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.
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.
New York: Bruno's Overreach and Collapsing Subways What's been going on for weeks in New York state is part of the standard conservative 'kill them in the crib' strategy of destroying progressive icons and politicians. In this case, the target is rising progressive star Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer is considered especially dangerous to the right-wing, because he's a real populist who has taken on Wall Street in extremely high profile cases. He was so effective that a few years ago, the corrupt US Chamber of Commerce declared a 'war on Spitzerism' to reign in state attorney general officers that sought to aggressively enforce the law against corporate elites. The scandal that's taking place now, while ostensibly caused by Spitzer's mistakes, has more to do with these established enemies of populism combined with a peculiar set of incentives for local politicians and insider journalists in New York to pile on an anti-Spitzer frenzy. ....... years of Giuliani and Bloomberg in the Mayoral seat has of course led to decaying infrastructure ...... Every day, I get an email from Michael Caputo of NYFacts.net bashing Eliot Spitzer, and Caputo is a former aide to George H.W. Bush, well-established in right-wing orbits, and obviously directing a smear campaign. .....This is really a collection of insiders, press people, angry coddled legislators, Joe Bruno and right-wingers trying to destroy Eliot Spitzer's capacity to govern New York. They tried it with Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and Jon Corzine in New Jersey, and they'll try it with every progressive who takes on a political machine. In some ways, this is exactly what the right did in impeaching Bill Clinton, using Clinton's sloppiness and mistakes to try to overturn a popular electoral result. Destroying progressives is what the right does well, and it's in fact the only thing the right does well. This time, it's not going to work, since there are already investigations going on that are not grounded in Republican partisanship, the scandal has been on every paper in the state for weeks, and yet Spitzer is still pretty popular. ..... the public is paying attention and isn't falling for it
Eliot Spitzer is the future of the Democratic Party. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the face of the Democratic Party today, but Eliot Spitzer is the future. It could be eight years of Obama-Clinton, or Clinton-Obama. And then it is going to be Spitzer time. Spitzer is going national. If not him, then who? It is not if, but when.
I don't know a whole lot about New York state politics. The little I know, little that I follow is because Eliot Spitzer is Governor, and David Pollak is state party chair. I kept seeing Pollak at DL21C events for months. So when I got told he was now state chair, I was like, that much access!
I pride myself in my political instincts, and Spitzer shows up on my radar loud and clear. You just feel it.
Bill Clinton is like Michael Jordan, he is skillful, he jumps the hoops. Hillary Clinton is a smart, strong, pragmatic woman. Barack Obama is vastly inspiring. When I think Eliot Spitzer, I think Mike Tyson. This guy can hit. He swings. He hits.
My religion is that I am a Buddhist. My political religion is that I am a progressive. And so I am very fond of Eliot Spitzer. There is noone quite like him on the national scene. He could deliver direct elections for president, he could deliver publicly financed elections, he could deliver gay marriage.
Those are the three big goals for progressives in America. The Obama-Clinton duo will deliver health. Education will be an ongoing thing with the private sector playing a key role. For the big political reforms, the country will have to wait for Spitzer.
I have noticed the Albany Republicans have imported some out of state right wing political gangsters to do the dirty job on Spitzer. This is a wake up call. The Republicans are going to have to call it quits when it comes to the politics of personal destruction, or they have to be thrown out of the ring. If not now, then when? We got the wind behind our back. This is no 1990s. We are raising more money than the right wingers. We have a more enthusiastic grassroots. Our blogosphere has all but drowned out right wing radio and TV. When you get hit, you hit back.
We don't want the right wingers to beat us on seeing Spitzer's national potential. We have to see it before them. And we have to get into the fight on Spitzer's behalf. Leadership is a gift. Where there is no vision, the people shall perish. Progressives have to find progressive vision and progressive causes, but unless you can find progressive leadership, you are just blowing hot air. Acting protective of promising, progressive leaders is part and parcel of the progressive religion. And so I say, hit back. The blogosphere is like a swarm of bees. Frank Bruno is going to feel like the only safe place for him is to jump into the water and stay down there.
