There used to be a Whig Party in the United States. William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor were elected President as Whigs. In practice, the U.S. Constitution only allows for two dominant parties to exist at any given time for reasons involving the make-up of the U.S. Congress and the Electoral College system.
This just in! Miley Ray Cyrus will be posing for Playboy.
Ok, not really. But I had to throw in that tease to make a point. The recent uproar (both social and political) over the “Vanity Fair” photos of Destiny Hope Cyrus, or Miley Ray Cyrus now to you and me, has me baffled and bothered.
Two new Zogby polls were released today, and they reveal that Obama has a growing lead in North Carolina, but the race is still a virtual tie in Indiana. Obama has added four points to his lead in NC, and now leads Clinton 51%-37%. In Indiana Obama still holds a two point lead 45%-43% with 5% for someone else, and 7% not sure.
Barack Obama made a fairly routine appearance on ABC’s Nightline last night. All the usual issues were addressed except that Obama directly addressed Clinton lackey James Carville’s remark in the latest issue of Newsweek that, “If she (Clinton) gave him one of her cojones, they’d both have two.”
Barack Obama picked up two more superdelegates today, as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party announced that they will be supporting Obama.
This represents quite a shift because Party chairman Michael Cryor and Vice chairman Lauren Dugas Glover originally had announced that they planned to stay neutral until the end of the primary season.
Kalyn Free, a superdelegate and at large member of the DNC, has endorsed Barack Obama today. Free is the founder and President of INDN’s List, an organization dedicated to training and recruiting Native American political candidates.
A new Suffolk University survey released today has found that Hillary Clinton has opened up a six point lead on Barack Obama in the state. Clinton now leads Obama 49%-43%, with 6% undecided and 2% refusing to respond.
Today Barack Obama picked up three newspaper endorsements in Indiana and one in North Carolina ahead of Tuesday’s primaries. Here are some highlights from each endorsement.
As the Democrat primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continues to the bitter end, both candidates and their supporters are doing whatever they have to do to squeeze every last vote out of the electorate.
Today Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama was on NBC’s Meet the Press for the full hour. Besides talking about the gas tax, Rev. Wright, and all the other regular campaign issues, Obama was also able to talk about his plan to reduce oil consumption by 35-40 percent.
Even when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama match up thousands of miles off the mainland, they still end up virtually tied. The race between the two in the U.S. territory of Guam was only for four convention delegates, so what was really at stake was bragging rights, which in the end neither campaign got.
The MSM is often held in contempt for its poor coverage of the U.S. economy, and justifiably so. After months of reporting on stock market declines, softness in the job market, and the sub-prime mortgage “crisis,” the MSM image of an economy in distress was refuted by new Commerce Department figures showing 0.6% GDP expansion in the first quarter of 2008. In addition, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.0% from 5.1%. While few people are ecstatic about sluggish 0.6% growth, MSM hype about a severe economic recession has yet to be borne out.
Barack Obama picked up another superdelegate today as New Mexico Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon endorsed him.
While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton get all the MSM attention, GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain continues his straight talk tour under the radar, holding fundraisers, making “town hall” appearances, giving speeches, etc. The Democrats can’t afford to let McCain go unchallenged altogether while their two candidates are roughing each other up.
During a speech in Indianapolis, IN today, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton’s federal gas tax holiday a phony idea.
One of lessons Barack Obama appears to have learned from his defeat in Pennsylvania is that blue collar Democrats think that political change would be nice, but economic change would be better. Obama and his wife have made the economy their central theme while campaigning in Indiana and North Carolina.
“Democrats have a mission: strengthen the economy, invest in America, bring our troops home. And we will not quit until that mission is truly accomplished,” Congressman Andre Carson said in today’s Democratic radio address, that focused on the Iraq war and the economy.
On the same week John McCain was going around the country touting his health care plan and the choice it offered, he refused to meet with activists for the disabled and co-sponsor a bill that would give those with disabilities the right to choose where they live and work.
Even worse, his Senate staff stood by and let 20 disabled activists be arrested outside his office.
The desperation of Hillary Clinton knows no limits, as today in Hendersonville, NC she continued to try to make her mythical gas tax holiday the centerpiece of her attacks against Barack Obama, “We have a choice.
A new Zogby poll released today revealed that very little has changed for both Democratic candidates in North Carolina and Indiana. In North Carolina Obama has a 16 point lead over Clinton 50%-34%, but in Indiana, the candidates are still deadlocked 42%-42% with 9% not sure.
