Huckabee and Giuliani tied in 2008 Republican race

Huckabee and Giuliani tied in 2008 Republican race

Mike Huckabee has surged into a virtual tie with front-runner Rudy Giuliani in the national 2008 Republican presidential race two weeks before the first contest, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas whose campaign has caught fire in recent weeks, wiped out an 18-point deficit in one month to pull within one point of Giuliani, 23 percent to 22 percent.

Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton's national advantage over second-place rival Barack Obama shrunk slightly to eight percentage points as the races for the White House tightened in both parties. Clinton had an 11-point edge last month.

The shifting numbers have changed the shape of a dynamic presidential race two weeks before Iowa on January 3 kicks off the state-by-state process of choosing candidates in each party for the November 2008 election.

I not suprised with how close the race is with the Republicans. But in January I think it's gonna be a huge battle as they say there last words. I don't think the Republicans have a chance this year.

Romney Assails Huckabee as "Too Liberal"

Romney Assails Huckabee as "Too Liberal"

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney joined the Republican contest this year by pitching himself as the only true conservative.

Now, he finds himself desperately trying to convince people that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee -- a Baptist minister with a staunch pro-life record -- doesn't deserve that label more than he does.

As he began a week-long barnstorming of three early states by plane, Romney assailed Huckabee as a liberal, adding his own voice to television commercials and mailings that his campaign has begun churning out.

Romney told reporters that voters will conclude Huckabee has been "too liberal on immigration," "too liberal on crime" and that he has "too liberal of a spending record and too liberal of a tax record."

I think Romney is very cocky in saying that he's the only true conservative. He is nowhere near the lead in the Republican Party race. It's taking a cheap shot at Huckabee.

Richardson refocuses on Iraq

Richardson refocuses on Iraq

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said his campaign will focus solely on the war in Iraq in the last few weeks of this campaign.

"I am going to make Iraq the main issue. I am going to point out the differences between me and the other candidates," Richardson said in an interview after he held an "Iraq Town Hall" meeting at a high school here.

"I was very upset at the vote in Congress allowing $70 billion more to go to Iraq," Richardson said.

Earlier in the fall Richardson declared at Manchester West High School that education was the most important issue of the campaign.

I think it's a smart move that Richardson is focusing on the War in Iraq. But it could be a bad thing because the main issue now is Immigration. But I believe he has a good chance of winning but it's not likely.

Edwards sees opportunity in Clinton-Obama spat

Edwards sees opportunity in Clinton-Obama spat

With Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama increasingly sniping at each other, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards sees an opening in Iowa.

John Edwards speaks during a campaign stop at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, last month.

Edwards, Clinton and Obama are in a statistical dead heat in the Hawkeye state, according to the latest polls, and, with a little less than one month left until the Iowa caucuses on January 3, Clinton and Obama are trading almost-daily attacks on each others character and judgment.

Edwards, wedged between two history making marquee names with multi-million dollar war chests, often gets lost in the conversation.

The former senator from North Carolina doesn't seem to mind at all, in part because he sees an opening in the free fire range between Clinton and Obama.

I think that John Edwards is very intellegent and is using the Obama VS. Clinton to his advantage. It might work for a few states but Edwards is far behind in the race. I don't think there's a way he can catch up in the race now.

Huckabee asks that push-pollers on his behalf stop

Huckabee asks that push-pollers on his behalf stop

A group affiliated with supporters of Republican Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign is organizing caucusgoers in Iowa and making automated phone calls on his behalf and against his rivals.

The group, Common Sense Issues Inc., plans to reach voters through direct mail and advertising and to supplement Huckabee's get-out-the-vote operation in Iowa. Rival campaigns have said the automatic calls have planted negative information about their candidates.

Patrick Davis, the group's executive director, called the phone calls "personalized educational artificial intelligence," and said they are primarily meant to promote Huckabee. Davis said the group had not coordinated with the Huckabee campaign, which would amount to a violation of the law.

Yesterday, Huckabee urged an end to the calls.

