I mean, I have huge goals for America that I have set forth to translate that into reality."

Asked if Lieberman should still be able to chair a cmte under the Dem banner: "Joe is an independent Democrat. And as an independent Democrat, you know, he certainly decides who he's going to support. But he caucuses with us. He votes with us. And, you know, I certainly believe that's important we continue that" (NBC, 1/16).

THINGS ARE JUST SUPER

Mitt Romney was on "Hannity & Colmes":

Asked if this will be over by Super Tuesday: "I think a lot of us predicted it would be over within the first two or three primaries, but it didn't work out that way. Everything has changed in this race. It's much more fluid than I think we expected. And I don't think that's because the voters haven't found anybody they like. I think it's because they find a lot of people they like."

More: "It's not, by any means, a foregone conclusion that any one of us will pick up the next two or three states and then on to February 5th. So, you know, we'll keep on working hard. I think, when it's all said and done, that people are going to focus on the backgrounds and the record that each of us have. They're also going to look at the major issues that we face. I frankly think they're going to want a person who understands how the economy works, who's been in the economy, who understands how jobs come and go. That's, of course, what I've done all my life. They're going to want a person who will say no to illegal immigration. That's what I've also done as governor. And I think those things will be deciding."

On what's next: "This is a real short time frame here, so I want to do well in South Carolina. I'd like to win Nevada. I've been working Nevada. I've made trips there. My family has. My son is there right now. My wife is there right now. We'll do our best to win Nevada. And then on to Florida, I'd like to do well in Florida."

Asked about his attack ads: "We do our very best to make sure we don't attack the integrity or the character of the person we're running against on this Republican side because ultimately that person may be our nominee and I don't want to hurt that nominee. ... I also would wish that the other guys would follow the same rule" (FNC, 1/16).

He was also in the "Situation Room":

CNN's Blitzer: "You referenced Ronald Reagan last night. George Herbert Walker Bush, as perhaps your role models right now. Why not the current president?"

Romney: "Oh, I respect the current president as well. He's kept us safe these last six years. He fought for no child left behind, which I think was brave and a good thing. I do respect the president a great deal. In the case of his dad, and Ronald Reagan, you have people that are out of office and whose lives are quite heroic. I think you look to them if you're someone my age, you look to those guys that are out of office and acknowledge the extraordinary role they had in the last century, helping us defeat the great threats of that time, which was the spread of global communism" (CNN, 1/16).

THOMPSON WARNS US NOT TO "GET HYSTERICAL"

Fred Thompson was in the "Situation Room":

On how he would help the economy: "Sound economic principles, fundamentals that have to do with our fiscal policy, or primarily right now have to do with our spending policies. We are locked into a mandatory spending cycle now that's going to literally bankrupt us some years into the future. So it all gets back to that. Lower taxes, lower tax rates always mean growth in the economy. On the other side, though, we've got to do better with regard to the spending. And, of course, spending and inflation historically have been directly tied together."

More: "Let's don't get hysterical. Let's don't declare a recession. I mean, technical terminology does matter. And we're not in one now. But we have to be mindful of the fact that we could be in one" (CNN, 1/16).

TALKING HOUSING IN NV

And John Edwards was on CNN's "Election Center":

On the economy: "I was actually the first of the three of us to come out with a really aggressive stimulus package and a plan to do something about the mortgage crisis. Stimulus package is green infrastructure, building our green infrastructure, which is a great jobs creation mechanism, modernizing our unemployment insurance laws, so we get more help to people who are being left out, more help to the states, who, unfortunately, are cutting budgets and as a result keeping money out of the economy. And it needs to be in the economy, not out of the economy. And, on the mortgage crisis, I think we need a home rescue fund to help with some transitional financing and some counseling from people who are struggling. We need to give bankruptcy courts the authority to restructure these loans. We need to put pressure on lenders to make more refinancing options available. This is a huge issue here in Nevada, because they have an enormous foreclosure rate in this state."

Asked about the high percentage of uncommitted votes in the MI primary: "Well, that would indicate to me that they are looking for another candidate. That's the only way to read it, I think" (CNN, 1/16). [EMILY GOODIN]