You can not get hit, and not hit back. That is not good politics. A guy like Bruno is on his way out. Spitzer will follow in FDR's footsteps and give New York the progressive majority in the state Senate that it deserves. This guy is already yesterday's news. If you can't hit him when he is weak, when can you?
I hear some Spitzer staffer had to resign for some background research into some kind of power abuse by Bruno, some kind of a corrupt act. I have not been following too closely. The exposure should not have been the work of anyone on Spitzer's staff. Those in power govern. The work should have been the work of the progressive political network. And the exposure should have been relentless. What? He rode a state chopper when he should not have? I don't even know the freaking details.
Eight Years Of Lab Work
Eight years of Spitzer in Albany will be like having New York as the laboratory state for progressives across the country. And I am confident Spitzer can deliver. This is where all the cutting edge progressive stuff gets cooked, to be served on the national stage later.
I would like to throw in some ideas that I have been working on for Nepal, kind of telecommuting. It is almost easier to do it in Nepal since the country is about to write its constitution on its own - by the people - for the first time. It is more of a clean slate. But how about this? The governor is directly elected by the people, if noone gets at least 50%, there is a second round between the top two. For the lower chamber, all constituencies are of equal population: you hold direct elections. For the upper chamber, you hold indirect elections: you hold proportional elections. If there are 50 seats, the party that gets 2% gets one seat. So people get two ballot papers, one for the direct elections for the lower chamber, and another for the completely proportional elections to the upper chamber. So parties will have to submit lists for the 50 slots. If a party gets 50% of the votes, the top 25 people on the list get in. The 2% rule will mean a whole bunch of "startup" parties could come and go. Politics will breathe a new life. That will keep the big parties alert. And, of course, all elections will have to be publicly financed. How exactly you devise a formula is a challenge. I would say, a party gets money from the state in direct proportion to how many votes it earns, something like that. Or maybe not. I know, by now it sounds theoretical, but it is because the current system is so entrenched.
I think Spitzer should tackle gay marriage after he wins re-election. He should tackle other political reforms first while expanding gay rights all along the way.
Albany is a shame. If Albany were in Mississippi, you would be like, what do you expect, those are the backwaters. But to have the Albany dysfunction in New York state? Such a shame. That place needs heavy doses of democracy and transparency.
Lawmakers chafe at steady-state Iraq policy Christian Science Monitor Nearly 3 million displaced as fresh floods devastate northeast India International Herald Tribunemore than 9,000 of Assam's 23,000 villages have been inundated, forcing people out of their homes and on to higher ground. .... The Brahmaputra, which originates in Tibet as the Tsangpo, traverses 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) across the Assam plains before culminating in the Bay of Bengal. This river and its innumerable tributaries flood their banks every monsoon season bringing misery to Assam's 26 million people. .... Monsoon rains usually hit India from June to September. They are vital to farmers but are also deadly. During this year's monsoon season, more than 2,200 people have been killed by flooding, collapsing houses and other rain-related incidents across India. The Oprah Factor and Obama New York Times Obama Distances Himself From Controversial Book on US-Israeli ... Washington Post The book argues that a highly influential assortment of pro-Israeli politicians, journalists and academics have succeeded in pushing U.S. policy in the Middle East in directions that do not necessarily serve America's best interests. ...... Obama encountered scattered grumbles in March at a pro-Israel conference in Washington, where attendees expressed concerns about Obama's comment, made in Iowa shortly before the conference, that "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.'' ...... At another conference in Washington in April, of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Obama chose his words carefully, while still seeking to show that he was not satisfied with the status quo in Israel: "My commitment to you is unwavering," he said in response to a question about Israel, "but the only thing I will not do is to relinquish the possibility that our Middle East policy involves more than just arms sales and military and strategic options to consider. There has to be an effective diplomacy." Oprah's Star Power Won't Do Much for Obama AlterNet a celebrity cheer lead of a presidential