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Team Clinton Gearing Up for 2012?

July 18, 2008 3:58 PM

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Rumors are swirling over whether or not former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is secretly planning a run for the presidency in 2012.

Clinton aides have stressed that Sen. Clinton's, D-N.Y., focus now is doing everything she can to help her party's presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., emerge victorious in his race for the White House.

However, over the past week several items have piqued the interest of speculators who wonder if Clinton and her team are gearing up for a possible 2012 bid.

This week Clinton sent her donors an email noting that she would welcome contributions of general election funds they donated to her presidential campaign to her 2012 Senate bid. General election funds are traditionally returned to donors if the candidate loses in the primary race. Clinton's campaign is required to return this money to donors by August 28th. With that deadline approaching, Clinton emailed her supporters offering them that option.

The catch? The funds from her Senate account could be transferred into a possible 2012 bid for presidency, if Clinton decides to run.

Today, as first reported by Marc Ambinder, the Markham Group (a firm that directed all of Clinton’s advance work) has purchased the website HRC2012.com. A spokesperson for Senator Clinton denied that this website was at all affiliated with Clinton saying that there were only three websites associated with the former candidate, which include www.HillaryClinton.com, now dedicated to Clinton’s Senate re-election bid;  www.Hilpac.com, Clinton's PAC now run by Capricia Marshall, who has worked for the New York Senator for years; and www.contribute.hillarycampaign2008.com, a site solely dedicated to donors who are interested in helping relieve Clinton's Senate debt.

For those Clinton supporters interested in the possibility of a Clinton run in 2012, there are "Hillary Clinton 2012" t-shirts on sale. The company Skreened is selling the shirts for $23.39.

Spokesperson Mo Elleithee attempting to debunk the rumors that Clinton is preparing for a 2012 run said to ABC News, "The only 2012 race she is interested in is her Senate reelection bid."

July 18, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (98) | TrackBack (0)

Bill Clinton Says He's Ready to Campaign for Obama

July 17, 2008 4:08 PM

ABC News' Kate McCarthy and Nitya Venkataraman Report: Former President Bill Clinton says he's ready to hit the campaign trail for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama "whenever he asks".

"I just told him that whenever he wanted to do it, I was ready," Clinton told a room full of reporters, following a news conference at his foundation's Manhattan headquarters about new agreements that will lower the price of malaria medication.  "It's basically on their timetable. He's got a lot of things to do between now and the convention of which this is simply one. So, I'll do whatever I'm asked to do, whenever I can do it."

And speaking of the Democratic convention in Denver, Clinton says he's given "no thought" to whether or not he'd like to headline as one of the speakers.  The relationship between the Obama campaign and the presidential campaign of the former president's wife New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has only recently begun to heal itself following a hotly-contested battle for the Democratic nomination that ended on June 7 when Sen. Clinton conceded the nomination to Obama.

Clinton also said he hasn't spoken to Rev. Jesse Jackson since his "hot mic" incident but expressed sympathy for an off-air moment caught on tape and commended Jackson for his quick apology.

"If all of us lived on live mics then 100 percent of us in this room would be embarrassed from time to time.  He's a good man and he did what he could to make it right," Clinton said, adding "I think Senator Obama accepted his apology.  I think it's over."

Continue reading "Bill Clinton Says He's Ready to Campaign for Obama"

July 17, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (126) | TrackBack (0)

New JibJab Video Enters 2008 Campaign

July 16, 2008 12:30 AM

ABC News' Sara Just reports: Just as the campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain settled into serious disputes about Iraq policy and economic recovery plans, this year's 2008 JibJab campaign video is HERE.

Jib Jab is the video satire website best known for its 2004 presidential campaign video sung to the tune of "This Land is Your Land" (John Kerry and George Bush singing: "You're a pinko commie…You’re right awing nut job…").

The 2008 campaign video "Time for Some Campaignin" (to the tune of Bob Dylan’s "The Times They Are a Changin") pokes fun at Obama as a unicorn-rider living in a fantasy land and McCain as a cranky senior citizen obsessed with war.

But perhaps this year’s presumptive party nominees just aren’t funny enough to sustain a full two-minutes of satire. The video spends almost as much time having fun with a few of JibJab’s favorite targets: President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and both Hillary and Bill Clinton.

The JibJabbers, founders and brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, may have launched the trend of highly produced, online campaign video spoofs, but they no longer have the monopoly. This campaign season has already seen a variety of viral online videos mocking the candidates, from the Obama girl video and its many imitators, to the Star Wars themed "The Empire Strikes Back."

And to think, it’s only July.

July 16, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, White House | Permalink | User Comments (24) | TrackBack (0)

Clinton Backs 'The Man' Barack Obama; Democratic Duo Pleads for Cash

July 10, 2008 12:17 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and Eloise Harper Report: For the second time in as many days, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were together again, making a pitch for money and putting a Democrat in the White House.

"As someone who took the same historic journey as Senator Clinton, although didn't do it in heels," Obama, D-Ill., told the mostly female crowd of over 2,000 who dined on breakfast fare and orange juice for $250-$2,300 a ticket, "I know firsthand how tough she is, how passionate she is, and how committed she is to the causes that bring us here."

The presumptive Democratic nominee said he "admired" his defeated former rival whom he called a "friend" and insisted, "I know that I desperately need her and Bill Clinton involved in this campaign and I am absolutely convinced if we are working together and all the women in this room are working together there is no way we're gonna lose in November."

Clinton, who was introduced by Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetero Ng, acknowledged she has gotten some sleep over the past month and mentioned she has picked up an exercise regime since she has stepped off the road, a thing she rarely during 16 months of near constant travel.

"Well, I actually don't tell anybody, I'm trying to exercise a little bit which I'm told does wonders for a person because during the campaign," she told the crowd. "I'm sure you read that Barack would get up faithfully every morning and go to the gym. I would get up and have my hair done. It's one of those Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire things."

