Second-tier Democrats try to gain traction
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - When you are a candidate for the 2008 presidential race only drawing about 2 percent support in opinion polls, you have to keep telling yourself that the race is still wide open and there is plenty of time to catch up.
That is the position in which Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a veteran foreign policy heavyweight, finds himself, along with his fellow Democrats New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich , Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.
All of them are hanging on for dear life to their campaigns, struggling for traction against the party's front-runners -- New York Sen. Hillary Clinton Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.
Some people say it is lonely at the top. Well, what about the bottom?
"Folks, I know it's hard and it requires some patience. This thing is wide open," said Biden, who made some forceful comments on Iraq, Iran and Sudan on Sunday at a debate among the Democratic White House contenders.What about his 2 percent situation? "Our feeling is that as long as Iraq is the number one problem, whether it's New Hampshire or Iowa, we still have a major entree," said Biden's pollster, Celinda Lake.
There were no knockout punches in the debate, but each candidate's strategy was apparent. Clinton, as leader of the pack in the polls and in campaign financing, played it safe, talking of the need for a unified party on Iraq and directing fire at President George W. Bush.
Read full story here.
Giuliani, Edwards report income
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani reported a whopping $16.1 million in earned income over the past 16 months, most of it in speaking fees, according to financial documents filed Wednesday.
Democratic hopeful John Edwards reported earned income of $1.25 million, the biggest single source of which was a hedge fund that employed him part time. He and his wife, Elizabeth, reported $29.5 million in assets, including millions invested in the hedge fund — the Fortress Investment Group.
Giuliani’s report provides the first detailed picture of his vast holdings and income since his term as mayor of New York ended more than five years ago. Since then, Giuliani parlayed his image as an in-charge mayor during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks into lucrative speaking fees and business enterprises.
He reported $13 million to $45 million in assets, including his share in Giuliani & Co., a partnership that provides an array of consulting services. He also listed income from dividends and interest on many of those investments of at least $411,332 and as much as $3.3 million.
The reports were part of a flurry released Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission. The deadline for filing was Tuesday, though several candidates received 45-day extensions, including Democrat Hillary Clinton, and Republicans Mitt Romney, John McCain and Tommy Thompson. Republican Jim Gilmore asked for and received a 30-day grace period.
Giuliani hits some bumps in 2008 race
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After months of flying high in the 2008 White House race, Republican Rudolph Giuliani has hit turbulence over his support for abortion rights and his dip in some opinion polls.
Giuliani, the former New York mayor often praised for his leadership after the September 11 attacks, has been hammered by conservatives for his abortion stance and his tortured efforts to explain his long-held views in a debate last week.
The criticism grew with news that Giuliani donated in the 1990s to Planned Parenthood a leading provider of reproductive services, including abortion.
The controversies developed as national polls showed Giuliani’s once-substantial lead among Republicans shrinking in the early going leading to the November 2008 election. Polls in some key early-voting states showed him trailing top rivals like Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
“There are always going to be ups and downs for a front-runner — and Rudy is experiencing some of the downs,” pollster John Zogby said.
The conservatives who often dominate early Republican nominating contests have doubted Giuliani from the start because of his views on social issues, particularly his support for abortion rights.
He exacerbated those doubts at last week’s debate with an ambivalent answer to the question of whether the Supreme Court decision outlawing abortion should be overturned, saying it would be “OK” if it was repealed and also all right if it was upheld.
“I hate abortion,” Giuliani said. “But ultimately, since it is an issue of conscience, I would respect a woman’s right to make a different choice.”
FLOOD OF CRITICISM
His answers opened a flood of criticism from conservatives and prompted McCain, an abortion rights foe, to say a candidate who supported abortion rights would have a hard time winning the party nomination.
Republican consultant Rich Galen said Giuliani’s abortion stance was not necessarily a deal-breaker for Republicans.
“Most people are not single-issue abortion voters, no matter what McCain says,” Galen said. “Nobody has ever tested the idea that you can’t win the Republican nomination unless you are pro-life.”
Giuliani adviser Jim Dyke said the former mayor would talk more about abortion in coming weeks to make his views more clear. On the campaign trail, Giuliani often promises to appoint “strict constructionist” federal judges who will evaluate laws without legislating, and let them rule on the issue.
“You can’t fit it in a sound bite and you can’t put it on a bumper sticker,” Dyke said of Giuliani’s abortion position.
Giuliani’s once formidable lead in national polls, which reached 20 points or more over second-place McCain, has dwindled in recent weeks. A CNN poll released on Monday showed him with a 2-point advantage, although other polls give him a national lead of between 7 and 14 percentage points.
Most of the change came from Giuliani drifting back toward the pack rather than a rival charging ahead. Zogby said the silver lining for Giuliani was that none of the other nine Republican candidates were gaining strength.
“Even as Rudy’s numbers are going down, nobody’s else’s numbers are really going up on the Republican side,” he said. “There is still plenty of room for movement.”
Giuliani trails McCain in the crucial early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that are likely to have great influence over the race’s outcome. Giuliani trails both Romney and McCain in most New Hampshire polls.
