| | Sen.
Hagel and Jack Reed will accompany Obama on his foreign trip ... Obama
says 'little doubt' the country is in recession ... Obama's on
Newsweek's cover, this time on faith ... Ryan Lizza on the Chicago
years ... John McCain pushes back with a weekly radio address, so
stations can use bites ... McCain is mastering computers, reads
Politico ... Brangelina have No. 5 and 6
Good Sunday morning, and happy birthday to Politico's Anne Schroeder Mullins.
AL GORE sits down exclusively with Tom Brokaw NBC's 'Meet the Press'
next week. Among the former vice president's topics will be his
Alliance for Climate Protection – We CanSolveIt.org.
The Cincinnati Enquirer flashes back to TONY SNOW's roots: 'People
across the nation recognized Tony Snow as a Fox News personality and
spokesman for President Bush, but a group of classmates from Princeton
High School who graduated with him in 1973 remembered him as a loyal
friend who was smart and musically inclined. ... Even as Snow became a
household name across the country, Robyn Carey Allgeyer, formerly the
spokeswoman for the Princeton City School District, said he came back
several times through the years to his Princeton Vikings stomping
grounds.'
CNN's Ed Henry turned a deft tribute.
Sean McManus, President of CBS News and Sports: 'It was with great
sadness that we learned of the death of Tony Snow this morning. Before
Tony entered public service, he was an admired and beloved colleague in
our industry. He will be remembered not only for his contributions as
both a journalist and a public servant, but for his devotion to his
family and his love of life. The condolences of everyone at CBS News go
out to Tony's wife, Jill, and their three children.'
Brian Williams, anchor and manager editor of the 'NBC Nightly News':
'When I lost my own Sister to breast cancer, Tony was among the first
to contact me to offer comfort. He faced his own struggle with the
bravery of an infantryman. He was a rare combination of true believer
and honest broker -- and that is why the death of this humane, beloved
young man has been greeted with such widespread sadness.'
Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel says both sides are distorting the realities of campaign finance. (Both sides' outside groups are largely on the sidelines ... Don't lose sleep over Hillary's debt.)
The cover of NEWSWEEK shows Obama praying in church, 'What He Believes,'
By Lisa Miller and Richard Wolffe: 'Was it a conversion in the sense
that he heard Jesus speaking to him in a moment after which nothing was
the same? No. 'It wasn't an epiphany,' he says. 'A bolt of lightning
didn't strike me and suddenly I said, 'Aha!' It was a more gradual
process that traced back to those times that I had spent in New York
wandering the streets or reading books, where I decided that the
meaning I found in my life, the values that were most important to me,
the sense of wonder that I had, the sense of tragedy that I had - all
these things were captured in the Christian story.' And how much of the
decision was pragmatic, motivated by Obama's desire, as he says in
'Dreams,' to get closer to the people he was trying to help? 'I thought
being part of a community and affirming my faith in a public fashion
was important,' Obama says. ...
'At the point of his decision to accept Christ, Obama says, 'what was
intellectual and what was emotional joined, and the belief in the
redemptive power of Jesus Christ, that he died for our sins, that
through him we could achieve eternal life - but also that, through good
works we could find order and meaning here on Earth and transcend our
limits and our flaws and our foibles - I found that powerful.' AP,
'Obama: 'little doubt' country in recession,' By Glen Johnson in San
Diego: 'Barack Obama said Saturday there is 'little doubt we've moved
into recession,' underscoring the country's need for a second economic
stimulus package, swift steps to shore up the housing market and a
long-term energy policy to reduce reliance on foreign oil imports. The
Democratic presidential contender also said removing U.S. forces from
Iraq won't be 'perfectly neat,' yet a call from Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki for a withdrawal timetable supports his position more
than the longer term presence favored by rival John McCain or his
fellow Republican, President Bush. ...
'In addition, Obama lifted the veil on his upcoming trip to European
capitals and U.S. battlefronts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he
would be accompanied by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Sen. Jack Reed,
D-R.I. Despite their differing political parties, each has been
mentioned as a potential Obama vice presidential running mate. ...
'They're both experts on foreign policy. They reflect, I think, a
traditional bipartisan wisdom when it comes to foreign policy. Neither
of them are ideologues but try to get the facts right and make a
determination about what's best for U.S. interests - and they're good
guys,' Obama said.'
