Subject: Hillary For President News Briefing for Friday, November 30, 2007
From: "Bulletin News Network" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: 30 Nov 2007 06:44:07 -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: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2007 6:30 AM EST

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEN. CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN:

+ Clinton Outlines World Health Agenda At Conservative California Church.

+ Bill Clinton Says Wife's First Lady Schedules To Be Released In January.

+ Robert Kennedy Jr. Endorses Clinton.

+ Reporters Frustrated With Lack Of Access To Clinton.

+ Clinton, Edwards Wrestle To Define Perceptions Of 1990s.

+ Transit Union Endorses Clinton.

+ Gays Heavily Backing Clinton.

+ Clinton Tops Obama By 30 Points In Florida.

+ Obama Holds First Fundraiser In Harlem.

+ Tumulty Says Obama Rallied From Clinton's Lackluster Debate Performances.

+ Obama Touts "Civility" Of Debate With Clinton.

+ CNN Defends Vetting Of Questions For GOP YouTube Debate.

Sen. Clinton's Campaign:

CLINTON OUTLINES WORLD HEALTH AGENDA AT CONSERVATIVE CALIFORNIA CHURCH. The AP (11/30, Blood) reports Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "used an appearance at one of the nation's largest evangelical churches Thursday to sketch a broad agenda to take on disease around the globe, calling it 'the right thing to do.'" The "centerpiece of a speech laced with Biblical references and reflections on her own faith was a call to spend billions of dollars to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases at home and abroad. She said she would try to stamp out malaria deaths in Africa within eight years." With the "presidential campaign intensifying in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Clinton was alone among leading candidates to fly to coastal California to appear at Saddleback Church in Orange County, where pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren convenes a conference each year to highlight the global threat posed by HIV/AIDS." This article was published by at least 77 papers and websites, concentrated heavily in California. These included the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the Contra Costa Times, the Miami Herald, the Charlotte Observer, the Benton Crier, the Albany Times Herald, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe and Newsday.

The Politico (11/30, Ressner) reports, "Speaking at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, today, Hillary Clinton used a forum on AIDS and religion to burnish her spiritual faith credentials, dropping in verses from James, citing Isaiah, and relating how Jesus 'never asked why someone was sick.'" The Politico notes that some conservative Christian groups had protested Clinton's having been invited to speak at the third annual Global Summit on AIDS & the Church, since it was being held at an evangelical church, given her pro-choice position, but adds that "the protests facing her at the site were minimal." Clinton, the only presidential candidate to attend, praised the social progress that has allowed AIDS to be addressed openly in communities of faith and pledged to fight diseases like AIDS and malaria throughout the world.

The CBS Evening News (11/29, story 6, 0:35, Couric, 7.66M) reported, "Late today, Hillary Clinton made a rare appearance before a Christian evangelical congregation in Southern California and spoke about the fight against AIDS. Getting the support of evangelicals may not be easy because of her support for abortion rights and gay rights."

The San Francisco Chronicle (11/29, Marinucci, 395K) reported on its website portrays Clinton's speech within the context of Democrats having become more able to move in evangelical circles, noting that she "did just that today with a visit to one of the country's most influential megachurches that dramatized the new Democratic efforts to win support from evangelical voters the party once considered out of reach." The Chronicle notes that in Clinton's "unusually personal, often emotional speech," she said "that action goes hand in hand with faith. She won applause when she proposed $50 billion for AIDS treatment and prevention and vowed to 'set a goal of ending all deaths from malaria in Africa' - where 1 million die annually from the disease - by the end of a second term." Clinton also trod such "controversial ground" as women's rights and sex trafficking.

BILL CLINTON SAYS WIFE'S FIRST LADY SCHEDULES TO BE RELEASED IN JANUARY. The Politico (11/29, Allen) reports former President Bill Clinton "told C-SPAN this week that he believes the long-inaccessible first lady schedules of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be released in January - in the heat of the first presidential nomination contests." In an interview with C-Span's Brian Lamb, Clinton said, "I want to push the release of more, including the request for documents about Hillary's time in the White House. They'll show how hard she worked on a wide variety of issues, and what she did in her travels around the world to advance America's cause. So I'd like it if the records got out there." The Politico adds the interview, "recorded Monday during a tour of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., is set to air at 8 p.m. Friday as part of C-SPAN's Presidential Library Series."

