Jim Johnson, the DC insider tapped by Barack Obama to lead his vice presidential selection committee, resigned after a media flurry developed over his ties to troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial and his compensation as an executive of Fannie Mae. Johnson's departure drew significant negative coverage for Obama, and the situation was compared to the candidate's break with his former pastor. The Wall Street Journal reports Obama "announced in a statement Wednesday that Mr. Johnson was stepping aside from the volunteer position to avoid distracting from the vetting process."
NBC Nightly News calls the move a "setback" for Obama and adds that the resignation "was done hastily only hours after the campaign had vigorously defended him." ABC World News calls the situation a "big headache" for Obama and notes that Sen. John McCain's campaign "says the incident raises questions about Obama's judgment. For his part, McCain's vice presidential search is being headed by Arthur Culvahouse, who despite McCain's rhetoric against lobbyists, is a former lobbyist, like many senior members of McCain's staff."
The New York Times said Johnson's resignation "highlights the challenge Mr. Obama faces living up to his goal of not surrounding himself with people with ties to special interests." The Washington Post reports in a front page story that Johnson "became a casualty in the back-and-forth over ties to special interests in the presidential campaign as Obama cut him loose." Johnson was "pulled into Obama's orbit last year by former commerce secretary William M. Daley, a close friend of Johnson's and an Obama ally, according to a Johnson confidant." Johnson had "led Sen. John F. Kerry's vice presidential vetting committee in 2004, and Kerry also recommended him to Obama, citing his discretion, professionalism and secrecy, two Obama advisers said."
The Politico says Johnson's resignation "stanched the campaign's bleeding from a wound that, while minor, threatened to obscure his reformist message. But it also highlighted a coming risk. As Obama's campaign grows to absorb much of the Democratic Party, the candidate faces a renewed challenge to present himself as an outsider bent on changing the hidebound ways of Washington."
Holder Next GOP Target? The New York Post reports that "smelling blood in the water," Republicans are now planning to "pounce" on former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, another member of Obama's VP search team, "for his lobbying on behalf of telecom giant Global Crossing," which underwent one of the biggest bankruptcies in US history.
In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, John McCain created a furor by saying it was "not important" when US troops would return home from Iraq. Democrats and Barack Obama's presidential campaign quickly pounced on the remarks, with John Kerry and congressional leaders spearheading the criticism of McCain. USA Today reports that when asked by Lauer "whether he had an estimate for when troops would start returning home, McCain said, 'No, but that's not too important. What's important is the casualties in Iraq.'" Supporters of Barack Obama "immediately assailed McCain, calling him, in the words of Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, 'unbelievably out of touch.'" The Politico reports Susan Rice, "an Obama foreign-policy adviser, accused McCain of 'a real disturbing, even disconcerting, pattern of confusing the basic facts and reality that pertain to Iraq.'"
The AP says McCain's "answer was in keeping with" his "long-stated argument that as Iraqis take more control of security in their country, the number of killed and wounded U.S. soldiers should decline. He has said he could envision troops withdrawing around 2013 but has refused to fix a date." The Washington Post reports congressional Democrats "yesterday opened fire" on the comments, and adds that even if McCain's "statement yesterday differed little from his past pronouncements, it came at a delicate diplomatic juncture. The Bush administration is trying to hammer out bilateral agreements governing the future status of U.S. forces in Iraq, to take effect when the current U.N. mandate expires at the end of December."
The Los Angeles Times reports that McCain "has carefully avoided mentioning the military service of his son Jimmy, a Marine who returned from his first tour in Iraq earlier this year, on the campaign trail -- to prevent anyone from suggesting he would use his son's service for political advantage." But responding to Democratic attacks on McCain yesterday, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) said, "More than most any American, Sen. McCain knows the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make and the burden that their families bear, and it really is wrong to suggest otherwise. Obviously he knows that from his own -- from his father's service and the impact it had on his family; from his own service and incarceration; from his eight visits to Iraq -- on which I've been with him on a lot of them -- and interacting with our troops there; and of course from the fact that his son was deployed to Iraq.'"
