Articles of Interest 1-28-08

283 Days until Election Day

MORNING UPDATE:

Florida Republican primary is neck & neck between McCain & Romney.  Tuesday will be very interesting.

For the latest information on the February State Convention and National Delegate/Alternate selection, go to:

http://www.migop.org/stateconvention/default.asp

THE REST OF THE STORY:

No further commentary today.

Saul Anuzis

STATE STORIES

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NEWS06/801270613/1008

Governor's address could help shape her legacy

January 27, 2008

By CHRIS CHRISTOFF

LANSING

-- After a stormy year of tax increases, partisan slugging and midnight crises in the Capitol, Gov. Jennifer Granholm will assess her ship of state in calmer seas Tuesday. No billion-dollar deficit stares in her face. No talk of raising taxes again. But there's a sour economy and a sour public in no mood for happy talk In her sixth State of the State address, Granholm can seize something bigger than a budget or sound bite. "This is all about legacy," said Bill Rustem, president of Public Sector Consultants in

Lansing

. "What will Jennifer Granholm be remembered for? That's what it's all about at this point. And there's not much time to establish that legacy."

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/POLITICS/801280376

Governor wants smaller schools

Granholm to reveal $300M plan to reduce dropout rate during State of the State speech.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Mark Hornbeck and Charlie Cain

LANSING

-- Gov. Jennifer Granholm will propose in her State of the State address Tuesday a plan to spend $300 million on as many as 100 smaller, more personalized high schools to replace larger schools whose students are doing poorly and have high dropout ratesThe plan is based on the idea that smaller is better. High schools with about 400 students are more manageable, students can get more individual attention and the principal knows everybody in the building, Granholm administration officials said.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/COL06/801270684/1008

Business boost tops Granholm's agenda

January 27, 2008

By TOM WALSH

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, dogged by a weak Michigan economy that has lost more jobs than it created during each of her five years in office, is expected to roll out several new initiatives Tuesday night to attract new businesses and create more jobs. In the annual State of the State message, Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd confirmed, the governor intends to:

• Announce the creation of the Choose Michigan fund, an $18.75-million pot of money for low-interest loans that could help close deals to bring new companies to

Michigan

.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/business-14/1201462373132750.xml&storylist=michigannews

Granholm to focus on economy, unmet goals in annual speech

1/27/2008

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

LANSING

,

Mich.

(AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has some unfinished business left over from 2007, and she's planning to ask legislators in Tuesday's State of the State address to take care of it soon.That includes making kindergarten mandatory, requiring teenagers to stay in school until age 18 rather than 16 and letting communities take some of the money raised through property taxes to match private donations so they can copy Kalamazoo's free college tuition plan. The Democratic governor proposed all three in her 2007 State of the State address, but last year's intense focus on the budget and new taxes left them undone Reviving Michigan's troubled economy again will be a theme in this year's address, with Granholm expected to focus her attention on Michigan's ability to both create alternative energy — wind power, ethanol and fuel from wood waste, for instance — and build the materials used in solar panels, wind turbines and alternative-fuel cars.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NEWS07/80127046/1008

What's on the agenda for Bush's final State of the

Union

?

January 27, 2008

By TODD SPANGLER

WASHINGTON

— If you’re a businessperson, don’t expect corporate tax cuts in 2008. Ditto if you’re a manufacturer looking for an aggressive federal fair trade policy or a change in the course of the

Iraq

war. The last year of the Bush administration is unlikely to be much different than the next-to-last year, with Democrats running Congress and a Republican White House butting heads on most major issues. That means Michiganders looking to President George W. Bush’s final State of the Union speech at 9 Monday night for proposals to help the state’s struggling economy may be unsatisfied if they’re hoping for extensions for unemployment insurance or money to keep homes from going into foreclosure.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/OPINION01/801270600&theme=KILPATRICK012008

Tracking the mayor's intimate text messages was a search for truth

January 27, 2008

BY PAUL ANGER

Five years ago, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty, his chief of staff, were having an affair. That revelation in text messages published this week by the Free Press and freep.com would not have been top-of-page news except for this:The affair ultimately cost the City of Detroit more than $9 million, former police officers lost their careers because of it and Kilpatrick and Beatty lied all those years about their intimacy -- under oath and in deliberately staged public appearances intended to mislead taxpayers and citizens.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/OPINION03/801270313

