The Trail

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

LOWERING EXPECTATIONS

Obama Says His Speech Will Be 'Workmanlike'

MOLINE, Ill. -- Barack Obama played down expectations Monday about his convention address on Thursday, saying he expects it to be a more "workmanlike" speech than the one he gave in 2004.

Obama has been working on his convention speech over the past few days and is still refining it. He seemed aware that it will be hard to top the 2004 speech that launched him to national stardom. He also suggested that, rather than relying on lofty rhetoric, he would talk about concrete issues that are important to voters.

In keeping with that theme, Obama's crowds are getting smaller by design. Just 250 people were invited to a town-hall-style meeting at a fairground in Davenport, Iowa, on Monday. Members of Obama's field staff reached out to Republicans and undecided voters on their lists in order to draw a meaningful cross section, rather than the cheerleading swarm that will greet the nominee when he gets to Denver.

Obama is also on a regular-guy roll. He mused at length about what it is like to travel by plane commercially these days -- going through security, suffering delays, circling overhead in a holding pattern -- and advocated a light-rail line between Chicago and St. Louis in a response to a question about the country's infrastructure. He talked about the debt that he and his wife, Michelle, went into to pay for school. And he continued his populist tone, one that sounded remarkably like the one Hillary Clinton adopted at the end of her bid.

"I won't be a perfect president, but I can promise you this: . . . You will have someone fighting for you in the White House the day I set foot in it," he said.

-- Anne E. Kornblut

'A VERY FINE STATESMAN'

Secretary of State Has Kind Words for Biden

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday praised Joe Biden as a "true patriot" and a "very fine statesman." Speaking to reporters on her plane as she flew to Israel for peace talks, Rice said she was not trying to wade into presidential politics. But she has worked closely with Biden in his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and she offered this reaction to the selection of the senator from Delaware as Barack Obama's running mate: "Senator Biden is obviously a very fine statesman. I've known him for a long time," Rice said, according to a transcript of her remarks released by the State Department. "He's a true, true patriot."

Another bit of Republican praise for Biden came from Crawford, Tex., where President Bush is nearing the end of a two-week vacation at the family ranch.

Responding to Rice's earlier remarks, White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters Monday that receiving the vice presidential nod is a "great honor" for Biden and his family.

"He's done tremendous work over a long period, and I know he has been supportive of Secretary Rice at the State Department," Fratto said.

But the spokesman noted: "I think Secretary Rice has made it clear who she intends to vote for, and that would be Senator McCain and whoever he chooses to join him on the ticket."

-- Glenn Kessler and Rosalind S. Helderman

'GOLD MEDAL FOR POLITICAL GYMNASTICS'

Ned Lamont Reprises Anti-Lieberman Role

Ned Lamont, who made a fortune as a cable industry entrepreneur, was having some trouble Monday with some decidedly more rudimentary technology -- the special-edition biodegradable wooden key card to his Denver hotel room, which was performing in a capricious manner despite being in accord with the Democratic convention's green theme.

But the flustered Connecticut millionaire took a moment from his trek back to the front desk to weigh in with sharp words on one of the hot topics of the day -- the possibility that his Connecticut nemesis, Democrat-turned-independent Joseph I. Lieberman, might become John McCain's running mate.

It was Lamont, of course, who helped set in motion Lieberman's move into the arms of the Republican Party when he successfully challenged him in Connecticut's 2006 Senate primary. In the process, Lamont became a hero to the activist left, which saw Lieberman's rightward drift, particularly on Iraq and terrorism, as a betrayal. Refusing to bow out after losing the primary, Lieberman ran as an independent and beat Lamont in round two with the help of many Republicans and right-leaning independents.

As tenuous as Lieberman's ties to the Democrats have become, Lamont still expressed amazement that his former opponent is being seriously considered as McCain's running mate just eight years after he held the same spot on Al Gore's ticket.

"He gets an Olympic gold medal for political gymnastics," Lamont said. "In our race, he ran around saying, 'I'm a good Democrat, and he's a Republican.' And then when he ran as an independent, he told voters he would stay neutral in Washington. Now he's leading the attack against Barack Obama. It's the gymnastics gold medal."

Lamont said he had not decided whether he would seek to fill Lieberman's seat in an eventual special election if Lieberman did become vice president or take another role in a McCain administration -- word is that he would love to be secretary of defense. Lamont noted that there are many more Democrats in the state now who would want to try for the seat than when he launched his challenge.

"That was a lonely vigil," he said of the 2006 race, before taking off to do battle with the key card.

-- Alec MacGillis

'MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IS 8'

McCain Beats Leno to the Old-Guy Jokes

BURBANK, Calif. -- Bowing to the inevitability that Jay Leno would crack jokes about his age, John McCain came armed with one of his own.

"I've got one," McCain told Leno during a taped appearance on the "Tonight Show," which aired Monday night. "My Social Security number is 8."

If he expected to be razzed about his age -- McCain turns 72 on Friday -- he was right.

In his monologue, Leno introduced McCain and Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, 41, by saying: "They're not here because of politics or Olympics. I just like being around successful people who were told they were too old for the job."

And to McCain, Leno apologized for not having a birthday cake because "the fire marshal said that many candles . . ."

McCain's appearance on the show -- his 13th, by his own count -- was timed to coincide with the first night of the Democratic National Convention in an attempt to steal at least a bit of the opening-night thunder.

In that vein, McCain joked that he might make big news if he picks a running mate with no particular partisan leanings and no clear political principles, and who "may need a job about that time." People in the audience cracked up when they realized McCain was talking about Leno.

"I can make more doing a week in Vegas," Leno joked.

McCain noted that the "house is nice," a reference to the White House.

"You've got enough of those," Leno cracked. "You need a white one, too."

Later, he asked McCain: "For $1 million, how many houses do you have?"

At that, McCain got serious, saying he had been imprisoned for 5 1/2 years during the Vietnam War -- "I didn't have a house. I didn't have a kitchen table. I didn't have a table." He also praised his late father-in-law -- the source of his wife's wealth -- as a man who came from nothing to be successful.

"I'm proud of my record of service to this country, and it has nothing to do with houses," McCain said. "It has to do with putting Americans in houses and keeping them in their homes."

Leno pushed again on McCain's vice presidential choice, asking why he might not choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate. McCain deflected that question by saying that he has "nothing but respect for Senator Clinton" but that they have different philosophies.

And when Leno asked whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty might get eaten alive by Joe Biden in a vice presidential debate, McCain cracked that "the question for any of them might be getting a word in edgewise."

-- Michael D. Shear

NO RED MEAT FROM MARK WARNER

For the Keynote Speech, No Attack Dog

Former Virginia governor Mark Warner said that his convention keynote speech Tuesday night will last roughly 15 minutes and that, while other Democratic convention speakers may aggressively attack John McCain and the Republican Party this week, he will not.

"They knew when I started this that it wasn't going to be a hard-core, red-meat speech. If they want that, I'm not their guy," Warner said of the Obama campaign and convention organizers.

Warner, who is running for the Senate, praised Joe Biden, saying Obama's running mate "has real-world, grass-roots, blue-collar appeal. He can go into a VFW hall or a Kiwanis Club meeting. I think he definitely helps."

Warner spoke Sunday night at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre while attending the Green Sunday at Red Rocks concert with his wife and four daughters. In addition to hearing performances by Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, Sheryl Crow and Sugarland, the few thousand concertgoers were treated to a beautiful Colorado night: gorgeous cloud formations, impressive winds and a stunning lightning show in the distance.

-- Ed O'Keefe