Obama discusses his faith

On a busy political weekend in Iowa (what other kind is there right now?), Barack Obama undoubtedly headlined the most interesting event.

He keynoted the United Church of Christ state convention in Fort Dodge on Saturday and his remarks, as reported by Radio Iowa, drive home that he is more comfortable than most recent Democratic presidential candidates in discussing his faith and how it guides him.

He didn't turn the other cheek when discussing the Christian Right. "There was a period of time when the Christian Coalition determined that its number one legislative priority was tax cuts for the rich," he said. "I don't know what Bible they are reading; didn't jibe with my version."

The speech was one of four stops in Iowa for Obama (two were at potluck gatherings). Also traipsing about the state were fellow Democrat John Edwards and Republican Mitt Romney.

-- Don Frederick 

Ron Paul --- Cyber Star

Ron Paul may remain among the longest of long shots to actually capture the Republican presidential nomination, but his candidacy --- and his forceful articulation of a conservative's case for quickly disengaging from Iraq (and much of the rest of the world, for that matter) --- clearly has struck a chord.

Got any doubts? Check out an article in today's Washington Post, headlined: "An Also-Ran in the GOP Polls, Ron Paul Is Huge on the Web."

The piece notes, for instance, that his official YouTube videos "have been viewed nearly 1.1 million times --- more than those of any other candidate, Republican or Democrat, except for" Democrat Barack Obama.

Hillary at the Mike

As The Times' Stephen Braun notes after covering Hillary Clinton's prime campaign event today in New Hampshire, it's no longer enough for a presidential contender to have mastered the art of strolling down the state's many Main Streets and making small talk with prospective supporters. In the 21st century, you've got to make your bones as a talk-show host.

Braun reports that Clinton wielded her cordless mike with Oprah-esque skill as, at Dartmouth University in Hanover, N.H., she led a town hall meeting on stem cell research. Much of the focus was on the continuing battle between Congress and the White House over restrictions on federal funding of the research.

What would Reagan do for Libby?

Listen to the Republican presidential candidates for more than a few minutes, and you'll hear them boast of taking cues from Ronald Reagan.

So, what would Reagan do if faced with calls to pardon "Scooter'' Libby, the former White House insider now sentenced to 30 months for lying to investigators in the CIA leak case?

Two candidates -- Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson -- have suggested they'd opt for a pardon, with Thompson saying he would "absolutely'' grant one. But Reagan might not have agreed.

As it happens, Reagan faced something akin to the Libby situation: In 1983, he denied a pardon for Jeb Magruder, a Nixon aide convicted in the Watergate scandal.

Why no pardon? Apparently, Magruder's crime of lying was considered too serious to warrant one.

"Perjury is pretty close to an unpardonable offense if the criminal justice system is going to work,'' a Justice Department official said in 1983 to the New York Times, which did not quote the official by name.

By contrast, Reagan agreed to pardon one of the men involved in the actual Watergate break-in, because nonviolent burglary "is not as serious as testifying falsely,'' the official was quoted as saying.

At the time, Giuliani was the No. 3 official in the Justice Department.

-- Don Frederick

Watch out for those little words

Ted Koppel had an intriguing analysis of the Iraq war and Democratic presidential politics on NPR the other day. He noted that all of the Democratic candidates were competing over who would bring home our troops faster.

But as a longtime diplomatic correspondent schooled in the tricky byways of language nuance, he was struck by the past records of the candidates, especially Hillary Clinton, who has said previously that an American troop presence in Iraq would be required for some time. And, he pointedly noted, all the talk is about bringing our troops home. They do not use the word "all."

Koppel recently talked with a longtime source who advises Clinton at times. The source said that privately she has said that if she is elected and then re-elected, American troops would still be in Iraq under her successor. That doesn't sound like an immediate withdrawal.

"When," Koppel asked about the ongoing campaigns, "will we get the brutal truth instead of vapid and misleading campaign applause lines?"

When indeed.

--Andrew Malcolm

Grasping at straws

Rudy Giuliani, who rocked the world of Iowa Republican politics last week by pulling out of the traditional Ames straw poll in August, has now decided to participate in an ABC-TV debate there on Aug. 5. Just as John McCain followed the former mayor's lead and also pulled out of the straw poll, McCain and the other prominent GOP candidates are now likely to join the ABC debate.

Giuliani has less of a ground operation than his competitors in the Hawkeye state and McCain's struggling campaign is now downplaying fundraising expectations for the second quarter. A televised debate reaches many more people for free than a dusty county fair straw poll.

Political straw polls are expensive to bus in and buy tickets for your supporters to pack the ballot boxes. And straw polls are absolutely meaningless--unless you win one.

