From NBC's Mark Murray
The Clinton folks aren't the only ones who picked up an endorsement from a member of Congress today. This afternoon, the Obama campaign announced that New Jersey congressman Steve Rothman endorsed the Illinois senator.

And with yesterday's testy back-and-forth between Clinton and Obama still fresh in people's minds, Rothman delivered this line on Obama's national security credentials: "Last week's National Intelligence Estimate proves that we are no safer than we were before the attacks of September 11th," Rothman said in a press release. "It's time to turn the page and bring an end to the Bush-Cheney foreign policy... Barack Obama is the best candidate for President, with the strength and character to change our broken politics and restore America's standing in the world. He will engage in the aggressive diplomacy necessary to hold countries that pose the greatest threats to our national security accountable. Senator Obama also possesses the resolve to use military force, if necessary, to protect America."

From NBC's Mark Murray

Not only did Hillary Clinton today pick up an endorsement from California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), she also appeared before Feinstein's Senate Rules Committee, where she testified at a hearing on voting reform. "I want to commend the Chairman for her dedicated work on this issue, and I am very honored to be a co-sponsor of her legislation the Ballot Integrity Act," Clinton said, per a copy of her testimony. "Under the leadership of the Committee, I hope we can move toward real reform to fix our broken electoral system and restore the integrity of our elections."

More from Clinton: "Every citizen should have his or her right to vote protected. We must count every vote so that every vote counts. We must return integrity to our ballot process."

Was the endorsement scheduled to today's testimony? And was the hearing a platform for Clinton to discuss a political issue? Feinstein spokesman Scott Gerber says no to both questions, telling First Read that the hearing had been scheduled for weeks. Yet even this is a simple coincidence, it just adds to the perception that the Clinton campaign is doing all of the little things right -- taking advantage of every opportunity.

From NBC's Carrie Dann
You might be running for president if ... you've got hecklers.
 
At a quick campaign stop at a Texas airport this morning, candidate-in-waiting Fred Thompson faced harassment from a young woman who was vocally displeased with the senator's conservative credentials. Her beef? Thompson's membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think-tank known as an influential heavyweight on US policy making.
 
The disgruntled woman worked her way into a reporter scrum and peppered Thompson with questions about his membership in CFR, which she derided as "the same group that's forming the North American Union with Canada and Mexico." Thompson, chuckling, replied: "Don't fuss at me, now," and went on to describe his participation in CFR and the American Enterprise Institute -- a conservative think-tank based in DC -- as sources for his "intellectual exercise."
 
The scrum went on, but at its end the woman's chorus of complaint started anew. "You are not a real conservative, sir!" she yelled as she was escorted out by police and TSA officials. "Please look into this, people!" Thompson ignored her on his way out to the waiting car.
 
Thompson's verbal scuffle with the woman -- who declined to identify herself to reporters -- might overshadow some other noteworthy questions addressed by the senator, including one about allegations that he has been funneling leftover PAC money to his son Daniel. Thompson called the charge "totally false," and insisted that his son's management of campaign funds is merely "common practice." 
 
On the big "when" question that follows him around like his shadow, Thompson demurred again, saying that he'll be "making a final decision in the not so distant future," he appealed for patience with a touch of serene wisdom. "All things in good time."

****UPDATE****Per NBC's Clint Houston, on the ground in Hobby, TX....
 
In addition to Thompson's vocal heckler, a second protestor was asked to leave the premises at this morning's campaign stop in Hobby. Unlike his counterpart, the man went quietly out a back door at officials' request. Neither protestor was arrested after being escorted off the property by police.
 
Here's the kicker: The two were spotted leaving together in a car sporting a Ron Paul bumper sticker.

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell

Sources close to the presumptive campaign tell NBC News that Fred Thompson's fundraising is down "markedly." One claimed it has "slowed down big-time." The pace is described as a consequence of the delayed announcement to enter the race."The Friends of Fred, Inc." will report to the IRS its revenue by July 31st. Sources reveal to NBC News that number will be in the range of about $3 million. Five million dollars had been the talked-about June goal. Sources describe an early burst of donations in June and say the summer fundraising has fallen off. While additional fundraisers are planned, sources say the scheduling of fundraisers was "frozen" for a time while the team was going through some internal strains.

The Jeri Factor
Some sources describe the role of the presumed candidate's wife, Jeri, as vast and powerful.  Sources say "she's integrally involved in every decision" and that Fred Thompson has "set it up so everything goes through her." Critically, that was cast as "running it like a congressional campaign" and from the "kitchen table." 

