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The Note: Palin Caught in Image War

September 03, 2008 9:08 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Wednesday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

The war over Gov. Sarah Palin’s image is on. (And Team McCain can only hope that it’s not already lost.)

What the McCain campaign realizes is that there are two Republican National Conventions now underway -- one in St. Paul, and one back home.

In the first, inside the hall, they feel good about being Republicans again. The party’s stars are cycling through (where was this Fred Thompson last year?), the nominee has delegates’ (and -- thanks, Joe Lieberman -- one big Democrat’s) blessing, and there’s this new young partner who’s got everyone buzzing.

But -- as clear as that giant, high-definition American flag rippling behind the podium -- none of that may matter over in that other convention that’s playing out in the press reports that seep into American homes.

Certainly not if the running mate doesn’t impress Wednesday (and probably not if the McCain-Palin operation can’t control the media firestorm before she takes the stage).

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 broad issue this Wednesday: The campaign is perilously close to losing control of Palin’s image -- and thus the stakes are raised for a speech that was going to be the most closely watched of the convention anyway.

“Core conservatives are smitten with the 44-year-old governor, who opposes abortion in all cases, including rape and incest. And millions of dollars in donations have poured in,” Peter Wallsten and Doyle McManus write in the Los Angeles Times “But Republican strategists don't know how she will play among moderate swing voters, including blue-collar Democrats, who have been moving toward Barack Obama but might like Palin's middle-class roots.”

Said former Bush adviser Dan Bartlett: “There's no middle ground on this for John McCain. . . . She is either going to be a wild success or a spectacular failure.”

“It's going to be a wild ride,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., tells USA Today.

Here comes the pushback: Team McCain plays the gender card and the media-bias card with a full-on offensive -- press conferences, surrogate TV and radio appearances (designed to demand fair treatment for Palin and her family), plus a new ad:

“The McCain campaign will launch a television ad directly comparing Governor Palin’s executive experience as a governor who oversees 24,000 state employees, 14 statewide cabinet agencies and a 10 billion dollar budget to Barack Obama’s experience as a one-term junior Senator from Illinois,” a campaign aide tells The Note.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 3, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Thompson, Fred, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (154)

The Note: New Questions Dog McCain-Palin Ticket

September 02, 2008 9:16 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Tuesday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

What did John McCain know, and when did he know it?

We will get a full Republican National Convention back, starting Tuesday. (Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Sen. Fred Thompson help get us from telethon to television -- and President Bush will get his address via satellite, for better and worse, while Rudy Giuliani gets bumped to another night.)

But even if we didn’t get back on track, just think of what we’ve been through together already. A storm blew through St. Paul, Monday -- and there was a hurricane you may have heard about, too.

And behind the news about Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter (biology as pushback?) is a pregnant series of questions about Sen. John McCain: Did he know, really and fully, what he was getting into? Does his campaign regret the choice, even a little bit? What does all of this say about his judgment?

(How many more stories before Palin = “Northern Exposure,” and how long a trip is it from there to Tom Eagleton/Harriet Miers territory?)

(And while we’re waiting for those answers -- Sen. Barack Obama will be George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive headliner Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”)

It was a good political day to dump Palin information, as Gustav wasn’t quite dumping its wrath on the Gulf Coast. But this starts to add up:

“Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years, in the 1990s, of the Alaska Independence Party, which has, at times, sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken driving charge,” Elisabeth Bumiller writes in The New York Times.

“We are going to flush the toilet,” new McCain-Palin aide Tucker Eskew (yes, THE Tucker Eskew) tells the Times.

Things Team McCain may have wanted done, say, last week: “Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background,” Bumiller reports. “A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice presidential choice.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 2, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Thompson, Fred, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (149)

The Note: VP Guessing Game Keeps GOP in Headlines

August 29, 2008 10:11 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note:

DENVER --

Now that we know Sen. Barack Obama is going to fight for this thing, we’re about to see why he’ll need to.

No rest for the weary leaving Denver for St. Paul: It was Obama’s night on Thursday, but as the confetti wafts down the mountain, Friday is Sen. John McCain’s day -- since he’ll have someone to share it with, at last.

