Fred Thompson in '08

He has my vote on the Republican side.

Credit C-span.org

He just may be what the Republicans need to maintain the Presidency. His only problem is trying to steal votes away from the three main GOP candidates Romney, Giuliani, and McCain. Will he be the 2nd coming of Ronald Reagan? We'll see.

Yahoo

- J

Obama suggests a Universal Health Care Plan

It's like we're becoming Canada more and more everyday.

Next we're gonna be able to legally steal cable, smoke pot, drink at 18, and play hockey.

Credit: www.washingtonpost.com

Article

Obama said it was unacceptable that 47 million are uninsured while others are struggling to pay their medical bills. He said the time is ripe for reforming the health care system despite an inability to do so in the past, most notably when rival Hillary Rodham Clinton pursued major changes during her husband's presidency.

Obama's plan retains the private insurance system but injects additional money to pay for expanding coverage. Those who can't afford coverage would get a subsidy on a sliding scale depending on their income, and virtually all businesses would have to share in the cost of coverage for their workers.

Miss Universe 2007

I wish all international affairs were held through Miss Universe contests. Man these girls are gorgeous.

Credit: Miss Universe 2007

- J

John Edwards Proposes Mandatory Military Service

John Edwards recently has stated that he would like all young people should serve their country, "not just poor kids who get sent to war."

I think that doing so, would make our strong nation, even stronger militarily. I think that people would be more patriotic and have more pride for the country they live in. We'll learn to have a real sense of freedom. Although, I do feel that my opinion is rather unpopular, I also understand that having mandatory military service would be unconstitutional as each person has a right do do as they please.

- J

Ron Paul assigns a reading assingment to Giuliani.

Source

Upset at Giuliani's stance on foreign policy, Ron Paul asked that Rudy Giuliani read a list of foreign-policy books to back up his contention that attacks by Islamic militants are fueled by the U.S. presence in the Middle East.

During his speech, Paul stated, "I don't think he's qualified to be president, if he was to read the book and report back to me and say, 'I've changed my mind,' I would reconsider."

Paul advocates a limited U.S. foreign policy, including an end to the war in Iraq and a reduction in troop levels abroad.

- J

Nathan Petrelli

Credit: www.heroestv.com

I'd vote for him for office. I mean how cool would it be if we had a flying president. He would be his own personal Air Force One.

Iowa Caucus

CNN.com reports on the Iowa Caucus.

They can say it better than I ever could.

The Thompson, Gingrich effect

A Research 2000 poll of Iowa Republicans, also taken last week, has McCain, Giuliani and Romney all bunched together for first place (18, 17 and 16 percent, respectively). McCain and Giuliani do the same in both Iowa polls. Why does Romney's support fall by nearly half in the Research 2000 poll?

That poll includes two potential Republican candidates, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who together get 15 percent of the vote. Just about what Romney loses.

Romney seems to be making headway with Iowa conservatives. He sounded tough on terrorism at the latest Republican debate. "Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo," Romney said.

Thompson or Gingrich could challenge Romney for conservative votes in Iowa. But they're not running right now.

If Romney wins Iowa, that could vault him to victory a week later in New Hampshire -- just as John Kerry's Iowa victory did in 2004. Romney, like Kerry, is well-known in New Hampshire. He's from next-door Massachusetts.

Edwards leads Democrats

What about the Democrats? Same thing.

In national polls of Democrats, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has a big lead. The average of the five national polls of Democrats taken this month show: Clinton, 40 percent; Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, 25 percent; and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards placing third with 15 percent.

But in Iowa, it's different.

Both polls of Iowa Democratic caucus participants show a close race among all three candidates. The Des Moines Register poll has Edwards in first place with 29 percent, followed by Obama at 23 percent and Clinton with 21 percent. The Research 2000 poll has Clinton and Edwards just about tied for first (Clinton 28 percent, Edwards 26).

For Democrats as well as Republicans, in Iowa, the third shall be first.

