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Thompson Raises More Than $8 Million in Q3

September 30, 2007 5:05 PM

ABC News' Christine Byun Reports: Fred Thompson's presidential campaign will report raising more than $8 million in the third quarter of this year, according to Thompson campaign Deputy Communications Director Karen Hanretty.

Since announcing his candidacy on September 5 on NBC's "The Tonight Show," Thompson has been going to his homestate of Tennessee for the bulk of his presidential fundraisers.

This past week, the former senator spent Thursday and Friday at fundraisers in five different cities in Tennesse, plus one in Mississippi.

On Friday, Thompson sent out an email to supporters asking them to "help [them] finish strong" by contributing by Sunday's fundraising deadline.

Last week, he spent some time raising cash in Texas and Florida.

Thompson's website, Fred08.com, features an online contest to see which hometown can raise the most money.

According to the site, the five top ONLINE fundraising towns are: Lookout Mountain, TN; Gilbert, AR; Adams, TN; Eagleville, TN; Fredonia, ND. (The cities are judged by donations per capita, by the way) The winning town gets a "special opportunity to visit with Fred in your hometown" with those who contributed.

The Thompson campaign knows they will not win the money battle, but they say they also expect to spend less. Thompson has, numerous times, said he has saved millions by announcing later than his competitors.

September 30, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)

John Rich Joins Thompson on the Trail

September 30, 2007 4:18 PM

ABC News' Christine Byun Reports: Marking his second swing through Iowa since announcing his candidacy, Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson will bringing a little bit of Nashville star power to the Heartland tomorrow.

John Rich, of the country music duo Big and Rich, will be joining Thompson on campaign trail on Monday. Rich has been a supporter of the former Tennessee senator and has performed at fundraisers for the candidate.

On Saturday, after attending a presidential forum in Wyoming, Thompson and his wife, Jeri, stopped by the Iowa Christian Alliance annual awards dinner in Clive, Iowa. The Thompsons greeted guests at the buffet line, shaking hands with more than 700 local voters as they heaped fried chicken and cheesy potatoes onto their plates.

Iowa Christian Alliance President Steve Scheffler, who met with Thompson over the summer, said members of his organization will be watching Thompson as he meets with Iowans during the next couple of days. Scheffler said they have not heard as much about Thompson compared to his GOP competitors, and will be judging all candidates on their stances on abortion and same-sex marriages. The Iowa Christian Alliance does not endorse candidates, but publishes voters guides. Scheffler stressed a candidate's support for a state and federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages is "an absolute essential" in winning his vote.

Thompson has not yet committed to pledging to support for such a measure. The former lawyer-actor has instead talked about a constitutional amendment that forbids states from imposing their marriage laws on other states, which reportedly did not sit well with Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson, who has since expressed that he will not be supporting Thompson.

September 30, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

President Clinton Says Hillary is Right on Torture

September 30, 2007 11:29 AM

ABC News' Tahman Bradley Reports: Former President Bill Clinton tried to clear up what appeared to be a difference he has with his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton, over whether the U.S. should condone a formal exception to torture if the nation faces a grave security risk.

Answering a hypothetical question during Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire, Senator Clinton said torture cannot be American policy, breaking with the former president who suggested in 2006 that there could be a law setup where the president of the United States could make an exception allowing the use of torture if a prisoner had information that could save American lives.

"Every one of us can imagine the following scenario: we get lucky, we get the number 3 guy in al-Qaeda. And we know there's a big bomb going off in American in three days. And we know this guy knows where it is. Don't we have the right and the responsibility to beat it out of him," said the former president in 2006.

But in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton backed away from his past comments on torture, announcing that his views are now in step with his wife.

"As a general point, I think she's right," he said.

"I think America's policy should be to oppose torture (and) to honor the Geneva Conventions for several reasons: One is, it's always counter productive, if you beat somebody up, they'll tell you what they want to hear. Two, it really hurts us in the rest of the world and it helps to create other terrorists. And thirdly, it's makes our own people valuable to torture."

Despite his seemingly new position on torture, Clinton still pointed to the situations that the fictional government agent Jack Bauer encounters weekly on the popular television series "24" to try to explain the difficult issue.

"It happens every season with Jack Bauer, but in the real world it doesn't happen very much. If you have a policy which legitimizes this, it's a slipper slop and you get in the kind of trouble we've been in here with Guantanamo and lots of other examples."

And further underscoring the difficulty of the issue Clinton told NBC's Tim Russert, "And I'm not even sure what I said is right now."

September 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Obama Fires Back at Bill Clinton

September 29, 2007 2:34 PM

September 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Gingrich Not Running in '08

September 29, 2007 1:08 PM

ABC News' Lindsay Hamilton reports: ABC News has learned that former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, D-Ga., will not seek the presidency in 2008. Gingrich has kept campaign watchers guessing by delaying his decision for months. As recently as Thursday, it was reported that he was planning to launch a website this coming Monday in an effort to raise $30 million by Oct. 21 to support a possible candidacy.

Despite those earlier indications, Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler confirms that Gingrich is staying out. Tyler said Gingrich plans to "remain a citizen activist," continuing his work with American Solutions for Winning the Future, a non-partisan organization aimed at rising above partisan gridlock to provide solutions to issues facing the United States.

This Sunday Gingrich will appear exclusively on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

September 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (27) | TrackBack (0)

Iowa: 'The Whole Shebang' for Obama?

September 28, 2007 9:05 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: A certain level of taboo language has been swirling around in recent days about Sen. Obama's outlook in Iowa.

In comments reported in The New Republic, campaign manager David Plouffe was heard exclaiming, "Iowa -- that's the whole shebang!" Michael Crowley reports that after a pause Plouffe followed up, "I guess I'm not supposed to say that. … But Iowa is very important."

Plouffe's comments come on the heels of a dust up of press following Michelle Obama's assertion in Iowa Wednesday that, "If Barack doesn't win Iowa, it's just a dream. If we win Iowa, then we can move to the world as it should be."

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor responded, “Every campaign understands the importance of doing well in Iowa. Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack talked about helping Hillary Clinton win Iowa. Edwards strategist Joe Trippi said that if Sen. Edwards doesn’t win Iowa it will severely diminish his chances. ... This is a campaign that’s built for the long haul.”

Obama has mostly ranked third in polls, placing him behind Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards. But in an e-mail to supporters last weekend, Plouffe argued that the polls consistently under represent in Iowa and elsewhere the greatest of Obama's support.

September 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

Bill Clinton Challenges Obama's Experience

September 28, 2007 6:41 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Former President Bill Clinton is pulling out his resume against Senator Barack Obama's credentials to run for president.

