Articles of Interest 1-6-08

305 Days until Election Day

MORNING UPDATE:

Only two more days until they count the votes in New Hampshire. Then, all eyes will be on the Republican primary in Michigan, just one week later! It’s gonna be one interesting week…

Yesterday, Governor Mitt Romney convincingly won the Wyoming County Conventions as voters in that state selected the nation’s first delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Fred Thompson came in second and Duncan Hunter third.

We continue to have many inquiries about the upcoming county conventions and state convention. Here is the information, for those who do not already have it:

FEBRUARY 7, 2008 - County Conventions
Thursday, February 7th - 7:30pm. All county parties are required to hold County Conventions at this date & time. Location determined by county committee. All precinct delegates shall be notified in writing of the convention date, location and time. "Call to the Convention" mailed by January 3rd.

IMPORTANT***Because of the very short amount of time between the county and state conventions, all materials regarding the state convention (location, parking, lodging, etc) will be mailed to the County Chairs prior to February 1st, for distribution to elected delegates AT THE COUNTY CONVENTIONS. Informational packets will not be mailed directly to convention delegates.

FEBRUARY 15 & 16, 2008 - State Convention & State Committee Meeting
Friday, February 15th & Saturday, February 16th - Lansing Center / Lansing Radisson Hotel, Lansing. State Convention will be held for the purposes of electing National Committee delegates, National Committeeman, and National Committeewoman. District Caucuses will be held Friday night at the Lansing Radisson Hotel and the Lansing Center. Convention floor proceedings held Saturday AM at the Lansing Center. More details to be distributed at County Conventions.

Thank you all for your patience as we navigated our way through three years of planning and a few court battles to get to this point! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact DAWN WADE, Events Coordinator (dwade@migop.org or 517-487-5413).

Don’t forget to view our 2007 Annual Report on our blog at:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2008/01/2007-annual-rep.html

THE REST OF THE STORY:

No further commentary today.

Saul Anuzis

STATE STORIES

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/NEWS01/312050010

Michigan

leaders suggest new system for presidential primaries

January 5, 2008

By Kathy Barks Hoffman

LANSING — Even though Michigan Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis and Democratic activist Debbie Dingell were two of the driving forces behind moving up the state’s presidential primary to Jan. 15, neither wants a repeat in 2012. Anuzis and Dingell on Tuesday proposed a bipartisan presidential primary selection plan that would divide the 50 states into six regions. The nation would hold six separate presidential selection dates, with one or two states from each region chosen to participate on each date. A lottery would determine the order in which the groups voted. The plan is patterned after a federal bill proposed in September by U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. That measure would create six primary dates, between March and June, featuring states from six separate geographic regions.

http://cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002652131

Michigan’s Jan. 15 Primary Draws Full Smackdown from DNC

January 5, 2008

By Marie Horrigan

Michigan Democrats, who have scheduled a Jan. 15 presidential primary in violation of scheduling rules set by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), have been officially stripped of their entire 156-member delegation to the party’s national convention in August.  Saturday marked the end of the 30-day grace period the Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee gave the Michigan Democratic Party to set up an alternative to the Jan. 15 primary, which was established by a recently enacted state law that passed in the Michigan legislature with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm . The DNC invoked a similar penalty on the Florida Democratic Party, which is going ahead with a Jan. 29 primary that also violates the national party’s scheduling rules.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/OPINION01/80104056

FREE PRESS ENDORSEMENT |

MICHIGAN

’S PRIMARY

Sen. McCain would make strongest nominee for Republican Party

January 5, 2008

Eight years ago, endorsing U.S. Sen. John McCain in the Michigan Republican presidential primary, the Free Press said he was “an articulate hardliner on how the

United States

should lead the world” and the best candidate in a GOP field that included George W. Bush. McCain won

