While both South Carolina and Nevada hold their GOP nominating contests on Saturday, most of the focus for the GOP is on the Palmetto State. The AP reports "four Republicans" Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson -- "are angling for superiority" in South Carolina as the GOP nomination race grows "ever more chaotic." That AP adds that no Republican since 1980 "has won the party nod without a South Carolina triumph." The New York Times says Huckabee, McCain, and Thompson "are each staking their candidacies to varying extents on South Carolina, as the outcome here will most likely bear heavily on Florida's all-important primary on Jan. 29," which Giuliani has declared key to his own chances.
McCain and Romney have agreed on little so far in the campaign, but on Wednesday, both agreed McCain is the man to beat in South Carolina. The Wall Street Journal reports that an event in Greenville, McCain said, "We will win South Carolina." McCain's campaign "say a victory here would propel him through Florida's Jan. 29 contest and into the all-important 'Super Tuesday' primaries Feb 5. They aren't saying what it means if he loses." And The Hill reports under the headline "Romney Anoints McCain Front-Runner In S.C." that Romney "is downplaying expectations for his campaign in South Carolina," suggesting McCain "should be considered the GOP front-runner."
Two polls out today confirm McCain's frontrunner status in the state. The Greenville (SC) News reports that a Clemson University poll "of 450 prospective" South Carolina GOP primary voters conducted Jan. 9-16 shows McCain leading with 29%, followed by Huckabee, 22%; Romney, 13%; and Thompson, 10%. However, "nearly 40 percent of the respondents said they were unsure how they would vote in Saturday's Republican presidential primary." A Zogby International poll out this morning shows McCain leading in South Carolina with 29%, followed by Huckabee, 22%; Fred Thompson, 14%; Romney, 12%; Paul, 5%; and Giuliani, 5%. Commenting on the results, pollster John Zogby said this morning, "There was no discernible bump for Romney coming out of Michigan. We are also seeing that any pickup for Fred Thompson hurts Mike Huckabee in this race, which is as close as any we have seen." The poll surveyed 815 likely GOP primary voters from January 14-16.
The New York Times reports on its front page that while some of the same tactics seen in "one of the most notorious smear campaigns in recent American politics," resulting in McCain's 2000 defeat in South Carolina, are reappearing, McCain is this time "deploying a South Carolina Truth Squad and much of the state's Republican political establishment, which backed" George W. Bush in 2000. McCain "now seems more determined to fight back aggressively in a state that once again could play a big part in determining the fate of his candidacy." The New York Post reports, "In South Carolina, opponents of McCain distributed a flier questioning his patriotism as a prisoner of war in Vietnam by accusing him of aiding the enemy and leaving POWs behind. The vicious mailing shows a caricature of McCain sitting against a wall scrawled with phrases such as 'The POWs I Helped Leave Behind' and 'Collaborations.'"
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An American Research Group poll shows Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney holding small leads in Nevada. Clinton leads the Democrats with 35%, followed by Barack Obama with 32% and John Edwards with 25%. On the GOP side, Romney leads with 28%, followed by John McCain, 21%; Fred Thompson, 13%; Rudy Giuliani, 11%; Ron Paul, 9%; and Mike Huckabee, 8%. ARG surveyed 600 likely caucus-goers for each Party's caucuses from January 9-14.
Romney Only Top Candidate Targeting Nevada The Deseret Morning News reports that after his win in Michigan, Mitt Romney is counting on Republicans in Nevada to give him his next victory. Utah's neighbor holds party caucuses on Saturday, the same day South Carolina becomes the first Southern state to hold a primary election in the 2008 race." Among Republicans, "only Ron Paul...and Romney are actively campaigning in Nevada." Romney is slated "to arrive in Las Vegas late this afternoon after what might be his last day campaigning in South Carolina before Saturday's vote there. He'll walk a Las Vegas neighborhood and attend a volunteer rally."
