what possible advange to the Chicago political machine
Posted By: can a Christian A-Am endorsing McCain be? on 2008-10-19
In Reply to: Just so you know about Snopes - JD
Where's the logic in this warning?
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If you are fine with the Chicago political machine...
that explains it. His entrenchment with them and his considering Richard Daley among his mentors tells me all I need to know about Rahm Emanuel, and it also tells me that Obama was being less than truthful about his Chicago connections and trying to distance himself from the very people he is now bringing into his inner circle.
Does that help explain my concern?
You just gotta love our political machine!
And we can't forget Sonny Bono!!
fear machine
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/10/01/ldt.tucker.economy.cnn
The big republican machine does not care....sm
that Palin doesn't have the qualifications to be president if JM dies in office. They know that they have a patsy that will do as they say, nothing different than the last 8 years. She will not even know they are patronizing her. They will just do whatever they have to stay in power at whatever cost to our country. I am so afraid that this will lead to our ultimate downfall. I do pray that I am wrong.
Yer right. Get that woman a CPAP machine!
HAHAHAHAHAHA
by regurgitating the spoon fed lies from the Obama machine, you mean...nm
chicago offered help
Chicago offered help as early as last SUNDAY...Bush
says No Thanks
Daley 'shocked' as feds reject aid
September 3, 2005
BY STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN AND SCOTT FORNEK Staff
Reporters
A visibly angry Mayor Daley said the city had offered
emergency, medical and technical help to the federal
government as early as Sunday to assist people in the
areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina, but as of Friday,
the only things the feds said they wanted was a single
tank truck.
That truck, which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency requested to support an Illinois-based medical
team, was en route Friday.
We are ready to provide more help than they have
requested. We are just waiting for their call, said
Daley, adding that he was shocked that no one seemed
to want the help.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said he
would call for congressional hearings into the federal
government's preparations and response.
The response was achingly slow, and that, I think, is
a view shared by Democrats, Republicans, wealthy and
poor, black and white, the freshman senator said. I
have not met anybody who has watched this crisis
evolve over the last several days who is not just
furious at how poorly prepared we appeared to be.
Response 'baffling'
The South Side Democrat called FEMA's slow response
baffling.
I don't understand how you could have a situation
where you've got several days' notice of an enormous
hurricane building in the Gulf Coast, you know that
New Orleans is 6 feet below sea level. ... The notion
that you don't have good plans in place just does not
make sense, Obama said.
Obama said he expects his counterparts in Louisiana,
Mississippi or Alabama will call for congressional
hearings, but he is ready if they do not. It's
heartbreaking and infuriating and, I think, is
embarrassing to the American people.''
Daley said the city offered 36 members of the
firefighters' technical rescue teams, eight emergency
medical technicians, search-and-rescue equipment, more
than 100 police officers as well as police vehicles
and two boats, 29 clinical and 117 non-clinical health
workers, a mobile clinic and eight trained personnel,
140 Streets and Sanitation workers and 29 trucks, plus
other supplies. City personnel are willing to operate
self-sufficiently and would not depend on local
authorities for food, water, shelter and other
supplies, he said.
Flanked at a Friday press conference by a who's who
from city government, religious organizations and
business, the mayor also announced formation of the
Chicago Helps Fund for storm victims.
I'm calling upon every resident of Chicago to donate
what they can afford, whether it's 50 cents or 50
dollars, the mayor said.
People can make tax-deductible cash or check donations
at any of Bank One's 330 Chicago area branches or by
check at Chicago Helps, c/o Bank One, 38891 Eagle Way,
Chicago 60678-1388. A phone line to take credit card
donations will be set up.
Churches were urged to take up collections this
Sunday, and firefighters are planning to collect at
major intersections this weekend.