The GOP nominees.

Who do you think will win?

- Mitt
- Rudy
- McCain

???

It may be hard here to find a sure winner. I hope Fred joins the race.

- J

Hillary's Campaign Song

Video After the Jump.

According to CNN, Hillary Clinton is looking for a campaign song, and she wants you to vote for it! In another intelligent move, Hillary has decided that instead of just focusing on the issues, which some people don't understand or care about, she decided the best way to get public support is to get public involvement. I think this may work.

Article Below:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For her husband's 1992 campaign it was Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)."

For Sen. Hillary Clinton it's ...up to Web surfers to decide.

On her campaign Web site and on the video sharing site YouTube, Clinton is inviting viewers to pick the theme song for her 2008 presidential bid.

In a video posted Wednesday as part of YouTube's "You Choose '08 Spotlight" program, Clinton offers up nine suitably rousing choices, including U2's "Beautiful Day" and "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones. Other featured artists include Shania Twain, The Temptations, and the Dixie Chicks, whose lead singer once famously said she was "ashamed" of President Bush.

The Democratic presidential candidate also pokes some fun at herself in the video.

Referencing a popular YouTube video featuring her off-key rendition of the National Anthem in January, Clinton tells viewers: "Whatever song you choose, though, I make this solemn promise. I won't sing it in public ... unless I win!"

YouTube launched their "Spotlight" program last month. Each week a presidential candidate posts a video question to be answered by the YouTube community. So far submissions have ranged from Republican Mitt Romney's "What is America's single greatest challenge?" to Democrat Dennis Kucinich's "When was the time in your life you felt the most courage ...the most peaceful, the most loved?"

Voting on Clinton's theme song ends next week.

Democratic National Committee announces their Sanctioned Debates

Taken directly from the Democratic Parties blog.

Today the Democratic National Committee in partnership with six state parties announced the dates, media sponsors and cities for the six DNC sanctioned debates. Additional details regarding specifics for the individual debates including additional media partners and logistics will be announced at a later time. The DNC sanctioned debate schedule will be:

DNC SANCTIONED DEBATES:

July 23, 2007: YouTube/Google and CNN* in Charleston, SC

August 19, 2007: ABC in Des Moines, IA

September 26, 2007: NBC News/MSNBC** in Hanover, NH

October 30, 2007: NBC News/MSNBC** in Philadelphia, PA

November 15, 2007: CNN* in Las Vegas, NV

December 10, 2007: CBS in Los Angeles, CA

*Debate will be simulcast on CNN en Espanol.
**Telemundo will re-broadcast both debates.

"Our strong field of Democratic candidates have been working hard, talking about the issues the American people care about and laying out a positive vision for America’s future," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "We are grateful to the media sponsors and our state parties for their role in providing important, diverse settings for the American people to hear directly from our candidates."


Good to see one of them is a simulcast I believe with Youtube/Google. I hope none of these people are idiots as well an disagree with evolution.

- J

Hillary Continuing to Make All the Right Moves.

It has been reported that Hillary has launched a new Text Messaging Initiative. With her cellphone waving in the air, she asked any people nearby with cellphones to sign up and receive text messages and updates of her campaign on their phone.

Although this wont be as big of an impact as the internet, at least having something like this available is a great way to get your message out to potential voters for almost no cost. Brilliant job.

- J

Hillary 08 Commercial

Hillary has released a new commercial featuring her husband Bill talking about what we, "may not know about Hillary."





I actually didn't know any of that stuff. She's led a pretty amazing life.

Al Gore at 12%!

According to a CNN.com poll, democratic voters are saying, "LET'S GO GORE!". A reported 12% of voters would choose Gore to be their democratic nominee in the 2008 election. Although Gore has been reported to saying that he is not interested in the race, he does have a "pre-exploratory" committee for the election. Who knows Gore may win this time, I mean, he's on a roll, he made an Oscar winning documentary.... and.... and.... well... there is manbearpig right? Did I mention that Oscar winning movie?