Sources also describe Jeri favorably as smart, and that her level of involvement could be an asset. However, they also claim she is "reluctant" to shift to the eventual front-stage role she would have to assume as the candidate's spouse with her own events and public responsibilities. An interpretation of Jeri's role was described as a "scattershot management style" that "lacks prioritization."

At present, those close to the planning say Jeri is involved in hiring, salaries, schedule, office assignments at the two headquarters, and small details like the color of bumper stickers. Some sources defend her, adding that "it's easy to say she's controlling things."  Sources describe that she, like many in Washington, knows many people in politics. They acknowledge Jeri meets with and interviews senior staff candidates and is clearly a key adviser.

Another Staff Departure
Senior staffer J.T. Mastranadi is said to be out according to sources. Others near the Fred camp say word of Mastranadi's departure is "not accurate" and as of last evening "everything was fine." (But the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder has the campaign confirming Mastranadi's departure.)

Announcement Plans
Sources say September 4th in Nashville is the working plan, with Thompson possibly heading to South Carolina (if time permits) and then to New Hampshire for the September 5th GOP debate. The talk about a stop in Thompson's boyhood hometown seems unlikely. Yet sources acknowledge the launch could still change and that only a tiny group of advisers know the thinking.

Advisers contend it's better to have the "shake-ups and shake-downs now" than a month from now when they'd be in a "very different environment" with high scrutiny from media and other campaigns. One interpretation was, "a seamless pre-campaign does us no good if the official thing is a mess."

Structure And Organization
Roughly two dozen and "no more than 30" senior staffers are in place aside from those in state operations.

Advisers say Tom Collamore (who is gone now) was brought in for his organizational skills, and that he did set up the needed structure for two headquarters and hiring. Randy Enwright will be the political director and effectively running the operation. Former US Senator Spencer Abraham's role is being compared to the way Don Evans served George W. Bush as a confidant/counselor in 1999 and 2000.

The Fred team's internal research on the candidate to anticipate what opponents may dig up in their oppo shops has been going on for about a month and it's centered in Knoxville where the Senator's papers are housed.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Before the flurry between Obama and Clinton yesterday, both campaigns were trying to prove who is winning the numbers game. Obama bested Clinton in campaign contributors in the first six months with 258,000. But the Clinton campaign, in an effort to mute those numbers, sent out an e-mail touting that it is close to one million supporters. The e-mail calls the number "astonishing" and "humbling," but on closer examination, the Clinton camp is counting people who have signed up for e-mails on the campaign Web site as supporters.

Does that count? After all, even we, the media, are on the Clinton e-mail list.

In other news that got lost in the shuffle, Obama won a Planned Parenthood straw poll over the other Democratic presidential contenders with 42% of the vote. Last week, Obama, Clinton and Elizabeth Edwards spoke at Planned Parenthood in DC and laid out their agendas on women's issues.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Romney has a healthy lead in recent Iowa polls. Tommy Thompson barely registered in last month's Mason-Dixon poll with just about 2% behind Brownback (6%) and Huckabee (7%) -- not to mention McCain, Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Romney (25%). And he had to hold a conference call last month to tell reporters he wasn't dropping out of the presidential race.

But on his chances at the Ames straw poll, Tommy Thompson told the blog Pajamas Media on camera, "If I don't win, I'll be shocked." He added, "I wouldn't say Romney's in trouble, but I'd say I think it's going to be between Romney and myself."

Hmm. I wonder what the second-tier snipers (er, Brownback) will think of that.

Video: Can Thompson get traction?

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carly Zakin
*** Clinton vs. Obama: The two Democratic front-runners have finally engaged, rather than simply allowing their staffs to go back-and-forth. The only thing that strikes us odd about yesterday's skirmish is that the candidates launched their attacks and counterattacks via such a small media venue (the Quad City Times). It's like two major deciding to go to war ... over the Falkland Islands. Yesterday our producers in New Hampshire tried to get Clinton to say her criticism on camera and she demurred. And neither candidate granted an interview to any other media on this issue. If neither candidate chooses to put their words on camera today, does this mean the skirmish is over?

Video: Clinton and Obama take off the gloves in 2008 spat

*** More On The Spat: Both sides appear to be going overboard on this issue: Obama's camp thinks this idea that they would do anything different than Clinton would on which world leaders they'd talk to (or even appear with) is absurd, while the Clinton camp believes Obama's answer at the debate is an example how he doesn't get that words matter and that should be a legit issue. Who was the biggest loser in yesterday's renewed focus on Clinton versus Obama? So far, it might be the rest of the Democratic field. Indeed, how odd is it that a debate about preparation to be commander-in-chief is taking place and the three candidates with the lengthiest resumes for the job (Biden, Dodd, and Richardson) are no where to be found on the debate?

