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Hillary Clinton Tells Us Why She’s Staying In
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2008 Comment (34)
Hillary Clinton just E-mailed us--Dear Paul--to explain why she’s staying in. Seems she thinks rival Sen. Barack Obama isn’t the kind of champion the nation needs.
Dear Paul,
There are some people out there who want to declare this race over now, before all the ballots have been counted or even cast. There are some who say they don't know why I'm in this race. So let me tell you why I'm still running.
I'm in this race for everyone who needs a champion. For the hardworking families who are losing sleep over gas prices and grocery costs and mortgage payments and medical bills -- but who never lose that American can-do spirit and optimism.
I'm in this race for the more than 16 million people like you who have supported me -- for the people who have put their hearts into winning this race. You never gave up on me, and I'll never give up on you.
We are in the homestretch. After sixteen months, there are only three weeks left to compete in the final contests. With your help I'm going to keep fighting until every last American has a chance to be heard, and as we learned last night in West Virginia, I know we can win.
Contribute now to keep our campaign going strong.
I'm also in this race because I have the best chance of beating John McCain in November and putting America on the right track.
We proved something in West Virginia last night -- a state every Democratic president has won since 1916. And we proved something in a few other battleground states that have a history of picking presidents. Pennsylvania. Ohio. Arkansas. New Hampshire. New Jersey. New Mexico. Nevada. And, yes, Michigan and Florida.
I am in this race, and so are you, because we both know the stakes in this election are too high to stay on the sidelines.
So let's keep going together, you and me. Let's keep driving our campaign forward, and let's keep winning.
Make a contribution today to help me win.
I want to thank you again for the incredible generosity of spirit you have shown over the course of this campaign. Together, you and I are going to make history.
Thank you,
Hillary
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Harry Reid Works It for Charity
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2008 Comment
While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may know how to throw a party in style, he’s also in it for the buck. And for a good reason. Sales from his new book, The Good Fight, will go to charity. Joined by Senate colleagues Republican John Ensign and Democrats Bob Casey and Chuck Schumer, Reid threw a book party to sell copies of his well-received $25.95 autobio at Washington, D.C.’s only Wolfgang Puck restaurant, The Source, within the newly opened journalism and history museum, the Newseum.
The senator from Searchlight gave a few quick words and then got to signing books. First in line was none other than Bob Woodward, who grabbed a signed copy for his wife’s mom. When asked by our Nikki Schwab if his mother-in-law was a big Harry Reid fan, he retorted, “She likes to read.”
The party was packed, and Reid said there was a good showing from the Senate. But admitting that he’s not a big partier--“You know, I’m not a social guy”--he left before 8:30, possibly to get his two grandchildren (out of 16) back home for bed.
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John McCain Goes Green
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2008 Comment (2)
Well it looks like Sen. John McCain isn’t just talking the talk on the environment and global warming. Now he’s even got his own line of eco-clothing. It’s not cheap, and more the like Patagonia organic line than typical campaign wear. McCain’s bamboo and cotton shirt [yes, we said bamboo] is just $50. Check out his eco-shop here: McCain Eco-Friendly Store.
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It’s Only an HBO Movie, but Gore Still Lost the 2000 Election
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2008 Comment (49)Republicans have been bracing for HBO’s new movie Recount, about the 2000 Florida face-off between Al Gore and George Bush, but early reviewers tell us it’s a straight shot right up the middle. Sure Katherine Harris, the dressy former Florida secretary of state, takes a few shots, but both sides tell Whispers that the movie set to debut on May 25 doesn’t play to stereotypes. Still, says one familiar with the movie, "the differences between the Republicans and Democrats are shown this way: Republicans work in nicer offices and stay buttoned up. Democrats work in crappy offices and roll up their sleeves." Another, however, said that the movie portrays the Democrats as a bit wimpy and the Republicans as more aggressive, part of the reason former Clinton Secretary of State Warren Christopher whined about his portrayal in today’s New York Times. Either way, HBO says those featured in it, like Bush’s main defender James Baker, are happy with it. Baker likes it so much he’s teaming with former President Jimmy Carter for a screening.
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I Want My E-mail Back
Tweet Share on Facebook May 13, 2008 Comment (18)President Bush reveals that when he finally leaves the White House, the first thing he'll do is resume E-mailing his buddies. "I can remember as governor, I could stay in touch with all kinds of people around the country firing off E-mails at all times of the day to stay in touch with my pals," he says in a Yahoo-Politico interview. "One of the things that I will have ended my public service time with is a group of friends, a lot of friends, and I want to stay in touch with them, and there's no better way to stay in touch with them than through E-mail." For security reasons, he booted the computer from the Oval Office, so he's hardly E-mailed his friends over the past seven-plus years. Of course, that means he hasn't been at the receiving end of House and Senate subpoenas for E-mails either, but that's another story.
