One day after the primary contests in North Carolina and Indiana, the overwhelming media consensus is that Sen. Hillary Clinton has all but lost her battle for the Democratic presidential nomination to Sen. Barack Obama. The New York senator is coming under increasing pressure to withdraw from party stalwarts, most notably former Sen. George McGovern. CNN's "The Situation Room reported noted that McGovern, a superdelegate who was an early backer of Clinton and "whose ties to the Clintons date back to McGovern's 1972 campaign, has switched his support from her to Barack Obama. McGovern argues the math makes it all but certain Obama will win. 'The time has come,' he said, 'for all of us to unite.'"
On NBC Nightly News, chief political analyst Tim Russert said, "I reported early this morning I could not find an objective Democrat who thought the race was not over." ABC World News said "the outlook for the Clinton campaign looks bleak." The New York Times reports on its front page that Clinton faces "waning support from Democratic officials and donors. Some of her advisers acknowledged privately that they remained unsure about the future of her candidacy," and expressed doubt about "how long she would stay in the race."
McClatchy describes Clinton as "broke and politically battered," and adds she's "reduced to pursuing two potentially divisive options that could hurt the party: Magnify the racial fault line in the party by stressing Obama's inability to win white working-class voters and press the party to change its rules and seat unsanctioned delegations from Florida and Michigan at the national convention in August." Roll Call says there is "a quiet consensus is emerging among Democratic lawmakers" that Obama "has all but sealed up the party's presidential nomination," and "most Democrats said they are hoping the contest has entered a new phase, in which Clinton will scale back attacks on Obama in advance of an eventual exit and to allow him to pivot toward Sen. John McCain."
This morning, the Clinton campaign also faces a flurry of media analyses and opinion pieces urging her to end her campaign. The AP says that besides McGovern, "not a single Democrat of national stature publicly urged...Clinton on Wednesday to end her campaign for the White House." But "they didn't have to. There was no shortage of other ways to signal, suggest, insinuate or instigate the same thing." The CBS Evening News adds that "even neutral Democrats like strategist Dane Strother are starting to speak up." Strother: "I think someone needs to tap her on the shoulder. I think it's time. I think we're hearing the fat lady singing." Fox News' "Special Report" showed Democratic strategist Tad Devine saying, "Fundamentally, the race is over. I think Barack Obama last night did what he had to do to position himself so that it is practically impossible to catch him."
Several news outlets also noted that the media had turned on Clinton. The New York Times says that "the conventional wisdom of television's political pundit class shifted hard against...Clinton's continued viability as a presidential candidate." As the Los Angeles Times puts it, "Clinton may be short on delegates, money and time, but she faced an even more ominous and intractable impediment Wednesday: a growing consensus in the media that her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is doomed."
Commentators Call The Race For Obama Throughout the media this morning, the consensus among commentators is that the race is over. Some examples: the Los Angeles Times editorializes, "Even if Clinton were to win every remaining state by a comfortable margin, she could not amass enough delegates before the convention to pass Obama. Still, it's fair to ask whether there's any harm in continuing. The answer is yes." Clinton has no arguments "left to make. She has run a fine race, but she has lost." The Washington Post editorializes, "Clinton may, as she promised yesterday, fight on through the next few weeks of primaries, but after her disappointing showing Tuesday she has no plausible route to victory." In her Los Angeles Times column, Rosa Brooks says Clinton has the right to continue to pursue the Democratic nod, but questions whether it is the "right" thing to do for the party. In his New York Daily News column, Mike Lupica writes, "You wonder who in Clinton's campaign can get her past her own vanity and narcissism and make her see that it is time for her to go."
