Friday, July 18, 2008
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MCCAIN
Mid-Eastern Promises
John McCain "launched a blistering pre-emptive strike" on Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East on 7/17, charging that he puts political ambitions before his country.
McCain's camp accused Obama -- "who espouses a 16-month withdrawal plan for troops before even consulting with commanders in Iraq -- of playing politics with the war." McCain, in Kansas City, MO, said decisions on troop withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground and not on Obama's "artificial, politically inspired" timetable.
McCain, "who has been to Iraq numerous times, urged Obama to talk to the troops as well as to commanders." McCain: "They'll tell him they don't want to be defeated. ... They'll tell him that the surge has succeeded. They'll tell him that we're winning this war, will win it if we don't do what he wants to do, which is to set a date for withdrawal."
Obama spokesperson Hari Sevugan, meanwhile, "shot back that McCain is parroting the failed foreign policy" as Bush. Sevugan: "All John McCain has ever looked for in Iraq are reasons to stay there indefinitely" (Campanile, New York Post, 7/18).
The Movie In My Mind
The McCain camp also released a new eight-minute video, "The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand," on 7/17. The video is a timeline of Obama's "political positioning on the most critical national security issue America faces today" (release, 7/17).
The web video "includes no sound other than Obama's own words, taking both sides on the question of immediate withdrawal, troop level, the surge and military funding."
Lawmakers who unveiled the video on 7/17 "said they were concerned Obama was not going to Iraq with an open mind." Sen. John Thune (R-SD): "I can flat out guarantee that he's gonna take the position that satisfies the far left of his party. ... On almost every vote that we've had, every decision that we've faced in regard to Iraq, he comes back to that basic position" (Berger, NBC/National Journal, 7/17).
Meanwhile, McCain mgr. Rick Davis included the video in a 7/17 fundraising email to supporters (Hotline email, 7/17).
Now Look What You've Done
"After months of calling for" Obama to visit Iraq, McCain "now has to deal with the massive amount of attention Obama is receiving by going."
During a 7/17 appearance on FNC, McCain comm. dir. Jill Hazelbaker "leveled the harshest attack to date, calling Obama's trip a 'campaign rally overseas.'" Hazelbaker: "Let's drop the pretense that this is a fact-finding trip and call it what it is: the first-of-its-kind campaign rally overseas."
But McCain disagreed with Hazelbaker. Asked about her comment on 7/17, he said: "The fact is that I'm glad he is going to Iraq. I am glad he is going to Afghanistan. It's long, long overdue if you want to lead this nation."
Obama, however, "is receiving much more attention than McCain did on a similar trip this spring. McCain did not take reporters on that trip, rather he spent more than a week as part of a" cong. delegation. And although he plans stops in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a cong. delegation, "the rest of the trip to the Mideast and Europe is being organized by" his camp.
When McCain's plane landed in MI later 7/17, he "talked to reporters to clarify his original remarks. The Iraq and Afghanistan portion of the trip, he said, was not political but the subsequent swing through Europe was." McCain: "If he has political rallies in other places, obviously then it's a political trip. But I was speaking specifically about Iraq and Afghanistan and I believe that ... this will not be a place for political rallies or politicization but the rest of the trip, then we'll see what happens."
McCain, asked to clarify whether he believed the European visit was simply a photo-op, he said: "Apparently it's going to be. If he's going to have rally in Germany at the Brandenburg Gate, which is what is being publicly stated. Of course, if you have political rallies, then it's a political event" (Holmes/Meckler, "Washington Wire," WSJ.com, 7/17).
Meanwhile, New York Times' Rohter notes, GOPers "seem unable to decide whether" Obama's trip overseas "is worthy of praise or an opportunity for payback" for Obama's "unrelenting criticism of their own policy" (7/18).
The Cult Of Domesticity
As Obama travels abroad next week, McCain will visit CO, NH, OH, and PA "to emphasize jobs, energy and health care."
Senior adviser Charlie Black said McCain is prepared to critique Obama's trip. Black: "If they want us to respond to what he's doing over there, I'm sure we could make the time." Noting that ABC, CBS and NBC are sending their anchors overseas to trail Obama, Black said the McCain camp will ask for equal time if the nets run interviews with Obama.
Among McCain's scheduled events next week are a town hall meeting in Rochester, NH, and another in OH. McCain, a skin cancer survivor, "will discuss research budgets and other policy aspects" at the OH meeting on 7/24 (Jackson, USA Today, 7/18).
