Hillary or Bust

[NewYorkExpress]

December 20, 2007

Final Des Moines Register Iowa Caucus polls show Cuomo, Huckabee in the lead.

Des Moines Register-Iowa Caucus

Democrats

Mario Cuomo 31%
Hillary Clinton 28%
Tom Vilsack 19%
Al Gore 15%
Dick Gephardt 5%

Republicans

Mike Huckabee 42%
Mitt Romney 25%
John McCain 21%
Fred Thompson 9%

Senate

Tom Harkin (D) 44%
Terry Branstad (R) 42%

The following poll was conducted among 1,500 likely caucusgoers between December 16-19. Margin of error was +/- 2%.

December 22, 2007

Pakistani Elections held after delay, PPP wins majority

After a month long delay due to terrorist threats in the tribal provinces in the northwest, Pakistan held their Parliamentary elections today, with the PPP of Benazir Bhutto winning a clear majority in the National Assembly.

Pakistan-National Assembly

PPP-Benazir Bhutto 189 seats
PML(N)-Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan 79 seats
PML(Q)- Shujaat Hussain 74 seats

December 23, 2007

Huckabee under fire after stating that Bush Administration officials have "arrogant bunker mentality"

Mike Huckabee, campaigning in Sioux Falls, is under fire after stating at a rally that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have an "arrogant bunker mentality" that "prevents them from seeing the light on Iraq".

The State Department and White House had no comment on Huckabee's statements.

January 1, 2008

Mysterious polls featuring Michael Bloomberg as Independent candidate for President leaked.

Mysterious polls showing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as an Independent candidate for President in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, California and Texas were leaked to the public today. In all five states Bloomberg is third, with between 12-24% of the vote, and positive approval ratings, albeit with low name recognition. Bloomberg did not respond to request for comment, and a spokesman for the New York City Mayor's office stated that he was not commenting on whether Bloomberg would run for President in 2008.

[NewYorkExpress]

January 3, 2008

Mario Cuomo, Mike Huckabee win Iowa Caucuses

Iowa Caucus-Democrats

Mario Cuomo 34% (Wins 45 delegates)
Hillary Clinton 30%
Tom Vilsack 20%
Al Gore 11%
Dick Gephardt 5%

Iowa Caucus-Republicans

Mike Huckabee 49% (Wins 39 delegates)
Mitt Romney 22%
John McCain 22% (Wins 1 delegate)
Fred Thompson 7%

Tom Vilsack suspends campaign, endorses Hillary Clinton

Following a campaign where he bet everything on his home state of Iowa and finished third, former Governor Tom Vilsack has suspended his campaign and endorsed Hillary Clinton this evening, stating that despite her flaws, the New York Senator offers Democrats the best chance to win in November.

Vilsack did not address speculation that he was considering a campaign to take on Senator Chuck Grassley in 2010, stating that it was too early to discuss his plans for 2010 at this time.

January 4, 2008

Down to four, Democrats debate at Dartmouth, Clinton shows dramatic fight-back from Iowa defeat.

Democrats held their last scheduled debate tonight at Dartmouth University. Here's how the candidates did.

Dick Gephardt: Seems to now be auditioning for a cabinet position, as he avoided attacking either Clinton or Cuomo. Trained his fire on the Republican field. B

Al Gore: Continued to fall apart at the seams, as he took credit in the debate for Clinton losing Iowa. Clearly blamed both Hillary and Bill Clinton for his loss in 2000, and sounded even more unhinged than he did in the last debate. Probably should drop out for his own sanity. F

Mario Cuomo: Had a poor line when he stated that Clinton "didn't connect with male voters because of her gender" and got booed for it. Probably was his first misstep since attacking Robert Byrd for his past KKK membership. C

Hillary Clinton: Was clear, concise and informed. Evaded the issue of who her running mate might be if she won the nomination, and whether she'd run third party if she lost the nomination, but otherwise had an excellent debate. A-.

January 5, 2008

Final Republican Debate before New Hampshire Primaries gives McCain, Romney home turf advantage,

The Republicans held their final scheduled debate today. Here's how the candidates did.

Fred Thompson: Struggled to get anything going, and really was only making a cursory appearance, with most of his remaining campaign funds being spent on South Carolina. C

Mitt Romney: Presented himself as Mr. Fix-It, extolled how he turned around the 2002 Winter Olympics from financial disaster. Might help him, both in the primary and the general election as the economy steadily worsens. A

Mike Huckabee: Spent much of his time making a pitch to southern states, where he is strong. The Iowa Caucus winner came out swinging on illegal immigration, calling current policy "inhumane". B

John McCain: New Hampshire's always been McCain's best state, and for good reason. Seemed energized just by being in the Granite State, and delivered applause lines on an Iraq Surge, the Supreme Court, and immigration reform. A

[NewYorkExpress]

January 4, 2008

Budget dispute leads to resignation of Romano Prodi as Prime Minister of Italy

Following a dispute over the budget, and the likely collapse of his government if the budget was put to a vote, Prime Minister Romano Prodi announced his and his cabinet's resignation today.

President Giorgio Napolitano has rejected the idea of holding early elections, and stated this afternoon that he expected to appoint someone from outside the Italian Parliament as Prime Minister within the next day or two, with a formal Parliamentary vote on the appointment by the end of the week.

January 5, 2008

Walter Veltroni named Prime Minister-designate of Italy

President Giorgio Napolitano named former Mayor of Rome Walter Veltoni as his choice to be the next Prime Minister of Rome, and charged him with building a coalition. Veltroni is expected to have the support of most of the parties that made up former Prime Minister Prodi's coalition, and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia Party has indicated that they will support Prodi in exchange for a promise of elections by the autumn of 2009.

January 7, 2008

Robert Byrd will resign Senate seat, citing old age.

Robert Byrd, the longest serving Senator in history, has bowed to pressure from the fellow members of his Senate caucus and will resign his Senate seat, with the effective resignation date of January 31, 2008.

Governor Joe Manchin is expected to announce that he will run in the special election, but he is considering appointing himself to the Senate seat.

Byrd's resignation could give Republicans an opportunity to pick up a Senate if Representative Shelly Moore Capito or Secretary of State Betty Ireland elected to run in the special election.

When asked, Ireland indicated she was not interested in running, while Moore Capito stated that she was waiting to see if Manchin filed to run for the special election, stating that she did not wish to run against Manchin.

January 7, 2008

Joe Manchin will appoint himself to Senate Seat, when Robert Byrd's resignation takes effect.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin's office confirmed late this evening that the Governor will appoint himself to the Senate seat being vacated by Robert Byrd when Byrd's resignation takes effect on January 31, and that Manchin will run in the special election for the Senate seat.

Manchin's appointment to the Senate seat elevates Lieutenant Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to Governor. Tomblin is expected to run for a full term as Governor this year.