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From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Obama's newly named senior adviser and Jewish outreach coordinator, who joined Obama on his trip to Israel, lobbied on behalf of the American Petroleum Institute, according to the Senate Office of Public Records Lobbying Disclosure Act database.
Daniel Shapiro is listed as a lobbyist by Washington, D.C.-based Timmons & Co. and API is one of the company's clients. Shapiro is listed on five entries as one person who helped lobby the U.S. Senate or House on behalf of API on issues ranging from agriculture, energy -- including renewable fuel standards and greenhouse gas emissions, gas price gouging and regulation, labor and antitrust related to the oil industry, defense, the stimulus package, the farm bill, IRS code regarding refineries and more.
The entries, from February to August of this year, show Timmons & Co. was paid $660,000 by API for the instances in which Shapiro helped lobby. Since 1998, Timmons & Co. has collected more than $3.6 million from API, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Shapiro also was Florida Sen. Bill Nelson’s deputy chief of staff. Because of that, the Center for Responsive Politics has a “Revolving Door” profile of him.
Interestingly, also listed as one of the lobbyists with Timmons for API is Martin Paone, the former secretary of the U.S. Senate. That job is now Nancy Erickson's.
Shapiro also lobbied for several other clients, including Anheuser-Busch, Chrysler, Freddie Mac, Teva Pharmaceuticals and others. (See below for full list.)
Of course, the McCain campaign has several lobbyists working for it, but Obama has vowed to not to have federal lobbyists involved with his campaign or allow them in an Obama administration.
The Obama campaign has not yet given a response on the news of Shapiro’s lobbying past.
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From NBC's Chuck Todd
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will keynote the Republican National Convention. One-time Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman will also speak at the Republican convention.
Full list/schedule (Central Time) below:
Overall Theme: Country First
Mon -- Service Day
-- Split sessions 2:30-6 (this is where the rules, platform etc.. will get voted on, including a new primary calendar etc.) ... start again at 7
-- Speakers: before prime-time (pre-9pm): Cheney, Lieberman; Primetime: Arnold, Laura Bush, George W. Bush
Tues -- Reform Day
-- starts 6:30-7
-- Speakers: Ridge, Rosario Marin, Thompson, Lingle, Steele; Primetime (9pm central): Palin, Huckabee, the keynoter is Rudy Giuliani.
Wed -- Prosperity Day
-- starts 6:30
-- Speakers pre-prime time: Coleman, Meg Whitman, Fiorina, Romney. Prime time: Cindy McCain leads off, followed by the VP nominee; they will close prime time hour with the McCain nominator: Bobby Jindal... the roll call will take place about 11pm ET... they will roll through.. AZ will pass... AZ will put him over the top... hope to keep within an hour... could go as long as 90 minutes...
Thurs --
-- Starts 6:30
-- Speakers: Pawlenty, Crist, Brownback, Martinez... In prime time: video of McCain, traditional lead-in to the speech... traditional demonstration... whole prime-time hour, packaged together as McCain's speech.
During all four nights, sometimes in prime time and sometimes in the early evening hours, McCain will have a presence, meaning a live satellite hookup some nights where McCain says high to folks etc. They are not ready for details but expect that since the backdrop for the podium is a gigantic TV screen.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Biden walks it back: Yesterday, all the signs pointed to the fact that Biden was emerging Obama’s likely VP pick -- until the Delaware senator quickly seemed to dash that speculation yesterday. “You guys have better things to do,” Biden told the reporters staking him out, as he was leaving his home in Delaware to play golf. "I'm not the guy." But upon his return, he appeared to walk back that denial. "I promise, I don't know anything, have no idea, have spoken to no one,” Biden said. Then asked whether he thinks he’s still being considered, he answered: "I have no idea. You guys know as well as I do. See ya, fellas." A Biden source told us not to read too much into his "I’m-not-the-guy" statement, saying he was pretending not to be Biden -- rather than stating he wasn’t going to be Obama’s VP. Also, does anyone think Biden would have been out golfing and smiling had he found out he wasn't the guy?
