Clinton, Obama contest peaks near eve of March 4

Obama's "3 a.m. call'' ad, aired in response to Clinton's, below:

by Mark Silva

With one of the quickest retorts in modern paid-media memory, Sen. Barack Obama has turned Sen. Hillary Clinton's "3 a.m. call'' ad back on her with a "3 a.m. call'' ad of his own.

The irony of this, perhaps, is that Clinton has criticized Obama for borrowing the words of his campaign ally, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, on the stump. Obama has not only borrowed, but also taken possession of the attack-ad that Clinton launched at him today.

The ad opens with the same words and images that the Clinton ad used in asking voters to think about a 3 a.m. crisis call at the White House and asking who they'd want to answer that call -- the answer, in Clinton's ad, someone "tested'' like Clinton. Obama has another answer:

" It’s 3 am and your children are safe and asleep,'' the narrator of Obama's ad states, with a commercial picturing the White House at night. "But there’s a phone ringing in the White house. Something’s happening in the world.

"When that call gets answered, shouldn’t the president be the one, the only one, who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start, who understood the real threat to America was al qQaeda in Afghanistan, not Iraq...who led the effort to secure loose nuclear weapons around the globe.

"In a dangerous world, it’s judgment that matters,'' says the narrator, closing a black-and-white ad that pictures Obama at, where else, the White House.

Clinton's initial "3 a.m. call'' ad started the ad-war:

by Frank James

The State Department is out with its latest report on the international illegal-drug situation.

It's a long (638 pages) country-by-country report. I have not read every page. Not by a long shot.

Anyway, David Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and law enforcement affairs, gave the press an overview of the report today which analyzes each nation's cooperation in fighting or contribution towards furthering the world's illegal drug problems.

Among the take-aways. Venezuela and Burma are growing problems; the former because it continues to be a major launching point for South American cocaine bound for Europe through West Africa, the latter because it is the world's largest source of methamphetamine pills.

While Columbia appears to be mounting an increasingly effective eradication program, Bolivia and Peru are picking up the slack in terms of production.

Afghanistan, of course, remains a huge problem in terms of opium and heroin production although there's some hope that the spring poppy crop may fall a little this year compared with last.

Mexico is waging a real war against narco traffickers. But the problem is so great, it remains a long, twilight struggle there.

by Mark Silva and updated

The White House today chastised an aide accused of plagiarism. And it didn't take long for the longtime aide to President Bush to resign.

Timothy Goeglein, who has served Bush since 2001, was accused of lifting material from an essay in a Dartmouth College publication and presenting it as his own work in a newspaper column for The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind., the Associated Press reports.

Twenty columns he wrote for the Indiana newspaper were determined to have material copied from other sources without attribution,'' AP says.

"The president was disappointed to learn of the matter and he was saddened for Tim and his family," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement this evening. She said Goeglein had accepted responsibility and "has apologized for not upholding the standards expected by the president."

"His behavior is not acceptable and we are disappointed in Tim’s actions," White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore had said earlier. "He is offering no excuses and he agrees it was wrong."

Officials also are looking into allegations that Goeglein had plagiarized other material. The problem was first pointed out by a blogger, Nancy Nall, a former columnist for the Indiana paper.

Goeglein has served as a special assistant to Bush and deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison, which is responsible for outreach in communicating the president’s policies.

The Associated Press' ace White House correspondent Terence Hunt basically wrote all of this report and the update presented by the Swamp today -- so let's get that straight right here.

by Mike Dorning

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) endorsed Barack Obama today, bringing another well-connected member of the party establishment to Obama's side.

Since Obama's 17-point victory in the Wisconsin primary capped a 10-state winning street and showed a broadening coalition including white working-class voters moving to his candidacy, a steady stream of party insiders has moved to Obama's camp. Earlier on Friday, the Obama campaign announced commitments of support from four other superdelegates.

In a statement released by the Obama campaign, Rockefeller praised the Illinois senator as "the most qualified person – Democrat or Republican – to lead our country in the face of enormous challenges – the very real threat of terrorism, economic uncertainty, and instability at home and abroad."

“The indisputable fact is Barack Obama was right about Iraq when many of us were wrong, Rockefeller added. "It was a tough call and the single greatest national security question, and mistake, of our time. Today, we remain a country at war, and countless mistakes over the last six and a half years have made us less safe. The stakes have never been higher, and that is why we must take a stand."

Like all Democratic members of Congress, Rockefeller is a superdelegate to the party nominating convention. The other superdelegates who endorsed Obama earlier in the day were: Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Brian Melendez, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Associate Chair Donna Cassutt, Democratic National Committee Member Renee Pfenning of North Dakota, and Texas state Rep. Yvonne Davis.

One of the designs for the Bush library proposed by readers of the Chronicle of Higher Education, courtesy of the Chronicle.

by Mark Silva

Now that the George W. Bush Presidential Library has an official home, Southern Methodist University in Dallas -- and the president said this week that he is open to foreign money in soliciting donations for the construction -- the Chronicle of Higher Education has invited readers to sketch a design for the library planned by the 43rd president.

Some of the renditions are online now for all to see.

The Bush family actually has hired its own architect for the work, Robert A.M. Stern, so the 120 suggestions submitted by readers of the Chronicle -- ranging from an oversized toilet to a bunker and an amusement park -- may not be considered too kindly at SMU. The Chronicle is displaying the results of its invitation for designs in the March 7 issue.

At his press conference this week, Bush was asked about a reported $200 million budget for the library and if he will disclose the names of donors or place any restrictions on them.

"No, yes, no, yes,'' he said at first in jest. "We'll look at the disclosure requirements and make a decision. You know... there's a lot of people -- or some people; I shouldn't say "a lot" -- some people who like to give and don't particularly want their names disclosed, whether it be for this foundation or any other foundation. And so we'll take that into consideration.

"I'll probably take some foreign money, but don't know yet,'' Bush said. "We just haven't -- we just announced the deal and I, frankly, have been focused elsewhere, like on gasoline prices and, you know, my trip to Africa, and haven't seen the fundraising strategy yet. So the answer to your question, really, I can't answer your question well.''

Is the public entitled to know the answers to these questions of fundraising?

"We're weighing, taking a look, taking consideration, giving it a serious consideration,'' Bush told the Texas reporter asking. "Nice try, though.''

by Mark Matthews and Victor Manueal Ramos

A Florida congresswoman has gone home amidst some controversy, including a protest outside her Brooksville office on Thursday over calling Puerto Ricans "foreign citizens.''

Just what the GOP needs: Another congressional seat in play this year, in a swing state where growing ranks of Puerto Rican voters with Democratic leanings have been told to go take a jump in the springs at Weeki Wachee by the Republican who first insulted their citizenship.

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) put out a statement this morning:

"At the advice of his doctor, earlier this week I left Congress and returned to Florida to be with my husband, Harvey Waite. While we are still awaiting the results of follow-up medical tests, Harvey has been diagnosed with cancer and will require ongoing treatment. As anyone who has been through serious medical issues with a loved one knows, I plan on spending as much time as necessary to care for my husband."

Dozens of protestors had converged on West-Central Florida's small town of Brooksville in response to her recent remarks about Puerto Ricans. Some left the protest disappointed and perhaps even more upset than they were when they got there.

Brown-Waite not only did not apologize for her remarks, but also made a comment that many saw as a new provocation. In a statement released by her office as the protest was under way, Brown-Waite dismissed the assembly -- organized by Democrats -- as “race-based hysteria” and suggested that protesters take a hike down to a nearby aquatic park where they could “cool off.”

“I recommend that they head down the road to Weeki Wachee for a fun afternoon at our water park,” her statement said.

If looks could tell: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, left, followed Sen. John McCain to Virginia for the "Potomac primaries,'' but in this picture with the retiring Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) the governor seems to be thinking: 'Please, not him?' Photo by Getty Images.

by Mark Silva and Scott Maxwell

Four days before the Republican primary election in Florida, when it became apparent to many that Sen. John McCain had a good chance of winning, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist climbed on board the senator's campaign for president.

This is the same Crist who could not find time to appear at a rally with President Bush in Florida's heavily Republican Panhandle near the eve of the 2006 midterm elections, when the president's party was struggling to retain control of Congress -- because Crist was waging his own campaign for governor, and wasn't too eager to bask in the low approval-ratings of Bush.

This is the Crist who made his name as a Florida state legislator, "Chain Gang Charlie,'' by pressing work for prison inmates, and then parlayed a pro-consumer, anti-Microsoft stint as state attorney general into a winning campaign for governor -- a governor who happens to be exceedingly popular as a result in the fourth-largest state, home of a critical 27 electoral votes.

So naturally, the telegenic and exuberant Crist, governor of a megastate, prematurely gray but boundlessly energetic, comes up in the early rounds of speculation about a running mate for the senior McCain -- Crist helped carry him out of Florida in January, and Crist could help him carry Florida in November, that is, if McCain needed that sort of help there.

The Orlando Sentinel's political columnist, Scott Maxwell, today spells out the very specific scenario in which McCain might tap Crist:

"Possible McCain running mate."

"That was the main label CNN gave to Charlie Crist this week during an interview with the man whose main title used to be "governor of Florida."

"You know, for all the hubbub and media chatter in this cycle's veep-stakes, I say Crist gets an invitation to join John McCain if -- and only if -- the answer is "yes" to the two following questions: 1) Do polls show McCain will otherwise lose in Florida? 2) Do they believe that putting Charlie on the ticket will change that? Very little else matters.''

But for now, the answer to the first question is no: The latest Mason-Dixon Polling and Research survey shows that McCain holds an advantage over either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in Florida. The matchups: McCain 47, Obama 37; McCain 49, Clinton 40.The survey of 625 registered voters was taken Feb. 21-24, and carries a 3-point margin of error.

It also found that 64 percent of Floridians surveyed rate Crist’s performance as excellent or good. That represents a 3 percent increase from November, despite a worsening state economy. A lot could change between now and August, however -- for McCain as well as Crist.

by Rick Pearson

FORT WORTH, Texas — Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign says rival Barack Obama has a lot of questions to answer about his relationship with indicted Chicago political insider Antoin “Tony” Rezko, whose federal corruption trial is scheduled to start the day before critical primaries in Texas and Ohio.

Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s chief spokesman, also told reporters today that if Obama doesn’t sweep the primaries on Tuesday, it will show that Democrats want the contest to continue. The answer belies earlier statements from top Clinton aides that she needs to win delegate-rich Texas and Ohio to stay in the race.

Rezko, a real estate developer and fundraiser for several politicians, including Obama, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the late Cook County Board President John Stroger, goes on trial Monday on charges he used his connections to allegedly further a scheme that involved kickbacks in exchange for contracts that were pocketed or paid to others to make contributions to politicians, including Obama.

Both Obama, Illinois’ first-term senator, and Blagojevich, the state’s two-term governor whose self-styled reform administration has been beset by a multitude of federal investigations, have not been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama’s campaign has donated to charity more than $150,000 in allegedly tainted donations.

Wolfson, trying to meld the roles of campaign spinmeister and federal prosecutor, said “question after question after question after question has neither been posed or answered in any serious way by Barack Obama” about his relationship with Rezko.

by Christi Parsons

HOUSTON--How much does Barack Obama's campaign hate the new Hillary Clinton ad?

Well, campaign manager David Plouffe started the day by telling reporters that the ad, which asks voters to think about who they want taking those emergency calls at the White House in the middle of the night, was a "shop-worn tactic."

"She had her red phone moment," Plouffe said. "She had it in 2002," when she voted to authorize the president to go to war in Iraq.

The candidate himself followed up shortly thereafter, as he addressed some veterans at an American Legion hall here.

"We've seen these ads before," Obama said. "They're usually the kind that play upon people's fears and try to scare up votes."

He also reprised the "red phone moment" line. Next, Sen. Dick Durbin and some of Obama's foreign policy advisors called a press conference to talk about it some more.

You've seen the ad and now you've heard the spin. Does this ad cut to the heart of an Obama weakness, or is it likely to backfire?

by James Oliphant

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that it had opened a preliminary investigation into whether retired pitcher Roger Clemens lied during his congressional testimony earlier this month.

Lying under oath before Congress is a federal crime. One of the points of contention, beyond whether Clemens was knowingly injected with steroids and human growth hormone, is whether he did or did not attend a party at ex-outfielder Jose Canseco's house in 1998.

Now, thanks to the Onion, we know why Clemens probably should have avoided Canseco's house altogether (as should every current major leaguer):

MIAMI—Former MLB star and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco extended an informal invitation Monday to over 500 current and former professional baseball players, requesting their presence at his house this coming weekend for his annual steroid party.

"Hey guys, big steroid bash at my place," Canseco said while handing out flyers at a Toronto Blue Jays spring training intrasquad game. "Nothing too fancy, just a bunch of guys, hanging out, taking steroids. Tell your friends."

The party is historically an extravagant affair, usually featuring women in bikinis carrying silver trays of various types of anabolic steroids, four VIP suites upstairs where guests can sample steroids from Canseco's personal collection, a giant 40-foot-tall ice syringe filled with Dianabol, oil paintings of steroids on the walls, a keg of steroids, a disco ball, and a punch bowl spiked with steroids. (read more)

by Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain, today recalling the day when many thought his campaign for president was “dead,’’ invoked the words of two legendary leaders who have passed on – Chairman Mao of China and ex-Mayor Daley of Chicago.

“I was reminded of the words of Chairman Mao -- it’s always darkest before it’s totally black,’’ McCain said in his opening remarks at a “town hall’’ session in Round Rock, Texas.

“I said at the time, I’d rather lose a political campaign than lose a war,’’ McCain, a staunch supporter of the current mission in Iraq who was long critical of the Bush administration’s conduct of the war, said of his determination to stay the war-course at the nadir of his campaign. “I meant that, and I mean it today.

“I believe, as president of the United States, I can inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their own interests,’’ McCain said, closing with a customary little campaign-trail joke in a state where only a Huckabee-esque "miracle'' will stop McCain on Tuesday. "I’d like you to remember the words of the late Mayor Daley of Chicago…

"Vote early and vote often.’’

by Mark Silva

Over at the Huffington Post this morning, they are having a little fun with Sen. John McCain's appearance yesterday at a town hall meeting in Richardson, Texas, where he suffered a momentary lapse in describing his politics.

"I will conduct a respectful debate," McCain told the crowd at Texas Instruments, as ABC News' Bret Hovell reported. "Now, it will be spirited because there are stark differences. I am a proud conservative, liberal Republica--- conservative Republican," he said, catching himself.

"Hello?" McCain said, as the crowd laughed. "Easy there."

by Frank James and updated with Obama response

Sen. Hillary Clinton has a new TV ad up which uses one of her main arguments against Sen. Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

It boils down to she's ready, he's not, to be in the Oval Office when a national-security emergency occurs in the wee small hours of the morning.

She has repeatedly used this argument in her stump speech. It plays to the image of toughness she has with many Democratic voters.

The ad shows a series of small children asleep in the middle of the night. It's clearly meant to appeal to women, the part of the Democratic electorate that had been among her strongest supporters but has been eroding as women have become more willing to support Obama.

It’s 3 am and your children are safe and asleep
But there’s a phone in the White House and it’s ringing
Something’s happening in the world
Your vote will decide who answers that call.
Whether it’s someone who already knows the world’s leaders, knows the military - someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world
It’s 3 am and your children are safe and asleep
Who do you want answering the phone?

Obama, calling it "a legitimate question'' yet accusing the Clinton campaign of using "fear'' tactics, had this to say about the ad this morning:

"I don’t think these ads will work…. The question is not picking up the phone. The question is what kind of judgment will you exercise when you pick up that phone. In fact we have had a red-phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. President Bush gave the wrong answer. Sen. Clinton gave the wrong answer… Sen. McCain gave the wrong answer.''

Obama, saying he "exercised the right judgment,'' said that is what he will bring to the White House. “I will never use the threat of terrorism to scare up votes.. Tthat is the judgment we need at 3 a.m.''

The ad has the feel of a mashup to me. The innocent children blissfully sleeping while dangers are afoot in the world, remind me of the famous 1964 "Daisy" ad President Lyndon Johnson ran against Sen. Barry Goldwater.

But the mood is much more like the "Bear" ad President Ronald Reagan used in 1984 with the ominous it's-a-dangerous-world-requiring-a-clear-eyed-leader vibe.

Halle Berry joining cell-phone bank push Sunday. Photo by Matt Sayles/AP

by Mark Silva

MoveOn.org is taking this contest sitting down: Calling on supporters to hold house parties Sunday for a nationwide telethon of cell-phone calls to voters in Texas.

Halle Berry and Sen. Ted Kennedy are taking part in a nearly 2,000-house party cell-phone bank campaign for Sen. Barack Obama, according to MoveOn.org, also running ads in college papers in Texas and on Facebook.

(Facebook ad shown to the right:)

The “Yes We Can” house parties in support of Obama are sponsored by MoveOn.org Political Action. "MoveOn members, armed with cells phones, will make over 400,000 calls to Texas Democratic voters,'' the group says, including nearly 200,00 MoveOn members who live in Texas--Sunday afternoon and evening.

MoveOn is touting "the largest one-day phone bank in presidential primary history.'' Before they start dialing, MoveOn members will hear from actress Berry, Sen. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and radio host Jim Hightower about "the importance of Tuesday’s vote.''

"The primary and caucus in Texas could very well be the decisive vote in the nominating process, and our members are fired up to help out" said Eli Pariser, MoveOn. executive director, in a written statement today. "Not since the closing days of the 2004 presidential election have we seen this kind of response from our members.''

by Frank James

It appears it was a mistake by an Australian women's magazine that was clueless about the circumstances surrounding Prince Harry's being sent to a war zone that led to the chain of events that has resulted in His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales being yanked out of Afghanistan by British military officials.

According to reports, the magazine New Idea, ran a story about his combat deployment in its January 15 edition because it didn't know there was an embargo on that information, essentially an agreement between the media and British authorities that the prince's assignment wouldn't be reported on out of fear that his own and his unit's security would be compromised.

The British Army's top general, Sir General Richard Danatt is seriously fuming over the breaking of the embargo, according to reports.

As Australia's Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Chief of the General Staff and professional head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, is furious the embargo has been broken.

"I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us," he said in a statement.

"This is in stark contrast to the highly-responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number of overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations.

"After a lengthy period of discussion between the MoD and the editors of regional, national and international media, the editors took the commendable attitude to restrain their coverage," Dannatt said.

Now the story was out, the military would consider whether Harry's deployment should continue, he said, appealing to the media to restrain from reporting the prince's every move.
But in Sydney, New Idea denied knowingly breaking an embargo on the story.

"New Idea was not issued with a press embargo and was unaware of the existence of one," the magazine said in a statement.

"The story was published on Monday, January 7. Since then New Idea has received no comment from the British Ministry of Defence.

"We take these matters very seriously and would never knowingly break an embargo.

"We regret any issues the revelation of this story in America has caused today."

Embargoes are fairly commonplace when governments or companies want to provide information to journalists before they releas it to the public generally. They essentially ask journalists to keep the information secret from the public until a certain date and, often, even hour.

The dog's life: Chewbacca celebrates Leap Day

by Mark Silva

It's Leap Day.

For all who wait four years for a proper birthday party, Happy Birthday!

This is the first Leap Day here in the Swamp, born on Jan. 3, 2006.

One more day in what promises to be a runaway new record month of traffic here in these pages. Without the Leap Year, we already were on target for more than 2 million page-views this month (Thank You!).

One more day for that presidential campaign to unfold in Ohio and Texas -- is that added day of particular benefit to Barack Obama? He has gained momentum in both states heading into the March 4 primaries and an added day on the calendar can only offer more room.

One more day for a record campaign fundraising month -- with word of a $50 million month coming from the Obama campaign, $35 million over at camp Clinton (think they've held back $5 million of that to repay the candidate's loan? Or have they put it all on the table?)

One more day for the Bush administration, with the president heading to Texas today for a weekend respite and visit by the Danish prime minister, Rasmussen. It's a reciprocal visit -- Bush visited Rasmussen at his summer home outside of Copenhagen a couple of years back.

One more day for a war in Iraq approaching its fifth anniversary.

One more day for Mike Huckabee's "miracle'' to arrive.

One more day for that debate over Barack Obama's middle name, and one more day for speculation about the "passive-aggressive'' campaign that Bill waged for Hillary Clinton.

One more day to wait for Tuesday, to see if it is all over in Ohio and Texas.

Or, just another Friday.

by Christi Parsons and Rick Pearson

FT. WORTH — Fundraising numbers in the Democratic race for president shot into the stratosphere in the month of February, with reports from aides to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama putting the staggering combined figure at somewhere in the range of $85 million.

Clinton touted the news that she had raised $35 million as evidence of the vitality of her campaign, as she conducted a furious day of campaigning in Ohio and Texas, where voters could decide her fate in the campaign on Tuesday.

