John Edwards, seen in this NWN behind-the-scenes video of last month’s Nevada
Presidential forum, shows his sophistication and humor on the campaign trail.
** UPDATE: Pelosi’s struggle seems to have paid off, with the aforementioned Californians agreeing to remove roadblocks to passage of the Iraq pull-out measure.
** PELOSI STRUGGLES WITH LEFTY CALIFORNIANS ON IRAQ PULL-OUT MEASURE. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the longtime San Francisco Democrat, is struggling to pass her measure calling for a pull-out of American troops from Iraq by September 2008. On the one hand, she has newly elected moderates who are not anxious to appear too dovish even as they seriously question the Bush war strategy. On the other, she has her fellow Californians, including several who are actually well to her left, liberal though she is. Four of them vow to vote against her measure, even as they promise not to campaign against it. They are LA’s Maxine Waters (perhaps last seen here, before the report of her in-caucus tiff with Pelosi on this issue — personally leading protesters heckling black ministers meeting with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, then declining to comment on her actions to me), LA’s Diane Watson, Oakland’s Barbara Lee (the only House member to vote against the Afghan War in the immediate aftermath of 9/11), and the North Bay’s Lynn Woolsey. The Senate defeated a measure that seems less stringent, on a 50 to 48 vote, and President George W. Bush has, of course, already vowed to veto Pelosi’s measure, should it ever reach his desk.
** DEMOCRATS HEADING WEST. The Democratic presidential candidates are all going to be in the West tomorrow. At 6 PM, there is a big rally in Las Vegas, sponsored by the Culinary Union. All the candidates are slated to be there, although John Edwards is reportedly, and not surprisingly, a bit iffy. Barack Obama has a fundraiser tomorrow night at the Mandalay Bay resort on the Vegas Strip. (Which is where, by an odd coincidence, I’m staying.) Tomorrow afternoon there is a press briefing by Democratic leaders, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern. Then Saturday morning all the candidates participate in the second Nevada Presidential forum, at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. This event, moderated by Time Magazine’s Karen Tumulty and co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress liberal think tank and SEIU, focuses on health care issues. C-SPAN is taping it, but I don’t know yet when it will air. For those of you with satellite access, the event is available live on LV1, affiliated with CBS.
** L.A. TIMES DISARRAY BURSTS INTO PUBLIC VIEW. The extraordinary disarray at the Los Angeles Times burst into public view this week with the controversy over the paper’s Sunday Opinion section, which I think is now called something like “Current” and then exploded with today’s resignation of editorial page editor Andres Martinez. Martinez, who I’ve never met and wouldn’t know if he parachuted through my skylight, decided to make Hollywood producer Brian Grazer the guest editor of this coming Sunday’s Opinion section. (Or “Current,” I guess.) But it turns out that his girlfriend is a PR person for Grazer. Oops. The publisher of the Times killed the entire Sunday opinion section and Martinez has just emotionally resigned from the paper.
I wrote dozens and dozens of columns for the LA Times but stopped some years ago when the inscrutable but brilliant Bob Berger left as the Op-Ed Page Editor. You had to be a pretty good interviewer to draw Berger out, which is how I decided to approach conversations with him, but once you did he was wicked smart in his insights. But he left as I was getting busy with other things, the Times continued its slide, which only accelerated with its failed, Ahab-like attempt to destroy Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2003 recall election, and today we have this sad spectacle.
** DEMOCRATS KIND OF OKAY IN OHIO. Ohio was perhaps the lynchpin state of the 2004 presidential election. George W. Bush won there narrowly over John Kerry, and retained the presidency. In a new Quinnipiac Poll of Ohio, all three of the leading Democrats lead or are at least tied with, the Republicans’ top three declared candidates. In the Democratic primary, Barack Obama has cut heavily into Hillary Clinton’s lead. Down by 25 in January, he now trails by 10 points, 32% to 22%, with 14% for Al Gore (who is probably not running) and 11% for John Edwards. On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani leads John McCain 31% to 20%. Newt Gingrich gets 8%, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson each get 6%.
