CLINTON CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Endorses Clinton

The Clinton Campaign today announced the endorsement of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. AFSCME is the nation’s largest public sector union, representing more than 1.4 million workers.

“As our President, Hillary Clinton will help rebuild America’s middle class and make sure that everyone shares in our country’s prosperity. She has a record of leadership, of bringing people together for more than 30 years. Hillary Clinton inspires our members. She sparks the flame we need to win,” said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee.

McEntee said after 10 months of polling and interviewing members and scrutinizing candidates’ records, Clinton stood out from the pack.

“We had the most talented and diverse field of Presidential candidates we’ve seen in years. But when all was said and done, among our members Hillary Clinton clearly emerged as the best candidate to take back the White House for America’s working families,” he said

AFSCME said it would activate a 40,000-member volunteer army to mobilize its members, and launch an unprecedented GOTV effort in Iowa, where it represents 30,000 workers.

“I am honored to receive the support of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,” Clinton said. “In my administration, America’s working families will again have a partner in the White House.”

Clinton has been endorsed by other leading national unions, including the American Federation of Teachers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, National Association of Letter Carriers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and the United Transportation Union.

Posted by Michael McCord at 04:31 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

OBAMA CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

Dean John Hutson Endorses Obama

President and Dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center, former Judge Advocate General praises Obama’s foreign policy judgment, courage to challenge conventional thinking

MANCHESTER —J ohn Hutson, Dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center and former Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy, announced his support for Barack Obama today. Hutson endorsed Obama as best candidate to move the country beyond our failed foreign policy and restore our moral leadership in the world, citing Obama’s unifying leadership, his early stand against the war in Iraq, and his belief in strong, personal diplomacy with friend and foe.

“Obama is the only major candidate who had the courage and judgment to oppose the tragic war in Iraq and a reckless amendment that lays the groundwork for war in Iran,” Dean Hutson said. “And he understands that a strong President is not afraid to talk to our enemies and tell them that we’ll never back down from the values that make America great.”

Now a resident of Bow, Hutson served as a judge advocate in the United States Navy from 1972-2000. He has served as President and Dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center since 2000. Dean Hutson was a registered Republican until changing his party affiliation this month to vote for Obama in the primary.

“The damage this administration has done to our standing in the world is not irreparable—but to undo that damage we need a bold, principled leader who isn’t afraid to challenge the conventional thinking that has taken hold in Washington,” Hutson said. “Barack Obama is that leader.”

Posted by Michael McCord at 12:53 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

RICHARDSON CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand Endorses Governor Bill Richardson

PORTSMOUTH -- The Richardson for President campaign today announced a crucial endorsement from Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, one of New Hampshire's brightest and most talented young leaders.

Steve Marchand, 33, was elected mayor of Portsmouth in 2005 with over 67 percent of the vote. He has been praised for his successful stewardship of green energy initiatives as well as his fiscal leadership in introducing transparency and accountability to the city budget. The Portsmouth Herald wrote of Marchand, "the guy has guts, energy and ambition." He previously was named New Hampshire's political "Rising Star" of the year by the website politicsnh.com.

Mayor Marchand will join the Richardson for President campaign as a Senior Advisor. He also will maintain a robust surrogate speaking schedule, traveling the Granite State and stumping on Governor Richardson's behalf.

"Bill Richardson is the most experienced candidate in the race, the most determined to end the war in Iraq, and the most capable of bringing about the real change that America needs," Marchand said.

Mayor Marchand cited Governor Richardson's record of success in promoting clean energy and protecting the environment in New Mexico as a key part of the rationale behind his endorsement. In recent years, Portsmouth also has become a national leader in green energy policy, joining both the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

"Governor Richardson's leadership made New Mexico the 'Clean Energy State,'" Marchand said. "Bill Richardson is the bold leader we need to break our addiction to foreign oil and build a clean energy economy in America."

Richardson welcomed the addition of Mayor Marchand to his growing New Hampshire team.

"I am honored to have the support of one of New Hampshire's brightest young leaders," Richardson said. "Steve Marchand's energetic leadership of the city of Portsmouth, particularly in the area of clean energy, is a model for the nation."

Mayor Marchand is the latest in a string of major endorsements for the Richardson campaign in New Hampshire. Last week, Richardson gained the support of former Ambassador and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair George Bruno. Prior to that, former Manchester Mayor Bob Baines backed Richardson's campaign.

A near lifelong resident of New Hampshire, Steve Marchand was born in Manchester and attended Goffstown Area High School. Marchand also is one of New Hampshire's most seasoned political operatives, having served as a consultant, communications director, and campaign manager on dozens of local, statewide, and federal campaigns.

