Latest Poll Shows John Edwards in making strides

The announcement of John and Elizabeth Edwards has put Edwards in the favor of the American public with many of them saying they like Edwards. Since early in the month Edwards has garnered 4% more of the American vote than before giving him 13%. So I must say that John and Elizabeth are really campaigning hard to sell themselves to the American people on the issues that many candidates aren't discussing such as healthcare, education and poverty. It is time for the domestic issues in America to be addressed and John Edwards is my choice for a change in America. Therefore I encourage everyone to vote for John Edwards for President in 2008. He has the plan and the vision for change.

Critical errors, but no criminal wrongdoing in Tillman death

Officers, including 4 generals, responsible for ‘series of mistakes’ in reporting of death

Four generals and five other officers in Cpl. Pat Tillman’s chain of command were responsible for “a series of mistakes” in reporting his friendly fire death, and their actions will be reviewed by a top Army officer, officials announced Monday.

However, an investigation by Army Criminal Investigation Command found that Tillman’s death was an accident, and there was no evidence of negligent homicide or aggravated assault.

“We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family,” Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren said. “I apologize to the Tillman family, but words are not sufficient.”

Tillman, 27, an Army Ranger, was killed April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan. An Afghan soldier fighting alongside Tillman also was killed, and two U.S. soldiers were wounded in the incident.
Shortly after he was buried, the Army informed Tillman’s family that contrary to initial reports that he was killed by enemy fire, members of his own unit mistakenly gunned him down in the midst of a chaotic burst of combat.....

Iran must not turn 'blind eye' to UN: US

The United States and its partners on Monday pushed for a peaceful end to the dispute over Iran's nuclear programs, as Washington warned Tehran against turning "a blind eye" to its obligations.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino stressed that "there is no intention of going to war with Iran" even as she scolded the Islamic republic for saying it would curtail its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog agency.

"We would urge them not to go down that road," Perino told reporters after Tehran announced that step in retaliation after the UN Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to widen sanctions on Iran over its atomic ambitions.

The measures, agreed after days of behind-the-scenes bargaining, block all Iranian arms exports and freeze the overseas assets of 28 additional officials and institutions linked to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.....

Vilsacks to co-chair Clinton campaign

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack pledged today to campaign for Hillary Clinton for president, becoming the first former presidential candidate to endorse any of the remaining hopefuls."

Hillary Clinton has been tried and tested like no other candidate for president," Vilsack said, with Clinton looking on, during a midmorning news conference in Des Moines. " She is prepared to run a tough race and to win that race."

Word had been circulating that an endorsement of Clinton by the former governor since late last week.

Today, Clinton confirmed it during a live broadcast of Good Morning America from Des Moines, naming Vilsack a national campaign co-chairman.

"There is much that I admire in the record that Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack have compiled here in Iowa," Clinton said at a news conference with Vilsack and his wife Christie outside Greenwood Elementary School in Des Moines.....

Former Iowa Gov Vilsack Backs Clinton’s White House Bid

New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was endorsed for president on Monday by former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a former White House hopeful who hails from the politically vital state that will kick off the 2008 presidential nomination process next January.

Vilsack, who withdrew from the Democratic presidential race last month, endorsed Clinton at an event in Des Moines, the Iowa state capital.

“She is tried, she is tested, she is ready,” Vilsack said, according to a video excerpt of the event that was on the Web site of WOI-TV, the ABC affiliate in Des Moines.

Vilsack reiterated his support for Clinton’s campaign in a fundraising e-mail message. He wrote that he and his wife Christie — a prominent Democratic activist — would work over the next 10 months “helping Hillary win the Iowa caucuses and the other states necessary to win the Democratic nomination — and after that, the White House in 2008.”

“I am proud to do it because of all the candidates running, she has the best ideas, the most energy, and the values and vision to lead our country in the right direction after eight long years of George W. Bush,” Vilsack wrote.....

Justice official to plead the Fifth before Senate panel

A Justice Department official will refuse to answer questions during a Senate committee hearing on the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself, her lawyer said Monday.

In a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monica Goodling's lawyer said she would not testify because senators have already decided that wrongdoing occurred.

"The public record is clear that certain members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have already reached conclusions about the matter under investigation and the veracity of the testimony provided by the Justice Department to date," John Dowd, Goodling's lawyer, said in a letter to the committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont.

The letter said Goodling learned that a senior Justice Department official blamed her and other Justice Department officials for any misleading statements he had made to one of the Democratic senators who has pushed for answers about the firings, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.....

John Edwards, Wife Discuss Cancer On '60 Minutes'

When John and Elizabeth Edwards announced this past Thursday that her breast cancer had returned and spread to her bones, and that his presidential campaign would continue, they sparked a national discussion about the choices involved.

At this stage Elizabeth's cancer is incurable and treatment doesn't always prolong life. Was it the right decision to stay in the race? Can John Edwards run for president and care for his wife and family, a family that has already suffered the death of a son more than a decade ago? Can John Edwards be president without being distracted by his wife's illness?

Those are some of the questions 60 Minutes correspondent Katie Couric asked the couple this weekend after a campaign event in Las Vegas....

Senate fight on Iraq withdrawal looms

The Senate could vote as early as Tuesday on whether to follow the House's lead and impose a deadline for troop withdrawal from Iraq.

A $122 billion emergency spending bill that the senators are considering this week sets a non-binding deadline of March 2008 for pulling combat troops out of Iraq.....

Gonzales feels heat from GOP senators

Three Republican senators joined Democrats on Sunday in saying that the credibility of Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales had been badly undercut by his confused and seemingly contradictory statements on the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

"He has said some things that just don't add up," Senate Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "The attorney general has been wounded. He's going to have to come to the Senate to reestablish his credibility."

Gonzales is to testify before the committee April 17 — an appearance that Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the panel's top Republican, called a "make-or-break situation for him."

"Look, we have to have an attorney general who is candid and truthful," Specter told NBC's "Meet the Press." "And if we find he has not been candid and truthful, that's a very compelling reason for him not to stay on."

The comments from Graham, Specter and Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska weren't the only criticisms from the GOP side of the aisle on Sunday. Even Republicans who are normally strong administration supporters questioned the way the Justice Department had dealt with the situation, though they stopped short of directly criticizing Gonzales.

"It is a fact that it hasn't been handled well," Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) told "Fox News Sunday."

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), formerly the Judiciary Committee chairman, said on CNN's "Late Edition," "Let's be honest about it: The Justice Department has bungled this attorney thing."

It is unusual for an administration to fire a group of prosecutors that it appointed. Gonzales has said the eight prosecutors were dismissed for "performance-related" reasons rather than because of political pressure from Republicans or the White House, as critics allege....

Presidential Hopefuls Speak Up on Prosecutor Dismissals

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has become a lightning rod for criticism amid revelations over the Department of Justice’s handling of the dismissal of eight U.S. Attorneys and whether political considerations played a role in their purging.