In an interview with "Political Capitol With Al Hunt" set to air on Bloomberg TV, Clinton compared his experience level in 1992, running against George H. W Bush, to that of Illinois Senator Barack Obama's as he runs against Clinton's wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

"There is a difference…I was the senior governor in America. I had been head of any number of national organizations that were related to the major issue of the day, which is how to restore America's economic strength."

The former president also explained that Obama's experience is more similar to his own in 1988, before he ran for Presidency.

"I came within a day of announcing, because most of the governors were for me and I had been a governor for six years," Clinton said.  "I really didn't think I knew enough and had served enough and done enough to run."

Clinton also described the issues the world faced then as opposed to the international conflicts of present day, "We didn't have the terror threat. We didn't have troops in Iraq. We didn't have the Afghan issue hanging fire."

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton responded to ABC News in a statement, "Senator Obama has over two decades of the experience America needs right now.  He can change the divisive politics of Washington because he's the one candidate who's spent his career bringing people of differing views together to deliver results on things like health care and ethics reform," said Burton.  "And when it comes to restoring America's image in the world, America needs a President who made the most important foreign policy decision of a generation based on what was right for America, not the politics of the moment."

Clinton's interview on Bloomberg TV airs Friday at 11 pm.

September 28, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Giuliani: 'No Matter What the Debate Was ... I Would Have to Turn It Down'

September 28, 2007 4:14 PM

ABC News' Jan Simmonds Reports:  Outside the Original Pantry Café in Los Angeles Friday morning, Rudy Giuliani explained his absence at last night's Republican debate on race issues by saying that his priority the last two weeks has been centered around his fundraising operation.

"I did show up last night … I showed up to the events that I was scheduled for," said Giuliani. 

"I get invited to a dozen debates. I can only do one or two a month," the former New York Mayor added.  "And then quite frankly I would have gone to no debate in the last two to three weeks, well the last two weeks.  Cause these last two weeks have been devoted to raising money, that is just the simple reality of it."

Asked whether his failure to appear at the forum may give the wrong impression to minority voters, Giuliani said, "I would ask them not to." 

"And no matter what the debate was last night or if there was a debate tonight or the night before … I would have to turn it down," he said.  "Because I would have been scheduled already for these last minute fundraisers that are so important to our being able to compete in January and February." 

The national Republican frontrunner though, did not shy away from commenting on Hillary Clinton’s performance this past week at the Democratic candidates’ debate in new Hampshire.

During Wednesday's debate, Clinton said that she was now against all torture – "period" – even though previously she held the position that it was okay aggressively question a terrorist to foil "something imminent."

Clinton later remarked that her change in policy was born out of conversations she has held with generals on the subject.

Seizing the opportunity to call out Clinton for changing her position, Giuliani announced he was going to now adopt a "new posture towards Senator Clinton."

"I am going to wait till she holds a position for a week or two and then I am going to comment on it.  Senator Clinton changes her mind so often, that it is really really hard to critique a particular position, because by the time you critique it she may have changed it," Giuliani said.

He also took offense to Clinton now saying she thought the troops in Iraq could end up staying in Iraq till 2013.  Giuliani noted that Clinton previously stated that if the troops weren't out of Iraq before she was elected president, then she would remove them immediately once in office. 

"That's like a total, that's not a flip-flop, that's like a total trip around the world," he added in astonishment.

September 28, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Gingrich Website to Be Launched

September 28, 2007 3:53 PM

ABC News' Jake Tapper Reports: ABC News has learned that on Monday, Randy Evans, a longtime aide to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, will announce the creation a website for a possible Gingrich run for the White House.

Through that website Evans will attempt to solicit $30 million in pledges for the Gingrich campaign.
Last week Gingrich told reporters that Evans would devote October towards seeking the $30 million in pledges.

If enough pledges are made by Nov. 1, Gingrich has said he will consider running.

Yesterday, on the 13th anniversary of the signing of the Contract with America, Gingrich held a bipartisan "Solutions Day" event where he said the nation needed "real change, not the same old stuff."

More will be disclosed by Evans at a press conference Monday at 3:30 pm EST in Atlanta, Georgia.

September 28, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Obama: Justice System is Racially Biased

September 28, 2007 2:55 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Resurrecting images and words from civil rights leader Marin Luther King Jr., and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., Friday invoked the Jena Six case and the response to Katrina to lay out his platform on criminal justice reform.

Speaking at a convocation ceremony at Howard University, a historically black school, Obama said it is because of civil rights victories in years past that "a black man named Barack Obama can stand before you today as a candidate for President of the United State of America."

The Senator said despite gains, examples of inequalities abound.

"Like Katrina did with poverty, Jena exposed glaring inequities in our justice system that were around long before that schoolyard fight broke out," Obama said.  He commended the Howard students who joined demonstrators in Jena, Louisiana to protest the judicial treatment of six black teenagers who were arrested for beating a white schoolmate following a series of racially motivated incidents.

Obama addressed how he would change the inequalities in America's justice system, aiming for a criminal justice system with "trust and confidence in every American, regardless of age, or race, or background."

The Senator said he would rid the Justice Department of "ideologues and political cronies." He said he would push for voting rights legislation, and would demand that every person accused of a crime have access to a quality public attorney.

Obama said the punishment for drug crimes are racially biased, saying, "punishment of crack cocaine should not be that much more severe than the punishment for powder cocaine when the real difference is the people using them."

He said mandatory minimum drug sentencing should be reviewed, calling for the reduction of "blind and counter productive warehousing of non violence offenders."

"I am not just running to make history," Obama said. "I'm running because I believe that together, we can change history's course. It's not enough just to look back in wonder of how far we've come –- I want us to look ahead with a fierce urgency at how far we have left to go." 

September 28, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (56) | TrackBack (0)

'Heavy-Weight' to Give Dem Radio Address

September 28, 2007 2:51 PM

ABC News' Lindsey Ellerson Reports: To pressure President Bush not to veto Senate-passed legislation that would extend a federal children's health insurance plan, Senate Democrats have asked 12-year-old Graeme Frost -- who benefited from the program while recovering from a severe car accident -- to deliver the weekly radio address. 

"One of the pleasures that the speaker and I have is that we submit who is going to give the radio address following the president," said Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid Friday during a ceremony on Capitol Hill.  "We decided that we wanted this week to have a real heavy-weight. And that's why this week we have 12-year-old Graeme with us."

In the radio address, Graeme asks why President Bush wants to "stop" the program. 

"I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting SCHIP," Graeme will say in the Saturday radio address, according to a transcript released Friday. "All I know, is that I have some really good doctors that took care of me when I was sick and I'm glad I could because of the children's health program. I just hope the president will listen to my story and help other kids be as lucky as me."

A resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Graeme was seriously injured in an car accident three years ago. His family's participation in the Children's Health Insurance Program helped facilitate his recovery.

"I was in a coma for a week and couldn't eat or stand up or even talk at first. My sister was even worse. I was in the hospital for five and a half months, and I needed a big surgery."

Now Graeme has recovered and is back at school, but still struggles with injuries from the accident.

"One of my vocal chords is paralyzed so I don't talk the same I used to, and I can't run or walk as fast as I did.  The doctors say I can't play football anymore, but, I might still be able to be a coach. I'm just happy to be back with my family," he says.

"These children are why we are here," House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Friday. "They are why this Congress came together in a bipartisan way in overwhelming agreement on this legislation."

The legislation, which would have extended health benefits to ten million American children from poor families, was passed by the House on Tuesday and by the Senate late Thursday evening. The bill would increase spending on the program from approximately $5 billion to $12 billion annually for the next five years, a sum that is double what Bush recommended.

While a majority of the Senate supported the bipartisan bill, in a phone call on Friday morning, Bush told Pelosi he will veto the measure.

"I reached out to the president this morning to say that I was still praying that he would have a change of heart," Pelosi said. "I think I have to pray a little harder, but I will not give up."

The President is still intent on vetoing the $30-billion expansion because he says the bill would extend health benefits to children of middle class and upper class families, rather than just children of poorer families.

"Congressional leaders have put forward an irresponsible plan that would dramatically expand this program beyond its original intent," Bush will say in his radio address on Saturday.  "They know I will veto it."

"The President has been very clear for months that if the bill came to him in its current form, that he would veto it," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters Friday.

"The President is saying, let's take care of the neediest children first, let's not put scarce federal dollars towards a program that was meant for the poorest children and let it creep up to middle income families with incomes up to $83,000 a year," Perino said.

During the Friday morning ceremony Reid said that this legislation is the last straw. "I spent more time on this legislation than any other piece of legislation in my entire legislative career," he said.

ABC News' Ann Compton and James Kane contributed to this report.

September 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Pelosi: House to Go It Alone on Iraq

September 28, 2007 1:08 PM

ABC News' Dean Norland Reports: House Speaker  Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said  Friday that the House can no longer wait for  the Senate to pass legislation to change the direction of the war in Iraq.

"We in the House cannot confine our aspirations to changing the direction in Iraq to what might be possible today in the United States Senate," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly on-camera briefing.

The speaker further explained that those in favor of redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq will "appeal to the American people from the House of Representatives in a way that is less dependent on what is legislatively possible in the United States Senate."

While it takes sixty-votes to even proceed to debate on a bill in the Senate, Pelosi said of the House, "we can't go as slow as that ship."

The speaker declined to say if any of the bills the House will consider as part of its go-it-alone strategy will contain specific dates to pull troops out of Iraq. 

Three of the bills the House will consider next week concern the Iraq war.   

One will require that the administration provide Congress with a detailed plan for redeploying troops out of Iraq.  Another will deal with military contractors working in the was zone.  A third will deal with increasing the independence of inspectors general so there is a  better handle on how U.S. reconstruction money is being spent in Iraq.

September 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

Hunter Demands Criminal Accountability in Jena 6 Case

September 28, 2007 11:02 AM

ABC News' Mike Chesney Reports: Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., stood apart from his Republican presidential rivals at a Thursday debate on issues of concern to minorities by demanding criminal accountability for 17-year old Mychal Bell, an alleged perpetrator of a recent, high-profile beating in Jena, La.

"If in fact, the young man was kicked in the head while he was unconscious, there has to be accountability for that. And that is clearly criminal accountability," said Hunter. "I don't know what particular divisions between juvenile and non-juvenile courts are being made in this case, but there must be accountability."

Panelist Juan Williams, from National Public Radio, had asked the candidates about how they would handle inequalities for Black and Latino Americans in the judicial system.

"As young black and Latino Americans are watching this debate, they often feel quite alienated from the Republican Party, a party that does not seem to respond to their issues," Williams started. "The one area of these problems touching on federal government policy has to do with criminal justice. Today, in Jena, La., it was announced that one of the Jena 6, originally convicted as an adult, will be tried now as a juvenile."

"Name one reform," he continued, "that you would endorse to assure young black and Latino people in America that they will have equal justice in America’s courts."

Rather than offering reforms of the criminal justice system as five of his G.O.P. rivals did, Hunter emphasized the need for criminal accountability. When pressed in a follow-up question by moderator Tavis Smiley to offer a systemic reform, Hunter demurred and instead offered an endorsement of the American jury system.

"Juries, obviously, are blemished in many ways and are not perfect," said Hunter, "but a jury trial under the law is, I think, the best system of justice on the face of the Earth."

Bell faced a maximum 15 years in prison after being tried and convicted as an adult last month for aggravated second-degree battery. Now that he is being tried as a juvenile, he cannot be given a sentence which extends past the age of 21.

Asked following the forum if he supported Bell being tried as an adult, Hunter did not state a position, saying instead, "I haven’t seen all the facts," before reiterating his general support for some form of criminal accountability in this case.

Thursday's All-American Presidential Debate Forum, which took place on the campus of an historically black college in Baltimore, was skipped by four leading contenders for the G.O.P.'s presidential nomination: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, and Arizona Sen. John McCain

September 28, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Iraqi Insurgent FISA timeline: Probable Cause and the AG

September 27, 2007 7:28 PM

ABC News' Jason Ryan Reports: The Acting Deputy Director of National Intelligence has sent a letter to the House Intelligence Committee revealing details on the gap in obtaining a FISA after 3 US soldiers were captured in Iraq on May 12.

The incident where the military was required to get a FISA warrant is a real world example in the FISA reform legislation being examined by Congress. The FISA legislation passed by Congress in August, the Protect Act, provided a fix to the government's ability to intercept foreign to foreign communications.

The letter from the acting Deputy Ron Burgess notes, "On May 14, 2007 as soon as the specific leads had been identified analysts began to compile all the necessary information to establish a factual basis for the issuance of a FISA court order as required by the emergency authorization provision of the statute."

"This case presented novel and complicated issues…This was the focus of the internal Executive Branch deliberations between 12:53pm and 5:15pm and the reason behind the decision to contact the Attorney General for emergency authority rather than the Solicitor General." Burgess wrote.

The letter to Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes also notes, "The Director used this example to illustrate the point that, due to changes in technology, the FISA statute extends privacy protections to foreign terrorists located outside of the United States merely because FISA makes a geographic distinction based on the location of the collection."

According to one intelligence official, US officials were attempting to intercept and review email and Internet communications of the insurgents. A career Justice Department official said tonight that the Attorney General needed to get to a secure phone and secure location before he could be briefed on the situation. A copy of the letter has been sent to the DC Assignment desk.

