“Hillary Rodham Clinton has just returned from a
badwill tour of Iraq, seeking to use the façade of
saluting the troops and sharing their Thanksgiving
to undermine the political support for their
mission,” writes
Dick Morris.
"If you are a resident of Iowa and New Hampshire,
you are going to see the most negative ads ever.
This is going to be a bad month for negative
campaigning,"
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said.
“By January, the retail character of Iowa politics
will largely be a thing of the past. For at least
the top half of the field, they will be surrounded
by a swarm of reporters,”
writes
Associated Press reporter Mike Glover.
"It's [campaign finance payments] incredibly
important. January and February are probably going
to be decisive in this campaign,"
Clark spokesman
Matt Bennett said.
“Because Dean is doing so well in New Hampshire,
Kerry's people say their man is planning an even
more intense effort in Iowa. They figure it's now
easier for Kerry to beat Dean in Iowa than in New
Hampshire. Fair enough, but Kerry's campaign has
had so many troubles lately that the Edwards
people believe they've got a good shot to beat
Kerry for third, dealing a mortal blow to the
Massachusetts senator and getting one of those
"unexpectedly strong showings" the national
political media bestow on candidates who surprise
them on caucus night,”
writes Des
Moines Register columnist David Yepsen.
“I know what this country doesn’t need is an
Attorney General that spies on them,”
said John Kerry.
"Every front-runner gets in trouble,"
said
California-based Democratic consultant Bill
Carrick. "Once an insurgent candidate
breaks out of the pack, there's usually some
buyer's remorse that sets in and brings them back
to earth."
“Hating George W. Bush has become the squalid
pastime of some of our Beautiful People. Some of
them are gathering tonight at the Beverly Hilton
in Hollywood at the invitation of Laurie David,
wife of the man who created the television show
"Seinfeld," for something called "Hate Bush 12/2
Event," writes
Wesley Pruden of the Washington Times.
"With all these actions, we are laying the
foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs
across America so every single citizen has a
chance to realize the American dream… Our economy
is strong and it is getting stronger,"
said President
Bush.
“Yes, we’re going to break up giant media
enterprises. That doesn’t mean we’re going to
break up all of GE,”
said Howard
Dean.
Democrats have tougher job
If President Bush carries the
same states in 2004 that he won in 2000, he will
win seven more electoral votes. This is the result
of the now famous red states (those carried by
Bush) gaining population in the South and West.
The NY Times covers the story:
"Before a vote is cast, we've increased our
margin," Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for Mr.
Bush's campaign, said. "In a race that's very
close, those small readjustments in the electoral
map will have significance."
If that isn’t enough bad news
for Democrats, the Times reports that certain
states that went for Al Gore are not necessarily
holding for them:
Democrats know that white men in rural parts of
states like Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin —
all of which went for Mr. Gore — are increasingly
voting Republican, largely because of issues like
President Bill Clinton's personal behavior and
recent court rulings on gay rights. As a
Democratic strategist said, "Older white Americans
moved away from us on impeachment and guns, and
now same-sex marriage is a killer."
The good news is that everyone
agrees that the race is going to be close. The
Times reports:
Republicans are also mindful that neither Mr.
Clinton nor Mr. Bush won more than 50 percent of
the vote in the last three presidential elections.
"No matter how well the economy is doing, no
matter how well we're doing in Iraq, and even if
we're running the best campaign in the world, this
election will be decided within a margin of 4 or 5
percent," Mr. Dowd said.
Dean’s inner circle
A Washington Post story covers
who’s who in the Dean campaign:
As inner circles go, Dean's is not only small, it
is relatively new -- the principal figures behind
his presidential bid have been working together
for less than a year. What is remarkable is who is
out as much as who is in: Absent are many seasoned
Washington veterans, close friends or even his
wife, Judith Steinberg Dean, who has played
virtually no role in his campaign.
The principle member of the
inner circle Joe Trippi is a new member who was
retired from political campaigns and a member of
the Alexandria consulting firm of Trippi, McMahon
& Squier.
TMS counseled Dean early on to emphasize his
opposition to the Iraq war -- a somewhat risky
position given that most polls showed strong
support for Bush. Instead, it helped Dean tap into
growing antiwar sentiment, particularly on the
left, a wave he is still riding.