Weekend At Bernie Sanders'
McCain renewed his call for a brief gas tax holiday in Kansas City on 7/17 "during a wide-ranging, one-hour town hall meeting" at the city's historic train depot. The "capacity crowd" applauded "warmly and repeatedly as McCain spoke on a variety of topics -- abortion, immigration reform, education and health care."
McCain criticized Obama for his opposition to the surge of troops in Iraq, offshore drilling and expansion of nuclear power. McCain: "I think we should change [Obama's slogan] to 'no, we can't.'"
He also said Obama had the "most extreme" record in the Senate. Asked later if he thought Obama was an extremist, McCain said: "His voting record ... is more to the left than the announced socialist in the United States Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont." McCain, on whether Obama is a socialist: "I don't know. ... All I know is his voting record, and that's what people usually judge their elected representatives by" (Helling/Canon, Kansas City Star, 7/18).
Meanwhile, McCain said the key to claiming MO's 11 electoral votes is to focus on the people losing their jobs and homes and frustrated by high gas prices. McCain, speaking to reporters on his bus: "I know that we are the underdog here. ... I know it is the heartland of America and people are hurting, and I've got to draw out a very specific plan to restore the economy here in Missouri" (AP, 7/18).
McCain "went out of his way to speak against abortion twice" in Kansas City on 7/17 -- "a subject he rarely raises on the campaign trail unless asked directly about it."
"The first question concerned sexually graphic material on the Internet. McCain segued from that to abortion." McCain: "I also would like to say one other thing very quickly to you -- that is I am proud of my record of protecting and advocating the rights of the unborn. I believe this is also an important issue. ... Life means the rights of the born and the unborn. ... You can count on my active advocacy for the rights of the unborn."
McCain also criticized Obama for opposing a ban on a late-term procedure opponents call "partial birth abortion." McCain: "My friends, that's a hideous procedure. It should never be allowed any place on earth." Obama "has said he wants an exception for the health of the mother" (Meckler, "Washington Wire," WSJ.com, 7/17).
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), in a statement released by the Obama camp: "Senator McCain is playing politics with women's lives in order to score points with his right-wing base, while Barack Obama has consistently stood up for a woman's right to make these critical decisions for herself" (7/17).
Warren Peace
McCain "returned to domestic affairs" today in MI -- "a key battleground state particularly hard hit by the sagging economy."
McCain spoke at the GM technical center in Warren, where the automaker is developing the Chevy Volt -- the next generation of electric car. He is "using the backdrop to highlight his 'Lexington Project' to help push innovation in the U.S. automobile industry as part of reducing dependence on foreign oil" (Rhee, "Political Intelligence," Boston.com, 7/18).
Also in MI on 7/17, McCain said "he doesn't believe" GM needs a federal gov't bailout, "but if conditions worsen enough for the auto maker, all options need to be considered." McCain: "I hope GM does not require it, but if it looks like it is approaching that, everyone has to consider every option. ... I'm not ready to assume that's the case right now."
GM has been losing money since '05, "and matters have worsened this year as consumers shun the large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles that Detroit's auto makers have depended on for years to generate profits" (Terlep, Wall Street Journal, 7/18).
The Forgiving Tree
Chicago Sun-Times' Novak reports, McCain and ex-Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) have "patched up their relationship." Gramm "apologized to McCain for his remarks" about a "mental recession" and the U.S. being a "nation of whiners." McCain "told Gramm not to worry about the expected pitfalls of a campaign surrogate."
Gramm, meanwhile, "will continue as an adviser and surrogate" (Allen, Politico.com, 7/18).
Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor: "Senator McCain's economic plan gives nearly $4 billion in tax breaks to the oil companies but doesn't provide any tax relief to more than 100 million middle-class families. But that shouldn't come as a surprise since today we learned that Phil Gramm will continue to advise Senator McCain on economic policy despite calling Americans struggling in this economy 'whiners'" (release, 7/18).
Lay Off That Whiskey And Let That Cocaine Be
In a 7/16 interview with WMNF, McCain surrogate/RNC member Ada Fisher contended that Obama's drug use disqualifies him to be POTUS.
