1) Public interest will be SERVED;
2) 'Bama got NOTHING to lose;
3) Straight Talk Express can't keep facts STRAIGHT.
WASHINGTON - The GOP presidential race can be summed up this way: three strong contenders and a hunger for someone else. "There's no question that there's a very open field," said Ken Mehlman, a former Republican National Committee chairman. Unlike in 1980, 1988, 1996 and 2000, "there's not a presumptive front-runner," he added.
The nomination fight has become even more fluid since the year began, which is unusual for a party that typically has a clear heir apparent.
For now, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has the lead in national popularity polls. Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has the most money. Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) may have the superior national political operation.
But none has a clear advantage in all three areas — polling, fundraising and organization — that are traditional measures in determining which candidate is in the best position to become the nominee. Perhaps more telling, Republicans say, is that none has articulated a message or offered an agenda that a majority of the party supports.
"What's missing so far is a clear down-the-line conservative champion, an establishment candidate," said Greg Mueller, a GOP consultant.
Nine months before the leadoff Iowa caucuses, the fragmented field and disenchantment with the top candidates may present an opportunity for a fourth contender to emerge.
That could be an underdog such as Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) of Kansas or two former governors — Mike Huckabee of Arkansas or Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin.
Other prominent Republicans are flirting with a run, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and could shake up the field. The latest to express interest is Fred Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator who, friends say, is seriously considering a bid. He is running third in a few national polls without doing anything more than acknowledging he was thinking about running.
Such buzz is evidence of the degree to which GOP voters are seeking alternatives to Giuliani, Romney and McCain. Conservatives who dominate the Republican primary see all as flawed.
In Iowa, Susan and Roger Rowland of Clive are attending campaign events to find someone to embrace. Last week, they saw Giuliani one night and Romney the next. But they were not impressed enough by either to commit. They have not seen McCain and are open to learning more about others, too.
"There are a lot of candidates out there, but I don't really know what I'm looking for," Susan Rowland said, sighing. Her husband said, "If I had to pick today, I'd probably pick Romney, but I'm really glad I don't have to pick today."
The Rowlands are not alone in their uncertainty.
"Significant numbers are really undecided," said David Redlawsk, a University of Iowa political scientist. Short of someone else catching fire or entering the race, he said, "in a year where Republican caucus-goers are focused on electability, they may ultimately hold their nose and pick one of the three."
It is Giuliani, McCain and Romney among the nearly dozen Republican presidential hopefuls who appear best positioned to capture the nomination.
Projecting invincibility, McCain spent more than a year meshing loyalists from his failed 2000 bid with some of President Bush's top political operatives to build what he hoped would be an unrivaled organization. Despite its depth, McCain gradually has faltered.
Last week, he announced raising a disappointing $12.5 million in the year's first three months. During a visit to Baghdad, he made upbeat comments about security only to have Iraqis mock his characterization. He told CBS' "60 Minutes," in an interview to be broadcast Sunday, that he misspoke.
To get back on track, McCain ordered an overhaul of his fundraising operation and better controls on spending. He scheduled policy speeches, including the first this Wednesday in which he will defend his support for Bush's policy in Iraq. Other speeches and an official announcement tour are set for this month as he seeks to regain momentum.
Once he made clear he was serious about running, Giuliani jumped to a double-digit edge in national polls. His built-from-scratch political operation is not yet on par with the others. Still, Giuliani ended the January-through-March fundraising period with a respectable $15 million raised.
He continues to lead in national surveys but his advantage has softened as he has come under increased scrutiny. He has faced questions about his business dealings and about his ties to Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner against whom prosecutors reportedly are pursuing multiple charges.
Giuliani also has had to answer for his abortion-rights stance and clarify statements suggesting his wife would play a significant role if he were president.
Romney set out to prove he was a threat by ensuring he had a stellar fundraising start. He succeeded, collecting a surprising $21 million in the year's first three months.
Yet he remains significantly low in national polls. He continues to be dogged by his reversals on abortion and gay rights, and his equivocations on other issues. He resumed television advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire to define himself. His campaign is eager to start debates, where aides believe he will shine.
Ok, so Santa crashes Tulsa's MLK Parade yesterday with the PIMP AMERICA VOTE OBAMA sign. One brothaa VEHEMENTLY insisted Santa DEEP-six "PIMP" from the sign. At first, Santa refused, trying to explain "PIMP" is a good thing in the WHITE neighborhood he hails from, North Pole.
Brothaa PERSISTED and compared the term, PIMP, to that other N-word. At which, Santa wholeheartedly agreed to the said measure of 86'ing 'PIMP.' Ok, maybe it's OK for brothaas to use the word between brothaas, but, it's NOT ok for non-brothaas to use the word.
