Post Politics Hour

Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Washington Post national political reporter Anne E. Kornblut was online Thursday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest in political news.

The transcript follows.

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Archive: Post Politics Hour discussion transcripts

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Anne E. Kornblut: Hi everyone! Thanks for joining today. Let's go ahead and get started -- please send in all your questions.

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Mt. Lebanon, Pa.: Are any of the presidential challengers cat people? I wouldn't trust anyone who doesn't live with a cat. Thanks much.

Anne E. Kornblut: A great beginning for the day after Halloween. I do know that the Clintons used to have a cat (Socks) but don't anymore. Obama has promised his daughters they can get a dog in exchange for letting him run for president. On the rest: I will have to check. Thanks for giving me something new to investigate.

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Annapolis, Md.: Any new intel on whether New Hampshire will move its primary date earlier?

washingtonpost.com: N.H., Iowa Keep the Candidates' Attention: Wallets Open Wide Despite Changes in Primary Calendar (Post, Oct. 31)

Anne E. Kornblut: For right now, it looks like New Hampshire will have its primary Jan. 8, after Iowa on Jan. 3 ... but of course it's all still subject to change...

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Rolla, Mo.: Given the narrative of the men ganging up on the lone woman in the Democratic race, what would be the response if the fire were directed at a frontrunning Sen. Obama, who then decried the whites ganging up on the lone African American candidate?

washingtonpost.com: Clinton Regroups As Rivals Pounce (Post, Nov. 1)

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a very interesting question. I actually got a voice mail this morning from a reader, a man identifying himself as an African American who grew up in the segregated South, describing what he saw onstage the other night as an "old-fashioned lynching." So the question of whether it's applicable to Obama would be valid -- though of course that hasn't happened, at least not yet.

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Anonymous: I had hoped that Hillary wouldn't run for president, but would take the role of Senate majority leader, giving the nation it's first female majority leader and speaker of the House. If Hillary loses the Democratic nomination or the general election, never say never, but I can't see her running for president in '12 or '16. Do you see her staying in the Senate, or moving into a very lucrative position in the private sector?

Anne E. Kornblut: Hypotheticals upon hypotheticals! I have to say, there is not a lot of speculation inside Hillaryland, at least not that I'm privy to, about her other options these days. They're feeling quite confident about her ability to win. At other times, they have waxed poetically about her love of her Senate job, so it wouldn't surprise me if she stayed there. Thanks for the question.

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Vernon, B.C.: Good morning Anne and thanks for taking my question. The Clinton Campaign has stated that the "piling-on" by the six male candidates only serves to reinforce Clinton with women voters. As a woman, I have to agree. Some polls have shown even usually GOP voting women are talking about voting for history. And with all of the GOP politicians' wives who have had to publicly "stand by their man" in the face of infidelity, that is a common bond also. I'm not saying Democrat's wives aren't in the same position, but the "family values" title of the GOP has been tarnished considerably, and the GOP wives have to be sick and tired of it. ... A lot of American women I have talked to online feel that she is being demonized because she is a woman, and that after all these years a woman can't be any worse than what men have done for centuries. Even Jonathon W's sister, a Republican, is voting for her. Your thoughts?

Anne E. Kornblut: There is no question, none, that women are feeling the tug of the firs-woman-for-president campaign. That's not to say that all women are -- plenty I know feel passionately about Obama, and don't want to see Clinton win -- but the mere fact of her running seems to be catching the attention of particularly older women who can identify with what she's been through. And much of her strength in the polls comes from her popularity among women. Will it last? Is it enough to sustain her through a general election? Will it change once her rivals, on either side, start underscoring her more negative traits? I suspect we'll find out.

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Arlington, Va.: Or Richardson getting ganged-up on for being the only Latino. Or Kucinich getting ganged-up on for being the only one abducted by aliens...

Anne E. Kornblut: Exactly.