Still, they provide priceless publicity (especially for no-name candidates) and are a concrete measure of a candidate's on-the-ground organizational abilities. Which is why George W. Bush, with short preparation time and against the advice of some advisors, assigned Ken Mehlman to go after an Ames straw poll victory in 1999 and won it.

Giuliani and McCain said they left this summer's straw poll to save money for other activities. And straw polls are silly.

The real reason: They saw Mitt Romney coming. He's been up with ads in Iowa for months, built a solid team there, has the money to bus in sufficient supporters and leads the polls. Other than that McCain and Giuliani had a real chance of grasping at straws.

Winning the Ames straw poll certainly doesn't guarantee victory in the Iowa caucuses the following January. Pat Robertson knows that. But overlooked in most of the news coverage of the McCain/Giuliani decisions was another historical fact. No Republican has ever won the Iowa caucuses without first competing in Ames.

Let's check back on this come January.

--Andrew Malcolm

Arnold as Veep

That's the scenario envisioned for California's governor by none other than billionaire Warren Buffett in the kicker to a new, and long, Time magazine article on the political world's latest fun couple --- Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (The story's headline: "The New Action Heroes.")

Referring to the won't-die chatter about Bloomberg running for president as an independent, Buffett says that as he mused about that scenario, he consulted the Constitution. "I wanted to see if Schwarzenegger could be his Vice President," the businessman tells Time. "I think he could," given that the born-an-American-citizen requirement for the top of the ticket is not mentioned for the occupant of the No. 2 slot.

Says Buffett: "That would be one hell of a team, wouldn't it?"

The Time piece refers to the pair as "the Hollywood brute and the Wall Street mogul." And, in light of Bloomberg's diminutive stature, it makes the obvious reference to the film "Twins" (the mayor in the Danny DeVito role and Arnold in, well, the Arnold role).

The piece provides mini-bios of the two men. And it will be music to the ears of their PR staffs. "They're ... doing big things," it asserts. "Specifically, they're doing big things that Washington has failed to do."

-- Don Frederick

Bill Richardson, dissected

Bill Richardson's folksy, unorthodox campaign style has been getting a lot of media attention. And the verdict seems to be in: it may be fun to cover, but it may not be good for his political health.

The New Republic's Ryan Lizza penned a lengthy piece that he talked about Wednesday on MSNBC. Summarizing his take on Richardson, Lizza said: "He comes off as a very personable guy, very funny. And, you know, we always accuse these guys of not being candid enough, and in Richardson's case sometimes he is a little too candid and it gets him in trouble."

Washington Post political blogger Chris Cillizza touted the article today and weighed in with his own view of the New Mexico governor, saying, "... we remain skeptical about his chances of winning the nomination for a simple reason: his unpredictability."

And The Times' Maria La Ganga late last week wrote a flavorable story that captured the essentials of the Richardson candidacy.

His public persona is not the only way Richardson stretches the parameters of the expectations surrounding a contemporary presidential candidate. There's the matter of looks.

Giuliani's new tune?

Rudy Giuliani has notably refrained from the Bush-bashing that is becoming commonplace among some of his fellow Republican presidential contenders, but that may be changing, based on a campaign appearance he made today.

The Associated Press leads its story on Giuliani's stop at a Flag Day rally in Wilmington, Del., by saying the former New York mayor took "an indirect swipe at President Bush" in commenting on negative attitudes about the nation's direction.

"What we’re lacking is strong, aggressive, bold leadership like we had with Ronald Reagan," Giuliani said.

This is the same Giuliani who not too long ago, at the first GOP debate, made a point of praising Bush for putting the U.S. "on the offense against terrorists." He added: "I think history will remember him for that, and I think we as Republicans should remind people of that."

Two polls released this week underscored the pervasive public pessimism that spurred Giuiliani's remarks. A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey reported that 71% view the country as on the wrong track, with just 21% saying it's headed in the right direction. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll out today came up with virtually the same numbers --- wrong track: 69%; right direction: 19%.

Based on the various poll numbers, the Journal's story focuses on what it describes as the Republican Party's "weak state heading into the 2008 election."

-- Don Frederick

Obamania

Here's the latest, classic example of the new vistas opening up in political discourse: "I Got a Crush ... on Obama," up on YouTube.

Featuring a young woman who's often scantily clad, it's not for everyone. And it's not, his aides want to stress, in any way sanctioned by or connected to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. But it's a good bet many of the folks working for him (and those toiling for other candidates) have already checked it out --- and will do so again.

Sample lyrics: "You're into border security/Let's break this border between you and me."

A report on the ABC News website has the details on who produced the video and how it came to be. And Frank James at the Chicago Tribune's political blog, The Swamp, captured one of our reactions: "If only JFK and Bill Clinton had run for president in the YouTube era."

-- Don Frederick