Monday, December 04, 2006
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... "A source close to Clinton said a decision about whether to file papers with the Federal Election Commission will be made within a month or so," reports the New York Post. President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) INSIDE PENTAGON, CALLS FOR MORE MONEY AND MANPOWER FOR IRAQ: As demands mount to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, a growing number of senior military officials are arguing that the only way to salvage the situation is to add more U.S. forces and more U.S. money. Outside the military, most of the debate is focused on a U.S. troop withdrawal. But inside the Pentagon, the recent dismissal of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has given some new life to arguments by military officers who say the U.S. must pour more troops and money into the country to expand the Iraqi army -- the one institution in Iraq that has shown some promise -- and stabilize the capital. Right now there are about 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Though there are no firm plans for an increase, some military officials said that as many as 30,000 more troops could be needed. Most of the U.S. troops would be focused on patrolling Baghdad and training the Iraqi Army. Wall Street Journal: Why Military Calls to Raise Iraq Effort Grow RUMSFELD MEMO "USEFUL" AND "CONSTRUCTIVE," SAYS HADLEY: President Bush's national security adviser said a leaked memo from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, which lists redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq as a potential alternative to current administration strategy, was "constructive" but not a formal proposal by the outgoing Pentagon chief. "It was a useful and constructive memo, but it was not a proposal for a new course of action," Stephen J. Hadley said during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It was much more a list of things that needed to be considered."... Although Mr. Hadley twice described the Rumsfeld memo, written the day before last month's elections, as a "laundry list," he said Mr. Bush agrees that a change of course in Iraq is necessary. Washington Times: Hadley calls leaked memo 'constructive' GATES' "CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY... UNLIKELY TO DERAIL" CONFIRMATION: When President George H.W. Bush nominated him to lead the CIA in 1991, Robert M. Gates was at 47 the youngest intelligence professional to achieve that distinction. But during his Senate confirmation hearings, Gates -- a brilliant, smooth-operating Soviet specialist -- lost some of his luster. CIA colleagues came forward to testify that he had kowtowed to the wishes of his superiors and had manipulated intelligence to suit White House policy. Questions also arose about his involvement in the Reagan-era Iran-contra scandal... With bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for quickly putting the war under new command, Gates's controversial history is by all accounts highly unlikely to derail his confirmation after a single hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday. Washington Post: For Defense Nominee, Echoes of Old Questions THE "BULLYING OF A RUMSFELD" AND "INTELLIGENCE CHERRY-PICKING OF A CHENEY": Gates appears to some an odd choice, given the Pentagon's rocky and occasionally divisive atmosphere under Rumsfeld. For much of Gates' career, critics and even some admirers have likened him to the imperious Rumsfeld and his close administration ally, Vice President Dick Cheney. "Gates was making it clear to analysts what intelligence they were to produce," said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a nonprofit institute that gathers and analyzes declassified documents. "It's a chilling record, because you have two main themes of the Iraq war present in Robert Gates' career at CIA: the arrogance and bullying of a Rumsfeld and the intelligence cherry-picking of a Cheney." Los Angeles Times: Hints of a Rumsfeld-ian style ANTI-WAR DEMS WILL BE SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL IN NEW MAJORITY: Although given little public credit at the time, or since, many of the 126 House Democrats who spoke out and voted against the October 2002 resolution that gave President Bush authority to wage war against Iraq have turned out to be correct in their warnings about the problems a war would create. With the Democrats taking over control of the House next January, the views that some voiced during two days of debate four years ago are worth recalling, since many of those lawmakers will move into positions of power. They include not only members of the new House leadership but also the incoming chairmen of the Appropriations, Armed Services, Budget and Judiciary committees and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Washington Post: Democrats Who Opposed War Move Into Key Positions LAWMAKERS LOOK TO LEAVE TOWN BY WEEK'S END: Despite a hefty workload that includes keeping the government from shutting down and approving a new Defense secretary, Congressional leaders now say they are on track to wrap up the final days of the Republican-led 109th Congress just in time to dash out of town by the end of this week. "With noses to the grindstone - and maybe a few slugs of heavily spiked eggnog - the Senate can finish its work by late [this] week," Eric Ueland, chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), said