WATCH VIDEO FROM THE FUNDRAISER HERE

In a more serious moment, Clinton looked back only to look forward.

"When it's over I know how difficult that is," she said of her bid for the White House. "I have been in winning and losing campaigns for a very long time and I've been in primary campaigns here in our Democratic party and I understand how challenging it is to turn on a dime and say, 'OK close that chapter, now we are on to the next chapter.'"

"It is a process and it does take time for people to just take a deep breath to go forward. But of course those who supported me for who I am forever grateful knew that we were on this journey together because we believe so strongly that we want to see again. And anyone who voted for me has so much in common with those who voted for Barack. It is critical that we join forces because the Democratic Party is a family, also at times a dysfunctional family, but it's a family," she said, urging her supporters to back Obama.

Obama, with Clinton's help, pledged victory in November.

"I promise you, we will not just win this election, but we will change the county and change the world and you will give Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama a chance to transform America once again," he said.

July 10, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (34) | TrackBack (0)

Kennedy Returns to Senate for First Time Since Cancer Diagnosis, Breaks Filibuster

July 09, 2008 4:31 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Sen. Ted Kennedy, still with his mane of silver hair, but recovering from brain surgery and in the midst of chemotherapy treatments returned to the Capitol Building today to help Democrats break a Republican filibuster of a bill to keep a pay cut for Medicare doctors from going into effect.

The Senate chamber erupted in cheers and standing ovation as walked on the floor for the first time since May. Republicans walked across the aisle to shake his hand even as he voted to break their filibuster.

WATCH VIDEO OF THE KENNEDY'S RETURN TO THE SENATE HERE

It’s a fitting bill for Kennedy to return for. He is chairman of the Senate Committee that handles health policy and the bill deals with payments to doctors who treat Medicare payments. It's unclear if Sen. Kennedy is treated under Medicare himself, but at age 77, he would certainly qualify.

"Illness and age know no party boundaries," Kennedy said of his return and vote in a written statement. "The 44 million Americans who rely on Medicare to meet their health care needs are both Democrats and Republicans.  Like all Americans, they have worked hard all their lives.  They’ve raised their families.  They’ve built our towns and cities and farmed the land.  They’ve served in our military. We owe them so much for the part they have played in making America a great country.  So today I proudly cast this important vote for them – a vote to keep the Medicare program strong and effective for the future."

After voting, Kennedy paused with is wife, Vicki, and son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-RI, on the Capitol steps to wave to supporters. He said "I'm feeling better," and that he would be "coming back to the Senate some time hopefully not too far away."

They nearly ran headlong into another Kennedy, Caroline, who was on Capitol Hill with Sen. Barack Obama, presumably as part of his vice presidential search team.

Back in the Capitol building, leaders from both parties were praising Kennedy for his return under duress.

"I’ve never seen a more moving minute then the time that Kennedy walked on the floor today," said the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada.

"He surprised us all," said an emotional Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., one of Kennedy's closest friends in the Senate. "Ted’s not in the habit of listening to doctors. I’ve been here in the senate 27 years and I don’t recall a moment like this one."

Democrats fell one vote short of passing a Medicare bill last month. While the bill got bipartisan support in the House and passed overwhelmingly there, Republicans in the Senate wanted to put their mark on the bill and blocked it.

Senate Democrats had been trolling all week for another Republican to support the bill - 9 Republicans voting against the filibuster had brought them within one.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democrat in charge of counting votes, gave a speech on the Senate floor earlier today with a large poster, which read "1 vote."

"We need one more Republican vote," Durbin pleaded. "One more."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid admonished his colleagues just before the cloture vote, "As I look across the aisle to my friends, the 60th vote is there," he said.

They ultimately got more than one. After Kennedy cast his vote and it became clear that Democrats could break the filibuster, ten Republicans who voted against the Medicare bill in June switched positions against the filibuster today.

"There was not a person who was not thrilled to see Sen. Kennedy back and looking so good," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., who supported the filibuster in June but voted against it today.

The bill ultimately passed comfortable margin to overturn a promised veto from President Bush.

Republicans who oppose the bill say the Medicare bill will hurt private insurers who target those who qualify for Medicare. Democrats pay for stopping the 10.6 percent pay cut for Medicare doctors by cutting payments for Medicare Advantage, modeled as a market-based alternative to Medicare.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader, said Republicans should not be blamed for cutting the doctors fees because Democrats won't agree to a short-term fix while they debate a compromise in the Senate.

"Democrats don't want a compromise. They don't want a long term extension of current law. They don't want a short term extension of current law. Yet they're not to blame for this pay cut for Medicare?" McConnell asked rhetorically.

July 9, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (75) | TrackBack (0)

Clinton Presidential Bid Doomed By Bill, Campaign Infighting

June 30, 2008 5:53 PM

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: In the August issue of Vanity Fair, Gail Sheehy, author of the biographical book, "Hillary’s Choice," chronicles the demise of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, revealing some new tidbits about the demise of her historic bid.

Sheehy exposes more of the infighting within her campaign including the battles between former campaign adviser Harold Ickes and former chief strategist Mark Penn. She includes this quote from Ickes, "Penn was the chief strategist. Following our loss, he now disclaims responsibility for anything and everything that went wrong and acts as if he were barely involved, which is especially galling from someone who made [nearly] $20 million from the campaign.”

Sheehy also focuses on Bill Clinton, reporting that the former President wanted his own office in the campaign headquarters and that a top fundraiser described him as out of control.

Monetary issues plagued Clinton’s campaign and it is revealed that “there wasn’t a budget request denied in Iowa,” and that the early voting state cost the campaign $25 million dollars.

The campaign arguably never was able to recover from that financial blow and, as reported in the article, Clinton “resisted focusing on money” even through she was briefed about it.

“We have a cash flow problem,” Ickes reportedly told Clinton, per Sheehy.

Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, who has been blamed for the loss in Iowa by overspending, was fired and, as Sheehy reports, asked that Mark Penn be fired too. That did not happen, and the infighting continued between Penn, Ickes and others.

Sheehy reports that according to Ickes, it didn’t sink in for Clinton that it was over until 12 hours after Obama clinched the nomination. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-NY., and other members of Congress, urged Clinton to concede, and 24 hours later it was clear to Clinton that she had to step down.

June 30, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (299) | TrackBack (0)

Obama Calls President Bill Clinton

June 30, 2008 3:54 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and Sarah Amos Report: Amid reports of tension between Sen. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, the Obama campaign announced Monday the presumptive Democratic nominee called Bill Clinton at 11amET this morning from Kansas City, Missouri while enroute to his event in Independence, Mo.

This is the first time Obama has spoken to the former president since winning the Democratic Party's nomination.

The former president was in New York, where he has an office in Harlem and a home in Chappaqua, NY. They spoke for 20 minutes. Obama asked the former president to campaign with him and for him. The Obama campaign said Bill Clinton told Obama he is excited about that prospect.

"Senator Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign," said Obama spokesperson Bill Burton.

"He has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation’s great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come."

The former president's office was just as effusive about the call today.

"President Clinton had a very good conversation with Sen. Obama today. He renewed his offer to do whatever he can to ensure Sen. Obama is our next President," said Bill Clinton spokesperson Matt McKenna.

"President Clinton continues to be impressed by Sen. Obama and the campaign he has run, and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come. The President believes that Senator Obama has been a great inspiration for millions of people around the country and he knows that he will bring the change America needs as our next President."

Over the weekend, Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chair and a former national co-chair to Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said the former president would speak to  Obama within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Reports have swirled for weeks about tensions between Bill Clinton and the presumptive Democratic nominee. Reigniting speculation about their relationship, Clinton's office last week released a one-sentence statement from spokesman Matt McKenna that was dubbed "tepid" by many members of the punditry and media.

During the campaign, Bill Clinton appeared to directly attack his wife's rival, telling PBS' Charlie Rose before the Iowa caucuses that voting for Obama is "a roll of the dice." He also said the Obama campaign "played the race card on me" after he likened Obama's South Carolina win to Jesse Jackson's in the 1980s, and publicly said Obama's opposition to the Iraq war was "a big fairy tale."

June 30, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (170) | TrackBack (0)

The Note: Obama Seeks New Image in Foreign Travel

June 30, 2008 8:29 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports in Monday's Note: What -- 50 states aren’t enough for these guys?

The latest odd turn in the race that’s seen everything has Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain seeing places that presidential candidates just don’t visit very often.

McCain is next up with a three-day trip to Colombia and Mexico that starts Tuesday, after two previous foreign trips this year brought him to Europe and the Middle East.

Obama is planning an extensive itinerary for next month: Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, England, France, and Germany -- just as foreign policy is set to resonate on the trail again,  as Obama talks patriotism,  and as Democrats seek to grab the national-security mantle from McCain (under the cover of downed fighter planes). 

This latest Obama introduction starts at home, with a “major speech” on patriotism scheduled for Independence, Mo., Monday morning. (Fun game: Count the American flags -- including the pin on Obama’s lapel -- at the event site.)

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

Independence Day means patriot’s week for Obama: “The message will be that love of country is not defined only by such traditional measures as serving in the military or tracing one's ancestors to the Mayflower,” John McCormick writes in the Chicago Tribune. “Patriotism, he and his supporters will say, can be reflected in living the national dream, which in Obama's case means rising as the Hawaiian-born son of a Kenyan father and Kansan mother to professional and political prominence.”

“In the coming days, Obama is expected to visit some traditionally red states as he seeks to broaden the electoral battleground,” McCormick writes. “Over the weekend, his campaign also announced a trip this summer to Europe and the Middle East, where Obama's popularity could be on display and his standing as a diplomatic figure boosted.”

We’ve done the math for you: The candidates’ foreign destinations award a grand total of zero electoral votes.

But the coming trips provide opportunities for both men in the tentative definitional dance of the early stage of the general election. And risks: Gaffes carry a multiplier of approximately three when committed abroad, and the visuals are not always under the control of a campaign operating in foreign territory.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' John Santucci and Alexa Ainsworth contributed to this report.

June 30, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Veepstakes, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (56) | TrackBack (0)

Elizabeth Edwards Says Mandates Are Best Way to Achieve Universal Healthcare

June 27, 2008 4:54 PM

ABC News' Molly Hunter Reports: Elizabeth Edwards, who is advising the Obama campaign on healthcare issues, reiterated Friday that she believes adopting Sen. Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan would be the best way to cover all Americans.

"In my view, that is the most assured way to get there," Edwards said of Clinton's plan.

Edwards, who endorsed Clinton’s healthcare plan during the late months of the primary, has consistently advocated for the use of individual mandates to ensure universal health care.

However, in an interview with ABC News, she didn't rule out other ways of reaching universal health care coverage without the use of mandates.

"The truth is universality is the goal. And I can’t be close-minded enough to think that there is only one way … Is that the only way? Even with mandates you probably are not going to get 100 percent, you are still going to have outliers," Edwards said, noting that there are other ways to get close to universal coverage.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has proposed requiring most employers to make a "meaningful contribution" to covering their employees through private insurance or contribute to a public health plan. Obama would also require parents to insure their children. 

Edwards told ABC News it's important to look at the incentives and automatic ways of enrolling people. Edwards is open to the idea of looking into the other ways of triggering enrollment.

"If he wants to be creative then that’s fine," she said of Obama. "I’m willing to listen to the ideas that [the Obama campaign] has."

Obama announced on June 9 that he planned to partner with Edwards to "figure it all out" on healthcare.

Edwards said she has begun to speak with Obama’s policy advisors and participate in conference calls with the campaign. She said she expects to do much more.

Edwards said she is optimistic Obama will address healthcare quickly if he's elected president. She said she hopes Obama will take lessons from the Clinton's failed 1993 healthcare reform effort and tackle the issue during his first 100 days in office.

