The Economy, Stupid

Iraq has been the overshadowing issue for this election season, and that will hold to be true all the way to November 2008. Iraq cost the Republicans 2006. Iraq will cost the Republicans 2008.

And health care is going to be President Obama's signature achievement.

But he has been hurting himself by not giving the economy equal attention. He has to tie the loose ends and assure Americans he will be as good if not better than Bill Clinton on the economy.

You end the war on Iraq. That helps you end the huge budget deficits. And that right there is a big part of the puzzle.

Universal health care also brings down costs for the economy as a whole, for companies in general, and especially for small businesses.

Confronting global warming is about the next big industry that will create new jobs. For Bill Clinton it was software and dot com. For President Obama it is going to be the clean energy industry.

And there is the usual democratic stuff about investing in education, investing in basic research.

What Bill Clinton attempted and did was pretty simple. He himself has called it basic "arithmetic." But the guy who followed has made Bill Clinton look like some kind of a genius.

Barack Obama needs to eat up Hillary Clinton's lunch. And you do that by grabbing all the sensible elements of Clintonomics, which are all of the above and other stuff like 100,000 more police officers onto the streets, and earned income tax credit for the poor. Yes, be for tax cuts, but tax cuts for people who actually will go out and spend that money and boost the economy.

But it is not about photocopying. You grab what you want to, and you add your own. Bill Clinton did not tackle health care, he did not tackle chronic poverty. No, he is not America's first black president. America's first black president will tackle chronic poverty in the inner cities. We already know how to. So far what has lacked is political will.

And he did not tackle global warming in a big way. He is on record saying, "I like Al. He is a smart guy, but he sees things that don't exist."

In short, there is Iraq, there is foreign policy, but everything has to be woven into an economy narrative. That is how you wean the Democrats away from their Bill Clinton nostalgia. Hillary is perceived as a stand-in for Bill Clinton.

Barack Obama has yet to give a major speech that was just about the economy, the economy as a whole.

Bill Clinton

I am for publicly financed elections. And I am against term limits. It was a failure of democracy that Bill Clinton was denied a third term. America hurt itself in the process. Dot com wannabes like myself got sent to Siberia: it was a nuclear winter that lasted a good few years.

I am a huge fan of Bill Clinton. I am very fond of him and always will be.

Bill Clinton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the North American Free Trade Agreement ... the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993

In The News

Pakistani leader assured on re-election AP, Sat Sep 15, 2:43 PM ET "It is our preference that whosoever wishes to contest for the presidency, whether General Musharraf or somebody else, should do it from the next assembly, and it should be a civilian who contests the ... presidential election from the next assembly," she told Pakistan's Dawn News TV channel. ...... "We want to take the country back slowly but surely to the constitution that existed before the military coup," Bhutto said. ..... While the ruling coalition says it has enough support in parliament to get the simple majority to re-elect Musharraf, the support of Bhutto's party would help achieve the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments that could head off legal challenges to his taking office for another five years. .... Despite the uncertainty over the talks, the government says that on her return, Bhutto will not suffer the fate of Sharif, who was swiftly expelled when he came back from exile Monday. But officials said she would have to face pending corruption charges.
Musharraf says no terrorist safe havens in Pakistan AFP, Sat Sep 15, 9:25 AM ET Musharraf told a visiting US Congressional delegation there were no safe havens for terrorists on Pakistani soil ...... Pakistan says it has arrested more than 700 Al-Qaeda operatives since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. .... has also deployed around 90,000 troops to hunt down Al-Qaeda fugitives who crossed the border after the ouster of the fundamentalist Taliban in late 2001. Nearly 800 Pakistani soldiers have died in clashes with militants.
Violence Kills More Than 60 in Northwest Pakistan at The Washington Post Sep 14 killed by an explosion in a heavily secured dining hall for army commandos. ...... most likely the work of a suicide bomber ..... an incident late last month in which 200 to 300 Pakistani troops were taken hostage in South Waziristan. ...... a population that has grown hostile toward domestic military operations that are part of a war widely seen as driven from Washington. ...... Osama bin Laden is more popular than Musharraf in Pakistan, but both get far more approval than President Bush. .... only 19 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of the United States. ...... Musharraf is in the midst of the fight of his political life as he tries to hold off a burgeoning pro-democracy movement. He is seeking to be reelected by parliament and regional assemblies within the next month, but the Supreme Court is expected to hear a petition next week alleging he is ineligible to run because of his other job as army chief. .... Some of Musharraf's advisers have urged him to declare emergency rule before he can be disqualified
Lights, Camera, Bhutto! Time.com via Yahooo! News, Sep 15 in a series of carefully orchestrated simultaneous press conferences held in eight Pakistani cities ...... In Islamabad the PPP headquarters were decorated as if for a wedding: strings of lights were draped over every surface and rose petals dusted the heads and shoulders of the gathered crowds. ...... The Bhutto press conferences all started precisely at 5:30 p.m., exactly 40 minutes before sundown on the first day of the Muslim fasting month ....... The good Muslims in her audience hadn't touched food, drink or cigarettes since dawn. And so, the post press-conference invitation to a traditional sundown feast was met with more cheers than the announcement of her return - proof that she knows what will please a crowd. ....... a massive presence of police - one that was, tellingly, nowhere to be seen for Bhutto's celebratory announcement ..... Supreme court rulings on Musharraf's ability to run for another term while maintaining the office of Army Chief, and a contempt of court case against the government for preventing Sharif's return among them ........ a brand new press corps, an unpredictable new factor in Pakistani political life that neither Sharif nor Bhutto ever faced. ..... One of the hallmarks of Musharraf's reign has been the wholesale liberation of Pakistan's electronic media. Over the past five years media deregulation has meant that dozens of independent TV stations have exploded on the scene, ready and all too willing to exploit the slightest misdemeanor of those in power. Musharraf has already felt the bite of this newly unleashed press: exhaustive coverage of his attempts to dismiss a popular Supreme Court justice contributed significantly to his plunge in popularity. ........ husband Asif Zardari still carries the nickname "Mr. Ten Percent."
A Familiar Face in Pakistan Time.com via Yahooo! News, Sep 15 martial law, but that would be highly unpopular, even within the military, which doesn't want a confrontation with an angry populace. Sharif's party faithful, undaunted by their leader's absence and the arrest of many of his aides, are planning mass protests. ...... terrorist attacks, once confined to tribal areas in the north, have spread across the country ... If Musharraf sheds his uniform, they can block him with another constitutional provision: retired soldiers must wait two years before standing for office. ...... But Bhutto's own standing has plummeted since she started dealing with the dictator. ..... her demands that he resign as head of the military, drop corruption charges against her and give up the power to dissolve parliament. ..... the Americans are "naive" for thinking that Musharraf will have any clout once he steps down as military chief or that Bhutto will be able to control the army as Prime Minister. ...... His two stints as Prime Minister were marked by mismanagement and corruption. .... Bhutto's party "has historically been more popular and closer to the moderate center than Nawaz's party."
Running on Empty at The New York Times Sep 12 blocked the return of his longtime political rival, Nawaz Sharif, and then arrested nearly the entire top leadership of Mr. Sharif’s party. ..... Pakistanis — professionals, ordinary people and even some in the military — have made clear that they are now sick of the general’s rule. Most want a return to civilian democracy. ...... It’s time for General Musharraf to leave the military, for Pakistan to hold free and fair elections and for the army to find ways to support, not sabotage civilian democratic rule.
The General's Best Chance at The Washington Post Aug 29 $10 billion in American aid ..... Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Sharif both are two-time failures as Pakistani prime minister. Both have been credibly accused of breathtaking acts of corruption; both have been unscrupulous in pursuing their personal ambitions. ....... it is time for the general to make a deal.