In spite of the growing volume of commentary that the Democratic primary race is effectively over, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday continued to campaign in West Virginia and she pledged to remain in the race. USA Today reports in a front page story this morning that Clinton "vowed" to continue her campaign, "arguing she would be the stronger nominee because she appeals to a wider coalition of voters - including whites who have not supported Barack Obama in recent contests." In an interview with USA Today, Clinton said, "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on." The AP reports a "resolute" Clinton "vowed Wednesday to press on with her presidential bid even as she and top advisers were hard-pressed to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from" Obama. The New York Times reports Clinton "struck a publicly defiant posture on Wednesday about continuing her presidential bid despite waning support from Democratic officials and donors. Some of her advisers acknowledged privately that they remained unsure about the future of her candidacy." The Wall Street Journal reports Clinton "plunged back into the presidential campaign Wednesday." At a news conference in West Virginia, which holds its primary on Tuesday, Clinton said, "I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee and obviously I am going to work as hard as I can to become that nominee."
Some In Clinton Camp Hope Big Win In WV Will Shift Momentum The Washington Post reports on its front page that the Clinton camp hopes "to ride out the rest of the week, knowing there will be talk about whether she will quit the race. They think that a big victory in West Virginia would give her a new platform to make a case for herself." The AP looks at the political lay of the land in West Virginia and concludes the state "offers Hillary Rodham Clinton some of the friendliest terrain yet."
However, that terrain was not always friendly to Clinton yesterday. The New York Times reports that at a "hastily arranged" speech at Shepherd University in West Virginia yesterday, Clinton "endured boos when she mentioned her proposal for a gasoline tax holiday, catcalls when she spoke of ending the Iraq war and, most difficult of all, the heckling of her daughter, Chelsea, who introduced her. 'End the dynasty!' a young man holding an Obama poster shouted when Chelsea Clinton stepped to the microphone."
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The AP reports this morning that Barack Obama picked up three additional superdelegates yesterday, not counting George McGovern, who shifted his allegiance from Hillary Clinton. McClatchy identifies them as North Carolina Democratic chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry. However, Clinton did pick up one superdelegate Rep. Heath Shuler, who vowed to back whoever won his rural North Carolina district, which the New York Senator did.
Meanwhile, The Hill reports this morning that California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), an early backer of Clinton, said she was concerned about Clinton continuing the race, saying, "I'd like to talk with her and [get] her view on the rest of the race and what the strategy is," adding, "'I think the race is reaching the point now where there are negative dividends from it, in terms of strife within the party. I think we need to prevent that as much as we can." In addition, Michigan Rep. Dale Kildee (D), a Clinton superdelegate, told The Hill that Clinton "should reassess her prospects," saying, "I urge her to take the day off and think very seriously about doing what's best for the country and best for the party."
In addition to her campaign's other woes, Sen. Hillary Clinton is also struggling to raise money amid reports she loaned her campaign more than $6 million over the last month. The Politico reports with "six primaries to go," Obama is "flush with cash, sources say. Hillary Clinton is out of it, again, her campaign concedes." The AP adds that Clinton "lent her presidential campaign $6.4 million over the past month, her campaign said Wednesday, underscoring the financial advantage held by" Obama. Her campaign "reported raising $10 million online after her Pennsylvania victory on April 22. Evidently, the money was not enough and her fundraising was unable to keep up with her expenses heading into Tuesday's contests."
With many in the media concluding that the Democratic primary is effectively over, there is attention now to what a general election contest between John McCain and Barack Obama will look like. The Wall Street Journal reports that both McCain and Obama plan to target states that have been regarded as safe territory for the other party. The paper says, "This year, both sides are setting their sights on distant targets. The result may be a scrambled battleground map that mixes traditional swing states with those long thought to be in one camp or the other long before November."
In the Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove writes, "My analysis of individual state polls shows that today Mr. McCain would win 241 Electoral College votes to Mr. Obama's 217, with 80 votes in toss-up states where neither candidate has more than a 3% lead." McCain "is realistic enough to know he will fall behind Mr. Obama once the Democratic nomination is settled. He's steeled himself and his team for that moment. And he's comforted by a belief that there will be plenty of time to recapture the lead."
