It looks like Rudy Giuliani, who is not only pro-choice but vocally supported public funding for abortion as recently as this past Spring, might be trying to meet pro-life Republicans halfway.

Fred Barnes wrote in a new column for the Weekly Standard that he talked about the issue recently with Rudy, and whether the candidate could pledge to conservatives that he wouldn't put his pro-choice views into practice as the head of a largely anti-abortion party:

When I asked Giuliani last week about the elements of such a statement, he seemed receptive. Abortions declined in New York when he was mayor, and he suggested the same might happen nationally during a Giuliani presidency. And should Congress pass a bill repealing the Hyde amendment, he said he would veto it.

The Hyde amendment is a federal law that bars the use of federal funds for abortions.

Joe Biden and Sam Brownback teamed up across party lines yesterday to speak in Iowa, promoting their plan to divide Iraq into a loose federal state.

The two underscored how important it is to bring about solutions across both Shia-Sunni lines in Iraq, and Democratic/Republican lines in America.

"The solution to our situation in Iraq is, quite frankly, more important than who will be the next president," said Biden. "It is like the boulder sitting in the road."

"The divisions are so deep, the stakes so high and the time so short," Brownback said, "that we owe it to ourselves to bring all sides to the table and resolve the major issues facing Iraq."

At a meeting today of the Virginia Republican Party's central committee, party leaders voted 47-37 to use a convention to nominate their candidate in the 2008 Senate race, rather than a primary.

The move is seen as potentially benefitting former Governor Jim Gilmore, who is running from the right and favored a convention, and hurting Congressman Tom Davis, who is somewhat more moderate and had argued for a primary in order to recruit new Republican voters and increase the nominee's name recognition.

Neither Gilmore nor Davis have officially declared their Senate candidacies yet, but are expected to announce their plans some time after this November's legislative elections. Former Democratic Governor Mark Warner is heavily favored to pick up the open seat.

Speaking before a New Hampshire Republican event today, John McCain hit Mitt Romney for proclaiming himself to be a spokesman for "the Republican wing of the Republican Party":

Former Governor Romney yesterday proclaimed himself the only real Republican in this race. As we all know, when he ran for office in Massachusetts being a Republican wasn't much of a priority for him. In fact, when he ran against Ted Kennedy, he said he didn't want to return to the days of Reagan-Bush. I always thought Ronald Reagan was a real Republican.

When Governor Romney donated money to a Democratic candidate in New Hampshire, I don't think he was speaking for Republicans. When he voted for a Democratic candidate for President, Paul Tsongas, I don't think he was speaking for Republicans. When he refused to endorse the Contract with America, I don't think he was speaking for Republicans. And when he was embracing the Democratic position on many major issues of the day, I don't think he was speaking for Republicans.

So you'll understand why I'm a little perplexed when Mitt Romney now suggests that he's a better Republican than me, or that he speaks for the Republican wing of the Republican Party.

Seeking to contrast himself with Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney borrowed his words from a strange source for a Republican.

Speaking yesterday to a Nevada audience, Romney said: "I believe conservatives across the nation and particularly in states where I have been able to take my message — like Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina and Michigan and Florida and Nevada — that conservatives that have heard me time and again recognize that I do speak for the Republican wing of the Republican Party."

The late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) used to frequently describe himself as coming from "the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," and Howard Dean famously used the same phrase throughout his campaign for president in the 2004 cycle.

The attacks are finally starting to fly in the Democratic race. Barack Obama's campaign has their own memo out, responding to a memo issued earlier today by the Hillary Clinton camp. The Clinton campaign accused all the other campaigns of going negative on her for a simple reason: They're losing in both money and polls.

The Obama camp's response is that Hillary's campaign is trying to push a message that they have this all in the bag and also dodge any tough questions, when in fact the polls in many key states are much closer than that — and the money and support that the Obama operation has built from scratch is evidence that many people want an alternative.

"So, while the Clinton campaign attempts to duck legitimate questions on their way to their believed coronation," the memo says, "we will stay focused on telling the American people not just what they want to hear but what the need to hear, continue to build a grassroots movement for change and stay focused on measuring our progress in the early states, the only barometer that matters right now."

Full text after the jump.