"I think there is a real opportunity," Edwards said. "I think he can use that moment of the most heat to accomplish something."

June 27, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Edwards, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

The Note: Obama Shifts Give McCain Opening

June 27, 2008 8:21 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports in Friday's Note: It’s not about guns -- it’s about ammunition.

Thursday’s landmark Supreme Court may or may not have plopped gun control into the campaign. But it does place Sen. Barack Obama’s careful, cautious, sometimes contradictory (and dare we say Clintonian?) approach to tricky policy positions squarely in the center of the race.

An appropriate day for Obama to wrap himself in the Clinton legacy: As Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton seek unity in Unity, N.H., the emerging portrait of Obama, D-Ill., is of a politician who is racing for the centrist approach, and choosing his words mighty carefully.

Name your issue -- on trade, taxes, guns, the death penalty, campaign finance reform, FISA -- Obama may well be taking the politically smart position for a Democrat in these early days of the general election.

But the point is that he’s taking positions that are at least shaded differently than those he’s taken in the past, if not outright flip-flops. These are political calculations that make a dangerous assumption for Obama: that he’s willing to risk being called a “politician” at all.

“From the beginning, Barack Obama's special appeal was his vow to remain an idealistic outsider, courageous and optimistic, and never to shift his positions for political expediency, or become captive of the Inside-the-Beltway intelligentsia, or kiss up to special interests and big money donors,” writes McClatchy’s Margaret Talev. “In recent weeks, though, Obama has done all those things.”

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

The post-primary migration is looking like a sprint: “In the last week, Mr. Obama has taken calibrated positions on issues that include electronic surveillance, campaign finance and the death penalty for child rapists, suggesting a presidential candidate in hot pursuit of what Bill Clinton once lovingly described as ‘the vital center,’ ” Michael Powell writes in The New York Times. “Mr. Obama has executed several policy pirouettes in recent weeks, each time landing more toward the center of the political ring.”

“His reactions to this week's controversial court decisions showed yet again how he is carefully moving to the center ahead of the fall campaign,” Massimo Calabresi writes for Time. “Politicians are always happy to get a chance to accuse opponents of flip-flopping, but McCain's team may be more afraid of Obama's shift to the center than their words betray.”

This is audacity of a different variety: “Since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, when confronted with a series of thorny issues the Illinois senator has pursued a conspicuously conventional path, one that falls far short of his soaring rhetoric,” Kenneth P. Vogel writes for Politico.

“Obama passed up opportunities to take bold stands and make striking departures from customary politics. Instead, he has followed a familiar tack, straddling controversial issues and choosing politically advantageous routes that will ensure his campaign a cash edge and minimize damaging blowback on several highly sensitive issues.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' John Santucci and Alexa Ainsworth contributed to this report.

June 27, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (33) | TrackBack (0)

Tensions Remain Among Clinton Donors

June 27, 2008 7:40 AM

ABC’s Kate Snow reports:  The crowd's mood was but strained but supportive at Thursday’s meeting between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and about 150 of Clinton’s top donors at a Washington hotel.

The former rivals appeared upbeat and spoke supportively and enthusiastically of each other in their 30 minute meeting. They were warmly received by the crowd, but several attendees said they couldn’t help but feel tension, even while they were likely to play supportive roles in Obama's race against Republican John McCain.

One major Clinton donor described it this way:  "This felt like when your mom forces you to go visit your Aunt Ida and she has to pinch your cheeks and you're sitting there in an uncomfortable suit and you can't wait to leave."

Another Clinton-leaning person who was in the room said after the meeting wrapped up that there is still "a lot of anger" toward Obama among Clinton's wealthiest fans.

"It was pretty bad," this source said.  He said donors were joking that the scene was like "an Irish wake" and that you "could cut the air with a knife" it was so tense in the room.

"He better go back to the internet," said one donor about the Democratic nominee’s fundraising tactics.

"Most people left there feeling he didn't connect," said the person who was in the room. However, when asked if the donors still might write a check to Obama, he conceded that it was entirely possible.

But some Clinton backers told ABC News the evening was a success in that Obama asked the Clinton backers for their support in his race against Republican John McCain and ‘it worked.’

Lester Hyman, a Washington lawyer, said: “It worked. You bet.”

Judith Barnett, also a Washington lawyer, added, “It worked and we’re going to raise money because there’s too much at stake. This is not a rehearsal.”

When Clinton spoke to the crowd, she acknowledged the tough primary battle but urged her supporters to rally behind Obama and the party’s campaign to win the White House in November.

"This was a hard-fought campaign," she continued. "That's what made it so exciting and intense and why people's passions ran so high on both sides. I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well. But we are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House."

When Obama spoke to the crowd he complimented Clinton on the race she ran and tried to pump up the crowd about the chances of Democrats winning additional Senate and House seats and winning the White House this fall. 

"I recognize that this room shared the same passion that a roomful of my supporters would show. I do not expect that passion to be transferred. Sen. Cinton is unique, and your relationships with her are unique."

But he added, "Sen. Clinton and I at our core agree deeply that this country needs to change."

Obama made a direct appeal for support as he closed his remarks.  "I'm going to need Hillary by my side campaigning during his election, and I'm going to need all of you."

Obama did address one of the major elephants in the room -- Clinton's enormous campaign debt, a source of remaining tension between the two camps.

Obama told the crowd that he has told his top financial backers "to get out their checkbooks and start working to make sure Sen. Clinton -- the debt that's out there needs to be taken care of."

That vow drew a standing ovation from the crowd.

Many Clinton donors are anxious to hear more about Clinton's future role in the Obama campaign.  For example, will she have her own campaign plane to use for appearances?  Will she speak at the Democratic convention in late August and when?  They also want to know if Clinton's delegates will be allowed any kind of symbolic vote on the convention floor.