*** Fred's Shakeup: So let us get something straight: Fred Thompson is not yet a candidate, and he's already had to shake up his leadership? (Maybe that's the lesson to be learned from McCain -- get your shakeup out early!) That said, the choice of Spence Abraham is something that should make establishment Republicans happy. He's got a good reputation as a strategist -- remember, before he served in the Senate, Abraham ran the GOP House campaign committee. Still, the shakeup before the campaign started only fuels speculation among some that Thompson's fledgling candidacy has gotten off to a rocky start (mixed reviews of his speeches, questions about his conservative credentials, delays in his campaign kickoff) before it truly has begun. There's additional speculation that Thompson's campaign is being micro-managed by his wife, Jeri.

*** Things That Make You Go, Hmmmm: A Bloomberg presidential candidacy has always seemed remote to many of us. But this mike2008.com Web site is already more detailed about this potential candidacy than the one Fred Thompson started (imwithfred.com). The Bloomberg folks say this was done to prevent cyber-squatting, but come on. Why shouldn't we start referring to Bloomberg as officially "exploring" a presidential campaign?

*** DLC, Yeah You Used To Know Me: The AP writes that none of the Democratic presidential candidates will be attending the centrist Democratic Leadership Council's conference this coming weekend. The news service says it's "a snub that says less about the centrist DLC than it does about a nomination process that rewards candidates who pander to their parties' hardened cores while ignoring everybody else." But perhaps more importantly, the DLC turned out to be wrong -- in most Democrats' eyes -- on the Iraq war. For better or for worse, the Democratic Party is now the party of Dean and Daily Kos (in fact, at least five of the top six '08 Dems have confirmed they'll attend next month's Yearly Kos conference). It worked for them in 2006… Will it be true again in 2008?

*** The E-Word: Today is as good of a day as any to understand why Giuliani is so resilient as one of the GOP front-runners. The Washington Post/ABC poll suggesting that electability is trumping questions about Giuliani's socially liberal views is one way. Then there's the LA Times' Brownstein insightful column that pinpoints just how Giuliani has avoided getting trapped in a death spiral for those liberal social views: he's a pure federalist, advocating for states to decide on their own what social issues to legislate and how to legislate them. And then there's Hillary Clinton. As long as she's the Democratic front-runner, the electability argument will always work for Rudy, right? That's what the campaign is banking on.

*** On The Trail: Brownback is in Iowa; so is Edwards, who participates in the Des Moines Register's Annual Bicycle Ride Across Iowa with Lance Armstrong; Huckabee is also in Iowa; McCain campaigns in New Hampshire; Obama is in New York then DC; Richardson stumps in Iowa; Romney makes a whopping seven stops in New Hampshire; and Fred Thompson travels to Houston and Dallas.
 
Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 17 days
Countdown to MA-05 Special Election: 40 days
Countdown to LA GOV election: 87 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 104 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 115 days
Countdown to Iowa: 172 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 194 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 468 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 545 days

The New York Times writes up yesterday's back-and-forth. Clinton "sharply criticized" Obama "for the first time yesterday as inexperienced on national security, calling him 'irresponsible and frankly naïve' for saying he would be willing to meet without preconditions with leaders of Iran, North Korea and three other nations during his first year as president. Mr. Obama responded swiftly, saying the Clinton campaign was concocting a 'fabricated controversy.' He also contended that Mrs. Clinton's skeptical view of such meetings was similar to that of President Bush."

The Boston Globe writes that in this "tussle over foreign diplomacy … Clinton claimed the mantle of wisdom and experience, while Obama argued that America needs to chart a new course."

The New York Daily News gets right to it and hails, "It's finally on!" The paper adds that Clinton will use the spat "to shore up her standing among key voter blocs, such as Cuban-Americans in bellwether Florida and Jewish voters who may find the idea of a sitdown with the Holocaust-denying president of Iran disturbing."

The Des Moines Register's Beaumont writes, "Experts say the disagreement will have little impact on whom Democrats choose as their nominee but could cause Obama problems if he is the party's standard-bearer next year."

The Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet called the spat with Clinton a "political minefield" for Obama and said, "The exchange in the debate marked the sharpest divide between Clinton and Obama, the Democratic front-runners. It was most perilous for Obama because it raised questions about his inexperience, an area where polls show voters have the most reservations about Obama, while giving Clinton an opportunity to appear more seasoned."