Steve lives in Portsmouth with his wife, Sandi Hennequin, and two young daughters, Abigail and Margaret.

Posted by Michael McCord at 04:05 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

Romney to get Sen. Gregg’s endorsement

By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

CONCORD (AP) — Sen. Judd Gregg will endorse Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, according to two sources close to the Romney campaign.
Gregg will join Romney at a noon rally on Monday in Concord and then walk with him to the Statehouse, where the former Massachusetts governor formally puts his name on the primary ballot, according to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the noontime event.
The endorsement is not a big surprise. Concord lawyer Tom Rath, one of Gregg’s principle political advisers, is a fixture in the Romney campaign; several of Gregg’s aides are on loan to the Romney campaign.
Gregg, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, is a former New Hampshire governor who won his first Senate term in 1992.
John Sununu, the state’s other Republican senator who faces a tough re-election bid in 2008, has said he doesn’t plan to endorse during the primary.

Posted by Michael McCord at 12:24 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

BIDEN CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

BIDEN Legislation Gets to the Heart of the Nation's Nursing Crisis

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) introduced the Nursing Education Opportunities Act (S. 2230), legislation designed to alleviate the current nurse and nursing school faculty shortage in this country. The United States is facing a critical shortage of nurses, but Sen. Biden's legislation will help train and employ 100,000 new nurses in the workforce over the next five years.
The Nursing Education Opportunities Act raises the yearly loan amounts allowed under the Nursing Student Loan Program; provides funds for academic institutions to establish doctoral nursing degree programs; and establishes pilot projects to allow nursing schools to share faculty and resources and partner with health facilities to give employed nurses a chance to pursue an advanced degree and eventually teach.

"Nurses play one of the most important roles in our nation's healthcare system - they make the difference in how patients are taken care of and how they recover," said Sen. Biden. "Unfortunately, we're facing a real shortage of nurses and nursing school faculty in our country today, and our nation's hospitals will continue to face tremendous hurdles as nurses retire, baby boomers age and the need for healthcare grows."

In 2007, the American Hospital Association reported that hospitals in the United States had an estimated 116,000 registered nurse vacancies as of December 2006. Despite the nurse shortage and efforts to increase the pool of qualified nurses, schools of nursing struggle to increase student capacity. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the United States' nursing schools turned away nearly 43,000 qualified applicants in 2006, primarily due to an insufficient number of faculty. A wave of retirements is expected in the next decade as an aging nursing school faculty population begins to retire. In fact, a 2007 survey by the Association of Academic Health Centers found that chief executive officers from academic health centers rated the nursing faculty shortage as the most severe of all health professions.

To respond to this growing nursing shortage and to attract and retain high-quality nurses, the Nursing Education Opportunities Act will increase the maximum yearly loan amount available through the Nursing Student Loan Program. The Public Health Services Act authorized a number of programs to support health professions and nursing schools and students, and Sen. Biden's legislation will explicitly allow accelerated degree nursing students to be eligible for those loans and other financial assistance programs. Students in accelerated degree programs are those with a baccalaureate degree in another field, who have decided to return to school to get a degree in nursing. The students in these programs have difficulty securing federal funding as this program category is not easily defined.

In states like Delaware, where no doctoral nursing programs exist, the legislation will provide grants for schools to establish such doctoral nursing programs. In the case of a nurse faculty shortage, the legislation will allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to raise the cap on the percentage of traineeships available for individuals in doctoral degree nursing programs through the Advanced Education Nursing Grants.

"We applaud Sen. Biden for this initiative to address the nursing shortage with funding initiatives for returning adult students and for meeting Delaware's longtime need for a doctoral program in nursing.
These issues are not being addressed in previous bills," said Dr.
Betty Paulanka, Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware.

"The Nursing Education Opportunities Act is a solution to both an immediate and long-term national problem," said Sen. Biden. "By providing more opportunities now for those nurses wanting to pursue doctoral-degrees, we will be able overtime to enroll more nurses into classrooms and put more nurses into the work force."

The Nursing Education Opportunities Act also establishes two pilot programs, the Doctoral Nursing Consortia Pilot Project and the Nurse Faculty Pilot Program. The Nursing Consortia program will allow schools to establish partnerships to share doctoral faculty and programmatic resources. The Nurse Faculty Pilot Program, a companion piece to Representative Carolyn McCarthy's (D-NY) legislation in the House of Representatives, the Nurse Faculty Higher Education Act (H.R.
2384), will provide grants to partnerships between accredited nursing schools and health facilities to fund release time to allow qualified nurses to stay in their jobs while also attending school to earn a graduate degree and eventually teach.

