Quote of the Day

"I’ve never enjoyed such a good source inside the White House."

-- Robert Novak, quoted by Editor & Publisher, on Karl Rove.

Will Lamar Leave the Senate?

According to the Nashville City Paper, Sen. Lamar Alexander's (R-TN) "name is being bandied about largely by Vanderbilt staff as a possible replacement for" the outgoing Chancellor. Alexander is a former U.S. Secretary of Education and a Vanderbilt graduate.

Ohio Considers January Primary

The Ohio State Senate is considering a bill that would move the state’s primary up to January 29, 2008, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer.

If the bill is adopted, Ohio, whose primary is currently scheduled for March 4, would share its new primary date in late January with Florida.

McCain Vows to Stay in Race

Sen. John McCain told ABC News "that only 'contracting a fatal disease' will cause him to drop out of the presidential race before the primaries begin, as he vowed to take his campaign directly to the voters of New Hampshire and other early-voting states as a means of compensating for his financial difficulties."

Congressional Approval in Free Fall

According to the latest AP-Ipsos survey, public satisfaction with Congress has fallen 11 points since May, to just 24% -- matching "its previous low, which came in June 2006, five months before Democrats won control of the House and Senate due to public discontent with the job Republicans were doing."

Meanwhile, President Bush's job approval rating remained virtually unchanged since last month at 33%.

"Poll respondents from both political parties say they're tired of the fighting between Congress and the White House, and want the two branches of government to work together on such issues as education, health care and the Iraq war."

C&E Online

Here's a bonus for Political Wire readers: A complete digital replica of the latest issue of Campaigns & Elections magazine is available online at no charge.

Clinton, Giuliani Maintain Double-Digit Leads

A new American Research Group survey finds Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to lead the Democratic presidential race nationally with 38% support, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 25%, and John Edwards at 16%.

Among Republicans, Rudy Giuliani leads with 30%, followed by Fred Thompson at 17%, John McCain at 14%, Newt Gingrich at 10% and Mitt Romney at 10%.

Quote of the Day

"We had a spending problem, a message problem, a spending problem... that’s nobody’s fault but mine. We began the campaign believing our own b.s., and I’m very guilty of that."

-- Former McCain campaign strategist John Weaver, in an interview with New York magazine.

Nixon Aide Wanted GOP to Recruit Kerry

"Even as the Nixon administration was plotting in 1971 to destroy John F. Kerry, then the young, charismatic leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War," the Washington Post notes "the president's top political strategist apparently didn't get the memo. Instead, the operative, Murray Chotiner, wrote his own note advocating that the Republican Party recruit Kerry."

Wrote Chotiner: "He is a Yale graduate and is inclined toward the 'establishment.' His background could be Republican."

"The memo was included in about 80,000 pages of documents released Wednesday by the National Archives, which oversees the Nixon library."

Two New Political Novels

The Wall Street Journal reviews "two wicked new novels" which "give detailed lessons in the art of D.C. jujitsu -- simultaneously shaking someone's hand, passing him a drink and stabbing him in the back."

The Coup by Playboy managing editor Jamie Malanowski "out-Buckleys Christopher Buckley with its foul-mouthed honchos, twisted strivers and snaky reporters, all of them slightly less deserving of respect than their counterparts in real life (or so one hopes). The plot springs from the exasperated ambition of Godwin Pope -- wonderful sanctimony in that name -- a software mogul who, caught by a passing wave of outsider adulation, finds himself running for president."

Jeffrey Frank's Trudy Hopedale "is chilly, taking us on a brief journey through a few months in the capital-city lives of two unreliable narrators: the title character, a Washington hostess and television personality given to fawning dinner parties and extreme unction; and one of her favorite guests, Donald Frizzé, a stuffy young historian whose books, about forgotten vice presidents, are in no danger of being read. Each of these people has a few secrets that it wouldn't be proper to mention aloud -- whispering is so much better."

Meanwhile, if you're looking for summer reading with a political edge, check out Political Wire's recent bestseller list.

The Coup: A Novel
Buy it from Amazon.com

McCain's Troubles Continue

The Wall Street Journal has the definitive story on the implosion of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and the fall of chief strategist John Weaver.

Meanwhile, "the turmoil in the McCain campaign continued yesterday. In Iowa, which holds the first presidential-nominating contest, top aides Ed Failor Jr. and Karen Slifka said they were quitting in solidarity with those whose resignations were accepted Tuesday, particularly former campaign manager Terry Nelson... Tomorrow, the press-communications team is planning to resign, people familiar with the matter say."

Compounding the problems, McCain's second-quarter financial report to be filed this weekend is expected to show a debt of about $1.8 million.

What to do now? Thomas Edsall notes McCain "has no choice but to adopt a high risk strategy to revive his presidential bid, a double Hail Mary: Throw one stink bomb at the White House and another at Republican National Committee headquarters."

DCCC Outraises NRCC

In the second quarter, the NRCC raised $13 million and closed "the period with around 'a couple' of million dollars in cash on hand," reports Roll Call.

