Does new Obama ad inflate his record?

The ever-resourceful Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic reports that Barack Obama's new ad falsely makes it appear as though the senator passed a gutsy welfare reform bill and slashed welfare rolls.

But Ambinder reports that Obama was only one of the co-sponsors of the bill in the Illinois state Senate, that the Illinois action only put the state in line with the federal welfare reform, and that Obama actually opposed the federal legislation.

The ad, being aired in 18 battleground states starting today, features an announcer saying:

"He worked his way through college and Harvard Law. Turned down big money offers, and helped lift neighborhoods stung by job loss. Fought for workers’ rights. He passed a law to move people from welfare to work, slashed the rolls by eighty percent. Passed tax cuts for workers; health care for kids. As president, he’ll end tax breaks for companies that export jobs, reward those that create jobs in America. And never forget the dignity that comes from work."

However, Ambinder writes, "Notice how the careful omission of a pronoun makes it sound like Obama himself "slashed" welfare -- a nice and defensible trick of the trade. Actually, the word "passed" here is a bit out of context. As other news organizations have noted, Obama co-sponsored the bill, which brought Illinois into compliance with the '96 federal law; legislators don't pass anything. And it passed overwhelmingly -- Democrats and Republicans in the Illinois Senate supported it; there was only one no vote And Obama glosses over his opposition to the '96 federal welfare reform law."

The other Clinton also on board after phone call from Obama

After weeks of not talking, and then the much analyzed one-sentence-statement-of-support last week from the former president, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama finally chatted today by phone and Clinton committed to campaigning between now and November for the man who defeated his wife for the Democratic nomination.

“Senator Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton, adding that Obama"has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation’s great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come.”

The former president's spokesman Matt McKenna characterized the call as "very good" and said that Clinton "continues to be impressed by Sen. Obama and the campaign he has run, and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come." McKenna said Clinton believes that Obama "has been a great inspiration for millions of people around the country and he knows that he will bring the change America needs as our next President."

Dole Defends McCain, slaps Gen. Clark

   Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole said that retired Gen. Wesley Clark should have "stayed in bed" Sunday instead of telling a talk show that Sen. John McCain didn't have the experience to be president.

    Clark, a former NATO commander, is a Barack Obama supporter. He said on CBS's Face the Nation that former Naval pilot McCain's nearly six years as a POW in North Vietnam after being shot down in 1967 was not "a qualification to become president."

    Even Obama has disavowed the comment.

    Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, said that Clark's statement was "beyond comprehension" and his "absurd remarks signal further erosion in our nation’s political discourse. He should have stayed in bed Sunday morning.

     "It’s unfortunate that a former general who ran for the presidency on his own war record thinks it appropriate to attack a distinguished veteran and former prisoner-of-war in this way.  Sen. McCain’s entire life has been devoted to public service.  His achievement and experience constitute unparalleled qualification for America’s highest office." 

Obama camp disavows surrogate attack on McCain

Barack Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton today disavowed comments critical of John McCain's military credentials from prominent Obama supporter Wesley Clark.

"As he's said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General Clark," Burton said in a statement.

Clark, the former commander of NATO, 2004 presidential candidate and 2008 possible for veep, said on Sunday that McCain's Vietnam war experience did not give him any special qualifications to be president.

"I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark said on CBS's Face the Nation program.

He saluted McCain's courage as a prisoner of war, but said that McCain "hasn't held executive responsibility...That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded wasn't a wartime squadron."
He also said that McCain "hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall."

Democrats applaud profanity about Lieberman

They used to call him a friend. But Sunday, members of the Democratic Leadership Council applauded when a guest called Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut an "asshole."

Members of the centist, pro-business group once cheered Lieberman when he was their chairman in the mid 1990s urging a strong national defense, stressing pro-business policies and critcizing sex and violence in entertainment. They loved it when he was chosen as the party's vice presidential candidate in 2000.

So, even with a parting of ways in past years, it was striking when many members of the group applauded a reference to Lieberman with the profanity by liberal Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of the website dailykos.com.

Liberals angered by Lieberman's continuing support for the Iraq war suppprted a successful primary challenge to Lieberman in 2006. But Lieberman ran as an independent in the general election and won another term in the Senate.

Today, Lieberman's endorsement of Republican presidential candidate John McCain has Democrats of all stripes angry at him.

