Remarks by former Sen. Phil Gramm (R), a top economic advisor to Sen. John McCain, are drawing heavy negative attention for the candidate in the latest media cycle. ABC World News, which reported the story as its lead last night, said, "So, how bad is the economy? Not all that bad, says a key economic adviser of John McCain." The "fundamentals of the economy may be sound, as Gramm argues, but there are a lot of people suffering right now." ABC added "Gramm suggested to the Washington Times that the bad economy is just a figment of people's imagination." Gramm: "You just here this constant whining, complaining. ... We've sort of become a nation of whiners."
The CBS Evening News reported, "The problem is what Gramm says about economics is in direct contrast to what McCain has been arguing about CEO pay and Wall Street greed. Gramm is a passionate deregulator, thinks this is all class warfare, and when your top economic advisor is talking about a nation of whiners when your message this week is 'I feel the pain of the average American' -- not so hot."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story Gramm "expressed no regret" for the comments, but "the McCain campaign quickly shifted into damage-control mode, distancing the candidate from his friend's assessment." Fox News' Special Report said that at a news conference in Michigan, McCain "seemed to throw his top economic adviser and national campaign co-chairman, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, under the Straight Talk Express." John McCain: "Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me." NBC Nightly News reported, "The trouble for McCain, he has relied on and praised his long-time friend's expertise."
The Wall Street Journal adds Obama "seized on the comments. At a town-hall meeting at a high school in Fairfax, Va., Sen. Obama quoted Mr. Gramm's 'mental recession' and 'nation of whiners' remarks." Obama said, "Now, I want all of you to know that America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy." However, one attempt by the Democrats to exploit the issue appeared to flop. In a story headlined "If Senate Democrats Slam McCain, Will Anyone Hear?" Roll Call reported on its website, "Despite the media hubbub over" Gramm's remarks, "only a handful of reporters showed up Thursday to hear Senate Democrats blast the high-profile economic adviser to" McCain.
Sen. John McCain's campaign reported its fundraising totals for June late yesterday, and the CBS Evening News reported that McCain "is raking it in. He reported today he raised $22 million in June. It was his best month yet." USA Today adds that McCain started July with $27 million in cash and has brought in a total of $144 million.
The Washington Post reports that McCain campaign manager Rick Davis predicted yesterday that, between the campaign and the Republican National Committee, there will be $200 million spent on behalf of McCain prior to the start of the GOP convention on September 1.
Obama Struggling? On the other side of the aisle, the Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Obama's campaign says they brought in around $30 million, and "While this isn't a poor showing, it is an underwhelming haul for a campaign that has ballooned in recent months, has promised a true, 50-state electioneering effort and has told its biggest fund-raisers that it wants to collect $300 million in general-election cash by mid-October." The Journal says, "The reason for the lower-than-expected numbers for Sen. Obama, fund-raisers said, was his continuing difficulty in getting former supporters of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to open their purses for him." Similarly, the Washington Post reports the "fundraising machine" that Obama "is relying on" to "overwhelm" McCain "has shown signs of wear in recent weeks, as Internet contributions have slowed and efforts to recruit top donors to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton have been beset by lingering tensions."
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The current media cycle is now analyzing the impact of Rev. Jesse Jackson's comments about Sen. Barack Obama and their effect on the campaign. The CBS Evening News reported, "There's been a lot of talk out there today in the stratosphere that this might inadvertently help Barack Obama. How so?" Analyst Jeff Greenfield said, "Here you have Barack Obama trying to argue 'look, I'm not the black candidate.' Being attacked by a symbol of an older race-based identity-based politician and being attacked for calling on the black community to be more personally responsible. It's the kind of attack I'm sure the Obama campaign would welcome every single day." Similarly, the New York Times reports Democratic presidential candidates used to fear "they would lose black votes if they got on Mr. Jackson's bad side, given the influence he accrued as a civil rights activist and his history-making races for the White House in 1984 and 1988." But if "his recent critical comments about Senator Barack Obama prove anything, Democrats and political scientists said Thursday, it is that a Jesse problem these days can actually help a candidate like Mr. Obama - with white voters who have questions about whether Mr. Obama shares their values, and with black voters who see Mr. Jackson as a figure of the past." Other print media echoed the same theme, with the Financial Times, for example, saying the comments gave Obama "an unwitting political gift."