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Arlington, Va.: I think the surest sign that Sen. Clinton is in general election mode was her equivocation on the immigration question at the last debate. Given that this issue so galvanizes many people, and not just conservatives, how does whomever the Democratic presidential candidate is walk the line and not get steamrolled on it? Or does the benefit of appealing to Latino voters by appearing pro-comprehensive immigration reform outweigh the costs? Democrats conceivably could win Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida by winning some Latino voters that went for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, no?

washingtonpost.com: Spitzer Chose to Compromise on Immigrant Licenses (Post, Nov. 1)

Anne E. Kornblut: Fantastic question, and really good observation. There is no doubt that Clinton immediately recognized this tightrope when she saw it: For all the "Lou Dobbs voters" talk, there are also giant new waves of Hispanic voters in important swing states, and they helped Bush win in the last election. The last thing she wants to do is to alienate those voters, but at the same time she -- and all Democrats -- also recognize that this could be a powerful wedge issue in the general election, at least helping turn out the GOP base.

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Southwest Nebraska: What I heard Sen. Clinton say the other night was that state governments have to deal with problems not solved by the federal government. What Spitzer did "made sense" given the situation. The media hysteria is just that -- hysteria. The immigration issue is complicated and cannot be answered in a 45-second lightning round.

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a good point, and certainly a frequent complaint from all the campaigns and candidates. I'm going to post it as is here -- any other comments out there?

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Arlington, Va.: Regarding Presidential Papers at the National Archives, as a former NARA employee, I'm curious as to why so little context appears in coverage of them. The Presidential Records Act allows former presidents to ask that certain restrictions be applied for a 12-year period. (I have no idea why The Post implied in a recent op-ed that federal archivists could go to court to get records released. It was a very strange observation to make about an executive branch agency, but I recognize you are on the reporting rather than the editorial side.) After the 12-year period is up, FOIA exemptions are used, except for the one for (unclassified) pre-decision information. The statutory requirements represent a big change from past practices. (Prior to Watergate, a president's records were considered personal property. He could screen them, select portions to donate to a Presidential Library, and place donor restrictions on them. LBJ, for example, asked that his tapes be sealed for 50 years.)

As someone who once was responsible for screening Richard Nixon's tapes, I understand why many observers shy away from the issues -- they can be awfully complicated, even scary. And it's hard to figure out whether longer or shorter restriction are good, as there pros and cons to both and many stakeholder interests to consider. But doesn't the public deserve some minimal context on the laws and regulations that pertain to this?

washingtonpost.com: The Fact-Checker: Is Hillary Responsible for the 'Library Lockdown' (washingtonpost.com, Nov. 1)

Anne E. Kornblut: Thank you so much for this contribution. I believe the confusion is this: A lot of reporters, as well as other candidates, have asked that Clinton simply release all her paperwork from the White House years, with confidential material redacted if necessary. They (we) are, in other words, acting on a presumption that she should as a presidential candidate release all. If I read you correctly, you are saying that in fact presidents act from a presumption of being able to shield their work, only recently being required to open it up. Correct? (And can you offer any guidance on what, if any, papers we should be asking to see?)

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Claverack, N.Y.: Anne, you're smart. Explain this to me: How, exactly, has it become a horrendous political gaffe to say "I have a lot of sympathy for what you're trying to do, but I don't support it"? I'm serious. In everyday life this happens all the time; my wife might suggest we look into buying a new house, and I say "I understand why you're thinking that way, and you make a lot of good points -- but we're not moving." That doesn't make me a hypocrite; that makes me someone who's listening, considering, then taking a position. Is this just Kerry hangover? Has politics now become a no-nuance zone?

Anne E. Kornblut: I like this question -- and happen to have sympathy with your point! I'm constantly struck by what is called "negative" -- long before any negative campaigning has actually begun. Or perhaps I'm just jaded. In any event, thank you for the observation.

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Iowa: In a speech here this summer, Gov. Bill Richardson mentioned that he and his wife have two cats. However, like most of his truly fine qualifications, this doesn't seem to be gaining him much traction in the race.

Anne E. Kornblut: Thank you for this! Anyone else on pet watch with me?

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Female candidates and female voters: As a 50-something female, I used to dream of the day that a woman was president, but nothing I've seen about Clinton makes me want to vote for her. As for the "piling on" issue, please, give me a break. What a classic cop-out -- she's crying "sexism" only to divert attention away from her awful response to the question about New York drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants. If she did get attacked, it's because she's the frontrunner. I want to vote for a woman for president, but I'll have to wait for a better candidate than Hillary, I'm afraid.

