Post Politics Hour

washingtonpost.com's Daily Politics Discussion

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 Monday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. ET.

The transcript follows.

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Archive: Post Politics Hour discussion transcripts

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Blacksburg, Va.: Let me get this straight: in HillaryCare (the new one, not the previous disastrous failure), anyone who refused to buy HillaryCare would have their wages garnished and the money handed over to the insurance industry? Hmmmm ... let me guess -- Hillary gets a lot of campaign contributions from the insurance industry?

Anne E. Kornblut: She does, in fact -- though of course her campaign would say there is not a connection. She has not laid out exactly how the mandated purchase would work, but that is one option. Good point.

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Anne E. Kornblut: Oh, and hi! I should have said hi before starting, please send all questions. Great day to chat politics.

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Shawsville, Va.: Just a comment: I watched the Michelle Obama, Oprah, Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver rally at UCLA yesterday afternoon (on C-SPAN) and was entirely blown away. This was the third time I have heard Michelle give "the speech," and she has single-handedly won me over to the Obama camp. What a woman -- warm, witty beautiful, smart -- she is First Lady for the new century. Barack's pretty good too. I hope more people will take the time to see her. C-SPAN has given her excellent coverage, but she's been pretty well invisible on the mainstream media. Thanks for taking this if you do!

washingtonpost.com: The Accompanists: Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama Warm Up to Their Parts in Orchestrating Victory (Post, Feb. 2)

Anne E. Kornblut: Thank you for this comment. It is quite a year for spouses, isn't it?

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Los Angeles: Uh-oh! California is swinging to Obama! When does Bill Clinton arrive to start his Los Angeles-to-San Francisco finger-wagging campaign?

Anne E. Kornblut: Another spouse comment. ... Former President Clinton is in fact campaigning in California today, and the campaign is saying they believe the gap is narrowing, though it's unclear how real that is given that so many in California voted by mail weeks early.

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Raleigh, N.C.: Good morning. Quick, easy question: Why do South Carolina (and a couple of other states) have their Democratic and Republican contests on different days? That seems like it would double the taxpayers' costs for running the election.

Anne E. Kornblut: It's a good question -- and I don't have an easy answer, because I believe it varies from state to state. You are right, though -- it does cost more to hold it on different days. That is one reason that the Florida Democratic Party did not move its date later, because to break away from the Republican date would have cost more. Maine is another one; the Democratic contest is next weekend, while the Republican one already happened.

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Chicago: Good morning and thanks for chatting. Yesterday on "Meet the Press" James Carville said that it would be "really bad" if Hillary lost California. Do you agree with that assessment? Or do you think Carville is just spinning for the person he wants to win, so that if Hillary wins by even a sliver, she is beating expectations? Also on the subject of California, what if Hillary wins narrowly but only because of votes cast weeks ago?

Anne E. Kornblut: All great questions. Carville is certainly a Clinton partisan, so you're right to consider his comments in that light -- and I am skeptical of the Clinton campaign's downward spinning of California at the moment. She has been ahead there all along, and still is -- especially because, as you point out, a lot of people voted by mail before the race began to tighten. That said, it would in fact be really bad for Clinton if she lost California.

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Ashburn, Va.: When will The Washington Post endorse presidential candidates?

Anne E. Kornblut: I have no idea! That's the beauty of having our editorial board kept completely separate from the newsroom -- no blending of opinion and reporting is the idea -- but it also means I'm as curious as you are. My guess would be right before the primaries here, so sometime between now and Feb. 12, but I don't know. Let me know if you hear anything.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: Is my understanding correct that, as of now, Obama is ahead in the post-Super Tuesday states? The Saturday primaries/caucuses and next Tuesday's Beltway primaries? If he does in fact win most of those, assuming delegates tomorrow are pretty evenly split, does that not give him a lock, or at least close to one, after the Beltway primaries? Thanks for taking the questions.

Anne E. Kornblut: It is hard to measure "ahead" at this point, largely thanks to the complicated arithmetic that goes into calculating delegates awarded. Clinton will go into Feb. 5 with more delegates, and then both sides are more or less expecting them to still be in a real race on Feb. 6 -- with neither side having swept up. Both sides also believe that Obama has an advantage in what you are calling the Beltway primaries (Maryland/Virginia/the District) on Feb. 12. But the Clinton campaign is looking ahead to March 4, when Ohio and Texas award hundreds of delegates, and there are other races in between (Louisiana and Washington state this weekend) so it probably will not be as neat, or quick, as you suggest.