"We told him he could run like Dick Gephardt or he
could run like a maverick," McMahon said. "He
could run like John Kerry, or he could run like
someone different. But it couldn't be a mainstream
campaign, because the mainstream space was already
taken."
The dearth of staff can best be
characterized by Trippi’s opinion of the other
candidates’ staff:
Trippi characterizes the campaign's dearth of
policy expertise as a "big advantage" over Dean's
Democratic rivals. "We don't have a bunch of
Senate policy staffers who've been on our payroll
for 16 years following a specific set of issues
for us," he said. "I think it's a big advantage.
We're talking about a system that produced a lot
of those guys coming out for the war. There's
something closed and insular about that system. If
the conventional wisdom is wrong, they're likely
to wade right into it."
New York cash
NY Post covers Howard Dean’s
upcoming fund-raiser in the Big Apple:
Democratic front-runner Howard Dean is planning
monster cash bashes in New York next Monday
starring his showbiz pals - like acid-tongued
antiwar comic Janeane Garofalo, who claims
President Bush is as much of a threat to the world
as Saddam Hussein.
The money blitz - which could take in $1 million -
comes as Dean builds up his war chest and hopes to
take in a total of $15 million in the final three
months of the year and try to steamroll the
antiwar contender to the Democratic nomination.
Dean's cash bashes will feature a $1,000-a-head
roast hosted by actor/director Rob Reiner at the
Metropolitan Pavilion - a pretty pricey event for
the former Vermont governor, who likes to stress
how many small donors he has.
Comics Garofalo, Andrea Martin, David Cross and
John Leguizamo will appear at events costing $100
and $500, there will be a $250-a-head lunch in
Queens and a $125 breakfast the next day in
Harlem.
The meaning of Iowa
An
Associated Press story by Mike Glover covers
the meaning of Iowa and what might happen next:
Many strategists argue that at precisely the
moment the campaign moves south and west, many
moderate Democrats will begin worrying about
nominating a former governor of a tiny state who
they worry is too liberal.
This argument holds that moderate Democrats will
then pressure to unite behind a single alternative
to Dean. The campaigns of Kerry, North Carolina
Sen. John Edwards and retired Gen. Wesley Clark
are all based on emerging as that alternative.
If that's the way things play out, that single
alternative is likely to be the candidate who has
bested expectations in some of the early tests.
That means a lot of people will be looking to see
not only who wins, but who performs better than
expected.
The difference between third place and fourth
place in Iowa has real meaning. Candidates who
haven't been tested in earlier races likely don't
appreciate the heat the race will get from a press
corps in full roar after the first of the year.
Where the fight is
A
Washington Times story suggests that Howard
Dean has his opponents concentrating on early
states:
Antiwar candidate Howard Dean is lengthening his
lead in Iowa and New Hampshire, forcing his
closest Democratic presidential rivals to spend
more time in those states as he campaigns across
the country.
Edwards vs. Gephardt
Sen. John Edwards announced his
new trade plan (see story below) and Rep. Dick
Gephardt challenged Edwards as a “Johnny come
lately.” The
Des Moines Register reports on the flap:
"He's a Johnny-come-lately on this issue,"
Gephardt said by telephone after a campaign stop
in Cedar Rapids. "He had a chance to vote against
the China agreement, and he voted for it."
"I've been there over the years consistently
trying to get these things into these treaties,"
Gephardt said. "If we had had the help of people
like (Edwards), who favored these treaties, we
would have been able to get these standards in
these treaties."
The mill worker’s son responded:
"All you have to do is talk to North Carolina
textile workers," he said. "They will tell you to
a person how strongly I supported them and how
personally I take their problems."
Gephardt’s labor & liberal
Rep. Dick Gephardt stayed the
course yesterday in Cedar Rapids and on his press
site. He appealed to both his labor support and
liberal base. Gephardt expressed concern over
steel tariffs and expressed his concerns for Aids.
To show his flexibility this was all done in a
speech on homeland security.
Steel tariffs:
"I am alarmed by reports that
President Bush intends to lift the relief that was
granted to our nation's steelmakers and their
workers. The industry and its workers are living
up to their side of the bargain and are taking the
tough steps to consolidate and become more
competitive and the president should live up to
his side of the bargain by allowing the steel
relief program to run its course.
