In an indication of confidence that he will win the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama is targeting John McCain rather than primary rival Hillary Clinton as he begins to implement his general election campaign strategy. The Christian Science Monitor reports Obama "increasingly is ignoring the competitor from his own party to focus on" McCain, a move that is "intended to be self-fulfilling. By behaving as if he has finally wrapped up the Democratic contest, Senator Obama may generate fresh excitement among his supporters and lure crucial superdelegates into his camp." The Politico reports after the results of Tuesday's West Virginia primary are reported, Barack Obama will be "exercising his new-found role as the likely Democratic nominee" and will "travel to Missouri, a general election swing state, to begin laying the groundwork for November. He will do the same next week in Florida, raising money and setting out on what aides describe as a fence-mending bid in the orphaned state."
The New York Times reports in a front page story that McCain and Obama are "drawing up strategies for taking each other on in the general election, focusing on the same groups - including independent voters and Latinos - and about a dozen states where they think the contest is likely to be decided this fall, campaign aides said." In a "sign of what could be an extremely unusual fall campaign, the two sides said Saturday that they would be open to holding joint forums or unmoderated debates across the country in front of voters through the summer. Mr. Obama, campaigning in Oregon, said that the proposal, floated by Mr. McCain's advisers, was 'a great idea.'"
In what the media is seeing as another sign that the Democratic primary race is winding down, Barack Obama over the weekend surpassed Hillary Clinton in the number of announced endorsements by superdelegates. The AP reports Obama "erased" Clinton's "once-imposing lead" on Saturday. Obama added "superdelegates from Utah, Ohio and Arizona, as well as two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Clinton." Bloomberg News reports, "With Obama's latest endorsements, he has 277 superdelegates to Clinton's 274.5, according to a Bloomberg tally based on lists and public statements from both campaigns." The Wall Street Journal reports Obama's "new edge in endorsements from Democratic leaders not only signals the party's establishment is solidifying behind him, but also could allay concerns among party liberals and his supporters that these superdelegates might throw the presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton."
The CBS Evening News reported, "There are roughly 250 or so uncommitted superdelegates. The number decreases almost by the hour, mostly as they break for Obama. But what hurts Hillary Clinton even more than that are the defectors, superdelegates who were for her, but have now changed their minds." Rep. Donald Payne, who switched from Clinton to Obama, was shown saying, "I firmly believe, now, that Senator Obama is truly the person that can lead this country."
The Politico reports Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe "admitted Sunday that 'something big would have to happen' for his candidate to overtake" Obama, but McAuliffe "vowed that the campaign would press on, despite increasing calls for Clinton to step aside." On NBC's "Meet the Press," McAuliffe "acknowledged that it was 'highly unlikely' that Clinton could catch Obama in elected delegates but reminded viewers that neither candidate has reached the 'magic number' of delegates necessary to lock up the nomination."
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Despite the media portrayal of her campaign as essentially over, Sen. Hillary Clinton campaigned across West Virginia yesterday, which holds its primary on Tuesday. The CBS Evening News reported, "Behind in delegates and votes, her campaign now at least $20 million in debt, Hillary Clinton had no shortage of subjects to pray for in West Virginia." The New York Times reports Clinton "rose early and spent a 16-hour day slogging through a cold rain in West Virginia, the next state on her to-do list" while Obama and John McCain "took the day off." The AP reports Clinton "toured the birthplace of Mother's Day in rural West Virginia, offering Democrats a subtle reminder Sunday that her fading candidacy remains strong among women and blue-collar, white voters." The Wall Street Journal reports Clinton "isn't giving up. She is heavily favored to win the West Virginia primary because its Democratic voters are the type among whom she has polled best -- primarily white, working class, non-college-educated and older."
