Morning Road Map
By Michelle Levi and Steve Chaggaris
McCAIN holds a series of closed meetings beginning at 9am. In separate meetings he'll meet with AARP leaders, prominent African-American Republicans, the American Legion's National Commander, as well as meetings with foreign leaders. At noon, McCain addresses the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) at their national convention. According to prepared remarks released by his campaign, McCain will focus on the economy and its impact on Latino families. He will also criticize his opponent on taxes: "if you believe you should pay more taxes, I am the wrong candidate for you."
OBAMA will hold a town hall meeting in Powder Springs, GA at 9:30am where he will discuss his plan for dealing with debt and bankruptcy, "particularly in the wake of a medical crisis," according to his campaign. This afternoon, he returns to Washington, DC to address the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) at their national convention. According to his campaign, he will talk about issues facing the Latino community including jobs, immigration and education.
CANDIDATES' ECONOMY WEEK
NEW OVERNIGHT: At an Atlanta, GA fundraiser last night Obama slammed McCain's economic policy which he described as, "indistinguishable from the Bush policies." He also said his opponents tax cuts disproportionately benefit the wealthy and contribute "trillions of dollars to the national debt. And that's it. That's his economic plan. You laugh but I'm serious. There's no serious attempt to go after the serious energy crisis that we have. He's offering gimmicks like the gas tax holiday…There's no serious investment in education. No attempt to fix our health care system….There's no agenda for revamping our research and technology. There's nothing there. And so what I've been telling people is, if you're satisfied with the way things are, you should vote for John McCain." On his campaign plane last night, he added the suggestion that McCain's economic plan is "essentially a repeat, a regurgitation of what we've been hearing from the republican party over the last two decades, may be three. And the same arguments he is using against my plan are the same old worn out arguments that we've been seeing for years. It's part of the reason that we're in the situation that we find ourselves in now."
CBS News' Chip Reid on McCain & Obama's economic plans
Washington Times, "It's the economy, not the war, that drives '08 voters"
LA Times, "Adding up the cost of Obama's agenda": "In more than a year of campaigning, Barack Obama has made a long list of promises for new federal programs costing tens of billions of dollars, many of them aimed at protecting people from the pain of a souring economy. But if he wins the presidency, Obama will be hard-pressed to keep his blueprint intact. A variety of budget analysts are skeptical that the Democrat's agenda could survive in the face of large federal budget deficits and the difficulty of making good on his plan to raise new revenue by closing tax loopholes, ending the Iraq war and cutting spending that is deemed low-priority."
Denver Post, "McCain talks money"
NY Times, "McCain Plan for Budget - Fiscal Hawks vs. Tax Foes"
Washington Post, "McCain Says He Would Balance Budget by 2013"
NY Times, "Skepticism on McCain Plan to Balance Budget by 2013"
Washington Post, "Candidates Diverge on How to Save Social Security": "McCain's aides said he favors a bipartisan approach and is open to working with Congress on finding a solution to the long-term solvency of the New Deal-era program, indicating he could support an array of ideas such as raising the retirement age, reducing scheduled increases in benefits and allowing younger workers to put money they currently pay for Social Security taxes into personal savings accounts... Obama has been even more specific. The Democrat from Illinois has proposed raising taxes on upper-income Americans to address projected shortfalls in Social Security, but his plan has been greeted with skepticism, even from some in his own party."
CANDIDATES' SHIFTING POSITIONS
Bloomberg News, "Obama's Voting Record Complicates His Shift to Political Center"
Christian Science Monitor, "Left lacks leverage to stop Obama's rightward track"
Wall Street Journal's Stephens: "Obama's Nixon Reprise": "Richard Nixon came to office with a rumored secret plan to end the war in Vietnam. Maybe Barack Obama's plan to end the war in Iraq is going to wind up being a secret, too. The presumptive Democratic nominee set off media firecrackers last week by hinting at further refinements to his strategy for withdrawal. Previous strategies include his January 2007 call for a complete withdrawal by March 2008, followed by his March 2008 call for a complete withdrawal by July 2010, or 16 months after he takes office."
Washington Times, "Obama aide signals shift on Iraq policy"
NY Post's Rich Lowry, "Barack's Patsies": "Has there ever in recent political memory been so much calculation and bad faith by a politician who has made so much of eschewing both?"
Syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell, "Conservatives for Obama?": "What is going on? Partly what is going on is that, in recent years, the Congressional Republicans in general-- and Senator John McCain in particular-- have so alienated so many conservatives that some of these conservatives are like a drowning man grasping at a straw. The straw in this case is Obama's recent 'refining' of his position on a number of issues, as he edges toward the center, in order to try to pick up more votes in November's general election."
OBAMA MOVES SITE OF HIS CONVENTION SPEECH
Denver Post, "Obama center stage at Invesco Field"
NY Times, "Obama's Campaign Shifts to a Bigger Stage for His Big Night"
Washington Post, "Obama to Accept Nomination at Broncos' Stadium"
Reuters, "Obama's convention speech disrupts networks' plans"
McCAIN CAMPAIGN STAFF SHUFFLE
NY Times, "At McCain Campaign, More Rivalries Among Advisers": "After a period of relative calm on that score, it is becoming clear that his campaign is once again a swirl of competing spheres of influence, clusters of friends, consultants and media advisers who represent a matrix of clashing ambitions and festering feuds. The cast includes the surviving members of Mr. McCain's 2000 campaign, led by Rick Davis and Mark Salter; a new camp out of the world of Karl Rove, led by the recently ascendant Steve Schmidt; and on the periphery, the ever-present Mike Murphy, Mr. McCain's strategist in the 2000 presidential race who has been dispensing advice to the candidate to the annoyance of the other camps, and is the subject of intensifying rumors in Republican circles that he is about to re-enter the campaign."
NY Sun on Murphy, "Questions Arise on Return of a Key Aide to McCain Campaign"
LA Times, "McCain campaign, Act II -- The candidate has a new stage manager. How'd he perform?"
VEEPSTAKES
Wall Street Journal, "Webb Takes Name Off List Of Possible Obama Choices"
Washington Post, "Webb Withdraws as Possible Vice President Pick for Obama"
Christian Science Monitor, "Fiorina: McCain to focus on job creation"
Washington Post's Milbank, "Risky Business": "The waiters were still clearing the breakfast dishes yesterday when John McCain's most prominent adviser raised the subject of erection enhancement. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief who is now the Republican National Committee's 'Victory Chairman,' was discussing consumer-driven health insurance at a breakfast with reporters when she proposed 'a real, live example which I've been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice.' For effect, the woman frequently mentioned as a possible McCain running mate repeated: 'Those women would like a choice.' Silence filled the meeting room at the St. Regis Hotel. 'I don't know where I go after that,' said the moderator, Dave Cook of the Christian Science Monitor."
ALSO:
Both John and Elizabeth Edwards are in Washington, DC today. The former presidential candidate will address the Center for American Progress at 9am. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Edwards will join representatives from various organizations to announce a $40 million dollar campaign to raise awareness of the health care situation and introduce a new national ad.
Associated Press, "Malia Obama looks forward to decorating WH room"
LA Times, "David Plouffe is the man steering Obama's campaign"