Articles of Interest 4-13-08
205 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
College and Teenage Republicans from as far as Sault Ste. Marie gathered this morning at Oakland University and then stormed the "OC," hitting more than 2,000 doors. Armed with literature from Congressman Knollenberg and Senator McCain, volunteers distributed literature, asked voters identification questions and gathered petition signatures for Jack Hoogendyk’s bid for the US Senate. Great job!
Obama outrage continues as he bashes the Midwest values…NO wonder he didn’t campaign in Michigan…
Obama let everyone know what he thinks of Midwestern values at a San Francisco event…ouch:
“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest…And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
So what do the folks in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and even Illinois think? Talk about pandering to the liberal elite.
First you bash the auto industry, domestic manufacturers and auto related retirees by siding with Nancy Pelosi and her winger friends in San Francisco…then add this?
Folks didn’t want to vote against him because they feared others would think they didn’t like Obama. Now they can vote against him because Obama doesn’t like them.
You can see John McCain in one of his classic town hall setting drawing the stark difference between himself and the “elite” who know so much more about everything.
************************************************************************
THE REST OF THE STORY:
No further commentary today.
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
Republicans, Democrats both paint rosy picture of victory in House contests
Posted by By TIMOTHY P. WARDLE April 11, 2008 10:56AM
LANSING - The battle to take control of the Michigan House of Representatives has heated up, with both sides claiming to have the momentum on their side. The Democrats currently hold the majority, 58-52.
Bill Ballenger, a former state legislator and editor of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics, said the baseline strength of the Democratic Party should allow it to hold its 2006 gains, which gave it the majority for the first time since 1996. Strength of a party, according to Ballenger, is measured by its ability to win races even where there is almost no candidate recognition, meaning the voter votes solely based on party affiliation. Ballenger estimated Democratic support in Michigan at about 54 percent, the highest in several years.
But Bill Nowling, communications officer for the Michigan GOP, sounded more optimistic about Republicans' prospects. He said the party's chances for taking back the lower chamber this November are "about 50-50."
IN OUR OPINION
Income gap deepens divisions
You may not gasp in surprise to learn that the gap between rich and poor families has grown in recent years. But increasingly, middle-income families are also getting squashed and discouraged -- which makes the latest trends a cause for increasing worry, too.
America has built itself on a belief in mobility, that economic and class barriers to success can be overcome by anyone willing to work hard enough. But when hard work doesn't seem to pay off anymore for people in the middle, that native sense of optimism can quickly erode.
Parade fizzles: Sour economy drowns hopes for this year's event
Christine Rook
Lansing State Journal
For the second year in a row, the Michigan Parade has been canceled.
Last year's reason was lack of funding and ongoing downtown construction. This year's reason is all about the money.
"Michigan is still climbing out of its economic woes," said Calvin Jones, parade chairman, "and it's putting a lot of pressure on those institutions that gave generously in the past." The Michigan Parade, which was slated to be May 17, isn't the only community event to find itself hurting amid a struggling statewide economy.
Go to roundtable, discuss business tax
Saturday, April 12, 2008THE SAGINAW NEWS
Saginaw County small business owners may voice concerns about Michigan's new business tax at a round table discussion from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, April 21, at the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, 515 N. Washington in Saginaw.
Republican state Reps. Ken Horn of Frankenmuth, John Moolenaar of Midland and Dave Robertson of Grand Blanc will moderate the discussion.
Tim Skubick: MEA makes its ire known
Granholm takes hit for losing insurance fight
There's a nice symmetry to the relationship between the governor and the state's largest teachers' union. But that's the only nice thing about it.
The Michigan Education Association was the first teachers' union to jump on the Jennifer Granholm bandwagon for governor. Now, it is the first union to jump off.
Some good folks at the MEA have soured on JMG. Things were not always this way. Back in April of 2002, as the Granholm juggernaut tumbled merrily along toward the Democratic nomination for governor, the teachers' union put the fix in for her.
State jobs fund offering $30M in grants
By Garrett Neese, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON — MTEC SmartZone program manager Jonathan Leinonen offered information and advice Friday about a $30 million round of state business-oriented loans that will be awarded this year.
