Sen. Craig Says He Is Not Gay

Under fire from leaders of his own party, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday said the only thing he had done wrong was to plead guilty after a complaint of lewd conduct in a men's room. He declared, ''I am not gay. I never have been gay.''

''I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport,'' he said at a news conference with his wife, Suzanne, at his side.

Craig's defiant news conference came as Senate Republican leaders in Washington called for an ethics committee review into his involvement in a police sting operation this summer in the airport men's room.

''In the meantime, the leadership is examining other aspects of the case to see if additional action is required,'' Sen. Mitch McConnell and other top GOP lawmakers said in a written statement.

Earlier, the private group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics filed a complaint with the ethics committee seeking an investigation into whether Craig violated Senate rules by engaging in disorderly conduct.

Craig entered his plea several weeks after an undercover police officer in the Minneapolis arrested him and issued a complaint that said the three-term senator had engaged in actions ''often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct.''

The airport incident occurred June 11. Craig signed his plea papers on Aug. 1, and word of the events surfaced Monday. The senator issued a statement Monday night that said, ''In hindsight, I should have pled not guilty.''

He repeated that assertion at the Idaho news conference. ''In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision,'' he said. ''I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away.''

Craig was at times defiant, at others apologetic.

''Please let me apologize to my family, friends and staff and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho,'' he said. ''I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I did nothing wrong, and I regret the decision to plead guilty and the sadness that decision has brought on my wife, on my family, friends, staff and fellow Idahoans.''

The conservative three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He said he would announce next month whether he would run again.

Craig, who has voted against gay marriage, finds his political future in doubt in the wake of the charges, which have drawn national attention.

Craig, 62, has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s, but allegations that he had engaged in gay sex have never been substantiated. Craig has denied the assertions, which he calls ridiculous.

The scandal had already taken a political toll. On Monday, Craig resigned from a prominent role with Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He had been one of Romney's top Senate supporters, serving as a liaison for the campaign since February.

Asked about Craig, Romney said, ''He's disappointed the American people.''

''Yeah, I think it reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton. I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we'll just forgive and forget,'' Romney said on CNBC's ''Kudlow & Company.''

Foley is a former Republican lawmaker who resigned nearly a year ago after being confronted with the computer messages he sent to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Clinton is the former president accused in congressional impeachment proceedings of lying about an affair with a White House intern.

According to a Hennepin County, Minn., court docket, Craig pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge on Aug. 8, with the court dismissing a charge of gross misdemeanor interference to privacy.

The court docket said Craig paid $575 in fines and fees and was put on unsupervised probation for a year. A sentence of 10 days in the county workhouse was stayed.

According to the prosecutor's complaint, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, airport police Sgt. Dave Karsnia, who was investigating allegations of sexual conduct in airport restrooms, went into a stall shortly after noon on June 11 and closed the door.

Minutes later, the officer saw Craig gazing into his stall through the crack between the stall door and the frame.

After a man in the adjacent stall left, Craig entered it and put his roller bag against the front of the stall door, ''which Sgt. Karsnia's experience has indicated is used to attempt to conceal sexual conduct by blocking the view from the front of the stall,'' said the complaint, which was dated June 25.

The complaint said Craig then tapped his right foot several times and moved it closer to Karsnia's stall and then moved it to where it touched Karsnia's foot. Karsnia recognized that ''as a signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct,'' the complaint said.

Craig then passed his left hand under the stall divider into Karsnia's stall with his palms up and guided it along the divider toward the front of the stall three times, the complaint said.

The officer then showed his police identification under the divider and pointed toward the exit ''at which time the defendant exclaimed 'No!''' the complaint said.

The Aug. 8 police report says that Craig had handed the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a member of the Senate.

''What do you think about that?'' Craig is alleged to have said, according to the report.

Craig joins other GOP senators facing ethical and legal troubles.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is under scrutiny for his relationship with a contractor who helped oversee a renovation project that more than doubled the size of the senator's home.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that his phone number appeared in records of a Washington-area business that prosecutors have said was a front for prostitution.

Craig, a rancher and a member of the National Rifle Association, lives in Eagle, Idaho, near the capital of Boise. He was a member of the House for 10 years before winning election to the Senate in 1990. He was re-elected in 1996 and 2002.

