New polling data just released by Zogby International this morning shows Sen. John McCain jumping to a 5 point lead over Sen. Barack Obama nationally. The poll of 1,089 likely voters taken August 14-16 shows McCain leading Obama 46%-41%; a similar poll last month showed Obama leading McCain 47%-40%.
Obama Edges McCain Nationally In LAT/Bloomberg Poll Another new poll out this morning also shows McCain making strong inroads on Obama. A Los Angeles Times /Bloomberg News poll shows Obama leading McCain 45%-43% head-to-head, and 42%-41% if minor party candidates are included. The poll surveyed 1,248 registered voters from August 14-18. A similar survey in June showed Obama leading by 12 points.
Tracking Polls Show Similar Narrow Gap. The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll shows Obama leading McCain 45%-44%, down from a 46%-43% the previous day. The poll surveyed 2,648 registered voters from August 16-18. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for August 19 shows Obama leading McCain 45%-42%, and 47%-45% including leaners.
Obama Up By Single Digits In Iowa Poll The AP reports that according to a University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll conducted Aug. 4-13 Obama leads in Iowa 44%-38%. Including leaners, Obama leads 48%-43%.
McCain Up By 3 In Florida A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely Florida voters taken August 18 shows McCain leading Obama 46%-43%. In a similar survey in late July, Obama led 46%-45%.
McCain Up By 6 In Indiana A SurveyUSA automated poll of 645 likely Indiana voters taken August 16-18 for WCPO-TV Cincinnati and WHAS-TV Louisville shows McCain leading Obama 50%-44%.
Sen. Barack Obama has not yet announced his running mate, but the AP reports that the mystery individual is already on the campaign schedule the two will appear together at a rally in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday. Fox News Special Report adds, "It's unclear if this will be the first time Obama appears with his running mate."
Media speculation continues to build, and the focus turned yesterday to Joe Biden, whose presidential campaign never got off the ground. ABC World News says, "The mystery of who that running mate will be has created a media frenzy, with rampant speculation. Does it mean anything that Obama, today, praised the national security leadership qualities of one senator in his speech to veterans?" Obama said yesterday while speaking to the VFW, "I'm proud to join my friend, Senator Joe Biden, in calling for an additional one billion dollars in reconstruction assistance for the people of Georgia." The CBS Evening News reports Obama's decision "remains shrouded in secrecy, leaving him the option of making known his selection at any point this week. ... Some campaign insiders are known to favor" Biden. Similarly, NBC Nightly News said Obama "could turn to Joe Biden" who "was troubleshooting in Georgia over the weekend, but was back home, today, in Wilmington, trying to deflect attention."
However, another sign points to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports that Obama will campaign in Virginia the next two days, including a joint appearance with Kaine on Thursday.
McClatchy reports at a town hall meeting in Raleigh, N.C., Obama "used the word 'he' to describe his choice rather than the phrase 'he or she,' which would appear to exclude potential female running mates such as Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius."
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Sen. John McCain is set to announce his running mate on August 29, the day after Sen. Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech in Denver. Reports out in the latest media cycle indicate that McCain may be considering some surprising choices, not all of which will play well with the GOP base. ABC World News reports McCain "is reportedly sounding out Republicans about the viability of a pro-abortion rights running mate, fueling speculation that he's considering Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman, or former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge." The Politico adds, "Multiple GOP sources say that party officials in Washington and in the states have been contacted by the McCain campaign in the past two weeks and asked about the fallout" from selecting a pro-choice running mate.
However, Fox News Special Report reported last night, "Sources at the Republican National Committee now say they've been told by McCain's aides that the former Pennsylvania governor, Tom Ridge, is no longer being considered. McCain aides flatly refused to comment." The New York Daily News adds that Ridge "slipped further down McCain's list yesterday as evangelicals remained deeply opposed to the pro-choice Republican. 'He wanted Ridge, really wanted Ridge,' a senior GOP operative said. 'He tried to see if it would fly. The answer came back a hard 'No.'"
The prospect of selecting Lieberman, in particular, appears to be setting the stage for an uprising by the right. NBC Nightly News reported, "Sources say McCain is seriously considering a registered Democrat, Joe Lieberman. The right wing is threatening a revolt." Rich Lowry of the conservative National Review said, "You're going to have a lot of conservatives throwing up their hands and saying, this is a ticket we can't support." The Washington Times adds Republican Party officials "in several states are in a frenzy over how to persuade" McCain to not select Lieberman.
Graham, Lieberman Traveling To Georgia As McCain Emissaries Meanwhile, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reports that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R) and Lieberman "flew to Georgia on Tuesday as emissaries of Sen. John McCain to 'stand in solidarity' with its leaders against Russian military aggression."
USA Today reports Barack Obama, speaking yesterday at the VFW convention, told McCain "to stop questioning his patriotism because he wants to withdraw troops from Iraq." Obama "responded sharply to McCain, who had spoken to the group's annual convention Monday in Orlando." Obama said, "One of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can't disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. I will let no one question my love of this country. I love America, so do you, and so does John McCain." NBC Nightly News adds Obama said attacking him is "John McCain's prerogative. He can run that kind of campaign, and, frankly, that's how political campaigns have been run in recent years. But I believe the American people are better than that." The Los Angeles Times adds, "In response, the McCain campaign reiterated its argument that Obama lacked experience in foreign affairs."
