Obama's "3 a.m. call'' ad, aired in response to Clinton's, below:

by Mark Silva

With one of the quickest retorts in modern paid-media memory, Sen. Barack Obama has turned Sen. Hillary Clinton's "3 a.m. call'' ad back on her with a "3 a.m. call'' ad of his own.

The irony of this, perhaps, is that Clinton has criticized Obama for borrowing the words of his campaign ally, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, on the stump. Obama has not only borrowed, but also taken possession of the attack-ad that Clinton launched at him today.

The ad opens with the same words and images that the Clinton ad used in asking voters to think about a 3 a.m. crisis call at the White House and asking who they'd want to answer that call -- the answer, in Clinton's ad, someone "tested'' like Clinton. Obama has another answer:

" It’s 3 am and your children are safe and asleep,'' the narrator of Obama's ad states, with a commercial picturing the White House at night. "But there’s a phone ringing in the White house. Something’s happening in the world.

"When that call gets answered, shouldn’t the president be the one, the only one, who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start, who understood the real threat to America was al qQaeda in Afghanistan, not Iraq...who led the effort to secure loose nuclear weapons around the globe.

"In a dangerous world, it’s judgment that matters,'' says the narrator, closing a black-and-white ad that pictures Obama at, where else, the White House.

Clinton's initial "3 a.m. call'' ad started the ad-war:

by Frank James

The State Department is out with its latest report on the international illegal-drug situation.

It's a long (638 pages) country-by-country report. I have not read every page. Not by a long shot.

Anyway, David Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and law enforcement affairs, gave the press an overview of the report today which analyzes each nation's cooperation in fighting or contribution towards furthering the world's illegal drug problems.

Among the take-aways. Venezuela and Burma are growing problems; the former because it continues to be a major launching point for South American cocaine bound for Europe through West Africa, the latter because it is the world's largest source of methamphetamine pills.

While Columbia appears to be mounting an increasingly effective eradication program, Bolivia and Peru are picking up the slack in terms of production.

Afghanistan, of course, remains a huge problem in terms of opium and heroin production although there's some hope that the spring poppy crop may fall a little this year compared with last.

Mexico is waging a real war against narco traffickers. But the problem is so great, it remains a long, twilight struggle there.

by Mark Silva and updated

The White House today chastised an aide accused of plagiarism. And it didn't take long for the longtime aide to President Bush to resign.

Timothy Goeglein, who has served Bush since 2001, was accused of lifting material from an essay in a Dartmouth College publication and presenting it as his own work in a newspaper column for The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind., the Associated Press reports.

Twenty columns he wrote for the Indiana newspaper were determined to have material copied from other sources without attribution,'' AP says.

"The president was disappointed to learn of the matter and he was saddened for Tim and his family," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement this evening. She said Goeglein had accepted responsibility and "has apologized for not upholding the standards expected by the president."

"His behavior is not acceptable and we are disappointed in Tim’s actions," White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore had said earlier. "He is offering no excuses and he agrees it was wrong."

Officials also are looking into allegations that Goeglein had plagiarized other material. The problem was first pointed out by a blogger, Nancy Nall, a former columnist for the Indiana paper.

Goeglein has served as a special assistant to Bush and deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison, which is responsible for outreach in communicating the president’s policies.

The Associated Press' ace White House correspondent Terence Hunt basically wrote all of this report and the update presented by the Swamp today -- so let's get that straight right here.

by Mike Dorning

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) endorsed Barack Obama today, bringing another well-connected member of the party establishment to Obama's side.

Since Obama's 17-point victory in the Wisconsin primary capped a 10-state winning street and showed a broadening coalition including white working-class voters moving to his candidacy, a steady stream of party insiders has moved to Obama's camp. Earlier on Friday, the Obama campaign announced commitments of support from four other superdelegates.

