Barack Has To Show Off His Policy Wonk Side

Hillary: Impressive Third Quarter

2008 is not 2004. Hillary is no Howard Dean. There is not a John Kerry lurking in the background, not Dodd, not Biden.

Hillary's third quarter fundraising figure is of serious concern.

I think Barack and Hillary are pretty much stuck with each other. One of them is going to be president, another is going to be vice president. Like JFK did not have a choice, he had to pick LBJ for the sake of party unity.

Hillary For Senate Majority Leader

Barack leads Iowa right now. If Hillary were to take the lead in Iowa, that would be trouble.

If Barack wins Iowa, Hillary will be a close second, that's for sure.

Hillary is not a Bill Clinton sibling like Jeb Bush is. She is not the mother or daughter of Bill Clinton. She got better grades than Bill Clinton at Yale. The nepotism and dynasty thing does not stick as much as we might like it to.

She has many things going for her. She has herself, her smarts, her work ethic, she has been by Bill Clinton's side throughout his wonderful political career, and that is saying something. Hiring Dick Morris when Bill Clinton faltered and lost as first term Governor of Arkansas was Hillary's idea. In some ways she has played the elder sister throughout.

She got the substance. And she is clearly progressive.

A lot of people are ready to overlook the Iraq thing. It was Bush' war, not Hillary's war, many people think. It was Bush who misused the authorization. I don't buy into that argument, but many others seem to. The reason I don't buy is she still has not learned from the mistake.

"All elections are about the future." That is one of the Clinton's Laws Of Politics written in his book My Life.

The White House is the most powerful political office that was ever designed. That sure is the ultimate glass ceiling. For women, and for nonwhites.

If the women of America and the women of the world feel about Hillary the way I feel about Barack, they must feel it pretty strong. For me Barack can do no wrong.

I can sense it that a lot of women are coming out for Hillary because she looks viable, she looks like she can win. She is not just going to make a statement and then go ahead and lose. That is the feeling. Curiously that also is the feeling Barack generates among his faithful.

The only person missing in this race is Condi Rice. And maybe Newt. Newt would have made it a little colorful. He would have muddied the waters a little more on the other side. Too bad he stayed away.

Barack beat Hillary the first two quarters. Hillary has now beat him the third quarter. Barack will beat her again this final quarter. I think that right there is the picture you will see emerge next year once people start voting. Barack will win, but Hillary will be right on the heels. She will do good.

I Stand With Michelle: Iowa Must And Can Be Won
February To September: Little Change

Eliminating Nuclear Weapons

That is the unfinished task from the Cold War that George H. W. Bush did not tackle, Bill Clinton did not, and George W. took in the other direction.

When Barack comes out taking a stand like this one, the difference between him and Hillary becomes so very obvious. That Hillary's is a nostalgia candidacy becomes obvious.

State of the World annual address. What an idea.

Barack is like Google. He keeps surprising you with new stuff to offer on a near daily basis. Keep them coming.

Obama's Masterstroke: Eliminating Income Tax For 22 Million Seniors

Barack Has To Show Off His Policy Wonk Side

Here's my idea. Pick the top 10 issues. On each, get six progressives, and four conservatives so as to cover the entire spectrum. Make hour long videos in which Barack is seen listening half the time, the other half he is asking probing questions, exploring the landscape, staking out a few positions. And put that out on Google Video.

This will be a new thing. No campaign has done this yet.

How To Tackle Hillary

Barack Vs Hillary

There is so much that goes in Obama's favor.

Barack: Strength And Judgment
Obama's Card: Iraq
Strength? What Strength? Experience? What Experience

One, Iraq. He has to turn that into a major judgment issue. He should use the word judgment like Hillary uses "strength and experience."

Mandating Health Insurance: The Poor Have Too Much Money

Two, health care. Obama has to emphasize everyone and Truman's cousin has had good ideas. The question is, who can bring people together and actually deliver? That person is Barack, not Hillary. And Barack has to make a point to talk about his mother when he talks health care.

Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance
Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother

Three, ethics reform, campaign finance reform. Hillary does not even want to do it. Edwards is right. Hillary is tainted by money.

Four, race and gender. Obama must acknowledge that gender is an issue. He should cite examples of Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, strong, smart women who went to the pinnacle of power in their countries but did not do much for gender. You can have a woman head of state and feel you have made symbolic progress on gender. Or you can actually work to make substantive progress on gender. I think Obama should casually mention in some small town newspaper interview that he can imagine his cabinet being about 40% female. Hillary is not too comfortable explicitly talking gender on the campaign trail. I think she will be thrown off balance if Obama starts talking gender. On race, Obama has to talk about his heritage now and then.

Elephant In The Room: Gender
The Grassroots Power Woman

Five, foreign policy. He is the only one doing the innovating.

Six, the economy. I loved his talk on taxes recently. Way to go.

Obama's Masterstroke: Eliminating Income Tax For 22 Million Seniors
The Economy, Stupid

Hillary Has Been Beating Up On Him

The talk of "strength and experience" has been a relentless attack. When you get hit, you hit back. Barack has to talk as relentlessly of judgment.

So far Barack has done the John Kerry thing. He has not hit back. He has to hit back.

Hillary: A Formidable Opponent

I don't expect her campaign to suddenly implode. Even if we win Iowa, she will likely be a close second. It could very well be a protracted campaign that goes all the way to the Super Tuesday in March.

Underestimating Hillary will be a mistake.

