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February 29, 2008

Obama Answers Clinton's Ad with his Own "Ringing"

Well that didn't take long.

Sen. Barack Obama answered Hillary Clinton's "Children" ad (which featured a ringing phone in the White House, shots of children sleeping and a voice-over saying that something was happening in the world and who did you want to answer the phone - in this case Hillary ... see earlier today in the blog) with an ad of his own featuring sleeping children (in fact, they look a lot like the sleeping kids from the first ad), a ringing phone and a new answer to the question of who should answer the phone.

Here it is:

Senior White House Aide Admits Plagiarism

A senior White House aide, who worked closely with Karl Rove and was President Bush's chief liaison to religious groups, has admitted to plagiarizing a column that he wrote for his hometown newspaper, the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel. The Associated Press reports that 20 of the columns Timothy Goeglein wrote for the paper contained plagiarized material, most recently from a Dartmouth Review piece written by Jeffery Hart on education.

The plagiarism was reported by a blogger, Nancy Nall, a former News-Sentinel columnist.

Goeglein agreed that what he did was wrong and resigned his job as deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison.

For his part, Hart seemed quite unperturbed. He said he received Hart apology via e-mail on Thursday.

"I told him I was flattered he'd used it. It doesn't damage him in my estimation at all. I'm glad he spread the word," he told CNN. "If it came in an academic context, it'd have to be dealt with," he said, but he feels this situation is different. "I think stuff flies around on the Web, in journalism and so on."

Obama Ad Strategy Heavy on Web Use

If you want to know what a few extra million here and there can do for a presidential campaign, then it is educational to look at how Sen. Barack Obama is using the Web to reach his audience in Texas and Ohio compared to Sen. Hillary Clinton.

techPresident reports that Obama's campaign in running "huge video-enabled billboard ads" on four Ohio sites as well as 12 in Texas, along with several newspaper sites in both states.

Like some other display and video-enabled ads placed by '08 presidential campaigns thus far, the new Obama ads serve a dual purpose of persuasion and direct response. In this case, embedded TV spots mentioning issues like healthcare, the war in Iraq and middle class tax cuts act as persuasion tools while a big, red "Go" button takes users to a form to find the nearest place to vote early. Both Texas and Ohio allow voters to cast their ballots before primary day at locales like the county clerk's office.

Clinton, however, "doesn't seem to be running Web display ads at all" according to techPresident.

There could be two reasons for this development: The Clinton campaign is being careful with its money, hoping that they'll need to spend it fighting for more delegates after March 4; the Clinton camp recognizes that is primarily a younger audience on the Web that has already largely gone to Obama - buying web ads could be seen as throwing good money after bad.

5:30 PM ET | 02-29-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

McCain Has His Own "Pastor Problems"

There has been a fair bit of ink spilled (and 1s and 0s digitally written) about the relationship that Sen. Barack Obama has with the controversial pastor of his church, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

But it turns out that Obama may not be the only one with a connection to a controversial religious leader. It turns out that Pastor James Hagee, who gave his endorsement to Sen. John McCain on Wednesday, has made some statements that already have several groups calling for McCain to distance himself from the religious leader.

One of those groups is the Catholic Church. As CBS News' Dante Higgins writes, church leaders want McCain to "distance himself from Hagee over anti-Catholic comments he has made about Catholics.

The always on-guard head of The Catholic League Bill Donovan (who has made a few questionable cross-faith comments himself, particularly about Jews) said, ""There are plenty of staunch evangelical leaders who are pro-Israel, but are not anti-Catholic. John Hagee is not one of them. Indeed, for the past few decades, he has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it 'The Great Whore,' an 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ,' and a 'false cult system.' "

In an interview with Terri Gross on Fresh Air in 2006. Hagge said " ... those who live by the Koran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews."

In the same interview he also said "All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally, that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it would was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other gay pride parades."

McCain started to backtrack a bit Friday, saying that he was "very proud of the Pastor John Hagee's spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel" but that it "does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues."

As the The New Republic's Dayo Olopade writes, "not a rejection or denouncement in sight."

Update: NPR's Scott Horsley sends along more of the statement Sen. McCain made this afternoon about Pastor Hagee: ""I am hopeful that Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith who share my vision for the future of America will respond to our message of defending innocent life, traditional marriage, and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society."

Does Experience Matter in a President?

"Experience never exists in isolation; it is always a factor that coexists with temperament, training, background, spiritual outlook and a host of other factors ... Character is your magic word, it seems to me -- not just what they've done but how they've done it and what they've learned from doing it."

That's a quote from presidential historian Richard Norton Smith taken from one of a pair of articles in Time magazine about experience and just how much of it you really need to be a good president.

In a piece entitled "The Science of Experience," writer John Cloud says it is generally accepted that it takes about ten years for a person to learn to become an "expert" in any particular field. But "while 10 years is a necessary minimum to achieve expertise in most fields, it doesn't guarantee success. As Anders Ericsson writes in the introduction to the 901-page Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (2006), 'The number of years of experience in a domain is a poor predictor of attained performance.' "

Ericsson's primary finding is that rather than mere experience or even raw talent, it is dedicated, slogging, generally solitary exertion -- repeatedly practicing the most difficult physical tasks for an athlete, repeatedly performing new and highly intricate computations for a mathematician -- that leads to first-rate performance. And it should never get easier; if it does, you are coasting, not improving.