Michigan

, but that proved to be the high-water mark of a campaign that collapsed shortly thereafter, outspent and outmaneuvered by the Bush forces. Eight years later, he is running again, and JOHN McCAIN is, again, the best candidate to carry the GOP banner into the fall. While the Free Press differs with McCain on a number of issues, the Arizona senator is a smarter, more tested and pragmatic leader who has shown since 2000 that he knows how to build bipartisan alliances around issues. He’s a straight shooter, sometimes to his detriment in the political world, where McCain also loses points for persistently championing needed campaign reforms and criticizing pork-barrel spending that benefits special interests.

http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS01/801050310/1002/NEWS01

John McCain to make campaign stop in

Battle Creek

January 5, 2008

By Eric J. Greene

In what will be

Battle Creek

's first visit by a 2008 presidential hopeful, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., plans a campaign stop on Jan. 13 at

Burnham

Brook

Community Center

. McCain, who finished fourth among Republicans in the

Iowa

presidential caucus Thursday, plans a "town hall" event during which he'll discuss his proposals for middle-class tax cuts and assistance for displaced workers, according to a campaign brochure. Scott Durham, chairman of the Calhoun County Republican Party, said the event is free and open to the public and reservations are not required.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/OPINION02/801050317/1014/OPINION

State's early primary carries special rules

January 5, 2008

By Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land

On Jan. 15,

Michigan

voters can help determine the next president of the

United States

and the future direction of our nation. Every registered voter is urged to take part in our state's presidential primary election, and let his or her voice be heard A few things to remember: Anyone registered to vote in

Michigan

may participate. At the polls, you must state in writing for which party's ballot you wish to vote - Republican or Democratic. You need not be a registered member of the party to vote and requesting a partisan ballot will not make you a registered member of that party.  Four Democratic candidates voluntarily withdrew themselves from

Michigan

's primary. However, you may vote "uncommitted" rather than for a listed candidate. All Republican candidates are participating and are listed on the Republican ballot. Again, you also have the option of voting "uncommitted."

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/OPINION01/801060309/1007/OPINION

Dems kick themselves for passing on

Michigan

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Detroit

News Editorial

Some Democrats are apparently regretting the decision to allow Hillary Clinton to stand as the lone frontrunner in the Jan. 15

Michigan

primary and are suggesting that supporters of other candidates cast their ballots for "uncommitted."  Popular wisdom had suggested that non-Clinton voters would either skip the primary or cross over to make mischief on the Republican ballot.  It's a pipe dream to think that "uncommitted" could beat

Clinton

in

Michigan

. But if enough supporters of Barack Obama and John Edwards cast an anti-Clinton protest vote, it could embarrass the

New York

senator and add credibility to the theory that she's highly vulnerable.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080104/NEWS06/80104067/1008/NEWS06

Voters can't write-in names in Dems primary

January 4, 2008

Free Press Staff

Michigan

voters getting absentee ballots for the state's Jan. 15 presidential primary have four Democratic choices -- Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd (who dropped out of the race today) and Mike Gravel. That's because Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden (who also dropped out this week) removed their names from the ballot last fall.What should their supporters do? Don't write-in a candidate's name. Your ballot will be thrown out.

Detroit

officials say they're already seeing a lot of spoiled ballots.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-27/119951044521680.xml&coll=7

Just too early': Clerks report low demand for absentee ballots

Saturday, January 05, 2008

BY SARITA CHOUREY

Area clerks aren't exactly overwhelmed with absentee-ballot traffic leading up to the presidential primary election Jan. 15.  But they also don't know what to expect, because it's the first time since 1992 that both Democrats and Republicans will participate in a presidential primary, one in which voters must declare their party before they vote. ``We're sitting back and enjoying the ride, seeing how it unfolds and what the turnout will be like,'' Kalamazoo City Clerk Scott Borling said, noting that at this point in November's election season last year, the city had sent out 2,100 absentee ballots.

http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/010508/loc_20080105152.shtml

No Obama, Edwards on ballot

State primary dispute limits list of Democrats

Saturday, January 5, 2008

By KAREN AUCHTERLONIE

Democrats Barack Obama and John Edwards may have taken first and second places Thursday, respectively, in the