In The News

House Passes Bill on Pullout Washington Post The House, with overwhelming, bipartisan support, voted yesterday to give the Bush administration two months to present to Congress its planning for the withdrawal of combat forces ........ 377 to 46 ..... Democratic leaders stared down the antiwar left ...... 196 Democrats and 181 Republicans. .......proposed paying for any further war funding with a temporary surtax that would add 2 to 15 percent to existing income tax bills. ...... Those who oppose a tax and the draft also should oppose the President's war.
Blackwater Chief Defends Employees Before House Panel New York Times portrayed Blackwater security guards as often out of control and indifferent to civilian casualties ..... though 30 Blackwater employees had lost their lives in Iraq, no one they were guarding had been killed or seriously injured ...... helped Blackwater move an employee out of Iraq less than 36 hours after the employee, while drunk, killed a bodyguard for one of Iraq’s two vice presidents ........ Throughout the questioning, Mr. Prince appeared to be calm and collected. ........ Blackwater — we have to question in this hearing whether it created a shadow military of mercenary forces that are not accountable to the United States government or to anyone else. ......... Blackwater’s use of force in Iraq was “frequent and extensive, resulting in significant casualties and property damage.” ........ the State Department, which has paid Blackwater more than $832 million .... DynCorp International and Triple Canopy ..... 195 instances of gunfire .... In 163 of those cases, Blackwater gunmen fired first.
Monarchy battle at Nepal's parliament Times of India
Clinton Steals Obama’s Fund-Raising Thunder New York Times stripping him at least temporarily of a crucial political advantage. ..... the Clinton campaign reported attracting at least 7,000 more new donors than Mr. Obama ..... Obama has raised more money than Mrs. Clinton over all for the 2008 primaries, $75 million to $63 million, and he cumulatively has 140,000 more new donors ...... releasing the figures just hours before Mr. Obama delivered a foreign policy address ........ McAuliffe said. “It gives us a tremendous boost.” ...... The former president has held major and so-called low-dollar fund-raisers since last winter, and appeared at about 20 fund-raising events in the past three months ........ I’m happy if the Clintons want to do victory laps in October; I’ll take ours in January and February ...... The Clinton campaign revealed its fund-raising success in a way that sought maximum strategic impact. ..... the Clinton campaign kept quiet because it did not want to share the news cycle with him ..... The advisers attributed the fund-raising results to a new focus on low-dollar events, which people can attend by donating $25 ....... Clinton also raised $8 million online, a record amount for her campaign.
Sexual harassment claims declining in US Chicago Tribune
Iranian University Invites Bush to Speak Voice of America
Obama marks '02 war speech Chicago Tribune The top strategist for Sen. Barack Obama has just 14 seconds of video ..... "The American people weren't just failed by a president .. "They were failed by much of Washington." ..... Obama later told CNN that Clinton "has been effective in trying to blur the distinctions" on their Iraq records. That drew a quick response from her campaign. ...... promised more direct communication with Americans and greater bipartisan conversation on foreign policy. .... Anthony Lake, President Bill Clinton's former national security adviser and an Obama adviser. ...... Republicans, meanwhile, suggested that Obama's nuclear proposal is naive. ....... Obama also defended his previous statements about being willing to meet—without precondition—in the first year of his presidency with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. ...... Kennedy had a direct line to Khrushchev. Nixon met with Mao. ..... Reagan was negotiating arms agreements with Gorbachev ..... the 2002 speech, an event that was hardly covered by the media at the time. The Tribune reported about the roughly 1,000-person rally at Federal Plaza on its front page, but there was no mention of Obama. ....... He spoke just more than 700 words that day .... bold and reasoned.
Obama urges eliminating nuclear weapons MLive.com
Obama Steps Up the Attack Washington Post campaign manager David Plouffe and chief strategist David Axelrod ...... a critique that moves beyond policy toward her character. .... no law can force a Congress to stand up to the President. No law can make Senators read the intelligence that showed the President was overstating the case for war. ........ We don't need another President who thinks big but doesn't feel the need to tell the American people what they think. ...... We don't need another President who shuts the door on the American people when they make policy ..... refusing to answer questions in a debate last week on several issues and using a closed task force to reform health care in the 1990's ..... "There are folks who will shift positions and policies on all kinds of things depending on which way the wind is blowing.
Obama: Clinton "blurs" distinctions Baltimore Sun “I think that Sen. Clinton has been effective in trying to blur the distinctions,” Obama says..... “And it's our job to make these distinctions clear to the American people ....... Some advisers have been telling Obama for weeks that he needs to go after Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, more aggressively. ..... predicting a sharper effort in the near future to “point out differences.”
Obama 'Brand' Could Halt Attacks on Clinton ABC News
Dodd’s best wishes for Obama MSNBC her first date ..... he took me to a small neighborhood church on the south side of Chicago," she continued, describing his "inspirational" talk to the neighborhood audience. "And that was the day when I realized the man I was going to marry, Barack Obama, was a very different, truly extraordinary, human being." ....... Wherever she campaigns, Michelle Obama writes, people have asked her whether Barack Obama is ready to be president. ....... "The real question…Is America ready for Barack Obama?" ....... "He spent years putting shoe leather on the ground as a community organizer in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago.''
Michelle Obama: The candidate is 'extraordinary' Baltimore Sun
2008: Shift From Money Race to PolicyNew York Times policy and retail politics ..... the United States should greatly reduce its stockpiles to lower the threat of nuclear terrorism
Kennedy Aide Back in Iowa for Obama New York Times, United States
Ted Sorensen to join Obama in Iowa Baltimore Sun
Obama's Kennedy Vibe The Nation
Obama: Early opposition to war shows better judgment CNN
Obama calls for nuclear free world Chicago Sun-Times, United States a nuclear free world, more consulates, and declassification of secret intel documents in a “new era of openess.” ..... using Sorenson as a “voucher” who can connect Obama to the hopeful era of Kennedy’s Camelot. 1. Push for a world with no nuclear weapons.
2. Seek first a reduction of stockpiles of fissile material for weapons
3. Open more consulates around the world and grow the foreign service.
4. Double foreign assistance to $50 billion.
5. Conduct fireside webcasts on foreign policy.
6. Push for a National Declassification Center. This is an embrace of a proposal by former Sen. Patrick Moniyhan (D-N.Y.) to put out in the public domain national security information that does not disclose sources and methods.
7. Create a fixed term for the Director of National Intelligence, just like the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
8. Deliver an annual State of the World address.
9. Create a formal, bipartisan congressional Consultive Group to discuss national security issues. Buck stops with Obama. This is a consensus building proposal.

