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For the first time since 1928, both major parties will have open contests for the Presidential nomination without a sitting President or Vice President in the running. Politics1 presents a "first look" at those people being mentioned as possible, likely, speculative, or draft candidates for President in 2008.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton, born October 261947, in Illinois, U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady of the United States. Clinton announced the formation of her exploratory committee on January 202007, with a post on her website.[1] She has delivered several speeches intended to reach out to moderates, according to analysts. She has also been holding fundraising meetings, including meeting with women from Massachusetts, a key constituency of potential rival and 2004 nomineeJohn Kerry; however, these activities are consistent with the lead up to a campaign for re-election to her Senate seat in 2006. If elected, Clinton would be the first female president. Clinton announced on January 202007, that she will run in 2008 (the same day she announced the formation of an exploratory committee). She has filed the official paperwork for an exploratory committee.[2] She placed first in theNew Hampshire primary on January 82008 and placed first in the Nevada caucuseson January 19 but fell one delegate short of Barack Obama. She placed first in theFlorida primary on January 292008, but was awarded no delegates, due to a prior ruling of the party unseating the state representatives because of the early date.



 Hillary Clinton 

A MAJOR DEMOCRATSCANDIDATE:

Hillary Clinton US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York)

STATUS: ANNOUNCED CANDIDATE. 

Click here to view our detailed profile of Senator Clinton.

Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee (ABC News)

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Hillary on The Issues



Hillary's Story

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/about/

Hillary was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of America. From that classic suburban childhood in Park Ridge, Illinois, Hillary went on to become one of America's foremost advocates for children and families; an attorney twice voted one of the most influential in America; a First Lady of Arkansas who helped transform the schools; a bestselling author; a First Lady for America who helped transform that role, becoming a champion for health care and families at home and a champion of women's rights and human rights around the world.

Since her path-breaking election to the United States Senate, Hillary has been a steadfast advocate for middle-class families, working to help create jobs, expand children's health care and protect Social Security from privatization. As the Senator representing New York after 9/11, Hillary has fought to strengthen our approach to homeland security and to improve our communications and intelligence operations. As the first New Yorker ever named to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hillary has been a tough critic of the administration's bungling of Iraq and a fierce advocate for proper equipment, health benefits, and treatment for military families.

Growing Up in Illinois


The promise of America was very real as Hillary was growing up. She learned that no matter who you are or where you're from, if you worked hard and played by the rules, you could provide a good life for your family.

Hillary's father, Hugh Rodham, was the son of a factory worker from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He trained sailors in the Navy during World War II and then returned to Illinois to start a small business selling draperies. He taught Hillary both a deep sense of patriotism and a strong belief in fiscal responsibility. He never took a dime of credit and was so frugal that he used to turn the heat off overnight during the winter to save money, waking up early to turn it back on so the house would be warm when everyone woke up.

Hillary's mother, Dorothy, the daughter of a firefighter, had a tough childhood. Her parents were young and felt unable to care for their children. So when Dorothy was just eight, she and her three-year-old sister traveled alone on a four-day train ride to Los Angeles. There they were raised by a strict grandmother. It was not until Dorothy was a teenager and worked as a helper to another family that she finally knew what a loving family could be. The stories of her mother's difficult childhood imbued in Hillary a fierce sense of justice and a belief that no child should be mistreated and that every child deserves to be loved.

The life that Hugh and Dorothy created for Hillary and her two brothers was a classic 1950s middle-class suburban childhood. Park Ridge in those days was the kind of place where everyone left their doors unlocked and the neighborhood kids all played on the block together. Hillary was a Brownie and then a Girl Scout. She started her political life as a Republican, like her father. She even volunteered as a Goldwater girl!

Faith was central to her family. Her mother taught Sunday school, and Hillary was a regular in her church youth group. She was deeply influenced by her youth minister who taught her about "faith in action." There were trips to the inner city, babysitting for the children of migrant farm workers, and an extraordinary night when Hillary was fourteen and her youth group went to hear a speech by Martin Luther King Jr.

Mother and Advocate

Hillary went to Wellesley College, where she was chosen by her classmates to be the first-ever student commencement speaker. She talked about the tumultuous times that her generation was living through and said, "The challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible."

Next came Yale Law School, where Hillary focused on questions about how the law affected children and began her decades of work as an advocate for children and families. As a law student, Hillary represented foster children and parents in family court and worked on some of the earliest studies creating legal standards for identifying and protecting abused children. Following graduation, she became a staff attorney for the Children's Defense Fund.

After serving as only one of two women lawyers on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee considering the impeachment of Richard Nixon, Hillary chose not to pursue offers from major law firms. Instead she followed her heart and a man named Bill Clinton to Arkansas. They married in 1975 and their daughter Chelsea was born in 1980.

Hillary ran a legal aid clinic for the poor when she first got to Arkansas and handled cases of foster care and child abuse. Years later, she organized a group called Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. When she was just 30, President Carter appointed her to the board of the United States Legal Services Corporation, a federal nonprofit program that funds legal assistance for the poor.

When Bill was elected Governor of Arkansas, Hillary continued to advocate for children, leading a task force to improve education in Arkansas through higher standards for schools and serving on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, helping them expand and improve their services. She also served on national boards for the Children's Defense Fund, the Child Care Action Campaign, and the Children's Television Workshop.

She also continued her legal career as a partner in a law firm. She led the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, which played a pioneering role in raising awareness of issues like sexual harassment and equal pay. Hillary was twice named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.


First Lady

When her husband was elected President in 1992, Hillary's work as a champion for women was recognized and admired around the world. She traveled the globe speaking out against the degradation and abuse of women and standing up for the powerful idea that women's rights are human rights.

In the White House, Hillary led efforts to make adoption easier, to expand early learning and child care, to increase funding for breast cancer research, and to help veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome who had too often been ignored in the past. She helped launch a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy and helped create the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which moved children from foster care to adoption more quickly. Thanks in part to her efforts, the number of children who have moved out of foster care into adoption has increased dramatically.

As everyone knows, Hillary's fight for universal health coverage did not succeed. But her commitment to health care for every American has never wavered. She was instrumental in designing and championing the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which has provided millions of children with health insurance. She battled the big drug companies to force them to test their drugs for children and to make sure all kids get the immunizations they need through the Vaccines for Children Program. Immunization rates dramatically improved after the program launched.

Hillary's 1995 book It Takes A Village, about the responsibility we all have to help children succeed, became an international best seller. Hillary has donated the proceeds -- more than a million dollars -- to children's causes across the country.

Hillary's autobiography, Living History, was also a best seller. It has been translated into 12 languages and sold over 1.3 million copies.

United States Senator



In 2000, Hillary was elected to the United States Senate from New York. As Senator, Hillary has continued her advocacy for children and families and has been a national leader on homeland security and national security issues.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hillary worked with her colleagues to secure the funds New York needed to recover and rebuild. She fought to provide compensation to the families of the victims, grants for hard-hit small businesses, and health care for front line workers at Ground Zero. And she continues to work for resources that enable New York to grow, to improve homeland security for New York and other communities, and to protect all Americans from future attacks.

She is the first New Yorker ever to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, working to see that America's military has the necessary resources to protect our national security. She has visited troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Fort Drum in New York, home of the 10th Mountain Division and other New York bases, as well as at Walter Reed Military Hospital. She has learned first-hand the challenges facing American combat forces. Hillary passed legislation to track the health status of our troops so that conditions like Gulf War Syndrome would no longer be misdiagnosed. She is an original sponsor of legislation that expanded health benefits to members of the National Guard and Reserves and has been a strong critic of the Administration's handling of Iraq.

