[big campaign] Media Monitoring Report - Morning 07/02/08

podesta-emails 3,124 words email

P17 P22 P18 V11 P19

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*Main Topics: *McCain in Colombia talking free trade and human rights, Continuing coverage of controversy over Wesley Clark comments * Summary of Shift: *McCain's trip to Colombia was the biggest story today. He gave interviews live from Colombia with a focus on free trade and human rights. The Wesley Clark comments about McCain's military experience continue to drive heavy coverage, however MSNBC has been appropriately been repeating a story they put together on the theme this election of being outraged by comments made by the other party and the distraction from important issues it causes. The non-McCain related dominant headlines included the capture of a MidWest serial killer, the suspicious death of an inmate recently found guilty of a police officer's murder, and a Palestinian man drove a bulldozer into a bus in Jerusalem killing four and injuring many. Starbucks will be closing 600 of their chains. In other hard-hitting news, the Brangelina Twins are coming! Olympic trials have gotten underway, and wildfires continue to ravage the dry California terrain. Surprisingly, no flooding coverage. Highlights: 1. McCain, Live from Colombia a. ABC: McCain on "Good Morning America" Live from Colombia, States That He Never Said He Wasn't An Expert on the Economy b. CNN: McCain May Have Problems Selling His Free Trade Ideas in Key Battleground States 2. CNN: McCain Communications Director Jill Hazelbacker on Free Trade and Job Security 3. CNN: McCain's Trip to Colombia may Attract Hispanic Voters 4. MSNBC: Theme Driving Campaign 2008 Is Continuous Outrage Over Other Candidate's Remarks 5. MSNBC: Ignoring Bush Critical For McCain to Succeed 6. MSNBC: Clark Stuff Silly, McCain's Image Set In Stone 7. CNN: McCain demands that the Obama camp "cut ties" with General Clark [No Clip] 8. MSNBC: Courting Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State Meets Privately With Obama & McCain [No Clip] 9. MSNBC: Candidates Wives Unfavorables, Michelle Obama 35%, Cindy McCain 17% [No Clip] Clips: Highlight #1 *McCain on "Good Morning America" Live from Colombia, States that he Never Said he Wasn't an Expert on the Economy* (ABC 07/02/08 07:04am) ROBIN ROBERTS: So why is McCain abroad when American's are focused on the economy here at home and losing jobs […] MCCAIN: I'm here for one day, I'm in Mexico the next day and then I'm back home *and also drugs are a big, big problem in America*. The continued flow of drugs from Columbia through Mexico into the United States is still one of our major challenges to all Americans and the Mexican government is struggling right now with battles against drug cartels. Colombia continues to make progress, but a large percentage of the amount of cocaine that continues to come into the United States of America comes from this country. I've been here many times. I've been here several times in the past as well as with Mexico, and I think it deserves our attention. ROBERTS: *No discounting the drug problem as you just stated. Here at home, the U.S. economy is really at the forefront of voters' minds. We've seen that over and over again, so many want to know here on what you just said why are you in Colombia this morning?* MCCAIN: Well, I'd be glad to repeat myself. I've come down here on two previous occasions. We have the issue of the drug trafficking from Colombia up through our hemisphere across Mexico and in the United States of America. Drug cartels have basically taken control of some towns on the Mexican border. There are still a couple of thousand people being held hostage here. There is clearly a continued threat of drugs pouring into the United States of America, which can harm us and our young people very badly. I'm happy to say there has been some success. The cost of cocaine on the street is up. *I also think it's important for our economy to maintain a free, to pass a free trade agreement between ourselves and Colombia. Colombia is our largest agricultural market in the southern hemisphere so I think there are issues*. I've been involved in these issues for a long, long time, and I've spent the last two weeks talking about all over America, the need for us to attain energy independence and I've come up with specific plans and proposals to do that. The American economy is hurting right now. Most of all at the gas pump where they're seeing the price of a gallon of gas go up and up and up. ROBERTS: You mention free trade and it is part of the reason why you are making the trip to Colombia and to Mexico*. Again, here at home, many are very fearful of when it comes to foreign free trade and, in fact, there was a new poll, or half the country feeling it's a threat to the country*. 41% do see it as an opportunity for growth. Senator, you recently spent time in Indiana and in Pennsylvania spending a lot of time in communities there that have been hit really hard with job losses so what *do you say to those people who are fearful more jobs may be, indeed, headed beyond our borders and abroad?