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Libertarian Party presidential nominee Bob Barr is making the rounds of the Sunday talk shows (last week it was "Fox News Sunday"; today it was ABC's "This Week"), hoping his anti-big-government message will resonate with voters fed up with what he calls "the nanny state."
And just what is the nanny state? "It is a federal government that has become so big that it has stifled individual liberty and freedom in this country," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "And Americans realize that."
Barr, who was elected to Congress in the "Republican Revolution" of 1994, came to national prominence 10 years ago ...
Read more Bob Barr brings his cause to the American public »
Yesterday, we noted the suggestion, by the Baltimore Sun's Paul West, that Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island would be a strong vice presidential pick for Sen. Barack Obama.
Today, perhaps coincidentally (and perhaps not), Reed -- whose national profile until now has been equal to the position of his home state as the smallest in the U.S. -- appeared on ABC's "This Week" as a surrogate for the Democrats' presumptive nominee.
Take a look at the video, then tell us: How'd he do?
-- Leslie Hoffecker
ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos": Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, former Rep. Bob Barr, Libertarian Party presidential nominee.
CBS' "Face the Nation": Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer": A special anniversary edition marking Blitzer's 10 years as its host.
C-Span's "Newsmakers": Transportation Sceretary Mary Peters.
"Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace": Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard, Mara Liasson of National Public Radio, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, Juan Williams of National Public Radio
NBC's "Meet the Press": Will not air due to coverage of the Wimbledon tennis championships.
Wesley Clark told ABC's "Good Morning America" a little while ago that Barack Obama and his campaign had nothing to do with the comments he made the other day that John McCain's service record did not equip him to lead the nation.
Clark took a lot of heat for the comments -- and a veiled rebuke from Obama Monday -- and today added a little context: "I served 38 years in uniform. I'm proud of my service and I was asked to give my opinion about professional qualifications based on my experience." Clark said that as both a wounded combat vet and a high military officer "I have some appreciation for both levels of command and the qualities it takes at the top. I simply say it's a matter of judgment — experience, yes, it's important. It shows character and courage, but on the other hand there are other ways to show character and courage."
Clark didn't back down but said he respected McCain and his service, and was "very sorry this has distracted from the message of patriotism that Sen. Obama wants to put out."
You can see the video of Clark here.
UPDATE: The McCain surrogates are having none of it, describing Obama's relationship with comments by Clark and others as a "wink and a nod game." But shouldn't that presumption cut both ways? To paraphrase an old axiom, live by the surrogate ...
UPDATE (3:53 p.m. PDT): Obama addressed the issue with reporters in Ohio today and said his comments in Missouri Monday were not intended as a rebuke to Clark, despite the timing: "Sen. McCain deserves the utmost honor and respect for his service to our country. I’ve said that repeatedly, I’ve said it all the time. I notice that in at least one publication it was reported that my comments yesterday on Sen. McCain were in response to Gen. Clark. I think my staff will confirm that was in a draft of a speech I’d written two months ago." -- Scott Martelle
Some Democrats have been known to complain that the party's last two vice presidential nominees -- Joe Lieberman in 2000 and John Edwards in 2004 -- shied away from the "attack dog" role often assumed by the politician holding down the second spot on a party's national ticket.
If Barack Obama is looking for combativeness in his pick, retired Gen. Wesley Clark signaled today that he's up to the task. Then again, Clark may have pursued a critique of John McCain that Obama and his aides would just as soon stay away from.
Appearing on the CBS chat show "Face the Nation," Clark -- who has rated prominent mention as a veep prospect both because he was a strong Hillary Clinton supporter and his credentials on the national security front -- backed off not one bit from his previous characterization of McCain as "untested and untried" as an executive leader.
Pressed on that quote by moderator Bob Schieffer, Clark said that "in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk, it's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. ... He hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. ..."
Pressed further by Schieffer, Clark then delivered perhaps the day's marquee quote: "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."
The McCain campaign responded quickly, teeing up Clark as a surrogate for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and blasting away: "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to question John McCain's military service, that's their right. But let's please drop the pretense that Barack Obama stands for a new type of politics. The reality is he's proving to be a typical politician who is willing to say anything to get elected, including allowing his campaign surrogates to demean and attack John McCain's military service record."
For a wrapup of some of the other back-and-forth on the Sunday shows -- including independent White House contender Ralph Nader pressing the assault he unleashed last week on Obama -- see this posting on the Chicago Tribune's Swamp blog.
And The Times' Evan Halper recounts the needling California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took from NBC's Tom Brokaw during a "Meet the Press'" appearance. As Halper notes in his story, Schwarzenegger generally gets fawned over by the national media, but that wasn't the case in this encounter.
-- Don Frederick
ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos": Supreme Court decisions, presidential politics: Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.); Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.), independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Panel: Arianna Huffington, the Huffington Post; Byron York, the National Review; Hugh Hewitt, townhall.com; Katrina vanden Heuvel, the Nation. 8 a.m.
