A top advisor for Sen. John McCain is causing him some media grief. The Washington Post reports this morning that Charlie Black, in an interview with Fortune, said "a fresh terrorist attack 'certainly would be a big advantage to him.'" Black also "said that the December assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, while 'unfortunate,' helped McCain win the Republican primary by focusing attention on national security." Black said, "His knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us."
The comment was noted on all three network news programs, with ABC World News saying, "And Charles Black, a senior adviser to John McCain, is quoted today as saying a terrorist attack on US soil would 'be a big advantage to his candidate.' McCain said he could not imagine why Black would say this, and he strenuously disagreed." The CBS Evening News also carried the quote, but showed McCain saying, "If he said that, and I do not know the context, I strenuously disagree." NBC Nightly News added that Black "said, tonight, that he regretted making the comments and that they were inappropriate."
The Washington Times adds that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign "called the comment a 'big disgrace,' and Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, said that by even thinking of an attack in political terms, Mr. Black was practicing 'the worst of the Rove-Bush fear playbook.'"
The Financial Times reports that Black's comments "put into words what many Republicans and Democrats have privately been stating for months." In a blog posting on the website of The Politico, Jonathan Martin related, "Most independent observers would agree that any such national security event would benefit the candidate with more experience and a military background, but such views are rarely so candidly articulated by campaign operatives." Indeed, ABC News reported on its 'Political Punch' blog, "it's worth recalling that Sen. Hillary Clinton...in August 2007, while campaigning in Concord, NH, similarly noted the political advantage a terrorist attack might give the Republican candidate. 'It's a horrible prospect to ask yourself, 'What if? What if?' But if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made the world,' Clinton told supporters in Concord. 'So I think I'm the best of the Democrats to deal with that.'"
In a move that is garnering him significant print media attention this morning, the AP reports Sen. John McCain "said Monday that the search for alternatives to the country's dependence on foreign oil is so urgent that he's willing to throw money at it." McCain "proposed a $300 million prize for whoever can develop a better automobile battery, and $5,000 tax credits for consumers who buy new zero-emission vehicles." The Washington Post says McCain "proposed the reward -- which equates to about $1 for every person in America -- along with tougher mileage standards for automakers and large tax credits for the purchasers of alternative-fuel, hybrid or electric cars in a speech in Fresno, Calif." The New York Times reports McCain also "called for improving the enforcement of fuel economy standards, building more cars that could run on alternative fuels, dropping the tariff on imports of sugar-based ethanol from Brazil and offering big tax credits for nonpolluting cars." USA Today reports historians "said the offer of a multimillion-dollar prize appears to be a presidential campaign first."
However, the story was mostly ignored by the network news shows. The CBS Evening News was the only one to cover it, and gave it only a single line.
Energy Experts React Favorably The San Jose Mercury News reports, "Energy experts and Silicon Valley companies investing in car-battery technology mostly applauded the news. 'McCain's idea is to motivate the car companies to do something more. It's all about the plug-in hybrid now, which are trickling into the test market,' said Andy Frank, a University of California-Davis professor and pioneer in developing electric-car technology. 'They want to stick their toe in before jumping in. McCain is saying, 'Here's some money, jump in now.'" McClatchy drew "a warm welcome from energy analysts" although some environmentalists were concerned that "new vehicles might trade one problem for another if they get off of oil only to plug into coal-burning power plants."
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The AP reports this morning that Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton "plan to campaign together Friday in the small New Hampshire town of Unity, their first joint appearance meant to ease tensions over the closely fought Democratic primary." The location, "announced Monday, was chosen not only for the symbolism of its name, but because each candidate received exactly 107 votes there in the Jan. 8 primary." The Hill adds that the joint appearance "will likely also renew speculation regarding a 'unity' ticket" with Clinton as Obama's running mate.
In addition, ABC World News reported, "Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton spoke by phone last night about bringing the party together and retiring Clinton's campaign debt."
