From The Hotline Latest Edition for Thursday, May 1,2008

OBAMA

Itching To Switch? Now's The Time.

Thu. May 1, 2008


Superdelegate ex-DNC chair Joe Andrew, who was appointed by Bill Clinton and endorsed Hillary Clinton "on the day she declared" her WH candidacy, "has switched his allegiance" to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Dems to "heal the rift in our party" and unite behind Obama. Andrew "has written a lengthy letter explaining his decision that he plans to send to other superdelegates."

Andrew wrote that he's switching his support because "a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain." More: "While I was hopeful that a long, contested primary season would invigorate our party, the polls show that the tone and temperature of the race is now hurting us. John McCain, without doing much of anything, is now competitive against both of our remaining candidates. We are doing his work for him and distracting Americans from the issues that really affect all of our lives."

Andrew said Obama's camp "never asked him to switch his support, but he decided to do so after watching Obama's handling" of the gas tax issue, and the controversy surrounding Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Andrew, on Obama: "He has shown such mettle under fire. The Jeremiah Wright controversy just reconfirmed for me, just as the gas tax controversy confirmed for me, that he is the right candidate for our party" (Pickler, AP, 5/1).

On a conf. call with reporters this a.m. announcing his endorsement, Andrew said superdelegates need to make their decisions "now," after NC and IN vote. Andrew said he's pleased Dems have a candidate who's not playing the old political games, noting, "I've sparred with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove, I know how the game is played."

Andrew also said he's like to see Clinton supporter/Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) as Obama's VP. Andrew: "I'm going to be an advocate for an Obama/Bayh ticket" (Hotline reporting, 5/1).

Andrew's is the "second endorsement for Obama this week that could be influential" in IN, following Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN) (AP, 5/1). Hill made his endorsement official at an Obama rally in Bloomington 4/30, and said before taking the stage, "I didn't make a political decision here. I removed the politics from it. I wanted to do what was right" (Weidenbener/Carroll, Louisville Courier-Journal, 5/1).

Hill "and other lawmakers made clear that Obama's recent efforts to put the 'bitter' comments behind him and distance himself" from Wright "have satisfied them that he is the best candidate for the top" of the Dem ticket (Weisman/Murray, Washington Post, 5/1).

Bring It Home

Obama "will pick up three more superdelegates" when the IL Dems meet next week to "finish filling out the delegate slate," according to IL Dem Chair Michael Madigan's spokesperson, IL House Speaker Steve Brown. The three appointments are all pledged to Obama: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, IL House Maj. Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and Cook Co. Board Pres. Todd Stroger (Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/1).

Obama also picked up the support of TX superdelegate, DNC Member John Patrick, a member of the United Steelworkers (USW) and VP of the TX AFL/CIO. The endorsement brings the total number of superdelegates to endorse Obama to 249 (release, 5/1).

It's Always Better On Holiday (Except When It's Not)

In "response to the Clinton campaign's misleading new attack ad," Obama's camp launched a new 60-sec. TV ad in IN and NC, "Truth." Full script:

OBAMA: "I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message. I'm here to tell you the truth. We could suspend the gas tax for 6 months, but that's not going to bring down gas prices long-term. You're gonna save about 25, 30 dollars ... or half a tank of gas. That's typical of how Washington works. There's a problem, everybody's upset about gas prices -- let's find some short-term, quick-fix, that we can say we did something even though, even though we're not really doing anything. We cannot deliver on a better energy policy unless we change how business is done in Washington. We've got to go out to the oil companies and look at their price-gouging. We've got to start using less oil and that means raising fuel efficiency standards on cars and developing alternative fuels. That's the real honest answer to how we’re going to solve this problem. That's what you need from a President, someone who's going to tell you the truth" (release, 4/30).

