STATE STORIES
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/NEWS01/80126052
Taxpayers helped fund romantic rendezvous
Mayor, Beatty blurred line between business, pleasure
January 26, 2008
By M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and chief of staff Christine Beatty used city funds at times to cover personal travel expenses as they rendezvoused across the United States
during their affair, records obtained by the Free Press show. In November 2002, for instance, the mayor and Beatty planned a getaway to Denver
. The mayor charged the city for an airline ticket and rental car, the records show. His official appointment calendar described his time off this way: "Gone Fishing!!!"Text messages obtained by the Free Press show that the pair also discussed romantic getaways to Houston
,
West Virginia
and "the islands."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/NEWS01/801260338
City union disgust with mayor grows
January 26, 2008
By SUZETTE HACKNEY
The largest union local representing city workers called Friday for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's resignation, and next Wednesday -- with or without the mayor's presence on the 11th floor of City Hall -- city employees are expected to protest outside the building to drive their point home. John Riehl, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 207, which has more than 900 members, said he hopes city officials are able to push Kilpatrick out of office. But if not, Riehl said, the mayor won't get any respect during contract negotiations. "It's always difficult to negotiate with the mayor, but we consider him a lame duck in office now," said Riehl.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/NEWS01/801260379
Lawyer: Beatty out, but not quitting
January 26, 2008
By JOE SWICKARD
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's chief of staff, Christine Beatty, is staying away from the office, but her attorney said Friday that she has no plans to resign.The lawyer, Elliott Hall, said Beatty is still out of town "and going to sit tight right now."Mayoral spokesman James Canning, however, said late Friday that Hall "wasn't authorized to speak on that issue." Canning declined to say who would give that authorization, but said Beatty "will be making her own statement in the near future."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/POLITICS01/801250437/1022/POLITICS
Obama rejects Clinton's olive branch to Michigan, Florida
Friday, January 25, 2008
By Gordon Trowbridge
Sen. Hillary Clinton on Friday made her strongest statement yet in favor of seating Michigan
's delegation to the Democratic National Convention, saying she would encourage her supporters to vote in favor of seating delegates from Michigan
and Florida
despite Democratic National Committee bans on the two states. "I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida
and Michigan
," Clinton
said in a statement released by her campaign. "I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be president of all 50 states and U.S.
territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention." Clinton
also called on her opponents for the Democratic nomination to make the same pledge.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/OPINION01/801270691/1085/opinion
Overhaul Legislature: Year-round sessions, partisan staffing fuel Michigan
's problems
January 27, 2008
From Lansing
State
Journal
Operating a Legislature, or a legislator, isn't cheap. In 2005, Michigan
spent an average of $653,750 for each of its 148 state lawmakers. That works out to about $97 million. Now consider, this year, Michigan
will spend about $115 million in general fund money on the legislative branch. That's too much, for which the state gets too little. Michigan
lawmakers need to confront those facts by reducing their partisan staffs and redrafting their rules to limit days in session and require an end to their regular work well before the start of a fiscal year.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/NEWS01/801260339/1001/NEWS
Campaign pushes for stem cell research on ballot
January 26, 2008
By Tim Martin
Organizers of a campaign to loosen restrictions on embryonic stem cell research in Michigan
want to raise between $10 million and $20 million for their proposal targeting the November election. The Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee raised $90,000 from October through December, including $50,000 from Plymouth
philanthropist Robert Thompson and $25,000 from former Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan leader Richard Whitmer. The committee would have to collect more than 380,000 valid signatures of voters to qualify for the ballot. Time is running short to be included in the autumn election, but campaign organizers say they are confident they'll make it.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/POLITICS/801260342
Granholm to lobby Senate for health care money, jobless benefits
Saturday, January 26, 2008
David Shepardson
WASHINGTON
-- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will go before a Senate committee Thursday to lobby for extended benefits for unemployed workers and more money to states for health care, as part of a stimulus package that would pump about $150 billion into the U.S.