All three Democrats best Mitt Romney by huge margins, basically by two to one. All three Democrats lead John McCain, but by the mid to high single digits. Obama is tied with Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani. Edwards is in a statistical dead, with a one-point edge. Clinton does the best against Giuliani, with a three-point lead.
** GIULIANI TO CALIFORNIA. Rudy Giuliani returns to California this weekend for some fundraising and meetings with supporters. After one meeting, the Republican presidential frontrunner will hold a press availability late Saturday afternoon in Newport Beach.
** BIDEN TO CALIFORNIA. Senator Joe Biden, the Foreign Relations Committee chairman and Democratic presidential candidate, brings his campaign to California today for some fundraising. And an appearance tonight on The Tonight Show. Joining Biden and host Jay Leno on the show will be actor Will Farrell and musicial guest Paolo Nutini.
** EDWARDS CAMPAIGN CONTINUES. After revealing that things looked brighter with later consultation than they did at first, John and Elizabeth Edwards have announced that her cancer has returned in the bone, making it incurable, but his presidential campaign will continue.
UPDATE: A source associated with the Edwards campaign says that the presidential candidate intends to suspend his campaign.
** JOHN EDWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT FORTHCOMING. Former Senator John Edwards, leading in Iowa and running third in national Democratic presidential polling, has an announcement at 9 AM this morning regarding his wife’s health and the future of his campaign. Elizabeth Edwards suffered from cancer, as announced the day after Edwards lost the vice presidential race in 2004, but has been in remission. Edwards left the campaign trail earlier in the week to visit his wife’s doctor with her. Then late yesterday he scheduled today’s news conference, which comes at noon in his home state of North Carolina.
** NEW YORK MOVE DOESN’T HELP FRONTRUNNERS MUCH. New York’s me-too move responding to California by moving its presidential primary to February 5th doesn’t help the frontrunners, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, all that much. That’s because, among other reasons, they are from New York. If a candidate can’t win his or her own state, he or she is in very serious trouble.
** Track global and national energy prices in near real time via Bloomberg. Crude oil prices are in the $59 to $62 per barrel range. Prices shot up, reportedly, on expectation of increased refinery activity leading into the summer driving season.
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1. Jonas Blane:It’s too bad about Edwards and his wife. He is a good candidate.
Mar 22, 2007 - 8:12 am 2. Ann:I hope Mrs. Edwards is going to be okay. However, if her cancer has come back so soon it is probably worse.
Mar 22, 2007 - 8:36 am 3. Tommy Boy:Candy Crowley on CNN just said that the Edwards campaign is “pushing back hard” on a Politico.com report which cites a source “close to the family” saying that the campaign will be suspended…
Guess we’ll all have to wait and see.
Mrs. Edwards is an inspiration to many, and was certainly in my prayers when I read about this late last night.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:05 am 4. Bill Bradley:A sourceof mine told me that Edwards intends to suspend. We’ll know soon enough. Then we go from there.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:06 am 5. Capitol Boy:Why is the press conference delayed?
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:11 am 6. Tommy Boy:Edwards is fixing his hair!
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:17 am 7. Bill Bradley:No idea.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:17 am 8. Bill Bradley:That’s cold, TB. But funny.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:19 am 9. Sacramento Solon:What a remarkable couple…
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:31 am 10. Tommy Boy:I only say it because I really like John Edwards…
The campaign goes on. No slow down!
Elizabeth is a brave strong woman, and things sound optimistic.
There is a great strength of character in the Edwards family and I am so happy to see the Senator still in the fight.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:32 am 11. Tommy Boy:CNN just broke away from the Edwards’ conference to Tony Snow at the White House…never cede to the other side a single story.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:52 am 12. Dana:Bill said “If a candidate can’t win his or her own state, he or she is in very serious trouble.”
