Giuliani was sharply critical of a recent MoveOn.org ad.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani Wednesday sharply criticized the MoveOn.org newspaper ad attacking Gen. David Petraeus, and said New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was expressing 'political venom' during her recent questioning of the general.

During an appearance on the "Randy and Spiff Radio Show" in Atlanta, Georgia, the Republican White House hopeful called the ad "one of the more disgusting things that has happened in American politics," and said "it's unfortunate" more Democratic candidates haven't spoken out against the liberal advocacy group's ad.

"I think the failure of the Democratic candidates to really condemn that, given how much money Moveon.org spends on behalf of Democratic candidates, which is millions if not hundreds of millions, is really, I really think it’s very, very unfortunate," he said

Giuliani then scolded Clinton directly for her comments during Petraeus' testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday when she said his progress report required "a willing suspension of disbelief."

"I really do think to accuse a general of the ‘willing suspension of disbelief,' — particularly in the atmosphere that Moveon.org has created with these terrible attacks — I think that’s not the way in a responsible way to go about forging the foreign policy of the United States and the military policy of the United States," he said.

What we need right now is a reasoned account, we need statesmanship not political venom," he added.

The ad in question was published in the New York Times Monday and displayed a large black-and-white picture of Petraeus with the caption "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" Below the picture, the ad alleged the general would likely be untruthful in his testimony on Iraq for political reasons.

For the record, Moveon.org supporters have contributed over $108,000 to Democratic presidential candidates this year through the group’s political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission records. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, led his party’s field in contributions received through Moveon.org, with just over $30,000 since the start of his campaign.

Related: Lawmakers seek to condemn Petraeus 'betray us' ad

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — Sen. John McCain continued to voice strong support for Gen. David Petraeus Wednesday, saying he is "respected and admired by literally everybody that serves under him." As for Sen. Hillary Clinton, well, he had other thoughts on his mind.

At a campaign stop in Des Moines, the Arizona Republican said the general is an "honorable and decent man who spent his entire life in the service of his nation."

But McCain, who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, chose different words to describe Clinton, a New York Democrat who is seeking her party's presidential nomination.

"Senator Clinton said that General Petraeus in his presentation was… I quote a 'willing suspension of disbelief," McCain said. "First of all, it's a willing suspension of disbelief that Senator Clinton thinks she knows more than General Petraeus does about events on the ground in Iraq."

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The 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls are participating in a unique online forum.

Watch Abbi Tatton's report on a unique online political event that is connecting voters with the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates.

Related: Choose your own presidential debate

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) – Former Sen. John Edwards has created individual Web pages for the four early voting states in an attempt to encourage tech savvy Democrats to support his presidential bid.

The North Carolina Democrat’s campaign now has Web pages for Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. All four states will play key roles in helping select the next Democratic presidential nominee. On the four Web pages, Edwards has specific links for people to sign up to join his campaign in that state or find a nearby Edwards campaign office.

"We are very excited to announce a variety of new ways for New Hampshire voters to get involved with the John Edwards campaign," said New Hampshire state director Beth Leonard.

– CNN New Hampshire Producer Sareena K. Dalla

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner will make a bid for the Senate, according to the Associated Press.

(CNN) — It appears we could have another bitter Senate battle in the Old Dominion state next year.

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner intends to run for the Senate in 2008, according to Democratic officials who spoke with the Associated Press.

Warner is scheduled to make an e-mail announcement Thursday regarding his political plans. The officials who spoke to the AP did so on the condition of anonymity, saying they didn’t want to pre-empt Warner’s announcement.

In last year’s midterm elections, Democrat Jim Webb ousted Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen by a margin of less than 10,000 votes, or less than half a percentage point. Webb’s victory helped give the Democrats a slim 51 to 49 Senate majority. We could see an equally close contest in Virginia next year.

Full story: With Warner in, Virginia becomes a battleground state

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) — Commenting on the latest national polls showing he is in a virtual dead heat with Fred Thompson in the race for the GOP nomination, Rudy Giuliani said he is the Republican candidate best suited to compete on a national scale in the general election.

"I think the thing that the polls show clearly is that I am the only Republican right now that can contest in all fifty states," the GOP hopeful said Monday at a campaign stop in Akron, Ohio. "And I think every poll has shown that either I'm ahead or I'm more competitive than the other Republican candidates.”

The presidential hopeful went on to say, "If one of them were elected….they wouldn't be able to campaign in twenty, twenty-five states the way we did in the past. We didn't campaign in New York, or California, or New Jersey, or Connecticut, or Washington, or Oregon, or Illinois [in recent presidential elections], and those are states where I would be a competitive candidate, at least according to the polls that exist now, and we'd like to keep it that way."

While remaining confident, Giuliani conceded that "we've got a lot of work to do to make sure the result is that we win the nomination."

