The Hotline - Lawyers, Guns And Money

Friday, April 18, 2008

THE FIELD

Lawyers, Guns And Money

Since the Philly debate 4/16, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have continued to battle "behind the scenes," with Clinton aides "again hitting on many of the politically sensitive topics that defined" the debate. The Clinton camp is raising this point: If Obama "can't answer these questions now, how can he answer them in a general election against" McCain? The problem Clinton, however, is that while many Dems "agree with that underlying point, they don't think she should be the one bringing it up." Going negative "on Obama in debate settings in the past hasn't been shown to dramatically help" Clinton. But it "remains to be seen" if her attacks in Philly "will pay off" ahead of PA's 4/22 primary (Davis, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 4/17).

The Clinton camp "attacked" Obama again 4/17 "for befriending a radical who once bragged of bombing the Pentagon." It seems Clinton is trying to turn William Ayers "into the next Rev. Jeremiah Wright." Speaking with reporters, Clinton spokesperson Phil Singer "questioned" why Obama "has maintained a relationship" with Ayers.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner's Sammon, Obama mgr. David Plouffe "countered" that Bill Clinton "pardoned two members of the Weather Underground." Plouffe: "The Clinton campaign for a while said their total mission was to try and convince superdelegates that we were unelectable because of Reverend Wright, so maybe they're going to focus on Ayers now." More: "There's a desperation in the campaign" (4/18).

The Truth Is Not Stranger Than Fiction

AP's Wills and Woodward report on the "facts" about Obama's relationship with Ayers. Clinton's "implication that Ayers made hurtful comments" connected with 9/11 is wrong. It's "by coincidence" that a story about Ayers and "what he called his fictionalized memoirs" appeared in the New York Times "on the day of the attacks." The story was based on "an interview he had done earlier, in Chicago," in which Ayers declared: "I don't regret setting bombs," and "I feel we didn't do enough," even while "seeming to dissociate himself coyly from the group's most destructive acts."

Clinton is "correct that both men served together on the board of the Woods Fund" and Ayers was "clearly more than someone Obama just ran into in the neighborhood on occasion." In the mid-90s, "when Obama was making his first run" for the IL Senate, "Ayers had Obama to his home to introduce him to others."

But a "flub by Obama in the debate suggested he does not know him that well:" He called Ayers an English professor. In fact, "Ayers teaches education" at the Univ. of IL at Chicago (4/17).

Ayers has also worked for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who said 4/17: "He worked with me shaping our now nationally-renowned school reform program...I don't condone what he did 40 years ago but I remember that period well. It was a difficult time, but those days are long over. I believe we have too many challenges in Chicago and our country to keep re-fighting 40 year old battles" (Riley, "Spin Cycle," Newsday, 4/17).

On The Other Hand

Obama "said Clinton was not one to talk about guilt by association" because: "President Clinton pardoned or commuted the sentences of two members of the Weather Underground, which I think is a slightly more significant act than me serving on a board with somebody for actions that he did 40 years ago." Obama correctly "sketched out the details" of B. Clinton's "acts in the case." However, Obama strategist David Axelrod went "too far" when he "said the two cleared by President Clinton had killed people." They were "not convicted of that." Clinton "is not known to have objected to his freeing" the two terrorists in '01 (AP, 4/17).

Hope This Mud Hits You In The Face

Wall Street Journal's Strassel writes, speaking of "bitter," here's an "individual who may now qualify for that description:" Obama. Here's why:

•Obama has likely given Clinton "a new lease" on the PA primary.

•He's given her "fresh superdelegate ammunition."

•The San Fran comments "proved one scandal too many; man and message have now been delinked."

•Clinton "now sees at least a yellow light to join the Obama dissection."

•The press "is no longer in the tank."

This past week "filled GOP heads with visions of Michael Dukakis," as Obama "revealed his liberal, inner, out-of-touch self" (4/18).

And The Winner Is...

Bloomberg's Carlson writes, "Karl Rove was the big winner" from Obama's San Francisco comments. "His Politics About Nothing lives on." If you "aren't going to help the working man, tell him that the other condescending guy wants to take away his gun." GOPers show respect "for all the things not under siege" -- guns, religion, marriage, patriotism -- and "hope no one homes in on jobs, foreclosures or health care." Clinton is "better at this game than Obama," though GOPers "are better than both of them put together" (4/18).

Fancy Meeting You Here

Clinton and John Edwards "exchanged a few words backstage" at a taping of the "Colbert Report" 4/17 in Philly. Obama appeared on the same show but only "via satellite." The Clinton camp "was mum about the substance of the conversation with Edwards" (Thrush, Newsday, 4/17).

I've Got A Picture Of You

In an interview with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Shribman, Clinton and Obama talked about which portraits of which past presidents they would hang in the WH and why.

Obama would go with Abraham Lincoln, his favorite president: "I just really think of him as an extraordinary human being as well as a great president." More: "The last Illinois president. ... Not very experienced." Obama, after laughing, added: "The reason that he's, in my mind, the first among equals is not only did he guide the country through our biggest crisis, but he never lost sight of what Americans had in common and didn't demonize the other side. I think better than anybody [he] appealed to the better angels of our nature." More: "I think his language and his spirit allowed reconciliation, and he also, I think, understood that there is a role for government to play as an active force in shaping opportunity even though he was a strong proponent of markets and capitalism."

Clinton cited George Washington, "for navigating this new nation through some very challenging times," Theodore Roosevelt, who "understood the challenge of moving from an agrarian to an industrial society," and Dwight Eisenhower, who had a "real, almost visionary aspect that we often don't think of." Then Clinton expressed praise for both John F. Kennedy, "for his extraordinary charisma and his ability to summon us to care about and act upon what our country needed," and Lyndon Johnson, "because of his skills laying the foundation for much of what we are fighting to protect right now -- Medicare and Medicaid."

