Election 2008: March 2008 Archives

Chill out."

That's the advice former President Bill Clinton gave Democrats concerned about the extended nomination fight between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a speech Sunday at the state Democratic convention in San Jose. Mary Ann Ostrom in the Mercury News.

In a spirited defense of his wife's vow to go on despite lagging in pledged-delegate counts, Clinton argued that continuing to campaign in the remaining states to cast ballots is "strengthening the Democratic Party."

He made his comments to about 3,000 conventiongoers at San Jose McEnery Convention Center, most of whom gave the former president a loud and enthusiastic reception.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown waxed nostalgic Saturday about his former days as governor and strongly suggested that he might run again – just as soon as he is done suing President Bush over global warming.
Sacramento Bee.
Brown joined four other rumored 2010 candidates – San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, former state Controller Steve Westly and state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell in firing up party partisans at the state Democratic Convention in San Jose.

On an entertaining day of political preening for would-be gubernatorial contenders, Brown, 69, provided rhetorical flourishes.

Hoping the increased public interest in this year's election will carry over to the most politically wonkish of events, the California Democratic Party plans to webcast this weekend's convention, Party Chairman Art Torres announced.
Starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, the party will be streaming live events and have video available on workshops at its website, www.cadem.org/convention.
Among the planned events are speeched by former President Bill Clinton, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a dinner presentation from Phil Donahue.

Hoping the increased public interest in this year's election will carry over to the most politically wonkish of events, the California Democratic Party plans to webcast this weekend's convention, Party Chairman Art Torres announced.
Starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, the party will be streaming live events and have video available on workshops at its website, www.cadem.org/convention.
Among the planned events are speeched by former President Bill Clinton, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a dinner presentation from Phil Donahue.

California Democrats hold their annual state convention this weekend in San Jose and they are getting some star power to entertain the delegates.
Phil Donahue, who is the father of the modern talk show format, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker on Saturday night, talking about his new documentary, "Body of War."
On Sunday, former President Bill Clinton will be making the case for his wife at a morning speech to delegates. Clinton always has done will in California and Sen. Hillary Clinton won the February primary here by a 51-43 margin over Sen. Barack Obama.

Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro complained Wednesday that Sen. Barack Obama drew a comparison between her and his controversial pastor in his seminal speech about race relations in the U.S. Gene Maddaus in the Daily News.

In a 37-minute speech Tuesday, Obama sought to place racially charged remarks by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in a broader context, including them on a continuum with Ferraro's comment that Obama's race was a major factor in his political success.

"To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable," Ferraro said in a telephone interview from Florida.

"(Obama) gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not address the fact that this man (Wright) is up there spewing hatred."

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley on Wednesday officially announced his plans to run for a third term, saying he wants to expand programs to work with law enforcement agencies on the latest policing techniques. Daily News.

"We have established a District Attorney's Criminal Justice Institute to work with other prosecutors and police to talk about the latest developments, from DNA and high-tech as well as the law, such as asset forfeiture," Cooley said.

Cooley, 60, the second-highest-paid prosecutor in the nation at $236,829 - with a raise set to bring it to $292,300 in December - will face two announced opponents.

Steve Ipsen, a

Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro on Tuesday defended a remark she made to the Daily Breeze last week, in which she suggested that Sen. Barack Obama would not be where he is if he were white. Gene Maddaus in the Daily Breeze.

In an interview with the Breeze, Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

The comment was picked up by political blogs and cable news shows across the country. The Obama campaign held a conference call Tuesday to denounce the remark, and Obama surrogates urged Sen. Hillary Clinton to repudiate it and remove Ferraro from her finance committee.

Sen. Barack Obama, on MSNBC, after winning his 26th state in the presidential primary, said he will continue his campaign theme of offering change in how the nation is run.
As he and Clinton now turn their attention to Pennsylvania, Obama said he will try to cut into Clinton's lead by his message "that I will be fighting for them.
"I think what I tell them is President Clinton deserves credit, but the trend of growing inequatity, of jobs being shipped overseas...that many of those thrends started before Georg Bush took office.
But, we are so paralyzed with the bitter partisanship and the influence of special interests, that their voices are not being heard. We want to restore the idea that Washington is fighting for working families."
Obama also said he is ready to be commander in chief, based on the judgment he has show in the past and criticized the Clinton television commercial on readiness as an attempt to appeal to public fears.
As for a potential Florida revote, Obama said he will abide by the rules established by the Democratic Party.

As the only woman ever to be selected by a major political party for the position of vice president of the United States, Geraldine Ferraro is uniquely suited to comment on the political events of the day.

An outspoken advocate for women's issues and a staunch supporter of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, Ferraro will offer her views on the state of the nation and the race for the White House at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Armstrong Theatre of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center Theatre in Torrance. The program is part of the American Perspectives series. Jim Farber in the Daily Breeze.

Speaking by phone from her New York law office, the 72-year-old former Democratic congresswoman outlined the themes that will dominate her talk. She also offered pointed observations
Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro will speak in Torrance Sunday.
regarding the Barack Obama juggernaut and what she sees as a sexist media bias against the candidate of her choice.