In addition, donations will be taken at this weekend's
Jazz Fest in Grant Park, and $2 of every ticket
purchased through Ticketmaster for the Chicago Classic
football game at Soldier Field today will go to
hurricane relief. The Shedd Aquarium announced it will
donate $1 from every ticket sold this holiday weekend
to relief efforts and has set up donation stations
at the aquarium.
Homeless shelters enlisted
By midday Friday, Inner Voice, a private agency that
runs 27 homeless shelters for the city, had rounded up
space in unused facilities for about 2,000 storm
refugees, should they need it, said president Brady
Harden.
Ed Shurna, executive director of the Chicago Coalition
for the Homeless, suggested the city tap recently
vacated units at Cabrini-Green and Lathrop Homes that
were slated for demolition but still have heat and
electricity available.
Daley reiterated that students from stricken areas are
welcome to enroll in the Chicago Public Schools and in
the City Colleges. Cardinal Francis George on Friday
asked that Catholic schools in the archdiocese waive
tuition for displaced children.
More than 400 students have applied to Loyola
University Chicago, most coming from its sister Jesuit
school, Loyola University New Orleans. Half had been
admitted as of late afternoon Friday. Spokeswoman
Maeve Kiley said the school will honor their tuition
that they already paid.''
University of Illinois campuses in Urbana-Champaign
and Chicago have admitted more than 100 students,
including two foreign students who had Fulbright
scholarships to attend Tulane.
Northeastern said it would waive tuition and fees for
Illinois residents who already paid another school,
and would grant in-state tuition to out-of-state
students. Northwestern plans to let students pay what
they would have at their original school and forward
the money to that school.
Contributing: Andrew Herrmann, Dave Newbart
Why do any of you think Obama and his Chicago
nm
Who knows with Chicago politics.........sm
I had heard that the Rev. Jesse Jackson was interested in Obama's seat but I don't know if he was tied up in this particular fiasco or not.
I would imagine Obama might have something else for Ms. Jarr to do in his administration. Time will tell on that.
Chicago politics
It's no secret how corrupt Chicago politics are (& Illinois as a whole). They have the highest tax in the nation--10.25%! My sister lives there, and earns an excellent salary, yet gets taxed to death. Chicago is also quite fond of nepotism as well. We're talking dead voters and also taxes for all kinds of environmental stuff. Let us now forget the state tax as well.
Totally militant politics!
Chicago is no different that any other big city...sm
New York, Miami, LA and many others.
chicago rally
Maybe Oprah will show up.
Chicago crooks
right after the major Texas crooks.
She can drop the messiah off in Chicago along the way...
//
Here's hoping Chicago workers' sit-in and
good things to come. As Bank of America acquires Merrill-Lynch (whose CEO has the utter gall to request a $10 million bonus pay-out after the ML sell-out) they are refusing credit to Republic Windows and Doors out of Chicago after receiving $15 billion in TARP funds. The workers are fighting back to recover the pay and benefits they have already earned and their governor is backing them up. Now that's what I'm talkin' about !
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aw5QzWC86Vl8&refer=home
Change - Chicago Style
This is an e-mail my uncle, who lives in Illinois, sent.
Subject: Chicago
CHANGE - CHICAGO STYLE
Body count.
In the last six months 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago ,
221 killed in Iraq
The leadership in Illinois ....all Democrats.
Sens. Barack Obama & D*ick Durbin
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Gov. Rod Blogojevich
House leader Mike Madigan
Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike)
Mayor Richard M. Daley (son of former Mayor Richard J.
Daley).....
Chicago is a combat zone. Of course they're all blaming each
other.
Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any!
(Look them up if you want).
State pension fund $44 Billion in debt, worst in country.
Cook Co unty ( Chicago ) sales tax 10.25% highest in country.
Chicago school system, one of the worst in country.
This is the political culture that Obama comes from in
Illinois .
And he's gonna 'fix' Washington politics?
The mayor of Chicago also spoke this...sm
morning explaining the need for city employee layoffs.