However, the New York Daily News cautions that "experts and Clinton loyalists say it will take more than a town called Unity or a coincidental tie in a primary vote to bring the two camps together. A more significant unity event is set for Thursday night when Clinton and Obama huddle privately in Washington with Hillary's deep-pocketed donors and fund-raisers. Clinton desperately needs the help of Obama, and his 1.4 million supporters, to retire her eye-popping $22 million debt." Similarly, the New York Post reports that the "carefully scripted media event comes at a time when there are signs of lingering disUnity between the rival camps," such as anger in the Clinton camp of the hiring of fired campaign chief Patti Solis Doyle by the Obama campaign.
Sen. Barack Obama campaigned across New Mexico yesterday and is heading to Nevada today, both key states this cycle. Fox News' Special Report reports Obama "tried to make his case to a group of working women that he is the candidate who will stand up for women's issues traditionally associated with the Democratic Party." Obama said: "I'll continue to stand up for equal pay as president. Senator McCain won't. I have a clear plan to expand paid leave and sick leave. John McCain doesn't. Unlike Senator McCain, I will index the minimum wage to inflation, so it goes up each year to keep pace with rising costs." The Albuquerque Journal reports Obama told a group of women at a campaign stop that "he understands the plight of working women - he was raised by one and is married to one - and if elected president will work to change the country's culture of expecting more from women and paying them less. 'We know that too many American daughters grow up facing barriers to their dreams, barriers that their male counterparts don't have to deal with. The system is stacked against women,'" said Obama. The Los Angeles Times says Obama is specifically targeting women voters, because they "generally supported" Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.
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Two federal government reports yesterday offer contrasting pictures of the situation in Iraq. While network television reports focused exclusively on a mostly upbeat report from the Pentagon, print media outlets focused their coverage overwhelmingly on a more pessimistic report by the Government Accountability Office. The Pentagon report, NBC Nightly News reported, concluded "that overall, major violence is down, as much as 80%, compared with the peak of the violence in that period before the so-called troop 'surge.'"
ABC World News reported, "The Iraq war is not over, but according to today's report, the situation on the ground has improved substantially in the past year. Civilian deaths are down 75% since last July. Total security incidents are at their lowest level in over four years."
Fox News' Special Report noted the report also "called Iran's role in Iraq a major security challenge," charging that "despite promises to the Iraqi government to the contrary, Iran continues to fund, train, and arm and guide Shia extremist organizations."
Meanwhile, the GAO report took a notably more pessimistic view of the situation in Iraq. The New York Times reports that "beyond the declines in overall violence in Iraq," the GAO found that "several crucial measures the Bush administration uses to demonstrate economic, political and security progress are either incorrect or far more mixed than the administration has acknowledged." Administration figures, according to the report, "broadly overstate gains in some categories, including the readiness of the Iraqi Army, electricity production and how much money Iraq is spending on its reconstruction."
The Washington Post reports that "after a bleak GAO assessment last summer," yesterday's report "cited little improvement in the ability of the Iraqi security forces to act independently of the US military, and noted that key legislation passed by the Iraqi parliament had not been implemented while other crucial laws had not been passed."
The Los Angeles Times says, "Ominously, both the Pentagon and GAO reports note potential problems with the so-called Sons of Iraq program." The GAO concludes that "most Sunni Arab groups whose members have been brought into the program have yet to reconcile their differences with the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government," while the Pentagon "said the program faces the challenge of combating infiltration by extremist groups and concluded that the Iraqi government cannot currently manage the effort."
In a news analysis, the AP reports, "As the last of the five additional combat brigades now heads home, it leaves the country far safer than it was a year ago. Yet Iraq is still not ready to stand alone."
The CBS Evening News, meanwhile, reported on "dramatic evidence that Iraq has become safer. According to USA Today, last month, 11 Americans were killed by roadside bombs. That's down 88% from a year ago, when 92 Americans were killed. Officials credit better protection and more help from Iraqi forces."
NBC Nightly News reported President Bush on Monday "nominated its first female four-star general. She is General Ann E. Dunwoody. She will run the US Army's Global Materiel Command." USA Today /AP reports, "If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman in the US Armed Forces to attain the rank of a full general." The Wall Street Journal /AP also publishes the AP report, while the Washington Post notes the nomination in a story tiled "Army General's Nomination Called Historic."
