Roll Call reports this morning that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday he "may send a letter to superdelegates encouraging them to declare their support in the presidential race by July 1." He "did not disclose details of what the letter might look like or how soon one could be drafted." The New York Post adds that Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and DNC Chief Howard Dean "might pen a joint letter to the" superdelegates that "would send a clear message to about 300 insiders who have stayed on the sidelines while" Clinton and Obama "have mounted increasingly harsh attacks on each other. 'The three of us, we may write a joint letter,' Reid said yesterday. 'We might do individual letters.' 'We need to solve this before the convention,' said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. 'The way to do that is to have the superdelegates make their choices known.'"
However, there appears to be little consensus among top Senate Democrats on who the nominee should actually be. The Hill reports Reid "said 'seven or eight' or 'maybe even more than that' of his Senate chairmen indicated they had not yet made up their minds on whom to support, adding that one chairman planned to make a decision 'pretty soon.' 'So people are in the process of making a decision,' Reid said. 'I think people will have plenty of opportunity after the last primaries to make a decision.'"
Pelosi Says She Doesn't Want Party Leaders To Broker Outcome Meanwhile, The Politico reports Pelosi said on CNN that she "doesn't want party leaders to broker the outcome of the Democrats' hard-fought presidential nominating contest during their summer convention because there would not be enough time for the eventual nominee to prepare for the general election."
On CNN's Larry King Live, Pelosi also said of a joint Clinton-Obama ticket, "I don't think it's a good idea. ... There's plenty of talent to go around, to draw upon for a good, strong ticket. I'm not one of those who thinks that that's a good ticket."
Clinton Making Another Effort To Woo Superdelegates The New York Daily News reports that Clinton is "making the rounds of Capitol Hill" to woo some of the approximately 300 uncommitted superdelegates and adds, "Sources told the Daily News that Clinton was pressing particularly hard on North Carolina's ex-quarterback Rep. Heath Shuler and freshman Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth, both from states with primaries on May 6."
Former Edwards Supporters "Flocking" To Obama The Hill reports this morning that "donors, activists and members of Congress who backed" John Edwards in the primary are "flocking" to Obama, and adds, "This and the fact that Obama is likely to win the North Carolina primary could prompt Edwards to endorse Obama -- a move that could burnish the front-runner's credentials with blue-collar, white voters, who are part of" Clinton's base.
Cillizza Lays Out Road To Clinton Nomination In a posting on "The Fix" blog on the website of the Washington Post, Chris Cillizza writes that Clinton "clearly" has a shot at the nomination, continuing to offer his prescription for a Clinton victory. "First and foremost, Clinton needs to find a way to avoid being outspent by Obama at anywhere near the volume with which he bombarded her in Ohio and Pennsylvania." Cillizza adds that Clinton must win in Indiana, and must also win a surprising victory in one of the states that Obama is expected to win, and must find a way for the Florida popular vote to be counted. Moreover, Clinton "has to hope that Obama slips again in some sort of public way," has to keep more superdelegates from endorsing Obama and has to focus more on her policy proposals than on arguments surrounding electoral process or electability.
Indiana is, along with North Carolina, next up on the Democratic primary calendar. A Research 2000 poll of 600 likely Indiana voters taken April 21-24 for the South Bend Tribune shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. Hillary Clinton 48%-47%. In general election trial heats, Sen. John McCain leads Obama 51%-43% and Clinton 52%-41%.
A Selzer & Co poll of likely Indiana voters taken April 20-23 for Indianapolis Star /WTHR-TV shows Obama leading Clinton 41%-38%. In general election matchups, this poll shows Obama leads McCain 49%-41%, while Clinton and McCain are tied at 46% apiece.
Indiana Loss Would Likely See Obama Facing More Doubts The Politico today lays out the stakes for Obama in the Indiana contest, saying that if he loses the state after also losing Ohio and Pennsylvania, it will raise doubts "about his political strength beyond his electoral base of African-Americans and upscale whites." It would mean Obama "would enter the general election defined to an unusual degree by his vulnerabilities. Could he run strongly in these states in a general election even after running weakly during the nomination phase?"
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NBC Nightly News reported that Sen. John McCain, campaigning in New Orleans as he completed his tour of economically hard-hit areas of America, "took pains to separate himself from the Bush Administration's troubled handling of Hurricane Katrina." NBC added that McCain "is trying to project himself as a different kind of Republican. ... One thing that stood out here today was how much John McCain was trying to distance himself from President Bush on failures after Katrina." McCain was shown saying in the devastated Lower Ninth Ward, "Never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way that it was handled." The New York Times adds that McCain "ticked off a long list of mistakes by the current administration, saying there were 'unqualified people in charge, there was a total misreading of the dimensions of the disaster, there was a failure of communications.' The pointed critique was one of his harshest assessments yet of the Bush presidency and came as he has been moving to corral restive elements of the Republican Party -- and the Bush donor network -- behind his candidacy." The Los Angeles Times says Democrats "criticized McCain's visit to New Orleans, noting that he'd voted against a spending bill in 2006 that would have provided $28 billion in hurricane relief, and legislation that would have extended unemployment and Medicaid benefits to hurricane victims for several months." He also "opposed a commission to study the federal government's response."
Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's controversial ex-pastor, is back in the news, saying his comments have been manipulated for political purposes. ABC World News reported, "Ever since brief clips of Wright's sermons have hit the airwaves and the internet, they've become fodder for Obama. For his part, the candidate has condemned Wright's controversial political statements. Now, the pastor is speaking out himself." The CBS Evening News reported, "Wright told journalist Bill Moyers in an interview that will be broadcast tomorrow night on public television that parts of his sermon, specific parts of his sermons were publicized by Obama's opponents to damage Obama, but that they fundamentally misrepresented Wright's ministry and Wright himself." NBC Nightly News reported, "Wright says he does not think he's been treated fairly." Wright: "I think they really wanted to communicate that I'm unpatriotic, and I'm un-American, that I'm filled with hate speech."
The AP reports that Wright "said that, as an activist, he is accustomed to being 'at odds with the establishment,' but the response to the sermons has been 'very, very unsettling.'" The interview "is the first the pastor has given since video of his preaching gained national attention in March." In a story headlined "Wright When Obama Thought It Was Over," the New York Daily News says that "Obama's biggest headache is back," adding that Wright "plans to deliver a speech to the National Press Club on Monday." The Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post also report on the interview.
The AP reports this morning that the Democrats' "seemingly unending battle" between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "is taking a toll on the public, with growing numbers saying this year's presidential campaign is too negative and has lasted too long. More also say it's dull, according to a poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Half of those surveyed say the campaign has become too negative, up from 28 percent who said so in mid-February. The increase has been especially rapid among Democrats -- 50 percent say it's too negative, while only 19 percent thought so in February." The survey also showed that "65 percent said the campaign has gone on too long, up from 57 percent in February. Thirty-five percent think it is too dull, compared to 25 percent two months ago." The Pew telephone survey of 1,009 adults was conducted April 18-21.
Clinton Strategist Defends Tactics In an op-ed today, Hillary Clinton's top strategist defends the campaign's tactics in combating Obama. In a Washington Post op-ed, Geoff Garin writes, "So let me get this straight. On the one hand, it's perfectly decent for Obama to argue that only he has the virtue to bring change to Washington and that Clinton lacks the character and the commitment to do so. On the other hand, we are somehow hitting below the belt when we say that Clinton is the candidate best able to withstand the pressures of the presidency and do what's right for the American people, while leaving the decisions about Obama's preparedness to the voters. Who made up those rules? And who would ever think they are fair?"
The AP reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton succeeded in raising $10 million in the 24 hours after winning Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary. The AP adds that the effort was "aided by contributions from 80,000 new donors, her campaign said Thursday. The $10 million came from a total of 100,000 donors, spokesman Mo Elleithee said."
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Three of the nation's top intelligence officials -- Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, CIA Director Michael Hayden, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley -- briefed lawmakers Thursday on an Israeli airstrike in September of last year which targeted a suspected Syrian nuclear facility. Lawmakers were told by the officials that North Korea aided Syria in constructing the facility. Also, in what was seen as a highly unusual move, the White House yesterday made public yesterday what it called evidence of the cooperation between Syria and North Korea. Skeptical media reports, however, focused more on the timing of the briefing and its impact on the ongoing nuclear talks with Pyongyang.
The CBS Evening News, for example, noted that "when Israeli warplanes suddenly attacked Syria last September, there were a lot of unanswered questions -- until now. Eight months later, the Bush Administration told Congress the target was a nuclear reactor built in partnership with North Korea and destroyed just weeks before it would have been functional. The White House called this a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the region and the world."
The Los Angeles Times reports some observers "including some within the administration -- theorized that the briefings were scheduled because administration hawks believed the disclosure would galvanize congressional opposition to US talks with North Korea or cause angry North Koreans to break off negotiations." On its front page, the Washington Times reports the delay in releasing the intelligence "led top congressmen to criticize the Bush administration yesterday for its 'veil of secrecy' and lack of trust in Congress regarding North Korea's proliferation activities."
McClatchy reports President Bush "authorized the extraordinary disclosure of intelligence in what a senior administration official called an effort to encourage North Korea to fully disclose its nuclear activities in international talks on ending its nuclear weapons program." The AP reports the facility "was mostly completed but still needed significant testing before it could be declared operational," a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. However, "no uranium -- needed to fuel a reactor -- was evident at the site."
The Washington Post reports the three officials told lawmakers "that Washington suspected Syria and North Korea were working on a secret project as far back as 1997, but experts were uncertain of its purpose. Senior North Korean officials from the Yongbyon nuclear complex visited Syria several times before construction began at a remote desert site on the Euphrates River in 2001, they said." The New York Times also reports that "two senior intelligence officials acknowledged that the evidence had left them with no more than 'low confidence' that Syria was preparing to build a nuclear weapon."
Several media outlets also note doubts expressed by nuclear experts about the US claims. NBC Nightly News, for example, reported, "Many nuclear experts tonight, however, are taking issue with the Administration's claims here. They say there's no proof Syria had any capability to build nuclear weapons." The CBS Evening News said, "It's a mystery how these ground-level photos of a top-secret site in Syria were obtained, but US intelligence says there's very little mystery about what they show."
