Friday, February 2, 2007

Good Friday Morning and Happy Groundhog Day! In the race for the White House on Thursday, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York teamed up with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to keynote a New America Foundation policy forum "Ten Big Ideas for a New America" on Captiol Hill. Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas travelled to Michigan to deliver a speech "The Proper Role of the Judiciary" to the Ave Maria School of Law, and also keynoted a conference of the Michigan Society of Association Executives in Lansing, Michigan. Former Democratic Senator John Edwards of North Carolina travelled to New Hampshire, the state with the first primary, to hold a town hall on "America's role in the world" at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. On the Comedy Channels "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware was asked about his relatively low standings in the polls and his fundraising and had this to say "This is a process. This is a marathon, and ultimately it comes down to the living rooms in people's homes in Maquoketa, Iowa, and Berlin, New Hampshire, and down in Sumter, South Carolina. And that's where the competition will be, and I think I can compete there." Former Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts faced questions about his Mormon faith in the Bible Belt state of South Carolina and dismissed the idea that his faith would be an impediment to his White House aspirations. Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has reserved the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois to make his formal announcement on Saturday, February 10, Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich's office said. This is the same house that Abraham Lincoln served when he was a state representative and was the site that he delivered his famous "House Divided" speech warning that America cannot remain half slave and half free. Former Republican Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas had several events scheduled in the opening caucus state of Iowa on Thursday. The state of Texas is seeking to move up its presidential primary to Tuesday, February 5, 2008. Democratic Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut picked up a key endorsement on Thursday, with former New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Joe Keefe to serve as advisor. In Senate News, Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota has made "significant progress" in his speech therapy, and is able to read and follow written commands as he continues to recover from a brain hemorrhage and subsequent surgery in December, according to a statement issued by his office Thursday. Remember: This weekend, Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, 2007, I will be laying out California's races for 2008 and on Monday, February 5, 2007, I will be giving an updated list of Presidential Candidates.