Gretl

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics...

Don't you think? He ingratiates himself.

(CNSNews.com) - Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a member for two decades, slurred Italians in a piece published in the most recent issue of Trumpet Newsmagazine.

"(Jesus') enemies had their opinion about Him," Wright wrote in a eulogy of the late scholar Asa Hilliard in the November/December 2007 issue. "The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans."

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Poli...

Some have questioned whether or not the locking in of a status of forces agreement (SOFA) would create a situation that would make it difficult for a future President to halt military activities in Iraq.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-on-bus...

the way his state voted, then this is a clear signal that the supers can vote pretty much the way they want? Agree?

Susan Rice, Sen. Obama's top foreign policy advisor, today acknowledged that Sen. Obama is not ready to answer the phone at 3AM as President.

Hillary is ready to take the 3AM phone call and is ready to be commander-in-chief on day one. That's why nearly 30 general and flag officers have endorsed Hillary Clinton to be the Nation’s next President.

Transcript:

RICE: "Clinton hasn't had to answer the phone at three o'clock in the morning and yet she attacked Barack Obama for not being ready. They're both not ready to have that 3AM phone call.

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2008 22:56 EST

Clinton wins Ohio

It took a little while, and the actual vote counting will reportedly not be over in some parts of Ohio until early Wednesday morning, but Hillary Clinton has apparently won Ohio's Democratic primary, taking one of Tuesday's big prizes. We're still waiting on official word from Texas, the other key big state that voted Tuesday.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html

Hillary Clinton is starting to lose the support of prominent black leaders—and superdelegates— who previously backed her. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who carries great influence in Congress, says he's now tilting toward Barack Obama. Another Georgia Democrat, David Scott, already switched, the AP reports. “Something is happening in America," Lewis said, "and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap.” • The pressure on black lawmakers who endorsed Clinton months ago is increasing. Obama supporter Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. told congressional colleague Emanuel Cleaver: "If it comes down to the last day and you're the only superdelegate, do you want to go down in history as the one to prevent a black from winning the White House?" Cleaver said he'd think about it.

http://www.newser.com/story/19099.html

She is outdoing him on the health care issue! Go Hillary!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080224/ap_on_el_pr/ca...

to lift the embargo off Cuba, and his plan to meet with the new President without pre-conditions.

Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the State Department, expressed hope for change in Cuba, but said the U.S. remains skeptical.

"We would hope that the departure from the scene of Cuba's long-ruling dictator Fidel Castro would allow for a democratic transition. ... We would hope that his departure would begin this transition," Casey told reporters.

But he added that the United States is troubled by signs that Cuba's leadership envisions this as a "transfer of authority and power from dictator to dictator light—from Fidel to Raul."

Still, he said the Bush administration remains willing to help support the Cuban people in a true transition to democracy.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami-area Republican who was born in Havana, said Castro's resignation was irrelevant because his regime had already "done great harm to the suffering Cuban people."

"It matters nothing at all whether Fidel, Raul or any other thug is named head of anything in Cuba," she said. "What the people want is freedom to vote in multiparty elections that are internationally supervised and freedom to express their dissent from the oppressive regime. The Communist machinery is enslaving them so it doesn't matter who the thug of the moment will be."

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who is of Cuban descent, said Castro's resignation "is not the cause for celebration that some would believe."

"This does not represent the replacement of totalitarianism with democracy. Instead, it is the replacement of one dictator with another," he said in a statement.

About Sen. Kirk Watson on MSNBC being asked about Obama?

Consider this. Is this really "change"?

He has plans to go into Pakistan. This, fundamentally, is not "change" he is talking about.

On July 26th,2007 Barack Obama said, “I don't want a continuation with Bush-Cheney. I don't want Bush-Cheney light. I want a fundamental change."

On August 1st, 2007 Barack Obama said, "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."

Taking unilateral military action into the territory of a sovereign nation does not really sound like a “fundamental change".

Even if this were to be the policy, publicly stating it shows a profound lack of understanding of the political situation within Pakistan. The United States publicly entering Pakistani territory would at best undermine the relationship with a country that provides vital logistical support for the mission in Afghanistan. At worst it could have the ramification of creating political conditions causing the nuclear power’s government.

Yes, her health care is mandatory... Her health care plan makes sense. She said garnishing wages would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. THAT is what she really said about it.

Obama will not make healthcare a priority, he hasn't even bothered with it until now.

It was former President Bill Clinton who several years ago set out the limited options for Social Security reform: cut benefits, invest privately, or raise taxes. During the last Democratic candidate debate, his wife refused to put any of those options on the "proverbial table." The other Democratic contenders weren't as hesitant. Five candidates, including John Edwards and Barack Obama, supported lifting the cap on payroll taxes to finance the system.

Currently, only the first $97,500 of annual income is subject to the payroll tax. Edwards in particular was adamant about taxing earners who make over $200,000 a year. But while soaking the rich may be a politically popular approach, the reality is that this enormous tax hike would seriously damage the U.S. economy while doing very little to save Social Security.

Eliminating the cap on payroll taxes would be, by far, the biggest tax hike in U.S. history: more than $1.3 trillion in new taxes over the first 10 years alone. As bad as that would be in the aggregate, it would be even worse for individual workers. A worker earning $103,000 per year would pay $1,240 more in taxes each year.

Moreover, raising the tax cap would not just impact the super rich, as is often argued, but would fall most heavily on the upper middle class. Some 9.2 million Americans would see their taxes increased. Roughly three quarters are managers or other professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers. 16 percent work in sales or office occupations, while the remainder includes teachers, nurses, truck drivers, farmers, and police officers. Small businesses would be particularly hammered: about one-third of the workers affected by raising the cap would be small business owners.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080202/pl_bloo...

Do you think Obama will take CA?

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The largest Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S. endorsed Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, who are seeking their parties' 2008 presidential nominations.

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La Opinion, which is the second most-read newspaper in Los Angeles behind the Los Angeles Times, made the endorsement, posted on the newspaper's Web site today, as the candidates campaign toward Feb. 5, when more than 20 states will hold nominating contests.

``Obama's approach to immigration and his inspiring vision are what the country needs to break through the current feeling of political malaise,'' the newspaper wrote.

La Opinion also backed Republican candidate McCain, 71, as ``the voice of reason and common sense'' on immigration. The Arizona senator has drawn the wrath of many fellow Republicans for pushing a plan to give illegal immigrants a way to obtain citizenship after paying fines and other penalties.

McCain's leadership on immigration has made him ``the ideal candidate to change the bitter tone that prevails in Washington,'' La Opinion wrote.

While the newspaper complimented Obama's Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton, 60, the Obama endorsement said it was ``disappointed with her calculated opposition'' to allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. The New York senator rejected the idea in November after her state's governor said he wanted to issue licenses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APx2YJ-_jos&NR=1

John McCain is the Rebuplican frontrunner. He is all for a pathway to amnesty. We all know the Dems are. What do you think?

that Hillary is not planning to campaign in FL? Do you think she will lose the state because of this?

www.city-journal.org/html/16_3_immigration_reform.html

Seeing Today’s Immigrants Straight

Heather Mac Donald

Advocates of “comprehensive immigration reform” let ideology blind them to the dispiriting facts on the ground

* this is the crux of the debate.