Or don’t win in an adjacent state. That is what did in Phil Gramm and Richard Gephardt.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:55 am 13. Ann:The Edwardses sure seemed upbeat.
Mar 22, 2007 - 10:49 am 14. Tommy Boy:Of course Senator Clinton should win New York - her home state. But isn’t there some benefit to have NY February 5th, in case she doesn’t decimate the others in the “First Four?”
I still think she may only win New Hampshire of those first states. Following up with New York’s many delegates could right her ship against the waves of doubt that would come. It could blunt the winner of the early states momentum.
BTW - Edwards online fundraising over at ActBlue is blowing up right now, and his website has been incredibly sluggish. That was more authenticity today than George W. Bush has every shown.
Mar 22, 2007 - 10:53 am 15. Capitol Boy:I thought Stage IV cancer was the most severe. How can she be so upbeat?
Mar 22, 2007 - 10:58 am 16. richard locicero:Bill I can’t recall a more rocky start for a ballyhooed site such as POLITICO. Have they got anything right? As someone pointed out elsewhere Matt Drudge has had a better accuracy rate!
Mar 22, 2007 - 10:59 am 17. Bill Bradley:I have to confess I’ve not paid the closest attention to Politico. I’m a bit overloaded. I recall them breaking a couple of things, but can’t recall what they were.
In what appears to have been a somewhat fluid situation, the Edwardses talked about how things seemed very dark at more than one point, different people can get different snap shots as to what they think is going on. But that was an awfully detailed and seemingly reported article to get so wrong.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:08 am 18. Dana:Capitol Boy asks “I thought Stage IV cancer was the most severe. How can she be so upbeat?”
Well, attitude is very important when dealing with these kind of medical conditions. Also some folks are optimistic by nature. I say that was an acknowledged grump. I know we all hope the best for Ms. Edwards and her family in this trying time.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:13 am 19. Tim:I agree with everyone. I hope she is OK and positive attitude is great, but her breast cancer recurring is a really bad sign for the long-term
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:22 am 20. RM 'Auros' Harman:Great video; I like the comments on the press grumbling, and it’s kinda pathetic that people don’t bone up on the history of the place they ought to be covering…
While I wouldn’t want to live out there (I don’t like being more than 50 miles from an ocean for more than a week or two — the air is different), I do like visiting our western deserts; I just came home from a long weekend in Death Valley, on Tuesday. My gf and I hiked through the sand dunes that were used as Tatooine in the original Star Wars.
My mom grew up in the SoCal desert (at the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Testing Station, where her dad was chief of the civilian personnel — managing the engineers and scientists who created such recognizable weapons as the AGM-65 “Maverick” air-to-surface missile).
Awful, about Elizabeth Edwards’ relapse… Just awful. The younger sister of my closest friend died of cancer not long ago… We seriously need to turn around cuts to funding for basic healthcare research. We could do well with the model used at CIRM — and used by unviersities for decades — of funding the basic research and then collecting royalties from the ultimate commercialization. But some really basic stuff we ought to just be throwing into the public domain for the good of the country and of humanity. That’s how it was done for decades, and we got huge improvements in quality of care, new visualization tools, etc… Leaving everything up to pharmacorps and for-profit insurance and health-care companies is getting us huge inreases in cost, with only marginal gains in effectiveness.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:23 am 21. Bill Bradley:Thanks, RM. In case Edwards was withdrawing today, I wanted to show how substantive and funny he is out there.
The desert is a great place to visit. Actually, it’s a great place to drive across. One of the things I like about Nevada being so important now.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:29 am 22. Hap Hazard:Actually, it’s a great place to drive across.
Exactly right.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:43 am 23. Jonas Blane:I think the desert is a great place to fly across.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:53 am 24. Tommy Boy:A straight-up class move by Senator Clinton’s campaign:
Clinton Landing Page Honors Edwards Family
Something to overshadow YouTube sniping stories…thank God!
