Ex Iowa Congressman Endorses Obama

In a bit of local news, Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of Jim Leach last week. Leach, a former congressman from Iowa and Republican announced his support of Obama. Leach is one of a group of Republicans supporting Obama with their Republicans for Obama group. The move for those like Leach and former Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island mark an interesting phenomenon this election. It must be said that the two men were moderate to liberal Republicans when they served, but what has driven some to switch to Obama? His ideas and policies seem to run antithetical to what Republicans stand for. Leach apparently appreciates Obama's non-ideological approach and his sense of bi-partisanship. The reality seems to counter the fantasy world that these people inhabit. Obama is a typical liberal and his future policies depict this reality. People may want change but becoming mesmerized by messianic figures is not the answer.
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No Bullets Over Bosnia

Like wife like husband. The former first lady came under fire, pun unintentional, as she tried to explain her recent remembering of her trip to Bosnia back in the 90’s. Hillary’s remembering, or misremembering, brought new criticism to this candidate for President. She and her surrogates tried to put out the fires and create an air of innocence about Senator Clinton’s remarks. The remarks were simply a bad choice of words; the problem is that she made similar remarks more than once. When considering her comments one must suspend belief, to borrow a phrase from Hillary, to think that she did not know what she was saying. The problem comes in deciphering whether she had simply come to believe the fantastical rendering of the story. After all we have a case history ripe with similar examples by Hillary’s husband, our former President. We can think of those words uttered by George Costanza, “It is not a lie if you believe it.” It is safe to assume that anything coming from a Clinton’s mouth is believed at least by them.

Fast forward a few weeks later and what has been the result? Hillary was able to win in Pennsylvania and more recently in Indiana and West Virginia. Obama has won the North Carolina primary. Both look to split the last remaining primaries which finish up on June 3rd. Hillary’s route to the nomination is realistically non-existent but she is unwilling to give up the fight. Tides have turned for the inevitable candidate who months ago looked like a sure bet. She has been bested by the young upstart who has survived missteps and guilt by associations. The latter involving Obama’s relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack’s pastor for over twenty years, and William Ayers, a radical Weather Underground member. Now Barack Obama enjoys 1st place in all statistical categories, popular vote, pledged and superdelegates.

The turn of events has been quite amazing to watch. As someone very interested in politics, I have found it fascinating to watch the Democrat’s race. You have on one hand a young, inexperienced legislator who has been on a quick ascension course to the point in which Barack Obama finds himself, a general election away from being President. This has come with his supplanting of Hillary Clinton, part of the dynamic political power couple that has dominated Democrat politics since the early 90’s. This comes after the realization that Hillary Clinton will not win her party’s nomination. No matter how much her and her supporters wish to make it not so, her chances appear as plausible as the camel finally making its way through the eye of the needle. I will say I side with those wishing for Senator Clinton to fight on and keep the contest going. My motives being ulterior, I hope to see the chaos that radio show host Rush Limbaugh has set in motion.

Part of these feelings comes from my high disregard for what Democrats have come to stand for. The other in the realization is that my Republican party is in real trouble this fall. We face a fracture of our own party as conservatives have not fully embraced John McCain. This support will be needed as the tides appear to be turning, one would only have to see the results of the recent special elections to reach that conclusion. Unity might come grudgingly or not at all as McCain and those around him seem to enjoy the occasional poke in the conservative eye. Some might come to the decision to stay home and avoid this election which will have huge ramifications. These center around a President Barack Obama with an increased majority and control of Congress.

Apart from the main narrative of this election, that being Barack Obama winning the nomination, I see another. We may finally have seen the last of the Clintons. I know that seems hard to believe as they are creatures drawn to Washington D.C. and power like moths to a flame unable to remove themselves from its shiny glow. I see it as unlikely that Obama would call on Senator Clinton to become his running mate. The reason being you get all the negatives for little in return. Clinton’s only hope is an Obama loss in November so she can regroup for 2012. But for now Hillary Clinton goes on to fight another day in a fruitless endeavor. Hillary may have many regrets after reflecting on this campaign. Beginning with Super Tuesday and her manipulation of the facts of her rendezvous in Bosnia, Hillary’s campaign has had trouble contending with their inevitable billing that preceded the campaign season. Comparing Bosnia with her campaign, Hillary encountered no bullets that day and she now finds herself with an empty chamber shooting blanks.

