Sen. Hillary Clinton is expected to exit the presidential race on Saturday, although the precise nature of Clinton's departure from the contest whether it would be unconditional or a "suspension" remains unclear. The Washington Post reports in a front page story that Clinton is "likely to suspend her presidential campaign on Saturday and endorse" Obama "according to informed sources," after a day in which many of her key supporters and party leaders encouraged the senator from New York to make a quick decision in the interest of party unity." ABC World News reported that pressure is "mounting on Clinton to concede, especially from her supporters in Congress who went out on a limb for her, and are anxiously waiting to endorse Barack Obama."
The New York Times reports that Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson "and other aides said she would express support for Mr. Obama and party unity at an event in Washington that day. One adviser said Mrs. Clinton would concede defeat, congratulate Mr. Obama and proclaim him the party's nominee, while pledging to do what was needed to assure his victory in November." The AP adds that Clinton will also "urge once-warring Democrats to focus on the general election and defeating Republican presidential candidate John McCain." The "only degree of uncertainty was how. Clinton is exploring options to retain her delegates and promote her issues, including a signature call for universal health care."
Hillary Clinton and her supporters began a public effort to win the vice presidential nomination, but media reports suggest the aggressive effort could backfire on the Democratic runner-up. The Wall Street Journal reports in a front page story that "close supporters suggested" Clinton "would like to be" Obama's "running mate, on a unity ticket. But close advisers to Sen. Obama signaled an Obama-Clinton ticket was highly unlikely. People in both camps cited what several called 'a deal-breaker' -- Bill Clinton may balk at releasing records of his business dealings and big donors to his presidential library."
The CBS Evening News reported, "One group of Clinton supporters has an online petition urging Obama to make her his running mate. Her campaign's actually reached out to voteboth.com, another group demanding Clinton get the number-two slot. From Supreme Court justice to more power in the Senate to another shot at health care reform czar, Washington's buzzing with what Hillary may want. But for now it's all vice president all the time."
Asked about Clinton as VP, Obama in several interviews last night wouldn't shed any light on the issue. On NBC Nightly News, Obama said, "We have just completed a very hard fought contest. I think she needs to catch her breath. I need to catch mine. I think all our supporters need to just sit back and let things sink in." On the CBS Evening News, Obama said it is "premature" to answer questions about the VP selection process "because I literally got the nomination last night. ... The truth is we want to approach this selection process entirely. But it's going to be deliberate."
The AP adds that Obama's campaign "announced the vetting of potential running mates was to be managed by a three-person team of one-time first daughter Caroline Kennedy, former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Washington insider Jim Johnson."
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The Los Angeles Times reports this morning that Sen. John McCain yesterday announced that he'd invited Sen. Barack Obama "to join him for a series of town-hall-style meetings across the country -- the first at New York City's Federal Hall on June 12." McCain "has floated the proposal to reporters on his campaign bus before, crediting Barry Goldwater, the conservative Arizona senator, and former President John F. Kennedy, with the idea after they formed a similar agreement before the 1964 election that never came to fruition because of Kennedy's assassination." The Washington Post reports Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe "responded quickly, calling the idea of joint forums 'appealing' and saying that the senator from Illinois would favor a 'less structured' format that more closely resembles the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas." McCain said he wanted "no process questions from reporters, no spin room." The AP adds that campaign officials for both candidates "later spoke by phone and agreed in spirit to participate in joint town hall appearances, McCain's campaign said."
NBC Nightly News called the proposal McCain's "first chess move of the general election," an "invitation to get Barack Obama on McCain's most comfortable turf." CNN's The Situation Room said McCain tried "to set the tone for the fall campaign: not with big media productions, McCain says, no spin rooms, just two Americans running for the highest office on Earth responding to the concerns of the people."
The CBS Evening News reported as part of its lead story last night that a new poll shows Barack Obama "is now the frontrunner. A CBS News poll of registered voters shows him leading McCain by six points" 48%-42%. CBS News adds on its website, "The poll contains troubling signs for Obama," as 12% "of Democrats say they will support McCain in the general election. That's higher than the 8 percent of Democrats who defected to President Bush in 2004. Nearly a quarter of Clinton supporters say they will back McCain instead of Obama in the general election. McCain leads Obama by 8 points among registered independent voters, considered a key voting block in November."