The Democratic race is centered on Nevada this week; the state holds its caucuses on Saturday. And, the Los Angeles Times reports, Democrats "are reaching out to Hispanic voters as never before -- and not just through strained similes or rallies set to mariachi music. In California, Nevada, Arizona and elsewhere, the candidates are advertising extensively in Spanish, running bilingual phone banks and dispatching door knockers fluent in English and Spanish." The Los Angeles Times also says both the Clinton and Obama campaigns are actively seeking the support of Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, "one of the country's most powerful elected Latinas," who had been backing Gov. Bill Richardson.
The Christian Science Monitor reports, "Latino nostalgia for a less rancorous, more prosperous time benefits Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic nomination race and could also hurt Republican chances of winning the general election in November, say experts." But it's "not certain that Hispanic voters, who tend to be younger and less politically engaged, will turn out in force in Nevada or elsewhere. Experts and pollsters are generally shying away from any forecasts about the unprecedented caucuses here."
The Las Vegas Sun reports "a day after" Obama and Clinton "launched TV ads in Spanish, observers of the Hispanic electorate wondered whether the effort wasn't a case of too little, too late. ... Obama's and Clinton's TV ads in Spanish began Tuesday, with Obama spending $38,000 on Univision, which airs the area's most widely seen Spanish-language news program, and Clinton spending nearly $20,000. ... In contrast, both campaigns began advertising on the area's four network affiliates in English a month ago, and together had spent nearly $600,000 as of last week."
Bill Clinton Chews Out Reporter The New York Sun reports this morning that a TV reporter asked Bill Clinton about a lawsuit by Clinton allies trying to block the opening of several special caucus sites on the Vegas Strip on Saturday (designed to cater to workers who can't take the day off to caucus). Bill Clinton turned on the reporter, and in a "testy exchange," lectured him about why the special sites were wrong. The Sun adds, "Mr. Clinton objected to the reporter's tone in an exchange that became so tense that Oakland's mayor, Ronald Dellums, interceded, trying to pull the former president away. Mr. Clinton refused to budge and lit into the journalist." Under the headline, "Casino Caucus Query Elicits Bubba Blast," the New York Daily News also reports that "Clinton got in the face of a tenacious San Francisco TV reporter. ... 'You have asked the question in an accusatory way,' Clinton fumed." The San Francisco Chronicle reports Clinton "got positively riled."
USA Today reports that a day "after a genteel television debate" in which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both "pledged to tone down their heated rhetoric on race, the two sparred Wednesday over who had the management experience to best run the country." Clinton said she was "'taken aback' at Obama's contention in Tuesday's debate that bringing vision to the presidency mattered more than making sure 'paperwork is being shuffled effectively.'" In response, an Obama' spokesman said Clinton "seemed to believe that 'this is a race for who would make the best chief of staff.'" NBC Nightly News reported, "It turns out last night's Clinton-Obama truce on race applies only to race. When we met up with her this morning," Clinton "tweaked Obama on his statement to a Reno newspaper saying voters don't want a bureaucrat."
Under the headline, "Hillary Clinton: Barack Obama no leader," the New York Daily News reports that Clinton "seized for the second straight day on Obama's pledge to be a President who inspires and provides a vision for the nation -- not one who will make sure 'everything's running on time' in the federal bureaucracy. 'Being President means being both CEO and COO of one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world,' she insisted." The News adds, "Team Obama hit back by saying Clinton sounded like she was running for chief office manager -- not commander in chief."
The Hill reports that in a speech at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, Karl Rove "provided state Republican officials Wednesday with his strategy for winning the 2008 presidential election, suggesting the party hammer the top Democrats on taxes, immigration, national security and a lack of experience." Rove said Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "are beatable," and that Clinton "talks about fiscal responsibility but has introduced '$800 billion in new spending and the campaign is less than half over.'" Rove also "hit Clinton for an awkward moment in her campaign last year, when she had trouble answering a question about driver's licenses for illegal immigrants at the Democratic debate in Philadelphia." Rove said, "I thought that was an incredible moment. In the course of 15 minutes, I counted her giving about four different answers."
