Radio Iowa

A conversation with Hillary Clinton

New York Senator Hillary Clinton just chatted with me via phone.  One of my questions was about the donations her campaign received from Norman Hsu. 

Henderson:  "Your campaign announced last night it woud be donating to charity these campaign contributions from Mr. Hsu.  Will you be returning any of the donations which -- as a so-called bundler -- this Mr. Hsu solicited from others on your behalf?"

Clinton:  "Well everyone was obviously surprised to learn this news and my campaign has taken action in returning his contributions and I'm hopeful he will be taking steps to address the matters he faces.  We regularly review contributions as we receive them and will continue to do so and if we have any reason to return any contributions, we will do that."

Henderson:  "Are you specifically looking at the donations which he solicited on your behalf in a particular review?"

Clinton: "Well, we're looking at all the questions raised.  Our campaign has a very vigorous vetting process and unfortunately no one knew there was this issue that has arisen and so we're taking a hard look at all of the contributions."

Updated with more quotes below:.

Huckabee quizzed about Craig's bathroom arrest

Former Arkansas Senator Mike Huckabee just stopped by Radio Iowa ranch and sat down for an interview in our break room.  (Our sit-down studio was in use.)  What follows is a transcript of the first part of our conversation.

Henderson: "This episode with Senator Craig has made Evangelical Christians in your party say, 'Why do I even bother voting Republican?'  What do you say to those folks?"

Huckabee: "Oh, it's not about Republicans and it's certainly not about Evangelical Christians.  It's about an individual and he'll have to answer for himself but we all do whether we're Republican, Democrat or Independent so I think people, you know, are maybe going a little far when they look at, you know, one person's actions and suddenly, you know, want to rewrite all of America's political landscape." 

Wyoming makes bid for "First-in-the-Nation" status

Wyoming is now pitching forward to capture the title of first contest in the presidential sweepstakes.  Hat tip to First Read.  Wyoming Republicans want to hold their state's conventions on January 5.

Do they have maps?

I'm sure you've seen or heard about the poor Miss Teen South Carolina who gave that breathtaking answer to a question from the pageant host, who asked why one-fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a map.  The young miss is a high school graduate who reportedly took AP (advanced placement) classes -- and apparently passed those classes.  She's enrolled at Appalachian State University for the fall semester.

This afternoon, the Barack Obama camp announced he's bringing in a former South Carolina State Superintendent of Education to talk to Iowans.  No mention of maps or geography in the news release, however.

LIVESTRONG & Gonzo is gone

Four Democratic presidential candidates appeared at this morming's cancer forum in Cedar Rapids.  All of them are against cancer.  Dennis Kucinich, the last to appear, talked about living healthier lifestyles and touted his own vegan diet.  Kucinich explained to the audience he does not drink milk or eat meat -- no chicken or beef.

Lance Armstrong, co-host of this morning's forum, was sitting beside Kucinich on stage and remarked that the discussion had degenerated.

"I would just be hungry all the time," Armstrong said of the idea of not eating meat.  The audience laughed.

In other non-Michael Vick news, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation today.  Iowa's two US Senators and three of the five Iowa congressmen released statements.

Dodd raises alarm about crisis in mortgage industry

During Q&A with reporters in Des Moines (3 min MP3), Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd detailed his beefs with the Bush Administration and the Federal Reserve when it comes to the looming crisis in the home mortgage industry. Dodd meets tomorrow in DC with the Treasury Secretary and the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Here's Dodd's statement, via news release: 

"The American dream is at stake, and that demands leadership now. We must act to restore confidence in the markets to revitalize our economy.  I am pleased that Chairman Bernanke, Secretary Paulson and I will have the opportunity to meet tomorrow to try to address these issues. At the same time, I find it troubling that President Bush is sitting by idly - while millions of Americans face foreclosure on their homes - instead of offering the leadership and ideas that this country and our economy need."

A few quick observations on today's debate

1.  While the Republicans at their debate two weeks ago mentioned some of the Democratic candidates by name (remember Romney's line about Obama?), none of the Democrats at today's debate mentioned any of the candidates in the Republican field.  The only Republican mentioned was George Bush.  And no one today quoted past presidents or past candidates like Bobby Kennedy, either.  Biden did quote his mother...

2.  Granted, there was a torrential downpour in advance of the GOP debate two weeks ago, but the Ron Paul people still showed up.  Today, there were LOTS of candidate supporters ringing the Drake campus.  A sign-war of sorts along the blocks of 31st Street between the Des Moines freeway and University Avenue -- where Drake is located -- went to Obama by a large margin over his only rival, Hillary Clinton.

Read the post below for notes on the fly during the debate.  I'll be back tomorrow with a wrap-up on all the August activity -- including some final observations about Fred Thompson's maiden voyage in Iowa.

ABC's Democratic debate

Top of the morning to you.  Once again, a few reporters are getting a last blast of nicotine but this mornign they're standing outside on the balcony of Drake University's Cartwright Hall.  Two Sundays ago for the GOP debate, they had to stand under that balcony to shelter from the torrential rain.

For that GOP debate, the only real cluster of supporters waving signs outside were chanting for Ron Paul.  This time around there are large groups of enthusiastic supporters and you could hear their chanting from blocks away. 

Interesting. We're watching WOI-TV in the Radio Room set up for this debate, and in the moments before the debate is to begin -- there's a Barack Obama commercial.  Next up, ED in '08 runs a commercial. 

ABC's George Stephanopoulos is no the screen -- mentioning at the on-set that this debate is "sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee."  That, of course, is relevant because of the Obama statement yesterday that he will not support in any forum that is NOT sanctioned by the DNC.

"Citizen politician" Fred Thompson in Iowa

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson gave a speech at the Des Moines Register "Soapbox" at the Iowa State Fair moments ago.  Listen to it here..

You'll hear him drawl through certain words, like Nashville, and hear him recite his resume.  Of his subbing for radio host Paul Harvey, he told the Fair crowd: "That's kind of like pinch hittin' for Babe Ruth."

"I think the American people are going to give us a shot," Thompson said of his as-yet-to-be-formally-announced presidential candidacy.

One of his best lines with the crowd: "Our main laws come from God and not from any kind of government."

Thompson concluded with this:  "If things play out the way I've got it in mind, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other...Keep your powder dry. I think we can do something good for America. Thank you very much."

Splitting hairs with the Biden camp

Marion Steinfels of the Biden campaign called the newsroom this afternoon to complain about the Radio Iowa story which ran yesterday.  Here's the story:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told a crowd at the State Fair today that his son's National Guard unit has been notified it will be deployed to Iraq in 2008.

"I don't want him going.  I don't want him going, but I tell you what -- I don't want my grandson or my granddaughters going back in 15 years and so how we leave makes a big difference," Biden said.

Two other presidential candidates -- Republicans John McCain and Duncan Hunter -- have sons who've been in military units deployed to Iraq.

Biden's 38-year-old son, Beau, is a Judge Advocate General in the Delaware National Guard, which means he's a military lawyer. Beau Biden is currently the Attorney General of Delaware.

During his State Fair speech, the elder Biden was critical of his Democratic rivals who have voted against providing money to the troops in the field as a means of trying to get President Bush to change course in Iraq.

"There's no political point worth my son's life," Biden said, drawing applause from the crowd of fairgoers. "There's no political point worth anybody's life out there. None."