USNews.com: Political Bulletin: Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

WASHINGTON NEWS

Bush Blasts Conservatives On Immigration

During a visit to Georgia yesterday, President Bush sharply criticized conservative critics of the Senate immigration reform deal. The tenor of Bush's remarks and his apparent willingness to stand against a sizeable swath of his own party base are receiving extensive attention in today's newspapers. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Bush accused conservative critics "of having failed to read the legislation they're attacking." Bush's audience "gave him a polite but cool response, reserving most of its applause for the beginning and end of the speech." The Los Angeles Times says Bush "used his most forceful language yet in support of the Senate bill," as he "accused conservative opponents of the bill of engaging in 'empty political rhetoric,'" and the Washington Post reports Bush used "stern tones normally reserved for the liberal opposition," with his rhetoric underscoring "the bitter crossfire among Republicans over immigration," and "the enormous challenge Bush faces in trying to rally his party behind what may be the most significant domestic initiative left in his presidency."

The New York Times says it was "a rare case of the president's taking on the coalition that helped him win and keep the Oval Office, the same conservative radio hosts, bloggers, writers and members of Congress who contributed significantly to the defeat of immigration measures last year." The Florida Times-Union, AP and Washington Times, among others, run similar accounts of Bush's remarks.

The President sounded similar themes in an interview with McClatchy. Bush said, "I'm deeply concerned about America losing its soul. Immigration has been the lifeblood of a lot of our country's history. And I am worried that a backlash to newcomers would cause our country to lose its great capacity to assimilate newcomers." Bush added elected officials "run for office to solve big problems and that courage is necessary to do the right thing. And, oftentimes, voters will reward the courageous." USA Today notes Bush also "used the word 'courage' at least five times" during his speech, "describing members of Congress who stand up to the 'criticism in the political field' over the bill." Reporting on the interview, the Kansas City Star notes Bush "traced his commitment to immigration to his time in Texas."

House GOP May Use Rule To Stop Deal The Hill reports House conservatives are "ready to stop the Senate immigration bill in its tracks with a potent procedural weapon should the contentious measure win passage in the upper chamber. The trump card conservatives may hold is a constitutional rule that revenue-related bills must originate in the House." The Senate immigration measure "requires that illegal immigrants pay back taxes before becoming citizens, opening the door to a House protest, dubbed a 'blue slip' for the color of its paper."

Kennedy Recounts January Bush Meeting Under the headline "Ted Kennedy Gets A Little Republican Respect," the Washington Post says Bush and Kennedy "have discussed immigration issues for years, but when they met in January at a White House event marking the fifth anniversary of No Child Left Behind, it seemed that the time was right for both men. 'He spoke about this issue knowledgeably,' Kennedy said. And he was willing to take some political hits on this. That caught my eye.'"

Maliki: Surge Averted Civil War

In an interview broadcast on the CBS Evening News, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the surge, or more precisely, the new Baghdad security plan, "is working," and if it had not been implemented, "we would have a true civil war in Iraq." According to CBS, "Maliki said there have been many victories in breaking up al Qaeda and other militant cells, although he cautioned it was too soon to do a complete evaluation of the surge. He said he has great hopes for more progress in the next two to three months, just in time for America's top commander here to report to Congress."

US Casualties Increase With Surge Despite's Maliki's optimism, the death of ten more US troops in Iraq on Memorial Day brought the total killed in May to 116, the deadliest month for the US since 2004. The sad milestone garnered enormous media attention with ABC World News reporting, "It was a devastating Memorial Day for US troops." USA Today's front page reads: "219 Killed Is Highest Toll Over 2 Months," saying "increased military activity throughout Iraq has pushed U.S. troop deaths to their highest level for any two-month period of the war." The Washington Post's front-page notes US officials have warned that the surge "would lead to higher US casualties," but they are now faced with the realization that it also "has not created a safer security environment." The CBS Evening News quoted US military officers who "say American casualties are likely to go still higher when operations hit full throttle the second week in June. Compounding that grim forecast, Stephen Bidle, an advisor to the American commander in Iraq, says the odds against success are long." The Los Angeles Times reports US officials "attributed Diyala's rampant violence to their decision last year to hand over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, which proved to be unprepared for the task."

