Wednesday’s political round-up

October 10, 2007

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* AP: “Four Democratic candidates have withdrawn from Michigan’s Jan. 15 presidential primary, leaving what amounts to a beauty contest for front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton…. Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson filed paperwork Tuesday, the deadline to withdraw from the ballot, said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office. A fourth candidate, Joe Biden, said in a statement that he was bypassing the primary.” Hillary Clinton will not compete in the primary, but her campaign said, “We don’t think it’s necessary to remove ourselves from the ballot.”

* Speaking of Clinton, the New York senator unveiled “the second biggest domestic policy idea of her Democratic presidential campaign today, proposing to spend $20 billion to $25 billion a year to create 401(k)-style retirement accounts for all Americans and provide federal matching money of up to $1,000 to middle-income people.” Clinton would pay for the program by freezing the estate tax at its 2009 level of $7 million per couple.

* Chris Dodd called for reforming the absurd bankruptcy bill passed by the last Congress. I don’t imagine Joe Biden is going to care for that, but I’m glad to see someone emphasizing the issue.

* Former Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.) will face Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) next year, in a rematch of the 2006 race. And the 2004 race. And the 2002 race. Yes, this will be the fourth consecutive cycle Sodrel and Hill have gone head-to-head. For the record, Sodrel lost in 2002, won in 2004, and lost again in 2006.

* In Idaho, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) will apparently stick around for a while, but Republicans hoping to replace him are already stepping up. Lt. Governor Jim Risch (R), a leading candidate to replace Craig after he said he would step down in September, announced his candidacy yesterday. Risch is now considered the front-runner for the GOP nod, and will likely face former Rep. Larry LaRocco (D).

* And finally, Al Gore fans continue to hold out hope that they can draft him into the presidential race. I think it’s a lost cause.

Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.

-Clarence Darrow

  • Hillary’s 401(k) plan is ridiculous if you ask me. We’ve mortgaged our future exponentially on NeoCon adventurism and continued American Imperialism. Not to mention the precedent set by the Bush Cabal that now the President is in fact a dictator.

    We need to get our house in order before we worry about new social programs. We need leadership over ideology.

    Maybe the merits of her 401(k) plan are a good idea, but I think it would only be a distraction from the pressing issues of the day that imperil our Constitution and the American Way of Life.

  • Whether you think it’s a lost cause or not, you should ask yourself if you want Al Gore to be president, and if you do then you need to sign any or all of the Draft Gore petitions. Do it now.

    http://www.algore.org/

    We’ll know it’s a lost cause if/when Gore says he’s officially out. He hasn’t done so yet, and he has said that he wouldn’t/doesn’t need to be dragged into the long primary. And indeed he doesn’t.

    Gore doesn’t need much time to make his message heard, most people know what it is and who he is. I think if he jumps in now he’ll run the table, especially if he teams up with Obama and runs on a ticket of renewal, hope, integrity, and change.

  • “So is Sodrel expecting a different outcome this time?” — sarabeth.

    Not if my fellow Hoosiers have much of a clue (and that IS debatable, sadly). And while we’re at it: Ditch Mitch!! Let’s get a real governor instead of some Bush tool….

  • Well said, Racerx! Until Gore issues the proverbial Sherman statement, I still have a glimmer of hope.

    If he officially says no, then I’m afraid I’ll have to stop paying attention to the presidential race, and get my kicks from following the senate races instead. I love Obama, but he’s too inexperienced, and probably won’t get the nomination. Edwards seems like a fake to me, and got his arse handed to him when he debated Cheney in ’04. Hillary . . . ugh, don’t get me started. The last thing we need is someone who is completely in the pocket of the corporate interests and has yet to make up for her inexcusable vote to authorize the war. The rest of ’em have been designated as losers by the media, and unfortunately, campaign narratives are increasingly shaped by the media.

    So, jump in already, Al– win the presidency, grow the senate majority, and put this country back on track!!!

  • How did that idiot hogtie himself anyway? And will he stay that way for all eternity in hell, or heaven?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

  • I agree with Racerx. I’m still holding out hope for a Gore/Obama ticket. In fact, I have two bumper-stickers on my car saying exactly that.

    However, I don’t think he’ll run.

  • Gore supporters didn’t recognize what they had till it was gone. They do the same thing with Dennis Kucinich who is the closest candidate to a replacement of Al Gore and the Gore supporters can’t see it…because they haven’t looked. Once again the chance for the best candidate and the only real change will slip through their fingers and they won’t realize it until they have another candidate in office. If they would only see…they have another Al Gore right in front of them and his name is Dennis Kucinich…the only real change.

  • Fed funded 401Ks? Wow. Hils lets health insurance wonks write her healthcare policies and her investment cronies write her retirement plans. So tell me again why she would be any different than Bush? No, seriously. Why is she any better?

    If this doesn’t confirm Hils as the oligarchy candidate then I don’t know what does.

  • Obama doesn’t represent change…hell he’s just like the rest and they are all one step behind Kucinich…You obviously have not looked at what Kucinich has already done and what he plans to do. Kucinich is the only real change out there…so why keep ignoring him? He stands for everything you claim you want.
    Kucinch/Edwards ’08…the truth ticket…the only real change.

  • Former Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.) will face Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) next year, in a rematch of the 2006 race. And the 2004 race. And the 2002 race. Yes, this will be the fourth consecutive cycle Sodrel and Hill have gone head-to-head. For the record, Sodrel lost in 2002, won in 2004, and lost again in 2006.

    It’s like a sitcom.

  • Racerx #4: I signed the Gore petition, but I’m afraid it’s long past the time when he might have been persuaded to run.

    I’m surprised and disappointed with Hilllary’s latest trial balloons. She should be articulating broad policy objectives, and not specific proposals unless they further her goals. She shouldn’t be tossing out random proposals helter-skelter like Newt Gingrich. She’s a shrewd, consummate politician, but these actions suggest she might not be so good at governance. And she certainly doesn’t need to pander with her commanding lead.

    I don’t know what to make of it.

  • Why are the Michigan voters being punished for something they didn’t do? (I guess to suck up to the voters in New Hampshire & Iowa — but why, really, honestly, why?)

  • I used to think Edwards was a fake in 2004 until I saw him live and I think he’s got the stuff there, though I’m afraid he might not be able to take it. As for Obama, I like him a lot but I think the inexperience argument is silly. Honestly, is there any job in the world that anyone could have that would prepare them for being president other than perhaps vice president?

    I also wish people would remember that the Al Gore everyone lusts for now is just the latest incarnation, but he is still the man that thought Joe Lieberman would be suitable for succeeding him as president if something happened to him in office, helped his wife lead a campaign against “dirty song lyrics,” changed on just about as many issues as Mitt Romney has flip-flopped on and myriad other flaws. Gore is not the answer. Hillary is not the answer. 2008 should be a slam-dunk for the Dems, but Hillary is really the only candidate who might actually lose it for the Dems because she’d unite Republicans in a way their own candidate never could. This election is too important to risk on pipe dreams and one person’s blind ambition for power that gets her to give a different point of view depending on which audience she’s addressing at the time. How can anyone know who the real Hillary is and who would serve (if there even is a real Hillary)?

  • I pretty much agree with everything Edward Copeland had to say (although mostly I agree with Kucinich — I also “know” that he can’t win — what I don’t understand is why).

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