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Post by Galactus on Dec 28, 2006 9:27:58 GMT -5
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Post by strat-0 on Dec 28, 2006 10:14:40 GMT -5
To win in the election? Better than Obama's or Clinton's. |
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Post by kmc on Dec 28, 2006 10:32:40 GMT -5
I agree with strat. As much as the media might want to peg him as an outsider, his chances are best, if only because he is a white southern male.
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Post by rockysigman on Dec 28, 2006 10:38:47 GMT -5
Well, at this moment, I think he'd get whooped by either, but that's mostly because he has a much lower profile. In a year and a half, who knows.
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Post by Galactus on Dec 28, 2006 10:55:09 GMT -5
I agree about Clinton but I wouldn't count Obama out so fast. I think if he decides to run he'll do very well in the primaries. I think Edwards is the first real contender to enter for the dems though and I think Obama would be his only real competition. Like Rocky said who knows what'll happen in a year.
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Post by phil on Jan 2, 2007 15:09:24 GMT -5
OOPS !! Revealed: Rudy's '08 battle plans It's clearly laid out in 140 pages of printed text, handwriting and spreadsheets: The top-secret plan for Rudy Giuliani's bid for the White House. The remarkably detailed dossier sets out the budgets, schedules and fund-raising plans that will underpin the former New York mayor's presidential campaign - as well as his aides' worries that personal and political baggage could scuttle his run. At the center of his efforts: a massive fund-raising push to bring in at least $100 million this year, with a scramble for at least $25 million in the next three months alone. The loss of the battle plan is a remarkable breach in the high-stakes game of presidential politics and a potentially disastrous blunder for Giuliani in the early stages of his campaign. The document was obtained by the Daily News from a source sympathetic to one of Giuliani's rivals for the White House. The source said it was left behind in one of the cities Giuliani visited as he campaigned for dozens of Republican candidates in the weeks leading up to the November 2006 elections. Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel suggested there were political dirty tricks behind the loss of the documents and called the timing suspicious. "I wonder why such suspicious activity is occurring and can only guess it is because of Rudy's poll numbers in New Hampshire and Iowa," Mindel said. Giuliani leads most public opinion polls of Republican primary voters though he has not announced his candidacy for President. But the dossier, which envisions spending more than $21 million this year alone, shows that Giuliani began meeting with potential supporters last April and that by October, his staff had put in place a detailed plan for a serious bid for the presidency. But they also depict a candidate torn between his prosperous business and a political future full of both promise and risk. One page cites the explicit concern that he might "drop out of [the] race" as a consequence of his potentially "insurmountable" personal and political vulnerabilities. On the same page is a list of the candidate's central problems in bullet-point form: his private sector business; disgraced former aide Bernard Kerik; his third wife, Judith Nathan Giuliani; "social issues," on which is he is more liberal than most Republicans, and his former wife Donna Hanover. The concerns appear to be listed as issues for Giuliani law partner Pat Oxford to address and are followed by the central question of the campaign: Are there "prob[lem]s that are insurmount[able]?" it asks, adding, "Has anyone reviewed with RWG?" Giuliani, whose middle name is William, is referred to throughout the document by his initials. "All will come out - in worst light," the memo continues. "$100 million against us on this stuff." The binder's pages are unsigned, but several pages have the initials "AD" circled, apparently referring to Giuliani's chief fund-raiser, Anne Dickerson. She is also the most likely person to have prepared the bulk of the binder's contents, which detail his fund-raising plan. The pages are photocopied, some including copies of handwritten notes. On one page, two tasks for Giuliani aide Anthony Carbonetti - his closest political adviser and frequent travel companion - are highlighted in yellow. Read more ... www.nydailynews.com/front/story/485008p-408347c.html |
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Post by phil on Jan 2, 2007 15:25:13 GMT -5
Jeb Bush quiet about long-term plans
By Andrew Ward
Published: January 1 2007 17:46 | Last updated: January 1 2007 17:46
When Jeb Bush was asked recently how he planned to spend his first day after stepping down as governor of Florida, he reeled off a checklist of things he wanted to do: “I hope to wake up. Work out. Maybe read the local paper. Sports page probably. Hang out with my wife.”
About his longer-term plans, Mr Bush was more reticent. “I’m going to try to take some time off to reflect on what I should be doing and not rush into the next thing,” he said.
But Mr Bush’s efforts to duck questions about his future seem unlikely to quash feverish speculation about what that “next thing” might be.
The 53-year-old brother of President George W. Bush finishes his second and final term as governor of the Sunshine State on Tuesday when Charlie Crist, his Republican successor, is inaugurated in Tallahassee.
While his brother limps towards the end of his troubled presidency, the younger Mr Bush is leaving office on a high. A recent poll showed his approval rating at 63 per cent.
Praised for his hands-on leadership style, steady economic stewardship and deft handling of several hurricanes, Mr Bush is described by David Colburn, professor of history at the University of Florida, as “perhaps the most influential governor in state history”.
Mr Bush has already rejected opportunities to jump straight into another big job, including Republican pressure for him to run for the Senate and an offer to become commissioner of the National Football League.
Friends say his first priority is to make money, having seen his wealth shrink from $2.4m to $1.4m during his eight years on the governor’s $130,000-a-year salary, according to public disclosures.
Few people, however, believe Mr Bush has permanently finished with politics. Although he has ruled out running for president in 2008, some analysts believe he could yet be persuaded to join the Republican ticket as nominee for vice-president.
Peter Schweizer, co-author of The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty, says Mr Bush has three main attractions as a vice-presidential candidate.
First, he would improve the Republicans’ chances of winning Florida, likely once again to be a crucial battleground state.
Second, he would bring the formidable fundraising power and political machinery of the Bush family.
Third, his solid record of social and fiscal conservatism would reassure grass roots Republicans if a more moderate candidate, such as John McCain, heads the ticket.
Mr Bush has cut taxes, vetoed spending bills and led the ill-fated fight to save Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman whose case became a cause célèbre for the Christian right before her death in 2005.
“If you asked most Americans they would have the opposite impression, but Jeb is more conservative than his brother,” says Mr Schweizer.
But great as his appeal may be to many Republicans, most analysts believe 2008 is too soon to ask the broader US electorate to vote for another Bush, even as vice-president. “America has had its fill of Bushes,” says Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia. “I don’t think [the vice-presidential nomination] will be offered to Jeb and if it were I don’t think he would accept. Unlike Hillary [Clinton], he’s smart enough to understand that American voters don’t like dynasties.”
Polls show that the rest of the country does not share Florida’s enthusiasm for Mr Bush, with only 28 per cent of US voters expressing a favourable opinion of him and 45 per cent voicing an unfavourable opinion in a recent survey.
Mr Bush started his working life with Texas Commerce Bank, now part of JPMorgan Chase, for whom he spent two years setting up its operation in Venezuela. His family eventually settled in Florida, where Mr Bush became a partner in a real estate development firm and dabbled in entrepreneurial ventures, ranging from part ownership of a football team to exporting water pumps to Nigeria, with mixed success.
History could have turned out differently had Mr Bush not lost his first run for the Florida governorship in 1994, the same year his brother was elected governor of Texas. “The overwhelming consensus was that Jeb was going to win and George W. was going to lose,” recalls Mr Schweizer. “Had that happened, it’s safe to assume Jeb would have ended up running for president rather than his brother.”
Asked by Spanish-language reporters last month about his political future, Mr Bush replied: “No tengo futuro” – “I have no future.” But in an earlier interview he indicated his ambitions were not yet fulfilled. “I hope there’s more to remember than the first 53 years of my life,” he said. “There’s stuff to do. I don’t know what it’ll be but I hope to be remembered by a larger body of experiences than what I’ve had so far.”
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Post by Galactus on Jan 2, 2007 18:16:14 GMT -5
NOW the GOP is worried about the rules...  |
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Post by rockysigman on Jan 2, 2007 18:22:55 GMT -5
I wonder if those guys voted in favor of passing the '04 bill that they reference. I'm just gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that they didn't.
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Post by Galactus on Jan 2, 2007 18:43:46 GMT -5
Well, but the republicans don't have the same "abusive" reputation...
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Post by Galactus on Jan 5, 2007 0:40:53 GMT -5
House Bans Lobbyist Gifts, Business-Sponsored Travel
Jonathan D. Salant Thu Jan 4, 7:31 PM ET
Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives, after installing its new Democratic leadership, voted to ban lawmakers from flying on corporate jets and accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists.
The House passed, 430-1, a package of rules aimed at demonstrating Democrats' commitment to cleaning up Congress. Tomorrow, the House will vote on rules designed to end the anonymous sponsorship of pet projects, or earmarks, that have been quietly tucked into spending measures.