Aids:
"The scourge of AIDS must be
recognized for what it is – a global problem
affecting every country, including the United
States. Yet while we continue to see disturbing
increases in the numbers of Americans diagnosed
with HIV/AIDS, the Bush administration has failed
to take steps to improve our nation's health care
system to improve the treatment and prevention of
this disease. In last year's State of the Union
address, President Bush pledged to fund AIDS
program in Africa as a moral imperative. Since
then, congressional Republicans have chosen to
underfund these HIV/AIDS programs and President
Bush has done nothing to persuade them to change
course.
Gephardt’s aids’ release also
added a dig at his Democrat opponents:
"I am also the only candidate in
this race with a plan to get every American
covered with quality health insurance that can
never be taken away. As president, I will put the
full commitment of the United States government
behind all possible efforts to stop the scourge of
AIDS at home and abroad."
Homeland security:
Gephardt criticized the
President for failing to protect America. He also
outlined his plan.
"For me, a guiding principle of
homeland security is that it should look both
inward and outward. A foreign policy that drives
away natural allies in the war against terrorism
does our country no good. And short-changing
domestic security puts our citizens here at home
at undue risk," Gephardt told an audience of
police officers at the Cedar Rapids Police
Station. "Just as with most things in life,
homeland security involves balance and common
sense. Unfortunately, those are two qualities we
rarely see in this White House."
His major points are:
·
Create a Homeland Security Trust
Fund so states and local communities have the
resources they need to keep our families safe.
Gephardt will dedicate $20 billion per year to the
trust fund.
·
Establish a $10 billion First
Responder Grant Program, similar to the COPS
program in the 1993 Crime Bill, to provide money
to localities to hire and train first responders,
and provide necessary equipment and support
services.
·
Create a unified terrorist
'watch-list' that provides a single database of
suspected terrorists. Gephardt will make
coordination between state, local, and federal law
enforcement a priority, will hire enough border
guards and deploy the technology to patrol every
mile of both of our borders, and will coordinate
the security of our ports.
·
Gephardt will pay for these
proposals by forming a Corporate Subsidy Reform
Commission, legislation he co-authored with
Senator John McCain. Much like the independent
base closing commission, the commission will weed
out special interest provisions and pork from the
federal tax code. The resulting revenue will be
used to endow the Homeland Security Trust Fund.
Kerry attacks Ashcroft
Sen. John Kerry appeared on the
campus of Iowa State University and continued on
his ‘first 100 days in office’ theme saying that
he would restore our commitment to civil
liberties. The
Des Moines Register coverage of the Kerry
speech indicates:
He contends that Ashcroft has gone overboard in
carrying out provisions of the Patriot Act, which
contains law enforcement tools to combat terrorist
threats in this country.
"I voted for the Patriot Act right after September
11th, convinced that, with a sunset clause, it was
the right decision to make. . . . But George Bush
and John Ashcroft abused the spirit of national
action after the terrorist attacks. They have used
the Patriot Act in ways that were never intended
and for reasons that have nothing to do with
terrorism," Kerry said.
He said he would stop "roving" wiretaps, restrict
authority to seize library or business records,
and provide more oversight of searches that don't
require notification.
His other proposals include increased efforts to
stop money-laundering by terrorist groups and
other criminals, and improving communication among
intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
The Boston Globe covered the
story as well and is more complete in its
coverage. The story also runs at length on
National Public Radio. The
Globe offers the following:
Kerry said one of his first acts as president
would be to replace the Patriot Act -- which he
voted for -- with a new law that kept some of the
act's provisions, such as tougher penalties for
terrorists, while also strengthening civil
liberties protections. He said the federal
government would stop indefinite detentions of US
citizens, and guarantee legal and other rights for
those who are held.
Squeezing out third
The
Quad City Times covers Sen. John Edwards’
latest tour:
For the most part, however, Edwards has steered
clear of the intramural squabbles that have
embroiled Gephardt, Dean and Kerry in Iowa, and
that may be a plus going into the home stretch,
party leaders say.
.“That’s repulsive to a lot of people,” said Joel
Miller, the chairman of the Linn County Democratic
Party, who says Edwards is wise to keep out of it.
Holding his fire also has meant that criticism
leveled over the Iraq war resolution has landed
more on Kerry than Edwards, Miller added.