In the interview, "she described her reaction to Obama's acknowledgment in his memoir, 'Dreams From My Father,' that he used cocaine and marijuana as a high school student." Fisher: "If you admit it, then that should disqualify you. ... You won't allow a drug user to work in any secure facility or nuclear facility. Yet we as a nation, are willing to consider making someone president of the United States. I think that speaks very poorly" (March, "March on Politics," TBO.com, 7/17).
From Zero To Hero
It turns out that McCain "has attended even fewer Afghanistan-related Senate hearings over the past two years than Obama." In other words, McCain "has attended zero" of his cmte's six hearings on Afghanistan over the last two years.
Meanwhile, Obama attended the full Senate Foreign Relations Cmte hearing on Afghanistan in Mar. '07, although he used the opportunity to ask then-NATO cmdr./Gen. James Jones about Pakistan. Jones also came before the Senate Armed Services Cmte that week, "but McCain was a no-show."
The findings "are surprising given the fact that" the McCain camp "loudly criticized Obama this week for failing to schedule any hearings on Afghanistan in the last year and a half." Obama chairs the European Affairs Subcmte of the Senate Foreign Relations Cmte, "which has oversight of military operations in Afghanistan" (Wolf, "Political Radar," ABCNews.com, 7/17).
One Of The Benefits Of Being Really Old
Although McCain "has called Social Security 'a disgrace,' he still cashes his own retirement check every month."
McCain, speaking to reporters on 7/17: "I'm receiving the benefits, the system is broken and, unfortunately, my children and grandchildren, according to the trustees of the Social Security system, will not have the same benefits the present retirees have."
McCain's '07 tax return shows Social Security benefits of $23,157 for the year -- an average of $1,929.75/month. He said he started receiving the payments "whenever I was eligible."
Asked last week by a woman at an OH town hall meeting if she is likely to receive Social Security benefits one day, McCain "said it is unlikely without fixing the system." McCain: "Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. ... And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed" (Lieb, AP, 7/17).
Thanks For Clearing That Up, Guy Who Lost The Governor's Race By 24%
Ex-OH Sec/State Ken Blackwell (R) said 7/17 that McCain can make inroads with black voters by laying out an honest vision of his presidency.
Blackwell said McCain's strength lies in an adherence to an authentic message without worrying about vote counting. Blackwell: "He should leave the numbers to the mathematicians and the strategists. ... They should let McCain be McCain" (AP, 7/17).
The Jazz Singer
Ex-Giuliani fundraiser Paul Singer, who was behind a proposed ballot measure to change CA's winner-take-all Electoral College vote system, "is back in the GOP money mix -- this time for" McCain. According to the Wall Street Journal, "employees associated with Elliott Management, a New York investment firm run by" Singer, have given a combined $300K since Mar. to McCain (Marinucci, "Politics Blog," SFGate.com, 7/17).
There Ain't No Brakes On This Lost Highway
Washington Times' Dinan notes, "at times it appears" McCain's Straight Talk Express "should stop and ask for directions. From signature issues such as immigration and climate change to tax cuts," he "sometimes just seems lost as to his own record and his stance on hot-button social issues" (7/18).
A Wolf In Bull Moose's Clothing
Center for American Progress Action Fund's John Podesta and John Halpin write in Politico, McCain "has recently taken to comparing himself to Teddy Roosevelt, the famous 'strong as a bull moose' leader who took on the privileged interests in the" GOP.
But "in contrast" to Roosevelt's "steady embrace of progressive politics," McCain "has followed the exact opposite trajectory in his own career, moving from a position of political independence to one of down-the-line conservatism. Once a reformer and iconoclast, willing to take on lobbyists and special interests in his own party, McCain has become a vessel for unpopular and unprincipled right-wing policies." The "only real comparison between" Roosevelt and McCain "is that both men in their later years became unabashed imperialists" (7/17).
I, For One, Would Rather Avoid Having This Awkward Conversation Again
The Nation's Pollitt writes in the Chicago Tribune, "where is the discussion of the real issue, which is that for over 20 years" McCain "has voted against contraception every time it came up and -- now he tells us! -- he doesn't even care or know enough to explain why?" So far, "the media has refused to present McCain's anti-contraception record as a big, coherent story that tells us a great deal about who he is and what policies he would pursue" in the WH (7/18).
Conan The Barbarian
McCain will tape "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" today -- an interview that will air tonight. This weekend, meanwhile, McCain will be in NY for fundraisers and private meetings (Levi, "From the Road," CBSNews.com, 7/18).