CBS' "Face the Nation": Campaign 2008, North Korea: McCain supporter Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Obama supporter retired Gen. Wesley Clark; David Sanger, the New York Times. Moderator Bob Schieffer. 8:30 a.m.
CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer": Iraq: Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq; oil and the economy: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Obama supporter Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), McCain supporter Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), pictured; the Clinton role in the election: Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe. Panel: Ed Henry, Amy Walter, Kate Bolduan. Guest moderator: Candy Crowley. 8 a.m.
"Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace": Politics: Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa.), former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio); effect of third-party candidates on the election: Bob Barr, Libertarian Party presidential candidate; Carol Joynt, Nathans Restaurant and Q&A Cafe. Panel: Brit Hume, Mara Liasson, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams. 8 a.m.
NBC's "Meet the Press": presidential politics: Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.), Dave Freudenthal (D-Wyo.) and Bill Ritter Jr. (D-Colo.). Political analysis: Chuck Todd. Moderator: Tom Brokaw. 8 a.m. Rebroadcast on MSNBC at 3 and 11 p.m.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Office of the Louisiana governor
O.K., it's the first day of summer. There's still something like 134 days until The Election. No tornadoes in sight. The annual hurricane controversies have yet to form wherever they start. Lots of lakes and sunshine outdoors. And blizzards of blabber on TV.
Hope the traffic wasn't too bad getting home. Here's a reverse birthday gift from The Ticket: What you didn't miss today:
SO MUCH FOR SUMMER IN MONTANA: Tom Brokaw will pause in writing his next book on our grandfathers and take over moderating "Meet the Press" through the election. Not Tim Russert, of course, but wise and he won't talk about the Bills who are hopeless until poor Jim Kelly returns. (See video below.)
If NBC is not going the blonde-in-short-skirt route like over at Fox and since Bob Schieffer is under contract elsewhere, our top permanent nominee is Chuck Todd, (not pictured here) who clearly knows everything about politics and says it succinctly. Seriously.
WHY NOT JUST ARM EVERYBODY ON AIRPLANES? Our blogging colleague James Oliphant over at the Swamp has joined the periodic chorus wondering about Virginia Sen. James Webb as the running mate for Barack Obama.
Webb, you'll remember, is the guy who packs personal heat everywhere, which does tend to diminish disagreements on the street. Obama does need a military mate because he's talked so much about opposing war and the simple peacemaking power of sitdowns with dictators. Also, he seems unlikely to pick Geraldine Ferraro.
Being a turncoat Republican and former Reaganite will surely....
Read more Ticket Takings: A Sunday full of Richardson, Webb, Daschle, Fiorina and Richardson »
ABC's "This Week": John McCain supporter Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas); Barack Obama supporter Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.); Red Cavaney, American Petroleum Institute; and Jeffrey Sachs, the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Panel: Donna Brazile, Matthew Dowd, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson.
CBS' "Face the Nation": McCain advisor Carly Fiorina; Obama supporter Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.); John Harris, Politico.
CNN's "Late Edition": The economy: Obama supporter Gov. Richardson and McCain supporter Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.). Offshore oil, the economy: Obama supporter Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) and McCain supporter Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.). The economy: Obama advisor former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and McCain advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin. The hunt for Osama Bin Laden; Iraq: Pakistani journalist-author Ahmed Rashid ("Descent Into Chaos") and Peter Bergen. Panel: Gloria Borger, Amy Walter, Ed Henry.
"Fox News Sunday": Obama advisor former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and McCain supporter former Gov. Tom Ridge (R-Pa.). Kathleen Rogers, Earth Day Foundation. Panel: Brit Hume, Nina Easton, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams.
"Meet the Press": Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.). Panel: John Harwood, Andrea Mitchell. Moderator: Brian Williams.
--Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Babson College
A sad footnote to the shocking passing last week of longtime "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert.
His wife reveals having a funny feeling when the family ended a vacation in Italy to celebrate their son Luke's college g raduation.
As her husband was leaving the hotel for the airport to return to work in Washington ahead of his family, Maureen Orth says she called him back. "I said to him, 'I want to give you a hug. Maybe I'll never see you again,'" Orth recalls. "I don't know why I said that to him. I just had a feeling."
Russert dropped dead at work before they did see each other again.
Our intrepid co-blogging colleague Elizabeth Snead has the rest of this touching story right now over on The Dish Rag.
--Andrew Malcolm
Here's a quirky little web poll we stumbled upon today over at one of our favorite daily checkpoints, MediaBistro.
The majority of people who've taken this particular poll could be supporters of Hillary Clinton or fans of Tim Russert or the Seattle Mariners or even many Republican House members.
We found ourselves in the distinct minority, which makes sense because bloggers have no feelings whatsoever. But the results would seem to indicate that many Americans are not a terribly happy bunch in these early days of a Leap Year summer, which means president-picking time.
Let us know how you voted and what your thoughts are after going here and voting.