candidate does absolutely nothing to boost the candidate. ..... the closest thing to America's earth mother ..... in one big leap she's asking the same millions that dote on her sage advice on relationships to shift gears and trust her judgment that Obama is the best to handle global warming, tax policy, the Iraq war, terrorism, job creation and inflation, failing public schools, criminal justice issues, and judicial appointments. ...... Oprah's roughest sale of Obama will be to black women. Polls show that they are overwhelmingly backing Hillary. Clinton Widens Democratic Lead, Republicans Split, Poll Finds Bloomberg Clinton has established a clear lead over her Democratic competitors in the early U.S. primary states ..... Clinton holds a narrow advantage over John Edwards and Barack Obama in Iowa. In New Hampshire and South Carolina she has a commanding lead over Obama and Edwards ...... Clinton, a senator from New York, was the leader when she joined the race in January and has only gained momentum since then. Few frontrunners in recent American politics have displayed such steady strength ........ In all three states, the popularity of Clinton, 59, and Giuliani, 63, is fueled by perceptions that they are strong leaders and the best able to deal with national security and terrorism issues. ....... for Democrats, Obama, 46, an Illinois senator, tops frontrunner Clinton on new ideas and is generally considered more likeable. ...... In the three states, Clinton leads by a wide margin on most issues, including fighting terrorism, protecting national security and ending the Iraq war. She is also the Democrat seen as having the best chance of beating the eventual Republican nominee in the November 2008 presidential election. ...... her experience. She's been in politics for 35 years.'' ....... Clinton leads Edwards.. 28 percent to 23 percent in Iowa. She is ahead of Obama and Edwards by 35 percent to 16 percent each in New Hampshire and tops Obama by a 45 percent to 27 percent margin in South Carolina. ......... Even though Obama trails Clinton significantly, it's not all bad news for him. In all three states, he was the voters' second choice, so if other candidates falter he could be the biggest beneficiary in a two-way contest against Clinton. He also does well on some important issues. ...... He beats Clinton by about a 2-to-1 margin in New Hampshire and Iowa, and by 7 points in South Carolina on which candidate has new ideas. Overall, more Democrats say it's important for a presidential candidate to have fresh ideas than experience. ...... ``We've tried the guys,'' said Greene, who is changing her registration to Democrat from Republican. ``She's a woman and I'd like to see her in there.'' ..... ``One of my big concerns right now is abortion and gay rights,'' he said. ``We need to do everything we can to stop it,'' said Smith, who believes Thompson has ``more conservative values'' than Giuliani or McCain, and that ``Romney is a governor of a state that let same-sex marriage happen.'' ...... Iowa is Romney's strongest state, where he gets 28 percent of the vote, compared with 16 percent for both Giuliani and Thompson. ... In New Hampshire, Romney is ahead of Giuliani by 5 percentage points .... In all three states, Democrats express a higher level of interest in the campaigns than do Republicans. Clinton Dominates, Romney Slips in Early-State Races, Poll Says Bloomberg Clinton is dominating the Democratic field among working-class and older voters in early primary states ...... In all three states, New York Senator Clinton, 59, appeals to individuals in households earning less than $40,000 as well as those over the age of 65. ..... Forty-eight percent of older voters in South Carolina support Clinton, while 3 percent favor Obama. In New Hampshire, 44 percent of those voters support Clinton, while 8 percent back Obama. ....... the religious right -- defined in the poll as self- described religious fundamentalists, Christian conservatives and people who take the Bible literally -- ...... ``I see Mormonism as a cult, instead of a branch of Christianity,'' said Valarie Harper, 56, who works part-time in a flower shop in West Columbia, South Carolina, and described herself as a Christian conservative. ...... Clinton leads Obama and Edwards among households earning less than $40,000 in all three states. She has a double-digit advantage in South Carolina and New Hampshire. ... Clinton is drawing more support from black voters in South Carolina, with 43 percent, compared with 32 percent for Obama. Clinton also registers better with white voters there, garnering 51 percent, while 15 percent support Obama. Clinton wins straw poll San Diego Union Tribune, United States Clinton says US military will never solve Iraq's problems International Herald Tribune, France
"That Woman Deserves Her Revenge. We deserve to die."
In my mind, these are the three star Democrats in America today. There are many other good ones as well, but they are more Secretary material.
