No PoliClips again until Sunday. Happy Thanksgiving!

<><>DEM<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

THE FIELD

Iowa's House of Labor Is Split
Despite Democratic Bid for Unity, Support May Divide Four Ways

By Kris Maher
Wall Street Journal
November 20, 2007

Alan Anderson is urging fellow United Steelworkers in Mason City, Iowa, to support John Edwards. Joe Bohl, a cousin who works for the city's water utility, says he and other members of the government employees' union will likely back Sen. Hillary Clinton…
Clinton and Obama Spar Over the Economy

By Patrick Healy and Jeff Zeleny
New York Times
November 19, 2007

Both candidates seized on and elevated the economy as a major new sparring point Monday, reflecting the mounting concerns among Americans, not to mention Democratic primary voters…

The Specter of Swift Boating

By Chris Cillizza
Washington Post
November 19, 2007

The kerfuffle over the weekend caused by columnist Bob Novak's assertion that Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign possesses "scandalous information" on Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it, highlights the sensitivity within the party over alleged dirty tricks and the lingering effect of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads in 2004…

<><>REP<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>>

THE FIELD

Gap in GOP healthcare proposals

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Los Angeles Times
November 20, 2007

Plans by Giuliani, McCain and Thompson to help the uninsured would leave out many of their fellow cancer survivors…

McCAIN

McCain’s 9/11 Endorsement

By Marc Santora
New York Times
November 19, 2007

The Republican presidential candidate receives the backing of the co-chairman of the Sept. 11 commission, former Gov. Thomas Kean. It's a choice that sets Mr. McCain apart from Rudy Giuliani, who had tried to court Kean's support…

Only 4 letters but a big name for McCain

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
November 19, 2007

Tom Kean, chair of the 9/11 Commission, backs the senator for his national security expertise…

McCain fights to reconquer N.H.
Momentum gathering, but stance on Iraq war turns off independents

By Jill Zuckman
Chicago Tribune
November 19, 2007

COLEBROOK, N.H. - In the toasty warmth of Howard's Restaurant, Sen. John McCain stepped in from the snow to greet the breakfastgoers in this far north town and convince them that he's got what it takes to win…

<><>FIRST CONTESTS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

In Iowa, Democrats Focus on Economy and Experience

By Patrick Healy and Jeff Zeleny
New York Times
November 20, 2007

Gloomy economic news formed a backdrop for the party’s candidates Monday as they intensified their fight over which one had the best experience to lead the nation…

Many are wooed but few caucus in Mason City

By Louise Roug
Los Angeles Times
November 19, 2007

Presidential candidates' keen attention to the quiet city of about 30,000 traditionally doesn't go far in Iowa's January caucuses…

Democrats focus on economy in Iowa campaigning

By Mike Dorning
Chicago Tribune
November 19, 2007

FT. DODGE, Iowa - With home foreclosures rising, the dollar dropping and oil flirting with $100-a-barrel prices, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama clashed Monday on the question of who is better prepared to lead the nation out of a potential recession that worries some economic forecasters…

In New Hampshire, the swing voters who count first

By Ari Pinkus
Christian Science Monitor
November 20, 2007

In New Hampshire, undeclared voters dominate the political landscape and may hold the key to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary…

<><>2008/PRESIDENT<><><><><><><><><

Mark Your Calendars!

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
November 19, 2007

The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the debate dates and sites for next year’s general election…

Panel Picks 4 Debate Sites, Angering Excluded New Orleans

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
November 20, 2007

Oxford, Miss.; St. Louis; Nashville; and Hempstead, N.Y., were selected as the sites of the presidential and vice-presidential debates in the general election campaign next year…

Using YouTube to Make a Point

By Ed O’Keefe
Washington Post
November 19, 2007

We've noticed a great example of how some campaigns use YouTube to edit pre-existing video journalism to make a point…

Clinton, Rudy, Romney Release New Ads
Clinton Gets Assist From Constituent in New Ad

Washington Post
November 19, 2007

Hillary Clinton is running a new 30-second spot starring Joe Ward, of Lisbon, N.Y. (which is in the Northern-most corner of New York State -- almost in Canada). Ward says in the ad that his son, Joel, needed a bone marrow transplant that his insurance company would not cover, and that his family could not afford…

Edwards gets some celebrity help

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
November 19, 2007

Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, shares a screen with Chuck Norris…

<><>NATIONAL POLLS<><><><><><><><><><><><><

For Democrats, Iowa Still Up for Grabs

By Anne E. Kornblut and Jon Cohen
Washington Post
November 20, 2007

The top three Democratic presidential contenders remain locked in a close battle in Iowa, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) seeing her advantages diminish on key issues, including the questions of experience and which candidate is best prepared to handle the war in Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll…

Making the most out of a few poll points

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
November 19, 2007

New Iowa poll gives Obama's hopes a boost…

<><>WAR/TERROR<><><><><>><><><>

Bush Pulls Financial, Diplomatic Levers To Check Iran

By Gerald F. Seib
Wall Street Journal
November 20, 2007

The nation's leader, nearing an election that polls say his party could lose, decides he must act while he still can to eliminate a national-security threat…

<><>OTHER NEWS AND VIEWS<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Kerry to Swifties: It's Not Over 'Til We Say it Is

By Mary Ann Akers
Washington Post
November 19, 2007

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) can't help himself: he just has to pick the scab every time the folks he blames for ruining his 2004 presidential campaign open their mouths. And now it looks like his latest duel with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth could turn into the Showdown at the U.S. Navy Corral…

Hate crimes against gays, Hispanics, Muslims spike in '06

By Marisol Bello
USA Today
November 20, 2007

Hate crimes in the United States increased 8% in 2006, but some groups, including gays, Muslims and people with mental disabilities, experienced larger spikes in attacks, the FBI says…