The Obama camp responded coyly, saying only that they would surpass the $35 million figure by reporting "considerably more"—and then sat back without official comment amid news reports of their skyrocketing February total.

One member of Obama's finance committee told the Tribune that some reports from within the campaign indicate their fundraising could hit $50 million this month.

Even by the most conservative reading, the campaign totals have now shattered yet another ceiling—for the amount of money raised in a single month. Already, the funds raised and spent in the Democratic primary race have dwarfed that of every nominating contest in U.S. history.

See the rest of the story in today's Tribune:

by Mark Silva

The presidential campaign has turned to the economy.

Yet there are some who say it will return to the war in Iraq.

And VoteVets.org, the anti-war organization of Iraq war veterans, is airing a new cable TV ad that takes Sen. John McCain to task for saying that the United States might have troops in Iraq for 100 years -- "1,000 years,'' in this ad. But then, that's the way the political dialog goes.

The Arizona senator has said that, while the important thing is ending casualties for American forces in Iraq, it is not unreasonable to think that the U.S. will have bases there for some time to come -- the way Americans have long been stationed in Japan and South Korea.

Rose Forrest, billed as an Iraq veteran, appears in the VoteVets.org ad with her toddler son.

"John McCain said it’s OK with him if the U.S. spends the next 1,000 years in Iraq,'' Forrest says in the ad. "That’s some commitment to the Iraqi poeple, Sen. McCain.''

"This is my son,'' she says, holding the smiling baby boy. "He was born a year after I came home from Iraq. What kind of commitment are you making to him? How about 1,000 years of affordable health care, or 1,000 years of keeping America safe...

"Can we afford that for my child, Sen. McCain?'' the pink-sweatered Forrest says to the TV viewer in the 30-second spot. "Or have you already promised to spend trillions in Baghdad?''

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, February 29.

President Bush is meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the White and House and later, at his Crawford, Texas, ranch with Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew C. von Eshenbach is speaking at the National Press Club on the challenges his agency faces.

The American Psychological Association is holding a conference on violence and abuse in relationships across all ages and cultures.

Michelle Obama campaigning in Chillicothe, Ohio for her husband, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Thursday Feb. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Chillicothe Gazette, Sarah Wright)

by Mark Silva

Michelle Obama, who often has decried "the fear bomb'' that opponents have used against her husband for his middle name -- Barack Hussein Obama -- said in Canton, Ohio, today that it is happening again and shows why it's so important that he wins election as president.

"They threw in the obvious, ultimate fear bomb," Obama said today of her husband's 2004 Senate race. "We're even hearing [that] now. … 'When all else fails, be afraid of his name, and what that could stand for, because it's different.'"

The senator's wife said that rivals use innuendo to play on fears. "Just as they're saying it now," she said.

But, she told about 200 supporters this morning at a restored theater in Canton, Obama won despite that "climate of negativity and doubt" in 2004. "We learned, number one, that when power is threatened by real change they will say anything to stop it," she said. "But we also learned that the American people can handle the truth."

What America needs, she added, is a "fundamentally different kind of leadership," one that challenges people to be different, and better to one another. And that, she said to critics who say it is not his time, cannot wait.

"Barack Obama will be the kind of leader we need right now, not in four years or eight years or 12 years," she said. "We can't wait to get this right. We need it to happen today."

by Christi Parsons

Okay, we said we wouldn't tell you every time there was another Democratic defection.

But it seems worth noting that supporters aren't just flipping from supporting Hillary Clinton to backing Barack Obama.

Today, the Clinton campaign announced that El Paso County Commissioner and former Barack Obama supporter Veronica Escobar has switched her support to Clinton.

According to a release from the Clinton camp:

The announcement follows a Latino Decisions Texas Poll that shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by 62% to 21% among registered Hispanic voters in Texas.

“While I initially liked Barack Obama," Escobar says in the release, "I am supporting Hillary Clinton because it is clear that she is the one candidate who will truly fight for our communities as president."

Clearly, this fight is still on.

Sen. Hillary Clinton at Ohio University Southern Campus Child Development Center Febuary 28, 2008 in Hanging Rock, Ohio. Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

by Rick Pearson and Jill Zuckman

HANGING ROCK, Ohio—Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton says her campaign has raised $35 million this month, an amount she says represents a show of support from donors who want to see her campaign continue to challenge rival Barack Obama.

But given the Obama fundraising machine, its expected that the Illinois Democrat may have raised millions more than she did.

Still, Clinton said the total for February, compared to $14 million raised in January, “says a lot.”

“I believe the people demonstrate their support for a candidate in a number of ways. Obviously they come out to events, they make phone calls, they hold signs, they are actively involved in supporting us. But contributions are another way of judging,” Clinton told reporters at the Ohio University Southern Child Development Center after meeting with local residents in the southern part of the state.

She said the decision to lend the campaign $5 million at the end of January, shortly before the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday balloting, served as a jumping-off point for donations.

by Frank James

The news that Prince Harry of the British royal family has been deployed since December in Afghanistan is obviously interesting on several levels.

One, that someone like a young prince born to privilege would want to put himself in harm's way to serve with his unit in a war zone is certainly commendable.

Two, that the extremely competitive British press was able to keep a lid on the story until now, is downright amazing. The British government evidently promised the British media access to the prince on the front lines in turn for keeping mum on the story until the prince's tour ended.

Evidently it was an Australian magazine and a German newspaper that reported on the prince's presence on Afghan soil. The Drudge Report then picked up the magazine story after a lag of more than a month. Now it looks like the prince will likely be shipped out of Afghanistan pronto.

Among the obvious worries about stationing the world's most famous 23-year old soldier in Afghanistan was that he would prove a very tempting target for the Taliban and al Qaeda. His nickname in the unit, for security purposes, was "Bullet Magnet," for obvious reasons.

This question of his being a particularly attractive potential trophy came up at today's State Department briefing about whether Prince Harry's deployment to Afghanistan raised the risks to coalition forces, including U.S. troops.

Q There are new press reports saying that Britain's Prince Harry is now serving in Afghanistan. Several months ago, when the prospect of him going over there was first raised, there was a concern on the part of at least the Brits and perhaps the Americans as well that his presence there would make troops more of a target. Is there any fear, though, now that he's over there that -- and that this is public -- that your troops will be more of a target for attacks?

MR. CASEY: Look, in terms of the status of Prince Harry or any other members of the royal family, I'd leave it to the Brits to discuss. We have full confidence that the British government and British military will make appropriate decisions concerning the deployment of the prince or any other members of their military.

Q But specifically now that the reports are out there that he is, do you fear that this would invite more attacks on U.S. and NATO forces?

MR. CASEY: I have no reason to believe that the British government would do anything that would put their troops or anyone else's in harm's way.

by Mark Silva

Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate running an independent campaign for president, may be running in the shadows of the major parties. But, days into his announced bid, he already has something that none of the Democrats or Republicans have: A running mate.

Nader today named Matt Gonzalez, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, to be his running mate. "I want someone who shares my sense of justice and opposition to corporate state control over our society," Nader said at a news conference.

The Texas-born Gonzalez had run for mayor of San Francisco as a Green Party candidate in 2003 but lost to Gavin Newsom. Nader was the Green Party's candidate for president in 2000, and collected 2.7 percent of the vote. Running as an independent in 2004, he drew 0.3 percent.

"I have no illusions about what's happening here today," Gonzalez said. "But let me also say that I've never entered a political contest with the idea that it couldn't be won."

The Associated Press contributed.

by John McCormick

David Axelrod is known for many things in local and national politics: ad guru, wordsmith and hard-nosed street fighter.

But the political strategist will be honored for work and commitment in another part of his life Friday evening in Chicago.

During a benefit dinner at the Field Museum, a group called Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) will recognize Axelrod for his longtime commitment to epilepsy research.

Axelrod's daughter, Lauren, who is in her mid-20s, suffers from epilepsy and now lives in a Chicago facility for children and adults with development disabilities. She has been seizure free for years, but the brain damage she suffered is irreversible.

by Christi Parsons

AUSTIN, Texas – Barack Obama entered the convention hall here to the usual chants and applause this morning, but there was a noticeable lack of Bono blaring wildly in the background as he stepped onto the stage.

Instead of the customary "City of Blinding Lights," the campaign opted for the sound of silence to set the scene for a more low-key campaign event.

This week, aides are also intentionally planning at least one or two town hall meetings each day, where they try to draw no more than 2,000 people.

For the Obama operation, the goal in the stretch of open time before the Ohio and Texas contests is to hold as many small, more familiar events as possible.

"There's really a chance in these states for people to get to know him," said Obama aide Robert Gibbs, surveying a crowd of 1,500 at a morning town hall. "If we wanted to do huge crowds, we could, but it's almost impossible to do a good town hall like that."

The strategy is a nod as much to what has worked for Obama throughout the presidential campaign as to what hasn't worked.

In the days after he won the Iowa caucuses, for example, he moved on to New Hampshire to find huge, clamoring crowds wanting to meet the candidate on the rise.

That meant a lot of exposure, but, in the end, New Hampshire voters didn't follow the lead of Iowa voters – who, the campaign noted, had had almost 90 full campaign days in which to get familiar with the candidate.

"What we learned in new Hamsphire is, 'Don't take anything for granted,'" said David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist. "We didn't campaign as close to the ground as we should have . . . And it may have looked a little like a victory lap."

by Frank James

Earlier I wrote about the campaign of Sen. John McCain, the expected Republican nominee, using teenagers as a backdrop yesterday in an apparent effort to make his effort look a little more MySpace and a little less Leisure World.

Now we learn that McCain himself, evidently gives off a youthful vibe. Gallup has an interesting poll out. Evidently, McCain's age (he's 71) is less of an issue with voters than Sen. Bob Dole's was in 1996 when he was the GOP nominee.

Twenty-seven percent of American adults in February 1996 said Dole was too old to be president. Twenty percent this year say McCain is too old.

In fact, Dole was slightly older during his run for the presidency than McCain is this year. Dole was born in July 1923, making him 72 and 73 during the course of the 1996 campaign year. McCain was born in August 1936, making him 71 now and 72 in the fall. (McCain would be the oldest president to be elected for the first time if he were to win in November.)

Of some comfort to McCain is the fact that Americans on average perceive him to be slightly younger than his real age. When the public is asked to guess McCain's age, the average of all guesses puts McCain at 67. The majority of Americans -- 57% -- guess that he is 70 or younger, including 35% who say he is 65 or younger. A small 4% say he is 76 or older.

by Rick Pearson

RIO GRANDE, Ohio — At a dateline that serves the dual purpose of appealing to Ohioans and Texans, Hillary Clinton made a quick stop at the Bob Evans General Store and Restaurant in far southeast Ohio, the original pork-sausage patty venue, farm and homestead of the breakfast baron.

As the smell of steaming hot eggs, biscuits and sausage, bacon and hash browns wafted through a crowd of more than 100 locals, including many from the nearby University of Rio Grande (pronounced Rye-Oh Grand), the New York senator and presidential candidate shook hands with prospective voters in Tuesday’s all-important primary. She heads later in the day to Houston to appeal to Texas voters who hold their primary on the same day.

Clinton posed behind the diner counter with servers and cooks, autographing menu booklets and order forms, accompanied by her usual traveling companion and top ally in the state, Gov. Ted Strickland. “I’ll take your order,” she told the diners.

One of the servers complimented her on how Clinton wrote on an order form, prompting the former first lady to note she had once been a waitress.

"In case this other endeavor doesn't work out,'' Clinton said, "I know I can come back.''

by Aamer Madhani

Any day now, the Pentagon is expected to announce the winner of a long-awaited $40 billion contract to build 179 air-to-air refueling tankers for the Air Force.

The two competitors, Chicago-based Boeing Co. and a team from Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., are vying for the lucrative contract to replace a decrepit fleet that dates back to the Eisenhower era.

But the forthcoming announcement may just mark another chapter in the ongoing battle for the mammoth military contract that has the potential of ballooning to more than $100 billion in sales for the winner.

Boeing would make its version of the KC-767 tanker at Everett, Wash., and then fly them to Wichita, Kan. for the final conversion. The Northrop-EADS group would build its version, a KC-30 tanker, in Mobile, Ala.

Many defense analysts expect the losing company or Congressional delegation to appeal the decision with the Government Accountability Office, a move that would further delay a process that date backs to 2001.

Boeing had previously won the contract, but Congress scrapped the offer after it learned that Boeing hired a former Air Force acquisitions official who gave the company preferential treatment before leaving the Air Force.

Boeing is the heavy favorite to win the contract again, according to defense analysts. But Northrop-EADS has put up a spirited fight, and the Alabama Congressional delegation has lobbied hard to win the project.

Earlier today, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, chief of the Air Force, called on the loser to consider what a drawn-out appeal would mean to the service.

“This is not about lawyers and companies,” Moseley said “This is about operational capability and fielding capability for the country. So if it we get a long, drawn out protest, we still operate 44-year old airplanes longer. To me that’s a big deal. It’s a big deal for the people I ask to get in the airplane. It’s a big deal for the people that I ask to take the airplane to combat….From a service chief’s perspective, I would ask them to think about the country and think about the people that fly the plane.”

by Mark Silva

President Bush, reluctant to engage in the presidential campaign underway, nevertheless today gingerly stepped in to some of the most contentious debates between the Democrats running to succeed him and their contest with the likely Republican.

Bush, at a White House press conference, was asked about Sen. Barack Obama’s remark in an Ohio debate with Sen. Hillary Clinton this week that if al Qaeda established a base in Iraq after the U.S. withdraws troops, he would send troops back in. The GOP's Sen. John McCain slammed Obama for suggesting al Qaeda already did not have a base in Iraq -- with Obama replying that al Qaeda was not there until the U.S.-led invasion.

"That's an interesting comment,'' Bush said in his first response to the question, avoiding mentioning Obama by name. "'If al Qaeda is securing a al Qaeda base -- yes, well, that's exactly what they've been trying to do for the past four years.... That's one of the challenges we face, is denying al Qaeda a safe haven anywhere.''

Pressed again on the question later in his 45-minute press conference, Bush had some advice for the Democratic senator from Illinois: "I believe Sen. Obama better stay focused on his campaign with Senator Clinton, neither of whom has secured their party's nominee yet -- nomination yet.

"And my party's nomination hasn't been decided yet either,'' Bush said. "And so there will be ample time to discuss whoever their candidate -- the positions of whoever their candidate is,'' said Bush, who closed the news conference with a brief reply to a called-out question about whether he still believes that Clinton will be the Democratic nominee – as his advisers had predicted for a long time: “I’m not talking about politics.’’

Yet, the president talked plenty of politics, asked here if he is concerned that a faltering economy might doom the campaign of the party’s likely nominee, McCain, the way it had undermined his own father’s bid for reelection in 1992.

“I’m concerned about the economy, because I’m concerned about Americans,’’ Bush replied. “There is no question the economy has slowed down. I don’t think we’re headed to a recession, but there is no question we’re in a slowdown,’’ he said, noting that about $150 billion worth of tax rebates will go “out the door’’ to taxpayers this spring. “The checks will go out in the second week of May….The purpose is to encourage consumers… to give them money, their own by the way.’’

(Photo of Bush at press conference today by J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

Sen. Barack Obama calls out for the parents of a child lost during the town hall meeting Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

by Christi Parsons

AUSTIN, Texas--A state representative in Texas just declared her support for Barack Obama, which wouldn't be news worth writing home about except for two things:

She used to be a supporter of Hillary Clinton, and she's one of those crucial superdelegates who could help Obama lock up the Democratic presidential nomination.

Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston is part of what the Obama camp hopes will be a continuing flood of defections at every level of party officialdom.

Obama supporters believe a floodgate might have opened yesterday with the switch of Atlanta congressman John Lewis, formerly one of Clinton's most prominent backers.

We won't bother you with every drop and trickle here on the Swamp, but, if you're on the Obama e-mailing list, don't expect the same treatment.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a town hall meeting in Tyler, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

by Frank James

It looks like the campaign of Sen. John McCain is trying to make voters think of "youth" when they think of the 71-year old senator from Arizona.

Did you notice the backdrop the senator had at a campaign appearance yesterday in Tyler, Texas? It consisted of young people from the Brook Hill School in that same city.

Having a few students in their school uniforms stand behind him for the cameras is probably not going to be terribly effective in helping McCain draw off much of the youthful energy so successfully tapped into by Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

But you have to start somewhere.

That photo was a stark contrast to the image McCain presented the world on Feb. 12, the night of the Potomac Primary. It was definitely looking like the Grand Old Party that night.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

by Frank James

Eric Zorn, one of the best mainstream media bloggers around, asked an astute question then searched for an answer.

During the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois, Did Alan Keyes, the Republican bombthrower, make it a habit to use Sen. Barack Obama's middle name to appeal to the little bigot within so many of us?

The answer is no. And it wasn't by accident that's the case, as Eric learned. It was a considered decision by Keyes' campaign. Definitely read Zorn's posting on this.

So people who do it are going to a place where even the wild-eyed Keyes refused to go.

Think about that for a second.

Anyone who uses Obama's middle name repeatedly, like Cincinnati radio host Bill Cunningham the other day, knows what he or she is doing and what feelings they are trying to evoke. There's simply nothing innocent about it.

It is the same kind of thinking that led many German-Americans, during World War I, to Americanize their names as they tried to avoid persecution by those who considered themselves "real Americans."

by Mark Silva

President Bush, who will head to his ranch in Texas this weekend to host the visitng Danish prime minister, has a few parting words for Congress -- which has delayed acting on his intelligence surveillance legislation. He'll have a lot more to say today as well.

Bush has called a press conference at the White House at 10:05 am EST.

Watch the Swamp for coverage of the president's press conference.

by Mark Silva

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York who has changed parties and landed as an independent, formally ended all speculation about his long-denied intentions of running for president as a third-party candidate this year. But he is offering himself up, nonetheless.

He will not run, he wrote on the Op-Ed Page of The New York Times today.

But... Bloomberg says, he stands ready to help an '"independent'' candidate for president "who takes a nonpartisan approach'' seek the White House. He leaves the door wide open on what that help means, or who that candidate might be. The founder of the Bloomberg news service cannot give anyone his own money, but he sure knows how to raise it.

Watching the 2008 campaign, the mayor wrote today, "you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates -- smart, all of them -- must know better.''

They must know the United States cannot fix the economy by isolating the nation from global trade, they must know immigration cannot be fixed with border security alone, and they must know that we "cannot keep illegal guns out fo the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.''

Americans know this, too, he wrote -- yet "politics being what it is, the candidates seem afraid to level with them.

''We need innovative ideas, bold action and courageous leadership,'' Bloomberg wrote, sounding all like the candidate and calling "the independent'' approach the right path in politics. "That’s not just empty rhetoric, and the idea that we have the ability to solve our toughest problems isn’t some pie-in-the-sky dream...

"While I have always said I am not running for president, the race is too important to sit on the sidelines, and so I have changed my mind in one area,'' he wrote. "If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach — and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy — I’ll join others in helping that candidate win the White House.''

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Thursday, February 28.

The Senate Agriculture appropriations subcommittee is holding a hearing on food safety in the wake of the largest beef recall in U.S. history.

President Bush is meeting with his economic advisors.

The Joint Economic Committee is holding a hearing on the costs of war beyond the amount in the federal budget.

By Rick Pearson

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — Democrat Hillary Clinton told PBS interviewer Judy Woodruff today about a remarkable display of clairvoyance that found the New York senator in the spring of last year planning a Texas showdown with Barack Obama on Tuesday.

During an interview with PBS’ “Newshour” program, Woodruff asked Clinton what happened in a race where only months ago she was viewed as the frontrunner and the presumptive nominee, only to be eclipsed by Obama.

“None of this is surprising to me,” she told Woodruff. “You know, last spring when I looked at how the race was shaping up, I knew that it would be a close contest and I assumed it would be with Sen. Obama and at that time I said, ‘We have got to start thinking about Texas. We have to start thinking ahead.’”

Clinton also said she really doesn’t like the front-runner label, even though the primaries in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday will determine whether her Democratic presidential bid will continue.

“I think it is great that this has been a close contest. I don't have any problem with that. I don't think I'm entitled to anything,” she said. “I hate being a front runner. I find that to be burdensome, so for me getting out (to speak to voters) today, talking about what I would do as president, answering people's questions and putting forth my ideas is energizing because it should be hard.”

by Christi Parsons

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota jumped on the Barack Obama bandwagon today, saying he'd stayed out of the fray when four of his colleagues were in the mix and that he'd "just decided I'm going to wait and watch here for a while."

He didn't explain why he'd gotten off the fence just now . . . after Obama has won eleven nominating contests in a row and is heading toward the crucial Ohio and Texas primaries with a perceived advantage.