economy. Granholm is scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, her spokeswoman, Liz Boyd, said Friday. It's another effort by Michigan Democrats to draw attention to the state's economic malaise. Michigan
's 7.5 percent unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. Since 2000, the state has lost 350,000 jobs and the median household income of its residents has declined by 11.9 percent.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/POLITICS/801260352/1022/POLITICS
Governor's address to focus on state's foreclosure woes
She'll propose laws making it easier to refinance mortgages.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Nathan Hurst / The Detroit
News
LANSING
-- Struggling Michigan
homeowners will see a glimmer of hope in Gov. Jennifer Granholm's upcoming State of the State address, gubernatorial spokeswoman Liz Boyd said Friday. But whether Granholm's proposed solution to the state's deepening housing crisis will be enough to spark a turnaround remains a hot-button issue with homeowners, lenders and others on the front lines of Michigan
's massive mortgage meltdown. The Democratic governor's sixth annual State of the State address on Tuesday will focus heavily on the economy, education and making life more affordable for Michigan
residents.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-40/1201331744211990.xml&coll=6
Township supervisor runs for House seat
Saturday, January 26, 2008
By Jean Gallup
CALEDONIA -- After almost four years as Leighton
Township
supervisor, Spencer Moore says he is ready to move on to bigger things -- such as the 88th District seat in the state House. Moore
, 56, filed paperwork Friday to run for the seat to be vacated by Rep. Fulton Sheen because of term limits. "I'm pretty passionate about this," said Moore
, of Caledonia
. "I can't do anything to help the state where I'm at, so I have to make this run." Moore
joins three other Republicans chasing the seat: Jeffrey Farnsworth, 48, Otsego, production manager at Perrigo; Bob Genetski, 30, a Fennville alternative education teacher; and Leighton
Township
resident Joshua Leatherman, 30, distribution center manager for The Press.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/BIZ/801260344/1001
Laws target tanning: New legislation in Mich.
reflects concerns about UV rays, health
January 26, 2008
By Sofia Kosmetatos
It was a constituent's story about her granddaughter getting severely burned in a tanning bed that pushed Rep. Frank Accavitti Jr., D-Eastpointe, to sponsor a bill that would regulate tanning salons in Michigan
. That along with concerns of Accavitti and other tanning critics, among them the state's dermatologists, that tanning increases the risk of skin cancer, including deadly melanoma. "If we can save one person from the pains of skin cancer, it's worth it," Accavitti said. The House bill under consideration would require that salons get parental consent before allowing teens under age 18 to tan, register with the state for an annual fee of $150 and post large warning signs about the dangers of ultraviolet radiation. The bill, introduced a year ago, appears on its way to passage by the House commerce committee
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/OPINION01/801240307/1007/OPINION
Michigan
should tap into fast-growing India
Nation could surpass China
as economy of 21st century
January 24, 2008
By Tom Watkins
Like the trick card game three-card Monte, while the world has kept its eye on China
, India
has grown up and may be the economy to watch as the 21st century unfolds. That is particularly important for Michigan
, and some leaders seem to realize it. India
has more than 1.2 billion people. This is slightly fewer people than the communist People's Republic of China
. Today it is the world's 12th largest economy due to economic reforms put into place in the early 1990s. With the end of a quasi-socialist government, with tight controls over foreign trade and investment and private sector business activities, India
's economy began to take off. Today its economy is among the fastest-growing in the world with a gross domestic product growth of nearly 10 percent in 2006-07
http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1201276209280190.xml&coll=5
GM surging
Automaker in top shape to battle all comers
January 25, 2008
Flint
Journal Editorial
Toyota
's failure to overtake General Motors in the global sales race last year hints at the Detroit
automaker's resurgence, which should mean good things for Michigan
. While Toyota
continues to win the main game of profitability - earning $14.9 billion in 2007 compared to GM's loss of $38 billion over the first nine months - that disparity is an anomaly reflecting a huge accounting charge GM took. Down the road, GM is poised to score large profits as it reaps the benefits of a massive global restructuring, as well as labor savings stemming from its new contract with the UAW. Couple these developments with exciting products regularly winning accolades, and GM is fully in shape to compete with rival Toyota
for world dominance.