"At the heart of the problem is the need for doctoral nurse faculty,"
said Dr. Jeanette Lancaster, President of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. "Schools of nursing across the country report numerous vacancies for these positions. By providing opportunities for nursing schools to create a doctoral nursing program, share programmatic and faculty resources through a doctoral consortium, and prepare additional nurse educators through the nurse faculty pilot project, Sen. Biden's bill focuses on a long-term solution to the nursing shortage. Without additional nurse faculty and the means to teach them, we will not be able to educate the next generation of professional baccalaureate nurses."

The American Academy of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Nephrology Nurses' Association, American Nurses Association, American Organization of Nurse Executives, Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses and National League for Nursing support this legislation.

Posted by Michael McCord at 03:12 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

Thompson vows crackdown on ‘sanctuary cities’ in swipe at rivals Giuliani, Romney

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON and LIBBY QUAID
Associated Press Writers

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Republican Fred Thompson said Tuesday the government should yank federal dollars from cities and states that don’t report illegal immigrants.
In his first major policy proposal, Thompson challenged presidential rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney by criticizing “sanctuary cities” where city workers are barred from reporting suspected illegal immigrants who enroll their children in school or seek hospital treatment.
“Taxpayer money should not be provided to illegal immigrants,” Thompson said at a round-table discussion that included Collier County, Fla., sheriff Don Hunter.
Thompson has argued his rivals are soft on illegal immigration because Giuliani, as New York mayor, sued the federal government to keep his city’s sanctuary policy and because Romney tolerated sanctuary cities as Massachusetts’ governor.
In turn, Giuliani’s campaign accused Thompson of being weak on the issue. At a news conference Tuesday in Boston, Giuliani said: “I’m the one who can bring about immigration reform.”
The immigration issue is important to many conservatives who influence Republican primaries. Some argue that illegal immigrants are straining schools and hospitals and taking jobs from U.S. citizens.
Thompson chose to announce his plan in Collier County, which has vast tomato farms that hire thousands of immigrants and last year was part of a two-county sweep that saw 163 illegal immigrants arrested in one weekend.
Thompson’s campaign said 22 percent of the county’s crime is committed by illegal immigrants.
To the sheriff, Thompson said: “You’ve clearly been swamped with a particular kind of problem because the federal government, in large part, has let you down and has not done their part.”
“There’s not a lot of new legislation that needs to be passed,” the candidate said. “We need to enforce the laws that are on the books. There are laws against illegal immigration, there are laws to secure the border, there are laws against sanctuary cities, there are laws against publicly funding illegals, and that law is being disregarded.”
Under Thompson’s plan, sanctuary cities would lose discretionary federal grants, as would colleges and universities that allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition.
The former Tennessee senator also called for stronger laws forcing employers to verify that workers aren’t illegal immigrants, for a more rigorous system to track who is coming in and out of the country and for increased prosecution of “coyotes,” smugglers who bring illegal immigrants across the Mexican border.
Calling for stronger border security, he said: “A small amount of nuclear material could do a lot of damage in the wrong hands. It makes you wonder why a terrorist would bother going through an airport or a port ... when we have an open border.”
“In 1996 we passed a bill, I was in the Senate, that outlawed sanctuary city cities. Mayor Giuliani went to court to defeat that law,” Thompson said.
Giuliani spokeswoman Katie Levinson said Thompson didn’t try to fix the problem of illegal immigration when he was in the Senate.
“He was voting against $1 billion to combat illegal immigration at the borders, against stricter employment verification and for giving illegal immigrants more benefits than we give legal immigrants. That’s not consistent or conservative,” Levinson said.
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden called Thompson a latecomer to the issue of sanctuary cities. “Governor Romney has been the strongest candidate when it comes to demanding that our existing immigration laws are enforced,” Madden said.
Romney has spent several weeks criticizing Giuliani for New York’s sanctuary policy; Giuliani responds that he cracked down on all lawlessness and that Romney tolerated sanctuary cities in Massachusetts.
Romney says he tried to curtail the problem by deputizing state police to enforce federal immigration laws.
Romney and Giuliani both are calling for tougher border security and enforcement of immigration laws, although in the past they spoke favorably of measures, sponsored by Arizona Sen. John McCain, another rival, that would provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million immigrants here illegally.
———
Associated Press Writer Libby Quaid reported from Washington, and Jay Lindsay contributed from Boston.

