I caught some of C-Span’s ‘Road to the White House’ coverage tonight. Rudy Giuliani was visiting a sea food restaurant in New Hampshire and going around shaking peoples hands. It was an interesting sight.
Now reason #1,554 why I probably would not make a good presidential candidate has to deal with shaking hands. I am not a fan of the practice. I remember a few years ago when Donald Trump wanted to run as a reform party candidate. He was open about his displeasure for the ritual and many discussed the political and social effects it would have. (Though I have since seen him embrace the practice of handshaking on his show The Apprentice and doubt his not being president had anything to do with hand shaking.)
Virginia’s Republican Senator John Warner will not seek re-election. Senate 2008 Guru notes what we can likely expect in the race:
John Warner just announced that he will retire at the end of his current term, rather than seek re-election in 2008. Expectations are the following: for the Democrats, popular former Governor Mark Warner, who left office with an approval rating exceeding 80%, will enter the Senate race; for the Republicans, we may see a bloody primary battle between Rep. Tom Davis and former Gov. Jim Gilmore.
The following passage comes from ‘Presidential Charecter: The Example of George Washington’ by Forrest McDonald which can be found in the collection The Presidency Then and Nowedited by Phillip Henderson.
“Washingon’s actual installation in office was delayed by his characteristic concern with propriety. In December of 1788 the presidential electors met in their states, as the Constitution required, and cast their ballots unanimously for Washington. The results were reported in the newspapers, and anyone else would have set out for New York, the temporary capital. Washing thought it would be unseemly to leave until he was officially notified, which could not take place until Congress counted the votes. For various reasons, Congress was slow in obtaining a quorum, and the result was that Washington was not sworn in until April 30, 1789, nearly two months after the scheduled inauguration date. (Washington insisted that his pay be docked accordingly, so his annual salary of $25,000, instead of yielding $200,000 in eight years, yielded %196,121. He had asked that he be paid no salary, but Congress took the position that the Constitution mandated a “fixed compensation” for the president).
CNN is reporting that Senator Larry Craig, who is up for re-election in 2008 and who plead guilty to disorderly conduct following accusations that he was soliciting a male prostitute in an airport bathroom.
Honestly I think if he is going to resign he needs to do so quickly and Friday, dump day for the news, would be the perfect time.
Could Craig survive? He could probably live out the rest of his term and wait for another larger news event to knock him off the front page but I doubt he would make it through any primary challenges for his seat. Best to step down, reconsider his life and write a book, which seems to be the formula for this kind of thing.
We will know by midnight tonight whether the reports are accurate so stay tuned.
News out of Iowa where a district court has ruled in favor of same sex marriage and struck down a provision to declare marriage as only between a man and a woman. All eyes are on Iowa ahead of the caucuses this year and Republicans are looking for issues to keep their conservative base.
This can only bode well for Mitt Romney who won the Iowa straw poll and who is attempting to pull himself up as a true conservative on social issues. I would expect the Romney campaign to jump all over this story tomorrow and to start positioning the candidate as someone who will be aggressive in fighting decisions like this with a federal amendment to the constitution.
Will the issue work? This weeks problems with an Idaho Senator and the last near decade of no movement on a constitutional amendment by a Republican House, Senate & Presidency aren’t going to help the party keep voters. With that said Democrats won’t win them over either and at the very least they can run as candidates who will uphold the status quo in vetoing any attempt to change the law in favor of gay marriage and who will work hard to turn states and eventually the federal government against it.
It’s amazing how this issue came up in the states in 2004 at just the right time and I am starting to wonder if it won’t be the same again for 2008. As I keep saying Democrats who think they are simply going to waltz into the White House without a fight and with 70% majorities could well be in for a shock come November of next year.
Wow, I just read this article in the New York Times and I have to say like several other bloggers it gave me a bit of the willies.
“I don’t want to do this,†Jack protested to his father, John Edwards, the Democratic presidential candidate and former North Carolina senator.
“I don’t care whether you want to do this,†Mr. Edwards replied.
A moment later, Jack hid his face in his hands.
“Mr. Jack, do we need to go in the back and have a conversation?†asked Mr. Edwards, lifting his son’s head.
The boy sat for a few more minutes, fidgety but obedient, before being freed and happily bounding with his sister to the fort they were building in the back of the bus.
Honestly reading the article makes me wonder if those comments made by Michelle Obama about keeping your house straight or whatever, that were seen as directed at Sen. Clinton, were really directed at the Edwards family who has chosen to rip their children from their homes and keep them on a bus to appear in photo ops.
The Edwards have made it a point to be public and as techPresident’s Morra Aarons wonderfully recaps that has resulted in a public spat in which blogger Rebecca Eisenberg openly questioned the parenting choices of Elizabeth Edwards. Morra covers the whole thing so make sure to check out her post.
In my favorite move of politics it has been leaked that the Thompson campaign will hold a conference call at 4 p.m. today to announce that he will make his official announcement on September 6th.
I honestly think Thompson would have done himself a great favor in just announcing and moving on awhile ago BUT with all the changes in the pre-campaign it is a good sign that they were not ready and were better off not just rushing in. So, yeah, I contradicted myself there.
Update: Well Red State is reporting that Thompson will make his announcement TODAY at 4:30 and they have big flashing red DrudgeReport lights surrounding the post. So it MUST be true.
We will see, today, tomorrow, next week, whatever.
A new Web site The Issue linked to the site yesterday and I wanted to thank them for doing so and for contacting me with such kind words. The Issue is a daily look at what is happening in the world with a focus on bringing news and comment from around the blogosphere. They take an issue and give you the differing and evolving views. Great concept (A Blog Newspaper), great execution, great for mentioning me. ME ME ME. OK enough of that.
Check out their site and thanks again for the link.
Seriously I don’t know why people keep asking this, the answer is simple, not any time soon. The more likely outcome of the continued revelations that high-ranking GOP officials are corrupt and the antithesis of everything they told voters they were is probably the one we saw in 2006, values voters will stay home or go to the polls and vote for the few candidates they trust and leave the rest blank. The idea, which as I mentioned yesterday seems to be Barack Obama’s strategy, that conservative-right-wing-republicans will flee the GOP as a whole anytime soon is asinine. Where would they possibly go?
John McCain has become the first to file papers and to become eligible for public financing for his presidential campaign.
Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for McCain, said: “This isn’t a sign of desperation  it’s a sign of prudence and should be interpreted as such.â€Â
Public financing of elections is often heralded by Democrats and heavily resisted by Republicans which pretty much equates to McCain doing one more thing to really annoy Republican voters. There is no guarantee he will seek the public funds, which will limit his spending to $50 million in the primaries, but actual fundraising doesn’t seem to agree with the Senator and so who knows.
I for one hope it doesn’t mean the campaign will stop dropping loads of money on AdWords campaigns! Can you guess why?
