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If nice folks do indeed finish last, Republican Mike Huckabee might as well end his presidential campaign right now. Assuming, of course, that he truly is, as the Washington Post characterized him in a lengthy feature story on Friday, an "affable, compassionate, good guy."
The Post piece was simply the latest to chime in with the common chord being struck by many when discussing the former Arkansas governor.
Back in mid-June, in a prescient South Carolina newspaper article that tabbed Huckabee as a candidate worth watching in the White House race, the state's GOP chairman, Katon Dawson, termed him one of the "nicest and kindest" politicians he had known. Newsday's James Pinkerton, in a recent column headlined "Huckabee: a Republican who can lead us back home," wrote that the candidate "comes across as a nice guy." Democrat Barack Obama, during his appearance last week on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," opined that Huckabee seemed "sincere and decent" (you can see the entire segment here).
It's gotten to the point that a Newsweek takeout on him asserted that he's "too nice to be president" (the problem--lots of Republicans fear he's not mean enough to deal with Hillary Clinton in a general election face-off).
We've enjoyed Huckabee's presence in the presidential scrum as much as anyone (if for no other reason than that he's the only candidate who even attempts an impersonation of the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards). But when the chorus of coverage begins singing the same song, it's always good to hear a discordant voice. And one came along this week from John Brummett, a veteran observer of Arkansas politics.
Casting a bemused eye on the national image congealing around Huckabee, Brummett wrote that among those who would be surprised by the adjectives he's invoking is ex-Sen. Dale Bumpers. Huckabee, in unsuccessfully challenging the Democratic incumbent in 1992, aired ads that "characterized Bumpers as a pornographer," based on Senate votes supporting the National Endowment for the Arts, Brummett noted.
And there's also "the editor of the liberal local weekly, the Arkansas Times, which found itself cut off from routine notifications ... by Huckabee's taxpayer-provided press office."
It's a column well-worth reading. And one that shouldn't shock. Given that Huckabee thrived in Arkansas politics (he held the governor's office for more than 10 years), he couldn't have been Mr. Nice Guy all the time.
-- Don Frederick
Times reporter Scott Martelle is up in Northern California these days researching a story on the divergent grass-roots approaches that the Clinton and Obama campaigns are taking as they gear up for the California primary Feb. 5.
You can look for his story on this website and in the print editions over the coming holiday weekend. But as often happens when an experienced observer starts asking questions, Martelle stumbled upon a curious thing, not earthshaking but revealing. This is by no means a scientific observation, but it does highlight a trend he's seen elsewhere.
In an inaugural training session for Hillary Clinton volunteers Wednesday night, more than 50 people showed up, self-selected through the Clinton campaign website. About half of them said they had never before volunteered in a presidential campaign.
The next night, at the third meeting of Barack Obama's Congressional District 14 committee, about 24 people showed up. This one was geared toward updates and creating subcommittees, not a general call for volunteers like the Clinton session. But fully 17 of them said this was their first presidential campaign.
In talks and comments before their full groups, the Clinton volunteers tended to cite specific reasons they joined -- a desire for universal healthcare, wanting to elect the first woman as president, seeking fundamental change in national policies and so forth. The Obama supporters, on the other hand, talked with more of a sense of joining a broad social and political movement, and effecting wide national change through political engagement. They cared less about specific policy issues.
And of the 50-plus supporters at the Clinton meeting, only 14 were men. Of the 24 at the Obama meeting, 13 were men -- a much more even distribution.
-- Andrew Malcolm
The Associated Press is reporting out of Boise, Idaho that Sen. Larry Craig has decided to resign his Senate seat and will make the formal announcement Saturday. It will be welcome news among his party members in Washington and reportedly take effect Sept. 30.
Earlier today, we reported the following on the scandal involving the 62-year-old Republican's arrest in a Minneapolis men's room for lewd conduct: He pled guilty later to disorderly conduct charges and denied that he was gay. But his political support rapidly began evaporating. And it creates more political woes heading into 2008 for Republicans, already laboring under an unpopular war and president and nearly twice as many Senate seats as Democrats to defend in the November 2008 election.
With the exception of Idaho's GOP Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a longtime friend, fellow Republicans rapidly distanced themselves from Craig. This included presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose campaign Craig was supporting. Several, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, called for his immediate resignation; others, especially those who also face re-election challenges next year, strongly hinted that Craig's departure would be a good thing.
"If I was in a position like that," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who heads the Republican Senate campaign committee, "that's what I would do. He's going to have to answer that for himself."
GOP Senate leadership also got Craig's resignation from all committee assignments and sought an ethics committee investigation, though his misdemeanor offense may not violate Senate rules.
Political sources in Idaho, where the three-term Craig has received very little public support, say talks have been held between Craig and Otter, the goal being to name a replacement Republican as soon as possible to get past the scandal and allow another Republican to hold the seat next year in the strongly GOP state. Although Rep. Mike Simpson has been mentioned as a possible replacement, the most likely new nominee would be Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, who served as acting governor for seven months last year when Dirk Kempthorne stepped down to become Interior secretary.
The Times has a news story on the likely resignation on this website and in Saturday's print editions.
--Andrew Malcolm
Facing the likely imminent resignation of one scandal-plagued senator from Idaho, Senate Republicans got the not-too-surprising news today that one of their most senior and respected members was retiring.
