Thompson’s entry in to the race excited many republicans. Supports believe that if Thompson were to stick to his roots of conservatism while exceeding outstanding political talent, the Republican party would not seem so lackluster, where many find the republican party to be lacking in gusto.
However, Thompson has not been the enchanting politician that some republicans had hoped. In fact, while campaigning in Iowa this week, Iowans described Fred Thompson as “subdued”, “sonorous”, and a “laconic presence”, during his speeches Thompson spoke in a soft monotone that thrilled very few Iowans. Voters who still supported Thompson were shocked by him lack in passion.
Still his visit to Iowa was not a complete bust, Thompson seems to be improving, by finally addressing some more enthralling issues. In the past days, Thompson was criticizing democrats from trying to increase governmental spending. Mr. Thompson as well was defending President Bush’s veto for the proposed expansion of children’s health insurance.
In the past American voters seem to respond better to more charismatic candidates, it was clear in the 2000 presidential election that Gore’s charismatic skills were nothing compared to the lively George W. Bush. However, in the end, our country was left with the more outgoing candidate but is he the more suitable candidate of the two? In the article a Thompson supporter told the New York Times that Mr. Thompson “comes across as very low key” however she added that she still was sure he would make a good president. Despite his acting talents, Fred Thompson has been presenting the worst performance out of all the republican politicians; he has been dull in speeches and he has remained fixed on sticking to his conservative views. However this does not make Thompson a bad presidential candidate, no one wants another clown for a president and no one certainly wants another president who is indecisive. click here to read the article
Once Republican front-runner McCain has since plummeted in the polls, yet he is still chugging along, perhaps more comfortably and confidently than ever. He seems to have recently come into his own, and claims, “I’m enjoying it more these days… For whatever reason, it took me a while to hit my stride.” He is displaying an impressive amount of resiliency and self-assuredness lately; rather than let himself get discouraged by the polls (which he very well could — see Megan’s posts), his campaign is “still very much alive, if not quite alive and well” as he actively tours and attends events. This article is rife with many of the badoom-tsss one-liners McCain has used (and arguably abused) throughout his campaign; for instance, he acknowledges that he is “older than dirt with more scars than Frankenstein.” He responds adeptly to the Bomb Iran controversy of April (in which he sang “Let’s bomb Iraaaaan” to the tune of the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann”) with perhaps his most applicable one-liner and slogan: “Frankly, life goes on.” And for our weathered politician McCain, it certainly does, because despite the numbers, life on the campaign trail lately couldn’t be better.
Currently, Senator Chris Dodd is campaigning in Iowa for the next couple of days.
September 30th was the last day of fundraising for the third quarter for the presidential candidates. According to a CNN article, not much was expected from Dodd along with other not-very-well-known presidential candidates.
On October 3rd, Sen. Chris Dodd spoke in the Senate about his opinion on the War in Iraq. Dodd is a supporter and cosponsor of the Feingold-Reid-Dodd amendment, which would set timelines for troop withdrawal in Iraq. Chris Dodd wrote in his speech to the President: “Does this policy make us safer, more secure, less vulnerable, less isolated in the world? If you don’t know the answer to that — and I suspect even the general may have some serious doubts about it or he wouldn’t have been as candidly vague in his answer here — we must reexamine whether it is in our interest to pursue that policy.” Dodd thinks that the by continuing the War in Iraq, it is making our country less secure and more vulnerable, which is why he supports the idea of troop withdrawal.
- Alia
For those of you who have heard of absolutely no one in this presidential race except Hillary, Barack, (maybe) Rudy, here’s a handy little article I stumbled across in the New York Times that provides some lovely background violin while all the other candidates whine about how no one notices them. JUST KIDDING! But really, it’s a very informative and interesting article about the obstacles second-tier candidates (like the venerable Joseph Biden) face in the races and how they manage (or try) to overcome them.
Love,
Stella
Patriotic?