Iowa

caucuses - but in

Michigan

's first-ever Jan. 15 presidential primary, they won't even be on the ballot.  "I think all voters are disappointed that Democrats took themselves off the ballot, and I'm sure that John Edwards and Barack Obama are kicking themselves now for not being on the

Michigan

ballot," said Dennis Cowan, chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-39/1199517319269950.xml&coll=6

Edwards backer heads to court over primary date

Saturday, January 05, 2008

By Jim Harger

East Grand Rapids

resident Martha Hayes would love to be out campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Monday.  Instead, she will be sitting in a federal courtroom in

Grand Rapids

, where her lawyer will argue that the Michigan Democratic Party took away her rights and the rights of other Democrats to participate in the nominating process. Hayes is protesting

Michigan

's Jan. 15 primary election because Edwards and other Democratic candidates, such as Barack Obama and Bill Richardson, won't appear on the ballot.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-39/1199517332269950.xml&coll=6

Soldiers pack up, prepare to ship out for

Iraq

Saturday, January 05, 2008

By Ted Roelofs

WYOMING -- In what by now is a familiar and wrenching scene, several hundred West Michigan soldiers are preparing to depart as soon as Monday for duty in Iraq. Army National Guard troops based at

Wyoming

's Grand Valley Armory were packing bags and checking supplies Friday, part of a statewide deployment of about 500 soldiers. The Wyoming-based deployments include 120 soldiers from the 125th Infantry and 95 soldiers from the 237th Forward Support Battalion as well as about 150 soldiers based in Cadillac, Big Rapids and Manistee. They will be gone for about a year, including several weeks of training at

Fort Hood

,

Texas

, and then duty in

Iraq

.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/NEWS06/801060657/1008

Michigan

statue to leave Capitol

January 6, 2008

By

DAWSON

BELL

QUESTION: What do Zachariah Chandler and George Washington Glick have in common (other than that most ordinary citizens of the 21st Century have never heard of either one)?

ANSWER: They're the only two people in

U.S.

history to be ejected from Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, where each of the 50 states is allotted space for the display of statues depicting its two most favored deceased residents. Glick was a Kansan.

Chandler

was one of 19th-Century

Michigan

's leading lights.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/BUSINESS04/801060626

150-million complex planned for downtown

Cadillac Centre to include residential, retail and entertainment space

January 6, 2008

By JOHN GALLAGHER

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and private developers are days away from announcing a blockbuster new residential, retail and entertainment center in the heart of Detroit, a project aimed at pumping up downtown's 24-hour buzz and international interest in the city. The $150-million Cadillac Centre, plans for which were disclosed exclusively to the Free Press, would rise on a parcel known as the Monroe Block, a surface parking lot just east of

Woodward Avenue

and

Campus

Martius

Park

near the Compuware headquarters. Financing is lined up, and the schedule calls for breaking ground in fall 2009, with tenants moving in late 2011

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1199518875319390.xml&coll=2

Foreclosure rate jumps 90%

2,180 homes lost in local area in 2007

Saturday, January 05, 2008

BY STEFANIE MURRAY

A record number of homes in Washtenaw and Livingston counties were foreclosed upon in 2007, statistics show, as

Michigan

's struggling economy and spiking mortgage payments hit local people hard. Combined, 2,180 homes were sold at sheriff's auctions in the two counties last year, a 90 percent jump from 2006, according to the counties' respective Register of Deeds offices, and quintuple the number of auctions just five years ago.  "When you look at a bell curve, we have not yet reached the top,'' said Washtenaw County Treasurer Catherine McClary, who estimates that in Wash-tenaw alone, 2,200 homes entered some state of foreclosure in 2007. "We will probably see that in late 2008 or 2009. This is still the beginning.''

