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Ron Paul Interview on FOX Business Channel 02/28/2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Today's Featured Election Videos on YouTube.Com
DNC Starts Publishing Daily Facts on John McCain
- On February 27, 2008 the DNC announced it would start publishing daily facts about John McCain.
- The first press release states that John McCain has benefited from qualifying for public campaign financing by using his qualification to gain ballot access in Ohio and Delaware as well as using the qualification to secure a loan to his campaign in November of 2007.
- The DNC states that:
"McCain also used the fact that he qualified for the matching funds process to
gain ballot access in Ohio and Delaware without having to spend the time and
resources to collect signatures." - The following are links to the official documents referred to in the DNC press release:
Application for Delaware Ballot
Related Posts:
How Many Skeletons Can $20 Million Find In John McCain's Closet?
Why Does the DNC Want to File a FEC Complaint Against John McCain?
Loan May Prohibit McCain from Exiting Public Campaign Financing System
John McCain Requests Withdrawal from Presidential Election Financing System
McCain Took Out $3 Million Loan to Finance Campaign
Huckabee Press Release Reports March 3rd Debate
A press release from Mike Huckabee's website stated that he accepted an invitation from Values Voter to debate John McCain and Ron Paul at the Marriott Riverwalk, 711 E. Riverwalk St. in San Antonio, Tex.- John McCain and Ron Paul's websites do not mention the debate nor does http://www.valuesvoterdebate.com/.
- The last Values Voters debate occurred in September of 2007. A straw poll after the debate revealed the top three Republican candidates as Mike Huckabee at 63% of the vote, Ron Paul at 12% and Alan Keyes at 7%.
http://www.valuesvoterdebate.com/
Related Post: Text of Huckabee Press on March 3rd Debate
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Obama Campaign Surpasses Goal of 1 Million Donors
Barack Obama's campaign website reported today that they had exceeded their goal of 1 million donors with 1,007,795 as of the latest check.
- His campaign blog says that "No other campaign has ever reached one million donors while still in a competitive primary"
Source:
Today's Featured Election Videos On YouTube.Com
Most Viewed Category:
Ellen DeGeneres visits Hillary Live!
Clinton Obama Cleveland Ohio Debate -Health Care Battle
Most Discussed Category:
GOODBYE HILLARY...(oh - and Good Riddance)!!!
How Many Skeletons Can $20 Million Find In John McCain's Closet?
Liberal groups led by MoveOn.org, Americans United for Change and the Service Employees International Union pledged to spend $20 million to go on the offensive against John McCain and other politicians who do not want to end the Iraq War immediately.- The money will be used for advertising, grass-roots organizing, and get out the vote efforts.
- With $20 million to spend it is hard to speculate which skeletons will come out of John McCain's closet.
- His Chelsea Clinton joke has already been reported. In case you hadn't heard, http://www.crooksandliars.com/, among many other websites has reported that John McCain told the following joke at a 1998 dinner:
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”
- There is also the USS Forrestal and his many other flying accidents, his letters to Barack Obama, as the International Herald Tribune reports "Before Obama was even born, McCain was shocking his uptight naval colleagues by bringing a stripper dubbed the "Flame of Florida" to the Officers' Club.", etc.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022502483_pf.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/03/america/letter.php?page=1
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/02/repreise-that-mccain-letter-to-obama.html
John McCain: An American Odyssey (Paperback)
Will Obama Win Additional Delegates After Los Angeles County Recount?
- LA County was the only county in California to use a ballot that required voters who did not declare themselves as Democrat or Republican to fill in two bubbles to vote for their candidate. One for the party and one for the candidate.
- This format was requested by the parties to keep track of how Independents were voting however, when voters did not fill in both bubbles the county's scanning machines could not record the vote.
- The Los Angeles County Registrar, Dean Logan, estimated that 25% of 190,000 ballots completed by voters who did not declare a party affiliation did not have both bubbles filled in out of approximately $1.8 million total votes cast in Los Angeles County on Super Tuesday.
- According to the AP Logan "said he can count ballots in precincts where there is no confusion between the two parties because independent voters asked exclusively for either Democratic or American Independent ballots. In addition, he can count ballots where a voter filled in a bubble that was reserved exclusively for a Democratic candidate."