Then again, as Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Wednesday, it's never good in politics to get ahead of oneself.

Dev Null is counting delegates and waiting for another shot at prime-time.

by James Oliphant

Admit it, American public, you're obsessed. The item below about the ratings that MSNBC enjoyed with last night's Democratic debate in Cleveland proves it. No one's watched MSNBC like that since Soledad O'Brien did the news with a cartoon barista. (His name was Dev Null and he is pictured above. This is probably no longer listed on O'Brien's resume.)

Now, the good people at Slate have unveiled a tool you can use to explore all the possible scenarios in which Hillary Clinton could overtake Barack Obama and secure the nomination. Feel free to post your theories here -- conspiracy and otherwise. (There's always that obscure Guam-North Carolina scenario, which sounds a bit like a first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament.)

Believe us, the Clinton campaign is doing a version of this every hour of the day. You might as well try it too.

by Mark Silva

The Ohio debate last night between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama drew 7.8 million viewers, MSNBC reports -- a record for the network.

The cable news network's coverage of the debate ran "second only'' to American Idol in its time slot. Not since the start of the Iraq war -- a subject which played a role in the debate -- have so many tuned in to MSNBC.

The debate was the most watched broadcast in the 11-year history of the network, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the third most-watched debate of the season and the second most-watched on cable TV.

"Voters are incredibly engaged and passionate about the presidential election; it's one of the most exciting in history. I'm proud that millions of viewers were able to experience the most anticipated debate of the season on MSNBC," said Phil Griffin, senior viice president for NBC News and executive in charge of MSNBC, in a statement released by the network.

The debate was the No. 4 program of the night, broadcast or cable, in total viewers and ranked second only to "American Idol" in its time period. The debate was also the No. 1 cable program of the night among total viewers and adults 25-54.

The audience for the debate averaged 3.24 million adults 25-54, also a record for the network -- the previous high for the network came on March 19, 2003, the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq which Obama opposed and which Clinton voted to authorize.

by William Neikirk

There are two economic beasts staring down Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and, by extension, the economy: A debilitating recession and destructive inflation.

Backed into a corner from the spreading effects of a housing-triggered credit crunch, Bernanke shrugged off inflation fears today and signaled the central bank will focus its attention on preventing a steep economic downturn.

In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, the embattled Fed chairman signaled another interest rate reduction is coming in March, perhaps as high as one half of a percentage point, as he continued to try to get ahead of the curve on a financial market squeeze that he was late in anticipating.

"The economic situation has become distinctly less favorable" since last summer, he said. "The housing market is expected to continue to weigh on economic activity in coming quarters."

by Mark Silva

In a regrettable campaign for “pastor-in-chief,’’ the Interfaith Alliance has come up with a reveiew of the “unholy use of religion in the presidential campaign.'' As in any good review, they have a Top 10 list – topped by Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama.

“As the presidential primary season winds down,’’ the organization notes, “the ten worst abuses of religion during the campaign so far’’ highlight the “disproportionate role religion has played during the primary season, with candidates and the media shouldering the responsibility.

“Unfortunately, the list could easily go on beyond 10, and is likely to expand as the general election gets under way,’’ the group notes. “Just this week, a photo of Senator Obama in traditional Somali garb was leaked to the media withthe clear intent to portray him as a Muslim, and in the process disenfranchise an entire religious community in this country.

"I have witnessed more abuses of religion in this primary season than in any election in recent memory,’’ said the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister and president of the Interfaith Alliance. “Incidents like these demean the sanctity of religion by inferring that God has endorsed a certain candidate. Far be it for candidates to run for 'Commander-in-Chief' instead of 'Pastor-in-Chief.'"

The top four contenders in both political parties placed high on the list, with the top two spots going to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's call to amend the Constitution to fit "God's standards" and Sen. Barack Obama's call for help to "become an instrument of God."

And the Top 10 are…

Rep. John Lewis, center, talks with actor Chris Tucker, right, and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois while touring the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Ala., Friday, March 7, 2003. (AP Photo/ Montgomery Advertiser, David Alan Planchet)

by John McCormick, updated

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis on Wednesday said he is switching his support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama, according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Former Chicago Tribune White House correspondent Bob Kemper has the story, linked here.

Obama's campaign issued this statement for the senator: "John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support."

by James Oliphant

International oil conglomerate Exxon Mobil appeared before the Supreme Court Wednesday to argue that it's done enough to mitigate the effects of the disastrous Prince William Sound oil spill almost 20 years ago.

Eleven million gallons of crude oil poured into the sea in March 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ruptured after striking a reef, killing thousands of mammals and fish and decimating the local economy. It remains the most notorious environmental disaster in American history.

At issue before the Court was whether Exxon should pay a $2.5 billion punitive damage award an Alaskan jury socked it with 13 years ago. It has been fighting the award ever since. The company says it has already shelled out $3.4 billion to clean up the region and compensate the victims for their financial losses.

"Exxon gained nothing by what went wrong in this case and paid dearly for it," Exxon's lawyer, Walter Dellinger, told the court.

by Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain, campaigning in cold-weather in Tyler, Texas, today, complained in jest that the cold seems to follow him everywhere he goes.

He hails from Arizona, he told his crowd, so they do have a lot in common. Arizona has water shortages. “We have such little water in Arizona, the trees chase the dogs,’’ he said, unreeling an old line.

Asked about Ralph Nader’s new entry to the presidential contest, McCain, 71, said: “At least we’ve got somebody older than me in the race. That’s good.’’ Nader, running as an independent, is turning 74.

But McCain wasn’t joking about the Bush family in Texas today.

“The state of Texas has produced a couple of the greatest presidents in this country… and their name is Bush,’’ he said to cheers. ““I also think it might be nice for President Bush to get a little credit that there’s not been another attack on the United States of America.’

by Mark Silva

Barack Obama likes mint chocolate chip.

He considers Bono "a good friend.''

Favorite reading? The books he reads with his young daughters. Like Harry Potter. And what do Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, make of Britney Spears? "They're pretty down on Britney and Paris and all of that,'' Obama says. They like Hannah Montana and Beyonce.

This and more is revealed in this week's issue of Us Weekly -- though Obama dodges the "boxers or briefs" question -- in editions that go on sale Friday, the one with Jennifer Anniston on the cover, featuring an article asking the question: "Barack Obama, is he really just like Us?'' How familiar is Obama with the magazine? "My wife reads it,'' he told Us Weekly. The two keep in touch with computers and web-cams while the candidate is on the road, and he phones home every night.

The spread inside features photographs of Obama as a child -- riding a tricycle and sitting on his mother's lap in Hawaii. It spictures him in "that '70s style,'' with wide-collared "disco duds'' -- noting that his modest-sized hair was "about as big as the Afro ever got. ''

"I think I'm pretty cool,'' Obama says. "I could embarrass my girls, but I choose not to.''

His wife, Michelle, likes Stevie Wonder. She accompanied him on to the stage at a recent rally at UCLA, and Mr. Morris fell off the steps on his way up. "'This is your favorite performer,' Obama told his wife, "and you push him off the stage?' Fortunately, he was OK.''

In his spare time? The sports pages. Checks up on the White Sox and Bulls.

His wife likes Sudoku.

And, how about it, boxers or briefs?

"I don't answer those humiliating questions,'' Obama told the magazine. "But whichever one it is, I look good in 'em.''

And, the article concludes, "He really is just like us.''

by Rick Pearson

ZANESVILLE, Ohio—Through some driving snow and chilly winds, Hillary Clinton arrived in southeastern Ohio from Cleveland this afternoon, embarking on a campaign trip to discuss her economic plans but finding her effort in danger of being eclipsed by an intense back-and-forth on Iraq between Democratic rival Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

Enroute from Cleveland, Clinton told reporters aboard her campaign plane that the economy was of significant concern to Ohioans, who have seen manufacturing jobs decline and home foreclosures increase. Further worsening the news, she said, was that “we’re sliding into a recession and the price of everything is going up at the same time.”

“This,” she said, “is a very difficult terrain to try to navigate through.”

Clinton said she was pleased by her performance against Obama in last night’s debate and was “pleased to talk about issues that I both care a lot about and know something about.”

Asked by reporters if she agreed with the sentiment that no knockouts were scored, Clinton said “that’s a prize fight, that’s not a debate.”

Instead, she said, “I think that a lot of people who watched it would come away and feel very positive and comfortable about what I said and what I presented as my credentials and my positions on these issues and I think there were some real contrasts that were drawn.”

In an event at Ohio University Zanesville and Zane State College, Clinton assembled a sit-down panel to talk about the economy that included prominent political allies, such as former Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) and Govs. Ted Strickland of Ohio and John Corzine of New Jersey along with local business leaders.

But Clinton’s campaign effort paled on the political attention meter as McCain, the Arizona senator and likely GOP nominee, and Obama, the Illinois senator and Democratic frontrunner, went back and forth over defeating Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The sharp rhetoric between the two men threatened to marginalize Clinton’s efforts to try to halt Obama’s momentum with less than a week remaining until two must-win primaries in delegate rich Ohio and Texas on Tuesday.

by Frank James

William Buckley Jr., whose death at age 82 was reported today, was perhaps America's best-known conservative intellectual.

He also seemed like one of the coolest. When he leaned back in his chair on the set of his long-running Firing Line TV show, and suavely delivered, with that vaguely British accent of his, the conservative side of a political argument, arching his eyebrows for punctuation, you couldn't help but wonder what sort of influences came together to create such a unique personality. He clearly wasn't your run-of-the-mill TV suit.

For anyone who loved words, the more ornate the better, he was your man. When you learned he was a harpsichordist, it made sense since there was something positively baroque about his use of language.

Of course, he wasn't just a famous conservative. He was influential, too, as the founder of the National Review, the conservative bible, which under his editorship over several decades was one of the most elegantly written and informative magazines of any political stripe. No less a conservative than than Ronald Reagan credited NR with helping to shape his thinking. And his influence went yet further with his widely syndicated newspaper column.

He was unlike anything any of us had seen before or will likely see again in journalism. He was an American original.

President Bush said today: "America has lost one of its finest writers and thinkers. Bill Buckley was one of the great founders of the modern conservative movement. He brought conservative thought into the political mainstream, and helped lay the intellectual foundation for America's victory in the Cold War and for the conservative movement that continues to this day.

"He will be remembered for his principled thought and beautiful writing -- as well as his personal warmth, wit, and generous spirit. His legacy lives on in the ideas he championed and in the magazine he founded -- National Review.''

Roger Clemens, then of the Houston Astros, pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Three of the National League Championship Series in Oct. 2005. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

by James Oliphant

Some key members of Congress are trying to bring down the Rocket.

Wednesday, the chairman and the ranking member of the House Government Reform Committee, Reps. Henry Waxman and Tom Davis, asked the Justice Department to investigate whether pitcher Roger Clemens lied under oath during his appearance before the committee earlier this month.

In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the congressmen say that Clemens statements were at odds with the sworn testimony of his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who said he injected Clemens with steroids, and with his ex-teammate, Andy Pettitte, who said Clemens told him that he had used human growth hormone. (see Waxman's memo)

Perhaps more important, Waxman and Davis told Mukasey that McNamee and Pettitte back each other up:

by Christi Parsons

COLUMBUS, Ohio--John McCain had a news flash for Barack Obama in Texas this morning.

In the Democratic debate the night before, he said, "Sen. Obama made the statement that if al-Qaeda came back to Iraq after he withdraws . . . then he would send military troops back."

"I have some news," McCain said, as reported by MSNBC. "Al-Qaeda is in Iraq."

Well, Obama shot back with a news bulletin of his own in Ohio just now, telling McCain he doesn't need to be schooled on the topic.

"I have some news for John McCain," Obama said. "There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush" took the country to war there.

Obama mocked McCain's past pledges to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, saying "so far all he's done is follow George Bush."

"I've been paying attention, John McCain," Obama said, shaking his head and laughing in mock bewilderment during the riff.

For the record, in the debate Obama was asked by panelist Tim Russert, "Do you reserve a right as American president to go back into Iraq once you have withdrawn with sizable troops in order to quell any kind of insurrection or civil war?"

Obama answered by saying, "As commander in chief, I will always reserve the right to make sure that we are looking out for American interests. And if al-Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad."

The actual back-and-forth was less substance than style, of course. Republican McCain wants to stick it out in Iraq while Democrat Obama thinks it's time to head out.

But the two gave us a little taste of how they plan to deal with each other if they end up as their parties' nominees. McCain will play the experienced veteran, hinting that Obama doesn't know what he's talking about.

And Obama will suggest that McCain isn't on top of his game.

McCain admitted he hadn't watched the debate, Obama told the crowd, but he said some staffers told him about it.

Well, it was kind of a late debate.

Henry Hager and Jenna Bush. White House photo.

by Mark Silva

Wedding bells will ring in Texas in 10 weeks, when one of the first twins marries her beau, and First Lady Laura Bush says the president is thrilled about "the son that George never had.''

Jenna Bush and Henry Hager will wed.

Hager is a former staff member of Karl Rove's office in the White House. He is in his final year at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. His father, John H. Hager, served as assistant secretary of education in the Bush administration and became chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. He also is a former lieutenant governor of Virginia.

Jenna Bush is the author of a book about her experiences working in Central America.

"It's going really very well, and I'm so happy for Jenna and for Henry,'' Laura Bush said of the wedding plans, in an interview this morning on CBS's Early Show. "And I think they've really found their soul mates. And that, of course, makes their mother and daddy really happy.''

Dad approves of Henry?

"He's a really good guy,'' the first lady says of the soon-to-be first son-in-law. "He's finally going to be the son that George never had.''

by Mark Silva

First Lady Laura Bush said today that the first family takes "with a grain of salt'' all the criticism for President Bush that is coming from the presidential campaign debate underway -- "sound bites,'' she calls the verbal shots at her husband.

"They're received with a grain of salt,'' she said of the comments about the Bush administration in last night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. "I mean, we've been in many, many debates, as you know. I've been on the front row for lots of debates, from the time when George ran for governor the first time, and I know what these debates are like.

"I know they're sound bites,'' Laura Bush said in her interview with CBS News' Early Show, held in the Map Room of the White House. "I know that people try to get in a quick jab of something to say that makes news -- in a good way for them, of course. And I also know that it's a lot easier to tear something down than it is to really say what you're for. And I think that's what we see.

"And that's partly what the candidates are doing, to try to get a quick sound bite,'' she said. "But it's also, I think, the way it's covered and the questions that are asked, that aren't long and thoughtful questions, but rather quick, looking for a quick, interesting answer.''

Does she worry about the impact of all this on her husband's legacy?

"No, I really don't,'' the first lady said. "I really don't. I think that over the long term, as historians look at his presidency, there are so many, many accomplishments. And I think that that's what will -- when the partisan rancor is gone, that that's what will show up.''

by Frank James

The American Civil Liberties Union is warning today that by July there could be as many as one million names in terrorist watch-list databases maintained by the federal government, with many of the names those of innocent people who get repeatedly hassled by additional security scrutiny when they attempt to fly.

To reinforce its point, the ACLU has a website with a counter (odometer-like counters are very popular with advocacy groups in Washington) which provides a visual reminder of how large the watch lists are.

Here's part of what the ACLU said in its release:

“At the current rate of growth, the U.S. watch lists will contain a million records by July. If there were a million terrorists in this country, our cities would be in ruins,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program. “The absurd bloating of the terrorist watch lists is yet another example of how incompetence by our security apparatus threatens our rights without offering any real security.”

The new counter features a rolling, odometer-style display with a real-time readout showing how many individuals are on the list at a given moment. The figures are extrapolated from a September 2007 report by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, which reported that the Terrorist Screening Center had over 700,000 names in its database as of April 2007, and that the list was growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month. As of today, the list stands at approximately 917,000 names.

“Homeland Security’s handling of the watch lists is typical of this administration’s blundering approach to the war on terror,” said ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Tim Sparapani. “Create sprawling new systems for sifting through the population, throw an indiscriminately broad range of names into the mix, fairly or not, and treat the rights of innocent people as an afterthought.”

The watch lists are used for a growing array of purposes, most notably for subjecting domestic airline passengers to additional screening (and often far more intense law enforcement scrutiny), selecting individuals for scrutiny and interrogation at the nation’s borders, and for excluding people from the country entirely.

by Mark Silva

There is more at stake in Ohio than the prospects for the Democratic Party's presidential candidates in Tuesday's primary election there.

In the bellwether state that typically rings clear with the nation's preferences for a president, a tight race looms for the Democratic nominee and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, according to the Ohio Poll.

In the battle for Ohio's 20 electoral votes, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois stands virtually even with McCain in a general election matchup tested in the Feb. 21-24 survey sponsored by the University of Cincinnati. The score: Obama 48, McCain 47.

In a matchup of Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and McCain, the Republican draws 51 percent of the Ohioans surveyed, and Clinton 47 percent.

While Obama supporters may take these results as evidence of what Obama was saying in last night's debate in Cleveland -- that he represents his party's strongest contender in a race with McCain -- the Clinton-McCain matchup sits within the margin of error in this poll -- plus or minus 3 percentage points -- portraying either Democratic candidate as a powerful nominee for the party in that expected November contest with McCain.

Yet, in the final few days of the Ohio campaign, this marginal advantage that Obama holds over Clinton may well play into the calculation that Ohio Democrats make about the viability of the two candidates:

The Ohio Poll found that Clinton holds an eight-percentage point advantage over Obama among likely Democratic voters, yet nine percent were telling pollsters that they support former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and some were undecided -- raising the question of where these voters will go on Tuesday.

The poll also reveals that the presidential campaign will unfold full bore in Ohio once again.

Read more about the Ohio Poll here.

by Frank James

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm late on this one. The Smoking Gun had this story two days ago about brothers-in-law who got into a fight over politics with the one who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton eventually stabbing the one who supported Sen. Barack Obama.

But I just learned about it and figured, if it was news to me, it might be news to a lot of readers of The Swamp too.

Here's what the Smoking Gun reported which is straight off the police report:

FEBRUARY 25--Meet Jose Antonio Ortiz. The Pennsylvania man allegedly stabbed his brother-in-law in the stomach after the pair quarreled about their respective support of Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. According to cops, Ortiz, 28, stabbed Sean Shurelds last Thursday night in the kitchen of an Upper Providence Township home. According to a criminal complaint, a copy of which you'll find here, the 41-year-old Shurelds, an Obama supporter, told Ortiz that the Illinois senator was "trashing" Clinton (apparently in regard to recent primary and caucus results). Ortiz, a Clinton supporter, replied that "Obama was not a realist." While not exactly fighting words, the verbal political tiff led to some mutual choking and punching. And, allegedly, a stabbing in the abdomen. Ortiz, pictured in the mug shot...was charged with a felony aggravated assault count and two misdemeanors and jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail. Shurelds was flown to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. (2 pages)

The police report provides further details, such as: the alleged stabber's hands were wet when the police arrived on the scene which, Ortiz explained, was because he was washing dishes. That's right. His brother in law Shaun Shurelds was bleeding profusely from an abdominal wound and the accused stabber found time to do some house chores. Maybe he should've put them in the dishwasher where the police found the knife they believe was the weapon Ortiz allegedly used.

At least they were fighting over something important like politics. I remember once reading an old Chicago Tribune clip about one brother who stabbed another to death in a fight over a pork chop. I haven't been able to look at a pork chop the same way since.

by James Oliphant

The shipwreck of the Exxon Valdez happened almost 20 years ago. But many Alaskans feel like they live with the lasting damage caused by the oil spill every day.

Today, a civil suit filed by thousands of fishermen and small business owners finally reaches the Supreme Court. Exxon is appealing a $2.5 billion punitive damage award the company views as excessive. It says it has already spent $3.5 billion to clean up Prince William Sound and compensate victims of the spill.

Read more in today's Chicago Tribune. And the Swamp will have a summary of the oral arguments after the court session Wednesday.

by Mark Silva

There was that one line about the pillow – with Sen. Hillary Clinton tossing a sardonic line out for her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, in last night’s last of a long series of scheduled Democratic debates – a play on the Saturday Night Live skit that lampooned the candidates’ previous debate.

“Well, could I just point out that, in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time,’’ Clinton complained last night in Cleveland. “And I don't mind. You know, I'll be happy to field them, but I do find it curious. And if anybody saw "Saturday Night Live," you know, maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow.’’

And there was that interminable debate about the ins and outs of their health care plans that opened the 90-minute encounter broadcast by MSNBC from one of the states that could help settle the party’s nominating score between Obama and Clinton on Tuesday – with the March 4 primary in Ohio, and also the primaries that day in Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont

But, for the most part, there was a lot of reluctance on the part of either Democrat to leave mortal wounds on the candidate who will carry their party’s fight to the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Obama challenged Clinton's vote in support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, saying the judgment he showed in opposing it -- before his election to the Senate -- is evidence of how he would lead. And he said that, if Clinton wants to boast of her experience in the Clinton administration, she has to take the bad with the good -- such as NAFTA. Fighting words in Ohio.