NATIONAL STORIES

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/UPDATE/801050435/1374/POLITICS01

Romney spars with Huckabee, McCain in

New Hampshire

debate

Saturday, January 5, 2008

By Liz Sidoti

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clashed with Mike Huckabee on foreign policy and John McCain on immigration Saturday night in a high-stakes presidential campaign debate three days before the New Hampshire primary.  "It's not amnesty," McCain shot back after Romney criticized his plan for overhauling the immigration system. "You can spend your whole fortune on these attacks ads, my friend, but it's not true."  Earlier, Romney criticized Huckabee for having written that the Bush administration was guilty of an "arrogant bunker mentality" on foreign policy.  "Did you read the article before you commented on it," asked Huckabee, the former

Arkansas

governor. "I read the article, the whole article," shot back Romney.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080106/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_rdp

Clinton

: Obama has changed positions

January 5, 2008

By NEDRA PICKLER

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democratic presidential front-runner no longer, accused campaign rival Barack Obama of changing his positions on health care and "a number of issues" Saturday night in a debate three days before the

New Hampshire

primary. "I have been entirely consistent in my position," countered Obama, adding that he and Clinton have a philosophical disagreement over her proposal to require Americans to purchase health insurance or face a penalty from the government.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/UPDATE/801050430/1022

Romney wins

Wyoming

Republican caucuses

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Associated Press

CASPER

,

Wyo

. -- Mitt Romney captured his first win of the Republican presidential race, gaining most of

Wyoming

's delegates at stake in GOP caucuses on Saturday.  The former

Massachusetts

governor won seven delegates, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson got two and California Rep. Duncan Hunter won one, meaning no other candidate could beat Romney. Caucuses were still being held to decide all 12 delegates at stake.  The win was a boost for Romney, coming t            wo days after his loss to Mike Huckabee in the

Iowa

caucuses and three days before the first-in-the-nation primary in

New Hampshire

. Those two states have attracted most of the political attention.

Wyoming

had scheduled its GOP county conventions earlier to attract candidates to the state --

Michigan

's motivation in moving its primary to Jan. 15 -- but had only modest results.  Romney visited

Wyoming

in August and November and three of his five sons campaigned in the state. One son, Josh Romney, owns a ranch in southwest

Wyoming

.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/01/the_republican_debate_the_roun.html

The Republican Debate: The Roundup

January 5, 2008

By Chris Cillizza

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Former governor Mitt Romney (Mass.) came under repeated assault from his rivals for the nomination in tonight's Republican debate, creating a gang-up effect that made it difficult for him to score the points he needed to make up ground on Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) here in New Hampshire. The second half of the 90-minute debate was dominated by a heated discussion between Romney and McCain over illegal immigration -- the touchstone issue for conservatives not only in

New Hampshire

but nationwide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/us/politics/06repubs.html

In a Spirited Republican Debate, Romney Finds Himself a Target

January 6, 2008

MICHAEL COOPER and MARC SANTORA

MANCHESTER, N.H. — It was five against one, or maybe one against five: Mitt Romney skirmished with each of his Republican rivals on Saturday night during a fiery debate here that was marked with repeated attacks that sometimes dripped with scorn. Fred D. Thompson, a former senator from

Tennessee

, sparred with him on health care. Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former mayor of

New York

, poked fun at his penchant for running negative ads. And he even debated Representative Ron Paul of

Texas

on foreign policy. Mr. Romney, who was set back by his upset defeat in the Iowa caucuses last week and is now placing his hopes on a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, found himself waging something of a five-front war.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/05/AR2008010502682.html?hpid=topnews

Huckabee and Romney Spar on Foreign Policy

January 6, 2008

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

, Jan. 5 -- Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee exchanged sharp words as they opened a Saturday evening debate with a heated argument about foreign policy.  Romney criticized Huckabee for writing that President Bush's foreign policy has "an arrogant bunker mentality," prompting a feisty Huckabee to accuse Romney of once supporting a timed withdrawal from

Iraq

.  "Governor, don't try to characterize my positions," Romney retorted.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NATION/303938065/1001