The birthday boy puts his veep out at a noontime ET joint rally in Dayton, Ohio -- and away we go all over again (if the GOP can buy any luck with the weather).

And the process-of-elimination/obfuscation game resumes in full force: Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., called it a “fair assumption” that he wasn’t it, since he isn’t going to Dayton on Friday: “It was an honor to be considered,” he told a local radio station.

He got the formal call from McCain Friday morning -- told he was not going to be the selection, per ABC’s Jan Crawford Greenburg.

Fox News’ Carl Cameron reports that former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., is in Boston, Friday and won’t be in Dayton -- and isn’t the pick. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos confirms that Romney is not in Ohio on Friday -- and a source tells Jan Crawford Greenburg that Romney hasn’t been chosen.

No Huckster, either: “There are reports that I’m on my way to Dayton tonight. Not true,” former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., wrote late Thursday in a message to supporters. “Wasn’t invited to be there, and any reports that I’m going to be there are a big surprise to me. I have never been contacted by the McCain campaign at any point about the VP slot.”

And a plane from Alaska had the overnight/early morning buzz on Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska; Karl Rove tells Fox News that it “smells like” it’s her.

But ABC’s Kate McCarthy reports that, per Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow, Palin is at home in Wasilla, Alaska, on Friday, with plans to attend the Alaska State Fair -- and won’t be in Dayton, either.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

August 29, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (161)

Minnesota's Pawlenty Gets Call: He's Not McCain's VP Pick

August 29, 2008 9:19 AM

ABC News' Jan Crawford Greenburg reports: Scratch another one from the McCain veepstakes list. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has received a call from Sen. John McCain and has been told he's not going to join the Republican contender on the GOP ticket.

McCain, R-Ariz., is in Dayton, Ohio, awaiting a high noon event at which the campaign has said the Republican contender will announce his running mate.

With Gov. Sarah Palin in Alaska, speculation is narrowing to an even smaller list: former Govs. Mitt Romney and Tom Ridge, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, the only presumed contender who is actually in the Buckeye State at this hour.

But could the wily McCain be planning a surprise for his 72nd birthday? It's anyone's guess (and, despite Barack Obama's historic nomination acceptance speech last night, EVERYONE is guessing).

Stay tuned...

August 29, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (90)

McCain VP Contender Palin in Alaska, Not Ohio

August 29, 2008 8:54 AM

ABC News' Kate McCarthy reports: As vice presidential speculation swirls, Gov. Sarah Palin is watching the fireworks from her home in Wasilla, Alaska.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is in Dayton, Ohio, awaiting a high noon event at which the campaign has said the Republican contender will announce his running mate.

All eyes are on a short list of contenders including Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Govs. Mitt Romney and Tom Ridge, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Palin.

But the possibility of a surprise pick also looms as the McCain camp remains mum at this hour about just who will be joining their candidate on stage in battleground Ohio.

But one person who will not be there: Palin. The governor's spokesperson, Sharon Leighow, tells ABC News she's going to the State Fair in Anchorage, Alaska.

Stay tuned...

August 29, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (450)

Obama Camp on Pawlenty: Bring It On

August 28, 2008 5:39 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis reports: The Obama campaign signaled a willingness on Thursday to go after Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., for the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse, while saying that the populist argument it is building against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will continue, even if the presumptive Republican presidential nominee taps the son of a truck driver as his running mate.

"I don't think it's particularly relevant who the running mate is if the running mate is willing to embrace, in total, the Bush-McCain economic doctrine," Obama strategist David Axelrod told ABC News.

"Every day, Americans understand that those policies aren't working for them," he continued. "And if you have one more person out there saying we've made 'great progress' on our economy and that we ought to continue doing what we're doing, I'd be eager to have him travel far and wide. I think it's a losing message."

