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Poster Highlights Race Issue

November 03, 2008 3:24 PM

ABC News' Huma Khan Reports: A new image of the presidential candidates is circulating in New York City.

And what’s different about this one? Their races are switched.

The poster, created by New York-based ad agency Grey Group, was motivated by the discussion about race in the elections. 

“It makes a powerful message that race should not be the issue,†said Chris Brunt, associate creative director at the agency. “The idea of switching the races seems very strongly to personify that… in a way, it’s sort of obvious. It obviously says the sort of bold truth that color does not matter."

The images of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are accompanied by the slogan, "Let the Issues Be the Issue," to emphasize that other issues are more important than race.

The posters will be published in a small Pennsylvania newspaper and circulated all over New York City today, right in time for the elections.

November 3, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (83)

The Note: Palin Seeks to Rock Stable Race

October 01, 2008 8:40 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Wednesday's Note: As three of the four folks on the tickets return to their day jobs Wednesday, pay attention to the fact that the fourth candidate has cracked open “Joe Six-Pack†in time for her cramming sessions. 

Don’t look now -- but has the race’s outline been written? Blame it on the big things that are larger than the candidates -- the economic crisis, President Bush’s historically awful approval ratings, the inability of any senator to soar in a period of national angst -- but where we stand today is essentially where we stood six weeks ago..

Which is one reason why that fourth candidate matters now more than ever. Gov. Sarah Palin puts herself on the line in Thursday’s debate -- and will there be another single moment that’s as big for the tenor of this race? Will there be another chance to shoot holes through the old outline and field dress a new one?

(How much of her performance will depend on who gets to set expectations -- “Saturday Night Live†or the mainstream media -- raising Palin’s bar before our eyes?)

If this qualifies as daylight in the race, maybe we should get ready for a long night. The new ABC News/Washington Post poll speaks to an odd sort of stability that’s set in despite shifts among independent voters -- resulting in a narrow but consistent lead for Sen. Barack Obama. 

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

Obama saw his White Sox beat the Twins 1-0 to squeak into the playoffs Tuesday. But even very late leads can change.

“Barack Obama maintains an advantage on the economy, especially economic empathy, and he's cracked majority acceptance on his key challenge, experience. But the political center remains unrooted, keeping John McCain in the race, albeit against headwinds,†ABC polling director Gary Langer writes. 

“Movement continues among independents, quintessential swing voters and a highly changeable group this year,†Langer writes. “They favored McCain by 10 points immediately after the Republican convention, swung to Obama last week and stand now at a close division between the two -- 48 percent for McCain, 45 percent for Obama in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.†

It’s Obama 50, McCain 46 among likely voters -- looking closer than the nine points the poll pegged the race at a week ago, despite a debate where more respondents said Obama won.

And how do you play this? “Voters are deeply divided over the terms of the government's $700 billion economic rescue package but overwhelmingly fear that the House's rejection of the measure on Monday could deepen the country's financial woes,†Dan Balz and Jon Cohen write in The Washington Post.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

October 1, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Clinton, Bill, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (119)

The Note: Amid Silliness, Races Take a Pause

September 11, 2008 8:24 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note: Cue the serial condemnations: It’s unfair, dirty, nasty, despicable politics. We all hate it, and it has no place in a presidential campaign.

It also just might work.

Team McCain is in over-the-top outrage mode -- shocked, offended, and aghast at the sexism, ageism, fill-in-the-blank-ism being directed at John McCain and Sarah Palin, real and (more than slightly) imagined.

Good luck keeping track of all the indignities (and the McCain campaign would prefer that you didn’t try to keep score).

“Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign launched a broadside against Sen. Barack Obama yesterday, accusing him of a sexist smear, comparing his campaign to a pack of wolves on the prowl against the GOP vice presidential pick, charging that the Democratic nominee favored sex education for kindergarteners, and resurrecting the comments of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.,†Jonathan Weisman and Peter Slevin write in The Washington Post.

McCain seems content to have the race focus on personality and process -- not, heaven forbid, actual real issues. “Another day. Another roll in the mud,†writes the New York Daily News’ Michael Saul.