Asked tonight if there would be a roll-call vote at the convention in Denver, Clinton and Obama exchanged looks, with Clinton smiling, and said that was still being negotiated.

June 27, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack | Permalink | User Comments (162) | TrackBack (0)

Obama Health Plan Could Go In Clinton's Direction

June 27, 2008 7:09 AM

ABC News' Teddy Davis, John Santucci and Gregory Wallace Report: No policy proposal more sharply divided Barack Obama from Hillary Clinton than the former first lady's plan requiring adults to purchase health insurance.

But as the one-time rivals head to Unity, N.H., on Friday, a health adviser to the presumptive Democratic nominee is signaling that Obama's plan could eventually go in Clinton's direction.

"Senator Obama is willing to consider any sort of proposal that would bring together, not just the insurance industry but . . . the consumers themselves," said Obama adviser Dr. Kavita Patel.

Obama's surrogate made her comments Wednesday while representing him at a National Journal health-policy forum moderated by Ron Brownstein, the political director of Atlantic Media.

Patel's individual mandate remarks were made in response to an insurance industry leader suggesting at the same forum that insurers will oppose Obama's plan as currently structured. Insurers are worried that the Illinois Democrat has not tied an individual mandate to "guaranteed issue," the industry's term for requiring patients to be covered without regard to pre-existing conditions.

"We've had the conversation about . . . guaranteed issue," said Karen Ignagni, the president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans. "But we are prepared to have that conversation in the insurance industry if the politicians are ready to stand up and say we are going to get everyone in."

Ignagni's words are watched closely because the organization she heads emerged from the Health Insurance Association of America, sponsors of the "Harry and Louise" ads which played a critical role in killing Clinton's effort to reform health-care in the 1990s

Asked if Obama would be seen as reversing himself if he were to endorse an individual mandate after clashing with Clinton on the issue, Patel dismissed the concern.

"He has not said he is opposed to it," Patel told ABC News. "He has voiced his disagreement with having that be a part of his health-care plan last year. But he is not opposed to the idea itself." Patel added that the Obama campaign is in touch with former Clinton health-care advisers.

If Obama were to endorse an individual mandate, Ignagni's comments suggest that it would dramatically improve his chances of getting the insurance industry to accept his call for guaranteed issue.

Community rating, however, might still be a stumbling block.

Richard Kirsch, the head of "Health Care for America Now," told ABC News in a separate interview that the liberal coalition he leads would go along with an individual mandate only if the insurance industry accepts both guaranteed issue and a system of community rating in which there were no variations in premiums on the basis of age, gender, or pre-existing conditions.

Kirsch said his group would only accept premium variations on the basis of geography.

"We're not going to get the kind of change we need by playing footsie with the industry," said Kirsch. "If they are going to change their tune, great. But I think they are only going to change their tune if they are forced to do it."

Asked if insurers would support community rating if an individual mandate were in place, an industry spokesman said such a proposal requires further examination.

"That is not something that we have come out in support of at this time," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans.

UPDATE:

Concerned that some may view Dr. Kavita Patel's remarks as a sign that Barack Obama is shifting his stance on an individual mandate, a campaign spokesman told ABC News that the presumptive Democratic nominee "does not have plans to change his health care plan."

"Senator Obama does not have plans to change his health care plan, which will achieve universal coverage," Obama spokesman Bill Burton tells ABC News. "As he has consistently said throughout this campaign, he will bring together businesses, the medical community and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this issue."

Obama may gain politically in the short run by talking about the benefits of guaranteed issue without the burden of an individual mandate. No one wants to be required to purchase insurance that they may not be able to afford.

But close observers of reform efforts see an individual mandate as essential to making good on Obama's promise to end the insurance industry's "cherry picking" of healthy customers. If the uninsured are not required to purchase insurance while knowing that they are guaranteed access at a community-rated price, the insurance industry worries that the uninsured will only seek coverage once they become sick.

 

June 27, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)

Clinton Calls on Nurses to Back Obama

June 26, 2008 12:48 PM

ABC News' John Santucci Reports: In her first public event since losing the Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton attacked the healthcare plan proposed by Sen. John McCain, and promised she would continue to fight for healthcare reform.

"It is absolutely unbelievable that the healthcare plan he has proposed would cause millions of hardworking Americans to lose the coverage they already have," Clinton said during a speech to the American Nurses Association convention in Washington, DC on Thursday. "So what ever issue you care about, what ever your passion may be, we have to join together and present a united front."

Hundreds of nurses cheered Clinton and held "Hillary for President" signs and wore "Hillary" pins.

During the primary campaign Clinton proposed mandated universal healthcare coverage for all Americans, and bashed then-rival Sen. Barack Obama's plan to create a national health insurance program for those who do not have employer-provided health, and mandate coverage for children. McCain has proposed "market-based solutions" to move away from employer-based coverage to insurance bought by individuals.

Clinton said many nurses came to her presidential campaign events. "Time and time again I expressed my appreciation to our nurses," she said. "While you and those you represent are working hard for us I don’t think we in Washington are working nearly hard enough for you."

The former first lady called on the group that had originally endorsed her "to do everything you can to help elect Barack Obama."  The ANA has not officially endorsed Obama. 

"I have seen his passion and determination and his grip and his grace, and in his own life he has lived the American dream," she said of Obama.

Clinton will be campaigning with the presumptive Democratic nominee Friday in Unity, New Hampshire, a town name she called "very appropriate."

"It is so remarkable and I am very proud of the Democratic Party and I'm very proud of my country that an African American and a woman were competing," she said.   

The New York senator promised the group she would continue to be an advocate for healthcare reform.

"I've been actively involved in America's politics in one way or another for, I'd hate to confess, 40 years.  Please, call out ask me how old I am?"

June 26, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (122) | TrackBack (0)

The Note: New Role for Clintons: Obama Supporters, Not Bashers

June 26, 2008 8:21 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports in Thursday's Note:

With the third branch set to assert itself anew (a gunshot sounding Sen. Barack Obama’s move to the political center?) -- quick -- who’s the most important Democrat in the country at this precise moment?