Tomorrow's NEW YORKER features 'Making It: How Chicago Shaped Obama,'
By Ryan Lizza: 'Chicago is not Obama's home town, but it's where he
chose to forge his identity. ... David Axelrod, who has been Obama's
chief strategist since 2002 and is the foremost political consultant in
Chicago, was a witness to all of it, first as a political reporter for
the Chicago Tribune and later as the chief consultant to two mayors:
Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor and a hero of the
Independents, and the current Mayor Daley, whose last name still
carries negative connotations in the precincts of Hyde Park. Axelrod,
who is fifty-three, is by nature subdued. He wears amustache that
curls down the sides of his upper lip in a permanent expression of
melancholy. ...
'In [an] early foray into politics, Obama revealed the toughness and
brashness that this year's long primary season brought into view. ...
[O]bama seems to have been meticulous about constructing a political
identity for himself. He visited churches on the South Side, considered
the politics and reputations of each one, and received advice from
older pastors.'
Obama, asked in 1997 by an Illinois state senator if his last name is Irish, replied: 'It will be when I run countywide.'
McCAIN NOW HAS A WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS -- JOHN BENTLEY of CBS NEWS
decodes the mysterious 'John McCain's Weekly Radio Address' that was
sent to reporters on Friday night, embargoed for 8 a.m. Saturday:
'McCain did his first weekly radio address, ... which he taped and sent
to radio stations across the country, but did not buy time. ... [T]he
campaign said the reason they are starting a radio address is that 'the
Democrats attack John McCain viciously every weekend in their radio
address [responding to President Bush's], and this is a good way of
getting our message out as counterpoint.' The campaign said they did
have any firm commitments from any terrestrial radio stations to air
the address, but XM radio has agreed to air it, and they 'anticipate
that many radio stations across America will either run it in full or
pull segments out to air.' The content of the address is basically his
economic stump speech he has been giving this past week.' Audio file on
JohnMcCain.com.
JOHN McCAIN INTERVIEWS:
--'THE BLOGS' -- Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
('with wife Cindy at his side') -- 'McCain won't run 'scripted,
structured' campaign: Missteps, fumbles come with 'straight talk'
territory, candidate says': 'Do I misspeak from time to time? Do I say
something that I later have to correct? Sure. ... If you talk for an
hour and half, you're obviously going to have someone take a couple of
words, or several words, out of context, and it goes back and forth on
the blogs, and then it's on the cable [news], and that's fine, that's
the way it is, I accept that. But I'm not going to run a scripted,
structured campaign.'
--N.Y. Times A1, 'McCain's Conservative Model? Roosevelt (Theodore),'
By Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper, also in Hudson, Wis.: 'Senator
John McCain in a wide-ranging interview called for a government that is
frugal but more active than many conservatives might prefer. He said
government should play an important role in areas like addressing
climate change, regulating campaign finance and taking care of 'those
in America who cannot take care of themselves.' 'I count myself as a
conservative Republican, yet I view it to a large degree in the
Theodore Roosevelt mold,' Mr. McCain said, referring to Roosevelt's
reputation for reform, environmentalism and tough foreign policy.'
The paper has posted an extensive transcript:
Q: What websites if any do you look at regularly?
Mr. McCain: Brooke and Mark show me Drudge, obviously, everybody
watches, for better or for worse, Drudge. Sometimes I look at Politico.
Sometimes RealPolitics, sometimes.
(Mrs. McCain and [traveling press secretary Brooke] Buchanan both interject [re his daughter]: 'Meagan's blog!')
Mr. McCain: Excuse me, Meagan's blog. And we also look at the blogs
from Michael and from you that may not be in the newspaper, that are
just part of your blog.
Q: But do you go on line for yourself?
Mr. McCain: They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself, and
I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don't expect to
be a great communicator, I don't expect to set up my own blog, but I am
becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information
that I need – including going to my daughter's blog first, before
anything else.
Q: Do you use a blackberry or email?
Mr. McCain: No
Mark Salter: He uses a BlackBerry, just ours.
Mr. McCain: I use the Blackberry, but I don't e-mail, I've never felt
the particular need to e-mail. I read e-mails all the time, but the
communications that I have with my friends and staff are oral and done
with my cell phone. I have the luxury of being in contact with them
literally all the time. We now have a phone on the plane that is usable
on the plane, so I just never really felt a need to do it. But I do –
could I just say, really – I understand the impact of blogs on American
politics today and political campaigns. I understand that. And I
understand that something appears on one blog, can ricochet all around
and get into the evening news, the front page of The New York Times.
So, I do pay attention to the blogs. And I am not in any way
unappreciative of the impact that they have on entire campaigns and
world opinion.
Q: You read newspapers then.
Mr. McCain: I read them most all every day.
Q: You and Obama are both newspaper and book readers. Do you read them in the old paper version or do you read them online?
Mr. McCain: I love to read them in the print form, and the reason why I
do is because so much, the prominence of the story matters. If I read a
story and say, Oh my God, did you see this? But it's back on A26, it
doesn't have the impact of what are still – even though it's declining
– what are still, what are hundreds of millions of American picking up
an looking at today. And that's why I really think that reading it is,
it helps me more than, now, because I don't read all the newspapers – I
don't see, for example, the L.A. Times every day, or the San Francisco
Chronicle, or the Arizona Republic when I'm away. So we go then, of
course, online, and look at them.'
***SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT? The cover of Barron's is 'HOME PRICES ARE
ABOUT TO BOTTOM: Contrary to what you've heard, the plunge should stop
in many areas by year's end': 'Sales of existing homes are showing
tentative signs of increasing, while the plunge in prices likely is
nearing an end. Total inventories fell in May to 4.49 million existing
homes for sale, or a 10.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down
from an 11.2-month supply in April ... The S&P/Case-Shiller Index
for April, released just last month, ... [found] that home prices
actually rose, albeit slightly, between March and April, in eight of
the 20 markets covered by the index (Boston, Charlotte, Chicago,
Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Portland, Ore., and Seattle). ...
[T]ransaction-based home-price indexes ... may be painting a bleaker
picture of price trends than warranted. That's because subprime
housing, though less than 10% of the total U.S. housing stock, accounts
for a far larger share of current sales volume, owing to spiraling
defaults and distress sales.'
SPLASHING THIS WEEK -- The new book by The New Yorker's JANE MAYER,
'The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a
War on American Ideals,' out Tuesday, got love late last week from The
N.Y. Times – 'Book Cites Secret Red Cross Report of C.I.A. Torture of
Qaeda Captives,' By Scott Shane: 'Red Cross investigators concluded
last year in a secret report that the Central Intelligence Agency's
interrogation methods for high-level Qaeda prisoners constituted
torture and could make the Bush administration officials who approved
them guilty of war crimes, according to a new book on counterterrorism
efforts since 2001. ... The book ... offers new details of the agency's
secret detention program, as well as the bitter debates in the
administration over interrogation methods and other tactics in the
campaign against Al Qaeda.'
...and the WashPost – 'A Blind Eye to Guantanamo? Book Says White House
Ignored CIA on Detainees' Innocence,' By Joby Warrick: 'A CIA analyst
warned the Bush administration in 2002 that up to a third of the
detainees at Guantanamo Bay may have been imprisoned by mistake, but
White House officials ignored the finding and insisted that all were
'enemy combatants' subject to indefinite incarceration, according to a
new book critical of the administration's terrorism policies. ...
Mayer, who has written extensively about terrorist detention for New
Yorker magazine, argues that the administration set the stage for the
use of waterboarding and other controversial techniques with a series
of legal memos that gave government agencies virtually unchecked power
in waging war against terrorist groups.
Today, FRANK RICH devotes his column to Jane's findings, saying they
give him early '70s flashbacks: 'Some of 'The Dark Side' seems right
out of 'The Final Days,' minus Nixon's operatic boozing and weeping. We
learn, for instance, that in 2004 two conservative Republican Justice
Department officials had become 'so paranoid' that 'they actually
thought they might be in physical danger.' The fear of being wiretapped
by their own peers drove them to speak in code. The men were John
Ashcroft's deputy attorney general, James Comey, and an assistant
attorney general, Jack Goldsmith. Their sin was to challenge the White
House's don, Dick Cheney, and his consigliere, his chief of staff David
Addington, when they circumvented the Geneva Conventions to make
torture the covert law of the land.'
RICH CERTAINLY FINISHES DARKLY: '[W]e're back where we started in the
summer of 2001, with even shark attacks and Chandra Levy's murder
(courtesy of a new Washington Post investigation) returning to the
news. We are once again distracted and unprepared while the Taliban and
bin Laden's minions multiply in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This, no less
than the defiling of the Constitution, is the legacy of an
administration that notmerely rationalized the immorality of torture
but shackled our national security to the absurdity that torture could
easily fix the terrorist threat. That's why the Bush White House's
corruption in the end surpasses Nixon's. We can no longer take cold
comfort in the Watergate maxim that the cover-up was worse than the
crime. This time the crime is worse than the cover-up, and the
punishment could rain down on us all.'