The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows the public split over an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or staying until that country stabilizes, and media coverage tended to be muted in tone and placement. NBC Nightly News reported the new NBC News/WSJ poll "has some evidence people may be coming to McCain's point of view on the war. For the first time they are evenly split over whether to withdraw next year or remain until the situation is stable."
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The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that in Philadelphia yesterday for a "town hall" style meeting, Sen. John McCain "resurrected" Sen. Barack Obama's "comment about small-town residents clinging to guns and religion because they're 'bitter' about the economy. McCain did so shortly after saying the campaign shouldn't be about sound bites and 'gotcha quotations.'" The Philadelphia Daily News notes, "While McCain is certain to lose Philadelphia to Obama, campaign events here generate media coverage that reaches suburban voters, a key constituency for the GOP candidate. 'He'll get here every chance he gets,' said attorney Charles Kopp, a key McCain fundraiser. 'He thinks he can win [Pennsylvania], so he has to put it in play.'"
The Hill reports on an internal Obama campaign memo which lays out talking points to refute OK2 Rep. Dan Boren's (D) criticisms of Barack Obama, whom Boren is refusing to endorse. The Hill reports that Boren told the AP that "Obama is too liberal for his district, and he does not work well with Republicans despite his rhetoric." Stating, "unfortunately, Congressman Boren has his facts wrong," the memo "outlines a way for surrogates to refute charges that Obama does not have a history of reaching across the aisle, though it does not offer any suggested talking points for dealing with Boren's charge that Obama is 'the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate.'"
Boren may not be alone in being hesitant to back Obama. The AP reports that Boren and other Democrats may be reluctant to endorse Obama because he "does not go over so well in a fair number of Democratic lawmakers' home districts. So it seems there is little chance that some will endorse him for president."
Similarly, in a "Political Diary" column in the Wall Street Journal, John Fund writes about the "trickle" of "potential dissidents" among House Democrats, including Boren, FL16 Rep. Tim Mahoney, and GA8 Rep. Jim Marshall, who are "shying away from their party's presumptive presidential nominee because of his liberalism." The Politico reports that such "centrist Democrats from conservative districts" as MS1 Rep. Travis Childers and NC11 Rep. Heath Shuler plead having been too busy to endorse a candidate."
The AP reports this morning that "prominent" backers of Sen. Hillary Clinton are "embracing" Sen. Barack Obama, "literally and figuratively, even though some remain bitter about her loss in a presidential primary process that they feel treated her unfairly." In "several key states this week, Obama is being joined on stages by top Democrats who, a few weeks ago, were working to deny him the nomination," such as North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that Obama campaign manager David Plouffe will meet this week with a group of Clinton fundraisers in New York and New Jersey, despite some "resistance" to supporting Obama. "Seeking to unite the Democratic Party and the candidates' donor bases, campaign officials are also in the midst of arranging a joint meeting with the candidates to introduce Mr. Obama to Mrs. Clinton's biggest money collectors sometime over the next two weeks. The Clinton campaign's senior fund-raising officials have been holding conference calls with fund-raisers" to urge them to back Obama. "But several people involved in the calls said it was obvious from the tenor of them that emotions remained raw for many." In fact, "several categorically ruled that out in interviews."
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Sen. Barack Obama leads Sen. John McCain 47%-41% in a new NBC News/WSJ poll of 1,000 registered voters taken June 6-9. Obama's "lead is significantly smaller than Democrats' 16-point advantage, 51% to 35%, when voters are asked which party they want to win the White House, without candidates' names." NBC Nightly News adds, "In our first snapshot of the general election match up, people say they want change over experience by a wide margin. So does that give Barack Obama a head start? Actually not. When asked specifically about Obama versus John McCain it becomes a very tight race. Why? The poll shows Obama has problems with two key groups, first white men who say he's too liberal and doesn't share their values." NBC adds, "His second problem, suburban women."
