Jesse Helms cut a wide swath in U.S. politics

Power is perishable, and when politicians exit the stage, it often doesn't take long -- especially in Washington -- for their importance to be only vaguely recollected.

So with the death today of former Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina at age 86, we offer some reminders of the central role -- for good, ill or a combination of both, depending on one's viewpoint -- he played in public policy and political discourse (The Times' obituary can be read here).

Back in the late 1990s, the Almanac of American Politics said flatly of Helms that "no American politician is more controversial, beloved in some quarters and hated in others...."

This, at a time when Bill Clinton was deep into his presidency.

First elected to his Senate seat in 1972, aided by Richard Nixon's landslide in that year's presidential election and the increasing GOP appeal to the South's conservative ethos, Helms at first was chiefly known for his staunch -- and often colorfully expressed -- opposition to abortion rights, gay rights and a raft of other liberal causes.

He truly became a figure to be reckoned with, however, through his tenure on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (he eventually became its chairman). As the political almanac put it, he used his seat "to conduct something like his own foreign policy." During Ronald Reagan's presidency and the administration of George H.W. Bush, Helms and a band of loyal aides "developed their own sources and attempted to manipulate State Department appointments to help the contras in Nicaragua and rightists in El Salvador."

Helms was revered on the right. In comments on MSNBC today, Pat Buchanan judged him "the second most important conservative of the second half of the 20th Century" (the first, of course, being Reagan).

And he was reviled on the left, perhaps never more so then during his 1990 reelection campaign when he faced a spirited challenge from an African-American, Harvey Gantt.

That race overshadowed all others in the nation that year, and it lives on due to the controversial -- many say race-baiting ads -- that Helms employed.

The best-known ad sought to tap into resentment against "quota" hiring practice by showing white hands crumpling a job rejection notice while a narrator intoned that the better qualified applicant had been bypassed for a minority hire.

Less well-known is a spot that berated Gantt for waging a "secret" campaign because he was advertising on black-owned radio stations.

Helms won the election, 53% to 47%, and then defeated Gantt by virtually the same margin in a rematch six years later.

As our friend Frank James notes in his posting on The Swamp, Helms "was more complicated on racial issues than the caricature he had with much of the public."

Still, some will see irony in the timing of Helms' passing -- just a few weeks before Barack Obama makes racial history when he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Newsmakers

Gary Bauer weighs in gay marriage, Barack Obama and California

Our colleague Dan Morain chatted up American Values'  Gary Bauer Tuesday about gay marriage and Barack Obama's letter stating his opposition to a California ballot initiative (John McCain supports it). Morain points out that two other states will have similar measures on their fall ballot -- Arizona and Florida. While polls show California pretty safe for Obama and Arizona similarly so for McCain, a gay-marriage fight in Florida could have scale-tipping consequences.

Bauer, founder of the conservative Campaign for Working Families political action committee, said he hasn't decided whether to donate to California's "incredibly important" measure. "If the pro-same-sex marriage forces cannot win in California and Florida, it means that the people of this country still are resistant to radical social change," Bauer said.

Bauer said he was "somewhat heartened when Barack Obama said … that it should be a state decision" but that given Obama's recent statements opposing the California measure, "the idea that he is agnostic about this question doesn’t hold up any more."

"It is a major difference between the two candidates," Bauer said. "Before it is all over, we’ll have a great debate on tax policy, on foreign policy and on this fundamental question of what is the status of marriage."

Bauer said that John McCain and Barack Obama "did not seem far apart a few months ago" on gay marriage. "Now they are quite at odds with each other. It is something that voters in other states are looking at. When you have a significant number of other states that have voted to preserve marriage, it is the sort of thing that could hurt Obama."

Most significant: Obama "has very much been making a play for evangelical voters, suggesting that there would be no reason that an evangelical should vote against him. It becomes harder to make that case."

-- Scott Martelle

Photo provided by American Values

Prominent abortion foe extols Barack Obama

Douglas Kmiec, a Justice Department honcho under two previous Republican administrations and an abortion foe who once headed Catholic University's law school, raised eyebrows within some conservative circles earlier this year when, in a Slate.com posting, he endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Today, Kmiec delivers another valentine Obama's way, writing glowingly in the Chicago Tribune about a "private conversation" the candidate had recently with him, the Rev. Franklin Graham (the son of the Rev. Billy Graham) "and a diverse group of 30 or so religious leaders from Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical and other traditions."