- The count is expected to be complete the first week of March when the election results are due to be certified.
Source:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080226-1621-ca-independentvoters.html
Will Obama Win Additional Delegates After Los Angeles County Recount
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Vermont May Be Ron Paul's Best Chance to Win
- American Research Group's recent poll shows John McCain at 73%, Ron Paul at 11% and Mike Huckabee at 9% in the Vermont primary on March 4th.
- The Burlington Free Press reports that " if on-the-ground organization in the state was the sole factor in predicting success in the state's March 4 primary, Paul would be vying for victory with McCain. "
- Ron Paul has supporters going door to door and his campaign is running newspaper and radio ads throughout the state while John McCain has no staff working in Vermont.
- John McCain's Vermont campaign is reportedly being run from New Hampshire.
- It wouldn't be surprising if Ron Paul had a good showing in Vermont considering Ron Paul was formerly a Libertarian and Vermont was in the running for the "Free State Project"
- According to http://www.freestateproject.org/ "Vermont is among ten states being considered by the Free State Project. Members will vote on which state to target once 5,000 commitments have been received. "
Sources:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS01/802260308/1009/NEWS05
Mike Huckabee Makes 5 Campaign Stops in Ohio Today
According to the candidate's websites Mike Huckabee will makes 5 campaign stops in Ohio today to John McCain's one.- Huckabee's schedule shows him attending the following events:
9:00 a.m. ET Cleveland, OH Goes on private tour of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 751 Erieside Ave.
10:00 a.m. ET Cleveland, OH Holds media availability at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center Superior Room, 127 Public Square.
1:00 p.m. ET Columbus, OH Attends "Huckabee for President Rally" in the Delaware Room of the Hyatt Regency, 350 North High Street.
2:00 p.m. ET Columbus, OH Hosts media availability in the Delaware Room of the Hyatt Regency, 350 North High Street.4:30 p.m. ET Mason, OH Attends "Huckabee for President" Rally at The Great Wolf Lodge, 2501 Great Wolf Drive.
- John McCain will make his appearance at the Ohio GOTV rally in Cincinnati.
Sources:
Drudge Report Story: CLINTON STAFFERS CIRCULATE 'DRESSED' OBAMAThe following story appeared on the Drudge Report on February 25, 2008
The following story appeared on the Drudge Report on February 25, 2008:
CLINTON STAFFERS CIRCULATE 'DRESSED' OBAMAMon Feb 25 2008 06:51:00 ET
With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a "dressed" BarackObama. The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as aSomali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeasternKenya.
The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa. "Wouldn't we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it wereHRC?" questioned one campaign staffer, in an email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT. In December, the campaign asked one of its volunteer county coordinatorsin Iowa to step down after the person forwarded an e-mail falselystating that Barack Obama is a Muslim.Obama campaign manager David Plouffe quickly accused the Clinton campaign Monday of 'shameful offensive fear-mongering' for circulatingthe snap. Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams responds: "If Barack Obama'scampaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somaliclothing is divisive, they should be ashamed."
Developing...
EDITOR'S NOTE: Other leaders have worn local costumes:
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashoa.htm
Obama Robe/Turban Photo Backstory Plus.....
- On Monday, February 25th, the Drudge Report reported that "Clinton staffers" were circulating the following photo of Barack Obama:
- Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times was a part of the 2006 Kenya trip. She reports today that, "The picture was taken Aug. 27, 2006, midpoint of Obama's Kenyan Aug. 24-30 visit. The AP picture shows Obama wearing a turban and some garb over his sport shirt and khakis. The AP caption said Obama was "dressed as a Somali elder by Sheikh
Mahmed Hassan." - On Aug. 27, Obama made a sidetrip to the Wajir region of Kenya. He left Nairobi's Serena Hotel in the morning and boarded a military C-130 transport with a staffer, retired Air Force Gen. Scott Gration, an adviser, and military security personnel. He returned in the afternoon, where he toured Kibera, the notorious slum. The press traveling with Obama in Kenya -- I was one of the reporters -- did not go with him on the Wajir leg, told there were too many logistical challenges.