Finley: Sex scandal won't ruin

Detroit

's mayor, but money might

Sunday, January 27, 2008

By Nolan Finley

It's not the sex or the lies, it's the money. If it turns out all Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has to worry about is a sex scandal and the excruciating humiliation of seeing his randy text messages to Christine Beatty in print, he can survive. Plenty of other politicians have. Look at Rudy Giuliani. He once had an outgoing wife and an incoming wife fighting for the same bed in the

New York City

mayoral mansion, and he emerged not only with all of his private parts intact, but also poised to run for president. Kilpatrick wisely chose the Bill Clinton strategy to deflect the fall-out from revelations that he did the hula with his chief of staff and then lied about it under oath.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/COL32/801270570

Kilpatrick had right stuff to lead, but abused it

January 27, 2008

BY RON DZWONKOWSKI

I first met Kwame Kilpatrick in January 2001 and pegged him instantly as a future mayor of

Detroit

. He had a commanding presence, an engaging style, and a good grasp of issues. He was cocky, sure, but also had a self-effacing sense of humor and, more important, a sense of destiny. You just never know, I guess, which of the hidden character defects in all of us is going to surface and mess with destiny. The very ego that made Kilpatrick so confident he could be mayor at a very young age also seems to have convinced him he could do as he pleased and get away with it. Sometimes, it's not good to win too much; you get to feeling you can't lose, and that's when you're most vulnerable.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/OPINION01/801270605

City deserves truth and full pursuit of justice

January 27, 2008

Detroit

Free Press Editorial

When Kwame Kilpatrick was sworn in as mayor six years ago, he gave a stirring speech, imploring the people of

Detroit

to "rise up" for their city. It's time for the people to "rise up" again. Kilpatrick has betrayed them; city leadership is in turmoil at a crucial time because of the mayor's sleazy sex scandal and lies. This has to be resolved. The city can't afford it, and Detroiters, plus those who do business with and in the city, need to demand that public officials clean this mess up -- thoroughly, openly, professionally -- and as quickly as possible.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/OPINION01/801270693/1085/opinion

Getting info from Capitol no small task

January 27, 2008

Lansing

State

Journal

Joe Sanger picked up a piece of mail last fall, and thus began an odyssey into the workings of the Legislature. The Lansing CPA was moved to act by a "Legislative Update" by Sen. Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck. The mailer arrived right before the Legislature agreed on a 2008 budget outline that included increased taxes. Sanger wanted to know how Birkholz's mailer was financed. In an Oct. 8, 2007, letter, he asked Birkholz's office to supply information under the Freedom of Information Act. Legislative offices, however, are not bound by FOIA, a flaw in the law long in need of repair. Nevertheless, the Legislature does have rules to guide financial information requests from the public.

http://macombdaily.com/stories/012708/loc_n1001.shtml

County targets 60 for layoffs

Need to eliminate $12 million deficit means cuts are in the forecast

January 27, 2008

By

Chad

Selweski

David Boyd was visiting his 83-year-old mother at Martha T. Berry Medical Care Facility on Friday morning when the news hit The 217-bed facility may have to cut $700,000 from its budget, forcing 10 employee layoffs. Boyd worried about the impact on his mother, Sara Jane Boyd, who suffers from dementia but has enjoyed a "good, decent quality of life" at the county-run facility for the past four years. "The aides and the nurses, they're stretched already. That (cutback) would mean cutting some of the services," said Boyd, a

Clinton

Township

resident. "I ... don't know what I'd do without it. The care is excellent." Martha T. Berry would be hardest hit under a $4.7 million budget-balancing plan that calls for 60 potential layoffs spread over 18 departments. The plan, which is up for approval by the county board's Budget Committee on Thursday, would be the final round of cuts designed to nearly eliminate a $12 million deficit.

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1201432526136250.xml&coll=4

Bay

County

Republicans fighting to grab more seats in 2008, but acknowledge the struggle

Sunday, January 27, 2008

By Ryan J. Stanton

When Ernie Krygier announced he was leaving the Republican Party to become a Democrat in this year's election, there was disappointment among the GOP, but not shock. Krygier, who has been a Bay County commissioner for four years, said he was joining the ''party in power,'' partly so he could push forward his political agenda without being left the ''odd man out'' in a Democratic county. Local Republicans say they can understand where he's coming from - being a Republican in

Bay

County

, where political affiliations run blue, isn't an easy road to walk.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NEWS06/801270638/1008

More

Great Lakes

cleanup needed, some say

January 27, 2008

By ELLYN

FERGUSON

WASHINGTON

-- The Great Lakes are less polluted than in the past, but

U.S.

efforts to improve water quality are hampered by unclear lines of responsibility and inadequate funding, a witness told lawmakers Wednesday. "The future of the Great Lakes is uncertain," said Irene Brooks, acting chair of the

U.S.

section of the International Joint Commission. The commission, made up of

U.S.

and Canadian members, works to resolve and prevent disputes between the two countries on the

Great Lakes

and rivers that straddle their borders. The

Great Lakes

basin includes parts of eight states and two Canadian provinces.