In debate, Republicans praise Bush

January 5, 2008

By Joseph Curl

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

— President Bush, whose name is almost never mentioned by Republican presidential candidates, re-emerged tonight as a major issue, with Sen. John McCain saying in a debate that the president deserves credit for preventing another terrorist attack against the

United States

. "We are succeeding now in Iraq, but as we blame the president for the failed strategy, we should give him credit, we should give him credit for changing the strategy" by ordering the "surge" of troops, said the Arizona senator, who acknowledges he must win New Hampshire to keep his presidential aspirations alive.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/UPDATE/801050422/1022/POLITICS

Clinton

, Romney regroup in N.H.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

By  Deb Price

PENACOOK, N.H. -- Trying to slow Barack Obama's momentum out of the Iowa caucuses, Sen. Hillary Clinton today told a packed gymnasium of voters in this snowy village that they should pick her in Tuesday's high-stakes primary because she's "ready" to be president and "can win" against the Republican nominee in the fall.  "This really is a job interview," said Clinton, who in answering questions over two hours laid out how she would end the war in Iraq, tackle global warming, ensure women are paid equally, improve public schools, give tax cuts to middle-class families, and expand health care.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7744.html

N.H. GOP backs out of Fox GOP forum

By: Kenneth P. Vogel

Jan 5, 2008

In protest of Fox News’ excluding Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter from its GOP presidential candidates forum Sunday, the

New Hampshire

state Republican Party has withdrawn its sponsorship of the forum. The forum is the last chance for voters to see the Republican candidates face-off before

New Hampshire

’s first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday. And party Chairman Fergus Cullen said Fox’s decision to limit participation runs counter to the primary’s “national purpose.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/us/politics/06independents.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1199596164-sc0gSZUy8IJYlTrIuC1vuQ

In This Race, Independents Are the Prize

Published: January 6, 2008

By JEFF ZELENY

NASHUA

,

N.H.

— The race for president, steeped in appeals to each party’s base for nearly a year, is for the next few days largely in the hands of voters who identify themselves as neither Republican nor Democrat. Rose and Ed Thorn are also undecided. “I’m kind of checking them all out,” Ms. Thorn said. Candidates are feverishly appealing to independents ahead of the primary on Tuesday in

New Hampshire

, where unaffiliated voters are permitted to cast ballots in either party’s contest.  There is competition in the parties for undeclared voters, but the most intriguing match up is between two candidates from opposing sides who have cultivated antiestablishment images: Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/us/politics/06campaign.html?hp

Sharp Clashes in Hectic Days Before Primary

Published: January 6, 2008

By ADAM NAGOURNEY

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

— The presidential candidates rushed into a final weekend of compressed and often harsh campaigning here Saturday, as they presented new themes to

New Hampshire

voters and tried to keep pace with a schedule that left little room for error before the primary on Tuesday. The day ended with heated back-to-back, nationally televised Republican and Democratic debates, including a moment when the candidates from both parties shared the stage. For a few minutes, six Republican candidates and four Democrats mingled in front of the cameras, shaking hands, embracing and talking as the audience applauded.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/05/AR2008010502091.html?hpid=topnews

As N.H. Voters See Less of Giuliani, He Drops in State Polls

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin

Sunday, January 6, 2008

SOMERSWORTH

,

N.H.

-- The small crowd waited for nearly an hour in the windowless basement. When Rudolph W. Giuliani finally arrived, immaculate in a dark suit that showed no trace of the deep snow and slush outside, he spoke for 10 minutes and answered questions for 10 minutes more. And that was it -- the Gateway Family Restaurant on Route 108 had had its glimpse of

America

's Mayor.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/NEWS07/801060592

McCain grabs lead from Romney

January 6, 2008

Associated Press

Arizona Sen. John McCain overtook former

Massachusetts

governor Mitt Romney for the

New Hampshire

lead in a new poll released Saturday, three days before the nation's first primary. Taken in the two days following the

Iowa

caucuses, the poll shows Romney, with 27%, losing ground; McCain, who had 33%, continued his steady climb since his campaign hit a low point last summer. The poll also showed Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton tied at 33%, followed by former Sen. John Edwards with 20%. The