Make no mistake, I am for Obama. I want him as president, and I want him now. But I have always liked Hillary, that has never seen a dip. And Spitzer is a racehorse waiting in the wings. You have to watch his hooves. It is hard to imagine this guy will not have a decided go at the White House at some point. His governorship feels too much like a prelude to something bigger.
I have thought of many combos in my mind. I have thought of Obama-Spitzer. But I think Hillary will carry New York in the primaries, and Barack will carry Illinois, but New Jersey, California and the rest are fair game. There is no telling right now if it will be Hillary-Obama or Obama-Hillary. Both sound great.
One scenario is it is Hillary-Obama in for eight years. Then Obama picks Spitzer who has had two wonderful terms as Governor of New York, and he has been preparing hard. He has legalized gay marriage in New York and is now ready to do that nationally. But while he worked on it and on total campaign finance reform in New York, the Democratic White House had to stay away. Spitzer had to go alone and that was fine by him. But he made both work in New York, and now he was ready for the national scene.
So at that point Obama-Spitzer does not look like a continuation of the same old, same old, it feels like a break from the past, it feels like a departure.
And so it is eight years of Obama-Spitzer. And then Spitzer takes a shot at the top job. He wins. The Democrats have an unprecedented fifth term, but that is an okay counterbalance to a coservative domination of the Supreme Court for a generation.
But then the pendulum swings. Some Republican woman who has totally internalized all the social progressive elements traditionally known to be with the Dems denies Spitzer a second term. She symbolizes the post Obama-Spitzer generation. She is from my generation perhaps.
But 20 years is a long time. It will be unprecedented. Usually a party that long in power runs out of steam, or gets too arrogant, or gets hijacked by its extreme elements, or stops acting financially prudent.
So the best bet would be if Spitzer were to spend two terms in Albany acting like he were in opposition to those in power at the White House. And he can do that by acting gutsy on gay marriage and campaign finance reform in ways that those at the federal level simply can't at this point in time.
New York state under Spitzer could become the laboratory for Democrats. The good stuff happens here before it happens nationally.
These three should preside over the transformation of America into an information economy, with a vibrant clean energy industry, universal health care, universal broadband, robust growth rates, balanced budgets, and finally paying down the debt, and a non-apologetic agenda of a total spread of democracy the progressive way, the war with communications technology way.
There is talk Bloomberg might run against Spitzer in 2010. Spitzer will win hands down. Ross Perot also had a lot of money. But Bloomberg is a good man, he will have tried.
Another scenario is it is Obama-Spitzer for eight years, and then Spitzer in for four or eight. Then Bloomberg will stand a chance of becoming Governor.
Canada to resettle 5000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal People's Daily Online Iran 'makes further nuclear progress'Guardian Unlimited UN Nuclear Agency Warns of `Deteriorating' Iran Inspections Bloomberg Linux users say 'Sue me first, Microsoft' Computerworld Democrats Blink, Angering Antiwar Ranks U.S. News & World Report even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she "was so disappointed" that she might actually vote against the bill. Broken wheel uncovers clue to life on Mars Telegraph.co.uk Google’s Indian Brain Power: Amit Patel Makes Google Trendy INDOlink Krishna Bharat who delivered Google News - a grand experiment in news browsing - using computers and the “Hilltop algorithm” he developed for his Ph.D at Georgia Tech. ...... Anurag Acharya. With a Ph.D from Carnegie Mellon who worked on including scholarly literature by improving Google’s indexing, automatically extracting metadata and ranking for scholarly literature. He then helped weave this information into Google web search - and Google Scholar was born. He predicted that Google Scholar “would be a place that you can go to find all scholarly literature -- across all areas, all languages, all the way back in time.” ........ Amit Patel, one of the worlds top search patent inventors and a six year veteran at Google. ....... Hot Trends, a daily list of the 100 hottest topics on its search engine. Obama's Wife Quits Post On TreeHouse Foods BoardCNBC Obama's wife quits Wal-Mart supplierChicago Tribune Michelle Obama on Her Family and How She and Barack Started Dating ABC News Perhaps the family's biggest adjustment has been in the realm of personal security. After unspecified threats and overwhelming crowd sizes, Obama was the first of the 2008 presidential candidates to be assigned a Secret Service detail. It's a change that the couple's two daughters, 8-year-old Malia and 5-year-old Sasha, have taken in stride. ...... the girls met everybody and they walked up to the guys and asked, 'Do you sleep, do you sit down, do you get to eat?' And then the next morning we woke up and Sasha, our youngest one, came on and said, 'Mommy, are the secret people still here?' I said, 'They're still here.' And she said, 'OK.' She called them 'the secret people.'" ......... "They understand that their dad is running for president … but they really aren't directly interested" ....... "Because I went to Harvard and he went to Harvard, the firm thought, 'Ah, we'll hook these two people up.' ....... Barack, about a month in, asked me out ...... And I thought no way, this is completely tacky. … It took about a month or so for him to talk me into going out on a first date." ........ Barack Obama was a Renaissance man on that first date. ....... "I knew that I liked him a lot. He was cute and he was funny and he was charming, without, you know, being arrogant. Just a good guy." ....... The ease with which he connected with people as both a downtown attorney and a community organizer on Chicago's South Side was what really won her over. Michelle Obama admitted she had preconceived notions about her biracial, Hawaii-bred husband, but she said that once she got to know him, all were proved wrong. ........ "We've both brought our unique experiences to this thing that we call our family. So I bring the stability piece, but he brings that sort of 'Let's try this big thing, and wouldn't this be wonderful, and look at what we could do, and let's not be afraid,'" she said. "And I like that balance." Clinton Dancing Around Edges On Iraq MSNBC Survey: Most US muslims moderates San Jose Mercury News India sees 8.5% growth in 2007-08Livemint Iran can withstand any form of aggression - defense minister RIA Novosti US navy in show of force off IranAljazeera.net Google pays $4.7m for wife's start-up The Age Google invests in startup of co-founder's wifeCNN Google and the genome start-up: a sweetheart deal?CNet News.com Blog Sell Spectrum Like Ads, Google Says PC World Google proposes a spectrum policy that allows would-be service providers to bid real time in an auction for the right to use a piece of spectrum for a given period of time in order to deliver services to phones or other devices. The auction system could be similar to AdWords ..... The proposal will "bring innovative new broadband-based applications, services, and devices to all Americans" and bridge the digital divide ....... phones that could constantly be sniffing for available spectrum and the best price to use that spectrum for a given period of time. ....... Google's proposal is specifically regarding the upcoming auction of 700MHz licenses. The spectrum has been used by television broadcasters but with the migration to digital transmission it is becoming available for wireless or other services. Google proposes real-time auction for US bandwidthTechworld.com Battle of the Presidents: Carter vs. Bush FOX News "..this administration has been the worst in history." ..... I wasn't comparing this administration with other administrations throughout history but just with President Nixon's ..... I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments ..... Carter, whose administration was plagued by sky-high inflation and a 444-day American hostage crisis in Iran ...... discuss the Iraq situation with Iran and Syria Richardson Ready To Make Run Official NBC5.com Richardson to Highlight Hispanic TiesWall Street Journal Nevada, Florida and California ..... California also is Richardson's native state, thanks to some careful planning by his father. William Blaine Richardson Jr., an American banker living in Mexico City, sent his Mexican wife to the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena to give birth to ensure there would be no questions about his child's citizenship. ....... Richardson has raised $6.2 million in the first three months of the year .... his campaign always said he would focus more intensely on fundraising after the first quarter. ..... proposing to all but end the country's reliance on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2040. ...... the nation needs a "man-on-the-moon" effort to develop technologies that will cut energy costs and halt global warming.
