Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Ahmadinejad Remarks Meet With Scorn, Laughter

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance Monday at Columbia University led all three network newscasts last night and received front-page coverage in newspapers across the nation this morning. Most media reports pan Ahmadinejad's performance at Columbia, where the Iranian leader again seemed to cast doubt on the Holocaust and al Qaeda's responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. The New York Times reports in a front page story that Ahmadinejad said that "the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews should not be treated as fact, but theory, and therefore open to debate and more research," providing "some ammunition to people who said there was no point in inviting him to speak." The AP, meanwhile, notes that when "asked why he had asked to visit the World Trade Center site -- a request denied by New York authorities -- Ahmadinejad said he wanted to express sympathy for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks." But then "he appeared to question whether al-Qaida was responsible, saying more research was needed."

The Christian Science Monitor reports Ahmadinejad also "denied that Iran is involved in smuggling weapons into Iraq, as the US government has charged." And in a piece titled "Live From New York, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Unreality Show," Dana Milbank quotes the following Ahmadinejad statements in the Washington Post, "For hundreds of years, we've lived in friendship and brotherhood with the people of Iraq. ... Our people are the freest people in the world. ... The freest women in the world are women in Iran."

Despite the statements noted above, the comment that has sparked the most laughter and outrage is Ahmadinejad's assurance that there are no homosexuals in Iran. NBC Nightly News showed Ahmadinejad saying: "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country." The CBS Evening News noted the Iranian leader "was literally laughed at" after that remark. The Wall Street Journal also reports Ahmadinejad's response "elicited boos...and one loud burst of laughter." Likewise, the AP says Ahmadinejad "provoked derisive laughter" with his comments.

At any rate, the Iranian president did not appear to have a good time yesterday in New York. For starters, University President Lee Bollinger -- criticized for extending the invitation to the Iranian gave Ahmadinejad a tongue-lashing before his speech. The Wall Street Journal reported Bollinger "ripped into the Iranian leader even before he had a chance to speak." Under the headline "Iran's Leader Booed, Laughed At During Event," USA Today noted Bollinger called him "a petty and cruel dictator." The Washington Post bluntly states that Ahmadinejad "faced a public skewering" and "appeared shocked and insulted." The New York Post reports the story under the headline, "U. Da Man! Boss Hits Iran Prez With The Ol' College Fry."

Hardball Host, Guest Blast Bollinger The debate over Bollinger's introduction began immediately following the event, and not everyone was happy with Bollinger's handling of the Iranian leader. MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews, in remarks typical of many commentators, said the Columbia president "committed the outrage, I think, of actually winning sympathy for the demagogue he invited to his campus, the diminutive head of state he referred to as petty. It was the American host who came across, I'm afraid, as petty." Matthews added, "Anyway, not a great day for America, the land of the free, that looked today like it was afraid to hear what it didn't like hearing." Also on MSNBC's Hardball, Howard Fineman of Newsweek agreed, "I think that Bollinger behaved abominably. ... Only Lee Bollinger, it seems, could have made Ahmadinejad seem sympathetic." Another guest, Jill Zuckman of the Chicago Tribune, added that Ahmadinejad won the PR battle because "he was willing to put himself in front of all those students at Columbia. That is a tough audience to begin with, because those are people who are going to tell him what they think."

Maliki: Iraq, 9/11 Enemy One And The Same

The New York Times reports Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki "attended a traditional Ramadan feast at a Queens mosque last night, telling a multinational crowd from Iraq, Iran, India and beyond that the enemy bringing down the minarets of Shiite mosques in Iraq was the same enemy who brought down the World Trade Center." Maliki, who "signed the death warrant that sent Saddam Hussein to the gallows, also blamed Iraq's current problems on the dead dictator, saying he had left 'a heavy difficult inheritance that we still suffer from.'" Ahead of his meeting with President Bush today, the Washington Post notes Maliki also said that "civil war has been averted in Iraq. Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the Prime Minister said, "I can't say there is a picture of roses and flowers in Iraq. ... However, I can say that the greatest victory, of which I am proud...is stopping the explosion of a sectarian war."

The AP, meanwhile, reports this morning, "Nearly two months after Sunni Arab ministers walked," Maliki "appears to have weathered a political crisis that once threatened to bring down his government." A New York Times story reports the Prime Minister "appears to have won a reprieve from American talk of pushing him aside," but he "appears still a long way from being able to forge political reconciliation. Many Iraqis describe his political position as increasingly perilous."