--Andrew Malcolm
During a trip to Spain earlier this month, John Edwards categorically ruled out any interest in the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket this time around. Been there, done that, he said in interviews published June 6 in the Spanish newspapers El Mundo and El Pais.
On Sunday, though, the former North Carolina senator -- who sought the top job this year and was Sen. John Kerry's choice for vice president in 2004 -- left the door open ...
Read more Is John Edwards flip-flopping on his interest in the #2 spot? »
ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos": Campaign '08: former Sens. (and presidential candidates) John Edwards (D) and Fred Thompson (R).
CBS' "Face the Nation": Campaign '08: Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Jim Vandehei of Politico
CNN's "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer": House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Campaign '08; Douglas Holtz-Eakin (McCain economic advisor) and Dan Tarullo (Obama economic advisor) on the economy; Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
"Fox News Sunday": Energy prices: Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.); Red Cavaney, president and chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute. Campaign '08: Karl Rove.
NBC's "Meet the Press": A remembrance of Tim Russert, with Tom Brokaw.
--Andrew Malcolm
"I know what the conservatives think, what the liberals think, what the Democrats think, what the Republicans think. And I try to master both sides of an issue to a point where I'm totally confused as to what I think."--Tim Russert, 2004.
Tim Russert, the longtime host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died suddenly this afternoon, his family said.
Among the top tier of American television political journalists, Russert, 58, was also the author of the best-selling father-son memoir, " Big Russ and Me" in 2004, and "Wisdom of Our Fathers" in 2006. He died while recording voice-overs for this weekend's show, according to MSNBC. Russert was also NBC's Washington bureau chief.
There will be a lot of assessments over the next few days of Russert's role and influence. But his personal style and informal delivery helped loosen up the Sunday morning talks shows.
His passion for politics helped enliven interviews, and his role as a reporter got him a turn in the witness seat at the perjury trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
He also was easily approached, and talked occasionally of fellow Buffalonians -- or at least Bills football fans -- buying him drinks when they encountered him. In the run up to the Iowa caucuses this year, he could be seen going going over notes while grabbing a late-night supper at the hotel bar, or in the back of room where a candidate was talking, trying to absorb what he could from the moment.
NBC News former anchor Tom Brokaw made the announcement on-air, calling it his "sad duty." (See video below.)
President George Bush got word of the death while dining at the Elysee Palace, hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "He was of course shocked and saddened," said Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, adding that the president and First Lady just wanted to express their "strong sympathies for Tim’s family, his friends, and of course the whole NBC family."
Later, Bush said: "Laura and I are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Tim Russert. Those of us who knew and worked with Tim, his many friends, and the millions of Americans who loyally followed his career on the air will all miss him. As the longest-serving host of the longest-running program in the history of television, he was an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades.
"Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it. Most important, Tim was a proud son and father, and Laura and I offer our deepest sympathies to his wife Maureen, his son Luke, and the entire Russert family. We will keep them in our prayers."
The suddenness of his death deepened the sense of shock, and stunned reactions have been pouring forth:
John McCain: "I am very saddened by Tim Russert's sudden death. Cindy and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the Russert family as they cope with this shocking loss and remember the life and legacy of a loving father, husband and the preeminent political journalist of his generation.
"He was truly a great American who loved his family, his friends, his Buffalo Bills, and everything about politics and America. He was just a terrific guy. I was proud to call him a friend, and in the coming days, we will pay tribute to a life whose contributions to us all will long endure."
Barack Obama: "I’ve known Tim Russert since I first spoke at the convention in 2004. He’s somebody who, over time, I came to consider not only a journalist but a friend. There wasn’t a better interviewer in TV, not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics, and he was also one of the finest men I knew.
"Somebody who cared about America, cared about the issues, cared about family. I am grief-stricken with the loss and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. And I hope that, even though Tim is irreplaceable, that the standard that he set in his professional life and his family life are standards that we all carry with us in our own lives."
To read more appreciations, click on the Read More line below.
Russert, a large, avuncular man, was also proud of his roots in Buffalo, N.Y., often invoking his love for the Buffalo Bills in his broadcasts. But he also was a serious observer of national and international politics since taking over the "Meet the Press" anchor seat in December 1991.
He won a slew of awards, according to the official biography on the program's website: "In 2005, he was awarded an Emmy for his role in the coverage of the funeral of President Reagan. He is the recipient of the Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Achievement.
His Election 2000 Meet the Press interviews with George W. Bush and Al Gore won the Radio and Television Correspondents’ highest honor, the Joan S. Barone Award and the Annenberg Center’s Walter Cronkite Award.
Russert’s March 2000 interview of Sen. John McCain shared the 2001 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television Journalism.
He is also the recipient of the John Peter Zenger Award, the American Legion Journalism Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Journalism Award, the Allen H. Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism, the David Brinkley Award for Excellence in Communication, the Catholic Academy for Communication’s Gabriel Award, and inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.