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Roseland, N.J.: Why is it perfectly reasonable that you're mandated to have auto insurance, but anathema you might be mandated to have health insurance?

Anne E. Kornblut: That is the very question that is being debated in the health care debate right now, and the case that the Clinton campaign is making. (Of course, one difference is that there is no liability question in health care, as there is if you hit someone with your car.) It's a great point.

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Washington: Garnishing wages is a terrible idea. I know Hillary said that only the wages of those who could afford it and did not buy would be seized, but how to determine those who can afford it from those who cannot is a big challenge. That gaffe is red meat to the right-wing rabble, and Clinton knows it. For example, if the federal poverty rate for a family of four is $20,000 per year, then will a family of four that earns $21,000 per year have the extra $1,000 seized? The ridiculous examples never end.

Anne E. Kornblut: Another point in this debate...

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Summit, N.J.: Has Hillary's camp released their January fund-raising numbers yet? Is there any chance they approached Obama's $32 million haul? And is it possible that it's actually Obama, the insurgent, who's in better shape to keep money coming in after Super Tuesday, with his broad base of small donors who haven't yet maxed out?

Anne E. Kornblut: The Clinton campaign has not released their January numbers yet (Howard Wolfson, are you out there? The people want to know, not just the media.) Some early estimates from within the campaign were that she might bring in $15 million, but that was an unconfirmed number, and nothing has been officially released. So it is possible that Obama could be well ahead and better financially positioned, yes.

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New York: Thanks for taking our questions. I'm very curious about Sen. Clinton's health regime. I think it's what the New Hampshire woman was getting at. How does she do it (diet and exercise)?

Anne E. Kornblut: It's a great question -- and one I think about all the time, traveling around with her. She keeps a punishing schedule, and does not seem to let it get to her (not the way it gets to me, at least). Not sure exactly what her secrets are; she seems to eat reasonably well, and has the gift of being able to sleep on airplanes. But I know she doesn't have time for long jogs in the park or anything you might imagine would keep her looking and being as alert as she is each day.

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Arlington, Va.: Peter Baker's article about Bill Clinton mentioned how there was "peace and prosperity" during his term as president. Can you explain to your readers why no one seems to mention the first World Trade Center explosion in February 1993 or the Somalia slaughter of U.S. soldiers in October 1993 or the embassy bombings? Why no historical context?

washingtonpost.com: Bill Clinton's Legacy: How Former President Is Viewed Could Affect Vote (Post, Feb. 3)

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a good question. I think it is probably a matter of comparison; apart from the World Trade Center, the events took place overseas, and were not instigated by the U.S. (and the Somalia ordeal began under the first President Bush). By contrast, the five years of war in Iraq have had a much larger impact on many more people back home. But you are correct, it was not an era without conflict, and of course the Sept. 11 plotters and Osama bin Laden were building their organization throughout.

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San Francisco Bay Area: Anne, congratulations to The Post for the Alphonso Jackson story today! I love make-a-difference reporting of more grab, greed and power-mongering by this administration. Topic change here -- tell me what you think of Susan Dunn's article on the case for disunity? She appears to be missing a lot of depth and ultimate fallout on the people.

washingtonpost.com: HUD Chief Accused of Retaliation (Post, Feb. 4)

Anne E. Kornblut: You know, I haven't had a chance to read it, but I'm going to post this so everyone has the link. Thank you for sending.

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Marin County, Calif.: Good morning, Anne. There's lots of talk out here that if Hillary gets the party nomination, McCain get's the presidency. For quite a while, it has seemed to me that the Republicans wanted her to be the Democrats choice. Can you give me some reasons why other than the obvious -- that they think they can beat her?

Anne E. Kornblut: I think that about sums it up (and I hear the same concerns from within the Democratic Party out on this coast as well). Republicans have wanted Clinton to be the nominee for a couple of reasons, it seems to me. One is that they know she riles up the conservative base -- all they have to do is use trigger words, like Whitewater or Monica, to evoke a whole series of negative sentiments about Clinton among certain people. At the same time, she does not appear to have strong appeal to independents nationally, so that would help keep her from building that sort of coalition and thus make her easier to defeat. And lastly, there are some Republicans who genuinely admire her foreign policies, and believe that of all the Democrats she would be the least harmful (from their point of view) when it comes to Iraq and the Middle East -- not withdrawing troops precipitously and having a relatively conservative approach toward dealing with Iran, Israel and rogue states.