Am more concerned about ALL the Chicago crooks!
nm
They should probably hurry before Barry from Chicago...
gets his national "security" police force going....
Obama's Chicago thugs, one after another, proves
nm
Chicago Annenberg Challenge Shutdown...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102302081.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
And Chicago Citizen of the Year in 1997
1. Was Ayers the leader of a terrorist group?
The FBI labeled the Weather Underground "a domestic terrorist group" whose members took credit for bombings of the U.S. Capitol, Pentagon and other government buildings. The bombings were designed to cause property damage, not hurt people. Ayers never has been accused of killing anybody.
But three Weather Underground members accidentally killed themselves while making bombs in New York City in 1970. In 1981, two police officers and a security guard were killed when other members of the group committed an armed robbery.
2. How long was Ayers "underground"?
Ayers and his wife, Weather Underground member Bernardine Dohrn, were on the lam 10 years before surrendering in 1980.
3. Were they ever convicted of "terrorism" charges?
No. Ayers faced federal riot and bombing-conspiracy charges, but those charges were dropped because of illegal wiretaps, break-ins and mail interceptions by authorities. Dohrn served less than a year behind bars for non-bombing activities tied to the group.
4. How are Ayers and Dohrn viewed now?
At least before this campaign, they were mainly seen as respected college professors. After getting his doctorate in education at Columbia University, Ayers joined the University of Illinois, where he gained a national reputation pushing innovative -- some say controversial -- approaches to educating at-risk youth. Dohrn has a national reputation for pushing reforms of the juvenile justice system. Ayers has published 15 books. He sits on civic boards with Mayor Daley, who in 1997 awarded Ayers the city's "Citizen of the Year" award. Ayers and Dohrn live in Hyde Park, not far from the Obamas.
5. So how well do Ayers and Obama know each other?
Ayers and Obama served on separate boards associated with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an education-reform group that Obama began chairing in March 1995 and continued to work with through 2000. Ayers served on the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, which made recommendations to the board on grant awards during those years. Ayers and Obama occasionally would see each other in those roles.
Also, Ayers served alongside Obama between December 1999 and December 2002 on the board of the not-for-profit Woods Fund of Chicago. That board met four times a year, and members would see each other at dinners the group hosted.
The RNC's statement that "Obama's first campaign was launched at a gathering at Mr. Ayers' home" stems from a 1995 "meet-and-greet" coffee that Ayers and Dohrn held for Obama at their home when Obama was making his first run for the Illinois Senate. Obama's presidential campaign has described the event as an opportunity for Ayers and Dohrn to introduce Obama to their neighbors.
In 2001, Ayers gave $200 to Obama's campaign. A year ago, the two met walking through the neighborhood where they both live.
6. How does Ayers respond to the Republicans' charges?
He doesn't. He has declined to comment to the Sun-Times or any other media since Sen. Hillary Clinton first raised him as a potential problem for Obama in April during the Democratic primary.
7. What does Obama say about Ayers?
During a primary debate, Obama underplayed his relationship with Ayers: "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know, and who I have not received some official endorsement from," Obama said. "He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. The notion that somehow, as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense."
8. Is it fair for McCain to criticize Obama on this issue?
Factcheck.org has this take: "Voters may differ in how they see Ayers, or how they see Obama's interactions with him. We're making no judgment calls on those matters. What we object to are the McCain-Palin campaign's attempts to sway voters -- in ads and on the stump -- with false and misleading statements about the relationship, which was never very close. And Ayers is more than a former 'terrorist,' he's also a well-known figure in the field of education."
9. Has Ayers ever apologized for what he did with the Weather Underground?
Not exactly. In 2001, Ayers told the Sun-Times he regretted that "people were hurt, that three of my dear friends were killed, that we were stupid, immature, intolerant and unwise. I regret that I hurt people's feelings." He did not regret "throwing myself as wholeheartedly as I could figure out into opposition to war and to the system of racial injustice."
