Campaign 2008

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Oh, he'd bring it up all right.

 

Well, the argument already is that CNN, etc. are liberal, so FOX is just being the counterpoint to that. I don't know if that's totally fair, but it's a point.

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Moderator: "Former Senator/trial lawyer Edwards, why do you hate the troops?"

 

Moderator: "Sen Barack Hussein Obama, at what point did you stop attending the Madrassa?"

 

Moderator: "Bill Richardson, who are you?"

 

etc.

Depends on who the moderators are. Fox still tries to pretend to be unbiased when the spotlight is on them.

 

Of course, those occasions are rare. This morning they were having a panel discussion on national health insurance. I watched for a couple of minutes before I realized they didn't have a single person in the discussion who was in favor of it.

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Gingrich confession: Clearing the way for a 2008 run?

 

Story Highlights

• Former speaker led charge against Clinton over Monica Lewinsky affair

• Potential '08 candidate discusses issue with conservative Christian group

• Republican may enter 2008 presidential race

• Leading Republican candidate, Rudy Giuliani, also had an affair

 

From Bill Schneider

CNN Senior Political Analyst

Adjust font size:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former House speaker and potential presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has confessed, telling conservative Christian leader James Dobson that he was cheating on his wife at around the same time the House was impeaching President Bill Clinton over his White House affair with Monica Lewinsky.

 

But Gingrich said that didn't make him a hypocrite, because Clinton was impeached not for the affair, but for lying about it.

 

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the Georgia Republican told Dobson in an interview posted Friday on Dobson's Focus on the Family Web site.

 

The House impeached Clinton in December 1998, and he was acquitted by the Senate the following year.

 

Still, Gingrich's confession could be damage control for his possible presidential race. He has said he will decide about a run for the White House this fall, after he surveys the Republican field.

 

If he runs, he can treat the affair as an issue he has already dealt with.

 

Gingrich isn't the only candidate or potential candidate with some messy marriage and divorce issues. Like Gingrich, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been married three times. He's currently the Republican front-runner in the presidential derby.

 

Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, condemned Giuliani's behavior, calling his break-up with his second wife "divorce on steroids."

 

"I'm a human being," Giuliani told CNN's Larry King in an interview. "I make mistakes. I'm not perfect."

 

But Gingrich, who just published a book called "Rediscovering God in America," tapped a religious leader for his confession and expressed repentance.

 

"There are things in my own life that I have turned to God and have gotten on my knees and prayed about and sought God's forgiveness," he told Dobson.

 

Gingrich's first marriage ended after he discussed the details of the divorce with his wife while she was recovering from cancer surgery. He married again in 1981 and was divorced in 2000, when he married the young congressional aide with whom he had the affair.

 

So, will religious voters forgive Gingrich? Dobson seemed inclined to think so.

 

"I think it's really important and will be for many of our listeners to know your responses to that point of disappointment back there someplace, and I really appreciate your willingness to do so," Dobson told Gingrich.

 

Critics are likely to call the lot of them hypocrites, however, noting that religious conservatives make allowances for people they agree with politically, like Gingrich, but not for Giuliani or Clinton.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/09/gin...ider/index.html

 

The hypocrisy is a little too hard to ignore, isn't it?

 

For the record, Clinton was impeached because his original deposition testimony during the Paula Jones lawsuit was proven untrue, not because he lied during the grand jury investigation. By stating that Clinton "got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge" ignores both the fact that Clinton was never actually proven guilty of committing a felony, and that he DID admit to having the affair during the federal grand jury investigation. Unless Gingrich is claiming that Clinton did NOT have an affair with Monica Lewinsky, Clinton's grand jury testimony was factual.

[SuperJerk 0]

"FOX News is right wing" is a little overblown

 

Roger Ailes runs the thing.

Hey, wait a second there!

 

Just because Roger Ailes and others in the organization were Republican political consultants, it doesn't mean that they'd use their positions to malign Democrats, does it?

 

Oh, wait...

 

Dems cancel debate over Fox chief's Obama joke

Story Highlights

• During speech, Roger Ailes deliberately confuses Obama, bin Laden

• Democrats say network is biased against them

• Debate was to have been held in August in Nevada

• Fox News vice president says MoveOn.org owns Democratic Party

 

 

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- A Nevada Democratic presidential debate that was to have been co-hosted by Fox News Network was canceled by organizers, in part because of a joke by Fox Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes about presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama.

 

Democrats canceled the debate Friday. They said a comment by Ailes during a Thursday night speech to a group of radio and television news directors indicated the network was biased against their party.

