By JACKIE CALMES
Wall Street Journal
May 31, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton will call for a big boost in federal spending for research and technology in a campaign trip to California's Silicon Valley today.

The New York senator's "innovation agenda," as her campaign calls it, packages familiar and new initiatives that are sure to be popular with her audience at Applied Global University in Santa Clara, as well as the broader high-tech community, which favors Democrats with its votes and money.

Continue reading "Clinton to Push for Tech Funding" »

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THOMPSON CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

Thompson: Iraq War May Be Won or Lost This Week

For immediate release, May 29, 2007

Madison, Wisc.– Saying it was time for the Iraqi Parliament to democratize oil revenues, former Wisconsin Governor, Tommy Thompson, called on Iraq's elected officials to meet the May 31 deadline and to see that every family in Iraq receive direct payments from the country's oil profits.

“If Iraq fails to pass a revenue sharing law that directly benefits every family in Iraq, then democracy and capitalism in the country will face a bleak future,” said Thompson. “Winning the war in Iraq means establishing a functioning democracy among monarchies and dictators. But concentrating oil dollars among governments and oil companies, and leaving the people out, will only lead to the same old 'top down' system that has already failed.”

Continue reading "Tommy Thompson: Time running out on Iraq oil revenues" »

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By David Saltonstall
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — For his 63rd birthday, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani got $500,000 for his presidential bid during a daylong fundraising sprint through the city Tuesday.
He also got an earful from protesters who continue to dog him on his own turf over Sept. 11.
The protesters, most of whom lost loved ones on Sept. 11, tracked the Republican hopeful to two of his four stops and did their best to disrupt the festivities by raising questions about Giuliani’s decision-making on Sept. 11, particularly his failure to replace long-faulty FDNY radios before that tragic day.

Continue reading "Giuliani faces 9-11 protesters" »

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By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator and “Law & Order” actor, will take a step toward a formal presidential candidacy next week, an official with knowledge of the plans said Wednesday.
Thompson will form a “testing the waters” committee, which will allow him to beginning raising money and hiring staff without officially committing to a White House bid. The creation of the committee, to be called “Friends of Fred Thompson,” will be paired with the start of his first major fundraising push.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans were not public.

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By MIKE GLOVER
Associated Press Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Seeking to add heft to his presidential bid, Democrat Barack Obama is offering a sweeping plan that would provide every citizen a means to have health coverage and calls on government, businesses and consumers to share the costs of the program.
Obama said putting in place universal health coverage has been debated for decades, but the time has finally come to act. He said his plan could save the average consumer $2,500 a year and bring health care to all.
“The time has come for universal, affordable health care in America,” Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery at the unveiling of his plan Tuesday in Iowa City.

Continue reading "Obama unveils health plan in Iowa" »

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By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press Writer

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined a broad economic vision Tuesday, saying it’s time to replace an “on your own” society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity.
The Democratic senator said what the Bush administration touts as an “ownership society” really is an “on your own” society that has widened the gap between rich and poor.

Continue reading "Clinton touts economic plan in NH" »

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BIDEN CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

Evan Carlson Named New Hampshire Press Secretary

Wilmington, DE (May 29): The Biden for President Campaign today announced that Evan Carlson, former press secretary for the State’s Democratic Party, will join the team as New Hampshire Press Secretary.

“We are thrilled that Evan is joining our team in New Hampshire,” said Luis Navarro, Biden for President Campaign Manager. “He will be an incredible asset to our Granite State operation.”

Continue reading "BIDEN NAMES KEY GRANITE STATE COMMUNICATIONS STAFF" »

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CLINTON CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

NH for Hillary Names Veteran Leadership

MANCHESTER, NH – The New Hampshire for Hillary Clinton campaign today announced Bob Hannan will serve as the NH Veterans for Hillary Chair and Eleanor Glynn Kjellman will be the Chair of NH Military Families for Hillary. Hannan served a Veterans’ Service Officer for 25 years at the Manchester Regional Veterans’ Affairs Office. Kjellman is a State Representative and former Air Force Officer whose son served in Iraq.

