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Presidential Politics Roundup
There have been a few developments since my last Presidential Politics Roundup, most notably, Hillary Clinton's speech last weekend announcing the suspension of her presidential campaign. Below are some of the issues raised by Clinton's departure from the race, as well as an analysis of how yesterday's Supreme Court ruling recognizing the right of Guantanamo detainees to avail themselves of habeas corpus procedures is impacting the campaign message of the remaining two candidates.
What happens to the lawyers who chose the wrong candidate? -- Now that Clinton has pulled out of the race, what's the fate of the lawyers who lined up to support her either with campaign contributions or "sweat equity" on the campaign trail? As Legal Times reports, Obama intends to welcome to his campaign lawyers formerly on the Clinton team, if only to maintain party unity. But whether Obama will consider these lawyers for administration positions is another matter. For now, not surprisingly, most speculation about Obama's potential appointees revolves around lawyers who declared loyalty to Obama from the inception of his campaign.
Campaign finance laws and Hillary Clinton's debt -- Though most of Clinton's campaign team has disbanded, her campaign finance lawyers still have some work to do. They face the daunting task of helping Clinton dig herself out from under a mountain of campaign debt. With her campaign now suspended, Hillary Clinton owes more than $30 million in debt that she racked up during her primary campaign. As reported by The Politico (via CBS News), Clinton will likely explore a variety of accounting maneuvers -- some never before tried in presidential politics -- to repay the debt without running afoul of campaign finance laws. And presumably, she'll need campaign finance lawyers and accounting experts to smoothly navigate these regulations.
The Supremes' Guantanamo Ruling and the Presidential Campaign -- Bloomberg analyzes the implications of the Supreme Court's Guantanamo ruling for the presidential campaign and the next administration. Because the Supreme Court's ruling applies solely to Guantanamo detainees, there's inceased pressure on the government to close the facility. Indeed, even prior to the Supreme Court decision, both McCain and Obama pledged to eliminate Guantanamo. However, simply deciding to close Guantanamo may prove to be the easiest job for a future administration. The harder question is what happens to current inmates, particularly those who can't be prosecuted but would pose a threat if released.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant on June 13, 2008 at 02:25 PM | Permalink
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