.Still, Miller says he sees Edwards trailing Dean,
Gephardt and Kerry in eastern Iowa. “I think he
could squeeze into third ... but it’s going to be
tough,” he added.
Clark’s hazing
The Manchester
Union Leader reports on Wesley Clark being
rescued from a locker at West Point:
Here’s something you may not know about retired
Gen. Wesley Clark and Exeter Selectman Lionel
Ingram — Ingram once rescued Clark from inside a
locker.
Of course, that was before Ingram was a selectman
and Clark a general and Presidential candidate.
Clark’s new ad
An
Associated Press story reports on Wesley
Clark’s new TV ad in New Hampshire:
In the 30-second spot, an announcer says that the
retired Army general “fought for better schools
and better health care for those he led because it
was the right thing to do.”
Bill Buck, a Clark spokesman in New Hampshire,
said the ad refers to Clark’s work as Supreme
Allied Commander of NATO, when his duties included
overseeing a school system in Europe for soldiers
and their families and ensuring they had adequate
medical benefits.
Dear Mr. President,
Sen. John Kerry wrote the
President a letter charging him with failure in
the manufacturing sector. The letter was pointedly
aimed at the President’s trip to Michigan.
President Bush touted the good economic news while
he was in Michigan and promoted tort reform.
Writing a letter is a frequent
campaign trick to call out the opponent. It is a
good trick to use when you are not getting any
attention. It is the old fashion way of calling
your opponent out. The odds are that the President
will not respond. Here is a copy of the letter:
Dear
Mr. President,
Over
the past three years, this country has lost one
out of every seven manufacturing jobs – 2.7
million jobs. To date, your Administration’s only
plan to save manufacturing is to create a new
government position -- the “Assistant Secretary
for Manufacturing and Services” within the
Department of Commerce. This simply just isn’t
acceptable and amounts, in my view, to a
dereliction of duty on the economic front.
As you
give your speech on the economy today in Michigan,
I hope you will finally offer a long overdue plan
to restore the nation’s manufacturing base, which
has been eroded under your watch. Your
Administration has stood by and watched as the
loss of manufacturing jobs – including 110,000 in
Michigan -- has undermined the strength of our
economy and the bread and butter for millions of
America’s working families.
Not
only are manufacturing jobs good jobs but they are
critical to overall economic growth, technological
innovation, and a high standard of living for
Americans. In fact, over the past ten years
manufacturers have performed nearly 60 percent of
all research and development in the United States
and have paid over one-third of all corporate tax
payments to state and local governments.
Dean on AIDS
Howard Dean outlines his
response to AIDS:
This is a crisis of pandemic
proportions and we must give it the attention
it deserves. HIV and AIDS are both a public
health and a national security issue. They
have the potential to create vast economic and
political destabilization in many parts of the
developing world. It is time to move beyond
the rhetoric offered by President Bush and to
focus on real results both across the globe
and here at home," Governor Dean said.
* Provide quality
health care for every American. By
covering those lacking health insurance we can
prevent, and provide critical early treatment
for, serious illnesses such as HIV and AIDS.
* Increase funding
for care and treatment. A Dean
Administration will promote prevention, early
diagnosis, and treatment of HIV. This is
especially important for racial and ethnic
minorities who are disproportionately affected
by this pandemic and who often are diagnosed
late or enter treatment later than
recommended.
*
Promote sensible and comprehensive
prevention efforts. As a physician,
Dean has seen the power of prevention in
saving lives. There is strong, compelling
evidence that HIV prevention initiatives,
including condoms, needle exchange programs,
accessible testing and progressive education
on safe behaviors, can reduce the transmission
of HIV. A strong emphasis must be placed on
prevention approaches focused on women,
communities of color, adolescents, and young
gay men.
*
Support research and development of
treatment without political interference.
On the international front, Dean
promised to:
* Restore our role
as a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS;
* Renew the fight
against Global AIDS, by providing $30
billion in the fight against AIDS by 2008 to
help the Global Fund meet its resource
requirements and to fund US bilateral global
HIV/AIDS programs, as well as offer debt
relief to nations fighting the AIDS pandemic
to allow for much needed health investments;
* Improving the
vital healthcare infrastructure of the world's
developing countries; and
* Assisting orphans
and children cast adrift by the AIDS pandemic.
Edwards not counted out
Sen. John Edwards is not counted
out of third place according to
Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen.
