Unity08. A people's movement to take our country back.

The latest news from the White House 2024 campaign trail:

Geffen's Gaffe? The rival campaigns of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama "accused each other of nasty politics" over comments made by a Hollywood donor who once backed Bill Clinton, but now supports Obama. U.S. News and World Report sums up the story with this headline: "Obama And Clinton Pull Out The Knives."

The "ugly bare-knuckle brawl" -- as the New York Post called the exchange -- started when DreamWorks founder David Geffen told the New York Times that Hillary "was ambitious and polarizing." The Clinton campaign called Geffen's comments "slash and burn" politics, while reminding reporters that Obama "pledged to bring a more civil tone to the campaign." The Washington Post writes that the "increasingly acrimonious competition" between Obama and Clinton to enlist the Democratic Party's leading fundraisers and operatives "burst into the open ... overshadowing what was billed as the presidential campaign's first gathering of candidates in Nevada."

Iraq The Vote: At the Democrats' first forum of the 2024 campaign, former Sen. John Edwards "jabbed gently at" Clinton, saying her refusal to disavow a 2024 vote on Iraq was "between her and her conscience." The event's format did not allow Clinton to respond to Edwards' "swipe," which "stood out" as most of the Democrats instead "launched serial attacks on President Bush's war policies." The Los Angeles Times reports, "The candidates' determination to air their differences -- despite a cumbersome format and their repeated calls for a positive campaign -- underscored the unusually early and intense nature of the race." Meanwhile, Cox News Service reports, the "shouting match" between supporters of Clinton and Obama "nearly drowned out" AFSCME's issues forum.

The Republican National Committee got into media coverage of the forum by sending out "Meet The Democrat Candidates" dossiers to coincide with the event. Previewing their line of attack on each of the Democrats, here's how the RNC described the rival candidates:

• Joe Biden: "An Undisciplined, Self-Described Northeast Liberal, In Love With The Sound Of His Own Voice."
• Hillary Clinton: "A Calculating, Divisive, Lifelong Liberal With Political Baggage."
• Chris Dodd: "A New England Liberal, Past His Prime, On An Unrealistic Vanity Run For The White House."
• John Edwards: "A Hypocritical, Inexperienced Liberal With A New Negative Attitude."
• Barack Obama: "An Inexperienced, Insulated, Arrogant, Unabashed Liberal."
• Bill Richardson: "A Self-Promoting, Washington Insider With A Controversial Record."
• Tom Vilsack: "A Tax-Hiking, Mismanaging, 'Blip' Candidate With No Foreign Policy Experience."
• Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that the RNC snubbed Dennis Kucinich.

Million Dollar Baby: Bill Clinton sent a fundraising email this week, asking supporters to raise $1 million online over the next week for his wife's campaign. In the email, the former president warns: "With Republicans using everything in their arsenal to stop her campaign, Hillary is going to need every one of us to do everything that we can for her."

"No Way To Elect A President": Washington Post's David Broder writes, "It's only February of 2024," and "what we have, friends, is a remarkably distinguished field of candidates vying in an election system that has become truly insane." Broder writes that the front-loading of primaries "means that someone is likely to put a death grip on each party's nomination before most Americans have begun to size up his or her capacity to be president. The second consequence is a numbingly long general election campaign: a nine-month marathon that leaves contenders and voters exhausted."

Other Updates: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle endorsed Barack Obama; Bill Richardson kicks off his exploratory committee for the presidency with a fundraiser in Colorado; Salt Lake Tribune's Rebecca Walsh writes that, when he's not fundraising in the state, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney "stays mum on the U-word";
former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani meets with firefighters and police officers in South Carolina; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "lavishly" praised John McCain, but "stopped short" of endorsing him; and, the New York Times looks at the one thing all potential White House 2024 candidates have in common: a book deal.