Kmiec, who for several years has taught law at Pepperdine University in Malibu, terms the gathering as "an unprecedented sit-down for any political figure, let alone a much-in-demand presidential candidate."

He continues: "Why would the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party devote so much time talking faith rather than politics? Quite simply, because it is the senator's deep personal faith that explains his audaciously positive hope for his country."

The meeting, Kmiec relates, "dwelt at some length on abortion." It remains a subject on which he and his favored candidate disagree. But Kmiec prefers to stress what he views as Obama's "appreciation for both the significance of faith and faith differences and an open mind sensitive to the need to protect religious freedom."

It's hard not to imagine that if he hasn't gotten it already, Kmiec will be receiving a standing invitation for a prominent speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

-- Don Frederick

Barack Obama wins the nod from NARAL

Amid minor movement today among Democratic superdelegates -- so far, Barack Obama has picked up 2 1/2 votes [UPDATE: make that 3 1/2] and Hillary Clinton, one -- Obama scored a coup with an endorsement from the nation's foremost abortion rights advocacy group.

In a news release, the political action committee for NARAL Pro-Choice America had kind words for Clinton but annoounded its backing for Obama, citing its reading of the status of the Democratic presidential race.

"Today, we are proud to put our organization's grass-roots and political support behind the pro-choice candidate whom we believe will secure the Democratic nomination and advance to the general election," NARAL's president said in the release. "That candidate is Sen. Obama.

Alan Keyes officially leaves GOP and hardly anyone notices

Alan Keyes, the former Republican who came within about 1,200 convention delegates of thumping Sen. Bob Dole for the GOP presidential nomination in 1996 and then came just as close to dismantling Gov. George W. Bush in 2000 for the party's White House nod, is seriously considering trying to embarrass another political party.

Keyes announced Tuesday night that he was officially leaving the Republican Party, which was relieved to hear it.

Keyes is best known recently as the former Illinois Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate singlehandedly responsible for halting the rise of a Democratic state senator there named Barack Obama. In their fabled statewide 2004 contest, Keyes came within 43 percentage points of tying Obama.

In what Keyes' website billed as a "major announcement," the outspoken abortion opponent said he was considering joining the Constitution Party.

"They're considering me, I'm considering them," Keyes told a conference call of several people Tuesday night. "We have so much in common that I find it hard to believe we won't be able to work out a common basis for working together."

The website of the Constitution Party, which has national headquarters in the well-known political hub of Lancaster, Pa., proclaims its political goal is "to restore our government to its Constitutional limits and our law to its Biblical foundations." The party holds its presidential nominating convention later this month in Kansas City, Mo., which is famous for great barbecue.

According to Keyes' very own website, he is busy these days writing books and speaking out on America's moral crisis. During a candid moment backstage at a Des Moines GOP debate in the 1999-2000 campaign, Keyes admitted to a bystander that perennially running for president was very good for boosting his speaking fees.

"Alan's stated purpose in life," his website says, "like that of America's Founders, is to provide a secure future for our posterity."

--Andrew Malcolm

John McCain to Tom Ridge: Don't hold your breath for vice president spot

For all the continued gnashing of teeth among some conservatives over John McCain's long, obstacle-strewn, improbable rise to the top of the heap in the Republican Party, he's been taking care not to unnecessarily aggravate parts of the GOP base. Indeed, today he seemed to go out of his way to send a reassuring signal to antiabortion forces.

McCain was at Villanova University in the Philadelphia area, joining MSNBC's Chris Matthews for an interview session in front of a student crowd when the following exchange occurred:

MATTHEWS:  Let me ask you about your Republican Party.  You've been a maverick, and a lot of people like you because of that.  I want to ask you how much of a maverick you are.  Would you put a person on the ticket with you, like the former governor of this state who is very popular, Tom Ridge, even though he may disagree on the issue of Roe v. Wade and abortion rights? .... Would that stop him? 
MCCAIN:  I don't know if it would stop him, but it would be difficult.  I just want to say that Tom Ridge is one of the great Americans.  He served in the Vietnam War.  He served in Congress.  He served as a great governor of this state.  I am proud to call him my friend. 
MATTHEWS:  Why that one issue?  Why is it that one litmus test issue?
MCCAIN:  I'm not saying that would be necessarily, but I am saying ... the respect and cherishing of the right of the unborn is one of the fundamental principles of my party.  And it's a ... deeply held belief of mine.  But I just want to say, again, the admiration and respect and affection that I have for Tom Ridge -- he and I came to the Congress together many years ago.  And I can't tell you how much I admire him.