Mar 22, 2007 - 12:09 pm 25. Vladimir Bierko:My thoughgts and prayers are with all cancer victims.
Now the calculating cynic in me (roughly 99%) considers how Newt Gingrich acted when his wife was recovering from cancer (he pressed her to sign divorce papers) and sees his recent call for restraint when talking about canidate’s private lives as pure innoculation for his run for the White House.
Edward’s action makes for a fine comparison for which is the party of family values.
Mar 22, 2007 - 12:16 pm 26. Kandy Kid:Very nice move by Team Hillary. I keep hoping she will win the Democrat nomination.
Mar 22, 2007 - 12:20 pm 27. Bill Bradley:John Edwards is a terrific candidate, one of a half-dozen in both parties I could vote for, but having managed my mom’s terminal cancer crisis in 2004 and 2005 I am afraid that he and Elizabeth Edwards are in for a difficult time ahead.
Mar 22, 2007 - 12:46 pm 28. Paul Burton:It’s sad that a decent guy like Edwards and his wife have to deal with this. Hopefully it will awaken people to deal with the link between breast cancer and exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation (something the anti-nuclear movement has talked about for decades).
from
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=206137
State of the Evidence 2006:
What Is the Connection Between the Environment and Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer rates have been climbing steadily in the United States and other industrialized countries since the 1940s, amounting to more than one million cases per year worldwide. In the United States, a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer has nearly tripled during the past four decades.
Less than one out of every 10 cases occurs in women born with a genetic predisposition for the disease, and as many as half of all breast cancers occur in women who have no known risk factors for the disease.
This State of the Evidence report demonstrates that a significant body of scientific evidence links exposure to radiation and synthetic chemicals to an increased risk of breast cancer. It summarizes the findings of more than 350 experimental, epidemiologic and ecological studies and describes some of the ongoing controversies in breast cancer research. The report recommends new directions for future research and includes a 10-point plan to act on the evidence and reduce human exposure to radiation and synthetic chemicals.
Mar 22, 2007 - 12:54 pm 29. RM 'Auros' Harman:http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=206137
KK, is it really that hard to type “ic”?
Gingrich and Giuliani will face some very tough going, with their respective divorce stories. The Dem candidate won’t have to utter a word, or even have actual associates take care of it (as the Bushies did with the Swift-Boat lies). As the guy behind the Hillary Big-Sister ad noted, anybody with a laptop can, without being asked by or informing the campaign, upload something to YouTube and have it seen by a million people the next day.
BTW, I noted in some of the older pages I read through (catching up from the weekend away) that there were some righty comments about how the prosecutors were fired for not being aggressive enough pursuing the GOP’s phantasmagoric voter fraud cases. Oops! Turns out, David Iglesias was a leading expert on prosecuting such cases, and indeed, shortly before he was fired, was invited to teach at a symposium on the topic.
I’m wondering how many weak excuses (not to mention outright lies) we’ll have to go through, before the cognitive dissonance gives way to recognition that the politics-over-competence ethos doesn’t actually provide good government.
Mar 22, 2007 - 12:56 pm 30. RM 'Auros' Harman:The issue with chemicals leaking into our water and food is real. The people who could make big changes are just starting to take note. I recently saw Hunter Lovins (co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, probably the world’s top think-tank on how to make capitalism green) speak in San Francisco, and apparently she recently got Wal-Mart to start measuring the amount of phthalates (a pervasive Xenoestrogen that may be linked to breast cancer) in their products, and to start pressuring suppliers to cut down on them.
Mar 22, 2007 - 1:01 pm 31. Ann:I feel sad about the Edwardses.
Mar 22, 2007 - 1:10 pm 32. Kandy Kid:RM, you are right. I will use the proper name for the Democratic Party from now on. After nearly 30 years in Republican politics, old habits die hard.
My purpose in posting here is to participate in a wide ranging, largely informed conversation with people who often look beyond partisan labels, not to offend folks who might otherwise consider my point of view.
