Inside Washington

Sat. Mar. 29, 2008


The Great Divide

Democrats are worried about the increasingly nasty presidential primary food fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Supporters of each candidate are growing less inclined to think kindly of the opposition.

The burgeoning dislike appears most pronounced among Obama supporters, according to new polling data from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Currently, 56 percent of Obama fans have a favorable opinion of Clinton, down 8 points since February. Meanwhile, Obama's favorability ratings among Clinton supporters have dropped by 2 points, to 53 percent, over the last month.

The data indicate that Clinton is particularly alienating female Obama supporters (down by 9 percent) and those older than 40 (down by 10 percent). And there's trouble in her own camp. Obama's favorable ratings have jumped 7 percent among Clinton's female boosters.

All is not lost, says Pew pollster Scott Keeter: "It's not a good trend for Democrats, but it doesn't mean the long race has done irreparable harm to the candidates." It's too early to tell how entrenched the feelings are among voters, he added.

--Randy Barrett

Murmurs

Psst! Earlier this month, Hillary Rodham Clinton hinted that Barack Obama could be her running mate. Obama rejected that idea, but a Clinton confidant suggested that the roles could be reversed. "I honestly wonder how he wouldn't pick her to be VP, if you're that close" in the final delegate tally, our source said. Would she take it? "I haven't had that conversation with her," said the insider, who added: "From my years of politics, I haven't known anyone who turns it down at the end of the day. Do you want to unify this party? What a great visual. I think she'd take it. I think anybody would take it. For her, it's an eight- if not a 16-year ride" ... And on the other side of the aisle, some GOP operatives are gabbing about how New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent -- would make a great VP choice for John McCain's presidential ticket. The billionaire would be a plus on economic issues, but he also favors abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control. "He'd drive the conservatives bonkers," said one player, who quickly adds: "It's not gonna happen" ...

Vital Statistics

19: Percentage increase in U.S. energy costs in the past 12 months

--Consumer Price Index

29,314: Number of U.S. military casualties in Iraq since 2003

--iCasualties.org

4.8: Percentage of U.S. workers unemployed in February 2008

--Bureau of Labor Statistics

Typecasting Today

Cindy McCain is the perfect supportive campaign spouse, Bill Clinton needs to curb his "buttinsky" tendencies, and Michelle Obama would be ideal if she were less "irritatable," say Larry and Laura Colin, authors of the new book Family, Inc. The treatise on running a family business without ruining the family identifies four "spousal styles." They are the Can't-Be-Bothered Wife (think Howard Dean's disappearing wife, Judy, in 2004); the Bitter Queen (think Teresa Heinz Kerry); the Buttinsky; and the Supportive Spouse. Former President Clinton should model himself on post-presidential buddy George H.W. Bush, who "doesn't reduce the franchise," Larry Colin says.

--Lisa Caruso

Three's the Charm

Sen. John McCain is not a great orator, but his campaign minions are trying hard to spruce up his delivery. Ever since McCain read his New Hampshire victory speech off scraps of paper, underlings have been trying various TelePrompTer schemes. But insiders say that positioning prompters to the left and right of the candidate causes him to swing his head back and forth like he's watching a tennis match, so they have often opted for a single monitor opposite his podium. That arrangement failed during McCain's South Carolina primary victory rap when TV lights blinded him. Then the prompter crashed during his Texas winner's speech. So on March 25, at the candidate's first major economic address since becoming the presumptive nominee, McCain used three machines -- one on either side and one dead ahead. That way, if "one of them goes out, you've got triple redundancy," a senior adviser said.

--Adam Aigner-Treworgy

Vive L'amour

The French see contraception as the single most important event in the past half-century, according to a new survey by the polling firm CSA for the weekly newsmagazine Nouvel Observateur. Revolutions -- political, social, and especially sexual -- defined the latter half of the 20th century in French eyes. The 40th anniversary of the May 1968 student-worker takeover of central Paris is rapidly approaching. Respondents judged that upheaval more important than the end of the Cold War. Three-quarters of the French think that the Left Bank uprising had a positive influence on society. France's fond anti-establishment recollection of the period is summed up by the favorite slogan of that era, "It is forbidden to forbid!" Especially, it would seem, in the bedroom. But there would be no boudoir if there had been a nuclear exchange between superpowers. N'est-ce pas?

--Bruce Stokes

Just One Question

The Senate recently defeated an effort to place a one-year moratorium on appropriations earmarks. Will this gravy train for the special interests ever end?

"The American people have already decided this has got to end. They are disgusted. If you look at the polling data on earmarks, this is a 90 percent issue that people associate with corruption ... and political expediency. For people who defend these earmarks, it is going to be a dangerous time at the polls for incumbents of both parties. We have more than $300 billion a year in waste, fraud, and abuse. The American people won't stand for this any longer. They get it. The last place to get it will be Washington."

--Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

Reality Check

It is "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran.... I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not Al Qaeda."

--Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

McCain's backtrack was tactful, but some evidence suggests that Iran and Al Qaeda have teamed up against the United States and its Arab allies. In 1998, the Clinton administration indicted Osama bin Laden for terrorist attacks, saying, "Al Qaeda also forged alliances with ... Iran." In 2004, the bipartisan 9/11 commission reported "strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of Qaeda members ... [including] future 9/11 hijackers." In March, U.S. officials said that Iran was funding attacks on the U.S.-allied Iraqi Sunni groups that have done enormous damage to Al Qaeda. Although officials have repeatedly said that Iran trains and funds Iraq's Shiite "special group" insurgents, they have not said that Iran is providing a base station for Al Qaeda's gunmen.

--Neil Munro

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