Russert had a background in politics before he moved into broadcast journalism. In 1976, he worked on Daniel Patrick Moynihan's successful campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from New York, then was a special counsel in the Senate until 1982, when he went to work on Mario Cuomo’s campaign for governor of New York. After Cuomo won, Russert worked in the governor’s office in Albany from 1983-1984.
A graduate of Buffalo's Canisius High School and John Carroll University then in Cleveland, he earned his law degree at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was a member of the bar in both New York and Washington, D.C.
MSNBC listed his survivors as his wife, Maureen Orth, a Vanity Fair writer, and a son, Luke. (For a news video and more tributes from public and media figures, click on the Read more line below.)
-- Scott Martelle
Photo: AJ Mast / Getty Images
Read more Tim Russert of 'Meet the Press' dies suddenly; tributes pour in »
On this, the first anniversary of our Top of the Ticket blog, we are reminded of the mercurial, unpredictable nature of U.S. politics -- part of what makes what we do so fascinating.
Our goal -- one of us on the East Coast and the other on the far more important or at least less humid West Coast -- was to write about Campaign '08 virtually around the clock.
Our second-ever posting, 12 months ago today, previewed an upcoming L.A. Times/Bloomberg Poll; later in the day, we detailed the results of the nationwide survey. The findings were in line with other polls of the time.
In the Republican presidential race, which then seemed the most likely to last deep into the primary season, Rudy Giuliani was perched in first place. His lead wasn't overwhelming, but it was strong enough that he appeared certain to remain a major contender.
His liberal record on social issues loomed as an obvious liability within his party, but his tough-on-terrorism message was attracting substantial support from moderates and GOP-leaning independents.
His major headache among rivals last June was an as-yet-undeclared candidate who was riding a wave as the great conservative hope -- Fred Thompson. He ran a strong second in the poll.
Lagging far behind were John McCain and Mitt Romney, each barely with double-digit support. In our preview posting, we were especially scornful of McCain, noting sarcastically (and foolishly, as it turned out) that in the poll, he found himself "in heated competition with the 'Don't Know' category."
Meriting no mention from us was Mike Huckabee, one of several back-of-the-pack candidates barely earning any support across the country.
The Democratic race, at that point, seemed so much more cut-and-dried.
Hillary Clinton was the clear front-runner; Barack Obama was just as clearly ...
Read more Top of the Ticket, the start of Year Two »
Hillary Clinton endorsed Barack Obama on Saturday, and now two of her most powerful supporters are endorsing her as the strongest candidate for vice president on the Democratic ticket.
In appearances on three of the Sunday talk shows, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Rep. Charles B. Rangel of New York both urged the Illinois senator to make Clinton his #2.
Feinstein, of course, hosted the Obama-Clinton "secret" meeting Friday night. On ABC's "This Week," she put her hopes for the Democratic ticket this way: "I've looked at every other possible candidate. No one brings to a ticket what Hillary brings: 18 million people committed to where she's going. ... if you really want a winning ticket, this is it."
She reiterated her support for an Obama-Clinton ticket on CNN's "Late Edition": "I think there are 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling that say, yes, do it. I think Hillary had something that is a bit unusual. She has a very committed woman constituency, female constituency right now. She has proved herself. She has grown in the campaign. She has some constituencies that he needs."
Rangel -- a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of the New York senator's earliest supporters -- appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation": "From a personal view -- and I may be too close to the forest -- I think it is an absolutely unbeatable ticket, and I think it would be terrific for the country."
-- Leslie Hoffecker
Now that Barack Obama and John McCain have only to give their acceptance speeches before losing the adjective "presumptive" before the words "presidential nominee," attention is naturally turning to their choices for the No. 2 spot on the ticket.
McCain, of course, wrapped the GOP nomination weeks ago and spent Memorial Day weekend with several possibilities -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist , Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. It took Obama until last Tuesday to get the final delegates to put him over the top, but he has named a committee (including Caroline Kennedy) to offer recommendations for a running mate.
Two potential veep contenders -- Tim Kaine, the Democratic governor of Virginia, and Tim Pawlenty, the Republican governor of Minnesota -- were interviewed this morning on "Fox News Sunday" ...
Read more Tim Kaine and Tim Pawlenty in the early round of "Veep Idol' »
"The Chris Matthews Show": Michael Duffy of Time magazine; Norah O'Donnell, MSNBC chief Washington correspondent; Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune; and Michelle Cottle Sr., editor of The New Republic
C-SPAN's "Newsmakers": Deputy Energy Secretary Jeffrey Kupfer will be interviewed by Reuters' Chris Baltimore and the Washington Post's Steven Mufson.
"Face the Nation": Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson, Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Politico's Roger Simon.
