A widely-distributed AP story reports Sen. Hillary Clinton "will headline her own night" at the Democratic Convention, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign said yesterday. The AP calls the move, which gives Clinton the headline slot on Tuesday August 26, a "nod to her strong second-place showing in the party's presidential primary." The New York Times reports since "locking up the nomination, the Obama camp has worked to try to mend political fences with the Clintons after a bitter primary contest, and that includes giving Mrs. Clinton a high-profile appearance at the convention and a platform for her delegates to be acknowledged." The Denver Post notes that Clinton's time slot "is nearly the same" as that given to Obama in 2004.
However, the issue of how the Clintons will be integrated into the convention remains in turmoil. The New York Sun reports that it is still not clear if Clinton "will be included in the roll call vote for the nomination," a move some of her supporters support, "which could make the party appear divided heading into the final stretch of the White House race."
The Hill adds that "frustrated" supporters of Clinton "are planning multiple rallies at the Democratic convention in Denver, coupled with television and print advertisements. ... The Denver Group, formed a couple of months ago by two Clinton backers, says it has filmed a television commercial and is looking to air it soon. ... Meanwhile, another pro-Clinton group called '18 Million Voices' is organizing a march on Aug. 26 in Denver 'and nationwide to support Sen. Clinton and advocate for women's rights worldwide.'" U.S. News and World Report adds "Clinton's supporters refuse to fade away, and some think she could still win the party's nod with a last-minute campaign to elbow Obama aside. Clinton backers are planning a demonstration in Denver on the second night of the gathering, when she is expected to speak. That's also the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage."
How Obama handles Clinton's supporters could have a significant impact in the general election. The Chicago Daily Herald reports, "Democratic pollster Celinda Lake last week found 76 percent of Clinton primary voters saying they will vote for Obama, 18 percent for McCain. But 18 percent of 18 million is a sizable and potentially vocal voting bloc, one capable of casting a shadow over the unity efforts of grass roots activists who have spent the two months since Obama clinched the nomination trying to build bridges after a long, often bitter primary battle."
Michelle Obama To Headline Convention's Opening Night The Washington Post reports Obama's campaign also announced that his wife, Michelle Obama, "will be the star attraction on the opening night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25."
The announcement that Sen. Hillary Clinton is getting a key speaking slot at the Democratic Convention comes amidst revelations that her top strategist urged harsh attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's roots. The New York Daily News reports that Mark Penn urged Clinton "to undermine Barack Obama as a quasi-American whose 'lack of American roots' are outside the political mainstream. According to an inside-the-bunker article being published in The Atlantic on Monday," Penn "ridiculed Obama's 'boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii,' arguing Obama's multicultural diversity could be exploited. Penn, in a memo to Clinton, urged that 'every speech should contain the line you were born in the middle of America' and include 'the deeply American values you grew up with, learned as a child and that drive you today." The Politico adds that the Atlantic will report that Penn "suggested getting much rougher with Obama in a memo on March 30, after her crucial wins in Texas and Ohio: 'Does anyone believe that it is possible to win the nomination without, over these next two months, raising all these issues on him? ... Won't a single tape of [the Reverend Jeremiah] Wright going off on America with Obama sitting there be a game ender?'"
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John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic VP candidate and 3rd place finisher in 2008, was widely considered to be a frontrunner for a top position in a Barack Obama administration, but that appears to be unlikely in the wake of revelations on Friday that he conducted an affair with a campaign aide. The Washington Post reports Edwards "admitted" on Friday "he had an extramarital affair with a filmmaker working for his campaign and repeatedly lied about it, but he denied that he fathered her 5-month-old baby." In an analysis story, USA Today says Edwards had been expected to help Obama "win votes among union members and low-income workers. He might have been a contender for a Cabinet position such as attorney general." Edwards' "political future was unclear before the scandal," but now "any potential voter or Cabinet vetter would have to consider loose ends" from this episode.
It also means an end to Edwards' aspirations to speak at the Democratic convention this year. Edwards, the AP reports this morning, was left off of a list of speakers at the Democratic Convention released yesterday.
