Hotline After Dark -- Back To Congress Edition

With Gen. David Petraues testifying before Congress today, pundits predicted how the three '08ers will act in their questioning:

CNN's Crowley: "I think right away we can say they're going to be seen as presidential candidates. This is now too far into the season for them to be anything else but that" ("Election Center, 4/7).

Bloomberg's Hunt: "I think we can safely say there will not be a lot of grilling from the senator from Arizona" ("Money & Politics," Bloomberg, 4/7).

Time's Halperin, on how the '08ers will act: "Let's remember they're on Capitol Hill. They're not out on the campaign trail, so they're going to be subordinate in the case of the Democrats. They're junior members of their committee, so they won't be up very soon. ... They will mostly be playing defense. They will be watching each other. They won't want to make mistakes. McCain on the other hand I think, a senior member of the committee, can do a lot to drive. And, of course, he will be in agreement with the witnesses. It will be interesting to see if any of the Democrats on the committee try to take him on as a proxy for those other presidential candidates" ("Election Center," CNN, 4/7).

After the jump, more talk about Mark Penn's resignation and will Sec/State Condoleezza Rice run for VP?:

(EMILY GOODIN)

IS THE SWORD MIGHTIER THAN THE PENN?

CNN's Crowley: "Mark Penn remains on the campaign. He was on the morning meeting. He's still an adviser, although not the central adviser, and there are some people tonight wondering whether that's really enough at this point. So, this may be a story that continues, or perhaps they have been able to kind of beat this one back" ("Situation Room," 4/7).

Newsweek's Fineman: "What fascinates me is that Hillary picked him to begin with. He's the very symbol of corporate insider lobbying strategy here in Washington. For her to have such a tin ear is what amazes me" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 4/7).

MSNBC's Carlson: "Here's a guy who took a 30-point lead and evaporated it, and took $10 million. As someone close to Mrs. Clinton said to me yesterday, I could have done that for $5 million" ("Hardball," 4/7).

Bloomberg's Hunt, on Penn's leaving the campaign "I think Terry McAuliffe was the single most influential person on making that happen" ("Money & Politics," Bloomberg, 4/7).

A PROMOTION FOR CONDI?

Washington Times' Debose: "Two weeks ago, Condoleezza Rice ... told us at the Washington Times that she was interested in becoming a VP candidate. And this was the first time anyone had -- you know, I had never heard this, and my jaw hit the floor, and I was sort of looking around, like, Did anyone else hear her say this? It was sort of just a general question about her future. And I always thought she wanted to become the commissioner of the NFL. She's always talked about that, or going back to Stanford. But this is the first time that it's happening now. Of course, this is out there everywhere and everyone is speculating about whether or not she will run with McCain" ("On the Record," FNC, 4/7).

Ex-Coalition spokesperson Dan Senor, asked if Rice wants to be NFL Commiss.: "That's her first choice. Her second choice is probably vice president of the United States" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 4/7).

Bloomberg's Hunt, on Rice: "She's never run for anything in her life, ever, and it's a little bit dangerous to pick someone at that level ... who's never run. You don't know what kind of candidate she'd be. She's never been questioned about abortion. She's never been questioned about gun control. She's never been questioned about gay rights. ... It's a gamble" ("Money & Politics," Bloomberg, 4/7).

Bill Bennett, on Rice: "Is there a more impressive human being around just in terms of her talents and abilities? There aren't very many. She's a terrific person. But oddly, even though she's got these great strengths, what does she do for John McCain? He's already got great credentials on these issues -- foreign policy and so on. The State Department, I mean, we call it Foggy Bottom for a reason. It's not a model of clarity. And, you know, he doesn't reassure the base. And I think John McCain still has to reassure the base for that vice presidential candidate" ("Situation Room," CNN, 4/7).