There's Nothing Worse Than A Swift-Boat Poseur

Obama's camp filed an FEC complaint 4/30 alleging the pro-Clinton American Leadership Project "is illegally running television ads meant to boost" Clinton's candidacy. The ALP has purchased $700K of TV time in IN to run an ad that "attacks Obama as lacking a detailed economic plan" (Jacoby, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 4/30). The group purchased another $220K in ad buys 4/30, and has spent $1.99M overall in TX, PA, OH and IN (Morain, Los Angeles Times, 5/1).

On a conf. call 4/30 to announce the complaint, Obama camp atty Bob Bauer called the group a "Swift-Boat wannabe, and it's violating the law in exactly the same way" (Boston Globe, 5/1). ALP spokesperson Roger Salazar: "We've gone to great pains to ensure that we are meeting all federal rules and requirements."

Given that the FEC "lacks a quorum right now to open an investigation" and "moves at a glacial pace" even when it does, "there is virtually no chance the elections watchdog will do anything" about the Obama complaint "anytime soon" ("Washington Wire," 4/30).

More Than Just A Piece Of "Meet"

Obama will sit down for an hour-long interview 5/4 with NBC's Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" (release, 4/30).

Wright Turn Only?

Obama sought 4/30 "to regain control of his campaign narrative," as he and wife Michelle "pushed an economic message" in IN, "talking about jobs and gas prices, touring a metal manufacturing company and packing a university arena as he so often does." But "it remained clear" that Wright was "still a top issue among Obama's opponents and even some of his supporters" (McCormick/Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 4/30).

At a stop in Garfield Park in Indianapolis, Obama "was asked by a voter" if it had been hard to "turn your back on people who have been good to you." Obama said the Wright situation "was difficult; I won't lie to you. ... I made a statement yesterday that was hard to make, but it was what I believed. And you know, what we want to do now, though, is to make sure this doesn't become a perpetual distraction" (Timiraos, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 4/30).

"Appearing at his side," M. Obama "emphasized that her husband should not be judge by the words or actions of others." M. Obama: "If anybody looks over the course of this year, you won't have a question about who Barack is. He has been very consistent, not just this year, but throughout his entire life" (Chicago Tribune, 4/30).

Later, before a crowd of 13K in Bloomington, Obama "accused his opponents of using" Wright's radical views "because they can't win on the issues, so they want to make the election about my values, my ideas, my character" (Troy, Toledo Blade, 5/1).

Obama comm. dir. Robert Gibbs: "If this is a race about who do you trust, I'm pretty confident who the Democratic nominee is going to be" (Timiraos, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 4/30).

But "political experts" in IN and NC said 4/30 that Obama's "renouncement" of Wright "may not be enough to stop his political bleeding," especially among "middle-class white" voters. Wright may "give voters who are uneasy about voting for an African-American candidate reason to vote for Clinton or stay home" (Eptstein, Newsday, 5/1).

Obama holds a discussion with seniors on the economy today in Columbia City, followed by a town hall in South Bend. Obama travels to Charlotte, NC, for a rally 5/2 (release, 4/30).

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune reports that Northwestern Univ. has withdrawn its offer of an honorary degree to Wright. Wright "was extended an invitation to receive an honorary degree at the university's commencement" in 6/08. The university said it made the offer on the recommendation of faculty committees.

VP of Univ. Relations Alan Cubbage: "In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure that the celebratory character of Commencement not be affected, the University has withdrawn its invitation to Dr. Wright" (5/1).

Also happening in NC and IN:

• Philadelphia Inquirer's Eichel writes, Obama "is offering a more programmatic and patriotic message" in IN and NC than he did in PA. "But he is beset by the same political problems as before" (5/1).

• As he campaigns in IN and NC, Obama has "cast himself as a 'truth-teller,'" with the refrain that gov't can't do it all, and that one of the biggest problems facing the country is "parents who don't parent." Obama "delivers the line most often in front of African-American audiences," but has lately "made the pitch before audiences of all stripes" (Timiraos, Wall Street Journal, 5/1).

• Obama "has cut back his campaigning in the African-American community" in recent months, "even as black voters in places like" Charlotte, NC, "are mobilizing on his behalf as never before." Because of black voters, NC could be Obama's "firewall" (Williams, Boston Globe, 5/1).

