Monday, June 25, 2007; 11:00 AM
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 Shailagh Murray was online Monday, June 25, at 11 a.m. ET .
The transcript follows.
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Washington: Great article on Dick Cheney! Why does his influence surprise anyone? Hasn't this been the unwritten "secret" since Bush took office?
washingtonpost.com:Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency (Related) Angler (Post, June 24-27)
Shailagh Murray: Good morning everyone.
Lots of great feedback on the Cheney series, we're all very proud of our colleagues Bart and Jo. And lots going on in Congress, on the political front -- so bring on your thoughts and questions.
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Silver Spring, Md.: Shailagh, do you think it is off-limits for reporters to discuss a presidential candidate's religion? I really don't get this sacred cow. Our most recent president dragged us into a destructive and destabilizing war based on a conversation he purportedly had with "God." That's according to the Palestinian foreign minister, as interviewed by the BBC. If there's a likelihood that religious delusions will guide a president's foreign policy, it is my business to know about it before I vote.
washingtonpost.com:God told me to invade Iraq, Bush tells Palestinian ministers (Related) (BBC press release, June 10, 2005)
Shailagh Murray: No, I do not think religion should be off-limits. If a candidate has a strong religious identity, voters deserve to know how it influences their thinking and actions. I think we as reporters are too cautious on this subject.
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Anchorage, Alaska: Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno said Friday that "Potentially, we could have a decision to reduce our forces." Gen. Petraeus apparently dispelled that comment, saying in essence that he disagrees that "potentially we could," which therefore seems to mean, no, there is no potential that we could. How will Congress accept the Petraeus comment?
Shailagh Murray: I don't expect too much movement on the war until September, when Gen. Petraeus delivers his progress report on the surge.
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Arlington, Va.: With last week's vote in the House for the contraceptives bill without the abstinence requirement, how do you think it will play out in the Senate? I know the president has promised to veto any legislation with this as a part of it, but do you think that will cause the Senate to really fight for/against it?
washingtonpost.com:Democrats Pass Provision for Contraceptives in House Foreign Aid Bill (Related) (Post, June 22)
Shailagh Murray: I thought that vote was really interesting. The Senate had more or less intended to follow the House's lead on this subject, so a similar amendment may well surface there. Obviously contraception is a more widely accepted issue than abortion.
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Durango, Colo.: I have a recollection of the 1996 presidential campaign in which the Clinton campaign was questioned regarding its fundraising tactics. My recollection is that Clinton said something along the lines of "we're in a fight for our lives," or words to that effect. My understanding of campaign finance laws is that a candidate, or his/her spouse, may use as much of his own personal money as she wishes. Now comes Mr. Clinton earning millions for speaking engagements.
Here's the scenario: Mr. and Mrs. Clinton decide that they should use their "personal" funds to further Mrs. Clinton's campaign. Aha! another way to skirt campaign finance laws. Mr. Clinton earned this speech money as a private citizen. None of those speeches were in any way shape or form intended to raise funds for a campaign. After all, he did pay income taxes on that speech income. Didn't he?
washingtonpost.com:Clintons Dissolve Blind Financial Trust (Related) (Post, June 15)
Shailagh Murray: Durango -- what a cool town.
I'm no authority on campaign finance laws, but the point of this question is that when it comes to the Clintons, the controversy will just never end.
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Chicago: Thanks for taking our questions. What is the final deadline by which the primary calendar has to be set? Will any states be trying to move up their primary dates given Florida's attempt to move up to Jan. 29?
Shailagh Murray: There is no real deadline -- individual states can do what they want on primary dates, although the calendar should be more or less settled by the end of the summer. South Carolina and Michigan may move up their Jan. 29 dates to get ahead of Florida. It's a crazy game of musical chairs.
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Naperville, Ill.: What's up with the Iowa straw poll in August? Will it mean much if Giuliani, Thompson and McCain all refuse to participate? Or is it significant that they are not participating?