Clinton Has Huge Lead In Pair Of WV Polls If the Democratic race is over, apparently the Democratic voters in West Virginia haven't gotten the memo. Two new polls show Clinton mauling Obama in the state. An American Research Group poll of 600 likely West Virginia Democratic primary voters taken May 7-8 shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama 66%-23%. A Suffolk University poll of 600 likely West Virginia Democratic primary voters taken May 10-11 shows Clinton leading Obama 60%-24%.
West Virginia Results Said Likely To "Raise Fresh Doubts" On Obama's Electability The Financial Times reports that Tuesday's "contest is likely to reinforce Mrs Clinton's argument that she would be the stronger opponent for" McCain "in November, and raise fresh doubts about whether the US is ready to elect its first black president. ... No Democrat has been elected to the White House without carrying West Virginia since 1916, yet Mr Obama appears to have little chance of winning there in November." The state "is hostile territory for Mr Obama because it has few of the African-Americans and affluent, college-educated whites who provide his strongest support."
11-Year-Old Donates $440 To Clinton Campaign The AP reports that 11-year-old Dalton Hatfield "presented former President Bill Clinton with a check for $440" after a rally in West Virginia, a gesture that caused Clinton to "nearly come to tears." According to the AP, Hatfield said he "feels so strongly" that Sen. Clinton should be elected president that he "sold his bicycle, video games and anything else he could find" to make the donation.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Sen. Hillary Clinton "enters the final week before Kentucky's May 20 Democratic presidential primary with a commanding 27 percentage point lead over U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, a new poll shows." Clinton leads Obama 58%-31% in a new Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky Poll of 500 probable Democratic voters conducted by Research 2000. But either Democratic candidate "would trail the expected Republican nominee, John McCain, in the state by double digits if the November general election were held today, reveals a companion survey of 600 likely voters from all parties." The poll shows McCain topping Obama 58%-33% and Clinton 53%-41%.
McClatchy reports Obama's "race and inflammatory racial remarks made by his former preacher negatively affect how likely voters view the candidate, according to a new poll in Kentucky." More than "one in five likely Democratic voters surveyed said being black hurts Obama's chances of winning an election in Kentucky, compared to 4 percent who said Obama's race helps him." Many said "the racially charged remarks by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright will play an important role as they decide whom to support."
U.S. News and World Report, in an article titled, "Why Clinton Stands To Lose Millions," reports Sen. Hillary Clinton "doled out $6.4 million of her own money to her campaign since April. ... That brings her total cash outlay to more than $11 million since January. And she's not ruling out spending more as she plans to compete in the six remaining contests." US News notes that a provision in the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill says "a campaign must repay the loan to a candidate before Election Day. In this case, that's the nominating convention. After the election has passed, a bankrupt campaign is limited to gathering just $250,000 from contributors, which means that modest sum is all it can give back to a candidate. In short, Clinton stands to lose $11,150,000." US News adds, "According to her latest FEC filing, the Hillary Clinton for President campaign committee owes millions to vendors, including more than $4.5 million to Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, the consulting firm of her former chief strategist Mark Penn." Bloomberg News speculates that Clinton might stay in the race just to avoid losing her money.
Obama Camp Not Planning To Help Clinton Retire Campaign Debt The Hill reports Obama and his campaign aides "have not discussed paying off his rival's $20 million campaign debt, top advisers to Obama and" Clinton said yesterday. Obama strategist David Axelrod said, "She hasn't asked and we haven't offered." Axelrod "added that he did not believe Clinton was looking for a deal in which she would drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination in exchange for Obama's help in retiring her campaign debt."
After a week of outreach to conservative voters on issues such as taxes and judicial appointments, John McCain this week will visit Oregon and Washington state in an effort to draw Democratic and independent voters to his environmental positions. The Wall Street Journal reports McCain is "shifting his attention to independents and Democrats, with proposals on climate change," using his "stance on energy and the environment to draw distinctions between himself and President Bush, whose popularity is at a near-record low." McCain's "support of regulating global-warming gases like carbon dioxide -- the biggest environmental issue before Congress -- more closely resembles the stance of his Democratic rivals, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, though he disagrees with them on how such regulations should be structured."
