Housing was expected to be a significant issue in the presidential campaign but most pundits thought the focus would be the foreclosure crisis, not the candidates' homes. Sen. John McCain, in an interview with the Politico several days ago, couldn't recall how many houses he owns. Democrats pounced. ABC World News said Obama "and the Democrats smell blood in the water. And they're using the quote to paint McCain as out of touch." Obama said, "If you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong. But if you're like me, and you got one house, or you are like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so they don't lose their home, you might have a different perspective." The CBS Evening News reports Obama is up with an ad on the subject, which shows a picture of the White House and says, "Seven houses, and here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into." CBS adds that McCain's "housing advantage could complicate attempts to cast Obama, who owns one million-dollar home in Chicago himself, as an out-of-touch, arugula-eating elitist."
ABC World News adds the Obama campaign thinks "this is one of those metaphorical moments in the campaign. Remember back in 1992, when it seemed like President Bush didn't know what a supermarket scanner was. They said that was metaphoric for him being out of touch. ... The McCain team says no way. The John McCain brand is too well-established. No one will see him as an elitist." The AP reports Obama "launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch."
NBC Nightly News reports that the McCain campaign hit right back, bringing up Obama's links to convicted felon Tony Rezko. NBC reported the McCain campaign said, "Does a guy who made more than $4million last year...and bought his one million dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?'" Similarly, the Washington Post reports on its front page that the Obama ad "provoked a furious response by McCain campaign and Republican National Committee aides, who charged hypocrisy and argued that the senator from Illinois had received help purchasing his South Side Chicago mansion from" Rezko.
McCain's troops are looking to turn the Rezko issue into a full-blown offensive. The Politico reports that the McCain campaign launched a website dedicated to Obama's links to Rezko, while they also rolled out an ad featuring Rezko. ABC News reported on its 'Political Radar' blog, "The McCain campaign is not disclosing how much money it is planning to put behind its Rezko ad but vows that it will air on broadcast television in 'key states.'" However, the AP reports the McCain campaign will put $2.8 million behind the ad campaign.
McCain Family Owns Eight Properties So how many properties does McCain, in fact, own? The Politico reports McCain's family "owns at least eight properties -- not the seven Democrats are alleging or the four McCain's staff identified - according to a Politico analysis of property and tax records, as well as interviews." McCain "may have some wiggle room in explaining why he couldn't immediately provide an answer when asked by Politico how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. Sen. McCain himself does not own any of the properties. They're all owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and the trusts and companies they control."
It appears that Sen. Barack Obama will announce his running mate any moment now. He is set to campaign with the individual in Illinois tomorrow, so it is expected that the announcement will come in advance. The Washington Post reports that Obama went as far yesterday to announce that he had made a decision, but wouldn't announce it yet. The AP adds Obama "seemed to relish the frustrations of scores of reporters following him this week in anticipation of the announcement." Obama "didn't reveal his choice to" Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a top contender, "even after they met Thursday, according to two people close to the governor." Bloomberg News says that Obama and Kaine met on Thursday, but Kaine spokesman Delacey Skinner "said it was her impression that the vice presidential nomination wasn't discussed. ... Their session wasn't 'any more meaningful than the 10 to 15 minutes' they have spent together before other joint appearances, Skinner said in a telephone interview."
Speculation Remains Focused On Biden The AP reports, "Call it the Biden Buzz. Part of the noise comes from the reporters swarming around Sen. Joe Biden. Yet all the speculation about the Delaware lawmaker as a leading candidate for vice-presidential running mate may be saying a lot about what Barack Obama's campaign lacks." Obama's "staff in Chicago and party activists see Biden as addressing two of Obama's biggest weaknesses - his lack of experience, especially on world affairs, and his reluctance to attack his opponent."