Shailagh Murray: You're right, it won't mean much. The straw poll's demise is a casualty of the front-loaded calendar -- as grassroots campaigning in general appears to be.
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Alexandria, Va.: I very much enjoyed reading Ed Rollins' job application to become Bloomberg's campaign manager in the Outlook section yesterday. Does The Post often provide these services outside the Help Wanted section?
washingtonpost.com:Come on In, Mike. It Could Be a Wild Ride. (Related) (Post, June 24)
Shailagh Murray: Hey, we're a dying industry -- we should do whatever it takes to find new revenue streams!
But all this swooning over Bloomberg makes me wonder if the current crop of candidates hasn't gotten stale even earlier than we thought.
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Germantown, Md.: How do you pronounce your first name? Am I a jerk for asking?
Shailagh Murray: It's easier than it looks: Shay-lah.
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St. Paul, Minn.: Hi Shailagh -- The Washington Post's series on Cheney is both fascinating and frightening. In the end, though, does the White House really care, given how poorly this administration is doing with the public? Also, how big an issue do you see this being in the upcoming campaign? Will we see questions to candidates about whether their potential vice presidents will have unchecked powers and will get to pick which branch of government they feel like belonging to?
Shailagh Murray: The short answer is, no, they apparently do not care -- otherwise the war would be over, Gonzalez would be gone, Rumsfeld would have left far earlier, etc., etc. For all of you out there who cursed President Clinton's poll-driven administration, who bemoan the focus groups that define campaign issues nowadays, the Bush administration is practicing the opposite approach. We'll see if that proves an aberration or a new trend.
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New York: Shailagh, what's the chance that senators who helped block the immigration bill will fall into line this time? Thanks.
washingtonpost.com:Immigration Bill: One More Shot (Related) (Post, June 25)
Shailagh Murray: We really can't tell. It depends on how the week progresses and which amendments pass. This debate is very tough to read and probably will remain so until it's over. None of the principals are willing to predict the outcome. So that should reassure you -- even the so-called experts are in the dark!
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Williamsburg, Va.: Wouldn't some of the smaller states with Feb. 5 primaries have a better chance of playing a major role by delaying their primary a week or two? If there are still a few candidates standing after Feb. 5, then Virginia and Maryland (on Feb. 12) will become very important.
Shailagh Murray: I find it hard to imagine how any of these states are going to matter individually, once they become part of a big primary blob. It's so depressing. This will all come down to television ads.
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Atlanta: Shailagh, there is a lot of anger and disagreement being expressed on right-wing talk radio about the Immigration Bill. Do you think this will have any effect on whether the bill ultimately passes?
Shailagh Murray: Oh my goodness, yes. Conservative talk radio has had a bigger influence on this bill than just about any other single force.
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New York: Hi Shailagh, thanks for taking questions. Now that Bloomberg is seen as a possible independent candidate, do you see the sort of courting by other candidates that we saw when Ross Perot was running? In other words, if candidates move toward his positions, maybe he won't run and siphon off votes from whomever. ... That sort of thinking.
washingtonpost.com:Bloomberg Inner Circle (Related) (washingtonpost.com, June 24)
Shailagh Murray: I don't mean to sound like a Bloomberg booster here, but it's going to take more than positioning and slogans for any of the other candidates to capture his appeal. He's playing a completely different instrument, considering his background, both as mayor and before. We forgot that he was written off as a joke when he first decided to enter politics. But he's become a transformative figure in that city -- it reminds me somewhat of the effect that Tony Blair had on England.
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Bridgewater, Mass.: "Hey, we're a dying industry -- we should do whatever it takes to find new revenue streams!"
In Europe they run promotions: you could get a series of CDs to learn Chinese a while back from the Independent (I think it was); last summer one of the Czech papers sold cheap editions of world classics -- one a week -- with their Friday edition. This last must have been wildly successful, since it was extended three times.
Maybe The Post could sell all these exposes ("Fiasco," "Emerald City," "State of Denial"...) at special rates with the Sunday edition. There must be enough titles out there by now to get us through the election.
