Clipmarks | reimers's 'debate' clips

New Gang of 14 won’t back McCain

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:32:24 GMT

clipped by: reimers

At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.

Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined to detail their reasons for withholding support, but Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed major concerns about McCain’s energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) cited the Iraq war.

A handful of other Republicans on Capitol Hill made the distinction between “endorsing” and “supporting,” adding that while they have not endorsed, they do support McCain.

In recent weeks, much of the discussion and debate about party unity has been on the Democrats’ side, amid their protracted presidential primary. Yet achieving harmony is a concern on both sides of the aisle this year.

Czech President Klaus ready to debate Gore on climate change

Wed, 28 May 2008 18:22:14 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: "Like their (communist) predecessors, they will be certain that they have the right to sacrifice man and his freedom to make their idea reality," Klaus said.

Clip Source: www.earthtimes.org

Washington - Czech President Vaclav Klaus said Tuesday he is ready to debate Al Gore about global warming, as he presented the English version of his latest book that argues environmentalism poses a threat to basic human freedoms. "I many times tried to talk to have a public exchange of views with him, and he's not too much willing to make such a conversation," Klaus said. "So I'm ready to do it."

Klaus was speaking a the National Press Building in Washington to present his new book, Blue Planet in Green Shackles - What Is Endangered: Climate or Freedom?, before meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney Wednesday.

"My answer is it is our freedom and, I might add, and our prosperity," he said.

Klaus, an economist, said he opposed the "climate alarmism" perpetuated by environmentalism trying to impose their ideals, comparing it to the decades of communist rule he experienced growing up in Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia.

Scientist Shifts View on Global Warming

Sun, 18 May 2008 23:07:11 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: news.aol.com

Global warming isn't to blame for the recent jump in hurricanes in the Atlantic, concludes a study by a prominent federal scientist whose position has shifted on the subject.

Not only that, warmer temperatures will actually reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic and those making landfall, research meteorologist Tom Knutson reported in a study released Sunday.

In the past, Knutson has raised concerns about the effects of climate change on storms. His new paper has the potential to heat up a simmering debate among meteorologists about current and future effects of global warming in the Atlantic.

Ever since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hurricanes have often been seen as a symbol of global warming's wrath. Many climate change experts have tied the rise of hurricanes in recent years to global warming and hotter waters that fuel them.

Another group of experts, those who study hurricanes and who are more often skeptical about global warming, say there is no link.

Clinton discounts economists in gas tax debate

Sun, 04 May 2008 22:59:18 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: and only if the oil companies don’t raise their prices to make up for a suspension of the 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax.

Clip Source: www.indystar.com

Pressed to name an economist who supports her plan to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said today that commuters, truck drivers and other gas customers know it would make a difference.

“We have to get out of the mindset where somehow elite opinion is always on the side of doing things that really disadvantage the vast majority of Americans,” Clinton said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. “I’m not going to put my lot in with economists because I know if we did it right ... we would design it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively.”

The gas tax, one of the few policy differences between Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, has been a potent issue as their campaigns head toward the Tuesday finish line in Indiana and North Carolina.

Obama calls the idea a political “gimmick” that would at best save drivers about 30 cents a day

HILLARY 'TOWN HALL' TO BE HOSTED BY FORMER CLINTON STAFFER STEPHANOPOULOS

Thu, 01 May 2008 23:30:31 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: The network hit controversy last month over the decision to allow Bill Clinton's former press secretary to moderate a debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- without any disclaimer.

Obama is scheduled to appear on NBC'S MEET THE PRESS, where he is expected to receive a traditional grilling by host Tim Russert.

Developing...

Clip Source: drudgereport.com

Just hours before the Indiana and North Carolina presidential primaries, ABCNEWS has offered to air a 'town hall' meeting with Hillary Clinton -- to be hosted by former Clinton staffer George Stephanopoulos!

Embracing and racing through a brave new era of journalism, it is not clear if ABCNEWS will inform viewers of Stephanopoulos's past employment.

Stephanopoulos helped run Mr. Clinton's first presidential election campaign and acted as his press secretary and advisor on policy and strategy before joining ABC NEWS.

An executive at a rival network mocked, "We look forward to ABC holding the next town hall meeting with President Bush, hosted by Karl Rove!"

ABC will air the hour-long Hillary forum live from Indianapolis on Sunday.

"George has interviewed all the candidates time and time again and has put tough but fair questions to each," said a network spokesman. "Expect the same on Sunday."

Clinton: $2.3B in earmarks

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:49:15 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: The total amount Clinton requested greatly surpasses the $837 million secured last year by Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee who took home the largest dollar amount of earmarks in the current fiscal year’s spending bills. In those bills, Clinton secured $342 million in earmarks.

Clip Source: thehill.com

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has requested nearly $2.3 billion in federal earmarks for 2009, almost three times the largest amount received by a single senator this year.

The Democratic presidential candidate’s staggering request comes at a time when Congress remains engaged in a heated debate over spending federal dollars on parochial projects.

It also has gained traction on the campaign trail. Presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), a longtime foe of earmarks, has called for eliminating what he dubs “wasteful Washington spending.” Democratic front-runner Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has spurned earmarks, seeking no funds for pet projects in the upcoming fiscal year.

Yet Clinton is continuing to request billions for earmarks, most of which will go to her home state.

The money is needed for homeland security, emergency response and health projects throughout New York, according to documents provided by her office.

Clinton changes course on Obama's electability

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:57:01 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: apnews.myway.com

Hillary Rodham Clinton said emphatically Wednesday night that Barack Obama can win the White House this fall, undercutting her efforts to deny him the Democratic presidential nomination by suggesting he would lead the party to defeat.

