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The Hope Burger

February 29, 2008 7:45 PM

ABC News' David Wright reports: This picture comes courtesy of my wife Victoria, who has been minding the store in Washington DC with our 11 month old daughter and our crazy dog while her husband is lost on the campaign trail deep in the heart of Texas.

The restaurant where she ate apparently features a specialty campaign-themed menu item: the "Obama burger."

Garnished with caramelized onion, bacon, provolone cheese, Russian dressing and other fixings, the Obama burger appears to have no relation whatsoever to the candidate or his campaign. Campaign staffers acknowledged it sounds delicious but that it is probably not something the candidate himself would ever consume.

Obama is known to watch his diet carefully and to work out regularly. Already lean, Obama is said to have lost 5 pounds on the campaign trail.

February 29, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (30)

Clinton Response to Obama's Accusation of Scare Tactics

February 29, 2008 4:51 PM

ABC News' Kate Snow and Eloise Harper Report: Senator Hillary Clinton fought back against Senator Barack Obama’s criticism of her latest ad that he said inspired fear.

The Clinton campaign released an ad today with ominous undertones.

"It's 3:00am and your children are asleep," a voice over says in the ad entitled "Children". "There's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing. Something is happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call."

"Whether someone knows the world's leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead. It's 3am and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?" the ad concludes.

Obama, D-Ill., pushed back hard against the new ad, which ABC News' George Stephanopoulos described as "the nuclear option" on Friday's "Good Morning America."

Addressing a group of veterans at an American Legion post in Houston, Obama said: "We've seen these ads before. They're the kind that play on peoples' fears to scare up votes."

Today Clinton defended her ad.

“Senator Obama says that if we talk about national security in this campaign we are trying to scare people. Well I don’t think people in Texas scare all that easily. The American people aren’t afraid of the challenges and dangers we face in the world. They want a president who with the strength and wisdom to take those challenges and dangers head on,” she said.

Clinton defended the ad saying she would know what to do when that phone rang in the White House at 3am. “There isn’t any time to convene your advisors, to do a survey on what will or what will not be popular.  You have to make a decision. And in the world that we face with both the challenges and opportunities we need a president who picks up that phone ready to decide.”

Clinton went further, making the argument that Obama was not there when important decisions needed to be made.

“Senator Obama talks about these issues when it came time to act he was missing in action.” Clinton said.  “He was missing in action when he failed to show up for a vote dealing with Iran. He was missing in action when he failed to hold a single substantive hearing on a committee that he chaired that had responsibility for Europe and NATO and NATO’s policy in Afghanistan.”

Earlier today Obama said that Clinton had her "red phone" moment -- and that was when she voted for the war in Iraq.

Clinton walked through Obama's war position saying "He gave a speech in 2002 against the war in Iraq and I commend him for that speech.  By 2004 he was saying he wasn't sure how he would have voted because he never had to vote and then basically agreed with the way President Bush was conducting the war. By the time he got to the Senate he voted exactly as I did. There is a difference between giving a speech and having the responsibility and  step up and take charge."

Senator Clinton was introduced on stage by retired four-star General Wesley Clark who also urged voters view the ad.

"The phone rings and we have to have the right person answer that phone,” Clark said, and then turned to Clinton saying “I guess you have been on that bedside when the phone rang at 3 o’clock in the morning.”

February 29, 2008 in Bush, George W., Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (97)

Puerto Rico Looking to Give up Bragging Rights for Final Say

February 29, 2008 2:10 PM

ABC News' David Chalian Reports: Once the results of the March 4 primaries are digested, there will clearly be a reassessment of the Democratic nomination contest and whether or not there seems to be a hunger on the part of Sen. Clinton and on the part of Democratic Party leaders for a protracted battle through the rest of the nomination calendar.

But fear not -- that calendar may not be as endless as it seems.  Puerto Rico Democrats are about to give campaign operatives, political journalists, and voters a four day jump start on their summer vacations.

