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Sometimes a website name is just a website name.
Maybe the move by a company that's worked closely with the former first lady is just what it seems: yet another step by Hillary Rodham Clinton to prepare for another run for the Senate from New York in four years. Or another run for the White House. We won't know, of course, for some time.
But that comes with the news, as reported in The Ticket early the other morning, that Clinton has urgently requested her 2008 general election supporters to approve transfer of their unusable donations for this year's presidential race over to her 2012 Senate campaign.
(And then, potentially, into a new presidential campaign fund, as she did with $10 million of her surplus 2006 Senate campaign funds).
If this year's donors don't approve that transfer soon, Clinton must return the '08 money by Aug. 28.
The respected blogger Marc Ambinder of TheAtlantic.com is reporting tonight that a company associated with Clinton's top advance team leaders, the Markham Group, purchased that domain name on June 8.
June 8th? Why does that ring a bell? Why, that's the very next day after her "I-give-up-and-heartily-support Obama" speech where her family was dressed for a funeral.
Clinton sources told Ambinder the New York senator was committed to helping elect Obama on Nov. 4, but she wanted to keep her options open for later. Imagine that in a seasoned politician.
Come 2012 Clinton would have to choose which race she'd enter. Two years ago in her first Senate reelection bid, her main website was HillaryClinton.com, which she still has. Plus HillPac.com for her political action committee and another one for her '08 campaign debt donations.
So why would she need another website with 2012 in it, unless.... Her disappointed presidential campaign supporters may take heart. But will they still help elect another Democrat this November? Or sit it out and let '12 fall to her?
We are just six weeks out from Clinton's '08 surrender to Barack Obama. And, surely, everyone knows exactly what that means: only 223 weeks left until the 2012 election.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: AP
You can tell a lot about any political campaign by how it invests its most precious resource: the 1,440 minutes in each candidate's day.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this item had an hour-by-hour schedule that was provided to the media for planning purposes and not intended for publication. But even if you examine the broad current schedule for John McCain's campaign, you'll still notice something very revealing:
Yesterday morning the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party flew from Omaha to Kansas City, Mo., for a town hall meeting at Union Station in late morning, and a series of local media interviews, of course, and he left Kansas City right after lunch for -- where else? -- Muskegon, Mich.
No, really. Muskegon, Mich.
At dinnertime he arrived near there in Ferrysburg, Mich., for a 105-minute fundraiser before flying to Detroit to sleep.
Today, he'll visit a General Motors technical center there for a tour and another town hall meeting with employees to be captured for eternity on camera, more local media interviews, of course, and a lunchtime fundraiser before flying out to New York to do another media interview.
And then comes the day's publicity moment, the Big Event, the taping of a priceless national TV interview for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," the next Jay Leno, if there can be such a thing. An opportunity to be good-natured for a lot of younger voters.
Tomorrow, in New York City, McCain will do more media interviews before ...
Read more The secret hidden within John McCain's campaign schedule »
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million in June, his campaign manager said this morning -- not quite a campaign record. The Illinois Democrat's White House bid raised $55 million in February, during the party primaries.
But it's still more than twice the $22 million that Republican rival Sen. John McCain raised during June.
However, the Republican National Committee, which is backing the party's presidential candidate with its own resources, also had nearly $68 million in the bank -- a combined treasury that the Obama campaign was mindful about today in reporting its own June haul -- and immediately asking for more from its 1.5 million-plus donors.
Our colleague Mark Silva has more details in the Swamp.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Former Gov. Mitt Romney, who's increasingly visible on the campaign trail on behalf of the man who beat him for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain, is about to forgive the $45 million he loaned himself for the primary struggles.
The legal move of filing papers with the Federal Election Commission re-declaring Romney's loans as contributions is imminent, according to a report by Michael Kranish on the Boston Globe's website, Boston.com. It would clear the legal deck for Romney to become a candidate again as, oh, say, the vice presidential Republican running mate of McCain.
Romney, whose personal fortune is estimated north of $190 million, is already marshalling on McCain's behalf his vast national donor network, which supplied another $65 million to Romney's unsuccessful campaign.
Although there appeared to be some personal frictions between the two men during primary debates, especially over campaign finance reform, which the senator has championed, McCain has more recently been openly appreciative of Romney's vigorous campaign grunt work in the months since the Arizonan clinched the GOP nomination.
"I'm appreciative every time I see Mitt on television on my behalf," McCain said earlier this week. "He does a better job for me than he did for himself, as a matter of fact."
Romney's successful career in business and resuscitating the troubled Salt Lake City Olympics plus his economic expertise and non-Washington executive experience as Massachusetts governor could help a McCain ticket.
The 61-year-old father of five boys has been married to Ann for 38 years. He's also already well-known and heavily vetted, lessening the chance of any embarrassing revelations. And Romney's family connections to Michigan, where he won the GOP primary, and his Mormon links in the West could help in both places on Nov. 4.
The Boston.com article quoted legal experts who said it appears that if McCain, like the Democratic candidate Barack Obama, reversed his position and opted out of federal campaign financing, Romney as a running mate could donate or loan the campaign an unlimited amount of his own fortune.
The Obama campaign this morning announced that it had collected $52 million during the month of June.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press
Just six weeks after reluctantly surrendering to Barack Obama in the brutal 2008 Democratic primary race, Sen. Hillary Clinton has begun raising money for what she says is her 2012 New York Senate reelection campaign.
