NDN Blog

Chris Cillizza reveals an interesting development in Fred Thompson's camp:

"Tom Collamore, a former vice president of public affairs at Altria, has been leading the behind-the scenes organization efforts for a Thompson presidential candidacy and will be intimately involved when (not if) the former senator decides to announce a bid."

Tommy Thompson broke with President Bush, advocating for an expansion in the State Children's Health Insurance Program. (For unrelated, yet very honest, campaign analysis from Thompson himself click here.)

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the graduates at Tufts University his 5 (6, actually) principles. Without context, they're pretty interesting:

1. Take risks
2. Don't go it alone
3. Give it to them straight
4. Respect others
5. Give back
6. Don't forget to call your mother

Rep. Duncan Hunter is launching an RV tour entitled "The Right Stuff Express."

Senator Chris Dodd is touting the support he's been receiving for his energy policy, particularly from the past two Democratic Presidential nominees: John Kerry and Al Gore. Check out video of Senator Dodd discussing his energy policy is below:

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Today in Los Angeles, Governor Bill Richardson officially began seeking the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination, ending the exploratory phase of his campaign. From the Governor's press release:

The United States faces huge challenges, but also huge opportunities. I am running for President because these times call for a leader with a proven track record, and a demonstrated ability to bring people together to tackle our problems at home and abroad.

I am that person, not because I say so, but because of what I have done, and what I can do for the American people. The challenge of the campaign I am launching today is to get that message heard.

Running for this office is the ultimate job interview. It's not just about the positions you've held but the job you've done and your ability to lead on day one at a very critical time in our nation's history.

This Presidential election is unlike any other we've ever seen. From day one, we have to repair the damage done here at home and to our reputation abroad. And that all starts with restoring diplomacy as the primary instrument of our foreign policy ... and basic fairness as the primary means for problem solving in Washington.

There are a lot of candidates in this race with good ideas. But coming up with a good idea is only half the job. The other half is bringing people together to get it done. I'm proud of my record of getting things done. And I'll put that record up against anyone's.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

UPDATE: Video is available (English / Spanish) 

The New York Times has a very interesting article on the possible effect that the friendship between numbers 41 and 42 might have on 43.

Paul Kane from the Washington Post reports on the exchange between Senators McCain and Cornyn during last week's immigration discussions.

Mitt and Rudy give their views on the immigration compromise. If you think Rudy's is unbelievably ambiguous, maybe this will explain why.

Bernie Kerik addresses his past with Rudy Giuliani in this quick interview with MSNBC (the issue comes up after about 2:20 minutes).

Tom Goldstein offers a very interesting analysis of what the next President might face in terms of nominations to the Supreme Court. 

ThinkProgress brings to light some very interesting remarks by Newt Gingrich during his commencement speech at Liberty University.

The New York Times gives a detailed look at what Al Gore's up to these days and the mission he's so dedicated to.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

This book excerpt from Al Gore's new book, The Assault on Reason, emphasizes Gore's belief in the internet as a vehicle in revitalizing the role of people in our democracy. From the book:

Fortunately, the Internet has the potential to revitalize the role played by the people in our constitutional framework. It has extremely low entry barriers for individuals. It is the most interactive medium in history and the one with the greatest potential for connecting individuals to one another and to a universe of knowledge. It's a platform for pursuing the truth, and the decentralized creation and distribution of ideas, in the same way that markets are a decentralized mechanism for the creation and distribution of goods and services. It's a platform, in other words, for reason. But the Internet must be developed and protected, in the same way we develop and protect markets—through the establishment of fair rules of engagement and the exercise of the rule of law. The same ferocity that our Founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the Internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic. We must ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all citizens without any limitation on the ability of individuals to choose the content they wish regardless of the Internet service provider they use to connect to the Web. We cannot take this future for granted. We must be prepared to fight for it, because of the threat of corporate consolidation and control over the Internet marketplace of ideas.

Barack Obama's videos now offer closed captioning for the hearing impaired. You can check the service out at the Obama website (just make sure to allow pop-ups for the site). The site's blog explains the reasoning behind the service:

We recently received a call from Tom Faar, a veteran of the Gulf War who now works at Galludet University, the nation’s leading institute of higher learning for the deaf.

