From The Hotline for Friday, Oct. 31, 2008

OBAMA

I See Something In My Rearview Mirror

Friday, Oct. 31, 2008


Barack Obama's camp released two 30-second TV ads in AZ, ND and GA. The first ad, "Something," "highlights that we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the status quo and vote for Obama, a leader who will bring us together will begin running today in AZ. "Rearview Mirror," which "answers for voters that if they wonder where John McCain will take the economy, they just have to look behind them as he will simply continue Pres. Bush's failed policies, will begin running today in ND and GA (release).

Seeing Red

Obama is spending the final four days of the WH campaign "mining for votes in places where" Dems "have not turned out at full strength in recent WH races, "hoping to offset other areas in swing states where his candidacy may need a lift."

As Obama arrived in Virginia Beach, VA for a rally 10/30 p.m., "the finishing touches were being etched into his itinerary for the last 96 hours of the contest. He is scheduled to visit at least eight states across three time zones, focusing on liberal and conservative regions from NV to FL where his strategists "believe" the Dem margins "could be increased by one or two percentage points."

While Obama "is briefly swinging" through IA this afternoon, "aides described it as a valedictory return to the state that is most responsible for propelling his candidacy after he won the caucuses there" in 1/08. Obama "also wanted a site near Chicago, where he is planning to take a three-hour respite from politics to celebrate Halloween with his two daughters."

His aides say they think the electoral battlegrounds of PA and NH, WI and NM "are trending toward" Obama, though advisers "do not rule out a last-minute visit to any place that suddenly looks troublesome." Instead, he will focus his attention on six states that Pres. Bush won in '04. After a late-night rally on 10/31 p.m. in IN, Obama heads 11/1 to Henderson, NV; Pueblo, CO; and Springfield, MO. He "is scheduled to make a three-city fly-around" 11/2. And on 11/3, he "is set to dash through" FL, NC and back here to VA (Zeleny, New York Times, 10/31).

"Much has been made" about the "inroads" Obama has made in traditionally GOP states. "But the really interesting story behind that success is Obama's push to close the margins" with McCain "in regions that have long given" GOPers "oodles of votes."

Obama "has put a big premium not just on increasing turnout among his reliable constituencies, such as urban liberals, young voters, and African-Americans." If Obama wins 11/4, "it will be in large part because he will have closed the gap in places McCain was positioned to win" (Helman, Boston Globe, 10/31).

Meanwhile, Fred Bramante, a former NH co-chair of Mike Huckabee's campaign "has endorsed" Obama (Lawson, PolitickerNH.com, 10/30).

CNN's Crowley: "Barack Obama has now playing almost solidly in states that were won by George Bush in 2004. And it's not just the states. He's going into solidly Republican counties. This is the schedule of a man who is looking for a big win. ... Beginning this morning in Sarasota, Florida, a county that George Bush won by eight points, Obama campaigned there. Then he moved into Virginia Beach, Virginia. George Bush won there by more than 12 points. ... He is plowing through very Republican places" ("AC 360," 10/30).

Mike Huckabee: "George Bush in '04 had a massive 72-hour effort, but it pales in comparison to the detail of Barack Obama's ground game" ("Early Show," CBS, 10/31).

Campaigning in Des Moines this a.m., Obama talked about McCain's new ad and on needing a new kind of politics.

Obama: "Now, Senator McCain has served this country honorably. And he can point to a few moments over the past eight years where he has broken from George Bush. Just this morning, the McCain campaign put out an ad that showed me praising him and Senator Lieberman for their work on global warming - as if there's something wrong with acknowledging when an opponent has said or done something that makes sense. I think we need more of that in Washington. I don't disagree with Senator McCain on everything, and I respect his occasional displays of independence" (Jones, National Journal/NBC, 10/31).

Make Room For Rahm

Barack Obama's camp "has approached" Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) "about possibly serving" as WH CoS, officials said 10/30 as the "marathon" WH race "entered its final, frenzied stretch" with a Dem "tilt." Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg "said in an e-mail that [Emanuel] 'has not been contacted to take a job in an administration that does not yet exist. Everyone is focused on Election Day, as they should be'" (Espo/Feller, AP, 10/30).

