Sen. Barack Obama, who has faced accusations in recent days that he is making a run for the political center, yesterday "dismissed criticism that he is abandoning his principles to move toward the political center, saying he has been consistent in embracing moderate views on several issues, especially his belief that pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq must be done 'carefully,'" the Washington Post reports this morning. The New York Times reports Obama said yesterday, "Look, let me talk about the broader issue, this whole notion that I am shifting to the center. The people who say this apparently haven't been listening to me." The New York Post adds, "Republicans unloaded on Obama for his comments, compiling a list of 17 examples where they said he had flip-flopped. 'Everyone's been listening and still nobody knows what Barack Obama truly believes,' said John McCain's spokesman Tucker Bounds."
As the presidential candidates vie for the backing of the nation's Hispanic voters, McClatchy reports Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, speaking at the League of United Latin Citizens national convention yesterday, said "they remain committed to passing comprehensive immigration legislation, despite its defeat in Congress and unpopularity with voters who prefer a heavier emphasis on border security." The Houston Chronicle reports Obama "on Tuesday promised Hispanic activists that he would make comprehensive immigration reform a priority in his first term and slammed his GOP rival, John McCain, for backing away from the hot-button issue."
However, while McCain addressed the issue, he did not highlight it. The Chronicle says McCain's address "was largely devoted to economic policy and only briefly touched on immigration." The Dallas Morning News reports McCain's "tightrope act on immigration continued" yesterday, noting that he also stressed the importance of border security, and adds that the "mixed signals irritated Hispanic advocates and conservative anti-immigrant hardliners alike, and it opened him to attacks."
In a story headlined "Tale of two speeches: Latino crowd gives polite applause to McCain, standing ovation to Obama," the San Francisco Chronicle reports that McCain "won only polite applause," while Obama "drew a standing ovation after delivering a rousing populist speech aimed directly at their core concerns -- immigration, education and health care."
Obama Calls For Students To Learn Foreign Languages In a blog posting on the website of the Washington Times, Christina Bellantoni writes about "an under-covered moment" from Sen. Barack Obama's townhall-style appearance in Georgia yesterday, in which he said that voters "should not be worried about making the United States an 'English-only' country. He said he agrees immigrants should learn English, but felt the concern should be more about global competitiveness. 'Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English, because they will learn English, you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish,' he said. 'We should have every child speaking more than one language.'"
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The AP reports this morning that in his "first negative ad of the general election campaign," Sen. Barack Obama said Sen. John McCain is "part of the problem" on energy prices. The AP says the commercial is a "sharp retort" to "a Republican Party ad launched this weekend" that "accuses Obama of offering no new solutions to solve high gas prices and global warming." The Washington Post notes that ad is running in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
In its analysis of the ad, the New York Times' Jim Rutenberg says the ad "does an effective job of tying [McCain] to Mr. Bush, whose approval ratings remain at basement levels. But Mr. Obama is running on a promise to focus on solutions, not the usual political bickering, so such advertisements can carry a risk of undercutting one of his main themes."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sen. John McCain is also up on the air with a new TV ad in which he highlights his 5 ½ years as a POW in Vietnam. In an analysis, the AP says the ad "covers much ground: His 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, his time as a senator and a not-so-veiled dismissal of rival Barack Obama's campaign as one of words, not substance. The strong subtext: McCain has sacrificed; Obama has not. The riskier subtext: Vote for action, not hope." NBC Nightly News last night reported on the new ad and NBC political director Chuck Todd said, "This is a part of the retooled McCain campaign" and a "reintroduction" of the Senator.
The Politico reports Mike Murphy, "a political consultant who helped mastermind Sen. John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, will not be reboarding the Straight Talk Express." The Politico adds that for weeks "speculation has swirled in political circles that Murphy would be brought in to reprise his role as chief strategist and to help McCain develop a message for a campaign that has largely been without one." The New York Times adds that in an interview, Murphy said "that the flurry of speculation about a return to Mr. McCain's circle - at a time when the McCain camp was showing new signs of internal strife - was endangering the candidacy of his friend and that he wanted to put an end to it."
The Hill adds that in contrast to the changes in the McCain camp and speculation on more to come, "the lack of shake-ups, discord or back-biting from" Sen. Barack Obama's campaign "is not just night-and-day different from McCain's team, but a remarkable story in itself, according to both Democratic and Republican strategists."
CNN's The Situation Room interviewed Mitt Romney, a potential VP candidate, who said that in John McCain "you have an individual who understands what it takes to keep America safe. And our first responsibility is to keep America safe and to make sure that we are not only safe, but that we're free and prosperous. And John McCain has the skill and the experience to do those things. You know, Barack Obama's a charming, well-spoken person, but he's never actually run anything. He's never had the experience of leadership."
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Iraq's national security advisor, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, yesterday plainly stated that a withdrawal timetable for US troops is essential to getting a status of forces agreement with the United States. The Financial Times calls the declaration "the strongest yet by an Iraqi official regarding the politically difficult negotiations between Iraq and the US over the latter's military role in Iraq." The CBS Evening News called the comments "a sign Baghdad is growing more confident as the violence decreases."