Obama needs an ace Guardian Unlimited, UK Generating enthusiasm for change isn't enough. To beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama will have to make a move. ....... Americans retain a desire to believe in their leaders that apathy and cynicism has gnawed away in most other western democracies. .... especially given the deception of the current Presidency ..... 2008, more than usual, will be a change election .... so many people have been so fed up with a sitting president for so long ..... after 20 years of leadership by the two same families, what could be less about change than another Clinton in the White House? Two words repeated - Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton - could yet pierce Hilary's increasingly comfortable lead in the polls. ...... Obama is an intriguing candidate, with a whiff of real integrity. ..... "you get the sense he just might be one of those 'two in a century' Presidents". ..... Obama revels in a glorious uncertainty. He stresses the fact he doesn't know everything, that he will listen and learn from other viewpoints. ..... an unconviction politician, the antithesis of Bush's moral certainty. ...... The simple, believable change that Clinton offers is a return to competence: change merely as an end to Bush's bumblings. That could be change enough for most voters. ....... He's gambling on the hope that Americans want not just change but upheaval. ..... Obama is going to have to make a move. His current campaigning, rousing as it is, will not propel him past Clinton on its own. ..... If he's got an ace up his sleeve, he's going to have to play it soon.
Supermodels launch anti-racism protest Several of the world's top black supermodels, including Naomi Campbell, Iman, Liya Kebede and Tyson Beckford, yesterday launched a campaign against race discrimination in the fashion industry - which they say is at its worst since the 1960s. About 70 leading models, designers, agents and fashion show producers gathered at a New York hotel in the first of a series of rallies designed to put pressure on the industry to face up to the problem. ..... her recent claim that she could no longer get on to the cover of British Vogue. ..... She revealed that she had forced her way on to the cover of French Vogue only after the designer Yves Saint Laurent had threatened to break off relations with the magazine unless they did so. ...... "In the past decade the black image has been reduced to a category - she is not even to be seen; she has become invisible ..... several of the New York fashion week shows, including Calvin Klein, had featured only white models. ..... the industry had become progressively closed to African-Americans through open discrimination that would be unthinkable in any other US industry. ...... when he invited Somalia-born Iman to guest edit a recent edition with the cover line "black girls rule", a major advertiser had pulled out at the last minute on the grounds that the phrase was racist. ...... there was brief discussion of the possibility of bringing a class action law suit against the most blatant discriminators.
Rudy’s 50-state strategy Town Hall the issue Giuliani believes can catapult him to the White House: a do-or-die fight between the U.S. and international terrorism .... America "cannot go back to the policies of appeasement, retreat or surrender ....“When in the history of war has an army ever given its enemy a timetable of retreat?” ..... Giuliani spent the bulk of last Wednesday raising money, eyebrows and probably the blood pressure of Democrat front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. ..... pointing to traditional Democrat strongholds like Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California as among those he can win.
Obama responds to critics on Iraq plan DesMoinesRegister.com "Senator Obama has a gift for soaring rhetoric, but, on this critical issue, we need to know the substance of his position with specificity,” Dodd said. ..... “We don’t need a time table for the Iraq war,” Hayward said. “Do not pull the troops out. Otherwise, all the troops who have died would have died in vain, we would have accomplished nothing and it could start World War III.”
Obama plans more refugee aid DesMoinesRegister.com
Oprah legitimizes Clinton-Obama in '08 Orlando Sentinel, FL Recently on the Oprah Winfrey Show I watched Bill Clinton wax eloquent as only Bill Clinton can. Clinton's voice cracked and he choked back tears as he extolled the rewards of giving. His new book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World, which he was promoting on the show, is an impassioned endorsement of selfless charity. ........ He must realize that Obama poses a legitimate threat to his wife's political ambitions. ..... It's in the Clinton campaign's best interests to sidle up to Obama's biggest supporter. ..... But what if Hillary Clinton decides to invite Barack Obama -- a politician who's often criticized for his lack of political experience and electability-- to be her running mate? ..... a large number of Americans read books based solely on what Oprah recommends. Is it a stretch to think many wouldn't also vote based on what Oprah says?
Blacks moving away from Clinton to Obama, poll shows The Times and Democrat, SC a groundbreaking Winthrop/ETV poll, conducted exclusively with S.C. African-Americans between Aug. 19 and Sept. 9 ........ "Early on, African-Americans threw their support to Hillary Clinton, primarily based on the Clinton legacy. However, as African-American voters have gotten to know Barack Obama, support for him has increased significantly. The real tipping point in the Democratic primary election may be undecided African-American female voters -- there are many more African-American female undecideds than males, and Clinton and Obama are dead even among African-American women. It may literally come down to whoever gets the African-American female vote. Clearly support for Edwards, etc. is coming from white voters. On another note, among African-Americans in South Carolina right now, George Bush is proving to be a much more polarizing figure than the Confederate flag." ......... historically, African-Americans have made up to 50 percent of voters in Democratic primaries in South Carolina. ..... Barack Obama emerges as the winner in three out of the four match-ups, trailing Clinton in the fourth match-up (taken of women only) by .3 of one percentage point. ...... almost 30 percent count themselves as still undecided. ..... 56.2 percent of respondents felt that the national Democratic Party, and 57.1 percent of the respondents felt that the SC Democratic Party were taking their votes for granted. ...... almost 50 percent of respondents felt the Confederate flag was primarily either a symbol of racism or hate, almost 20 percent saw it as symbolizing both pride in heritage and symbolic of racism and hate
Poll: Obama narrowly leads Clinton among black South Carolinians The State
Presidential politics | Women key in '08 The State Undecided black women's votes will control outcome of Democratic presidential primary, poll finds ........ Obama of Illinois narrowly leading Hillary Clinton of New York among all black people surveyed who say they will vote. ..... more than a third of black women said they were undecided about whom to vote for in the state’s Jan. 29 Democratic presidential primary. ...... no Democrat has won the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976 ..... The Clinton-Obama contest pits the strong positive feelings many black South Carolinians have toward former President Clinton against the excitement surrounding Obama, whose father was African. ..... Among all black people surveyed, Obama has the support of 35.4 percent; Clinton, 30.7 percent; and Edwards, 3 percent. No other candidate is above 1 percent. However, 28.7 percent of those surveyed were undecided ..... Among men, Obama dominates. He has the support of 42.4 percent of black men to Clinton’s 30.5 percent. Only about a fifth of black men are undecided. ...... “Honestly, we’re not paying that much attention to them and we’re really focused right now on building what we continue to think is an unprecedented grassroots movement that is going to engage people in a way that South Carolinians haven’t been engaged before” ........ Larvine Parker, 83, of James Island, supports Clinton. Parker said former President Bill Clinton has a lot to do with her choice. Of Obama, Parker said, “I don’t know enough about that guy. But I know Senator Hillary Clinton. She’s a real good woman. And her husband was a darn good president.” ...... Rivers said she rejects the stereotype she should support Obama because she is black or Clinton because she’s a woman. “There has to be more to it than that,” she said. ..... There is an automatic assumption, she said, that black women will support Clinton because of their shared gender or Obama because of their shared race. .... People who tend to look forward, Barack seems to be winning. For people who are kind of stuck on how things used to be ... it’s not so much Hillary as it is Bill Clinton that seems to have the edge. ..... those surveyed said they would vote for Clinton, they were asked to explain why. .... “The top answer was Bill Clinton”