Mitt Romney to Endorse McCain

NBC News is reporting that Mitt Romney will endorse John McCain. An announce is expected at 4 p.m eastern.

Obama and McCain Make it Clean Sweep

Potomac primary proved positive for Barack Obama and John McCain. Barack Obama continued his sweep last night winning all three Democrat contests in, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Likewise, John McCain run all three contest on the Republican side holding off Mike Huckabee. The night was particularly good for Barack Obama as he continues his winning streak over Hillary Clinton. The count for him is now 21 states to her 10. He is expected to be strong in the next round of contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii. Clinton has all but officially established Texas and Ohio as her firewall against Obama's momentum.

Delegate Count

Democrats
Obama
Pledged Delegates-1004
Total Delegates-1144

Clinton
Pledged Delegates-925
Total Delegates-1138

Republicans
John McCain-724
Mike Huckabee-234

Courtesy of www.realclearpolitics.com

Fight Still Left in Huckabee

Mike Huckabee apparently did not get the memo that he was not going to win the Republican nomination for President. But despite that he continues his campaign against John McCain, the all but officially declared nominee. Huckabee was able to perform admirably this past weekend winning two out the three contests. The former Arkansas governer was able to win in Kansas, Louisiana, and lost a closely contested contest in Washington. It appears for now that John McCain's official coronation will have to be put on hold for awhile. Republicans are now in the process of trying to unite the party around John McCain, this is more difficult with reservations about McCain by conservatives.

Clean Sweep For Obama

Barack Obama had a good weekend. Obama won every contest over the weekend including, Washington, Nebraska, Louisiana, Maine, and the Virgin Islands. Obama will try to take his momentum into today's contests. Today is the Potomac showdown, the crab-cake contests, or whatever label you want to put on Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Hillary Clinton has suffered through a string of embarassing losses. She has announced that she has made a change at the top of her campaign. Patti Solis Doyle, now the former campaign manager, will be replaced by Maggie Williams, a former aide to Clinton when she was first lady. Despite Obama's run of victories the delegate count remains close. The thought or worry is that the superdelegates will play an unexpected role in choosing a nominee. What is known is that while the Republicans have an almost declared nominee, the Democrats continue to battle it out. The Republicans will need all the time they have to coalesce around John McCain.

Romney to Suspend Campaign

Reports are that Mitt Romney is suspending his campaign. The former Massachusetts Governor is speaking at the CPAC conference where his announcement is expected to come. Romney is significantly behind John McCain in delegates and a path for victory did not seem to exist.

Super Tuesday Breakdown

Results as they are known
Republicans
McCain wins-Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Oklahoma, Arizona, Missouri, California
Romney wins-Massachusetts, Utah, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Colorado, Alaska
Huckabee wins-Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia

Democrats
Clinton wins-Oklahoma, Tennesee, Arkansas, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California
Obama wins-Illinois, Georgia, Delaware, Alabama, Kansas, Utah, North Dakota, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Alaska

Projections from Fox News and http://www.foxnews.com/
Refresh page to get latest results

Not So Fast Mitt Romney

Mike Huckabee has now been projected as the winner of the West Virginia caucus. Mitt Romney had led after the first ballot but had not reached the required 50%. A second ballot was cast without Ron Paul with Mike Huckabee as the winner.

Romney Close to Winning West Virginia

Romney heads up the West Virginia polls but has not secured a win. Mitt Romney has not secured the 50% needed so another ballot will be cast. The first ballot results were: Mitt Romney 43%, Mike Huckabee 33%, John McCain 16%, and Ron Paul 10%. Ron Paul will be removed and the other three candidates will compete on the second ballot. West Virginia is a winner take all state and 18 delegates are up for grabs. The day will be long as 24 states will hold contests today.
www.race42008.com

Romney Wins Maine

Mitt Romney has won the Maine Republican caucus. The state received little attention from the candidates apart from a few appearances by Ron Paul. Romney's real challenge is to compete next week against John McCain on Super Tuesday when the majority of delegates are up for grabs.