Apology offered….and if I back slide, please politely remind me. Muscle memory can be pretty strong.
Mar 22, 2007 - 1:23 pm 33. Bill Bradley:Good move, KK
Mar 22, 2007 - 1:27 pm 34. Dana:Comrade Bierko, do you think that Newt Gingrich in fact is going to run for the White House, or just positioning himself to throw his hat in the ring if the current frontrunners show signs of faltering? The latter would be consistent with Mr. Bradley’s previous report that Gingrich is making appearances in all the places one should if they are mulling a run although so far Gingrich hasn’t indicated he will be in the race. So far his poll numbers have been just OK.
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:06 pm 35. Juan Cortina:Not saying radiation can’t be dangerous, but one of the reasons cancer is such a tough disease to conquer is because determining what causes cancer is ellusive.
So yes, more research dollars are needed…
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:14 pm 36. richard locicero:I hate to get political about it but this could give Edwards a great opening to talk about Health Care in the US. He could point out how lucky he is that his success means that Elizabeth will get the best care in the world. But that others, even those with insurance, would not be so fortunate.
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:38 pm 37. Jonas Blane:Just so long as you use the right name of the Republicant Party. j/k
Just so long as you use the right name of the Republicant Party. j/k
<Kandy Kid :
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:44 pm 38. Sacramento Solon:RM, you are right. I will use the proper name for the Democratic Party from now on. After nearly 30 years in Republican politics, old habits die hard.
My purpose in posting here is to participate in a wide ranging, largely informed conversation with people who often look beyond partisan labels, not to offend folks who might otherwise consider my point of view.
Apology offered….and if I back slide, please politely remind me. Muscle memory can be pretty strong.
Mar 22, 2007 01:23 PM
KK…
Class move! Truly…
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:48 pm 39. Ann:Is this getting too nice? lol
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:54 pm 40. Bill Bradley:What’s wrong with nice?
Mar 22, 2007 - 2:58 pm 41. Mitchell:Bill,
Great article in todays LA Weekly. Bill wrote about the netsroots taking on FOX.
2 points that I think make me want to side with the Netsroots in their fight against FOX airing the Nevada debate.
1) People have said that Dems need to reach out to anyone they can. But, I think the chances that the Democratic candidates will convert FOX viewers to their side, is about the same as if Republicans had a debate on AirAmerica and think they’d get those listeners to vote for them. Very unlikely. FOX viewership on their news stations is conservative, period!
2) In the netsroots eyes, there is a threat to their beliefs if the Dems go on and debate on FOX. The candidates may feel they need to moderate their message, as difficult as that it is to do in todays LEXUS-NEXUS world. And if they moderate their views, the fear is that they are straying from a more populist message that will get more people to the polls. That is, the left and the netsroots always believe that a more leftist or populist message will increase the voter rolls to the Dems benefit. Others argue that only by appealing to the middle, can a Dem win election. I think thats Garry Souths view, in fact.
Not sure exactly where I stand, but I do believe if the Dems had a consistent, long term populist message, that that would be better for the parties electoral prospects, than trying to always cater to the middle of the present electorate.
Mar 22, 2007 - 3:40 pm 42. Ann:It’s BORING. Check the clown show on the next thread down with jonny Flashman and the Spence boy. Fabian is a Marxist Commie Pinko Fellow Traveler. lol
Mar 22, 2007 - 3:40 pm 43. Bill Bradley:Thank you, Mitch. I think.
I would also think that the Phil Angelides campaign would have disabused you, once and for all, of the notion that elections — even in mostly blue California — are to be won on the hyperpartisan fringe.
Incidentally, as you know from having just read what I wrote, people who have actually won major elections decided to have that debate on Fox. As distinguished from people who have done nothing but vent on the Internet.
Mar 22, 2007 - 3:44 pm 44. Barbara:John and Elizabeth Edwards are a couple that exhibit great love for each other and deep faith in God, and that will no doubt prove to be a great comfort to them and their children as time goes by…
Nice is not boring. Not in the least.
