Subject: Hillary For President News Briefing for Tuesday, March 04, 2008
From: "Bulletin News Network" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: 4 Mar 2008 06:30:50 -0500

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

TO: CLINTON CAMPAIGN

DATE: TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2008 6:30 AM EST

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEN. CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN:

+ Obama, Clinton Face Off In Pivotal Texas, Ohio Contests.

+ Clinton Lays Groundwork To Continue Campaign Beyond Texas, Ohio.

+ Clinton Appears On Daily Show.

+ Keane Says Precipitous Troop Withdrawal Unlikely Under Clinton.

+ National Archives Will Release Clinton's White House Schedules This Month.

+ Some Clinton Donors Now Writing Checks For Obama.

+ Clinton Campaign Manager Williams Profiled.

+ Obama Disputes Canadian Memo's Version Of Aide's NAFTA Comments.

+ Rezko Trial Casts Shadow Over Obama Campaign.

Sen. Clinton's Campaign:

OBAMA, CLINTON FACE OFF IN PIVOTAL TEXAS, OHIO CONTESTS. The AP (3/4, Espo) reports Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton "reached for the finish line of contentious Ohio and Texas primary campaigns on Monday as senior Democrats expressed concern the party could suffer this fall if their struggle goes much longer." Clinton, "looking beyond this week's contests and shrugging off 11 straight primary and caucus defeats as well as a three-digit deficit in delegates," said, "I'm just getting warmed up." The AP adds Clinton "campaigned from Ohio, where she accused Obama of double talk on NAFTA, to Texas, where her new television commercial questioned his readiness to serve as commander in chief." Obama "spent his day in Texas, a state rich in military bases, where he pledged to begin the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq next year and envisioned a 'seamless transition from active duty to civilian life' for men and women who leave the armed forces."

The CBS Evening News (3/3, lead story, 2:05, Axelrod, 7.66M) reported on the "ad in Texas giving the Clinton campaign hope." Clinton campaign ad narrator: "It's 3:00 AM and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing." Axelrod: "Senior Clinton aides say this spot has stopped Obama's progress, especially with men." Clinton campaign ad narrator: "It's 3:00 AM, and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"

McClatchy (3/4, Thomma) reports the Democratic presidential campaign "hits a turning point Tuesday, when voters in Ohio and Texas either will put Hillary Clinton back into the race after a dismal month or drive her out." Although some pundits "already have written off Clinton, convincing wins in the two big states would give the New York senator a strong argument to keep campaigning after losing 11 straight contests, and could raise questions for the first time about rival Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's future." But a "loss in one or both, though, after her campaign had called both states must-wins, would stoke enormous pressure on her to quit for the good of the party." In a "sign of the kind of pressure that might come after Tuesday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a party elder and former rival for the nomination, said this was the week to wrap up the increasingly testy nomination fight."

The CBS Evening News (3/3, story 2, 1:50, Reynolds, 7.66M) reported, "Despite Clinton victories in states including California, New York, or New Jersey, the Obama campaign refers to what it calls the cold hard reality of the delegate math that makes a Clinton comeback increasingly difficult. Today in San Antonio, the flag-drape setting before an audience of veterans cast Obama in a role his aides hope is increasingly plausible, that of commander in chief answering another charge that he lacks the experience to be an effective president."

The New York Times (3/4, Bumiller, Broder, 1.18M) reports Clinton and Obama "battled over national security and trade in a frantic burst of last-minute campaigning on Monday as Mrs. Clinton accused Mr. Obama of deception as new evidence of discord surfaced within her own camp." Clinton's campaign "released a sharp television commercial attacking Mr. Obama for being AWOL from his chairmanship of a Senate oversight committee on the forces fighting in Afghanistan - 'he was too busy running for president to hold even one hearing,' the ad said - while Mr. Obama's campaign counterpunched that Mrs. Clinton had herself missed important hearings on Afghanistan before the Senate Armed Services Committee last month."