A review of Ayers' memoir Fugitive Days that appeared in the New York Times on Sept. 11, 2001, quoted Ayers saying, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Three days after the terrorist attacks, Ayers clarified: "My memoir is, from start to finish, a condemnation of terrorism . . ."
10. Are all former alleged terrorists/radicals shunned?
No. Former IRA bomber Gerry Adams is welcomed at the White House as a peacemaker. Former PLO leader Yasser Arafat was too. Former Students for a Democratic Society member and Ayers friend Tom Hayden was elected to the California State Assembly. Former Black Panther Bobby Rush is a congressman representing Chicago, as is former Puerto Rican independence activist Luis Gutierrez.
Obama goes sandwich shopping in Chicago
//
No joke! And no, I doubt they have any friends in Chicago, either.
But apparently they have some friends in Detroit. What I meant by my post was to get a little more background into some of these people that are begging for money - our money - without any kind of strings attached. We didn't really get to do that with the banking thing - happend too fast - and now look where that got us? Where is it going to end? I joke with my husband that he should start his trek to DC to get his bail-out because ever since the real estate business went to the crapper, his business is hurting - he does web pages and virtual tours for realtors. Why not? Everyone else is lining up, may as well get there early!
Obama comes from the group of Chicago crooks.
nm
Crooks? No, look at Chicago and Obama's friends.
nm
That's why Osamabama moved to Chicago insteady of staying in NY.
nm
GOP blanket bombs on Chicago's dem civic leaders
Right-wing rants that cite email sources are suspect at best. Google any one heading included in yesterday's post and discover links to the "common sense" of the Getting' After Left show and a barrage of right-wing blogs. Surprise, surprise.
BODY COUNT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
Despite being the 3rd largest US city, Chicago's murder rate ranks 20th behind much less populous cities Baltimore MD, Newark NJ, St. Louis MO, Oakland CA, Cincinnati OH, Buffalo NY, Kansas City MO, Miami FL, Pittsburg PA, and Cleveland OH. Guess who is ranked #21 (same general category)? That would be McC's hometown of Phoenix Arizona. Chicago has experienced an overall decline in crime since the 1990s.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/
You seem to be equating Iraq fatalities to murder. I agree. On that Iraq body count figure, since you are talking civilians in Chicago, it is only fair to include those folks in your first six months of 2008 figure. In 2008, the average daily violent occupation-related loss of life via suicide attacks, vehicle bombs, gunfire and executions is 27 x 182.5 days in first six months = 4,927 + you 221 = 5148. While we are at it, may as well throw out that total civilian body count in Iraq, the very most conservative documented count being 88,373, or World Trade Center x30.
"COMBAT ZONE"
Naturally, no reliable data is available on this claim, it being a subjective pronouncement that seeks to pontificate.
STATE PENSION FUND
Here we see the smear leap from the Chicago to the state level...an apples to oranges, smoke and mirrors maneuver the GOP attack machine thought they might slip by unattentive readers. OK. Let's go there. As recently as February of this year, we find the following: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/02/25/daily29.html
Center on Budget and Policy and Priorities: McCain's red state: Arizona Budget Deficit Worst in the Country. Follow link for all the fascinating details.
http://www.cbpp.org/1-15-08sfp.htm Info updated 08/05/08
For starters, state budget deficits are ranked in terms of shortfall percentages.
In the US, 29 states face budget shortfalls totaling 48 billion in 2009. Notice how similar this 29-state total is to the amount in the GOP smear that claimed a $44 BILLION dollar deficit IL pension plan funds. Arizona's shortfall percentage = 17.8%, now in second place behind the nations most populous state, California. Illinois' shortfall percentage = 6.6%, making AZ's budget deficit nearly 3 times that of IL. So, if we hold dems (and by pub logic, O) responsible for Chicago, then who, pray tell is responsible for Arizona, the political culture from which JM comes from?
