WASHINGTON NEWS

Reid Plans Iraq Sleepover

To generally positive press coverage, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday that he would keep the Senate in session all night Tuesday into Wednesday if Republicans filibuster an Iraq pullout measure. Under filibuster rules, backers of the Iraq bill would need the support of 60 senators in order to move to an up-or-down vote. As the Washington Times notes, the measure in question was written by Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Jack Reed. It "requires most combat troops to leave Iraq by April 30, although a limited number of troops would remain for an undetermined amount of time to protect US and coalition interests, train Iraqi security forces and conduct counterterrorism operations."

The AP quotes Democratic Senate Whip Dick Durbin explaining the justification for the all-night debate: "How many sleepless nights have our soldiers and their families had?" Addressing the Republicans' use of the filibuster on this issue, the Washington Post reports Democrats "employed similar delaying tactics when they were in the minority, but Reid said the gravity of the Iraq war calls for a straightforward debate, free of political or procedural gimmicks." Which is why, says the New York Times, Reid is "reaching for a tried-and-true Senate practice" as his caucus grows "increasingly frustrated with the Republicans." Similarly, the Chicago Tribune describes Senate Democrats as "frustrated that Republicans won't allow a straight up-or-down vote." The Tribune adds that to "dramatize their determination," Democrats "plan to bring dozens of cots into hallways around the Senate. Anti-war veterans plan to pack the galleries to watch the debate." In fact, McClatchy notes that coinciding with the debate, "the liberal, antiwar group MoveOn.org was planning more than 100 demonstrations around the country...to put pressure on Senate Republicans." The Los Angeles Times, The Hill, AFP and Roll Call, under the headline "Reid Promises Big Senate Sleepover On Iraq Vote," also run the story this morning.

Reid's all-night session is not expected to change any minds, says the Army Times this morning. Likewise, the Financial Times reports that "a week ago the White House was in panic after a flurry of Republican defections from Mr Bush's war policy raised concern that Congress could be on the brink of forcing a change of course in Iraq." But "while a growing number of Republicans are pressuring the White House to start developing an exit strategy, only a handful are backing Democratic efforts to set a firm timetable for withdrawal."

U.S. News and World Report, on its website, said yesterday that "the pressure against the White House to change course in Iraq will continue to mount this week," as a "veritable flurry of amendments" is competing for votes. Congressional Quarterly, meanwhile, notes "Democratic leaders have dismissed a proposal from senior Republicans John Warner of Virginia and Richard G. Lugar of Indiana that would require the president to draw up a contingency plan for a troop redeployment in Iraq to begin no later than the end of this year and ask for new language to re-authorize the use of force in Iraq."

Bush Says He Will "Stand Firm" Fox News' Special Report reported that it had learned that yesterday, "the communications directors for the Senate Republican and House leadership went the to the White House for a meeting that was supposed to be with Tony Snow and communications guru Ed Gillespie. Shortly after the meeting started, the president walked in, and I'm told in a very direct, folksy and mildly profane way he told those communication directors up on the Hill that he is going to stand firm, he is not going to back down and he wants that message relayed throughout the Republican halls of Congress." The AP also had an anonymous source on the meeting, who disclosed that Bush also "said he had no confidence in the ability of international institutions -- a reference to the United Nations -- to salvage Iraq if the US were to withdraw. 'He said, "We have to do this,"' the attendee said, referring to stabilizing Iraq. The attendee spoke anonymously because the meeting was intended to be private."

What Happens After US Leaves? The Washington Post reports on its front page this morning that according to recent war game exercises conducted for the US military, if the US leaves Iraq "three developments would be likely to unfold. Majority Shiites would drive Sunnis out of ethnically mixed areas west to Anbar province. Southern Iraq would erupt in civil war between Shiite groups. And the Kurdish north would solidify its borders and invite a US troop presence there. In short, Iraq would effectively become three separate nations." The Post adds, "What is perhaps most striking about the military's simulations is that its post-drawdown scenarios focus on civil war and regional intervention and upheaval rather than the establishment of an al-Qaeda sanctuary in Iraq," despite President Bush's predictions.

Rumsfeld May Testify In Tillman Probe

The San Francisco Chronicle reports this morning House Democrats investigating the alleged Pentagon's cover-up of the friendly fire death of NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman are calling former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and five generals to testify. Rep. Henry Waxman "announced Monday that he has invited Rumsfeld, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers and retired Gen. John Abizaid, who oversaw operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to testify at an Aug. 1 hearing.'

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

Specter Takes Heat Over Judicial Nominee

According to The Hill, Sen. Arlen Specter has alarmed conservatives who "are sure Specter told them last week that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy broke a promise to move Leslie Southwick, President Bush's controversial pick for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Senate floor." But "sitting next to Leahy at a panel meeting a few days after his comments were reported by The Hill, Specter demurred, saying, 'Commitments were not broken, and had commitments by members been broken, I wouldn't talk to the newspapers about it, I would talk to the members about it.'" That comment "greatly puzzled conservatives who had been at the private meeting" who noted "the discrepancy between Specter's public statements and the combative ardor he showed in private."

Vitter Emerges From Hiding

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that after a week of refusing to answer questions about why his phone number appeared among the records of the so-called "DC Madam," Sen. David Vitter (R LA) "emerged from seclusion on Monday to apologize again for 'actions from my past' without owning up to what those misdeeds entailed." Vitter said he "would not entertain 'endless questions' about his alleged involvement with an escort service in Washington and an infamous brothel in New Orleans." Vitter "said only that 'those New Orleans stories' are not true." USA Today notes that a former New Orleans madam "said Vitter was a customer of her brothel in the 1990s," and the AP reports Vitter "denied having relationships with New Orleans prostitutes."