However, ABC World News reported the "idea does not sit well with the White House." The move reflects "a little bit of domestic politics" as "the Iraqis are feeling very good about some security operations they ran recently in Sadr City, and in the south, in Basra. And they want to let the Americans know they don't want to be completely pushed around." The Washington Post notes "a US Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, would not directly address Rubaie's comments." AFP, however, says "the Shiite-led government's demand...was swiftly rejected by Washington."
The AP reports Ali al-Adeeb, "a Shiite lawmaker and a prominent official in the prime minister's party, told The Associated Press that Iraq was linking the timetable proposal to the ongoing handover of various provinces to Iraqi control."
The New York Times says "the insistence on withdrawal is a popular position for many Shiites, and has been championed by one" of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "chief rivals, the rebel Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr."
WSJournal: Maliki's Move A Positive Sign The Wall Street Journal says in an editorial that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's comments "are an assertion of confidence in his country's stability and not without cause. ... More important, Iraq seems to have been able to consolidate the security gains achieved by the surge, even as the last of the surge brigades deployed in 2007 are now returning to the US."
The Financial Times reports Russia "warned on Tuesday night that it would be forced to make a military response if elements of the planned US missile defence system began to be deployed in the Czech Republic." The Washington Post notes the US and the Czech Republic had earlier in the day "signed an initial agreement Tuesday allowing the US military to build a radar station southwest of Prague as part of an antiballistic missile defense system in Eastern Europe." The New York Times notes the accord still "needs to be ratified by Czech lawmakers, many of whom oppose it." The Washington Times, AP and AFP run similar reports.
Yesterday, the New York Times reports, "a senior Iranian official was quoted...as threatening that Iran would respond to any military attack by striking Israel and America's vital interests around the globe." Ali Shirazi, a representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said, "In case that they commit such foolishness, Tel Aviv and the US fleet in the Persian Gulf would be the first targets to burst into flames receiving Iran's crushing response." The Financial Times reports the "blunt language" was "not the first time Iran has threatened retaliation should it be attacked. But the regime is being increasingly specific about how it would respond, and this is the first time it has named Tel Aviv as a potential target." AFP also notes "Iran warned on Tuesday it would 'set fire' to Israel and US forces in response to any attack over its nuclear drive, as the world's leading industrial powers told Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment."
Ahmadinejad Sees No Chance Of War. The AP reports Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday "that he sees no possibility of a war between his country and the United States or Israel." When asked "to comment on whether he has called for the destruction of Israel," the Iranian leader said it "will be eventually destroyed and there is no need of any measure by Iranian people."
US Imposes Sanctions On Iranian Firms The AP reports the Bush Administration "moved Tuesday to impose financial sanctions on Iranian officials and companies accused of helping the country develop nuclear weapons." The action by the State and Treasury Departments "marks the latest effort to tighten the financial noose on Iran."
Iran To Seek Security Council Seat The Washington Times reports, "Tehran will seek a seat on the powerful U.N. Security Council next year, despite the trade sanctions the body has imposed to slow Iran's nuclear program."
USA Today reports some of "the government's top scientists were forced by Vice President Cheney's office to downplay the health dangers of global warming when testifying before Congress, a former senior EPA official said Tuesday." Jason Burnett, "who resigned last month as the Environmental Protection Agency's associate deputy administrator, refused to name who forced the deletion of health concerns." The Wall Street Journal notes the "increasingly open conflict between the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House," and the fact that Burnett is an Obama supporter who "has contributed extensively to the campaigns of other Democrats -- giving more than $100,000 since 2000."
The Washington Post reports that in a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Burnett "said an official from Cheney's office edited out six pages from the testimony of Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last October." The AP says "Burnett's assertion...conflicts with the White House explanation at the time that the deletions reflected concerns by the White House Office of Science and Technology over the accuracy of the science." The New York Times reports, "White House officials bluntly rebutted Mr. Burnett and Mrs. Boxer." The Los Angeles Times reports, "For Cheney, the new accusation, coming as he winds down his time in Washington, is similar to criticism he faced early in his vice presidency over private meetings he held to shape national energy policy."
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Jay Leno: "And John Kerry is now criticizing John McCain. Kerry says McCain does not have the judgment to be president. I don't think that's true. I mean, McCain had the good judgment not to accept Kerry's offer to be his running mate in 2004."
Jay Leno: "Well, the Democrats are now preparing for their convention in Denver, and they have hired the first-ever 'Director of Greening.' They say this will ensure that everything about their convention will be green, including nominating a candidate who has only been a senator for a couple years."
Conan O'Brien: "Yesterday, President Bush met with the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Afterwards, Bush regarded him as, quote, 'a smart guy.' Yeah. Yeah, when asked how he knows he's smart, Bush said, 'He speaks fluent Russian.'"
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