That may not be a surprise. The question is how valuable is Corzine's endorsement? Peter Woolley, a Fairleigh Dickinson University political science professor and pollster, told the Associated Press that the endorsement will reinforce Clinton's front-runner status.
Woolley may be right, but Corzine carries his share negative baggage. An ethics charge has been refiled against Corzine over gifts he gave a former girlfriend Carla Katz, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1034, the largest state worker union chapter. After Corzine broke up with Katz, he forgave a half-million-dollar mortgage loan he had given her. Corzine also may have paid her kids' tuition and helped Katz with other expenses.
This is more than a story about two lovers breaking up. As the governor and the president of New Jersey's biggest state employee union, the former lovers have been on opposite sides during contract talks covering 40,000 state workers. Their romantic and financial ties raise conflict-of-interest questions. According to the Associated Press the question is:
Are Corzine and Katz faithfully serving the people they represent? Or are they hopelessly compromised?
That's a "culture of corruption" question that needs to be answered.
U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo, one of the 24 prospective 2008 presidential candidates, isn't giving up his congressional seat. Election rules allow him to run for his House seat and the presidential primary at the same time. Tancredo said yesterday that he doesn't intend to decide between the two.
"I don't know that I won't run again, should things not turn out that I was president of the United States," Tancredo said.
Such hedging bothers me. I think these presidential wannabees should have to chose one or the other. What would be wrong with that?
In the rush to anoint former Senator Fred Thompson as the favored conservative 2008 presidential candidate, let it not be forgotten that Thompson voted for McCain-Feingold. Worse, according to Mark Salter, Thompson's efforts were crucial to the law's passage:
"If McCain-Feingold passes, it will not have happened if it weren't for Fred Thompson," said McCain's chief of staff, Mark Salter, on Wednesday evening.
Vilsack endorsed Senator Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination on Monday. Clinton spokesman Mark Daley said there was no connection between the fundraising and the endorsement:
"There was no quid pro quo," Daley said. "They have a long history and if she could be helpful she wants to be helpful."
The revelation that Hillary agreed to "help" retire Vilsack's debt isn't the only allegation of promises made to acquire endorsements for the Hillary juggernaut. Bill Shaheen, one of Clinton's New Hampshire supporters, disputes reports he was promised an ambassadorship in exchange for his endorsement of Hillary:
"Did she promise (an ambassadorship)? No," Shaheen said. "That's not how I work. I don't think Senator Clinton is thinking that far down the road and I would be disappointed if she was."
The Harris Poll finds 50 percent of U.S. adults would not vote for Hillary if she is the Democratic candidate for President. Even 21 percent of Democrats would not vote for her.
The New York Senator fares little better with independents - 48 percent say they would not vote for her, while 37 percent say they would.
Dislike of Hillary is personal. Those over 62 are more likely to dislike Hillary. Over half (54%) dislike her track record as a U.S. Senator and 60 percent feel the same about her track record as First Lady. Sixty-five percent of this group say they dislike Hillary's personal opinions and 61 percent dislike her as a person. More than half, 52 percent of respondents agree that Hillary does not appear to connect with people on a personal level, and this number is even higher among married women (53%), men (56%), those over 62 (68%), and Republicans (73%).
Things that happened during the Clinton presidency still hurt the Senator:
A plurality (45%) agrees that it is difficult to trust her because of Whitewater and other scandals in the Clinton White House, while 42 percent disagree. Similar numbers (44%) agree that her handling of health care in the White House raises questions about her ability and 34 percent disagree.
I'm sure there are many reasons not to put too much stock in these findings, but the last time I saw a Rasmussen Reports "Hillary Meter" only 39 percent said they would definitely vote against Senator Clinton if she is on the Presidential ballot in 2008. I'm also sure it's not wise of me to compare two different online polls from two different companies. Nevertheless, it does seem like quite an achievement when half of voting-age Americans say they are unwilling to vote for the current Democratic front runner.