USA Today (3/4, 8A, Lawrence, Kiely, 2.28M) reports Clinton "spent her last day before key primary contests in Ohio and Texas raising questions about rival Barack Obama's fitness to lead on national security while the Illinois senator tried to tamp down expectations for a knockout win today." Obama, "campaigning in Texas, answered questions about his dealings with a Chicago real estate mogul, Tony Rezko, who is on trial for corruption." ABC World News (3/3, story 2, 2:00, Wright, 8.78M) reported, "Today, Obama dismissed the suggestion that he needs to win a big state like Texas to prove himself." Obama: "The question is no longer, 'Is it a big enough state, or is it a state with too many black people, or is it a state that is in the Midwest, or is it a caucus state?' We've won states, and we've won delegates." Wright: "But Obama's potential comes at a cost of tougher scrutiny. Today, he was asked about that Canada government memo that says he's pandering on NAFTA, about his relationship with a former fundraiser, Tony Rezko who went on trial today for extortion and influence peddling."

Four Polls Show Tight Race In Texas. Four polls out in the last 24 hours show an extraordinarily tight race in the Texas Democratic primary. Overall, Clinton holds a narrow lead in three, while Obama has a narrow edge in one, but all results are within each poll's margin of error. A Zogby International poll of 704 likely Texas Democratic primary voters taken March 1-3 shows Clinton leading Obama 47%-44%. An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Texas Democratic primary voters taken March 2-3 shows Clinton leading Obama 50%-47%. A Belo/WFAA-TV poll of 1200 likely Texas Democratic primary voters taken February 29-March 2 shows Clinton leading Obama 46%-45%. A SurveyUSA automated poll of 840 likely Texas Democratic primary voters taken March 1-2 for KRLD-AM Dallas, KTRK-TV Houston, and KTVT-TV Dallas shows Obama leading Clinton 48%-47%.

Clinton Up Big In Two Of Three Ohio Polls. Clinton holds a double-digit lead over Sen. Barack Obama in Ohio in two of three new polls released in the current news cycle. An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Ohio Democratic primary voters taken March 2-3 shows Clinton leading Obama 56%-42%. A SurveyUSA automated poll of 873 likely Ohio Democratic primary voters taken March 1-2 for a series of state TV stations shows Clinton leading Obama 54%-44%. In contrast to the other two, a Zogby International poll of 712 likely Ohio Democratic primary voters taken March 1-3 shows Clinton and Obama tied at 44% apiece.

CLINTON LAYS GROUNDWORK TO CONTINUE CAMPAIGN BEYOND TEXAS, OHIO. The Hill (3/4, Youngman) reports Clinton "began laying the groundwork to battle on past the Texas and Ohio presidential contests Tuesday, even as supporters of her rival for the Democratic nomination said she should end her candidacy if she loses either state." Clinton was "reported on Monday morning as saying she's 'just getting warmed up,' and campaign officials have repeatedly spoken of Pennsylvania's primary on April 22 as the next step." Mark Penn, Clinton's "chief strategist, said on a conference call with reporters Monday that the campaign is optimistic."

ABC World News (3/3, lead story, 2:55, Snow, 8.78M) reported, "Don't tell Hillary Clinton that this is her last stand. While some of her advisers are making contingency plans, the candidate today said she's just getting warmed up and feeling really good about her chances tomorrow."

The Washington Post (3/4, A1, Kornblut, Bacon, 723K) reports in a front page story that Clinton advisers "claimed fresh signs of momentum and continued to attempt to raise doubts about Obama on Monday, questioning his trade policies and ties to a Chicago developer. Clinton (N.Y.) predicted victory and insisted that a comeback is on the horizon." The Post added, "But it was unclear whether Clinton could derail Obama (Ill.) without a dramatic showing that will bring her a big win in delegates awarded Tuesday."

The Wall Street Journal (3/4, A1, Calmes, 2.06M) reports on the front page that Clinton "aides have started to imply that even just one big win today would allow her to claim she had broken Sen. Obama's momentum, justifying a continuing competition." But if the "outcomes are as close as polls suggest, Sen. Clinton won't be able to cut into Sen. Obama's lead in delegates to the Democrats' August nominating convention. The more likely net result from the four states is that his edge will grow. The Illinois senator currently is ahead with 1,386 delegates to 1,276 for Sen. Clinton, as calculated by the Associated Press."

