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Monday, May 20, 2013
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In a move that is garnering significant media attention, veteran GOP Sen. John Warner, the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, yesterday expressed his opposition to President Bush's proposal to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. Along with two other Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Norm Coleman, he offered his own Senate resolution calling on Bush to rethink his plan. The Wall Street Journal reports Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, who backs a Democratic resolution against the "surge," said last night that Warner "allowed him to preview" his resolution Friday. Hagel "found it to be, in some instances, more detailed" than his own resolution "in specifying what course the administration should follow." Hagel is quoted as saying, "In no way is this good news for the administration." The Washington Post reports Warner has already met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and "the two camps were negotiating a single resolution" that could be approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as early as Wednesday. The New York Times reports Sen. Ted Kennedy said "the terminology in a final resolution may be less important than gaining Republican support for it."
The CBS Evening News opened its broadcast by noting that led by Warner, "some key Republican senators are calling for the President to abandon this idea of a troop surge," which "underscores the increasing likelihood that a majority of Congress, including a significant number of Republicans will go on the record opposing Mr. Bush's plan." NBC Nightly News also led its broadcast with Warner's announcement. The Los Angeles Times describes Warner as previously "one of the White House's most powerful supporters of the Iraq war," and calls the development "a serious setback for President Bush."
Meanwhile, House Republicans are asking for "strategic benchmarks" for US and Iraqi forces to meet and "want to require the Administration to issue monthly status reports on the war," according to ABC World News. Fox News' Special Report made note of the admission by House Minority Leader John Boehner that "the support for the President among rank-and-file Republicans on Iraq is no longer rock-solid." The Washington Post says that though the House Republican call for benchmarks "represented a clear break from administration policy," some Republicans "saw both the Senate and House developments as positive for Bush, because they give Republicans eager to voice their opposition to the president's Iraq policy ways to go on record without siding with the more forthright statements of opposition drafted with more Democratic support." McClatchy instead sees the Republican opposition in both the House and Senate as proof of a "broad bipartisan lack of confidence in the president's course."
War Opposition At All-Time High A poll released on CBS Evening News shows "opposition to the war has driven the President's job approval rating to an all-time low, 28% in our CBS News poll." And "opposition to the war in Iraq is 59%, an all-time high."
Democrat Says War Threatens Anti-Terror Funding The AP interviews Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who "said he fears the government will not have enough money for homeland security and other domestic priorities because of President Bush's 'Iraq adventure.'" During the course of the interview Rockefeller "criticized almost every major facet of the Bush administration's national security course," and alleged that President Bush "has in a sense walked away from the war on terror."
Zawahiri Mocks "Surge" Plan The AP reports that in an intercepted video, top al Qaeda strategist Ayman al-Zawahri "mocked" Bush's plan, "challenging him to send the 'entire army' and vowing that insurgents would defeat them." ABC World News added that in "remarks addressed to the American public he says, 'If you continue the policy of Bush and his gang, you will never even dream of peace.'" The CBS Evening News and Fox News's Special Report were among other programs taking note of this latest communication from Osama bin Laden's deputy.
Even as the media and the political debate in the nation continue to focus on the Iraq war, media reports this morning indicate President Bush will focus his State of the Union speech on domestic politics. As the Chicago Tribune puts is, with his address the President is attempting "to get beyond a raging debate over the war in Iraq" with "what the White House calls 'bold proposals' on health care, energy independence, global warming and immigration." Likewise, the Christian Science Monitor says Bush "seeks to show that he is not consumed by the Iraq war." The Washington Times and New York Times run similar stories.
