Mitt Romney's exit from the presidential race yesterday is receiving front-page coverage in major newspapers, and led all three network newscasts last night. Analysts are portraying Romney's move as ensuring that John McCain will be the GOP presidential nominee, even as the Arizona senator continues to face opposition among conservatives. The Los Angeles Times, for example, reports on its front page that McCain "effectively clinched the Republican nomination for president Thursday when...Romney abandoned his candidacy, leaving Mike Huckabee as a final but minor obstacle to a resolution of the yearlong race." The Baltimore Sun says Romney and Huckabee "had been splitting the vote of social conservatives and others on the Republican right who remain cool to McCain," but "Huckabee faces long odds against the better-funded McCain, who has been trying to rally conservatives and members of the Republican establishment behind his candidacy." The AP says, "With weekend contests in Louisiana and Kansas up next, McCain has secured 707 delegates, more than halfway to the 1,191 needed to win the nomination. Romney has 294 and Huckabee 195. Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman, had only 14 -- and no chance to catch McCain."
McClatchy notes Romney appeared at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference "for what was supposed to be a clarion call to conservatives to rally behind him as the anti-McCain." Instead, Romney "ended his stump speech by announcing that he was quitting to allow McCain to start taking on the Democrats for a fall campaign." Likewise, the CBS Evening News reports Romney had been "welcomed as their champion" by those in attendance, but "joy soon turned to stunned disbelief as Romney announced he was suspending his campaign."
ABC World News recounted that on Wednesday Romney "held a long meeting at his campaign office. The decision at that point seemed to be to stay in." But then Romney "went home, thought about it, and decided there was just no real path left for him to win the nomination." The Wall Street Journal reports Romney "left the door open to a future presidential candidacy, comparing himself to Ronald Reagan, who lost the Republican nomination in 1976 but captured it four years later."
Romney's Failure To Win Nomination Examined A number of news analyses this morning offer largely negative reviews of Romney's performance as a presidential candidate. Several suggest Romney lacked "authenticity," a fact which they say accounts for his failure to rally conservatives more thoroughly. TheWall Street Journal ), under the headline "Romney's Screen Test Fell Flat," says Romney "tried his best to play the part"; he "looked the part" and "sounded the part" but "in the end," he "didn't fit the part. Amid cries from critics of changing stances on key issues, the former governor of Massachusetts never connected with voters." The New York Times, in a story headlined "Challenges And Miscalculations Dogged Romney From The Start," reports "Romney's advisers acknowledged Thursday an array of tactical missteps and miscalculations. Perhaps most significantly, they conceded that they had failed to overcome doubts about Mr. Romney's authenticity as they sought to position him as the most electable conservative in the race, a jarring contrast to his more moderate record as governor of Massachusetts." Similarly, the Los Angeles Times titles its analysis "Romney Failed The 'Authentic' Test," and says "the collapse of Romney's campaign contains an important reminder that what impresses in political back rooms does not always impress voters."
John McCain, with the nomination all but wrapped up but still facing strong resistance to his candidacy from segments of the GOP right, yesterday addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference. ABC World News reported McCain hoped "to persuade" conservatives "that he's one of them -- even though they might not always see eye-to-eye." McCain was shown saying, "Even if you believed I have occasionally erred in my reasoning as a fellow conservative, you will still allow that I have in many ways important to all of us, maintained a record of a conservative." USA Today reports on its front page that McCain also said, "Even in disagreement, especially in disagreement, I will seek the counsel of my fellow conservatives." The senator also said "this week he will be developing his economic plan with former senator Phil Gramm of Texas and former Cabinet official Jack Kemp, two conservative stalwarts."
The Washington Times says "the healing" process between McCain and conservatives "will be hard," as the senator "found out when some in the audience booed amid the cheers when he was introduced, booed when he talked about his fight against his party on immigration and booed when he finished." Dana Milbank also notes, in his Washington Post column appearing on the Post's front page, that "when McCain walked into the same ballroom to give his first speech as the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for president, lusty boos from the CPAC crowd rivaled the cheers for the party's new standard-bearer."
The Christian Science Monitor reports McCain addressed CPAC "with confidence and humility, analysts say. He insisted that he will govern with conservative principles even acknowledging that he can't win without conservative support." But "in true McCain fashion, he did not apologize for past stances that angered other conservatives." And the Wall Street Journal says the senator's appearance "captured the balancing act he now faces -- needing desperately to win over conservatives and solidify the Republican base, yet unwilling to alienate the independent voters who have backed him in the past, and whose support is essential to win a general election."