Bush warns against hasty Iraq withdrawal AFP
Preview: US Democrats plan new tactic to change course of war Xinhua A new legislative proposal raised by Democrats is finally close to winning enough Republican support for a real chance at being approved ..... It would require that troops spend as much time at home as on their most recent tours overseas before being redeployed. ..... would force Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to withdraw troops on a substantially swifter timeline ..... protect troops from serving protracted and debilitating deployments. ..... the "easiest way" for his Republican colleagues ..... a number of initiatives aimed at shifting the war strategy. ...... a back door approach that underscores the Democrats' continuing struggle to have any real influence on the conduct of the war. ..... the Democrats need just three Republicans to join the six ....... several Republicans who voted against the proposal last time said they are now reconsidering, including Senator George V. Voinovich of Ohio, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, who is running for re-election next year. ...... allows Democrats to present themselves as supporters of the troops, but not the war.
Fed’s Ex-Chief Attacks Bush on Fiscal Role New York Times chairman of the Federal Reserve for nearly two decades, in a long-awaited memoir, is harshly critical of President Bush ...... abandoning their party’s principles on spending and deficits. ..... Bush, he writes, was never willing to contain spending or veto bills that drove the country into deeper and deeper deficits, as Congress abandoned rules that required that the cost of tax cuts be offset by savings elsewhere ..... As officials leave the Bush administration, there is no shortage of criticism of this White House ...... Greenspan’s reflections on markets, globalization and the media’s fascination with the thickness of his briefcase ..... For years, the first President Bush has blamed Mr. Greenspan for contributing to his defeat in 1992 by failing to prevent a recession by cutting interest rates. ....... Greenspan reserves his highest praise for Bill Clinton, whom he described in his book as a sponge for economic data who maintained “a consistent, disciplined focus on long-term economic growth.” ....... fondly describes his alliance with two of Mr. Clinton’s Treasury secretaries ... in battling financial crises in Latin America and then Asia. ..... Bush as a man driven more by ideology and the desire to fulfill campaign promises made in 2000, incurious about the effects of his economic policy, and an administration incapable of executing policy. ....... emotional journey .... initial elation about the return of his old friends from the Ford White House ..... to astonishment and then disappointment at how much they had changed. ........ “I thought we had a golden opportunity to advance the ideals of effective, fiscally conservative government and free markets.” ...... he shows remorse about how Republicans jumped on his endorsement of the 2001 tax cuts ...... spending whatever it took to ensure a permanent Republican majority. ..... knew full well that politicians cited his words selectively to suit their agendas. ...... “mumbling with great incoherence.” .... the housing bubble, and now the bust, that was fueled by low interest rates and risky mortgages in the last six years. ....... an explosion of mortgages that required no money down, no income verification and deceptively low initial teaser rates. ...... the Fed is expected to lower interest rates in an effort to prevent the collapsing housing market from taking the rest of the economy down with it.
Greenspan says GOP "deserved to lose" Chicago Tribune
Report: Greenspan harshly attacks Bush policies Xinhua
Frenzied week for corporate India Economic Times Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance Industries (RIL) has agreed to buy textile and polyester manufacturing assets of the Malaysia-based Hualon Corporation. In a statement, the company said that the acquisition will increase the company’s polyester capacity by 25% and consolidate its position as the world’s largest polyester maker with a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per annum. It will also boost RIL’s annual revenues by about $1billion.
Sunni Leaders In Iraq Threatened Guardian Unlimited
Retired army general Wesley Clark endorses Clinton's presidential bid The Canadian Press
Magic gives Clinton a boost in LA Los Angeles Times
Obama Gets Oprah, Hillary Gets Magic The Associated Press
Michelle Obama: On The Campaign Road CBS News "You know, Oprah is Oprah," Michelle said. "So it's pretty phenomenal when someone with the character and power and the success that she has, says to the nation that this is the man I trust. You've gotta be flattered by that." ...... asked if Winfrey will join the Obamas on the campaign trail, Michelle said, "Our hope is that she will. I hope she'll be in Iowa and New Hampshire and some of the early states." ...... her time on the stump has come with a steep learning curve ...... we can't deify our leaders. They're humans. They're people ..... I want to get to the point where we can talk about the black community and our struggles and our challenges ....... when this is all over: They're going to get a dog ...... "Oh gosh, we talk about a dog every day. Every day, every opportunity. They're looking forward to this being over no matter what. In fact, they might be OK with a loss because it means, now, we can get the dog! OK, dad, get over it and let's go to the pound!"
Al Qaeda: $100G To Kill Swedish Cartoonist
Obama to Storm: "Democracy Isn't About Whose Turn It Is" mediabistro.com
Nepal Maoists to quit govt over monarchy Times of India
Menon in Nepal to help resolve impasse Times of India
AP Poll: GOP Presidential Race a Toss-Up The Associated Press
New twist in Patna lynching case Times of India
Collective fine for mob violence in Bihar Times of India
Study Says Iraq Not Meeting Benchmarks Voice of America
Gonzales honored on last day at Justice Los Angeles Times
Putin's man vows to restore Russian power The Age
Pakistan's Bhutto sets return date Los Angeles Times
Vietnam at centre of “Wimax storm” VietNamNet Bridge
Vietnam will become one of the centres of the Wimax storm which will hit Asia in the next one or two years. ... the race for implementing wireless telecom technology Wimax is burning and will be very fierce in 2008-2009. In that race, like for any advanced technology related to ‘mobile and wireless’, the race will run from the east to the west, firstly in Asia and then to Europe and finally the US. ..... the ‘thirst’ for wireless technology or Wimax of Asia. If this technology is implemented and brings about benefits like people expect, it will seriously threaten 3G-based mobile service providers. ..... One of the prerequisite conditions for the success of Wimax is the commitment of governments. ..... Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, during his visit to India, asked the Indian government to not protect old technologies to create favourable conditions for other new technologies to develop. ...... During his Indian visit, Mr. Barrett disclosed that Intel cancelled its decision to choose India as the place for its transistor plant. It has chosen Vietnam and China because the Indian government was moving slowly in working out related policies. ...... praised the sharpness of the Vietnamese government in issuing investment attracting policies in the field of technology. ..... Vietnam’s early grant of frequent bands, licences and facilitating tests of Wimax technology shows that Vietnam will become a centre of the Wimax storm, which is forecast to come in the next 1-2 years. .... Vietnam will receive many benefits in technology as well as economic and social development.
US Poised to Advance in Women's World Cup Football Voice of America
Brazilian physicists boycott Dell Register