Obama Leads By Six In New Jersey A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,472 likely New Jersey voters taken June 5-8 shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain 45%-39%.
Obama Leads By 13 Points In Wisconsin The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports this morning that a University of Wisconsin-Madison poll of 506 likely Wisconsin voters taken June 8-10 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-37%.
Obama Up 18 In Washington State A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Washington state voters taken June 9 shows Obama leading McCain 53%-35%.
Obama Up Big In Massachusetts A new poll out from Suffolk University shows Obama leading McCain 53%-30% in Massachusetts. The poll surveyed 500 registered voters from June 8-June 10. The Boston Globe adds that Obama's "lead would be even bigger if he could corral Clinton backers. In the survey, 26 percent of her supporters said they were undecided and 20 percent said they would vote for McCain. 'While November is still five months off, with only 54 percent of Massachusetts Clinton voters saying they'll vote for Obama, it portends unity problems in swing states where the margin is much closer,' David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk's political research center, said in a statement."
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The New York Times reports the House on Wednesday "narrowly defeated a plan to provide added unemployment aid for Americans whose benefits are running out after Republicans, bolstered by a White House veto threat, opposed the measure." The Democratic plan "to provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits to Americans out of jobs...fell 3 votes short of approval in a 279-to-144 vote." The AP notes, "Republicans complained that the bill would give money to states that still have low unemployment rates" and "would let people get long-term jobless benefits by working as little as two weeks."
The Washington Post reports it "was unclear yesterday whether the measure would be received with equal enthusiasm in the Senate." Majority Whip Richard Durbin "said a free-standing bill would face 'an uphill battle.'" The Hill notes House Democrats "rushed the bill to the House floor after the Labor Department last week reported that the unemployment rate had jumped from 5 percent to 5.5 percent, the largest monthly increase in 20 years."
Fox News reported that a House appropriations "subcommittee on Wednesday rejected a Republican-led effort to open up more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration." The proposal, spearheaded by Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) "would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone." The proposal was voted down by a "party-line vote" of 9 to 6 as it was being considered "as part of an Interior Department spending package." Florida's St. Petersburg Times says supporters of the effort "contend that increasing domestic production will help tame prices."
Meanwhile, McClatchy reports an "unusual argument keeps surfacing in support of drilling off the US coastline and in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Some Republicans ask why the US should be "thwarted from drilling in its own territory when just 50 miles off the Florida coastline the Chinese government is drilling for oil under Cuban leases?" Though "no one can prove that the Chinese are drilling anywhere off Cuba's shoreline," the "legend has gained momentum and has been swept up in Republican arguments to open up more US territory to domestic production."
The Washington Post notes Vice President Cheney "called for a substantial increase in domestic drilling for oil and other natural resources, including in environmentally sensitive areas, saying that only increased production -- and not new technology -- will satisfy the nation's demand for energy." Cheney said, "The Chinese are, in cooperation with the Cuban government. Even the communists have figured out that a good answer to high prices is more supply.'"
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On the second stop of his European trip yesterday, President Bush won support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a new round of sanctions against Iran. During a press conference, the AP reports Bush "raised the possibility of a military strike to thwart Tehran's presumed nuclear weapons ambitions, speaking aggressively even as he admitted having been unwise to have done so previously about Iraq." But Merkel "made clear her views on the saber-rattling -- however subtle -- without directly countering" Bush. "I very clearly pin my hopes on diplomatic efforts," Merkel said, "reflecting the deeply held European opinion that military action against Iran is nearly unthinkable." Still, she "joined Bush in urging further sanctions against Iran if it fails to suspend its uranium enrichment program."
Similarly, the New York Times reports the joint news conference "illustrated the distance between" Bush and Merkel. While Bush "stressed again that 'all options are on the table,' which would include military force, Mrs. Merkel chose to emphasize diplomacy and the need to enforce the current sanctions." Merkel said she "strongly supported" a new round of sanctions approved by the UN, but "she also seemed to signal that she did not support the kind of actions Mr. Bush has urged individual countries to take in addition to the United Nations sanctions, as for example the United States already does." Further measures, she said, "need to be negotiated in the Security Council of the United Nations." The Financial Times likewise reports that "cracks were visible between" Merkel and Bush.