The key times attached to the letter:

May 12, 2007: :Three US solider were reported missing and believed to have been captured by Iraqi insurgents…SIGINT [signal intelligence] assets responded by dedicating all available resources to obtaining intelligence concerning the attack."

13& 14th: Intelligence community began to develop leads.

May 15: 10:00am "key US agencies met to discuss options for colleting additional intelligence."

10:52am: "NSA notified..DOJ of its desire to collect communications that require a FISA order…it was determined some FISA coverage already existed."

12:53pm to 5:15pm :"Administration lawyers and intelligence officials discussed various legal and operational issues associated with the surveillance."

5:15pm: DOJ's FISA Office the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR) received a call formally requesting emergency authority to conduct surveillance."

5:30pm: "The OIPR attorney on duty attempted to reach the Solicitor General who was the Acting Attorney General while Attorney General Gonzales was addressing a United States Attorney's Conference in Texas. However the Solicitor General had left for the day and the decision was made to attempt to reach Attorney General in Texas."

OIPR contacted DOJ command center and requested to locate the Attorney General. "After Several telephone calls with the staff accompanying the Attorney General, the OIPR lawyers were able to speak directly with the Attorney General and brief him on the fact of the emergency request."

" At 7:18pm, the Attorney General authorized the requested surveillance, the Justice Department attorney's immediately notified the FBI."

"At 7:28pm, the FBI notified the key intelligence agencies and personnel of the approval."

"At 7:38pm, surveillance began."

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Senators Reach Out to Burmese with Youtube

September 27, 2007 7:00 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: In a web video recorded today and posted on Youtube, Senators Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, have reached out to the "freedom-loving people of Burma."

"The world has not ignored your efforts. Each day more people become invested in your quest for democracy. The regime can no longer ignore the outside world as people see the images of your peaceful demonstrations and the barbaric efforts to quash them," said McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader.

"Most of all we want you to know that we, like so many others throughout the world, actively support your struggle for freedom, democracy and reconciliation. Your struggle is our struggle. The world is watching and we are cheering you."

McConnell and Feinstein have both tried to keep a light on the situation in Burma for several years. McConnell had tried to travel there, but was denied a visa. He and Feinstein were the authors of legislation, signed into law earlier this summer, that extended economic sanctions on the military junta that run the country.

In the web video, Feinstein pledges to keep up the pressure on the government there:

"Our pledge to you is that we will continue to press the military regime to release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to begin a true dialogue on national reconciliation with all parties. We will continue to urge Burma’s neighbors with the closest ties to the regime

– China, India, Japan, Russia, and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations –

to put pressure on the regime to cease its attacks and embrace a peaceful political settlement. We are watching, we are paying attention, and we will not give up on our shared vision of a free and democratic Burma."

It is unclear how many of the monks and Burmese struggling against the military junta will actually see the web video, however, The CIA World Fact Book, for instance, says Internet access in the country has been restricted to government and some businesses, giving only a small fraction of the population and the junta itself access to the video.

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Edwards to Accept Public Financing

September 27, 2007 5:26 PM

ABC News' Raelyn Johnson Reports: As the end of the third quarter fundraising period draws to a close, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., has announced that he intends to accept public financing for his bid for the Democratic nomination.

Edwards, who has severely lagged behind Clinton and Obama in fundraising, has not leaked his third quarter fundraising expectations, as he has done in previous quarters.

The campaign is saying this is not a red flag when it comes to his fundraising capabilities, but a step to curb the money in politics and make a statement about the influence of money.

In a statement released to the media, the Edwards campaign challenged Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., calling on her to join him now in accepting public financing and "ending the money game in Washington."

"You can't buy your way to the Democratic nomination –- you should have to earn the votes of the American people with bold vision and ideas," said David Bonior, Edwards' campaign manager.

"Senator Clinton said she believes public financing is the answer to ending the influence of lobbyists and special interests in Washington, Bonior said in the statement. "If she really believes that, she should join Senator Edwards and seek public financing, or she should explain to the American people why she does not mean what she says."

To be eligible for public financing, a candidate must prove to the Federal Election Commission their campaign has raised $100,000 by collecting $5,000 from any twenty states from contribution totaling no more than $250 each. 

Money for the public financing system comes from a fund paid for by taxpayers who agree to set aside $3 from their income taxes for the presidential account. Taking money from the fund means the candidate must comply with spending limits.

Edwards could get up to $21 million in public money for the primary, but his overall spending on the primary elections could not exceed about $50 million. Candidates eligible for public financing receive matching payments from the federal government for the first $250 of each individual contribution they raise.
 

With files from the Associated Press.

September 27, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Edwards Talks Darfur, Global Warming with MTV Crowd

September 27, 2007 3:44 PM

ABC News' Raelyn Johnson Reports: There was no 'boxers-or-briefs' moment for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as he took part Thursday in MTV-MySpace candidate forum at the University of New Hampshire. Education dominated the discussion but topics remained weighty, ranging from Iraq to Darfur to global warming, covering even the rebuilding of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

(The MTV candidate forums put themselves on the roadmap to the White House in 1992 when then-Gov. Bill Clinton answered 'briefs' to the now-infamous and then-racy 'boxers-or-briefs' question.)

For Edwards, the forum's tone quickly turned into Politics 101 as Edwards sought to school the college-aged crowd on the nature of politicians and to “listen very carefully when you hear the candidates.”

When asked about ending the war in Iraq, Edwards sought to clarify the different between his plan and what other candidates are proposing.  During Wednesday's Democratic debate, Edwards said he would not continue combat missions in Iraq if elected and blasted Clinton for suggesting otherwise.

"It's important for America to understand the difference," Edwards said as he reiterated his version of the exchange with Clinton.

Edwards was the first to participate in MTV's series of candidate forums leading into the 2008 presidential election that was broadcast live on the Internet. 

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Clinton Library Donors Remain Secret

September 27, 2007 2:20 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein and Eloise Harper Report: Former president Bill Clinton said Thursday that he will not reveal the names of donors to the Clinton Presidential Library unless he is required to by law, rebuffing pressure from his wife's rivals for more disclosure.

"We don't believe in one set of rules for us and another set for everybody else," the former president said at a news conference in New York. "The people that have already given me money, I don't think I should disclose it unless there is some conflict of which I am aware -- and there is not -- because a lot of people gave me money with the understanding that they could give anonymously. And if they gave publicly they would be the target for every other politician in America."

At Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she was "sure [the former president would] be happy to consider" making public the names of donors to the library. But she refused to say whether she had asked him to do so.

"I don't talk about my private conversations with my husband," Clinton said.