Gration was with Obama in Wajir. "I was along on that picture," Gration said. They were seeing a "community mobilization" in Wajir and during the course of this, Obama was given an outfit, and "as a great guest," he tried it on. Obama did "what any leader should do . . . accept the gift, accept the hospitality," said Gration." - In a BBC story today, "Yusuf Garaad Omar head of the BBC's Somali Service explains the meaning of the robes. These are the normal clothes that nomadic people wear. The head turban is especially used by elderly people as a suggestion of respect. It is something that has no meaning whatsoever in Somalia culture. If you see someone dressed like that in
Somalia, you think it is a nomadic person - that is all."
Obama Robe/Turban Photo Backstory Plus.....
Sources:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/812719,CST-NWS-sweet26.article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7265115.stm
Monday, February 25, 2008
Today's Featured Election Videos on YouTube.Com
Most Viewed:
shame on you mashup
Most Discussed:
Obama responds to Clinton
Hillary to Obama - Shame On You
Hillary Clinton blasts Obama campaigns
"hame On You Barack Obama!" - Hillary Clinton
Ralph Nader, An Unreasonable Candidate?
Ralph Nader, 73, announced his candidacy Sunday on Meet the Press. It is his fifth run for the Presidency having already run in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.- In his previous campaigns Nader has run as an Independent and as the Green Party nominee. It is unclear from his website if he will run as an Independent or have a party affiliation in this year's campaign.
- He said "You take that framework of people feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected," he said. "You go from Iraq, to Palestine to Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bumbling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts." "In that context, I have decided to run for president,"
- The home page of www.votenader.org asks "Which side are you on?" and then lists "corporate greed", "corporate power" and "corporate control" on one side and "people fighting back" on the other.
- So who is Ralph Nader? He was born to Lebanese immigrants whose native language was Arabic which Nader has spoken since he was a child.
- Ralph Nader graduated from Princeton University in 1955 and Harvard Law School in 1958 before serving 6 months in the US Army in 1959. The details surrounding his short stint in the Army are not readily available.
- He began his career as a lawyer in Hartford, Connecticut. Nader also lectured on History and Government at the University of Hartford between 1961 and 1963 before making the move to Washington, DC in 1964.
- He became a consumer safety advocate against the automobile industry. His efforts led to the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. This Act established the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Nader has founded many non-profit organizations and continues his activism for many diverse causes.
- In 2006 he starred as himself in the movie An Unreasonable Man (trailer can be viewed at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492499/trailers-screenplay-E30800-314)
Sources:
http://www.votenader.org/media/2008/02/24/nader-launches-presidential-bid/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader#_note-7
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492499/
Ralph Nader, An Unreasonable Candidate?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
John McCain Wins All 20 Votes in Puerto Rico Republican Caucus
- Puerto Rico, population 3,944,259, held its Republican caucus today, February 24th.
- In a February 20th letter to Puerto Rico Congressional Representative Luis Fortuno John McCain said that he would support Puerto Rico's decision to decide if it wants to remain a commonwealth, become a state or an independent country.
- 20 delegates were available and 20 votes were cast with John McCain receiving 100% of the vote.
- The Democratic caucus will be held on June 7, 2008.
Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/politics/elections/state?state=PR&ref=ipb
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rq.html
John McCain Wins All 20 Votes in Puerto Rico Republican Caucus
Why Does the DNC Want to File a FEC Complaint Against John McCain?
- The Wall Street Journal reported that the DNC will be part of a FEC complaint to be filed against John McCain.
- Howard Dean, the DNC Chairman, is quoted as saying “We are in this complaint to the FEC asserting that the senator and his campaign are still bound to the conditions by matching funds including the spending limits of approximately $56 million dollars,”
- The DNC's complaint is centered around John McCain's possible use of the public funds as security for a loan he obtained in November and his recent request to withdraw from the public financing system.
- One of the benefits of the public financing system is that it allows candidates to automatically be listed on ballots in states that may have more stringent requirements for candidates not using public financing, the major drawback is that it limits the amount of money a campaign can spend.
- To date, it is reported that John McCain has already spent $49 million and the cap imposted by the public financing system is reported to be between $54 and $56 million.
Related Posts:
Loan May Prohibit McCain from Exiting Public Campaign Financing System
John McCain Requests Withdrawal from Presidential Election Financing System
McCain Took Out $3 Million Loan to Finance Campaign
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/24/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3869913.shtml
Why Does the DNC Want to File a FEC Complaint Against John McCain?