Anne E. Kornblut: And I have heard this opinion a great deal, too. Thank you for sending it in.

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Hoboken, N.J.: Has it dawned on the media yet that perhaps it is only them that want the candidates, and recently Obama, to go "aggressive" (mediaspeak for negative)? Regular folks don't want yelling and screaming and attack ads followed by personal attacks during a debate. For years the media complained about the partisanship in politics; finally a candidate emerges who stays positive and prefers to speak only on issues, and the media slams him for not being aggressive enough. Your excuse will be Obama's low poll numbers, but that is a weak one given electoral history concerning candidates with very low poll numbers winning the primary -- Kerry for example. Your thoughts?

Anne E. Kornblut: It's a great point. We hear it from the campaigns all the time. And you are correct: in the 2004 primaries, both Kerry and Edwards benefited from staying positive (while Dean and Gephardt duked it out). But as you'll recall, Kerry was later on the receiving end of some much more negative campaigning that worked against him, and he did not push back. And we saw how that turned out. So I would go out on a limb and say it's not (at least not only) the media spoiling for a fight; there is evidence from past campaigns that without attacking, at least some candidates don't win.

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Arlington, Va.: How much damage has Obama done to his campaign with the Donnie McClurkin fiasco? Every LGBT friend of mine that was for Obama is looking for alternatives now, mostly switching to Hilary.

washingtonpost.com: The Trail: Despite Protests, McClurkin's Guest Star Turn For Obama a Crowd Pleaser (washingtonpost.com, Oct. 29)

Anne E. Kornblut: I haven't monitored it closely enough to know, but I'm posting this for other comments. Thoughts?

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New Haven, Conn.: Why is everyone leaping to HRC's defense? The questioning and the jabs by the other candidates weren't that difficult. Equally important, HRC seemed to be very uncomfortable and even annoyed -- and her responses didn't answer or even effectively deflect the questions. If this is how she reacts to friendly fire, it makes me wonder how well she would fare against the GOP and, more importantly, leaders of other countries who may not share the West's views on the role of women.

Anne E. Kornblut: Great observation. Other views?

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Washington: Anne, don't you think Hillary's problem is that she is an analytical policy wonk in a country that never has elected one for president who wasn't also tremendously charismatic? Think Adlai Stevenson, Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale, John Kerry, Al Gore -- well, we sort of elected Al Gore. Bill Clinton was the big exception -- if he had gotten that question the other night about giving illegal immigrants driver's licenses, he would have looked the questioner right in the eye and said, "yes, I'm in favor of a limited license and here's why -- I want everybody behind the wheel of a car in the state of New York to know the rules of the road and pass a drivers test, etc. etc." While Hillary was trying to get across that this is a complicated issue with no obvious solutions, she can't score points merely by saying she sees merit in both sides. Do you think she or her advisers can figure this out?

Anne E. Kornblut: At a certain point, a candidate's own DNA shines through, no matter how many advisers he or she has or how much preparation he or she has done. The other night was a perfect example (and I happen to believe you're right about how her husband would have answered). But she isn't her husband, and it's easy for us to Monday morning quarterback how she handled it. The truth is, we saw her as she is, in all her wonkiness (or waffliness, depending on your perspective). So your point is an interesting one.

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Washington: So the Clinton campaign finally played the Gender Card. Up until now, they have been downplaying the gender issue, letting pundits and journalists do the speculating as to whether her being a female will encourage female voters to support her disproportionately. They also have been arguing, at least through actions, that gender is something of a non-issue.

Now they come with this about-face. It seems to be a strategic reversal, although undoubtedly played at the right time as the primaries draw closer and the opportunities to play the card diminish. Do you think this is an effective move, or is it another blunder by the campaign after her stumbling performance the other night? Also, do they really think they can get away with portraying her as the victim when she clearly has the most support from the political establishment on the East Coast?

