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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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The fallout from comments made by Hollywood mogul David Geffen, a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, that appeared in Wednesday's Maureen Dowd column in the New York Times dominates the political news today, with two broadcast networks and several major newspapers reporting on the back-and-forth between the Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton campaigns. The story eclipsed coverage of a forum for Democratic candidates in Nevada that was attended by eight candidates, with only Obama absent. ABC World News said that though "there are more than 10 months to go until we even get to the presidential election year," Clinton and Obama "were sniping at one another, as if the campaign were in midstream." ABC News said that in the Dowd column, Geffen "lashed out at both Clintons, saying, 'Everybody in politics lies. But they do it with such ease, it's troubling.' Geffen also alluded to the former 'president's personal life, calling him 'a reckless guy,' and insinuating he has not changed since the Monica Lewinsky days. ... Geffen has no official role with the Obama campaign. But almost immediately the Clinton campaign went after Obama, saying he was hypocritical for tolerating Geffen's comments, given Obama's pitch against negative campaigning." The CBS Evening News said that Clinton and Obama "are trading jabs in their first public spat" and added that, despite the early date, "the campaigns of the two most famous Democrats were already hissing at each other."
The Washington Post headlines its front-page report "Clinton, Obama Camps' Feud Is Out In The Open," and leads by saying "an increasingly acrimonious competition" between Clinton and Obama "to enlist the Democratic Party's leading fundraisers and operatives burst into the open yesterday, overshadowing what was billed as the presidential campaign's first gathering of candidates in Nevada." On its front page, the New York Times calls it a "remarkably caustic exchange between the Clinton and Obama campaigns that highlighted the sensitivity in the Clinton camp to Mr. Obama's rapid rise as a rival and his positioning as a fresh face unburdened by the baggage borne by Mrs. Clinton." The AP said the Clinton and Obama camps "traded accusations of nasty politics" over the Geffen comments. While the Clinton campaign "demanded that Obama denounce comments made by the DreamWorks movie studio founder," Obama, campaigning in Iowa, refused, saying, "It's not clear to me why I'd be apologizing for someone else's remark." The Clinton camp "seemed also to be sending a warning to mudslinging critics that they would be dealt with fiercely." The Wall Street Journal writes that an "email fusillade" yesterday "left many Democrats shaking their heads that party infighting -- like everything else about the 2008 presidential campaign -- is starting so soon, nearly a year before the first nominating votes." The Chicago Tribune notes that the Clinton camp was "perhaps stung by Obama's successful incursion into Hollywood, which at one time was unchallenged Clinton country," and "hit back hard, saying Geffen's comments contrasted poorly with the Illinois senator's self-promotion as a new breed of politician, unifying and optimistic."
Clinton campaign communications director Howard Wolfson took the gloves off last night on MSNBC's Hardball, saying, "Our expectation was that Sen. Obama, who was running a campaign premised on changing our politics, who has decried the politics of slash and burn, would denounce the comments, say that these comments don't represent his thinking or his campaign. We were, frankly, surprised that he didn't do that. It makes you wonder whether or not he agrees with them. It's a little ironic that the candidate on one day would say, 'I want to change America. I want to change politics. I want to lift us up. I want to stop the politics of slash and burn,' while at the same time his leading supporter in California is attacking [President Clinton] and Sen. Clinton in very personal terms."
While there is little analysis out this morning on who got the best of the exchange, two different interpretations are emerging. Lee Miringoff , director of the nonpartisan Marist Institute for Public Opinion, told the Boston Globe, "If you're the Clintons, people know there's controversy. Obama so far has not been in that place. To get him to have to throw a few punches makes him look like a politician. Now they've got him more where they want him. They don't want him above the fray; they want him duking it out." In contrast, in her column for Bloomberg, Margaret Carlson writes, "There's a lot of time left in campaign '08 for a list of worst moments, but it may be hard to beat" Sen. Clinton's "decision to engage" Obama "in a fierce battle over who's a better friend of" Geffen, whose "comments would be lining the kitty-litter box by now if the Clinton campaign hadn't decided to make a federal case out of them."