Today's Featured Election Videos on YouTube.Com
Top Favorites:
Shame on you, Karl Marx-er-hillary clinton! (Be patient and listen to the entire video. It will answer the questions brought up in Obama's mailer as to whether or not Hillary is willing to garnish wages for universal healthcare)
Mike Huckabee on Weekend Update
Hillary's Living History Book Referenced in Obama's NAFTA Mailer
- In recent days Hillary Clinton has been criticizing campaign mailers sent out by Barack Obama's campaign. She was even quoted as saying "Shame on you, Barack Obama".
- The following is a link to an image of the NAFTA mailer: http://www.ohiodailyblog.com/content/obama-mailer-slams-clinton-nafta
- As you can see, the mailer references a 2006 Newsday article that said "Clinton thinks NAFTA has been a boon the economy".
- Newsday has been quick to say that this was not a quote from Clinton that it was the paper's "characterization of how we best understood her position on NAFTA, based on a review of past stories and her public statements."
- The mailer then goes on to quote a segment of a UPI story saying that "She even touted NAFTA in her own book" referencing what looks like page 291 in Living History.
- Clinton's complaints of the mailer do not mention the reference to her own book.
Sources:http://www.ohiodailyblog.com/content/obama-mailer-slams-clinton-nafta
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-qGLDs-gAnZiUXD2NU51ry3j3dwD8V0MLC80
Hillary's Living History Book Referenced in Obama's NAFTA Mailer
John McCain Wins All 9 Votes in American Samoa Republican Caucus
- American Samoa, population 57,663, held its Republican caucus yesterday, February 23rd.
- 9 delegates were available and 9 votes were cast with John McCain receiving 100% of the vote.
- The Democratic caucus which was held on February 5th received much higher participation with 284 votes.
- Hillary Clinton won the Democratic caucus with 57% of the vote.
Sources:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aq.html
http://abcnews.go.com/politics/elections/state?state=AS&ref=ipb
John McCain Wins All 9 Votes in American Samoa Republican Caucus
Mike Huckabee Saturday Night Live Video
Related Post:
Mike Huckabee to Appear on Saturday Night Live (includes video of Barack Obama's appearance in November of 2007)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Ron Paul Wins in Fundraising, Not in Votes
Ron Paul's campaign raised more money than any of his rivals in Washington and Wisconsin.- In Washington, Paul's campaign received $356,829 in funds out of the total $797,828 donated to all Republican Presidential candidates. His campaign received 45% of the money however, he only received 7% of the votes.
- Similarly in Wisconsin, Paul's campaign received $118,816 in funds out of the total $367,830 donated to all Republican Presidential candidates. Despite receiving 32% of the money he only received 5% of the votes.
- In the Maryland and Virginia primaries Ron Paul's campaign was second in fund raising to Rudy Guiliani and John McCain respectively. Once again, the campaign pulled in a significant percentage of the overall funds donated at 19% and 22% and then went on to receive 6% and 5% of the primary votes.
- To break it down ever further, Ron Paul's campaign received donations of $11.74 per vote in Washington, $6.19 per vote in Wisconsin, $10.97 per vote in Maryland adn $13.55 per vote in Virginia.
Seed Newsvine
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/primaries/states/wa/r/
Ron Paul Wins in Fundraising, Not in VotesClinton Campaign Snubs RI Superdelegate
- Rhode Island Mayor and Democratic Superdelegate David Cicilline may end his support of Hillary Clinton after serving as her state campaign chairperson.
- Mayor Cicilline has had a long standing contract dispute with the local firefighters union who threatened to protest any Clinton event the mayor attends.
- As a result Mayor Cicciline says he was contacted by national and local members of Clinton's campaign urging him to meet the firefighter's demands before Clinton's Sunday, February 24th rally and fundraiser.
- Unwilling to change his position with regards to the firefighters Mayor Cicciline says he then received a phone call from Clinton political and field director Guy Cecil who asked him not to attend the Sunday rally.