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The Washington Post reports lawyers for Congress "tried yesterday to persuade a federal judge to take the unprecedented step of ordering top White House aides to comply with a House committee's subpoena for information about the controversial firings of US attorneys." House Judiciary Committee attorneys told "US District Judge John D. Bates that he should force former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers to testify and White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten to turn over documents."
The AP reports Judge Bates' "exchange...over the politically sensational option of ordering the House sergeant-at-arms to arrest Miers showed just how reluctant the judge was to wade into a dispute between the other two coequal branches."
According to The Hill, Carl Nichols, the principal deputy associate attorney general, argued that Democrats in Congress "failed to negotiate in a reasonable way. ... He also argued that Congress could have decided to withhold Justice Department appropriations or refused to pass judicial nominations."
The Hill reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "announced that the chamber would vote Tuesday on a handful of judgeships that have stymied legislative action in recent weeks. His office and Judiciary Committee aides later confirmed that two circuit court nominees and three district court nominees are scheduled for pending votes, although it is unclear how many of them will be voted on immediately Tuesday."
The Wall Street Journal reports lawmakers "eager to curb speculation in oil markets got support Monday from witnesses who told a House subcommittee that oil prices could fall sharply if Congress put strict limits on trading in energy futures by investment banks, pension funds and other financial investors." However, CFTC officials "disputed the findings of a Congressional study that concluded 70% of trading in certain key oil futures contracts is now speculative."
The CBS Evening News reported at the House hearing, a "series of charts detailed the massive influx of money pouring into the oil futures market from pension and hedge funds and investment banks, whose only intention is to make money, not actually own oil. ... Experts testified, today, by ending or severely limiting speculation, the price of oil could drop as much as 50% within a month."
ABC World News reported, "There's no doubt speculation plays a role in the sky-rocketing price, but how much? Experts say, if it were just simple supply and demand, a barrel would cost $75. ... According to Moody'sEconomy.com, $30 a barrel is actually driven by those speculators, investors from hedge funds to everyday pensions who are betting so much that the price of oil will go up, they're actually driving that price up even further."
The Christian Science Monitor reports proposals "range from new constraints on speculators including a 50 percent margin requirement on financial speculators, full disclosure of all trading by investment banks in all markets, and prohibiting investment banks from holding energy assets to more funding and regulatory mandates for the [CFTC]."
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The AP reports the Supreme Court declined Monday "to hear arguments in a case brought by environmental groups that could have slowed or even halted" the Department of Homeland Security's border fence project "that stretches from the Pacific surf at Tijuana to the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas." DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff "has waived more than 40 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest border." Further "legal challenges" to the fence remain.
The New York Times reports that Monday's decision, along with a decision to review a dispute between environmentalists and the Navy regarding the impact of sonar use on whales, strengthened "the Bush administration's drive, at least for now, for sweeping executive powers in the post-9/11 world." The Los Angeles Times reports yesterday's "refusal is not a ruling, and it doesn't mean the justices won't reconsider the issue. But for now, Chertoff and his department have the go-ahead to proceed with the fence. Nearly half the barrier has been built."
The Washington Post reports "the two-mile stretch of the fence in question, within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Arizona, has already been completed."
The AP reports, "Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist said the situation has gotten so bad that the world's only hope is drastic action." In House testimony, James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Sciences, stated that "Earth's atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes" and that "coal-fired power plants that don't capture carbon dioxide emissions shouldn't be used in the United States after 2025, and should be eliminated in the rest of the world by 2030."
The Washington Post's Dana Milbank says that during Hansen's "I-told-you-so tour...he made a point of saying the biggest worry isn't what we put in our cars, but what we put in our power plants."
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David Letterman: "Barack Obama" has "apparently" started "a fashion trend, and Italy is designing clothing based on how Barack Obama dresses. And I said, 'Well, yeah, that'll connect him with the angry working class voters.'"
David Letterman: "But...John McCain" has also "inspired a new line of clothing. And I believe if you want some of the John McCain stuff, it's being sold at the Very Old Navy."
Craig Ferguson: "John McCain says that if elected president, he will give a $300 million prize to anyone who can design a new car battery." McCain "can get a new type" of battery "invented because he's the guy...that came up with the idea of not cranking" the car "up at the start."
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