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Friday, November 27, 2009
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The Senate yesterday passed an SCHIP expansion bill. The AP reports that in the Senate, "eighteen Republicans...lined up with Democrats in voting 67-29 to increase spending on the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, from about $5 billion to $12 billion annually for the next five years." Since the President has repeatedly promised to veto it, Washington is getting ready for a major PR battle on healthcare. And so far, media coverage of Bush's expected veto continues to suggest (strongly) that he and GOP backers are on shaky political ground. The Administration message they oppose what they see as a new middle class entitlement, available, they claim, to families that make up to $82,000 annually is not getting through. For example, ABC World News reported last night the Senate "is rushing to expand" SCHIP, "a popular program, providing the insurance for kids. The President says it provides the insurance for too many children -- the program is too expensive." This "has been a difficult political argument for the President to make. And he's opposed by many in his own party." This morning, New York Times reports Bush "has not shown a willingness to compromise," but "he may come under pressure from Republican lawmakers who do not like being portrayed as hostile to children's interests." The Washington Post says that "for Republicans, the issue is politically perilous. Every Senate Republican facing a difficult reelection bid bolted from Bush yesterday."
The Los Angeles Times reports, "The American Medical Assn. and AARP, the seniors lobby -- key Bush allies in the creation of the Medicare prescription benefit -- wrote the president Thursday urging him to change his mind and sign what they called a 'carefully crafted bipartisan compromise.'" On CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, host Anderson Cooper reviewed Bush's past comments on the State Children's Health Insurance Program, replying clips from 2001 and 2004 in which the president suggested expanding SCHIP. CNN added, "It seems the president was for expanding the program before he was against it."
Congressional Democrats, who haven't given up on the idea of overriding Bush's veto, are trying to press their apparent advantage by lobbing strong rhetorical volleys against the White House. In fact, says the New York Times, Democrats "have selected Graeme Frost, 12, of Baltimore, to deliver their Saturday radio address. He will appeal to the president to sign the bill." The Frosts were featured in a Thursday Baltimore Sun story, in which Bonnie Frost, the boy's mother, says "had it not been for a federal health insurance program tailored for working families such as hers -- ones lacking the income to purchase private health insurance -- Frost is certain that she and her husband would be buried under a mound of unpaid medical bills."
What are the chances of Congress overriding a Bush veto for the first time? The Wall Street Journal notes, "The House approved the bill earlier in the week, 265 to 159." As some lawmakers were absent or didn't vote, most press accounts suggest Democrats are actually some 20 votes away from their goal, and leaders "are working to increase support for the bill, an uphill battle." The Washington Times reports "supporters of the measure say they think they can muster enough support...in the House to overturn a veto. 'Remember, 12 congressman were absent from the [House] vote [Tuesday] for various reasons, so you're in the 270-plus [vote range] on this, so you're not that far away from overriding a veto,' said Sen. John Kerry."
Last night, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on PBS's NewsHour, "We're certainly going to work on getting the votes to override the veto because we think, on its merits, this bill ought to be signed into law. ... We are very hopeful that the president will listen to the American public, will listen to the significant majorities in both houses." The Hill reports "Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), one of two Republican negotiators of the final package, said he would help court House members for an override."
25 House GOPers Targeted On SCHIP Vote The Washington Post reports that Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "vowed to make Bush's supporters pay a price at the polls next year, and he will have his share of targets." In total, the DCCC "will be targeting 25 Republicans over the issue, said spokeswoman Jennifer Crider."
A number of analysts have been comparing the looming spending battle between the White House and the Democratic Congress to the 1995 clash between the Gingrich Congress and Bill Clinton. At least one element, it would appear, will be different this time around. The AP reports Congress yesterday "cleared for President Bush must-pass bills to prevent a government shutdown and extend the Treasury Department's ability to finance the budget deficit." The stopgap spending bill, "which the Senate approved 94-1, was needed because Congress has not sent Bush a single spending bill." Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold "cast the only no vote." The debt limit increase measure "passed by a 53-42 vote and comes as the government continues to leak red ink." The bills "will now be shipped to the White House for Bush to sign by an Oct. 1 deadline." The Wall Street Journal's piece features the "$850 billion increase in the public debt, the fifth such adjustment under...Bush and one reflecting the rising costs of the war in Iraq." The new limit "represents an almost $4 trillion increase from the statutory debt limit when Mr. Bush took office in 2001, and Democrats used the occasion to decry the administration's fiscal policies even as their leaders felt compelled to back passage."