ROBERT KENNEDY JR. ENDORSES CLINTON. The AP (11/30) reports Clinton "was endorsed for president Thursday by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental activist and scion of one of the nation's most prominent political families." In a statement, Kennedy said, "Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to bring the war in Iraq to an end and reverse the potentially devastating effects of global warming."

Quad-Cities Online (11/29, Harris) reported that in Davenport, IA on Thursday, Kennedy "kicked off his first official day of stumping for" Clinton, meeting "with volunteers at the Davenport Field Office for Hillary Clinton for President. ... 'The largest issues facing our country today are energy and the environment and Hillary's got the strongest plans for dealing with those things,' said Mr. Kennedy, a 25-year environmental advocate himself. Mr. Kennedy pointed to Sen. Clinton's goals of getting Americans off all oil - not just foreign oil - and rescuing them from 'our carbon addiction.'"

REPORTERS FRUSTRATED WITH LACK OF ACCESS TO CLINTON. The Washington Post (11/30, C1, Kurtz, 723K) reports on "life spent trailing the Clinton juggernaut, where reporters can generally get close enough to watch but no further, as if separated from the candidate by an invisible sheet of glass." National correspondents "are increasingly frustrated by a lack of access to Clinton. They spend much of their time in rental cars chasing her from one event to the next, because the campaign usually provides no press bus or van." Clinton "blames an overtaxed schedule for the arm's-length approach, but something more fundamental is at work here. She, like her rivals, wants to deliver a daily message, usually framed around some policy prescription, while reporters want to ask her about the latest polls, tactics or blast from Barack Obama or John Edwards. And answering questions off the cuff always risks the possibility of a blunder."

CLINTON, EDWARDS WRESTLE TO DEFINE PERCEPTIONS OF 1990S. The Raleigh News & Observer (11/30, Christensen) reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are pushing conflicting perceptions of the 1990s, with Clinton painting the era of her husband's presidency as "the good old days" of a surging economy and relative peace, while Edwards says "the 1990s were the days when disastrous trade deals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, were passed. Health-care reform failed. Democrats learned to challenge the Republicans in raising huge amounts of corporate money from Wall Street to K Street and thereby -- in Edwards' opinion -- lose their way." Clinton "recalls that 22 million jobs were created, the federal budget showed a projected $5.6 trillion surplus instead of today's projected $9 trillion deficit, and the middle class was doing better." However, "Other Democrats remember the 1990s as the time when Republican Newt Gingrich became House speaker and the country was consumed with the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the subsequent impeachment efforts."

TRANSIT UNION ENDORSES CLINTON. CNN (11/29, Byron) reported on its politics blog yesterday Sen. Clinton gained a new endorsement from the Amalgamated Transit Union. "The ATU represents 180,000 bus drivers, light rail operators, maintenance workers and other transit employees in 46 states. In a written statement, the ATU said it would work to educate its members about the New York Senator's campaign and 'mobilize its U.S. members and their families in the early primary states in support of her nomination.'"

GAYS HEAVILY BACKING CLINTON. The Washington Post (11/29, Agiesta, 723K) reported on its 'The Trail' blog that a new Hunter College poll shows that 63% of likely gay voters support Sen. Hillary Clinton, with 22% backing Sen. Barack Obama and 7% behind John Edwards. "Clinton's lead is cushioned by wide advantages in favorability and perceptions of her support for gay and lesbian rights. Nearly twice as many gay, lesbian or bisexual (GLB) likely voters say they view the New York senator 'very favorably' as say the same of Obama (48 percent to 26 percent). ... But some of her advantage on this question comes from familiarity. Nearly four in 10 say they don't know enough to rate Edwards or Obama; 24 percent say so of Clinton." The Washington Post (11/30, A7, Agiesta, 723K) runs a brief print article based on this coverage.

CLINTON TOPS OBAMA BY 30 POINTS IN FLORIDA. CNN (11/29, Steinhauser) reported on its politics blog that a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released Thursday shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic presidential field by a wide margin in Florida. According to the survey of likely Democratic primary voters, Clinton is on top with 51%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama with 21% and John Edwards with 11%. However, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland is quoted as saying, "Six in ten likely Democratic primary voters say they have not made up their minds and a quarter admitting that they will wait until the first primaries to decide who to vote for, so the outcome in the Sunshine State is difficult if not impossible to predict. Most Democrats have not campaigned in Florida, so it's possible that Clinton's big lead is due to name recognition. If that's the case, the early primaries may provide instant name recognition to one or more of her rivals and make the Florida primary very competitive." The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3%.