Yepsen gives his opinion on whether Edwards can
compete with Sen. John Kerry’s big push in Iowa to
try and beat Dean here now that it looks like he
can’t beat him in New Hampshire:
But does Kerry's strong push for first or second
make that impossible? No. Edwards still has upside
potential. Edwards grew up poor in the rural
South, and he seems a good cultural fit with
Democrats in small-town Iowa. (Unlike some in this
race, Edwards actually knew what a big hog lot
smelled like before he got here.) His TV
commercials are good. And many longtime Democratic
activists are still undecided. They know it's a
mistake to commit too early, lest your candidate
dissemble or another shine.
Large numbers of "undecideds" keep hope alive for
a lot of candidates these days.
Hope is also kept alive by the fact only a few
votes per precinct usually separate the candidates
on caucus night.
For example, in 1984 Gary Hart got that "surprise"
second-place finish behind Walter Mondale. Only a
few thousand more votes and George McGovern would
have taken that spot from Hart.
Edwards’ new pipes
Senator John Edwards Monday
named Roger Salazar as his campaign's national
spokesperson.
In 1999, Salazar was recognized
as one of the "100 Most Influential Hispanics in
America" by Hispanic Business Magazine.
In 1999, Salazar served as
deputy press secretary and acting national
spokesperson for the Gore 2000 Presidential
Campaign Committee. From 1998-99, he was an
assistant press secretary in the Clinton White
House, serving as administration spokesperson to
media outlets in California and other Western
states.
In 1998, Salazar was deputy
press secretary for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and from 1997-98 was assistant press
secretary for Vice President Al Gore. He also
served as news analysis coordinator and as
specialty press coordinator in the White House
Press Office from 1995 to 1997.
Edwards’ new TV ad
Senator John Edwards today
unveiled a new television ad that highlights the
importance of providing tax relief to the middle
class. The ad will air on broadcast news stations
in the Ottumwa, Sioux City and Mason City markets
and on cable stations in the Quad Cities market.
The following is the script for the new ad:
JOHN EDWARDS:
"This President should be made to explain why a
multi-millionaire sitting beside his swimming pool
should be paying a lower tax rate than a teacher,
than a police officer, than a secretary."
VOICEOVER:
John Edwards' plan has been called the best
platform of all the candidates. Repeal tax breaks
George Bush created for wealthy investors, and
target tax cuts to the middle class.
JOHN EDWARDS:
"Helping them buy a house, helping them invest,
helping them save. I'm John Edwards and I
approve this message."
Edwards tour
Sen. John Edwards has a strong
belief in tours and is taking another one. Edwards
discussed his plans for a new approach to trade
agreements that will protect American jobs and
improve labor and environmental standards
overseas. He announced the policies in Davenport,
Muscatine, Columbus Junction, Burlington, and
Keosauqua on the second day of his 25-county
“Working for All of Us Tour” of Iowa. Edwards
announced three ways that his approach to trade
would differ from that of the Bush administration:
-
Establish an International
“Right to Know.” Edwards announced his
support for measures requiring big companies to
disclose whether their overseas plants engage in
abusive labor and environmental practices. He
also said he supported requiring companies to
disclose when they have moved U.S. jobs
overseas, including call centers. These
disclosures would be required on bills or on the
Internet, he said.
-
Open Foreign Markets to
Iowa Goods. Edwards also announced his
support for aggressive measures to open foreign
markets to Iowa’s agricultural products. He said
he would ensure that China does not re-impose
regulations on soybeans that effectively blocked
U.S. imports for three months in 2002. Edwards
said he would take the case all the way to the
World Trade Organization if necessary. In
addition, Edwards also said he would ensure that
Mexico opens its market to corn syrup, as
already required by a WTO ruling striking down
Mexico’s 20 percent tax on corn syrup imports.
-
Include Strong Labor and
Environmental Standards in Trade Deals.
Edwards said he would only negotiate trade
agreements that include labor protections like
the core labor standards of the International
Labor Organization, including the right to
organize and prohibitions on slave and child
labor. Edwards also said he would include strong
enforcement mechanisms, such as provisions
treating foreign imports produced in highly
abusive conditions as “hot goods” that could be
blocked at the border. Edwards specifically
criticized chapter 11 of NAFTA, which allows
foreign investors to challenge U.S.
environmental laws in secret tribunals. While
President Bush has opposed these standards,
Edwards said they must be included in new trade
deals such as the Free Trade Area of the
Americas.