NATIONAL STORIES

http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Rasmussen Reports

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows a two-man race for the Republican Presidential Nomination. John McCain and Mitt Romney are tied for the lead at 27% and no one else is close. Mike Huckabee is eleven points back at 16%, Rudy Giuliani is at 14%, and Ron Paul is supported by 6% of Likely Republican Primary Voters (see recent daily numbers).

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/POLITICS/801270332

Independent voters to play big role in Super Tuesday contests

January 27, 2008

Ben Evans / Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- More than half the states holding presidential contests next month on Super Tuesday allow unaffiliated voters to participate, giving millions of independents a chance to shape what is usually an insider affair among Democratic and Republican loyalists. Two of those states --

California

and

New Jersey

-- together have nearly 6 million unaffiliated voters who will be allowed to cast ballots.

Georgia

,

Illinois

,

Massachusetts

and

Alabama

are among other prized catches with millions of independents eligible for the Feb. 5 contests.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/26/AR2008012602215.html

In

Illinois

, Super Tuesday Will Be Even Bigger

By Chris Cillizza And Shailagh Murray

Sunday, January 27, 2008

For months, Feb. 5 has been circled on the calendars of political junkies across the country. With 24 states voting for presidential nominees that day, it will be the equivalent of a national primary -- the first such event in recent political history. While most of the states that rushed to move their presidential votes to early February kept their congressional primaries scheduled later in the year, Illinois decided to hold all of its elections at once -- meaning that not only will native son Barack Obama be on the ballot a week from Tuesday, a host of key congressional primaries will also be decided.

Here's a look at what is at stake in

Illinois

:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/ROMNEY_VS_MCCAIN?SITE=MIDTF&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-27-17-54-15

Analysis: Romney, McCain Turn Up Rancor

January 27, 2008

By LIZ SIDOTI

ORLANDO

,

Fla.

(AP) -- Mitt Romney and John McCain are in an increasingly bitter and personal struggle to control the campaign conversation before

Florida

's primary on Tuesday - and the Republican presidential nomination itself may go to the one who succeeds. Romney, the former

Massachusetts

governor and venture capitalist, casts himself as a business-savvy economic turnaround artist amid recession anxiety, while McCain, the

Arizona

senator and former

Vietnam

veteran, portrays himself as a courageous wartime commander in chief in a dangerous world.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22867727

McCain enjoys ‘boost’ ahead of

Fla.

primary

He also targets rival Romney on

Iraq

and troop withdrawals

NBC News Services

Sun., Jan. 27, 2008

TAMPA

,

Fla.

- Sen. John McCain on Sunday appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," trumpeting some "good momentum" ahead of Tuesday's Republican primary in

Florida

and emphasizing his differences with rival Mitt Romney on the war in

Iraq

. McCain welcomed the endorsement by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist the night before, as well as one over the weekend by another senior Florida Republican, Sen. Mel Martinez. "It's bound to give us a bit of a boost," the

Arizona

senator said of the endorsements. Crist's endorsement was sought by all the GOP presidential rivals, including former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/27/why_crist_went_for_mccain_1.html

Why Crist Went for McCain

January 27, 2008

By Juliet Eilperin

TAMPA, Fla. -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist elaborated today on his decision to back Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), saying he was most qualified to be president on the basis of his national security credentials. Crist dismissed the idea that he wanted McCain to pick him as a running mate should he win the GOP nomination, saying, "That's not an issue. The issue is what's good for the country and what's good for

Florida

." "Look, at the time we're in right now, my goodness, safety and security are at the forefront of our nation's future," Crist told reporters as he rode on the Straight Talk Express, sitting at McCain's side. "I don't know if anything is more important than that." When asked how he would respond to the fact that voters are now increasingly focused on the nation's economy, McCain said he had no interest in changing his own policy priorities.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/mccain_says_americas_security.html

McCain says

America

's security comes first

January 27, 2008

by Jill Zuckman

Tampa

,

Fla.

– Shortly after criticizing Mitt Romney for his stance on

Iraq

during an appearance on Meet the Press, Sen. John McCain said he would not let go of the national security issue even if voters say they are currently more worried about the economy.