- J

Giuliani affirms his support on abortion rights.

As taken from The Stump, the Giuliani campaign has decided to affirm their support for abortion rights. The strategy, as speculated about in the NYT, seems to be about doing an end run around the conservative states and pulling delegates from the big liberal states like New York and California.

I don't really understand what Rudy is doing here. If he were just to "go along" with the rest of the GOP, he could easily win the nomination, but no. I guess he's thinking, it would be much more fun if we could choose between three clueless candidates (Giuliani, McCain, and Romney). Come on Fred Thompson, you're the only hope.

- J

Ron Paul

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/message_board.jhtml?c=v&t=12999

It seems as if everyone on the internet wants him to be president or just in the race. This should be hilarious.

Rudy Giuliani filp flops on abortion.

Giuliani does the impossible. Not only has Rudy flip flopped on abortion, he does it in the same idea!

Giuliani stated that although he is opposed to abortion, he believes in a woman's right to her own individual choice

Excuse me Mr. Giuliani but I have to side with Sen. McCain as he states,

"I think it's one of the fundamental principles of a conservative to have respect and commitment to the dignity of human life, both the born and unborn."

Republicans are defecting to the Obama Camp.

In a surprising article from the Times Online, they report that many supporters of George W. Bush are now in this coming election are jumping on Senator Barack Obama's Bandwagon.

Personally, I think that anyone from Bush's support group that defects to Obama's group is probably not a real republican anyways. Obama runs a very liberal stance on many issues and just jumping from one side to the other does not really make any sense.

- J

Do you believe in evolution?

Well as we can see,

Senator Sam Brownback
Governor Mike Huckabee
and
Senator Tom Tancredo

all do not believe in the theory of evolution.

I don't think I'm qualified to speak on this matter, so let me have someone who is,

Ross Geller, paleontologist, has said in regards to evolution,

"Uh, excuse me. Evolution is not for you to buy. Evolution is scientific fact, like, like the air we breathe, like gravity."

Who won the debate?

Fred Thompson. I think that everyone else did a poor job in answering questions. McCain was ok, but eh... I hope Thompson wins the GOP

- J

Barack Obama takes over his Myspace.

I think that guy should of settled. Personally I think $10k is alot better than 160,000 "myspace friends".

Obama Takes the Lead.

For the first time in this election season, someone besides Hillary is the front runner in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Telephone Survey, has Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the new favorite with a slight 2% lead over Hillary (32% to 30%).

In my opinion, this sudden trend is based on the idea that many people are now moving over to democrats' side on many issues due to the war in Iraq, and are finding someone in Obama who is quite liberal compared to Hillary who is more of a moderate.

Myspace Friends and Comments Graphed on Excel.

I found this interesting little diddy on Digg. Digg user Tomoose, out of curiosity decided to chart the amount of friends and comments, several Presidential candidates received on the user based site Myspace.

And the results are.....

Picture Source

Obama wins!!! By a total landslide. Looking at this chart, I wondered where some candidates such as Giuliani were, so I checked and his profile is set to private. Sooo there we have it folks, if the candidacy were to be elected through myspace, Barack Obama would be the sure fire favorite.

How do you spell dumb? C-L-I-N-T-O-N?

Taken from www.breitbart.com

Question. Does she really believe that her "southern accent" makes her multi-lingual?

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday she sees her sometimes Southern accent as a virtue.

"I think America is ready for a multilingual president," Clinton said during a campaign stop at a charter school in Greenville, S.C.

The New York senator—who said she's been thinking about critics who've suggested that she tried to put on a fake Southern accent in Selma, Ala.—noted that she's split her life between Arkansas, Illinois and the East Coast.

Clinton added a Southern lilt to her voice last week when addressing a civil rights group in New York City headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton. On Monday, dealing with a microphone glitch at a fundraiser for young donors, she quoted former slave and underground railroad leader Harriet Tubman.