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With the delegate count tight a virtual tie, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are scrambling to refill their warchests for the coming contests. The AP reports that Obama said yesterday he raised $7.2 million in the two days following Super Tuesday, while the Clinton campaign said it brought in $6.4 million, "stunning totals reflecting the intensity of their neck-and-neck race for the Democratic presidential nomination." The Politico reports the "vast majority of the money" raised by Clinton "came in after Super Tuesday and after news broke that Clinton had lent her campaign $5 million last month and that Obama was on pace to raise at least $30 million this month." USA Today reports the Clinton campaign "also reported adding 40,000 new donors. Some senior aides who had planned to go unpaid in February are back on the payroll."
Campaign Loan Draws Scrutiny To Clinton Assets The Wall Street Journal reports that Clinton's loan to her campaign "casts a new spotlight on the wealth that she and her husband have accumulated since they left the White House seven years ago." The piece notes that the Clinton's reported their assets as between $10 and $50 million on financial disclosure forms, and that campaign finance rules would allow half of that total to go to the campaign. A Clinton spokesman said that the loan came only from her share of the funds. The AP reports that Obama proposed Thursday that Clinton "follow his lead and release her and her husband's income tax returns so the public can see where the $5 million she loaned her presidential campaign came from."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that Hillary Clinton, "making her first appearance in Virginia yesterday before Tuesday's regional primary, matched herself up not with" Barack Obama, but with John McCain, saying he offered "little in the way of change." The Chicago Tribune reports that Clinton also "zeroed in on pocketbook issues -- the sagging economy, the mortgage crisis and health care costs."
After campaigning in Virginia, Clinton headed across the country to Washington State, which holds its contest on Saturday. The AP reports she "chided" Obama "over his health care plan's coverage, touted her plans for the environment and "green collar" jobs, and told the crowd, 'I will bring our troops home within 60 days.'" The AP calls the enthusiastic, over-capacity crowd "a good sign for a campaign locked in one of the closest races for the democratic nomination."
Barack Obama campaigned in Louisiana and Nebraska yesterday, both of which hold their nomination contests tomorrow. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that with "hope and change as his battle cry," Obama "came to a city in need of both Thursday." Obama "told a crowd of about 3,500 supporters that it will take change in Washington for New Orleans to recover. He pledged that if elected, he would restructure FEMA and make sure there is enough money to protect the area from future storms." The Omaha World-Herald reports Obama, in Omaha, "touched on his trademark themes - hope and change - and many of those gathered said that is exactly why they are drawn to him." It was a rare appearance for a contender in the state the Daily Nebraskan reports this morning that it was "the first time a presidential candidate has visited Nebraska in almost 30 years."
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Senate Democrats and Republicans yesterday reached a compromise on the economic stimulus package, ending a week-long standoff. The Los Angeles Times says on its front page that Congress' action capped a few weeks of "rare bipartisan compromise." The Senate passed the bill 81-16 "after Democrats gave up their attempt to pressure GOP lawmakers into backing a more expansive package." And "hours later, the House, which had passed a smaller stimulus bill last month, approved it 380-34." USA Today notes "the new measure, adopted by the House Thursday night, is estimated to cost $168 billion over two years." White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto said last night Bush will sign the bill "within a week." But it "will take two to four months for the rebate checks to arrive." The Financial Times reports Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said last night, "I congratulate the Senate leaders for their quick action to pass a bipartisan economic growth package."
The Hill says "the compromise measure...began to take shape in a morning meeting between" Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, while the Washington Post reports the Senate "logjam broke quickly" after Reid "concluded yesterday morning that he could not find one more Republican vote" for the Democratic version, which had fallen short the day before. Instead, "the Senate added nearly $6 billion in benefits to the package fashioned by Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio)." The Washington Times notes that after the Senate vote, Reid "said the final bill is 'an example of how government is supposed to work.'"
The New York Times reports the Senate compromise "slightly expanded the House plan to include payments for some 20 million Social Security recipients and 250,000 disabled veterans who would not have qualified because they do not earn income." The AP says the bill will "deliver rebates -- $600 for individuals, $1,200 for couples -- to most taxpayers, plus an additional $300 per child." McClatchy notes "both chambers waived requirements that the stimulus plan be offset with spending cuts. That means it will add to the federal deficit, which is projected to exceed $200 billion in the current budget year ending Sept. 30."
The Wall Street Journal says "the new Senate bill disappointed many Democrats in that chamber, who had tried unsuccessfully to pick up enough Republican votes for a more-expansive package."
McCain Casts Vote For Bill The AP reports GOP frontrunner John McCain has "skipped more than half the Senate's votes in the past year but he showed up Thursday to help pass a bill to stimulate the faltering economy." McCain "voted with 32 other Senate Republicans to pass" the "economic rescue plan."