Giuliani campaigned in West Virginia earlier Wednesday, and was expected to make a stop in South Carolina later in the day.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Romney denied anyone from his campaign was behind the anti-Thompson site.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called a now defunct Web site that attacked former Sen. Tennessee Fred Thompson "juvenile and offensive" Wednesday, and said no one from his presidential campaign was behind it.

"There's no place in politics for those kind of hijinks," Romney told the Associated Press. “The person who put it up was acting on his own. I've said I do not want to have that person in any way associated with my campaign."

Romney and Thompson are competing for the GOP presidential nomination.

The Web site in question, www.phonyfred.org, was created by Wes Donehue, an associate consultant and vice president of the firm Tompkins, Thompson, and Sullivan. A principal of the firm – Warren Tompkins – is a paid advisor to Romney’s presidential campaign.

The Washington Post was first to report the site's link to Romney's campaign and it was soon taken down. The campaign later denied it had any involvement with the site or knew of its existence.

But a spokesman for Thompson's campaign dismissed the denial late Tuesday, calling it a "half-baked cover-up attempt by the Romney campaign [that] does not even pass the laugh test."

A screen grab of the site captured by the Post before it was taken down shows a banner headline describing the Tennessee Republican as “Phony Fred.” Subcategories are titled: “Hollywood Fred”; “Washington Fred”; “Pimp Fred”; and “McCain Fred.”

– CNN's  Xuan Thai and Alexander Mooney

Why is the DNC punishing Florida and Michigan but not New Hampshire?

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Hey, what about New Hampshire?

Sixteen Democratic members of the Florida and Michigan congressional delegations are asking Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean why he has not made the same punitive threat to New Hampshire as has been issued to Florida over the seating of delegates to the 2008 presidential nominating convention.

Florida is in violation of DNC rules by moving its primary up to Jan. 29 — a full week before all but four states are allowed to hold presidential nominating contests. (The DNC gave Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina special exemptions to hold caucuses and primaries on specific dates in January). (TIME.com: Will Dean's War on Florida Backfire?)

If the Florida Democratic Party agrees to hold its nominating contest on Feb. 5 or later, then all of its delegates will be invited to the Democratic National Convention next summer. If the state party moves forward with the Jan. 29 primary then not one Florida delegate will be allowed to attend.

“On August 9, 2007, the Chair of the South Carolina Republican Party traveled to New Hampshire and announced – at an event staged in the New Hampshire State House – that South Carolina Republicans would move their primary from January 29 to January 19, 2008,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote Dean on United States Congress letterhead. “New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardiner (sic) participated in this event and, with the support of the state’s Democrats, indicated that as a result of South Carolina’s announcement, New Hampshire would move its primary from January 22 to an earlier date. This action would result in New Hampshire’s Democratic delegates being selected in clear violation of the DNC Rules.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Providing a much-needed boost to a candidate whose judgment in international affairs has been called into question, former President Carter’s National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brezinski, introduced Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, during a campaign stop in Clinton, Iowa on Wednesday.

“I’m here today because I strongly believe that the next election is not just to choose a new president,” Brezinski said. “The choice that you will be making will define America’s role in a historically new era. We have elections every four years, but only once in a while is a new president facing the opportunity to shape a new sense of direction for America,” explained Brezinski.

Brezinski, who stood out for his relatively hawkish views in an administration that often emphasized human rights, told the crowd that by invading Iraq the “United States has become engaged in what is essentially a colonial war in the post-colonial era.” He also opined that the Iraq war “has discredited America worldwide,” and warned that the conflict in Iraq might spread to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Saying Obama “was not, like many others, a Johnny-come-lately” with regard to realizing that the Iraq war was a so-called “fool’s enterprise,” Brezinski told the members of the crowd that they had the opportunity to change the world by supporting the Illinois senator.

In August, Brezinski supported Obama during a foreign policy spat between the Illinois senator and his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York. In addition to advising President Carter, Brezinski also was adviser to officials in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

– CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Democrat Jane Harman has often be outspoken on intelligence issues.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A leading congressional Democrat on Wednesday accused the director of national intelligence of undermining the authority of his office by taking political positions.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., lashed out at DNI Mike McConnell for taking a political role in recent negotiations with Congress about updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the law that regulates foreign intelligence eavesdropping.

"He appeared to be taking orders from the White House, negotiating for the White House," said Harman. The role he played, "whether he intended it or not, appeared to be political," she said.

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CNN's Carol Costello reports Sen. Vitter faces new prostitute allegations.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Republican Sen. David Vitter, who admitted earlier this year to a "very serious sin" after his telephone number appeared in the telephone records of a Washington, DC escort service, faced new allegations Tuesday he had a relationship with a prostitute from his home state of Louisiana.

With Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt at her side, the former prostitute Wendy Ellis told reporters that Vitter employed her services several times a week between July and November of 1999. At the time, Vitter was a new face Capitol Hill, having won a special election only months earlier.

"I want the truth to be known," Ellis said. "It was a pure sexual relationship. He would come in and do his business."

Vitter, who acknowledged in July to contacting an escort service after Hustler reported his number was linked to the alleged 'DC Madam' Deborah Jeanne Palfrey,' has denied any links to Louisiana prostitutes.

"My admission has encouraged long-time political enemies and those hoping to profit from the situation to spread falsehoods, like those New Orleans stories in recent reporting,” Vitter said in July. “Those stories are not true.”

On Tuesday, Flynt said Ellis' passed a polygraph test, but he had no other evidence linking the senator to the former prostitute.

"We don't even like to mix polygraphs into this stuff, because they're not admissible in court," he said. "But you know she's concerned that she be believed as much as Vitter is believed."

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Sen. Hillary Clinton received another union endorsement on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Praising her record on health care and postal reform, the National Association of Letter Carriers officially endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, Wednesday morning.

"In the primary elections next year, you can count on letter carriers to deliver for Senator Clinton, and I am confident that in the years to come, President Hillary Clinton will deliver for every citizen throughout America," NALC President William Young said.

Clinton praised the union workers, saying they are the only workers that physically reach every home in America and called them "part of the fabric of every community." The NALC is comprised of 300,000 active and retired city delivery carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service

She promised to appoint experienced people to head government agencies and cut down on outsourcing and foreign contractors.

"Isn't it a sad commentary that it would be a campaign issue to restore competence? But what we've seen in the last six years is indifference and incompetence," Clinton said. Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner intends to run for the Senate next year, Democratic officials said Wednesday, assuring his party a competitive race for a seat long in Republican hands.

Warner scheduled an e-mail announcement of his plans for Thursday. The seat is currently held by Republican Sen. John Warner, who recently said he will retire at the end of his current term after 30 years in office.

The officials who discussed former Gov. Warner's intentions did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt his announcement.

Monica Dixon, who heads Warner's political action committee, Forward Together, declined to comment on his plans.

Warner is one of a small number of prominent Democrats whom party officials have been recruiting for Senate races. In New Hampshire, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen has not yet said whether she will challenge Sen. John Sununu, while former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey is considering making a comeback bid to replace a retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel.

Edwards slammed Obama's Iraq plan Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, on Wednesday called for an immediate withdrawal of 40-50,000 troops from Iraq following two days of Congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Edwards, who is seeking his party’s presidential nomination, said his Democratic rivals: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, as well as Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, have “a moral responsibility to use every tool available to them, including a filibuster, to force the president to change course.”

Edwards also called Obama’s plan for troop withdrawal a copy of the president’s plan.

“Sen. Obama would withdraw only 1-2 combat brigades a month between now and the end of next year,” explained Edwards, “which for the next several months could essentially mimic the president’s own plans to withdraw 30,000 troops by next summer.”

Related: Democratic hopefuls critical of Bush drawdown plan for Iraq

– CNN Ticker Producer Xuan Thai

WASHINGTON (CNN) — After Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, unveiled his comprehensive plan to end the war in Iraq Wednesday, his rival for the Democratic nomination Gov. Bill Richardson, D-New Mexico, attacked the senator’s plan and called his ideas "more of the same."

"Senator Obama has offered to turn the page in Iraq, but I think we need a new book," Richardson said in a statement. "Leaving behind tens of thousands of troops in Iraq for an indefinite amount of time is nothing new. This plan is inadequate and does not end the war."

In his speech, Obama said the United States needs to immediately start bringing combat troops home from Iraq, but that some troops should be left to fight al Qaeda in Iraq and in the rest of the region. Richardson called that plan "dangerous" and said that leaving some troops there won't end the war.

"There is only one responsible course of action left for us in this war," Richardson said. "We need to get all of our troops out of Iraq with no residual forces left behind. We need to withdraw both the combat troops and the tens of thousands of other troops who are there. We need to do it now."

–CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich

Obama spoke with CNN's Dana Bash Wednesday morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, told CNN's Dana Bash Wednesday Congress needs to send President Bush a "clear message" that change is needed in Iraq. But the Illinois Democrat, who is seeking his party’s presidential nomination, appears wary of voting for any Senate bill that does not include a deadline for withdrawal.

"You know we are going to have to evaluate what's available — but it appears clear to me that the president is not willing to compromise short of Congress forcing him to accept a shorter time table, and absent that we are essentially engaging in a bunch of symbolic action there," he said.

Senate Democrats seemingly do not have the votes to pass a bill that includes a specific withdrawal timetable and are currently looking for a compromise with Republicans.

Obama is scheduled to lay out his plan for Iraq Wednesday afternoon during a speech in Iowa where he will say that U.S. troops should begin to withdraw immediately.

