Giuliani staffers forgo paychecks
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - About a dozen senior campaign staffers for Rudy Giuliani are forgoing their January paychecks, a sign of possible money trouble for the Republican presidential candidate and last year's national front-runner.
"We didn't ask anybody to do it," Giuliani told reporters Friday after a town hall meeting at a charter school in Coral Springs, Fla.
"Some people volunteered to do it because they wanted to stretch out the money," he said. "We've got quite a bit of money and they wanted to make sure that we had even more money for the end of this situation in Florida, so we could have enough on the air or whatever."
At the end of December, the campaign had $12.7 million cash on hand, $7 million of which could be used for the primary, said Mike DuHaime, Giuliani's campaign manager and one of those who now is working for free. He disputed the notion of a cash-strapped operation and said Giuliani continues to bring in money; several fundraisers are scheduled this week in Florida.
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Clinton offers economic stimulus plan
CITY OF COMMERCE, Calif. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday called for Congress to pass an economic stimulus package that could cost as much as $110 billion to help low-income families keep their homes, to subsidize heating costs this winter and perhaps refund some taxes.
The Democratic presidential hopeful, on a two-day swing through this key Feb. 5 primary state, called on Congress to work with the White House to pass a $70 billion "immediate jump-start" to help people spend more money in the market and perhaps follow with another $40 billion in tax refunds.
"This economy may be working for some people, but it sure isn't working for everybody," said Clinton, standing in an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall with union members.
The proposal, Clinton's campaign said, would provide 37 million Americans with energy assistance. Hundreds of thousands more families would get help to avoid foreclosure, according to the proposal.
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McCain draws crowds along S.C. coastline
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) - John McCain and his gang of South Carolina backers took their campaign roadshow to a trio of restaurants along the coastline Friday, one week before the state's primary.
At each event, the Arizona senator was flanked by state Attorney General Henry McMaster, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and state House Speaker Bobby Harrell.
"I could not be more comforted by the people who are here with me," McCain said
- then mixed his words of praise with teasing comments.
The last rally of the day got off to a rough start. More than 500 people waited in the parking lot as traffic jammed Route 78 and delayed McCain's arrival. When McCain took the microphone, the sound failed.
"It's a conspiracy," he joked. "I knew I shouldn't have told that Irish joke!"
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Small crowd greets Romney's Mich. push
WARREN, Mich. (AP) - Despite embracing Michigan as the heart of his bid to revive his campaign, Republican Mitt Romney was greeted by an anemic crowd Friday as he began his final push for votes in the crucial primary.
No more than 150 people were on hand for his appearance at Macomb Community College's Center for Alternative Fuels, in a space set up for an audience twice that size. Romney delivered an unusually short, 13-minute address, breaking with recent practice and taking no questions from his audience.
Later, in Lansing, the audience was crowded into a conference room at the Small Business Association of Michigan. Romney spoke 20 minutes and took two questions
- one of which was a statement thanking him for coming.
In each location, he tugged at a variety of heart strings as he pleaded for support in his effort to rebound from second-place finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary
- both of which he worked hard to win.
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Huckabee raps Thompson on Reagan comment
DETROIT (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee criticized rival Fred Thompson, saying he wasn't always supportive of Ronald Reagan.
During a debate Thursday, Thompson questioned Huckabee's commitment to the Reagan Revolution, favored, still, in the South. Thompson called his opponent a liberal on economic issues and foreign policies.
"It was real interesting hearing Fred Thompson talk about Ronald Reagan last night," Huckabee said at a news conference with reporters Friday. "Because Fred Thompson supported Gerald Ford in 1976 and not Ronald Reagan. He supported Howard Baker in 1980 and not Ronald Reagan. I appreciate his recent conversion, but some of us were for Ronald Reagan back in the early days; our legacy goes back a little further."
