Friday, August 10, 2007

There Is A Lot Of Room For Newt


How strong is the Democratic presidential field? Salon Three out of five Republicans said in a March poll that they were unhappy with their candidates, and in July "none of the above" was the Republican front-runner.
Newt has many foibles but lack of ideas is not one of them. He is not capable of being a Democrat but he is capable of being a worthy adversary. He showed a greater strength in the ideas department than in the people skills department during his prime. And a lot of Republicans whose careers he helped launch dumped him when they got the chance.

I see a strong possibility of his throwing his hat into the ring later this year when the presidential race would have begun if it were one of the previous cycles. Newt will not have been late. Others would have been early.

He will definitely bring more color to the race. The Republican debates would get less dull. His 1994 victory will get written about all over again: it was quite dramatic after all.

I know he is thinking about it. I think he will do it. I think he is going to seriously unsettle the current Republican cart. Everyone who is running will have to take notice.

At this point I have no idea how well he will do. But he will definitely bring with him a whole lot of media attention. He is going to spark debate. You can always count on Newt to bring along some fresh ideas.

He might or might not end up the nominee, but he will have made a difference regardless. But the way things are going, he will stand as good a chance as anyone else in the running.

In The News

Giuliani Missteps in Imagery of Sept. 11 New York Times
Obama rejects Clinton criticism, defends foreign policy plan
San Diego Union Tribune Clinton was wrong when she said politicians shouldn't discuss hypothetical decisions on foreign policy. .... defended his recent call for military action to hunt down terrorists if Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf doesn't act. Obama also said it would be “a profound mistake” to deploy nuclear weapons in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ...... judgment trumped experience ... “Nobody had a better track record in experience than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, but they had bad judgment ... The people who have been criticizing me over the past two weeks are the people who engineered what is the biggest foreign policy fiasco in a generation.” ......... defended his promise to open dialogue with dictators ...... “I'm not afraid to lose a propaganda battle with a bunch of dictators.”
Obama Defends Foreign Policy Talk Forbes
Obama: Enough With "Black Enough" Washington Post poking fun at a stereotype of blacks. "I apologize for being a little bit late," he said, "but you guys keep asking if I'm black enough, so I figured I would stroll in." ..... this notion if you appeal to white folks, there must be something wrong ....... he would meet with Castro but demand that he release political prisoners .... if he, as the Democratic nominee, would pick Clinton as his running mate. Obama said she was "very capable" and that she would be on anyone's short list.
Obama rejects Clinton criticism, defends talk about hypothetical ... International Herald Tribune
Clinton points to crisis among young blacks Dallas Morning News (subscription) the number of young black men in America with little education and no marketable skills is making neighborhoods increasingly dangerous and creating an economic crisis. ....... 1.4 million men of color between ages 16 and 24 were "out of school and out of work and out of hope." .... one of every three .... "Many grow up without fathers, wind up in prison or end up losing their lives or taking lives." .....
giving parents additional tools to help raise children, including universal pre-kindergarten, the expansion of Head Start programs, public school choice and more single-sex schools. She pledged, if elected, to push for an end to discrimination that she says still affects minorities in the pursuit of jobs and other financial opportunities. ..... the number of black men in prison or otherwise involved with the legal system. ..... end the revolving door that too often confines those who committed nonviolent offenses ..... more mentoring and outreach for jailed offenders, more diversion programs like drug courts, an end to sentencing disparities in drug convictions, and more second-chance programs for ex-offenders
Clinton know-how wows scientists San Francisco Chronicle
she understood the "urban heat island" effect, which means that the soil-and-plant roof will be 40 percent cooler than a typical top. ..... "I've led a lot of tours like this with a lot of officials, and believe me, this was pretty unusual to have someone understand what I was talking about." .... "Scientists have been muzzled, information has been taken off of government-sponsored Web sites, the leaders of our country have dismissed scientific research and advancements," Clinton said. "There has been a concerted effort against stem cell research, a campaign against evolution. I mean, it has been relentless." ...... recycling jeans for insulation, or having gardens on roofs ...... "green-collar" jobs ... "good jobs that can't be outsourced." ..... Newsom talked animatedly about how the senator understands the issues he cares about -- environment, homelessness, how to get federal money into his city -- even better than her husband, former President Bill Clinton. ...... "I like Barack (Obama) and admire him ... and (John) Edwards as well ... but I never was able to have a discussion of the issues with the same depth, the same understanding, that I have had with Hillary Clinton," he said.
Clinton says Bush waged 'insidious campaign against science' San Jose Mercury News












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