McCain Considered Abandoning Ship

John McCain has had to fight the label that he was a liberal or not in tune with conservatives. Speculation had it that McCain had considered leaving the Republican party back in 2001. Bob Cusack, a writer for The Hill newspaper, wrote about McCain's flirtation with leaving the GOP. Cusack talks about the meeting between Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) and former Rep. Tom Downey (D-NY) and McCain's chief political strategist. This was at a time when Democrats were trying to recruit Republicans to leave their party. Targets included Lincoln Chaffee, Republican Senator from Rhode Island, and Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont who became an Independent. In McCain's case it was apparently initiated from his end by his chief political strategist, John Weaver. McCain was apparently upset after his 2000 loss to George W. Bush in the Republican primary. McCain has denied any such reports that he was close to leaving the Republican party. Individuals like Daschle stand by their claims that such meetings did occur, Daschle even included it into his book. McCain has remained dubious to conservatives who have disagreed with him on many issues and his associations with Democrats, especially in regards to immigration and campaign finance reform. The year is now 2008 and John McCain is seeking the Republican nomination again. This time it looks as if his wish will come true as he leads in the polls and appears to have the Super Tuesday momentum. Conservatives are still wary of McCain and have made it known, especially radio talk show hosts like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. For Republicans it may come down to the choice of lesser of two evils in November, and whether they want to remain in power or hold on to their principles.
Read the original Cusack article from The Hill newspaper, http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/democrats-say-mccain-nearly-abandoned-gop-2007-03-28.html

Delegate Count

Democrats

Delegate Total

Hillary Clinton-232 (48 Pledged, 184 Superdelegates)

Barack Obama-158 (63 Pledged, 95 Superdelegates)

John Edwards-62 (26 Pledged, 36 Superdelegates)

Mike Gravel-0

Note: John Edwards has announced he will be dropping out of the race

2,025 delegates needed to win

Republicans

Delegate Total

John McCain-97 (95 Pledged, 2 Unpledged)

Mitt Romney-74 (67 Pledged, 7 Unpledged)

Mike Huckabee-29 (26 Pledged, 3 Unpledged)

Ron Paul-6 (6 Pledged)

Rudy Giuliani-2 (1 Pledged, 1 Unpledged)

Note: Rudy Giuliani has announced he will be dropping out of the race

1,191 delegates needed to win

Courtesy of http://www.cnn.com/

Giuliani Dropping Out Of Race

Rudy Giuliani will drop out of the race tomorrow and endorse Senator John McCain. Giuliani suffered a big loss in Florida where he made his stand. Giuliani will fly to California tomorrow and endorse John McCain from the Ronald Reagan Library where the debate will be held.

Real Clear Politics State Polls

Florida Republican Primary
RCP Average
1/22-1/28
McCain-30.7
Romney-30.1
Giuliani-14.7
Huckabee-12.9
Paul-3.6
McCain +0.6

Courtesy of Real Clear Politics
www.realclearpolitics.com

Sunshine State Showdown

Tune in tonight as we find out the winner of the Florida Republican primary. Most years this would not be as important. But with the way the campaign season has gone, Florida might help clear up the muddled picture that is the Republican race. Rudy Giuliani's strategy of making Florida his Alamo appears to have back fired on America's mayor. Despite his time, money, and energy, the contest appears to be between Mitt Romney and John McCain. The national race appears to mirror that of Florida with the nominee being either McCain or Romney. Florida's contest is closed so McCain will have to win over Republicans and not simply rely on independent support. Each man covets what a win in Florida would give them. A win would start to solidify who the frontrunner will be. With Super Tuesday rapidly approaching, Florida's momentum could propel the winner to a huge day on February 5th. Money might become an issue, John McCain might not be able to compete against Mitt Romney's personal wealth and it could become a contest of attrition. In a few hours we will know the winner and perhaps the next Republican nominee for president.

Why Are Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain Not Concerned About the Security of Our Country?

By Rusty Ford

You would think that two Democrats and one Republican Senator who are running for president would be on different sides of the issue of providing amnesty to illegal aliens. Especially since all votes in the Senate this year on this issue have had most of the Republicans on one side of the issue and most of the Democrats on the other. All three of these candidates voted consistently in support of amnesty to illegal aliens.