Shiite-Sunni Tensions Increase In US USA Today reports on its front page that in the US, Sunnis and Shiites have "worked together to build mosques, support charities, register voters and hold massive feasts for Eid al-Fitr (on Oct. 13 this year in the USA), the celebration at the end of the holy month of Ramadan." But now "there are small signs of tension emerging in America's Muslim community that are raising concerns among many of its leaders. They worry that the bitter divisions that have caused so much bloodshed abroad are beginning to have an impact here."

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Bush Advising Clinton, Top Democrats To "Modulate" Iraq Rhetoric

Under the headline "Bush Quietly Advising Hillary Clinton, Top Democrats," the Washington Examiner reports President Bush "is quietly providing back-channel advice to Hillary Rodham Clinton, urging her to modulate her rhetoric so she can effectively prosecute the war in Iraq if elected president." In an interview for the new book "The Evangelical President," White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten "said Bush has 'been urging candidates: "Don't get yourself too locked in where you stand right now. If you end up sitting where I sit, things could change dramatically."" Bolten "said Bush wants enough continuity in his Iraq policy that 'even a Democratic president would be in a position to sustain a legitimate presence there.'" Bush said in an Oval Office interview, "It's different being a candidate and being the president. ... No matter who the president is, no matter what party, when they sit here in the Oval Office and seriously consider the effect of a vacuum being created in the Middle East, particularly one trying to be created by al Qaeda, they will then begin to understand the need to continue to support the young democracy."

Democrats Optimistic On Veto Overrides

As President Bush and congressional Democrats jockey for position in a expected all-out battle over spending, the Washington Times reports this morning Democrats "say they're in position to sway enough Republicans to override some of the vetoes President Bush has promised on as many as nine of the 12 annual spending bills that fund the federal government."

Water Projects Get Veto-Proof Backing Round one in this fall's spending wars appears likely to go to the Democrats. Yesterday, the Senate passed a water-works measure, and the Washington Times notes the final tally was 81-12, well above the 66 needed to override a veto. The measure "now goes to...Bush, who threatened a veto after the bill's anticipated cost ballooned by $9 billion as projects were added in negotiations between the House and Senate." The Los Angeles Times notes that Democrats, so far, "have not been able to muster the two-thirds majority necessary to overturn a veto." But the "$23-billion water bill that the Senate approved Monday might be the first to jump that hurdle -- and test Bush's resolve on spending disputes."

SCHIP Unlikely To Get Veto-Proof Majority Press reports this morning note the Congress is about to tackle an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Bush has vowed to veto both the House and Senate versions. The AP reports lawmakers say "both chambers will pass the bill, which would add $35 billion over five years to the program, allowing 4 million more children to join the 6 million now enrolled." The House, however, "appears unlikely to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto." Likewise, the Washington Post reports "perhaps two dozen or more House Republicans are likely to vote for the bill today, GOP leadership aides said, far more than the five who voted for a more ambitious House version on Aug. 1, which included cuts in subsidies for private Medicare plans." The New York Times, The Politico, The Hill and Christian Science Monitor also report on the SCHIP debate.

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Obama Logs 75,000 New Donors In Q3

On its politics blog, the Baltimore Sun reports that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign said yesterday that it had gotten contributions from 75,000 new donors during the soon-to-end 3rd quarter. The campaign says it has now received 472,613 donations from 333,851 donors. In a piece on "The Trail" blog, the Washington Post reports, "With less than a week left in the fundraising quarter," Obama's "campaign today peeled the curtain back just a sliver today to provide a glimpse of how the money hunt has been going." The Post calls that number "smaller than those for the first two quarters, but is still a staggering one when compared to how other campaigns have traditionally done." However, the effect of these donor numbers on "the bottom-line dollar amount remains unclear. The large number of donors can be an important sign of grassroots support, but not necessarily a huge source of cash."

Meanwhile, ABC News reports that Hillary Clinton's campaign "is busy lowering expectations for their fundraising haul -- and raising expectations for those of her chief Democratic rival" Obama. A Clinton campaign aide said "that they expect to have raised between $17 and $20 million in the third quarter...and suggested [Obama] will raise over $30 million, thanks in large part to online donations."