Meanwhile, Newsweek's Jonathan Darman writes about an interview he conducted with the woman Edwards had the affaire with, Rielle Hunter. Darman writes, "writes, "She told me her name and asked me what my astrological sign was, which I thought was a little unusual. ... Her speech was peppered with New Age jargon -- human beings were dragged down by 'blockages' to their actual potential; history was the story of souls entering and escaping our field of consciousness. ... 'Do you talk about this stuff with the candidate?' I asked. 'All the time,' Rielle replied. ... 'So tell me,' I asked, 'what do you think of Elizabeth Edwards?' 'I've only met her once,' Rielle said. 'She does not give off good energy. She didn't make eye contact with me.'"
Hunter's comments on Edwards' wife, who has an incurable form of cancer, is generating attention from the media this morning. Under the headline, "HOW DARE THAT BRAZEN FLOOZY!" the New York Post adds, "John Edwards' nasty mistress cattily dissed his cancer-stricken wife to a friend -- and later coldly blamed the ailing spouse for getting her fired from a videography job on her lover's presidential campaign, a new report claims." The New York Daily News says Hunter "compared John Edwards with Gandhi and went around trashing his cancer-stricken wife, it was reported Sunday."
Mainstream Media Caught In "Box" For Not Reporting On Affair Allegation In the Washington Post's "Media Notes" column, Howard Kurtz says the "whispered allegations about John Edwards were an open secret that was debated in every newsroom and reported by almost none." Even as "some national news organizations tried halfheartedly to confirm the tawdry tale, they ignored it in public -- wary of the National Enquirer, of Edwards's dismissal of 'tabloid trash,' of wading once again into the swamp of sexual scandal without definitive proof." But by "early last week, journalists were in the awkward position of refusing to report on explosive allegations that were almost certain to knock the former North Carolina senator out of the Democratic convention. They were in a box of their own making, one that came to feel airtight and uncomfortable." According to U.S. News and World Report, "One question that is emerging is whether the coverage of Edwards's moral lapse will encourage the news media to investigate the private lives of other public figures, including presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama."
In a blog posting, The Politico reported that Sen. John McCain's campaign manager on Sunday "repeatedly declined to rule out the possibility that the Republican nominee may pledge to serve just one term." Rick Davis, on Fox News Sunday, "demurred three times when Chris Wallace raised the prospect that McCain may use the Republican convention next month to make such a promise. Wallace raised the prospect - much discussed in political circles - that McCain could combine the one-term pledge with a vow that he would run an apolitical administration."
The Financial Times reported over the weekend that "an adviser" to Sen. John McCain's campaign said Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I) "is being vetted as a potential running mate" for McCain. Lieberman "has long been considered an unconventional but plausible choice" for McCain. Another adviser said it was unlikely McCain "would base his decision on 'tactical considerations.'" The adviser added, "He can be pragmatic, but on the biggest decisions he tends to favour his instinct for the bigger picture." The Detroit News reports that Lieberman is also out doing some campaigning for McCain, and will join him on the trail in Michigan on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal interviews Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, saying that "if there is such a thing as campaigning to become somebody's vice president, Mr. Pawlenty is doing a good job in the auditions."
U.S. News & World Report reported on its 'Washington Whispers' blog, "Didn't like Sen. John McCain's 'Celebrity' ad featuring snapshots of Paris and Britney? Sorry. It's probably just the beginning of a long, negative campaign. And here's the reason, according to our friends at the Quinnipiac University Poll: 'This election is about Sen. Barack Obama, not that Senator McCain is not an important figure. But Senator Obama is either going to win or lose because Americans are going to decide that he can sit in the Oval Office and that he's able to do it. And clearly a myriad of polls are showing that Americans are skeptical,' says assistant director Peter Brown. 'From Senator McCain's point of view, he has no choice if he wants to win but to convince the American people that Senator Obama is not fit to be president of the United States, and you don't do that running a positive campaign.'"
The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,659 registered voters taken July 7-9 show Barack Obama leading John McCain 46%-43%. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for August 10 shows Obama leading McCain 45%-43%, with Obama up 48%-46% including leaners.