The Democratic National Committee is expected to receive a formal request this week from the Puerto Rico Democratic Party to move its nomination contest from June 7 to June 1.  It appears that the June 7 date initially submitted to the DNC was a clerical error in the Puerto Rico delegate selection plan.  The Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is also expected to seek DNC approval to change its contest from a state convention system to a primary system. 

Should the change be approved, as expected, Montana and South Dakota Democratic voters are positioned to have the final word in the nomination calendar with those primaries scheduled to take place on Tuesday June 3.

February 29, 2008 in Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Clinton Goes Nuclear; Obama Camp Fires Back

February 29, 2008 8:38 AM

ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller, Andy Fies, Eloise Harper, Kate Snow & Nitya Venkataraman Report: Closing in on the March 4 contests, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., debuted a campaign ad on Friday with ominous undertones.

"It's 3:00am and your children are asleep," a voice over says in the ad entitled "Children". "There's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing. Something is happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call."

"Whether someone knows the world's leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead. It's 3am and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?" the ad concludes.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., pushed back hard against the new ad, which ABC News' George Stephanopoulos described as "the nuclear option" on Friday's "Good Morning America".

Addressing a group of veterans at an American Legion post in Houston, Obama said: "We've seen these ads before. They're the kind that play on peoples' fears to scare up votes."

The tone of the ad -- which echoes the infamous Daisy Ad from the 1964 Johnson-Goldwater presidential race and the red phone ad former Vice President Walter Mondale ran against Gary Hart in their '84 race for the Democratic nomination -- indicates that the Clinton campaign is pulling out the all the stops leading into the Ohio and Texas primaries.

Mondale's ad, where a red phone rang threateningly in the middle of the night while a voiceover asked voters what kind of leader they wanted to "answer that phone", ultimately worked in his favor: Mondale defeated Hart and secured the party nomination, though he lost in November to Ronald Reagan.

"The question is not about picking up the phone," Obama said.  "The question is: what kind of judgment will you make when you answer? We've had a 'red phone moment'. It was the decision to invade Iraq. And Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer."

The Clinton campaign rejected any comparison to the LBJ "Daisy Ad" saying Clinton's ad was a "positive ad" that featured "very soft images" and was not at all like the Johnson ad.

Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson responded to Obama's accusations of campaign scare tactics by saying, "It is an absolute insult to voters to suggest that a discussion of national security constitutes fear mongering."

"It's a legitimate question," Wolfson said of the "Who do you want answering the phone" ending note of Clinton's ad, pointing out that Obama had agreed on that point in a Friday morning speech at the American Legion. (In fact, Obama did say it was a "legitimate question" quickly following to clarify "the question is not about picking up the phone, the question is 'what kind of judgment will you exercise when you pick up that phone? In fact, we have had a red phone moment: it was the decision to invade Iraq. Sen Clinton gave the wrong answer.")

It seems Roy Spence, the creator of Mondale's red phone ad, borrowed from his own portfolio in creating Clinton's latest ad. Spence joined the New York senator's presidential campaign after New Hampshire.

The Obama campaign also set aside the traditional game of lowering expectations ahead of Tuesday's vote and instead predicted doom and gloom for Camp Clinton.

"They're going to fail and fail miserably," campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters on a conference call.

The Obama campaign says, given the closeness of the polls in Ohio and Texas, it's unlikely Clinton will be able to close the gap among pledged delegates.

According to the Obama campaign math, if Clinton fails to win both states by a comfortable margin -- 10 points or more -- Clinton would need to win 74% of the 611 remaining delegates in order to close the gap.

Officials with the Clinton campaign dispute the Obama math, noting that this scenario does not take into account superdelegates, party leaders who are free to vote for whomever they like. 

Clinton officials accuse the Obama campaign of setting an "artificial standard," arguing that neither candidate will reach the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination without the help of superdelegates.

