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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
CNN Political Ticker AM
For the latest, breaking political news, check for updates throughout the day on the CNN Political Ticker. All politics, all the time.

Compiled by Stephen Bach
CNN Washington Bureau

Making news today...


  • A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds "deepening pessimism on Iraq, even as many Americans are reluctant to limit money or troops for the war effort. Only 28% say the United States will probably or definitely win the war, down from 35% in December and the lowest since the question was first asked in September 2005." (USA Today)

  • Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) acknowledged yesterday that she contacted" former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias "to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigations." (Washington Post)

    Wilson released a statement this morning:

    "My call was not about any particular case or person, nor was it motivated by politics or partisanship. I did not ask about the timing of any indictments and I did not tell Mr. Iglesias what course of action I thought he should take or pressure him in any way. The conversation was brief and professional..."

    "I never discussed this matter or anything related to Mr. Iglesias' performance as U.S. Attorney with the Justice Department at any time. The Administration's decision to dismiss David Iglesias was made without input from me and no one in the Administration asked for my input."

  • Michael Battle, the senior DOJ official who gave the "unusual bad news" to seven U.S. attorneys in December that they were being dismissed, "announced that he plans to leave the Justice Department for private practice but stressed that his resignation was not connected to the controversial personnel changes." (Buffalo News)

    Also, former MD federal prosecutor Thomas M. DiBiagio says "he was forced out in early 2005 because of political pressure stemming from public corruption investigations involving associates of the state's governor, a Republican."

    DiBiagio came forward yesterday because "he was concerned about what he saw as similarities with the recent firings of eight United States attorneys." (New York Times)

  • At least 19 states "are zeroing in on Feb. 5 next year" for a "megaprimary," "creating a single day that could determine the major party nominees at a historically early point in the process." (Boston Globe)

  • "Fresh off their battle for the hearts of black Americans, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are about to go head to head for Jewish votes." The candidates will hold "dueling receptions" at next week's AIPAC conference. (New York Daily News)

  • Rudy Giuliani "asked for privacy on Monday to deal with strained relationships within his family, including the estrangement between his son and his third wife." (AP)

  • And is there a future on K Street for ex-Rep. Bob Ney after he completes his 30-month prison term? Find out in Hot Topics below!

    President's Schedule:

  • The President addresses the American Legion this morning at 10:05 am ET at the Renaissance Hotel in DC.

    This evening Mr. and Mrs. Bush welcome King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan for a private dinner at the White House. They'll greet the King and Queen at the North Portico at 6:50 pm ET.

    Also on the Political Radar:

  • The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a 9:30 am ET hearing on care, living conditions, and administration of outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Witnesses include Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, and Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, the Army's Surgeon General.

  • The Senate Judiciary Committee meets at 10 am for a hearing, "Preserving Prosecutorial Independence: Is the Department of Justice Politicizing the Hiring and Firing of U.S. Attorneys?" Witnesses include former U.S. Attorneys H.E. "Bud" Cummins, III (AR), David C. Iglesias (NM), Carol Lam (CA), and John McKay (WA).

    The former prosecutors will also testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing at 2 pm ET.

  • EMILY's List hosts its annual Women in Power luncheon at the DC convention center, honoring Speaker Nancy Pelosi and featuring Sens. Hillary Clinton (NY), Amy Klobuchar (MN), and Claire McCaskill (MO).

  • Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) addresses a morning session of the Federation of American Hospitals 2007 Public Policy Conference and Business Expo.

  • At 12:30 pm ET, McCain and Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) attend the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference.

  • Mitt Romney hosts a "meet and greet" at the Knoxville Airport Hilton at 12:30 pm ET.

  • The Senate Radio-Television Correspondents' Gallery Daybook

  • The House Radio-Television Correspondents' Gallery Daybook

    =================================================================
    Political Hot Topics

    (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country)

    POLL FINDS "DEEPENING PESSIMISM" ON IRAQ: A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows deepening pessimism on Iraq, even as many Americans are reluctant to limit money or troops for the war effort. Only 28% say the United States will probably or definitely win the war, down from 35% in December and the lowest since the question was first asked in September 2005. The share of people who now call the war a mistake is 59% - the same as September 2005 and the highest level in the 58 times the question has been asked since the war began... Six in 10 people said they want Congress to set a timetable to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2008. Three-quarters said Congress should require that U.S. troops come home if Iraqi leaders don't keep pledges to reduce violence, and that U.S. troops have at least a year's stay in the USA between deployments to Iraq. USA Today: Only 28% think U.S. will win in Iraq

    FULL POLL RESULTS (via USAToday.com)

    PELOSI FACING "REVOLT" ON IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing a full-blown revolt from liberal House Democrats over the $98 billion Iraq supplemental bill, according to Democratic insiders. Anywhere between 50 to 75 Democrats are now threatening to vote against the bill because it doesn't go far enough toward ending the war, including setting a date certain for withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, said the sources. Pelosi and Democratic leaders are expected to postpone markup of the Iraq bill in the House Appropriations Committee by at least a week in order to buy time to resolve the matter. The Politico: Liberal Democrats Revolt on Iraq Spending Bill