The Third Jewish candidate
Wesley Clark who recently
learned of his Jewish heritage found it was
beneficial as he campaigned in Lieberman’s Florida
country. His appearance was so well attended that
it put in doubt Lieberman’s vulnerability in the
state. The Miami Herald reported a huge crowd
formed in a Jewish center to listen to Clark as he
expressed some news that the community might not
agree with:
He called the Bush administration's approach to
the Middle East ''halfhearted,'' and said he
supports Israel's right to establish security
through preemptive strikes.
But as for the fence being constructed by Israel
in the West Bank, Clark cautioned that ''you've
got to be very mindful'' of the Palestinians'
rights.
''You don't want to construct a fence that's going
to be prejudicial to the ultimate ability to
resolve the problem through negotiations,'' he
said.
Is Dean hiding something?
Joe Lieberman attacked Howard
Dean's effort to seal records from his term as
Vermont's governor. The response comes from Dean’s
comment on "Good Morning America" today that he
will unseal his records when George W. Bush
unseals his.
"Howard Dean likes to present himself as a
straight talker. But he took an extra long walk
from straight talk when he sealed his records as
governor and recalled his letters from state
agencies just to avoid potential political
embarrassment. That's not the way to build public
trust -- especially after three years of
secret-keeping and information-blocking by George
W. Bush.
"Governor Dean said today he'd release his records
when George W. Bush released his. Well, it turns
out that George W. Bush's records from Texas are
in fact available to the public. So I hope
Governor Dean will honor his word and unseal his
words and letters and the rest of his records as
Governor of Vermont."
This story also ran in the
Boston Globe where Lieberman also criticized
his opponents Howard Dean and John Kerry:
Dean's fervent antiwar rhetoric, Lieberman said,
was "sending very uncertain signals on security
and defense" to the electorate. And he said
Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, another
Democratic contender, was "just changing his mind
as he goes along" on Iraq policy.
USA Today reports that Judicial
Watch will file a law suite to open the records:
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, says the
group is likely to file a lawsuit soon against the
archivist and secretary of state to gain access to
the papers.
Lieberman’s family agenda
Kicking off a new "Valuing
Families Agenda" today, Joe Lieberman pledged to
help families in New Hampshire and across the
country with skyrocketing health care costs.
Lieberman said he would give the details of his
plan over the week. He offered insights into the
plan’s assistance with jobless insurance and
child-care.
"And for those workers who are anxious about their
job security in this jobless recovery, I am making
this basic promise -- you will never lose your
health insurance just because you lose your job.
Period," Lieberman promised, saying that his
KeepCare initiative would provide a 65 percent
refundable, advanceable tax credit to help workers
with COBRA premiums if they lose their job.
Stopping at Merrimack Valley Day
Care Service in Concord, Lieberman discussed "MediKids,"
which would cover children from birth until age
25, and would also be modeled on the federal
employees' health care system. Parents would
choose from a menu of private health care plans
that offer comprehensive care for reasonable
premiums and the government would keep costs down
by capping profits for insurance companies.
"When I'm President, newborn babies won't go home
just with a name and a birth certificate,"
Lieberman said. "All American children -- rich or
poor -- will have health insurance that stays with
them from birth all the way to age 25.
In New Hampshire, it costs an
average of $6,500 to send a four-year old to a
childcare center for a year. Under Lieberman's
plan, there would be no cost for the neediest
families, and middle class families will buy in at
a sliding scale. The plan will also create a new
network of school based health centers across the
country to bring care directly to students, and a
$150 billion American Center for Cures, to speed
the development of cures for chronic diseases that
afflict children and adults.
Going in style
The NY Post carried a story on
Al Sharpton’s travel:
"The Rev. Al Sharpton's long-shot presidential
campaign is sparing no expense when it comes to
travel and dining — even though it's nearly broke…
"Despite having just over $24,000 on hand and
owing more than $177,000, Sharpton is touring the
country in style, according to the most recently
available campaign financial data… A single July
jaunt to the luxury Four Seasons in Los Angeles
cost $7,343.27 — more than 5 percent of the total
$121,314.60 campaign cash Sharpton raised in the
third quarter.”