Is the same true for presidents? In his article on presidents and experience, David Von Dredle points out that some of the men considered among the greatest presidents, such as Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, had far less experience then their rivals. But Ronald Reagan and FDR both had valuable experience as governors of large states.

He quotes Jim Baker, the former Secretary of State, who found that experience was a problem when he ran George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1980, but it was exactly what was needed to help him win in 1988: "... there's no such thing as presidential experience outside of the office itself." The quality we ought to seek, says Baker, "is leadership."

Obama Widening Lead in Texas, Catching up in Ohio

New Reuters/C-Span/Houston Chronicle polls show Illinois Sen. Barack Obama with a widening lead in Texas and that he has closed the gap between himself and Sen. Hillary Clinton in Ohio.

The poll shows Obama with 48 percent while Clinton has 42 percent. Obama is also strong in the Dallas and Houston areas, which will send a larger portion of delegates to the Democratic convention than the rural areas where Clinton is strong.

"Obama has built a six-point lead over Clinton in Texas, largely on the strength of support from what has come to be his base -- younger voters and men. Evidence of his persuasive powers comes from the fact that most of those who have most recently decided for whom to support, while Clinton won more support from early deciders."

Meanwhile in Ohio, Clinton has a two-point lead, 44 percent to 42 percent. Pollster John Zogby writes that "... the most telling numbers are those among early deciders vs. late deciders. Among those who made up their minds 'more than a month ago,' Clinton leads 63% to 37%. Obama leads but margins as big among those who made up their minds less than a month ago, a week ago, and within the past few days. In the same vein, Clinton leads by 6 among those who have already voted."

The Democratic Party surveys in Ohio included 708 likely voters, while the Texas survey of Democrats included 704 likely voters. Both surveys were conducted Feb. 26-28, 2008, and carry margins of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.

Update: Several other new polls out today. The American Research Group found that in Texas, Obama leads 51 percent to 44 percent, while in Ohio Clinton leads 50 to 45.

A Rasmussen Reports Survey of Ohio has Clinton with a 47 percent to 45 percent lead - making it a statistical tie.

Kenyan Elders Want Clinton to Pay Up in Cattle

It appears that the photo which appeared on the Web the other day of Barack Obama in traditional Somali grab has angered some Kenyan elders.

Reuters reports that they may impose a fine on U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, payable in livestock, after a photo of Obama in robes "dragged their people" into the race for the White House. The picture was taken during Sen. Obama's 2006 visit to Wajir in Kenya's remote northeast.

The dispute has angered many in Kenya, especially ethnic Somalis from the northeast, who resent the implication that Obama did anything wrong during his visit.... Mohamed Ibrahim, who attended one of two crisis meetings held in Wajir on Thursday by clan members who hosted Obama on his trip, said Washington must immediately make amends to them and especially to the elder pictured with him.

Wajir elders resolved to file an official complaint with the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, dropping earlier plans to hold a protest after Friday prayers. They said they would also convene a traditional Somali court to investigate the matter. It can impose fines that are payable in cattle, goats or camels.

"We will go ahead with this case whether Senator Clinton or Democratic party leaders turn up or not," said Ibrahim. "But this whole thing can be avoided if only an apology is made."

The other man in the photo with Obama was retired chief Sheikh Mohamed Hassan, a senior elder, who was due "great respect" community leaders say. If there was no apology, the elders will also ask that U.S. troops stationed near Garissa town be expelled.

The Clinton campaign has now denied having anything to do with the photo appearing on the Drudge Report website.

Clinton's "Children" Ad Her Most "Provocative Yet"

Critics are calling Sen. Hillary Clinton's "Children" ad her most provocative yet, that will bring comparisons to LBJ's "Daisy" ad and Walter Mondale's "Red Phone."

The ad, which is below (along with the "Daisy" and "Red Phone" ads), features a montage of sleeping children while a voice-over says "It's 3 a.m., and a phone is ringing in the White House. Something is happening in the world. Who do you want answering that phone ... On March 4th, your vote will decide who will be in the White House to pick up the phone when it rings at 3 AM."

It's part of the Clinton campaign's argument that Sen. Barack Obama doesn't have the experience to take that call when it comes in. Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic believes that "Arguably, this is her best ... argument .. against Barack Obama, and yet it's taken her 13 months to make it so explicitly."

For his part, Obama told a rally this morning in Texas that he's seen ads like this before. And he added, "It's not about picking up that phone, it's the judgment you show when you pick up that phone." He said that there has been one "red phone" moment recently - the decision to invade Iraq. It's a test, he says, that Clinton, President Bush and John McCain have failed.

Here is LBJ's "Daisy" ad.

And Mondale's '84 Red Phone ad against his Democratic rival Sen. Gary Hart, first aired before the Illinois primary that year and lots after that date. (Very similar to Clinton ad in substance.) And Politico.com reports that Roy Spence, the man who created the "Red Phone" ad, is now supervising Hillary's ad strategy.

Update: Producer Evie Stone also suggest the 2004 Bush-Cheney "Wolves" ad along the same vein.