Clinton insisted repeatedly that Obama has misrepresented her plan for health care and insisted that Obama's plan falls short of the "universal coverage'' that both are promising.

Yet, while moderator Brian Williams of NBC News and Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert of NBC News pressed the candidates with questions about their promises and their records, the candidates, for a somewhat tense hour-and-a-half, held up to a grilling and largely refrained from a trashing of the rival’s campaign.

All in all, they laid a reasonable framework for what could be fateful decisions for their party’s voters next week in Ohio, Texas and beyond.

You tell us who won, who lost, who punted, who scored, with your comments below.

What follows is a transcript of that debate in Cleveland last night:

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wednesday, February 27.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether ExxonMobil should have to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages stemming from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

The House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee is holding a hearing on drug use in sports with a focus on athlete health and the integrity of competition, with former Sen. George Mitchell, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, NBA Commissioner David Stern, MLB Players Association Executive Director Donald Fehr, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing on monetary policy and the state of the economy with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.

by Jason George

And then there was one.

Tuesday night's debate between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was the last, scheduled Democratic candidate get together for a reason, and it's not mercy on the American public – both candidates believe victory in next week's contests in Ohio and Texas (as well as Rhode Island and Vermont) will seal the deal on a nomination.

Translation: last night mattered, a lot.

The last time the stakes approached last night's height was at a debate in Los Angeles, before Super Tuesday, when neither Clinton nor Obama chose to attack each other, preferring instead to play nice. Tonight in Cleveland – after days of comparisons to George Bush, the turban affair and figurative threats of a kitchen sink toss – be prepared for anything.

We live blogged the debate at Cleveland State University.

Comment away – you might not get another chance to do so in a Democratic debate for another four (or eight) years.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
10:39. Closing statements have Obama saying he would seek change and has a "unique bias in favor of opening up government" if elected. Clinton, in a rare statement, comments on her own gender: "Obviously I am thrilled to be running to be the first woman president, which I think would be a sea change." [applause].

So it's official: Change vs. change.

And with that, it's not clear if there were enough distinguishing differences on the issues tonight, but this was surely the most interesting debate in recent memory – at least of the last few of these 20, yes 20, Democratic debates so far.

On Tuesday, the voters of Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont will get to answer this question, but tonight we put it to you: Who proved they're ready to be commander in chief for the next four years?

Like a casino, the Swamp comment boards never close.

by Matthew Hay Brown

With a new president to be elected in less than nine months, along with the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, now is the time when you’d expect lawmakers to shy away from difficult legislation.

Add the fact that the majority Democrats like their chances of gaining seats in Congress and taking back the White House, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a work slowdown in Washington.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has other plans. Speaking to reporters today, the Maryland Democrat described a robust legislative agenda, beginning with a vote Wednesday on an energy bill that failed to pass the Senate last year, and continuing with efforts on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and eventually, perhaps, even immigration.

“We’re not sitting out the clock,” Hoyer said. “We believe we have a responsibility to protect America. That’s why we’re moving on national security issues. We are very concerned about defense readiness. We’re going to continue to effect oversight on Iraq, Afghanistan and our readiness posture.”

Whether any of their efforts has a chance of becoming law is another question.

by Aamer Madhani

Israel’s ambassador to the United States said today that Iran was becoming a “very, very dangerous ticking bomb” and urged the world to take a more active role in forcing Iran to give up its uranium-enrichment program.

A National Intelligence Estimate issued by U.S. agencies in December concluded that Iran suspended its nuclear arms program in 2003, but the Bush administration has stressed that the report confirms that Iran had a program and continued desire to build nuclear weapons.

Sallai Meridor, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., echoed the Bush administration call that Iran remains a serious threat, but he also upped the ante in making a comparison to the international community’s slowness to head off Adolph Hitler in the 1930s.

“The writing is on the wall like in the ‘30s,” Meridor told defense reporters in Washington. “It’s not hidden, it’s stated. Everybody who doesn’t close his eyes can see it. Everybody that is not deaf can hear it. The world should act and act now and not repeat the terrible mistakes that it made in the past.”

It’s important to note that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called Israel a rotten state, has declared that the nation needs to be obliterated, and has expressed doubt about the Holocaust.

by Josh Drobnyk

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Hillary Clinton backer, said a month ago that he'd have a hard time "denying what would be the popular will" by casting his superdelegate vote for Clinton should Barack Obama finish ahead by 300 or 350 pledged delegates.

It appears he's changing his tune.

Rendell said in an interview today that it's the popular vote he's following, not delegates.

"The delegate selection is wacky. It would be the popular vote that would decide," said Rendell, who endorsed Clinton last month.

So a win by Obama in the popular vote would sway Rendell's allegiance? Not so fast.

"I wouldn’t follow it exactly," Rendell said. "I would take into account the popular vote. Let’s assume that Sen. Obama won 51 to 49 [percent]. I don’t think that that alone would convince me to vote for him. Superdelegates are there for a reason. There should be some people who view things in the broader term: What is the best for the party in the fall?"

Music director Lorin Maazel accepts a bouquet of flowers from a North Korean woman after the New York Philharmonic's concert performance in Pyongyang, North Korea on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

by Bay Fang

Pyongyang, North Korea-- With the American flag on one side of the stage and the North Korean flag on the other, the New York Philharmonic gave an historic performance in Pyongyang Tuesday night. As the concert ended with a standing ovation and tears from both the audience and orchestra members, hopes rose that the concert would bring the two traditionally hostile countries closer together.

"For a long time now, the US and Korea have been enemies. The New York Philharmonic's visit to Pyongyang has set down a new marker," said the Vice-Minister of Culture, Song Sok Hwan, in an interview after the concert. He said that even a short time ago, it would have been unthinkable to see the American flag flown in North Korea and hear the American anthem played. "I'm not a politician so it is hard for me to say what kind of change will emerge from this concert, but we have a saying in our country, that the first step is half the journey. And so we have started."

While US-North Korean relations had grown warmer last year with a landmark nuclear deal reached a year ago, implementation of that agreement has been stalled since the start of the year. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the middle of an Asian tour, with the express purpose of building support to pressure North Korea to give a full and truthful declaration of its nuclear capabilities, which the US sees as being the necessary next step.

"We’re at the cusp of something very special here," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, at a press conference in Beijing alongside her Chinese counterpart. "We have had a successful round in terms of the shutdown of the Pyongyang reactor. We have had progress on the disablement of those facilities. And now it’s time to move on because the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is in everyone’s interest."

If anything, many of those in attendance believed the concert could break the political impasse simply by bringing the two sides closer together emotionally.

Former Defense Secretary William Perry, who traveled over the DMZ from Seoul to attend the concert, met with chief North Korean nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan earlier in the day along with former diplomats Donald Gregg and Evans Revere, who are now with the Korea Society. He said they tried to convince Kim that the North Koreans should take the opportunity to close the deal with the current administration, instead of holding out for something better with the next – which Perry said was what happened in 2000 at the end of the Clinton administration.

by William Neikirk

A key Federal Reserve official today played down recent sharp increases in inflation and suggested the economy should get stronger after the middle of the year. Everyone loves optimism, especially from such a source.

Donald Kohn, the central bank's vice chairman who often speaks for Chairman Benjamin Bernanke, said the Fed will "do what is needed" to bring about price stability and economic growth.

Indirectly, he indicated that the Federal Reserve does not believe that the economy is headed for a period of "stagflation," or economic stagnation combined with sharp inflation like that which prevailed in the 1970s.

Bernanke will testify before Congress Wednesday and Thursday, and is expected to follow themes that Kohn laid out today in a speech at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

A dramatic slowing of the economy, along with big increases in the consumer price index and the producer price index, raised concerns about a return to stagflation. The producer price index rose 1 percent last month, the government said today, but Kohn didn't indicate much worry.

"I believe we will see a return to stronger growth, lower unemployment, lower inflation and improved flows in financial markets, but it probably will take a little while," Kohn said. He didn't define "little while," but suggested an improvement in economic performance in the second half of the year.

by Rick Pearson

LORAIN, Ohio — The clock on the scoreboard in the basketball gymnasium at Admiral King High School read “20:08,” but the real clock reads one week and counting down on the fate of Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes.

Making a visit to the northern manufacturing community of Lorain, Clinton made an appeal to the middle class before she ventured to a snowy Cleveland — the site of her final debate with Barack Obama before the all important March 4 primaries in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.

But the contest is all about Ohio and Texas, must-win states for Clinton in trying to fend off Obama and his momentum of 11 consecutive state victories. Attention has focused on what strategy Clinton will use in her faceoff with Obama, knowing that the pressure is on her to fully distinguish the differences that exist between herself and the Illinois senator while not crossing the line into overt negativity.

With the two in a close race in Texas and Clinton holding a narrow lead in Ohio in recent polling, the New York senator has found herself under attack by an Obama campaign that has linked her to her husband’s efforts as president to approve the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ohio, she noted, has lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs since the Bush presidency. As for Obama, she contended “it is easy to criticize” NAFTA, but she said she plans to produce on efforts to seeking higher labor and environmental standards through the appointment of a special trade prosecutor.

Clinton said she was impressed by the “grit” and the “resilience” of Ohioans who “don’t ask for any help that they’re not entitled to but deserve to have a president who will work with you to solve the problems that people here and across Ohio face.”

“I have every confidence that we can turn America around, that we can turn Ohio around, that we can have the kind of future that not just young people but all people deserve,” the two-term senator from New York said.

Sen. Barack Obama with Sen. Christopher Dodd during their news conference in Cleveland, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008, where Dodd endorsed Obama, his former rival, in the Democratic presidential race. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Mike Dorning

CLEVELAND — Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) today became the first former Democratic presidential candidate who shared the debate stage over the past year to endorse a rival, urging Democrats to unify behind Barack Obama’s candidacy and warning against harsh attacks that could damage the party’s nominee in the fall election.

“It is now the time to come together as a Democratic party,” Dodd said at a morning press conference, adding a few moments later, “I don’t want a campaign that is only divisive here. And there is a danger of it becoming that.”

Dodd’s candidacy never achieved a significant popular following. So his endorsement may not have much impact with the public.

But he has considerable potential influence within the party’s political establishment to make the case that other party leaders need to throw their weight behind Obama to bring the contest to a close. A 27-year veteran of the Senate and a leader of the party’s liberal wing, he came within one vote of becoming of the Senate Democratic Leader in 1994 and served as general chairman of the party during the mid-1990s.

Already, a steady stream of Democratic superdelegates have been announcing support for Obama’s candidacy since his 17-point win in Wisconsin last week. Major union endorsements of Obama last week and national polls this week showing he continues to build support among new demographic groups such as blue-collar workers and women also are seizing the attention of political professionals.

In answer to reporter’s questions, Dodd said he did not intend to suggest that the time had come for Hillary Clinton to withdraw.

“No, I wouldn’t” suggest that, Dodd responded. “Obviously we have contests here next week that are important ones,” referring to primaries in Ohio and Texas on March 4.

But he indicated at other moments that the time was nearing.

by Frank James

I think we can safely say Bill "Willie" Cunningham, a conservative radio talk show host in Cincinnati, won't be showing up at any more rallies for Sen. John McCain.

It's never a good idea for someone who's sole job is to fire up the crowd before the candidate arrives to utter thoughts that later require the candidate to apologize. And that's what happened today.

Cunningham called Sen. Barack Obama a "hack Chicago-style Daley politician." He also said he couldn't wait until the media "peeled the bark" off Obama and accused the senator from Illinois of dubious financial dealings.

What's more, he kept dropping the H-bomb, as in Hussein which is, of course, Obama's middle name.

"Hussein" is often used by many of the senator's fiercest critics to insinuate something sinister about Obama since the name obviously has plenty of negative associations for many Americans, thanks to the late U.S. and Bush family nemesis.

So McCain apologized. He told reporters after the rally that he hadn't heard Cunningham's schtick because he hadn't arrived at the hall yet. But after his staff told him what Wild Bill said, McCain wasted no time in saying he was sorry.

"I take responsibility and I repudiate what he said," McCain gamely said. "I will not tolerate anything in this campaign that denigrates either Sen. Obama or Sen. (Hillary) Clinton.''

As far as Cunningham was concerned, the feeling McCain has for him today sounds like it's mutual.

This is from a the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Cunningham said later that he stood by his comments at the rally. He told his listeners: ‘”I’ve had it with McCain. I’m going to throw my support to Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Cunningham, a conservative Republican who also hosts a Sunday night syndicated radio show, said he was asked Monday “by a McCain operative” to introduce the Republican front-runner at Memorial Hall.

He spoke to the crowd and left, without meeting or speaking to the candidate, because he had to do his WLW-AM talk show at 12:30 p.m.

(Note:The posting was revised to correct Cunningham's reference to Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley. He said Obama was a "hack Chicago-style Daley politician," instead of calling Obama "part of the Chicago-Daley mob.")

Supporters cheer for their candidates before the Democratic Presidential Debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton at Cleveland State University on Tuesday, February 26, 2008, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal/MCT)

by Jim Tankersley

CLEVELAND - "We are all witnesses," the giant Nike billboard downtown proclaims. Tonight, more than ever, that's true.

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will supplant the man on the billboard, LeBron James, as the biggest stars in Cleveland tonight, when they debate at 9 p.m. at Cleveland State University.

It's the political equivalent of a playoff atmosphere. The debate is the last faceoff between the Democratic presidential candidates before next week's critical primaries in Ohio and Texas. For Clinton, who trails Obama in delegates and has lost every nominating contest since Feb. 5, it could be her final chance to change the tide of a race that is on the brink of slipping out of her grasp. For Obama, who is tied with Clinton in Texas and has cut her early Ohio lead to single digits according to recent polls, it could be his night to all-but clinch the nomination - or commit the sort of mistake that opens the door for a Clinton comeback.

The hype has electrified the local media (though the city itself seems to be hiding inside from a snowstorm today). The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's local newspaper, devoted its entire front page to a debate preview (sprinkled with weather forecast) this morning. Television coverage is ramping up. Ohio is used to this sort of presidential frenzy, but not usually until the general election, when it proudly assumes its role of pivotal swing state.

Tonight, we'll be watching for how the candidates address Ohio's struggling economy, how they reassure "security mom" voters in the state's suburbs that they can keep America safe and how populist they get in their economy-themed pitches to blue collar voters.

Mostly, though, we'll be watching to see how Clinton tries to change the race. Will she attack? Emote? Pull a surprise of some kind?

The Swamp's own Jason George will be live-blogging those answers, and everything else debate-related, here tonight. Tune in and join him. Remember, you're a witness too.

by James Oliphant

William Haynes IV, who as general counsel to the Pentagon for the past seven years has been a member of the tight-knit group of policymakers responsible for the administration's anti-terrorism policies, is departing for the private sector.

In his role, Haynes has been in part responsible for the some of the government's most aggressive -- and controversial -- policies, including the establishment of military commissions to try terror suspects, extreme interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Specifically, it was his role in approving the administration's early detention policies, designating prisoners as "enemy combatants" and not prisoners of wars under the Geneva Conventions, that cost him a federal judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. when the Senate failed to act on his nomination.

Haynes, 49, is expected to take a job in the private sector.

(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

by Mark Silva

Since New Year's Day alone, Americans have watched more than 200,000 television commercials for the 2008 presidential campaign, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG.

At a cost of more than $90 million to the campaigns.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois alone has spent more than $7 million on one ad entitled "President" which ran in 13 states, according to the firm, a leading tracker of political and public issue-advocacy advertising. The ad features Obama at a rally talking about health care, ending the war in Iraq and promising tax cuts for the middle class.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has spent about $2 million on "Can Do," which ran in 18 states. The ad features Clinton's talk about jumpstarting the economy.

Republican Mitt Romney -- with more than $35 million of his own money committed to his now closed campaign -- spent $31.8 million on campaign ads before quitting the GOP race.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona "has been able to pull back his ad spending as the Republican front-runner,'' the company reports. Yet he spent $377,000 on ads that ran in tthe "Potomac Primary'' contest in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., the firm reports, outspending Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who spent $273,000 on ads there.

For more, see the firm's online blog and CMAG's "Eye on '08.''

by Mike Dorning

CLEVELAND--Former Democratic presidential candidate Sen Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will endorse Barack Obama in a press conference later this morning, said a source familiar with their conversations.

by Mark Silva

For Ralph Nader, who won some crusades against corporate America as a consumer advocate, the political campaign is not always about winning.

He says he is running against “the real political bigotry’’ of the two major parties that have “locked up the system.’’ He says he is saying things that no one else is. And his campaign opens that door to the media that enables his words to walk through.

Nader – who collected 2.7 percent of the vote when he ran for president in 2000 and 0.3 percent when he ran in 2004 – says he will run again this year as an independent candidate.

But it’s clear, from interviews with Nader since his announcement on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, that it’s the candidacy that counts for him – and the ideas he espouses in his pursuit of a fractional share of the vote. Candidacies like that of Norman Thomas, the Socialist.

It is “important…to remember our history,’’ Nader said in an interview aired by Sirius Radio on Monday. “Almost everything we like in politics started with a small party. Norman Thomas, the Socialist Party – he ran for president five times, he put forth social security, unemployment compensation, the progressive income tax, labor standards.’’

Nader appeared on Ron Silver’s daily call-in talk show on Indie Talk Channel 110, which bills itself as “an uncensored forum for independent thought and opinion.’’

Nader’s contention is that too much of his own thoughts are missing from the political campaign underway – and we’ve heard from no shortage of voters this week who agree with that, and support his notion that the two major parties leave something unanswered in American politics. So Nader runs again – not to win, but to voice.

by Mark Silva

The Republican Governors Association said it set a new record with last night's fundraising dinner at the National Building Museum: $10.6 million collected from 1,400 people.

President Bush addressed the Washington dinner crowd, at an event chaired by Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi served as finance chairman.

Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri also opened with a joke about a fellow, if Democratic, governor and the party's leading candidate for president in the delegate chase: Sen. Barack Obama.

"What a great crowd!'' Blunt told the crowd. "At least, that's what Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told me to say.''

Deval, an influential member of the Obama campaign, has lent the senator from Illinois some phrases, which have led some to accuse the senator of plagiarism in his speeches.

Bush, for his part, predicted a good year for Republicans:

by Rick Pearson

Ellen DeGeneres and Hillary Clinton.

It’s not quite the stage show, perhaps, that Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama put on.

But it’s a show, nonetheless, as the talk show host and Democratic candidate for president proved on stage at George Washington University yesterday. And, for the candidate running on “solutions’’rather than “rhetoric,’’ DeGeneres had a probing question.

“Now I have said I have a problem with glitter,’’ DeGeneres told Clinton. “It should be banned. It doesn’t warn you. There’s glitter on your fingers. There’s glitter everywhere. You open a card, you open wrapping paper…

“Will you put a ban on glitter?”

“You know,’’ Clinton replied, “I have been asked so many difficult questions in my life and, you know, some questions you can answer yes or no…. But when it comes to glitter, what on earth would grade school children do for their special projects?

“So maybe,’’ Clinton suggested, “maybe what we do is we ban glitter for anyone over 12?”

“There’s an idea,” DeGeneres said, picking up the campaign’s preferred theme without missing a beat. “That’s what I like about you. I like that you have solutions.

“The race is on, as we all know,’’ DeGeneres told Clinton, adding that “Obama has now won 11 states in a row....What needs to happen to change the momentum?” the talk show host asked.

Now, Clinton replied, it’s a question of winning the March 4 primaries in Texas and Michigan – oops, she added, she already won Michigan, uncontested. Make that Texas and Ohio.

“So,” DeGeneres asked, “is that really make or break? Is that really an important thing for you now?”

“Ellen,” Clinton replied, “I’d say that ranks way up there with banning glitter.''

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Tuesday, February 26.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on the White House handling of emails and whether it has complied with the law covering it.

The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing on monetary policy and the state of the economy.

The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the fairness in sentencing on cocaine offenses.

by Rick Pearson

Hillary Clinton was in the midst of a stock campaign speech before a rowdy group of students on a stage at the George Washington University when her backdrop -- a board extolling her as the candidate of “solutions”- - dissolved into an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres show.

DeGeneres tried to give a big assist to Clinton’s campaign, asking how people could help her against rival Barack Obama. But Clinton also suffered a big miscue when she identified Michigan —which held its disputed primary Jan. 25 -- as one of the states she needs help in.

Saying she had a serious question, DeGeneres began: “Now I have said I have a problem with glitter. It should be banned. It doesn’t warn you. There’s glitter on your fingers. There’s glitter everywhere. You open a card, you open wrapping paper. Will you put a ban on glitter?”

