CLINTON: As she previewed on TODAY this morning, the New York Times unveils her pre-K initiative in Florida. The New York Times has some details: "The program would be voluntary for states, which would be required to provide a dollar-for-dollar match and would not be allowed to reduce their current spending on pre-K… States would also be required to hire teachers with bachelor's degrees and training in early childhood development; establish standards and curriculums devised for early learning; and maintain low teacher-child ratios in the program. The money could also be used to expand Head Start programs."

Should Clinton worry about the company she's keeping in a place like Louisiana? Clinton, "who has cast herself as an ally of African-Americans in rebuilding this city, this weekend accepted fund-raising assistance from a family friend who is controversial with many black and white victims of Hurricane Katrina," the New York Times reported over the weekend. "The friend, Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish, has been close to former President Bill Clinton for many years, and he is popular among some Democrats here. But Sheriff Lee has a long history of making divisive and derogatory remarks, sometimes aimed at residents of neighboring New Orleans, which is predominantly black, and his relationship with many black political leaders is turbulent."

More: "Sheriff Lee drew notoriety shortly after the hurricane when some of his deputies helped prevent hurricane evacuees, most of them black, from crossing the Crescent City Connection bridge into Jefferson Parish. Sheriff Lee defended the move, saying his office had "a duty to protect our people."

The Los Angeles Times profiled her stint on the board of Wal-Mart, and the paper noted she was a fairly quiet member. "Clinton assumed the role of loyalist reformer, making the case for measured change without rocking the boat. She voted on company policies and joined several advisory committees during a period that was a turning point for the firm as it transformed rapidly from a regional chain of cut-rate stores to a worldwide retail powerhouse. Her Wal-Mart tenure exposed Clinton to the inner workings of a mega-corporation, and foreshadowed an impulse in her political career to both prod and accommodate big business."

The Sunday New York Times also did the "Clinton at Wal-Mart" story. "Fellow board members and company executives, who have not spoken publicly about her role at Wal-Mart, say Mrs. Clinton used her position to champion personal causes, like the need for more women in management and a comprehensive environmental program, despite being Wal-Mart's only female director, the youngest and arguably the least experienced in business. On other topics, like Wal-Mart's vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said."

Newsweek asks, "What will Bill Clinton do?" on the campaign trail and in the White House. It's a good read for the internal debate the campaign is having about how to use him.

Speaking of Bill, the commencement tour brought him to New Hampshire, where he and Bush 41 gave the University of New Hampshire commencement.

DODD: Was Dodd too successful in publicly pushing his opponents to support the Feingold-Reid bill? Everyone jumped on the bandwagon so fast, Dodd never got the opportunity to establish his anti-war creds, well, more credibly.

EDWARDS: The Raleigh News & Observer notes how no top-tier candidate has been more aggressive on the internet than Edwards has. And that aggressiveness has paid dividends in support in key internet straw polls. But will that transfer to votes in Iowa and New Hampshire and money?

GORE: Major Silicon Valley donors are still waiting for Gore -- not ready to commit yet to the leading Democrats who are running.

OBAMA: The Illinois senator pens a Chicago Tribune op-ed, arguing that sunlight needs to be shed on campaign bundlers. "We can't stop individual lobbyists from raising money. But we certainly can make it clear to the public whom they are raising it for -- and from. This will help clarify the link between campaign cash and decisions made in Washington."

As surrogates go, Obama has a unique one in Rhode Island. His brother-in-law is the head men's basketball coach at Brown.

 

GIULIANI: Earlier, James Dobson said he wouldn't vote for McCain. Now, he says he also won't vote for Giuliani.

Everything seems to be fair game with Giuliani these days -- including his time at the Justice Department in the early 1980s. Apparently, Giuliani didn't like playing ball on patronage and had some run-ins with sitting senators about their DOJ recommendations.

The New York GOP state party hierarchy will begin officially lining up behind Giuliani today -- from state chair Joseph Mondello to a slew of county GOP heads. The leaders had held off until last week's state GOP fundraising event that featured both Giuliani and McCain.

The former New York mayor will be in Buffalo on Tuesday to collect money and more New York endorsements.

GINGRICH: The ex-speaker gave the commencement address at mourning Liberty University, which was founded by the late Jerry Falwell. From his speech: "A growing culture of radical secularism declares that the nation cannot profess the truths on which it was founded. We are told our public schools can no longer invoke the Creator nor proclaim natural law nor profess the God-given quality of human rights. In hostility to American history, the radical secularists insist that religious belief is inherently divisive and that public debate can only proceed on secular terms."

In a brief media avail after the speech, Gingrich hinted at an announcement date -- Nov. 6 Said Gingrich: "One year before the election. Somehow that strikes me as as good a time as any," he said after promising that, "if I do decide to announce, it will not be on Leno or Letterman or Comedy Central. The whole point of running would be to have dignity. To have seriousness."

