From The Hotline Latest Edition for Friday, May 9,2008

OBAMA

I'm An Asterisk-Taker

Fri. May 9, 2008


Barack Obama "dropped by the House floor" 5/8 "for what amounted to a low-key victory lap," taking time to meet with undecided superdelegates. Obama "gently and gingerly assumed the mantle" of presumptive Dem nominee in his appearances and interviews, "easing his way toward a victory much of the media already has granted him while carefully avoiding" any appearance of "muscling" Hillary Clinton aside (Dorning, Chicago Tribune, 5/9).

Obama, speaking to reporters: "Our goal is going to be to try to bring the party together as soon as possible. But we still have contests remaining, and so in no way am I taking this for granted" (Pickler, AP, 5/9)

On the floor of the House, meanwhile, "Obamamania" descended (Grim, Politico, 5/8). Obama was "mobbed by well-wishers" (Murray/Bacon, Washington Post, 5/9), some calling him "Mr. President" (AP, 5/9). Obama was "shaking hands, clapping backs, doling out hugs and even doing a little curtsy" for Budget Cmte Chair John Spratt (D-SC) (Herszenhorn, "The Caucus," New York Times, 5/8). "Some in the Clinton camp wondered if Obama was pressing for superdelegate votes in a place where electioneering is forbidden. Surrounded by reporters as he walked to the Senate a bit later, Obama denied any politicking" (Garrett, "Special Report," FNC, 5/8).

"Behind the scenes, there were new discussions" between Obama and party leadership, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi "when their paths crossed" at DNC HQ (Hulse/Herszenhorn, New York Times, 5/9). Before he caused his "minor commotion" on the House floor, Obama also "huddled" with undecided superdelegates "at a townhouse a few blocks from the Capitol," and met with members of the Blue Dog Coalition (Davis/Paletta, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 5/8).

For his efforts 5/8, Obama picked up the support of four more superdelegates in the House:

• After "mulling it over for a quite a while," Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), "who had been supporting" Clinton, "switched his allegiance" to Obama. Payne: "After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs." More Payne: "At this particular time we need to really unite behind one candidate. It's time now for us to pull our party together. The quicker it's over, the better we'll be able to bring all of our forces together" (Schwaneberg, Newark Star-Ledger, 5/9).

• Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) endorsed Obama 5/8, saying he "represents our best chance of winning in November" (Mapes, Portland Oregonian, 5/9).

• Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) endorsed Obama 5/8, saying the NC and IN primaries showed "he can take a pounding and come back strong to deliver his message of hope and change. He is tough as nails" (Daly, AP, 5/8).

• Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) endorsed Obama 5/8, saying Obama "understands that he has the chance not just to win the election this year, but to be a great president. ... Americans want a fundamental change in course. Senator Obama has seized that opportunity" (release, 5/8).

Uncommitted superdelegate/American Federation of Gov't Employees pres. John Gage also endorsd Obama 5/9, saying, "Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama's campaign" (Holland, AP, 5/9)

Meanwhile, with Larsen's and Miller's endorsements, Obama "has finally caught" Clinton in Hill endorsements (Marre, The Hill, 5/8).

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "This was a big one. He was more than 60 behind on Super Tuesday. Now he's ahead 267 to 265. That means he leads in every important metric in this race right now. He need leads in states won, he leads in the pledge delegates, he leads in the popular vote, he leads in cash on hand, he leads in the superdelegates. ... I think it's clear Senator Obama will be the nominee" (5/9).

Newsday's Riley, on the superdelegate holdouts: "It sounds like a lot of superdelegates are saying they want a neutral benchmark -- victory among the pledged delegates -- before they jump. That way, they can say they're honoring the process and the voters, not picking Obama over Clinton" ("Spin Cycle," 5/8).

Getting A Grip On The General

"Soon," Obama "is likely to unleash attack ads aimed at defining" John McCain. "With vastly more money, Sen. Obama will be able to flood the airwaves as voters are forming impressions" (Meckler/Holmes, Wall Street Journal, 5/9).