At a press conference in Indianapolis, IN today Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama once again had to deal with allegations that he is an elitist.
“In fact, our lives when you look over the last two decades more closely approximate the lives of the average voter than any of the other candidates,” Obama said.
Former DNC Chairman and Massachusetts superdelegate Paul G. Kirk Jr. announced his endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama this morning.
Today is the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech aboard the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama released statements about ending the Iraq war.
Today Texas Superdelegate, and DNC member, John Patrick endorsed Barack Obama.
A new poll done by Mason-Dixon for WRAL TV in North Carolina of 400 likely Democratic voters in the state found that Hillary Clinton has shrunk Barack Obama’s once double digit lead down to seven points. Obama now leads Clinton 49%-42%, with 9% undecided. The poll’s margin of error is five points.
According to the AP, Joe Andrew who was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1999-2001, will announce today that he is switching his support from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama.
Today has been a busy day for endorsements of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Here is a brief recap of who endorsed whom. Hillary Clinton picked up two superdelegates today one from Pennsylvania, Bill George, and the other was Democratic vice Chair Luisette Cabañas.
Barack Obama supporter, and former Clinton Energy Secretary, Federico Peña released a statement today about what he called Hillary Clinton’s gas tax holiday, “gimmick.”
With the U.S. armed forces stretched to their limits fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the debate in the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the funding of these operations has stalled. Although the Democrats took control of the House in January 2007, efforts to cut off funding remain mired in intra-party disagreements.
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Rep. Baron Hill, another superdelegate, has announced his support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today.
Pennsylvania superdelegate, Bill George, who is also president of the PA AFL-CIO has endorsed Hillary Clinton.
Congressman Ben Chandler announced his endorsement of Barack Obama today.
Today, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama used his strongest language yet to denounce his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Today, John McCain trotted out the same old “healthcare reform” that Republicans have been pushing for years. How would McCain help the 48 million people who currently lack health insurance? Once again, tax credits are his answer for everything.
At his news conference this morning in the White House Rose Garden, President Bush passed off the blame for the bad economy to the Democratic Congress, and advocated drilling in ANWR to solve our energy problems.
Obama picked up another superdelegate, this time in a critical swing state. Today Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) announced his endorsement of Barack Obama.
By a vote of 6-3 today, the Supreme Court ruled that an Indiana law requiring voters to show identification before they can vote is constitutional.
Originally Obama supporters defended Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons, correctly in my mind, as taken out of context, but it seems like Wright has found fame and decided to enjoy all of his 15 minutes, even if it costs Barack Obama the presidency.
A new Newsweek poll was released today that showed 40% of those surveyed now have a negative opinion of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and 41% said that Obama was being hurt by Rev. Wright.
The presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton looked to increase the pressure on the Barack Obama campaign to hold more debates by releasing a letter Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams wrote to Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today and he said that he hoped the Democratic Party would have their nominee by the end of June.
Fox News Sunday’s “Obama Watch” came to an end this week, when the frontrunner for the Democrat presidential nomination granted an interview to Chris Wallace. The 35-minute interview took up three segments, and covered everything from Rev. Wright to Gen. Petraeus.
Today, Hillary Clinton challenged Barack Obama to a debate without a moderator ala Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in their 1858 Illinois Senate campaign, but do we really need any more debates? Is there anything about these two candidates that we don’t already know?
Over the course of yesterday and today Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign have been trying to portray her opponent Barack Obama as a friend of big oil. Yesterday, Clinton said, “When it came time to stand up against the oil companies and stand against Dick Cheney’s energy bill, my opponent voted for it and I voted against it.
This week Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) delivered the Democratic radio address. Lautenberg placed the blame for the high prices of gasoline and oil firmly at the feet of George W. Bush and the Republican Party.
I’ll let you in on a secret. I am a political animal. I have been since the 1992 presidential election when I was 16 years old. I watched the conventions with great anticipation and was quite a good volunteer for one of the three major candidates in 1992. Arguments with classmates were the norm.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several House Democrats sent a letter to the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, William E. Kovacic asking him to investigate the current record high gas prices.
While speaking at a gas station in Indianapolis, IN today, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama laid the blame for the nation’s energy woes on the special interests and Washington, D.C. politicians desire to cater to them. Obama also talked about his energy plan.
A new Indianapolis Star-WTHR poll released today showed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama statistically tied in the Hoosier State.
