Energy week continued yesterday in the presidential race. On the Democratic side, Sen. Barack Obama asserted that Sen. John McCain's energy policies were lifted from Vice President Dick Cheney. NBC Nightly News showed Obama saying, "When George Bush took office he had an energy policy. He turned to Dick Cheney and he told Cheney, go take care of this. So, John McCain has taken a page out of the Bush-Cheney playbook." The AP reports Obama "told an audience in Youngstown, Ohio, that the Bush energy policy, crafted in large part by Vice President Dick Cheney, an ex-oilman, tilted to provide tax breaks and favorable treatment for Big Oil and that McCain would expand oil industry tax breaks by $4 billion." Bloomberg News quotes Obama as saying during another stop, "Here in Ohio, you're paying nearly $3.70 a gallon for gas -- two and a half times what it cost when President Bush took office. Senator McCain not only wants oil companies to keep every dime of that money, he wants to give them more."
The Washington Post adds that McCain, however, "noted that it was Obama, not he, who had voted for" President Bush's "2005 energy bill, which included major subsidies for oil companies. NBC Nightly News showed McCain saying, "When the energy bill came to the floor of the Senate full of goodies and breaks for the oil companies, I voted against it. Senator Obama voted for it."
Obama also reacted to the McCain camp's criticism of his energy plans. The CBS Evening News reported that Obama "repeated his contention that drivers could save a lot of gas if their tires were properly inflated. The McCain campaign has mocked him for that, even offering tire gauges on its web site." Obama said, "It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant. You know? I mean, they think it's funny that they're making fun of something that is actually true. I'm sorry. What's everybody yelling about now?"
Democrats Looking To Link Cheney With McCain More Broadly The linking of McCain and Cheney by Obama appears to be part of a coordinated offensive by the Democrats. The AP reports the Democratic National Committee "rolled out a new Web site on Tuesday called 'The Next Cheney.' It assails McCain's potential vice presidential picks and links each to Cheney." U.S. News & World Report reported on its 'Washington Whispers' blog, "'It doesn't matter who [McCain] picks,' says DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse. 'They are cut from the same cloth' as Cheney. ... The DNC paints a negative portrait of the seven with...statements about each potential veep: ... Florida Gov. Charlie Crist: 'Crist has an impressive resume of questionable ethics and shady dealings, just like his hero George Bush.' Mitt Romney: 'Romney changed his positions on immigration and Social Security to match Bush and Cheney's.'"
ABC World News reported Sen. John McCain "toured the 20 year-old Fermi nuclear facility near Detroit today, a campaign swing meant to highlight his call for building dozens of new atomic power plants in the US." The New York Times adds McCain "portrayed his support of nuclear energy as part of an 'all-of-the-above approach' to addressing the nation's energy needs at a time of $4-a-gallon gasoline. He called it 'safe, efficient, inexpensive and obviously a vital ingredient in the future of the economy of our nation and in our mission to eliminate over time our dependence on foreign oil.'" The Politico adds that at the plant, McCain "recounted his experience as being stationed on the USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. 'I knew it was safe then and I know it's safe now,' said McCain."
However, the AP contends that "recent events somewhat undercut that message. Last week, the Navy announced that one of its nuclear-powered submarines, the USS Houston, had leaked minimally radioactive water into harbors since March as the sub traveled around the Pacific."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
The Washington Post reports this morning that John McCain "has taken out a $6 million ad buy for airtime during the Beijing Games...$1 million more than Democratic rival Barack Obama had previously committed to his own media buy." Adweek /Mediaweek says, "Ad buys for both candidates include on-air spots on the NBC broadcast network and NBCU cable properties over the course of the 17 days of Olympic Games coverage. Candidates' spots will run in prime time, late night and on weekend daytime coverage of the event." The New York Daily News quotes Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group saying, "Basically, these guys have 90 days to close the deal with voters, and between now and then, this could be the high watermark in terms of eyeballs."
The AP reports that Sen. John McCain "conceded" in a new TV ad released yesterday "that 'we're worse off than we were four years ago,' and said he is the candidate best positioned to usher in an era of change. 'Washington's broken. John McCain knows it,' says the commercial, which is implicitly critical of both President Bush and Barack Obama." The Washington Post says that McCain's assertion "contrasts sharply with his declaration months ago that 'Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good, prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened.'"
USA Today reports that in the spot, titled "Broken," McCain "is distancing himself from the tenure of a fellow Republican - President Bush," whose "approval ratings are among the lowest of any president in modern history. And Obama has been telling voters that electing McCain would mean a 'third Bush term.' The Democrat himself has used a variation of the 'are you better off?' line in recent weeks."