“You know, I have been asked so many difficult questions in my life and, you know, some questions you can answer yes or no,” Clinton replied. “But when it comes to glitter, what on earth would grade school children do for their special projects? So maybe, maybe what we do is we ban glitter for anyone over 12?”

“There’s an idea,” DeGeneres said, before moving to Clinton’s most recent theme of providing solutions instead of speeches. “That’s what I like about you. I like that you have solutions.”

DeGeneres noted that “the race is on as we all know” and that “Obama has now won 11 states in a row....What needs to happen to change the momentum?” the talk show host asked.

“Well, we’re going to win Ohio and Michigan,” Clinton said to cheers from the crowd, not immediately realizing that it’s Ohio and Texas that are the big March 4 states she is trying to win. “I mean, Ohio and Texas. I already won Michigan,” she quickly added.

Michigan is a subject of dispute over whether its delegates will be counted because it moved its primary up before a Feb. 5 deadline set by national party leaders. Clinton won the voting in the state, though other major candidates did not participate. Now in a battle over delegates, Clinton's camp wants them seated at the national convention.

“So,” DeGeneres asked, “is that really make or break? Is that really an important thing for you now?”

“Ellen,” Clinton said, “I’d say that ranks way up there with banning glitter.''

North Koreans watch from their neighborhood on the outskirts of Pyongyang as buses carrying the New York Philharmonic orchestra and the media pass by Monday, Feb. 25, 2008. The New York Philharmonic began a two day tour of North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

by Bay Fang

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- The man from the foreign ministry in the standard-issue black wool coat and Kim Il-Sung pin, assigned to guard one busload of journalists, glanced at me curiously as I boarded. "Have you been to Pyongyang before?" he asked me.

I told him I had, when Secretary of State Madeleine Albright came to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in October 2000. He nodded knowingly and said he remembered me.

"What has changed the most since that time?" I asked him.

"Take a look and you tell me," he replied. "Seeing is believing."

It has been nearly eight years, but on first impression, not much has changed in Pyongyang. The frosty white landscape, with orderly squares drawn like a tic-tac-toe board outlining villages, showed few signs of life. The only vehicles on the streets were a few military trucks, some minivans, and our bevy of buses.

Workers in dark, shapeless clothes trudged along the sides of the road, or pushed their bicycles on icy paths. The broad, clean boulevards were lined with Stalinist buildings, with colorful murals shouting such slogans as, "Let us be armed with socialist ideals!"

The president and governors then, at their first meeting, in 1908.

by Matthew Hay Brown

In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt convened a meeting of the nation’s governors to discuss ways to safeguard the nation’s natural resources, thus establishing the National Governors Association. During the festivities, the 39 governors joined with Roosevelt cabinet secretaries and Supereme Court justices for a group picture at the White House.

At the 100th annual meeting of the association, President Bush and the governors have recreated the photograph -- and the differences between the two groups are apparent.

It isn’t just the relative paucity of facial hair among today’s chief executives. The governors gathered in Washington include eight women, a Hispanic raised in Mexico City and a former bodybuilder and action movie hero from Austria.

At that first meeting in 1908, Arizona and New Mexico were years away from attaining statehood, and Alaska and Hawaii decades. Now the association includes the governors of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Some things, however, haven’t changed: The governors still have conservation on their minds. Among the items on the agenda today was a meeting on the "role of the states in advancing a clean energy future for America."

The governors and president now, outside the White House today. Photos courtesy of the National Governors Association

Clinton at George Washington University today, addressing foreign policy with Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark, a presidential candidate in 2004, by her side. (Photo by Chuck Kennedy/MCT)

by Rick Pearson and Mike Dorning and updated with Obama response

WASHINGTON —Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton charted her plans for an American foreign-affairs strategy this afternoon, but used the subject largely to launch a renewed offensive in challenging rival Barack Obama on the issue of experience.

Delivering what her campaign called a major policy address at The George Washington University, Clinton contended that Obama was untested on foreign affairs and portrayed him as naïve in his call to “pencil in” presidential meetings, held unconditionally, with leaders of rogue nations and to threaten a unilateral strike within an allied country to show he was “tough enough for the job.”

“I’ve had numerous historians tell me that America’s point in our arc of destiny today is perhaps most similar to the situation confronting President Truman when he became our president and commander in chief,” she said.

“The world is being transformed with enormous risks and possibilities that we must meet with confidence, optimism, resolution and success,” she said.

Adopting a strategy of seeing improved human rights, of using military strength as a last resort and ending a doctrine of pre-emptive war, Clinton said the Bush administration has led a foreign relations and military strategy based on a series “of false choices and then is indifferent about the consequences—force versus diplomacy, unilateralism versus multilateralism, hard power versus soft.”

Susan Rice, a Clinton Administration Assistant Secretary of State who is now an Obama foreign policy, argued in a conference call before the speech that Clinton's foreign policy record showed poor judgment, foremost in voting to authorize the war in Iraq.

(Photo of Obama campaigning in Cincinnati today by Rick Bowmer / AP)

by Christi Parsons

John and Elizabeth Edwards stepped back into the political spotlight today – briefly – to offer a newly recast version of the message of their defunct presidential campaign.

In short, it goes like this: If you’re upset about the economy, you should be upset about Iraq. And you should call Republicans to account for your family’s budget woes.

The country is spending billions of dollars every month in Iraq, the former Democratic candidate said in a morning press conference, and “at the same time we’ve got 40-plus million Americans who don’t have health care coverage.”

From their home in North Carolina, the Edwards participated in a telephone conference with several progressive anti-war groups, including MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress and the Service Employees International Union.

Essentially, the groups were pledging to collaborate on a $20 million campaign to draw a link for Americans between their economic concerns and the war in Iraq.

And the Edwards agreed to headline the call in order to call attention to the cause, which intertwines many of the messages of the presidential campaign they called off in late January.

As Elizabeth Edwards put it, after her husband handed the phone to her: “If the economy is your number one issue when you’re voting, the war is, too.”

How do the Edwards plan to highlight their message? That’s not clear, because they didn’t stick around for questions. They hung up after their opening statements and let the advocates talk about their campaign.

Republicans have their own ideas.

After the call, Republican National Committee spokesman Chris Taylor had this to say: "Like Sen. Clinton and Barack Obama, John Edwards and these liberal fringe groups will continue to do and say anything to distract voters from their overall goals of retreating from the War on Terror and instituting devastating tax hikes on hard-working Americans."

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, left, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano listen to President Bush address the governors today. Seated behind them is Josh Bolten, White House chief of staff. (AP Photo / Charles Dharapak)

by Mark Silva

President Bush campaigned for the White House with a pledge to "rally the armies of compassion,'' insisting that the federal government could play a greater role in supporting the social services of faith-based organizations and private, not-for-profit organizations.

Eight years later, today, the White House is celebrating what it calls "The Quiet Revolution,'' with the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funds to faith-based and other non-profit groups and the organization of offices promoting the work of the president's "faith-based initiative'' in 35 states.

In 2006, a voluminous report from the White House today finds, the government distributed $2.18 billion to faith-based organizations delivering social services around the country -- a level of annual spending on this initiative that the Bush administration had reached a couple of years ago. And in 2006, the government distributed $12.56 billion to not-for-profit organizations. All told, some 15,000 secular groups and 3,000 faith-based groups benefited.

The White House is delivering a state-by-state report today to the nation's governors, assembled in Washington for an annual meeting.

"I'm a big believer that government ought to empower people who have got a great capacity to help change people's lives,'' Bush told the governors in a meeting at the White House. "Sometimes I like to say government is not a very loving organization, it's an organization of law and justice. But there are thousands of loving people who are willing, if given help, to interface with brothers and sisters across the country that need help.

"There's 35 faith-based offices set up in different states,'' Bush told them. "And for those of you who've got them, I thank you. We want to help you -- want to coordinate. If you don't have one, I strongly urge you to take a look at what other governors have done.

"Billions of dollars have now gone into help these different community or faith-based groups meet specific needs,'' said the president, who signed executive orders directing that faith-based and nonprofit groups should be able to compete for federal funding on "a level playing field'' with governmental agencies.

"I want to thank you for your cooperation, to the extent that you feel comfortable doing so,'' Bush told the governors "It's making a huge difference in people's lives, and I congratulate you all.''

See the White House's accounting of the program here.

Sen. Barack Obama is dressed as a Somali elder by Sheikh Mahmed Hassan during his visit to a rural area in northeastern Kenya, near Somalia and Ethiopia borders. The garb was presented to Obama by elders in Wajir. Obama's estranged late father was Kenyan and Obama visited the country in 2006. (AP photo)

by Jill Zuckman

Acid comments and tart replies mark the Democrats’ fractious race for the nomination today as a photo of Sen. Barack Obama dressed in traditional African garb found its way onto the Drudge Report website.

Obama’s campaign blamed Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign for distributing the photograph, which was taken during his official trip to Africa in 2006, in an effort to smear him as somehow un-American. Clinton’s campaign complained that Obama’s operatives are simply trying to distract voters’ attention on a day when the New York senator is scheduled to give a major foreign policy address.

David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, said the other side “has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election.”

He also said it is not unlike attacks Obama has endured this winter from Clinton’s supporters, one of whom helped circulate an email that contended Obama is a Muslim, which is not true, while the other told a reporter that Obama’s use of drugs as a young man would keep him from winning a general election campaign.

“This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it’s exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world," said Plouffe.

But Maggie Williams, Clinton’s campaign manager, responded tersely, suggesting that the Obama-ites are just being too sensitive.

“Enough,” said Williams. “If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely.”

Williams vowed that the Clinton team would not be distracted from its mission as the Ohio and Texas primaries loom large just eight days away.

“This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry,” said Williams.

by Mark Silva

The White House has opened the week with some harsh words for critics accusing the president of "scare tactics'' in his press for new terrorist surveillance legislation, with the Bush administration insisting that congressional inaction has left Americans vulnerable.

"There is an old rhetorical tactic in Washington: you repeat something often enough, regardless of whether it’s true, and hope people will start to believe it,'' White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a written statement issued today. "This has been the preferred tactic of many Democrats involved in the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act( debate, and the Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees employ it again in an op-ed published today in the Washington Post.''

Chairmen Jay Rockefeller, Patrick Leahy, Silvestre Reyes and John Conyers write in the piece published by the Post today: "Unfortunately, instead of working with Congress to achieve the best policies to keep our country safe, once again President Bush has resorted to scare tactics and political games.

"In November, the House passed legislation to give U.S. intelligence agencies strong tools to intercept terrorist communications that transit the United States,'' the committee chairmen write. "Almost two weeks ago, the Senate passed similar legislation. The Senate bill also contains a provision to grant retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that assisted the executive branch in conducting surveillance programs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"While the four of us may have our differences on what language a final bill should contain, we agree on several points,'' they write.

"First, our country did not "go dark" on Feb. 16 when the Protect America Act (PAA) expired. Despite President Bush's overheated rhetoric on this issue, the government's orders under that act will last until at least August. These orders could cover every known terrorist group and foreign target. No surveillance stopped. If a new member of a known group, a new phone number or a new e-mail address is identified, U.S. intelligence can add it to the existing orders, and surveillance can begin immediately.''

by Glenn Thrush

It's no secret that Hillary Clinton's tactical commando Harold Ickes isn't crazy about the campaign's top strategist Mark Penn, and a little of that contempt peeked through during this morning's Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington.

"Many people and many pollsters – including our chief strategist—I daresay, [thought] we we had no chance of winning in New Hampshire," Ickes, who is working to head off the loss of Clinton super delegates, told reporters. Penn's internal polling, insiders say, showed Clinton losing by double digits.

When he was asked a question about Clinton's broader strategy, he demurred, quipping, "I'm not the chief strategist -- I'm the assistant sanitation commissioner... I'm not in the high realms."

Ickes message was for observers to stop their "rush to judgment" about the state of Clinton's candidacy and her overall chances pending the make-or-break March 4th showdown in Texas and Ohio. Echoing Bill Clinton's recent comments, Ickes hinted the former first lady might drop out if she loses either.

"If we lose in Texas and Ohio, Mrs. Clinton will have to make her decision as to whether she moves forward," he said.

Ickes also called upon DNC Chairman Howard Dean to broker a compromise to seat some or all of the delegates from Florida and Michigan, states which were stripped of their delegates.

He dismissed criticism he had voted to deprive the states of their representation at a DNC meeting in 2007, saying, "As we all know in this city I have a very short memory."

Ickes traded barbs with PBS commentator Mark Shields, who worked with him on Ed Muskie's disastrous 1972 campaign. "Together we took him from 72 to seven percent," Ickes said.

by Mark Silva and updated

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York holds an eight-percentage-point advantage over Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois among likely Democratic voters in Ohio, according to the results of a new Ohio Poll this morning which arrive as welcome news for Clinton’s hopes of regaining her footing in the contest for the party’s presidential nomination.

Clinton drew the support of 47 percent of those surveyed in the new poll, Obama 39 percent. Yet there is a wild card in the results of this new survey: 9 percent of the likely Democratic voters surveyed said they intend to vote for former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who has withdrawn from the race, and 4 percent were undecided.

The spread between Clinton and Obama also stands at the edges of the poll's potential 4.3 percentage-point margin of error.

In addition, while the Ohio Poll has no benchmark by which to compare Clinton's position today with her stance in recent weeks, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows Clinton has lost some of the advantage she had over Obama in Ohio just two weeks ago.

Clinton has a 51-40 percentage point advantage over Obama among Ohio Democratic voters in the Quinnipiac poll released today. This compares with her 55-34 point advantage in survey run by Quinnipiac earlier this month and reported on Feb. 14. The newest Feb. 18-23 survey of 1,853 Ohio registered voters carries a possible margin of error of 2.3 percent.

The results of these Ohio polls arrive on the eve of a televised debate between Clinton and Obama in one of the states which Clinton counts on to breathe new life into her presidential campaign. Following a string of primary and caucus victories for Obama, Clinton is counting on voters in Ohio and Texas on March 4 to reaffirm her claim as a contender for the nomination. The two face each other in debate Tuesday night.

The Ohio debate also raises the question of which Clinton will show up:

The smiling, conciliatory Clinton who debated Obama in Texas last week in a largely civil encounter in which both refrained from bitter campaign-trail rhetoric.

Or the explosive Clinton who declared, “Shame on you, Barack Obama,’’ on the road in recent days, complaining about campaign mailings which the Obama camp has sent to voters – and the derisive Clinton who mocks the platitudes of the Obama campaign as playing to some sort of “celestial-choir’’ vision of miraculous results with empty rhetoric.

The Ohio polls suggest that Clinton might want to play the debate presidentially -- firm, but without the appearance of worry about any threat in her highly successful rival. Obama is likely to reprise his own appearance in Texas last week, playing to the same level of confidence.

by Frank James

Obama fever could be spreading in some rather unpredictable ways.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican conservative from Texas, surprised George Stephanopoulous, the host of ABC News's "This Week" program, me and no doubt many others when she told him Sunday that talking with the enemy might be just the way to go in the case of Cuba.

MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me turn to the issue of Cuba -- excuse me -- because I think this might be an area where you and Senator Biden disagree. He said this may be a moment now, the moment when Raul Castro comes in, to talk with the Cubans, to relax, to increase remittances, increase the contacts between the United States and Cuba. Do you agree?

SEN. HUTCHISON: I have believed for a while that we should be looking at a new strategy for Cuba and that is opening more trade, especially food trade, especially if we can give the people more contact with the outside world, if we can build up an economy that might make the people more able to fight the dictatorship, I think that's something that we should have considered a while back, honestly.

MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: No kidding? Including now talking with Raul Castro?

SEN. HUTCHISON: Well, I think if we had -- if we can change the Sunni chieftains in Iraq, some of which were helping the insurgents against us, maybe talking to someone who seems to be a hardcore enemy doesn't hurt anything and it might help.

MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: That's very interesting. Thanks very much. ..

To be fair, Hutchison didn't say that the president of the United States should talk with Raul Castro, Cuba's new president. But she certainly sounded like she could be open to that. If the Cubans insisted that they would talk only if the heads of state were eventually to meet, her comments suggested she might go for that.

Of course, it was Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, who caught grief from conservatives and his Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, for suggesting that he would meet as president with the leaders of such enemy states as Cuba, Iran and North Korea.

by Mark Silva

George W. Bush was a governor before becoming president, and sat through many of the assemblies of the nation’s governors like the one – his last as president – that he will address tonight.

And Sunday night at the White House, over a state dinner of Hudson River duck, the soon-to-be lame duck president raised a glass in toast to the governors dining with him.

“You know, I've developed a unique perspective on this event,’’ Bush told his guests last night in the State Dining Room. “For six years, I sat and watched the president speak. For eight years, I was the president and spoke.

“And next year,’’ he said to laughter, “I'll be watching on C-SPAN.’’

(Bush toasts the governors. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian.)

Saturday Night Live's rendition of the Clinton-Obama debate.

by Rick Pearson

BOSTON — Hillary Clinton’s campaign has long felt that Barack Obama has been the beneficiary of favorable media coverage in the Democratic presidential contest while she has received harsh treatment.

But now her campaign is finding some comfort from a weekend comedy show and Clinton, herself, told supporters Sunday night that she has “this sense that finally my opponent is getting maybe a little bit of scrutiny.”

“How many of you saw Saturday Night Live?” she asked at a fundraiser in Boston, her campaign saying she collected about $500,000 for the evening.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Monday, February 25.

The Supreme Court is meeting to hand down decisions and hear cases, including one that turns on whether hiding funds with no design to create the appearance of legitimate wealth is sufficient to support a money-laundering conviction.

The National Governors Association is holding its annual winter meeting.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is releasing a new report detailing the religious affiliation of the American public.

by Rick Pearson

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hillary Clinton today mocked Barack Obama’s campaign style as one that portrays a divine-like picture of problem-solving to voters when the challenges America face are much more complex.

Delivering a speech to several thousand people at Rhode Island College, Clinton also contended Obama had given up on implementing a universal health insurance program that she said should go hand-in-hand with other Democratic led achievements such as Social Security and Medicare as grand social programs.

Clinton discussed a litany of challenges facing the country, ranging from home foreclosure to responsibly bring troops home from the Iraq war.

“None of the problems we face will be easily solved,” she said before delivering a fanciful description of an Obama speech.

“Now I could stand up here and say, ‘Let’s just get everybody together. Let’s get unified. The sky will open. The lights will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.’

by Mike Dorning

LORAIN, Ohio—Barack Obama continued to press rival Hillary Clinton today on past statements of support for NAFTA and the Clinton Administration’s leading role in securing the trade agreement’s ratification as the two Democrats struggled over Ohio, an industrial state that lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to foreign competitors.

Though Clinton argued on Saturday that the agreement was negotiated by the George W. Bush Administration, Obama laid responsibility squarely with the Clintons for the trade agreement squarely with the Clintons for the trade agreement, which is deeply unpopular here.

“Let’s be clear: It was her husband who got NAFTA passed. In her own book, Senator Clinton called NAFTA one of ‘Bill’s successes’ and ‘legislative victories,’” Obama said, referring to her memoir, Living History.

Speaking to a town hall meeting of manufacturing workers at a gypsum wallboard plant near Cleveland, Obama also cited a 2004 statement in which Clinton said, “I think, on balance, NAFTA has been good for New York and America.”

But he presented himself as a dedicated foe of NAFTA.

“I don’t think NAFTA has been good for America – and I never have,” he said.

Still, in answer to a worker’s question, he offered a position similar to his rival, saying he did not favor repealing the trade agreement but would seek to “amend” it to include greater protection for labor and environmental standards. Clinton has proposed a plan to “fix” NAFTA to address similar concerns.

by Rick Pearson

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — En route to a day of fundraisers and campaign appearances in the little heralded March 4 primary state of Rhode Island, Sen. Hillary Clinton traveled to the back of her campaign plane to look at the art work that press photographers and camerapeople had assembled.

But besides the list of Clinton’s pant-suit wardrobe and a “For Sale” sign advertising stump speeches, the New York senator also delivered some commentary on the news of the day, including the announcement that Ralph Nader had decided to enter the presidential race.

She also touched on other subjects, including her anger at two political mailings from Barack Obama being sent to Ohio voters on the issues of trade and health care. And she said she understood that many African-American leaders were torn in who to support for the presidency.

In New Orleans earlier, Clinton offered her regrets for any hard feelings stemming from husband Bill Clinton's comments comparing Obama to the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Yet, when asked about that, all the senator would say is: “I’ll have more to say about that some day, but not right now.”

Yesterday, Clinton had lashed out at Obama about a pair of mailings attacking her on the North American Free Trade Agreement and on her plans to mandate that everyone get health insurance as part of her plan for universal health care. Obama’s campaign questioned whether her outrage was feigned as a political strategy.