In a statement released by the Obama campaign, Rockefeller praised the Illinois senator as "the most qualified person – Democrat or Republican – to lead our country in the face of enormous challenges – the very real threat of terrorism, economic uncertainty, and instability at home and abroad."

“The indisputable fact is Barack Obama was right about Iraq when many of us were wrong, Rockefeller added. "It was a tough call and the single greatest national security question, and mistake, of our time. Today, we remain a country at war, and countless mistakes over the last six and a half years have made us less safe. The stakes have never been higher, and that is why we must take a stand."

Like all Democratic members of Congress, Rockefeller is a superdelegate to the party nominating convention. The other superdelegates who endorsed Obama earlier in the day were: Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Brian Melendez, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Associate Chair Donna Cassutt, Democratic National Committee Member Renee Pfenning of North Dakota, and Texas state Rep. Yvonne Davis.

One of the designs for the Bush library proposed by readers of the Chronicle of Higher Education, courtesy of the Chronicle.

by Mark Silva

Now that the George W. Bush Presidential Library has an official home, Southern Methodist University in Dallas -- and the president said this week that he is open to foreign money in soliciting donations for the construction -- the Chronicle of Higher Education has invited readers to sketch a design for the library planned by the 43rd president.

Some of the renditions are online now for all to see.

The Bush family actually has hired its own architect for the work, Robert A.M. Stern, so the 120 suggestions submitted by readers of the Chronicle -- ranging from an oversized toilet to a bunker and an amusement park -- may not be considered too kindly at SMU. The Chronicle is displaying the results of its invitation for designs in the March 7 issue.

At his press conference this week, Bush was asked about a reported $200 million budget for the library and if he will disclose the names of donors or place any restrictions on them.

"No, yes, no, yes,'' he said at first in jest. "We'll look at the disclosure requirements and make a decision. You know... there's a lot of people -- or some people; I shouldn't say "a lot" -- some people who like to give and don't particularly want their names disclosed, whether it be for this foundation or any other foundation. And so we'll take that into consideration.

"I'll probably take some foreign money, but don't know yet,'' Bush said. "We just haven't -- we just announced the deal and I, frankly, have been focused elsewhere, like on gasoline prices and, you know, my trip to Africa, and haven't seen the fundraising strategy yet. So the answer to your question, really, I can't answer your question well.''

Is the public entitled to know the answers to these questions of fundraising?

"We're weighing, taking a look, taking consideration, giving it a serious consideration,'' Bush told the Texas reporter asking. "Nice try, though.''

by Mark Matthews and Victor Manueal Ramos

A Florida congresswoman has gone home amidst some controversy, including a protest outside her Brooksville office on Thursday over calling Puerto Ricans "foreign citizens.''

Just what the GOP needs: Another congressional seat in play this year, in a swing state where growing ranks of Puerto Rican voters with Democratic leanings have been told to go take a jump in the springs at Weeki Wachee by the Republican who first insulted their citizenship.

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) put out a statement this morning:

"At the advice of his doctor, earlier this week I left Congress and returned to Florida to be with my husband, Harvey Waite. While we are still awaiting the results of follow-up medical tests, Harvey has been diagnosed with cancer and will require ongoing treatment. As anyone who has been through serious medical issues with a loved one knows, I plan on spending as much time as necessary to care for my husband."

Dozens of protestors had converged on West-Central Florida's small town of Brooksville in response to her recent remarks about Puerto Ricans. Some left the protest disappointed and perhaps even more upset than they were when they got there.

Brown-Waite not only did not apologize for her remarks, but also made a comment that many saw as a new provocation. In a statement released by her office as the protest was under way, Brown-Waite dismissed the assembly -- organized by Democrats -- as “race-based hysteria” and suggested that protesters take a hike down to a nearby aquatic park where they could “cool off.”

“I recommend that they head down the road to Weeki Wachee for a fun afternoon at our water park,” her statement said.