Clinton still faces about $20 million in debts from her unsuccessful presidential effort this year. As part of a so-called "unity drive," Obama has appealed to his supporters in recent weeks to give to Clinton to cover the costs that she incurred while raking him over the coals in a bare-knuckled bid to return to the White House. Some Obama backers have balked.
Clinton has also asked her donors to contribute to the massive general election fundraising effort of Obama, who changed his mind and has rejected federal funding. Some Clinton backers have balked.
Now, the New York Observer is reporting early this morning that the former first lady has sent out a special message to supporters who donated up to $2,300 to her anticipated 2008 general election campaign. Since there won't be one, she must return that money to the donors by Aug. 28, unless she gets their permission not to.
Her new appeal includes a photocopy of a handwritten note from Clinton that says: "Dear friend, your commitment has meant so much to me over the course of my presidential campaign. You were there for me when I needed you the most and I'll never forget it. I hope you'll help me continue to fight for the issues and causes we believe in by filling out the enclosed form in support of Friends of Hillary."
The form, once signed, allows Clinton staff to transfer the money from the 2008 general election fund into the 2012 senate reelection treasury, where it can earn four years' of interest. The report comes from Jason Horowitz of the Observer's Politiker blog.
If successful, this early fundraising, while unusual, can have the effect of scaring off any serious Republican challengers in New York. And help keep Clinton supporters in her camp and full of hope after the close call this primary season.
And, if memory serves, when Clinton had about $10 million left over from her successful 2006 Senate reelection campaign, she shifted those funds as starter cash over to her nascent presidential effort last year.
Hmmm. Not that any ambitious politician would think this far ahead. But if Obama was to, say, lose a close election in November to Clinton's close friend, John McCain, the new president would be 72 on Inauguration Day next Jan. 20.
That would make him really pretty old for anything other than maybe perhaps one term, which would leave things wide open in 2012 for, say, a former Arkansas first lady who happens to be only 60 right now. And might have an ample senate campaign fund suitable for transferring into a presidential fund.
But that's absolutely ridiculous to think about now. As is, of course, having three major Democratic fundraising campaigns underway at the same time.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Associated Press
Imagine turning your back on millions. That may be what Barack Obama’s campaign is doing.
The campaign seems to be giving the brush-off to Sant Singh Chatwal, a wealthy New York hotel magnate who was one of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s biggest fundraisers. Some estimates placed the amount he bundled for her presidential campaign at $5 million.
Chatwal showed up three weeks ago when Clinton called 100 of her top donors to the Mayflower Hotel in Washington to urge them to embrace Obama’s candidacy. In some news accounts after the meeting, Chatwal was quoted as saying he would raise $10 million for Obama.
But when Obama appeared in New York last week for a round of fundraising, Chatwal was nowhere to be found, and Obama aides didn’t express any disappointment.
Obama spokesman Ben Labolt said in an e-mail that Obama “greeted Mr. Chatwal very briefly on a rope line” at the Mayflower in Washington, but there was no discussion of the projected $10 million.
What’s more, Labolt’s statement emphasized that Chatwal "does not sit on a fundraising committee, he has not fundraised for the campaign and we do not expect him to."
The back story? While Obama challenged Clinton in the primaries, his campaign planted a private memo to some reporters –- a memo that eventually was intercepted by the Clinton camp and turned into a dust-up that lasted a few days.
The document, headlined "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)’s Personal Financial and Political Ties to India," detailed the connections of Hillary Clinton and President Clinton to India and Indian Americans, one of whom was Chatwal.
Obama distanced himself from the memo at the time and phoned several Indian American activists to express his regret.
Chatwal could not be reached. But Chatwal's spokesman Brandon Reynolds said he was unaware that Obama would not take Chatwal up on the $10-million offer. "I haven’t heard anything," he said.
-– Dan Morain
Perhaps inadvertently, Sen. Barack Obama tonight lifted a bit of the secrecy surrounding his upcoming trip overseas, telling reporters aboard his campaign plane that Sen. Jack Reed might accompany him to Iraq along with sometimes Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel.
When a reporter asked what might make Sen. Joe Biden and Hagel good traveling companions to Iraq, Obama made a very revealing correction:“It’s actually Sen. Hagel and Sen. Reed who may be coming with us.”
Well, now! So Biden, who says he doesn't work for anybody else, is not going with Obama? What's that do to the guessing game about the freshman Illinois senator's vice presidential pick, which had previously focused on Biden's foreign policy experience and his reported upcoming travels with Obama?
And does this put Reed of Rhode Island, a three-term ex-House member, two-term senator and ex-Army Ranger, into the VP mix?
Obama's comments came during an infrequent 20-minute exchange with reporters at the back of his plane en route from Chicago to San Diego, a late-night media availability which will help keep him in the news on an otherwise quiet news weekend when his opponent, Republican John McCain, is inactive.
Obama is scheduled to speak to Latino voters in San Diego on Sunday. He also was asked about recent fundraising figures and a crude comment made about him.
Obama went on to say that both Reed and Hagel are foreign affairs experts who “reflect a traditional bipartisan wisdom when it comes to foreign policy.”
“Neither are ideologues," he added, "but try to get the facts right and make a determination of what is best for U.S. interests.”
Then he added: “And they are good guys.”
Obama didn’t want to confirm a trip to Afghanistan, where....
Read more Obama reveals Biden not going overseas with him; it's Hagel, Reed »
Barack Obama's presidential campaign hasn't said much about it, but this whole unity thing with the die-hard supporters of Hillary Clinton is proving more difficult to accomplish than envisioned.
