Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Bayh says he can unite Americans
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On the same day he officially formed a presidential exploratory committee, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, told CNN Wednesday he is capable of uniting Democrats, independents and Republicans in a "politics of common purpose."
"That's not happening today," Bayh told Wolf Blitzer on 'The Situation Room.' "But it's something I've demonstrated repeatedly an ability to do, and it's something I think we're going to need in the next president." Bayh, the son of Sen. Birch Bayh, served two terms as his state's governor before winning a Senate seat in 1998. He is also a former leader of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. Bayh also said he has nearly $11 million available for a presidential race, but estimated the cost of a campaign at $25 million to $50 million. The Indiana Democrat said he is confident Democratic donors will sign on to his centrist message. Senate Armed Services Committee approves Gates nomination
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After just one day of testimony, the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday unanimously approved Robert Gates' nomination to be the next defense secretary and sent it on to the full Senate.
The panel's chairman, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., announced the committee's decision early Tuesday evening, at the end of a closed session. Earlier in the day, Gates testified in a public session, telling senators he believes "the status quo isn't acceptable" in Iraq. Bayh officially forms presidential exploratory committee
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Evan Bayh became the fifth politician to take formal steps towards a presidential run Tuesday, officially forming a presidential exploratory committee. But the Indiana Democrat said he would not decide on a formal run until after the holidays.
"As I have said previously, I will talk to my family over the holidays and make a final decision and an announcement after the first of the year," Bayh said. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, and former New York GOP Mayor Rudy Giuliani have also formed presidential exploratory committees. Iowa Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack decided to bypass this initial step and officially declared his candidacy last week. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney Ahead on CNN
4 p.m. ET, The Situation Room
-Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and conservative commentator Bill Bennett will discuss defense secretary nominee Robert Gates' hearings. -Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, will discuss his potential presidential run. 5 p.m. ET, The Situation Room -Former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Georgia, will discuss the latest condition in Iraq. -Gen. William Caldwell will discuss the Gates confirmation hearing. House Republicans pull Gulf offshore drilling bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republicans abruptly pulled from floor action Tuesday a bill to open a large area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling after it became clear the
legislation lacked the two-thirds vote needed for passage. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, was to have been one of the last major legislative achievements of this session of Congress. It would open 8.3 million acres of the Gulf that is now off limits to drilling and also steer hundreds of millions of dollars of federal royalty payments to four Gulf coast states -- a windfall for Louisiana, which would get about half the money. Republicans leaders gave no reason for the decision, but an aide to a lawmaker strongly upporting the legislation said that a number of Republicans withdrew their support at the last minute and some Democrats also had signaled they would not support the measure. Gates clarifies 'not winning' comments
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Concerned his earlier remark that the U.S. is not winning in Iraq would be misconstrued by troops on the ground, defense secretary nominee Robert Gates said he said was "concerned the troops in the field might have misunderstood what I said."
"I want to make clear that pertains to the situation in Iraq as a whole," Gates said. "Our military forces win the battles that they fight. Our soldiers have done an incredible job in Iraq, and I'm not aware of a single battle that they have lost. "The situation is clearly much more complex than just the military action," Gates said. Snow warns against placing 'unfair burden' on Iraq Study Group
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday that any suggestion the Iraq Study Group report would provide "a magic bullet" to end the conflict in Iraq "is probably placing an unfair burden" on the bipartisan commission.
"They're taking a look at a highly complex situation," Snow said during the White House Daily briefing. "No doubt, whatever recommendations are made by the Hamilton-Baker commission, by (Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman) Pete Pace, by the NSC, by the State Department, you're still going to need to continue to make adjustments based on the facts on the ground." Snow said none of the reviews of policy coming in, including the ISG report, would predicate a change in the U.S. mission in Iraq, which is and will remain "an Iraq that can govern, sustain and defend itself." Cheney to preside over Frist's farewell speech
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney will be on hand Thursday when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, delivers his farewell speech on the Senate floor. Cheney -- the president of the Senate -- will preside over the Tennessee Republican's formal goodbye to the chamber after 12 years of service.
