With the Democratic presidential contest tight, and analysis over the last several days indicating that neither Sen. Barack Obama nor Sen. Hillary Clinton can secure the nomination through the electoral process, the focus of the Democratic race turned yesterday to the fate of the delegates from Michigan and Florida. Both states were stripped of their delegates by the Democratic National Committee for scheduling their primaries earlier than party rules allowed. Clinton won both contests, although her name was the only one of the major candidates on the ballot in Michigan. The Washington Post reports on its front page, "The stakes are huge." As a result, "Elected officials from Michigan and Florida have called on the national committee to relent, arguing that to do otherwise means disenfranchising several million voters from two battleground states" but DNC Chairman Howard Dean "been equally firm in arguing that changing the rules could split the party and undermine confidence in the entire nominating process." So far, "there is more stalemate than progress."
The Financial Times reports, "After pressure from the Clinton campaign," Dean "said on Thursday he would be open to allowing both states to restage their primary elections in June but at their own expense." CQPolitics.com reports Dean "outlined only two possible options for Florida and Michigan: either the states appeal to the credentials committee in July to have their delegations seated or they hold new contests that comply with national party rules." The New York Times reports that Democrats, however, "remained deeply divided" on the issue.
Financing Elections Emerging As Hang Up ABC World News reported, "Another fight consuming the Democratic Party during this campaign with no clear end in sight is whether Florida and Michigan can hold re-votes. ... So far, no one is willing to foot the $15 million to $20 million bill." NBC Nightly News reported, "No one is willing to pay for new elections in Michigan and Florida possibly costing $25 million. And today Michigan's Democratic governor ruled it out for her state."
Clinton Opposes Florida Re-Vote, Michigan Caucuses. Clinton herself, in an interview with US News and World Report, said she was opposed to a new vote in Florida. Clinton said, "I don't think that there should be any do-over or any kind of a second run in Florida. I think Florida should be seated." She also rejected the idea of holding a Michigan caucus, saying, "I would not accept a caucus. I think that would be a great disservice to the 2 million people who turned out and voted."
While Sen. Hillary Clinton did not make up much ground on Sen. Barack Obama in the delegate race on Tuesday, the wins are having one important effect. Bloomberg News says Clinton's primary victories "helped freeze a movement of top Democrats set to call on her to concede to rival Barack Obama. A group of uncommitted 'superdelegates' were ready to make a show of support for Obama by trying to pressure Clinton to give up," according to ex-Rep. Tim Roemer, who is "rounding up backers for Obama. Now, after her wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, many will still back Obama without calling on Clinton to quit, he said." Similarly, the New York Times says Clinton's victories "seemed to slow the Democratic Party establishment's move in his direction while giving her campaign time to try to turn the race in her favor."
Texas Democratic Caucus Still Unresolved Meanwhile, one of Tuesday's contests remains unresolved. The AP reports, "Fewer than half of Texas' voting sites had reported the results by Thursday from Democratic caucuses Tuesday night that were so chaotic and overcrowded by record turnout that police were called to some polling places." As of yesterday afternoon, Obama was leading Clinton 56%-44% with 41% of precincts reporting. Caucus officials "are required only to mail the results of their caucuses to their county party chairmen 72 hours after the primary election day."
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ABC World News reported that Sen. Barack Obama reported raising $55 million in February yesterday, more than the $50 million they originally estimated. On NBC Nightly News, Chuck Todd, NBC News political director, said, "Fifty-five million in a month is unbelievable." The Wall Street Journal calls the achievement a "record" for a presidential candidate in one month and says Obama is on pace to raise "more than half a billion dollars a year."
The AP reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton, who raised $35 million during February, said yesterday her campaign had raised $4 million online since Tuesday, bringing her March take to $6 million so far, and snagged 30,000 new donors.
The AP reports Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign compared Sen. Barack Obama yesterday "to independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr, the Clintons' chief nemesis of the 1990s." In a conference call with reporters, chief Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said, "I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president," in discussing Obama's announcement "that he plans to be more critical of Clinton's record." Obama spokesman Bill Burton "said the comparison to Starr is 'absurd' when Clinton has been calling for more scrutiny of Obama's record." The Chicago Tribune called Wolfson's statement a furthering of the Clinton campaign's "efforts to portray her as a political victim."