* MCCAIN: *That our economy is in terrible shape, that we've got to take specific actions, keep their taxes low, less regulation, start exploring and exploiting offshore oil deposits so we can at least ease this burden*, give them a little bit of a break from their gas taxes, get to work on nuclear, solar, wind, tide, invest in pure research and development and coal, clean coal technology. We must also, I believe, stop distorting the market by subsidizing ethanol and preventing sugar based ethanol from coming in the United States. I know Americans are hurting very badly. I have town hall meetings almost every single day and I have a plan of action to bring our economy out of the situation it's in today and I don't believe increasing their taxes is the answer. I believe leaving their taxes low, get off this dependence on foreign oil and doing it quickly and we can. I call it the Lexington project. We can, as we sent people to the moon, we can also get off this dependence on foreign oil and keep people in their homes and stop this job loss. We can do it ROBERTS: We can do it. You have admitted that you're not exactly an expert when it comes to the economy and many have said. MCCAIN: *I have not. I have not. Actually I have not. I said that I am stronger on national security issues because of all the time I spent in the military. I'm very strong on the economy. I understand it. I have a lot more experience than my opponent.* […] <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/static/uo4dn6dc08.mov> *McCain May Have Problems Selling His Free Trade Ideas in Key Battleground States *(CNN, 07/02/08, 6:37am) JOHN ROBERTS: McCain talking free trade in Columbia today. This is the second time in as many weeks that he's pushing that message that free trade is vital to jumpstarting the US economy. And it's a sharp difference from Barack Obama. […] DANA BASH: Make no mistake about it, John McCain may not be in a battleground state or any US state at all, but his trip abroad is all about his political message back home, that free trade will create new jobs. But that's a tough sell in hard hit industrial states. […] It has some political veterans scratching their heads. DAVID GERGEN: He should be spending his time here laying out, much more emphatically and clearly, his economic plans. JOHN MCCAIN: I am strongly in favor of the free trade agreement between the United States and the nation of Colombia. BASH: McCain said he's going to Colombia to spot light his support for free trade. Which he calls crucial for jumpstarting the US economy, a sharp difference with Obama. MCCAIN: He doesn't support the Colombia free trade agreement. I think it would be very serious consequences if we rebuked our closest ally. […] BASH: McCain's new web ad promising trade equals jobs is proof that he hopes his trip abroad will help back home. His problem? There's new evidence most voters don't agree with McCain that free trade will help fix thier economic woes. A new CNN opinion research poll shows that 51% call free trade a threat to our economy, 41% call it an economic opportunity. Its especially risky for McCain in hard hit must win states like Ohio, where voters confront him. Audience Member: Is there any way that the trade can become more fair and not just fair. I come from a closed plant. […] <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/static/aisz40puso.mov> Highlight #2 *McCain Communications Director Jill Hazelbacker on Free Trade and Job Security *(CNN, 07/02/08, 7:35am) JOHN ROBERTS: […] How is the Senator going to convince people in hard hit areas like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana that free trade is a good idea. JILL HAZELBACKER: […] This is a very simple issue for John McCain. He wants to level the playing field and keep us competitive. And Barack Obama is going to have to explain why he stands lockstep with the Unions. […] Lets be clear, we want to ship the goods overseas and keep the jobs here. ROBERTS: But if the jobs are going overseas in manufacturing how do you convince people who have lost jobs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, that expanding free trade is going to be good for them? HAZELBACKER: […] 95% of the worlds consumers are in markets outside the United States so we need to make sure we're competitive in that global economy. We need to replace some of the jobs of the past with jobs of the future. […] […] <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/static/tpjvyujy8s.mov> Highlight #3 *McCain's Trip to Colombia may Attract Hispanic Voters* (CNN 07/02/08 08:35am) JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ: […] We spoke about the Hispanic vote and how this trip may play into this electorate. Now the latest numbers show that Barack Obama has 59%, this is a Gallup poll, and Senator McCain has 29%. And he believes he is where he wants to be with the Hispanic vote and he believes he'll do well with that electorate. JOHN MCCAIN: I think my support is going to be good, I come from a western state. I come from a border state. I received 70% of the Hispanic vote in my last election. I understand the issues and the challenges and I am confident of significant support. LOPEZ: And it's a very important trip. Probably the first time a presumptive nominee travels to Latin America. And a very strong message, not only to the region but to Hispanics in the United States about his commitment to the region and Hispanic issues in this country.<https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/static/lb4vgcfswg.mov> Highlight #4 *Theme Driving Campaign 2008 Is Continuous Outrage Over Other Candidate's Remarks* (MSNBC, 07/02/08, 9:13am) MIKA BRZEZINSKI: The headline for this entire campaign year could be the words, "How dare you!" Outrage, and uh, playing it up as much as possible seems to be turning into the strategy of the year. This morning's San Francisco Chronicle highlights every "how dare you" moment from the last month, from McCain's military record, to Obama's patriotism, to the candidates wives. And the list goes on and on. […] Is this, I mean I've seen it before, a function of the idea that both candidates are running on a message of change or at least trying to. Do you think that's why they're so bent on trying to paint the other guy as the one using the same old political attacks, how dare he? CHRIS KOFINIS: Well I mean part of it is just the thing that's expected when elections start heating up. But from my perspective, and I know Joe's going to disagree but, this is the politics