After Speech, Bush Seeks to Overcome Doubts on Iraq New York Times
Will Iraq sink the GOP? Los Angeles Times Next summer, less than four months before the November election, there will still be about as many American troops fighting in Iraq as there were on the day of the Democratic sweep in the November 2006 election. ..... about 140,000 in all. ..... virtually assure that Iraq will dominate the presidential and congressional campaigns and divide the parties as much in 2008 as it did in 2006 and 2004. ..... GOP presidential and congressional candidates face the dangerous choice of either defending the president or distancing themselves from him as he pursues a largely "stay the course" strategy almost two full years after impatience with the war helped Democrats seize control of the House and Senate. ....... provided powerful talking points for Democrats arguing that the only way to change direction in Iraq is to defeat Republicans in next year's election. ...... attitudes were evident last week from Republican senators facing reelection in 2008, such as Alexander, Collins, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Gordon Smith of Oregon and even Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina. All questioned Petraeus' plan and urged the administration to consider either more rapid withdrawals or a shift in the mission of American forces away from front-line combat. ....... Bush, with his decision to maintain so many troops in Iraq through the final months of his presidency, has virtually dared voters to view the next election as a referendum on the war.
Giuliani blasts Hillary on war in new Web ad Newsday
Ten suspected thieves lynched in Bihar Hindustan Times
50 Cent's retirement? Not so fast Los Angeles Times
Tsunami spares most of Indonesia Los Angeles Times
War Critics Question Obama's Fervor Washington Post
Giuliani slams Clinton on Iraq AFP
Fundraiser's Legal Woes Dog Clinton Camp Guardian Unlimited
Barack Obama tries to revive campaign with late push in opening state Times Online
Why Women are for Obama San Francisco Bay Guardian By Sarah Phelan ..... Last week I witnessed presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s deliver a very powerful speech at the Women for Obama event in San Francisco. ..... a fierceness came into his voice when he talked about the cost of the war to the troops and their families ...... Up on stage with Obama, alongside San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, was Kim Mack. Mack, who is executive director for Sacramento for Obama, talked about why she is for Obama--and one big reason was her 23-year old son Bobby, who has been serving in Iraq for a year. ...... I don’t feel the Bush administration cares about the troops at all. And I can;’t even stand to look at Bush any more. I feel he has a total disregard for what is most precious to people. ..... Mack says she was really proud of Obama when he voted against the last funding bill, in spite of the warnings that his vote would be spun as “not supporting the troops. .... Before we came here, Al Qaeda wasn’t here, but now they are everywhere ..... Asked why most Americans aren’t protesting the war, Mack said, “American people are like ostriches, they like to keep their heads in the sand, if something doesn’t affect them personally. I’ve had people tell me, your son’s over there, you just need to get over it. People just don’t have the ability or the desire to understand.” ...... “The thing about Obama is that he really cares, he’s really genuine. We need someone real, who has common sense judgment. You can support our soldiers and not support the war. The soldiers are young kids. They think what they are doing is right and they’ve been put into a politicized position. They are pawns in a political game.” ..... And that's why women are for Obama.
Obama Gets Oprah, Hillary Gets Magic Guardian Unlimited
Michelle Obama: WE'RE Running For Dem Nod CBS News, NY
For what it's worth: Obama wins Cincinnati Enquirer
Why Barack Obama makes sense to me, a lot of sense The Villager
Poll: Hillary Clinton Continues to Gain Bigger Lead Associated Content Clinton has continued to build a strong lead in the national race. .... Obama .... has continued to either remain stagnant or even fall in many polls. .... Clinton is running at 39.4% in the national polls, while Obama has maintained a second-place 21.8%. .... Iowans right now are leaning toward Clinton, at 26.9%, but Edwards is placing a strong second, with 23.5%. Obama is placing third right now, at 20.2%. ..... New Hampshire .... Clinton leading as of September 10th, with 35.4%. Obama is placing second, at 19%, and Edwards is claiming third, with 11.6%. .... South Carolina. As of September 10th, Clinton is leading (37.6%), Obama is placing second (25.6%), and Edwards is placing third (10.2%). ..... California .... Clinton claimed a 50.3% lead, while Obama's 24.1% put him at second. Edwards is holding at 14.3%.
Poll: Hillary Clinton Takes Lead in Iowa Her move up in the ranks in Iowa mirrors what has been happening in the rest of the country. The survey shows that part of her rise in popularity has to do with the positive opinions that the voters have of her husband. .... Clinton's lead with the women is higher than it is with the overall group ... Governor Bill Richardson .... is also being mentioned as a choice for vice president, based mostly on his experience in the foreign policy field. ..... if Hillary Clinton were to be elected President, would President Clinton have a positive or negative effect on his wife's administration. Positive came out way ahead with 81% ...... 77% want the next administration to return to the policies of the Clinton years
Poll: Hillary Clinton Leads New Hampshire Primary
California Legislature's black caucus endorses Obama San Francisco Chronicle
Obama rolls the dice San Francisco Chronicle, USA

Barack: Strength And Judgment

Strength? What Strength? Experience? What Experience

Groupthink is not strength, and if it is experience, it is bad experience.

Hillary messed up on Iraq big time. And, more important, she has not learned from her mistake.
There were many mistakes made in the war on Iraq.

First, it was looking Tokyo, going London. It was like Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, so the US went ahead and invaded Indonesia in return. The counterattack on the Taliban and the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan was just. But instead of focusing to uproot the Al Qaeda, W, Hillary and the others decided to take their eyes off and go somewhere else. They did what Bin Laden wanted them to do. Some secret Al Qaeda meetings at the time have Bin Laden telling his comrades it was important the US stopped its focus on Afghanistan and went elsewhere, perhaps Iraq. If Bin Laden were to have his say, W, Hillary and the rest will also attack Iran and make Bin Laden's day.

The invasion of Iraq was a militarily dumb move. The Al Qaeda is stronger today than it ever was before. After half a trillion dollars, thousands of American lives, and tens of thousands of innocent Arab lives, if the enemy is stronger than it was before the war was launched, is that a failing grade or what?

The problem with Hillary also wanting to end the war just like Obama is she is not admitting her mistake, and in not admitting, she is exhibiting she has not learned from the mistake.

So, first, wrong war on the wrong battlefield.

Second, costs. Half a trillion dollars is a whole lot of money. I think you could send everybody in the Americas to college for that kind of money. Or what? Now America has debts and deficits as far as the eyes can see. W, Hillary and the rest of them swiped your children's credit cards, stolen credit cards.

War time sacrifices are not unheard of. But Roosevelt never gave trillion dollar tax cuts while taking the Americans to war with Hitler.

Imagine it is 1947, and in 1940 Hitler only had some of Eastern Europe, some other parts of Europe, and in 1947, he has all of Europe, big chunks of Russia and most of North Africa, and he is getting interested in heading into Asia like Alexander The Great. Would you have given Roosevelt a failing grade?

Third, costs in innocent lives. America can not become Al Qaeda and strike Al Qaeda. The 100,000 innocent Iraqis who have lost their lives to the American invasion have been a wronged bunch of people. Wars are always ugly, true. That is why war always, always has to be the weapon of the last resort, not first, like it was for W and Hillary and the rest of them.

Fourth, losing Arab street credibility. You can not be best friends with Musharraf, and act like the Saudi King is extended family to you, and then go tell the poor Arab masses that you are for democracy.

Fifth, and my number one gripe, and here not only Hillary but many anti-war activists are guilty in my book, is that there has to be a progressive way of spreading democracy. The neocons have showed their ugly, ineffective way. The progressive way has to be Nepal's magical April Revolution way, and it is science. It can be replicated country after country after country. Bush, the neocons, the Republicans and Hillary have spent $500 billion in Iraq. The Democrats, the progressives should have a $50 billion plan to go into all countries that have dictators to fund democracy movements, to help build the basic institutions of democracy and a market economy. We can do this. (The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal)

Ending the war is not enough, which is Hillary's sole new mantra. Coming back home is not an option. The idea is to reinvent the engagement, to make the engagement total. The idea is to wage a war of communications technology the grassroots way to ensure a total spread of democracy by 2020. It can be done.

The only way to win the so-called War On Terror is to turn every Arab country into a democracy. Spreading democracy is a science. It can work like clockwork. It can be done. You do it the right way, the progressive way. The neocon attempt has been inhuman, and costly, and ineffective, and utterly wasteful.

