As you may have seen today, TMZ.com has obtained two photos of Mitt Romney posing with a supporter in South Carolina. The supporter was holding a sign with the homemade writing, "NO TO OBAMA OSAMA AND CHELSEA'S MOMA" (sic). In the second photo, Romney is himself holding up the sign with the supporter.
This obviously invited the question: Was it appropriate for Mitt Romney to hold up a sign likening Barack Obama to the leader of an international terrorist network, responsible for bloody attacks upon the United States, apparently all based on his name? After all, what would the media reaction be if Barack Obama posed with a supporter who had a sign comparing President Bush to Adolf Hitler? The press would go nuts over it, surely, and rightly so.
Election Central contacted Romney spokesman Kevin Madden for comment, asking if it was appropriate for the candidate to hold the sign up with the woman. "The governor stopped briefly for a picture with a supporter who just happened to be holding their own sign with an alliterative play on words," Madden said, via e-mail. "I don’t think it was equating or comparing anyone."
Late Update: Photos added with the permission of TMZ.
NYT Magazine Profile Of Ron Paul: Not So Bad, After All
This weekend's New York Times Magazine feature on Ron Paul paints a picture of an earnest, hard-working man motivated by his sincere beliefs in the issues at hand. For example, Paul discusses doing Army physicals decades ago for "gung-ho" young men volunteering to go off to Vietnam — and how he is haunted by the thought of how many of them didn't come back. On the other hand, Paul's campaign has attracted a colorful variety of supporters, to say the least, including Birchers and 9/11 Truthers. And while Paul is quick to say he doesn't necessarily agree with some of the conspiracy theorists attracted to his campaign, he is not about to send them away, either.
Fred Thompson's Real Similarity To Reagan: Teflon The Washington Post reports that social conservative activists are still flocking to Fred Thompson despite records showing he did lobbying work for a pro-choice group in the early 1990's. A major reason for this is that his pro-life record while serving in the Senate serves as an ultimate backing for his credentials with them. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, noted another similarity Fred Thompson has with Reagan, besides being a conservative actor-politician: "He also has the same Teflon coating that Reagan had: Bad stuff just doesn't stick."
Obama Calls Out Bush Administration Logic On Iraq And Ethnic Strife
Barack Obama said that the Bush Administration has been logically inconsistent in its warning of ethnic strife if the United States were to leave Iraq. Obama said, "by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now — where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife — which we haven't done." Instead, Obama added, the idea that such a thing would be unworkable prevents unilateral intervention in Sudan, and in turn ought to counsel against a continued unilateral intervention in Iraq.
An Optimistic Hillary: "I Would Say I Am Winning"
During a meeting with the Des Moines Register, Hillary Clinton expressed confidence in her campaign: "I would say I am winning." She elaborated further: "If you look at the polls that are being taken - I personally think they're snapshots in time - but as opposed to talking hypothetically if you talk based on the information that we have, I am winning. I am winning. I am beating the Republicans." Also during her trip to Des Moines, Hillary rallied an AFSCME convention with her support for a proposal in Congress to make it easier for workers to form a union.
Gingrich Less Likely To Run If/When Thompson Gets In
Newt Gingrich told the Associated Press that he'll be much likely to run for president if Fred Thompson gets into the race. "If Fred Thompson runs and he does well, then I think that makes it easier for me to not run," Gingrich said — though he did leave himself some wiggle room. "On the other hand, just given what you've seen with McCain the last few months, how can you predict?"
Shays Curses Out Capitol Hill Policeman
Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT), the sole Republican House member from New England, cursed out a Capitol Hill police officer, after Shays felt the officer was not being sufficiently helpful to a Shays intern and a group of constituents who had become lost on a tour. Shays grabbed the officer's lapel — in order to better see his badge, Shays says — and swore at him. "I know Chris swore, and he probably did use the f-bomb," an aide told CNN. Shays has apologized for his actions.
Sununu: I Would Not Campaign With Bush Next Year
Senator John Sununu (R-NH) told Bloomberg News that he would not campaign with the president "in this climate" for his own re-election contest next year. Sununu said, "the president's popularity, unfortunately, is at a fairly low level." The president campaigned twice in person for Sununu in his 2002 campaign, when he narrowly defeated then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen.
Kerry Tells Dirty Limerick About Vitter
Last weekend at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in his native Massachusetts, John Kerry decided to tell a limerick about the current woes of Senator David Vitter (R-LA), who has been caught in the D.C. Madam scandal. "There once was a man named Vitter/Who vowed that he wasn't a quitter," Kerry began. "But with stories of women/And all of his sinnin'/He knows his career's in the — oh, never mind." And fittingly enough, the DSCC even was being held in ... Nantucket.
Being a New Yorker, I'd remembered that during a cop union rally in 1992, Rudy had come unhinged and screamed, "Bulls#$t!"
For some time now I've been meaning to track video of this moment down. I thought it might tell us something about the reliability and temperament of this man who is asking us to make him our next Commander in Chief -- especially now that he's trying to win the support of GOP "values voters."
Wouldn't you know it, but video of that moment has suddenly surfaced, as if by magic! Enjoy:
Mitch McConnell Lowers Expectations For Senate GOP In 2008
During a press conference today, Mitch McConnell said that the political map for 2008, with 22 Republican seats up for election compared to only 12 Democratic seats, means the odds are against the GOP getting back into the majority. "It would take an extraordinarily good day to get back up to 50," McConnell said. "So our goal is to stay roughly where we are."
The New York Times On The Ron Paul Campaign: Wackos?