Gonzales, the nation’s top law enforcement official and President Bush’s former White House counsel, has come under fire primarily from Democrats but also from some Republicans for the firings. Gonzales has acknowledged mistakes in communication but said his department did not retaliate against the federal prosecutors for political reasons.

Some Republicans have noted that the 94 U.S. Attorneys are political appointees who serve as the pleasure of the president — as does Gonzales, who has Bush’s confidence. But Democrats say the Justice Department abused the process by firing federal prosecutors who had strong performance reviews — and they reject claims from the Justice Department that the prosecutors were let go because of poor execution of their duties.

Among the announced and potential candidates for the 2008 presidential election, response to the controversy has ranged from calls for Gonzales’ resignation to more cautious statements that calls for his resignation are premature and that the controversy needs to be fully investigated.

It is not surprising that several Democratic hopefuls — already strongly opposed to the Bush administration — have called for Gonzales’ resignation.....

March Madness in Detroit Part 2

For those of you, who don't know what I am talking about in terms of Detroit Public Schools closing. Then let me put it like this. Many of the same schools slated to close are some of the same schools that the money for the district went toward to remodel and where much of the new technology for the district went toward. However if you don't believe me and want to investigate for yourself than clearly do your own research. Ask the teachers who work in Detroit Public Schools, how many years did they either not get a raise or take a pay cut for the district. Ask the principals how many pay cuts have they taken since the school district was taken over by the state. Clearly before the state took over DPS, we were in a $1 billion surplus. Now a couple of years after the takeover, we are in a deficit because the ramifications that the takeover had on our school system.

Something in the books just ain't right for so many schools to be closing and so many people have lost their jobs over the years as well as so many people taking pay cuts except for those people who work downtown in the school center buildings. Why hasn't anyone downtown taken a pay cut? I am so glad that the FBI is coming in to audit DPS and I hope the City Council, our school board and other elected officials in Lansing encourage more of an audit into what really has happened to the $1 billion surplus the school district had back in 1998 until now, the deficit that we have. Don't tell me about Lansing not giving us any more money is the fault for the deficit. The deficit has been around way before now and its about time that the mismanagement of children and the funds that were suppose to go toward the children of the city of Detroit is accountable for. Before the take over, our kids still couldn't read and write and during the take over, drop out rates increased and our test scores got worse resulting in our kids continuing to not read and write.

While I do say parents need take more of a responsibility in our school system. However you can't accuse the fact that their should be some people going to jail right now. Kenneth Burnley, David Addama, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpartick, former Michigan Governor John Engler, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, former School Board Takeover President Freeman Hendrix, former CEO and Chief Financial Officer William Coleman and a list of others should all be held accountable for what they did to Detroit Public Schools. If we don't seek the truth now than we will never know what really happened to the $1 billion surplus the taxpayers of the city of Detroit passed for the school system. We need answers and we need results and the best way for it is to audit than sue the state and all those who played a role in the mismanagement and mishandling of Detroit Public Schools funds.

The time for change is now and the time for action must start with us.

Bong hits 4 students' free-speech rights

A federal case involving an Alaska student's free-speech rights touches on issues that hit close to home here. As the New York Times reported this weekend, Joseph Frederick unfurled a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during an Olympic torch procession in 2002.

It was off school property, though during school time, and principal Deborah Morse ordered him to take it down. He refused, she tore it down and suspended him, so he sued. Morse objected to the sign's apparent advocacy for marijuana. Frederick said it was simply taken from a snowboard slogan to be "meaningless and funny" for the TV cameras - a typical teen prank.

This seems to be much ado about very little, but it has reached the Supreme Court as a test of previous court rulings over the rights of school administrators to limit student speech when it conflicts with the school's "educational mission." Those principles were in play in our area with a recent flap over an article in a student publication at Princeton High School critical of the school's football program.

Whether you think a student ought to or should be allowed to advocate drugs, even in apparent jest and even away from school, is one thing. But the government here is arguing something far more sweeping - that administrators have the right to ban virtually any speech that conflicts with the "educational mission," and that they have the right to define that mission as they wish.

As with too many First Amendment issues, the Bush administration is arguing to restrict rights. The so-called "religious right" supports Frederick, despite his sign's irreverent "Jesus" reference, because they are concerned, as counsel Jay Alan Sekulow writes, that public schools "face a constant temptation to impose a suffocating blanket of political correctness upon the educational atmosphere."

That's a valid concern. Schools pay lip service to diversity, but that doesn't always extend to diversity of opinion or ideology. Education is not homogenization.

Bong hits 4 students' free-speech rights

A federal case involving an Alaska student's free-speech rights touches on issues that hit close to home here. As the New York Times reported this weekend, Joseph Frederick unfurled a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during an Olympic torch procession in 2002.

It was off school property, though during school time, and principal Deborah Morse ordered him to take it down. He refused, she tore it down and suspended him, so he sued. Morse objected to the sign's apparent advocacy for marijuana. Frederick said it was simply taken from a snowboard slogan to be "meaningless and funny" for the TV cameras - a typical teen prank.

This seems to be much ado about very little, but it has reached the Supreme Court as a test of previous court rulings over the rights of school administrators to limit student speech when it conflicts with the school's "educational mission." Those principles were in play in our area with a recent flap over an article in a student publication at Princeton High School critical of the school's football program.

Whether you think a student ought to or should be allowed to advocate drugs, even in apparent jest and even away from school, is one thing. But the government here is arguing something far more sweeping - that administrators have the right to ban virtually any speech that conflicts with the "educational mission," and that they have the right to define that mission as they wish.

As with too many First Amendment issues, the Bush administration is arguing to restrict rights. The so-called "religious right" supports Frederick, despite his sign's irreverent "Jesus" reference, because they are concerned, as counsel Jay Alan Sekulow writes, that public schools "face a constant temptation to impose a suffocating blanket of political correctness upon the educational atmosphere."

That's a valid concern. Schools pay lip service to diversity, but that doesn't always extend to diversity of opinion or ideology. Education is not homogenization.

Senator Insists Bush Aides Testify Publicly

The Democratic senator leading the inquiry into the dismissal of federal prosecutors insisted Sunday that Karl Rove and other top aides to President Bush must testify publicly and under oath, setting up a confrontation between Congress and the White House, which has said it is unlikely to agree to such a demand.

Some Republicans have suggested that Mr. Rove testify privately, if only to tamp down the political uproar over the inquiry, which centers on whether the White House allowed politics to interfere with law enforcement.

But Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, seemed to rule out such a move on Sunday. He said his committee would vote Thursday on whether to issue subpoenas for Mr. Rove as well as Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, and William K. Kelley, the deputy White House counsel.

“I do not believe in this ‘We’ll have a private briefing for you where we’ll tell you everything,’ and they don’t,” Mr. Leahy said on “This Week” on ABC, adding: “I want testimony under oath. I am sick and tired of getting half-truths on this.”.....

