by Mark Silva

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Tim Kaine, Democratic governor of one of the long-red states that gave President-elect Barack Obama his electoral college landslide, will serve as chairman of a Democratic National Committee attempting to build upon Obama's success.

Kaine, an early supporter of Obama once viewed as a possible running mate, plans to perform the DNC task part-time from Richmond while finishing his four year term as governor of Virginia. When he is finished as governor in January 2010, he plans to become fulltime chairman of the party.

"He's going to be offered the chairmanship of the DNC and he's going to take it," state House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Armstrong said Kaine sounded him out about the appointment during a phone conversation on New Year's Day, the paper reports.

"He has the ear of the president, and I understand [Obama] wants to expand the role of the DNC,'' he said, " I don't think that hurts us in this part of the world."

The part-time appointment might pose political difficulties for Kaine in Virginia, his home-state paper reports. "He will seek to promote Obama's agenda while coping with Virginia's budget shortfall of nearly $3 billion.

This also marks the passing of an era for a party led by Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont who ran for president in 2004 on an anti-Iraq war platform and served as chairman since then with a vision for waging a "50-state campaign'' for his party. Obama built his success on far fewer states, focusing on battlegrounds such as Virginia that had not voted Democratic since the 1960s.

Kaine was the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse Obama. Both are Harvard graduates and civil-rights lawyers, the paper notes, and their mothers grew up in the small town of El Dorado, Kansas.

By Andrew Zajac

It's the Chicago way. Use the suffering of others to advance yourself.

This time it's the Chicago Republican Party -- yes, there is one -- seeking to capitalize on the misfortune of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to peddle Barack Obama's former Senate seat to the highest bidder.

The local party sent out an email invite recently to "join the party for the post-Blagojevich era."

by Frank James

I wonder if Rep. Tom Reynolds, a New York Republican, kept a straight face when he knocked Democrats for nepotistic, dynastic politics for considering Caroline Kennedy to replace Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

As Politico.com reports:

"Democrats seem to lack a common man who can just win a good, old-fashioned election," said Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "They've got seat-warmers, seat-sellers and the making of pillows for the seats of royalty. No wonder the public wonders what's going on in Washington."

Yes, it's a patently absurd argument for someone whose party has been led by a Bush family member 12 of the last 20 years and whose presidential nominee was the son and grandson of two famous Navy admirals. But there you have it.

by Frank James

There's a lot of suspicion in Washington and throughout the nation that Senate Republicans who thwarted the auto bailout last night were operating from a range of motives, including a desire for payback against the United Auto Workers,

The UAW has been the bane of Senate Republicans, throwing resources and people at defeating Senate Republicans, including no less than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in his recent reelection campaign.

Senate Republicans and organized labor have also been in a pitched battle over legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize workplaces without holding elections featuring secret ballots. Republicans have said the "card check" legislation would allow union heavies to strongarm workers into joining unions against their will.

Organized labor meanwhile has said anti-labor Senate Republicans want to make it harder for unions to organize, including in southern states. Senate Republicans have made it clear that the battle over the legislation will be one of the defining issues of the next Congress.

by Frank James

Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street bigwig arrested Thursday on an alleged massive securities fraud prosecutors call a "Ponzi scheme" was a major Democratic donor.

For instance, in the most recent election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org, he contributed $50,000 in two $25,000 donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chaired by Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat.

He also often frequent contributions over the years to New York area Democrats, including Sens. Hillary Clinton and Frank Lautenberg. Expect to hear Republican demands that Democrats return the money.

Caroline Kennedy waves to the crowd after stumping for then Sen. Barack Obama at the Wilkes University student center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kristen Mullen, The Citizens' Voice)

by Frank James

It's easy to understand some of what must be tugging on Caroline Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy's daughter who, according to reports, is considering seeking the Senate seat from New York being vacated by Sen. Hillary Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be his secretary of state.

A Kennedy has served in the Senate since 1952 when her father was first elected to the body, with only a brief interruption after JFK was elected president.

But her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy has an incurable brain cancer and is 76. The easiest way to ensure that the Kennedy Senate tradition continues would be for her to have New York Gov. David Patterson appoint her to fill the seat.

Of course, the seat being vacated by Clinton was once occupied by Kennedy's other uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, so that's quite possibly another draw.

By Andrew Zajac

Most of the attention paid to the Justice Department these days focuses on its future in a new administration, presumably under the leadership of Eric Holder, President-elect Obama's pick for Attorney General to replace caretaker AG Michael Mukasey.

Holder will have his plate full restoring morale in the 110,000-employee agency plagued by scandal, including the unprecedented firings of nine U.S. attorneys and politicized hiring for civil service posts.

He also may inherit an unpleasant reminder of the partisan handiwork he'll be trying to undo.

by Frank James

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a growing problem and it comes in the form of the raspy voiced Rep. Charlie Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The New York Times has a very strong story today which chronicles what is a clear appearance of conflict of interest on the part of Rangel who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.

The bottom line: Rangel supported keeping a tax loophole that was important to a wealthy oil-drilling executive who pledged $1 million to a City College of New York public-policy school that will bear Rangel's name.

As the Times reports:

Representative Charles B. Rangel has helped raise $11 million for a City College of New York school of public service to be named in his honor. In recent months, as questions have emerged about his fund-raising, he has insisted that he has kept his efforts to attract donors scrupulously separate from his official duties in Congress.

But Congressional records and interviews show that Mr. Rangel was instrumental in preserving a lucrative tax loophole that benefited an oil-drilling company last year, while at the same time its chief executive was pledging $1 million to the project, the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at C.C.N.Y.

by Frank James

Senate Democrats may be angry but they're not stupid.

Many of them would've liked nothing more than to punish Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Independent Democrat as he styles himself, for supporting Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential bid over President-elect Barack Obama's campaign.

There was real sentiment to yank Lieberman's Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chairmanship from him and give him a lesser subcommittee chairmanship.

But Democrats are within striking distance of reaching the 60 votes they need to be able to move controversial legislation through the Senate. With the two independents who caucus with them, and three Senate elections still undecided, they could get there but barely.

So they allowed the senator from Connecticut to keep his chairmanship. The vote was 42 to 13. It was really important to Lieberman to stay in the Homeland committee post since he authored the authorizing legislation for the Homeland Security Department.

"Joe Lieberman is a Democrat. He's part of this caucus," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who said no Democrat was angrier than he was but that he wanted to let bygones be bygones.

An Obama spokeswoman had also publicly indicated that the president-elect was all right with Lieberman keeping his chairmanship. Coming from a former senator who just won a fairly sweeping victory for the White House, certainly made a difference.

by Frank James, updated at 3:25 pm ET

As Congressional Democrats try to come up with a financial package for the U.S. auto industry, Washington policy makers and Americans generally are torn on whether the auto makers should get a bailout or be allowed to go bankrupt.

The question has particular urgency for GM which is facing a cash crunch that could lead it to bankruptcy court in a matter of weeks, according to GM's chief executive Rick Wagoner.

The reason it's such a difficult debate is because there are powerful arguments on both sides.

Those who favor taxpayer money being used to infuse cash into the car makers argue that the collapse of U.S. auto industry would have a huge knock-on affect on an already weakened economy, harming suppliers and communities across the entire country.

by Frank James

Senate Democrats now have 57 members in their caucus, including two independents, and are awaiting the outcome of three additional races in Alaska, Minnesota and Georgia.