Originally elected to the Senate in 1994, Frist ascended to the majority leader post in 2002. On the campaign trail with potential '08ers
Brownback heads to Iowa Tuesday
Who: Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas What: Delivers remarks at the Linn County GOP Dinner Frist warns against 'abandoning' Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A day before the Iraq Study Group is set to release its recommendations, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, has called on his colleagues to reach a bipartisan agreement on a way forward in Iraq. But the Tennessee Republican warned that any signal the U.S. is 'abandoning its mission' could significantly destabilize the region.
"Any change in policy, however, that would diminish the flexibility of our commanders on the ground or sends a message to the enemy that the U.S. is abandoning the mission could have devastating consequences for the stability of the Iraqi government and the long term security of the Middle East, our coalition partners, and the United States.," Frist said Tuesday in a statement. The Iraq Study Group is slated to meet with Frist and other Senate leaders Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. -- an hour and a half before the full report is released. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Gates: Syria, Iran will have role in 'long-term stability' of Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Syria and Iran will influence the "long-term stability" of Iraq, said the president's pick for the next secretary of defense, Robert Gates, who added that "we need to look at ways, whether with incentives or disincentives, to bring them to be constructive" about the country on their border.
Gates said he did not yet have ideas about how to do that. McCaskill listens in on Gates hearings
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Incoming freshman Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri who will sit on the Armed Services Committee in the next Congress, monitored the Robert Gates confirmation hearing for about two hours Tuesday from a seat in the hearing room two rows behind the nominee.
Just before the hearing started she approached the dais and introduced herself to her new Democratic and Republican colleagues. But one committee member who was notably absent at the time was Sen. Jim Talent, the Republican who McCaskill beat in a hard-fought election during which Iraq policy was a key campaign issue. Talent didn't show up until the hearing was well underway. Shortly before it was Talent's turn to question Gates, McCaskill and an aide slipped out of the crowded hearing room. Asked by a reporter what she thought of Gates's answers, she said she was both "encouraged he said all options are on the table" and that it "took him almost two hours to use the phrase cut and run." -- CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett
Gates: Iraq 'one of' the main battlefronts in war on terrorism
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraq is "one of the central battlefronts" in the war on terrorism, said Robert Gates, the president's nominee for secretary of defense.
A second front, he said, is a "more dispersed threat" from groups spread over various parts of the world. Edwards taps former Rep. to lead potential campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Rep. David Bonior, a one-time leader in Congress who has close ties to labor unions, has signed on to manage a future John Edwards presidential campaign.
Edwards hasn't announced a repeat of his 2004 presidential bid yet, but an Edwards adviser said Thursday that Bonior will run the effort if Edwards decides to run. In the meantime, Bonior has signed on as a senior adviser to Edwards' leadership PAC, the One America Committee. Bonior represented Detroit's northern suburbs for 26 years in the House, rising to be the No. 2 Democrat before stepping down in 2002 for an unsuccessful campaign for Michigan governor. Vilsack would remove U.S. troops from Baghdad
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Tuesday he favors removing most American troops from Baghdad and southern Iraq while maintaining smaller a security force in northern Iraq for a limited period.
Vilsack, who announced last week he would seek the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, said Iraq may have to endure a period of heavy violence following an American troop redeployment, but that it was the only way to force the Iraqi government to make the hard decisions about restoring order to the fractured country. "It's tough love, no question about it," Vilsack told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview. "It may very well require them to go through some chaotic and very difficult times for them to finally decide it is not in their interest to continue down that road." Pataki says he will decide on White House run soon
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Brushing aside recent poll numbers that indicate he trails nearly all other GOP presidential contenders, New York Gov. George Pataki told CNN Monday he would make a decision soon on whether to seek the White House in 2008.