Bloomberg News reports that Sen. John McCain "raised more than $20 million last month, a campaign adviser said. That was his biggest monthly haul to date." McCain "raised $18 million in April. He has now raised more than $110 million for his campaign, less than half of the $256 million taken through April 30 by" Sen. Barack Obama.
The New York Times reports Sen. Barack Obama, "in his first day as the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee, plunged into the thicket of Middle East politics" yesterday. Speaking at the "annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation's foremost pro-Israel lobby," Obama "endorsed a two-state Israel-Palestine settlement, but also insisted that Jerusalem should remain both the capital of the Jewish nation and undivided." The Los Angeles Times adds Obama "gave a full-throated defense of his plan to engage Iran more directly, arguing that the Bush administration's policies have destabilized the Middle East and jeopardized U.S. and Israeli security." Obama said, "There are those who would continue and intensify this failed status quo, ignoring eight years of accumulated evidence that our foreign policy is dangerously flawed." The Washington Times adds Obama criticized McCain "for supporting the Iraq war, which Mr. Obama said has made the U.S. and Israel more vulnerable to terrorism and the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran."
In his Washington Post "Washington Sketch" column, Dana Milbank says a "mere 12 hours after claiming the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama appeared before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday -- and changed himself into an Israel hard-liner." As a "pandering performance, it was the full Monty by a candidate who, during the primary, had positioned himself to Hillary Clinton's left on matters such as Iran." The "transformation -- mostly in tone, but occasionally in substance -- might qualify as what Obama likes to call the same old Washington 'okey-doke.'"
It wasn't all good news for Sen. Barack Obama yesterday. ABC World News reported, "A former fund-raiser for Barack Obama was found guilty of corruption today by a federal jury in Chicago. Tony Rezko, who helped Obama find his Chicago home, was found guilty on 16 of 24 counts including wire and mail frauds including money laundering. Rezko was accused of taking bribes. Obama was not implicated in any wrong doing." The Wall Street Journal adds that the conviction "comes just one day after Sen. Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination and served as a reminder the presumptive nominee was a major benefactor of Mr. Rezko's fund-raising efforts when he got his career in politics off the ground." The Journal notes that "within 20 minutes of the conviction, the Republican Party sent out an email to reporters documenting Sen. Obama's history with Mr. Rezko. 'Obama has maintained a friendship with a now convicted felon,' the email said." The CBS Evening News called the news "potentially embarrassing" for Obama, adding the senator "was not connected to the case." NBC Nightly News referred to Rezko as Obama's "former friend and fund-raiser," and also noted Obama was not "accused of any wrongdoing in this."
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The Washington Times reports this morning, "Kindergarten rules came to the Senate on Wednesday as the Republicans' leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, put Democrats in timeout for what he said was bad behavior." McConnell, "accusing Democrats of failing to make good on various promises to confirm President Bush's judicial nominees," stopped "the global-warming debate and forced the clerk to read every word of the 491-page bill as a protest 'to give the majority time to contemplate and consider the importance of keeping your word.'" The GOP leader "accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, of falling behind on a pledge to confirm 15 appeals court nominees this Congress -- only eight have been approved so far -- and also for approving only one of the three nominees he had promised by Memorial Day."
The Hill reports McConnell "refused to say what additional tactics the GOP would use once the amendment is read, a process that tied up the floor for much of Wednesday." But Roll Call says that following the "nearly daylong standoff" over the nominations, "the two sides appeared close to a deal late Wednesday that would move some of his picks for the executive branch while freeing up a climate change measure that had been caught in the crossfire. Senate Democratic aides familiar with the talks...said at press time that Republicans were reviewing a Democratic proposal."
