Klobuchar endorses Obama

Another freshman Democratic senator has endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said on a conference call Monday that she had delayed her annoucement for nearly two months "because of my respect for both candidates" and that her decision reflected both the will of the state's Democratic caucus-goers and her own preference for the first-term Illinois senator.

But Klobuchar isn't among those calling for Clinton to get out before the party's national convention in late summer, which the New York senator says she won't do. "I believe that Sen. Clinton has every right to continue her campaign," Klobuchar said, but then predicted - without explanation - that the contest would resolve itself by early summer.

Klobuchar, her state's first female senator, acknowledged some struggle with not supporting the female candidate but said she thought Obama represented more substantive change, could better unify Americans and had a better chance of winning in the fall. She said both Clinton and Obama were gracious in their overtures to her. Klobuchar also said the only thing she asked Obama in return for her endorsement was to consider her 12-year-old daughter's offer to occasionally babysit for the Obamas' two girls if the family moves to Washington.

Fighting Words over McCain

While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton slug it out over the Democratic presidential nomination, their party leader is already fighting the general election war.

Presumptive Republican nominee earlier today issued his first general election campaign ad, which recalls his military service. To view the ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-QYIP7o2-A; http://johnmccain.com/service/

Soon afterwards, Democratic Chairman Howard Dean fired this blast: "John McCain can try to reintroduce himself to the country, but he can't change the fact that he cast aside his principles to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Bush for the last seven years.

"While we honor McCain's military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn't understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years."

Well. Republican National Committee Deputy Chairman Frank Donatelli wasn't going to let that go unanswered.

"It is beyond comprehension that Howard Dean would smear John McCain’s character by stating he is a ‘blatant opportunist.’ John McCain served our nation heroically and valiantly and it is absolutely unacceptable that the chairman of the Democratic National Committee would attack Senator McCain for discussing his record with the American people," Donatelli said.

And, he said, Dean "owes John McCain an immediate apology and both Senators Clinton and Obama should unequivocally denounce this disgraceful attack.”

No word yet from Democrats.....

Pa. Sen. Casey to endorse Obama

The endorsement from Pennsylvania's Democratic and freshman Sen. Bob Casey comes as presidential hopeful Barack Obama kicks off a six-day tour of the state. Heading into the April 22 primary, polls show Obama well behind rival Hillary Clinton. Casey, an abortion opponent, is one of a group of socially moderate-to-conservative Democrats elected in 2006.

Obama-Wright story is noticed...a lot

No story has gripped the public during this election season like the news about Barack Obama's relationship with former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Obama's speech last week on the subject.

A new Pew Research Center poll found that 85 percent of Americans heard at least a little bit about the speech, and 54 percent had heard a lot.

The effect on Obama's candidacy appears to be "mixed," the survey found. While 30 percent of those surveyed said their opinion of Obama had become less favorable, another 22 percent said their view of the Illinois senator improved.

The wide-ranging data tell several stories: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/777/obama-wright-news-interest

Obama 4, Clinton 2

It was Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, 4 to 2, in international competition.

The Democrats Abroad's Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) Regional Caucus, which took place March 15-16 in Brussels, split that way for the two candidates.

According to a statement from the group, "The elected delegates represent a diverse community, including an African American living in South Africa, a member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) community living in the Netherlands, a Native American living in Germany and an Arab American living in Lebanon."

The six delegates are:

Robert Bragar, an American living abroad in the Netherlands, pledged to Senator Obama
David Munir Nabti, an American living abroad in Lebanon, pledged to Senator Obama
Monica Faith Stewart, an American living abroad in South Africa, pledged to Senator Obama
Shari Temple, an American living abroad in Germany, pledged to Senator Obama
Margo Miller, an American living abroad in the United Kingdom, pledged to Senator Clinton
Allin "Chip" Seward, an American living abroad in France, pledged to Senator Clinton

Clinton not ready to give up on Fla.

Another day, another conference call with the Hillary Clinton campaign accusing rival Barack Obama of disenfranchising voters in Florida and Michigan.

Obama's camp opposes allowing Clinton's victories in those states to count toward delegates because it would amount to changing the ground rules -- the national party ruled last year that it would not recognize those primaries. His campaign has also raised objections to new votes in the two states.

Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer quipped that Obama was "turning the audacity of hope into the audacity of nope."

By Beth Reinhard of the Miami Herald

Obama posts old tax returns

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama this morning released his 2000-06 tax returns (.pdfs). Now the ball's in rival Hillary Clinton's court.

The Obama camp is suggesting Clinton's delay in making her returns public could mean she has something to hide about her husband's post-presidential income streams. Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, "We've put seven years of tax returns on the Internet today. We feel pretty good that that's a commitment to transparency and open government" and that the disclosure exceeds what either Clinton or Republican presidential nominee John McCain has volunteered.