The San Antonio Express-News reports Rove said Clinton and Obama "are flawed on social and economic issues, and he laid out a blueprint for the eventual GOP candidate to win the White House." Rove said "the party's nominee must aggressively campaign on kitchen-table issues such as health care and jobs, and reach out to minority communities and union homes." The Washington Times adds Rove "reprised one of his favorite post-September 11 campaign themes for Republicans, saying Democrats have an outdated - but not unpatriotic - view of national security." Rove said, "They've come in this primary season to adopt irresponsible words and irresponsible stands on the most important issue facing America: the security of our country and the security of our people."
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With negative news about the health of the economy dominating headlines and leading all three network newscasts last night, Washington politicians appear intent on finding common ground on an economic stimulus package. ABC World News led its broadcast "with what is topic 'A' on the table in Washington and on every dinner table across the country: the economy." There are "new calls for Washington to do something to jump-start the economy, some kind of stimulus." USA Today sees a "rare show of bipartisanship" in Washington, with congressional leaders vowing "to work together" with President Bush "to quickly enact a stimulus package designed to combat an economic slowdown." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, in fact, said he "believed a measure could be signed into law within 30 days." The Hill also says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "is reaching out to Republicans in an effort to quickly pass a stimulus and rack up a badly needed win for Democrats," while Roll Call reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Sens. Edwards Kennedy and Charles Schumer are "coordinating efforts on the Senate side by calling committee chairmen with jurisdiction over some of the leadership's proposals."
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports on its front page, senior congressional Republicans "said Wednesday they will put aside demands" to make Bush's tax cuts permanent "if that's what it takes to get quick action on a stimulus package." On that front, the New York Times says a "debate has broken out inside the White House over how hard to push Congress to make" them "permanent -- a priority for the president, but one that Democrats say would kill the plan before it is even considered."
There are other possible obstacles rooted in what the Washington Post calls a "potentially debilitating brew of presidential politics, ideological differences and special interest lobbying." The Post says GOP presidential hopefuls and leaders "are warning the White House not to compromise too much with Democrats on an economic stimulus they are not even sure is warranted," while The Hill says disagreement among House Democrats "over whether to apply pay-go budget rules and GOP calls for the package to include an extension" of the tax cuts "loomed as serious threats." The New York Times skeptically says it is a "testament to the decline in party relations in the House that a simple private meeting Wednesday between Democratic and Republican leaders to discuss an economic stimulus plan was treated as remarkable."
Fed Chief To Support Stimulus The Financial Times reports Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is "expected to offer his qualified support" for a stimulus plan today. He "will tell Congress that a fiscal stimulus could be useful if well designed, implemented quickly and has no adverse long-term consequences for the budget deficit." The Wall Street Journal reports Sen. Charles Schumer "said Mr. Bernanke in a Monday phone call was 'generally supportive' of Congress and...Bush enacting stimulus legislation." The New York Times says "the Fed's willingness to give a nod to fiscal stimulus is important. Many lawmakers will not support action without the chairman's blessing, and the double dose of stimulus that the Fed and Congress are considering must be carefully calibrated."
Inflation, Growth Data Raise Alarms The CBS Evening News reported, "We've been hearing a lot lately about the 'R' word, recession, and if the possibility of that isn't enough to worry about, well, here's something else tonight: inflation. The government reported today that inflation was running more than 4% last year, that's sharply higher than the year before, and the highest level in 17 years." The Financial Times says "the higher-than-expected rise in core inflation will trouble the Fed, and raises fears of stagflation, as slowing growth in the US economy is complemented by higher rates of inflation." The Wall Street Journal runs a similar story under the headline "Rising Prices Unlikely To Deter Fed."
Meanwhile, USA Today reports, "The economy grew at the end of 2007 but at a slower pace than that seen earlier in the year as consumer spending disappointed, factory activity was mixed and housing continued to be weak, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday." In its "beige book," an "anecdotal look at the economy," the Fed "said labor markets continued to be tight, while wage gains were modest." The AP says "the Fed's snapshot of business conditions showed a national economy losing momentum heading into the new year and a future riddled with uncertainty."
