McClatchy reports Sen. John McCain "launched a harsh attack" on Sen. Barack Obama's "lack of military credentials Thursday, charging that the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination has 'zero understanding' of veteran's issues." Obama "responded in kind, accusing McCain of engaging 'endless diatribes and schoolyard taunts' that 'do nothing to advance the debate about what matters to the American people.'" The cause of the sparring: McCain's opposition to a Democratic bill to increase benefits for veterans. The CBS Evening News added that Obama "put McCain on the defensive" over his opposition to the bill, and said, "I can't believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans." ABC World News reported McCain "opposed the bill saying it's so generous, it would encourage soldiers and sailors to leave the military and not reenlist." McCain said "he will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did." NBC Nightly News reported McCain "fired back with a stinging eight paragraph written response," adding advisers "say that he took personal offense claiming Obama had impugned McCain's motive for opposing the bill."
While Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to dog him in the Democratic primary, Sen. Barack Obama is continuing his efforts to move on to the general election. The latest move: the beginnings of a search for a VP candidate. The CBS Evening News reported, "Sources tell CBS News Barack Obama has set up a search committee, headed up by Washington insider Jim Johnson, who did the same job for John Kerry and Walter Mondale." USA Today calls the move a "sure sign that the primary season is winding down," while the Washington Post reports Obama and his aides "played down the move, describing it as only a preliminary exercise and stressing that they remain focused" on the Democratic primary battle.
More Speculation On Clinton As VP The New York Times reports while Clinton "and her advisers insist that she is determined to win the Democratic nomination," former President Bill Clinton, "has begun privately contemplating a different outcome for her: As Senator Barack Obama's running mate." Friends "of the former president say his musings have been more casual: He believes that an Obama-Clinton ticket could help unify the party, and he thinks she has earned a meeting with Mr. Obama to discuss the possibility." Others are considering the possibility as well, with the New York Post reporting that California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), "a Clinton booster, told The Post, 'I am one that believes that if it works out that Senator Obama is the nominee, the strongest ticket would be Senator Clinton as vice president. No question in my mind.'"
However, Bloomberg News reports Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson "dismissed reports that aides to the two Democratic candidates have talked about Clinton running with Obama in the general election. 'There have been no conversations with the Obama campaign,' Wolfson said on a conference call."
The CBS Evening News reports that Sen. John McCain yesterday rejected the endorsement of Rev. John Hagee, a prominent evangelical Christian, and other aligned with him. Hagee "was already explosively controversial. He called Catholicism a false religion, and suggested that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for the gay rights movement. McCain criticized Hagee's remarks, but did not reject his endorsement, until today, in a statement repudiating" Hagee's claim that God had used Adolf Hitler to help the Jews create the promised land of Israel. NBC Nightly News also reported briefly on McCain's move.
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that the comments "represented a significant shift by McCain, who had refused to reject Hagee's endorsement despite controversial comments Hagee has made about Catholicism and his implication that Hurricane Katrina represented divine retribution. After learning of those comments, McCain said just because he accepts -- or seeks -- someone's endorsement doesn't mean he endorses that person's views."
The Miami Herald reports, "Reaching out to a group whose support will be crucial to a victory in November," Sen. Barack Obama "ventured into Florida's Jewish community for the first time Thursday, fielding questions for an hour at a Conservative synagogue to deflect Republican attacks on his support of Israel." The AP adds that Obama "promised 'an unshakable commitment to Israel's security' as he sought to reassure doubtful Jewish voters. He also said he hopes to help improve relations between American blacks and Jews." NBC Nightly News says Obama "tried to ease Jewish voters' concerns saying he would not negotiate with the anti-Israel terror group, Hamas." Obama: "We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terror and recognize Israel's right to exist." The New York Times says Obama "was welcomed by warm applause that seemed to grow throughout the afternoon session at a synagogue."
The Detroit Free Press reports this morning that in a conference call to reporters yesterday, senior Clinton advisers Howard Wolfson and Harold Ickes "made very clear [Clinton's] path to the Democratic nomination. Have Michigan and Florida's lost delegations seated in full, stretch the number needed for the nomination to 2,210 (from the 2,026 it is now without those states) and fight for the remaining pledged delegates and uncommitted super delegates."