If looks could tell: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, left, followed Sen. John McCain to Virginia for the "Potomac primaries,'' but in this picture with the retiring Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) the governor seems to be thinking: 'Please, not him?' Photo by Getty Images.

by Mark Silva and Scott Maxwell

Four days before the Republican primary election in Florida, when it became apparent to many that Sen. John McCain had a good chance of winning, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist climbed on board the senator's campaign for president.

This is the same Crist who could not find time to appear at a rally with President Bush in Florida's heavily Republican Panhandle near the eve of the 2006 midterm elections, when the president's party was struggling to retain control of Congress -- because Crist was waging his own campaign for governor, and wasn't too eager to bask in the low approval-ratings of Bush.

This is the Crist who made his name as a Florida state legislator, "Chain Gang Charlie,'' by pressing work for prison inmates, and then parlayed a pro-consumer, anti-Microsoft stint as state attorney general into a winning campaign for governor -- a governor who happens to be exceedingly popular as a result in the fourth-largest state, home of a critical 27 electoral votes.

So naturally, the telegenic and exuberant Crist, governor of a megastate, prematurely gray but boundlessly energetic, comes up in the early rounds of speculation about a running mate for the senior McCain -- Crist helped carry him out of Florida in January, and Crist could help him carry Florida in November, that is, if McCain needed that sort of help there.

The Orlando Sentinel's political columnist, Scott Maxwell, today spells out the very specific scenario in which McCain might tap Crist:

"Possible McCain running mate."

"That was the main label CNN gave to Charlie Crist this week during an interview with the man whose main title used to be "governor of Florida."

"You know, for all the hubbub and media chatter in this cycle's veep-stakes, I say Crist gets an invitation to join John McCain if -- and only if -- the answer is "yes" to the two following questions: 1) Do polls show McCain will otherwise lose in Florida? 2) Do they believe that putting Charlie on the ticket will change that? Very little else matters.''

But for now, the answer to the first question is no: The latest Mason-Dixon Polling and Research survey shows that McCain holds an advantage over either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in Florida. The matchups: McCain 47, Obama 37; McCain 49, Clinton 40.The survey of 625 registered voters was taken Feb. 21-24, and carries a 3-point margin of error.

It also found that 64 percent of Floridians surveyed rate Crist’s performance as excellent or good. That represents a 3 percent increase from November, despite a worsening state economy. A lot could change between now and August, however -- for McCain as well as Crist.

by Rick Pearson

FORT WORTH, Texas — Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign says rival Barack Obama has a lot of questions to answer about his relationship with indicted Chicago political insider Antoin “Tony” Rezko, whose federal corruption trial is scheduled to start the day before critical primaries in Texas and Ohio.

Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s chief spokesman, also told reporters today that if Obama doesn’t sweep the primaries on Tuesday, it will show that Democrats want the contest to continue. The answer belies earlier statements from top Clinton aides that she needs to win delegate-rich Texas and Ohio to stay in the race.

Rezko, a real estate developer and fundraiser for several politicians, including Obama, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the late Cook County Board President John Stroger, goes on trial Monday on charges he used his connections to allegedly further a scheme that involved kickbacks in exchange for contracts that were pocketed or paid to others to make contributions to politicians, including Obama.

Both Obama, Illinois’ first-term senator, and Blagojevich, the state’s two-term governor whose self-styled reform administration has been beset by a multitude of federal investigations, have not been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama’s campaign has donated to charity more than $150,000 in allegedly tainted donations.

Wolfson, trying to meld the roles of campaign spinmeister and federal prosecutor, said “question after question after question after question has neither been posed or answered in any serious way by Barack Obama” about his relationship with Rezko.

by Christi Parsons

HOUSTON--How much does Barack Obama's campaign hate the new Hillary Clinton ad?

Well, campaign manager David Plouffe started the day by telling reporters that the ad, which asks voters to think about who they want taking those emergency calls at the White House in the middle of the night, was a "shop-worn tactic."

"She had her red phone moment," Plouffe said. "She had it in 2002," when she voted to authorize the president to go to war in Iraq.

