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Washington News
Obama Tells College Students He Wants Their Loan Rates To Remain Low President Obama's speech on student loan interest rates in North Carolina Tuesday, along with a later trip to Colorado, generated extensive national and regional coverage, and was the subject of the lead story on NBC Nightly News last night. ABC World News and the CBS Evening News also covered the President's appearance.
Despite the official nature of the President's trip, Tuesday's events are described by most outlets as part of an effort by the Obama campaign to build support among young voters. The CBS Evening News reported that the President "began a tour of college campuses...looking to shore up support among young voters." ABC World News also said that the President "was working to rekindle the fire of your years ago, especially with young voters whose energy powered him up the first time."
Chuck Todd, on NBC Nightly News, said the "motivation behind" the President's trip is "election year politics." Todd added, "This is an official trip, but it has the trappings of a campaign trip." The Washington Post says the "hero's welcome Obama received in Chapel Hill and Boulder on Tuesday...illustrated how powerful the president's advantage remains among young voters."
Romney And McConnell Endorse Obama's Position On Loan Rates The AP reports that the President and Mitt Romney "agree on an issue of importance to college students: Keeping the interest rate low on a popular federally subsidized student loan issued to low-and middle-income students." Romney "stole a little wind from his sails by saying he, too, agreed with the need to stop the rate from doubling."
Fox News' Special Report also reported that the President is "highlighting what the White House was hoping would be a big contrast with...Romney," which would "fit into the White House narrative: the President is not the silver spoon candidate. ... Except the President was checkmated by Romney, who declared he too supports capping the rates, and added a shot about the job market for young people." Romney: "With the number of college graduates that can't find work... I fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate."
Harvard Poll: Among Young Voters, Obama Leads Romney 43%-26% Bloomberg News reports Obama "holds a 17- point lead over Mitt Romney among younger voters, a nationwide survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics shows." According to the online survey of "3,096 randomly selected participants" taken March 23-April 9, Obama leads Romney 43%-26% "among Americans ages 18 to 29, a group often referred to as millennials because they came of age in this millennium. Almost a third in the age group are undecided. In 2008, voters 18 to 29 supported Obama 66 percent to 32 percent for Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona, exit polls showed."
Young Voters No Longer As Enthusiastic About Obama As They Were In 2008 Chris Matthews, on MSNBC's Hardball (4/24), said the noted that in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll the President leads Romney "among voters 18 to 34" 60%-34%, but those younger voters "don't have as much zeal about voting this time as they did four years ago when 63% considered themselves highly interested four years ago, today that's down to 45%."
Three More Secret Service Employees Ousted As Obama Comments On Scandal The Secret Service Scandal continues to get significant media coverage both on television and in the print media. The television reports last evening and the print media coverage today focused on two aspects of the story: President Obama's characterization of the Secret Service employees involved in the scandal as "knuckleheads" and the ouster of more Secret Service employees as a result of the scandal.
Fox News' Special Report reported, "Earlier today, President Obama offered specific comments about both the agents who protect him and the ones implicated in this affair. ... During a taping...of the comedy show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, he said, 'The Secret Service, these guys are incredible. ... A couple of knuckleheads shouldn't detract from what they do. What they were thinking, I don't know. That's why they're not there anymore.'" ABC World News similarly reported that President Obama "praised the agency but called the agents involved in the scandal, 'knuckleheads.'"
NBC Nightly News reported, "There is a financial time bomb set to go off if Congress doesn't act: the interest rate on a popular student loan is set to double," and "this is not just a financial problem for the kids who are seeking a college education and their parents" because "student loan debt is now...larger than credit card debt and car loans. It has exploded in a bad economy," and the President "talked about this on the road today. In fact he did something he's never done, talked in detail about how recently he paid off his own student loans."
The Raleigh (NC) News & Observer says the President "tried to reassure the seniors venturing into a fragile job market that the American dream is still realistic." According to the News & Observer, the President "acknowledged the economy is not as robust as he would like but suggested he inherited the problem."
