White House, Obama squabble over Iran meeting

The White House on Wednesday adamantly denied Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s claim that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran by sending a high-level diplomat to a meeting with an Iranian official this weekend.

By sending Undersecretary of State Bill Burns to Geneva to meet with the Tehran emissary, the White House has “shifted course” from refusing to negotiate with the country, the Illinois senator said in a statement.

{mosads}Though White House press secretary Dana Perino declined to address Obama’s comments specifically, she told reporters repeatedly that there has been no change in policy and there will be no negotiations with Iran unless the country suspends its enrichment of uranium, an act that would be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Our principle remains the same, and the strategy and the goal remain the same, that they must halt the enrichment of uranium in order for there to be negotiations,” Perino said.

The purpose of the meeting is to give Iran the chance to respond to an incentives offer the U.S. has made in order to persuade Tehran to suspend its enrichment of uranium. News organizations were reporting Wednesday that the country has signaled no movement on that demand.

Perino insisted Burns will be in Geneva as part of the international community because he will be joined by representatives of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., China, Russia, France and Britain — and Germany.

Obama said this was a good first step toward pushing toward a diplomatic solution to halting Iran’s nuclear program.

“Now that the United States is involved, it should stay involved with the full strength of our diplomacy,” Obama said. “A united front with our friends and allies directly calling on the Iranians to stand down on their illicit nuclear program will maximize the international pressure we can bring to bear and will show the Iranian people that Iran’s isolation is a function of its government’s unwillingness to live up to its obligations. Iran should live up to its obligations now; by waiting, it will only face greater isolation.”

Perino said sending Burns was a signal that the Bush administration is committed to a diplomatic solution, and she said high oil prices and last week’s Iranian missile tests had nothing to do with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s decision to send Burns.

— Sam Youngman

Peterson meets with McCain aide, but no endorsement yet

Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) is moving closer to endorsing Republican presidential candidate John McCain, but he’s not ready to announce anything just yet.

Peterson, who is one of 15 GOP lawmakers not to have endorsed McCain, said his recent 80-minute meeting with campaign aide Douglas Holtz-Eakin was productive and that he is pleased with the recent energy policy announcements from the Arizona senator.

Peterson declined to detail what it will take to secure his formal endorsement, saying, “Those are private negotiations.”

He added that he intends to continue the dialogue with the McCain campaign.

The Pennsylvania lawmaker is not seeking reelection this cycle, but has emerged as a leading voice for the House GOP on energy production.

During an interview on C-SPAN on Wednesday, Peterson said the nation’s energy crisis is “more important and threatening to America’s future than terrorism.”

A full list of members who have and have not endorsed their respective party’s nominee is available at http://digital-staging.thehill.com/endorsements-2008.html .

— Bob Cusack

Obama looks to take Virginia

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) campaign made it clear on Wednesday that Virginia is a top priority in its effort to win the 2008 presidential election, announcing the opening of 20 new field offices Saturday.

Former Virginia Gov. Don Beyer (D) said at a press conference, “We believe these openings show just how important Virginia is to the Obama campaign. We’re going to win Virginia.”

The Obama field offices will be located in traditional locales such as Richmond and Arlington, along with Danville, Martinsville and Winchester, according to the Virginia Campaign for Change, a project of the state party. The Coordinated Campaign, a Virginia Democratic Party effort to promote all Democratic candidates running in national races, currently operates 10 field offices across the commonwealth.

Beyer called the openings “unprecedented in the history of federal Democratic campaigns in Virginia.” Beyer stated earlier that he believes the effort should put the McCain campaign on its heels: “Barack Obama doesn’t need Virginia to win this election, but John McCain does.”

A Democratic presidential nominee has not won Virginia since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson took the commonwealth’s then 12 electoral votes. But Beyer indicated that Obama could break the trend.

“We are going now where Democratic federal campaigns have feared to tread for years … I remember how disappointed we were that John Kerry didn’t contest Virginia four years ago, and Al Gore eight years ago, and Bill Clinton 12 and 16 years ago. But that’s all changing now,” he said.

— Jordan Fabian

Red flags that aren’t red

Two states that provided landslide wins for President Bush in 2000 and 2004 look like potential trouble spots for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as he looks to succeed Bush.

In Indiana, Bush won in 2000 over former Vice President Al Gore by almost 21 points and over Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) four years later by almost 16 points. The current RealClearPolitics average shows McCain losing to Barack Obama by half a point.

In Montana, Bush won in 2004 by almost 21 points and in 2000 by 25 points. Today, RealClearPolitics shows McCain leading Obama by 3.7 points.

— Bob Cusack and Sam Youngman