Meanwhile, "the DCCC raised $17 million during the second quarter, while banking around $19 million."

Thompson Backs Off Abortion Lobbying Denial

"Fred Thompson is backing off his flat denial that he once lobbied for an abortion-rights group. He now says he doesn’t remember it, but does not dispute evidence to the contrary," reports The Politico.

"The climb-down could be a significant embarrassment for a prospective candidate with a plain-spoken appeal and who has courted the GOP’s anti-abortion base, although Thompson and his advisers had signaled for several days that it was coming."

Bush Approval Sinks to Nixon Levels

President Bush's approval level slipped to 26% in the most recent Harris Interactive survey. The rating is the lowest of his presidency and matches President Richard Nixon's lowest approval rating in Harris polls taken during the height of the Watergate scandal.

Vice President Cheney’s approval rating is just 21%.

Insiders Pick Giuliani, Romney and Clinton as Most Likely Nominees

Political Wire got an advance look at the new National Journal Political Insiders Poll which asked congressional and political insiders who they thought would win their party's presidential nomination in 2008.

Among Republican Insiders, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are in a dead heat, followed by Fred Thompson and John McCain, with Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee tied for fifth.

"In the volatile GOP contest, Romney’s steady rise in the poll is credited to his organizational strength in Iowa and New Hampshire and his fundraising capability. At the same time many Republican Insiders feel Thompson is a contender because conservatives have yet to coalesce behind any of the frontrunners. In the March survey Thompson was not even ranked in the top 10. McCain, who was ranked first in the poll as recently as last December, second in March, and third in April has fallen to fourth. Amid continued fundraising woes and a staff shake-up, many Republican Insiders see his campaign in free fall, but some are not ready to count him out."

Among Democratic Insiders, Hillary Clinton maintains her strong lead, followed by Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Al Gore.

"Clinton has been ranked as the top contender for the nomination in every poll since National Journal began conducting its 2008 presidential poll in April, 2005. While he is still ranked third in the poll, Edwards has lost support since the last previous survey in April."

The full poll will be released tomorrow afternoon.

Bloomberg More Popular Than Giuliani

Political Wire got an advance look at a new Marist Poll which tests New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

• 66% of New York City voters rate the job Bloomberg is doing as excellent or good
• 52% of New York City voters think Bloomberg has been a better mayor compared with 39% who think Rudy Giuliani was
• 54% of voters do not want Bloomberg to run for president in 2008 although this is down from 72% who felt this way last year
• Despite rave reviews as mayor, Bloomberg receives only 21% from city voters in a hypothetical contest for president against Hillary Clinton who receives 49% and Giuliani who receives 22%.

How to Handle a Scandal

Margaret Carlson: "The standard playbook for disgraced politicians is all too familiar. Apologies should be generic with no mention of a specific transgression. The voice should be passive. If your wife hasn't already filed for divorce, vow to spend more time with her and the children."

"If everybody's still on board, humiliate them further by making them stand with you at your press conference. Bring God into it. Promise that next time you'll consult Him a lot earlier in the process and show gratitude for his commandment to your constituents about not casting the first stone."

Faith of the Candidates

According to a new Time poll on religion, "only 15% of registered voters believe that Hillary Clinton is "strongly religious," compared to 22% for John Edwards and 24% for Barack Obama."

"When it comes to the Republican field, Mitt Romney ranks far above the rest of the pack. Fully 26% of all voters think Romney is a person of strong religious faith."

Other key findings:

• Giuliani and Clinton have the lowest religious faith rating.
• By a two-to-one margin, Republicans say a president should use his faith to guide his presidential decisions; by contrast, Democrats reject this idea by a similar two-to-one margin.
• 43% of voters now say Bush’s use of religion has divided America, up from 27% in 2004.

This week's Time cover story looks at how the three leading Democratic presidential candidates have embraced religion in their campaigns.

Complete survey results are available.

Obama Launches Book Clubs

"Stealing a page from Oprah Winfrey -- his close friend and fellow Chicago celebrity -- Sen. Barack Obama launched book clubs in a dozen New Hampshire towns and online this week," the Chicago Tribune reports.

"His life story is the first topic of discussion. With their assigned reading being Dreams from My Father, Obama's best-selling memoir that has become his unofficial campaign handbook, a small group of his followers settled in at the SecondRun used bookstore in this coastal city for a two-hour discussion."

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Buy it from Amazon.com

State Legislator Accused Of Soliciting Sex In Men's Room

Florida state Rep. Bob Allen (R) "was arrested Wednesday and charged with soliciting an undercover male officer for sex at a park in Central Florida," WKMG-TV reports. Allen is married and has a child.

"Investigators said Allen was acting suspicious and went in and out of the men's restroom at Veteran's Memorial Park, located on East Broad Street. Minutes later, authorities said, Allen solicited the male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20."

Allen was named co-chair of Sen. John McCain's Florida campaign in March.