Record turnout for Maine Democratic caucus

From the Democratic party of Maine:

Earlier this month, 5,000 Republicans gathered around the state to caucus for their nominee. Today, close to 45,000 Mainers attended the Democratic caucus.... Sunday's Democratic turnout exceeded the previous record, set in 2004, by almost 28,000 votes.

So that means turnout doubled? Read More......

More on Clinton campaign manager resignation

From Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post:

Patti Solis Doyle, the campaign manager for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (N.Y.) presidential bid, has stepped down from that post and will be replaced by longtime Clinton operative Maggie Williams....

The Clinton campaign was largely silent about the change at the top. But with losses to Barack Obama in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington state and Maine over the weekend and uphill climbs on Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, one aide suggested new blood was needed.

"The next few weeks are going to be brutal, never mind that the team is already completely exhausted," said the source....

In the wake of a surprisingly large defeat at the hands of Obama in the Iowa caucuses, there was talk of a staff shakeup and Williams was brought in to coordinate the campaign's activities. That move came on the same night that Clinton scored a stunning come-from-behind victory in New Hampshire -- a win that quieted talk that Williams was being brought in to replace Solis Doyle.

Williams, who served as the first lady's chief of staff during Bill Clinton's first term, is seen within the Clinton world as a "Hillary person" -- loyal to the senator first and always. Insiders describe her as a forceful presence in the campaign and someone who casts a considerable shadow over the operation.

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Obama projected winner of Maine caucus

87% reporting
Obama 59%
Clinton 41%

But as always, it depends which areas of the state are reporting, so this may or may not tell us anything yet.

The Maine Democratic caucuses are, reportedly, packed. Below is a shot one of our readers, Chad Gilley, took of the South Portland one. The doors are packed with people lined up to get in.

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Clinton campaign manager resigns

Wow.

Patti Solis Doyle announced that she is stepping down as the campaign manager for the presidential campaign of Sen. Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., ABC News has learned that this afternoon.

In a note she sent to her staff, Solis Doyle announced that this week Maggie Williams, Clinton's chief of staff when she was first lady, "will begin to assume the duties of campaign manager." Solis Doyle said she would remain as a senior adviser to the campaign....

Many on the campaign underline that family considerations also played a role in her decision. The mother of two young children, Solis Doyle is like many in the campaign who had expected the nomination fight to have been wrapped up one way or another by Feb. 5, Super Tuesday, and are exhausted and somewhat demoralized to think this struggle might last weeks or even months longer.

That is absurd. I never planned on having to work past February 5, so I, the person running your entire campaign, am ditching you, Hillary? No, this is a campaign shake-up and the staff should embrace it. It gives the public perception that Hillary "gets it." She knows she's has some stumbled the past few months and is prepared to fix things. Embrace it. Read More......

Majority of Americans see recession

I only hope that they are patient enough to wait for McCain to show up and vote on an economic stimulus plan. He couldn't be bothered to even vote, let alone address the issue of unemployment benefits for Americans who are losing their jobs thanks to people McCain thinks "need to go to jail." I hope he's a quick read on the subject of economics since 61% of Americans already see the recession. Give him time though, he's still learning.

Wall Street is unsettled and as a result, people's nest eggs are not what they once were.

In fact, that was the top economic worry in the AP-Ipsos poll. Fifty-nine percent said they were worried "a lot" or "some" about seeing the value of stocks and retirement investments drop.

"I really dread opening my (financial) statements," Sims said.

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Kristol is advising McCain on foreign policy

All you needed to know about America's favorite "maverick."

McCain's foreign-policy team is sprinkled with people, including Scheunemann, who were ardent backers of the 2003 Iraq invasion and who dismissed critics who warned of unintended consequences. They include former CIA Director James Woolsey, an adviser mostly on energy security, and William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard.

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The superdelegate battle heats up

Again, why do these people even get a vote? Oh that's right, they were created to steal the election in case the party thought your choice was stupid. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

An eclectic mix of candidate surrogates on the the shows today. Huckabee, fresh off his impressive wins in Kansas and Louisiana yesterday, is the only candidate to appear and he's on twice. This GOP race isn't over.

Besides that, you can see Tom DeLay, Karl Rove and George Bush this morning. That's enough to ruin a Sunday, huh? Bush is the only guest on Fox, because Fox is the GOP's network. Meaning there is no reason for any Democratic debate on that network -- ever.

The full line up is after the break.

Now, I'm all sure you'll all be watching Bush on Fox:

ABC's "This Week" — Govs. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Martin O'Malley, D-Md.; Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.; former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; Joe Trippi, former John Edwards campaign adviser; Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff to President Bush.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Huckabee.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio; former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

"Fox News Sunday" _ President Bush.

Have some fun with this.

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Democrats overseas at the polls

In Paris, there are roughly 70,000 Americans and of that group around 85% are Democrats. Roughly six million Americans live outside of the US. In the past many were not registered to vote because it's not an easy process, especially considering what happens to ballots sent from overseas. The 2004 election was possibly a turning point as many Americans living overseas became involved thanks to the poor policies by the Bush administration. Without the same biased media coverage, Americans abroad had a very different view of what was going on both in America and to our reputation abroad. When Bush had a 90% approval rating, most American expats were in the 10% category and wondering why the rest were fawning over his actions.
More expat voting, after the jump.

I hope the Democrats Abroad continue the process of bringing democracy to Americans overseas. Everyone was talking about it and expats actually felt like we were part of the process. Now if only they could move beyond being a 'boomers and beyond' clique that aren't very welcoming to newcomers. Sheesh, just like old time French politics where leadership never changes.

Obama supporters everywhere but no sign of Hillary people. I don't know how that happened but it was during peak voting hours in the evening. And a link to Democrats Abroad voting in Madrid and the party afterwards.





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Bank of America raises credit card interest rates

Why, since rates are declining? Because they can. If you don't like it, tough. The bank lost billions due to the subprime collapse so naturally someone has to pay and that person would be the lowly customer. Surely you wouldn't ask the high rollers to pay, right? On the upside, BoA provides yet another good reason why credit card debt should be eliminated, whenever possible. Read More......