While Romney has tried to focus his campaign on the economy, McCain harshly criticized him yesterday and again this morning for having backed timetables for withdrawing troops in

Iraq

, quoting Romney himself. "This statement was looking for the blinking exit sign," McCain charged. Romney, however, responded on CNN's Late Edition, saying, "Nice try, John." The former

Massachusetts

governor, who disputes McCain's assertion, accused his chief rival of simply trying to change the subject away from the economy, a topic McCain has acknowledged is not his strong suit

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/27/romney_seeks_shift_back_to_eco_1.html

Romney Seeks Shift Back to Economy

January 27, 2008

By Perry Bacon Jr.

MIAMI -- A day after Sen. John McCain blasted his position on Iraq, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney changed the subject to his favorite issue, the economy. Romney suggested a bill to combat global warming McCain has authored would lead to increases in prices for gas, repeated criticisms of McCain's votes against tax cuts the Bush administration advocated in 2001 and 2003 and suggested McCain did not understand the economy as well as the Romney, who ran a Boston venture capital firm before entering politics.  "I simply don't think the people of Florida are going to say the nominee of our party ought to be a person who on more than one occasion has expressed a lack of understanding of our economy," Romney said at a press conference following a rally at community center in a Cuban area here where the usually buttoned-down candidate wore an untucked Guayabera, a kind of shirt popular in Latin America.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hl1jysLgsOZgUMTivIKfUtbcnMvg

US VP Cheney's daughter joins Mitt Romney campaign

January 27, 2008

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Liz Cheney, former diplomat and daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is to join the presidential campaign team of Republican candidate Mitt Romney, his campaign announced Sunday. "Having most recently worked at the US State Department handling

Middle East

policy, Cheney will serve as a senior foreign policy adviser to governor Romney," Romney's campaign said in a statement.In the same statement, Cheney, who previously backed senator-turned-actor Fred Thompson for the White House nomination who dropped out Tuesday, said she is "proud to support Governor Romney."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/27/wromney127.xml

Mitt Romney sells himself as America's CEO

By Alex Spillius

27/01/2008

After an impressive career in business, Mitt Romney is now making the biggest pitch of his life, for the White House Like any good salesman he knows to keep the message simple and in

Florida

that means one thing: the economy. Mitt Romney addresses workers at Valpak direct mail in

Florida

  As he toured

America

's

Sunshine

State

ahead of Tuesday's Republican primary, he told meeting after meeting that only he had the experience and the expertise to dispel the dark clouds gathering over the nation's finances. "I spent my life doing what you are doing - working in the real economy," he told an audience at Valpak, a direct mail company near

St Petersburg

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/27/romney_lashes_mccain_over_wash.html

Romney Lashes McCain Over

Washington

Record

January 27, 2008

By Zachary A. Goldfarb

Two days before the critical

Florida

primary, Mitt Romney sought to strike Sunday at one of the central tenets of GOP rival Sen. John McCain's candidacy: leadership. "[I]f he has been a leader, where has it led us?" Romney said. "Senator McCain has been in the Senate for the last 20 years. ... Look at his legislation. McCain-Feingold: That hurt our First Amendment rights. McCain-Kennedy: That was granting amnesty to 10 million illegal aliens." Romney's harsh words, on CNN's "Late Edition," came after McCain criticized the former

Massachusetts

governor for failing to support President Bush's military strategy in

Iraq

. Romney has said he supported the "surge" strategy and demanded an apology, but McCain repeated the assertion this morning on NBC's "Meet the Press."

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NATION/135391911/1001

Giuliani banks on Florida, downplays polls

By Joseph Curl

January 27, 2008

LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. — Rudolph W. Giuliani yesterday told several hundred supporters to ignore the polls — all of which show him trailing in a state he must win to keep his presidential hopes alive — and to "vote your heart." "Don't listen to any of the cynics. Don't listen to any of the experts — you're the experts," he yelled as his supporters, packed into a restaurant on St. Armand's Circle, whooped and chanted, "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27dowd.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

It’s Not Giuliani Time in

Florida

By MAUREEN DOWD

January 27, 2008

I expected more of Rudy. Not a better message. It figured that he would snowbird his strategy, taking his

New York

subtext of blacks-want-to-mug-you-and-I-can-protect-you down to

Florida

and switching it to Arabs-want-to-kill-you-and-I-can-save-you. And I wasn’t surprised that he continued to run on fear and divisiveness, zeroing in on