The AP reports, "Painted during the Democratic primary as weak on abortion rights," Sen. Barack Obama "is now being portrayed by opponents of abortion as an extremist who literally supports killing babies. Both portraits are based on his handling of a related issue in the Illinois Senate, and Obama insists they distort his position." The New York Times adds that Obama "and his critics agree that, as chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee in the state legislature in 2003, he led efforts to defeat a bill called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. But they disagree about virtually every other aspect of the legislation, from its meaning and purpose to the breadth of its application."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that the "narrative of the presidential campaign appeared to be set on the issue of abortion," but has been "altered since the Rev. Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum in California on Saturday." Obama's "hesitant statement at the forum that defining the beginning of life is 'above my pay grade' took even some supporters by surprise. Since then, the National Right to Life Committee has challenged him on an obscure law that protects babies born alive after failed abortions, saying that his opposition to the measure in the Illinois state legislature proves he is an extremist." McCain's performance "at the forum seemed to hearten many conservatives, not only because of his firm, uncompromising stand against abortion but his broader appeals on global warming, genocide and the embrace of causes greater than self."
USA Today reports John McCain "highlighted his support for more offshore drilling" yesterday "on the biggest backdrop he could find: an oil rig more than 100 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico." From a "platform of Chevron's Genesis production facility, which produces about 10,000 barrels of oil a day," McCain said, "It is time for America to get serious about energy independence, and that means we need to start drilling offshore at advanced oil rigs like this." The Washington Post reports the success of "the elaborately staged photo-op represents something of a turnaround for McCain's campaign, which only a few weeks ago seemed dogged by an interminable spell of bad luck. His first attempt at the oil rig visit was postponed after a huge oil spill in the Mississippi River in New Orleans." The AP adds that Obama's campaign "called the four-hour excursion nothing more than a stunt."
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During an emergency session in Brussels yesterday requested by the US, NATO allies called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia. The NATO statement was unfavorably reported in the media, which suggests that its members were unable to agree on further action against Moscow. Noting the alliance's lack of "decisive action," McClatchy reports that the "modest outcome of the emergency meeting...reflected divisions within the alliance over responding to the Russian invasion." While "some European powers, such as Germany, have favored restraint, anxious not to aggravate the crisis and jeopardize their energy supplies from Russia," the "former Soviet bloc governments have advocated a tougher stance, anxious to deter the Kremlin from believing that it can reimpose its influence over its former empire."
Another McClatchy story lists some of the "options for retaliating against the Kremlin" that have been mentioned, but not taken, in recent days. The Wall Street Journal reports NATO "struggled to come up with concrete steps to force a defiant Moscow to end its 11-day occupation of its smaller neighbor, even as Russian troops seized prisoners and U.S. military Humvees." The New York Times says the NATO ministers "failed to agree on any specific punitive measures, despite pressure from the United States that NATO at least threaten Russia with unspecified 'consequences,' and pleas from the Czech Republic, Poland and NATO's Baltic members that it take a tough stand." Instead, the alliance issued only "a tepid response."
The Wall Street Journal editorializes, "'Empty words.' That's how Moscow glibly dismissed NATO's criticism yesterday of Russia's continued occupation of Georgia. The Russians may be bullies, but like all bullies they know weakness when they see it." On Fox News Special Report roundtable, columnist Charles Krauthammer seemed to agree: "What happened in Brussels today was appalling. The NATO statement was embarrassing. ... It deplored Russian actions, which it said were inconsistent with peacekeeping. No kidding! You invade a neighbor, and it's not peacekeeping -- remarkable. That's what you would expect out of old Europe. Somebody owes the former secretary of defense an apology."
Meanwhile, in New York yesterday, the AP reports that Georgia, "backed by the United States and European powers...pleaded...for the UN Security Council to demand that Russia immediately withdraw its troops from its small neighbor." But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin "described the council's emergency meeting as biased against Russia."
"Defiant" Russia Says Troops Out By Friday NBC Nightly News reported briefly last night that Russia "remains defiant despite efforts by both NATO and the UN Security Council to defuse and resolve this crisis." ABC World News noted that while "NATO foreign ministers demanded the immediate withdraw of all Russian forces," the Kremlin said yesterday "they will be out by Friday."
However, the Washington Post reports that Russian "intentions remained unclear." French officials said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev "told his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy that the Russian withdrawal would be completed by Thursday or Friday but that 500 troops would continue to implement 'additional security measures' as allowed under an Aug. 12 cease-fire accord." The AP, meanwhile, reports Russia sent "mixed signals." The Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, AFP, Christian Science Monitor and Los Angeles Times also report on the crisis.