She's urged her donors to support Obama and he's urged his supporters to help erase her campaign debt, except when he forgets.
But in between public engagements Obama is apparently reaching out to some recalcitrant Clinton backers with sympathetic phone calls during which he at least mentions that the New York senator he defeated is actually on his list of running mates.
This is one of those political claims that really can't be verified and may be aimed more at soothing ruffled feathers for now. In a few weeks it could disappear in a political puff, leaving no trace but having accomplished its calming summertime purpose.
A top former Clinton aide, Howard Wolfson, said on Fox News yesterday that he knew of no VP vetting process underway concerning his ex-boss.
But The Times' Peter Nicholas is reporting on this website tonight that Obama has told at least one unhappy Hillary supporter that his former opponent is indeed on his VP list.
Jill Iscol, a loyal Democratic donor and ardent Clinton backer, said Obama made that statement when she raised the Clinton VP issue in a recent phone call by saying Hillary was his best choice.
But, Iscol said, Obama added that he was also pondering a "complication" to that scenario.
You'll never guess what that complication is. Or, rather, who it is. Yup, Bill Clinton. Once a president, always a president, Iscol quoted Obama as saying, even when the word "former" comes before the word "president."
Many political observers and a lot of Clinton supporters think adding Hillary to the ticket would be the sure-fire best way to unify the party for the Nov. 4 general election. But, given the headstrong ex-president who's not really seemed all that publicly pleased about the Obama nomination, it could also be the sure-fire best way to divide an Obama administration.
The White House might seem a little crowded with one new president, one former president and one thought-she-oughta-be-president. Peter's detailed story on the unfolding confidential vice presidential discussions is here.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Mario Tama / Getty Images
The Ron Paul revolution marches on this weekend, literally, but the latest manifestation of the movement no doubt will be tinged with sadness for the erstwhile presidential candidate due to the death of one of his top aides.
Kent Snyder, 49, who worked for Paul's 1988 White House campaign (when he ran as a Libertarian) and chaired his surprisingly fiesty bid for the 2008 Republican nomination, died in late June of viral pneumonia in a Virginia hospital.
An obituary in today's Washington Post noted that without Snyder, the Paul phenomenon might never have occurred -- the Kansas native and martial arts enthusiast helped presuade the Texas congressman to enter the fray last year.
At a website soliciting donations to pay for Snyder's extensive medical bills (he was not insured), Paul says in a prominently displayed statement: Kent poured every ounce of his being into our fight for Freedom. He will always hold a place in my heart and in the hearts of my family. ... Without Kent Snyder, the fight for liberty would not be where it is today. We all owe him a great debt.
Paul is scheduled to speak at a rally of his adherents that follows a Saturday morning march in downtown Washington. As spelled out on the revolutionmarch.com website, the aim of the event is to express support for "restoring constitutional government as the founding fathers set forth."
For some in attendance, the gathering will be a prelude to the much-publicized get-together Paul plans at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 2 -- not too far away from where the GOP will be convening the second day of its national convention.
That rally -- and other efforts by Paul and his crew during the convention week -- will be tracked by the media for clues about the potential long-range influence of his backers within his party. But evidence of such clout already has surfaced in some states -- perhaps most vividly in Idaho.
When the state GOP met last month, its head did his best to hang onto his job. As reported by the Idaho Statesman, Kirk Sullivan handed out Rice Krispies treats as part of his wooing of party activists. But he got bounced anyway. Replacing him was Norm Semanko who, the paper wrote, "was pushed to victory largely by an eclectic group consisting of supporters of [Paul] and social conservatives who want to shift the party to the right."
Paul and his forces also grabbed attention recently when they teamed with liberal groups to raise money to express their opposition to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that cleared Congress this week.
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Nick Wass / AP
* With apologies to The O'Jays.
John McCain did OK in the fundraising department in June, our colleague Dan Morain reports, though at this point, without Barack Obama's fundraising numbers, it's hard to say what that means. But we do like writing about money around here.
The McCain campaign says he raised $22 million in June, up slightly from the $21 million he raised in May. And the Republican National Committee added $26 million itself, money that can be used to buttress McCain's spending against Obama, who has been raising money like he owns the mint.
As Morain reports, Obama has raised $287 million to McCain's $133 million, which includes the June contributions for McCain but not, obviously, for Obama. Obama has sworn off federal funds -- after suggesting he'd do otherwise -- while McCain is taking the federal money, and its spending limits.
But with the RNC spinning off its own independent expenditure committee, the 527s on both sides and the rest of the cash flow that floods through campaign season, it will keep these folks very busy trying to make sense of it all.
-- Scott Martelle
From time to time, instead of excerpts with comments and background, The Ticket publishes the full text of a statement or speech so readers can get the full flavor of the remarks for themselves.
Here we're publishing Sen. Hillary Clinton's introduction today of Sen. Barack Obama before about 2,000 "Women for Obama" assembled in New York City's Hilton Towers. We're all indebted to the tired fingers of The Times' Louise Roug, who transcribed the lengthy remarks. Also, there's a video excerpt down below the Read More line.
The text begins here:
Good morning, New York. Thank you all. Thank you so much. Thank you for being here with all of us this morning. That's such a great way to start a day…I am grateful to all of you who have come together on behalf of Sen. Obama's campaign, on behalf of unity in the Democratic party. [loud applause]
One of the challenges of being in such a packed ballroom is that they have these bright lights which are in our eyes. I can't see anybody who is out there. But I know you're there. And I know you'll be there in November. [She then thanked local politicians in the crowd.]