``The culture of the last Congress came to be defined by a phrase now common to Americans throughout the country: it was a culture of corruption,'' said House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat. ``The American people stated loud and clear that they were ready for a new culture to take hold in Washington: a culture of commitment.''
As the Democrats won control of the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years, exit polls from the November election showed the issue resonated with voters. In a CNN exit poll, 42 percent of respondents said the issue was ``extremely important.''
``This is legislation I wish we had done,'' said Representative Christopher Shays (news, bio, voting record), a Connecticut Republican. ``I'm sorry it took a Democratic majority to do it.''
Four Republican House members resigned last year -- Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham of California after he admitted taking bribes; former Majority Leader
Tom DeLay, indicted on money- laundering charges in Texas; Bob Ney of Ohio, who pleaded guilty to taking gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors; and Mark Foley of Florida, who sent suggestive e-mails to teenage pages.
`Edge of the Cliff'
``We pushed ethics to the very edge of the cliff and hoped the public would be interested in other things,'' Shays said. ``When Mark Foley came up, it pushed us over the cliff.''
Republican Dan Burton of Indiana cast the only vote against the rules adopted today.
House Republicans complained that the ethics rules were being rushed through without a chance to offer alternatives.
``We never even had an opportunity to have our amendments denied in the Rules Committee,'' said Representative David Dreier (news, bio, voting record) of California, chief sponsor of a Republican ethics proposal that failed to become law in the last Congress. That legislation was criticized as ineffective by Shays, Democrats and outside advocates.
Today's action may be a prelude to a more significant fight over reducing corruption and influence-buying. That could come in about two months after a task force formed by Pelosi, a California Democrat, and Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, announces whether it supports an outside ethics office to enforce the new rules. For now, members of Congress police themselves through a bipartisan ethics committee.
Honest Government
Those demanding more open and honest government say only independent enforcement will guarantee success.
``If you're not going to enforce the rules, it doesn't matter what they are,'' said former federal prosecutor Melanie Sloan, director of the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
The rules passed today apply only to House members and don't require any further congressional action or the signature of
President George W. Bush. The proposed enforcement mechanism for the House and Senate would require passage by both houses and Bush's signature.
There is concern that the Senate, where 41 senators can block any action, may not go along in adopting strong ethics regulations. The Senate, with Democrats in control 51-49, is scheduled to begin debate on ethics legislation Jan. 8.
The House rules ban lobbyists and the organizations they work for from arranging overnight trips. Nonprofit foundations affiliated with lobbying groups could continue to pay for trips approved in advance by the House ethics committee.
Daylong Trips
Lobbying groups can sponsor daylong trips to factories or forums for lawmakers and their staffs.
``We want them to be able to see a manufacturing facility,'' said Jay Timmons, chief lobbyist for the
National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, a trade group with members including Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries Inc. and Benton Harbor, Michigan- based Whirlpool Corp. ``They're able to take that experience back to their jobs.''
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he would begin by bringing up ethics legislation that passed last year when Republicans were in control. Groups such as Common Cause and Public Citizen say it isn't strong enough.
``I'm astounded the Senate Democratic leadership doesn't see the opportunity they have to step up to the plate,'' said Craig Holman, a campaign finance lobbyist for Washington-based Public Citizen.
`Strongest Possible'
Reid spokesman Jim Manley said the Senate measure that passed last year -- and stalled when the House and Senate couldn't agree on the provisions -- is just a starting point. ``Senator Reid is interested in getting the strongest possible legislation,'' he said.
Democratic Senators Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and Barack Obama of Illinois said today they will propose adopting the House restrictions on travel, letting senators use corporate jets if they pay the charter rate, and doubling to two years the waiting period before former lawmakers can become lobbyists.
Feingold and Obama also would require lobbyists to disclose fund-raisers they hold, and ban them from holding events to honor lawmakers at national party conventions.
Each house has its own ethics committee, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, to investigate wrongdoing and punish it. The committees decide whether to undertake inquiries and have been criticized for lax enforcement.
``You've got to make the rules tough enough, and you have to have strong enforcement,'' said Feingold, whose proposal also calls for an independent ethics office.
Paul Miller, immediate past president of the American League of Lobbyists, said the system works and shouldn't be changed.
``Let's not overreact,'' he said. ``It has proven to be effective. Everyone who broke the law is going to prison.''
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