No doubt.

But at this stage of his running-mate selection process, McCain did not have to all but rule out Ridge (who also served as the first head of the Department of Homeland Security). True, Matthews phrased his question well, but McCain could have wiggled out of it, saying Ridge was a great American but it was premature to discuss his prospects -- or those of any other -- as his veep pick.

That would have kept alive a murmur of concern among social conservatives, though. And after overcoming so much distrust among core GOP constituencies to emerge as the presumptive nominee, it appears clear that McCain wants to still such worries.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times

Paul Weyrich liked Mitt Romney; now he doesn't

Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Moral Majority, made a splash last November when he endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Now he's part of an organized campaign urging the man who bested Romney in the Republican primaries and caucuses, John McCain, NOT to make the former Massachusetts governor his running mate.

There was no love lost -- at all -- between the McCain and Romney forces in the final stages of the GOP contest. But Romney earned some goodwill from his rival when he quickly folded up his campaign after getting waxed in Feb. 5's Super Tuesday round of votes. And warm words the two have exchanged about each other -- as well as a joint appearance last week -- sparked speculation that they could end up as this election season's Republican tag team.

McCain was campaigning in Prescott, Ariz., today; while there he will be greeted by a full-page ad in the local newspaper declaring Romney "utterly unacceptable" as a vice presidential pick to those who signed the open letter -- social conservatives all, including Weyrich.

The ad, which those paying for it say will shadow McCain in papers in various towns in visits in the days to come, expresses skepticism about Romney's sincerity in embracing -- while a presidential candidate -- a host of conservative positions ....

Good sign for John McCain: conservative James Dobson says he'll vote Nov. 4

James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, a conservative, nonprofit organization that wields widespread influence among Christian Republicans, has come, oh, so close to endorsing the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.

For the past year Dobson, who endorsed George W. Bush in 2004, has been mainly saying which Republican he would not endorse--Rudy Giuliani because he was pro-choice, Fred Thompson because he opposed the marriage amendment and, at one point, McCain because of restrictions that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms put on nonprofit communications with members about political issues.

At one time Dobson even suggested he might not vote for the first time in his adult life if the candidates didn't meet his standards of being antiabortion and for family values. That could have caused millions of religious conservatives to stay home on Nov. 4.

Dobson once said Mitt Romney would qualify as a pro-family candidate. But when he dropped out of the GOP race, Dobson endorsed Mike Huckabee for his "unwavering positions on social issues."

From their mountainside headquarters in Colorado Springs, Dobson and Focus reach millions of conservative evangelicals daily through their website, newsletters and his radio broadcasts. The concern among Republican operatives has not been that conservatives with some lingering doubts about McCain's, say, initial opposition to the Bush tax cuts would vote for Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, whose Democratic party members have turned out in large numbers all election season.

The GOP concern has been instead that a lack of enthusiasm among....

Two questions, four answers from Barack Obama

NELSONVILLE, Ohio -- Memo to presidential candidates: Beware of voters asking double-barreled questions.

Barack Obama got a double dose while campaigning in Ohio this weekend.

The first such query came in the Cleveland suburb of Parma Heights Saturday night at the very end of a lengthy town hall meeting: “My question is about immigration and gay marriage,” stated one young woman. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Are those questions connected?” responded a slightly incredulous Obama. “Gay immigrants? Thank you for those two easy questions.”

Then the Illinois senator launched into a two-pronged answer ...

McCain's candor, as usual, gives his foes an opening

As Mitt Romney fights to stay alive in the Republican presidential race, he and his campaign are doing their best to haunt John McCain with his own words. On Sunday, Romney's highly vigilant media shop jumped on a comment he made to reporters a few weeks back while stumping in South Carolina: "It's not social issues I care about."

The quote was buried deep, deep in a Washington Post story on the overall ideological struggle between McCain and Romney. But the latter's staff was quick to highlight it in a release that included excerpts from a lengthy Vanity Fair profile a year ago, such as this quote from a former McCain aide: "Yes, he's a social conservative, but his heart isn't in this stuff."