Last fall, Craig called allegations from a gay-rights activist that he's had homosexual relationships ''completely ridiculous.''

Big Apple Begins Bidding War for Don Imus

A bidding war is underway for shock-jock Don Imus now that his lawsuit against CBS has been settled, industry observers tell NewsMax.

Radio-industry insiders tell NewsMax that the I-Man is talking with ABC about a morning-drive slot on flagship New York City station WABC.

Michael Harrison, publisher of industry bible Talkers magazine, says ABC is "denying it, but not too loudly."

"Everything comes down to human terms; guys sitting down in a room trying to figure out a deal. That's probably what's happening at this time," Harrison tells NewsMax, adding, "He would be a great fit for ABC."

"He's got many options but he is going to obviously want to think about the largest platform for himself, and obviously that would be here in New York City," adds Mike Boyle, senior editor of Radio & Records.

WABC currently leads the city's morning-drive pack with the "Curtis and Kuby" show. Second in the market is Imus' old home WFAN, which just announced the permanent morning pairing of former NFL great Boomer Esiason with "The Jersey Guy" Craig Carton. Bringing up the rear is Buckley Broadcasting's WOR, featuring "The Morning Show with Joe and Donna" — Donna being former New York City first lady Donna Hanover.

WABC would make an ideal national syndication platform for Imus, Boyle tells NewsMax.

"We're going into the political season and it's really heating up. This would be the perfect time for Imus and the perfect vehicle. He's going to bring in national names to the show."

But at least one industry analyst is bucking the conventional wisdom that picks WABC.

Brian Maloney, longtime reporter and industry observer, tells NewsMax that WOR is looking at dumping Hanover and Joe Bartlett to clear the way for Imus. "I'm hearing from a very high-level radio source, whose name you would recognize, that he has a pretty good shot at doing mornings at WOR," Maloney says.

WABC's "Curtis and Kuby," he says, is simply too strong in its slot to chuck for an expensive, known quantity that is likely to make advertisers nervous, at least initially. "WABC, I think, is a pipe dream."

Both Maloney and The New York Times, relying on different unnamed sources, peg Imus' current asking price at $8 million — a cost that Harrison and others believe would put him beyond WOR's reach. But Maloney is confident that number will come down.

"The team right now at WOR costs them chicken feed," he tells NewsMax. "They could be paying $350,000 for both of them. If Imus gets desperate, he'll cut his price; cut it in half or two-thirds. He just got a big payday [from CBS].

"Hanover is doing nothing ratings wise," he adds. "It's a throwaway." Imus, he says, doesn't have a lot of other options in New York. "If I were Buckley I would look at that and say 'we're holding all the cards.'"

Fueling that, Maloney tells NewsMax, is the civil slander suit just filed by Rutgers basketball player Kia Vaughn. "It might be a bargaining chip [for Buckley]," he says. "It keeps the story out there as a reminder of what happened and how easily it might all fall apart again. It gives leverage to bring that salary down."

So what would a new "Imus in the Morning" look like?

The New York Times reports that former Imus producer Bernard McGuirk, who initiated the verbal exchange that ultimately cost Imus his job, will not be a part of the I-Man's return. But longtime Imus sidekick newsman Charles McCord likely will. McCord was the lone member of the Imus troika who did not get fired in April. He remains an employee of WFAN and CBS, and has not made himself available for comment.

One thing to expect, industry insiders tell NewsMax, is an ever-so-slightly kinder and gentler Imus.

"He certainly — and I'm not the first to say this — will have a bulls-eye on his back," Boyle says. "He's going to have to mind his Ps and Qs. The Rev. [Al] Sharpton has already put it out that he'll be watching."

Talkers' Harrison agrees. "He will never use the term 'nappy-headed hoe' again.

"If there's one thing he should change, he should stop bullying the vulnerable and the powerless. That's the thing that Imus did over the years; that was his Achilles' heel. And it came back to haunt him.

"Don't make fun of people's appearance and their weaknesses," he says, "and don't go after people who don't deserve it."

Maloney echoes that.

"He's always been a bully," Maloney tells NewsMax. "People in the business hate him. He's pretty much without friends. He's probably the most hated person in the business.

