2/12: If The Issue's Iraq, The Choices Are Rudy And Obama

Looking at coverage of Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) trip to NH and ex-NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani's (R) speech to CA GOPers, it is becoming clear that if Iraq continues to dominate nat'l debate, the left will break for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), and the right for Giuliani. Obama benefits from both Clinton's refusal to admit wrongdoing in her pre-war behavior as well as recent blogger concerns that Edwards has not learned the right lessons from his Iraq vote. Giuliani, meanwhile, is benefitting from increasing conservative willingness to discount Giuliani's social views in favor of focusing on his strong anti-terror image (it's also possible Rudy's refusal to move on abortion and guns only makes him appear more resolute in righty blogger eyes).

CLINTON: Like Kerry, All Over Again

Like her 2/10 Concord, NH, appearance, Iraq dominated Hillary Clinton talk throughout the weekend. Daily Kos' Devilstower says the reason HRC's Iraq vote keeps coming up is because Clinton has not yet given "a good answer." Kos consultants are to blame for her Iraq position: "Stress that she'd been misled? Check. Blame the mess in Iraq on administration incompetence? Check. Refuse to admit that she made a mistake? Check."

Matthew Yglesias is also upset with Team Hillary calling their response to his earlier criticism of her Iraq vote "an insult." To rebut Yglesias' argument that HRC was not critical of "the rush to war," the campaign cites a 1/31/03 HRC letter to Colin Powell urging more inspections and a 3/3/03 AP article quoting HRC urging a "peaceful solution" for the conflict.

Yglesias responds: "Honestly, I think this is a little bit childish and something of an insult to the intelligence of liberals everywhere. ... The idea that we're now supposed to spend the time between today and Iowa having a debate about whether or not Clinton backed a pre-emptive military attack on Iraq is a little bit insane. The war occurred, it occurred with her support, and it was a pre-emptive war. I don't think this is a difficult question."

Also following up on HRC claims that she did note vote for a pre-emptive war, TPM's Greg Sargent posts Clinton's 10/10/02 Iraq floor speech and writes: "Of course, it seemed awfully obvious at the time that Bush had no intention whatsoever of using those powers only as "a last resort." And the vote did give him the authority to do what he was hell-bent on doing no matter what Saddam did: That is, wage a preemptive war."

Following online reaction throughout the weekend, MyDD's Matt Stoller identifies an emerging "anti-Hillary Iraq Narrative" that "centers on Iraq, and has to do with her inability and unwillingness to admit a mistake on the war vote on Iraq." Stoller argues the meme is particularly damaging since it "brands her badly" is "a clear and good argument against her" that "could dominate the news cycle" and "brings back memories of John Kerry."

Later Stoller offers a solution: "the only way to turn this around would be to take a really public and aggressive leadership role in beating back Bush's plan to invade Iran. ... It would neutralize Obama's antiwar credentials ... and it would sideswipe Edwards completely since he's poorly positioned on Iran."

Atrios argues that the reason Edwards has succeeded online so well so far is due to his "I was wrong" admission.

EDWARDS: A Larger Problem

Amanda Marcotte-related fallout continues to dominate John Edwards discussion fueled by John Dickerson's Slateitem quoting an unamed Democratic staffer for a rival campaign saying, about Team Edwards: "Apparently they're more afraid of the bloggers than they are the Catholics." Kos contacted Dickerson who confirmed that the source was from a Dem campaign. MyDD's Chris Bowers responded: "Apparently, that person is so brave and unafraid of "the bloggers," that s/he can only use Republican-enabling, [Bill] Donohue-loving, blogger-bashing, smear-capitulating language while keeping both his or her campaign and his or her name anonymous."

Bowers goes on to argue that Donohue is just "An Example of a Large Problem" since he "uses his platform to defend Catholics" but does use "his platform for political attacks and religious intolerance." After linking to Donohue claims that he was responsible for getting two Kerry staffers fired in '04 Bowers writes: "Making sure that the Bill Donahues of the world are quoted at will in a wide variety of news outlets is one of the great success of the Republican Noise Machine. ... That is why, for me, this entire episode had nothing whatsoever to do with the actual content of the blog posts in question, but instead about standing up to this false, partisan smear machine for what it is."

Also at MyDD, Matt Stoller calls on "the religious left to step up and stop letting ... bigots" like Donohue to speak for them. Stoller is particularly incensed by Faithful Democrats'Jesse Lava 's assertion that: "Finally, as much as it pains me to say it, I think Donohue may have a point in this case. The blog posts mentioned in the story did speak of a deep-seated hostility to the Church as an institution."

Stoller responds: "Now I know that Faithful Democrats put a caveat in there about how Donahue isn't a nice guy, but that's really irrelevant. ... until the self-described religious left decides to stop letting bigoted and extreme right-wingers talk for them, they are no different than the religious right they pretend to oppose.

