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Clinton Feels Like $100 Million Bucks

December 31, 2007 10:11 PM

ABC News' Eloise Harper and Jake Tapper Report: Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign claims to have neared the $100 million dollar mark.

On the brink of 2008, the Clinton campaign announced they have raised over $100 million dollars in 2007.

Clinton, D-N.Y., focused the first half the last three months of her bid for the White House, raking in upwards of $28 million. The latter part of the year has been spent putting the money to use, urging caucus-goers to support her this Thursday.

One of the successful tactics that Clinton employed is low-dollar events on the west coast in particular. She and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, attend a New Year's party in Des Moines to ring in the election year.

December 31, 2007 in Bush, George W. | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Obama Launches First Negative Ad

December 31, 2007 7:06 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein and Teddy Davis Report: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has launched the first broadcast advertisement of the Democratic race to mention rival candidates by name, with a radio spot that escalates a long-running battle with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and former senator John Edwards, D-N.C., over whose healthcare plan would cover the greatest number of people.

The ad, which is airing in Iowa and New Hampshire, quotes media reports that favorably portray Obama's healthcare plan -- and portray Edwards' and Clinton's plan as ineffective.
An Obama aide said it is response to ads run by independent group -- one that is backing Clinton's candidacy -- that has attacked his healthcare plan as "rewarding the irresponsible who don't get covered."

"Here's the real difference on health care: Senators Edwards and Clinton favor mandates which the Daily Iowan says would, quote, 'force those who can not afford health insurance to buy it, punishing those who don't fall in line,' " a male announcer says in the ad.

A female announcer then chimes in: "Barack Obama believes the solution isn't making it illegal not to have health care. It's making it affordable."

The ad -- coming on the eve of Thursday's caucuses -- seeks to rebut a central critique of Obama's healthcare plan. Edwards and Clinton have argued that Obama would leave as many as 15 million Americans without health insurance.

The key difference between Obama's plan and those of his rivals is that it does not include a so-called "individual mandate," a requirement that all U.S. citizens obtain health insurance.

"His plan would leave 15 million Americans out," Clinton said at a debate last month in Las Vegas. "I have a universal health care plan that covers everyone."

Countered Obama: "The fact of the matter is that I do provide universal health care."

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees -- a union that has endorsed Clinton -- has funded a mailing that attacks Obama's healthcare plan by quoting Edwards. The union has also run a radio ad that accuses Obama of not being serious about achieving universal healthcare.

But AFSCME spending is not controlled by any campaign or candidate. Obama's ad, by contrast is being run directly by his campaign.

Some independent experts argue that none of the major candidates' plans are truly universal in the same way that Rep. Dennis Kucinich's, D-Ohio, plan for a single-payer system would guarantee health coverage to all Americans.

But economists generally agree that a plan with an individual mandate -- such as Clinton's or Edwards' -- would cover more of those who are currently uninsured that a plan that lacks such a feature, such as Obama's.

UPDATE: ABC News' Sunlen Miller, traveling with the Obama campaign, reports that the ad has been running for approximately 10 days, according to the campaign. Asked why the campaign did not send out a media advisory about the ad, one aide said that there typically is not much media interest in radio advertising -- and kept a straight face.

The campaign did put out a press release for a radio ad in October, to announce Obama's endorsement by Duffy Lyon, the sculptor of the famed "butter cow" at the Iowa State Fair.

Full text of the ad:

MALE ANNCR: Barack Obama's health plan.

FEMALE ANNCR: Here's what the experts say. President Clinton's own Labor Secretary Robert Reich says, quote, "I've compared the plans in detail. Obama's plan would ensure more people than the others." The Pioneer Press confirms Obama guarantees coverage for all Americans.

MALE ANNCR: But here's the real difference on health care. Senators Edwards and Clinton favor mandates which the Daily Iowan says would, quote, "force those who can not afford health insurance to buy it, punishing those who don’t fall in line."

FEMALE ANNCR: Barack Obama believes the solution isn't making it illegal not to have health care. It's making it affordable.

MALE ANNCR: And that's why his plan cuts costs for a typical family by twenty five hundred dollars.

FEMALE ANNCR: As the Concord Monitor says, when it comes to honesty about health care, Obama has the edge. Check the facts, at Iowa dot Barack Obama dot com.

MALE ANNCR: And caucus on January third for change we can believe in.

FEMALE ANNCR: Paid for by Obama for America.

