From House to White House Is Not a Road Well Traveled

A Vietnam War veteran whose son served in Iraq, Hunter says he is in a unique position, as the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, to be a strong voice on national security. He said he supports the president's troop buildup in Iraq but agrees that there needs to be a plan for ending U.S. involvement. Last week, the 13-term legislator placed second (behind Giuliani) in a South Carolina straw vote.

Kucinich has been down this presidential road before and is not at all discouraged that he remains a blip in the polls. He said that, given where the country stands on the war in Iraq, voters can't help but hear his unequivocal antiwar message. As Kucinich likes to point out, he is the only Democratic presidential candidate who voted against the war authorization and has since voted against every funding appropriation.

"I believe my consistent opposition to this war puts me in a strong position to argue that my judgment is superior to all the other candidates'," he said. "The war has put the campaign on a different trajectory. The terrain will be vastly different 11 months from now. It takes persistence. Even Rip Van Winkle woke up."

The Hottest Committee in Town

The best-kept secret on the Hill these days may be the membership for the new committee on global warming, a lineup that House leaders have kept close to the vest but are likely to announce this week.

As expected, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will appoint Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to chair the standing committee, which will have subpoena power but no legislative authority.

Pelosi's office declined to name any of the members, but Hill sources said that among the likely Democratic appointees are freshman Rep. Jerry McNerney (Calif.), a former energy consultant and wind-power expert, and Rep. Stephanie Herseth (S.D.), who has been a proponent of alternative fuels such as ethanol.

A floor vote to establish the committee and grant it $1.7 million for this year could come as early as today.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is appointing GOP members. They have not been announced, but the names circulating include Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (Wis.) and Greg Walden (Ore.).

Republicans say they are reserving judgment on the measure until they see the parameters. Boehner has said that the existing committees are capable of dealing with global warming.

Pelosi's plan initially upset some committee chairmen, who saw it as undermining their authority. Chief among the critics was House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).

Both sides said there were many more volunteers for the committee than seats.

Hispanic Caucus Supports Embattled Chairman

After a public brawl worthy of "The Sopranos," the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus survived a confidence vote Tuesday night, a few weeks after he was accused of calling another member of the caucus a "whore."

Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) pledged this week to unite the caucus after his victory. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) accused Baca last month of the name-calling, which she said came in a conversation with a Latino politician in California last summer.

Sanchez has since quit the caucus and vowed not to return unless Baca is gone.

C-SPAN Lets Bloggers Use Its Clips

C-SPAN, the exclusive video chronicler of Congress, yesterday took a major step to loosen its copyright hold by announcing that it would no longer object to YouTube or bloggers posting its footage from the Hill or from federal agencies online. The content makes up about half the cable channel's programming.

Use of the video footage became awkward recently when Republicans accused Pelosi of "pirating" some clips for her new blog, the Gavel. C-SPAN explained that floor footage is shot by government cameras and that Pelosi was on firm ground using it. But C-SPAN did ask her to take down a clip of a committee hearing shot by a C-SPAN camera.

A C-SPAN spokeswoman said yesterday's action was a nod to the ever-changing technological landscape.