From The Hotline for Tuesday, July 8, 2008

OBAMA

On A Hybrid High

Tue. Jul 8, 2008


Barack Obama's camp released a 30-second TV ad, "New Energy," which is set to begin airing today in MI, OH, PA and WI. The ad highlights Obama's "plan to make us energy independent and bring relief to middle class families" and targets John McCain as set to "continue George Bush's failed energy policy and offer more tax breaks to big oil."

The ad blasts McCain as "part of the problem," accusing him of voting with Bush "95% of the time" and of supporting a "drilling plan that won't produce a drop of oil for seven years." The ad states Obama has "a real plan and new energy," and will "fast track technology for alternative fuels." The four targeted states are "the same four" where the RNC "is running false, negative ads attacking" Obama (release, 7/8).

Breaking The Bank

Obama will be in GA today to "discuss his plans to help families deal with debt and bankruptcy, particularly in the wake of a medical crisis." The plan includes measures to "reform bankruptcy laws to protect families facing a medical crisis," offer "greater safeguards" for bankrupt "military families," enact "a temporary moratorium" on bankruptcies for survivors of natural disasters, and increase the "homestead exemption" to allow seniors to "keep more of the value of their homes." The release accuses McCain of having "sided with the big banks" in supporting '07's "bankruptcy bill that made it harder for working families to climb out of debt" (7/8).

Planned? Perhaps. Well Timed? Yes.

Planned Parenthood formally endorsed Obama 7/7 pm, saying in a statement: "He is a passionate advocate for women's rights, and has a long and consistent record of standing up for women's health care." If Obama's recent comments on mental-health exceptions and late-term abortions (See, 7/7 Hotline), "troubled Planned Parenthood, there was no sign of it in the" org's release, which noted "As president, he will improve access to quality health care for women, support and protect a woman's right to choose, support comprehensive sex education to keep our young people healthy and safe, and invest in prevention programs, including family planning services and breast cancer screenings."

Planned Parenthood "specifically cited Obama's sponsorship of the Freedom of Choice Act in Congress which, interestingly enough, embraces that so-called mental health exception" Obama took issue with. Obama's camp "has yet to reconcile the disparity between his stated position this weekend and the language of the act" (Oliphant, Chicago Tribune's "Swamp," 7/7).

Was This A Bush Nickname?

The following is some reaction to the Christian Defense Coalition's new campaign called: "Barack Obama: The Abortion President." (See, 7/7 Hotline).

GOP strategist Brad Blakeman, on whether the ad painting Obama as pro-abortion is effective: "It's good to remind people that Barack Obama has take a stance on abortion that is not favorable to a lot of people in this country, including conservative Democrats. Now, whether this issue is going to win the day, I don't think it is. I think people are more concerned with the economy, energy, health care, but it's an important issue to remind people, but this isn't what's going to turn this election" ("Verdict," MSNBC, 7/7).

Ex-Clinton adviser Lisa Caputo, on how this ad will effect women voters: "This goes right to that squeak spot in this election. The women's vote is huge. That's why you see the Obama campaign making moves now to lift up the Clinton women's operation and put it into their campaign. This ad goes right to the cracks of the women's issue and it's why you see Democrats out there on the stump for Obama saying, 'Hey, this is about a women's right to choose and do we really want John McCain at the top of the ticket because he would reverse the scale on the court, overruling a woman's right to choose?'" ("Verdict," MSNBC, 7/7).

Like Watching Viacom Eat Paramount

The Obama camp announced today that Dana Singiser will be joining the campaign to serve as a Senior adviser to Obama "and will help direct efforts to win the woman's vote." Prior to joining the campaign, Singiser served as Hillary Clinton's WH camp Women's Outreach Dir. Prior to that, she served as Staff Director of the Senate Demo Steering and Outreach Cmte chaired by HRC (release).

On 7/7, the Obama camp also announced it was hiring Clinton staffers, Sara Hurwitz-- from HRC's speechwriting shop-- and HRC OH comm dir. Isaac Baker "who will handle similar duties for Obama in the general election contest" (Sweet, Suntimes.com, 7/7).