ABC World News says, "A senior Administration official said today this intelligence was released now to strengthen talks now under way between the US and North Korea about its nuclear program. But senior State Department officials wanted this information to remain secret, and feared their talks with North Korea may now be doomed."
An analysis by the AP questions whether the Bush Administration's claims should be trusted, noting its "public certainty that Saddam Hussein was amassing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." Also expressing doubts about the US claims, former UN weapons inspector David Albright told the Financial Times, "The US does not have any indication of how Syria would fuel this reactor, and no information that North Korea had already, or intended, to provide the reactor's fuel." The AP reports "a senior administration official told reporters he hoped the disclosure would instead provide leverage to officials trying to get an accurate accounting of North Korea's nuclear and proliferation activities."
After the presentation on the Hill yesterday, the CBS Evening News reported, "many" members of Congress "were outraged the Administration had sat on the evidence for so long." The Washington Post reports US officials, however, "said the delay was necessary because they feared that any detailed public comment immediately after the Israeli raid could have provoked Syria to retaliate militarily."
USA Today reports, "Noting that the information has profound foreign policy implications, several lawmakers said Congress should have had it as it considered legislation designed to respond to global threats." Sen. John McCain, the Financial Times reports, "said the developments were 'very troubling, but not surprising' because North Korea had 'not acted in good faith for more than a decade.'" The Los Angeles Times notes McCain "condemned North Korea but did call for an end to the denuclearization talks."
The Los Angeles Times reports Iraq's main Sunni Arab political bloc "announced Thursday that it was ready to rejoin the Cabinet, a step that could boost reconciliation efforts and help shore up Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government."
The New York Times reports in a front page story that the Sunni leaders "cited a recently passed amnesty law and the government's crackdown on Shiite militias as reasons for the move." They "said they were still working out the details of their return, an indication that the deal could still fall through. But such a return would represent a major political victory for Mr. Maliki in the midst of a military operation that has at times been criticized as poorly planned and fraught with risk."
Roll Call reports Speaker Nancy Pelosi "is 'leaning toward' a three-pronged strategy to move the contentious Iraq War supplemental bill in the coming week or so." That "still-developing strategy involves advancing three separate legislative vehicles: One to exclusively provide emergency funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; another aimed at stimulating the economy through a mix of domestic spending measures; and potentially, a third that would advance some sort of language on troop withdrawals."
The Washington Times reports Iraqis "would be forced to pay for U.S. efforts in their country directly or with loans from the United States if any of at least five similar pieces of legislation introduced on Capitol Hill this month are approved."
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The Washington Post reports Sen. Pete V. Domenici "was admonished yesterday for his 'appearance of impropriety' in connection with the firing of a U.S. attorney, one of nine prosecutors who were dismissed in 2006, leading to investigations of the Justice Department and the resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last September." The Senate ethics committee found that Domenici "inappropriately called his local federal prosecutor to ask about an investigation of New Mexico Democrats on the eve of the 2006 midterm elections." The Politico reports the ethics panel "announced one year ago that it was taking up the case, but there was no indication until now that it had reached a decision."
The CBS Evening News reported Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia "is speaking out candidly on a number of issues, including the disputed 2000 presidential election and the court ruling that gave it to George W. Bush. It's part of an exclusive '60 Minutes' interview with Lesley Stahl." CBS (Stahl) added, "People say that that decision was not based on judicial philosophy but on politics." Justice Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court: "I say nonsense." Stahl: "Was it political?" Scalia: "Gee, I really don't want to get in, get over it. It's so old by now. The principle issue in the case, whether the scheme that the Florida Supreme Court had put together violated the Federal Constitution, that wasn't even close. The vote was 7-2." Stahl: "Moreover, he says it was not the court that made this a judicial question." Scalia: "It was Al Gore who made it a judicial question."
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Jay Leno: "Big announcement today from the Hillary Clinton campaign. She says if you count the votes that don't count, she's winning!"
Jay Leno: "Famed cardiologist Dr. Michael DeBakey was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal yesterday in Washington. DeBakey has performed over 60,000 heart surgeries, 90% of them on Dick Cheney."
David Letterman: "Hillary has the big comeback win in Pennsylvania," and she is getting "a little cocky. ... She is now saying if she gets that 3:00 a.m. phone call, she's going to let it go to voice mail."
Conan O'Brien: "It seems Barack Obama has kind of resigned himself to a prolonged and potentially ugly battle with Hillary Clinton. After hearing this, Bill Clinton said, 'Join the club.'"
Conan O'Brien: "It has been reported that President Bush was so impressed with Pope Benedict's recent visit that after he leaves office, Bush may convert to Catholicism. ... Bush said, 'I'd convert right now, but Dick Cheney freaks out if you get near him with a cross.'"
Conan O'Brien: "Yesterday, the official" in "charge of the 2010 US Census stepped down. ... When asked why, the head of the census said, 'I want to spend more time with my 2.4 children.'"
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