• In IN 4/30, Caroline Kennedy spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of 160 at a public library in Lafayette, while "an estimated 300 people" were outside. Kennedy: "Barack Obama speaks to the fairness that I grew up with ... hope and not tearing people apart" (Scott, Lafayette Journal and Courier, 5/1). Kennedy also spoke to 300 people at a 4-H center in Booneville (McCoy, Evansville Courier & Press, 5/1).

• Despite hosting a tour and pickup basketball game for Obama earlier this week, UNC Tar Heels coach Roy Williams "has not endorsed" Obama, the team's spokesperson said 4/30 (Blythe, Raleigh News & Observer, 5/1).

Damage Control, It's Something Couples Can Enjoy Together

Also 4/30, the Obamas sat down with NBC's Vieira. The interview aired in full this a.m. on "Today."

B. Obama, asked if he should have spoken out on Wright sooner: "I think that the sequence of events was the right one, because this is somebody who had married Michelle and I, who had baptized our children. When those first snippets came out, I thought it was important to give him the benefit of the doubt. Because if I had wanted to be politically expedient, I would have distanced myself and denounced him right away. That would have been the easy thing to do."

M. Obama: "We hear time and time again that voters are tired of this. They don't want to hear about this division."

Vieira: "Michelle, do you feel that Reverend Wright betrayed your husband?"

M. Obama: "You know, I think that Barack has spoken so clearly and eloquently about this."

Vieira: "But do you personally feel that the reverend betrayed your husband?"

M. Obama: "You know what I think, Meredith? We have got to move forward."

B. Obama, on being labeled an elitist: "The irony is that I think it is fair to say that both Michelle and I grew up in much less privileged circumstances than either of my two other potential opponents."

Vieira: "But they're not the ones being called elitist. Why do you think that is?"

B. Obama: "Let's be honest. Here I am, an African-American named Barack Obama who is running for president. I mean, that's elite for folks."

B. Obama, on the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showing more voters don't identify with his background and values: "I think it's pretty clear what's happened. We've had, what, two months now or a month and a half in which you've had the Reverend Wright controversy, you've had the issue of my comments in San Francisco that have been, you know, magnified pretty heavily. That's been a pretty full dose."

B. Obama, asked why hasn't he closed the deal: "Let me dispel this whole big-state argument, which we hear constantly from the media. I won my home state of Illinois, as Senator Clinton did. She won New York. I also won Georgia, big state. I won Missouri, big state. I won Wisconsin, swing state. I won Virginia, big state. But what we've also done is we have expanded the map."

Vieira: "If at the end of the day you have more pledged delegates, but the superdelegates decide Hillary Clinton is doing better when she goes up against McCain ... can you live with that?"

B. Obama: "We always knew this was an improbable journey when we started off. You know, I think because of our success, people have forgotten that. People discount what we've accomplished and then focused on, well, you know, you've lost a couple of states. But the truth is that we always knew this was hard and the reason is because we're trying to do something new."

M. Obama, asked if there are moments when they wish they could turn the clock back: "I was always the one, when he was talking about entering politics saying, 'Please, no. Do something else. There's just such an easier way to make a living.' So, yes, there's still a level of cynicism that's there. But the truth is that, you know, I just know how special he is. And I don't want to sound like the cheering wife. ... The fundamental changes that he has made in just 15 months in the way people see themselves, the way that people see their futures, the way young people are looking at their possibilities, the way we're talking about politics, even though we slip sometimes and we still get pulled down into the old ways of playing the political game, changes have happened. And it makes every challenge, every frustration worth it" (NBC, 5/1).

CNBC's Harwood, on the Obamas' joint appearance: "They're attempting to give the same answer, not advance the story, deal with it" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 4/30).