New York Daily News' DeFrank/Bazinet write, "expect a turbocharged transition" if Obama wins, with a Treasury sec. and WH CoS "named days after his election," Dem sources said. One source close to the Obama transition: "They would like to make Treasury the first appointment as a symbol and have the other big ones done in the first week. Confronting the economic crisis is the prime reason for the urgency." Obama "is also well along in deciding on his picks for State, Defense and Justice, sources said."

"As another indicator of the importance Obama attaches to getting his economic brain trust in place, his transition team already has scores of prospective appointees undergoing FBI background checks for top admin slots (10/31).

Chicago Sun-Times' Sweet writes, Obama reacted to the AP report 10/30 p.m. Asked about the possible Emanuel appointment, he said, "I'm trying to win an election."

Is that a no?

"Plouffe is my chief of staff," Obama said, referring to camp mgr David Plouffe.

Asked about the AP report, Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, said, "don't believe everything you read. I don't" (10/30).

RNC spokesman Alex Conant responded to the AP report, saying Emanuel "is working with Barack Obama to create the most unbalanced and partisan government in a generation. Emanuel is among the most vitriolic and partisan people in American politics. Reports that Obama wants him to be White House chief of staff undercut any claims to unity and bipartisanship, and should alarm every voter" (release, 10/30).

Proud As A Peacock

NBC's Williams caught up with Obama in Sarasota, FL.

Obama, asked why it took so long for Bill Clinton to join him at a rally: "Well, you know, I tell you what. You don't see Michelle Obama with me that often either because we want to deploy folks with star power all across the country. And so we've done a couple of events with Hillary Clinton. We did our first event with President Clinton because we want them campaigning on their own. They are their own draws. And the Clintons have been just extraordinary on our behalf. And President Clinton and I have been talking on a regular basis throughout the financial crisis. We had good conversations. And should I be successful, he's somebody who's going to continue to be a critical adviser in this process."

Williams: "Everyone running for president always says, especially on the narrow issue of abortion rights, no litmus test. It's said on both sides of the issue. And if that's true, if you're not going to call a future justice into the Oval Office, if you're successful in this endeavor and bring up the subject, how then do you also avoid surprises?"

Obama: "What you can ask a judge is about their judicial philosophy. And so my criteria, for example, would be if a justice tells me that they only believe in the strict letter of the Constitution, that means that they probably don't believe in a right to privacy that may not be perfectly enumerated in the Constitution but, you know, that I think is there. ... Ninety-nine percent of cases, the Constitution is actually going to be clear. Ninety-nine percent of the cases, a statute or a congressional intent is going to be clear. But they're going to be 1 percent, less than 1 percent of real hard cases."

Williams: "Second Amendment. Last term."

Obama: "Second Amendment last term is a great example, where the language of the Second Amendment is not perfectly clear. I believe that the Second Amendment is actually an individual right. I think that's the better interpretation. You can make the other argument. And so I can have those kinds of discussions with a justice without getting to the particulars of, 'Is Roe vs. Wade as currently outlined exactly what you believe?' Or, 'Do you agree that the DC gun law should have been overturned?' And I think Senator McCain, if he ends up being the nominee, could have those same conversations as well" ("Nightly News," 10/30).

Part two of the interview will air on tonight's "Nightly News."

MSNBC's Maddow also spoke with Obama in Sarasota.

Maddow: "Senator, you criticize the Bush administration frequently. But you almost never criticize the Republican Party itself."

Obama: "Much to your chagrin."

Obama, asked if there's a stark difference between the parties: "Well, I do think there's a difference between the parties, but here's my belief. ... I'm talking to voters. And I think there are a lot of Republican voters out there, self-identified, who actually think that what the Bush administration has done, has been damaging to the country. And what I'm interested in is how do we build a working majority for change?"

Maddow: "You have the opportunity to say, John McCain, George Bush, you're wrong. You also have the opportunity to say, conservatism has been bad for America. But you haven't gone there either."