On ABC World News, Jake Tapper added, "President Obama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this afternoon spoke to a roused crowd of roughly 8,000," but "four years ago this week, then-Senator Obama drew a Chapel Hill crowd more than twice that size." According to Tapper, "The Romney campaign argues that with a 13.2% unemployment rate for 20-24-year-olds, the President's rhetoric is competing with his record."
US Charges Former BP Engineer In Spill Probe The announcement of federal charges against a former BP engineer generated heavy news coverage last night and this morning, including more than a minute-and-a-half of coverage on network newscasts.
ABC World News reported, "Now two years after the disastrous gulf oil spill, the first criminal charges have been filed against BP. It has to do with these famous pictures. Remember the oil flowing out of the broken well? A former BP engineer named Kurt Mix, was arrested and accused of a cover-up. Deleting more than 300 text messages he sent at the time of the spill, the messages allegedly making it clear that the broken well was spewing a lot more oil than BP was saying publicly then." Similar reports ran on The CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News.
The Washington Post reports, "Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. held out the possibility of further criminal charges -- a key uncertainty hanging over the London-based oil giant as it tries to settle claims and move past the disaster, which was the largest oil spill in US history."
Campaign News
Following Tuesday's Five-State Sweep, Romney Trains Fire On Obama Mitt Romney on Tuesday swept five GOP presidential primaries. In Connecticut , Romney won 67% of the vote, followed by Ron Paul with 13%, Newt Gingrich with 10%, and Rick Santorum -- who had earlier dropped out of the race -- with 7%. In Delaware , Romney won 56% of the vote, followed by Gingrich with 27%, Paul with 11%, and Santorum with 6%. In New York , Romney won 62% of the vote, followed by Paul with 16%, Gingrich with 13%, and Santorum with 9%. In Pennsylvania , Romney won 59%, followed by Santorum -- who represented the state in the US House and US Senate -- with 18%, Paul with 13%, and Gingrich with 11%. And in Rhode Island , Romney won 63%, followed by Paul with 24%, Gingrich with 6%, and Santorum with 6%. In a speech last night in New Hampshire, Romney turned his focus squarely on President Obama.
The Washington Post flatly says that Romney "claimed the Republican nomination Tuesday night after a five-state sweep and turned his full focus to the general election with a charge that President Obama has been a failure in office and a promise of a better America." Speaking in New Hampshire, Romney "signaled that he would wage the fall campaign on the president's economic record."
The AP reports that Romney "laid claim to the fiercely contested Republican presidential nomination" with yesterday's wins, "then urged all who struggle in a shaky US economy to 'hold on a little longer, a better America begins tonight.'"
The Los Angeles Times reports, "In an echo of Ronald Reagan's question - 'Are you better off than you were four years ago' - during his 1980 presidential campaign, Romney asked Americans to consider Obama's 'sweeping promises of hope and change.' 'After we came down to earth, after the celebration and parades, what do we have to show for three and a half years of President Obama?' Romney said at his election night party in downtown Manchester. '...We have seen hopes and dreams diminished by false promises and weak leadership.'"
The Hill reported on its website that Romney, "in his speech, also looked to flip the script on what will be a central theme of Obama's campaign message on tax fairness and income inequality." Said Romney, "This America is fundamentally fair. We will stop the unfairness of urban children being denied access to the good schools of their choice; we will stop the unfairness of politicians giving taxpayer money to their friends' businesses; we will stop the unfairness of requiring union workers to contribute to politicians not of their choosing; we will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the very taxpayers they serve; and we will stop the unfairness of one generation passing larger and larger debts on to the next."