In the midst of the crisis, McClatchy reports this morning the Bush White House and the Pentagon "are at odds over whether to station a Navy ship in the Black Sea to demonstrate US support for the embattled Georgian military and government." The White House "thinks that deploying a vessel such as the hospital ship USNS Comfort would showcase the Bush administration's support for Georgia and signal US concern that Russia has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Georgia," but Pentagon officials "said the move is unnecessary." Meanwhile, US Army Brig. Gen. Jon Miller, reports the AP, said Tuesday that "the need for food in Georgia is growing...as C-130 transport planes ferried in tons of supplies and the American military said it would aid Georgians displaced by the war with Russia for as long as they need help." And the AFP reports the White House "on Tuesday demanded that Moscow return any US equipment its forces seized in Georgia, amid reports Russian troops grabbed some US military vehicles."
US: Russian Genocide Claims "Ridiculous" The AP notes Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza on Tuesday "dismissed as ridiculous claims by Russia that Georgia committed genocide during fighting this month in two breakaway Georgian regions." Bryza "also demanded Russian action to end human rights violations in areas of Georgia occupied by its troops." On its front page, the New York Times reports from Tkviavi, Georgia, that "a dozen interviews with those who fled the fighting, and a trip through seven Georgian villages just south of the fighting, indicated the killing this month was not that systematic, nor on that scale -- based on what is known so far. ... Still, the victims seemed marked by their ethnicity in a vicious, if short, war." The Washington Post and USA Today, meanwhile run stories on the human cost of the conflict.
Some Democrats Oppose Missile Defense Deal The AP reports, "Poland's government gave formal approval to a missile defense deal with the US on Tuesday before a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice." Secretary Rice, meanwhile, "was due in Warsaw late Tuesday, and was to sign the deal alongside Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and in the presence of Polish leaders on Wednesday morning." AFP notes "Moscow is deeply opposed to the missile plan." The New York Times, meanwhile, reports "some Democrats in Congress want to put on the brakes" on the system, "saying it has not been adequately tested." Rep. Ellen Tauscher said, "Go ahead and move on with research and development. But as far as putting holes in the ground in Poland, we are saying no."
Crises Seen As Blow To "Bush Strategy" The Christian Science Monitor under the headline "Crises Cast Doubt On Bush's Strategy," reports "President Bush has long prided himself on his close personal relationships with foreign leaders. But over the last several weeks some of those relationships appear to have gone disastrously awry." In addition to Vladimir Putin's actions in Georgia, which have "sent US-Russian relations to their lowest point in years," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf "has now resigned, and the US faces the tough task of trying to persuade Pakistan's elected leaders to focus on the strengthening Taliban insurgency."
The Financial Times reports a senior State Department official said Pakistan's "new government has failed to prevent the country's intelligence agency from aiding terrorist attacks and supporting the Taliban." The official "added that Pakistan needed to speed up efforts to control the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency after this week's resignation of Pervez Musharraf as president."
Pakistani Coalition At Odds Over Judge The Washington Post reports that "a day after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf," the heads of the ruling Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League-N faction met in Islamabad "for a second day of talks on next steps." The PPP's Asif Ali Zardari "and his counterpart Nawaz Sharif appeared to be at a new impasse over how and whether to restore about 60 judges deposed under Musharraf's government." Several officials "said the two men were divided on whether to return Pakistan's Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry to the bench."
The New York Times reports party members said Sharif "had delivered an ultimatum" to Zardari's PPP party "to consent to the return of" Chaudhry "within 72 hours, or Mr. Sharif's party would leave the government."
Suicide Bomber Kills Over Two Dozen USA Today reports, "A suicide attack on a hospital Tuesday in northern Pakistan killed more than two dozen people, a reminder of the challenges facing the country's untested democratic government after Pervez Musharraf resigned as president." The attack "occurred in Dera Ismail Khan, in Pakistan's troubled northwest."
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The Wall Street Journal reports that in "the latest instance in which a federal court has rejected the approach to regulating harmful emissions taken by the administration," the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit "threw out a rule that prevented states from implementing tougher pollution-monitoring requirements." The court said the Environmental Protection Agency's "rule under the Clean Air Act 'is contrary to the statutory directive that each permit must include adequate monitoring requirements.'" The Journal characterizes the decision as "a blow to oil refiners, chemical makers and other polluting industries."
The Washington Post reports, "Judge Thomas B. Griffith wrote for the majority that federal standards often are not sufficient to ensure proper monitoring, so states and local governments must be allowed to fill the gap." The New York Times reports that this "was another judicial rebuke to the E.P.A.'s recent policies, leaving few of its major initiatives on air pollution intact."
The Washington Post and New York Times today both run skeptical editorials on the FBI's case against late government scientist Bruce E. Ivins, who committed suicide before being charged in the 2001 anthrax attacks. The Post says FBI officials "presented more evidence this week that they say identifies Bruce E. Ivins as the lone culprit in the 2001 anthrax attacks," but "even they acknowledged that the evidence is unlikely to win over skeptics." An "independent commission or the Justice Department inspector general should review the investigation as a whole." Under the headline "Too Little Information," the Times says the FBI "spent years pointing a finger at a different suspect. It is not enough for the agency to brush off continuing skepticism."
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The late-night talk shows were either re-runs or preempted by coverage of the Olympic Games last night.
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