Kilpatrick lays to rest a white lie and sets stage for progress

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's State of the City address Tuesday night struck the perfect chord for Detroiters.

The predominantly black population of Detroit still holds an unhealthy distrust of many white leaders. When Gov. John Engler said the city's schools were a disaster and ordered mayoral control with state oversight, howls of protest resulted.

Now that Kilpatrick has laid out the city's problems and some solutions, including charter schools, we may have a starting point for reversing the trend that sees half or more of Detroit's students dropping out before they graduate from high school.

This development is a recipe for failure in life, and yet the message has not gotten through. A stronger police presence in schools to discourage a lawless atmosphere will aid teachers in educating youngsters.

In addition, Kilpatrick's endorsement of charters and promotion of specialty nursing schools will give parents and students more school and career development options..............

Detroit missing from Granholm's map

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was speaking the hard truth when he told Detroiters, "Nobody's coming to save us."

While most listeners took that as a rallying call for self-reliance, it might as easily be read as resignation to the reality that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has no inclination to ride to Detroit's rescue.

The governor has been a stranger to Detroit since last fall's election, even though the overwhelming support of Detroit voters helped carry her to victory. When Kilpatrick delivered his finest speech as mayor Tuesday night, Granholm was in Germany; a year ago -- an election year -- she was in the Orchestra Hall audience for the State of the City address.

Kilpatrick says he and Granholm are still in synch. But in an editorial board meeting with The Detroit News, he couldn't resist drawing the comparison between how he's aggressively attacking Detroit's structural budget deficit with innovative approaches to government and tax cuts to stimulate growth, while Granholm is doing, well, nothing.

In his speech, the mayor boasted of Detroit carrying Michigan on its back as it moves toward revival. It wasn't so much a taunt as it was a challenge to the governor that if she's not willing to lead the state out of this crisis, he will. Somebody has to...............

March Madness in Detroit

When will America realize that its most important commodity is suffering. March is the time of year when madness truly breaks out but not on a basketball court. I say this because only in America particularly in a city called Detroit, Michigan will people sit back and allow up to 100 plus schools to be closed where new computers, equipment and renovations have taken place totaling up to well over 10 million plus dollars. Where are the marchers, the rallies and the the protests. While the school district of the city of Detroit seeks to find a new Superintendent or hires one. The board of education needs to really have an audit of what really happened to the 1.5 billion dollars and than sue the state of Michigan for mismanaging funds which ultimately led the city's school system to its demise. Better yet, let's take it a step further and sue the current and former legislators who sponsored as well as helped pass the bill such as Detroit's current Mayor Kwame Kilpartick. Yes, I know people like to always say its the mayor's fault but in this case, it is his fault because while he was in Lansing, he helped draft and sponsor the bill that led to the Detroit Public School takeover. Our own legislators turned yellow coat on us and that's how Detroit Public Schools got taken over.

However, 8 years later, Kwame is in the mayoral office and our school system is worse off than it was before the State Takeover. In fact, instead of a surplus, we are in a deficit now with schools slated to close in order to save the district money rather than first having people take a pay cut down town. I think if teachers and principals have had to take pay cuts than why can't the people downtown working in the school center buildings take pay cuts. It's March Madness for real in Detroit if they think that the best solution to saving the district money is to close schools rather than take pay cuts downtown than they are truly mad.

Enough is enough

I am tired of the media just talking about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama like they are the only two running and the only two people American voters are going to vote for on the Democratic ticket. Let me start to set the record straight by saying that are time the Presidential election rolls around their are favorites like in any other race but once the dusk clears, we will see who is still standing. Thus while the media continues to only give media attention to two, a third horse might emerge and win the Democratic Party Presidential nomination.

Voting

I'm going to say this...as long as an individual votes that's alright with me but some people think that if you vote for someone who loses an election than your vote was wasted. However people have to understand that in any competition there are winners and losers. I have won and lost campaigns and even worked on some that have resulted in wins and loses, however I have learned from each experience. You can't truly win anything until you experience defeat because if you win all your life than you won't know what adversity feels like. Thus by not knowing what adversity feels like than how can you recover after the first time of losing something.

Simply put, I hope everyone votes in every election and I don't care who you vote for. Just vote and make sure your vote counts by simply exercising a right that many Americans don't exercise.

State your Point!

Just recently I had a email conversation with a guy who claims to have a PhD in political theory and comparitive politics, telling me that I should vote for Barack Obama. Don't get me wrong I like Barack, however I don't know his domestic or foreign policies yet to support his bid for the Presidency. However if Barack has this guy working for him than I will never vote for him because he tells people to vote for Barack cause he's black and that's all or that Barack wants to pull the troops out of Iraq. Well not all Americans want the troops pulled out in a swift and quick fashion that could harm America's status in the world especially in the Middle East.

So the next time people want to tell me why to vote for a certain candidate please have reasons that are good and valid and showcase a little bit of knowledge about the candidate stands for on healthcare, education, college tuition and other things besides just the war in Iraq.

Bush Notes Frustration in Gulf Coast Recovery

President Bush acknowledged on Thursday that many Gulf Coast residents remained frustrated with the slowness of rebuilding after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but said, “Times are changing for the better.”

On a trip inspecting new housing rising from the rubble in Mississippi and Louisiana, Mr. Bush visited homeowners, met local officials and promised to speed the recovery of areas flooded 18 months ago by the hurricanes.

It was Mr. Bush’s 14th trip to the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005.

At his first stop in New Orleans, Mr. Bush had lunch with state and local officials at Li’l Dizzy’s Café on the outskirts of the French Quarter. In brief remarks before the meal, Mr. Bush noted concerns about the rebuilding delays.

“I fully understand that there are frustrations, and I want to know the frustrations,” he said. “To the extent we can help, we’ll help.”

Earlier in Long Beach, Miss., near Gulfport and Biloxi, Mr. Bush joined Gov. Haley Barbour in a walking tour of houses that had been rebuilt with help from the federal government under the Community Development Block Grant program.

Though some members of Congress from both parties have said the federal government should do more to accelerate the recovery, Mr. Bush said he was impressed and inspired by the progress he saw.

But at a meeting with local officials in Biloxi, he said: “I fully understand that there’s still work to be done. There’s a continued frustration with the slowness of federal response at times.”.....

John McCain, once a folk hero, bombs prime time

So I was chatting with this old-guard conservative pundit about life, love, and the sorry state of the Republican Party, when he started talking about Senator John McCain's now infamous January 21 appearance on "Meet the Press". You know the one: where the ordinarily feisty McCain looked grim and pasty and sounded suspiciously like he'd downed one too many of whatever it is they dose Laura Bush with before she makes her glassy-eyed public appearances.

Anyway, said conservative noted that when you read the transcript of the segment, McCain doesn't come off so badly. It's only when you actually see the senator in action (or lack thereof) that the phrase "death warmed over" leaps to mind. He compared it to the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960, where radio listeners gave Nixon a slight edge while TV viewers overwhelmingly favored JFK. Unfortunately, Mr. Conservative informed me with an air of casual authority, this points to a larger problem for McCain, which is that the senator doesn't wear makeup for media appearances because of his history of recurrent skin cancer.....

