Barack Obama’s campaign had a big New Hampshire endorsement to announce today; they won the support of Carol Shea-Porter, a freshman congresswoman, and the second  of two from the Granite State to back Obama. To roll out the endorsement, the campaign announced a 2pm conference call with the congresswoman — giving reporters about an hour’s notice.

Just about a half hour later, Hillary’s campaign announced their own 2pm conference call on electability — giving us less than 2o minutes warning.  On that call, Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) took a shot at Obama for changing some of his  liberal positions laid out in a 1996 questionnaire obtained by the Politico, just because he’s running for national office. “I don’t frankly understand a candidate that seems to think he can offer one position in the early stages of his career, and then as he reaches the level of a national election, he can change from one position to the next,” she said.

But other than that direct response to the Politico piece, participants didn’t have much news to offer — leading reporters like yours truly to wonder why they held the hastily assembled call in the first place. Sen Evan Bayh (D-IN) talked about Hillary’s electability among moderate Republicans and Independents in the heartland, while Rep Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) stressed her appeal to women all over the country, who she said would come out in force in a general election.

Asked whether a new poll showing John Edwards performing best against Republican candidates meant he, not Hillary, was most electable, spokesman Phil Singer pointed to another poll in which most respondents called Hillary the most electable Democrat. But Edwards’ camp shot back with a memo with Democrats (mostly Edwards supporters) from red states cringing at a possible Clinton nomination’s effect on their reelection efforts, and praising Edwards as someone who could help down ticket Dems across the country.

Chicago, IL-

How long does it take to get from the Univision debate in Miami to the Iowa Public Television/Des Moines Register debate in Iowa? Well, I have been trying to get there for 20 hours and I’ve only made it to Chicago. Such is the life of an embed, but what a tale it is. Freezing rain here caused the initial 2-hour delay in Miami. Then after landing in Chicago I was ecstatic that the Des Moines flight had been delayed because it meant that I could still get to Iowa. At that point, I could still see the positive side of delays. . .how naïve!

We are delayed another hour and a half and then we board. I actually won the delayed flight lottery! I sit down and wait to pull out of the gate. Of course that never happens and instead the pilot comes on to announce that the flight has been cancelled. The tired, unhappy passengers, including myself, shuffle off. I am re-booked on the 6:25AM this morning and I am not allowed up pick up my bags because they are “locked up” so they can be re-loaded in the morning.

I wake up this morning at 4:15AM and the American Airlines website and automated phone line both say my flight is on time. As I get on the airport bus I have hope and I try to stay positive. That hope is quickly dashed as I see all the morning flights have been cancelled. American Airlines calls to inform me of the cancellation at 6AM, 30 minutes after my flight was supposed to take off. When did airline service get so bad?

I am now re-booked on a flight tomorrow morning. The weather is so severe in Iowa that Mike Huckabee and John Edwards have cancelled campaign events. Spouses are also being affected with both Ann Romney and President Clinton having to scrap their events as well. Governor Romney was able to meet with voters at the sky mall in downtown Des Moines today. But, evaded all questions regarding his new ad pointing out the differences between himself and Governor Huckabee on immigration.

Romney staffers are also affected by the severe weather with many also trying to get to Des Moines for tomorrow’s debate. Staffers are stranded here in Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Dallas, all trying to get to Iowa.  I’m stuck in Chicago with campaign photographer Abby Brack. Press Secretary Eric Fehrnstrom is stuck in Dallas, but hopeful he will make it to Iowa tonight.

Bad weather is something that plagues the first in the nation caucus almost every four years. It affects the voters getting out, the candidates campaigning, and of course the press trying to cover both. The caucus could depend on which group of supporters are hardy enough to handle the extreme weather.  Will I get to the debate? Keep checking back for updates!

A new Iowa survey from Strategic Vision, a Republican polling outfit, seems to confirm the recent pro-Obama trend in the state. The Illinois Senator leads the Democratic pack with 32%, followed by chief rivals Hillary Clinton and John Edwards at 25%. But as with all recent polls here, the numbers are within the margin of error.