“I thought they’d stopped. You know, they have been discredited and we called their hand and I thought that it stopped or at least it would have been revised to take into account what was clearly a series of false and misleading statements. And so when this woman on the rope line said look at what I’m getting, I was really surprised because I did think they had either changed or stopped,” she said aboard her campaign plane today.

by Rick Pearson

Sen. Hillary Clinton, suggesting that Ralph Nader's Green Party candidacy cost the nation the "greenest president'' it could have had with Al Gore in 2000, said today that Nader's new candidacy for the White House poses an unwelcome distraction.

“Obviously it’s not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is,'' said Clinton, coming back on her campaign plane to speak with reporters. "But it’s a free country.

"I don’t know what party he’ll run on,'' she said. "Where did he run on last time? Does anybody remember? ... Was it on the Green Party?''

He was Green in 2000, an independent in '04.

"Well, you know, his being on the Green Party (ticket) prevented Al Gore from being the greenest president we could have had, and I think that’s really unfortunate,'' Clinton said. "I think we paid a big price for it.”

The impact of Nader's role in the 2000 election was not good for the country, said Clinton, who has spent considerable time campaigning against the policies of the Bush administration.

"This time I hope it doesn’t hurt anyone,'' she said, acknowledging that Democrats pay a higher price for Nader's candidacy than Republicans do. "I can’t think of anybody that would vote for Sen. McCain who would vote for Ralph Nader.''

by Mark Silva and updated with analysis

Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, said today that he will run for president again.

Nader, who played a spoiler's role in the presidential election of 2000, said today on NBC News' Meet the Press that he is ready to run again in 2008.

"I have decided to run for president,'' said Nader, who, at 73, is a couple of years older than the likely Republican nominee, John McCain.

Nader is voicing a familiar refrain: Maintaining that most Americans are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican Parties, and that none of the presidential candidates address ways to combat corporate crime and waste within the Pentagon waste and to promote labor rights.

Nader ran as a third-party candidate in 2000 and 2004.

And many Democrats will never forgive him for the role he played in 2000, when his marginal share of the vote in Florida likely cost Democrat Al Gore victory in a razor-thin, disputed vote.

The days of a third-party candidate claiming a large share of the American vote -- such as the nearly 20 percent that H. Ross Perot won in 1992, playing a role that many Republicans will never forget -- may be gone.

Yet, with elections contested on the margins in many states -- from Iowa to Wisconsin, and from New Hampshire to Florida in recent years -- any active third-party candidacy could have an impact on the Electoral College balance.

And already this year, sizeable numbers of people have voiced discontent with the leading candidates -- discontent manifested in the campaign of Republican Ron Paul, for instance. So the question looms this year: Might Nader play the spoiler once more?

For an analysis of Nader's prospects this year, read on:

(Ralph Nader, photo from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard)

by Mark Silva

In the midst of a raging debate here over the presidential campaign underway, a reader and commentator in the Swamp today made this request: “Please post the job description for President of the United States!’’

What a worthy question at a time like this, for it’s truly worth remembering what the job they are arguing about is all about.

The president is not only commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but also swears to uphold and to protect the Constitution of the United States. He (or she) has the power to pardon criminal offenses, as well as the power of appointment of judges, ambassadors and other officers, with the “advice and consent’’ of the Senate, and the power to make treaties with other nations.

The president must be at least 35 years old at election and a U.S.-born citizen, cannot take a pay-cut, or raise, while in office, must “from time to time’’ report on “the state of the union’’ and cannot commit treason, bribery, “or other high crimes and misdemeanors’’ – unless he or she wants to face impeachment.

It’s all spelled out in Article II of the Constitution, in the sections displayed below: (With thanks to "CP" for asking.)

by Mark Silva

For a guy who promises not to “overstay his welcome’’ in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mike Huckabee was having a hard time leaving the stage last night.

The former Arkansas governor’s appearance in the “Weekend Update’’ news segment of NBC’s Saturday Night Live ended with repeated and ignored cues for his exit, stage right.

Huckabee also admitted to some confusion about the mathematical impossibility of winning his party’s nomination.

“I’m not a math guy,’’ Huckabee said. “I’m more of a miracle guy. So at this point, I’m gonna focus on the miracle part.’’

Actually, this is what Huckabee really says on the campaign trail as well – the ordained Baptist minister “didn’t major in math,’’ he said here in Washington once. “I majored in miracles.’’

(NBC photo of SNL's Seth Meyers and Arkansas' Mike Huckabee)

By Mike Dorning

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Barack Obama on Saturday questioned the reformist commitment of John McCain, portraying the likely Republican nominee’s campaign as tainted by the involvement of the creature that has come to symbolize capital’s culture of influence: the Washington lobbyist.

“It’s indisputable that his top advisers in his campaign are lobbyists, that many of them have been running their business on the campaign bus while they’ve been out with him. And he’s comfortable with that,” Obama said during a media availability in Columbus, Ohio.

Obama called that “a legitimate issue for voters” to consider “if somebody presents themselves as a reformer.”

The Illinois senator also raised the issue earlier in the day, saying in an opening statement at roundtable discussion on health care issues that McCain “takes (lobbyist) money and has put them in charge of his campaign.

McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, co-founded a lobbying firm though Davis on leave from the firm at the moment. Charlie Black, an unpaid senior adviser to McCain, is chairman of the Washington lobbying firm BKSH & Associates. Both of their firms have represented telecommunications companies whose business falls under the jurisdiction of the Senate Commerce Committee on which McCain is the senior Republican member.

Aides to Obama said he was referring to a Washington Post article Friday that reported Black does a lot of his lobbying work by telephone from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus.

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for McCain said that Obama is “trying to divert attention from the issues the American people care about. John McCain has been a champion of reform and change in Washington.”

A McCain campaign aide who asked not to be identified said Davis has not been a registered lobbyist for two years. The aide said Black “is an unpaid volunteer and does not and will not lobby Senator McCain.”

McCain’s ties to lobbyists have been the focus of attention since the New York Times reported several days ago that McCain aides were so alarmed by the senator’s close relationship with a then-31-year-old telecommunications lobbyist in 1999 as he was preparing for his last president that they confronted him and acted to keep her away from him at his office and political events. McCain has denied the report, which was based on anonymous sources.

Obama demurred when asked about the article.

“I have not studied that carefully and so I can’t really measure what’s going on there,” the Illinois senator responded.

by Mark Silva

As Hollywood prepares to honor its finest actors and actresses and celebrate its finest films, we thought it might be time to award some campaign Oscars as well.

But, because there is so much competition for the gold this year, we start with a required cast of finalists for your consideration. Cast your votes, or additional nominations, in the comments below.

And finalists for BEST ACTOR are….

Bill Clinton, for acting like he’s really campaigning for someone else.

Mike Huckabee, for acting like he doesn’t believe in evolution.

John McCain, for acting like he likes President Bush.

Barack Obama, for acting “audacious’’ about running with a “funny name.’’

Mitt Romney, for acting like he didn’t mind losing $50 million of his own money.

For BEST ACTRESS:

Hillary Clinton, for acting like she was crying.

Cindy McCain, for acting like she wasn’t worried about The New York Times.

Michelle Obama, for acting like her husband is the candidate.

Nancy Pelosi, for acting like she was listening at the State of the Union.

Oprah Winfrey, for acting.

by Mike Dorning

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Barack Obama today suggested that a passionate denunciation Hillary Clinton delivered this morning assailing his campaign for “Karl Rove” tactics may have been just so much performance art for the cameras.

Clinton blasted the Obama campaign for flyers sent to Ohio voters arguing mandates to purchase insurance contained in her health care plan would “punish” people who cannot afford health insurance, as well as another Obama flyer that highlighted past praise for NAFTA, a trade deal that is anathema to many in the state.

Noting that the literature “started going out several days ago, if not weeks ago,” Obama said he was “puzzled by the sudden change of tone.”

“Unless these were just brought to her attention, it makes me think there’s something tactical about her getting so exercised this morning,” added Obama, who defended the flyers as accurate portrayals of Clinton’s positions at a hastily arranged press availability while he was campaigning in Columbus.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said the literature on NAFTA was sent out to Ohio voters more than a week ago and the literature criticizing Clinton’s health care plan was sent out several days earlier.

by Rick Pearson

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Here's a quote of this campaign day, from the Ohio primary contest in which Barack Obama is campaigning as the agent of change and Hillary Clinton is running as the voice of experience.

Clinton, too, knows how to make change, she maintained here today.

"I have a proven record of making change as a change maker," she told a crowd in the gymnasium of Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio.

The unmistakeable message for voters: Keep the change.

By Jim Tankersley

A group of Barack Obama supporters in Ohio have filed a formal complaint to the Federal Elections Commission, asking the nation's top campaign finance regulators to investigate and potentially shut down - and prosecute - an outside group that has pledged to run advertisements boosting Hillary Clinton in Ohio and Texas.

As Mark Naymik reported in the Plain Dealer of Cleveland, Ohio, earlier today, a Cleveland lawyer and Obama backer (who was a failed candidate for Ohio attorney general in 2006) named Subodh Chandra filed the complaint on behalf of three low-income Ohioan Obama supporters. The complaint alleges the pro-Clinton American Leadership Project, which is organized as a so-called "527" group that is set up to advocate on political issues, violates campaign finance laws because the only issue it appears to advocate is ... Hillary Clinton's election.

"The project's exclusive purpose (is) to support Senator Clinton's campaign through the funding and airing of sham issue ads," the complaint alleges -- and to allow "maxed-out" financial supporters to circumvent federal election rules and continue to help Clinton.

The complaint says the Leadership Project should have registered as a political committee and been subject to federal fundraising limits. It requests "an expedited civil investigation, fines, immediate injunctive relief to prevent irreparable tainting of the primaries and, if appropriate, a referral for criminal investigation."

The Obama campaign complained about the Leadership Project earlier this week but said it would leave any FEC complaints up to others.

by Christi Parsons and John McCormick

Two hours into a town hall meeting in Texas, it was clear that Barack Obama wasn't close to finishing talking. He had deliered an eight-minute answer on health care, after which a few dozen people started leaving.

"Just relax," Obama told the remaining audience. "Take your time."

For a speaker best known for his lofty and airy rhetoric, it's an ironic reality that Obama's public appearances very often turn into drawn-out dissertations. In fact, read side-by-side with the other candidates' current stump speeches, the Obama script makes at least as many references to policy proposals as do theirs.

For more on this analysis of the stump speeches, see this story in Sunday's Tribune, appearing now in the early editions and here in the Swamp:

by Mark Silva

It's cold and gray in Washington today.

But that didn't stop the mountain-biker-in-chief from making his appointed rounds in the muddy woods of Maryland.

"On an overcast and dreary morning'' today's White House pooler reports, the president "hopped aboard his ride to the Secret Service training facility in Beltsville, Md, at 8:26 a.m. ( EST). The entourage arrived at 8:51 a.m.

"After some bicycling unseen by your pool, the convoy was rolling again at 10:29 a.m. The return route took in some city streets of Southeast (Washington), passing some boarded up housing and the Historic Congressional Cemetery. An uneventful return to the White House ended at 10:56 a.m.

"No sighting of the president, although a trail bike carried back showed it had been through plenty of mud.''

With thanks to pooler Bartholomew Sullivan of Scripps Howard News Service, who notes that we will see no more such notes today because at the W.H. now, "a lid has been called.''

by Rick Pearson and updated

CINCINNATI — Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton lashed out at rival Barack Obama today for using a strategy out of “Karl Rove’s playbook” by making grandiose speeches of hope while sending Ohioans what she called “false and discredited mailings” on health care and trade policy.

“Shame on you Barack Obama,” Clinton told reporters after delivering a speech at Cincinnati Technical and Community College in which she reminded voters that in 2000, an untested George W. Bush called for change--just as Obama is now--and “the American people got shafted.”

Obama's campaign quickly responded, noting that Clinton's top spokesman, Howard Wolfson, once called one Democrat comparing another Democrat to George Bush as "the worst kind of tactical political maneuvering."

Clinton, facing increased pressure to do well in Ohio and Texas, two major March 4 primary states, to continue her campaign against the front-running Obama, sought to raise in voters minds an image of a Democratic contender using Republican tactics to win.

by Mark Silva

With Congress returning to Washington, and President Bush back from a tour of Africa, the president is calling on congressional leaders to hand him a surveillance bill that protects private telecommunications companies from lawsuits in aiding the government's secretive monitoring of suspected terrorists.

The legal immunity for telecoms is one of the non-negotiable parts of the president's demands for a new law updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The measure had been updated with a temporary law that expired one week ago today, with the White House complaining that Congress left the United States more vulnerable without this law.

The Senate has approved the immunity provision, but the House has not. Now, Bush insists, it is time for both to finish work on an acceptable law to keep the nation safe. And he is portraying the struggle as a question of serving some special interests: Trial lawyers.

"When Congress reconvenes on Monday, members of the House have a choice to make: They can empower the trial bar -- or they can empower the intelligence community,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address today. "They can help class action trial lawyers sue for billions of dollars -- or they can help our intelligence officials protect millions of lives.

"They can put our national security in the hands of plaintiffs' lawyers -- or they can entrust it to the men and women of our government who work day and night to keep us safe,'' he said.

"As they make their choice, members of Congress must never forget: Somewhere in the world, at this very moment, terrorists are planning the next attack on America,'' Bush said in his address. "And to protect America from such attacks, we must protect our telecommunications companies from abusive lawsuits''

See the full address here:

By Jim Tankersley

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Like any other high-level surrogate, Ted Strickland does not mince words when he contrasts his preferred presidential candidate with her rival for the Democratic nomination.

"I don't know what kind of change Mr. Obama would bring," Strickland said this week in an interview in his ground-level office in Ohio's state capital. "I do know what kind of change Sen. Clinton would bring" - on veterans, the Iraq war, the mortgage crisis and health care - "because she's been very specific."

Strickland is not just any high-level surrogate. He is the governor of Ohio, the first Democrat to hold that job in 16 years, with a sky-high approval rating and a well-tuned statewide political operation. He is also a longtime friend of Hillary and Bill Clinton, stretching back to his days in Congress during the Clinton administration, when he worked with Hillary on universal health care and secured critical assistance from Bill that helped save his political career.

Now, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign faces a must-win primary in Ohio on March 4 - and Strickland has gone all out to deliver a victory. See my full report on the relationship that could be Hillary Clinton's last, best hope in today's Tribune.

by Mark Silva

Karl Rove, former chief political adviser to President Bush and "architect'' of the president's election campaigns, once sought salacious photographs of the Democratic governor of Alabama, an aide to the convicted ex-governor tells CBS News' 60 Minutes in an interview airing Sunday.

Yet there is no truth to this allegation, according to Rove's lawyer, who tells the Tribune the president's adviser never asked for any such thing.

The Republican operative in Alabama tells CBS that Rove asked her to try to prove the state's Democratic governor was unfaithful to his wife in an effort to thwart the highly successful politician's re-election. Rove's attempt to smear Don Siegelman was part of a Republican campaign to ruin him that finally succeeded in imprisoning him, says the operative, Jill Simpson, in an interview with 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley.

CBS News says: "Simpson spoke to Pelley because, she says, Siegelman's seven-year sentence for bribery bothers her. She recalls what Rove, then President Bush's senior political adviser, asked her to do at a 2001 meeting in this exchange from Sunday's report:

"Karl Rove asked you to take pictures of Siegelman?" asks Pelley. "Yes," replies Simpson. "In a compromising, sexual position with one of his aides," clarifies Pelley. "Yes, if I could," says Simpson.

"Simpson says she found no evidence of infidelity despite months of observation,'' CBS reports. "She tells Pelley that Rove had made requests for information from her before in her capacity as an "opposition researcher" for Republicans running for office.

Rove would not speak to 60 Minutes, but elsewhere has denied being involved in efforts to discredit Siegelman. But Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, offered this comment for the Tribune:

"At no time did Karl ask Ms. Simpson, or anyone else, to take compromising photos of Gov. Siegelman,'' said Luskin, suggesting this isn't the first time Simpson has steered people astray. "There was no truth to her earlier allegations and no truth to this one, either.''

by Matthew Hay Brown

Rep. Rick Renzi, the Arizona Republican indicted today for extortion, money laundering, wire fraud and other charges relating to a land deal in his home, now faces pressure from the GOP House leadership to step down.

“I have made it clear that I will hold our Members to the highest standards of ethical conduct,” House Minority Leader John A. Boehner said today in a statement. “The charges contained in this indictment are completely unacceptable for a Member of Congress, and I strongly urge Rep. Renzi to seriously consider whether he can continue to effectively represent his constituents under these circumstances.”

The 26-page federal indictment unsealed in Arizona this morning accuses Renzi and two former business partners of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government, the Associated Press is reporting. One of Renzi's associates netted $4.5 million in the deal.

Renzi is a state co-chair for presidential candidate John McCain. In Indianapolis today, the Arizona senator told reporters, “I’m sorry. I feel for the family. As you know he has 12 children.”

Republicans, who lost control of the House in 2006 in part due to a succession of scandals, have demonstrated a heightened sensitivity to appearances of impropriety among their members. Rep. John Doolittle, a California Republican under investigation for ties with the convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced under pressure from GOP leaders that he would not seek reelection.

Southern Methodist University President R. Gerald Turner, left, shakes hands with Donald L. Evans, chair of the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, after signing agreement to build the library at SMU during a Feb. 22, 2008 ceremony in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

by Mark Silva

It’s official.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library will be built at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, alma mater of First Lady Laura Bush.

It’s also still controversial.

Bishops and retired bishops within the Methodist Church who parted ways with President Bush over the war in Iraq, and some members of the SMU faculty as well, have opposed the placement of the Bush library at the campus because of the research institute that will be attached to it – a think tank pursuing the philosophies of the 43rd president.

“When he dedicated the first presidential library,’’ Bush said of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a letter today to SMU President Gerald Turner, Roosevelt said “he hoped the public would use it to ‘learn from the past’ and ‘gain judgment in creating their own future.’ I hope the same will be true of this library.’’

Yet many academicians at the Methodist Church-owned university worry that some of the lessons of the Bush administration’s past pursued in future studies at the new Bush institute will tarnish their own reputation for independent scholarship and forever associate the school as a sponsor of the controversial Bush administration’s ideologies.

"I’m more optimistic about winning this fight now than I’ve ever been,’’ the Rev. Andrew Weaver of New York, a pscyhologist and Methodist minister fighting the library, said today.

by Frank James

The New York Time's story on Sen. John McCain and the lobbyist, hasn't only pitted conservatives against the New York Times; it also has had journalists in newsrooms, on university campuses and in non-profits devoted to journalism debating the story's merits and the Times's handling of it as well.

Howard Kurtz, the Washington Post media critic, captures the arguments on either side in a piece that went up on the Post's website this afternoon.

Media analysts are divided over the bombshell piece, which relied heavily on unnamed sources. If the Times couldn't make the case that McCain and Iseman had an intimate relationship -- and both have denied it -- was it fair to raise the issue? If a crucial allegation was that McCain aides, in 1999 and 2000, told the senator they were worried that the relationship appeared inappropriate and warned Iseman to stay away from their boss, is that worthy of front-page display? If the relevance rests on McCain having written letters to federal regulators nearly a decade ago that would have benefited Iseman's telecommunications clients, is that less newsworthy because it was reported at the time?

"This is a story that rests on the suspicions, unproven, of unnamed sources," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Washington-based Project for Excellence in Journalism. "That creates a problem for the New York Times. We're not in an age of trust-me journalism. . . . What you have is a story that some staffers were worried about something. Their worries could well be unfounded, and we don't know that."

But Alex Jones, who runs Harvard's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics & Public Policy, called the story "absolutely appropriate. When you run for president, you should have your record scrutinized closely in every respect." Jones, a former Times reporter, said the paper demonstrated that McCain and Iseman had "a very close relationship. . . . The only thing that seems to be in dispute is whether it was a romantic relationship, and that, frankly, is the least important part of it."

At another point he has two other journalists expressing antipodal views:

Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum objects to "the transparent thinness of the reporting. If the Times has evidence that McCain had an affair, they should come out with it. If they have evidence that he showed improper favoritism toward a lobbyist, they should come out with that, too. The fact that they do neither -- most of the article rehashes old stories -- must mean they don't have anything at all; perhaps they are hoping the blogosphere will produce it. The only 'evidence' comes from two anonymous aides who claim they told Iseman to buzz off and stop distracting their boss -- behavior which strikes me as quite normal and rather admirable. Sounds like they were doing their job.

"Thanks to lack of evidence, the article reads not like an exposé but like an elaborate and extended piece of insinuation. Surely this must (sic) will damage the New York Times more than John McCain: Who will believe their reporting on him now?"

Sen. Barack Obama makes remarks during a meeting with students on college affordability, Feb. 22, 2008, at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

by Mike Dorning

EDINBURG, Tex—It’s an old gripe of college students all over the country: professors who assign expensive textbooks that those very same professors just happened to have authored.