The CBS Evening News reported John McCain "was in Michigan today for a town meeting and was asked about his legendary temper. At first joking about it, he says he does get angry about corruption and runaway spending in Washington and he said the American people are getting angry as well." The AP recounts that McCain "pretended to snarl when asked about his temper," and said, "How dare you ask that question!" After "his questioner persisted, reading a comment by a fellow Republican, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, that the idea of McCain as the GOP presidential nominee sent a chill down his spine," McCain replied, "I'm all too familiar with the quote." McCain, adds the AP, "has since smoothed things over with his colleague." The Wall Street Journal reports the exchange under the headline "McCain Is Cool, Collected On Hot-Temper Question," and quotes McCain's comments, "Look, I will confess to you, my friend, that I get angry. ... I get angry when I saw a guy named Abramoff that ripped off Native Americans for millions and millions and millions of dollars and people ended up, including him, in federal prison. I get angry when I see 233 million of your tax dollars going to an island, to a bridge to an island with 50 people on it. And that's your dollars. I get angry when I see corruption to the point where we have former members of Congress residing in federal prison."
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New developments threaten to derail passage of a Democratic version of the war spending bill requested by the White House. President Bush has already said he will veto the measure if it reaches his desk. The Hill reports a "small group of fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats is threatening to block the emergency war spending bill over a program for veterans' benefits not offset with tax hikes or spending cuts." Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports Hill Republicans "say they will unite to block" the bill over the domestic spending add-ons "onto a bill intended to supplement war spending efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 2009."
Further clouding chances to get the bill to the White House, The Hill reports "Senate appropriators on Thursday are planning to mark up a $165.4 billion supplemental spending bill that would cover war costs for the rest of this year and into 2009." The Senate figure "is $18.2 billion less than the total sum the House is planning to approve." Roll Call notes Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) "plans to offer his domestic spending package that would include almost $4.6 billion in relief for Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, $1.2 billion for science programs, about $450 million for highway repairs and hundreds of millions more for food safety and local law enforcement grants, to name a few."
Two key Administration officials yesterday sounded an optimistic note on the state of the economy. Edward Lazear, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said he did not believe the US economy was in recession, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson reiterated his belief that the worst of the credit crunch was over. The Wall Street Journal reports Lazear "said he's confident the US economy hasn't dipped into recession, and expressed optimism that stimulus checks could bolster growth in the current quarter, earlier than expected." Lazear "said just two areas of the economy are showing the type of deterioration" that the National Bureau of Economic Research "would consider recession range: retail sales and manufacturing."
Meanwhile, the AP reports that in an interview, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said "the worst of the nation's credit crisis may have passed," and "ruled out a second stimulus package for now." Paulson also spoke to the Financial Times, saying, "I am encouraged. I am feeling better about the markets. ... In terms of the capital markets, I believe we are closer to the end than the beginning." Paulson's comments echoed his own remarks on Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, the AP reports, "Consumer borrowing rose in March at the fastest pace in four months, more than double the increase of the previous month, in what was seen as a sign of rising economic stress." The Federal Reserve "reported Wednesday that consumers increased their borrowing at an annual rate of 7.2 percent, compared with a 3.1 percent rate of increase in February."
Productivity Rises. The AP reports, "Worker productivity rose by a better-than-expected amount in the first three months of the year while labor cost pressures eased." The Labor Department "reported Wednesday that productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter. That was slightly higher than the 1.5 percent increase that had been expected." The Wall Street Journal reports, "Though slightly below the average of recent years, recent productivity increases are impressive given the slowdown. Usually, productivity growth drops at the start of economic slowdowns, reflecting companies' initial reluctance to shed workers."
Stocks Fall As Oil Prices Advance Again The AP reports oil futures "extended their seemingly relentless advance Wednesday, rising to a new record near $124 a barrel." A separate AP dispatch notes "Wall Street tumbled...as the price of a barrel of oil soared," as "concerns" grew "that the stock market's recent gains might have been premature as consumers grapple with rising energy and food costs." The Dow "fell 206.48, or 1.59 percent, to 12,814.35, after fluctuating early in the session. ... The S&P 500 fell 25.69, or 1.81 percent, to 1,392.57, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 44.82, or 1.80 percent, to 2,438.49." The New York Times notes it was the stock markets' "worst session in nearly a month." USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times run similar reports.
