ABC World News reported that the Obama campaign accused the Clinton campaign of "taking on a 'shameful, offensive, fear-mongering' tone, by circulating this photograph of Obama wearing native garb during a 2006 trip to Africa, accusing Clinton of feeding false rumors that Obama is Muslim." NBC Nightly News reports that the Clinton campaign denied that it sent the photo to The Drudge Report, where it first appeared. The CBS Evening News noted Clinton aides "say it wasn't them but point out there's plenty of similar pictures of the Clintons and the shame's on Obama's aides for saying it's divisive."
According to McClatchy, Obama campaign officials "quickly denounced the Clinton camp's alleged role in circulating the photo. 'On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we've seen from either party in the election,' Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said."
The AP describes the photo as Obama "wearing a white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders in Wajir, in northeastern Kenya." The AP notes that Obama's "estranged late father was Kenyan" and Obama visited Kenya in 2006, "attracting thousands of well-wishers." The Drudge Report "posted the photograph Monday and said it was being circulated by 'Clinton staffers' and quoted an e-mail from an unidentified campaign aide. Drudge did not include proof of the e-mail in the report."
The Washington Post's Philip Kennicott concludes, "Even if it was meant as a smear image, the Obama in Africa picture was only slightly more sophisticated in its insinuations than an old Polaroid with horns and fangs drawn on it. By the end of the day, the only clear message from the strange episode is that whoever was spreading the image was not particularly sophisticated about the way images work in our new media world."
Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday delivered a foreign policy address at George Washington University, but the media today is focused on the speech's inherent criticism of Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy stances rather than on positions taken by Clinton. ABC World News reported, "Another day, another line of attack from Hillary Clinton aimed at Barack Obama. This time she challenged the Illinois senator's foreign policy experience saying essentially, he doesn't have any" and that "he would be a risky choice." Clinton "implied Obama would be a Democratic version of George W. Bush, lacking both experience and wisdom." NBC Nightly News added that Clinton said, "The American people don't have to guess whether I understand the issues or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual to guide me through a crisis."
The Hill says Clinton "promised a measured and experienced foreign policy. ... Flanked by Gen. Wesley Clark and former Veterans Affairs and Army Secretary Togo West, she harped mostly on the experience angle. She compared Obama to President Bush because he would enter the White House without major foreign policy experience." The Chicago Tribune adds that Clinton "chided Obama for what she said was a lack of experience that could rival a Bush administration that had a strategy based on a series of 'false choices and then is indifferent about the consequences -- force versus diplomacy, unilateralism versus multilateralism, hard power versus soft.'"
A second, related, theme in today's media is the notion that Clinton (typified by the CBS and New York Times coverage) is that Clinton is launching new attacks daily on Obama. The CBS Evening News reported that "a senior Clinton aide" said Sen. Clinton "doesn't like it at all the way her final warm remarks in that debate last week were seen as a farewell so she is leaving no doubt that she will fight and fight fiercely for the Democratic nomination. ... Whether discrediting his foreign policy or mocking his speech making, Hillary Clinton is now hitting Barack Obama harder than ever every time out." The New York Times says the Clinton campaign "is now unleashing what one Clinton aide called a 'kitchen sink' fusillade against Mr. Obama, pursuing five lines of attack since Saturday in hopes of stopping his political momentum." Clinton advisers "said the attacks were partly an effort to knock Mr. Obama off balance before the debate on Tuesday. They also said they were sending a signal to supporters that Mrs. Clinton was still resolutely fighting to win the presidential nomination, despite news reports in recent days about her dispirited campaign operation and her own somber outlook on the race."
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The Christian Science Monitor reports this morning that Sen. Hillary Clinton's advisor Harold Ickes "dropped a hint that March 4 will produce a decision point. 'I think if we lose in Texas and Ohio, Mrs. Clinton will have to make her decisions as to whether she moves forward or not,' he said. He paused, then added: 'as she has at the end of every other state.'" The Houston Chronicle adds that while former President Bill Clinton "recently proclaimed that Texas and Ohio were both must-win states for his wife, Ickes would not go that far. Instead, he opened the door for the former first lady to continue her campaign if she emerged victorious in one of the two March 4 showdown states. 'I wouldn't want to fly in the face of President Clinton,' Ickes said. 'What I will say is it is important that she do very, very well.'"
The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, in a column titled, "Team Clinton: Down, And Out Of Touch," pans Ickes' appearance and the Clinton campaign in general today, writing, "There was no mistaking a certain flailing, a lashing-out, as two Clinton advisers sat down for a bacon-and-eggs session yesterday at the St. Regis Hotel." According to Milbank, Ickes "gave a presentation about Hillary Rodham Clinton's prospects that severed all ties with reality. 'We're on the way to locking this nomination down,' he said of a candidate who appears, if anything, headed in the other direction."