PUMP POPULISM -- ROBERT D. NOVAK on Monday, re what he calls
'extravagant' claims by democrats of the effect of their various bills
to regulate oil futures trading: 'After consulting a wide variety of
experts on both energy and markets, I could find nobody who sees
speculation as a major contributor to the oil spike. The problem is
massive global demand overpowering a finite supply, aggravated by
uncertainty about oil supplies in the Middle East, Nigeria and
Venezuela. But the image of evil men on Wall Street manipulating oil
prices fits, to borrow the trenchant phrase of the late historian
Richard Hofstadter, 'the paranoid style' in dealing with the current
crisis.'
SPOTTED -- Doug Heye, doing the Macarena on the Jumbotron at Nationals Park.
SPORTS BLINK – Tom Pelissero, Green Bay Press-Gazette: 'A day after
Brett Favre asked the Green Bay Packers to release him, General Manager
Ted Thompson broke his silence in hopes of making fans understand the
team's side of the story. In a series of one-on-one interviews with
reporters on Saturday at Lambeau Field, Thompson talked about giving
Favre an opportunity to return, the events that led to the
retired-for-now quarterback asking for his release and how delicately
the organization is trying to handle the negative attention surrounding
the ordeal. ...
'Thompson said the team is open to Favre's return - though not as the
unquestioned starter - and will not comply with the quarterback's
request to cut him loose. Fans and those close to Favre, who has not
commented publicly, widely have blamed Thompson for not doing enough to
convince the future Hall of Fame signal-caller to return. Though
Thompson acknowledges the issue is weighing on his mind, he said the
franchise will continue to move forward, with Favre or without.'
AP Sports Columnist Tim Dahlberg goes negative: 'We should have
understood that old quarterbacks don't simply quit unless someone
forces them to. We should have figured out that after playing two years
of cat-and-mouse with the possibility of retirement, Favre wasn't done
playing games. We should have known that a player who has provided so
much drama on the field might be the biggest drama queen in sports off
it.'
DESSERT – 'Doctor: Angelina Jolie gives birth to twins,' from AP Paris:
'The Brangelina twins are here: Angelina Jolie has given birth to a
girl and a boy. The obstetrician who delivered the twins, Dr. Michel
Sussmann, told The Associated Press that the actress, the babies and
Jolie's partner, actor Brad Pitt, 'are doing marvelously well.'
Sussmann said Jolie gave birth to a boy, Knox Leon, and a girl,
Vivienne Marcheline, by Cesarian section on Saturday night.
'He told the AP on Sunday morning that the boy weighed 5.03 pounds and
the girl 5 pounds. The 33-year-old actress gave birth at around 8 p.m
on Saturday night, the doctor told The AP by telephone. Pitt was there
during the operation, said the doctor, who delivered the twins at the
seaside Lenval hospital in Nice in southern France. ... He said the
Cesarian was moved forward from its originally planned date 'for
medical reasons' so that the babies could be born 'in the best
conditions.' Sussman did not give details.
'He said Jolie is expected to stay in the hospital for a few more days.
The doctor said he believed the baby girl's middle name was chosen in
honor of Jolie's mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, who died in Jan.
2007 after a 7 1/2 -year battle with cancer. Jolie and Pitt already
have four children: Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2. Jolie
had checked into the hospital late last month to rest and be monitored
by her doctor before the birth.
'Before that, she, Pitt and their children had moved into a large
estate, Miraval, in the French hamlet of Correns, which is just a short
helicopter ride from the hospital. Correns is about 60 miles from Nice,
a resort on the Mediterranean. Though the lenses of the world's
paparazzi had been trained on maternity wards across the French
Riviera, Jolie managed to slip unobserved into the clinic, which has
magnificent views of the Mediterranean, reportedly arriving by
helicopter on the hospital's rooftop helipad.
'Pitt was seen coming and going after Jolie's hospitalization became
public. The first photos of the new twins are expected to fetch
millions of dollars. Paparazzi gathered outside the hospital in Nice on
Sunday morning, hoping for a shot of Pitt. Local newspaper Nice Matin,
which firstbroke news of the birth, reported Sunday that the couple
have sold rights for the first photo of their newly enlarged family to
a U.S. publication, which it did not name, and that the proceeds would
go to charity.
'The newspaper gave no source for that information. But the doctor told
The AP the couple decided to announce the birth to Nice Matin first
because of its links to Nice. The newspaper called the twins 'the most
famous babies in the world.' Earlier this week, the hospital said it
had coated the windows of Jolie's room with a special material to
prevent paparazzi from taking unauthorized pictures of the star couple.
The hospital said photos in magazines and on the Internet which
purported to show Jolie and Pitt in their room were fake, either
manipulated or showing other patients at the hospital.' | |
