Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Good Morning. In the race for the White House, Former Republican Mayor Rudolph Guiliani of New York City officially entered the race on Monday, filing a "statement of candidacy", saying "I'm in this to win." Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio held a press conference yesterday to reintroduce his Department of Peach and Nonviolence bill. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona scored another major endorsement on Tuesday in the state of Alabama. Winton Blount III, the former Alabama GOP chairman and a candidate for governor in 1994 and 1998, praised the likely presidential candidate's "long record of common sense conservatism." "He has never waivered from the ideals that we, as Republicans, hold dear". Blount said in a statement. "I am proud to add my name to those across the country who stand ready to support Senator McCain should he seek the presidency." Guiliani, meanwhile, suffered a setback during the early hours of his official campaign, when Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council said Monday that if Rudy Guiliani were to win the GOP presidential nomination Democrats would take back the White House in 2008. Former Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has announced he will formally launch his presidential bid next week in Michigan. According to a Romney campaign source, Romney will make the announcement Tuesday in Michigan, the state where his father once served as governor. Romney will then fly around to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, all early nominating states, and then end up in Boston on Thursday with what the campaign is calling a "major fundraising gala." Guiliani will deliver the Spring 2007 Commencement address at The Citadel in the pivotal primary state of South Carolina, the military college announced Tuesday. Former Democratic Senator John Edwards of North Carolina has joined the growing list of presidential candidates who are skipping public financing of their campaigns. Former Democratic Vice President Al Gore said in an interview on Tuesday the Bush administration is now paying scientists to dispute global warming since the administration can no longer argue against it. The frontrunners in both the Republican and Democratic nomination races enjoy high favorability ratings in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, new CNN/WMUR polls indicate. In the Democratic field, John Edwards registers a 74% favorability rating and a 13% unfavorability rating. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York registers a 74-15 rating. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois registers a 67-12 rating. The poll interviewed 353 New Hampshire residents who say they plan to vote in the Democratic Primary. It carries a margin of error of 5 points. In the Republican field, Rudy Guiliani leads the pack with a 70-14. John McCain, who won the 2000 New Hampshire Primary, has a 59-27 rating. Mitt Romney has a 53-27 rating. The poll interviewed 311 New Hampshire residents who say they plan to vote in the Republican primary. It also carries a margin of error of 5 percentage points. In the House: Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California and Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland promise three full days of debate on Iraq, even though the Senate Republicans killed a debate before it even got off the ground. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace says troop surge is not the last chance in Iraq and say, if successful, reduction in troops could begin later in 2007. The administration, while planning for success, are thinking of alternatives should the troop surge not succeed. The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday voted to approve the nomination of Gen. George Casey to be Army Chief of Staff. The vote was 14-3 with Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona, John Ensign of Nevada, and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia voted against the nomination. The nomination of Admiral William Fallon to be the new head of Central Command was approved by a 16-0 vote. The nominations now go to the full Senate. On Friday, February 9, 2007 I will post Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana.