Wednesday, April 25, 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... "You never get a second chance to make a first impression unless you're in politics. In this elongated campaign season, there are third and fourth chances, opportunities to "re-set" a campaign slow to get off the starting block. "This brings us to Sen. John McCain who today officially announces his presidential campaign -- not to be confused with the announcement he made on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' in March or his 'Straight Talk Express' tour two weeks later." Full story here. "I'm not the youngest candidate. But I am the most experienced. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not do. I know how Congress works, and how to make it work for the country and not just the re-election of its members. I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it." PROGRAMMING NOTE: John McCain joins CNN's Larry King for an exclusive first interview after officially entering the presidential race. LKL, 9 pm ET. Also, "federal investigators in Arizona faced unexpected obstacles in getting needed Justice Department approvals to advance" the Renzi investigation. "The delays, which postponed key approvals in the case until after the election, raise new questions about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations." (Wall Street Journal) President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) BUSH AND CHENEY CALL OUT DEMS FOR "POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM": In separate appearances that served as a prelude to an inevitable veto showdown, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney accused Democrats of political opportunism in forging ahead with a $124 billion measure that sets a timetable for leaving Iraq. "Instead of fashioning a bill I could sign, the Democratic leaders chose to further delay funding our troops, and they chose to make a political statement," Mr. Bush said Tuesday morning before leaving for New York. "That's their right. But it is wrong for our troops and it's wrong for our country." Mr. Cheney was even tougher as he spoke to reporters after a private weekly lunch for Republican senators. He lashed out at Senator Harry Reid of Nevada... "What's most troubling about Senator Reid's comments yesterday is his defeatism," said Mr. Cheney. "And the timetable legislation that he is now pursuing would guarantee defeat. Maybe it is a political calculation." New York Times: Bush and Cheney Chide Democrats on Iraq Deadline DEMS OFFER TOUGH LANGUAGE, NIXON COMPARISONS FOR BUSH: Emboldened congressional Democrats have turned up their rhetoric when talking about President Bush, comparing him to Richard M. Nixon and using sharp language that conjures up images of secluded dictators. "The president's in his bunker on both the war in Iraq and Attorney General Gonzales," Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said yesterday. "What everyone else sees clearly he doesn't see at all, and that's a real problem for our country." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada advanced the same idea, saying: "The president is as isolated, I believe, on the Iraq issue as Richard Nixon was when he was hunkered down in the White House." Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic caucus, has labeled Mr. Bush's war strategy the "fairy tales and rose-colored glasses plan for Iraq." Washington Times: Democrats hone adjectives to vilify Bush TILLMAN FAMILY, LYNCH DECRY PENTAGON PR: The Pentagon lied to create heroes from Iraq and Afghanistan, former Army private first class Jessica Lynch and the brother of former NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman told a House committee Tuesday. Kevin Tillman, who served in a Ranger unit with his brother, and Lynch testified as part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's investigation into inaccurate accounts of the battlefield actions of Lynch and Tillman. Army Spc. Bryan O'Neal, who had been in a nearby convoy when Tillman was killed by "friendly fire," testified that he was ordered not to tell Kevin Tillman how his brother died on April 22, 2004. Lynch was badly wounded in Iraq in 2003; Pat Tillman, a corporal, was killed in Afghanistan. USA Today: Accounts of Lynch, Tillman cases called 'fiction' "PARTISAN WITCH HUNT" OR "OVERDUE" RETURN TO OVERSIGHT? Over the course of only 15 minutes today, three congressional committees will consider subpoenas for half a dozen officials from the White House and the departments of Justice and State. On the list is former presidential chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr., Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Justice Department liaison to the White House Monica M. Goodling, a key figure in the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Republican leaders call it a "partisan witch hunt." But Democratic lawmakers, and even some Republicans, say it is an overdue return to their constitutional role of executive-branch oversight. Since Democrats assumed control of Congress in January, they have hired more than 200 investigative staffers for key watchdog committees. They include lawyers, former reporters and congressional staffers who left oversight committees that had all but atrophied during the six years that the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. Washington Post: Revival of Oversight Role Sought KUCINICH INTROS ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT FOR CHENEY: After hinting for weeks that he would initiate impeachment actions against the Bush administration, Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich [Tuesday] introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. Kucinich said Congress should oust Cheney from office for purposely fabricating intelligence in the runup to the Iraq war, thereby deceiving some in