Also, according to the Washington Post, "some American military officials in Baghdad have recently said that a majority of the Iraqi security forces they work with report to militia leaders and cannot be trusted. Commanders in western Baghdad said several roadside bombs aimed at American convoys have recently been found within view of Iraqi checkpoints." The Los Angeles Times adds, "Elsewhere in Baghdad, at least 23 people were killed, including four policemen, and 68 were wounded when a bomb planted in a parked minibus exploded in a busy commercial area in central Baghdad, police said."

Bush: No "Plan B" Yet In an interview with McClatchy, President Bush was asked what is the "alternate plan B for Iraq." Bush said, "It's very important for people in Washington, DC to understand that David Petraeus's plan must be a given a chance to work. It's not fully implemented." Bush argued there are "people" to whom "Baker-Hamilton," in reference to the Iraq Study Group, "to them, that means, withdrawal from Iraq. That's not what I mean, and that's not what others who are speculating about what this means." Asked if that meant "a possible change in September," Bush said, "It depends on what they report."

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Iraq Dissent Grows Within Both Parties

This morning's New York Times, under the headline "Some Hitherto Staunch GOP Voters Souring on Iraq," reports that while a majority of Republican voters still support President Bush and the Iraq war "there are concerns that the war is undermining the party's political position." The Times adds a recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that "a majority of Republicans...said that things were going badly in Iraq and that Congress should allow financing only on the condition that the Iraqi government met benchmarks for progress." Meanwhile, The Hill notes that liberal activists are "furious that congressional Democratic leaders did not fight harder to pass a supplemental spending bill with a timeline to end the war in Iraq and tougher benchmarks." The Hill adds that the "so-called netroots...have a loud voice and they have the capacity to raise money quickly for a candidate they favor, but they so far have been unable to push House and Senate Democratic leaders on a range of issues, including ending the war in Iraq."

Despite the near-revolt of their activist base, the Washington Times says top Democrats believe they hold the upper hand on this issue. Democratic campaign strategists "think their party will pick up more seats in 2008 because of this growing antiwar sentiment and say it is impossible for Congress to withdraw troops from Iraq until Democrats achieve a larger majority." In his Washington Post column Harold Meyerson writes, "Many of my antiwar friends were furious at Democratic congressional leaders last week for their failure to attach withdrawal deadlines to or cut funding from our occupation of Iraq -- a failure chiefly attributable to the simple fact that the votes weren't there for either option."

Sheehan Breaks With Democrats On Monday Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed fighting in Iraq in 2004, posted an item on dailykos.com titled "Good Riddance Attention Whore," an allusion (she says) to slurs aimed at her by Democratic party activists, which she describes as a "resignation letter as the 'face' of the American anti-war movement." While the letter has received widespread media attention (The Politico counts at least 500 stories yesterday alone), most reports have not emphasized what is arguably the main theme of her missive her disgust with the Democratic Party. Sheehan writes: "When I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the 'left started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used." In an interview with the AP published in today's USA Today Sheehan says, "I've been...wondering why the Democrats caved in to George Bush."

Cheney Ordered Visitor Logs Destroyed

The AP is reporting that last September a lawyer for Vice President Cheney told the Secret Service to "eliminate information on who visited him at his official residence. In a Sept. 13 letter, Cheney's lawyer "says logs for his residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory are subject to the Presidential Records Act. Such a designation prevents the public from learning who visited the vice president." According to the AP, the request has come to light because the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington "is seeking the identities of conservative religious leaders who visited Mr. Cheney at his official residence."

