October 24, 2007
Clinton Is Ready To Filibuster Over Spying Bill
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
DENVER -- New York Sen. Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she could not support a bill to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in its current form and would support a filibuster if changes are not made.
The Senate Intelligence Committee approved the bill last week and has sent it to the Judiciary Committee for consideration. The legislation would allow the government to begin wiretaps of foreign targets before seeking approval from the secret FISA court and would grant immunity to telecommunications providers facing lawsuits for helping the government wiretap terrorism suspects without warrants.
Clinton, currently the leading Democratic presidential contender, said she is "troubled" by reports about the Intelligence Committee's bill.
"I haven’t seen it, so I can’t express an opinion about it, but I don’t trust the Bush administration with our civil rights and liberties," she said at a brief news conference after a rally here. "So I’m going to study it very hard, and as matters stand now, I could not support it and I would support a filibuster absent additional information coming forth that would convince me differently." -- Athena Jones
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October 18, 2007
A Political Glimpse Inside The Romney Home
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney today launched its first Internet advertisement. Titled "Our Home," the ad features Romney's wife, Ann, talking about raising five sons and her devotion to her family.
"Mitt says there's no work more important than what goes on within the four walls of the American home," Ann Romney says in the ad. "And that's the way it was in our home."
The ad will be featured on AnnTV at AnnRomney.com. "Our Home" also will begin airing as part of the campaign's rotation in Iowa within the next week.
"Our Home" further will be aired on user-generated online video sites. The Boston-area company ScanScout will overlay "Our Home" on relevant videos targeted through real-time content scanning. The Romney campaign is the first to use this new form of contextual video advertising. -- Erin McPike
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October 11, 2007
Hillary Clinton's Plan To 'Connect America'
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
MERRIMACK, N.H. -- In a speech here Wednesday kicking off a two-day campaign swing through New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed a plan she called "Connect America" to expand high-speed Internet access to "every corner of our country."
Clinton's broadband plan would extend access to underserved communities and low-income families through tax incentives and public-private partnerships. "The nation that invented the Internet is now ranked about 25th in high-speed access to it," she said. "In the 19th century, we invested in railroads. In the 20th century, we built the interstate highway system. In the 21st century information economy, we need to invest in our information infrastructure."
Clinton also said she wants to strengthen science education and bring more women and minorities into the mathematics, science and engineering fields. The New York senator has been pushing the idea of creating jobs through innovation, especially by investing in scientific research and developing clean-energy technologies. She said doing that will help fight global warming and increase national security by reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. -- Athena Jones
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October 09, 2007
Mitt Romney's Online Social Network
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday launched its own online social-networking platform dubbed Team Mitt Action Center, a site the campaign called comparable to Facebook and MySpace.
Strategists in the campaign also will host "Ask Team Mitt Anything" online sessions -- similar to the "Ask Mitt Anything" forums the candidate hosts on the trail. Look for Romney campaign manager Beth Myers to kick off the sessions with her 2 p.m. chat today, when she will preview today's GOP debate.
The other mission of the new site is to allow Romney supporters to engage in the campaign and network with each other. -- Erin McPike
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October 08, 2007
Mitt Romney Pays Homage To New Media
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney isn't a big fan of today's media, but he loves the opportunity that new media give candidates to bypass traditional outlets. That was clear Saturday when a voter in Dover, N.H., asked how Romney would handle liberal media.
Staunch Romney supporter Bill Belles prefaced his question by lamenting that he "watched the current administration go down in flames because it never rebuffs what the media says." He then asked, "How are you as president going to rebuff the media so they don't, in four, five, six, seven years, say, 'Mitt lied'?"
Romney first joked that he had been advised before a speech the previous night: "The only tax increase you'll sign is a tax on newspapers that get stories wrong."
Then he added, "I can tell you this, and that is that there is today not the monopoly in the news that there used to be." He stressed a growing range of outlets and pointed in particular to talk radio, broadcast news and the Internet as avenues to communicate a message. He only mentioned newspapers as an afterthought.