The 21st Century Jobs Fund Business Plan Competition opened on Wednesday. The loans are devoted to for-profit companies that can demonstrate a sustainable business opportunity and significant job creation within five years.
“There’s an amazing amount of growth occurring in the area,” Leinonen said. “If we can continue to help this along with some of the funding that’s coming from the state, what better way to do it?”
State foster care system turning into a disgrace
The mantra of low taxes and meager state budgets is producing the unsurprising result: Michigan's foster care system is turning into a dangerous disgrace.
An independent, court-ordered study ordered during the ongoing federal class-action lawsuit that has embroiled the Michigan Department of Human Services has found, according to the Associated Press, a system "so riddled with failures" that it is endangering the children it is charged to protect. The DHS has essentially dismissed the report as "one-sided" and said it is conducting its own review.
The report, though, echoes an investigation by The Chronicle's Lansing and Washington bureaus last summer that found foster kids "piling up" in homes across the state. These children, the bureaus reported, have little realistic hope of being adopted, let alone receiving better treatment for the serious health problems many take with them into their custodial settings.
Editorial Quick Hits: Ours
No automatic admission to state colleges
The Detroit News
There are flaws in a proposal to give the top 10 percent of graduates at each Michigan high school automatic admission to state universities. The top 10 percent at one high school is not necessarily the academic equivalent to the top 10 percent at another school.
The 10-percent proposal comes after the Michigan civil rights initiative that bans using race and gender as a criteria for admission. A better solution is to admit the most qualified students no matter where they attend school. And then grant financial aid based on need, with the most needy getting the most attention and bigger aid packages.
Detroit gets good legal advice
Departing Wayne State University Law School Dean Frank Wu has offered the Detroit City Council some useful advice on dealing with the city's Law Department. The dean suggested that in large or precedent-setting cases, the council should be advised by city lawyers as the case progresses, not just at the end when the department is seeking a settlement.
Miller, Levin push jobless pay
72,000 in Michigan soon to lose benefits
By Chad Selweski
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
Michigan's struggling jobless workers would see their unemployment benefits extended for 26 weeks under House legislation that has the bipartisan backing of both Macomb County lawmakers, Reps. Sander Levin and Candice Miller.
The congressional bill would pay for 13 weeks of additional benefits in every state and 26 weeks in high-unemployment states like Michigan. Across the nation, 1.3 million workers are expected to exhaust their jobless benefits in the first half of this year, 72,000 of those in Michigan.
State should let residents buy Tasers
In the wrong hands, any weapon can be misused -- sometimes, with fatal consequences.
Tasers are no exception. The devices use electric shock to stun a target, and they are nonlethal. Although Tasers sometimes caused deaths, they still are safer alternatives to firearms.
Michigan is one of only seven states that prohibit civilians from carrying Tasers. There is good reason to amend that restriction. Properly licensed, state residents should be allowed to carry Tasers. The devices provide a reasonable degree of protection that falls short of taking someone's life. For people who may be exposed to the threat of bodily harm, Tasers can help keep them safe.
BRIAN DICKERSON
Fieger case: Echoes of Kevorkian?
BY BRIAN DICKERSON • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST •
Just a month ago, I would have given Geoffrey Fieger better-than-even odds to beat federal charges that he and his partner, Ven Johnson, illegally funneled $127,000 to fellow trial attorney John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign.
But that was before U.S. District Judge Paul Borman put the kibosh on defense attorney Gerry Spence's plan to make Fieger's trial a referendum on the Bush Justice Department's conduct under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who Spence says spearheaded a legal offensive against Fieger and other high-profile Democrats.
Fieger wants charges dismissed, saying jury isn't black enough
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger on Thursday asked a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges against him because blacks were underrepresented on the grand jury that indicted him and in the jury pool for his trial set to start Monday.
Fieger, who is white, argued in a motion filed with U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman that the jury selection process in Detroit violates the Jury Selection and Service Act because it does not produce a representative cross-section of the community.
Lawyer for city: We should've told you
Another says romantic parts of text messages shocked him
BY JIM SCHAEFER and ZACHARY GORCHOW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS •
City Council members hammered away at Detroit staff lawyer Valerie Colbert-Osamuede for nearly three hours Thursday.
