USA Presidential Politics - 2008

[sctx]

Originally Posted by kirbyfan

I am all for a system that has many many parties. How can a nation as diverse as ours be represented accurately by 2 parties...

I'm having two diverse parties at my house next weekend

[kirbyfan]

Originally Posted by sctx

I'm having two diverse parties at my house next weekend

Wish i could be there!

The big question is, can only 2 diverse parties meet the needs of the various partygoers?

[birdman]

Originally Posted by roni

I think that being glad over having non-social security retirement assets, a business and some property is probably independent of whether some 18 year olds are clueless. I know quite a few who are not clueless - and I am glad I have those things also.

Working on growing the business to the point where it can support us down south - probably a couple to three years off at this point.

Looks like our timelines & ideas of where to retire match up. I will be on the west coast & you probably on the east. Not that it matters but interesting to see so many willing & able to leave the good ole U.S.A.

[melliedee]

[roni]

Originally Posted by melliedee

[IMG]

The forum pundits

I think that things are so desperate in the world
Things have gone so awry
that we are speechless.

But that is just my opinion.

Looks like spreading democracy from Iraq to the rest of the middle east (Gaza, for example), is not working.

There is a great sadness and disturbance in the force.

[ryberg]

I think it's just been slow on the Presidential front of late, although I did just see this:

Clintons sell multimillion-dollar trust to avoid conflicts

• Bill and Hillary Clinton liquidated blind trust worth between $5 and $25 million
• Trust included stock in oil and drug companies, military contractors and Wal-Mart
• Stock sold could have created conflicts of interest or proven embarrassing

"As a presidential candidate, Sen. Clinton was required to make her assets public," campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said. "As a result, she had to dissolve her blind trust. Upon its dissolution, she and the president chose to go above and beyond what was required of them and liquidate their assets in order to avoid even the hint of a conflict of interest."

When it comes to family affluence, the reports show that the New York senator is the wealthiest of all members of Congress seeking the presidency. Among all presidential candidates, however, Republican Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, stands alone with assets of between $190 million and $250 million. Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat John Edwards have each reported assets of about $30 million.

Something of interest, perhaps.

I'm thinking that that phrase "she and the president" could get a little tricky in the future.

Steve

[melliedee]

And this interesting tidbit from Giuliani:

WASHINGTON, June 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Once again, Rudy Giuliani showed why the more people learn about his real record, the less they trust the Republican presidential candidate to lead our nation. This morning, Giuliani told Granite State voters that he would lead America toward energy independence.
But unless "leading American toward energy independence" means continuing the failed energy agenda President Bush and Dick Cheney crafted for their special interest friends or putting the interests of his clients in Big Oil ahead of the American people, Rudy's rhetoric just doesn't match his record. Not only did Giuliani's first quarter fundraising report show him accepting more campaign cash from the oil and gas industry than any other candidate, but a review of his business ties shows him representing major domestic oil companies and refineries as well as Saudi Arabia's Oil Ministry and international energy giant, Citgo, which is controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In fact, the real Rudy Giuliani has been so busy cozying up to Big Oil that he's actually been called an "honorary Texas oil lawyer." [Time, 4/2/07]

[roni]

And on Fred Thompson, special interest lobbyist become Senator become special interest lobbyist again-This from a Market Place Show.

Commentator Jeff Birnbaum says as voters evaluate Thompson's message, they should keep his work experience in mind.

JEFF BIRNBAUM: By all accounts, Fred Thompson will soon be running for president, portraying himself as a Washington outsider on the campaign trail. Don't believe him.

Over the past three years he showed up every two weeks or so at a lobbying law firm in Washington to plot ways to persuade Congress to help a British company. His main assignment: to use his connections to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to extract information about goings-on inside Congress, and use that information to benefit Equitas Limited, his multibillion-dollar client. In exchange for this insider wisdom, he was paid a cool $760,000.

Thompson, in short, was an access man. His job was to contact his old colleagues on Capitol Hill to learn the latest about bills Equitas cared about. Thompson was most frequently responsible for finding out what Frist was planning to do. And that did not require heavy lifting. Thompson represented Tennessee in the Senate for eight years alongside Frist.

Equitas held billions of dollars to pay off claims from people sickened by asbestos. Its goal: to persuade Congress to limit how much it had to pay into a trust fund to cover those liabilities.

Thompson already knew the ropes. He has lobbied since the 1970s. Before he was elected to the Senate in 1994, his lobbying clients included Westinghouse Electric, U.S. Cablesystems, and the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. His opponent for the Senate, Congressman Jim Cooper, once labeled Thompson a "Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon-spreading millionaire Washington special-interest lobbyist." But Cooper got clobbered, anyway.

Will history repeat itself at the presidential level? Who knows? A lobbyist has never gone on to become a president. But if Thompson does, at least he'll know from the inside how Washington really works.

[ryberg]

Not only did Giuliani's first quarter fundraising report show him accepting more campaign cash from the oil and gas industry than any other candidate, but a review of his business ties shows him representing major domestic oil companies and refineries as well as Saudi Arabia's Oil Ministry and international energy giant, Citgo, which is controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.[Time, 4/2/07]

Now THAT could stink up the place for the Republicans in some debates and campaign ads down the road if he gets the nomination, eh? Yikes...

Meanwhile the Dems' leader goes above and beyond what regulations require in order to avoid possible conflict of interest issues. Hmmmmmmmmmm...

Steve

[ryberg]

This enough forum pundit activity for ya, Melliedee?

What hath you wrought?!?

Steve

[melliedee]

Originally Posted by ryberg

This enough forum pundit activity for ya, Melliedee?

What hath you wrought?!?

Steve

Between this, ARRNOLD and Steck's deck I'm a busy girl! And in 17 days, no politics for me, best get it out of my system while I'm landlocked!!

[melliedee]

[ryberg]

Wow -- nice gams, Rudy!

Steve

[roni]

Crush on Obama

and in case I still don't know how to get the youtube tags to work, Here is the URL

[MWC]

Originally Posted by roni

Crush on Obama

and in case I still don't know how to get the youtube tags to work, Here is the URL

Saw it earlier this week. Too funny.