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

By making discredited and untrue claims about Obama -- and pretending that outrageous, offensive things are being widely circulated about Palin by the Obama campaign -- Team McCain is pushing the limits of its claim to an open, honest, positive campaign.

“I just can't wait for the moment when John McCain -- contrite and suddenly honorable again in victory or defeat -- talks about how things got a little out of control in the passion of the moment,†Time’s Joe Klein writes. “Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.â€

“Tactically, it is clear, and it has been frequently noted, that McCain learned well the lessons from his last run in 2000,†ABC’s Andy Fies writes. “McCain may want to keep Bush at a distance ... but not his tactics.†

“McCain's campaign called Obama's ‘disturbing,’ ‘desperate,’ ‘offensive,’ and ‘disgraceful.’ Obama's campaign fired back with ‘pathetic,' ‘perverse,’ ‘dishonorable,’ and ‘shameful,’†The Boston Globe’s Scott Helman reports. “Though McCain has more often been the aggressor, the back-and-forth -- to borrow a recent McCain campaign description of Obama running mate Joe Biden -- has reached ‘a new low.’â€

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 11, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Clinton, Bill, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington | Permalink | User Comments (32)

Paul Rejects Gramm's Pro-McCain Pitch

September 10, 2008 3:14 PM

ABC News' Hope Ditto and Teddy Davis report: Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Wednesday that former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, called him on Tuesday urging him to endorse Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sparking charges from Democrats that the former McCain adviser is still active on behalf of the Republican presidential nominee.

"I got a phone call yesterday and it was a bit of a surprise to me because their request was that I endorse John McCain. The argument was, 'he would do a little less harm than the other candidate,'" said Paul.

Despite Gramm's effort to convince the Texas congressman that McCain would keep taxes lower than Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Paul turned down the offer to get on board.

"How could I support a candidate that doesn't support the positions that I've supported for 30 years?" asked Paul. "I would have to reject everything I believed in and worked for and voted for, and I said, 'it might diminish my credibility.'"

Jesse Benton, a Paul spokesman, elaborated on the decision not to endorse, telling ABC News, "It's all well and good to cut taxes and to keep taxes low. But if you don't address the spending -- and that includes the overseas spending on troops in 130 countries -- the tax issue is almost irrelevant."

Though Paul's refusal to endorse McCain is nothing new, the Democratic National Committee pounced on his remarks, which they saw as a sign that Gramm is continuing to help McCain after publicly disassociating himself. 

Gramm, who advised McCain on economic issues, left the campaign on July 18 after telling The Washington Times that the United States had "become a nation of whiners." Democrats used the Gramm interview, in which he pointed out that the United States was not technically in a recession, to portray McCain as out of touch with economic anxiety.

"Who did John McCain task with securing Ron Paul's endorsement?" asked the DNC's Damien LaVera in a Wednesday e-mail to reporters. "Phil 'Nation of Whiners' Gramm."

Asked why Gramm called Paul if he is no longer supposed to be playing a role in the McCain campaign, Benton said, "Ron and Sen. Gramm have known each other for 20 years. He said, 'Ron, this is Phil. I'd like you to consider endorsing McCain. Here's why ... '

"It was Phil Gramm calling on behalf of Phil Gramm. He was not making an official call on behalf of McCain," said Benton in an explanation that is not likely to satisfy Democrats intent on reviving stories about the McCain-Gramm connection.

Beyond discussing the pro-McCain pitch he received from Gramm, Paul told reporters at the National Press Club on Wednesday that Americans should consider supporting a third-party candidate in the 2008 campaign. He did not, however, endorse a particular candidate.

Paul also said that he is not considering a presidential bid as the candidate of the Reform Party. Though the Reform Party selected Paul as their candidate in Virginia, Paul said he is taking steps to remove his name from the ballot. 

The Reform Party is planning to make a national presidential endorsement on Oct. 11 when it holds its national convention in New York, N.Y.