"Whoever he picks, it doesn't change the fact that it's John McCain's agenda on the ballot," added David Plouffe. The Obama campaign manager joined Axelrod at a breakfast with reporters in Denver, which was held on the same day that Obama is set to deliver a speech accepting the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Some GOP strategists have speculated in private about whether Pawlenty's odds of becoming McCain's running mate improved vis-a-vis Mitt Romney, in the wake of the Arizona senator's seeming inability to tell Politico how many houses he owns.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who ran against McCain for the Republican presidential nod, is a multimillionaire with four houses to his name.

Trying to undermine Romney in advance of a possible vice presidential announcement, the Obama campaign has been steadily painting him as an "expert" on "Cayman Island tax shelters."

"You couldn't have a more out of touch ticket," Plouffe recently told The Atlantic magazine.

Pawlenty, by contrast, owns only one house.

He recently told ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg that he owns a $335,000 suburban home outside Minneapolis, and was quick to note that he still pays the mortgage and cuts his own grass.

Obama adviser Robert Gibbs acknowledged that a Pawlenty pick would leave the Democrats with less populist ammunition than a Romney selection. Gibbs was quick to add, however, that there is a "treasure trove" of other issues that can be used against Pawlenty, including the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse which killed 13.

"Each of these guys have their own thing," Gibbs told ABC News. "It would be nice to talk about Romney's stuff. But just because McCain picks a guy with only one house doesn't mean that we're going to stop talking about McCain's seven houses."

August 28, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (175)

The Note: Obama Poised to Claim Democratic Party

August 28, 2008 10:19 AM

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

DENVER --

Even if it’s disappointed those who were looking for chaos rather than comity, they’ve had their roles: The defeated rival, coming to terms with a real kind of inevitability; the former leader, bestowing his blessings at long, long last; an evening capped by the grizzled veteran, basking in his moment -- and lighting the path for the chosen one.

In case Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., needed to see how it was done on Thursday, a couple of old pros made it work for him Wednesday. By the time Obama heard the roar of the crowd for himself, a convention that looked dangerously close to veering off track was tantalizingly close to fulfilling its goals.

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., made the case for Obama -- and against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. -- more eloquently, coherently, and tactically than maybe even that guy at the top of the ticket.

Former President Bill Clinton completed the sentiments his wife started (but didn’t finish) articulating the night before -- and for a night, and perhaps now for a campaign, we witnessed grace and generosity.

And the masterstroke: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D- N.Y., made the final, minutely choreographed gesture herself. “Clinton did the honors for the man who had denied her dream of becoming the first woman ever nominated to lead a major party,” Dan Balz and Anne Kornblut write in The Washington Post.

(Suddenly, with McCain poised to pick a running mate, does it seem that the drama is drifting in the general vicinity of St. Paul?)

At last, a message: “This week's events served as a national debut, of sorts, for the Obama campaign attack machine, even if that machinery is operated mostly by supporters and aides, rather than the candidate himself,” Peter Wallsten and Doyle McManus write in the Los Angeles Times. “It was clear that the campaign has settled on its favorite theme: portraying McCain as out of touch economically and an identical twin to President Bush.”

Now, Obama just has to give at least the second-best speech of his life Thursday night at Invesco Field at Mile High -- while not letting the setting become the story. (He’s presumptive no more, but that doesn’t take care of presumptuous.)

“His campaign has gambled on the historic moment by creating a stage that will magnify his performance,” Eli Saslow writes in The Washington Post.

“Succeed here, in front of the largest Democratic National Convention crowd in nearly 50 years, and Obama's speech will be remembered as one of the most powerful moments in modern politics, a perfect launch into the final stage of the general election,” he writes. “Fail, and Obama risks fueling Republicans' criticism that he is an aloof celebrity, fond of speaking to big crowds, but incapable of forming genuine connections.”

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

August 28, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred, Veepstakes | Permalink | User Comments (62)

DNC to Give Reporters McCain Convention 'Survival Kit'

August 27, 2008 7:06 PM

ABC News' Jennifer Parker reports: In advance of the Republican National Convention next week in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Democratic National Convention is giving reporters in Denver a "survival kit."

ABC News has obtained the DNC's opposition kit. Inside an envelope labeled "DNC at the RNC: The McCain Files: A Survival Kit for Reporters," are press credentials to the Democratic Party's "More of the Same Media War Room" in St. Paul.