Florida

the way he used to target Staten Island, Bay Ridge, Queens and parts of

Manhattan

where the elderly lived. Hizzoner always focused on those who supported him and ignored those who didn’t. I simply expected that Rudy would rise to greater heights as he fell behind, that he would self-immolate in a dramatic way befitting a man who loves opera and the “Godfather” movies. I longed for the

Manhattan

diva to reprise Maria Callas doing one of her famous Donizetti mad scenes that he loved so much.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3756122.shtml

Huckabee Continues To Attack Romney, Defend McCain

By Josh Kraushaar

Jan 27, 2008

(The Politico) Former

Arkansas

governor Mike Huckabee, polling a distant fourth in the upcoming

Florida

primaries, continued to attack former

Massachusetts

governor Mitt Romney, while offering implicit support for his other rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in his appearance on "Fox News Sunday. When asked to take sides on a dispute between Romney and McCain over whether the former

Massachusetts

governor called for a timetable for withdrawal in

Iraq

last April, Huckabee sided squarely with McCain. “Dishonest? I’ve never seen John McCain say something that is just blatantly untrue,” Huckabee said. Huckabee later praised McCain, saying “we have a civil approach to presidential process. Neither of us has sought the office by cracking the kneecaps of the other.” But then he figuratively cracked the kneecaps of Romney by questioning the former governor’s veracity.

http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/356823.html

GOP presidential hopeful Huckabee touts 'fair tax' in

Florida

January 27, 2008

By MELISSA NELSON

PENSACOLA

,

Fla.

--Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said Sunday he is counting on the traditionally conservative Panhandle to push him to a strong finish in

Florida

. "We knew we needed to get to the Panhandle, it is a very, very critical area," Huckabee said. "The Panhandle is historically a very conservative part of

Florida

and that would be an ideal constituency for us. I wish we could spend more time here." The former

Arkansas

governor met with supporters and held a news conference at a small airport Sunday night. Huckabee is scheduled to deliver a private speech at a Baptist church Sunday evening and hold a public rally Monday morning. Early Sunday, he told a supporters at a rally in

Jacksonville

that he is the only major candidate supporting the "fair tax," a proposal to replace federal income taxes with a 23 percent national sales tax."It's fair. It's flat. It's finite and it's family friendly," he told the crowd of about 300.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/without_thompson_a_boring_gop.html

Without Thompson, A Boring GOP Field

January 27, 2008

By David Broder

WASHINGTON

-- You would never realize how big the stakes are in Tuesday's winner-take-all Florida Republican primary if you judged only the behavior of the leading presidential candidates these last few days. Their final pre-primary debate was bland to the point of apathy. Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and even iconoclastic Ron Paul were on their best behavior -- as if oblivious to what the 57 delegates available in

Florida

could mean to anyone who pulls out a plurality victory. A win could establish either McCain or Romney as the man to beat in the massive round of Feb. 5 primaries. It could launch Giuliani into a late rush for the nomination, wiping out his weak showing in the earlier contests. And an upset by Huckabee would force an upper revision in his prospects, which have been diminished since he surprised the field in

Iowa

.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080127/NATION/651354445/1028/election

Republicans who want a change go for Obama

By Christina Bellantoni

January 27, 2008

EDGEVILLE

,

S.C.

— Twenty years ago, Patricia Moseley and her college friends campaigned throughout this region for George H.W. Bush, with his son by her side.

She says she still loves the Bush family, but because she "is just ready for a change," she spent yesterday knocking on doors in this mostly Republican county to boost a presidential candidate of different stripes — Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of

Illinois

.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/ted_kennedy_end.html

Ted Kennedy endorsing Obama

By Susan Milligan

January 27, 2008

WASHINGTON

-- Senator Edward M. Kennedy will endorse Barack Obama for president tomorrow, breaking his year-long neutrality to send a powerful signal of where the legendary Massachusetts Democrat sees the party going -- and who he thinks is best to lead it. Kennedy confidantes told the Globe today that the Bay State's senior senator will appear with Obama and Kennedy's niece, Caroline Kennedy, at a morning rally at American University in Washington tomorrow to announce his support. That will be a potentially significant boost for Obama as he heads into a series of critical primaries on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/us/politics/27florida.html?ei=5065&en=d08febe14b8109fb&ex=1202014800&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1201378149-o9OnLMqM7eDf6IOW78cYYQ&pagewanted=print

Surge in Early Balloting Shifts

Florida

Races

January 27, 2008

By ADAM NAGOURNEY

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/AR2008012602665.html?hpid=topnews

A Margin That Will Be Hard To Marginalize

By Alec MacGillis

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Across

South Carolina

last week, African American voters came in droves to see Sen. Barack Obama. They came, they said in interviews, not just for a glimpse of the first black candidate with a serious chance at winning the White House but because they were drawn by his message of bringing Americans of all backgrounds together. "He speaks of things that touch the heart of everyday people. We all collectively as a society have to hold onto our hope together," said Beverly Newsome, a teacher in

North Charleston

. "How else are we going to make it if we don't join together to create a better society for everyone?"

