Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Washington Prepares For Round Two Of War Funding Battle

The New York Times is reporting this morning that House Democrats "may push ahead this week with a new war spending bill that would provide money for combat operations through midsummer, with the rest of the funds sought by President Bush withheld until commanders in Iraq provide a report on conditions there." While House leaders have "made no final decision...aides said Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, was leaning toward the approach." In the Senate, "where lawmakers and senior Democratic aides had earlier dismissed the concept, a spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, softened his tone. 'It is something that Senator Reid intends to take a look at,' said the spokesman, Jim Manley." The Washington Post says the measure "could come to a House vote as early as Friday," but "faces significant obstacles in the Senate."

While the Democratic bill would fund the war until mid-Summer, September appears to loom as the key deadline for both Iraq war supporters and opponents. The AP reports Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott "said Monday that...Bush's new strategy in Iraq has until about fall before GOP members will need to see results." Lott's comment "put a fine point on what Senate Republican stalwarts have been discussing quietly for weeks. It also echoed remarks made this weekend by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, indicating the GOP's limited patience on the war." The Washington Post also reports "Congressional leaders from both political parties are giving...Bush a matter of months to prove that the Iraq war effort has turned a corner, with September looking increasingly like a decisive deadline." In that month, "political pressures in Washington will dovetail with the military timeline in Baghdad. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, has said that by then he will have a handle on whether the current troop increase is having any impact on political reconciliation between Iraq's warring factions. And fiscal 2008, which begins Oct. 1, will almost certainly begin with Congress placing tough new strings on war funding."

The Hill, meanwhile, reports House Democratic leaders may be counting on GOP support to pass the legislation. While House Democratic leaders' "primary aim is to rally the caucus around a single supplemental spending bill, House Democratic leaders are considering offering anti-war liberals an opportunity to vote on a measure that would set a withdrawal date, in exchange for support on a compromise bill that likely would not include a fixed withdrawal date, Democratic aides said." The Hill notes Speaker Pelosi's predecessor, Dennis Hastert, "made it a practice not to pass bills that the majority of the Republican conference did not support."

The Washington Post says the "global war on terror, as...Bush calls the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and related military operations, is about to become the second-most-expensive conflict in US history, after World War II." Since the "Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress has approved more than $609 billion for the wars, a figure likely to stand as lawmakers rework their latest spending bill in response to a Bush veto. Requests for $145 billion more await congressional action and would raise the cost in inflation-adjusted dollars beyond the cost of the wars in Korea and Vietnam." But the US "is vastly richer than it was in those days, and the nation's wealth now dwarfs the price of war, economists said. Last year, spending in Iraq amounted to less than 1 percent of the total economy -- about as much as Americans spent shopping online and less than half what they spent at Wal-Mart. Total defense spending is 4 percent of gross domestic product, the figure that measures the nation's economic output. In contrast, defense spending ate up 14 percent of GDP at the height of the Korean War and 9 percent during the Vietnam War."

Senate Maneuver Blocks Drug Reimportation

USA Today reports the Senate "effectively blocked efforts to allow consumers to buy prescription medicines from abroad, where drugs can cost a third of what they do in the USA. Senators voted 49-40 Monday in favor of requiring that US health officials certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs, something the Food and Drug Administration has said it cannot do." Sen. Bernie Sanders "called the certification amendment, introduced by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., a 'poison pill' for the drug-imports legislation. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., acknowledged it voided his bid to allow the purchase of drugs abroad." The provision "was an amendment to legislation to overhaul the FDA. The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs made in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand." The AP calls the vote "a triumph for the pharmaceutical industry." The Wall Street Journal and New York Times run similar reports.

Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.

More Pressure On Wolfowitz To Go

Paul Wolfowitz's effort to keep his position as head of the World Bank is becoming more difficult by the day. The New York Times reports leading governments of Europe," mounting "a new campaign to push" him "from his job...signaled Monday that they were willing to let the United States choose the bank's next chief, but only if Mr. Wolfowitz stepped down soon, European officials said. European officials had previously indicated that they wanted to end the tradition of the United States picking the World Bank leader." USA Today, meanwhile, notes "a special panel has found that...Wolfowitz broke bank rules in arranging a pay package and promotion for his girlfriend, a person familiar with the report said Monday." Wolfowitz "was presented with the findings by the special bank panel investigating his handling of the 2005 promotion and pay raise of bank employee Shaha Riza." The report "was not made public, but the person familiar with its findings confirmed that violations were cited. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report has not yet been released."

