As President Bush prepares to issue a call for an end to the offshore drilling ban, ABC World News reported that in a speech in Houston last night, Sen. John McCain "formally changed his position on drilling for potentially millions of barrels of oil offshore, although he continues to argue the U.S. should not drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." ABC added, "Barack Obama wasted no time today accusing McCain of flip-flopping. ... McCain fired back at Obama for his support of a windfall profits tax on oil companies. ... But it was only last month that McCain seemed open to the idea himself." NBC Nightly News reported McCain's proposal "exposed the dramatic difference between the two distinct sides in this energy debate. Some people see this as a painful but golden opportunity to develop new energy sources. Others, including Senator McCain say let's develop more of the oil we know is out there, some of it offshore." The CBS Evening News showed Sen. John McCain saying, "The next president must be willing to break with the energy policies not just of the current Administration but the administrations that preceded it."
Fox News suggests that McCain's calls for increased offshore drilling gives him the "political high ground" on the issue, since according to polls, "the public strongly favors that position." Fox adds that "Obama and most Democrats oppose increased coastal drilling and that puts them at odds with most voters on a potent pocketbook issue. However, The Politico says McCain "is placing a risky bet. He is wagering that skyrocketing gas prices have finally reached a tipping point, a threshold moment that has led voters to rethink their strong and long-held opinions against coastal oil exploration. ... If he is wrong, McCain will have seriously damaged his chances in two key states with thousands of miles of coastline - California and Florida - and where opposition to offshore oil drilling has been unwavering."
The Houston Chronicle reports, "The oil industry generally approved" of McCain's proposal, but the Los Angeles Times says McCain's call to lift the offshore drilling ban "angered many in the environmental community and put him at odds with several key Republican governors."
Crist Backs Lifting Ban The South Florida Sun-Sentinel says that in a "turnabout," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, "considered a possible running mate to" McCain, "shook up the Florida political scene by breaking the state's near-solid support" for a ban on off-shore drilling.
After Barack Obama suggested that the US legal system was adequate to the task of prosecuting terrorists in an interview on ABC's Nightline on Monday, the presidential campaigns rapidly traded charges on the subject. McCain surrogates suggested Obama had a pre-9/11 mindset about terrorism, while Obama forcefully responded himself, suggesting President Bush's anti-terror policy and the war in Iraq had hurt national security. The Washington Post reports in a front page story that the McCain and Obama campaigns "engaged in a heated exchange over the rights of terrorism suspects, with each side accusing the other of embracing a policy that would put the country at risk of more attacks in the future." CNN's The Situation Room ran a clip of McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann saying, "Senator Obama is a perfect manifestation of a September 10th mindset. He brings the attitude, the failures of judgment, the weakness and the misunderstanding of the nature of our adversary and the dangers posed by them to a series of policy positions."
However, the AP reports a "defiant" Obama said yesterday "he would take no lectures from Republicans on which candidate would keep the U.S. safer, a sharp rebuke to John McCain's aides who said the Democrat had a naive, Sept. 10 mind-set toward terrorism." Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane, Obama said, "These are the same guys who helped to engineer the distraction of the war in Iraq at a time when we could have pinned down the people who actually committed 9/11. This is the same kind of fear-mongering that got us into Iraq...and it's exactly that failed foreign policy I want to reverse."
The Boston Globe reports that the McCain camp "ratcheted up the back-and-forth by calling on his former rival, Rudy Giuliani, who made his national reputation as New York's mayor during and after the Sept. 11 attack. 'Barack Obama appears to believe that terrorists should be treated like criminals -- a belief that underscores his fundamental lack of judgment regarding our national security. In a post-9/11 world, we need to remain on offense against the terrorist threat which seeks to destroy our very way of life,' Giuliani said in a written statement."
Bin Laden Would Benefit From SCOTUS Ruling, Say Obama Advisers Meanwhile, the New York Post reports that Obama's "foreign-policy advisers said yesterday that Osama bin Laden, if captured, should be allowed to appeal his case to US civilian courts. Sen. John Kerry and former White House counter-terrorism czar Richard Clarke said bin Laden would benefit from last week's Supreme Court decision giving terrorism suspects habeas corpus, the right to appeal their military detention to civilian courts."
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The AP reports that in Michigan on Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama "recalled paying off his own mountain of student loan debt and promised struggling college students...he would help them pay for school." Obama said he "would give students a $4,000 tax credit to help pay tuition and fees in exchange for 100 hours of community service. The campaign said the program would cost $10 billion a year." Both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press note that Obama offered encouragement and support to a student at Wayne County Community College who is struggling to pay for college.
The Detroit Free Press notes that Sen. John McCain's campaign on Tuesday "said Obama's proposals would result in a big tax increase that would hurt, not help, job growth in the nation. 'Every college-savings account starts with a job, and Barack Obama has proposed tax hikes on over 21 million small businesses that drive job growth,' McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said."
