110 Days
Until Election Day
July 17, 2008
MORNING UPDATE:
RIDE YOUR BIKE TO WORK DAY…took place yesterday, so I rode in on my Road King, but what really upset me was when I stopped for gas to top off my tank and it cost me over $16 to fill my Harley!?! Please sign our petition below.
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FOR THE LATEST NEWS, COMMENTARY & INFORMATION:
Check...out...our...online Articles of Interest.........News...you...can...use.........
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THE REST OF THE STORY:
HOTLINE REPORTS… Dick Morris writes in The Hill about why the race
is still tied. "In the space of a month and a half," Obama
"reversed or sharply modified his positions on at least eight key
issues." And unlike McCain's, "Obama's shifts have nothing to do
with altered circumstances, just a change in the political
calendar." Obama "has set the bar pretty high" by running as "a
different kind" of pol, "and, with his flipping and flopping, he is
falling short." If "moderate liberals are disgusted by Obama's
obvious attempts at chicanery and repositioning, they might just
cross the aisle," especially given McCain's position on oil
drilling (7/15).
MICHIGAN GOP TOOL BAR…IT MAKES
US MONEY…I am excited to announce a revolutionary new tool allowing
you to stay connected to the Michigan GOP and raise valuable
contributions, withoutspending a dime! We are facing one of the
toughest elections in history and we need your help to make a
victory possible. You can make a difference by downloading and
using the new Michigan GOP
Toolbar. The Michigan GOP Toolbar will help you raise money for
the Michigan Republican Party through regular online activities
such as searching and shopping! You will also receive all the
breaking news, updates, and messages from the Michigan GOP! Show
your support by joining thousands of other Michigan party members
in raising valuable contributions for our party for free! Track
your personal contributions in real time and learn that together we
can make a difference!
http://www.migop.org/toolbar/
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
The following stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.
By Dick Morris
After almost six
weeks of a constant Obama lead, generally in the five- to
seven-point range, Scott Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll records
two consecutive days of a tie race (July 12-13) and a one-point
Obama lead on July 14. What happened to the Democrat’s lead?
Part of the slippage is Obama’s fault and part is McCain’s
gain.
Obama has carried flip-flopping to new heights. In the space of a
month and a half, this candidate — who we don’t really yet know
very well — reversed or sharply modified his positions on at least
eight key issues:
BARACK
OBAMA yesterday accused President Bush and Sen. John McCain of
rigidity on Iraq: "They said we couldn't leave when violence was
up, they say we can't leave when violence is down." Mr. Obama then
confirmed his own foolish consistency. Early last year, when the
war was at its peak, the Democratic candidate proposed a timetable
for withdrawing all U.S. combat forces in slightly more than a
year. Yesterday, with bloodshed at its lowest level since the war
began, Mr. Obama endorsed the same plan. After hinting earlier this
month that he might "refine" his Iraq strategy after visiting the
country and listening to commanders, Mr. Obama appears to have
decided that sticking to his arbitrary, 16-month timetable is more
important than adjusting to the dramatic changes in Iraq.
Mr. Obama's charge against the Republicans was not entirely fair,
since Mr. Bush has overseen the withdrawal of five American
brigades from Iraq this year, and Mr. McCain has suggested that he
would bring most of the rest of the troops home by early 2013. Mr.
Obama's timeline would end in the summer of 2010, a year or two
before the earliest dates proposed recently by members of the Iraqi
government. The real difference between the various plans is not
the dates but the conditions: Both the Iraqis and Mr. McCain say
the withdrawal would be linked to the ability of Iraqi forces to
take over from U.S. troops, as they have begun to do. Mr. Obama's
strategy allows no such linkage -- his logic is that a timetable
unilaterally dictated from Washington is necessary to force Iraqis
to take responsibility for the country.
Obama Steers Clear of Michigan Muslims He May Need to Win
State
By
Heidi Przybyla
The cover of this
week's New Yorker magazine may explain why Barack Obama isn't
reaching out to Michigan's Muslims.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is shown in the
Oval Office, wearing a turban and bumping fists with his wife,
Michelle, who is in combat boots with a rifle slung over her
shoulder. The cartoon, intended as satire, is a reminder of the
dangers of any association with Muslims for Obama, who has fought
false rumors that his middle name, Hussein, indicates he was born
into the Islamic faith.
Muslim- and Arab-Americans represent 4 percent of the vote in
Michigan, a battleground in this year's election. Yet Obama, who
has held 13 events in the state during the presidential campaign,
hasn't visited a mosque or met with Muslim
leaders.