Throughout these past few months, Obama has made it even more clear as to what he hopes to change if he is elected president. Just this week, Obama was asked about the symbolism of patriotism that is portrayed in our country. His reaction to the flag pins that Americans where to show their love for this country: “I am less concerned about what people are wearing on their lapel than what is in their hearts.” Ever since 9/11 people have felt as if it is their duty to show their love for this country by flaunting the American flag and other patriotic symbols. He was once one of those who wore the American flag pin, but he soon realized that we shouldn’t have to wear these things to be patriotic but that it should come from within. While talking about the flag pins Obama stated: “After a while I noticed people wearing pins and not acting very patriotic.” In stating this he was basically saying that it was all for show. Some Americans wanted to act as if they were concerned about our country when really that wasn’t necessarily the case at all. All of this formed a bigger picture regarding issues from our troops and their families to issues about mental heath services. By using the symbolism behind the American flag pin and its real meaning, Obama was able to draw attention to what true American patriotism is. He wanted people to understand that if he was elected President, things would change for both the better of the people and the better of our country. (Amy P)
Huckabee’s got it going on ladies. Utilizing his slamming Bass techniques to gain support with conservative Christians (who would’ve known eh?)
Huckabee has come in second to Mitt Romney in the Iowa straw poll. Supposedly Huckabee’s got a great sense of humour as well, which he uses to win over voters, argue politically, and smother other opponents.
For example, Huckabee got the crowd roaring at a conservative convention in Washington when he threw out this funny line….
.“I was the first governor in America to have a concealed handgun permit — so don’t mess with me!”
Hahaha. God he’s hilarious. At this rate Huckabee may be advancing towards presidency, but is probably getting closer to becoming the next John Stewart. (Let’s hope not.)
UPDATE OCTOBER 6 (Stella)
Today influential South Carolina representative Fletcher Smith announced his official endorsement of Senator Biden. The former co-chair of Bill Richardson’s campaign joins a slew of other South Carolinians who have cited his apparent leadership skills and concrete plans for the mess-that-woud-be-Iraq. While campaigning in Iowa, Biden has been racking up support in that state as well. He has received endorsements from many high-level officials, including the state House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy. This makes him a viable competitor for the Iowa vote, placing him on an equal playing field as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (ahead, even, of John Edwards), despite his position as a second-tier candidate. So hope remains for the Biden campaign, who plods along unabashedly, campaigning on both the local and governmental levels. GO BIDEN! And here’s a little food for thought: at this time in 2004, John Kerry was in 5th place (according to the polls) – at this point in Iowa, Biden is tied for 2nd. We’ll see what happens…
Fund Raising (Carolyn):
With the next update on fundraising for every candidate coming just around the corner (October 15) Biden is working hard to have a large increase from his last count of just under $6.5 million. One of the ways in which he is doing this is a response to the ploy used by a benefit event for candidate Guiliani, for which everyone was asked to donate $9.11 to his campaign. Biden argues that this is exploiting the tragedy of September 11, and thinks it should be viciously countered. He wants all of his contributers to donate $20.08, $200.80, $2008.00 to his campaign to signify that if Biden is elected in 2008, he will lead America out of a time of exploiting the terrorist attack on the twin towers for political gain. His goal is to raise $20,000 from these contributions.
(Biden’s e-mail subscription, 25 September 2007) http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08dem.htm
Education (Carolyn):
Yesterday, on October 5, Biden made a trip to Iowa to visit schools such as East High School in Des Moines to get a better understanding of what can be done to improve the education system in America. He says “We are losing too many children in this country, wasting too much talent, leaving so much potential untapped.” The ways he has come up with to improve this system is to move the focus away from strictly test scores, start children in school at a younger age, increase teacher salary, decrease student-teacher ratio, and make a better education easier to afford.
How is he going to do this, you ask? Well, he has proposed hiring 100,000 new teachers so that class size goes down to as low as 18, paid for with $2 billion/year grants to states to help them hire the new staff.
He also promised to give grants to states so they can expand good preschoools and childhood development programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start. He wants to make sure all students are given the option of at least two years of college with a $12,000 deduction, which covers the average cost of a 2-year college or two years of a public 4-year college.