Over the last week, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has been hit for having an aide allegedly tell a Canadian official that the candidate's criticism of NAFTA was essentially a ploy to win votes. The Financial Times reports that the "dispute over Canada's involvement in the US presidential race took a new turn" as the Canadian government and Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign "both fended off allegations that Mrs Clinton's staff had told Ottawa not to worry about her stance" on NAFTA. CTV television reporters "said a senior Canadian official had told them in a casual conversation last week that Mrs Clinton's campaign had assured the Canadians that her promise to renegotiate Nafta should be taken 'with a grain of salt.'" The Clinton campaign "fiercely denied the suggestion." Similarly, the AP reports Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff "said someone in Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign gave Canada back-channel assurances that her harsh words about the North American Free Trade Agreement were for political show."
The AP reports Sen. John McCain yesterday "praised" Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, "a potential running mate, as they campaigned together Thursday, although he sidestepped questions about a vice presidential choice." McCain "said he has not even begun looking at vice presidential candidates." The 71-year-old McCain "has said his foremost concern is finding someone capable of serving in his place. ... Also mentioned as possible McCain running mates are Govs. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Sarah Palin of Alaska, Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota."
The Politico reports that Sen. John McCain, now officially his party's nominee, is expected to announce today the appointment of officials "to help coordinate the party's effort with McCain's campaign and to lead the joint voter contact program, according to GOP sources. Also involved in the effort will be Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager." Among the "loyalists" are Frank Donatelli, who "will serve as the new deputy chairman of the RNC and will serve as the chief liaison between the committee and the campaign." Additionally, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina will lead "the so-called Victory organization...the party's primary voter contact organization." Chief Victory fundraiser will be Lew Eisenberg, "a former partner at Goldman Sachs and longtime Republican donor. ... And helping the RNC and Victory effort will be former Giuliani campaign manager Mike DuHaime." The Hill adds that a GOP source "emphasized that these moves are 'entirely consistent' with what every nominee does, and no one is losing his or her job as a part of the normal realignment. Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC, will stay in his current position, according to the source."
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Fox News reported that President Bush yesterday was "again urging Congress to act on legislation regulating how US intelligence may carry out surveillance of certain suspected terrorist communications," but House Democrats still "have serious reservations about providing companies immunity, and the House Speaker said she and others still have fundamental problems with the Senate bill." Congressional Quarterly notes Pelosi "indicated...that new legislation regulating electronic surveillance may come to the House floor next week, but would not commit to a vote before the Easter recess." The Politico, meanwhile, says the Speaker "signaled...that she is ready to fall back on the strategy of 'ping-ponging' alternatives back and forth between the two chambers," which "risks more stalemate but also could provide a path for a final resolution of the issue before lawmakers go home for their spring recess next Friday."
The CBS Evening News reported that in New York, "the hunt is on for the person who set off a small bomb in Times Square early this morning. The explosion broke windows at a military recruiting station, but no one was hurt." Investigators are "trying to figure out if there's a link to two previous attacks, both in New York City in 2005 at the British consulate; the second at the Mexican consulate in 2007." Under the headline "Bombing in New York: Latest Recruitment Protest?," the Christian Science Monitor notes many analysts believe the attack was a form of protest against the military, adding, "Officials say that such efforts are not going to deter them: Military recruiting stations remain one of the main ways to meet enlistment quotas."
The AP reports, "Capitol Hill offices received letters Thursday containing a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim 'We Did It.' The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station before it was bombed." The Washington Post notes the Capitol Hill letters and their possible link to the bombing, and adds, "New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly described the bomb as low-grade and 'not a particularly sophisticated device.'"
Newsday reports, "Nothing is certain yet, the officials said, but the middle-of-the-night timing of the blast -- when no one would be around to be hurt or killed -- suggests al-Qaida is not behind the attack.
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The Washington Post reports US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker "plans to leave Baghdad as early as January, leaving the most critical U.S. diplomatic post not long after the top military commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, is expected to rotate out of Iraq." Crocker "has been telling colleagues that he wants to leave by mid-January, before a new administration comes in, after almost 22 months in Iraq."
Iraq Report May Remain Classified The Washington Post reports a "new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq is scheduled to be completed this month, according to US intelligence officials. But leaders of the intelligence community have not decided whether to make its key judgments public, a step that caused an uproar when key judgments in an NIE about Iran were released in November." Intelligence officials "said that the National Intelligence Board -- made up of the heads of the 16 intelligence agencies plus McConnell -- will decide whether to release the Iraq judgments once the estimate is completed. But they made clear that they lean toward a return to the traditional practice of keeping such documents secret."