Hillary For Senate Majority Leader

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

I have thought long and hard about this. Who should be Barack's running mate? I think he is going to have to decide that on the morning of February 6. Why miss a beat? Take the campaign straight to the Republicans at the earliest possible.

I am opposed to the idea of a short list. Picking running mate is like picking a spouse. You don't want to make the person feel like you shopped around in their presence and then finally settled on him or her. "How very big of you!" Jackie Kennedy told Jack Kennedy.

One thing is for sure. The running mate has to be a New Yorker. When you are running against Rudy and Bloomberg, not picking a New Yorker is going to be suicide. Even if it is Romney, you still need someone from this part of the country.

So which New Yorker?

Hillary is an amazing, amazing woman. She was my original choice for president, then my original choice for vice president. Now I am thinking that might not be a good idea.

Hillary, I think, will be better as the Senate Majority Leader. Her personality is more suited for super legislative work. She has been a super Senator, but so-so in the executive branch. When she was in the White House, the number one thing she did was she wrote a best-selling book for children.

She just might end up with 60 Democrats in the Senate. That would be a great crowd to work with. When she got elected to the Senate in 2000, she took to it like a duck to water. She is very much at home in the Senate. She has been an "excellent Senator," Barack Obama's words from Fall 2006.

I am thinking Eliot Spitzer.

If Hillary is VP, Bill Clinton will be "that giant sucking sound." Bill Clinton is Michael Jordan, he is Pele, he is Elvis, he is one of those guys. But at some point the Bill Clinton era has to end, and the Barack Obama era has to begin. And I think 2008 is that time. Both Barack and Bill Clinton are superbly gifted politicians, but their styles are vastly different. They don't sync.

That does not mean President Obama can not tap Bill Clinton. I think that guy should be sent to draw the Final Map in the Middle East. He can do it like noone else can.

Middle East: The Final Map

Plus, that glass ceiling thing. I think with Nancy Pelosi leading the House, and Hillary leading the Senate, you will have two strong, smart women on news every night.

By the way, I am for a cabinet that is half female, or at least 40% female. Anything less will be so 20th century. Anything less and I am switching back to Hillary right about now. (Switching To Obama)

Muscular Gender Agenda

Bill Clinton did not make Jesse Jackson VP. He did not induct Jesse into his cabinet, he did not make him ambassador to some place. There was a reason for that. Jesse was and is great, but he did not fit in politically. But Bill Clinton made plenty of black appointments in all sorts of top positions including inside his cabinet.

Hillary is too big in her own right. She kind of sort of does not fit in. She has to have her own domain, she has to have her own turf, her own game. She has to have her own playground where she calls the shots.

A 60-40 Senate would be a great place for Hillary. I think she is going to go down as one of the greatest Senate Majority Leaders ever.

With Eliot Spitzer you are looking at a guy who can easily run for president eight years later and look fresh. My nickname for him is Mr. Substance. Mr. Guts. Barack Obama is the immediate future of the Democratic Party, Eliot Spitzer is the far future. He is all possibility.

Plus, it is about time New York state got itself a black Governor, and Paterson is a fine guy.

David Paterson

Barack Obama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eliot Spitzer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nancy Pelosi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iraq Did Not Have The Bomb, Iran Does Not Either

Dick Cheney, Nelson Mandela, Howard Dean

Invading Iran is out of question. That would be a scary mini World War III scenario. There will be many undetermined consequences which are better not contemplated.

The "strong on defense" conservative mantra is money driven. There are people and companies who make gobbles of money through the war machine. They need long, messy wars to stay in business.

This Cheney guy is a draft dodger. He was scared shi_less during Vietnam. He feared they might send him there and he might die. He is a woos. That guy is not strong on defense. That little stooge is an armchair General. He thinks war is a video game. He likes the idea of blood surging through his veins. War is exciting. His pals in the defense industry get happy. They give money. They send warm vibes.

Can you invade Iran? Is it technically possible? I don't think that option exists. America does not have an army to invade any additional country right now. Thanks to the dumb misadventure in Iraq.

But if the option were available, should America have? What would be the rationale? There is no rationale.

What about surgical bombing? What would you bomb and why? What kind of casualties are you looking at? Military casualties? Civilian casualties? Both count.

What would you want to destroy? Nuclear facilities? There is general consensus Iran does not have the bomb. It is years away from getting one even if it tried.

Even if the idea is to destroy nuclear facilities, do you know where they are? Do you know where all of them are? Maybe few yes, but all?

Would Iran strike back? How would it strike back? Would Iran send missiles into Israeli cities in mindless retaliation? Will Israel sit idly by? That is already three major military powers involved in a major all out war in the most volatile part of earth. Iran is not Hezbollah. Iran is a state with a major army. You are looking at a scenario of a large number of civilian casualties in Iran and Israel. Perhaps as many as if someone exploded a nuclear bomb.

