EDWARDS MAKES IT OFFICIAL; ARI SAYS NO; GIBBONS SKATES; FORD DEAD AT 93.
December 28th, 2006
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.EDWARDS MAKES IT OFFICIAL; ARI SAYS NO; GIBBONS SKATES.
Former US Senator and 2004 VP nominee John Edwards (D-NC) officially announced his candidacy for President on Thursday in New Orleans. Actually, he announced it online a few hours ahead of schedule, but the formal announcement is in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where Edwards and his staffers will volunteer time to work on the continuing effort to rebuild the poor neighborhood destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Focusing on issues of economic justice, Edwards vows to make the eradication of poverty in America his top priority. His other leading concerns are to "provide moral leadership in the world ... guarantee universal health care for every American ... [and] lead the fight against global warming" ... Despite recent published reports to the contrary, former Bush Administration Press Secretary Ari Fleisher said Wednesday he will not be a candidate for Congress in New York in 2008 ... Prosecutors in Nevada have cleared Governor-elect Jim Gibbons (R) of sexual assault charges that arose from a purported a drunken, late night, parking lot altercation he had in Las Vegas with a waitress just two weeks before the election. Prosecutors said the evidence was inconclusive and not sufficient to sustain a belief they would have prevailed at trial. Gibbons and others tied to the Gibbons campaign remain under investigation for related witness intimidation charges involving the women in the days immediately after the incident.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.28.06 | Permalink | postCount('122806a');
PRESIDENT FORD DEAD AT AGE 93.
President Gerald R. Ford (R) died in the early morning hours on Wednesday at age 93. While best remembered for his full pardon of President Nixon -- an act historians now deem a courageous and correct act that helped heal the nation's Watergate wounds -- he is also credited with being a decent, modest man who restoring a much-needed sense of integrity to the Presidency. Ford was the last President from the almost vanished Eisenhower-Rockefeller-Nixon "moderate" wing of the GOP. He barely survived a bruising nomination challenge from Ronald Reagan in the 1976 primaries, then bounced back from a major gap in the polls to lose to Carter by a small margin. Ford's campaign seemingly closed the gap just a little too late, as he would likely have won based upon polling trends had the election been a week or two later. Before being selected as VP by Nixon in 1973, Ford served in the US House for 26 years. Ford rose to be House Minority Whip and later -- after deposing the incumbent in a challenge -- House Minority Leader. In his final years, Ford became more outspoken in defense of his moderate wing of the party. He was vocal in support of abortion and gay rights, and critical of the the political influence of the Religious Right. The various memorial and funeral services will take place on several days over the next week in California, then DC and finally Michigan, starting on Friday. Ford will be buried on the grounds of his Presidential museum in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. A personal aside: I met Ford once -- just a handshake and a hello -- on the ski slopes in Vail in the early 1990s. While I should have expected the former college football star (two national championships) to be a large guy, I was still struck by how strong and athletic he appeared to be (and he would have been around 80 then).
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.28.06 | Permalink | postCount('122806b');
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.28.06 | Permalink | postCount('122806c');
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