But Hillary has recognized that we can't ignore our problems at home while we face challenges overseas. She has introduced legislation to tie Congressional salary increases to an increase in the minimum wage, because she believes if America's working people don't deserve a raise, neither does Congress. She has supported a variety of middle-class tax cuts, including marriage penalty relief, property tax relief, and reduction in the Alternative Minimum Tax, and supports fiscally responsible pay-as-you-go budget rules. She helped pass legislation that encouraged investment to create jobs in struggling communities through the Renewal Communities program. She has championed legislation to bring broadband Internet access, which is so important in today's information economy, to rural America.

In the Senate, Hillary has not wavered in her work to expand quality affordable health care to more Americans. She worked to strengthen the Children's Health Insurance Program, which increased coverage for children in low income and working families. She authored legislation that has been enacted to improve quality and lower the cost of prescription drugs and to protect our food supply from bioterrorism. She sponsored legislation to increase America's commitment to fighting the global HIV/AIDS crisis, and is now leading the fight for expanded use of information technology in the health care system to decrease administrative costs, lower premiums, and reduce medical errors.

Her strong advocacy for children continues in the Senate. Some of Hillary's proudest achievements have been her work to ensure the safety of prescription drugs for children, with legislation now included in the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, and her legislation to help schools address environmental hazards. She has also proposed expanding access to child care. She has passed legislation that will bring more qualified teachers into classrooms and more outstanding principals to lead our schools.

Hillary has been a powerful advocate for women in the Senate. Her commitment to supporting the rights guaranteed in Roe v. Wade and to reducing the number of abortions by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies was hailed by the New York Times as "frank talk...(and) a promising path." Hillary is one of the original cosponsors of the Prevention First Act to increase access to family planning. Her fight with the Bush Administration ensured that Plan B, an emergency contraceptive, will be available to millions of American women and will reduce the need for abortions.

Hillary is strongly committed to making sure that every American has the right to vote in fair, accessible, and credible elections. She introduced the Count Every Vote Act of 2005 to ensure better protection of votes and to ensure that every vote is counted.

In 2006, New Yorkers reelected Hillary to the Senate with 67 percent of the vote.

Hillary Clinton- The Issues

Hillary's Plan to Rebuild the Road to the Middle Class

Hillary has a plan to restore America's middle class. After six and a half years of Bush administration policies, the middle class is struggling to succeed in an economy that is leaving more and more Americans behind.

Income inequality has risen to the highest levels since 1929, and wages have stagnated. In the meantime, health care premiums and college tuition have skyrocketed, squeezing middle class families who have largely relied on their home equity to make ends meet. The burgeoning problems in the housing market further threaten many middle class families.

Understanding that a vibrant middle class is essential to America's prosperity, Hillary will implement a broad set of policies to once again restore opportunity for all Americans.

Hillary's economic blueprint to restore the American middle class includes:


As president, Hillary will:


  1. Lower taxes for middle class families by: extending the middle class tax cuts including child tax credit and marriage penalty relief, offering new tax cuts for healthcare, college and retirement, and expanding the EITC and the child care tax credit.
  2. Harness the power of innovation to create high wage jobs of the 21st Century. Investments in alternative energy can create new jobs for the 21st century; expanded access to broadband will bring opportunities to underserved and disadvantaged communities; the manufacturing base can be re-energized through creative partnerships; and increased government support for research will stimulate the development of new technologies and life-saving medicines. Hillary will restore integrity to science policy, reversing Bush administration policies that are holding our nation back.
  3. Empower our workers and ensure that all Americans contribute their fair share. Hillary will ensure that unions, which have played an important role in forming and sustaining the middle class, are strong. She will also ensure that trade policies work for average Americans. Trade policy must raise our standard of living, and they must have strong protections for workers and the environment.
  4. Restore the basic bargain. Hillary will restore the basic bargain that if Americans work hard and take responsibility, government will do its part to make sure they have the tools to get ahead.
  5. Return to fiscal responsibility. After six and a half year of President Bush's fiscal irresponsibility, Hillary wants America to regain control of its destiny. She will move back toward a balanced budget and surpluses. Hillary believes that we should develop a set of budget rules similar to those we had in the 90s which required us to fund new expenditures with new revenues or cuts in other areas.
American Health Choses Plan

Hillary's American Health Choices Plan covers all Americans and improves health care by lowering costs and improving quality. It speaks to American values, American families, and American jobs.

It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs. If you're one of the tens of million Americans without coverage or if you don't like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans to pick from and that coverage will be affordable. Of course, if you like the plan you have, you can keep it.


  • Affordable: Unlike the current health system where insurance premiums send people into bankruptcy, the plan provides tax credits for working families to help them cover their costs. The tax credits will ensure that working families never have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for health care.
  • Available: No discrimination. The insurance companies can't deny you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition.
  • Reliable: It's portable. If you change or lose your job, you keep your health care.

If you have a plan you like, you keep it. If you want to change plans or aren't currently covered, you can choose from dozens of the same plans available to members of Congress, or you can opt into a public plan option like Medicare. And working families will get tax credits to help pay their premiums.


Insurance companies won't be able to deny you coverage or drop you because their computer model says you're not worth it. They will have to offer and renew coverage to anyone who applies and pays their premium. And like other things that you buy, they will have to compete for your business based on quality and price. Families will have the security of knowing that if they become ill or lose their jobs, they won't lose their coverage.

Nobody has worked harder or longer to improve health care than Hillary Clinton. From her time in Arkansas when she improved rural health care to her successful effort to create the SCHIP Children's Health Insurance program which now covers six million children, Hillary has the strength and experience to ensure that every man, woman and child in America has quality, affordable health care. 

Ending the War in Iraq

Hillary Clinton has announced her plan to end the war in Iraq and urged President Bush to act immediately.

"Our message to the president is clear. It is time to begin ending this war -- not next year, not next month -- but today.

"We have heard for years now that as the Iraqis stand up, our troops will stand down. Every year, we hear about how next year they may start coming home. Now we are hearing a new version of that yet again from the president as he has more troops in Iraq than ever and the Iraqi government is more fractured and ineffective than ever.

"Well, the right strategy before the surge and post-escalation is the same: start bringing home America's troops now."

If President Bush does not end the war, when Hillary Clinton is president, she will. Her three-step plan would bring our troops home, work to bring stability to the region, and replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future. Hillary has been fighting every day in the Senate to force the president to change course. And today she described how she would bring the war to an end.

Starting Phased Redeployment within Hillary's First Days in Office: The most important part of Hillary's plan is the first: to end our military engagement in Iraq's civil war and immediately start bringing our troops home. As president, one of Hillary's first official actions would be to convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, her Secretary of Defense, and her National Security Council. She would direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home starting with the first 60 days of her Administration. She would also direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to prepare a comprehensive plan to provide the highest quality health care and benefits to every service member -- including every member of the National Guard and Reserves -- and their families.

Securing Stability in Iraq as we Bring our Troops Home. As president, Hillary would focus American aid efforts during our redeployment on stabilizing Iraq, not propping up the Iraqi government. She would direct aid to the entities -- whether governmental or non-governmental -- most likely to get it into the hands of the Iraqi people. She would also support the appointment of a high level U.N. representative -- similar to those appointed in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo -- to help broker peace among the parties in Iraq.

A New Intensive Diplomatic Initiative in the Region. In her first days in office, Hillary would convene a regional stabilization group composed of key allies, other global powers, and all of the states bordering Iraq. The- mission of this group would be to develop and implement a strategy to create a stable Iraq. It would have three specific goals:


  • Non-interference. Working with the U.N. representative, the group would work to convince Iraq's neighbors to refrain from getting involved in the civil war.
  • Mediation. The group would attempt to mediate among the different sectarian groups in Iraq with the goal of attaining compromises on fundamental points of disputes.
  • Reconstruction funding. The members of the group would hold themselves and other countries to their past pledges to provide funding to Iraq and will encourage additional contributions to meet Iraq's extensive needs.