Tom, who spent much of his service listening to Morse code, had his hearing damaged, and many of his fellow soldiers lost their hearing altogether. “When you’re at war,” says Tom, “there are so many guns going off in your ears.”

Tom had a simple request: he asked that our online videos be made available with closed captioning. “So many of our Veterans are deaf or hard of hearing and they really depend on closed captioning,” he says. “People who are culturally deaf have no way to receive the message without it.”

Thanks to Tom, we have now launched a closed captioning site on our website— barackobama.com/closedcaptioning. Working with Project ReadOn we are generating closed captioning to our videos. There are currently nine videos available and we will continue to update more as well as regularly feature closed captioning in future videos.

“You know, in many ways, this constituency has been forgotten,” says Tom. “Obama’s campaign is the first to take this seriously and do something about it, and he’s got my support.”

The Washington Post offers an in-depth look at the immigration deal in the Senate. Some of the details from the article:

Under the tentative deal, undocumented workers who crossed into the country before Jan. 1 would be offered a temporary-residency permit while they await a new "Z Visa" that would allow them to live and work lawfully here. The head of an illegal-immigrant household would have eight years to return to his or her home country to apply for permanent legal residence for members of the household, but each Z Visa itself would be renewable indefinitely, as long as the holder passes a criminal background check, remains fully employed and pays a $5,000 fine, plus a paperwork-processing fee.

A separate, temporary-worker program would be established for 400,000 migrants a year. Each temporary work visa would be good for two years and could be renewed up to three times, as long as the worker leaves the country for a year between renewals.

However, some key Democratic Senators and advocacy groups spoke about fears they have with the bill.

"When they say, 'We're all in agreement, we have a deal,' certainly I don't feel that way," said Sen. Robert Menendez.

...

"We want to see an immigration reform debate on the Senate floor. We want to see this move forward. But we are wildly uncomfortable with a lot of what we're hearing," said Cecilia Muñoz, chief lobbyist for the National Council of La Raza.

The financial disclosures of some presidential candidates (others filed extensions so their reports could be more thorough) reveal some interesting information. From the Baltimore Sun:

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Obama and his wife this year transferred about $180,000 from the Vanguard Wellington Fund to Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund after discovering that a small amount of the Wellington Fund is invested in an oil field services company that is active in Sudan.

Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback, an outspoken critic of the violence in Sudan, also divested his stock portfolio of companies that do business with the African nation.

...

In other filings, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a presidential candidate who has called for a drastic reduction in the use of fossil fuels, reported holding $250,000 to $500,000 in stock options from North America's largest independent oil refiner.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Hillary Clinton's website is promoting civic engagement to the MAX: it is asking YOU to vote for the Senator's campaign song. Text "IDOL" to...wait...nevermind. The fun part is that it allows you to write in and suggest a different song. Oh the myriad of songs the Clinton camp will be receiving.

(In case you were wondering, I voted for "Get Ready" by the Temptations and am proud of it.)

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

The New York Times reports on progress among ten Senators working behind closed doors on an immigration bill. From the lede:

With the new Congress poised to take its first vote on immigration, senators from both parties stepped up the pace of negotiations on Tuesday in hopes of cutting a deal on a comprehensive bill that would increase enforcement at the border and offer legal status to millions of undocumented workers.

(via Chris Cilizza from The Fix) Last night during the Republican presidential debate, Senator John McCain addressed questions about where he stands on the immigration debate. McCain said:

"What the American people expect us to do is to sit down and work this issue out...We have to have a comprehensive solution and it has to be bipartisan."

"I intend to lead; I don't intend to follow. I don't intend to block things."

McCain also responded to criticism from Mitt Romney that he worked in a bipartisan manner (how terrible?!) on McCain-Kennedy, a bill that Romney feels conservatives oppose, even though Senator Sam Brownback was a cosponsor. McCain responded:

"I haven't changed my position in even-numbered years or ... because of the different offices that I may be running for."

As you know, McCain was intimately involved in past discussions and lead the debate on comprehensive immigration reform. Yet recently, many feel as if he's walked away from the table, instead delegating to Senators Kyl and Graham to get the job done.