Mike Baker: Obama's Plan to Change the World
By Mike Baker
I just
finished watching what was billed as a “major foreign policy
speech” by Senator Obama. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t intended to
watch the speech, preferring instead to read the transcripts
anytime either candidate, but particularly Obama, delivers a
speech. Reading the text of the speech seems to be more satisfying
and enlightening than watching the actual delivery. It’s also part
of my survival strategy.
I worry about falling under Obama’s spell if I spend too much time
actually gazing at him while he talks. It’s an irrational fear I
suppose, but I’m afraid that if I watch too many of his speeches,
one day I’ll wake up and be one of those Obamatrons that I
currently spend all my daylight hours trying to avoid.
Once that happens I’ll be doomed to walk the Earth muttering about
change and new political landscapes. I’ll spend hours each day
attending reeducation camp where I’ll realize the evils of free
markets and personal responsibility and extol the glories of big
government. My evenings will be spent writing a liberal blog with a
hip name like crunchypolitiking.org and editing my Facebook page,
adding other Obamatrons as friends til’ my social network exceeds
the population of China.
In Iraq, Affection for Obama ... but His Proposal?
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
BAGHDAD
— A tough Iraqi general, a former special operations officer with a
baritone voice and a barrel chest, melted into smiles when asked
about Senator Barack Obama.
“Everyone in Iraq likes him,” said the general, Nassir al-Hiti. “I
like him. He’s young. Very active. We would be very happy if he was
elected president.”
But mention Mr. Obama’s plan for withdrawing American soldiers, and
the general stiffens.
“Very difficult,” he said, shaking his head. “Any army would love
to work without any help, but let me be honest: for now, we don’t
have that ability.”
Thus in a few brisk sentences, the general summed up the
conflicting emotions about Mr. Obama in Iraq, the place outside
America with perhaps the most riding on its relationship with
him.
Democrats
sputtering on energy
Gary Andres
If
congressional obstruction were gasoline, Americans would be awash
in energy. The House Democratic leadership's gambit to protect
their environmental special-interest group friends is both bold and
risky. And as their constituents feel the pain at the pump,
rank-and-file Democrats may face gushers of opposition at the polls
this November. The gas shock of 2008 has not generated any new
energy, but it has produced gallons of missed
opportunity.
The
current energy crisis has three implications on Capitol Hill that
deserve mention. First, rank-and-file Democrats are increasingly
nervous that their leadership is exposing them to extreme political
risk. Second, Republicans are more unified and enthusiastic about
this issue than any other since losing the majority in 2006. Third,
the ongoing congressional bickering over energy deepens voter
cynicism and disapproval of Congress - creating both missed
opportunities for the Democratic majority and new chances for the
Republican Party in an otherwise barren and hostile political
environment.
The House majority leadership has pulled out all the stops to block votes on measures aimed at increasing domestic supply. The entire appropriations process has virtually ground to a halt because of Democratic leadership concerns that Republicans might offer amendments aimed at expanding energy resources. The majority has canceled markups in committee and restricted the types of bills the House considers, using its considerable procedural power to exclude amendments and other legislative ideas from consideration.
'How many times?' GM employees wary of further restructuring
By RANDAL YAKEY - The Oakland Press
A
stumbling U.S. economy, shifting market conditions and record-high
gas prices have forced General Motors to make sweeping changes in
its corporate operations.
GM said it will move to raise $15 billion to help cover losses and
turn around its North American operations, including $10 billion
from internal cost cutting and $5 billion from selling some assets
and borrowing against others.
GM is also expected to lay off salaried workers, suspend its
dividend payments and borrow $2 billion to $3 billion to weather a
severe downturn in the U.S. market.
WH to send envoy to Iran
meeting
Nicholas Kralev
William J. Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs and the administration's point man on Iran, will accompany European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana with Saeed Jalili in discussions aimed at persuading Tehran to stop enriching uranium.
U.S. officials insisted that Mr. Burns will not negotiate with Mr. Jalili but only listen to what the Iranian has to say. He will "reiterate that our terms for negotiations remain the same: Iran must suspend its enrichment and reprocessing activities," one official was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
One lawyer estimated the legal cost of defending Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty in their criminal cases alone will surpass $1 million, and that's just to get through a preliminary hearing scheduled for September. An even costlier trial, if it comes to that, may not begin until sometime next year.
