“I came within a day of announcing, because most of the governors were for me and I had been a governor for six years. And I really didn’t think I knew enough and had served enough and done enough to run.”
– Bill Clinton, in an interview on Political Capital with Al Hunt to air tonight on Bloomberg TV, on his near run for president in 1988. Clinton was suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama is not experienced enough to seek the presidency.
Newt Gingrich “will open a Web site by Monday in an effort to round up the $30 million in pledges that he says would be his ticket to entering the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination,” The Politico reports.
During a recent breakfast with reporters, Gingrich “made it clear he has given a great deal of thought to how he would run, starting with a national television ad that would be heavy on his substantive ideas. That might be followed with DVDs of his agenda to households in early-voting states.”
After a poll released earlier this week showing Rudy Giuliani erasing his lead in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney’s campaign “appeared to try to lower expectations yesterday,” the Boston Globe reports.
An internal memo from strategist Alex Gage: “By no means do we expect to win both Iowa and New Hampshire — no Republican in the modern era ever has.”
However, the Wall Street Journal notes Giuliani has not yet run campaign ads “while lesser-known Romney has spent at least $10 million on TV in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and South Carolina.” He’s spent $1.7 million on ads in the Granite State alone.
A new Fox News poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton expanding her lead in hypothetical match ups with every Republican presidential candidate.
Clinton now leads Rudy Giuliani, 46% to 39%, Fred Thompson, 48% to 35%, and Sen. John McCain 46% to 39%.
Sen. Barack Obama also leads each GOP candidate, but by lesser margins.
The Politico: “A federal grand jury has issued document subpoenas to six aides to embattled GOP Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), who is under investigation by the Justice Dept. over his ties to imprisoned former Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.”
Interesting quotes from the Times of London:
“There is going to be surprise — there always is. Someone leading now in the polls will not necessarily be leading in January.”
– Ray Buckley, Chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
“The Democratic race is about to become more competitive here. People want to see a contest, they want to see candidates tested. They dont like the idea that one of them is walking away with it.”
– Fergus Cullen, Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.
“John Edwards’ decision to accept public matching funds to finance his campaign is a political blow but it’s probably also the only lifeline he has to stay in the race,” The Politico reports.
“Come Sunday at midnight, the close of the third-quarter fundraising period, Edwards’ campaign is expected to post up a total between $5 million and $7 million… And it’s a sum that won’t even come close to those of Obama and Clinton, even though they’ve also seen slowdowns in giving. Obama is expected to report around $20 million in third-quarter donations and the Clinton camp is aiming for around $18 million.”
Marc Ambinder: “But entering federal financing system has two major drawbacks. There’s an overall spending limit for the primaries, so a campaign that blows through its money would be bankrupt until after its convention, allowing the opposing party’s candidate to air television ads without rebuttal… And the candidates are severely constrained in what they can spend in the states. There are fairly strict caps in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”
The Note: “If this was such a good idea — politically and financially — everyone would be doing it.”
Ben Smith has the campaign’s talking points.
“This Chief Justice matter is no joke. The integrity of the entire judiciary rests upon it,” writes Manicou, who is incredulous at the refusal of Trinidad and Tobago's Attorney General to allow himself to be cross examined by the tribunal investigating allegations that he conspired with the Chief Magistrate to pervert the course of justice. […]
A new Research 2000 poll found that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is currently leading a relatively unknown challenger — Rick Noriega (D) — 51%-35% in his 2008 reelection bid. However, only 40% of constituents said they wanted to reelect the Senator, while 35% said they were ready for someone new. This leaves a possible opening for Noriega to exploit. Cornyn is one of the more unpopular Republican Senators and has been made a target by Democrats for 2008.
In light of the situation in Myanmar, Montego Bay Day By Day writes: “Although this little rock called Jamaica isn't perfect, I am indeed grateful that, as of this date, we can criticize our government quite harshly without fear.”