The Washington Post reports Sen. Barack Obama "said yesterday at a town hall meeting in Fairfax County that if elected president, he would bolster the economy by helping working mothers. It was his second visit to the area since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee and occurred on a day when his likely Republican foe was also reaching out to Northern Virginia voters." Sen. John McCain, "who spent the day in Michigan and Minnesota, also spoke to Northern Virginia voters yesterday, in a telephone conference." The Washington Times adds, "Democrats are excited about his chances because" Obama "could win Virginia -- following the model set by the party's recent statewide victories -- by capturing a big margin in Northern Virginia. Earning enough votes there can deliver the entire state."
While Sen. Barack Obama was looking to make inroads into GOP territory in Virginia, Sen. John McCain was doing in the same in Democratic territory in the Midwest. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press both report that McCain campaigned in Wayne County, Michigan yesterday, where he pitched voters on his economic plan, while the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press reported he did the same in Minnesota's Twin Cities yesterday.
A Pew Research Center poll of 2,004 adults taken June 18-29 shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain 48%-40% among registered voters. McClatchy says the Pew survey shows the "presidential race remains volatile and unpredictable, largely because of a huge bloc of undecided swing voters." Independents "make up about one-third of the electorate, and those who have preferences are split virtually evenly between Obama and McCain, with 42 percent for Obama and 41 percent for McCain." However, "some 46 percent of independents are undecided or only lukewarm toward their current choices."
Obama Up By Three In Gallup Poll The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll shows Obama leading McCain 46%-43%, up from a 46%-44% lead the previous two days.
Race Tied In North Dakota A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 600 likely North Dakota voters taken July 8 shows Obama and McCain tied at 43% apiece.
Obama Up 11 In Wisconsin A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Wisconsin voters taken July 8 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-39%.
The AP reports this morning that the Obama campaign is apparently vetting Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) as a running mate. Dodd, whose own presidential campaign never got out of the starting gate, "indicated Wednesday that he has been approached by the campaign. 'There's been some inquiries, yeah,' Dodd said. 'They ask for a lot of stuff. I'll leave it there.'"
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President Bush signed FISA reform legislation yesterday, an event that sparked little media attention. However, the passage of the bill is said to show once again that Bush retains considerable clout on national security issues. The AP reports Bush "signed a bill Thursday that overhauls rules about government eavesdropping and grants immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the US spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases." The measure's passage "was a major victory for Bush, an unpopular lame-duck president who nevertheless has been able to prevail over Congress on most issues of national security and intelligence disputes." Another AP story reports, "For an unpopular guy on his way out of his office, President Bush still has some juice."
AFP notes that Bush recalled the 9/11 attacks at the signing ceremony, saying, "The attack changed our country forever. We realized America was a nation at war, against a ruthless and persistent enemy." Fox Special Report reported the President "says the law will be a vital tool in making sure another 9/11 does not happen."
Meanwhile, in a letter to the editor of the New York Times, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero says "a weak Democratic Congress passed a law giving the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mail messages and telephone calls." The Hartford Courant notes Sen. Chris Dodd also "lamented the signature...that made the update of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act into law." Said Dodd, "With one stroke of his pen, the President has ensured that the truth behind his unprecedented domestic spying regime will never see the light of day."
Chris Hedges, who "was part of the team of New York Times reporters who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for reporting on global terrorism," writes in today's Los Angeles Times that if the "sweeping surveillance law," which gives "the US government nearly unchecked authority to eavesdrop on the phone calls and e-mails of innocent Americans -- is allowed to stand, we will have eroded one of the most important bulwarks to a free press and an open society."
Obama Denies Changing FISA Stance CNN's The Situation Room reported, "In October, when he was seeking the Democratic nomination, an Obama spokesman said he would support a filibuster of any bill with legal immunity for telecom companies that aided government wiretapping. But, Wednesday, Obama supported a bill with immunity for those telecoms." Pressed by "an angry questioner at a town hall meeting in Virginia, Obama said Thursday he has not changed his position." Obama: "The surveillance program is actually one that I believe is necessary for our national security. And, so, I had to balance, or weigh, voting against a program that I think we need and that had been created so that your privacies were protected, or create a situation in which we didn't have that program in place." Paul Krugman, in his New York Times column, said that Wednesday was "the worst of days, it was the best of days," as "Senate Democrats capitulated to the Bush administration on wiretapping -- with Barack Obama joining the coalition of the craven."