The Miami Herald -- again -- did Obama no favors when it comes to Florida politics. Here's today's header: "Clinton, Obama spar over `meeting Castro'"

Wow, how things have changed. The AP's Fournier reports that not a single candidate for the president plans to attend the DLC's summer meeting in Tennessee this weekend. The closest the group is getting is Bill Clinton. It is "a snub that says less about the centrist DLC than it does about a nomination process that rewards candidates who pander to their parties' hardened cores while ignoring everybody else. 'They have tunnel vision,' DLC founder Al From said of his fellow Democrats… 'Presidents are elected in the middle and they are elected by being bigger than their party. Neither parties' activists alone can elect somebody president,' From said in a telephone interview… "Democrats have a long history of nominating people, including people who have lost badly. The challenge for Democrats is to nominate somebody who can win the election."

The AP sat in on dial-testing focus group in South Carolina. Edwards had the best score on a single question -- an 80 for his answer on healthcare. Kucinich hit the lowest mark of the night -- in the 30s -- for advocating for slave reparations. According to the group, Obama got the greatest bump from the debate, then Clinton, then Edwards. But four of 12 thought Edwards won the debate; three thought Obama won it; two said it was Clinton.

Video: Who won the CNN-YouTube debate?

BIDEN: The Los Angeles Times made contact with the guy who asked the gun question at Monday's YouTube debate, and it finds the guy didn't like getting ridiculed by Biden.

Meanwhile, Biden's wife is riding in today's bike ride (with Lance Armstrong) in Iowa.

CLINTON: Did you know Clinton was in New Hampshire yesterday to talk about her energy proposals? The event did get drowned out a bit by her spat with Obama. At the event, she reiterated the fact she was "agnostic" on nuclear power.

The Washington Post did a little fact-checking on Clinton's answer during the YouTube debate on her statement that the Clintons sent Chelsea to private school primarily to keep her away from the media. "Funny thing -- that's not what the Clintons said in January 1993 when they announced the decision. 'They chose Sidwell Friends because it's a good school,' spokesman George Stephanopoulos said at the time. 'It's an academically challenging school.' And, he noted, 'one of the things that was particularly attractive to the family was that Sidwell has a service component that goes along with their academic requirements. Nothing about reporters -- who, by the way, aren't exactly allowed to waltz into public schools any more than they are private schools."

EDWARDS: Expect to see a lot more of Edwards and wife Elizabeth in New Hampshire with 13 stops over the next three days. The Edwards campaign tells First Read that the "Hair" YouTube video the campaign unveiled at Monday's debate has gotten (as of 8:00 am ET) more than 128,000 views so far. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1qG6m9SnWI

OBAMA:

The Politico writes that Obama's camp is planning a classic insurgent campaign "to wrest the Democratic nomination from Hillary Rodham Clinton -- one that relies on a surge of momentum from early-state victories and faces a make-or-break test in the South Carolina primary… Obama is touting a new and unconventional brand of grass-roots politics, but his strategy borrows from precedents set by a previous generation of Democrats such as Jimmy Carter and Gary Hart. His advisers also invoke as inspiration a surprising Republican: Ronald Reagan." Obama also introduced "Camp Obama" yesterday to recruit volunteers.

RICHARDSON: In Iowa yesterday, Richardson received a standing ovation for calling for a "new America" and "repeatedly hammered" the Bush administration, the Des Moines Register reports. He also repeated his call to pull all troops from Iraq and splitting the country up between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The candidate's attempt to break through gets treatment from USA Today. "In an era of rigorous adherence to talking points, Richardson doesn't give the same speech twice. He covers Iraq, energy policy, a 'hero's health card' for veterans, the need for more gym classes in schools, balancing the budget and more. He suggests an 'Apollo-like program' to develop energy technology, and a 'massive federal program' for arts education. The joke that ends one speech with a laugh — about his wife, Barbara, noting his gubernatorial approval rating is sky-high because he's been out-of-state campaigning — comes two-thirds of the way through another."

GIULIANI:

A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows electability is fueling Giuliani's lead in the primary, which is exactly what the Giuliani campaign could have asked for. "Nearly half of the Republicans polled said that Giuliani represents their party's best chance to win in November 2008; that is three or four times as high as the percentage who mentioned other candidates. Democrats and independents also said Giuliani would represent the Republicans' best shot at holding on to the White House… Support for Giuliani is not deep -- only a third of his supporters said they are strongly behind his candidacy. That stands in contrast to the top two Democrats in the race for their party's nomination."

