September 2007 Monthly Archive

September 30, 2007

Is Hillary Clinton the New Old Al Gore?

The Beltway's narrative has it not only that the Democrats are shoo-ins, but also that the likely standard-bearer, Hillary Clinton, is running what Zagat shorthand might describe as a "flawless campaign" that is "tightly disciplined" and "doesn't make mistakes." This scenario was made official last weekend, when Senator Clinton appeared on all five major Sunday morning talk shows — a publicity coup, as it unfortunately happens, that is known as a "full Ginsburg" because it was first achieved by William Ginsburg, Monica Lewinsky's lawyer, in 1998.

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Frank Rich - New York Times | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Today's Top News

 

Ahmadinejad Walks Away with a Win

One of the world's truly dangerous men, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left New York a clear winner this week, and he can thank the arrogance of the American academy and most of the U.S. news media's studied indifference for his victory. If the blood-drenched history of the century just past had taught American academics one thing, it should have been that the totalitarian impulse knows no accommodation with reason.

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Los Angeles Times | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Today's Top News

 

"Privacy" zealots want America to forgo intelligence capabilities during wartime

Would any sane country purposefully limit its ability to spy on enemy communications in time of war? That is the question Congress must answer as it takes up reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Privacy activists, civil libertarians and congressional Democrats argue that both foreign and domestic eavesdropping must be subject to judicial scrutiny and oversight, even if this means drastically reducing the amount of foreign intelligence information available to the government, without ever acknowledging the costs involved.

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Wall Street Journal | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Today's Top News

 

Poll: Obama Ahead of Clinton in Iowa

Sen. Hillary Clinton holds a double-digit lead over her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination in many national polls. But in Iowa, home to the January 2008 caucus that is the first major event of the electoral season, the Democratic race is much tighter, according to the latest NEWSWEEK Poll.

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MSNBC | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Today's Top News

 

Ron Paul on Track to Surprise Again with Third-Quarter Fundraising

As the fundraising quarter draws to a close at midnight tonight, candidates are scrambling to boost their numbers by any means necessary (we've received two fundraising pitches signed by candidates with the subject line "Hey," and one from a spouse headed "Re: Hey").

And while he's gotten little attention outside his fervent and fanatic fan base, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who finished the second quarter with more cash on hand than Sen. John McCain, could have another surprise in store for the media establishment his supporters so often malign.

In the run-up to the filing deadline, Paul's supporters were asked to help the candidate raise $500,000 in just a few days. That's more than former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee raised in the entire first quarter, by the way. Yesterday, the Paul campaign revised its goal -- supporters had raised $850,000 already, and the campaign was shooting for $1 million by midnight tonight.

The campaign reached the $1 million mark last night, a full day ahead of schedule.

Paul won't outraise any of the front-runners, but the frugality with which he is running the campaign, as well as the fervency of his supporters and his presence in Iowa and New Hampshire, mean that he will be one second-tier candidate unwilling to drop out before the nominating process takes its course. Paul could cause some serious problems for the front-runners, and it looks increasingly like he will have the money to compete in at least a few early states.

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Realclearpolitics.com | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Ron Paul

 

Fundraising Is Thompson's First Big Test

The end of the year's third fundraising quarter means a lot for all the presidential candidates. But it may be especially meaningful for the race's latest entrant: former Sen. Fred Thompson, who is vying for the Republican nomination. Like the other White House hopefuls, Thompson is expected to release highlights of his quarterly fundraising report at the end of this month. But while all the other candidates will be releasing their third reports, this will be Thompson's first - he only officially entered the race Sept. 5 after a lengthy "testing the waters" phase.

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CBS | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Breaking Story Highlights

 

Bill Clinton, Gingrich Agree on Huckabee as GOP Dark Horse

Former President Bill Clinton and his one-time adversary former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have found something to agree on. They both said Sunday that they view Mike Huckabee as the most likely Republican dark horse candidate for the GOP nomination. "I think Huckabee is very effective, and if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight," Gingrich said. "He's probably the best performer in terms of giving speeches and being appealing…"

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the Hill | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Breaking Story Highlights

 

Giuliani Argues He Can Beat Hillary

Rudy Giuliani has focused on November 2008 — and Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton — from the outset of his presidential bid with a strategy as uncertain as it is necessary.

"I'm not running against my Republican opponents. I'm running against the Democrats," Giuliani insists as he brushes aside reality: before going toe-to-toe with that party's nominee, he must win the GOP nod.

It's a tall — though not impossible — order.

The former New York mayor with the messy personal life and moderate-to-liberal positions on social issues is an unorthodox choice given that conservative voters usually hold considerable sway in Republican primaries.

But since the year began and to the surprise of many party pundits, the politician whose identity is forever linked to 9/11, has maintained his strong-contender status.

Republican strategists attribute his staying power in no small part to his central argument to GOP voters desperate for victory next fall: He can win against a Democrat — and one in particular.

"I'm the only Republican candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton," Giuliani often says.

Could be true.

But he's got to capture his own party's nomination first.

"There's no question he is running a general election campaign and attempting to portray himself as the inevitable nominee," said Ed Rollins, who advised President Reagan. "But, there's still a hard battle ahead for the Republican nomination, and he has a long way to go."

Consider that the race is remarkably fluid.

Giuliani still leads in national surveys but his advantage has eroded some over the past few months and since actor-politician Fred Thompson entered the race. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, leads in Iowa and is in a tight race with Giuliani in New Hampshire. Arizona Sen. John McCain still has a double-digit base of support nationally and appeals to independents who also are drawn to the ex-mayor.

