A little Mormon-baiting from Huckabee

Here's what Huckabee said:

“When we were out there supporting Ronald Reagan, he was running away from him,” Mr. Huckabee said on CNN. “That’s what rankles many of us. He’s a recent convert and now he shouts ‘hallelujah’ louder than the rest of us.”

Recent convert? Hallelujahs? Here's what Huckabee meant: Romney isn't a real Christian. Read the rest of this post...

McCain calls for right wing judges as Lieberman looks over his shoulder lovingly

Tonight on ABC News, we learned that today John McCain is again appealing to the right wingers in the GOP. Look who appears over McCain's shoulder as he says, "I will appoint judges that strictly interpret the constitution of the United States of America and do not legislate from the bench." (That's code for McCain appointing anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-stem cell, anti-privacy, anti-civil rights far-right activist judges.)



So, who is looking over McCain's shoulder as he calls for right-wing judges? Joe Lieberman. Now, we all know that Lieberman loves the Iraq war and wants another war in Iran. Whatever. But Lieberman still wants the press, and the public, to believe that he's a "moderate Democrat." Well, moderate Democrats don't support having arch-conservative judges on the court who will overturn Roe v. Wade and oppose civil rights and civil liberties. For Lieberman to stand idly by while McCain uses his name to push for the overturning of such rights would be unconscionable in a moderate Republican, let alone a moderate Democrat. Read the rest of this post...

Update on Afghan student journalist who was sentenced to death

The US is taking an amazingly low profile on a very serious problem. If Bush wants the world to take him seriously when he talks about democracy, he better find a minute to support democracy. The initial report was that Afghan student journalist Parwez Kambaksh was found guilty and sentenced to death because he downloaded and distributed a document about women's rights. Thanks to a campaign by The Independent (UK), this disgraceful situation has been brought to the attention of people around the world and the Karzai government is starting to show interest in this publicly embarrassing situation. As the story makes the rounds some additional information is starting to surface which helps explain why the puppet government previously showed such limited interest in this gross violation of human rights.

Some media groups, including Reporters Without Borders and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, allege the charges against Kambaksh are in retaliation for his brother's investigative journalism articles, which detail human rights abuses at the hands of political and paramilitary factions in northern Afghanistan.

Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, Kambaksh's brother and a leading independent journalist in the region, has named government officials who extort money from locals in some articles, said Jean MacKenzie, country director of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

Read the rest of this post...

Clinton and Obama, neck and neck

From Gallup's daily tracking poll over the past month:

Read the rest of this post...

More on the Washington Post/ABC Poll

Joe had posted a link last night to the Washington Post/ABC poll. Yes, it's a national poll and that isn't really relevant for the primaries, but, there were some interesting nuggets in the poll (also important is to look at the trends in the polls, whether a particular candidate is going up or down as compared to where they were weeks and months ago):

Single most important issue (all potential voters):
Economy/Jobs 39%
Iraq 19%
Morals/Family Values 2%
Abortion 1%

Do you "strongly" support your candidate?
Hillary supporters - 62% strongly
Obama supporters - 49% strongly

Which of these is more important to you in a candidate for president (all potential voters): (strength and experience) or (a new direction and new ideas)?
Strength and experience: 51%
New direction and ideas: 39%

Of those Democrats who think the campaign so far has been "mostly negative" (only 27%), 48% blame Clinton and 17% blame Obama.

McCain vs Hillary
49% - 46%

McCain vs Obama
46% - 49%

Romney vs Hillary
41% - 53%

Romney vs Obama
34% - 59%

Do you think Bill Clinton has played a positive or negative role in Hillary's campaign?
Positive 51%
Negative 43% Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Almost exclusively Presidential candidates on the shows this weekend. Two appearance by Clinton and McCain. Romney, Obama and Huckabee each get one show. And, Ralph Nader? Why does anyone pay him any attention? He needs some kind of 12-step program for his addiction to the spotlight every four years.

Russert once again has no candidates. No, he just has a panel of "seasoned" pundits who are going to tell us what to think. Russert's panel includes: Mary Matalin, who never has any insight beyond the GOP talking points and, let's not forget, was a leading consultant for that stellar campaign of Fred Thompson; and the biggest loser in the Democratic consultancy (which is filled with losers), Bob Shrum. In other words, there really is no reason to watch Meet the Press. I think AMERICAblog commenters and other political blogs give better analysis and commentary -- by far.