Continue reading "Clinton names NH Veteran Leadership team" »

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ARLINGTON, VA - U.S. Senator John McCain has issued the following in response to a statement by Sen. Barack Obama:

"While Senator Obama's two years in the U.S. Senate certainly entitle him to vote against funding our troops, my service and experience combined with conversations with military leaders on the ground in Iraq lead me to believe that we must give this new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic to our nation's security.

"By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket."

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By PHILLIP RAWLS
Associated Press Writer
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Democratic presidential contender John Edwards argued on Thursday that President Bush has made the nation less safe and the Republican candidates are trying to become “a bigger, badder George Bush.”
Edwards’ remarks came one day after he challenged the idea of a global war on terror, calling it an ideological doctrine advanced by the Bush administration that has strained the U.S. military and emboldened terrorists.
Bush told reporters Thursday that Edwards’ view was naive.
A short time later, during an appearance in Montgomery, Ala., Edwards answered back: “George Bush has made America less safe and less respected in the world. What we are seeing now in this campaign is John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and the other Republicans running for president of the United States are trying to be a bigger, badder George Bush. Is that really what America wants over the next four years?”

Continue reading "Edwards-Bush spar over war, security" »

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By DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized ABC News on Wednesday for its report about CIA plans in Iran, saying it could potentially jeopardize national security and endanger lives.
ABC News rejected Romney’s analysis, and said it had given the CIA a chance to make the case that its report put people at risk, but the agency didn’t respond.

Continue reading "Romney criticizes network for CIA story" »

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By BETH FOUHY and RON FOURNIER
Associated Press Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s deputy campaign manager wrote a memo this week urging the Democratic front-runner to bypass the Iowa caucuses, in order to spend time and resources in New Hampshire, South Carolina and several larger states hosting primaries next Feb. 5.
The memo emerged days after a new Des Moines Sunday Register poll of likely caucus goers showed Clinton trailing rivals John Edwards and Barack Obama in Iowa, which is scheduled to hold the first voting contests next January 14.
“I believe we need a new approach to winning the Democratic nomination,” deputy campaign manager Mike Henry wrote. “This approach involves shifting the focus away from Iowa and running a campaign that is more focused on other early primary states and winning this new national primary.”
There was no indication Wednesday that Henry’s advice would be heeded. Campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said both the candidate and her top advisers are committed to campaigning in Iowa and that Henry’s views were not shared by others in the campaign.

Continue reading "Clinton to dump Iowa?" »

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By DEANNA BELLANDI
Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama resigned Tuesday from the board of a food supplier for retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a target of criticism by the Illinois senator.
Michelle Obama cited the increased demands of his campaign for leaving the board of Westchester, Ill.-based TreeHouse Foods Inc. Her position had raised questions because Obama has praised a union-led effort to change working conditions at Wal-Mart.

Continue reading "Obama’s wife resigns from board" »

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By Christopher Cooper
The front-loading of the 2008 election continued yesterday, with Florida becoming the latest big state to move up its primary.

But even before the official votes kick off in Iowa on Jan. 14, large numbers of voters around the country already will have cast their ballots, as major states encourage voting far in advance of election day.

Florida’s primary is now scheduled for Jan. 29, and about 20 states, including California, have moved theirs up to Feb. 5. Many of them also allow early voting weeks before their official balloting dates.

This early voting could dilute the traditional role played by Iowa and New Hampshire in providing early momentum for candidates—or dooming campaigns to failure.

Continue reading "Will early vote hurt NH Primary?" »

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By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican John McCain accused presidential rival Mitt Romney of flip-flopping on immigration Monday and said with sarcasm: “Maybe his solution will be to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn.”
McCain also said he was disappointed in potential candidate Fred Thompson for opposing immigration legislation the Arizona senator is co-sponsoring.