"Fox News Sunday": Govs. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Democrat, and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a Republican; and a panel with Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard and Fox News; Nina Easton, Fortune magazine and Fox News; Brit Hume, Washington managing editor of Fox News; and Juan Williams, National Public Radio and Fox News
"Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer": Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a supporter of Sen. John McCain; Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.), a supporter of Barack Obama; Husain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S.; Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), majority whip and Obama Supporter; Howard Wolfson, Sen. HIllary Clinton's campaign communications director; and CNN's Gloria Borger, Ed Henry and Candy Crowley.
"Meet the Press": NBC's Ron Allen, Lee Cowan, David Gregory, Andrea Mitchell, Kelly O'Donnell and Chuck Todd. Note that the program will air at 8 a.m. EDT due to NBC's coverage of the French Open.
"This Week With George Stephanopoulos": Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and a round-table with ABC's Claire Shipman, Time's Jay Carney, George Will and the Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart.
--Andrew Malcolm
Now that the Democrats have voted on seating the disputed delegations from Florida and Michigan (all the delegates get to come, but they only get half a vote each), some of Hillary Clinton's highest-profile supporters are divided over what should happen next.
You'll recall that those two states broke party rules by moving their primaries ahead of the dates on the Democrats' schedule. Primary voters in Michigan and Florida were told that their votes would not count, and Democratic candidates did not campaign in either state. In Michigan, Clinton's was the only name on the ballot; the other choice was "uncommitted."
Top adviser Harold Ickes, a member of the rules committee, appeared on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday and reiterated his threat to take the matter to the party's credentials committee at the convention in August. He and other Clinton backers are upset that the committee allocated 69 of the Michigan votes to their candidate and 59 to Barack Obama, who was not on the ballot. (By their count, Clinton should have gotten 73 delegates and "uncommitted" 55.)
He did acknowledge that after the final three primaries -- today's in Puerto Rico and Tuesday's in South Dakota and Montana -- Obama could be in a position ...
Read more Fight or not? Hillary Clinton supporters are split »
As we've noted before, the issue of bias -- against Hillary Clinton because she's a woman, against Barack Obama because he's African American -- has been an underlying theme in this year's contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. On ABC's "This Week" Sunday morning, host George Stephanopoulos raised the matter yet again in discussing with Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean the party's hopes for unity in the aftermath of Saturday's contentious meeting over the seating of the Florida and Michigan convention delegates.
Asked about an op-ed in the Boston Globe last Friday by 1984 vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro (who got in trouble in March with her own racially tinged remarks about Obama) ...
Read more Howard Dean calls out the media on sexism »
ABC's "This Week": Former Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan (pictured) and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe. Round-table with Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, the New York Times' David Brooks, Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum and commentator George Will.
Bloomberg's "Political Capital with Al Hunt": Ralph Reed, Republican strategist and former director of the  Christian Coalition.
CBS' "Face the Nation": Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
CNN's "Late Edition": Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen. Round-table discussion with CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, Fareed Zakaria and Jeffrey Toobin.
CNN's "Reliable Sources": National Review's David Frum, ABC's Martha Raddatz, former President Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart, Hollywood Reporter's Ray Richmond, former New York Times Hollywood correspondent Sharon Waxman and CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
C-SPAN's "Newsmakers": Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron, interviewed by AP's Alan Zibel and Congressional Quarterly's Benton Ives.
"FOX News Sunday": Howard Wolfson, Hillary Clinton's communication director, and David Bonior, spokesman for Barack Obama and former Michigan congressman. Power Player of the Week is Brendan Sullivan, executive director of Headfirst. Panel discussion with Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, Nina Easton of Fortune Magazine, Byron York of the National Review and Juan Williams of National Public Radio.
MSNBC's "Chris Matthews Show": Richard Stengel, editor of Time magazine; Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Howard Fineman of Newsweek; Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News.
MSNBC's Tim Russert: Charles Osgood, author of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House: Humor, Blunders, and Other Oddities from the Presidential Campaign Trail," and presidential historian Michael Beschloss.
NBC's "Meet the Press": McClellan.
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Associated Press
The GOP nominee in waiting, John McCain, is spending Memorial Day weekend with friends and supporters -- and potential running mates -- at his weekend home in Sedona, Ariz., before heading back out on the campaign trail Monday. Among the guests are Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts -- and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who provided a report to Bob Schieffer of CBS' "Face the Nation": SCHIEFFER: You're out there at this little social gathering at Sen. McCain's weekend place there. He had various people, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, former Gov. Romney, yourself and a lot of other people who are being thought of as possible running mates. What was this? Was this some sort of elimination contest, or what was this all about out there?
GRAHAM: Well, singing was last night. Dancing is this morning. But it was a lot of fun. John is like a kid at Christmas showing off his ranch up here. John and Cindy invited us all over. Joe Lieberman was here, Sam Brownback. He barbecued ribs all night last night. There's 67 different species of birds on the ranch. I know I've seen them all twice. It was a lot of fun. It's a chance for John to relax with some friends and supporters from the politics and business. We had a good time.
SCHIEFFER: Was this the beginning of a selection process to decide who is going to be on the ticket? Or where is he on that?