So you are so scared of the bomb, the possibility of a bomb, that you are going to try and bring about a nuclear bomb explosion like casualty figure so as to make your point? Can you get any dumber?

Bushey talk of strikes on Iran is a guy refusing to admit the war on Iraq was a mistake right when it got launched. A future mistake in Iran is not going to cover up the mistake already made in Iraq. It will only make matters worse.

Nonproliferation is a serious, legitimate goal. But then so was preventing another 9/11, W's official rationale for going into Iraq.

There are many political, diplomatic, economic, nonprofit, cyber, and INGO options all of which have to be thoroughly exhausted before any strike on Iran can be contemplated. War - even surgical strikes; those are wars too, they necessarily kill innocent civilians - has to be the weapon of the very last resort.

And yes, holding a regional summit that involved Iran and Syria is an option. Holding direct talks with the president of Iran is an option.

Striking Iran is not an option. It is a very bad option. It would be an unwise option.

The best option is to look at the progressive tools to bring about real democracy into Iran where some council of mullahs does not get to decide who may or may not run for president.

Not Allowing President Of Iran To Visit World Trade Center Is A Mistake
Obama's Card: Iraq
Hillary Messed Up On Iraq, And Al Qaeda Is Strong, America Insecure
Iraq, Energy, Global Warming: All Interlinked
Obama Gameplan: Stable, Democratic Iraq
Iraq On My Mind