Barack and I were talking before we came out about the rigors of the campaign trail, which are many. But it is such an extraordinary privilege to have done what we both of us had the honor of doing over the last many months. To travel this country on behalf of the values and ideals that we share and to see, day after day, the resilience and resourcefulness, the goodness and greatness, of the American people.
There are some differences. For example, Barack said, 'you look kind of rested.' I said, well, 'kind of' is the right descriptor. But I'm actually -– don't tell anybody –- trying to exercise a little bit, which I'm told does wonders for a person.
Because during the campaign, I'm sure you've read, Barack would get up faithfully every morning and go to the gym. And I would get up, and get my hair done. It's one of those Ginger Rogers-Fred Astaire things that are part of our lives.
But we share this remarkable journey. And I could not be prouder to have this opportunity in front of so many of my friends and supporters to express my confidence in his candidacy and my commitment in ensuring that he will take the oath of office come next January.
I have had countless conversations with many people since the end of my campaign and I know how difficult it is for people who have invested their time, their energy, their money, their emotion, their entire being into any campaign, into any campaign, into any cause, that it really is an extraordinarily personal experience and I think it's one of the great opportunities that we offer to ourselves because of our political system, that really does depend upon thousands, hundred of thousands, millions of people coming together to support someone like Barack or me who decides to step into the public arena.
When it is over, I know how difficult that is. I have been in winning and losing campaigns for a very long time. And I have been in primary campaigns here in our Democratic party and I understand how challenging it is to turn on a dime, to say, O.K., close that chapter, now we're onto next chapter.
It is a process and it does take time for people to take a deep breath and go forward. But, of course, those who supported me, for who I am forever grateful, knew that we were on this journey together because we believed so strongly in the kind of country we want to see again and anyone who voted for me have so much in common with those who voted for Barack and it is critical that we join forces, because the Democratic party is a family –- sometimes a dysfunctional family –- but it is a family and we care about what is going to happen to the economy and health care and education, what is going to happen in Iraq and Afghanistan and to our young men and women in uniform, what is going to happen to energy policy and whether we ever take on climate change in a meaningful way.
We know that all of these concerns are ones that we get up in the morning with, we worry about and go to bed at night, still, wondering will we ever start acting like Americans again, will we roll up our sleeves collectively and start tackling those problems. There's nothing beyond us, once we make up our minds that this is the work we will do and that work cannot be done if we do not have a Democratic president in the White House.
The stakes in this election are high for everyone. Not just in this country but around the world. We have seen in a very painful way what happens when an American president leads us in the wrong direction, making decisions not premised on our values and who we really are.
We have seen the impact and many of us have witnessed it first-hand, traveling around the world: the quizzical, even angry, looks and words that come from those who just can't understand what has happened to America.
So the stakes are high for everyone, literally around the world. But I would argue they are particularly high for women. It matters....
Read more In her own words: Hillary Clinton on Barack Obama (and herself) »
No, of course he didn't write it himself. But you can bet he read it before it went out.
George is calling for money.
President Bush's public approval ratings may be gathering mold in the Gallup Poll's basement. But the soon-retiring Republican president still has pull on the purse strings of his part y members.
And, in a fundraising e-appeal to Republicans, the president is citing both the GOP's unflinching "ideals'' and the "focus-group''-free determination of the party's presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. Bush is optimistic in a general election campaign in which Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has gained an early advantage by seemingly printing his own money, nearly $300 million worth.
Not to mention those "Liberal'' Democrats not standing up for national security and freedom from taxation. And despite what those unhappy conservatives within the Republican Party say about the Arizona senator and former POW, the compassionate conservative-in-chief maintains that McCain "is running on a clear, consistent and conservative agenda."
"There is no question in my mind, with your help," Bush writes in a new fundraising message, "the Republican Party can win this election if our candidates are true to our principles, boldly share the GOP agenda with the American people and are confident in contrasting our hopeful and optimistic philosophy with the Liberal vision of the other party."
Our colleague Mark Silva has the rest of this story over at the Swamp. And the complete text of the president's appeal is available by clicking on the Read more line below.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Fox News
Read more George Bush signs a letter to GOP faithful about you-know-what »
The unity thing is proving something of a stubborn problem for the no longer officially dueling camps of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. There've been reports in recent days of some die-hard Clinton supporters being less than supportive of the fellow who crunched her.
But confirmed Clintonite Terry McAuliffe says it's only one or two people. So that can't mean much. And there's probably hardly any Obama folks saying, "Remind me again why I should help pay the bills for the travel and events when she was always attacking Obama?"
But what happened Wednesday night was a little embarrassing.
After the two Democrats voted differently on the Senate's FISA retroactive surveillance O.K. bill, Obama flew Clinton from Washington to New York City on his plane for two fundraisers where they'd both appear together and she'd graciously introduce him and there'd be that cheek peck.
And Obama would repeat his eloquent thing about change and how George W. Bush is really the first two terms of John McCain or something and ask the folks for money and kinda push them toward retiring Clinton's campaign debt. Depending on the numbers you hear, her debts could be as large as $23 million or maybe "only" $10 million, which is like -- what? -- 20 speeches or something for her husband.
So The Times' Louise Roug was at the Hyatt in the crowd of 1,000 who'd each paid $1,000 (what a coincidence!) so they could also pay cash at the bar. She dutifully listened to his familiar, 30-minute talk about promise. The crowd applauded. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" blasted out of the sound system and Obama bounced off the stage to work the rope line and shake hands, not looking nearly as weary as The Times story says he is.