Hilton Mocks McCain In Web Video Meanwhile, the AP reports Paris Hilton, "the blonde, doe-eyed celebrity thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, issued a tart rebuttal Tuesday, albeit in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way. Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, suggesting Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation. ... 'I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead,' she said." The Los Angeles Times reports that Hilton's video, "on the comedy website Funny or Die, calls McCain 'the oldest celebrity in the world, like super-old, old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket.'"
The CBS Evening News reported that Sen. Hillary Clinton "plans to campaign for Barack Obama in Las Vegas on Friday, but there are still lingering doubts about whether some Clinton supporters really will become Obama voters." With Sen. John McCain hammering away at Obama's relative inexperience, former president Bill Clinton was given a chance by the media to declare that Obama is ready to be president, but passed it up. CBS showed a reporter asking Bill Clinton, "Is he ready to be president?" Clinton responded, "Well, you could argue that no one's ever ready to be president." Because Sen. Clinton had used the same "inexperienced" issue in the Democratic primaries against Obama, Bill Clinton's answer has once again flamed speculation that the Clintons are not fully behind Obama's candidacy. However, the New York Daily News reports that Sen. Clinton "will play Las Vegas for Obama on Friday, and then head to South Florida on Aug. 21. The stops are expected to focus on voter registration and pushing reluctant Clinton faithful to embrace the Illinois senator. She's also likely to raise some money in the lucrative stomping grounds." The Politico's Ben Smith says "the Clintons and their allies may forgive Barack Obama for beating Hillary Rodham Clinton...but there's one sore point they're not quite ready to absolve: leaving the impression that Bill and Hillary Clinton have a race problem."
The CBS Evening News reported, "When Republicans convene in St. Paul next month," Vice President Dick Cheney "may not be there, very unusual for a sitting vice president. His press secretary told CBS News today he may be out of the country during the convention." CNN reported Cheney "will be a no-show at the Republican convention in Minnesota, Republican officials said, citing a desire by Sen. John McCain's campaign to turn the page on the Bush-Cheney years." According to the AP, six GOP senators "have decided to skip the GOP convention. Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine all face tough re-election campaigns. Two others, Wayne Allard of Colorado and Larry Craig of Idaho, are retiring."
Three new polls out in the last 24 hours paint different pictures of the presidential contest. An AP /Ipsos poll of 833 registered voters taken July 31-August 4 shows Barack Obama leading John McCain 47%-41%. The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,674 registered voters taken August 2-4 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-43%. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for August 5 shows McCain and Obama tied at 44% apiece, and McCain up 47%-46% with leaners.
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Top
NBC Nightly News reported in last night's broadcast that "the soaring price of oil is now creating a huge budget surplus for Iraq. In a new report today, US government auditors say that the Iraqis will earn almost $79 billion by the end of the year from these higher oil prices, and some leading senators, including Carl Levin, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, are saying it is inexcusable that they are not rebuilding their own country." The Wall Street Journal adds that while Iraq "is generating revenue of about $80 billion a year," it is "spending only about 1% of the total on maintaining critical infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and sanitation," according to an audit by the Government Accountability Office released Tuesday. Meanwhile, "the US has appropriated around $48 billion in the past several years to help reconstruction efforts." The GAO's findings, says the AP, "prompted renewed calls from senators that Baghdad pay more of the bill for its own reconstruction."
Similarly, the Washington Post reports the GAO's findings "are likely to fuel further congressional discontent over ongoing US payments to rebuild Iraq," though US officials "have cited several reasons for Baghdad's problems, including a shortage of trained staff, weak procurement and budgeting systems, and violence." The New York Times adds that "in an odd financial twist, a large amount of the surplus money is sitting in an American bank in New York -- nearly $10 billion at the end of 2007, with more expected this year, when the accountability office estimates a skyrocketing surplus." McClatchy and The Hill run similar reports.
The Hill reports that House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter "is lambasting President Bush on his decision not to call Congress back into session to deal with the energy crisis." McCotter, "known for his frank and sometimes unusual political opinions...accused 'Beijing George' Bush of throwing House Republicans 'under the bone-dry bus' on his way to the Olympics in China." McClatchy, meanwhile, notes House Republicans "completed a third day of their odd revolt over energy that on Tuesday had about 10 lawmakers speaking without microphones to about 100 tourists in a darkened House chamber. The Republicans are demanding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi call members back from a five-week summer recess and hold votes on domestic oil drilling."