The two episodes prompted some ribbing in the media and hatched more than a few humorous YouTube video clips.

Clinton is a linguistic polyglot—a Chicago native turned New York resident who works in Washington and spent two decades living in Arkansas when her husband, Bill Clinton, was governor.

But observers have long noted her tendency to speak Southern primarily in front of black audiences, as she did with Sharpton last week and at a civil rights commemoration in Selma in March.

All the Democrats are vying for the support of black voters—a crucial constituency especially in the early voting state of South Carolina. In 2004, black voters comprised nearly 50 percent of the state's Democratic primary turnout.

Olbermann Sticks it to Giuliani

Hi, my name is Rudolph Giuliani, and I am running under the Vote for me or Die platform. I very much agree with Keith Olbermann. Why should the man, who was on the watch during this horrible event, or anyone for that matter, use something such as 9/11 as a scare tactic for votes. You sir have lost any support from me.

- J



Transcript:

Finally tonight, a Special Comment about Rudolf Giuliani's remarks at a Lincoln Day Dinner in New Hampshire last night.

Since some indeterminable hour between the final dousing of the pyre at The World Trade Center, and the breaking of what Senator Obama has aptly termed "9/11 Fever," it has been profoundly and disturbingly evident that we are at the center of one of history's great ironies.

Only in this America of the early 21st Century could it be true, that the man who was president during the worst attack on our nation, and the man who was the mayor of the city in which that attack principally unfolded, would not only be absolved of any and all blame for the unreadiness of their own governments, but, more over, would thereafter be branded heroes of those attacks.

And now, that Mayor - whose most profound municipal act in the wake of that nightmare was to suggest the postponement of the election to select his own successor - has gone even a step beyond these M.C. Escher constructions of history.

"If any Republican is elected president - and I think obviously I would be best at this - we will remain on offense and will anticipate what (the terrorists) will do and try to stop them before they do it. "

Insisting that the election of any Democrat would mean the country was "back… on defense," Mr. Giuliani continued:
"But the question is how long will it take and how many casualties will we have. If we are on defense, we will have more losses and it will go on longer."

He said this with no sense of irony, no sense of any personal shortcomings, no sense whatsoever.

And if you somehow missed what he was really saying, somehow didn't hear the none-too-subtle subtext of 'vote Democratic and die,' Mr. Giuliani then stripped away any barrier of courtesy, telling Roger Simon of Politico.Com, quote…

"America will be safer with a Republican president."

At least that Republican President under which we have not been safer… has, even at his worst, maintained some microscopic distance between himself, and a campaign platform that blithely threatened the American people with "casualties" if they, next year, elect a Democratic president - or, inferring from Mr. Giuliani's flights of grandeur in New Hampshire - even if they elect a different Republican.

How dare you, sir?

"How many casualties will we have?" - this is the language of Bin Laden.

Yours, Mr. Giuliani, is the same chilling nonchalance of the madman, of the proselytizer who has moved even from some crude framework of politics and society, into a virtual Roman Colosseum of carnage, and a conceit over your own ability — and worthiness — to decide, who lives and who dies.

Rather than a reasoned discussion — rather than a political campaign advocating your own causes and extolling your own qualifications — you have bypassed all the intermediate steps, and moved directly to trying to terrorize the electorate into viewing a vote for a Democrat, not as a reasonable alternative and an inalienable right… but as an act of suicide.

This is not the mere politicizing of Iraq, nor the vague mumbled epithets about Democratic 'softness' from a delusional Vice President.

This is casualties on a partisan basis — of the naked assertion that Mr. Giuliani's party knows all and will save those who have voted for it — and to hell with everybody else.

And that he, with no foreign policy experience whatsoever, is somehow the Messiah-of-the-moment.

Even to grant that that formula - whether posed by Republican or Democrat - is somehow not the most base, the most indefensible, the most Un-American electioneering in our history - even if it is somehow acceptable to assign "casualties" to one party and 'safety' to the other - even if we have become so profane in our thinking that it is part of our political vocabulary to view counter-terror as one party's property and the other's liability… on what imaginary track record does Mr. Giuliani base his boast?

