The Trail

Friday, December 7, 2007

TRIPLE THREAT

Clinton Gets Support From 3 Major Players

To get a sense of the sophistication and sheer muscle of the machinery lined up behind Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid in Iowa, consider this: Three of the largest players in national politics have launched efforts on her behalf, with each tackling a different critical task.

The American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education reported Thursday that it has spent $281,114 on radio ads promoting Clinton in Iowa. On Wednesday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees unveiled television ads it began airing in Iowa promoting Clinton, the beginning of what it said would be a seven-figure expenditure. And earlier this week, the national political group Emily's List introduced a huge get-out-the-vote effort that involves surveys and a new Web site aimed at drawing probable Clinton supporters to participate in the Iowa caucuses.

For these efforts, all three groups have enlisted the services of a boutique media consultant that specializes in political message development -- Chicago-based Adelstein/Liston. "Our intent is to deliver a very strong message for a very strong candidate," said Ann Liston, a principal in the firm.

None of the groups is legally permitted to coordinate with the Clinton campaign to design this effort, and each said it had not. "We have not and would not take any direction from them at all," said Eric Smith, of AFT. But coordinating with one another is a different matter.

The Federal Election Commission has typically allowed separate independent groups to coordinate their activities, said Scott Thomas, a former FEC chairman.

The groups made an interesting choice of media firm to design the message. Eric Adelstein worked for Bill Clinton in 1992. Liston worked previously for Emily's List. Together, they worked on the 2000 campaign of Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). That was the year he defeated a challenger named Barack Obama.

-- Matthew Mosk

NO FAITH IN CANDIDATE

Couple Unimpressed By Romney's Speech

AMES, Iowa -- Chancey and Bud Montang are a couple without a candidate.

Bud, a financial analyst, and Chancey, who worked in advertising before she quit several years ago to home-school their four children, had been some of the leading backers in Ames of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who recently dropped out of the race after struggling to raise money and to move in the polls.

When they agreed to watch Mitt Romney's faith speech with a reporter Thursday morning, both said before it started that they were unlikely to back the former Massachusetts governor -- not because of his Mormonism but because of their concerns about his previous support of abortion rights. He not only failed to win over either of them with his speech, but he didn't seem to move them any closer to his side.

The Montangs, who are heavily involved in their Catholic church, kept pointing to what they saw as a contradiction in Romney's speech; in their minds, he was saying that his faith is important but that it will not affect his decisions.

"If his faith is truly in the fiber of his being, every decision he makes is affected by it," Bud Montang said. "You can't say your faith isn't going to affect your decisions. It is who you are completely." As Romney said he would not "jettison" his religion, but not take guidance from Mormon leaders, Chancey Montang grew frustrated.

"You can't have it separate and together," she said. "It's one or the other."

-- Perry Bacon Jr.

SCHEDULE SHIFT

Candidates Get Break On Key Vote for Bill

DES MOINES -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) canceled a key vote for Saturday on the energy bill that had threatened to cause mayhem on the campaign trail for the four Senate Democrats running for president.

The campaigns of Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden and Christopher Dodd spent the day altering their Friday and Saturday schedules to make room for up to two days in Washington. It's only one of four remaining weekends before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, but Reid was adamant -- their votes were needed.

Now it turns out that the four candidates' presence will be required in the Senate chamber no later than Friday morning. Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed to postpone a vote on the farm bill that had been slated for Friday and to bump up the energy vote from its originally scheduled slot of mid-morning on Saturday, to no later than 9:25 a.m. Friday.

-- Shailagh Murray