February 29, 2008 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (1175)

On Supporters’ "Infatuation": Obama says he can Relate to Media Skepticism

February 29, 2008 6:29 AM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illi., told a crowd of 12,000 in Dallas/Ft. Worth that it’s him that is infatuated – with them.

Obama was addressing criticisms that his campaign caused people to flock to him to a delusional way.

"This isn’t about me. This is about you," Obama preached, "I'm just the excuse for what you are accomplishing, for what you are making happen all across this country. See, I am inspired by you, I'm infatuated with you!"

Obama said that the media is suspicious of his supporters' enthusiasm, offering that up as an explanation to the criticism of his supporters' reactions. He then flipped it around and offered up his own criticisms of the press, singling the out the 4th estate at the three specific times in his stump speech – two times addressing the concerns of how he can excite a crowd.

"Reporters don't know what to do. They have been shocked at the high turnout in every early states," Obama said, and later, "A lot of reporters don’t really understand what y'all are doing…"

The crowd reacted viscerally to the flipped tables, in agreement with Obama – who confirmed he knew that feeling, "So in the same way people are skeptical about you, they are skeptical about me," Obama complained, sighting how his credentials have been questioned based on years in Washington.

Obama's lines of critique of the press, comes at a time where the press are being critiqued for their coverage of him, even mentioned in the latest Democratic debate by Senator Clinton.

February 29, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (50)

Clinton Compares Obama to a Blank Screen

February 28, 2008 8:15 PM

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: In a Nightline interview with ABC's Cynthia McFadden, Sen. Hillary Clinton, when asked about the Barack Obama phenomenon, used a quote from Obama to describe her opponent. "I think the best description actually is in Barack's own book" Clinton said, "where he said that he is a blank screen and people of widely different views project what they want to hear." Clinton continued saying "he just hasn’t been around long enough." Clinton continued saying "But with the blank screen it gives you a chance to just really infuse it with whatever you hope for, whatever you want without knowing."

Watch the VIDEO HERE.

Clinton was asked her reaction to the many women around this country who say they feel sorry for her. "I think a lot of woman project their own feelings in their lives on to me." Clinton stressed that it is a hard what she is doing but she gets up every day and thinks about what she is going to do – not dwelling on past mistakes, or what will happen if she loses Texas or Ohio.

When asked if Clinton was surprised by the outcome of how the race has shaped up, Clinton said she wasn’t but "he might be, because I think that he believed that he could, once he won Iowa, wrap it up. Then I won New Hampshire" Clinton said. When pressed on how she ever hated being treated as the front runner – Clinton complained that nothing has changed. "I’m still being treated like that – in terms of people coming after me."

Clinton says that she doesn’t listen to the pundits or the commentary about the race. "Everywhere I go people say ‘Don’t give up, don’t give up, stay with this.’" Clinton said, "There is something going on here."

February 28, 2008 in Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (394)

Joint Chiefs Chair Warns Obama & Clinton on Iraq

February 28, 2008 5:47 PM

ABC News' Jonathan Karl Reports: The Joint Chiefs chairman has a word of warning to Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: A rapid of withdrawal from Iraq would lead to a "chaotic situation" and would "turnaround the gains we have achieved, and struggled to achieve, and turn them around overnight.

Admiral Mullen's comments came in a response to a question about what the Joint Chiefs are doing to prepare for a new president, given that two of the candidates have called for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

"We need to be prepared across the board for what a new president will bring," Mullen said.  "I do worry about a rapid withdrawal. . . [that would] turn around the gains we have achieved and struggled to achieve and turn them around overnight." 

Asked to define a "rapid withdrawal," Mullen said, "a withdrawal that would be so fast that it would leave us in a chaotic situation and the gains we have achieved would be lost." 

That said, Mullen added: "When a new president comes in, I will get my orders and I will carry them out."

Mullen, of course, will still be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the next president is sworn in. His term goes until September 2009 and could be renewed for another two years after that.