"Sharpton told The Post he is on a $200-a-day
stipend from his campaign for hotel expenditures,"
but that many of the "stops coincided with various
events sponsored by organizations that will
reimburse him later… A campaign source told The
Post Sharpton is fond of saying he 'grew up living
with cockroaches, and he doesn't want to live with
them anymore.' .. Sharpton is expected to request
public matching funds in which taxpayers match up
to $250 per individual contribution to the
campaign. ..."
Candidate payouts
Campaign Finance will be sending
out checks Jan. 2 to those Presidential candidates
who are participating. The government matches the
first $250 of each private donation received by
primary candidates who accept an overall $45
million spending limit, up to about $18.7 million.
Taxpayers pay for the program by checking a box on
their income-tax returns to direct $3 to it.
The largest first
taxpayer-financed payments will go to Democratic
hopeful Wesley Clark who expects about $3.7
million, followed by rival Joe Lieberman with
about $3.6 million. Other approximate payments
are: Sen. John Edwards - $3.4 million; Rep. Dick
Gephardt - $3.1 million to $3.2 million; Lyndon
LaRouche - $840,000; and Al Sharpton - $100,000. A
total was not immediately available for Rep.
Dennis Kucinich. Carol Moseley Braun, is not
expect to make the deadline. That means she would
get her first government payment in February;
Braun's campaign hopes for about $300,000 then.
Honesty drives them mad
National Review's Adam Wolfson
explores the reasons why liberals loathe President
Bush, and he thinks he has come up with the
answer. Bush doesn’t believe in the perfectibility
of (wo)man.
"Almost all modern liberal thought begins with the
bedrock assumption that humans are basically good.
Within this moral horizon something such as
terrorism cannot really exist," writes Wolfson.
Yet the president "calls the terrorists 'killers'
and 'evildoers,' and speaks of an 'axis of evil,'
" and his directness is reflected in his foreign
policy. None of this sits well with those delicate
liberal sensibilities. "The Left vilifies Bush
because he insists on calling a spade a spade, and
in so doing threatens to bring down their entire
intellectual edifice," Wolfson concludes.
Laura to Afghanistan
Laura Bush is thinking of going
to Afghanistan, the NY Times reports:
In a brief exchange with reporters at the North
Portico, where the tree had just arrived in the
traditional horse-drawn cart, Mrs. Bush said that
she would like to go to Iraq, as her husband did
on Thanksgiving, but that she would "really like"
to go to Afghanistan.
The White House says the trip is
in the early planning stages and if it takes place
it would be in the Spring.
We won’t win
Hillary Clinton is back and she
is portraying we can’t win in Iraq, and we need to
do something different to win. That something
different involves the Democrat panacea of the
United Nations. The
Washington Times covers various sources of
where Hillary has been making the rounds:
"I think an exit strategy, unfortunately, is being
driven by our political calendar, not necessarily
what's in the best interest of a long-term, stable
Iraq," she said.
Mrs. Clinton also told AP that military personnel
with whom she had spoken wanted to know "how the
people at home feel about what we are doing."
Mrs. Clinton said she told the troops, "Americans
are wholeheartedly proud of what you are doing,
but there are many questions at home about the
administration's policies."
While the criticism of Hillary
is always strong, she is in for it in ways
probably not received before -- this time it is
about her, and not her husband. Former Political
consultant to the Clintons, Dick Morris lays her
out in an editorial run in the
NY Post:
Sen. Clinton will do anything she can to attract
attention and, where possible, divert it from the
Democrats who are really running for president.
But this trip, at this time, in this manner, in
that place was wrong politically and morally.
The Washington Times also
reports that Hillary has now earned the moniker of
‘Tokyo Hillary’ and ‘Hanoi Hillary,’ as well.
Shadow Democrat
Party
MSNBC First Read reports
that the Democrats have figured out how to
coordinate all of that uncoordinated funding that
they are not supposed to know anything about:
Today’s Wall Street Journal considers “a shadow
Democratic Party — an alliance of nonprofit groups
that hopes to raise $200 million to mobilize
voters and run ads slamming Republicans. It took
months of struggle for the Democrats’ allies to
figure out how to coordinate the left’s efforts,
while abiding by the new law and not offending the
party’s unruly constituencies.” Note that a lead
coordinator of the “shadow” effort has joined the
Dean campaign.
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