Political Bulletin

CAMPAIGN NEWS

Racial Issues Boil Over In Democratic Campaign

Over the weekend, the issue of race surged to the forefront of the Democratic primary race. The New York Times reports Clinton and Obama "engaged in a war of words on Sunday over Mrs. Clinton's recent remark about the role that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. played in securing civil rights laws in the 1960s." The Time adds that in a conference call with supporters on Sunday, Obama "refuted the charge that his campaign had been trying to fan the flames of black voters and party leaders about Mrs. Clinton's comments involving Dr. King." Obama said, "Senator Clinton made an unfortunate remark, an ill-advised remark, about King and Lyndon Johnson. I didn't make the statement. I haven't remarked on it, and she, I think, offended some folks who felt that somehow diminished King's role in bringing about the Civil Rights Act." The Washington Post adds Obama had "previously tried to sidestep direct engagement in the debate over race. But the recent controversy has touched a nerve with many African Americans, including some sympathetic to the Clintons, and Obama chose to address it Sunday."

The AP reports Sen. Hillary Clinton "suggested Sunday that Barack Obama's campaign had injected racial tension into the presidential contest, saying he had distorted for political gain her comments about Martin Luther King's role in the civil rights movement." On NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton said, "This is an unfortunate story line the Obama campaign has pushed very successfully. I don't think this campaign is about gender, and I sure hope it's not about race."

NBC Nightly News reported, "Clinton, campaigning in South Carolina today where about half the voters are African-American accused Barack Obama of trying to make race a factor." Clinton: "Clearly we know from media reports that the Obama campaign is deliberately distorting this." Cowan: "The Senator is referring to comments made last week when she seemed to give Lyndon Johnson more credit for the civil rights movement than Dr. Martin Luther King. That brought a flood of angry responses."

Edwards Takes Obama's Side In Race Debate The AP reports John Edwards "waded into a dispute between his rivals, criticizing comments by Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband that some have considered disparaging to Barack Obama and black people generally." Speaking at a South Carolina church, Edwards said, "I must say I was troubled recently to see a suggestion that real change that came not through the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King but through a Washington politician. I fundamentally disagree with that."

BET Founder Hints At Obama's Drug Use The AP reports Bob Johnson, a Clinton backer, and "the nation's first black billionaire and founder of the BET cable television network, said Obama's campaign had acted dishonestly and had distorted Clinton's remarks about Martin Luther King Jr." Johnson also "seemed to hint at Obama's acknowledged youthful drug use, an issue that led another Clinton campaign official to resign." Johnson said, "To me, as an African American, I am frankly insulted the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues -- when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood; I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book -- when they have been involved." The AP adds Obama "wrote about his teenage drug use -- marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine -- in his memoir, 'Dreams from My Father.'" The Politico reports Johnson "reels it back in, or at least tries, in a statement from the Clinton campaign: 'My comments today were referring to Barack Obama's time spent as a community organizer and nothing else. Any other suggestion is simply irresponsible and incorrect.'"

Michelle Obama Says Husband's Candidacy Is Not "A Fairy Tale" The AP reports Michelle Obama "said Sunday her husband is the person America needs in the White House right now and criticized anyone who would dismiss his campaign as being built on illusion or fairy tale." She said Barack Obama "is the right candidate 'not because of the color of his skin, but because of the quality and consistency of his character' and that postponing his bid for the White House was not an option." Greeted by "a standing ovation when she took the stage at the opening of the Trumpet Awards - an event celebrating black achievement - she went on to criticize anyone who would 'dismiss this moment as an illusion, a fairy tale' in an obvious reference to comments made by Bill Clinton, the spouse of her husband's main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, who used the term 'fairy tale' to refer to Obama's characterization of his position on the Iraq war."

Polls Show Tight GOP Race Heading Into Michigan Tomorrow.

Sen. John McCain, Mitt Romney and to a lesser extent, Mike Huckabee, are in a fierce fight in Michigan on the eve of tomorrow's primary. Six recent polls on the Republican primary there show a very tight race between McCain and Romney, with Huckabee also drawing significant support.

Three Polls Have McCain On Top An American Research Group poll of 600 likely voters conducted January 9-11 has McCain at 34%; Romney, 27%; Huckabee, 15%; Rep. Ron Paul, 9%; Rudy Giuliani, 5%; and Fred Thompson, 4%. A Detroit News/WXYZ-TV poll of 600 likely voters conducted January 9-12 has McCain at 27%; Romney, 26%; Huckabee, 19%; Giuliani, 6%; Thompson, 5%; and Paul, 4%. A Zogby International poll shows McCain leading Romney 27%-24%, followed by Huckabee, 15%; Paul, 8%; Giuliani, 6%; and Thompson, 5%. Zogby surveyed 913 likely GOP voters from January 9-13.