As our forces redeploy out of Iraq, Hillary would also organize a multi-billion dollar international effort -- funded by a wide range of donor states -- under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the needs of Iraqi refugees. And as we replace military force with diplomacy and global leadership, Hillary will not lose sight of our very real strategic interests in the region. She would devote the resources we need to fight terrorism and will order specialized units to engage in narrow and targeted operations against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in the region.

Ending the War in Iraq

Hillary Clinton has announced her plan to end the war in Iraq and urged President Bush to act immediately.

"Our message to the president is clear. It is time to begin ending this war -- not next year, not next month -- but today.

"We have heard for years now that as the Iraqis stand up, our troops will stand down. Every year, we hear about how next year they may start coming home. Now we are hearing a new version of that yet again from the president as he has more troops in Iraq than ever and the Iraqi government is more fractured and ineffective than ever.

"Well, the right strategy before the surge and post-escalation is the same: start bringing home America's troops now."

If President Bush does not end the war, when Hillary Clinton is president, she will. Her three-step plan would bring our troops home, work to bring stability to the region, and replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future. Hillary has been fighting every day in the Senate to force the president to change course. And today she described how she would bring the war to an end.

Starting Phased Redeployment within Hillary's First Days in Office: The most important part of Hillary's plan is the first: to end our military engagement in Iraq's civil war and immediately start bringing our troops home. As president, one of Hillary's first official actions would be to convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, her Secretary of Defense, and her National Security Council. She would direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home starting with the first 60 days of her Administration. She would also direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to prepare a comprehensive plan to provide the highest quality health care and benefits to every service member -- including every member of the National Guard and Reserves -- and their families.

Securing Stability in Iraq as we Bring our Troops Home. As president, Hillary would focus American aid efforts during our redeployment on stabilizing Iraq, not propping up the Iraqi government. She would direct aid to the entities -- whether governmental or non-governmental -- most likely to get it into the hands of the Iraqi people. She would also support the appointment of a high level U.N. representative -- similar to those appointed in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo -- to help broker peace among the parties in Iraq.

A New Intensive Diplomatic Initiative in the Region. In her first days in office, Hillary would convene a regional stabilization group composed of key allies, other global powers, and all of the states bordering Iraq. The- mission of this group would be to develop and implement a strategy to create a stable Iraq. It would have three specific goals:


  • Non-interference. Working with the U.N. representative, the group would work to convince Iraq's neighbors to refrain from getting involved in the civil war.
  • Mediation. The group would attempt to mediate among the different sectarian groups in Iraq with the goal of attaining compromises on fundamental points of disputes.
  • Reconstruction funding. The members of the group would hold themselves and other countries to their past pledges to provide funding to Iraq and will encourage additional contributions to meet Iraq's extensive needs.

As our forces redeploy out of Iraq, Hillary would also organize a multi-billion dollar international effort -- funded by a wide range of donor states -- under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the needs of Iraqi refugees. And as we replace military force with diplomacy and global leadership, Hillary will not lose sight of our very real strategic interests in the region. She would devote the resources we need to fight terrorism and will order specialized units to engage in narrow and targeted operations against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in the region.


Hillary has a bold and comprehensive plan to address America's energy and environmental challenges that will establish a green, efficient economy and create as many as five million new jobs.

Centered on a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, stronger energy and auto efficiency standards and a significant increase in green research funding, Hillary's plan will reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and address the looming climate crisis.

Setting ambitious targets, the plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from 2030 projected levels, more than 10 million barrels per day.

Hillary would transform our economy from carbon-based to clean and energy efficient, jumpstarting research and development through a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund and doubling investment in basic energy research. She would also spur the green building industry by funding the retrofitting and modernization of 20 million low-income homes and take concrete steps to reduce electricity consumption, including enacting strict appliance efficiency standards and phasing out incandescent light bulbs.

Recognizing that transportation accounts for 70 percent of U.S. oil consumption, Hillary would increase fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, but would help automakers retool their production facilities through $20 billion in "Green Vehicle Bonds."

To take the steps necessary to transition to a clean and renewable energy future, Hillary will urge all of the nation's stakeholders to contribute to the effort. Automakers will be asked to make more efficient vehicles; oil and energy companies to invest in cleaner, renewable technologies; utilities to ramp up use of renewables and modernize the grid; coal companies to implement clean coal technology; government to establish a cap and trade carbon emissions system and renew its leadership in energy efficient buildings and services; individuals to conserve energy and utilize efficient light bulbs and appliances in their homes; and industry to build energy efficient homes and buildings.

Hillary's plan to promote energy independence, address global warming, and transform our economy includes:


  • A new cap-and-trade program that auctions 100 percent of permits alongside investments to move us on the path towards energy independence; 
  • An aggressive comprehensive energy efficiency agenda to reduce electricity consumption 20 percent from projected levels by 2020 by changing the way utilities do business, catalyzing a green building industry, enacting strict appliance efficiency standards, and phasing out incandescent light bulbs; 
  • A $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund, paid for in part by oil companies, to fund investments in alternative energy. The SEF will finance one-third of the $150 billon ten-year investment in a new energy future contained in this plan; 
  • Doubling of federal investment in basic energy research, including funding for an ARPA-E, a new research agency modeled on the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 
  • Aggressive action to transition our economy toward renewable energy sources, with renewables generating 25 percent of electricity by 2025 and with 60 billion gallons of home-grown biofuels available for cars and trucks by 2030; 
  • 10 "Smart Grid City" partnerships to prove the advanced capabilities of smart grid and other advanced demand-reduction technologies, as well as new investment in plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies; 
  • An increase in fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, and $20 billion of "Green Vehicle Bonds" to help U.S. automakers retool their plants to meet the standards; 
  • A plan to catalyze a thriving green building industry by investing in green collar jobs and helping to modernize and retrofit 20 million low-income homes to make them more energy efficient; 
  • A new "Connie Mae" program to make it easier for low and middle-income Americans to buy green homes and invest in green home improvements; 
  • A requirement that all publicly traded companies report financial risks due to climate change in annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and 
  • Creation of a "National Energy Council" within the White House to ensure implementation of the plan across the Executive Branch. 
  • A requirement that all federal buildings designed after January 20, 2009 will be zero emissions buildings.

Improving Our Schools

From her days as a staff attorney for the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) working as an advocate for children with special needs to her leadership of the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, Hillary has been a passionate advocate for providing greater educational opportunities to all children. Her work for CDF helped pave the way for the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, the first time children with special needs were guaranteed the right to a free, appropriate public education. Her work in Arkansas led to tangible results: teacher salaries doubled, class size fell significantly, learning standards and assessments were implemented, and students were given much greater access to higher-level science and foreign-language courses. Hillary also brought Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, a model parent education program, to the state in order to better prepare all children to start school.

As the nation's First Lady, Hillary promoted the Prescription for Reading program, encouraging pediatricians to "prescribe" that new parents read to their children. She helped create Early Head Start in order to prepare students from low income backgrounds for school. She also spearheaded the administration's efforts to grow an after-school program from a pilot program of $1 million to a $1 billion program, serving children in all 50 states. As a senator, Hillary worked to reform and fully fund No Child Left Behind. She helped enact legislation to recruit and retain teachers and principals to high-need areas. She has been committed to strengthen and fully fund our special education system. She also helped fight off efforts by the Bush administration to slash afterschool funding by 40 percent. As president, Hillary will fight for each and every child in America to have access to the highest quality schools so that they can fulfill their potential and reach their dreams.

Ready to Lead

Early Childhood Education

Hillary knows that parents are our children's first teachers, and the early years have a tremendous impact on their lives. That is why she will invest heavily in proven strategies to get all children ready for school, including:

  • Nurse home visitation programs to help new parents develop parenting skills.
  • Quality child care and Head Start.
  • Pre-kindergarten for all four-year olds.

