Mon, March 31, 2008 - 2:22 PM

Updated at 3 p.m. to add comments from Rep. Mike McIntyre's office.

Are North Carolina’s Democratic members of Congress set to endorse Barack Obama?

The Wall Street Journal says so, citing anonymous – and seemingly conflicting – sources. They report this morning that:

“North Carolina's seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group -- just one has so far -- before that state's May 6 primary, several Democrats say.”

Then the paper goes on to cite “one North Carolinian” who “confirmed that at least several of the state's House members would go public in favor of Sen. Obama before long."

So is it all, or just some? Or perhaps none?

I talked to spokesmen for six of the seven Democratic members of congress from North Carolina this morning, and they all said they had not heard of any plans by the delegation to back Obama.

Quick backstory: All seven of North Carolina’s Democratic members of Congress backed fellow North Carolinian John Edwards last year. Rep. G.K. Butterfield eventually defected to Barack Obama, but the other six stayed. Since Edwards dropped out, they have not come out for either Obama or Clinton.

Butterfield told my colleague James Romoser this morning that he has heard that several North Carolina Democrats — but not all of them — will endorse Barack Obama this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.

“That is not true,” he said of the story. “Our goal is to enlist all seven, but I’m not saying to you that it will happen.”

“Two or three” members of the state’s Democratic delegation will endorse Obama as early as tomorrow, Butterfield said. He would not identify who they are. The other members of the delegation may end up endorsing Obama, but may remain neutral through May 6, Butterfield said. He said that he does not believe any of them will endorse Clinton.

If Butterfield is correct, then which NC Dems are planning to endorse Obama?

“He has no plans to endorse anyone,” said Joanne Peters, a spokesman for Rep. Bob Etheridge.

"The WSJ misfired," wrote Andrew Whalen, a spokesman for Rep. Heath Shuler.

Paul Cox, a spokesman for Rep. David Price, called the Journal report "wrong." "What he's said before is that he's watching the campaign very closely, and may or may not have an announcement on an endorsement," Cox said. Price, Cox said, "has no plans" to endorse either candidate, but could do so before the state's primary.

LuAnn Canipe, a spokesman for Rep. Brad Miller, also said her boss had no plans to endorse any candidate. "He's still deliberating," she said. Asked if Miller would be one of the "two or three" Butterfield suggested would endorse Obama as soon as this week, Canipe said no.

Dean Mitchell, a spokesman for Rep. Mike McIntyre, said that his boss remains "uncommitted." When asked if McIntyre would one of the "two or three" coming out for Obama mentioned by Butterfield, Mitchell said no.

A spokesman for Rep. Mel Watt also said he had not heard of any plans to endorse Obama. He said he would check with his boss to see if an endorsement plan was in the works.

Update at 11:18 a.m. Talking Points Memo has a carefully worded statement from an Obama spokesman. It denies the WSJ report, but leaves open the possibility that some NC Democrats in Congress have indeed decided to support Obama, but are not prepared to announce it.

“We’re pleased to have the support of Rep. Butterfield and are working to earn the endorsement of his colleagues in the NC Congressional delegation. Despite the Wall Street Journal’s optimism, none of them has told our campaign that they are ready to announce their endorsement of Senator Obama -- so we’ll keep working on it.”

--Sean Mussenden

Any presidential candidate would have loved the casual 15 minutes of air time President Bush enjoyed last night on ESPN during the Washington Nationals-Atlanta Braves season opener.

After throwing out the first pitch -- “high heat” the President called it -- Bush spent the entire third inning and half of the fourth in the announcer’s booth at the brand new stadium.

He even made the play-by-play call during the park’s first home run. To see it, go to mlb.com (the Nationals-Braves game is here).

They require you to register, but the video is free and the whole game is viewable online. Scroll ahead to 1:04:18 through 1:18:48 in the timeline to see the president’s appearance, including play-by-play, commentary on steroids in baseball, and analysis of his first pitch (a good throw, but no strike by any stretch). The homer is around 1:11:35.

Happy Opening Day.

--Neil Simon

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., endorsed Barack Obama, the second Senate colleague to announce support for Obama in a week. Minnesotans already voted in the primary contest.

Obama won their Feb. 5 caucus in a landslide with support of roughly two-thirds of caucus-goers.

Klobuchar had said that her state’s results would factor into her decision of who she would endorse -- and thus cast her superdelegate vote for at the Democratic convention. More here.

