Last night's Democratic debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is being characterized by this morning's papers as the first "gloves-off" meeting between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who accused one another of distorting voting records, and resorted to the types of personal attacks that have been notably absent in previous joint appearances. Newspaper coverage tends to tag both candidates equally with charges of unnecessary negativity without declaring either the clear winner. The AP reports that "a simmering feud" between Clinton and Obama "erupted into charges of distortion and exaggeration in a gloves-off presidential debate Monday, with Clinton accusing him of representing a Chicago slumlord and Obama countering that she was a corporate lawyer for anti-union Wal-Mart." The AP describes the exchanges as "unusually acrimonious and personal." McClatchy, in an article titled, "Obama And Clinton Tear Into Each Other In Debate," reports that the candidates engaged in "bitter verbal" sparring, "challenging one another's honesty in the most heated debate of their year-long campaign. ... Throughout, they stared at one another icily, raised their voices and interrupted one another, all while repeatedly accusing one another in strikingly personal terms." USA Today reports Clinton and Obama "drew audible gasps from [the] audience...with a hammer-and-tongs opening salvo in which he accused her of distorting his record, she accused him of shifting positions and each attacked the other for having controversial associates." According to the New York Times, "at times," Obama "appeared to be on the verge of losing his temper at Mrs. Clinton."
According to USA Today, "The most intense exchanges came between the two front-runners. Obama told Clinton he was working as a community organizer in a poor Chicago neighborhood while 'you were on the corporate board of Wal-Mart.' Clinton retorted that she was battling Republicans when 'you were representing your contributor Rezko in his slum landlord business.' The reference was to Tony Rezko, a now-indicted Chicago political fixer who raised money for Obama and bought property with him." Bloomberg reports, "Responding to Clinton's 'slum lord' comment, Obama said he was an associate at a law firm representing a church group teamed with Rezko on a project, and 'did about five hours worth of work on this joint project.'" The New York Sun notes that Obama "did not address Mrs. Clinton's description of Mr. Rezko as a slum owner, nor did the Illinois senator mention that he expanded his Chicago home by purchasing land from the developer in question."
Edwards Wins Media Plaudits By Avoiding Fracas. The Charleston Post and Courier reports that when John Edwards "finally got a chance to speak, he won applause by saying, 'I want to know on behalf of voters here in South Carolina, [with] this kind of squabbling, how many children is this going to get health care? How many people are going to get an education from this? ... I respect both of my fellow candidates, but we have got to understand this is not about us personally.'"
This strategy seems to have worked for Edwards. The State (SC) gives him the highest grade in the debate (A-, with Clinton and Obama getting B's), while Walter Shapiro writes at Salon.com that the winner, "partly by default," was Edwards, "who managed to stay above the fray except when he would suddenly swoop down to score a debating point against a surprised rival." CNN political analysts Bill Schneider wrote after the debate that Edwards "got himself back in it -- he showcased his style and his key issues, and is clearly back in the game. He showed he continues to deserve to share a debate stage with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and voters here will likely give him another look after tonight."
Clinton Writing Off South Carolina? The AP reports Clinton "is limiting her time in South Carolina even though the presidential primary is just five days away, a recognition of rival Barack Obama's chances of winning the state and a reflection of her own long-term strategy." Clinton "planned to campaign Tuesday and Wednesday in states scheduled to hold contests Feb. 5, including California, New Mexico and New Jersey. She was scheduled to leave South Carolina after Monday's televised debate and not return until Thursday." The CBS Evening News reported that the Clinton campaign "is expecting a double-digit loss here in South Carolina. One senior advisor told me that he'd consider any closer margin than that to be a good week."
Both ABC and CBS led their evening news programs with pieces on how the Democratic presidential candidates worked to attract black voters on the Martin Luther King holiday. Both networks focused on former president former President Bill Clinton's recent sparring with Sen. Barack Obama, with CBS calling relations between the two campaigns "ice cold." Further into its broadcast NBC called the former president an "aggressor" and repeated Newsweek's claim that he has been encouraged by Sen. Ted Kennedy, among other senior Democrats, to tone down his rhetoric regarding Obama's record. ABC World News opened its broadcast with a report on the "nasty spat going on between Obama and Clinton, Bill Clinton that is." According to ABC, the former president's "recent outbursts are raising questions about how far is too far? And when might this asset turn into a liability?"