General Is Fired Over Conditions at Walter Reed

The two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center was relieved of command on Thursday, following disclosures that wounded soldiers being treated as outpatients there were living in dilapidated quarters and enduring long waits for treatment.

The officer, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, a physician and a graduate of West Point, was fired because Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey “had lost trust and confidence” in his ability to make improvements in outpatient care at Walter Reed, the Army said in a brief statement.

The revelations about conditions at the hospital, one of the Army’s best-known and busiest centers for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, have embarrassed the Army and prompted two investigations, several Congressional inquiries and a rush to clean up the accommodations for outpatients, where residents lived with moldy walls, stained carpets and other problems.

A series of disclosures published prominently in The Washington Post about the living conditions, the red tape ensnarling treatment and other serious problems have challenged the notion promoted for years by the Army, especially since the war in Iraq, that wounded soldiers receive unparalleled care at Walter Reed.....

House Democrats try again on Iraq

House Democrats on Wednesday continued to work on a compromise plan for the Iraq war that would try to bridge differences within the party after backing away from legislation that would set conditions on war funding.

On Tuesday night, Democrats met behind closed doors to work on the plan, which attempts to strike a balance between rank-and-file members who want to cut funding as a way to end the war and others squeamish about appearing to be turning their backs on U.S. troops.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, a close confidante of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, had been pushing to withhold some of the president's $93 billion war request unless U.S. troops had the proper training, equipment and required time back on U.S. soil between deployments.

But House Democratic leaders announced after a caucus meeting Tuesday night that they would instead couple the war funding with a requirement that the administration either meet standards for U.S. troop readiness or sign a waiver and explain to Congress -- and the American public -- why those standards were not being met.

Democratic leaders said the goal of the legislation, which has not yet been written, is to put the onus on the president, hold the administration more accountable and end the days of troops going into battle without the proper equipment.

Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emmanuel, D-Illinois, said the objective is to "raise the bar of accountability." Emmanuel said the proposal would ensure that "the administration is held accountable as well as the Iraqi government."

I'm gaining ground, Castro tells Chavez phone-in

Fidel Castro chatted on the phone with the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, for 30 minutes in a live broadcast early yesterday, the first time the ailing Cuban leader has spoken publicly since emergency surgery forced him from power in July.

"I'm gaining ground. I feel I have more energy, more strength and more time to study," President Castro said, speaking slowly but confidently during a relaxed conversation broadcast live on Venezuelan radio.

The conversation formed an apparently unscheduled highspot of President Chavez's regular chatshow, Aló Presidente, and was accompanied by video footage of the Venezuelan leader's last visit to Mr Castro's sickbed in Havana in January. Cuban television later interrupted its nightly news programme to broadcast the exchange.

The Venezuelan leader broke into English at one point to ask: "Fidel, how are you?" The Cuban leader, 80, barely missed a beat before replying "very well", to applause and laughter from the studio audience.

The telephone encounter was reported extensively on the websites of Spanish newspapers yesterday, complete with video and audio coverage.

It seems that the Cuban leader took the initiative to call President Chavez, who sounded surprised to receive an on-air call from Havana. "You don't know how happy we are to hear your voice and know that you are well," Mr Chavez said......

McCain launches White House bid

The US Senator, John McCain, has announced that he will officially enter the race to be the Republican candidate for the presidency in 2008.

Mr McCain confirmed the news in a TV interview, to be shown on Thursday.

He formed an exploratory committee last November and since then has been making public appearances throughout the US.

But in recent weeks the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, has widened his lead as the favourite candidate among Republicans.

Mr McCain, 70, made the announcement during a pre-recorded interview for CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," which will be broadcast on Thursday evening.

"I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States," he stated.....

Chicago Mayor Could Set Record in Office

Poised to surpass the tenure of his legendary father and become Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley said he's not obsessing about his legacy.

"Once you start worrying about legacies, you start making decisions to make your legacy," Daley said after trouncing two little-known challengers to win a sixth term Tuesday. "You get too caught up in this, 'I have to write a book, I'm worried about my legacy, I'm worried about maybe a movie, a documentary.' I think it's not worth it."

Shaking off questions about a City Hall corruption scandal, Daley coasted to victory in the nonpartisan election over Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown and William "Dock" Walls, an aide to the late Mayor Harold Washington.

With 96 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, Daley had 311,417 votes, or 71 percent of the total, while Brown had 86,964 votes, or 20 percent, and Walls had 38,012, or 9 percent.
"I think my dad would be very proud," Daley said.

Daley will have served 22 years as mayor at the end of this latest term. His father, Richard J. Daley, died in office after serving 21 years.....

Senate Democrats Have a Plan to End the War

Finally Senate Democrats are trying desperately to end the war in Iraq and now they feel they have the right plan to do so. Only time will tell but as for now let's see what the Senate Democrats have come up with. I really want to know what will work now that didn't work two weeks ago when a vote to discuss the war failed.

Vilsack to End Presidential Bid

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will end his 2008 Presidential Bid because of lack of money. He says he wasn't able to raise enough money to continue to pursue the Democratic Party Presidential Bid. Vilsack was already a long shot to win the Democratic Party nomination but in a field full of Goliath, Vilsack was perhaps the best David to perhaps overcome all the odds and pull out a victory. However Vilsack enjoyed his run and doesn't look at it as a failure but as a stepping stone to other future aspirations.

Democrats To Propose Legislation Limiting Scope Of Mission In Iraq

Determined to challenge President Bush, Senate Democrats are drafting legislation to limit the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq, effectively revoking the broad authority Congress granted in 2002, officials said Thursday.

While these officials said the precise wording of the measure remains unsettled, one draft would restrict American troops in Iraq to combating al-Qaida, training Iraqi army and police forces, maintaining Iraq’s territorial integrity and otherwise proceeding with the withdrawal of combat forces.

The officials, Democratic aides and others familiar with private discussions, spoke only on condition of anonymity, saying rank-and-file senators had not yet been briefed on the effort. They added, though, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to present the proposal to fellow Democrats early next week for their consideration.

The plan is to attempt to add the measure to anti-terrorism legislation that scheduled to be on the Senate floor next week and the week following......

The Clintons and the vast left-wing conspiracy

The "two for the price of one" sales pitch for Hillary Rodham Clinton holds dangers for her presidential campaign in 2008, as a nasty commentary on the former first couple by an ex-Clinton Hollywood supporter so vividly illustrated.

Sen. Clinton, the Democrats' presidential frontrunner, has so far avoided a direct reprise of the 1992 Bill Clinton slogan. But she has talked positively about the impact Bill Clinton could have on her presidency, especially in foreign affairs. And Bill Clinton recently signed a fundraising appeal in which he said he looked forward to campaigning with his wife, noting how the pair had defeated "time and time again" attacks from "Washington Republicans" in the 1990s.