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080127/D8UEG4RG0.html

Clinton

to Campaign in

Florida

Jan 27, 2008

By MIKE GLOVER

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she was going to Florida to assure Democrats that "their voices are heard" and to underscore her commitment to seeing the state's delegation seated at the national convention. Though the Democratic presidential candidates largely have heeded the national party's request that they not campaign publicly in

Florida

,

Clinton

said it's time to pay attention to voters there who are showing heavy interest in Tuesday's primary. Early voting is under way and drawing strong interest, she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012502781.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

REAGAN'S HEIR?  Reaching for a Place in History

By Lou Cannon and Carl M. Cannon

Sunday, January 27, 2008

As President Bush prepares to deliver his last State of the Union address tomorrow night, a legion of pundits, politicians and, yes, historians is already assigning the 43rd president his final place in history. These commentators, and especially those who confidently assert that Bush is the "worst president in history," would do well to remember the British historian C.V. Wedgwood's observation: "History is written backward but lived forward. Those who know the end of the story can never know what it was like at the time." We all know -- or think we do -- what things are like in our union now, with an economy hitting a rough patch and a foreign war grinding on with no end in sight. But we don't know how the story will turn out.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080127/COMMENTARY/999470317/1028/election

Stimulus scenarios

By Debra J. Saunders

January 27, 2008

Economist Kevin Hassett, an adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, described the proposed $150 billion economic stimulus package negotiated by President Bush and the Democrat-led Congress, this way: "It's like borrowing money from the Chinese that we can then drop from a helicopter." (That quote comes from Chronicle staff writer Carolyn Lochhead.) Mr. McCain is a long-road kind of guy and his stimulus package essentially involves making the Bush tax cuts permanent and reducing the corporate tax rate to create jobs.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NATION/801270335/1020/NATION

Treasury secretary pushes Senate to act on economic package

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Ben Feller / Associated Press

WASHINGTON

-- President Bush's chief negotiator on an economic aid deal said Sunday the Senate should quickly get behind a plan or risk drawing the resentment of a frustrated public.  The president and House leaders have agreed on a proposal to provide tax rebate checks to 117 million families and give businesses $50 billion in incentives to invest in new plants and equipment. The goal is to help head off a recession and boost consumer confidence.  "I don't think the Senate is going to want to derail that deal," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. "And I don't think the American people are going to have much patience for anything that would slow down the process."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/AR2008012700248.html?hpid=topnews

Putin Rival Barred From Presidential Election

Officials Say Former Prime Minister Forged Campaign Signatures

By Peter Finn

Sunday, January 27, 2008

MOSCOW, Jan. 27 -- Former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, a political opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was barred Sunday from running for president after the Central Election Commission said it had found tens of thousands of forged signatures among the 2 million gathered by his campaign to get his name on the ballot.  Opinion polls indicated that Kasyanov posed no political threat to Putin's chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev, the overwhelming favorite in the March 2 vote, and his disqualification will immediately raise questions about the Kremlin's willingness to face any competition or debate. As a candidate, Kasyanov would have enjoyed some access to state-controlled national television stations, which rarely mention him and only then to attack him as corrupt or declare him irrelevant.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/america/venez.php

Chávez pushes for withdrawal of international reserves from

U.S.

banks

The Associated Press

January 27, 2008

CARACAS

: The president of

Venezuela

, Hugo Chávez, urged his Latin American allies to begin withdrawing billions of dollars in international reserves from

U.S.

banks, warning of a looming

U.S.

economic crisis. Chávez made the suggestion Saturday as he hosted a summit aimed at increasing Latin American integration and countering

U.S.

influence."We should start to bring our reserves here," Chávez said. "Why does that money have to be in the north? You can't put all your eggs in one basket." To help pool resources within the region, Chávez and other leaders launched a new development bank at the summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the

Americas

, or ALBA. The left-leaning regional trade alliance supported by Chávez is intended to offer an alternative, socialist path to integration while snubbing U.S.-backed free-trade deals.