John Warner of Virginia, who will have served 30 years, said he would leave his seat upon completing his current term in January 2009. Richard Simon has the full story elsewhere on this site.
The 80-year-old former Navy secretary and World War II and Korean War veteran is highly respected for his military expertise and recently called on President Bush to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
Politically, Warner's retirement adds to the GOP nightmare in 2008, facing Democratic congressional majorities and an unpopular war and president in a presidential election year. Warner's departure gives Democrats another chance at increasing their slim current 51-49 Senate majority. Popular former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner and Republican Rep. Tom Davis and former Gov. Jim Gilmore, who recently bowed out of the presidential race, are likely to contend to join Democrat Jim Webb as Virginians in the Senate.
Already the GOP must defend 22 Senate seats in 2008, while the Democrats will defend only 12. Republican Wayne Allard of Colorado, where Democrats have been gaining strength, has also announced his retirement.
To compound those challenges, a number of Republican senators have been involved ...
Read more More Senate woes for Republicans »
Must-see TV it wasn’t.
Hillary Clinton has become something of a regular on "Late Night with David Letterman," and during her appearance Thursday night it was evident why. It’s a cakewalk for her.
Letterman isn’t paid to ask penetrating policy questions, though he has been known to make his guests squirm a bit. But he treated the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race with kid gloves. He didn't even ask about her major fundraiser, Norman Hsu, who plans to turn himself in on a fugitve warrant today.
The pair did have some fun at the expense of the candidate’s spouse, former president Bill Clinton. Asked if husband Bill could serve as her vice president, she said, "Believe me, he looked into that." Then, she admitted if the Constitution did not forbid a third term, "he might be running."
Letterman did elicit from Clinton memories of what she termed her favorite summer job. After graduating from college, she said, she traveled to Alaska and took on the task of “sliming”—or cleaning—fish. "Best preparation for being in Washington that you can possibly imagine," she said.
She offered a few platitudes about the rigors of campaigning: “It’s exhausting but it’s also exhilarating.” When asked her strengths as a campaigner, she replied: “Stamina.” Asked by Letterman if she had any weaknesses, she replied, “Sure.” And cleverly left it at that.
Letterman also asked, “What’s the deal with Sen. Craig?” That remark about the Idaho senator arrested in an airport men's room sparked audience laughter. Once the studio quieted, Clinton termed it simply, “Very sad.” And said she wished the best for him and his family.
Broaching the issue of Iraq, Letterman said it seemed to him that U.S. troops would be stationed in that country forever. “Well, I hope not,” Clinton responded, an answer that’s tough to disagree with. She then reiterated her oft-stated position that the U.S. needs to start bringing troops home now, but “in a responsible way.”
Clinton wrapped up the appearance by offering her own version of Letterman’s Top Ten List. The tongue-in-cheek campaign promises included: "Bring security and long-term stability to 'The View.'” "My vice president will never shoot anyone in the face." "We will finally have a president who doesn't mind pulling over and asking for directions."
And she concluded with a jab at her host, who has been known to crack wise about the former first lady’s tastes in fashion. “One more pantsuit joke and Letterman disappears.”
--Don Frederick
The Carter clan (that would be former president and his kin, not the famed country-music family) is sending mixed signals in the Democratic presidential race.
Jimmy Carter lavished John Edwards with praise as the two shared a stage Wednesday at Georgia Southwestern State University, Carter's alma mater. His kind words came the same week that his son, Jack Carter, announced he was backing Joe Biden.
The senior Carter remains on the sidelines in terms of a formal endorsement and, as a party elder statesman, may well stay there. But here's what he had to say about Edwards:
"I can say without equivocation that no one who is running for president has presented anywhere near as comprehensive and accurate a prediction of what our country ought to do in the field of environmental quality, in the field of health care for those who are not presently insured, for those who struggle with poverty."
Edwards, a renowned trial lawyer before he entered poltiics in North Carolina, could not have made stronger case in his bid to cast himself as the most committed progressive among the major Democratic candidates.
It stuck us that in many ways, the political personas of Carter and Edwards have followed similar trajectories.
In his improbable march to the White House, Carter ...
Read more Jimmy Carter isn't endorsing, but he sure likes a fellow Southerner »
Although he later pled guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, at no point during the police interrogation of Sen. Larry Craig in the Minneapolis airport did the Idahoan admit to wrongdoing. In fact, he seemed in more of a hurry to catch his plane.
According to a transcript of the interview released today between Sgt. Dave Karsnia and Craig, the senator accused the officer of entrapment. "You solicited me," said Craig. An audio version of the tape is available here.
"O.K., we're going to get, we're going to get into that," replied the officer.
After reading the senator his rights, Karsnia asked for his account. "I sit down to go to the bathroom," said Craig, "and you said our feet bumped. I believe they did because I reached down and scooted over and the next thing I knew under the bathroom divider comes a card that says Police. Now that's about as far as I can take it. I don't know of anything else. Your foot came toward mine, mine came towards yours. Was that natural? I don't know. Did we bump? Yes, I think we did. You said so. I don't disagree with that."
"O.K.," replied the officer, "I don't want to get into a pissing match here."
Craig: "We're not going to."
Karsnia: "Good."
Craig: "I don't, I'm not gay. I don't do these kinds of things and..."
Karsnia: "It doesn't matter. I don't care about sexual preference or anything like that."
Craig: "I know you don't. You're out to enforce the law."