In The News

Mitt Romney's money machine Salon
Ukraine Votes for Change TIME
Ukraine's Reborn Orange Alliance Poised for Victory (Update5) Bloomberg
Oh-eight (D): Bill vs. Obama MSNBC the lack of influence labor is having on the Dem field. ..... Kerry said, “President Bush is leaving a tarnished economic legacy that will haunt the middle class and their children ....... Clinton "flew into a sudden burst of media wind shear. After months of mostly rosy portrayals of her campaign’s political skill, discipline and inevitability, the storyline shifted abruptly to evasive answers, shady connections and a laugh that sounded like it was programmed by computer." .......... Is she so eager to be all things to all people, so reluctant to offend anyone, that we never will learn what she really thinks or how she will really act as president? ........ he re-defended his support for NAFTA. ...... Bill's speculation that he may help "sell domestic programs." Really? Does this mean Bill will stump the country after Hillary State of the Unions? ....... the nervousness Rocky Mountain Democrats have if Clinton is leading the '08 ticket. .... "It's a disaster for Western Democrats," he said. "It keeps me up at night." ....... Look for Schweitzer and Salazar and other westerners to dominate the VP short list should she be the nominee. ...... Clinton topped her rivals in speaking time at the Dartmouth debate. "She logged 17 minutes and 37 seconds of air time -- roughly four minutes more than the second-place finisher, Barack Obama. ....... that's a reversal from the figures for some of the earlier debates, when Obama led and she ran second ...... Clinton's baby bonds idea ..... The bonds would cost about $20 billion a year, based on the 4 million American babies born annually, according to Time magazine, which last month proposed a similar plan." ....... "The choice was pretty easy for me, obviously. Not like Giuliani's daughter." ........ "You have to talk like my dad talks” to have a chance to win in the South. "We can't concede the South." ......... Obama said that he would begin a process of removing combat troops from Iraq at the rate of one to two brigades per month, but he would leave forces behind to help with humanitarian issues, guard the U.S. embassy, and to be a counterterrorism force either in Kuwait or elsewhere in the region. ........ "Part of life is having to take tests, and I have to do it right now running for president and a bunch of them seem very silly to me but you have to take them ......... the quick rise and fall of Howard Dean ...... Clinton has 13 Congressional Black Caucus endorsements to Obama’s 12. ..... Obama “would relax drug-sentencing laws and address vast racial inequities in the justice system as part of his crime policy.” ....... the Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia and First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia ......... "Just 2.7 miles, or eight minutes by motorcade on a traffic-free Sunday morning, separate the two churches. Rarely does anyone traverse the short distance -- or wider cultural gap between the two Baptist congregations -- to catch both services."
Were Clinton’s comment on Obama racist? Blogger News Network
What If Bill Clinton Had Run for President in 1988? Yahoo! News When Clinton did run for president, in 1992, he was the same age as Obama is today. The claim by a white male that at age 42 he had as much experience as a 46-year-old black man probably will bring unintended consequences by firing up a larger Obama vote among African-Americans. ....... The hubris of that statement invokes, all too neatly, the gripes by other white males in affirmative-action friendly workplaces across America; it's a way of speaking in code that most white Americans don't notice, but that black Americans understand painfully well. ........... America may be ready for a black president, but probably not for a younger black man pummeling an elder white woman, even with mere words ....... Bill Clinton's attempted put-down offered Obama a clean shot at the rival camp through its surrogate: Everybody loves to see the younger athlete score on the aging former champ. And that's exactly what Obama did. ......... Robert Reich (one of the few cabinet-level veterans of the Clinton White House that is still widely beloved and trusted among Democrats) who jumped up from the sidelines and kicked in an extra point for Obama. Reich said: "While I can understand Bill Clinton's eagerness to undermine his wife's most significant primary opponent, he is not, I believe, completely ingenuous. I happened to talk with him in 1988 before he decided not to run, and also in 1991 before he decided to run the following year. His calculation at both times was decidedly rational and entirely political, based on whether he could win." .......... Would Clinton have appointed William Bennett as "drug czar" in 1989 and begun the demonization of pot smokers and cancer patients, and wholesale imprisonment of young black males, that the escalation of the war-on-drugs wrought on America? .......... Come to think of it, Bill Clinton probably should have run for president in 1988 when he was younger and less jaded.
Bill Clinton: No clear GOP front-runner Newsday
Clinton's cackle may give opponents the last laugh Independent They call it the Clinton cackle. It comes out of the blue, lasts a few seconds and leaves those who witnessed it wondering if they have missed a joke. Hillary Clinton's deployment of the full belly laugh is the latest weapon used by the leading Democratic presidential candidate when she is being pummelled by reporters or rivals. ....... a sign of nervousness over Iowa, where she is now running second to Barak Obama ...... Conservative radio hosts routinely play Hillary Clinton's "cackle" on their radio shows and her enemy Dick Morris says it is "loud, inappropriate, and mirthless... a scary sound that was somewhere between a cackle and a screech." ......... The questions about her judgement are coming thick and heavy. .... Even Bill Clinton seems nervous about Mr Obama ........ Obama's ability to persuade the country that he has both good judgement and experience could now be key. His deliberately non-confrontational style of campaigning is showing signs of working ......... Mr Obama is also raising more money than Mrs Clinton – more than $75m (£37.5m) over the past nine months – as ordinary people rather than wealthy donors eagerly contribute $10 and $20 a person through his campaign website. Mr Obama's advisers express confidence that he will do well in both Iowa and New Hampshire and surge to victory a few weeks later when many states vote in what is being called Super Duper Tuesday. His quiet-spoken style of electioneering has led many in the media to write off his campaign. And while he has sharpened his criticisms of Hillary Clinton he still refuses to engage in an all-out assault. ......... "I know there's a tremendous blood lust out there in the political community who want us to be in a steel-cage match with her," said his chief strategist David Axelrod. "Barack Obama didn't get in this race to tear Hillary Clinton down or to tear anybody else down. He got into the race to lift the country up. No doubt we have differences, and he will draw on those differences. But he is going to resist the thirst for gratuitous combat, because that's part of his critique of the political process." ...... As he takes his unorthodox campaigns to the schoolrooms and community halls of Iowa this week, Mr Obama is falling back on the oldest and most reliable trick in the book – pitting himself as very much an outsider against the Washington elites who have brought the country to its current impasse.
Obama's backers insist polls belie a buzz they see on trail Boston Globe southwest New Hampshire .... about 1,000 in all. .... The gathering is massive for Peterborough, population 6,000 ..... the infectious excitement his candidacy has generated. ..... His powerful and growing grass-roots network - reaffirmed by thousands of new donors in the third quarter of this year - has reached historic proportions. ........ "I don't understand why he's 20 points behind Hillary," said Timothy Steele, an Obama enthusiast from Hancock, N.H., who runs a medical-device company. "It's really at a point when it should start being urgent." ......... only 17 percent of respondents in the UNH survey said they had definitely made up their minds. ......... Donna Brazile, who ran Al Gore's 2000 campaign and is neutral this cycle. "Barack is going into the final 13 weeks of the campaign in great shape." ....... Obama's advisers say they are confident they have the organization, the buzz, the money, and the candidate with a message the country is hungry for. And they say that, despite the intense media scrutiny and onslaught of state and national polls, most people have yet to really focus on the race. ........ the political landscapes in Iowa and New Hampshire are fluid. ....... Obama has intensified his campaigning in Iowa, airing two new TV ads, bringing on a well-connected Democratic activist, and launching a four-day "Judgment and Experience Tour" across the state this week to highlight his long-running opposition to the Iraq war. ........... In New Hampshire, Obama's campaign hopes its first TV ad, which started airing last week, will produce a bump in the polls over the next month. ........ he is viewed as the most likable candidate and that many voters have not yet paid close attention, let alone made a firm decision. ...... polls showed Howard Dean leading by 20 percent in New Hampshire in late December 2003, only to lose by about 14 points a few weeks later. ......... Terry Kepner, a 55-year-old Radio Shack employee from Bennington, N.H., said he liked both Clinton and Obama but would not decide until the last minute. "I make my decision when I walk in" ......... the large percentage of undecided African-American women voters ...... Indications are that 18- to 30-year-olds will vote heavily in 2008 - even more than in the last two national elections, when their participation jumped markedly ......... Obama's support is underrepresented in primary-state polls, because many 20-somethings have only cellphones and their numbers do not show up on pollsters' calling lists. ........ "This is my first campaign, and I think I'm turning into an addict," Amanda Kelley, an Obama fan from St. Charles, Mo., wrote in an e-mail. "I check Barackobama.com every hour, I volunteer for everything I can, and the people I've met I am now seeing every week. There is a rejuvenated sense of personal empowerment that Obama generates which helps drive people to continue to move forward despite the polls, and the media."
Obama Leads in Worthless Poll Yahoo! News People are buzzing about Barack Obama supposedly surging among Iowa Democrats. A Newsweek poll has Obama besting Clinton by four points and Edwards by six, but like most early polls, this is pretty worthless. ..... Large pluralities continue to say they're undecided ........ the small, unpredictable "universe" of caucus attendees. ........ It takes over an hour to attend the caucus -- smack in the middle of Iowa winter -- so schedules and weather make turnout much more unpredictable than regular voting. ........ victory can depend on the second-place preferences of Iowans backing "second-tier" candidates. Field operatives get this dynamic ...... veteran strategists like Michael Whouley are tracking Iowans' second-place preferences. (Whouley is famous in Democratic circles for his field work for Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry ....... This time last cycle, Wesley Clark led national polls ...... Hillary has Dean's frontrunner spot, Obama is the old Edwards, and the new Edwards is doing the Gephardt thing. The top three of 2004 had one thing in common: high poll numbers and losing campaigns.