Speaking of Falwell, the New York Times curtain-raises his funeral with a piece about the search for the next generation of evangelical political leaders, with Rick Warren (author of the "Purpose Driven Life") nabbing a photo.

HUNTER: As potential surrogates go, Duncan Hunter has an interesting one in famous pilot Chuck Yeager.

MCCAIN: In a speech in Oklahoma today, the Arizona senator plans to unveil his vision for government, which includes more ethics and efficiency in government. The New York Times:  "'In my administration, public disclosure will be constant, timely and widely available,' Mr. McCain said, in excerpts of the speech obtained from his campaign. 'Ethical standards will be subject to frequent review. Every inspector general in every department of government will have direct access to the heads of their departments and cabinet secretaries. And I'll hold those senior officeholders directly responsible for taking the necessary corrective measures to ensure the integrity of the departments they lead.'"

ROMNEY: Following up on his apology to Mormons over comments he made about Mitt Romney, Al Sharpton spends the day in Utah to meet face-to-face with LDS leaders.

F. THOMPSON: The Nashville Tennessean's Theobald notes the non-candidate strategy has been effective to date, but "its usefulness may be reaching an end. Negative comments about a Thompson bid have begun. Some have criticized his recent speeches and his refusal to answer questions. Thompson declined to comment for this story."

If Fred Thompson plans on leaving Law & Order to run for president, the writers of the show gave him ample wiggle room in the show's season finale on Friday, NBC's Huma Zaidi reports. Arthur Branch, played by Thompson, encouraged his deputy Jack McCoy to reconsider resigning after a dust-up between the two rubbed McCoy the wrong way.

"You know, one day this chair is gonna be empty," Branch said in an attempt to convince McCoy to stay. Not flattered by the suggestion, McCoy replied coolly: "I'm no politician, Arthur." "Yeah, everybody says that," Branch sighed as the season finale comes to an end.

Of all the media polls conducted in Iowa, there may be none better than the survey conducted by Ann Selzer for the Des Moines Register. Her latest survey of both party caucus match ups found some intriguing results: Among Democrats, the news was Clinton's third-place showing and Richardson's double-digit finish. Edwards led with 29% (no surprise), followed by Obama at 23%, Clinton at 21%, Richardson at 10% (he's running ads there), Biden at 3%, Kucinich 2%, Gravel 1%, and Dodd didn't register.

Among Republicans, Romney was the surprise leader (and by a lot -- thanks to his early TV advertising). He's sitting at 30%, followed by McCain at 18%, Giuliani at 17%, Tommy Thompson at 7% (they didn't test Fred -- want to bet Tommy benefited?), Brownback at 5%, and Huckabee and Tancredo each receiving 4%.

Florida's decision to move its primary to January 29 is causing major headaches for the DNC. Apparently there's a provision that would actually penalize candidates for raising money and campaigning in the state.

While it's not that newsy for elected officials to be calling for Alberto Gonzales' resignation, we get the sense that we're on the verge of actual Justice Department officials to starting calling for his ouster. Just check out this Washington Post piece regarding the rough treatment Gonzales received from Justice officials. 
 
Meanwhile, Sen. Arlen Specter (R) hinted that Gonzales might quit before the Senate holds its no-confidence vote this week.

With the primary just a day away, the GOP candidates who are behind in the media polls -- ex-Rep. Anne Northup and businessman Billy Harper -- are both disputing the notion that incumbent Gov. Ernie Fletcher has a double-digit lead. The Northup folks claim they are only behind by single digits. If Fletcher does not get more than 40%, he'll face a runoff, but most polling has had Fletcher over 40%.

This very reliable Nebraska political blog has more scoop about Bob Kerrey's potential return to the Senate. We're only highlighting because we've heard the same speculation. The Kerrey-for-Senate rumors are very real, but only if Chuck Hagel decides NOT to seek re-election.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
The the White House today rejected a Democratic proposal to give the president waivers that set timelines for troop withdrawal. After negotiating this morning with congressional leaders, White House chief of staff Josh Bolten said the waivers on timelines "are not a significant distinction. Whether waive-able or not, timelines send exactly the wrong signal to our adversaries, to our allies, and most importantly to the troops in the field."

Instead, the Administration endorsed a benchmark proposal offered this week by GOP Sen. John Warner. That measure ties reconstruction money to the Iraqi government's requirement to meet political, security, and economic benchmarks -- with waivers. It also requires the president to report on Iraq's progress towards meeting those benchmarks in July and September.

The Senate took a symbolic vote on the Warner amendment Wednesday, 52-44. All but three Republicans supported it, along with seven moderate Democrats. The Administration latched onto it as the way forward in negotiations. "It's the only proposal in this area of Iraq language that achieved a truly bipartisan majority," Bolten said.