None of this will come as a big surprise to those within the GOP for whom opposition to abortion rights and gay marriage is paramount. Social conservatives long have known that although McCain's voting record is generally solid on their issues, it is not an agenda he could be expected to promote.

The Romney camp, in its release, smartly paired ...

   

Ron Paul endorsed by Jane Roe, yes, THAT Roe

What a coincidence!

On the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic Roe vs. Wade abortion ruling, the Roe of that landmark legal case endorsed libertarian turned Republican Rep. Ron Paul for president. Paul, a 10-term Texas congressman from the Houston area, is a 72-year-old Air Force veteran and ob-gyn who has surprised many political observers with the fervor of his bands of followers, not to mention his campaign's fundraising prowess that has outshined other Republican so-called front-runners.

"Jane Roe," whose real name is Norma McCorvey, turned against abortion a decade ago. In her endorsement Tuesday she said, "I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v. Wade. He has never wavered....

Clinton mailer attacks Obama

As Democrat Hillary Clinton attempts to live up to family tradition and become a "comeback kid" in New Hampshire, she's accentuated the positive in her public appearances so far. But mailers from her campaign arriving at Granite State homes are taking on rival Barack Obama, questioning his commitment to abortion rights.

"A woman's right to choose ... demands a leader who will stand up and protect it" reads the mailer's headline, complete with the bold-faced "stand up."

One segment of the mailer, with a thumbnail picture of Clinton, touts her well-established commitment to that principle; the other segment, with a head shot of Obama, charges that he is "unwilling to take a stand on choice." It then cites his record of voting "present" seven times on abortion-related legislation as an Illinois state senator.

The New York Times recently wrote about Obama's votes as a state legislator and focused on the abortion issue in the last half of the story. It explained that he did cast those "present" votes, but added he "voted that way as part of a broad strategy devised by abortion rights advocates to counter anti-abortion bills."

And in the article, Pam Sutherland, president of Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, praises Obama's record on abortion rights. You can read the piece here.

It's a good bet the topic will arise in tonight's debate among the Democratic presidential contenders, with Clinton defending the mailer's assertion and Obama taking great umbrage to it. It also will be intriguing to see if Obama's campaign counters through the mail.

-- Don Frederick

Keyes vs. Giuliani

Don't look for Alan Keyes to serve as a surrogate for Rudy Giuliani during next year's general election campaign, should the latter claim the Republican presidential nomination.

Keyes pointedly remarked toward the end of today's GOP debate in Iowa that, given his commitment to human life from "the womb to the tomb," he could not back Giuliani (in case anyone was wondering).

Giuliani hardly seemed shaken by the revelation. In one of the clearer answers he's provided at various forums on abortion, he responded that although he personally opposes it, he believes the ultimate decision should be left "to a woman and her conscience."

He added that "I'm not going to change" to win over Keyes (whose inclusion in the forum remains, itself, worthy of debate).

-- Don Frederick

Amid an often confusing debate, a few instructive answers

Was or was not New York a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants when Rudy Giuliani was its mayor? We're still not sure.

Does Mitt Romney bear responsibility for work done at his home by a company whose crew included illegal immigrants, thereby sanctioning what Giuliani sneered was a "sanctuary mansion"? We're stumped over that one, too.

The charges and counter-charges were flying fast and furious at Wednesday night's CNN/YouTube debate, often generating far more heat than light -- especially on the immigration issue, which dominated the proceeding's first 30 minutes or so. You can read more about the evening's give-and-take here.

But on at least two occasions -- on the key topics of tax hikes and abortion -- the forum produced some worthwhile moments.

In one instance, a YouTube question came from a major player in U.S. politics -- Grover Norquist, a conservative activist who heads Americans for Tax Reform. He posed the query for which he is most famous: would the candidates pledge that, as president, they would oppose and veto any tax increase Congress might send them?

Tom Tancredo, Mike Huckabee ...

The Sunday shows: Open season on Huckabee

On Sunday morning, it was open season on Baptist minister-turned-presidential contender Mike Huckabee, who has surged to second among Republican candidates in the Iowa polls. Leading the onslaught was former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, whose campaign released no fewer than six e-mail statements denouncing Huckabee before the first National Football League games started at 10 a.m. PST (an important deadline for campaigns seeking to make news on the Lord’s day -- Republicans like their football).

