Wednesday’s political round-up

February 28, 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:

* According to the WaPo, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) is being “courted by national Democrats to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by John W. Warner (R-Va.) and is seriously considering the 2008 challenge, several Capitol Hill and state sources said.” Mark Warner has reportedly been chatting quite a bit with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) about the race, and it’s been unclear whether John Warner, who is now 80, is serious about seeking another term.

* At an event in Cincinnati earlier this week, Barack Obama raised about $500,000 at an event filled with 1,000 supporters. In a feat I didn’t think possible, nearly twice as many people showed up to hear Obama speak as to hear Bill Clinton speak at a similar event in Cincinnati in October.

* John Edwards took what appeared to be a veiled shot at Hillary Clinton yesterday, telling reporters at a press conference that voters “want you to tell the truth when you believe you have made a mistake.” Asked if he was referring to Hillary, Edwards wouldn’t say. The campaign also had no comment.

* Chicago Mayor Richard Daley easily won a sixth term yesterday, which will make him the longest-serving mayor in Chicago history. By the end of his next term, Daley will have served 22 years. His father died in office after 21 years as mayor.

* And in Arkansas, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is still fighting hard in his presidential bid, but some allies back home have a different job in mind. The Hill reported today that some Arkansas Republicans want Huckabee to “drop his national aspirations and return home to wage what they see as a vital campaign against Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in 2008 instead.” Some sources said Huckabee is considering the possibility. “If he’s knocked out by the [August straw poll in Iowa], then, yes, that’s a credible scenario,” the source said. “If he’s still around, I think, timeline-wise, it would add to the baggage that he already has in the state to drop a presidential [campaign] and come back and run for Senate.”

As a pure public relations exercise, the campaign of “Warner vs. Warner” would be one of the more interesting in recent years. And a major headache for ad writers everywhere.

  • Curmudgeon, it would be a rematch, since Warner vs. Warner already occurred in 1996. There were bumperstickers reading “Mark, not John”, which those unfamiliar with Virginia politics interpreted as a biblical reference.

  • John Edwards took what appeared to be a veiled shot at Hillary Clinton yesterday, telling reporters at a press conference that voters “want you to tell the truth when you believe you have made a mistake.”

    I’m sure the Edwards campaign expects the audience to draw its own conclusions about who the quote is targeting, but I think it’s kind of amazing that no one has pointed out how perfectly this shoe fits the current WH occupant.

  • At an event in Cincinnati earlier this week, Barack Obama raised about $500,000 at an event filled with 1,000 supporters. In a feat I didn’t think possible, nearly twice as many people showed up to hear Obama speak as to hear Bill Clinton speak at a similar event in Cincinnati in October.

    And if this was like the breakfast I attended in Beverly Hills, every one of those thousand people came in with hope and came out as a believer. It’s not just the fund-raising; it’s the reality that you have 1,000 converts who have invested money and will now go out and run their individual viral campaigns.

    It’s almost impossible to describe the respect that emerges from seeing the combination of intelligence, humility, thoughtfulness, integrity and charisma that you find when you see Senator OBama in person.

    And he understands that he is channeling the best of America’s hopes, visions, and generosity of spirit in response to a revulsion with Republican venom and putrescence.

  • Here’s an argument that if Mark Warner gets in, John Warner will retire. Besides that, in their 1996 race, John only got 52% to Mark’s 47%, and Mark is a lot more popular and well known now, after having been governor. Also, being 81 is a much larger negative than being 69.

  • I wasn’t entirely happy with the idea of Warner (Mark, not John ) in the White House, but would love to have him represent me in the Senate.The additional pleasure would come from watching him mop the floor with Davis.

    What Aeolus (@5) describes regarding Obama: it was like that with Webb for lots of us. I went to a tiny event, just to see what he was like (he hadn’t been my choice in the primaries) and came out converted. So then I dragged my husband, who was gonna vote for him while holding his nose, to another, bigger event and *he* came out full of enthusiasm…

  • Yes, Daley won re-election. But the day was a big victory for labor, and, on balance, a setback for Daley.

    Unions rarely play a big role in city elections. After the big box living wage almost became law they realized their power and decided to test it. Three members of the city council lost outright and several others were forced into run-offs. Labor will play an even more obvious and concentrated role in the run-offs.

    Since there are no Republicans to defeat in Chicago, the machine will just have to serve as the enemy. Labor and other progressives are winning some victories.

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