“This is what you normally see in October or November of the year before a presidential election,” pollster Dick Bennett of American Research Group said. “Things are happening much quicker this year.”
Military experience rare among '08 field
The 2008 presidential race is long on war rhetoric and short on warriors. Despite the high-profile roles of the battle against terrorism and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the presidential campaign, few of the candidates can claim military experience on their resumes.
Of the top tier of 2008 candidates, only Republican John McCainhas been to war and served in uniform.
Yet, while the demand for a president with a military background might be expected to run high in the post-Sept. 11 era, few see that as a determining factor in the 2008 race. Read full story here.
How can we engage more people in the democratic process?
I will be asking questions to help create dialogue around this and many other important topics so please add me to your Answers Network so that we can begin exchanging ideas and hopefully make changes that will benefit the future.
Found this question by 2008 presidential race candidate Sen. Barack Obama in Yahoo Answers.
Obama pulls in $20M for 2008 presidential race
Democratic Senator Barack Obama reportedly pulled in 20 million dollars in donations for his White House campaign, only a few million shy of front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Citing unnamed aides of Obama, who seeks to become the country's first-ever African-American president, the New York Times said Obama brought in 20 million dollars (15 million euros) in the first three months of the race, compared to Senator Clinton's 26 million, "enough to ratchet up the anxiety in the Clinton camp."
Clinton reported the size of her war chest as of a key fund-raising deadline on Saturday, while Obama has yet to officially reveal his takings on the campaign trail. Read full story here.
Tommy Thompson to run for president
WASHINGTON - Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson on Sunday joined the crowded field of Republicans running for the White House in 2008 and proclaimed himself the "reliable conservative" in the 2008 presidential race .
Thompson, who was health and human services secretary during Bush's first term, also said he is the only GOP candidate who has helped assemble both a state and federal budget.
Since announcing last year he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to raise money and gauge support, Thompson has lagged behind better-known rivals. Read full story here.
Iowa's Vilsack endorses Hillary Clinton for 2008 presidential race
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who dropped his brief presidential bid last month, endorsed Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton's candidacy for the 2008 presidential race
"This is the person to be the next president of the United States," Vilsack said at a news conference with Clinton. "She is tried, she is tested and she is ready."
Vilsack said the endorsement was in part a result of the former first lady's fund-raising efforts on his behalf during his first campaign for governor in 1998.
"In politics, loyalty is a commodity that is rare," Vilsack said.
His endorsement is a boost for Clinton in Iowa, which traditionally holds the first contest of the nominating race. Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, leads a crowded Democratic field in national opinion polls but trails 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards in many Iowa polls.
Hillary 1984 video Web ad draws attention
It's guerrilla politics at its cleverest. The mysterious Internet video that compares Sen. Hillary Clinton to Big Brother is the boffo hit of the YouTube Web site.
The 74-second clip, a copy of a 1984 Apple ad for its Macintosh computer, has recorded more than 1 million views, with an enormous surge in the past two days.
View the controversial Hillary 1984 video .
While the video's final image reads "BarackObama.com," the campaign of the Illinois senator has denied being behind it.
Its creator remained anonymous.
But for political strategists, ad experts, even journalists, the ad presents a series of other fundamental unknowns.
_How will Web content outside the control of campaigns affect voters?
_How should campaigns react to anonymous but highly viewed attacks?
_When is Web content, no matter how provocative, newsworthy?
As the Internet looks more and more like an electronic community, politicians are increasingly devoting resources to their Web sites, planting themselves in electronic gathering places such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com and posting their videos on YouTube.
2008 Presidential Race Hopeful Edwards Takes Anti-Poverty Cause Worldwide
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards as made poverty eradication in the U.S. his central focus since 2004, when he first sought the Democratic presidential nomination and then ran as vice presidential running mate on the ticket headed by Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. The issue has remained his main rallying point as he seeks the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination for the 2008 presidential race.
But on Thursday- Edwards took his anti-poverty campaign international, calling for a systematic effort to tackle global poverty.
Edwards’ plan includes extending primary education around the world; improving preventive health care in the developing world, specifically focused on access to clean water; and creating economic and political opportunity, through microfinance for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and by building democracy.
The plan also calls for the establishment of a Cabinet-level coordinator for global poverty eradication efforts, which currently are spread out across some 50 government agencies, Edwards said.
The new plan comes atop domestic goals he already has outlined: ending poverty and building a “working society” by establishing universal health care, transcending global warming, creating a new energy economy and improving the education system.
Biden drives Net petition for Iraq bill
NEW YORK - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has launched an online petition drive to rally support for legislation he co-sponsored to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by next March.
Read full story here.
The internet is really becoming a very important tool for the 2008 presidential race.
2008 candidates maximize media exposure
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Call it the presidential candidates' striptease. White House hopefuls aren't willing to just declare they're running, but rather are flirting with the idea as long as possible. First, they show some leg with an exploratory committee, then plenty of skin with a pronouncement on a faux news program or a late-night show and finally they bare all with a ruffles-and-flourish formal announcement.