Whatever. So, the NEW sign: BARACK AMERICA VOTE OBAMA. Just to keep the peace and NOBODY gets confused on Santa's intention at first blush, as the sign rolls in July on its way to New Hampshire for the BIG primary.
And, what is the meaning of giving "dep?" It seems it's ok with the brothaas, but, NOT law enforcement types. To Santa, it's just a good way to press a whole lotta FLESH, without passing kooties.
By GLEN JOHNSON Associated Press Writer
Latest Photos of Mitt Romney
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Romney seeks cash lead over competition
BOSTON (AP) -- A millionaire thanks to his work as a venture capitalist, Mitt Romney is acutely aware of the motivating power of money. His presidential campaign hopes it will have a similar effect on college students, which is why it's offering them a cut of their fundraising.
Participants in "Students for Mitt" will get 10 percent of the money they raise for the campaign beyond the first $1,000. While candidates often offer professional fundraisers commissions up to 8 percent, campaign experts believe the Massachusetts Republican is the first to do so with the legion of college students who have historically served as campaign volunteers.
"For the kids that want to get involved in a political campaign and they don't want to spend their summer painting houses, they can help the campaign and themselves at the same time," said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.
Others take a dimmer view.
"It may very well succeed, but I'd like to think that he'd approach young people and college students based on their commitment to the country, not because they want walking-around money," said Steve Grossman, a prominent Massachusetts fundraiser and past chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, is engaged in a fundraising battle with rivals for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, including such better-known candidates as Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Presidential candidates must report their first-quarter fundraising numbers April 15. Those totals will strongly contribute to perceptions of political viability.
Running third or worse in public opinion polls, Romney is looking to raise at least $15 million to cement his status as a top-tier candidate.
Successful applicants to Students for Mitt get an ID and source code so the campaign can track donations made at their behest.
The participants are asked to contact members of their academic, social and family circles, and point them to Romney's Web site. The students get 10 percent of all money above $1,000 that is contributed under their ID and source code.
"I spend a lot of hours at the campaign here," said Sarah Isgur, second-year student at Harvard Law School, who is raising funds from classmates, friends and family members, among others in the Boston area. "Some students are working at a law firm and earning $3,000 per week. My opportunity cost is pretty high some times, and this can take the edge off that."
The U.S. House of Representatives just handed the President a DIRECT order to pull troops from Iraq by September 2008, by a vote of 218-212. The vote was strictly along party lines, with Republican leaders claiming the vote is tantamount to admitting DEFEAT.
60 US Senators will be needed to send the withdrawal bill to the President, who has VOWED a veto.
It seems at every stop Obama makes he talks about affordable healthcare for all. Certainly I would support some combination of Canadian-style care and privatized model. But, hey, what do I know?
But, one aspect of health insurance system that ALWAYS gets UNDER my skin is healthy, fit, physically-active people subsidize SMOKERS, and FAT people, who cause their OWN demise and make the rest of us pay in the process.
Obama, suppose you set the NATIONAL example to quit smoking and REALLY contributing to ONE solution to the healthcare CRISIS?
Just a suggestion. Santa LOVES ya brothaaaa! Otherwise, he wouldn't have made the suggestion in the first place.
Martha Mattes writes:
By any chance would either one of you know if there are brochures or flyers on Barack Obama available, and if so, how we can get a HUGE quantity for March 31?
Obama08OK would like to have a table at the Tulsa County Democratic Convention on March 31, and we would also like to pass out literature to those attending the Martin Luther King parade that afternoon. As you know, the latter event typically draws huge crowds.
Let me know if you know anything -- thanks!
Well, people, it had to come sometime, the first big Barack disappointment. Elaine Dodd, a member of the Obama in Oklahoma steering committee reports Obama will visit the Tulsa home of George Kaiser. The luncheon, by invitation only, will cost attendees $2,300 per person.
Then, Obama will jet to OKC for maybe another HIGH-dollar event most of us proles won't be able to afford. Oh, well, I knew the first of many disappointments had to come sometime.
Thanks a MILLION for getting our hopes up.
WASHINGTON - Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton called Tuesday for the majority of voters, women, to help her break the nation's highest glass ceiling by electing her the first female president.
"Today, women are a majority of the voters, a majority of students in college, and we are a growing presence in the Congress. But there are still far too few women in leadership positions," Clinton told a crowd of roughly 1,300 at a luncheon for EMILY's List, a national political committee that raises money for Democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights.
Christina Tuff also said Sullivan chose to apologize in a letter to the editor that was published in the Sunday Tulsa World because of previous letters the newspaper had published on his comments.