(Biden’s e-mail subscription, 5 October, 2007
UPDATE OCTOBER 5
summary of an email received on 9-26-07– ANNE
On September 26, 2007 Biden’s Iraq Plan passed through the Senate with a vote of 75-23. The passing of his plan means an end to the civil war currently being fought in Iraq and a safe removal of the troops currently stationed over seas. Biden’s plan calls for regional independence within a federal system. With the support of the United Nations and Iraq’s neighbors, the plan has the potential to be successful and bring an end to the civil war.
This is the first time during the national debate about the war on Iraq a strong bi-partisan majority of senators including half of the Republicans have voted to bring an end to the chaos in Iraq.
John Edwards is taking a break from his campaigning to continue to aid New Orleans. He’s set up a really cool and interesting contest that shows that he works on a very personal level: He’s asking people across the nation to donate money to New Orleans, and to have the chance of being one of 5 people to assist John with rebuilding the city of New Orleans. Edwards is not only getting himself involved but he is getting people across the nation involved! It’s really great to see a candidate who hasn’t forgotten about the needs of our city. https://johnedwards.com:443/build/enter/
-Marion
John Edwards appeared on MTV on September 27 to appear in the first MTV/Myspace Presidential Dialogue answering questions posted on Myspace and also asked live by students. This marks the first time that people online and at home can communicate directly with a candidate. I watched part of the forum on television and Edwards answered all of the questions that students asked directly and did not avoid the awkward ones. This week, Edwards is starts in Kentucky, but then travels to at least 17 different cities in Iowa to have community meetings and town hall meetings with Americans. Today (10/3) though, Edwards had no events scheduled. To date, Edwards has raised about $23,000,000 and has only spent about $9 million of it. In the Post/ABC poll today, Edwards has about 13% of the democratic votes while Hillary Clinton still holds the lead with 53%. Edwards is still doing well in Iowa and still increasing his ranks in the polls.
- Laura
John Edwards is defiantly setting his sights on Iowa for the time being. To get ahead in Iowa he has targeted rural small towns, which could help him get support and help him in the Iowan caucuses. In order to gain their support Edwards has been appealing to them with two themes: his own small town background and his plans to help the “forgotten” rural towns. His plans for helping these towns include nationalized internet, money for small businesses, and attracting teachers to the towns with fiscal incentives. Edwards himself said, “It is important to me that small communities are not forgotten.” Edwards has definitely not forgotten about them. Last Friday (as of October 6) he began a trip through Iowa, which would last four fays and cover 17 places in Iowa. Most of these places are, unsurprisingly, small towns. This article also talks about how he turned to the matching funds angle. This could mean he will run out of money for the real election, if he makes it that far, and not be able to counteract the Republican candidate. However, if Edwards gets enough support in the crucial first states, including Iowa, this may set the tone for the rest of the nation and it won’t matter.
-Kimber
John Edwards campaigning in the town of Columbus, Kentucky is an example of how he plans to be elected as President of the United States. Edwards is not avoiding small, republican cities. He is not just going to travel to places like New York and Los Anglelos. Edwards believes that if he visits every town and city in the United States, he can and will be elected as President in 2008. “I’m not the president of the blue states and i’m not the president of the red states, i’m the president of the United States,” Edwards says. Edwards wants to represent every single person in America. He is really putting himself on everyones level. By explaining his financial problems as a child he is connecting to those who are struggling to pay their bills and recieve health care. He wants to give these people a voice in the government, and he says this will not happen unless a democrat is elected.
-Marion http://johnedwards.com/watch/columbus/
Romney, who until recently led the polls in crucial first-primary states Iowa and New Hampshire, has dropped nine points in the latter, turning his considerable lead to a close race between fellow candidate Rudy Guliani. Romney has 25%, Guliani 24%. Critics attribute this drop in points to the radicialism of many of Romney’s stances; while he is the “first choice” for the more conservative Republicans, moderate or liberal Republicans are skittish of his polarizing nature. Most of them find Guliani more “electable”. Some also find it unlikely that Romney would “bring the change” that citizens have clamored for so.