Texas Officials Say Clinton Aides Threatened Lawsuits

Officials of the Democratic Party in Texas say that aides to Sen. Hillary Clinton threatened to sue the party over its complicated delegate selection process. As a result, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, the party warned the campaigns Thursday that the election scheduled for next Tuesday night could be delayed or disrupted as a result.

"In a letter sent out late Thursday to both the Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns, Texas Democratic Party lawyer Chad Dunn warned a lawsuit could ruin the Democrats' effort to re-energize voters just as they are turning out in record numbers. ..."

"It has been brought to my attention that one or both of your campaigns may already be planning or intending to pursue litigation against the Texas Democratic Party,'' Dunn wrote in the letter, obtained by the paper. "Such action could prove to be a tragedy for a reinvigorated Democratic process.''

Spokesmen for both campaigns said they had no plans to sue before the March 4 primary.

Democratic sources quoted in the article said both camps had concerns over the delegate selection process -- which includes both a popular vote and evening caucuses. But they said the Clinton campaign in particular had threatened legal action.

"Officials from Sen. Clinton's campaign at several times throughout the call raised the specter of 'challenging the process,' an official said. "The call consisted of representatives from both campaigns and the Democratic Party.''

A Clinton spokesperson said that they were only trying to see what they were agreeing to "in writing" before they agreed to it.

Texas has 228 delegates. Only 126 delegates are assigned based on how people vote at the ballot box. Another 67 delegates are apportioned based on the number of people who participate in the caucuses that begin in over 8,000 precincts once the polls close at 7 p.m. Only those voters who can prove they voted in the primaries can participate in the caucus. (The remaining 35 are so-called "superdelegates'.")

Update: Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic.com expands a bit on the article in the Fort Worth Telegram. He writes that he spoke to Guy Cecil, the national political director for the Clinton campaign, and asked if he had "forcefully" raised the prospect of a legal battle.

"Absolutely not. There was no threat, 'direct or veiled' to engage in litigation. We asked that the results of the call be put in writing," he said.

Ambinder thinks that the "the campaign is worried about what happens when the voting stops and the caucus starts and believes that the Texas Democratic Party isn't prepared to run the caucuses competently."

Top Clinton Aides Finger Point in Public

In what was otherwise a good day for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign -- campaign officials announced she has raised $35 million in February, her best monthly total to date -- the shine was taken off a bit by the public squabbling of two of her top campaign aides.

The New York Daily News reports that "The blame game between chief strategist Mark Penn and her top political svengali, Harold Ickes, has burst into the open as Clinton's poll numbers plunge."

The paper reports that Penn, trying to avoid being faulted for the campaign spending so much money and still being behind, told the New York Observer that ""Every single expenditure is reviewed and approved by the campaign, by Harold Ickes and his team, one by one. I have absolutely no budget authority or any administrative control."

For his part Ickes said Penn was the person the most in charge of the campaign to date.

"Besides Hillary Clinton, he is the single most responsible person for this campaign," Ickes told the paper, adding, "He has called the shots."

When reached last night by the News, Penn was conciliatory.

"All I can say is that we are a strong team working together, and we believe we will be successful," he said

February 28, 2008

Using Barack Obama's Middle Name

Using Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein, sounds "like a rallying cry for bigots."

No, that didn't come from anyone in the Barack Obama camp. Nor did it come from any liberal pundit defending him. It actually came from someone many liberals consider akin to Darth Vader - Karl Rove.

"According to an online report by Marc Ambinder, associate editor of the Atlantic, Rove cautioned a private gathering of Republican state executive directors last month that 'Barack Hussein Obama' would sound like a rallying cry for bigots." (He also said it "would perpetuate the notion that Republicans were bigoted and would hurt the party.')

But as Eric Zorn of The Chicago Tribune's "Change of Subject" blog writes, there are still some conservatives who seem determined to use his middle name. Bill Cunningham we know about. But Anne Coulter goes even farther, saying that she likes to call him B. Hussein Obama because she thinks it's "funny."

But Zorn points out one man who didn't use Obama's middle name, even while he threw everything else in the book at him - Alan Keyes, Obama's opponent in his 2004 Senate battle in Illinois.

Keyes, the banty Republican imported from Maryland to heap invective on Obama, seemed to have few limits. He called his opponent a "hard-line Marxist" and a supporter of infanticide. He said Obama was "absolutely determined to make the world safe for criminals" and openly doubted Obama's Christian faith. But he never publicly snarled the words "Barack Hussein Obama."
"We warned him away from using the middle name," replied Bill Pascoe, Keyes' former campaign manager, when I checked with him to see if my colleagues and I had missed something when coming up empty after plumbing our memories and the news archives. Pascoe told me he and former top Keyes consultant Dan Proft had steered him away with the admonishment that such a gambit would be "rude, uncivil, needlessly provocative and incendiary."

Clinton Fund Raising Rebounds in February

Hillary Clinton might be in trouble in the presidential race, but she's seems to be doing OK at the fund raising game.

NPR's David Greene confirmed earlier today that the Clinton camp has brought in $35 million so far in February. The Associated Press describes it as a remarkable recovery for her campaign after a weak January. And most of the money can be used in the presidential primaries, which is where she needed it most. (Clinton also had another $20 million on hand that can only be used in a general election.)

The money came from 300,000 donors, including 200,000 new donors, most of which came from the Internet

But ...