The Washington Post reports on the front page this morning that McCain disappointed environmental groups by not opposing a provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling in December 2005. The Post adds McCain has "made the environment one of the key elements of his presidential bid. He speaks passionately about the issue of climate change on the campaign trail, and he plans to outline his vision for combating global warming in a major speech today in Portland, Ore." But an "examination of McCain's voting record shows an inconsistent approach to the environment: He champions some 'green' causes while casting sometimes contradictory votes on others."
USA Today reports McCain "heads to the Pacific Northwest today to propose a climate-change plan, addressing an issue integral to his presidential bid in a region that could be crucial." McCain "plans to renew support for a 'cap-and-trade' system that 'sets clear limits on all greenhouse gases, while also allowing the sale of rights to excess emissions,' according to excerpts of his speech released Sunday."
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As congressional Democrats seek to push through a bill that would offer relief to homeowners at risk of foreclosure, some analysts believe Republicans may gain a political edge by emphasizing the moral hazard in removing the penalties for risky economic choices. The Wall Street Journal says Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates "want to use taxpayer money to rescue homeowners who can no longer afford their mortgages," but the White House "and most House Republicans say this amounts to using taxpayer money to reward bad behavior." The GOP line, adds the Journal, is "striking a chord with some Americans who are paying their mortgages on time or who didn't buy more house than they can afford, raising the possibility that Democrats' stance could provoke a backlash at the polls in November."
The Wall Street Journal takes a clear editorial position on the issue, saying, "As a reward for that good judgment and restraint, Barney Frank is now going to let you bail out the least responsible bankers and borrowers." The bill "deserves a Presidential veto." Meanwhile, the New York Times says, "While home for the holiday, senators are sure to hear from constituents about the need for mortgage relief. That might inspire lawmakers to do what Mr. Bush is unwilling to do."
In a front-page story titled "Regulators Under Fire For Ignoring Red Flags," the Washington Times reports "federal regulators are on the firing line trying to explain why they were seemingly asleep at the switch and failed to crack down on the abusive loans that led to the worst housing bust and financial collapse in modern times." And if "regulators failed to act quickly or aggressively enough, they can share the blame with most of their interrogators in Congress." Also on its front page, meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal recounts the experience of a California couple, and their "descent into foreclosure."
USA Today reports "Congress and the White House this week head toward a collision over a five-year, $300 billion farm bill that the Bush administration says is stuffed with wasteful handouts to wealthy growers, but that supporters defend as a needed rural safety net that also expands nutrition aid for the poor." The President "is promising to veto the measure," but Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer "acknowledges the administration could have a tough time mustering enough votes to make a veto stick." Roll Call notes the farm bill "might be one of the few if only issues this year that brings Senators of both parties together to buck his veto with an override."
The Miami Herald reports military security teams at Guantanamo Bay are now "rehearsing how to handle some of the most reviled men on earth, in a courtroom with the eyes of the world on them." Reputed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed "and five other men held in isolation as co-conspirators in the Sept. 11 attacks now have been assigned military lawyers to defend them." With their "actual trials a year or more away, the focus in Guantánamo Bay these days is preparing for this summer's first public appearances."
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that as the Pentagon prepares to approve the men's trials, "a military-court ruling late last week against a top Defense Department war-crimes official throws a new cloud over the Bush administration's plan to prosecute the alleged Sept. 11 conspirators before the president leaves office in January." On Friday, a military judge at Guantanamo barred Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann "from participating in the case against Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver" because of a conflict of interest.
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In what the Wall Street Journal calls "a sign of Tehran's growing influence in Iraqi politics," the fight "between Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr and the Iraqi government came to a halt this weekend after Mr. Sadr agreed to a truce brokered by Iran." As Shiite political parties "have dominated the Iraqi government, Iran's scope of influence has widened. This puts the Iraqi government at a precarious position between two important friends, the US and Iran."
