A White House spokesman said Monday that President Obama doesn't intend to weigh in further on the ethics charges surrounding Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).
In a Friday interview with CBS News, the president said he was hopeful Rangel could end his congressional career "with dignity."
"I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well, but these allegations are very troubling," Obama said.
Asked Monday whether those comments meant the president wants Rangel to step down, White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters, "There’s a bipartisan process that’s working through some serious questions here and the president thinks that it’s appropriate that they conduct that process."
When pressed, Burton said, "I think the president’s comments speak for themselves. When it comes to this process, he’s just not going to put his thumb on the scale of its outcome."
Still, Friday's comments from the president are a clear indicator that Democratic leaders are still hopeful pressure on Rangel will push him to do whatever possible to avoid a public ethics trial in September.
One member of the New York congressional delegation told the Daily News that there "isn't a chance in hell he's going to go to a trial."
There's more the White House could be doing to lend House Democrats a hand in this fall's elections, the No. 3 Democrat said Monday.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said he's "comfortable" with the level of support President Obama has offered congressional Democrats, but added that he thinks the White House can do more — and has told it as much.
"I think they're doing a whole lot," Clyburn said during an appearance on MSNBC of administration support for Democrats. "I'm very comfortable as to where we are as Democrats in the House of Representatives, and I'm very comfortable with what the White House is doing thus far."
But, the veteran lawmaker said, the administration could be doing more.
"Are they doing everything that they can?" he asked. "I hope not, because I can think of a few other things they can do, and I've talked to the president about some of those things."
The White House and congressional Democrats have clashed publicly over election-year efforts in recent weeks, especially after press secretary Robert Gibbs said there was "no doubt" that enough seats were in play to hand over control to Republicans in this fall's contests. Gibbs backtracked on those remarks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dressed down a White House liaison in a Democratic Caucus meeting. Gibbs said as recently as Friday that he thinks Democrats would keep the House and Senate in the elections.
The White House has otherwise dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to hold a number of fundraisers with vulnerable incumbent Democrats across the country, and for a few campaign fundraisers for candidates challenging Republicans or running for open seats.
Southern gubernatorial runoffs have seen some hard-edged campaigning this cycle, and Georgia is proving no exception.
Former Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) has zeroed in on former Rep. Nathan Deal's (R-Ga.) ethics woes, targeting him in a TV adand a follow-up mailer.
Handel's campaign tactics were the first topic of discussion in the candidates' debate on the Fox 5 Atlanta affiliate Sunday.
Handel defended her decision to call Deal a "corrupt relic of Washington, D.C."
"I stand by these ads, everything in them, [as] 100 percent accurate," she said.
She called it "disingenuous" for Deal to be "squealing" about negative campaigning.
"Facts are facts," she said. "This is a race for governor. Things are tough. Campaigns are tough. It's frankly time to put the big-boy pants on because, candidly, if you can’t handle this, how are you going to handle [Democratic nominee] Roy Barnes?"
In response, Deal said that people were "repulsed" by Handel's tactics.
The runoff vote is Aug. 10. Watch the full debate below.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Monday he's fairly confident that Republicans will take back the House of Representatives this fall.
"I think the odds are very high [that Democrats are] going to lose the House," Gingrich said in an interview Monday on "Good Morning America." He also predicted the party would lose "an amazing number of governorships" in 2010.
He said winning a majority in the Senate is also possible for Republicans this fall.
Gingrich hit House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on everything from the deficit to the stimulus, suggesting the only path for Democrats in 2010 is to "attack the Republicans relentlessly."
"Pelosi and Reid have been in charge of the Congress since January of '07, so they're defending a four-year record in which the economy collapsed, all of it under their watch. The deficits have gone up under their watch," Gingrich said.
Gingrich is a potential GOP presidential contender in 2012. The former Speaker has stepped up his political activity in recent months, campaigning for Republican candidates in battleground states and making trips to Iowa and South Carolina.
"The level of radicalism that President Obama represents offers a very different range of choices for the American people in 2012," Gingrich said Monday.
Gingrich has said he will decide whether to pursue a presidential run by next March.
As President Obama prepares to travel to Chicago for a fundraiser for Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois Senate candidate faces renewed questions about his family's bank.
New records show jailed developer Tony Rezko held an ownership stake in a development project that received a previously undisclosed loan from Giannoulias's Broadway Bank. In February 2006, the Chicago Sun-Timesreported, the bank made a $22.75 million loan to Riverside District Development LLC, whose owners included Rezko.
The Giannoulias camp denied he knew about the loan. "Alexi left daily operations of the bank in September of 2005, months before this loan was made," a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, the president is set for an Aug. 5 fundraiser for Giannoulias in Chicago.
Giannoulias previously has been on the receiving end of fundraising help from Vice President Joe Biden and other top administration officials. Raising money has been a problem for the Democrat since Broadway Bank's collapse in April, his most recent Federal Election Commission filings show.
Former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D) is now in a dead heat with Sen. Michael Bennet (D) in the state's Democratic primary, according to new numbers from Survey USA.
The latest polling shows the race has tightened considerably in the past few weeks. A Denver Post poll released Sunday (conducted by Survey USA) has Romanoff leading 48 percent to 45 — within the margin of error.
Just two months ago, Romanoff was ahead of Bennet by more than 15 points. The senator has countered with his own internal numbers, but in a danger sign for Bennet they only have him ahead by four points.
Romanoff, who sold his house last week to aid his campaign, still faces an opponent who was sitting on more than $2.5 million as of his last Federal Election Commission filing. Bennet is poised to spend that money aggressively during the final stretch before the Aug. 10 primary.
Romanoff is trying to continue the trend of knocking off incumbent senators in primaries this cycle. Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Bob Bennett (R-Utah) have already lost, while Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) narrowly survived her primary challenge.
Two-term governor of Minnesota and potential GOP 2012 contender Tim Pawlenty visited Iowa on Saturday, where he spoke at three fundraisers for statehouse Republicans.
Although he has launched fundraising organizations in Iowa and New Hampshire, Pawlenty faces low name recognition in both states. In June, a poll conducted by the Des Moines Register found 53 percent of Iowa Republicans did not know enough about him to find him favorable or unfavorable.
Still, that number represents a 20-point increase in familiarity from November, when 73 percent of the same pool said they knew too little about him to express an opinion.
The trip marks his fourth to Iowa since the 2008 presidential election when he campaigned there for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He will stay for events on Sunday and Monday.
Grassroots connections are necessary for success in the Iowa caucuses, which have marked the beginning of the presidential nomination process since the late 1970s.
Colorado Republicans Jane Norton and Ken Buck are both spending heavily on ads in the run-up to the state's August 10 primary.
The Denver Post reports that Norton has raised $93,636 since July 1 to Buck's $80,966 during that same time.
From the Post:
Norton had slightly more cash on hand with $459,628 to Buck's $437,529 as of July 21. Both campaigns have ads up, Buck's camp is getting significant help from outside groups buying radio and television ads for him.
Much of Norton's $418,000 in expenditures in July is going to ad buys, said spokeswoman Cinamon Watson. Buck has spent $307,585 through July 21.
...Americans for Job Security has doled out more than $1.6 million on Buck's behalf, with almost $500,000 going out for negative Jane Norton television and radio through Aug. 2. The group is a “trade organization” that doesn't have to disclose its donor lists.
In addition, the Senate Conservatives Fund — a political-action committee started by South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint — has spent $139,000 so far to help Buck.
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