You get to pick which candidates you find acceptable and which ones you don't to tally who has the largest net positive or net negative support. You can also choose which candidate is your first choice for the GOP nomination in 2008. If you are so inclined you can also provide certain demographic information such as your state, gender, and age bracket.
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will endorse Hillary for president on Monday.
Most of the remaining Democratic presidential contenders sought Vilsack's support after he withdrew from the campaign. This is a major coup for the Clinton campaign and will obviously improve Hillary's chances of doing well in the Iowa caucuses. Vilsack's endorsement might even help Hillary with those "unfair" objections, raised by left wing activists, over Hillary's vote to authorize military action against Iraq. Vilsack was among the most antiwar Democratic presidential wannabees. He called for Congress to cut off funding for the war and asked Iowa lawmakers to pass a resolution opposing President Bush's decision to deploy more U.S. troops in Iraq.
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will endorse Hillary for president on Monday.
Most of the remaining Democratic presidential contenders sought Vilsack's support after he withdrew from the campaign. This is a major coup for the Clinton campaign and will obviously improve Hillary's chances of doing well in the Iowa caucuses. Vilsack's endorsement might even help Hillary with those "unfair" objections, raised by left wing activists over Hillary's vote to authorize military action against Iraq. Vilsack was among the most antiwar Democratic presidential wannabees. He called for Congress to cut off funding for the war and asked Iowa lawmakers to pass a resolution opposing President Bush's decision to deploy more U.S. troops in Iraq.
Reuters reports John Edwards will suspend his presidential campaign, and may drop out completely, because his wife Elizabeth has suffered a recurrence cancer that struck her in 2004.
Citing a "Democratic Party source," Reuters says Edwards and his campaign had alerted some Iowa supporters of his decision. Edwards announced that his wife had breast cancer the day after he and John Kerry lost the 2004 presidential election.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards family. We wish Elizabeth a speedy recovery.
Rudy Giuliani has polled very well since he has made his presidential ambitions clear. In a recent Quinnipiac University poll Giuliani does well in blue, red and purple states beating Clinton 48 - 43 percent, Obama 47 - 40 percent and Edwards 48 - 40 percent. Much can and will happen between now and the November 2008 presidential election. The electorate is fickle, just ask President Bush and his father.
Can Giuliani maintain his momentum as the front runner for the GOP presidential nomination? Will he be able to overcome video's like the one below which will appear on countless blogs and other websites?
Giuliani has plenty going for him. He is the U.S. attorney who decimated the Mafia. He turned New York City around with tax cuts, welfare reform, and tough-on-crime action. He became "America’s Mayor" for his post-9/11 leadership. Is that enough to overcome Giuliani's pro-choice, pro-gun control, and pro-civil unions positions and win the confidence of conservatives?
My esteemed RedState colleague Hunter Baker writes that Giuliani was well received at the Conservative Political Action Conference after announcing that former Solicitor General of the United States Ted Olson had joined his campaign. Olson's endorsement may not be enough by itself, but there is more.
Two days ago, Louisiana's conservative first-term Senator, David Vitter, also endorsed Giuliani:
"Obviously, I disagree with Rudy on some significant social issues, and these are very important to me and to many of the people I represent," Vitter said. However, he said, after numerous meetings with Giuliani, "it's very clear to me that he's not running for president to advance any liberal social agenda."
Vitter also said that he is convinced that Rudy will appoint the best federal judges of all the major candidates. Giuliani added he would do everything he could to "appoint judges who would interpret the Constitution rather than execute their own social policy." Vitter will serve as the Giuliani campaign’s southern regional director.
Today Roll Call reports the fiscally conservative Club for Growth has kind words for Giuliani, while making the group's distaste for McCain clear.
So far, Giuliani has run a smart campaign. Aptly described by Richard Miniter as "I-am-who-I-am," Giuliani's campaign is embracing Giuliani's mayoral record, rather than trying to hide from it.
Will this be enough to overcome conservatives reservations about Rudy's warts? It's a good start, but I still just can't get past that image of Rudy endorsing Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo for reelection over George Pataki.
Is "pro-life," and believes federal judges should overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision as "bad law and bad medical science."