By day's end, the veteran lawyer admitted to "lessons learned" and "regrets" -- making her the first person who works for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to speak in those terms about the deal that led to the ongoing text message scandal.
The revelation came on the same day that a lawyer for Kilpatrick talked for the first time about being blindsided to learn of the romantic exchanges in the mayor's text messages.
Tunnel, economic plans are criticized
Council hears from financial analyst
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 12, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's idea to lease the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to Windsor as a way to patch the budget got a chilly reception Friday from the City Council.
And his $300-million economic and city improvement plan got an even chillier review from the council's fiscal analyst.
At a meeting of the council's Budget, Finance and Audit Committee, Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said that the administration has yet to provide enough detail to expect the council to approve the lease, which Kilpatrick says would yield $65 million to keep the 2007-08 budget balanced.
Judge: Kilpatrick must ask approval for personal travel
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A 36th District Court judge today clarified the conditions of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's bond, saying he must file a motion with the court if he is leaving the state for purely personal reasons.
Judge Paula Humphries said Kilpatrick is free to travel outside the state and anywhere in the world on city business -- provided he first notifies the court. Filing a motion, which requires a hearing before a judge, is not required for travel by the mayor on city business, and it is acceptable for the mayor to combine personal purposes on trips that have an official reason, she said.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy asked for tighter restrictions on Kilpatrick's travel following media reports about a trip Kilpatrick and his wife, Carlita, took to Dallas last weekend.
Mayor's budget would add 300 cops
Plan not much different from last year, but council is wary of deficit, tunnel lease deal.
Christine MacDonald and Robert Snell / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on Monday will send the City Council a "vanilla budget" for the new year with little new spending and no major changes, Kilpatrick aides say.
But that doesn't mean getting the council's approval will be any easier.
Last month, on a 7-1 vote, the council called for Kilpatrick to resign. Members are already considering limiting his spending by increasing the number of contracts that need their approval. And at least one, Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, has said he'll boycott Kilpatrick's scheduled appearance before the council Monday to present his budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams said Friday that the proposed budget is a simple one, because the administration has been able to make the needed structural changes to pare down spending, such as cuts to health care benefits and staffing. Now, Adams said, city hall needs to concentrate on infrastructure improvements through the proposed $300 million economic stimulus package that the mayor unveiled in his State of the City address in March.
Long arm of mayoral staff reaches Fla.
News clip deemed unfair; director is stunned to get call
BY JOE SWICKARD • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER •
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's spin team is ever vigilant.
Mention Kilpatrick on a 5:30 a.m. newscast in the Ft. Myers, Fla., area, and his press secretary will be on the phone if she thinks the mayor didn't get a fair shake.
Forrest Carr, WFTX Fox 4 news director, said he was puzzled that Detroit city hall was concerned about a broadcast in "little ol' Cape Coral, Fla."
Scandal tests the city
Best action is to let system run its course
BY CLIFF RUSSELL •
In times of crisis, we must be very wary of those who ostensibly call for dramatic change in response to the crisis. Such is the case in Detroit right now.
Without question, Detroit is under the dark cloud of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's text-messaging scandal and the resulting felony charges leveled by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
The scandal has had a polarizing effect on our area, widening divisions between mayoral supporters and opponents, residents and nonresidents, and, of course, black folks and white folks. National news media, including late-night talk show hosts, have taken the story and run with it. The scandal is both troubling and embarrassing.
City attorney: Texts 'explosive'
Messages called potentially 'embarrassing' to council, business leaders
David Josar and Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- City lawyers were told for years that text messages exchanged between Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff contained "embarrassing" and "explosive" comments that would affect Detroit's ability to do business, chief assistant corporation counsel Valerie Colbert-Osamuede told the City Council on Thursday.
"My understanding was there could be very harmful messages," said Colbert-Osamuede, who was also the first attorney to express regrets for not disclosing to the council the existence of the text messages. She said two of her bosses told her the text messages contained "embarrassing" comments about local leaders, City Council members and other area business people.
Hoffa backs off call for mayor to resign
BY JUSTIN HYDE • FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF • April 11, 2008
Teamsters President James Hoffa backed away Thursday from comments calling on Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign.
Hoffa said through a spokesman he "has no interest" in the mayor's legal issues.