She also touted a bill she’s sponsored that would require "sitting presidents" -- though not former presidents -- to reveal any donation to their presidential libraries. "I think that's a good policy," she said.

The former president said that if such a bill becomes law, he will also disclose donors to his library, even though he would not technically be covered by it.

"If she becomes president, I will treat as if we are covered by that, and I will disclose all of the donors to our library and activities if she becomes president," President Clinton said.

At Wednesday’s debate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called on all presidential libraries to disclose their donors. Obama has filed a bill in the Senate that would require disclosure of all contributions to presidential libraries -- including Clinton's.

"I think it's important not only that all this information is disclosed, but I also think that we need to have a situation in which we are disclosing the funneling of large donors," Obama said.

Under current law, presidential libraries are treated like any other charitable organization, and are not required to disclose their donors.

But some have called for that law to change, so the public has access to more information about individuals, companies, and foreign governments that may seek to influence policy through their donations. Recent presidents, including Clinton and Bush, have begun raising money for their libraries while still in office.

The issue of contributions to the Clinton library has gotten fresh attention in recent weeks with the widening scandal surrounding disgraced Clinton fund-raiser Norman Hsu. Hsu has given widely to the Clintons and their causes; he raised $850,000 for Sen. Clinton’s campaign, and gave $30,000 to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Those contributions have been returned. But Clinton aides have declined to say whether Hsu has given any money to the foundation that funds the Clinton Presidential Library, or whether such funds have been returned.

The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark. -- which will eventually include a library, a 30-acre park, an archive, and a school of public service -- has raised $165 million from private sources, according to press accounts. None of those sources must be revealed, under state and federal law.

In 2004, a reporter for the New York Sun offered a peek inside the library's fund-raising machine. The reporter, Josh Gerstein, reviewed a list of donors that was available to the public on a touch-screen computer mounted on a wall inside the library; the computer no longer has that information.

Among the entities who have been reported to have given more than $1 million toward the presidentical center: the governments of Dubai, Kuwait, and Qatar; the Saudi royal family; a deputy prime minister of Lebanon; filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Stephen Bing, and David Geffen; Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton; the Anheuser-Busch Foundation; and Vin Gupta, chairman and CEO of infoUSA Inc., a telemarketing firm that has come under scrutiny for its handling of private information.

September 27, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (21) | TrackBack (0)

Huckabee Proposes 'Regional Summit' for Iraq

September 27, 2007 1:56 PM

ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Though GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is being noticed tonight for participation the PBS debate on minority issues (in a forum conspicuously absent of the party frontrunners), tomorrow morning the former Arkansas governor will spend time in Washington presenting a platform on Iraq and the war on terror

The speech before the Center for Strategic and International Studies marks one of Huckabee’s first opportunities to speak at length to a large group about one issue – arguably THE issue -- in the '08 campaign cycle.   

Entitled 'Paths and Priorities in the War on Terror'  Huckabee's speech is expected to continue speaking to necessary success in Iraq. He has long argued that Democrats “deny that the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror even as we fight Al Qaeda there”; Huckbee charges that the only way out is honorable victory. 

In addition to military might, Huckabee’s position also supports a “regional summit” to help bring about a peaceful resolution in the region. 

His campaign’s website doesn't mince words. 

“Withdrawal would have serious strategic consequences for us and horrific humanitarian consequences for the Iraqis. If we leave, Iraq's neighbors on all sides will face a refugee crisis and be drawn into the war: Iran to protect the Shiites; Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan to protect the Sunnis; and Turkey to protect its control over its own Kurd population.” 

While his war rhetoric may sound strikingly similar to fellow Republicans, Huckabee supports a energy independence solution that, to some, leans left. 

In an August debate moderated by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Huckabee said “Every time somebody in this room goes to the gas pump, you’ve helped make the Saudi royal family a little wealthier and the money that has been used against us in terrorism has largely come from the middle east” and “if we can feed ourselves, if we can fuel ourselves, if we can manufacture the weapons to fight for ourselves, we’re a free people.  If we can’t do those three things, we’re not free.”

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Rice Opens Climate Change Conference

September 27, 2007 1:00 PM

ABC News' Kirit Radia Reports: The State Department is hosting a two-day global conference on climate change, something President Bush called for months ago.  The world's largest economies are in attendance to explore ways to reduce greenhouse emissions while protecting growing economies, something that the Kyoto agreements, set to expire in 2012, were criticized for not balancing enough.

Just days after the UN Climate Conference, Secretary of State Rice opened the State Department's conference Thursday morning, saying that global warming is a global problem on the scale of weapons proliferation, the spread of disease, and transnational terrorism.

She said, "We agree that climate change is a real problem and that human beings are contributing to it. The best science tells us exactly this."

The secretary outlined three principle goals for the conference: to agree on long term greenhouse gas reduction goals; to establish national targets and programs to reach the broader goal, saying that this is not a one size fits all approach; and to work with private industry to develop new energy technologies.

Rice added that there is a need to forge a consensus on how best to address climate change, while protecting economic growth in growing countries.  She pledged the cooperation of the United States and acknowledged the nation's contribution to climate change thus far.   

While inside the State Department leaders stayed focus on business, outside, it got a bit colorful.  Protesters stormed the perimeter of the State Department, resulting in the arrest of 47 people, according to State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey.  The demonstrators were blocking the entrance of the building and after being asked to move three times, guards from the Federal Protection Service, which provides protection for US govt buildings, arrested the protesters.

President Bush is slated to address the conference Friday.

September 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Laura Bush on Burma: "The World has Been Remarkably Silent"

September 27, 2007 12:57 PM

ABC News' Ann Compton Reports: Laura Bush, in the most significant foreign policy issue she has taken up, is way ahead of her husband opposing the repression now spilling into bloodshed in Southeast Asia.

For over a year, the First Lady has been lobbying world leaders and politicians at home to speak out on conditions in the country that the U.S. refuses to call anything but Burma, its name before a military junta sezied control and renamed it Myanmar.

"The world has been remarkably silent," she told Senators on Capitol Hill as the prison sentence was supposed to lapse for Aung San Suu Ki, the Nobel Peace laureate who has been under arrest since her political party won an election in Burma and the military coup overturned the results.

That anniversary passed more than four months ago. Ang San Suu Ki has not been taken from house arrest to prison.

Mrs. Bush has held roundtable discussions with international diplomats in New York to bring the world spotlight to bear. She met in her East Wing office with Ibrahim Gambari who has been dispatched to the troubled region by the United Nations. And recently the White House released a photograph of Mrs. Bush picking up the telephone to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, appealing for action.

In one of the many interviews she in granting during the crisis, Mrs. Bush told the Voice of America, a US government radio network, that she because interested through a cousin who is an advocate on Burma. From here her lobbying has snowballed. 

