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Good Sunday morning. Mr. Meacham reminds
us that Christians are celebrating Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after
Pentecost.
AP's Glen Johnson at 3:31 a.m.:
"Out of immediate danger, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy remained hospitalized
as doctors worked to determine what caused one of the nation's best-known
senators to suffer a seizure in his Cape Cod home. ... Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid said he spoke to Kennedy's wife in the afternoon and was told 'his
condition is not life-threatening, but serious.' "
Politico's Martin
Kady II: "News
that the Massachusetts senator had been stricken dominated the cable
networks throughout the day, with commentators reviewing his enduring public
career. Ted Sorenson and other former aides to Kennedy's brother, the late
President John F. Kennedy, offered overviews of Kennedy family history, and
friends in the political world told stories from throughout his political
career, spanning nearly five decades. In the Senate since 1962, Kennedy has
become one of the leading surrogates for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in his
bid for the Democratic presidential nomination."
DRIVING THE DAY - Top McCain
officials tell Politico that former Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, a top
fund-raiser who was named the campaign's 'general co-chair' in March 2007, is
LIKELY to depart after Michael Isikoff reports on the campaign's new
conflict-of-interest policy in "McCain vs. Lobbyists" in the new
Newsweek:
"One top campaign official affected by the new policy is national
finance co-chair Tom Loeffler, a former Texas congressman whose lobbying firm
has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions
more from other foreign and corporate interests, including a French aerospace
firm seeking Pentagon contracts. Loeffler last month told a reporter 'at no
time have I discussed my clients with John McCain.' But lobbying disclosure
records reviewed by NEWSWEEK show that on May 17, 2006, Loeffler listed
meeting McCain along with the Saudi ambassador to 'discuss US-Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia relations.' "
RIGIDITY IN THIS AREA COMES STRAIGHT
FROM McCAIN, friends tell us.
Senator McCain delivers a mock address to the nation on last night's SATURDAY
NIGHT LIVE, promising he has "the oldness it takes to protect
America": "I'm John McCain and I approve this message. Good
evening, my fellow Americans. I ask you, what should we be looking for in our
next president? Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old."
SNL McCain on earmarks: "Most
of these projects are, at best, unnecessary, such as $15 million to the U.S. Postal
Service for a commemorative stamp honoring Tom DeLay's appellate lawyers.
Whose idea was THAT? or this bit of pork, $160 million to the Department of
Defense for developing a device that can jam gaydar."
WASHPOST
2-COL. LEAD, "Rival Camps Plan Inevitable Merger: Clinton, Obama
Supporters Discuss Combined Effort to Win in November," By Matthew Mosk
and Chris Cillizza: "Top fundraisers for Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Barack Obama have begun private talks aimed at merging the two
candidates' teams, not waiting for the Democratic nominating process to end
before they start preparations for a hard-fought fall campaign. ...
"[I]n small gatherings around Washington and in planning sessions for
party unity events in New York and Boston in coming weeks, fundraisers and
surrogates from both camps are discussing how they can put aside the vitriol
of the past 18 months and move forward to ensure that the eventual nominee
has the resources to defeat Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in November.
WashPost A8 on Tuesday night's
Obama rally in Des Moines: "Obama advisers said Iowa is one of several
states, along with Missouri, Michigan and Florida, that they have targeted
for wins in November and where they plan to campaign even before his primary
battle against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ends. Obama made campaign stops in
Missouri and Michigan last week and plans a three-day swing through Florida
starting Wednesday."
Clinton officials plan to push back against the idea that Obama is "over
the top" after Tuesday night, insisting the pledged-delegate pool must
include Florida and Michigan.
Lanny J. Davis previews what the CLINTON CAMPAIGN can be expected to say on
TV: "Note the bogus and hypocritical nature of Obama declaring victory
on elected 'pledged' delegates while he opposed 'do-overs' by absentee
ballots and firehouse locations in Michigan and Florida. Democracy is
important in one venue (where it helps your chances) but not another (where
it might hurt)."
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***Add to your VP lists (near the top): Sam NUNN for the Democratic ticket
and Tom RIDGE for Senator McCain.
A STORYLINE YOU'LL SEE A LOT IN THE
NEXT 10 DAYS - Frank RICH has a drawing of atiny Senator McCain trying
to outrun the looming shadow of President Bush - "McCain Can Run, But
Bush Won't Hide: Imagine if Nixon had campaigned for Ford."
THEY'RE BUZZING about ... Senator Clinton's sterile, clipped, pro forma
statements about Senator Kennedy. After Senator Obama had appeared twice on
camera to make comments of concern about "one of my favorite
people," and Senator McCain had e-mailed a statement about the
"legendary" lawmaker, Clinton - who was with reporters but didn't
go on camera - finally put out bare-bones, 21-word "thoughts and
prayers" statement.
At a later event, she said on camera: "We need a health care system
that's going to take care of everybody. SPEAKING
OF HEALTH CARE, we had word this morning that my good friend and a great
champion of working people, Senator Ted Kennedy was rushed to the hospital
with symptoms of a stroke, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his
family, because he has been a champion for health care. Nobody has fought
harder to make sure everybody got good health care. And I know that we all
join together in wishing him well. But what Senator Kennedy believes and what
I believe and what many others believe is that every American should be
entitled to the same health care as your member of Congress is entitled
to."