*** McCain’s pro-choice head fake? The McCain campaign has very adroit of late of inserting itself into the media narrative at times when the assumption that Obama was going to own a week. And with Obama’s VP selection coming up, this is one of those weeks. The focus is supposed to be ALL on Obama. Yet instead, it's become a true split-screen story now that McCain's camp is purportedly considering Lieberman or Ridge for the No. 2 slot. Could it be that McCain has no interest in picking Ridge or Lieberman, but wants the country and swing voters to think they might? Nothing like having Limbaugh and other conservatives issuing warning shots in public on this to bolster McCain's independent status. Then again, the risk of playing this game is that if McCain ends up picking Pawlenty or Romney, the spin could be he blinked in the face of conservative attacks. Still, this week, McCain's camp has once again showed how effective it is in creating just as much buzz on a story that many thought Obama would dominate by himself.
*** Just askin’: Considering how important Virginia is to Obama and his electoral strategy, does anyone think he'll step on his bus tour in the state by announcing his running mate while he’s there today and tomorrow? Wouldn’t that create havoc with his trip and allowing the VP craziness to step on his appearances with Warner (today’s companion) and Kaine (tomorrow’s)?
*** The narrowing race: Yesterday morning, Quinnipiac came out with a poll showing that McCain had cut Obama’s lead from nine points (50%-41%) to five (47%-42%). And that was followed by an LA Times/Bloomberg survey showing that Obama’s advantage had been reduced from 12 points (49% to 37%) to just two (45%-43%). There are a couple of ways to look at these numbers. The obvious one is that McCain’s negative onslaught, combined with the Russia-Georgia conflict, as well as Obama’s weeklong vacation, has narrowed this race considerably. In short, McCain has had a very good last two weeks. On the other hand, despite it all, McCain’s still behind and unable to get out of the low 40s; Obama’s numbers have gone down, but McCain’s really haven’t gone up. Nevertheless, there is no longer this widespread belief among the wise guys and gals of both parties that we're all just sitting around waiting for this race to break in Obama's direction. The polls -- as well as the money race -- suggest otherwise. The political fundamentals (the mood of the country, the enthusiasm gap, Bush’s approval rating) still favor Obama. But something has changed where (1) Obama can’t make many more mistakes and expect to win and (2) the McCain camp thinks it can win. That wasn’t the case a few months ago.
*** Poll tease time: And by the way, the national poll of record -- the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll -- comes out tonight at 6:30 pm ET. Will the numbers show a similar tightening? Something different? And just how important will Hillary Clinton’s supporters be to Obama’s success in the fall? Tune into NBC Nightly News or log on to MSNBC.com.
*** On the trail: McCain holds a town hall in Las Cruces, NM before leaving for his vacation in Sedona, AZ. Obama, in Virginia, holds economic town hall meetings in Martinsville and Lynchburg.
Countdown to Dem convention: 5 days
Countdown to GOP convention: 12 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 76 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 153 days
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Conservatives spent much of yesterday warning McCain (not so quietly) against picking either Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman. The Washington Times: "Republican Party officials in several states are in a frenzy over how to persuade Sen. John McCain not to invite pro-choice Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman to be the Arizona senator's running mate. One of the state GOP officials said he talked with two ‘high-level’ Mr. McCain campaign officials who said that ‘Lieberman is a very real possibility.’”
But others in the McCain camp seemed to shoot down the prospect. The New York Times: “‘I think there’s such sufficient understanding at the most senior levels of this campaign of the importance of the pro-family constituency that I’m very comfortable with how the selection process is proceeding,’ one Republican strategist close to the campaign said. ‘I think social conservatives will be fine.’”
More: "Such a formulation would be unlikely to satisfy Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host and longtime McCain nemesis, who on Tuesday sounded a siren for his listeners. ‘If he picks a pro-choice running mate, it’s not going to be pretty,’ Mr. Limbaugh warned, adding that Mr. McCain would have ‘effectively destroyed the Republican Party and pushed the conservative movement into the bleachers.’”
