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July 2008
Obama-McCain event near Texas base unlikely
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, raised campaign money in Houston on Thursday but has not agreed to address Fort Hood soldiers alongside his Republican opponent.
A consortium of military and veterans groups had hoped to host Obama and Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton on Aug. 11. The idea was that the two candidates would discuss military issues before an audience of troops, veterans and their families.
McCain agreed to the event, which CBS offered to broadcast, but Obama’s camp says he has a previously scheduled commitment. A campaign spokeswoman did not say what that commitment is.
“We basically had asked for alternate dates in which he might be available,” said Carissa Picard, one of the organizers of the would-be event in Belton. “They haven’t been able to provide those to us yet.”
The Aug. 11 event is off, but Picard said she still hopes the two sides can agree to a different date.
Phillip Carter, Obama’s veterans director, said the chance to meet with troops was one of the main reasons why Obama recently went to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
“During his many visits to Texas, Senator Obama met with veterans and military families to discuss his commitment to stand up for them when he’s commander-in-chief and looks forward to continuing the dialogue with veterans across the country,” Carter said.
Obama has held numerous events with veterans in recent months and his wife, Michelle, had held roundtable events with military families.
But U.S. Rep. John Carter, a Texas Republican who represents Fort Hood, criticized Obama on Thursday for passing on the Belton event but finding time to raise money in Texas.
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Recession? Depression? Neither?
Americans can breathe a sigh of relief. “I think we have avoided a recession,” White House Budget Director Jim Nussle said in a CNBC interview Thursday following the release of a Commerce Department report.
The report showed the economy grew at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the first quarter and 1.9 percent in the second. A recession is defined as two straight quarters of economic decline.
But during a luncheon speech at the National Press Club, just blocks from the White House, New York Gov. David Paterson offered a very different assessment. He said the country clearly is in a recession. Indeed, he said it is facing challenges as great as those posed by the Great Depression because of massive governmental deficits, large household debts, mortgage foreclosures and other credit problems.
He said he was not impressed by the Commerce statistics that still show growth. After the 1929 stock market crash, President Herbert Hoover didn’t want to take action until more statistics confirmed the depth of the problems, he said. “How did that work out for him?” he asked.
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Group gives up effort to get Hillary on ticket
Here’s the white flag posted today on the Web site of Vote Both, a group dedicated to getting Hillary Clinton on the Democratic ticket with Barack Obama.
Not gonna happen, the group says.
“Thank you for your continuing support as we have worked together to build the strongest Democratic ticket possible. Since April, tens of thousands of Vote Both supporters have petitioned, called, and written letters to the Obama campaign. And Senator Obama heard your enthusiasm and arguments for Senator Clinton and her leadership.”
“Because of your work, Senator Obama asked Hillary to be his keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention! We hope you are as pleased as we are that he has tapped Senator Clinton to deliver one of the most important messages of that crucial week—the very role that Barack Obama had four years ago.”
“Regretfully, this means that Senator Hillary Clinton is no longer under consideration as Senator Obama’s running mate.”
“While we all were working toward a different result, ultimately we and Barack Obama are working for the same eventual outcome - getting ready to take back the White House and bring our country the change Americans deserve and so desperately need. There is nothing more important than that.”
“Because it seems that Senator Obama has made his decision to offer the slot on the ticket to another candidate, we believe that continuing to ask him to pick Hillary is no longer helpful to our party’s chances of winning in November.”
“We worked for Hillary for a combined ten years, so we know how many of you may be feeling. And to those who are hesitant to support Obama right now, we urge you to keep giving him the chance to earn your vote. We are confident he will.”
“Because, when it comes down to it, even the most ardent Hillary-supporter must ask himself or herself, ‘Do I want John McCain sending our soldiers off to more wars, giving Big Oil free rein to gouge us at the pump, and letting ideology overrule decisions that should be made on the basis of science and health?’ No. Never.”
“As Hillary said, ‘The way to continue our fight now - to accomplish the goals for which we stand - is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.’”
“We accept that charge and will do everything we can to help him win. We hope you will continue to fight with us to put our country back on track.”
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Bush to bike Olympic course
We learn from a Wednesday interview with Asian news organizations that President Bush plans to ride the Olympic mountain bike course when he is in Beijing next week. He mentioned it twice during the session.
First reference: “As a matter of fact, I’m going to mountain bike again on the Olympic, hopefully, on the Olympic course, just to get some exercise.”
Second reference: “I’m a sportsman. I love sports. As I mentioned, I’m looking forward, I hope I’ll be riding my mountain bike on the mountain bike trail. I’ll probably be taking the easiest route, because the hills looked quite steep the last time I was there.”
