Subject: Hillary For President News Briefing for Monday, May 19, 2008
From: "Bulletin News Network" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: 19 May 2008 06:31:24 -0400

HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT NEWS BRIEFING (Executive Version)
Full version is attached and available online at http://www.bulletinnews.com/clinton

TO: CLINTON CAMPAIGN

DATE: MONDAY, MAY 19, 2008 6:30 AM EDT

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEN. CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN:

+ Clinton Expects Big Win In Kentucky.

+ Clinton Says She Will Remain In Race Through End Of Primary Season.

+ Obama Won't Declare Victory In Nomination Race On Tuesday.

+ With Eye On General Election, Clinton, Obama Fundraisers Talking Unity.

+ Clinton Supporters Seen As Unlikely To Abruptly Shift Allegiances.

+ Bill, Chelsea Clinton Stump For Hillary In Oregon.

+ Elizabeth Edwards Says She's Not Backing Clinton.

+ Obama Rally Draws Over 65,000 In Oregon.

+ Obama Targets McCain On Social Security.

+ McCain's Top Fundraiser Leaves Campaign.

Sen. Clinton's Campaign:

CLINTON EXPECTS BIG WIN IN KENTUCKY. NBC Nightly News (5/18, story 3, 2:15, Allen, 9.87M) reported, "Hillary Clinton expects to run up a big victory in Kentucky," especially with Obama "campaigning in Oregon today and then moving on to fall battleground states like Iowa and Florida this week. And as Clinton pushes on, she's taking on anyone who says the race is over." Still, today "there are reports some of her top fund-raisers already are plotting strategy and making peace with Obama's camp. And Obama, spending more relaxing time with his family, clearly has his mind on the general election, even talking about the primary season that was." Obama: "It was pretty tough and hard fought. Senator Clinton is a formidable opponent. She was relentless and very effective."

For Clinton, Big Kentucky Win Would Do Little To Narrow Obama's Delegate Lead. CQ Politics (5/19, Giroux) reports that Clinton's "anticipated victory in the Kentucky primary should resemble her victory the previous week in West Virginia - decisive but hollow. Surveys of Kentucky Democratic voters ahead of Tuesday's primary have pegged Clinton's lead over front-running rival Barack Obama at more than 25 percentage points." CQ Politics notes that 51 "pledged delegates are at stake in the Kentucky primary, of which 34 are divided up among the state's six congressional districts. ... CQ Politics projects that Clinton will win 22-12. Another 17 pledged delegates will be distributed based on the statewide primary returns, and they would split 11-6 for Clinton if she wins between 59 percent and 68 percent of the vote - a range that is in keeping with what recent polls indicate. But a net gain of 15 delegates for Clinton wouldn't put make a dent in the big lead enjoyed by Obama, who is expected to win Tuesday's other primary, in left-leaning Oregon, and tighten his grip on the Democratic nomination.

The Washington Post (5/18, Bacon Jr., 723K) reported on its 'The Trail' blog that "even a blowout" in the Bluegrass State "will leave Clinton far from the nomination; winning the bulk of Kentucky's 60 delegates would be largely offset by a strong finish by Obama in Oregon, which has 65 delegates."

Clinton Continues To Woo Kentucky Democrats. The AP (5/19) reports that Clinton "continued her presidential campaign swing through Kentucky on Sunday with a stop at Western Kentucky University" in Bowling Green. Clinton "offered a populist message, promising to increase the tax rate on earners who make more than $250,000 a year. She said the money would be used to give middle-class workers a tax break. 'It's not right that all the economic benefits of the last seven years have disproportionately benefited the wealthy,' Clinton said. 'Ninety-five percent of economic growth has gone to 10 percent of the population.'" Speaking before "a crowd estimated at more than 1,000," Clinton also "touched on education topics. She proposed increasing the availability of federal Pell grants to help students cope with the rising cost of tuition. And Clinton said the No Child Left Behind act should be eliminated."

The Bowling Green Daily News (5/18, Speakman) reported on its website, "The next president of the United States has to be ready to work on the first day, Clinton said. 'Once you get into the White House, the speeches are over and the cameras aren't there. At that point you have to start making decisions,' she said." Clinton "continued her pitch for a gasoline tax holiday over the summer. Clinton proposed financing the plan by making 'oil companies pay for it out of their record profits,' she said. Removing the gas tax for the summer would save the average family $70, Clinton said." And Clinton "brushed off recent calls for her to drop out of the race. It's important for all states to have the chance to vote. Residents of some states should not have their vote become unimportant because other states voted earlier, she said."