Opposes gay marriage, but would let states decide whether to allow civil unions. "Marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don't believe judges ought to come along and change that."
Opposes gun control, and praised last week's 2-1 federal appeals decision overturning a long-standing handgun ban. "The court basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that."
Supports President Bush's decision to increase troops in Iraq. "Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify things. I think we're doing that now," he said. "Why would we not take any chance, even though there's certainly no guarantees, to not be run out of that place? I mean, we've got to take that opportunity and give it a chance to work."
Would pardon former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice now, rather than waiting until all his appeals are exhausted. Mr. Thompson is a fundraiser for Mr. Libby's defense.
Thompson's positions appeal to conservatives, but do we need another senator in the race?
Ben Smith reports, President Kennedy speech writer and special counsel Ted Sorensen, endorsed Senator Obama and compared Obama’s presidential campaign to Kennedy’s:
“The campaigns are comparable,” Sorensen said in an interview after his speech, which was delivered to a closed $1,000-a-head fundraiser at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, and which left guests buzzing over what several said was an implied comparison to Kennedy. “They say he’s too young, he’s too inexperienced, his demographic is wrong to get elected. They’ve decided in Washington that he doesn’t have a chance. But the campaign isn’t going on in Washington. The campaign is going on in the grassroots.”
Sorensen also sharply rebuked legislators who voted to authorize the Iraq war, a group that includes Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards.
“Members of either party who authorized this disaster should be accountable,” Sorensen said. “[Obama] didn’t have to vote for it, and moderate his position, and come up with an alternate strategy . He didn’t have to come up non-binding resolutions and so forth.”
Sorensen suggested a campaign slogan: “Obama: Right from the start.”
For the left-wing it's all about ending the war. I still support winning it.
Thomas Jefferson, impersonated by August "Gus" Jaccaci, announced his write-in candidacy for president yesterday at Harvard University:
No stranger to political campaigns, Jaccaci ran as an independent for governor of Vermont in 1992 and 1994 while living in Thetford, collecting about 1 percent of the vote each time.
He plans campaign swings through New Hampshire, Iowa, and Nevada, all in character as Jefferson.
Romney has a plan to revive his Presidential campaign and become the Republican nominee for President:
Change the rules for the California Republican primary - let indepents vote. I thought this was McCain's plan.
Practice retail politics in California. California Republicans have changed the presidential primary to winner-take-all by congressional district. A statewide media buy is no longer required. Romney's TV ads can be targeted to certain congressional districts.
Spend, spend, spend. Romney is already airing TV commercials to raise his poll numbers which remain in the single digits. Contributors watch polls.
Clarify the differences between himself, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain - on issues and lifestyle. Exploit McCain's perceived vulnerabilities - McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy. Compare Giuliani's three marriages to Romney's marriage of nearly 38 years.
Score big in the straw poll in Ames, Iowa, on August 11. Again contributors watch polls.
Keep reminding the media about Giuliani's ex-police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, and Giuliani's business associations.
Minimize his own negatives - flip-flopping and being Mormon.
Be funny.
Anyone know where Romney can get a sense of humor?
On March 14, Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel will be one of three Republican and six Democratic presidential contenders to speak to the International Association of Fire Fighters. On March 28 Hagel will join six Democratic candidates speaking before the Building and Construction Trades Department, an alliance of craft unions.
There has been speculation that Hagel might run on a so-called fusion ticket. But at The RealClearPolitics Blog, Tom Bevan posts this quote from Senator Hagel:
Q: Would you give any consideration to running as an Independent? HAGEL: Well, if I seek the Presidency, I would seek it as a Republican. Where all this is going to go and how it ends up next year, whether that's possible for an Independent to be elected President, maybe. Maybe it would be. But, right now, I'd be focused on seeking the Republican nomination.
Hagel plans to make his long-awaited announcement about his political future on Monday. He has scheduled a news conference at 10 a.m., two days before he is scheduled to appear at the International Association of Fire Fighters' annual meeting.