University

of

New Hampshire

telephone poll for CNN/WMUR-TV of 313 likely Republican primary voters and 359 likely Democratic voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010404005.html?hpid=topnews

Romney and McCain Wage a Make-or-Break

Battle

Saturday, January 5, 2008

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

, Jan. 4 -- Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain of

Arizona

traded increasingly sharp barbs here Friday, setting in motion attack plans that were conceived as far back as last spring, fueled by the candidates' intense dislike for each other.  "They are going to be very tough. There's not a tremendous affection, I think, between the two of them," said Terry Nelson, who managed McCain's campaign until quitting amid disarray early last summer. "You just don't hear the McCain camp talking about other candidates the way they talk about Mitt Romney."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NATION/888928771/1028/ELECTION

Huckabee hits at heart of GOP

January 5, 2008

By Ralph Z. Hallow

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's stunning victory in the

Iowa

caucuses over Mitt Romney and his vastly better-financed campaign shocked the conservative and Republican establishments to their roots. Conservatives say the win by Mr. Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, reflects the ongoing divide in the Republican Party between traditional, small-government party members and evangelical Christians — a rift they fear will ultimately break the successful coalition inspired by President Reagan.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/553aygjq.asp

A Serious Contender Suddenly

Can Huckabee make voters see him as a plausible president?

01/14/2008

by Terry Eastland

In his trips to

Iowa

last summer, Mike Huckabee often joked about how he was actually the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, notwithstanding polls showing his support in the low single digits. "None" was polling higher than Giuliani, Romney, or McCain, and Huckabee would grandly announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am none of the above." Huckabee's remarkable victory in the last poll taken in

Iowa

--the caucuses themselves--was no joking matter to Mitt Romney, who finished a distant second after leading in

Iowa

polling for much of the year. Huckabee's victory means that the former

Arkansas

governor will be a serious contender for the nomination at least through the

Florida

primary on January 29.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/NEWS07/801060591

Huckabee's mix of faith, politics similar to Bush

Difference is one more open to talk religion than other

January 6, 2008

By WAYNE SLATER

NASHUA

,

N.H.

-- In his overt use of religious language to win votes, Mike Huckabee owes much to George W. Bush, the faith-based president he wants to succeed. Both invoked their Christian faith to good result -- Bush cultivating social conservatives to win the White House and Huckabee tapping the same politically potent network to fuel his first-place finish in

Iowa

on Thursday. But there are deep differences in the way each man mixed faith and politics.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080104/NEWS07/80104031/1008/NEWS06

Congressman predicts Romney will succeed in

Michigan

January 4, 2008

By TODD SPANGLER

Mitt Romney’s

Michigan

co-chair, Rep. Dave Camp,

R-Traverse

City

, called the former

Massachusetts

governor and Bloomfield Hills native the most competitive candidate remaining in the field despite his second-place finish in

Iowa

last night. “Races for president are always competitive,” said Camp. “It’s not a straight line uphill.” Now, Romney faces a battle for the

New Hampshire

primary Tuesday night, with Arizona Sen. John McCain gaining ground on Romney in that state. In

Iowa

, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won, and he is expected to be more of a factor now both in

New Hampshire

and in

Michigan

on Jan. 15.

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

A Hard Loss for Romney

January 04, 2008

By John Ellis

It's one thing to lose as you are. What you lose is an election, but there's always another election and in the case of presidential primary politics, a new electorate that awaits you in the next state. It's another thing to lose as you aren't. Mitt Romney was never the 700 Club right-winger his campaign managers conceived. He was and is a man of business and a very capable one at that. He's all but doomed now. Senator John McCain will beat him in

New Hampshire

, probably by a lot, and Romney's media coverage will evaporate and his candidacy will consequently die. On January 9, his managers will walk in and say that the campaign needs $10 million or $15 million to continue and that he, Romney, will have to write the check. Everyone who would contribute has maxed out. Everyone who might won't. Two-time losers don't get new money. It's a basic rule of politics. Romney will make his last stand in

Michigan

; that'll be the compromise he and his advisors reach.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/05/post_264.html

Romney's New Role: Agent of Change

                     

January 6, 2008

By Michael D. Shear

BEDFORD

,

N.H.