Romney recently missed his chance to reach out to minority voters by not attending a debate designed to address the problems facing minorities. The other leading Republican candidates skipped out as well, each citing “scheduling problems”. Ignoring minorities is becoming a bit of a trend for Romney; earlier in the year he also skipped out on a debate on a Spanish-language television channel. The missing candidates have come under subtle fire from both the minorities and from other Republican candidates; Senator Brownback claimed that it was “a disgrace” that they did not attend, and Mike Huckabee said he was “embarassed” for the absent men. The moderator, Travis Smiley, coldly said “Fortunately, there are those in the Republican Party who do understand the importance of reaching out to people of color”. Garnering white support by ignoring blacks is known as the Southern Strategy, and has long been used by Republicans who simultaneously and hypocritically proclaim themselves of the party of Abraham Lincoln. Romney also missed a debate at the NAACP.
Rudy Giuliani has been arguing that he can “keep us safer”, meaning he can keep the Americans safer if he were to become President. Hey says that Islamic terrorists are at war with us, and they want to kill us. Giuliani claims to understand terrorism more than any of the other presidential candidates, but does he? This has raised an important issue: what does it mean to understand terrorism? Certainly Giuliani has had much experience when it comes to the issue of terrorism since he was the one to help get New York City through the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. But this doesn’t mean that he understands terrorism, and his opponents would say that he doesn’t have foreign policy experience. Giuliani did grieve with New York city and helped them recover, which enabled him to earn the trust of most Americans. But Giuliani does show some weaknesses, such as his liking for secrecy and how he values loyalty over merit. These are things that the U.S. can not have right now. Giuliani doesn’t know more about foreign policy than the other candidates since John McCain was a Navy pilot for 22 years and has been to Iraq six times, while Giuliani has never been! Giuliani’s exaggerated rhetoric is also a concern, for example he has compared the terrorism threat to the Holocaust and the cold war. Whether Giuliani understands terrorism is a very controversial topic. While Iraq is a major issue in the upcoming election, this is going to affect Giuliani. Americans are going to want someone who can keep them safe and out of war. http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1668892,00.html?cnn=yes http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1655714,00.html
(Ruth)
On September 22, 2007 Rudy Giuliani gave an important speech to the National Rifle Association. The NRA crowd was very interested in what he was saying when all over the sudden his phone rang during his speech. Giuliani answered his phone saying, “Hello, dear. I’m talking to the NRA right now. Would you like to say hello?” Some of the people thought that this was planned to show that he cared for his family since everyone knew about his messy personal issues. This was not the first time he answered his phone to his wife during a speech. Campaign spokesmen, Jeff Barker said that it was not planned. The NRA crowd seemed not to mind because they waited patiently for him to get off the phone and laughed at his remark made about the blessing and curses of technology. Because Giuliani has had some messy issues about his personal life, he is showing the nation, he cares for his family, even though this is his third wife. Because he cares for his family, he cares for the nation! (Caroline) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/22/during_big_speech_giuliani_answers_the_call_of_the_wife/
Rudolph Giuliani’s membership on an elite Iraq study panel came to an end because he did not show up to any of the official meetings that were held. When the panel’s top republican gave him the choice of either come to the meetings or quit, Rudy chose to quit. How does this look to the people of America? The top issue of the 2008 race is Iraq and the war is obviously not one of Rudy’s top priorities. This also makes us question Rudy’s character if he joins panels and decides to just not show up…what if he becomes president and decides on random days that oh, I don’t think i will go to that meeting today or oh I know I said I would go but now I don’t feel like it — we will soon find out!
