Detroit Free Press
03-25-07
National political digest
A weekly review of news from the world of politics
Candidates aim to bank a victory
Presidential candidates have been frantically raising money this month. Hillary
Rodham Clinton, for instance, has been holding as many as four and five fundraisers a day.
Why the big rush?
Candidates have to file quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission,
showing how much they raised and how it was spent.
The year's first quarter ends Saturday, and candidates hope to get big numbers
that will give them a psychological edge and scare off rivals. The reports will
become public by April 15.
"This first-quarter report will be the most important event to happen in the
campaign cycle," said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican strategist. "And April
could be the shakeout month for some of the campaigns and some of the
campaign teams."
The numbers may be particularly important for candidates like Republican Mitt
Romney, who has been running third in polls behind Rudy Giuliani and John
McCain.
"What he's trying to do is establish himself as a leading candidate by being able
to compete financially," said Anthony Corrado, a professor at Colby College in
Maine who specializes in presidential campaign finance. "If he were to beat one
of those guys, that would be a news story."
Can cancer aid campaign?
Will Elizabeth Edwards' recurrence of cancer have any impact on husband John
Edwards' attempt to win the Democratic nomination? He's continuing his
campaign.
Some reactions:
• "It's sad and tragic and very unusual," said Steffen Schmidt, a political
scientist at Iowa State University. "Some people are saying it is kind of a cold
move, kind of out of character for a man so family-oriented. Others are saying it's
a very bold move, one that shows a lot of courage. I suppose it could go either
way."
• Diane Bystrom, the author of 11 books on politics, said Elizabeth Edwards'
illness could result in key constituency groups in the Democratic Party "being
drawn to and identifying with" the Edwards campaign, at the expense of Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
• "If there is any upside out of a serious illness, it is that Edwards will have unique
credibility to discuss health care in America," said Darrell West, a political
science professor at Brown University.
Random comments
• Republican candidate Sam Brownback said he supports a flat federal income
tax, with no deductions or credits. The current tax code, he said, "should be
taken behind the barn and killed with a dull ax."
• Tom DeLay, the Republican former House majority leader, opines in his justpublished memoirs (title: "No Retreat, No Surrender") about the party's 2006
losses: "Republicans were, as they long have been, right on the issues and
terrible at communication."
Chewing, not smoking
So how's Barack Obama doing with kicking cigarettes?
He told interviewer Larry King that he's now on nicotine gum instead. "It's working
so far," Obama said.
Late last year, Obama said he had quit smoking before.
Waiting it out
As many states (Michigan included) consider moving up the dates of their 2008
presidential primaries, Bill Gardner just waits for them to decide.
He's New Hampshire's secretary of state, and state law requires him to hold his
state's primary on a Tuesday a week or more before any "similar election." He
can make it as early as he wants.
And he's in no hurry to set a date.
"His office can do an election in three weeks, as long as they have the ballot
prepared," said state Rep. Jim Splaine.
Since 1920, New Hampshire has held the nation's earliest primary. And people
there take it seriously: In 2004, 80% of registered voters cast ballots.
Last word
"The dirtier it gets in Washington, the better off you are as a governor."
-- Samuel Popkin, a political science professor at the University of California at
San Diego, speaking about the prospect of an anti-Washington backlash on
presidential candidates in Congress.