Read all the latest from the campaign trail -- from Iowa to the ABC News/Facebook/WMUR debates to the New Hampshire primaries and beyond -- in The Note every day.

December 31, 2007 in Bush, George W., Huckabee, Mike, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (84)

Putting the Republican in Paul's 'Revolution'

December 31, 2007 4:40 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Republican politics in Iowa and New Hampshire demand a slightly different touch than the anti-war, anti-big government "Ron Paul Revolution" that has heretofore fueled the Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate's buzz and fundraising, which is up to nearly $20 million since October.

Proof positive that anti-war, uncompromising libertarian Republicanism doesn't necessarily sell where the first votes are cast is the glossy and highly produced new television ad Paul has bought time for in the waning days of campaigning in the early primary states.

The subject: immigration. The message: no amnesty.

The ad takes a hard right turn from the libertarian ant-war and anti-big government views that have gained Paul's loyal Internet following.

Paul has certainly stepped up the production quality of his ads. This latest is a glossy, highly produced effort with animated graphics and music.

Instead of hearing about Paul's opposition to the war in Iraq, voters and caucus goers in the early primary states will see black and white images of immigrants crossing the border illegally through rivers and over fences.
 
"For generations, Lady Liberty welcomed immigrants that came here legally, followed the rules and led productive lives. Today, illegal immigrants violate our borders and overwhelm our hospitals, schools and social services," intones a narrator.

"Ron Paul wants border security NOW," he declares, before naming a litany of conservative-sounding platform points that would have been at home in an ad for former candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.

"Physically secure the border. No amnesty. No welfare to illegal aliens. End birthright citizenship. No more student visas from terrorist nations."

"Standing up for the rule of law," the narrator concludes: "Ron Paul for President."

This immigration ad follows another highly produced ad on how Paul will "defend America" by protecting the troops and disengaging the Armed Forces. It is a more traditionally Republican take than the "bring the troops home" platform that has endeared Paul to some.

While Paul continues to release paid advertising and has been stepping up his organizing in Iowa and New Hampshire as well as states with slightly later primaries like Michigan and South Carolina. 

Paul was off the trail Monday and will be off for New Year's Day. He reappears in Iowa on January 2nd.

Read all the latest from the campaign trail -- Iowa to the ABC News/Facebook/WMUR debates and onto New Hampshire -- every morning in The Note.

December 31, 2007 in McCain, John, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (69)

Romney Aims to Medal in Iowa

December 31, 2007 4:05 PM

ABC News' Matt Stuart Reports: Three days out from Iowa, Mitt Romney feels confident he'll be on Iowa's medal stand come Thursday night.

Romney, R-Mass., who often cites his role in salvaging the scandal plagued 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, told reporters on Monday, "I'll get either the gold or the silver."

The "confident" former Massachusetts governor seems to be aiming for gold, however, saying "I think I'm going to win."

Until very recently, Romney has claimed only that he'd "like" to win Iowa, but refused to speculate.

"I've got the secret data no one has seen," Romney joked when asked about the source of his recent confidence.

Speaking in Bellevue, Iowa, Romney began his comments by speaking about his own set of guidelines regarding pardons and commutations as governor, and criticized former President Clinton's policies, "[I] wish in the Clinton years that policies of his nature had been promulgated and followed."

Romney frequently criticizes former governor Mike Huckabee, claiming his chief rival in the Hawkeye State issued 1033 such pardons and commutations during his tenure in Arkansas.

Romney and Huckabee have traded increasingly sharp barbs on the campaign trail.  But, out with a new ad on Monday, Romney pledged a more positive campaign. 

"I'm running a positive campaign. Of course I'm gonna talk about differences on issues. How in the world could you have a campaign where you didn't talk about the differences between different candidates?" Romney asserted. "People wouldn't know where they lined up. But I'm not making personal attacks."

In a strange twist, Huckabee on Monday pulled his own negative ad which would have attacked Romney's honesty in the closing days leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

Read all the latest from the campaign trail -- Iowa to the ABC News/Facebook debates and onto New Hampshire -- every morning in The Note.

December 31, 2007 in Giuliani, Rudy, Palin, Sarah, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Obama: One Man's Second Choice

December 31, 2007 3:03 PM

ABC News' David Wright and Sunlen Miller Reports: The last question today at Barack Obama's rally in a Jefferson, Iowa  high school gymnasium was unusually blunt. 

It came from a voter who was not a supporter of Obama's.