COUNTY SALES TAX
To suggest that any party's local (especially municipal or county) tax schemes would be reproduced on a national level is downright ridiculous. Tax structures are entirely different and wildly varied from state to state. Speaking of states, I came across this link http://www.fairtaxation.org/facts/sales_tax_rank.php which shows the Arizona sales tax rate ranks higher (#10) at 7.8% than Illinois at 7.6%.
CHICAGO SCHOOLS WORST IN NATION
I bit hard to address this second subjective pronouncement that seeks to pontificate. In terms of WHAT exactly is it the worst? They are certainly not an uneducated bunch of folks:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a80Zfbu_.k4g&refer=us University of Chicago has produced 82 Nobel prize winners and 10 Nobel Prize winners in economics, more than any university in the US. The John Bates Clark Medal, bestowed every two years, recognizes the nation's most outstanding economist under 40. U of Chicago has produced more than any other US institution, 6 out of the 31 recipients. Seems like those Chicago economists are sort of, well....exceptional.
I really could go on and on about Chicago's booming economy but I am out of time here. Maybe later then.
Chicago Street Scene....sounds a little scary sm
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/11/the_street_scen.html
LOL I doubt Bush/Cheney have many friends in Chicago
most of them seem to be on Wall Street. Hopefully the old Chicago "families" won't have to tap the taxpayers.
Chicago Tea Party CNN's Susan Roesgen missed. sm
According to CNN, this is not family viewing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpeScv6EPgQ
YIKES! If you would not call Barry from Chicago a far liberal....
then please, PLEASE, WHO do you think IS a far liberal???
Well, here's a liberal columnist at the Chicago Tribune defining FISA
again, and the Chicago Tribune is hardly a conservative paper...and note what Clinton's deputy Atty General Jamie Gorelick said
*****
The passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 1978 did not alter the constitutional situation. That law created the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that can authorize surveillance directed at an agent of a foreign power, which includes a foreign terrorist group. Thus, Congress put its weight behind the constitutionality of such surveillance in compliance with the law's procedures.
But as the 2002 Court of Review noted, if the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches, FISA could not encroach on the president's constitutional power.
Every president since FISA's passage has asserted that he retained inherent power to go beyond the act's terms. Under President Clinton, deputy Atty. Gen. Jamie Gorelick testified that the Department of Justice believes, and the case law supports, that the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes.
FISA contains a provision making it illegal to engage in electronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute. The term electronic surveillance is defined to exclude interception outside the U.S., as done by the NSA, unless there is interception of a communication sent by or intended to be received by a particular, known United States person (a U.S. citizen or permanent resident) and the communication is intercepted by intentionally targeting that United States person. The cryptic descriptions of the NSA program leave unclear whether it involves targeting of identified U.S. citizens. If the surveillance is based upon other kinds of evidence, it would fall outside what a FISA court could authorize and also outside the act's prohibition on electronic surveillance.
*****
So the writer of the article determined, as backed up by Dep. Atty. General, Jamie Gorelick that FISA really left an open loophole, and the ultimate decision on how far to persue a particular person lies with the president.
Reply to phoney outrage over Chicago politics is on message.
from which so many repugs on this board suffer and the silence they maintain on W's reign of terror and corruption.
political ads
First of all, I have to say I am so sick of the ads; I think they should limit TV so they can't start months and months before the election and then can't take up every single commercial break. But my question is, has anyone else noticed the ads change according to what the public is saying. The public sentiment runs one way, the ad reinforces that sentiment. The public says something else and the ad changes to what the public wants to hear. I want to tell them "get a platform and stick to it. Let us know what you really think and what your real plans are so we can make an informed decision." All this back and forth is making me dizzy and just more proof that you just can't trust them.
I never said what political persuasian I was. sm
You presume an awful lot and have attacked here more than once without provocation. As far as Chelsea, I don't see her mentioned here. However, making no presumptions, a Christian person does not post as you do. So am I to assume you post as more than one? It isn't nice to have presumptions made about oneself, is it?
