Larry Sabato: “As the calendar turns to September, the nation’s marquee race in 2013 is coming into focus: Terry McAuliffe (D) now has an edge over Ken Cuccinelli (R) in the Virginia gubernatorial race, and we’re changing our rating in the contest from toss-up to Leans Democratic.”
Bush Refuses to Weigh In on Syria
Former President George W. Bush told Fox News that he is “not a fan” of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, but he refused to be “roped in” to the debate over whether the U.S. should launch a military strike on Syria.
Said Bush: “The president’s got a tough choice to make, and if he decides to use our military, he’ll have the greatest military ever backing him up.”
Thinking of Going Back to School?
Get more information on these Political Wire sponsors:
American University Offers Online International Relations Degree
The School of International Service
(SIS) at American University is dedicated to developing leaders in the
global community. SIS’s innovative online Master of Arts in
International Relations degree allows you to study at the heart of
international affairs in Washington, D.C., while connecting with a
global network of dedicated peers. Students learn from world-renowned AU
professors, and have the opportunity to select a concentration in
either Global Security and Conflict Resolution or Sustainable
International Development.
UNC-Chapel Hill Offers MPA Program Online
The online Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at the
top-ranked School of Government at the University for North Carolina at
Chapel Hill aims to shape leaders in public service, a field that is
expected to grow in visibility and importance over the next decade and
beyond. The MPA@UNC program
is designed with working professionals in mind, offering the
accessibility and flexibility of online education with the best of UNC’s
on-campus experience, including a virtual classroom setting, to
effectively teach tomorrow’s public service leaders.
Will Obama Go-It-Alone?
President Obama “had hoped for a quick, convincing strike on Syria, but growing opposition and Great Britain’s stunning rejection of the attack has thrust him into the uncomfortable position of go-it-alone hawk,” Politico reports.
“Just how Obama, whose career sprung from the ashes of George W. Bush’s Iraq policy, got to this extraordinary moment in his presidency is a tale of good intentions, seat-of-the-pants planning and, above all, how a cautious commander-in-chief became imprisoned by a promise.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“No, that’s not my thing. I did that.”
— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in an interview with National Journal, on whether she ever wants to be Speaker of the House again.
New Poll Gives Spitzer a Healthy Lead
A new New York Times-Siena poll finds Eliot Spitzer crushing Scott Stringer in the Democratic race for New York City Comptroller, 50% to 35%.
This contrasts with a Quinnipiac poll released yesterday which found the race a dead heat.
Big Majority Want Congressional Approval on Syria
A new NBC News poll finds nearly 80% of Americans believe President Obama should receive congressional approval before using force in Syria.
Key findings: 50% believe the United States should not intervene in the wake of suspected chemical weapons attacks by Syrian President Bashar Assad. But the public is more supportive of military action when it’s limited to launching cruise missiles from U.S. naval ships – 50% favor that kind of intervention, while 44% oppose it.
Quote of the Day
“Words to me are like thunder. They make a lot of noise, but they don’t
accomplish anything. And that’s how I feel. And
if that takes me down, it takes me down.”
— Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), quoted by the Washington Post, on the controversial things he says.
Another Poll Shows de Blasio Pulling Away
A new New York Times-Siena College Poll in New York City finds Bill de Blasio leading the Democratic mayoral race with 32%, followed by Bill Thompson at 18%, Christine Quinn at 17%, Anthony Weiner at 11% and John Liu at 3%.
“With so little time left in the primary, Mr. de Blasio’s commanding lead will quite likely force his Democratic rivals to recalibrate their strategies, intensify their attacks and seek to land decisive blows against him during the final televised debate next week.”
Meanwhile, a new amNewYork-News 12 poll shows de Blasio at 29%, Thompson at 24%, Quinn at 17%, Weiner at 10% and Liu at 5%.
Republicans Go Back to the Future
Charlie Cook: “With all of the talk among some Republicans in Congress about impeachment and shutting down the government to stop Obamacare or force entitlement-spending cuts, you’d think that they were living in another reality back in the 1990s. Republicans were pursuing similar missions then, and things didn’t work out so well for the GOP. For those in need of a quick history lesson, all you need to know is that Republicans managed to lose House seats in the midterm elections of 1998. It was the only time since World War II that the party in the White House (Democrats) gained seats in a second-term, midterm election. Talk about seizing defeat from the jaws of victory!”
Obama Super PAC Pivots to Back Clinton
“Priorities USA Action, the pro-Obama super PAC that led attacks against Republican Mitt Romney, is quietly positioning itself to become the main independent group funding a media campaign for Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 presidential race,” the Washington Post reports.
“Strategists and donors to Priorities are in discussions about how best to help Clinton should she decide to run again for president.”
Man Threatens to Behead Lawmaker
The FBI arrested a man accused of threatening to decapitate freshman Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), the Washington Post reports.
Stringer Says Spitzer Should Be in Jail
Capital New York has a mailer from Scott Stringer’s New York City comptroller campaign that lacerates Eliot Spitzer (D).
The outside of the mailer shows a pair of hands outside of prison bars, and on the inside, is Spitzer’s smiling face: “Anyone else who committed Eliot Spitzer’s crimes would go to jail. He secretly wired money to criminal enterprises and solicited prostitutes” but “faced no legal consequences for his behavior.”
McAuliffe Up by Seven Points
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe (D) leading Ken Cuccinelli (R) in the race for governor by seven points, 44% to 37%.
Update: A new Emerson College poll shows McAuliffe with a 10 point lead, 45% to 35%.
Cory Booker’s Imaginary Friend?
Sources tell National Review that “the central character in one of Cory Booker’s oft-repeated stories — T-Bone, the drug pusher who the mayor has said threatened his life at one turn and sobbed on his shoulder the next — is a figment of his imagination, even though Booker has talked about him in highly emotional terms and in great detail.”
Rutgers University history professor Clement Price says Booker conceded to him in 2008 that T-Bone was a “composite” of several people he’d met while living in Newark.
Secretive Super PAC May Be Breaking the Law
“A supposedly Texas-based super PAC is living up to its hush-hush name — and potentially breaking federal law in the process,” the Center for Public Integrity reports.
“Secretive Politics, which in August 2012 filed organizational paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, has yet to submit one mandatory campaign finance report or otherwise disclose a dime of what it’s raised or spent.”
The person or people behind the super PAC are nowhere to be found.
New York City Comproller’s Race is a Dead Heat
A new Quinnipiac poll in New York City finds Scott Stringer (D) has wiped out Eliot Spitzer’s (D) 19-point lead in the Democratic primary for New York City comptroller and now is locked in a 46% to 46% tie.
Anderson Cooper Takes Apart Pat Robertson
The video from CNN is a thing to behold.