Getting those three additional seats would allow them to get up to the magical 60 number which would allow them to steamroller controversial legislation over Republican objections so long as all 60 held together or some Republicans sided with Democrats.

The Alaska Senate race is now looking more promising for the Democrats as Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has taken the lead over federal convict Sen. Ted Stevens in the counting of the remaining ballots.

As the Anchorage Daily News reports:

Mark Begich made a dramatic comeback Wednesday to overtake 40-year incumbent Ted Stevens for the lead in Alaska's U.S. Senate race.

The state Division of Elections tallied about 60,000 absentee, early and questioned ballots from around the state on Wednesday. The ballots broke heavily in the Democrat's favor, erasing the 3,000-vote lead the Republican Stevens held after election night Nov. 4.

by Andrew Zajac

Senate Democrats face long odds to reach the 60 seats they crave to make their majority filibuster-proof, but you wouldn't know it from the intensity of the rhetoric in the run-up to the Dec. 2 run-off election in Georgia for the seat currently held by Republican Saxby Chambliss.

Chambliss was the top vote-getter but he fell just short of the 50 percent required for an outright win, so he's matched up against Democrat Jim Martin, whose party is still smarting from the hardball and some say below-the-belt tactics the GOP employed to dispatch the then-incumbent, Max Cleland, in 2002.

by Frank James

Sen. Joe Lieberman's efforts to hold onto his Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chairmanship may be gaining Joementum.

TPM Election Central is reporting that Stepanie Cutter, an Obama transition spokeswoman, is sending public signals suggesting that President-elect Obama would just as well let bygone be bygones with the independent senator from Connecticut who was a vocal Sen. John McCain supporter.

Here's an excerpt from a posting from Greg Sargent of TPM:

"We aren't going to referee decisions about who should or should not be a committee chair," Obama transition spokesperson Stephanie Cutter emailed me, in response to questions about Obama's stance on Lieberman's future.

"President-elect Obama looks forward to working with anyone to move the country forward," Cutter continued. "We'd be happy to have Sen. Lieberman caucus with the Democrats. We don't hold any grudges."

by Frank James

Being that it's Armistice Day, it seems like perfect timing for Politico's piece on the complicated, uneasy truce between the Obamas and their team and the Clintons and their people. Definitely a clash of personalities between the worlds of No-Drama Obama and All-Drama Bubba and Hillary.

A lot of it comes down to money which, as we all know, has ruined many a good relationship. Evidently, the Clinton people would like to see a lot more help from Obama in retiring the huge campaign debt she ran up trying to destroy Obama.

As Politico reports:

These tensions have created a somewhat schizoid relationship between Clinton and the Obamas - warm on personal matters, warier on political ones, and downright frosty on the still-unresolved issue of Clinton's mountainous campaign debt, which Barack Obama had pledged to help reduce.

Since the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton headlined about three dozen rallies and fundraisers - working rope-lines where well-wishers often lamented her exit from the race.

by Frank James

In an expected move, Dr. Howard Dean is planning to step down as chair of the Democratic National Committee, according to a Huffington Post report.

After four years at the helm of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean is preparing to relinquish his chairmanship.

Dean, who has been serving in the post since 2005, has said in the past that he would serve only one term, though his successful work with the Obama campaign had led some Democrats to wonder whether he would stay on into the next administration. This won't be the case, officials at the DNC confirm. He will serve as chair until his term ends in January. The party will settle on a new head when it hosts a meeting during the week of Obama's inauguration.

There's a rumor that there could be a cabinet post in Dean's future, namely Health and Human Services, which makes sense since he's a physician and a former governor (Vermont) so he has management experience running large organizations.

By Andrew Zajac

The Swamp offers this thought to cheer, or perhaps depress, students of the American political process now on the verge of a lull in the action after one of the longest presidential campaigns in U.S. history:

If John McCain wins, you're likely looking at a campaign to succeed him begin soon after he's sworn in, like maybe right after the dancing stops at the inaugural balls.

by Andrew Zajac

Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune reported on a mysterious pattern of donations to the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain and other, mainly Republican causes from Shi Sheng Hao, of Roselle, Illinois, and people related to him.

The story pointed out that Hao has business ties to the family of Gene and Nora Lum, who were convicted in a Democratic fundraising scandal in the 1990s, and who, it turns out, have kept a family hand in the political money business.

by Frank James

The U.S. Senate race in North Carolina between incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan is so close that Dole has resorted to a much-discussed TV ad that tries to link the Democrat to "Godless Americans"

Hagen has responded with her own ad, accusing Dole of violating the Ninth Commandment against bearing false witness.

One way of looking at this is obviously the way most people have, which is that Dole is so desperate that she's resorted to a ridiculously outrageous ad in a last-ditch attempt to stay in her Senate seat.

Another way to look at it, however, is as a testament to how far away North Carolina has moved away from the racial politics of Jesse Helms. An African-American is at the top of the ballot for Democrats this year, yet he's not the focus of the flailing, last-minute Dole ad. Who would have believed that just a few short years ago?

by Andrew Zajac

Companies affiliated with the family of Gene and Nora Lum, who were convicted of making illegal campaign contributions in a Democratic fundraising scandal a decade ago have donated at least $4,800 to the campaigns of Michael Brown, a candidate for Washington D.C. city council, who pleaded guilty in the same scandal.

Brown, the son of the late Ron Brown, a Clinton administration Commerce Secretary and one-time head of the Democratic National Committee, is seeking an at-large seat on the 13-member DC council.

Andrew Zajac

Today's Chicago Tribune features a story about a virtually unknown network of large donors to mostly Republican causes, including the McCain presidential bid.

The main donor, Shi Sheng Hao, lists an address in suburban Chicago and is the largest political donor in Illinois this election cycle who is not a self-funding candidate for office.

Hao, 64, is an intriguing character. He has the same name as a Taiwanese businessman who is embroiled in a legal dispute with Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson over a casino license in Macau. The Taiwanese Hao also has links to members of the Lum family, who were entangled in a high-profile Democratic fundraising scandal in the late 1990s.

While it's not known for certain if the two Haos are one and the same, a series of coincidences strongly suggests they are.

Judge for yourself by reading the story posted below.

by Frank James

The Democratic National Committee had a teleconference late Tuesday to denounce Republicans for alleged hypocrisy on the voter registration fraud issue.

What got the DNC all riled up was the arrest of Mark Jacoby who owns a company hired by the California Republican Party to do voter registration. Jacoby was charged with voter registration fraud, the very same crime Republicans have alleged has been repeatedly committed by the Democratic-leaning group ACORN.

As the Los Angeles Times reported Monday:

by Frank James

Everywhere you turn here in the nation's capital, there seems a growing consensus that congessional Democrats could gain more than 20 House seats and maybe, just maybe enough in the Senate to get to the magic 60 filibuster-proof votes which would allow Senate Democrats to run fairly untrammeled over Senate Republicans.

Of course, nothing is certain.