I shall go read your Fox- Net roots piece now!….Toodles!
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:01 pm 45. Mitchell:Bill,
It was a great article, I was being sincere.
What I wrote was that a strong consistent populist message could be the long term answer for Democrats. Not to be hyper-partisan, just populist. I am not sure the netsroots are the perfect messangers, either. But, they can be, with a little experience and more wisdom.
I do think there is something to the fact that almost 1/2 the people in this country do not vote, even for President! I dont think that the Dems enlarge the electorate by trying to slice everything down the middle!
And…you can win by being populist! See Eliot Spitzer, Paul Wellstone, LBJ! FDR etc Even Clinton a little bit. And what Edwards is doing in this campaign.
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:07 pm 46. Bill Bradley:Oh, I get what you’re saying. Nothing wrong with populism per se, which is not inconsistent with appealing to independents and moderates, either.
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:09 pm 47. Vladimir Bierko:I think the Times began it’s slide when it moved state news from Page 3 to the new “California” section.
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:16 pm 48. Ann:La Times blows up. Boom! lol
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:18 pm 49. Capitol Boy:The quality of reporting at the Times is shockingly low considering how many people they have “reporting.” Slow, slanted, and boring is the Times mantra.
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:37 pm 50. Barbara:Disarray in Israel government also today with jaw dropping news!
The new Israel Defense Forces (IDF) General Gabi Ashkenazi stated to Government’s Security cabinet that the army will NOT be prepared for major conflcit for several years.. this conclusion comes after studying the Israeli army’s status for the last couple of months post 2006 summer Israel Hezbollah conflict .
There are serious training issues that need to be addressed in large part because the army has been needed and utilized for decades now to perform “riot police” actions in the Palestinain territories when they should have been getting military training as soldiers in a major war setting….
Mar 22, 2007 - 4:51 pm 51. Bill Bradley:The IDF, on the basis of results on the field, didn’t appear ready for the Hezbollah War last year.
That’s a pretty dangerous public admission for the Israelis. The State of Israel’s formidable reputation is based on the image of their being able to fight anywhere, any time, at the seeming drop of a hat.
Mar 22, 2007 - 5:08 pm 52. Ann:But La Times political blog is real good. lol
Mar 22, 2007 - 5:33 pm 53. Barbara:Exactly…and you are correct… it was clear something was very OFF last summer, I knew it when it laste dmore than 2-3 weeks , since then there are rumors all over about how poorly exected /planned this war was …look the truth is certainly since the late 1970’s 1980’s there have been many Israelis in government and out that have said the continuing occupation of the territories (west Bank and Gaza) would corrupt Israel, it’s social fabric and economy, …well now it has corrupted the army…
I never check PJ Media because they irritate me too much especially on ME …but they should be reporting that PM Olmert stated today that Israel agrees to make “painful” concessions for peace accept much of the 2002 Saudi Peace Plan, and make concessions for the return of two Israelis captured by Hezbollah and the Hamas held Gilad Shalit but will never agree to “right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants” …also looks like Shalit’s freedom is in the works…
Actually, it was really admirable, even noble of the IDF General to talk truth to the government and it sounds like even the right of center heard him…but tough times ahead with the Israeli settlers/the far right…the element that led to the assassination of Rabin.
Mar 22, 2007 - 5:35 pm 54. Bill Bradley:Military history teaches us that long service as an occupying force is never good for the fabric of an army.
Mar 22, 2007 - 5:51 pm 55. Jonathan Hemlock:I don’t quite understand what has happened with the Times. No near-great newspaper in America has collapsed quite so dramatically as has the Times. The circulation, the quality, the attitude, all down dramatically. It is mystifying.
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:06 pm 56. Bill Bradley:The tale of the decline of the LA Times is way too long at the moment.
