Observatorio de Medios UIA/elecciones en EU

By Daniel Politi,Today’s Papers, Salte Magazine.

The Washington Post leads with a look at how Sen. Barack Obama began an effort to unify the Democratic Party behind his candidacy, even as Sen. Hillary Clinton continued to campaign and insist she has a better chance of winning the November election.

Even as Obama said yesterday that he’s likely to win a majority of pledged delegates after Kentucky and Oregon vote on May 20, he’s not publicly calling for Clinton to step down from the contest. It seems his campaign is being careful not to make it seem like Obama is trying to push Clinton to quit since he will need the backing of her supporters in November. The chairman of the Clinton campaign suggested yesterday that Clinton won’t take the fight to the nomination when he said that “after June 3, this is going to come to a conclusion.” The Post’s Dan Balz says that while it’s possible that Clinton might end her campaign early due to lack of funds, the most likely scenario is that she won’t officially drop out until the undecided superdelegates move into the Obama column after June 3.

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By Daniel Politi, Today’s News, Slate Magazine

The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal’s world-wide newsbox all lead with the fallout from Tuesday’s primaries. Sen. Hillary Clinton was already facing an uphill battle, but she awoke yesterday to a decidedly changed mood and a growing feeling that her quest for the nomination is simply a lost cause. Many are already referring to Sen. Barack Obama as the presumptive nominee. “Suddenly, a primary day that few expected to be decisive in the Democrats’ long and close contest was interpreted on all sides as a game-changer,” notes the WSJ. But Clinton vowed to stay in the race, and in order to quell any doubts about her determination, she campaigned in West Virginia, where she assured reporters that she’ll keep going “until there is a nominee.” Her advisers also publicly dismissed the idea that there had been any discussions about dropping out.

 

In a sign of Clinton’s growing financial troubles, her advisers confirmed that she had lent her campaign $6.4 million in the last month, on top of an earlier $5 million infusion from her personal coffers. Though previous signs of financial trouble had brought cash into the Clinton campaign, the NYT says that even her advisers expressed concern that her online fundraising efforts aren’t going as well as in the past. Meanwhile, some of her supporters are also expressing doubts about whether there’s a path to victory. Everyone points out that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a big Clinton backer, said that she wants to “get her view on the rest of the race and what the strategy is.”

In an interview with USAT, Clinton said she would be a better candidate against Sen. John McCain because she has a “much broader base to build a winning coalition on.” She went on to say that an Associated Press article “found how Sen. Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.” Clinton insists, “There’s a pattern emerging here.”

 

For his part, Obama took the day off yesterday and spent time at home in Chicago. The LAT notes inside that Obama will begin to implement a new strategy that involves ignoring Clinton and acting like the de facto nominee. Although he won’t abandon the primary campaign and still plans to make appearances in the states that will go to the polls in the next few weeks, he might also decide to take detours to important swing states that have already voted, such as Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

The WP asks a provocative question on Page One: “Did Rush Limbaugh Tilt Result In Indiana?” There’re some interesting data, but the answer seems to be decidedly uninteresting: probably not. Limbaugh urged his listeners to take part in “Operation Chaos,” which involved voting for Clinton “to bloody up Obama politically,” and since the former first lady’s margin of victory in Indiana was so small, some are wondering whether it had any effect. Clinton did hold an edge over Obama among Republican voters, and the most interesting fact is that approximately 60 percent of Republicans who supported the former first lady said they would vote for McCain in November even if Clinton were the nominee. But ultimately, her margin of victory among Republicans was significantly smaller than her overall edge with white Democrats. For what it’s worth, Limbaugh called off “Operation Chaos” yesterday because he now thinks Obama is more vulnerable than Clinton.

 

 

James “Alien” Carville, Financial Times

 

The contest for the Democratic nomination is being largely portrayed as an historic confrontation between the first ever electorally-credible African American and the first ever electorally-credible woman running for president of the US. That in itself is sufficient to warrant blanket coverage, consuming interest and at times hysterical commentary on what is without question an unprecedented contest. (más…)

By Daniel Politi, Today’s Papers. Slate Magazine

The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with a poll that shows only 27 percent of voters view the Republican Party in a positive light, which amounts to “the lowest level for either party in the survey’s nearly two-decade history.” The interesting part of this is that despite these negative numbers, and the fact that a majority of voters would rather see a Democrat in the White House, Sen. John McCain remains in a statistical dead heat with the two Democratic contenders.

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Por Karl Rove, publicado en The Wall Street Journal,

 

It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day. No, not that Doris Day. The Doris Day who is married to Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton.

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By Daniel Politi, Today’s Papers, Slate Magazine

The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal’s world-wide newsbox all lead with looks at the continuing Democratic presidential contest after Sen. Hillary Clinton’s victory in Pennsylvania. As all eyes turn toward Indiana, the Clinton campaign announced that it received $10 million in contributions after the Tuesday victory, reports the WSJ. The NYT has a double-story lead, one looking at increasing questions of how Sen. Barack Obama’s race might affect the general election and another questioning how much primary results really foreshadow what will happen in November. The LAT talks to “dozens” of superdelegates, who seem to accept that the race will continue for six more weeks but insist that a decision has to be made after the last primary on June 3 and can’t wait until the convention, which will take place in late August.

 

The NYT’s Adam Nagourney acknowledges that “the role of race is difficult to disentangle from the other strands of the political debate surrounding” the senator from Illinois, including his “values, elitism, ideology, and experience.” But it seems clear that race is at least playing some sort of factor in a key part of the electorate, and that is increasingly worrying Democrats. Although Obama says he’s made inroads with white, blue-collar voters, the Post points out that “exit polls dispute that.” Not only did he lose white voters without college degrees in Pennsylvania by pretty much the same margin as in Ohio, he even lost ground with white Roman Catholics, who make up an important constituency in several key states.

Clinton’s victory in Pennsylvania allowed her to continue making the argument that she’s winning the states that are essential to a Democratic victory in November. But the NYT says that just because she’s winning the states in the primary doesn’t mean Obama can’t also win them in November. For its part, Obama’s camp contends that the senator from Illinois could put other states in play that have traditionally leaned Republican. Ultimately, political analysts seem to agree that “state primary results do not necessarily translate into general election victories,” and most of those who voted for Clinton would likely pull the lever for Obama in November.

Despite the spike in donations, the former first lady still expects to be vastly outspent in Indiana, notes the WSJ. According to the Associated Press, Clinton still trails Obama in the national delegate count by 131. In terms of the popular vote, “the gap both narrows and widens” depending on how it’s counted, notes the WSJ. Traditional counts put Obama ahead in the popular vote, but if the results from Michigan and Florida are included, then Clinton has a narrow lead.

In a WSJ op-ed piece, Karl Rove says that although Obama is still clearly the favorite, the last few weeks have weakened him as a candidate. “His appeals are based on two aspirational pledges he is increasingly less credible in making,” Rove writes. There’s little evidence that Obama “demonstrated bipartisanship” in any important issues as a senator, and he has also “not provided leadership on any major legislative battle.”

 

 

 

AP/ El Universal (México)

 

20:02 Hillary Rodham Clinton ganó las primarias de Pensilvania la noche del martes, derrotando a Barack Obama y alejando la posibilidad de ser eliminada de la competencia por la nominación presidencial demócrata.

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By Daniel Politi, Today’s Papers, Slate Magazine

The Washington Post leads with the last day of campaigning before Pennsylvania voters head to the polls today. Sen. Hillary Clinton unveiled a new ad, and Barack Obama’s campaign worked hard to manage expectations, saying that the former first lady is clearly the favorite to win their first contest in six weeks. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with a look at how the Democratic contenders will each leave Pennsylvania with very different balance sheets. While Clinton is in debt, Obama has more than $40 million available.