Pressed on whether Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, will release returns dating back to 1997, when he entered the Illinois state Senate, Gibbs said he would "check on that."

Richardson endorses Obama

Governor Richardson Statement

Today I am endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States because I believe he is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world. As a Presidential candidate, I know full well Senator Obama's unique ability to inspire the American people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship and reconciliation.

Moreover, as a former ambassador to the United Nations and senior U.S. diplomat, I've had to deal with some of the world's toughest characters

–

from Saddam Hussein to North Korean generals to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. And there is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama has the judgment and courage we need in a Commander-in-Chief when our nation's security is on the line. He showed this judgment by opposing the Iraq war from the start, and he has shown it during this campaign by standing up for a new era in American leadership internationally.

Senator Clinton is a distinguished leader with vast experience. Her historic candidacy has also been a pleasure to witness. The 1990's were a decade of peace and prosperity because of the competent and enlightened leadership of the Clinton administration, but it is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward. Barack Obama will be a historic and a great President, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad.

Senator Obama Statement

Whether it was as a congressman or cabinet secretary, ambassador or governor, there are few more distinguished public servants in America than Governor Richardson, and I am deeply honored to have his support.

Governor Richardson has been one of our nation’s most effective governors, reaching across party lines to make progress for the people of New Mexico. As Governor, he has turned around New Mexico’s struggling economy, and fought to strengthen its middle class, offering tax relief for working families, creating over 80,000 new jobs and reducing unemployment to its lowest levels in 30 years

–

and he’s done it while being fiscally responsible and balancing the budget for five years in a row. And as energy secretary and governor, he has also been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.

But Governor Richardson hasn’t just been a leader in showing us what Americans can achieve here at home; he’s shown us what America can achieve in the world. Whether it’s fighting to end the Iraq war or stop the genocide in Darfur or prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists, Governor Richardson has been a powerful voice on issues of global security, peace, and justice, earning five Nobel Peace Prize nominations. And he knows that to secure American interests, we have to talk to our enemies, as well as our friends, which is why he stood up to North Korea and Saddam Hussein to secure the release of American hostages. And that’s the kind of tough, aggressive diplomacy we need to meet the new challenges of the 21st century.

Governor Richardson ran a spirited and historic campaign for the presidency. He was a leading voice for ending the war in Iraq and securing our nation’s energy future, and he advanced the dialogue on many of the most important issues facing our nation. He has a unique ability to connect with Americans across this country, and he was an informed, inspirational, and always civil voice on the campaign trail. And I look forward to fighting side-by-side with him in the months ahead to bring about real change in this country, and restore America’s leadership in the world.

from Margaret Talev

Richardson backs Obama

Former presidential rival and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, after being courted for months by both remaining Democratic presidential contenders, has endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. The Hispanic governor's endorsement is welcome news for the Obama camp after the repeated airing of videos from a few of Obama's former pastor's more controversial sermons on race in America cut into Obama's support from white voters and threatened his frontrunner status.

It couldn't have been an easy decision for Richardson. He was Bill Clinton's U.N. ambassador and energy secretary and the former president made a special trip earlier this year to New Mexico to watch the Super Bowl with his old friend in the hopes Richardson would back Clinton's wife.

Richardson's statement said that as a former ambassador and senior diplomat, "I've had to deal with some of the world's toughest characters - from Saddam Hussein to North Korean generals to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. And there is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama has the judgment and courage we need..."

He called Sen. Clinton "distinguished" with "vast experience" but said it was "time for a new generation of leadership."

Clinton senior adviser Mark Penn said he didn't consider the endorsement significant. "Perhaps the time when he could have been most effective is long since past."

Clinton widens lead over Obama in Pa.

Hillary Clinton has opened up a 16 percentage point lead over Barack Obama in the latest News 8/Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania poll. Her lead is similar to that found in other recent state surveys.

Clinton is counting heavily on winning the state's April 22 primary, and the F & M College survey, finds the percentage of Democrats with a favorable view of Obama has dropped 10 percentage points in the last month.

The survey was taken March 11 and 16, as controversy erupted over Obama's minister--but before Obama made his speech on race relations.

For a detailed look at the poll: http://www.wgal.com/download/2008/0320/15650191.pdf

McCain suspends aide over Obama-Wright video

The Politico reports that the campaign of Sen. John McCain has suspended a political aide for distributing a controversial Youtube video linking Sen. Barack Obama and his recently retired pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker told the newspaper that "We have been very clear on the type of campaign we intend to run and this staffer was in violation of our policy.

A Superdelegate explains himself

Roy Romer, former Colorado governor and Democratic party general chairman, is the most coveted of politicians these days, an uncommitted superdelegate to his party's August convention.