Will he run for president, reelection to the Senate, or retire? I say he is going to make a presidential run.
A blood clot was discovered in Vice President Dick Cheney's left leg Monday. Cheney visited his doctor after feeling minor discomfort in his calf. An ultrasound showed the blood clot - a deep venous thrombosis - in his left lower leg.
This is a serious medical condition that could be fatal if left untreated:
Blood clots that form deep in the legs can become killers if they break off and float into the lungs. This is called a pulmonary embolism. Deep vein thrombosis strikes an estimated 2 million Americans each year, killing 60,000.
The good news is that the condition, when treated properly constitutes a relatively small threat. Vice President Cheney will be treated with blood-thinning medication for several months. The vice president may not be going on another nine-day trip that requires 65 hours of flying any time soon. Other than that Cheney should be fine.
The Vice President returned from the doctor's office and continued his work day. His spokesperson says he feels fine and will maintain his regular schedule.
This isn't an unpredented situation. President Richard Nixon also suffered from deep-vein thrombosis when he was in office.
Eagleton represented Missouri in the Senate from December 1968 through January 1987.
Senator Eagleton was George McGovern's original running mate in 1972, but resigned as the Democtrats' vice presidential nominee after it was revealed that he had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment and had twice undergone electroshock therapy for depression.
Romney flooded the convention with college-aged campaign workers — paying many of their registration fees and even busing some of them in and paying for their hotel rooms, according to a report in The New York Times — wearing blue Romney shirts, carrying posters for their candidate, and voting in the straw poll.
There are some interesting tidbits available about the CPAC attendees self-identification and how they voted.
Attendees who identified themselves as concerned primarily with reducing the size of government supported Romney and Giuliani essentially equally — 21% and 20% respectively.
Attendees concerned with "traditional values" preferred Brownback with 29% followed Romney at 22%, while Giuliani and McCain were tied at at 8%.
Giuliani led among national-security conservatives with 25% of their vote, followed by Mr. Romney with 21%, and Mr. McCain at 18%.
Giuliani is a highly acceptable second choice for those supporting other candidates. On a ballot combining attendees' first and second choices for the 2008 Republican nomination Giuliani came out on top:
What does it all mean? Your opinion is as good as mine or that of anyone else. Remember that the poll is unscientific and there is still a year to go before the first 2008 primary votes are cast. Nevertheless, the straw poll results will help the top tier raise money - the life blood of the 2008 campaign. Other than that, the results provide bragging rights for the candidates and fodder for political junkies like us to ponder.
Here's my two cents on that score. Romney and Brownback get points for doing what was necessary to do well in the straw poll. Brownback can now be moved beyond the also rans, but continues to have difficulty with security voters for not supporting the revised Iraq strategy. McCain's campaign is in serious trouble and avoiding CPAC was a huge mistake. He should have attended and made his case.
Presidential wannabee, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, told a crowd of 350 at Dartmouth yesterday, that he'd impeach President Bush:
Speaking about foreign policy in Iran, Biden declared his intention to impeach the president if he started an unjustified war with Iran.
How could there be an unjustified war against a nation which is not only a charter member of state sponsors of terrorism, but has been sanctioned by the United Nations for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, and never misses a chance to state that there is nothing anyone can do to make the Iranian Mullahocracy give up its nuclear ambitions?
Now, as she tries to become the nation's first female president, she wants to be known to supporters simply as Hillary.
According to CanWest News Service, this is an attempt to cash in on her celebrity and differentiate "Hillary" from Bill:
The first-name-only strategy is being viewed as an attempt by Clinton to develop a national political persona independent of her husband, the former president, while also elevating her to equal status alongside mononymic entertainment icons such as Oprah, Madonna and Bono.
"There are very few people in our popular culture universe who are defined by one name -- Cher, Oprah, Madonna. If you are up in that stratosphere, like Hillary Clinton is, why not play to your strength and exploit that for all its worth?"
There must be a huge investment in polling and focus group crap behind this informalization Nevertheless, it all seems a little too Prince-like for me.