September 10, 2008 in McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Paul, Ron | Permalink | User Comments (74)

The Note: McCain Takes Fight to Obama’s Turf

September 05, 2008 9:05 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Friday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

In honor of these two weeks that brought us two new faces and two unusual conventions, there are only two possible paths out of the Twin Cities:

1. Everything is different. (Palin’s pop + Biden’s bite = Increased enthusiasm / changed perceptions.)

2. Everything is the same. (Bounce - Rebound = Right where we were before.)

The 60-day sprint upon us, the contrasts offered by the compelling candidates and their extraordinary running mates are stark and clear. In an election defined by voters' desire for change, Sen. Barack Obama offers himself up as the embodiment of the possibilities, while Sen. John McCain casts himself as the one who can actually get it done.

“It's almost as if the two contenders are running in different races,†writes USA Today’s Susan Page. “Democrats calculate that the presidential election will turn on bread-and-butter issues. To judge by their speeches at the convention, Republicans are convinced it will be defined by questions of character and trust.â€

“Advisers to McCain and Obama foresee the same competitive race, but with some of the battle lines redrawn,†Dan Balz writes in The Washington Post. “It was McCain, through his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, and an acceptance speech that included challenges to his own party, who clearly sought to shake up the race and force voters to see it from a new angle. Republicans said Thursday that they think the gamble could pay off.â€

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

Surely the talk of change means something has changed -- unless it hasn’t.

“After watching two political conclaves the last two weeks, it would be easy to be confused about which was really the gathering of the opposition,†Peter Baker writes in The New York Times. “As Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president, he and his supporters sounded the call of insurgents seeking to topple the establishment, even though their party heads the establishment. ... But as a matter of history, it is easier to run as the opposition party, if you actually are the opposition party.â€

“A generation apart, both are proclaiming themselves agents of change -- each of a different variety,†Patricia Lopez writes in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “McCain says the change he will bring is the kind born of a lifetime in the trenches, of knowing how reform happens and how hard and incremental it can be.â€

As we return to the real world ... it would not be a race -- not this year -- without the mention of a Clinton.

It takes a woman to take on a woman: “Sen. Barack Obama will increasingly lean on prominent Democratic women to undercut Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. John McCain, dispatching Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to Florida on Monday and bolstering his plan to deploy female surrogates to battleground states,†per The New York Times’ Patrick Healy and Jeff Zeleny.

(Ceding ground? “David Axelrod, the Obama campaign’s chief political strategist, said Mr. Obama would not raise questions about Ms. Palin’s experience,†they report.)

Just as it would not be a race without the mention of a Bush.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 5, 2008 in Biden, Joe, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (164)

The Note: Palin a Hit, and McCain Bats Next

September 04, 2008 9:16 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Thursday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has gotten the scrambled race he wanted when he turned to Gov. Sarah Palin. So, this is his party now -- what does he do with it?

McCain’s convention gets to be about McCain again (or maybe for the first time), as one of the strangest political gatherings in memory comes to a close Thursday in St. Paul with Cindy and John as your highlights.

McCain’s teammate in this endeavor capped a weeklong journey from obscurity -- across Quayle Quarry and Eagleton Pass and back (no wonder Trig’s hair was out of place) -- with a powerful speech that keeps her in the image game.

To wear out some imagery, the hockey mom knows how to lace up the skates -- and can deliver a check into the boards, lipstick intact.

The speech wasn’t soaring or specific, but it didn’t have to be. It wasn’t perfect or polished, but neither is she (and that’s the point).

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

We stayed earthbound with Sarah Palin. Yet, a beleaguered party has found its inspiration -- a person who makes Republicans proud to call themselves Republicans again, even if she’s someone that the “elite media†(more unpopular at the RNC than Harry Reid?) doesn’t quite know what to do with. (That applies maybe even to those who have yet to learn the perils of the hot mic.)

“Ms. Palin’s appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job, as she launched slashing attacks on Mr. Obama’s claims of experience,†Elisabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper write in The New York Times.

