Clinton, Dodd sign letter warning Bush on Iran

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton and 29 other senators wrote to President Bush yesterday to tell him he has no congressional authority for war with Iran, sparking debate among the Democratic presidential candidates.

The four Democratic senators running for the White House split over whether to sign the letter. Chris Dodd of Connecticut added his support, while Barack Obama of Illinois and Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware declined.

Clinton's campaign accused Obama of playing politics by refusing to support the letter, which was circulated by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Instead, Obama introduced a measure yesterday to make the case in law, spokesman Bill Burton said.

"It will take more than a letter to prevent this administration from using the language contained within the Kyl-Lieberman resolution to justify military action in Iran," Burton said, referring to a nonbinding resolution that designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

The letter Clinton and Dodd signed accuses Bush of "provocative statements and actions stemming from your administration with respect to possible US military action in Iran."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In the afterglow of what many pundits are calling his strongest debate performance, John Edwards is launching the biggest TV ad blitz of his campaign.

The 60-second spot, the first he is airing in Iowa, calls on the Democratic Party to "show a little backbone, to have a little guts," and stand up for working men and women, whom he calls heroes.

"If we are not their voice, they will never have a voice," the former North Carolina senator said.

Edwards is staking his campaign on winning in Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucus Jan. 3 and where he is running a close third behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the latest polls.

Edwards campaign officials said the ad is timed to build on his strong organization in Iowa. They said he is in a three-way race despite having spent only $23,000 on TV ads before the new buy, compared with the millions Clinton and Obama have spent.

FOON RHEE

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Comedian Stephen Colbert’s short-lived presidential campaign has collided with reality.

South Carolina Democrats refused yesterday to let him on the January primary ballot, and he didn’t file by yesterday's deadline for the Republican primary, after having hinted that the $35,000 fee might be a deterrent.

When Colbert announced his candidacy on his Comedy Central show last month, he said that he would run only in South Carolina, where he grew up, and that he planned to run as a Democrat and a Republican so he could lose twice. Colbert paid the $2,500 filing fee for the Democratic primary, but the party's executive council voted 13 to 3 to keep the host of "The Colbert Report" off the ballot.

"He's really trying to use South Carolina Democrats as suckers so he can further a comedy routine," said Waring Howe, a member of the executive council.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, BLOOMBERG

Chris Dodd took his share of shots at Hillary Clinton during Tuesday’s debate, questioning her electability and forcing her muddled reply on whether she supports driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

Now the Connecticut senator suggests in an ad that Clinton is too polarizing to follow through on universal healthcare.

In the ad, John and Jesse, fictional barbers in Winterset, Iowa, see a snippet of a Clinton healthcare ad, then wonder aloud whether it's a new plan and whether she can pass it. "Why not Dodd?" they exclaim.

The ad goes on to tout Dodd’s ability to bring Democrats and Republicans together and his help in passing the family leave law.

"Results for a change," the ad concludes.

FOON RHEE

The biggest source of presidential campaign cash over the summer might come as something of a surprise: retirees.

Retired individuals gave at least $9.2 million between July 1 and Sept. 30 - more than the amount donated by lawyers and more than the amount given by the investment industry, which had been the biggest givers during the first six months of the year, a watchdog group reported yesterday.

For the year so far, retirees have given about $27 million, compared with $39 million from lawyers and $24 million from the investment industry, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics reported.

Lawyers and investors are favoring Democrats in their largesse, but retirees are more bipartisan, giving 51 percent to Democratic candidates and 49 percent to Republicans, the center said. Democrat Barack Obama is the leading recipient so far, with at least $5.1 million, and Democrat Hillary Clinton is second, with about $4.4 million, the report said.<

"Retirees are not only a powerful voting bloc, they’re also very generous campaign contributors election after election," the center’s executive director, Sheila Krumholz, said in a statement.

FOON RHEE