He won't tip his hand, but told reporters in Washington today that his decision will hinge on several factors:
--What do his constituents say?
--What is the national vote?
--What's good for the party and the nation?
Sounds like he's leaning to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who's ahead in the delegate count by most estimates.
No, said Romer, he's not going that far.

But he would not dismiss the notion that the 796 superdelegates could get together in June, after the primary and caucus season concludes, and talk about what to do.

"If in June someone wants to convene the groups within this party to get more clarity," he said, "I have no objection."

Another race-related malapropism

What is it about race that leaves normally loquacious politicians saying things that just aren't very smart?

First, we had Geraldine Ferraro, then a Clinton campaign surrogate, musing on how Barack Obama was so "very lucky" to be a black man running for president in America. She's no longer with the Clinton campaign.

Now, it's Claire McCaskill's turn. The Missouri senator, who's appeared in a national TV ad for Barack Obama, said of Obama in Thursday's Kansas City Star: "He, for the first time, I think, as a black leader in America, has come to the American people not as a victim, but rather as a leader."

Those familiar with the life and works of Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Macolm X, to name a but a few, may differ with McCaskill.

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt distanced the campaign from McCaskill's miscue: "Obama has said repeatedly he has deep and abiding respect for the many leaders who came before him and upon whose shoulders he stands."

UPDATE: McCaskill spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh weighs in with a prepared statement:

"This is a classic case where Claire simply misspoke. She's sorry it came out wrong. In her enthusiasm to applaud Barack Obama, it appeared that she was trying to diminish other black leaders. That was not her intention. Claire was electrically charged by Senator Obama's extremely candid speech about race in America. It was her intention to applaud Senator Obama, as a black politician with so much at stake, for being as honest as he was about such a controversial topic. She was particularly impressed that, while he recognized it, he did not dwell on those who felt like victims, but rather approached the discussion as a leader who was interested in moving our country forward".

Barack Obama's NCAA grid

Click to enlarge. Sen. Obama's choices for March Madness basketball.

Edwards out of the rat race

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama must be close to exhaustion from their endless race, but their one-time rival — former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards — looked tanned, rested and ready as he prepared for a different kind of race on Thursday.

Edwards, clad in jogging shorts and a T-shirt, was off for a jog in Los Angeles when he was spied leaving an elevator in the Century Plaza. Every hair was in place, as usual. He offered no comment on the Clinton-Obama marathon.

But it was all too obvious that he's no longer a major presidential candidate. No entourage accompanied him. No bodyguards were evident. In fact, as he walked through the hotel lobby, no one paid him any attention at all.

John Walcott, McClatchy Washington Bureau Chief

Obama gives major speech in Pa.

Here are the prepared remarks for Sen. Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia.

by Margaret Talev

Obama to give race speech

Democrat Barack Obama is planning tomorrow in Philadelphia to deliver "a major address on race, politics, and how we bring our country together at this important moment in our history" his campaign said this afternoon. This comes five weeks before Pennsylvania's primary, which Obama's presidential primary rival Hillary Clinton was predicted to win even before the controversy blew up last week over Obama's longtime pastor, the retiring Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Obama is still seeking to tamp down a frenzy over controversial sermons Wright, who is black, has given in recent years criticizing Hillary Clinton, the white political establishment and U.S. foreign policy decisions including support of Israel. Obama is repudiating Wright's comments and sought to suggest he didn't fully know this side of the man, although Wright performed his marriage and childrens' baptisms and served as a spiritual adviser, and until last week to some degree on an advisory panel on race issues to the campaign.

Obama on his pastor

The controversy over some of the retiring Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s sermons in recent years blew up big and fast this week, as some incendiary videotapes found their way to television news programs, and seem to be threatening to do enough damage to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign that Obama had to address it in more detail than he'd hoped. Obama posted this about a half-hour ago on The Huffington Post.

Clinton camp splits on whether Obama can win Pennsylvania in the fall

Hillary Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, thinks that if Barack Obama cannot win the Democratric primary in Pennsylvania, he also cannot win the key state in the general election.

By itself, it's an arguable point. Does he also mean that Clinton could not carry in the fall any state she could not win the primaries?  Like Missouri? Or Illinois?

But now Clinton's chief surrogate in Pennsylvania - Gov. Ed Rendell - weighs in to say that either one of the Democrats would carry the state in the fall, as Democrats Al Gore did in 2000 and John Kerry did in 2004.

"I think Sen. Obama, if he's the candidate, will run okay in some of those counties," Rendell said of Obama's appeal in parts of his state. "There's no question Hillary Clinton is a better fit for those counties, is a better fit for Southwest Pennsylvania. But I think either one of them is going to carry the state in the fall."

Future debates

Barack Obama has agreed to two more debates with Democratic presidential primary rival Hillary Clinton, his campaign said today.

