Monday, March 3, 2008

Clinton Campaign Releases Second National Security Ad in Texas

Photo credits: CBSNews

Hillary Clinton’s campaign launched a new TV ad this morning in Texas emphasizing the contrast between her and Obama on national security. The ad includes a video clip from the Ohio debate that shows Obama’s admission that the senate sub-committee he chairs has failed to hold a single oversight hearing on Afghanistan. Obama said he’s been busy running for president. View the ad here.

Oops! Canadian Memo Exposes Obama Camp’s “Wink-Wink”

Photo credits: ChicagoTribune


Despite the Obama campaigns earlier denials of contacting the Candadian government about NAFTA in the run-up to the Ohio debate, Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports today:

“SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Barack Obama's senior economic policy adviser privately told Canadian officials to view the debate in Ohio over trade as "political positioning," according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press that was rejected by the adviser and held up Monday as evidence of doublespeak by rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“The memo is the first documentation to emerge publicly out of the meeting between the adviser, Austan Goolsbee, and officials with the Canadian consulate in Chicago, but Goolsbee said it misinterprets what he told them. The memo was written by Joseph DeMora, who works for the consulate and attended the meeting.”

In her report, Pickler notes:

“NAFTA is widely opposed in economically depressed Ohio, which holds its presidential primary Tuesday and is a key battleground between Obama and Clinton. Both candidates said in a debate in Cleveland last week that they would renegotiate the trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico, which is the largest trading partnership in the world, and threaten to pull out if it doesn't include more protections for workers and the environment.”

The Clinton campaign is on top of the latest from Canada: Pikler cites a statement from Hillary Clinton on Monday that Obama's campaign gave the Canadians "the old wink-wink."

Clinton added: "I don't think people should come to Ohio and tell the people of Ohio one thing and then have your campaign tell a foreign government something else behind closed doors. That's the kind of difference between talk and action and that I've been pointing out in this campaign." To read more, go here.
UPDATE:
According to an article in ABC News today, Barak Obama may have a role to play in the Rezko trial:
"Sen. Barack Obama's name could well come up in the trial of his longtime friend and accused Illinois fixer Tony Rezko, according to Chicago lawyers following the case.
"'I think it's realistic that that could happen during the trial,' said Zach Fardon, a former Chicago federal prosecutor who was part of the team that convicted former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on corruption charges.
"Jury selection for Rezko, accused of bribing public officials and taking kickbacks, began this morning in a Chicago federal courtroom."
To read more, go here.

New Ads and Potential Wild Card for Clinton in Crucial Primaries


Photo credits: NBC's Today Show


Senator Hillary Clinton has three new TV ads out today; two appeal to Ohioans, and the third reaches out to voters in Texas. (To view the new ads, go here, here, and here.)

The new ads bolster Clinton’s campaign in the face of tomorrow’s crucial primaries described by John Harwood in today's post in the Caucus (NY Times) as a decisive moment in the Democratic primary.

Harwood notes:

“the hinge could still swing either way. If Mrs. Clinton carries the behemoths of Ohio and Texas — despite her opponent’s momentum and financial advantage — Mr. Obama may rue this week as both an end and a beginning.

“Specifically, Tuesday could be the end of his coronation as Democratic standard-bearer and the beginning of a wrenching springtime struggle. With Clinton victories on Tuesday, neither political realities nor “delegate math” would preclude it.”

Continuing his analysis of Clinton’s prospects, Harwood first mentions a potential wild card in her favor and three reasons she might prevail:

“One wild card both campaigns are weighing: sympathetic supporters could vote in large numbers to save her candidacy from extinction. 'She has a shot' at carrying both Texas and Ohio, said her husband’s onetime strategist, James Carville.


“'If she does, Mr. Carville said, 'This thing is going on.'


"There are three reasons that could happen.

“The first is financial. Trailing candidates usually quit for lack of money. Yet the $35 million Mrs. Clinton raised in February — even if dwarfed by her opponent’s total, which some Obama aides peg at about $60 million — suggests that she’ll have the means to continue, especially if she starts winning.


“The second concerns delegates. David Plouffe, the Obama campaign chief, painted a daunting picture of his candidate’s edge in pledged delegates, which ranges from 134 to 159 depending on who’s counting. To erase it, Mr. Plouffe noted, Mrs. Clinton would have to win more than 60 percent of the pledged delegates selected after Tuesday.

“What he didn’t say was this: Even if Mr. Obama wins more than 60 percent, he won’t have enough pledged delegates to reach the 2,025 needed for the nomination. Unless Mrs. Clinton quits, either candidate will need votes from the so-called superdelegates.

“Which leads to the third reason: Mrs. Clinton could make a case to superdelegates that she wins the biggest battles, while Mr. Obama rolls up delegates in states like Idaho, Utah and Nebraska that matter little in the general election.

“‘That’s a great line if it’s true,’ said Bill Carrick, a Democratic strategist. With earlier victories in California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and a good chance to win Pennsylvania on April 22, taking both big contests on Tuesday would bolster that argument.

“It would also increase pressure on the Democratic Party to schedule do-overs in Michigan and Florida, both stripped of delegates for accelerating their primaries. Both states went ahead with nonbinding votes, most of which went to Mrs. Clinton.”

To read Harwood’s complete article, go here.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Clinton Challenges Obama’s Claim to Good Judgment


Photo credits: AP

On the campaign trail in Ft. Worth on Saturday, Hillary Clinton said of her opponent, Barack Obama, "His entire campaign is based on one speech he gave at an anti-war rally in 2002. And I give him credit for making the speech, but the speech was not followed up with action, which is part of the pattern we have seen repeatedly -- a lot of talk, little action."