of mass distraction from the republicans. This is the traditional playbook, they play it every election. I know how dare I? They play it every election, you attack character, you attack patriotism, you attack everything you can to distract the American people from the issues that really matter. I mean, you saw that in this situation with General Clark. Say what you want, he may have said it better, it may have been a little bit in-artful. For John McCain to then go out there and hire a guy that was a swift boater back in 2004 just reeks of hypocrisy. That's the problem that's most disturbing about this whole entire story. JOE WATKINS: Not at all, not at all. I mean, you have to answer these negatives right away otherwise people start to think that maybe there's some truth to them. But what John McCain did and what the campaign did was very very smart. This is an age of instant information and people are moved instantly by what they hear, so if you don't respond to it people might take it to be the truth. And democrats this time, the democrats are the party with all the money this time. Barack Obama flip-flopped on his pledge to take public financing, he's going to raise over 300 million dollars. John McCain is going to take the public financing, he's only going to have about 84, 85 million dollars to spend. So we've got to be very very careful on the republican side, not to have people make negative comments about our candidate without responding. KOFINIS: The democrats have all the money, and you guys have all the attacks. How dare you, Joe. BRZEZINSKI: Uh, but you know Chris, help me understand how McCain campaign couldn't say how dare you about this General Clark stuff? I mean seriously. KOFINIS: I mean I understand, but listen, if you look at his entire statement he was praising John McCain. The last sentence, I agree, was a little bit in-artful and should have been put differently. But in the end of the day, to go out there and talk and wax poetically about how dare someone question the patriotism of John McCain. No democrat has been doing that. They make it sound like democrats have been going around all day doing that. It is not true! It is a falsehood. WATKINS: Wesley Clark did. KOFINIS: And to be honest, look at what they've been doing with Barack Obama. They've attacked his faith, they've attacked his patriotism, they've attacked his character. I mean this is something the republicans unfortunately do every single time. I agree with Joe on one thing, you've got to hit people back, you've got to hit back on this. But how do you do it? WATKINS: You have to let them know what the truth is. You have to let folks know what the truth is. The republicans have not been doing negative campaigning, democrats have been really more, I guess, guilty of doing the negative campaigning in this cycle. And republicans just want to keep it above board and talk about the essence of their candidate.<https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/s1s2wzxook> Highlight #5 *Ignoring Bush Critical For McCain to Succeed* (MSNBC, 07/02/08, 6:44am) TUCKER CARLSON: "[…] I think McCain's best shot is to tear down Obama, he's not going to do that. He's not going to base his campaign on pulling the mask off of Obama and revealing the villain within. We know that. So I think his best strategy is to kind of sit tight and to be the alternative to a guy you find out you don't like. But again, I think this election is all about Obama. […] CARLSON: But nobody's going to do it! Because, you know what, the republican party is in shambles! It's in shambles! Economically, the moral is dead. I mean, do you talk to republicans in Washington? I mean, they're really down and for good reason. MIKE BARNACLE: […] Doesn't John McCain at some point, have to go after the Bush administration much tougher than he has already? He's got to make separation much more concise, much more clear to the American public. CARLSON: Naw! No he doesn't. No, look! I'll tell you exactly why, because talking about the Bush administration at any level just reminds people that McCain's a republican and so is Bush on some very basic level, they're connected. You don't want to have an association with Bush, you want to ignore Bush. This is not about Bush. You want to make this about Barack Obama and the risk you take in voting for the guy. That's a scary decision, that should be McCain's one and only message. Don't do this, it's reckless. PAT BUCHANAN: Tucker, I think you're dead right. If McCain goes after Bush, what do you do? He went after him down in New Orleans, we all know he messed up in New Orleans. It looks like piling on and it hurts you with republicans base. You want to ignore Bush and define himself by going after Barack Obama as a risky left-wing radical. And if his campaign could get there, and if he could energize some of these conservatives, and evangelicals and others, he's got a shot. But I agree with Tucker, he should not go after Bush.<https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/62ghl906c4> Highlight #6 *Clark Stuff Silly, McCain's Image Set In Stone* (MSNBC, 07/02/08, 7:08am) MIKE BARNACLE: […] The problem, or the larger envelope, or umbrella over all of this issue is that John McCain's life story is set in stone for the American public. They have a beginning, they have a middle, and the end, in November, whether he wins the presidency or not, we'll find that out. Americans know John McCain. They don't know Barack Obama nearly as well. And the idea that they're arguing on a national security basis or talking about military records is not a winner for Barack Obama. But I don't think people are focusing on that. <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/jqrjs6wgs4> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. 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