GORE: It's Your Fault If Gore Doesn't Run

Claiming that if Al Gore were to jump in the WH'08 race "he'd probably win an outright majority" Daily Kos' Mike Stark asks why the DraftGore site only has 28K signatures compared to the 250K who have joined Barack Obama's Facebook group.

Stark warns Kossacks, "If Gore doesn't run, don't let it be because he wasn't encouraged by the people that most support him" and urges them to sign the DraftGore petition.

OBAMA: "A P.R. Agent's Dream"

Overall reaction to Barack Obama's official announcement was positive, but many were also left wanting more:

• MyDD's Matt Stoller: "I watched the speech, and it was very good. I felt inspired. But there was no 'ask,' nothing for anyone to do but cheer for Obama. An entire new crop of activists and organizers want to work to make Obama president, but until he trusts that he is part of a movement and not a top-down media candidate, he's not there yet."


• Atrios: "Didn't catch every word, but it sounded pretty good."


• Matthew Yglesias: "Good speech, I thought. Frankly, I sort of enjoy the absence of policy detail.


• MyDD commenter TarHeel: "As Kos said once Obama's speeches are like chinese food. 30 minutes later you wonder what it was about."


• The Carpetbagger Report's Steve Benen: "Obama used the word "generation," by my count, 12 times in his announcement speech. ... Obama didn't come right out and say he's picking up JFK's metaphorical torch from the baby-boomers, but he came close.

Century of the Common Iowan later liveblogged an Obama stop in Ames, IA, including this nugget: "Says that he is an imperfect vessel for your hopes and dreams. He can't do it alone, he needs your help to accomplish these goals."

Commenting more broadly, David Sirota wants to believe in Obama but worries the Senator "fundamentally misunderstands ... our most pressing problems." Sirota argues "many of our most pressing problems are zero-sum: someone is benefiting from the status quo, and to change the status quo means someone may lose something. ... Ultimately, Obama ... will have to decide whether he wants to offer up poll-tested platitudes about nebulous "hope" and run for President, or whether he wants to really challenge the status quo and actually BE elected President."

More towards the center, Andrew Sullivan doesn't "think many Americans have fully absorbed yet what the Bush administration has done to America's soft power abroad" and claims "[e]lecting a half-African president, with Hussein as a middle name, who attended school in a Muslim country: it's almost a p.r. agent's dream for America."

OBAMA II: Imagine If Biden Had Called Him 'Exotic', 'Militant', Or 'Uppity'

Lefty bloggers are remaining vigilant in attacking unfavorable Obama coverage. Politico's Mike Allen was this weekend's favorite target for his 2/9 article claiming Obama's "free ride is ending." Brad DeLong explains to Allen that the name 'Barack' is not all that 'exotic' since it also the same word "five million Americans are supposed to say it at sundown every Friday night ... in a Hebrew rather than an Arabic accent: "baruch." For his efforts, Atrios named Allen his "Wanker of the Day."

Daily Kos' MissLaura swipes at Salon for their item calling Obama "uppity." Laura notes Salon quickly changed uppity to smug but still saves the screenshot for posterity.

Also in media criticism, Talking Points Memo warns readers that an upcoming ABC Newsstory on whether Obama's church "is too militant to be accepted by mainstream America" might be based off "the whacked right-wing sheet Investor's Business Daily."

OBAMA III: We Should All Have Such Enemies In A Dem Primary

Obama's quick reaction to Australian PM John Howard's suggestions that an Obama win would "create chaos and a victory for the terrorists" further endeared him to the netroots. The Left Coaster's Steve Soto best summed up lefty opinion on Obama's response invitation for Australia to increase their number of troops in Iraq: "I must admit that I like Team Obama's ability to counterpunch. ... Nice work guys, against an imbecile who has no business sticking his nose into another country's politics."

GIULIANI: Not Running For Rabbi

Rudy Giuliani was the clear "early favorite for president among conventioneers" at the CA GOP convention 2/9 according to The Right Angle's John Gizzi. Other CA GOP/Gizzi nuggets include

• Giuliani told CA GOP assemblymen behinds closed doors: "I'm for adoption, not abortion."


• Log Cabin GOP ED James Vaughn is a Rudy fan telling Gizzi: "He has always been openly supportive of the gay agenda and won't apologize."


• On guns: "the New Yorker told me "I used it effectively as mayor" with regard to handguns, that gun control was one of several of crime-fighting tools along with "increasing the number of police and the 'broken windows' policy ... But, he quickly added, "I understand the Second Amendment" and, regarding owning guns for hunting or collections, Giuliani believes "there is a right to do that."