Sen. Chris Dodd questioned Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker on Tuesday as Sen. John Kerry looked on.

(CNN) — Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd Wednesday blasted two of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, for not taking a tougher line on their Iraq positions.

"I was disappointed that Senator Obama's thoughts on Iraq today didn't include a firm, enforceable deadline for redeployment, and dismayed that neither he nor Senator Clinton will give an unequivocal answer on whether they would support a measure if it didn't have such an enforceable deadline," Dodd said in a statement released by his presidential campaign.

"It is clear to me - especially after yesterday's testimony - that half-measures aren't going to stop this President or end our involvement in this civil war," said Dodd, referring to testimony provided by Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker Tuesday before a Senate committee. "I thought it was clear to Senators Obama and Clinton as well after they finally came around to supporting the Feingold-Reid measure and voting against a blank-check supplemental spending bill this spring. If 'enough was enough' then, why isn't it after the bloodiest summer of the war?"

Both Clinton and Obama voted against a Defense bill measure that funded military operations in Iraq earlier this year.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are the overwhelming front runners in the Democratic and Republican races for the White House, according to a new poll of Florida voters.

Sen. Clinton, D-New York, leads her nearest Democratic presidential rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, by 29 points, according to the Quinnipiac University survey released today. In the Republican horserace, Giuliani, the former New York City Mayor, is up by 11 points over his closest rival, former Sen Fred Thompson, R-Tennessee, who formally announced his candidacy last week.

If Clinton and Giuliani face off in the general election in November 2008, it seems that Floridians are split. The two candidates are deadlocked at 44 percent each in the hypothetical match up. But Giuliani comes out on top in hypothetical match ups with both Sen. Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina.

Florida has long been a major player in the general election. The 36-day Florida recount, of course, was responsible for settling the 2000 contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore. This time around, Florida should also be a heavyweight in the primary process. The Sunshine State has moved up its primary to January 29, just one week ahead of the score of states from coast to coast that will hold their contests on February 5.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,141 Florida voters from September 3-9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

In a letter to president Bush, Clinton said a troop withdrawal this summer is "too little, too late."

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, isn't the only White House hopeful Wednesday stepping up talk on Iraq.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, sent a letter to President Bush describing his reported plan to withdraw 30,000 troops next summer "too little too late and unacceptable to this Congress."

"As Commander-in-Chief you have the authority and ability to greatly accelerate the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq, and to bring so many more troops home so much faster," Clinton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, writes in the letter. "I strongly urge you to choose this course of action."

She added, "Mr. President, it has been nearly four and a half years since you landed on an aircraft carrier and stood before the American people under a banner that read 'Mission Accomplished.' Do not repeat that mistake on Thursday night. Do not misrepresent the facts about the situation on the ground. And do not portray an unavoidable reduction in U.S. troops to pre-surge levels that would occur anyway as a marker of success. Be candid with the American people."

During her endorsement event with the National Association of Letter Carriers Wednesday morning, Clinton criticized Bush for troop reductions that "were going to happen anyway" and demanded that he "start bringing troops home now."

"Taking credit for this troop reduction is like taking credit for the sun coming up in the morning," Clinton said. "The president has the authority to bring our troops home safely and responsibly starting now. But he just won't do it."

Meanwhile, in what has been billed as a major address on Iraq later Wednesday in Iowa, Obama plans to call for a withdrawal to begin "immediately."

– CNN's Jessica Yellin and Alexander Mooney

Sen. Barack Obama will lay out his plan to "turn the page" in Iraq.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - In what his campaign is billing as "a major national security address," Illinois Sen. Barack Obama will outline his plan today to end the war in Iraq and "his vision for what America can achieve once it turns the page" in that country.

Speaking at Ashford University this afternoon in Clinton, IA, the Illinois senator will detail a four-part plan to turn that page, according to excerpts of his speech made available to CNN.

1. "Immediately begin to pull out troops engaged in combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year."

2. "Call for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, convened with the United Nations, which would not adjourn until Iraq's leaders reach a new accord on reconciliation."

3. "Use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all of the nations of the region on behalf of a new regional security compact.”

4. "Take immediate steps to confront the humanitarian disaster in Iraq, and to hold accountable any perpetrators of war crimes."

In advanced excerpts of his remarks, Obama, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, says the "bar for success" now in Iraq "is so low that it is almost buried in the sand… We've had enough of a war that should never have been authorized and should never have been waged."

"I opposed this war from the beginning," Obama says, according to the excerpts. "I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed it in 2003. I opposed it in 2004. I opposed it in 2005. I opposed it in 2006. I introduced a plan in January to remove all of our combat brigades by next March. And I am here to say that we have to begin to end this war now."

–CNN Associate Producer Stephen Bach