Obama calls criticism of spouses unfair, HRC says she will continue until there is a nominee, Major reports. Carl follows McCain as he accuses Obama of foreign policy inexperience.

from www.hulu.com posted with vodpod

Sarasota, FL — A quick roundup of Giuliani’s Florida trip Thursday. Topics: Florida Primary, the recent Iran National Intelligence Estimate and Mitt Romney’s speech.

Pushing his get-tough national security views, Rudy Giuliani’s latest television ad–set to hit New Hampshire airwaves this week–pays homage to Ronald Reagan’s dealing with the Iranian hostage crisis.

In the ad, Giuliani attributes the Iranian decision to release the American captives within hours of Reagan’s 1981 presidential inauguration to the Gipper’s strong hand when it came to foreign policy.

“The best way you deal with dictators, the best way you deal with tyrants and terrorists, you stand up to them. You don’t back down,” Giuliani says, noting that the Iranian government held the Americans for 444 days. “They released the American hostages in one hour, and that should tell us a lot about these Islamic terrorists that we’re facing. The one hour in which they released them was the one hour in which Ronald Reagan was taking the Oath of Office as President of the United States.”

The Republican front-runner often lauds Reagan’s foreign policy on the stump–praising his policies towards Iran and the Soviets–and argues that if he takes office, he also intends to increase and project U.S. military strength.

Of course, Giuliani is glossing over a bit of history in the ad since the Iranian decision to release the hostages after Reagan took the oath of office, was more intended to diss President Carter rather than show any fear of Reagan.

Giuliani first four TV ads have mostly focused on his New York City mayoral accomplishments and this is the first that cuts to the heart of his main electoral argument—staying on offense against terrorism and keeping America safe.

Former NATO commander Wesley Clark is hitting the airwaves for Hillary Clinton, who he endorsed earlier this year. In a new TV ad airing in Iowa, the ex-presidential candidate says “I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 24 years. I know she has what it takes to end the war in Iraq, avert war with Iran, and restore our country’s standing in the world.”

Iran is a major issue in Iowa, where Hillary is still asked about her months-old vote calling on President Bush to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Her critics have accused her of aiding and abetting the president’s “rush to war” with Iran; she says the resolution promotes more aggressive diplomacy.

Since the National Intelligence Estimate revealed that Iran dismantled its nuclear weapons program in 2003, her rivals have turned up the heat on her vote. This ad, though planned before the NIE was released, could help on that front.

The RNC, meanwhile, points out that Clark once advised a candidate for the House to vote for the Iraq resolution in 2002, saying “it is only fitting Hillary Clinton would run an ad with someone that has a stance on Iraq as inconsistent as her own.” Spokesman Danny Diaz also points out that Clark may not have much sway in Iowa — he skipped the caucuses when he ran for president in 2004.

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson issued the following statement today in regard to the latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago:

“The accuracy of the latest NIE on Iran should be received with a good deal of skepticism. Our intelligence community has often underestimated the intentions of adversaries, including Sadam Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea. And are all of the CIA detractors now going to take intelligence pronouncements at face value? It’s awfully convenient for a lot of people: the administration gets to say its policies worked; the Democrats get to claim we should have eased up on Iran a long time ago; and Russia and China can claim sanctions on Iran are not necessary. Who benefits from all this? Iran.”

“And what if the NIE estimate is accurate? It’s essentially an analysis of Iran’s intentions at a point in time. Meanwhile, Iran continues to enrich uranium for allegedly peaceful purposes, but which would allow them to easily transition to a nuclear weapons program at any point in the future. Maybe even now–now that so many seem willing to forget Iran’s past deceptions and ongoing intransigence. After all, a nuclear weapons program is simply an extension of the process by which uranium is enriched for civilian nuclear fuel. To this day Iran has yet to comply with international demands and its Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty requirements for open inspections and other safeguard measures.”

“The bottom line is that the United States must continue to improve its human intelligence capabilities and intelligence analysis. We must hope for the best, but not let our guard down for a moment. If something appears to be too good to be true, it very well may be.”

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson continued to rally support yesterday in South Carolina, a state the former Tennessee senator refers to as “my neck of the woods,” and one where his poll numbers remain competitive.

Making stops in such places as Greenville, Greer, and Spartanburg, Thompson touted his consistent conservative record and foreign affairs experience during his time in the United States Senate. “I’m just about the only guy in this race who hasn’t lost an election,” Mr. Thompson said, “and the guy you saw yesterday is the guy you see today…and it’s the same guy you’ll see tomorrow.”

While greeting supporters in coffee shops and restaurants around the state, Thompson addressed a variety of issues ranging from illegal immigration to the Second Amendment to South Carolina’s startling high school drop-out rate. He also offered his reaction to a new U.S. intelligence report that claims Iran ended its nuclear weapons program four years ago. The senator said he was skeptical of such a conclusion, adding that he’s lost confidence in the country’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.

“I hope that they are accurate with this assessment, but right now, I don’t have the confidence in our own intelligence capabilities to make that assessment,” he told a crowd of supporters at a gun shop in Greer, South Carolina. “One thing that crosses my mind is that this is information that the Iranians have put out, that they want us to kind of relax a little bit.”

A sense of humor sometimes provides welcome relief in a campaign increasing in intensity. That’s not difficult for Mr. Thompson, who some say is never without a witty remark–even when pressed on tough issues. At a gathering of supporters in a Greenville restaurant on Tuesday, one man asked Thompson what he plans to do on his first day if elected President:

The National Intelligence Estimate revealing that Iran dismantled its nuclear weapons program in 2003 has been the subject of the first 15 minutes of the NPR debate — with Hillary Clinton’s opponents using the new revelation to attack her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman resolution calling on President Bush to designate the Iranian National Guard a terrorist organization.