After seeing the first bloody clashes between Burmese troops and peaceful Buddhist monks in the capital, Mrs. Bush told VOA, "I'm very concerned. I pray for the people of Burma. I'm awed by their courage." And she appealed to the Burmese army: "I want to say to the armed guards and to the soldiers: Don't fire on your people. Don't fire on your neighbors."

September 27, 2007 in White House | Permalink | User Comments (44) | TrackBack (0)

McCain Blasts Rivals on Iraq

September 27, 2007 12:52 PM

ABC News' Bret Hovell Reports: Senator John McCain stressed Thursday that he is the only presidential candidate equipped to fight the global war on terror, and drew distinctions between himself and his chief rivals for the job from both parties.

Saying he is worried that the U.S. Government is "not adequately prepared to fight" the long war ahead, McCain argued that his two closest competitors for the Republican nomination haven't proven they are ready for the job of president.

"Tough talk or managerial successes in the private sector aren't adequate assurance that their authors have the experience or qualities necessary for such a singular responsibility," McCain said in a speech to the Hudson Institute in New York.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the target of the "tough talk" criticism, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a wildly successful businessman, the target of the "managerial success" comment.

"You don't just talk about or manage such changes," McCain said, "you lead them."

And speaking with reporters after his speech, McCain was critical of the front-runner on the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton.

"I think that anyone who advocates setting a date for withdrawal and voting for cutting off funding, which Senator Clinton did, after we decided that [the troops] would remain, obviously doesn't have the strategic grasp that is necessary to address this issue," he said.

Watch the video HERE.

The Arizona Republican's speech in New York came on the same day his campaign announced a new series of television and radio advertisements they have purchased in New Hampshire, the first ads the McCain campaign has run this election cycle.

Two different thirty second ads have been produced, and the campaign has purchased what it says is a full statewide buy that will cover New Hampshire for several weeks.

September 27, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

Michelle Obama Hawks the Dream to the Hawkeye State

September 27, 2007 2:29 AM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: In her ninth visit to Iowa, Michelle Obama was frank about the need for the state’s support for her husband, Senator Barack Obama’s, presidential campaign.

“If Barack doesn’t win Iowa it’s just a dream. If we win Iowa then we can move to the world as it should be. “

Campaigning across three cities, Mrs. Obama dissected the issue of experience that has haunted her husband’s presidential run thus far, professing it the thing that irritates her the most, “The difference is that in Washington you define experience as years in Washington, as if nothing else mattered. And we can either fall into that or either hope to redefine what experience really means.”

Calling on voters to debunk the Washington definition of experience, Mrs. Obama fessed up, “I got this little secret. I happen to be married to the man who can move us to a different place.”

She asked people to close their eyes and dream of the day that her husband would be inaugurated, standing on the steps of the Capitol with his hand on the bible, “…and imagine what that right there alone is going to say to millions of children around the country and around the world. There is no one else in this race, and you know that in your heart, who is going to send that kind of message.”

The Senator will be able to woo Iowans with his message next week, as he descends on Iowa Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I want all of you all to say how wonderful I was and how you were on the fence and you changed because of me,” Mrs. Obama joked in advance of her husband’s visit, “…because our anniversary is coming up and I’m looking for a good gift.”

But this supportive spouse isn’t all about just impressing her husband.

Mingling with guests at a debate watching party, a supporter pointed to the large screen TV where her husband was at the podium and exclaimed, “Look, there he is!”

After catching her husband scratching his nose on camera, Mrs. Obama smiled, mimicked her husband and said, “It’s not very presidential.”

September 27, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Democratic '08ers target frontrunning Clinton

September 27, 2007 12:25 AM

ABC's David Chalian reports: In the build-up to the sixth Democratic presidential debate this year, there were high expectations for every Democratic candidate not named Clinton to come gunning for the frontrunner.  Perhaps the fireworks were not quite as bright as the pundits had predicted, but there was no doubt that Sen. Hillary Clinton was taking some heat from her opponents for the Democratic presidential nomination.  The rest of the field (and the moderator) kept Clinton on defense for most of the evening, though nobody seemed to be able to land a clean punch that posed any serious harm to Clinton.

After Sen. Clinton once again described her failed battle for universal healthcare in the 1990s as "kind of a lonely fight," Sen. Obama responded by saying, "If it was lonely for Hillary, part of the reason it was lonely, Hillary, was because you closed the door to a lot of potential allies in that process."  The Obama campaign later pointed reporters to comments Senators Bill Bradley and Pat Moynihan had made about then First Lady Hillary Clinton's approach in dealing with the Congress on her proposed. healthcare reform package.

Sen. Edwards attempted to draw a clear distinction between himself and Sen. Clinton on a Senate vote to declare Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.  Sen. Clinton voted in favor of the resolution.  Edwards sided with Sen. Dodd and Sen. Biden who voted against that resolution today and went on to say that he believes he and Clinton learned very different lessons from their 2002 votes for the Iraq war.  "I have no intention of giving George Bush the authority to take the first step on a road to war with Iran," Edwards added.  (Sen. Obama was not present for the vote on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.)

Sen. Dodd and Sen. Biden were both probed about their past statements concerning whether or not they believe Sen. Clinton is too polarizing to govern effectively as president.  Sen. Dodd, in what is becoming a pattern, was far less aggressive on television than he has been in written press releases distributed by his campaign.

Sen. Biden again claimed that the baggage from the political polarization in the Clinton years is likely to hang over a President Hillary Clinton and make accomplishing compromise on big ticket items -- such as universal healthcare -- far tougher for her than for many of her opponents.  "And I'm not suggesting it's Hillary's fault.  I think it's a reality that it's more difficult, because there's a lot of very good things that come with all the great things that President Clinton did, but there's also a lot of the old stuff that comes back.  It's kind of hard," said Biden.  "When I say old stuff, I'm referring to policy -- policy," Biden added lest viewers think he was referring to impeachment or Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton handled the incoming fire from her opponents and from the moderator with determined confidence and appeared mostly unruffled by it.

She did, however, seem to lose some steam towards the end of the debate in the lightening round where she was faced questions about the transparency of donors to her husband's library and foundation, suggested she and her husband may differ on their answers to a hypothetical scenario about torture, and seemed to waffle on her baseball team allegiances when she said she would probably have to alternate sides in a hypothetical Yankees vs. Cubs World Series.

Sen. Clinton did try to turn the slight awkwardness -- when it was revealed she and her husband disagreed about the torture hypothetical -- into a lighthearted moment by saying,   "Well, he's not standing here right now. . . Well, I'll talk to him later."