Thompson, whose candidacy has failed to consolidate the support of social conservatives who are now moving to Huckabee, attacked on multiple fronts: taxation (Huckabee raised taxes while governor of Arkansas), immigration (Huckabee supported keeping illegal immigrants and their children eligible for college scholarships) and abortion.

That last issue provided ...

UPDATED: Thompson set to get Right to Life endorsement

Fred Thompson, the newest candidate in the Republican presidential field who touts himself as the "consistent conservative," is about to get the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee.

When he finally launched his campaign Sept. 5, Thompson was seen as the conservatives' great hope, a Reaganesque character who could play the role of the strong presidential authority figure as he's done on TV and in movies.  But his light campaign schedule and laid-back style -- some might call it soporific -- have disappointed many.  Now, The Times' Michael Finnegan reports here, he's trying to change that.

The Times' Stephanie Simon has now confirmed the endorsement will come tomorrow and she'll have a complete story on this website tonight and in Tuesday's print editions. The endorsement by the committee with some 3,000 chapters nationwide could give a badly needed shot of energy to a campaign whose poll numbers have dipped almost since his announcement.

The conservative wing of the Republican Party appears split these days, with indications that heightened concerns over terrorism and national security may be trumping the traditional party litmus test of abortion opposition.  Last week, televangelist and former GOP presidential candidate Pat Robertson, who's held a life-long opposition to abortion and gay unions, endorsed Rudy Giuliani, who supports both.  Previously, Bob Jones III, head of the conservative Bob Jones University, endorsed Mitt Romney, who holds a pro-life stance despite flirtations with accepting Roe vs. Wade.

Other conservative religious leaders such as James Dobson, who's expressed dissatisfaction with GOP candidates including Giuliani, John McCain and Thompson, have threatened to mount a third-party conservative candidate.

And today Simon found some anti-abortion people bothered by the impending endorsement. Jill Stanek, a leading antiabortion blogger (and columnist for World Net Daily), said National Right to Life may be more interested in backing a winning candidate than in upholding principle. "There's a lot of suspicion in the pro-life movement that they're Republicans first and pro-life second," she said, "that they're making picks that are politically motivated."

Troy Newman, who runs the antiabortion group Operation Rescue, said he could never support a candidate who would leave decisions on abortion laws to the states, as Thompson recently said he would. "Pro-life people believe abortion is an act that takes the life of a human being," Newman said. "If he wants to leave it to the states, that seems to indicate he's not truly pro-life." Newman hasn't yet decided who he will endorse. Right now he's leaning toward either Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul.

Last week in a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Huckabee assailed Thompson's stance that abortion law should be left up to the states. "You can't have a different morality between New York and Nevada, between Iowa and Indiana," Huckabee told an enthusiastic crowd of 150. He said such an approach -- on the issue of slavery -- was what led to the Civil War. Deferring to the states, he added, would be akin to declaring that "a human life has a different value in different states."

-- Andrew Malcolm

Maybe Huckabee was feeling left out

Mike Huckabee has spent the last few days watching Pat Robertson endorse Rudy Giuliani and Paul Weyrich endorse Mitt Romney while getting no love himself from the nation's social conservative leadership.  And Huckabee's a bass-playing minister, no less (would that be a bass player playing to the base?).

So today Huckabee gets one of his own: Donald Wildmon, founder of the American Family Foundation and a big player in Christian radio, not to mention an ace boycott organizer when he finds TV programs, movies and art offensive.

So what does all this mean?  Clearly the social conservatives within the Republican Party have not been able to find a presidential horse they all want to ride together.  Some don't want to ride at all.  For the last few cycles they have been kingmakers in terms of awarding nominations.  But with the different leaders scattering every which way this time around, you have to figure the advantage goes to Giuliani -- the least-attractive (on the surface) candidate to the social conservatives.

Of course, we wouldn't be betting our money on this.  But still ...

UPDATE: Our colleague Stephanie Simon's piece from Iowa in today's paper explores the support Huckabee is receiving among Iowa voters.  And it illustrates an interesting dynamic.  Of the lower-tier candidates, Ron Paul has been grabbing some of the spotlight for his surprising fundraising success but hasn't seen a related spike in poll support.  Huckabee's been showing poll support -- at least in Iowa -- but has been having trouble raising cash.  Of course, neither of them are seeing the cash nor poll numbers the front-runners are getting.