Strength? What Strength? Experience? What Experience

In The News

For Clinton, 2000 Fund-Raising Controversy Lingers Wall Street Journal
Clinton Dismisses Lobbying Criticism The Associated Press
Why Barack Obama makes sense to me, a lot of sense The Villager the desire on the part of so many from my generation to want to turn the world upside down and rid it of war, racism, poverty and the power of material greed. Having kids didn’t change that for me; it made change more imperative, because I was bringing life into a world which was full of problems. ...... to look at the electoral arena as part of the battlefield for social change. ...... efforts to wrest control of the party from the party bosses and give it to the rank and file. ..... It is amazing, in many ways, how little progress we have made in 40 years. We are more aware of the issues and problems and debate them more intellectually. Racism is almost as pervasive, but far more subtle. ...... Women have moved further up the professional ladder, but still largely hit an economic glass ceiling in every other respect. ..... One reason that things did not change is that the movement of the 1960s did not march on. ....... But something different is quietly happening this year. Barack Obama, a man who graduated from Columbia and decided to go back to Chicago to organize poor people around issues, is running for president. He has approached his campaign as an opportunity to build a movement — a movement based in communities around issues that matter. Using the power of the Internet, he has promoted the growth of local Obama support groups in local communities — in New York City there are already 20 — and these groups keep reaching out and out and keep bringing more and more people into the most multiracial, upbeat, positive campaign about hope, and about the future, that this country has seen since the 1960s. ...... Obama hasn’t had to “move to the left” or discover that he was wrong about Iraq. Obama didn’t discover unions and the rift between rich and poor after losing an election in 2004. ...... Unlike Hillary Clinton, Obama has been consistently solid on the key issues — and unlike Hillary, we know, if Obama is elected, where he will be on the issues. (Do we really need a second Clinton presidency, framed by lots of progressive hype, which delivers so little in the way of progressive legislation, and so much to Wall St?) And, perhaps most important, Obama’s followers have the potential — with the support of their candidate — to build a new progressive movement in the U.S. and a new reform movement in the Democratic Party. Obama speaks about his candidacy, and even his possible election as president, as part of the launching of a new movement to change America. The president of the United States encouraging a movement for progressive social change? Now there’s a thought! ........ We can look to elect a president who not only looks different, but who thinks and acts differently, a progressive champion who boldly reasserts government’s role as protector and uplifter of the people at home, and who can reinvent American foreign policy as a force for peace, not coercive power, across the globe. ........ Unlike most elected officials in New York, I have not hitched my wagon to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. And I doubt that most of the “liberal,” “progressive,” “activist” politicians from Manhattan who are publicly supporting Hillary can say to us, with a straight face, that their candidate is a force for progressive change in the U.S. ..... Having chosen to support Barack Obama, I challenge my colleagues — whether they be congressmembers, state senators, assemblymembers or city councilpersons — to rethink their support for Hillary and what it means. ...... I promise you that politics will never be the same again.
Former ABC News consultant allegedly faked interviews with Obama ... WQAD
'Opie' had a tough comment for Obama Baltimore Sun "I think we should end this war," said Clayton, a second-grader from nearby DeWitt, Iowa. .... "You ever seen Mayberry?" Obama asked. "You look just like Opie…He's a cute kid. That's a good thing."
Clinton open to re-collecting tainted funds Baltimore Sun
Giuliani: Clinton Smeared Gen. Petraeus The Associated Press
McCain and Giuliani lob verbal rounds into Clinton camp Los Angeles Times

Google to call for web privacy shake-up Financial Times
Google promises to lead crusade for international privacy rules The Canadian Press
Google proposes global privacy standard CNET News.com

Obama Offers Most Extensive Plan Yet for Winding Down War New York Times “What’s at stake is bigger than this war: it’s our global leadership,” Mr. Obama said. “Now is a time to be bold. We must not stay the course or take the conventional path because the other course is unknown.” ..... about 20 combat brigades in Iraq, which General Petraeus has committed to reducing to 15 next summer. ..... “Too many politicians feared looking weak and failed to ask hard questions. Too many took the president at his word instead of reading the intelligence for themselves,” Mr. Obama said. ...... “I come from a new generation of Americans,” Mr. Obama said. “I don’t want to fight the battles of the 1960s.”
Candidates split over Iraq strategy Chicago Tribune "Flee-in-the-face-of-success strategy," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said of Obama's exit plan. Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani criticized Democratic front-runner Clinton for the way she questioned Petraeus earlier in the week. ....... Obama suggested the nation has lost its way because of the war
Democratic 2008 contenders bicker over Iraq pullout Reuters on the eve of a speech to the country on Iraq by President George W. Bush.
LDP Secretary General Aso to run for party president Mainichi Daily News Shinzo Abe, who shocked the nation on Wednesday by announcing he would resign as prime minister.
Clinton Leads; Giuliani, Thompson Close The Associated Press
Indonesia, India call off tsunami alerts Inquirer.net
Clinton and Obama, At War Over War's End Washington Post Barack Obama returned to Iowa today to lay out his newest plan to end the war in Iraq -- and to step up his sparring with Hillary Clinton. The question is whether the new policy adds up to a surge strategy for his campaign. ..... Today they were circling one another again. As Obama prepared to speak in Iowa, Clinton's office released a letter she was sending to President Bush. Clinton sought to preempt both Obama and the president. ...... Obama blamed "conventional thinking in Washington" for the support Bush received from Congress in 2002. Clinton of course was among those alleged conventional thinkers who backed the 2002 war resolution. "Despite -- or perhaps because of how much experience they had in Washington -- too many politicians feared looking weak and failed to ask hard questions" .......... he is the lone candidate who has out-muscled the mighty Clinton fundraising machine in the first two quarters of the year ........ among war critics, she leads the Democratic field. ...... The Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg survey showed Obama behind both Clinton and Edwards in Iowa and tied with Edwards in a distant second to Clinton in New Hampshire. Other polls have shown Iowa to be a competitive three-way contest, which is why Clinton, Obama and Edwards are investing so much time and energy in the state. ...... Obama's campaign looks at the post-Labor Day phase of the campaign as the time to turn a page. The caucuses are still well off and Iowa voters famously examine the candidates for a long, long time before beginning to make final decisions about whom they want as their nominee. Obama needs to be at his best as that time approaches.
With veiled shot at Clinton, Obama unveils Iraq plan Boston Globe
Front Row: Obama, Clinton target each other Baltimore Sun
Barack Obama Struggles To Establish A New Face In Politics TransWorldNews he is proposing some rather unorthodox approaches to foreign policies .... Once within striking distance of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, he is tied with John Edwards and going down in the polls

Why Barack Obama Makes Sense To Arthur Schwartz

Why Barack Obama makes sense to me, a lot of sense

By Arthur Z. Schwartz

“It’s not that ordinary people have forgotten how to dream. It’s just that their leaders have forgotten how.”

Barack Obama — November 2006

To me, politics has always been personal. I’m not talking about running for office (which gets very personal). I’m talking about choices about issues, choices involving candidates and choices about how involved to get or not get. Perhaps it grows out of being a teenager in the 1960s and having my perspective on politics shaped by the war in Vietnam, nuclear tests, the civil rights movement, the murder of Martin Luther King, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, the excesses of Richard Nixon and Joe McCarthy; and the desire on the part of so many from my generation to want to turn the world upside down and rid it of war, racism, poverty and the power of material greed. Having kids didn’t change that for me; it made change more imperative, because I was bringing life into a world which was full of problems.

What was great about politics in the 1960s and early 1970s was that it was about hope. Hope usually overcame anger, and hope usually triumphed over sadness. The antiwar movement had its nihilistic movements, but for the most part, the movement was about a world without war, in the words of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” In the electoral arena, first Eugene McCarthy came to embody that hope, and then, even more so, Bobby Kennedy. The McCarthy and Kennedy candidacies for president were powerful because they were framed as part of a movement. They drew from that movement and built it. They inspired broader numbers to get involved in that movement and to look at the electoral arena as part of the battlefield for social change. Within the Democratic Party their troops became agents of change and reform, of efforts to wrest control of the party from the party bosses and give it to the rank and file.

It is amazing, in many ways, how little progress we have made in 40 years. We are more aware of the issues and problems and debate them more intellectually. Racism is almost as pervasive, but far more subtle. (Imus’s comments wouldn’t have been noticed 40 years ago, much less punished.) Women have moved further up the professional ladder, but still largely hit an economic glass ceiling in every other respect. We are fighting a war in Iraq which makes no sense politically, and which drains national resources that could be put to far more useful purposes. Our president believes that his lies are O.K. and that he and his staff are above the law. And the Democratic Party has new bosses, all of whom call themselves reformers.

One reason that things did not change is that the movement of the 1960s did not march on. Some remnants, like the feminist movement, did, and we have seen flashes of movement around Iraq. But politics has become dominated by never-ending electoral campaigns and the money in these campaigns, as campaign strategists have all learned how to “go to the grassroots.” But their message is all about the candidates and not about building a movement for social change that goes beyond a candidate.

But something different is quietly happening this year. Barack Obama, a man who graduated from Columbia and decided to go back to Chicago to organize poor people around issues, is running for president. He has approached his campaign as an opportunity to build a movement — a movement based in communities around issues that matter. Using the power of the Internet, he has promoted the growth of local Obama support groups in local communities — in New York City there are already 20 — and these groups keep reaching out and out and keep bringing more and more people into the most multiracial, upbeat, positive campaign about hope, and about the future, that this country has seen since the 1960s.

