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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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Robert Novak, in a column in today's Washington Post, says Sen. Joseph Biden planned "to sit down over the weekend with his longtime Republican colleague Sen. John Warner and hammer out a consensus, bipartisan resolution opposing" the surge. Warner, the author of a competing measure seen as less hostile to the White House, "informed Biden late on Thursday: No deal." That "killed the Democratic leadership's dream of passing a Biden-crafted anti-surge resolution by 70 votes or more. Such a proposal now cannot get the 60 votes needed for cloture to end a filibuster (and could fall short of the 50 needed for a simple majority). Conceivably, the Senate might pass no resolution at all."
Yesterday, the AP reports, Biden "acknowledged that votes in Congress could splinter among several competing proposals but contended that senators' opposition to the buildup was widespread." On ABC's This Week, Biden said, "There is a movement in the United States Congress to say to the president, Mr. President, listen to us. You didn't listen to the Iraqi Study Group. You didn't listen to my plan -- not that he should. You didn't listen to any plan. You took a path that was fundamentally different than 95% of the advice you were given."
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell left little doubt of his intention to try and filibuster the Senate resolutions. The Los Angeles Times reports McConnell said yesterday that he thinks "any Senate resolution would have to have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes to pass. As a result, he predicted that it would be hard for any of the resolutions to pass."
USA Today reports some Republicans who oppose the anti-surge resolutions would instead "set benchmarks for the Iraqi government." McConnell "said such benchmarks would send a strong signal to Iraqis." The Los Angeles Times notes Sen. John McCain, "one of the strongest supporters of the troop buildup, is...crafting an alternative measure that would call for benchmarks against which to measure the Iraqi government."
Bush Loses Specter, But Keeps Lugar Supporters of President Bush's "surge" strategy in Iraq took to the airwaves on Sunday, defending the Administration's approach. Of key importance for the White House, as it endeavors to push back a couple of Senate resolutions against its plan, may be the support of a key, highly respected GOP senator: Richard Lugar of India. On ABC's This Week Lugar said yesterday the resolutions were "not helpful" to the new US commander, Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, or "to the troops, to the Iraqis." These resolutions, he added, "are an opportunity for people to vent their emotions, their thoughts, get it on record. Some Republicans want to do that. Some Democrats want to do that. I don't believe that it's helpful right now to show there's disarray around the world as well as in our body at home."
However, what's generating most media coverage this morning is another GOP senator who said he would back the President's plan. Sen. Arlen Specter, who appeared on CBS' Face The Nation, said, "I cannot support sending additional troops to Iraq. ... The plan is not working because it requires Iraq to do some things which Iraq doesn't have the will or the capability to do -- that is, to stifle the sectarian disagreements and also to secure Baghdad." The Financial Times, USA Today and New York Times, among others, noted Specter's comments.
With the notable exception of Specter, Republicans generally defended Bush's plan in the Sunday talk shows. Sen. David Vitter, for example, said on NBC's Meet The Press, "I'm supporting the President's plan." Sen. Jon Kyl, on CNN's Late Edition, and Rep. Duncan Hunter, on ABC's This Week, also expressed their backing for the plan, as did former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas (running for president in 2008) on NBC's Meet The Press.
Meanwhile, the AP notes that in an interview in Newsweek, Vice President Cheney "shot back" at Sen. Chuck Hagel, "who has accused the Bush administration of playing 'a pingpong game with American lives' by sending more US troops into Iraq." Said Cheney, "Let's say I believe firmly in Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. ... But it's very hard sometimes to adhere to that where Chuck Hagel is involved."
Democrats Blast Gates, Cheney. NBC Nightly News reported Democrats opposing Bush's Iraq plan "fired back...at Administration officials who say they're aiding the enemy." Biden was shown saying, "It is not the American people and the Congress emboldening the enemy. It is the failed policy of this President." Sen. Jim Webb was then shown saying, "What I've been seeing over this last week is something from the other side on this that borders on irresponsibility." NBC adds their remarks come "after Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Democrats effort to oppose the troop buildup emboldened what he called 'America's enemy and adversaries.'"