 

"It's true that Barack Obama is on the move," Ailes said, deliberately confusing the Illinois senator's name with that of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. "I don't know if it's true President Bush called [Pakistan President Pervez] Musharraf and said, 'Why can't we catch this guy?' "

 

Even before Ailes' remarks, there was intense pressure from the liberal group MoveOn.org to cancel the August event as part of its boycott of Fox.

 

Ailes has served as a campaign adviser to Republican candidates, including former Presidents Reagan and Bush.

 

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards dropped out of the debate Thursday, citing, in part, Fox's participation.

 

Fox News Vice President David Rhodes responded to the debate cancellation with a written statement saying MoveOn.org owns the Democratic Party.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/10/deb...eled/index.html

 

 

Yeah, I guess it does.

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My bit about if McCaulliffe were the head of a rival channel isn't really even applicable. Ailes was a top-ranking GOP guy as far back as 1968 with Team Nixon. He was even a focal point of a very good book on that campaign. He was the guy behind the Dan Rather/Bush Sr thing in '88. It's amazing that this is mentioned so infrequently & people show so little concern for a high-ranking operative of a political party for well over 20 years is in charge of a major 'news' channel.

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That bit about the Fox News Vice President saying that MoveOn.org owns the Democratic Party seemed pretty counter-productive.

 

 

Democrats: We don't want to be on your channel because we think you're biased.

 

Fox News: That's because you're a bunch of no-good liberals!

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How has Fox been handling their boy Newt's hypocrisy?

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Somehow I missed their coverage of that.

 

Another possible contender...

TV Star, Former Senator Fred Thompson Considers '08 Presidential Bid

Sunday , March 11, 2007

 

WASHINGTON —

 

"Law and Order" star and former Tennessee Republican Sen. Fred Thompson is weighing a bid for the White House in 2008, he told Chris Wallace on "FOX News Sunday."

 

"I'm going to wait and see what happens," Thompson said. "I want to see my colleagues on the campaign trial, what they say, what they emphasize, whether they can carry the ball next November."

 

Thompson, 64, who plays district attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's drama, said he was pondering a run after former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and other Tennessee Republicans began drumming up support for his possible Republican candidacy, citing his conservative credentials.

 

"I think people are somewhat disillusioned. A lot of people are cynical out there. They're looking for something different," he said.

 

On the issues, Thompson said he:

 

—Is "pro-life," and believes federal judges should reexamine the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 which established a woman's right to an abortion.

 

—Opposes gay marriage, but would let states decide whether to allow civil unions. "Marriage is between a man and a woman, and judges shouldn't be allowed to change that."

 

—Supports President George W. Bush's decision to increase troops in Iraq. "Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify them. I think we are doing that now," he said. "We've got to give it a chance to work."

 

—Would pardon former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice now, rather than waiting until all his appeals are exhausted. Libby was found guilty of perjury and obstruction in the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

 

Libby is "bearing the political brunt of something that should've never come about," Thompson said, noting that "practically every witness at trial had inconsistent statements."

 

Thompson said he was not setting a deadline to make a decision and believes he will not be at a disadvantage if he waited until summer. "The lay of the land will be different in a couple of months than it is today, one way or another," he said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday."

 

Thompson, the minority counsel in the Watergate investigation, was elected to the Senate in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of Vice President Al Gore. He was chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and left the Senate in 2003 to resume his acting career.

 

Thompson has acted in films such as "The Hunt for Red October," "Cape Fear," and "In the Line of Fire."

 

If he decided to run, Thompson would join a crowded Republican field led by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona. The number could grow on Monday when Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel makes an announcement on his future plans.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258220,00.html

 

It'll be interesting to see how much Hollywood-bashing goes on this election. This is, of course, the party where the presidential nominee denounced Hollywood values at a convention where the keynote speaker was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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The more neanderthal/big govt the GOP candidate ends up being, the bigger the landslide will be. Fred Thompson could work just as well as any for that.

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Poll: Hopefuls' character trumps policies; 55 percent say they consider honesty, integrity as most important qualities

Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York leads with 38 percent, followed by Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois at 21 percent. Former Vice President Al Gore is at 14 percent and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards is at 10 percent. The rest of the field is in single digits.

 

Clinton leads Obama among voters who mention honesty and strong character, compassion, intelligence and stance on issues. The former first lady is tied with Obama among the small number of respondents who value experience, a surprise given Obama’s short stint in Washington.

 

WTF????

 

Seriously...what...the...FUCK?

 

Maybe one of the poll questions should have been "Do you live under a rock?"

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Americans can be so incredibly dumb sometimes.

 

"Hello sir, which of the Democratic candidates do you feel has the strongest character & stance on issues?"

 

"Uh...who's that wife of that one guy? "

 

"Hillary Clinton..."

 

"Yeah. She's got the best stance with them big ol' legs."