Sitting down with CNN's Blitzer for his first nat'l interview since the 5/6 primaries, Obama set off a "war of words" with McCain 5/8 over his suggestion that terrorist group Hamas prefers Obama for POTUS (Boston Globe, 5/9).

Obama, on McCain's comments: "This is offensive and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics and that engages in that kind of smear I think is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his. ... And so for him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name calling in this debate" ("Situation Room," 5/8).

This "was met with an acid pen of nuclear proportions" from McCain's camp. McCain CoS/speechwriter Mark Salter wrote in a memo that Obama's comments were and intentional and "not particularly clever way" of referring to McCain's age. Salter: "We have all become familiar with Senator Obama's new brand of politics. First, you demand civility from your opponent, then you attack him, distort his record and send out surrogates to question his integrity. It is called hypocrisy, and it is the oldest kind of politics there is." Obama "is hopeful that the media will continue to form a protective barrier around him, declaring serious limits to the questions, discussion and debate in this race" (Zuckman, "The Swamp," Chicago Tribune, 5/8).

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton responded, "Clearly losing one's bearings has no relation to age, given this bizarre rant that Mark Salter just sent out" (release, 5/9).

Mitt Steps Into The Ring

Obama, on Mitt Romney saying he is inexperienced and being POTUS "is not an internship": "Yeah. Well, the contest didn't work out so well against John McCain suggesting that John McCain as a senator hadn't done what Mitt Romney had done. And yet here we are and there Mitt Romney is. Look, when it comes to national security, I think that what people are looking for is good judgment" ("Situation Room," CNN, 5/8).

Romney, on Obama's response to his "internship" comments: "Well, his response, of course, was not to discuss the merits of the issue. The truth of the matter is, just as I said, that he doesn't have a record of accomplishment in the private sector or in the governmental sector. He hasn't led any kind of entity. He hasn't pushed a major piece of legislation. He seems like a charming guy who is very well spoken. But in terms of actually having led, actually having accomplished something, actually having been the kind of leader that America needs at a critical time, with our economy fragile, with us facing real challenges around the world, he's untested and unproven."

Blitzer: "But what about his argument that you used to make the same criticisms of McCain when you were running against McCain?"

Romney: "No, he's not quite right on that. I always recognized Senator McCain's long service in our United States Senate, as well as his tested and proven status as a leader and as a member of our military."

Romney, on Obama calling McCain's Hamas comments "offensive": "Again he's trying to deflect from the substance. The United States leader of Hamas has said that he is endorsing Barack Obama. That's a very embarrassing thing. And the reason for that is pretty straightforward. And that is Barack Obama has said if he's elected president, in his first year, he will sit down with Ahmadinejad. ... It is one more clear example of a person that's out of his depth when it comes to being the leader of the free world" ("Situation Room," CNN, 5/8).

Bring It On

More highlights from Obama's interview with Blitzer:

Obama, on the Time cover declaring him the "winner": "I don't want to be jinxed. We've still got some work to do. ... Senator Clinton is a very formidable candidate. She is very heavily favored to win West Virginia. She'll win that by a big margin. She's favored in Kentucky. We'll probably split the remaining contests so she's going to be actively campaigning."

Obama, asked if he's ready to handle the assault from GOPers that he is a classic tax and spend liberal Dem: "Absolutely. Because think about what I am going to be running against. The failed policies of the Bush administration which John McCain wants to continue."

Blitzer: "They're going to say you're going to raise their taxes. What are you going to say?"

Obama: "I will raise CEO taxes, there is no doubt about it. ... They won't be prohibitively high. You're going to be paying roughly what you paid in the '90s when CEOs were doing just fine. ... I want to eliminate the Bush tax cuts. And what I have said is, I will institute a middle-class tax cut. So, if you're making $75,000, if you're making $50,000 a year, you will see an extra $1,000 a year offsetting on your payroll tax."