GRAHAM: There is some vetting going on. John is going to head up that process. No, this was purely social. If you know anything about John McCain, he is like a kid at Christmas when it comes to showing off his ranch up here. And his people who have helped John, his friends in the business world, some of his friends in politics. I wish it was more, but it's not. I'm sorry, that's all it is.
-- Leslie Hoffecker
Hillary Clinton's campaign is in full damage-control mode after her remarks on Friday that referenced the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in a way that some perceived as offensive to Barack Obama.
Sunday's New York Daily News has a two-page "exclusive" from the candidate herself "to set the record straight" about her comments, which she said were taken "entirely out of context and interpreted ... to mean something completely different -- and completely unthinkable."
And her communications director, Howard Wolfson, and campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, used their appearances on the Sunday talk shows to blame Obama's campaign (along with the media) for the resulting firestorm.
Clinton says that in her appearance ...
Read more Hillary Clinton explains -- again -- about her RFK assassination remark »
As promised, here's The Ticket's Sunday morning TV guest list, posted every Saturday at noon Pacific time (3 p.m. EDT).
ABC's "This Week": Karl Rove and Barack Obama senior advisor David Axelrod; round table with Vanity Fair's Dee Dee Myers, Washington Post's E.J. Dionne, ABC News' Matthew Dowd and George Will.
 Bloomberg's Political Capital with Al Hunt: Mitt Romney and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).
CBS' "Face the Nation": Hillary Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson, John McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Obama supporter Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
CNN's "Late Edition": Major Gen. Mark Hertling, Commander, Multi-National Division-North; Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice); Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas); Obama supporter Robert Reich; Clinton economic advisor Gene Sperling; McCain economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin; Mary Tillman, mother of Pat Tillman and author of a book about her son; CNN's Bill Schneider, Suzanne Malveaux and Gloria Borger.
C-SPAN's "Newsmakers": Major Gen. William Etter, National Guard Bureau, Acting Director of Joint Staff.
"Fox News Sunday": Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe; Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee; Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chairman of Democratic National Campaign Committee; Col. Michael Colburn, director of the U.S. Marine Band; panel with Fox's Brit Hume, Nina Easton, William Kristol and Juan Williams.
NBC's "Chris Matthews Show": David Brooks of the New York Times, Andrea Mitchell of NBC News, Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post and Katty Kay of the BBC.
NBC's Meet the Press: CBN's David Brody, the New York Times' Maureen Dowd, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus, Newsweek's Jon Meacham and NPR's Michele Norris.
-- Don Frederick
Photo: Sen. Lindsey Graham; Credit: EPA
Much conversation this Sunday morning on the talk shows about the flyer that Barack Obama is distributing in Kentucky about the role of Christian faith in his life.
Here's a look at the flyer (in which, blogs David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Obama campaign "goes for the in-your-face cross") ...
Read more Obama and the cross: A double standard? »
There's been a lot of talk about a "dream ticket" of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- but just in case that doesn't work out, two potential vice presidential candidates, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Jim Webb, took to the airwaves Sunday and were asked about their prospects for being the Democrats' #2. (Both senators, it should be pointed out, have kept their options open by refusing to endorse either Obama or Clinton.)
On ABC's "This Week," host George Stephanopoulos quoted from a column in the Des Moines Register touting Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as a running mate. "He has grit and gravitas," political reporter David Yepsen wrote last month. "He's not rich. He's not known as a womanizer. He would appeal to white men, who despite all the chatter about women, minorities and young voters, are a constituency Democrats need to do more to attract."
But just as potential running mates are supposed to do, ...
Read more Biden, Webb, Huckabee: The veepstakes heat up on the Sunday shows »
Mike Huckabee used his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday to reiterate his regret for a comment he made while speaking to the National Rifle Assn. convention two days before.
You'll recall, of course, that Huckabee's quick quips on the campaign trail enlivened his run for the GOP presidential nomination. On Friday, after hearing a chair fall over backstage during his speech, Huckabee "joked" that the loud banging sound was Sen. Barack Obama tripping over a chair after "somebody aimed a gun at him and ... he dove for the floor."
It was quickly pointed out that a remark about an attempted assassination of the Democratic presidential front-runner wasn't very smart -- or amusing -- and the former Arkansas governor just as quickly posted an apology on his blog. On Sunday, he went further:
"It was a dumb, off-the-cuff remark," he told "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert, adding: "And, you know, it wasn't the first dumb thing I've ever said and -- let me go ahead and announce on this program -- it won't be the last dumb thing I've ever said. ... This wasn't funny, I'll be the first to tell you that. Shouldn't have said it. I apologize. I don't know what else I can do."
-- Leslie Hoffecker
Before we get into all the deep political discussions and spun talking points on all the talk shows on this serious Sunday morning, here's a thoughtful new video that explores a pressing issue that has been bothering more and more people who follow events in the nation's capital.
The burning issue is: Are legislators letting lobbyists down by not delivering on their paid promises?