 

"Ok...and what candidate do you feel is most experienced?"

 

"Ehh...both of 'em."

 

click

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

It'll be interesting to see how much Hollywood-bashing goes on this election. This is, of course, the party where the presidential nominee denounced Hollywood values at a convention where the keynote speaker was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

Off topic, but I would argue that Arnold was the most successful GOP politician of 2006. He would be a top prez contender if there was an amendment that allowed him to run.

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To be fair, if I was making the decision based on experience, I would choose Obama over Clinton. I value his experience as a community activist over Clinton's experience as a pol.

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The fact that he can't run for president is probably the reason the right-wing hasn't made a move against him.

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To be fair, if I was making the decision based on experience, I would choose Obama over Clinton. I value his experience as a community activist over Clinton's experience as a pol.

 

I'm confused how a double talker like Hilary can be considered being more honest and having better character. I didn't know rapidly avoiding the question asked was considered honesty? Maybe the people got compassion mixed up with bullshit artist?

 

I still take Richardson at the moment but between Hillary and Obama, give me a break. Least he answers a question asked of him, I mean sure he'll usually have to apologize for part of his answer for some reason but at least that shows me he's not holding back and saying what he feels. Having to PC it later doesn't surprise me and doesn't make me think less of the guy.

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Reporter: “Should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?”

Mr. McCain: “Well I think it’s a combination. The guy I really respect on this is Dr. Coburn. He believes – and I was just reading the thing he wrote– that you should do what you can to encourage abstinence where there is going to be sexual activity. Where that doesn’t succeed, than he thinks that we should employ contraceptives as well. But I agree with him that the first priority is on abstinence. I look to people like Dr. Coburn. I’m not very wise on it.”

(Mr. McCain turns to take a question on Iraq, but a moment later looks back to the reporter who asked him about AIDS.)

Mr. McCain: “I haven’t thought about it. Before I give you an answer, let me think about. Let me think about it a little bit because I never got a question about it before. I don’t know if I would use taxpayers’ money for it.”

Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”

Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”

 

from NYT blog

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Why can't a candidate just say "It's time to cut third world funding, since it ends up being squandered by countries who end up hating us anyway?" I'd vote for that candidate in an instant.

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McCain gets worse every time he opens his mouth.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

How is it hard to take a stand on contraceptives? It's not like condoms are some new fangled thing that just got invented five years ago.

 

He should just say "Well, as a Christian I believe sex should be saved for marriage, but if nothing else, safe sex should be practiced to prevent the spread of disease." No one could really criticize that, but instead he waffles and comes off like he's uninformed and unprincipled.

[Gary Floyd 0]

I gave up on McCain a long time ago, but damn, that's just pathetic.

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Nothing like a candidate who proves he really doesn't have an opinion of his own on an issue. Shouldn't need more research for that question John.

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Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

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"Brian, would you find out what my position is?"

[Gary Floyd 0]

Well, Edward's wife has cancer. Poor lady.

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Matt Drudge was a bit off with his Edwards campaign obit in bright red letters.

 

This could make Fox & the Republicans who didnt say anything about Ann Coulter's incredibly retarded comments look even worse.

[EricMM 0]

So like, while it is unlikely, would a Gore/Obama ticket be the best thing ever or what?

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No.

 

I wonder how Newt Gingrach would have handled the Edwards' situation?

[EricMM 0]

Yes it would.

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No.

 

Gore likes being the center of attention of his primary issue, global warming. He is at the top of his chosen mountain and that satisfies his ego. If he were elected President with someone as charismatic/etc as Obama as Veep he would once again be shadowed. In his current position, Gore is basically the 'President' for his cause, he's doing swell financially, and he feels like (and probably is) doing an important/historical service. He is in a Bryan position where people feel much better for him after his 'loss' 7 years ago but he has the added twist of being on the correct side of his twilight issue vs. Bryan who was made a fool in the Scopes trial. He would have no interest in being overshadowed as president & he presumably realizes that his major cause would have to take a backseat to the rest of his workload.

 

Obama certainly doesnt want the Vice Presidency. He knows he has a real chance for top honors and I highly doubt he would ride shotgun to a drone like Al Gore. Obama is a very idealistic man and with his charisma he is the closest America has had to another Bobby K-type since 1968. His issues & his talents and gifts serve him best as either President or in the Senate, not as VP.

 

A combo of Gore/Obama is as bad a matchup (not to mention highly unlikely or impossible) as either of them paired up with Hilary Clinton. It would not be in the interests of either politician and personal interest plays no small role in Presidential campaigns.

[EricMM 0]

Obama would help Gore.

 

I would prefer the man to Obama.

 

Well, even if he doesn't run now, maybe whoever wins can put him as the head of the EPA or something.