to find out more about Rudy leaving the panel go to http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-usrudy0619,0,7996765.story?wc
– Valerie
Mayor Giuliani is a firm believer of keeping taxes low. If he were to be elected president in the 2008 elections he would continue to use Bush’s tax cuts. Guiliani says that when the taxes are low there is more empoyment in the US, and the government actually gets 21% more revenue from lower taxes than from higher taxes. If a democrat is elected president he or she will increase the taxes, getting rid of the Bush tax cuts. Giuliani does not think that this is a good idea. http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2007/08/27/giuliani-on-taxes-and-social-security.html
-it is thought that Richardson may have a lead in the election if he can get anti-war “fans” attention (he is the only serious war candidate)
-experience as a UN ambassador gives him experience in handling issues with the war, therefore people don’t ignore his ideas on that topic like they would on the others
-wants troops out of Iraq as soon as possible because there is no military solution in Iraq, the surge has failed, the Iraq government has not progressed fast enough to create change in their country, doesn’t want more troops to die
-Richardson’s analysis on the situation of America in the Iraq: “If you are digging a hole, there comes a certain point where you have to stop digging.”
-it is said that Richardson doesn’t care about victory with the war but cares about getting the troops back and safe in America
OJ http://www.411mania.com/politics/columns/60714/The-Individualist-10.01.07:-Bill-Richardson—The-Only-Serious-Anti-War-Candidate.htm
Hillary’s supporters have faith that whether Hilary follows in her husbands footsteps if elected presdient or finds her own path that she will accomplish great things. Even with Bill Clinton’s controversial past as president, two thirds of Americans thought he did a fine job as President. He himself has a high approval rate, but Hillary not so much with a “reject rate” of 46 percent which is more than Obama’s but less than Edward’s. Will Bill’s approval rate ultimately help Hillary’s? Read more on Hillary and Bill’s popularity and also some about the controversy with Guliani and Clinton—here
MP
Hillary’s Laugh: This has been big in the news. Some people think it’s anoying while other’s think that it’s funny. Some people have taken into consideration that the interview took place with Fox News, primarily a conservative network, and reflected of the way she views republican ideas. To see the clip click here.
LS
During this busy time for all candidates they are all trying to attend as many community “get togethers” as possible. Hillary Clinton in particular, as leading candidate she has the pressure of keeping the public pleased. She must impress the people with new ideas, and new ways of showing the public that she cares for them and their beliefs. She has planed for the month of October to attend some Breast Cancer walks, a Hilstar meeting, and Ambasadors for Hillary. To keep the public eye on the positive things she is doing, she must maintain her busy schedule.
To find out more about what Hillary is doing and what her busy schedule will entail go to www.hillaryclinton.com
EG
This semester the junior government classes are hard at work following the 2008 presidential election. They will post their updates on the candidates periodically on this blog and welcome your insights and questions. Please feel free to post a comment on the entries.
“The time has come to bring them all home, if we are going to get out, we need to do it now.” Bill Richardson wants an Iraqi pullout soon as much as 160,000 troops permanently out in six to eight months. If Richardson became president he would support a united Iraq with a government of three split powers (Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds). He believes that if they have split power government peace will be brought to the country and will make the country stable. Countries surrounding Iraq, including Iran and Syria, would be an active part in helping secure the government of Iraq. Richardson made this announcement as President Bush was gearing up to reveal a plan for a pullout in Iraq.
Currently, Biden DOES NOT support the war on Iraq. He has devised a plan, which he named the Biden-Gelb plan to remove the troops from Iraq and leave behind as little chaos as possible. Part of this plan is to create three self-governing groups which he has named Kurd, Sunni, and Shiites. The creation of these groups will help Iraq with their political needs and stop the violence which is currently taking place on Iraqi soil.
On September 6, he issued a live broadcast from Baghdad on CNN. Now it might seem like rather an inopportune time to be ‘abandoning the campaign trail’, but it’s ok, because Biden is the man with the plan. The purpose of his sojourn was to acquire some first-hand, up-to-date knowledge about the situation overseas before General Petraeus gave his annual Iraq report later in the month. WHAT a guy, huh? Always thinking ahead (that’s how a president should be *wink wink nudge nudge*.) And, not 2 days after returning, Biden was back on the tube, this time chatting it up with Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” September 9. Check it out