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Why is it perfectly reasonable that you're mandated to have auto insurance, but anathema you might be mandated to have health insurance?: Difference: Auto insurance is mandatory not for your sake, but for others. If you get into an accident and you caused it, your insurance has to pay the costs. Without mandatory car insurance, people simply could say they couldn't afford it, leading to a stalemate. Car insurance makes it so the victim of an accident can get their car fixed promptly, not after months trying to get money from someone who doesn't have it. Health insurance does not affect anyone but you, or perhaps your family members -- but that is your choice. If you get cancer, a stranger is not harmed. If you run a red light and smash a car, a stranger is harmed. That's the difference.

Anne E. Kornblut: And a fuller explanation here...

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Alpharetta, Ga.: Obviously it's debatable how much endorsements move voters, but I was wondering how they might matter for organization. I was especially curious about McCaskill and Napolitano?

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a good question -- and I think we will look back at this election once it's over and be able to do a really great study of how endorsements work (Ph.D thesis, anyone?). My sense so far is that in the two cases you cite, they matter for organization, but they matter just as much symbolically -- showing voters that Obama can appeal to women, and in "redder" states. McCaskill is in a compelling ad for Obama, in particular.

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Washington: Is there any movement to eliminate early voting in states like California (and presumably there are others)? I can't imagine voting early, unless I absolutely had to vote absentee -- what if I had voted early for Edwards or Kucinich, for example? Seems like it's providing convenience at an unacceptable cost. Is there any sense that people would like to get rid of this? I assume it's a state decision based on state law to allow for early voting for anyone.

Anne E. Kornblut: I have no idea, but I am going to post this question and see if anyone else does.

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Alexandria, Va.: Would you care to comment on Howard Kurtz's Media Notes column today in which reporters like Roger Simon say the media in general seems to favor Obama over Clinton. Is that true? Would you say the press has an animus against Hillary?

washingtonpost.com: Ask Not ... What the Press Can Do For Obama (Post, Feb. 4)

Anne E. Kornblut: I have spent much, much more time covering Clinton than Obama, so I am in less of a position to measure than a (wonderful) reporter like Roger, but I can say that the level of hostility within the Clinton press corps is really very low. Certainly compared to the combativeness that you saw between Al Gore and the press in 2000 -- not to mention between Bill Clinton and the White House press corps that he loathed in the late 1990s -- the Clinton "bubble," as it's referred to, has been reasonably tame. Now, how that translates into stories is a different matter, and I think that is more what Kurtz/Simon were talking about.

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Washington: Anne, at any point will Obama's standoffish policy toward reporters begin to hurt him? Or will he grow more friendly after the primaries, do you think?

Anne E. Kornblut: That, of course, assumes there is an "after" -- I think generally these candidates tend to loosen up when they are losing and their advisers tell them to go butter up the press corps. Our hope is that everyone someday soon will adopt the McCain policy of hours and hours with reporters, on the record, every day!

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Princeton, N.J.: Uninsured people are a menace in two ways: Not only does it cost the country more money to treat them in ERs, but they wait to get treatment, which leads to all sorts of medical problems. Drug resistant tuberculosis arose because of exactly that reason.

Anne E. Kornblut: And here is another view...

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Fairfax, Va.: I know you all have to remain objective in your reporting and writing, but among yourselves, have the staff writers made any predictions about the results for Tuesday? Is anyone particularly good at guessing the outcomes?

Anne E. Kornblut: It's funny, we usually do start trying to game it out, but I haven't heard anyone making any real predictions yet. This one is too sprawling, I think. Or maybe everyone was too focused on the Super Bowl until now?

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Washington: Well, hang on -- much is being made of Clinton's plan to garnish wages if the family or individual can afford health care and simply doesn't buy it, but take a look at Obama's plan. He states that he wants to force employers to contribute either to the public plan or some private plans -- which will turn into an indirect garnishing of wages once employers wise up and start keeping wages lower in order to pay a lower public health care tax, wouldn't it? It seems like it's just a different road to the same destination.

Anne E. Kornblut: And more on health care...

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Re: California: Anne, I understand Obama's gains might be too late because of early-voting, but doesn't CA split their delegates? I guess I am hoping that he comes away with a solid percentage of their delegates, to temper a California Clinton "win" of the majority. Do I understand California correctly?

Anne E. Kornblut: Yes, that is correct. In California, as in other states in the Democratic primary, 70 percent of the delegates are awarded proportionally based on how well a candidate does in each congressional district, and 30 percent are awarded based on performance statewide (also proportionally). So while Clinton could win outright, Obama could walk away with as many delegates.