Editor and Publisher gets an advance look at a feature on the Ron Paul campaign that's slated to run in this weekend's New York Times Magazine. The piece focuses on the, shall we say, eccentric sorts that have signed on to work with the Congressman. A prominent California Paul-Head has written to the campaign, "We're in a difficult position of working on a campaign that draws supporters from laterally opposing points of view, and we have the added bonus of attracting every wacko fringe group in the country." Paul himself seems to be unconcerned: "I have a lot of friends in the John Birch Society. They're generally well-educated and they understand the Constitution. I don't know how many positions they would have that I don't agree with."
Hillary's Attack On Bill O'Reilly — A Breakdown in Hillary-Murdoch Non-Aggression Pact?
Ben Smith makes a key point about Hillary's ongoing attack against Bill O'Reilly for smearing YearlyKos — it's decidedly out of keeping with the détente of sorts that exists between Hillary and News Corp.
CNN Falsely Asserts That Rudy Has A "Record On Terrorism"
CNN continues propagating the myth that the fact that Rudy was Mayor of New York on 9/11 means he has national security credentials.
CNN And Florida GOP To Host YouTube Debate
CNN has announced that the Florida GOP will co-host their YouTube debate, in which average people are invited to submit questions for the Republican presidential candidates. The GOP event will be held this September. And just a reminder: The Democratic YouTube debate will be broadcast this Monday night.
An operative for the failed campaign of establishment GOPer Jim Whitehead in this week's Georgia special Congressional election admitted to The Hill that the campaign made a mistake by routinely insulting the district's liberal bastion of Athens, which turned out heavily for Whitehead's fellow Republican Paul Broun, himself an Athens resident, and propelled Broun to an upset victory. "There was a decision made early on to, basically, tell Athens to shove it and ignore them," said the source. "We didn't go to their debates; we got in a big confrontation with The Athens Banner-Herald. In retrospect, those things were a big mistake, because it really galvanized the Athens area against Jim Whitehead."
Blooper: Trying To Discredit Dems, Fox Accidentally Shows Dem-Friendly Poll
Great Moments In Fox News ... Oops. This afternoon on Fox News, host David Asman and Ann Coulter were reciting a standard litany of GOP talking points to the effect that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats being dragged down by those anti-war crazies in MoveOn. Then Asman was proceeding to the next talking point: "All right, let's talk about how all of this might be affecting the Democrats in Congress. I believe we have a poll that we can put up. Of course, it's true that George Bush's ratings are at an all-time low. But as bad as Bush's ratings are, look at Congressional ratings."
The problem is, the technical staff accidentally put up the wrong numbers — numbers showing Hillary Clinton moving into the lead over Rudy Giuliani. "Oh wait a minute, this is — this is the wrong poll," Asman blurted out. Confronted with poll data that ruined their whole thesis, Asman and Coulter simply continued asserting that the anti-war crazies were dragging down the Dems, as if nothing had happened.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is distancing himself from an under secretary's assertion that Senator Hillary Clinton's public questions about Pentagon troop withdrawal plans are aiding the enemy.
In response to our queries, the Pentagon declined to endorse the remarks made by Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman in a recent letter to Clinton.
"I have said on several occasions in recent months that I believe that congressional debate on Iraq has been constructive and appropriate," Gates said, in a statement that was emailed to Election Central by Pentagon spokesperson Karen Finn.
Gates added that he was "looking into the issues" raised by Edelman's comments in the letter and Hillary's concerns about them.
In that letter, Edelman had written: "Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia."
Edelman added that "such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks."
Edelman was responding to an earlier query by Clinton, who has been ratcheting up the pressure on the Pentagon with questions about any plans it has drawn up for troop withdrawals, should that ultimately be mandated by Congress.
Edelman's letter, which was leaked to the press yesterday and prompted a media explosion of sorts, drew a sharp reply today from Clinton, who sent a letter to Gates this morning demanding that he personally account for Edelman's remarks.
Throughout the day, we've been asking the Pentagon press office for a response to Hillary's letter and asking whether the Pentagon's official position was the same as that which was expressed in Edelman's letter.
Here's the full statement from Gates that was emailed to us:
“I have long been a staunch advocate of Congressional oversight, first at the CIA and now at the Defense Department. I have said on several occasions in recent months that I believe that congressional debate on Iraq has been constructive and appropriate. I had not seen Senator Clinton’s reply to Ambassador Edelman’s letter until today. I am looking into the issues she raised and will respond to them early next week.”
Gates' statement appears to show that he's distancing himself in a big way from Edelman, a Cheney protege, as well as from Edelman's suggestion that public discussion of troop withdrawal by Congress is helpful to the enemy.
As it happens, Hillary's people didn't know that Gates was planning to weigh in on the controversy this afternoon. When Election Central informed Clinton spokesperson Philippe Reines of Gates' comment, he replied: "We look forward to his response."
Great Moments In Fox News ... Oops. This afternoon on Fox News, host David Asman and Ann Coulter were going through the standard GOP talking points of Hillary Clinton and the Democrats being dragged down by those anti-war crazies in MoveOn. Then Asman was proceeding to the next talking point: "All right, let's talk about how all of this might be affecting the Democrats in Congress. I believe we have a poll that we can put up. Of course, it's true that George Bush's ratings are at an all-time low. But as bad as Bush's ratings are, look at Congressional ratings."
The problem is, the technical staff accidentally put up the wrong numbers — numbers showing Hillary Clinton jumping into the lead. "Oh wait a minute, this is — this is the wrong poll. This is Clinton and Giuliani," Asman blurted out. Confronted with poll data that ruined his whole thesis, Asman and Coulter simply continued on with the talking point as if nothing had happened.