Other events on Bush’s Olympic agenda: “As I understand it, I think we’ve got a chance to go see the United States basketball team versus China, which ought to be a pretty interesting event. I bet it’s pretty noisy, as I understand the great Yao Ming, who plays for my old home town, Houston, the Houston Rockets, foot is healed. I hope so, because it will make it a very interesting contest.”
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Not much “Berlin bounce” for Obama, poll says
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama got no “Berlin Bounce” in the Buckeye State. Or in the Sunshine State. Or in the Keystone State, according to the latest polling in the crucial election swing states of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.
In fact, in the newest surveys by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, Obama leads Republican John McCain in all three states, but McCain has climbed into a virtual tie in Ohio and Florida and has nearly halved the presumptive Democratic nominee’s lead in Pennsylvania, despite the glowing accounts of Obama’s recent trip abroad.
“Senator McCain closed the gap at a time when Senator Obama was making those headlines,” Clay Richards, assistant director at the Connecticut based polling institute, told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor newspaper.
“It appears the trip did not help him (Obama),” added Peter Brown, a longtime political analyst and fellow assistant director at Quinnipiac.
Brown suggested the shrinkage in Obama’s lead was largely due to the growing concern of voters over the economy and the ability of McCain’s campaign to equate the economy to higher energy prices.
McCain is having some success in trying to “change the dialogue” over the economy by focusing voter attention on high gasoline prices and promoting offshore drilling while Obama has focused on health care and the real estate crisis, “the issues which favor him,” he added.
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Making the world safe for ATMs
Troubled about whether the war in Iraq has been worth the blood and treasure that’s been spent on it?
Wondering whether real progress is being made?
Page nine in the latest quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, includes the following entry in a list of “important developments in the provinces”:
“First ATM in Diyala. This quarter, the first automatic teller machine opened in Baquba, the capital of Diyala.”
No word on the fees.
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Stevens indictment yields new post for Hutchison
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is the new top-ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
She replaces Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who was indicted Tuesday on allegations that he made false statements about gifts he received from corporate executives.
Hutchison said she expects Stevens to return to the role. But with a tough re-election fight on his hands, Stevens finds himself in both legal and political jeopardy.
The committee’s jurisdiction includes issues related to transportation, highway safety, communications, sports and regulation of consumer products.
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Delta’s southern hospitality
At a House hearing exploring the proposed merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said Northwest’s unionized employees should welcome a combination with the Atlanta-based carrier.
“I just want to put a little positive spin on this,” he said on Wednesday. The link with Delta would create “a more viable and more competitive airline,” which would help preserve workers’ jobs and pensions.
If Congress is willing to examine the potential negative affects of the merger, “it may be appropriate to have a hearing on southern hospitality,” Price said.
While the hearing was going on, Delta was spreading word to its customers about a doubling of the fee most domestic passengers will have to pay to check in a second bag. The second-bag fee will jump from $25 to $50 on Aug. 5 to help the airline cope with higher fuel prices.
Some travelers may want to fly to Washington for that suggested hearing to discuss how hospitable they find Delta’s new policy. But they’ll want to pack lightly.
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Kerry applauds Bush
Think John Kerry (the only Democrat ever to come in second in the popular vote in a presidential race against George W. Bush) likes participating in prolonged applause for the man who defeated him in 2004?
Keep an eye on Kerry (back row, right) during several rounds of applause today for President Bush at a White House signing ceremony for an AIDS/Malaria relief bill.
The gentleman from Massachusetts seems less than enthused at times.
For the record, Kerry shook Bush’s hand and said “good job” after the ceremony.
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McCain ad links Obama, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton
Can 200,000 Germans be wrong?
A new John McCain ad shows the big crowd that greeted Barack Obama in Germany last week and brands the Democratic presidential contender as “the biggest celebrity in the world.”
That, according to photos in the ad, puts Obama in a category with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Here’s the text. See the ad above.
“He’s the biggest celebrity in the world. But, is he ready to lead? With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling. And, says he’ll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil, that’s the real Obama.”
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Bush urges congressional action on Outer Continental Shelf exploration
Video above, highlights below from President Bush’s Rose Garden remarks today after he and his Cabinet talked about high energy prices:
“To reduce pressure on prices, we need to increase the supply of oil, especially here at home. So in June I called on Congress to lift the legislative ban that prevents offshore exploration on the outer continental shelf. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress have refused to allow a vote, and now Congress is about to leave for its August recess without taking any action on this vital priority for the American people.”
“American drivers are counting on Congress to lift the ban on offshore exploration, and so are American workers.”
