After years of shying away from nuclear power, presidential candidates on both sides are pledging their support, reports the New York Sun's Josh Gerstein. Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain are all co-sponsoring a bill that includes $3.6 billion for new nuclear power plants. Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden have also supported increased nuclear power, with John Edwards remaining the biggest dissenter on nukes. The issue is most potent in Nevada because of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site, which Dodd and Edwards voted in favor of in 2002 but now oppose.
In regards to carbon emissions, yesterday Obama said gasoline should contain less carbon to help cut cars' carbon emissions by 10 percent in 2020. The Politico's Ben Smith noted that the key number in the global warming debate is 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 -- a target both Edwards and Dodd have agreed on.
Meanwhile, Edwards got Internet campaign pioneer and former Howard Dean consultant Joe Trippi to join his campaign, the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny reports, as Edwards is looking fill the same role as the antiwar candidate like Dean did in 2004. Bill Richardson is adding to his campaign as well by buying $100,000 worth of ads in Iowa and a lesser amount in New Hampshire, the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza reports.
"Money spent is first money earned and Obama has sought to do the latter by rejecting contributions from lobbyists and political action committees ... but his fundraising records show that he relies on donors with special interests," reports The Hill's Alexander Bolton. Three of Obama's top fundraisers say they are no longer lobbyists though there are "no posted contract termination reports for any of them." Other major fundraisers have lobbying histories as well.
As for the Clintons, the former president kicked off Al Sharpton's gathering of Democrats yesterday by talking about everything from "the genocide in Darfur to his efforts to reduce the calorie content of soft drinks." Biden spoke later, calling for military action in Darfur and dividing Iraq along ethnic lines. Richardson said he would make Africa a priority as president. Today Mrs. Clinton will speak at Rutgers after canceling on Monday.
On the GOP side, McCain was campaigning in Las Vegas when he was told via cell phone that Sen. Harry Reid declared that the Iraq war is lost. McCain shot back: "My response is: The men and women who are putting everything on the line in Iraq don't accept that idea. It's a great disservice to them to assume that." Yesterday McCain backtracked on his comment that the Second Amendment "means no gun control," saying that he's "pretty satisfied" with current gun restrictions. Finally, after McCain sang "Bomb, Bomb, Iran," he told critics to "lighten up and get a life." Asked whether the remarks were insensitive, McCain responded: "Insensitive to what? The Iranians?"
In Iowa, Mitt Romney said eliminating the estate tax would help farmers, especially corn farmers whose land value will "skyrocket" as more corn is made into ethanol. In Michigan, fundraising reports reveal that Romney placed another fundraising title on his mantle, collecting more in the state than all other candidates combined.
Lastly, Rudy Giuliani spoke at the Oklahoma City bombing memorial yesterday where he said the nation needs to do a better job of detecting warning signs from fellow Americans to protect against domestic terrorism, channeling the Virgina Tech massacre and the 1995 OKC terror attack.
Get these and today's other elections stories at RCP's Politics and Elections page.