MSNBC's Matthews: "He's done what he can. He's brought his wife out and she rarely comes out in his defensive mode. ... He has separated himself from this fellow in a way I never thought he would. The emotional break is there. You can see it in the tragic face of Michelle Obama today. It seems to me, it's now or never; this guy is either bad news and gone news or never going away" ("Hardball," 4/30).

MSNBC's Abrams: "It sometimes seems Michelle Obama has a hard time being a politician. She wants to say, 'Don't go there. Don't go there with me, I don't want to talk about it'" ("Verdict," 4/30).

Syndicated columnist Tony Blankley: "I have a lot of trouble commenting on an anguished wife watching this process" ("Verdict," MSNBC, 4/30).

When This Campaign Is Over, We All Deserve A Pony

M. Obama and Caroline Kennedy sat down with CNN's Malveaux last night.

M. Obama, asked about her reaction to the Wright controversy: "With all due respect, we are moving forward. I think Barack was so clear and has been so open about this issue, and he speaks for me as well. I think the timing and sort of the details and the process is, you know, it just isn't relevant to what we are trying to do. So, yes, it was painful. Yes, it has been difficult, but I think that, you know, the more difficult thing that this country is facing is really trying to move politics into conversations around problems and problem-solving. And that is what we are going to be pretty determined to do. And I think this is about all I am going to say on the issue, and I think that, you know, we are going to close the chapter and move into the next phase of this election. So with that, I am hoping that we will talk about something else.

M. Obama, on whether Obama and the camp will be able to move forward from the controversy: "We are going to do our best to move forward. Barack and in our campaign, we are going to, with everything in our power, if allowed to by the press, to move forward. And, you know, we can not speculate about what other people will do. And it is just pointless to try to speculate."

M. Obama, on whether Obama can do anything to steer the contest away from racial issues: "You know, we're focused on people who are ready to turn the page. I think that what we're seeing in this race, because we also have to look at this room of big picture and look at the states that Barack has won. ... One of the reasons why we try to do interviews like this is not to talk about Reverend Wright, but talk about who we are beyond that caricature. And sometimes things get bogged down. And you know we do our best to say this is who we really are, and that takes time. But with time comes familiarity and growth, and we are confident that the American people are ready to move to a different place. And we just have to be confident and give them the benefit of the doubt that they get all the information, and we sort of come out of the muck, that they'll be ready to embrace a truth."

Malveaux: "Last time you were asked about a possible Obama/Clinton ticket, you said, well I need to think on that a little bit. You have had some time to think. What do you think about an Obama/Clinton ticket?"

M. Obama: "I haven't thought about it."

Malveaux: "Is it possible?"

M. Obama: "You know, that is going to be Barack's call. And I think that's the one thing you earn when you go through this process, that at the end, you get to decide who your running mate is going to be. And I think that's going to require a lot of analysis and sort of sitting down and figuring this out. Our focus is one day at a time, one step in front of another. We are here in Indiana; we want to win here in Indiana. We want to win in North Carolina, and we are focusing on the voters that are right in front of us. And that has been our strategy this whole year, not to get too far ahead of the game and understand the challenges that we are faced with right here today."

Malveaux: "And Michelle I understand that win or lose, that Sasha and Malia get a dog."

M. Obama: "They get a dog, don't you think? ... Those are the ones in our family who deserve the reward because these are two little girls who did not choose this. And they don't see their dad. ... So those girls deserve a dog, a horse, a pony. We're not going to do all that, but I think that's the least of it" ("AC 360," 4/30)..

Anatomy Of A Break-Up

New York Times' Powell/Kantor write about how Obama's "long, slow fuse burned to an end" late 4/28 p.m. in NC, as he watched a TV replay of Wright's Press Club remarks and aides "fielded phone calls and e-mail from uncommitted superdelegates, several demanding that the candidate speak out more forcefully." Obama "told close friends after watching the replay, he felt dumbfounded, even betrayed" -- particularly, he "could not tolerate" Wright's implication that Obama was being hypocritical.