That’s a trick question -- since there’s a two-way tie for first. One more hint: Obama is in third place.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gets two days back in the center of the action Thursday and Friday -- and former President Bill Clinton gets his own measure of chatter despite not being on the continent this week.

Amid all the talk of hurt feelings and unpaid bills, it’s worth considering the favors the Clintons have done for Obama: a gracious exit, opened doors with donors, and mostly (do not undervalue this) just disappearing in the critical period when Obama needed the stage to himself to frame the race against Sen. John McCain.

That period ends Thursday, with two speeches by Sen. Clinton (to a nurses’ association and a Latino group -- neither a venue chosen by accident) in advance of the evening event for big money folks at the Mayflower Hotel.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

It’s been a while since the Clintons campaigned for anyone else -- and if they’re rusty, the smart folks with the tape recorders and laptops will notice.

Know that we are permanently in a zone where a few snarky comments from a few disgruntled denizens of Camp Clinton are all it will take to restart the old fires -- to say nothing of potential for lukewarm comments from the Clintons’ themselves (how many reporters do you think will be counting Obama references in Sen. Clinton’s speeches Thursday?).

Pity Bob Barnett: The Washington super-lawyer is helping Obama and Sen. Clinton negotiate “a thicket of complicated issues, like how to repay Mrs. Clinton’s campaign debt and her role at the Democratic convention,” Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny write in The New York Times.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' John Santucci and Alexa Ainsworth contributed to this report.

June 26, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (70) | TrackBack (0)

Obama on Bill Clinton: 'I Want His Help'

June 25, 2008 10:08 PM

ABC News’ Jennifer Duck reports: Sen. Barack Obama will meet with his formal rival Sen. Hillary Clinton tomorrow at a fundraiser in D.C. before campaigning with her in their first-ever joint campaign appearance in Unity, New Hampshire.

Behind the scenes, reports of tension between the two camps have been ongoing, whether it be on the topic of Obama helping retire over $10 million in Clinton debt or the one-line statement of endorsement this week from former President Bill Clinton.

But today, Obama had nothing but pleasantries for the Clintons.  Watch the VIDEO HERE.

"I want her campaigning as much as she can. She was a terrific campaigner,” Obama said of Sen. Clinton.  “I think we will have a terrific time together in New Hampshire. And I think that she will be very effective all the way through the election.”

When asked by reporters about Clinton's primary campaign debt, Obama admitted, “We don’t have some ten-point strategy to do this. What I said was to my large donors, who are in a position to write large checks, to help Senator Clinton retire her debt, or at least a portion of it. And I think there are going to be those who are willing to do so.”

The low-key endorsement by former President Bill Clinton also raised some eyebrows this week.  Instead of endorsing Obama on television with hundreds of people cheering at a big venue -- like former Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. John Edwards' endorsement -- the former president issued a short statement from his spokesperson announcing his support for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

But during a Wednesday news conference with reporters, Obama brushed off media questions about the "tepid" endorsement. 

"It is understandable that the former president wouldn’t want to upstage what is going to be, I think, a terrific unity event over the next day and a half,” he said.  “I’m going to be appearing with Senator Clinton, the former president’s wife who was involved in an epic, historic primary with me, and then I’m going to be campaigning with her on Friday.”

On Bill Clinton’s role in his campaign, Obama said, “I want him involved. He is a brilliant politician. He was a outstanding president. And so I want his help not only in campaigning but also in governing. And I’m confident that I’ll get that help.”

June 25, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (76) | TrackBack (0)

The Note: Pressure on Clintons as Democrats Seek Unity

June 25, 2008 9:12 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports in Wednesday's Note: It’s unity week for the Democrats -- and watch this tense tango: Hillary Clinton two-steps toward togetherness, Barack Obama congas for comity (with a fandango of a phone call) -- and Bill Clinton manages to shimmy out a statement.

While we ponder Sen. Obama’s star choices (Samuel L. Jackson or Don Cheadle? Heidi Klum or Cindy Crawford?) and taste preferences (fruitcakes or martinis? -- combine them both and you have a drink worthy of “Sex and the City,” female outreach settled) . . . a few questions to frame the day:

How many more polls like this before there’s real panic in the GOP? (Answer: One.)

How many more panel discussions can turn into debates before there’s a real-shakeup inside the McCain operation? (Answer: None -- and two more foreign trips next week? Is he seeing an electoral map we’re not?)

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

Is this one of those weeks where it’s good to be a candidate/senator or bad to be a candidate/senator? (Answer: Depends on the senator.)

How many more ads like this before Obama’s upside is formally declared to outweigh his downside in down-ballot races? (Answer: Three.)

Is Ralph Nader trying to say things politicians just don’t say? (Answer: Yes.)

How carefully will Bill Clinton have to choose his words when he puts his endorsement into action? (Answer: Very.) How many of those words will be unscripted? (Answer: None.)

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' John Santucci and Alexa Ainsworth contributed to this report.

June 25, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack | Permalink | User Comments (107) | TrackBack (0)

Clinton Returns

June 24, 2008 1:56 PM

ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: After several weeks under the radar, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made her first appearance on Capitol Hill since ceding the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

She missed a morning procedural vote on the housing bill, but arrived in grand fashion for the Democrats' weekly strategy lunch, pulling up in a three car motorcade to cheers from 50 or so interns and staffers gathered on the East steps of the Capitol Building.

As a campaigner, Clinton would arrive on Capitol Hill for votes in a tan SUV with blacked out windows. But today it was a smaller, black Lincoln Town car. She did, however, have on a smart, loud turquoise or aqua pantsuit that would have looked right at home on the campaign trail.

An unintended and symbolic taunt, Clinton had to walk around the much larger, parked vice presidential caravan, with its several enormous armored limousines. Vice President Dick Cheney was on Capitol Hill for a weekly strategy session with fellow Republicans and arrived not long before Sen. Clinton.