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Rockville, Md.: Sorry, I'm confused. I thought Obama had more delegates than Clinton going into Feb. 5, given that delegates in Florida and Michigan, where Clinton won, don't count. But you said Clinton has more delegates. So, I went to another Web site and they said they surveyed "superdelegates" and most of those are going to Clinton. How could they know that? Is it legit to add superdelegates at this point? Might they switch their vote if a nominee already has gained more than 50 percent of the votes?

Anne E. Kornblut: That is correct. Superdelegates already have committed in some cases, but they are free to change their votes up until the convention. At the same time, though, superdelegates do count for 20 percent of the total, so they matter and cannot be discounted entirely ... and that is why both sides are keeping a close eye on the superdelegates, to see if they are movable as the primaries proceed.

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Nokesville, Va.: The right-wingers are charging "whitewash" of Hillary Clinton. They say nobody goes back and demands answers on what Hillary did in Whitewater, the Travel Office firings, her weird $100,000 capital gain in the cattle-futures market, etc. If she becomes the nominee, will the press go back and look into those again? They haven't so far.

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a hard one to answer; a lot of time and energy (and public dollars) were poured into those investigations in the 1990s and yielded little in the way of charges. But if the conservatives press the case, or launch other charges from more recent years, your guess is as good as mine.

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Voting early vs. absentee ballot: My parents lived in California and in their later years, owing to health problems making it difficult for them to get to the polls, switched to voting by absentee ballot. That's not necessarily the same thing as voting a month early, especially for an able-bodied person or someone who anticipates being in town on Election Day. Usually my parents waited until the last reasonably possible time before mailing in their ballots, in case of comparatively late-breaking campaign developments (the equivalent of Edwards and Giuliani withdrawing from their presidential primaries).

Anne E. Kornblut: Here's another one on early voting. ... Thank you for this comment.

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Health insurance does not affect anyone but you, or perhaps your family members -- but that is your choice.: That's right. If you don't have health insurance and you're in an auto accident or catch tuberculosis or typhoid, and you nor your family haven't the money to pay for treatment, we're just gonna let you die in the street or infect the rest of us. Come on. Of course your "choice" affects the rest of us. Sheesh!

Anne E. Kornblut: This is why this debate is so interesting, and strikes such a chord -- it is about not only health insurance but also our own views of society at large, and what role government has or should have in providing for people's welfare.

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New York: With respect to Hillary's Iraq vote, I am surprised that neither she nor anyone in her campaign has pointed out that in a very close call, it is always necessary to take into the equation the safety of the American people. After all, in a WMD situation, there are no second guesses if you are wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20!

Anne E. Kornblut: Yes, and hindsight has become the invisible (or not-so-invisible) character in the campaign, hasn't it?

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Minneapolis: Interesting article on McCain, his temperament and his Senate colleagues today. McCain will run as a character-based candidate, but that cuts both ways, doesn't it? You thrive by character, you can get taken down by character, and his own Republican colleagues have raised major questions about whether he as an individual is fit to be president. How will this play, on balance?

washingtonpost.com: GOP Senators Reassess Views About McCain (Post, Feb. 4)

Anne E. Kornblut: Hard to say, but certainly McCain's personality is a huge part of his candidacy -- for better and worse.

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Odenton, Md.: And a good morning to the Eli Manning of Washington Post political chats! How is McCain doing in the polls from the "big" Super Tuesday states -- California, New York, Illinois and Georgia?

Anne E. Kornblut: I have not been paying attention to the polling in individual states on the Republican side, but I do know that Romney added a last-minute trip back to California, which suggests it must be closer there than he initially had thought.

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Washington: Many pundits have argued that there is very little difference on the issues between Sens. Clinton and Obama besides the mandate for their health insurance plans. Taking that assumption as true for a minute, other than Iraq, have either of the two candidates outlined what would be their top three or four priorities if elected?

Anne E. Kornblut: Another difference that comes to mind is that Clinton has said she would put Social Security further back on her agenda -- that it is not a crisis, and should be addressed by balancing the budget overall first and foremost. Obama has said it should be confronted earlier, and describes it as being in more trouble.

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Absentee Voting...: is a godsend for me. I have used it for years and it doesn't allow me to vote more than two weeks or so early. There is no parking around my polling place, and because I have to leave before the polls open in order to be at work on time and the evening commute can get me home anywhere between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. depending on where someone has decided to smash into someone else and who looky-loos at the guy changing a flat tire. I vote for an entire vote-by-mail system like Oregon. One benefit: a paper trail!

Anne E. Kornblut: A vote for early voting!