“Some members of Congress say they object to exploration of the OCS but they are in favor of other actions, such as taking oil out of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Well, if you agree that we need more oil, it makes no sense to say you’re for draining our nation’s limited strategic reserve but against tapping into the vast resources of the outer continental shelf.”
“The American people are rightly frustrated by the failure of Democratic leaders in Congress to enact common-sense solutions like the development of the oil resources on the outer continental shelf. There are now just a couple of days left before Congress leaves for its August recess. Legislation opening up this offshore exploration is pending in both the House and the Senate, and all the Democratic leaders have to do is to allow a vote. They should not leave Washington without doing so.”
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Hillary wants some “real one-on-one time” with you
If Hillary Clinton is your type, now is your chance to have dinner with her - just the two of you, “some real one-on-one time” together, as she says.
The New York senator, in trying to retire her presidential campaign debt, is offering a chance to win a dinner with her, for only a $5 contribution.
In an e-mail with a breathless, come-hither tone, Clinton notes that “summer is a time for simple pleasures: family vacations, baseball games and dinner out under the stars. A least it is if you aren’t running for president!”
Now that her campaign is over, Clinton says, “it sure is nice having a little more time on my hands, and I’d love to spend some of it with you. Would you like to have dinner with me?”
During the campaign, she says, she had to “grab meals,” always rushed by the pace of the campaign. But now, she adds, “This is my first chance to sit down and spend some real one-on-one time with you.” And if you are the winner, she says, she is ready “to talk about whatever you’d like.”
To enter the Dinner-With-Hillary sweepstakes, go to www.hillaryclinton.com.
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Did McCaul rescue or exploit?
Since his return from a congressional trip to Pakistan three weeks ago, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul and his aides have spoken frequently about his efforts to help free two American boys from what they describe as a radical Islamic school.
But a more moderate portrait of the school, supplied by a statement from the U.S. State Department, has emerged over the last couple of days. As a result, his political antagonists say McCaul, R-Austin, should have stayed out of the whole matter.
At issue is the case of Noor and Mahboob Khan, two teens from the Atlanta area who spent four years in the Jamia Binoria SITE madrassah in the Pakistani city of Karachi. The two boys are central figures in “Karachi Kids,” a documentary about the school made by Pakistani-American filmmaker Imran Raza.
The film’s trailer shows two boys who long to return home, with one heard describing the madrassah as “disgusting.” One of the Khan boys tells the cameras, “Not one Jewish person died in the 9/11 attacks” (presumably implying that the people behind the attacks were Jewish), and an unidentified student says “American people are terrorists.”
Meanwhile, the trailer’s subtitles interpret the head of the school as saying, “we work on altering the mindset of the students so that when they return to their home countries they will work on altering the minds of others.”
Raza, the filmmaker, has been pushing for the release of the two boys, who were sent to the madrassah by their father back in the United States. He found an ally in McCaul.
During a July Fourth weekend trip to Pakistan with two other members of Congress, McCaul met with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and pressed for the release of the two boys and other Americans in madrassas, noting that it’s against Pakistani law for foreigners to enroll in them. They also discussed terrorist activity in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
After his return, McCaul went on a media blitz talking about the Atlanta boys and other Americans in madrassas.
“They are brainwashing a generation over there of potential terrorists,” McCaul said on Fox News after his return. He has also repeated the assertion, made in Raza’s film, that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden spoke at the school before the 2001 attacks on the United States.
Less than a week after McCaul and the other lawmakers returned from their trip, the Khan boys returned to their family in Atlanta. McCaul’s team was quick to take credit. “He’s very much responsible for those boys being home today,” McCaul spokesman Mike Rosen said last week.
However, a CNN report about the madrassah that aired Sunday raised questions about just how extreme it is.
In the report, filmmaker Raza acknowledges that it was at another madrassah, not the one with the Atlanta boys, where bin Laden spoke. The CNN report also quotes the State Department as saying the Jamia Binoria Institute “is known to U.S. officials as a moderate institution favored by Pakistani-Americans for its moderate and tolerant Islamic instruction.”
The CNN report also shows the two boys denying that there is anti-American sentiment at the school.
Raza said he would change his film to take out the reference to bin Laden at the madrassah, but stood by his larger characterization Monday. He also said McCaul’s intervention allowed the boys to return home swiftly.
McCaul was with his family on Monday and could not discuss the situation, said Rosen, his spokesman.
“The biggest issue for him is not these two boys,” Rosen said. “It’s the larger issue of Americans being enrolled in these madrassas and the potential that they have to come back into this country.”
Armed with the CNN report, liberal blogs pounced on McCaul on Monday. The campaign of Larry Joe Doherty, McCaul’s Democratic opponent this fall, accused McCaul of “exploiting the public’s fear of terrorism for political gain.”