OBAMA HOLDS FIRST FUNDRAISER IN HARLEM. The New York Times (11/30, Williams, 1.18M) reports Barack Obama "held a fund-raiser in Harlem last night, his first event in the historic seat of black cultural and political power since he announced his Democratic presidential candidacy and a place where Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton enjoys wide popularity." After "hearing from a gospel choir, a jazz combo, the comedian Chris Rock and others, the racially mixed audience of more than 1,500 people at the Apollo Theater broke into loud applause when Mr. Obama appeared from behind the theater's red curtain." Obama's "address had a familiar topic: the need for change." Though he "did not mention Mrs. Clinton by name," Obama "appeared to refer to her several times. 'I'm not running to fulfill some long held plans,' he said. 'I'm not running because I feel it's owed to me.'"

The White Plains Journal News (11/30, Blain) reports that at the Apollo, Obama "sent a message to his chief rival,...seeming to be referring to Clinton when he spoke of the need for political leaders to give honest answers instead of ones that are driven by opinion polls. 'In this election, it is not the time to run out the same old textbook Washington campaign,' said Obama." Moreover, "While Clinton has locked up the support of most of New York's top Democratic leaders - including the influential Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem - Obama's Apollo event seemed at least partly intended to show that his campaign has appeal in the Empire State."

TUMULTY SAYS OBAMA RALLIED FROM CLINTON'S LACKLUSTER DEBATE PERFORMANCES. In an article in the Dec. 10 issue of TIME (12/10, 4.03M), Karen Tumulty writes about Sen. Barack Obama's success in courting Iowa caucus precinct captains, observing, "As the contest for the Democratic nomination moves into the last weeks of exhibition season, it appears that Obama is turning this into a race. ... For months...it looked as if that turning point might not happen." Obama "had seemed for most of the year to be unable - unwilling, actually - to put much of a dent in Hillary Clinton's trajectory of preordination and inevitability." Tumulty suggests that it appeared that Clinton would steamroller Obama's innovative campaign with a boilerplate approach. But after "Clinton turned in a couple of unsteady debate performances," it seemed "as though someone had thrown a switch in Obama. Suddenly for Obama, as Lincoln wrote of his own presidential aspirations in 1860, 'the taste is in my mouth.'"

OBAMA TOUTS "CIVILITY" OF DEBATE WITH CLINTON. TIME (12/10, 4.03M) offers "highlights" of a "conversation" TIME managing editor Richard Stengel had with Sen. Barack Obama during a "flight to New York City." Asked about his criticisms of Sen. Hillary Clinton, vis-à-vis his "new politics" theme, Obama replied, "If you look at every public statement I've made over the past two months, you'd be hard-pressed to say that at any point we've been gratuitous, nasty, personal. We've had some policy differences that we described. We're running for the presidency of the United States of America, not for student-council president. This has been a relatively civil campaign." He continued to challenge Clinton to a "fruitful debate" about foreign policy in response to her criticism of his perceived inexperience and called for "making government and public service cool again."

CNN DEFENDS VETTING OF QUESTIONS FOR GOP YOUTUBE DEBATE. The Politico (11/30, Vogel) reports the "retired general who quizzed Republican presidential candidates about gays and lesbians in the military was not the only person linked to a Democratic presidential candidate who got to ask a question at Wednesday's CNN/YouTube debate. CNN also aired questions from supporters of Democratic candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama." That is "fine by the network, which is standing by its question selection process and lashing out at critics who say the debate demonstrated CNN's liberal bias." CNN political director Sam Feist said, "We're focused on the questions, not the questioners." The questions included one from a "20-year-old student from Texas who asked the candidates about criminalizing abortion" who "openly backs Edwards," and one from "a Florida man who asked why a gay Republican group should support each candidate and whether the candidates would accept its support" who is "a backer of Obama."

The Washington Post (11/30, A6, Kurtz, 723K) reports CNN "expressed regret yesterday for allowing a Hillary Clinton adviser to ask a question at Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, even as controversy swirled about two other questioners who have declared their support for Democratic candidates." Retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr, "who asked why gays should not be allowed to serve openly in the military, is a member of Clinton's steering committee on gay and lesbian issues, something her campaign disclosed in a news release in June." CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman said, "Had we known that, we probably wouldn't have used the question." USA Today (11/30, 4A, 2.28M) also reports the story.

Copyright 2007 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, [email-masked], or called at (703) 749-0040.