The first will be in Philadelphia on April 16, hosted by ABC News. The second will be somewhere in North Carolina on April 19, hosted by CBS News. Pennsylvania ’s primary is set for April 22, and the North Carolina’s primary is in May.

by Margaret Talev

Show me your earmarks and I'll show you mine?

As Congress debates a moratorium on earmarks, those pork-barrel projects tucked into spending bills sometimes with little scrutiny or debate, Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign today released his earmark requests from 2005 and 2006, and reminded reporters he already had released last year's requests.

His point was to press primary rival Hillary Clinton to fully release her earmark requests, and to highlight Clinton's opposing some legislative efforts to make the process more transparent. In the meantime, the Obama earmark requests are interesting reading on their own.

Attention aspiring lefty filmmakers

If you are either a) so into Democrat Barack Obama that you're compelled to create a homemade 30-second political advertisement explaining why he inspires you; or b) willing to pretend you're that into Obama for the chance to have Oliver Stone, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and other Hollywood Obama-fan types see your video and scriptwriting skills, this may be the contest for you.

MoveOn.org today announced its "Obama in 30 seconds" television ad contest. It's a follow-up to its "Bush in 30 seconds" contest from four years ago, only this time the goal is not to be as sarcastic and critical as possible, but super-hopeful-enthusiastic.

Entries are due April 1. MoveOn says its political action committee will buy national air time to show the winning ad. The winner also gets $20,000 in video equipment. 

Group asks, should GOP also return money from senator linked to prostitute?

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asks today whether Republicans should have to return campaign contributions from Sen. David Vitter, R-La., since he acknowledged using a Washington escort service.

The group raises the question since Republicans this week demanded that Democrats return contributions from Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, caught using a call girl service.

The National Republican Congressional Committee - the party's political operation for U.S. House candidates - linked five New York Democrats to the Spitzer scandal because they had accepted contributions from him. 

The watchdog group said it does not advocate returning "legal campaign donations made by officials who broke the law when the contributions are in no way tied to the illegal activity.

"Nevertheless, we note that what is good for goose should be good for the gander."

The group noted that Vitter contributed to six House Republicans, four Senate Republicans, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Ferraro leaving Clinton campaign

NBC reports that Geraldine Ferraro is stepping down from Hillary Clinton's fund-raising finance committee.

Ferraro has been under fire from rival Barack Obama for telling a California newspaper that Obama has benefitted from his race.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Ferraro said in the interview. "And if he was a woman he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

Clinton has said she regrets Ferraro's comments.

Ferraro was the first woman on a national ticket when chosen as Democrat Walter Mondale's vice presidential running mate in 1984. She also said she would not have been chosen had she been a man.

Clinton: Obama's losing key groups

Hillary Clinton's campaign has an interesting new memo noting how Barack Obama is losing ground among key voting blocs, though the memo omits one key group, whites.

"In the last two weeks," the memo says, "Barack Obama has lost ground among men, women, Democrats, independents and Republicans - all of which point to a candidacy past its prime."

Among men, for example, the memo notes that Obama had won 68 percent in Virginia, 67 percent in Wisconsin, and 62 percent in Maryland, all a few weeks ago.

In a more recent contest, the memo says, Obama won 48 percent of men in Ohio. Notably, it did not comment on his standing among men in other later states. (For the record, he won 51 percent of the men in the Texas primary and 61 percent in Mississippi.)

Among independents, the memo states, Obama won 62 percent in Maryland, 64 percent in Wisconsin, and 69 percent in Virginia.

In more recent contests, his support among independents dropped to 49 percent in Texas and 53 percent in Mississippi.

The Clinton campaign noted similar drops among women, Democrats and Republicans in selected contests.

Without explanation, the Clinton campaign skipped Obama's lower support among whites.

For the record, Obama won 42 percent of the white vote in Maryland, and 52 percent in both Virginia and Wisconsin.

In more recent contests, his white support was 26 percent in Mississippi, 38 percent in Ohio and 44 percent in Texas.

GOP ties other dems to Spitzer call girl scandal

Just hours after news broke that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was caught on tape arranging the services of a call girl, Republicans are working to tar other Democrats with the scandal.

The National Republican Congressional Committee rushed out statements tying five House Democrats to the scandal because Spitzer contributed to their campaigns. 

In one release targeting Rep. John Hall, D-NY., the Republicans said that Hall "now finds himself ensnared in this heated story." Hall received a $1,000 contribution from Spitzer.

"Candidates like Hall can't run under the theme of change on the one hand while defending the politics of corruption on the other," said Ken Spain, a spokesman for the committee that handles political operations for House Republicans.

The committee offered no evidence that Hall or any of the other candidates had defended corruption.

Big Win for Obama?

Looks like Barack Obama's headed for a big win Tuesday in Mississippi--according to two polls.