Why are so many people responding to Obama? Because he is straightforward, and is clearly about a lot more than his own ego. Unlike John Edwards, for whom I have tremendous respect, Obama hasn’t had to “move to the left” or discover that he was wrong about Iraq. Obama didn’t discover unions and the rift between rich and poor after losing an election in 2004. Since being elected to the Senate, he has voted against the Bush tax cuts, against repealing inheritance taxes, against the Central America “free trade” agreement, against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, against both Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts, against Patriot Act wiretap extensions and against John Bolton’s appointment to the United Nations.

Obama has stood against the ban on partial-birth abortions, against the Defense of Marriage Act, against the Federal Marriage Amendment and against the creation of personal retirement accounts under the guise of “Social Security reform.” Unlike Hillary Clinton, Obama has been consistently solid on the key issues — and unlike Hillary, we know, if Obama is elected, where he will be on the issues. (Do we really need a second Clinton presidency, framed by lots of progressive hype, which delivers so little in the way of progressive legislation, and so much to Wall St?) And, perhaps most important, Obama’s followers have the potential — with the support of their candidate — to build a new progressive movement in the U.S. and a new reform movement in the Democratic Party. Obama speaks about his candidacy, and even his possible election as president, as part of the launching of a new movement to change America. The president of the United States encouraging a movement for progressive social change? Now there’s a thought!

There are two ways that we can look at next year’s election. We can look at it as an opportunity to stop the endless mudslide of domestic and foreign disasters that have darkened our horizons during the Bush years. This would be no minor accomplishment. But, next year, we can try to do more. We can look to elect a president who not only looks different, but who thinks and acts differently, a progressive champion who boldly reasserts government’s role as protector and uplifter of the people at home, and who can reinvent American foreign policy as a force for peace, not coercive power, across the globe.

We need a candidate, and a president, who understands that he or she cannot succeed unless the people are standing alongside him — ahead of the powerbrokers and money guys — ready to help enforce their collective will. There is no question that Barack Obama is such a candidate.

Unlike most elected officials in New York, I have not hitched my wagon to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. And I doubt that most of the “liberal,” “progressive,” “activist” politicians from Manhattan who are publicly supporting Hillary can say to us, with a straight face, that their candidate is a force for progressive change in the U.S. I know that Barack Obama is.

Having chosen to support Barack Obama, I challenge my colleagues — whether they be congressmembers, state senators, assemblymembers or city councilpersons — to rethink their support for Hillary and what it means. To my fellow Lower Manhattanites, I invite you to join our movement. Start at nyc4obama.com, click on “groups,” and hook up today with the local groups organizing in your community. I promise you that politics will never be the same again.

Schwartz is Democratic State Committeeman for Greenwich Village, part of the East Village, Soho and Tribeca. He was Greenwich Village Democratic district leader from 1995 to 2005.

Obama's Card: Iraq

What Would Jesus Do?

Obama 2008 is in trouble. Hillary is pulling ahead. She is leading in all the early states right now. And this is no fluke. If she wins the first four states, the rest will not even have to wait until February 5. This election will be over in January.

Her victory is not inevitable. Four months are a long time in politics. But Obama 2008 is going to have to change gears.

Iraq

Obama is not using Iraq like he should. That is his number one strength going into the primary season. But he has been giving Hillary a pass on this one. Hillary did not only vote for the war in 2002, she was also one of the most enthusiastic Senator to do so. And now we learn she did not even read the National Intelligence Estimate report she was supposed to that would have told her what she said she did not know at the time.

Obama is not a pacifist. He was simply opposed to taking the eyes off Bin Laden. Iraq has been a wrong war on the wrong battlefield. George W and Hillary did what Bin Laden wanted them to do. Bin Laden is on record telling his subordinates it was urgent the US got busy in Iraq and took its eyes off Afghanistan.

Hillary's image of Ms. Security has to be busted, because it does not hold water.

Hitting Back

Obama does not have to go negative. Hillary is not going negative either. But she has been hammering Obama relentlessly. And Obama has not been responding. When you don't hit back, you lose. Hillary's campaign has been attacking Obama's youth, dynamism, freshness, innovation, integrity, and newness on a daily basis for months now. Where is the hitting back? Remember what happened to John Kerry when he did not hit back at the Swift Boat Veterans in 2004: he swiftly was shown the door, facts be damned.

I am all for a new kind of politics, I am all for the politics of hope. But getting hit and taking it lying down is simply bad politics, and the numbers show that to be true. Obama started climbing up in the early states when he engaged Hillary in a duel for a week. Then he let it lapse, and Hillary gained again. You got to engage in an ongoing duel. You got to show some strength.

Race, Gender

If Hillary can compete with Obama for black voters, Obama can compete with Hillary for the women voters. It is about identifying the key issues.

Health Care

This is a big one. Hillary leads among the low income and the elderly Democrats, and there is no logic behind that. With Obama you get universal health in four years, with Hillary eight years. Those two groups need some Obama 2008 help to get enlightened on this fundamental issue.

Substance

It is not like Obama lacks substance. But his opponents, starting with the Hillary campaign, have made it look like all Obama is is a pretty face. Obama has to put out his policy wonk side a little.

How about videoblogging the sessions he holds with his brain trusts so as to show the world he is really into the nitty gritty details on all the issues?

Ethics Reform

Hillary is such a status quo person when it comes to lobbyists and all that.

Between Iraq, health care and ethics reform, the differences between the two are so stark, Obama should have had the nomination sewed up by now, but he is not, because he is doing the John Kerry thing. He is not responding to the attacks. He is not hitting back. He is not engaging his opponent.

Shaking Off The Fear

There is this line in Obama's autobiography. He learned early on as an up and coming black young man that as long he did not make sudden physical moves, and talked polite, the white world was fine with him. Sometimes I wonder if he has not learned that lesson a little too well. He needs to shake that off. He needs to make sudden moves if he might feel so moved. And being too polite is not good.

Obama has to visibly show some strength. If he can't take on Hillary, he can't take on Bin Laden. That is what this is about. That is what the American people are looking for.

Engaging Hillary in political combat moves you up in the polls. It is as simple as that.

