<><>DEMOCRATS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
THE FIELD
Tailoring Rust-Belt Economic Appeals
Obama and Clinton Take Different Tacks To Address Anxieties
By Nick Timiraos
Wall Street Journal
April 2, 2008
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- While the Democratic candidates have similar views on the economy, they are taking different approaches in talking about it to voters along the nation's Rust Belt. Sen. Barack Obama's message fits with his break-with-the-past appeal: Old jobs aren't coming back, and high gas prices aren't going away. Sen. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is taking a different tack, touting her experience as a seasoned political fighter. She has urged immediate action on a range of issues, from renegotiating free-trade agreements to lowering gas prices…
Democrats’ Turmoil Tests Party’s Low-Key Leader
By Adam Nagourney
New York Times
April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON — The turmoil in the Democratic presidential race has presented a sharp test of Howard Dean’s low-profile approach to leading the Democratic National Committee, bringing calls from many Democrats for him to take a more aggressive role in defusing the threat of a protracted and divisive nominating fight. After months in which he was largely absent from public deliberations about how to avert a risk to the party’s hopes of taking the White House in November, Mr. Dean stepped forward last week to say he wanted the contest resolved by July 1 and for Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama to tone down their attacks on each other…
Another Shift in the Wind for Clinton and Murdoch
By Michael Luo and Tim Arango
New York Times
April 2, 2008
A popular parlor game in political circles in recent years has been dissecting the shifting relationship between Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Two years ago, there were signs of a thaw, with Mr. Murdoch, who owns The New York Post, not only endorsing Mrs. Clinton’s bid for a second Senate term in his paper, but also organizing a fund-raiser for her…
In Fight for Pennsylvania, a Few Heated Rounds
By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
April 2, 2008
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The Democratic presidential candidates hopscotched across eastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday, with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton comparing herself to Rocky Balboa in rebuffing suggestions that she quit the race. Her opponent, Senator Barack Obama, struck into the heart of Clinton territory, courting voters in the Scranton area where Mrs. Clinton has deep family ties. Mrs. Clinton used the setting of a state A.F.L.-C.I.O. gathering in Philadelphia to begin a blistering attack on the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, saying that Mr. McCain “admits he doesn’t understand the economy, and unfortunately he’s proving that day after day on the campaign trail.”
CLINTON
Clinton camp got behind on health insurance bills
Newsday
April 1, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton promotes healthcare as a top focus of her presidential bid, but her campaign's accountants aren't staying on message. The campaign reported nearly $300,000 worth of unpaid health insurance bills for campaign staff as part of $8.73 million in debts, Federal Election Commission records show…
OBAMA
By Bill Richardson
Washington Post
April 1, 2008
My recent endorsement of Barack Obama for president has been the subject of much discussion and consternation -- particularly among supporters of Hillary Clinton. Led by political commentator James Carville, who makes a living by being confrontational and provocative, Clinton supporters have speculated about events surrounding this endorsement and engaged in personal attacks and insults…
Poll: 1 in 10 think Obama is Muslim
By Daniel Burke
Religion News Service
April 2, 2008
Ten percent of American voters believe Sen. Barack Obama is Muslim, despite the presidential candidate's frequent descriptions of his Christian faith and a high-profile flap over his former pastor. The finding was contained in survey results released by the non-partisan Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. While a majority — 53% — identify Obama as a Christian, 16% of conservative Republicans, 16% of white evangelical Protestants and 19% of rural Americans believe the Illinois senator is Muslim…
<><>REPUBLICANS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
McCAIN
McCain Has Yet To Win Over Key Conservatives
By Elizabeth Holmes
Wall Street Journal
April 2, 2008
On the campaign trail last week, Sen. John McCain declared at least three times that the Republican Party is "united." But is it? Some prominent conservatives say they remain disenchanted with their party's likely nominee. Sen. McCain isn't doing enough to persuade them of his conservative credentials, they say, or win them over to his side. Although the sentiment among conservative leaders is that they will vote for Sen. McCain come November, they aren't thrilled about the prospect…
Meet '08 contender John McCain ... again
By Linda Feldmann
Christian Science Monitor
April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON - John McCain is one of America's best-known politicians. In the latest Gallup favorability ratings for people in the news – a survey of all Americans, not just voters – the senior senator from Arizona clocks in at 67 percent favorable, 27 percent unfavorable, and 7 percent without an opinion. No one replied, "who's that?" So why is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee taking a week to reintroduce himself to the American people, with special emphasis on his and his family's military service? Because as much as people think they know about Senator McCain, he wants to explain his story himself – and its relevance to why he believes he should be president…
McCain pledges 'respectful campaign'
By David Jackson
USA Today
April 2, 2008
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — John McCain pledged a "respectful campaign" Tuesday against either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton, but said he is less confident about the influence of outside political groups. The so-called "527" organizations — named for the section of the tax code under which they operate — can "poison the political atmosphere," McCain said during a town hall meeting at his old high school in northern Virginia…
<><> PRIMARY CONTESTS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><>RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE<><><><><><><><><><><>
Like the Candidates, TV’s Political Pundits Show Signs of Diversity
By Felicia R. Lee
New York Times
April 2, 2008
