2008

In an interview with USA Today, Fred Thompson describes his decision to run and what his entrance to the field will look like given those already in it. From the interview:

"I can't remember exactly the point that I said, 'I'm going to do this,' " Thompson says, his 6-foot, 6-inch frame sprawled comfortably across a couch in a hotel suite. "But when I did, the thing that occurred to me: 'I'm going to tell people that I am thinking about it and see what kind of reaction I get to it.' "

...

His late start carries some problems but also "certain advantages," he says. "Nobody has maxed out to me" in contributions, he notes, and using the Internet already "has allowed me to be in the hunt, so to speak, without spending a dime."

...

"I feel some of the same feelings that I felt in the latter part of that '94 campaign about what is going on in the country today — only greater," says Thompson, citing public cynicism toward the Republican president and the new Democrat-controlled Congress. "You can't drive the truck all the way across the country, but since '94 other opportunities have opened up in terms of ways to communicate."

A candidate could use the Internet "to cut through the clutter and go right to the people," he says.

(via T.W. Farnam from TPMCafé)

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

- Fred Thompson is getting into the race around the Fourth of July, according to The Politico.

- Barack Obama released his plan for universal health care yesterday.

- ThinkProgress tells us that New York City firefighters and 9/11 family members are going to be on the campaign trail, making sure folks understand Rudy Giuliani's track record.

- Joe Biden released a new web video entitled "Home" that covers Iraq, specifically his efforts to increase Mine Resistant vehicle (MRAP) production.

- Alaska and Georgia are the latest states to move up their primary dates.

- Hillary Clinton's economic policy speech is available here. FYI - Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to endorse Mrs. Clinton today in Los Angeles. The endorsement is worthwhile because it could help Clinton's campaign with Latino and voters.

- On the Latino front, Nueva Vista Media has launched an independent outreach campaign to promote Barack Obama in the Latino community. The campaign, "Amigos de Obama" will "focus on eligible Latino voters and the thousands that marched for immigration reform last year in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and other cities."

- At the All Things Digital Conference, John McCain discussed a wide range of topics: how he would choose the members of his Cabinet, Iran, ethanol, etc. Video below:

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

Today in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton "outlined her views on how America could restore a strong middle class in the face of globalization and the Bush Administration’s concerns for the special interests." Her campaign offers a few talking points behind her plan to shared prosperity - the only true measurement of economic success according to her site.

We'll have more on this later, but until then check out NDN's Globalization Initiative.

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

Barack Obama's campaign recently dove deeper into Facebook with the debut of the Obama Facebook application. Now, not only can be Obama's friend but also an on-line advertiser of his campaign's happenings. The application's official description:

The Obama application puts the most recent campaign video and news on your profile and in front of your friends. It also enables you to easily communicate with your friends in early primary states where support for Barack is especially important.

While the Obama-Facebook relationship isn't surprising, as one of Obama's staffers co-founded Facebook, this is a great step for the new political tools of our time.

(Background: The application was created after Facebook launched its new developers platform, which allows users to create applications that can be integrated into users' profiles.)

Interesting Facebook UPDATE: Facebook is taking social interaction one step further in Canada, serving as a platform for Canadians who want to offer their hopes/dreams/etcetera as to where their nation is heading.

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

- Senator Hillary Clinton introduced her 7-step strategy to reduce the costs of health care in a major speech today at George Washington University.

- Mitt Romney released his new "Tested, Proven" ad.

- Al Gore explains the themes behind his book The Assault on Reason on Good Morning America.

- Like Gore did in his book, John Edwards, who just expanded his ad buy to Oregon and gave a major speech on foreign policy, touched on how he believes the internet is good for democracy:

- Speaking of John Edwards, Mike Huckabee's campaign launched a new fundraising drive. Launched on Tuesday, the Huckabee camp is taking "in donations at the price of an average haircut from at least 400 individual contributors in 96 hours." Huckabee also just took part in YouTube's YouChoose campaign with this initial video.

- On the topic of YouTube: Chris Dodd uses the medium to explain why he's voting against the Iraq supplemental, Mike Gravel uses it to discuss War and Integrity, and Ted Sorenson uses it to explain why he endorses Barack Obama.

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

Hillary Clinton released her second video describing how viewers are choosing her official campaign song. She definitely comes across as having a sense of humor about some of the submissions the campaign has received. Check out the video below:

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

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.

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.”