Sen. Barack Obama yesterday easily won the Wisconsin primary and the Hawaii caucuses, and the media is now openly questioning Sen. Hillary Clinton's viability going forward. CNN (2/20) reports that with 99% reporting, Obama topped Clinton 58%-41% in Wisconsin. In Hawaii, with 68% reporting, Obama beat Clinton 76%-24%. The AP reports this morning that Obama "cruised past a fading" Clinton, "gaining the upper hand in a Democratic presidential race for the ages." The wins, says the AP, "left the former first lady in desperate need of a comeback in a race she long commanded as front-runner." The Baltimore Sun reports, "Since Super Tuesday, everything has gone Obama's way, and there have been few, if any, signs that Clinton can stop him."
USA Today says on its front page Obama "handily defeated" her, "extending an unbroken streak of victories since Super Tuesday and propelling him toward what could be a final showdown in two weeks." The New York Times says that Clinton's "latest loss narrowed even further Mrs. Clinton's options and leaves her little, if any, room for error. Her road to victory is now a cliff walk." In a separate story, the New York Times adds the Wisconsin results force Clinton "into a must-win scenario on March 4" and "reinforces Mr. Obama's position as the front-runner."
In a "News Analysis" piece for the Los Angeles Times titled, "Wisconsin: Beginning Of The End For Clinton?" Michael Finnegan writes, "Obama's win raised new doubts about the Clinton campaign's strategy of casting the Illinois senator as a candidate whose soaring rhetoric masks a lack of preparation for the presidency." NPR's Juan Williams, on Fox News, said the margin for Clinton is "very slim" and "she has to run the board, and she has to do it in execution-style. She has to win by strong margins." In an analysis, Thomas M. DeFrank writes in the New York Daily News, "For a candidate whose message and attack lines aren't resonating, Clinton must now run the table or hope for a blockbuster Obama misstep. At the moment, prospects for either seem as slim as her margin for error."
While the Hawaii contest was not seriously contested by the Clinton campaign, Obama's Wisconsin win came despite a late effort by Clinton to rally in the state, something noted in much of the media's coverage. The Washington Post reports in its online coverage that Obama won "decisively" yesterday, adding that Clinton "in recent days made a heavy investment of campaign time and money in Wisconsin, attempting to tap into the state's overwhelmingly white rural and blue-collar vote to close the gap, but her last-minute push fell far short." The Wall Street Journal reports on its front-page, that Obama "held off" Clinton's "belated attempt to brake his momentum." The Financial Times (2/20, Ward) notes Sen. Clinton "had played down her chances in Wisconsin and chose to focus resources on next month's crucial battles Texas and Ohio instead. But the New York senator hoped to limit Mr Obama to a narrower victory than his landslide wins in recent contests."
Another major theme in the coverage this morning is the degree to which Obama ate into Clinton's base of supporters in Wisconsin. The Chicago Tribune notes that according to exit polls, Obama "won handily by managing to tie or edge out Sen. Hillary Clinton with voters considered as her base, pretty much splitting votes from women, voters without a college degree, those making less than $50,000 a year and those belonging to a union." The Washington Post says Obama "broke deep into Clinton's base in Wisconsin. He solidified gains he made in last week's Potomac Primary, proving competitive among some key Wisconsin voting blocs that had been backing the senator from New York and overtaking her among others. 'He's making a real assault on the Clinton coalition for the first time,' said Mark Mellman, an independent Democratic pollster whose Wisconsin clients date to the 1980s."
CNN reports that Sen. John McCain easily defeated Mike Huckabee in yesterday's Wisconsin primary 55%-37%. The AP reports that McCain also "used a convincing victory in Washington to help seal his remarkable comeback from political roadkill." While McCain "had barely won Washington's party-run caucuses just 10 days earlier, he stormed to an easy state-run primary victory over Mike Huckabee and six others Tuesday night, and accepted the crown as nominee-in-waiting. ... With about 53 percent of the vote in, McCain had 49 percent, easily beating Huckabee" and Mitt Romney. Huckabee "had 21 percent and Romney 20 percent." The Dayton Daily News reports that while Huckabee "officially remained in the race, McCain thanked Wisconsin," which had drawn far more focus than Washington state from the campaigns and the media, "for convincing even a 'suspicious naval aviator' that he would be the GOP nominee."
