Tuesday’s political round-up

August 7, 2007

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* John Edwards turned up the heat a little on the Clintons yesterday, criticizing the former president for his NAFTA policy, which Edwards apparently believes was a mistake. The former senator also continued his criticism of Hillary Clinton for her willingness to accept campaign contributions from lobbyists.

* Speaking of the Clinton campaign, the LAT reports today that the senator has received some behind-the-scenes pressure from labor groups because Mark Penn, a top Clinton aide, is the head of the Burson-Marsteller public relations firm, which represents some anti-union companies. “Learning that Mark Penn was CEO of a company that in fact conducts some of its business busting unions was very, very problematic to the AFL-CIO, as well as to many other unions, and we made that clear” to the Clinton campaign, said Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political director. “This is an issue that continues.”

* After some initial balks, it looks like Republicans might show up for a rescheduled CNN/YouTube debate after all. Initially, only two candidates (McCain and Paul) agreed to show up. Now, four have, and the Florida Republican Party believes the full field could be announced as early as this week.

* Obama campaign manager David Plouffe issued a memo yesterday in which he argued, “The national press continues to be obsessed about national primary polling, but as we outlined in the last memo, we fundamentally reject the importance of these national primary polls.” The memo was released just as a new USA Today poll shows Clinton expanding on her national lead over Obama, with Edwards a distant third.

* And John McCain emphasized GOP electability in Iowa yesterday, telling voters, “I think that whoever emerges from the Democratic side is going to be very, very difficult to defeat.” He added, however, that he believes “America is a right-of-center nation, and I believe we are a right-of-center party.”

“America is a right-of-center nation, and I believe we are a right-of-center party.”

First, that’s kinda stating the obvious about the Republican party. But as for America as a nation, wouldn’t the median political viewpoint pretty much define the center?? That’s like saying the average American is above average.

  • John Edwards turned up the heat a little on the Clintons yesterday, criticizing the former president for his NAFTA policy, which Edwards apparently believes was a mistake. The former senator also continued his criticism of Hillary Clinton for her willingness to accept campaign contributions from lobbyists.

    NAFTA is a disaster – if you want to understand where 90% of the illegal immigration from Mexico comes from, it comes from the places devastated by NAFTA.

    Speaking of the Clinton campaign, the LAT reports today that the senator has received some behind-the-scenes pressure from labor groups because Mark Penn, a top Clinton aide, is the head of the Burson-Marsteller public relations firm, which represents some anti-union companies. “Learning that Mark Penn was CEO of a company that in fact conducts some of its business busting unions was very, very problematic to the AFL-CIO, as well as to many other unions, and we made that clear” to the Clinton campaign, said Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political director. “This is an issue that continues.”

    Given what corporate whores these two were and are, someone is surprised she would talk like a Democrat and act like a Republican??

  • Grumpy,

    You are absolutely right! I immediately thought of the Lake Woebegone on Prairie Home Companion where “all the children are above average.”

  • Ah, but see, McCain is using some clever wordsmithing here. America IS a right-of-center country if you compare it to the rest of the world, but the Republican Party is a right-of-center party when you compare it to America as a whole. An observation that is both tedious and irrelevant, much like John McCain himself.

  • Good point, NonyNony. I must’ve assumed that McCain, speaking to an audience of Americans, simply ignored the rest of the world, as Americans do.

    If that’s the case, though, which country does McCain believe is closest to the center? Furthermore, why should anyone strive to be off-center anyway? To counteract those of opposite polarity, I guess.

  • Mark Penn, a top Clinton aide, is the head of the Burson-Marsteller public relations firm, which represents some anti-union companies

    By their aides shall ye know them? Weren’t we taking of Repub’s unsavory companion-campaigners just the other day?

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