Shailagh Murray: Great idea!
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Re: Conservative talk radio : "Conservative talk radio has had a bigger influence on this bill than just about any other single force." Could you please elaborate on this? It's not as if Rush Limbaugh's or Sean Hannity's listeners would ever vote for Democrats anyway.
Shailagh Murray: It's not about the Democrats. It's the influence these shows have had on Republicans -- you create a loud enough noise, and you forget that other voices are out there. And that's certainly been the case with this debate. I've never seen hysteria like it.
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Washington: I looked at your campaign tracker and noticed that Obama, Edwards, and Richardson have no campaign events scheduled this month. Is that normal? Looking at the '04 election, many people have stated that Kerry won because he worked the hardest (especially in Iowa) -- that is, he spent the most time on the ground shaking hands. When combined with his military experience, that created an image of him as extremely electable, which definitely paid of in the primary. I would think that especially for a candidate like Richardson, who comes across as affable, who has the best resume, and -- in my opinion -- the best policy proposals, but who doesn't fare well in interviews or on TV, that now would be the time to start pounding the pavement. What gives?
washingtonpost.com:Campaign Tracker (Related) (washingtonpost.com)
washingtonpost.com: The washingtonpost.com politics team says "most campaigns do not release such information more than a day or two ahead of time," and that information typically is entered at the beginning of the week, so check back later today. Also, feel free to make suggestions or send us event notices for any public appearances we should add (politicscalendar@washingtonpost.com (Related) ).
Shailagh Murray: FYI ... response posted from the Web site is above.
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Washington: Hey, Ms. Murray! Thanks for taking questions again. The Bush/Cheney White House has expanded the powers of the executive. Do you think that whomever is elected in 2008 will cede back any of the executive's power, or will the next president try to defend the signing statements and privileges that the current administration has invoked? Will Congress be able to check the executive during the remainder of this administration, or in the next one?
Shailagh Murray: This is such an unusual administration. I think once it's over, we'll back to the Fritz Mondale model.
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God told me to post this: I am no fan of George Bush and feel he believes he received some divine guidance when he decided to depose Saddam Hussein, but I also believe that the quotes in the BBC article, portrayed as exact quotes, were not. Even Bush would not have put it exactly like God told me to invade Iraq and I did it, especially to a foreign audience. I do not trust Bush but I also do not trust the folks making the quotes. Besides, I understood that Cheney is the one who talks with God.
Shailagh Murray: I'm betting God wasn't a principal decision maker on Iraq. That's just too many overlapping conspiracy theories to wrap one's head around.
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Rochester, N.Y.: After reading the Post's excellent reports on Cheney and how we wields power, I find myself terrified that this country could be a heartbeat, a poorly chewed pretzel, or an impeachment proceeding away from becoming a military dictatorship. Do more experienced observers -- e.g. you -- feel the same way?
Shailagh Murray: I see the Cheney series is leaving a similar impression on everyone.
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Florissant, Mo.: I forgot to congratulate The Post for the work on Cheney. I don't see why anyone should be surprised at his influence or his ego. If I recall correctly, candidate Bush put Cheney in charge of finding the best veep candidate that summer (2000). He researched the entire universe, and guess what? He picked himself!
Shailagh Murray: More from the "Draft Cheney" movement.
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Boston: Is it just me or is there a "Wizard of Oz" analogy to Cheney? Everyone runs around scared or in awe of the image until the truth of his manipulations comes to light. Will articles like The Post's Gellman series poke a whole in the political power balloon that Cheney seems to have within the Administration and on the Hill? Has the curtain finally been pulled back to reveal the old man feverishly pushing levers and buttons?
washingtonpost.com:Upcoming Discussion: Barton Gellman on Cheney series (Related) (washingtonpost.com, today at 1 p.m. ET)
Shailagh Murray: For all of you fans of the Cheney series, please tune in to Bart's session ... and thanks for all your good comments and questions. See you soon, and cheers.
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