The AP reports McCain "cruised to a comfortable victory in Wisconsin, and criticized Barack Obama in a clear indication he's betting that the Democrat will be his opponent." McCain, "trying to draw a contrast with Obama, the fresh-faced, 46-year-old," told supporters last night, "I'm not the youngest candidate. But I am the most experienced." Long Island Newsday reports that McCain "laced his victory speech last night with attacks on" Obama, saying, "I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change that promises no more than a holiday from history and a return to the false promises and failed policies of a tired philosophy that trusts in government more than people."
McCain Continues To Struggle With Conservatives However, there is at least one warning sign for the McCain camp. According to Fox News, "The real question tonight is whether McCain continues to struggle with conservatives, and the answer to that question is yes. 28% of Wisconsin Republicans call themselves very conservative. They are siding with Mike Huckabee -- 50% to McCain's 40%. Now, McCain doesn't fare much better when you average all of those that call themselves conservative, 60% of GOP voters, and they are splitting their vote, 45% for McCain and 45% for Huckabee."
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Though the media continue to explore Sen. Barack Obama's use of phrases similar to those used by his friend and political ally, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, media coverage of the flap is turning increasingly negative toward the Clinton campaign. This morning, new reports call the Clinton campaign's effort to distance itself from the emergence of the story "disingenuous" and "clearly false," while commentators have largely downplayed the seriousness of Obama's offense. One New York Times report goes so far as to reach back to 1993, to revive criticism of Bill Clinton for not attributing the words of others in his inaugural speech. The Times says the Obama plagiarism charge "revived questions raised in 1993 about whether President Bill Clinton, in his Inaugural Address, borrowed references to springtime from two sources without crediting them at the time." The Times recounts the controversy raised by Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin, who said Clinton used phrases by the late Rev. Timothy S. Healy and the Rev. Gardner C. Taylor.
The AP reports Hillary Clinton "says reporters, not her campaign, uncovered evidence of Democratic rival Barack Obama sharing speech lines with" Patrick. Clinton "made the claim Tuesday despite the fact her campaign posted video clips on YouTube illustrating similarities in the speeches and has suggested in several instances that the shared lines amount to plagiarism." But "any suggestion that the story had a life of its own, apart from the Clinton campaign, is disingenuous." The Politico reports, "Under fire for uncredited echoes of another candidate's speeches, the Obama campaign sought Tuesday evening to turn the tables on" Clinton "by highlighting her clearly false claim that her campaign had not fueled the controversy."
In the wake of her latest losses, Sen. Hillary Clinton is focusing on the big March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio. The New York Times reports that Clinton campaigned in Ohio yesterday, and her campaign "said it was deploying staff members from other states to Ohio and opening offices in every Congressional district. In Texas, it has opened 20 offices and enlisted 4,000 precinct captains, almost halfway to where it wants to be, campaign officials said." According to the Times, "Texas' byzantine delegate-selection rules pose a particular challenge to the Clinton forces. Districts that produced heavy Democratic majorities in past contests get a disproportionate share of the delegates, and this favors Mr. Obama because of large turnout in 2004 and 2006 in college towns and black precincts, where he has done well in other states. Mrs. Clinton's strength is in the cities along the Mexican border, where she is popular with Hispanic voters, but which produce fewer delegates."
The Wall Street Journal reported on its "Washington Wire" blog that Clinton campaign "senior aides...expressed confidence today that she has the support and ground operations to pull out necessary victories in both Texas and Ohio. Ace Smith, Clinton's Texas state director, said the response the campaign is getting on the ground is 'absolutely amazing' and recent stops have drawn thousands of supporters. ... Smith said Clinton is running a coordinated campaign for early votes as early voting started today and will continue until Feb. 29."