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-25/120132844680850.xml&coll=9
Council's four contenders tried for seat before
Friday, January 26, 2008J
By JUSTIN ENGELTHE
Saginaw
's City Council will add a familiar face to its roster next month. Four candidates will vie for the open spot created when William L. Federspiel stepped down to run for Saginaw
County
sheriff. All four have sought a council post in the past. William G. Scharffe and Dennis D. Woods II nearly won during November's election, while Robert E. Elliott and Earl G. Jesse have campaigned in previous attempts. The council likely will determine the winner when it meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at City Hall. ''It's pretty amazing after looking back at what we had last time,'' Clerk Diane Herman said after Friday's 5 p.m. application deadline. She's referring to the 31 candidates who signed up in 2005 when Dennis D. Browning stepped down. Federspiel won that decision after a nearly two-month debate.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/POLITICS/801260346/1022/POLITICS
Court allows class-action suit over dioxin
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Associated Press
LANSING
-- The Michigan Court of Appeals has signed off on giving residents class-action status in their lawsuit against Dow Chemical Co. over dioxin contamination. About 2,000 property owners in the Tittabawassee
River basin
say dioxin releases from Dow's Midland
plant reduced the value of property along the river. Dioxin is a chemical byproduct that may cause cancer and damage reproductive and immune systems. A Saginaw
County
judge gave the suit class-action status. Dow wanted cases to continue individually. Two judges in the majority -- Karen Fort Hood and Patrick Meter -- split over how damages should be assessed if Dow is found liable at trial.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080126/NEWS01/801260341/1001/NEWS
Tax rebate would help, area residents say
January 26, 2008
By Matthew Miller
Jacqueline Noncius could use $1,200. That's the amount she would get this year under the federal government's proposed economic stimulus plan - $600 for herself, $300 for each of her two children. "The money would really help," said Noncius, of Lansing
, a part-time home health care worker who also takes classes at Lansing
Community College
. "I could pay extra bills or car insurance or just take the kids somewhere special." But not everyone is greeting news of the $150 billion emergency spending plan, announced Thursday, with such eagerness.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/26/AR2008012601018.html?hpid=topnews
Obama Wins South Carolina
Primary
Democratic Race Continues With No Clear Front-Runner
By Dan Balz, Anne E. Kornblut and Shailagh Murray
Saturday, January 26, 2008;
CHARLESTON
, S.C.
, Jan. 26 -- Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won the South Carolina
primary in a landslide Saturday, attracting a biracial coalition and giving his candidacy a much-needed boost as the Democratic presidential race moves toward a 22-state showdown on Feb. 5. Obama trounced New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the first southern primary of the 2008 campaign, with former North Carolina
senator John Edwards finishing third. After a bitter and racially charged campaign in which former president Bill Clinton became the center of controversy, Obama won with overwhelming support from African Americans, but also attracted roughly a quarter of the white vote, according to exit polling.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/27/this-now-becomes-a-real-d_n_83424.html
This Now Becomes A Real Delegate Fight
January 27, 2008
Thomas B. Edsall
Barack Obama's landslide 28-point win in South Carolina
- 55.4 percent to Hillary Clinton's 26.5 percent and John Edwards' 17.6 percent - establishes him as the first "outsider" candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976 equipped to build a bi-racial coalition. Obama is part of a long line of insurgent candidates. But, unlike his recent predecessors, he is not limited to a virtually all-white base like Gary Hart in 1984, Bill Bradley in 2000 or Howard Dean in 2004. Nor is Obama restricted to an overwhelmingly black core of support like Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Weblogs/CampaignStandard/default.asp#4250
Crist Endorses McCain
January 26, 2008
By Stephen F. Hayes
St. Petersburg, Florida -- Charlie Crist, the popular Governor of Florida, endorsed Senator John McCain here tonight at the Pinellas County Republican Party's Lincoln Day dinner. Crist's endorsement had long been considered a major prize and, in recent days, his aides deliberately left open the possibility of a last-minute endorsement. Crist called McCain a "true American hero" and a "great friend to Florida
" before he offered his formal endorsement. "I have been thinking about it a lot. I don't think anybody would do better than the man who stands next to me right now. I'm happy to endorse John McCain."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/us/politics/27florida.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Surge in Early Balloting Shifts Florida
Races
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: January 27, 2008
BOCA RATON, Fla. — A surge of early voting by Florida Democrats and Republicans has startled officials here and injected additional complexity into the state’s presidential primaries on Tuesday. Democratic candidates are not overtly campaigning here because of the Democratic National Committee’s decision to penalize the state for moving its primary to an earlier date than authorized by the national party, but the number of early votes cast suggests intense interest in the race. The activity appears fueled in part by unofficial efforts by Florida
supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois
.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/26/AR2008012601945.html
In Fla.
, McCain And Romney Bicker on Iraq
By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page A01
SARASOTA
, Fla.