It's probably quite a bit behind what Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has raised this month. Although they wouldn't give out any figures, Obama spokesman Bill Burton did say "We've raised considerably more than that."

Several reports have speculated that the Obama campaign will come close to, or even surpass $50 million.

AP add that "That would make February an astounding fundraising month for the Democrats. At that rate, both candidates would break records for contestants in a primary fight."

Obama Talks and The Media Records

Sen. Barack Obama talks on his campaign plane.

Don Gonyea

NPR's Don Gonyea sends along this photo from Sen. Barack Obama's campaign plane on its way to Beaumont, Texas. It rather nicely illustrates how the media really do hang on presidential candidates' every word. (In particular, notice the hand that has not one, but two digital recorders in front of the senator.)

Update: Don sent along an e-mail with details:

He was asked about whether Hillary Clinton's obituary has been written prematurely.
He responded that all he has to do "is remember New Hampshire."

He said both she and President Clinton are working "tirelessly."

He criticized President Bush for saying the US is not in a recession.

And he urged greater NATO support for Afghanistan, especially boots on the ground.

Obama took questions for about 15 minutes. Getting back to his seat moments before touchdown in Beaumont.

An airplane is not the best place for a a press conference. The audio is terrible because of the drone of the jet engines. The noise also makes it hard to hear him, even if you're as little as 6 feet away.

McCain: Being Born in Canal Zone Won't Stop Campaign

John McCain wasn't born on U.S. soil. But the GOP frontrunner says he's confident that won't disqualify him from the presidency.

McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Navy. Both his parents were U.S. citizens. McCain says he's certain that will meet the constitutional test that the President be a "natural born citizen."

Just in case, his campaign has asked former Solicitor General Ted Olson to research the issue. McCain says his staff also looked into the matter during his unsuccessful campaign in 2000.

Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater encountered the same question when he ran for President in 1964. Goldwater had been born in 1909, before Arizona achieved statehood. It was Lyndon Johnson's landslide, though, not any constitutional prohibition, that kept Goldwater out of the White House.

McCain often jokes about the unsuccessful string of White House hopefuls from Arizona, including Goldwater, Mo Udall, Bruce Babbitt, and himself. He says he hopes to end the losing streak so Arizona parents can once again tell their children with a straight face they can grow up to be President.

-- Scott Horsley

Update: Actually, our own Ken Rudin dealt with this issue in 1998 when he was doing Political Junkie for the Washington Post. This is a good explanation as to why Sen. McCain has no worries about his eligibility for the presidency.

Baker Endorses McCain, Lewis Switches to Obama

The endorsements are coming fast and furious as both parties near the finish line - with the GOP line being a little more in sight than the Democratic one.

Evangelical preacher Jim Hagge of San Antonio, Texas already announced his support for John McCain today. Now NPR's Scott Horsley reports that former Secretary of State Jim Baker has given the Arizona senator the thumbs up. Baker called McCain a "principled pragmatist," who supports conservative goals but who's willing to make tradeoffs in order to get things done.

Those tradeoffs have sometimes worried conservative Republicans who see McCain as too compromising. But then Baker invoked the ultimate comparison in conservative circles - he compared McCain favorable to former President Ronald Reagan.

"Nobody ever accused the Gipper of being squishy. But he also knew how to bridge the divide and reach across the aisle and get things done. At the end of the day, Ronald Reagan found solutions that worked, even if they sometimes, occasionally, failed the rigid tests of the purists."

Meanwhile, the other shoe dropped for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Earlier this month, Rep. John Lewis -- an influential leader in the black caucus in Congress, a long time civil rights leader and a Clinton supporter -- said he was going to cast his superdelegate vote for Sen. Barack Obama in order to reflect the wishes of his constituents.

But Wednesday, he actually announced he was leaving the Clinton camp and moving over to Obama.

Then again, he might have been a little pressured. Last month the Atlanta Journal-Constution's political blog reprinted the transcript of a "robo-call" telling constituents of Lewis's district to call him and to switch his support to Obama. The Obama camp denied making the calls at the time and said it would ask Attorney General Thurbert Baker to investigate.

McCain, Paxson Clashed Over Sale of UHF Airwaves

Scott Woolley of Forbes.com offers a revealing look at the relationship between Sen. John McCain and the head of Paxson Communications, Lowell "Bud" Paxson.

Woolley writes that several facts are well known at this point in time: "Paxson let McCain fly on his corporate jet four times and gave him numerous campaign contributions. In 1999, McCain helped Paxson by writing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking regulators to limit delays and rule on Paxson's pending application to buy a Pittsburgh television station."

But the Pittsburgh station, Lowell writes, would have only given Paxon one more station - he already had 73. A far more important issue to Paxson was the right to be able to sell his UHF airwaves - which could have brought Paxon billions of dollars. And McCain, as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, was in a position to help Paxson win--or lose--billions."

"During the six-year-long fight that followed, McCain never wavered from his opposition to the legislation Paxson pushed, which would have diverted those billions into his company's coffers and away from the U.S. Treasury. Whether McCain did any other, smaller favors for Paxson is a question that will draw new attention as the campaign heats up. But, at least on the issue of most consequence, the two strong-willed men were implacable foes."