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The AP reports this morning that "the Democratic-led Senate on Thursday voted to let federal law enforcement help states prosecute attacks on gays, attaching the provision to a massive spending bill for the Iraq war and daring President Bush to veto the whole package." The White House "wasn't commenting on the prospects for a veto of the underlying defense authorization bill." But "some Republicans warned that's just what would happen." Said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, "The president is not going to agree to this social legislation on the defense authorization bill. ... This bill will get vetoed." USA Today notes the Federal hate crimes law "now applies to acts of violence based on the victim's race, religion, color or national origin. The bill would add the categories of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability." The New York Times and Los Angeles Times report Democrats believe Bush will not in the end veto the bill. The Washington Post, meanwhile, notes "the amendment is called the Matthew Shepard Act, named for a young gay man who was beaten and left to die on a fence near Laramie, Wyo., in 1998." The Hill and the Washington Times run similar reports.
The New York Times reports, "Childrens do learn. So do presidents. And White House press secretaries. That was the word (words?) Thursday from President Bush's spokeswoman, Dana Perino, after a Washington kerfuffle over a grammatical slip-up by the president in New York the previous morning." Perino, "who took over as press secretary this month from Tony Snow, told reporters on Thursday that White House stenographers were responsible for the disappearance of the 's' and that she had instructed them to correct the correction by putting it back."
Snow Praises Bush Former White House press secretary Tony Snow was on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. Asked about Bush's verbal miscues, he said, "You know, 'misunderestimate.' It drives me crazy because the President is a really smart, lively, terrific guy. And -- it drives you nuts when you work in the White House, the misperceptions of the President. Every press secretary goes through this."
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The AP reports John Edwards "reversed course" yesterday "by signing onto the public financing system he once rejected with the belief he could raise more money on his own." Edwards "claimed higher moral ground in the debate over money in politics while announcing the change. But it comes after he brought in far fewer dollars than rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton." On CNN, Edwards said, "It is worrisome seeing the amount of money that is being raised in this campaign. This is about taking a stand, a principled stand, and I believe in public financing." The AP adds Edwards' decision "could put him at a disadvantage against his rivals and undermine the perception that he can win the nomination. He insisted he has enough money to run a serious campaign."
The New York Times reports Edwards "and his advisers said the decision was made not because of any shortage of money for his campaign but because he wanted to draw a distinction with his main rivals for the nomination, especially Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the issue of the influence of money on politics." The Washington Post reports Edwards' move "will provide a short-term infusion of cash for his campaign but severely limit his ability to spend in crucial early primary contests." The decision "could result in a windfall of as much as $10 million for his candidacy in January, Edwards aides said." By "opting into the public financing system, Edwards will be eligible to receive matching funds of as much as $250 for each contribution an individual makes to his campaign. In return, he will face strict limits on his spending that could put him at a 10 to 1 spending disadvantage in primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire."
However, despite the campaigns suggestion to the contrary, the Edwards campaign is under significant financial pressure from its rivals. The Politico reports that Edward's move "is a political blow but it's probably also the only lifeline he has to stay in the race. The simple fact is that Edwards was never going to keep pace with" Clinton or Obama, given his campaign's "plodding fundraising pace." The Hill reports one Edwards campaign official "said the campaign is expecting to raise about $7 million for the third quarter." That would bring Edwards "to about $30 million for the year, or about $10 million shy of the campaign's $40 million goal."