Karsnia: "Right."
Craig: "But you shouldn't be out to entrap people either."
Karsnia: "This isn't entrapment."
Craig: "Allright."
The officer appeared to grow impatient. "You're skipping some parts," he said. "What about your hand?"
Craig said he reached down to pick up a piece of paper. "Well," replied the officer, "you're...
Read more Police release transcript of Sen. Craig's interview »
We Googled this and found that, depending on the citation, 70%, 80%, 85% or 90% of success in life is simply a matter of showing up (with Woody Allen given as the source for several of the different figures).
Regardless, it's a formula that worked for Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee.
The International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, in a nod to the estimated third of its roughly 700,000 members who are Republicans, took the unusual step Thursday of making dual labor endorsements in the presidential race. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton received the union's support. In the GOP race, Huckabee won its blessing for a pretty simple reason: he was the only Republican who actively sought it.
Union officials had said the organization would only consider bestowing its imprimatur upon candidates who vied for it through personal appearances earlier this week at a conference in Orlando. Among the GOP contenders, Huckabee was the sole attendee.
Union President Tom Buffenbarger (hard to imagine a better surname for a labor chieftain) said the former Arkansas governor "was the only Republican candidate with the guts to meet with our members and the only one willing ...
Read more Huckabee scores a coup »
Republican Fred Thompson will formally announce his long-anticipated presidential candidacy on a webcast next Thursday, he and his top aides told supporters wired into a conference call today.
The Times' Joe Mathews reports that the call also revealed that after the webcast airs and Thompson files the necessary paperwork with federal election officials, he will travel to the key early states in the nomination battle: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. And he will conclude his opening tour with a stop in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., on Sept. 15.
Mathews was told that during the call, which was not open to reporters, no mention was made of an effort to schedule a Thompson appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" next Wednesday -- the same night of a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire. But Mathews reports that sources close to Thompson say negotiations between the campaign and NBC remain in the works.
On the money front, Thompson's backers were told that he has raised about $6 million -- far less than the two leading contenders in the GOP race, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Not surprisingly, Thompson plans to focus on picking up his fundraising pace. The Times Joe Mathews has the complete story here on this website now and in Friday's print editions. You can also vote there on whether you think Thompson waited too long to enter the race.
-- Don Frederick
Fred Thompson got the message -- his delays in officially proceeding with his White House campaign were hurting him. So this afternoon (1 p.m. Pacific time) he's scheduled a conference call with supporters, where it's expected he'll tell them what they have been wanting to hear: He is definitely seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
He's apparently stealing a play from the game plan that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used in launching his political career. Thompson's campaign is seeking to set up an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" next Wednesday as part of the roll-out of an announcement tour, according to Times reporter Joe Mathews.
That's the venue Schwarzenegger famously used in 2003 to announce his plan to run for governor. And the Thompson appearance would occur on the same night that GOP candidates who have been running for months conduct a debate in New Hampshire. Not much doubt here about which event will win the ratings game.
Mathews will have a story on what Thompson tells his supporters later today on our website and in Friday's print editions.
-- Don Frederick
Todd Harris may be just the prescription for Republican Fred Thompson's struggling, presumed, when-is-he-going-to-announce presidential campaign. After all, the 36-year-old Harris brings to his new job as the Thompson camp's communications director a resume that includes assisting a politician best known to voters as an actor: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Times reporter Joe Mathews recalls that just a few weeks into Schwarzenegger's 2003 gubernatorial campaign, the candidate's wife, Maria Shriver (who, like Thompson's spouse, Jeri, is a stunning, very-involved-in-politics mate), asked well-known GOP consultant Mike Murphy to come in and take charge of an effort that she saw as flawed. Murphy brought along Harris, who was then spinning for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
It was a homecoming for Harris, who's from Walnut Creek in Northern California. And he helped craft a strategy that just may come in handy for Thompson. Schwarzenegger and his aides skillfully used criticism of his celebrity candidacy by traditionalists in media and political circles to help his cause. In a clever bit of political jujitsu, they insisted that the scorn directed at the Austrian actor -- and his refusal to play by the rules of campaign scheduling and access -- showed that he was a different kind of politician who could change California.
After Schwarzenegger won the governorship in the historic election that bounced the incumbent, Democrat Gray Davis, from the job, Murphy set up an office for his new consulting firm, DC Navigators, across the street from the Capitol in Sacramento. He hired Harris to run it, and the consultant developed a reputation as an accessible operative who, Mathews reports, also was a skilled amateur photographer and an avid wine collector.
Harris served as spokesman and strategist for the governor's many ballot campaigns, including the ill-fated special election in 2005 when a raft of initiatives backed by Schwarzenegger were rejected. The strain of that campaign showed in its final days when Harris went toe-to-toe in front of television cameras with Warren Beatty. The actor was trying to crash an invitation-only Schwarzenegger rally in San Diego and Harris turned him back (though he did pose for a photograph in which Beatty pretended to put the aide in a chokehold).
Schwarzenegger brought in a new political team after the initiative debacle, and Harris was out. He relocated to Washington, where he tackles his new challenge.
An ABC News story posted today outlines the hurdles that await him. In a nod to Harris' California roots, here's a line from it that he can relate to: "But since the heady days of late spring, when the Fred Thompson fever seemed to infect the GOP, Thompson's pre-campaign has been more 'Gigli' than 'Gone With the Wind.' "
(For those needing a reminder about how dispiriting the "Gigli" reference is for Thompson backers, go here.)