"Theirs was a long and painful falling-out, marked by a degree of mutual incomprehension, friends and aides say," and it began "the moment" Obama declared his candidacy and "abruptly uninvited" Wright -- the first in "a cascade of perceived slights." The scrutiny Trinity United Church of Christ came under also "infuriated" Wright. And after his Press Club speech, Wright "seemed to sense nothing wrong" while Obama "was soon seething" (5/1).

I Just Can't Delete Him From My Blackberry Yet ...

Lawmakers supporting Obama "say they have no fears about a backlash" against Dems or Obama in the aftermath of Wright's remarks (Soraghan/Allen, The Hill, 4/30).

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the GOP GOV candidate in MT 4/30, Mike Huckabee "returned to Wright's comments several times, at one point calling Wright almost treasonous for suggesting that the U.S. government created AIDS to kill people of color." He also said Wright "needs Obama to fail in order to prove the reverend's theories of racial oppression." Huckabee: "[An Obama loss would] justify his anger, his hostile bitterness against the United States of America" (Lutey, Billings Gazette, 3/1).

... And I Can't Stop Thinking About How It Went So Wrong

Opinion writers also had more to say about Obama and Wright this a.m.. Some highlights:

• Chicago Tribune's Page headline: "Wright drives a wedge between Obama and whites." More: "Wright chose to reveal the real Wright to the public only days" after Obama's PA primary loss. "That primary exposed weaknesses in Obama's ability to connect with white working-class voters -- and Wright. Wright was given a golden opportunity to correct the distorted image portrayed in his sound bites. He could have helped his 20-year former congregant's efforts to win votes in IN and NC. But Wright blew it" (5/1).

• Washington Post's Broder writes, "In his achingly slow steps toward repudiating the repugnant words of [Wright], Obama "has run the risk of serious political damage by leaving vague what it was that attracted him to this outspoken critic of American society. ... We do not know how destructive this association will be to Obama's chances. But as much as Obama may have found inspiration for his political views in Wright's sermons, the damage from their friendship has now been far greater" (5/1).

• Wall Street Journal's Henninger: "At Barack Obama's darkest hour, not one prominent ally came forward to support him. Everyone abandoned Everyman. ... More than a few were last seen running out on Hillary Clinton. Perhaps the solution here is for the two soloists to meet, flip a coin, and spend the next six months as a pair running against John McCain. It looks lke they're the only friends they've got" (5/1).

• Washington Times' Lambro writes, "There is no question that Wright's hateful, racially charged, disturbingly conspiratorial rhetoric from the pulpit ... has hurt [Obama]. But whether the damage would derail Obama's historic bid ... remains an open question" (5/1).

• Chicago Sun-Times' Novak writes, "The difficulty is that Wright can re-emerge at any time he wishes and renew discussion of [Obama's] real identity" (5/1).

• Philadelphia Daily News's Leavy writes, "Wright's latest self-referential speaking tour put the issue" of race "right back on the front burner. White fear of the black man now hovers over Obama's campaign, notwithstanding Obama's denunciation of Wright" (5/1).

• Time's Klein writes, Wright may be "so threatened" by Obama's candidacy because, if Obama wins and breaks the racial barrier, "there won't be much of a market for oppression-thumping orators" like Wright (4/30).

• In the Boston Globe, authors Charles Derber and Yale Magrass write, "Obama's 'Wright problem' reveals a largely ignored national problem: the narrowing of public debate to exclude the possibility of speaking truthfully about the US role in the world. ... Obama's greatest skill is as a rhetorician, and in his recent speech on race, he proved that he could speak truthfully, in a new and unifying way, about this most charged American subject. In this same spirit, he will be a transformative leader and make a lasting contribution if he moves to resurrect the authentic peace talk of Martin Luther King Jr." (5/1).

• Los Angeles Times' Parks writes, "Wright has now definitively proved he shares that most quintessential of all American traits: a profound desire to hog the airwaves and proclaim, 'It's all about me.' Next stop: 'American Idol'!" (5/1).