The Washington Post got a quickie interview with Giuliani yesterday after a speech in California. "Giuliani said that voters are well aware of his personal difficulties -- his divorces, a strained relationship with his son. 'Some fair, some unfair, some true, some untrue,' he said of the stories. But he said he hopes that those will not be the measurements by which people judge him when they choose a Republican nominee next year. 'All of it gets tested against having been in public office for that entire time, and somehow it didn't affect my performance,' he said. 'At moments of great personal crises, some people perform really well, some people perform horrible. That's kinda what you gotta know.'"

The Los Angeles Times' Brownstein calls Giuliani a federalist and notes it's his way to get the GOP nod. "Giuliani is mostly running for the GOP presidential nomination as a warrior against Islamic terrorism. But his most innovative domestic idea casts him as a peacemaker on the social issues that have divided the nation since the 1960s. Giuliani argues that the best way to reduce tension about social issues is to allow states, rather than the federal government, to take the lead in responding to them. That would allow socially conservative and liberal states to each set rules that reflect the prevailing values inside their borders. Rather than perpetual combat in Washington, he insists, the nation could reach a new equilibrium as different states gravitated to different solutions."

The former mayor is backing a provision that Republicans are pushing in Congress to shield citizens from being sued if their reports of potential terrorism turn out to be false. According to the Washington Times, Clinton is the only White House Democrat who is siding with the Republicans on this legislation. Though, Obama didn't vote on the measure, let along cast a no vote.

The campaign made a big push yesterday to get attention for his support of this amendment in Congress. He did talk radio about it yesterday and issued a press release about it.

PAUL: Is it fair to Paul to have a story done on him comparing his candidacy to Mike Gravel's. Isn't there something a lot more serious about Paul?

ROMNEY: The Boston Globe notes that Romney won't let his accusation against Obama about sex ed for kindergarteners die. He renewed his critiques yesterday, and the Obama folks renewed their defense that Romney was flip-flopping on this issue. "Yesterday, the Romney campaign said Romney never supported sex education of any kind in kindergarten and also pointed out that, as governor, Romney introduced abstinence education into a number of public schools. The Romney campaign further asserted that the legislation Obama had backed in Illinois went so far as to call for sexually transmitted disease prevention to be taught in kindergarten. But that bill also called for any sexual education programs offered to handle all topics in an 'age and developmentally appropriate' manner, and it also let parents choose to keep their children out of such classes."

F. THOMPSON:

The Washington Post reports on the shakeup in the campaign. "Tom Collamore, who has been serving as chief operating officer of the nascent Thompson operation, will become a senior adviser to the campaign, but without day-to-day management responsibilities… Thompson has recruited several veteran Republicans to help run the operation, including former senator Spencer Abraham (Mich.)… Abraham will become campaign chairman. Randy Enwright, a longtime Florida-based GOP strategist who has played key roles in President Bush's campaigns there, will serve as political director."

More: "Republican insiders reported that differences between Collamore and Thompson's wife, Jeri, led to the changes. Sources close to the campaign said those reports were overblown. 'There's some rub, but it's not near the way it's being played out,' one knowledgeable Republican said."

In fact, the Politico reports Enwright, not Abraham, will actually run the campaign on a day-to-day basis. It also notes Enwright is a one-time lobbyist -- which could feed the lobbyist attacks on Thompson.

Yesterday, Bush made another case that Al Qaeda in Iraq is a threat to the US. "Bush made provocative new assertions Tuesday about Al Qaeda's role in Iraq, using recently declassified information to make his case that the global battle with the terrorism network — and Americans' safety at home — hinges on keeping U.S. troops there to fight. Bush's comments were met with skepticism by some terrorism experts and former U.S. intelligence officials, who said the president exaggerated or even misrepresented the facts in Iraq… Bush's impassioned 28-minute speech was the administration's longest and most detailed argument to date that Al Qaeda in Iraq and Bin Laden's terrorist operation were one and the same. Bush used it, he acknowledged, to rebut his critics' assertions that the Iraqi militant group was not justification enough for keeping U.S. troops in the war-riven country."

The New York Times front-pages Bush's relationship with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. "In sessions usually lasting more than an hour, Mr. Bush, a committed Christian of Texas by way of privileged schooling in New England, and Mr. Maliki, an Iraqi Shiite by way of political exile in Iran and Syria, talk about leadership and democracy, troop deployments and their own domestic challenges. Sometimes, said an official who has sat in on the meetings, they talk about their faith in God." 

The House will take up a measure today that would ban the establishment of permanent US military bases in Iraq, NBC's Mike Viqueira reports. The free-standing bill will be put forward by Rep. Barbara Lee (D), a leader of the "Progressive Caucus" in the House. Dem leaders aim to put the item on the floor this week, with two more Iraq-related measures on tap for next week. The next four weeks after that are devoted to recess.