In the highlight MP3 sent by Yahoo, heard here (or download
iTunes and 
RSS), he also said he did watch Steve Martin's Father of the Bride for tips to last week's wedding of his daughter Jenna to Henry Hager. What did he take from the movie? "Write the check and be happy." -
Will Mississippi Come Through For Tom Cole?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 13, 2008 Comment (1)
For Civil War history buff Rep. Tom Cole, tonight’s special election in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District means a lot. It could determine if he’s the General Grant or General Lee of his House colleagues, emboldened with a victory and ready to stand for the next battle, or stuck with a defeat and tossed into the scrapheap of history like Union Gen. George McClellan. Rumors are swirling that a defeat will prompt House members to push Cole out as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. But associates are defending Cole strongly, claiming that he’s not to blame for the poor political climate. "His pals see him getting scapegoated for an awful political climate," said one associate. The race pits Democrat Travis Childers versus Republican Greg Davis for a seat opened when Rep. Roger Wicker was elevated to the Senate to replace former Sen. Trent Lott. A loss of the seat to the Democrats would be the third this year, something the GOP can’t stomach. Some House insiders believe that a change is needed at the top of the fundraising and candidate recruiting organization. Still other insiders believe that the party’s House leadership hasn’t done enough to give Cole ammunition to work with and provide candidates, such as a new form of the old Contract with America. "We still need an agenda to fight for, not just blast away at our foes," says one GOP strategist. Cole associates note that no matter what happens in tonight’s race, that once the general election begins, the district should return to GOP roots. Cole has long said that once the party has a nominee, then many questionable races will come into line. He has a battle plan, but it’s probably unfolding a little later than he wanted. In the 1st District his fall blueprint could work since Sen. John McCain has a 62 percent favorability rating and Democrats have run TV ads trying to show distance between Sen. Barack Obama and Childers. NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley said, "Special elections are unpredictable and it is a difficult environment for Republicans. No matter what happens tonight, the election is not over until November when Democrats in conservative districts will be running on the same ballot as Barack Obama and will be unable to run from their party’s nominee."
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Jenna Bush Wedding Pictures Tell the Story
Tweet Share on Facebook May 12, 2008 Comment (20)
OK, a show of hands. Who got enough news about first daughter Jenna Bush’s Saturday wedding to Henry Hager at Dad’s Crawford, Texas, ranch? Now who thinks the White House should have opened the event to coverage, any coverage? Just what I thought. You got enough. At least that’s what the White House thinks. Insiders say they hope the public thirst for wedding news was satisfied with the 11 wedding pictures posted on the White House website and the few details provided about the dress, the ranch wedding altar, and the cake. One insider tells me that the goal was a balance between keeping the whole event hush-hush and feeding the media. And, according to Bushies, it turned out just right.
But if you need more than you saw about the wedding, check out our friend Julie Mason, whose Houston Chronicle blog, Beltway Confidential, kicked some media butt in outcovering the shindig.
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A Beginner's Guide Clinton Really Needed
Tweet Share on Facebook May 9, 2008 Comment
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WRRobert Redford poses it at the end of The Candidate, but you know every presidential victor has asked it on election night: "What do we do now?" In the works for 50 years, there's finally an answer. Actually, it's more a handbook, and it comes from legendary White House scholar Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution. "It's my life in elections and transitions," says the veteran of three White Houses dating back to Eisenhower. "It's a workbook for new presidents," he adds of What Do We Do Now?—out by Election Day.
Hess's workbook is a must for the incoming administration. He touches on everything from decorating the Oval Office, dodging cabinet nomination fights, and penning a memorable inaugural address to firing bumbling aides. He gives inspirational case studies—and duncelike examples, many featuring Bill Clinton, who could have used Hess's advice. Like: Act first on campaign promises, not press questions, like the gays in the military issue that tripped Bubba up. Don't pick non-Washington friends, as Clinton did with grade-school pal Thomas "Mack" McLarty, for top insider jobs. "Hillary Clinton won't like this book," says Hess. "If a new president spent one hour reading this," says Hess, "they'd be able to more clearly consider the order of what they have to do." He adds: "Maybe they could recall and tap these ideas as things go by."
To find out more on how to be president, check out my inaugural Washington Whispers podcast here.
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Gas Tax Holiday at GOP Convention?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 9, 2008 Comment (1)Sen. John McCain's proposal to suspend the federal gas tax as prices jump might make it into the Republican Party national platform at the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, we hear. It's a lock if Sen. Barack Obama, who scoffs that it won't save much, is the Democratic nominee.
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There's Gold in Obama's Autograph
Tweet Share on Facebook May 9, 2008 Comment (4)His flashy "Barack Obama" signature or his pert "bo" initials signed by hand are hot in the autograph biz. Some of Sen. Barack Obama's felt-tipped autographs are going for $399. But beware. Because his signature is hurried with big letters and more like NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s than the distinctive John Hancock of Revolutionary fame, it's easy to copy. So the market is being flooded with fakes, autograph sellers tell Whispers.