• Chicago Tribune's Kass: Obama "will be thinking what every one of us would be thinking, if we were running for president as Barack Obama: How the heck will 'Saturday Night Live' ridicule me and Jeremiah Wright?" (5/1).

• Bloomberg's Carlson writes, "there were two people" in Wright's 72-hour "media tear." It's "easy to see why Obama was drawn to the Wright that showed up on Bill Moyers' PBS television show. It's just as easy to see why he was repelled by the Wright who appeared at the National Press Club. ... However inadvertently, Wright may have saved Obama, if not for all eternity, at least for now. Maybe Obama can get the discussion back to what he believes in instead of what his former pastor does. Amen to that" (5/1).

• Syndicated columnist William Murchison writes that Wright "is, as the more polite among us would have the matter, 'full of it.' A bit of a racist, you likely could call him - notwithstanding that this formerly descriptive reproach has lost its sting through overuse by the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and, yes, Jeremiah Wright. ... A presidential candidate who beams appreciatively at Wrightian bombast -- we can hope Mr. Obama winces sometimes -- has some tall explaining to do" (5/1).

Several newspaper ed boards also weighed in. Some highlights:

• Los Angeles Times headline: "The Wright choice." More: "It's hard to believe that Obama is discovering much about Wright now. Nor should he be surprised at how easy it is for the media and his political opponents to keep Wright in the spotlight -- particularly when Wright is so eager to steal it from his former parishioner" (5/1).

• Boston Globe headline: "Rev. Wright, the sequel." More: "Obama's handling of the Wright debacle may, arguably, reflect upon his style of leadership: Can the senator work himself out of political jams? Does sentiment, such as a lingering loyalty to a longtime preacher, deter him from decisions that are difficult politically or personally?" Obama "has made a career of pushing in the opposite direction -- of promoting common understanding among those who might distrust each other. To see those efforts bogging down in the same old swamp is just depressing" (5/1).

• Newsday: "The way to get past the issue is to work through it. Weight put one black man's anger and ambivalence about the country on display. The test for voters is to sort reaction that is relevant and revealing from that which is irrelevant and demogogic, and to reject appeals to race-based fears" (5/1).

• Philadelphia Inquirer: "Jeremiah Wright isn't running for president, so let's get back to who can best unite our country, fix the economy and end the war. Sure, voters should consider remarks made by [Wright] in assessing the character of the actual candidate. But enough is now known about Wright and Obama to do that without more rehashing of who said what when" (5/1).

• Newark Star-Ledger headline: "Pastor point of no return." More: "In our view, Obama's positions should be evaluated on their merits; Obama is not his pastor. Viewing him that way is a kind of guilt by association. His fellow candidates should be wary of playing that card" (5/1).

• The Oklahoman: "He probably should have parted company with the reverend years ago. That element now becomes the new stumbling block to his campaign. Although Obama spoke passionately Tuesday about the offensiveness of Wright's preening, defiant appearance in Washington, it takes a willful suspension of belief -- to borrow one of Clinton's favorite lines - to accept that only now has the candidate realized how objectionable Wright had become" (5/1).

We Know You're Tired, But At Least Look Alive

The Hill's Stoddard writes, there's a "burning question of whether Obama will ever fire up again." Obama "is clearly not enjoying any of this, visibly counting the moments until closure" while Clinton is "ebullient and gushing" -- and "voters are noticing." For Obama to win now, "he must want this badly enough for people to know it" (4/30).

Dallas Morning News' Leubsdorf writes, Obama "looks like the quarterback of a football team intent on running out the clock." He "is playing it safe to avoid a mistake that could erase the small but firm margin he built through the first three quarters," which "has left him on the defensive" and makes him "look as if he's trying to avoid an opponent's tough criticism" (5/1).

Oh, Hill No

There's now a website urging Obama supporters to vote for McCain if superdelegates "throw" the Dem nod to Clinton, "ObamaVotersForMcCain.com" (Paybarah, "The Politicker," New York Observer, 4/30).

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