Read more »

Chris Dodd's campaign has been forced to cancel their baseball promotion, in which small donors would be entered in a drawing to attend a Red Sox game with the candidate in exchange for a contribution of $20.04 — in honor of the most recent year in which the team won the World Series.

Legally, a ticket is not the property of the holder, but is instead a license issued under certain conditions by Major League Baseball. As such, only MLB can approve a ticket promotion, and they have now asked Dodd's campaign to stop this politically-related giveaway.

Ron Paul will be running a new radio ad in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, appealing to conservative voters with his positions on everything except the war.

The $430,000 media buy will focus on his service as a doctor for the Air Force, his opposition to big government, and his dedication to upholding people's constitutional rights. "His record clearly shows he will cut taxes and stop runaway spending," the narrator says. "People who know him call him the taxpayer’s best friend."

Full text after the jump.

Read more »

John McCain has become the first candidate for president to comment on Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize in a negative way, telling an Iowa crowd that there were more worthy people out there to whom the prize could have been awarded.

"I would have liked to see that prize go to the Buddhist monks who are suffering and dying in Burma," McCain said.

Rudy responds to the report in today's Daily News about the impending indictment of Bernie Kerik, his man in One Police Plaza:

"The reality is, if we take a look at Bernard Kerik's service as police commissioner, he was an excellent police commissioner. Crime went down unexpectedly under Bernard Kerik.

"Then on the other side of it, there were these problems. I take the responsibility. We should have known about them. We should have dealt with them. We didn't. It was my mistake. I made it. I am sorry for it. I've learned from it. But in the balance of things, you take a look at the success that I had, it must be that I am generally picking the right people. Because I am sure not doing this by myself."

Just to point this out one more time, Rudy also personally recommended to George Bush that he appoint Kerik as chief of the Department of Homeland Security. That's kind of a key appointment for a President. So this seems like a worthwhile fact to keep in mind about Rudy the Presidential candidate, particularly since he's telling us that he's the guy best equipped to handle what he calls the Terrorists' War Against Us.

The Edwards camp -- which earlier in the campaign hauled in cash off of Ann Coulter's attacks on Elizabeth Edwards -- is now trying to raise cash off of Bill O'Reilly's latest tirade against the candidate. From the campaign's latest fundraising email:

Schooled in the trash and burn tactics of Karl Rove, they have no sense of decency and exhibit no shame. Instead, they believe it is possible to twist the truth and distract voters from the issues that really matter.

Let's send a message to Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter and all the Karl Rove wannabes that their politics of fear are no longer acceptable.

The letter also includes a video of O'Reilly attacking Edwards. We like when Edwards does this. Our only objection to this letter is that it describes O'Reilly and Coulter as "foaming, frothing pundits of the right wing." We don't think it's possible to "foam" and "froth" at the same time.

Meanwhile, Glenn Greenwald has a terrific takedown of O'Reilly's tirade against Edwards right here.

The Hillary campaign is wasting no time jumping on Barack Obama for his assertion yesterday on CNN that he would begin drawing a "clear contrast" with Hillary in the days ahead. Camp Hillary has just sent out this "memo" (read: press release) to "interested parties" (read: reporters):

There have been three major developments in the race this month: Senator Clinton has broken 50 percent in several primary polls, she outraised the other candidates in the third quarter and her opponents have entered a new season of the campaign that they call "clear contrast." Most others call it negative campaigning.

Related? You bet.

Another sign, along with this, that going forward the Hillary campaign will try its best to portray Obama's efforts to draw a "clear contrast" with Hillary as nothing but mean and nasty "negative campaigning," rather than something rooted in genuine policy debate.

Late Update: The full text of the memo is after the jump.

Read more »

Al Gore just gave a speech to the press regarding his Nobel Peace Prize, thanking the Nobel committee and everyone who helped him along the way. He then discussed the importance of the climate change issue, and how crucial it is for society to come together and make a lot of progress as quickly as possible.

Gore did not touch any partisan themes, and was clearly keen to avoid that when he finished his speech and left the room without taking questions — ignoring the reporters who were yelling out and asking whether he'll run for president.

All of a sudden it seems like there are several public disputes a day between the Dem primary candidates, and there's yet another one today, this time over Iran. The disagreement centers on some comments Hillary made yesterday:

''I would engage in negotiations with Iran, with no conditions, because we don't really understand how Iran works. We think we do, from the outside, but I think that is misleading,'' she said at an apple orchard.