Congress and the public into believing war was necessary. He also said Cheney manipulated intelligence about purported links between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al-Qaida, the group responsible for 9/11. And more recently, said Kucinich, unveiling his three articles of impeachment at a news conference across from the Capitol, Cheney threatened aggression against Iran when Iran has not threatened the United States. Plain Dealer politics blog: Kucinich: Cheney deceived Americans and must be impeached ROBOCALL "SHENANIGANS": State investigators here are still trying to figure out who sabotaged Scott Kleeb's campaign for Congress last November with a barrage of automated telephone calls to voters. The unauthorized calls, officials said, distorted Mr. Kleeb's views and even used a recording of his voice - sometimes arriving in the middle of the night - with the greeting: "Hi, this is Scott Kleeb!" Several Nebraska state lawmakers were so outraged by the shenanigans that they are pushing legislation that would impose some of the country's most restrictive regulations on prerecorded campaign calls, both bogus and legitimate ones. Similar bills are in the works in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and at least a dozen other states, prompted in large part by telephone calls authorized by campaigns during last year's elections. New York Times: States Seek Limits on 'Robocalls' in Campaigns RENZI STEPS DOWN FROM MORE COMMITTEE POSTS: In another sign that Rep. Rick Renzi (R) is facing a political crisis, the Arizonan removed himself Tuesday from his two remaining committee seats as well as a program run by the National Republican Congressional Committee used to raise money for incumbents in competitive districts. Renzi is under federal investigation, and a family business owned by his wife was raided Thursday by the FBI. While it has been known since at least October 2006 that Renzi was under a preliminary investigation, few details of the probe had been made public. The Wall Street Journal first reported Saturday that Renzi is facing scrutiny for allegedly trying to engineer a federal land swap by pressuring a local mining business, Resolution Copper, to buy land owned by a friend and business associate, James Sandlin. In a statement Tuesday, Renzi denied any wrongdoing. "For several weeks, I have been the subject of leaked stories, conjecture, and false attacks about a land exchange. None of them bear any resemblance to the truth," he said. Roll Call: Renzi Drops 2 Panels DOJ DENIES "FOOT-DRAGGING" IN RENZI CASE: As midterm elections approached last November, federal investigators in Arizona faced unexpected obstacles in getting needed Justice Department approvals to advance a corruption investigation of Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, people close to the case said. The delays, which postponed key approvals in the case until after the election, raise new questions about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations. The Arizona U.S. attorney then overseeing the case, Paul Charlton, was told he was being fired in December, one of eight federal prosecutors dismissed in the past year. The dismissals have triggered a wave of criticism and calls from Congress for Mr. Gonzales to resign. Investigators pursuing the Renzi case had been seeking clearance from senior Justice Department officials on search warrants, subpoenas and other legal tools for a year before the election, people close to the case said. The Justice Department denied any foot-dragging in the Renzi case. Wall Street Journal: Delays in Renzi Case Raise More Gonzales Questions "LUKEWARM STATEMENT OF SUPPORT" FOR AG: Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa issued a lukewarm statement of support on Tuesday night for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, declining to call for him to step down but saying that he has "mixed feelings" about Gonzales keeping his job. Gonzales is taking heat from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress in connection with the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Grassley demanded to know why Gonzales kept changing his story on why the prosecutors were dismissed. Grassley had said he wanted to hear Gonzales speak before he made a decision on whether to continue supporting him. President Bush since the hearing has expressed his confidence in Gonzales. Des Moines Register: Gonzales has tepid support of Grassley WILL CBC CONTINUE WITH FOX DEBATE? Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are pushing their leadership to withdraw from an agreement with Fox News to sponsor a Democratic presidential primary debate on Sept. 23 in Detroit. Spurred by liberal activist groups such as MoveOn.org, the three Democratic presidential frontrunners, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), have withdrawn from the debate, citing what they call Fox News's conservative bias. "I do think that the CBC should seriously consider pulling out because Fox almost always chooses the opposite position of our caucus and members are continuously badmouthed on there," a member of the black caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), said. "That would be my position inside the caucus. However, I in the final analysis would support the caucus's decision." The Hill: CBC is split over quitting debate on Fox UNEXPECTED UNDERDOG: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., today will officially enter the 2008 race for the White House. That's no surprise. He's essentially been running for months. What is a surprise is that McCain, 70, for the second time finds himself the Republican underdog. While candidate McCain in 2000 was a rowdy anti-establishment maverick who outpaced expectations, this time he is running an underachieving, traditional, deliberative campaign. As he arrives in New Hampshire for today's announcement, McCain is the No. 1 spokesman for President Bush's politically unpopular Iraq war. He is No. 2 in national polls of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, behind front-running former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. His $13.1 million first-quarter fundraising total was lethargic compared with the other top-tier Republican and Democratic candidates. Many allies and supporters of his 2000 effort have abandoned him. Arizona Republic: McCain takes new tack THE AGE QUESTION: Senator John McCain has backpacked down one side of the Grand Canyon and up the other. When he's in Washington, he works as many as 16 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week -- then does the same on the campaign trail. Displays of stamina may be commonplace over next 18 months for the 70-year-old Arizona Republican, who plans to formally announce today that he is running for president. As the oldest candidate in the race, McCain is laboring to allay concerns about his age -- an issue that, along with his unwavering support of the Iraq war, may be his biggest obstacle. If elected in 2008, McCain would become, at 72, the oldest man ever to assume the presidency. The current record-holder, Ronald Reagan, was 69 when he took office in 1981. Bloomberg: McCain Seeks `Antidote' to Age Concerns as He Launches Campaign UNTIL RECENTLY, OBAMA GAVE "COMPARATIVELY LITTLE" TO CHARITY: Giving, service and compassion are recurrent themes on the campaign trail for Sen. Barack Obama, but the Democratic presidential contender has only recently dug deep into his own pockets to support charitable causes. Obama has enjoyed a robust household income throughout his political career in the Illinois Senate and the U.S. Senate. But for most of that time he has reported comparatively little by national standards in charitable contributions on his tax returns, records released by Obama show. Chicago Tribune: For Obama, charity really began in the U.S. Senate OBAMA SAYS COMMITMENT TO ISRAEL'S SECURITY IS UNWAVERING: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday tried to reassure Jewish voters concerned about his Muslim ties, arguing that his commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Speaking to the National Jewish Democratic Council, the Illinois senator said his experience living in Indonesia for four years as a child and his ability to speak to Muslims could make him a better president. "If I go to Jakarta and address the largest Muslim country on earth, I can say, 'Apa kabar,' - you know, 'How are you doing?' - and they can recognize that I understand their common humanity," Obama said. "That is a strength, and it allows me to say things to them that other presidents might not be able to say. And that's part of what's promising, I think, about this presidency." Obama's stepfather was Indonesian, and the future senator lived in the country from ages 6 to 10. AP via Yahoo! News: Obama tries to reassure Jewish voters RUDY WARNS OF NEW ATTACKS: Rudy Giuliani said if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001. But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped. "If any Republican is elected president —- and I think obviously I would be the best at this —- we will remain on offense and will anticipate what [the terrorists] will do and try to stop them before they do it," Giuliani said. The Politico: Giuliani warns of 'new 9/11' if Dems win DODD "FRUSTRATED" BY LACK OF ATTENTION: [Sen. Chris] Dodd is struggling to be heard in a primary race dominated by Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois. Only former senator John Edwards of North Carolina has managed to match Clinton and Obama in headlines on occasion -- even though the Democratic field includes one senator in addition to Dodd, a former senator, a highly popular governor with a golden resume, and a well-known representative who's a darling of the far-left. After a visit last week to a fire station in Nashua, Dodd was met with silence when he asked whether any of the firefighters had questions for him. "It's a chance to pick on the senator," he said, egging them on, but still elicited no response. Boston Globe: Out of spotlight, Dodd runs on hope MORE COLBERT-RELATED PROBLEMS FOR WEXLER: Shocking news out of Florida! Nearly nine months after Rep. Robert Wexler (D) said that cocaine and prostitutes are fun things to do, someone wants to take the lawmaker's job. Imagine that! No one in the political world has forgotten Wexler's comments to Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert last summer, especially Democrat Ben Graber, who announced last week he is challenging the sixth-term incumbent in the 2008 primary. Graber, an OB/GYN doctor who has held political offices in Florida, told Under the Dome yesterday that the comments were not themselves the reason why he got into the race. But will he be using the Wexler-Colbert interview as political ammo on the campaign trail? Oh, yeah. Graber, who is apparently not the kind of guy to let a gag go unpunished, suggested Wexler may not have been joking when, egged on by Colbert, he looked into the camera and said he enjoys cocaine and prostitutes "because it's a fun thing to do." The Hill: Wexler cocaine comment may haunt him |
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• Thompson's 'Law and Order' colleague predicts pres...• Kucinich takes steps to impeach Cheney • Kennedy: Cheney 'deadly wrong' • Gilmore to announce his presidential bid Thursday • First New Hampshire presidential debates set • Obama expresses support for Israel • Gore supporters discuss potential presidential run... • Kucinich to move ahead with Cheney impeachment art... • Reid: Cheney is Bush's 'attack dog' • Cheney: Reid declaring Iraq war 'lost' to gain pol... SUBSCRIBE
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