"It's something I have to not just think about, talk to my family about, and then make a decision," Pataki told Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "I expect within the next few weeks I'll decide one way or the other what to do here." Pataki also indicated he would not be swayed by early polls showing he significantly trails front-runners Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and former New York GOP Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "If people had taken a poll in 1993 about who is going to be the next governor of New York, I don't know if I would have gotten one percent," the three-term governor said. "I was virtually unknown. But when you work hard, when you have good ideas, and the proper vision, in this case for New York State, you can overcome wherever you might be in the polls." -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Gates: Iranian president lying about nuclear ambitions
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The president of Iran is lying when he says Iran is not moving toward nuclear weapons capability, said Robert Gates, the president's choice for secretary of defense.
Gates: Troop level decisions will depend on situation
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Any decision on troop levels in Iraq "has to be tied to the situation on the ground in some respect," said defense secretary nominee Robert Gates.
Gates also said that a military solution alone would not win the war in Iraq, and the Iraqi government must make some "difficult decisions." Boxer says no to further environmental rollbacks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Environmental rollbacks from the Bush administration "in the dead of the night" are history, the Senate's incoming environment chairwoman said Tuesday.
"That's over. We are going to bring these things into the light," Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said in a wide-ranging interview laying out her agenda with The Associated Press. She cited concerns about a host of new Bush administration rules on air, land and water quality. "Some of the things are so outrageous that when they hit the light of day, you'll see people back off," she said. "And that's something I do, and I will do. The oversight function of this committee is going to be very important to me." Boxer, who takes over the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January, anticipates fireworks as early as Wednesday when the outgoing chairman, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., holds a last hearing portraying the news media as fanning global warming alarmism. Congressmen to push for ethics reform
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- They may sharply disagree on a variety of issues, but a handful of prominent senators and representatives are uniting Tuesday in a bipartisan push for ethics reform.
Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, Joe Lieberman, D-Connecticut, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, will hold a press conference to call for sweeping lobbying, ethics, and earmark reform in the next Congress. The senators will be joined by Reps. Chris Shays, R-Connecticut, and Marty Meehan, D-Massachusetts. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Hoyer to discuss Democratic agenda for the 110th Congress
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland will hold a press conference with reporters Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. to discuss his upcoming agenda for the 110th Congress. Check back with the Ticker for Hoyer's comments
Bush meeting with Iraq Study Group set
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will meet with the full Iraq Study Group at 7 a.m. Wednesday, the White House said Tuesday.
The meeting, expected to last an hour, will come four hours before the full report is made public. The president is expected to make a statement following the briefing. -- CNN's Tim McCaughan
Gates: U.S. not winning in Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's nominee to be secretary of defense said Tuesday he does not believe the United States is winning in Iraq. Robert Gates answered a simple "no" when incoming Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin asked if the United States was winning the war.
Gates also said he is "open to new ideas" in policy and strategy for the Iraq War and that "all options" are on the table. House Democratic leadership to hold press conference following Iraq forum
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Democratic leaders will hold a press conference Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET following a planned forum with military leaders on the situation in Iraq. Incoming leaders including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, Democratic Caucus chair Rahm Emanuel, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair John Larson, will join Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi at the press briefing. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
George Mitchell denies he's being considered for U.N. post
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former Senate majority leader George Mitchell denied media reports Tuesday that he is being considered to replace John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, noting that President Bush will most likely "appoint someone who is a member of his party."
"It's got to be a pretty long list if I'm on it," he told CNN's "American Morning" on Tuesday. When asked who he thought Bush might be considering for the post, the Maine Democrat named Sens. George Allen of Virginia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, and Jim Talent of Missouri-- all Republicans and all of whom lost their reelection bids in November. Mitchell also suggested U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns -- a "very able guy" -- and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad -- "a very good man" -- might be considered for the position. Levin says Gates would face huge challenge in Iraq if confirmed
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Robert Gates, the White House choice to be the next defense secretary, will face a "monumental challenge" in correcting mistakes in Iraq, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Tuesday.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, said that Gates would face an array of problems should he be confirmed as expected to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld, and will have a duty to "speak truth to power" when it comes to giving advice on the war. "If confirmed as secretary of defense, Robert Gates will face nthe monumental challenge of picking up the pieces from broken policies and mistaken priorities for the past few years," Levin said at the opening of Gates's confirmation hearing. "First and foremost, this means addressing the ongoing crisis in Iraq." Congress takes up offshore drilling bill Tuesday
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress is making a final push to open a large area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, aware the Democratic majority next year is less likely to embrace new offshore energy development.