The Washington Times reports Republican Sen. Sam Brownback "echoed Mr. Biden. 'I don't see this enemy as needing any more emboldening or getting it from any resolution. They're emboldened now,' he told 'Fox News Sunday.'" Brownback also said on Fox News Sunday, "We can and we will win in Iraq if we can just pull together. And I think if the President would reach out to the Democrat leadership and ask them not what are you opposed to, but what are you for, we can start coming together."
Next Debate Could Be Over Funding. The Politico reports, "Senate leaders are drawing battle lines over an even more pressing question: Whether to meet the new White House funding request for the war." On NBC Nightly News, Sen. Charles Schumer was shown saying, "We think this first step, this resolution -- nonbinding -- will send a real message, close to a majority or even a majority of Republicans will vote for it. But we won't stop there." The Christian Science Monitor, and Adam Cohen, in an "Editorial Observer" piece for the New York Times, also raise the prospect of a Senate battle over Iraq funding.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee "is set to hold Congress's first in-depth hearings into charges of waste and fraud involving money spent on reconstruction in Iraq." Revelations "about lax oversight or misspent funds could prove embarrassing to the Bush White House just as it is pressing for an additional $1.2 billion to spend on reconstruction and economic stimulus in Iraq."
War Opponents Call For Bush Impeachment. The Politico reported that today, two days after Saturday's Washington, DC, anti-war protests, "a small army of anti-war activists will fan out across Capitol Hill to lobby for congressional support to impeach...Bush, who's facing a storm of opposition for his handling of the Iraq war." The activists "may get a sympathetic ear...from Democrats," but "they'll likely get only get polite smiles -- and little, if any, support -- when they bring up the 'I' word." Asked about impeachment, House Majority Whip James Clyburn said, "Hell no," but "other members aren't quite as emphatic." Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, for example, "said that calls for impeachment were 'premature' although he added: 'If (Bush's) failures (in Iraq) continue, there is no telling what the outcome can be in terms of congressional attitude.'"
Newsweek interviewed Vice President Cheney this week. Cheney said the deployment of another carrier task force to the Gulf "sends a very strong signal to everybody in the region that the United States is here to stay, that we clearly have significant capabilities and that we are working with friends and allies as well as the international organizations to deal with the Iranian threat." Cheney said he would not "speculate about security action" against Iran, adding, "We've also made it clear that we haven't taken any options off the table." The Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor note Cheney's comments in this morning's editions.
Iran Wants Stronger Ties With Iraq In a front page article, the New York Times reports Iran's ambassador to Baghdad "outlined an ambitious plan on Sunday to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq...just as the Bush administration has been warning the Iranians to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs." Iran's plan, as outlined by Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qumi, "carries the potential to bring Iran into further conflict here with the United States."
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USA Today reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "and two other prominent Democrats have failed to disclose they are officers of family charities, in violation of a law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles." Rep. Rahm Emanuel, "the fourth-ranking House Democrat, and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana also did not report they serve as family foundation directors, according to financial disclosure reports examined by USA TODAY." USA Today notes the foundations "donated mostly to hometown charities that reflect the lawmakers' personal and political attitudes. None of the foundations received donations from outside sources."
Uncertainty Grows About Ethics Rules. The Wall Street Journal reports on the front page that both House and Senate "have approved new rules, but legislation has not yet been finalized. The result: considerable uncertainty about what's allowed, and some unintended consequences."
In a piece on potato research emblematic of congressional agriculture research programs, the Wall Street Journal reports that as "part of a giant spending bill to be filed in Congress tonight, Democrats will take a spade to more than $186 million in such research grants, which have quadrupled in the Agriculture Department since the 1980s. Hardest hit are the nation's 58 land-grant colleges, which have become dependent on the funds and now are caught in the backlash against members of Congress 'earmarking' money for particular causes or recipients." The Washington Post reports the definition of an earmark "has been at the heart of passionate negotiations across the capital as lawmakers, federal agencies and lobbyists argue over what constitutes waste and what is legitimate spending."