Obama leads Clinton 41%-38%, but once the margin of error of 4.2% is factored in, the race is even. Where Obama does hold a clear advantage is in the hypothetical head to head matchup with John McCain.
The presidential campaign of Barack Obama released a memo today that they sent to superdelegates laying out their case that Obama is the best candidate to take on John McCain this fall.
At the end of the Texas/Ohio campaign last month, Hillary Clinton unleashed her now-infamous “3 A.M.” television ad, challenging Barack Obama’s foreign policy inexperience. Earlier this week, facing another must-win primary in Pennsylvania, Clinton used some brief footage of Osama bin Laden in another television ad.
By a 95-0 vote, the Senate has passed a bill that would ban employers and insurance companies from discriminating against people based on any results learned from genetic testing. The bill is also supported by the House and President Bush, so it is expected to become law.
A new poll released today by the Harvard University Institute of Politics found that Barack Obama dominates among young voters who planned to vote in the Democratic Primary. Those aged 18-24 favored Obama over Clinton by a 70%-30% margin. Most interesting is that Obama leads McCain 53%-32% in a hypothetical general election matchup.
Today, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers’ (IFPTE), executive council endorsed Barack Obama for president. The union’s membership is composed of engineers, scientists and technicians at the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, NASA and Boeing.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a statement today that could best be described as skeptical about President Bush’s nomination of Gen. David Petraeus to be the new CENTCOM commander.
The latest unbelievable argument from the Clinton campaign is that she actually leads in the popular vote if the unrecognized elections in Michigan and Florida are included. Here is what the Clinton campaign put out today via press release.
Somebody is spreading around an incorrect number that Hillary Clinton’s margin of victory was was only 8.6%. They are using this to build the case that the mainstream media is against Obama.
Hillary Clinton’s Pennsylvania victory got her some things that are even more important than delegates. It got her time, and renewed questions about Obama’s electability. Let’s first be clear, Clinton is not a comeback kid.
A tired sounding Barack Obama delivered a forward looking speech in Evansville, IN last night after his Pennsylvania loss to Hillary Clinton.
Obama spoke about the record number of voters registered in PA, and the purpose of his campaign.
Almost 85% of the results have been counted in many of the counties in Pennsylvania, and it is clear that the hunting gun loving counties in the state went heavily for Hillary Clinton. Here is a sample of how bad the Obama defeat was in the rural counties that didn’t appreciate being told that they cling to their religion and guns.
In a call that wasn’t any kind of surprise, Hillary Clinton has been projected by MSNBC as the winner in the state of Pennsylvania. Being that the call was so early, it is clear that Clinton has a lead that can’t be overcome. Now the question is, how much will she win by?
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama talked about global warming and Earth Day as a grassroots movement today.
According to observers and newspapers, turnout has been high, but there have been no major problems with voting across the state of Pennsylvania so far.
Today, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama issued statements marking the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a statement marking the 38th Earth Day. Pelosi talked about the challenge of climate change, “On this Earth Day, the greatest challenge facing the United States, and indeed our world, is climate change.
A new Suffolk University poll of Democratic voters in the state of Pennsylvania showed Hillary Clinton with a ten point lead over Barack Obama (52%-42%), but the real surprise is who disappointed Democrats in the state might consider voting for in the fall.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke on the Senate floor today, urging Republicans to vote in favor of a bill that would provide better benefits to veterans.
March was a very good month for Barack Obama on the fundraising front, while Hillary Clinton continues to slide back, and John McCain is stuck in neutral.
In March, Obama raised $41,144,348. This is more than double Clinton’s total of $20,107,968, and John McCain might be better off buying a metal detector and heading to the beach, as he only raised $12,037,287.
The Eugene Register-Guard of Eugene, OR today published a ringing endorsement of Barack Obama.
Today on Meet the Press top Obama strategist David Axelrod, and top Clinton strategist Geoff Gavin continued the argument between the two campaigns, but closed with some interesting words about unifying the Democratic Party.
In an interview that could only be described as a coming attractions preview for the general election campaign, Republican presidential candidate John McCain today sought to raise questions about Barack Obama’s patriotism due to his association with a former member of the Weather Underground on ABC’s This Week program.
Unpacking the unusual story of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) is no easy task. There are a slew of discomforting allegations involving teenage girls being forced to marry much older men who already have multiple wives. Despite the fantastic accusations, there isn’t any credible evidence of serious wrong doing.
While Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have released years of personal tax returns, Republican John McCain has released two years of limited returns. Recently, DNC Chair Howard Dean wondered what McCain is hiding?
The Barack Obama presidential campaign announced this afternoon that they have picked up the endorsement of Nebraska Democratic Party Chairman Steve Achelpohl.
President Bush used his weekly radio address to ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi to change her mind and allow the House to vote on the Columbia Free Trade Agreement.
DNC Chair Howard Dean delivered this week’s Democratic radio address, which he used to point out the differences between the Democratic Party, and Republican presidential nominee John McCain. After welcoming the Pope, Dean laid out the challenges facing America.
It was announced this evening by the Pennsylvania Department of State that voter registration for Tuesday’s primary has set a new record with 8,328,123 people registered to vote. This number is only 38,540 voters behind the all time record which was set during the 2004 general election campaign.
Today the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) released a report that examined the effect of economic recession on women. “These findings demonstrate the severe and disproportionate impact of this recession on women and their families.
This morning on ABC’s Good Morning America, Hillary Clinton inferred that her opponent Barack Obama isn’t tough enough to be president, because he complained about the questions in Wednesday night’s debate.
It has to feel like the walls are starting to close in for Hillary Clinton, as today the man who was the Secretary of Labor under her husband’s administration, Robert Reich, endorsed Barack Obama.
The non-partisan General Accounting Office issued a report today that concluded that U.S. has not met its security goals in Pakistan’s tribal region. Because of this al-Qaeda has regained its attack capability. The report also found that the Bush administration has no security plan for this region.
Much has been made about ABC’s failure to ask policy-related questions during the crucial Pennsylvania debate Wednesday. Moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson have come in for particularly stiff criticism from the Obama-supporting web. Regardless, ABC did the proper thing by ignoring the “real” issues.
The good news is that public interest continues to build for the election. The bad news is that ratings were so good for ABC’s pseudo debate last night that other networks will surely be willing to copy the tabloid style used last night.
If there is one thing that most Democrats love more than fighting with Republicans, it is fighting with each other, but there is mounting evidence that the Clinton/Obama war is starting to tear apart the Democratic Party.
Today, Oklahoma superdelegate Reggie Whitten endorsed Barack Obama, “Some say there is no particular need to endorse at the present time. However, I believe this is a defining moment, not only for our Party, but also more importantly for our country.”
Note: This was written in real time during the debate.
Moderator Charles Gibson started by asking Clinton and Obama why they wouldn’t team up and run together in the fall, and they both dodged the question.
Here are some things that I am going to be watching for during tonight’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia, PA.
Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) raised the ire of the McCain campaign today, when he said, “I’ve served with seven presidents. When they come in, they all make mistakes. They all get older. This one guy running is about as old as me. Let me tell you something, it’s no old man’s job.”
This morning presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain issued statements marking the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings.
Today House Republicans successfully blocked a bill from passing that would have encouraged states to hold verifiable elections by converting to a paper ballot voting system, offer emergency paper ballots, and conduct hand-counted audits. The bill titled the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008 fell short of the 2/3 needed for passage.
Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama had some very strong things to say to the Building Trades National Legislative Conference today.
John McCain is all over the news today because during a speech at CMU in Pittsburgh he proposed a federal gas tax holiday that would run from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
A new Quinnipiac University poll of Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters found that Barack Obama’s bitter comments seem to have no impact on the state of the primary race, as Hillary Clinton maintained the same lead that she had last week 50%-44%.
Before meeting with his cabinet today, President Bush said the solution to the nation’s economic woes is for Congress to make his tax cuts permanent. Bush also took full credit for anticipating the current economic hard times. This did not go over well with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
Despite years of peaceful negotiations/sanctions led by Europe with the aim of dissuading Iran from its nuclear ambitions, the Islamic Republic last week announced it was installing 6000 new uranium-enriching centrifuges.
Hillary Clinton is risking a backlash, by pushing Obama’s bitter comments too far. Today, while speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hillary Clinton once again took her new found love of guns to a greater extreme.
A new poll done over the weekend suggests that Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters may already be punishing Barack Obama for his “bitter” comments. An American Research Group poll released today finds that Clinton now leads Obama 57%-37% in the Keystone State.
Tonight while speaking before an event labeled the “Compassion Forum” in Grantham, PA, which was televised by CNN, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were each asked whether life begins at conception.
