The debate actually started at nine. But the DFNYC website said six. I showed up a little late, a little after six. And the guy at the door asked for my ID.
How old do I look to you, I asked.
"25, maybe," he said.
The sign said eight, so I walked out. I made a few phone calls walking around the little park out there. I have been bugging everyone I can think of raising money for my startup.
I came back. The crowd was pretty big by then. But it was not upstairs as advertised. It was down.
Stephanie approched me. "Hey, you are my Facebook friend." So we had our first ever conversation. She is the national secretary of the Young Democrats of America.
Costa was sitting at a table. Costa goes by one name, like Cher, like Madonna. He is a major Obama guy in Queens. I have seen him at many, many events.
I could never bring myself to stand in the same room as Matt Romney, like never. F____ that guy. That guy thinks if he can talk racist that will make him less Mormon and more white.
Other than that, it was a great debate. Looks like Mike Gravel has been booted out. Joe Biden did pretty good. He went after Rudy Giuliani and that was good.
The three biggies gave quite a show. Edwards, Clinton and Barack. Edwards and Barack drew distinctions with Clinton without making it sound like they are making personal attacks. John Edwards was in spirit. No sweat. I am going to speak my mind kind of thing.
Barack did very well. He did what he was supposed to do. He drew distinctions.
Clinton stood her ground. She retained composure. At one point Bill Richardson defended her. Richardson thought Edwards and Barack were being too hard on her. I am not going to be president, so what the heck, at least her husband gave me a major lift.
It was a great debate.
I hope many of them end up in the eventual Democratic cabinet. They are going to make the progressive cause look strong.
There were a few different times when Clinton refused to take a clear stand. And Barack quickly did. The contrast was sharp and clear.
Like, so Spitzer is going to give drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. Do you support the idea or what? Hillary could not bring herself to say yes, I am for it. Barack was very clear. He said he agrees with Spitzer totally.
I did not feel like Hillary was wrong in any of her answers. But she came across as cautious, not wanting to venture on to new ground. After the hell she went through in the 1990s, she might have learned a few wrong lessons.
Edwards pointed out Hillary has been getting more lobbyist money from every industry than any Democrat or Republican. He kept honing the point home. I can see why Justin Krebs might like John Edwards.
I have met Justin Krebs a few times. I have a feeling he might be a Liberal.
You could go to any city in America, like 300 of them, and there is a Drinking Liberally chapter in there, and you show up, and if you can say you are friends with Justin, you got it made. You are going to get VIP treatment.
Most everybody I have ever seen with Justin, they act like it is a status symbol to be knowing him.
Towards the end of the debate, I saw Heather Woodfield for like two seconds out of the corner of my eye. I shot an email to her after I got back home. Give me a conversation.
Hillary gave a good performance. She speaks good English.
The debate was two hours, with three breaks.
Good White People Living In The Asian Century
The good white people running the show at the political organizations in Manhattan.
In The News
Giuliani Still Working At Consulting Firm CBS News Dems, Let's See a Real Debate on Medicare, Social Security TheStreet.com She instead endorsed Reagan's solution: to appoint a bipartisan commission to solve the problem. ...... Medicare will blow up in our faces in 12 short years. India's central bank keeps rates steady, moves to soak up liquidity International Herald Tribune ordered lenders to hold a larger share of their deposits in cash — a step aimed at soaking up excess liquidity in the banking system. ....... The Indian financial system is flush with funds because a surge in foreign capital into the country. ...... Foreign investors have bought more than US$22 billion (€15.27 billion) in Indian stocks to date this year, nearly three times what they invested last year. ....... The hike in cash reserve ratio, or CRR, would drain 160 billion rupees (US$4 billion; €3.3 billion) from the banking system .... This is the fourth time the central bank has increased the CRR this year. News Analysis Bhutto’s Return Brings Pakistani Politics to a Boil New York Times Home for just over a week, the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has raised the temperature in Pakistan a hundredfold, stirring friend and foe alike as she rallies supporters, courts the news media and plunges back into the muck of Pakistan’s politics. ........ quarter of a million loyal and enthusiastic supporters who went to Karachi to greet her ....... “remains an intensely polarizing figure ......... the murder of Benazir’s father through a contrived judicial verdict, the death of her two brothers in dubious circumstances, and the dismissal of her governments ....... Using the news media unabashedly, Ms. Bhutto has been outspoken in particular against terrorism, saying things that few local politicians dare to against the religious and jihadi groups. She is the only politician in Pakistan saying loudly and clearly that suicide bombing is against the teaching of Islam. .......... a virulent verbal exchange ....... The return attacks have been swift and nasty. The chief minister of Sindh Province, Ms. Bhutto’s home province, warned that the rule of a woman would be a curse for Pakistan. ....... suggested that Ms. Bhutto herself could be behind the bomb blasts, as a ploy for sympathy. ...... the image that Ms. Bhutto studiously cultivated in her years abroad: that of a pro-Western democrat who can bring the people of Pakistan on board in the fight against terrorism. ........ Many citizens are also disgusted by the ordinance, which seems to give free license to any corrupt politician. So are members of the military, who see the army being sullied by association, all so General Musharraf can stay in power. ........ The famous cricketer turned politician, Imran Khan, and his ex-wife, the wealthy British socialite Jemima Khan, lambasted Ms. Bhutto in articles in the British press. Ms. Khan called Ms. Bhutto a “a kleptocrat in a Hermès scarf.” ......... the story of how Murtaza Bhutto, Benazir’s brother, was gunned down by the police, point out the spot where it happened just yards from his home, and recall how the police delayed taking him to a hospital and let him bleed in his seat. ......... Ms. Bhutto’s estranged niece, Fatima Bhutto, who holds Benazir Bhutto morally responsible for the death of Murtaza, her father. A 26-year-old newspaper columnist, Fatima Clinton girds for Obama, Edwards attacks AFP Clinton, who has barely put a foot wrong in the 2008 Democratic race for president, has performed strongly in all previous encounters ....... Obama may be in danger of seeing his White House dream dissolve. ....... "John Edwards is trying to run from the left, Clinton has been resolutely been running from the center and Barack Obama is running from above -- against politics as usual" ...... her "road to the middle class takes a major detour right through the deep canyon of corporate lobbyists." ...... victory in Iowa would give Obama a boost which could allow him to challenge Clinton in other key states, while his defeat may effectively crown her as presumptive nominee. .......... A bad loss for Edwards in a state where he has invested heavily, and which leads a long list of primary and caucus nominating contests, would likely effectively end his campaign. ...... "This race in Iowa is more fluid than people give it credit for" ...... "The problem for Barack Obama is whether these younger people will go to caucus," said Redlawsk. "Should that happen, Obama has the potential to overtake Clinton." Obama, Edwards get their chance with Clinton in personBaltimore Sun it's not hard to guess how the Clinton camp plans to respond. Thompson, Obama get most positive coverage: study Reuters Obama has attained rock star status on the campaign trail even though he's behind Hillary Clinton in the voter polls. Obama received positive coverage in 47% of all stories about him. But the study also found that Obama seemed to be slipping after May, with more neutral and negative stories. Some 46% of the stories about Thompson had been positive with only 4% negative about his candidacy. ........ The nuts-and-bolts of campaigning accounted for 63% of all coverage, while the personalities and private life of the candidates and their families added another 17%. That left only 7% for domestic policy issues and 7% for foreign policy aspects. Google plan sees phones by mid-2008: report the Google-powered phones are expected to meld several of its applications, including Google Maps, YouTube and Gmail. Clinton's Preemptive StrikeCBS News Both Barack Obama and John Edwards have signaled that they are set to launch an aggressive new phase in the campaign aimed at the front-runner. ....... Mark Penn asks if the senator's primary opponents are abandoning the "politics of hope." Gerald Ford labelled 'sex addict' Clinton 'sick'Telegraph.co.uk The former US president Gerald Ford was so concerned about Bill Clinton's womanising that he thought he should seek help at a sex addiction clinic, according to a new book just published. ......... In a case of the dead speaking ill of the living, Ford thought that Hillary Clinton, now seeking to become president herself, "wore the pants [trousers]" in their relationship. ....... "He's sick – he's got an addiction. He needs treatment" ........ "You know, there's treatment for that kind of addiction" .... "He thought Bill Clinton had a serious addiction here and he needed help," DeFrank told CNN. "And Gerry Ford didn't have a vengeful bone in his body." ........ The Fords recalled entertaining the Clintons after Mr Clinton's inauguration in 1993, when his womanising was well known within political circles ....... "He didn't miss one good-looking skirt at any of the social occasions," Ford said later. Ford, said DeFrank, believed Mr Clinton was charismatic and the best politician he had ever seen – even better than John F Kennedy – but unable to learn from mistakes in his personal life. ....... of Mrs Clinton: "She's very bright. She's strong, and I think he defers to her. When she gets her dander up, she ain't gonna roll over." Ford on 'sex-addict' Clinton, 'weak' Carter and moreBaltimore Sun Obama Stumbles The Weekly Standard Candidates Widely Split on IranThe Associated Press The top presidential contenders are offering markedly different ideas on how they would keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons, suddenly a central issue in the 2008 campaign. ........ Democrats say they favor multinational diplomacy, combined with economic incentives as well as sanctions. ... they would consider military action only after exhausting other options. ....... foreign policy experience, judgment and leadership. ....... "For Republicans, Iran represents a much more comfortable foreign policy subject to talk about than Iraq. It's a hard-nosed, hawkish credentialing and branding issue," Beers said. "On the Democratic side, there is far less saber rattling. They are trying to distinguish themselves from Bush and promote a dialogue and find common ground with Iran, which there may not be." ........ relations between Iran and the U.S. have reached a toxic and potentially dangerous level ....... it also has sponsored terrorism throughout the Middle East and continues to support Shiite militias in Iraq that have been involved in attacking American soldiers. ....... a nuclear Iran could lead to World War III. ....... a willingness to take pre-emptive military action against Iran if necessary. ...... Romney last month proposed indicting Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on a charge of inciting genocide. ....... That vote is expected to be a major point of contention Tuesday when the candidates meet in a two-hour debate in Philadelphia. ....... New York senator, has called for more direct diplomacy with Iran and countries such as North Korea, but has also said she would not commit to leader-to-leader meetings. ....... candidates on both sides could do a better job speaking responsibly about the complex problem of Iran. ....... "On the Democratic side, there has been too much silliness on the issue of engagement, and a candidate's particular choice of words for conditions for talking. The rhetoric on the Republican side ignores a bunch of important questions — the Iranian response, our standing in the region and around the world, and poisoning relations with Iran for generations to come." India Says Activists Hyping Child Labor The Associated Press US and India have a chance for a win-win energy solution Nuevo Mundo India Lacks Bond Market When It Is Most Needed: Andy MukherjeeBloomberg Paulson happened to be in Mumbai on the day the Sensex rose above 20,000 for the first time. ...... India needs to invest $475 billion between now and 2012 to ease shortages in roads, ports, power stations and subway systems. At the existing levels of investment, the country will miss the target by a staggering $162 billion. ....... bringing overseas risk capital into Indian infrastructure projects. ....... About a third of the total annual savings of India's households, companies and the government routinely gets locked up in physical assets -- such as gold jewelry -- and isn't available to the financial industry. ........ The debt market, which could facilitate the flow of money from those who have tons of it -- such as insurers -- to where it's most needed, is practically non-existent. ....... the fast-growing economy had fallen behind in creating a functioning market for corporate borrowings. ...... Bank loans are six times bigger than the outstanding stock of Indian corporate bonds. ....... It's because the domestic bond market hasn't been allowed to prosper that corporate issuers have practically abandoned it over the past few years, choosing instead to borrow overseas. Protesters Harass Saudi King Abdullah in Britain FOX News Dalai Lama quotes Mao in face of China's attack Globe and Mail Why Iran is boasting about immunity from attack by USChicago Sun-Times Iran seeks to "confront" US banking sanctions: MP Reuters Major powers expected to meet on Iran this weekReuters UK Google shares drive near $700 mark MarketWatch Germany to Host 2011 Women's World Cup Deutsche Welle Brazil again favored to win FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup International Herald Tribune Dell gets lift from upbeat Goldman Sachs report MarketWatch Oprah tears over school scandalBBC News Meeting the king John Simpson on one of his most difficult interviews everI have interviewed Prince Saud before. In fact, he gave me one of the best exclusives I have had, shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq, when he showed how bitterly opposed the Saudis were to it. ...... I now realised he felt so strongly about what the US had done in Iraq, and the thought that they might soon bomb Iran, that he felt he might upset his relations with Washington if he spoke openly to me. ..... shrewd and pleasant and surprisingly frank, and at 82 still as sharp-minded as ever. Giuliani: Clinton, Edwards, will change minds on Iraq war again Boston Globe Giuliani said Monday that two of the Democratic candidates will change their minds again about the Iraq war and agree that it was the right decision. ........ had the U.S. not invaded Iraq, it would now be facing two dangerous countries trying to become nuclear powers -- Iraq and Iran. ..... "This is the world we live in. It's not this happy, romantic-like world where we'll negotiate with this one, or we'll negotiate with that one and there will be no preconditions, and we'll invite (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad to the White House, we'll invite Osama (bin Laden) to the White House," Giuliani said. ....... Giuliani said the U.S. should be ready to negotiate, but "you can't negotiate with people unless they want to negotiate with you." ....... Obama's spokesman, said Giuliani's "cheap applause lines, unfounded political smears, and shoot-first-think-later politics are irresponsible in a campaign, and would be catastrophic in a presidency." ...... "Mayor Giuliani has stooped to a disgraceful new low that embraces the very worst legacy of George Bush and Dick Cheney's cynicism and divisiveness. We must be united in our determination to hunt down Osama bin Laden, something that George Bush and Rudy Giulianis disastrous Iraq War has prevented," he said. ........ the $15,000 tax breaks he says he would give families to buy private health insurance. Paulson in India With a Wish List for Economic Changes New York Times a long list of advice, requests, predictions and recommendations for India, which has the world’s second-fastest-growing major economy after China. ....... to urge a successful conclusion of the deadlocked world trade talks, to push for expansion of India’s capital markets and to urge regulators to open the financial sector to foreigners. ........ Foreigners are prohibited from majority ownership in many sectors of the Indian economy, including finance, power and railroads, and are not allowed to participate in markets like commodities exchanges. There are limits on the money that Indian individuals and companies can invest overseas. ....... Indian banks, for example, avoided problems from the United States subprime mortgage market in part because of restrictions on investing in complicated financial instruments that hold risky loans. .......... Mr. Paulson, a former chairman of the investment bank Goldman Sachs ........ The country needs to spend an estimated building $500 billionroads, power grids and ports, or risk stifling growth, which has averaged nearly 9 percent annually in the last three years. American banks and financial companies have been studying the market closely, hoping to finance the investment by expanding India’s nascent bond market. Laloo flexes RJD muscles in Bihar News Locale Addressing an impressive gathering, Laloo tried to woo the Muslim electorate as well as appease a section of the upper castes. He demanded that the government ensure 10 percent reservation for the poor upper castes in the state. At the same time, he urged the people to give him another opportunity to run the state and promised them to do to Bihar what he has done to the Indian railways. ...... Nevertheless, a large part of his speech concentrated on the Gujarat riots and Narendra Modi bashing. ...... train services through Bihar remained disrupted owing to the rally. RJD no more a 'sasural party' Times of India, India "sasural" stood for the combine of "Sadhu, Subhash, Rabri Devi and Lalu Prasad" .... If the hoardings on display for the Sunday's Chetawani Rally of the RJD are any indictor, the two brothers of Rabri have been tamed, or relegated to the background. .... It reflected during the two 2005 elections, when the party's tally came down to 75 MLAs during the February elections, and to 55 in November the same year. Lalu launches his political dynasty Times Now.tv, India At a massive rally, Lalu Prasad launched his two sons Tejasvi and Tej Pratap by formally introducing them to the people of Bihar. ........ Tejasvi is Lalu's elder son and plays for Delhi's Under-19 cricket team. Though Tejasvi is trying to pursue a career in sport, Tej Pratap has shown an inclination towards politics, even accompanying his father to various rallies around the state. Junta: U.S. a 'loudmouthed bully' CNN Myanmar's military government stepped up its propaganda campaign against the United States, accusing Washington of inciting last month's pro-democracy demonstrations in hopes of installing a puppet government. ...... "Recent protests in the country were created by the loudmouthed bully, using the exiled dissidents and traitors together with communists, internal and external anti-government destructionists," said a commentary Sunday in the Myanmar-language Myanma Ahlin daily.
You hit a point after which you basically camp out in Iowa. The previous cycle for John Kerry it was the beginning of December. And that was a good decision. But this time the caucuses are on January 3. November 10 or 15, perhaps 15 is a good point for this cycle, I would think.
You camp out in Iowa. Then you go to Nevada, and camp out there. And then New Hampshire. You camp out. And then South Carolina.
After South Carolina, you go into all the big media markets. New York and LA and a few others.
Fluid Race
I feel the race to be fluid. A lot of ground could shift. Just look at the numbers in Iowa.
Harlem Rally
Obama organized a rally in New York City. Hillary organized a rally in Harlem. There was an anti war rally in downtown Manhattan at the same time as the Hillary rally.
The Edwards Energy
He has come back swinging. He has come with fighting words recently.
Tuesday Debate In Philly
It might end up everyone versus Hillary. Hillary as usual will try to make it her versus Bush. Her Iran vote will be a major issue. Hillary's strategy will be to not engage, but ignore the Dems. She will keep wanting to fire at Bush.
I believe this will end up the most dramatic Democratic debate this year.
I hope Obama uses it to draw distinctions on all the big issues.
Being Fair To Hillary
I have always felt if she is the nominee, she will be president. I have never felt she will drag the rest of the Dems down if she is the nominee. It is just that to me the policy positions between Obama and her are glaring and I am rooting for Obama. I like it that Obama 2008 is not a negative campaign. But differences have to be made clear for the voters.
There are women who like it that Hillary is a viable candidate. There are ethnic minorities who like it that Obama is a viable candidate. I don't begrudge the women. If there are women who will vote for Hillary because she is a woman, all the glory to them. I am rooting for Obama.
An Obama Victory In Iowa
That will change everything.
Ah, the good white people in Iowa.
Which Debate Watch Party
I might go to this one.
Democratic Primary Debate Halloween Eve
Join DFNYC and the Manhattan Young Dems as we gather to watch the Democratic Primary Debate on Halloween Eve.
No costumes for me. If you want to get scared, just think of the impending war on Iran.
Barack Obama picked up where Howard Dean left.
The other day I met Lewis Cohen at an event with the Washington Governor. It just felt different. I feel like I am a different, healthier, more relaxed person after having written my online autobiography, very much work in progress. I came into the city carrying baggage from KY and IN. A refugee from KY/IN, as I liked to call myself. And I paid a social price for the intense two year work into Nepal done almost completely in a web 2.0 environment: atrophied social muscles.
I sent Cohen a teaser email after I got back home. KFC, LFC, Lewis f_____g Cohen. Important guy. Was nice to see you earlier.
I wonder where the DFNYC crowd is on 2008 right now. I know they are very anti-war. Like very. Like unforgivingly very. All the DFNYC honchos are on close, first name basis with Dean. One of my earliest emails to Heather was, I can't believe you have a photo with Dean. Then I got a photo with Dean.