CNN political analyst Bill Schneider on the TV just a few minutes ago:
"Conservatives admire Giuliani's record on terrorism, and his defiance of liberals in New York."
Hmmm...what "record on terrorism" would that be, Bill? Rudy's own official Web site bio is here. No "record on terrorism," or indeed national security experience of any kind, can be found therein. And no, the Churchillian 9/11 heroism his bio plugs doesn't constitute counter-terrorism or national security experience in any way. Sorry -- that's just reality.
If Rudy had a "record on terrorism," Bill, don't you think he'd be doing a bit more to get it out there?
And why do I have to tell you this in the first place, Bill? Aren't you a grown-up analyst for a very big and very powerful network? Shouldn't you know this sort of thing?
As Kos says, Hillary has actually taken a lead role in pushing back against O'Reilly, as has Chris Dodd, and this gives me a chance to flag what I think is one of the more interesting -- and unexpected -- developments in Dem primary politics this year.
That development is this: Little by little, it's becoming almost de rigeur for Dem primary candidates to forcefully push back against right wing media figures, on behalf of themselves and others, as a way to appeal to progressive Dem primary voters.
Needless to say, this is a very good development. It amplifies to an untold degree the critique that many of us have been pushing for some time and it generally makes life more complicated for wingnut slime merchants, who, treated regally for two long by craven network execs and others at the big news orgs, had grown accustomed to thinking of themselves as untouchable.
We've already of course seen lots of this from the John Edwards campaign, who really put this strategy on the map this cycle. We've had the early pullouts by Edwards (and subsequently the other Dems) from the Fox debates, Elizabeth Edwards aggressively targeting Ann Coulter, etc., etc. Obama early on aggressively targeted Fox News over its bogus madrassa story, winning plaudits, but the Obama campaign appears to have dialed this back somewhat.
Now, in the wake of JetBlue's cowardly decision, Hillary and Dodd are taking this route, too. Check out this petition attacking O'Reilly over on Hillary's Web site:
"TELL BILL O'REILLY: STOP SMEARING GRASSROOTS PROGRESSIVES," it blares on Hillary's site. Now that's a sign of the times if there ever was one.
Remember in 2004 when John Kerry pulled his blog's link to this site after a right-wing hissy fit? Those days are over. And this is something that must be driving the Fox News/Liebercrat crowd insane. Once upon a time, Democrats fretted when they attacked. Now, Democrats ju jitsu those attacks and strike back. Very refreshing.
CNN released a new poll today of voters in South Carolina — a state with huge strategic importance since it hosts the first southern primary along with Florida. The poll found Hillary with a big lead among Dem primary voters:
Democrats
Clinton 39%
Obama 25%
Edwards 15%
Gore 10%
And in a somewhat surprising development, Hillary seems to have solidified a solid 47%-31% lead over Obama among black voters, a group that constitutes half the state's Dem primary electorate. Blacks are a must-win for Obama, especially because among whites, Hillary has 30%, John Edwards 27%, and Obama runs third with 18%.
And on the GOP side, the pro-choice Rudy Giuliani leading with this Bible-Belt state's Republican voters, albeit with a small plurality:
Republicans
Giuliani 28%
McCain 20%
Fred Thompson 17%
"This cannot be like a horror movie. You know, in the horror movie you kill the monster, and the hand re-emerges. And if you're not looking, the hand grows back and then the monster's there again. That cannot be allowed to happen."
Rudy Giuliani, outlining his strategy for combating global terrorism in an interview with USA Today.
And the national security credentials that Rudy earned by being Mayor of New York on 9/11 are once again showcased for all the world to see.
Looks like Hillary's now trying to force the issue with the Pentagon -- she's just revealed that she will be authoring legislation, with Senator Kerry, that would force the Pentagon to brief Congress on any plans it has drawn up for pulling out of Iraq in the event that Congress mandates it.
This demand on Hillary's part to see the Pentagon's contingency plans for withdrawal -- which she first made in May -- was what sparked Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman's dismissal of her query as aiding and abetting the enemy, a story that exploded yesterday. That, in turn, led to Hillary's stinging response to Defense Secretary Gates today.
It should be noted that the GOP WINO caucus (definition of term below) isn't a club reserved exclusively for Republican Senators -- House GOPers are welcome, too!
Case in point: Chris Shays. The GOP Rep. from Connecticut has now told CNN in an interview that we should begin pulling out of Iraq...
Here's some more revealing information buried in this week's campaign finance reports:
It turns out that the top Republican presidential candidates spent way, way more on direct mail – in fact, almost twice as much -- as their Democratic counterparts this quarter.
The vast amounts the candidates spent on direct mail so early are eye-opening – yet another sign of the unusually early intensity of this contest, as well as of the huge sums of cash that are sloshing through it. Mitt Romney, the top spender, shelled out an astonishing sum, nearly $4 million on direct mail, more than half a year before the first votes will be cast.
Here's the rundown, according to FEC data, on what the top candidates spent on getting out their message the dead-tree way:
In a sign that President Bush may be beginning to stage his long-anticipated political comeback, the new New York Times/CBS poll finds that his approval rating is up two points from last month, soaring from 27% in June to 29% today.
Republicans gleefully pointed to that and several other numbers in the poll to show that their party was on the upswing. They noted that the percentage of respondents who think the country is on the right track had jumped from 19% to 22%, and that the percentage who approve of Bush's Iraq performance had soared from 23% to 25%.
"We've been going on the offensive, and it's working," chortled one GOP operative. "We've been saying for a long time that the Democrats would overplay their hand, and now we're seeing the effects of that."
Republicans also gleefully pointed out that Congress' approval was mired at a dismal 29% -- a sign, experts said, that the Democrats might be getting ahead of the public with their aggressive push for withdrawal from Iraq.