Obama climbs in Iowa poll Baltimore Sun
Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity ABC News he is chosing his "American Solutions" project over a presidential run. ..... Gingrich rejected the notion that it was for lack of resources or potential. ....... "The McCain-Feingold Act criminalizes politics ... We were informed yesterday morning that if I had any communication with American Solutions after I became a candidate, it was a criminal offense." ....... Gingrich, who was poised to launch a $30 million fundraising Web site, asserted that he could have been a serious contender. ........ "I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win," he said. ......... if we nominate somebody who is a continuation of where we are right now, we're going to lose ...... if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight. ......... "I believe she is very professional. I think the Clinton machine is the most powerful political machine in modern America. I think her husband is the smartest politician in our generation"
India's Low-Key Response to Burma Protests Driven By Security Concerns Voice of America
Myanmar junta stalls UN envoy a second time International Herald Tribune
Bush eyes 'surgical' strikes vs. Iran, sez mag New York Daily News planning "surgical" strikes in Iran to cripple agents the United States says support Iraqi insurgents fighting American soldiers ......... a change in the administration's rhetoric against Iran - redefining the source of tension from nuclear weapon development to Tehran's support of America's enemies ....... 'surgical' strikes on Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities and elsewhere ........ "What had been presented primarily as a counterproliferation mission has been reconceived as counterterrorism." ........ The Joint Chiefs of Staff have been working on plans to hit Iran with "a broad bombing attack" on suspected nuclear and military facilities ....... the revised bombing plan is gaining support from the military leadership and the British government. ..... the idea is being resisted by the Israelis, who would rather see Iran's nuclear facilities targeted directly ...... a lack of public support for a major bombing campaign, and the belief in intelligence circles that Iran is at least five years away from developing a nuclear weapon. ...... "But instead of saying to the American people ... it's going to be about nuclear weapons, it's now going to be about getting the guys that are killing our boys." .... the changing tone toward Iran is similar to the leadup to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, with the agency "moving everybody to the Iran desk."
China Writer Faces Subversion Charge The Associated Press
China: Product Safety Still Needs Work The Associated Press
Storing Files on the Internet, Microsoft Style New York Times more software technology over the Internet as a service ...... a careful balancing act, adding Internet services without offering online versions of its most lucrative desktop products like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. ...... a free service, called Office Live Workspace, that will allow people to store, access and share documents online. ........ But a Word or Excel document in the online workspace can be edited only if the user has bought Microsoft’s Word or Excel software. “The ideal case is where a person has Office,” said Rajesh Jha, a vice president for Microsoft Office Live products. ........ In an offering for larger companies, Microsoft will host the data center software for e-mail, workgroup collaboration and instant messaging and provide those as online services ......... “software plus services.” ........ Google Gears ...... household calendar ..... the desire of companies to add Web-based collaboration tools quickly and without the expense and headaches of having to buy more server computers.
Will A Google Phone Change The Game? BusinessWeek Watch or read the custom ads, and your phone minutes are free. ...... For big cell carriers, that's the real nightmare. And it may be coming in the form of a Google phone. ..... Google is expected to tap a company on the Pacific Rim that specializes in mobile design and manufacturing to build a handset to its specs. ..... don't expect one before the second half of 2008. ..... It is experimenting with wireless broadband networks in a couple of U.S. cities. ...... In August, CEO Eric Schmidt announced his intention to participate in a federal auction early next year of the sort of radio spectrum that would help pull off a phone service. ..... Networks and handsets are only now getting sophisticated enough to deliver colorful, location-specific ads. ..... combine Google's financial heft with its ultra-sophisticated ability to target ads to specific customers ..... nirvana scenarios--mobile ads tied to your individual behavior, what you are doing, and where you are ..... more than 2 1/2 billion phones in use worldwide exceed the number of PCs and TVs combined. ..... Google's AdSense for Mobile delivers ads relevant to the advertiser's mobile audience. .... mobile the next channel for information ..... Dilip Venkatachari, director of product management for Google's mobile team. ..... fit like spandex tights with user interests. ...... Employing technologies that figure out where callers are and where they're headed boosts advertising prices by 50% ..... Via Google search, for example, an advertiser learns a user is at the corner bakery in downtown Chicago. And it learns the person has a taste for sweets. Wireless carriers have customer information as well, but "they are not a data warehouse, the way Google is" ..... perhaps buy a wireless carrier, such as beleaguered Sprint Nextel .... Then it could launch the first ad- supported, and free, nationwide phone service. "Google is the first gambler sitting down with as big a bankroll as the carriers have
Dubai: Wall Street In The Desert?
Salman says 'no' to Madame Tussauds Rediff
University of Memphis football player killed on campus CNN
Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom Leaves Post Forbes
Opinion: Women's Soccer Doesn't Trail Men's in Excitement Deutsche Welle women's soccer is no longer worthy of ridicule and, in fact, is played at high technical and tactical levels ...... Women's soccer today is fairer than men's, offensive and well-played at a pace that has clearly sped up. Of course, the men are still faster, but that's the case in track and field, too. Are those races any more boring because of it? ....... the women on the German team who won the 1989 European Championships were rewarded with a coffee set, each member of the 2007 team will receive 50,000 euros ($71,165) for winning the title. ........ the 1999 Cup was broadcast in 67 countries, this time around it was 220 ...... World Cup in China ......limited funding and the lack of a league structure.
Microsoft puts Office on the Web, Adobe Follows PC World Adobe Systems announced Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Virtual Ubiquity in Waltham, Massachusetts and its online word processor, Buzzword. ...... Buzzword was built with Adobe Flex software and runs in the Adobe Flash Player. ..... Monday Exchange Labs, a research and development program for testing next-generation messaging and unified communications capabilities in high-scale environments. The Exchange Labs program will initially include select universities and school districts.
Office Live Workspace: What it can and can't do Seattle Post Intelligencer the company isn't ruling out the possibility of providing Web-based document authoring. He noted that there's plenty of opportunity to make money with advertising-supported software and services. ......... I wondered if Office Live Workspace was what's known in the industry as vaporware -- a product announced to combat a competitor, without ever really materializing.
Pamela Anderson Weds Paris Hilton's Sex Tape Lover Sofia News Agency
Americans Win the War on Terror! TIME Back at the ballfield death scene, an ambulance drives off, carrying the wounded. KA-BLAM! A suicide bomber was inside. From the roof of a building a mile or so away, the masterminds of these atrocities record it all on video, for bragging rights later. ....... Instead of being trapped in a four-year (and counting) quagmire, they come into town, clean things up and get out. What many thought would be the 2003 reality of a U.S. fighting force in Iraq has become a film fantasy in 2007. ......... The enemy is not a country but an ideology, not uniformed but civilian guerrillas. ......... our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are less fighting machines than sitting ducks ........ multi-ethnic squads ...... guaranteed to piss off the religiously and socially conservative Saudis ...... the black guy, there's the older man (Chris Cooper) who swears a lot; the woman doctor (Jennifer Garner) who insists on wearing tight T shirts; oh, and the Jew (Jason Bateman). ...... quizzing a retired terrorist (the effortlessly intimidiating Uri Gavriel). The old man holds up a hand with two missing fingertips and says, "Every bombmaker gets bitten by his own works." ........ The movie's guiding force is producer Michael Mann ..... The Mann style is everywhere evident: in the prowling camera and elliptical editing, the pile-driving music (a surprisingly formulaic score by Denny Elfman), the gigantic, pore-probing closeups of the actors' faces, the vigorous ersatz-realism. Everything moves so much and so fast that the movie seems both gutsy and brainy. But the main strategy is to keep viewers' pulses racing so they concentrate on the action, not the message. ...... if America is going to do any good against Islamic extremism in the Middle East, it needs to link up with moderate Arabs like Faris. ...... this war won't end until both sides can somehow be convinced it's over. .... cornering of the evil genius. ...... a retro-fantasy of American grit and smarts, culminating in politico-military triumph. Who needs a stalled, baffled, exhausted Army when our four globetrotting, gun-toting crime-solvers can be sent to the scene to sleuth out and wipe out the bad guys? ..... I feel a sequel coming on. Next stop for this A Team: the caves of Pakistan!
Madonna, Beasties, Mellencamp Up for Rock-God Status E! Online Born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Detroit, the Material Girl emerged from New York's underground club scene and shot to fame on the success of her self-titled 1982 debut album, which spawned the singles "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star." ....... Her penchant for boundary-pushing behavior, both onstage and off, and constant reinvention has kept her on the charts and in the headlines. .... selling more than 200 million albums worldwide. ..... Like Madonna, the Beasties sprung from the New York music scene in 1982, but instead of party-hearty rap, the Boys were a hard-core punk band.