    WEBB BILL WOULD MAKE BUSH ASK CONGRESS BEFORE USING FORCE ON IRAN: Freshman Sen. James H. Webb Jr. yesterday introduced legislation to force President Bush to seek congressional authorization before using force against Iran. Democratic leaders, who indicated general support for the Virginia Democrat's plan last week, are still deciding whether they will attach it to an upcoming spending bill. "This presidency has shot from the hip too many times for us to be able to trust it to act on its own," said Mr. Webb, a decorated Vietnam veteran who won a hotly contested Senate race last fall in part because of his opposition to the Iraq war. "We need the Congress to be involved in any decision to commence military activities absent an attack from the other side or a direct threat." Washington Times: Webb bill limits Iran fight

    COMMANDERS OFFER "PROFUSE APOLOGIES" AT HOUSE WALTER REED HEARING: Senior commanders of the Army offered profuse apologies yesterday for the poor treatment accorded many soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but lawmakers expressed skepticism that the generals had been unaware of the problems until they were spotlighted by the media two weeks ago. Congress opened a round of investigative hearings into the Walter Reed scandal only days after a major shakeup at the Army that followed Washington Post reports about squalid living conditions and bureaucratic tangles for soldiers receiving outpatient care. Walter Reed's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, and Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey lost their jobs, and the Bush administration has established several panels to investigate the care being provided to wounded soldiers. Washington Post: Apologies, Anger at Walter Reed Hearing

    NEW LATIN AMERICA POLICY AIMED AT COUNTERING CHALLENGE FROM CHAVEZ: President Bush arrives [in Sao Paulo, Brazil] on Thursday with an energy partnership plan to create jobs and decrease poverty and inequality, a marked shift in Washington's priorities for Latin America aimed at countering the challenge posed by President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Since 1990, when Mr. Bush's father was in the White House, United States policy toward the region has focused on free-trade agreements and related economic measures, with a secondary emphasis on drug interdiction. But the growing leftward and anti-American trend in regional politics, led by Mr. Chávez - who plans a countertour to coincide with Mr. Bush's trip - has led to a modified agenda and a renewed effort to rebut complaints by Latin Americans that the president has ignored their concerns in favor of the campaign against terrorism. New York Times: Bush to Set Out Shift in Agenda on Latin Trip

    DOCTORS FIND DVT IN CHENEY'S LEFT LEG: Doctors found a blood clot in Vice President Dick Cheney's left leg Monday, Cheney's office said. The vice president was given blood-thinning medication, which he will need to take for several months, and allowed to return to work, his office said. Cheney visited his doctors at George Washington University after experiencing slight pain in his left calf, according to his spokeswoman, Megan McGinn. Doctors performed an ultrasound and found a deep venous thrombosis, or DVT. Complications from DVT kill up to 200,000 people in the United States each year, but the clots can be easily treated through medication. "It can be a serious problem, especially untreated. Treated, it is very manageable, and the risk of a major problem on the proper treatment is small," according to Dr. Sean O'Donnell, director of vascular surgery at the Washington Hospital Center. CNN: Cheney treated for blood clot in his leg

    VERIZON, SALLIE MAE PULL ADS FROM COULTER'S WEBSITE AFTER CPAC REMARK: At least three major companies want their ads pulled from Ann Coulter's Web site, following customer complaints about the right-wing commentator referring to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot." Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia-based NetBank each said they didn't know their ads were on AnnCoulter.com until they received the complaints. A diarist at the liberal blog DailyKos.com posted contact information for dozens of companies with ads on Coulter's site after the commentator made her remarks about Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Friday. CNN: Companies to pull ads from Coulter's Web site

    REP. WILSON CALLED NM PROSECUTOR: Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.) acknowledged yesterday that she contacted a federal prosecutor to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigations, as the Senate ethics committee signaled that it had opened a preliminary inquiry into a similar communication by her state's senior senator, Pete V. Domenici (R). Wilson denied allegations from former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias that she pressured him to speed up a political corruption investigation involving Democrats in the waning days of her tight election campaign last fall. "I did not ask about the timing of any indictments and I did not tell Mr. Iglesias what course of action I thought he should take or pressure him in any way," Wilson said in a statement to The Washington Post. "The conversation was brief and professional." Washington Post: Second Lawmaker Contacted Prosecutor

    BEARER OF BAD NEWS FROM DOJ WILL STEP DOWN: Michael A. Battle, formerly the top federal prosecutor in Buffalo and now a senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice, called several U.S. attorneys from across the country Dec. 7 and gave them some unusual bad news. It was time for them to resign. Little noticed at the time, the unprecedented purge of eight of the nation's 94 U.S. attorneys has caused a huge uproar in Washington that is culminating today in hearings on both sides of Capitol Hill. Democrats are alleging that the fired prosecutors, Republicans all, lost their jobs for political reasons. Meanwhile, Battle on Monday announced that he plans to leave the Justice Department for private practice but stressed that his resignation was not connected to the controversial personnel changes. Asked why he was resigning, Battle said, "Opportunity." He will be joining Washington office of Fulbright & Jaworski, a top international law firm. Buffalo News: Role of Battle in attorney purge precedes his exit

