Evan Bayh (D-IN), a member of the Senate intelligence committee, just reiterated his support for the Leon Panetta nomination at CIA -- with a telling addition.
Bayh vowed to support Panetta, whose unexpected selection has opened a schism among Senate Democrats. But he also hailed the skills of Steve Kappes, the current CIA No 2 who is reportedly Dianne Feinstein and Jay Rockefeller's preferred pick to lead the agency. Here's Bayh's statement:
On the Rachel Maddow show last night, Senate intelligence committee member Evan Bayh (D-IN) professed no objections to the choice of Leon Panetta to head the Obama CIA.
"Leon Panetta is an outstanding public servant and I intend to support his nomination," Bayh said. So we have Dianne Feinstein, the panel's incoming chairman, expressing her discontent with the nomination, alongside outgoing chairman Jay Rockefeller.
But two other Senate intel committee members -- progressive Ron Wyden and the, uh, less progressive Bayh -- remain copacetic.
The plot is thickened by Feinstein's revealing that the Obama transition team did not consult her in advance on the Panetta nomination before letting it slip yesterday. Wyden, on the other hand, appears to have known in advance. Who on the panel was consulted and who was left in the dark? We haven't yet heard from Russ Feingold and Sheldon Whitehouse, senators who are both stalwart progressives on intelligence issues. But we'll update you as soon as more committee members tip their hand.
New Obama Ad Uses McCain's Own Words About Supporting Bush
The Obama campaign has a new TV ad in response to John McCain's "Original Maverick" ad, rerunning a video from 2003 of McCain himself boasting that he's voted with President Bush more than 90% of the time:
Obama Campaigning With Evan Bayh In Indiana Today
Barack Obama is holding a town hall event today in Elkhart, Indiana, with the focus on energy issues. Accompanying him at the event is Senator Evan Bayh, whose name is enjoying a lot of media attention as a potential vice president -- indeed, this very event has been the cause of some speculation that he would be announced as the running mate.
McCain Visiting West Virginia And Ohio
John McCain has no announced public events for today. (Late Update: McCain is spending the day in West Virginia and Ohio.)
McCain Camp: Paris Hilton Supports Us On Energy!
The McCain campaign has responded to Paris Hilton's Web video from last night: "It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain's 'all of the above' approach to America's energy crisis - including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan."
Obama Camp Targeting Florida Voters Right At The Gas Pumps
Talk about targeting an ad: The Obama campaign will be running this ad, which was first rolled out yesterday, on a network of TVs that are placed on gas pumps throughout Florida. The ad tells viewers that John McCain isn't to be trusted on energy issues, because he's been around for 26 years and hasn't gotten anything done:
McCain: I Don't Disagree With Obama On Tire Pressure
John McCain is apparently backing down from his campaign's mockery of Barack Obama's call for Americans to keep their tires inflated. "I don't disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it," McCain said last night -- though he added that it's still not enough.
Michigan Congresswoman Kilpatrick Narrowly Survives Primary
Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, mother of the scandal-plagued Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, narrowly won her re-election battle in last night's Democratic primary. Kilpatrick won 39% of the vote over her closest challenger's 36%, with the fact that the opposition was split with another candidate almost certainly making the difference.
Poll: Dem Ahead For GOP-Held Seat In Ohio
A new SurveyUSA poll shows the Democrat narrowly ahead for the open GOP-held 15th Congressional District in Ohio: County commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy (D) 47%, state Sen. Steve Stivers (R) 44%. Kilroy previously ran in 2006 and just barely lost to incumbent Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, who announced her retirement last year.
Paris Hilton's Mother Objects To McCain Ad
Paris Hilton's mother Kathy Hilton -- who has donated $2,300 to John McCain -- has responded to McCain's new ad using her daughter as a means of attacking Barack Obama. "It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign," Mrs. Hilton writes for the Huffington Post.
Both Candidates Off The Trail Today
Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain have any public events scheduled for today. But don't think they're taking the day off: They'll likely be spending today actively strategizing and/or raising money.
McCain: We'll Respond If Obama Accuses Us Of Racism
John McCain made it clear that his campaign will continue to fire back at Barack Obama if they are accused of race-baiting against him. "We're not gonna allow racism to come into this campaign in any form," McCain told ABC News. "And so I'm gonna respond if it comes up again."
Lieberman: Obama "A Good Young Man"
Appearing today on Meet The Press, Joe Lieberman defended the Paris/Britney ad as "cute," and said the intention to raise questions about Obama's readiness for the presidency. "This is a good young man," Lieberman said. "Is he ready to lead or as ready as John McCain? The answer is no."
Obama Defends Shift On Drilling
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Barack Obama defended his shift on offshore drilling -- from opposing it to supporting a larger energy compromise proposal that includes it: "If we can come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise, in which I have to accept some things that I don't like, or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don't like in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of actual energy independence, then that's something I'm open to."
Obama's Long Indiana Stop Has Press Wondering About Bayh For VP
Press speculation seems to be growing about Evan Bayh as Barack Obama's running mate, due to an extra-long campaign stop in Indiana this week. Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs told NBC that this is simply evidence that Indiana is a competitive state this year.
Report: McCain Team Vetting Eric Cantor For VP
The Associated Press reports that the McCain campaign is actively vetting Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for vice president. Picking the ultra-conservative and Jewish Cantor would potentially help McCain among Jewish voters as well as right-wing activists -- and set up an interesting scenario if Barack Obama were to pick Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, giving the campaign two tickets where the running mates hail from the same state.
Indiana hasn't voted Democratic for president since the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide, but a new poll from Selzer & Co. finds that the state could easily go Dem next year — that is, if centrist Senator Evan Bayh is the candidate for vice president.
The poll finds a Generic Dem/Bayh ticket leading a Generic Republican by a 47%-33% margin. Without Bayh, a generic Democrat loses ten points of support — but the Republicans gain practically nothing, for a 37%-32% Dem margin. A key reason for Democratic hopes: President Bush, who won 59% of the vote here in 2004, is at only 28% approval.
Now that Evan Bayh has decided not to run for President, will he also leave the Senate? Human Events reports that Bayh is considering a run in 2008 for his old job as Governor of Indiana — which he reportedly enjoyed more than being a Senator — against incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels. Daniels has seen his popularity fall due to budget cuts and other factors, and has been coy on whether or not he'll even run again. Should Bayh opt to run for Governor, his candidacy would naturally take him out of the running for the Vice Presidential slot.
Here's a quick rundown on the movements of the 2008 Presidential candidates:
* It's official: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will announce that he's running for President as soon as the week of January 8th, a Romney adviser tells the Associated Press. "The timing is somewhat dependent on when Sen. John McCain of Arizona makes an expected announcement about his own campaign for the GOP nomination," the AP says, citing the Romney aide.
* Former Dem Sen. John Edwards will head to Des Moines, Iowa on Dec. 28 to hold a "special town hall" with locals. The visit is expected to be part of a tour of early primary states coinciding with the official announcement of his '08 intentions.
* GOP Sen. Sam Brownback touted his opposition to abortion and gay marriage as proof that he's the only true conservative in the race -- and hence, that he can win -- at a campaign stop yesterday in Spartanburg, SC.
* A group in Oregon has launched its own version of the "Draft Obama" campaign.
* Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who lost his bid for the Senate in '06, is now seeking an advisory role on a 2008 GOP campaign. Steele has been in contact with each of the GOP campaigns.
* In order to deflect questions about Dem Sen. Joe Biden's staying power in the 2008 race following Sen. Evan Bayh's exit from it, Biden's advisers made sure to leak word that he has raised $5.5 million through September, which they claim is "more new money than most would-be rivals to Clinton and Obama." Biden's aides also let it be known that he will announce an exploratory committee early in the new year.
* Dem Sen. Christopher Dodd (yes, he's thinking of running for President, too) joined other Dem hopefuls by telling reporters yesterday that "there's no need for a so-called surge of some 20,000 to 30,000 troops" in Iraq. That puts him in the company of Hillary Clinton and Tom Vilsack, both of whom have opposed an increase.
Just a couple quick updates on the movements of the, shall we say, less visible Dem Presidential hopefuls of the moment.
Senator Evan Bayh wrapped up a 48-hour tour of Florida yesterday, where he wooed Dem donors and activists. In what seemed like a wry reference to the fact that he and others are being completely eclipsed by the blinding wattage of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Bayh told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he wasn't concerned about them, saying: "They're pretty exciting, but that doesn't mean other people can't be exciting in different ways."
Meanwhile, the schedule for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's upcoming trip to New Hampshire has been set, and the Governor will be quite busy with a planned 14 stops, including "a series of restaurant meet-and-greets and house parties," according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
And now back to Hillary and Obama.
With the first batch of post-election fundraising numbers set to be released in days, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain are each trouncing their rivals in their respective 2008 Presidential fields in cash-on-hand. The Washington Times took an advance look at the numbers and found that Clinton currently has $14 million in the bank, $4 million more than Sen. Evan Bayh, her closest cash competitor according to the paper. GOP numbers are much smaller as Sen. McCain leads the field with $1.1 million in the bank, and that number is expected to grow rapidly now that McCain has formed an exploratory committee and is aggressively hiring campaign staff.
Meanwhile, here's a really interesting tidbit from the Times that might help explain why Barack Obama is so adored by fellow Dems: He's exceptionally generous towards them with his campaign money. Though Obama had less than $1 million in the bank at the end of November, he ranks fourth amongst Democratic officeholders and first among Dem Presidential hopefuls in contributions to other Dems during the 2006 election cycle.
Update: Commenter Ohiomeister brings up a good point below. The Washington Times article seems to rank Obama #1 based soley on his personal contributions, which gives a misleading indication of donor generosity during the election cycle as many candidates donated large sums through their political action committees, donated directly to the DNC, DCCC and DSCC, or directly raised money for candidates across the country. As Ohiomeister notes, Sen. John Kerry's Keeping America's Promise PAC spent $7,331,884 on Democratic campaigns and campaign activities in 2006.
It's off to New Hampshire for Senator Evan Bayh. His political organization, the All America PAC, just sent out a release saying he's headed there for two days worth of campaigning. Bayh, a former DLC chair, has been trying very hard to raise his media profile as the "centrist" Dem in the race, something he's been doing by very conspicuously warning Dems not to be too "partisan," lest their midterm election victory prove short lived -- comments that sound like they're tailored to win approval less from voters than from the David Broders of the world. Bayh's scheduled to be in New Hampshire on Dec. 9 and 10.
Sen. Evan Bayh is set to be the next Dem to make a move towards a Presidential run, filing papers to set up an exploratory committee early next week, the Associated Press is reporting. Bayh has a history of electoral success in Indiana, a Republican-leaning state, where he's served as Governor and Senator. The AP also notes a history of careful centrism:
As a member of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees, Bayh was one of the first Democrats to support military action in Iraq. But in December 2005, he changed his position, saying he would not have supported legislation authorizing the invasion if the facts the Bush administration used to support the move had been presented to him accurately.Bayh, 50, has charted a centrist’s course throughout his political career, including two terms as governor and eight years in the Senate. He also has served as chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, which is a prominent voice for moderation within the party, and has helped establish the centrist New Democrat Coalition.