"He feels that his letter . . . speaks for itself," Tuff said. "He realizes the words chosen were inappropriate and decided to respond directly to those who had written letters to the editor that ran in the paper."
Sullivan's apology grew out of reactions to comments he made last month when he introduced a bill to make a memorial to the 1921 riot part of the National Park Service.
During an interview on the legislation, the congressman conceded that some people in Tulsa resist that plan.
"There are people that don't like this. I know, but I don't care. I think that certainly it is something we need to have," Sullivan said.
"If those people think that it is wrong to have a memorial to this, that's their problem. They are either bigots or they don't understand."
Tuff confirmed that it was the use of the word "bigot" and the letters generated by his use of it that triggered the apology.
"I apologize to those I may have offended in a Tulsa World story," Sullivan wrote in his letter to the editor. "The use of inflammatory language, unfortunately, has taken away from the purpose of my interview, which was to promote legislation honoring the victims of the 1921 Tulsa race riot."
He also encouraged those who disagree with his proposal to read the text of his legislation, examine the findings of the Tulsa Race Riot Commission and visit the memorial once it is completed.
"The 1921 Tulsa race riot was the greatest domestic disturbance since the Civil War," Sullivan wrote.
"By the time the violence had ended, an estimated 300 people were killed, and 35 to 40 square blocks of the Greenwood community were destroyed."
If anyone has seen the Obama u-tubes from Selma, they were nothing short of AMAZING. Beautiful lyrics, cross between JFK, RFK, and MLK. AMAZING, people, amazing.
Which brings up the DARK side of America's political MESSIAHS. They get ASSASSINATED. DAMMIT, I want to go to the Obama Inaugural, NOT a damn WAKE.
As many of you might have noticed, street surveillance cameras are like reproducing like a whole lotta horny wabbits.
They are mostly pretty useless, ostensibly for catching bad guys and some pie-in-the-sky notion of keeping the public safe from the said bad guys. And, guess what? The footage is mostly UNREGULATED.
There is NO set uniform policy on how those footage might be used. Someone is probably watching you picking your nose in your car and having a jolly good time at your expense. Some of the footage are already on u-tube.
So, let's put the cameras to good use, people. Wave an Obama sign at the cameras, maybe spiced it up with a little song and dance!
Tulsa, Ok)--Campaign insiders say Barack Obama will visit Oklahoma on March 19th. Rallies and fundraisers for the Democratic Presidential candidate are being planned. One of his supporters is Tulsa State Senator Jabbar Shumate. The lawmaker says Obama is able to get white voters to look beyond his African-American background and consider the man as a viable candidate. It is expected he will stop in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
"He is coming on March 19," state Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, said. "He'll attend a fund- raising lunch in Tulsa, then fly to Oklahoma City for a rally in the late afternoon and a fundraiser in the early evening."
The events' locations have not been determined, Rice said.
Besides Rice, those involved in Obama's Oklahoma campaign include former Second District Congressman Brad Carson of Claremore and state Reps. Jabar Shumate, D-Tulsa, Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, and Anastasia Pittman, D-Oklahoma City.
An Oklahoma Poll conducted in January for the Tulsa World and KOTV, channel 6, ranked Obama the third choice of state Democrats, behind Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces staged raids in Baghdad's main Shiite militant stronghold Tuesday as part of politically sensitive forays into areas loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Troops have held back on broad sweeps through the teeming Sadr City slums since a major security operation began earlier this month, targeting militant factions and sectarian death squads that have ruled Baghdad's streets.
Al-Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos — using concussion grenades — stormed six homes, police said. "My sons and wife were very terrified," complained Muhand Mihbas, 30, who said his brother and six cousins were taken in the sweeps. "Does the security plan mean arresting innocent people and scaring civilians at night?"
At a news conference, the Pentagon's No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. "We will keep at this until the people feel safe in their neighborhoods," Odierno added.
U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al-Arabiya television that forces "will increase our operations in the coming days," but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October. Bombings continued to hit across central Baghdad on Tuesday. At the popular Kabab Abu Ali restaurant, a bomb left in a plastic bag exploded during the busy lunch hours, killing at least three people and injuring 13.
About the same time, a suicide bomber struck an area filled with restaurants and ice cream parlors. At least five people were killed and 13 injured, police said. Earlier, a bomb-rigged car exploded in a parking lot, killing at least two people, police said. Battles and violence also raged in other parts of Iraq. In the Wassit province, southeast of Baghdad, Iraqi forces engaged in intense fighting with suspected Sunni insurgents along a key highway, police said.