Three Polls Have Romney On Top A Detroit Free Press/Local 4 Michigan poll of 600 likely voters conducted January 9-11has Romney at 27%; McCain, 22%; Huckabee, 16%; Paul, 5%; Giuliani, 4%; and Thompson, 4%. A McClatchy /MSNBC poll of 400 likely voters conducted January 9-11 has Romney at 30%; McCain, 22%; Huckabee, 17%; Thompson, 7%; Giuliani, 6%; and Paul, 5%. A Rasmussen poll of 371 likely voters conducted January 9 has Romney at 26%; McCain, 25%; Huckabee, 17%; Thompson, 9%; Paul, 8%; and Giuliani, 6%.

Romney Said To Need Win In Michigan To Remain Viable Victory in Michigan is being seen as crucial for the survival of Romney's campaign. The Christian Science Monitor reports that after "two second-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire despite spending more money than any other candidate Michigan is Romney's best chance before Super Tuesday, when 22 states weigh in, to show that he can win. It's a state where he has name recognition and family history, where he owns one of his three homes and has already spent some $3 million on television ads." Similarly, the Los Angeles Times says Romney "needs a win to counter growing perceptions that he can't do better than his second place finishes in the first two significant nominating contests," while McCain "needs a win to keep his New Hampshire-born comeback alive."

Romney is using Michigan's economic woes (it has some of the highest unemployment in the nation) to hit Washington in general, and McCain specifically, for failing to help. The Washington Post reports Romney is "tying his fate in the presidential primary in Michigan to the survival of the American auto industry, casting himself as the champion of its workers while blaming" McCain "for Washington's indifference to its plight." McCain, Romney and Huckabee will all be at the North American International Auto show today, the Detroit News reports, wooing auto executives.

Key State Moderate Backs McCain The Detroit News reports, "Michigan's most famous Republican moderate," former Gov. William G. Milliken, has endorsed McCain, "a move that many no doubt will view as a slap to Mitt Romney. Milliken served as lieutenant governor to Romney's father, George, from 1965 to 1969 and succeeded him as governor."

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Huckabee, Thompson Battle For South Carolina

While the focus on the Michigan primary is the battle between Mitt Romney and John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson are battling it out over South Carolina. Yesterday, that battle boiled over into a series of sharp exchanges. Huckabee, on CNN's Late Edition, said, "It's interesting, Fred Thompson talks about putting America first, and yet he's the one who is a registered foreign agent, lobbied for foreign countries, was in a law firm that did lobbying work for Libya. I certainly wouldn't put my name on something like that. He supported Gerald Ford in 1976 and Howard Baker in 1980. I was supporting Ronald Reagan."

Fred Thompson, also on CNN's Late Edition, responded to Huckabee, saying, "I was in a law firm that did some lobbying work for Libya. Yes, that's correct. ... One of the lawyers talked to me about -- I never talked to any of the clients or anything like that." Thompson added some broadsides on Huckabee positions, saying, "I talked about [Huckabee's] blaming America first, about our arrogant foreign policy. I talked about him wanting to close down Guantanamo and bring those prisoners to American soil and give them habeas corpus rights. I talked about giving public monies in Arkansas to illegal immigrants. I talked about the fact that he received the NEA endorsement because he opposed vouchers."

Pair Of Senators Back Obama

Barack Obama continued to bring in high-profile endorsements over the weekend. The AP reported that Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), citing his "vitality and freshness as a leader," endorsed Sen. Barack Obama Sunday, saying that it was a difficult choice to pick Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton. "But McCaskill said she thought Obama was the kind of leader who came along 'once in a generation.'" The Kansas City Star reports that Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D) also endorsed Obama over the weekend.

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WASHINGTON NEWS

Bush, Dems Mull Stimulus Packages

Both the White House and Congress are eager to focus on the economy as public fears of recession grow, but today's reporting suggests differing approaches to the issue could lead to conflict. The Washington Post reports President Bush and Democrats on Capitol Hill "vowed before the holidays to try to work more closely in the new year," and with "economic anxiety on the rise and experts warning of recession, the two sides face the first test of that commitment as they search for a way to jump-start the economy." Both sides "are looking at some form of tax rebate to pump money into the economy, but they differ on what else should be included." The President "is considering a one-time business tax break to encourage investment, while Democrats are focused on additional spending to help those struggling the most." Roll Call reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent Bush a "carefully worded letter" Friday that asked him "to hold off, as they would, on announcing any stimulus plan until he has a chance to meet with the bipartisan leaders of Congress."

US News and World Report skeptically says that when politicians "finally get around to talking about juicing a flaccid economy with temporary 'fiscal stimulus'...an economic upturn is probably already in the offing. If so, then strong hints that President Bush will put forward a plan to boost the flagging economy at his State of the Union address on January 28 -- with congressional Democrats surely offering their own blueprint -- are welcome news indeed, since the numbers themselves are suggesting that a recession looms. The housing sector is already there. Probably manufacturing, too."

