<><>DEMOCRATS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
THE FIELD
Crossing Paths, Candidates Face the Same Audiences
By Larry Rohter
New York Times
April 7, 2008
In addressing the same audiences, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama showed differences, mainly in their tone and style…
Many Superdelegates in No Hurry to Pick a Candidate
By Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane
Washington Post
April 6, 2008
Former Montana senator John Melcher said he hadn't felt any urgency to take sides in the race between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama until late last month, when Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called on superdelegates to make up their minds by July 1. "So after two days of that, I agreed with him that maybe I should, so I did," said Melcher, who announced Wednesday that he will support Obama, based on the candidate's early opposition to the Iraq war…
Dems press for youth vote in aging Penn.
Associated Press
April 7, 2008
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are competing for the youth vote in Pennsylvania as if they have never heard this is a state where the old hold sway. Campuses in the cities and mountainsides are alive with political activism, stirred most notably by Obama in student registration drives aimed at replicating his success with young voters dating to the Iowa caucuses that he won in January to leadoff the primary season…
CLINTON
Clinton Aide Quits Amid Controversy On Colombia
By Jackie Calmes
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton replaced the longtime chief strategist of her struggling presidential campaign after the disclosure that he was working with Colombia's government to help win congressional approval of a trade pact that she opposes. The move comes two weeks before the make-or-break Pennsylvania Democratic primary, where trade issues are likely to play a big role…
Top Clinton Aide Leaving His Post Under Pressure
By John M. Broder
New York Times
April 7, 2008
Mark Penn stepped down as Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief strategist after his business arrangements again clashed with her campaign…
Clinton's Chief Strategist Steps Down
By Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz
Washington Post
April 7, 2008
ALBUQUERQUE, April 6 -- Mark J. Penn quit Sunday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist, the second shake-up in her campaign's top ranks since the onetime front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination began trailing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Penn had been a polarizing figure within the Clinton campaign for months because of his personality as well as his strategic vision, but his departure came as a result of another continuing controversy -- the conflicts of interest that resulted from his representing major clients as president of Burson-Marsteller, the giant public relations firm, while working for Clinton…
Clinton chief strategist steps aside
By Fredreka Schouten
USA Today
April 7, 2008
WASHINGTON — Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, waging an intense fight for working-class voters in Pennsylvania, replaced her chief campaign strategist Mark Penn on Sunday following the disclosure that he was working to push a trade deal that Clinton opposes. "After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as chief strategist," Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams said in a statement released Sunday evening…
Hillary Clinton looks back to get ahead
By Noam N. Levey
Los Angeles Times
April 6, 2008
HARRISBURG, PA. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton nodded knowingly last week as Joe Rebarchek described his struggle to pay for his oldest daughter to attend Villanova University and still save tuition money for his two younger children. "I hear about this everywhere," Clinton said at the Capitol Diner, her voice tinged with sadness…
How voters may react to the Clintons' $109 million income
Few will begrudge the couple its wealth, experts say, unless business ties raise red flags.
By Linda Feldmann
Christian Science Monitor
April 7, 2008
WASHINGTON - Now that the Clintons have bared much of their financial life, in the form of tax returns going back to 2000, will voters view them any differently? Probably not, unless further revelations about the former president's business dealings raise red flags, analysts say. There was never any doubt that the Clintons have become quite wealthy since leaving the White House in January 2001, starting with the bestselling books both Bill and Hillary have written. In addition, former President Clinton is active on the global lecture circuit, at times commanding well into six figures per speech, and has engaged in lucrative investment partnerships…
OBAMA
Obama May Not Have Fully Contained Damage From Ex-Pastor
By Nick Timiraos
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech on race relations last month seemed to put the controversial remarks of his former pastor behind him. But three weeks later, there is evidence of lingering damage…
Obama's lawyer days: brief and not all civil rights
By Dan Morain
Los Angeles Times
April 6, 2008
CHICAGO — In his books, speeches and campaign commercials, Sen. Barack Obama often harks back to his days as a civil rights attorney. It is fundamental to his autobiography, displayed on his campaign website and woven into his appeals for votes. In one of his television ads leading up to the South Carolina primary, Obama recalled "working as a civil rights attorney to make sure that everybody's vote counted."
<><>REPUBLICANS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
McCAIN
McCain, in Populist Turn, Slams Executives' Pay
Ire for Wall Street Tied With Empathy For Homeowners
By Laura Meckler
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
PHOENIX -- The likely Republican presidential nominee displayed a strong populist streak over the housing crisis this weekend, blasting what he called the "outrageous" and "unconscionable" compensation of Bear Stearns and Countrywide executives and their "co-conspirators."