Paterson Says Clinton Should Give Up Effort To Seat Delegates The AP reports New York Gov. David Paterson, a Clinton backer, "said she's showing 'a little desperation' and should give up her effort to count votes from renegade primaries in Michigan and Florida." Paterson said Thursday "that Clinton shouldn't derail the process by which the national Democratic Party stripped Michigan and Florida of their national convention delegates because they moved their primaries up to January in violation of party rules." The New York Daily News says that Paterson "sailed wildly off-message" with the comments, made in an interview with a New York radio station.
Clinton Bests McCain In All 3 A new series of Quinnipiac polls shows Sen. John McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama in Florida and Ohio, but trailing in Pennsylvania. In Florida, McCain tops Obama 45%-41%. In Ohio, McCain leads Obama 44%-40%. In Pennsylvania, Obama leads McCain 46%-40%. In contrast to Obama's performance, Sen. Hillary Clinton tops McCain in all three states she leads the Arizona senator 48%-41% in Florida, 48%-41% in Ohio, and 50%-37% in Pennsylvania. Quinnipiac surveyed 1,419 likely Florida voters, 1,244 likely Ohio voters, and 1,667 likely Pennsylvania voters from May 13-20.
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In a move seen as boosting Sen. John McCain's presidential run, the Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Gen. David Petraeus said yesterday "more troops might leave the country this fall." The move would help McCain "if taken as a signal that the war is winding down." Petraeus "declined to specify the size of a withdrawal he would consider but hinted it would be at most one combat brigade, or 3,000 to 5,000 troops." The Hill reports McCain "allies" said Petraeus' remarks "would validate McCain's arguments that last year's troop surge was needed to stabilize Iraq."
The Christian Science Monitor notes that "as recently as last month, Petraeus had declined to commit to any further reductions, leaving open the possibility that troop levels would stay steady for the remainder of the Bush administration." The Washington Times notes "Petraeus' fall assessment will come as US voters are choosing a president."
Petraeus was on the Hill for a confirmation hearing on his nomination to head CentCom, and the Washington Post reports, "Senators on both sides of the aisle appeared to agree with Bush's assessment of Petraeus, regardless of their stand on Iraq, indicating that they expect him to be confirmed easily." Likewise, the Financial Times reports that "while Democrats are increasingly critical of the war in Iraq, the members of the armed services committee praised...Petraeus...lavishly."
The New York Times notes Petraeus "acknowledged that Iraqi security forces would probably be unable to take the lead in all provinces of the country this year, as the Pentagon had optimistically predicted in December in an assessment of conditions." The Los Angeles Times notes that "in his opening statement, Petraeus said that last week violence in Iraq had hit its lowest point in four years despite the fact that the size of the force has been reduced by more than three brigades."
Last night, all three networks ran brief mentions of Petraeus' testimony. ABC World News reported Petraeus "testified there has been progress in that Iraqi forces are handling more operations on their own and that there's been political progress for Prime Minister Maliki. And, the death rate for US troops is at its lowest level since the war began." The CBS Evening News noted the general "told a Senate committee today he could recommend further US troop reductions by September if security continues to improve," while NBC Nightly News said Petraeus "wouldn't commit himself to any hard numbers."
Bush Defers To Commanders On Troop Levels As part of a story on Petraeus' testimony, the New York Times reports that Bush, "during a visit on Thursday to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., again deferred to...Petraeus for any decision on more withdrawals." Largely overshadowed by the Petraeus hearing, Bush's North Carolina comments got little media attention.
Media reports are casting the Senate's 75-22 passage of a war funding measure a bipartisan rebuke to President Bush, who has threatened to veto the measure over unrelated domestic spending attached to it. USA Today reports, "Senate Republicans have broken with President Bush to help Democrats add support for veterans and the unemployed to a bill paying for another year of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars." The vote also "added billions of dollars in other domestic funds such as heating subsidies for the poor and money for fighting wildfires to funding for military operations overseas." Later, "the Senate voted 70-26 to approve $165 billion to pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next spring, when Bush's successor will set war policy."
The Politico says that as "the entire wartime bill faces an almost certain veto fight with the president," the "question is whether cooler heads will prevail and Congress and the White House will begin some negotiation to avoid another veto fight, which is not necessarily to the advantage of either side." The Wall Street Journal reports that "among the domestic-spending items the Senate approved: a delay in cost-cutting regulations for the Medicaid program for the poor; $16 billion over two years in extended unemployment benefits; and funds for rural schools, levee repair and local law enforcement."
