With the "crucial" Pennsylvania Democratic primary set for Tuesday, ABC World News reported Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "are escalating their attacks, raising real questions about how the Democrats are going to heal after this prolonged fight is finally over." ABC added that the candidates "traded some of their sharpest jabs yet, with Obama accusing Clinton of slash-and-burn politics," and Clinton "accusing Obama of being all flash and no substance." NBC Nightly News said that "after a six-week gap between primaries, the voters this week finally retake the reins." There are "158 pledged delegates" at stake and there is "drama building." The CBS Evening News had a similar report on the final weekend of campaigning.
USA Today says Clinton and Obama "used a mix of personal charm, policy details and scathing TV ads Sunday in their drive for every last vote in Tuesday's primary. Both candidates were closing with sharp personal critiques of each other and even sharper attacks in dueling TV ads over health care plans, energy plans and the influence of lobbyists in Washington." The Los Angeles Times says Clinton "suggested that Obama, and not she, had been clouding the last days of campaigning with negativity, then launched a series of attacks against the Illinois senator." The Philadelphia Daily News says that "both campaigns are finishing the campaign with negative spots and mutual accusations of unfair and misleading attacks."
Polls Show Clinton Up By Between 5 And 13 Points A Zogby International tracking poll of 602 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 19-20 shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama 48%-42%. A similar poll taken April 1 5-16 shows Clinton leading just 45%-44%, but she has steadily opened her lead in Zogby's daily tracking since then.
An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 17-19 shows Clinton leading Obama 54%-41%. A similar poll taken April 11-13 shows Obama leading Clinton 57%-37%.
A Strategic Vision poll of 1,200 likely Pennsylvania voters taken April 18-20 shows Clinton leading Obama 48%-41%. In general election trial heats, Sen. John McCain tops both Clinton (46%-42%) and Obama (48%-40%).
A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,027 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 18-20 shows Clinton leading Obama 51%-44%, up from 50%-44% in a similar poll late last week. Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said this morning that Obama "got off message after his 'bitter' remarks and never regained his momentum, giving Sen. Clinton the opening to fight another day in Indiana and North Carolina. She wins in Western Pennsylvania; he wins in the East. She gets Catholics, white women and blue-collar labor vote. He captures men, blacks and college grads and enough delegates to keep his edge in the number that counts most."
A Mason-Dixon poll of 625 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters taken April 17-18 for McClatchy newspapers and others shows Clinton leading Obama 48%-43%.
The Washington Times reports that a Suffolk University poll "completed late Sunday" shows Clinton leading Obama 52%-42% in Pennsylvania.
The New York Times reports on its front page that a "variety of polls show Mrs. Clinton with a lead over Mr. Obama of five or six percentage points, but that is down from about 16 points only weeks ago. Strategists on both sides agreed the race seemed to be narrowing." On its front page, the Washington Times reports undecided voters "have overwhelmingly gone" with Clinton in earlier primaries, "a trend that she needs to continue in tomorrow's crucial Pennsylvania primary to claim a decisive victory." The Christian Science Monitor says "white men are a critical group of voters for Democratic candidates in Tuesday's primary -- and the most ambivalent."
As the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania approaches, the New York Times reports this morning that the new "metric" for judging the outcome will be the margin of Sen. Hillary Clinton's victory, as "barring" a Barack Obama "upset victory that neither campaign anticipates, the calculations will begin again on the new measuring grounds of Indiana and North Carolina," which hold their contest on May 6. Similarly, the New York Daily News reports, "Many observers believe Clinton has to do decisively well in Pennsylvania to keep party insiders from backing" Obama "and pushing her to drop out of the contest. Clinton needs 'blowout numbers,' says Peter Fenn, a Democratic consultant who isn't affiliated with either campaign." Bloomberg News adds that to overtake Barack Obama in the overall popular vote, Clinton "needs a bigger win in tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary than she has had in any major contest so far."
At least one Clinton supporter agrees. The Newark Star-Ledger reports New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) said, "'I think this is absolutely the linchpin to her campaign. It's absolutely essential that she have a substantial victory." However, Corzine added that "substantial" doesn't have to be a double-digit win.
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McCain Brings In $15 Million The AP reports this morning that Sen. Barack Obama reported raising $41 million in March and finishing the month with $42 million in the bank that he could use in the primary and about $660k in debt. In contrast, "debt-ridden" Sen. Hillary Clinton brought in $20 million during last month, finished with $9 million in the bank, but had $10.3 million in debts. Sen. John McCain's report "showed he raised $15.2 million and had $11.6 million in the bank," his best fundraising figures yet. The New York Times adds that while McCain "remains far behind" Clinton and Obama "in overall fund-raising and spending, his financial picture is changing from that of a scrappy and poorly financed underdog to a standard bearer whose political success is translating into financial success." Bloomberg News adds that Clinton, who has been raising money for both the primary and general elections since she entered the race, now "has more than $20 million put aside for the general election; the cash can only be used if she wins the Democratic nomination."