Before that vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blasted the Warner proposal as weak. "If you looked in the dictionary under 'weak,' the Warner amendment would be listed right under it," Reid told Warner on the Senate floor.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
After meeting with White House officials this morning, congressional Democratic leaders say the Administration rejected two offers for a new war-funding bill.

President Bush said he vetoed the initial funding bill because 1) it set timelines for withdrawal and 2) it was loaded down with billions in non-war related domestic spending.

Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they offered the Administration two alternatives. The first was to strip the non-war spending from the original bill. But the Democrats said the White House rejected that. The second alternative was the first -- plus giving Bush a waiver on the timeline for troop withdrawal. Democrats said the White House rejected that offer, too.

Pelosi said in news conference after the meeting that Bush "will not accept accountability or responsibility for what has happened here [in Iraq]."

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
The White House describes the Senate's call for a "no confidence" vote next week on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as "just another political stunt." And it further regards the vote as the "bottom-less bag of tricks the Democrats in the Senate pull out every week" on Gonzales.

White House advisers acknowledge that "this has been a difficult period." And on the six GOP senators who have called for Gonzales to step down, the White House says, "There are senators who have differing views."

Officials maintain that "it is important for any public official to have the confidence of Congress," but that confidence "ebbs and flows." And the White House again affirmed President Bush's full confidence in the attorney general.

From Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
*** Border Games: Yesterday's Senate agreement on immigration throws the issue back into the center of the political ring, especially on the GOP side. Immigration is to the Republican base what Iraq is to the Democratic one. But the key difference is that unlike the Democrats on Iraq, the GOP candidates are split on immigration. There are those who support comprehensive immigration reform (McCain, Giuliani, Brownback and Huckabee), and those who don't (Romney, Tancredo, and Hunter).

*** Good News for McCain? So how comfortable was McCain standing next to Ted Kennedy during the press conference announcing the deal? Yet his troubles with the GOP base on the issue might not be as severe as CW suggests. For starters, the deal is now done -- and it's done before the summer. Now when criticized, McCain can simply say, "Let's wait and see if this works. Give the bill a chance" (which is similar to what he said on the surge). Of course, the issue could once again crop up if the House passes its own bill this summer, and the Senate and House go to conference. Also, Romney is the only front-runner who can whack McCain on the issue, which he did at Tuesday's debate. But Romney has his own problems as well (he once said he supported a path to citizenship and has employed illegal immigrants).

*** The Dems' Own Problems: Even though all of the Democratic presidential candidates support comprehensive immigration reform, don't think the party is completely unified on the issue. The reason why Nancy Pelosi wants the White House to guarantee her 70 GOP House votes? Because comprehensive immigration reform is a political loser for some of the Democratic freshmen who beat Republican congressional incumbents last fall, like the three from Indiana and Health Shuler. Also note that the AFL-CIO isn't crazy about the deal.

*** About to Throw His Hat into the Ring? Perhaps the most interesting release we received last night on the immigration bill was from Fred Thompson's office. Said the candidate-in-waiting: "We should scrap this bill and the whole debate until we can convince the American people that we have secured the borders or at least have made great headway." The simple act of sending the release signals a likelihood that Thompson is already acting like a candidate. There are now all sorts of organizational rumors floating around (from an exploratory announcement being imminent to key hires coming on board). The Thompson-for-president campaign is no longer months away -- instead think weeks, maybe days…

*** The Clinton Tag-Team: Want more proof of how aggressively Team Clinton is going after the African-American vote? Look no further than today's one-two punch -- with Bill addressing the South Carolina NAACP, and Hillary heading to New Orleans and the Ninth Ward. It comes, however, as Michelle Obama receives another flattering front-page profile, this time in the New York Times.
 
*** Life After Death? Just after Jerry Falwell's death, Gingrich gives the commencement address at Falwell's Liberty University on Saturday -- another sign that Falwell's influence continues even after his death. By the way, the funeral is next week. Which candidates will be there?

*** On the Trail: Dodd holds a discussion on Iraq in Des Moines, IA and later appears on Bill Maher's HBO show; Giuliani speaks in Orlando; McCain holds a media avail in Phoenix; Obama hosts a town hall in Rye, NH; Richardson, in Omaha, NE, delivers remarks at the Young Democrats of America Convention; and Romney fundraises in Atlanta and also holds an avail at the Georgia GOP convention.

Countdown to Kentucky's gubernatorial primary: 4 days
Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 84 days
Countdown to Iowa: 240 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 262 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 535 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 612 days

 

The Washington Post says yesterday's Senate agreement on immigration "represents perhaps the last opportunity for President Bush to win a major legislative accomplishment for his second term, and it could become the most significant revision of the nation's immigration system in 41 years. Bush hailed the agreement as 'one that will help enforce our borders, but equally importantly, it will treat people with respect.'"