Meanwhile, AFP says Bush "arrived in Rome Wednesday hoping Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will help tighten the squeeze on Iran and step up help for war-battered Afghanistan, aides said." Bush "was to hold separate talks with his staunch Iraq war ally on Thursday and with Pope Benedict XVI on Friday before heading to France."
Ahmadinejad: Bush A "Wicked Man" The AP reports Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday called Bush a "wicked man" who "had set out to damage Iran, but failed to halt its nuclear program and would not succeed in his goal of attacking" the nation. During an address in the city of Shahr-e Kurd, Ahmadinejad said, "This wicked man desires to harm the Iranian nation. (Bush) made plans, moved into Afghanistan and then Iraq, and announced that Iran was the third target." He continued, "I tell him...your era has come to an end. With the grace of God, you won't be able to harm even one centimeter of the sacred land of Iran." The New York Times notes Ahmadinejad "made his remarks just days before Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, is to visit Tehran and present a new offer of incentives to try to persuade Iran to suspend nuclear enrichment."
"Iranian-Based" Terrorist Arrested In Iraq USA Today reports, "The US military said it captured an Iranian-trained bomb expert Wednesday southeast of Baghdad during a raid on the man's home." The suspect "is believed to have traveled to Iran several times for explosives training, and has numerous Iranian contacts who help him smuggle weapons and bombmaking materials into Iraq, according to a military statement."
In a development seen as adding even more strain to relations between the US and Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror, the Financial Times reports Pakistan on Wednesday strongly criticised a US military airstrike near the border with Afghanistan that officials claimed was responsible for the death of 11 Pakistani soldiers." Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell "defended Tuesday's air strikes as 'legitimate', but said the US was working with the Pakistani government to find out exactly what had happened."
Rhetoric from Pakistani officials was markedly heated. Pakistan, AFP reports, called the US strike "cowardly," and accused "the US-led coalition in Afghanistan of launching an unprovoked attack on a checkpost in Pakistan's volatile Mohmand tribal zone while the foreign office demanded an investigation." In its "unusually harsh statement," a Pakistani army spokesman "condemned this completely unprovoked and cowardly act, " adding, "The incident had hit at the very basis of cooperation and sacrifice with which Pakistani soldiers are supporting the coalition in the war against terror." Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani "condemned the incident, telling parliament: 'We will take a stand to preserve the sovereignty, dignity and respect of the country.'"
A Pakistani military spokesman, Maj. General Athar Abbas, told McClatchy, "This was on purpose. ... There was no engagement on our side. We consider this a deliberate act of aggression. I'm dumbfounded." And Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general, told McClatchy, "It's a disaster. ... How can we call ourselves allies when this sort of thing happens? This will create greater mistrust. The only beneficiaries will be the militants."
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Jay Leno: "President Bush gave a big speech today in Europe. He says he regrets giving the false impression that he is not a man of peace. But see, that's the problem. Oh, you start one or two little wars, and right away, oh, everybody jumps to conclusions."
Jay Leno: "According to 'The Washington Post,' Barack Obama and actress Scarlett Johansson are e-mail buddies. ... So, you got a...23-year-old gorgeous, blonde actress e-mailing a married presidential candidate. Well, what could go wrong there, huh?"
Jay Leno: "Not to be outdone today, John McCain admitted he had been exchanging flirty e-mails with Angela Lansbury. And there's talk of Rue McClanahan."
Jay Leno: "Hillary Clinton's camp says she is not actively a seeking the vice president nomination. Passive aggressively seeking it, yes, but not actively."
David Letterman: "NASA has announced a plan to take a trip to the sun. ... So, apparently, the search for bin Laden continues."
Jimmy Kimmel: "President Bush is in Europe right now, on a tour of Germany, Italy, France, England, and several other countries that hate him."
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