Clinton Raises Funds At Private Event In Fort Mitchell, KY. The Cincinnati Enquirer (5/18, Crowley, 222K) reported on its website that in Fort Mitchell, KY, "about 300 supporters gathered at a private home Sunday night aiming to raise $150,000 for Hillary Clinton's campaign. ... The fundraiser was held at the Fort Mitchell home of Clinton supporter Mary Lee Smith, wife of Kentucky Democratic Party Vice Chairman Nathan Smith. Smith, who will be a superdelegate at the party's August convention, said he is still uncommitted. The fundraiser drew such Clinton stalwarts as Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper, attorney Stan Chesley and several Northern Kentucky party officials and activists."

CLINTON SAYS SHE WILL REMAIN IN RACE THROUGH END OF PRIMARY SEASON. The Washington Post (5/19, A3, Goldfarb, 723K) reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton "pledged yesterday to stay in the Democratic race through the final primaries on June 3. 'I'm not going anywhere,' she said on CNN's 'Late Edition.'" Clinton "said she wants the Democratic National Committee rules panel to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations, giving a boost to her campaign, when it meets May 31."

Clinton Campaign Aides Keep Stiff Upper Lip As Race Winds Down. The New York Daily News (5/19, Bazinet, 729K) reports, "Devoted Hillary Clinton campaign staffers used to sit at their desks thinking out loud about landing plum White House jobs. Now they curse out loud at TV pundits declaring her candidacy's imminent end. None of the staffers are hanging white flags from the nondescript concrete building in a commercial enclave of suburban Washington. Each day they show up, take their places and soldier on. But they know the score. 'I'd be lying if I said morale was good ... Indiana and North Carolina were very deflating,' said a veteran aide, referring to the May 6 primaries that made Barack Obama look unstoppable." However, Clinton "has vowed she won't be pushed out of the race before the last primary June 3, and her troops echo her never-say-die tone. ... 'Every time someone tells her to quit, it just motivates us to work harder,' said communications director Howard Wolfson."

OBAMA WON'T DECLARE VICTORY IN NOMINATION RACE ON TUESDAY. The Politico (5/19, Brown) reports, "Concerned about appearing presumptuous or antagonistic towards Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama will not declare victory in the Democratic nomination fight Tuesday in the event he wins enough pledged delegates to claim a majority. Rather, he'll tiptoe right up to the line, without explicitly asserting the race is over." The Politico says "the conscious decision not to declare victory is a revealing measure of the sensitivity surrounding overtures that appear to disrespect Clinton and her supporters. It's also a reflection of the Obama campaign's supreme confidence in the delegate math at this juncture-the campaign now appears secure enough in its commanding position that it no longer feels compelled to declare victory in an attempt to marginalize Clinton. That marks a departure from the stance the Obama campaign took after his blowout win in North Carolina and narrow loss in Indiana May 6. An Obama senior adviser, who asked that his name be withheld to speak candidly, told Politico the next day: 'On May 20, we're going to declare victory.'"

WITH EYE ON GENERAL ELECTION, CLINTON, OBAMA FUNDRAISERS TALKING UNITY. ABC News (5/18, Hendren) reported on its website "that fundraisers for" Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "are discussing how to merge their war chests into a single campaign focused on taking on" Sen. John McCain "in November. Each party eventually unifies its donor base, but what makes this move unusual is that the campaign is still hard-fought and relations are strained. The Clinton campaign confirmed the move, saying, 'We believe Hillary Clinton will be that nominee.'"

The New York Post (5/19, Haberman, Hurt, 648K) reports, "Top supporters of" Clinton and Obama "have been quietly negotiating a cease-fire to unite the strife-torn party after Obama wraps up the nomination, sources said yesterday. 'We will be unified come November. We have to be unified,' said one top Clinton donor. The source said that high-level fund-raisers working for both campaigns have been informally discussing the need for each side to lay down arms as the end of the lengthy and often bitter primary battle approaches. 'The only way we lose in November is if we fail to get squarely behind whoever is the nominee,' the donor said."