Here’s a link to the Karachi Kids trailer. The full movie will be available for a limited time starting Friday at karachikids.com.
Here’s a link to the CNN report.
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Obama or McCain: who’s feeling the campaign pain?
So which of the presidential candidates has a sore hip? The 46-year-old or the 71-year-old? Both have birthdays next month and both appear to be feeling the pain of the campaign trail.
Democrat Barack Obama, who turns 47 on Aug. 4, saw a doctor at the University of Chicago Medical Center Sunday night because of a sore hip. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the soon-to-be Democratic presidential nominee said the soreness was the result of a recent basketball game.
But Republican John McCain, who will be 72 on Aug. 29, also got off to a shaky start to the week, health-wise.
McCain had a spot removed from his face Monday during a routine checkup by a doctor in Phoenix. A campaign aide described the procedure as “cautionary.” The presumptive GOP nominee has had four malignant melanomas surgically removed since 1993.
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McCain-Hutchison would be oldest ticket
If John McCain, 72, picks a running mate 63 or older, the GOP ticket would become the oldest in the history of the two major parties.
Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, 65, would get him there.
And McCain could become part of the youngest ticket ever by picking somebody under age four.
On the Democratic side, Barack Obama, 47, also is barred by law (presidents and veeps have to be at least 35) from becoming part of the youngest ticket ever. He’d have to pick somebody under 29 to break that record.
Obama could be part of the oldest ticket ever by picking somebody over 87.
For historical stats about oldest tickets, click continue reading.
Here are the age extremes for presidential tickets for the current two major parties (dating back to 1856 for the GOP and 1828 for the Democrats):
Oldest ticket ever: 134. Democrats Harry Truman, 64, and running mate Alben Barkley, who was 22 days shy of 71 when they won the 1948 election. Truman-Barkley had eight months over the 1996 GOP ticket of Bob Dole, 73, and Jack Kemp, 61.
Youngest ticket ever (a record that will be tough to beat): 76. The 1864 Democratic team of George McClellan and George H. Pendleton. On Election Day, McClellan was a month short of 38. Pendleton was 39. They lost to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, with a combined age of 111.
The youngest ever winning ticket was Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1992, with a combined age of 90.
Oldest candidate ever on a major party ticket: At 72, McCain doesn’t come close. In 1904, when the Democrats put Alton Parker atop their ticket, the No. 2 man was Henry Gassaway Davis, who was eight days short of 81 on Election Day. Parker, 52, and Davis lost to Republicans Teddy Roosevelt and Charles Fairbanks, with a combined age of 98.
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Senators eager to vote on housing
On a Friday afternoon, Capitol Hill normally would be quiet, with most lawmakers already gone for the weekend. But with November’s congressional elections looming, senators were still working hard at staking out campaign positions — and irritating each other.
Just hours earlier, they had voted 80-13 to limit debate on landmark housing reform legislation. The lopsided tally suggests the bill itself will pass easily. The House already has passed it, and President Bush has promised to sign it. So why not just take the final Senate vote and go home?
Because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who opposes the bill unless amended, is insisting on continuing the debate for 30 hours, setting up a rare Saturday vote.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was among those trapped in the Capitol. On a Friday afternoon, “I would normally be in Florida,” he said. “There is no reason for this delay. … this place can’t go on like this.”
But it will. At least until Nov. 4.
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Texas AG Abbott discusses polygamist sect investigation
Here’s a little footage of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in Washington on Thursday talking about the state’s investigation to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a polygamist sect in West Texas. Abbott talked to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about whether there should be a federal task force to fight organized crime among polygamist groups.
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Consultant shoots down Barton retirement rumors
The Burnt Orange Report links to a blog item from the Ellis County Observer saying that longtime Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, will retire in 2010. The Observer cites several unnamed Republican sources.
The response from Craig Murphy, Barton’s political consultant:
“It’s not true. He’s going to stay in the office. I think they’re going to have to carry him out boots first.”
Might want to bookmark this one and check back in a year or so to see who was right.
UPDATE: It’s worth noting, and I probably should have earlier, that the author of the original post on this is a former Barton opponent in the GOP primary. So he’s probably not in Barton’s inner circle.
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Zogby Poll Says Obama Holds Large Lead In Latest Electoral College Count
Pollster John Zogby says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a substantial lead over Republican John McCain in the Electoral College.
Zogby’s latest Electoral College map of the United States has Obama with 273 electoral votes to 146 for McCain.
In Zogby’s previous assessment of the Electoral College map, Obama also had 273 but McCain had 160. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
According to Zogby, 119 electoral votes are still too close to call. Said Zogby: “For the time being, Obama maintains the edge and has the strength of a majority of electoral votes. His triumphant foreign trip allows him to continue to define this race. But too many of these states are close and a sizeable number are undecided or choosing a third party candidate. So there is a lot of fluidity.”
