Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Obama Lobbies For Climate Change Bill

The AP reports President Obama "pushed urgently Thursday for passage of legislation to confront global warming, billing it as a job-creating machine rather than the costly 'job killer' Republicans denounced. He telephoned wavering Democrats on the eve of what could be a historic House vote." The Financial Times reports Obama called the bill "'extraordinarily important,'" and "said its enactment would 'finally spark a clear energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet.'"

The Washington Times reports President Obama "urged passage of the legislation -- one of his top priorities -- even though it faces near-unanimous opposition from Republicans." Speaker Nancy Pelosi "signaled her confidence that the bill would be approved by canceling a visit to Washington by former Vice President Al Gore, a major proponent of cutting so-called greenhouse-gas emissions."

The Politico reports Gore "canceled plans to fly to Washington for a news conference with" Speaker Pelosi on Thursday, "and instead was working the phones from Tennessee to help push a landmark climate bill to passage." Pelosi said, "It's a question of what was energy efficient for the vice president." Roll Call reports the White House "fully engaged in the whipping effort Thursday, which kicked off in the morning when" presidential adviser David Axelrod "pitched the measure to the Democratic Caucus."

The Hill reports that Axelrod delivered "a stern warning on Thursday to members attending the Democratic whip meeting." According to an unnamed source, Axelrod said, "If this goes down, it shows we can't govern." The Politico reports Gore, "who had planned to rally Democrats en masse in Washington, stayed home in Tennessee so he could press members one by one via telephone."

Democratic Leaders Predict "Tight Victory" The Washington Post reports the House "could vote today on a measure to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with Democratic leaders predicting a tight victory for a behemoth bill that has grown more complex with each compromise." Democratic leaders "said they had gathered enough votes to win passage of the bill, which could be voted on today or tomorrow."

House Bill May Include Trade Penalties The Wall Street Journal reports House Democratic leaders "weighed tough trade penalties on countries that don't cap so-called greenhouse-gas emissions." The trade proposal "is designed to protect a half dozen trade-sensitive U.S. industries, including steel, cement and chemical manufacturers, from competitors in countries that don't cap their output of greenhouse gases."

Senate Health Bill Costs Down To $1 Trillion

The Wall Street Journal reports that "Senators are trying to whittle the cost of a key health bill by paring proposals to help small businesses and individuals buy health insurance coverage and delaying an expansion of Medicaid." On Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said "that he's pulled together options for a healthcare package that would have a $1 trillion price tag over a decade, and be fully paid for with spending cuts or tax increases."

"We're getting a lot closer to an agreement," Baucus said, according to the Washington Post, noting that Finance Committee members "would consider a menu of policy and financing options over the Fourth of July recess, with the goal of producing a deficit-neutral 10-year bill shortly after Congress returns July 6." Despite the progress, "Democrats are nowhere near where they had hoped to be," the New York Times reports. "Democrats had hoped that two Senate committees would approve the legislation by the end of this week."

Still, the Washington Times adds that Baucus said that "the bill hasn't been written." Finance Committee Republicans "doubted the [CBO] scoring, particularly without seeing a draft bill or a plan."

And "even Democrats acknowledged that Thursday's announcement fell fall short of a final deal on legislation to meet Obama's goals," the AP reports. According to CNN, "Finance Committee members were shocked last week when the Congressional Budget Office determined that their reform bill would cost $1.6 trillion. They have slowly whittled down the amount since." Committee members see the $1 trillion price tag as "key to getting a bill passed."

Bloomberg News notes the House version of the bill currently "includes a government insurance plan, which is opposed by many Republican lawmakers and the insurance industry," but Senate discussions "are increasingly focusing on cooperatives," said Sen. Conrad. Conrad added that "state affiliates of a nationwide structure could band together to negotiate insurance rates," under such a plan.

The New York Times reports that President Obama "and the Democrats running Congress are deeply split over the possibilities" of how to pay for $1 trillion in healthcare reform. Obama is proposing limiting income-tax deductions for high earners, but "House and Senate leaders do not like [that idea], but cannot agree on alternatives."