The AP reports Sen. Barack Obama, "who often argues that John McCain is the same as President Bush, said Sunday that the Republican presidential candidate would be an improvement over Bush's eight-year reign." At Pennsylvania's Reading High School, Obama said, "You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain. And all three of us would be better than George Bush." The Hill calls it "a slip-up that could potentially have general election and primary ramifications. ... Much of the Democratic strategy against McCain has been to assert that he would provide a continuation of the Bush presidency and be essentially the same as Bush -- a tack Obama has used as well." The Politico similarly says Obama "seemed to break with the core of the Democratic Party's strategy" against McCain with the statement.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Clinton "slammed" Obama for the remark, saying, "We need a nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain. And I will be that nominee."
ABC World News reported Sen. John McCain "went on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and previewed a line of attack the Republicans are likely to use against Barack Obama if he wins the nomination." ABC added that McCain "tried today to tie Barack Obama to a former leftist radical, who allegedly conspired to bomb government buildings in the 1960s." McCain said, "He became friends with him and spent time with him, while the guy was unrepentant over his activities as a member of a terrorist organization, The Weathermen." ABC added, "Obama once served on a board with William Ayers, now a Chicago professor, but he denies they ever had a close relationship."
The Washington Post reports McCain "highlighted" Obama's "affiliation with a Vietnam-era radical yesterday, the latest indication that the general election campaign is likely to see a heavy dose of cultural politics." The Politico reports that Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton "responded aggressively, calling McCain's salvo 'smear politics.' 'Unable to sell his out-of-touch ideas on the economy and Iraq, John McCain has stooped to the same smear politics and low road that he denounced in 2000,' Burton said."
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday made an unannounced visit to Baghdad where, as ABC World News reported, she "praised the Iraqi government's recent crackdown on radical Shia militias." However, most media outlets -- including ABC -- noted the violence that continues to plague the country. NBC Nightly News reported that Rice's surprise visit "was aimed at promoting progress made here in the past year. But while she was meeting Iraqi leaders, at least one mortar was fired into Baghdad."
The Washington Post reports Rice's visit "followed a night of intense fighting in the Sadr City" after radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr "threatened to wage a full-scale war against the US-backed Iraqi government." The fighting "continued during Rice's visit." Rice, the AP reports, also "mocked anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a coward on Sunday, hours after the radical leader threatened to declare war unless US and Iraqi forces end a military crackdown on his followers," saying al-Sadr "is content to issue threats and edicts from the safety of Iran, where he is studying."
Calling the battle "an internal Iraqi matter," McClatchy reports, Rice said, "Clearly, the prime minister has laid down some ground rules which any functioning democratic state would insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the state, not to -- not in private hands." The New York Times reports, "Conceding that it had been 'a long five years,' Ms. Rice said that Iraq had made 'significant progress, remarkable progress,' however fragile, and she quoted President Jalal Talabani, who had said that the country was experiencing 'a political spring.'"
The Financial Times reports that "at the beginning of the [Basra] offensive, both US and Iraqi politicians seemed hesitant about Mr Maliki's plan. ... But in recent weeks, there have been some indications that Sunni and other Iraqi politicians are glad that Mr Maliki has stood his ground in a battle with the militia." USA Today says Rice's "brief and heavily guarded visit was not announced in advance in keeping with security precautions adopted by all top U.S. officials who remain targets of the anti-American insurgents." The Christian Science Monitor also reports on the visit.
Vice President Dick Cheney represented the Federal Government at the departure of Pope Benedict XVI from the US on Sunday. USA Today reports, "After a dramatic visit to the site of the 9/11 attacks and an enormous outdoor Mass," the Pope "concluded" his visit to the US Sunday, "bidding the nation goodbye after six days in New York and Washington." Vice President Cheney "was on hand to say farewell -- just as President Bush had welcomed him to Washington when the pope arrived."
ABC World News reported, "Late today, in the bleachers and box seats normally reserved for baseball and beer, 60,000 people were engaged in prayer, Mass at Yankee Stadium. It was with a final event of the six-day visit to the US, by Pope Benedict XVI." NBC Nightly News reported the Pope left "American Catholics with a parting message about the values of freedom and life and also leaving many with a new impression of their earthly shepherd."