Which party held the presidency on September 11th, 2001, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party held the mayoralty of New York on that date, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party assured New Yorkers that the air was safe, and the remains of the dead, recovered - and not being used to fill pot-holes, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party wanted what the terrorists wanted - the postponement elections - and to whose personal advantage would that have redounded, Mr. Giuliani?

Which mayor of New York was elected eight months after the first attack on the World Trade Center, yet did not emphasize counter-terror in the same city for the next eight years, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party had proposed to turn over the Department of Homeland Security to Bernard Kerik, Mr. Giuliani?

Who wanted to ignore and hide Kerik's Organized Crime allegations, Mr. Giuliani?

Who personally argued to the White House that Kerik need not be vetted, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party rode roughshod over Americans' rights while braying that it was actually protecting them, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party took this country into the most utterly backwards, utterly counter-productive, utterly ruinous war in our history, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party has been in office as more Americans were killed in the pointless fields of Iraq, than were killed in the consuming nightmare of 9/11, Mr. Giuliani?

Drop this argument, sir. You will lose it.

"The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us," Mr. Giuliani continued to the Rockingham County Lincoln Day Dinner last night. "Never, ever again will this country be on defense waiting for (terrorists) to attack us, if I have anything to say about it. And make no mistake, the Democrats want to put us back on defense."

There is no room for this.

This is terrorism itself, dressed up as counter-terrorism.

It is not warning, but bullying - substituted for the political discourse now absolutely essential to this country's survival and the freedom of its people.

No Democrat has said words like these. None has ever campaigned on the Republicans' flat-footedness of September 11th, 2001. None has the requisite, irresponsible, all-consuming, ambition. None is willing to say "I Accuse," rather than recognize that, to some degree, all of us share responsibility for our collective stupor.

And if it is somehow insufficient, that this is morally, spiritually, and politically wrong, to screech as Mr. Giuliani has screeched… there is also this: that gaping hole in Mr. Giuliani's argument of 'Republicans equal life; Democrats equal death.'

Not only have the Republicans not lived up to their babbling on this subject, but last fall the electorate called them on it.

As doubtless they would call you on it, Mr. Giuliani.

Repeat, go beyond Mr. Bush's rhetorical calamities of 2006.

Call attention to the casualties on your watch, and your long, waking slumber in the years between the two attacks on the World Trade Center.

Become the candidate who runs on the Vote-For-Me-Or-Die platform.

Do a Joe McCarthy, a Lyndon Johnson, a Robespierre.

Only, if you choose so to do, do not come back surprised nor remorseful if the voters remind you that "terror" is not just a matter of "casualties." It is, just as surely, a matter of the promulgation of fear.

Claim a difference between the parties on the voters' chances of survival — and you do Osama Bin Laden's work for him.

And we — Democrats and Republicans alike, and every variation in between — We — Americans! — are sick to death, of you and the other terror-mongers, trying to frighten us into submission, into the surrender of our rights and our reason, into this betrayal of that for which this country has always stood.

Franklin Roosevelt's words ring true again tonight.

And, clarified and amplified, they are just as current now, as they were when first he spoke them, 74 years ago.

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" — and those who would exploit our fear, for power, and for their own personal, selfish, cynical, gain.

Good night, and good luck.

Giuliani warns of 'new 9/11' if Dems win

Story

Hmm... I'm no democrat Rudy, but weren't the Republicans in charge during the 1st 9/11???

- J

Al Gore???

So Al Gore has what I'll call a "pre-exploratory" committee. Well all I can say is wahoo... now we can listen more about global warming, his "lock box", how he invented the internet, see his robotic charm, and hear him talk manbearpig.

Manbearpig and Gore

- J

Charlie Rose to host first Online Presidential Debates

To show how much the internet is now apart of our lives, Charlie Rose will be hosting two interactive debates where voters can ask questions to the candidates and everything will be conducted in real time.