Posted by Michael McCord at 01:58 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

New Mitt Romney campaign ad appeals to fiscal record in NH
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

CONCORD (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is appealing to the fiscal conservatism of New Hampshire voters in a new ad that started running Tuesday.
In it, the former Massachusetts governor and business executive says existing tax policy is fundamentally unfair and that his plan would reduce the tax burden for all.
“It’s not fair that you have to pay taxes when you earn your money, when you save your money and then when you die,” Romney says in the television ad.
Romney has made the promise of lower taxes a staple of his campaign. He and his GOP rivals also have argued over who would be the best steward of the nation’s economy and whose proposals would create the most jobs.
His new ad appeals to voters where it counts most: their pocketbooks and wallets.
“That’s why I’ll kill the death tax once and for all and roll back tax rates across the board,” Romney says in the 30-second ad. “And savings? When I’m president, for middle-class Americans, the new tax rate on your interest, dividends, and capital gains will be absolutely zero.”
Romney has proposed eliminating taxes on interest and dividends for families earning less than $200,000 a year. He has said the plan would benefit 95 percent of families — 56 million that earned interest in 2005, 28 million that earned dividends and 23 million with capital gains from real estate, stocks or bonds.
The proposal would cost $32 billion, to be paid for through economic growth, and by holding non-defense discretionary spending to inflation minus 1 percentage point.
“Want tax cuts that will grow our economy?” Romney asks before repeating what has become a campaign slogan: “Change begins with us.”
Republican rival Rudy Giuliani has made taxes a centerpiece of his radio ads. He routinely touts 23 tax cuts that occurred while he was mayor of New York. Critics note that he did not initiate all of them, and that he opposed some.
A Democratic National Committee spokesman said Romney’s changing positions can’t be wished away with a television ad.
“Mitt Romney’s new ad is his latest desperate attempt to distract from his flip-flops on tax cuts, his tax-raising record and his dismal stewardship of the Massachusetts economy,” Damien LaVera said. “But the voters already know the only change Romney offers is his own conversion into a Bush Republican.”

Posted by Michael McCord at 02:16 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

BIDEN CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

BIDEN JOINS BROWNBACK IN IOWA TO DISCUSS IRAQ PLAN
Reaffirms Broad Bipartisan Support For New Way Forward In Iraq

Des Moines, IA (October 12, 2007) - Today in Des Moines, Sen. Joe Biden was joined by Republican Sen. Sam Brownback as he discussed the Biden- Brownback-Boxer resolution that passed the United State Senate two weeks ago with overwhelming bipartisan support. The measure, which expressed support for a plan that would maintain a unified Iraq by decentralizing it and giving Iraqis more local control over their daily lives as provided for in the Iraqi constitution, passed 75-23, including 26 Republicans.

Today's event, just as the recent Senate vote on the resolution signified, marks an historic bi-partisan agreement against the central tenet of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq – that Iraq can be governed by a strong, central government in Baghdad. For two years, Senator Biden has argued that Iraq could not be ruled from the center without the return of a dictator, a foreign occupation or internal genocide. Senator Biden and Leslie Gelb, Chairman Emeritus of the Council of Foreign Relations, published their plan for a federalized Iraq in the New York Times on May 1, 2006. Senator Biden has worked tirelessly for bi-partisan support for his plan since then.

In late 2006, Senator Biden began his opposition to President Bush's proposed surge of troops in Iraq by renewing his call for a federal system and arguing that President Bush would not change course unless he was abandoned by his own party. Senator Biden has a long history of building bi-partisan coalitions on such issues as the Violence Against Women Act and the Biden Crime Bill, which added federal funding for 100,000 new local police officers, and United Nations reform.

“I am proud to stand here today with Sen. Brownback and discuss the broad bipartisan support for a new way forward in Iraq that no longer clings to President Bush’s failed policies,” said Sen. Biden. “The course this President has set for America’s presence in Iraq has no end in sight. This plan offers a way to get our men and women in uniform out of Iraq without leaving chaos behind.

“Just as important, while we still have troops in the field, we must make every effort to ensure that they have the equipment they need to stay safe and do their jobs effectively. Going forward, I again urge all of the Democratic candidates to fund our troops as long as there is a single, solitary soldier still in Iraq. These soldiers have put their lives on the line and we owe them our support. But the President should not mistake our resolve in protecting our troops for a blank check to continue risking lives in the middle of Iraq's civil war," said Biden.