The AP reports that Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D), who exited the presidential race after poor showings in early contests, is expected to endorse Sen. Barack Obama today in Cleveland. Dodd's support, "coupled with his liberal credentials, could provide a boost for Obama as major contests near in big states such as Ohio and Texas on March 4." The Hartford Courant adds that Dodd's "support of Obama may clash with his longtime friendship with the Clintons. After the Republicans swept into Congress on a 'Contract with America' wave in 1994, President Clinton picked Dodd as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Some pundits had even guessed that Dodd would be a possible vice presidential choice for Hillary Clinton."
The AP, in an article titled, "McCain Says He Could Lose Over War Issue," reports that in suburban Cleveland yesterday, Sen. John McCain "said that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can't, 'then I lose. I lose,' the Republican said." However, McCain "quickly backed off that remark." McCain is quoted as telling reporters later in the day, "Let me not put it that stark. Let me just put it this way: Americans will judge my candidacy first and foremost on how they believe I can lead the country both from our economy and for national security. Obviously, Iraq will play a role in their judgment of my ability to handle national security. ... If I may, I'd like to retract 'I'll lose.'" The CBS Evening News reported Sen. McCain "said something about Iraq today he wishes he hadn't. He told reporters that if he cannot convince Americans that US policy in Iraq is succeeding, then 'I lose.' He quickly took back those two words 'I lose.'"
Fox News' Special Report noted that "it is a bit unusual for a political candidate to openly hang his fortunes on a single controversial issue months away from an election but John McCain did just that today."
Liberal Groups Air Ads Critical Of McCain's Stance On Iraq Democratic groups are seeking to link the Iraq war to the economic downturn, and plan ad campaigns to convince the public. The AP reports this morning that a coalition of anti-war groups announced that it plans to spend "more than $20 million" in the coming months to "convince voters" that McCain's support for the Iraq war is "bad for the economy." In addition, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which is supporting Sen. Barack Obama, "will begin airing an ad in Ohio that links an end to the war with the government's ability to address domestic problems."
Three new national polls out this morning give a conflicting view of potential general election match ups between Sens. John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Against Clinton, McCain tops her in one, ties her in another, and trails in a third, while Obama performs much better holding leads in all three surveys. A USA Today /Gallup poll shows Obama leading McCain 49%-45%, while McCain tops Clinton 49%-47%. A CBS News/New York Times poll shows Obama leading McCain 50%-38%, while McCain and Clinton tie at 46% apiece. Finally, an AP -Ipsos poll shows Obama leading McCain 51%-41%, while Clinton leads McCain 48%-43%.
Obama Pulls Ahead Of Clinton In National Primary Polls The polls also show Barack Obama opening leads of varying sizes in the Democratic primary. The AP-Ipsos poll shows the race relatively tight Obama leads Clinton 46%-43%. The gap widens in the USA Today/Gallup poll Obama leads Clinton 51%-39%. In the CBS/New York Times poll, Obama holds a 54%-38% lead.
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Sen. Hillary Clinton maintains a single-digit lead over Sen. Barack Obama in the key state of Ohio, which holds its primary on March 4, according to a pair of new polls out today. The Los Angeles Times reports that a University of Cincinnati Ohio Poll shows Clinton topping Obama 47%-39%, while the Dayton Daily News reports that a Public Policy Polling survey shows Clinton ahead of Obama more narrowly, topping him 50%-46%.
A new CNN /Opinion Research poll shows Sen. Barack Obama moving ahead of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the key March 4 state of Texas. The poll shows Obama edging Clinton 50%-46%. In a similar poll taken a week before, Clinton held a 50%-48% lead. On the GOP side, Sen. John McCain leads with 56%, followed by Mike Huckabee with 31% and Rep. Ron Paul, who hails from Texas, with 9%. The poll surveyed 751 likely GOP primary voters and 861 likely Democratic primary voters from February 22-24.
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President Bush yesterday reiterated his call on Democrats to pass the lapsed anti-terror surveillance law known as the "Protect America Act." The story received little national coverage other than an AP dispatch. However, GOP lawmakers appear to be launching a concerted effort to keep the issue in the forefront of public opinion, with key senators and congressmen running opinion pieces in newspapers across the country. In the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Kit Bond and Reps. Peter Hoekstra and Chris Smith take issue with a story in Monday's Washington Post, in which Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Patrick Leahy, and Reps. Silvestre Reyes and John Conyers, "wrote that our intelligence agencies can collect all the intelligence they need under FISA. That is simply false. We are less safe today and will remain so until Congress clears up the legal uncertainty for companies that assist in collecting intelligence for the government -- and until it gives explicit permission to our intelligence agencies to intercept, without a warrant, foreign communications that pass through the US." Democratic leaders, add the GOP lawmakers, "prefer to play an obstructionist role instead of constructing the architecture we need to fight an intelligence-driven war."