Clinton shook hands and spoke briefly with the gathered supporters, but avoided questions from journalists asking her how it felt to be back and what her first order of business would be.

It was not entirely clear who the supporters who greeted Clinton worked for. Several who were asked for their names said they could not say who they were or where they worked and could not talk to the press, but presumably they hailed from the Senate offices of Clinton and other Democrats.

Upon entering the building, Clinton was greeted by some of her biggest supporters in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, the senior Senator from New York, and Sens. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Outside the building, another one of her supporters, Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, who harbored his own Presidential ambitions earlier in the '08 process, said it will obviously be a transition for the former presidential candidate to leave the excitement and adrenaline of daily campaigning.

"There's that charge that you get out of campaigning," Bayh said. "That's not going to be the same. But as you can see," he said, pointing to the staffers gathered on the Capitol steps to cheer her on, "she has an important role to play and I'm sure she'll play it well."

Bayh said he had not spoken with Clinton since she had announced her departure from the presidential race, but he was hopeful she would seize the opportunity to return to the Senate as a change-making junior Senator from New York.

"I hope we haven't gotten to the point in our country where being one of the most prominent members of the United States Senate, somehow, is not good enough," Bayh said. "You can make a bigger difference as the chief executive of the country, but you can make a heck of a difference as a United States Senator."

June 24, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary | Permalink | User Comments (91) | TrackBack (0)

The Note: GOP Attacks on Obama May Backfire

June 24, 2008 8:33 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports in Tuesday's Note: It’s going to take more than a town in New Hampshire (even one with the perfect name and vote total) to make things right in Democrat-land.

It’s going to take more than spiking a silly seal to kill the storyline of Sen. Barack Obama’s arrogance. (Just ask Karl Rove.)

It’s going to take more than a polite plea from Obama to get Democratic donors to pay back Mark Penn. (Though a Clinton-Obama phone call is certainly a start.)

It’s going to take more than a $300 million prize to make gas prices Democrats’ fault.

It’s going to take more than James Dobson (and more than a little “fruitcake”) to get the evangelical base energized for Sen. John McCain like it was for President Bush.

It’s going to take more than one ill-advised comment to get Charlie Black a ticket off the “Straight Talk Express” (but maybe not much more than that).

Just when we thought there might be a policy debate emerging -- here come Rove, Black, and Dobson to turn the page on the GOP playbook. This may not have been the way they wanted their messages to get out -- but is there any doubt now as to how Republicans plan on depicting Obama?

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

For all we know, all three men may be right (on the facts, and on the politics) for -- but that doesn’t mean Obama should flee from this fight. (What shouts out for change more than a campaign that is itself a repeat?)

Start with Black, who may have been speaking the truth (ask Hillary Clinton about that) but nonetheless got slapped down by McCain after telling Fortune’s David Whitford that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto “helped us” and that a terrorist attack would “certainly . . . be a big advantage” for McCain.

Said McCain (responding quickly): “I cannot imagine why he would say it. . . . It’s not true. I’ve worked tirelessly since 9/11 to prevent another attack on the United States of America.”

“The comment reinjected the fear of terrorism into the campaign as both candidates had been shifting their conversation to the economy and $4-per-gallon gasoline,” Michael Shear writes in The Washington Post. “It also vividly recalled the 2004 contest between President Bush and Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry, in which Republicans repeatedly questioned Kerry's ability to protect the country from terrorists.”

It’s tempting (and maybe accurate) to cast this as a rerun of the GOP’s 2004 strategy (Sen. John Kerry was even on hand to lead the Obama pushback).

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' John Santucci and Alexa Ainsworth contributed to this report.

June 24, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (33) | TrackBack (0)

Obama, Clinton Talk Strategy and Debt

June 23, 2008 6:32 PM

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke by phone Sunday night, the first time the presumptive Democratic nominee and his former rival have exhanged words since their private meeting in Washington weeks ago.

Clinton and Obama discussed retiring Clinton's over $10 million in campaign debt, a conversation Democratic sources called "constructive".

They also discussed their forthcoming joint fundraising appearance in Washington on Thursday and the first campaign appearance together in Unity, New Hampshire, on Friday.

Sen. Clinton conceded the Democratic race to Obama on Saturday, June 7, just four days after splitting the final two primary contests in South Dakota and Montana.

The pair held a secret meeting in Washington at the home of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a Clinton supporter, prior to Clinton's concession but had not spoken since that time.

June 23, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack | Permalink | User Comments (125) | TrackBack (0)

The Note: Barack Obama is up in the polls but he will need Hillary Clinton supporters in order to defeat John McCain.

June 23, 2008 8:39 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports in Monday's Note: Forget the transition team -- that was so 2007 -- think he’s hiring for the reelect yet? (We’re not sure “yes, we can” works anymore -- what about “yeah, we did”?

Somewhere between the new seal, a new Latin phrase, the shattered public financing pledge,
and the not-happening town-hall forums, Sen. Barack Obama made clear that he’s really, really sure he’s going to win.

Nothing wrong with a little confidence -- Democrats like to be optimistic these days -- and the latest polls  give him enough of an edge  to quell concerns going into a week that will be defined by a big meeting.

But confidence is a tricky game for Obama, D-Ill., who is still busy defining himself to a skeptical public -- to say nothing of still-seething Clinton supporters  (and an increasingly frustrated press corps).

In his rush to take advantages where they present themselves, Obama just may have eroded his central message -- as reformer, as change agent, as different-kind-of-politician. The question now is whether Sen. John McCain can do anything about it (and remember that he aims for those same qualities).

As things stand, there will be no public financing, and there will be no freewheeling town-hall forums. There’s one candidate who’s the main reason for both of those facts.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

“By refusing to join McCain in these initiatives in order to protect his own interests, Obama raises an important question: Has he built sufficient trust so that his motives will be accepted by the voters who are only now starting to figure out what makes him tick?” David Broder writes in his Sunday Washington Post column.

