“This is the year when we can’t have any surprises with our candidate.”
— Michele Bachmann, quoted by the AP, taking a shot at rival Herman Cain as he defends himself against allegations of sexual harassment.
Obama Approval Bounces Back
A new Quinnipiac poll finds President Obama’s job approval rating is split with 47% approving and 49% disapproving — a significant improvement from last month when he held a 41% to 55% approval.
Voters also are divided 47% to 49% on whether he deserves reelection, compared to last month, when a majority said he did not deserve reelection.
National Journal: “Still, there are indications that the poll could just be a blip. There is little change in the crosstabs by party from last month, when Romney led Obama by four points. Independents broke for Romney by five points in each survey, yet, overall, there was a nine-point swing. It simply appears that this month’s sample is significantly more Democratic.”
Cain Continues to Lead GOP Field
A new Quinnipiac poll finds Herman Cain leading the Republican presidential field nationally with 30%, followed by Mitt Romney with 23%, Newt Gingrich with 10% and Rick Perry with 8%. No other candidate tops 7 percent.
Cain leads a head-to-head race with Romney among Republican voters, 47% to 39%, “coming close to the critical 50% mark, even though more Republicans think Romney has the knowledge and experience to be president.”
Cain’s Accuser Received a Year’s Salary
One of Herman Cain’s accusers received $35,000 — a full year’s salary — in severance pay after an encounter with Cain “made her uncomfortable working there, three people with direct knowledge of the payment,” the New York Times reports.
Arizona GOP Attempts to Take Control of Redistricting
Arizona’s Republican-controlled state Senate voted to endorse Gov. Jan Brewer’s (R) removal of the independent chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, “triggering a rush to court and the likely start of an unprecedented constitutional battle,” the Arizona Republic reports.
“The actions are unprecedented in Arizona history; it’s only the second time since the independent commission was established by voters 11 years ago that the panel has taken on the task of drawing political boundaries.”
John Avlon: “If Brewer gets away with this power grab, it will suddenly appear on the
menu of every other governor looking to artificially preserve his or
her party’s hold on power, Republican or Democrat. It is nothing less
than an attempt to hijack representative democracy.”
Accuser Wants to Talk Publicly About Cain
A lawyer for one of the women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment wants to tell her side of the story but is barred by a confidentiality agreement, the Washington Post reports.
Said lawyer Joel Bennett: “It is just frustrating that Herman Cain is going around bad-mouthing the two complainants, and my client is blocked by a confidentiality agreement.”
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Cain declined to release the woman from the agreement.
Said Cain: “I just found out about this today. I can’t give you a definitive answer on that until we consult with our attorneys.”
Clinton Would Help Obama Win Florida
A new Suffolk University poll in Florida finds President Obama struggling in the low 40% range in head-to-head matchups with Mitt Romney and Herman Cain, he rockets to 50% when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is added to the Democratic ticket.
The Republican presidential ticket is also helped when adding Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as the vice presidential candidate, but not nearly as much as the Democratic ticket is enhanced by adding Clinton.
Said pollster David Paleologos: “In Florida, Marco Rubio is superman, but Hillary Clinton is the kryptonite.”
Romney, Cain Lead in Florida
A new Suffolk University poll in Florida finds Mitt Romney just ahead of Herman Cain among Republican presidential primary voters, 25% to 24%, with Newt Gingrich at 11%, Rick Perry at 9%, and Ron Paul at 5%.
All other candidates are at 2% or less and 20% of registered Republicans are still undecided.
Dubs Goes to Washington
Just published: Dubs Goes to Washington: And Discovers the Greatness of America by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann.
Morris explains to Sean Hannity: “What we want to do Sean was that, we — there is no book that kids can buy that shows our heritage and our heroes in a positive light. Everything is P. C. So, what we do in this is we take the like the Iwo Jima Memorial, and we have a poem attached to it, which is the battle was won by the U.S. marines in one of history’s most famous scenes and when we meet the men who kept insured the freedom never fails, people say thanks and dogs wag their tails.”