Meanwhile, ex-Clinton "leading" fundraiser/natl' finance chair Michael Kempner has "committed to playing what he descirbes as a 'significant fund-raising role for (Obama's) campaign'" in NJ and across the U.S. On 7/7 Kempner send a letter to friends and fellow Dems "indicating his support for Obama." Letter excerpt: "In Barack Obama I have found a person who is extraordinarily comfortable with who he is, someone genuinely warm and welcoming and most importantly, someone with an impressive inner strength. While I may not agree with him (or Hillary Clinton) on every issue, he has the intelligence and conviction to work for positive change...and has the potential to be a transformative figure in American politics." Kempner says that "his decision to back Obama was painful" (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com, 7/7).

Notting Hill

Obama announced 6/7 the formation of his 4-person cong. liaison team led by ex-Rep. Henry Waxman(D-CA) aide/Oversight and Government Reform Cmte staffer, Phil Schiliro." Schiliro, "a Capitol Hill veteran," will take on the role of senior adviser. The rest of the outreach staff includes Obama
senior counsel Mike Strautmanis, Obama camp Congressional Affairs Dir. Mike Robertson and DNC Policy Dir. Karen Richardson (Billings, Roll Call, 7/7).

Obama manager David Plouffe, on Obama's congressional liaison team: "Americans cannot afford four more years of President Bush's policies and our new team in Washington will help us to stay in contact with members of Congress who know all too well how the divisive politics of the past have impeded progress on measures to move our country in a new direction" (Youngman, The Hill, 7/7).

"Hey, Lama, Hey, How About A Little Something"

Obama took issue with Pres. Bush's decision to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games, "saying he would go to Beijing only if he saw progress between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama." Obama: "In the absence of some sense of progress, in the absence of some sense from the Dalai Lama that there was progress, I would not have gone" (AP, 7/7).

No Plane, No Gain

While flying from Chicago to Charlotte, in "a strikingly literal detour from his message of the day," Obama "found himself stuck" in St. Louis on 7/7-- "after his campaign plane was forced to land following a mechanical glitch midair." Midwest Airlines, "which runs the chartered MD-80," said in a statement that "an emergency slide located in the tail cone of the plane deployed in flight" after takeoff and "that the safety of those on board was 'never an issue'" (Kornblut, Washington Post, 7/8).

• The "jetliner was carrying 48 passengers, including Obama, aides and journalists" (Reuters, 7/7).

• About an hour after landing, Obama was seen talking to pilots at the front of the plane and then came back to joke with his press corps. Obama: "Just thought we'd spice things up a little bit today" (FOXNews.com, 7/7).

• While "still aboard the plane on the St. Louis tarmac, Obama milled about the front of his cabin -- reading his blackberry and he spoke to the pilot briefly."

• Obama was "calm, at one point turning around, put his hands up in a mocking type of fear, clearly downplaying the situation and poking fun at the press filming his every move" (Miller, "Political Radar," 7/7).

• Obama and his team left the airport to hold in a nearby hotel. While reporters were waiting on the plane, where NBC/National Journal's Jones reported "pizza is on its way." Jones, on being stuck in the plane: "It's hot but we're managing" (7/7).

• The plane was the same one used by HRC in her bid for the WH (mult).

• The Nat'l Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to St. Louis to conduct an investigation (Wall Street Journal, 7/8).

Read My Lips: Some New Taxes

After mechanical problems with his plane, Obama gave his economic speech 7/7 in Lambert Field, "instead of at a town hall event" in NC. During the address, Obama said his economic plan would "offer immediate relief to families who are struggling right now" by passing "a second stimulus package," including "energy rebate checks for working families, a fund to help families avoid foreclosure, and increased assistance for states that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn."

Obama rebutted McCain's claim that his economic proposals would raise taxes on the middle class. "If you're a family making less than $250,000, my plan will not raise your taxes -- not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

MO Gov. Matt Blunt (R) delivered the GOP rebuttal. Blunt: "While Barack Obama has campaigned on a pledge to not raise taxes for anyone but the rich, that's clearly not the case. Just this year, in fact, he returned to the United States Senate twice to vote in favor of a budget resolution which would raise income tax rates by 3% for the 25%, 28%, and 33% tax brackets. That would mean a tax increase for those earning as little as $32,000" (Mannies, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/7).