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El Universal, Notimex

 

En nota fechada en NY se informa que los 2.5 millones de dólares que recaudó el concierto del cantante británico Elton John hace dos semanas, podría no utilizarse en la campaña de la candidata demócrata Hillary Clinton, pues violaría la ley. (más…)

By Ryan Grim, Today’s Papers, Slate Magazine

The New York Times and Washington Post lead with nearly identical headlines, reporting that Barack Obama has sharpened his tone on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary The Wall Street Journal puts the pope’s visit to Ground Zero atop its world-wide news box, fronting two stories on the Democratic primary.

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By David Sessions, Today’s Papers, Slate Magazine

The WP tops its A1 with a study of Sen. John McCain’s “volcanic temper,” which the presumptive Republican presidential nominee explains alternately as a lifelong character flaw and as the fuel of his fire for political reform. The unflattering piece charts the infamous temper from its early days on the playgrounds of the many schools McCain attended as a child to the Senate chambers, where it often showers McCain’s opponents with denigrating expletives. Like this Post piece, a string of “McCain stories” —in which the grievances and grudges of past colleagues are aired—forms the bulk of the story. Those who have born the brunt of McCain’s fury in the past are split on how the temper might affect his presidential performance—some are now his supporters while others see his short fuse as a strong disqualifier for the Oval Office.

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Por Edward Luce, publicado en Financial Times

 

The US media have abandoned all pretence at neutrality in the Democratic presidential contest and are heavily biased towards Barack Obama and against Hillary Clinton, according to Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania. (más…)

By Daniel Politi

 The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with the continuing debate between the Democratic presidential contenders over Sen. Barack Obama’s remarks that rural voters in Pennsylvania “cling to guns or religion.” The paper points out that as Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton continue to discuss guns and family values, Republicans clearly see an opportunity. Sen. John McCain said he would use Obama’s remarks to paint him as an out-of-touch elitist.

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By Daniel Politi, Today’s Papers

 

The LAT fronts last night’s forum on faith, where the Democratic presidential contenders continued fighting over a recent comment made by Sen. Barack Obama in which he said that small-town voters are “bitter” and so they “cling to guns or religion.” The NYT does a little analysis of the candidates’ body languages and says they exchanged “frosty glances” when “their paths briefly crossed on stage.” The issue quickly came up again last night as Sen. Hillary Clinton called Obama’s comments “elitist, out of touch and, frankly, patronizing.” Clinton said Obama would once again make people think that Democrats feel superior and don’t understand the plight of regular Americans. Obama tried to clarify the statements and called his wording “clumsy.” In a separate campaign event, Obama said he expected these kind of tactics from Sen. John McCain but not Clinton. “She knows better. Shame on her,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Post fronts a look at how two prominent antiabortion Democrats have endorsed Obama, a candidate who has been a big supporter of abortion rights. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. and former congressman Timothy Roemer are campaigning for Obama and saying that he could help create some common ground in this incredibly divisive issue. The endorsements could help Obama in Pennsylvania and Indiana, although some antiabortion groups are making sure to send out information to supporters that spell out Obama’s abortion views. “For people who are not really digging into the background, support from someone like Roemer could have quite an impact,” the head of Indiana Right to Life said.

The Post notes that during this week’s visit by Pope Benedict XVI, the White House will hold a dinner in his honor. Only problem is that the pope won’t actually be there. “I’m sorry, the pope doesn’t attend a dinner in his honor?” a reporter asked. “How does that work?” The White House spokesman helpfully explained: “He doesn’t come into the building.”

 

By Daniel Politi, Today’s Papers, Slate Magazine

USA Today leads with an analysis that shows “independent political groups” have spent $17.3 million in the first three months of the year, which is more than double what was spent during the same period in the 2004 presidential contest. The vast majority of that money has helped Democrats (around 80 percent), although, of course, that’s seen as a result of the drawn out battle between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. “We can expect to see much more money,” a campaign finance expert said.