Tea Party Dwindles in Maine
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R-ME) prospects for winning the GOP nomination for another term are looking the best they have in two years.
Two years ago, just 31% of Maine Republicans stood with Snowe, while 59% wanted to replace her with someone more conservative. Now, 46% of primary voters in the state stand with Snowe compared to only 47% who want to replace her with someone more conservative.
Key finding: Just 21% of Republican primary voters identify as Tea Partiers. While they want to replace Snowe with someone more conservative by an 80% to 16% margin, they’re drowned out by the rest of the GOP electorate supporting Snowe 58% to 36%.
McCaskill Embraces Obama, Campaign Help
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) made clear that she “will be asking President Barack Obama to come to Missouri within the next few months to campaign for her, and help her raise money for her 2012 bid for re-election,” according to the St. Louis Beacon.
Said McCaskill, “I don’t always agree with the president. He’ll be the first to tell you that. But I support the president.”
The Hotline: “Vulnerable Democrats in comparable positions should take notice. Opponents will tie McCaskill to Obama no matter what she does… If you are going to be tied to an unpopular president, you may as well let him use his standing to help you raise some money along the way.”
Rich Lawmakers Get Richer
Members of Congress had a collective net worth of more than $2 billion
in 2010, a nearly 25% increase over the 2008 total, Roll Call reports.
Nearly 90% of that increase is concentrated in the 50 richest lawmakers.
Perry Starts Ads in New Hampshire
Rick Perry will go on the air with his “I’m a doer not a talker” ad starting tomorrow in New Hampshire, NBC News reports. The same ad began running in Iowa this week.
An adviser called it a “significant statewide buy” but would not elaborate on how much money was spent.
Cain Still Strong in North Carolina
A Public Policy Polling survey done over the weekend found Herman Cain leading Newt Gingrich, 30% to 22%, with Mitt Romney at 19%, Rick Perry at 10% and all other candidates below 5% support.
“The North Carolina results are particularly worth noting because it’s the first state we’ve polled twice since Cain began his surge in late September. Cain was at 27% on the first poll and expanded his support to 30% this past weekend. If anything those numbers suggest Cain was continuing to build momentum before the Politico revelations on Sunday.”
Most interesting: “If Cain’s candidacy does implode in the coming weeks our numbers suggest the candidate poised to benefit the most is Newt Gingrich.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’ve been in Washington 35 years… and I’ve never seen a time when
people have put their own personal political feelings over how we can
get the economy moving.”
— Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the only Republican in President Obama’s cabinet, telling the Daily Beast that his party “is more committed to defeating the president than creating jobs.”
Cain’s Wife to Give Interview
Herman Cain said that his wife, Gloria Cain, will soon give an “exclusive” interview, the Washington Post reports.
“It is by now a cliche — the political wife standing by her political husband as a kind of prop and validator as questions of some impropriety swirl about. What is unknown is whether her appearance will quell the speculation and allow Cain to return to his unconventional, take-it-straight-to-the-people campaign.”
The New York Times reports the interview with be on Friday night on Fox News.
Campaigns Deny They Were Behind Cain Story
The presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Jon Hunstman all tell The Hill they had nothing to do with the Herman Cain sexual harassment story.
Huntsman Re-Establishes Utah Residence
Jon Huntsman told the Salt Lake Tribune that he and his wife recently purchased a condo in Salt Lake City.
Said Huntsman: “I’m a resident of Utah, and I always want to be. I’d like to spend more time out there, but right now it’s all on the road.”
“The presidential hopeful had sold his Salt Lake City home in 2005, when he moved into the Governor’s Mansion and later, when he resigned to take on the role of U.S. ambassador to China, used the mansion’s address for his voting registration as allowed by law for someone serving the government abroad. Huntsman bought a $3.6 million home in Washington, D.C., in June 2010, but he calls the Utah condo home.”