One fairly stunning observation from a CQ report (subscription required) today was this: House Democrats have put 73 of the Republicans' 199 current seats in play. Republicans will hold onto most of those seats but it gives an idea of how much territory Republicans have to defend this year:

by Frank James

One of the biggest question marks right now about what will happen on Election Day is whether Democrats will gain a filibuster-proof Senate by reaching 60 votes.

The filibuster, of course, is the way that the Senate minority can step on the brakes and stop the majority in its tracks. If the majority can't get to 60, it can't end debate on legislation and the bill is essentially blocked.

by Frank James

ABC News is reporting that Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Florida Democrat who replaced Mark Foley of the congressional page scandal, paid his alleged mistress, according to past and present staff members who charge that he was trying to buy her silence.

According to ABC News's The Blotter:

West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee.

Mahoney was elected two years ago following the abrupt resignation of his disgraced predecessor, Republican Mark Foley, whose lewd internet messages to teenage boys and Congressional pages created a national outrage.

We're guessing we'll be hearing a lot more about this in coming days, especially from Republicans. You know what they say about payback.

Mahoney's district leans Republican. President Bush won 54 percent of the vote in 2004 and 53 percent in 2000. He's in a tough re-election race against Republican Tom Rooney, grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney.

Coincidentally, it was ABC News back in 2006 that broke the Foley story right before that election in which Republicans lost control of the House.

By Andrew Zajac

Newly-installed Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison, Jr. was national finance chair of John McCain's Republican presidential bid in 2000 and as recently as 2006 he wrote a $5,000 check to McCain's Straight Talk America PAC. But a year later Allison switched his party affiliation to Democrat and this year he's contributed $4,600, the maximum allowed by law, to Barack Obama.

Allison, 65, voted as a registered Republican in New York in the November 2006 election, but a year later registered as a Democrat in Connecticut and voted as one in that state's primary on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

Allison sent a pair of $2,300 checks to the Obama campaign, the most recent on August 25, two weeks before the government seized the struggling mortgage guarantor and put him in charge of it. Previously, Allison's political giving favored Republicans, but he's also donated to New York Sen. Charles Schumer and a few other Democrats.

He hasn't given anything to McCain since 2006, according to the non-partisan Opensecrets.org campaign finance web site.

Rep. Peter DeFazio introduces the "No Bailout Act" with other House members on September 30, 2008 on Capitol Hill. (Photo: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

by Frank James

You know the failed but still alive $700 billion bailout proposal has scrambled politics in the nation's capital when a fairly liberal member of Congress offers a solution to the financial-markets crisis that looks like something a Reagan Administration official created.

Actually that's exactly who created it. Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, took the ideas of William Isaac, who served as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman during the Reagan Administration and created legislation meant to help the capsizing financial markets right themselves.

DeFazio, a vociferous opponent of the Bush Administration's $700 billion Wall Street bailout, calls his legislation the "No BAILOUTS Act" and he talked about it today at a Capitol Hill press conference. He was joined by several other House Democrats:

And the underlying concern we all share is, we question the Paulson premise.

That is that giving him 700, borrowing or printing $700 billion, giving it to him and having him buy bad assets, on Wall Street,somehow will solve the interbank loan problem and even less likely the underlying problems of the economy.

So we're saying here, let's try a different approach....

By Andrew Zajac

One of the weird little ironies in the massive failure of political leadership in Monday's defeat of the Wall Street bailout package involves the role of Republican Minority Leader John Boehner.

After striking a deal with Democrats, Boehner was unable to deliver his caucus. Somewhere, Vernal Riffe and Corwin Nixon are groaning and rolling their eyes.

Boehner has spent the last 17 years in the House, but he cut his political teeth in the Ohio House of Representatives under legendary Democratic Speaker Riffe and Minority Leader Nixon, a canny survivor of numerous plots against him by his own colleagues.

If Boehner learned nothing else from them, he should have learned how to count votes.

by Frank James

No signs yet that the Era of Good Feelings is about to break out in the nation's capital. Check out this press release from the office of House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner:

Boehner Statement on Economic Rescue Package

"The presidential candidates' support for increasing the FDIC cap is welcome news. Increasing the FDIC cap is a proposal put on the table by Roy Blunt and House Republicans but ruled out by Democrats during the negotiations that led to yesterday's unsuccessful vote."

Not quite as bad as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick but a poke no less. Boehner's press office forgot to add the last sentence of "N'yah-n'yah-n'yah-n'yah-n'yah."

By Andrew Zajac

Democrats in Ohio, already rolling a stone uphill in trying to deliver the Buckeye state for Barack Obama, aren't helping the cause with a series of self-inflicted wounds.

The latest is installing term-limited House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty in a ginned-up $320,000 per year job at Ohio State University. That's roughly quadruple her legislative salary and is more than several Ohio university presidents earn.

by Laura Olson

Democrats in Congress may be seeing the impact of the Republican re-excitement.

A USA Today/Gallup survey released Friday shows only a 3 percent lead, 48 percent to 45 percent, among registered voters for Democratic candidates when asking about a generic ballot. Democrats have held a sizable lead in this area since winning back Congress in 2006.

Among likely voters, Republicans now hold a 5 percent lead over Democratic candidates, 50 percent to 45 percent.

The survey, conducted Sept. 5-7, asked voters for their preference between the Democratic candidate and the Republican in their congressional district, without naming specific names.

According to the poll, 92 percent of Democratic voters support the Democratic candidate in their district, and 94 percent of Republicans support the Republican contender. Among independents, 44 percent would choose the Democratic candidate and 40 percent back the Republican.

Congressional Democrats have enjoyed an election outlook predicting gains in both houses, further cementing their majorities. But Gallup researchers pointed several factors that may be boosting Republican candidates, such as Sen. John McCain's improved standing against Sen. Barack Obama in the presidential race, and an increase in GOP party identification among voters.

By Andrew Zajac

A Chicago lawmaker making a list of the most corrupt members of Congress.

Imagine that!

But there it is, the name of Democrat Daniel Lipinski, a first-timer in the annual "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" report issued today by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Lipinski earned the dishonor for employing Oak Lawn village trustee Jerome Hurckes, who, CREW claims, is functioning as an unregistered lobbyist and may also be attempting to circumvent congressional staff restrictions on outside income, among other alleged misdeeds.

Hurckes was a top staffer to nine-term Rep. William O. Lipinski, who retired and passed both his southwest side seat and his key lieutenant on to his son in 2004.

by Frank James

One of the most notable polling results at the time of the 2006 elections was that Democrats had closed the national-security gap versus Republicans who held a long and significant advantage in that area. That was short-lived.

Unfortunately for Democrats, the gap has reopened. Democrats are regaining the reputation with voters as wimps.

Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner has just released a survey that indicates that voters perceive Republicans once again as far and away better on national security issues than Democrats.

Forty nine percent of those surveyed thought Republicans were better on national security while 35 percent thought Democrats better. When it came to combating terrorism, 48 percent thought Republicans superior to Democrats while 33 percent gave Democrats the advantage.

According to the Greenberg study researchers:

The national security credibility gap is returning. Old doubts about Democrats on security, after diminishing during 2006-2007, have begun to re-emerge: concerns that Democrats follow the polls rather than principle; that Democrats are indecisive and are afraid to use force; and that Democrats don't support the military. Because these weaknesses are longstanding and deeply ingrained, and because Republicanweaknesses are newer and do not yet have a label associated with them, Republicans continue to win on many security issues.

