The Fix - Chris Cillizza&#8217s politics blog on washingtonpost.com - April 13, 2008

Special Weekend Wag the Blog: Debating the Debate

Even before Wednesday night's debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton ended, the protests about it from some within the Democratic Party had begun. Obama supporters slammed the proceedings as a "gotcha" fest in which ABC moderators Charlie Gibson...

By Chris Cillizza | April 19, 2008; 10:41 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (267)
Categories: Wag The Blog
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McCain's Innovators and Trailblazers

Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) campaign announced today that it had collected $15 million in March and had $10 million left in the bank. Late tonight, the campaign released its bundlers -- the men and women charged with collecting dozens or...

By Chris Cillizza | April 18, 2008; 8:21 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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The Line: McCain Puts 3 Key States in Play

PHILADELPHIA -- The Fix is on the way back from a whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania to check out the lay of the land in advance of the state's presidential primary on Tuesday. But if it's Friday, it's time for The...

By Chris Cillizza | April 18, 2008; 9:35 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (253)
Categories: Eye on 2008 , The Line
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Taking a Bite Out of Philly

The Fix samples a Philly cheesesteak.

By Chris Cillizza | April 18, 2008; 8:04 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Fix Notes
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Clinton Invokes '90s

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Framed by the neon green lights of the Mayflower Mayfair Diner, a Northeast Philadelphia landmark, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) swiped at Sen. Barack Obama over his evaluation of her husband's administration. "Sometimes during this campaign my...

By Chris Cillizza | April 17, 2008; 9:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Clinton Praises McCain on Global Warming, Focuses on Women

HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) praised Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for his willingness to break with his party on the issue of global climate change but insisted she would go further than her potential Republican presidential rival....

By Chris Cillizza | April 17, 2008; 4:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (63)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Democratic Operative Takes on McCain's Age

Despite a recent promise from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean not to make Sen. John McCain's age -- he turns 72 in August -- an issue in the presidential campaign, a senior Democratic operative has started a new...

By Chris Cillizza | April 17, 2008; 3:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (163)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Independent Spending Gurus Key to Battle for House

The battle for House control is already well underway with a key special election later this month in Mississippi's 1st District and another in early May in Louisiana's 6th District. To that end, both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and...

By Chris Cillizza | April 17, 2008; 1:39 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: House
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Spinning the Debate's Aftermath

PHILADELPHIA -- The Fix is headed out on the campaign trail today to catch Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) at a few events (and to sample some of the reader recommendations for the best cheesesteak out there). But, before...

By Chris Cillizza | April 17, 2008; 11:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (145)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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SEIU Joins the Pa. Fray

The Service Employees International Union is joining the ad fray in Pennsylvania with commercials in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia starting today that highlight the rising cost of gas and tout Barack Obama's ability to solve the problem. The ad opens with...

By Chris Cillizza | April 17, 2008; 8:19 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Keystone Kerfuffle: First Thoughts

The Fix is overloaded on pretzels and Alka-Seltzer cold medicine at the moment, but we couldn't shut down the computer for the night without offering a few additional thoughts on what we just witnessed. We'll be back tomorrow with a...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 11:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (290)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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The Closing Statements

The two candidates' closing statements showed voters the true difference between them, which is far less about issues than about approach. Clinton billed herself as a known commodity and a pragmatist, Obama cast himself as a transformational figure and an...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 10:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (128)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Out-Gunned?

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, Charlie Gibson questioned both Clinton and Obama about why they -- and the Democratic Party -- have avoided pushing for more stringent gun control measures over the last few elections....

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 9:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Clinton, Obama Talk Iraq

Asked whether the situation on the ground will impact their previously stated positions to begin removing troops from Iraq as soon as they are elected president, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) said it would not. "The...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 9:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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A Debate Devoid of Issues So Far

Roughly 45 minutes into the ABC debate, the proceedings have been heavy on process and incredibly light on policy. Obama has taken the brunt of the questioning, being forced to answer for a laundry list of potential Republican attacks against...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 9:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Obama Addresses "Bitter," Clinton Hits Back

It didn't take long for the comments made by Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) at a San Francisco fundraiser last weekend to become fodder for tonight's debate. Asked by Charlie Gibson whether he understood why some people would be offended by...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 8:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Opening Statements

Tonight's Democratic debate in Philadelphia began in the most traditional of manners -- opening statements by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.). Obama won the coin toss (symbolic?) and elected to go first, touching on the frustration...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 8:14 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Pennsylvania Debate Preview

UPDATE, 5:55 pm: The Fix has finally arrived at the site of tonight's Democratic presidential debate -- a mere two and a half hours before the event begins. The debate is being billed as a prize fight of sorts (maybe...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 12:56 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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The Fix Heads to Philly

The Fix -- laid low by a cold -- is on his way up to Philadelphia for the Keystone Kerfuffle between Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). The debate, which is being sponsored by ABC, begins at...

By Chris Cillizza | April 16, 2008; 8:34 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Obama Responds (Sort Of) to "Bitter" Controversy

Anyone paying attention to the Democratic presidential race knew that once Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) began running television ads in Pennsylvania attacking Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) for comments he made to a group of donor last week, a...

By Chris Cillizza | April 15, 2008; 5:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Freedom's Watch Makes a Move in Louisiana

Freedom's Watch, a conservative independent group aligned with several former Bush administration officials, has launched new ads in an attempt to sway voters in a special election for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District. The move seems to confirm speculation that the...

By Chris Cillizza | April 15, 2008; 2:57 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Branding McCain: Straight Talker or Bush Clone?

UPDATE, 4:30 pm: The Republican National Committee has responded to Progressive Media USA's ad buy with a statement that does a bit of branding of its own. "With the Democratic Party embroiled in a bitter debate over elitism, it's no...

By Chris Cillizza | April 15, 2008; 12:38 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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"Bitter-gate": Where Do We Go Now?

Critical mass has been reached. "Bitter" and "cling" will forever be tied to Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the same way that "Tuzla" and "the laugh" will always evoke Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) when a political junkie thinks...

By Chris Cillizza | April 15, 2008; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (492)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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'TamCam:' Obama and the Olympics

The Fix has FixCam. Fix Friend Tammy Haddad has "TamCam" -- offering brief, yet intimate sketches of politicians when the television cameras are off. Her latest offering is a behind-the-scenes interview with Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) following last night's "Compassion...

By Chris Cillizza | April 14, 2008; 9:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Eye on 2008
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The Fix: April 13, 2008 - April 19, 2008