I wonder what a freewheeling conversation with someone like Cohen would be like. No time pressure, who are you, no topic too taboo. Bring it on, ask. Let me ask. What do you do? Where do you live? How long have you been in the city? Have you traveled much?
Deaniacs bond like people who have fought together.
Final Dates
I still don't know when the states are voting.
In The News
Taking Aim at Clinton Washington Post Hillary Clinton should be prepared for a long night at Tuesday's Democratic debate. Having been the favorite target at the Republican debate in Orlando a week ago, the New York senator now faces up-close-and-personal criticism from her leading Democratic rivals in Philadelphia. ...... the Iowa caucuses are now just nine weeks away. ...... Clinton is deliberately concealing her views on important issues ...... "Down one path, we trade corporate Democrats for corporate Republicans; our cronies for their cronies; one political dynasty for another dynasty; and all we are left with is a Democratic version of the Republican corruption machine." ..... The challenge for Obama and Edwards -- as for the other Democrats chasing Clinton -- is how best to force her to engage. ..... is reluctant "to kneecap the frontrunner" ...... Edwards appears less concerned about perceived negativity, although he too has been respectful in his face-to-face encounters with Clinton. ....... Clinton remains in a highly competitive race in Iowa. But in their tone and language, Edwards and Obama appear to sense that time is now their enemy, that they must change the dynamic soon. That could make Tuesday's a debate worth watching. Clinton, Obama in Statistical Tie in Iowa, Poll Finds (Update1)Bloomberg Clinton of New York received 28.9 percent support compared with 26.6 percent for Obama of Illinois. The gap is within the poll's 5.5 percent margin of error for Democrats. ...... Obama received 19.3 percent support in August. In Iowa, 3-way race for Dems as Romney leads bigBaltimore Sun Romney Says Giuliani's Support Will Fade The Associated Press Gap Threatens India's Clothing Boom TIMEthe garments were stitched by children in a Delhi sweatshop. ...... children between 10 and 13 worked in conditions "close to slavery" in the factory producing blouses bearing Gap labels. Gap, which has 200 of its 2,000 suppliers in India ......... for most Indians child labour is a well-known reality ...... between 75 and 90 million children continue to be part of the labour force in India. ....... grimy, dimly-lit sweatshops behind plush, high-end boutiques. ...... trained embroiderers and tailors are paid between $110 and $150 a month, whereas "children can be employed for less than half of this, sometimes for no money at all if their parents have sold them off." ........ growth is prioritized over social equity ...... In 2008, clothing and textile production in India for foreign brands is projected to be worth between $22 billion and $25 billion, as Western producers come in search of lower production costs that enable lower retail prices in the boutiques of the industrialized world. Somalian prime minister resignsLos Angeles Times Somalia: Prime Minister Quits; Violence Rocks MogadishuAllAfrica.com Red Sox Have the World at Their Feet Washington Post Obama Lashes Out at Clinton The Associated Press accusing her of dodging tough questions about Social Security. ....... Obama, campaigning at a senior center in Des Moines ..... Obama's campaign arranged for him to be introduced at the event by Tod Bowman, a teacher from Maquoketa, Iowa, who tried to pin down Clinton during a debate in Iowa earlier this month on whether the government should tax workers' earnings above the present cap of $97,500 to help pay for Social Security benefits. ...... Clinton sidestepped the question in public, telling Bowman privately afterward that she didn't want to put an additional tax burden on the middle class, but would consider a "gap," with no Social Security taxes on income from $97,500 to around $200,000. Anything above that could be taxed. Her answer was overheard by an Associated Press reporter. ..... you're not ready to lead if you can't tell us where you're going ...... hedge, and dodge, and spin, but at all costs, don't answer ....... As president, her first priority will be restoring fiscal responsibility and fair tax policies, and then will work in a bipartisan process to address Social Security's long term challenges. ..... she is against changing benefits, against raising the retirement age, against privatization, so what is she going to do? ........ "Did I miss something? Did you all have the Iowa caucus and I was back in North Carolina asleep? Obama in Spotlight at Today's MySpace/MTV ForumWashington Post The Early Word: Obama StrategiesNew York Times why the Illinois senator draws big crowds but not big polling numbers ....... a cerebral approach that leaves some voters wanting more. While Clinton is running “from the center” and former Edwards is running “from the left,” he said, Obama is “running from above.” ....... Obama’s campaign could certainly use reenergizing. ...... seems to have withered beneath the supernova that is the Clinton campaign. ........ the early date—in the middle of college winter break — will affect youth turnout rates. ....... the growing Latino population in the mostly racially homogeneous state. ...... Most Democratic candidates supported the failed Kennedy-McCain bill in Congress, which would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Yet they talk tough on border security. ........ John Edwards called for a two-year ban on advertisements for new prescription drugs. ...... the Mike Huckabee train is gaining steam ...... the likelihood that conservative evangelicals would break off from the future G.O.P. candidate and endorse the former Arkansas governor as a third party. ...... Ron Paul’s campaign has a new strategy: chase what few conservative voters live in heavily Democratic San Francisco. Winning the Republican primary in a Democratic district would give Mr. Paul the same amount of delegates at the party nominating convention as if he had won a Republican-dominated (and much more difficult to woo) district. ....... the growing clout of the Arab-American community, which not too long ago was avoided by presidential candidates: In 1988, Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis rejected the endorsement of a major Arab-American group. ........ in 2004, former President Ford said Mrs. Clinton is “tougher and stronger” than her husband, Bill Clinton. ....... Barack Obama participates in a presidential dialogue hosted by MySpace and MTV at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He then travels to Charlottesville, Va., for a fund-raiser with Gov. Tim Kaine. Jab at Clinton Hidden in ‘Wind’New York Times protect the system from privatization and to end the Social Security tax exemption for the wealthy ........ “I don’t want to just put my finger out to the wind and see what the polls say – I want to bring the country together to solve a problem.” Taking Aim at Clinton Washington Post Harlem Homecoming for Clinton The Associated Press She's not sold on Hillary Clinton - yetNewsday Bill Clinton says he is thinking about SC following beach fireMyrtle Beach Sun News Real ID That Spitzer Now Embraces Has Been Widely Criticized New York Times Eliot Spitzer compares driver's license plan to MetroCardsNew York Daily News Iowa Democrats Set Earlier Caucus Date Washington Post New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner has said only that he would schedule that primary no later than Jan. 8. ...... a historically early White House competition that has defied precedent in terms of jockeying for position, campaign debates, large campaign expenditures, broadcast advertisements and hundreds of candidate appearances. ........ Florida set its primary for Jan. 29, and Michigan is planning a Jan. 15 primary. Those decisions forced South Carolina to move up its date as well. India Activists Decry Gap Child LaborThe Associated Press European libraries face enormous problems in digitalizing International Herald Tribune Merrill Lynch Set To Oust O'Neal Forbes O'Neal Ouster Makes Mess of Maternal Merrill Lynch (Update3)Bloomberg the worst news in the firm's 93-year history. ...... a credit market shakeout that triggered a run on a British bank and caused Switzerland's largest financial institution to fire its CEO, was the biggest quarterly debacle in the history of the securities industry. ........ the board of 11, nine of whom were handpicked by O'Neal during his five years as CEO, to make it clear the 56- year-old grandson of a former slave is leaving, possibly as early as today ........ Merrill, a firm that over nine decades built a corporate culture that promoted from within and gently nudged its chiefs into distinguished retirement ...... Merrill has risen 52 percent in New York trading since O'Neal took over on Dec. 2, 2002, while the 12-member Amex Broker/Dealer Index has surged 159 percent and shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest securities firm, has tripled. ....... Merrill risked becoming `` ...... a snake pit with political infighting.. The world's largest banks and securities firms announced more than $30 billion of third-quarter losses from writedowns or bad debt. ....... ``He got rid of people with hundreds and hundreds of years of experience,'' said Winthrop Smith, who left as head of Merrill's international brokerage after O'Neal became president in 2001. ``When you get rid of people who have gone through problems in the past, you increase the probability that a mistake is going to happen again.'' ....... O'Neal put more of the firm's capital at risk by investing it directly in leveraged buyouts ........ His strategy transformed Merrill into a firm that looked less like the one Tully, now 75, bequeathed and more like Goldman Sachs. ...... Net income rose 47 percent last year to a record $7.5 billion, and O'Neal took home $48 million in compensation -- $20 million more than in 2003. ........ Mother Merrill, a term sometimes used to describe the firm as more forgiving and loyal than its Wall Street rivals, rankled O'Neal. He said a business should be driven more by performance than by tenure and relationships. ......... O'Neal was born in nearby Roanoke, Alabama, in October 1951. His education began at a one-room school with an outhouse ....... Next came a scholarship from GM to study at Harvard Business School. ...... whetted his appetite for investment banking and complex financial transactions. ........ It was exciting; it was innovative; there was a sense of urgency ....... At 35, older than most new investment bankers, he joined Merrill's high-yield-bond department. Within three years, he was running the group ........ O'Neal was an investment banker turned CFO who had never served among Merrill's 15,000 brokers. ...... Almost immediately, O'Neal quit advertising Merrill's Internet trading service. He accelerated an effort to have Merrill's army of brokers focus on getting more millionaires as clients. ........ O'Neal said he spent his first six weeks as president meeting with executives throughout the firm and thinking about new jobs for some of them, just as he had when moving into previous roles. ....... After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, O'Neal accelerated his timetable for change. He eliminated 14,800 jobs and closed 266 offices around the world, dismantling the international empire that Komansky built during the previous five years. ........ ``The worst thing you can do is take talented people and put them up against a problem or market opportunity that has changed dramatically and tell them to keep doing it in the same way,'' O'Neal said in 2002. ``You wind up frustrating and demoralizing people.'' ........ Merrill, which paid a $100 million fine ....... Komansky, receiving the treatment reserved for retiring Merrill chiefs, was given an office on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. Another World Cup for Germany? Soccer studies the female factor International Herald Tribune Dell gets lift from upbeat Goldman Sachs report MarketWatch Michael Dell Hints at Bigger Acquisitions PC World the pace of consolidation will increase ...... particularly as the growth is skewed towards emerging countries ..... In the last two years Dell has acquired five companies, two related to the consumer business, one related to software and two related to services. .......... 70 percent of IT spending at Japanese companies over the next year will be related to maintenance of old systems and management and only 30 percent on new hardware. Laura Bush Defines Her Policy Role Voice of America First lady stakes out own issuesHouston Chronicle Laura Bush won't vote for Hillary ClintonNew York Daily News
The political organizations in Manhattan live in their own little worlds. Each is peculiar. Its own strengths and weaknesses. Cast of characters. 30 people at an event is considered a lot of people.
Enough of meeting famous politicians at DL21C events. Now I feel like I want to meet movie stars.
Cutting on non-Obama events will also help me focus on Obama more.
I met an asshole called Dan Jacoby at DFNYC. At DL21C there is Danny Hamburger. I think the stink is in the name. Two in a row, that is a pattern. The guy can find a few different rude ways of saying he is militantly for Hillary because he works for Charlie Rangel. When you are practically politically illiterate, you don't know better ways of expressing your political enthusiasm. F_____g rookie.
UPDATE 7-Argentine first lady claims presidential vote win Reuters Nepal Parliament Votes on Republic After Last-Minute Talks Fail Bloomberg McCain says it's 'hard to imagine' Giuliani as GOP nominee USA Today Lalu challenges Nitish to call fresh Bihar polls (Lead) Monsters and Critics.com Obama Promises a Forceful Stand Against Clinton New York Times Turkey kills 20 Kurdish rebels as hopes fade for peaceful solution Guardian Unlimited Bhutto's Party Needs New Candidate for Premier, Minister Says Bloomberg Iran Amendment Sparks Battle Between Democratic Frontrunners FOX News Obama's campaign has made New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s vote for the resolution the focal point of its attacks — and so far, it’s working. Clinton has been forced to defend that vote in Iowa, where some voters believe she’s helped moved the U.S. closer to a war in the Middle East. .... the amendment makes the case for structuring the military in Iraq to counter Iranian influence, and states that it is "a critical national interest of the United States" to prevent Iran from exerting its influence inside Iraq. ...... supporting the amendment without President Bush’s assurance that he will not use it as the basis for attacking Iranian interests is "naïve" ...... Obama is equating the amendment with Clinton’s 2002 vote authorizing the use of force in Iraq. Clinton has repeatedly said that she believed she was voting merely for additional time for U.N. inspectors in Iraq, not a U.S. invasion. ....... Clinton is either too naïve or too hawkish to be the Democratic nominee. ...... The third point she left for her campaign staff to make. ..... "George Bush and Dick Cheney could use this language to justify keeping our troops in Iraq as long as they can point to a threat from Iran, and because they could use this language to justify an attack on Iran," reads the Obama handout. ...... With his constant attacks on the issue, Obama in effect has placed at least part of the responsibility for any U.S. action against Iran before the caucuses on the shoulders of Clinton. ...... John Edwards got into the act on Friday, saying Clinton "aided and abetted George Bush and Dick Cheney’s march to war." And Joe Biden criticized both frontrunners for their actions, saying "Unlike Senator Clinton, I don’t trust this administration to follow the plain meaning of the law.