Sen. Clinton insists her position on war same as Obama's Raw Story Hillary Clinton responded to anti-war salvos from Barack Obama Clinton: Universal Pre-K possible Chicago Tribune Universal Pre-K: The next frontier in public education. ..... federally sponsored, voluntary Pre-Kindergarten classes for all children .... Florida, which is one of the pioneers of universal Pre-K .... one of the first states in the lineup of early ’08 party primaries. ..... it will initially cost the federal government $5 billion a year to match state funding for Pre-K for all children and the cost will climb to $10 billion annually ... But the payoff in student achievement, the senator says, could be immeasurable. ......Most four-year-olds are not enrolled in state-provided Pre-K classes today, she notes: 80 percent. ... children who attend Pre-K classes are less likely to repeat a grade Clinton Proposes Pre-Kindergarten Program For All 4-Year-OldsMyFox WGHP Rebuilding New Orleans is an 'American obligation:' Clinton China Post told graduates at Dillard University, the historically black school devastated by the storm in August 2005. Nepal's Government Agrees to Pay Maoist Fighters in Camps Voice of America Pocket money for Maoist guerrillas in NepalEconomic Times Nepal Maoists to get monthly payBBC News Early primary will give Florida big say in presidential election Boston Globe Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill Monday moving Florida's 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 29 and shaking up the race by bypassing a dozen other states set for Feb. 5. ...... behind only the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and on the same day as South Carolina's Democratic primary. ...... Florida has by far the largest population of any of the early voting states set for January and is the most expensive in which to campaign ..... the Feb. 5 primaries scheduled in a dozen other states, including New York and California. ..... the state is seen as a microcosm of the nation with its diverse population ...... the candidates that do well in Florida would get intense media coverage leading into the next week's events in early February ....... Under both Republican and Democratic party rules, states are penalized for moving their primary earlier than Feb. 5. ...... the state would lose 50 percent of its delegates and all its superdelegates -- typically members of Congress. Any candidate who campaigns in Florida for a primary earlier than Feb. 5 will be ineligible for receiving any of the state's delegates ........ The bill Crist signed also requires a verifiable paper trail for all voting machines throughout Florida. For States, It May be Worth It to WaitNew York Times New Hampshire and Iowa have been marginalized. .... California is the new Iowa. ..... Both parties will have nominees by the time polls close on Feb. 5, as voters in a score of 20 states participate in primaries. ...... 22 states are holding their primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5 or are moving toward doing so ...... by that day,... at least five other states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida — will have voted. ...... quite possible that none of them will do well enough to wrap things up on Feb. 5 ..... Aides to Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton said they are putting aside money for this possibility, which suggests how real it is. ...... On March 4, three states with big slates of delegates — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Minnesota — are among the five scheduled to vote. ...... When California voted to shift its primary from June to Feb. 5 ....... simply buying national television time rather than time on local stations. ...... many fairly empty Tuesdays on the primary calendar next spring Could Modern Medicine Have Saved Lincoln? Washington Post If he had lived, he would at the very least have been partially blind, unsteady on his feet, numb in certain regions of his body and inarticulate. Nevertheless, he might have been able to think and, after much rehabilitation, communicate. ...... Alexander the Great (typhoid fever complicated by Guillain-Barre syndrome) ..... Lincoln survived for nine hours. .... the frontal lobes, the seat of reason and emotional control. ..... He explored the head wound, probing it with a pinkie finger and dislodging a clot -- after which Lincoln's breathing "became more regular." ..... opened Lincoln's mouth, depressed the tongue "and made a free passage for air to enter the lungs." .... At one point Leale "forcibly breathed directly into his mouth and nostrils . . . and improved his respirations." ..... If he survived them, the Everest of rehabilitation would lie ahead. Health coverage for all Chicago Tribune a false choice in characterizing America's health-reform options as either more spending or less care .... quality care and universal coverage are achievable without additional expense. ..... It is wasteful insurance companies that stand in the way. Single-payer health care -- an established American tradition -- already provides for our seniors, veterans and military servicemen. It is time to make this working model -- Medicare -- available to all. ...... "nightmare bureaucracy" comes from private insurers. One-third of our health spending is squandered on marketing, billing, underwriting, retroactively canceling policies and other useless activities that sustain insurers' profits but divert resources from care. Eliminating this needless expenditure -- not limiting