Salon's Walter Shapiro believes Monday night's YouTube debate actually exposed a division on the issue of Iraq between the major candidates. "The issue that exposed these Democratic divisions was, in essence, what should a new Democratic president do about the Iraq war? The fault line Monday night was primarily between Bill Richardson ('I believe we should bring all the troops home ... in six months with no residual forces') and Chris Dodd on one side, and Joe Biden ('There is not a single military man in this audience who will tell this senator that he can get the troops out in six months') and Hillary Clinton ('Joe is right') on the other."

Legacy watch: "The latest Washington Post-ABC News survey shows that 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's job performance, matching his all-time low. In polls conducted by The Post or Gallup going back to 1938, only once has a president exceeded that level of public animosity -- and that was Richard M. Nixon, who hit 66 percent four days before he resigned."

With Bush's unpopularity hitting record highs (or is it lows?), one wonders why the GOP candidates are taking so long to create distance between themselves and the president.

Has Alaska's history of having its congressional leadership so focused on so-called pork-barrel politics finally caught up with the state? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that veteran Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska, "now is the subject of a continuing criminal inquiry involving possible political favors for a company in Alaska, people close to the case said. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the powerful former chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the longest-serving Senate Republican, is also now under criminal investigation, these people said."

Pegged to yesterday's congressional Democratic news conference touting the increase in the minimum wage, the New York Times notes that Democrats are doing everything they can to avoid the "do-nothing" label. "Democrats hope to post more legislative victories in a few days, including enacting into law some of the remaining recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission. They also want to pass a lobbying overhaul that was central to their campaign last year against the 'culture of corruption' so they can start their late-summer recess on a high note. Republicans agree it would represent real progress if Democrats could get those measures through and tee up a few others for the fall. But they are withering in their criticism of what the Democratic majority has — and has not — done since taking power in January."

… and it isn't pretty. The Washington Post: "… Gonzales weathered one of the most contentious and hostile congressional hearings seen during the Bush administration. Democrats and the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee accused him of repeatedly misleading them and warned that he could face perjury charges if he lied to the panel. 'I do not find your testimony credible, candidly,' said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who became visibly angry at several points during his exchanges with Gonzales. 'The committee's going to review your testimony very carefully to see if your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable.'"

More: "Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) told Gonzales bluntly: 'I don't trust you.'"

The New York Times: "Mr. Gonzales endured the nearly four-hour battering at the hearing with a calm, sometimes bewildered expression. He insisted he would stay on as attorney general despite his low credibility in Congress. Democratic lawmakers portrayed the Justice Department as rudderless and demoralized, and they voiced deep skepticism about his leadership, often with sarcastic and derisive criticism. For the first time, several lawmakers suggested his statements about the surveillance programs were so misleading that his testimony might lead to potential legal sanction."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

Obama is up with a radio ad today in South Carolina. The campaign would not release how strong a buy this is. In the ad -- called "It's Time" -- an announcer proclaims, "It's Barack Obama time" and calls him a "soldier for justice." The ad -- playing over soft jazz with a funk vibe -- also touts Obama's religious, community organizing and legislative credentials. Obama repeats his theme from the NAACP forum of "We have more work to do."

Here's the transcript:
Announcer: It's time. It's time for Barack Obama

Obama: I know what you know. Despite all the progress that has been made, we still have more work to do. We have more work to do when more young black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities across America.

Announcer: It's Barack Obama time. A Christian family man, community organizer, civil rights lawyer, courageous legislator, and US senator who's told the truth as a soldier for justice.

Obama: We have more work to do when the black incidents of HIV/AIDS and diabetes, and every other illness is multiple times higher than the rest of the population. We've got more work to do when it takes a hurricane and bodies floating through a street for us to recognize race and poverty in this country.

Announcer: The time is now. Barack Obama for President

Obama: I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message. Paid for by Obama for America.

From NBC's Joel Seidman

Friends of Fred has sent out invites for a series of fundraisers with the former Tenn. Sen. Fred Thompson -- having him appear at events across the country the last week of July and early August.The $1,000 a plate individual tickets and $5,000 PAC tix are being solicited online by Imwithfred.com

The sked is a whirlwind:
--July 25 - Houston
--July 25 - Dallas
--July 26 - San Diego
--July 27 - Philadelphia
--July 30 - Washington, DC
--July 31 - Newport Coast, CA
--Aug 1 - Bel Air, CA

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
We told you earlier about some of hirings in the non-campaign campaign of Fred Thompson. Well, per the AP, now he is shaking things up. He named former senator and energy secretary Spencer Abraham and Florida GOP strategist Randy Enright as his campaign managers. They replace acting campaign manager, Tom Collamore, a former vice president of food and tobacco giant Altria. Collamore, who helped organize Thompson's would-be campaign, will remain as an adviser.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum

John Edwards called into Al Sharpton's radio show this afternoon to speak about last night's debate and his war on poverty, but he took advantage of the opportunity to offer up an apparent dig to Clinton and his other opponents. Edwards called for "big change, bold change" for the country to change a system that is "rigged for big insurance companies, drug companies, and oil companies."
 