And this points out the dialectic of presidential nomination fights: Broad national support gets trumped by strong local support in key early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.  The candidates know that -- which is why they're spending so much time in those two states.  And why Huckabee's seeming embrace in the corn belt could mean something.

-- Scott Martelle

On the way out, Brownback makes a prediction

Conservative Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, who is expected this afternoon to become the third candidate to withdraw from the GOP presidential race, made one final appearance as a candidate today.

In Washington, at a "values conference" held by the Family Research Council, Brownback received loud applause when he urged conservatives to continue to fight for their values.  He then departed for Topeka, Kan., where he has scheduled a 3:30 p.m. Central time news conference.  He spent the last day or so calling friends and supporters and telling them of his decision to give up.

Outside the Washington conference, Brownback spoke with reporters, including The Times' Peter Wallsten.  The senator offered a bold prediction: The Republican nominee, he said, will not be former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

When asked why, Brownback replied, "He's not pro-life."

Brownback said, as he had at the most recent Republican candidates debate, that he would campaign for his party's nominee, but he was sure it would not be Giuliani.

The Brownback campaign never really took off.  Though he diligently campaigned, often with his family, all across Iowa's 99 counties, he never rose above a few percentage points in the polls (2% in the most recent state poll vs. Romney's 29%), and finished a disappointing third in the symbolically important Ames straw poll in July behind Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.

Altogether this year, Brownback raised $4.2 million, less than libertarian Ron Paul raised in the third quarter alone, when Brownback rounded up about $926,000.  And he was far, far behind Romney's $62 million and Giuliani's $47 million.  Brownback's campaign has no debt, his recent FEC report indicated, and he had the option of accepting about $2 million in matching federal funds.  But after forsaking fundraising the entire month of September to campaign intensely in Iowa, he has $94,000 cash on hand.

Brownback has said he will not seek Senate reelection and is rumored to be eyeing the Kansas governor's office in 2010.  He would be the third GOP presidential candidate to give up after former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who has endorsed Giuliani.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Giuliani accepts invite to conservative family forum

Stop the presses! Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor with the liberal social views, has become the last Republican presidential candidate to accept an invitation to appear at a "values voter" conference in Washington on Oct. 20.

The conference, expected to draw some 2,000 conservatives, is being organized by the Family Research Council, an influential conservative group whose leader, Tony Perkins, has been among those quietly meeting amid mumbling about running a third-party evangelical candidate if someone with a pro-choice stand on abortion and gay rights like Giuliani gets the GOP nomination.

One of the more surprising long-term developments in the Republican race this year has been the continued national polling strength of Giuliani in a party where an estimated 30-40% of its membership are considered evangelicals opposed to abortion and other of Giuliani's views.

Conventional wisdom has been that his support would melt as conservatives, at first blinded by the halo of his 9/11 leadership, come to know the thrice-married Giuliani and his liberal views. He trails in Iowa, where he has not invested as much time or money as Mitt Romney, but has pulled close or even with the former Massachusetts governor in New Hampshire and regularly polls among Republicans as the most electable of the party's candidates.

Perkins, in a recent exchange with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, predicted Giuliani's popularity would still diminish once Americans "realize how far outside of the mainstream of conservative thought that Mayor Giuliani's social views really are." If "by some chance" Giuliani did ...

Republicans rapped for their no-shows

It was everywhere to be found today: scorn heaped upon the quartet of leading GOP presidential contenders who stiffed a debate focused on issues of concern to minority communities.

Critics --- who included several fellow Republicans --- vented in news stories in the LA Times, the NY Times, and the Baltimore Sun.

Tavis Smiley, the moderator for tonight's forum at historically black Morgan State University in Maryland, held forth in an op-ed piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer; columnist Scott Maxwell did the same in the Orlando Sentinel.

And the Newark Star-Ledger expressed its chagrin in an editorial (which also took a shot at the Democrats for declining to debate on Fox News Network earlier this year).

So just where were the candidates who went missing from the debate?

Two were a continent away, in California.

Rudy Giuliani began his day in Santa Monica, where he accepted ...

Romney creates distance with Bush administration

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney put some more distance between himself and the Bush administration last night.