K-12

Hillary also knows that we have to improve our K-12 system in order to ensure that every child is prepared to compete in an increasingly global economy. As president, she will:

  • End the unfunded mandate known as No Child Left Behind.
  • Meet the funding promises of IDEA to ensure that children with special needs get the attention and support they deserve.
  • Recruit and retain thousands more outstanding teachers and principals, especially in urban and rural areas.
  • Cut the minority dropout rate in half.
  • Create "Green Schools" in order to reduce energy costs and eliminate environmental hazards that can hinder children's development.
  • Expand early-intervention mentoring programs to help one million at-risk youth aspire for college and job success.
  • Identify at-risk youth early on and provide $1 billion in intensive interventions, such as early college high schools and multiple pathways to graduation, to get them back on track.
  • Double the after school program to ensure that 2 million young people have a safe and stimulating place to go between 3 and 6 p.m.
  • Invest $100 million in a new public/private summer internship program.
  • Provide opportunity for 1.5 million disconnected youth in job programs linked to high-growth economic sectors.

College Access

In the 21st century, a college education is more important than ever. Hillary believes it's time for a new bargain with the American people -- a bargain that gives all Americans willing to work hard the tools they need to get ahead. Her plan will make college more affordable and accessible so that every American who has earned it and wants to go has the chance to get a college degree. As president, she will:

  • Create a new $3,500 college tax credit.
  • Increase the maximum Pell Grant.
  • Strengthen community colleges through a $500 million investment.
  • Create a graduation fund to increase college graduation rates.
  • Increase to $10,000 the college scholarship for those who participate in AmeriCorps full-time for one year.
  • Get rid of the red tape in financial aid.
  • Hold college costs down and hold colleges accountable for results though an online college cost calculator, a college graduation and employment rate index, and truth in tuition disclosure.
  • Challenge selective colleges to expand access for students from low-income communities.

Fulfilling Our Promises to Veterans

Hillary Clinton has a long history of fighting for our veterans and will work to ensure our country fulfills its obligations to those who have served and sacrificed for the nation.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hillary has championed legislation to improve the lives of our veterans and their families. She worked to provide access to TRICARE for National Guard and Reserve members. She authored the Heroes at Home Act that will begin to help service members struggling with post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. She worked with others in the Senate to pass legislation to increase the military survivor benefit from $12,000 to $100,000.

As president, she will honor three fundamental commitments: First, every member of our armed forces will receive a fair shot at the American dream when their service is over. Second, every veteran in America will have health care. Third, every veteran will receive the benefits they have earned and the assistance they need - right from the start.

Enact a GI Bill of Rights for the Twenty-First Century. Hillary will enact a GI Bill of Rights for the 21st century that will resurrect the spirit of the original 1944 GI Bill and offer service members, veterans and their families with expanded education, housing and entrepreneurial benefits. Her plan will guarantee equal access for all components of the Armed Forces - Active, Guard and Reserve - that have deployed overseas in support of a combat operation since September 11 or served two years of active duty since September 11. She will fund undergraduate education for service members, as well as education for specialized trade or technical training, and certification and licensing programs. She will expand the VA Home Loan Guaranty program to allow veterans to use low-interest, no-fee loans to purchase, build or improve a home valued up to $625,000. She will establish a Veterans Microloan Program to provide veterans with no-collateral, low-interest microloans of up to $100,000 for entrepreneurial ventures.

Provide Affordable and Quality Health Care for All Veterans. As President, Hillary will ensure that all of the 1.8 million uninsured veterans in this country have access to quality, affordable health care. She will restore the Clinton-era policy that opened the VA’s excellent and cost-effective health care system to all veterans who seek to enroll. She will make a long-term commitment to the VA system to ensure it is adequately funded and has the capacity to avoid backlogs and to handle greater enrollments. And she will provide coverage through the American Health Choices Plan to all veterans who choose not to use the VA system.

Ensure All Veterans Receive the Benefits They Have Earned and the Assistance They Need -- Right from the Start. As President, Hillary will commit to getting a fair, accurate, and timely decision for every veteran filing a disability claim. She will increase the number of qualified VA evaluators to reduce the backlog of claims. She will provide fast-track training for new claims specialists and expand the Benefits at Discharge Program to smooth the transition from service to discharge for all those who serve our country.

Extend Hiring Preferences to Veterans-friendly Contractors. Today, there are between 7.2 and 7.6 million federal contractors, 2 million more than there were five years ago. The privatization of government by the Bush administration has meant veterans are losing job opportunities, because contractors do not necessarily have the same hiring policies as the federal government. Hillary will cut the number of contractors working for the federal government by 500,000 over the next 10 years, saving $10 to $18 billion a year. And she will restore and expand job opportunities for veterans by working to establish a system through which federal contractors afford veterans hiring preference comparable to the federal government’s.

Expand the Helmets to Hardhats Program. Hillary will increase funding for the Helmets to Hardhats program. This program links veterans with local job opportunities in the construction and trade industries by offering apprenticeship programs that teach veterans through on-the-job training supplemented by classroom instruction.

Give Veterans Additional Opportunities to Serve. Hillary will make vouchers worth up to $10,000 available to returning veterans who want to serve in AmeriCorps and select not-for-profit organizations. These organizations would provide at least $5,000 to supplement the voucher. This system will help veterans create normal routines and reenter their communities while doing meaningful work serving their country. Hillary will make this subsidy available to as many as 20,000 veterans a year.

Reduce Homelessness among Veterans. In 2006, nearly 200,000 veterans were homeless on any given night. Hillary will establish a pilot program on homelessness prevention for veterans that will provide subsidies, eviction prevention, and one-time assistance for veterans who fall behind on their rent. She will also expand rental assistance for veterans by calling on Congress to fund an additional 20,000 housing choice vouchers exclusively for homeless veterans.

Expand Veterans Homeownership. Hillary will make homeownership more affordable for veterans. Veterans will receive a 50% discount on foreclosed properties in the government’s inventory, which currently stands at 35,000 homes. And she will eliminate the upfront fees on VA mortgages for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who take out VA loans within two years of leaving active duty. 

America is ready for a president who fights for our children. Hillary has spent her lifetime as an effective advocate for parents and children.

From her first job out of law school at the Children's Defense Fund to her time as First Lady of Arkansas and of the United States to her service in the Senate, helping children has been at the center of Hillary's public life.

In the White House, Hillary will continue her lifelong work to create a world where every child is cherished, loved, and able to fulfill his or her potential.

Ready to Lead

Among the issues she has fought for and will make a priority as president are:

  • Attracting and supporting more outstanding teachers and principals, and paying them like the professionals they are.
  • Reforming the No Child Left Behind Act. This law represented a promise -- more resources for schools in exchange for more accountability -- and that promise has not been kept.
  • Giving new parents support and training to promote healthy development for their children.
  • Increasing access to high-quality early education and helping to create Early Head Start.
  • Passing legislation to provide respite care for caregivers of elderly and disabled Americans.
  • Helping to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act to enable new parents to take time off without losing their jobs, and expanding it to make it available to more parents and to provide for longer leave.
  • Advocating for adoption and for abused and neglected children -- as First Lady, Hillary pushed legislation that more than doubled adoptions out of foster care.
  • Promoting programs, like Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, that provide new parents with support and guidance in caring for their children. As First Lady of Arkansas, she helped bring HIPPY to the U.S.
  • Protecting children against violence and sexual content in the media and studying the impact of electronic media on children's cognitive, social, and physical development.
  • Providing meaningful support to households, called "kinship care" families, where grandparents and other relatives are raising children.


Restoring America's Standing in the World

Americans are ready for a leader who will restore America's reputation in the world, and Hillary is prepared to lead America back in the right direction.