And that's not all. The Financial Times reports Kevin Kellems, "one of...Wolfowitz's closest aides, announced on Monday that he is resigning from the World Bank, saying he could no longer be effective in his job." Kellems told the Times that "in the current environment surrounding the leadership of the World Bank group it is very difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution." The Los Angeles Times calls Kellems' resignation "a further sign of Wolfowitz's deteriorating position," and the Wall Street Journal says the move "underscored Mr. Wolfowitz's increasingly tenuous hold" on his job.

US Attorney Scandal Continues To Grow

Congressional scrutiny of the Justice Department's firing of eight US Attorneys continues to find new grist for the scandal mill. Senate investigators have asked to interview Bradley Schlozman, a former civil rights division attorney, about his efforts to combat vote fraud and his role in the personnel system. The AP reports lawmakers "want to talk to Schlozman and Goodling as part of an inquiry into whether the department played politics with the hiring and firing of department officials." CNN's "The Situation Room" reported "Democrats suspect" that Scholzman asked "applicants to hide the fact that they were Republicans so they could be hired without anyone charging that partisan politics was behind the decision."

McClatchy says a person "familiar with the congressional inquiry, who insisted upon anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, described Schlozman as a central figure because he ties together 'all of the threads' of the investigation." The person said Schlozman "'cleaned out' career lawyers in the Civil Rights Division, replaced them with partisans and was involved in using 'vote suppression mechanisms' of voting rights laws, including supporting actions to pare lists of registered voters and backing state laws that toughened voter identification requirements before the 2006 congressional election."

Meanwhile, the Justice Department announced it did not object to a limited grant of immunity to former official Monica Goodling. The Washington Post says the move "means that Goodling is likely to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee on a broad range of questions about the firings that she helped coordinate, including the extent of involvement by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and the White House, officials said." The Washington Times and The Politico.com blogger John Bresnahan also report the limited immunity deal.

Bush Gaffe Dominates Coverage Of Royal Visit

There was extensive coverage of the English royals' visit to Washington yesterday. Much of it dealt with a slip of the tongue by President Bush. The Washington Post notes Bush "welcomed the queen with a royal faux pas about her age, suggesting she had witnessed American independence in 1776. Expressing admiration for her long friendship with the United States, Bush noted that Elizabeth had dined with 10 presidents and had 'helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17...' He quickly caught and corrected his mistake, 'in 1976.' Her Majesty did not appear to be amused." The AP also says Bush suggested "Queen Elizabeth was over 230 years old," causing the occasion not to be "the flawless effort Bush had hoped would erase memories of the 'talking hat' episode during the queen's last US visit. (In 1991, during Bush's father's administration, a too-tall lectern left the audience able to see only the queen's hat behind microphones.)"

In his "Washington Sketch" column for the Washington Post, Dana Milbank writes, "The crowd laughed. Bush looked at Her Majesty -- and winked. Elizabeth smiled politely and said something that sounded like 'some year,' or 'you're near' or even 'oh, dear.' ... At least he didn't credit her with signing the Magna Carta." NBC Nightly News and ABC World News both reported on his verbal slip, and showed a clip of the President saying, "She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child." The Washington Times says "the president fumbled his effusive praise," the Chicago Tribune calls the incident Bush's "unwitting ice-breaker," and the Los Angeles Times refers to Bush's "early flub." USA Today, New York Times and Washington Post, meanwhile run stories on last night's state dinner at the White House.

Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.