"I'm not undecided," Iowa farmer Gene Blanshan shouted from the very back of the room, "I'm a Biden supporter."

But the voter said he is torn over his second choice.  Under Iowa Democratic Party rules, in most of the almost 2,000 Iowa precincts, supporters of candidates who fail to reach 15 percent support of that caucus meeting may switch allegiance and choose another candidate to support.

And in a race this tight, second choices matter.

"Why should I choose you over John Edwards?" he asked.

Obama smiled.  "John is a fine person with a beautiful family who has run a great campaign," he said.  But Obama argued that he, not Edwards, is more apt to deliver change.

Obama cited his own legislative efforts in Illinois to reduce the power of lobbyists.  He spoke of his early opposition to the Iraq war and to NAFTA.  "If you look at our track records," he said, "I think I can deliver."

After the event, Blanshan told reporters he asked Edwards the exact same question last August on the steps of the county courthouse.  But Blanshan said he liked Obama's answer better.

"What matters to me is change," Blanshan said.

"I'm still for Biden," he said. "But my second choice now is Obama."

That doesn't mean he’s giving up on Biden.  He still holds out hope, as do plenty of others we have met in Iowa these past few weeks, citing the Delaware Senator's steadiness and experience.

He said: "In Iowa we get a second bite at the apple, so we always go with who we really want.  I think Biden will be the surprise of Thursday night."

"I think Biden will be more viable than anybody thinks," Blanshan said.

December 31, 2007 in Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Clinton Sharpens Rhetoric Against Rivals

December 31, 2007 2:44 PM

ABC News' Eloise Harper Report: After three days of speaking in somber and serious tones, Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., sharpened her rhetoric against her Democratic rivals today in Keokuk, Iowa.

The Senator addressed the special interest fight her opponents have been having for days, and Clinton specifically took on former Senator John Edwards, D-N.C., more strongly than she has in the past.

Speaking about solving the problem of the influence special interests have in politics, Clinton delivered a veiled swipe at Edwards, without naming him.

"Instead of, like, generating a lot of heat and rolling your hands and jumping up and down, lets just sit down and figure out how we are going to beat them," Clinton said, "it's something you don't have to do by yelling and screaming. Save your energy, get the job done. Figure out how you are going to make it happen."

Clinton made the argument that she is the candidate who can actually take on the special interests. "There's a lot of talk in this campaign about special interests," Clinton said, "and you know these are great applause lines and speeches, and people get really excited because we all know that the power has shifted way too much to the wealthy and the well-connected and we've got to bring that power back. But I submit to you that there isn't anybody running who has taken on more special interests."

Clinton went after Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with a subtle dig, while touting her electability. "I am not asking you to take me on faith," she said.

Clinton also addressed the back-and-forth between Obama and Edwards that Clinton has abstained from in these past weeks. "My two leading opponents are spending a lot of time right now kind of you know talking about each other," she said, "I'm going to keep talking about the people of Iowa."

Reacting to Clinton, Chris Kofinis, spokesperson for former senator John Edwards, D-N.C., issued this statement:

"The only people who think this is screaming are Washington insiders who see someone coming to take their power away. To middle class Americans, it is music to their ears, someone willing to tell the truth and stand up for them after decades of double talk, broken promises, capitulation, and manipulation. But then again, if Senator Clinton really wants to talk about taking on the special interests, she may want to first explain to voters why she has taken more money from the defense industry than even the Republican presidential candidates, and has taken more money than any other Democrat from special interests, like the health care industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the oil and gas industry, that are helping destroy the middle class."

To read more from the campaign trail -- from Iowa to the ABC News/Facebook/WMUR debates to New Hampshire and beyond -- check out The Note every day.

December 31, 2007 in Bush, George W., Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (1)

What's Richardson's New Year's Resolution?

December 31, 2007 1:33 PM

ABC News' Sarah Amos reports: With the Iowa caucus less than four days away, the early morning crowd in Ames, Iowa, was full of tough questions for Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.   

The close to 300-person audience wanted straight answers to their questions about immigration, energy reform in America, and how to pay for a college education.  One voter asked Richardson about his relationship with the National Rifle Association.  Another wanted to know how he planned on implementing a universal health care program without raising taxes.

And Richardson, who is still trying to break into top-three status among the Democratic candidates, was eager to answer them all, especially the ones that came from self-proclaimed undecided voters.   

"I want the leaners and the undecided voters to come first," said Richardson as he began the Q&A portion of the event.

