Poll shows Clinton widens lead over Obama
Clinton has widened her lead over Obama, according to a new poll.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has notably widened her lead over her closest competitor in the 2008 Democratic presidential race, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, according to a new national USA/Today Gallup Poll released Monday night.
The survey, following a high-profile spat between the two candidates over who is better suited to handle foreign policy, shows Clinton at 48 percent - a 22 point lead over Obama. Clinton's support is up 8 percentage points from a similar poll conducted three weeks ago, while Obama, at 26 percent, is down 2 percentage points. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards stands at 12 percent.
"[Voters are] taking a good hard look at all the candidates and concluding that Hillary has what it takes to be president and what it takes to take on the Republicans," wrote Mark Penn, a top strategist to the New York Democrat, in a memo to supporters Monday. "They know that Hillary Clinton has the experience and strength to bring about real change."
Related: Clinton proposes $1 billion in mortgage help
- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Clinton vows to protect American homeowners
WASHINGTON (CNN) - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton announced her plan to protect American homeowners from mortgage lending abuses at a speech in Derry, New Hampshire on Tuesday.
"We need to put an end to fly-by-night mortgage brokers peddling loans to unqualified applicants based on inflated appraisals," she said. "We need to help those facing the pain of foreclosure. We need to secure the marketplace and put reforms in place right now."
Clinton promised that, as president, she would "curb unfair lending practices and hold brokers and lenders accountable, give families the support they need to avoid foreclosure, and increase the supply of affordable housing.”
During her speech, Clinton was joined by a New Hampshire woman who had just lost her home to foreclosure.
Clinton also used the occasion to criticize the state of much of America's infrastructure, including ports, bridges, mass transit and airports. The presidential hopeful said that the United States is "woefully under-invested in as a nation" and promised to return to the Granite State on Wednesday to discuss solutions to the problem.
–CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich
Watchdog group alleges that Boehner leaked classified info
Boehner is accused of leaking classified information.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics requested Monday that the Department of Justice investigate a possible leak of classified information by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. The group sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales alleging that Boehner may have violated federal criminal law during an appearance on the Fox News show “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”
During his appearance on Cavuto’s show, Boehner said, “There’s been a ruling, over the last four or five months, that prohibits the ability of our intelligence services and our counterintelligence people for listening to two terrorists in other parts of the world where the communication could come through the United States.”
The group’s request to Gonzales alleges that, until Boehner’s statement, it was not publicly known that portions of the Bush administration’s secret warrantless wiretapping program had been rejected by the special federal court designated to oversee the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The request to Gonzales also states that Boehner apparently made the comment to Cavuto “for partisan political gain,” in order to put pressure on congressional Democrats to pass emergency intelligence legislation.
Brian Kennedy, press secretary to the House Minority Leader, responded to the group’s allegations by releasing a statement Tuesday arguing, “The fact of the matter is that Mr. Boehner was referring to a FISA court judge’s orders in January – outlined in a publicly-available letter from the Attorney General to Congress.”
Related: New law changes U.S. eavesdropping rules
- CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart
Don't call her 'Obama girl'
Watch CNN's Mary Snow report on Caroline Giuliani's support of Sen. Barack Obama.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may not be able to count on support from his own daughter, Slate.com reported Monday.
On his daughter Caroline's Facebook profile, the self-described liberal was a part of a group that supports Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid. After Slate.com emailed her about it, she immediately left the group, the web site reported.
But a spokeswoman for Caroline said her action didn't mean that she is supporting Obama, or any other candidate in particular. "Before the presidential campaign got underway, Caroline added herself to a list on Facebook as an expression of interest in certain principles," Joannie C. Danielides said in a statement. "It was not intended as an indication of support in a presidential campaign and she has removed it. Caroline is not commenting on the 2008 election."
While many of the other candidates' entire families have been visible on the campaign trail, Giuliani's children have yet to make an appearance. His son, Andrew, said he will not help the campaign because he wants to concentrate on becoming a professional golfer, The New York Times reported in March.
Since his very public divorce from his second wife and his marriage to Judith Nathan, Giuliani's relationship with his children has been strained. Giuliani stopped going to his children's events, missing Andrew's high school graduation and Caroline's plays, the Times also reported.
Giuliani talked about his daughter at a campaign stop in Clear Lake, Iowa on Monday.
"My daughter I love very much," Giuliani said. "I have great respect for her, and I’m really proud of her. And I don’t comment on children because I want to give them the maximum degree of privacy. I think children in situations like this deserve to have the maximum degree of privacy. And the best way to preserve that is, except to point out that you love them and care about them and you’re very, very proud of them, just don’t comment about it."
UPDATE: Andrew Giuliani tells ABC News he supports his father's presidential bid and thinks he would be a "great president."
On his sister's support of Obama, Andrew Giuliani said "I love my sister very much and I respect her opinions. "One of the great things about our parents is they've always encouraged us to see the world for ourselves."
–CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich
Related: "Obama girl" and "Giuliani girl" duke it out
Strategy Session: Parenthood and polls
Watch the latest Strategy Session.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - In the latest edition of Strategy Session, Democratic strategist Paul Begala and Terry Jeffrey, editor of Human Events, weigh in on Giuliani's daughter's online support of Sen. Barack Obama.
Raw Politics: A Giuliani for Obama?
Watch the latest edition of Raw Politics.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - CNN's Tom Foreman has the latest edition of Raw Politics, including Rudy's daughter's voting preference and Mitt Romney's abortion stance.
Sen. Clinton slammed for taking $400K from lobbyists
Watch CNN's Kathleen Koch report Clinton is taking heat for her defense of lobbyists.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton is being taken to task by her two closest rivals for accepting $400,000 in campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists.
Over the weekend, Clinton was booed by an audience of liberal bloggers in Chicago when she defended taking money from Washington lobbyists, something both Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards have vowed not to do.
"I don't think, based on my 35 years fighting for what I believe in, anybody seriously believes I'm going to be influenced by a lobbyist or a particular interest group," Clinton said.
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