"I don't think he can go back and be the same old Imus," Maloney says. "He'll be a little bit easier behind the scenes and mellower on the air. I don't see how it can be any other way."

And don't expect to see Imus back on MSNBC, Maloney says.

"That's a tougher nut to crack. They're still arguing back and forth on just what happened. MSNBC seems very happy with Joe Scarborough. Imus will be back on radio, but I don't see a lot of TV."

Amnesty International Becomes a Pro-Choice Organization

In a move that has upset many Christians, the human rights group Amnesty International has abandoned its position of neutrality on abortion and will now actively campaign for pro-choice measures.

The organization’s executive committee decided in April to support access to abortion – "within reasonable gestational limits” – for women in cases of rape, incest or violence, or where the pregnancy jeopardizes a mother’s life or health. Delegates gave the decision overwhelming support at its mid-August conference in Mexico.

Amnesty International has been working in countries where rape has been used as a weapon of war, and in nations where women seeking abortions can be severely punished, BBC News reports. Kate Gilmore, AI’s executive deputy secretary-general, said in a statement:

"Amnesty International’s position is not for abortion as a right but for women’s human rights to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they manage all consequences of rape and other grave human rights violations.”

Christian organizations have threatened to withdraw support from the group in the wake of its decision on abortion.

Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told the National Catholic Reporter that AI had "betrayed its mission.”

He wrote: "To selectively justify abortion, even in the cases of rape, is to define the innocent child within the woman as an enemy, a ‘thing’ that must be destroyed.”

In England, Catholic Bishop Michael Evans, a 31-year member of AI, said he was resigning from the organization.

And in the U.S., Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, said: "Amnesty International was founded to protect human rights, yet it now treads upon the most fundamental human right, the right to life. To fail to protect the right to life renders suspect one’s advocacy of any other human right.”

Tom Wolfe Picks Next President: Jim Webb

Calling the current slate of Democratic presidential candidates “unelectable,” best-selling author Tom Wolfe says a dark horse will emerge to win the nomination in 2008: Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.

At an exclusive Aug. 18 gathering in Southampton, N.Y., Wolfe — whose books include “The Bonfire of the Vanities” and “The Right Stuff” — told journalist Doug Dechert that Webb will be drafted to become his party’s nominee, and he will win the general election.

He reasoned that Webb, a former secretary of the Navy under President Reagan, has the experience, military credentials, and prescience on the war in Iraq to appeal to both his party’s anti-war base and the greater public’s desire for a leader who can plausibly combat global terrorism.

Despite Wolfe’s assessment, it appears highly unlikely that the Democratic nomination will go to Webb, a first-term senator who narrowly beat Republican incumbent George Allen last year and who has shown no interest in seeking the White House. But he has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate in 2008.

Webb created a stir last November at a White House reception for new members of Congress when he declined to be photographed with President Bush.

Obama Lays Down Rules for Oprah Bash

Oprah Winfrey is hosting a big fundraising party for presidential hopeful Barack Obama at her California home on Sept. 8 — and the Obama campaign has set some very specific rules for the gala.

First of all, the campaign is not calling the event a fundraiser — although each guest has paid at least $2,300 for an invitation — but a “celebration.”

And according to instructions sent out to invitees by Julianna Smoot, Obama’s national finance director, guests at the celebration need to wear “Garden Attire” — which the Los Angeles Times’ Andrew Malcolm describes as “summery, sheer, lots of linen, maybe some floppy hats, blazers, contrasting slacks, and open collars for the guys.”

Also, “comfortable footwear is recommended” for the event, which will be held in a meadow on Oprah’s Montecito estate. “Ladies, flat shoes are a must!”

Other rules, according to the Times: Due mostly to security concerns, no gifts for Obama or Oprah will be accepted. All purses and bags will be searched. No cameras or recording devices will be permitted. And a government-issued photo ID will be required for admittance.

Oprah’s support for the Obama campaign comes as no surprise to readers of NewsMax Magazine. The May issue’s cover story, “Obama & the Oprah Factor,” detailed the connection between the talk show host and the Illinois senator, and disclosed that Obama was Oprah’s choice for the White House.

Mexico Engaged in ‘Labor Dumping’

The underlying reason for America’s illegal alien problem is a sick economic system in Mexico that leads to the “dumping” of labor into the U.S.

