IOWA
PRESIDENTIAL WATCH
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(caricatures by
Linda Eddy)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
GENERAL NEWS HEADLINES with excerpts
"Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she’ll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama... That makes two of us."
the quote Republicans will jump on:
"With Joe Biden’s experience and wisdom, supporting
Barack Obama’s proven understanding, insight, and good
instincts, America will have the national security
leadership we need."
"Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief. Sound familiar? It didn’t work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won’t work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history."
"anyone who's watched Bill Clinton over the years
won't be surprised if tonight's performance is not the
final word,
and if there are more, well, Clinton eruptions before
Election Day"
"The choice in this election is clear," Biden said in an unmistakable reference to Republican John McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW. "These times require more than a good soldier. They require a wise leader."
... "The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out," said Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Should we trust John McCain's judgment when he says there can be no timelines to draw down our troops from Iraq, that we must stay indefinitely? Or should we listen to Barack Obama, who says shift responsibility to the Iraqis and set a time to bring our combat troops home?"
When it comes to Iraq and other issues, Biden said repeatedly: "John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right."
The action capped days of maneuvering that has resembled a political custody battle
Senior
Democratic officials are expressing serious concerns
about the political risks posed by Barack Obama’s
acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium
Thursday evening.
From the elaborate stagecraft to the teeming crowd of 80,000 cheering partisans, the vagaries of the weather to the unpredictable audience reaction, the optics surrounding the stadium event have heightened worries that the Obama campaign is engaging in a high-risk endeavor in an uncontrollable environment.
A common concern: that the stadium appearance plays against Obama’s convention goal of lowering his star wattage and connecting with average Americans and that it gives Republicans a chance to drive home their message that the Democratic nominee is a narcissistic celebrity candidate.
THE CANDIDATES:
John McCain... today's headlines with excerpts
Team McCain outsmarts Team Obama with Internet marketing
John McCain is in some ways outsmarting Sen. Obama when it comes to Internet marketing. One example: As of Wednesday, a Google search for "Joe Biden" or even just "Biden" resulted in a prominently displayed ad labeled "Joe Biden on Obama" that links to Sen. McCain's site. There, a video begins playing that shows Sen. Biden criticizing Sen. Obama during the Democratic primaries. The move mimics the "ambush" strategy that advertisers often employ: buying a competitor's term so that an ad for the buyer's own product appears when a consumer searches for the other brand.
Sen. McCain was able to pull off that sleight of hand because he outbid his opponent for the search term "Joe Biden." As a result, Sen. McCain's ad takes the top spot alongside search results, while Mr. Obama's ad appears lower in the results.
John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with McCain's campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. Friday.
Rove tried to get Lieberman to withdraw from McCain veepstakes
Republican strategist Karl Rove called Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) late last week and urged him to contact Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to withdraw his name from vice presidential consideration, according to three sources familiar with the conversation.
Lieberman dismissed the request, these sources agreed.
Lieberman “laughed at the suggestion and certainly did not call [McCain] on it,” said one source familiar with the details.
“Rove called Lieberman,” recounted a second source. “Lieberman told him he would not make that call.”
see also:
Bob Novak: Avoiding a Lieberman disaster
Barack Obama & Joe Biden... today's headlines with excerpts
Hillary backer claims she was called 'uncle Tom' by Obama mentor
A black delegate for Hillary Rodham Clinton says she was called an "Uncle Tom" by Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, one of Barack Obama's political mentors.
Chicago political consultant Delmarie Cobb says Jones made the remarks Saturday night while discussing her support for Clinton. She called the remark "fighting words" and unacceptable.
Jones, who also is black, said Monday that he never uttered the slur. He says he referred to Cobb and other Clinton supporters as "doubting Thomases."
Susan Estrich: Obama's BIG mistake
When
I turned on my computer this morning, it was overflowing with email
from women who supported Hillary Clinton. And still do.
After her electrifying speech Tuesday night, they were more certain than ever that they were right in their choice, that she was – as is – more qualified to be President than Barack Obama, and certainly a better choice for Vice President than the one Obama made...
Obama's 'flat line' in polls spells trouble
Polls showing McCain holding down Obama in the polls despite the nationally televised convention, and no bounce from Obama’s long-awaited running mate pick - an event that pollsters say usually draws at least a two-percentage point gain...
TIME investigation reveals Biden family enmeshed in D.C. money game Obama denounces
Biden's brother and sons have close ties to a law firm that has benefited from the senator's congressional votes...
ABC's Jake Tapper: Is he ready for the White House?
National security is a real vulnerability for the Illinois senator, with less than half of the American people saying he'd be a good commander in chief.
While meeting with veterans and military families in Billings, Mont., this afternoon, Obama praised the military service of his rival Arizona Sen. John McCain.
"We owe him our gratitude. We don't owe him our vote. We don't owe him our vote. The stakes are too high," Obama said.
Laying the groundwork for his legislative agenda should he win the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama has begun courting the most powerful woman in U.S. politics: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Pelosi, who is chairing the Democratic Party convention here, stands atop Congress with unquestioned power. Elected as the first female speaker in January 2007, she runs a tightly controlled House in which she sometimes overrules the initiatives of her Democratic chairmen and regularly denies Republicans the chance to offer amendments. Democratic leaders believe the strength of the Obama-Pelosi relationship could be critical in determining the successes -- or failures -- of an Obama White House.
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