Anne E. Kornblut: Actually, the campaign has been talking about her gender fairly overtly for some time now, but you're right that this is the first time they have used it to portray her as a victim. What they are saying -- and the jury is out on whether it will work, as you suggest -- is that women, especially professional women, will identify with the ganging-up-on phenomenon and feel drawn to Sen. Clinton's defense.

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Cats and Dogs: Dennis Kucinich has a pet E.T.

Anne E. Kornblut: !!!

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Arlington, Va.: Looks like McCain is an animal lover, so that should help. Per some blog: "If election victory was solely dependent on the pet factor, the Arizona senator would have excellent chances at a landslide victory: a cat, two turtles, a ferret, three parakeets and 13 saltwater fish inhabit the 70-year-old's house along with his two dogs." Or maybe he just can't commit!

Anne E. Kornblut: Covering all his bases! I am the proud owner of a schnoodle, and can say that you have all hit on my one issue, were I a one-issue voter.

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Re: Piling On: Isn't "piling on" what dark horse candidates always do at this stage to the frontrunner? I don't see how gender has anything to do with it. If they all said that Sen. Clinton "throws like a girl" or something, I could understand her campaign's claims of sexism, but they'd better get used to this "piling on" if they expect to keep the lead through Super Tuesday.

Anne E. Kornblut: And another view on this. Keep them coming. This is a fascinating subject.

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Fairfax, Va.: The apparent requirement is to be "all things to all voters," to "never offend anyone," to have just the perfect answer to every question -- impossible standards! While I agree that dancing down the middle on everything, pandering to each audience, etc. is wrong, what exactly do we expect pols to say and/or do?

Anne E. Kornblut: I think this is why McCain, and to a lesser degree Howard Dean, impressed voters when they did -- for "telling it like it is." There is certainly a strong desire for that.

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Plano, Texas:"Mt. Lebanon, Pa.: Are any of the presidential challengers cat people? I wouldn't trust anyone who doesn't live with a cat. Thanks much." Is this what choosing a president has come to? I think we've seen what a mistake it was to choose one based on "who I'd rather have a beer with"; whether or not they like cats just takes it to the next level of irrelevance.

Anne E. Kornblut: Hopefully the original question was asked in jest. If not, I can assure you that there are people who decide how to vote based on more inane traits.

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St. Paul, Minn.: Hi Anne -- thanks for taking my question. Supposing Mukasey doesn't make the cut; does the White House already have other names at hand? Does the White House choose someone more likely to please the Democrats, or less? What is the mood at the Department of Justice with the Mukasey nomination seemingly on the rocks? Thanks!

washingtonpost.com: Two More Democrats To Oppose Mukasey (Post, Nov. 1)

Anne E. Kornblut: I wish I were equipped to answer this question, it is such a good one. I'm going to flag my colleague Peter Baker and see if he knows.

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Chicago, Kind of desperate: Greetings. My high school freshman son went out for the speech team and is now tasked with coming up with a six-minute speech with two minutes of preparation. What can I do to prevent him from becoming a wonk? We really, really need him to get a scholarship if he is going to go to college.

Anne E. Kornblut: You're asking me? I just spent Halloween night doing a special on C-SPAN; I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask. Anyone else have any ideas?

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Williamsburg, Va.: McCain has a ferret?! Didn't Giuliani make a big deal out of his opposition to ferrets in New York City? A new campaign issue?

washingtonpost.com: Video: Rudy on Ferrets (Slate, May 7)

Anne E. Kornblut: Fantastic. This must be raised at the next debate.

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Washington: Just a note, and maybe I should send this on to the Clinton campaign separately, but you know, as a gay man in Bush's America ... I feel her pain on getting ganged up on by the rest of the field. On another note, I do think the media is making more of such statements from the campaign than what they actually say. There's this new 24/7 news-cycle magnifying lens that really takes a molehill and turns it into a mountain. Want an example? Turn on Chris Matthews and give it five minutes, you'll see how he turns Clinton breathing into some kind of controversy.

Anne E. Kornblut: Another view ... thank you for this.

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Washington: The article this morning about the Mukasey confirmation supposedly being in trouble confused me. As far as I know, seven Senators currently are planning on voting against it (hardly a majority!). So how does this put the confirmation in any real trouble? I could understand headlines and articles about the increasing controversy and questions, but to be making predictions now that he may not be confirmed not only seems way premature, but also seems like a great set-up for a baseless "Democrats fail again" article a month from now.