This atricle really caught my attention. Stuff like this can really affect a candidates campaign, especially if the candidate doesn't approve of it. I think they do enough talking bad about each other in the presidential debates.

McCain: Genie Is Back In The Bottle, Campaign Asserts

McCain: Genie Is Back In The Bottle, Campaign Asserts

According to an internal campaign memo needlessly marked confidential and distributed to New Hampshire staff today, John McCain is poised for a precipitous rise in the polls and has with a month to go, hit his stride in the Granite State. "He's BAAAACk," writes Mike Dennehy, McCain's national political director and de-facto New Hampshire campaign runner.

Dennehy finds good news in the cross-tabs of a recent Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, including the fact that "McCain is the second choice of 45% of Romney Voters."

Though McCain is seen by New Hampshire Republicans as able to mount less of a challenge to Hillary Clinton than Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, Dennehy argues that McCain is best able to keep the "Reagan conservative" coalition together.

And he asserts that Giuliani faces a national electability problem: "Rudy Giuliani puts states that are normally reliable electoral votes such as Virginia at risk – a state that John McCain leads significantly."

I thought John McCain would be in the lead with the Republican votes, along side Giuliani. I think it will be a close Republican race with McCain and Giuliani.
But to be real honest, the Democrats are going to win.

Giuliani Wants US to Promote Benefits

Giuliani Wants US to Promote Benefits

Republican Rudy Giuliani said Monday the reputation of the United States has suffered globally not so much because of arrogant actions but for lack of salesmanship about benefits of democracy.

If he is elected president, he said, he would seek ambassadors who would work hard to sell U.S. strengths to foreigners, not just explain those distant nations to Washington.

Giuliani, who is making a late push in the first primary state, also rekindled a dispute with rival Mitt Romney, accusing the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts of presiding over a crime surge while in office.

[...]

He added: `We've got to have a State Department that gets that, that understands that, that we've got a reputation that needs to be defended and protected. We are a country of good motives, of good people, of great accomplishments. We don't want to force 'em on anybody in the world; we'd like to share it with them. That's what diplomacy is about. It's about sharing who we are with others and getting them to understand us better and understand our motives, because we don't have bad motives."

I think Giuliani is a good politician but I really believe he's involved in dirty politics. He wants what is best for our government but if he gets into office I don't think he would do a good job. Republicans tend to believe that they are doing what best for our country, when in reality it makes our government weaker.

Oprah Winfrey walks the talk for candidate Barack Obama

Oprah Winfrey walks the talk for candidate Barack Obama

Senator Barack Obama revealed yesterday friend Oprah Winfrey would campaign alongside him in Iowa, the crucial first state that begins the process of choosing presidential candidates on January 3.

She will also follow him to the other key early battlegrounds of New Hampshire and South Carolina.

As Winfrey travels with Senator Obama, the two are hoping the one-woman media conglomerate's star power is so strong she can do what other big-name endorsers rarely have: actually win votes.

The billionaire television show host is rated the second-most-influential woman in the US behind Senator Hillary Clinton, and Senator Obama is hoping to draw away some of his rival's key support base.

I think Oprah Winfrey is a huge asset to Obama's campaign. She is a very famous and influential person that can pull in alot of money for Obama's campaign. Many watch her show and I think she can definitely win him a few millions of votes. She's trying to gain both the African American and women vote.

Hillary Clinton promises more funds for autism

Hillary Clinton promises more funds for autism

Clinton has pledged $700 million a year towards research and education should she be elected President.

The number of children diagnosed with the disorder has risen from one in 10,000 in 1993 to 1 in 150 in 2007 meaning about 25,000 children are diagnosed with autism each year.

Clinton says the disease is a 'national health crisis' which costs the nation at least $35 billion each year.

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behaviour; it usually appears before a child is three years old.

There is no cure for the disorder and most cases are managed with behaviour modification therapy and sometimes medication to control obsessive behaviours.

I picked this article because it was very interesting. I think autism is an important issue that should be talked about more. I didn't know the large amount of children that are diagnosed with autism each year. It's good that we help cure these children becuase they are the future of our country.