But about two minutes later Obama bounces back onto the stage. (See the video below.) Waves his hands. Had he forgotten to mention about the jobs program?
The music stopped. Or maybe he neglected to praise his distant cousin Dick Cheney?
"Hold on a second," he shouted. "I got one more thing." Oops! It seems Obama had forgotten to mention the part about giving money to Hillary Clinton in the spirit of unity, the whole reason they were gathered there in the first place.
"Sen. Clinton still has some debt. And I could have had some debt -- if I hadn't won -- so I know the drill. There are many supporters of mine here who have not yet given something to help her retire that debt. I would be very grateful if you looked under your chair. I think there should be an envelope or a pledge sheet or something.
"If people would take the time not only to pick it up but put something in it and mail it back...that is part of the process of making sure that we're unified...Allright, turn on the music again. Let's keep on partying."
And so they did. In perfect unity, no doubt.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: CNN
Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, a potentially endangered Republican in November's election, raised many an eyebrow recently with an ad that included an unexpected cameo.
"Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment?" asks a narrator. "Barack Obama."
TV viewers in the Beaver state then saw a flash of Obama's face and his campaign Web site as the ad went on to say the two lawmakers had teamed up "and broke through a 20-year deadlock to pass new laws that increase gas mileage for automobiles."
 Despite Smith's effort to scramble the partisan divide, it's comforting to know that in some cases, the old rules still apply -- such as a conservative Republican from Texas invoking a tried and true symbol of California liberalism, Sen. Barbara Boxer, as a way to raise money.
Boxer did her part to rate such a mention. On the Web site for a political action committee she set up, she recently conducted an online "Choose a Challenger" contest. Participants were given a list of various Democrats challengers trying to win GOP-held Senate seats this year and asked to vote on which one should be singled out for fundraising help by the PAC.
Down in the Lone Star State, Democrat Rick Noriega launched an effort to stack the deck. As part of his longshot bid to topple GOP Sen. John Cornyn, he urged backers to cast ballots for him in Boxer's tourney; a win, he said in an e-mail, could funnel "tens of thousands of dollars" into his coffers.
Not surprisingly, the Cornyn camp got wind of this and sought, in turn, to use it for its own financial advantage.
A solicitation to potential donors notified them that Noriega "is enlisting California Liberal (sic) Barbara Boxer’s help to raise money. The note continued: "Barbara Boxer, the one who opposed Chief Justice Roberts' nomination to the Supreme Court and verbally assaulted Justice Alito during his confirmation process."
"But it gets worse. You know what Senator Boxer is up to now? To quote her own website: 'I want you to know that I won't give up in our fight to stop the drilling…'
"Gas is approaching $4.10 a gallon with no end in sight and Rick Noriega is asking for help from Barbara Boxer, who is leading the charge to stop domestic drilling making us even more dependent on foreign oil?"
"While Rick Noriega is counting on Californians to help his campaign, John Cornyn is counting on Texans just like you."
Sounds like Cornyn would be loathe to get caught in the same elevator with Boxer.
But here's another side of Washington. Cornyn is the vice chair of the Senate Ethics Committee that Boxer heads. And about a week after the missive excoriating her, Cornyn's Capitol Hill office issued a release touting an amendment they were jointly offering to require members of Congress to publicly disclose their residential mortgages (a touchy topic these days in the Senate).
The release included both of their names in its headline, provided quotes from each promoting their mutual cause and offered nary a hint of discord between the two.
Noriega, by the way, triumphed in Boxer's contest (for the results, go here).
--Don Frederick
Part of every presidential campaign is the post-primary shuffle. That's when the Republican nominee tries to show centrist voters that he isn't really as conservative as he made himself out to be to win his party's base, and the presumptive Democratic nominee similarly tries to pull him self in from the left.
The Swamp notes this morning that the perception among some progressives that Barack Obama is leaving the left for the center has given rise to an unusual way of tethering the candidate to their issues. They're putting their money on the table, hoping to raise $1 million in an "escrow" fund that Obama can't tap until he displays "progressive leadership" on issues.
The issue that sparked the mini-revolt was Obama's support for giving wiretapping immunity to the phone companies under the recent FISA vote, something he had earlier said he would oppose. In a memo to fellow progressives, Bob Fertik, president of Democrats.com, said he still backs Obama but thinks the candidate could use a little wake-up call from the folks who played a significant role in securing him the nomination. We're asking you to put some of the money you plan to give Obama "in escrow" until he demonstrates progressive leadership on the issues we care about, like warrantless wiretapping.
We are absolutely not trying to hurt Obama -- we'll give him our money at some point. We're just asking for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T like Aretha Franklin sang about.
We can get Obama's respect because needs our money -- he turned down $85 million in taxpayer dollars because he believes small donors like us will contribute $300 million. And now is the best time to use our modest leverage, before the campaign goes all-out after the convention.
-- Scott Martelle
Photo: Francine Orr /Los Angeles Times
Political -- and Batman -- junkies probably already know about Sen. Patrick Leahy's little infatuation with Bruce Wayne's alter ego, Batman. He loves the character, and all those colorful evil incarnates,  like the Riddler, the Penguin and the Joker. Leahy has even talked his way into cameo roles in Batman movies, and in "The Dark Knight," which opens July 18, Leahy gets himself roughed up by the Joker's goons. Bam! Pow! Ooof!