"Passage of Biden-Brownback-Boxer in the Senate is a historic step, but it is only the first step in pressuring the Bush-Cheney administration to change course and start withdrawing our troops responsibly. If the President does not end this war, I will. But, hopefully, with courageous Republicans like Sam Brownback stepping forward, we will bring America's involvement in Iraq to a speedier and responsible resolution," Biden concluded.

Posted by Michael McCord at 02:08 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

By Laura Meckler
The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain will unveil a health-care plan today, but unlike his rivals he will focus on controlling costs, rather than reducing the ranks of the uninsured.

While the debate among the presidential candidates so far has focused on how to cover more people, Mr. McCain’s strategy of attacking spiraling costs could provide a compelling argument for voters. The high cost of care affects all voters, the majority of whom have health insurance but may be frustrated with rising premiums, co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs.

The McCain plan, as described by senior advisers, includes some ideas on how to cover some of the 47 million people without health insurance. But his main message when he unveils the plan in Iowa will be that the rising number of people without insurance is a symptom of the larger problem of rising costs.

“I think we in Washington have an absolute requirement to bring health-care costs down,” Mr. McCain (R., Ariz.) said this week at the Republican presidential debate in Michigan.

Polls suggest that health care is the No. 2 issue for voters after the war in Iraq. Asked what particular health issue the presidential candidates should address, voters give roughly equal weight to costs and covering the uninsured as their main concerns.

Among Republican voters, however, costs emerge on top. Half of Republicans said they would like to see candidates focus most on reducing health-care costs, compared to 16% who express most interest in covering the uninsured, according to an August tracking poll by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

Sen. McCain, who hasn’t taken a leadership role on health in the past, has compiled a collection of cost-cutting ideas, many of which are supported by Democrats as well. His proposals include promoting generic drugs and biologics, supporting retail walk-in clinics at unconventional locations such as Wal-Mart Stores, and shifting some care to nurse practitioners because they are cheaper than doctors. The plan will also espouse setting national standards for measuring treatments and outcomes, and allowing doctors to practice medicine across state lines.

Mr. McCain would also use Medicare as a “lever” for pushing change in the rest of the health system by increasing payments, for instance, to better coordinate care, and cutting payments because of preventable errors and unnecessary hospitalizations.

His advisers acknowledged that some of these ideas won’t be politically popular, but said Mr. McCain is eager to take on the opposition. Doctors and hospitals are likely to object to some of these proposals, though they are all within the mainstream of Republican thinking on health.

“There’s been too much focus on the uninsured, not that it’s not important,” said Gail Wilensky, a health-policy expert at Project Hope, a nonprofit that focuses on medical issues, who has informally advised other Republican campaigns. “If there is a crisis, to my mind it is much more the unsustainable spending.”

Consensus is growing among academics that continued growth of health-care spending is unsustainable and that the U.S. must do something to bring costs under control. The U.S. government estimates health spending at 16% of the gross domestic product in 2006 and projects it to rise to 20% of total U.S. spending by 2015. The result could be that more small and medium-sized businesses drop coverage for their employees.

The impact of increased spending on the federal government is also expected to be acute. Under current trends, the Congressional Budget Office projects that by 2050, spending on Medicare and Medicaid alone will eat up nearly one in four federal dollars. Any effort to subsidize health coverage for the uninsured would quickly be overwhelmed if health costs escalate faster than the government subsidies.

Nearly every major presidential candidate has said he or she would address the issue of costs, though some—mostly Democrats—have provided far more detail. In general, candidates have steered clear of making dramatic proposals to curb spending that could upset voters, such as limiting use of technology, cutting payments to doctors and hospitals, or covering fewer treatments.

Sen. McCain’s rivals for the Republican nomination have varied in the degree of detail they have offered on their proposed health plans. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney unveiled a plan that included some of the same ideas for controlling costs, though he emphasized his plans for covering the uninsured, including changes in the tax code and state regulations. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani put out a plan with few details on cost control. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson hasn’t yet put out a health-care plan.

“While everybody is worried about the problem (of rising costs) in the abstract, the cures can look very threatening,” said Robert Blendon, an expert on health policy and public opinion at the Harvard School of Public Health. “People have not found a politically acceptable way to deal with the problem.”

Aides said Mr. McCain would allow drugs to be imported back from Canada, where government price controls have driven down the cost of brand-name drugs. He would support tort reform that would give doctors who follow national guidelines on care protection from lawsuits. He would use the bully pulpit to promote disease prevention, healthy diets and exercise.

Sen. McCain also plans to propose ideas for covering more of the uninsured. He would give all Americans a refundable tax credit to help them buy insurance, totaling $2,500 per person or $5,000 per family. They would get the tax credit whether they were to get insurance through work or buy it on their own. The existing tax break for employer-sponsored insurance would be eliminated, taking a step away from the work-based model in place for the last half century and toward an individual market.