Emanuel Downplays Standard Of Bipartisanship The Christian Science Monitor reports that at a Monitor breakfast, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said the "final legislation on healthcare reform will be bipartisan, though it may not look that way." Emanuel "laid out three tests of bipartisanship," that the bill "contains bipartisan ideas," that "the president has reached out to Republicans," and the "final vote count."

In the Washington Post's "Washington Sketch" column, Dana Milbank says Emanuel "volunteered that Hillary and Bill Clinton made 'a big mistake' 15 years ago when they refused to accept a health-care reform measure by Republican Sen. John Chafee (R.I.) that was very close to the first lady's doomed proposal." The Politico's Roger Simon says Emanuel was "never off-message, which is not surprising, because he is one of the people who determine what the message is."

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Obama Sets Sights On Immigration Bill

The Washington Times reports President Obama "told lawmakers Thursday he wants to sign an immigration bill this year or early next year even though they don't have the votes yet to pass it -- and just in case they fail, the administration is ramping up talk of other actions it's taken to help immigrant rights."

In the Washington Post's "Washington Sketch" column, Dana Milbank says that on immigration legislation, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel "admitted that yesterday's meeting at the White House with immigration advocates was 'because the votes aren't there' to pass it. 'If the votes were there, you wouldn't need to have the meeting, you'd go to a roll call,' he said."

The Hill reports the White House "has said that the president would like to see something this year, but a number of skeptics have questioned whether Congress can or will take any floor action in 2009." Roll Call reports Democrats "said Obama's message that comprehensive immigration reform should happen sooner than later was loud and clear." Rep. Anthony Weiner said Obama "told lawmakers that he is 'ready to speak out publicly, ready to use whatever capital he had left to make sure immigration reform happens.'"

The Christian Science Monitor reports President Obama "called for some 'heavy lifting' on immigration reform on Capitol Hill, but there's no move there to rush into it."

Bernanke Faces "Open Hostility" From House

The AP reports Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, "facing an unusual political trial," appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Thursday and "disputed accusations...that he pressured Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch in a deal that cost taxpayers $20 billion." AFP reports Bernanke said "the Fed acted 'with the highest integrity' on the matter. ... But some lawmakers expressed concern about the way the matter was handled."

The Wall Street Journal reports on its front page that Bernanke "faced open hostility from lawmakers who barraged him" during the hearing. Setting aside the "deferential tone usually reserved for Fed chairmen," committee members "repeatedly interrupted" Bernanke and "pored over internal Fed emails subpoenaed by the committee and projected on a screen in the hearing room."

The Financial Times reports, "At stake is whether Mr Bernanke overstepped his powers at the height of the financial crisis in December. With his term as chairman up for renewal next year and a Treasury plan to give the Fed more power in a regulatory upheaval, Mr Bernanke's success in persuading Congress that he acted properly is crucial." The Washington Times reports, "The capital is rife with speculation about whether President Obama, who has repeatedly voiced support for the Fed chairman, will give him another term."

The Washington Post reports Bernanke "became visibly frustrated as he answered the same questions again and again without quieting his interrogators." The New York Times reports, "Newly released Fed documents and e-mail messages indicate that Fed officials became locked in a tense struggle with Bank of America last December, with Fed officials deeply skeptical about the competence of the bank's executives and their grasp of Merrill Lynch's financial condition." McClatchy reports Chairman Edolphus Towns, following the hearing, "suggested that Bernanke's testimony only raised the need to probe further."

Ahmadinejad Demands Apology From Obama

With the death of Michael Jackson dominating today's headlines, coverage of the ongoing fallout from Iran's disputed presidential elections is notably less. Events in Iran yesterday generated only brief reports on two of the three network news broadcasts last night, NBC Nightly News reported on a "new show of defiance" by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who "accused President Obama today of interfering in Iran's affairs," and demanded the President "apologize." Ahmadinejad, the CBS Evening News said, told Obama "to, in effect, butt out." The Iranian leader said President Obama "should apologize for saying he was appalled and outraged by Iran's crackdown on protestors."