The Boston Herald cover: "TED K
SCARE.'
RED SOX AND LEGAL SEA FOODS AT THE COMPOUND - The Boston Sunday Globe goes
five columns, "Sen. Kennedy is hospitalized after suffering a
seizure," with the subhed, "Not a stroke as first feared, his
doctor says," with the sidebar, "Seizures can be sign, but
long-term harm rare."
The paper also goes five columns with that grim Cape Code Times photo of
Senator Kennedy being wheeled on a stretcher from a Hyannis ambulance to a
waiting Medflight helicopter at Barnstable Municipal Airport for transport to
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The N.Y. Times uses a shallow
version 3 cols. on A21 satellite, A23 metro. From the Globe story by Peter
Schworm and Matt Viser:
"The 76-year-old Democrat was talkative and joking with family members
yesterday afternoon, friends and associates said. His condition was
considered serious, they said, but he did not appear to be in imminent
danger. 'Senator Kennedy was admitted to Massachusetts General todayafter
experiencing a seizure at his home,' Kennedy's personal physician, Dr. Larry
Ronan, said in a statement released last night. 'Preliminary tests have
determined that he has not suffered a stroke and is not in any immediate
danger. He's resting comfortably and watching the Red Sox game with his
family. Over the next couple of days, Senator Kennedy will undergo further
evaluation to determine the cause of the seizure, and a course of treatment
will be determined at that time,' Ronan said.
"By last evening, the mood of Kennedy family and friends contrasted
markedly to that of the morning, when he was stricken at his Hyannis Port
compound at about 8:15 a.m., rushed first to Cape Cod Hospital, and then
transported by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His
children were urgently summoned to Boston. Telephone lines buzzed with
politicians in Washington and Boston exchanging scraps of information, and
television crews rushed to set up in the front drive of the hospital. ...
[O]ne family associate said yesterday evening that Kennedy was alert and
joking with family and was watching the Red Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers.
They planned to dine on takeout from Legal Sea Foods in his room last night,
the associate said."
McCAIN CLIMATE POSITION INFLAMES THE
RIGHT - L.A. Times A1, "GOP struggles to reinvent without losing
itself: The party agrees it must change or face catastrophe in November. But
that's about all members can agree on," By Tom Hamburger and Peter
Wallsten: "Republican strategists who once sought to annihilate McCain
for his independence are now enthusiastically backing his candidacy, offering
strategic advice and affirmation of his conservative credentials. They
include Bush's former senior strategist, Karl Rove; and [Grover] Norquist,
the anti-tax activist.
"Norquist acknowledges that McCain's approach to capping global warming
emissions has inflamed some conservatives, calling it THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
ISSUE DIVIDING THE PARTY NOW. More important than angering conservatives,
Norquist says, is that McCain's position means 'he won't be able to draw a
sharp contrast' with his Democratic opponent on this topic, and thus will
miss the opportunity 'to do what Bush did to Gore: travel the coal states and
tell workers that the Democratic candidate favors environmental rules that
will cost you your job.' ...
"Economic conservatives believe McCain's so-called 'cap and trade'
system is unworkable, violates free-market principles and would harm business
interests. ... Late last week, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh
castigated McCain for his 'embrace of a radical environmental agenda,'
calling it a sign that the Republican Party 'is abandoning conservatism,
abandoning those things and those people that made it victorious.' "
HIGH GAS PRICES COULD LAST AND/OR WORSEN - Chicago Tribune Page 1
lead story, "$4 a gallon not the end of rising gas prices: 'It's not
going to be a 1-year blip and go away' ": "Drivers will likely need
to become comfortable with gas at $4 a gallon, as oil experts say an era of
historic pain at the pump will endure well beyond the Memorial Day weekend,
when prices traditionally peak. ... Gasoline in the U.S. could reach $7 a
gallon because more drivers in India and China will hit the road even as
American oil consumption retreats, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
predicts. 'Millions of new households will suddenly have straws to start
sucking at the world's rapidly shrinking oil reserves,' wrote CIBC analyst
Jeff Rubin.
"The forces behind the oil boom include the emergence of China and India
as economic powers, exhausted fields controlled by nationalized companies,
and market speculation that could be pushing prices higher than supply and demand
can justify. While industry insiders dispute how much each of these factors
contributes to oil prices, many expect the high prices to last for years. ...
Gas prices could sink below $3 a gallon this summer 'if all the stars align,'
said Phil Flynn of Chicago's Alaron Trading. 'What goes up can come down a
lot faster.' Though his contrarian view admittedly puts him 'out on a limb,
Flynn said he expects a rebounding U.S. economy and an end to Federal Reserve
interest-rate cuts to help boost the weak dollar."
SPORTS BLINK - Baltimore Sun,
133rd Preakness Stakes, "DOUBLE TIME: Big Brown rockets to a resounding
win."
AP: "The 3-year-old with the perfect record heads for the Belmont Stakes
in three weeks as the fourth horse this decade to try for the triple, a sweep
last accomplished by Affirmed in 1978. The last to try was Smarty Jones in
2004. ... There have only been three Triple Crown winners."
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