Continue reading "McCain, Romney spar over immigration" »

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By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press Writer

CONCORD (AP) — On the campaign trail, presidential hopeful Bill Richardson tells a moving story about a New Mexico Marine killed in Iraq and his mom. But is it true?
Three years ago, Richardson attended a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin, 21, who died in April 2004. As he campaigns for the Democratic nomination, the New Mexico governor often recounts an emotional conversation with Austin’s mother, saying she thanked him for the federal death benefits she had received and even showed him the government check.
In speeches in New Hampshire, Richardson has gotten Austin’s name wrong at least once and age wrong at least twice. He also has called Austin the first New Mexico soldier killed in Iraq — instead of the third.
But that’s not what bothers the Marine’s mother, De’on Miller, of Lovington, N.M., who says the conversation about money never took place.

Continue reading "Richardson's memorial conversation controversy" »

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Kucinich Campaign Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PORTSMOUTH (NH) -- Ohio Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (www.kucinich.us) returns to New Hampshire Saturday, May 19, to address a massive “Stop the Sale” rally of union members from throughout New England who are opposing the proposed $2.7 billion sale of Verizon's local landline business to a North Carolina-based company.
Kucinich, the only Democratic candidate who is a member of the AFL-CIO, will lend his support to the Communications Workers of America, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and other unions who fear the transaction could cost 3,000 jobs and provide consumers with inferior service.
After the rally, Kucinich will attend a reception with union leaders and members at a nearby restaurant.

Continue reading "Kucinich rallies with unions in New Hampshire, citizen activists in Maine" »

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By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Barack Obama saw a surge of interest in his writings as he drew closer to a presidential bid, earning more than half a million dollars in 2006 in royalties for one book and an advance for another, according to his financial disclosure report.
Obama received $572,490 for the books — one a best-selling memoir, “Dreams of My Father,” and the other an account of his political journey, “The Audacity of Hope.”

Continue reading "Obama tops candidate royalty chart" »

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Democratic presidential contender Bill Richardson on Monday proposed dramatic increases in automotive fuel economy in the next 10 years and the near-elimination of industrial greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Previewing the national energy strategy he will unveil later this week, the New Mexico governor and former energy secretary called for “an Apollo program” that would vault the nation into a massive undertaking to wean itself from fossil fuels. He also said he would encourage shared sacrifice, but he was quick to add that under his vision Americans could keep their SUVs. Those big vehicles would get better gas mileage, he said.

Continue reading "Richardson proposes major national energy policy" »

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he also is troubled by the Mormon church’s past practice of polygamy, but that he can overcome voter concern about his religion.
“What’s at the heart of my faith is a belief that there’s a creator, that we
re all children of the same God and that fundamentally the relationship you have with your spouse is important and eternal,” he said Sunday on CBS’ “60 minutes.”
But the former Massachusetts governor acknowledged that “there
s part of the history of the church’s past that I understand is troubling to people.”
“Look, the polygamy, which was outlawed in our church in the 1800s, that’s troubling to me,” he said. “I have a great-great grandfather. They were trying to build a generation out there in the desert. And so he took additional wives as he was told to do. And I must admit, I can’t imagine anything more awful than polygamy.”
Romney, who has five sons with his wife of 38 years, says he was worried he might lose her to somebody else when he left his Michigan high school sweetheart behind in college while he did two years of missionary work in France.
She had coverted from Episcopal to Mormon and attended Brigham Young University in Utah.
“You get all these Mormons out there with strict prohibition against premarital sex, and they’re young and they’re attractive, the hormones work very well and people decide it’s time to get married,” he said.
But she waited for him and they were married three months after Romney joined her in college in 1969.
“No, I’m sorry, we don’t get into those things,” Romney said when asked if the couple had premarital sex. “The answer is no.”
Romney also said voters are clearly upset over President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq but that, for now, people should give the troop increase in Iraq a chance to work.
“I think the administration made a number of errors,” he said. “I don’t think we were adequately prepared for what occurred. I don’t think we had done enough planning. I don’t think we’d considered the various downsides and risks.”
Regarding the current strategy, he said, “I think we’re gonna know in a matter of months if it’s working or it’s not working.”