The AP (3/4, Glover) reports Clinton "suggested Monday she'll press on with the campaign after Tuesday's crucial primaries, arguing that momentum is on her side despite 11 straight losses to rival Sen. Barack Obama." On Friday, Hillary Clinton's advisers "recast the stakes, saying if Obama lost any of the four presidential primaries - Rhode Island and Vermont also vote Tuesday - it would show Democrats are having second thoughts about him." Clinton "predicted success on Tuesday and looked ahead to the next big contest - Pennsylvania on April 22."

Poll: Most Say Win In OH Or TX Sufficient For Clinton To Continue. The Washington Post (3/4, A8, Cohen, Ageista, 723K) reports a new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows "two-thirds of Democrats say a victory in either Ohio or Texas would be reason enough for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) to keep her historic bid for the party's presidential nomination alive." But while only "29 percent of Democrats said Clinton should drop out if she loses one of the two big states," that "number jumps to 51 percent if she loses both." At the "general-election level, half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents across the country would like to see Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) as the party's presidential candidate; 43 percent would rather Hillary Clinton be the nominee."

ABC News (3/4, Langer) reports on its website that should Clinton fail to win the Democratic nomination, "many Democrats have a runner-up prize in mind. Asked whom they'd like Obama to pick for vice president, should he win the nomination, 36 percent name Clinton, a broad level of agreement on an open-ended question. An additional 11 percent of Democrats suggest John Edwards, 3 percent Bill Richardson, 1 percent Al Gore and 1 percent Joe Biden. Clinton leads among all groups, notably among women -- 41 percent pick her for vice president, compared with 28 percent of men."

Poll Shows New York Democrats Split On Whether Losses Should See Clinton Exit Race. The New York Post (3/4, Dicker, 648K) reports, "New York Democrats are closely divided, 41-43 percent, on whether Hillary Rodham Clinton should abandon her presidential bid if she loses today's Texas and Ohio primaries to Barack Obama, a new poll showed yesterday. The Siena College survey also found that among all New York voters, 45 percent believe Clinton should drop out of the race if she isn't successful against Obama while 38 percent said she should fight on."

CLINTON APPEARS ON DAILY SHOW. Sen. Hillary Clinton appeared via satellite on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (3/3, 11:13 p.m.), where she praised voters in Texas and Ohio, continuing to vow to continue to address issues important to them even after the election. Asked whether she is "uncomfortable in the role of chastising someone's idealism?" Clinton replied, "No, because I really admire that. I think that, you know, the ability to inspire and certainly get people involved that we've seen from senator Obama is wonderful. I believe that it's important though that we remember the job has to be just a daily getting up and doing it. I try to mix both of those because obviously I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't care deeply about changing our country." The rest of the interview can be seen here.

USA Today (3/4, 2D, Levin, 2.28M) reports Clinton "gamely appeared on Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Monday, the eve of crucial primary duels with Barack Obama in Ohio and Texas." Stewart said, "Tomorrow is perhaps one of the most important days of your life, and you've chosen to spend the night before talking to me. As a host, I'm delighted; as a citizen, I'm frightened. Senator, your response?" Clinton said, "It is pretty pathetic." USA adds, "But Clinton tried to quash the perception that she's in dire straits, even after her spouse called winning the Texas primary critical to her campaign."

KEANE SAYS PRECIPITOUS TROOP WITHDRAWAL UNLIKELY UNDER CLINTON. The New York Sun (3/3, Lake) reported on its website that Jack Keane, a retired four-star general and "co-author of the surge strategy in Iraq," said that "when he briefed [Sen. Hillary] Clinton in late 2006 and January 2007 on the counter-offensive strategy known as the surge, she 'generally supported the surge strategy in the sense she wanted it to succeed but she was skeptical about its chances.' Mr. Keane is in a position to know Mrs. Clinton, having worked informally with her since 2001 when Mr. Keane was still chief of staff for the Army. Early last year, the Clinton team even asked the retired general to become a formal adviser to the campaign on military issues, a request Mr. Keane declined, as he has done for other candidates. Mr. Keane nevertheless said he holds the former first lady in high esteem. 'Senator Clinton is very knowledgeable about national security and is probably going to be strong on defense,' he said. 'I have no doubts whatsoever that if she were president in January '09 she would not act irresponsibly and issue orders to conduct an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, regardless of the consequences, and squander the gains that have been made.'"