The next president's most urgent task will be to restore America's standing in the world to promote our interests, ensure our security, and advance our values.

America is stronger when we lead the world through alliances and build our foreign policy on a strong foundation of bipartisan consensus. As president, Hillary will lead by the words of the Declaration of Independence, which pledged "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind."

We know we need global coalitions to tackle global problems like climate change, poverty, AIDS, and terrorism. And to keep our country safe, we need to start engaging our enemies again. During the Cold War, with missiles pointed at us, we never stopped talking to the Soviet Union. That didn't mean we agreed with them or approved of them. But it did mean we came to understand them -- and that was crucial to confronting the threats they posed.

Hillary knows that America must remain a preeminent leader for peace and freedom, willing to work in concert with other nations and institutions to reach common goals. Hillary has put forth an aggressive plan to support public schools in developing countries in an effort to achieve universal primary education for the 77 million children around the world who aren't in school because they are too poor.

Ready to Lead

As First Lady and U.S. senator, Hillary visited more than 80 countries and met countless world leaders as America's representative. In the Senate, Hillary has continued to promote America's interests through her work on international affairs.

Senator Clinton takes very seriously the threats we face from terrorism. She believes President Bush's singular focus on Iraq has distracted him from waging the war on terror effectively and emboldened our enemies. As president, she will be tough and smart in combating terrorism.

Hillary has steadfastly fought for Israel's right to exist peacefully and to defend its people against terrorism. She has condemned Hamas's rise to power. She has spoken out against the problem of anti-Semitism in Palestinian textbooks and condemned Iran's conference on the Holocaust. She also successfully helped Magen David Adom join the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.

She has continued to advance peace in Northern Ireland by maintaining close ties with Irish leaders and promoting business partnerships between Northern Ireland and the United States.

Hillary has been a forceful and consistent advocate for a more robust response to the violence in Darfur since May 2004. She has raised the issue with the Bush administration and pushed for more resources for peacekeeping efforts.


A Champion for Women

Hillary's historic statement at the United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 that "women's rights are human rights" still echoes worldwide. As a lawyer, advocate, First Lady, and senator, Hillary has fought for issues important to women here at home and around the world for decades.

Today, despite the progress women have made, they earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn -- and women of color earn even less. Hillary is leading the charge in the Senate to strengthen equal pay laws and end pay disparities between men and women. She introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to strengthen the penalties associated with wage discrimination, to ensure that the federal government sets a higher standard, and to increase oversight of employers. Hillary has also worked to increase access to capital and other support for women-owned businesses.

When it comes to each woman's ability to make the most personal of life decisions, Hillary has stood firm as an advocate for a woman's right to choose. She has expanded access to family planning services, including for low-income women. She spoke out forcefully against the Supreme Court's April 2007 decision that -- for the first time in decades -- failed to recognize the importance of women's health.

Hillary has worked to empower women throughout the world, especially low-income women. She has advocated for access to microfinance programs that enable women to start their own businesses and spoken out strongly against the tragic practice of sex trafficking.

As president, Hillary will continue her lifelong fight to ensure that all Americans are treated with respect and dignity.

Ready to Lead

Hillary has fought the relentless and insidious efforts by far-right Republicans to limit the protections of Roe v Wade, while also working hard to expand access to family planning services.

Hillary has seen what happens when governments try to control a woman's reproductive health decisions. Whether it was Romania under a dictatorship saying you had to have children for the good of the state or China saying you had to have only one child for the good of the state, governments have dictated the most private and important decisions that we as individuals or families can make.

She has championed the Prevention First Act, which expands access to family planning services for low-income women, requires health insurance companies to cover contraception, and provides a dedicated funding stream for age-appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive sex education.

As First Lady, she helped pass the Family and Medical Leave Act and helped found the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies, which established and achieved a goal of reducing teen pregnancies by one-third between 1996 and 2005.

In partnership with Senator Patty Murray, Hillary waged a successful three-year battle to get the Food and Drug Administration to accept the overwhelming recommendation of the medical community and make Plan B (the "morning after" pill) available over the counter.

Hillary's work to empower low-income women has changed lives. She fought for the elimination of school fees, which prevent poor children in some countries from attending school, and for investments in health care and education for women and girls. And she helped found Vital Voices, a not-for-profit organization that continues to work to support women's leadership around the globe.


Comprehensive Government Reform

Americans are ready for a government that puts competence ahead of cronyism.

In the past seven years, we've seen the president hand out jobs to his friends who were not qualified. Give out no-bid contracts to Halliburton. Fire U.S. attorneys who tried to uphold the law. And then there was Hurricane Katrina -- when a natural disaster became a national disgrace. It's a government of the few, by the few, and for the few -- and good luck to everyone else.

Well, how about this for a new approach? No more cronyism, no more corruption, and no more deception. And here's an old-fashioned idea: let's start appointing qualified people to positions of power again.

Government certainly isn't the answer to all our problems. But good government -- smart government -- can be a partner for progress. It can help solve problems and accomplish things together we could never accomplish alone.

We all know that in order to meet the challenges of our day -- to lift up our middle class and hard working families; to establish universal health care, energy independence, and fiscal responsibility; to end the war in Iraq and restore our leadership around the world -- we need a government that will rise to the occasion. We need a return to transparency and a system of checks and balances, to a president who respects Congress's role of oversight and accountability. We need a 21st century government to meet our 21st century challenges.

Hillary has proposed a comprehensive, 10-point plan to restore Americans' confidence in their government by increasing transparency and cutting waste and corruption. Her plan includes:


  • Banning Cabinet officials from lobbying a Hillary Clinton administration. 
  • Strengthening whistleblower protections. 
  • Creating a public service academy. 
  • Ending abuse of no-bid government contracts and posting all contracts online. 
  • Cutting 500,000 government contractors. 
  • Restoring the Office of Technology Assessment. 
  • Publishing budgets for every government agency. 
  • Implementing Results America Initiative to track government effectiveness. 
  • Tracking and eliminating corporate welfare. 
  • Expanding voting access and safeguarding voting machines.

Ready to Lead

In addition to her comprehensive plan for government reform, Hillary has proposed a detailed plan to restore professionalism to the Department of Justice. Under President Bush and his attorneys general, partisanship and cronyism have driven investigations, case selection, and the hiring of new career personnel. We have to believe that justice is blind in America and that our government will effectively and impartially uphold the law. Hillary has a plan to restore that belief. She will:


  • Rebuild the Department of Justice's traditional role in defending civil rights and the rule of law, and review charges of improper, politically motivated hiring. 
  • Help local school districts pursue voluntary integration and reduce racial inequality, in the face of a Supreme Court decision limiting districts' options. 
  • Strengthen our voting laws so that every citizen can fully exercise his or her constitutional right to vote. 
  • Combat ongoing racial and sex discrimination in the labor market by improving laws and expanding enforcement. 
  • Modernize and strengthen the federal hate crimes law.

Hillary has also outlined a set of proposals to end the Bush administration's war on science and to restore scientific integrity to government decision-making. She will:


  • Rescind the ban on ethical embryonic stem cell research. 
  • Ban political appointees from unduly interfering with scientific conclusions and publications. 
  • Direct department and agency heads to safeguard against political pressure that threatens scientific integrity and to promote transparency in decision-making. 
  • Appoint an Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Policy and strengthen the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Strengthening Our Democracy

America is ready for a leader who will make fair and honest elections a priority. As a senator, Hillary has fought to restore integrity to our elections. She will bring the same commitment to the White House.

Fair and honest elections are the bedrock of a successful democracy. Yet we have seen abuses in national elections since 2000 that have undermined our democracy and Americans' faith in our electoral system.

