From The Hotline for Friday, June 27, 2008

OBAMA

So You Think You Can Dance

Fri. Jun 27, 2008


Barack Obama "has taken a stroll this week away from traditional liberal" positions, "his path toward the political center marked by artful leaps and turns." In the past week, Obama "has executed several policy pirouettes" toward the center, taking "calibrated positions on issues that include electronic surveillance, campaign finance and the death penalty for child rapists" (Powell, New York Times, 6/27).

"Faced with tough choices" on a range of issues, "Obama passed up opportunities to take bold stands and make striking departures from customary politics. Instead, he has followed a familiar tack, straddling controversial issues and choosing politically advantageous routes that will ensure his campaign has a cash edge and minimize damaging blowback on several highly sensitive issues" (Vogel, Politico, 6/27).

Most recently, Obama "seemed to embrace" the SCOTUS ruling striking down DC's handgun ban, even though he "seemed to voice support for the ban as recently as" Feb. But 6/26, he "issued a Delphic news release that seemed to support" the SCOTUS, "although staff members later insisted that might not be the case."

Obama, though "describes his new turns as consistent with long-held beliefs," and "this most observant" of pols "has throughout his career shown an appreciation for the virtues of political ambiguity" (New York Times, 6/27).

"All this tactical repositioning by Obama suggests that he's a more complex, pragmatic and arguably more opportunistic politician than the fresh face of 'change we can believe in' that he presented during the primary season."

But in NH, "interviews this week with voters suggested that they aren't paying much attention. Even those who have taken notice generally said their enthusiasm for Obama isn't dampened" (Talev, McClatchy, 6/27).

I Wear These Flip-Flops All The Time, You've Just Never Seen Them

Some commentators defended Obama's move toward the center, while others weren't so kind:

• Time's Calabrresi writes, Pols "are always happy to get a chance to accuse opponents of flip-flopping," but John McCain's "team may be more afraid of Obama's shift to the center than their words betray." Obama "has some centrist positions to highlight" in the general on non-social issues like economics and foreign policy. His "sudden social centrism would seem more convincing in a different context," as he has "consistently moved to the middle" on other issues since wrapping up the primary (Time.com, 6/26).

• New York Post's Greene writes of Obama's opposition to the SCOTUS decision striking down the death penalty for child rapists, "By expressing some support for capital punishment, even in the most narrow of circumstances, Obama walked a fine line that always exists between reason and emotion. More important, he ended the debate before it began and dodged for another day the persistent attempts to paint him as a soft-on-crime liberal" (6/27).

• New Hampshire Union Leader's McQuaid writes, Obama's "ability to switch positions on major issues is dizzying. It wouldn't matter, except Obama wants to become President. If that happens, hold on for dear life." The next POTUS "needs to show a steady, dependable sense of command. We don't need one who changes his basic positions as if he were changing his socks" (6/27).

When He Starts Wearing Yellow Suits, We'll Really Start To Worry

Several commentators also noticed some similarities between the new Obama and a certain primary opponent:

• New York Post's Hurt writes, "Are the Democrats now the party of states' rights, gun rights and the death penalty? This wild election just keeps getting wilder." Obama's "moves rightward" are "not signs of weakness; they're signs of a man who will win at any cost. Isn't that what they used to say about the Clintons?" (6/27).

• Washington Post's Krauthammer: "Obama's long march to the center has begun. And why not? What's the downside? He won't lose the left, or even mainstream" Dems. "Worry about the press? His FISA flip-flop elicited a few grumbles from lefty bloggers, but hardly a murmer from the mainstream press. ... His media swooners seem to accept his every policy reversal." As for Obama, "he does not hesitate. He tosses lustily ... Not a flinch. Not a flicker. Not a hint of shame. By the time he's finished, Obama will have made the Clintons look scrupulous" (6/27).

• New London Day's Means writes, Obama "is refashioning his image into a really tough, pragmatic politician -- just lik, guess who? Hillary Clinton! This is not only sensible, it is necessary. The pro-Obama mouthpieces who regularly dumped on" Clinton "for being mean, self-centered and not very likable are now rushing to find those traits admirable in Obama" as he faces McCain (6/27).

I'm Not Opposed To It, Per Se, Just When It's In My Plan

Obama health adviser Dr. Kavita Patel "is signaling" that Obama's healthcare plan "could eventually go in Clinton's direction" on supporting individual mandates. Patel: "Senator Obama is willing to consider any sort of proposal that would bring together, not just the insurance industry but ... the consumers themselves."

Asked if Obama "would be seen as reversing himself if he were to endorse an individual mandate after clashing with Clinton on the issue, Patel dismissed the concern." Patel: "He has not said he is opposed to it. He has voiced his disagreement with having that be a part of his health-care plan last year. But he is not opposed to the idea itself" (Davis/Santucci/Wallace, "Political Radar," ABCNews.com, 6/27).

Look Out, They're Charging For Extra Baggage Now

Obama "will travel to Iraq and Afghanistan" before the Dem convo, sources say. Obama spoke with Iraqi Pres. Jalal Talabani 6/26, "and told Talabani he will be visiting the war zone soon" (Gavrilovic, CBSNews.com, 6/26).