That’s the view of Steve H. Hanke, a professor of applied economics at the Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

To illustrate how “labor dumping” functions, he points to Yugoslavia under Tito, which sought to deal with a surplus of workers.

“Opening Yugoslav borders — at least by communist standards — provided Tito with the means to dump surplus labor and mask flaws in the paradise of worker-managed firms,” Hanke writes in Forbes magazine.

The result: By the early 1970s “Tito’s broom” had swept 11 percent of the Yugoslav labor force into Western Europe, and those workers sent home money that amounted to 30 percent of Yugoslavia’s exports.

Today Mexico is the world’s largest labor dumper. But politicians on both sides of the immigration reform debate “fail to mention the source of the problem: Mexico’s statist [highly centralized] economy,” according to Hanke. “Like Yugoslavia, Mexico can’t produce enough jobs . . .

“Rather than modernize the economy, Mexico’s politicians use Tito’s broom.”

As a result, 30 percent of Mexico’s labor force is working in the U.S., and last year they sent home $23 billion, 12 percent of Mexico’s exports.

Hanke concludes: “There is little chance of stemming migrant inflows as long as the countries supplying immigrants embrace policies that effectively mandate labor dumping.”

Hillary: Negatives Won't Keep Me From Winning

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton acknowledged on Sunday that many voters do not like her, but she blamed it on years of Republican attacks and insisted she has a record of winning despite her negatives.

Clinton's remarks came as the eight candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination debated in the critical early voting state of Iowa and just days after President George W. Bush's political adviser Karl Rove saying the former first lady was flawed for having high negative ratings.

Clinton and top rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, came under fire early in the debate at Drake University when other candidates were invited to comment on their perceived weaknesses -- Clinton's high negative ratings in the polls and Obama's inexperience in foreign policy.

"I don't think Karl Rove's going to endorse me. That becomes more and more obvious," Clinton told the audience at the debate, which was aired by ABC News' "This Week" program. "But I find it interesting he's so obsessed with me. And I think the reason is because we know how to win."

She tackled the issue of her high negative ratings head-on, saying, "The idea that you're going to escape the Republican attack machine and not have high negatives by the time they're through with you, I think, is just missing what's been going on in American politics for the last 20 years."

Polls have shown Clinton holding double-digit leads over Obama in their effort to be the Democratic candidate in the November 2008 election.

But a recent CBS News poll showed 39 percent of all voters nationwide had an unfavorable view of Clinton, while only 20 percent viewed Obama negatively. Other polls have had Clinton's negative rating even higher.

Obama, who had a narrow lead in ABC News' Iowa poll, was criticized for his recent comments on foreign policy, including saying he would meet with U.S. rivals without preconditions and suggesting he might authorize attacks inside Pakistan without that country's permission.

"The only person that separates us from a jihadist government in Pakistan with nuclear weapons is President (Pervez) Musharraf," said Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut. "I thought it was irresponsible to engage in that kind of a suggestion here."

Clinton said she thought Obama was wrong in saying he was willing to meet without preconditions in his first year in office with U.S. adversaries such as Iran.

Obama dismissed much of the criticism as political maneuvering and quipped "to prepare for this debate, I rode in the bumper cars at the state fair." But he tried to paint Clinton's criticism as outdated thinking.

"I do think that there's a substantive difference between myself and Senator Clinton when it comes to meeting with our adversaries," he added. "I think that strong countries and strong presidents meet and talk with our adversaries. We shouldn't be afraid to do so. We've tried the other way. It didn't work."

The candidates also clashed over ending the Iraq war, with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson arguing all U.S. forces should be removed and others cautioning that withdrawal from Iraq would be messy, difficult and time-consuming.

"We have different positions here," Richardson said. "I believe that if you leave any residual forces, then none of the peace that we are trying to bring can happen."

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said withdrawing U.S. troops would be difficult to do quickly, but "I think we can responsibly and in a very orderly way bring our troops out over the next nine or 10 months."

Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, while arguing for withdrawal, warned against leaving behind a country in turmoil.

"If we leave Iraq and we leave it in chaos, there'll be regional war," he said. "The regional war will engulf us for a generation."

John Edwards: Coulter is a 'She-Devil'

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards escalated his feud with author Ann Coulter by calling her a "she-devil" on a visit to Iowa.

