Entries for April 04, 2007

Jim May, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association, a trade group representing the major airlines, tells News Desk that he expects the general aviation community--composed of everything from small planes to hobby fliers to business jets--to eventually split over how to fund the Federal Aviation Administration in the future, reports Associate Editor Angie C. Marek. (Yesterday, an Airline Quality Rating report found that delayed flights were up in 2006 over the previous year, which the ATA blamed on out-of-date air traffic control equipment.)

In February, the FAA proposed a new funding scheme that would abolish the ticket tax system and replace it with dramatically raised taxes for many kinds of aircraft fuel and fees for using domestic and oceanic airspace. The general aviation community, led by the National Business Aviation Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, has largely stood together in strong opposition to the proposal.

"They may be singing the same tune now," May says, "but it'll be every man for himself once Congress introduces bills" detailing its own funding proposals, which are expected by the end of this month.

Although he declined to name names, May says some members of Congress who are uncomfortable with the idea of raising taxes on general aviation fuel used by the smallest planes have told him they feel quite another way about new airspace fees for "Corporate Chieftain Joe" using a business jet. The proposals, May says, will very likely reflect that.

"I think there will be an adjustment made" that will result in some small plane users paying a larger percentage of money to the Aviation Trust Fund than they do now, May says. "Both sides of the aisle on the Hill absolutely get it." He adds, "The flying public shouldn't be subsidizing corporate jet owners. ... These guys write all their expenses off on their taxes anyway."

The numbers are out. Yes, they're eye-popping.

The 2008 candidates have released their fundraising totals for the first quarter, and Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards all handily beat the previous Democratic best, set by Al Gore in the first quarter of 1999 during his bid for the White House, reports Silla Brush.

While the candidates' individual numbers are massive, the total amount raised by the most open presidential race in the first three months of 2007 is, well, gargantuan. Official figures from the Federal Election Commission aren't due until April 15, but based on self-reported numbers, the total money raised by the top-tier presidential candidates comes out to $126 million.

Senior editor Dan Gilgoff gives us this quick take on Obama's $25 million fundraising total for the first quarter of 2007, which Obama just announced.

News this morning that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has raked in $25 million in the first quarter of 2007--just $1 million less than New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and more than any other Democratic or Republican presidential candidate--does much more than solidify Obama as a formidable White House hopeful who is living up to the hype that has surrounded his candidacy. Perhaps just as important, it undermines one of the central pillars of Clinton's argument that she should be the Democrats' next presidential nominee: that she can give the GOP the best run for its money.

In addition to ending the Iraq war, the Clinton camp believes that the main priority for Democratic voters in the '08 presidential primaries will be who can win in November, particularly after the Democratic presidential defeats of the last two cycles. To that end, Clinton's message machine has been making the argument that she is the only Democratic contender with the experience and heft--including fundraising ability--who could defeat the GOP nominee. With Obama's fundraising keeping pace with hers, Clinton may have to retool her pitch.

The White House Correspondents' Association announced this morning that U.S.News & World Report Chief White House Correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh has again won the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award, the top honor for the beat. Walsh first received the award in 1991 and is the only journalist to win the award twice.

"We are just thrilled," says Brian Kelly, the magazine's executive editor. "With his unique combination of brilliance, personableness, and tireless energy, Ken is a highly effective reporter. Once he's gathered the facts, he then applies a historian's eye to his analysis and presentation of the information. He truly is a master of his craft."

Walsh is also a frequent contributor to The News Desk. Congratulations, Ken.

From Chief White House Correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh:

White House strategists are increasingly resigned to a long, miserable spring because of bad news on so many fronts.

"You just get to the point where you hate to go out to your stoop and pick up your paper in the morning and see what today's lead story is," says an adviser to President Bush. "The news always seems to be bad, and we can't catch a break."

Only improvement on the ground in Iraq will lift the president's fortunes, and that will take many weeks if it happens at all, Bush allies concede. "It's still 'our' war, and if it doesn't get better we're in big trouble," the GOP adviser says. "President Bush's legacy is tied to Iraq, and what happens there will make all the difference for Republicans."

For more on the topic, see Walsh's full report here.

Democrats:

• Chris Dodd holds a town hall meeting in Concord, N.H., and then heads to St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
• John and Elizabeth Edwards hold town hall meetings in Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa.
• Dennis Kucinich makes campaign stops in Bedford, Hennicker, and Conway, N.H.
• Barack Obama rallies at a community college in Mason City, Iowa.
• Bill Richardson is in Manchester, N.H., this morning, and later heads to Hennicker.

Republicans:

• John McCain is in Baghdad.
• Mitt Romney officially opens his Iowa headquarters in Urbandale.
• Tom Tancredo attends meet-and-greets in Nashua and Hudson, N.H.
• Tommy Thompson meets with conservative activists in his inaugural trip to New Hampshire.
• Update: Rudy Giuliani is in Tallahassee, Fla., to address members of the state legislature. He then holds a town hall meeting in St. Petersburg.
• Update: Mike Huckabee visits Washington University in St. Louis.

The morning's top stories:

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Syrian President Bashar Assad today in Damascas to discuss the condition of Israeli soldiers that were kidnapped last year.
• Meanwhile, as the fight continues between Bush and Democrats in Congress over the emergency spending bill for Iraq, Pentagon officials are preparing for the possibility of scaling back operations. Silla Brush of U.S. News & World Report breaks down the case for when the war-funding well might go dry.
• A former Wal-Mart employee who was fired for secretly recording phone calls made by a New York Times reporter to the company is now saying his actions were part of a much larger effort to spy on critics, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription needed). Reuters has a summary of the employee's allegations here.
• Hold the Mozart: A series of studies finds that exposure to classical music, and other supposed brain boosters in infants, doesn't work.
• The Federal Communications Commission has decided against passengers' use of cellphones on airplanes. The agency has been considering lifting its ban on cellphone usage on airplanes since 2004.