Hillary is a leading champion of election reform. She has introduced the Count Every Vote Act to avoid repeating the problems of the past and ensure the integrity of our elections. Her bill:

  • Provides a paper trail for every vote cast.
  • Designates Election Day as a national holiday.
  • Allows same-day registration.
  • Minimizes long lines at the polls.
  • Makes sure that impartial officials administer our elections.
  • Allows the attorney general to bring suit against anyone using deceptive practices (like distributing flyers with incorrect information about voter eligibility) to keep voters from voting.
  • Helps states invest in better voting technology.

Ready to Lead

Hillary, along with Senator Barbara Boxer and Representatives Stephanie Tubbs Jones and John Lewis, reintroduced the Count Every Vote Act on the 42nd anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march from Selma, Alabama. She has vowed to continue the fight for this bill because all Americans should be sure their votes are counted.

Hillary has also been a champion for civil rights. She has called for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- comprehensive civil rights legislation that would finally prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation. She has also supported legislation to end hate crimes by empowering federal officers with the greater authority and resources to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

She worked on bills, both of which were passed into law, to honor Shirley Chisholm for her service and to place a statue of Sojourner Truth in the U.S. Capitol. And she strongly opposed the confirmations of Samuel Alito and John Roberts as Supreme Court Justices, and those of Charles Pickering, Miguel Estrada, Janice Rogers Brown, and Priscilla Owen as federal circuit court judges.


Reforming our Immigration System

Our immigration system is in crisis. The laws we currently have on the books are inadequate and no longer serve our best interests. As a nation, we place a premium on compassion, respect, and policies that help families, but our immigration laws don't reflect that.

Hillary has consistently called for comprehensive immigration reform that respects our immigrant heritage and honors the rule of law. She believes comprehensive reform must have as essential ingredients a strengthening of our borders, greater cross-cooperation with our neighbors, strict but fair enforcement of our laws, federal assistance to our state and local governments, strict penalties for those who exploit undocumented workers, and a path to earned legal status for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar.

Hillary strongly believes we need to do more to know who is in our country by securing our borders and ensuring that employers comply with the law against hiring and exploiting undocumented workers. She supports deploying new technology that can help stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country and an employer verification system that is universal, accurate, timely, and does not lead to discrimination and abuse by employers.

Along with these changes, Hillary believes we need to repair those broken portions of our immigration system that irrevocably damage families and force citizens and lawful immigrants to choose between their newly adopted country and living with their spouse or children. We have a national interest in fostering strong families. This is why she introduced an amendment during consideration of the immigration reform bill that would have taken steps to protect the sanctity of families. Our American values demand no less.

And Hillary understands that our immigration policies have a direct impact on American workers. She opposes a guest worker program that exploits workers and creates a supply of cheap labor that undermines the wages of U.S. workers. Hillary believes all workers deserve safe conditions and decent wages. She supports an Ag Jobs program, which will keep our agricultural industry vibrant while enabling agricultural workers to receive the fair wages and labor protections they ought to receive.

When Hillary is president, comprehensive immigration reform will be a top priority.

Ready to Lead

Hillary has advocated for policies to help smooth the transition of legal immigrants once they arrive in the U.S. so that they can add to our economy and culture.

  • She championed the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act, which would give states the option to provide federally funded Medicaid and SCHIP benefits to low-income legal immigrant children and pregnant women.
  • She wrote the Access to Employment and English Acquisition Act to meet the growing demand for English language courses and other job skills.
  • She strongly supports the DREAM Act, which provides a path to citizenship through military service or higher education for children who were brought to the U.S. by their parents.
  • She offered an amendment to make family reunification the guiding principle of our immigration system.

Reforming our Immigration System

Our immigration system is in crisis. The laws we currently have on the books are inadequate and no longer serve our best interests. As a nation, we place a premium on compassion, respect, and policies that help families, but our immigration laws don't reflect that.

Hillary has consistently called for comprehensive immigration reform that respects our immigrant heritage and honors the rule of law. She believes comprehensive reform must have as essential ingredients a strengthening of our borders, greater cross-cooperation with our neighbors, strict but fair enforcement of our laws, federal assistance to our state and local governments, strict penalties for those who exploit undocumented workers, and a path to earned legal status for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar.

Hillary strongly believes we need to do more to know who is in our country by securing our borders and ensuring that employers comply with the law against hiring and exploiting undocumented workers. She supports deploying new technology that can help stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country and an employer verification system that is universal, accurate, timely, and does not lead to discrimination and abuse by employers.

Along with these changes, Hillary believes we need to repair those broken portions of our immigration system that irrevocably damage families and force citizens and lawful immigrants to choose between their newly adopted country and living with their spouse or children. We have a national interest in fostering strong families. This is why she introduced an amendment during consideration of the immigration reform bill that would have taken steps to protect the sanctity of families. Our American values demand no less.

And Hillary understands that our immigration policies have a direct impact on American workers. She opposes a guest worker program that exploits workers and creates a supply of cheap labor that undermines the wages of U.S. workers. Hillary believes all workers deserve safe conditions and decent wages. She supports an Ag Jobs program, which will keep our agricultural industry vibrant while enabling agricultural workers to receive the fair wages and labor protections they ought to receive.

When Hillary is president, comprehensive immigration reform will be a top priority.

Ready to Lead

Hillary has advocated for policies to help smooth the transition of legal immigrants once they arrive in the U.S. so that they can add to our economy and culture.

  • She championed the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act, which would give states the option to provide federally funded Medicaid and SCHIP benefits to low-income legal immigrant children and pregnant women.
  • She wrote the Access to Employment and English Acquisition Act to meet the growing demand for English language courses and other job skills.
  • She strongly supports the DREAM Act, which provides a path to citizenship through military service or higher education for children who were brought to the U.S. by their parents.
  • She offered an amendment to make family reunification the guiding principle of our immigration system.
HILLAY CLINTON'S INNOVATION AGENDA:
INVESTING IN IDEAS AND CREATING
HIGH_WAGE JOBS OF THE FUTURE

At a time when workers are anxious about the challenges of globalization and there is growing concern that America is losing its competitive edge, Hillary Clinton offered her views on how innovation can be the key for creating new jobs, stimulating economic growth, and ensuring American leadership of 21st century industries. She detailed policy proposals to renew the nation’s commitment to research; help create the premier science, engineering, technology, and mathematics workforce; and upgrade our innovation infrastructure. Hillary Clinton also rejected the Bush administration’s mixture of science with politics, and pledged to restore integrity to federal science policy.

BACKGROUND: America is still an “innovation superpower.” We have the world’s best university system, an entrepreneurial culture, and the availability of risk capital. Also, we spend more than $300 billion a year on research and development (approximately 2.7% of GDP), more than any other nation. Our products and services are in demand the world over. Last year, Americans captured all of the Nobel Prizes in science.

THE CHALLENGES: Other nations are increasingly investing in their innovation infrastructure, positioning themselves to challenge our leadership. In the last 12 years, China has doubled the percentage of GDP dedicated to R&D, and over that same period GDP itself doubled. Also, our share of the world’s scientists and engineers has declined, and too few American college students are preparing themselves for these careers. Fewer than 20% of American undergraduates are earning degrees in science or engineering, compared with more than 50% in China. And, we now rank 25th in broadband deployment.

