By Politics
Friday, April 20, 2007
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will take to the airwaves in Iowa and New Hampshire next week, making him the first Democratic candidate to run television ads in the states that will lead off the presidential caucus and primary calendar.
"This is an effective way to reinforce the governor's extraordinary record," Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said of the commercials. "But the ads are just part of the strategy -- the biggest piece is campaigning town to town, meeting people and earning votes in person."
The 30- and 60-second spots were produced by Murphy Putnam Media and are meant to introduce Richardson to voters in two of the most critical states in the nomination fight. The shorter ad details Richardson's rationale for running and outlines his plans for moving forward in Iraq; the 60-second spot highlights his record as governor.
Richardson, who has been governor since 2002, has a ways to go to be competitive in either state. Polling shows him trailing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and former senator John Edwards (N.C.) by double digits.
A strong showing in both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary is considered crucial to Richardson's chances of competing with the big three for the nomination. Without a win, place or show in Iowa, it's difficult to imagine a scenario in which Richardson builds enough grass-roots and financial momentum to compete in the huge primary battle developing for Feb. 5, 2008, which will include states such as California, Texas and New York.
--Chris Cillizza
Dean's Ex-Aide Joins Edwards
Joe Trippi, who ran Howard Dean's insurgent presidential campaign in 2004, announced yesterday that he is joining John Edwards's team.
As a senior adviser and key member of the media team, Trippi will work closely with David Bonior, the former senator's campaign manager.
In a blog post on http://www.johnedwards.com, Trippi wrote: I really thought that the 2004 presidential campaign would be the last I would be involved in. Too much is at stake to give anything less than everything we've got."
-- Jose Antonio Vargas
Martinez May Face an FEC Fine
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) accepted nearly two hundred contributions that were in excess of legal limits and did not disclose last-minute donations during his 2004 campaign, according to an audit by the Federal Election Commission.
The audit, made public this week, found that 186 contributions totaling $313,235 had exceeded the $2,000 contribution limit in place at the time. It also found 109 contributions that should have been disclosed in the days preceding his primary and general election victories.
The FEC has not announced whether it will impose a penalty for the violations, though the audit notes that "enforcement action" could come later. Martinez could not be reached yesterday, but his campaign released a statement saying that he has "made changes subsequent to that election to ensure full and timely compliance with all campaign finance laws in the future."
-- Matthew Mosk
McCain Joke Bombs
At an event in South Carolina earlier this week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was caught on video making a joke about the bombing of Iran.
In response to a question regarding how America should deal with the country, McCain referred to the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann."
"That old Beach Boys song? Bomb Iran," McCain says in the video, which was posted yesterday on YouTube. "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb."
McCain aides noted that the senator was making a joke to introduce a serious subject.
-- Chris Cillizza
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