President Bush yesterday issued a broad indictment of the Democratic congressional leadership, criticizing them over energy policy, their opposition to extending his tax cuts and FISA reform, their stance on war funding and their decision not to hold a vote on a Colombia trade agreement. The AP and The Hill, among a few other media outlets, this morning survey Bush's statements on these issues. However, reports in major newspapers the networks skipped the story focus on Bush's explicit veto threat of a housing aid package making its way through the House. The New York Times reports in its Business section that as the House "prepared to vote on a housing-relief bill offered by Democratic leaders," the President "told the lawmakers, in effect, not to bother." The AP says "Bush's comments clouded the prospects for a bipartisan housing deal this year," despite "growing GOP support for the plan."
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reports "Administration officials remain unconvinced House and Senate leaders will be able to come up with a common approach that can pass both houses," and believe "possible signs of an improving economy could ease pressure to act."
Despite Bush's veto threat, USA Today notes the House "on Wednesday debated" the "broad housing package" authored by Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank. The Washington Post reports Bush's veto threat "surprised House Democrats," who have "already made substantial changes to accommodate the administration's concerns and expected the bill to draw considerable Republican support."
The Washington Times, meanwhile, says House GOP lawmakers "dragged the chamber to a standstill yesterday with procedural moves to protest Democrats' attempt to ram through passage of foreclosure-crisis and war-funding bills." The Christian Science Monitor examines the bill's main provisions, noting it "would call for the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency, to let cash-strapped homeowners refinance into more affordable, fixed-rate mortgages."
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In a development sure to intensify debate over the terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a former prisoner who had been released, was tried and acquitted of terrorism charges, recently executed a suicide bombing in Mosul, Iraq. The CBS Evening News reported Abdallah Salih Al-Ajmi "was held at Guantanamo for three and a half years before being transferred to Kuwait. He eventually won his freedom after being found not guilty of terrorism charges." The New York Times notes Ajmi "is one of several former Guantánamo detainees believed to have returned to combatant status, said another American military spokesman, Cmdr. Jeffrey D. Gordon." However, USA Today /AP reports Gordon added that "it appears to be the first time someone who was held at the prison at the US base in Cuba has carried out a suicide attack."
The Washington Times says the incident highlights "the danger of releasing hard-bitten terrorists from the US facility in Cuba." The Washington Post reports the Defense Intelligence Agency "has estimated that as many as three dozen former Guantanamo detainees are confirmed or suspected of having returned to terrorist activities."
Under the headline "Comedy Of Errors As War Court Complex Debuts," the Miami Herald reports the Pentagon "took its new $12 million war court complex out for a test run Wednesday with the arraignment of an alleged al Qaeda propagandist -- and the state-of-the-art facility failed." As proceedings began in the case of Ali Hamza Bahlul, "no sound was broadcast into the spectators' booth where international media, human rights observers, a Canadian diplomat and FBI agents were sequestered."
In similar reporting, the AP observes, "First, the sound went out" and "then the lights went dark. To top it off, the defendant announced he was boycotting the proceedings."
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Jay Leno: "Well, you know what's interesting? The experts say if you do the math, there's no way Hillary Clinton can win the nomination, and today, Hillary responded by saying, 'People who do math are elitist.'"
Jay Leno: "Yeah, not looking good for Hillary. Today, even Yogi Berra said, 'It's over.'"
Jay Leno: "And you can tell Barack Obama is feeling confident. ... Did you see what he did today? He went bowling with his former pastor, Reverend Wright."
David Letterman: "Jenna Bush is getting married this weekend at her father's place in Crawford, Texas. And this is no surprise -- the $2 billion ice sculpture contract is with Halliburton."
David Letterman: "Everybody is helping out with the big Jenna Bush wedding. As a matter of fact right now," Dick Cheney "is waterboarding the groom."
Conan O'Brien: "Barack Obama's favored in the states of Oregon, Montana and South Dakota, and Hillary is favored in the state of denial."
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