President Bush proposed a similar idea, which went nowhere in the Democratic Congress. Other Republican presidential candidates have also backed such a proposal, as has Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton(D-N.Y.), who has a considerably scaled-back version of this in her plan.

Mr. McCain would also allow people to buy insurance across state lines, a policy that could help someone in a state with many mandated benefits that increase the cost of insurance. And the senator would offer grants to states to defray the cost of providing insurance for people with medical problems who can’t afford their own coverage

Aides didn’t provide a cost estimate.

Posted by Michael McCord at 09:49 AM| Permalink | Comments (0)

OBAMA CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

Obama Campaign Airs New Ad: “Quiet”

New TV ad on Energy Highlights Obama Core Principle: Don’t just tell people what they want to hear, tell them what they need to hear

MANCHESTER — Senator Barack Obama’s New Hampshire campaign will begin airing its second television ad following Obama’s seventeenth visit to the state. In the thirty-second ad, entitled “Quiet,” Obama stresses Washington’s failure to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reveals his willingness to take on tough issues in front of challenging audiences—like telling automakers that as President he won’t stand for them blocking higher fuel standards for our cars. In New Hampshire this week, Obama unveiled the most bold energy plan of the campaign that will allow restore America’s role as a leader in the fight to reduce global warming, and he vowed at stops across the state that as President, he won’t just tell the American people what they want to hear—he’ll tell them what they need to hear.
The ad begins running tomorrow.
You can watch the ad HERE.

SCRIPT – “Quiet”

I don’t accept that we should be still sending eight hundred million dollars a day, part to hostile nations because of our addiction to foreign oil.
And in the bargain we’re melting the polar ice caps.
I went to Detroit to insist that we have to increase fuel efficiency standards. Now, I have to admit, the room got kind of quiet.
We can’t just tell people what they want to hear.
We need to tell them what they need to hear. We need to tell them the truth.

Posted by Michael McCord at 03:18 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

McCain proposes steps to help displaced workers prepare for jobs of the future

By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

DETROIT (AP) — John McCain on Tuesday proposed updating the unemployment system and retooling training programs to help people who have lost their jobs — particularly older workers — adapt to a changing economy.
“Change is hard, and while most of us gain, some industries, companies and workers are forced to struggle with very difficult choices,” the Republican presidential candidate said as he espoused free-market principles in a state that leads the nation in unemployment.
“But it is government’s job to help workers get the education and training they need for the new jobs that will be created by new businesses in this new century,” McCain added.
In a broad speech to the Detroit Economic Club, the Arizona senator promised to rein in runaway federal spending, simplify the tax code, help U.S. industries become more competitive and control spiraling health care costs. Speaking in the home state of the Big Three U.S. automakers, McCain also called for increasing fuel efficiency standards while maintaining auto safety.
“We can’t keep this level of gas guzzling and make a strong impact on our dependence on foreign oil. It’s a national security issue,” McCain said in response to a post-speech question about gas mileage requirements. His remarks were met with silence from a skeptical audience. “I noticed no applause,” he said with a chuckle before a few people obliged.
McCain spoke to about 500 members of the group hours before joining eight GOP opponents in nearby Dearborn, Mich., for a debate primarily on economic issues. The setting was fitting. Michigan’s unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in August; the nation’s was 4.6 percent.
In the speech, McCain slapped at his rivals generally, scolding them for “claiming to understand the finer nuances of markets and management. In fact, success has nothing to do with fancy theory.” He said free people are the strongest economic force in the country.
As he does routinely, McCain also assailed Democrats and accused their party’s presidential front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, of backing dangerous economic policies.
“I will not let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts,” said McCain, who voted against the president’s tax cuts but now supports them because he says that repealing them would amount to a tax increase.
Separating himself from Bush, McCain criticized federal programs intended to aid displaced workers, and called for:
—Overhauling the unemployment insurance program so that it can retrain, relocate and assist workers to find new jobs.
—Replacing a half-dozen outmoded and redundant jobs programs with a single system and drawing on the success of community colleges that he says does a better job than the federal government of giving workers skills they need.