Some Clinton Donors Now Contributing To Obama. The New York Daily News (5/19, Saltonstall, 729K) reports that Clinton's "top donors are starting to jump ship, and increasingly they're paddling - checkbooks in hand - toward rival Barack Obama, a Daily News analysis has found. The review of campaign finance data found that in March alone, some 113 top Clinton funders - namely those who had already given her the maximum $2,300 allowed by law - switched sides and gave to Obama for the first time. The analysis, performed for The News by the Center for Responsive Politics, found only 26 Obama givers had forked over to Clinton during the same period." The Daily News says "the trickle of donors away from Clinton is another sign of the former First Lady's sinking fortunes - and the likely cascade to Obama. 'Once people think they know who the nominee is going to be, money just streams in,' said Stephen Weissman of the Campaign Finance Institute, noting that John Kerry went from being all but penniless to raising $1 million a day after he locked up the Democratic nomination in 2004."

CLINTON SUPPORTERS SEEN AS UNLIKELY TO ABRUPTLY SHIFT ALLEGIANCES. The Chicago Tribune (5/19, Oliphant, 577K), in an article titled, "Clinton's devotees refuse to give up," reports, "The more that the experts declared Clinton's candidacy finished during these last few weeks, the angrier her hard-core supporters seemed to become, with many saying that for them, it would be Clinton or nothing. Clinton took every opportunity to fan the flames.'" The Tribune adds, "But some wonder if is there a price to be paid for Clinton's recent gender-and class-based drum-beating. If she does concede in the next few days or weeks, will those women who support feel betrayed or cheated? ... And what about that white, blue-collar worker whom Clinton has courted with such vigor? Where does he go? ... Will they defect to John McCain or not vote at all?" According to the Tribune, Sen. Clinton's "close advisers insist her extended fight isn't damaging the party, isn't cleaving white from black, the college-educated from the blue-collar worker. ... Of the ultimate Democratic nominee, said D.C. lobbyist Heather Podesta, a Clinton fundraiser, 'If the [voters] don't fall in love, they'll fall in line.' But Clinton has the power to script her own final act, to help assuage the hurt feelings of the supporters in West Virginia and elsewhere who will mourn the day, if it comes, when she finally surrenders. How she does that could help determine her legacy and the party's chances in November."

BILL, CHELSEA CLINTON STUMP FOR HILLARY IN OREGON. The AP (5/19) reports that in Oregon on Sunday, ex-President Bill and Chelsea Clinton "shook hands and took pictures with surprised diners...at the Mother's Bistro & Bar in downtown Portland, many of whom were on their way to a Barack Obama rally." The Clintons "stopped by the restaurant for lunch during a break in their weekend swing through Oregon," where they were stumping for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Statesman Journal (OR) (5/18, Daley) reported on its website that Bill and Chelsea Clinton visited Riverfront Park in Salem, OR, yesterday in support of Sen. Clinton. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) "introduced the pair." Chelsea Clinton "teased her father about the eight years he served as president just before he stepped on stage. 'As proud as I am of my dad and what he's done, I'm even more proud of my mom and what she will do,' Chelsea Clinton said. 'Because I think my mom will be a better president.' Bill Clinton's hour-long speech touched on his wife's platform -- from foreign policy to Oregon's government retracting subsidies for logging communities."

ELIZABETH EDWARDS SAYS SHE'S NOT BACKING CLINTON. The Politico (5/19, Vogel) reports Elizabeth Edwards "on Sunday rejected speculation that she might endorse New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination." In an email to Politico, Edwards said, "If you listened to what I said and not to what pundits said I was thinking, you would know that I was never inclined to endorse." The Politico adds, "Speculation about whether she might back Clinton spiked when Edwards did not appear Wednesday with her husband, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, during his endorsement of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama."

OBAMA RALLY DRAWS OVER 65,000 IN OREGON. The AP (5/19, Glover) reports Oregon fire officials "estimated 65,000 packed into a riverside park for a spectacular afternoon rally at a sun-splashed scene on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland. They said an additional 15,000 were left outside and dozens of boaters could be seen floating in the river."

NBC Nightly News (5/18, story 2, 1:00, Cowan, 9.87M) reported, "According to the fire marshal here, there are between 70,000 and 75,000 people who have crammed into this park along the Willamette River here in Portland, Oregon. That would be almost double the size of the biggest rally that Barack Obama has gotten so far. This caps off a two-day swing here in Oregon where he expects to do very well on Tuesday."

The New York Times (5/19, Rohter, Bosman, 1.18M) reports Obama "drew the largest crowd of his campaign so far on Sunday, addressing an estimated 75,000 people who had gathered here on the banks of the Willamette River." Obama said it "'fair to say this is the most spectacular setting for the most spectacular crowd' of his campaign." His "wife and daughters, who have been with him most of the weekend, joined him on the stage at the beginning of the event but left as he was about to speak."