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:16 pm 57. Barbara:One last Isael item…there is also a very interesting billionaire former Russian (former gun runner) Arcadi Gaydamak who plans to establish a new political party…(It is a favorite pastime in Israel creating new political parties!) If today’s report is true he and his party will thankfully be a counter force to the Russian Lieberman’s anti-Arab party…. It is a center-right with a “moderate social orientation” ” supports equality and coexistence with Israeli Arabs, and the Palestinians” and he is on record for asserting Israel is “responsible for the economic difficulties of the Palestinians” …One poll claims that his new party has the potential to take 13 seats in parliament and which would impact Likud the most…in the past, he has said he supports Netanyahu …but he is distancing himself now from Netanyahu… he is a bit of a folk hero to the Israeli poor because he is very generous and also because he funded out of his own pocket temp housing to the many Israeli’s who fled N Israel last summer to escape Hezbollah blasts …the gov in a Katrina like moment did nothing for these Israeli families…depending on elections he just might be the next PM! …and then I bet Putin will make a visit to Jerusalem more often than he does now! In any event, this is the most interesting figure to surface in Israel politics in along time….and I bet he throws great parties in his big villa also!
.
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:25 pm 58. richard locicero:The leaders of the Progressive revolt against the supplemental have decided to go along and either support the bill or vote “Present”. But the key thing is they won’t oppose it. I think we ought to note that Nancy Pelosi is showing some pretty strong leadership skills here and making those who doubted her abilities look pretty silly.
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:32 pm 59. Bill Bradley:Well, actually, those four are on the record saying they will vote against Pelosi’s bill.
It’s nice, I suppose, that they say they aren’t lobbying against it, but it is a narrow Democratic majority and four votes against from that majority make it that much harder.
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:36 pm 60. Capitol Boy:When was the last time the L.A. Times was excellent?
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:41 pm 61. Ann:I’m not that old. lol
Mar 22, 2007 - 6:59 pm 62. richard locicero:Bill they have the votes. Read the letter that Lee and company sent to the leadership today. Passage in the House is a done deal.
Mar 22, 2007 - 7:41 pm 63. Bill Bradley:I’m simply reporting what is actually on the public record. Hopefully for her, the speaker was successful in gaining the votes of 4 California liberals who are against the war.
Mar 22, 2007 - 7:44 pm 64. Johnnie Rico:How long do you give Edwards before he quits?
Mar 22, 2007 - 8:07 pm 65. Bill Bradley:The strange liberal opposition to the anti-war bill has ended.
Incidentally, you’re going to notice that I don’t actually follow everything 24/7.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:14 pm 66. Juan Cortina:I don’t claim to know the inner workings of the Times… but Martinez is a good sincere person who seemed troubled by the news industry.
It doesn’t make sense to call that my current… but it is my opinion.
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:37 pm 67. Bill Bradley:Incidentally, the people I named are apparently not voting for the Pelosi bill themselves …
>Bill Bradley :
Mar 22, 2007 - 9:48 pm 68. Wilbur:The strange liberal opposition to the anti-war bill has ended.
Incidentally, you’re going to notice that I don’t actually follow everything 24/7.
Mar 22, 2007 09:14 PM
I wonder if the other candidates felt a bit creepy about immediately calculating how best to spin off this sad news. I know I felt a bit creepy when I caught myself contemplating how it may play out on the electoral chess board, and mentally turned away from it. Of course as a non-player I have the luxury of being able to indulge a respectful pause, while the candidates do not.
Mar 22, 2007 - 11:19 pm 69. Bill Bradley:Can they afford to feel creepy?
Mar 23, 2007 - 7:30 am 70. richard locicero:Sadly, no.
Mar 23, 2007 - 9:26 am 71. RM 'Auros' Harman:Quick, KK, insult me! The niceness level is dangerously high!
Back on topic, Ana Marie Cox’s post about Elizabeth Edwards is the best comment I’ve seen on the topic.
Mar 23, 2007 - 4:35 pm