In The News

Powerful earthquake hits Indonesia Los Angeles Times
Magnitude 8.2 Quake Hits Indonesia's Sumatra Island (Update7) Bloomberg
Tsunami warnings issued after quake hits Sumatra Reuters Canada
Kremlin Upheaval Forbes
Putin Names New Prime Minister New York Times the beginning of a carefully orchestrated transition of power ahead of presidential elections in March 2008 .... “It’s a typical Putin move,” Ms. Barysch said. “He wants an administrator to run the government and not a rival center of power. Will Viktor Zubkov now be president? He still has to be elected and has zero name recognition.”
ABC Poll: Giuliani's Lead Drops to Single Digit ABC News
Obama to Deliver Iraq Speech New York Times Obama is traveling to Clinton, Iowa – yes, you read that correctly – to deliver a speech calling for U.S. combat brigades to immediately begin pulling out of Iraq one or two at a time, with a complete withdrawal by the end of next year. .... Obama is aiming to distinguish himself on one of the defining issues of the 2008 presidential campaign. ..... Introducing the senator today is Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter ...... “I opposed this war from the beginning,” Mr. Obama is expected to say. “I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed it in 2003. I opposed it in 2004. I opposed it in 2005. I opposed it in 2006.” ..... His advisers are seeking to present his judgment on Iraq as a defining distinction with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Obama Outlines His Troop Pullout Plan The Associated Press "Let me be clear: There is no military solution in Iraq and there never was," Obama said ........ Obama was trying to further sharpen that distinction ..... Petraeus recommended that a 2,000-member Marine unit come home this month and not be replaced. That would be followed in mid-December by the departure of an Army brigade of 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers. An additional four combat brigades would be withdrawn by July 2008. .... Obama said the U.S. and the Iraqi government should discuss how to go about withdrawing troops. ...... By arguing that only combat brigades should be withdrawn — there are 20 in Iraq, including five President Bush sent January — Obama appeared to suggest that other U.S. troops could remain. ...... "The president would have us believe there are two choices: keep all of our troops in Iraq or abandon these Iraqis," Obama said. "I reject this choice." ..... Instead, he argued for creating an international working group of countries in the region and in Asia and Europe that would work to stabilize Iraq.
Obama's new war plan takes aim at Clinton AFP
Obama says he would withdraw from Iraq by end-2008 Reuters
Clinton Sees Fear Realized in Trouble With Donor New York Times Some sort of fund-raising scandal that would echo the Clinton-era controversies of the 1990s and make her appear greedy or ethically challenged. ........ Norman Hsu, a one-time fugitive and one of her top fund-raisers, whose actions raise serious questions about how well the campaign vetted its donors. ...... a convicted criminal who brought in tens of thousands of dollars from potentially tainted sources. ...... any attention cast on past fund-raising controversies could threaten her image with voters. ...... “People have often said about the Clintons, they don’t care who they hang out with as long as the people can be helpful to them,” said one of Mrs. Clinton’s major fund-raisers. “The larger point in all of this is that the Clintons are the ultimate pragmatists in who they hang out with; if you can be useful to them, they will find a way to make it work.” ..... Mrs. Clinton is not so much furious about the scandal, as she is worried about containing the political damage. ..... 260 donors whom Mr. Hsu recruited ..... Clinton and her advisers are concerned that rival campaigns or the news media will dig into the background of each donor ..... The campaign will try to get most of the donors to give the money back right after the refunds ...... the Clinton campaign was deeply worried that the controversy could grow. ...... “Bundlers. The feeling is there are a few more that will have Hsu problems.” ..... an Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, said yesterday: “Ultimately we assume that voters will choose based on the record and the vision that candidates have in reforming the role of money in politics.”
Clinton, Giuliani Ahead in Florida Poll The Associated Press
Clinton picks up fourth labor endorsement Boston Globe
Clinton Gets Letter Carriers Endorsement Guardian Unlimited
NH poll Clinton, Romney dominating; Edwards and Obama tied for ... Boston Globe
For what it's worth: Obama wins Cincinnati Enquirer Obama won with 102 votes - about 35 percent - over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (69 votes) and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (64 votes). ..... "It's tremendous," said state Sen. Eric Kearney, an Obama supporter who has hosted a fundraiser for the Illinois senator in Cincinnati. "It's exciting."
Clinton Blasts Obama For Slamming Edwards Jab The Onion (satire)
Obama, Linking In Ahead of the Curve Washington Post Today, Sen. Barack Obama became the first candidate to have a group on LinkedIn, the popular social networking site for working professionals. In a way, LinkedIn is the anti-MySpace. ..... The users' average household income is $139,000 ..... about 75 percent are ages 29 and over. ..... Early today Obama posted this question: "How can the next president better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?" As of 11 a.m. EST, he's received 330 answers. .... it's the small businesses in this country that make the economy work, not the huge corporations ..... "The campaign takes pride in being on the cutting edge of technology."
Quake triggers tsunami in Indonesia; India issues alerts Hindu
Japan's Prime Minister Resigns BusinessWeek

Hands Off Eliot Spitzer

New York: Bruno's Overreach and Collapsing Subways What's been going on for weeks in New York state is part of the standard conservative 'kill them in the crib' strategy of destroying progressive icons and politicians. In this case, the target is rising progressive star Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer is considered especially dangerous to the right-wing, because he's a real populist who has taken on Wall Street in extremely high profile cases. He was so effective that a few years ago, the corrupt US Chamber of Commerce declared a 'war on Spitzerism' to reign in state attorney general officers that sought to aggressively enforce the law against corporate elites. The scandal that's taking place now, while ostensibly caused by Spitzer's mistakes, has more to do with these established enemies of populism combined with a peculiar set of incentives for local politicians and insider journalists in New York to pile on an anti-Spitzer frenzy. ....... years of Giuliani and Bloomberg in the Mayoral seat has of course led to decaying infrastructure ...... Every day, I get an email from Michael Caputo of NYFacts.net bashing Eliot Spitzer, and Caputo is a former aide to George H.W. Bush, well-established in right-wing orbits, and obviously directing a smear campaign. .....This is really a collection of insiders, press people, angry coddled legislators, Joe Bruno and right-wingers trying to destroy Eliot Spitzer's capacity to govern New York. They tried it with Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and Jon Corzine in New Jersey, and they'll try it with every progressive who takes on a political machine. In some ways, this is exactly what the right did in impeaching Bill Clinton, using Clinton's sloppiness and mistakes to try to overturn a popular electoral result. Destroying progressives is what the right does well, and it's in fact the only thing the right does well. This time, it's not going to work, since there are already investigations going on that are not grounded in Republican partisanship, the scandal has been on every paper in the state for weeks, and yet Spitzer is still pretty popular. ..... the public is paying attention and isn't falling for it

Eliot Spitzer is the future of the Democratic Party. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the face of the Democratic Party today, but Eliot Spitzer is the future. It could be eight years of Obama-Clinton, or Clinton-Obama. And then it is going to be Spitzer time. Spitzer is going national. If not him, then who? It is not if, but when.

I don't know a whole lot about New York state politics. The little I know, little that I follow is because Eliot Spitzer is Governor, and David Pollak is state party chair. I kept seeing Pollak at DL21C events for months. So when I got told he was now state chair, I was like, that much access!

I pride myself in my political instincts, and Spitzer shows up on my radar loud and clear. You just feel it.

Bill Clinton is like Michael Jordan, he is skillful, he jumps the hoops. Hillary Clinton is a smart, strong, pragmatic woman. Barack Obama is vastly inspiring. When I think Eliot Spitzer, I think Mike Tyson. This guy can hit. He swings. He hits.

My religion is that I am a Buddhist. My political religion is that I am a progressive. And so I am very fond of Eliot Spitzer. There is noone quite like him on the national scene. He could deliver direct elections for president, he could deliver publicly financed elections, he could deliver gay marriage.

Universal Health, Lifelong Education, Publicly Financed Elections

Those are the three big goals for progressives in America. The Obama-Clinton duo will deliver health. Education will be an ongoing thing with the private sector playing a key role. For the big political reforms, the country will have to wait for Spitzer.

I have noticed the Albany Republicans have imported some out of state right wing political gangsters to do the dirty job on Spitzer. This is a wake up call. The Republicans are going to have to call it quits when it comes to the politics of personal destruction, or they have to be thrown out of the ring. If not now, then when? We got the wind behind our back. This is no 1990s. We are raising more money than the right wingers. We have a more enthusiastic grassroots. Our blogosphere has all but drowned out right wing radio and TV. When you get hit, you hit back.

We don't want the right wingers to beat us on seeing Spitzer's national potential. We have to see it before them. And we have to get into the fight on Spitzer's behalf. Leadership is a gift. Where there is no vision, the people shall perish. Progressives have to find progressive vision and progressive causes, but unless you can find progressive leadership, you are just blowing hot air. Acting protective of promising, progressive leaders is part and parcel of the progressive religion. And so I say, hit back. The blogosphere is like a swarm of bees. Frank Bruno is going to feel like the only safe place for him is to jump into the water and stay down there.

You can not get hit, and not hit back. That is not good politics. A guy like Bruno is on his way out. Spitzer will follow in FDR's footsteps and give New York the progressive majority in the state Senate that it deserves. This guy is already yesterday's news. If you can't hit him when he is weak, when can you?