It is not the amnesty issue that makes me wonder why these three are not concerned for the security of our country but rather how far they are willing to take the issue. All three voted for YES on the comprehensive immigration reform bill in June 2007. This bill would have provided amnesty to all illegal aliens in the country. They also voted against an amendment to this bill that would have allowed amnesty to most illegal aliens but would have barred those who had committed major crimes while living in our country illegally. I just do not understand how anyone can think that a politician cares about the safety and security of the people they represent when they are willing to bless these criminals, who are here illegally, amnesty and a path to citizenship.

All three voted against the Cornyn Amendment (SA 1184) to S.1385. S 1385 was an amendment to the comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have given amnesty to illegal aliens. The Cornyn Amendment would have barred illegal aliens who committed the following crimes from receiving amnesty.

1. absconders (i.e., aliens already ordered deported)
2. aliens deemed inadmissible or deportable as security risks(e.g., terrorists)
3. aliens who fail to register as sex offenders
4. aliens convicted of certain firearms offenses
5. aliens convicted of domestic violence, stalking, crimes against children, or violation of protection orders
6. alien gang members
7. aliens convicted of at least three DUIs.

I guess these three believe it is in the best interest of the security of our country and the safety of its citizens to give amnesty to people who come into this county illegally and commit major crimes. None of these candidates are mentioning this issue or their votes on this amendment on the campaign trail so I will proclaim it loud and clear for them so that there is not a mistake of where they stand.

We, being John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe it is in the best interest of our national security and the safety of the citizens of this country to give amnesty to illegal aliens who have been deemed for whatever reason to be security risks to our country.

We, being John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe it is in the best interest of our national security and the saftey of the citizens of this country to give amnesty to illegal aliens who have been convicted of sexual crimes and refuse to register as sex offenders.

We, being John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe it is in the best interest of our national security and the safety of the citizens of this country to give amnesty peoplewho are in this country illegally and who illegally carry weapons with them.

We, being John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe it is in the best interest of our national security and the safety of the citizens of this country to give amnesty to illegal aliens who commit crimes against children and who abuse their families.

We, being John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe it is in the best interest of our national security and the safety of the citizens of this country to give amnesty to illegal aliens who are members of alien gangs. We do not think there is enough of a gang problem here in our country and are committed to seeing that gangs from other countries start up operations here.

And last but not least, we, being John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe it is in the best interest of our national security and the safety of the citizens of this country to give amnesty to illegal aliens who have been arrested three times for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

I have searched for any indication given by any of these candidates as to why they voted this way and I have not be enable to find any place where they explained why they voted against the security of our country and the safety of its citizens. I assume that this information is not out there because there simply is not justification for such a vote. They have played their hand and we now see how little they care for America’s safety. I know each of these candidates have good points and stand behind positions that many Americans agree with. But how cans any right-minded citizen who has been informed about their position on this issue, in good conscience vote for them.

About the Author: Rusty Ford Read more of Rusty's articles here http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/96187/rusty_ford.html
Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=217181&ca=Politics

Real Clear Politics State Polls

Democrats
South Carolina-Jan. 26th
RCP Average
Poll range 1/14-1/22
Hillary Clinton-42.6
Barack Obama-30.0
John Edwards-14.6
Obama +12.6

Florida-Jan. 29th
RCP Average
Poll range 1/11-1/22
Hillary Clinton-47.0
Barack Obama-29.4
John Edwards-11.4
Clinton +17.6

Republicans
Florida-Jan. 29th
RCP Average
Poll range 1/20-1/22
John McCain-22.6
Mitt Romney-22.2
Rudy Giuliani-19.0
Mike Huckabee-14.4
Ron Paul-5.4
Fred Thompson-7.3
McCain +0.4

Courtesy of http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

Storming Norman Backs McCain

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf has decided to endorse John McCain for President. The candidates are busy campaigning heavily in Florida ahead of its primary on Jan. 29th. As with all endorsements it is hard to determine their value. McCain has put together wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina and with a win in Florida could become the prohibitive favorite.