Rice Eyeing Ticket? That’s News to McCain
By Elisabeth Bumiller
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
If Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been campaigning to be John McCain’s running mate, Mr. McCain said he had not noticed…
McCain Brushes Back Criticism of Iraq Stance
By Brian Knowlton
New York Times
April 7, 2008
Senator John McCain acknowledged that the Basra battle surprised him, but he said the White House itself had little notice…
Vocal on War, McCain Is Silent on Son’s Service
By Jodi Kantor
New York Times
April 6, 2008
One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers — soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier…
A conservative about-face on Mitt Romney
By Don Frederick and Andrew Malcolm
Los Angeles Times
April 6, 2008
Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Moral Majority, made a splash last November when he endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Now he's part of an organized campaign urging the man who bested Romney in the Republican primaries and caucuses, John McCain, to not make the former Massachusetts governor his running mate…
Iraq hearings could provide McCain spotlight
By David Jackson
USA Today
April 7, 2008
WASHINGTON — When Gen. David Petraeus testified to Congress in September, his progress report inspired John McCain to launch his "No Surrender Tour." McCain's outspoken support for Petraeus and his strategy that has reduced violence in Iraq has helped him become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. This week, he plays a key role in a new round of Petraeus hearings to be held in the shadow of presidential politics. McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are on the Senate committees that will host the general. All plan to attend the hearings…
<><> PRIMARY CONTESTS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
States see leap in voter registration
By Martha T. Moore
USA Today
April 7, 2008
Nominating a Democratic presidential candidate has become a marathon, but primary voters are going the distance: Voter registration is surging in six of the eight states with upcoming Democratic primaries — a sign that turnout could continue to break records…
PUERTO RICO
Bill Clinton campaigns in Puerto Rico
Associated Press
April 7, 2008
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Bill Clinton took his wife's presidential campaign to Puerto Rico on Sunday night, telling islanders that Sen. Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to fix a struggling economy. The former president arrived for a two-day visit ahead of the U.S. Caribbean territory's June 1 Democratic primary, which could give Puerto Rico a rare opportunity to have a say in national politics…
<><>RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE<><><><><><><><><><><>
A New Star as Campaign Programs Shuffle: The News
By Alessandra Stanley
New York Times
April 7, 2008
In a marked change for cable news, three new programs that treat each night like election night focus on the campaigns, not the hosts…
Campaigns Make a Stop on Capitol Hill
At Tuesday Iraq Hearings, Candidates Can Make Queries, Try to Score Points
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post
April 7, 2008
When Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow, they might be the ones before the microphones, but the cameras will be trained on three of their inquisitors: Sens. John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. The hearings before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees promise to be as much about presidential politics as about the past six months of military and diplomatic progress in Iraq. All last summer, Washington anxiously awaited the September appearances of Petraeus, the commanding U.S. general in Iraq, and Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad, anticipating that their testimony could determine the political viability of continued war…
Barbed Remark on McCain Sets Off Campaign Dispute
By Larry Rohter
New York Times
April 6, 2008
MISSOULA, Mont. — The campaigns of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama sparred Saturday after Ed Schultz, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host who is known for his blunt criticisms of the Bush administration and the Republican Party, called Mr. McCain a “warmonger” at a fund-raiser…
<><>WAR/TERROR<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Officer Questions Petraeus's Strategy
Iraq War Veteran Says Focus on Counterinsurgency Hinders Ability to Fight Conventional War
By Yochi J. Dreazen
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- When Gen. David Petraeus testifies before Congress on Tuesday, lawmakers from both parties will praise him for reducing violence in Iraq. President Bush will try to use his popularity to bolster support for the war. Some Republicans will muse about the general as a vice-presidential candidate…
Rocket Attacks Kill 2 Soldiers In Green Zone, 1 on U.S. Base
By Ernesto Londono
Washington Post
April 7, 2008
BAGHDAD, April 6 -- Three U.S. service members were killed and dozens were wounded Sunday in rocket attacks on the fortified Green Zone and a military base in Baghdad, the U.S. military said. A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Diyala province, the military said…
Petraeus' return promises high political drama
By Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes
Los Angeles Times
April 6, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The weeklong cavalcade that will accompany Army Gen. David H. Petraeus' return to Washington on Tuesday will look much like his pivotal visit last September: formal testimony, talk show appearances, and lots of charts and graphs…
Why Iraq troop drawdown is likely to stop in July
By Howard Lafranchi
Christian Science Monitor
April 7, 2008
WASHINGTON - The two top US officials in Iraq – Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker – are on Capitol Hill this week to report on the Iraq war, but expectations are low that US policy will change much before the end of the year and the arrival of America's next president…
<><>CONGRESS<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Democrats' Hopes Rise for House Seat
By Susan Davis
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
A conservative firebrand with a connection to a former Ku Klux Klan leader will run for a Louisiana seat in the House of Representatives, raising Democrats' hopes they can pick up what has been a reliably conservative district for more than three decades…
Pork Barrel Remains Hidden in U.S. Budget
By Ron Nixon
New York Times
April 7, 2008
Lawmakers can secretly direct billions of dollars to pet projects through vague requests called “soft earmarks.”
<><>OTHER NEWS<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Bush, Putin Leave Door Open For Missile-Defense Cooperation
By John D. Mckinnon
Wall Street Journal
April 7, 2008
SOCHI, Russia -- President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to achieve an immediate breakthrough on design for a planned European missile shield, but the U.S. claimed a victory in gaining long-term Russian cooperation on a system. Following a weekend summit, a joint declaration Sunday said the two sides "expressed their interest" in building a missile-shield system in which the U.S., Russia and Europe "will participate as equal partners." The declaration added that recent U.S. concessions will help in "assuaging" the Kremlin's concerns about whether the system is a threat to Russian defenses. Still, Russia repeated its basic opposition to the current U.S. plan to build the system in Poland and the Czech Republic, two former Soviet satellite states…
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