Politics

WASHINGTON – Michelle Obama, the first lady, will make her 2010 campaign debut in Milwaukee on Wednesday with a pitch for Americans to vote for Democrats as the party of families and children.

“You see, more than anything else, I come at this as a mom,” Mrs. Obama will say, according to excerpts of her campaign speech released by the White House. “When I think about the issues facing our nation, I think about what it means for my girls, and I think about what it means for the world we’re leaving for them and for all our children. As I travel around this country, and look into the eyes of every single child I meet, I see what’s at stake.”

Mrs. Obama will headline three Democratic fund-raisers on Wednesday, the first time she has campaigned for the party since her husband’s presidential run. She will begin in Milwaukee with an appearance for Senator Russell D. Feingold and then travel to Chicago for two more events – one for Alexi Giannoulis, the Democratic Senate candidate, and the other for Representative Dan Seals, Representative Debbie Halvorson and Bill Foster, a Democratic House candidate. On Sunday, Mrs. Obama will make her first joint campaign appearance with President Obama when they travel to Cleveland to raise money for Gov. Ted Strickland’s reelection campaign. Read more…

The next time Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin starts to write a nasty thought about President Obama in a Twitter message, she might want to give some pause.

After all, family members should be nice to each other.

That’s right, it turns out that Ms. Palin and Mr. Obama are tenth cousins, both descending from a Massachusetts settler named John Smith, who fought against the persecution of the Quakers in the mid-1600’s.

The distant connection between the country’s first African-American president and the former governor of Alaska was discovered by researchers at ancestry.com, a Web site that provides tools for creating family trees. The results were provided to The Caucus.

Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at the Web site, said she was impressed by the similarity between Mr. Obama, Ms. Palin and their shared ancestor. Mr. Smith, she said, was a controversial figure in his day who started his own church in Massachusetts.

“We see them involved in the social issues of their time and standing up for what they believe to be right,” Ms. Tyler said of the two current politicians. “It’s interesting to see their ancestors doing the same things.”

But if there are similarities between Ms. Palin and Mr. Obama, the same surely can’t be said about Mr. Obama and his chief talk-radio nemesis, Rush Limbaugh, right?

But in fact, Mr. Obama and Mr. Limbaugh are also tenth cousins – albeit, once removed. They share a family tie with Richmond Terrell, a wealthy landowner who settled in America in the 1650’s.

And there’s more.
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Even President Obama called one of the questions a “softball” but the same could be said of the other queries he got on Tuesday night at a townhall-style meeting streamed over the Internet to mobilize supporters nationwide for the elections three weeks away.

And Mr. Obama, who has been criticized for lacking a clear message for voters, did not exactly clarify things when one questioner — a campaign worker from Chicago viewed over the Skype Internet phone service –- asked what “overarching message” people like her should use to get people out to vote for Democrats.

Mr. Obama took five-and-a-half minutes to say that they should tell voters the election is a choice, and that Democrats stand for tax cuts for the middle class and for companies investing in America instead of overseas; for good educations without excessive debt and for “innovation, research and development, skilled workers, lifelong learning.”

“And what the other side stands for are the same failed policies that got us into this mess in the first place,” he said.

He urged supporters to “tailor a message” to particular voters. They should tell college students, for example, that he had signed into law measures providing tax breaks for college education “and that could be repealed if Republicans take over,” and tell seniors that his health insurance overhaul had improved Medicare’s finances and reduced prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.

The six questions – one each from email, Twitter and Skype, and three from the audience of an estimated 125 people with Mr. Obama at George Washington University – allowed the president to hold forth on familiar themes, including the influence of undisclosed corporate donations in campaigns and the importance of education.

The purpose of the event, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, was to energize supporters and party volunteers said to be holding hundreds of house parties across the country to watch the live Web cast – to “get everyone fired up for the next three weeks,” according to a party Web site. Yet it was a low-wattage affair as Mr. Obama paced with a hand-held microphone and often rambled in his answers, and ended in less than 50 minutes.

Even so, as he shook hands afterward with those in the college-age audience, supporters gamely chanted the slogan of the 2008 Obama campaign, “Yes, we can.”

