Yesterday in Pittsburgh, Sen. John McCain outlined an economic agenda that stresses his support for extending the Bush tax cuts he initially opposed, as well as proposing new tax cuts for corporations and families. McCain garnered the most coverage for a "gas tax holiday" that would last from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Almost invariably, news outlets describe McCain's speech as "populist" because of his criticism of the compensation of some CEOs. Reaction to the speech is generally positive, and McCain is said to have successfully staked out middle ground between the Administration and Sens. Clinton and Obama. ABC World News reported McCain "tackled a big issue with a lot of big ideas, aimed at the millions of Americans worried about the US economy. ... McCain laid out a wide range of economic proposals. Relief for homeowners facing foreclosure. Corporate tax cuts. Doubling tax exemptions for parents. And extending the Bush tax cuts that he himself once voted against. He also called for raising Medicare prescription drug premiums for wealthy retirees." McCain "even offered a prescription for those soaring gas prices. He proposed that Congress suspend the federal gas tax about 18 cents a gallon this summer."
The CBS Evening News adds, "Among his proposals, phasing out the dreaded alternative minimum tax that was meant for the rich but is now hitting more and more middle-income taxpayers. He also wants to double the exemption for dependents from $3,500 to $7,000." NBC Nightly News noted that "some critics say his economic plan which centers on more tax cuts doesn't add up. ... McCain's core idea: lower taxes and make up lost revenue with cuts in government spending. But critics and some economists argue that McCain's math is wrong, that his plan would tip toward the wealthy, swell the deficit and not trim enough. Beyond numbers, plain old politics: McCain claims Democrats will cost you more."
The AP reports that speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, McCain said, "In so many ways, we need to make a clean break from the worst excesses of both political parties. Somewhere along the way, too many Republicans in Congress became indistinguishable from the big-spending Democrats they used to oppose."
According to USA Today, McCain "presented himself as a free market Republican with a populist streak. He promised to freeze most government spending, cut taxes and rein in 'traders and speculators' whom he blamed for the current credit crunch." The New York Times adds, "There was a dash of populism, as Mr. McCain criticized executive pay and corporate wrongdoing. There was a strong supply-side bent. ... And there was a decidedly less hawkish note on deficits, as Mr. McCain called for spending cuts but did not mention balancing the federal budget." The Los Angeles Times says McCain "won applause from the audience when he attacked pork-barrel spending and when he suggested a holiday on the federal tax on gas from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But the crowd offered little reaction when he assailed the 'extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEOs' and named names...who walked away with millions as 'the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct.'"
The San Francisco Chronicle reports this morning that Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama meet in Philadelphia tonight for their final debate before the Pennsylvania primary next Tuesday, and it could be a "smashup", given their state of "open warfare." The Philadelphia Daily News adds that the debate "comes at the most contentious point in the Pennsylvania primary campaign, with both candidates running TV ads attacking each other by name." The Daily News notes the fracas over Obama's "bitter" comments, adding, "Clinton and Obama have appeared together more than 20 times, but tonight will be their first debate in front of a live, prime-time, major-network audience." In a story headlined "With clock running out, debate looms large," The Politico reports, "Heading into the debate after some of the toughest weeks of his campaign, Obama will have to lure back voters who may grown uneasy with his candidacy" over his "bitter" remarks and relationship with his ex-pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
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The Wall Street Journal reports Sen. Barack Obama is "talking up the fact that his single mother was once on food stamps and that he only recently paid off student loans -- part of a full-court press to avoid being painted by Hillary Clinton and Republicans as an elite liberal." Sen. Hillary Clinton, "for her part, is playing up her Pennsylvania roots -- her father grew up in Scranton -- and portraying herself as the candidate most in touch with the working class."
Obama also continued to defend the core message of his "bitter" comments yesterday. The Hill reported on its website that Obama "on Tuesday morning told the Building and Construction Trades union representatives...that there is a lot of anger in small towns because of troubling economic conditions, and candidates who do not realize that are not in tune with what voters are saying. 'If anybody denies that people are frustrated and angry and, yes, sometimes bitter, then they are out of touch,' Obama said."
Obama Says Race Not Playing Role In Clinton's Criticism The AP reports Obama yesterday "dismissed a voter's suggestion that when" Clinton "called him elitist it 'bordered on uppity.'" At a town-hall meeting on veterans affairs, Obama said, "It's politics. This is what we do politically, when we start getting behind in races. We start going on the attack." Obama "said he didn't believe race played a role in Clinton's strategy."
Obama Calls "Bitter" Fracas "Distraction" The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that in an interview with the paper's editorial board, Obama called the outcry over his comments about "bitter" Pennsylvania voters "a distraction not just from his campaign message but also from Democratic efforts to overcome stereotypes that Republicans have exploited for decades. 'What I do regret is that in one quick statement that wasn't phrased properly I detracted from what I think has to be a genuine effort on the part of Democrats to speak to constituencies we haven't always reached out to,' Mr. Obama said."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Endorses Obama The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today endorsed Obama in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary race, saying that Obama and Clinton "come to this latest battlefield symbolizing two views of America -- one of the past, one of the future. Pennsylvania Democrats need to rise to the historic moment. ... The litany of criticisms heaped on Sen. Obama by the Clinton camp, simultaneously doing the work of the" GOP "are the cynical responses of the old politics to the new."