-- Don Frederick
We can only guess how many of you have been desperately waiting for political advice from Fidel Castro, el supremo Cuban leader despite those nagging intestinal problems that have kept him out of sight for a year. And now, finally, we have it.
Direct from his hospital suite the bearded dictator has written an editorial in the Communist Party newspaper Granma that we bet did not receive many changes by editors fearing prison.
Anyway, the 81-year-old Castro decreed that a 2008 U.S. presidential ticket pairing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would be "invincible." Presumably he means in the United States because they don't allow free elections in Cuba.
Of course, this could be a trick, part of a Communist plot. Maybe the wily Castro realizes that such a suggestion by a foreigner like him could actually be the kiss of death if such a ticket came out of the Democrats' Denver convention a year from now. Imagine the headlines: "Dems do as Castro says, name Hillary and Barack." Or "Castro says si to Dem ticket." He could even come to Denver disguised as Michael Moore and give one of his three-hour orations to the assembled delegates.
But maybe, Castro actually favors Ron Paul, the Republican isolationist who theoretically would care less about a tropical island 90 miles away. And by ignoring Paul like everyone else in the Northern Hemisphere except a small band of unemployed web cruisers who believe in voluminous free expression, this is Castro's way of helping to boost the Texas congressman's poll numbers out of the single digit.
The two American candidates Castro favors actually disagree on U.S. policy toward Cuba. As reported here recently, after speaking out on unilaterally bombing U.S. ally Pakistan, Obama wrote an op-ed in the Miami Herald advocating a fresh approach to Cuban policy as it nears the end of the Castro era.
Obama says he would lift Bush administration restrictions on visits to Cuba by relatives and...
Read more This just in: Fidel Castro handicaps U.S. election »
Hillary Clinton makes her seventh appearance this evening on the "Late Show with David Letterman," a remarkable tally for a politician not known to revel in unscripted moments (she makes a point, for instance, of steering clear of the Sunday morning chat-show circuit).
Clinton first took a seat next to Letterman back in January 2000; she was still first lady (and as such had been the grist for innumerable jokes on late night television). But she also was gearing up for her precedent-setting run for the Senate from New York. And her decision to drop by the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan proved mutually beneficial --- it was part of Clinton's remaking of her image and it rewarded Letterman with his highest rating in many a moon.
A BBC News story from the time noted that polls showed Clinton trailing her expected GOP opponent in the November race: then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. That face-off never materialized. Giuliani abandoned his candidacy after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Clinton crushed the hapless Republican who filled in for him.
The question now looming: did that turn of events simply postpone the inevitable?
Anticipating Clinton's guest turn tonight, some of the folks at ABC's political unit --- Teddy Davis, Karen Travers, Tahman Bradley and Leigh Hartman --- put together their best guesses on the top 10 things Clinton won't say on Letterman. And it is too well done not to simply repeat (with each item linked to an explainer, if needed, that also were supplied by the witty ABC quartet):
10. “If the Hsu fits, tap it.”
9. "If you can't run your own house, run for the White House."
8. "I think it reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton."
7. "I have said publicly no option should be off the table, but I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table."
6. "To know me is to love me."
5. "I've got a crush on Obama."
4. "Lobbyists? They have feelings, too, Dave.
3. "That vote on Iraq? Whoops."
2. "Let me tell you how I would get to universal coverage."
1. "When it comes to health care, I have a wide stance, Dave, and I have the scars to show for it."
We love each and every one, but for a couple of reasons, No. 10 is our fav rav. Feel free to let us know yours.
Letterman, by the way, is providing his viewers a classic opportunity to compare the comedic skills of Hillary Clinton with that fellow who would be first gent (or is that first laddie?). Bill Clinton is booked for the Sept. 4 show.
-- Don Frederick
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign reversed itself Wednesday, saying it would now donate to charity $23,000 in political contributions from Norman Hsu, a major Democratic fundraiser who was the subject of a Times story saying he was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant from a 1991 California criminal case.
Hsu, who authorities say has been a fugitive for 15 years, announced through his lawyer that he would "refrain from all fundraising activities" until the legal case is resolved.
In a flurry of announcements following the Times story numerous other prominent Democrats said they too would divest themselves of contributions from Hsu. They included Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, Reps. Michael Honda, Doris Matsui and Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, along with Al Franken, who is seeking the Democratic Senate nomination in Minnesota.
A Clinton spokesman said the campaign regularly reviewed donations and might return others collected by Hsu. Hsu, who is known as a bundler, has raised more than $1 million for Democrats in recent years.
In his statement Wednesday Hsu said he "was surprised to learn that there appears to be an outstanding warrant" for him and said he had been living a public life.
Hsu has also donated $1,000 to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, $7,000 to former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg and $10,000 to a failed initiative for universal preschool pushed by entertainer Rob Reiner.
A complete story on Wednesday's developments by The Times' Chuck Neubauer and Dan Morain appears on the Campaign '08 page of this website and in Thursday's print editions.
--Andrew Malcolm
Underfunded candidates struggling to get their message heard need to think creatively. And Democrat Joe Biden's presidential campaign has risen to the occasion.
Taking a cue from the "Adopt-a-Highway" promotion that Texas began in the mid-1980s and quickly was copied by many other states, a Biden aide e-mailed supporters today offering them the chance to "Adopt-an-Ad."