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By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Sen. John McCain has made another change in his struggling campaign, dismissing his New Hampshire campaign manager on Friday.
Jim Martin had run the Arizona Republican’s campaign in the state and was part of McCain’s 2000 victory in the state. But the campaign decided to replace him with Jim Barnett, who had been a top political operative.
McCain’s New Hampshire Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker said the departure came Friday.
“While we appreciate his hard work, Jim Barnett will assume the day-to-day responsibilities going forward,” she said. “Barnett is a talented political professional with extensive campaign experience, and he will work closely with Mike Dennehy to build out our ground operation to ensure that we win the primary.”
Barnett had served as the chairman of the Vermont Republican Party and joined the McCain campaign as the regional political director.
“We need someone who knows what it takes on every level of a campaign and understand a get-out-the-vote process. Jim Barnett is that person,” said Dennehy, a McCain consultant who stepped down earlier this week as national political director and returned to help New Hampshire’s office. “I’m going to work very closely with Jim on the historical knowledge of the state.”
The campaign says the move underscores the importance of the state to McCain, who won here over party favorite and then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 2000.
The shake-up comes in the wake of Dennehy’s resignation to relocate his family to New Hampshire. His young son suffers from Down’s Syndrome and the family thought the schools in Concord would be a better fit.
Earlier this year, McCain restructured his campaign fundraising organization after a lackluster first quarter. The campaign says the moves reflect the fluid nature of all campaigns.

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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN

SENATOR CLINTON CONTINUES HER CONVERSATION WITH GRANITE STATERS ON FRIDAY, MAY 11

Friday’s visit marks Hillary’s sixth trip to the Granite State

MANCHESTER, NH – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit New Hampshire this Friday, May 11, 2007, to meet with Granite Staters. This will be Clinton’s sixth trip to the state since mid-February. Hillary will be traveling to Exeter, Portsmouth, Laconia and Meredith.

During her visit, Clinton will stop at hospitals in Exeter and Laconia to discuss healthcare. She will also address the Federation of State and Provincial Fire Fighter’s Association Bi-Annual Meeting in Portsmouth and attend a house party in Meredith.

For more information, please visit www.hillaryclinton.com/nh

Friday, May 11, 2007

Exeter, NH à Portsmouth, NH à Laconia, NH à Meredith, NH

10:00 a.m. EDT

Clinton Participates in a Roundtable Discussion with Local Families on Children’s Health Care
Exeter Hospital Center

3rd Floor Conference Room

5 Alumni Drive

Exeter, NH

11:45 a.m. EDT

Clinton Addresses the Federation of State and Provincial Fire Fighters Association Bi-annual Meeting

Portsmouth Sheraton

250 Market Street

Portsmouth, NH

4:00 p.m. EDT

Clinton Participates in a Roundtable Discussion on Children’s Health Care
Lakes Region Healthcare
Healthlink Building 577

Main Street

Laconia, NH

5:30 p.m. EDT

Clinton Attends House Party-Style "Conversation with Granite Staters" at the Home of Bob and Former State Senator Barbara Baldizar

76 Swain Road

Meredith, NH

Posted by SMG Newsroom at 05:37 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

By Michael Mccord
mmccord@seacoastonline.com
PORTSMOUTH — In yet another sign of the intense early pace of the presidential primary season, the Seacoast region and the state will play host to a number of Democratic hopefuls beginning tomorrow.

At least five of the candidates will be in Portsmouth to address delegates at a national firefighter's convention Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, in an unprecedented organizing effort this early in the primary process, the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York will launch its first statewide canvassing effort of the 2008 primary

Continue reading "Crowd of Democrats coming to Seacoast" »

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