Should Hillary be worried? The campaign can’t be happy with the trend lines in the horse race — especially since momentum always plays such a key role in Iowa. They also can’t be happy with the fact that she’s dropping among women, and that voters seem to care less about experience than change. But staffers constantly point out that polls don’t matter here. While that’s partially spin, since aides won’t hesitate to point out a poll that looks good for their candidate, there’s a lot of truth to the assertion.

I asked Opinion Dynamics CEO John Gorman, who runs the Fox News / Opinion Dynamics polls, why it’s so difficult to get a read on the Hawkeye state. “Polling in Iowa is very difficult and of very uncertain quality,” he wrote back. “This results from the following factors:

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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.

Rochester, New Hampshire-

While campaigning in NH, John Edwards unveiled a new plan to fight home heating oil costs, noting that in the Granite state, home heating oil costs had risen to over 3 dollars a gallon.His plan outlined more regulatory expansion on the oil & gas industry, and more societal sacrifice by using less resources overall.

During the Rochester event, John Edwards ran about 35 minutes late, not uncommon behavior by this campaign, however, during the question and answer period, one NH voter, said that she used the time delay to read parts of the 70-plus page policy booklet handed out by JRE campaign staffers.While she “loved everything in it”, she worried that “the dreaded other side” would paint Edwards as a” typical way-out on the left, tax and spend liberal”, she said.

Edwards was broad, the detailed in his response.Essentially, he said, overall initiatives, like universal health care, and educational expansion, would economically benefit the working class, and middle class Americans,and that would lead to results in economic growth as a whole by closing the gap, and bringing “shared prosperity”. He also said that the GOP opposition will do that”to anybody” who wins the Democratic nomination.

During the media availability, Fox News’ Major Garrett questioned Senator Edwards about this.

See initial audience question, JRE response and JRE Media avail response here:

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photo courtesy :wral

John Edwards visited a food bank near his home in North Carolina yesterday, as part of the unveiling of his new 6 point plan to combat widespread hunger. Also as part of this campaign, he laid out an effort encouraging  his supporters to take action over the holiday season and do the following:

From his Website: Volunteer at least one hour at a soup kitchen, donate at least one can to a food bank, give one lead-free children’s toy to a toy drive, and call on one friend or family member to do the same.

              John Edwards on his Plan:

 ”This week, as families across the country come together to give thanks, we are reminded of the sad fact that millions of American families still go hungry. Food insecurity is one more sign that the economy is not working for regular families. While the costs of health care and energy keep increasing, the average family is earning less than they did in 2000 and the cost of food is rising faster than it has at any time in nearly 20 years. More than 35 million Americans went hungry last year, including almost 13 million children.

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Edwards campaign jumped into the fray over Hillary Clinton’s comments slamming Obama’s foreign policy experience, that producer Aaron Bruns wrote about in the previous entry, and came to Obama’s defense, by calling HRC’s attacks ” Mud-slinging”. During the Vegas debate, Clinton accused Edwards, and her other opponents of “throwing mud.”

Here’s the statement released by Edwards Communications Director Chris Konfinis:

Edwards Campaign: The Definition Of Mudslinging

mudslinging |mŭd’slĭng’ing| (also mud-slinging)noun informal
the use of insults and accusations, esp. unjust ones, with the aim of damaging the reputation of an opponent. As in: Hillary Clinton said about Barack Obama, ‘Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face.

Now we know what Senator Clinton meant when she talked about ‘throwing mud’ in the last debate. Like so many other things, when it comes to mud, Hillary Clinton says one thing and throws another.

John Edwards will be airing a new ad over the Thanksgiving weekend in three early primary states, Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. It focuses on what he is most thankful.

Edwards Campaign Statement on Ad:

Today, as American families begin to gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, the John Edwards for President campaign announced a new television spot, entitled “Thanksgiving,” which will go up on the air Wednesday in three early primary states.