The American Research Group gave the Illinois Senate a 24-percentage point lead over Hillary Clinton in its survey, taken Wednesday and Thursday. The InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll taken Sunday gives Obama a 17-point edge.

Take a look: http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres08/msdem8-701.html

Or: http://www.internetnewsagency.com/news_detail.aspx?sid=179

Tomorrow's primary is the last until Pennsylvania votes April 22.

North Carolina in Obama's corner?

Congressional districts will play a key role in North Carolina's Democratic presidential primary May 6.

Two thirds of the state's pledged delegates -- a trove of 77 -- will be distributed to either Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton based on the percentage of votes in the state's 13 congressional districts.

At Dome's request, Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling looked at the company's surveys, using area code as a proxy for congressional district. Here's a rough estimate of where each candidate is ahead, and the district representative:

By Ryan Teague Beckwith, Dan Kane and Bill Krueger, Raleigh News & Observer

"Monster" commentator resigns

Samantha Power, foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama, resigned today, after controversy grew about her reference to Hillary Clinton as a "monster."

" Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor, and purpose of the Obama campaign," she said in a statement reported by the Associated Press. "And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months."

Power had told a Scottish newspaper that Clinton was a "monster" who was "stooping to anything." Power at first said she was sorry, but Clinton officials noted this morning that when their surrogates or supporters made such remarks, they were quickly removed from the campaign.

Clinton's outraged over Obama backer's comment

The latest Clinton-Obama flap started when Samantha Power, a foreign policy adviser to Obama, was quoted in The Scotsman as saying Clinton "is a monster, too--that is off the record--she is stooping to anything."

Well.

"Getting down in the gutter like that and engaging in schoolkid name-calling is distasteful and inappropriate," protested Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., a Clinton backer, this morning.

"Personal attacks are not the way to convince voters you’re capable of being the president of the United States'" added Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. "We need to have a real civil discussion of the issues. People are in pain…we don’t need attacks on a person’s character."

Power apologized in a statement today, saying she "deeply regretted" the remarks.

"It is wrong for anyone to pursue this campaign in such negative and personal terms," she said.

But wait a minute...it was only yesterday that the Clinton campaign issued a memo comparing the Obama campaign to special prosecutor Ken Starr, who investigated charges that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment.

"Apparently, the Obama campaign's idea of new politics is to recycle the same old Republican attacks on Senator Clinton that have failed for years," the Clinton campaign said. "Imitating Ken Starr is not the way to win the Democratic nomination."

And wasn't it Clinton surrogates who earlier this year brought up Obama's drug use as a young man?

Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson explained that those who brought up drug use were removed from the campaign quickly, and their comments disavowed.

As for the Thursday Starr memo, he said, he was only responding to Obama campaign attacks on Clinton's past record.

" do not think they are the same thing and I can tell you this, had I or anyone on this campaign referred to Sen. Obama using the words Power used, we would not be on this campaign this morning," Wolfson said.

Power is staying. Said Obama spokesman Bill Burton: "Senator Obama decries such characterizations, which have no place in this campaign."
.

"His Christian faith" (He's not Muslim)

There's a new ad radio ad in Mississippi in advance of its Tuesday primary making the case that one of the presidential contenders would do a good job because of his Christianity.

Must be a Mike Huckabee ad they forgot to pull after John McCain clinched the Republican nomination?  Nope - try again.

It's an ad for Democrat Barack Obama.

The 60-spot narrated by former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus starts out by going after Hillary Clinton for making derogatory statements about his state back when Clinton was campaiging in Iowa.

But the ad doesn't get really interesting until the end, when Mabus says of Obama, "And he'll practice his Christian faith by respecting us."

What does that actually mean? And what's the point?

To turn out Democratic churchgoers?

Or to assure voters that Obama, a member of the United Church of Christ, isn't Muslim despite persistent, erroneous Internet rumors?

No response yet from the Obama campaign. 

February totals could ease Obama's March 4 blues

With the caveat they wrote these checks while Democrat Barack Obama was surging and before Hillary Clinton's wins this week in Ohio and Texas primaries.......

Obama's campaign reports today that he has broken yet another fund-raising record. He took in $55 million last month alone.

That blows away the Clinton campaign's estimated $35 million raised in February, and the $36 million Obama raised in January. It's about half what Obama raised in all of 2007. Obama aides said more than $54 million of the $55 million can be used in the primary election, that nearly half came from first-time donors and that most came through small donations.

Those signals of continued broad-based support may help Obama hang on to convention superdelegates who might be feeling shaky after Clinton's quasi-comeback this week.

And the money will certainly come in handy for the kind of ad campaign Obama may now have to wage in Pennsylvania, a big state where Clinton is favored in an April primary. Not to mention if Florida and Michigan, where Obama didn't campaign after they were stripped of delegates by the Democratic National Committee for defying the party in the timing of their primaries, get approval to hold new primaries or caucuses.