    FMR. MD PROSECUTOR SAYS HE WAS FORCED OUT BECAUSE OF POLITICS: The former federal prosecutor in Maryland said Monday that he was forced out in early 2005 because of political pressure stemming from public corruption investigations involving associates of the state's governor, a Republican. "There was direct pressure not to pursue these investigations," said the former prosecutor, Thomas M. DiBiagio. "The practical impact was to intimidate my office and shut down the investigations." Mr. DiBiagio, a controversial figure who clashed with a number of Maryland politicians, had never publicly discussed the reasons behind his departure. But he agreed to an interview with The New York Times because he said he was concerned about what he saw as similarities with the recent firings of eight United States attorneys. New York Times: Former Prosecutor Says Departure Was Pressured

    LOBBYING "NOT LIKELY" IN NEY'S FUTURE: Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) is not likely to seek a position as a lobbyist after he completes his 30-month prison term, and he will probably not even return to Washington, D.C. In a candid interview with The Hill on Feb. 28, the evening before he reported to a federal prison in West Virginia, Ney said he is very inclined to rule Washington out for the future. "Not lobbying - let me stress that," said Ney. "My family's in Ohio, and that would tend to be where I want to be." Ney spoke about how his family, his staff and his outlook on life have been affected by his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal that led to his quick descent from power over the past six months. The Hill: Apologetic Ney says return to D.C. unlikely after jail sentence

    FEB. 5, 2008, MAY BE "MEGAPRIMARY": States with more than half the nation's population are zeroing in on Feb. 5 next year to stage their presidential primaries, creating a single day that could determine the major party nominees at a historically early point in the process. At least 19 states have moved or are considering moving their primaries to the first Tuesday in February -- contests that would follow earlier ones in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. If only the 10 largest of the 19 states move their primaries to Feb. 5, more than half the American population will have a chance to go to the polls on the same day, creating a one-day election that would become the prime focus of the campaign. Boston Globe: States may force megaprimary, winnow the 2008 field early

    HILLARY CLINTON, "THE NURTURING WARRIOR": To watch Mrs. Clinton up close during these "rollout" weeks of her presidential campaign is to see a familiar political figure try to reclaim her name. "I'm Hillary Clinton, and I'm running for president," she says at campaign appearances. Lamenting that her public image has been distorted by caricature, she often says, "I may be the most famous person you don't really know." In the cliché of contemporary politics, Mrs. Clinton is "reintroducing herself to the American people." She is, in this latest unveiling, the Nurturing Warrior. She displays a cozy acquaintance ("Let's chat") and leaderly confidence ("I'm in it to win it"). She is a tea-sipping girlfriend who vows to "deck" anyone who attacks her; a giggly mom who invokes old Girl Scout songs and refuses to apologize for voting for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. Her aim, of course, is to show that she is tough enough to lead Americans in wartime but tender enough to understand their burdens. New York Times: Listening and Nodding, Clinton Shapes '08 Image

    HILLARY, OBAMA TO HOLD "DUELING RECEPTIONS" AT AIPAC CONFERENCE: Fresh off their battle for the hearts of black Americans, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are about to go head to head for Jewish votes. The leaders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 plan dueling receptions Monday when an influential pro-Israeli lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, holds its major Washington policy conference. The competing receptions are one more sign of the intensifying scrum between Clinton and Obama over key Democratic interest groups, highlighted Sunday by near-simultaneous civil rights speeches in Selma, Ala. New York Daily News: Hil & Bam gear up for battle over Jewish vote

    GIULIANI ASKS FOR PRIVACY TO DEAL WITH FAMILY TENSION: Republican presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani on Monday characterized tension with his son Andrew as a challenge arising from his remarriage and said he hoped to be able to work on the relationship privately. "These problems with blended families are difficult sometimes," the former New York mayor told reporters in Monterey Park, adding that "the more privacy you can have with something like this … the easier you're going to get it resolved." In a New York Times article, Andrew Giuliani said that he had a rocky relationship with his father, and that he had a problem with Judith Nathan, whom his father married in 2003 after divorcing Andrew's mother, Donna Hanover. The Duke University sophomore said that he did not intend to campaign for his father, preferring to focus on a professional golf career. Los Angeles Times: Giuliani addresses tension with his son

    SHARPTON TRAVELS TO SC TO EXPLORE ROOTS: The Rev. Al Sharpton traveled Monday to Strom Thurmond's birthplace to visit the grave of a Thurmond relative who held one of Sharpton's ancestors as a slave. Sharpton's trip to this rural town also included a visit to a cemetery where slaves are buried in graves marked only by small stones. He urged all blacks to explore their histories despite "the ugly things it might reveal." The civil rights leader recently learned of his family's link to that of Thurmond, a segregationist who later softened his stance before he died in 2003. When he found out, Sharpton called it "probably the most shocking thing in my life" and wants a DNA test to see if their families were linked by blood. Professional genealogists working for Ancestry.com found that Sharpton's great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond's great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed. AP via Yahoo! News: Sharpton traces S.C. family roots
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