Bill Clinton is a net positive in his wife's campaign because he remains so popular among Democrats and independents and because he has one of the sharpest tactical minds in American politics. That's why it was a surprise when Clinton's rival, Barack Obama, did not back away from the harsh assessment of the Clintons by one of Obama's big-name supporters, Hollywood movie producer David Geffen.

Geffen had a falling out with Bill Clinton over pardons the president made — and didn't make — as he left office in 2001. It was Geffen who indirectly reprised the "two for the price of one" Clinton slogan — but in a decisively negative light. Geffen told New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd that the public is tired of the "Clinton royal family" and that Hillary Clinton comes with so much baggage — her husband included — that she would be the easiest Democrat for Republicans to defeat in '08.....

Flirting with Obama risks Clinton's wrath

The message to donors: Don't play the field


As she watched a stream of A-list Hollywood actors and movie moguls crowd into the elegant ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel to mingle with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama this week, powerhouse blogger and author Arianna Huffington noted that many in the room were uneasy about being there.

"It's like being married, and suddenly you fall in love. You're a good person, and a loyal person ... you have a history with the Clintons,'' she said. "And you feel like you're cheating.''

If some Democrats have cheating on their minds, it coincides with the rise of Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, who has attracted big crowds and evidenced that elusive quality of political charisma, "something you cannot manufacture,'' Huffington said. "It is priceless -- and we haven't seen it for a long time.''

And that has posed trouble for the old love: Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator, front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 2008 and the wife of former President Bill Clinton.

Hillary Clinton, who is scheduled to attend a lunch fundraiser in San Francisco today, expected in her presidential campaign to tap the same liberal Democratic sources of money in Hollywood and elsewhere that backed her husband's successful bids for the White House. And, Huffington and others say, the Clintons tend to play a style of politics that is all or nothing -- you're my friend or my enemy......

Is America Ready for a Female or African American President?

In my drama class yesterday, my professor asked this question and many students responding saying no America isn't. It's funny because majority of my class is female and they are African Americans. So I shocked as well as amazed to hear this but its sad to think that many youth of today female American isn't ready for either a female or African American President. Why isn't America ready for such a combination of leadership? Why does gender or race have to factor into a job?

While my classmates might be right in terms of America not being ready, I beg to differ because I feel if we as youth of today and tomorrow work to change the perception that is currently out there than we will make a difference toward achieving success. Race and gender should not be a reason for someone not to get elected to a job, instead we need to work to speak to people about the qualities of an individual and the things that they have accomplished in life in order to bring about a better America.

If we as individuals continue to think the way we think than will we ever get ahead in America.

Hillary Rodham Clinton To Visit L.A. Thursday

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Los Angeles Thursday to conduct a series of fund-raisers for her presidential campaign, one day after a former ally's criticism sparked a dispute between her campaign and that of Senator Barack Obama.

DreamWorks SKG co-founder David Geffen made sharply critical remarks about Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

"Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling," Geffen said.

Geffen's comments prompted the Clinton campaign to issue a statement calling for the Obama campaign to return the money it received through Geffen's fund-raising efforts.Geffen and his DreamWorks SKG co-founders -- Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg -- hosted a reception Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton that raised $1.3 million to the Obama campaign.

"If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money," Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson said.

Geffen stated that he has no formal role with the Obama campaign. He added that his comments were quoted accurately and "reflect solely my personal beliefs regarding the Clintons."

The Obama campaign said, "We aren't going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once of their biggest supporters. It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when he was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln Bedroom."

At a candidates' forum in Nevada, Clinton said, "I want to run a very positive campaign, and I sure don't want Democrats of the supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction."

Geffen split with the Clintons in 2001 after Clinton pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich and declined Geffen's request to give one to American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, convicted in 1975 of killing two FBI agents, but whom supporters say was wrongly convicted.....

Clinton-Obama feud goes public

The campaigns of Democratic presidential candidates U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton clashed at a Nevada political forum.

The Washington Post reported that what had been a quiet feud became public after remarks by producer David Geffen, a backer of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and a major Democratic fundraiser, appeared in a Maureen Dowd column in The New York Times. Geffen criticized Clinton, D-N.Y., for failing to apologize for her 2002 vote to use force in Iraq. "It's not a very big thing to say 'I made a mistake' on the war and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can't," Geffen said.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson issued a statement calling on Obama, D-Ill, to return a portion of the $1.3 million Geffen raised Tuesday at a California fundraiser, the Times reported.

"While Senator Obama was denouncing slash-and-burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband," Wolfson said.

The candidates tried to steer clear of the fighting. Obama was not at the forum. "I think we should stay focused on what we're going to do for America," Clinton said.....

Prince Harry Looking Forward to Proving Himself in Military

The Third in Line to British Throne Will Ship Out to Iraq in April

The British Ministry of Defense announced today that Prince Harry would be sent to Iraq in the next rotation.

Although British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Wednesday that Britain would begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, more than 5,000 soldiers will stay.

Harry's unit is expected to ship out in April, and Harry will serve his tour of duty in the southern city of Basra, becoming the first British royal in 25 years to see military action.

Since Prince Harry enrolled at Sandhurst Military College, people have been asking: Would the Brits really send the third in line to the throne, the queen's beloved grandson to Iraq?

Harry himself always knew the answer.

"If they said, 'No, you can't go to the front line,' I wouldn't have dragged my sorry a— through Sandhurst," he said..............

Clinton vs. Obama

Isn't it a little too early for both camps to be exchanging words. After weeks of hearing that they are not against each other but this was simply going to be a clean primary amongst Democrats, the gloves have clearly come off now. You might ask why, well reportedly, its about whose giving money to who now. A former Clinton supporter has decided to back Obama with huge amounts of money and not Hillary Clinton. Clearly this made the Clinton camp angry and now both sides are exchanging words amongst each other, which I do a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago when Obama officially announced he was running is that the Democrats might just defeat themselves in 2008. With Obama and Clinton going for the Democratic Presidential nomination, they as well as the other Democrats involved in the race, will practically spend all their money to just try to get out of a primary battle which could give the Republican Party an advantage in the General Presidential race in 2008. Time will tell all but clearly the war of words between the Democratic Party top two candidates is something to watch and listen to.

Barkley supporting Obama's White House bid

Former NBA star Charles Barkley told CNN Tuesday he is supporting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, for the Democratic presidential nomination, but said neither him nor Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York will likely be elected president.

"I am going with Sen. Barack Obama," Barkley told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I like him a lot. I respect him. I really think he'd make a fantastic president."

But Barkley, who is black, questioned whether the American people are ready to elect either an African-American or a female to be the next commander-in-chief."

I do not think they are ready for it," Barkley said when asked whether he thought Americans would vote for an African-American to be president. The former NBA star also went on to say he did not think Americans would vote for a woman.