Posted by Michael McCord at 12:08 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

Clinton takes the lead in Iowa poll; Edwards in statistical tie with Obama

By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer

NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton has taken the lead among Democratic presidential candidates in an Iowa poll, an encouraging sign of progress toward overcoming a big hurdle in the race.
Although the New York senator is the clear front-runner in national surveys, Iowa has remained an elusive prize. She has been in a tight race with John Edwards and Barack Obama in the state that begins the primary campaign voting in three months.
But her campaign has focused on boosting her appeal in Iowa, including two visits with her husband, former President Clinton, by her side over the summer. The effort appears to have paid off, according to the poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers that was published in Sunday’s Des Moines Register.
Clinton was supported by 29 percent of the 399 respondents to the poll conducted Oct. 1-3, compared with 21 percent in May.
Edwards and Obama are not far behind, ensuring that all three campaigns will continue their intense efforts in Iowa, which leads off voting in the 2008 primary contests.
“I’m doing everything I can to earn the support of Iowans,” Clinton said during a stop in New Hampton. A standing room only crowd at a community center was warmed up by listening to disco hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”
“I pay absolutely no attention to what any poll says or what any pundit on TV says,” the former first lady said. “I have absolutely no interest in that. Nobody has come to a caucus yet. Nobody has cast a vote yet.”
While Clinton visited small towns in eastern Iowa, Edwards was in the midst of a four-day tour of the state that included stops in 17 counties. The new poll showed his support falling from 29 percent, good enough for first place in May, to 23 percent. That is a statistical tie with Obama’s 22 percent.
The poll has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.
Edwards told reporters in Davenport that he sees it as a close three-way race, with his two chief rivals rising recently because “they spend millions of dollars on television advertising.”
“But, I think it’s much more important to Iowa caucus-goers to see you in the flesh — see you stand before them, look them in the eye and answer their hard questions,” the former North Carolina senator said.
Clinton got one of those hard questions in New Hampton, and it led to a heated exchanged.
Randall Rolph of Nashua challenged her for voting last month to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Some Democrats said they feared that such a designation could be interpreted as a congressional authorization of military force in Iran.
Rolph compared Clinton’s vote on the Iran measure with her vote to authorize war in Iraq. “It appears you haven’t learned from your past mistakes,” he said.
Clinton responded that his interpretation was wrong and suggested that someone put him up to asking the question. The man said he did his own research and was offended that she would accuse him of getting it elsewhere. She apologized but insisted he must be looking at the wrong version of the bill.
Their exchanged grew heated as he insisted the bill would authorize combat. Clinton snapped back, her voice rising, “I’m sorry, sir, it does not.”
“I know what we voted for, and I know what we intended to do with it,” she said. She said it gives the authority to impose penalties.
Many in the crowd applauded her in an effort to cut off the exchange, although afterward at least a couple others in the room came up to thank Rolph. He said he is still undecided about which Democrat he will support, but it will not be Clinton.
———
Associated Press writer Amy Lorentzen in Davenport, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Posted by Michael McCord at 12:13 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

Florida Democrats sue national party over timing of presidential primary

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Congressional Democrats from Florida sued their own party Thursday, hoping to restore the national convention delegates stripped from the state because it scheduled an early presidential primary.
The party violated the Constitution and federal voting laws by taking away Florida Democrats’ ability to have a say in choosing the presidential nominee, says the lawsuit filed by Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Alcee Hastings against the Democratic National Committee and Chairman Howard Dean.
“For the DNC to say to the fourth-largest contingency of Democrats in the nation that their votes will not matter in next year’s presidential primary is not only shocking and ironic, but we believe is illegal,” Hastings said at a news conference in Washington.
The national party’s rules committee voted to take away Florida’s 210 delegates after the state party chose to go along with a Jan. 29 primary. That date was set by Florida’s Republican-led Legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist.
Democratic Party rules say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Nelson said they tried to compromise with party leaders before filing the lawsuit. “We didn’t have any other choice,” he said.
The calendar was designed to preserve the traditional role that Iowa and New Hampshire have played in selecting the nominee, while adding two states with more racial and geographic diversity to influential early slots.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Democrats will decide within two weeks whether to ask national party leaders to move the state’s primary to Jan. 19 and make it the party’s first contest in the South.
That would move the state out of Florida’s shadow. South Carolina Republicans already have decided to vote Jan. 19.
“The concern is we don’t want to be 10 days after the Republican primary,” Joe Werner, the state Democratic Party executive director, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The lawsuit filed by the Florida lawmakers in Tallahassee said, “For the right to vote in a presidential primary to have any meaning, those presidential primary ballots must result in votes that are going to count at the party’s national convention.”
It notes the controversy over vote-counting in Florida that extended the 2000 presidential election, which was decided only after a Supreme Court ruling.
“In the aftermath of the shattering events of 2000, Democrats here and around the country have made continued efforts to assure that every vote counts,” it said. “It is thus truly a monumental irony for the Democratic National Committee to replace its own commitment to assuring that every vote must be counted with a decree that no Florida Democrats’ vote will count.”
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Associated Press Writers Jim Davenport in South Carolina and Ann Sanner in Washington contributed to this story.