Making one of the required stops for any politician visiting Las Vegas, Romney appeared on the cable show "Face to Face" with Jon Ralston, noted state political expert and columnist, and provided some revealing insights into his thinking. On President Bush Romney said:

"I think a number of errors were made by his administration the last three years, last three or four years. I think knocking down Saddam Hussein and his military was done brilliantly. But in the years that followed there was not sufficient planning in place, preparation in place, not sufficient management and oversight. Rules of engagement were not ideal. It was really a far less than superb execution following the collapse of Saddam Hussein."

However, he added, "Now that we're into this four years and making progress, we would be unwise to pull out in a precipitous manner, because doing so has the risk of causing not just massive civil war there, but in the entire region."

On healthcare, the former Massachusetts governor said...

The abortion issue and the right

Politics was once so much easier for social conservatives. As they surveyed the field of Republican presidential contenders in recent campaigns, their choices ranged from those who opposed abortion rights, those who really opposed abortion rights and those who really, really opposed abortion rights.

Now, of course, the main contenders for the GOP nomination include Mitt Romney, who when he was running for office in Massachusttes was for a woman's right to choose before he was against it, once he embarked on a national campaign.

Then there's Rudy Giuliani, who periodically recalibrates his message on the issue. Mostly, he likes to ignore it. When forced to confront it, he says that "hates" abortion personally but supports the principle of choice. But sometimes, as was the case this week, he seems to wink and nod at the foes of abortion rights.

First, he announced a "Justice Advisory Committee" studded with full-fledged conservatives. Then, as he campaigned in Iowa Wednesday, he pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices similar to the core of conservatives already on that bench --- John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. The Des Moines Register headline said it all: "Giuliani's pitch hints at anti-abortion judges."

There's also the all-but-announced candidate, Fred Thompson, who can no longer play coy about whether, as our colleague Michael Finnegan first reported earlier this month, he once lobbied to ease restrictions on abortion counseling. ...

Fred Thompson discusses his lobbying past (sort of)

Fred Thompson is elaborating, after a fashion, on the question of whether he lobbied to relax a controversial anti-abortion policy. He penned a lengthy column that clearly was inspired by the matter, an article that explores the nature of a lawyer's work and is punctuated with historical references --- including the fact that Founding Father John Adams represented British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre. Thompson also provided a verbal response this week in an interview with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity.

The column, posted on the powerline.com blog, has a big windup, and the comment to Hannity was evasive. But veteran political reporter Tom Edsall, blogging on the Huffington Post, cuts to the chase: "Fred Thompson has effectively admitted in an interview with Sean Hannity that he did lobby in behalf of a pro-abortion rights group." That's how we read the Thompson column, as well.

Those of you following this story know that when The Times' Michael Finnegan broke the news last week that a substantial evidence indicated that in 1991 Thompson, then a lawyer based in Washington, was hired by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. to help it fight a ban on abortion counseling by clinics receiving federal money, a spokesman for the former Tennessee senator issued a denial.

"Fred Thompson did not lobby for this group, period," Mark Corallo said in an e-mail to Finnegan.

Thompson was far less unequivocal when, on the day Finnegan's story appeared, the Washington Post tracked him down and asked him about it as he campaigned in Florida for his as-yet-unannounced presidential campaign. "I'd just say the flies get bigger in the summertime. I guess the flies are buzzing," he said.

And Edsall notes that Corallo, in response to an inquiry Wednesday, has backed away from his flat denial. Thompson "said he has no recollection of doing any work (for the family planning group) and does not recall lobbying anyone" on the abortion issue.

Once Thompson got to the Senate in the mid-1990s, he compiled a solidly anti-abortion voting record. And when he finally officially launches his bid for the Republican presicential nomination, he's counting on strong support from social conservatives less-than-thrilled with their current choices.

Given that, we understand the sensitive nerve touched by the story on Thompson's lobbying past. Still, as he gears up to run for the White House, he and his staff might want to have further discussions on how well prepared they are for a barrage of tough and prying questions on a raft on subjects. Issuing initial answers that the candidate and his aides then back away from generally is not a good way to go.

-- Don Frederick

 

Sparks fly from Sununu

The dispute over whether Fred Thompson once lobbied on behalf of easing an abortion-related restriction remained alive Monday, courtesy of John Sununu.

