Washington Whispers

With three weeks until Election Day, the stars are coming out for the McCain and Obama campaigns, and our Whispers campaign team hit the road over the weekend to bring you pictures of the highlights. In Arkansas, our Suzi Parker found Sen. Hillary Clinton with old pals and TV biggies Ted Danson and wife Mary Steenburgen touting Sen. Barack Obama. Hillary singled out one of the signs in the crowd of 3,000: "My favorite: Chelsea's momma for Obama."

Farther north, in Johnstown, Pa., our Nikki Schwab attended a "Victory Rally" with Gov. Sarah Palin Saturday morning. Palin was introduced by country music artist Aaron Tippin, who performed his new single "Drill Here, Drill Now!" for the raucous crowd. "I get the chance to introduce a lady who is finally one of us," he said before Palin took to the stage with kids Piper, Willow, and Trig in tow. Palin backed off the harsher criticism of Obama and instead focused mainly on the issues of energy and abortion.

Palin rally photos courtesy of Rick Schwab

Continue reading »

With under a month to go to Election Day, the McCain and Obama campaigns have collected two White House "operator's manuals" just published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government in which former top federal officials explain how the government works. The books could provide invaluable information because, as main author Jonathan Breul told Whispers, neither candidate has vast executive experience. "These are senators," Breul said at a book party this week at the Mayflower Hotel. "Their track record and experience is limited in this regard." Unlike two previous White House primers published by the Brookings Institution, the two books from the IBM Center for the Business of Government feature chapters on key issues written by "stakeholders," or former top officials in individual government arenas. "That's what's unique," said Breul. "We were looking for candor ... straight talk," he said. The key book is titled The Operator's Manual for the New Administration. It comes with a companion book, Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives. Breul explained that the works are written more for top federal executives than the president. They focus on how agencies work, how they interact, and how government contracting is conducted. They do not delve into policy since that is left to the president's appointees. Breul said that both campaigns have reached out for copies, though with the campaign in its final month, it's probably too early for the candidates themselves to be reviewing the books. However, it is at this stage of a campaign where the candidates normally start setting up transition teams just in case they win.

Continue reading »

We told you recently about how the Pentagon’s program to prep old hands and contractors to talk up the war in Iraq is being probed by the Federal Communications Commission and the Defense Department’s own inspector general. Well now, there is a bill before President Bush, which he’ll likely sign, that would also demand that the Government Accountability Office review the program to see if any laws were broken. Any congressman can request a GAO review but the bill puts more urgency behind the request so it should get completed faster. Media Matters, the press watchdog, drew our attention to the language in the just passed Defense Authorization bill that will further shine a light on the program that the New York Times disclosed and suggested was rife with conflicts of interest. According to Media Matters, the bill would:
--Prohibit taxpayer money from being used for "publicity or propaganda purposes" by the Department of Defense.
--Require the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate the media analysts program and report the findings back to Congress 90 days after the bill is enacted.
--Direct the comptroller general of the GAO to issue a legal opinion to Congress on whether the media analysts program violated the law within 120 days of enactment.

Media Matters has been dogging this program. "By letting these spin merchants--many of whom have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air--act as if they’re unfettered to any agenda, the networks have demonstrated a clear lapse in credibility," said Media Matters spokesman J. Jioni Palmer. "What little we know about the military analyst programs has raised serious questions, and further scrutiny is certainly needed."

Continue reading »

Many Republicans aren’t happy with the direction of the 2008 election and are already looking ahead to the 2010 congressional contest and the 2012 presidential election where they expect to see Sen. John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as the nominee running against President Barack Obama. Don’t laugh. Here’s how they say she can get there from here, should the polls stick and McCain lose in November. First, Palin spends more time in Washington, getting to know the lay of the land. Maybe she moves to take a leadership role in the Republican Governors Association or the National Governors Association, a perch that helped to launch Bill Clinton. Next, she travels internationally to world energy and military hot spots. In essence, she builds a more complete résumé that will make her an easier sell on the national stage. And, of course, she wins re-election in 2010. And along the way, she proves herself better than this year’s throwaways, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Says a key Republican promoting the scenario: “As of today, Palin is the top contender. She clearly has the potential to be a winning top-of-the-ticket candidate: solid character, solid values, fire in the belly, etc. But four years is a long time. Neither Romney, Huckabee, or others have the complete package. If Palin spends a bit more time traveling overseas and domestically, broadening her horizons, and wins re-election in Alaska in 2010, she will be the nominee in 2012.”

Continue reading »