Hoffa was quoted as telling the Detroit News in Pennsylvania on Wednesday that Kilpatrick should quit in the face of perjury and other felony charges stemming from the text message scandal, a situation Hoffa called "disgraceful."
Paradise Valley promoted
Mayor defends stimulus package
BY JOHN GALLAGHER • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • April 11, 2008
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pitched his plan to create a Paradise Valley Entertainment and Cultural District on Thursday as he defended the economic stimulus package that would help pay for it.
Speaking in the downtown district long known as Harmonie Park, Kilpatrick released more details of the plan to rebrand the park as the new Paradise Valley. Named for the historic African-American district wiped out by the construction of I-75, the new district would feature restaurants, clubs and other amenities themed to Detroit's black entertainment culture.
Bids to save Detroit temple site denied
Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- The old Temple of Oddfellows faces the wrecking ball following a down-to-the wire battle between its owner and city of Detroit officials.
The bottom floors of the former temple, estimated to be 134 years old, at the corner of Monroe and Randolph, were heavily damaged April 1 after 60 mph winds slammed into the building and sent parts of it to the ground.
A Detroit fire captain said both winds and the age of the building may have played a part.
Writing test scores still lagging behind other subjects
By Kristofer Karol
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
While writing test scores in Livingston County's five school districts are going up, they are still lagging far behind marks set in other disciplines.
That's all according to Michigan Educational Assessment Program testing results, which were released this week. The results are from testing conducted last fall with students in grades 3-9.
"First off, you're spending so much time in the first three years of a kid's education on reading," Pinckney Community Schools Superintendent Dan Danosky said."Realistically, how expansive do you think an 8-year-old can be? I don't lose a lot of sleep over third-grade writing."
FEMA levee policy flawed
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is suffering from what ails too many federal agencies -- inflexible and bureaucratic arrogance. The agency's proposal to require Grand Rapids to have higher levees would be a huge financial burden on the city and thousands of property owners. The agency's policy on levee certification is fundamentally flawed -- unfairly requiring communities to make a greater investment than is reasonable. A change is in order.
Grand Rapids isn't the only city drowning in FEMA's bureaucracy. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure learned that during testimony about floodplain remapping earlier this month. That should be a symbolic red flag, a storm warning that the agency needs to reassess its stance.
Congressman Vernon Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, should be commended for strongly denouncing the policy on levee certification he called "all-or-nothing."
Moratorium on Michigan "pop-up tax" could help boost Ann Arbor area home sales
Posted by Rick Haglund | Ann Arbor News Bureau April 11, 2008 08:15AM
Categories: Breaking News, Top Stories
Legislative efforts to temporarily halt property tax increases when homes are sold could help revive Michigan's moribund housing market, real estate sales executives say.
But other experts say a variety of bills passed by the state House and Senate likely won't boost home sales.
And even if the measures did jump-start existing home sales, some say they could further depress the sales of new homes, which wouldn't benefit from the legislation.
Hundreds remember former UAW president
BY BRENT SNAVELY • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 12, 2008
Former UAW President Douglas Fraser was remembered Saturday, not just as a fighter for workers, but also as a towering figure of integrity, charisma, humor -- and as a global advocate for social justice.
Over a career spanning more than five decades of labor leadership, Fraser climbed to global recognition.
He is credited for helping to win pensions for UAW workers in the 1950s, was instrumental in convincing Congress to approve a federal bailout of Chrysler when it was on the brink of bankruptcy and leading contract negotiations in 1982 when Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. were facing profound financial difficulties.
GM reflects on a century
Automaker celebrates founder's dream, its famous nameplates as it turns 100
BY KATIE MERX • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • April 11, 2008
Buick Motor Co. owner Billy Durant founded General Motors Corp. in 1908 with the vision of consolidating some of the early U.S. auto brands into one controlling company, just as he had in the carriage industry.
Now, as GM prepares to celebrate its centennial on Sept. 16, the automaker markets more than a dozen brands and GM remains the world's largest automaker.
Under Durant's leadership, GM grew from the Buick brand to add Oldsmobile, Cadillac, AC Spark Plug, the Oakland Motor Car Co. (which later became Pontiac), the Rapid Motor Vehicle Co. (now known as GMC) and Chevrolet.