So strong is the Democratic Vermont senator's infatuation that he wrote the introduction for a 1992 book collecting some of the Batman comics, "The Dark Knight Archive," and has done voice-overs for childrens' Batman cartoons. And on July 12, Leahy will play host to a special premiere of "The Dark Knight" in that hot spot of Hollywood's elite, Montpelier, Vt. The proceeds will go to a local library that has named a wing after him. Leahy, that is, not Batman.
So as we head into the long Fourth of July weekend (that phrase is a journalism cue that it's a slow news day, at least at the moment), we wonder what other politicians might harbor secret infatuations with fictional crusaders, caped and otherwise? Or even better, what superhero might actually dwell beneath those dark (pant)suits?
Maybe John McCain in his, shall we say, crankier moments, as The Hulk? Barack Obama channeling The Flash? Hillary Clinton as Wonder Woman -- the first major female superhero? John Edwards as Batman's sidekick, Robin?
And they don't have to be the heroes. Go ahead and link politicians up with your favorite bad guys, too.
Can't wait to see what you all come up with for Ralph Nader and Dick Cheney.
-- Scott Martelle
Image: Warner Bros.
The Republican National Committee has spun off its own independent expenditure committee and plans an initial $3 million ad buy targeting Barack Obama in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Politico reports.
Why the separate group?
Brad Todd, who will run the effort, blamed Obama in a statement to Politico: "Following Barack Obama's decision to become the only major party presidential candidate in history to not adhere to campaign spending caps, the Republican National Committee has begun an independent expenditure campaign in accordance with FEC regulations."
Under federal law there are no limits on how much the group can spend, though it cannot coordinate efforts with John McCain's campaign or the RNC. Still, both have helped to raise some of the funds that will launch the new effort.
So now we know where the RNC will be funneling some of its cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee to try to compensate for the record-breaking fundraising Obama has enjoyed. And the decision to target those Rust-Belt states underscores the GOP view that Obama is vulnerable in that part of the nation. Three of the four -- Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- went Democratic in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.
Lot of white working-class men and women in those states, which account for 68 electoral votes.
-- Scott Martelle
It worked once before -- why not try it again? As our colleagues Maeve Reston and Mark Z. Barabak report elsewhere on the website, John McCain is shaking up his staff again. The winner: Karl Rove protege and former White House point man Steve Schmidt, known to Californians for his work running Arnold Schwarzenegger's reelection campaign.
The story notes that "the changes took place amid continuing concern in Republican ranks about the direction of McCain's campaign and the seeming inconsistency of his message. The Arizona senator has alternated between appeals to independents and Democrats, who flocked in large numbers to his 2000 campaign, and appeals to the Republican right."
Schmidt takes over day-to-day operations and Rick Davis moves to what seems to be "CEO/campaign manager" status overseeing the general operations and focusing on fundraising, the convention, and that pesky decision on who gets to share a bumper sticker with McCain in the fall. Word is Schmidt will report to Davis and that the changes came at Davis' request and with his blessing.
-- Scott Martelle
As of now, Barack Obama seems committed to competing vigorously in Georgia and North Carolina -- the two states are among 18 that have been targeted for two waves of general election ads by his campaign.
But Obama's ultimate chances of carrying those two states -- as well as Mississippi, where some of his  supporters believe he has a shot -- are nil, argues Thomas Schaller, a political science professor at the University of Maryland's Baltimore County campus.
Schaller brings an impressive pedigree to the table in making his case; he's the author of the 2006 book “Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South.” As summed up in this blurb, Schaller contended that for Democrats -- certainly those seeking the presidency -- "spending valuable resources in Southern states is a dangerously self-destructive strategy..."
In an Op-Ed piece in today's New York Times, he focuses his general thesis on the particulars of Obama's candidacy. For instance, he walks through the prospect of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee maximizing black turnout in Mississippi and winning 95% of that vote (John Kerry corralled 90% four years ago), and concludes that Obama still would come up short in the state.
A major hurdle for Obama throughout the Deep South, Schaller writes is this: "the more blacks there are in a Southern state, the more likely the white voters are to vote Republican."
The one state in the region that Schaller thinks Obama has a "reasonable chance" of winning is Virginia -- in part because the percentage of its black population is low, compared to most other Southern states, and in part because, he writes, it has been transformed by a "huge influx of upscale non-Southerners."
Virginia also is one of the states where the recent spate of Obama ads has been airing (a list that contains several traditionally GOP states, as we noted previously).
Despite Schaller's overview, many Democrats in the South are feeling feisty these days, as illustrated by this news from Mississippi.
President Bush traveled there today ...
Read more Barack Obama & the South: Forget about it, says an expert »
Nearly five months after John McCain effectively locked down the Republican presidential nomination, many leaders of the religious right remain underwhelmed. A new Newsweek article asserts that McCain's candidacy has "tamped down" enthusiasm among these conservatives, "exposing fractures that make a rallying of the troops in the pews unlikely."
The recent L.A. Times/Bloomberg national poll spotlighted a pronounced "passion gap" in the presidential race, with fully 81% of Barack Obama supporters declaring themselves fired up about his candidacy and only 45% of the McCain backers feeling likewise about their man.
And here's an even more concrete sign of the difficulty McCain has been having rallying core Republicans, courtesy of a Gannett News Service story published Monday: "Of the more than 900 Hoosiers who contributed at least $2,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign, only about 50 had contributed to the Arizona senator by the end of [May], according to a review of campaign disclosure reports...."
McCain headlines a fundraiser in Indiana today, so he'll no doubt reel in some of those heretofore reticent givers. He then heads off on a short jaunt to Colombia and Mexico (a trip that The Times' Mark Barabak, in a Sunday story, termed part of the "unusual path" McCain is pursuing in his White House bid).