Obama: Clinton No Break From the Usual The Associated Press
Obama campaign passes 350000 donors Baltimore Sun
Obama climbs in Iowa poll Baltimore Sun
Time running out for the making of a black President Guardian Unlimited For Barack Obama it was a daring move: hold a rally last week in the heart of New York, the fortress home of his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton. It seemed to pay off. As he bounded onto the stage in Manhattan's Washington Square in front of a packed crowd of 25,000, he beamed his broad smile and shouted: 'Look at this crowd!' Obama's gamble seemed to have worked. It generated a swath of newsprint in the Democratic stronghold of the city and was designed to send a message to Clinton that she could not even count on the support of her home turf. ....... 'It's extremely unlikely that Hillary will be denied her party's nomination,' said the influential New York Post columnist John Podhoretz. .... a long, steady march of the Clinton machine, keeping other candidates at arm's length and building an ever larger lead in the polls. ..... A Gallup survey had her on a whopping 47 per cent, against Obama's 25 per cent ....... Clinton is also ahead by about 20 points in New Hampshire and has recently moved ahead of Edwards in the key first voting state of Iowa, where Edwards has been virtually camped out for the past two years. ....... many experts warn that it is far too early to write Obama off, pointing out that there are three months to go before actual voting takes place. Obama's campaign still has many positives. He has raised more money faster than any other Democratic candidate in history, including 75,000 new campaign donors since June alone. He also has a huge and committed campaign organisation, including twice as many offices in Iowa as any other candidate. His public rallies are always attended by thousands of supporters, who show an enthusiasm for their candidate which beats that enjoyed by any of his rivals. ...... a good showing in Iowa will change the nature of the race ..... Seeking to express sympathy with poor farmers in Adel, Iowa, Obama asked his audience: 'Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula?' The remark was a disaster and it is not hard to see why. Whole Foods is an upscale, organic-only supermarket that does not have a single branch in the entire state, let alone in the tiny town of Adel. Many Iowans - famed for their Midwestern distaste for 'big city' ways - would take pride in not knowing what arugula is or what one should do with it. But a few in Adel may now have some interesting suggestions. ....... Though often uninspiring, Clinton's public appearances and debate performances have been the epitome of slick, smooth professionalism. She has also run a hyper-controlled media operation that has won a reputation for ruthless control of her campaign's message ........ Bill Clinton used his influence to kill a GQ magazine story that painted an unflattering portrait of infighting in the Clinton campaign. ....... 'He's the best thing she's got going for her on some levels. He's her Karl Rove ....... At this time in 2003's Democratic race, Vermont governor Howard Dean looked set to be the candidate. He was flush with cash, riding high in the polls and John Kerry's campaign was almost bankrupt. Yet three months later Dean's campaign collapsed almost overnight and Kerry romped home in a matter of weeks. Put simply: a lot can happen in the next three months, and all the campaigns remain officially optimistic. ....... Iowa is shaping up not just to be Obama's first stand against Clinton. It could also be his last.
Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku PC World Zingku aims to make it easier for people to share photos, send invitations or conduct polls among friends via mobile phone. It also provides a way for businesses to send "mobile flyers" to customers advertising products and services. ...... Zingku's service is free for end users and aimed at teenagers and people in their 20s. It uses standard text and picture messaging features on mobile phones, and a browser on the Web, so no special software has to be installed. ...... Users can share content with an "inner circle" of trusted friends, and with friends-of-friends when they want to. ..... easily move (zing) things back and forth between the web and your mobile as well as powerfully connect with friends and optionally their friends. ........ mobile phones, which are emerging as a new medium for advertising. ...... In 2005 it bought Dodgeball.com, another mobile service that shares information about a user's location and helps them find friends in their local area. Google did little to promote the service, however, and Dodgeball's founders left Google earlier this year complaining that it wasn't investing enough resources in the service. ..... whacky, Web 2.0 culture