UAW sets strike date at 3 Mich. plants
Union gives five-day notices of intention to walk out if local labor contracts aren't settled.
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
The United Auto Workers union has set a hard deadline to strike three Michigan General Motors Corp. factories if the two sides aren't able to agree on local labor pacts, the company said Thursday.
The union notified GM of its intention to issue five-day notices, which are required before a walkout, to the automaker's Flint truck assembly plant, the Delta Township assembly plant near Lansing and a Warren transmission plant.
If there are no local deals at the end of five days, the UAW could extend the deadline and continue negotiating or send workers off the line. It was not clear exactly when that five-day period starts for each plant, but likely began either Thursday or today, depending on when the notices were delivered to GM.
Axle 'disappointed' with UAW offer
Supplier: Offer an improvement; talks resume
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. was "disappointed" in an offer from the United Auto Workers union that would have paid workers double the market rate, the company said Thursday.
Formal negotiations will continue, but the two sides remain far apart on wages and benefits, American Axle said in a statement.
American Axle characterized the proposal as "a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions," but didn't elaborate.
State cops end suit against Oakland sheriff
County police will turn over records in dispute about shooting last July in Royal Oak Township.
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News
LANSING -- A Michigan State Police lawsuit that sought internal records from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office under the state Freedom of Information Act has been dismissed by an Ingham Circuit judge.
"There has been a resolution of the matter," said Matt Frendewey, a spokesman for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, which represents the state police in litigation.
Ingham Circuit Judge William E. Collette signed the order of dismissal April 7. The lawsuit is believed to be the first time one police agency has sued another law enforcement group in Michigan under the FOIA.
Macomb may be asked to bail out Detroit Zoo
County commissioners will consider creating an authority and a ballot issue to support a tax.
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
MOUNT CLEMENS -- Macomb County residents could have the opportunity to provide a financial boost to the struggling Detroit Zoo. But given the county's own bleak financial picture, will they be willing to pony up?
Authority considered
Next week, county commissioners will consider creating a Macomb Zoological Authority. If approved, voters will be asked to decide in August whether they want to send tax dollars via the authority to support the zoo, which is in Royal Oak in Oakland County.
Zoo officials have been pitching the plan to leaders in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties in recent weeks as a way to offset dwindling resources. If approved by the counties, voters could empower the authorities to levy a .1 mill tax to support zoo operations.
Bill would protect volunteer firefighters
By Diane Ivey
Capital News Service
LANSING -- Several Utica volunteer firefighters have faced termination from their regular jobs because they were absent or late when they had responded to emergencies.
And now fellow firefighters are speaking on their behalf, realizing that they, too, could be forced to choose between a volunteer job and their livelihood.
There are about 5,000 volunteer firefighters in the state, where nearly 35,000 fires occurred last year, according to a study by the Bureau of Fire Services.
Cox honors officers
by Ray Kisonas , last modified April 11. 2008 11:00AM
Mike Cox Using military heroism as an analogy, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox honored Monroe County law enforcement officers Thursday night for their efforts to keep the community safe.
At the annual Monroe County Sheriff Law Enforcement Recognition Dinner, Mr. Cox spoke of Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, who this week posthumously received the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his own life in Iraq by throwing himself on top of a grenade to save his comrades.
"Your job is to serve and protect," Mr. Cox said during his speech at Ambassador Hall in Monroe Township. "That job is noble and heroic in itself."
Selfridge changes course
Base starts new life as home of air refueling squadron
Edward L. Cardenas / The Detroit News
HARRISON TOWNSHIP -- A new mission for Selfridge Air National Guard Base takes flight today as the men and women who have delivered materials to the military's front lines for more than a decade begin flying a different kind of airplane.
The base has dissolved its cargo unit, which flew propeller-driven C-130s, and reorganized into a refueling squadron with jet-powered KC-135 Stratotankers. The change is part of a 2005 federal base realignment that changed some of Selfridge's missions and personnel responsibilities.
Members of the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing are to gather today on the Harrison Township base for a change-of-command ceremony to mark the change of mission and establish the 127th Air Refueling Group.