--Neil Simon

Fri, March 28, 2008 - 4:12 PM

WASHINGTON -- Florida may find itself without any delegates at the Democratic national covention, and only half of its delegates at the Republican convention.

But then again, the state does have two of its top elected statewide officials -- Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson -- being repeatedly mentioned as vice presidential possibilities.

The latest such speculation came today in The Washington Post.com's Politics Blog. It did a fun “VP Watch” item, listing what it describes as the latest line on the top five possibilities for Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain.

Crist is listed as among Republican McCain’s possibilities. And Nelson is among Democratic Clinton’s possibilities.

Here what it says about Crist:

“The Florida governor has a strong case to make that his endorsement of McCain in the waning days of the Sunshine State primary cinched the nomination for the Arizona Senator. Crist's popularity among Florida voters could well strengthen McCain's hand in a swing state in the fall. (It also doesn't hurt that McCain praised Crist as “a great governor” during a campaign swing through the state earlier this month.) The biggest problem for Crist? He's not beloved among conservatives many of whom feel McCain has to pick one of them to get their votes.

Here’s what the column says about Nelson:

Every four years, the senator from Florida seems to be among those mentioned -- but not picked -- for the national ticket. He is a more serious choice in this election, having been an ardent advocate not only for Clinton but also her interests in the Sunshine State. It was Nelson who, unsuccessfully, pushed hardes for the idea of a Florida re-vote. He's also from a state that is almost certainly going to be a batteground in the fall and remains quite popular among Florida's voters.

Read the column entire column here:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/03/friday_line_veepstakes.html?hpid=topnews

-- Billy House

Sen. Bob Casey is to endorse Sen. Barack Obama at an event later today in Pittsburgh.

The Pennsylvania Democrat had been one of several senators planning to remain neutral in the presidential race, at least through his party’s primary April 22. In 2006 Casey became the first Pennsylvania Democrat to be elected to a full Senate term in 46 years. Analysts say Casey, largely popular with the state’s blue-collar Democrats, could help Obama encroach on what has been seen as Clinton-friendly territory. Read more here.

--Neil H. Simon

Wed, March 26, 2008 - 12:11 PM

While the Democrats are focused on primary voters in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, the Straight Talk Express is heading South next week.

According to a campaign fundraising e-mail sent by John McCain, the Republican is visiting sites that have left an imprint on his life.

“Next week, I will embark on a ‘Service to America’ tour visiting numerous locations that have played a significant role in shaping who I am today; places where I have had the honor of serving our nation. This tour will take me through Mississippi, Virginia, Florida and my home state of Arizona.”

It probably doesn’t hurt that Virginia and Florida are expected to be important swing states in the November presidential election.

The other two states are McCain-friendly territory. His home state of Arizona went to President Bush by narrow margins during the last two presidential elections and Mississippi has supported Republican presidential candidates for several decades.

-- Amy Dominello

Tue, March 25, 2008 - 1:43 PM

Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney floated the possibility of a bizarre outcome of the Democratic nominating convention on August if neither Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton has wrapped up the nomination by then: Al Gore gets the nod.

Mahoney told the editorial board of Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers that he could see his party looking to a third choice if the convention is deadlocked between Clinton and Obama. In that scenario, Mahoney said, either candidate could suggest themselves as the vice president with a compromise candidate like Gore at the top of the ticket.

It's an outcome that the party would be likely to accept, Mahoney said. No word on if it's a turn of events Al Gore would accept.

-- Mark Young

When is a boycott not a boycott?

According to one of Hillary Clinton’s senior campaign advisors, it’s when a presidential candidate is part of an agreement to not campaign in certain states for breaking political party rules, like Florida or Michigan.

“It wasn’t a boycott,” said Harold Ickes, during a conference call this morning with reporters.

“It was an agreement reached among the four early states and the presidential campaigns,” Ickes said.

Ickes was referring to Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the only states authorized by the Democratic National Committee to hold their primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5. When Florida and Michigan scheduled their contests earlier than allowed, the four states teamed up to demand that the Democratic candidates not campaign in those two states.

“We didn’t boycott Florida; we adhered to an agreement…,” said Ickes.

-- Billy House

Mon, March 24, 2008 - 12:19 PM

MoveOn.org is gearing up for another citizen-produced media campaign similar to its anti-Bush ad contest from the ’04 election.

This time the progressive activist group clearly has the primaries in mind, calling on participants to make 30-second Obama ads – one of which will be chosen April 17 for broadcast by MoveOn. That’s five days before the Pennsylvania primary.