It's an important point because corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy influence and obtain legislation favorable to them or their industry. And if the legislators are letting them down, maybe the country needs some new legislators.
--Andrew Malcolm
As promised, here's The Ticket's Sunday morning TV guest list, posted every Saturday at noon Pacific time.
ABC's "This Week": Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), and a round table with the New York Times Magazine's Matt Bai, the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and George Will.
Bloomberg's "Political Capital With Al Hunt": Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va).
CBS' "Face the Nation": Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Republican Strategist Ed Rollins, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer.
CNN's "Late Edition": Carlos Gutierrez, U.S. Commerce secretary; Trent Lott, McCain supporter and former U.S. senator; and CNN's John King, Jessica Yellin and Dana Bash.
C-SPAN's "Newsmakers": Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) will be interviewed by the Dallas Morning News' Todd Gillman and Politico's Martin Kady.
"Fox News Sunday": Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Republican whip and McCain surrogate; Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.); Karl Rove, former White House senior adviser and Fox News contributor; Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., Power Player of the Week; and a panel with Brit Hume, Washington managing editor of Fox News; Mara Liasson, National Public Radio and Fox News; Bill Kristol, the Weekly Standard and Fox News; and Juan Williams, National Public Radio and Fox News.
MSNBC's "Chris Matthews Show": Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic; Gloria Borger of CNN; Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune; and Norah O'Donnell, chief Washington correspondent, MSNBC.
MSNBC's "Tim Russert": Ted Sorensen, author of "Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History," and Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian.
NBC's "Meet the Press": Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and a round table with former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.), Mike Huckabee, Republican strategist Mike Murphy and Democratic strategist Bob Shrum.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo: Al Hunt. Credit: Bloomberg News
Some people have been looking for signs of a graceful exit from the Democratic presidential race by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. They probably should not be holding their breath.
Terry McAuliffe, her campaign chairman and himself a former head of the Democratic National Committee, made it clear Sunday that isn't happening anytime soon.
And Clinton's chief spokesman, Howard Wolfson, went on "Fox News Sunday" to state and re-state a firm belief that his boss would win and she was in the race until somebody got 2,209 delegates, which would mean counting Florida and Michigan.
McAuliffe was in there swinging too on both "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press," arguing that Clinton still has a chance to win the party nomination.
It's a good time for her campaign to make that argument because, if you believe some state polls, Clinton is poised to crush Barack Obama in West Virginia in Tuesday's primary voting there, some suggest by as much as a two-to-one margin. Once a solidly Democratic state, it's gone to the GOP two straight times now.
And if the superdelegates are smart, McAuliffe suggested, they'll resist the Obama bandwagon effect, hold out and not do anything that might turn off the many....
Read more Don't push her! Clinton's campaign chair warns fellow Democrats »
Three months ago, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, made a calculated decision to begin painting a not-so-pretty picture of Sen. Barack Obama, now the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Although Sen. Hillary Clinton was -- and still is -- battling Obama for the Democratic nomination, McCain began preparing his case against the Illinois senator early. McCain's advisors, like other obs ervers, concluded Obama was the likely nominee and wanted to begin shaping Obama's image while the Democrat was still consumed with fighting Clinton.
Defining one's opponent is a key task of any campaign, and simply put, McCain has had a long head start. As early as Feb. 12 -- the day McCain and Obama each won primaries in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. -- the Arizonan suggested Obama was guilty of hollow promises and a messianic self-image.
"To encourage a country with only rhetoric, rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people, is not a promise of hope," McCain said, alluding to Obama's speaking skills and campaign theme.
And in another jab he added, "I do not seek the presidency on....
Read more John McCain's been free to fire at Barack Obama for weeks, now comes the response »
Here it is again, our regular Saturday noon Ticket Notice listing of the Sunday morning TV talk shows, so you can choose who you're going to talk back to from your couch.
ABC's "This Week": Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), McCain supporter a nd former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina, and a round table with the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus, ABC News' Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts and George Will
Bloomberg's "Political Capital With Al Hunt": Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)
CBS's "Face the Nation": John Edwards, McAuliffe and Politico's Jim VandeHei
CNN's "Late Edition": Reps. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (Ret.), Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. Samir Sumaidaie, and a round table with CNN's Ed Henry and Jessica Yellin
C-SPAN's "Newsmakers": Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) will be interviewed by New York Times congressional reporter David Herszenhorn  and Damian Paletta of the Wall Street Journal.
"Fox News Sunday": Obama strategist David Axelrod and Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson; the power player is Ben Stein.
MSNBC's "The Chris Matthews Show": Ron Allen, NBC News Clinton campaign correspondent; Katty Kay, BBC American politics correspondent; John Heilemann, political reporter, New York magazine; and Michelle Cottle, senior editor, the New Republic
MSNBC's "Tim Russert": Barbara Walters, TV journalist and author of "Audition"
NBC's "Meet the Press": Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), Clinton chairman Terry McAuliffe, and a round table with Washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza, CNBC's John Harwood, NPR's Michele Norris and the Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photos: Associated Press
Actor Alec Baldwin, who announced he was going to leave the United States if George W. Bush was elected president and then quietly changed his mind, is now talking about entering American politics himself.