"I'm here today to announce that my family and I will make a decision on my political future later this year," Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) said at a much-hyped news conference Monday in his hometown of Omaha, Neb.
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) drew 17,000 people to Springfield, Ill., last month to formally announce a presidential campaign that had been up and running for nearly a month.
Republican John McCain (news, bio, voting record), who has been campaigning for president practically since George W. Bush won a second term — or more likely when he lost to Bush in 2000 — went on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" in February to say he is running. But don't confuse that with a formal announcement — that will come in April, McCain told Letterman.
"You drag this out as long as you can. You don't just have one rendition," the Arizona senator said. "This is the announcement preceding the formal announcement."
Why all the bumps and grinds before admitting what most of the country already suspects?
Discuss Washington electon videos.
2008 Democratic Presidential Primary: Clinton 38% Obama 26% Edwards 15%
The recent election 2008 polls from Rasmussen Reports national opinion survey of Likely Democratic Primary Voters highlights the stability of a campaign that has started well before most Americans want to think about it. Once again, New York Senator Hillary Clinton is on top, this week attracting 38% of the vote.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama is in second place with 26% of the vote, unchanged from a week ago. Obama and Clinton are essentially even among African-American voters. Clinton leads Obama by 15 percentage points among women and by 7 among men.
Former North Carolina Senator and 2004 Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards remains in third place with 15% support. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is a very distant fourth, with just 3% of the vote.
Discuss the recent 2008 election polls here.
source: yahoo.com
Sorry not so hard for John Edwards
Sorry seems to be the hardest word, unless you're presidential contender John Edwards trying to claim a top spot in the 2008 Democratic field.
While politicians campaign on their successes, the former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee keeps reminding people he was wrong to vote for the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing the war in Iraq.
Hahaha... Talk about gaining votes. Hope he's sincere.
Discuss John Edwards 2008 presidential race bid.
2008 Republican Presidential Primary: Giuliani Leads McCain by 15
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) continues to lead to pack of hopefuls for the GOP nomination. Support for Giuliani among those likely to vote in a Republican Presidential primary inched up to 34% this week following two straight weeks at the 33% level.
Arizona Senator John McCain (news, bio, voting record) (R) remains in second place, fifteen points behind the current frontrunner. With support from 19% of Likely Voters, McCain has picked up two points from last week.
Show your support to Mayor Guiliani in the 2008 presidential race.
Young Voters Outreach
The 2008 preisdential race candidates are geraed up to win the youth's crucial vote. With their Web logs, Facebook profiles and college rallies, the 2008 presidential candidates are lavishing attention on a group that displays unbridled enthusiasm early in the campaign but tends to lose interest when the voting starts.
Here's a sample of youth outreach efforts in the presidential campaign:
Republican Mike Huckabee: The former Arkansas governor, 51, has a Web site geared to young voters and will soon start a blog from his campaign travels. He also plays bass in a rock band, Capitol Offense.
Democrat Joe Biden: The Delaware senator, 64, has spoken at college campuses, bought full-page ads in college newspapers and used a variety of podcasts and Web sites to reach young people. "Part of it is built on celebrity," said spokesman Larry Rasky, "but it can also can be built on a passion for the issues."
Republican Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor, 59, is reaching college voters through campus GOP groups in Michigan, South Carolina and other key states as well as through online networks and Web sites with features such as Mitt-TV. "The governor stresses technology and innovation — that appeals to the crowd that grew up in the information age," said spokesman Kevin Madden.
Democrat Dennis Kucinich: The Ohio congressman, 60, doesn't just work the college vote — he visits high schools and junior high schools, too. He favors extending the right to vote to 16-year-olds. "I reach out to young voters and young voters reach out to me," he said. "They're doing it because of my strong stand for peace, my efforts to protect the environment."
Obama wants to change security funding
WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wants to change the government's formula for giving states money for homeland security, with the early voting states getting a little extra.
Obama wants states that have a bigger risk from the terrorist threat to get more of federal homeland security dollars — also a recommendation from the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks. That's an unpopular idea among lawmakers from smaller states who would lose funding on the switch. Read full story here.
What do you think of Obama's prosposal? Do you think its fair enough?
Be a campaign lobbyist for Senator Barack Obama on the 2008 presidential race.
The 2008 Presidential Race Candidates
Here's the list of those who officially announced that they're running for president and filed with the FEC.
Democrats
- Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (Campaign Site)
- Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut (Campaign Site)
- Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina (Campaign Site)
- Former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska (Campaign Site)
- Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio (Campaign Site)
- Senator Barack Obama of Illinois (Campaign Site)
- Former Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa (Campaign Site)
Republicans
- Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas (Campaign Site)
- John H. Cox of Illinois (Campaign Site)
- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York (Exploratory Committee)
- Representative Duncan Hunter of California (Campaign Site)
- Former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts (Campaign Site)
- Michael Charles Smith of Oregon (Campaign Site)
Libertarian Party
- Steve Kubby of California (Campaign Site)
- George Phillies of Massachusetts (Campaign Site)
- Christine Smith of Colorado (Campaign Site)
- Doug Stanhope of Arizona (Campaign Site)
source: wikipedia.org