The biggest changes in the most recent map have occurred in Florida, changing from red to purple; Arkansas, from purple to red; Arizona, from purple to red; and South Dakota, from red to purple.
(Red signifies Republican, blue Democratic, purple a close mix of the two.)
About Florida, one of the major battleground states this fall, Zogby said: “Seniors and whites provide McCain a cushion over Obama. However, no one should count votes here too soon.”
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White House: Too bad about the Iraqi Olympic team
The International Olympic Committee says the Iraqi Olympic team - five members - is banned from the upcoming Beijing games because the government failed to address accusations of political interference.
Says White House Press Secretary Dana Perino: “I don’t know the particular details as to why Prime Minister Maliki decided to take that action. But I’m sure that the Iraqi athletes who have trained so hard and were finally going to represent a country that is free, and sovereign, and working to establish its democracy, they have to be terribly disappointed. And I’m disappointed for the athletes, as well.”
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Obama to meet with House Dems
Sen. Barack Obama will be visiting and speaking with House Democrats next week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today in her weekly meeting with reporters.
Obama, who will just have returned from a tour of the Middle East and Europe, will attend the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday afternoon.
Pelosi said Democrats hope Obama talks to them about defense and the economy — the two most pressing issues on Americans’ minds.
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Bush private fundraisers to remain private
Some pretty good back and forth today when White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was questioned about the video that surfaced showing President Bush, at a recent private fundraiser in Houston, saying “Wall Street got drunk” and helped cause the nation’s economic woes.
White House reporters this morning raised the always touchy question of why the public is not allowed to hear what the president says at fundraisers in private homes.
Here’s part of the transcript:
Q: Are you now going to take cameras and cell phones away from donors at fundraisers?
Perino: I don’t think so, no.
Q. How about letting us hear what he says at these events? It was evident in the video that there was a lectern and a microphone. You could very easily give us an audio feed of those statements that he makes at those fundraisers.
Perino: Well, first of all, we don’t record it if it’s closed press. The reason that there’s a lectern and there’s a microphone is because it’s a large room of people. And we’ve been down this road before. We are not going to be opening those closed-press fundraisers at private residences.
…
About the Bush remarks, Perino said it was a more colorful and blunt way of making a point Bush has made in public about the economy.
“I do think that people benefit from hearing the president in all of his candor,” she said.
“Now, some people in this (White House briefing) room have participated in off-the-record sessions with the president and they’re very beneficial. And in my, in our judgment, we think that closed press fundraisers are appropriate at private residences and we’re not going to change the policy.”
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Texas lawmakers on flight that makes unplanned landing
U.S. Rep. John Carter’s spokeswoman said this evening that the Round Rock, Texas, congressman, along with six other Texas lawmakers, was aboard a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Washington that was forced to land in New Orleans today after losing cabin pressure.
The lawmakers were hoping to make Tuesday night votes in the House. Nobody was harmed and they are expected to arrive in Washington tonight.
According to a report by KHOU, the CBS affiliate in Houston, other Texas lawmakers on the flight were Republicans Ted Poe and Ron Paul and Democrats Ciro Rodriguez, Solomon Ortiz, Nick Lampson and Henry Cuellar.
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Oil prices volatile; Congress predictable
Major U.S. airlines are exhorting frequent fliers to urge Congress to pass the Stop Excessive Speculation Act, aimed at limiting oil speculation. Such limits would help lower fuel prices, supporters say.
On Monday, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and other proponents held a press conference to blame speculators for pushing fuel costs higher. “There is an orgy of speculation,” he said.
But while Dorgan’s outrage was clear, his path to legislative success was not. Senate Democrats are planning a vote Tuesday to end debate and move towards passage this week. But Republicans object, and instead want Congress to open more coastal waters to oil drilling.
Rather than moving towards compromise, the Senate may be on course for another stalemate. Dorgan himself stated the obvious when he concluded: “The Senate isn’t working very efficiently.”
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Rose Garden dance
It was Olympians day in the White House today as President Bush welcomed members of the U.S. team heading to Beijing. The usual congratulatory remarks from the president. The usual honored-to-be-here comments from the Olympians.
And this bit of impromptu Rose Garden dancing from Liv Leschly, 2, of California when the familiar strains of the Olympic theme kicked in. Can’t stop her from dancing when music starts, her mom said.
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Barr cheers Gore’s energy plan
Last week, oil mogul T. Boone Pickens unveiled a plan to increase the amount of electricity supplied by wind power to at least 20 percent as soon as possible. Environmental advocate and former vice president Al Gore called Pickens’ bet — and raised it.