On top of creating a bunch of pro-Obama viral videos for the Web and potentially being chosen for use on the airwaves, contestants will have their worked judged by a panel of celebrities including Ben Affleck, Russell Simmons, Oliver Stone and Naomi Wolf. The selected winner will get $20,000 in video equipment as well.

--Neil Simon

The Easter weekend could not pass without the media still yapping about Obama’s minister. But Obama got an unlikely ally in his corner late last week on Fox News. Watch the on-air bickering here and see who came to his side.
--Neil H. Simon

Fri, March 21, 2008 - 3:04 PM

Friday, March 21, 4:15 p.m.

We've just launched You're the Pundit. This is the place where you give people something to talk about. Every week we'll ask a question to prime the conversation pump.
All you need to do is register once, then jump in and give your opinion. Check back to see what others have said about your point of view. You can agree, disagree or straddle the fence. Send us ideas for the questions as well as your other thoughts about ways to make mgwashington.com an inviting place. We want your feedback. Thanks.

-- Marsha Mercer

A long-running civil suit stemming from the Monica Lewinsky scandal--involving the vicious beating of two anti-BillClinton siblings by pro-Clinton Teamsters outside Philadelphia's City Hall during a 1998 presidential visit--was settled out of court today.

The plaintiffs, Don Adams and Teri Adams, signed an agreement after Teamsters Local 115, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, opted to pay an undisclosed sum in exchange for dropping the suit, which included counts of assault, defamation of character, and malicious prosecution against the unions.

The terms of the settlement are confidential.

-- Billy House

The State Department now says passport files for Clinton, McCain and Obama all were accessed by unauthorized staff.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this morning she apologized to Barack Obama for State Department employees wrongly looking at his passport records.

“I told him I was sorry and that I myself would be very disturbed if somebody was looking at my passports,” Rice said.

Two contract employees were fired and another was disciplined according to the department.

The Associated Press reports the State Department says the Justice Department is monitoring State's internal investigation into whether three contract workers had a political motive for looking at Obama's passport file.

--Neil Simon

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his controversial statements and all, may have been a longtime spiritual mentor for Barack Obama, but he apparently held enough esteem in the Clinton circle to be invited to a White House breakfast in honor of religious leaders in 1998.

The New York Times has obtained a photo of Bill Clinton with Wright at the event.

The Times account of President Clinton’s speech that day recalled Clinton delivering an emotional confession to the gathered clerics in the hours before the Starr Report became public and detailed his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign dismissed the photo, saying the former president was photographed with literally tens of thousands of people during his time in office.

--Neil Simon

When Bill Richardson announced a longshot bid for the presidency, it was widely assumed that he was only running to boost his national profile in hopes of becoming vice president or, perhaps, secretary of state under Hillary Clinton. The world-travelling former congressman and current governor of New Mexico was a longtime ally of the Clintons, serving in Bill Clinton's cabinet.

He denied that his run was for anything but the top job, of course. But few bought it. This clip from Saturday Night Live back in October, when Clinton seemed a lock for the Democratic nomination, captures the skepticism. (Fast forward to 33 seconds for the start of the clip).



In case you can't watch YouTube at work, here's part of the sketch transcript. The scene: a Halloween party attended by the Democratic presidential candidates.

Bill Richardson (Horatio Sanz): Hillary. Bill.

Bill Clinton (Darrell Hammond): Who are you supposed to be, Bill?

Bill Richardson: [ deepens his voice ] I'm Al Gore! [ laughs ] I've got the Nobel Prize.. this Oscar..

Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler): That's great, Bill!

Bill Richardson: Yeah! [ chuckles ] I know! Me, dressed as Vice-President. [ laughs ] It's we-eird! Not that weird, though, right? [ laughs ]

Hillary Clinton: You look great.

Bill Richardson: Yeah. So, hey, uh -- can I help out at all?

Hillary Clinton: Actually, we could use some ice.

Bill Richardson: I'm on it! [ he runs off ]

Hillary Clinton: Okay.

Bill Clinton: That man really does want to be your Vice-President.

So, it was notable that Richardson abandoned the Clintons and officially endorsed Barack Obama today, calling him a "once-in-a-lifetime" leader. It's not completely surprising, though. Though Obama has been hit with several negative news cycles concerning comments made by his former pastor, his path to the nomination is much stronger than Clinton's. That became even more true this week when her campaign's push for revotes in Michigan and Florida failed.

If Richardson really wants to be VP or secretary of state, siding with Obama is more likely to get him there.

--Sean Mussenden