Obama, on his criteria for picking a SCOTUS Justice nominee: "I think that my first criteria is to make sure that these are people who are capable and competent and that they are interpreting the law and 95 percent of the time, the law is so clear that it's just a matter of applying the law. I'm not somebody who believes in a bunch of judicial lawmaking."

Blitzer: "Are there ... justices right now upon who you would model, you would look at? Who do you like?"

Obama: "I think actually Justice Breyer, Justice Ginsburg are very sensible judges. I think that Justice Souter, who was a Republican appointee, is a sensible judge."

Obama, on whether he would pick Clinton as his VP: "As I said before, Time magazine notwithstanding, we haven't wrapped this thing up yet. At the point where I'm the nominee I'll start going through the process of figuring out ... who my running mate might be. Senator Clinton has shown herself to be an extraordinary candidate. She is tireless, she is smart. She is capable. And so obviously she'd on anybody's short list to be a potential vice presidential candidate."

Blitzer: "A quick question on this Mother's Day weekend. Your mother raised you. She was on food stamps at one point. Single mother. If she were alive today and she saw ... the point that you have reached right now, what would she say to you?"

Obama: "She'd say don't let it get to your head, just keep on working hard. But I think she'd be pretty proud" ("Situation Room," CNN 5/8).

Something To Smile About

Obama also sat down with NBC's Williams.

Obama, asked if he the presumptive Dem nominee: "Not yet. I will be. If Senator Clinton decides not to go on or if we complete the six contests and we are ahead as we are now. But uh, nothing is certain. I don't want to take it for granted."

Obama, asked if he's had any discussions about declaring victory on 5/20: "That will be an important day. If, at that point, we have the majority of pledged delegates, which is possible, then I think we can make a pretty strong claim that you know, we've got the most runs and it's the ninth inning. And we've won."

Obama, on what his mom would say about the Time cover: "She'd like that picture. She always encouraged me to smile more."

Obama, on the asterisk: "Well, I think the asterisk is a signifier that -- this is not done. But I think my mom would be proud of me."

Obama, asked if there have been internal conversations with the Clinton camp about a ticket that would involve Clinton: "We have not had those conversations, because I respect what she has said publicly that she is continuing this campaign."

Williams: "Is it under consideration?"

Obama: "What I've said is, I want to respect her, and her desire to continue in these coming contests. And as soon as I know I'm the nominee, then I'm going to start making overtures to her, as well as everybody else, to figure out how we are going to bring this party together."

Obama, asked if Clinton meets his criteria of a running mate: "Well, there's no doubt that she's qualified to be vice president, there's no doubt she's qualified to be president. Obviously I think I can be a better president, otherwise I wouldn't' be running. But she's a very capable, very smart person. And anybody who's been in a political contest with her, can tell you that she's no pushover" ("Nightly News," 5/8).

What's A State Like You Doing At A Convo Like This?

"For the first time," Obama "began openly courting" FL's Dems 5/8. Obama met with FL reps on the Hill "while also promising to stage campaign events" in FL later this month, "including fund-raisers in Orlando and Miami and possibly a visit to a synagogue" (Dunkelberger, Lakeland Ledger, 5/9).

Obama "promised a group of uncommitted superdelegates" 5/8 that he would seat FL's delegation at the Dem convo. Uncommitted superdelegate/Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL): "He assured us that Florida delegates will be at the convention and they'll have their party hats on" (Gibson, "The Swamp," Chicago Tribune, 5/8).

Bonding Time

Obama "spoke for about eight minutes at a cocktail reception" sponsored by the Israeli Embassy in DC 5/8, marking the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence. The camp said Obama "was there in his capacity as a senator," and his tone "was low-key and quite serious." Obama spoke about America's bond and friendship with Israel, and its commitment to Israel's security being "unshakable." He also added into his prepared remarks: "As somebody who has had the great honor of running for the president of the United States of America, I pledge to you that I will do whatever I can in whatever capacity to not only ensure Israel's security but to ensure that the people of Israel are able to thrive and prosper and build on the enormous promise that was made 60 years ago" (Jones, NBC/National Journal, 5/8).