In the 30-second spot, which will run in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Edwards tells voters what he is most thankful for - a loving family and the promise of America, “a nation filled with the most optimistic people on Earth.” Edwards also delivers a personal message of thanks to the thousands of people he and Elizabeth have met on the campaign trail this year who have welcomed the Edwardses into their “homes and hearts.”

Watch Ad Here:

Davenport, Iowa-

Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards will campaign with rockers Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Browne for a two day trip in Iowa, starting tomorrow in Davenport. Raitt, a Grammy Award winning musician, said she was proud to support Edwards.

“John Edwards is a leading voice for change in our country,” said Raitt in a prepared statement. “He’s been one of the only strong, effective advocates for ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home. And when he talks about creating opportunity, he isn’t talking about creating opportunities for corporate CEOs to get ahead, he’s talking about making sure regular, hard-working Americans have a fair chance to succeed.

“We need someone with vision and courage to fix the problems facing our country”,Browne, a Rock and Rock Hall of Fame inductee, said in a statement provided by the Edwards campaign.” John Edwards knows what it is to have to work hard, and he’ll stand up and fight to make sure that everyone in this country has the same chances he’s had.”

Raitt and Browne will perform at Edwards’ community meetings in Davenport, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Grinnell, and Des Moines.

Check them out rocking out here:

Los Angeles, CA-

Three presidential candidates: Dennis, Kucinich, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton spoke Saturday at this presidential forum on global warming, and other environmental concerns, and all 3 touted their records on being the greenest candidate. The diminutive Kucinich spoke about his tiny house, and vegan diet as evidence of his higher environmental consciousness , Clinton broadly highlighted her plan to fight global warming, and Edwards offered up details to combat the issue,but pointedly charged that the oil companies had permeated, and poisoned the atmosphere in Washington. Edwards asserted that the oil lobby had made it hard for change on an issue that needs urgent attention. His comments an indirect slap at Clinton who he has said is “part of a system ” of corporate Democrats that essentially cannot take on the massive oil and gas industry because she takes money from them.

“I see the oil and gas companies blocking progress by spending millions of dollars and deploying hundreds of lobbyists in Washington to make sure that America stays addicted to foreign oil and fossil fuels,”JRE said to this enthused, and very green audience at the League of Conservation forum.

Edwards also spoke out against, what he considers, big company media consolidation, specifically targeting Newscorp’s (Fox News’ parent company)Rupert Murdoch.

‘I personally don’t want Rupert Murdoch to own every paper in America, can we do something about media consolidation?”, Edwards said.

A smattering of applause broke out in the media tent I was in. Not surprisingly, the majority of writers, at this global warming forum, seemed to be environmental bloggers.

Here is what Edwards said about his differences on Environmental policy with Senator Clinton during the post-speech media availability:

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Codepinker Disrupts Hillary

During Clinton’s speech, an anti-war activist disrupted her speech yelling about her “voting for war”.

“Were you invited to speak here this afternoon?”replied the Democratic front-runner to the anti-Iraq war protester, as he was physically escorted out by local and federal police.

Now I have covered Congress in some way over the past 7 years or so, and code pink members are constantly doing this,so for this reporter, not that big of a deal frankly, but the reaction by the authorities , to the press, I thought was over the top. Check this out: As soon as we saw that the protester was being lead out of the theatre, members of the press rushed out to shoot the man being lead away. When we asked him what his name was, one of his police escorts told us to loudly “shut up”, and that press were “not allowed to shoot on federal grounds”. Um really? Since when?

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Incidentally the Wadsworth Theatre is on the grounds of the West L.A. Department of Veterans Affairs. The “historic “Wadsworth, according to its description on the LA Times website, “ has played host to Broadway shows, concerts, movie premieres, screenings, dance productions and more, is operated by Richmark Entertainment”. Regular Fort Knox.