The packet also contains a flash drive with Democratic party "opposition research" against Republican nominee John McCain, as well as extra strength pain reliever, antacids, Pay Day and 100 Grand candy bars, and a button that reads "Ask me how many houses I own."

It also has a McCain-themed crossword puzzle "to help you prepare, and pass the time, on the flight," reads a press release from the Democratic National Convention. Clues include "income levels that meet McCain's definition of rich."

"While you're there, we'll make sure you have everything you need to cut through the convention spin," the DNC release reads.

On the flash drive is a black and white jpeg image of the John McCain--President George Bush embrace during the 2004 campaign, six web attack ads against McCain, Democratic "fact checks" on McCain statements, and a "What Republicans Are Saying About John McCain" document with criticisms that McCain lawmakers have made over the years.

August 27, 2008 in Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (109)

The Note: DNC Takes Sharper Tone as Hillary’s a Hit

August 27, 2008 10:37 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Wednesday's Note:

DENVER --

One Clinton down, one to go. (And yes, the party’s getting there, even if that other Clinton is heeding his wife’s words and going a bit early.)

To the extent that a single speech can suck the drama out of a convention that was stuffed with it -- and a party that’s grown sick of it -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did her part Tuesday night.

With two political futures at stake, she gave the party something to be excited about -- and to ensure that if her backers don’t come around to Sen. Barack Obama, it won’t be her fault. (If she didn’t heap on the praise, at least she was genuine.)

The Denver Post goes with capital letters: “THE TEAM PLAYER.”

If you looked carefully enough, you saw a message coming together at the Pepsi Center -- a procession of speakers competing for sound-bite-of-the-night (and how about Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D-Mont.?) in bashing Sen. John McCain -- then Hillary tying it in a neat bow for the Democratic Party to marvel at.

Now, it’s Bill Clinton’s chance to make sure it doesn’t unravel. (And it falls to Obamaland to reconsider/redesign/spin the setting for Thursday night. A Greek temple? Were they out of Roman thrones?)

As for Wednesday’s marquee speech (with apologies to Joe Biden, who has a pretty big night on tap himself):

“Take away the context of this campaign year, and they could be pals, perhaps even big and little brothers of the Democratic family -- the so-called first black president mentors a prospective real black president. But context is everything in politics, and because of that, their relationship is anything but close,” David Maraniss writes in a Washington Post must-read-and-digest.

“He intends to do what is expected of him, according to many friends and associates, and try to convince the public that Obama has the toughness and wisdom to be commander in chief,” Maraniss continues.

“But though the speech might be as important to Clinton as it is to Obama, those close to him say he will deliver it with lingering feelings of estrangement that have surprisingly little to do with the fact that Obama defeated his wife in the primaries. ... Clinton associates, long familiar with his habits and rhythms, say it would take little more than phone calls on a somewhat regular basis to keep him satisfied.”

(Mr. President, we ask again: Is he ready?)

“We’re not nervous at all,” Obama advisor Anita Dunn said in the campaign’s morning convention conference call, per ABC’s Sunlen Miller.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

August 27, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Dodd, Chris, Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Romney, Mitt, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (76)

McCain Aide Mocks Obama's Columned Stage

August 26, 2008 11:10 PM

ABC News' David Chalian and Teddy Davis report:

When Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., moves the Democratic National Convention from the Pepsi Center to Invesco Field in Denver on Thursday, the freshman senator is planning to speak from a columned stage resembling an ancient Greek temple.

"Is this from the Onion?" quipped a McCain adviser.

The reference to the satirical newspaper came after Reuters reported that Obama is planning an elaborate rock concert setup complete with post-speech fireworks.

The national anthem will even have a touch of celebrity: Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning actress and former "American Idol" castoff, will perform the honors at the onset of the evening.

Starting with a July ad which included footage of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, the McCain campaign has been airing a series of television ads which paint Obama as a celebrity lacking in substance.

The celebrity-like trappings of Obama's Thursday's speech may have given the Republicans new ammo.

August 26, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (704)