On Thursday, Gore introduced his plan for all electricity in the country to be supplied by renewable, natural resources like wind, solar and geothermal within 10 years. This could be a tall order, considering more than 70 percent of U.S. electricity is supplied by coal, natural gas and petroleum, according to the Department of Energy.
The speech at Washington’s Constitutional Hall drew a packed crowd, which included several politicians, including Libertarian presidential candidate and former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr.
Barr did not hesitate to share his ideas with the media. He called Gore’s plan important for moving the country away from its dependence on foreign oil. He also criticized fellow candidates Barack Obama and John McCain for not showing up for the event, saying their absence showed “they don’t really care about the issue.”
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Bush and McClellan: Together again
Not much to report from the first time that President Bush and former Press Secretary Scott McClellan were in the same room since McClellan penned an unflattering book about his ex-boss.
Could have something to do with the size of the room and the event it housed.
Bush and McClellan didn’t get anywhere near other today at the Washington funeral for Tony Snow, who got the press secretary job when McClellan was forced out. Snow died of cancer on Saturday.
McClellan arrived early and took a seat about two-thirds of the way back in the massive Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the nation’s largest Catholic church.
McClellan stared in Bush’s direction when the president arrived in the church with Laura Bush holding his left arm. They were too far apart to come anywhere near making eye contact.
Bush offered a firm “no comment” when questioned about McClellan’s book at a Tuesday White House press conference.
McClellan saw many of his former administration colleagues but also was nowhere near them in the church.
After the service, he ran into Scott Sforza, formerly a top White House aide in charge of setting the backdrop for presidential events, outside the church. “Good to see you,” Sforza told McClellan.
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Ah, the good old days for housing
Conservative lawmakers are unhappy with much of the housing reform and rescue legislation that Congress likely will pass next week. They say it gives government too big a role in the housing market.
At a hearing Tuesday, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said the legislation amounted to “socialism.” He and other conservatives argue that the country should go back to a simpler time when Congress stayed out of the housing market.
On Thursday, a Commerce Department report on June housing starts suggested the country already is starting to relive those simpler days, at least in some ways. Housing starts are now on track to fall below the 1 million level this year for the first time since 1945, when the country was still fighting World War II.
“Even banks with solid balance sheets are reluctant to finance any project related to housing,” said Patrick Newport, an economist with the Global Insight Inc. forecasting firm.
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Mike and Mike and ground-rule doubles
We shall use the above video as a teaching opportunity about baseball, specifically about the most repeated, redundant, recurring mistake made about the game.
The video comes from today’s White House tee ball game, which, as usual was a joyful activity involving kids who are probably too young to realize how cool it is to play tee ball on the South Lawn.
But that’s not the point. The point is about adults, specifically the ones invited to do the play-by-play. On the video you will hear ESPN’s Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic discuss the most impressive hit of the day, a solid line drive by six-year-old Blake Money of North Port, Florida, who lined a one-hopper over the center field fence.
Mike and Mike call it a “ground-rule double.” It is not a ground-rule double. It is a double because the rules of baseball, specifically rule 6.09, say it’s always a double when “a fair ball, after touching the ground, bounds into the stands.”
That’s a book rule, applicable in all circumstances, as opposed to a ground rule enacted to deal with specific conditions at a specific ballpark.
And you can look it up.
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Your government at work
Looking for evidence of government in action (as opposed to government inaction)?
Here’s just a brief summary of things that happened as a result of laws signed this week by President Bush:
The U.S. Postal Service facility in Brockton, Mass., is now the Rocky Marciano Post Office, named for the late boxing great (shown above landing a solid right on Archie Moore).
The bankruptcy courthouse in Brooklyn is now the Conrad B. Duberstein United States Bankruptcy Courthouse, named for a late bankruptcy judge.
And Lock and Dam No. 5 of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System near Redfield, Ark., is no longer Lock and Dam No. 5. It is now the Col. Charles D. Maynard Lock and Dam,” named for the late Army Corps of Engineers official who helped design the project.
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You say tomato, I say recession
Members of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday tried to get the witness on the hot seat — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke — to admit the country is in a recession.
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was among those refusing to accept the official definition of a recession, which is two consecutive quarters of shrinking economic output. So far, government statistics show the economy is still growing, though at a slow pace. “Our government tells us, ‘Well, there is no recession, so things must be all right,’ ” Paul said. Despite such assurances, “a lot of people are very angry,” he said.
Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., pushed Bernanke: “Do you believe that we are in a recession?”
Bernanke replied, “I don’t know.” He said that calling a recession is a “technical” matter for economists. But he was willing to admit that no matter what the statistics show, “this is clearly a rough time.”