Those ponying up a mere $9 will pay for a spot for the candidate on CNN in Council Bluffs, the e-mail reports. Other fascinating financial details: $100 will foot the bill for one ad during "Meet the Press" in Sioux City, $300 reserves time during the "Late Show with David Letterman" in Des Moines and $600 buys a commercial on the evening news in Cedar Rapids.
Donors, unlike those who sign up for the highway program, won't get the thrill of seeing their names splashed about, but breaking down the ad costs in such specific terms does personalize the process. The Adopt-an-Ad gimmick is part of a push to raise $200,000 by Friday and, based on the tracking thermometer on the Biden website, it looks like the goal will be reached.
Thinking big, we asked Biden aide Eric Carbone about the costs of an ad during an "American Idol" broadcast around the state as the Iowa caucuses approach. He hadn't gotten that far ahead of the game, but said, "I'm hoping we can afford that."
-- Don Frederick
While a growing number of prominent Republicans called for his outright resignation, Idaho's beleaguered Sen. Larry Craig relinquished all his committee assignments today, as requested by senior party leaders. The same leaders are seeking a formal investigation by the Senate ethics committee.
Craig, who pleaded guilty this month to disorderly conduct after being arrested for lewd conduct in a men's room of the Minneapolis airport in June, has come under increasing political fire from colleagues. Sens. Norm Coleman and John McCain and Rep. Pete Hoekstra today called publicly for Craig to resign.
"When you plead guilty to a crime," McCain told CNN, "then you shouldn't serve." On the Jay Leno show last night McCain was even more forceful: "It's disgraceful, and the people of Idaho will make a pretty rapid verdict in this situation." On the other hand, one of Craig's Democratic colleagues, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a presidential candidate, urged the public watching CNN to give Craig "a little space here to defend himself."
Yesterday in an emotional news conference, covered here, Craig sought to defend himself against "a witch hunt" by the Idaho Statesman newspaper. He vehemently denied he was gay and said he regretted his guilty plea and was reviewing his legal options, which seem to be few, according to a story by The Times' Richard Schmitt on this website and in Thursday's print editions.
Reporting from Boise, The Times' Tomas Alex Tizon has another story with reaction back home.
Meanwhile, John McArdle of the Roll Call newspaper, a subscriber-only website that first broke the arrest story Monday, reports on how the arrest of such a prominent person escaped notice for nearly three months. A Minneapolis police spokeswoman said that while the department realized it had captured a famous person as one of 40 arrested in a monthlong sweep of that men's room, it handled all of the arrests in the same routine manner, which does not involve issuing news releases.
--Andrew Malcolm
Most senators and House members have spent their summer break tending to politics on the home fronts. A handful have pursued presidential ambitions. And one --- the now-forever-infamous Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho --- took a day to plead guilty to disorderly conduct charges stemming from an embarrassing encounter with an undercover cop in a public bathroom (and then used part of Tuesday to disown his plea).
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina had other vacation plans. As a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, the Republican served almost two weeks of duty in Iraq, returning just the other day.
He said that while at a trial in Baghdad outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, a car bomb detonated nearby. "It's a dangerous place," he told the Washington Post's Robin Wright in an interview. "I carried a 9 millimeter ... and there were several times I was glad I had one."
Graham has been to Iraq several times previously, both as a reserve officer and on congressional visits. And he insisted progress is evident, in part because of what he interpreted as a growing desire among most Iraqis for a reconciliation among the country's warring factions.
Politically, Graham has some reconciling of his own to accomplish. His steadfast support ...
Read more Lindsey Graham serves in Iraq, while facing heat at home »
The Federal Election Commission has levied the third largest fine in its 33-year history--$775,000--on a liberal 527 group America Coming Together for violation of federal campaign laws.
The FEC announcement dealt with arcane fund allocation provisions of the rules governing political action committees such as ACT, which can keep separate accounts for raising both federal and non-federal funds for activities that match those two criteria.
Donations to non-federal accounts may be raised outside of federal fundraising limits and source prohibitions. Donations to the PAC's federal accounts must follow federal limits and prohibitions.
ACT raised about $137 million during the 2004 election cycle from liberal donors such as billionaires George Soros and Peter Lewis, as well as the Service Employees International Union. Of that, the FEC said, approximately $33.5 million in federal funds was raised and $103.5 million in non-federal funds.
After a lengthy investigation the commission decided that about $70 million listed by ACT as administrative expenses for door-to-door canvassing, telemarketing and direct mail were actually attributable to clearly identified federal candidates and should have been paid by 100% federal funds or by an allocation formula higher than ACT actually used.
Campaign finance watchdogs alerted the FEC to the suspected violations and expressed disappointment to the Roll Call newspaper that the investigation took so long and the fine was relatively small given almost $100 million in illegal expenditures.
A joint statement issued today by Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center said, "The bottom line here is that almost all of ACT's voter drive activities in the 2004 election were required by federal law to be financed with federally legal funds, and ACT, instead, financed almost all of those voter drive activities with federally illegally soft money."
The FEC's largest fine was $3.8 million last year against the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. for illegal corporate contributions. Last December the commission fined Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth $300,000.