Continue reading "Mitt Romney Pays Homage To New Media" »
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October 05, 2007
John Edwards Answers The Eventful Call
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
If you needed evidence that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was not on his usual stumping grounds Thursday, you could find it in the "Beshear/Mongiado" signs lining the highway, the country and classic rock stations dominating the airwaves, and the buzz about next weekend's Civil War days -- complete with battle re-enactments and a ball.
Edwards spoke at a state park overlooking the Mississippi River outside Columbus, Ky., after residents "demanded" during a summer contest on Eventful.com that he visit there. Columbus, population 229, beat second-place Eureka, Calif. in the contest.
More than 1,200 people showed up for the event, many from out of state, and at least nine yellow school buses were among the vehicles parked on the grass coming into the park. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, used the opportunity to emphasize his rural upbringing.
"When I went away to college, I thought I was a hick in the big city," he said to laughter. "I thought it because it was true."
Continue reading "John Edwards Answers The Eventful Call" »
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October 02, 2007
Getting Personal With Ann Romney
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
The campaign of Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney on Monday announced the launch of a Web site that will track Ann Romney, the former Massachusetts governor's, spouse throughout the season.
Mrs. Romney already is a regular on the campaign's primary Web site through the family's Five Brothers blog, but the new site, AnnRomney.com, will give the campaign's not-so-secret weapon a front-and-center role.
On the stump, Mitt Romney invokes name of Bill Clinton, whose wife Hillary is the Democrats' leading presidential contender, as a seque to mention his spouse, and the new site echoes what is implicit in Romney's remarks: He thinks Mrs. Romney is the strongest antidote to former President Clinton.
Among the categories at AnnRomney.com, "Ann's Recipes" is prominent. There's also an "AnnTV" to compliment "MittTV."
But the campaign calls attention in its release about the site to the most visible section, "Ann's causes." She writes that after having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, she has "devoted a great deal of time to raising awareness about the disease and am devoted to making a difference in the lives of people who suffer from MS." -- Erin McPike
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September 27, 2007
Yogi Berra Parties Online With Rudy Giuliani
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
Yogi Berra stole the show at the first house party webcast for Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday evening. "We want an Italian president," the Yankee legend said in introducing Giuliani to what the campaign said was 1,000 house parties in all 50 states.
Speaking from a party in New Jersey, Giuliani reiterated his campaign's focus on being offensive against terrorism and shrinking the size of government.
His first question came from another famous voice, comedian Dennis Miller, who suggested that the best way to end the threat from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad "is to have [Democratic campaign consultant]Bob Shrum run his re-election." Shrum has worked on seven losing presidential campaigns, including the 2000 race by former Vice President Al Gore.
"The first thing I would do is not invite him to the inauguration," Giuliani said of Ahmadenijad, in a jab against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Giuliani said the way to deal with terrorist leaders is to "ostracize, not engage."
Miller seemed convinced. "I know Yog feels it ain't over til it's over, but in terms of this election, it's over," Miller said. "You're it."
In an odd moment, Giuliani took a question from a nine-year-old about what he would do as president, and wound up speaking about how citizen vigillance against terrorism helped prevent the Fort Dix terrorism plot earlier this year. -- Matthew E. Berger
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Candidates Bet On Each Other With Google Ads
By Aswini Anburajan
© National Journal Group Inc.
It's not just Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama who believes in the power of Barack Obama. Republican John McCain believes in it, too. The McCain presidential campaign has at least two different advertisements with Google AdWords that use Obama's name to direct users to McCain's Web site.
AdWords are text-based advertisement that appear on a viewer's screen next to the list of Google search results. Advertisers bid on search terms using an automated process based on what users are searching for at that moment; placement of the ads is determined by who won the bid and the relevance of the ad. Advertisers pay per ad clicked.