The audience is getting into the act.

For months President Obama has been delighting Democratic audiences with his metaphoric tale of how Republicans crashed the economy into a ditch, stood by as Democrats repaired it enough to drive again, and now want voters to give them the keys back.

White House reporters quickly learned to be alert to Mr. Obama’s embellishments. What started in May as a short economy-as-car analogy gained color and length over time: The Democrats pulled on work boots, they sweat as they pulled the car from the mud, unrepentant Republicans lazed above the ditch, drank Slurpees, tossed down a shovel, ordered Democrats to work harder, do this, do that.

As partisan audiences laughed, clapped and egged him on, Mr. Obama, often criticized as aloof and professorial, would grow animated and slap-happy as he got into the act. “No! You can’t have the keys back! You don’t know how to drive!,” he would shout as if to the Republicans. Read more…

Doug Mills/The New York Times As George Clooney left the West Wing, he seemed surprised to see the waiting microphones, cameras and dozens of reporters and photographers.

Rarely has the power of a celebrity to draw attention to an issue exerted such a pull as on Tuesday, when White House reporters called an end to the daily briefing by press secretary Robert Gibbs to catch the actor George Clooney as he left a meeting with President Obama about the crisis in Sudan.

Mr. Clooney reported to Mr. Obama on his recent week-long tour of the Texas-sized southern Sudan; preparations are lagging there for a referendum in January that is expected to result in residents favoring independence from the Khartoum government but which could end up reigniting civil war and atrocities. As Mr. Clooney left the West Wing, he seemed surprised to see the waiting microphones, cameras and dozens of reporters and photographers.

Clutching a green notebook at his side, Mr. Clooney, in a crisp navy suit, dark tie and white shirt, held forth with authority about the conditions and players in the Sudan, and about the need for the United States, the United Nations and other countries to keep pressure on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir not to sabotage the vote to keep control of the oil-rich south. Mr. Bashir has been indicted for crimes against humanity for his role in the genocide in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

Only a few times did Mr. Clooney defer to his companion, John Prendergast, a founder of the group Enough, which works in Sudan and other African countries with a history of genocide and atrocities. Mr. Prendergast joked that he carries the actor’s bags.

While human rights groups have criticized the administration for not pressuring Sudan enough, Mr. Clooney and Mr. Prendergast praised the president, who in September at the United Nations publicly admonished Sudanese officials to permit a fair vote. But Mr. Clooney urged continued, tough diplomacy by world leaders to prevent bloodshed, rather than waiting until too late as they did in places like Sudan’s Darfur and Rwanda.

He was mildly critical of the British government, noting signs that the new coalition government in London is softening its policies toward Sudan. Read more…

Jay-Z is looking for an encore.

Two years after younger people took a record number of trips to the polls, the rapper is taking center stage in a new public service announcement that calls on that same group to cast their vote this year, too.

In the “Vote Again 2010” spot, which uses footage from his performance at this year’s Bonnaroo festival, Jay-Z says: “Fight for what’s right. Fight for what you believe in. And stay forever young.”

HeadCount, a nonpartisan outfit that employs music to promote voter registration and participation, produced the P.S.A., which it says will air on CBS and some cable networks.

In a blog post on HeadCount’s Web site, Andy Bernstein, the group’s executive director, indicated that Jay-Z’s message – which he called “a powerful call for youth voter participation itself, regardless of ideology or party” – came during a midterm cycle when most of the musicians the group works with have been more reticent to plug get-out-the-vote efforts onstage.

“There’s a toxic environment around Washington and around government, and it absolutely turns people off,” Mr. Bernstein said in a quick telephone interview. “Sometimes the empowering message gets forgotten.”

While the spot itself does not mention any politicians or political parties, Jay-Z and President Obama do have their fair share of connections. The hip-hop star performed during Mr. Obama’s inaugural festivities, while the president has discussed Jay-Z’s prominence on his iPod. (And, of course, don’t forget the time that Mr. Obama appeared to give a nod to Jay-Z on the campaign trail in 2008.)

Chris Coons is… The Taxman.