The New York Times, in an article titled, "Small Online Contributions Add Up To Huge Fund-Raising Edge For Obama," reports that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is expected to report today that it raised $36 million in January, "$4 million more than campaign officials had previously estimated - an unprecedented feat for a single month in American politics that was powered overwhelmingly by small online donations. That dwarfed the $13.5 million in January that" Sen. Hillary Clinton "is expected to report Wednesday."
McCain Raised $11.65M In January The AP reports that Sen. John McCain "raised nearly $12 million in January. ... According to filings with the" FEC "late Tuesday, McCain had $5.2 million cash on hand at the start of February and $5.5 million in debts, including a loan of nearly $4 million. ... McCain's January finances represented the best single month of fundraising yet. But his report also showed that he entered the month with trepidation, borrowing $950,000 in the first week of January in addition to the $2.9 million he had borrowed in December."
Obama Says He Is Still Willing To Accept Public Financing Deal Sen. Barack Obama has taken some heat in the last week for apparently backing away from a promise to voluntarily limit his general election spending and accept public financing. However, in an op-ed appearing in USA Today, Obama writes that he will "aggressively pursue" an agreement with John McCain to agree to spending limits if they both participate in the public financing system. However, Obama cautions, "I do not expect that a workable, effective agreement will be reached overnight. ... The candidates will have to commit to discouraging cheating by their supporters; to refusing fundraising help to outside groups; and to limiting their own parties to legal forms of involvement. And the agreement may have to address the amounts that Senator McCain, the presumptive nominee of his party, will spend for the general election while the Democratic primary contest continues."
Fox News reports Sen. John McCain's wife Cindy is "stepping out of the shadows and making some news today" by "making a stark contrast between herself and Michelle Obama on the issue of national pride." Cindy McCain: "I'm proud of my country. I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier. I'm very proud of my country." Fox added that Mrs. McCain is "seldom outspoken on the campaign trail," and that her "remarks follow a controversy over Michelle Obama's assertion yesterday that she is proud of her country for the first time in her life." Michelle Obama: "People in this country are ready for change, and hungry for a different kind of politics. Let me tell you something, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country." The AP adds, "Asked by reporters if Mrs. McCain was referring to the remark by the Illinois Democrat's wife, McCain said: 'I don't think we have any comment on that.' Then he turned to his wife and asked her if she'd like to respond. 'I just wanted to make the statement that I have, and always will be, proud of my country,' Mrs. McCain said -- a statement she reiterated later in Columbus, Ohio."
Obama: Wife's Remarks Taken Out Of Context The AP reports Sen. Obama "sought Tuesday to clarify his wife's statement. ... He said her newfound pride is about the political system and was not meant to disparage her country." Interviewed on WOAI radio in San Antonio, Texas, Sen. Obama "expressed frustration that his wife's comments became political fodder. 'Statements like this are made and people try to take it out of context and make a great big deal out of it, and that isn't at all what she meant,' Obama said."
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The AP reports Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has "survived combat as a career soldier and assassination attempts as president. Now the will of his own people has pushed him to the precipice." A "sweeping opposition win in elections has diminished the US-backed leader's political standing as never before and many predict his days in power are numbered." In fact, USA Today reports "Musharraf came under pressure to resign Tuesday." Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, "whose party was a big winner in Monday's vote, said he would meet with the other leaders of other parties to decide whether to impeach Musharraf when the next parliament convenes."
However, Wall Street Journal notes Musharraf said in an interview "he intends to stay in office to guide Pakistan's democratic transition -- even if it means working with a man he believes once tried to kill him." Likewise, the New York Times reports "Musharraf was 'accepting of the reality of the election,'" according to Sen. John Kerry, who met with Musharraf. The Hill reports the US Congress "is closely watching...Musharraf's next moves," as "Democrats will face decisions in the coming months on how to shape foreign aid to Pakistan and with it US policy toward the critical ally in the volatile region."
The Washington Times reports "the State Department said it would continue to work with Mr. Musharraf and work with 'whatever government flows from these elections.'" Similarly, the CBS Evening News said the Bush administration "said today it hopes to work with whatever new government is formed in Pakistan. But now that President Musharraf's party has lost big in parliamentary elections, many wonder if the Pakistanis will still want to help the United States fight the war on terror."