"What possible reason do they have to give up their power? They're not going to give it away. We have to take it away from them," Edwards asserted. "We cannot get bold change by compromising with the people who have the power now. Compromise is not going to get us there, triangulation is not going to get us there, being careful is not going to get us there. We need somebody who's used to fighting these people and beating them and I've been doing it my whole life."
 
On poverty, Edwards acknowledged it will take some work to make average Americans relate to the issue, but he also said they just need a leader to make it a big issue for them. "I think a lot times, it's sorta out of sight, out of mind and they're not thinking about it," Edwards said. "We make them think about it, put a bright light on the poverty that still exists in this country, which, as you know, we just did for a few days traveling across America. I think it helps."
 
Sharpton asked Edwards why he would be a good candidate for African Americans when he is running against a woman, an African American, and a "Mexican." A dropped call did not allow Edwards to respond but when Edwards called back into the show, Sharpton rephrased the question without labeling Richardson as a Mexican. Edwards listed the issues that most affect the African American community: poverty, health care coverage, minimum wage, environmental degradation, and the war in Iraq. He asserted he has the "strongest, most aggressive bold plans" for these issues and that he would continue to lead on them as President.
 
On the debate's format, Edwards was happy. "I think anytime you're answering questions from real people, real voters, as opposed to just journalists, it's a better thing," Edwards said. "I think that's what we got last night. We got some questions you expect to get, some were off the wall, but that's the way voters are. There's nothing wrong with that. That's good."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

In a conference call with bloggers, McCain piled on, calling Obama's response about talking to leaders without restrictions "naïve." He also fired back at Gingrich who yesterday called the Republican candidates "pygmies" and said McCain would drop out once he got his matching funds. McCain said Gingrich had "no idea what he's talking about" unless he has "listening devices" in McCain headquarters.

The New York Sun's Ryan Sager writes McCain sounded "worn and beaten down" and described his campaign as "on life support."

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

In an interview with the Quad City Times Clinton called Obama's answer to whether or not he would meet with leaders who oppose the United States "irresponsible" and "naïve."The Davenport, Iowa paper wrote: "Clinton rejected the idea she reversed herself and added she wouldn't foreclose talks with those leaders. But she wouldn't promise it, either, and she added that Obama is regretting his answer today.

"'I thought that was irresponsible and frankly naive,'" the New York senator said.

We will update when we get a response from the Obama campaign.

***UPDATE 2***Listen to Obama and Clinton's interviews with the Quad City Times.

And talk about a tight campaign, a Clinton staffer also on the line treated the interview like a
conference call and told the reporter,"I think it's time to wrap up." The reporter paused a bit, asked a final question and then the call ended.

****UPDATE****Obama hits back

Obama himself responded to the Quad City Times, saying Clinton was creating a "fabricated controversy" and that what was "'irresponsible and naive' was voting to authorize the Iraq war."

"What she's somehow maintaining is my statement could be construed as not having asked what the meeting was about. I didn't say these guys were going to come over for a cup of coffee some afternoon," he said. "From what I heard, the point was, well, I wouldn't do that because it might allow leaders like Hugo Chavez to score propaganda points. I think that is absolutely wrong."

"He likened the position to a continuation of the Bush administration diplomatic policies," the Quad City Times writes.

From NBC's Joel Seidman
Veteran Republican operative Rich Galen has signed on as a senior advisor to Fred Thompson, who is exploring a bid for the GOP presidential nomination. We are also hearing that Bob Stevenson, former Sen. Bill Frist's communications director has signed on as an advisor.

Galen, author of the popular political cyber column MULLINGS is well known in GOP circles for his savvy political communications skills. He often provides political analysis on CNN.

"Assuming he gets into the race," Galen said, "I think Fred Thompson may well be the best combination of insider-outsider experience and possess the kind of new ideas that don't exist in either party."

Thompson is expected to make a formal announcement after Labor Day.

From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
In addition to rolling out former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to comment today on Hillary Clinton's response at last night's debate over to her response about meeting with the leaders of Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, etc., the Clinton campaign just issued a memo hitting Obama for his own remark.