The New York Times reports that Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton "are set to appear together" in Washington, D.C., "next week at a fund-raiser, their first side-by-side appearance since the long Democratic primary battle ended. The event, scheduled for June 26 at the Mayflower Hotel, is intended to encourage Mrs. Clinton's contributors to become part of Mr. Obama's financial team." The Washington Post adds that Clinton finance director Jonathan Mantz "has reportedly been working overtime to arrange the introduction of some of Clinton's fundraisers to Obama."
The AP reports, "Two people closely involved with Clinton's fundraising said the meeting had taken on added urgency after several of her money 'bundlers' complained that they felt their concerns weren't heard during meetings last week with Obama campaign officials in New York and Washington."
The Washington Post this morning analyzes a new McCain campaign ad that highlights his willingness to combat global warming and touts his opposition to Bush administration policy on the issue. The Post says McCain "is explicitly trying to distance himself from an unpopular president. And his chosen issue is climate change, which just happens to have special appeal for independent voters." In its analysis of the ad, the New York Times says that it "does a good job promoting a major policy difference between Mr. McCain and President Bush (not to mention most of the rest of his party)" which "could certainly" help increase McCain's "appeal to the independent voters over whom he and Senator Barack Obama are expected to fight intensely this fall."
USA Today reports the "first wave in a flood of spending by independent groups in the general election race for the White House came Tuesday with a TV ad blasting" Sen. John McCain for his backing of the war in Iraq. The spot was "paid for by the liberal MoveOn.org Political Action and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - two of the many outside groups and labor unions poised to spend millions to help elect" Sen. Barack Obama. The ad is running on cable and in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The Boston Globe reports, "'The ad aims to give voice to so many people who are frustrated that we seem to be stuck in Iraq,' said Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org's executive director. 'It speaks to the worry that people have that we'll be sending another generation of young men and women to Iraq if we continue.'"
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The latest Gallup daily presidential tracking poll shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain 46%-42%. The tracker has generally stayed in this range for the last week, with the only exception being one day last week that saw Obama's lead narrow to 44%-42%. The poll surveyed 2,605 adults from June 14-16.
A trio of new polls out this morning from Quinnipiac University shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain in all three. In Florida, Obama leads McCain 47%-43%. In Ohio, Obama leads McCain 48%-42%. In Pennsylvania, Obama tops McCain 52%-40%. Pollster Peter Brown said this morning, "Sen. Obama is certainly not out of the woods, but these results are a good indication that he enters the summer slightly ahead in the race to be the next president." Quinnipiac polled 1,453 likely Florida voters, 1,396 likely Ohio voters, and 1,511 likely Pennsylvania voters from June 9-16.
In other state polls:
Obama Edges McCain In Minnesota A SurveyUSA automated poll of 543 likely Minnesota voters released June 17 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-46%.
McCain Up By 12 In Kentucky A SurveyUSA automated poll of 626 likely Kentucky voters taken June 13, 14, and 16 shows McCain leading Obama 53%-41%.
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The Senate ethics panel will examine mortgage loans given by Countrywide Financial Corp. to Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd after news reports that the Senators were given favorable terms not available to all lenders. The Wall Street Journal reports that Sen. Kent Conrad "said the Senate Ethics Committee will look into mortgage loans he received from Countrywide Financial Corp." and that "the ethics panel is 'welcome to all the documents I have.'" Dodd "told reporters Tuesday he would be happy to cooperate with any inquiries from the ethics committee." The Washington Post notes Dodd said "he knew he was part of a 'VIP' mortgage program offered by Countrywide Financial, but he said he was not aware that the privilege included waiving fees that regular customers must pay to obtain lower interest rates." Countrywide waived about $2,000 on one loan and $700 on another.
The New York Times reports, "At a tense news conference," Dodd "flatly denied seeking or receiving any discount from the lender." However, the "concession that he never inquired or even wondered whether his special status with Countrywide might be related to his position as a senator prompted a barrage of new questions about the terms of his mortgages and about exactly what he knew and when he knew it." The Politico reports, "At least three times, a Dodd aide tried to end the press conference, but the questions kept coming from reporters."
The Hill reports, "Despite the scrutiny, the Senate is expected to move forward with the housing bill engineered by Dodd," and "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) brushed off suggestions from reporters that it could appear awkward to move to the housing legislation while a cloud is still hanging over Dodd's and Conrad's heads."
Roll Call reports one option "being considered by GOP leaders would be to threaten the possibility of an investigation into the mortgage bill and its potential benefits to Countrywide as a way to force Reid to give Republicans more flexibility in the number and types of amendments they can offer on the measure." The Financial Times (6/18, Bryant, Politi) also covers this story.
In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal former House Majority Leader Dick Armey writes, "The growing scandal surrounding the 'friends of Angelo' loans (so-called by company employees, referring to Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo) should serve as a political wake-up call." But "the Senate appears intent on pushing forward legislation, co-authored by Sen. Dodd, that would bail out the worst actors in the subprime mortgage banking industry."