McCain fought legislation that would allow Paxson and the other broadcasters who owned UHF airwaves to sell those airwaves to cell phone companies and others. In fact, McCain argued to do so was dangerous - on 9/11 in 2001 and during Hurricane Katrina, wireless communications for first responders didn't work as well as needed. The 9/11 commission recommended that "Congress should support pending legislation which provides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes."

Finally, at the end of 2005, McCain and his allies succeeded in setting a hard deadline to clear the broadcasters off UHF Channels 52-69. All the money from the sales of these channels will not go to Paxon and the other broadcasters, but into federal government coffers instead.

If you want to know what that meant for Paxson, writes Woolley in conclusion, Paxon stock was worth $10.75 in the mid-90s.

"By November 2005, just before he finally resigned from his company, those same shares had fallen to 37 cents. Last week, the once mighty Paxson Communications, now renamed Ion Media Networks, was delisted from the American Stock Exchange and sold off to Kenneth Griffin's Citadel Investment Group."

Bloomberg Finally Ends Presidential Speculation

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has finally ended speculation that he will run as an independent in the 2008 presidential election -- speculation that began the day he left the Republican Party to become an independent last June

Saying he'd "listened carefully" to those who'd encouraged him, Bloomberg wrote in The New York Times that he absolutely, positively will not run for president in 2008.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg answers questions during a press conference after addressing staff members of The World Bank on issues of urbanization in the Preston Auditorium of The World Bank building February 21, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

But while he said he wouldn't be a candidate, he still argued that the right independent could still win.

"I believe that an independent approach to these issues is essential to governing our nation -- and that an independent can win the presidency. I listened carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not -- and will not be -- a candidate for president. I have watched this campaign unfold, and I am hopeful that the current campaigns can rise to the challenge by offering truly independent leadership. The most productive role that I can serve is to push them forward, by using the means at my disposal to promote a real and honest debate."

Finally, he says that he will not sit on the sidelines because what is happening in 2008 is too important to the country and that if a candidate with "an independent, nonpartisan approach -- and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy," he would support that candidate.

Columnist Argues the Farrakhan Litmus Test Must Go

Marjorie Valbrun, a columnist for TheRoot.com, remembers when Louis Farrakhan gave a first controversial speech at Madison Square Garden in the fall if 1985. The media sought out every black prominent political leader they could find and asked if they would denounce him. Valbrun said "something was wrong with this picture."

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan listens to the applause of the crowd before delivering the keynote address at the Nation of Islam's Saviour's Day convention February 25, 2007 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The title of the speech was 'One Nation Under God: The Confusion, the Guidance, the Warning.'

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

"Bullying black leaders to represent the entire black race and to speak and think as one, while also treating every loud-mouthed, controversial black leader as if they represent the opinions, political views and personal aspirations of every black American, seemed to me to be a journalistic and political double-standard that was rarely, if ever, applied to white leaders and politicians."

And 23 years later, she argues, things haven't changed much, as witnessed in the exchange Tuesday night between NBC debate moderator Tim Russert and Sen. Barack Obama over remarks made by Farrakhan in support of Obama. (As Valbrun correctly points out, Farrakhan did not officially endorse Obama -- in fact, he specifically said he didn't want to say anything that would hurt Obama, understanding how his remarks would be used -- but said Obama was the "hope of the entire world that America will change.")

"Why is it that only after they repudiate Farrakhan are they then deemed not to be closet black militants?," she writes. Neither Farrakhan ("Most blacks in this country could give two hoots what the man says or thinks"), nor Al Sharpton nor Jesse Jackson have the influence over black Americans that white Americans think they do.

And she says that white politicians are not held to the same standard. For instance, when talk show host Don Imus made racist remarks about the black female basketball players at Rutgers University.

"Reporters did not run out in droves to ask white politicians to reject Don Imus after he made his remarks about the black female basketball players at Rutgers University. White politicians did not eagerly line up to do so. Nor did they repudiate fellow white politicians who did not. A few, and only a few, said they would no longer go on the Imus show. (Tim Russert, who appeared often on the Imus show, was not among those who said they would no longer be a guest.)"

Valbrun says considering that it's been 23 years, and that very few black Americans look to Farrakhan for "direction on how to vote," it's time to put "put the Farrakhan litmus test to rest -- for good."

McCain Picks Up Important Conservative Endorsement

Conservative talk-show host Bill Cunningham told Robert Siegel on All Things Considered Wednesday that he no longer considered himself a John McCain supporter, but would now support Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton. (Cunningham was furious with McCain for apologizing for remarks Cunningham made at an Ohio rally -- including calling Barack Obama a "hack, Chicago-style Daley politician" and constantly referring to him as Barack Hussein Obama.)

But there are apparently still some prominent conservatives who want to back McCain.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports that McCain won the support yesterday of Texas evangelist John Hagee. Hagee leads a megachurch in San Antonio, and founded the organization Christians United for Israel.

Hagee is a leader in the Christian Zionist movement, who predicted a showdown between Israel and Iran in his 2006 book Jerusalem Countdown. He's also written extensively about Armageddon, but says that's not behind his backing of Israel or Senator McCain.

"Our support of Israel has absolutely nothing to do with an end times prophetic scenario. Our support of Israel is because we feel their cause is just. They are a democracy in the middle east that deserves the support of America and the Christian people of America."

McCain, who has had trouble winning the support of evangelicals, said he was grateful for Hagee's support.