With the media's attention focused on the Democratic presidential race, very little coverage is being devoted this morning to President Bush's meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The AP reports that the "corruption scandal engulfing" Olmert was "pushed into the background Wednesday as the beleaguered Israeli leader and staunch ally President Bush displayed chummy relations and declared resolve against Iran and for Mideast peace." Bush, the AP notes, "warmly saluted Olmert as 'my friend' twice in less than a minute of remarks before their Oval Office talks," while Olmert, "clearly delighted to be again at the side of the US president whose popularity in Israel far exceeds his own, gushed over Bush and grinned broadly at him throughout his brief statement."
The Washington Post notes that Iran "was apparently a key topic of discussion between Bush and Olmert." During an Oval Office photo opportunity, "the two leaders touched only briefly on the status of peace talks, with Bush taking the moment to reassure the Israelis that he shares their concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions." The Post, however, focuses its report, titled "Bush Talks With Israeli Author Before Meeting With Olmert," not on the President's meeting with Olmert, but rather on "an unannounced meeting" he had "with onetime Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, another prominent Israeli with whom the president has forged a friendly and intriguing relationship."
Kerry And Hagel: Engage Syria Sens. John Kerry (D) and Chuck Hagel (R) write in the Wall Street Journal, "After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George H.W. Bush did the improbable and convinced Syrian President Hafez Assad to join an American-led coalition against a fellow Baathist regime. Today, these leaders' sons have another chance for a diplomatic breakthrough that could redefine the strategic landscape in the Middle East." Syria's leaders "have always made cold calculations in the name of self-preservation, and history shows that intensive diplomacy can pay off. Secretary of State James Baker made more than a dozen trips to Syria before Operation Desert Storm, and remember President Assad's price: US support for Syrian dialogue with Israel. ... To support Israel and isolate Iran, President George W. Bush should offer direct support for the Israeli-Syrian initiative."
As five men accused of plotting the September 11th attacks prepare for arraignment later today at Guantanamo Bay, the AP notes Attorney General Michael Mukasey defended the decision to use "military commissions to prosecute suspected terrorists," and "told federal judges Wednesday the upcoming trials will be 'in the best traditions of the American legal system.'" Speaking to an annual conference of Washington federal judges, Mukasey "said the decision to try terrorism cases outside of civilian courthouses is not made lightly." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed "and four alleged co-conspirators are to be brought before a military commission, in a proceeding at least partially open to the media, marking the first time Mr. Mohammed has been seen in public since his capture in 2003." The trials "will test the Bush administration's response to 9/11" as "legal setbacks and internal disarray have hobbled the effort to try alleged international terrorists before a military commission."
The Los Angeles Times reports the ousted chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, Col. Morris D. Davis, says "the Pentagon's push to prosecute the so-called '9/11 Five' is tainted, in his view, by political intrusions, illegal influence applied by more-senior officers and reliance on evidence obtained through coercion or torture. That taint would cast doubt on the legitimacy of any convictions, Davis says." The prosecutor argues that "unless the evidence prosecutors have against Mohammed and his codefendants is declassified, much of their prosecution will be conducted behind closed doors, depriving the American media and public of a clear view of the proceedings."
Today's hearings, McClatchy reports, also open a "new chapter" for the "family members of 9/11 victims who have been seeking justice for their love ones." The Pentagon, it adds, "airlifted dozens of reporters from Washington to the remote US Navy base," but "no family members will be in attendance. The Defense Department is still developing a lottery system to choose observers from among the Sept. 11 families, and considering a secured closed-circuit feed to US military bases in the United States." Meanwhile, "with no provision for photography or Court TV style coverage, journalists being brought to the base on the eve of the Thursday arraignment will be left to describe what they see and hear."
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Jay Leno: "Folks, this is it. Final clearance. All Hillary Clinton jokes must go tonight."
Jay Leno: Hillary Clinton is "still not conceding her campaign because she says there's still a chance of the vice presidency. In fact, she's going to offer it to Barack one last time."
David Letterman: "Welcome to New York City," where it is "71 and hazy. You know, kind of like John McCain."
David Letterman: No, it is "67 and gloomy, like Hillary Clinton."
Conan O'Brien: "Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has written a tell-all book, full of inside information about how the public was misled prior to the invasion of Iraq. Yeah. The title of the book: 'Stuff That Would've Been Really, Really Helpful Five Years Ago.'"
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