"It is a change, and with all change, there is some trauma," said U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, whose husband is the past base commander. "The refueling aircraft is an important mission for the United States, and it is a positive thing for Selfridge now that we survived the (base realignment)."
State senator proposes freezing foreclosures in Michigan
The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Some state lawmakers want to halt all mortgage and tax foreclosures in Michigan for two years.
The legislation announced Friday in Detroit would still require homeowners to work out an agreement with their lenders and continue making payments during the moratorium.
NWA merger nearing takeoff
Delta pilots' deal helps pave way
BY KATHERINE YUNG • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • April 11, 2008
Delta Air Lines and its pilots union have agreed on a new contract viewed as a big step toward a merger with Northwest Airlines, but the arrangement could leave Northwest's pilots in a weaker position, industry experts said Thursday.
According to Bloomberg News, the contract, agreed to in principle, would cover Delta's pilots at a combined Northwest-Delta airline but would not include Northwest's pilots.
That would force Northwest's pilots union to negotiate its own agreement later, after the possible announcement of a merger deal.
Miss America to sub for governor
Associated Press
HOLLAND -- The governor's luncheon at this year's Tulip Time Festival in Holland will take place without the governor.
Festival officials said on Thursday that Miss America Kirsten Haglund will fill in for Gov. Jennifer Granholm during the May 7 luncheon at Hope College's Dow Center.
Holland radio station WHTC-AM reported that Granholm bowed out because of a scheduling conflict.
'A Glorious Mess'
April 12, 2008; Page A8
Usually Congressional subcommittee hearings are as routine and tedious as they sound, but John Dingell managed to enliven one on Thursday. The venerable Michigan Democrat had the candor to point out that if climate change is really the transcendent challenge his party says it is, then Congress should bother to pass legislation, not outsource policy to the Environmental Protection Agency.
For months, the little tyrants of the global warming caucus – Barbara Boxer, Henry Waxman, Ed Markey – have been trying to force the EPA into declaring that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant under current clean air laws, which could result in a cap-and-trade program by regulatory decree. Such posturing allows Democrats to display crocodile outrage and take credit for "leadership" on a popular goal, while shifting the blame for the costs of achieving it onto the EPA. In the bargain, it insulates them from political consequences and avoids the grubby business of actually crafting some global warming "solution."
NATIONAL STORIES
Inventing John McCain
John McCain, maverick icon of American duty and patriotism, is as much a literary creation as a political one. Meet the author.
April 13, 2008
MERIDIAN, Miss. - John McCain came all the way to a Victorian opera house at this old Southern railroad junction to ponder his ancestors.
Not far from an airfield named for his grandfather, on a stage bedecked with black-and-white family photos, McCain reflected on the notions of honor and courage and duty passed down through generations as he confessed to having "been an imperfect servant of my country for many years."
McCain's 'nucleus' revived campaign
By Joseph Curl - Unlike Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, which this week suffered its second major staff upheaval in two months, Sen. John McCain's inner circle is a tightknit band of senior advisers and longtime friends that has been working nearly friction-free since July.
Back then, the wheels of the bus — the Straight Talk Express — came tumbling off amid backbiting and second-guessing among the campaign's senior staff. Spending had gotten way out of hand — the campaign tore through $25 million in just a few months — and the senator's poll numbers had plummeted with renewed violence in the Iraq war, Mr. McCain's signature issue.
‘Steady Hand’ for the G.O.P. Guides McCain on a New Path
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: April 13, 2008
When Senator John McCain’s campaign was collapsing last summer, it was Charlie Black who set the comeback strategy: Mr. McCain had to win New Hampshire.
When conservative opposition threatened to derail Mr. McCain just as he was surging again this winter, it was Charlie Black who called prominent conservatives to secure their backing. And when Mr. McCain was finally the last man standing, it was Charlie Black who engineered the campaign’s takeover of the Republican National Committee.
“The Republican Party’s quintessential company man,” as one friend calls him, Mr. Black has worked in every Republican presidential campaign since 1972, and sometimes a couple each season, being diplomat enough to get along with both sides in some of the fiercest rivalries.
Election 2008: Joe Biden as Vice President
By Carol Wilkins, published Apr 12, 2008
It may be a while before vice presidential candidates for the Democratic party are announced, but names are swirling around. Joe Biden, senior U. S. senator and former Presidential candidate, may potentially be on the short list.