The candidate himself followed up shortly thereafter, as he addressed some veterans at an American Legion hall here.

"We've seen these ads before," Obama said. "They're usually the kind that play upon people's fears and try to scare up votes."

He also reprised the "red phone moment" line. Next, Sen. Dick Durbin and some of Obama's foreign policy advisors called a press conference to talk about it some more.

You've seen the ad and now you've heard the spin. Does this ad cut to the heart of an Obama weakness, or is it likely to backfire?

by James Oliphant

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that it had opened a preliminary investigation into whether retired pitcher Roger Clemens lied during his congressional testimony earlier this month.

Lying under oath before Congress is a federal crime. One of the points of contention, beyond whether Clemens was knowingly injected with steroids and human growth hormone, is whether he did or did not attend a party at ex-outfielder Jose Canseco's house in 1998.

Now, thanks to the Onion, we know why Clemens probably should have avoided Canseco's house altogether (as should every current major leaguer):

MIAMI—Former MLB star and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco extended an informal invitation Monday to over 500 current and former professional baseball players, requesting their presence at his house this coming weekend for his annual steroid party.

"Hey guys, big steroid bash at my place," Canseco said while handing out flyers at a Toronto Blue Jays spring training intrasquad game. "Nothing too fancy, just a bunch of guys, hanging out, taking steroids. Tell your friends."

The party is historically an extravagant affair, usually featuring women in bikinis carrying silver trays of various types of anabolic steroids, four VIP suites upstairs where guests can sample steroids from Canseco's personal collection, a giant 40-foot-tall ice syringe filled with Dianabol, oil paintings of steroids on the walls, a keg of steroids, a disco ball, and a punch bowl spiked with steroids. (read more)

by Mark Silva

Sen. John McCain, today recalling the day when many thought his campaign for president was “dead,’’ invoked the words of two legendary leaders who have passed on – Chairman Mao of China and ex-Mayor Daley of Chicago.

“I was reminded of the words of Chairman Mao -- it’s always darkest before it’s totally black,’’ McCain said in his opening remarks at a “town hall’’ session in Round Rock, Texas.

“I said at the time, I’d rather lose a political campaign than lose a war,’’ McCain, a staunch supporter of the current mission in Iraq who was long critical of the Bush administration’s conduct of the war, said of his determination to stay the war-course at the nadir of his campaign. “I meant that, and I mean it today.

“I believe, as president of the United States, I can inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their own interests,’’ McCain said, closing with a customary little campaign-trail joke in a state where only a Huckabee-esque "miracle'' will stop McCain on Tuesday. "I’d like you to remember the words of the late Mayor Daley of Chicago…

"Vote early and vote often.’’

by Mark Silva

Over at the Huffington Post this morning, they are having a little fun with Sen. John McCain's appearance yesterday at a town hall meeting in Richardson, Texas, where he suffered a momentary lapse in describing his politics.

"I will conduct a respectful debate," McCain told the crowd at Texas Instruments, as ABC News' Bret Hovell reported. "Now, it will be spirited because there are stark differences. I am a proud conservative, liberal Republica--- conservative Republican," he said, catching himself.

"Hello?" McCain said, as the crowd laughed. "Easy there."

by Frank James and updated with Obama response

Sen. Hillary Clinton has a new TV ad up which uses one of her main arguments against Sen. Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

It boils down to she's ready, he's not, to be in the Oval Office when a national-security emergency occurs in the wee small hours of the morning.

She has repeatedly used this argument in her stump speech. It plays to the image of toughness she has with many Democratic voters.

The ad shows a series of small children asleep in the middle of the night. It's clearly meant to appeal to women, the part of the Democratic electorate that had been among her strongest supporters but has been eroding as women have become more willing to support Obama.