Questions Raised About Plame's Testimony

GOP Sen. Kit Bond is asking former CIA officer Valerie Plame to account for apparent contradictions between what she told the CIA in 2002 regarding her husband's trip to Niger, and her March testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. USA Today says that that a February 2002 CIA memo "released last week as part of a study of pre-Iraq-war intelligence shows that Plame suggested her husband, former State Department official Joseph Wilson, for the Niger trip. ... That 'doesn't square' with Plame's March testimony in which she said an unnamed CIA colleague raised her husband's name, Bond told USA Today." Bond claims CIA officials "have been unable to verify Plame's March version."

Government Enlists Sci-Fi Writers

USA Today reports, "Looking to prevent the next terrorist attack, the Homeland Security Department is tapping into the wild imaginations of a group of self-described 'deviant' thinkers: science-fiction writers." A group of writers called Sigma attended "a Homeland Security conference on science and technology" in Washington this month. USA Today adds, "Although some sci-fi writers' futuristic ideas might sound crazy now, scientists know that they often have what seems to be an uncanny ability to see into the future."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Fred Thompson To Enter Race In July

The Politico reports that ex-Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson "plans to enter the presidential race with a bang over the Fourth of July holiday." While Thompson "has been publicly coy," his "advisers said Thompson dropped all pretenses on Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with more than 100 potential donors, each of whom was urged to raise at least $50,000. Thompson's formal announcement is planned for Nashville. It's tentatively set for July 5, although it could come earlier."

Poll: Clinton, McCain Lead Key States

According to new polls from the American Research Group, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic primary field in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina -- and Sen. John McCain leads in all three states on the GOP side. In Iowa, Clinton is at 31%, followed by John Edwards 25%, Sen. Barack Obama 11%, and Gov. Bill Richardson 8%. In New Hampshire, Clinton leads with 34%, followed by Edwards 18%, Obama 15%, and Richardson 9%. It's a closer race in South Carolina, where Clinton is at 34%, Edwards 30%, and Obama 18%.

On the GOP side, McCain is at 25% in Iowa, followed by Rudy Giuliani 23%, Mitt Romney 16%, Newt Gingrich 8%, and Fred Thompson 6%. In New Hampshire, McCain leads with 30%, followed by Romney 23%, and Giuliani 21%. In South Carolina, McCain leads with 32%, followed by Giuliani 23%, Fred Thompson 13%, Romney 10%, and Gingrich 6%. The Politico notes that, "in contrast to other recent polls," the ARG survey does not show Mitt Romney leading the GOP field in Iowa. Romney also "continues to lag" in South Carolina.

Clinton: Share The Wealth And Work

In a speech at New Hampshire's Manchester School of Technology, Sen. Hillary Clinton said it is "time to replace an 'on your own' society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity," the AP reports. Clinton said that what the Bush Administration "touts as an ownership society really is an 'on your own' society that has widened the gap between rich and poor." She continued, "I prefer a 'we're all in it together' society. I believe our government can once again work for all Americans. It can promote the great American tradition of opportunity for all and special privileges for none." The New Hampshire Union Leader reports Clinton said she would "outlaw special favors to big business as part of her 'new progressive vision for this new century.'"

Villaraigosa To Endorse Clinton The Los Angeles Times reports Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will today endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton, "a prize that could help the New York senator expand her reach among Latino and union voters." The announcement "follows months of political courtship on both coasts." The New York Times says Sen. Clinton and ex-President Clinton "delivered another one-two punch that reflects their combined political power." In an interview, Villaraigosa "described a lengthy courtship by both Clintons." The AP says Villaraigosa said he "supports Clinton 'because I think her experience, strength and leadership is what we need in our nation right now.'"