"That's the same approval level that Bush is at, but as time will show, this is much, much worse for the Democrats than it is for the GOP, because, well, it just is. Republicans are always going up, and Democrats are always going down, so 29% means something very different for the GOP than it does for the Democrats," said one oft-quoted pundit who requested anonymity because he'd wrongly offered similar predictions in the past and didn't want to risk publicly getting it wrong again.
...as you've probably figured out by now, while these numbers are the actual results in the Times poll, the above is not a real news article -- it's nothing but my own crude and heavy-handed satire. But when it comes down to it, is it really all that outlandish?
Rudy: "America Is Too Consumed With Iraq" — Should Multitask To Other Countries
Rudy Giuliani told USA Today, "I said it a long time ago … America is too consumed with Iraq." Instead, Rudy said, Americans should start thinking about other countries, as well. "We've got to be patient and committed [in Iraq], but we've got to multitask. We've got to have conversations beyond Iraq. We've got to talk about Iran — Iran is more dangerous than Iraq — and we have to get the job done in Afghanistan and in Pakistan."
Poll: Bush Approval Soars All The Way Up To 29%
That's what the new New York Times poll finds. Is it a sign of that long-awaited Bush resurgence?
Same Poll: Republicans Unpopular, Democrats Ahead — And Huge Majority Want A Timetable
Some more figures from the same New York Times/CBS show that the Republican Party is in bad shape nationally. A generic Democrat beats a generic Republican for president by a 47%-32% margin, and the GOP's favorable/unfavorable rating is at 38%-56%, compared to the Democratic Party's 52%-41% rating. Meanwhile, a decisive majority of Americans say Congress should require a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in funding bills: 61% say all funding should be blocked, 8% say no funding should be allowed at all, and only 28% say all funding should be allowed without conditions.
Obama Hits Back At Romney On Sex Ed
Barack Obama is firing back at Mitt Romney's attacks on him, over allegations by Romney that Obama supports sex education for kindergartners. Citing his own concerns as the father of two daughters, ages six and nine, Obama said, "Of course, part of the coarsening of that culture is when politicians try to demagogue issues to score cheap political points." He later added, "Certainly, what we shouldn't do is engage in hypocrisy," a possible allusion to Romney's own support of age-appropriate sex education standards when he was Governor of Massachusetts.
Romney Getting More Top Bush Donors Bloomberg News reports that Mitt Romney leads the Republican field in donations from the Bush 2000 "Rangers" and 2004 "Pioneers" who were able to raise $100,000 or more for Bush campaigns. Thus far, Pioneers and Rangers have personally donated over $600,000 to the GOP candidates, more than two thirds of it going to Romney. These figures only count their personal donations, and not any other money they might have raised and bundled for the GOP candidates.
Richardson Says To Increase Legal Immigration — Also Admits Campaign Errors
Bill Richardson, who opposed from the left the failed immigration bill, told an Iowa crowd that legal immigration has to be increased in order to address the problems associated with illegal immigration — while conceding that such a stance can cost votes. Meanwhile, Richardson has told Salon, "I admit that I don't have my shtick down. I admit that my policies are evolving," an admission of some mistakes on the campaign trail.
Fox News, GOP Announce New Hampshire Debate For September
Fox News and the New Hampshire Republican Party have announced a presidential debate to be held at the University of New Hampshire on September 5. James Pindell speculates that this debate could potentially end up being the first one to feature Fred Thompson, who may actually have announced a presidential candidacy by then.
Poll: Sununu Loses To Shaheen, Under 45% Against Other Dems Yet another poll, this time from CNN, the University of New Hampshire and WMUR-TV, shows Senator John Sununu (R-NH) losing to his 2002 opponent, former Dem Governor Jeanne Shaheen — who is not currently running, but is the subject of a draft effort by many prominent Democrats in the state. The poll has Sununu losing to Shaheen 54%-38%. Meanwhile, Sununu defeats the current field of lesser-known Democrats, but is himself unable to break out of the low 40's.
Robert Byrd: Dogfighters Are Going To Hell
In light of the federal charges against Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick, alleging that Vick cruelly trained pit bulls for fights, with the losing dogs often being killed, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) took to the Senate floor to denounce such treatment of animals. While he specified that he was not prejudging the facts of the case, Byrd made his feelings clear about the practices involved. "I am confident that the hottest places in Hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God's creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt," Byrd said passionately. Byrd is a longtime pet-lover, who several years ago delivered a moving eulogy in the Senate after his dog Billy died.
In an unusual challenge to a Defense Secretary from a sitting Senator, Hillary Clinton has just written a sharply worded letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, demanding that he personally account for a Pentagon official's assertion yesterday that Clinton's public questions about the U.S.'s troop withdrawal plans were aiding the enemy.
"I request that you describe whether Under Secretary Edelman's letter accurately characterizes your views as Secretary of Defense," Clinton wrote to Gates, in a reference to Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman's criticism of the Senator yesterday.
"I would appreciate the courtesy of a prompt response directly from you," continued Clinton in the letter, which has been obtained by Election Central.
Senator Clinton's letter, which will be mailed to Gates this morning, is a response to the news yesterday that Edelman assailed Clinton in a private letter for raising questions about troop withdrawals.
Edelman wrote: "Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia," Edelman wrote.
In her response, Clinton renewed her request for information about troop withdrawal plans, sharply questioned Edelman's assertion, and questioned whether it represented the views of Gates and the Pentagon.