Obama camp responds to Starr allegation

Here's the response from Bill Burton, Obama spokesman, to the Clinton camp's charge that Obama is "imitating Ken Starr," the prosecutor who investigated Bill Clinton in the late 1990s.

"It is absurd that after weeks of badgering the media to ‘vet’ Senator Obama, the Clinton campaign believes that they should be held to an entirely different standard," Burton said.

"We don’t believe that expecting candidates for the presidency to disclose their tax returns somehow constitutes Ken Starr-tactics, but the kind of transparency and accountability that Americans are looking for and that’s been missing in Washington for far too long. And if Senator Clinton doesn’t think that the Republicans will ask these very same questions, then she’s not as ready to go toe-to-toe with John McCain as she claims."

Ken Starr? Obama? Think about it, Clinton's campaign says

Hillary Clinton's campaign reached back to the past today and pulled in an old nemesis--onetime special prosecutor Ken Starr, whose findings led to her husband's impeachment.

Now, the Clinton folks suggest, Barack Obama's going down the same kind of road. No one's talking about sex, which triggered Starr's probe.

Here's the memo released by the Clinton people this morning:

To: Interested Parties

From: The Clinton Campaign

Date: Thursday, March 06, 2008

RE: No Answers, Just Attacks

Senator Obama lost Ohio and Texas because voters had doubts about his ability to serve as Commander-in-Chief and steward of the economy. But instead of addressing those concerns, how is Senator Obama responding? By attacking Senator Clinton.

With one of his top foreign policy advisers acknowledging yesterday that he is not ready to take the 3am call and one of his principal supporters in Texas unable to name a single legislative accomplishment, Senator Obama’s time would be better spent making the case for why he can do the most important job in the world just three years out of the state senate.

Sen. Obama’s decision to go explicitly negative suggests that he is unable to make an affirmative case for his candidacy beyond ad hominem attacks. Why isn’t he discussing the hearings that he held on the Foreign Affairs subcommittee that he chairs? Why isn’t he talking about his travel through Latin America? Why isn’t he briefing the public on his comprehensive plan to address the foreclosure crisis now? Why isn’t he stumping on his universal plan health care plan? Because he can’t and so he is advancing a campaign strategy premised on process and personal attacks.

The Obama campaign’s negative strategy builds on one it already had in place. In Ohio and Texas, Senator Obama outspent us by a 2 to 1 margin and engaged in a negative campaign for weeks in advance on the March 4 elections. He sent negative mail that was declared misleading and false by top news organizations and ran radio ads that attacked Sen. Clinton on national security. At the same time, Senator Obama and his surrogates unleashed a barrage of negative and misleading attacks on Sen. Clinton focusing on a variety of issues.

Apparently, the Obama campaign’s idea of new politics is to recycle the same old Republican attacks on Senator Clinton that have failed for years. Imitating Ken Starr is not the way to win the Democratic nomination.

The reality is that after spending $16.6 million on television and radio in the four states that voted on Tuesday and $47 million overall, Senator Obama has still not passed the commander in chief and steward of the economy tests. And no amount of false attacks on Senator Clinton is going to change that fact.

Clinton looks ahead--but not to the upcoming contests

Hillary Clinton's campaign spokesmen today listed the states where they thought the senator would do well in upcoming primaries and caucus--and the list did not include the two that are coming up in the next week.

Wyoming holds caucuses Saturday, followed by the Tuesday Mississippi primary. A total of 45 delegates are at stake.

But Clinton is looking further. "Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico are all states (sic) we believe we have a good chance to do well in," said communications director Howard Wolfson in a call with reporters.

Pennsylvania holds its primary April 22; the others will follow.

Wolfson also thought that if Florida and Michigan, whose January primaries are not recognized by the Democratic party, vote again--which is under consideration--Clinton would do well.

"We all heard and read about the increasing possibility there may be some additional activity in Florida and Michigan," Wolfson said. "Of course, given the results of the primaries that occurred there we’d feel good about our prospects in those states."

Clinton won both, but rival Barack Obama did not mount campaigns there.

Obama claims victory, sort of

From Margaret Talev, on the campaign trail with Barack Obama in Chicago...

Obama campaign manager Dan Plouffe said this afternoon that Hillary Clinton will pick up a net of only four delegates from Tuesday's four primaries and Texas caucus. Clinton won the Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries, while Obama won Vermont.

But Plouffe maintained that Obama should net seven more delegates in Texas' caucuses, which began after primary voting was complete. Voters in the caucuses were still being counted, and Obama was slightly ahead.

"It is clear we will win the delegate battle in Texas," Plouffe said.

But Associated Press is not as generous, predicting Clinton should net a total of 12 from all of Tuesday's voting, including a net gain of 3 in the Texas caucuses. AP puts Obama ahead of Clinton by 101 delegates for the entire primary and caucus season.