Obama Secures Daschle's Backing The AP reports former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle endorsed Sen. Barack Obama yesterday, saying Obama "'personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country.' Daschle said Obama has a 'great capacity to unify our country and inspire a new generation of young Americans, just as I was inspired by the Kennedys and Martin Luther King when I was young.'" Daschle served in the Senate with four of the Democratic candidates, but not Obama, who took office as Daschle departed.
Tension between Sen. John McCain and the administration continues to rise. McCain, a strong supporter of the Iraq war, spent much of the last week hammering former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his handling of the conflict. Yesterday, the AP reports that Vice President Cheney hit back, saying in an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, "John's entitled to his opinion. I just think he's wrong." Cheney also said that McCain had apologized to him for saying the President was "badly served" by Cheney's advice. Cheney said, "John said some nasty things about me the other day, and then next time he saw me, ran over to me and apologized. Maybe he'll apologize to Rumsfeld."
That wasn't the end of the sparring, however. At an appearance yesterday, McCain ramped up his anti-administration rhetoric a notch. The Los Angeles Times reports McCain "was anything but subtle Wednesday as he took swipes at the Bush administration during a meticulously staged appearance with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the bustling docks of Los Angeles Harbor. President Bush's record on global warming? 'Terrible,' McCain declared. His pursuit of the Iraq war? 'A train wreck.'"
Arnold Lauds McCain Schwarzenegger, re-elected last year by a large margin in very "blue" California, all but endorsed McCain yesterday at the event. The AP reports Schwarzenegger "offered his most lavish praise yet Wednesday for any 2008 presidential candidate, calling John McCain a 'great senator' and 'very good friend' who shared his views on critical issues like the environment." Schwarzenegger "stopped short of a formal declaration of support for McCain's budding candidacy, but their appearance together in the Port of Los Angeles was a strong reminder that the two maverick Republicans share a well-developed friendship." McCain "joked that he was endorsed by Schwarzenegger. Then Schwarzenegger said their joint appearance wasn't about politics." McCain said, "We share common philosophy and goals for this country."
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With media attention focused on the sparring between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate forum in Nevada yesterday seemed tame by comparison, with the field of candidates (minus Obama, who did not attend) focusing most of their attacks on the Bush administration. The only real heat came from John Edwards. The New York Times says the "toughest words" came from Edwards, who "said Americans needed 'a different kind of leadership' than that provided by the current president who, Mr. Edwards said, had refused to admit error on Iraq." Asked about Clinton's "explanation that her vote was cast based on a sincere belief in military intelligence provided at the time, Mr. Edwards replied: 'Whether it's good enough I think is between her and her conscience. It's not for me to judge.'" The AP says the "event format did not permit Clinton to respond to Edwards' swipe, which stood out on an afternoon in which Democrats launched serial attacks on President Bush's war policies."
The GOP may have lost control of both the House and the Senate in 2006, but the Republican National Committee has maintained its massive fundraising edge over the Democratic National Committee. CQ Politics reports that new filings show the RNC pulling in $10.5 million in January and sitting on $8 million in cash. On the Democratic side, the DNC brought in $5.7 million, has $6.5 million in cash, but is still carrying $4 million in debt from the 2006 contests.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that the UK will begin withdrawing troops from Iraq at the end of the summer is being portrayed as a setback for the Bush Administration. The Los Angeles Times, in a report typical of the tenor of much of the coverage, reports the British move "was widely seen Wednesday as a telling admission that the British military can no longer sustain simultaneous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq." The decision "to draw down forces by more than 20 percent in the southern city of Basra means that Britain will significantly shrink its military footprint at a time when the Pentagon is increasing U.S. forces to battle militants to the north, in Baghdad and Anbar province."
NBC Nightly News reported Administration "officials scrambled today to put the best face on the British withdrawal." But their "spin," added NBC, "masks a darker reality. Just as the US is putting more troops into Iraq to secure Baghdad, America's staunchest ally in the war is beginning to pull up stakes." The Washington Post says that "for an already besieged White House, the decision was doing a good job masquerading as a bad-news story." To "many back in Washington," what "resonated was that Bush's main partner in Iraq is starting to get out just as the president is sending in more U.S. troops." On the CBS Evening News, Bob Schieffer said Blair's move "is going to make the President even more isolated than perhaps he is now. The Democrats have already pounced on this. They say it shows that the President's idea of putting more troops in is not the solution and that there is not a military solution, there has to be a diplomatic solution."