Bush Could Tie Earmark Cuts To Call For Tax Rebates Roll Call reports President Bush could issue an executive order eliminating thousands of earmarks, and could link it "with a call for reprogramming the funding, perhaps through a direct rebate to taxpayers or by putting the savings into children's health care or bridge repair programs." Republicans are saying "discussions of linking it to a taxpayer rebate or funding reprogramming indicate Bush may be looking to make fiscal responsibility a centerpiece of his domestic legacy."

Could Public Fears Help Bring On Recession? The New York Times reports on its front page that concerns about a possible recession are leading Americans to reduce spending "sharply." The Times says the "abrupt pullback" in spending is taking place "at every level of the American economy, from the working class to the wealthy," impacting what had been "a bulwark against recession over the last year." The AP says the odds of recession are growing. At the start of 2007, "many economists put that chance at less than 1-in-3; now an increasing number says it has climbed to around 50-50." Goldman Sachs "even thinks a recession is inevitable this year."

Financial Institutions May Be Recovering In the midst of the negativity, the Christian Science Monitor reports, "America's banks and other financial institutions, frayed by the housing crisis, appear to be on the mend. Stronger financial institutions are purchasing weaker banks and lenders. Some of the largest banks and brokers are getting injections of billions of dollars of new capital -- much of it crucial as they report massive losses this week. There are indications, too, that trust is returning to the capital markets." The Wall Street Journal says this week, "which will be flush with earnings reports from many financial firms, could show whether stock investors were right to start thinking about a recovery in financials."

Bush Rallies Allies Against Tehran

President Bush's speech on Iran, delivered in Abu Dhabi yesterday, is receiving significant media coverage, much of it describing Bush's words as an intensification of US rhetoric against the Middle Eastern country. A number of stories contain Bush's exhortation for other nations in the region to confront Iran "before it's too late." ABC World News led with it in a Sunday broadcast, reporting Bush told "Arab allies [that] time is running out. The President has sharpened his rhetoric against Iran considerably, since the confrontation one week ago, between US warships and Iranian speedboats." NBC Nightly News also reported that Bush turned "up the heat on Iran."

The Washington Post reports that the White House characterized the speech as "the centerpiece of his eight-day trip to the Middle East." The New York Times reports the President "focused not only on what the United States believes are Iran's nuclear ambitions but also its suspected support for Islamic militants in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories."

The Washington Times reports "Bush's coalition-building swing through six Middle East countries is being buttressed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's concurrent three-country trip to the region." Sarkozy, "since his election earlier this year, has closely aligned himself with Mr. Bush on the issue of confronting Iran, and is also offering an important carrot to Arab states: civilian nuclear-power technology."

Taking a critical tone toward Bush's efforts, McClatchy reports he "appears unlikely, based on the regional reaction to his address, to find many Arabs to heed his alarms against Iran, a powerful neighbor and trading partner." USA Today reports "Saudi King Abdullah also has made diplomatic overtures to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, inviting him to the hajj -- the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca -- and walking with him arm in arm at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council."

The Los Angeles Times reports, "In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini dismissed the Bush's approach to Iran as ineffective."

Bush Downplayed Iran Intel To Olmert Newsweek reports President Bush has "been careful to reassure Israel and other allies that he still sees Iran as a threat, while not disavowing his administration's recent National Intelligence Estimate." The NIE "embarrassed the administration by concluding that Tehran had halted its weapons program in 2003, which seemed to undermine years of bellicose rhetoric from Bush and other senior officials about Iran's nuclear ambitions. But in private conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week, the president all but disowned the document."

Contempt Votes For White House Aides

The Washington Post reports the House is expected to "take up contempt-of-Congress resolutions against White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers for their refusal to appear before Congress for questioning about the 2006 removal of nine US attorneys, Democratic leadership aides said." In the Senate, "which is not scheduled to return until Jan. 22, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has made it clear that he is likely to seek at least a one-month delay in considering changes to the law governing surveillance in terrorism and intelligence cases."

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

David Letterman: Top Ten Things Overheard on George W. Bush's Trip To The Middle East.

"10. 'Where can I buy one of them flying carpets?'

9. 'Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, it's me, the guy who rammed democracy down your throats.'

8. 'Is the war over yet?'

7. 'I know your name's Mahmoud, but I'm gonna call you 'Manny."

6. 'Gas up Air Force One -- W. wants to go to Reno.'

5. 'Tell Cheney he doesn't have to call me every time he has a heart attack.'

4. 'I wonder if Jackoway hammered out that interim agreement with Hamas.'

3. 'That's not a kitty, sir, it's a Sphinx.'

2. 'It's nice to finally put a face to the devastation I've created.'

1. 'My next stop -- the Middle West!'"

David Letterman: "President George W. Bush is in the Middle East. He's over there right now because his approval rating is higher."

David Letterman: "Bush would like to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He's so confident about doing this that he is already unfurling the 'Mission Accomplished' banner."

Jay Leno: "You know, I was reading a story in the paper today" about "a man who actually trains the suicide bombers in the Middle East." And he "says he does not accept every person who volunteers. Well, what does that do for your self-esteem?"

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