Suggestions to the contrary notwithstanding, Obama did not plop upon us fully formed and ready to take his country into flight.

“For all his talk about change, Obama remains a product of a Chicago and Illinois political culture renowned for corruption and filled with characters who range from felonious to just outrageous,” Bob Secter and John McCormick write in the Chicago Tribune. “Whether any of that will matter in November is an open question, but Obama clearly is betting he can benefit from Chicago's reputation for toughness without being tainted by its darker political side.”

That’s one way to cast his decision to jettison his commitment to public financing (though Republicans can think of a few other ways). “Perhaps people didn't know how tough he is. He's been saying all along, don't confuse hope with naivete,” Obama friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett tells The Washington Post’s Dan Balz and Anne E. Kornblut.

Write Balz and Kornblut: “If some Republicans rue the swift and calculated nature they say characterizes Obama's early steps, his campaign advisers say they have needed to move quickly to make up for the months spent waging the extended primary race. They cast the decision on public financing, for example, as motivated partly by timing, with just four full months left until Election Day to provide voters with the vision of Obama they hope to establish.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' John Santucci and Alexa Ainsworth contributed to this report.

June 23, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack | Permalink | User Comments (88) | TrackBack (0)

Presidential Politics, Gas Prices Overtake Congress

June 17, 2008 4:45 PM

ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: We may have reached the point where everything that happens in Congress will be predicated by what's happening in the presidential campaign.

Speaking to reporters today, both Republican and Democratic leaders invoked the candidates to attack the other side on gas prices.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain's plan for offshore drilling "basically is nothing" and assailed McCain's independent mantle by accusing him of changing his opinion to suit the political mood.

"Right now, we have 58 million acres that have been leased offshore, and there's nothing being done on those 58 million acres," Reid told reporters after a closed door weekly planning session for Democratic Senators.

"And it's astounding that John McCain, whenever there's an issue that comes up that bites a little bit, because he knows he's wrong on it, he tries to change the subject. When we're here trying to extend the tax credits on alternative energy, when we're trying to do something about gas prices or we're trying to do something with global warming, he came up with the idea that he previously disagreed with, and that is offshore drilling," Reid said.

"In one of his other political lives, he said he was opposed to more offshore drilling.  Today, he came out and said he's in favor of it," Reid said.

David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, was seen going into the weekly briefing and afterwards, Reid said he invited the campaign strategist inside the halls of Congress because, "we now have approximately four-and-a-half months to go before...we'll have a new president.  We believe that president will be Barack Obama, for the reasons I have laid out previously, that McCain, of course, has the wrong temperament to be president, he's wrong on the war, he's wrong on the economy."

Reid said "Axelrod is Senator Obama's chief consultant, and I thought it was very important that he come so people know who he is."

Seemingly a reference to McCain's temper, it has become Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's talking point on John McCain: he doesn't have the "temperament to be President."

On the other side, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has stopped using the word Obama altogether. He's taken to assailing "the Democratic nominee."

After the concurrent GOP strategy meeting today, McConnell said, "I think we all certainly know that gas prices are the number one issue in the country.  The Democratic nominee for president says that he's not so troubled by $4 a gallon gas, but concerned about how quickly we got there. I think most Americans believe that $4 gas is too much, whether we got there quickly or slowly.  The gas price are too high.  Senate Republicans intend to continue to continue to discuss this and to advocate policies that we think would have -- make an extraordinary difference, in not only, some of it, in the short term, but certainly in the near future."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex, painted his criticism of Democrats asking "Why does Senator Obama refuse to allow us to develop our own domestic energy resources in a way that would reduce this dangerous dependency?" Cornyn asked.

"That is the question that divides us and the Democrat majority, along with Senator Obama," he said, arguing that voters will vote in line with who has the best plan to lower gas prices in the short term.

"That is the question really that Senator Obama and the majority need to answer and one of the big divisions that separates us," he said.

Meanwhile the two sides continue to spar over legislative measures.

Democrats killed a Republican plan last month to drill for more oil. Republicans killed a Democratic plan last week to encourage more alternative energy and hit oil companies with a windfall profits tax. And for the second time in two weeks Republicans in the Senate today killed a slate of popular energy-related tax credits for companies that pursue alternative energy. They cannot agree with Democrats over how (or whether) to offset the tax credits by raising taxes elsewhere and were angry that unrelated measures had been slipped into the bill.

June 17, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

McCain to Appear on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

June 16, 2008 7:34 PM

ABC News' Ed O'Keefe Reports: As Obama goes, so goes McCain -- at least when it comes to Jimmy Kimmel.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will appear live via satellite from Dallas on "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" Tuesday, June 17 on ABC prior to game six of the Celtics-Lakers NBA championship.

On Sunday, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., pre-taped an appearance on Kimmel's talk show.  Asked by Kimmel if he worried vanquished Democratic nomination rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., might jump back into the race if the Lakers win, Obama diplomatically replied, "Senator Clinton and I are on the same team."

The appearance marked the presumptive Democratic nominee's first sit-down with a late-night comic since Clinton dropped out of the race and endorsed his bid.  Obama has previously made the rounds with David Letterman, Jay Leno and the "Saturday Night Live" cast.

WATCH OBAMA ON 'JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE' HERE OR WATCH KIMMEL'S 'WORST POLITICAL TEAM ON TELEVISION' BREAK DOWN OBAMA'S NOMINATION VICTORY SPEECH HERE.

The candidates aren't the only ones appearing on a television screen near you. Michelle Obama co-hosts "The View" Wednesday, June 18; Cindy McCain co-hosted the program earlier this year.

Kimmel on Tuesday also welcomes Mike "The Love Guru" Myers for a cameo appearance in the special half hour prime time edition of his late night talk show.

ABC News' Sheila Marikar contributed to this report.

June 16, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink |