Karl Rove offers this advice to Barack Obama:
If she (Hillary) wins the nomination it will be because her rivals – namely you – were weak when you confronted her and could not look her in the eye when you did. She is beatable but you have to raise your game. Iowa is your great chance for a breakthrough. Win it convincingly and you can build on it in the contests that follow. Lose it and victory becomes much more difficult.
Barack Obama wants to tax the wealthy, those over $200,000, to help improve Social Security. Sucks for the wealthy – but sure sounds good to the middle class (like myself) or the poor. Other Democratic candidates say they back that idea. But Hillary Clinton won’t address her plans publicly. She said she won’t address or advocate any specific fix until the budget was balanced.
Fred Thompson said he has his own ideas for Social Security, like price indexing. Other GOP candidates want to allow private investment accounts and while NPR didn’t address it, Mike Huckabee (and myself) wants to fund Social Security with the money raised from the FairTax. Abolish the income tax and pay for Medicaid and Social Security with sales tax rather than money from my pay check. When the 78 million baby boomers end up on Social Security, they’ll be paying into the system just like everyone else everytime they go buy a loaf of bread or a new car.
Here’s an interesting stat as to why Social Security is going bankrupt…
The first person to receive a Social Security benefit was Ernest Ackerman, who paid 5 cents into Social Security during one day of work. He retired the next day and was paid 17 cents for his retirement in January 1937. This was a one-time, lump-sum pay-out, which was the only form of benefits paid during the start-up period January 1937 through December 1939. The first person to receive monthly retirement benefits was Ida Mae Fuller of Brattleboro, Vermont. Her first check, dated January 31, 1940 was in the amount of US$22.54.
I think Ackerman got one heck of a deal. That’s more than 3 times the return on an investment. Sign me up -except that the system is going bankrupt any day now.
From the Barack Obama campaign:
I’m leaving the Tonight Show studio and I wanted to share something.
Jay Leno just asked if it bothers me that some of the Washington pundits are declaring Hillary Clinton the winner of this election before a single vote has been cast.
I’ll tell you what I told him: Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare “Mission Accomplished” a little too soon.
We started this week $2.1 million behind the Clinton campaign — a lead they built in large part with contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.
We don’t accept money from federal lobbyists or PACs. But we’ve already cut that advantage in half with small donations from people like you.
Here’s more from Dallasblog on Dobson’s threat last week…
Tara Ross writes:
Late last week, evangelical leader James Dobson upped the ante in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. In a New York Times editorial, he confirmed that he and other pro-family leaders will vote for a third-party candidate if the Republican nominee is not pro-life. The threat is aimed directly at Rudy Giuliani, who is pro-choice.
These leaders feel that they can’t support a pro-choice candidate without unacceptably compromising principles in which they strongly believe. Period. End of discussion.
Far be it from me to urge anyone to compromise their principles. Yet I can’t help but note that their position may end up doing far more harm than good. Their votes for a third-party candidate are meant to make a stand for life. Ironically, they could instead set the pro-life cause back for many decades.
Personally I’d rather see Huckabee or Obama – but I think the author makes a great point.
What about you?
Moby comments on Giuliani’s presidential campaign – and like him, I’m really surprised Rudy Giuliani remains at the top of the GOP presidential candidates
in the 90’s he had a radio show wherein he spoke directly to new yorkers.
he had an ongoing battle with a guy named david, who was the head of the ferrets rights association.
this quote from giuliani makes me laugh out loud.“david, your compulsion, your excessive concern for weasels is a sign of something wrong in your personality,â€
-rudolph giulianielsewhere in his radio program he:
a-lambasted the nra
b-expressed support for hillary clinton’s health care program
c-bragged about how nyc gave free health care to illegal immigrants
and so on.
and he’s the republican front runner?
awesome.
i kind of want to support his bid for the presidency just because he’s insane and would be a really entertaining president.
ok, i don’t really want to support his bid for the presidency.
but he is insane and he would be really entertaining as president.
i really do love that the republican front runner is a cross-dresser who has publicly supported gay rights and has called for a ban on private gun ownership.
it’s kind of amazing that the republicans are supporting a guy who used to live with 2 gay men and was for most of his political career to the left of hillary clinton.
again, awesome.
mo
But hey – he’s electable right?