Both of McCain's AdWords have the headline "Obama for President?" followed by a pitch for McCain. Under the heading, one ad asks, "Why not learn more about John McCain for President," with a link to the candidate's Web site. The second ad reads, "Learn more about John McCain's journey on the '08 campaign trail" and also includes a link to McCain's home page.
Searching for the term "Obama for president" brought up both McCain ads, which appeared in the top five search results on the first page.
Obama isn't the only presidential moniker that the McCain team has embraced. Searches for Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney -- as well as for the word "president" -- also bring up AdWords for McCain, with similar language to those appearing next to the Obama results.
Christian Ferry, McCain's deputy campaign manager, said bidding on the names is part of a much larger online strategy that takes advantage of frequently searched terms. "We buy hundreds or thousands of different AdWords -- that's monitored all the time," Ferry said. "It's based on what's going in the news cycle [that is] relevant to the 2008 cycle."
Continue reading "Candidates Bet On Each Other With Google Ads" »
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September 22, 2007
John Edwards' Thoughts On Education
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
Elizabeth Edwards told New Hampshire voters this weekend that the education plan of her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, is the latest example of him leading the Democratic field when it comes to addressing the issues.
Mrs. Edwards led a roundtable discussion on education Saturday morning, one day after John Edwards announced his platform on the issue. The discussion at Bow Memorial School focused largely on the perceived flaws of the 2002 education law known as the No Child Left Behind Act, which Edwards contended was really an excuse for the Bush administration to go to vouchers.
"Funding the fix is the way that you commit yourself to improving public schools, not by saying, 'That didn't work, so we're going to send you some place else,'" Mrs. Edwards said.
-- By Mike Memoli
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September 19, 2007
Clinton Touts Healthcare Plan In Webcast
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton talked up her proposal to provide health insurance for everyone in a live webcast Tuesday night, calling it a "uniquely American solution" to a lack of affordable health care. She also stressed the challenges ahead in turning her plan into law.
The Democratic frontrunner answered a dozen questions from participants around the country who were asked to sign up online. In a nod to the new media for the new millennium, one question was submitted by text message.
The webcast was the latest installment of a major rollout for the plan. Clinton's campaign also debuted a television ad in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire , touting her record on health care. While the webcast was billed as interactive, it wasn’t exactly a conversation. Clinton's campaign blogger, Crystal Patterson, moderated the forum, reading the questions chosen.
Clinton said thousands of people had logged on to hear her talk about the $110 billion a year "American Health Choices Plan" she unveiled Monday in Des Moines, Iowa. The proposal would require that everyone have health insurance, give them a choice of plans and provide tax credits to help subsidize coverage. All of the initiatives would be paid for in part by repealing tax cuts for the wealthy.
Continue reading "Clinton Touts Healthcare Plan In Webcast" »
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Fred Thompson To Visit Dell Facility
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
When Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson makes his first official campaign visit to Texas on Wednesday, a visit to the offices of the Dell computer maker there is on his agenda.
Thompson's campaign reports that he "will become the first 2008 presidential candidate to tour a Dell U.S. facility." The factory that Thompson will visit is Dell's Topfer Manufacturing Facility in Austin, which according to the campaign "assembles commercial and consumer desktops."
Thompson also will participate in fundraising activities in Texas in preparation for the close of the third fundraising quarter of the year. -- Adam Aigner-Treworgy
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So Why Should You Care About Iowa?
This is the latest report from the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states.
Ads. Hillary Clinton launched a healthcare ad buy here after her policy rollout in Des Moines. Mitt Romney starts one today that voices his opposition to a ruling allowing same-sex marriage that's now pending before the Iowa Supreme Court. And Rudy Giuliani is up with a new radio ad that raises the volume on his spat with the liberal group MoveOn.org.
The ad saturation begs the question: Airtime can do wonders for a candidate's name recognition and visibility, but are people even listening anymore? Who's hitting the mute button every time they hear "And I approve this message"?