The Times a few days back broke the news that, based on several interviews and a document from the time, Thompson in 1991 signed on with the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. to help it fight a ban on abortion counseling by clinics receiving federal money. The Times' Michael Finnegan reported that the group's president recalled Thompson telling her several times that he had pressed the case against the restriction during talks with Sununu, then the White House chief of staff in President George H.W. Bush's administration.

Sununu told Finnegan he recalled no such conversations and, as he reflected further on the matter, said they had not occurred. In his new comments, given to ABC News, Sununu said Thompson "never met with me." He added, "I have absolutely no recollection of Fred Thompson coming in to see me, I don't think it ever happened, and he never lobbied me on that issue."

When asked if perhaps Thompson might have met with one of his underlings, Sununu flashed the temper that became so well known during his White House tenure. "That's the kind of dumb question that makes you wonder what's wrong with the press," he responded. "How do you get a job working for ABC asking a question like that? Did he meet with someone on my staff? Did he meet with someone in the street?"

We can't help but note that, colorful as that particular quote may be, it's a non-denial denial (in parlance from the days of the Watergate scandal).

A spokesman for Thompson, who is expected to soon officially enter the Republican presidential race, had denied to Finnegan that he had lobbied for the family planning group --- an assertion strongly countered by several of those who had worked for it or were familiar with its efforts.

Intriguingly, Thompson on Saturday issued his version of a non-denial denial when quizzed directly about the flap. "I'd just say the flies get bigger in the summertime. I guess the flies are buzzing," he told the Washington Post.

Check out the electronic version of the Finnegan story and you'll now find a copy of minutes of a 1991 board meeting of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. at which Thompson's hiring is noted. The pertinent section is underlined.

-- Don Frederick

Photo: Fred Thompson; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Fred Thompson agreed to lobby for less abortion restrictions

This could be real trouble for almost-announced Republican candidate Fred Thompson.

The former Tennessee senator, who will soon seek the Republican nomination for president as a pro-life candidate, apparently once accepted a lobbying assignment from a family-planning group to persuade the first Bush White House to ease a controversial abortion restriction.

A Thompson spokesman flatly denies he did the lobbying work. But according to a story by Times correspondent Michael Finnegan, records for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. show the group hired Thompson in 1991. His job was to urge the Bush administration to withdraw or relax a rule barring abortion counseling at clinics receiving federal money.

Thompson's lobbying then would clash directly with the anti-abortion movement he now seeks to rally as a conservative candidate.

The abortion "gag rule," upheld by the Supreme Court but reversed in 1993 by President Clinton on his third day in office, was a major flash point at the time.

Judith DeSarno, president of the family planning group in 1991, says Thompson lobbied for her group for several months. Former Rep. Michael Barnes of Maryland, a lobbying colleague, says he recommended Thompson for the job and finds it "absolutely bizarre" for Thompson to deny it now.

DeSarno recalls Thompson reporting he had multiple conversations about the abortion rule with John Sununu, then White House chief of staff. Sununu told Finnegan, "I don't think that ever happened. In fact, I know that never happened."

--Andrew Malcolm

Giuliani courts social conservatives

Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday makes what had been a highly anticipated appearance --- he's speaking at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., the school founded by evangelist Pat Robertson. But the edginess that once surrounded the event may well have dissipated.

The Republican presidential aspirant initially was scheduled to speak at Regent on April 17. The day before, however, the Virginia Tech massacre occurred and Guiliani, like other candidates, cancelled their politicking for several days.

At the time, the former New York mayor was riding high in the polls while, for the most part, skirting the chasm between his views on social issues --- most obviously abortion --- and those of the Christian Right. As a result, his speech and the reception he received at Regent were going to be closely watched. As Charles Dunn, dean of the college's Robertson School of Government, told a reporter back then, "For Giuliani, this is a golden bridge-building opportunity. ... A lot of people are coming because he's a national hero because of Sept. 11. But a lot are coming to size him up on social-moral issues."

The Thompson papers

As Fred Thompson edges closer to the water of a presidential dive, a more rigorous examination of his record is underway. Newsweek today weighs in with an article that examines an archive at the University of Tennessee containing personal correspondence and other documents from his eight years in the Senate.

The piece may add fuel to questions being raised about his conservative credentials, especially about abortion. But it also suggests how he's likely to handle the issue when asked about it in future debates.