The CBS Evening News adds that the "relationship between the two campaigns is now ice cold, even by presidential campaign standards." CBS said Obama is now employing a new strategy. Directly confronting a former president who he says is playing fast and loose with the facts." CBS added that while the Clinton campaign claims Bill Clinton "is not doing any damage to his wife's campaign, perhaps they might want to check with some voters here." According to NBC Nightly News, "not everyone is comfortable with Bill Clinton's role as the aggressor" and "at least two party leaders, Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, a former Clinton aide, have told Bill Clinton that as a former president, he should stop attacking Obama and dividing the party. But he has refused. Bottom line, Bill Clinton's attacks have worked."
Atlanta Mayor Takes Shot At Bill Clinton During Joint Appearance The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that with Bill Clinton "standing not 20 feet in front of her, Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin took what appeared to be a political shot at the former president's comments about Barack Obama's candidacy. Speaking at the 40th annual MLK commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Franklin said the country is on the 'cusp of turning the impossible into reality. Yes this is reality, not fantasy or fairy tales.'" "Fairy tale" is the phrase Bill Clinton used to describe the Obama candidacy last week. The AP notes that after Franklin's comments, "the largely black crowd erupted in applause at Franklin's comments," while "Clinton sat with his hands clasped in front of him."
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Clinton Holds Big Lead Over Obama Rudy Giuliani is trailing John McCain in his home state of New York, which holds its primary February 5, in a pair of new polls. The AP reports a WNBC/Marist poll of 1,467 registered New York voters taken January 15-17 shows John McCain leading with 34%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 19%; Mitt Romney, 19%; Mike Huckabee, 15%; and Fred Thompson, 6%. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads with 48%, followed by Barack Obama with 32% and John Edwards with 9%.
A Zogby International poll shows a stronger performance by Giuliani. McCain leads with 24%, followed by Giuliani, 21%; Romney, 14%; Huckabee, 7%; Thompson, 7%; and Ron Paul, 2%. On the Democratic side, Clinton leads with 47%, followed by Obama with 26% and Edwards with 9%. Zogby surveyed 280 likely GOP primary voters and 425 likely Democratic primary voters from January 19-20.
The New York Times reports Giuliani "was forced to explain the results" of the Marist poll "at an impromptu news conference at the Daytona 500 track." Said Giuliani, "For us, it's Florida. ... We'll think about New York, California, Missouri. ... We'll think about everything on the morning of Jan. 30."
While the Democratic field is battling in South Carolina, and looking beyond to Super Tuesday, the GOP field has descended on Florida, which holds its primary next Tuesday. The early take in the media is that John McCain has both the momentum and the early advantage there, despite Rudy Giuliani's total focus on the state. Fox News' Special Report reported, "Riding his South Carolina victory wave with a huge media entourage," McCain "now hopes to knock down the political firewall that" Giuliani "spent the last month building in Florida. " The CBS Evening News reported, "Florida poses a new challenge for the maverick senator. Unlike New Hampshire and South Carolina, Florida does not allow independents to vote in the GOP primary. Independents put McCain over the top in South Carolina."
Under the headline "Giuliani's Campaign Wilting In Florida," the Financial Times reports that "over the past two months," Giuliani "he has seen an 18 percentage point lead in the Sunshine State evaporate, and polls now show him locked in a tight three-way race." Giuliani "underestimated how severely the early states would punish him for his no-show and failed to grasp how badly the defeats would hurt his credibility." NBC Nightly News reported Giuliani "has spent the past seven weeks here, nearly nonstop, determined to make his strategy of skipping earlier primaries and launching his bid in Florida work. Many say it is do or die."