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Tampa, Fla.: My question concerns McCain and campaign finance reform. Would not McCain in the White House and the Democrats controlling Congress be the best chance for real campaign finance reform? With McCain in the White House, the GOPers in Congress would have to oppose the head of their own party to stop campaign finance reform. Wouldn't it be much easier for them to stick together on this issue if Hillary or Obama were president rather than McCain? Although I would much rather see Hillary or Obama win than any GOPer, I see this scenario as a silver lining to the dark cloud of the conservatism. And would not this also be true with the issue of torture?

Anne E. Kornblut: Great questions all. And another reason that Democrats are worried about seeing McCain potentially become the GOP nominee.

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Clinton investigations yielded little in the way of charges: I think you meant to say the investigations found little evidence to back a prosecution. If I recall correctly, there were charges leveled repeatedly against the Clintons. In fact, pretty much every day there was an attack published in The Post and New York Times.

Anne E. Kornblut: So I guess what I should have said is: There would be a lot of re-litigating what happened in the 1990s, regardless of who was right.

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Ann Coulter: I saw her defending Clinton over McCain on that show I usually never would watch. I can't figure it out though -- is she trying to drive Democrats away from Hillary? If so, why? I thought the Republicans wanted Hillary to get the nod?

Anne E. Kornblut: I didn't see the exact quote, but my understanding is that she is among the conservatives who still despise McCain regarding his immigration stance. And let's not forget that it is the contrarian thing to say that...

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: Seriously: all these "No Mandate!" people want a free lunch. They want to get away with not buying health insurance for as long as possible, because they think when they get sick, they can start crying. "Waaah! Cover me! It's not fair!" Quite honestly, they're no better than W, who thinks our health care is great because everyone can just show up at the emergency room.

Anne E. Kornblut: More on health care...

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New York: Reporters are smart, right? So why do comparisons of Obama and JFK go unchallenged? Why do reporters act as if JFK was the greatest president who ever lived, when most historians agree he is greatly overrated?

Anne E. Kornblut: This is one of the things I love about this election -- a great venue for discussing the recent past, and history as well. You could write a book about the collective memories of "great" presidents, both JFK on the Democratic side and Reagan on the Republican side, and each side's efforts to reinvent their idols.

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St. Louis: Can you briefly explain the Obama camp's current small-state strategy? Were they just taken by surprise that so many delegate-rich states suddenly came into play, or do they really see the small (red) state strategy as the best path to the nomination? Also, what do Obama's aides mean when they keep saying that caucus states are "better" for a candidate like Obama? After what (supposedly) happened election night in New Hampshire, I can't imagine Bill Clinton on Sodium Pentothal saying something like that!

Anne E. Kornblut: My understanding is that the Obama campaign sees a lot of delegates up for grabs in small states because the states are "redder" and haven't been the focus of as much Clinton attention over time. Winning in a state such as Idaho would also give the campaign license to add that to a "win" column, regardless of how big a win it really is. And it would also let Obama talk about his ability to win coast-to-coast in every kind of state in the general election, rather than in just states like New York and California, where a Democrat will win no matter who the nominee is.

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Coulter, again: See, she wasn't even talking about immigration, she was talking more about Iraq and defense spending. Hmm. You are probably right, she just wants to be contrary and get attention. Dang it, I fell for it again.

Anne E. Kornblut: Oops, sorry -- thanks for the correction here.

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How do the candidates do it?: Doping scandal?

Anne E. Kornblut: LOL. That would be a story.

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C-SPAN: I also saw the UCLA event and the Ladies for Obama were outstanding, uplifting and inspiring. Mrs. Obama deserves more limelight. I am a 41-year-old female Democrat, and am about as sick of the Clintons as I am of O.J. If she is the nominee, I will vote for McCain. I can imagine there are many that feel the way I do.

Anne E. Kornblut: And another view...

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Springfield, Va.: In relation to early voters, aren't their votes considered in polls? If an early voter receives a call asking whom they intend to vote for, wouldn't they indicate that they already had voted and indicate for which candidate they voted?

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a great question, and yet another one I don't know the answer to! I will find out. My suspicion is that there are so many fewer early voters that it's hard to find a meaningful sample of them. But again, that's just a guess.

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Time off to vote on Election Day: Re the person who leaves for work before the polls open, and doesn't get home till anywhere between 6 and 8 PM: Aren't employers legally required to allow their workers enough time to vote on election days?

Anne E. Kornblut: That's a good point.

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Anne E. Kornblut: Thank you, everyone, for another great day of questions. Keep it coming and have a great Super Tuesday ... and fasten your seatbelts.

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