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Obama Unveils Health Care Plan

The AP reports Sen. Barack Obama "offered a plan to provide health care to millions of Americans and more affordable medical insurance, financed by tax increases on the wealthy." Speaking at the University of Iowa's medical school, Obama said, "We can do this. The climate is far different than it was the last time we tried this in the early nineties." The Des Moines Register reports Obama's plan "requires $50 billion to $65 billion in new revenue, paid by ending certain tax breaks for the rich, according to estimates and projections released by his campaign today." The Chicago Tribune says the financing of the plan "depends heavily on often-elusive cost savings, which he said would result in the average family saving $2,500 a year in insurance premiums."

The Los Angeles Times says that "some experts said the plan was short on specifics, particularly regarding the hoped-for savings and the costs of providing coverage to the estimated 45 million uninsured." The Financial Times notes that Obama was criticized at a March Democratic debate "for being the only presidential contender without a healthcare plan." The New York Times says Obama plans to pay for the plan "by not renewing President Bush's tax cuts for the most affluent Americans -- those making more than $250,000 a year -- when they expire at the end of 2010, aides said." Like the Financial Times, the New York Times says Obama's speech "came after months of criticism that his campaign lacked specificity and policy heft on complex issues like health care."

Romney Confronted For His Religion

New Hampshire's Foster's Daily Democrat reports Mitt Romney encountered a man at a Dover campaign stop who refused to shake the GOP presidential hopeful's hand because of Romney's religion. While "some eagerly shook his hand during his 45-minute visit, one patron, Al Michaud of Dover, shouted 'I'm one person who will not vote for a Mormon.' When Romney asked if he could shake his hand anyway, Michaud replied 'no' and told reporters he would vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton" if she gets the Democratic nomination. But, the New York Post writes, "the Clinton camp wasn't about to claim him. 'We strongly disagree with these comments,' spokesman Blake Zeff said."

Romney May Give Away Presidential Salary The New York Times reports Romney said if he is elected president, "he was likely to give his salary of $400,000 to charity." Romney, "whose assets are estimated at $190 million to $250 million, declined his $135,000 annual salary while governor of Massachusetts."

Giuliani Critics Keep Up 9/11 Refrain

The New York Sun reports critics questioning Rudy Giuliani's "stewardship after the World Trade Center attacks marred the presidential candidate's campaign fund-raising swing through his hometown yesterday that was intended to highlight his national security credentials." Newsday said "some families and firefighters...accuse Giuliani of failing to fix radio problems and create an adequate emergency plan before the attacks. 'My only hope is that people know the truth,' said Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association."

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Gingrich Has Harsh Words For Bush, Rove

The New York Times reports Newt Gingrich offered a "harsh assessment" of President Bush and Karl Rove in an interview with the New Yorker, saying Bush "has presided over a Republican Party in 'collapse'" and Rove's "strategy in the 2004 presidential election was 'maniacally dumb' for focusing so heavily on the conservative base." The Times says Gingrich's comments suggest that should he enter the presidential race, "he will be considerably more willing than the others have so far been to critique the competence of the incumbent."

Richardson Nails "Interview"

Under the headline "Even GOPers Rave Over Richardson's Job Interview," The Hill reports Republicans "are almost as impressed as Democrats by Gov. Bill Richardson's resume -- or at least, his advertising about his resume -- according to a survey by Wilson Research Strategies." Richardson's two "interview" campaign ads "have gotten widespread praise on the Web for their clever message. It appears Republicans almost wholeheartedly agree. GOPers rated Richardson's offerings far above average across the board, giving them a 7.2 for their appeal and a 7.6 for their memorability. Respondents are asked to rate the ads in six categories from zero to 10. Democrats and independents rated the ads even higher, including several marks above 8.0, making them among the best-reviewed ads in the history of the bi-weekly survey."

Richardson Stumbles On The Trail The Miami Herald reported on Richardson's campaign as the candidate visited the Miami area for a pair of fundraisers, saying Richardson's "poll ratings and fundraising lag far behind, and his appearances in televised debates and interviews have been uneven." On "Meet the Press" last Sunday, he "tried to parse being both a Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fan. ... 'He's a charming guy, but that charm hasn't been there,' said former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, a Richardson supporter."

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