The Greenberg poll, done for the think tank Third Way, echoes a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll which found a large lead for Republican Sen. John McCain over his Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama, with McCain holding a ten point lead over Obama on the question: who would be better on the Iraq, a 25 point lead on the handling of international crises and a 28 point lead on being better able to handle terrorism.

Results like these in part explain why the Republicans stressed the military and terrorism at their recently completed convention in St. Paul, Minn. They were trying to run up the score on the Democrats in the national security area.

by Frank James

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Democratic National Committee is suspending its counter-programming efforts in St, Paul in response to the Republican National Committee's decision to significantly scale back the GOP convention on Monday and to take the rest of the week's schedule day by day because of the Hurricane Gustav.

Here's the DNC's press release.

DNC Response to Revised Republican Convention Plans

St. Paul, MN - In light of the situation in the Gulf Coast, the Democratic National Committee announced that is has canceled its daily media briefing at the More of the Same Media Center on Monday, September 1. Additional scheduling updates will be provided when available.

(Our comment boards are broken so please send any comments by e-mail to theswamp@tribune.com and we'll get them up as soon as we can.)

People wait at New Orleans Amtrak station on Aug. 30, 2008 to be evacuated out of the possible path of Hurricane Gustav. Photo: Matthew Hinton/AFP/Getty Images.

by Frank James

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- How competent will the federal government prove to be in preparing for and responding to Hurricane Gustav while the party that controls the Executive Branch hold its national convention?

That question, and the Bush Administration's disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hangs over the Republican Party as it prepares to convene in nearby St. Paul on Monday.

The obvious question is, how will Bush Administration respond this time? Based on what officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency are saying, it will be night and day.

Here's what Adm.. Harvey Johnson (ret) FEMA's deputy administrator and chief operating office, said at a briefing in Washington, D.C. yesterday:

A huge difference between 2008 hurricane season and 2005 hurricane season. We just finished about a two-hour video teleconference, which is about an hour too long. (A good sigh this. It makes Johnson sound like a man of action.)

Contraflows will come into place across almost all states in the Gulf Coast on Sunday morning, about 4:00 or 5:00. All states talking to each other, planning together, sharing resources and working together as a team.

by Andrew Zajac

Much has been made of the fact that tonight's scheduled acceptance speech by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama falls on the same date as Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Our Baltimore Sun colleague David Steele also reminds readers that August 28 also was the date, in 1945, that Branch Rickey met Jackie Robinson and told him he had been picked to break Major League Baseball's color barrier.

As Steele points out in a column this morning , "a straight line can be drawn from Robinson opening the door to the national pastime of a rigidly segregated America to King voicing the ideals of a fully integrated society on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the son of a black father running for the highest office in the land."

DNC billboard that will greet Republicans attending next week's national party convention in St. Paul, Minn.

by Frank James

DENVER -- It's standard operating procedure for the each major political party to have a skunk-at-the-picnic operation at the opposing party's convention.

This week, high-profile Republicans, like Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty have been in Denver, attempting to spoil the festivities by attacking what they see as the vulnerabilities of the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.

Next week, will be the Democrats' turn in St. Paul and they're telling us what they're plans are. One big difference is that will be appreciated by footsore reporters is that the Democrats plan on setting up their anti-McCain war room across the street from the Xcel Center where the GOP convention will be held. The GOP's anti-Obama war room was about a mile away from the Pepsi Center.

Here's what we've received in an e-mail from a Democratic operative.

We're going to have these billboards and bus shelter ads throughout the Twin Cities. We'll also have a "More of the Same Media Center" set up across the street from the Xcel Center and a mobile billboard that will stalk McCain's stops on the run up to the convention. Any chance you can do a post on it?

-- Daily press conference with top notch national and local surrogates (with breakfast!). We'll have a satellite truck on hand to beam it all across the country.

by Frank James

Many Americans, including many Democrats, had never heard Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer deliver a speech before last night. In fact, many had probably never heard of him period. They've heard of him now.

The guy has chops. He has the gift. He gave a great speech, delivered with electricity and oomph.

He probably should've been the keynoter, instead of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner who didn't want to take off the gloves and pummel John McCain because Warner's running for governor in Virginia and he knows full well that McCain is plenty popular in much of the state.

The Obama campaign would not make a mistake if it asked Schweitzer to keep his schedule open so he can make campaign appearances in places like Iowa, Nevada, Missouri and Colorado where he would play well.

Sen. Ted Kennedy's was always the one Democrats looked to for the old-fashioned homerun of a speech that sounds like it could be delivered sans microphone. Clearly Schweitzer is someone who can readily do that.

by Frank James

DENVER -- One of the oddest things about last night's Hillary Clinton speech had nothing to do with the senator.

The Secret Service shut down access to the hall while Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer was delivering his rousing attack on John McCain, leaving hundreds of people unable to get past the party volunteers posted as guards at each of the doorways into the seating area on the first and second levels.

This left hundreds if not thousands of people in the corridors where they had to watch Clinton's speech on TVs stationed around the facility. I nearly became one of those people forced to watch the speech on TV even though the real thing was happening only a few hundred feet away.

After speedwalking around nearly the entire arena and bouncing between floors, I finally made my way to Tribune's broadcasting booth and watched Clinton's speech from there.

This led to one of the evening's best moments, for me at least. Not only did I get to witness Clinton's historic speech, but I got to see WGN-TV anchor Allison Payne, an old acquaintance who I used to bump into on news assignments in Chicago. She was one of several Tribune TV journalists providing coverage of Clinton's speech.

by Frank James

Nature never takes a holiday. It is no respecter of human calendars. Thus we have Tropical Storm Gustav which is churning through the Caribbean and headed according to hurricane experts into the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm has already claimed victims in Haiti and is raising concerns that it will become a category 3 hurricane before making landfall anywhere between the Florida panhandle and Texa's Gulf Coast. New Orleans, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina three years ago, is smack in the middle of the possible cone of probability and reports there indicate that worries there are rising.

Much of the city still bears the scars of the flooding that occurred as a consequence of levee failures after Katrina. And ever since the Army Corps of Engineers started the levee rebuilding project, there have been concerns in New Orleans and beyond about the adequacy of those efforts.

Beyond the anxiety Gustav is causing on the Gulf Coast, it is also jangling political nerves. With the storm on track to make landfall somewhere on the U.S.'s southern coast early next week, it could hit just as the Republican National Convention begins in St. Paul, Minn.

A category 3 storm striking the Gulf Coast would obviously divert attention from the politics of the moment, meaning the Republican convention. It's one thing to have to deal with Democratic attacks during a convention. Having to compete with a hurricane is completely of another magnitude.

Much of the national media will be decamping Denver where we've been covering the Democratic National Convention and heading to St. Paul for the GOP's big event. But if Gustav turns into a major storm, the best laid plans will have to change. Many a journalist here will be headed to the Gulf Coast.

Obviously, a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast would be a stark reminder of the Bush Administration's failed response to Katrina just as Republicans are trying to turn the page and to get voters thinking about Sen. John McCain.

