Polinaut: January 9, 2008 Archive

The Daily Digest: 1-9-2008

Posted at 8:54 AM on January 9, 2008 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

In the words of the late, great Zen philosopher Vince Lombardi "What in the hell is going on around here!" Hillary Clinton wins New Hampshire even though polls had her down nearly double digits. John McCain wins New Hampshire even though his campaign was left for dead a few months ago. Story here. You don't need this New York Times analysis to see that this is a wide open race but I'll post it anyway.

Gov. Pawlenty said McCain's win could be another chapter of "John McCain, American hero."

KSTP says McCain's win means more eyes are on Pawlenty.

The Minnesota campaigns for Obama, Clinton and Romney will be speaking about their efforts today.

The Legislative Auditor says Secretary of State Mark Ritchie did not misuse a state mailing list but says Ritchie should have been more forthcoming with the LA. Ritchie and DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez say Ritchie has been vindicated. MNGOP Chair Ron Carey calls Ritchie a liar. The Star Tribune, the Pi Press, Forum Communications, AP and MPR have stories. You can read the LA's interview with Ritchie here.

The Rochester Post-Bulletin says Pawlenty's immigration plan could cut into local law enforcement.

The Met Council is looking to trim the price tag of the Central Corridor.

Environmental groups lay out their legislative agenda.

MinnPost has a four part series on ethanol.

Congress

The Star Tribune says GOP Rep. John Kline's spurning of earmarks is having some cost in his district.

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar is set to visit Alexandria. It's part of her statewide tour. She just visited Worthington and Marshall.

The Congressional Black Caucus is split on backing Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. DFL Rep. Keith Ellison is mentioned.

GOP Sen. Larry Craig files another appeal.

2008

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken is urging Duluth residents to support his campaign.

The Hill says Franken said in a video that he will air his first tv ad soon.

Residual Forces is all over MNGOP Chair Ron Carey's decision to back Mike Huckabee for President including Carey's letter to the state central committee.

Polinaut Pop Quiz!

Posted at 2:44 PM on January 9, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

How many possible candidates for governor (2010, of course) can you find in this picture:

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Michael Bloomberg update

Posted at 5:02 PM on January 9, 2008 by Tom Scheck

AP has this:

BC-Bloomberg-2008,180 AP Newsbreak: Bloomberg begins nationwide effort to gauge support By SARA KUGLER Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has begun detailed polling and highly sophisticated voter analysis in all 50 states as he considers an independent bid for president, associates said Wednesday.
The exhaustive data collection quietly started months ago, and when the analysis begins shortly, it will provide the data-obsessed billionaire businessman with the information he will use to decide whether to launch a third-party run for the White House.
The scope of the research, details of which were revealed to The Associated Press, demonstrates how seriously Bloomberg is considering running for president, despite his almost-daily denials that he isn't entering the race. The extensive coast-to-coast research effort shows that Bloomberg is willing to dig deep into his wallet simply to gauge his chances of winning and lining up the proper support network along the way.
"They want a hard-headed sense of their chances," said Doug Schoen, who spearheaded Bloomberg's voter database efforts, known as microtargeting, for his two mayoral campaigns.
Bloomberg's spokesman Stu Loeser declined to comment.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-01-09-08 1802EST

AP: Richardson dropping out

Posted at 6:09 PM on January 9, 2008 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

AP says New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is dropping out but his campaign disputes the story to NBC. Here's the AP story:

MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ended his campaign for the presidency Wednesday after twin fourth-place finishes that showed his impressive credentials could not compete with his rivals' star power.
Richardson planned to announce the decision Thursday, according to two people close to the governor with knowledge of the decision. They spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the governor's announcement.
The Richardson campaign would not comment on the governor's decision, reached after a meeting with his top advisers Wednesday in New Mexico.
Richardson had one of the most wide-ranging resumes of any candidate ever to run for the presidency, bringing experience from his time in Congress, President Clinton's Cabinet, in the New Mexico statehouse as well as his unique role as a freelance diplomat. As a Hispanic, he added to the unprecedented diversity in the Democratic field that also included a black and a woman.
But Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama dominated the spotlight in the campaign, and Richardson was never able to become a top-tier contender. He accused his rivals of failing to commit to bring troops home from Iraq soon enough.
He portrayed his campaign as a job application for president, and ran clever ads that showed a bored interviewer unimpressed with his dazzling resume. The commercials helped fuel his move to double-digit support in some early state polls, and advisers argued he was poised to move past former vice presidential nominee John Edwards for the role of third-place challenger.
But he was not able to build the momentum and came in a distant fourth place in Iowa and New Hampshire. Richardson didn't get quite 5 percent in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday and came in with just 2 percent in the Iowa caucus last week.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-01-09-08 1915EST

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