But most media coverage paints the picture of a beleaguered president with rock bottom poll numbers, facing a hostile Congress and an increasingly skeptical GOP caucus. The Wall Street Journal says "Bush tonight gets another shot at persuading Americans to support his Iraq war strategy and domestic agenda. His problem: Much of the public has stopped listening to him." The "new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll on the eve of Mr. Bush's State of the Union address underscores the extent to which he has lost the nation's ear. Just 22% of Americans say they want the president to set policy for the country, 27% express confidence in his goals, and 28% approve his handling of the Iraq war." And the Washington Post refers to Bush's expected domestic proposals as "recycled," adding the "uproar over his decision to send more US troops to Iraq has eclipsed potential consensus on domestic policy." Bush "faces deep skepticism inside the chamber, even within the House Republican leadership. ... The doubt on Capitol Hill reflects the continuing erosion of Bush's public support across the country. His approval rating is at the lowest level of his presidency."
The CBS Evening News, for example, discussed its new poll, which shows dwindling support for the President's Iraq plan (with 59% opposing the war and only 28% approving of Bush's performance), and mused that if Bush is "going to try to use the State of the Union speech to change the subject" by focusing on domestic politics, he faces an additional hurdle: "When we asked in our poll what is the single most important issue facing Americans, the Iraq war [was] by far and away number one [ with 33%]. Everything else, single digits." A similar report ran on NBC Nightly News, which said Bush is "not doing well. Here is the all-important favorable rating for the President: Only 35% approve of his performance as president, 60% disapprove."
In addition to all that gloomy polling data, the US News Political Bulletin has learned that even senior Republicans with close ties to the White House are concerned that Bush's State of the Union address will be a big disappointment. Leaked details of the speech have, in the words of one administration insider, been "underwhelming." The major criticism from GOP sources is that Bush doesn't appear to have come up with any domestic initiatives that will persuade the country that he has any bold ideas left or convince Congress that he has the political muscle to rally voters around him any more. "The ideas are either small bore or very familiar," says the GOP insider. Republicans advisers express hope that Bush has something special up his sleeve that he will unveil tonight, but they aren't optimistic.
Bush To Touch On Healthcare, Warming Among the proposals Bush is expected to be announce tonight, his federal healthcare reform plan is getting the most media attention. The AP reports "Bush will propose a tax deduction of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families regardless of whether they buy their own health insurance or receive medical coverage at work. Health care insurance would be considered taxable income, and people with more generous policies could face tax increases unless they change plans. The administration says its plan will help people who buy insurance individually rather than through their employers." The proposal, says the Miami Herald, "marks a sharp departure for a president who has been criticized for advocating tax cuts that disproportionately benefit higher-income Americans. Administration officials familiar with the plan say it reflects the new political order in Washington, where Democrats now control both chambers of Congress. They refuse to characterize the plan as a tax increase because it raises no new money for the federal government."
The New York Times reports the "initial response to Mr. Bush's health care plans has not been positive, on Capitol Hill or among constituencies including employers and labor unions." The AP, Washington Post, Washington Times, USA Today and Los Angeles Times run similar reports. Bush's plan does have one unlikely supporter: the Washington Post's editorial page.
The President is also expected to link energy security and global warming. The Financial Times says Bush "will make an explicit link between the demands of energy security and the environment, says Tony Snow, White House spokesman." The fact that Bush "is even talking about his actions on climate change, and will set out how his own policy helps address it, marks a profound departure from the past. On the eve of the speech, corporate leaders urged Bush to support carbon dioxide caps. Yet, says the Washington Post Tony Snow said that "binding caps on carbon dioxide emissions would not be part of the president's proposals tonight." The Wall Street Journal runs a similar story. The New York Times and Washington Post, meanwhile, report the speech will also feature a strong endorsement of the ethanol industry.
2006 Speech: US "Winning" In Iraq On its website, the Wall Street Journal "took a look back at some of the vows -- both memorable and now-obscure that...Bush has made in his State of the Union addresses, to see whether they made it from the rostrum to reality." The Journal notes that last year Bush said of Iraq: "We are winning. ... As we make progress on the ground, and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels."