Near the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber struck a factory, killing at least four people. A separate suicide car bombing in Mosul killed at least six policemen and injured 38 police and civilians, said police said police Col. Aidan al-Jubouri. Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, have arrested a suspect in the attempted assassination of Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, an aide said. The aide said the arrest was made after reviewing security camera video from Monday's blast, which ripped through an awards ceremony at the ministry of public works and killed at least 10 people.
Abdul-Mahdi received leg injuries and was briefly hospitalized. The aide declined to give any further details about the arrest or the suspect. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The bomb was planted under a chair in the first row of the meeting hall — about six feet from the vice president, the aide said. Police initially thought the bomb was hidden under a speakers' podium. "Investigations are being done to figure out how the attack was planned," Abdul-Mahdi told Furat television. Abdul-Mahdi is one of two vice presidents.
The other, Tariq al-Hashemi, is Sunni. Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, remained in a Jordan hospital. Talabani, from Iraq's Kurdish north, was taken to Amman after falling unconscious Sunday. He regained consciousness and his aides blamed the episode on fatigue and exhaustion.
His private physician, Dr. Yedkar Hikmat, would give no timetable on his discharge, saying only that rumors Talabani had heart problems were "categorically wrong." In the southern Qadisiya province, meanwhile, Iraqi security forces said they captured 157 suspects linked to a shadowy armed cell called the Soldiers of Heaven, or Jund al-Samaa.
The group was involved in a fierce gunbattle last month with Iraqi forces who accused it of planning to kill Shiite clerics and others in the belief it would hasten the return of the "Hidden Imam" — a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad who disappeared as a child in the 9th century. Shiites believe he will return one day to bring justice.
Going through the videos of the Obama rallies, I am very concerned about his safety. He's out in the open. A high-power sniper rifle from long distance or a small caliber hand gun at close range would cause a whole lotta damage.
Remembering the BIG assassinations of the 60's, JFK, MLK, and RFK, and without going into details, what steps are in place to insure Obama safety?
The Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will be asked Friday to intercede on behalf of several hundred people claiming damages as a result of Tulsa's 1921 race riot.
The one-hour hearing Friday morning at the OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., is the result of a petition filed in November 2005 by Charles Ogletree, a Harvard University law professor.
Ogletree had led the legal team that filed a federal lawsuit in Tulsa in February 2003. The suit argued that the statute of limitations, normally two years in such cases, should not apply in this case because state and local officials withheld important information concerning the riot and because of racial prejudice in Oklahoma courts.
The Northern District for Oklahoma rejected that argument. It dismissed the suit, Alexander, et al v. Oklahoma, in 2004, and its decision was upheld by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in May 2005.
Only the statute-of-limitations issue was considered during those proceedings.
The petition to the Organization of American States makes many
The petition says the OAS' Inter-American Court "has repeatedly made clear that states may not rely on statutes of limitations to shield themselves from responsibility for international crimes" and charges that dismissing the suit because of the statute of limitations denied victims "their right to access the courts and to an effective remedy."
Friday's hearing will be to determine whether the Inter-American Commission on Human rights will admit the petition for consideration.
The commission, if it finds in favor of a petitioner, tries to mediate a settlement. If that doesn't work, it can recommend "remedies." If those are rejected, the commission can refer the matter to the Inter-American Court in Costa Rica.
In practice, though, the commission can do little more than encourage the U.S. to reach an agreement with the plaintiffs, or scold it if it doesn't. The U.S. government does not recognize the Inter-American Court's jurisdiction and has typically ignored adverse rulings by the commission.
The commission hasn't ruled on the merits of a case involving the U.S. since 2005, when, in separate cases filed three years earlier, it sided with two inmates on Texas' death row.
Neither case seems to have been materially affected.
One involved a Mexican national who had already won a favorable ruling from the World Court and, as a result, is awaiting a new sentencing hearing.
The other case involved a minor executed while the commission considered his petition. The commission ultimately ruled that his family deserved compensation from the federal government, but nothing seems to have come of the recommendation.
The Tulsa riot of May 31-June 1, 1921, is regarded as one of the most destructive in U.S. history. It resulted in dozens of deaths, hundreds of injuries and millions of dollars in damage.
UPDATE: (Washington, DC)--The case of the 1921 Tulsa race riot is heard by an Organization of American States tribunal. Riot survivors argue justice has been denied as they seek damages and reparations. The riot left what was then known as the "Black Wall Street" in ruins. The number of people killed is not exactly known. U-S courts have refused to take the case, sometimes citing the statute of limitations has run out. Survivor attorneys claim this is a continuation of a conspiracy to deny justice. An OAS commissioner promised to put the case on the "fast track". Even if a future ruling favors the survivors there are doubts they will collect any reparation dollars.