At least, that’s what Christine O’Donnell’s campaign would like voters to believe, and they uploaded a new Web-only ad to their YouTube channel Monday that looks like a movie trailer and stars Mr. Coons, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Delaware, as “The Taxman.”

The minute-long spot, which opens with a green screen preview that “has been approved for all audiences,” features a shadowy, dark silhouette as a Hollywood-sounding narrator intones: “In America, where jobs are being lost and wages cut, in Delaware, where the economy is suffering and families are losing their homes, there is one man who stood against the tide and raised taxes.”

The ad goes on to warn that Mr. Coons proposed a fee for 911 cell phone calls and raised property taxes, before concluding: “Hide your will, hide your lights, ‘cause he’s taxing everything out here.”

As some blogs have pointed out, these lines seem to riff on the popular “Bed Intruder” viral video on YouTube, in which the brother of the victim of an alleged rape attempt warns, “Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband, ‘cause they’re raping everybody out here.” Read more…

Sarah Palin’s political action committee raised more than $1.2 million during the last three months, giving her the freedom to spread her wealth to like-minded candidates.

And spread she did. According to new documents made public on Tuesday by the Federal Election Commission, Ms. Palin’s organization, SarahPAC, donated to more than a dozen conservative candidates standing for office this fall.

The list is a who’s-who of the Tea Party movement, including Joe Miller in Alaska, Sharron Angle in Nevada and Rand Paul in Kentucky. Each got $5,000. Christine O’Donnell in Delaware received $10,000.

Ms. Palin’s organization also contributed to the Republican Party of Iowa, an early hint of her possible ambitions as a presidential candidate in 2012.

And even after spending about $1 million between July and September, Ms. Palin’s committee retains almost $1.3 million in the bank, giving her a sizable early nest egg to continue her political activity in 2011.

Whether Ms. Palin will run for president is unclear. Some of her potential challengers, including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, have a head start on her in terms of fund-raising.

Mr. Romney, who ran for the Republican nomination in 2007 and 2008, created a sophisticated network of federal and state political action committees to support his bid. And Mr. Romney proved his fund-raising prowess at the time, raising millions at several one-day events.

But Ms. Palin’s PAC is limited to $5,000 contributions, making it harder to take in huge sums of cash at one time.

Modern love is expressed via Twitter, and so it was that California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, tweeted his affection for Florida’s governor and embattled Senate candidate, Charlie Crist, while in London.

Mr. Schwarzenegger has traveled extensively through Russia and Europe over the last week, tweeting travel updates and photos, and now, endorsements.

The governor, a fierce independent who many Republican candidates would run from this year, tweeted: “I endorse Gov @charliecristfl for Senate. Great leader, works with both parties, and our country needs someone like him in DC right now.”

Mr. Crist (7,183 followers) tweeted back to his bud Mr. Schwarzenegger (1,814,804 followers): @Schwarzenegger – “I’m honored to receive your endorsement. Thank you for the kind words my friend.”

Mr. Crist is flanked by a Republican and Democratic challenger and is running as an independent. Mr. Schwarzenegger and Mr. Crist have raised money for one another’s campaigns and have worked together on energy and environmental issues in the past.

The president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce vowed Tuesday to “ramp up” his group’s political activity in the face of what he called a “smear campaign” by the White House aimed at stemming Democratic losses in the midterm elections.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the chamber’s board of directors and its member companies, Thomas J. Donohue, the business association’s president, accused President Obama and his allies of falsely accusing the chamber of illegally funneling foreign money to its political efforts.

“Let me be clear. The chamber does not use any foreign money to fund voter education activities — period,” Mr. Donohue wrote. A copy of the letter, which was sent with the subject line “Recent Attacks on the Chamber,” was obtained by The Caucus.

The president and his top aides have criticized the chamber and other conservative groups for failing to disclose the source of their funding, and they have raised the specter of foreign sources. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. repeated the charge at a fund-raiser Monday night.

Mr. Donohue, who has clashed repeatedly with the White House since Mr. Obama took office, accused the president and the vice president of operating without fact. In the strongly worded letter, Mr. Donohue made it clear that he intended to give no quarter.