The Hill says Republican leaders "called for reinforcements Tuesday to ramp up pressure on Democrats with an extended battle over gas prices. House GOP bosses put out a call for their entire conference to participate in the energy protest." The Hill also notes that former Speaker Newt Gingrich "applauded the House Republican energy protest, calling it the first 'serious energizing revolt we've seen since the early 1990s.'" On the other hand, The Hill also reports that the liberal group MoveOn.org "is urging its supporters to 'push back hard.'" MoveOn "plans to point to the ties between the GOP and Big Oil."
Networks Note Easing Gas Prices The CBS Evening News, in its lead story, reported, "Can you handle some good news about the economy? Let's begin with oil, because after falling more than two dollars, today, it is now below $120 a barrel, more than $25 off its all-time high. The continuing slide has gas down as well, to $3.87 a gallon -- that's about 25 cents off its record peak." ABC World News added, "The rapid reversal is all the more remarkable, considering the dire headlines forecasting prices as high as $200 a barrel just a few weeks ago. Now, the experts are talking about $100 a barrel and less."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
NBC Nightly News reported last night that in his new book The Way Of The World, journalist Ron Suskind "argues there was evidence before the war that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. The source: Iraq's intelligence chief, Tahir Jaheel Habbush, who Suskind writes, first met with British intelligence early in 2003, months before the invasion was launched." Yesterday, former CIA director George Tenet said in a statement that Suskind "is wrong" and "insists that Habbush was considered unreliable." NBC added, "There is another explosive charge in the book - in order to bolster the connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq, Suskind says, the White House ordered the CIA to write a fake letter from...Habbush, claiming that 9/11 ringleader Mohammad Atta trained in Iraq prior to September 11th. Tonight, the White House calls that allegation 'absurd' and denies, as the President has repeatedly, ever misleading the public about the need for war."
The Washington Post notes Suskind writes in his book that "Habbush's accounts were shared with top officials at the CIA and the White House, where they were dismissed as Iraqi deception." After the US-led invasion of Iraq, "Habbush was paid $5 million by the CIA for serving as an informant and resettled in Jordan. It was then, according to Suskind's account, that White House officials decided to enlist his help with the alleged forgery." But according to the AP, "Two former CIA officers Tuesday denied that they or the spy agency faked an Iraqi intelligence document purporting to link Saddam Hussein with 9/11 bomber Mohammed Atta." Robert Richer, the CIA's former deputy director of clandestine operations, said, "I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document...as outlined in Mr. Suskind's book." Richer also "said he talked Tuesday to John Maguire, who headed the CIA's Iraq Operations Group at the time and who gave Richer 'permission to state the following on his behalf: 'I never received any instruction from then Chief/NE Rob Richer or any other officer in my chain of command instructing me to fabricate such a letter."
The New York Times reports, "In a case that has drawn international attention, Texas executed José E. Medellín on Tuesday night in defiance of an international court ruling and despite pleas from the Bush administration for a new hearing." He was executed "shortly after the United States Supreme Court denied a last request for a reprieve." Gov. Rick Perry "rejected calls from Mexico" as well as "the State Department, the attorney general and the White House...to delay the execution." According to the Times, Medellín and five others in his gang "took part in the rape and murder of...Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 14. The gang raped the girls for an hour, then strangled them." AFP notes that Texas ignored "a last minute appeal from UN chief Ban Ki-moon and a world court order asking for a reprieve." The Houston Chronicle and the AP, among other media outlets, also cover this story.
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Top
Jay Leno: "Yesterday was Barack Obama's birthday. I believe he turned a little to the right, if I'm not mistaken.
Jay Leno: "Of course, Obama's supporters got him his usual birthday gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
Jay Leno: "Barack Obama now says he's open to offshore oil drilling. So, apparently, when he promised change, he was talking about his mind."
Jay Leno: "Well," the "price of oil is coming down. It's dropped from $147 a barrel all the way down to $118 a barrel today." The oil companies "said they will pass those savings on to you 'as soon as hell freezes over.'"
Conan O'Brien: "John McCain does not want Dick Cheney to attend the Republican convention, because he says he's too unpopular. ... When asked to comment, Cheney said, 'I hope the Senator reconsiders.' Then he turned into a bat and flew away."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Top
Click image for larger view.
Smart analysis, insightful reporting, in-depth perspective—in a new, digital format.
Log in | Buy Now | See sample
View sample page 2View sample page 3View sample page 4View sample page 5advertisement
Get your POLITICALBULLETIN
Click image for larger view.
Smart analysis, insightful reporting, in-depth perspective—in a new, digital format.
Log in | Buy Now | See sample
View sample page 2View sample page 3View sample page 4View sample page 5Embed exclusive U.S. News headlines, rankings, columns, and blog postings to your Web site, blog, or social network.
advertisement
Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