care -- could recover more than $350 billion per year, enough to provide comprehensive coverage for all. ....... Employers have figured out that universal coverage is good business: More cars are now produced in Ontario than in Michigan. .... Public payment would liberate physicians from for-profit HMO dictates over what care they can provide. Patients would have free choice of doctor and hospital. ...... Whereas at least 18,000 Americans die annually due to a lack of health coverage, in a recent survey only 3.5 percent of Canadians reported problems with waits for care. ..... The true problem is that the power of the current system's profiteers -- insurance and pharmaceutical giants -- intimidates lawmakers away from the only proven prescription. Dell to launch a convertible Tablet PC sometime this year TechWhack "Sicko" an incisive diagnosis of US health care Reuters Not that "Sicko" avoids Moore's usual oversimplification and cute stunts. But the gist of his arguments is sound ..... audiences in Europe and other markets will want to eavesdrop for the sheer fun of seeing Americans wallow in problems they solved years ago. ...... the travails not only of the 47 million uninsured Americans but also of those who think they have health insurance ..... the health industry spent more than $100 million to defeat President Clinton's universal health care package and currently maintains four D.C. lobbyists for every member of Congress. ....... In a London hospital, Moore milks the no-cost system for all the humor it's worth as he desperately searches the facility for any sign of a billing department. He finds none. ....... In Britain, where the National Health Service was founded in 1948, any attempt to dismantle the system would spark genuine revolution ........ private hospitals in Los Angeles have taken to dumping destitute patients at homeless shelters on skid row
Clinton Falls to Third Place in Iowa Yahoo! News Edwards .. 29 percent. .. Obama ... 23 percent. .. Clinton .. 21 percent .... Bill Richardson .... 10 percent .. the governor is moving up rapidly in Iowa. .... Richardson, who is campaigning in Iowa small towns this weekend, was making the most of his improving position. .... "We have a lot of good candidates running for president," he told friendly crowds. "A lot of them could be in the White House - as my vice president." Hillary rising in 'meaningless' pollsWashington Times national polls this early in the race are nearly meaningless. ..... the numbers that ultimately matter are the poll ratings in the first caucus and primary contests in January. .... in some of the key early caucus and primary states, the race is much tighter and thus more vulnerable to upsets ..... in Iowa ... May 16 showed Mrs. Clinton edging ahead of him by two points, with Mr. Obama close behind. .... South Carolina ... Mr. Obama was leading her for the first time by a four-point margin. .... New Hampshire ... May 14-15 showed she and Mr. Obama in a statistical dead heat .... there has been a rise in many of the polls for Senator Clinton since the debate Obama's Wife: 'It's His Time' ABC News if he connects with Americans .... Michelle Obama contends that Americans want a new approach to politics that only her husband can offer. ..... I've reduced my work hours at work. I will probably have to take a leave at some point. It’s Mr and Mrs Obama versus the ClintonsIndian Express Critics launch attacks on immigration reform bill Chicago Tribune 380-page measure .... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the proposal the "last, best chance we'll have as a Congress" to enact immigration reform. ..... The bill would establish a merit-based, temporary guest worker visa program for new immigrants, while eliminating the backlog of legal immigrant applications and legalizing the status of undocumented workers currently in the country...... Menendez said he couldn't support the bill because of the stringent restrictions it would put on temporary workers and their families. ...... other lawmakers, including Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), have said they would not support it unless key changes are made to the guest worker program. ...... legislative emphasis on border security, strict rules on employment and specialized programs for agricultural workers and military personnel ...... It will be very difficult, excruciating, like crawling over broken glass…but it's never been more likely that we could get a bill done than this year. The Immigration DebateNew York Times swing districts and states where immigration has practically become a new third-rail in politics. ..... Among some Democrats, objections already raised were the moves toward a point-based system that shifts a bit from the family-based connection to citizenship, and others, including some labor groups like the AFL-CIO, worried that the plan would drive down wages and create two classes of workers. ......the busy right blogosphere, where this issue is a touchstone ..... Bush-Kennedy immigration plan ..... the illegal status of some of those charged with plotting an attack on Fort Dix A 'Troubled' Immigration Reform Proposal BusinessWeek US immigration bill attacked from left and right ABC News Kennedy Acknowledges Immigration Worries Guardian Unlimited, UK Kennedy Defends Immigration Compromise CBS News, NY Bipartisan immigration deal reached Chicago Tribune, IL Immigration deal earns right's scorn, left's support San Francisco Chronicle, CA Deal May Legalize Millions Of Immigrants Guardian Unlimited, UK