Already, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who is scheduled to speak at next week's convention said he won't attend if his state is under attack from Gustav. Other Republican officals from the Gulf Coast region may have to make similar declarations.

by Frank James

DENVER -- The Mile-High City is teeming with bloggers covering the Democratic National Convention, the undomesticated ones who write for the partisan blogs and the tamer corporate versions like yours truly.

The political bloggers are here because this week Denver is the center of the Democratic Party's political universe. They're here because the national parties know bloggers represent an important new channel for communicating their messages and thus have significantly boosted their outreach to these citizen journalists.

They're here because a netroots power like DailyKos has joined Internet powers like Google and Digg and local organizations like ProgressNow and the Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado to bankroll work and discussion spaces in a downtown office building that this week is called the Big Tent a few blocks from the Pepsi Center. It's sort of a blogger convention within the larger Democratic convention.

So highly regarded are the political bloggers this year that political and media big shots as well as rank-and-file old media/new media hybrids like myself are making the pilgrimage to the blogger lounges at the Big Tent and the Pepsi Center to see what's on their minds.

CBS News anchor Katie Couric arrives at the Big Tent.

On Tuesday, Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado, in his signature cowboy hat, was doing interviews. Not long after he left, CBS News anchor Katie Couric appeared and waded into the crowded blogger workspace to see what they were up too. Even Death Cab for Cutie stopped by.

And what are these bloggers up to? The answers to that are as varied as the bloggers themselves. Some are out to expose the all too cozy relationships between lawmakers and lobbysists. Others are here because of their interests in state and local politics. Still others are searching for a movement that seems elusive.

by Frank James

Perhaps Sen. John McCain's greatest vulnerability in the general election is his proud role as President Bush's reliable wingman for nearly eight years.

While that position works well with Republican base voters, it's likely political poison with the larger electorate which largely disdains Bush, as demonstrated by the president's approval rating which is around 30 percent.

Hoping to take advantage of that Achilles heel and to place McCain on the defensive--a position the McCain camp has placed Sen. Barack Obama in for much of August-- the Democratic National Committee has a new ad up called "Totally in agreement."

Those are words McCain used to describe his faithfulness to Bush's positions on issues. The ad show McCain saying that he voted with the president 95 percent of the time, even more than fellow Republicans.

A Democratic operative who wanted to be off-the-record said the ad represents a renewed push by Democrats not let Republicans win the battle of defining the opponent.

"... This is evidence that we're going to take an aggressive approach to driving the contrast between McCain and Obama during this convention," the source said. "We're not going to make the same mistake we did in '04."
.

by Katie Fretland and Frank James

Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was expected to be absent at the party's convention this week, but he has made the trip to Denver.

Kennedy, of Massachusetts, arrived Sunday night and traveled to a hospital as a precaution. The 76-year-old patriarch of the famous political family is suffering from a malignant brain tumor.

He had planned to stay home, because of his health problems, but now Kennedy will likely appear at the Pepsi Center later today and possibly speak at the convention, AP reports. Democrats had planned to honor Kennedy with a video tribute.

Last month, Kennedy made a brave return to the Senate to cast his vote in favor of the medicare bill he worked hard to see pass. It was his first time back to the Senate since a May seizure and cancer diagnosis.

by Frank James

DENVER -- Ah, Democrats. There's something about the circular firing squad that just seems to hold endless fascination for them. Why do they even need a Republican opposition when they can just battle themselves?

At this convention, the well-reported rift is between the Obamaphiles and the Clintonphiles is the continuing narrative.

From the bad feelings that sprung up during the nasty primary season, to the ire in the Hillary Clinton camp over how how they believe she was allegedly mistreated in Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential selection process, to the dissension from her supporters over the role she and they would be given at the convention, to the resentment in the Obama camp over the Clintons' inability to act like it's Obama's party now, there's been bad blood at every turn.

Today, Politico reports about the continued spitefulness between the Obamas and the Clintons.

Former President Bill Clinton is reportedly miffed that he's been given the assignment of selling Americans on Obama as a better commander-in-chief than Sen. John McCain, the all-but-official Republican presidential nominee.

Evidently, the former president would've preferred to have been given the chance to talk about domestic policy and the economy in order to trash-talk the Republicans who he sees as destroying the prosperity and trend towards growing economic equality that characterized his presidency.

Also, since Obama doesn't have much of a national-security or foreign policy track record, to speak of, what is Clinton supposed to speak of? That's a fairly challenging assignment.

As the Politco put it:

by Frank James

DENVER -- The Democratic National Convention officially starts here today at the Pepsi Center arena with DNC Chairman Howard Dean scheduled to officially gavel open the quadrennial event at 3 pm MT.

Here's the overall schedule with the roster of expected speakers as provided by the convention committee. (Click here for details on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.)

The 2008 Convention: Americans Gathering To Change The Course Of A Nation

Representatives Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mike Honda (D-CA), California Controller John Chiang, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, Change To Win's Anna Burger, and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney will also speak.

Tribune journalists in our work space in a big white tent.

by Frank James

Denver -- My colleague Mark Silva has already reported on how the site of the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center arena is so secure even apples are considered potentially dangerous weapons. And we're not even talking about poisoned apples like in fairy tales, just regular old Granny Smiths.

The security is so tight and touchy, that when I tried to photograph the area where security officers are screening people entering the site, an officer came towards me and ordered me to cease, which I did since it's pretty clear from the demeanor of the police here that you're not going to win an argument with them.

I have a confession. This is my first convention. I am a 51-year old virgin when it comes to these quadrennial political informercials.

I'm not sure how I never got to attend one of these before but there you have it.

So I've been pretty excited about attending, as you might guess. I had visions of being in the arena for all the big moments, the speeches by Hillary Clinton, vice presidential pick Joe Biden and, of course, Barack "America" Obama, the first African-American presidential nominee.

Any journalist credentialed to cover the convention would have full access to the convention hall, I assumed. Silly me.

by Katie Fretland

Supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton are more interested in hearing her speak next week at the Democratic National Convention than hearing Sen. Barack Obama's planned acceptance of the nomination for president, according to a new study.

The Pew Research Center finds that 56 percent of Clinton supporters are very interested in her speech to the delegates, while 43 percent show similar interest in Obama's speech. Only 37 percent of Obama supporters report high interest in Clinton's address, while 60 percent say they are very interested in hearing the Illinois senator's speech.

More Americans are interested in the Democratic National Convention than in 2004, the study finds. Fifty-nine percent say they are interested in the convention, up 23 percent from four years ago.

John McCain's planned acceptance speech has drawn less interest among the general public and Republicans. Twenty-four percent of Americans are very interested in hearing McCain's speech compared to 33 percent for Obama. And 43 percent of Republicans are very interested in McCain's address, compared to 58 percent of Democrats for Obama, Pew reports.

Read the full report on public interest in the conventions at www.people-press.org.

by Frank James

If Sen. John McCain should win the White House, it looks like there'll be one area where his presidency could be very much like President Bush's -- his relationship with Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, doesn't really have much good to say about Bush. In 2005, when Reid was talking to a group of high schoolers, he called Bush a "loser." Reid later apologized to the president.

Reid didn't quite call McCain a loser, but In an interview with the Las Vegas News-Journal, he made clear that he doesn't have much use for the senator from Arizona.