“Republicans said Mr. Romney remained a contender, although the two were bitter rivals in the primary campaign and do not have strong chemistry. In addition, Mr. Romney, a Mormon, could be a difficult sell to Christian conservatives. A person associated with Mr. Romney said Tuesday that he had detected no strong interest from the McCain campaign in recent weeks. Republicans said Mr. Pawlenty, an evangelical Christian, was also a strong possibility. His main drawback is that he has little name recognition outside of Minnesota."
Does it sound like Biden here? The Chicago Tribune: "Obama said he was looking for a running mate who is independent and has 'integrity' and got into politics 'for the right reasons.' 'I want somebody who is mad right now that people are losing their jobs and is mad right now that people are seeing their incomes decline,' Obama said. 'That's the kind of person that I want, somebody who in their gut knows … that we have to grow this country from the bottom up.'"
The New York Times profiles Kathleen Sebelius.
Another national poll -- Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg -- shows the race tightening. “John McCain has begun rallying dispirited Republicans behind him, while Democratic rival Barack Obama has made scant progress building new support, leaving the presidential race statistically tied… The survey highlights Obama's vulnerability on the question of his readiness to lead the nation. Less than half of the registered voters polled think the first-term Illinois senator has the ‘right’ experience to be president, while 80% believe McCain, a four-term senator, does. The poll also illustrates some racial undercurrents that confront Obama as he strives to become the first African American president. Nine percent of voters say they would feel uncomfortable voting for a black candidate. Most voters say they know people who feel that way. About one in six say the country is not ready to elect a black president.”
“For now, voters favor Obama on the economy, the issue they rank as most important. Also, independents, a crucial swing bloc, are leaning toward Obama. And Obama's supporters remain more enthusiastic than McCain's, a sign that the Democratic candidate may be able to turn out more voters.”
The Washington Post wonders if both Obama and McCain have caused themselves a little heartburn on the contentious issue of abortion. "Obama's hesitant statement at the forum that defining the beginning of life is ‘above my pay grade’ took even some supporters by surprise. Since then, the National Right to Life Committee has challenged him on an obscure law that protects babies born alive after failed abortions, saying that his opposition to the measure in the Illinois state legislature proves he is an extremist.”
“McCain's performance at the forum seemed to hearten many conservatives, not only because of his firm, uncompromising stand against abortion but his broader appeals on global warming, genocide and the embrace of causes greater than self. But the clarity that McCain exhibited at Saddleback has been somewhat diminished with his suggestion that his running mate might favor abortion rights."
The New York Times fact-checks that charge from the National Right to Life Committee that Obama somehow supports infanticide. “In 2002, President Bush signed a federal ‘born alive’ law. The measure passed by sweeping majorities in Congress, with the support of many legislators who usually vote against legislation favored by groups seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Even organizations like the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, now known as Naral Pro-Choice America, did not oppose the bill. Mr. Obama has repeatedly said that he would have been willing to vote for such a measure in Illinois had it been identical to the federal statute. But ‘that was not the bill that was presented at the state level,’ he said Saturday. ‘What that bill also was doing was trying to undermine Roe v. Wade.’”
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McCain went to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday to drill home his energy policy -- and bash Democratic rival Barack Obama. "Senator Obama opposes new drilling," McCain said. "He has said it will not 'solve our problem' and that 'it's not real.' He's wrong, and the American people know it."… [McCain] and his aides believe the pocketbook approach can connect with voters -- and, in turn, suggest that Obama wants people to pay more for gas, food, and heating."
The New York Times: “Despite the urgency that Mr. McCain attached to the [energy] problem, Democrats noted that he had missed every vote on a 2007 energy bill that increased fuel economy standards for the first time in three decades. Mr. McCain also missed all eight votes on a renewable energy bill that was defeated last month.”