Top

CAMPAIGN NEWS

Giuliani Has Given Money At Least Six Times To Planned Parenthood

Long Island Newsday reports that Rudy Giuliani "has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he 'hates' abortion even while supporting the right to choose, but his federal tax returns reveal he contributed money at least six times to Planned Parenthood, a leading abortion provider. The contributions show up on federal tax returns released when Giuliani was mayor and show he and his second wife, Donna Hanover, contributed $900 to various chapters of the group throughout the 1990s." Newsday adds, "Information about the contributions 'was provided to Newsday last night by a rival campaign to Giuliani's." The Politico reports, "The returns have been on the public record for years, but the detail about Giuliani's support for Planned Parenthood -- along with e-mailed copies of the returns -- was provided to The Politico by aides to a rival campaign, who insisted on not being identified." The New York Times notes the story on The Politico, while the AP story reports McCain "said Monday that although it's not impossible for a Republican candidate who favors abortion rights to win the nomination, such a candidate would face long odds. 'I think it's one of the fundamental principles of a conservative to have respect and commitment to the dignity of human life, both the born and unborn,' McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press. 'It makes it tough because the Republican Party is basically composed to a significant degree by people who are pro-life, just as the Democratic Party has pro-choice candidates.'"

New Polls Shows Giuliani, Clinton On Top

Two new national polls out this morning show Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton leading their respective primary fields, although Clinton's lead over her opposition is wider than Giuliani's.

A USA Today /Gallup poll shows Clinton leading the Democratic field with 38% (up from 31% three weeks ago), followed by Barack Obama, 23%; Al Gore, 14%; and John Edwards, 12%. The rest of the field is in the very low single digits. Without Gore in the race, Clinton's lead is even larger she leads Obama 45%-27%. On the GOP side, Giuliani leads with 34%, followed by John McCain, 20%; Fred Thompson, 13%; Newt Gingrich, 8%; and Mitt Romney, 7%. Without Gingrich in the race, Giuliani leads McCain 36%-21%.

A CNN /Opinion Research Corporation poll shows a much narrower GOP contest. Giuliani leads with 25%, followed by McCain, 23%; Fred Thompson, 13%; Mitt Romney, 10%; and Newt Gingrich, 9%. If Thompson is not in the field, Giuliani's lead over McCain expands slightly to 30%-25%. On the Democratic side, Clinton leads with 38%, followed by Obama, 24%; Gore, 12%; Edwards, 12%; and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 5%. Without Gore in the race, Clinton's leads Obama 41%-27%.

State Polls Show More Competitive GOP Race

A group of new state polls released over the last 24 hours shows Hillary Clinton generally holding strong leads in the Democratic field, while the GOP situation is more convoluted. While Rudy Giuliani leads in three of the polls, there is one surprise a new poll shows Mitt Romney pulling out to a lead in New Hampshire, which borders his home state of Massachusetts.

New Hampshire A SurveyUSA automated telephone poll conducted for WBZ-TV Boston shows Romney leading in New Hampshire with 32%, followed by Giuliani with 23% and McCain with 22%. Fred Thompson came in 4th with 11%, followed by Newt Gingrich with 4%. Clinton leads the Democratic field with 40%, followed by Barack Obama with 24% and John Edwards with 22%, although the survey did not offer the option of Al Gore.

California A SurveyUSA automated telephone poll conducted for a group of California media outlets shows Giuliani on top with 34%, followed by McCain, 21%; Romney, 12%; Thompson, 11%; and Gingrich, 9%. On the Democratic side, Clinton leads with 48%, followed Obama, 27% and Edwards, 15%. Gore was not offered as a choice in the survey.

Alabama The AP reports that a new poll from the Capital Survey Research Center, "the polling arm of the Alabama Education Association," shows Giuliani leading with 29%, followed by McCain, 23%; Gingrich, 15%; and Romney, 7%. Clinton leads the Democrats with 37%, followed by Obama, 21%, and Gore and Edwards tied at 9% apiece.

North Carolina WRAL-TV Raleigh reports that a Public Policy Polling survey shows Giuliani leading with 32%, followed by Thompson, 25%; McCain, 16%; and Romney, 13%. On the Democratic side, Edwards, who represented the state in the Senate, leads with 33%, followed by Clinton with 27% and Obama with 20%.

Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.

Top

POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Jay Leno: "The Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth, met with President Bush over the weekend. You know, I thought this was nice of President Bush. Did you hear what he did? He took the time to learn a little bit of English so he could speak with her."

Jay Leno: "Anyway, the Queen was welcomed with a 21-gun salute. Well, 22 if you count Cheney's gun that went off accidentally."

David Letterman: "The last time the Queen of England was in the United States was 1991, 1991. And an awful lot has changed since 1991, the last time she was here. Back then, hell, back then President Bush was fighting a war in Iraq."

Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.

Top