While Giuliani is competing to varying degrees in early voting Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, he's clearly taking a nontraditional — and untested — route to the nomination by making a stand in delegate-rich Florida on Jan. 29. It's a gateway to the big-prize Feb. 5 primaries in California, New York and other states that Giuliani backers contend will be more amenable to a candidate of his ilk.

Perhaps more so than any other Republican rival, Thompson is a threat to the case Giuliani has been making. The Southerner is arguing, subtly thus far, that not only can he beat Clinton but that he also has conservative positions on cultural issues. But his first month as a candidate was hardly impressive.

In many respects, Giuliani has little choice but to make the "I'm electable" argument.

"This is his best strategy for getting from here to there, given who he is, where he comes from, and where the minefields are," said Stephen Hess, a George Washington University professor who has worked in several Republican administrations. "It's out of necessity ... unless he wants to recreate himself."

Giuliani is a thrice-married candidate from the liberal bastion of New York who supports abortion and gay rights, and has a past record of backing gun control measures. All that may prove a tough sell for conservative primary voters.

So, he's asking them to overlook what he doesn't offer — right-leaning views on cultural issues they care about — for what he says he does offer: the best opportunity for Republicans to thwart another Clinton presidency.

Aides argue that GOP voters are seeking someone who encompasses the whole package, rather than casting their ballots on a single issue.

They also point to polls that show him winning in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup with Clinton. But surveys 14 months before a general election are hardly predictive.

Still, relying on such polls, Giuliani claims to be the only Republican able to put in play Democratic-leaning states with lots of electoral votes, such as New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois.

"The reality is we need a candidate who can run in all 50 states," Giuliani says. "I can."

That theory, thus far, is just a theory.

Giuliani takes great care not to criticize his GOP rivals and sidesteps invitations to do so. He does, however, counter their charges. In the most high-profile case, Romney has accused Giuliani of reigning over a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants in New York. Giuliani, in turn, claimed Romney allowed such cities to flourish in Massachusetts as governor.

For weeks, Giuliani hammered, as far as Republicans are concerned, the ultimate trifecta of liberal bogeymen — the left-leaning interest group MoveOn.org, The New York Times and Clinton. He blasted MoveOn for buying an ad in the Times that assailed the top U.S. commander in Iraq, challenged Clinton to denounce it, and criticized the newspaper for slashing the price of it.

Giuliani would have his share of vulnerabilities as a general election candidate, not the least of which is his personal life.

A top Clinton backer recently suggested all that would be fair game. Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, referencing Giuliani's marriages and estrangement from his two children, said: "There's a lot that the rest of the country is going to get to know about Mayor Giuliani that the folks in New York City know."

In that sense, Giuliani as the GOP nominee could actually end up being the Democrats' greatest gift.

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Associated Press | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Breaking Story Highlights

 

Gingrich Says He Could Have Been a Contender

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday he could have been a contender, but has no regrets about skipping the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Gingrich said he'd had a Web site ready to launch this week and already had received several million dollars in pledges.

"I think we would clearly have been competitive financially within three weeks, and we literally had not even set up the Web site yet," he said. "But what hit me was it would have been an underdog campaign. I mean, clearly, if you were going to come from behind, I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win."

Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler said Saturday that Gingrich opted out of the race, a crowded one with nine candidates, after determining he could not legally explore a bid and stay as head of his tax-exempt political organization.

Besides the potential legal difficulties, Gingrich said running would have wasted the effort spent building up American Solutions for Winning the Future, the tax-exempt political arm of his lucrative empire as an author, pundit and consultant.

"To give up and kill an organization we spent a year on and that had 2,000 sites around the country where people had now invested their time and effort just to look at whether or not you could run, I thought would be irresponsible," he said on ABC's "This Week."

Just last week, Gingrich said he had set an Oct. 21 deadline to raise $30 million in pledges for a possible run, acknowledging that the task was difficult but not impossible.

He said Sunday that the deciding factor was learning he risked violating the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.

"I thought there was a way that you could continue the momentum of those ideas while I began to prepare a presidential campaign," Gingrich said. "What we learned yesterday morning was, I mean, it's literally a go to jail, criminal activity."

In a taped appearance broadcast on "Fox News Sunday," Gingrich also criticized the law.

"The effect of the McCain-Feingold censorship act has been to weaken the middle class, to make it harder to have a middle-class candidate and to make it much, much harder to raise money and so I think you've got to be realistic about what it takes to campaign," he said.

Gingrich said he would not align himself with any of the candidates.

"I'm not going to endorse anybody. I'm going to try to offer ideas that hopefully all of them can look at," he said.

Gingrich is the latest Republican to decide against joining the race. In early September, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel announced he would not run for the White House or seek a third term.

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Associated Press | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Breaking Story Highlights

 

Christan Conservatives Consider Third-Party Effort

Concerned that Liberal-Leaning Giuliani Might be Nominated by GOP, Christian Conservatives Consider Third-Party Effort ... REPORT: "Alarmed at the chance that the Republican party might pick Rudolph Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate in an attempt to stop him. The group making the threat, which came together Saturday in Salt Lake City during a break-away gathering during a meeting of the secretive Council for National Policy, includes Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, who is perhaps the most influential of the group, as well as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, the direct mail pioneer Richard Viguerie and dozens of other politically-oriented conservative Christians, participants said ..."

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New York Times | Sunday, September 30, 2007 | Topic: Breaking Story