, Jan. 26 -- Sen. John McCain of Arizona
accused former Massachusetts
governor Mitt Romney of having once supported a U.S.
troop withdrawal from Iraq
, sparking an angry demand for an apology from Romney, who called the statement "dishonest." Both Republicans abandoned all pretense of civility as they campaigned across central Florida
in advance of the state's primary Tuesday. Recent polls show a dead heat between McCain and Romney, and the winner here will gain a huge advantage as the nomination fight moves to 21 states a week later.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-26-ajc-endorse_N.htm
Major newspapers choose endorsements
January 26, 2008
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Arizona Sen. John McCain picked up an endorsement from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the same day GOP rival Mitt Romney was endorsed by Georgia
's largest newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. On the Democratic side, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton split midwestern newspaper endorsements, with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tapping Obama and the Kansas City Star backing Clinton
. Last week, the Journal-Constitution endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential race and the Star endorsed McCain in the Republican race.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-split26jan26,1,2751475.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Florida
's midsection key to GOP hopefuls
The fast-growing central part of the state is known to be more ideologically diverse and less predictable.
By Seema Mehta
January 26, 2008
LAKELAND
,
FLA.
-- Linda Ivell is an ardent supporter of President Bush, leads the state Republican women's club and has met all of the major GOP presidential candidates. Yet the effervescent 53-year-old real estate agent, who lives in this former citrus and phosphate mining hub in central Florida
, simply can't make up her mind about whom to vote for Tuesday in Florida
's crucial presidential primary. "I honestly don't know," said Ivell, who is torn by the candidates' appeals as conservatives on economic, national security and social issues.
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/mccain-plan-to-scale-back-drug-benefit-gets-little-attention-in-florida-2008-01-26.html
McCain plan to scale back drug benefit gets little attention in Florida
By Jeffrey Young
01/26/08
If elected president, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would pursue reforms to Medicare that could lead to hundreds of thousands of Florida
seniors losing their current prescription drug coverage. But McCain’s campaign is not worried that his views on the popular program will hurt him in the Sunshine
State
. There are 3 million Floridians on Medicare and about roughly half of them are signed up for the program’s prescription-drug benefit, according to the most recent official federal tally. Nevertheless, the state’s voters and the Republican presidential candidates don’t appear much interested in talking about the controversial entitlement expansion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/us/politics/27romney.html?ref=politics
McCain Goes on Offensive in Tight Race in Florida
By MICHAEL LUO and JOHN M. BRODER
Published: January 27, 2008
SUN CITY CENTER
, Fla.
— Senator John McCain stepped up his attacks on his Republican rival Mitt Romney on Saturday, accusing him of once wanting to withdraw from Iraq
and likening him to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in his approach to the conflict In response, Mr. Romney lashed back, saying Mr. McCain was being “dishonest,” and demanded that he apologize. Mr. McCain’s comments marked the second straight day of going on the offensive against Mr. Romney, and they came as polls showed the two men locked in a tight race in Florida
, where the Republican primary will be held Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/ex-rep.-kemp-helps-lure-martinez-to-mccain-2008-01-25.html
Ex-Rep. Kemp helps lure Martinez
to McCain
By Sam Youngman
01/25/08
Ex-Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), a former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary and a supporter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was instrumental in engineering Friday’s announcement that Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) will endorse McCain. Kemp and Martinez
are both former HUD secretaries, but it was the revelation that nobody from the McCain camp had actually called Martinez
that led to Friday’s developments, according to a source. Upon learning that, Kemp made a call to Martinez
, suggesting he come to his fellow senator’s side.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2638877320080126?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true
Romney praises Bush, bashes Washington
Sat Jan 26, 2008
By Jason Szep
ST. PETERSBURG
, Florida
(Reuters) - Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney often casts himself as an agent of change who would fix a "broken Washington
" but he spares an obvious target -- President George W. Bush."I salute the fact the president has kept us safe these past six years," he told a rally on Saturday in Florida, whose primary on Tuesday is the next test in the most wide open race for the Republican presidential nomination in 50 years.
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/01/26/romney-to-mccain-he-should-apologize/
Romney to McCain: “He Should Apologize.”
January 26, 2008
by Shushannah Walshe
Senator McCain and Governor Romney were locked in an angry stream of back and forth attacks today. It started with McCain accusing Romney of setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S.