Good Night, Battleground States, I Love You!

Obama "joined an A-list panel of business, labor and education leaders" at Carnegie Mellon Univ. in Pittsburgh 6/26 for a "wide-ranging conversation on the roles of energy innovation, education and infrastructure improvements as foundations of prosperity" (O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/27).

Obama "convened the summit to wrap up" his three-week tour battleground states in which he's touted his economic agenda. Obama argued 6/26 that McCain's agenda "has failed to keep pace with the challenges of the 21st century" (Kugler, AP, 6/26).

Panelists at the event included GM CEO Richard Wagoner, America Online co-founder Steve Case, U.S. Steel CEO John Surma, MIT pres. Susan Hockfield and SEIU pres. Andy Stern (Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/27). Also on the panel was Ret. Gen. James Jones, "who is close" to McCain but "has been mentioned" as a possible Obama VP (Finnegan, "The Swamp," Chicago Tribune, 6/26).

Obama "used Pittsburgh as his stage to ask Americans for a mandate to implement a national health care plan" if elected, arguing, "If we can't control skyrocketing health care costs, we'll confront a mounting moral crisis and a major anchor on the ability of American business to compete." Obama: "I'm expecting U.S. Steel and General Motors and other key industries to say we've got to get this done for our sake as well -- that this is No. 1 of our priority list, not something that's on a back burner" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/27).

Obama also argued for independence from "oil from dictators," and giving "every child in America the chance to get a world-class education." There was "clear consensus on the panel" on the need for the country "to diversify its energy supplies, invest more in basic research and improve education" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/27).

McCain's camp responded by arguing Obama's policies "would actually stall competitiveness for American companies." McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds: "The greatest force for jobs here at home and for global competitiveness is fewer governmental regulations, strong trading partners and lower taxes, all of which Barack Obama has opposed" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/27).

The Other Issues Of The Day

Bloomberg's Cook caught up with Obama on the Carnegie Mellon Univ. campus 6/26. Some highlights:

Obama, on the SCOTUS' gun ruling: "The key is to try to stop using this as a wedge issue, and let's figure out an intelligent way where we can stop having kids being murdered on the streets of American cities, while making sure that law-abiding gun owners are protected in their rights."

Cook: "Sir, there are a lot of Democrats who are going to say the Supreme Court got this one wrong. You're not in that camp?"

Obama: "I'm not in the camp of their overall reasoning. Now, how they applied it and how they will apply it in the future I think is the key question. I think it's very important for everybody to understand that the Supreme Court ruling did not say that you can't have commonsense gun laws. It just said that this particular case violated the basic principle that people do have a right to bear arms."

Obama, on Pres. Bush removing North Korea from the list of states sponsors of terrorism: "I think that it's going to be important for Congress to verify what's in this declaration, to make sure that there's a full accounting of not only the current nuclear program that North Korea has, both in terms of plutonium and enriched uranium, but also some of the proliferation issues. It appears that North Korea may have, for example, provided technology to the Syrians to build a nuclear reactor. We need to know all that information. ... We have to make sure that North Korea abides by the future aspects of this agreement. I think it also, though, underscores the importance of direct talks. And keep in mind that, when we weren't talking to North Korea, that they were advancing their nuclear program. Once we began direct talks, we saw the break. ... And that, I think, is a principle that we have got to apply to other countries as well."

Obama, on the auto industry: "I'm glad ... that John McCain also wants to invest in technology around electric cars. I think a $300 million bounty is the wrong way to go about it. When we decided we were going to send a man to the moon, we spent in today's dollars about $100 billion, not $300 million. We're have to make a serious investment in basic research and technology around electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and our electricity grid, so that all those things are fitting together" (Bloomberg, 6/26).

Fight For Your Right To Raise Lots Of Money

Michelle Obama "showcased what the called her husband's long record of pushing for equal treatment for all" at a fundraiser before the DNC's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council in NYC 6/26, speaking "about civil rights struggles" from "Selma to Stonewall" (Katz, New York Daily News, 6/26). Her speech "brought a standing ovation from the crowd of about 200 donors," who raised about $1.3M for the camp, organizers said.

M. Obama touted her husband's record as a community organizer and state legislator, saying, "Barack believes that we must fight for the world as it should be, a world where together we work to reverse discriminatory laws."

Earlier 6/26, M. Obama attended a roundtable with working women in NH (Gross, AP, 6/26).

We Can Work It Out

"As expected," leaders of the AFL-CIO voted to "unanimously endorse" Obama 6/26, "freeing the organization and its 56 unions to spend some of its" $200M war chest. AFL-CIO pres. John Sweeney: "We're proud to stand with Senator Obama to help our nation chart a course that will imrpove life for generations of working people and our children" (Holland, AP, 6/26). The AFL-CIO "also pledged to put 250,000 volunteers to work," identifying its top priority states as OH, PA, MI, WI and MN (Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 6/27).

Bloomberg's Cook: "The AFL-CIO has officially endorsed you. Organized labor, of course, part of the equation with the auto industry. ... Does organized labor have some responsibility for the problems in the auto sector as well?"