• On immigration: "The emphasis has to be on security" and that terrorism has made the issue "different from what it was in the '80s and '90s. . .It's a national security matter." He endorsed secure borders and, specifically, supports a "highly technological fence "along the U.S.-Mexican border

Not in Sacramento, CA, but still following coverage, Don Surber praises Giuliani for telling the audience Pres. Bush was "the kind of president I will want to be." Surber writes: "Giuliani didn't have to do that. ... He stood up for the president at a time when all the cowards are running and all those Saddam-loving socialists are saying I-told-you-so. Let him waffle on abortion and gay marriage ... on the one issue that matters - War - Rudy Giuliani is clear: He supports the troops, including the commander-in-chief."

The Corner's Peter Suderman calls Giuliani's views on social issues "reasonable cause for hesitation" but concludes: "But in our current situation, one of the President's prime responsibilities is to be America's leader and representative on the world stage. Most conservatives, I suspect, would rank fortitude, toughness, and strength of character as key qualities for that job, and in that sense, Giuliani is a very appealing candidate."

Picking up on similar sentiments from the Washington Post. Townhall's Matt Lewis argues: "If the question voters ask when they walk in the voting booth is: "Who is the most conservative?" -- he can't win. But if the question is: "Who can keep us safe?" -- he may have a shot."

Also dismissing Giuliani's social conservative shortcomings RedState's Mike Leader writes: "Rudy will not change his views on abortion or homosexuality. He won't waffle, he won't fudge with words, he won't take a poll and then decide what he believes. If he were running for priest or rabbi, you might be justified in not voting for him. The man is running for President. The world is not a perfect one."

More to the left, Andrew Sullivan argues Giuliani's federalism approach to social issues is the only hope for the GOP: "There truly is no need to forge a national consensus on issues like abortion and marriage. That's why I've long opposed Roe and supported states' rights on the issue of marriage equality.
It seems to me that if the conservative coalition is not going to fracture completely, then federalism is its only option."

MCCAIN: They're Never Gonna Forgive Him For BCRA

Few righty bloggers reacted to the Washington Post's story on Jerrold Perenchio history with John McCain, but Captain's Quarters saw hypocrisy on McCain's dealings: "Perenchio ... appears to represent everything that McCain opposed with the BCRA. This is ridiculous, and completely unnecessary. If McCain wants to end corruption, then quit creating Byzantine mechanisms to channel and hide money -- and stop limiting political speech. If that solution is good enough for McCain the candidate, then it should be good enough for McCain the Senator."

ROMNEY: The Convert

According to The Right Angle's John Gizzi the CA GOP convo. also showed "considerable strength" for Mitt Romney. When Gizzi asked ex-state Chair Michael Schroeder about Romney's "evolving positions" on social issues, Schroeder shot back: "If I have two candidates and one is against me on many things and another is a convert, I'll go with the convert."

Also in a defensive spirit, Townhall's Hugh Hewitt examines "Part 421 Of The Globe's Anti-Romney Campaign" and responds: "So why the constant attacks from the Globe? The MSM generally, and the Globe specifically, know the "flip-flop" meme well, and hated its effective deployment against John Kerry. ... MSMers eager to help Hillary or Obama along into the White House ... and the "big swing to the right" is seen as the most effective bit of anti-Romney agitprop that isn't in the category that includes the repellent anti-Mormon bigotry of Jacob Weisberg."

IRAQ: Framing The Debate

Frustrated "that there is not a lot that can be done at the state level to effect the debate" on Iraq, Caliticsdday promotes activist Marcy Winograd's efforts to occupy Rep. Adam Schiff's (D-CA) starting 2/12. Dday writes: "Schiff is a member of the Appropriations Committee, which will get first crack at the President's $145 billion-dollar supplemental funding request. They can set the terms of the debate by adding any riders or limits, on end-dates or troop levels, into the bill. This is a key point. If the President vetoes an appropriation, then HE is cutting off funding for the troops."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: It's Currently 33 In Des Moines, 71 In Miami, And 60 In Los Angeles

Responding to speculation on what affect primary frontloading will have on the IA caucuses, Matt Yglesias writes: "A whole bunch of influential reporters (the mythic "gang of 500") could just decide they don't really want to spend winter in Des Moines, proclaim that under the new schedule Iowa doesn't really matter, and then all head down to Florida and California to cover the newly important warm-weather primaries. The whole process unfolds according to a series of more-or-less arbitrary pseudo-rules than the media (and to some extent big dollar donors) are just kind of making up as they go along."

LEST WE FORGET: Saving Money Where He Can

Pres. Bush tells DVD dossier he loves Netflix because, "I try to leave no DVDs behind, but you know, sometimes it don't always work out. And I've already racked up over $360 billion in late fees on another project I'm working on, so the no late fees thing is big." Bush also shared his Netflix queue which includes titles such as: Bring It On, Reality Bites, Cocaine Cowboys, Dazed and Confused, and Curious George Rides A Bike.