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Russia expanded its military intervention in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia over the weekend. Russia's intent remained unclear as its troops, tanks, and warplanes continued to press their advantage against the undermanned Georgians in the breakaway province of South Ossetia and beyond. In China for the Olympics, President Bush condemned the Russian move as "disproportionate," while in Washington, Vice President Cheney said the Russian move must not go "unanswered." The Financial Times reports Georgia "said on Sunday that it was pulling its troops out of the separatist province of South Ossetia, but its appeals for a ceasefire in the widening conflict in the Caucasus failed to halt Russia's mounting military response." The New York Times reports Russia "expanded its attacks on Georgia on Sunday," suggesting that its "aims in the conflict had gone beyond securing the pro-Russian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to weakening the armed forces of Georgia." Two senior Western officials "said that it was unclear whether Russia intended a full invasion of Georgia, but that its aims could go as far as destroying its armed forces or overthrowing Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili."
The AP reports, "The violence appeared to show gargantuan Russia's determination to subdue diminutive, US-backed Georgia, even at the risk of international reproach." NBC Nightly News reported, "Russian tanks and soldiers poured into the devastated South Ossetian capitol of Tskhinvali...after crushing a three-day Georgian attack to take control of its breakaway province. The ferocity of the fighting could be seen on the streets" as "Georgian soldiers retreated." The Washington Post reports on its front page that Russia "ignored calls for a truce and continued to bomb targets deep in Georgia, with little apparent opposition, drawing new condemnation from the United States and other Western countries."
Under the headline "Bush's Waning Term Gives Adversaries Time To Maneuver," the Wall Street Journal reports, "From the Caucasus Mountains to the Middle East and South Asia, US diplomats and strategists say historical US adversaries, such as Moscow and Tehran, appear to be exploiting Washington's impending political transition, and the White House's fixation on Iraq, to pursue international actions that might otherwise spark a more robust response from Washington and its allies."
Similarly, the Wall Street Journal reports on its front page that "as the fighting spreads to Abkhazia on Georgia's Black Sea coast, some Western diplomats are worrying aloud over the regional implications of a new order in which Russia reserves the right to use force to impose its will on neighboring states." The Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, McClatchy and Washington Times run similar stories.
Saakashvili Asks For US Help ABC World News reported that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "gave another impassioned plea to the international community to come to his country's aid." But "so far, the US has shown no sign that it will offer Georgia military assistance." However, the US "is carrying 2,000 Georgian troops back home from their stations in Iraq."
Saakashvili, on CNN's Late Edition, urged the US to "stop intervention and invasion of my sovereign country. ... I think the U.S. has lots of leverage. And I think there are lots of diplomatic means that it could be done through. And, basically, I think this is not about Georgia anymore. This is about basic values of humanity, of American values that we always, ourselves, believed in."
Writing in the Wall Street Journal this morning, Saakashvili says, "This war is not of Georgia's making, nor is it Georgia's choice. The Kremlin designed this war. Earlier this year, Russia tried to provoke Georgia by effectively annexing another of our separatist territories, Abkhazia. When we responded with restraint, Moscow brought the fight to South Ossetia. Ostensibly, this war is about an unresolved separatist conflict. Yet in reality, it is a war about the independence and the future of Georgia."
Russia Wants Saakashvili Out The Washington Post reports Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "told the United States on Sunday that Georgia's democratically elected president must step down in order to settle the military conflict between the two countries," according to the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad."
The Wall Street Journal reports that while addressing the council, Khalilzad said Lavrov's statement "raises serious questions about Russia's objectives. This is completely unacceptable and crosses a line." Separately, the Wall Street Journal reports that "later, at a news conference in Moscow," Lavrov "said his comments were misinterpreted and that he wasn't demanding Mr. Saakashvili's removal." But, he said that "a man who issued orders to commit war crimes which resulted in thousands of deaths of peaceful civilians cannot be viewed by Russia as a partner."