Didn't Maliki Say The Same Thing Today?

Military Times on 7/7 published an interview with Obama conducted last week, in which Obama "said he would take into account the situation on the ground when setting a timetable for withdrawal" from Iraq.

Obama: "If current trends continue and we are at a position where we continue to see reductions in violence and stabilization and continue to see some improvements on the part of the Iraqi army and Iraqi police, then my hope would be that we could draw down in a deliberate fashion in consultation with the Iraqi government at a pace that is determined in consultation with General (David) Petraeus and the other commanders on the ground. It strikes me that that is something we could begin relatively soon after inauguration. If, on the other hand, you've got a deteriorating situation for some reason, then that's going to have to be taken into account."

RNC spokesperson Alex Conant: "How can Barack Obama claim to have a consistent Iraq policy? It's clear Obama is rightly trying to reverse the central premise of his campaign: his pledge to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq."

Obama "also acknowledged his own lack of military service" in the interview. Obama: "Precisely because I have not served in uniform, I am somebody who strongly believes I have to earn the trust of men and women in uniform" (Falcone, New York Times' "The Caucus" blog, 7/7).

The Iraq Track

Washington Post editorializes, "Obama has taken a small but important step toward adjusting his outdated position on Iraq to the military and strategic realities of the war he may inherit. Sadly, he seems to be finding that the strident and rigid posture he struck during the primary campaign -- during which he promised to withdraw all combat forces in 16 months -- is inhibiting what looks like a worthy, necessary attempt to create the room for maneuver he will need to capably manage the war if he becomes president" (7/8).

Radio talk show host Joe Madison, on what Obama needs to do to convince voters he won't flip-flop on Iraq: "Obama will not be able to come back from Iraq with too much refinery, to use his word, refining his position, because his base expects him to stand firm on Iraq. He's going to have to stand firm on Iraq or he will flip-flop" ("Election Center," CNN, 7/7).

FNC's Colmes, on Obama's Iraq policy: "I went back to look at his statements over the last year. He has consistently said going -- in March he said it, we'll make tactical adjustments, listening to our commanders on the ground. ... He has said that consistently, and I think that the right is trying to make it seem as if there's daylight among his statements when there isn't any."

Mike Huckabee: "If it was all about the right, he would not have had to have come out and made a separate press conference in two hours. He was clearly scrambling to find his footing, and I think his own staff recognized, Senator, you stepped off in a great big hole. Now we've got to find a way to get you out of it. [Candidates] don't go out and make a clarification two hours after you supposedly clarified something unless you know yourself you made a big, big boo-boo" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 7/7).

"Jeff Johnson Chronicles'" Johnson, on Obama shifting to the center on issues: "I think this issue is going to be indicative of all the issues we're talking about. We're dealing with a candidate who, for the first time, is dealing with a legitimate opponent, who has a totally different ideological vantage point. And they're fighting for the middle. And, so, refine my positions means, I want to be able to back my bags in case I need to be move to the right after I get back from Iraq and see what is on the ground" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 7/7).

Quiet Chemical Warrior

Los Angeles Times' Nicholas profiles Obama mgr. David Plouffe, "who has close-cropped brown hair and an aura of absolute confidence." Dem strategist Joe Hansen "hired him to work in a Senate race and they became close friends -- conserving money by subsisting on two-for-a-dollar hot dogs." Plouffe is as "famously tight" with money as ever. "Cab rides aren't reimbursed" on the Obama camp, "just subway fare. Staff members are asked to double up in hotels." Obama strategist David Axelrod tells a joke to "underscore Plouffe's frugality": "Wave your hand under the automatic towel dispensers in the restrooms at campaign headquarters and a towel comes out. Wave your hand a second time and a message pops up: 'See Plouffe.'"

Plouffe "helped" ex-Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) win his seat in '96, a race Rutgers prof. Ross Baker called "unrestricted chemical warfare." HRC came to Torricelli "early in the presidential race" to ask "whether the little known political operative" on the Obama camp "was any good." Torricelli: "I warned her" (7/8).