Today Obama and Edwards both laid into Hillary for the comments, claiming that they contradict her earlier criticism of Obama for saying at the debate that he'd negotiate with the leaders of Iran and Syria without preconditions.

Edwards, via a statement: "It is very disappointing that Senator Clinton seems determined to hedge her responses on the issues that matter most to the American people."

Obama, in a speech moments ago: "I'm not sure if any of us knows exactly where she stands on this. But I can tell you this: when I am President of the United States, the American people and the world will always know where I stand."

Our take on whether this constitutes a flip-flop on Hillary's part is right here at The Horse's Mouth.

Late Update: Ben Smith posts video of her comments and says there's no Hillary flip-flop here.

Late Late Update: Pat Healy of The New York Times strongly suggests, though he doesn't quite come out and say it directly, that there's no flip flop.

Still Later Update: The Associated Press is now running a new version of the story with a new lede in place of the old one asserting that this was a flip-flop.

Rudy Giuliani just picked up the endorsement of a former rival for the nomination, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson.

"Rudy Giuliani has shown that he is a true leader. He can and will win the nomination and the presidency," Thompson in a statement given to the Associated Press. "He is America's mayor, and during a period of time of great stress for this country he showed tremendous leadership."

Thompson had a strong conservative record as governor and as secretary of health and human services under President Bush, while also being supportive of stem-cell research. He dropped out of the race due to a poor showing in the Iowa Straw Poll, after a campaign marred by fundraising problems and some gaffes on the campaign trail.

Just in from the New York Daily News:

Bernard Kerik's legal nightmare is about to get worse, with federal prosecutors expected to file charges against the former police commissioner that will likely include allegations of bribery, tax fraud and obstruction of justice, the Daily News has learned.

The indictment, expected next month, could prove to be an embarrassing obstacle for Kerik's former mentor Rudy Giuliani, who is cruising at the top of the polls heading into the presidential primary gauntlet.

Lest this get forgotten, it's worth remembering that Rudy personally advocated for this fellow to be the chief of Homeland Security -- that is, to be the chief defender of our nation against what Rudy terms the Terrorists' War on Us.

In a possible sign of worry that Rudy's running away with the GOP Primary's national security booty, Mitt Romney has just launched his first TV ad devoted solely to terrorism and foreign policy:

In the ad, Romney describes "jihadism" as "this century's nightmare" -- another reminder that it's de rigeur for GOP presidential candidates to say they believe that the overarching struggle of our time is a global fight to the death with Islamofascism. Rudy has been compensating for his positions on social issues by casting this battle as a profound and far-reaching moral struggle. Romney tries to go Rudy one better here, claiming that the terrorists' goal is "to unite the world under a single jihadist Caliphate. To do that they must collapse freedom loving nations. Like us."

Hillary has just won a key endorsement -- that of Civil Rights icon and Georgia Rep. John Lewis. Here's his statement:

“I have looked at all the candidates, and I believe that Hillary Clinton is the best prepared to lead this country at a time when we are in desperate need of strong leadership. She will restore a greater sense of community in America, and reclaim our standing in the world."

The political context here is too obvious to sketch out. Suffice it to say that it's a good get for Hillary and a blow to Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton will reportedly pick up the support of former Vice President and 1984 presidential nominee Walter Mondale, bringing her total number of endorsements from past Democratic presidential nominees to three. She has already been endorsed by George McGovern — and of course by her husband Bill Clinton, the only one of the three to have won the presidency.

A new SurveyUSA poll shows Democrat Niki Tsongas in an uncomfortably tight race with Republican Jim Ogonowski in the special election battle to succeed Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA) in the House.

Tsongas leads Ogonowski by 51% to 42% in the poll, virtually unchanged from one month ago when Tsongas led by 10 points. Among Independent voters, Ogonowski has a 13 point advantage (up from 7 in September). Among self-described moderates, though, Tsongas has gained 15 points since the last poll.

However, in a special election, turnout models are notoriously difficult to predict, and this race could wind up a lot closer — or perhaps just the opposite — when voters go to the polls this coming Tuesday.

Some other questions from the new Washington Post poll show that Democrats might be able to carry it in the presidential race for the first time since 1964. By an eleven-point margin (no full numbers) voters want the next president to be a Democrat rather than a Republican.