Rendell's already ready for his state's primary

This didn't take long.

The morning after Hillary Clinton won three of Tuesday's four primaries, breaking Barack Obama's 12-contest winning streak, attention turned to Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. But it's seven weeks away, meaning there will probably be a break in the campaign's intensity.

Not for Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

He issued this statement early today:
"Last night made clear that there has been a momentum shift in this race. Despite being outspent two-to-one, despite Sen. Obama benefiting from outside political funds, and despite all of the glowing press coverage he received leading up to March 4th, voters ultimately chose Senator Clinton. I am confident that Hillary is heading into Pennsylvania with momentum and a new energy.

“The people of Pennsylvania are focused on the two largest issues facing our nation – the state of our economy and national security. On both counts, Pennsylvanians understand how important it is to elect someone who is truly ready to become President and Commander-in-Chief. Hillary is ready to lead our nation, returning us to both prosperity and peace.

“We look forward to making our voice heard in the coming days and playing our part in determining the Democratic nominee. And when we do, the people of Pennsylvania will send a clear message - we want a President who is ready, not one we hope will one day be ready.”

Clinton, though, still has a big task--even with Tuesday's wins, she's still about 100 delegates behind Obama.

Obama reflects on campaign

Margaret Talev is travelling with Barack Obama's campaign, and filed this report today from his press conference...

"It’s very very tight," Obama said of today's primaries. "We started 20 points behind in Texas and Ohio. We closed the gap but you know whether it’s going to be enough to actually win is going to depend on what the turnout looks like in both states. We know there’s not going to be a huge shift in delegates one way or the other, just given the math, which means that either way we’ll go on Mississippi and wypming next week"

Obama was asked if he and Hillary Clinton would still be battling when the campaign moves to Pennsylvania for its April 22 primary.

"What my head tells me is that we’ve got a very sizeable delegate lead that’s going to be hard to overcome. You’ll recall that when we were winning those 11 races in a row the theory was they had to blow us out in texas and ohio and I don’t think that’s going to happen. But look she is a tenacious and detemined candidate and so we’re just going to make sure we work as hard as we can as long as it takes....."

Will the eventual Democratic nominee be weakened against Republicans? "There’s going to be such a sharp contrast w/ john mccain I believe democrats wil be solidified. My theory is withstanding some of the attacks that have been coming our way over thelast couple weeks will just make us stronger. It’s good preparation, it’s like training camp if I end up being the nominee," Obnama said.

The North American Free Trade Agreement--and the Obama campaign's dealing with Canadian officials--caused a last minute blowup between Clinton and Obama. Obama was asked if the battle would hurt him today, but said, "We were 20 points behind a couple weeks ago and now we’re in a virtual dead heat. Just remember where we were.....

"Look," he added, "I mean there's no doubt that if you’re being attacked every day it creates a sense of turbulence in the minds of people. Just remember what we’ve been doing has worked. It’s put us in a position now where I am confident that we can maintain a pledged delegate lead going into the convention. So there’s no reason why we would want to change our approach in terms of talking to voters."

--From Margaret Talev in Houston, Texas

Today's key primaries officially too close to call

The last polls taken before polls opened this morning in four states found the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a dead heat.

The Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby survey taken in Ohio Saturday through Monday put the two Democratic contenders in a 44-44 tie. Some 828 likely voters were surveyed.

Virtually all other polls, completed Sunday, gave Clinton a slight lead. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc., had Clinton up by 4. It was conducted Feb. 27-29.

In Texas, the McClatchy/Ft. Worth Star-Telegram/MSNBC survey from the same dates gave Obama a 1 point lead. But the Zogby survey in Texas, which polled 855 likely voters between Saturday and Monday, had Clinton up by 3.

Ohio polls close tonight at 7:30 P.M. eastern time. Most Texas polls close at 8 P.M. eastern time, though some in west Texas close an hour later.

Here's pollster John Zogby's analysis:

"Clinton has not closed the deal yet, but she has picked up some additional support among women and older voters. Obama continues to lead in the big cities of Ohio, and it looks like Cincinnati is keeping him in this game. He has been working it hard, and has received the endorsement of the mayor there. But Clinton has opened up a big lead among Catholics – which, translated, means white ethnics.

“In Texas, Hillary had a slight lead in Sunday’s polling, which was enhanced by her lead in Monday’s polling, and those are the figures combined into the two-day rolling average of our poll. How did she pull ahead? She clearly increased support among white men and Hispanic men, mostly based on her late campaign focusing on her fitness for military command. She also enjoys strong support from white and Hispanic women. One thing that could prove significant is that much of Obama’s recent advances in the Houston area seem to have dissipated.

Zogby notes that large chunks of voters in both states remain undecided.
To read the Zogby polls: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1461

Don't forget Rhode Island

At least, that's what Hillary Clinton's campaign would like everyone to think.