troops from Iraq
. Romney responded forcefully asking his rival to apologize: “I don’t know why he’s being dishonest. But that’s dishonest. To say that I have a specific date is simply wrong and is dishonest and he should apologize. That is not the case, I’ve never said that,” Romney added, “I know he’s trying desperately to change the topic from the economy and trying to get back to Iraq
. But to say something that’s not accurate is simply wrong and he knows better.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120131724241619031.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Romney's New Groove
He Touts Expertise as Focus Shifts to Economy
By ELIZABETH HOLMES
January 26, 2008
The bad economic outlook might be good news for Mitt Romney, the millionaire venture capitalist who is in a tight race here for the Republican presidential nomination. As voters' worries have shifted away from the war in Iraq
and turned to the roiled markets, Mr. Romney, with his fixation on PowerPoint slides and fever lines, has come into his own on the stump just ahead of Tuesday's primary. Armed with a stimulus plan that favors big business, a reputation for hard-line cuts and even a sign that boasts "Economic Turnaround," Mr. Romney has shifted his campaign rhetoric back into his comfort zone
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/Vote2008/story?id=4192706&page=1
Florida
or Waterloo
? Stakes High for Giuliani
'America
's Mayor' Turned 'Underdog' in Republican Nomination Fight
January 25 2008
By JAKE TAPPER
"¡Cuba Libre!" shouts the crowd of elderly Cuban-Americans. "¡Rudy! ¡Rudy! ¡Rudy!" "I love you," says the former mayor of New York City
, Rudy Giuliani, to the crowd at the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition
Center
.. "I admire you, I see something in you that is the quintessential story of America
." Months ago, Giuliani held a commanding lead among the Republican-leaning Cuban-American community. Now, according to some polling, he's running neck and neck with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just as he's lost support among Florida Republicans in general. Florida
was supposed to serve as the springboard to the Republican nomination for Rudy Giuliani.
http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/01/viva_rudy.html
Rudy Winning Race - For Mayor of Miami
January 26, 2008
by TOM BEVAN
COCONUT GROVE - At a campaign stop yesterday morning in Little Havana, Rudy Giuliani regaled two hundred older Cuban-Americans at a nutrition center on Calle Ocho. Amid spontaneous bursts of adoration from some in the crowd (Los Cubanos se queremos Rudy!), Giuliani spoke glowingly of the Cuban-American community, citing their story as a testament to the greatness of freedom in America
. "Most of you came here with no money in your pocket, because he (Castro) took it," Giuliani said. "But you brought with you what was in your soul, and no tyrant could take that from you."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=atRsWwMC71oQ&refer=home
Huckabee Prepared to Run a Lean Campaign
By Joe Sobczyk and Heidi Przybyla
January 26, 2008
(Bloomberg) -- Mike Huckabee, short of money and facing long odds to win the Republican presidential nomination, is plotting a guerrilla campaign to pick off delegates and stay in any protracted race.The former Arkansas
governor, who has cut salaries for top advisers, is prepared to pinch pennies. ``This campaign knows how to live off a budget and a shoestring budget,'' campaign manager Chip Saltsman said. Huckabee is homing in on the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday states Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, West Virginia and his native Arkansas, Saltsman said. Those states have 333 of the 1,191 delegates the nominee will need.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?hpq
A President Like My Father
By CAROLINE KENNEDY
Published: January 27, 2008
OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America
the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama. My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
http://www.thestate.com/presidential-politics/story/297566.html
Obama dominates charged SC primary
By DAVID ESPO and CHARLES BABINGTON
January 26, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. --Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the racially charged South Carolina primary Saturday night, regaining campaign momentum in the prelude to a Feb. 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 Democratic National Convention delegates. "The choice in this election is not about regions or religions or genders," Obama said at a boisterous victory rally. "It's not about rich versus poor, young versus old and it's not about black versus white. It's about the past versus the future."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/barack_obamas_south_carolina_v.html
Barack Obama's South Carolina
Victory Speech
By Barack Obama
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
Over two weeks ago, we saw the people of Iowa
proclaim that our time for change has come. But there were those who doubted this country’s desire for something new – who said Iowa
was a fluke not to be repeated again.Well, tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa
was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina
. After four great contests in every corner of this country, we have the most votes, the most delegates, and the most diverse coalition of Americans we’ve seen in a long, long time.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDkwZTg3YjUxZGJmZTUzMjE4MGZhMjQ1MDYyNjhhZWM
Obama Tonight
By Peter Wehner
National Review Online
Barack Obama's speech tonight was simply exceptional — and a reminder of why he is one of the most remarkable political talents in our lifetime. He was able to speak in ways that seem to rise above conventional politics, even as he was able to masterfully push back against the Clinton
attacks of the last several weeks. His capacity to touch and stir authentic emotions is remarkable. And unlike Clinton and especially Edwards, the Obama message is about unity, not divisions; and hopes rather than grievances. If Obama wins the Democratic nomination, Republicans have a great deal to fear. He has tremendous break-out potential.His weaknesses remains his record and his views, which are conventionally and utterly liberal — and that matters a great deal.
http://www.slate.com/id/2182902/
Opening Up a Can of Obama
Barack trounces Hillary.