Today, Yahoo! and the Huffington Post released this joint press release.

Yahoo!, The Huffington Post and Slate announced today plans to host two online-only presidential debates during the 2008 campaign. These first-of-their kind debates will be hosted on all three Web sites and give voters the opportunity to ask questions directly to the candidates, participate in the debate in real-time, and even determine which candidate is giving the best performance. The debates, scheduled to take place after Labor Day, will be hosted by PBS' Charlie Rose. The Democratic debate will feature opening remarks by DNC chair Howard Dean.

"We intend for these debates to be a groundbreaking mix of old and new traditions in politics," said Charlie Rose. "2008 will be a momentous year for the electoral process in America, thanks in large part to technology and politics connecting like never before. I am proud to host the first ever online only debate, which will reach and engage the voting audience in a whole new way."

"With presidential candidates announcing online and with campaign ads and fundraising increasingly online, presidential campaigns are moving to the Internet at breakneck speed. Online debates are the inevitable next step," said Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. "We are thrilled to be joining with Internet pioneers Yahoo! and Slate to host the first online presidential debates, and to have Charlie Rose as our moderator. These debates represent a further merging of new media technology and politics, and are a great opportunity to bring more people into the political process, and engage the new generation of young voters who spend so much of their time -- and get so much of their information -- online."

There will be two online-only debates, one for Democrats and one for Republicans, with invitations extended to candidates who have formally announced their candidacies. These online debates will allow the candidates to participate from whatever location they choose, brought together live via the Internet, and will feature real-time questions sent in by the online audience, as well as viewer questions uploaded on video.

"The 2008 campaign is going to unfold on the Web in a way no previous election ever has," said Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate. "We hope these first online debates will be a breakthrough, both in terms of technology and political communication. The candidates will be able to have a real discussion in real time -- but without having to be in the same place. We think the Internet can bring the same kind of immediacy to presidential debates that it has to other aspects of the political process."

"We're opening the doors of democracy for American voters to participate in the Presidential debates like never before," said Scott Moore, head of news and information, Yahoo!. "Armchair politics will take on new meaning this election season, as we're offering voters the opportunity to ask the candidates what's on their mind."

About Yahoo! Elections 2008

Yahoo! Elections (http://elections.yahoo.com) is a destination for voters to connect with the people, candidates and communities most important to them this election season. The site is made up of key Yahoo! social media properties, including Answers, Groups, Flickr, News, MyBlogLog, Yahoo! Video and Upcoming.org. The site also features a comprehensive election news offering, including breaking news, opinion and commentary, and video reports from the nation's leading news providers. Yahoo! Elections is working with the campaigns for all officially announced candidates on ways they can interact with voters on the Yahoo! Town Hall platform, offering a valuable platform for reaching millions of voters on a daily basis.

About The Huffington Post

The Huffington Post has become, according to The New York Times, "a well-known, oft-cited news media brand in the blink of an eye." The Web site has over 3 million unique users and over 70 million page views. Later this spring, the site will expand its original political reporting. Also, in conjunction with newassignment.net, The Huffington Post will be adding an entirely new dimension to coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign, deploying hundreds of volunteers to report and blog on the race and add their unique perspectives on American politics. The Huffington Post continues to provide breaking news and opinion from more than 900 contributors from the worlds of politics, entertainment and media.

About Slate

Slate Magazine is an award-winning Web site that offers fresh angles on stories in the news and innovative entertainment coverage. Slate won the 2006 and 2005 EPpy awards for Best Internet News Service (over 1 million monthly visitors) and the 2005 EPpy award for Best Internet Entertainment Service (over 1 million monthly visitors). Slate can be found on the Web at www.slate.com and is owned by The Washington Post Company. Slate attracts over five million unique visitors each month.

Source


- J

Alan Keyes equates Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler.

Taken fron a Colorado website titled, Colorado Media Matters.