Gen. David Petraeus, who was the object of sharp questioning by some Democrats before his counter-insurgency strategy was implemented in Iraq, won confirmation as top US general for the Central Command. The AP reports the Senate "handily confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as the top commander in the Middle East and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno to succeed Gen. Petraeus as the chief military officer in Iraq." The Senate "voted 95-2 in favor of Gen. Petraeus with Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd and Tom Harkin opposing." Harkin "cast the lone vote opposing Gen. Odierno, who was confirmed 96-1." ABC World News briefly noted that "the two men, who have managed and led the surge in Iraq, will take their new positions this fall."
The Hill, meanwhile, says yesterday's vote "did little to ease the political conflicts over the war's management, with Democrats denying the vote symbolized the war's overall success but Republicans insisting it did." The New York Times reports "an aide to Mr. Harkin said he opposed both nominations 'because he does not believe that either General Petraeus or General Odierno will take us in the direction we need in Iraq, namely setting a timetable for redeployment of US forces.'"
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The New York Times reports House Democratic leaders "took a hard line Thursday against opening up restricted areas to oil production as Republicans threatened to try to keep Congress in session this summer unless they got a vote on new drilling opportunities." And "even as some Democratic lawmakers called on Congress to open up restricted areas to drilling," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "said the government must first press oil companies to explore the federal land they have already leased."
Bipartisan House Group Backs Drilling The Hill reports, "The House is going to have its own 'gang' of Republicans and Democrats who want to push for more drilling to relieve gas prices. The Democrats in the group, led by Rep. Neal Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), will be bucking" Speaker Pelosi, "who earlier Thursday called efforts to open up new areas to drilling 'a hoax.'"
The Wall Street Journal reports, "House Democrats moved Thursday to counter a Republican push for more domestic drilling with a proposal that would increase oil production from areas of Alaska already open to drilling." Their "plan would speed up production in the National Petroleum Reserve, an area in Alaska already approved for drilling but where so far much of the land hasn't been leased."
In his blog for The Politico, John Bresnahan writes Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that "the House Judiciary Committee may hold hearings on an impeachment resolution offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)." Pelosi "has said previously that impeachment 'was off the table,' so her comments this morning were surprising, and clearly signaled a new willingness to entertain the idea of ousting Bush."
In a front-page story, the New York Times reports that even as "aggressive evictions are making rent-stabilized apartments increasingly scarce in New York," Rep. Charles B. Rangel "is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units" at Lenox Terrace, a luxury development in Upper Manhattan "that is described in real estate publications as Harlem's most prestigious address." He "uses his fourth apartment, six floors below, as a campaign office, despite state and city regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence." Rangel has a net worth of $566,000 to $1.2 million but "paid a total rent of $3,894 monthly in 2007 for the four apartments."
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Jay Leno: "You know, with gas prices approaching $5 a gallon here in California, a lot of people are starting to use bicycles as transportation. ... In fact, coming in today, I saw Jesse Jackson backpedaling all the way.
Jay Leno: "But...I don't think Jesse learned his lesson," because today, "he was overheard saying he wanted to cut off John McCain's Medicare."
Jay Leno: "McCain is coming under fire for comments made by his top economic adviser, former Senator Phil Gramm, who called America 'a nation of whiners' and said the country is only in a 'mental recession.' ... Like the $5-a-gallon gas and the bank kicking you out of your house, that's all in your mind! You're just imagining that!"
Jay Leno: "For the first time in American history, Congress' approval rating has fallen to just 9%. ... To give you an idea how bad that is, the oil companies are at 12%."
Conan O'Brien: "Presidential candidate Ralph Nader says that this November he expects to be on the ballot in at least 45 states. Yeah. Yeah, Nader's exact quote was, 'I hope to screw things up in at least 45 states.'"
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