NATIONAL ARCHIVES WILL RELEASE CLINTON'S WHITE HOUSE SCHEDULES THIS MONTH. The AP (3/4, Demillo) reports the National Archives "expects to release Hillary Rodham Clinton's schedules as first lady later this month, but has asked a judge to delay the release of thousands of her telephone logs for one to two years." Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the National Archives, "said longtime Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey told the Archives he believes it withheld and redacted materials too stringently, and the Archives is now going back through materials and removing some redactions and re-reviewing documents that might be released after all. The archives said in court papers filed Saturday that it needs more time to process 20,000 pages of Clinton's phone logs that also have been sought by Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group that has accused the library of delaying the documents' release."

SOME CLINTON DONORS NOW WRITING CHECKS FOR OBAMA. According to McClatchy (3/4, Gordon), "Hundreds of" Sen. Hillary Clinton's "financial backers...switched gears in January and started shoveling cash into Obama's campaign, a McClatchy analysis of Federal Election Commission records found. Their shift, while amounting to only a tiny slice of the more than $300 million raised by the two Democratic candidates, was prompted by several factors." Obama "has made inroads among even committed Clinton boosters" who "want to back a winning Democrat and changed course as Obama's candidacy soared." Others "see campaign donations as strictly business and wanted to assure their access regardless of who wins."

CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER WILLIAMS PROFILED. McClatchy (3/4, Goldstein) profiles Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams, who "has returned to Hillary Clinton's side to preside over either another second wind for the senator's presidential hopes, or their last gasp. ... 'Yes, undeniably, Texas and Ohio are very important to us, and we expect to do well on Tuesday,' Williams said. 'I also believe that letting this process play out in all the states and hearing from the American people is also very important.'"

OBAMA DISPUTES CANADIAN MEMO'S VERSION OF AIDE'S NAFTA COMMENTS. The AP (3/4, Pickler) reports that yesterday Sen. Barack Obama "said that his campaign never gave Canada back-channel assurances that his harsh words about the North American Free Trade Agreement were for political show - despite the disclosure of a Canadian memo indicating otherwise. According to the memo obtained by The Associated Press, Obama's senior economic adviser told Canadian officials in Chicago that the debate over free trade in the Democratic presidential primary campaign was 'political positioning' and that Obama was not really protectionist." Obama adviser, Austan Goolsbee "said his comments to those officials were misinterpreted by the author, Joseph DeMora, who works for the Canadian consulate in Chicago and attended the meeting." In Texas yesterday, Obama told reporters: "Nobody reached out to the Canadians to try to assure them of anything." According to the AP, the memo says: "Goolsbee candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign. ... He cautioned that this messaging should not be taken out of context and should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

The Dallas Morning News (3/3, Gillman, 432K) says Obama "faced a barrage Monday about contacts between his top economic adviser and Canadian officials edgy over his threat to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement –- specifically, about contradictions between initial denials that such a meeting ever took place, issued by Mr. Obama himself and by aides, and evidence that has since emerged. ... 'When I gave you that information, that was the information that I had at the time,' Mr. Obama insisted at an unusually testy news conference."

The Washington Post (3/4, A9, 723K) notes that the last four days, Obama's campaign staff has "been strenuously denying a story first aired by Canadian television on Feb. 27. ... In its original form, CTV said that a 'top staffer' from the Obama campaign had telephoned the Canadian ambassador to warn him that the candidate would soon be speaking out against" NAFTA. The aide "allegedly told the ambassador that 'the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric and should not be taken at face value.' The Canadian Embassy in Washington flatly denied the story, and Obama repeated the embassy's denials. It now turns out that, while there were errors in the original CTV story, a senior Obama campaign staffer did talk about NAFTA with a senior Canadian diplomat." Obama spokesman Bill Burton "insisted yesterday that the campaign had not misled reporters."

The New York Times (3/4, Luo, 1.18M) adds, "The denials were sweeping when Senator Barack Obama's campaign mobilized last week to refute a report that a senior official had given back-channel reassurances to Canada soft-pedaling Mr. Obama's tough talk on Nafta. ... The memorandum exposed Mr. Obama to accusations of hypocrisy on a touchstone issue." The Times says the memo "also raises questions about the transparency and the ability of the campaign to address problems before they grow."