The Christian right isn't political at all. sm
There are many Democrats who belong to the Christian right. I am not sure why you feel politicizing religion is so important, but I realize how important labels are to you. It's unfortunate. Jimmy Carter just recently came out and spoke against the Democratic party for abandoning God. If Christians feel they have to place to turn but the *right*, whose fault is that? Pat Robertson doesn't speak for me. However, he is a good man and a Christian man. As far as calling for an assassination that's bogus and was taken out of context and anyone who cared to do their research would know that. But it's just way more convenient and fits into the left's philosophy to damn him to hell. THERE' s the left for you.
Political civil war that really does sum it up....sm
And it really is a sad state of affairs.
You raise a good point about bin Laden, I never thought of that. He could have died of natural causes and be buried somewhere. It's not like he was the most vigorous being (healthwise). Who knows?
Catching him two years ago would have meant more politically and *antiterror* wise than it would mean today.
Next we will be checking the political....
affiliation of serial killers. Sigh. What do you think Osama bin Laden would register as if he could register to vote....ummmm....don't think it would be with the Christian right.....? Are we going to try to list the perverts and see whose list is the longest? Why even post this, when you have cigar-wielding Bill Clinton on your list? Do you honestly think this man in the bathroom did what he did because he is a Republican? If so, that means Billy must have wielded the cigar because he is a Democrat....?
I repeat...why even post this?
political comedy
You are right. It is so ABSURD that it is funny. 
BS from a political watchdog?
Do you even know what that means?
But it would be political hay if it were an Obama
@
Making political hay.
These dadgone Republicans will make hay out of anything even if it makes them look like idgits.
This is what happens when a political camp
ignorance as they support candidates that do not even have the sense to equip their supporters with enough ammunition to be able to defend their own party's own platform positions. Their white matter is so atrophied from lack of exercise that they are not able to come up with anything except vacuous statements such as these.
They travel in packs and set out on their hunts, in search of the slur, slander, dirt and lies, on a mission to convince themselves and each other of their social superiority and to bolster their delusions of grandeur, couched in their unfounded beliefs that they are the Ones...the pure, true, real Americans and that the opposing candidate and the "theys" that support him are the "Others," the cursed Moslem terrorists, subversive socialists, Anti-American militant camp of racial mongrels, the great unwashed underbelly of the nation, composed of factions of militant tribal warriors whose shared vision is to bring their country down.
Their eyes are glazed over after weeks and weeks of speaking with forked tongues as they get themselves all caught up in the rapture of self-righteous indigation and self assurance. The fervor of their mob mentality is reaching ever such higher proportions, whipped up into frenzies of verbal volleys, the rhetorical equivalent of suicide bombs, which they hurl without abandon across vast stretchs of cyberspace, confident their strikes are surgical and secretly hoping to take down as much collateral damage as possible. They start to mistake their bully pulpit sermons for strength in numbers, all forceful and mighty, these champions of truth and might.
This process is a natural by-product of weeks upon weeks of chanting hate-speech mantra, reinforced by spinmeisters and hammering hatred that issues forth from their fearless leaders at campaign rallies. This causes them to eventually adopt this kind of arrogance that ultimately morphs into some sort suspended, animated, twisted logic that actually allows them to believe that they are calling the faithful to arms, energizing their base, and calling forth armies of fellow true, pure Americans, marching to the polls down the road to nowhere.
Face it, Bradley, your guy is all washed up and your party's going down.
Political nuttiness.
Who cares? I'll vote for the person I feel is the right one for the job and all of this political nattering isn't improving your line counts, is it?
Okay. use your kid to get your political opinion
nm
That is if political boards like this are
allowed to remain in existence when Obama's regime takes over.
Thank goodness, no more political ads! nm
))
Political humor
Subject: Will Obama get Osama, or will Osama get Obama?