"Yes, yes, yes," she said when pressed about Obama's electability during a campaign debate six days before the Pennsylvania primary.

Asked a similar question about Clinton, Obama said "Absolutely and I've said so before" - a not-so-subtle dig at his rival who had previously declined to make a similar statement about him.

In a 90-minute debate, both rivals pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000, and said they would respond forcefully if Iran obtains nuclear weapons and uses them against Israel.

"An attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation by the United States," said Clinton.

Obama said, "The U.S. would take appropriate action."

Analysis: Obama wants voters to remember Clinton's past

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:54:23 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: apnews.myway.com

Remember the cookies?

While Clinton brought up the problems Obama could face in a general election if he's nominated, Obama used a two-hour debate Wednesday night to remind Americans what they don't like about his opponent and her husband, Bill, the former president. Both candidates argued they were tough enough to withstand whatever Republicans try to use against them.

Obama raised President Clinton's controversial pardons on his last day in office. And he wanted Americans to know that Hillary Clinton repeatedly called him names in the past few days.

The point was to tie Clinton to the divisive politics of the past at a time when a new poll shows that a majority of voters view her as dishonest. The loss of voters' trust comes as Clinton has been attacking Obama for comments he made recently about Pennsylvania voters who "cling to guns or religion" because they are "bitter" about the economy - statements that he maintains he mangled.

Clinton: 'Not relevant' last time I went to church, fired gun

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:56:52 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com

After a weekend spent making direct appeals to gun owners and church goers, Hillary Clinton said Sunday a query about the last time she fired a gun or attended church services "is not a relevant question in this debate” over Barack Obama’s recent comments on small town Americans.

“We can answer that some other time,” Clinton said at a press conference held in a working class neighborhood here. “This is about what people feel is being said about them. I went to church on Easter. I mean, so?”

Clinton described the furor surrounding Obama’s remarks as “about how people look at the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party leadership.”

“We have been working very hard to make it clear that we have millions of Democrats who are church going and gun-owning,” she said. “And we are tired of having Republicans, or frankly our own Democrats, give any ammunition to Republicans because what happens then is Republicans take advantage of the situation.”

Scientists mix human and cow DNA in embryo

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:46:46 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Embryos containing human and animal material have been created in Britain for the first time, a month before the House of Commons votes on new laws to regulate the research.

A team at Newcastle University announced yesterday that it had successfully generated “admixed embryos” by adding human DNA to empty cow eggs in the first experiment of its kind in Britain.

The Commons is to debate the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill next month. MPs have been promised a free vote on clauses in the legislation that would permit admixed embryos. But their creation is already allowed, subject to the granting of a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

The Newcastle group, led by Lyle Armstrong, was awarded one of the first two licences in January. The other went to a team at King’s College London, led by Professor Stephen Minger. The new Bill will formalise their legal status if it is passed by Parliament.

Clinton Risks Credibility Gap Over `Fudged' Claims, Stances

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:14:29 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

Hillary Clinton, accused of exaggerating her experience and reversing policy positions, risks a widening credibility gap that may undermine her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The New York senator, who this week admitted to misrepresenting the danger she confronted in Bosnia, also has come under fire for allegedly distorting her role in opposing free trade and the war in Iraq, and overstating her involvement in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and health insurance to children.

The debate over these and other statements is fueling distrust among voters, according to analysts and recent polls. A Pew Research survey released yesterday showed 30 percent of white Democrats -- a group Clinton needs in order to win the remaining primaries -- regard her as a ``phony,'' twice as many as those who perceive rival Barack Obama that way. In late February, just 7.8 percent of voters surveyed by Pew described her as ``untrustworthy.''

McCain's birthplace prompts queries about whether that rules him out

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:11:03 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.iht.com

The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president? In the case of Senator John McCain of Arizona, the issue is becoming more than a matter of parental daydreaming.

McCain's likely nomination as the Republican candidate for president and the happenstance of his birth in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936 are reviving a musty debate that has surfaced periodically since the founders first set quill to parchment and declared that only a "natural-born citizen" can hold the nation's highest office.

Almost since those words were written in 1787 with scant explanation, their precise meaning has been the stuff of confusion, law school review articles, whisper campaigns and civics class debates over whether only those delivered on American soil can be truly natural born. To date, no American to take the presidential oath has had an official birthplace outside the 50 states.

Photo surfaces of smiling Clintons with Tony Rezko

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:09:28 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: drudgereport.com

**INTERNET EXCLUSIVE**

Photo surfaces of smiling Clintons with Tony Rezko.

MORE...

Clinton injected the indicted developer's name this week in debate with Obama: 'I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.'

Clinton tells NBC 'TODAY' show on Friday: 'I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I don't know the man. I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door.'

Developing...

AP: TOP 10 NEWS STORIES '07

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:06:14 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: 2007's top 10 stories, as voted by AP members

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

1. VIRGINIA TECH KILLINGS:

2. MORTGAGE CRISIS:

3. IRAQ WAR:

4. OIL PRICES:

5. CHINESE EXPORTS:

6. GLOBAL WARMING:

7. BRIDGE COLLAPSE:

8. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN:

9. IMMIGRATION DEBATE

10. IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM:

Tags: news, year-end, countdown

Hillary plants question in Republican debate

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:40:50 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.townhall.com

It turns out that Keith Kerr, retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve, who submitted a YouTube question about gays in the military, is actually a member of Hillary Clinton's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Americans For Hillary Steering Committee. He's also part of a film production crew trying overturn the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

[Video]

UPDATE: In the final seconds of the post-debate coverage, Anderson Cooper acknowledges that CNN messed this up and states that CNN did not know that Kerr has a position within the Clinton campaign and that had they known, they would have disclosed the association.

Tags: debate, republicans, clinton