McClatchy reports John McCain "hopes to stoke a comeback with the most striking political ad of the 2008 presidential campaign - and the most harrowing in recent memory." The TV ad "opens with black-and-white footage of a haggard and badly injured 31-year-old McCain being interrogated by an off-camera enemy. The footage is from 1967, when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain lies on a bed, holding a burning cigarette, grimacing in pain." In the footage, McCain says, "Lieutenant commander in the Navy. Hit by either missile or antiaircraft fire, I'm not sure which. And the plane continued straight down and I ejected and broke my leg and both arms." McClatchy adds the ad "goes on to tout McCain's leadership on national security as a senator, including his criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq war strategy, while reiterating his support for the war." The ad "hammers home that McCain knows war in a way no other candidate does, drawing a sharp - if subtle - contrast with three other men: fellow Republican candidates Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson. None of them served in the military." The New York Times and the Boston Globe also report on the ad this morning.
McCain also sought to draw a distinction between his experience and that of his rivals on the campaign trail yesterday. The AP reports McCain "argued Thursday that the United States would be safer with him as president than if his leading Republican rivals were commander in chief as he seized on newfound opportunities to revive his weakened candidacy." McCain, "once left for dead politically," is "sharply drawing distinctions between himself and his top GOP opponents as he seeks to capitalize on polls showing an extremely fluid race and a campaign flush enough to run ads in early voting New Hampshire." McCain said, "The country would be safer with me as its leader."
In an interview with The Hill, "One of McCain's senior advisers, Mark McKinnon, told reporters that the campaign had decided to put an emphasis on the senator's experience in Vietnam." McKinnon said, "It occurred to us that, while a lot of us talk and think about it a lot, we've made a lot of assumptions about the fact that voters know the story, when in fact they really don't. So we realized early on that part of the campaign needed to tell that story."
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A new poll out this morning from Fox News shows Hillary Clinton easily outpacing her GOP rivals, performing far better in a general election contest than rival Barack Obama. The survey shows that if the presidential election were held today, Clinton would beat Rudy Giuliani (46%-39%), Fred Thompson (48%-35%), and John McCain (46%-39%). Obama also leads all three Republicans, but the margins are much closer. Obama leads Giuliani (41%-40%), Thompson (45%-33%), and McCain (40%-38%).
A new poll out from Strategic Vision shows Mitt Romney holding a double-digit lead in Iowa, while the top three Democrats are in a dog fight. Romney pulls 30%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 17%; Fred Thompson, 13%; Mike Huckabee, 8%; John McCain, 6%; Newt Gingrich, 5%; and the rest of the field at 3% or less. The race is far tighter on the Democratic side Hillary Clinton holds a narrow lead with 24%, followed by John Edwards at 22% and Barack Obama at 21%. Bill Richardson is the only other candidate in double-digits, taking 13 percent. The poll surveyed 600 likely voters in each party from September 21-23.
A second poll out from Strategic Vision shows Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton holding double-digit leads in Florida. On the GOP side, Giuliani leads with 35%, followed by Fred Thompson, 24%; Mitt Romney, 9%; John McCain, 6%; Mike Huckabee, 5%; and the rest of the field at 4% or less. On the Democratic side, Clinton leads with 44%, followed by Barack Obama, 22%; John Edwards, 12%; Bill Richardson, 6%; and the rest of the field at 2% or less. The poll surveyed 492 likely Democratic primary voters and 468 likely GOP voters from September 21-23.
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Jay Leno: "Well, last night was the premiere of the big show, 'Dancing Around the Issues,' otherwise known as the Democratic presidential debate."
Jay Leno: "If you watched, the three Democratic frontrunners said last night -- this is what they said. Hillary and Barack and John Edwards, they said setting a timetable for a complete withdrawal is irresponsible, because you can't project what the future situation will be in Iraq. And pulling out troops basically depends on the situation on the ground. Otherwise known as 'the Bush plan.' Hello?"
Conan O'Brien: "This week, presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said...he supports lowering the voting age to 16. Yeah. Not only that, Kucinich supports lowering the lever in the voting booth so he can reach it."
Jimmy Kimmel: "There was a debate between the Republican candidates for president in Baltimore tonight. The debate focused on minority issues and it was at Morgan State University, which is a black college. ... None of the top four Republican candidates were there. Giuliani, McCain, Romney and Thompson, not one of them showed up. Apparently, they all had scheduling conflicts that prevented them from going to a place where no one will vote for them."
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