Count Barack Obama, who once taught classes at the University of Chicago Law School, among those who sees a conflict of interest in professors who assign mandatory reading and then receive royalties when students purchase the books.

Unbidden, Obama veered onto the topic as he was finishing a roundtable on college affordability today with students at the University of Texas-Pan American, a state school near the Mexican border with a student body that includes many Latinos from financially struggling families.

Noting the enormous cost of textbooks, Obama called the practice "a big scam.”

"Books are a big scam," Obama said. "I taught law at the University of Chicago for 10 years, and one of the biggest scams is law professors write their own text books and then assign it to their students."

“They make a mint. It’s a huge racket,” he added.

Still, the presidential candidate did not propose any government policy changes to address the issue.

Sen. John McCain flanked by his wife Cindy, right, and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, third from right, meets with reporters in Indianapolis, Ind., Friday, Feb. 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

by Frank James

To paraphrase and distort a line from President Abraham Lincoln, God must love lobbyists because he made so many of them.

Even so, lobbyists have been the preferred whipping boys and girls of the current election year, particularly but not exclusively on the Democratic side.

John Edwards, the former presidential candidate, teed off on them every chance he got.

Sen. Barack Obama has also inveighed against lobbyists in an effort to portray himself as a new kind of Washington politician.

But Sen. Hillary Clinton has refused to attack lobbyists as a class, saying that many represent average working people, which is true.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney, the former presidential candidate, got into a shouting match with an Associated Press reporter after the former Massachusetts governor bashed Sen. John McCain for having lobbyists high up in his campaign, with the reporter pointing out that Romney had better stop casting stones since he had lobbyists as top advisors tool.

Today, a day after he was accused in the pages of the New York Times of having too cozy of a relationship with lobbyists, McCain defended those who petition lawmakers on behalf of any number of special interests.

(Photo credit: HO/AFP/Getty Images)

by Matthew Hay Brown

Well, he did say he wasn’t going anywhere.

In the message this week announcing his resignation as president of Cuba, Fidel Castro said he would continue to write the idiosyncratic essays that have been his main means of communicating to Cubans and the world at large since he dropped out of public view in 2006.

While the erstwhile Maximum Leader promised himself a vacation after that announcement appeared in Granma, it’s now just three days later, and he’s back in the Communist Party newspaper. With a presidential campaign underway in the United States, Cuba’s leading pundit apparently couldn’t contain himself.

“I enjoyed watching the embarrassing position of all the candidates” after his announcement Tuesday, he writes. “One by one they were obliged to announce their immediate demands of Cuba in order not to risk losing a single voter. …”

“Half a century of blockade seemed little enough to the favorites. ‘Change, change, change!’ they cried in unison.

“I am in agreement, change! But in the United States. Cuba changed a long while ago …

Updated at 1:30 pm, with dead officer's identity and correcting his gender.

by Frank James and Rick Pearson

A motorcycle officer was fatally injured as he escorted Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign motorcade through Dallas this morning.

The officer identified by police as Victor Lozada-Tirado, who held the rank of senior corporal, was in his 20th year on the police force. Police said he was married and had four children.

Clinton, seeking the Democratic nomination against Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, continued with her campaign event in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, but curtailed a following rally scheduled for Fort Worth.

Pearson, who is traveling with the Clinton campaign, sent me several e-mails in the minutes following the accident. Here's a compilation:

On bus, motorcade motorcycle cop went down Lost helmet. Other motorcade cop comforting the one went down. This is in dallas. Still enroute to event... Just left dealey plaza when it happened... Debris was strewn thruout road, fiberglass from front cycle fender. Pool of blood was very visible by officer. Officer was 30 50 feet in front of bike, on ground, head being comforted by another officer as motorcade was waved by... Hearing its a fatal.

Dealey Plaza, of course, was the site of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Once the motorcade reached its destination, Clinton cancelled a scheduled question and answer session with reporters, and, in a very measured tone, delivered the following statement:

I have just learned of the death of a Dallas police officer in a devastating accident that occurred as the motorcycle officers were leading our cars to this site. We are just heartsick over this loss of life in the line of duty and I have asked that my condolences be relayed to the family. I am going to call them as soon as its appropriate and I have the information to do so. I have placed a call to the chief of police expressing my sympathy. This reminds us once again what our men and women in law enforcement do every single day and it is important that we respect and appreciate their service. I certainly am grateful for all they do for me and, more importantly, what they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas and others across our country. But I just wanted to express my deepest condolences to the family and to the Dallas police department on this tragic, tragic loss.

Later, Clinton cut short a campaign event in Ft. Worth, Tex.

Here is what she told the audience in Ft. Worth:

" And it is for me a very personal moment because I have bneen fortunate over a number of years now to be served not only by the Secret Service, who do an extraordinary job, but they work with police and other law enf officials everywhere we go in the country. So it is deeply, deeply tragic that this loss occurred and I know that our thoughts and our prayers are with his family, with those with whom he served on a daily basis to protect the people of dallas. Because of this tragedy, I know you understand that we can’t have a rally. It would not be appropriate for me to um, take this opportunity as I had planned, to be with you to talk about the election. I think it is self evident how much I appreciate your coming, how grateful I am to you, how important it is that every single day we not only think about those who serve us, and all the ways we are served, but that we express that appreciation to those who take care of making our communities safe, caring for the sick, teaching our children, doing the public service that is really at the core of who we are as Americans and what we want for our future. So thank you very much for being here and God bless you all.

Pearson had this additional information in one of his later e-mails:

Motorcade was from Love Field airport in Dallas enroute to event site at the corner of Center and Zang Streets. Incident occurred shortly after the vehicles had left Dealey Plaza. The motorcycle was lying in the left hand lane with visible skid marks. The officer was lying in the right hand lane, face down, about 50 feet ahead of the bike. No EMTs or emergency personnel had arrived by the time we went through. Event now finished in Dallas and a police led motorcade now taking campaign to event in Fort Worth.

By Jim Tankersley

Two moments stood out for Hillary Clinton in last night's presidential debate with rival Barack Obama, one a zinger that landed with a thud, and one a heartstring-tugger that drew a standing ovation.

Guess which one Clinton is eager to reprise this morning?

Early today, the New York senator's campaign mass e-mailed a clip of Clinton's debate-ending response to a question about the moment in her life that tested her the most. Clinton began with an apparent nod to her husband's White House infidelity - "Well, I think everybody here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life" - then continued through stories about the struggles other people share with her on the campaign trail. She concluded: "You know, the hits I've taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country."

Clinton reprised that message in interviews on morning news shows this morning, and she passed on invitations to build on her boo-drawing debate accusation that Obama, because he echoed his supporter Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in a speech, was "the candidate of change you can Xerox."

by Frank James

In his Washington Post column today, Michael Gerson noted, as have many others, that Sen. John McCain's was quite the mellow fellow at yesterday's press conference at which the presumptive Republican presidential nominee rebutted charges raised in that now infamous New York Times story about his one-time ties to a Washington lobbyist.

Gerson, President Bush's former speechwriter, writes:

In his remarks, McCain's manner was restrained -- the lava bubbled; the volcano did not blow. Yet he managed to dramatically raise the stakes of his confrontation with the Times by essentially accusing the newspaper of shoddy, inaccurate journalism.

McCain, of course, is known for having quite the temper. Over the years, he has lashed out at Senate colleagues and others. And who can forget the seething performance he gave in 2000 in Virginia Beach when he went after the Religious Right, calling them "agents of intolerance"?

But yesterday, he had the aspect of a once volatile parent who had successfully completed an anger-management course. He said repeatedly that he was "disappointed" by the Times for publishing the story.

It probably helped that McCain and his team had weeks to prepare for what they kenw was coming. As Politico.com reports today, the McCain campaign had a damage-control plan on the shelf and ready to go for when the Times finally published the story.

by Rick Pearson and John McCormick

Here's our recap of last night's Democratic presidential debate from the University of Texas, Austin...

AUSTIN, Texas — Barack Obama defended his presidential campaign style as more than just inspirational, and Hillary Clinton got a mixed reaction when she told a debate audience Thursday night that her rival's use of borrowed oratory makes his call for change as genuine as a Xerox copy.

Obama criticized Clinton for trying to discredit those who are backing his campaign as "somehow delusional." But Clinton, crediting Obama as a "passionate, eloquent speaker," said it was not enough to say "let's come together" when the nation faced difficult political obstacles ahead.

In an unusual statement to close the debate, Clinton paid homage to the Democratic presidential campaign's front-runner, saying she was "absolutely honored" to share a stage with Obama.

"I think everybody here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life," she said, apparently referring to her life in the White House with her husband, Bill. But in citing a visit to a veterans hospital and seeing injured soldiers from the Iraq war, she said, "the hits I've taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country."

by Andrew Zajac and Jill Zuckman

Here's our recap of where we were at the end of yesterday with the Sen. John McCain-New York Times story and what McCain's former adviser, John Weaver, told us in an e-mail exchange.

February 22, 2008

WASHINGTON

Sen. John McCain on Thursday adamantly denied having an affair nine years ago with a Washington lobbyist, and his presidential campaign sought to use the furor over the insinuation of one in a New York Times story to shore up his standing with conservatives and raise campaign cash.

McCain advisers worked furiously to turn the spotlight onto the Times, denouncing the story as "shameless," "a total fabrication," "nonsense" and "a smear" by "the biggest liberal newspaper in America."

By midafternoon the Arizona Republican's campaign had e-mailed a fundraising appeal declaring that McCain was under attack by "the liberal establishment and their allies at The New York Times."

McCain said he considered the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, a friend like many others in the lobbying community, but that he had no romantic relationship with the then-31-year-old lobbyist, nor had he taken any positions specifically to benefit her clients.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, February 22.

Howard University and Kent State University are hosting more than 200 students and faculty from 19 universities and military academies in the United States and Canada during their annual National Model North Atlantic Treaty Organization Conference.

The Carnegie Forum has a discussion on "Russia: After the Presidential Election."

The American Enterprise Institute is holding a forum on “Strengthening Freedom in Asia.”

by Frank James

Sen. John McCain's press conference performance today in response to the New York Times story on his ties to a telecommunications lobbyist was apparently good enough to win over some of those who watched it.

HCD Research conducted a focus group over the Internet involving 901 respondents which showed as much.

When asked if they believed McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee, had a relationship with a lobbyist that affected his how he performed his Senate job, more people said "no" after viewing the press conference than they did beforehand.

For instance, before viewing the tape 36 percent of the 901 surveyed answered no to that question. Afterwards, that number rose to 50 percent.

Among Republicans, those answering "no" went from 52 percent to 66 percent. Among Democrats, it went from 28 percent to 38 percent. And among independents, the percentage answering "no" before and after watching the press conference climbed from 28 percent to 47 percent.

HCD's MediaCurves technology showed how the 901 respondents reacted to excerpts of McCain's remarks, graphing the averages of their responses to whether McCain was believable or not.

Not surprisingly, Republicans generally found McCain more believable than independents with Democrats finding him the least believable.

But even among Democrats, his numbers never slipped into the dangerous disbelief zone though they did dip significantly among Democrats when he said the story wasn't true and later when he said he had never done anything in Washington to betray the public trust.

Worth noting is that there was a perceptible though much slighter dip among Republicans and independents at those points also.

In sum, judging from the reaction of those who participated in today's MediaCurves survey, McCain definitely benefited from how and what he responded today to the Times story.

By Lisa Anderson

GOOD EVENING!

The stakes couldn't be higher in Austin, Texas tonight as Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama go one-on-one in a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CNN and airing at 7 PM (CST).

I am blogging for you from my post in New York City, while my colleagues in Austin cover the action on the ground in the Longhorn State.

The crucial, delegate-rich Texas and Ohio primaries are coming up on March 4 and new Washington Post-ABC News polls show the two candidates locked in a Texas tie, while Clinton of New York shows a narrow lead in Ohio over her Senate colleague from Illinois.

Tonight's debate represents their first face-off since their meeting in Hollywood on Jan. 31. They will have only one more planned televised debate--February 26 on MSNBC--before what are shaping up as very close contests in Texas and Ohio.

Clinton, who has lost the last 10 state primaries and caucuses to Obama, desperately needs to win, and win big. To do that, she must use this debate to convince voters that she truly is not only tough enough and experienced enough for the nation's top job, but diplomatic enough to overcome the polarizing image that dogs her.

Obama, who has been on an impressive roll, wants to keep that roll going through the next big contests and beyond. To do that, he must effectively counter Clinton's charges that "the best words in the world aren't enough unless you match them with action." Or, in Texas parlance, that he's all hat and no cattle. And, he must avoid getting lost in the verbal weeds when talking about policy.

Given what has transpired in the last three weeks, it will be interesting to see if the sarsaparilla sweetness that drenched the last encounter between these two will continue or if they are now locked and loaded for a showdown tonight.

By Lisa Anderson

Hello everyone!

In less than two hours, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will go one-on-one in Austin, Texas, at a debate sponsored by CNN - -their first face-off since meeting in Hollywood at the end of January. I will be blogging from my post in Manhattan while my colleagues cover the action on the ground in Texas.

If this sounds like the lead-in to a prizefight, well, that's just about what it is. This is the first of two debates the Democratic presidential candidates are scheduled to hold before the crucial, delegate-rich Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4.

Clinton, who has lost the last 10 state primaries and caucuses to Obama, desperately needs to win, and win big. To do that, she must use this debate-- and the next one on MSNBC on February 26 --to convince voters that she truly is not only tough enough and experienced enough for the nation's top job, but diplomatic enough to overcome the polarizing image that dogs her.

Obama, who has been on an impressive roll, wants to keep that roll going through the next big contests and beyond. To do that, he must effectively counter Clinton's charges that he is, in
Texas parlance, all hat and no cattle. And, he must not get lost in the verbal weeds when talking about policy.

Given what has transpired in the last three weeks, it will be interesting to see if the sarsaparilla sweetness that drenched the last encounter between these two will continue or if they are now locked and loaded for a showdown tonight. The stakes have never been higher in this race.

Stay tuned. I'll be back at 7 pm CST. Please join me then.

by John McCormick

AUSTIN, Texas – Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is criticizing an outside group that has been launched to help Sen. Hillary Clinton in the days before primaries in four states on March 4.

The group, American Leadership Project, a so-called 527 committee, has prepared television ads that are expected to run in Ohio and perhaps in other states.

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Bob Bauer, a lawyer for Obama's campaign, called the effort a "cold, calculated move to violate the law."

An initial ad, posted on YouTube, shows pictures of Clinton, while it takes subtle swipes at Obama without specifically naming him.

"If speeches could create jobs, we wouldn't be facing a recession," the ad says, a similar line of attack Clinton has used herself in recent days.

Asked whether Obama's campaign would actually file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, he suggested that would be left to others. "I don't think we will be the only ones raising the stakes extremely high for this organization," he said.

by James Oliphant

Sunday, the faux-glamor of the presidential race will be temporarily replaced by the real thing: The Academy Awards. (Obama isn't hosting, right?)

Competition for best picture promises to be fierce. There's the epic "There Will Be Blood," the taut "No Country for OId Men" and the lush "Atonement." And then there's also that plucky little indie movie "Juno" about a wisecracking teenager who makes pregnancy seem like just a nine-month trip to the mall.

Lots of people will be rooting for this underdog film to win, including the fun-loving Troy Newman of Operation Rescue. That's the virulent anti-abortion organization based in Wichita, Kan. that has made it its mission to close clinics that provide abortion services by any means necessary. They're the ones who sends trucks around with bloody pictures of fetuses.

In an interview Wednesday, Newman was effusive in his praise of "Juno," saying it marked a cultural turning point. In the film, pregnant Juno goes to a clinic to obtain an abortion, but once there, gets upset and leaves. She decides to have the baby and give it to a wealthy professional couple.

Newman says there is a reason why "Juno" was this year's feel-good sensation. "If she goes and gets an abortion, the movie's over." In other words, abortion is not a crowd-pleaser.

by John McCormick

AUSTIN, Texas -- Sen. Barack Obama declined to comment today on a blockbuster story in the New York Times about a relationship between Sen. John McCain and a Washington lobbyist.

During a tour of a football facility at the University of Texas, Nedra Pickler, a reporter for The Associated Press, asked Obama whether McCain had an inappropriate relationship with lobbyists. She was immediately scolded by head coach Mack Brown.

"Do you know it's inappropriate while we have his time to ask him these inappropriate questions?" Brown asked.

Said Obama with a grin, joking: "Coach solved that one, didn't he? Shame on you Nedra."

by John McCormick

AUSTIN, Texas -- Major organized labor endorsements continue to be delivered to Sen. Barack Obama, with union leaders increasingly sending signals that they believe the time is rapidly approaching for Sen. Hillary Clinton to exit the Democratic nomination race.

"We do think it is time to bring this nomination process to a close," said Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win, an umbrella group that represents seven unions with 6 million members.

Burger made the comment during a conference call with reporters to announce the group's endorsement for Obama.

"There is certainly a movement blowing here," she said, adding that it may be time for Clinton to "recognize" that Obama is benefiting from that desire for change.

"Every time there is a primary, he surges forward," Burger said. "It looks like he is going to be the nominee...We are hoping to get to that point sooner than later."

Burger said Change to Win has 175,000 members in Ohio and 60,000 in Texas. Those states will hold primaries on March 4 and are increasingly being viewed as must-wins for Clinton.

Of the group's seven unions, four had already endorsed the Illinois Democrat: the Service Employees International Union, UNITE Here, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers.

by James Oliphant

In the McCain campaign's full-throttle effort to condemn and belittle the stories connecting him to a sea of special interests, it has brought out one of the biggest guns in Washington.

Bob Bennett is perhaps the best-known lawyer in the city. And in a town of 70,000 well-heeled barristers, that's saying a lot. (He's the brother of Bill, quoted below.) Bennett represented President Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller in the CIA leak investigation. He's also served as defense counsel to Enron, HealthSouth and a number of companies in trouble. He's a lawyer in the tradition of the late Washington titan, Edward Bennett Williams, who was known as "the man to see."

Bennett was retained by the campaign to head off stories such as this one and it appears he dealt with the New York Times directly in the weeks leading up to today's story. Bennett showed up on Fox News Channel last night to address the Times piece and had strong language for the Gray Lady. Here are some excerpts (courtesy of the McCain campaign, naturally.)

by Rick Pearson

LAREDO, Texas—Hillary Clinton concluded her campaign tour of the Texas border country this morning, urging supporters to cast early votes while standing atop the makeshift stage of a flatbed-truck trailer at a rally outside the city’s Old City Hall.

“We’re putting together a winning team in Texas to go to the White House,” the Democratic presidential contender declared as she urged voters to cast ballots for her now, then attend precinct caucuses on March 4 that will award additional delegates.

“If you’re votes are not cast, they can’t be counted. If you’re voices aren’t raised, they can’t be heard,” she said.

Clinton thanked supporters—both voters and campaign contributors—for sticking with her as she indicated the job ahead of her in trying to upset frontrunning rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, will be a difficult one.

by John McCormick

AUSTIN, Texas -- As he prepares for a debate this evening with Sen. Hillary Clinton, word arrived today that Sen. Barack Obama has won another primary of sorts. This one is for Democrats living aboard.

The Associated Press story on the win and what it means for his pledged delegate count is linked here.

by Frank James

Remember the Democratic presidential debate when Sen. Barack Obama said he would have to see former President Bill Clinton dance before he could decide if he was a "brother?" Wonder what he would make of President Bush who swayed his presidential hips to the African rhythms in Liberia, his final stop in his six-nation trip in on that continent.

Check out First Lady Laura in the background. She's got the same moves as the president, just what you'd expect from an old married couple.

Can't say I fault Bush for getting caught up in that west African groove. That was some mighty infectious music. Hard to stay put when you have that blaring next to you. I'd like to downloard that onto my iPod.

by Frank James

A big shout out to the U.S. Navy. They saved the world from the potentially killer rogue spy satellite with a well-placed anti-ballistic missile fired from the U.S.S. Erie.

The tank containing the satellite's toxic hydrazine fuel was evidently ruptured, and it looks promising that the worrisome fuel is no longer a problem.

I'm wondering about one piece of information that was revealed however as a result of the shoot-down, something that might be useful by potential U.S. enemies.

The Pentagon yesterday had considered scrapping the mission when weather forecasts indicated that the waves might be too high.

But when the Erie reached its designated station in the Pacific, if found only two foot waves, well within the Navy's launch limits.

So does this mean a future enemy should just wait for a bad-wave day in order to defeat the U.S.'s sea-based ballistic-missile defense? Just wondering.

In any event, though the Pentagon says the satellite destruction was not about sending a message to the Chinese, who used a missile last year to destroy a weather satellite, it certainly can't hurt that the U.S. military has demonstrated to the world a similar capability.

