The Trail

Friday, November 30, 2007

TOUGH TALK

Huckabee Stands Firm On Education, Taxes

Mike Huckabee is not backing off.

Flanked by action-movie star Chuck Norris, the former Arkansas governor told a roomful of Washington reporters yesterday that he will defend his effort to educate the children of illegal immigrants, "even if it costs me the election."

Huckabee has been criticized by Mitt Romney and other Republicans running for president for supporting legislation in Arkansas that would have made all youngsters who graduate from state high schools eligible to compete for college scholarships, no matter the legal status of their parents.

With Norris citing examples of children of illegal immigrants he has helped educate through his foundation, Huckabee declared that "my soul will not let me" compromise on that stand -- despite the bill's rejection by his state Senate.

Huckabee, whose numbers are strong in Iowa, also renewed his feud with the Club for Growth, which has criticized his record on taxes. "If Ronald Reagan were on the ballot today, the Club for Growth would be running ads against him," Huckabee said, "because he raised taxes in California. He did what all governors have to do. He balanced the budget."

Huckabee told the reporters that he is the Republican best equipped to run against Hillary Rodham Clinton, because "I beat the Clinton machine four times in Arkansas," where it is even more deeply entrenched than it is nationally.

-- David S. Broder

ON THE JOB

Youth in 'Macaca' Flap Working for Richardson

Remember "macaca"?

The young man whose video helped bring down former senator George Allen of Virginia has resurfaced in the presidential contest that Allen once hoped to be part of.

S.R. Sidarth, a Fairfax student of Indian descent, is now a paid staff member in the communications office of Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson. He works in the New Mexico governor's Santa Fe office compiling newspaper articles, drafting news releases and performing other communications tasks.

Alas, he is not reprising the role of a volunteer "tracker" he played in James Webb's Senate campaign, when he shadowed Allen with a video camera, hoping to catch the Republican in an unguarded moment. It was Allen's dismissive comment about Sidarth -- "Say hello to macaca, or whatever his name is" -- that helped to doom Allen's reelection bid in 2006.

Sidarth's video was one of the first political videos to "go viral" on the Web, prompting Allen to apologize repeatedly and opening the door to other stories questioning his commitment to diversity. Allen lost by a slim margin, and the fallout also destroyed what could have been a promising shot at the presidency this year.

Sidarth did not reply to a request for an interview sent to his Richardson campaign e-mail address. But Sidarth's presence in the Richardson campaign may be no coincidence.

Richardson uses the ad agency Murphy Putnam, whose employee, Philip de Vellis, was the one responsible for the now-famous anti-Hillary Clinton video that spoofed Apple Computer's "1984" ad. The spoof, which was eventually connected to de Vellis, spread across the Internet like wildfire.

Allen traveled from Washington to Tampa this week, where he was providing "spin" on behalf of another presidential hopeful, former senator Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.).

Told of Sidarth's job, Allen smiled, looked genuinely surprised and said, "Hey."

Then he kept his mouth shut.

-- Michael D. Shear

HUNTER COLLEGE POLL

Gay Community Solid In Support of Clinton

A new poll from Hunter College finds that 63 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual probable voters support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) as the Democratic presidential nominee, while 22 percent back Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and 7 percent are for former senator John Edwards (N.C.).

Clinton's lead is cushioned by wide advantages in favorability and perceptions of her support for gay rights.

Nearly twice as many gay, lesbian and bisexual probable voters say they view Clinton "very favorably" as do voters for Obama (48 percent to 26 percent).

Clinton's margin in the primary contest among gays, lesbians and bisexuals far surpasses her support among all Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (she had 49 percent in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll) and exceeds that in even her best groups.

Just 13 percent of respondents in the Hunter College poll say they plan to vote in the Republican primary or caucus in their state, and few have positive views of GOP candidates.

None of the leading Republican candidates is viewed particularly favorably by more than 5 percent, and fewer than 2 percent describe any of the leading Republicans as a "strong supporter" of gay rights.

Looking toward the general election, should Clinton become the Democratic nominee, she could earn broader support among this group than Sen. John F. Kerry did in 2004 or her husband -- former president Bill Clinton -- did in either of his campaigns. Nearly nine in 10 say they would vote for her over Rudolph W. Giuliani if the election were held today. Kerry got 78 percent among this group; Clinton earned 72 percent in 1992 and 66 percent in 1996.

The Hunter College poll was conducted Nov. 15-26 by Knowledge Networks, among 768 lesbians, gays and bisexuals, including 501 likely Democratic primary voters. It was funded by a grant from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

-- Jennifer Agiesta