Fundamentalists Also Suffer Defeat McClatchy reports, 'Pakistani voters handed Islamist political parties a massive defeat Monday, virtually eliminating them from regional parliaments in an election that's likely to have a wide-ranging impact on efforts to rein in growing Taliban and al Qaida influence in Pakistan's North West Frontier province."
More "Dialogue," Less Confrontation With Militant s The New York Times reports, "The winners of Pakistan's parliamentary elections said Tuesday that they would take a new approach to fighting Islamic militants by pursuing more dialogue than military confrontation, and that they would undo the crackdown on the media and restore independence to the judiciary."
The Financial Times analyzes the views of Nouriel Roubini of New York University's Stern School of Business, who forecasts the possibility that the housing market and credit crunch could result in a much more severe economic downturn. Roubini, the Times says, "states that there is 'a rising probability of a 'catastrophic' financial and economic outcome.'" The "characteristics of this scenario are, he argues: 'A vicious circle where a deep recession makes the financial losses more severe and where, in turn, large and growing financial losses and a financial meltdown make the recession even more severe.'"
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Martin Feldstein, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan, says if a recession "does occur, it could last longer and be more painful than the past several downturns because of differences in its origin and character." A "key cause of the present slowdown and potential recession was not a tightening of monetary policy but the bursting of the house-price bubble after six years of exceptionally rapid house-price increases. The Fed therefore will not be able to end the recession as it did previous ones by turning off a tight monetary policy."
Oil Closes Above $100 Per Barrel USA Today reports oil "closed above $100 a barrel Tuesday for the first time in history - a surprise price surge that leaves experts and motorists wondering if there's no limit." The "closing price of $100.01 a barrel, combined with gasoline prices that already had begun rising before the oil spike, could push the U.S. average for gasoline to $3.75 a gallon by Memorial Day - more than 50 cents higher than the record $3.227 set on May 24." The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and New York Times reports the "day's price rise of more than 4 percent capped a weeklong run-up that began when President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States over a legal struggle with ExxonMobil."
The AP reports Wall Street "gave up a big early advance and closed mixed Tuesday after oil prices closed above $100 for the first time and stoked fears that inflation will stymie an already troubled economy." The Dow Jones industrial average "fell 10.99, or 0.09 percent, to 12,337.22 after being up more than 150 points earlier in the session."
The AP reports the Supreme Court "dealt a setback Tuesday to civil rights and privacy advocates who oppose the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program." In a ruling "without comment," the justices "turned down an appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union to let it pursue a lawsuit against the program" in a move that "underscored the difficulty of mounting a challenge to the eavesdropping." The Financial Times says the court "handed the Bush administration a victory," while the Los Angeles Times and Washington Times run similar reports.
During a visit yesterday in Rwanda, ABC World News reported, President Bush "saw firsthand the evidence of a genocide," which "left him visibly shaken." President Bush was shown saying: "This is a moving place that can't help but shake your emotions to your very foundation." The AP reports Bush "used some of his strongest language to date in blasting the slow pace of the international peacekeeping plan." Bush said, "I am well known to have spoken out about the slowness of the United Nations. ... It seems very bureaucratic to me, particularly with people suffering." The Wall Street Journal reports, "In a not-too-veiled dig at China, an oil customer and staunch defender of Sudan's government, Mr. Bush explained that he was still 'trying to get other people to join' the effort to halt the Darfur violence." The AP adds Bush "called Tuesday on all nations to step up efforts to end 'once and for all' the ethnic slaughter still continuing in Sudan's western Darfur region." Frustrated at "the lack of willingness of some other countries to do the same," the President "sought to give his campaign for their increased involvement added weight by making pointed remarks on it from the Rwandan capital."
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Jay Leno: "Do you realize when Castro came to power in 1959, John McCain was only 61 years old?"
Jay Leno: "Actually, Fidel Castro was the most powerful socialist in the world not living in Malibu. Did you know that?"
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