A series of new polls released in the last 24 hours all show Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, but they disagree on how big the lead is and in which way it is trending. It is also not clear from the poll results what impact Obama's "bitter" comments are having on the race, since most of the polls sampled the electorate both before and after his comments began to draw widespread attention on Saturday, April 12.
Clinton Up 5 In LAT/Bloomberg Poll. A Los Angeles Times /Bloomberg News of 623 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 10-14 shows Clinton leading Obama 46%-41%.
Clinton Up Six In Franklin & Marshall Poll A Franklin & Marshall poll of 547 registered Pennsylvania Democrats taken April 8-13 for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other media outlets shows Clinton leading Obama 46%-40%, and 49%-42% when those leaning to one candidate or another were included.
Other Pennsylvania Polls Show Wider Clinton Lead An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 11-13 shows Clinton leading Obama 57%-37%. A similar poll taken April 5-6 shows Clinton and Obama tied at 45%. The majority of the current poll was taken after the "bitter" comments became an issue.
A SurveyUSA automated poll of 638 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 12-14 shows Clinton leading Obama 54%-40%. A similar poll taken a week earlier showed Clinton leading 56%-38%.
A Strategic Vision poll of 1,200 likely Pennsylvania voters taken April 11-13 shows Clinton leading Obama 49%-40%. In general election trial heats, Sen. John McCain leads Clinton 47%-44%, and McCain leads Obama 49%-39%.
A pair of Los Angeles Times /Bloomberg News polls shows Sen. Barack Obama holding wide leads over Sen. Hillary Clinton in North Carolina and Indiana, whose May 6 primaries make them the next states on the Democratic nominating calendar after Pennsylvania. Obama leads Clinton 40%-35% in Indiana and 47%-34% in North Carolina. Both polls were taken April 10-14.
Two new national polls show Sen. Barack Obama widening his lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton. The USA Today /Gallup tracking poll taken April 12-14 shows Obama leading Clinton 51%-40%. USA Today says, "Three days' worth of polling done after news broke that" Obama "said some small-town voters are 'bitter' showed he still moved to his largest lead yet in Gallup's national daily tracking poll." Previously, Obama's "largest margin over Clinton was 10 percentage points."
A Washington Post /ABC News poll shows Obama leading Clinton 51%-41%. The Post says Obama "now has a 2-to-1 edge on who is considered more electable in a general contest -- a major reversal from the last poll -- and has dramatically reduced a large Clinton lead on which of the two is the 'stronger leader.'" In the new poll, "54 percent said they have an unfavorable view of Sen. Clinton, up from 40 percent a few days after she won the New Hampshire primary in early January." The poll surveyed 643 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents from April 10-13.
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A spate of recent attacks in areas of Iraq the US military was thought to have pacified is adding to fears that the Sunni insurgency is resurgent. ABC World News reported, "A series of car bombs and suicide attacks in Iraq, today, killed nearly 60 Iraqis. The deadliest occurred in the city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad. A car parked across the street from the courthouse and government offices exploded around noon." The AP says the attacks and the "bloodshed...struck directly at US claims that the Sunni insurgency is waning and being replaced by Shiite militia violence as a major threat."
The Washington Post notes "the US military said the bombings in Baqubah and Ramadi appeared to have been carried out by al-Qaeda in Iraq," which the Post describes as "a predominately homegrown insurgent group that has often targeted policemen and other representatives of Iraq's Shiite-led government." The Financial Times says the violence is "a reminder of the instability in Sunni areas at a time when the US military had been hailing the achievements of Sunni tribal leaders in combating insurgents linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq." The New York Times also calls the attacks "a stark reminder that American and Iraqi forces are still fighting a war on two fronts." Similarly, McClatchy says the bombings "resurrected fears that the security gains that the US has been touting are now unraveling."
In addition, the New York Times reports on its front page that a "company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias." Their "retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing." The Times adds "this episode was a blow to the American effort to push the Iraqis into the lead in the struggle to wrest control of parts of Sadr City from the Mahdi Army militia and what Americans and Iraqis say are Iranian-backed groups." It also "left many of the Americans soldiers wondering about the tenacity of their Iraqi allies."
The New York Times reports in a front page story that the Senate "proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure. But while a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks - for automakers, airlines, alternative energy producers and other struggling industries, as well as home builders."
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports moral hazard the belief that federal bailouts encourage risky behavior -- is one reason the White House "opposes an ambitious Democratic plan to defuse the nation's housing crisis by sharply relaxing eligibility standards for federal mortgage insurance. Under the proposal, lenders would be encouraged to wipe out a portion of the debt on troubled loans in exchange for a promise that the government would pay off the mortgage if the borrower can't." Democrats and "some mortgage analysts predict the plan would save more than 1.5 million families from foreclosure, keeping them in their houses and helping to stabilize plunging home prices." But Federal housing officials "and other analysts are skeptical that the plan could help enough people to prop up the housing market."