So he did use an R word to describe the economy.
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Texan Gottesman returns to White House
Former presidential personal aide Blake Gottesman, who left the White House in 2006 to pick up a Harvard MBA, now has that degree and is returning to the administration in a post further up the organizational chart.
The White House today announced that Gottesman, a native of Austin, is now an “assistant to the president” and “deputy chief of staff,” replacing longtime Bush aide Joe Hagin, who recently announced his upcoming departure. Hagin has had a broad portfolio - including overseeing major projects such as remodeling of the White House press area and the super-secret situation room. Hagin also has been instrumental in working out details of Bush foreign trips.
Says Press Secretary Dana Perino, Gotteman is “a trusted aide who understands the tremendous challenges overseeing White House operations.”
“He is well-respected in the White House,” says Perino, “and will do an outstanding job to help ensure the staff continues to effectively serve the American people throughout the remainder of the president’s administration.”
Gottesman, 28, has been working in Boston at Berkshire Partners LLC.
In his previous White House incarnation, he spent four years with the unofficial title of “body man,” a post that put him in close contact with Bush many hours a day, often seven days a week. He delivered presidential speeches to the podium, loaded Bush’s iPod and took care of a large portfolio of tasks aimed at making Bush’s days go smoothly.
The job put him in close contact with Bush at many crucial moments, including 9/11.
His departure in May 2006 raised an eyebrow or two because he was headed for graduate studies at Harvard Business School - a Bush alma mater - though he had done only one year of undergraduate work at Claremont McKenna College in California.
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Payne’s group had contract with Pakistan after 9/11
Stephen Payne, the Houston businessman whom the Sunday Times of London caught on video suggesting a donation to the Bush library could help land a meeting with key White House officials, was part of a group hired by the Pakistani government after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to improve relations with the U.S.
According to records available through the U.S. Department of Justice, Payne was part of a group, called Team Barakat, that Pakistan hired to provide strategic advice, interface with the U.S. government and members of Congress and try to strengthen relations between the two countries.
In materials promoting his business, Payne claims that he helped Pakistan negotiate a five-year, $3 billion aid package from the U.S., and that he “coordinated the removal of economic and military sanctions imposed on Pakistan under the Clinton administration.”
Payne worked for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the mid-’90s. He claimed to have a lofty title in her 2006 campaign, but Matt Matthews, the campaign manager that year, said Payne’s boast is not true.
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Payne’s past role with Hutchison remains murky
We learned a little more today about Stephen Payne, the Houston businessmancaught suggesting that a donation of $200,000 or so to the Bush library could help get a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney or others in the Bush administration (an argument the White House and other Bush folks have vigorously denied).
Payne boasts in his business materials that he was the 2000 and 2006 vice chairman of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s campaigns. But Matt Matthews, an Austin lobbyist who managed Hutchison’s campaign in 2006, said that wasn’t true.
“He was not the vice chairman of the campaign,” Matthews said. “I really can’t recall any role that he had.”
We do know that Payne worked in Hutchison’s Senate office from 1993 to 1996, with about a six-month break in 1994.
What also remains murky is Payne’s role in a 2005 opinion piece that Hutchison authored for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It was headlined “Azerbaijan: opportunity for America,” and in it Hutchison writes that the country “holds great promise” as an oil source in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Payne brags in materials for his business that he “developed” a series of op-eds promoting the country, including one by Hutchison.
Hutchison’s current staff contends that it does not know the precise origins of the column she wrote promoting Azerbaijan, although her spokesman says she was heavily involved. Chris Paulitz, her communications director at the time, declined to comment today on Payne’s role in writing the piece.
Also, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has opened an investigation into what role, if any, Payne is playing in soliciting donations for the Bush library.
Finally, the Sunday Times of London posted a series of photos of Payne, including one with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“Mr. Payne, as the media reports state, has been active for many years in Texas political circles and has contributed to a number of Texas political campaigns including Senator Cornyn’s,” said Cornyn spokesman Brian Walsh. “The senator has met him several times and probably has had his picture taken with him at various events over the years.”
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Chambliss, Conrad tout bipartisan energy remedy
In an attempt to bring the feuding parties together to wean the nation off foreign oil, Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad on Tuesday said they both want more offshore exploration and more conservation.
The conservative Chambliss, of Georgia, and the liberal-leaning Conrad of North Dakota spoke on CNN about their “gang of 10” senators, including five from each party, who have been meeting together to find a solution to the energy problem.
Conrad said he favors opening more of the Gulf of Mexico to oil exploration. Chambliss, who prefers more extensive offshore exploration, said he would go along with conservation efforts.