Democratic candidates for the hotly contested 40th District Assembly seat decried Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts Monday and suggested other ways of combating dwindling revenues. Brendand Lowery in the Daily News.

The Assembly seat will open next year as Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, reaches his term limit. Levine is running for the state Senate in the 23rd District.

Four Democratic contenders for Levine's seat - Dan McCrory, Laurette Healey, Stuart Waldman and Bob Blumenfield - attended a debate Monday at Shomrei Torah Synagogue sponsored by several local Democratic clubs.

Sen. Barack Obama easily outpolled Sen. HIllary Clinton in the Wyoming caucuses on Saturday _ with all of 8,490 Democrats casting ballots in the election -- about the equivalent of one or two precincts in Los
Angeles.
For their efforts, Obama is expected to get seven delegates, Clinton will get four.
And, it's on to Mississippi for the next election on Tuesday.

It is rare to have the words crucial and Wyoming in the same sentence when it comes to presidential politics, but the state is getting a lot of attention today as its Democratic voters -- less than 10,000 of them -- turn out in caucuses today to decide between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
With more than 75 percent of the returns in, Obama was continuing his domination of caucuses over Clinton and he had 59 percent of the vote.

Looking to put pressure on his main opponent, state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas on Friday called for a series of seven debates with Councilman Bernard Parks in their June 3 race for the Board of Supervisors. Parks and his campaign could not be reached for comment.
The two have already had a pair of forums and Ridley-Thomas said he hoped more could be held to try to get the public interested in the election, the second of three to be held this year.

Laurette Healey, one of the top Democratic candidates in the 40th Assembly District race, picked up the support of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. She also has been endorsed by Sheriff Lee Baca, ALADS and the California Police Chiefs Association.
“Laurette Healey has always been a friend to law enforcement," the Protective League said in a statement. "We know she will be willing to listen to all points of view and will be a reasonable and conscientious Assembly member. Laurette Healey is committed to the safety of her community and will work hard in the State Legislature to provide increased resources to her district to address these concerns.”

A staunchly conservative state senator from Thousand Oaks jumped into a Northern California congressional race Tuesday, saying he wanted to help return the Republican Party to the smaller-government themes sounded by Ronald Reagan. AP in the Daily News.

Sen. Tom McClintock announced in Auburn, Calif., that he would seek the GOP nomination for the seat now held by Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin. Doolittle is under investigation in a congressional lobbying scandal and announced in January that he would not run for a 10th term.

In his victory remarks, Sen .John McCain made clear he was prepared to begin his campaign against the Democratic nominee.
And, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama made clear they were ready for McCain -- and each other.
Clinton continued the theme she began last week with her television commerical on who would be best prepared to answer the call of a crisis at 3 in the morning;. Clinton also tried a variation of a theme, having supporters chant, "Yes, we will," to counter the Obama chant of "Yes, we can."
And, Obama sought to tie Clinton to the same policies of McCain and President Bush when it came to the decision to send troops to Iran.

Sen.Barack Obama, serving as the anchor man of political speeches, offered his congratulations to Clinton for her victories as he said it remained too close to call in Texas.
"We know this, no matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead as we had this morning and we are on our way to winning this nomination," Obama said.
"You know, decades ago, I learned as a community organizser, that the real work of democracy...begins on street corners, and living rooms...to see the world as it is and we have the power to remake the world as it should be."
Obama said his campaign is designed "to write a new chapter. We were told this was not possible. That we could not change the world. .... Toniight, because of you and the movement we have built..we can stand up and with clarity and say we are turning the page to write the next chapter in American history."

Coming back from 11 straight losses, Sen. Hillary Clinton claimed victories in Ohio and Rhode Island on Tuesday and vowed to press on the campaign against Sen. Barack Obama.
In Ohio, which provided her with a key win to help her make her case to continue her campaign, a jubilant Clinton declared, "Thank you, Ohio.
"To anyone across America who has been counted out but refused to be knocked out, for everyone who has stumbled but got right back up...this one is for you," Clinton said. "You know what they say, as Ohio goes, so goes the natin. Well, Ohio is coming back and so is this campaign.
"We're going on. We're going strong and we're going all the way."

Both Sens. HIllary Clinton and Barack Obama called Sen. John McCain to congratulate him on clinching the GOP presidential nomination.
Clinton was declared the winner in Ohio, giving her two victories for the night that left television anchors frustrated -- being forced to wait for votes to be tallied instead of being able to call the election with the use of their exit polls.

Less than six months ago, the campaign of Sen. John McCain was in shambles -- out of money and in total disarray.
On Tuesday, McCain was able to claim victory on the next leg for the office he has sought for more than a dozen years.
"I am very grateful and pleased to note, my friends, that we have collected enough delegates...that I will be the nominee for president," McCain said in his victory speech.
The election :"was an accomplishment more than a few doubters thought unlikely.
"Now we begin the most important part of our campaign to make a respectful...case to the American people," McCain said. "I have never believed I was destined to be president. But I do believe we were born with responsibilities."