Mullen, however, also made it clear that the large commitment of U.S. forces in Iraq is coming at a steep price. 

He said that another 3,000 to 4,000 trainers are needed in Afghanistan. But those trainers cannot be sent, he said, until there are further drawdowns in Iraq. There simply aren't enough available troops.

"We'd like to get those trainers out there as fast as we can," he said. "Clearly in Afghanistan the training mission is at the top . . . we need more trainers than we need anything else. . . Clearly it will take forces drawing down in Iraq to provide the headroom to meet that mission."   

February 28, 2008 in Bush, George W., Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (208)

Obama: She's Not Dead Yet

February 28, 2008 4:13 PM

ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller and Andy Fies Report: Barack Obama says it is way too early for anyone to write an obituary for Hillary Clinton's campaign.

"Remember New Hampshire," he cautioned at a news conference on board his campaign plane.

Watch the VIDEO HERE.

Obama insists he's not counting Clinton out.

"Sen. Clinton is working tirelessly, as is Bill Clinton, in Ohio and Texas," Obama said.  "This race is extraordinarily tight."

Obama sought to lower any expectations he might win those two states, saying he’ll be happy if Clinton doesn't achieve a blow-out in Ohio and Texas. 

Obama said he's hoping to emerge from the 4 contests next Tuesday – Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island – with a lead of 100 to 150 delegates.

"I continue to believe that we'll go to the convention with the most earned delegates and I believe we should be the nominee," Obama said.

Obama denied a Canadian television report alleging that his campaign reached out to reassure the Canadian government not to worry about campaign rhetoric critical of NAFTA. 

The Canadian ambassador to the US has denied the story, first reported by CTV News. 

Asked about the report, Obama flatly denied it too.

"It wasn't true," he said.

February 28, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (156)

No Hucka-Crush on Obama

February 28, 2008 4:11 PM

ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Governor Mike Huckabee is still grasping at straws in his effort to create a scenario -- any scenario -- in which GOP Rival Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would NOT wind up capturing the Republican nomination for President.  Huckabee is quick to point out the differences between he and McCain on issues like life, marriage and tax reform. 

Today in Texarkana, Texas however, Huckabee took a page from the McCain play book: criticizing the platform of Democratic front runner, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. 

McCain's rhetoric criticizing Obama is due in most part to the spreading belief in both parties that the Senate colleagues will face off in the general election.  Huckabee, however, will almost certainly not be facing Obama or any other Democrat this cycle.  It didn't stop him from criticizing Obama's suggested spending to the gathered crowd of approximately 250.

"And so here's the challenge," Huckabee said, "when I hear Barack Obama say that he's gonna provide everybody with health care and college tuition and pave the streets with gold, ya know the American Taxpayers Union has already figured out that just the proposals he's put on the tale so far, already are going to cost about $287 billion, so far."

Huckabee continued, "What we don't know is how much will it cost when we walk away and leave Iraq in a mess and the Middle East blows up.  How much will that cost…If we were doing the Master Card commercial we'd simply say we know what some of the costs are.  Some of the items on his agenda?  Priceless."

Obama was not the only one under Huckabee's microscope this morning however.  Immediately following the rally, Huckabee spoke with reporters to express his displeasure over McCain's apparent refusal to  debate. "I think debate is something that's healthy, always.  It's good to have the issues discussed and I feel it would be good for voters of Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island if they had a chance to see the two candidates they have to choose from and if they don't have the opportunity I hope they'll remember that -- maybe they'll just vote for me and that will force future debates."

One debate that has been proposed is with the Values Voters, a group Huckabee has had great success with throughout his campaign.  As for McCain's apparent refusal to debate in such a forum (or any forum at this point) Huckabee said, "if you're going to be President you ought to be willing to sit down in front of any group."