Maureen Dowd writes of a scripted (fictional?) conversation between McCain and Hillary -- who supposedly are conspiring to defeat Obama.
The New York Times picks up on the fact that the Obama campaign has been running a lot of negative ads in some key states. "Obama has begun the drive with little fanfare, often eschewing the modern campaign technique of unveiling new spots for the news media before they run in an effort to win added (free) attention. Mr. Obama, whose candidacy has been built in part on a promise to transcend traditional politics, is running the negative commercials on local stations even as he runs generally positive spots nationally, during prime-time coverage of the Olympics.”
“The negative spots reflect the sharper tone Mr. Obama has struck in recent days on the stump as he heads into his party’s nominating convention in Denver next week, and seem to address the anxiety among some Democrats that Mr. Obama has not answered a volley of attacks by Mr. McCain with enough force."
The Los Angeles Times also picks up on the Obama negative TV ad strategy. "The Obama campaign, which would not release details about the ad buys, has kept relatively quiet about the advertising, eschewing the now-standard practice of touting new ads to reporters in hopes of getting free coverage. The ads are not posted on Obama's website.”
ARIZONA: McCain leads by 10 points, 40%-30%, in his home state, according to an Arizona State University poll. Twenty-eight percent said they were undecided. The poll showed the same spread in June with more undecided then.
NORTH CAROLINA: "This was Obama's second post-primary stop in North Carolina. Both were in Raleigh, where Obama hopes to reach high-tech workers and transplants. Obama said the Bush administration has been ‘anti-science.’”
“Obama has also been reaching out to more rural voters, talking about McCain's opposition to the farm bill that recently passed Congress. Obama had hoped to make a bus tour of Eastern North Carolina on Tuesday, wending his way to Raleigh. But the plan was scratched when Obama's plane had difficulty leaving Orlando, Fla., because of Tropical Storm Fay."
Romney "is
to speak Tuesday at a counter-rally organized by Republicans in Denver near where Democrats will be gathered."
The
AP: "Business and labor interests have donated millions to the Democratic and Republican convention host committees in exchange for premium seats and special access. Many institutions will also hold parties and receptions where lawmakers can get an earful -- though not more than a mouthful -- from lobbyists and their clients. New ethics restrictions have changed the comfort level for convention parties and receptions. The rules permit food and refreshment of a nominal value, but not a meal. That limitation has turned questions once left to the kitchen, such as when finger food is more than just an hors d'oeuvre, into head-scratching legal issues."
A
little Illinois drama for "No Drama Obama"... "Democratic National Committee officials delivered a high-profile snub to Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, announcing that three of his biggest potential rivals for re-election would be given speaking roles on the opening night of the party's nominating convention. But the beleaguered two-term governor, whose administration faces multiple federal investigations involving jobs, contracts and fundraising, is not scheduled to speak at the convention. DNC officials said state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a longtime loyalist of Sen. Barack Obama, will be among the opening night speakers. Also on stage that night will be Comptroller Dan Hynes and Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan."
From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
THE SHORT LIST: NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli asked Sen. Joe Biden where he’d be Saturday, and he pointed to his Delaware driveway and said “Here.” He later told reporters, “I’m not the guy.”
Is the stock of Sen. Joe Lieberman on the rise? GOP officials may be looking at whether he can legally be on the Republican ballot, since he isn’t a party member.
The Obama campaign confirmed plans for a major event in Springfield, Illinois Saturday, but isn’t confirming that Obama’s veep will be there or whether the announcement will come that day.
ON THE RECORD: Obama praised Biden Tuesday, calling him a “friend” and echoing his call for $1 billion in reconstruction assistance for Georgia.
Rush Limbaugh called the prospect of McCain picking a pro-choice running mate “crap.” He said doing so would have “effectively destroyed the Republican Party and pushed the conservative movement into the bleachers.”
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said little at the Richmond governor’s mansion today: “The campaign is in control of all the announcements, and I’m not going to talk about my conversations with the campaign.”
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