- Cicilline is quoted as saying: “It’s obviously something for me to think about very carefully, because I am very disappointed in the decision of the Clinton campaign. I’m not prepared to say more than that today. I obviously have tremendous respect for Senator Clinton, but I’m very disappointed in the decision of her campaign today,”
Sources:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004195582_aponthe2008trail22.html
http://www.projo.com/news/politics/content/CICILLINE_BARRED_02-22-08_FS93UHE_v8.38dfb05.html
Clinton Campaign Snubs RI SuperdelegateCarol Paul, Grandmother of 17 and Potential First Lady
Carol Paul, age 71, is the wife of Presidential Candidate Ron Paul.- Dr. and Mrs. Paul celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary in 2008.
- Carol is an alumni of Ohio University where she received her AD with a major in secretarial studies and a minor in home economics.
- According to Mrs. Paul's myspace.com page she was a twirler in the marching band, a member of the modern dance club and Alpha Xi Delta.
- She is also a grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of one.
Related Posts:
Michelle Obama, Harvard Law Graduate and Potential First Lady Cindy McCain, Potential First Lady and Former Drug Addict
Janet Huckabee, Cancer Survivor and Potential First Lady
Source: Mrs. Paul's page on http://www.myspace.com/
Friday, February 22, 2008
Loan May Prohibit McCain from Exiting Public Campaign Financing System
- This week Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason sent a letter to John McCain notifying him that his campaign will not be allowed to opt out of the public campaign financing requested for the primary campaign until he answers questions about a loan he obtained to help fund his campaign in the last quarter of 2007.
The FEC wants assurance that McCain did not use the promise of the public funds to obtain the loan a question that was raised by wording contained in the loan agreement from Fidelity Bank and Trust.
Among other things the loan agreement is reported to say that if McCain were to withdraw from the public financing system before the end of 2007 and lose the New Hampshire primary by more than 10 percent, he would have to reapply to the FEC for public matching funds and provide the bank additional collateral for the loan.
Even if McCain asnwers the FEC's questions regarding the loan favorably he still faces an additional to hurdle opt out of the public financing system. The Senate has not confirmed Bush's appointees to the commission so there is not a quorum of members to approve his request.
If McCain is unable to opt out of the public campaign financing his campaign will be limited to spending $54 million in the primaries, a limit the campaign is reported to be near.
Related Posts:
John McCain Requests Withdrawal from Presidential Election Financing System
Source:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jSgCX-MGmRepsojAyirvJbg2ZztAD8UUOVLO0
John McCain Questioned by FEC on Loan
Democrats Abroad: Selected Country Results
- Switzerland (location of the Democrats Abroard International Chair) - Obama received 71.8% of the votes to Clinton's 27.5%.
- Canada - Obama received 62.4% of the 2,236 votes to Clinton's 36.1%.
- Thailand - Obama received 69.4% of the 598 votes to Clinton's 28.3%.
- Ireland - Obama received 62.5% of the votes to Clinton's 36.5%
Related Post:
Democrats Abroad Deliver 11th Consecutive Win for Obama
Sources:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news_digest/US_Democrats_in_Switzerland_favour_Obama.html?siteSect=104&sid=8768860&cKey=1203677632000&ty=nd
http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/305931
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=126079
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/21/america/campaign.php
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0221/uselection.html
Democrats Abroad Deliver 11th Consecutive Win for Obama
- More than 20,000 U.S. citizens living abroad in 164 countries voted in the Democrats Abroad primaries in person, by mail and over the internet from February 5 through February 12th.
- Ex-patriots participated in the primary from 164 countries including Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Japan, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Philippines, Thailand, Switzerland, and Zambia.
- Barack Obama won the Democrats Abroad delegates with 65.6% of the vote. Of the remaining 34.4% of votes, 32.7% were for Hillary Clinton.
Related Post: Democrats Abroad Selected Country Results
http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/305931http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=126079
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/21/america/campaign.phphttp://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0221/uselection.html
http://www.democratsabroad.org/
[Democrats Abroad Deliver 11th Consecutive Win for Obama]Mike Huckabee to Appear on Saturday Night Live
- Mike Huckabee will appear in a skit on the first Saturday Night Live since the end of the writer's strike on February 23rd.
- The show will be hosted by Tina Fey and will feature musical guest Carrie Underwood.
While John McCain hosted the show in 2002, Barack Obama is the only other candidate to appear on Saturday Night Live this election cycle. - Barack Obama's November Appearance on Saturday Night Live:
Update/Related Post: Mike Huckabee Saturday Night Live Video