Reid was describing a conversation he had with Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut inderpendent and former Democrat, who will have a speaking role at the Republican convention.

"He has a close personal relationship with John McCain. I don't fully understand why he does," said Reid, who said Lieberman called Tuesday from the Republic of Georgia to alert him to the move.

"I told him last night, 'You know, Joe, I can't stand John McCain.' He said, 'I know you feel that way,' " Reid said.

Here's another snippet from the story:

Reid repeated his familiar criticisms of McCain in a discussion with Review-Journal staffers Wednesday, calling the Arizona senator wrong on the issues and saying the Republican, who arrived in Congress the same year Reid did, "does not have the right temperament" to be president.

By Andrew Zajac

Footnote to the Democratic primary: Among the worries of the party faithful about New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the business baggage of Bill Clinton, including his lucrative relationship with Vinod Gupta, founder and CEO of the infoUSA database and marketing firm.

Make that former CEO.

Gupta was replaced as chief executive of the Omaha-based firm as part of a proposed settlement of a shareholder suit which accused him of misspending millions in company funds, part of that on the Clintons.

Gupta, who still owns a hefty chunk of infoUSA shares, remains a board member, but turns over the reins of the company to one of its outside directors, according to an infoUSA announcement this morning.

by Andrew Zajac

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Cleveland-area Democrat who gained a measure of national notoriety for her staunch support of Hillary Clinton despite representing a heavily black, pro-Barack Obama district, died Wednesday.

Tubbs Jones, 58, was hospitalized last night after suffering an aneurysm.

Beyond the tragedy of early, unexpected death, Tubbs Jones' passing heaps further difficulties on a Democratic Party in Cuyahoga County already reeling from a massive federal corruption investigation targeting two of the county party's top officials.

From the perspective of presidential politics, it increases the challenge of turning out the big Democratic vote needed in northern Ohio to carry the Republican-leaning Buckeye state.

Tubbs Jones was five-term incumbent cruising to a sixth-term. A one-time prosecutor and protege of former Rep. Louis Stokes, Tubbs Jones held the unsung but politically sensitive post of chair of the Standards of Official Conduct Committee -- the House's ethics police.

"She poured her heart and soul into her job," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). "She worked so hard and gave everything she could. I'm devastated. Wherever we'd go, we'd speak of each other as brother and sister. It's an incalculable loss."

The Clintons released a statement saying Tubbs Jones was a "one-woman force for progress in our country" and their friendship with her "deepened through every trial and challenge."

"Over the course of many years, with many ups and many downs, Stephanie was right by our side -- unwavering, indefatigable," they said.

Sen. Barack Obama released a statement calling Tubbs Jones "an extraordinary American and an outstanding public servant."

"It wasn't enough for her just to break barriers in her own life. She was also determined to bring opportunity to all those who had been overlooked and left behind -- and in Stephanie, they had a fearless friend and unyielding advocate," Obama said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

by Frank James

The Democratic primary process this year was, to put it bluntly, a mess created, in part, by the states of Florida and Michigan moving their primaries to earlier dates that were unsanctioned by the national party.

That led to the states being stripped of their delegates as punishment by the Democratic National Committee. That, in turn, contributed to the primaries and caucuses running all the way into June until Sen. Hillary Clinton finally conceded to Sen. Barack Obama.

Because the system was thrown out of whack by the banishment of Michigan and Florida's delegates, superdelegates, those party officials who become delegates by virtue of their offices, played a much larger role this year than anyone expected.

So the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have proposed a special commission whose goal would be to avoid similar future fiascoes.

Here's how the Obama campaign explains it:

CHICAGO -Today the Obama Campaign and the Democratic National Committee announced a proposal to establish a special commission to recommend changes to the Democratic Party's rules for delegate selection and presidential primary timing for future presidential cycles. The proposal will be presented to the Convention Rules Committee on Saturday in Denver.

The 'Democratic Change Commission' will address three issues 1) changes to the opening of the window and pre-window, 2) reducing the number of superdelegates and 3) changes to the caucus system. The goal of the commission will be to ensure that no primary or caucus is held prior to the first Tuesday in March of 2012, with the exception of the approved pre-window states, whose contests would be held during February 2012.

(Note: It was announced shortly after 7 pm ET that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, had died.)

by Andrew Zajac

Cleveland-area Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones is in critical condition after suffering an aneurysm last night.

The Plain Dealer and other news outlets this afteroon briefly reported that Tubbs-Jones, 58, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, had died.

But officials subsequently said Tubbs Jones is alive but has limited brain function.

Tubbs Jones gained a measure of notoriety earlier this year with her staunch support of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary, despite representing a heavily black district which tilted to Barack Obama.

Here's a recent update on Tubbs Jones from AP, plus more on her controversial support for Clinton:

by Frank James

The Democratic National Committee has an answer for the Republican National Committee's "Obama energy-plan" tire gauges. Those tire gauges, of course, were the Republicans' way of belittling and making sport of Sen. Barack Obama's comment that millions of barrels of oil could be saved--as much as could be extracted from off-shore drilling--if Americans made sure their vehicle tires were properly inflated.

The RNC tire gauges were first distributed to reporters, than used as a fund-raising tool on the RNC site.

The Democrats have come back with a press kit that includes a couple of campaign buttons, a bumper sticker and a rubbery little toy oil drum that bear the message "Exxon McCain '08, the obvious message being that McCain is a flunky for the oil industry. The kit is timed to counter Sen. John McCain's visit to a Gulf of Mexico oil platform today.

The DNC sees the oil can as a twofer: it not only pushes their "ExXon McCain line but is also meant to tweak the McCain candidate for limiting media access to the candidate who heretofore was famously known for his bull sessions with reporters which would continue to the point of exhaustion--theirs not his.

This from their press release:

Your friends at the Democratic National Committee are delighted to provide you with a complimentary Exxon-McCain '08 campaign kit.

Since we know how stressful it has been to watch your access to the candidate diminish under Steve Schmidt's new rules, we hope you'll accept this oil barrel-shaped stress ball along with some additional Exxon-McCain '08 paraphernalia. It is the least we can do.

by Frank James

Slate's often provocative media critic Jack Shafer provokes again, questioning why 15,000 reporters are going to the political conventions which he says are news-free gatherings. Shafer comes to bury conventions, not to praise them.

With just one exception over the last three decades, the two major parties have known the identity of their likely presidential candidate weeks or even months before gaveling their national political conventions open. For that reason, one way to improve coverage of the four-day, quadrennial conventions of Republicans and Democrats would be for the TV networks to assign sportscasters like Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, and John Madden instead of political journalists to report on the gatherings. They know how to make a game with a foregone conclusion seem entertaining.

A still better way to improve convention coverage would be to withdraw all reporters and force the curious to rely on a C-SPAN feed: Unless a brokered convention threatens to break out, these political gatherings tend to produce very little real news. Yet the networks, the newspapers, the magazines, and the Web sites continue to insist on sending battalions of reporters to sift for itsy specks of information. According to Forbes, 15,000 pressies are expected to attend each of the conventions. Slate, I'm embarrassed to admit, is sending a team of eight to Denver and six to St. Paul. Attention! Don Graham! We're spending your cash like it's Zimbabwean bank notes!