In the primaries, about half of respondents for the Democratic side said they're for Hillary Clinton, about one quarter are for Barack Obama, and only 11% are for John Edwards. Obama trails Hillary by a wide margin despite the support of popular Governor Tim Kaine.

On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani still leads the race despite his social liberalism, with a heavily divided opposition. Rudy gets 34% support, followed by John McCain at 20%, Fred Thompson with 19%, and Mitt Romney at 9%.

A new poll from the Washington Post shows Democrat Mark Warner way ahead in the Virginia Senate race, leading potential Republican candidates Jim Gilmore 61%-31% and Tom Davis 63%-28%.

The internals only get worse for the Republicans. In Davis' own base of Fairfax County, Warner beats Davis 57%-33%. And among self-described conservatives, whom Gilmore has been courting, four in ten say they would vote for Warner.

A Warner victory would mean a Democratic pick-up of the seat held by retiring GOP Senator John Warner (no relation).

Update: Another problem for Tom Davis would be in a potential primary with Gilmore, with Gilmore leading 48%-29%. There may not be a primary, though, as the nomination could potentially be decided through a convention system — and a convention could also tilt towards Gilmore.

John Edwards' campaign is beefing up their presence in Nevada, thanks to the infusion of federal matching funds. The campaign is adding roughly two dozen paid staffers to the early caucus state, tripling their previous number — but still behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

"We'll have more staff than we'll need to win, more than a full-plus commitment to winning the state," said campaign manager David Bonior, who served as House Minority Whip during his days in Congress.

John McCain unveiled his health-care plan today, focusing on a mixture of market-based proposals and tort regulations in order to drive costs down.

His plan would:

• Replace the tax incentive for group health care plans with a tax break for all health care plans, thus empowering people to buy their plans individually.

• Allow plans to be offered nationwide, instead of being licensed, priced and administered in each individual state.

• Allow states to farm out Medicaid to private insurers in order to cut costs

• Change malpractice laws to limit lawsuits and damage awards.

To check out his speech announcing the plan and its particulars, click here

Obama goes on CNN, personally addresses for the first time the complaints that he lacks the fire in the belly to do what it takes to defeat Hillary:

"Now is the time when we're going to be laying out a very clear contrast between myself and Senator Clinton," Obama says. We've already seen some signs of this in his attacks on Hillary over Iran and torture. Obama, perhaps looking to reassure nervous supporters, is at least trying to let us know that the battle is now underway in earnest. We'll see what happens.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R) said today that he does not expect to make an endorsement in the state's crucial presidential primary — deflating rumors that he was about to endorse Rudy Giuliani.

"I'm in the business of trying to take things off the plate rather than put them on," Sanford said. "I'm staying out of the presidential race."

However, Sanford close the door entirely on whether or not he'll openly support anybody: "I'm not saying never."

Former Governor Mike Johanns (R-NE) officially launched his much-expected campaign yesterday in the race for Senate, seeking the seat left open by the retirement of Republican incumbent Chuck Hagel.

The campaign Web site is pretty sparse so far, featuring a sign-up sheet, a contributions page, and this YouTube video announcing his campaign:

The Democrats are still waiting on a decision by former Senator Bob Kerrey, undoubtedly their best possible candidate, about whether or not he'll make the race.

Via Matt Yglesias, Randall Terry of "Operation Rescue" renown has now come out and explained why conservatives need to defeat Rudy at all costs and why even President Hillary would be better than Rudy for the "pro-life" movement:

As President Giuliani would be the de-facto head of the GOP; he would systematically destroy the political power of the pro-life movement within the GOP; he would pressure the party to take the pro-life plank out of the party platform; he would declare the "abortion issue" is divisive, and should not be part of federal races; he would make the GOP the mirror image of the DNC regarding child-killing, thus insuring that there is no pro-life party.

I still think there's at least a possibility that all this chest-thumping will end up having been little more than an effort to strengthen the hand of conservative leaders in advance of the inevitable moment when they sit down to cut their deal with Rudy. But the fact is, there's no way of reconciling a Rudy candidacy with the pro-life leadership's chief imperative: That is, maintaining control over the nominating process.