The Wall Street Journal: "The compromise, though a breakthrough in cooperation between congressional Democrats and the White House, still faces a tough fight in both the Senate and the House. Democrats are generally sympathetic to easing the way for immigrants and can expect generous help from President Bush. But they will need dozens of votes from Republicans, who are deeply split between a business-friendly wing eager to provide employers with access to more immigrant labor and social conservatives who believe American culture is being diluted by too many foreigners."

The Washington Times adds, "Whether it is enough to win on the Senate floor next week is in doubt. Support seemed to crumble even as the deal was announced. Conservative Republicans argued that the bill rewards illegal activity, while liberal Democrats said it is too draconian toward illegal aliens and too restrictive for future workers."

The New York Times says the politics of the immigration are precarious. "Democrats are already trying to tamp down concerns of Hispanic groups, who fear that the bill would make it more difficult for immigrants to bring relatives from abroad. At the same time, Republican negotiators face blistering criticism from some conservatives, who say the bill would grant a virtual amnesty to people who had broken the law."

Among the key Senate Republicans who are not on board with the deal is Texas Sen. John Cornyn (who usually supports the White House on, well, everything). Cornyn said in a statement: "I simply cannot, and will not, support any legislation that repeats the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty." But he stopped short from completely ruling out supporting the deal.

The Los Angeles Times looks at the upcoming House battle. "Even with bipartisan Senate backing and Bush's support, some analysts said supporters would need to round up as many as 70 Republicans to get the measure through the House because of opposition from Democrats in conservative districts. 'If 70 is what they need, I think we've got 70 Republicans,' [GOP congressman Jeff] Flake said. 'There are a lot of Republicans over here who understand, if nothing else, the benefits of getting this behind us as an issue.'"

Here's a headline many thought they'd never see in the Washington Post: "Bush Open to Iraq Benchmarks." From the story: "In response to reporters' questions, Bush twice declined to rule out penalizing the Iraqis for failing to achieve goals aimed at economic and political reconciliation, a concept advanced on Capitol Hill not just by Democrats but also by many Republicans. White House aides privately have said such accountability measures are on the table in their negotiations with Congress."

The New York Times notes that Obama took a shot at Bill Clinton's comments that Obama's and Hillary Clinton's positions on Iraq are essentially the same. Mr. Obama, of Illinois, was asked in an interview on MSNBC yesterday about Mr. Clinton's point that the two senators have voted mostly the same way on Iraq. 'Well, I suppose that's true if you leave out the fact that she authorized it and supported it, and I said it was a bad idea,' Mr. Obama said. 'You know, that's a fairly major difference.'"

For those that miss the Libby-Cheney-Plame story, the Washington Post writes that arguments over the merits on the civil case began in DC yesterday.

BIDEN: The Delaware senator yesterday sent letter to the network TV presidents, calling on them to have at least one of the DNC-sanctioned debates devoted solely on the Iraq war. "Clearly, you have the power to make this happen," he said. "I urge you to make your debate an Iraq-specific debate and work with the candidates and the DNC to make that happen."

CLINTON: The State previews Bill Clinton's trip to South Carolina today. "When former President Clinton takes the stage at the NAACP event tonight, he will talk about global solutions to the AIDS epidemic; his initiatives through the New York-based William J. Clinton Foundation to reduce poverty; initiatives to reduce religious conflict; and his initiatives to refuel a renaissance of the African-American community, an event organizer said."

EDWARDS: There's nothing like raising money from the trial lawyer community as a Democrat because it means Edwards can travel to some of the reddest states in America, like Utah.

OBAMA: Here's that New York Times profile of Michelle Obama: "Mrs. Obama's is the trickiest of political performances. She is a black woman in a campaign in which no one knows quite what role race or gender will play… Her counterparts include Bill Clinton … and Elizabeth Edwards… Faced with those discouraging precedents, Mrs. Obama, 43, is trying a fresh approach: running as everywoman, a wife, professional, mother, volunteer."

GINGRICH: NBC's Huma Zaidi reports that Gingrich delivers the commencement address at Liberty University tomorrow -- just days after its founder's death. Jerry Falwell, who passed away on Tuesday, told his supporters in a March letter that he invited Gingrich to speak after the former House speaker confessed to Focus on the Family's James Dobson that he'd had an extra-marital affair while leading the charge against former President Bill Clinton for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinksy. "I was pleased to hear Gingrich state: 'I've gotten on my knees and sought God's forgiveness,'" Falwell wrote. "I have been very impressed with the spiritual maturity of this man and am convinced that he has been honest and forthright in clarifying his past failings and his quest, as a Christian, for God's forgiveness."