It’s 3 am and your children are safe and asleep
But there’s a phone in the White House and it’s ringing
Something’s happening in the world
Your vote will decide who answers that call.
Whether it’s someone who already knows the world’s leaders, knows the military - someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world
It’s 3 am and your children are safe and asleep
Who do you want answering the phone?

Obama, calling it "a legitimate question'' yet accusing the Clinton campaign of using "fear'' tactics, had this to say about the ad this morning:

"I don’t think these ads will work…. The question is not picking up the phone. The question is what kind of judgment will you exercise when you pick up that phone. In fact we have had a red-phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq. President Bush gave the wrong answer. Sen. Clinton gave the wrong answer… Sen. McCain gave the wrong answer.''

Obama, saying he "exercised the right judgment,'' said that is what he will bring to the White House. “I will never use the threat of terrorism to scare up votes.. Tthat is the judgment we need at 3 a.m.''

The ad has the feel of a mashup to me. The innocent children blissfully sleeping while dangers are afoot in the world, remind me of the famous 1964 "Daisy" ad President Lyndon Johnson ran against Sen. Barry Goldwater.

But the mood is much more like the "Bear" ad President Ronald Reagan used in 1984 with the ominous it's-a-dangerous-world-requiring-a-clear-eyed-leader vibe.

Halle Berry joining cell-phone bank push Sunday. Photo by Matt Sayles/AP

by Mark Silva

MoveOn.org is taking this contest sitting down: Calling on supporters to hold house parties Sunday for a nationwide telethon of cell-phone calls to voters in Texas.

Halle Berry and Sen. Ted Kennedy are taking part in a nearly 2,000-house party cell-phone bank campaign for Sen. Barack Obama, according to MoveOn.org, also running ads in college papers in Texas and on Facebook.

(Facebook ad shown to the right:)

The “Yes We Can” house parties in support of Obama are sponsored by MoveOn.org Political Action. "MoveOn members, armed with cells phones, will make over 400,000 calls to Texas Democratic voters,'' the group says, including nearly 200,00 MoveOn members who live in Texas--Sunday afternoon and evening.

MoveOn is touting "the largest one-day phone bank in presidential primary history.'' Before they start dialing, MoveOn members will hear from actress Berry, Sen. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and radio host Jim Hightower about "the importance of Tuesday’s vote.''

"The primary and caucus in Texas could very well be the decisive vote in the nominating process, and our members are fired up to help out" said Eli Pariser, MoveOn. executive director, in a written statement today. "Not since the closing days of the 2004 presidential election have we seen this kind of response from our members.''

by Frank James

It appears it was a mistake by an Australian women's magazine that was clueless about the circumstances surrounding Prince Harry's being sent to a war zone that led to the chain of events that has resulted in His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales being yanked out of Afghanistan by British military officials.

According to reports, the magazine New Idea, ran a story about his combat deployment in its January 15 edition because it didn't know there was an embargo on that information, essentially an agreement between the media and British authorities that the prince's assignment wouldn't be reported on out of fear that his own and his unit's security would be compromised.

The British Army's top general, Sir General Richard Danatt is seriously fuming over the breaking of the embargo, according to reports.

As Australia's Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Chief of the General Staff and professional head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, is furious the embargo has been broken.

"I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us," he said in a statement.

"This is in stark contrast to the highly-responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number of overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations.

"After a lengthy period of discussion between the MoD and the editors of regional, national and international media, the editors took the commendable attitude to restrain their coverage," Dannatt said.

Now the story was out, the military would consider whether Harry's deployment should continue, he said, appealing to the media to restrain from reporting the prince's every move.
But in Sydney, New Idea denied knowingly breaking an embargo on the story.

"New Idea was not issued with a press embargo and was unaware of the existence of one," the magazine said in a statement.

"The story was published on Monday, January 7. Since then New Idea has received no comment from the British Ministry of Defence.

"We take these matters very seriously and would never knowingly break an embargo.

"We regret any issues the revelation of this story in America has caused today."