Indeed, if Rudy is nominated and the pro-life leaders succeed in breaking the GOP nominee by defecting, that could actually end up enhancing their power. And oddly enough, a President Hillary could help in that regard, enabling them to argue that political disaster is the result when they aren't heeded.

Republican sources are telling Roll Call that Rep. Regula (R-OH) will announce his retirement any day now, possibly as early as tomorrow.

If true, that brings the number of GOP Reps. retiring next year to at least a dozen. The district went for Bush by a small majority, 54%, in 2004, suggesting that it's at least possible that the GOP will have to invest resources in the district, potentially adding to the NRCC's mounting financial and political woes as they ponder the 2008 electoral map.

Regula turns 83 later this year. A Regula spokesperson is declining to confirm the announcement.

The new Fox News poll gives Hillary a huge lead nationally in the Democratic field, with 50% to Barack Obama's 18% and John Edwards at 11%. On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani has a smaller plurality of 29%, with Fred Thompson at 16%, John McCain with 12%, and Mitt Romney at 11%.

In a sign of just how strong the wind seems to be blowing for the Democrats in general and Hillary in particular, respondents were asked an open-ended question about who they thought will be the next president. It turns out that 44% answered Hillary, with "don't know" coming in second with 23%. Rudy Giuliani was in third place with 12%.

Mitt Romney has a new radio ad running in South Carolina — the one key primary state where he's had trouble catching on in the polls — promoting his fiscal conservatism. The ad, entitled simply "Stop Spending," features Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), a favorite of conservatives throughout the state.

Mitt Romney's campaign is seizing the opportunity offered by Christian-right opposition to Rudy Giuliani. Romney supporter Mark DeMoss, a publicist with some major clientele among conservative evangelicals, has written a letter urging his compatriots to stop Rudy by uniting behind Romney.

"As certain as it seems that Hillary will represent the Democratic Party, it now appears the GOP representative will be either Mayor Rudy Giuliani or Governor Mitt Romney (based on polls in early states, money raised and on hand, staff and organization, etc.)," DeMoss sayd. "And, if it is not Mitt Romney, we would, for the first time in my memory, be faced with a general election contest between two 'pro-choice' candidates."

DeMoss then lays out the stakes in this election — the War on Terror, the Supreme Court, etc. — and why Mitt Romney is the man they should trust. He even addresses the Mormonism question, and how he himself had to confront his doubts on that, "But I concluded that I am more concerned that a candidate shares my values than he shares my theology."

Finally, he urges his readers: "Galvanize support around Mitt Romney, so Rudy Giuliani isn’t the unintended beneficiary of our divided support among several other candidates — or, worse yet, so we don’t abdicate the presidency (and the future of the Supreme Court) over to Hillary Clinton."

Late Update: This post originally had Mark DeMoss' first name wrong. I regret the error.

Will Bunch has a nice catch on Rudy's man in Philadelphia, Joey Vento, the cheese-steak store owner who made national headlines for insisting that his customers order in English.

Bunch points us to this new article in The New Republic which sketches in a bit of detail about Rudy's Philly supporter, who endorsed the Mayor not long ago:

A little staff work, though, ought to have demonstrated that Vento was more than just another simple restaurateur with his mind helpfully focused on integrating non-English speaking immigrants into the modern U.S. economy. They might, for instance, have simply checked out his arm, which has a tattoo of the confederate flag. Vento says it's an homage to the old cartoon character Johnny Yuma, the rebel. He must have liked that show a lot, because he also had the flag on several of the Harley-Davidsons he keeps across the street from his restaurant.

The piece also notes that Vento once told a reporter that Mexicans carry disease into the U.S. because they "play and drink out of the same water." Rudy, you may recall, was a big defender of immigrants when he was Mayor of New York. Now he's hanging with Vento.

Here's the video from Rudy's web site of Vento's endorsement of the Mayor:

Whether he wins the nomination or not, Rudy Giuliani has accomplished something special in being the first pro-choice Republican presidential candidate since Gerald Ford who is given much of a chance. But does he really need pro-choice activists to be openly celebrating that?

In an interview with the Huffington Post, NARAL political director Elizabeth Shipp discussed how beneficial it would be for the pro-choice movement if Rudy Giuliani showed that someone in favor of abortion rights can win the Republican presidential nomination.