-- Don Frederick
Our blogging cousins over at the Swamp have an item up raising an interesting question about the rapprochement between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: Does he really want all her financial supporters?
Obama, of course, has made a splash by raising a boatload of money from individual donors while professing to eschew cash from the "politics as usual" crowd. Clinton was less disc riminating in her cash sources. But how does Obama heal the party and move forward if he winds up telling big Clinton supporters such as Sant Chatwal that he might not want his money? As the Swamp put it: "Obama's in an awkward spot. At the moment anyway, he doesn't need Clinton's money -- though campaign money is like good pitching in baseball: You can never, ever have enough. But Obama does need the goodwill of the Clinton faction of the Democratic Party and that means ego massages for Chatwal and company. How Obama handles this kind of, what some would regard as, compromising outreach could help voters decide if indeed he represents 'change we can believe in.' "
The delicate dance continues.
-- Scott Martelle
Photo: Associated Press
Federal prosecutors planning their case against Illinois political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko intended to invoke the name of his onetime associate, Sen. Barack Obama, often during the recently concluded two-month prosecution in Chicago.
Rezko was convicte d on federal corruption charges.
The onetime political mentor and fundraiser for Obama, especially in the early days of his Illinois political career, arranged for a series of so-called straw political contributions to Obama, money from Rezko channeled through other people's names. Obama has since donated an equal sum to charities.
According to published reports in the Chicago Sun-Times, recently unsealed documents show prosecutors intended to call several witnesses who would tie Rezko to Obama. The federal judge ruled that they could.
"Witnesses will testify that Rezko was a long-standing supporter and fund-raiser of Barack Obama," one prosecutor wrote in their planning notes. But for unexplained reasons, they ended up not calling those witnesses.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press
David Plouffe is no household name, which is fine with him.
He is, in fact, Barack Obama's campaign manager. You won't see him on the news talk shows. He is, by his own design, a back-room manager.
But with a new e-mailed video for supporters of the Democratic presidential candidate -- and, of course, that always comes with a fundraising appeal -- Plouffe is walking people through th e outlines of an Electoral College strategy for an Obama victory in November.
A couple of weeks ago we pointed out the 15-minute PowerPoint demonstration of Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, on their website. Now, Obama's crowd has its own version and you can compare the two.
Neither contains trade secrets. Obama's starts with the states which Sen. John Kerry claimed in 2004, and it adds some -- including some unlikely candidates such as Montana and Alaska. And it looks with some confidence toward Iowa, which gave Obama his launch in the Democratic primaries so long ago last winter. And even Georgia.
The McCain video is slick with moving screens. Obama's video is filmed without lights or staging at the Chicago desk of the campaign manager to give it that, you know, laptop look.
It also has some Perot-like charts, maps of the perceived path to victory. It's worth a watch -- you know McCain's campaign is -- and a listen. It's viewable at the campaign website.
You can read the whole story on the Obama tape by our colleague Mark Silva over at the Swamp with a link to the website video. There's a link to the McCain video here.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: BarackObama.com
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain traveled around California in recent days, campaigning for votes and money.
The Times' Dan Morain checked recent campaign finance reports filed as required with the Federal Election Commission. And he found that McCain in May swept up $881,362 from the Golden State, usually the largest donating state for many candidates.
And McCain raked in another $1,763,826 from Californians back in April.
The Republican National Committee, whose spending this fall will also benefit McCain, has raised $6.9 million in California since January until the end of May.
--Andrew Malcolm
Some real sharp arrows in the Republican quiver there in Washington.
GOP members of the House of Representatives, worried over a growing fundraising gap with Democratic members of Congress, commissioned a study to figure out why they had unexpectedly lost three recent special House elections, including the suburban Chicago seat held so long by former speaker R. Dennis Hastert.
One reason: The Democratic candidates got more votes. Check.
A second reason: Customary Republican campaign themes did not resonate with local voters this time. Check.
And third: The candidates could not overcome "the negative perception of the national party" in the three special elections in once-safe Republican districts in Illinois, Mississippi and Louisiana. Ouch.
The report suggested Republican candidates this fall demonstrate "deep empathy towards the voters" and rely more on local issues than national ones. Imagine that, local voters more concerned about local issues than national ones far away.
According to the report by Associated Press Special Correspondent David Espo, GOP members are also worried over fundraising numbers, which show the National Republican Congressional Committee has $6.7 million in the bank, compared to $47.2 million for the Democrats.
Other than that, a historically unpopular president, the continuing Iraq war, excitement generated by the long Democratic presidential primary struggle, millions of new voters, high gas prices, a sagging economy and declining numbers admitting to be Republican, things look really pretty good for the party of Lincoln come Nov. 4.
--Andrew Malcolm
Remember how Alec Baldwin promised to leave the country if George W. Bush was elected president.
And Alec never got around to the exit part of his vow. Pr etty comfortable life here. And politicians don't keep their promises either.
Well, his actor brother Stephen is a Republican. He says he doesn't understand why Americans care about celebrity endorsements.
But today he did make the same self-exile vow if Democrat Barack Obama is elected. The Ticket would never point out there are certain tax advantages to living abroad, not that that would ever figure into a wealthy celebrity's residential decisions.
Our colleague Johanna Neuman is over at the very new, very popular Countdown to Crawford blog that politics fans will want to bookmark. She has the full Baldwin story today.