Democrats pounced on the British move as a sign that Bush's plan to increase the US troop level in Iraq by 21,500 was the wrong strategy. The Financial Times notes "prominent Democrats in Congress said the move was a sign that Britain was now giving up on the US in Iraq and contrasted it with the surge in US troop numbers deployed to contain the violence in Baghdad." Sen. Ted Kennedy "said the British redeployment was a 'stunning rejection' of the president's decision to increase US troop numbers around Baghdad by 21,500. 'No matter how the White House tries to spin it, the British government has decided to split with President Bush and begin to move their troops out of Iraq,' Mr Kennedy said." And Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said "the British had long ago lost the political fight and ceded Basra and Maysan to Shi'ite Islamist factions."
The Hill notes "congressional Democrats...said Wednesday that the White House should take a cue from its closest ally and get U.S. soldiers out of Iraq instead of sending in more," and the Washington Times runs a similar story under the headline "Democrats Hail British Pullout." Along similar lines, in an editorial headlined "Britain Cuts Its Losses," the New York Times writes, "Spin it any way you like, Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that Britain will be withdrawing up to 1,600 of its 7,100 remaining troops in Iraq can't be welcome military or political news for...Bush."
Blair's announcement led all three network newscasts, with ABC World News saying, "Politically, Mr. Blair had little choice. Public opposition to the war is strong. Six in ten here favor a quick withdrawal. And 72% say the war is unwinnable." NBC Nightly News reported, "There are 7,100 British troops in Iraq. The first 1,600 will leave over the next few months." Bottom-line, the British "have done what they can, Blair's plan now, withdraw a quarter of British troops by summer, all could be out by the end of next year." The CBS Evening News noted "the coalition, which at its peak included the United States and 38 other nations, is down to the US and 21 other nations." In addition, says the AP, "Lithuania is 'seriously considering' withdrawing its 53 troops from Iraq, a government spokeswoman said Wednesday."
British Pullout Could Empower Iran The CBS Evening News reported there is "concern that this will give neighboring Iran free reign to continue its support of these powerful militias." USA Today runs a similar report under the headline "Iran, Militias Could Gain From British Pullout." The New York Times reports that a "senior Defense Department official said that, if security conditions deteriorated in the south, American commanders might need to send in their own forces to help remaining British units and Iraqi troops." In a similar report, the Christian Science Monitor reports, "Blair's move isn't likely to help the Bush administration."
Iraq Fighters Using Chemical Dirty Bombs ABC World News reported insurgents in Iraq "are stepping up their use of a new and deadly weapon: chemical dirty bombs. A truck bomb today in Baghdad combined explosives with chlorine gas. The chlorine burns and can kill when it explodes. It was the second such blast in as many days." NBC Nightly News said two people were killed in yesterday's bombing. The New York Times reports that "Iraqi and American officials said the use of chlorine seemed aimed at bringing a new level of fear and havoc to Iraq as a new security plan for Baghdad takes shape."
White House Sees Glass Half-Full In Iraq White House strategists are taking the rosiest view possible of polls on public assessments of the Iraq war. While many in the media and in Congress emphasize that most voters now oppose the war and believe it was a mistake, there is another way to interpret the data, GOP insiders tell US News Political Bulletin. When the question is asked whether Americans want their country to win or "succeed" in Iraq, most people say yes. "People want victory," says a senior White House official. "And that's what the President is insisting on." The President will attempt to draw parallels to other difficult wars in American history, as he did Monday during a trip to George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Bush compared Iraq with the Revolutionary War, which seemed hopeless for years -- until the Americans finally won.
Vice President Cheney, on a trip to Asia, was asked during an ABC World News interview if he thought House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats "support a policy of retreat" in Iraq. Cheney said, "Yes," adding that what "Pelosi is suggesting -- and she made it very clear on many occasions, that she, in fact, wants to get out -- that that's exactly the wrong medicine. It's the wrong course of action. It will do nothing but encourage the terrorists, and it will have a devastating long-term consequences in the global war on terror." The AP adds that Cheney said the Democratic approach "would 'validate the al-Qaida strategy,'" earning a sharp rebuke from Pelosi, who "fired back that Cheney was questioning critics' patriotism." Pelosi said, "I hope the President will repudiate and distance himself from the Vice President's remarks."