"The Republican Party used to be about the conservative principles of limited government intervention in private life," said Shipp. "It seems to me if they went back to that and stood out from the rigid mainstream, anti-choice agenda, I think yeah, it would be good for the [pro-choice] movement."

Shipp went on to say that that she's concerned with some of the things Rudy has said, like when he said "it would be okay" if Roe v. Wade were overturned. But overall she gives him a grade of "incomplete," far ahead of any other Republican candidate.

Hillary Clinton's campaign has a sharp response out to Barack sternly-worded — and in a rare occurrence, specific by name — attack on Hillary published in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

In a rebuttal to Obama's accusation that Hillary was effectively backing military action against Iran when she voted for the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment, Clinton spokesman Phil Singer told Ben Smith:

It's unfortunate that Sen. Obama is abandoning the politics of hope and embracing the same old attack politics as his support stagnates. Sen. Obama is well aware that Sen. Clinton was one of the first to say George Bush must get explicit congressional authority before attacking Iran and is the sole co-sponsor of legislation forbidding the president from expending any money on military action there without Congressional approval. Sen. Obama’s attacks won’t bring change, but Sen. Clinton’s strength and experience will.

Clinton supporters also point out two other relevant points: Obama didn't show up for the vote on Kyl-Lieberman, and his fellow Illinois Senator and prominent supporter Dick Durbin also voted for the amendment.

Update: And on the subject of Dick Durbin, his view of the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment was very different from Obama's. "If I thought there was any way it could be used as a pretense to launch an invasion of Iran I would have voted no," Durbin said.

Late Update : Obama spokesman Bill Burton is firing right back at the Hillary camp, telling Election Central:

Whatever happened to the politics of "let's chat" and "let's have a conversation?" Obviously, they find it irritating to answer tough questions on important issues like Iran but voters deserve to know that Obama simply disagreed with Clinton's support for the war in Iraq in 2002 and disagrees with her on Iran, right now.

The DCCC has recruited a new candidate to take a run at scandal-ridden GOP Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), who is currently under federal investigation for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Suzanne Kosmas, a member of the Florida House from 1996 to 2004, has announced that she will run against Feeney. The DCCC touted an unreleased poll showing Kosmas faring well against Feeney in a hypothetical match-up.

"I took a look around and decided it was time for a change in Washington," Kosmas said.

Kosmas joins computer programmer Clint Curtis and Orlando business development specialist Gaurav Bhola in the Democratic primary.

Opening up another front in the Dem Primary battle, Barack Obama's campaign is sharply criticizing Hillary Clinton over some comments she made to The Washington Post on torture, charging that her opposition to torture is too vague and that she's merely expressing "winks and nods" on the issue.

As noted yesterday, WaPo claimed that in their interview, Clinton was "vague" about how she would handle the CIA's special interrogation methods. She suggested she couldn't directly comment on how she would treat the specific methods because "it is not yet clear" what the administration is doing in terms of torturing terror suspects.

In response to those WaPo comments, Obama spokesperson Bill Burton emailed Election Central the following:

Barack Obama thinks that America's policy on torture needs to be a lot more explicit than the winks and nods she has seemed to put forth on this important issue.

Hillary spokesperson Phil Singer swiftly hit back, emailing over the following:

It’s unfortunate that Barack Obama is abandoning the politics of hope as his campaign stagnates and is launching false attacks on other Democrats instead. Senator Clinton explicitly stated that we "have to draw a bright line" against torture and "abide by the Geneva conventions." Senator Obama’s attacks won't bring change to America, but Senator Clinton’s strength and experience will.

In the interview with WaPo Clinton did also say that "we have to draw a bright line" against torture and that we have to "abide by the Geneva conventions." The paper left those quotes out of its interview, prompting the Hillary campaign to release a full transcript of her remarks.

The transcript didn't mollify some Hillary critics. Both Andrew Sullivan and Matthew Yglesias continued to chastise Hillary, saying that the core issue is whether Hillary would explicitly rule out the use of specific techniques such as waterboarding and whether she viewed such techniques as torture. But several others said that the full transcript constituted a clear statement against torture of all kinds and thus exonerated her.

More soon.

Late Update: A rundown on where exactly the other Dems are on torture is right here.