One argument for covering the quadrennial party conventions is that they are the largest gatherings of politicians and activists that occur, thus making it one stop shopping for political reporters where a lot of useful connections can be made with party officials and others from around the nation.

by Frank James

Hours ago, Bill Gwatney, chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, was shot several times by a man who pushed his way past staffers into Gwatney's Little Rock office. Now comes word via a joint statement from former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton that Gwatney has died.

Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton issued the following joint statement today:

"We are deeply saddened by the news that Bill Gwatney has passed away. His leadership and commitment to Arkansas and this country have always inspired us and those who had the opportunity to know him. Our prayers are with his family during this time."

What the motive was is unknown, at least publicly. Law-enforcement officials chased the shooter and eventually caught up to him. The shooter died after being shot by police, according to reports.

Here's what the Associated Press reported before it was learned that Gwatney had died from his wound.

By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press Writer

"He said he was interested in volunteering, but that was obviously a lie," Higginbotham said. He said the man pushed his way past an employee to reach Chairman Bill Gwatney's office.

(Crime scene: AP Photo/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Steve Keesee. Gwatney photo: AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

by Matthew Hay Brown

The recent exchange of letters between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner occasioned by the debate over drilling has been typical for the two leaders when they have been divided over an issue.

Less so is the gambit by Boehner today.

The Ohio Republican and his colleagues in the GOP House leadership are bypassing their Democratic counterparts with a letter sent directly to the majority party's rank-and-file. They're asking Democrats to join the Republicans who have been staging a floor protest this week in calling on Pelosi to reconvene Congress for a vote on "increasing American-made energy."

"Since Last Friday, House Republicans have stood with the American people in an unprecedented nationwide protest against Speaker Pelosi's decision to adjourn the House for the rest of the summer without a vote on the energy solutions Americans are demanding," Boehner said. He said he would return to Washington tomorrow to join the protest.

"Republicans will not rest until the American people have been heard and Speaker Pelosi has allowed an up-or-down vote on the energy reforms our nation needs," he said.

Republicans, who have been giving speeches in the dimmed House chamber since last week, want to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas exploration.

Democrats, who have dismissed the revolt as a stunt, say oil companies should focus first on developing the tens of millions of acres on which they already have permission to drill. They also want President Bush to release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Both sides acknowledge that there is little they can do to reduce prices at the pump in the short term. The text of the Republican letter follows.

By Andrew Zajac

Ohio Democrats dodged a bullet earlier this summer when they quickly got rid of Marc Dann, their scandal-soiled attorney general.

Now an even bigger projectile is heading their way.

Last Monday, more than 200 federal agents conducted simultaneous raids of various offices and homes in and around Cuyahoga County, the mother lode of Democratic voters in the state.

by Paul West

An adviser to John McCain's campaign sums up 2008 this way: Republicans are "not going to elect dogcatchers, but we may have the presidency."

Pity those Republicans running in the other election, the one in the shadow of the McCain-Obama contest. Their party is in the grip of a full-fledged Bush depression, and there's no sign of turning a corner any time soon.

Deep and prolonged dissatisfaction with President Bush's performance has been amplified by pessimism about a sour national economy and high food and fuel prices. Every opinion survey shows American voters tilting against the GOP and saying Congress should stay in Democratic hands under the next president.

At the moment, this downbeat mood is hitting Republican candidates where it hurts most: in their campaign accounts.

"It is the worst fundraising that I have ever seen," said Paul Wilson, a veteran Republican media consultant. "Candidates who were at $700,000 last time are now at $100,000. Those who should be at $350,000 to $500,000 are at $70,000."

The Walmart store on the 4700 block of North Ave. (Chicago Tribune Photo by Charles Cherney)

by Frank James

One of the day's best stories is The Wall Street Journal's report that Wal-Mart is telling its managers and supervisors that a presidential victory by Sen. Barack Obama could hurt the company, giving the labor movement new life and spurring unionizing efforts at the nation's largest retailer.

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.

There are several interesting things about this. One aspect not covered the story is the whole question of why Wal-Mart, as a retailer, would act in a way that could turn off many of its customers. After all, a lot of Democrats likely shop at Wal-Mart.

Most retailers are skittish about taking public stands that could potentially turn off shoppers. But that obviously isn't the case here. There appears to be little of the expected concern on Wal-Mart's part about the possible blowback in terms of lost sales.

Perhaps the company has determined that it's prices are so competitive and it has such market dominance in so many places, that it's unlikely to suffer any significant sales losses from antagonized Democrats who may have no other retail options in many of those local markets.

by Andrew Zajac

What is it about Democratic Ways and Means Committee chairmen?

The current ethics fix Charles Rangel finds himself in recalls the downfall of Chicago's Dan Rostenkowski, who in 1996 was sentenced to 17 months in prison on various corruption counts including fraud and embezzlement.

Rangel (pictured here) is a long way from being accused of a crime -- he brought his purported peccadillos to the House ethics committee and that may be the end of the story, since the ethics panel is better known for wrist-slapping than for requesting criminal investigations.

Still, there's a similarity here in the larger-than-life personas of the two men and in their roots in corruption-fueled big city machine politics. And in the piddling scale of their transgressions relative to their massive clout.

by Matthew Hay Brown

On Wednesday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Sen. Charles Schumer, the chairmen of the Democrats' House and Senate campaign operations, warned supporters against "irrational exuberance" over the party's prospects in November.

Today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also hesitated over predicting the number of seats he expects Democrats to gain in the House elections - but for the opposite reason.

He says his guess may be too good to be true.

"The environment in which we find ourselves, from a political standpoint, is scary good," the Maryland Democrat told reporters during an hourlong chat. "And therefore, you sort of pinch yourself and say, 'Look, we just won a net 30 seats. We have 41 new members. Could we possibly follow that up with the substantial gains that if I were guessing, and we were off the record, I might say, but which I'm hesitant to do now, because it's just difficult to believe on top of the significant victory we had last time that we could do as well as I think we might do this time?' "

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee took exception.

"It appears that Steny Hoyer is about as bad at playing the expectations game as Chris Van Hollen and Chuck Schumer are," spokesman Ken Spain said. "Here within lies the inherent problem facing the Democratic leadership; campaign politics is on their mind first and foremost, while legislating remains a distant second. With gas prices skyrocketing to all-time highs, the American people would undoubtedly disagree with Steny Hoyer's 'scary good' outlook for the future. Right now, they are just plain scared and the Democrat-led Congress is doing nothing to ease the pain."

by Matthew Hay Brown

With little more than a hundred days before the elections, the chairmen of the House and Senate Democrats' campaign operations both say they will expand their majorities come November. But as they try to reach deeper into Republican strongholds, they said today, they were taking nothing for granted.

"At this point, it's important that people understand - because there is a lot of sense out there that this is going to be another big wave election - that we are going into some really very tough territory here," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "And so we do need to be aware of irrational exuberance when it comes to some of the numbers I've heard on the House races."

On the Senate side, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles E. Schumer said his candidates were competing on "the reddest map in a very long time."

"The majority of states, when you hold it up, are either in the Deep South, the Great Plains or the Mountain West," he said. "Not traditionally positive areas for Democrats."

Still, Schumer sees reasons to be hopeful, even in the most conservative corners of the nation. In Mississippi, where the retirement of former Sen. Trent Lott means both seats are up for election, polls show voters favoring a generic Republican against a generic Democrat.