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a fair point, but I think our reporters are also trying to keep close watch of what will happen given how much interest in this issue there is. We often monitor whether someone will get confirmed or not (and in this case his potential problems are newsworthy, given that he was supposed to have a relatively easy time of it).

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Prescott, Ariz.: I saw that Rudy Giuliani is running an ad claiming that survival rates for prostate cancer are higher in the U.S. than in Britain, thus we shouldn't go to a European-style health care system (Giuliani himself benefited from a prostate cancer treatment designed in Europe by the way). The data his ad is based on originally were from a right-wing publication that gamed the stats to say what they want, i.e. they have been debunked. He knows they have been debunked, but his campaign has said they will run the ad with the phony claim anyway. Anyway, what sort of response does this thumbing of the nose toward the truth bring up in you media gatekeepers?

washingtonpost.com: The Fact-Checker: Rudy Wrong On Cancer Survival Chances (washingtonpost.com, Oct. 30)

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a good question, one that I will pass on to Mike Shear and the other reporters who cover the Republican side -- I had only seen the ad in passing. Thoughts from others?

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Washington: Will the departure of Undersecretary Hughes be seen in Congress as her accepting that she was unable to accomplish what she was asked to do? I would rather she stayed until the end of the administration -- little more than a year from now -- than have a caretaker come in and hold the position and either change or continue what she started; it essentially seems the position will be vacant for a year, regardless of who fills it.

washingtonpost.com: Hughes to Leave State Department After Mixed Results in Outreach Post (Post, Nov. 1)

Anne E. Kornblut: True enough. Mrs. Hughes has tended to move around on her own schedule -- she left relatively early on in the first term, as you'll recall -- so her departure doesn't really surprise me but you have a point. Thank you for writing.

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Oxford, Miss.: I don't see how "cat or dog person" or "would rather have a beer with him" is any more of an inane criterion than "I'm voting for candidate X because we both believe in the same creation myth" -- but then, that's just me.

Anne E. Kornblut: Indeed....

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Cambridge, Mass.: Hello -- do you know if Larry Craig plans to advocate for legislation making it easier for defendants who have entered guilty pleas to withdraw those pleas? If Craig believes that he (a relatively sophisticated person) was coerced into giving a false confession, surely he must believe that there have to be many people serving time in prison on account of a crime to which they were coerced into confessing.

Anne E. Kornblut: I don't know the answer, but I'll raise it with my colleagues...

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North Carolina: Why is Richardson still in the race? Is it to help deflect appropriate criticism of Hillary Clinton? In my opinion he seems to be running for vice president and shouldn't be allowed to attend anymore debates.

Anne E. Kornblut: Well, his campaign insists he's really running for president, not vice president, and he has done well enough (better, in fact, than some of the other Democrats) to continue on in the race as long as he pleases. It will be whittled down soon enough, do not fear...

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Arlington, Va.:"Anne E. Kornblut: I think this is why McCain, and to a lesser degree Howard Dean, impressed voters when they did -- for 'telling it like it is.' There is certainly a strong desire for that." Isn't it the job of journalists to force the issue and make politicians address reality? If so, how do you think they are doing?

Anne E. Kornblut: We try! But there's only so much we can do, especially when dealing with candidates who are less than forthcoming and not particularly open to spending time with us. We are, in essence, surrogates for voters as we follow these folks around on the campaign trail. And so when a candidate, like a McCain, opens up and spends a lot of time with us, we, and thus you, get to know them well and get a real feel for their thoughts. When a candidate (like a Clinton) does not, it is harder to grasp.

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Washington: It's interesting to note how many questions or comments you've posted concerning republicans ... I assume that's because the bulk have been about ... Hillary Clinton. Like it or not, there is one person dominating the discussion and that's the senator from New York. But speaking of the Republicans, Joe Biden had the best line of the debate the other night -- heck it's probably the best line of the entire campaign season so far -- when he said that Rudy Giuliani is unqualified to be president and that his sentences only have three parts: "a noun, a verb and 9/11". zing!