February 28, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (18)

NAFTA Rhetoric? 'It Didn't Happen'

February 28, 2008 12:09 PM

ABC News' Jennifer Parker Reports: A senior Canadian Embassy official in Washington, D.C. disputes a report by the CTV Canadian television network that an Obama campaign staffer telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to the United States, to reassure him that campaign rhetoric against NAFTA should not be taken seriously.

"It didn't happen," said Roy Norton, who heads up the congressional, public and intergovernmental affairs portfolio for the Canadian embassy.

Norton said none of the three campaigns for Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, or Sen. John McCain have contacted the embassy.

"Neither before the Ohio debate nor since has any of the U.S. presidential campaigns called Ambassador Wilson or the Canadian embassy to raise NAFTA," he said.

CTV reported last night that two unnamed Canadian sources said a "senior member" of Obama's campaign team called Wilson in the last month to warn him that Obama would be ratcheting up rhetoric against the North American Free Trade Agreement, but that he should "not be worried about what Obama says about NAFTA" and "Its just campaign rhetoric...Its not serious."

During a debate in Ohio this week, where NAFTA is blamed for job losses, both Obama and Clinton said that as president, they would opt out of the trade deal unless it could be renegotiated.

When asked about the CTV report, Obama's said today, "It wasn't true."

Today Bill Burton of the Obama campaign told ABC News no senior Obama campaign representative called the Canadian embassy. "The news reports on Obama's position on NAFTA are inaccurate and in no way represent Senator Obama’s consistent position on trade," Burton said separately in an email.

"When Senator Obama says that he will forcefully act to make NAFTA a better deal for American workers, he means it. Both Canada and Mexico should know that, as president, Barack Obama will do what it takes to create and protect American jobs and strengthen the American economy -- that includes amending NAFTA to include labor and environmental standards. We are currently reaching out to the Canadian embassy to correct this inaccuracy."

This afternoon the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., sent out a press release to deny the CTV report.

"The Canadian Embassy confirms that at no time has any member of a Presidential campaign called the Canadian Ambassador or any official at the Embassy to discuss NAFTA," the statement read. "Last night the Canadian television network CTV, falsely reported that such calls had been made. That story is untrue. Neither before nor since the Ohio debate has any presidential campaign called Ambassador Wilson or the Embassy to raise NAFTA."

The Canadian embassy is proactively reaching out to the campaigns "all the time," Norton said, to try to meet with aides who might form the foreign and economic policy teams of any future administration.

"We talk about the whole range of Canada-U.S. issues which we think it's critically important that the presidential candidates be aware of including the number of jobs that depend in the United States on Canada-U.S. trade."

The Canadian Embassy says there are more than seven million jobs in the U.S. that depend on trade with Canada.

"We discuss our view that NAFTA has been very good for all three participating countries and has made the continent more competitive in the face of China, India, Brazil," Norton said.

The CTV report suggested the Clinton campaign may have given reassurances to the Canadian government in Ottawa, but the Clinton campaign is flatly denying the claim.

"If anyone did it we don’t know who and they weren’t authorized," Clinton campaign spokesperson Jay Carson told ABC News.

NAFTA has become a hot-button issue in the delegate-rich state of Ohio, which votes next Tuesday. Both Clinton and Obama have tried to woo voters in the economically challenged state by railing against NAFTA, which was pushed through during former President Bill Clinton's administration.

McCain, however, said today that he plans to highlight his support for the trade deal to draw contrasts between him and his Democratic opponent.

"NAFTA has created jobs," McCain said today while campaigning in Texas, arguing that the trade deal has been good for the American, Canadian, and Mexican economies.

"Anyone who studies history understands that every time this country or other nations in the world have practiced protectionism, they’ve paid a very, very heavy price for it," McCain said, adding that "some would argue that one of the major contributors to World War II was the Smoot-Hawley tariffs acts."

ABC News' David Chalian, Kate Snow, David Wright, Jake Tapper and Bret Hovell contributed to this report.

February 28, 2008 in Bush, George W., Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (87)