"There is a clear difference between the two approaches these candidates are taking: Senator Obama has committed to presidential-level meetings with some of the world's worst dictators without precondition during his first year in office. Senator Clinton is committed to vigorous diplomacy but understands that it is a mistake to commit the power and prestige of America's presidency years ahead of time by making such a blanket commitment."

Of course, as we said earlier, the Clinton campaign here is opening themselves up to charges that they're taking a Bush-like approach to foreign affairs (the Bush folks would claim they're committed to vigorous diplomacy, too), and that they're flip-flopping (since Clinton, as the Obama camp has reminded us, has called for talking with the leaders of not-so friendly nations). But the most striking thing here is that we're talking about this exchange from the debate -- and not Obama's jab last night on Clinton's war vote. Score this day-after round (so far) to Team Hillary.

***UPDATE***Publicly the Clinton campaign is not going negative on Obama. Senior Adviser Howard Wolfson and Albright both demured when given the chance to explicitly hit Obama, but the campaign puts the critique of Obama in bold in its e-mail to the media.

Also, the Clinton campaign just called to strongly disagree with any comparison to the Bush Administration's foreign policy, saying that last night Clinton noted that she would still pursue "vigorous" diplomatic efforts with these nations.

Video: Is Clinton still the Democratic front-runner?

From NBC's Courtney Kube at the Pentagon
(Editor's note: We will be frequently asking various experts from NBC News to help us with policy reality checks, particularly on the issues of the military. Here's some fact-checking from last night from Courtney Kube at the Pentagon).

Sen. Barack Obama said that he wants to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and have all combat troops out by March 31st.  Current U.S. military planners estimate that it will take a minimum of 9 months to withdraw all 157,000 troops from Iraq - and that would be under "permissive conditions" (not in the middle of combat operations), which is NOT the situation there now.  To turn over bases, ship out all U.S. military equipment, and draw down forces (in other words, to clean up the country before they leave it) would take about 2 years -- again, that would be under permissive conditions.  
 
Unfortunately for Obama, March 31st is just over 8 months from now, so even if the draw down began today, all the troops would not be home by then ... and considering the U.S. still does not have permission to move troops out through either Jordan or Turkey, nine months may even be too optimistic for right now.

As for Sen. Hillary Clinton's call for bringing home a brigade or more a month, it is realistic to move one brigade per month out of Iraq -- and that could go to 2 per month if the conditions are right (i.e. limited violence against our troops) and once the major bases and outposts are cleaned out, and the equipment is shipped, they could move out faster.  The other major factor is whether the U.S. gets permission from Turkey and from Jordan to move troops out through their countries ... which would be politically difficult for both governments.
 
There are 20 combat brigades in Iraq right now.
 
On another topic, Clinton was wrong to say that the Pentagon is not planning for the withdrawal.  They plan for EVERYTHING.  If they had to get out today, they would have a plan ready to use right now.  And it would probably have some weird name like "Operation Eagle Flies."

(Look for more military reality checks from Courtney Kube as the campaign gets going.)

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) may return to the Senate this fall, his wife told the Rapid City Journal. She said she also believes a return to the Senate would speed her husband's recovery, fueling speculation he will likely seek reelection in 2008."When he came home from the hospital, he made giant leaps forward that first week," Barbara Johnson said. "I think the same thing would happen once he gets back in the office and on the (Senate) floor with his colleagues and friends."

Johnson had to have emergency brain surgery in December to correct a potentially fatal condition, which produced bleeding in his brain and stroke-like symptoms.

From NBC's Chuck Todd
You've heard the expression, "everything's been said, but not everyone has said it," well, I think there are two things about last night that haven't been said yet. Then again, given the number of political analysts on the web these days, I'm probably wrong about that.

-- 1. Experience. How frustrating is it for Biden/Dodd/Richardson that Clinton and Obama are spatting in such a high profile way over what constitutes "experience"?  And How is it that this is an important part of the debate between Clinton and Obama and the three guys who have longer resumes than either frontrunner (or the guy in third place with the Southern accent), getting short shrift? If Biden/Dodd/Richardson can't catch fire now when there seems to be an interest in how much experience is necessary in the next Democratic nominee, then when will they catch fire? Where's Jon Lovitz when we need him? He could play Biden/Dodd/Richardson in the "SNL" debates and simply mutter: "how am I losing to these guys."

 

Video: The presidential race is far from over says Dodd

   
-- 2. Censure. Did we really have a "debate" last night that included four sitting U.S. Senators and not ONE of them was asked about Russ Feingold's censure measure?