Anne E. Kornblut: It was a truly classic Biden line. And a great snapshot of why people who love Joe Biden love him so much. Thanks for pointing it out.

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Kettering, Ohio: Playing the sexism card this early will be seen as a strategic mistake of Hillary's campaign. The "voting for history" crowd will now have a reason to reconsider their option if she is going to whine about this every time she is challenged. The only way it could have been worse is if she pulled a Pat Schroeder and bawled. This was not smart, which is unusual for a campaign that has been doing nearly everything right up to now. Americans want a strong leader, and any chink in the armor will become a gouge when decision time is upon us.

Anne E. Kornblut: Another good point.

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New York: Anne -- do references to "socialized medicine" and the like scare voters the way it used to? Seems to me that problems with our health insurance system have increased to the point that rhetoric like that doesn't have the same effect it used to. Your thoughts?

Anne E. Kornblut: Well, one way to measure the answer to this is to look at the words the Democrats are using -- and that the Republicans are using to counter them. You've heard Clinton very consciously talk about "public-private partnerships" as she describes her health care proposal, in part to preemptively stop the Republicans from calling her ideas "socialized medicine" (not that it has stopped Romney and Giuliani). So while I think all the candidates agree that health care has reached a crisis point, the "government solution" problem, if we can call it that, remains.

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Hillary and Socks the cat: Remember cute little Socks? After being with the Clintons for years, Hillary gave the kitty away to an aid.

washingtonpost.com: From Wikipedia: "Socks found Buddy's intrusion intolerable; according to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Socks 'despised Buddy from first sight, instantly and forever.' Bill Clinton said, 'I did better with ... the Palestinians and the Israelis than I've done with Socks and Buddy.' When the Clintons left the White House in 2001 they took Buddy to their new home, but left Socks under the care of Bill Clinton's secretary, Betty Currie. Socks was only the fourth cat to occupy the White House since Franklin Roosevelt's presidency."

Anne E. Kornblut: Maybe I should pitch a campaign documentary for Animal Planet?

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Washington: In response to Hoboken, I would reiterate your point that going negative works. It's funny -- if you ask people, they overwhelming oppose campaigns that go negative and claim to really hate the "attack ads" that air every two minutes leading up to an election. And yet, time and time again, we've seen that attack ads work. This is one side of the American psyche we're all loathe to admit exists: While we hate the attack ads, we're Americans - what we hate more is a weak person who doesn't defend themselves and/or go on the attack.

Anne E. Kornblut: And another view, thank you for this.

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Washington: I can no longer support Obama after the McLurkin thing. It wasn't that he wanted to include that whack-job in the event, it was the patronizing attitude his campaign took when people voiced reasonable disappointment. And if you want further tales of Obama campaign condescension, just ask WTOP's Mark Plotkin...

Anne E. Kornblut: Interesting, thank you.

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Fairfax, Va.: Given that Romney hasn't exactly run away with things in Iowa, why aren't more top-tier candidates paying attention to it? Is Mike Huckabee's recent movement in the state for real? How big a deal is it if he finishes second behind Romney?

washingtonpost.com: The Trail: Huckabee Deems Himself 'In Play' (washingtonpost.com, Oct. 30)

Anne E. Kornblut: The Republican field (which my colleague Mike Shear is paying much closer attention to than I am) is definitely in flux in Iowa, and your question is a good one. I'd say that whoever wins Iowa -- on both sides -- it will be a big deal.

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Baltimore: Re Clinton and Spitzer: The problem with Mrs. Clinton's answer, and the difficulty it poses for her, is that many Democrats -- myself included -- have had it up to here with the government's inability to control our borders, no matter which party is in power. The first presidential candidate I ever voted for was George McGovern. I have never voted for a Republican for president. In short, I am an old-fashioned liberal, but I want the government to perform one of its principal tasks -- secure our borders.

Anne E. Kornblut: And you are not, by any stretch, alone. Thank you for this.

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Anne E. Kornblut: Thank you so much, everyone, for writing in today. The pet questions were especially priceless. Keep them coming! Have a great rest of the week.

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