How To Alienate Your Children

New York Sun's Hewitt writes, "The only way to change a young voter's mind about supporting Mr. Obama will be to sincerely and persuasively explain to them why the charismatic senator from Illinois would be a disaster as the president and how that will gravely impact their future." Among his arguments: "All day, every day, a president decides." Obama has "inexperience in the business of making decisions," making it "far more likely" that he will "screw up the economy and thus your life in profound and lasting ways." This is because he "has never run a business or even been employed by one other than as a junior lawyer in a law firm and for a few months as an 'analyst' of some sort out of college." Obama "shouldn't be expected to understand profits and losses when he has never been responsible for managing a bottom-line business." He also "shows a world view that seems certain that the world's problems exist because of America's actions" (7/8).

Still In The Center Of Everything

New York Times Herbert writes, "Many of Senator Obama's strongest supporters are uneasy, upset, dismayed and even angry at the candidate who is now emerging in the bright light of summer." Obama "is not just tacking gently toward the center. He's lurching right when it suits him, and he's zigging with the kind of reckless abandon that's guaranteed to cause disillusion, if not whiplash" (7/8)

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen, on the risk Obama faces by shifting towards the center: "I think his greatest risk would be if the hard left coalesced with the Clinton disgruntled voters and sort of sat out the election. I don't think that's going to happen at this point. But if he were to continue to make moves that alienated the left base, he could run into that problem" ("AC 360," CNN, 7/7).

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin: "Rather than trying to move to the right to get these swing voters in the middle, I think what he needs to do is inspire the 83 million eligible voters who didn't vote in 2004. And he does that with his message of hope and his message of change, not with this kind of wishy washy messaging" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 7/7).

Bloomberg's Jensen writes, Obama is trying to claim the political center, following in the footsteps of previous nominees including Republican Ronald Reagan" in '80. Yet Obama "has a higher hurdle than most: a consistently liberal voting record" (7/8).

Bonjour, Hallo, Shalom, Good Day

Obama's camp "can't control leaks coming out about his upcoming international trip from foreign capitals." According to an Agence Frence Presse report, Obama will "meet" with French Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy 7/25. A 7/7 Der Spiegel report says that Obama will visit Berlin 7/24 but German officials "'with Angela Merkel's Chancellery are reserved about the prospects of a speech at the famous Brandenburg Gate.'" The Brandenburg Gate "has only been used on very special occasions for political speeches by world leaders" and it has not been reserved for use by a candidate before. The Israeli press reports that Obama will be in Israel 7/22 or 7/23. Obama also plans to visit Jordan and England "on the swing" in addition to traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan (Sweet,Chicago Sun Times, 7/8).

Obama's 11

MN Gambling Control Board dir. Tom Barrett has "asked" the state Dept. of Public Safety to "investigate whether a request for money" by Obama's camp "constitutes an illegal raffle." Plouffe "ties the solicitation" to the announcement on the camp website that Obama will "deliver his nomination acceptance speech" at Invesco Field. Plouffe: "If you make a donation of $5 or more between now and midnight on July 31st, you could be one of 10 supporters chosen to fly to Denver and spend two days and nights at the convention, meet Barack backstage, and watch his acceptance speech in person. Each of the 10 supporters who are selected will be able to bring one guest to join them." It is not "detailed" how the 10 will be selected and the camp says the solicitation is "not

Family Matters

In an "Access Hollywood" 'exclusive interview,'" Obama and his wife Michelle, along with daughters Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7 "open up about rules, what it is like for friends to meet dad, communicating on the trail, potential plans for moving into" the WH and more. The four-part interview will air on "Access Hollywood" 6/8-10. Access Hollywood's Maria Menounos caught up with the Obama family on the campaign trail in Butte, MT, over Independence Day.

When it "comes to their new fashion status, the Obamas take it in stride." While M. Obama "has always loved clothes," she thinks it's "funny" that Obama is involved in all of this fashion icon stuff "because he wears the same clothing he has had for years." Malia remembers a time they went shopping together and Obama "bought three pairs of black pants and the same jacket in green, brown and black" ("Access Hollywood, 7/7).

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