WSJournal Critical Of "Stimulus Folly" The Wall Street Journal editorializes, "We're not sure what Mr. Bush and his White House aides were thinking when they signed onto this stimulus folly. It won't do much for the economy, and now it looks like it might backfire on Republicans politically as well. Bad ideas usually do."
More Economists Say Recession Started The Wall Street Journal reports, "As signs of a weakening economy proliferate, a growing chorus of economists says a recession has begun. Global Insight, a Waltham, Mass., forecasting firm, yesterday declared that 'the economy has slipped over the edge into a mild recession for the first half of this year.'"
The AP reports it is "almost as if people can barely stand the thought of President Bush and Congress anymore. Bush reached his lowest approval rating in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on Friday as only 30 percent said they like the job he is doing, including an all-time low in his support by Republicans." Congress' approval "fell to just 22 percent, equaling its poorest grade in the survey. Both marks dropped by 4 percentage points since early January." The "dour public mood seems to chiefly reflect distress over the doddering economy, which has seen job cuts, financial market slides and real estate losses stoke recession fears."
USA Today reports Attorney General Michael Mukasey told lawmakers Thursday that the Justice Department "would not investigate whether US interrogators broke the law when waterboarding accused terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks." Mukasey, says the Financial Times, told a congressional panel that "whatever was done as part of a CIA programme at the time that it was done was the subject of a Department of Justice opinion through the office of legal counsel and was found to be permissible under the law as it existed then."
The Washington Post says Mukasey's remarks "reflected a renewed effort by the Bush administration to defend its past approval of the interrogation tactic" after "new controversy...has swirled in Washington since CIA Director Michael V. Hayden confirmed Tuesday that the CIA used the tactic" on three al-Qaeda prisoners. The New York Times and Washington Times also report Mukasey's remarks.
Meanwhile, USA Today reports CIA Director Michael Hayden "cast doubt on the legality of 'waterboarding.'" Appearing with Mukasey, Hayden said "he officially prohibited CIA operatives from using waterboarding in 2006 after a Supreme Court decision," but noted that the agency has not used the technique for "just a few weeks short" of five years.
The New York Times notes that following Hayden's testimony, CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said the director "was in agreement with remarks earlier in the week by Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, and Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, that any decision to use waterboarding in the future would require approval by the attorney general and the president."
CIA Used Contractors For Waterboarding Suspect. The Wall Street Journal reports the CIA's "secret interrogation program has made extensive use of outside contractors, whose role likely included the waterboarding of terrorist suspects, according to testimony yesterday from the CIA director and two other people familiar with the program." Though "many of the contractors involved aren't large corporate entities but rather individuals who are often former agency or military officers," some "large corporations also are involved."
Cheney Defends Use Of Technique Also on Thursday, USA Today /AP reports, Vice President Cheney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington "that 'it's a good thing' that top al-Qaeda leaders who underwent" waterboarding "were forced to give up information that helped protect the country."
Using a more empathic tone, the New York Times says the Vice President "vigorously defended the use of harsh interrogation techniques on a few suspected terrorists, saying that the methods made up 'a tougher program, for tougher customers' and might have averted another attack on the United States."
The Washington Post reports Senate Democrats are accusing Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Julie Myers "of misleading Congress after photographs emerged of Myers at an office Halloween party honoring a white employee dressed as an escaped prisoner with dreadlocks and makeup that made him look African American or Hispanic." Myers' confirmation was held up in the Senate "partly as a result of the controversy, and she told lawmakers who inquired last fall that she had immediately instructed aides to order that the digital photographs of the worker be deleted." But the photographs were aired on CNN Thursday "after the cable news network obtained 113 official photographs of the party, including recovered versions of all the deleted ones, through a Freedom of Information Act request."
The AP reports, "Prayer has helped President Bush cope with the stresses of leading the nation, he said Thursday at a breakfast joined by Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi." The Washington Times reports that at the National Prayer Breakfast, Bush also said that "the United States should rely on God to 'build a freer world.'"
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Jay Leno: "There's a new movie out called 'Over My Dead Body.' It's the story of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama."
Jay Leno: "The GOP likes to call itself 'The Big Tent Party,'" which would make "Mike Huckabee...the revivalist tent. Ron Paul would be the circus tent. And of course, John McCain is the oxygen tent."
Conan O'Brien: "Mitt Romney withdrew from the presidential race today," but "a new poll of Republican voters that just came out found that Romney is still favored by senior citizens. ... Unfortunately for Mitt, the seniors still ranked him third behind applesauce and Jell-O."
Jimmy Kimmel: "With Romney out of the race now, Republican frontrunner John McCain is busy refocusing his efforts on wooing conservatives who think he's too liberal. Today, he built a fence around our parking lot security guard, Guillermo."
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