--Andrew Malcolm
The Manchester Union Leader is no longer the awesome force in New Hampshire that it once was, but it remains a voice to be reckoned with -- especially on the Republican side of the political fence. And in an editorial today attracting a fair amount of attention, the newspaper sends a pointed message to Fred Thompson: Enough, already, with tap-dancing on the periphery of the GOP presidential race.
The opening paragraph lays it on the line: "Fred Thompson has flirted from afar with Republican voters for long enough. It's time for him to accept a date. And there is no better first date than the New Hampshire Republican Party's presidential debate on Sept. 5."
You can read the rest of the editorial here.
The Union Leader, as proudly protective as any New Hampshire institution of the state's sacred-cow status in the nominating process, has a vested interest in wanting Thompson onstage ...
Read more Thompson scolded for tardiness »
We'll bet the first thing that came to your mind when you heard that Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales was resigning was, "I'd better write out a check to the John Edwards campaign."
No?
Well, that's too bad. They're waiting for your generous contribution right now. Joe Trippi thinks it's a real good idea. He's a top crony of Edwards called senior advisor. (Do you suppose anyone ever gets appointed junior advisor to campaigns?)
As soon as word got out that Gonzales was going, going, gone Monday and Edwards uttered his pithy "Better late than never" line along with other Democrats, the former North Carolina senator's campaign fired out a fundraising plea from Trippi.
It's the latest thing, especially if you're running way, way behind in polls and the money game. Play off the news and ask for dough, even if the connection is as slim as your chances of election.
"This [resignation] is a victory for all of us," Trippi wrote. "Your calls for change, your energy and your passion helped make this happen." That's the celebration part. Now comes the ominous warning: "But as pleased as we are to see Gonzales go, the fight is far from over.... [Bush] may try to permanently replace Gonzales with another crony from his administration--someone like Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff."
Now comes the good news: "John Edwards knows America deserves better than crony out, crony in--and if Bush tries to replace one crony with another, John will lead the fight against their nomination just like he led the calls for Gonzales to resign more than five months ago."
Now, get ready for it. Here comes the pitch: "We need your support in this fight--just like we needed your support in the fight against Gonzales. Support the campaign that is saying 'no' to crony out, crony in--make a donation today."
You're committed, right? You're cashing in your IRA already to send it to John to ...
Read more Giving money according to the news? »
As the founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, the nonprofit conservative ministry that wields considerable influence among Republican Christians from its luxurious ridge-top headquarters in Colorado Springs, James Dobson receives numerous GOP politicians making their required Focus pilgrimage.
Over coffee they sit by a glass table with an expansive view of the Rocky Mountains out the window. Dobson quizzes his visitors about their record on abortion and family issues and doesn't hesitate to offer his own blunt opinions about their opinions and record. Dobson's group cannot officially endorse any political candidate. Not in his newsletters or publications. Not from his own radio studio just down the hall where he regularly talks to millions on some 2,000 radio stations.
However, that did not stop Dobson himself from endorsing George W. Bush in 2004. He's holding his counsel now. But he has spent considerable time in recent months as a private citizen announcing whom he will not be voting for.
At the top of Dobson's unendorsement list is Rudy Giuliani. In a commentary on WorldNet, the Focus leader said he had made an irrevocable decision not to vote for the former New York mayor on the basis of moral issues such as abortion and domestic partnerships for homosexuals.
In fact, given the choice between Giuliani and Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, Dobson said he might for the first time in his adult life not vote. Those kind of words send chills down the spines of Republican campaign managers because Dobson's opinion is thought to sway millions of evangelical Christians.
Back in March, Dobson told U.S. News & World Report he wasn't all that keen on former Sen. Fred Thompson, who isn't a candidate officially yet but is getting very close. Dobson acknowledged the Tennessean held strong views about the pro-family movement, which was good, but added, "I don't think he's a Christian."
As we noted here the other day, Dobson and Thompson are believed to have talked since and, as Thompson's announcement day approaches, his former family pastor has come forward to recall the former senator's baptism. Stay tuned.
In January on a radio program Dobson told the host he could not support Sen. John McCain either because of the restrictions of the McCain-Feingold bill and new proposals, supported by and named for McCain, to limit the ability of groups such as Focus to reach constituents with action messages on pending legislation.
Dobson has said some good things about Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who repented to Dobson on-air about his own extra-marital affair even while criticizing Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Gingrich, he said, is the "brightest guy out there." Gingrich, however, is technically not in the GOP race, though he keeps shouting an awful lot of advice from the sidelines for a dis-interested non-candidate. He also keeps popping up on prominent TV programs and plans a major "solutions" seminar in late September.
Given the remaining Republican field of eight announced nominee wannabes and at least two ponderers, there remains an ample supply of other candidates available for Dobson to not endorse in coming months.
--Andrew Malcolm
After months of testing the waters and half-heartedly fundraising, Arizona Senator John McCain chose the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" last night to make it official and formally enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Some people thought he had already joined the race last spring with a major speech in New Hampshire. But like many other people, McCain has seen how successful Fred Thompson has been in the polls by not running, that last night McCain decided to try again. "We're doing so poorly," McCain told Leno with a straight face, "that I thought maybe I would announce on this show that I'm running for president."
His second campain begins today, his 71st birthday. McCain had a successful appearance on the late-night talk show that has become a must-stop for all candidates. He told a couple jokes and answered Jay's questions with his trademark candor. No dancing around anything.
On Alberto Gonzales' resignation: "It should have happened long ago. When you're hurting the person you're supposed to be loyal to, you ought to leave.'