In the letter, Falwell reminded his followers that Ronald Reagan posed a challenge to evangelicals because he had been divorced. "We wisely made allowance for God's forgiveness and America was the beneficiary of this historic champion," Falwell said of Reagan. He also noted that the invitation is not an endorsement of any sort -- just like Sen. John McCain's invitation last year was not.

The richer you are, the more likely you have an investment or two that would raise eyebrows. Both Edwards and Giuliani discovered they own stock in companies that do business on the wrong side of the Darfur issue.

A Research 2000 poll shows a very tight three-way race among the Democrats in Iowa, with Clinton edging Edwards 28%-26% and Obama lurking at 22%. The GOP caucus match-up is even tighter with McCain at 18%, Rudy at 17% and Romney at 16%. Fred Thompson checks in at 9% for fourth place. More telling? Obama, while third in the Dem caucus, is the strongest Dem in general election match-ups vs. McCain and Rudy. Clinton is the weakest of the three Dems.

Two Democratic Sens., Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, want to have a confidence vote on Gonzales in the Senate sometime next week. More GOP senators are pulling their support, including Norm Coleman (who is up for re-election in '08) and Olympia Snow.

The New York Times: "In addition, Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, said Mr. Gonzales's resignation should now be considered a possibility. 'When you have to spend more time up here on Capitol Hill instead of running the Justice Department, maybe you ought to think about it,' Mr. Roberts said… And Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has not called for Mr. Gonzales's dismissal, came closer to saying that he was finished. 'I have a sense that when we finish our investigation, we may have the conclusion of the tenure of the attorney general,' Mr. Specter said at a meeting of the committee on Thursday."

Now that Wolfowitz is out of the way as a political problem for the White House, one has to assume the Powers That Be will now focus on the Gonzales situation. He's already survived longer than many people assumed.

From NBC's Carrie Dann
Against the backdrop of the Capitol Dome, three Democratic candidates for the presidency wooed the labor vote this afternoon at a rally of transportation union workers on the National Mall. Flight attendants and railroad mechanics were among those assembled to hear overtures from Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Dennis Kucinich -- who each assailed the Bush Administration's treatment of middle-class workers. Biden, a favorite of union groups who's invited attendees at similar events to "grab a beer" with him, declared that he'd be "the best friend labor ever had" in the White House. Clinton, with a nod to the mobilizing power of organized labor, urged voter registration. She only briefly touched on the issue of the war, while her two rivals used the picturesque setting to pump the specifics of their proposals for Iraq.
 
Kucinich also courted workers' interests hard, saying he would "put labor's flag right on the White House lawn." But he earned his biggest applause by reiterating his impeachment threat to the Vice President. "And I challenge all other candidates to say the same thing," he declared. 

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein say they will seek to have the Senate take a "no confidence" vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales next week.

From NBC's Mark Murray
Now that Clinton and Obama are on the record for backing the defeated Feingold-Reid measure -- which would have cut off most funding for the Iraq war by March 2008 -- it's worth taking a stroll down memory lane to the fall of 2003. Back then, Howard Dean and his anti-war message had all the momentum in the Democratic nomination race. And following Dean's lead, both John Kerry and John Edwards voted against an $87 billion war-funding bill in the Senate.

Of course, that vote came back to haunt Kerry when he famously said in March 2004: "I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it." (What Kerry was referring to was that he voted against the legislation after voting for a similar $87 billion measure that would have repealed tax cuts for the rich to pay for that amount of spending.)

Could Clinton's and Obama's support for Feingold-Reid also come back to haunt them in a general election? There is the similarity that Dodd championing the measure obviously pushed the Democratic front-runners to cover their left flank and also support it. But did they just back something that their Republicans could use against them for denying money to the troops?

There is one big difference between 2003 and now, however: Support for the Iraq war isn't the same as it was back then.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
The Senate has passed its version of the war-spending bill. Now the heavy lifting begins -- writing a bill that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that President Bush will sign.

The House and Senate negotiators will now start their closed-door negotiations to combine their two separate bills into one. That new bill will have to then be resubmitted to the House and Senate and passed again before being sent to the White House.

Because Bush has already vowed to veto the House version, the pressure is on Senate negotiators influence the process. The Democratic and Republican Senate leaders have said they will get a bill to Bush that he can sign, and they are trying to get it done before May 25th, the start of the weeklong Memorial recess. Majority Leader Harry Reid has threatened to keep the Senate in session through the recess to finish the bill.

From Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
*** Cursed: When outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair stands next to Bush at their joint press availability today, he'll be another stark reminder of how those who have backed the Iraq war have paid a steep political price for it. Besides Blair, whose popularity has tumbled in Britain, others who come to mind include McCain, five GOP senators voted out of office last fall (Allen, Burns, DeWine, Santorum, and Talent), and even Lieberman (who lost his primary and had to leave his party to keep his job). In fact, can anyone name a politician whose political standing has IMPROVED due to his/her support for the war? We can't.

*** It's Not Easy Being in Control: On the other hand, congressional Democrats have been paying their own price in the court of public opinion for their singular focus on Iraq. While Iraq is the No.1 issue, their lack of any progress on ending the conflict -- or convincing the president to come to their side, no matter how hard that is -- does make the party look ineffective. And then there's the fact that Iraq has consumed the rest of their agenda. Democrats need to figure out how they are going to look like they are focusing on other issues, and they need to figure it out soon.

*** Just Asking: Another random thought: If the United Kingdom decided it wasn't appropriate for Prince Harry to serve in Iraq, given the added danger he and his fellow soldiers could come under, will the same be true for presidential nominees and their children? Of the Big Six, potential nominee John McCain has a son who is serving.

*** One Step Forward, One Step Back? Speaking of the war, did anyone else notice Clinton equivocating a bit on her support for Feingold-Reid? Per the New York Times, "When asked whether she supported the notion of cutting off financing for major combat operations next spring, Mrs. Clinton declined to say yes or no. 'I'm not going to speculate on what I'll be voting on in the future,' she told reporters Wednesday. 'I voted in favor of cloture to have a debate, and we were successful.' Five hours later, as she walked into the Senate chamber, Mrs. Clinton sought to clarify her remarks."

*** G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S: Well, the candidates' financial-disclosure forms are out, and most of them are rich -- or really rich. Some highlights: Obama is the poorest of the Big Six (but still a millionaire), Edwards earned nearly $500,000 in salary from that hedge fund (which also manages about $7 million of his investments), and Rudy has made A LOT of money since his days at New York mayor.

*** "Rudy is Wrong": The day after Giuliani's well-received debate performance, Brownback's South Carolina chairman sends out this email: "Unfortunately one of the current front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudy Giuliani, is a vocal and unapologetic supporter of the 'right' to abortion. He made this clear once again in the South Carolina debate last night…This is NOT the time to turn back in our efforts to make America a country that respects life. As Republicans, we should not compromise or apologize for that." Is this just another example of the social-conservative minefield Rudy has to cross to win the nomination?

*** Cover Boy: Gore's on the cover of Time. Translation: a week of hyperventilating grade "B" punditry speculating about Gore '08. Face it folks, Gore knows 2008 rumors help sell books. Let's not get carried away. Gore's not running. He's said it numerous times (with caveats of course). But realistically, there's no room for Gore, as long as Obama and Edwards are viable alternatives to Hillary. Now if one of those two anti-Hillarys starts to fade...

*** On the Trail: Brownback travels to Michigan for a keynote address to the 11th District Republicans, while Giuliani and McCain are in New York to address the New York GOP State Committee On the Dem side, Clinton and Biden address the International Association of Machinists during their "Transportation Day of Action" rally on the National Mall in DC. Biden then goes to Iowa, joining Dodd, where both candidates will speak at the Dubuque Democrats Hall of Fame Dinner. Edwards heads to Atlanta to address the Georgia Democrats at the party's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner. And Richardson rolls out his energy plan to the New American Foundation in Washington DC.

Countdown to Kentucky's gubernatorial primary: 4 days
Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 85 days
Countdown to Iowa: 241 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 263 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 536 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 613 days

The AP writes about Blair's US visit. "Blair's resignation will … remove Bush's most reliable international partner at a time that the White House is cultivating other ties in Europe, particularly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Though Blair continues to praise his relationship with Bush, the friendship has played a big part in his downfall. In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, Blair said he got used to a "very intense" level of criticism over Britain's participation in the Iraq war, and he praised Bush's leadership. 'I have found him immensely straightforward to deal with, someone who is always true to his word, and someone who is a very strong leader,' Blair said."

It is fascinating to watch the presidential candidates who have votes in Congress handle this issue. Four years ago, it was the Democratic presidential candidates regularly splitting on how they would vote on certain key Iraq issues. This time, the Democratic candidates are voting in unison, the Boston Globe says. But now the GOP candidates are showing some signs of potentially splintering.

The New York Times covers yesterday's Senate defeat of Feingold-Reid. "The 67-to-29 vote against the proposal demonstrated that a significant majority of Senators remained unwilling to demand a withdrawal of forces despite their own misgivings and public unease over the war."

The Wall Street Journal adds: "But the gap between the White House and the new Democratic majority over Iraq appears to be only widening as the administration takes a hard line against even setting a target date for redeployment, subject to the president's approval. Such a compromise had been crafted by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, but the Michigan Democrat abruptly withdrew the proposal this morning after White House officials said it would still provoke a presidential veto."