After numerous rounds of 'We don't even know if Osama is still
alive', Barrack Hussein Obama has now been telling everyone he will
capture Osama Bin Laden when elected.
So, Osama himself decided to send Barrack Hussein Obama a letter in
his own handwriting to let him know he was still in the game.
Obama opened the letter and it contained a single line of coded
message:
370H-SSV-0773H
Obama was baffled, so he e-mailed it to Howard Dean.
Dean and the DNC and his aides had no clue either, so they sent it
to Joe Biden.
Joe Biden could not solve so it was sent to the FBI and the CIA.
Eventually they asked John McCain and his Staff to look at it.
And within minutes McCain's Staff e-mailed Obama with this reply:
'Tell Obama he's holding the message upside down'.
Top 10 political newcomers
OMG! Get ready for a big shock by one certain individual who made the list!
Top 10 political newcomers of 2008
By: Alexander Burns
January 3, 2009 07:09 PM EST
Even in a year dominated by oversized political personalities — Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain chief among them — a few lesser-known newcomers helped define the electoral landscape.
These new arrivals on the national stage — relative unknowns who burst onto the scene, behind-the-scenes players who suddenly took on high-profile roles, politicians who took their act beyond their state’s borders — made 2008 a livelier, more engaging political year and seem likely to continue shaping the political environment for better or for worse.
Gov. Sarah Palin: The Alaska governor was a significant political figure in her own right before 2008, but in the span of just a few months the former Wasilla mayor exploded onto the national scene to become the first woman nominated for national office by the Republican Party and one of the most controversial political figures in the country.
Her introduction to the public wasn’t as smooth as it could have been: After a dazzling performance at the Republican National Convention, a series of campaign-trail missteps diminished Palin’s electoral appeal. But the GOP base never stopped loving Palin, and despite her ticket’s defeat, Palin remains an enormously popular conservative who’s poised to help determine the future of the party.
Caroline Kennedy: The last living child of President John F. Kennedy, the 51-year-old Manhattanite emerged from her famously private lifestyle in late January, writing a New York Times op-ed endorsing Obama for president.
A joint endorsement rally with her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), followed a day later, vaulting Caroline into the front lines of the presidential campaign. After the end of the Democratic primaries, she headed up Obama’s vice presidential selection process with Eric Holder and spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
Now she’s reportedly a leading contender for the Senate seat Clinton will vacate when she takes up her new post at the State Department. Quite a debut, even for a Kennedy.
David Plouffe: An unlikely celebrity, the Obama campaign manager usually attracts distinctly un-glitzy adjectives like “soft-spoken” and “camera-shy.” But as the operations guy behind the Obama phenomenon, Plouffe cultivated a reputation as a no-nonsense political chess master.
Plouffe won’t take a position within the administration, though he may continue to play a role shaping Obama’s movement outside the White House. He is, however, cashing in: he’s already signed on with the Washington Speakers Bureau and is penning a future best-seller, tentatively titled “The Audacity to Win.”
Sen.-elect Kay Hagan (D-N.C.): Few expected this obscure state legislator to have much of a shot against a political titan like Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Sure, Hagan was the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s anointed candidate, but most political prognosticators expected her campaign would fall short in the end.
But after winning her party’s nomination in May, Hagan proved an adept fundraiser and relentlessly attacked Dole as an out-of-touch Washington insider. By the fall, Hagan was surging, and when Dole blasted back with ads linking Hagan to an atheist group it backfired. Hagan won by 9 points.
In a non-presidential year, Hagan would likely have attracted more attention as a political giant-killer. Hagan will have to settle for a humbler title: United States senator.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.): Like Palin, Corker held high office before 2008. But it wasn’t until the Senate’s showdown over a proposed auto industry bailout that the former Chattanooga mayor distinguished himself as a serious player on the Hill.
Drawing praise from the GOP leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as well as from Democrats like Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Corker took the lead in shaping the Republican counterproposal to Democrats’ aid plan for Detroit.