"That's why I don't think Sen. Clinton can win, either.""But that's why I say the next two years, America's going to really get a chance to show their true colors if they can look past Barack being black or [nor] Clinton being a woman," he added.

-- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Dobbs: Will the Democrats save their souls?

The battle for the soul of the Democratic Party is under way. And the outcome of this battle will likely not be determined by any one of the rising number of candidates for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, but rather by the Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill.

The House of Representatives passed important legislation designed, at least politically, to focus on the needs of our middle class, beset by stagnating wages, failing public education, destructive so-called free trade policies, skyrocketing health care costs, out-of-control illegal immigration and the soaring price of higher education.

So in Congress' self-proclaimed first 100 hours, speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered on her promise to have the House pass bills raising the federal minimum wage, cutting interest rates on student loans and helping bring down the cost of prescription drugs. But none of that legislation has passed the Senate.

The ascension of the so-called Lou Dobbs Democrats in the November election gave hope to many that our representatives and senators were awakening to the need to represent the largest single group of voters in the country, 150 million working men and women and their families. The reality is, however, corporate America and special interests still dominate our legislative and electoral process.

A successful Democratic candidate running for his or her party's nomination is as dependent as any Republican seeking the nomination of his party, and $100 million is the price of the ticket. Who has the money? Corporate America and Wall Street, of course.....

Clinton, Obama Trade Barbs Over Donor

The rival presidential campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama traded accusations of nasty politics Wednesday over Hollywood donor David Geffen, who once backed Bill Clinton but now supports his wife's top rival.

The Clinton campaign demanded that Obama denounce comments made by the DreamWorks movie studio founder, who told New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd in Wednesday's edition that Sen. Clinton was ambitious and polarizing and her husband "reckless."

The Clinton camp also called on Obama to give back Geffen's $2,300 contribution.

Aides to Obama refused and spokesman Robert Gibbs fired back.

"We aren't going to get in the middle of a disagreement between the Clintons and someone who was once one of their biggest supporters," Obama communications director Robert Gibbs said. "It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when he was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom."......

Who-bama? Let's explore hype

This is a very thought provoking and interesting article that I felt needed to be shared!

Ask the nearest 20-something listening to Muse, and they'll tell you that the next president is going to be Barack Hussein Obama.

The senator himself suggests this is a foregone conclusion, stating his rivals in this race are not the other candidates or even the opposing party but cynicism. Has anyone told Mr. Obama that the last junior senator Democrats ran for president didn't lose to "cynicism"?

But Obama has something that Sen. John Kerry never did: genuine excitement and electricity. And it's nearly two years before the election. Unfortunately, it's easy to be excited about an unknown commodity, since consumers simply fill in the gaps themselves.

What do Americans really know about Barack Obama?

Raised by his white mother, he identified with his absent father's African heritage in his early teens. Obama introduced himself to the world at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. There he declared that there was no black America or white America, only the United States of America, a surprising sentiment from a liberal Democrat who has championed traditional affirmative action and stated that he believes race should be a factor in academic and employment considerations.

In his new book, "The Audacity of Hope," Obama quietly crosses party lines and advocates a shift toward universal (race-irrelevant) programs, reminiscent of the Gingrich Congress and Bush governorships of the 1990s. These are not the only Republicans the senator recalls regarding civil rights. After announcing his candidacy for president, he gave a nod to the first GOP president, Abraham Lincoln, also from Illinois..........

Eisenhower, Too? Were There More Than 5 'Black' Presidents?

I came across a website discussing whether or not there were 5 Black Presidents in the United States or not already. So I hope you guys check it out and let me know what you think about what they are saying.

America's greatest president?

What better day is there than President's Day to have a discussion about which U.S. president was the greatest of them all? Despite the fact that the Oval Office has seen its share of mediocrity over the last couple of centuries, America has also had some brilliant leaders. For me, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were the first to come to mind. However, while both made indelible contributions, particularly in the areas of crisis management and civil rights, their time in office was cut short by assassins' bullets, leaving us to speculate about what each would have accomplished had they been able to serve two full terms.

So, I've decided that my choice for greatest U.S. president would have to be Roosevelt. Both of them. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, and his cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our 32nd president. Yes, I bent the rules a bit and, yes, I even chose a Republican. Teddy, though, wasn't a true Republican in the conservative sense but rather a liberal reformer whose growing disillusionment with the party led him to abandon the G.O.P. and create his own National Progressive Party also known as the Bull Moose Party.

In addition to giving a voice to the ambitions of an emerging superpower, Teddy Roosevelt provided the vision that helped make this country great. Under his leadership, America began to flex its muscles in foreign affairs by building the Panama Canal and by negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War for which T.R. was awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize, the first American to be so honored. And though he stressed peace, Teddy cemented the United States' image as a global player by building up the Navy with his "Great White Fleet."

Yet what truly made Teddy Roosevelt a great man and ultimately a great president was his willingness to fight for the rights of the common man and to take on the "robber barons." As governor of New York, the job he held before President William McKinley chose him as his running mate in 1900, T.R. had pushed legislation to improve the conditions in sweatshops, bolster state inspection of factories and introduce the eight-hour workday. Just a few months into his presidency, which began after the assassination of McKinley in 1901, Teddy took measures to stop the growth of the huge, monopolistic corporations that had a stranglehold on the U.S. economy and kept a large percentage of the nation's wealth in the hands of a few. He called it the "Square Deal" and its principles influenced domestic policy until the 1980s when the Reagan Administration began eliminating social programs.....

Blair and McCain: A Double Blow to Bush

In the afterglow of the successful invasion of Iraq in July, 2003 — just when hints of an insurgency were beginning to simmer — John McCain praised outgoing Army General Tommy Franks for his stewardship of the war at a Senate hearing. Franks basked in the kind words, as did his superior, Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld, sitting alongside him. "I'll reserve any praise for Secretary Rumsfeld until he retires," the Arizona Republican said, triggering a laugh from Rumsfeld.

Well, Rumsfeld has retired. McCain isn't praising him, and Rumsfeld isn't laughing. ''I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history,'' McCain told 800 South Carolinians at a retirement community on Monday. McCain long complained during the war that the Bush administration had not sent sufficient troops to Iraq, but his Monday comments ratcheted up the criticism several notches. "We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement — that's the kindest word I can give you — of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war,'' he said. "The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously.''

McCain's blunt talk, coming atop the announced withdrawals of British and Danish troops from Iraq even as Washington dispatches more GIs, highlights the continuing erosion of the President's position. McCain is not only a war hero and a former POW; he is the ranking Republican on the Armed Services committee. The European pullouts have rendered the original coalition of the willing into an all-but-all-American show.