And while Romney's ad addresses a local constituency, Giuliani's banking on the fact that Iowan Republicans share the same caustic hatred of MoveOn that's second nature to the New York and Washington GOP crowd.
If they do, perhaps Romney -- like President Bush -- owes John McCain a thank you note. McCain educated his audiences about MoveOn's campaign against David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, at each of his Iowa stops last week. -- Carrie Dann
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September 17, 2007
Fred Thompson's New Fundraising Pitch
National Journal has partnered with NBC to embed reporters with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states, Iowa and New Hampshire. This is the latest report from the field. Check "Tech Trail 2008" for other tech-related campaign developments.
By Adam Aigner-Treworgy
The campaign kickoff of Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has certainly generated a lot of media attention, and in the Southern primary states of South Carolina and Florida, it has generated a fair amount of voter attention. But how much of that attention has translated into much-needed donations to Thompson's campaign?
Following the candidate's big announcement speech in Des Moines earlier this month, his communications staff was diligent about releasing numbers that touted the success of Thompson's Web-based announcement strategy at attracting visitors and donations on its Web site, Fred08.com. The campaign bragged that it raised more than $300,000 in 24 hours online.
But after that, nary a word has come from the Thompson campaign on fundraising tactics until Friday, when the campaign announced a new gimmick meant to get Thompson devotees more involved in the campaign. In an e-mail sent to supporters, the campaign announced the "Kick-off Challenge," a program that encourages supporters to make a fundraising commitment and fulfill it by the end of the month. Successful fundraisers then will be dubbed Kickoff Champions and will be eligible for special merchandise commensurate with the amount they raise.
Continue reading "Fred Thompson's New Fundraising Pitch" »
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The GOP Movement Against MoveOn
National Journal has partnered with NBC to embed reporters with the campaigns of top presidential contenders and in two key states, Iowa and New Hampshire. This entry has been compiled from last week's reports by the embeds.
Tech Daily Dose will continue to publish technology-related reports from the field. Check back periodically at "Tech Trail 2008" for the latest news.
The decision by the liberal, online activist group MoveOn.org to criticize the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq via a full-page New York Times advertisement gave Republican presidential candidates an easy target last week. More than one of the candidates took potshots at MoveOn.
In Iowa, National Journal/NBC reporter Carrie Dann said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., visited a Des Moines Veterans of Foreign Wars hall and a Waterloo American Legion chapter to push his support of the Iraq war. The senator was rewarded with applause for his fierce defense of Gen. David Petraeus in the wake of MoveOn's ad. At both events yesterday, he held up an oversized poster of MoveOn's "General Betray Us" graphic, slamming it as "one of the worst things I've seen in my life."
He had tough words for Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, who has stayed mum about the ad. In Waterloo, he challenged Clinton to speak out against MoveOn's message.
Continue reading "The GOP Movement Against MoveOn" »
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September 12, 2007
NBC/NJ Embeds, Off To The Races
Well, it looks like the MSNBC-NBC-National Journal reporters embedded on the 2008 campaign trail have started filing dispatches. The team of caffeinated political scribes is covering “Decision 2008” full-time now, each serving as their own mobile campaign bureau.
While several posts have been spotted on MSNBC's First Read political blog, these crackerjack campaign watchers will soon be filing video, audio and text reports while canvassing the country with the candidates.
A few recent dispatches from embeds:
Hillary Clinton picks up National Association of Letter Carriers endorsement.
Barack Obama lays out Iraq withdrawal plan.
Rudy Giuliani's campaign alters Web site in memory of 9/11.
Fred Thompson's campaign lashes out against Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney commemorates the sixth anniversary of 9/11.
So far, the bylines I've seen are Aswini Anburajan, Matthew Berger, Athena Jones, Erin McPike and Adam Aigner-Treworgy. Good luck gang -- and don't forget to sleep and eat.
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