In a separate op-ed for the National Review Online, Hoekstra writes that "the House leadership has chosen to ignore not just the catastrophic post-9/11 attacks in London, Madrid, and Bali, or the two dozen terrorist plots against the United States foiled since 2001, but also more recent history, such as the December 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto and al-Qaeda activity over the last six months in Denmark, Germany, and Algeria." Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Rep. Darrell Issa says, "We live in a dangerous time and our intelligence agencies are our front line of defense. ... Our vigilance and aggressive approach to combating terrorism must continue if we are to avert future attacks." In the New York Post, Rep. Adam Putnam says "House Democrats face a stark choice: They can continue on the political course they have embraced -- or they can prove that their complacency was but a momentary lapse of judgment, and give the bipartisan...bill the up-or-down vote it deserves."
Detainee Policy Architect Steps Down The Wall Street Journal reports that Defense Department counsel William J. Haynes, a "principal architect of the Bush administration's detainee policies," is "stepping down, just as military officials gear up for the Guantanamo Bay trial of alleged planners of the Sept. 11, 2001, conspiracy." According to the Journal, Haynes "pushed the Pentagon toward a near-revolution in military law, away from traditional procedures for enemy prisoners and through a series of experiments in detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists outside the Geneva Conventions or domestic law."
The New York Times reports President Bush "rebuffed appeals from the nation's governors on Monday to increase spending on roads, bridges and other public works as a way to revive the economy." The governors "said Mr. Bush had told them at a White House meeting that he wanted to see the effects of his economic stimulus package before supporting new measures."
The AP reports that governors "are divided over infrastructure spending." But they "raised the issue during a meeting with...Bush." As they left the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told reporters, "It's the best type of stimulus, even better than what was in the first package." The San Francisco Chronicle says the governors' plan "could come with a steep price tag." Rendell "said the group will urge Congress to approve a new economic stimulus package that could include $25 billion to $30 billion for infrastructure projects."
The AP reports the White House "still has not finished work on a new records management and e-mail archiving system, a project that began nearly five years ago." The "status of the electronic records system is detailed in testimony scheduled for delivery Tuesday to a House committee investigating whether millions of White House e-mails have disappeared."
The Washington Post reports former Attorney General John D. Ashcroft agreed Monday night "to appear at a House hearing to discuss his lucrative arrangement overseeing a medical equipment company, averting a showdown with committee members who had planned to meet today to authorize a subpoena." The move "marks an about-face for Ashcroft," whose consulting firm "stands to collect between $28 million and $52 million over 18 months for reviewing the operations of Zimmer Holdings, an Indiana company that makes replacement hips and knees."
The New York Times says in an editorial that the issue is "larger than any one appointment. Congress should conduct a broader inquiry into prosecutors' selection of richly rewarded monitors and require that appointments are made based on merit."
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The Biloxi (MS) Sun Herald reports former Sen. Trent Lott said Federal investigators "assured him he is not a target of a judicial bribery investigation involving his brother-in-law, prominent Mississippi attorney Richard 'Dickie' Scruggs." Lott "said FBI agents did interview him earlier this year, but only as a potential witness." The FBI is looking into whether Scruggs "tried to land a lifetime appointment to the federal bench for Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter."
The Hill reports that throughout the "26-page indictment of Rep. Rick Renzi and his business associates, federal prosecutors allege that the lawmaker made a series of legislative promises in exchange for proposed land deals." But unlike the cases of former Reps. Bob Ney and Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, "the legislative smoking gun is not as clear in the Renzi case."
The Wall Street Journal reports government spending "on health care could nearly double by 2017 to more than $2 trillion, according to a new federal study, reflecting a surge that promises to complicate the campaign debate about health care." Driven by "the aging of the baby-boom generation and rising costs of new drugs and medical technology, Medicare, the big federal health program for the elderly, will take up 20.7% of national health spending by 2017, according to the report."
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Jay Leno: "You know what's amazing? All the acting Oscars went to foreigners. Foreigners won everything. In fact, today, Lou Dobbs called for a ten-foot fence to be built around Hollywood."
Jay Leno: Nader "is going to be 74 next week. In fact, the good news, if Ralph gets sick, his younger brother, Raul Nader, will then take over."
Jay Leno: "Barack Obama made another woman faint today. The bad news, it was Hillary when she saw the poll numbers."
David Letterman: "This just in, ladies and gentlemen. Barack Obama says he has a plan for getting us out of the Academy Awards."
Craig Ferguson: "Ralph Nader announced he is running for president again. His announcement has filled millions of people with excitement and hope. And these people are called Republicans."
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