The Portland (OR) Tribune (5/19, Law) reports that Obama "spoke before an estimated 60,000 people" in Portland, "with another 15,000 waiting to get in. ... The crowd shattered Obama's previous record on the campaign trail, about 45,000 in Philadelphia, said Nick Shapiro, Obama's Oregon campaign spokesman. Obama delivered his standard stump speech for the umpteenth time, but it didn't matter. The crowd cheered anytime" Obama "tossed in a reference to Portland, to Oregon, or to anything having to do with the environment or ending the war in Iraq."

OBAMA TARGETS MCCAIN ON SOCIAL SECURITY. The Los Angeles Times (5/18, Riccardi, 833K) reports Barack Obama on Sunday "continued his efforts to tie presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain to President Bush, contending that the Arizona senator's Social Security proposal was simply a continuation of Bush's failed attempt to privatize the government-sponsored retirement plan." Obama said, "Privatizing Social Security was a bad idea when George Bush proposed it. It's a bad idea today." The Times adds Obama also "criticized McCain for proposing to raise the age and income eligibility for Social Security. By contrast, he said, he would eliminate federal taxes on Social Security income for retirees making less than $50,000 annually, and he would raise the cap on the federal payroll tax above the current level of $102,000 'so that people like me pay a little bit more.'"

The AP (5/19, Glover) reports, "Hours before being greeted by the biggest crowd of his campaign," Obama "quietly told a small group of seniors Sunday that Republican John McCain would threaten the Social Security they depend on because he supports privatizing the program." Obama's appearance "before about 130 people at an assisted living facility to talk Social Security was a significant attempt to tie the GOP's presidential nominee-in-waiting to an unpopular President Bush on a pocket book issue that motivates seniors - and also concerns younger generations worried about their own future retirement." McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds "accused Obama of making 'misinformed partisan attacks.'"

MCCAIN'S TOP FUNDRAISER LEAVES CAMPAIGN. The CBS Evening News (5/18, story 3, 0:10, Mitchell, 7.66M) reported, "John McCain's national finance chairman former Texas Congressman Thomas Loeffler resigned today as the McCain campaign continues to distance itself from lobbyists." USA Today /AP (5/19, 4A) notes Loeffler, "one of McCain's key fundraisers, resigned after the campaign last week instructed staff members to disclose all lobbying ties and to make certain they are no longer registered as lobbyists or foreign agents."

The development is being cast as a sign of trouble for McCain, whose campaign is built on the senator's image as an outsider. The Politico (5/19, Allen) says McCain's "appeal to independent voters rests in part on his reformist image." The candidate "recognizes that he will be held to a high standard in the coming campaign and wants to clean house before the general election formally kicks off, sources say." The Financial Times (5/18, Kirchgaessner) reports Loeffler, "an attorney and lobbyist whose Texas firm, the Loeffler Group, represents clients ranging from EADS North America to the South Korean government, stepped down just days after the McCain campaign instituted a new policy forbidding any person working for his campaign to be a registered lobbyist. He was the fourth senior official to step down from Mr McCain's campaign in two weeks." The new policy, "which was outlined in a memo by Rick Davis, a former lobbyist and Mr McCain's campaign manager, also said part-time volunteers for the campaign must disclose their status and are prohibited from involvement in policy-making on subjects on which they lobby." The policy "was instituted after two advisers for the presumptive Republican nominee, Doug Goodyear and Doug Davenport, were forced to resign when it emerged that they worked for a company that had acted as consultants for Burma's ruling junta."

On its front page, the Washington Post (5/19, A1, Shear, 723K) notes Lieffler "is the fifth person to sever ties with the campaign amid a growing concern over whether lobbyists have too great an influence over the Republican nominee." McCain "has built his reputation in Congress on fighting special interests and the lobbying culture, but he has been criticized for months about the number of lobbyists serving in key positions in his campaign. Until recently, his top political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., was the head of a Washington lobbying firm."

Copyright 2008 by the Bulletin News Network, Inc. Reproduction without permission prohibited. Editorial content is drawn from thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television programs, and radio broadcasts. The Hillary For President News Briefing is published five days a week by BulletinNews, which creates custom news briefings for government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at BulletinNews.com, or called at (703) 483-6100.