The 49-year-old actor isn't really an archconservative televisi on executive. But he does play one on TV, on the NBC show "30 Rock."
Here's another surprise for a Hollywood person: Baldwin actually has supported liberal causes in real life.
"There's other things I want to do [besides acting]," Baldwin tells Morley Safer in an interview Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes."
"I mean, in a matter of weeks, I'm going to be 50. There's no age limit on running for office, to a degree. Something I might do one day."
Two years ago, the Long Island native told the New York Times Magazine he thought he would like to be governor of New York. Asked if he was qualified to run for the office, he compared....
Read more Alec Baldwin, no longer the furious father, ponders public office »
Early in the 1980s rising television star Oprah Winfrey was looking for a local church in Chicago. Not surprisingly, she like many blacks including four years later a community organizer named Barack Obama, was attracted to Trinity United Church of Christ and its dynamic, outspoken pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
That South Side church was THE place for upwardly mobile Windy City blacks to connect and it had an aggressive community ou treach program. And attendance continued Winfrey's childhood connection with black churches and their shared sense of community and support.
As The Ticket noted Sunday morning, the same reasons caused other black clergy to steer the young Obama there, saying he'd have more luck connecting with black churches in his urban organizing efforts if he actually belonged to one himself. Obama's friends later added that alighting at Trinity with its forceful male leader was also part of the mixed-race Obama's exploration of his black identity in the absence of his father.
Things went along fine for several years, as Oprah's fame and fortune exploded and as Obama laid the groundwork in local efforts and political connections for his political career.
But something began bothering Winfrey. By the....
Read more Why Oprah quit Jeremiah Wright's church and Barack Obama didn't »
Today's "Meet the Press" on NBC featured a full hour with Sen. Barack Obama, and it's no surprise that the first third of the interview focused on the inflammatory remarks of Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and their effect on Obama's quest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
After snippets of some of Wright's more controversial sermons "were looped on cable stations 24 hours a day for about five straight days," Obama said, "I did what I thought was right, which was to denounce the words, not denounce the man."
After all, the Illinois senator noted, he had known Wright as a former Marine and a pillar of the community, and "I think that the American people understand that when I joined Trinity United Church of Christ, I was committing not to Pastor Wright; I was committing to a church and I was committing to Christ."
But last Monday, Obama said, "when [Wright] came out ...
Read more 'Gasoline on the fire': Barack Obama on Jeremiah Wright »
It must be time to hold hands around the campfire and start singing "Kumbaya": Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean appeared this morning on "Fox News Sunday," capping a week of appearances by party heavyweights on the network the Democrats had once shunned.
Last Sunday, Sen. Barack Obama stopped the "Obama Watch" clock at 772 days when he was questioned by Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." And Sen. Hillary Clinton chatted amiably with Bill O'Reilly for a two-part interview on "The O'Reilly Factor" broadcast Wednesday and Thursday.
As Times staff writer Matea Gold ...
Read more Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean: Fox News is now 3-for-3 »
The day Barack Obama first appeared in the church office of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., more than 20 years ago, the pastor warned him that getting involved with Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ might not be "a feather in your cap."
Obama was a community organizer then trying to build support for his group on the South Side of Chicago, and a friendly minister at another church had suggested that he'd have more luck with black clergy support if he actually joined a congregation himself.
"Some of my fellow clergy don't appreciate what we're about," Wright told him that day, as Obama would later recount it. "They feel like we're too radical. Others [think] we ain't radical enough."
Obama ended up joining, a story he tells in his memoirs, and later was influenced enough by Wright to derive the title of a subsequent book, "The Audacity of Hope," from one of the pastor's sermons.
Some have speculated that Wright became a father figure for Obama, whose father had left the family and returned to Africa. As The Ticket noted the other day, others believe Obama was attracted by Wright's cerebral nature, as opposed to other less-educated black ministers on Chicago's South Side.
But despite the warning, the association did not seem to be a terribly risky one for Obama, given the arc of the career he was beginning to craft even then.
He was carefully constructing his resume as a street-savvy community organizer while also applying for admission to law school. Within the walls of Trinity, he found a connection to the African American community he'd lacked as a child raised by his white mother and grandparents, an important cultural marker for a biracial candidate who later would try to appeal to black and white voters alike.
He'd share church membership with some of Chicago's influential thinkers and leaders, among them lawmakers, judges and Oprah Winfrey. And in Wright he would find ...
Read more Ticket Special Report: How and why Barack Obama allied himself with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. »
A few minutes of lighter political entertainment on a Saturday evening before we have to get into all the heavy stuff on those political talk shows tomorrow morning, leading up to Tuesday's crucial votes in North Carolina and Indiana: | |