The Hill reports that "when asked what" recent votes "said about Bush's influence on Capitol Hill, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) responded slyly: 'What influence?'" The Washington Post says the vote marks a Senate "break" not only with Bush but also "the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain." In total, the "bill would cost more than $250 billion over 10 years, including $51 billion for the veterans' education benefits alone." The Hill notes McCain "strongly opposed the domestic spending package, in particular the educational benefits package that is modeled after the GI Bill created for World War II veterans." The Washington Times runs a similar story.
Bush Calls For Clean Funding Bill The AP reports from Fort Bragg, NC, that "Bush, standing alongside 17,000 paratroopers, urged Congress on Thursday to reach a consensus and pass a war funding bill that does not 'tie the hands' of US commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan."
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In what the Washington Post this morning calls "the most significant legislative rebuff" of George W. Bush's presidency, the Senate yesterday voted 82 to 13 to override his "veto of a comprehensive farm bill, shrugging off Republican concerns about an embarrassing legislative glitch to make the $307 billion bill the law of the land." House GOP leaders "continued to grumble that Democrats had violated the Constitution by pressing forward with the veto override after they discovered that a whole section of the bill on trade policy had been inadvertently dropped from the version vetoed Wednesday."
The AP notes "more than 90% of the bill" became law after the Senate vote, because "the version that Bush vetoed was missing 34 pages on international food aid and trade. That will require Congress to send another bill to Bush." The Politico reports the missing section, "covering trade and some international nutrition programs," is "a small part of the spending picture, about $1.62 billion from 2008 to 2012. But the whole episode has been a huge embarrassment for the Democratic leadership."
The Wall Street Journal reports, "White House press secretary Dana Perino suggested the 'technical error' could give lawmakers a last chance to address Mr. Bush's concerns with the bill." The incident "cast light on the sometimes opaque inner-workings of Congress, where lawmakers still cling to long-established traditions."
Addressing the glitch, the New York Times says "it is good to remember that the American system of checks and balances is not really designed for speed." Yesterday, Minority Leader John Boehner "happily offered a reminder that in 2006, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, then the minority leader, demanded an ethics investigation after the Republican leadership allowed the House to vote on a measure that included incorrect numbers mistakenly inserted."
McClatchy reports, "Congress bungled its big farm bill finale, forcing embarrassed lawmakers on Thursday to pass the whole thing all over again." The Hill says the controversy stole "the spotlight from Democrats hoping to tout the second veto override of...Bush's reign." Another piece in The Hill notes Perino "ridiculed House Democrats," saying, "It shows that they can even screw up spending the taxpayers' money unwisely."
The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former White House aide Karl Rove in its investigation of the firing of nine US Attorneys. NBC Nightly News reported, "The President's former right-hand man was today subpoenaed to testify about whether the Bush Administration improperly politicized the US Justice Department." The New York Times reports Chairman John Conyers Jr. "said the subpoena was necessary because Mr. Rove had explicitly declined an invitation to appear voluntarily." Democrats "say they want to question Mr. Rove about the dismissals of several federal prosecutors and ask whether he knows anything about the decision to prosecute former Gov. Donald E. Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat."
The Hill notes Conyers said yesterday, "Although he does not seem the least bit hesitant to discuss these very issues weekly on cable television and in the print news media, Mr. Rove and his attorney have apparently concluded that a public hearing room would not be appropriate. Unfortunately, I have no choice today but to compel his testimony on these very important matters." McClatchy reports White House spokesman Tony Fratto "said that the committee already knows that Rove is covered by an executive privilege claim and can't testify, though he's offered to assist the panel in other ways."
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Jay Leno: "You know the difference between 'American Idol' and the Democratic primary?" They "count the votes on 'American Idol' from Florida and Michigan."
Jay Leno: "As you know, Jenna was recently married. I understand, as his wedding gift to the couple, President Bush gave them two $600 stimulus checks."
David Letterman: "John McCain is going to be the Republican nominee" for president, so "he is now auditioning candidates for vice president. And they're visiting at his home in Arizona," which "I believe...is called" the "Lazy Artery." Wait, "I believe it's a ranch. I think it is the Double Hernia," or maybe it is called "the Rancho Prostateo."
David Letterman: "Dick Cheney gave a commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy," and he "really enjoyed speaking to the graduates. But his favorite part of the ceremony was waterboarding the valedictorian."
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