DC Mayor Declines First Lady's Invite The Washington Post reports DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty "has declined a White House invitation to sit with first lady Laura Bush at tonight's State of the Union address, deciding to attend the event as a guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi." Fenty spokeswoman Carrie Brooks "confirmed yesterday that the city's new mayor will sit in the gallery along with others invited by Pelosi (D-Calif.), who recently became speaker after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives." During his campaign for mayor, Fenty "pledged that he would not sit as a guest of the White House because the president had not supported the city's quest for voting representation in Congress." The Washington Times also reports the story.
Fenty won't be alone among Pelosi's guests. In its "Reliable Source" column, the Washington Post reports Pelosi is "filling the normally staid speaker's box with a cluster of political stars. ... Many of Pelosi's guests, who will sit in 21 balcony seats, will be past and present celebs of the Democratic Party: former speakers Jim Wright and Tom Foley, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa...two of the more influential 9/11 widows, Carrie Lemack and Mary Fetchet, and the wives of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and vice chairman, Lynne Pace and Cindy Giambastiani."
The AP reports President Bush marked the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision with a telephone message, "piped over loudspeakers" to pro-life demonstrators in DC, in which he said he "shares their goal of seeing 'the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected into law.'" Bush also "signaled his unchanged opposition" to federally financed embryonic stem-cell research. The AP notes that Bush "calls the rally each year, usually from distant locations. This year, he extended his weekend stay at Camp David...to phone the participants from there." The New York Times reports that in his remarks, Bush also "mentioned his signing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which is before the Supreme Court in a case to be decided this term." The AP also notes the appearances of two of the Republicans' "most conservative presidential hopefuls" Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Duncan Hunter, who "promised...they would work to overturn" Roe V. Wade. McClatchy adds, "And what of Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, two Republican front-runners? Neither was at the march." The Washington Post and Washington Times also report on the march.
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Fresh off the announcement that she would enter the 2008 presidential race, Sen. Hillary Clinton on Monday followed up with a round of network news interviews and Internet chats. NBC Nightly News reported Clinton was "trying to temper the Obama buzz created by his announcement last week." The "early emphasis is on the softer side of Mrs. Clinton, what advisors say is a concerted attempt to firm up her support among women." The Washington Post says that with a "call to 'let the conversation begin,'" Sen. Clinton "fielded a handful of pre-selected questions from voters on her presidential campaign's Web site last night, speaking into a video camera as she held forth on movies ('Out of Africa' makes her top three), her football-fanatic brothers and her 'nice middle-class upbringing in a suburb of Chicago.'" The "effort to 'humanize' Clinton, as her advisers have put it, was in full swing just two days into her presidential campaign." The New York Times reports Clinton "strived for an Oprah moment yesterday."
Meanwhile, interviews with Clinton aired on all three network newscasts. On ABC World News, she said she wants to "be an instrument of bold but practical solutions, weather it is healthcare, making it universal; energy independence, finally dealing with climate change; restoring our leadership and respect for America around the world." On the CBS Evening News, Clinton was asked to respond to those who "have questions about your electability," Clinton said, "I would say give me a chance. As a friend of mine said the other day, I'm the most famous woman that nobody really knows." NBC Nightly News asked her how she would "have to adjust to counter the presence of this Obama campaign." Clinton answered, "Well, you know...this is exactly how I intended to do this. Once I made up my mind that I was going to contest for the presidential nomination of my party, I wanted to do it on the Web, I wanted to do it before the President's State of the Union, because I wanted to draw the contrast between what we've seen over the last six years and the kind of leadership and experience that I would bring to the office."
Clinton Disapproval At 36% In CBS Poll On the CBS Evening News, Gloria Borger said, "Hillary Clinton knows well that she is well-known. That she comes with an awful lot of political baggage. But in our poll tonight, Katie, we see that as many people approve of her as disapprove of her. It's actually a tie, 36% to 36%." But "people believe in our poll by overwhelming margin that she has the credentials and leadership skills to be president."