“Palin pitched herself as the product of small-town America and laced her address with sarcastic digs at Sen. Obama. She said it is his experience, not hers, that is lacking, and she embraced the role of leading the attack against the Democratic ticket,†Michael D. Shear writes in The Washington Post. “Palin focused on almost every tactical misstep Obama's campaign has made, painting a caricature of the Democrat as an out-of-touch elitist and a lightweight celebrity with no sense of what matters to average Americans.â€

Even Sen. Joe Biden was impressed -- well, sort of.

“She had a great night. I thought she had a very skillfully written, and very skillfully delivered speech,†Biden, D-Del., told ABC’s Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America†Thursday. “I was impressed by the speech, but I was also impressed by what I didn’t hear spoken. ... They were good, funny lines -- I’m glad they weren’t about me.â€

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 4, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Clinton, Hillary, Giuliani, Rudy, Huckabee, Mike, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Romney, Mitt, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (206)

The Note: Palin Caught in Image War

September 03, 2008 9:08 AM

ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Wednesday's Note:

ST. PAUL, Minn. --

The war over Gov. Sarah Palin’s image is on. (And Team McCain can only hope that it’s not already lost.)

What the McCain campaign realizes is that there are two Republican National Conventions now underway -- one in St. Paul, and one back home.

In the first, inside the hall, they feel good about being Republicans again. The party’s stars are cycling through (where was this Fred Thompson last year?), the nominee has delegates’ (and -- thanks, Joe Lieberman -- one big Democrat’s) blessing, and there’s this new young partner who’s got everyone buzzing.

But -- as clear as that giant, high-definition American flag rippling behind the podium -- none of that may matter over in that other convention that’s playing out in the press reports that seep into American homes.

Certainly not if the running mate doesn’t impress Wednesday (and probably not if the McCain-Palin operation can’t control the media firestorm before she takes the stage).

Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.

The broad issue this Wednesday: The campaign is perilously close to losing control of Palin’s image -- and thus the stakes are raised for a speech that was going to be the most closely watched of the convention anyway.

“Core conservatives are smitten with the 44-year-old governor, who opposes abortion in all cases, including rape and incest. And millions of dollars in donations have poured in,†Peter Wallsten and Doyle McManus write in the Los Angeles Times “But Republican strategists don't know how she will play among moderate swing voters, including blue-collar Democrats, who have been moving toward Barack Obama but might like Palin's middle-class roots.â€

Said former Bush adviser Dan Bartlett: “There's no middle ground on this for John McCain. . . . She is either going to be a wild success or a spectacular failure.â€

“It's going to be a wild ride,†former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., tells USA Today.

Here comes the pushback: Team McCain plays the gender card and the media-bias card with a full-on offensive -- press conferences, surrogate TV and radio appearances (designed to demand fair treatment for Palin and her family), plus a new ad:

“The McCain campaign will launch a television ad directly comparing Governor Palin’s executive experience as a governor who oversees 24,000 state employees, 14 statewide cabinet agencies and a 10 billion dollar budget to Barack Obama’s experience as a one-term junior Senator from Illinois,†a campaign aide tells The Note.

Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.

ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.

September 3, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., Giuliani, Rudy, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Thompson, Fred, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (154)

Tancredo Drops White House Bid, Endorses Romney

December 20, 2007 4:16 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Colorado Congressman and anti-illegal immigration crusader Tom Tancredo ended his bid for the GOP presidential nomination at a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa Thursday, after months of low poll numbers.

At the press conference, Tancredo said he would throw his support behind former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Tancredo had often attacked Romney on the campaign trail for being soft on amnesty. But Romney had toughened his position in recent months.

Tancredo's campaign sent supporters an e-mail message, in which the Congressman says he feels he successfully represented anti-illegal immigration sentiments and left his mark on the race -- pointing out that even Hillary Clinton was put "through hoops."

Tancredo said he chose to drop out now to make sure the most viable Republican wins the race.

"The presidential campaign has come down to less than a handful of viable candidates. Unfortunately several of them have abysmal records on immigration and can't be trusted to do what is needed to preserve this country if they're elected," Tancredo's message said.