The House was to vote Tuesday on a Senate plan to open 8.3 million acres of the Gulf that is now off limits to drilling and also steer hundreds of millions of dollars of federal royalty payments to four Gulf coast states -- a windfall for Louisiana, which would get about half the money. The drilling bill is one of a string of measures House GOP leaders have readied for this week's "lame-duck" session under an expedited procedure that bars amendments, but also requires a two-thirds vote for approval. Environmentalists have lined up against the bill and some Republicans are cool toward the measure, favoring a more expansive offshore energy development plan that passed the House in June that would have lifted drilling bans along both the East and West coasts. Senate leaders said the House bill had no chance in the Senate. Clinton reaches out to Democratic activists in Iowa, New Hampshire
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun calling political operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire to discuss her prospects in the 2008 presidential field, her first outreach to operatives in key states with early contests.
The New York Democrat began making calls to New Hampshire activists over the weekend and Iowa Democrats on Monday. Bonnie Campbell, a former Iowa attorney general who served in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton, said she spoke to Clinton twice on Monday. Campbell's husband, Edward Campbell, is a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. "It was highly exploratory about '08," Campbell told The Associated Press. "She knows a lot about Iowa. I have already told her I would support her. We've known her for a very long time." Warner praises Gates
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Robert Gates, the nominee for secretary of defense, was described as "thoughtful, honest, experienced, no-nonsense, analytical and visionary" by the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will begin its confirmation hearings Tuesday morning.
CNN obtained a copy of the opening statement ahead of the hearing. Sen. John Warner, R-Va. borrowed his description from one he made in November 1991, when the full Senate assessed whether Gates was suitable to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Gates was approved, and served under President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush. "Bob Gates is a very thoughtful man, an honest man, an experienced official, a good analyst, a no-nonsense manager, and a man with a vision of the future direction of the role of U.S. intelligence," Warner said, reading his 1991 quote. "I reiterate those comments in the context of this nomination." -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel CNN Political Ticker AM
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... The Senate Armed Services Committee convenes at 9:30 am ET for a hearing on Gates' nomination. Clinton "began making calls Monday to Iowa Democrats about the state's political landscape," reports the Des Moines Register. Obama also "met with George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist, and then some other donors last night at Mr. Soros's offices," reports the New York Times. President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) GATES TO GO BEFORE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: President Bush said he nominated Robert Gates to be his next secretary of defense to provide a "fresh perspective" on Iraq, but it's not clear how the former CIA chief will influence administration policy on the war. Gates'confirmation hearing was scheduled Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, after an early morning send-off from Bush at the White House, with little sign that Democrats, poised to take control of Congress in January, will block his nomination to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld. In fact, key Democrats are eager to switch Pentagon chiefs as quickly as possible. Congress and the president are awaiting the recommendations on Wednesday of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission examining new approaches to the war. Until his nomination, Gates was a member of the commission, which is headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind. AP via Yahoo! News: Gates to go before Senate committee ISG PANELISTS GAVE MONEY TO CANDIDATES: A few members of the Iraq Study Group have made political contributions since they joined the bipartisan committee, with one panelist giving to a leading House Democrat who has embraced a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops. The contributions could be fodder for critics who disapprove of the group's final recommendations, even though the panel consists of five Democrats and five Republicans. Two months after the Iraq Study Group was launched, Leon Panetta contributed $500 to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the most outspoken House Democrat on the redeployment of troops in Iraq. Panetta is a former Democratic congressman who served as President Clinton's chief of staff. Other group members opened their wallets for politicians this fall, but most steered clear of endorsing