In 1993, Big Sister Hillary wrote a 1,300 page plan, or was it 13,000 pages? She dumped it on Congress. Big Sister did homework for you. All you have to do is accept it, vote for it. That is how it worked in the communist countries. The guy at the top had all the right answers.
She still has not learned. She has tweaked around the ideas a bit. But her approach is the same. Big Sister has got a plan. This time it is better.
It is the basic approach that is flawed. It does not recognize that it is not what ideas you have, it is how you will engage people on both sides of the aisle.
She says she has learned. What she has learned is to cave into the special interests. The insurance companies gave her a hard time the last time around. So this time she is going to give it all to the insurance companies.
The myth that she takes money from lobbyists but is not influenced by them and only does the people's bidding just is not true. Just look at her health care plan. The status quo will remain for those who have insurance. That makes the insurance companies happy. And then she makes it illegal for the uninsured to stay uninsured. Some who can afford will have to get it. Those who can't she says will get help from the government. So, basically, her plan is to make the insurance companies even richer.
What makes it socialized medicine is she notices that the health care sector is strikingly lagging behind in terms of use of information technology, but she does not realize that that is a symptom market forces are not in full play in the sector. If the insurance companies were competing with each other to bring the costs down, of course they would want to use the latest in information technology.
Her health care plan has no plans to inject those market forces into the sector. She does not have concrete plans to bring the costs down across the board.
I am for universal health care. America can not become a full fledged information economy without that. But Hillary's plan is inadequate and misplaced, but that is not the worst part of the news. The big, bad news is her approach. There is a fundamental flaw in her approach as to how she will try to bring it about.
If bringing the costs down were bad for innovation, my laptop should be costing 100,000 dollars by now.
December 1 Is When You Camp Out In Iowa
Do the John Kerry thing. That guy, starting from the beginning of December, just camped out in Iowa. Howard Dean made the mistake of taking a trip to Georgia late in December to meet his hero Jimmy Carter who flat out refused to endorse him.
To camp out in Iowa starting now would be too early. November goes to the other three early states. And some to Iowa too.
As for the February 5 states, you get to them by winning big in January. That is the only way. You win big and you get all that free time in the media, and that is how you do it.
Winning Iowa is key. That has to be our first goal.
The best way to reach the February 5 states is by winning South Carolina. The best way to win South Carolina is by winning Iowa. And Nevada comes before New Hampshire. A friend of mine working the ground in New Hampshire has a simple message, don't believe the polls. He did a random survey of 20 people: 19 were undecided.
Don't Forget Fundraising
Doing well in this quarter is key. I think we should shoot to end up with half a million donors before the year is out.
This is the scenario in my mind. We win Iowa and South Carolina, and perhaps one or both of the other two. And our donor base swells even more, and the first half million donors give more. And we have big chunks of cash to play the media war for February 5.
Differences Are Stark, But Obama Has Held Back
Barack and Hillary are just so different. Iraq, Iran, Social Security, Health Care, Ethics Reform. But so far Barack has not been able to throw concrete light on the stark differences. Good to know he will start now.
Hillary is working towards a coronation. Barack has to turn it into an election. Your last name should not matter.
This is not about no more Mr. Nice Guy. This is not about abandoning the politics of hope, this is not about saying goodbye to the new kind of politics. This is not about going negative. This is Barack's job. It is his job to inform the voters how he and Hillary are different.
Some Hits
The third quarter was Hillary's "strength and experience" quarter. Barack got swift-boated. It is not like Barack lacks "strength and experience" but the facts seldom matter in political attacks. He should hit back with the "judgment and leadership" phrase. It should be used daily.
Another hit was when Hillary 2008 released its third quarter figures right before an important Iraq speech by Barack. That was an attempt to steal a news cycle from Barack. When you get hit like that, you got to hit back. The campaign manager has to measure up.
Philly Steak, Philly Debate
The debate on Tuesday is going to be key. Barack has to turn it into the turning point. Just draw the stark differences on the biggies. Iraq, Iran, Social Security, Health Care, Ethics Reform. The differences between the two are obvious. But they have to come out in debates, interviews and stump speeches.
Now is the time.
Work on the one liners before you get in front of the podium.
I expect the Philly debate to be the most dramatic so far this year. Hillary just did an Oops, I did it again on Iran.
Spread The Word, Obama Was Not Born In 2004 In Boston
We really have to work to get the bio out. People - average voters - have to get to know him as a person before they will vote for him. Tell his story when you canvass.