His performance over the past month — which even a partisan like Durbin conceded was “magnificent” — makes him one of the few Republicans who looks better after Nov. 4 than he did before, standing out as a possible future leader in a party that’s been largely decapitated.
Meg Whitman: The former ebay CEO left her corporate post only about nine months ago. But thanks to her work on behalf of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s primary campaign, and the McCain-Palin ticket in the general election, Whitman is on her way to becoming a significant national political figure.
Though Palin ultimately took the prize, Whitman was buzzed about for the vice presidency after McCain listed her among the three wisest people he knew (the other two were Gen. David Petraeus and John Lewis, the Democratic congressman and civil rights hero). Whitman also delivered a solid, if unmemorable, speech at the Republican National Convention.
She’s now eyeing the 2010 California governor’s race, and with her business background and deep pockets Whitman has a real shot. If she were elected governor of the most-populous state in the nation, Whitman would immediately be find herself on the short list of Republican presidential contenders.
Beau Biden: During the Democratic convention, few speakers inspired as much on-air swooning as son of the now vice president-elect, Joe Biden. CNN’s David Gergen called Beau Biden’s address a “remarkably good speech” and “a home run.”
The 39-year-old Delaware attorney general's National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq in October. When he comes back, he’ll have the chance to put his famous name to use when his father’s Senate seat comes up for a special election in 2010. He hasn’t said that he’ll seek the job, but Joe Biden made his own preferences clear by engineering the appointment of a placeholder for the seat.
“It is no secret that I believe my son, Attorney General Beau Biden, would make a great United States senator, just as I believe he has been a great attorney general,” Biden said in a statement after his longtime aide, Ted Kaufman, was tapped for the seat in November.
Gov. David Paterson: When Paterson was elected lieutenant governor in 2006, New York’s political class viewed him to be a senator-in-waiting, ready to step up in the event Hillary Rodham Clinton won the presidency. An affable political operator with a wry sense of humor, Paterson was expected to spend a term or two in former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s shadow until the crusading former prosecutor decided to go national.
That plan didn’t quite work out. Spitzer resigned in disgrace after a personal scandal, leaving Paterson in charge. Paterson, it seems, had a few skeletons of his own in the closet. Fresh off revelations of his own personal indiscretions, Paterson was then confronted by the Wall Street crisis, which has left New York’s budget in a shambles. Now he finds himself at the center of the succession spectacle over Clinton’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck: This slot might actually be an ensemble prize given to the entire cast of ABC's “The View,” the women’s chat show which emerged this year as morning television’s most entertaining and unlikely forum for political debate.
But if there’s one member of the show’s cast who stood out, it was former “Survivor” contestant-turned-conservative pundit Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
Cut from a different mold than your typical right-of-center talking head, Hasselbeck frequently clashed with her considerably more liberal co-hosts, including the venerable Barbara Walters, by defending the McCain-Palin campaign. In October, Hasselbeck went so far as to campaign with the GOP vice presidential candidate in Florida.
If there were any doubts about her stature as a rising GOP pundit, they were dispelled last week. After complaining on the air that she didn’t receive an invitation this year’s White House Christmas party, Hasselbeck promptly received a apology from the White House. It turned out she had been invited but her invitation did not arrive on time.
Rachel Maddow: Since taking over the 9 p.m. slot on MSNBC, Maddow has posted strong ratings by finally giving liberal cable-watchers the show they’ve always wanted. Less combative than Chris Matthews and less self-righteous than Keith Olbermann, the former Rhodes Scholar has defined herself as a thoughtful, sharp — and sharp-tongued — host who presents her perspective on the news without being cranky, gimmicky and repetitive.
For Maddow, as for all liberal commentators, the question is how she’ll keep her audience engaged without the Bush administration serving as a foil. Judging from her quick start, it’s a good bet she’ll figure out a way.
some political humor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzlIm_T8xjM&feature=channel
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