“It’s sad to watch the White House stoop to these depths to try to salvage an election,” he wrote. “That’s clearly what this is all about. The administration and its Congressional allies are desperately trying to change the subject away from our stalled economy and nearly double-digit unemployment.”

In the letter, Mr. Donohue used the administration’s latest attack on the chamber as evidence of the need for continued opposition to the policies of Mr. Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress.

He promised that the group would “not be deterred” from participation in the political process.

“In fact, for the next three weeks leading up to Election Day you will see us ramp up efforts to educate voters about the positions of candidates of both parties who are committed to free enterprise and economic growth,” Mr Donohue wrote.

The letter can be found below:
Read more…

All this talk of newfangled outside groups receiving money from anonymous donors has overshadowed some of the more traditional players. But one of them, the National Rifle Association, is coming in big.

All told, the N.R.A. says it plans to spend between $15 million and $20 million this election cycle. As of the end of this week it will have spent $6.7 million so far including mail. So, doing the math, that leaves the last two weeks before Election Day to make up the lion’s share of its action, though group officials cautioned their final spending decisions could change with the political environment. Read more…

The Times’s Michael D. Shear and Richard W. Stevenson discuss how President Obama’s most consistent political theme of the year has been in flux in the final stretch before the elections as the White House searches for a way to frame the message so it connects with voters.

Democrats are doubling down in Texas.

On Tuesday, the Democratic Governors Association released their second ad in two weeks against Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, attacking him for his controversial executive order that required girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus, the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

The 30-second spot opens with a stark image of a syringe going into an arm — “the arm of an 11-year-old girl,” a narrator intones ominously.

“Now, imagine a governor who wanted to take a needle, fill it with a controversial drug for sexually transmitted diseases, and inject it in every 11- and 12-year-old girl in Texas,” the ad continues. “That’s what Gov. Rick Perry wanted to do.”

The governors association has already contributed nearly $3 million to the campaign of Bill White, the former mayor of Houston and Mr. Perry’s Democratic challenger, and is spending a “substantial amount” on the ad through Lone Star First, an independent expenditure group that the association finances. The spot will run in the Dallas area.

The ad ends with an image of a young girl looking up at the camera as a narrator says: “On this issue, we’ve got one thing to say. Not our daughters, and not in our Texas.”

Though the vaccination initiative was ultimately blocked by the state Legislature, the issue remains a tough one for Mr. Perry and was even unpopular among some Republicans at the time.

The new ad by the Democratic Governors Association reflects its belief that Democrats have a shot to unseat Mr. Perry. It is also the largest push the  group has made in Texas.

2:27 p.m. | Updated Sharron Angle, the Republican challenging Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, raised $14 million from July 1 to Sept. 30, a staggering figure that should give her more than enough money for the final weeks of this tight race. The fund-raising figure is the latest evidence of the ability of the Tea Party movement to generate huge waves of cash for a favorite candidate.

The fund-raising haul reflects how the effort to remove Mr. Reid, the Senate majority leader, has energized the Tea Party movement, at least nationally. Ms Angle’s aides did not immediately release how much of the money came from out of state.

In addition, they did not say how much money Ms. Angle still had on hand going into these final three weeks. But it is clear that Ms. Angle has succeeded in at least closing – if not erasing — one of the advantages Mr. Reid thought he would have: the ability to raise and spend huge amounts of money.

“This is a testament to the hatred of Harry Reid, the nation’s disapproval of President Obama, and the unprecedented grass-roots support for Sharron Angle,” said Jarrod Agen, her spokesman.

The release of the fund-raising figures come three days before Mr. Reid and Ms. Angle are to meet in their only scheduled debate of the campaign. A series of polls have shown the two candidates essentially tied.

A spokesman for Mr. Reid, Kelly Steele, questioned the significance of the figure, saying what mattered most was how much money Ms. Angle has in her account to spend in the final weeks, and how much she paid — for mailed fund-raising appeals, and consultants — in order to raise the money.

“It’s an it’s an amount that isn’t relevant until they tell you how much they spent to do it, and how much they have on hand,” he said.

Mr. Steele said that Mr. Reid’s campaign would, following its practice, release its figure when it files them with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15.