Giuliani Argues He Can Beat Hillary The Associated Press he's clearly taking a nontraditional — and untested — route to the nomination by making a stand in delegate-rich Florida on Jan. 29. It's a gateway to the big-prize Feb. 5 primaries in California, New York and other states that Giuliani backers contend will be more amenable to a candidate of his ilk. ...... Giuliani claims to be the only Republican able to put in play Democratic-leaning states with lots of electoral votes, such as New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois. ...... the ultimate trifecta of liberal bogeymen — the left-leaning interest group MoveOn.org, The New York Times and Clinton. He blasted MoveOn for buying an ad in the Times that assailed the top U.S. commander in Iraq, challenged Clinton to denounce it, and criticized the newspaper for slashing the price of it.
Democrats Build Plan to Override Health Bill Veto New York Times Bush’s expected veto of a bipartisan bill providing health insurance for 10 million children, most of them in low-income families. ..... the cost of Iraq, $333 million a day; the cost of Schip, $19 million a day ..... “Screaming ‘socialized medicine’ is like shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. It is intended to cause hysteria that diverts people from reading the bill, looking at the facts.” ..... Ms. Pelosi called Mr. Bush on Friday and said she was praying he would sign the bill.
Clinton, Bono, Shakira Talk Youth Activism E! Online
Bill Clinton: Hillary 'Will Be ... the Decider' ABC News
You, Bill Clinton and a bowl of chips Baltimore Sun
Is Hillary Clinton the New Old Al Gore? New York Times
'Security situation in Nepal poor ahead of polls' Hindu A top parliamentary panel tasked to review the security situation in Nepal ahead of the November 22 polls today expressed concern at the prevailing law and order situation, terming it "poor" and inadequate for the successful conduct of the landmark democratic exercise. ...... the politicians were afraid to conduct their political activities outside the district headquarters due to the frail security situation in the country. ...... cross-border criminal activities in the districts in the Terai plains bordering India.
Police atrocity continues in Bihar NDTV.com
Torrential rains disrupts normal life in Bihar Times of India
Obama stuck in 2nd place; hasn't risen in polls New York Daily News leading all of his rivals in the race for money, and boasting the largest grass-roots organization in modern political history ..... supporters are impressed with Obama's signs of strength - his fund-raising prowess, the huge crowds at rallies, the Internet following ...... Preeta Bansal, a New York supporter, said she's not concerned. "It's going to be a long fall. The race is just beginning and he's on fire," said Bansal, referring to recent stump speeches where she said he's been "superb." ....... there's tremendous excitement for Obama, and real optimism that he can knock out Clinton. .... "On the ground, the people, the groundswell is growing," Sanders said. ..... "I know there's a rooting interest, a kind of blood lust in the political community to see a kind of steel-cage match between Obama and Hillary," Axelrod said. "I don't think that's either politically smart or consistent with who he is." ...... The campaign has pinned much of its strategy on winning Iowa. .... The campaign also has begun to deploy staff and build up ground operations in the states holding primaries on Feb. 5. And in the coming months, star supporter Oprah Winfrey "will do some things for us
Poll: Iowans Buck the 2008 CW Newsweek
India's 'Tiger from Madras' crowned world chess champion AFP
India's Anand seizes chess title USA Today
China Bans Bra, Underwear Ads The Associated Press
Bush struggles to stay relevant in climate debate Reuters his resistance to the kind of mandatory emissions limits sought by many allies in Europe and Japan may further weaken his influence as negotiations intensify over a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. That treaty, which Bush rejected, expires in 2012. .... "a lot of countries are already looking past this administration." ..... In the years since Bush rejected the 1997 Kyoto treaty, the debate within the United States has shifted toward growing concern about global warming.
On Warming, Bush Vows US 'Will Do Its Part' Washington Post
Climate Change: Filling the Bush Gap TIME
At The Supreme Court It’s Kennedy’s World CBS News
Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku PC World
Bringing smart phones to the masses CNET News.com teen-agers and even soccer moms, who want e-mail access and Web surfing on the go ...... 213 million cell phones operating in the United States today, only about 4 percent of them are smart phones ..... 9 million smart phone users in the U.S. That figure has almost tripled in the past two years.

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New York City For Barack Obama 5
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