Clinton Racks Up Two Key Endorsements

MSNBC reported last night the "100,000-member Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) endorsed Clinton today, the campaign announced." The AP reports BAC President John Flynn "said the union's executive council voted unanimously to endorse Clinton and that the New York senator was the clear winner in a poll of their members. Clinton said that she was honored to get the endorsement." The BAC's backing "is Clinton's fifth union endorsement, the largest number of any presidential candidate so far."

As expected, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh also endorsed Clinton yesterday. The Indianapolis Star reports Bayh, "who dropped his own bid for the White House in December citing the difficulty of running against celebrity Democrats, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, endorsed Clinton on Monday as the candidate with a 'unique set of attributes to lead this country.'" The Star adds, "The backing by Bayh, a moderate Democrat, could help Clinton with those who fear her reputation is too liberal to win the general election." Clinton "might remember Bayh's endorsement when selecting a running mate, a topic both did their best to sidestep Monday. It's unclear, however, whether Bayh, as a vice presidential candidate, would be able to deliver Indiana, which has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964." The AP and The Politico also note the endorsement.

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Key Iowa Democratic Activist Backs Obama

While Hillary Clinton was logging a pair of high-profile endorsements, Barack Obama snagged a key backer in Iowa. In the Washington Post's "Trail" blog, Anne Kornblut leads her endorsement coverage with former Iowa Democratic Party Chair Gordon Fischer's backing of Obama, whose "campaign stepped up its two-pronged effort to raise money before the end of the quarter and prove he is best poised to win the general election." Fischer "said his wife is '100,000 percent' behind Obama, and that they both saw Obama as a 'change agent' who could draw Independent and Republican support." The Des Moines Register reports Fischer "said he endorses Obama because he is a change agent, has the best policies and is the more likely to win than other Democrats. He noted a recent poll that showed Obama was the highest ranking Democrat among Republican voters. ... Fischer said he is not going to work as a paid consultant for the campaign but will campaign for Obama."

McCain Admits To Struggles In Iowa

The Chicago Tribune reports John McCain "says he's happy with the enthusiasm he's been seeing at town-hall meetings and rallies in the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina -- but Iowa, it appears, is another story. 'I'm sure we'll do well in Iowa, we've just got a lot of work to do,' the Arizona senator said during a fundraising appearance Monday in Chicago. 'I've got to give you straight talk,' he said, using his trademark phrase that began with his unsuccessful 2000 race for president. 'We've got a lot of work to do and we're doing it.'"

NRA May Make Endorsement In GOP Primary

The Washington Times reports The National Rifle Association, "which did not endorse President Bush in 2000 and 2004 until just a month before the general election, is considering stepping into the presidential campaign fray early next year during the primary season, the group's chief lobbyist says." While the NRA "waited until October in each of the past two presidential election years before endorsing a candidate," the group "plans to take a more high-profile role early in the 2008 Republican nomination process." Last week, "former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who earned an 'A' rating from the NRA during his time in the Senate, was the group's favorite. Meanwhile, the GOP front-runner, Rudolph W. Giuliani, left members underwhelmed."

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Jay Leno: "I guess 'Resident Evil' drew a lot of attention this past weekend. Not the movie, the Iranian president."

Jay Leno: "Actually, there's a lot of controversy over letting him speak at Columbia. Although the dean of the university said that he would even let Hitler speak. That's what he said. Apparently, he didn't realize he just did."

Jay Leno: "In his speech, he said, 'There are no homosexuals in Iran.' That's what he said. Too bad, because they need somebody to choreograph those parades they have every week, you know?"

Jay Leno: "According to a new report out of Cuba, Fidel Castro is near death, but is clinging to life, and he is determined to outlive the Bush Presidency. Wow. Just like Dan Rather."

Conan O'Brien: "The president of Iran gave a speech in New York City today, and thousands of New Yorkers are really upset about it. Yeah. Yeah, the New Yorkers said, 'If we want to hear a short-tempered Iranian man yell at us, we'll take a cab.'"

Conan O'Brien: "But during his speech at Columbia University, President Ahmadinejad says his country, this is a quote, 'doesn't have a problem with gay people because they don't have homosexuals in Iran,'" which "finally explains why Ahmadinejad gets away with wearing a windbreaker from 1983."

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