Clinton was also asked "if the Wellesley and Yale Law School of the young Hillary Rodham were appreciably more populist than the Columbia and Harvard Law School of the young" Obama. She answered "by saying that she was rooted in the Midwest and in its values" (4/18).

Someone Liked It

Washington Post's Robinson writes, "once the meaningless inquisition about loose semantics and questionable acquaintances was done," the Philly debate "got interesting." Here's why

•Obama -- a longtime gun control advocate who has taught constitutional law -- said that he believes "as a general principle" that the Second Amendment guarantees citizens an individual right to keep and bear arms. Obama's interpretation "has considerable support among legal scholars -- but is strongly opposed by many liberal advocates of gun control."

•And Obama "threatened to make news, but didn't quite, when the subject turned to affirmative action." He walked "to the brink of a clear declaration that all affirmative action programs taking race into account should also have to consider income -- but didn't take the leap."

•It also qualified as news "that when asked about soaring gasoline prices, Clinton vowed to investigate what she believes is 'manipulation' of the market."

•All of this "might not have been electric, but it was illuminating."

Caught In The Net

For millions of Americans, "the Internet has turned presidential politics into a fully interactive event, a chance to give money with mouse clicks and to volunteer virtually from miles away." And the Dems have "used these tools to produce historic results." In 02/08, Clinton was able to attract 200K new donors, "most of them online." Obama, meanwhile, has "amassed an army" of 750K supporters online supporters and raised $100M in the first three months of '08.

All that "could spell trouble for John McCain." While his Dem rivals rake in bundles of cash in small-dollar checks, "McCain makes the rounds of hotel ballrooms, charming wealthy donors with traditional chicken dinners and fruit-platter mixers." In March he attended 26 fund raisers in 24 cities, raising about $15M, "with roughly one-third of it coming from the Web." Obama attended just six events in the same period, yet his camp raised three times as much (Scherer/Newton-Small, Time, 4/17).

The online "movement seems unlikely to end on Election Day." Ex-John Edwards adviser Joe Trippi says to imagine Inauguration Day when the new president "lays down his agenda and says, 'I need you to be with me.'" Millions of the president supporters "not only watch the speech but also communicate with each other online." The network "amplifies the president's voice." Trippi: "It is possible that ... years from now we will look back and say that this was the first interactive president and the change of an era." More: "You now have more and more people who understand that they can affect other people using these tools. That's growing. And it's not going to go back into a bottle" (Brownstein, National Journal, 4/19).

The Image-Change-Maker

Clinton stopped by the "Colbert Report" last night, and helped Stephen Colbert fix his "broken" screen:

Colbert, after the screen behind him went blank: "What happened? Jimmy, the rear projector just went down. The screen's down, Jimmy! Where's my Liberty Bell?"

Jimmy: "Sorry, Stephen, it's just technical difficulties, we're not used to this studio."

Colbert: "Well, get the technicians in here to figure it out! ... Are you telling me there is no one in this theater who can fix the mess we're in?"

[on screen: Clinton walks on stage].

Clinton, raising her hand: "I can! I can, Stephen! ... Well, let me handle this. Jimmy, about the screen. How are you feeding this? Through the router or the oxbus, on the switcher?

Jimmy: "Uh, it's an ox..."

Clinton: "Try toggling the input."

Jimmy: "Okay..."

[on screen: The screen gets repaired, and the images on it are restored].

Colbert: "Holy cow! ... Senator Clinton, you are so prepared for any situation. I just don't know how to thank you enough."

Clinton: "That's okay, Stephen. I just love solving problems. Call me any time."

Colbert: "Really?"

Clinton: "Sure. Call me at 3 am."

Colbert: "Senator Clinton, everybody! I am gonna call her at 3 am. I'm sure she left her cell phone number."

Later in the show, John Edwards made a surprise appearance, and delivered his own version of "The Word," entitled "Ed-words."

Colbert: "There is no one who truly speaks to the male white working class voter. There was John Edwards. But let's face it, he's out of the race. Politically, he is no longer a factor to be reckoned with."

(To see Edwards' "Ed-words," see the MEDIA MONITOR section and check out today's Play of the Day.)

Not To Be Out Done

Colbert had his third special guest appear at the end of the show, when Obama appeared on the screen Clinton "fixed" at the beginning of the show:

Colbert: "Well, folks, that is it for the 'Report' this week. I only wish Senator Obama could have joined us."

[on screen: Obama appears on the screen behind Colbert].

Obama: "So do I, Stephen."

Colbert: "Senator Obama! Won't Senator Clinton be happy that she fixed our screen!"

Obama: "I'm sure she will, Stephen, I'm sure she will."

Colbert: "Now, I enjoyed the debate last night, sir. Though I have to take issue with you calling some of the questions manufactured political distractions."

Obama: "Well, Stephen, I think the American people are tired of these games and petty distractions."

Colbert: "Sir, speaking for the news media, I can tell you we are not tired of it. It allows us to ask the same questions over and over again, and we don't have to do any more work."

Obama: "Stephen, these distractions, they won't help fix our economy, they won't help people get healthcare, they won't help us get out of Iraq. Stephen, I would go so far as to say, I want to put these political distractions on notice."

Colbert: "Wham! How's that taste?"

Obama: "Manufactured political distractions, you are officially on notice!" (Comedy Central, 4/17).

To see scenes from all three appearances, check out today's Play of the Day.