On Donald Rumsfeld: "One of the worst secretaries of defense in history. It was like watching a train wreck. Power does funny things to people, particularly in that town."
On Karl Rove: "You must give him some credit. He was the architect of two successful presidential campaigns. You know, after he beat me in South Carolina in 2000, I slept like a baby--sleep for two hours, then wake up and cry."
On Sen. Larry Craig's arrest in a Minneapolis airport mensroom: "It's disgraceful and the people of Idaho will make a pretty rapid verdict in this situation. You know, Congress' approval rating is now at 18%, an historic low. When you're at that rate, you're down to paid staffers and blood relatives."
On YouTube: "Every politician's worst nightmare."
Did he think Fred Thompson would get into the presidential race before election day? "Maybe he shouldn't have to because he's already been president two or three times in the movies."
Will there be a McCain Girl like Obama Girl? "Yes, Bea Arthur."
On his low poll numbers: "I love being the underdog. I have to do the right thing. Americans...
Read more McCAIN JUMPS INTO GOP RACE ! »
The Los Angeles Times reports on this website tonight and in Wednesday's print editions that a major Democratic Party fundraiser named Norman Hsu is wanted by authorities for skipping out on an agreement to serve up to three years in prison after pleading no contest to grand theft swindling charges.
In a story by Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, The Times reports that for three years Hsu has been carving out a place of political and financial influence by funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into Democratic Party coffers, much of the money earmarked for Sen. Hillary Clinton. He has earned the ranking of Hillraiser for pledging to raise at least $100,000 for her.
In just the last 36 months Hsu has been involved in raising more than $1 million for Clinton and other Democrats. Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, confirmed today that Hsu had been a "longtime and generous supporter" of the party including Clinton. "We have no reason to call his contributions into question or to return them," Wolfson added.
Hsu has developed a specialty of bundling hefty campaign contributions from obscure citizens who live modest lives and have never before given money to campaigns. Many are not even registered to vote.
Over the years other recipients of Hsu donations have included Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Edward Kennedy.
Hsu's lawyer confirmed today that his client was the one involved in the California case but said he did not remember pleading to a criminal case nor facing jail time.
"He is a fugitive," said Ronald Smetana of the California attorney general's office. "Do you know where he is?"
--Andrew Malcolm
The International Assn. of Fire Fighters took a risk in the 2004 presidential campaign--and in the process significantly raised its national political profile. Now, the union is taking what seems like an even bigger leap of faith in backing a candidate who no doubt fervently hopes that history repeats itself.
Union President Harold Schaitberger will announce in Washington on Wednesday that the group, which boasts more than 280,000 members, is endorsing Chris Dodd in the Democratic presidential race. That should provide a badly needed boost for the Connecticut senator, who is respected within his party but so far has failed to generate any discernible momentum for his White House bid.
The union similarly took a flier almost exactly four years ago on John Kerry, embracing him as their guy at a time when his drive for the Democratic presidential nomination was stuck in neutral. Kerry's prospects grew even bleaker as 2003 played out. But the firefighters stuck with him, even as a parade of unions lined up behind labor stalwart Dick Gephardt and a few huge ones--such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees--backed the race's front-runner, Howard Dean.
The firefighters, however, basked in the afterglow--and saw their political stock soar--when Kerry scored his surprise victory in the 2004 Iowa caucuses and then stormed to the Democratic nomination.
Dodd obviously envisions such a scenario for himself. But overcoming the two leaders in this cycle's contest--Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama--is a much taller order than toppling Dean and Gephardt. And in Iowa, long shots Bill Richardson and Joe Biden have been showing more signs of life than Dodd. Not surprisingly, that's where he will be heading later this week, with Schaitberger at his side (and then it's on to New Hampshire and Nevada for the pair).
Dodd spokesman Hari Sevugan said the campaign views the firefighters as a huge asset in its effort to get out the vote on caucus night. Sevugan added: “If this turns out to be a national security election, having firefighters stand beside you is an incredible validator.”
Dodd, who won his Senate seat in 1980, certainly earned the endorsement. He's carved out a solidly pro-labor record over the years, and wrote legislation that specifically benefited firefighters. Still, Clinton had to be somewhat taken aback by the union's call, especially given the rousing reception she received in a speech to its members in March.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the Clinton camp rolled out a competing endorsement Tuesday, announcing that she won the backing of the United Transportation Union. Its membership consists of about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus and public transit workers.
-- Don Frederick
"I am not gay," Sen. Larry Craig said twice during a 10-minute statement today following news that he had pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on suspicion of lewd behavior in a men's restroom in June.
"I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport and I regret the decision to plead guilty," the Idaho Republican added. He said he had "overreacted" to the stress of the moment and did not consult with family or an attorney. The revelations of the arrest and guilty plea, first made by John McArdle in the Roll Call newspaper yesterday, threw the conservative world of Idaho politics into turmoil.
The 27-year veteran of Washington said the stress was compounded by the Idaho Statesman newspaper, which he said had for eight months "relentlessly and viciously harassed" him and his family. He apologized to his family and the people of Idaho.
The 62-year-old Craig is up for reelection next year, but his political future seems clouded now in what has been a safe Republican Senate seat since the days of Ronald Reagan. Even conservative bloggers such as Hugh Hewitt were urging Craig to give up his seat today and allow another Republican to salvage it in a political year when the GOP already must defend more congressional seats than the Democrats.