Who is Joe Biden?
If you are anything like me, the Democrat race was all about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Very few of the other early candidates even crossed my radar. Joe Biden is a rarity in the Senate. He is one of the longest serving senators not just from his state of Delaware, but also in the history of the Senate. He has held his post since his election in 1972 with only a few absences: one due to his wife and daughter's tragic deaths and the other due to a 7 month recuperation of two brain aneurysms.
Obama says many feel ignored
MUNCIE, Ind., April 12 (UPI) -- Barack Obama addressed an enthusiastic crowd Saturday at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., expanding on his theme of bitter U.S. voters. "What is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they're being listened to," the Democratic presidential contender said. "So they pray and they count on each other and they count on their families. You know this in your own lives.
" And what we need is a federal government that is actually paying attention. A government that is fighting for working people day in and day out making sure that we are trying to allow them to live out the American dream and that's what this campaign is about."
The audience was enthusiastic and angry at Obama's critics, The Indianapolis Star reported. Dr. Kathleen Beache, a Republican dentist from Indianapolis, wore an Obama T-shirt to the rally.
Obama explains remark
Bad choice of words hid underlying truth, he says
By James Romoser
JOURNAL RALEIGH BUREAU
Sen. Barack Obama said yesterday that he regrets his choice of words when he recently described economically distressed Americans as people who are “bitter” and who “cling to guns or religion.”
But he defended the underlying content of his remarks, which were the subject of blistering attacks yesterday from Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“Obviously, if I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that,” Obama said in a phone interview with the Winston-Salem Journal. “But the underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so.”
Obama was responding
Obama's Remarks Give Clinton an Opening
Apr 12, 9:08 PM (ET)
By JIM KUHNHENN and CHARLES BABINGTON
MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) - A political tempest over Barack Obama's comments about bitter voters in small towns has given rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a new opening to court working class Democrats 10 days before Pennsylvanians hold a primary that she must win to keep her presidential campaign alive.
Obama tried to quell the furor Saturday, explaining his remarks while also conceding he had chosen his words poorly.
"If I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that," Obama said in an interview with the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal.
Obama, Now on the Defensive, Calls ‘Bitter’ Words Ill-Chosen
A. J. Mast for The New York Times
Senator Barack Obama speaking in Columbus, Ind., on Saturday before the state’s primary May 6.
For a second day, Mr. Obama sought to explain his remarks at a recent San Francisco fund-raiser that small-town Pennsylvania voters, bitter over their economic circumstances, “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” as a way to explain their frustrations.
Presidential Candidates Spar Over
Obama's Working-Class Remarks
Associated Press
April 12, 2008 11:38 p.m.
MUNCIE, Indiana -- Barack Obama conceded Saturday that comments he made about bitter working-class voters who "cling to guns or religion" were ill chosen, as he tried to stem a burst of complaints from rivals that he is elitist.
"I didn't say it as well as I should have," he said, at a campaign rally at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
As he tried to quell the furor, presidential rival Hillary Clinton hit Sen. Obama with one of her lengthiest and most pointed criticisms to date. "Senator Obama's remarks were elitist and out of touch," she said, campaigning about an hour away in Indianapolis. "They are not reflective of the values and beliefs of Americans."
It's Obama, stupid: Carter and Gore to end Clinton bid
By Chris Stephen
in New York
DEMOCRAT grandees Jimmy Carter and Al Gore are being lined-up to deliver the coup de grâce to Hillary Clinton and end her campaign to become president. Falling poll numbers and a string of high-profile blunders have convinced party elders that she must now bow out of the primary race.
Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats.
"They're in discussions," a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. "Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence."
Clinton Portrays Herself as a Pro-Gun Churchgoer
By Julie Bosman
Hillary Rodham Clinton - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to co-opt Mr. Obama’s message of hope and optimism, beginning a speech in Valparaiso, Ind., by talking about how positive and “fundamentally optimistic” Americans are.
“We don’t get bogged down and looking back – we’re always looking forward,” she said, as heavy applause nearly drowned out her words. “Whatever obstacle we see, we get over it. Whatever challenge we have, we meet it. We’re the problem-solvers, we’re the innovators, we’re the people who make the better future.”