February 27, 2008

Columnist: Obama's Speeches "Empty Rhetoric"

When Illinois Senator Barack Obama talks about change and hope and bringing America together, he often brings the usually large crowds at his campaign events to their feet. But after listening to Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist talk to Day to Day's Madeleine Brand about Obama, you rather get the feeling that Rachman would just sit on his hands.

Rachman told Brand today that he thinks that Obama's speeches are overrated and mostly filled with empty rhetoric.

He's even more blunt in his latest FT column. He writes that he finds himself strangely unmoved by Obama's speeches.

"[Obama] sounds to me like a man doing an impression of what he thinks a great speech might be like. It is the kind of empty exhortation that usually gives politicians a bad name. Peter Sellers, a British comedian of the 1960s, caught the genre nicely in a parody speech: 'Let us assume a bold thrust and go forward together. Let us carry the fight against ignorance to the four corners of the earth, because it is a fight that concerns us all.' Mr Obama might easily give a speech like that -- although he would probably strip out some of the detail."

Rachman says the difference between Obama and great speakers like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Winston Churchill, or John F. Kennedy is that they were "truly challenging their audiences." But he also argues that Obama's disturbing vagueness might be part of a deliberate political strategy. "And it makes sense," he writes. "The more a candidate gets stuck into the detail, the more likely he is to bore or antagonize voters. Appealing to people's emotions is less dangerous and more effective."

He notes this is why the Clinton campaign has to be careful when it "sniffs" that just because Obama gives great speeches that doesn't mean he'll be a great president.

"I would reverse that. Just because Mr Obama gives lousy, empty speeches, it does not mean that he will be a lousy, empty president."

Nader Wasn't Just Strong in Florida in 2000

In this week's Political Junkie column, Ken Rudin takes a look at Ralph Nader's newly announced presidential campaign. He writes about how upset Democrats are with Nader, particularly their belief that he cost Al Gore the 2000 presidential election - Nader polled more than 97,000 in Florida, a state George Bush eventually won by only 537 votes.

But as Ken points out, it wasn't just in Florida where Nader performed well.

But Florida 2000 will always be part of his legacy. The truth is, the 97,000-plus votes he got there represented just 1.6 percent of the total. He drew far larger percentages that year in Alaska (10.1 percent), Vermont (6.9), Massachusetts (6.4) and Rhode Island (6.1). In six states - Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, as well as the District of Columbia - he exceeded 5 percent of the vote. But it's Florida, with its chads, butterflies and Katherine Harris, that will always be a reminder of "what if." As David Ogden of Walnut Creek, Calif., writes, "If there's one person responsible for the Bush mess (other than Bush himself), it's Nader."
Then again, Brian Conner of Boston writes, "Every time I pick up a newspaper there's another reason why Al Gore lost. It was his inability to win Tennessee or Arkansas. It was the gun lobby. It was Ralph Nader. It was Bill Clinton's moral failures. The truth is, Al Gore lost in 2000 because he stunk as a candidate. He's the reason why we have George W. Bush."

As Ken notes, the Democrats worked hard to keep Nader off as many ballots as they could in 2004 - he only was able to run in 34 states. And he can probably expect a similar effort this time out as well.

New Poll Shows Obama Leading in Texas

A new Survey USA poll of Texas voters shows that Senator Barack Obama has pulled into a slight lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton. According to the group's poll of 2000 Texans from Feb. 23 to 25, Obama now leads 49 percent to 45 percent. A week ago Clinton led a Survey USA poll of Texas 50 to 45.

But it's the pollster's breakdown of how the vote is changing within the various demographics in the state that is so fascinating:

SurveyUSA's interactive tracking graphs, a SurveyUSA exclusive, allow you to see the movement within the critical demographic subpopulations. Among Hispanic voters, Clinton led by 33 points last week, leads by 13 points today. Among women, Clinton had led by 27, now by 11. Among voters younger than Barack Obama, Obama had led by 6, now by 22. In North Texas (which includes Dallas and Fort Worth), Clinton had led by 2, now trails by 19. In East Texas (which includes Houston), Obama had led by 5, now leads by 18. Among registered Democrats, Clinton had led by 14, now by 2. Among voters focused on the Economy, Clinton had led by 5, now trails by 11. Among those who attend religious services regularly, Clinton had led by 7, now trails by 15. Among Pro-Life voters, Clinton had led by 1, now trails by 14. Among seniors, Liberals, voters in Central Texas, South Texas and West Texas, Clinton's support is holding.

But there are hints in the data that Clinton can still win. The pollsters determined that about 25 percent of the people they surveyed had already voted (Texas allows residents to vote before election day.) Of that 25 percent, 51 percent voted for Clinton while 46 percent voted for Obama.

Anchorage Mayor to Run Against Sen. Stevens

It's been a tough year for Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens. Last July, the FBI raided one of his homes as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation into ties between Alaska politicians and the oil services giant VECO. Stevens has refuted the charge.

The Anchorage Daily News has also reported that "The government is also investigating the extensive connections between Ted Stevens, his son Ben Stevens, who is a former Alaska Senate president, and Alaska and Seattle fishing companies, according to other subpoenas that have become public."