THE SOLUTIONS: Hillary Clinton proposed a 9-point plan to renew the nation’s commitment to research; help create the premier science, engineering, technology and mathematics workforce; and upgrade our innovation infrastructure:

  1. Establish a $50-billion Strategic Energy Fund. The Fund would finance an energy research agency that gathers the best minds from academia, the private sector, and government to devise ways to make the United States energy independent and reduce the threat of global warming. Oil companies would have the choice of either investing in alternative energy or contributing a portion of their earnings into the Fund. The Fund would also provide tax incentives for homeowners and businesses to make their houses and offices more energy efficient; provide gas station owners a tax credit for installing E85 (ethanol) pumps; provide loan guarantees for the commercialization of cellulosic biofuels; and providing incentives for the development of new technologies that contribute to a cleaner environment.
  2. Increase the basic research budgets 50% over 10 years at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the Defense Department. The increased investment can be accomplished through a combination of new and reallocated funds. At present, federal expenditures on basic research total $28 billion, $13 billion of which is spent outside of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
    • Increase research focus on the physical sciences and engineering. Funding for research in the physical sciences and engineering have remained relatively flat for over a decade, while other nations have stepped up spending. Hillary Clinton proposes to direct the federal agencies to commit a large portion of their budget increases to research in these areas.
    • Require that federal research agencies set aside at least 8% of their research budgets for discretionary funding of high-risk research. It is critical to support unconventional research that has the potential of producing break-through results. Under the Bush administration, agencies like the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have reduced support for truly revolutionary research. This is a problem because DARPA has played a major role in maintaining America’s economic and military leadership. DARPA backed such projects as the Internet, stealth technology, and the Global Positioning System.
    • Ensure that e-science initiatives are adequately funded. E-science has transformative potential, and we must accelerate the pace of discovery and investment to ensure that America leads the emerging field. E-science is research that links Internet-based tools, global collaboration, supercomputers, high-speed networks, and software for simulation and visualization. The potential of e-science is great. For example, researchers could one day model climate change by constructing scale simulations of the Earth’s systems. The NSF commits approximately 3% of its budget, or $200 million annually, to the support of e-science through its Office of Cyberinfrastructure.
    • Boost support for multidisciplinary research in areas such as the intersection of bio, info, and nanotechnologies. This is an area of potentially unique competitive advantage for the United States. Few countries have the depth and breadth of our excellence across different scientific and technological fields.
  3. Increase the NIH budget by 50% over 5 years and aim to double it over 10 years. Since 2003, the National Institute of Health (NIH) budget has been largely flat, and President Bush proposes reducing it by 1.1% in 2008. Declines in NIH expenditures could significantly affect the quantity and quality of university research, dissuade young people from pursuing careers in science, and impede biomedical advances. NIH-funded research has produced break-through treatments for heart disease, cancer, and AIDS. With funding lagging, there are fewer grants for researchers; there is increased uncertainty about whether funding will be sufficient to complete projects; there is less support for truly creative research; some labs are understaffed; and many construction projects have been scaled back or suspended. The multi-year commitment provides predictability, and the increased funding will help ensure that the next generation of scientists will be well trained.
    • Increase investment in the non-health applications of biotechnology in order to fuel 21st century industry. The NIH dominates federal investments in biology and the life sciences, and there are only a few programs exploring non-health applications of biotech. And although biotechnology is a $50 billion industry, it is still in its infancy-and that is particularly true where the non-health applications are concerned. An example of non-health biotech is the creation of bacteria that can remove toxins from the environment, such as heavy metals or radioactive contaminants. Insights from biotechnology can accelerate growth in a large number of other fields-not unlike the way 20th century developments in the chemicals industry drove growth in oil and gas refining, pulp and paper, building materials, and pharmaceuticals. The NIH will have to work with other agencies to explore these non-health applications.
  4. Direct the federal agencies to award prizes in order to accomplish specific innovation goals. The federal agencies should regularly use prizes to encourage innovation when there is a clearly defined goal and when there are multiple technological paths for achieving that goal. Prizes can attract non-traditional participants and stimulate the development of useful but under-funded technology. Hillary Clinton proposes to make prizes a part of the budgets at the research agencies.
  5. Triple the number of NSF fellowships and increase the size of each award by 33 percent. At present, the NSF offers approximately 1,000 fellowships per year, similar to 1960s levels, although the number of college students graduating with science and engineering degrees has grown three fold. The NSF fellowship is the key financial resource for science and engineering graduate students. Hillary Clinton proposes increasing the number of fellowships to 3,000 per year. She also proposes increasing the size of each award from $30,000 to $40,000 per year (simultaneously, she proposes to increase the NSF award to each recipient’s school from $10,500 per recipient to $14,000 per recipient to help cover educational costs). It is estimated that this would increase the annual cost of the program from $122 million to $500 million. [Richard Freeman, the Hamilton Project, "Investment in the Best and Brightest," December 2006]
  6. Support initiatives to bring more women and minorities into the math, science, and engineering professions. Increasing the educational attainment of women and minorities, particularly in math, science and engineering, is critical to our future as an innovative nation. Women comprise 43% of the workforce but only 23% of scientists and engineers. Blacks and Hispanics represent 30% of the workforce, but only 7% of scientists and engineers. Unless women and underrepresented minorities develop strong math, science, and engineering skills, the average educational attainment of the American worker will decline. Hillary Clinton proposes that the federal agencies adopt criteria that take diversity into account when awarding education and research grants. She also proposes that the federal government provide financial support to college and university programs that encourage women and minorities to study math, science, and engineering.
  7. Support initiatives to establish leadership in broadband. Under the Bush administration, the country that invented the Internet has slipped to 25th in the global rankings for broadband deployment. In order to accelerate the deployment of sophisticated networks, Hillary Clinton proposes that the federal government provide tax incentives to encourage broadband deployment in underserved areas. She also proposes financial support for state and local broadband initiatives. Various municipal broadband initiatives are underway around the country to accelerate the deployment of high speed networks. The initiatives are useful for education, commerce, technology development, and the efficient provision of municipal services.
  8. Overhaul the R&E tax credit to make the U.S. a more attractive location for high-paying jobs. The 20% incremental tax credit should be made permanent. Since its introduction in 1981, the credit has been extended 12 times and allowed to lapse once. A permanent credit would make the U.S. a more attractive location for R&D facilities, increasing the likelihood that high-paying research jobs will be created here rather than abroad. Hillary Clinton proposes to make the tax credit permanent in order to eliminate uncertainty, and to make it easier for companies to plan their R&D budgets.
  9. Restore integrity to science policy. It is important to reinvigorate the Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure that the President receives objective, fact-based advice. Hillary Clinton will reverse the Bush administration’s irresponsible politicization of science.
SUBMIT YOUR IDEAS TO HILLARY
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/innovation/










Noteworthy Donors
Photo of Berry Gordy Berry Gordy $2,300
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Hillary Rodham Clinton
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/hc42.html

President Bush Biography
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As an undergraduate at Wellesley College, Hillary mixed academic excellence with school government. Speaking at graduation, she said, "The challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible."

In 1969, Hillary entered Yale Law School, where she served on the Board of Editors of Yale Law Review and Social Action, interned with children's advocate Marian Wright Edelman, and met Bill Clinton. The President often recalls how they met in the library when she strode up to him and said, "If you're going to keep staring at me, I might as well introduce myself." The two were soon inseparable--partners in moot court, political campaigns, and matters of the heart.

After graduation, Hillary advised the Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge and joined the impeachment inquiry staff advising the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. After completing those responsibilities, she "followed her heart to Arkansas," where Bill had begun his political career.

They married in 1975. She joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas Law School in 1975 and the Rose Law Firm in 1976. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, and Bill Clinton became governor of Arkansas. Their daughter, Chelsea, was born in 1980.

Hillary served as Arkansas's First Lady for 12 years, balancing family, law, and public service. She chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services, and the Children's Defense Fund.

As the nation's First Lady, Hillary continued to balance public service with private life. Her active role began in 1993 when the President asked her to chair the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. She continued to be a leading advocate for expanding health insurance coverage, ensuring children are properly immunized, and raising public awareness of health issues. She wrote a weekly newspaper column entitled "Talking It Over," which focused on her experiences as First Lady and her observations of women, children, and families she has met around the world. Her 1996 book It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us was a best seller, and she received a Grammy Award for her recording of it.

As First Lady, her public involvement with many activities sometimes led to controversy. Undeterred by critics, Hillary won many admirers for her staunch support for women around the world and her commitment to children's issues.