McCain, Obama Battle Over Response To Georgia Crisis ABC World News reported that for Barack Obama and John McCain, the crisis "is the first chance for the presidential candidates to demonstrate their response to an international crisis." The Wall Street Journal notes "McCain's top foreign-policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, is a leading expert on US-allied Georgia -- and was a paid lobbyist for the former Soviet republic until March, in the run-up to what has become a major battle between Georgia and Russia." Obama's campaign "was quick to try to paint Mr. Scheunemann's dual roles as a conflict of interest after" McCain "swiftly took Georgia's side in the dispute, and cited it as evidence that Sen. McCain is 'ensconced in a lobbyist culture,' as Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan told reporters over the weekend."
U.S. News and World Report reports, "Angered by high gas prices," House GOP leader John Boehner "calls this the 'Drill-Nothing Congress,' as he pushes for expanding oil exploration. ... Do-nothing, in this case, is also the subtext of the drill-nothing charge, now that House Republicans have commandeered the House chamber -- since its recess began last week -- to urge Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put a halt to the five-week break." The Washington Times notes House Republicans "say they will continue to interrupt their summer break this week to hold daily protests at the Capitol in their ongoing push to expand domestic oil drilling, insisting the 'American people are with us.'" Republicans "say their message is spreading and that their populist-styled 'talk-a-thons are resonating with voters at home."
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As US and Iraqi negotiators near a security deal, the Iraqis are stepping up their insistence that the US include a timeline for the withdrawal of its troops. The AP reports Iraq's foreign minister "insisted Sunday that any security deal with the United States must contain a 'very clear timeline' for the departure of US troops." Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari suggested "that the departure schedule could be modified if the security situation changed," even as he "made clear that the Iraqis would not accept a deal that lacks a timeline for the end of the US military presence." The Los Angeles Times meanwhile, notes Zebari "said the pact 'is about to be finished' and probably would be presented to Iraq's parliament when lawmakers return from their summer break next month."
Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor reports, "Moqtada al-Sadr has taken yet another step in an attempt to transform his Mahdi Army militia from a force intent on battling US soldiers into a much broader social and political network that can still hold sway in the shifting landscape of Iraq." Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, who is "Sadr's chief spokesman, says that the new direction is part of a gradual shift. 'We've been seeing a change in the position of politicians,' he says, referring to the possibility of a firm timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. If there is a plan in place, he says, 'there will be no need for more opposition.'"
In an interview with AFP, the NATO commander in Afghanistan said "Pakistan's intelligence agency is helping the Taliban to pursue an insurgency in Afghanistan that has seen a 50 percent hike in attacks in some areas this year." US General David D. McKiernan said, "There certainly is a level of ISI complicity in the militant areas in Pakistan and organisations such as the Taliban."
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports from Peshawar, Pakistan, "Taliban fighters forced Pakistani soldiers to retreat from a militants' stronghold near the border with Afghanistan over the weekend, after a three-day battle sent civilians fleeing from government airstrikes. The pullback from Bajaur, an area of Pakistan's tribal region where the Taliban and Al Qaeda have forged particularly close ties, came after the military began an offensive there late last week."
Musharraf Aides Say He Will Not Quit The AP reports Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf "will not resign, despite mounting calls that he step aside to spare Pakistan the trauma of a bitter impeachment process," a spokesman said Sunday. Rashid Qureshi "spoke on the same day senior officials in Pakistan's ruling coalition met to prepare a list of impeachment charges to be brought against Musharraf, including accusations that he violated the country's constitution."
The Financial Times, meanwhile, reports, "A key party in Pakistan's ruling alliance claimed on Sunday to have the support of more than 300 of the 440 members of the two houses of parliament in its efforts to impeach" Musharraf. The Wall Street Journal reports "the Pakistan People's Party, the leading coalition partner, is in secret negotiations with Mr. Musharraf's aides to offer the former general immunity from prosecution if he agrees to step down."
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Jay Leno: "Well, Democrats are furious. They are going on record now saying John Edwards will not...be allowed to speak at the convention because of this affair. Yeah. Instead, speaking in his place, Bill Clinton."
Jimmy Kimmel: "For China, the Olympics are an opportunity to try to change the world's perception of them. And they put on quite an opening ceremony. They say it cost $300 million to produce, and it might have even been more expensive if they didn't have slaves."
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