In bipartisan effort to get the war funding bill passed and signed before Memorial Day, NBC's Ken Strickland says Senate leaders will take the rare step today of passing what is essentially a generic, non-binding bill -- in other words, a placeholder. This move, the leaders say, eliminates excessive voting and speeds up the negotiations with the House to craft a final bill that's eventually sent to the president.

The Senate bill will include no references to the amount of funding, benchmarks, or consequences. Instead, it will be the text of a previously passed Democratic bill that simply supports the troops, while acknowledging Congress' role to adjust US policy. That bill passed 96-2 during an Iraq debate last March. The heavy lifting starts immediately thereafter when the House and Senate start to reconcile their two bills into one. Since the White House has vowed to veto the House version, the pressure is on the Senate and the Bush Administration to influence the negotiators to write a veto-proof bill.  With the Senate expected to pass its placeholder today, and with a tight lid on talks with the White House, it's unclear what specific language Senators will push for.

Strickland adds that White House chief of staff Josh Bolten will meet with Senate leaders Reid (D) and McConnell (R) this morning.

As we reported yesterday, half of the front-runners (McCain, Clinton and Romney) filed for extensions with the Federal Election Commission, but that means half did file their paperwork on time (Obama, Edwards and Giuliani). Here's what we learned:

--Obama may be the "poorest" of the Big Six, but he's a millionaire now (thanks to his books).

-- Giuliani earned nearly $1 million a month by simply speaking. His personal wealth has skyrocketed since he left his mayoral office. He went from personal assets of under $2 million to assets between $20M-70M. That's right -- candidates can actually put a range THAT large on these forms. Without tax returns, it is very difficult to get the full picture for any candidate. Only Obama has released his full tax return.

-- Edwards earned just under a half million dollars in salary from that hedge fund he worked for. While that's not a lot of money for Edwards, it is a lot of money for most of the folks he's trying to earn support from. Also, the hedge fund, Fortress Investment Group, manages over $7 million of Edwards' investments.

-- As for the rest of the field, Richardson, Brownback, Dodd, Hunter, and Tancredo all reported assets of potentially more than $1 million. Only Huckabee and Biden are not millionaires.

The Washington Post: "Running for president is a pursuit for the wealthy, according to personal financial disclosure forms released yesterday that show that at least 10 of the major party candidates are millionaires and, collectively, the field of contenders is worth at least a quarter-billion dollars."

The New York Times adds, "Neither Mr. Giuliani, a Republican, nor Mr. Edwards, a Democrat, is the richest of the White House hopefuls. That title belongs to Mitt Romney, a founder of the private equity firm Bain Capital, who has said he expects to report as much as $350 million in assets, including a trust for his heirs. Mr. Romney and Senator John McCain of Arizona, both Republicans, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, have all received extensions of the filing deadline for their forms."

As predicted in First Read yesterday, the McCain-Romney spat during Tuesday's debate was not an isolated incident. This rivalry is now fully engaged as the two vie to become the alternative to Giuliani. Said McCain chief strategist John Weaver, according to the Washington Post: ""We'd like nothing better than for all the campaigns to run on their positive agendas for the future. Governor Romney and his Boston advisers believe they can't win with that. So be it. But if they think they can misrepresent John McCain's record with impunity, then they'd better buckle up their chinstraps.'"

BROWNBACK: Here's more from the email Brownback's South Carolina chairman sent out yesterday on Giuliani's pro-choice position: "My friend, Rudy is wrong. Like you and me, Senator Brownback is a true believer that there is no 'choice' involved in life-or-death matters - we must always stand up for protecting innocent human life. Senator Brownback believes that the next Republican nominee for President must be pro-life in order to win - we must stand by our principles and bedrock foundation as a party."

GIULIANI: Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "'The issue of abortion didn't come up at an Atlanta town hall session Wednesday, but former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani fielded questions about the flat tax and immigration — two other controversial questions among Republicans.'"

Meanwhile, the New York Times takes a look at Giuliani's claim that abortions declined -- and adoptions increased -- while he was New York mayor. "A review of the figures from Mr. Giuliani's years as mayor, from 1994 to 2001, shows that although abortions did decline and adoptions did increase, the changes mirrored national trends.  Furthermore, other factors probably contributed to those changes, calling into question Mr. Giuliani's suggesting correlation between the two trends."

MCCAIN: The Los Angeles Times, in a very extensive piece, doesn't pull any punches on McCain's age/health issue for McCain in a very extensive piece today. The headline: "McCain: Physically Fit To Serve As President?" The subhead: "A host of health issues could be a liability for the 70-year-old Arizona Republican." No doubt the campaign is NOT going to be happy about that.

McCain, in DC, also participates today in a noon press conference on immigration.