Now comes word that Stevens may face his toughest competitor in years in his 2008 contest to keep his seat in the Senate. Politico.com reports that "Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is expected to announce this afternoon that he'll be running against Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), setting up a political battle between an iconic figure in Alaska politics against one of the rising Democratic stars statewide."

Stevens faces self-funding businessman David Cuddy in the Republican primary, which will be held August 26. And Begich still has to win his party's nomination, where he is set to face former state Rep. Ray Metcalfe.

Obama And McCain Trade Accusations About Iraq

It's certainly starting to feel and sound like a general election campaign. Sen. John McCain and Sen Barack Obama, the Republican and Democratic front runners respectively, traded accusations with each other about Iraq Wednesday.

As NPR's Scott Horsley reports John McCain says he didn't watch the Democratic debate, but he still took time to talk about Barack Obama's response to a question posed by NBC's Tim Russert.

Obama answered that if al Qaida were to establish a base in Iraq after U-S troops withdraw as he wants them to, he would be willing to respond. McCain suggested during a town hall meeting in Texas by that time it would be too late.

"I have some news. Al Qaida is IN Iraq. Al Qaida. It's called al Qaida in Iraq."

NPR's Don Gonyea reports that Obama didn't wait long to reply

"I got some news for YOU John McCain," said Obama, "There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush" took the country to war there.

Obama mocked McCain's past pledges to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, saying "so far all he's done is follow George Bush."

"I respect John McCain," he continued, " ... but he's tied to the politics of the past. We're the party of the future. He's the party of YESTERDAY."

As Tribune Media's The Swamp blog notes, " ... the two gave us a little taste of how they plan to deal with each other if they end up as their parties' nominees. McCain will play the experienced veteran, hinting that Obama doesn't know what he's talking about. And Obama will suggest that McCain isn't on top of his game."

Cunningham Furious Over McCain Apology

Hell hath no furry like a conservative talk show host scorned ... or having a politician apologize for something the talk show host said when he doesn't think he said anything wrong.

Almost immediately after Sen. John McCain apologized for and repudiated the remarks Cincinnati talk-show host Bill Cunningham made before a McCain campaign event, Cunningham fired back.

Late yesterday Cunningham appeared on the Hannity and Colmes show on Fox News and told conservative host Sean Hannity that "Well, my friend, Sean, McCain should be repudiating Democrats and leaving conservatives alone."

Cunningham also told CNN that McCain "threw me under a bus -- under the 'Straight Talk Express.' "

"I, for one, regret that John McCain is the nominee of the conservative party," he said.

Fox News reports that although he apologized for Cunningham's remarks, he told reporters abroad his bus "... that conservative independent groups pursuing a similar line to Cunningham's could be impossible to control.

"I think you have to worry about that, particularly the 527s," McCain said, referring to the independent advocacy groups that are not subject to contributor limits.

The activities of these independent groups is one reason that Democratic front runner Sen. Barack Obama says he is not ready to commit himself to public financing of his campaign. Obama says that until he wins the nomination and has a chance to talk to McCain about what these groups might do during a campaign, he won't give an answer.

William F. Buckley Dead at 82

The New York Times website reports that leading conservative writer and commentator William F. Buckley has died at age 82.

More details as they come.

Update: The Corner at National Review Online, the web version of the magazine Buckley founded, is collecting readers' comments about Buckley.

More: Here is the YouTube version of the classic talking-duel from the Buckley versus Gore Vidal debate in 1968.

More: Here is an hour-long Charlie Rose show that features many clips of Buckley.

Did Russert Actually Help Obama With Farrakhan Issue?

It was perhaps the most dramatic moment of last night's Democratic presidential debate. NBC co-moderator and host of Meet The Press, Tim Russert, asked Illinois Senator Barack Obama about an endorsement he had received from the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan. Russert asked Obama if he would reject Farrakhan and his endorsement. Here's the exchange:

(The issue of Farrakhan, anti-Semitism and Obama's stand on Israel has been a consistent leitmotiv with many in the American Jewish Community, as we covered yesterday in this blog.)

Obama then at some length went on to say that he denounced Farrakhan's virulent anti-Semitic statements and had been doing so from quite some time, since they were both from the Chicago area. Sen. Clinton challenged him to "reject, not denounce" Farrakhan. Obama said he didn't see much difference between reject and denounce, but if she wanted he would "reject and denounce" Farrakhan.

Some pundits, like Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish, thought it was not a good moment for Obama, but he was overwhelmed with comments from readers who disagreed. By having Russert raise the Farrakhan issue now, many of his readers commented, put it out on the table and made it harder for any Obama rival to use it against him - since he had been able to answer the question about Farrakhan during a much-watched debate.

Shmuel Rosner, chief U.S. correspondent for the Israeli paper Ha'aretz, wrote in his blog that Obama's answers to the question gave him the upperhand over what he called Clinton's attempt to "score points against Obama in the Jewish community."

But the reaction to Obama's comments also seem to depend on the writer's political point of view. Byron York at the conservative National Review Online wrote that Obama "stepped into the Farrakhan trap" and that he seemed to try and spin his way through his answer to the question until Clinton forced him to say he rejected Farrakhan.

But Josh Marshall of the liberal Talking Points Memo said it was not a classy move by Russert to even ask the question in the first place. "As a Jew and perhaps more importantly simply as a sentient being I found it disgusting. It was a nationwide, televised, MSM version of one of those noxious Obama smear emails."