Obama: "You notice, I think we're winning right now, so maybe I'm doing something right. I know you've been cruising for a bruising for a while here, looking for a fight out there. But I just think people are tired of that kind of back and forth, tit-for-tat, ideological approach to the problems. ... The important thing, though, is, I just want to make sure that I'm leaving the door open to people who say to themselves, well, you know, I'm a member of the Republican Party and I remember people like Chuck Percy in Illinois, or Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, a pretty good Republican. That there are some core values that historically have been important to the Republican Party, but just have not been observed over the last several years" ("Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 10/30).

Maddow shared her thoughts about the interview last night and this a.m.:

Maddow, on Obama appearing relaxed throughout the interview: "If he was any more relaxed, I would have thought he was on Ambien. It's just a very relaxed, confident, good-humored, energetic atmosphere when you are with him. It seems like he doesn't have a care in the world. ... I think [he is] obviously confident about the election to the point where I wasn't asking him how he's going to win the election and he brought up, essentially, by himself, the idea that he thinks he's going to" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 10/30).

Maddow, asked if Obama is trying to be a pol for all seasons: "Yes, and I think that's probably the most newsworthy thing that I took away from my interview with him. The thing I thought was most surprising and most interesting and maybe most new, which is he's really running, as he says, to create a working majority for change. He is not working toward this election so that he can grind his opponents into the dirt. He does not seem to have an anti-Republican agenda. ... He has an anti-George Bush and anti-John McCain agenda, but his form of change is sort of a big tent, I want Republicans, too, approach" ("Today," NBC, 10/31).

A Little Something Extra

And parts of Mario Lopez's interview with Obama aired on last night's "Extra."

Obama, on why Latinos should support him: "The Latino community, I think, is an aspirational community. It doesn't want things for free. It works hard, and I just want to make sure that hard work is rewarded. I come from people who really believe in working hard and serving others."

Obama, on what his mother would think about his candidacy if she were alive today: "I think she would be, obviously, very proud. But I think the main thing she would say is, 'Don't let it go to your head.'"

Obama, on his grandmother: "She's been watching the election with great interest and watching it on CNN."

Obama, on his exercise routine: "Actually, I'm not in Mario Lopez shape. ... I usually get up about 6, and I get my workout in. That way, I know that whatever else happens during the day, I've started the morning well" (ABC, 10/30).

The second part of the interview will air tonight.

Good To Be Back

DLC Chair Harold Ford Jr., on Al Gore campaigning for Obama today in FL: "It reminds Floridians what the last eight years could have been like, and it also reinforces for them why it's important for them to go to the polls. ... But Al Gore himself winning the Nobel Prize, his continued heroic work on behalf of climate change and technological advancements and trying to ensure that all neighborhoods have broadband, they could not end the campaign on a stronger note in Florida, with all due respect to President Clinton, than having Vice President Gore campaign with him. Kudos to that campaign for arranging that order with Hillary, President Clinton, and then with Vice President Gore" ("Race for the WH," MSNBC, 10/30).

Grinding The Axe

Time's Newton-Small writes, I "was lucky enough to grab a few minutes "in Sarasota, FL, on 10/30 with Axelrod. Standing on a minor league baseball field as Obama delivered his closing argument to 13K "screaming fans, Axelrod talked about his favorite campaign moments, the things he's worried about (low turnout) and the things he's not (racism) and why his excitement comes with a touch of sadness"

Asked what "was the defining moment" of the campaign, the moment he thought Obama could win "Standing backstage at the convention when he was giving his speech and looking at that crowd and thinking back to the four days we'd had before where I think we clearly defined what this race was about, what he was about; I was feeling good that day. I also think, in a weird way, that Monday, whatever it was, Sept. 15th, when the financial crisis really erupted and Senator McCain said that the fundamentals of the economy were strong, that was a pretty decisive moment in this campaign. I think that kicked off a couple of weeks where you saw a real strong contrast between these two candidates and I think redounded to our efforts culminating in the debates."

Asked if McCain cam still comeback and win: "I think it would be foolish to the extreme to ever suggest that a campaign is over until it's over. I like where we are positioned. I think I'd much rather be us than him, I've always believed that he's on the wrong side of history... But it's not over until it's over and the worst thing that we can do is to celebrate prematurely or assume too much."

Asked he was worried about a Bradley effect: "You know, I don't even know what the reality of the Bradley effect is. It was 26 years ago and I have been around and involved in politics for most of those 26 years and I've worked with many African American candidates...And my experience has been, in the last four years with Obama in Illinois and in the primaries, is that I don't really see the effect."

Asked if he's worried about a repeat of Obama's "surprise loss" in NH: "You know, that's exactly the thing and we have to hunker down and redouble our efforts in these last four days."

Asked "how's the speech writing going for" 11/4 pm: "As we always do, we've got two drafts going, we're prepared for any exigency. They're not done, we're just starting to think about it now..."

On what he's planning to do 11/5: "I'm going to depressurize and begin to try and make up to my family all the time that they have lost here. And you know what else I'm going to do? I'm probably going to shed a few tears for all the people that I have spent the last two years with day-in and day-out, 24-hours-a-day, who I won't be with in the future. Because one of the really rewarding parts of this has been the collegiality and the friendships. I mean, we're like a family and I keep thinking about the end of the movie M.A.S.H. You know, the war is over and we're all glad to be going home but there's this melancholy because we're all so close" (10/31).

"Five Days!" ... Well, Four Now Actually

The "stretch run" for Obama brought him back 10/30 to Hampton Roads, "the epicenter of battleground" VA, where he "implored supporters to run to the wire and reverse 44 years of history." Obama: "Virginia, I just have two words for you -- five days. We are five days away from changing America. We can't let up for one minute or one second of the next five days. We know what's at stake."

That point was hammered home by Gov. Tim Kaine (D). Kaine: "Even though the polls are good because we haven't done this in so long, we have to assume we're the underdog. The underdog has to work longer and harder." It was Obama's 10th trip to VA since locking up the Dem nod -- and the second big event in Hampton Roads this week" (Lessig/Payne, Newport News Daily Press, 10/31).

Doesn't Everyone Have An Aunt Who Lives In Boston?

Boston Housing Authority (BHA) dir. Bill McGonagle said Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has lived in public housing for five years, is an "exemplary resident" and only recently did anyone know of her connection to Obama. McGonagle "said BHA employees were caught off guard," noting: "We were as surprised as anyone. We were a little bit flabbergasted." Obama spokesperson Reid Cherlin confirmed 10/30 "that Zeituni Onyango, 56, who lives on Flaherty Way in South Boston, is Obama's aunt on his father's side" (Fargen, Boston Herald, 10/31).

What's Round On The Ends And Hillary In The Middle?

HRC will return to OH today to campaign for OBama in Kirtland and Ironton. Meanwhile, B. Clinton will be in OH on 10/31 and NJ on 11/1.

He Also Wears A Size 14 Shoe

Washington Post's Milbank writes, "not that he's bragging or anything," but Obama "has something he'd like you to know: Size matters."

"At virtually every stop the candidate makes in these closing days of the election, the campaign sends out an announcement with a boast about how really, really big Obama's audience is."

Sunrise, FL, 10/29: "A capacity crowd of 20,000."

Norfolk, VA, 10/28: "22K: 11 in the stands/11 on the field."

Fort Collins, CO, 10/26: "45,000-50,000, with thousands still flooding in" (10/31).

Big Spender? Or Penny Pincher?

New York Times' Luo/McIntire write Obama's campaign "has collected a record-shattering" $640M, but only two of his staff members are among the 15 highest-paid workers in the general election, according to records. "The rest, including the three highest paid, are employed by" McCain. The Obama camp, despite having more than 700 field offices across the country, compared with fewer than 400 for McCain, "has spent slightly less on rent than its counterpart."

And even though Obama has raised $400M more than McCain, "he has spent less on fund-raising consultants."

Obama "has devoted enormous sums in this election to nearly everything," including $280M+ for ads and $31M for his campaign's payroll. His half-hour prime-time ad 10/29, which cost well over $3M, "was perhaps the most visible flexing of his financial muscle." But the campaign, "under the watchful eye" of Plouffe, "has worked hard to maintain a reputation for frugality. The campaign has escaped the glare that has come with spending excesses that dogged other candidates," including the millions that HRC "handed" to her pollster Mark Penn, John Edwards' $400 haircuts and the large outlays for consultants and other expenses that "nearly bankrupted" McCain's campaign in '07 (10/31).

Uncle Sam Wants You!

If Obama wins the WH, "he will have been helped by a broad swath of organizations representing federal employees." Not so with McCain. Most of the organizations, but not all, have thrown their weight behind" Obama. "Those that did not have remained neutral. McCain has not been endorsed by any of the unions and associations contacted in a Federal Diary survey. Those that did endorse said Obama is the better candidate for workers" (Davidson, Washington Post, 10/31).

Oh, Yes He Can

Slate's Dickerson/Wilson write, Obama "refuses to release" the names of the 2M-plus people who have given his campaign less than $200. According to camp officials, "it would be too difficult and time-consuming to extract this information from its database."

"So how come we were able to do it in a couple hours? Not literally -- we don't have access to the campaign's list of donors -- but we created a database of similar size and format in a Web-ready file and posted it online. ... But before we get into the technical details (though, if you're with the Obama campaign and want to skip ahead, please do), it's worth dwelling on the reasons for the Obama campaign's reluctance to disclose this information. It can't be legal: No law prevents Obama from releasing these names" (10/31).

Bubba For Obama

Telling a "roaring crowd" of 1,800 that "you've got this race in your hands," Bill Clinton said 10/30 that OH voters "have a 'really, really good choice' in Obama." In an appearance in a high school gymnasium in a blue-collar enclave of Youngstown, Clinton "hailed Obama as 'smart and organized,' and who has 'better policies' and will make 'better decisions' than McCain."

Clinton warned that "we could lose the automobile industry" because of the nation's sluggish economy. More: "We cannot fool with this election. This election is too important to be decided by little things." He also "hammered home" the point that OH could decide the outcome of the election, saying "it's really true that as Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Once or twice a Democrat sort of slips through to the White House without carrying Ohio. Not often. No Republican ever has."

Clinton, who also appeared in Toledo on 10/30, "is providing crucial support for Obama. He campaigned in two areas where" Hillary Clinton "performed well when she defeated Obama" in the 3/08 Dem primary. B. Clinton: "Do I wish she won? Of course I do. But that's not the point. You're making the hiring decisions. You've got two choices. You've got one really, really good choice. This is not a close question" (Torry/Riskind, Columbus Dispatch, 10/31).

Clinton delivered an "impassioned" 40-minute speech in Toledo, promising that Obama "would help the nation recover from the financial crisis and help the nation's automobile industry." Clinton: "It is my opinion that Obama's economic policy is way better because it focuses on removing tax breaks for people who move our jobs overseas and gives tax breaks for people who create jobs in America." He said Obama would rebuild the economy "from the bottom up," as opposed to McCain, who would do so "from the top down" (Provance/Messina, Toledo Blade, 10/31).

New York Magazine's Heilemann was so very unimpressed by the "very sloppy-wetness of the two-way tongue bath," which "made the whole thing seem a little forced."

"Clinton, naturally, was laboring mightily to ensure that not a single word or gesture would get him dinged (as he has been repeatedly in the past few months, and with good reason) for being anything less than 100 percent behind Obama. But beyond the histrionics, the substance of his speech was formulaic, a gussied-up set of cookie-cutter talking points. The four reasons he cited for supporting Obama -- his philosophy, his policies, his decision-making ability, and his capacity as a chief executive -- could have been applied to any nominee of his party; there wasn't a single warm personal anecdote or characterological insight (both specialties of Clinton's when he's speaking about someone he actually, you know, likes). As Clinton orated, Obama looked on with an expression that conveyed no greater satisfaction, let alone thrill, than if he were being endorsed by the mayor of Orlando. He grinned occasionally, but the million-megawatt smile that he unleashes when he's truly psyched was nowhere to be seen" (10/31).

Bloomberg's Carlson writes, "it took a while" for B. Clinton and Obama to mend fences. HRC, "the less emotional, more disciplined of the pair, made peace in a matter of days and gave a full-throated endorsement of her opponent" before 10K supporters in DC. "But Bill was too busy. He was in London celebrating Nelson Mandela's birthday. He was preparing for the annual meeting of his Global Initiative. He had crossword puzzles to do."

"Now he's empathizing, nodding, smiling in the open-mouthed, dazed way he had when Hillary spoke. At one point, he threw his head back and laughed to ease an awkward lull after Obama mangled a joke. Clinton felt his pain. They were in this thing together. Even with the rapprochement, we may never know how these two larger-than-life figures really feel. Politicians have to talk themselves into so much that comes at them from the outside, they sometimes don't know their own insides" (10/31).

FNC's Garrett: "Barack Obama will not campaign again publicly with Bill Clinton, though Clinton will stump aggressively for Obama throughout the weekend, so will Hillary Clinton" ("Special Report," 10/30).

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen, on the 10/29 rally: "As a general proposition, after this long period of sort of apparent acrimony and distance, coming in here at the end, reinforcements just at the time when the McCain campaign is trying to turn the momentum, is very helpful. And last night in Orlando, he gave the best case for electing Obama that anybody has given since this thing started. ... He was better than Obama himself on why Obama ought to be elected" ("Situation Room," CNN, 10/30).

Ex-"West Wing" EP Lawrence O'Donnell, on the 10/29 rally: "President Clinton, I think, last night helped confer an aura of winner on Obama. It was a winner standing beside another winner. And it was a good timing for that kind of thing. I think Clinton could be overdone because there are places in the country where he remains extremely unpopular. Florida is not one of them. That was a good use of Bill Clinton" ("Race for the WH," MSNBC, 10/30).

The Real American Idol

Washington Post's de Moraes writes, "The Barack Obamamercial" is the "first hit of this otherwise pretty dull" TV season. Nearly 34M viewers watched the 30-minute infomercial for Obama across seven TV networks. "That's a couple of million more than watched the 'American Idol' finale in 5/08 (10/30).

New York Times' Carter writes, TV networks "needed a hit," and Obama "gave them one." CBS Chair Leslie Moonves: "I was shocked by the number Obama was able to draw. It's just a stunning number." During a season where TV hits "are hard to find," one NBC exec "suggested jokingly" 10/30 that Obama "might be invited back to fill the 8 p.m. Wednesday time slot on a regular basis" (10/31).

Trick Or Treat?

Boston Globe's Goodman writes, "the striking thing is not how" the GOPers "are trying to scare undecided voters. It's how spooked the most committed" Dems are. The closer Obama comes to victory, the more terror strikes deep in the (blue) heartland. The better things look, the more they worry that it's "trick or trick" time. The election, like that dollar bill on the sidewalk, will be whipped out of their hands."

"Do you remember when the Obama rallying cry was 'Yes we can'? Now we are in the scary season and here's the new mantra: The only thing we have to fear is hope itself" (10/31).

Smoking Audio

In today's Washington Times, Cal Thomas writes that the "October surprise may turn out to be a seven-year-old interview" in which Obama "strongly suggests that the U.S. Constitution is an impediment to his desire to redistribute the nation's wealth. How does Obama credibly take the oath of office to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States' when he thinks it impedes his socialist agenda?"

"Is socialism too strong a word? Consider one of its definitions from dictionary.com and tell me it is something other than Obama's economic philosophy: 'A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor'" (10/31).

National Review's McCarthy writes, "when it comes to insulting our collective intelligence, the Obamedia soundtrack of the ongoing campaign breaks new ground on a daily, indeed an hourly, basis. Still, the Los Angeles Times takes the cake."

"Change you can believe in is a short hop from fairy tales you can be sold. In that spirit, the Times tells us, we'd really, really love to release the videotape we're holding" of that '03 Khalidi shindig -- the one where Obama "joined a motley collection of Israel-bashers, including the former terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, to sing the praises of Rashid Khalidi -- former mouthpiece for PLO master-terrorist Yasser Arafat. But alas, our hands are tied by journalistic ethics."

Of course the ever ethical Times would never try to skew election coverage in favor of a candidate it has recently endorsed (after blowing kisses at him for two years). Nor would the newspaper give its readers anything but a complete, accurate, and truthful account of an event like the Khalidi Bash that it deemed worthy enough to cover. You can take that to the bank. But, gosh-darn, it turns out that a "source" the Times won't name supposedly provided reporter Peter Wallsten with the videotape on the solemn promise that the paper would never let it see the light of day ... except to report on it as the Times saw fit. If you believe that one, I've got a tax cut for you" (10/31).

Chicago Sun-Times' Huntley opines, "the problem with a thin resume like" Obama's "is that it causes voters to look into all the nooks and crannies of a candidate's life for clues about the qualities he would bring to office. That's why in the waning days of this long contest, undecided voters might want to focus on a radio interview" Obama gave in '01 and a dinner he attended in '03. "One raises a red flag about his political philosophy while the other brings the issue of Israel into the campaign" (10/31).

New York Times' Santora/Gootman write, Khalidi "had been bracing for the storm for months, friends said."

Since an April news report detailing his relationship with Obama, Khalidi, a Middle East scholar and passionate defender of Palestinian rights, "had waited to see himself caricatured" by GOPers "as part of a rogues' gallery of Obama associates, which has come to include the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. Khalidi "was surprised, the friends said, that so little criticism came -- until this last frenzied week before the election, when McCain cited the 4/08 article in the Los Angeles Times (10/31).

Red Flags

Philadelphia Inquirer's Last writes, "the central fact" of Barack Obama's candidacy "is that no one - whether supporter or detractor - really knows what he's about." Some Dems "believe he is a progressive, others a centrist. Some believe he will favor a European-style internationalist foreign policy, others a hard-headed American exceptionalism." GOPers "worry that he is a paleo-liberal on domestic matters and a naïve accommodationist in foreign affairs. There is evidence to support all of these suppositions. Whether by accident or design, Obama's record is thin and ambiguous" (10/31).

The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List is sending out an anti-Obama mailer showing "a baby carriage on the railroad tracks" to over 500K pro-life voters in OH, MN, MI, NH, PA, NM, and CO ("The Brody File").

I'm Sorry, But You're Going To Have To Leave

The Washington Times reports that it was "kicked off" Obama's campaign plane for the final 72 hours of the race.

"The Obama campaign informed the newspaper" 10/30 p.m. "of its decision, which came two days after the Times editorial page endorsed McCain. The Times editorial page runs completely independent of the news dept.

Times exec editor John Solomon: "This feels like the journalistic equivalent of redistributing the wealth, we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars covering Senator Obama's campaign, traveling on his plane, and taking our turn in the reporter's pool, only to have our seat given away to someone else in the last days of the campaign. I hope the candidate that promises to unite America isn't using a litmus test to determine who gets to cover his campaign."

The Times "formally protested the decision, noting that it has one of the top 20 largest newspaper websites in the country, distributes its print edition in the key battleground state" of VA, "and has had its stories repeatedly cited by Obama" and other Dems "throughout the campaign" (10/31).

A Wink & A Nod

The Economist has endorsed Obama, noting: "Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen."

Frampton, Buggin'

"Former" rock star Peter Frampton "is wishing someone would show him the way to keep his" Obama signs from getting stolen. Frampton "has complained that signs showing his preference for [Obama] have been stolen repeatedly from his garden in an upmarket - and predominantly Republican - Cincinnati suburb."

He's "so angry: that he called his local newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer and "asked to be interviewed."

The British-born singer of "Show Me the Way" and other hits told the newspaper that one reason he became a US citizen was so he could vote. Now his American rights to free speech and political speech "are being violated" and it "bugs" him, he said. Frampton "has installed a video camera to catch the thieves" (AP, 10/30).

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