Cheney today moves on to Australia, where, the Christian Science Monitor reports, he will "encounter public anger over Australia's participation in the Iraq war and growing disquiet over the fate of the country's lone Guantánamo Bay detainee, David Hicks."
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In a bid to quell a scandal generated by poor outpatient living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Gen. George Weightman, commander of the hospital, and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody quickly moved to make improvements. NBC Nightly News reported that as "the fallout continued over the shocking conditions" at the "decrepit Building 18 today, top Army officials were front and center." Officials "blame the problems here at Building 18 on being overwhelmed. Not just by the sheer number of wounded coming here, but by the fact more are staying longer. That is because the military is making an effort to let more of the wounded continue to serve in uniform rather than quickly discharging them." The Washington Post says Gen. Cody "vowed yesterday to personally oversee the upgrading of Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Building 18, a dilapidated former hotel that houses wounded soldiers as outpatients." Cody "blamed 'a breakdown in leadership' for the troubling conditions but said no one has been fired or relieved of command."
Capitol Hill insider newspaper The Hill reports Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) "are sponsoring legislation to improve the lives of recovering veterans at Walter Reed, while Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a cosponsor of the Obama-McCaskill legislation, said that he would explore ways to direct new funds to Walter Reed and make immediate improvements to its veteran housing." And Congressional Quarterly notes "Senate Veterans Affairs Chairman Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, said he would hold a hearing on the issue next month, since many of the soldiers housed at Walter Reed will soon become veterans."
The Washington Times reports Sen. Edward Kennedy and others are "putting the final touches on a comprehensive immigration-reform bill that includes an easier citizenship path for illegal aliens and weaker enforcement provisions than were in the highly criticized legislation that the Senate approved last year." Kennedy "drafted this year's bill with help from Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, and outside lobbyists."
Arizona Sees Shortage Of Farm Workers. The Christian Science Monitor reports, "Empty stations on the harvest lines are more common this year throughout this swath of Arizona farm country, says" Rick Rademacher, "who serves as president of the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association. The reasons are many: A 40,000-person limit on the number of foreign guest workers allowed into the US, tighter borders that are discouraging illegal crossings, and rising demand for day laborers in other industries, such as higher-paying construction work." The shortage "of farm workers has been driving wages higher."
President Bush "flew to Chattanooga, Tenn., on Wednesday to promote his plan to expand health care coverage to millions of people by shifting decisions and responsibility to individuals," USA Today reports. The AP says Bush "received a hearty ovation as he described his plan," which would make health insurance benefits taxable income but permit a standard deduction. The New York Times says Bush "held forth for nearly an hour," at the event, where "participants had been carefully selected, the tone was confessional, and the president, describing himself as the 'educator in chief,' sounded more like talk-show host in chief."
The Chattanoogan says "some 500 Chattanoogans, including many of the city's leaders, were in attendance as the President moderated the event," but back in Washington, the Washington Post reports, Democrats "are showing little enthusiasm for the Bush health agenda." USA Today reports Sen. Edward Kennedy said the Bush plan "undercuts a system built on employer-provided coverage."
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Jay Leno: "Ash Wednesday, of course, marks the first day of Lent. A lot of people giving up things for Lent. Tony Blair giving up on the war in Iraq, I believe."
Jay Leno: "The British announced they were pulling their troops out of the Iraq. Dick Cheney immediately called it good news. He said, 'It's a sign that we're winning.' How come when our allies pick up and leave, that's a victory for us? But when we leave, it's a victory for al Qaeda? How does that work?"
Jay Leno: "Sen. Barack Obama was in Los Angeles last night for a huge campaign fundraiser. Yeah. Well, you see, that shows you what a great country this is -- when an African-American with a Kansas mother and Kenyan father, who spent time growing up in Indonesia, can run for president in the state where the Spanish-speaking people have elected an Austrian governor. That is America, ladies and gentlemen!"
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