Embargoes are fairly commonplace when governments or companies want to provide information to journalists before they releas it to the public generally. They essentially ask journalists to keep the information secret from the public until a certain date and, often, even hour.

The dog's life: Chewbacca celebrates Leap Day

by Mark Silva

It's Leap Day.

For all who wait four years for a proper birthday party, Happy Birthday!

This is the first Leap Day here in the Swamp, born on Jan. 3, 2006.

One more day in what promises to be a runaway new record month of traffic here in these pages. Without the Leap Year, we already were on target for more than 2 million page-views this month (Thank You!).

One more day for that presidential campaign to unfold in Ohio and Texas -- is that added day of particular benefit to Barack Obama? He has gained momentum in both states heading into the March 4 primaries and an added day on the calendar can only offer more room.

One more day for a record campaign fundraising month -- with word of a $50 million month coming from the Obama campaign, $35 million over at camp Clinton (think they've held back $5 million of that to repay the candidate's loan? Or have they put it all on the table?)

One more day for the Bush administration, with the president heading to Texas today for a weekend respite and visit by the Danish prime minister, Rasmussen. It's a reciprocal visit -- Bush visited Rasmussen at his summer home outside of Copenhagen a couple of years back.

One more day for a war in Iraq approaching its fifth anniversary.

One more day for Mike Huckabee's "miracle'' to arrive.

One more day for that debate over Barack Obama's middle name, and one more day for speculation about the "passive-aggressive'' campaign that Bill waged for Hillary Clinton.

One more day to wait for Tuesday, to see if it is all over in Ohio and Texas.

Or, just another Friday.

by Christi Parsons and Rick Pearson

FT. WORTH — Fundraising numbers in the Democratic race for president shot into the stratosphere in the month of February, with reports from aides to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama putting the staggering combined figure at somewhere in the range of $85 million.

Clinton touted the news that she had raised $35 million as evidence of the vitality of her campaign, as she conducted a furious day of campaigning in Ohio and Texas, where voters could decide her fate in the campaign on Tuesday.

The Obama camp responded coyly, saying only that they would surpass the $35 million figure by reporting "considerably more"—and then sat back without official comment amid news reports of their skyrocketing February total.

One member of Obama's finance committee told the Tribune that some reports from within the campaign indicate their fundraising could hit $50 million this month.

Even by the most conservative reading, the campaign totals have now shattered yet another ceiling—for the amount of money raised in a single month. Already, the funds raised and spent in the Democratic primary race have dwarfed that of every nominating contest in U.S. history.

See the rest of the story in today's Tribune:

by Mark Silva

The presidential campaign has turned to the economy.

Yet there are some who say it will return to the war in Iraq.

And VoteVets.org, the anti-war organization of Iraq war veterans, is airing a new cable TV ad that takes Sen. John McCain to task for saying that the United States might have troops in Iraq for 100 years -- "1,000 years,'' in this ad. But then, that's the way the political dialog goes.

The Arizona senator has said that, while the important thing is ending casualties for American forces in Iraq, it is not unreasonable to think that the U.S. will have bases there for some time to come -- the way Americans have long been stationed in Japan and South Korea.

Rose Forrest, billed as an Iraq veteran, appears in the VoteVets.org ad with her toddler son.

"John McCain said it’s OK with him if the U.S. spends the next 1,000 years in Iraq,'' Forrest says in the ad. "That’s some commitment to the Iraqi poeple, Sen. McCain.''

"This is my son,'' she says, holding the smiling baby boy. "He was born a year after I came home from Iraq. What kind of commitment are you making to him? How about 1,000 years of affordable health care, or 1,000 years of keeping America safe...

"Can we afford that for my child, Sen. McCain?'' the pink-sweatered Forrest says to the TV viewer in the 30-second spot. "Or have you already promised to spend trillions in Baghdad?''

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, February 29.

President Bush is meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the White and House and later, at his Crawford, Texas, ranch with Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew C. von Eshenbach is speakin