Newsweek reports in its "Periscope" section that White House "anxiety is mounting over the prospect that top officials -- including deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and counselor Dan Bartlett -- may be forced to provide potentially awkward testimony in the perjury and obstruction trial" of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff. Last week, Libby attorney Ted Wells "laid out a defense resting on the idea that his client" had been "made a 'scapegoat' to protect Rove." USA Today, meanwhile, notes "high-profile journalists such as NBC's Tim Russert and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller are scheduled to be called as witnesses as soon as this week," as the trial "heads into its second week of testimony."
The New York Times reports a "favored online tactic to mock" President Bush, "altering the Google search engine so the words 'miserable failure' lead to President Bush's home page at the White House -- has been neutralized." Google "announced on Thursday on its official blog that 'by improving our analysis of the link structure of the Web' such mischief would instead 'typically return commentary, discussions, and articles' about the tactic itself."
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Sen. Hillary Clinton made her first campaign trip to Iowa this weekend, generating massive media coverage from appearances Saturday and Sunday. Clinton's initial event on Saturday was greeted by heavy network news coverage and front page stories on papers across the nation. For example, ABC World News reported her visit as its lead story on Saturday night, saying, "The high school basketball gym was crammed to capacity: more than 1,000 people, plus an overflow room down the hall. The first question out of the gate, about breaking the tradition of exclusively male presidents." The CBS Evening News said Clinton "charmed the 1,500 or so Democrats gathered in a high school gym in Des Moines with her softer side...and drew heavy applause as she hammered away at familiar Democratic themes, such as the need for national health care, more money for education, and the Bush Administration."
In a front-page story, the Washington Post reports Clinton, "bursting onto the campaign trail," confronted "two looming questions about her presidential candidacy: whether voters are ready to elect a woman to the White House and how aggressively she would respond to Republican attacks if she were her party's nominee." The Los Angeles Times wrote Clinton "took on the full trappings of a presidential candidate" in Iowa, "where she defended her early support of the Iraq war and played up her chance to 'break a historic barrier' as the first woman to win the White House." In a piece that typified much of the national coverage, the AP reports that Clinton "held a raucous town hall meeting with 1,500 cheering backers and hundreds of journalists."
The heavy coverage wasn't surprising, given that USA Today reported on its web site that "some 150 journalists from around the country and the world, including Japan, England, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland," were on hand.
However, despite the generally positive tone of the coverage over the weekend, a front page story in today's Washington Post says Clinton has a long way to go to win over the electorate in the crucial state. The Post writes that Clinton's campaign advisers "may justifiably conclude that she made a positive first impression on Iowa Democratic Party activists." However, "a 90-minute conversation with 14 Iowa Democrats...tells a more complete and not-so-encouraging story of her candidacy in its early stages." Clinton "engenders substantial doubts among people who, by virtue of Iowa's place at the front of the nominating calendar, could play an outsized role in selecting the next Democratic presidential nominee." After reviewing the response to her visit by 14 uncommitted activists, the Post concludes, "The Democratic race in Iowa is wide open." The Chicago Tribune noted that Clinton avoided the Iraq issue during her initial appearance, saying in its coverage of the appearance, "Missing from the day's 'conversation' was a meaningful discussion on the war in Iraq. And that fact wasn't lost on some in the audience who groaned when Clinton spoke at length about standardized tests for schoolchildren."
Comment About Experience With "Evil And Bad Men" Elicits Laughter There was one humorous moment for Clinton yesterday. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports Clinton "got an unexpected laugh at a fairgrounds appearance when a questioner, referring to terrorists in the world, asked about her experience dealing with 'evil and bad men.' Repeating the question, Clinton said, 'What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?' That prompted growing laughter in the crowd, with Clinton smiling." The Gazette adds, "Later, at the news conference, Clinton was asked three times about the incident and laughed at being 'psycho-analyzed.' She brushed off the idea, broached by a reporter, that the audience was thinking of the well-publicized behavior of her husband." The Los Angeles Times adds that after Clinton's comments, "the crowd's laughter gradually built, lasting a full 30 seconds, with the New York senator smiling gamely the entire time. ... When asked later at a news conference what was on her mind during the laughs, she said she was thinking she 'could do a pretty good job' in pursuing Osama bin Laden, and 'our leadership for the last six years hasn't really produced results.' Incredulous reporters persisted in asking what she was thinking."