Bill Taps Healthcare As Key Issue The Hill reports former President Clinton "has signaled privately that his wife," Sen. Clinton, "will include aggressive healthcare proposals in her campaign for the White House, despite the debacle of what critics labeled 'Hillary Care' 14 years ago." In remarks "to Democratic operatives last month, the ex-president caused a buzz by strongly defending the substance of his wife's 1990s plan, claiming it was a moderate, private-sector approach grossly mischaracterized by its critics."
Morris Plans Hillary Clinton Expose Film Political analyst Dick Morris, on Fox News' Hannity and Colmes, said he is "working with a group called Citizens United on a film about Hillary Clinton." The 90 minute film will "have about 30 different shots of her, each with a different hair color, each with a different accent, each with a different affect, each with a different approach and we are going to really showcase the inaccuracies of everything that this woman has said."
In what was initially a little-noticed development, Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday indicated her campaign would not accept Federal matching funds. The New York Times reports the "public financing system for presidential campaigns, a post-Watergate initiative hailed for decades as the best way to rid politics of the corrupting influence of money, may have quietly died over the weekend." Sen. Clinton "became the first candidate since the program began in 1976 to forgo public financing for both the primary and the general election because of the spending limits that come with the federal money." In a similar story, the Washington Post and the AP run similar reports.
The Chicago Tribune, meanwhile, reports the Iowa caucuses "that kick off the presidential campaign are nearly a year away. For the most viable contenders, make that one year and $100 million away." Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "has that capacity, and other contenders believe that they do as well."
The Financial Times reports the Democratic primary campaign "got into full swing on Monday with campaign staff for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton already indulging in sniping contests over the relative merits of their candidates." Clinton aides "made indirect attacks on the relative inexperience of Mr Obama, who entered the race a week ago."
Obama "Madrassah" Report Debunked The Washington Post reports, "Fresh doubt was cast yesterday on a magazine's allegation that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) attended a madrassah, or religious school that teaches a fundamentalist version of Islam." Hardi Priyono, "deputy headmaster of the Basuki school in Indonesia, told CNN that his institution -- which Obama attended four decades ago, beginning when he was 6 -- is not a madrassah."
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The Washington Post reports former House Speaker Newt Gingrich "jump-started his new political group with a check for $1 million from a source many in his conservative base would shun -- the gambling industry." Gingrich's "American Solutions for Winning the Future reported to the Internal Revenue Service that it collected a $1 million check from Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon G. Adelson shortly after the November elections."
The AP reports that in an email to supporters, Rep. Bobby Jindal (R), who lost his bid for governor in 2003, announced that he would challenge Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) in 2007, although he won't formally kick off his campaign until the summer. Jindal "enters the race with significant support. He is extremely popular in his congressional district, a staunchly Republican district that includes many of the suburbs of New Orleans" and a recent independent poll showed him handily beating Blanco in a head-to-head match up. CQ Politics adds that Jindal "is in a much stronger position than in 2003, when he ran for governor as a first-time candidate after holding a series of high-ranking state and federal appointed positions. Even then, he finished atop the field in the first-round vote before falling to Blanco, then the lieutenant governor, by 4 percentage points in the runoff." The New York Times reports Blanco's "standing was damaged after Hurricane Katrina."
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Jay Leno: "Welcome to 'The Tonight Show.' What a crowd. Yeah. Yeah, thank you very much. You sound like Republicans when they heard Hillary was running."
Jay Leno: "Well, it's official. Hillary Clinton is running for President of the United States. She said on her website, 'I'm in it to win.' That's what she announced, 'I'm in it to win.' That may seem obvious, but for Democrats running for president, they lost so many times, they have to keep reminding themselves why they're in the race."
David Letterman: "While you folks were applauding, three more Democrats announced they were running for president. A total now of eight people have announced that they want to be president. Eight people now want to be president. It's George Bush's fault. He has lowered the standard. That's the problem."
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