"Rather than offer to brief the congressional oversight committees on this critical issue, Under Secretary Edelman – writing on your behalf – instead claims that congressional oversight emboldens our enemies," Clinton wrote. "Under Secretary Edelman has his priorities backward. Open and honest debate and congressional oversight strengthens our nation and supports our military. His suggestion to the contrary is outrageous and dangerous."
Seventy House Members To Bush: No More Money For Your War
A group of around 70 House Democrats wrote a toughly-worded letter to President Bush today informing him that they would no longer vote for funding of the troops in any form save if the money were spent exclusively on withdrawing them from Iraq. Here's what this means: A quarter of the majority party is now for cutting off funding for the troops if they're staying. This could complicate Congress' efforts to pass another war-spending bill this fall that represents anything short of a quick exit from Iraq. The full letter after the jump below. --Greg Sargent
Romney Declares War On "The Pop-Ups"
Mitt Romney is tired of his computer giving him pop-ups and recently said he is about to announce a new plan to attack the "the unrequested pornography that comes into your computer — the pop-ups." Romney has recently been on a moral values roll, releasing a new ad attacking popular culture as a "cesspool of violence, and sex, and drugs, and indolence and perversions," as well as a document highlighting where he stands on sex education for kindergartners — a political attack on Barack Obama. This most recent offensive on television and internet pornography seems to stem from the candidate's own experiences. "Type in a wrong letter and bingo, you get all sorts of stuff you didn't want," Romney said.
Durbin And Murray: We Were Not Sufficiently Informed Of Petraeus Briefing
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Democratic Caucus Secretary Patty Murray (D-WA) say their offices were not informed prominently about a briefing today by General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. Instead, they say they simply received faxes about the event, which got lost among the thousands of messages they receive from constituents. "I’m just going to write it off as poor staff work," Durbin told The Hill. "I’m not going to make it more sinister than that." Other high-ranking Dems did make the meeting, including Joe Biden and Dianne Feinstein.
Bill Defends Hillary On Women's Issues
Bill Clinton jumped to his wife's defense this morning on national television a day after a Salon.com published an interview with Elizabeth Edwards attacking Hillary's femininity. "If you look at the record on women’s issues," Clinton said, "I defy you to find anybody who has run for office in recent history whose got a longer history of working for women, for families and children than Hillary does."
Fox News: Clinton And Obama Beating Top Republicans The latest Fox News poll shows Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both enjoying leads over Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. In the closest match-up, Hillary tops McCain 45%-42%, while Obama beats Thompson 48%-32% in the widest contest. John Edwards was not tested, nor was Obama pitted against Romney.
Pelosi To Publish Memoirs In 2008
Nancy Pelosi has signed on with Doubleday to publish a political memoir — written along with a collaborator/ghost writer — detailing her political rise and historical accomplishment in becoming the first female Speaker of the House. The book will be published in the Summer of 2008.
Poll: Solid Majority Think Hillary Is Positive Role Model For Women
A new New York Times/CBS News poll shows 68 percent of Americans think Hillary Clinton is a good role model for women. There is a gender split on the numbers, with 66 percent of men and 70 percent of women agreeing to the question, but more prominently a partisan one: 9 in 10 Democrats agree, compared to 7 in 10 independents and just 4 in 10 Republicans.
McCain Camp Plots A New Rise Jonathan Martin has obtained an outline of John McCain's strategy to come back in the presidential field. The plan is to emphasize that, despite some activists' distrust of him, his long-standing conservative credentials and his overall experience and stature — qualities none of the other Republicans have so far demonstrated they hold in combination. The document also lists McCain's high-profile endorsements in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, with endorsers like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) able to mobilize their own organizations on his behalf.
Good news for national Dem strategists: Christine Jennings, a former Republican businesswoman who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Katherine Harris' open House seat in Florida, has officially announced that she will seek a rematch with freshman GOP Congressman Vern Buchanan.
National Democratic sources believe Jennings has the best of chance of any Democrat in the district, having lost to Buchanan last year by a razor-thin margin of 373 votes in a district that President Bush had carried with 56% in 2004.
Democrats widely believe that Jennings was in fact the rightful winner last year, but lost due to over 18,000 under-votes in the race from electronic voting machines in Sarasota County, where Jennings had run ahead. In fact, Jennings is still officially contesting the results in Congress.
Rudy may be running for President on the "national security credentials" he allegedly earned by being Mayor on 9/11, but a new poll finds that people think he'd do a worse job than two of his chief rivals handling our most pressing foreign policy problem: Iraq.
The new Fox News poll, released today, finds that more people (45%) think Hillary would do a better job handling the Iraq situation than think Rudy would (40%). This probably isn't terribly surprising, since Hillary says she'll do what the majority wants (end the war) while Rudy suggests he supports the policies supported by an ever-dwindling minority (continue the surge).
Interesting side note: John McCain, who's a more vocal backer of the surge, is also comfortably ahead of Rudy on this question.
Another interesting side note: When asked to choose between Hillary and Barack Obama on the same question, more people choose Hillary to do a better job handling Iraq, 35%-27%.
Oh, and President Bush's approval rating has bounced all the way up to 32%.
Update: Dickerson responds to Elizabeth Edwards right here.
This is an interesting little scuffle.
Elizabeth Edwards has just written in to Slate to slam the online mag's chief political reporter, John Dickerson, for insinuating that she and John Edwards are using her cancer in an ad for political gain.
She was responding to a Dickerson piece in Slate today bearing this intriguing subhed: "A new ad exploits the suffering of the Edwards family. But that's okay."
In the article Dickerson seems to locate something contradictory in the fact that Edwards' latest ad features Elizabeth saying: "It's unbelievably important that in our president we have someone who can stare the worst in the face and not blink."