Of course, not every question can be a serious discussion on foreign policy, as a woman in the front row demonstrated today.

"You, by far, have been the most humorous candidate running," she began her question. "So, putting politics aside for a second, I wanted to ask you, what is your New Year's resolution."

"Well, it's the one that I have every year - lose more weight," Richardson told the crowd, getting his biggest laugh of the morning.

December 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Thompson Goes to the Web

December 31, 2007 12:40 PM

ABC News' Christine Byun Reports: As candidates rush to push last minute political commercials, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson is pitching to the web.

"It's kind of a unique thing, but you know we do things a little differently in this campaign and that's one of them," Thompson told reporters about his new webposting.

In his video, he delivers a 17 minute appeal to Iowans - calling it a chance to "talk quietly with you about the stakes in this election" - against a backdrop of flags.  It's essentially his stump speech - and the same message Thompson has been touting all along: his "consistent conservative" record.

"The fact of the matter is that the Republican Party is a conservative party.   That's the philosophy that's shaped us," Thompson says in the video, adding,"That's the philosophy we must champion if we are to win again in 2008."

Thompson's campaign - whose ads have been scarce on local airwaves - is hoping it will go viral to compete with his GOP rivals, who have been pushing new ads and unveiling new closing arguments as caucus day approaches. 

"They have been consistently inconsistent for some time now," Thompson said of the other GOP nominees, "So I don't know what they're doing these final days and don't much care."

December 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Dodd's Pitch: Experience Equals Viability

December 31, 2007 8:39 AM

ABC News' Donna Hunter Reports: Iowa voter Dennis Wolf walked into Four Brothers Pizzeria in Le Mars, Iowa as an Independent but he walked out a proud supporter of Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

With tears in his eyes he recalled his sister who lost her battle with breast cancer, he said if it had not been for Dodd's Family Medical Leave Act he would have been unable to take the necessary time off from work to attend to his dying sister.

"He's seasoned, tested, knowledgeable, and his service has had a real impact on my life," Wolf said.

In the days leading up to the caucuses, the Senator has spoke about his "proven track record."

"I've spent 26 years in the Senate, served in the military, served in the peace corps. I know the Middle East well, I know Latin America well, I’ve worked on domestic issues,  I wrote the family medical leave legislation… its what I’ve done for a quarter of a century."

So why has it been so hard for Senator Dodd to break through in the polls and get that name recognition like some of his bigger name counter parts?

Harold Schaitberger, President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, says forget about the polls and the celebrity names. Dodd has the backing of the influential fire fighters.

"The polls have alleged that Senator Dodd is at one percent of which we simply don’t accept," said Schaitberger.

What Schaitberger does accept is that come caucus night anything is possible. “Four years ago at this time we were aiming to come into third place with Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., we hoped to come in second but quite frankly we had no idea that we would win the Iowa caucus. Right now we are trying to be viable, I believe there is going to be four tickets coming out of Iowa and a ticket would be an incredible achievement for Senator Dodd." 

December 31, 2007 in Clinton, Bill | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Biden (Almost) Steps In It Again

December 31, 2007 7:35 AM

ABC News' Brian Wheeler reports: Democratic Senator Joe Biden's misstep at the onset of his presidential campaign with regard to Senator Barack Obama's race is absurdly well-chronicled (you should recall of course he called Barack Obama "clean"). He might have come close again.

Biden frequently uses the civil rights era as a springboard for telling crowds about why he became a Democrat. At a Sunday event in Mason City, IA, Biden said Obama was "a real superstar. A person who makes me realize why I got involved in politics in the first place. I've spent probably as much time in the African-American community as Barack has."

Senator Biden went on to tell the crowd how when he returned to Delaware from Syracuse Law School in 1968, parts of Wilmington had been "burned to the ground" following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After a brief stint at a "white shoe law firm" Biden quit to become a public defender, in part because of the disenfranchisement of African-Americans in his home state.

Obama himself has attempted to put this storyline to bed, saying at the Des Moines Register debate, "I've worked with Joe Biden, I've seen his leadership, I have absolutely no doubt about what is in his heart and the commitment that he's made with respect to racial equality in this country. So I will provide some testimony, as they say in church, that Joe is on the right side of the issues and is fighting every day for a better America."

Given Biden's penchant for rhetorical flourish, to put it mildly, we'll likely be writing this story again, even if his Senate colleague seems hardly affected by it.

December 31, 2007 in Biden, Joe, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (4)