The two senators decided to work together on energy after working in partnership to pass a major farm bill earlier this year. “We know that there are good Republican ideas, there are good Democratic ideas,” Chambliss said. “We simply have got to merge those together.”
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White House correspondent cacophony
It’s always a good show when the network correspondents go live in the moments before the president enters the White House Briefing Room for a news conference.
Here’s what you would have heard and seen today if you were in the room, as opposed to what you saw if you watched just one network’s coverage.
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Bush on economy: “I’m not an economist … I am an optimist”
The president talks about the economy at today’s White House news conference.
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Bush on energy conservation: Americans are “plenty smart people”
Here’s your president talking about energy conservation at today’s White House news conference. Please turn off the AC when you leave home.
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Bush on McClellan and Obama
Click above to see President Bush’s answer to a White House press conference question today about former Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s book and Sen. Obama’s upcoming trip to Iraq.
Short and not-so-sweet about McClellan. More lengthy about Obama.
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Disgraced lobbyist Payne has ties to Hutchison (updated)
A Houston lobbyist who suggested that a six-figure contribution to the Bush presidential library could help land a meeting with top White House officials twice served as campaign vice chairman to U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
Lobbyist Stephen Payne also has bragged about developing a newspaper column that Hutchison authored, and he worked for Hutchison more than a decade ago.
The Times of London posted video Sunday of Payne meeting with a man claiming to be a representative for Askar Akayev, the former president of Kyrgazstan in Central Asia, last week at a London hotel. Akayev is in exile in Moscow after being forced from office three years ago, and he was seeking to meet with top U.S. officials to help rehabilitate his image, his purported representative said.
Payne replied that he couldn’t promise a meeting with Bush.
“I think that some things could be done,” Payne said. “I think that the family, children, whatever, should probably look at making a contribution to the Bush library.”
He suggested they give about $200,000 to get the attention of library fundraisers.
Payne, seemingly unaware that he was being taped, said a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley was possible. He also appeared to discuss how much his company would make for helping Akayev.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday there is no link between official business and the Bush library.
“Steve Payne was never an employee of the White House, but we do use hundreds of volunteers a year, as you know, for helping us do advance work,” Perino said. “And of course I don’t know all of the facts about that situation, but we certainly would not advocate for such behavior.”
The Times link posted to a brochure for Payne’s business, Worldwide Strategic Partners, which describes itself as an “international relations and energy development corporation” that helps countries have good relations with the United States. In the brochure, Payne lists that he was vice chairman of Hutchison’s 2000 and 2006 Senate campaigns.
The brochure also says he developed opinion columns, written by U.S. officials including Hutchison, promoting Azerbaijan, which is located between Russia and Iran.
In a November 2005 column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Hutchison wrote that Azerbaijan held “great promise” as an oil source in the wake of destruction caused by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Her article was titled, “Azerbaijan: Opportunity for America.”
“We have done a great deal of work attempting to get to the genesis of that op-ed,” Hutchison spokesman Matt Mackowiak said Monday. “We can say with certainty that Azerbajian was an important international issue in 2005 - both in terms of oil and democracy-building. Sen. Hutchison was heavily involved in the final product, as she is with every public statement and document which is issued by her office.”
Payne worked for Hutchison in her Houston office from June 1993 until August 1996, with a six-month break in 1994.
Despite his lofty title, Mackowiak said Payne had no substantive role in the 2000 and 2006 campaigns. “Our campaign manager in 2006, Matt Matthews, does not recall having even one conversation with Mr. Payne during that campaign.”
Here’s the link to the Sunday Times story, which includes the video of Payne. An undercover reporter was at the table during the hotel meeting.
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Bush visits Snow’s family
President Bush and wife Laura left the White House and went to nearby Alexandria, Va., today to visit with the family of Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary who died of cancer Saturday morning.
The presidential motorcade arrived shortly after 2 p.m.
The Bushes will attend Snow’s Thursday funeral at Catholic University in Washington.
Comments today from Dana Perino, Snow’s successor:
“First, I’d like to spend a moment just sharing a word about our friend and former White House press secretary, Tony Snow. I really appreciate all of the e-mails and outreach that you did to me and for Jill and the children this weekend, after we got the terrible news about his death on Saturday morning.”
“President Bush always says that you never know what sort of hand you’re going to be dealt with, and sometimes you’re dealt a hand that you didn’t expect and that you don’t want to play, but that you have to play it. And I think all of us can agree that Tony Snow played his cards to the best of his ability and in a way that we would all aspire to.”
“During his first White House press briefing on May 16, 2006, Tony said, ‘I feel every day is a blessing.’ And throughout the next 16 months, people around the world witnessed him live up to this