As well as video of Stephen's funny answer on Fox News when Laura Ingraham criticized Alec.
--Andrew Malcolm
You kind of remember the long Democratic primary campaign as, first of all, long. Even at times bitter.
Hillary Clinton, speaking today with the Democratic winner, Barack Obama, in New Hampshire, said, "It was spirited because we both care so much." Watching this video no one would doubt the caring, but it sure wasn't about each other.
"Spirited" would not quite describe some of the exchanges by Democratic candidates discussing Obama, which in the interests of the opposite of unity, the Republican National Committee has generously assembled and is suppressing widely around the country today as an antidote to the Democrats' "Kumbaya" spirit.
No doubt it's deeply appreciated.
--Andrew Malcolm
We have to say, we like the (admittedly fanciful) image. Barack Obama sits down at a small table, whips his checkbook out of his jacket pocket, fills out a check for $4,600 (with Michelle Obama smiling and nodding somewhere nearby) then hands it off to Hillary Clinton, who endorses it and passes it off to an aide for deposit.
But it got us wondering. Could that campaign contribution be worth more than the $4,600 Obama presumably scrawled out on the "amount" line? We doubt that Clinton personally endorsed the donation check Obama gave the campaign Thursday -- in fact, we doubt she even saw it  -- but if she had, what would such an historic document be worth to collectors? A check signed by the nation's first bi-racial major party candidate endorsed by a woman who came within a hair of her own historic nomination?
We asked George Houle, of Los Angeles' Houle Rare Books and Autographs, who appraises and deals in historic documents and signatures. He said the value to collectors would be determined by whatever happens in November. " Autographs of politicians are not in much demand, until they get to the White House." Harry Truman checks, he said, can be had for $250 to $500. An Abraham Lincoln check "brings $7,500 and up. A check to his wife Mary and endorsed by her could bring double that amount."
Right now, Houle said, the canceled Obama contribution check would be worth $300 to $500 though "having her ... endorse it for deposit would add considerably to its value. But, should he get elected, the value could triple or quadruple."
Supply and demand comes into play too: "Ultimate value would depend on how many autographs of his come to the market," Houle said.
-- Scott Martelle
Funny how things go around and come around.
In his initial run for the U.S. Senate in 2004, this fellow Barack Obama, who we seem to be hearing a lot about these days, was on e of the very first beneficiaries of the so-called millionaire’s amendment that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Thursday.
Obama’s main Democratic primary foe that year was Blair Hull, a wealthy investor who poured $28 million of his own money into the campaign.
But under that same national campaign finance law, Hull’s immense personal spending on himself released Obama from the $2,100 per donor cap then in effect.
And it allowed him to raise his own campaign money in increments up to $12,000 per donor.
That national campaign finance law was co-written by another now familiar name, John McCain, the senator from Arizona.
Now, McCain is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who will face Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, on Nov. 4 to become president of these United States. Talk about unintended consequences.
Some analysts believe that Obama might well have lost that crucial first step onto the national political stage without the financial boost he received from McCain's law allowing him to gather....
Read more Sen. Obama might be just Obama without law written by Sen. McCain »
Well, the first of two Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama unity fests went off pretty well tonight in Washington. 
Except for Terry McAuliffe's story about the checks in his pocket. "We will do whatever it takes to win back the White House," clinton told her people.
About 200 of Clinton's top "bundlers," each of them responsible for having collected at least $100Gs for her 17-month-long unsuccessful campaign, gathered at the Mayflower Hotel.
McAuliffe, who talked with The Times' Peter Nicholas outside the closed session, said the goal was: "Get all of our top people together and let him talk to them. Gets them fired up for the general election."
According to Tom McMillen, a former congressman in attendance, the mood inside the ballroom was warm and receptive, especially when Obama pledged to help pay off Clinton's $10+million campaign debt. He said that prompted a standing ovation from the Clinton donors.
McMillen quoted the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee as saying, "Look, I'll enlist my supporters (to pay off the debt). We need to be unified, not distracted."
Obama told the crowd he'd personally given a check to Clinton. And McAuliffe said later he'd received $4,600 in checks, the maximum allowed, from Obama's finance chairman, Penny Pritzker, and her husband.
"I've got two checks in my pocket," McAuliffe said. But when reporters asked to see them,....
Read more Hillary Clinton hands off her top bundler$ to Obama the victor »
Sen. John McCain stood up at a fundraiser late last evening at the oceanfront home of former ambassador George Argyros in Newport Beach. There were probably 80 people there. They dined on filet mignon, which cost $25,000 a couple.
McCain held his arms in that stiff bent way that he always does, a result of his nearly six years of POW imprisonment in Vietnam. The Republican nominee-to-be looked out at the guests and he told the truth:
"My friends," he said, "this is a tough race. We are behind. We are the underdog."
And then he uttered another truth that McCain's competitors ignore at their peril, "That's what I like to be."
He says it all the time. But that's no canned stump speech. The Ticket's been publishing a multipart video conversation in recent days with Matt Welch about the man in his new book, "McCain: The Myth of a Maverick." We'll publish the eighth and final episode later Wednesday.
But in Part V, Welch described how McCain's literary heroes are those who disregard the odds and how integral being an....
Read more Inside John McCain's game plan: 'It's not supposed to be easy' »
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today defended a California Democrat facing ethics questions over her personal finances, while appearing to downplay his involvement in a fundraiser for her this week.
Rep. Laura Richardson's Sacramento house was sold in a foreclosure last month, according to news reports, and she has gon | |