Alan Keyes, Republican, who formerly ran for the White House twice, has equated Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. This is no real shock to may people who follow the history between these two men. In 2004, these two men ran for senate against each other in the state of Illinois, in which Obama won. After the election, Keyes refused to congratulate Obama since he (Obama) voted against the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act". Because of that vote, Keyes stated that, "Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama."



This news is somewhat upsetting for me, as I respect Alan Keyes. I believe that he is a very intelligent and well spoken man, and in all honesty that if he was not of African descent, he would of been a much larger force in the 2004 election.

- J

Photos taken from:
http://www.renewamerica.us/keyes/wethepeople.jpg
http://obama.senate.gov/files/senatorbarackobama.jpg

McCain Sings "Bomb Iran"

From 2008 Central






Personally, I think he was just playing it up as a "joke" to those conservatives. I'm not sure though, he wanted this to go out on the internet. D'oh!

- J

Candidates and their Election 2008 finances.

Source of quotes: The NY Times

The American public has given about $160 million to the 2008 presidential candidates so far this year, more than four times the total contributed to campaigns in the same period four years ago.

So, where does all that money go???

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Republican former mayor of New York, paid seven staffers more than $25,000. Mike DuHaime, his campaign manager, was the second highest paid aide, earning $44,375.

Eh, nothing interesting on him. NEXT.

Mitt Romney, the Republican, who is by far the richest candidate, was stingiest with his staff members’ salaries, often having them fly discount airlines and stay in accommodations as humble as a Super 8 Motel in Parsippany, N.J.

Well I guess Mr. Mitt "I'll flip flop just to take the republican vote although I have a record of taking liberal side on issues" Romney is the resident cheap ass of the group.

“We put a premium on efficiency,” said Kevin Madden, a spokesman. Recalling a trip for Mr. Romney’s campaign announcement in Michigan, he said, “We tripled up in a hotel suite — one of those cheaper ones.”

....
.......
Reminder, never work for Mitt Romney. But hey, if making less than $25k and increasing your chances of Hepatitis is what you're looking for, I FOUND YOUR JOB!

Senator John McCain of Arizona, whose Republican primary campaign spent the highest percentage of income during the quarter, paid nearly $11,000 for photography, $1,700 for decorations and $1,671 for flowers.

$11,000 for photography. How? How? What is this man doing, recording every waking moment as he free falls into the middle of the pack? Being fair, he did have the highest paid staff. Wait... I guess that's going to change, with all the cutbacks. I guess he doesn't have that going for him either.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who irked donors during her last Senate campaign by running up heavy bills for such amenities, spent just $205 for photographs and $89 for flowers, according to the campaign’s filings. But her campaign did report a debt of $1,995 to Jack H. Lucky Floral Design in New Market, Va. Mrs. Clinton paid three staff members more than $25,000; her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, was paid $27,142 in the quarter. But her campaign also reported $154,000 in unpaid bills to her media adviser, Mandy Grunwald, and $277,000 to her main political adviser, Mark Penn.

Ok. $205 dollars on photography. This is more reasonable. This makes me believe that there must be a typo in McCain's figures. And why does she have so much debt? I thought she raised around $19 million dollars in this first quarter.

Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, has talked of running a new kind of campaign that refuses fund-raising help from federal lobbyists. But a list of his top fund-raisers released over the weekend shows that his campaign has defined the term in an exacting way.At least two of the donors on his list of 130 top fund-raisers were registered federal lobbyists as recently as last year. One, Tom Reed, works at the law and lobbying firm of K & L Preston Gates and earned about $60,000 from lobbying in 2006. In an interview, Mr. Solomont said he had withdrawn his lobbyist registration as soon as he signed on as a fund-raiser. “When I joined the campaign, I ended that,” he said. A spokesman for Mr. Obama said Mr. Reed had stopped lobbying also.