In Washington, Senate Republican leaders called for an investigation by the ethics...
Read more BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Craig denies being gay »
Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales' resignation and the scandal that enveloped Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho overshadowed a relatively busy campaign day on Monday -- and obscured some fiery rhetoric, as well as a memorable crack from Dennis Kucinich.
The Ohio congressman joined three other Democratic presidential contenders -- Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson -- in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a forum on the fight against cancer. At the event, sponsored by famed cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, there was predictable bashing of President Bush. Clinton charged that the administration "has literally called a halt in the war against cancer," while Edwards termed Bush "the most anti-science president in history."
Clinton and Edwards also made crystal clear the difference between them on the part that insurance and pharmaceutical companies would play in their respective healthcare plans.
Edwards rejected any role for the industries, continuing to burnish his populist persona by saying, "I think if you give drug companies and insurance companies and their lobbyists a seat at the table, they'll eat all the food. I think you need to take them on."
Clinton, who some would argue tried to do just that in devising the healthcare plan that ended in political disaster for her husband, the president, early in his first term, buttressed her new image as a conciliator by saying, "I believe in working with everybody and being influenced by nobody."
Richardson won the pander award by pledging that as president, he would name Armstrong the nation's "cancer czar" (who knows, maybe the retired athlete has medical school on his horizon).
The Kucinich line, one of the better ones uttered on the trail of late, came after he asserted that if he became president, his own healthy lifestyle would prod others to do better (he's long been a vegan):
"I'm 60 years old, my wife's 29. Draw your own conclusions. Diet helps."
Clinton and Edwards traveled later in the day to New Orleans to join in a forum on the rebuilding process, post-Hurricane Katrina. Once again, there were barbs aplenty directed at the Bush administration, and even Republican White House contender Mike Huckabee caught the spirit.
Huckabee, who was governor of Arkansas when the storm struck and oversaw the accommodations his state provided for some of those displaced by the disaster, noted that he was among those less than impressed by the response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"We came to believe FEMA stood for Forget Expecting Meaningful Answers," Huckabee quipped.
Not bad. Not quite up to the standard Kucinich set, but not bad.
-- Don Frederick
Debates continue over the Christian credentials of two prominent Republicans.
Earlier this year, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson questioned whether Fred Thompson, who's expected to officially enter the GOP presidential contest any day now, is really a Christian.
"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson told U.S. News and World Report. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression."
Dobson and Thompson have reportedly talked, but Dobson has not backed off the comments.
Now comes Andy Brown, Thompson's pastor during the 1950s. Brown has watched Dobson's comments follow Thompson around, and he tells Times reporter Joe Mathews that he's upset about it. Brown even dug out the Dec. 15, 1954, church bulletin from the First Street Church of Christ in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., that reported Thompson's baptism by full immersion.
"Two more fine young men baptized," the headline said. Thompson was 12 at the time.
"He's a Christian," said Brown, who has kept up with the lawyer, actor and politician. "Dobson owes Fred an apology."
Brown, 81, recollects that ...
Read more Thompson, Rove and religion »
Most politicians, knowing that their positions on serious issues inevitably divide voters, abhor conflict over less substantial matters. Which explains a certain ambivalence that sometimes crops up when it comes to their rooting interests in sports.
Bill Richardson still hasn't lived down his insistence on "Meet the Press" in May that he was a fan of both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Hillary Clinton, an Illinois native but a New York senator, walks a thin line supporting the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs.
With Rudy Giuliani, there is no such hair-splitting. The Brooklyn native is an unabashed, dyed-in-the-wool Yankee fan. Both he and the team, however, may be rethinking how he expresses his devotion.
Giuliani happened to be raising money Monday in Michigan for his Republican presidential bid, which also allowed him to take in his team's final road game against the Detroit Tigers. The Yanks not only lost, they endured one of the worst thumpings in their storied history: 16-0.
Here's the particularly distressing part for Giuliani, the team and its fans -- the week before, while campaigning in Southern California, he was in the crowd when the Los Angeles Angels walloped the Yanks, 18-9.
"I'm afraid the Yankees are going to ban me from their games," Giuliani conceded after the most recent drubbing.
For the gory details of the Monday night contest -- plus Giuliani's bold prediction on what the future holds for his team -- go here.
-- Don Frederick
This morning Florida has only 27 days left to delay its Jan. 29 primary back into February or lose all of its delegate seats at next August's Democratic National Convention in Denver. The Democratic National Committee set the deadline after a hearing Saturday to protect the primary/caucus primacy of Iowa and New Hampshire.
The stampede by states to move up into early voting, which could soon include Michigan, threatens to turn a traditionally drawn-out primary process into a truncated, high-stakes blizzard of voting with little time for winners of some states to benefit from any momentum or for others to recover. Theoretically, by the first week of February we could know the identities of the parties' nominees, who must then wait around for six months to be ratified at conventions that have become mere formalities.
So far, there's no sign of any change of heart by Florida, the nation's fourth most populous state and the one that determined the final outcome of the 2000 election. The loss of its official delegates would turn the state vote into a beauty contest. But a very big beauty contest.
Although most of the attention has focused on Florida's potential loss of convention delegates, a strong argument could be made that in terms of actual clout or influence over candidates and their ...
Read more Florida's punishment might be a reward »
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