The historic and long-running presidential campaigns of Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have injected issues of race and gender into politics as never before. With campaign coverage center stage on the cable channels, producers and critics are again assessing the diversity among pundits, who talk (and talk) about things like Mr. Obama’s pastor, the Hispanic vote, Iraq and the economy. Both MSNBC and CNN this election season have given new prominence to a handful of contributing commentators from varied backgrounds and perspectives: blacks, Hispanics and women. Whether such moves signal real progress in diversifying the punditocracy or merely reflect the needs of a particular news cycle is the question, some media experts say. The most prominent positions on television remain overwhelmingly with those who are white and male, and some critics note how striking that non-inclusion can seem during this election year…
By Michael Muskal and Peter Nicholas
Los Angeles Times
April 1, 2008
WILKES-BARRE, PA. - Sen. Barack Obama concentrated his fire on the expected Republican presidential candidate today, while paying scant attention to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who portrayed herself as the fictional never-say-die chump boxer who's earned cinematic fame. Obama campaigned here and Clinton in Philadelphia as they sparred for the next Democratic prize, Pennsylvania's 158 delegates, on April 22. Polls show Clinton with a lead, though it has been melting, according to some surveys. Obama, who has about a 130-delegate lead over Clinton, today again attacked Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate, who campaigned at his high school alma mater in Virginia…
By Maeve Reston and Peter Nicholas
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
April 1, 2008
ALLENTOWN, PA -- In one of their sharpest exchanges of the presidential campaign, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama clashed over the Iraq war on Monday, with each challenging the other's credentials on national security. Meanwhile, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's rival for the party's nomination, went after Obama's supporters for urging her to exit the race. McCain lashed out after a Mississippi event that launched the Arizona senator's weeklong tour of the nation to highlight his military pedigree…
Interest in election goes viral, as primary rivets people
By Maria Puente
USA Today
April 2, 2008
There is no escaping the 2008 presidential election, not just for the candidates but for the rest of us, too. Any place where people loiter, on bar stools, in chat rooms and around water coolers, the hot topic is the campaign, even among citizens usually indifferent to politics. Why? Because the presidential race is authentically electrifying — a wild, hang-on-Martha ride careening across the country with a compelling back story of historic candidates, back-from-the-dead revivals, roller-coaster changes and uncertainty about how it will all turn out…
<><>WAR/TERROR<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Britain Puts Troop Drawdown on Hold
By John F. Burns
New York Times
April 2, 2008
LONDON — Six months after Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined a plan for sharp cuts in the remaining British forces in southern Iraq by this spring, his defense secretary announced on Tuesday that the reduction had been postponed pending a review of the security situation in Basra. The defense secretary, Desmond Browne, also used his statement in the House of Commons to acknowledge that British military involvement in last week’s fighting in Basra was more extensive than previously disclosed. At one point, he said, British tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and ground troops were deployed to help extract Iraqi government troops from a firefight with Shiite militiamen in the city…
Terrorism Interrogators Immune From Prosecution, '03 Memo Says
Since Rescinded, the Document Granted Nearly Unfettered Presidential Power
By Dan Eggen and Josh White
Washington Post
April 1, 2008
Federal laws prohibiting assault and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander-in-chief overrode such statutes, according to a newly declassified 2003 Justice Department memo released today. The memo--which was rescinded just nine months after it was issued--provides an expansive argument for nearly unfettered presidential power in a time of war, contending that numerous laws and treaties that forbid torture or cruel treatment should not apply to the interrogations of enemy combatants overseas…
<><>CONGRESS<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Bernanke and Frank: Unexpected Allies
By Damian Paletta and Sudeep Reddy
Wall Street Journal
April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Ben Bernanke is a soft-spoken, low-key academic who has learned politics on the fly since becoming Federal Reserve chairman two years ago. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is a loud, impatient, Capitol Hill veteran with a penchant for backroom deals. But despite their different styles and political perspectives, the men are emerging as the intellectual leaders behind an increasingly activist government response to the housing and financial crises. While sometimes disagreeing in public, they have often included each other's ideas in speeches, hearings and policy…
Senate Democrats Wary Of Foreign-Regulator Plan
By Judith Burns
Wall Street Journal
April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Some Senate Democrats have this to say about a Securities and Exchange Commission plan for mutual recognition of high-quality foreign regulators: Not so fast. Sen. Jack Reed (D., R.I.) questioned the wisdom of the SEC's idea Tuesday and said he would be reluctant to accept it at a time when lawmakers doubt how well U.S. regulators enforce existing investor-protection regulations…
Congress Fast-Tracks Work on Homeowner Relief
By David M. Herszenhorn and Vikas Bajaj
New York Times
April 2, 2008
The push is the latest sign of a growing consensus that broader government action is needed to prevent a torrent of new foreclosures…
<><>OTHER NEWS<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Immigration Issues End a Grower’s Season
By Paul Vitello
New York Times
April 2, 2008
CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — As in politics, timing is everything in tomatoes. Finding and keeping the field hands who can pick 10,000 tomatoes a day during the hot months of August and September is no less a test of organizational traction than any get-out-the-vote drive. For 35 years, Keith Eckel, 61, one of the largest tomato growers in the Northeast, had the workers and the timing down to a T: seven weeks, 120 men, 125 trailer loads of tomatoes picked, packed and shipped…
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