Niall Stanage

Another Hillary update from Niall Stanage:

Hillary Clinton's campaign swing through Iowa brought her to a biotech company on the outskirts of Des Moines this morning - and brought Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez unexpectedly into her crosshairs.

The first question she received after a speech to employees of the Pioneer Hi-Bred International facility in Johnston raised the issue of the Chavez government. The former first lady assailed the Venezuelan president for fomenting "anti-Americanism across Latin America" and returned, in unusually personal terms, to one of the themes of her speech - how energy independence could prevent the transfer of American dollars to anti-American regimes.  read more »

"My late father was a child of the depression and he never left a room without turning out every light. Well, now I go around turning out the lights," she said.

"If we said, 'Turn off that light because we don't want to send any more money to Chavez in Venezuela,' that would make a difference."

Jason Horowitz writes about the reaction among conservative leaders to the pro-Second Amendment, strict constructionist, marriage-between-a-man-and-woman version of Rudy Giuliani. Bob Barr says, "It's a sleight of hand."

Niall Stanage interviews former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix about the Bush administration's increasingly hard line with Iran. Dark stuff.

Albert Gore III tells Spencer Morgan that as far as he knows, his dad is thinking about winning an Oscar -- and that's all.

Azi Paybarah talks to an Eliot Spitzer donor who thinks that the governor's reforms could set him up to be President.

Azi also reports from a Barack Obama meet-up, where some female supporters explain why they chose the Senator from Illinois over the Senator from New York.

Steve Kornacki thinks Hillary Clinton could be the next Ed Muskie.

Joe Conason thinks the New York Times needs to reckon with its history on the Clintons and Whitewater.

Harry Siegel still doesn't quite know what to make of Ground Zero.

Nick Von Hoffman says that the Scooter Libby trial is a test for the press.

And there's lots of good stuff here.

-- Josh Benson

Also in the Observer, Niall Stanage has an interview with Lebanon's highly depressed UN representative, who describes a confrontation with his Israeli counterpart and a seeming inability to communicate with John Bolton.

And John Koblin writes about the legacy of Tom Manton.

-- Josh Benson

WEB HEDS: 07.19.06

Page One

Cover Story:

(a) Jason Horowitz  read more »

In his column today, Niall Stanage says the genteel response of the New York Times to charges of treason has been wholly inadequate, and that what the paper actually needs is a Clinton-style war room.

Here's part of his prescription:

Spokespeople for The Times and other comparable media outlets need to realize that no slur, no matter how crazed, can go unanswered in today's climate. If that means offering interviewees to the shrillest talk shows, aggressively slapping down demagogic attacks and employing people solely to stomp on blog-inspired trash, so be it.

Jason Horowitz writes about the proliferation of Mike Bloomberg.

Niall Stanage thinks fueling Bloomberg '08 will prevent the Mayor from becoming lame.

Sheelah Kolhatkar and Anna Schneider-Mayerson write about Henry Paulson Jr.

Joe Conason digs into the obsession with the Clinton marriage.

Matthew Schuerman reports on Christine Quinn's Altantic Yards dance.

Richard Brookhiser thinks the Republicans have betrayed their contract.

Bloomberg and Pataki in the editorials.  read more »

We take a long look at Ed Cox, the likely GOP nominee for Senate next year and Richard Nixon's son-in-law, who gets high marks in filial piety.

Also, Niall Stanage notes that New York's politicians, by national standards, get along quite well.  read more »

And David Mamet and Paul Giamatti have a deal to write and take the leading role, respectively, in a biopic on the colorful, fallen mayor of Providence, Buddy Cianci.

And Scocca weighs in on that Daily News biopic.