Senators Biden and Dodd voted against the resolution, while Obama, though he missed the vote, has criticized Hillary for supporting the resolution. And John Edwards has called it part of the rush for war, saying today that “among the Democratic candidates there’s only one who voted for this resolution, and it’s exactly what Bush and Cheney wanted.”

Responding to Edwards’ charges, Clinton said “I understand politics and making outlandish political charges, but this goes too far.”

She points out that many opponents of the Iraq war (including Obama supporter Dick Durbin) voted for the resolution, calling it a vote for aggressive diplomacy.   She also argued that since the vote commanders on the ground have said they’ve seen Iran draw back from its involvement in Iraq — a point that Joe Biden then disputed.

Des Moines, Iowa-

Presidential candidate John Edwards(D) released a statement through his campaign, denouncing President George Bush’s “outrageous” comments on Iran , even when a new national intelligence estimate found that Iran had stopped their nuclear weapons efforts 4 years.

“I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program they halted the program,” The President said this morning during a press conference.”The reason why it’s a warning signal is they could restart it.”

Edwards criticized Bush for “saber-rattling” even when the new report showed Iran is ” no longer pursuing nuclear weapons.”
“Just a couple of months ago, George Bush was telling us Iran was about to start World War III,” he states.

“Bush still refuses to back from his outrageous rhetoric,” Edwards writes. ” Enough is Enough….We must once and for all reject the failed bellicose, neconservative foreign policy of the Bush administration.”

SEE FULL EDWARDS STATEMENT HERE:

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement:
“Just a couple of months ago, George Bush was telling us Iran was about to start World War III. Today – even after his own government just said that Iran stopped its program in 2003 and is no longer pursuing nuclear weapons – Bush still refuses to back down from his outrageous rhetoric.
“Enough is enough. At long last, the spin and the saber-rattling must stop. We must once and for all reject the failed, bellicose, neoconservative foreign policy of the Bush Administration, and get back to the foreign policy I have proposed based on diplomacy, reengagement, and restoring the moral authority of America.”

Edwards is participating in NPR’s Democratic debate today in Des Moines,where the assumption is that this subject will be brought during the
event.
Wire reports contributed to this report

In Clear Lake, IA, the city where the music died, the Clinton hits on Barack Obama just kept on coming. One month to the day before the Iowa caucuses — and in the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their last concert in 1959 — Hillary bopped Obama on health care (his plan leaves out 15 million Americans), Social Security (he’s repeating Republican talking points by saying it’s in crisis, and would institute a $1 trillion tax hike), and Iran (he failed to show up for that important vote to call the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group, but later used it to attack her).

But there were some new wrinkles today, including taking Obama to task for voting not “yes” or “no,” but “present” 7 times as a state senator in Illinois on issues like abortion and gun violence.

“A president can’t pick and choose which challenges he or she will face,” she said. “Instead of looking for political cover or taking a pass, we need a president who will take a stand.”

Without mentioning him by name, Hillary also dismissed the Obama argument that her long tenure in Washington makes her ill-equipped to bring about real change — saying “you decide what makes sense – entrust our country to someone who is ready on day one to make the decisions and the changes we need, or to put America in the hands of someone with little national or international experience who started running for president has soon as he arrived in the United States Senate.”

Obama’s campaign responded with a long list of press clippings defending those “present” votes. Obama spokesman Bill Burton released a statement saying “The truth is, Barack Obama doesn’t need lectures in political courage from someone who followed George Bush to war in Iraq, gave him the benefit of the doubt on Iran, supported NAFTA and opposed ethanol until she decided to run for President.”

And asked about the increasing frequency of the attacks, Obama replied, “it’s silly season.”

Senator Barack Obama gave an interview to the New York Times Thursday, during which he told reporters he would not seek regime change if Iran stopped interfering with Iraq, and cooperated with the U.S. on terrorism and nuclear issues.

Despite getting criticized by rival Hillary Clinton in the past for saying he would meet with the Iranian president without preconditions, Obama reiterated his stance to the New York Times. “I think it is important for us to send a signal that we are not hellbent on regime change, just for the sake of regime change, but expect changes in behavior. And there are both carrots and there are sticks available to them for those changes in behavior,” Obama said in the interview.

Such carrots could include membership in the World Trade Organization, economic benefits, and security guarantees.

On the campaign stump today in Durham, North Carolina, Obama discussed his disagreements with Senator Clinton over her support of the Iraq war resolution and her recent vote for the Kyl/Lieberman Amendment, saying, “You can’t be fooled twice.”

Obama then reminded the crowd that Senator Clinton called him naive for saying he’d meet with the Iranian president, and defiantly said, “I’m not afraid of negotiating with anybody. I fear no man. Or woman.”

On Thursday, Senator Clinton issued a release touting a letter to President Bush she co-signed with Senator James Webb (D-VA) and 28 other senators. The letter was written to say the White House must seek Congressional approval for offensive military action against Iran. The Obama campaign quickly sent out a release saying, “it will take more than a letter to prevent this administration from using the language contained within the Kyl-Lieberman resolution” to justify war. “Senator Obama knows that it takes legislation, not letters, to undo the vote that she cast.”

Late Thursday, Obama introduced a binding resolution (from North Carolina – the Senator did not return to Washington, DC) that “would nullify” the Kyl-Lieberman vote.

Posted by Bonney Kapp