According to Editor & Publisher, Coulter had hurled a gay slur at Edwards earlier this year, and after more back and forth, his wife called her during a national TV appearance to ask some hard questions.

Edwards had reminded the crowd today in Burlington, Iowa, that his wife had challenged Coulter to stop "personal attacks." He continued: "We know these people. We know their game plan. They're going to attack us personally," Edwards said, according to an ABC report. "They attacked Elizabeth personally, because she stood up to that she-devil Ann Coulter."

Catching himself, he added: "I should not have name-called. But the truth is -- forget the names -- people like Ann Coulter, they engage in hateful language."

'Farmer' Hillary TV Ads Begin

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled the first television ad of her presidential campaign Monday, a commercial targeting voters in Iowa where she is in a tight race with rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards.

The 60-second spot, which goes up Tuesday on Iowa television, intercuts scenes of Clinton interacting with voters and delivering a portion of her standard campaign speech in which she speaks of the challenges facing many working people.

[See Hillary's new ad in full by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ2_eoL3TPo]

"If you're a family that is struggling and you don't have health care, you are invisible to this president," she says. "If you're a single mom trying to find affordable child care so you can go to work, you're invisible too.

"Americans from all walks of life across our country may be invisible to this president but they're not invisible to me and they won't be invisible to the next president of the United States," she says to applause.

Images of Clinton walking in an Iowa farm field, talking to young mothers, children and seniors and addressing a crowd at a campaign event fill the screen.

The Clinton campaign spent roughly $360,000 to run a moderate level of ads in Iowa over the course of a week and a half.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who endorsed Clinton after dropping his own bid for the Democratic nomination, unveiled the ad at a news conference.

"This is the Hillary Clinton, not the one who has been vilified by some, but the Hillary Clinton who cares deeply about the people most in need," Vilsack said.

The ad is aimed at softening Clinton's image. While polls have shown her running strongly, her negatives remain high and the spot is designed to introduce her to voters.

The move intensifies Clinton's campaign in Iowa, her weakest state, and comes on the eve of her latest campaign swing here. Iowa is slated to hold its caucuses on Jan. 14, though the date is certain to change after South Carolina Republicans moved up their primary last week.

Some state polls show Edwards leading while other surveys show Clinton, Obama and Edwards essentially tied. This is in contrast to national surveys and other state polls in which Clinton has a clear advantage. In May, Clinton's deputy campaign manager wrote a memo urging her to bypass the Iowa caucuses to focus time and money on states where she's faring better.

Other candidates have been airing commercials in the state over the past few months, with Obama spending $1.15 million, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson $1.55 million and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd $739,000.

Democratic candidates are descending upon Iowa this week for photo-friendly appearances at the Iowa State Fair, a high-profile convention of the Iowa Federation of Labor and this weekend's debate sponsored by ABC.

The New York senator criticized the Bush administration Monday as she appealed to rural voters in her first venture into the Nevada desert.

"We're going to end all these no-bid contracts, we're going to make things more transparent, we're going to get rid of all these cronies that came to Washington to work in the Bush administration," Clinton told a group of raucous supporters at a town hall-style rally. "To do all this, it's going to take reforming Washington."

Clinton spoke to crowd of about 2,500 at a roller-skating rink in Pahrump, Nev., this historically conservative pocket 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

"Boy, we could have solar power all the way from Las Vegas to Pahrump," Clinton said.

The desert is home to wild horses and burros, an occasional brothel (prostitution is legal in the county around Pahrump) and usually conservative voters with strong libertarian leanings.

Michael Moore’s Subpoena Ploy

After Michael Moore let loose with a subpoena “secret” on NBC's “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” media outlets were flooded with reports that the struggling filmmaker had, in fact, been served with a subpoena from the Bush Justice Department.

“I haven't even told my own family yet,” Moore told Leno. “I was just informed when I was back there with Jay that the Bush administration has now issued a subpoena for me.”

Moore has been desperately seeking publicity for his latest flick, “Sicko,” and continues to try everything he can to resuscitate the box office.

Curiously, a day after his Leno appearance, Reuters reported that “federal officials may be planning to subpoena filmmaker Michael Moore . . .”

Evidently, the source told Reuters that Moore had not actually been served with the request.