Eloise Harper and Raelyn Johnson contributed to this report

September 27, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)

Giuliani Deputy Campaign Finance Director Steps Down

September 26, 2007 6:28 PM

ABC News' Jan Simmonds reports: The Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign confirmed today that Anne Dunsmore, its deputy campaign finance director, has left the campaign.

Dunsmore, who took control of Giuliani's day-to-day fundraising operation in May, was released from the campaign just days before the important third quarter fundraising period is to come to a close. The campaign did not give any specific reasons for her dismissal, but according to Communications Director Katie Levinson the "departure is amicable."

Giuliani has quickly appointed a replacement for Dunsmore though in the hiring of Jim Lee, a Bush ally who already was part of "Team Giuliani" as one of his national finance co-chairs.

"We thought Jim Lee would spread us out, even more nationally," said Giuliani at an event in Bridgewater, NJ, Tuesday evening. "He has been an enormously successful fundraiser for us."

While dismissing the head of your fundraising operation is usually a bad sign for a campaign, Giuliani is believed to have done quite well in the third quarter.

"I think we’ll end up having a very good quarter," added Giuliani Tuesday evening. "Probably one of the best of the Republicans."

The former New York Mayor also took time to comment on the reported $9.11 fundraiser some of his supporters had organized in California, saying it was a "mistake."

"It was an unfortunate thing to do, they shouldn’t have done it that way. I think it was only two or three of them that did it and they stopped."

Giuliani added that the campaign "will not accept any contributions that are denominated 9 dollars and 11 cents."

"We have put a block on our system that even if someone does that by mistake, we won’t do that too," said Giuliani.

Later this evening Giuliani heads to Wachtung, New Jersey, where he will take part in a live webcast for his campaign’s "National House Party Night". There will be 1,000 house parties across the country were supporters will get behind the former mayor, both financially and physically. 

September 26, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

McCain Campaign To Run New Hampshire Ads

September 26, 2007 6:06 PM

ABC News' Bret Hovell Reports: Trying to right his '08 White House run, Sen. John McCain R-Ariz., will put up television and radio ads in New Hampshire this weekend -- his first of the 2008 cycle.

The ad buy -- on TV on in Manchester -- comes after some good polling news for McCain. A University of New Hampshire/CNN/WMUR poll out Wednesday, has the senator up five points in the Granite State, closing in on GOP national frontrunner former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Massachuetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican leader in polls in New Hampshire and Iowa.

The ads are intended to build on momentum McCain hopes he gained from a recent "No Surrender" tour through early votes states.

The McCain camp holds a 10:30 am ET conference call with reporters Thursday.

McCain will be campaigning in New Hampshire all weekend, with town hall meetings and house parties scheduled across the state on Saturday and Sunday.

September 26, 2007 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Single Payer Advocates Rip Top Dems

September 26, 2007 4:24 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: During Wednesday's Democratic debate, MSNBC viewers in New Hampshire and the D.C. area will see three separate television ads criticizing Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., for not backing single-payer health insurance.

While the top three Democratic presidential candidates would expand public programs as a fallback option, they all build on the system of private health insurance.

The $20,000 ad buy, which will also run on the New England Cable Network, was purchased by the California Nurses Association and Physicians for a National Health Plan.

Those two groups are part of a coalition called Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare which is promoting H.R. 676, a bill by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., which would create a privately-provided, publicly funded single-payer health care system. This is not the first time that C.N.A. and P.N.H.P. have teamed up. The two groups aired ads in Iowa targeting Clinton, Obama, and Edwards during the week leading up to ABC News' Aug. 19 Democratic debate.

The only presidential candidate who backs single-payer health care is Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.

September 26, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Campaigning in Sickness and in Health

September 26, 2007 4:18 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: At a campaign stop in Iowa City, Iowa Wednesday Michelle Obama opened up her remarks explaining that she was tired because she was up all night with the couple's youngest daughter who was sick.

"My kids are throwing up at 2am and I'm there with a bucket ... so you have to forgive me. I have had literally two to three hours of sleep," Michelle Obama said.

She explained how she feels torn between being a mother and campaigning for her husband, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"Those are just the highs and lows of running for president of the United States. No matter what you're doing these kids still get sick," she said.

Mrs. Obama said she left her youngest daughter, Sasha, at home with her grandmother for the day while she campaigned throughout Iowa.

September 26, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Live-Blogging During Tonight's Democratic Debate

September 26, 2007 3:38 PM

11:04 pm: That's it for tonight, folks -- thanks for logging on. Check out The Note tomorrow morning for a more full analysis, and until then, drift off to sleep with visions of Mike Gravel's "fantasy land."

11:02 pm: Quick thoughts -- Hillary Clinton benefits whenever no one else distinguishes himself, and Edwards may have done himself the most good tonight. Obama squeezed in one good line, but I don't see that as enough for the evening.

10:59 pm: At least Richarson had a single answer on Red Sox-Yankees. Not the right answer from my perspective, but the right answer for New Hampshire.

10:57 pm: From Jake Tapper: No one has really laid a glove on Clinton. Obama and Edwards were good enough, I suppose, but the clock is TICKING! Senator Obama, the sermon on the mount is not a verse. Senator Gravel, the Beatles are not the Bible.

10:56 pm: "Look at what I've done," Edwards says. But that's sort of the problem here -- these are things he's done, as opposed to what he's said and is saying. He didn't exactly fall on his sword over the embarrassing disclosures that have plagued his campaign.

10:53 pm: Another Clinton dodge, on disclosing donations to the Clinton library: "I don't talk about my private conversations with my husband, but I'm sure he'd be happy to consider that." This is an opening for Obama, who's sponsored a bill that would require disclosure.

10:47 pm: Nice gambit by Russert to highlight a difference between the Clintons, and Sen. Clinton handled it well: "He's not standing here right now. . . . Well, I'll talk to him later." That will be widely quoted.

10:44 pm: ABC's Jake Tapper: Gravel: "the solution is obviously wind power." Talk about the candidate of La Mancha!

10:38 pm: Obama's answer on Jena is that he was too busy trying to stop the war to stop by Louisiana? How many times has he been in, say, Iowa in the past month? UPDATE: My bad on this -- Obama campaign points out that Russert asked specifically about a rally in Louisiana last week -- when Obama was indeed in Washington voting on Iraq.

10:37 pm: John Edwards is taller than Dennis Kucinich. Is this why we're up late?

10:35 pm: ABC's Jake Tapper: Drinking age? Is Russert trying to get the Dartmouth freshman vote?

I attended a Dartmouth debate as a freshman there in 1988. Vice President George HW Bush, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Pierre "Pete" DuPont, Rev. Pat Robertson, Al Haig. God, I'm old.  Barack Obama was in law school at the time, I think. And Hillary Rodham was just getting used to the Clinton surname.