Australian criticizes Obama's Iraq policy

A day after Senator Barack Obama's announced he is running for President, he was quickly criticized by Australia's Prime Minister who is a friend of President George Bush. In fact he is more than just a friend but a huge ally of President Bush. Words have been exchanged between sides with Obama calling for Australia to send more troops to Iraq if you really want to talk about what's going in Iraq. Currently Australia only has appromiately 1,000 troops in Iraq compared to the United States having hundreds of thousands in Iraq. Therefore with words being exchanged between all sides, it is extremely important to understand why this has occurred. However I agree with Senator Obama on the issue that Australia needs to send more troops to Iraq if it really wants to start criticizing any strategy that America might have regarding Iraq.

A New Generation of Leadership

I never thought those words would resurface so soon. I say that because after spending so much time working on Harold Ford Jr. United States Senate campaign in Tennessee, I just didn't expect Senator Obama to use that phrase as he was announcing his candidacy to be President. Well I commend Obama for running, I am deeply shocked and amazed at least to say that he used the words, A New Generation of Leadership. It just brings me back to working day and night on a campaign that brought me so much hope as well as heartache than hope again. Therefore for all those who will work on Obama's campaign, don't ever g-i-v-e u-p, always believe, always believe that History can and will be made, some how, some way.

Kerry accuses GOP of stifling Iraq debate

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., blamed Republicans for squelching Senate debate on the Iraq war and warned that President Bush's plan for more troops in Iraq is a mistake.

"Another 21,000 troops sent into Iraq, with no visible end or strategy, ignores the best advice from our own generals and isn't the best way to keep faith with the courage and commitment of our soldiers," the Massachusetts Democrat said Saturday in his party's weekly radio address.

Kerry branded Bush's proposal for additional forces as "nothing more than the escalation of a misguided war."

The Pentagon is in the midst of implementing Bush's order to raise troop levels by 21,500, part of a plan to help quell sectarian violence in Baghdad.

The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, who has said he will not run for the White House in 2008, criticized Republicans for blocking Senate debate on Iraq.

The GOP stalled a Senate resolution backed by Democrats and several Republicans that expresses dissatisfaction with Bush's call for additional troops and sets benchmarks for the Iraq government.

The measure fell 11 votes short of the 60 required to move the debate forward.

"If there was a straight up-or-down, yes-or-no vote this week on whether the United States should keep up an indefinite presence in Iraq, it would be voted down," Kerry said.

The senator called on Congress to take stronger action to end the war.

Obama makes 2008 bid official

With an appeal to his generation to "transform this nation," Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said Saturday that he's running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama made his announcement outdoors in frigid temperatures to a cheering crowd at the Old State Capitol, where his hero Abraham Lincoln said in 1858 that "a house divided against itself cannot stand."

It was here during his tenure as a state senator, Obama said, "that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people — where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America."

Obama took the stage hatless to the U2 song City of Blinding Lights with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5. "I know it's a little chilly, but I'm fired up," he said.

Obama, 45, who has been a U.S. senator for two years and served seven years in the Illinois legislature, acknowledged his inexperience."I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness in this, a certain audacity to this announcement," he said.

"I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."

It is time, he said, to end "the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics" and "take back" the government."

The time for that politics is over. It is true. It's time to turn the page, right here and right now," he said.

Obama joins a growing roster of Democratic candidates that includes New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee. Clinton made her first trip to New Hampshire in more than a decade Saturday. Obama will campaign in New Hampshire, host of the first primary election, on Monday.

Obama calls for new generation of leadership

Democrat Barack Obama launched his 2008 White House run on Saturday with a pledge to end the war in Iraq and bridge the partisan divide that has blocked political progress on issues from energy to health care.

"I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America," Obama, the only black U.S. senator, said outside the old state capitol building where Abraham Lincoln began his fight against slavery with a famous 1858 speech that declared "a house divided against itself cannot stand."

Obama, 45, a rising party star who would be the first black U.S. president if elected, told a cheering crowd of supporters who braved sub-freezing temperatures that the United States had overcome many difficult challenges, from gaining independence to the civil war to the Great Depression......

Obama: I'm running for president

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama formally entered the 2008 race for the presidency today, contending he has the experience to know that "Washington must change" and billing himself as the leader who will bring a new generational attitude to address the nation's challenges.

Speaking in a single-digit, morning chill and sunshine to thousands of supporters outside the Old State Capitol, the first-term Democratic senator delivered an address that built upon his biography as a community organizer in Chicago, state legislator and U.S. senator to call for quick action on issues ranging from bringing a close to the Iraq war to the need for health care and an end to foreign-oil dependence.

The historic announcement by the state's 45-year-old junior Democratic senator--launching a three-day wave of campaign events in Iowa and New Hampshire with a Chicago fundraiser in between--are heavily tinged in symbolism for the first black candidate with a realistic chance of obtaining the broad-based support necessary for securing a major party presidential nomination.

Using the home of Lincoln's 1858 "House Divided" speech as a backdrop, Obama frequently paid homage to the 16th president for using his will and words to bring a country divided by war together as one through the goal of freedom."

In the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States," Obama said......

Obama announces he's running

Illinois United States Senator Barack Obama has announced that he is running for President of the United States of America. He speaks of a new generation bringing Washington D.C. back to where it should be. He spoke of change and of hope but will all of that deliver him the Presidency in 2008. With the Democratic Party list of Presidential candidates getting thicker and thicker with Obama, Edwards and Richardson all announcing that they are running for President and possibly Hillary Clinton saying she's officially running in the next upcoming days, the race for 2008 will be heavily contested. No one is a shoe in although Hillary leads in the early polls. Obama's announcement in Springfield, Illinois came before a jam packed crowd of hundreds of thousands of individuals.

Who Is Barack Obama?

The Man the Public Loves to Love

Few politicians have ever been so adored with so little known about them as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Ever since Obama burst onto the scene at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he has been exposed and overexposed as the center of a media and public frenzy.

The details of his life make one want to know more — mom from Kansas, dad from Kenya, grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. He was the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review, and the name Barack means "blessed" in Swahili.

It's a flood of impressive and exotic detail that has turned the calm and charismatic senator into a potential legend in the making.

He's an impressive orator, wowing crowds with a message that matches the title of his best-selling book, "The Audacity of Hope.".....

Tony Snow Defends Nancy Pelosi Over Plane Request

President Bush's spokesman Tony Snow defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against an onslaught of criticism over her request to use a government plane to make a nonstop flight between Washington and her home district in San Francisco. Pelosi is entitled to use a military plane to fly to her district, but to get home without refueling would require a larger plane that Republicans are calling an extravagance.

The Pentagon agreed to provide Pelosi with a military plane to fly home for increased security after the 9/11 attacks. But former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican from Illinois, made his trips on a small commuter-sized Air Force jet.

However, that jet wouldn't be able to get Pelosi home without refueling. A non-stop flight would require the use of larger plane.

Republicans said the Democratic speaker made an unprecedented request for a gigantic "flying office," calling it too expensive and polluting.

"The jet that Pelosi has produces 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide an hour, far more than the previous speaker used," AP quotes Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., as saying.