Ohio Debate Tougher, But No Knockout Blows

The judges' scorecards are in. And the winner is ... it's a tie.

That's the general take-away from political commentators and pundits after last night's Democratic debate in Cleveland. Ohio. Most observers felt that the debate was polite but tougher than last week's debate in Texas. But neither candidate was able to land a knock out blow, and that is more of a problem for Hillary Clinton than Barack Obama.

The Los Angeles Times writes that the "moment of truth" that Clinton needed never came. While she was able to nudge him throughout the evening deploying "everything in her arsenal," Obama "played out the clock" and "while he did not walk away unscathed from the debate, the damage Clinton inflicted was minor."

"No runs, no hits, no errors," said veteran Democratic political strategist Bill Carrick, who is not aligned with either candidate. "They both drew blood, but they did it cautiously. That was perfectly fine for Obama, but Hillary needed something more dramatic. She didn't get it."

The Boston Globe reports that at times last night "Clinton's frustration at her position was evident." San Francisco Chronicle blogger Carolyn Lochhead said Clinton "again failed to knock front-runner Sen. Barack Obama off stride..."

An analysis of the debate by The Associated Press said the candidates had "some testy exchanges" but that it was "a mostly somber and policy-filled debate that seemed unlikely to alter the political calculus of the race."

February 26, 2008

Richardson Hints He May Make Endorsement

Well, he took his time, but it now looks like New Mexico Governor (and former Democratic presidential candidate) Bill Richardson might make a decision this week and give an endorsement.

"I'm just not trying to be cute. I just have felt that an endorsement by me, I don't think it is that significant," he said on CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. "But I still might do it."

The endorsement of Richardson (along with fellow former candidate John Edwards) has been much sought by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It could turn out to be a key endorsement particularly with the Latino community in next week's Texas primary.

CNN's Political Ticker blog says that, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, Richardson wouldn't say if he was leaning to Clinton or Obama. He praised both candidates and said they are running a "classic campaign." But he did say that he didn't agree with the Clinton campaign's assertion that Obama doesn't have the experience to be president.

Richardson's "maybe, sorta" endorsement announcement follows the news that earlier today another former presidential candidate, Sen. Chris Dodd, announced his support for Obama.

McCain Apologizes for Talk Show Hosts Remarks

Talk show host Bill Cunningham is not on the list of Sen. John McCain's favorite people today. McCain apologized for remarks Cunningham made while warming up a campaign crowd.

The Associated Press reports that Cunningham referred to the Democratic senator as Barack Hussein Obama three times during his talk. Hussein is his middle name, but many conservatives pundits use it as a way to remind people about Obama's family connections to Islam.

"Now we have a hack, Chicago-style Daley politician who is picturing himself as change. When he gets done with you, all you're going to have in your pocket is change," Cunningham said as the audience laughed.
The time will come, Cunningham added, when the liberal-leaning media will "peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama" and tell the truth about his relationship with indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko and how Obama got "sweetheart deals" in Chicago.

McCain quickly distanced himself from the radio talk show host after his appearance.

"I apologize for it," McCain told reporters, addressing the issue before they had a chance to ask hium about Cunningham's comments.

"I did not know about these remarks, but I take responsibility for them. I repudiate them," he said. "My entire campaign I have treated Senator Obama and Senator (Hillary Rodham) Clinton with respect. I will continue to do that throughout this campaign."

McCain said that he wasn't sure who had arranged for Cunningham to address the crowd, but he was sure it was in coordination his campaign. McCain, who has never met Cunningham, said nothing like that would ever happen again.

Boxer: Evidence Proves EPA Chief Overruled Staff

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson is gonna have more 'splaining to do.

At least that the opinion of Sen. Barbara Boxer, the chair of the Senate's Committee on the Environment and Public Works. She released more evidence today that Johnson overruled the almost unanimous opinion of his staff not to block the efforts of California and 15 other states to combat greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.

As Talking Points Memo notes, the Johnson decision made the White House and the automobile industry happy.

Boxer says the evidence - which includes talking points prepared for a senior official in the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality for a meeting with Johnson - illustrates how opposed the senior staff was to his decision.

One of the talking points reads: "From what I have read and the people I have talked to, it is obvious to me that there is no legal or technical justification for denying this. The law is very specific about what you are allowed to consider, and even if you adopt the alternative interpretations that have been suggested by the automakers, you still wind up in the same place."

Another reads: "You have to find a way to get this done. If you cannot, you will face a pretty big personal decision about whether you are able to stay in the job under those circumstances. This is a choice only you can make, but I ask you to think about the history and the future of the agency in making it. If you are asked to deny this waiver, I fear the credibility of the agency that we both love will be irreparably damaged."

"These documents paint a picture of an Environmental Protection Agency in crisis," Boxer told a news conference. "They show the dedicated professional staff of the EPA working hard to do what they are paid to do by the American people - protect our health and our environment. At the same time, we see more and more evidence of Administrator Johnson ignoring the science and the facts, and discarding the advice of his professional staff."

Boxer said the decision would be overturned by the next administration, or the courts, but that Johnson "can save the taxpayers time and money, and can get us started cleaning up our air if he would simply follow the law, the facts, and the advice of his agency professionals."