Gotta Have That Spunk

Ex-John Edwards mgr./ex-Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) made his Obama endorsement official on a 5/8 conf. call. Bonior "cited [Obama's] ability to bring change and to inspire, to defend himself against attacks, his dedication to helping working families and his opposition to the war in Iraq" (Jones, NBC/National Journal, 5/8). Bonior: "I was waiting for Sen. Obama to show me the fight I wanted to see because it's going to be difficult against" McCain. Obama has "shown great skill, great poise, great determination and spirit" (Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 5/8).

Bonior: "We are really into a year of hope for America. Like we were in 1932, 1960, 1980, even with Reagan. People want something different. They want something new. They want to reject the old. Senator Obama has brought in an enormous amount of energy and people into the campaign. ... I think the movement historically is with him" ("Morning Joe," MSNBC, 5/9).

Exotic Portlands Of Call

Obama visits OR today, holding town halls in Portland and Albany and rallying in Eugene. Obama holds another town hall in Bend 5/10 (release, 5/9).

Meanwhile, OR GOP vice chair Vance Day got on a conf. call with reporters 5/8 "to welcome" Obama to the state "with a couple of verbal swipes at his record" on NAFTA (Mapes, Portland Oregonian, 5/8).

"Fancy Plumage"

On a five-hour flight to OR 5/8, Obama "joined in for two rounds" of word game Taboo with his traveling press corps. In the game, players guess a word based on clues and non-obvious synonyms from teammates. "Early on the senator managed to get his team to guess 'Cockatoo' by talking about an animal that flies, can mimic human words and has fancy plumage." Obama and his team of staffers "won both rounds" (Jones, NBC/National Journal, 5/9). Obama: "And you guys are professional wordsmiths!" (Babington, AP, 5/9).

Finally Putting Dave Matthews To Work

Obama's camp announced the 14 nat'l co-chairs of the camp's 50-state voter registration drive, "Vote for Change." Co-chairs include Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), MA Gov. Deval Patrick (D), Reps. John Barrow (D-GA), Melissa Bean (D-IL) and Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Change to Win chair Anna Burger, ex-Transportation Sec. Norm Mineta, and musicians Melissa Etheridge, Dave Matthews and Usher Raymond (release, 5/8).

I'm Late, I'm Late, For A Quasi-Important Date

Karl Rove: "What's the difference between May 20 and June 5 or 10? It could be a lot if on May 20 it looks like you're declaring victory and on June 5 or 10 everybody is agreeing that you're the victor" ("On the Record," FNC, 5/8).

The Hill's Stoddard, on Obama saying the race should be over by 5/20: "He has to straddle telling the party that we're going to move onto the general election while also giving her her space; it's a very hard balance. You have to continue to focus on John McCain, travel to states out of these primary contests, remain in primary contests, and at the same time, be really nice and not have a superdelegate stampede to upset her. So, it's a difficult straddle. You have to give the air of inevitability, at the same time, you have to be humble. I think he's doing the best he can" ("Verdict," MSNBC, 5/8).

Politico's Simon, on Obama acting humble about being the "presumptive" Dem nominee: "He should keep up with the humble thing. I think it would be a mistake for him to declare victory after the last contest because the last contest gives him a very meaningful metric, the most pledged delegates, and that will give him the nomination, in the end" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 5/8).

Wake Up, You're Dreaming

Newsday's Thrush/Gordon: "There's only one problem with the idea" of an Obama-Clinton "dream ticket" -- "neither member of the team is ready to buy the dream" (5/8).