How convenient for Mr. Obama that two "former" lobbyists just stopped lobbying also as soon as they donate money towards his campaign. Riight.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

On what was nearly the 8 year anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, 32 people at the Virgina Polytechnic Institute, were unexpectedly and unnecessarily murdered.

Upon hearing the news, I was in a complete state of disbelief. The idea that this could happen at a place of higher learning, a college. I was dumbfounded. I can only express my deepest condolences to the families of the injured and departed.

- J

Posted below is a letter from my school's chancellor to our student body:

Dear Students:

We are enormously saddened by today's events at Virginia Tech. Our
heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost family
and friends, and to all members of the Virginia Tech community who
have been scarred by this incident.

I want to assure all UC Irvine students, faculty, staff and their
families that, while we cannot always anticipate or prevent acts of
violence on campus, maintaining a safe environment is our highest
priority.

We strive to develop a culture of safety among our students, our
staff and all members of the campus community. Our violence
prevention programs are designed to identify and resolve issues
before they become serious. And the University of California is
giving increased attention to student psychological support services
and to expanding financial support for them.

In light of today's events, we will be taking an even closer look at
our training and preparedness efforts to make sure that all
appropriate preventive and responsive measures are in place. Again,
the safety of every member of our campus community is our top
priority.

Michael V. Drake, M.D.
Chancellor

John Kerry back for more?

According to an article reported out of Denver, CO, John Kerry (ie. Mr. Heinz), has left the door open for a possible presidential run.

Also, while looking around on the internet, apparently Hot Air, has posted a video on said news (I guess if we can call it news).

- J

PS. Jon Stewart on the Republican Race.

The Amazing Fred Thompson

By passing Senator John McCain in the recent LATimes poll, former Senator and actor, Fred Thompson is now being considered as a serious threat in the Republican Candidate nomination. With close friends, including his wife throwing their support towards him for what may be a possible 2008 presidential run, Fred Thompson remains silent about his bid for the presidency, for now. A true conservative in the way he votes, Senator Fred Thompson just may be what the republican party needs... another Ronald Reagan.

Credit to the University of Tennessee for the image.

- J

McCain's Ever Shrinking Staff

After only raising 12.5 million dollars in donations last quarter, third behind Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, John McCain has ordered a financial overhaul.

I wonder if this has anything to do with Fred Thompson's sudden appearance on the scene.

- J

AP Link

LA Times Poll Results

In a recent poll covered by the LA Times, Senator John McCain, once the favorite for the Republican Presidential Nomination, has fallen in the minds of GOP voters. In this recent poll, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani leads the field and following him suprisingly is Actor and former Senator Fred Thompson. Thompson who has yet to even declare for presidency has come on strong lately.

Personally, I believe that McCain is losing ground due to support for the Iraq War.

Courtesy of latimes.com

Initially against the war and Bush's policies in Iraq, McCain has done an "about-face" and now is a strong proponent for the war. This along with his failure to condemn the statement made by radio host Don Imus about the Rutgers Ladies Basketball Team (see below), I believe hurt his image with many voters.

- J

Myspace in 2008?

More than in any other election, the internet is becoming a viable source for candidates to promote themselves. Like in previous years, candidates have their own websites where supporters can follow their every step and even join their "team" to help advertise. Since the last election however, new websites such as Youtube and Myspace have developed large user bases and the candidates have taken notice.

On Youtube, a channel with the banner, "You Choose '08" was created which allows for candidates to feature their own videos so that anyone with an internet connection, can educate themselves on the upcoming election.

And if watching videos is not to your liking, many candidates have Myspace pages. On Myspace's newly opened presidential section, you can view the Myspaces of many of the candidates running in 2008.

With the internet playing such a large role in this next election, I think that 2008 will mark the year of where and how elections will be won. Heck, at least this year although I may not know many of the issues, at least I'll know Senator Barack Obama is a Leo.

- J

WELCOME!

For the next few months, I will be blogging on what to me are important political issues. So sit back, grab a coke or a "man soda", and take a view inside my mind.

- J