AFP, meanwhile, reports Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will deliver their next progress report for Iraq on April 8-9, the White House said Thursday. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino "indicated that Crocker would testify April 8-9" before Congress, while National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe "later said that Petraeus would deliver his account on the same dates."
McClatchy reports a "longtime protege of President Bush," Texas US Attorney Johnny Sutton, "told former US Attorney David Iglesias that he was fired for political reasons and that he shouldn't fight his ouster, Iglesias says in a new book." According to Iglesias, Sutton said, "This is political. If I were you, I'd just go quietly." McClatchy adds Iglesias, "a former U.S. attorney in New Mexico, is one of eight federal prosecutors whose firings triggered a yearlong controversy at the Justice Department and led to the resignations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and 11 other Justice Department officials."
The Wall Street Journal reports two "crucial barometers of the nation's housing market have worsened markedly in recent months, ratcheting up pressure on policy makers in Washington for action to stem the growing housing crisis and its widening impact on the nation's financial system." The "number of American homes entering foreclosure rose to the highest level on record in the fourth quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, homeowners' share of the equity in their homes fell to a post-World War II low." ABC World News reported, "The battered housing market has been hit with a double-dose of more bad news."
USA Today reports on its front page that home equity "for the average American has dropped below 50% for the first time since World War II, reflecting a widespread decline in home values and relatively loose mortgage practices during much of this decade." NBC Nightly News reported the White House "reiterated that the Bush Administration is reluctant to use taxpayer money to bail out borrowers or lenders, this in spite of new calls for the government to do more to solve the crisis."
The AP reports the "housing market is spiraling down with no end in sight -- and taking people's sense of economic security with it." And the Los Angeles Times says the "number of foreclosures was at the highest level since the" Mortgage Bankers Association "began keeping records in the 1970s."
USA Today reports nearly "3 million homeowners, 6.3%, were behind on their mortgages in the fourth quarter of last year, and more than 1 million more borrowers - a record 2% of all loans - were in foreclosure."
Credit Markets Stressed By Risk Aversion The Washington Post reports the "prices of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have plunged lately as supply has grown faster than demand. That indicates that their ability to prop up the lending system has declined." The New York Times reports the credit markets "came under renewed stress Thursday as investors sought absolute safety and even moved away from debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage lending enterprises."
The Wall Street Journal reports the "financial turmoil is taking on a new dimension: Banks that lent money to hedge funds and other big risk-takers are asking for some of it back." The issue "came to the forefront yesterday as Carlyle Capital Corp. said it failed to meet margin calls on loans backing part of its $21.7 billion portfolio of highly rated securities issued by Fannie and Freddie."
The Chicago Tribune reports the Senate "on Thursday passed the most sweeping reform of the nation's consumer safety system in a generation, including stricter tests for toys, greater public access to complaints about products and an overhaul of the federal safety agency charged with regulating most items in American homes." The measure "passed 79-13," and "is tougher in key areas than a House version approved last year." The Washington Post reports the Senate bill's sponsor, Sen. Mark Pryor, said yesterday, "The vote is a victory for the health and safety of children."
The Los Angeles Times reports, "Senate Democrats worked for months to build GOP support for increased federal oversight in the face of stiff industry resistance to new regulation." Yesterday, the legislation "won the support of 33 Republicans, the two independents and 44 Democrats."
The New York Times reports "the White House announced a lengthy list of objections to the Senate legislation. It criticized one provision that would give an enforcement role to state prosecutors and another that would extend whistle-blower protections to employees who disclose safety violations." The AP, however, notes the White House stopped short of threatening a veto, and adds "both the Senate and House versions passed with veto-proof margins, increasing the chances a compromise would draw similar support." The Wall Street Journal reports some "changes to the Senate bill -- lowering fines, limiting lawsuits by state attorneys general to injunctive relief only, and reducing the amount whistle-blowers might receive -- brought the two bills more in line."
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Jon Stewart: "Yesterday John McCain visited President George W. Bush to be passed the torch, a torch that the President most likely broke and Krazy Glued back together, hoping no one would notice."
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