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The AP reports this morning that the conservative American Issues Project is launching an ad in Michigan and Ohio questioning Barack Obama's "relationship to a founder of the 1960s radical group Weather Underground." The spot "focuses on William Ayers, whose Weatherman organization took credit for a series of bombings, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago." The Washington Post reported on its "The Trail" blog that a spokesman for the group was asked if there are more ads in the works and said, "We're not announcing exactly what the plan is. I think it's safe to assume there will be more ads." ABC News reported on its 'Political Radar' blog that the spokesman "said Obama has been surrounding himself with 'people who hate America. ... If you look at the record there is a relationship here and a defense and a respect for a guy that is disturbing.'"
The Los Angeles Times reports that Edward Failor Jr., a member of the American Issues board, "is active in an Iowa group opposed to abortion rights. He is also a leader of Iowans for Tax Relief, which lobbies in Des Moines and has a political action committee involved in Iowa state campaigns. Failor donated $1,250 to McCain last year and was paid at least $50,000 by McCain in the months leading up to the Iowa caucuses."
The AP reports this morning that a "threatening letter containing an unidentified white powder was sent to" a campaign office of John McCain's outside Denver yesterday. While no injuries were reported, "At least 19 people were examined at hospitals or were quarantined outside the Colorado office while authorities tried to determine whether the powder was hazardous." The Denver Post reported on its website, "Within hours of the 3 p.m. scare" at McCain's office, authorities "announced that the powder was phony and that the writer appeared to be Marc Harold Ramsey. The 39-year-old has been in jail since last September, unable to post the $350,000 bond on charges of felony charges of menacing, harassment and assault on a peace officer, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. 'He is a prolific writer of threatening letters,' said U.S. Secret Service Agent Malcolm Wiley."
The Democrats may have given away the tickets to Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos, for free, but there's something that won't be cheap food and drink at the event. The Rocky Mountain News reports this morning that if you go to the speech, "you better bring your wallet" because "you'll be paying ballpark prices to eat ballpark food. And ballpark prices to drink bottled water during the potentially sunbaked stretch between the time the gates open at 1 p.m. and when Obama takes the stage seven hours later." A Democratic Convention "said the food prices Thursday night would be 'consistent' with those charged at Broncos games, but could not give specifics."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that a "few years ago, executives at the prestigious University of Chicago Medical Center were concerned that an increasing number of patients were arriving at their emergency room with what the executives considered to be non-urgent complaints. The visits were costly to the hospital, and many of the patients, coming from the surrounding South Side neighborhood, were poor and uninsured." Michelle Obama, "an executive at the medical center, launched an innovative program to steer the patients to existing neighborhood clinics to deal with their health needs." Michelle Obama "and others in late 2006 recommended that the hospital hire the firm of David Axelrod, who a few months later became the chief strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaign." The medical center's initiative "provides a window into the close relationship between the Obamas, their associates at the University of Chicago and Axelrod, the strategist most central to Barack Obama's rise."
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Three national polls out today show Barack Obama edging out John McCain nationally. A Fox News /Opinion Dynamics poll of 900 registered voters taken August 19-20 shows Obama leading McCain 42%-39%. The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,680 registered voters taken August 18-20 shows Obama leading McCain 45%-44%. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for August 21 shows Obama leading McCain 45%-42%, and 48%-46% including leaners.
Obama Up 5 In Pennsylvania A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely Pennsylvania voters taken August 19 shows Barack Obama leading John McCain 45%-40%, similar to a 47%-42% lead he had last month.
McCain Up 1 In Florida An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Florida voters taken August 18-20 shows McCain leading Obama 47%-46%.
Obama Up 1 In New Hampshire An American Research Group poll of 600 likely New Hampshire voters taken August 18-20 shows Obama leading McCain 46%-45%.
Obama Up 7 In Michigan A Selzer & Co poll of 600 likely Michigan voters taken August 18-20 for the Detroit Free Press and a local TV station shows Obama leading McCain 46%-39%. The Freep says Obama "is especially aided by a 39-point bulge among voters in Wayne County, including Detroit."