Late Late Update: Andrew Sullivan is now acknowledging that his criticism of Hillary yesterday over the torture comments is "unfair" in light of the transcript we posted. He says he now thinks that "she was unfairly misquoted" by the paper.

In an interesting sign of the times, Dick Cheney has held a grand total of one fundraiser for an incumbent House Republican this year, and zero fundraisers for Republican challengers.

This is down from a ten fundraisers for incumbents and three for challengers at the equivalent point in 2005, when Cheney could charge a donation of $4,200 for a handshake and a photo — and have donors lining up to do it and candidates more than willing to host him.

Cheney spokeswoman Lea Ann McBride countered that her boss has done some fundraising for Senators John Barrasso (WY), John Cornyn (TX), and Saxby Chambliss (GA).

"In every election cycle he has done whatever it takes to help Republicans," McBride said. "This is someone who knows the value of campaigning and fundraising. You're going to see that from him this cycle."

By that logic, shouldn't he be absent from the campaign trail entirely?

(Via Think Progress)

Apparently not content to settle with the current candidates in the field — Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez and businessman Don Wiviott — national Democrats including DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer and EMILY's List are hoping to draw New Mexico Lt. Governor Diane Denish into the Senate race, according to Roll Call.

Denish is seen as the Democrats' best option to pick up the open seat, after Rep. Tom Udall and Gov. Bill Richardson both declined to run. Recruiting her would be a major coup for Schumer, as Denish is seen as having the inside track in the race to succeed Richardson in the Governor's office after his term expires in 2010 — but would also have to cancel any ambitions for the governor's office if she's elected to the Senate in 2008.

Barack Obama has a hard-hitting new Web ad, criticizing the Congress of 2002 for giving President Bush a "blank check" to go to Iraq. The ad contrasts this decision with his own opposition to the move at the time — and hints that the same debates may soon be happening about Iran:

The ad faults "other Democrats" for lining up behind Bush, but still doesn't name the obvious specific people such as Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and others. So while it's one of his tougher pieces against other Dems, he's still sticking to the somewhat oblique style he's been using throughout the campaign.

Perhaps signaling a new and more aggressive phase in his campaign, Barack Obama strongly criticizes Hillary by name again today in an opinion piece he wrote for the New Hampshire Union Leader:

I strongly differ with Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the only Democratic presidential candidate to support this reckless amendment. We do need to tighten sanctions on the Iranian regime, particularly on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which sponsors terrorism far beyond Iran's borders. But this must be done separately from any unnecessary saber-rattling about checking Iranian influence with our "military presence in Iraq." Above all, it must be done through tough and direct diplomacy with Iran, which I have supported, and which Sen. Clinton has called "naive and irresponsible."

Sen. Clinton says she was merely voting for more diplomacy, not war with Iran. If this has a familiar ring, it should. Five years after the original vote for war in Iraq, Sen. Clinton has argued that her vote was not for war -- it was for diplomacy, or inspections. But all of us knew what the Senate was debating in 2002. John Edwards has renounced his own vote for the war, and he should be applauded for his candor. After all, we didn't need to authorize a war in order to have United Nations weapons inspections. No one thought Congress was debating diplomacy. No newspaper headlines ran on Oct. 12, 2002, reading, "Congress authorizes diplomacy." This was a vote to authorize war, and without that vote, there would have been no war.

America needs a leader who will make the right judgments about matters as grave as war and peace, and America needs a leader who will be straight with them.

Obama's challenge is to take Hillary's war vote -- and his early opposition to the invasion -- and make voters see it as relevant to the future, as a sign of what sort of President each would be. That's why he is knitting her recent Iran vote to the Iraq vote, and why concludes his Op ed with this: "This is not a debate about 2002; it's about the future, and in that debate I can run on, and not from, my record." It's unclear whether voters are seeing things this way yet, but Obama has a few more months to make this case.

A new Rasmussen poll finds that John McCain might be in danger in his home state of Arizona — danger, that is, of not being re-elected to the Senate in 2010. In a match-up with Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, Napolitano has a nominal one-point lead over McCain with 46% to his 45%.

In match-ups with the leading Democratic presidential candidate, McCain still enjoys healthy leads over all of them — 52%-40% over Clinton, 50%-36% against Obama, and 53%-35% over Edwards — but his failure to top Napolitano in a Senate race should definitely be of some concern to him if he fails to win the Republican nomination for president.