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25 Jan 2010 21:40

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Politics: The Carter plan: Obama says he’d rather have one good term

  • I’d rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. … You know, there is a tendency in Washington to believe our job description, of elected officials, is to get reelected. That’s not our job description. Our job description is to solve problems and to help people.
  • Barack Obama • In an interview on ABC News. The president seems awful headsure about his selflessness of late, and it’s pretty impressive that he can say this a year after his election. The problem, of course, is that two years from now, he’s going to have a hard time not eating his words when he’s trying to get reelected. Will he regret saying this when he’s taking on a tea-addicted Sarah Palin in 2012? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2010 10:34

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U.S.: Democrats droppin’ like flies: Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. drops out

  • His drop-out completely fragments the race. Colorado’s first-term governor, who won on the strength of his own party and the fragmentation of the other guys in 2006, found himself in a different situation in 2010. Among other things, his decisions sometimes ran counter to his party’s, especially the appointment of Michael Bennet to the Senate. And, learning from their mistakes, the Republicans got behind a strong candidate, former Congressman Scott McInnis, early. It’s drop-out day, guys! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2010 09:52

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U.S.: Chris Dodd tight-lipped about leaving the Senate; let’s speculate!

  • Financial industry ties Dodd, a five-term senator, is chair of the powerful Senate Banking Committee. Some feel he’s used these ties in interest-conflicting ways, including receiving a nice mortgage from the now-disgraced Countrywide Financial Corp.
  • Weak poll numbers Dodd, despite being a longstanding member of the Senate and once being seen as a presidential candidate, hasn’t been polling well in his home state lately, leading to fears he might lose in the election. Dude probably got scared.
  • What’s next? Let’s just say that Dems can’t like knowing that two senators have dropped out their races within 12 hours of each other. Especially Dodd, who was a health care plan architect. It may help the seat stay Democratic, though. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2010 08:50

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Politics: In Alabama, “Democrat” means “Basically a Republican”

  • I like Bobby. I think he’s a great guy and a fine Christian man. But when he first came out, I wished that he’d been a Republican.
  • Retired electrical engineer Glenn Cook, 72 • On his Congressman, Bobby Bright. Bright, an Alabama Democrat in an era where such a thing can be political suicide, has stayed popular mainly in his district by voting like a Republican on all but a tiny handful of things. Parker Griffith was a fellow Democratic Congressman in Alabama until recently. He switched parties, leaving Bright by himself. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 11:27

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Politics: Arlen Specter wins a cookie for this point on bipartisanship

  • Obviously playing politics As you might have noticed, we’ve been hard on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over the last couple of months because of his seemingly obvious attempts to stonewall progress on health care, not offer any real solutions, and really just try to kill Obama dead in in the water. Which is why it’s nice to hear Arlen Specter, who caucused with the GOP at the beginning of 2009 only to switch sides, basically say it.
  • What the Senate needs The Senate needs some reforms, because right now it’s clearly weighted against the majority party too much. The House can get things done with a simple majority; the Senate, however, has all these useless votes and filibusters, and needs a two-thirds majority to even be useful. Arlen’s been on both sides, and he’s been a Senator long enough that his words should be heeded. Good show, man.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2009 20:48

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U.S.: Parker Griffith goes from Democrat to GOP, and the world yawns

  • I have become increasingly concerned that the bills and policies pushed by the current Democratic leadership are not good for north Alabama or our nation. More importantly, they do not represent my values and convictions.
  • Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith • On his decision to switch parties in the wake of the health care bill’s near-passage. Griffith, a first-term congressman who nobody’s ever heard of outside of Alabama, just didn’t see his moderate politics fitting in with Nancy Pelosi’s left-leaning push. To which we say fine, but did you have to have a press conference? You’re no Arlen Specter, man, and your flip-flop is not a game-changer. (Side note: Griffith is the first Republican in his district since RECONSTRUCTION.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 09:48

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Politics: Max Baucus wasn’t cheating; he was just ethically unsound

maxbaucus1205

  • There has to be a public option joke we can make here. The Montana senator, who was in the news for months due to his role in the health care debate, recently admitted to nominating Melodee Hanes for the U.S. attorney post while he was having a romantic relationship with her. She backed out, however, after they decided they wanted to move in together. Unlike most situations like this, BTW, this wasn’t cheating. The relationship began when he was separated from his wife – who he has since divorced. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Nov 2009 10:33

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Politics: Obama’s state dinner plays like a lefty’s night out

  • Who’s invited? A ton of Obama staffers and anticipated Obama staffers will be there tonight. And a couple of big-name Hollywood types. And some who kind of span both celebrity and Obama staff, like Kal Penn. Oh, and Rahm Emanuel’s brother Ari, who was the inspiration behind Jeremy Piven’s “Entourage” character.
  • Who’s not invitedA lot of Republicans. Sen. Dick Lugar and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are pretty much the most likely tighty righties holding down the fort among the 300 guests. Fox news is already playing it off as a major slight for some reason. What did you expect? You haven’t exactly done him any favors. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2009 20:14

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U.S.: ELECTION RESULTS! Bob McDonnell clobbers Creigh Deeds in Virginia

  • Just look at these poll numbers! Creigh Deeds never had a chance. And he did so poorly that the race could be called almost immediately after the polls close. Is this a bad sign for Obama? Who knows. All we know is that that whole Regent University paper controversy never once nicked McDonnell. Congrats, new Virginia governor. Let us know if you want to hang with the ShortFormBlog staff in Adams Morgan at some point. We imagine that place is totally your scene on Saturday night at about 2:30 a.m.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Oct 2009 21:51

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Politics: Calling the Fox News black: Shepard Smith chides lack of balance

  • Wow, Fox News reporter Shannon Bream comes off like an uber-snippy something-or-other in this clip, where Shepard Smith notes that Bream made no effort to cover the Democratic side of the New Jersey governor race. Smith – again – comes off like the voice of reason.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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