In today’s Huffington Post, Joe Wilson follows up Clinton’s charge with an excellent, in-depth article titled Obama’s Hollow "Judgment" and Empty Record.

As Wilson points out, he was there at the time of the vote; Obama was not. Wilson writes:

“I was involved in that debate in every step of the effort to prevent this senseless war and I profoundly resent Obama's distortion of George Bush's folly into Hillary Clinton's responsibility. I was in the middle of the debate in Washington. Obama wasn't there. I remember what was said and done. In fact, the administration lied in order to secure support for its war of choice, including cooking the intelligence and misleading Congress about the intent of the authorization. Senator Clinton's position, stated in her floor speech, was in favor of allowing the United Nations weapons inspectors to complete their mission and to build a broad international coalition. Bush rejected her path. It was his war of choice.”

Wilson reminds us that Senator Obama has been too busy running for president to direct his subcommittee to hold oversight hearings on the war in Afghanistan; whereas, Senator Clinton has continued to fulfill her obligations as a member of the important Armed Services Committee and also of the Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health.

Every eligible voter in Tuesday’s primaries should first go here to read Wilson’s article in its entirety. You'll be far better prepared to decide which candidate is more qualified to lead our nation in a time of war.

As Rezko Trial Approaches, the Plot Thickens Between Rezko and Obama


In Sunday’s NY Times, Mike Mcintire and Christopher Drew build suspense from the get-go with their lead paragraph for a story probing the twenty-year relationship between Tony Rezko, whose corruption trial begins tomorrow, and Barack Obama, the Democratic frontrunner facing crucial primaries on Tuesday.

“Tony Rezko was obviously in trouble. He was a defendant in at least a dozen lawsuits, federal investigators in Chicago were poking around, and his name was in newspaper articles about corruption and fraud.”

The narrative continues:

“None of that stopped Mr. Rezko, a politically connected developer, and Senator Barack Obama from completing real estate deals a few years ago that resulted in the Obamas obtaining their dream house and the Rezkos buying an empty lot next door.

“Nearly three years later, fallout from Mr. Obama’s relationship with Mr. Rezko, who raised more than $150,000 for Mr. Obama’s campaigns, continue to dog Mr. Obama on the presidential campaign trail. That distraction promises to linger as Mr. Rezko goes on trial on corruption charges starting Monday.”

The Times article notes: “When the transactions were first reported, Mr. Obama said only that he had asked Mr. Rezko, as a developer, whether he thought the house was worth buying. But last month, Mr. Obama’s campaign staff said the senator also recalled walking around the house and the adjacent lot with Mr. Rezko.”

The remainder of the article provides further previously undisclosed details surrounding the real estate transactions involving the same-day purchase of adjacent property by Obama and Rezko.

To read more, go here.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Eyes of Texas Are Upon the Clinton Campaign

Photo credits: AP


The eyes of Texas are on the Clinton campaign this weekend as the critical March 4th primaries draw near; it’s a tribute to the character of Bill and Hillary Clinton that they’ve maintained ties with so many loyal friends over the years, in Texas and elsewhere. In today’s NY Times, Julie Bosman writes:

“In fighting for a crucial victory in the Texas contest, the Clintons are drawing from a deep network of friendships that was formed 36 years ago, when they were in their mid-20s, not yet married and working around the clock as volunteers for Mr. McGovern’s campaign.

The list of former McGovern supporters with leading roles in Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Texas includes Frank Herrara, a prominent lawyer; Gary Mauro, veteran Texas Democrat, Gonzalo Barrientos, a former state senator; and Carlos Truan, another former state senator.

Bosman quotes Truan: “I have worked more hours than I care to admit. I’ve been involved with strategy meetings, preparing people to vote, speaking out on her behalf. This all goes back to 1972.”

Bosman continues:

“Many of their {the Clintons} allies from 1972 have stayed involved in Texas politics, amassing wide networks of friends and political connections. Mr. Truan has tapped into a list of 850 friends and associates and lobbied them to support Mrs. Clinton. (Mr. Clinton, who was a state coordinator for the McGovern campaign, paid back Mr. Truan for his recent help by introducing him at a rally last month as ‘my good friend.’)

To read the entire article, go here.


Ohio Congresswoman Affirms Her Support for Clinton


Photo credits: Kent.edu

Despite pressure in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary, Ohio congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones has affirmed her support for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton:

In yesterday’s edition of theRoots.com, Jones declares:

“Many people do not understand what it means to truly support a candidate. It is more than a bumper sticker, or a yard sign, or even attending a campaign event. By supporting a candidate, you are making a commitment to that candidate. I made that commitment to Hillary to support her through thick and thin, not to be a fair-weather friend only to leave her when the going gets tough.

“I have spent over 26 years in public office working for the people of Ohio and working within the Democratic Party. I have gone door-to-door handing out pamphlets for candidates, stayed up late making phone calls and raising money for candidates - including Barack Obama's Senate campaign through the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. After 26 years in public office, I would hope that my constituents would respect my judgment and my choice to support Hillary Rodham Clinton, just as I respect their decision to support the candidate of their choice.

Jones, who represents Ohio’s 11 Congressional District, which includes Cleveland, concluded her remarks with these strong words:

“In politics all you have is your word. And I have never been one to fold when the cards are not being played in my favor. True integrity is measured when the times get tough. There is no doubt that Hillary's campaign is facing tough times, but I made a commitment to her, and I will support her all the way.”

To read Jones’ entire statement in theRoots.com, go here.