The New York Times says Vitter "struck a defiant tone, making a short statement denying the new reports and refusing to answer questions. 'Unfortunately, my admission has encouraged some longtime political enemies and those hoping to spread falsehoods, too, like those New Orleans stories in recent days,' Mr. Vitter said." NBC Nightly News showed Vitter's wife Wendy Vitter saying: "When David and I dealt with this privately years ago, I forgave David."

The Washington Post says Vitter's remarks ended speculation that he would resign. The Shreveport Times, meanwhile, writes that Vitter "said it is time to put the embarrassment of being on the phone list of a Washington, DC, prostitute behind him and go back to work." The Hill and Roll Call and The Politico run similar reports. And in his Washington Post column Dana Milbank quips that "social conservatives appear unusually permissive these days."

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

Top

CAMPAIGN NEWS

More Staff Flee McCain Campaign

Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, already reeling from the lost of most of its leadership last week, yesterday lost its national press staff, the AP reports. In addition, McCain's Iowa and South Carolina operations each lost a pair of staffers. Bloomberg quotes outgoing communications chief Brian Jones saying, "Each and every one of us still believes firmly in our hearts that Senator McCain is the best one in the race. ... But the campaign, at this phase, doesn't need a full service press department. It's sad and unfortunate."

The Los Angeles Times reports that while campaigning in Silicon Valley, McCain "professed not to worry, saying he was certain his candidacy would rebound once voters started playing closer attention this fall to the campaign." McCain told reporters, "I'm very comfortable with where we are and how we're doing. ... I can out-campaign anyone, in both the primary and the general election."

McCain Vows To Stay In Race In his first "national" interview "since the near-collapse" of his campaign, McCain tells The Politico's Roger Simon that he will "stay in the race at least until the first caucuses and primaries are over in the early part of 2008." McCain tells The Politico, "I can promise you I will not be quitting. In September, when people get off vacation and start focusing on politics, I will get traction, then support, and then my fundraising increases a little bit." McCain adds that he has spoken with "almost all of my major fundraisers, and they are steadfast and reinvigorated. I don't contemplate in any way a scenario where I will withdraw." The Politico's Simon writes that earlier this year McCain's "top aides" advised him that "slashing spending was a mistake, because it would make him look like a loser and people would not give money to a losing campaign. They said he had to act like a big-time candidate, flying around the country on expensive chartered jets and paying large fees to fundraisers who were costing the campaign more than they were raising. It made no sense and McCain knew it made no sense, but he gave in.'"

Obama, Clinton Spending Big On Staff

While John McCain may not have much in the way of staff left, the two top Democrats are investing heavily in top-shelf aides. The Washington Post reports on new campaign finance reports detailing the salaries being paid to "individual talent" on the campaign staffs of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, noting that Clinton "paid $2.6 million in salary between April and June, shelling out hundreds of thousands more to her top consultants. Obama spent even more -- $3.3 million -- on his staff." The Post alludes to the candidates' "race" to secure prominent pollsters and other aides, adding that "Obama greatly outspent Clinton on phone services -- used to track down potential donors and voters -- and telemarketing. The goal, Obama adviser Robert Gibbs acknowledged, was 'to grow small donors' rather than simply save all the money Obama has raked in."

Obama Has Slowest "Average Burn Rate" In a blog posting on the website of The Atlantic headlined, "Obama's Cool Burn Rate," Marc Ambinder writes that the "most interesting figure" in the second quarter filings is "average burn rate, which is calculated by adding the money spent plus debt, and dividing that by the amount of money raised for the primary elections. In Obama's case, that's $16M spent + 0.92M debt divided by $32M raised -- or 53%. Even though Obama spent more than Clinton -- either a little if you count debt or a lot -- he managed to keep half of what we took in." Meanwhile, "Clinton burned through 73 cents out of every primary dollar she raised. That's a lot, but it's still an impressive figure. John Edwards spent 74 cents out of every dollar raised; Bill Richardson spent about 71 cents for every dollar raised."

Thompson Closes On Giuliani In New Poll

A new AP /Ipsos poll shows Hillary Clinton easily leading the Democratic field, but Rudy Giuliani is now in a dogfight with Fred Thompson. Giuliani leads the GOP field with 21%, followed closely by Thompson at 19%. John McCain is still in the fight at 15%, followed by Mitt Romney at 11%. However, the current leader on the GOP side is "undecided" topping all the actual candidates with 23%. On the Democratic side, Clinton is pulling 36%, followed by Barack Obama, 20%, and John Edwards, 11%.

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: "Well, on his latest tape, bin Laden says that a happy man is one who dies for his religion. You ever notice that the one giving this advice is never the one blowing himself up? 'Oh, don't worry about me, Ahmed. I want you to be happy.'"

Jay Leno: "The L.A. Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay a $660 million settlement in the sexual lawsuit against Catholic priests. ... Yet nobody goes to jail, and they just get to write a check. Who do these priests think they are? Scooter Libby?"

Conan O'Brien: "Jim Gilmore has dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Yeah, Gilmore said he dropped out because, 'I don't have the star power of a Tom Tancredo or a Mike Huckabee.'"

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

Top