From The Times of London, dated Feb. 10:
Barack Obama will make his formal entry into the 2008 presidential race today at the old state capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, invoking the legacy of another man who began his political career against the same backdrop of Doric columns — Abraham Lincoln.
From BBC News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6296299.stm
Kerry ‘will not seek White House’
Senator John Kerry, who lost to George W Bush in 2004, will not run for US president in 2008, reports say.
The Massachusetts Democrat had been thought to be considering another run, and had kept campaign staff and a fundraising operation in place.
But he would have faced an uphill battle for his party’s nomination, given the likely candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Mr Kerry is expected to make a formal announcement in the coming hours.
He made his decision only in the past day, reports say.
(What a relief. Will Colorado go blue in 2008? Discuss. – promoted by James L.)
From the New York Times:
Democrats Said to Pick Denver for `08 Convention
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: January 11, 2007It’s not exactly a “New York: Drop Dead” kind of moment, but the Democratic National Committee has decided to hold the party’s 2008 nominating convention in Denver, according to Democrats familiar with the decision, heading West in rejecting a bid from New York to hold it there.
The announcement will be made by Howard Dean, the party chairman, later today. Democratic officials had been drawn to Denver for political reasons – Colorado is becoming an increasingly hospitable territory for Democrats – but had held back because of concerns over the availability of hotel rooms and ongoing union unrest there. Democrats said they believed both potential problems had been resolved.
The last Democratic convention held in New York was 1992.
From the Associated Press today:
INDIAN HILL, Ohio (AP) — An Iraq war veteran who drew national attention when he ran for Congress criticizing the president chased three men who had crashed into a fence outside his home, then guarded them with an assault rifle until police arrived, according to police reports.
The reports involving attorney Paul Hackett came to light during a grand jury investigation. His lawyer, Greg Moore, issued a statement Tuesday in which he acknowledged what happened and said Hackett was distressed ”that the secrecy of the grand jury has been violated.”
Police in the Cincinnati suburb investigated the matter and consider it closed, Chief Chuck Schlie said.
Hackett, a Marine reservist who served seven months in Iraq, attracted a wide following in 2005 when he ran as a Democrat in a special election for a U.S. House seat in southwest Ohio, criticizing President Bush and the Iraq war.
He narrowly lost to Republican Jean Schmidt.
According to a police report, officers were called to Hackett’s home on Nov. 19 after a car crashed into a fence and sped away. The officers arrived to find three men lying face down near their car and Hackett with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder.
”He said he had done this about 200 times in Iraq, but this time there was not a translation problem,” the police report said.
Hackett told police later that he was carrying a civilian model of an AR-15 and that one round was in the chamber but the safety was on. He said he never aimed the weapon at the men or put his finger on the trigger.
The driver of the car was charged with failure to maintain reasonable control, driving under suspension and carrying a concealed weapon, a pair of brass knuckles.
Tonight was a wild ride and it ain’t over yet. What’s more exciting than seeing your team take it all the way? Doing it in overtime, of course! It’s an emotional roller coaster that goes something like this:
Good
Winning the House
Better
Maybe winning the Senate?
But…
Maybe losing the Senate you started to hope you’d win?
Good
Winning many close races
Better
Winning a few races no one expected
But…
Any incumbent we didn’t get rid of this year is going to be impossible to get any other year
Good
We’re in a good position to build House and Senate majorities in ’08
Better
With a majority of the governorships, gains in secretaries of state, and control of key states, we have the tools to assist the presidential nominee in ’08
But…
Given such a historic day, the victory speeches were pedestrian — where are our inspiring leaders for ’08 and beyond?
Am I the only one still at the dance?