-- As he seeks to recover from his

Iowa

defeat, former

Massachusetts

governor Mitt Romney has completely reinvented his stump speech, turning throw-away lines from his speeches of the past month into the central theme of his candidacy. Gone is the discussion of how important it is for young people to "get married before they have babies." Gone is the story about his father's main accomplishment being raising his four sons. Gone is the shtick about how Midwestern values are the same as heartland values and Yankee values.

http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/new_hampshire/election_2008_new_hampshire_democratic_primary

Election 2008: New Hampshire Democratic Primary

New Hampshire

: Obama 37%

Clinton

27%

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Rasmussen Reports

Barack Obama, fresh from his victory in

Iowa

, now holds a ten point lead over Hillary Clinton in

New Hampshire

. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the race found Obama with 37% of the vote while

Clinton

earns 27%. John Edwards is the only other candidate in double digits, with 19% support. Bill Richardson is the choice for 8%. In a pre-Christmas poll,

Clinton

led Obama by three. In the poll before that, Obama led

Clinton

by three.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/01/hillarys-debate.html

Hillary's Debate Moment

January 05, 2008

By Jake Tapper

It won't come across on the transcript, but Sen. Hillary Clinton got angry during the debate tonight. She was bickering with Sen. Barack Obama about their differences on health insurance, and whether Obama's plan leaves millions of Americans uninsured. And then she … well … she got angry. Frankly, I don't even really understand what she was saying. What I was getting was how angry she is. Not about an issue, so much, as about the fact that Obama is beating her. The clip, I predict, will be played again and again.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1700705,00.html

Clinton

Machine Shaken by Setback

Saturday, Jan. 05, 2008

By KAREN TUMULTY

The scope of Barack Obama's victory in

Iowa

has shaken the

Clinton

machine down to its bolts. Donors are panicking. The campaign has been making a round of calls to reassure notoriously fickle "superdelegates" — elected officials and party regulars who are awarded convention spots by virtue of their titles and positions — who might be reconsidering their decisions to back the candidate who formerly looked like a sure winner. And internally, a round of recriminations is being aimed at her chief strategist, Mark Penn, as the representative of everything about her pseudo-incumbent campaign that has been too cautious, too arrogant, too conventional and too clueless as to how much the political landscape has shifted since the last Clinton reign. One adviser summed up the biggest challenge that faces the campaign in two words: "Fresh thinking."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7735.html

Both

Clintons

' legacies may rest on N.H.

Jan 4, 2008

By: John F. Harris

People always state the obvious: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is not the politician her husband is. They tend to overlook the less obvious: She has never been forced to be that kind of politician. Until now. The essence of Bill Clinton’s political skill was a fearsome — and usually fear-driven — instinct for survival. Time and again, he summoned an almost mystical ability to connect with voters at the very moment he was confronting disaster. And the first place that astonishing talent sprang to national notice was the very place the 2008 campaign has arrived at now:

New Hampshire

.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119949573104569175.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news

Clinton

Camp's Challenge: How Hard to Hit Obama?

By JACKIE CALMES and AMY CHOZICK

January 5, 2008

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

-- With little time to recover from

Iowa

's presidential caucuses before Tuesday's

New Hampshire

primary, a bruised Hillary Clinton faces her nightmare scenario: Barack Obama could unite anti-Clinton Democrats to seal the party's nomination in coming weeks. Seven in 10 Iowa Democrats in Thursday night's caucuses supported someone other than

New York

's Sen. Clinton. Among those who showed up supporting the second-tier candidates, very few listed her as their second choice. In the end, she finished third, losing not just to Sen. Obama but, by a sliver, to John Edwards, the former

North Carolina

senator who had made the state the linchpin of his populist candidacy.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U00P7O0&show_article=1

Clinton

Criticizes Obama in NH Mailer 

Jan 5, 2007

By NEDRA PICKLER

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton criticizes rival Barack Obama's record on abortion rights in a mailing sent to New Hampshire voters.

