NDN Blog

The LA Times highlights Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's trip to Mexico and El Salvador today. His nine day mission: "to promote trade and coordinate the fight against violent international gangs." Yet he is also prepared to handle questions from the media on immigration. As Villaraigosa said in an interview for the article:

"As much as I want to talk about economic development, trade, investment [and] tourism, there's no question that there's going to be a real strong effort to move it away to immigration," Villaraigosa said in an interview last week. "I've said, 'Hey, I'm prepared for that. I welcome it. I recognize it's an important issue. It is, however, not the only issue.' "

Over the weekend, former Senator Gary Hart responded to Rudy Giuliani's criticism of Democrats, saying that a Democratic President would mean going on defense in the war, as well as inviting more casualties.

Yesterday, John McCain formally announced his candidacy to be the next President. Read the announcement here and check out video below.

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

Rudy Giuliani, being the optimistic guy that he is, made some pretty interesting remarks yesterday at the New Hampshire Republican Party's Rockingham County Lincoln Day Dinner. Here are some of the highlights:

“But the question is how long will it take and how many casualties will we have?” Giuliani said. “If we are on defense [with a Democratic president], we will have more losses and it will go on longer.”

“I listen a little to the Democrats and if one of them gets elected, we are going on defense,” Giuliani continued. “We will wave the white flag on Iraq. We will cut back on the Patriot Act, electronic surveillance, interrogation and we will be back to our pre-Sept. 11 attitude of defense.”

He added: “The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.”

After his speech to the Rockingham County Lincoln Day Dinner, I asked him about his statements and Giuliani said flatly: “America will be safer with a Republican president.”

Perhaps Rudy should follow these words from Senator John McCain's e-mail formally announcing his candidacy for President: "This election should be about big things, not small ones. Ours are not red state or blue state problems. They are national and global."

UPDATE: Senator Barack Obama's response (via Greg from TPMCafe):

“Rudy Giuliani today has taken the politics of fear to a new low and I believe Americans are ready to reject those kind of politics. America’s mayor should know that when it comes to 9/11 and fighting terrorists, America is united. We know we can win this war based on shared purpose, not the same divisive politics that question your patriotism if you dare to question failed policies that have made us less secure. I think we should focus on strengthening our intelligence, working with local authorities and doing all the things we haven't yet done to keep Americans safe. The threat we face is real, and deserves better than to be the punchline of another political attack.”

Senator Hillary Clinton's response (via Greg from TPMCafe):

"There are people right now in the world, not just wishing us harm but actively planning and plotting to cause us harm. If the last six years of the Bush Administration have taught us anything, it's that political rhetoric won't do anything to quell those threats. And that America is ready for a change.

"One of the great tragedies of this Administration is that the President failed to keep this country unified after 9/11. We have to protect our country from terrorism – it shouldn't be a Democratic fight or a Republican fight. The plain truth is that this Administration has done too little to protect our ports, make our mass transit safer, and protect our cities. They have isolated us in the world and have let Al Qaeda regroup. The next President is going to be left with these problems and will have to do what it takes to make us safer and bring Democrats and Republicans together around this common mission of protecting our nation. That is exactly what has to be done and what I am ready to do."

Click here to see Senator John Edwards' response, as well as that of the DNC.

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

According to the New York Times, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani is switching his once pro-immigration stance as he navigates his way as a Presidential candidate. As the article explains how this could harm him:

But now he is running for president, and the politics of immigration in the post-9/11 world is vastly different, with the issue splitting the Republican Party and voters peppering Mr. Giuliani on the campaign trail with questions about his current thinking. Perhaps more than any other candidate, Mr. Giuliani has a record on immigration with the potential to complicate his bid for the nomination.

In contrast to his years as mayor, when he fought federal efforts to curtail public hospital or educational services to illegal immigrants, he now talks of penalties for people here illegally and requirements for them to wait at the back of the line. And while he once pushed policies like providing schooling for the children of illegal immigrants by saying, “The reality is that they are here, and they’re going to remain here,” now he emphasizes denying amnesty.

Articles like these probably make Rudy wish YouTube didn't exist:

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

Yesterday, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain presented policy speeches as they continue their campaigns for the White House.

Obama, whose speech focused on Foregin Policy, spoke to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Press coverage of the speech can be found here. To read the speech, click here.

McCain focused on Energy security, spoke to the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) on global warming and US reliance on foreign oil. Press coverage of the speech can be found here. To read the speech, click here.

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

Governor Bill Richardson is the first Democratic presidential candidate to air television ads in the 2008 race. The ads, which will air in Iowa and New Hampshire, are biographical spots entitled "Life's Work" (30 seconds) and "The Wall" (60 seconds). Check them out below:

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

Adding to a post Aaron had a few days ago, a new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows even more support for comprehensive immigration reform:

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken last weekend found that 78% of respondents feel people now in the country illegally should be given a chance at citizenship.

Assessing the poll results, Senator Edward Kennedy had a blunt, but honest reaction:

"As with so many issues, the American people are ahead of Washington on immigration reform. They know that only a plan that offers a path to earned citizenship will fix our broken system."

Check out video of Senator Kennedy and others on the need for comprehensive immigration reform at an NDN event in March.

Google someone in politics and you’re likely to see something similar to this: an official website, a link to a Wikipedia entry about them, and few (if any) sponsored links to the right or at the top. That seems to be the standard, except in the case of the average 2008 presidential candidate, who, with search ads, brings you to see what they want you to see.

Below are examples of what search ads are doing for two candidates with a good internet presence:

1. Google Hillary Clinton and the first site that comes up is "HillaryClinton.com" with sub-links of the site that would take you to the "About" section. On the right side, where the paid links are, the first link is to "Clinton on YouTube." Below that? "Barack Obama in 2008."
2. Google John McCain and the first site that comes up is John McCain’s Senate website. Above the news, highlighted in yellow, is another paid link, "John McCain 2008." To the right? "Mitt Romney in 2008" and a site that comes up on all of the Google searches for GOP candidates who have declared (as well as Hillary Clinton) "JoinRudy2008"

What does this mean? Why is this important? Well, like our New Politics Institute says:

"If the Internet is a new media like broadcast television in the 1960s, then search is the TV Guide of this era, the way to find all the content, and paid search is the most powerful and effective way to advertise."

As noted in the examples above, search ads are becoming increasingly helpful. For candidates and organizations who want their voices and issues made readily available to the general public, or a more targeted audience, search ads are an easy way to go. As our report mentions, it only makes sense for those in politics to utilize what search has to offer, especially since millions of Americans continue to be exposed to new tools allowing them to be involved.

At this point, it seems like most search ads will be dedicated to inform people about the various candidates and sometimes their opponents; but it is encouraging to see that the advice of NPI is paying off, as campaigns are incorporating this tool into their overall internet strategy.

(I'll be updating this post as the campaign progresses.)

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

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are facing off again. During his speech on Iraq today at Virginia Military Institute, Senator McCain used Obama in an attempt to shame Democrats to support funding for the war:

“When the President vetoes, as he should, the bill that refuses to support General Petraeus’ new plan, I hope Democrats in Congress will heed the advice of one of their leading candidates for President, Senator Obama, and immediately pass a new bill to provide support to our troops in Iraq without substituting their partisan interests for those of our troops and our country.”

Senator Obama responded sternly:

“Progress in Iraq cannot be measured by the same ideological fantasies that got us into this war, it must be measured by the reality of the facts on the ground, and today those sobering facts tell us to change our strategy and bring a responsible end to this war."

"No matter how much this Administration wishes it to be true, the idea that the situation in Iraq is improving because it only takes a security detail of 100 soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships to walk through a market in the middle of Baghdad is simply not credible or reflective of the facts on the ground."

"What we need today is a surge in honesty. The truth is, the Iraqis have made little progress toward the political solution between Shiia and Sunni which is the last, best hope to end this war. I believe that letting the Iraqi government know America will not be there forever is the best way to pressure the warring factions toward this political settlement, which is why my plan begins a phased withdrawal from Iraq on May 1st, 2007, with the goal of removing all combat troops by March 31st, 2008."

(via Greg from TPMCafe)

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