Dickerson asks what "the worst" is a reference to, and he concludes that it falls "laughably short" to suggest that it could refer to anything from Edwards' trial lawyer career. He decides that Edwards couldn't possibly be referring to anything but her cancer, and suggests that this shows Edwards to be a phony once again:
When we see an ad with Elizabeth Edwards talking about "the worst," we're talking either in whole or in part about her cancer. So, how does this square with Edwards' statement on 60 Minutes that he doesn't want anyone to vote for him because of his wife's cancer?
Now Elizabeth has hit back at Dickerson in the comments section at Slate, saying that John did indeed see some awful things in his career as a trial lawyer -- you know, clients who'd suffered horrible accidents and injuries.
Uh, oh -- that was fast. Looks like Republican Senator Susan Collins is reapplying for membership in the GOP WINO caucus. (Definition of term below.)
Yesterday, to her credit, Collins looked as if she was preparing to ditch her fellow WINO Senators for good. Unlike all the other GOP Senators in the WINO caucus, Collins voted in favor of the Senate measure that would have allowed the Reed-Levin amendment mandating withdrawal from Iraq go to a straight up-or-down majority vote.
Only 24 hours later, however, it looks as if Collins is pining for her WINO friends and may be looking to rejoin them. How? She's rapidly backing away from her support of Reed-Levin and mandated withdrawal.
This is interesting: A new poll finds that three out of four Republicans, or 74%, think Rudy Giuliani is "acceptable" as the GOP nominee, suggesting that the fact that he's out of step with many of them on abortion, gay rights and other issues doesn't necessarily disqualify him as GOP standard-bearer in their eyes.
The new Gallup poll, interestingly, puts Rudy comfortably ahead of the rest of the GOP field on this question. Fifty-nine percent of respondents say Fred Thompson's an acceptable nominee, 57% say John McCain is acceptable, and 53% say the same about Mitt Romney. Caveats after the jump.
"That's a question for all of you to ask yourselves."
-- Edwards senior adviser Jonathan Prince, speaking on a conference call to a bunch of reporters who were asking tons of questions about the battle between Elizabeth Edwards and Hillary. Prince's answer came in response to a reporter who asked whether the wall-to-wall media focus on the Elizabeth-Hillary battle has been partly driven by sexism.
Relatedly, there's a good rundown on what happened on the conference call right here.
There's a new excuse emerging from some folks in the media to justify their continued coverage of John Edwards' $400 haircut. It goes something like this:
Even if the $400 Scissor Snip Heard 'Round the World isn't necessarily an example of Edwards' personal hypocrisy or a sign of bad political judgment, it's a valid topic because it raises questions about whether he's a bad messenger for the poverty cause. Let's call this the "bad messenger dodge."
Case in point: Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post. These two reporters sat down this week to interview Edwards in the midst of his poverty tour. Two accomplished reporters from one of the nation's top newspapers interviewed a man running for the post of most powerful person in the world. What is the news they took away from this interview? Well, check out their lede...
More Evidence Of Fred Thompson's Pro-Choice Lobbying: Billing Records The New York Times reports that billing records have been unearthed that prove Fred Thompson did lobbying work for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association in 1991 and 1992, when they were attempting to convince the George H. W. Bush administration to relax the gag rule on abortion advice from organizations receiving federal funds. Thompson charged the group a total of $5,000 in the records found thus far, for activities that included talking to leaders of the group on the phone and lobbying administration officials on their behalf. Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo, who had originally denied that Thompson worked for a pro-choice group, is now backing off somewhat: "It is not unusual for a lawyer to give counsel at the request of colleagues, even when they personally disagree with the issue."
GOP Advertising Firm Denies Links to Anonymous Smear Online Ads Justin Rood, formerly of TPMmuckraker and now working for ABC News, reports that D.C. political advertising firm Stevens, Reed, Curcio and Potholm — whose previous credits include ads for the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth In 2004 — has denied any link to a series of parody Web ads that have circulated around the Internet, in which a man driving a car makes outrageous remarks about the GOP candidates, such as "praising" Rudy Giuliani for police brutality and calling Fred Thompson's wife a transsexual. The ads have been traced back to a MySpace account belonging to an SRCP employee, Amy Bradford, and said account has now posted a message about possibly being in trouble at work — though SRCP is officially denying any involvement by Bradford, as well. The firm works for John McCain's campaign*, but even McCain is not spared: The man in the videos calls McCain a brainwashed Manchurian Candidate.
Republicans Shell Out More For Voter Lists
All the candidates have paid large amounts of money to buy lists of voters from data collection companies or even individuals with large address books, but campaign expenditure reports released this week show Republicans are investing most in the lists with Mitt Romney alone paying $1.7 million including $22,000 for a list from NewsMax.com, a conservative news site that wrote a glowing article about his wife.
Former McCain Campaign Staffer Comes Back To Campaign The Hotline reports that Christian Ferry, who a few weeks ago left his position as John McCain's eCampaign director, has come back to the campaign to serve as deputy campaign manager. Ferry also worked for McCain's 2000 campaign, and his return may be a sign of a return to stability for a campaign that has been hemorrhaging staffers in recent weeks.
Bill Clinton Criticizes Bush On Iraq
It looks like Bill Clinton is switching from neutral ex-president into campaign mode. He has now criticized President Bush's handling of the war and said there was no evidence of military or political progress. "The point is, that there is no military victory here," he said. "There is no evidence that, whether we have a good day in a particular community or region in Iraq, that we have either the political reconciliation process within the country working or any diplomatic process that's got a chance to help with the neighbors."