In her first victory in a month, Sen. Hillary Clinton was declared the victor in Rhode Island.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, reversing his plans to hold off on conceding, acknowledged the victory by Arizona Sen. John McCain in the race for the Republican nomination for president.
Speaking in Dallas, Huckabee thanked his supporters for keeping his campaign alive.
"I called Sen. McCain....I said to him not only my congratulations but my commitment to him to not only unify our party, but to unify our country," Huckabee said. "Sen. McCain is an honorable man, who has run an honorable campaign."

Polls closed at 6 p.m. PST in Texas and Rhode Island and it was too early to say who was winning on the Democratic side. All the polls also closed in Ohio, even though some returns were release earlier. Obama was holding a slight lead.
In yet another oddity of the Texas system, absentee ballot returns were released prior to the closing of the polls and it gave Obama a slight lead.

Arizona Sen. John McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee for president on Tuesday, cinching the nomination with delegates to spare. All that' s left is the formality of the GOP convention beginning Sept. 1 in Minnesota.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has been hanging on for weeks, is expected to concede this week.
With the victory, McCain now can begin to tap into the Republican National Committee database of research and donors and the GOP can begin its own campaign against Democrats. It also will free up President Bush to begin campaigning on behalf of McCain. The two are scheduled to meet on Wednesday at the White House.
And, while there has been much attention paid to Republicans switching to support Obama -- the so-called Obamicans -- Fox analyst Karl Rove said watch out for Democrats switching to the GOP, a group he called McCainocrats.

Over at Fox, the Limbaugh factor in the Democratic presidential election is being discussed about the talk radio host urging Republican voters in Texas to cross over and vote for her.
What the analysts couldn't agree on was whether Limbaugh was trying to create chaos among Democrats or believes Clinton would be an easier foe in November.

Polls have closed in Ohio and all say it is too close to call.
Also, it turns out Ohio is like many other elections this year, where the winner of the popular vote could come in second in terms of delegates. All of it depends on the margin of victory within certain congressional districts in the state, analysts say.
McCain also declared the winner in Ohio as eh goes 2 for 2 for the night.

By all accounts, this year's election has been the most exciting and interesting in a generation.
There are more people voting than at any time in recent history and, based on all the pundits on television, it continues to draw wide interest.
What, then, is the rush to force out former Arkansas Gov Mike Huckabee and Sen. Hillary Clinton?
All the talk for the past several days has been speculation on whether either can continue a sustaintable campaign after today;s voting and both, to their credit, say it isn't over until it's over.

Vermont;s polls closed at 4 p.m. PST and the networks immediatley called it for Sen. Barack Obama on the Democratic side and Sen. John McCain for the GOP. McCain is hoping to close out his election tonight over former Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Be honest. When was the last time you considered Rhode Island a crucial state in the presidential election? Or Vermont?
Yet both will be the center of attention today, albeit briefly, when voters there and, oh yeah,Ohio and Texas, go to the polls today to decide between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
We will be doing live blogging again on the returns starting this afternoon. Comments are welcome and we will post them as quickly as we can.

The 40th Assembly District race continues to be one of the most active leading up to the June 3 primary election.
Democratic candidate Laurette Healey is having an official kickoff of her campaign at 1 p.m. Saturday at her Canoga Parks headquarters, 21511 Sherman Way.
On Monday, March 10, a forum will be held for the Democratic candidates, sponsored by a number of organizatins, at 7 p.m. at Shomrei Torah Synogogue, 7353 Valley Circile Blvd., West Hills. It will be moderated by Bill Boyarsky, the former L.A. Times editor and columnist and member of the city Ethics Commission.
Candidates expected to participate include Healey, Dan McCrory, Stuart Waldman, Bob Blumenfield and Steven Zeldin.

- While most developers were eyeing property in suburbia in the 1980s, Moe Mohanna was staking his claim to some rundown buildings a few blocks from the state Capitol. AP in the Daily News.

The Sacramento landlord began fixing up nine storefronts along K Street in an area frequented by vagrants. His property is at the heart of the city's plans to revitalize its business district.

After years of failed negotiations to exchange other property for his buildings or to rehabilitate or buy them - city officials say they violate health and safety codes - Sacramento's redevelopment agency recently moved to go to court and seize the sites.

"We've done all of these things, and they are chasing us out of town," Mohanna said, as he showed photographs of once-dilapidated buildings that have a fresh coat of paint and new verandas. "They want to give the blocks to their favorite developers, and I'm just not one of them."

On the same day last week that a prominent U.S. senator endorsed the presidential candidacy of Democratic front-runner Barack Obama, a 20-year-old sports figure stole the political spotlight. Tony Castro and Ramona Shelbourne in the Daily News.

Greg Oden, a former Ohio State University basketball great and last year's No.1 draft pick in the NBA, said he was endorsing Obama.

"This will be my first presidential election to participate in as a voter, and I hope that you younger voters will get involved," Oden said, capturing media attention.

Meanwhile that day, sports agent-attorney Leigh Steinberg was putting the finishing touches on an imminent announcement of the formation of Athletes for Obama - including former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and NBA legend Charles Barkley.