Besides the national poll from Washington Post/ABC News that we posted last night, a slew of state-specific surveys came out last night and this morning. We'll have more on these later but California is almost even on the Democratic side. According to the Field Poll, which has a long, respected history of polling that state, Clinton leads Obama 36 -34. Still 18 percent undecided.

The full line up is after the break.

Will any of the candidates veer from their scripts? Make any news?:

ABC's "This Week" — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Republican strategists Mary Matalin and Mike Murphy; Democratic strategists Bob Shrum and James Carville.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" — Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; Romney; Ralph Nader; Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz.

"Fox News Sunday" _ McCain and Clinton.

If you're watching, provide the commentary. Read the rest of this post...

Kenya opposition requesting African Union peacekeepers

This past week was another violent week in Kenya, with opposition political leaders murdered and scores of violent attacks. I still can't believe any of this is happening in Kenya, of all countries.

"The AU should bring in peacekeepers because the violence in Kenya is appalling," Raila Odinga told The Associated Press with his wife at his side at his family home in Bondo, a village in western Kenya.

Western Kenya has been at the center of fighting that has killed more than 800 people and engulfed the country since the Dec. 27 election, which returned President Mwai Kibaki to power after a tally that foreign and local observers say was rigged. The violence has often degenerated into ethnic clashes over decades-old grudges about land and resources, with much of the anger — and attacks — aimed at Kikuyu, who are resented for their long domination of politics and the economy.

Read the rest of this post...

Bus ride in Laos - not like home

Forget about the bad quality and don't worry about there not being any English in the video. This video is from a group of Spaniards traveling from the capital Vientienne up to Vang Vieng, Laos. I took this route in the opposite direction a few years ago and will never forget the 1950's leftover, Korean public bus that was missing seats. Most of us either stood (for hours) or sat in tiny little plastic stools. On my trip, the motorcycles and animals were strapped to the top of the bus and not inside though this group mentions the animals who are inside. Vang Vieng has some of the most beautiful countryside in the world and the people of Laos are so laid back and friendly.

On a side note, for anyone visiting Vang Vieng, you will notice the odd looking 'bus terminal' that resembles a gravel landing strip. It was a CIA airfield during the secret war. Today, it's a bustling town that caters to backpacking river rafters. Read the rest of this post...

Tax breaks for Big Oil or green energy?

Why is Big Oil still receiving tax breaks? I'm fine with giving tax incentives to help create green energy (except not for ethanol) but for the life of me, I can't figure out why the oil industry is still receiving welfare from Americans. As the industry sets historical profits, there should be no reason whatsoever to give them a penny. When oil was $10/barrel and Congress was too stupid to think about the future, perhaps. But today? Are you kidding me? The same GOP Congress that never believed in helping individual Americans during times of need and the same people who now want rebate checks for wealthy Americans can surely appreciate this issue, right? While it may make sense to help an industry during troubled times, oil is now setting new records quarter after quarter and can surely function on their own. If they can't, they may need to get out of that business and shut the doors.

Moving forward, Congress and our next President should look closer at how we can help businesses that are building the energy for the future. If we can afford to give Big Oil handouts, we surely can find money for green energy. Besides helping the country move away from oil, this will be a fast growing sector that will add jobs. The GOP should put aside the silly argument over the reality of global warming and just understand that this is an emerging market. Growing this industry means new jobs, new business and new money for everyone. All of this is dependent on the US getting started now, not in 10 years when the market is already set. Is that such a hard thing to understand? Read the rest of this post...

Clinton and Obama "rougly even" while McCain is way ahead of Romney in Wash. Post/ABC poll

Okay, up til now, I have discounted national polls on the presidential race. The specific state polls were what mattered. And, the nomination will be decided based on state outcomes so I still prefer state polls. However, on the eve of the voting in almost half the states this coming Tuesday, national polls can give a sense of where the candidates stand. Tonight, we get the results of the latest The Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted from January 30 through February 1 (Wed. thru Fri):

Two days before voters in 24 states go to their polling places, 47 percent of likely Democratic voters said they back Clinton and 43 percent said they support Obama, with neither candidate decisively benefiting from the departure of former senator John Edwards (N.C.) from the race. By contrast, McCain's wins in primaries in South Carolina and Florida and the winnowing of the Republican field have had a dramatic result: The senator from Arizona is now the clear front-runner for his party's nomination.

McCain leads former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney 48 percent to 24 percent among probable GOP voters as he continues to rapidly consolidate support, particularly among moderates and liberals. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee runs third in the new poll with 16 percent, and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) is fourth at 7 percent.

Read the rest of this post...