Obama Up 10 In Minnesota The AP reports an MPR/Humphrey Institute poll of 763 likely Minnesota voters taken August 7-17 shows Obama leading McCain 48%-38%.
Obama Up 6 In New Mexico A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely New Mexico voters taken August 20 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-41%, up a tick from the 46%-41% lead enjoyed by Obama last month.
McCain Up 23 In Kansas SurveyUSA automated poll of 641 likely Kansas voters taken August 18-21 for KWCH-TV Wichita and KCTV-TV Kansas City shows McCain leading Obama 58%-35%.
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With Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Iraq to oversee the talks, media reports last night and this morning suggest the draft agreement on a schedule for the US to withdraw its troops by 2011 still faces significant hurdles. For one thing, the New York Times reports, the US has predicated the goal on conditions in Iraq remaining "relatively stable." Moreover, "Iraqi officials, who have pushed for an even tighter target date for the United States to end its military operations, could also end up rejecting the draft agreement." But if it is "approved in its current form, the accord seems likely to take center stage in the presidential race."
USA Today reports "the current draft" also "calls for US troops to pull out of Iraqi cities and villages and withdraw to their bases by June 30, said Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh and Ali Adeeb, a close aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki." AFP also quotes a "US military official in Washington" who, "speaking on condition of anonymity," confirmed that "under the draft agreement a US troop withdrawal from Iraqi cities 'could be as early as June, conditions permitting.'" The AP notes that under "one key part of the draft agreement" -- largely ignored by US media -- "private US contractors would be subject to Iraqi law, unlike at present, but the American side held firm in its insistence that US troops would remain subject exclusively to US legal jurisdiction, officials said."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Iraqi "legislators, party leaders and government officials can now try to make their own revisions" to the "draft agreement." The Financial Times says Rice "originally planned to stay in Baghdad just four hours but lengthened her meetings with Mr Maliki and others as they wrestled with the sensitive issues of whether US personnel will be immune from Iraqi legal action and when US forces will begin a significant withdrawal from the country." A similar story running in the Washington Post notes Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said yesterday, "There is no final agreement, but we are very close. ... Everything has been addressed. Tomorrow is a very important day."
The US and Russia reprised what could have been a scene from the Cold War era in the United Nation's Security Council yesterday as the US threatened to veto a Russian resolution aimed at codifying its position in Georgia. As a result, the Wall Street Journal reports, the US and Russia "appeared headed for a diplomatic showdown, as prospects for United Nations action on the Georgia conflict dimmed under a cloud of veto threats." Russia's resolution would ""codify the so-called six-point cease-fire plan. But the resolution omits reference to Georgia's 'territorial integrity,' language the US and its European allies, including France and the United Kingdom, have insisted must be included to protect Georgia's currently recognized international borders."
The New York Times reports in a front-page analysis that "if Russia's invasion of Georgia ushers in a sustained period of renewed animosity with the West, Washington fears that a newly emboldened but estranged Moscow could use its influence, money, energy resources, United Nations Security Council veto and, yes, its arms industry to undermine American interests around the world." The Christian Science Monitor reports that "while Russia's action has been termed a new cold war, that concept doesn't capture the dramatic global changes since Mikhail Gorbachev disbanded the Soviet Union in 1991, say diplomats and Russian area specialists. In a more globalized world, Russia is at once a competitor, a partner, and an opponent."
Russia Fails To Withdraw Troops The AP reports, "Russian forces lingered deep in Georgia on Thursday, digging trenches and setting up mortars a day before Kremlin officials promised to complete a troop withdrawal from this former Soviet republic." Meanwhile, "a top Russian general said it could be 10 days before the bulk of the troops left, and the mixed signals from Moscow left Georgians guessing about its intentions nearly a week after a cease-fire deal."
The New York Times also reports on the "conflicting signals on Thursday" from Moscow "about whether it would withdraw its troops from Georgia by its self-imposed deadline of Friday, while Georgia's president said he saw 'very little if any movement' of Russian troops from occupied areas."