Why Gov. Bill Richardson didn't endorse Clinton
By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 12, 2008
SANTA FE, N.M. -- Before he endorsed Barack Obama, before he drew the wrath of the Clintons and was likened to Judas, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson nearly endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.
But Richardson hesitated, and as the Democratic campaign turned ugly, he grew angry.
Chelsea Clinton tangles verbally with pro-Obama student
by Harry Esteve, The Oregonian
Saturday April 12, 2008, 2:54 PM
CORVALLIS -- Chelsea Clinton, who is campaigning in Oregon for her mother today, left Corvallis at 5:30 p.m., running behind on her way to a 6:15 p.m. appearance at Portland State University's Smith Memorial Union. Traveling in a navy-blue Ford Explorer, she stopped at 6:10 p.m. at a Starbucks on Northeast Lancaster Drive in Salem.
She spoke before a crowd of about 250 at OSU's Memorial Union Main Lounge.
In her first appearance of the day in Eugene, Clinton sparred briefly today with a Barack Obama supporter who asked whether Sen. Hillary Clinton would consider a vice presidential gig if she doesn't win the nomination.
"Well, sir, you make a lot of assumptions in that," Clinton said, stirring a loud round of applause from a crowd of more than 300 at the Eugene Hilton.
The Company He Keeps
Meet Obama’s circle: The same old America-hating Left.
By Andrew C. McCarthy
Why is Barack Obama so comfortable around people who so despise America and its allies? Maybe it’s because they’re so comfortable around him.
He presents as the transcendent agent of “change.” Sounds platitudinous, but it’s really quite strategically vaporous. Sen. Obama is loath to get into the details of how we should change, and, as the media’s Chosen One, he hasn’t had to.
But he’s not, as some hopefully dismiss him, a charismatic lightweight with a gift for sparkling the same old vapid cant. Judging from the company he chooses to keep, Obama’s change would radically alter this country. He eschews detail because most Americans don’t believe we’re a racist, heartless, imperialist cesspool of exploitation. The details would be disqualifying.
Progress, Actually
Things are looking up in Iraq, which is why the Democrats have forgotten about benchmarks.
by Frederick W. Kagan
04/21/2008, Volume 013, Issue 30
The last time General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker reported to Congress on the state of the Iraq war, "benchmarks" were all the rage. Congress had established 18 criteria in early 2007 both to pressure the Iraqis and to keep score on their progress. And in September, Congress faulted the Iraqi government for failing to meet many of those measures.
Concocting a checklist of laws and actions that would lead to national reconciliation in Iraq was always a fool's errand and misunderstood the complexity of the situation. But having laid down this marker, Congress would want to hear an update, surely. Not so. The word "benchmarks" was scarcely heard last week when Petraeus and Crocker reappeared before Congress.
Olympics issue emerges as flashpoint
By: Carrie Budoff Brown
April 12, 2008 10:56 AM EST
In an election year debate crowded with weighty foreign policy issues and marked by a sharp focus on the diplomatic approaches that Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton would bring to the White House, an unusual flashpoint is beginning to emerge: the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
What began as something of a peripheral campaign issue has quickly turned into something different, with Obama and Clinton both seizing on the issue of boycotting the opening Olympic ceremonies as prima facie evidence of the other’s central flaws.
Clinton was first off the mark to call for a boycott Monday, just days after Obama passed up the opportunity by voicing a reluctance to politicize the games. By Wednesday, Obama had edged closer to Clinton’s position, saying a boycott should be considered, but not until closer to the August opening of the Olympics.
Taxpayers fund Bill Clinton spending
By: Kenneth P. Vogel
April 11, 2008 04:17 PM EST
The Clintons have made a $100-million fortune since leaving the White House, but a Politico analysis found that hasn’t kept Bill Clinton from taking full advantage of the publicly funded perks offered to ex-presidents. In fact, his presidential retirement benefits cost taxpayers almost as much as those of the other two living ex-presidents combined.
The price tag for Clinton’s federal retirement allowance from 2001 through the end of this year will run $8 million, compared to $5.5 million for George H. W. Bush’s and $4 million for Jimmy Carter’s during the same period.