Good Night and Good Luck

To the kind friends who’ve taken the time to visit my site…

I’ve decided to discontinue this blog for now. Sorry, but I haven’t been putting much effort into writing posts since I returned from Europe. You’ve probably noticed that lately it’s just been the occasional update on the presidential race, which is not what I want this blog to be.

My initial intention was for immediate family members to read a few posts, and then maybe start up a bit of discussion on world affairs. But that has not happened; they just don’t seem to be interested.

So I’m not going to be making new posts anymore, but of course you can always read the old ones. And if something comes up that you’d care to discuss, don’t hesitate to send me an email. My inbox has been feeling quite lonely these days.

Thanks to all you loyal readers that have made me want to continue posting. (You know who you are.) But it’s time to get back to that big stack of library books that has my name on it…

Dodd Endorses Obama; McCain Apologizes for Talk-Radio Host

Today Senator Chris Dodd became the first former Democratic presidential candidate to make an endorsement. He threw his support behind the candidacy of Barack Obama:

Meanwhile, John McCain had to apologize for remarks made by talk-radio host Bill Cunningham after he introduced McCain at an Ohio event:

Hopefully this is a sign that a general election battle will focus on the issues rather than personal attacks. Ha, I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

The Race Widens

Long-time consumer advocate Ralph Nader has decided to enter the 2008 presidential race.

For those unfamiliar with Nader’s achievements, I highly recommend the documentary ‘An Unreasonable Man.‘

In the Democratic battle, Hillary added a hint of sarcasm as she continued her attack of Obama’s campaign:

Democratic “Debate”

Well, the CNN Democratic debate last night was nothing special, mostly repetition of all the things we have heard ten times over in the past few months.  The only new issue was Clinton’s recent charge of plagiarism.

Hillary decided to go sentimental in her closing remarks, mentioning that she was honored to be there with Barack Obama.

Her sentimentality did help her just before the New Hampshire primary.  Still, in the midst of accusing her opponent of plagiarism, it’s odd that Hillary’s remarks bear a striking resemblance to those of her husband.

The Democratic Battle Continues

Barack Obama continued his winning streak by winning the ‘Democrats Abroad’ primary by more than a 2 to 1 margin. So he should receive the majority of the 7 pledged delegates (14 half delegates) at stake as well as the four super-delegates. The primary results came in from 164 countries around the globe where American expatriates cast votes between February 5th and February 12th. That increases Obama’s winning streak to 11 straight victories since Super Tuesday.

Obama also gained the endorsement of the ‘Change to Win’ labor federation on Thursday. The group has an estimated 6 million members, including 175,000 in Ohio, 60,000 in Texas, and 25,000 in Rhode Island. Those numbers are a boost to the Obama campaign in the upcoming March 4th contests.

Hillary Clinton is relying on the states of Texas and Ohio to put an end to Obama’s winning streak. In fact, the Washington Post reports:

Wealthy supporters of Hillary Clinton have formed a new independent 527 group to begin buying television ads to help the New York Senator. Under campaign finance rules, 527s can accept unlimited donations from supporters. The newly formed American Leadership Project plans to spend $10 million to purchase ad time in Texas and Ohio.

The two Democratic candidates will square off tonight in CNN debate scheduled for 8pm EST.

McCain, Obama Take Wisconsin

John McCain and Barack Obama secured victories tonight in the state of Wisconsin. Obama bested Clinton by a 58-41% margin. McCain beat Huckabee 55% to 37%, with Ron Paul picking up 5% of the vote. McCain also picked up a win in Washington state’s primary.

Earlier this week, McCain received the endorsement of former president George H.W. Bush:

Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign began airing negative campaign ads this week. Hillary claims, “My opponent makes speeches, I offer solutions.” That prompted Obama to respond in a Wisconsin rally this weekend:

The Clinton campaign then accused Obama of plagiarising parts of his speech from Massachusetts governor (and Obama-supporter) Deval Patrick:

For a laugh, here are two music videos for the Democratic candidates that have been popular on YouTube over the past couple weeks:

The Hawaiian results also came in, resulting in a 76-24% romp by Obama. The victory marks Obama’s tenth win in a row since Super Tuesday.  Obama now leads the total delegate count 1356-1267 and pledged delegates 1187-1028.

Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont are up next on the schedule, set for Tuesday March 4th.

Romney Endorses McCain; Clinton Takes NM

Mitt Romney has formally endorsed John McCain’s candidacy for president of the United States.  Romney noted their differences but emphasized the importance to back a candidate who remains strong in the fight against Islamic extremism.  Romney urged his pledged delegates to back McCain at the Republican convention, while calling on the Republican party to “come together and make progress” while the Democrats are still fighting.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton emerged as the winner in the close state of New Mexico, where they had been counting ballots for over a week.  Clinton won by a 49-48% margin and secured 14 of the state’s 26 delegates.

Also, the Senate voted on a bill Wednesday that would restrict the interrogation techniques of the CIA to the standard Army rules on interrogation.  Among those successfully voting to defeat the the bill was former Vietnam POW and current presidential hopeful John McCain, a long-time opponent of torture.

Obama, McCain Sweep Potomac Primaries

Barack Obama and John McCain were the big winners in yesterday’s primaries of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Maryland:

• Obama 61, Clinton 35%
• McCain 55, Huckabee 30%

Virginia:

• Obama 64, Clinton 35%
• McCain 50, Huckabee 41%

Washington D.C.:

• Obama 75, Clinton 24%
• McCain 68, Huckabee 17%

Obama has now won 22 of the 32 states awarding delegates, claiming the lead in total delegate count by a 1270 to 1231 margin, including 1114-989 in pledged delegates. John McCain holds a 819-240 delegate lead over Huckabee. Up next on the schedule are Wisconsin and Hawaii for next Tuesday the 19th.

Senate Votes for Retroactive Immunity

The Senate voted today on the Dodd/Feingold amendment, which would have struck provisions providing immunity from civil liability to members of the telecom industry that participate in the government’s warrantless wiretapping program.

Despite the best efforts of Senator Chris Dodd, the Senate voted 67-31 against the bill; Hillary Clinton and Lindsey Graham did not vote. Dodd was quite disappointed with the outcome and claimed: “We’ve just sanctioned the single largest invasion of privacy in American history.”

Obama Wins Maine; Hillary Shakes Up Campaign

Barack Obama completed his sweep of this weekend’s Democratic primaries by winning the Maine caucus on Sunday. He bested Hillary Clinton by a 59-40% margin, capturing 15 of the 24 available delegates. Obama has now pulled slightly ahead in the delegate count (1143 to 1138), but the race remains in a dead heat.

The Obama camp is looking ahead to this Tuesday’s contests in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, where the Illinois Senator is leading current polls.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has changed her campaign manager, replacing Patti Solis Doyle with Maggie Williams, who served as Clinton’s chief of staff when she was First Lady.

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee is challenging John McCain’s slim victory in Washington state. Republican officials named McCain the winner with 87% of the votes tallied, though his lead was just under two percentage points. Huckabee insists he still has a shot to win the nomination:

There are only a few states that have voted. Twenty-seven have not. People in those twenty-seven states deserve more than a coronation, they deserve an election. They deserve to have their voices and their votes heard and counted. I know the pundits, and I know what they say. ‘The math doesn’t work out.’ Folks, I didn’t major in math; I majored in miracles, and I still believe in those, too.”

Based on Huckabee’s 490 delegate lag and McCain’s poll numbers in upcoming states, it looks like it may take something short of a miracle for Huck to win the prize. I guess he is not a fan of math or science.