Obama: "Well, look, ultimately, management is in charge of the auto industry. And, you know, I think some poor decisions were made in the past. I think that you have got some smart, enlightened auto executives who are in place now and recognize that they need to build the cars of the future" (Bloomberg, 6/26).

Ed Boards Are Trying On The Chicken Suits

The Washington Post ed board writes, "The sooner the sniping stops and the serious discussion starts, the better off the country will be -- and the best way to achieve that would be for the candidates to meet, one-on-one, as often as possible. Obama "should seize the opportunity to practice the change he preaches" and take up McCain on his proposal for a series of town hall debates -- not just one "on nobody-will-be-watching July 4" (6/27).

New Hampshire Union Leader editorializes, "We suggest the first town hall debate" in which McCain has invited Obama to participate be held in NH. "What say you, Sen. Obama?" (6/27).

Have A Little Faith In Me

Obama senior religious affairs adviser Shaun Casey said in an interview, "I think the person who wins the presidency is usually the person who tells the best story. Faith is part of Barack Obama's compelling story ... It's a much more compelling religious story than we've seen from Democrats in the past."

Casey said there's also "a sense" that many religious voters "previously taken for granted" by GOPers are now up for grabs. Casey: "It's really the center of the evangelical world where the most seismic move is taking place, where people are saying, 'I'm not comfortable with the James Dobsons, the Pat Robertsons. They don't speak for me.'"

Still, Casey said it's "unrealistic to expect Obama to win a majority of evangelical voters, but he should do better" than John Kerry did in '04. "The importance of religion to Obama may earn him a second look from conservative Christians, he said, but it's unclear whether that will translate into votes and victories" (Hamby, Nashville City Paper, 6/27).

CBS' Jeff Greenfield writes on Slate, it's "clear" that Obama "is pursuing a course radically different" from Kerry's, or Al Gore's, to court evangelical voters. "The art is not so much of winning over voters as of lessening the intensity of their opposition." Will evengelicals who have met with Obama vote for him? "Almost certainly not." But will they "regard an Obama presidency as a mortal threat" to their most deeply held beliefs? "Almost certainly not." If Obama succeeds in reassuring evangelicals, "he'll significantly neutralize a major weapon" in the GOP arsenal (6/26).

The Constituent Service Was Terrible

Boston Globe's Appelbaum looks at Obama's "former district" as an IL state senator, where many projects "have fallen into disrepair," and "it's not safe to live here." Grove Parc "has become a symbol for some in Chicago of the broader failures of giving public subsidies to private companies to build and manage affordable housing -- an approach strongly backed by Obama as the best replacement for public housing." As a state senator, Obama "coauthored an Illinois law creating a new pool of tax credits for developers," and "pressed for increased federal subsidies" in the U.S. Senate. And as a WH candidate, "he has campaigned on a promise to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could give developers" $500M/year.

But a Globe review "found that thousands of apartments across Chicago that had been built with local, state, and federal subsidies -- including several hundred in Obama's former district -- deteriorated so completely that they were no longer habitable." Some residents of Grove Parc, many of whom "have been his constituents for more than a decade," "say they are angry that Obama did not notice their plight."

Obama's camp "did not respond to questions about whether Obama was aware of the problems with buildings in his district during his time as a state senator, not did it comment on the roles played by people connected to" Obama, including adviser Valerie Jarrett, fundraiser Allison Davis and ex-fundraiser Tony Rezko, convicted recently of corruption. The camp "affirmed" Obama's support of public-private partnerships as an alternative to public housing (6/27).

Name-Dropping Is Kinda Tacky, Anyway

Obama's name "could have been invoked more" during Rezko's recent corruption trial, "but it appears prosecutors opted against" it. "Newly unsealed documents show that prosecutors sought to call witnesses to testify about Rezko's ties to Obama" and "considered offering witnesses to explore why Rezko used others to contribute" to Obama, but "they did not end up offering any such testimony during the trial," though it was allowed (Korecki, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/27).

Psychoanalyze This

Fox Business Network's Alexis Glick sat down with Obama 6/26. Parts of the interview ran on "Fox & Friends First" this a.m. Glick played "word association" with Obama.

Glick: "NAFTA."

Obama: "Mixed-bag."

Glick: "Wall Street."

Obama: "Money."

Glick: "Sovereign wealth funds."

Obama: "Caution."

Glick: "Iran."

Obama: "Threat."

Glick: "Exxon-Mobil."

Obama: "Profitable."

Glick: "OPEC."

Obama: "One word for OPEC, I would say, is independence. The association I have there is, we have to free our self from dependence on OPEC."

Glick: "Senator John McCain."

Obama: "Honorable."

FNC's Kilmeade, after watching the clip of the interview: "He hated that game" (FNC, 6/27).

Glick, on her interview with Obama: "I think the main consensus that he's trying to get across ... is, he's not doing offshore drilling. He does not buy into that. What he buys into right now is that we have to get off of our dependence right now on foreign oil. He's talking about a goal of by 2030, reducing our dependence down to 35 percent" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 6/26).

  •  
  •