New York Post's Feld writes, "Obama doesn't need to worry about healing his party. Most of Hillary Clinton's sizeable base is not itching to punish him for beating her." Obama "needs to worry about the much larger group of not-so-political" Dems who skipped the primaries, "but will vote" in the general and are "prime targets" for McCain. "In short, Obama can't solve his core problem by putting Clinton on his ticket. Nor can she fix it for him by campaigning her heart out. He needs to make thet case that he'd actually do a good job" (5/9).

New York Observer's Kornacki writes, even if Clinton wants to be Obama's VP, "there's not much she could do in terms of retribution if Obama were to (diplomatically) refuse -- not if she wants to retain her viability for a future White House run." Assuming Obama "doesn't willfully antagonize" the Clintons, "he'll almost certainly find them agreeable to rolling up their sleeves and pitching in on his behalf when the primaries are over. They'll be doing it for their own sake much more than his" (5/8).

The Party Never Stops

In the press today was more analysis and commentary on Obama's issues with white, working-class voters:

• National Journal's Schneider writes, "What is Obama's problem with white working-class voters? Is it race, or is it class?" Analyst Stuart Rothenberg: "Some of it is race, some of it is his life experience and his style, and arguably some of it is his ideology. ... He talks at 35,000 feet. He's much more of a professor giving a lecture than he is a candidate trying to connect with real people" (5/10 issue).

• Time's Weisskopf writes of Obama's early days in the IL Legislature, "He learned how to be different things to different people: a reformer groomed by an old-fashioned machine boss, an African American heavily financed by white liberals, a Harvard lawyer whose bootstrapping life story gained traction with white ethnics." Obama learned "how to appeal to different constituencies without being inconsistent" (Time.com, 5/8).

• Washington Post's Gerson writes, the "Obama narrative" that will follow him into the general "is intellectual and ideological (not social) elitism." With the flag pin controversy, "the problem here is not that Obama is unpatriotic," but that "Obama has declared himself superior to an almost universal form of popular patriotism." Obama's narrative "reinforces" the Dem narrative, and it's "now possible to imagine Obama at a cocktail party with Kerry, Al Gore and Michael Dukakis, sharing a laugh about gun-toting, Bible-thumping, flag-pin-wearing, small-town Americans." This has let to a "disconnect with white religious voters." The question then becomes whether McCain can "turn this disaffection into" GOP votes (5/9).

• Washington Post's Dionne writes, Obama's NC win "was actually the second important election result for his campaign this month" -- the first was the "triumph" of House candidate Don Cazayoux (D-LA) in the special election "despite an aggressive" GOP campaign to "link the moderate Cajun to Obama, liberalism and high taxes." Cazayoux's win "is one sign that the issues are moving" the Dems' way (5/9).

• Chicago Tribune's James writes, the '08 general campaign "may become one of the nastiest in American history, the mother of all race-baiting efforts. True, the next six months could pleasantly surprise us," but the history of contests "when one of the candidates is African-American isn't encouraging." With his "exotic name and unusual background and troublesome associations," Obama "should offer even more of an inviting target than other black candidates" ("The Swamp," 5/8).

• National Journal's Taylor writes, "The evidence indicates" Obama is not "at a political disadvantage because of white racism." But "many of the voters who have been unfairly tarred as racist do have a different flaw" that Clinton and McCain "are working especially hard to exploit: ignorance of elementary economics and other things every high school graduate should know, which accounts for the low quality of debate on issues ranging from the gas tax to trade to the budget" (5/10 issue).

Mama's Boy

Boston Globe's Goodman notes, Obama "has not yet had a 'gender conversation'" with one group of Clinton supporters, "women of a certain age who attached their hopes to having a woman" in the WH. "What better link does he have than his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham," a "nonconformist, a woman of the world who traveled a trajectory of change so associated with Hillary's generation?" What better way to show he "gets it" than by "sharing the dreams he inherited and the dreams he understands. The dreams from his mother. A girl named Stanley" (5/9).

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