But Schumer said Democratic polls show that when voters are asked to choose between a candidate who will promote more affordable health care, better schools and a more balanced energy policy versus one who will ensure that the U.S. military remains the strongest in the world and that traditional values prevail in Washington, the values associated with Democrats are leading by eight to 12 percentage points.

by Matthew Hay Brown

House Minority Leader John Boehner and 10 fellow GOP congressmen left Washington this morning for Alaska, where they plan to spend the weekend highlighting the domestic energy production potential at settings such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says they've headed in the wrong direction.

"Two-thirds of northern Alaska is open to drilling, so if they're serious about increasing the domestic production of oil, they should take a left at the Arctic Refuge and keep going west for about 150 miles," the Maryland Democrat said. "That will put them in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska - the best source for Alaskan oil, and an area that is already open for business."

As oil costs continue to climb, Boehner and other Republicans want to open up more areas to domestic drilling, part of what they're calling an "all of the above" approach to meeting the nation's energy needs. With polls showing growing support for more exploration, President Bush this week lifted the executive prohibition on offshore drilling imposed by his father 18 years ago.

"Our American energy tour will shine a spotlight on what the Democratic majority can't seem to grasp: We can bring down the price of gasoline," Boehner said. "America is rich with emerging energy technologies, as well as a vast supply of natural resources that has been put off limits by the majority party."

by Matthew Hay Brown

Five months ago, with the economy thought to be teetering on the edge of recession and voters growing anxious about the rising costs of food and fuel, Republicans and Democrats worked quickly to pass the economic stimulus package that saw tax rebate checks sent to 130 million American households.

Now House Democrats are preparing a second stimulus package, including more checks for taxpayers. But this time, they're looking also to boost food stamps, low-income energy assistance and other items Republicans opposed in February.

"If [Speaker Nancy Pelosi] is serious about taking action to stimulate the economy, she should start by allowing a vote on increased American energy production," House Minority Leader John Boehner said this afternoon. "To help ensure long-term economic growth, the time has long passed for Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues in the Democratic leadership to end their opposition to effective energy and economic reforms that will make a real difference for consumers."

Democrats are working on energy legislation. But this morning, they were talking about the new stimulus package.

After a meeting with economists including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Princeton Professor Alan Blinder and former Congressional Budget Office analyst Douglas Elmendorf, Pelosi told reporters that she hoped the legislation would include another round of rebates, but added that "we can't have them exclusively dominate the package."

by Matthew Hay Brown

No sooner had President Bush blamed rising gasoline prices on Democratic intransigence this afternoon than congressional leaders dismissed his decision to lift the executive ban on offshore drilling as a political stunt.

"Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas."

"I've been in Washington long enough to know a political stunt when I see one," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "The good news is the American people won't be fooled. If the President wants to lower gas prices, he should stop hosting press conferences and start taking action."

Bush's Rose Garden announcement amounted to the latest salvo in a monthslong battle over energy policy while the cost of oil has continued to climb. Republicans - and growing numbers of Americans generally - have favored opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore areas to exploration.

"For years, my administration has been calling on Congress to expand domestic oil production," Bush said during his Rose Garden announcement. "Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal - and now Americans are paying at the pump."

Bush's decision to lift the ban imposed by his father on drilling in the outer continental sheft leaves only a congressional prohibition in place. He called on lawmakers to remove it forthwith.

"The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress," he said. "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court. Democratic leaders can show that they have finally heard the frustrations of the American people by matching the action I've taken today, repealing the congressional ban, and passing legislation to facilitate responsible offshore exploration."

by Matthew Hay Brown

After weeks of Republican criticism of Democratic opposition to expanding drilling in Alaska and beyond, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today unveiled a new mantra for his party.

"Democrats are for greater domestic production," the Maryland Democrat told the Capitol press corps this morning, and repeated: "Democrats are for greater domestic production. Democrats are not against drilling."

Of course, Hoyer was talking about exploiting the 88 million acres on which oil companies already hold federal leases - not the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve or the areas off the East, West and Gulf coasts that Republicans (and growing numbers of Americans generally) want to explore.

"Just to give you an idea of what that means," Hoyer said, "eighty-eight million acres is Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and most of Maryland is now available. ...

"Democrats are not against drilling. What we are for is urging and making sure the oil companies, who are getting the highest price for the product in history - don't need any additional tax incentives to do so - ought to be spending their money on exploring and bringing more product to market."

At the other end of the Capitol, Senate Republicans said the way to do that is the Gas Price Reduction Act, GOP legislation that would allow coastal states to open up the outer continental shelf for drilling and end a moratorium on exploiting oil shale.

"To do something important, we all know, requires dealing with the problem of supply and demand," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters. "Additional domestic supply needs to be part of the package."

by Matthew Hay Brown

After a year and a half of pushing unsuccessfully for a timeable for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, congressional Democrats have found an ally in Baghdad.

Iraq's national security adviser told reporters in Najaf today that the U.S.-backed government would not agree to the security deal it is negotiating with Washington unless it included details of a pullout.

"We will not accept any memorandum of understanding if it does not give a specific date for a complete withdrawal of foreign troops," National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said. His comments echoed those made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to Arab diplomats in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

The State Department slapped the Iraqi demand down today.

"The U.S. government and the government of Iraq are in agreement that we, the U.S. government, we want to withdraw; we will withdraw," spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters. "However, that decision will be conditions-based."

But the demand has found a willing audience among the congressional majority.

"President Bush refuses to listen to Congress or the American people, but he cannot support Iraqi political reconciliation and security and ignore Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki's call for a timetable for the withdrawal," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

by Matthew Hay Brown

With the legislative session winding down and Senate Democrats growing increasingly frustrated over their inability to pass legislation against the will of a unified Republican minority, Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a plea for bipartisanship - coupled with a warning to his GOP colleagues.

"I would remind my Republican colleagues that the route of continued obstruction is not without cost," the Nevada Democrat said. "Most importantly, it comes at a cost to the American people who are facing Medicare cuts, increasing home foreclosure and ever- higher gas prices because Republicans refused to work with us last work period.

"But continued obstruction comes at a cost to our Republican colleagues themselves as well. The American people see with clear eyes that as our country's economic crisis continues to grow worse, Republicans have only dragged their heels. There is good reason why polls show that Americans favor Democratic control of Congress by the widest margin in the history of polling."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for his part, called today for bipartisanship as well - around the Republican Gas Price Reduction Act.

"This bill contains provisions that should be agreeable to both sides of the aisle. It tackles both sides of the energy issue -- by increasing supply and curbing demand. We should do both.

"There are many important issues facing the Congress, but few are more important than addressing the issue of energy. It's time to act, and this balanced approach is a good start."

The trouble for McConnell is that while the bill promotes alternative energy sources and policing oil speculation, which Democrats support, it also would increase domestic drilling, which they do not.

by Matthew Hay Brown

Returning to Washington after the Fourth of July break - when it is likely that they got an earful from constituents about the rising cost of energy - Republicans and Democrats appear no closer to agreement on legislation to address prices at the pump.

The problem for both sides, as lawmakers concede privately, is there appears to be little they can