I hear some Spitzer staffer had to resign for some background research into some kind of power abuse by Bruno, some kind of a corrupt act. I have not been following too closely. The exposure should not have been the work of anyone on Spitzer's staff. Those in power govern. The work should have been the work of the progressive political network. And the exposure should have been relentless. What? He rode a state chopper when he should not have? I don't even know the freaking details.

Eight Years Of Lab Work

Eight years of Spitzer in Albany will be like having New York as the laboratory state for progressives across the country. And I am confident Spitzer can deliver. This is where all the cutting edge progressive stuff gets cooked, to be served on the national stage later.

I would like to throw in some ideas that I have been working on for Nepal, kind of telecommuting. It is almost easier to do it in Nepal since the country is about to write its constitution on its own - by the people - for the first time. It is more of a clean slate. But how about this? The governor is directly elected by the people, if noone gets at least 50%, there is a second round between the top two. For the lower chamber, all constituencies are of equal population: you hold direct elections. For the upper chamber, you hold indirect elections: you hold proportional elections. If there are 50 seats, the party that gets 2% gets one seat. So people get two ballot papers, one for the direct elections for the lower chamber, and another for the completely proportional elections to the upper chamber. So parties will have to submit lists for the 50 slots. If a party gets 50% of the votes, the top 25 people on the list get in. The 2% rule will mean a whole bunch of "startup" parties could come and go. Politics will breathe a new life. That will keep the big parties alert. And, of course, all elections will have to be publicly financed. How exactly you devise a formula is a challenge. I would say, a party gets money from the state in direct proportion to how many votes it earns, something like that. Or maybe not. I know, by now it sounds theoretical, but it is because the current system is so entrenched.

I think Spitzer should tackle gay marriage after he wins re-election. He should tackle other political reforms first while expanding gay rights all along the way.

Albany is a shame. If Albany were in Mississippi, you would be like, what do you expect, those are the backwaters. But to have the Albany dysfunction in New York state? Such a shame. That place needs heavy doses of democracy and transparency.

Fitting In Hillary, Obama, Spitzer
Obama-Spitzer Vs. Giuliani-Romney
An Obama Spitzer Ticket
Obama, Hillary, Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer, Governor





In The News

Lawmakers chafe at steady-state Iraq policy Christian Science Monitor
Nearly 3 million displaced as fresh floods devastate northeast India International Herald Tribune more than 9,000 of Assam's 23,000 villages have been inundated, forcing people out of their homes and on to higher ground. .... The Brahmaputra, which originates in Tibet as the Tsangpo, traverses 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) across the Assam plains before culminating in the Bay of Bengal. This river and its innumerable tributaries flood their banks every monsoon season bringing misery to Assam's 26 million people. .... Monsoon rains usually hit India from June to September. They are vital to farmers but are also deadly. During this year's monsoon season, more than 2,200 people have been killed by flooding, collapsing houses and other rain-related incidents across India.
The Oprah Factor and Obama New York Times
Obama Distances Himself From Controversial Book on US-Israeli ... Washington Post The book argues that a highly influential assortment of pro-Israeli politicians, journalists and academics have succeeded in pushing U.S. policy in the Middle East in directions that do not necessarily serve America's best interests. ...... Obama encountered scattered grumbles in March at a pro-Israel conference in Washington, where attendees expressed concerns about Obama's comment, made in Iowa shortly before the conference, that "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.'' ...... At another conference in Washington in April, of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Obama chose his words carefully, while still seeking to show that he was not satisfied with the status quo in Israel: "My commitment to you is unwavering," he said in response to a question about Israel, "but the only thing I will not do is to relinquish the possibility that our Middle East policy involves more than just arms sales and military and strategic options to consider. There has to be an effective diplomacy."
Oprah's Star Power Won't Do Much for Obama AlterNet a celebrity cheer lead of a presidential candidate does absolutely nothing to boost the candidate. ..... the closest thing to America's earth mother ..... in one big leap she's asking the same millions that dote on her sage advice on relationships to shift gears and trust her judgment that Obama is the best to handle global warming, tax policy, the Iraq war, terrorism, job creation and inflation, failing public schools, criminal justice issues, and judicial appointments. ...... Oprah's roughest sale of Obama will be to black women. Polls show that they are overwhelmingly backing Hillary.
Clinton Widens Democratic Lead, Republicans Split, Poll Finds Bloomberg Clinton has established a clear lead over her Democratic competitors in the early U.S. primary states ..... Clinton holds a narrow advantage over John Edwards and Barack Obama in Iowa. In New Hampshire and South Carolina she has a commanding lead over Obama and Edwards ...... Clinton, a senator from New York, was the leader when she joined the race in January and has only gained momentum since then. Few frontrunners in recent American politics have displayed such steady strength ........ In all three states, the popularity of Clinton, 59, and Giuliani, 63, is fueled by perceptions that they are strong leaders and the best able to deal with national security and terrorism issues. ....... for Democrats, Obama, 46, an Illinois senator, tops frontrunner Clinton on new ideas and is generally considered more likeable. ...... In the three states, Clinton leads by a wide margin on most issues, including fighting terrorism, protecting national security and ending the Iraq war. She is also the Democrat seen as having the best chance of beating the eventual Republican nominee in the November 2008 presidential election. ...... her experience. She's been in politics for 35 years.'' ....... Clinton leads Edwards.. 28 percent to 23 percent in Iowa. She is ahead of Obama and Edwards by 35 percent to 16 percent each in New Hampshire and tops Obama by a 45 percent to 27 percent margin in South Carolina. ......... Even though Obama trails Clinton significantly, it's not all bad news for him. In all three states, he was the voters' second choice, so if other candidates falter he could be the biggest beneficiary in a two-way contest against Clinton. He also does well on some important issues. ...... He beats Clinton by about a 2-to-1 margin in New Hampshire and Iowa, and by 7 points in South Carolina on which candidate has new ideas. Overall, more Democrats say it's important for a presidential candidate to have fresh ideas than experience. ...... ``We've tried the guys,'' said Greene, who is changing her registration to Democrat from Republican. ``She's a woman and I'd like to see her in there.'' ..... ``One of my big concerns right now is abortion and gay rights,'' he said. ``We need to do everything we can to stop it,'' said Smith, who believes Thompson has ``more conservative values'' than Giuliani or McCain, and that ``Romney is a governor of a state that let same-sex marriage happen.'' ...... Iowa is Romney's strongest state, where he gets 28 percent of the vote, compared with 16 percent for both Giuliani and Thompson. ... In New Hampshire, Romney is ahead of Giuliani by 5 percentage points .... In all three states, Democrats express a higher level of interest in the campaigns than do Republicans.
Clinton Dominates, Romney Slips in Early-State Races, Poll Says Bloomberg Clinton is dominating the Democratic field among working-class and older voters in early primary states ...... In all three states, New York Senator Clinton, 59, appeals to individuals in households earning less than $40,000 as well as those over the age of 65. ..... Forty-eight percent of older voters in South Carolina support Clinton, while 3 percent favor Obama. In New Hampshire, 44 percent of those voters support Clinton, while 8 percent back Obama. ....... the religious right -- defined in the poll as self- described religious fundamentalists, Christian conservatives and people who take the Bible literally -- ...... ``I see Mormonism as a cult, instead of a branch of Christianity,'' said Valarie Harper, 56, who works part-time in a flower shop in West Columbia, South Carolina, and described herself as a Christian conservative. ...... Clinton leads Obama and Edwards among households earning less than $40,000 in all three states. She has a double-digit advantage in South Carolina and New Hampshire. ... Clinton is drawing more support from black voters in South Carolina, with 43 percent, compared with 32 percent for Obama. Clinton also registers better with white voters there, garnering 51 percent, while 15 percent support Obama.
Clinton wins straw poll San Diego Union Tribune, United States
Clinton says US military will never solve Iraq's problems International Herald Tribune, France

"That Woman Deserves Her Revenge. We deserve to die."