Gingrich Says He'll "Realistically" Evaluate His Campaign In Days Ahead The New York Times reports Gingrich "indicated a new willingness to reassess his candidacy after his defeat in Delaware, a primary he considered crucial, the formal end to the race finally seemed at hand, giving Mr. Romney latitude to assert control over the Republican National Committee and concentrate on how to confront Mr. Obama." The Wall Street Journal reports that while Gingrich didn't say whether or not he'd withdraw from the race, the former Speaker, addressing a group of his backers on Tuesday, said, "Over the next few days, we're going to look realistically at where we're at."
Santorum Stops Just Short Of Endorsing Romney Politico reports Santorum "flirted with endorsing...Mitt Romney on Tuesday, stopping just short of an official declaration of support, but praising him for a 'good speech' following the former Massachusetts governor's wins in several primary states." The Hill reports Santorum, referring to Romney, told CNN's Piers Morgan, "It's very clear he's going to be the Republican nominee and I'm going to be for the Republican nominee and we're going to do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama." The former Pennsylvania Senator "later reiterated that he would 'absolutely' endorse Romney if he became the nominee."
Smith Captures GOP Nomination, Will Now Face Casey The AP reports, "Wealthy former coal company owner Tom Smith won a bitter, five-way Republican primary contest Tuesday for the party's nomination to" take on Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D), "who is expected to be a formidable foe." In the GOP primary, Smith garnered 40% of the vote, followed by ex-state Rep. Sam Rohrer with 22%, entrepreneur Steve Welch with 21%, businessman David Christian with 11%, and attorney Mark Scaringi with 7%. T
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "The Smith victory was a political blow to" Gov. Tom Corbett, "who had gotten the Republican State Committee to endorse Welch with the idea that the youthful, high-energy contender (he's 35 and a Penn State engineering grad) from the Philadelphia region would be the party's strongest candidate against Casey." However, Welch wasn't "able to raise much money beyond the $1 million he gave to his own effort. He struggled to get others' help, and he never had as much money as Smith."
In Show Of Strength By Labor, Critz Defeats Altmire The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that PA12 Rep. Mark Critz (D) "used his deep home base support and the heft of organized labor to win his" Democratic primary battle with PA4 Rep. Jason Altmire (D) on Tuesday night, "picking up an underdog victory in an increasingly conservative district." Critz, who defeated Altmire 51%-49% in a re-drawn district , "now faces Mr. Altmire's 2010 Republican foe Keith Rothfus in the 12th District race.
The AP , noting that Altmire had drawn "the ire of unions for his vote against the federal health care overhaul in 2010," reports that Critz "was buoyed by strong support from unions including the United Steelworkers, key endorsements in blue-collar western Pennsylvania. The former top aide to his powerful predecessor, the late Rep. John Murtha, was also endorsed by former President Bill Clinton."
Cartwright Romps Over Holden The AP reports that PA17 Rep. Tim Holden (D), "the dean of the Pennsylvania's House delegation, lost his re-election bid in a Democratic primary race" yesterday, falling to attorney Matt Cartwright (D), "who spent nearly $400,000 of his own money in the race." Cartwright romped over Holden 57%-43%. During the primary battle, "Cartwright's campaign hit Holden with allegations that he was too conservative for the district's voters, citing his vote against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. But Cartwright also benefited from the new congressional district boundaries redrawn by the Republican-controlled state Legislature to give reconfigured tens of thousands more Democrats" and much territory not previously represented by Holden.
The Allentown Morning Call reports that Holden, "who holds seats on the House Agriculture Committee and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was vulnerable to an attack from the left because of congressional redistricting. He is anti-abortion, opposes gun control and voted against President Barack Obama's health care bill."
Murphy Easily Beats Back Challenge From GOP Primary Foe The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that PA18 Rep. Tim Murphy (R) "on Tuesday locked up the GOP nomination for a sixth term in the 18th District after fending off a political newcomer's claims that he isn't conservative enough." Murphy crushed Evan Feinberg 63%-37%.
Roll Call says Feinberg "had the support of some national conservatives. But many of these groups, including the Club for Growth, declined to help his campaign financially in the final weeks after it was clear he did not have the means to give Murphy a tough challenge."
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