Analyst to dems: filibuster-proof majority might be possible

One of the most respected independent analysts of U.S. Senate races told a group of Democrats Sunday that she's starting to think they may win enough seats this November to have a filibuster-proof majority.

Jennifer Duffy, the Senate analyst for the Cook Political Report, said that as of now, she expects Democrats to add between 4 and 8 seats to their 51-seat majority in the Senate. And perhaps even more.

"For the first time, I'm seriously contemplating the possibility of 60," she told a meeting of the Democratic Leadership Council in Chicago.

That would be a monumental achievement with profound consequences if Democrat Barack Obama also won the presidency.

It would allow the Democrats to get big proposals through the Senate over the objections of the Republican minority. The power of the filibuster, unique to the Senate, allows the minority to block anything they don't like as long as they have 41 or more votes.

If the Democrats had 60 votes, they'd have a far, far greater chance of enacting such Obama proposals as expanding health care to the uninsured, and raising taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year.

Duffy later added that the Democrats might not even need 60 votes, since they can likely attract support from moderate Republicans such as Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine on some issues, perhaps more than enough to offset the loss of support issue-to-issue from some more conservative Democrats.

"They don't need 60," Duffy said. "To be effective, they don't necessarily need 60."

A prominent liberal strategist who also addressed the Democratic group, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of the website dailykos.com, agreed that Democrats could reach a filibuster-proof majority with fewer than 60 Democratic seats.

"The majority number for Obama to have a filibuster-rpoof majority is 57, 58," he said.

"There are seven potential Republians we can peel off on an issue by issue basis to get to that 60 vote total," he said.

Obama announces details of world trip

Barack Obama will travel to Israel, Jordan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom "to assess the situation in countries that are criticial to American national security," his campaign said this morning. On the agenda with leaders he meets with in those countries: terrorism, nuclear proliferation and global warming.

No details yet on dates for the trip. Obama also plans to travel to Iraq this summer or fall but that would be as part of a congressional delegation rather than a campaign trip and details about such delegations typically are not released in advance because of security reasons.

“Israel is a strong and close friend of the United States, and is confronting grave threats from Gaza to Tehran," Obama said in a statement released by the campaign. "Jordan has been a close partner in the peace process and a host of other issues of common concern. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are key anchors of the transatlantic alliance and have contributed to the mission in Afghanistan, and I look forward to discussing how we can strengthen our partnership in the years to come."

Former Kennedy, Clinton aides join Obama team

While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were sharing the stage in Unity, N.H., the Obama campaign announced yet another member of Clinton's former team will join Obama: Neera Tanden, Clinton's Senate legislative director and campaign policy director, is now Obama's campaign domestic policy director. In that role, Tanden might become involved in further developing Obama's plans for universal health care coverage. Clinton's plan called for mandating coverage; Obama has proposed mandating coverage for children, not adults, but under criticism from some experts who prefer Clinton's concept has acknowledged that if he becomes president there likely would be some tweaking of his proposal especially once Congress got involved.

Also announced today: Melody Barnes, executive vice president for the think tank Center for American Progress, becomes the Obama campaign's senior domestic policy advisor. Barnes, who is African-American, was chief counsel to Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 2003. Tanden also was at the Center for American Porgress as a senior vice president for domestic policy. Incidentally, the president and CEO of American Progress is John Podesta, who served as a chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.

Uh oh...The unofficial mayor voted for....

Ken Hall, unofficial mayor of Unity, N.H., tried to set a happy mood when he introduced Hillary Clinton a few minutes ago at the Democrats unity rally.

But he had a confession--"I'm a lifelong Republican," Hall said. "I voted for McCain."

Like a good politician, he recovered quickly. Maybe he'll go for Barack Obama this time--"I may be part of this change," he laughed.

Not everyone is unified in Unity

Carole Stone-Oks and about eight others don't buy all this Clinton-Obama unity.

They stood outside this afternoon's rally with signs saying things like "Just Say No Deal" and "Elected not Selected," a reference to Hillary Clinton's vote-getting ability in recent primaries.

The women were not allowed to bring their signs into the rally, but they roamed around telling media and others how disgruntled they were.

"This is not unity rally. Do you see anyone here other than Obama supporters?" said Stone-Oks, a Cambridge, Mass., school psychologist.

In fact, there are plenty of Clinton supporters here, and many are ready to accept Obama, some reluctantly, some enthusiastically.

"I'll do anything to get the Republicans out," said Charles Gaylord, a Newburtyport, Mass., retiree.