Rep Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said taking a bigger air force plane "appears to remove any spending controls from our operations and dramatically increases our impact on the environment, especially climate change."....

Black voters still unsure about Obama

Recent Articles say Barack Obama isn't getting the type of support from the Black community that would help him secure the Democratic Party Presidential nomination. Many polls show Obama behind in polls to Senator Hillary Clinton where only African Americans are surveyed. Is this a sign of change amongst African Americans who are not just going to vote for a candidate because he's black but are really looking at the body of work and the issues the candidate stands on. Only time will tell so come tomorrow as many watch to see whether Senator Obama will announce he is officially running for President or not

Hillary is truly in it to win it

When Hillary Clinton announced she is running for President and she is in it to win it, I will skeptic at first because she only announced she was going to have a Presidential Exploratory Committee. However after weeks have gone back. Hillary has gone to Iowa to make strides in the political campaign and recently at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meetings, she delivered perhaps the most dynamic and influential speech out of all the Presidential candidates. Senator Clinton for the first time I can remember gave a speech that possessed charisma and showed a true spirit of passion. So now after much speculation, Senator Clinton is truly in it to win it. The speech she delivered and how the crowd responded, clearly she was the winner of the first round of campaigning as she out spoke and delivered a well better performance than Barack Obama and even my boy, John Edwards.

So when Hillary says let's start a conversation, I am willing to listen now more than before because it seems as if Senator Clinton is for real about being in this reace to win it.

House Democrats Set Framework for Iraq Vote

House Democratic leaders said today that the Iraq war resolution scheduled to be debated next week would be limited to President Bush’s plan to dispatch more troops to Baghdad, leaving any controversial decisions over war spending for a later discussion.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and other party leaders met with members of the Democratic caucus for more than an hour today to discuss the framework of the first major debate over Iraq since Democrats took control of Congress last month. The three-day debate is set to begin next Tuesday.

The leaders reassured Democrats that the nonbinding, symbolic vote against the troop buildup plan would be the first — not the final — expression of opposition to the war. A letter signed by 71 House Democrats urged the party’s leaders to take a stronger stance, including outlining a six-month troop withdrawal plan.....

Edwards keeps controversial bloggers

John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential candidate, is keeping his hired bloggers who, after what must’ve been a very sober talk with him, have promised they’ll be more temperate in their language than they were before they joined his campaign.....

Could Mrs. Edwards win the Presidency for John Edwards

After spending a moment with Mrs. Edwards and hearing from the many that adore and praise her, it seems that Mrs. Edwards has some political clout. Similar to the same clout that Hillary had when Bill Clinton ran for President. However some actually want Mrs. Edwards to seek office one day but for now she is content on being the First Lady of the United States of America. She speaks well and is very friendly and approachable which are key to any politican. Therefore if she decides to pursue a future political office, she might be able to pull off a possible political career.

GOP Losing Another PR War?

The day after Senate Republicans effectively blocked debate on an anti-"surge" resolution, some in the caucus are growing increasingly alarmed over indications that they are losing the public relations battle to the Democrats. The Los Angeles Times says that although Republicans continue "to insist...that they simply want a fair debate," by yesterday some Republicans were concerned "the public would misunderstand their stance." The Capitol Hill publication Roll Call describes a concerned Senate Republican leadership yesterday struggling "to shift their focus away from complaints about parliamentary procedure and onto which party is best supporting the troops." Republicans, adds Roll Call, "found themselves on the losing end of the public relations fight as they woke up to headlines across the country pinning the blame squarely on them. 'It doesn't matter what's going on the floor. It's all about media,' one senior GOP aide said Tuesday."

The Washington Times reports Senate minority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell previously insisted he won't "allow a vote on the resolution of no confidence" without a vote on two other resolutions. One, authored by Sen. McCain, "would endorse the 'surge' plan but set benchmarks for Iraqi self-governance." Another GOP-backed resolution, sponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg, "would promise not to cut funding for the war." By late yesterday, McConnell changed his position and "offered to allow the [Warner] resolution to go forward in exchange for a vote on the 'no funding cutoff' resolution only." But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, says USA Today, told McConnell "negotiations are over." And The Hill reports that as Senate Democrats "seek votes on capping troop numbers and funding for Iraq, they may use the pending bill on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission as a vehicle.".....

What does the word clean mean?

I never thought I would have to ask this question but since when does the word clean have a negative connation. Since when does saying someone is clean making it a racial or historically racially slur. Well last week when Senator Joe Biden referred to his fellow collague and possible Presidential opponent, Senator Barack Obama as being clean, many people in the media accused him of using clean in a negative way. Las time I checked clean meant someone is dressed well or that they are looking good.

I have never heard clean be referred to in an negative matter. So how is it that everone blow the word out of portion and accused Senator Biden of applying something that can't even be applied when using the word clean. Therefore for all of those who say that the word clean can be used in a negative way than I need you'll to look the word up and show me its negative meaning.

Now some might say that Senator Biden was referring to Senator Obama's past drug habitat. However I really don't think Senator Biden was applying such meaning to the word and I believe it was blow out of portion.

Thus here are some various definitions of the word clean:

1. Free from dirt, stain, or impurities; unsoiled.
2. a. Free from foreign matter or pollution; unadulterated: clean air; clean drinking water.
b. Not infected: a clean wound.
3. a. Producing relatively little pollution: a clean fuel; a cleaner, more efficient engine.
b. Producing relatively little radioactive fallout or contamination: a clean nuclear bomb.
4. Having no imperfections or blemishes; regular or even: a clean edge; a smooth, clean joint.
5. a. Not ornate or intricate; spare: “the clean lines and exquisite proportions of early modernism” (Judith Thurman).
b. Sharply defined; clear-cut: a clean outline against the sky.
6. Free from clumsiness; deft; adroit: a clean throw.
7. Devoid of restrictions or encumbrances: a clean bill of health.
8. Thorough; complete: a clean getaway.
9. Having few alterations or corrections; legible: clean manuscript.
10. Blank: a clean page.
11. a. Morally pure; virtuous: led a clean life.
b. Having no marks of discredit or offense: a clean voting record.
12. Fit for all readers, listeners, or audiences; not ribald or obscene: a clean joke.
13. Honest or fair: a clean fighter; a clean competition.
14. Slang.
a. Not carrying concealed weapons or drugs.
b. Innocent of a suspected crime.
15. Informal.
a. Free from narcotics addiction.
Showing no evidence of using banned or performance-enhancing substances: proven to be clean before the race.

The Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting

You wouldn't believe me unless I had pictures but I was able to meet 8 out of the 10 possible Democratic Presidential candidates. They all spoke to the crowd and I must say that Hillary Clinton gave the best speech out of all the candidates. She out spoke Obama and Edwards and if there was any doubt about her being charismatic than it got whipped away this past weekend. Also Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico got some thunder as well. Don't get me wrong the race for 2008 is just now heating up but no means is it over.