Under the headline "Russia Retains Iron Georgia Grip On Eve Of Withdrawal," AFP reports that Georgia "faced dismemberment Thursday as Moscow-backed separatists hardened independence demands and Russia retained an iron grip on the eve of a promised troop withdrawal."
Georgians Protest Russian Occupation McClatchy reports, "After more than a week of Russian troops occupying" the city, "it's clear that tempers are rising and nerves are fraying in Gori." And USA Today reports from Tbilisi that "a small group of fellow Georgians will confront the Russian army today about 30 miles west of the nation's capital. As they have each day since Tuesday," they "planned to yell at the soldiers, demand they go home and sing Georgia's national anthem." And "as Moscow moves closer to recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia," the Wall Street Journal reports, "it looks increasingly as though Georgia's internal refugees may never go home. Georgia's government says this is a creeping ethnic cleansing sponsored by Russia."
Georgia Seen Dominating Media The New York Times reports, "The Kremlin's tight grip on the media in recent years has been readily evident during the conflict in Georgia, right down to the way the television news has presented the Georgian leader's speeches." But "for all the government's success at managing the news in Russia, it has seemed ill prepared to press its case internationally" and has "failed to grasp that the same figure it was mocking on its channels, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, was using his fluency in English to dominate coverage in the rest of the world."
Investors Pull Money From Russia The Financial Times reports, "Investors pulled their money out of Russia in the wake of the Georgia conflict at the fastest rate since the 1998 rouble crisis," new figures showed on Thursday. In addition, "Russian debt and equity markets have also suffered sharp falls since the conflict began on August 8."
The AP reports, "The Bush administration on Thursday proposed stronger job protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions because of religious or moral objections." The rule "would require as many as 584,000 employers ranging from major hospitals to doctors' offices and nursing homes to certify in writing that they are complying with several federal laws that protect the conscience rights of health care workers."
The Washington Post notes the rule "could go into effect after a 30-day comment period." The regulation "was welcomed by conservative groups, abortion opponents and others as necessary to safeguard workers from being fired, disciplined or penalized in other ways."
The Hill notes the proposal "does not include a controversial proposal that critics said would define some forms of birth control as abortions. ... An earlier version of the regulation...triggered anger among lawmakers and groups that support abortion rights, who protested that its definition of 'abortion' was too broad and could make it harder for women to obtain birth control, including the pill, IUDs and the emergency contraceptive 'morning-after pill.'" The Wall Street Journal, Washington Times and the Los Angeles Times also report the story.
ABC World News said a new report from Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (R) has found that a "growing number" of Federal workers are not showing up for their jobs, a situation which Coburn "says costs $7 billion to $10 billion in lost productivity every year." How do these employees "get away with it? Coburn blames layers of bureaucracy and inefficiencies, which have allowed the numbers to grow." But the "union which represents many federal employees blames the Bush Administration."
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The Wall Street Journal reports, "Oil futures charged up $5.62, or 4.9%, to $121.18 a barrel in New York Thursday, marking their first close above $120 since Aug. 7 and completing three straight days of gains, the longest such streak since mid-July." The "weakening dollar, as well as worsening relations between the US and Russia, the world's No. 2 oil exporter, were cited as factors behind the gains." The Los Angeles Times also files a similar report.
Bankruptcy Declarations Up 30% NBC Nightly News reported on "the growing number of Americans who are declaring bankruptcy to get out from under their debt. In July alone, there were 96,000 new bankruptcy filings." Nationwide, "personal bankruptcy filings are up 30% from this time last year."
USA Today reports Tropical Storm Fay's "soggy march through Florida" prompted President Bush to issue a federal disaster declaration Thursday, authorizing "the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to provide equipment and federal funds for 75% of debris removal costs." AFP also notes Bush's declaration of "an emergency in the waterlogged, wind-battered state." The AP notes Gov. Charlie Crist had "asked the White House yesterday for the declaration."
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All late-night talk shows were re-runs once again.
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