The top beneficiary of the spending by independent groups has been Obama. Between Jan. 1 and March 31, $7.4 million was used to help the Illinois senator, most of which came from a labor union. Comparatively, independent groups have spent $5.4 million to aid Clinton’s candidacy.

In related news, the WP off-leads a look at how, despite Obama’s claim that he has created a “parallel public financing system,” he still relies on rich bundlers for much of his money. The paper doesn’t deny that Obama has raised lots of money from small-time, individual donors and points out that about half of his money has come from donations of $200 or less. But for the other half of the whopping $240 million he has raised, Obama has, just like the other contenders, relied on rich, well-connected people. Seventy-nine bundlers have helped raise at least $200,000 each, and much of it came from typical Democratic donors, such as Hollywood stars and trial lawyers. But Obama has also managed to get newcomers into the bundling game, including many who had never made a contribution to a presidential campaign.

In other news from the campaign trail, everyone points out that Sen. John McCain switched his position on how much the government should help homeowners who are having trouble keeping up with mortgage payments. He had been criticized for taking a largely hands-off approach and saying the government shouldn’t “reward those who act irresponsibly.” But yesterday he put forward a plan that “included a heavy dose of policy more typically associated with Democrats,” says the WSJ. The plan would aid homeowners who are having trouble making their payments, but McCain insisted that it won’t help speculators and investors.

The LAT notes inside that “a long-standing Philadelphia ritual” involves political candidates handing out “street money” to Democratic operatives in the city who then mostly give it out as a sort of payment to the “foot soldiers” working to get out the vote. It’s perfectly legal, but it seems Obama’s campaign is telling local leaders that it won’t pay up. Neither Clinton nor Obama is publicly talking about whether they’ll hand out the money. But some ward leaders say that Obama’s campaign has made it clear it won’t pay up and are warning that this could hurt Obama’s chances in the April 22 primary. “It’s our tradition,” a ward leader said. “You don’t come to someone’s house and change the rules of someone’s house. That’s just respect.”

Alejandro Meneses, El Universal

 

WASHINGTON.— La red televisora pública en español HITN anunció el lanzamiento del primer programa que tratará exclusivamente temas de importancia para la población hispana en Estados Unidos de cara a las elecciones de noviembre. (más…)

By Daniel Politi, Today’s News, Slate Magazine

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The WP goes inside with a look at Bush’s claim that by keeping troop levels stable in Iraq until he leaves office, he’s doing the next president a favor because it increases the likelihood that security won’t deteriorate. There are those who agree with him, but others, particularly some Democrats, see a more nefarious motive to the move and contend that it’s merely Bush’s way to shift blame to the next administration. “He is going to do what Lyndon Johnson did: make sure the war was not lost on his watch,” a former president of the Council on Foreign Relations said. Meanwhile, in Iraq, fighting continued to rage in Sadr City, and three U.S. soldiers were killed in bomb attacks. Also yesterday, an Iraqi judicial committee ordered an Associated Press photographer who was detained nearly two years ago to be released.

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By Daniel Politi
Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 6:17 AM ET

The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and USA Today lead with Gen. David Petraeus telling lawmakers that troop withdrawals from Iraq should stop indefinitely this summer. Testifying before two Senate committees alongside Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Petraeus insisted the security situation in Iraq has improved since last year’s buildup of troops but emphasized the gains are “fragile and reversible.” To no one’s surprise, Petraeus advocated for a 45-day pause in troop reductions after the already-planned withdrawal in July as a time for “consolidation and evaluation” and said that only then would commanders begin considering bringing more troops home. Despite repeated questioning from Democrats, Petraeus refused to say what kind of conditions would tip the scales toward further withdrawals and adamantly declined to offer a timetable.

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