ROMNEY: He appears to be embracing the same strategy on his faith that Giuliani is embracing on abortion. From the AP's lead: "Despite skirting inquiries about his Mormon faith during the first Bible Belt debate, Republican Mitt Romney said Wednesday he will not shrink from any future questions 'because I'm real pleased with my faith.'"

Five of the top six Democrats will attend the June 2 Iowa Hall of Fame dinner in Des Moines. Next to the J-J Dinner, it's the biggest party dinner of the year. The only major candidate not attending now: Obama. Biden is the latest to fix his schedule to make sure he shows.

BIDEN: The Miami Herald reports that Biden "came to South Florida to make his pitch for an endorsement from the AFL-CIO, known for putting 'boots' on the ground to get the vote out. Most of the Democratic contenders have received high marks for supporting labor's agenda, including a higher minimum wage and protections for Social Security. Biden attracted half as many people as his semi-celebrity rival, Barack Obama, drew two days ago to a similar AFL-CIO event in New Jersey. But the six-term senator told about 300 union members that if he is elected president, he would be the best friend to labor since Franklin Delano Roosevelt."

CLINTON: Almost all of the major television networks, including some international ones, sent camera to Clinton's event on Capitol Hill yesterday, NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reports. But she made no mention of the news that day: the Iraq vote. Instead, she was there solely to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage month, which is important considering that many of the states that have moved up their primaries have a large concentration of Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders (AAPI), including California. Clinton told the crowd, "We're here in part because we want to celebrate the Asian Pacific American Heritage month. And what better time than that to have all of you come together to talk about this campaign."

Appelbaum also notes that one week after Clinton launched her text-messaging drive, her campaign is using new technology once again to involve voters. This time, the campaign is asking the American public to help pick Clinton's official campaign song. Taking a page from Obama's playbook -- remember Monday Night Football? -- Clinton appears in a video talking seriously about "one of the most important questions of this campaign" she's "been struggling with." 
 
The important issue? What the American public thinks her campaign song should be. Clinton asks viewers to go to her website to vote. On the ballot are: U2's "City of Blinding Lights," KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See," Smash Mouth's "I'm a Believer," The Temptations' "Get Ready," Dixie Chicks' "Ready to Run," Shania Twain's "Rock This Country!," U2's "Beautiful Day," Jesus Jones' "Right Here, Right Now," and The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There." Voters can listen to each song on Hillary Clinton's website and they also have the option of writing in a different choice.

EDWARDS: Is there a week that goes by where one of the major Democrats doesn't address some labor group?

GORE: Time runs an excerpt of Gore's new book, The Assault on Reason. "American democracy is now in danger—not from any one set of ideas, but from unprecedented changes in the environment within which ideas either live and spread, or wither and die. I do not mean the physical environment; I mean what is called the public sphere, or the marketplace of ideas… It is simply no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse. I know I am not alone in feeling that something has gone fundamentally wrong. In 2001, I had hoped it was an aberration when polls showed that three-quarters of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on Sept. 11. More than five years later, however, nearly half of the American public still believes Saddam was connected to the attack." 
 
OBAMA: Who would've thought that Obama would have more Irish blood in him than John Kerry? Only in America... By the way, in case you're wondering, he's Irish on his mom's side. But we're guessing you figured that out.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Sweet caught Obama with a slightly misleading statement (as opposed to lie). During his "This Week" interview, Obama was asked why went to Tony Rezko for assistance in buying a house. Obama: "Well, you know, I think that, you know, we had bought a house for the first time and, you know, we were trying to figure out how to set the whole thing up and, you know, this is somebody that I had known for some time. It was an aboveboard legal transaction. I paid more than the price of the property that I purchased and so the assumption was that this was all aboveboard."

The only problem with Obama's answer, it was NOT the first time Obama went through the process of buying a residence. Obama and his wife bought a CONDO before purchasing that house in question. As anyone knows, who attempts to get a first-time buyer's discount on loans/tax breaks etc., there's no distinction between a condo and detached house.

RICHARDSON: He will do his formal announcement in Los Angeles on Monday. While Richardson has been in the race for months, he hadn't done his "Why I'm Running" speech yet. It's worth noting that the two leading candidates -- Giuliani and Clinton -- have not yet given those speeches, either. Considering that the summer is coming, one must assume the two are now waiting until Labor Day -- because as a certain former White House chief of staff is credited with saying, you don't roll out anything in August.

The New York Times' Leibovich does a fun piece on how all of the major candidates have eliminated huge chunks of their personal and professional history from their campaign. Things like McCain not talking about "McCain-Feingold" and Giuliani's failure to include info on his children on his campaign web site, to Romney not referring to Massachusetts as his home and the lack of inclusion of Edwards' Senate career.