The CBS Evening News reported, "It was a day of sharp contrast, beginning at the World Trade Center site and winding up at a legendary baseball field." On a "cold and misty morning in lower Manhattan, the tears that have always signaled Pope Benedict XVI's arrival at each stop these past six days were replaced by silence at Ground Zero. Silence at a place many Americans still hold sacred and the pontiff treated that way."
The AP reports the Pope "celebrated Mass and American Catholicism in storied Yankee Stadium on Sunday, telling his massive U.S. flock to use its freedoms wisely as he closed out his first papal trip to the United States." The New York Times reports, "At a morning ceremony at ground zero, the pope blessed the World Trade Center site, where more than 2,700 people were killed in the terrorist attack, and prayed for peace."
The Los Angeles Times reports the Pope ended "a mission aimed at renovating and rebuilding the troubled Roman Catholic Church in the United States. ... By many accounts he succeeded -- by tackling consistently and directly the pedophilia crisis that has undermined the church in America, and by casting commitment to Catholic life in a vividly positive light rather than a recriminatory litany of prohibitions." The Washington Post reports, "Experts said it was too early to know if it would also affect the depth of their faith or their trust in an institution rocked by sex abuse scandals."
The Washington Times says on its front page that the "six-day trip will have its greatest impact in the pope's words and deeds on the sex-abuse scandal that has engulfed the church in the United States." The Wall Street Journal reports that while "it isn't clear what actions, if any, his openness to talk about the scandal will produce," some say the "pope's comments will compel U.S. bishops to be more diligent in reporting and preventing abuse."
The AP reports President Bush "is tending to his country's relationship with Canada and Mexico one last time" today, hosting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in New Orleans for "his fourth and final" North American Leaders' Summit. The three leaders will "push anew to streamline the rules for all three countries," focusing "this time" on "fuel efficiency standards; crackdowns against counterfeit or pirated goods; long-term plans for repairing roads and bridges; responses to natural disasters and other emergencies near the borders; and coordination on recalls of unsafe products."
The AP reports 30 percent of US economists "now believe the economy will shrink in the first half of this year, up from 10 percent who thought this in January, according to a survey being released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics." The Wall Street Journal says the "109 respondents were 'notably downbeat,' said Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, who helped analyze the data from the latest installment of the 26-year-old survey."
Meanwhile, the CBS Evening News reported, "Prices at the pump in this country continue to rise sharply. Gasoline jumped 16 cents in two weeks to an average of $3.47 a gallon. That's another record." On NBC Nightly News CNBC's Sharon Epperson said, "It really is all about the price of crude oil. We've seen the price of crude oil jump from $63 a barrel a year ago to nearly $117 a barrel on Friday." The AP says of the "cities surveyed, the cheapest price is in Newark, N.J., where a gallon of regular cost $3.21, on average. The highest was in San Francisco at $3.88."
The Financial Times reports Saudi Arabia "has put on hold any plans to further increase long-term production capacity from its vast oil fields, its most powerful policymakers have said."
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Roll Call reports, "Barely six months ago, Senate Republican leaders held a well-choreographed press conference decrying the Democratic majority's 2007 legislative record and inability to deliver on change." But they are now "working to rewrite an election-year script to accommodate the protracted Democratic White House primary." Having predicated their message strategy on the then-likelihood that Sen. Hillary Clinton would win the Democratic nomination, the "minority party lawmakers also acknowledged last week that they have had to widen their target and look for new ways to exploit a lesser-known, and arguably less-polarizing," Sen. Barack Obama.
Under the headline "As Spotlight Dims, Murtha Still A Player," Roll Call says that while Rep. John Murtha "might have yielded the national stage in recent months in favor of his more traditional role in the chamber's corner seat, his House colleagues assert he hasn't ceded influence, only attention." Colleagues say "one reason for the change is that the ailing economy has drawn attention away from the Iraq War -- and Murtha along with it."
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Jay Leno: "Hey, you might have noticed that Hillary 'I Might Be A Redneck' Clinton," she has "backed off that" duck hunting thing. Remember "how she said when she was a little girl, her dad taught her how to hunt and she shot a duck? Well, apparently, that story not sitting well with the anti-gun and pro-animal rights people in the Democratic Party. So, now she said, yes, it's true, she did shoot a duck, but it was only in self-defense."
Jay Leno: "And with oil prices hitting an all-time high, Barack Obama promised today if he is elected, he will fund research to develop a car that runs on the bitterness of economically-strapped Pennsylvania voters."
David Letterman: "Scientists, I believe in Norway, have located, identified, and verified 8,000-year-old Norway spruce trees. ... The oldest living things on the planet. The good news is that takes some of the heat off John McCain."
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