In The News
Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off TIME he would be targeting Clinton specifically on Social Security, Iran and Iraq in the days and weeks to come. ...... the Democrats announced they'll caucus January 3rd ...... plenty of people believe that the only way for Obama to dent Clinton's lead is to take her on directly ....... campaign comity among the Democrats may be disappearing for good. ....... Later in the event Obama was asked about his perceived foreign policy "weakness" for his willingness to meet with adversaries such as Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He wasted no time in steering things back to his electoral adversary. "This is an area where Senator Clinton and I have a disagreement," Obama said. "Strong countries talk to their adversaries and tell them where they stand that's always been something that I stood for, I've been consistent on that." Not exactly gladiator politics, but at the very least, Obama has started reaching for his sword. Why They‘re Both Running Against Billa tight, tooth-and-claw political marathon where even the tiniest of decisions, the smallest of slips, can have profound consequences ...... The junior Senator from New York has spent much of her career trying to stay sane in the midst of a political tornado. And now, having finally achieved a measure of happiness and respect in the Senate, she faces the prospect of jumping into the tornado again, knowing that she won't merely be opposed but also ridiculed and reviled. ....... each will spend the next year running against the most formidable living Democratic politician, Bill Clinton. ....... on Wall Street, especially, there are fond memories of Clintonism's fiscal discipline and global sophistication. ....... most people I talk to are hoping she'll decide not to run. But when Bill Clinton calls and asks for a commitment, it's impossible to say no. People are interested in Obama. They'll write him a check. But most of the old Clinton crowd won't have parties or make phone calls for him. For now, at least. ....... the best political strategist in the Democratic Party. Bill Clinton will be able to help his wife in three crucial areas: the framing of issues, timing the dramatic arc of the campaign and damage control. ....... Clinton is the world's best focus group: he has an innate sense of what average folks think is important and how to explain complicated things in the most accessible way. He also understands the weird chronology of presidential politics, the patience needed to last through interminable house parties and candidate forums, the fierce compression of time that will take place a year from now when Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina spin through their elections in a matter of weeks. "But his greatest strength is playing hurt," says James Carville. ...... His ability to think clearly--to actually think better--under pressure ...... She will never have his performance skills, an especially daunting deficit ....... But if being smart about policy were the most important quality in a President, Al Gore would now be completing a successful second term. ....... She is not a very good speaker, especially in big rooms where the need to emote exposes a harshness in her voice. ...... she is prohibitively rational, unclouded by undue emotionality. She doesn't get misty and bite her lip in public. She doesn't feel your pain; she understands it. Rationality breeds caution, and caution breeds a lack of spontaneity, which can make her seem cold and calculating. ......... Barack Obama, who has a public ease and eloquence unmatched by any candidate since ... well, Bill Clinton. ...... just like the Clinton who won in 1992, Obama will represent a new generation of leadership, a freshness that Senator Clinton will not be able to claim. ..... She will have to hope that experience trumps charisma, which isn't often a winning hand in American politics. CA Wildfires Force Mass Evacuation a hellish, spidery pattern of luminous orange .... more than a dozen blazes covering at least 240,000 acres, the equivalent of 374 square miles. ..... "The sky was just red. Everywhere I looked was red, glowing. ...... Firefighters — who lost valuable time trying to persuade stubborn homeowners to leave — had their work cut out for them as winds gusting to 70 mph scattered embers onto dry brush, spawning spot fires. ..... more than 200,000 reverse 911 calls — calls from county officials to residents — alerted residents to evacuations Alabama Picks a Bible Textbook
Obama Promises a Forceful Stand Against Clinton New York Timeshe will start confronting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton more forcefully, declaring that she had not been candid in describing her views on critical issues, as he tries to address mounting alarm among supporters that his lack of assertiveness has allowed her to dominate the presidential race. ....... a long period in which his aides, donors and other supporters have battled — and in some cases shared — the perception that he has not exhibited the aggressiveness demanded by presidential politics. ....... “now is the time” ....... he said she was deliberately obscuring her positions for political gain ...... Social Security, Iraq and Iran as issues on which she had not been entirely forthcoming. ....... a growing consensus that Mr. Obama had to ratchet up his intensity and draw sharper distinctions ........ acknowledged that he had held back until now ........ the plan had always been for him to begin taking on Mrs. Clinton more directly in the fall. ...... glared and said no when asked if he lacked the stomach for confrontational politics. ...... Philadelphia ..... Clinton had “repeatedly dodged opportunities to reveal her thinking about the best way to strengthen Social Security.” ..... growing signs that Mr. Obama was looking for a fresh start for his campaign after nine months in which his aides said they were startled by the effectiveness of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, and worried that her support was not as brittle as they had once believed. ........ campaign war room ..... concern of his aides that his public speeches tend to be long-winded ....... His senior aides said they were now spending much of their days fielding calls from concerned donors and other supporters asking why Mr. Obama was not challenging Mrs. Clinton more forcefully ....... disagreement in the campaign about whether he should now begin investing all his time in Iowa ...... Morale at his Chicago headquarters .. has been dragged down by the perception that Mrs. Clinton is lapping Mr. Obama. ..... a breakfast of boiled eggs (he ate only the egg whites) ...... Clinton had been untruthful or misleading in describing her positions on problems facing the nation. ...... she was trying to “sound or vote” like a Republican on national security issues ....... Obama suggested that she was too divisive to win a general election and that if she won, she would be unable to bring together competing factions in Washington to accomplish anything. ........ “The national press for the last three months has written glowingly about her and not so much about me .......... an “underdog” running against a campaign that has “a 20-year head start when it comes to managing the spin of the national politics.” ......... Obama’s criticisms of Mrs. Clinton were sharper than he has voiced during this campaign, they were, nonetheless, still somewhat restrained ........ Obama, who aides suggested might be spending too much time reading blogs and newspaper clippings about the campaign ........ every time we point out a difference between me and her, they say, ‘What happened to the politics of hope?’ which is just silly ........ they had declined an invitation from some networks to appear on Sunday morning talk shows after Mrs. Clinton the day she appeared on five in one day ........ Obama projected a relaxed air of confidence ...... “So,” he said, “give me some gossip about the Republicans.” India has lot to learn from China on economic reforms: Sonia Hindu Describing the pace of change in China as “truly astounding and outstanding,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said India had much to learn from China’s economic reforms and liberalisation. ....... the “world is big enough” to accommodate the growth and aspirations of both the nations. ...... pragmatism, clarity of vision and determination of effort ...... coming decades, China and India will be the largest and third largest respectively among the global economies ...... there is no problem that cannot be sorted out through free and frank dialogue and discussion ....... there was peace and tranquillity on the border and outstanding issues relating to the boundary question were being discussed in a comprehensive manner by the Special Representatives of the two countries. ....... more than trade, it would be investment that would bring the two countries together. ....... bridge the information gap “so that we no longer retain stereotyped images of each other.” ........ AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader Karan Singh, Union Ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Anand Sharma and India’s Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao, were present at the lecture. Iraq Plan to Add US Troops at Kurdish Border Is Rejected by Turkey New York Times Bhutto Visits Ancestral Homeland Under Tight Security Washington PostUnder extraordinarily tight security ...... quick and tightly scripted visit .... a crowd of thousands ...... Bhutto did not speak to the assembled mass of flag-waving supporters, and concerns about another attack seemed to dictate every aspect of the trip. ...... Her convoy, which included vehicles mounted with machine guns, sped along the route from the airport ..... local supporters who worship the Bhutto name with an almost religious fervor. ..... Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party has long relied on mass rallies to drum up support, has said her party is talking with political consultants about other, less dangerous campaign tactics, including tape-recorded messages. ....... Waterlilies compete for space with water buffalo in the endless network of canals that radiate from the Indus River and irrigate the surrounding countryside. Most of the residents are poor farmers, although some landowning families, like the Bhuttos, are exceptionally wealthy. ......... Residents of the nearby town of Larkana said this week that the attack against Bhutto had only deepened their affection for her. ....... credited Bhutto with supplying jobs and keeping inflation down during her two terms in the 1980s and 1990s Obama goes after Clinton head-on Inquirer.net Obama took Clinton to task over the politically sensitive issue of how to keep the Social Security system alive in a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa ....... "Because you're not ready to lead if you can't tell us where you're going" ...... turning the table on the former first lady, who has accused him of being too green to become president. ....... "I don't think people know what her agenda exactly is," Obama told the Times, adding that she had not been fully forthcoming on Social Security, Iraq and Iran. ....... "Because conventional thinking in Washington says Social Security is the third rail of American politics. It says you should hedge, dodge, and spin, but at all costs, don't answer," he said. ....... a Zogby poll released Monday also showed that 50 percent of Americans surveyed said they would never vote for Clinton Obama directly confronts Clinton on Social SecurityBaltimore Sun By going on the offense, Obama (D-Ill.) is seeking to shake up polls that show Clinton (D-N.Y.) with a large lead nationally and also in some early voting states. ....... how she would alter long-term funding for the massive federal program. ....... "She will oppose any effort to privatize the program," her campaign said. "As president her first priority will be restoring fiscal responsibility and fair tax policies, and then will work in a bipartisan process to address Social Security's long term challenges." Excerpts From an Interview With Barack ObamaNew York Times aboard his campaign plane to Columbus, Ohio, from Chicago ...... We never planned on winning this thing in September. ..... why I would be the best president for this particular time in history ...... We’re running against the most established brand in the Democratic Party for the last two decades, as well as strong candidates like Edwards who have been running for the last four years. ....... our supporters, our donor base, always understood that this was going to be a tough fight. ........ if you’re running against an established brand, don’t you have to draw contrasts? ....... There has been a lot of biographical work that we’ve had to do over the last several months ...... She, I think, represents a lot of old arguments. ........ people perceive her as a tough, competent, intelligent person. But there’s no sense among independents or Republicans that she’s going to bring a new language to our politics. ....... if you believe that business as usual is not sufficient to solve health care or institute a major energy policy or help to heal racial divisions or religious divides in this country, then my candidacy looks more appealing .......... On Iraq and Iran, I think there has been a tendency to go back and forth in her positions. ...... not to try to obfuscate and avoid being a target in the general election and then find yourself governing without any support for any bold propositions ..... in the first couple of debates, the format didn’t work for me. Or I didn’t adapt to the format. ...... I will more effectively bring the country together, I will more effectively overcome the special interests and I will more provide a clearer vision for the country about where we need to go. ........ What I said right now is what I genuinely believe. ..... the standard approach on Social Security that she’s taken, which is to pretend that if you just ensure that all the money coming into the trust fund is there and there is fiscal stability and there’s no problem, means you don’t solve the problem. You’re kicking the can down the road. ........ defend ourselves against attack or amplify real differences. ....... Hope is not ignoring differences or ignoring problems. ...... hope is what you have in the face of difficulties, uncertainties and conflict. ..... Being honest about those differences and conflicts, but believing that we can resolve them, not trying to pretend that they’re not there. ......... I am happy to have very strong and forceful debates about where I perceive there to be real differences. ......... on the biggest foreign policy disaster of a generation, she got it wrong and I got it right and that judgment carries over to the discussions we are now having on Iran. ........ I think it is fair to say that if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, then we have a repetition of 2000 and 2004. There’s no change in the political map. ...... There’s not going to be an expansion of the electorate. I don’t think anybody would claim that Senator Clinton is going to inspire a horde of new voters. ....... I am absolutely convinced, as somebody who represents a new generation of leadership and takes a new tone and a different language into the general election, that I’ve got the capacity to attract independents and Republicans in a way that she can’t do. Argentina's 'Hillary Clinton' poised to win presidency Inquirer.net First Lady of Argentina ready to be the new EvitaGuardian Unlimited Hillary Clinton finds time for her base in Harlem Newsday the nation's best-known black neighborhood, and was hosted there by the nation's most powerful black politician. ........ Clinton -- who was also introduced by former president Bill Clinton, who retains near rock-star status in the black community ...... offering herself as a champion of women, another group that has struggled to advance in a world dominated by white men. ....... "I think there is a sisterhood that transcends race," Dorise Roberts Black, a black Harlem resident and retired principal, said as she entered the church. ....... Abyssinian Baptist was once led by legendary preacher Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a proponent of black political power who launched his own congressional career from the pulpit. Powell later was among the first Protestant preachers to endorse the presidential bid of John F. Kennedy, who had to overcome religious bias against his Catholic faith. ............ citizens who indicate a willingness to vote across racial lines often are swayed by racial pride on Election Day. ....... Black women provide the former first lady with her biggest support from among black voters, choosing her as their top choice almost three times as often as they cite Obama. Harlem Homecoming For ClintonGuardian Unlimited Rivals From Both Parties Spar Over Response to Iran New York Times a military blockade or “bombardment of some kind” ...... Iran’s 125,000-member Revolutionary Guard Corps ...... the guard corps and its elite Quds division. ...... Clinton accused Mr. Obama of desperately flagging the Iran issue to revive a “struggling” campaign. Mr. Obama fired back, saying her “political explanations and contortions” would not change the fact that she had given Mr. Bush the benefit of the doubt on foreign policy and was doing so again. ....... American intelligence officials have told Congress that Iran is probably three to eight years away from its first weapon. ....... the only thing more dangerous than a war with Iran would be an Iran with nuclear weapons. ....... “The view of many experts is that Iran within two years of a tipping point,” Mr. McCain said. “They are inexorably on the road to attaining nuclear weapons.” ....... would not think about military action against Iran as a “war,” but more in terms of precise strikes. ....... making the same mistakes she made in 2002 before the war in Iraq by offering the administration support, however qualified. ...... Mr. Edwards equated Mrs. Clinton’s vote on the Iran resolution with her previous support of the 2002 measure, which, in his view, authorized the use of military force in Iraq. ..... Mr. Edwards said: “I learned a clear lesson from the lead-up to the Iraq war in 2002: If you give this president an inch, he will take a mile — and launch a war. Senator Clinton apparently learned a different lesson. Instead of blocking George Bush’s new march to war, Senator Clinton and others are enabling him once again.” Obama continues to invoke "cousin" Dick Cheney Baltimore Sun "It doesn't help when you put my cousin, Dick Cheney, in charge of energy policy," Obama said. "We've been trying to hide this for a long time, by the way. Everybody's got a black sheep in the family." ...... And in an interview with CNBC this week, Cheney called the senator "Cousin Barack.'' Play of the Day: Cheney on Cousin ObamaThe Associated Press The vice president said he was unsure about bringing it up with the Illinois senator. "Well, I didn't know whether that would help him or hurt him, so I thought I'd probably stay away from him," he said. ...... Obama is a descendent of Mareen Duvall, said Ginny Justice, a spokeswoman for Lynne Cheney. The French Huguenot's son married the granddaughter of a Richard Cheney, who arrived in Maryland in the late 1650's from England. Clinton shows up in New YorkCapital News 9