For proponents of the missile-defense system, the successful strike on the satellite represents a major bragging point.

by Frank James

Bill Bennett, the conservative talk show host and CNN commentator, made an interesting point on CNN this morning, a point you'll likely be hearing a lot more of for some time.

In reacting to the New York Times's story on Sen. John McCain and the lobbyist Vicki Iseman, Bennett said: "The New York Times has done something for John McCain he couldn't do for himself," by rallying the conservative base behind the senator from Arizona.

The same thought likely occurred to a lot of people.

The Times is viewed as the bastion of the nation's liberal elite by conservatives. As such, it is disliked and downright hated by many people and is seen as the epitome of what is wrong, by conservative lights, with the mainstream media.

Thus, when the Times endorsed McCain before the New York primary on Super Tuesday, that embrace just raised conservative suspicions about McCain.

But now a negative story that many conservatives, and not just conservatives, view as unfair to McCain may change that entire dynamic. It may prove to be the gift thadt keeps on giving.

Ed Morrissey who writes the Captain's Quarters blog, says this:

Will this hurt McCain? Not at all. First, this is even older than the smear job the Times did on Rudy Giuliani last year. Second, they don't have a single named source for this story. Third, the Times left out numerous examples where McCain acted against the interests of Iseman and her clients. The effect is likely going to produce more support for McCain among the GOP base, especially given the egregious and salacious nature of the controversy.

The headline on a Townhall.com posting pretty much captures the point:

What's the Quickest Way to Rally Conservatives 'Round McCain?

by Frank James and Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain, holding a press conference today to swiftly respond to news reports of a relationship with a Washington lobbyist, somberly said that he and the woman are simply “friends’’ and she had no undue influence over his actions as an influential Senate committee chairman

“I’m disappointed,’’ the senator said of the stories, arriving at an unwelcome time in his all-but-completed campaign for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. “We’ll move on with the campaign… I’m confident that we’ll move forward and I’m confident that we’ll continue to compete in the primaries… and gain the nomination.

“I am very disappointed in the New York Times,’’ McCain said of the story it published today about McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman. “It’s not true.’’

McCain said he and the lobbyist are “friends… I have seen her on occasions, particularly at receptions and fundraisers and appearances before the committee,’’ said McCain, with his wife, Cindy, standing by his side. “I have many friends in Washington who represent various interests and those who don’t. I consider her a friend.’’

“The question is, do they have access or unwarranted influence,’’ the senator said – and no one has, the former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee added.

"He's a man of great character,'' Cindy McCain said of her husband, with the candidate's wife stepping to the microphone briefly during a press conference on the campaign trail in Ohio lasting about 15 minutes and then stepping back with a smile.

"Something like this is always distracting and disappointing,'' said McCain, speaking somewhat nervously and somberly at the press conference with his wife. "It does distract... It keeps me from talking about the big issue... But hopefully we can get this behind us and continue with the campaign, and I'm confident that we can.''

Wasn't McCain supposed to be the darling of the mainstream media? At least that's what conservative radio talk show hosts have said for years. You don't get any more mainstream than the New York Times and the Washington Post, but McCain clearly isn't feeling like the apple of the eye of those media giants. More like the bull's-eye.

Both newspapers ran front-page stories today about McCain's ties to the Washington lobbyist. The stories anonymously quote former McCain aides who worried that McCain's association with telecommunications lobbyist Iseman in 2000 during his first bid for the party's presidential nomination might damage his well-honed reputation as a politician opposed to special interest.

The stories say a senior McCain adviser in 2000, John Weaver, met with Iseman to ask her to keep her distance from the senator from Arizona. McCain said today that he had no knowledge of Weaver, also a good "friend,'' doing that.

(Swamp editors' note: The Washington Post, in its reporting of McCain's ties to telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman, initially reported that she lobbied for Tribune Broadcasting. That is incorrect, according to Shaun Sheehan, vice president, Washington, Tribune Co. Neither Iseman nor her firm ever has been hired by or on retainer with Tribune Broadcasting, Sheehan said today).

by Christi Parsons

Michelle Obama isn't one to withhold her opinions or take back her own words, but on Wednesday she did clarify a remark that kicked up a tiny flap earlier this week.

On Monday, the wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama told an audience in Wisconsin that, "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country” because voters are hopeful and ready for change.

In an interview with WJAR-TV today, according to the Associated Press, the would-be First Lady said she said she was trying to express pride in how Americans are engaging in the political process right now.

She also said she’s proud of the country and wouldn’t be where she is if not for its possibilities. Some conservatives criticized the candidate's wife for suggesting she wasn't proud of her country before her husband got involved in politics.

by John McCormick

AUSTIN, Texas -- As he travels from the airport here to downtown, Sen. Barack Obama is riding this afternoon with Jim Hoffa, general president of the Teamsters union.

The meeting is taking place as Obama's campaign announced that the Illinois Democrat has received an endorsement from the 1.4 million member union.

“Sen. Obama understands the challenges working people face every day,” Hoffa said in a statement. “He is the candidate in the best position to lead our movement to restore the American dream for working people in this country."

by John McCormick

DALLAS – Sen. Barack Obama kept his dual focus Wednesday on the two fellow senators he hopes to beat to the White House, a day after he easily beat one of them in the Wisconsin primary.

During a rally at the Reunion Arena, Obama repeatedly told an audience his campaign said totaled 17,000 that they have several choices to make in this campaign.

"Today, Sen. Clinton told us that there is a choice in this race, and you know, I couldn't agree with her more," he said. "But contrary to what she's been saying, it's not a choice between speeches and solutions. It's a choice between a politics that offers more of the same divisions and distractions that didn't work in South Carolina and didn't work in Wisconsin and will not work in Texas."

The Illinois Democrat pledged that he would offer "a new politics of commonsense, of common purpose."

As he has throughout his campaign, Obama suggested that he would be a more successful general election candidate than Clinton against a Republican.

"It's a choice between going into the general election with Republicans and independents already united against us, or running with a campaign that has already united Americans of all parties around the agenda for change," he said. "That's the choice."

Obama continued his line of challenging Clinton for not rejecting contributions from federal lobbyists, as he does.

by Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war who suffered torture at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors, said today that President Bush should veto a bill that would prohibit the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrorgation techniques on prisoners.

McCain, an outspoken opponent of waterboarding, voted against the bill, which would limit the CIA to using only 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army field manual. He maintains that waterboarding is already illegal, but that the CIA should not be precluded from using other legal measures in its interrogation of suspected terrorists.

"I knew I would be criticized for it," McCain said of his vote today, while campaigning in Ohio. "I think I can show my record is clear. I said there should be additional techniques allowed to other agencies of government as long as they were not" torture.

"I was on the record as saying that they could use additional techniques as long as they were not cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment," McCain said. "So the vote was in keeping with my clear record of saying that they could have additional techniques, but those techniques could not violate" international rules against torture.''

Bush has said he will veto the legislation, which bars the CIA from using waterboarding, sensory deprivation or other harsh coercive methods to break a prisoner who refuses to answer questions. Those practices were banned by the military in 2006. The vill cleared the House in December, and the Senate approved it last week.

One of the measure's supporters, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) maintains that if the president vetoes the measure "he will be voting in favor of waterboarding."

McCain said this about bills which he might oppose as president: If he is elected, he will veto any measure to which he objects, rather than attaching "signing statements'' which Bush has used to enable his administration to override some of the requirements of many bills which he has signed. "I think if you disagree with a law, you have a constitutional right to veto that, authority to veto that," McCain said today.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

by Frank James

Newsweek columnist Robert Samuelson has a column under the provocative headline: "The Obama Delusion." In it he argues that not enough attention has been paid by us in the media to this: when you cut through all of the senator from Illinois's soaring rhetoric, Sen. Barack Obama is a fairly doctrinaire liberal Democrat pushing rather mainstream ideas.

Chalk up another win for Obama in his effort to capture a bit of that John F. Kennedy image for himself because one of the nation's leading JFK experts, historian Robert Dallek, makes a similar point to Samuelson's, only about the 35th president in his book "An Unfinished Life:John F. Kennedy."

But back to Samuelson. He writes this of Obama:

The subtext of Obama's campaign is that his own life narrative—to become the first African American president, a huge milestone in the nation's journey from slavery—can serve as a metaphor for other political stalemates. Great impasses can be broken with sufficient goodwill, intelligence and energy. "It's not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white," he says. Along with millions of others, I find this a powerful appeal.

But on inspection, the metaphor is a mirage. Repudiating racism is not a magic cure-all for the nation's ills. The task requires independent ideas, and Obama has few. If you examine his agenda, it is completely ordinary, highly partisan, not candid and mostly unresponsive to many pressing national problems.

by John McCormick

DALLAS – It's probably safe to say that you have arrived as a politician when your audience applauds when you blow your nose.

Yes, just a day before a debate in Texas, Sen. Barack Obama has a head cold.

And about a half-hour into a speech here, the Illinois Democrat announced that he had to take a quick break. "Gotta blow my nose here for a second," Obama said.

Out came a Kleenex (or perhaps it was a hankie), and he wiped his nose.

The near-capacity audience at the Reunion Arena, which his campaign said totaled 17,000, broke out in a slightly awkward applause.

Despite the cold, Obama's voice seems as strong as ever. He has a light schedule today and some time to rest up before his debate Thursday evening with Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.

by Christi Parsons

Leaders of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers said today they back Barack Obama for president, with one union official citing the Illinois Democrat's "energy and vision" as the reason.

Obama may also be picking up the endorsement of the Teamsters later, according to an AP report citing unnamed union officials.

News is making the rounds that Obama may meet with Teamster President James P. Hoffa today, prompting this rapid-fire response from the Republican National Committee:

“Nothing says ‘change’ like the Teamsters and James Hoffa," says Alex Conant, RNC spokesman.

by William Neikirk

Uh-oh, inflation is showing its ugly face again. And that could complicate matters for the Federal Reserve in its campaign to lower interest rates.

The closely watched consumer price index, measure of the prices of goods and services a the consumer level, went up a little more than expected in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in a report today.

The CPI increased by 0.4 percent over-all, with higher food costs leading the way. Excluding food and energy prices, however, so-called “core” consumer prices went up a slightly more modest 0.3 percent, still the strongest gain since June 2006.

Such reports do have an impact in the presidential race by keeping the economy as the No. 1 issue. Both sides, though, blame the other for bad economic news. This report will stoke the political fires some more.

by Frank James and Rick Pearson

Texas State Sen. Kirk Watson is in today's news cycle in a big way, certainly unhappily so for him.

When MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked Watson, an Obama supporter, to name some of Obama's legislative accomplishments, Watson couldn't. Certainly an embarrassment for Watson who one might think, as a lawmaker himself might've studied up on Obama's U.S. Senate record just out of curiosity.

It wouldn't surprise if the Obama campaign from hereon out e-mailed more background information to its surrogates like Watson in order to help them help their candidate and to prevent similar televised humiliation. Surrogates are supposed to help the candidate, not give the opposition more ammo.

As could be expected, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Republican National Committee wasted no time in attempting to make hay from Watson's stumble. It plays well into their line of attack that Obama's a greenhorn whose only accomplishment has been to somehow brainwash a good part of the American populace.

Clinton, speaking in New York this morning, said the Obama surrogate’s TV appearance was another sign that has become “more apparent every day” that the Illinois senator has few accomplishments.

by John McCormick

AUSTIN, Texas – Sen. Barack Obama's campaign manager said today it will take double-digit wins in Texas and Ohio for Sen. Hillary Clinton to gain any significant ground in the battle for pledged delegates.

"They probably need to win both of these states by over 20 points," said David Plouffe, speaking to reporters the morning after a sizable primary win in Wisconsin for Obama.

Following wins in Wisconsin and Hawaii on Tuesday, Plouffe said Obama now holds a 159 pledged-delegate lead. "They are going to have to win landslides from here on in to erase it," he said.

If results in the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio are within 5 points or less, Plouffe said the victor would likely only gain a net of about three delegates.

Plouffe called Obama's 17-point win in Wisconsin a "very strong night," then noted that he won the white vote and tied Clinton for the women's vote.

Obama's campaign said there have now been 36 primaries and caucuses and Obama has won 25.

Asked about the likely Republican nominee, Plouffe said he expects Obama to keep most of his focus on Clinton.

"We obviously are still in the middle of a nomination fight," he said. "Sen. Clinton is a strong competitor and we've got four contests ahead of us."

Still, Plouffe suggested Sen. John McCain of Arizona would offer a "third George Bush term," with "the same policy on the economy, the same policy on tax cuts."

Obama is preparing to fly to Dallas, where he will hold a midday rally. His schedule is light in advance of a debate with Clinton Thursday night in Austin.

by Mark Silva

Sen. Barack Obama, fresh from 10 consecutive state primary election and caucus victories in his bid for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, has formally registered as Target No. 1.

Both his rival for the party’s nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and the likely Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain, have taken square aim at the junior senator from Illinois as two of the biggest primaries of the season arrive – the votes in Ohio and Texas on March 4.

The attention of both Clinton and McCain demonstrates just how far Obama has come from the town square in Springfield a little over one year ago when he amassed the first of many large crowds to respond to his calls of hope and change.

And the substantive material of the charges which both are leveling at Obama demonstrate just how strong he may be: They both are challenging his experience.

t is, indeed, the experience of both Clinton and McCain which is causing many voters concern: Voters in both parties are looking at Clinton’s experience as a polarizing figure in American politics, and they are weighing that idea of Clinton II; conservative Republicans are looking at McCain’s experience in immigration reform, campaign finance reform and tax-cutting, and moderate to liberal Republicans are looking at his experience of support for the war and interrogation policies of an administration he long criticized for its conduct of both.

And, ultimately, voters in both parties are focusing on Obama – slightly ahead in the Democratic delegate count, far ahead on the inspiration meter, and posing one ripe target for the Texas and Ohio elections which already are underway today with early voting in Texas.

By Rick Pearson

NEW YORK—After suffering defeats in Wisconsin and Hawaii yesterday, Sen. Hillary Clinton came home to a supportive audience in Manhattan today and told upcoming Democrat primary voters it was time to “get real” about rival Sen. Barack Obama’s record and rhetoric.

Speaking in the auditorium of Hunter College on the Upper East Side, Clinton told the largely female audience that it was “good to be home” and said she had called Obama, the undisputed frontrunner for the presidential nomination, to congratulate him on his previous day’s primary victories.

“He’s had a good couple of weeks and he’s run a good race, but we will be squaring off in primaries in two weeks,” she said. “We’re going to draw the contrasts and make the comparisons and give the people of Ohio and Texas and the other states a real choice.”

by Paul West

Presidential races eventually reach a tipping point. The Democratic contest is fast approaching that point (the Republicans are far beyond it).

In recent nomination fights, early victories in Iowa and New Hampshire proved decisive. Not this year. Easily the most memorable, and gripping, presidential campaign in decades isn’t over yet, even after more than 30 states have voted.

Either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton could win, though the argument for Clinton is growing strained after ten primary and caucus defeats in a row.

The race is no longer even. Obama’s lopsided victories this week in Wisconsin and Hawaii boosted him to his largest lead yet. He alone is nearing the tipping point, and it could be just days away.

by Rick Pearson

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio—Sen. Hillary Clinton, her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on the ropes after losing Wisconsin, looked to industrial Ohio to try to make a last stand March 4 with the help of organized labor.

“Tonight I want to talk to you about the choice you have in this election and why that choice matters. It is about picking a president who relies not just on words but on work—hard work,” she told an audience in an industrial town high school as she sought to intensify her direct criticism of Democratic frontrunner, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

“I am proud to be a pro-labor candidate,” she said, making no mention of the potentially crippling loss she suffered in Wisconsin, which continued Obama’s undefeated string since Super Tuesday on Feb. 5.

Trailing in the national convention delegate count. Clinton finds herself with a lot of ground to make up and little time to do it. While she has already retooled her stump speech into a more populist, middle-class oriented message, her address reflected an urgency in trying to connect to working families as she continued to bash Obama's oratory skills.

by William Neikirk

In a few more months, warm weather will be here and the open road will beckon. But it could be a very expensive open road if oil prices stay as high as they are now.

On Tuesday, for the third time, the price of oil cracked $100 a barrel. This news didn’t seem to create as much attention as the first time this happened, but it should.

As spring approaches, the fact that oil prices keep hovering near the $100 mark is not a welcome development. Warm-weather gasoline is much more expensive, as clean-air rules require the refining of blended gasoline that burns cleaner.

by Jim Tankersley

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Deciding presidential elections is old hat for Ohio. Deciding a presidential nomination? That's a little more novel. And a little more complicated.

As Wisconsin and Hawaii slide into the rearview mirror for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Ohio and its 161 delegates are set to assume an unfamiliar prominence in the presidential primary sweepstakes. The March 4 votes here and in Texas loom as must-wins for Clinton, as she tries to stop Obama's winning streak and keep her White House hopes alive, and a chance for Obama to all-but seal the nomination with a win.

The candidates know the stakes -- and they're responding with television ad blitzes, statewide campaign swings and the sort of grassroots pushes usually reserved for late October around here.

But unlike this fall, when the popular vote winner is guaranteed to take all of Ohio's 20 electoral votes, Clinton and Obama are also playing a complex math game as they target and turn out voters statewide. It's not as convoluted as Texas -- we won't even try to explain the delegate selection process there in this post -- but it's tricky enough to influence where and how the candidates will campaign across the Buckeye State over the next two weeks.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wednesday, February 20.

President Bush is in Ghana.

Achieve Inc. is releasing a 50-state survey of high school reform efforts on the number of states that have raised graduation requirements to the college and work-ready level.

The Supreme Court is handing down decisions.

by Whitney Blair Wyckoff

Lou Dobbs for President?

Americans for Legal Immigration, a group that favors a hard line against illegal immigration, has been pushing the candidacy of the cantankerous CNN host for some time now. But it re-launched a Lou Dobbs campaign Web site this week, now that John McCain is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

In part, this can be seen as a protest message in a campaign where the three remaining candidates favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and a relatively moderate approach toward them. But William Gheen, president and spokesman of the group, known as ALIPAC, said the campaign is no stunt.

So far, 2,034 people have pledged $509,825 if Dobbs decides to run, he said. Gheen hopes that the site will generate enough interest to convince Dobbs to enter the 2008 presidential race.

“We want to show Lou that there’s a pre-established base out there that he can use to quickly re-energize the campaign,” Gheen said. Gheen said that if Dobbs decides to run, ALIPAC would give Dobbs the information that the Web site collects.

by John McCormick

SAN ANTONIO – Although best known for his powerful campaign speeches, there are times when it can feel like you are in a university lecture hall when attending an event with Sen. Barack Obama.

At an outdoor rally here this afternoon, Obama, a former lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, spotted a woman talking on her cell phone during the start of his appearance and he would have none of it.

"I am going to speak for about 15 minutes to 20 minutes, and talk a little bit, as soon as this young lady gets off her phone," Obama said. "She's talking to her girlfriend. She's all like, 'Girl, I got a front-row seat.' Turn off your phone."

There was plenty of laughter, as Obama did his best impression of a sassy woman speaking.

He ended up talking for 30 minutes, then took questions and gave answers for another 50 minutes.

After about an hour, several dozen of his 'students' left the outdoor plaza where several thousand had gathered to see the Illinois Democrat speak.

"Everybody is worried about getting out of the traffic here," Obama said. "Just relax. Take your time."

by Jason George

Today it's battleground Badger State, as Wisconsin voters take to the polls to vote in their state's primary, dolling out 74 Democratic and 40 Republican delegates.

While temperatures across much of Wisconsin today sat in the single digits, the heat is on in this contest, at least on the Democratic side, with Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama trading fiery attacks back and forth Tuesday. Clinton continued her charge today of Obama lifting lines from Gov. Deval Patrick'. (Swamp coverage of the incident can be found here.) Obama, for his part, hit Clinton on her housing plan. (Swamp coverage of Obama's remarks can be found here.)

On the Republican side there's less drama – at least this week – with Sen. John McCain expected to best former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul tonight.

While both of the Democratic candidates will not be in Wisconsin as polls close at 8 p.m. CST – Clinton is in Ohio and Obama is in Texas – look for each camp to spin victory in different directions if they come out on top.
If Obama wins tonight in Wisconsin, and in Hawaii, where he's expected to, it will continue a clean sweep since Super Tuesday, and he'll surely say that the wind is at his back. If Clinton takes Wisconsin, where most polls show her now trailing, she'll be able to argue that Obamania is cooling off and she's best positioned for victory on March 4, when Ohio and Texas residents get to vote and hand out 334 delegates.

Stay tuned to the Swamp tonight for updates from the candidates, their camps and the news out of Wisconsin.

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