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RICHARDSON CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE

Governor Bill Richardson to Give Major Policy Address on Iraq, Unveil Defense Modernization Plan

SANTA FE, N.M -- New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson will give a major policy address, entitled "Hard Choices: The Responsible Way Forward for Iraq and our Military," and unveil his plan for defense modernization on Thursday, October 4th at 10:00 AM Eastern Time at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

"Unlike the other major candidates in this race, I believe that the only responsible choice for us in Iraq is to get all of our troops out and leave no residual forces behind," Governor Richardson said. "We need a New Realism in our foreign policy, and we need to modernize our military to meet the threats of the 21st century."

WHEN: Thursday, October 4th, 10:00 AM Eastern Time
WHAT: Major Policy Address on Iraq and Defense Modernization
WHERE: Gaston Hall, 3rd Floor, Healy Hall, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets NW, Washington, D.C.

Posted by Michael McCord at 05:01 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)

Blunt-talking McCain bouyed by polls, fundraising
By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
DERRY (AP) — Buoyed by polls showing a slight uptick, as well as fundraising he says is improving, Sen. John McCain set out Sunday to win New Hampshire votes with his trademark blunt talk.
The 71-year-old Arizona Republican, who would be the oldest president ever to start in the White House if elected next year, quipped that he should bring his 95-year-old mother on the campaign trail “to display my genes.”
He blasted the “military thugs” in Myanmar who are attempting to maintain their junta despite protests of Buddhist monks, and said “we should make the Chinese pay a price” for supporting the regime in the nation formerly known as Burma.
And McCain labeled President Vladimir Putin as “the dictator from Russia” as he called for U.S. energy independence to curb oil imports from the former Soviet Union, Venezuela and Iran.
In a 90-minute town hall meeting that resembled a policy tour de force, McCain also challenged a woman in a wheelchair who declared she needed medical marijuana to withstand the pain of a litany of ailments.
“Every town hall meeting I have, someone shows up and advocates for medical marijuana, and, by the way, in all due respect, alleges that we are arresting the dead and the dying, and I still have not seen any evidence of that,” McCain told his questioner.
“I still would not support medical marijuana because I don’t think that the preponderance of medical opinion in America agrees with your assertion that it’s the most effective way of treating pain.”
McCain’s approach attracted admirers within the crowd, similar to the support he garnered in 2000 that allowed him to win the New Hampshire primary before ceding the nomination to George W. Bush.
“You get more of a straight answer from him that you get from other politicians. That’s why this format is good,” said Patrick Bracken, 58, of Hampstead. He voted for McCain seven years ago and plans to again next year in the state’s first-in-the-nation primary.
Melissa Skinner, 27, of Manchester, said she remained undecided about the candidate she will support, but, “I found him very personable. He can be lighthearted about serious issues.”
McCain spoke the same day that all the presidential contenders wrapped up their third-quarter fundraising. Their totals, which will be reported by the middle of October, provide an unofficial barometer of their political health.
After a midsummer staff shake up and generally positive reviews in recent weeks, McCain said he anticipated an effect on his fundraising, though he declared he had no sense of his fundraising total.
He also held out two caveats: that Senate business and his two-week “No Surrender” tour across early voting states have infringed on his fundraising time.
“That restrained us a bit, but we’re satisfied where we are and I think we’ve got the impetus to move forward,” the senator said.
As for the recent polls, he told reporters: “I pay attention to the polls, but I realize they are snapshots, and I see that we are improving in the polls, but we have a long way to go.”
McCain also expressed displeasure both in Derry and later at a house party in Hollis after the weekend publication of an interview in which he said he would prefer a Christian president for the United States.
The senator made the remark after Beliefnet, a multi-denominational Web site, asked whether a Muslim candidate would be a good president. Recently, McCain also grew exasperated after facing questions for labeling himself as a practicing Baptist despite being raised an Episcopalean and describing himself that way in campaign literature.
“All I can say is that maybe I should have kept my comments to the fact that I’m a practicing Christian, I respect all religions and beliefs, and that I support the principles, the values of the Founding Fathers. Perhaps I should have couched my remarks to that rather than getting into, as I say, a Talmudic discussion,” McCain said.

Posted by Michael McCord at 12:07 PM| Permalink | Comments (0)