She's waged a vigorous fight in Tuesday's smallest primary state, and a new Brown University poll shows it may pay off.

Clinton leads Barack Obama by 5 percentage points--no surprise in a state full of the older, blue collar workers who often vote for the New York senator.

But the poll also has a huge wild card: Some 22 percent are unsure what they'll do Tuesday. Here are the numbers: http://www.insidepolitics.org/BrownPoll308.pdf

Obama's NAFTA problem

Barack Obama was trying hard today to explain a potentially important controversy over his views of the the North American Free Trade Agreement, the 1993 pact that broke down trade barriers between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

On the eve of Tuesday's crucial Ohio primary--a state where many struggling workers blame such trade deals for their economic woes--a memo surfaced characterizing Austan Goolsbee, Obama’s senior economic adviser, as telling Canadian officials to regard the debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement as “political positioning.”

The memo, written by Joseph DeMora, an official at the Candian consulate, said that Goolsbee “candidly acknowledged protection sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign.”

As a result, he said, the candidates’ message about NAFTA “should not be taken out of context and should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans.

Goolsbee told Associated Press DeMora was “not quoting me. I certainly did not use that phrase in any way.”

But Obama’s team has been repeatedly denying any contact between the campaigning and anyone from the Canadian government.

Campaign manager David Plouffe maintained Monday that Goolsbee did not have a “formal conversation” with the Canadians.

And, Plouffe said, Goolsbee was not acting on the campaign’s behalf when he met with the Canadian officials Feb. 8.

“This was not a formal meeting. This was essentially a tour,” Plouffe said. “Austan was approached not as a member of our campaign but as a university professor. Austan and everybody else in this organization is very clear about Sen. Obama’s view.” Goolsbee is an economics professor at the University of Chicago.

Clinton seized on the controversy. “After days of denial that any conversation took place, you know we now have evidence,” Clinton told a Charleston, W.Va., television interviewer.

Clinton on tomorrow's primaries and NAFTA

More from Bill Douglas, on the campaign trail with Sen. Hillary Clinton...

Clinton held a press conference this morning in Toledo. When asked what her measure for success is in Ohio and Texas, Clinton said: “Winning, winning, winning, that’s my measure.”

She added, “I feel good about tomorrow, obviously it’s a very close race…within the margins of error both in popular vote and delegate count."

Clinton chided Obama’s campaign on NAFTA, once again citing a memo from a Canadian government official intimating that an Obama campaign economic adviser told government officials at a party not to worry about the anti-NAFTA rhetoric coming from Obama.

“It raises questions about Sen. Obama coming to Ohio and giving speeches about NAFTA and have a chief economic adviser tell the Canadian government that it’s just political rhetoric,” Clinton said.

“You come to Ohio and you, both in speeches very critical of NAFTA, and then you send out misleading and false information about my position regarding NAFTA, and then we find out that your chief economic adviser has gone to a foreign government and basically done ‘the old wink-wink, don’t pay any attention to this political rhetoric.’ that raises serious questions.”

Clinton's up early for votes

From Bill Douglas, travelling with Hillary Clinton in Ohio....

The senator was up well before dawn today, starting her last full day campaining in Ohio and Texas by greeting the morning shift at a Chrysler plant in Toledo.

"I'm ready, I'm ready," Clinton said as she shook hands and posed for pictures with the pre-dawn workers. "I need you tomorrow, get everybody to vote....I brought coffee and donuts."

"I need your help, I'll work hard for you," she said as workers slowly filed into the massive plant that makes the Jeep Liberty.

Clinton was accompanied by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who told workers to "Hillary needs your help, spead the word" as they walked by.

She's heading for Texas later today, the site of tomorrow's other big primary.

--From Bill Douglas.

Bill's got a different way of putting things

Bill Clinton today wrapped up his latest bid to get Ohio voters to back his wife, and he's doing it in a more gentler way than usual.

With one-liners.

For instance, he notes to crowds that "There's been a determined effort to degrade experience in this election," a reference to rival Barack Obama's relatively short time in the U.S. Senate.

"I know Vice President Cheney and others have given experience a bad name," Clinton says, but it matters. Then he has praised for Obama: "Most voters actually like these candidates," he continues. "You hae two articulate people arguing their case."

But here's where he differs: "One says 'I wasn't involved in the fights of the '90s.' I'm kind of proud of those fights myself," Clinton says. "Hillary says the reason we teach history in school is those who forget about the past are doomed to repeat its mistakes in the future."

Then there's Iraq. The U.S. helping Iraq after the 2003 invasion, Clinton says, was akin to helping a neighbor. If a neighbor loses his home to a fire, he argues, you'll certainly let him sleep on your couch for six months.

"But," asked Clinton, "what if he was still there after five years?"