Campaign

What if it turns out we wasted all this time breathlessly following Rudy Giuliani’s meteoric rise to the front of the GOP primary pack, just to have former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) get in the race, knock Rudy’s celebrity socks off and turn America’s Mayor into just another also-ran?

It’s likely, but since that hasn’t happened, let’s ponder this: Giuliani’s support is soft and thin. Get any true Red Republican to talk about Rudy’s appeal and they weave caveats in and out of the conversation with lawyerly precision. Untested, three wives, socially liberal, terrible temper, the pre-911 tenure in New York — the list is long. When Giuliani campaigned in Iowa this week the reception was courteous but the crowds weren’t exactly crushing. He tried to tell Iowans that everybody is the same no matter where they hail from, but it was plain to see Rudy is no rock star to these heartland caucusers, at least not yet. That could prove dangerous in other states down the road. Read more...

And the winner is …

For a while, we thought it was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). After all, she set a new world’s record for fundraising: $26 million in the first quarter of 2007. No doubt about it. With her proven ability to raise money like that, it looked like Hillary had the Democratic nomination all locked up.

But that was three days ago. Today, the big winner is … Barack Obama. The senator from Illinois has stunned the political world by reporting $25 million raised. Almost as much as Hillary’s $26 million total, but better than Hillary in several significant ways. Read more...

Now Mitt Romney lies about hunting.

The former Massachusetts governor said he had been a hunter for just about all his life. Almost immediately his staff reminded him he had only been hunting twice. Presumably Mr. Romney forgot about all the times he never hunted.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is now engaged in intensive preparation for his congressional testimony. Will he accuse his former chief of staff of lying? Or will he admit that he lied himself when he said he was not involved in the U.S. attorney firings?

Of course, Scooter Libby was convicted of lying, to the applause of the neoconservative community, which calls for pardon because, for them, putting one's hand on the Bible with an oath to God Almighty and lying is really OK, thank you.

After many tall tales about Iraq WMDs, a little perjury between friends is no big deal. Read more...

It snuck up on all of us — the Republicans, the Democrats, the media and President Bush. The power shift the midterm elections promised has finally taken place. Everyone moved offices and got new jobs, even Donald Rumsfeld was fired, but until yesterday months had passed without the substantive shift in political direction that would actually change the war in Iraq.

The surprise Senate vote last night, to approve a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, delivered to the Democrats what they had hoped for all along but had been unable to grasp. Less than a week ago it seemed the majority couldn't possibly forge the impossible coalition of angry liberals and nervous moderates. Just yesterday morning it seemed the Senate Democrats couldn't come up with enough Republicans to overcome losing two of their own. But their victory literally came from behind, and unless the surge in troops suddenly produces miracles, there are more victories for Democrats and more difficult days for Republicans on the horizon. Read more...

Hillary makes one dizzy trying to follow all of her flips and flops over Iraq.

She said, upon her return from Iraq this winter, that she was not going to vote for a cutoff of funding for the war ...

... But now she is backing a House bill to cut off funding for the war if troops are not out by September '08.

She said, at the same time, that she opposed a deadline for withdrawal ...

... But the House bill proposes just such a deadline.

She said, last week in a New York Times interview, that she would keep troops in Iraq for intelligence, training, and logistical support, air support, interdiction of Iranian infiltration, and pursuit of al Qaeda ...

... But the House bill just specifies intelligence, training, and air support, not the other missions.

Talk about having your cake and eating it too.

Many people have heard about or seen snippets of the YouTube hit piece portraying Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as the Orwellian Big Brother figure. They know about it not necessarily because they've pointed their browsers to YouTube to view it — and not because it is accurate, fair, or prepared by someone who was prepared to stand behind it with his or her real name.

They know about it because the mainstream media have published articles about it, including significant headlines and photos from the posting, and because TV media have broadcast and re-broadcast and re-re-broadcast it free as "news."

Was it news? Was it worth legitimizing by republishing it? Would the Washington Post or MSNBC republish an article from the National Enquirer that includes a photo of Hllary Clinton conferring with a Martian? Read more...

The news that Elizabeth Edwards’s cancer had returned even made headlines in Ireland. Followed by the next day’s announcement, from both Elizabeth and John, that their campaign would go forward.

As much as I admire their fighting spirit, I have to ask: WHY?

Don’t get me wrong. I love John Edwards. I think he’s a great candidate. He’s got the best message of all the Democratic candidates. And he’d make an outstanding president.

I have also always admired Elizabeth Edwards, long before she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Yet the way she’s battled that disease — with so much courage and determination — has made her an inspiration to every one of us. Read more...

The political airwaves are full of analysis and re-analysis of John and Elizabeth Edwards’ announcement. As a political consultant and as a husband I have seen first hand the effects of cancer in a household and in a headquarters.

A candidate for the Senate I once worked for was confronted, just before her announcement, with the news that her husband had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and he had to have an operation. He was adamant, as he was wheeled in
for the surgery, that she continue the campaign. She did just that. My guess is that Elizabeth Edwards was equally strong and resolute about her husband’s campaign and that she convinced him that she would be miserable if he dropped out.

It is a window on a couple’s character to watch them deal with this most personal of decisions and to exemplify courage, compassion, humor and, most important, love for one another. The Edwardses are a team and they will take on these battles, just as they have dealt with others in their lives. Americans want to see their candidates for president up close and personal – there is nothing more personal than what they are going through.

One in seven women in America will come down with breast cancer in their lifetime. When it hits a family it is more than a statistic, it is a struggle for survival. My wife and Elizabeth Edwards have the same attitude – a continual feeling of how fortunate they are to have close friends, family, and the very best of medical care. Life has been full, and full of joy, and you can’t help but be in awe when you see the smiles on the faces of John and Elizabeth Edwards.

For those who say that Hillary can't get elected and they don't know anyone who is voting for her, the proper response is: Ask a young, single woman.

The latest Gallup poll -- combining data in February and March -- shows Hillary getting 43 percent of the votes of women between 18 and 49 but only 27 percent of the votes of men of the same age. It also shows no gap at all between men and women over the age of 50 -- Hillary gets 35 percent of women and 34 percent of men over 50. Read more...

Above all, Elizabeth Edwards is a woman of incredible courage, inspiration and grace and we hope and pray she stages a complete and total recovery. Personally I hope that John Edwards, with his prayers for the woman he loves, campaigns brilliantly across the country with the love of his life in his heart every day, and our country in his spirit.

Edwards is not my first choice, but he's a good man and America is well served by his running a campaign of true leadership. Thank God Elizabeth Edwards has a prognosis more favorable than it could have been. It's great John Edwards is staying in the hunt.

The Politico has a good product, but this must be said: The story today reporting that Edwards was going to suspend his campaign, which was stated as a declarative fact, was both shameful and symptomatic of much that is wrong with the media. Read more...