candidates so publicly. The Hill: While on panel, Iraq Study Group members made political donations TOP SHIITE LEADER SAYS STRIKES AGAINST INSURGENTS "NOT HARD ENOUGH": President Bush yesterday told the leader of Iraq's largest Shiite Muslim party that the United States is not satisfied with the progress in Iraq and appealed for more help in fighting extremism and reconciling the country's increasingly fractured society. But in a speech after their hour-long meeting, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim countered that U.S. troops need to do more to fight the insurgency and denied that the Shiite militias are fueling the sectarian strife in Iraq. It was one of the starkest criticisms of U.S. military strategy by an Iraqi leader. "The strikes [the insurgents] are getting from the multinational forces are not hard enough to put an end to their acts, but leave them to stand up again to resume their criminal acts," Hakim said in a speech at the United States Institute of Peace. Washington Post: Iraqi Shiite Leader Speaks Bluntly in Washington BOLTON WILL LEAVE AS RECESS APPOINTMENT EXPIRES; EYE ON KHALILZAD: President Bush surrendered to congressional foes yesterday in his fight to install John R. Bolton as permanent ambassador to the United Nations, a harbinger of how the political world has changed since Democrats captured both houses of Congress. Bush circumvented Senate opposition last year, sending Bolton to the United Nations on a recess appointment, and administration lawyers in recent weeks had developed options to keep him there after that appointment expires this month. But officials said Bolton and the White House decided against provoking an early confrontation with Democrats as they take over Congress next month. As Bolton's resignation was announced, the White House deliberated on a new nominee, with attention focusing on Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Washington Post: U.N. Ambassador Bolton Won't Stay DEPARTURE MET "WITH RELIEF" AT U.N.: The announcement on Monday of John R. Bolton's decision to step down was greeted by United Nations officials with relief, while diplomats from other nations offered mixed assessments of his effectiveness during his 17 months as the American envoy. "'No comment,' he said with a smile," Mark Malloch Brown, the deputy secretary general, said over his shoulder to reporters as he hustled to a meeting. Mr. Malloch Brown had angered Mr. Bolton during the summer by accusing the United States of "stealth diplomacy" — turning to the United Nations when Washington needed it while showing public disdain for the institution. New York Times: At the U.N., a Mixed View of Bolton's Tenure NEXT PICK WILL TEST BUSH'S ABILITY TO WORK WITH NEW LEADERS: With the decision by incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to eliminate extended recesses next year until the traditional August break, it is unlikely that President Bush will have a chance to use his recess appointment authority to install a successor to outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. That sets the stage for a pivotal test of Bush's ability to work with Congress' new Democratic leaders as well as his commitment to renewing efforts with Congressional Republicans to present a more united front, GOP and Democratic aides said Monday. The selection and approval of Bolton's replacement "could be an important test," a senior Democratic leadership aide said Monday, warning that Bush has sent mixed signals to Democrats since the elections, on the one hand calling for bipartisanship while on the other hand sending a host of controversial nominations - including Bolton's - to the Senate. Roll Call: U.N. Pick to Test Bush, Hill ISRAEL TURNS TO PR EXECS, WANTS "MORE INVITING IMAGE": Israel's international image is hurting, and the country's top officials have turned to the wisdom of Madison Avenue in a bid to "re-brand" their product. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with public relations executives, branding specialists and diplomats in September in Tel Aviv to brainstorm about improving the country's image by using the marketing insights first developed to sell peanut butter and Pontiacs. Israeli officials complain that the international press gives the country a warlike image by focusing on its military might and the string of conflicts with its Arab neighbors. Mrs. Livni told the Tel Aviv gathering that she would like to project a more inviting image of the Jewish state. Washington Times: Israel embarks on PR face-lift HOPE FOR DC VOTING RIGHTS? UTAH APPROVES NEW FOUR-SEAT CONG. MAP: As expected, Utah lawmakers Monday adopted a new four-seat U.S. House redistricting plan, but only after a few legislators tried to carve up the map with eyes toward running for Congress or shoring up their own legislative seats. With Utah's action, all depends on Congress. But legislation giving Utah and Washington, D.C., each a new voting U.S. House seat is not on the House calendar for the four-day lame-duck session that adjourns Friday... Should Congress not act this week, Utah leaders said the state will still be ready with a better four-seat option when - or if - Congress gives the state another seat before the 2010 census. But hope springs eternal, especially in politics. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democratic delegate who represents the District of Columbia in the House, said giving up on the bill is not an option and Monday's action by the Utah Legislature will help push the bill along. Deseret News: 4th district map OK'd SCOTUS REVIEWS SCHOOL INTEGRATION PLANS: By the time the Supreme Court finished hearing arguments on Monday on the student-assignment plans that two urban school systems use to maintain racial integration, the only question was how far the court would go in ruling such plans unconstitutional. There seemed little prospect that either the Louisville, Ky., or Seattle plans would survive the hostile scrutiny of the court's new majority. In each system, students are offered a choice of schools but can be denied admission based on their race if enrolling at a particular school would upset the racial balance. At its most profound, the debate among the justices was over whether measures designed to maintain or achieve integration should be subjected to the same harsh scrutiny to which Brown v. Board of Education subjected the regime of official segregation. In the view of the conservative majority, the answer was yes. New York Times: Court Reviews Race as Factor in School Plans ON THE HILL, MORE BLACK MEMBERS IN POWER THAN EVER: The impending Democratic takeover of Congress will elevate more blacks to positions of power in the Capitol than ever: 4 major House committee chairmen, as many as 16 subcommittee chairmen, the third-ranking House Democratic leader and a senator considered a credible candidate for his party's presidential nomination. It is so much power that Representative Charles B. Rangel, the New York Democrat set to be chairman of the pivotal Ways and Means Committee, said he hesitated to speak about it publicly. "I don't want to scare the hell out of people," Mr. Rangel said, "that blacks are now in charge of the committees and so, therefore, watch out." New York Times: Black Lawmakers Set to Take Crucial Posts Face Pressure LAWMAKER UNDER INVESTIGATION BY FBI WILL HELP STEER FBI BUDGET: Representative Alan Mollohan, a West Virginia Democrat whose finances are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is in line to take over the House panel that sets the bureau's budget. Mollohan, 63, is the ranking Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Department of Justice, which includes the FBI. His party has a long-standing practice of awarding appropriations subcommittee chairmanships to senior members, and no other Democrat has announced plans to seek the post when the party assumes control of Congress next month. The pending appointment poses an ethical dilemma for incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 66, who helped her party take control of Congress for the first time in 12 years by vowing to clean up a "culture of corruption" on Capitol Hill. Bloomberg: Mollohan, Under FBI Probe, Is Poised to Control Bureau's Budget THE REGIONAL INSULT "MAKING A COMEBACK": The regional insult, a staple of trash-talking sports fans but rarely used these days by national politicians, is making a comeback. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who is slated to become chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, angered Mississippians when he asked last month, "Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?" Last week, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a vocal opponent of illegal immigration, said of Miami: "You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country." USA Today: Lawmakers' regional slams draw rebukes NASA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR PERMANENT MOON BASE AFTER 2020: NASA announced plans on Monday for a permanent base on the Moon, to be started soon after astronauts return there around 2020. The agency's deputy administrator, Shana Dale, said the United States would develop rockets and spacecraft to get people to the Moon and establish a rudimentary base. There, other countries and commercial enterprises could expand the outpost to develop scientific and other interests, Ms. Dale said. Ms. Dale and other officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the agency envisioned a base at one of the lunar poles, to take advantage of the near-constant sunlight for solar power generation. It would have an "open architecture" design to which others could add the capabilities they want. New York Times: NASA Plans Permanent Moon Base KS GOV TO LEAD DGA: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sibelius will assume the chairmanship of the Democratic Governors Association next year as the party enjoys its first gubernatorial majority in 12 years, officials said Monday. Sibelius, who was elected to a second term last month, will succeed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging an official announcement on Wednesday. Richardson is ending his two, yearlong terms as DGA chairman while weighing a bid for the presidency in 2008. Sibelius secured another term with 58 percent of the vote on Nov. 7. Her vice chairman will be