Foreclosures Projected To Increase USA Today reports the "nation's already alarming pace of home foreclosures is poised to accelerate through the rest of the year, according to RealtyTrac, which reported Tuesday that foreclosure filings jumped 57% in March from March 2007." The report "painted a grim picture of growing numbers of people unable to make their mortgage payments."
States Not Waiting For Federal Action The Washington Post reports in a front page story, "Frustrated by the slow pace of federal action on behalf of struggling homeowners, some states and cities have struck out on their own to stem an alarming rise in foreclosures that has depressed home prices in most parts of the country and eroded local governments' revenues as property taxes and utility bills go unpaid." Nine states have "committed more than $450 million to 'loan funds' aimed at refinancing the mortgages of at-risk borrowers, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts."
President Bush will address global warming in a White House speech this morning. While the White House touted the proposal as a step toward reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, many press reports were skeptical the speech would include meaningful proposals. The AP says Bush "plans to announce on Wednesday a national goal for stopping the growth of greenhouse gas emissions over the next few decades." White House press secretary Dana Perino "did not disclose details of his announcement and would not say whether the president would propose any kind of mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions." The Wall Street Journal /AP notes Perino also said "there is no legislative proposal on the Hill that the administration supports."
The Washington Post reports Bush's announcement "appears unlikely to contain much in the way of new proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to environmental advocates and industry representatives." The New York Times reports the announcement "will deliver on a promise Mr. Bush made last June, when he said the United States would set specific targets for reducing emissions and called on other high-polluting nations to do the same."
The Washington Times reports, "One person briefed on White House deliberations said a cap-and-trade program for electric utilities was dropped from the package yesterday, after the White House was flooded with complaints from industry officials and lobbyists."
USA Today notes in a brief report that the US "is the only industrialized nation not to have ratified Kyoto, but it agreed with nearly 200 other nations at a conference in Bali in December to negotiate a new agreement by the end of 2009."
McCain Touts His Disagreement With Bush Asked on MSNBC's Hardball to identify an area where he disagrees with Bush, John McCain answered -- to general applause from a live audience: "Climate change. I believe that climate change is real. I think we have to act. And I've said that for many, many years."
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The Wall Street Journal reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "is clashing with the Senate over a proposal to add $2.5 billion in tax breaks to a big farm bill nearing completion on Capitol Hill." Pelosi "is insisting that the bill steer more money to food assistance for the poor. In a recent closed-door meeting with" Sen. Max Baucus, "she said she couldn't be 'responsible for taking food from babies,' according to people familiar with the exchange." The Christian Science Monitor says the bill "is having a rough time in congressional conference as leaders in both houses try to hammer out the differences between their two bills and figure out how to pay for the extra spending."
The Politico reports President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush "and 9,000 other Americans will great Pope Benedict XVI at a South Lawn arrival ceremony Wednesday that will include both the Lord's Prayer and the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic.' This is only the third pope to set foot on American soil, so determining the protocol and pageantry has been a major undertaking." NBC Nightly News noted that "for the first time, President Bush and the First Lady personally went to Andrews Air Force Base to welcome" a foreign dignitary. The Wall Street Journal runs a front-page article on the extraordinary demand for tickets to the pope's few scheduled public events.
ABC World News correspondent Cokie Roberts, who was invited to travel with President Bush to Andrews Air Force Base, said the President "wants to talk about the immigration issue" during his meeting with the Pope, "and to talk about how sorry he is that Congress hasn't acted on it. He was very moving actually on that subject. But he's especially keen to talk to the Pope about inter-faith dialogue. He and Mrs. Bush both described the visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to the Vatican last fall as an historic visit. And they want to know where the Pope is on his thoughts about Islam."
The Los Angeles Times notes that a "Latin American reporter" asked the Pope "about the US church, which is becoming increasingly bilingual and bicultural as the percentage of Latino members increases." In response, the Pope "said he will raise immigration issues during his stay. He said he was especially concerned by what he called the grave problem of families that are separated by immigration policies and by border violence."
The CBS Evening News (4/15, story 9, 2:05, Couric) reported, "As we mentioned earlier, this is tax day, and if you're a procrastinator, you're not alone. One out of four taxpayers file in the last two weeks before the deadline. Did you ever wonder, though, what your tax dollars go for?" The "biggest tab for taxpayers is defense. The average American household is paying $2,761 in 2007. Or put another way, enough to cover 12 car payments for a new Honda Accord. Social Security is nearly as expensive; $2,663. Enough to heat and cool a home for a year. In total, the average tax bill this year tops $13,000, and most taxpayers have no idea what the government is doing with their cash."
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Jay Leno: "Now what do you think of this idea? This seems odd to me. For the Pope's arrival ceremony at the White House tomorrow, they're going to give him a 21-gun salute. Now, really, what better welcome for the apostle of peace than a show of firearms? I mean, whose idea was that? Dick Cheney's?"
Jay Leno: "And John McCain said today one of the reasons we are in a recession is because of the very 'greedy' people on Wall Street. Then he thanked those people for their...campaign contributions."
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