The mailer says that seven times during his time in the

Illinois

state Senate, Obama declined to take a position on abortion bills, while

Clinton

has been a defender of abortion rights. During his eight years in the legislature, Obama cast a number of votes on abortion and received a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council for his support of abortion rights, family planning services and health insurance coverage for female contraceptives. He voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive, a vote that especially riled abortion opponents. He also joined other state Democrats in voting present on some bills.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/84581

Inside Obama’s Dream Machine

An icon of hope, he won't 'kneecap' his foes. But Obama knows what it takes, and how to win.

Jan 14, 2008 Issue

By Richard Wolffe | NEWSWEEK

Barack Obama was badly in need of sleep, but he wasn't going to get any just yet. Late last Wednesday night, the candidate and his wife, Michelle, collapsed on the leather sofa aboard their campaign bus. It was the end of a 17-hour day rolling around

Iowa

trolling for votes. They had just come from a nighttime rally in

Waterloo

, where they double-teamed an enthusiastic crowd in an overheated school gym. On the bus, Obama nursed his raw throat with tea from a steel travel mug, his arm around Michelle's shoulder.

The long-awaited Iowa caucuses—portrayed by the pundits as a make-or-break test of a black candidate's viability with white voters, and of his ability to stand up to Hillary Clinton—were the next day. In less than 24 hours, he'd know if it had all been worth it, or if he had been wasting his time. A NEWSWEEK reporter asked him how he felt on the eve of the big event. "I feel calm," he answered. Calm? Not nervous about the results, or plain exhausted after 10 months on the road? "No. Because this is the campaign I always wanted to run. If it doesn't work, it's not because of the organization we built or the respectful tone that we set."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080105/D8TVQPVG1.html

Dean: Large Turnout Good for Democrats

Jan 5, 2008

By CHRISTINE SIMMONS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Saturday the large turnout for the

Iowa

caucuses indicates Americans are looking for a Democrat to run the White House in 2008, but he added that the party still has to work to make that happen. "Republicans may not know how to govern, but they have made it clear time and again they will do anything to win and hold on to power," said Dean in his party's weekly radio address Dean referred to alleged Republican schemes to interfere in past elections, including a 2002 phone jamming incident in New Hampshire, which is set to hold its presidential primaries Tuesday. A former national Republican Party official was convicted on federal telephone harassment charges in December 2005 over the jamming of state Democratic Party get-out-the-vote phone banks on Election Day 2002. An appeals court later overturned that conviction and sent the case back to a lower court.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article3137506.ece

UK living standards outstrip US

January 6, 2008

David Smith, Economics Editor

Living standards outstrip those across the Atlantic for first time in over a century David Smith, Economics living standards in

Britain

are set to rise above those in

America

for the first time since the 19th century, according to a report by the respected Oxford Economics consultancy. The calculations suggest that, measured by gross domestic product per capita,

Britain

can now hold its head up high in the economic stakes after more than a century of playing second fiddle to the Americans. It says that GDP per head in Britain will be £23,500 this year, compared with £23,250 in America, reflecting not only the strength of the pound against the dollar but also the UK economy’s record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early 1990s

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL1624120080105?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Musharraf: Bhutto bears responsibility for death

Sat Jan 5, 2008

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf conceded that a gunman may have shot Benazir Bhutto but said the opposition leader exposed herself to danger and bore responsibility for her death, CBS News said on Saturday Musharraf was also quoted as telling the CBS "60 Minutes" program to be broadcast on Sunday that his government did everything it could to provide security for Bhutto, who was killed last week in a gun and suicide-bomb attack after a political rally. "For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone. Nobody else. Responsibility is hers," Musharraf said in the interview taped on Saturday morning