By John Dickerson
Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008
Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton so badly in South Carolina
it may spawn some new kind of Southern colloquialism. When Clemson spanks an opponent by five touchdowns it will be called an Obama. Fans will taunt the losing team as they walk off the field by making an "O" against their foreheads. What increased the impact of the trouncing is not just that it's a more than 40-point swing from polls in November where Clinton
led Obama by 20 points but that the Clinton
campaign worked so hard to knock Obama down in the previous week. Clinton surrogate Robert Johnson introduced Hillary at a South Carolina event two weeks ago by slinging mud at Obama and challenging his blackness. In the debate last Tuesday, Hillary Clinton was thoroughly aggressive and effective in raising questions not just about Obama's record but about his character.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/25/bill-clinton-john-mccain-and-hillary-are-very-close/
Bill Clinton: John McCain and Hillary are 'very close'
January 26, 2008
By Alexander Mooney
(CNN) — If Hillary Clinton and John McCain become their party's presidential nominees, the general election race is likely to be a love-fest. At least according to Bill Clinton. Campaigning in Spartanburg
,
South Carolina
, Friday, the former president brushed aside suggestions his wife would prove to be a divisive nominee for the Democratic Party, pointing out how she has successfully worked with Republicans in the Senate — including one of the current GOP presidential candidates
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2529810820080125?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true
Bill Clinton again wagging finger, raising eyebrows
Fri Jan 25, 2008
By Deborah Charles
SPARTANBURG
,
South Carolina
(Reuters) - The resurgence of the old Bill Clinton, flushing with anger and wagging his finger as he fights for his wife's presidential bid, has cast a shadow over her campaign and could mar his new image as a global statesman. On Friday, Hillary Clinton herself said her husband had told her he may have gone too far. "He said several times yesterday that maybe he got a little bit carried away," she told CBS's "Early Show."
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/26/exit-polls-bill-clintons-effect/
Exit polls: Bill Clinton's effect
January 26, 2008
By Alexander Mooney
(CNN) — Bill Clinton's aggressive campaigning in South Carolina in the days leading up to the state's primary may have had a net negative effect among South Carolina’s Democratic primary voters, CNN exit polls indicate. Roughly 6 in 10 South Carolina
Democratic primary voters said Bill Clinton's campaigning was important in how they ultimately decided to vote, and of those voters, 48 percent went for Barack Obama while only 37 percent went for Hillary Clinton. Fourteen percent of those voters voted for John Edwards
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/BIZ/801250425/1020/NATION
Bush to Congress: Delaying economic stimulus deal would be a mistake
Friday, January 25, 2008
Andrew Taylor / Associated Press
WASHINGTON
-- President Bush urged Congress on Friday to quickly pass an economic stimulus package void of extraneous spending, saying only quick action will kickstart the sputtering economy. "I strongly believe it would be a mistake to delay or derail this bill," Bush said. "I understand the desire to add provisions from both the right and the left," the president said, adding that would be an error. The president made his remarks at a gathering with House Republicans attending a congressional retreat in White Sulphur Springs
,
W.Va.
, in the snow-covered Alleghenies. The stimulus package will go to the House floor next week and later on to the Senate, where Democrats such as Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
promise to try to add elements such as extending unemployment benefits for workers whose benefits have run out, boost home heating subsidies and raise food stamp benefits.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=MIPON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Bush Pushing Congress on Stimulus Plan
January 26, 2008
By JENNIFER LOVEN
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush appealed on Saturday for swift congressional action on an economic rescue initiative and an electronic surveillance law that soon expires. The White House and House leaders of both parties reached agreement on a simply drawn stimulus program, which would provide tax rebate checks to 117 million families and give businesses $50 billion in incentives to invest in new plants and equipment. In his weekly radio address, Bush asked Congress to approve the agreement as soon as possible.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/STATE_OF_UNION?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Hits, misses in State of the Union
January 26, 2008
By DEB RIECHMANN
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bound together, George W. Bush's State of the Union addresses are a history of the ups and downs of his presidency, of the times he got his way and the times his hopeful oratory was just that. Last year, Bush implored a skeptical Congress to embrace his plan to send thousands more U.S.
troops to Iraq
. Despite growing gloom in the country about the war, Democrats failed to stop him or to set deadlines for troop withdrawals. The military buildup went ahead without impediment and is credited with lowering violence in Iraq
, at least for now, even as progress in political reconciliation has proved disappointing