Friday. Barring any last-minute complications - and in past years, lame-duck Congresses have run into many of them - the road to adjournment appears clear in both chambers, now that House and Senate appropriators basically have acceded to passing a "clean" continuing resolution to keep the government funded until Feb. 15, and Senate leaders look ready to speed the nomination of Robert Gates to be Defense secretary through committee and floor votes this week. Roll Call: 109th Likely to Close by Friday GOP WILL LEAVE DEMS "STUCK WITH THE TAB": Republicans intend to conclude the 109th Congress this week and leave Democrats stuck with the tab in the form of unfinished spending bills as the days of Republican rule draw to a close on Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders said election losses had sapped Republican enthusiasm for trying to finish nine spending measures that were due Oct. 1. Congress will instead pass a stopgap measure to keep the government running until mid-February, leaving the fiscal tangle for the new Democratic majority to sort out next year. Republicans will, however, try to record some final accomplishments as they intend to adjourn by Friday. They would like to extend a number of popular tax breaks rather than see Democrats get credit for restoring them next year. House Republicans also plan to try to push through an expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling opportunities and will take a symbolic anti-abortion vote before Democrats, many of whom support abortion rights, take control in January. New York Times: Lawmakers Wrapping Up Session but Leaving Loose Ends CONGRESS WILL TRY AGAIN ON IMMIGRATION: Congress will approve an immigration bill that will grant citizenship rights to most of the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the U.S. after Democrats take control next month, predict both sides on Capitol Hill. While Republicans have been largely splintered on the issue of immigration reform, Democrats have been fairly unified behind the principle that the illegals currently in the country should get citizenship rights without having to first leave the country... Democrats in both chambers say they will start with some form of legislation first drafted by Sens. John McCain, Arizona Republican, and Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, which was the basis for the bill that was approved earlier this year by the Senate. Washington Times: Congress open to passing bill on immigration BUSH MAY SEEK TO ALLOW DRILLING OFF ALASKAN COAST: President Bush is considering whether to lift the 17-year-old moratorium on energy drilling in the waters off southwestern Alaska, a White House spokeswoman said Sunday, which would allow oil and gas companies to try to tap into more than five trillion cubic feet of natural gas that lies beneath rich fishing grounds. The push to market oil and gas leases in these waters, which oil and gas companies favor, is part of a larger national effort to expand domestic supplies of fossil fuel by opening up areas of the outer continental shelf, long off-limits to energy development. Last summer the Interior Department recommended reopening several areas of the outer continental shelf, including the southern part of Bristol Bay, which lies just north of where the Aleutian Islands meet the Alaskan mainland, to energy exploration. New York Times: Bush Mulls Resumed Energy Drilling Off Alaska BAYH ANNOUNCES HE'LL FORM '08 EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE: Although a final decision is still weeks away, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said Sunday that he is creating a presidential exploratory committee to take the "next logical step" toward running for president in 2008. The former two-term governor said he would announce his decision early next year after talking with his family, assessing the political realities and evaluating his vision for the future. "It's going to be a gut determination about whether I believe I have what it takes to lead this nation during difficult times," Bayh, 50, told reporters after making his announcement on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." "More than anything else, I think we need someone who can unite the American people in the common cause of building our nation. And that's not happening in Washington today." Asked how he could compete against such political celebrities as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Bayh acknowledged that they would have a big advantage if they decide to run. Indianapolis Star: Bayh primes for 2008 presidency CLINTON DISCUSSING BID, INTERVIEWING STAFF: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is holding discussions about and interviewing potential campaign staff for a White House bid in 2008, sources say. Clinton, a Democratic senator for New York and former first lady, was re-elected to a six-year term in the Senate in a landslide last month. "She said before the election that after the election she would be considering a presidential run," said Howard Wolfson, a senior Clinton adviser. "Part of that process is seeking the advice and counsel of her colleagues in New York." Wolfson said the senator has been holding private conversations with New York Democrats concerning a White House bid. Another source close to Clinton told CNN she has begun interviewing potential campaign staff. One New York Democrat, who asked to