Brownback Attacking Romney For Marriott Hotel Porn Access
Sam Brownback's campaign has put out a press release in response to Mitt Romney's new "Ocean" ad, in which Romney took on the proliferation of sex and violence in popular entertainment. In response, the Brownback press release declares boldly, "Mitt attacks pornography despite his role with Marriott, which sold in-room smut" — Romney served as a member of the board of directors during the 1990's. The release quotes right-wing activist Phil Burress: "Mitt Romney apparently turned a blind-eye to the obscene, hard-core pornography offered in Marriott hotels. Instead, Romney and Marriott International chose to earn millions of dollars with such a morally objectionable business practice. For those who want a proven, consistent, pro-family leader in the White House, Mitt Romney is an unacceptable choice."
In Washington State, Darcy Burner To Face Democratic Primary
In Washington's Eight Congressional District, 2006 Democratic nominee Darcy Burner is set to face a primary in her second attempt to take on GOP Congressman Dave Reichert. State Senator Rodney Tom has announced that he will run, paving the way for a primary in September 2008, only about two months before the general election. "I bring legislative experience, a practical understanding of the issues facing America today, and a moderate, bipartisan approach that 8th District voters value," Tom said. "I've represented a portion of the 8th in the Legislature for five years, and I know how to win tough elections."
Fred Heads Frustrated With Their Idol's Ambiguity
Many in the movement to draft Fred Thompson for the presidential race are growing frustrated with the actor's unwillingness to make his candidacy official despite traveling the country and holding fundraisers. "The time has come," said Keith Harper, the owner of FredHeads.com who fears Thompson will lose the grassroots support unless he acts soon. "Enough with the ambiguities. Enough with those around you being more decisive than you are."
*Late Update: It has come to our attention that John McCain's campaign actually parted ways with SRCP during this past Spring.
As Promised: Our Massive Guide To What Happened In Today's Senate Showdown
As we've been promising you all day, we've finally posted our explainer on today's Senate showdown over Iraq. We've done our best to explain all the political and procedural ins and outs of what happened, as well as explain the political implications going forward. Check it out.
Hillary Camp Responds To Elizabeth Edwards' Criticism
The Hillary campaign has now officially responded to the criticism Hillary's been taking from Elizabeth Edwards. And it should be said that Camp Hillary's response was artful in its understatement. The whole fight erupted when Elizabeth questioned Hillary's record on woman's issues in a much-discussed Salon piece. The Hillary campaign's pushback? Nothing but the following video, which it has now posted at Hillary's official news site, HillaryHub.com:
Under the video at HillaryHub.com, there's only this:
Edwards Sr. Advisor: "I have worked all my life for women and families, as Hillary has."
The woman apparently is Kate Michelman, a prominent woman's rights advocate who endorsed John Edwards. We don't have time right now to dig out the full transcript of these remarks, but since this video is now the Hillary campaign's official pushback, we wanted to bring it to you. --Greg Sargent
Petraeus Goes On Right-Winger Hewitt's Talk Show
Andrew Sullivan noticed some odd behavior on the part of General David Petraeus: He went on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, where the GOP party line is the order of the day. "I think such a decision to cater to one party's propaganda outlet renders Petraeus' military independence moot. I'll wait for the transcript. But Petraeus is either willing to be used by the Republican propaganda machine or he is part of the Republican propaganda machine. I'm beginning to suspect the latter," Sullivan writes. "The only thing worse than a deeply politicized and partisan war is a deeply politicized and partisan commander. But we now know whose side Petraeus seems to be on: Cheney's. Expect spin, not truth, in September."
Novak: Senate All-Nighter On Iraq Political Plus For Dems
Robert Novak makes an interesting point in his latest column. While last night's all-night debate on Iraq did not result in 60 votes for cloture, he nevertheless sees it as a political win for Democrats for the simple reason that it involved a massive public relations push on Iraq debate — a subject inherently damaging to Republicans at this point. While the effort was never really expected to reach 60 votes, "it does meet the Democratic goal of stressing the Iraq fiasco — the principal reason the 2008 election prospects are so bleak for the Republicans," Novak says. Novak compared it to a similar all-nighter that the then 51-49 GOP majority did in 2004, over the issue of judicial confirmations, which may have helped the Republicans sweep the open Senate races in the South and knock off Tom Daschle in South Dakota, gaining a 55-45 majority.
Hillary And Obama Far Out-Pace Dem Field On Spending For Polls
Mark Blumenthal studied the FEC reports of the Democratic candidates, and found some amazing numbers: Hillary Clinton has spent $729,021 on polling, followed close behind by Barack Obama's $655,526. By comparison, John Edwards has spent a mere $33,314, behind even Bill Richardson's $95,118 and Chris Dodd's $65,000. Another fun fact: Over half of Hillary's polling costs have been incurred by Mark Penn's firm, at $421,874.
Fox News Pans Rudy Speech
Rudy Giuliani's rally in a Council Bluff, Iowa high school gym "fell fairly flat to those in attendance" and they furthermore "did not display much excitement," according to a Fox News article. The reporter also asked Giuliani about the fact that of the 75 judges he appointed while in New York, only 6 were Republicans. The piece of course begs the question if Rudy is really losing steam — certainly a legitimate possibility — or if Fox has decided to make its coverage more fair and balanced towards other Republican candidates, like Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney.
Edwards Finishes Out Poverty Tour, Revisiting RFK's Path
John Edwards finished out his three-day Road to One America Tour, visiting two sites from Bobby Kennedy's own poverty tour 40 years ago: Whitesburg and Prestonburg, Kentucky. Throughout his tour, Edwards focused on small gatherings instead of large rallies, hoping to better interact up close with people in small, impoverished towns. While he acknowledged the inspiration of RFK, Edwards preferred to avoid a direct comparison. "I do not deserve to be compared to Bobby Kennedy," Edwards told NBC News. "He is a political hero of mine, but the reason I'm here is because I want America to remember what he did decades ago, and I want America to join us, all of us, to end the great work that Bobby Kennedy started."