In a front-page story, the New York Times reports Rudy Giuliani "likens himself to a boxer who never takes a punch without swinging back. As mayor, he made the vengeful roundhouse an instrument of government, clipping anyone who crossed him."
Fox News' Special Report reported Fred Thompson "went directly from his third place showing in South Carolina back home to Tennessee to visiting his ailing mom, who is in her 90s. No word on when he will say to his supporters and the country whether he will continue his campaign. He said he will go back and think about it and hasn't indicated whether he will withdraw or stay in the race." Aides say he does have a little bit of money should he decide to do that." Rich Galen, one of Thompson's strategists, "suggested Thompson would make a nice vice presidential pick because he could fill some of the holes in terms of the political portfolio of each of the other candidates. The vice-presidency has been something that Fred Thompson was considering all along."
Staying In Through Florida Might Help McCain The New York Times reports, "Aides to both Mr. Thompson and Mr. McCain said the two campaigns had had no conversations about whether Mr. Thompson might drop out or whether he would stay in the race through Florida. Should Mr. Thompson decide to campaign in Florida, it might help Mr. McCain because Mr. Thompson could theoretically siphon off conservative votes from Mr. Huckabee, one of Mr. McCain's more significant competitors."
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With no clear frontrunner in either party and the massive collection of February 5 primaries approaching, candidates are unable to blanket the states with advertising as they have done in the early contests. The Washington Post reports, "With their campaign treasuries running on empty and only weeks to attract support in the nearly two dozen states that will cast ballots on Feb. 5, candidates for president are scrambling to find creative and unorthodox ways to grab the attention of voters with the funds they have remaining." According to the Post, at least two campaigns "have privately discussed bypassing a barrage of targeted local ads in favor of buying a spot with potentially more impact to run during the Feb. 3 Super Bowl broadcast, at a cost of about $2.7 million. ... None of the campaigns has decided yet to take the Super Bowl gamble, but it is one of scores of spending possibilities presidential campaign strategists are considering as they approach the biggest day ever of primary voting."
The Stockton Record reports that a Field Poll of 377 likely California Democratic primary voters conducted Jan. 14-20 shows Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic field with 39%, followed by Barack Obama with 27% and John Edwards with 10%. The Record notes that Clinton's lead is "slightly smaller than the gap Clinton holds in similar polls taken last week, but she has led Obama by double digits in California for nearly a year."
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Despite optimistic forecasts about an imminent deal on an economic stimulus package, a compromise may yet prove elusive. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning "top House and Senate leaders from both parties are scheduled to meet today with President Bush," and "lawmakers had hoped to emerge from the meeting with a framework for a deal that could move through Congress by mid-February." However, "aides said the chance of a detailed breakthrough today is slim, and the timetable for passing a measure has slipped by at least a couple of weeks." The Journal adds "several big differences remain between Democrats and Republicans, including who should receive tax rebates, and how much cash should be devoted to additional spending items favored by Democrats." However, "for all the remaining questions, there remains a striking desire to work across party lines, a contrast to the bickering and bluster that prevailed on Capitol Hill for much of last year."
Likewise, Fox News' Special Report said "everyone in Congress across the political spectrum is eager to move quickly on a roughly $150 billion stimulus, much of it to put money into the pockets of those who would spend it quickly." But the Administration "is talking about quick tax rebates only to those who actually pay income taxes," and Congressional Democrats "say those who don't pay income taxes deserve a break because they do pay Social Security, or FICA taxes. ... White House officials say all that is open for negotiation, and some Republicans are inclined to agree."
The Washington Post reports "organized labor, a fundamental constituency of the Democratic Party, is unhappy about lots of things these days, even though Democrats are in the majority in Congress," and "its latest disappointment involves the economic stimulus package that soon will start moving on Capitol Hill." The Post adds "some union leaders are worried that they are not being heard, particularly in the Senate, and that a group of Wall Street Democrats led by former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin is getting more attention. ... On substance, labor economists such as those at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute like the idea of pouring money into infrastructure, such as road and bridge construction, as a way to create jobs and spur growth."