West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III, who was elected in 2004. Sebelius has enjoyed a relatively high profile despite her state's second-tier standing in presidential politics and her relatively new status. As a Democrat leading a traditionally Republican state, she used her identity as a political moderate, her status as a farm-state governor and her gender to create political currency. AP via Yahoo! News: Kan. governor to lead governors assn. BROWNBACK FILES PAPERS, DASHES TO IOWA: For Sen. Sam Brownback, it was the first formal step in what could be a two-year marathon of campaigning for the ultimate prize in politics. "After much prayerful consideration," the conservative Kansas Republican said, he filed papers Monday with the Federal Election Commission creating a presidential exploratory committee. "I am running for America... to be of service in a crucial time of trial," Brownback said. He called the United States "a blessed nation at an important crossroads." His first campaign stop will be today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to be followed by visits to 10 states over the next month. Wichita Eagle: Eye on the presidency "I'M REALLY GOING TO GO FOR THIS," SAYS HILLARY: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday answered the question on everyone's mind - telling one New York lawmaker flat out: "I'm really going to go for this." Clinton dropped the much-anticipated presidential bombshell during a blitz of phone calls to home-state lawmakers, as well as a top moneyman, Attorney General-elect Andrew Cuomo, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. "She said to me, 'I'm really going to go for this. I'm going to make this effort,'" the New York lawmaker told The Post. "She never said she was running for the presidency of the United States or if she was going to announce - or anything like that," the lawmaker said, quickly adding, "It wasn't a question that needed to be asked. It was an obvious conversation." New York Post: "I'M GOING TO GO FOR THIS" CLINTON CALLS IOWANS: Sen. Hillary Clinton began making calls Monday to Iowa Democrats about the state's political landscape with an eye toward its 2008 presidential nominating caucuses, aides to Clinton said. The moves come as the New York senator has accelerated the steps she has taken since her November re-election toward making a decision about whether to run for president. "She's begun the process of making some calls into Iowa," Lorraine Voles, Clinton's communication director, said Monday in a telephone interview with The Des Moines Register. Des Moines Register: Clinton reaches out to Iowans about 2008 OBAMA RAISES $700K FOR CHARITY IN MANHATTAN: Illinois Sen. Barack Obama brought his flirtation with a presidential run to the home turf of presumed front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton last night, making a speech on poverty to swells who paid up to $2,500 to hear him. "We have an empathy deficit," Obama told the crowd at a fund-raiser for poor children. "It's time for a sense of empathy to infuse our politics in America. It is time to stop making excuses for inaction." The charismatic young lawmaker who has been likened to Bobby Kennedy spoke at a sold-out charity dinner in midtown that raised $700,000 for Kids In Distressed Situations. Perhaps coincidentally, his speech invoked Kennedy's famous 1967 trip to Mississippi to expose the horrors of child poverty in America. Obama (D-Ill.) recently took back his pledge to serve a full Senate term and said he was considering a White House bid, setting hearts aflutter among voters looking for fresh faces. New York Daily News: Obama's Prez-ence felt in Hil territory OBAMA MEETS WITH SOROS, BIG DONORS: Amid intensifying presidential musings by Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama met with George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist, and then some other donors last night at Mr. Soros's offices. One of the donors who met with Mr. Obama, and who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to offend Mrs. Clinton, said that he and several others had supported Mrs. Clinton's Senate campaigns but were not committed to her as a presidential candidate. "I like Hillary a lot, but I'm also impressed with Obama - his message, the way he connects to people," said the donor, a prominent New York business person. "It's a little too early for Democrats to be certain that Hillary is the strongest bet for 2008. There are a lot of good people interested in running." New York Times: Obama Meets Party Donors in New York |
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• Hagel to announce decision on presidential bid Monday• Does Tiger Woods have a political future? • AFL-CIO makes push to keep unions united behind one presidential candidate • Obama: "No place for politics" in voter intimidation • Muslim congressman talks up 'American values' in State Department outreach • Year of the 'smaller' Pig • Pataki joins law firm • Bush 'sad' about Libby's conviction • House Dems urge colleagues to fund a withdrawal from Iraq • Romney recruits from the Sunshine State ARCHIVE
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