The Christian Science Monitor notes "the truce was hastily reached as Mr. Maliki's government announced a new offensive in Mosul against forces affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq. Maliki has said since January that he would take the fight against al Qaeda to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, believed to be the group's last urban stronghold in Iraq." Meanwhile, the Washington Post notes "senior commanders of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia said in interviews that they had not yet received orders to stand down from Sadr or his top aides in the southern holy city of Najaf."
Under the headline "In Sadr City, A Cease-Fire Is Put To The Test, And Fails," the New York Times reports, "A column of Iraqi armor set out on Sunday to test a new truce in the Sadr City area of Baghdad between the militias and the Iraqi government by venturing north on a major thoroughfare that borders the Shiite enclave." But "the Iraqi forces had barely started to move when they were struck by three roadside bombs." McClatchy and USA Today run similar reports.
Basra Offensive Now Seen As A "Success" On its front page, the New York Times reports in "a rare success, forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have largely quieted the city" of Basra, "to the initial surprise and growing delight of many inhabitants who only a month ago shuddered under deadly clashes between Iraqi troops and Shiite militias."
With President Bush preparing to travel to the Mideast, the AP reports Secretary Rice told Israeli and Palestinian leaders they "will need to show progress in their secret talks soon, or risk a potentially fatal erosion in public support for a process now in its sixth month without any obvious successes." Rice was "reacting mainly to the increasingly pessimistic Palestinian assessments of the talks, but she warned that confidence was fragile among Israelis, too."
Meanwhile, in separate interviews with the Washington Post, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad offered their impressions on the current status of the talks. Peres told the Washington Post, "I think that we have unbelievable economic proposals as to how to make accommodations between us and our neighbors. In the political negotiations, the gaps are not very great, but they are highly emotional." Fayyad told Washington Post that the talks "have not proceeded at a pace that's consistent to obtain the objectives set forth at Annapolis. ... Annapolis set in motion two tracks. The second...talks about the need to immediately implement phase one of road map obligations. People forget about that. It's important to me because it preserves the possibility of a two-state solution."
Bush Moderating Image With Mideast Trip U.S. News and World Report reports the White House "is pitching" President Bush "a bit less as the tough commander in chief and a lot more as Mr. Sensitive, the everyday guy who's doing his best to connect with the problems of the middle class. It's all part of an effort to lift his job-approval ratings by moving beyond his policy prescriptions, which remain unpopular, and emphasizing the personal qualities that Americans like, such as his affability and lack of pretension." This week, President Bush will "travel to the Middle East...to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel. A big objective will be to promote the peace process and demonstrate his commitment to personal diplomacy.
Newsweek interviews Israeli President Shimon Peres, who is "hosting a conference this week titled 'Facing Tomorrow,' which will be attended" by Bush. Peres said, "I think Bush did something which is very courageous. And that was to topple down Saddam Hussein."
Scandal May Force Olmert To Stand Down Newsweek reports allegations have surfaced that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions from an American benefactor when he was mayor of Jerusalem." Olmert "pledged not to resign unless he was indicted," but "earlier in the week...Olmert sounded resigned to the possibility that he might stand down."
The Washington Post reports Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, "whose grip on power seemed relatively solid just last month, is now seen in Israel as a political short-timer who could be jettisoned from office at any moment by a burgeoning corruption scandal." Though Olmert "has steadfastly denied" accepting any bribes and "has weathered several corruption investigations without any convictions," Israeli political analysts "say that this may be one scandal too many and that the latest accusations against him are the most serious yet."
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Jay Leno: "Well, according to the most recent exit polls, most people think Hillary Clinton should exit."
Jay Leno: "Hillary says she's staying in the race because there are new patterns emerging, such as lower-educated white men are now supporting her. That's what she said. Polls show she has strong support among lesser-educated white males. So you know what that means -- President Bush could be voting for her now."
David Letterman: "I was going to send my mom something special for Mother's Day, and then I realized that she's already getting that economic stimulus check."
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