"My fear is that if I were to stay in this race my votes could be the factor in handing victory to a pro-amnesty politician. Friends, we have done too much, come too far and the stakes are too high to play that hand. And so I am ending my presidential campaign," he added.

At the same time, he did not mention Romney in the message to supporters.

December 20, 2007 in Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (25)

For Tancredo, What other "Major Announcement" Could It Be?

December 19, 2007 9:35 PM

ABC's Z. Byron Wolf Reports: The presidential campaign of Colorado Congressman and anti-illegal immigration crusader Tom Tancredo may be coming to a close. 'May be' because his campaign has scheduled a press conference in Des Moines for Tuesday to make a "major announcement" about his campaign.

Tancredo's press staff and inner circle were mum on the exact nature of the press conference. But without a significant bounce in the polls and less than a million dollars in fundraising in the last quarter for which candidates reported receipts, Tancredo's campaign would seem to have stalled. The first primary votes are cast (or in this case voters will caucus) in Iowa on January 3rd.

Really there are only two really "major" announcements about one's Presidential campaign: that is starting and that it is ending.

Even if he pulls out of the race, Tancredo can claim to have left an indelible mark on the campaign. His bid seemed at points to hit a populist nerve in conservative Republican ranks and as Congress debated comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants earlier this year, Tancredo parlayed his anti-amnesty crusade into millions of dollars in fundraising for his Presidential campaign and his Political Action Committee, which is called Team America.

Tancredo arguably drew the entire Republican field to the right on the issue of immigration. After former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani sparred at the CNN/YouTube debate in Florida over who was tougher on illegal immigration in their moderate Republican in a blue-state or city former lives, Tancredo was able to beam on national television that they were trying to "out Tancredo Tancredo."

But as candidates with more money and traction in the polls moved into his territory on the immigration and amnesty issues, it has left little room for Tancredo to develop more of a following.

Tancredo would become the fourth announced Republican presidential candidate to end his bid for the White House. Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore stepped out of the race even before the summer and has since launched a U.S. Senate bid, former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson ended his bid after a poor showing at the Iowa Straw Poll in August and Sen. Sam Brownback R-Kans., was the last GOPer to end his candidacy.

Two announced Democratic candidates have dropped out of the race -- former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

December 19, 2007 in Paul, Ron | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Obama: Ol' Mitt Has Gall for Running Ads About Illegal Immigrants

December 14, 2007 7:08 AM

ABC's Sunlen Miller Reports: Barack Obama scoffed at Republican Mitt Romney last night for having "the gall to be running all these ads about illegal immigrants†when illegal immigrants were taking care of his lawn.

The Democrat's sarcasm came out when he was asked by fifth grader Beau Bowman in  Maquoketa, Iowa, “When you’re elected president, what if like the illegal immigrants start to take action and start bombing and stuff?â€

Bowman didn’t even finish his question before Obama interrupted. “Wow,†he said in astonishment.

Obama proceded to give Bowman a social sciences lesson, explaining “Immigrants are coming into the country and not blowing things up. They are usually working in meat packing plants, or working in restaurants or working in agriculture, picking vegetables...â€

Someone in the crowd yelled “Mitt Romney,†and Obama had his straight line.

“Yeah, they are mowing Mitt Romney’s yard. I forgot about ol' Mitt, who’s got the gall to running all these ads about illegal immigrants.â€

The crowd roared in laughter but Obama stopped himself there and went on. “We’ve got a problem with terrorists who are trying to kill us… That’s a separate problem from immigrants,†Obama assured Bowman.

It's possible Bowman's question may have been inspired by a recent ad by another Republican, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo's ad argues that there are consequences beyond job losses to open borders. It then shows an immigrant with a backpack who detonates a bomb. The ad includes graphic images of carnage from terrorist bombings around the world.

Illegal immigration has been one of the hottest button issues in the Iowa campaign.

ABC's Teddy Davis contributed to this report.

December 14, 2007 in Kucinich, Dennis, Palin, Sarah, Paul, Ron, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (40)