Global Stock Selloff Said To Reflect Doubts About Bush Many media reports are casting yesterday's precipitous stock selloff across the world as a vote of no-confidence on the President's stimulus plan. The AP reports global "investors dumped shares because they were skeptical that an economic stimulus plan...Bush announced Friday would shore up the economy that has been battered by problems in its housing and credit markets." AFP also reports "dealers said a major new plan by...Bush to prevent a US recession was not enough to offset the stream of bad news from banks due to the crisis in the American housing market." USA Today says "stock markets across Europe and Asia plunged Monday on fears that...Bush's emergency economic stimulus plan won't ward off recession in the USA." ABC World News said yesterday "was the first chance overseas investors had to react to that plan in Washington to rescue the US economy from recession." The Financial Times, Washington Post and Washington Times run similar reports on the global stock sell-off..
The New York Times reports President Bush is "unlikely to defy Congress on spending billions of dollars earmarked for pet projects," though he "will probably insist that lawmakers provide more justification for such earmarks in the future." The Times says fiscal conservatives have urged the president "to issue an executive order instructing agencies to disregard the many earmarks listed just in committee reports, not in the text of legislation. More than 90 percent of earmarks are specified that way, not actually included in the texts." However, the Congressional leadership of both parties has warned President Bush that he "would provoke a huge outcry on Capitol Hill if he ignored those earmarks." The Times goes on to note that Bush "recently mocked earmarks for a prison museum in Kansas and a sailing school in California" and told OMB Director Jim Nussle to "review options for dealing with the wasteful spending."
Roll Call says the White House "has remained tight-lipped" about the president's intentions, and "as late as last week, conservatives had hoped Bush would follow the advice of" Vice President Cheney and the OMB's Nussle "and eliminate the earmarks en masse through the use of an executive order," but "in recent days, supporters of earmarked funding have mounted a vocal opposition to such a plan. ... While the executive order option remains on the table, White House sources and Republicans on Capitol Hill have said that Bush could opt to send a rescissions package to Congress requesting the earmarks be eliminated. But unlike an executive order, that route would have virtually no chance of success, since neither the Democratic-controlled House nor Senate would take up such a measure."
Following yesterday's New York Times story reporting Gen. David Petreaus is being considered to be the next supreme commander of NATO, the Washington Post this morning focuses on potential Petraeus successors in Iraq. Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, "who leads secretive US Special Operations units working in Iraq," is "one of the leading candidates to take over should Petraeus leave his post as part of a series of high-level military personnel changes under discussion, the officials said." The Post adds "insiders emphasize that no decision has been made on Petraeus's future assignment and that a sharply different course -- including staying in Iraq longer -- is possible. With President Bush entering his final year in office, however, the discussions raise questions about the military leadership that will guide the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under a new administration." Petraeus "is said to favor the move, which would enable him to focus on Afghanistan, where violence has escalated over the past year, as opposed to improved security in Iraq." Interviewed on NBC Nightly News, the general declined to comment on the NYTimes story.
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Jay Leno: "Congratulations to John McCain," who "won the South Carolina Republican primary. You know, McCain is described as a GOP maverick. ... Do you know what that means? After Mark Foley and Larry Craig that just means he's a straight guy. See, there aren't a lot of those left."
Jay Leno: "Here's one of those philosophical questions: If Fred Thompson stopped campaigning, how could you tell?"
Jay Leno: "In Saudi Arabia last week, President Bush was criticized for doing a little ceremonial dance with a sword given to him by the Saudi prince. A lot of people thought the President was pandering to the Saudis. To be fair, I don't think the President was pandering. See, I think President Bush is truly fascinated by bright, shiny objects."
David Letterman: "Mitt Romney looks like he is the closer at a Cadillac dealership."
David Letterman: "Mitt Romney looks like that guy on the golf course in the Levitra commercial."
Craig Ferguson: "Down in Florida, the preparations for the upcoming primary are going on. They have one week left to make sure the voting machines don't work."
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