In a front page article, the Washington Post says in a speech at a petrochemical plant in southern Iran, Ahmadinejad said Obama "was behaving like...George W. Bush, and suggested that talks with the United States on Iran's nuclear program would be pointless if Obama kept up his criticism." The Iranian leader, says the Wall Street Journal, showed "his usual defiance of the West," and "repeated government accusations that foreign powers were behind the protests." The New York Times says the government "appeared to fall back on a familiar playbook: trying to rouse Iranians through populist appeals against outside interference and dark accusations of foreign conspiracy."

CNN's Situation Room reported, "While Administration officials say they have not communicated with Iran since the elections, they aren't dialing back the policy of engagement, and brushed off the latest attack." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs: "There are people in Iran who want to make this not about a debate among Iranians in Iran, but about the West and the United States."

Mousavi Vows To Continue Opposition Also yesterday, NBC Nightly News reports, opposition leader Mir Hossen Mousavi said "he is not backing down." His statement, the CBS Evening News said, was posted on his website. Mousavi, reports the Washington Post said he "was being pressed to withdraw his challenge and had been severely restricted in his ability to communicate with supporters." Nevertheless, he said he is "not prepared to give up under the pressure," and urged his supporters to "continue your legal and responsible protest." His "continued defiance," says the Wall Street Journal, "could galvanize protesters who have felt a more brutal crackdown this week by security services."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Sanford Says He Will Not Resign, Will Reimburse State For Cost Of Trip

ABC World News reported that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) "spent time today with his wife" one day "after admitting an affair with a woman from Argentina." Sanford "says he will not resign the governorship. Sanford admitted using taxpayer money for part of a trip to South America." The CBS Evening News adds that "calls are growing louder for Sanford to resign." NBC Nightly News reported Sanford "stayed out of the public eye today, holed up with his family as some of his own party leaders, and no small number of his constituents, said he should leave office." The AP reports "a chastened" Sanford "sought to do damage control Thursday at home with his family while many" urged him to resign. The Wall Street Journal reports, "People close to the governor say Mr. Sanford was leaning toward resigning" before his Wednesday news conference, "but was persuaded by aides and friends who urged him not to act rashly."

Poll: Just 28% Say Specter Deserves Reelection To Senate Seat

CNN reported in its 'Political Ticker' blog that a Franklin and Marshall College telephone survey of 580 Pennsylvania voters conducted June 16-21 (+/-4.1%) indicates Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's (D) "job approval rating has nose-dived over the past few months." According to the poll, 34% "approve of the job Specter's doing as senator. That's down 18 points from" the 52% "approval rating" Specter received "in a Franklin and Marshall poll conducted in March. The survey also indicates that" just 28% "believe Specter deserves to be re-elected next year, down from" 40% "in March. Specter switched his political affiliation from the Republican to Democratic party in late April." The Lancaster New Era reports, "Specter's unfavorable rating, of" 37%, "is the highest since the poll began in 1992. ... A majority of respondents," 57%, "also said it was 'time for a change,' up from" 46% "in March." In a hypothetical Democratic primary match-up, the survey of 258 Democrats showed Specter leading potential challenger PA7 Rep. Joe Sestak (D) 33%-13%. However, 48% "of Democrats remain undecided. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on its website, "Specter's numbers in part could reflect skepticism about his changing political parties in April from Republican to Democrat, said political scientist G. Terry Madonna, director of the Franklin & Marshall poll."

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Conan O'Brien: "At a press conference yesterday, in case you don't know, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to having a mistress from Argentina. ... Then there was an awkward moment as he waited for someone to give him a high five."

David Letterman: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "has declared himself the winner" of the Iranian presidential election, "and he came out at the victory party and he thanked...the 148 percent of the people who voted for him."

David Letterman: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "during all those protests, is keeping a very low profile in Iran. His staff said he was hiking."

David Letterman: "President Obama was so upset about the Iranian crackdown...that he told the Iranian diplomats that they would not be invited to the Fourth of July party. ... And I said, well, by God, that will teach them right there."

David Letterman: "It's a disaster for everybody down there in South Carolina. Although I have to say, yesterday, it was nice to see somebody else apologize on TV."

Jimmy Fallon: "There's another new development in that Mark Sanford story. His wife, Jenny, kicked him out of their home when she heard about the affair. In response, Hillary Clinton said, 'Wait, you can do that?'"

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