10:33 pm: Obama didn't answer that question about whether he's talking about Bush or Clinton when he says "turn the page."

10:29 pm: I'd score half a cackle for Senator Clinton when told about the "lightning rod." Gravel grumbles: "never got to the real round." Enough.

10:21 pm: Interesting that Clinton is attacking Alan Greenspan now that he's attacking President Bush (and offering kind words for her husband). All in the interest of defending President Clinton's fiscal record. (Though, of course, Greenspan didn't "vote" for any tax cuts.)

10:18 pm: Edwards does want to raise taxes. He's saying it, and he's OK with that.

10:16 pm: This Richardson-Russert matchup just isn't fair. He stumbled on "Meet the Press" a few months back, and not much better tonight.

10:15 pm: Forty-five minutes left, but RNC Chairman Mike Duncan's seen enough: "Tonight, we once again saw the true face of the Democrat Party, as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, and all the rest stuck to their plans to raise taxes, increase the size of government, and retreat from the War on Terror."

10:13 pm: Obama is shooting straighter on this question on the Social Security tax -- a real landmine. Probably unfair that he'll get skewered by the Republicans for it, but that's the game.

10:09 pm: Biden took the Social Security tax question straight on. That makes Clinton's answer stand out: "Well, Tim, let me tell you what I think about this..." And then she talks about her husband's fiscal discipline, attacks President Bush, and never really says whether the cap on the Social Security tax should be lifted. "I'm not putting anything on the proverbial table."

10:07 pm: Interesting point, Sammy, about Sen. Clinton ducking questions. She's very good at answering without saying anything significant. I do think Russert has (uncharacteristically) let her slide some tonight.

10:05 pm: As a former newspaperman, my lede so far would be Obama's door-shutting comment -- fresh, sharp language, and maybe the turn in his campaign rhetoric we've been expecting. But I'd give Edwards a slight edge in making his points and making them solidly. And, of course, Clinton is again playing at a higher level than her rivals. And a boring debate is a great debate for her.

10:03 pm: From ABC's Teddy Davis: Obama says he was risking his political career with his iraq speech because he was in the middle of a senate campaign . . . But he was in the middle of a primary campaign in which it made political sense to be against the war.

10 pm: Edwards continues to have these odd answers about gay marriage -- he's not comfortable with it, but he wants his little kids to support it like his wife and older daughter do?

9:57 pm: That was a long, long pause before Richardson handled that one. But the time didn't help him. That question, about his gaffes and goofs, seem to have gotten him off-stride. And that line of "change and experience" seemed natural and solid at the last debate, but seemed defensive and off-point this time.

9:55 pm: It's nice that Russert is probing the fiscal records of Gravel and Kucinich, but WHY NOT PRESS THIS BIG DIVISION BETWEEN THE TWO FRONT-RUNNERS!

9:54 pm: Obama's money line appears at last! "Part of the reason it was lonely, Hillary, was because you closed the door."

9:51 pm: Edwards is finding his openings.

9:50 pm: My colleagues found other parts of Biden's answer interesting --

ABC's Karen Travers: Biden calling her "Hillary" - does he always do that? Very familiar, but also could be seen as demeaning.
And ABC's David Chalian: Nothing will bring impeachment faster to the foreground than when Biden said, "When I say old stuff, I am referring to "policy, policy."

9:48 pm: Biden comes closer to making the polarization argument -- the "old stuff that comes back" -- but he backs away too: "It's not Hillary's fault."

9:46 pm: Hillary Clinton really did not answer Tim Russert's question about her failure in 1993-94. "I intend to the be the healthcare president," she said. That's nice, but she was the healthcare first lady, and that didn't work out so well, did it?

9:44 pm: Wow did Chris Dodd ever wimp out. He has been hitting Hillary (on paper) day by day, and when asked to back it up, he makes an Anderson Cooper joke. He was being "somewhat facetious," he says. Tell that to his campaign staff.

9:43 pm: Cackle No. 2.

9:42 pm: From ABC's David Chalian: Expect to see this clip of Hillary Clinton in the general election -- especially if Mitt Romney is the nominee.  When Russert asked if Sen. Clinton would "allow the scanctuary cities to disobey the federal law" on immigration, she said "I don't think there is any choice."

9:38 pm: Gravel called it fantasyland again. Where's the gong?

9:35 pm: I fully endorse asking about immigration, but this is not going to bring out meaningful distinctions between the candidates. Wasted moments for the second tier.

9:33 pm: One-fourth of the way in, Edwards and Richardson have distinguished themselves. If people were looking for a new, more aggressive Obama tonight, it doesn't look like they're going to get it.

9:29 pm: I hear you, Skittles, but this is a two-hour debate. That's a LOOOONG debate.

9:28 pm: Edwards draws blood, citing the vote today on Iran: "We learned a very different lesson" from our war votes, he said in contrasting himself with Clinton. "what I learned from my vote on Iraq is that you cannot give this president the authority, and you cannot give this president the first step" toward that authority.

9:25 pm: OK, Sen. Obama, we get it -- Iraq made things worse. This cannot (and will not) be the line he marches with to the nomination.

9:23 pm: So far, Hillary Clinton is in so much control of the debate that he's brushing aside Russert's direct questions. How many other candidates could get away with that?

9:19 pm: Let history note that the first Hillary cackle of this debate came at 9:19 pm ET, in response to the Gravel rant.

9:18 pm: Mike Gravel's little civics lesson is no longer amusing. "This is fantasyland," he says. How much longer should he be allowed on stages like this?

9:14 pm: Biden is rightfully proud of the "Biden plan" -- the vote today in the Senate was really surprising in how many Republicans it attracted, and he's been pushing it for I don't remember how long. So far, though, it's just Chris Dodd and Richardson (among the majors) who say all troops would be out by 2013. Think about that (and Dennis Kucinich wants us to) -- 2013.

9:10 pm: Russert's format teed this up for Richardson -- he couldn't have planned this better. "Their position basically is changing the mission. My position . . . is ending the war." He could go home now and it will have been a good night.

9:07 pm: I'm ready to give the Big Three credit for intellectual honesty by saying troops will have to remain in Iraq for some years. But John Edwards is the first to draw real distinctions about what to do going forward. This won't be the last time he finds a way to set himself apart.

9:05 pm: Hillary Clinton's answer is the same as Obama's (essentially) on whether troops will be in Iraq in 2013. And then she defends the Democrats in Congress, with nice words for Joe Biden and all of her colleagues. Frontrunners can afford to be generous.

9:03 pm: Barack Obama took about one sentence to mention that he was against the war from before it started. But then he said little new about Iraq -- he's still got to make that turn: What makes you more prepared going forward? Will