Clinton Official Says Nomination "Hers To Lose." Asked on CNN's Larry King Live if the nomination is "Hillary's to lose," Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said, "Clearly I would say she is the frontrunner. She's got the smarts. She's tough. ... She's got the leadership skills. ... Yes, it's hers to lose, and we've got to work hard, we've got to work for every single vote and get out there. People have to get to know Hillary Clinton."
Sen. Hillary Clinton wasn't the only high-profile 2008 candidate making an initial visit to a key early state this weekend Rudy Giuliani (R) headed to New Hampshire for a two-day swing through the Granite State. ABC World News reports that Giuliani "has not officially joined the race, but working the lunch crowd at this Manchester diner with his wife this afternoon, Rudy Giuliani certainly looks like he's running for president. ... The former mayor is on a two-day swing through the Granite State, drawing big crowds and hordes of reporters wherever he goes." Under the headline "Giuliani Is Sounding More Like A Candidate," the New York Times reported Giuliani "sounded nearer than ever to being a presidential candidate" in Manchester, "repeatedly talking about the prospect of running, and inviting voters to judge him by his record as mayor." While Giuliani "has long been thought to be a presidential contender, he has fallen behind other candidates in declaring his intention, and the language he used on Saturday, while suggesting a run, also contained built-in escape hatches." Following on that theme, the Los Angeles Times headlined its report "Giuliani Plays It Close To The Vest," saying "the Rudy Giuliani Mystery Theater" rolled into town as the would-be candidate "gave away nothing about plans for a White House run."
During his trip, Giuliani focused on a number of core GOP themes. The Concord Monitor reported Giuliani "outlined what he deemed Republican core values: fiscal conservatism, small government and a robust military. He called his party 'the party of the future,' and urged New Hampshire Republicans to reverse the gains Democrats made in November's election. ... And he repeatedly referenced that lion of Republican presidents, Ronald Reagan, calling him 'my great hero.'"
The New Hampshire Union Leader reported that Giuliani also focused heavily on his accomplishments as Mayor of New York City, listing "a number of things he changed when he took over New York City, from cutting crime in half to reducing welfare roles. 'The most important thing I did for New York City was to restore hope; so the people see a future not a past,' Giuliani said. He said when he says taxes need to be reduced to stimulate the economy, 'I'll say it to you because I did it -- and I saw it work,' he said. 'When I say to you we have to bring peace and security -- whether it's in Baghdad or in other parts of the world or here at home -- I'll say that to you because I saw that happen in New York and I made it happen.'"
The Raleigh News & Observer reported that ex-North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (D), "who toured the country last fall talking about other people's homes, is now fielding questions about his own $6 million estate outside Chapel Hill." Since announcing a second presidential bid in December, Edwards "has been more likely to be asked whether there is any contradiction between his 29,000-square-foot Orange County estate and his pledge to reduce poverty and help the working poor."
CQ Politics (7/27) has released its initial ratings for Senate races, its "earliest-ever Election Forecaster ratings by the CQPolitics staff." For GOP held seats, one is rated as No Clear Favorite (Colorado), five are rated Leans Republican (Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon), and the remainder are rated Republican Favored. On the Democratic side, one seat is rated No Clear Favorite (South Dakota), one is rated Leans Democratic (Louisiana), and the rest are rated Democratic Favored.
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Jay Leno: "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is now in Iraq. She made a surprise visit to Iraq. ... Actually, she didn't say how long she was staying in Iraq. And President Bush said he was against setting any timetables for Pelosi to return."
Jay Leno: "Well, President Bush now says he wants more money for the reconstruction of Iraq. How come the only place where Republicans think government programs can help people is in Iraq? You know? How come we never try them here?"
Jay Leno: "And in his State of the Union address, President Bush did say that our economy is on the move. It's moving to India, but hey, it's moving."
Jay Leno: "And political experts say that Barack Obama drew record crowds in New Hampshire. Record crowds. Well, sure, it's New Hampshire. They've never seen a black guy before."
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