not be named, said he was recently called by a senior Clinton team member. While it was not flatly said that Clinton had decided to run for president, "it was pretty clear," the source said. CNN: Hillary Clinton discussing presidential bid DECISION TO FILE PAPERS "WILL BE MADE WITHIN A MONTH OR SO": Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer yesterday as part of a vigorous new effort to line up support for a possible presidential run. "As Sen. Clinton said, she was going to begin actively considering a presidential run after the [mid-term] election. That process has begun," said her adviser, Howard Wolfson. A source close to Clinton said a decision about whether to file papers with the Federal Election Commission will be made within a month or so. Her one-on-one with Spitzer in his Fifth Avenue apartment is part of an accelerating effort to court state powerbrokers. New York Post: HILLARY WOOS ELIOT QUESTIONS OF "CROSSOVER APPEAL" DOG HILLARY: Call it the front-runner's paradox. While Hillary Rodham Clinton tops every national poll of likely 2008 Democratic presidential contenders, the New York senator is dogged by questions of "electability" — political code for whether she can win enough swing states to prevail in a general election. It's a gauge typically applied to Democrats, as few question the crossover appeal of the GOP front-runner, Arizona Sen. John McCain. And for activists eager to recapture the White House after eight years of George W. Bush, electability remains a crucial yardstick by which Clinton, especially, seems to be measured. AP via Yahoo! News: Clinton dogged by 'electability' questions OBAMA'S "MAYBE" FORCES "QUICKENING OF THE PACE" AMONG HOPEFUL DEMS: Senator Barack Obama's announcement that he might run for president is altering the early dynamics of the 2008 Democratic nominating contest. The move has created complications for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as she steps up her own preparations and is posing a threat to lesser-known Democrats trying to position themselves as alternatives to Mrs. Clinton, Democrats said Sunday. The declaration six weeks ago by Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat, has set off a surge of interest in Democratic circles, which party officials expect will only be fueled in the coming week as Mr. Obama prepares for a day of campaignlike events in New Hampshire next Sunday. At the least, Mr. Obama's very high-profile explorations have contributed to a quickening of the pace across the 2008 Democratic field. New York Times: Early 'Maybe' From Obama Jolts '08 Field 110TH SESSION WILL BE "CAREER ENHANCEMENT HAZARD" FOR '08 SENATORS: For senators with presidential aspirations, 2007 looms like a potential minefield. The schedule alone is a career enhancement hazard. When Congress returns under Democratic control in the first week in January, the House and Senate will be tied up with spending bills and other legislation left over from this year as well as an ambitious agenda set by new Democratic congressional leaders... The likely candidates next year face votes on appropriations, budgets and trade - all of which present potential pitfalls in a presidential campaign. Congress also could consider immigration and Social Security legislation, two issues that attract widespread public interest as well as alarm. Hanging over all that will be Iraq. AP via Yahoo! News: Senate will be tough on 2008 hopefuls VILSACK IN NEVADA: Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack jetted Sunday from his home in the first presidential caucus state to what is scheduled to be the second, touching down briefly in Nevada as he resumed his campaign announcement tour. The new Democratic player in the early nominating sweepstakes also took pains to signal to party activists in Iowa and New Hampshire that he will honor their traditions as leadoff states. "It's important for the people of Iowa and New Hampshire to know that we're going to spend a lot of time in both of those states," Vilsack said before meeting with local Democratic officials in Las Vegas Sunday afternoon. Vilsack was making his fifth trip this year to Nevada, after a brief stop in Iowa halfway through his ceremonial campaign kickoff. Aides said he was also the first presidential candidate in history to include the state on his official campaign launch. Des Moines Register: Vilsack's tour jets to Nevada after stop in Iowa EDWARDS, CLARK STILL IN THE RED FROM '04: Democrats John Edwards and Wesley Clark have debts of several hundred thousand dollars from their unsuccessful White House bids in 2004, a burden as they consider presidential runs in 2008. Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, had about $2,200 in his campaign account at the end of September and more than $300,000 in unpaid bills from his failed campaign for his party's nomination. Clark, who has said he will decide in the next few months whether to run again, had about $390,000 left from the last campaign and debts totaling more than $260,000. According to the Federal Election Commission, candidates are not obligated to pay off debts from a past presidential campaign before starting a new one. In the case of Edwards and Clark, their 2004 committees will stay open until the debts are retired, but the men are free to begin fundraising for 2008. AP via Yahoo! News: Edwards, Clark carry debt from 2004 bids |
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