USA Today (3/4, 8A, Memmott, 2.28M) also notes that "when the reports about Goolsbee's conversation first surfaced, Obama campaign officials disputed that any conversation took place. 'The story's just not true,' campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters Friday during a conference call."

Clinton Accuses Obama Of Employing "The Old Wink-Wink." The Financial Times (3/3, Ward) reports Sen. Hillary Clinton "seized on the memo to raise questions about her opponent's authenticity as she fights to keep her presidential ambitions alive. She accused Mr Obama of giving 'the old wink-wink' to the Canadian government while assuring Americans that he would fight to protect US jobs."

The Los Angeles Times (3/4, Neuman, Roug, 881K) quotes Clinton as saying, "I don't think people should come to Ohio and you both give speeches that are very critical of NAFTA and you send out misleading and false information about my positions regarding NAFTA and then we find out that your chief economic advisor has gone to a foreign government and basically done the old wink-wink, don't pay any attention, this is just political rhetoric. ... I think it raises serious questions about what you expect them to believe about your position."

According to the Wall Street Journal (3/4, Timiraos, 2.06M), the Clinton campaign "has named the Goolsbee story 'Nafta-gate,'" while the Obama campaign "called the issue a 'smokescreen' created by the Clinton campaign and Sen. Obama yesterday said that the Canadian consulate, not Mr. Goolsbee, had initiated the meeting. 'He went down there as a courtesy and at some point they started talking about trade and Nafta,' he said."

REZKO TRIAL CASTS SHADOW OVER OBAMA CAMPAIGN. ABC World News (3/3, story 3, 2:30, Gibson, 8.78M) reported Chicago reporters "kept asking Barack Obama about a corruption trial that began today in that city. The trial involves a former Obama fund-raiser and business man, Tony Rezko. And it could last for months. And it could cast a shadow on the Obama campaign." According to ABC, "For all of his state of disdain for fat cats and special interests, Senator Obama has had a long and close relationship with Rezko. ... Obama is not a target of the Rezko investigation but since the indictment his campaign has donated into charities some $150,000 in contributions connected to Rezko." But "among the questions still unanswered, just how much money did Rezko raise for Obama at fundraisers at his suburban mansion and elsewhere over the years. Why have all people, when Obama sought to buy a new home did he seek Rezko's help in the deal? The seller insisted on selling the adjoining vacant lot, at the same time, but Obama couldn't afford the lot. So Rezko's wife bought the lot and then later sold a strip of it back to Obama." ABC also reported that prosecutors "allege that in at least two cases, Rezko did secretly funnel money to Obama's campaign as part of his kickback schemes."

In a follow-up segment, ABC World News (3/3, story 4, 1:35, Gibson, 8.78M) said "these questions about Rezko couldn't come at a worst time cause these are critical primaries." ABC's George Stephanopoulos added, "It's was a tough weekend for Barack Obama; there's no question about it; he was thrown off his game a little bit. He was not able to keep up that momentum we saw last week to make his case for change. Also if Senator Clinton does well tomorrow, people will look back and say how much do we really know about this guy and the scrutiny will intensify in the days going forward."

The AP (3/4, Raum) reports, "Questions about" his relationship with Rezko "dogged Obama as he wound up campaigning on the eve of crucial primary votes in Texas and Ohio. ... Obama campaigned exclusively in Texas on Monday, a state polls suggested he was more likely to carry than Ohio. Pressed, Obama said, 'Tony Rezko was a friend and supporter of mine for many years. These charges are completely unrelated to me, and nobody disputes that.' 'There's no dispute that he raised money for us, and there's no dispute that we've tried to get rid of it,' he added."

The Chicago Tribune (3/4, Pearson, McCormick, 607K) reports, "At a news conference, Obama was peppered with questions about his relationship with Rezko." Obama "said Clinton's campaign has pushed the story even though there have been 'several hundred' news stories about him and Rezko. 'The fact pattern remains unchanged,' said Obama, whose campaign has donated to charity more than $150,000 in Rezko-related contributions. 'Tony Rezko was a friend and supporter of mine for many years. ... He supported not just me but many Democrats and Republicans.'"

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