Hey folks,One of the big news stories today is,
"Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was hailed as a hero for his response to the September 11 attacks, has taken a step toward entering the 2008 presidential race, U.S. media reported on Monday.
Giuliani, a Republican, has filed papers to form an exploration committee for a run to succeed President George W. Bush in the White House, the reports said.
Giuliani's spokeswoman, Sunny Mindel, had no comment."
Memory test time. Remember I told you this on August 24, 2006 that he was running. There was a news blurb that said he was "No question about it." But then Newsmax reported he was waiting to see what would happen in these past elections. I said,
"I hope the ones that reported him saying he was running "No questions about it" were just incorrect. I hope by him waiting and watching what happens in the mid terms, isn’t a sign that he wavers in tough decisions. But we would really have to get to know him better on a national scale. He was great for NY. He COULD be great for the country."
Now he has filed papers. I hope this time is for real. Now is the time that we will see all the names and people come out to test the waters and to make a run for it. An actual "battle royal" of sorts. Rudy did say back then he hoped that Hillary was going to run. He said,
"Hillary probably has the distinction of being the best fund-raiser for the Democratic Party – and the best fund-raiser for the Republican Party," the former New York City mayor declared.
"It’s true she creates a lot of passion on both sides."
"Democrats seem to support her as their main candidate for president . . . and it seems like Republicans are just waiting for her to be the candidate so they can vote against her."
This is true. However, Newt Gingrich has also said he is looking into it. Others will come out of the woodwork as we move closer. Imagine if it breaks down to be Giuliani, vs Clinton, vs Independent Joe Lieberman. That would be one interesting race.
We have two years to see what is going to happen in our government. US News and World Report broke it down like this on the Nov. 10. They let you know how the new leaders were. They reported,
"Appropriations -West Virginia's Robert Byrd is the longest-serving senator in American history, has been on Appropriations since 1959, and has been its chairman or ranking minority member since 1989. In 1990, Byrd proudly announced that he wanted "to be West Virginia's billion-dollar industry,'' and he has been extremely aggressive at bringing money to his state. A staunch defender of the Senate's power, he is known as a fierce critic of Bush's tax cuts and one of the most consistent and vocal opponents of the Iraq war.
Armed Services- Michigan Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record)'s calm demeanor belies his strong opposition to Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq and the administration's handling of the war since then. In the run-up to the invasion, Levin urged the United States to seek U.N. approval for going to war, and he has used his position as the committee's ranking minority member to highlight prisoner abuse, secret CIA prisons, and military spending he sees as wasteful. This year, he was the driving force behind a failed nonbinding resolution urging a withdrawal from Iraq by the end of the year.
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs- Ranking Democrat Paul Sarbanes is retiring, so the chairmanship will pass to Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record). Connecticut has long been a center for insurance companies, and Dodd has faithfully represented them and opposed trial lawyers.
Budget- Nicknamed "the chart man" for his love of financial graphs, North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record) has been outspoken against the deficit spending of the Bush administration. He opposed the Bush tax cuts but was one of 11 Democratic senators to vote for the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill.
Energy and Natural Resources -Working largely behind the scenes, New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman (news, bio, voting record) has proved his willingness to cooperate with Republicans on energy legislation. He generally favors efforts to encourage renewable energy development and tighten standards for automobile fuel economy and energy efficiency for appliances, and he will very likely bring to the chairmanship a focus on global warming.
Finance -Though you wouldn't know it from looking at its statewide officeholders, Montana is a red state, a fact Sen. Max Baucus (news, bio, voting record) seems keenly aware of. He has worked closely with Republican Finance Chairman Charles Grassley at producing bipartisan consensus and will most likely continue to do so now that their roles are reversed. He is, however, a partisan when it comes to Bush administration plans for Social Security.
Foreign Relations -Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is not as strident about the Iraq war as some of his Democratic colleagues; he is harshly critical of the administration's handling of the war but does not back wholesale withdrawal. The position could score points with people on both sides of the political spectrum, and Biden will probably be a leading voice as the Democratic Party refines its position on Iraq.
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions- Massachusetts's unabashedly liberal Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) has been a long-standing supporter of minimum wage hikes and improving access to healthcare. The same issues have been noted by Democratic leaders as priorities in the new Congress, and Kennedy is set to be a leader in both efforts. He initially supported President Bush's No Child Left Behind plan for education but has since been critical of its implementation.
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs- Fresh off his victory as an independent against Democratic nominee Ned Lamont, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman received a strong mandate from voters for a foreign policy agenda that includes dogged support for the Iraq war. With a slim one-seat majority in the Senate, Democrats will have to reckon with Lieberman when promoting changes in Iraq. But for all the praise GOP leaders heaped on him during the campaign, Lieberman is no Republican and will most likely use his position as chairman to continue to oppose the Bush administration's environmental policies.
Intelligence -Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia voted for the Iraq war resolution in 2003 but has since said he regretted the decision and has been a strong voice for investigations into the intelligence used to promote the war. He was one of a handful of senators who voted against the confirmation of CIA Director Porter Goss but expressed cautious praise this week for the nomination of former CIA Director Robert Gates to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Judiciary- Republicans accused Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of obstructing confirmation of Bush's judiciary nominees when he held the post from 2001 to 2003, and the president's vision of crafting a conservative court will probably have to be toned down now. Leahy voted to confirm John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court but against Samuel Alito. Moderate Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), himself no stranger to rankling the administration, will go back to being minority ranking member."
Yes with Lieberman and New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman , we will most likely increase our talks and spending money on the non-existent "Global Warming" debate. Now the new report shows,
"Nearly three quarters of all bird species in northeast Australia and more than a third in Europe could become extinct unless efforts to stop global warming are stepped up, a report said.
Up to 72 percent of bird species in northeastern Australia and 38 percent of bird species in Europe could disappear completely if the planet's temperature continues to rise, according to the international environmental group WWF"
Two weeks ago it was all the fish in the sea. Man bad, Nature good. {Sigh} Not to mention we keep finding NEW species all the time that we never even knew about. I guess that would be more for us to kill. {Laughing}
Yes folks, the next two years will be interesting. Those that chose, {I have no idea why anyone would want to} will be throwing in their names, getting in the ring, and letting the battles begin. I wish Rudy luck. I did then, I do now, think that he would make a fine President. We’ll see.
Peter
Sources:
US News and World Report
Reuters-"Giuliani moves toward 2008 presidential bid"
"Global warming threatens 'large-scale' bird extinctions: report"
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