Centrist Dem Senators Supporting New "Mod Squad" PAC
A group of former Senate staffers for centrist Democrats are forming a new PAC, legally called The Moderate Democrats PAC but nicknamed the "Mod Squad," to aid moderate Democratic Senate incumbents and candidates. Roll Call reports that a fundraiser is being held tonight, headlined by Senators Max Baucus (MT), Tom Carper (DE), Blanche Lincoln (AR) and Mark Pryor (AR). "In general terms, the way the fundraising world is geared right now, you do very well if you are firmly to the left or firmly to the right," said Pryor. "But if you are in the middle it can be much harder to raise funds for your election or re-election."
Judicial Watch Suing For Hillary Clinton Documents
Judicial Watch, the anti-Clinton litigation group of the 1990's that morphed into a watchdog group policing both parties in the 2000's, is back to taking on their old target. The group is now suing for access to documents from Hillary Clinton's time as first lady, which are currently sealed by the National Archives and Records Administration and the Clinton Presidential Library. "With Hillary Clinton aggressively pursuing the presidency, uncovering the truth about her activities in the White House is just as relevant today as it was during the Clinton era," said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.
So Harry Reid (D-NV) withdrew the defense authorization bill this morning after the Democrats weren't able to break the GOP filibuster.
The indignation spilled out across the aisle, with Republicans bemoaning Reid's all-night session as a political stunt, and Democrats warning the GOP that they'll pay a hefty political price for their obstruction.
But the whole mess remains complex. What actually just happened? What are the procedural and political nuances? What comes next for the Dems? Does yanking the Defense authorization bill have a prayer of forcing Republicans to stop blocking redeployment? Is this a political winner or loser for Dems in the long run?
To answer those questions, Election Central has put together a massive guide to what happened today that we hope will prove useful as a road map for following the debate as it unfolds over the coming weeks.
Did you know that Barack Obama's campaign subscribes to National Review but not The Nation?
And did you know that John Edwards' campaign shelled out $4,000 for a subscription to Congressional Quarterly despite his not being in Congress anymore (perhaps he's doing research on the candidates that are...)?
These amusing little facts are buried in the candidates' campaign expenditure reports. One interesting thing you can glean from them is learning which magazines and newspapers the campaigns subscribe to – in other words, what their reading lists are and what they spend on media consumption.
So we dug through the candidates' reports to figure out exactly what they are reading, and how much it's costing them. Some surprises:
Obama staffers appear to have the most eclectic and broad taste in publications, including The American Prospect, Foreign Affairs and Sojourners – in addition to about 11 daily newspapers.
Ron Paul, whose bank account pales in comparison to the major candidates, is shelling out an exorbitant $1,200 a year to an obscure publication called F.R.E.E., which is an astonishingly difficult thing to search for on Google given how many sites promote themselves with free offers.
Judging by the candidates' huge Lexis Nexis bills, they are doing a ton of oppo-research on each other. Hillary Clinton had the highest Nexis bill at $9,840, edging out Mitt Romney's $9,300. Joe Biden had the lowest with $503.22.
We have a full list of all the periodicals and other media materials after the jump. Enjoy!
Robert Novak makes an interesting point in his latest column. While last night's all-night debate on Iraq did not result in 60 votes for cloture, he nevertheless sees it as a political win for Democrats for the simple reason that it involved a massive public relations push on Iraq debate — a subject inherently damaging to Republicans at this point. While the effort was never really expected to reach 60 votes, "it does meet the Democratic goal of stressing the Iraq fiasco — the principal reason the 2008 election prospects are so bleak for the Republicans," Novak says.
From the column:
The gesture appeared an empty stunt, but that would be a misreading. A laser-like focus on the Iraq War remains the best strategy Democrats have for expanding their Senate majority in 2008. This is the equivalent of the Republicans' all-nighter over judges in 2004. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was out appealing for funds with an e-mail to supporters: "put on a pot of coffee."
Recall that the GOP's drive on judges in 2004 was a massive success. Thanks in part to their relentless pushes on the issue, with a similar all-night Senate session as Novak noted, Republicans swept the open Senate races in the South, and even defeated then-Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota. Will the Dems enjoy a similar windfall in 2008 for Republican obstruction on Iraq?
“I’m not going to talk about my campaign anymore. I’m finished with talking about it. I’ve talked about it for two weeks. I will not discuss it or any aspect of it. Thank you.”
-- John McCain, quoted by CNN losing his cool today with a reporter who asked yet again about his tanking campaign. Of course, that long and sleepless night in the Senate may have left him a bit more thin-skinned than usual...
File this in the "be careful what you wish for" department.
Bill O'Reilly is taking Hillary to task because she's agreed to appear with the leftie extremists and terrorist sympathizers who will populate the YearlyKos convention. O'Reilly has asked Hillary for comment on this.
Now Hillary spokesperson Howard Wolfson has obliged. Via Ben Smith, Wolfson has hit back at O'Reilly, defending YearlyKos by pointing out that O'Reilly is the one who harbors extremists, hosting Michael Savage, Ann Coulter and David Horowitz on his show.
By way of context, it's worth noting that Camp Hillary is going to great lengths to repair relations with the liberal blogosphere, rolling out Joe Wilson on the liberal blogs, agreeing to appear at YearlyKos, etc., etc. Now comes Wolfson's defense of Kos, which is certainly not the sort of thing your typical Beltway consultant would ordinarily recommend.