The Washington Post reports a Federal appeals court "ordered a new trial for a former White House aide convicted of obstructing justice and lying, a setback for prosecutors in their four-year-old investigation into the activities of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff." A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit "tossed out charges that David H. Safavian, the former top contracting official in the White House, lied to investigators about Abramoff's inquiries into surplus federal property" and "concealed facts about a charter jet flight and lavish golf junket to St. Andrews, Scotland, and London in the summer of 2002."
The New York Times reports, "Mr. Safavian, now 40, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2006 by Judge Paul L. Friedman of Federal District Court here. He has been free pending appeals." The Times adds, "The Justice Department is studying the unanimous decision by the three-member appeals court panel to determine what to do next, said a department spokeswoman, Laura E. Sweeney." Roll Call says "the decision raised concerns among ethics advocates that the court is undercutting rules designed to ensure that government officials are not engaged in corrupt activity."
USA Today reports "stocks lost ground Tuesday as a troubling inflation reading showed just how much high energy prices continue to dog the economy. ... The Dow Jones industrial average fell 108.78 points, or 0.9%, to 12,160.30. The Dow is down 8.3% this year. ... The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index skidded 17.05 points to 2457.73. The index is down 7.3% this year." The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times run similar stories, while the AP notes "wholesale prices barreled ahead while housing and industrial activity faltered -- a blend of high-costs and slow growth that ensures the Federal Reserve's most likely move on interest rates next week will be no move whatsoever." The Labor Department's Producer Price Index "leaped 1.4 percent in May, the biggest increase in six months. Galloping energy and food prices, which are especially squeezing business profits, figured prominently in the index's pickup." Moreover, "the Federal Reserve reported that industrial production fell 0.2 percent in May, the second straight monthly decline," and the number of "new housing projects started in May fell 3.3 percent to a 975,000 pace -- the lowest in 17 years." The Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, all run stories alerting to the dangers of inflation to the US economy.
Are Things Not As Bad As All That? On the other hand, the Washington Post reports on its front page, "Ask Americans how the economy is doing, and their answer is stark: It is not just bad, it is run-for-the-hills terrible. Consumer confidence is at its lowest level in almost 30 years. Only 12 percent of Americans think the economy is in good shape. On the Internet, comparisons to the Great Depression are widespread." However, "the reality is different. According to most broad measures of how the economy is doing, it's not all that grim," and "so far, the economy is holding up better than it did during the last two recessions in 1990 and 2001." The Post adds, "This paradox has created a unique challenge for those guiding the economy, who worry that Americans' pessimistic views will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Two-thirds of the economy is consumer spending. So if peoples' negative outlook leads them to cut their spending, a steeper downturn could still happen."
The flooding in the Midwest was heavily covered by the media, with over nine minutes of air time devoted to it on national network newscasts -- including two lead segments and the story sharing top billing with California's first gay marriages on cable news. Major national newspapers also ran articles on the flooding, which included mention of the President's comments on the situation in the Midwest. The AP reports Bush "pledged housing help and other federal aid to victims of Midwest storms" and pledged to "work with Congress on emergency legislation to help replenish a federal emergency disaster fund. He told reporters there is enough in the fund to cover the most recent flooding disaster" but was concerned about future emergencies. The President plans to inspect the flood damage in a trip to Iowa on Thursday. The Hill notes the President stated that Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle would work with Congress 'to get enough money in the upcoming supplemental to make sure that has got enough money to deal with a potential disaster." The Washington Post says that according to Bush, "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will set up a task force to provide long-term help for people to get back into their homes." Meanwhile, "the federal government fears that the river could overflow 27 levees along the Mississippi if forecasts are accurate and a major sandbagging effort does not raise the levees sufficiently."
On its front page, the Los Angeles Times reports that in his first public comments, Rafid Ahmed Alwan --the infamous Iraqi informant code-named "Curveball," whose intelligence the White House used in making its case that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction "complains that the CIA and other spy agencies are blaming him for their mistakes." In a series of "sometimes reluctant interviews" with the Times, Alwan, who now lives in Germany, "emerged as a defiant and pugnacious defender of his intelligence contributions and reputation." Alwan told the Times, "I never said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, never in my whole life. I challenge anyone in the world to get a piece of paper from me, anything with my signature, that proves I said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."
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Jay Leno: "In political news, Barack Obama was endorsed by Al Gore at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit yesterday. I tell you something, you could feel the excitement in the room. It was unbelievable. And then Al Gore walked in."
David Letterman: "Al Gore has endorsed Barack Obama for president. ... Medical experts say this is great because it gives the Obama campaign a much needed shot of boredom."
Conan O'Brien: "Barack Obama's staff and John McCain's staff are busy now negotiating when the presidential debates will take place. ... Yeah, Obama wants them to be in September, and McCain wants them to be after his nap, but before 'Wheel of Fortune.'"
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