The Wall Street Journal reports Gen. David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, "said that 30,000 American troops would leave the country by July but that he had yet to make up his mind about whether to recommend any additional reductions." Gen. Petraeus added that "he and his commanders were analyzing three different scenarios to determine the pace and timing of any subsequent troop reductions." The Christian Science Monitor says neither President Bush nor Petraeus are in any "rush to reduce the number of troops any further," but "some in the Defense Department, quietly led by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, say that while the security gains in Iraq are to be carefully guarded, there is only so much the troops can do."
Meanwhile, the AP reports Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey "said Wednesday that the Army may begin moving to 12-month battlefield tours this summer, a shift seen as critical to reducing the strain on a force that has been enduring 15-month deployments." Casey added that "as the number of brigades in Iraq comes down from 20 to 15 over the next several months, officials will be able to begin increasing the amount of time soldiers spend at home between tours." However, Casey stressed that these moves are still contingent on other factors." The Washington Post reports shortening the length of Iraq and Afghanistan tours "would end a policy, required by the buildup of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq last year, that has placed significant stress on soldiers and their families."
The AP reports Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the ranking Republican member on the House Intelligence Committee, said Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the CIA's former head of clandestine services, "gave the command to destroy interrogation videotapes...against the direction of his superiors." After Wednesday's closed testimony from CIA acting general counsel John Rizzo, Rep. Hoekstra said, "It appears he hadn't gotten authority from anyone," but did receive "direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed."
The New York Times notes that Hoekstra "did not provide details, including who may have told Mr. Rodriguez not to destroy the tapes." The Los Angeles Times reports Hoekstra's remarks contradict "previous accounts that suggested" Rodriguez "was never instructed to preserve them."
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports House Intelligence committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes "said afterward that he remained convinced that the CIA did not meet its obligation to fully inform congressional overseers about the tapes and their destruction," calling the failure "unacceptable."
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The AP reports former GOP Rep. Mark Deli Siljander of Michigan, who also served as a US delegate to the United Nations, "was indicted today, accused of being part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened US and international troops in Afghanistan." Siljander was "charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists."
The Los Angeles Times reports Federal officials "said Siljander was hired in 2004 by the Islamic American Relief Agency of Columbia, Mo., after the group had been listed among organizations banned from receiving government contracts because of concern that the organizations supported international terrorism." Siljander "was paid $50,000 to lobby Congress to restore the firm's eligibility to receive government work. According to the indictment, the money was stolen by the Islamic American Relief Agency from the US Agency for International Development, which had hired the organization to do relief work in Africa."
The New York Times /AP reports the White House has "acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages -- including those pertaining to the CIA leak case -- have been taped over and are gone forever." The Washington Post reports White House spokesman Tony Fratto "said he has no reason to believe any e-mails were deliberately destroyed."
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Jay Leno: "Well, congratulations to Mitt Romney. He was the big winner in the Michigan Republican primary. Well, you know...his dad used to be governor there, which I think would be inspiration. You know what I'm saying? It proves, in America, you don't have to be the wife of a former president to win. Sometimes you can just be the son of a governor."
Jay Leno: "John McCain came in second in Michigan. There was one embarrassing moment yesterday, when McCain spoke at a polling place that was also a funeral home. Yeah. I don't want to say McCain looks old, but when he tried to leave the funeral home, he had to show I.D."
Jay Leno: "And Hillary Clinton was on 'The Tyra Banks Show,' which will air on Friday. And Tyra asked her if she could be on a reality show, which reality show would she like to be on. And Hillary said, 'Dancing With The Stars', which -- let me tell you something. If Barack Obama keeps doing well, she could be on that show sooner than she thinks."
David Letterman: "Scientists...have created a living, beating" rat "heart. ... Finally some good news for Dick Cheney."
Stephen Colbert: "I noticed that Michigan is kind of shaped like a mitt. And then I remembered that Romney's name is Mitt. And the first rule of primary politics is voters always vote for the candidate whose name is the shape of their state."
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