She was elected United States Senator from New York on November 7, 2000. She is the first First Lady elected to the United States Senate and the first woman elected statewide in New York. 

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Hillary Rodham Clinton

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Party: Democratic

Occupation: Lawyer, U.S. Senator

Current Job / Position: Senator from New York


Web site(s):
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Biography





During the 1992 presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton observed, "Our lives are a mixture of different roles. Most of us are doing the best we can to find whatever the right balance is . . . For me, that balance is family, work, and service."

Hillary Diane Rodham, Dorothy and Hugh Rodham's first child, was born on October 26, 1947. Two brothers, Hugh and Tony, soon followed. Hillary's childhood in Park Ridge, Illinois, was happy and disciplined. She loved sports and her church, and was a member of the National Honor Society, and a student leader. Her parents encouraged her to study hard and to pursue any career that interested her. 


Biography

Personal

Birthdate: October 26, 1947 (Chicago, Ill. )

Hometown: Park Ridge, Ill.

Spouse: Bill Clinton

Children: Chelsea Clinton

Religion: United Methodist

Education

  • Yale Law School, J.D., 1973
  • Wellesley College, B.A., 1969
  • Maine South High School

Experience

Businesses Owned, Past Careers, Board Memberships, Etc.:

  • Attorney, Rose Law Firm, 1976-1992
  • Faculty, University of Arkansas Law School, 1975
  • Board Member, TCBY Yogurt Company, 1985-1992
  • Board Member, Wal-Mart, 1985-1992
  • Board Member, Arkansas Children's Hospital
  • Board Member, Children's Defense Fund
  • Co-Founder, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

Public Service / Elected Offices:

  • Senator, United States Senate, 2001-present
  • First Lady of the United States, 1993-2001
  • First Lady of Arkansas, 1979-1981, 1983-1993
  • House Judiciary Committee, 1974

Book(s)

  • Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets by Hillary Rodham Clinton
  • Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
  • It Takes a Village by Hillary Rodham Clinton
  • Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda: Drawings by Child Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Richard A. Salem

Endorsements

98 campaign endorsements (of 584) by state-level political figures.

Latest Endorsements


Hillary Rodham Clinton


Do you have a plan to make health care more accessible to Americans? If so, how would you do it?

Yes. I recently unveiled a plan that will provide quality, affordable health care to all Americans, including the 47 million who don't have coverage today. I believe we have a moral imperative to provide quality health care for all Americans, and when I am President, enacting legislation to provide guaranteed quality, affordable health care will be my top domestic priority. My plan is based on the principles of shared responsibility and choice. If you have a plan you like, you keep it. If you want to change plans or aren't currently covered, you can choose from the same plans available to Members of Congress or opt into a public plan like Medicare. My plan will lower costs and improve quality, making health care affordable and accessible to everyone. It will lower health care costs by modernizing the system, focusing on preventive care, coordinating and streamlining care for chronically ill patients, and getting rid of the hidden cost of providing care to the uninsured. Under my plan, working families will get a tax credit to help pay for their premiums, insurance companies won't be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and people won't lose coverage if they switch or lose their jobs.

Do you support allowing a portion of the money currently withheld for Social Security to be put into private accounts? Why or why not?

I strongly oppose Social Security privatization. Social Security is a solemn promise to our seniors, and I am committed to keeping that promise. I am proud to have fought President Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security, which would have dismantled Social Security's guaranteed benefit structure, reduced Social Security benefits, and put seniors' retirement at risk by subjecting individuals to the whims of the stock market. Social Security is the single greatest domestic program in our history, and we have to protect it.

What specific changes would you make to the Social Security program?

I have a clear, straightforward plan to deal with Social Security. First, return to fiscal responsibility. That will give us the kinds of options we had in the late 1990s, when we had a plan to keep Social Security solvent until 2055. Second, set up a bipartisan process to address Social Security's long-term challenges. Third, as part of that process, we should consider a range of modest fixes to strengthen the program. But I will never agree to privatization, and I do not believe we should fix Social Security on the backs of the middle class or our nation's seniors. I also believe that in addition to protecting Social Security for future generations, we need to do more to promote retirement savings. That's why I have a plan to give every American the chance to open a new American Retirement Account, with generous matching tax cuts of up to $1,000 to help middle-class families save.

Do you support setting a deadline for either a withdrawal or a partial pullback of troops from Iraq? If so, what would be the date of that deadline?

Yes. I have voted for end dates in May 2008, June 2008, and December 2008. But President Bush is not willing to set an end date. When I am President, I will end the war in Iraq. I will convene a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my Secretary of Defense, and my National Security Council to draw up a viable plan to bring our troops home starting within the first 60 days of my administration. When I am President, I will withdraw our forces from the sectarian fighting. There will be no American soldiers refereeing a civil war. No more combat patrols in Baghdad.

What distinguishes your plan for Iraq from those of the other candidates?

I have laid out a detailed plan for ending the war in Iraq swiftly and responsibly. As President, I would bring our troops home, work to bring stability to the region, and replace a military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future and America's national interests. I would focus U.S. aid on helping Iraqis, ensuring that financial resources are used properly and not wasted, stolen, or hoarded by government ministries or ministers. I would also convene a regional stabilization group of allies, other global powers and all of the states bordering Iraq to develop and implement a strategy to create a stable Iraq. I would organize an international effort funded by a wide range of donor states, under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to address the needs of Iraqi refugees.

What would be your top three national security priorities if you were elected?

As President, my top national security priorities will be to end the war in Iraq, to reinforce the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, and to rebuild our shattered alliances. These three priorities are all essential components of restoring American power and leadership around the world.

What types of regulations and guidelines do you plan on implementing or promoting in order to deal with climate change and to make our country less oil dependent?

I recently announced my plan to address the energy and climate crises. I have three big goals: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, the level necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming; to cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from projected levels by 2030; and to transform our carbon-based economy into an efficient green economy, creating at least five million jobs from clean energy over the next decade. Specifically, my plan includes a new cap-and-trade program that auctions 100 percent of permits, an energy efficiency agenda to reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent from projected levels by 2020, and a $50 billion fund for investments in alternative energy. In addition, I will work toward doubling federal investment in basic energy research, taking aggressive action to transition our economy toward renewable energy sources, and increasing fuel efficiency standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2020 and 55 miles per gallon by 2030. I will also support a green building industry, modernize low-income homes to make them more energy efficient, and make it easier for low-income Americans to buy green homes and invest in green home improvements. Lastly, I will create an energy council within the White House.

Should the government have a role in encouraging development of energy efficient technologies and sustainable energy resources? If yes, how would you do it?

I believe that the government has a responsibility to provide a framework, incentives, and investments to move us toward energy independence; lead again in the international arena; and reform its organizational structure to address this new energy challenge. But I also believe that the private sector -- including oil companies, utilities, auto companies, and businesses -- and individuals must do their part in meeting the goals I have set. As I mentioned above, I have a comprehensive plan to confront global warming and move our country toward energy independence. But let me describe in detail two specific proposals I have announced to develop energy-efficient technologies and sustainable energy resources. The $50 billion fund for investments in alternative energy that I will create will demand that oil companies invest in clean energy. It's about time that oil companies do their share in funding clean energy technologies. I am going to give oil companies a choice: invest more in renewable energy technology or pay into the fund. The fund will eliminate oil company tax breaks and make sure that oil companies pay their fair share in royalties when drilling on public lands. This fund would jumpstart a clean energy future by injecting $50 billion over 10 years into research, development, and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other homegrown biofuels. Under my plan, I would seek to produce 25 percent of electricity from wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and other renewable resources by 2025. I would encourage investment in renewable energy production by making permanent the 1.9 cent per-kilowatt-hour tax credit for producing electricity from renewable sources. Families and businesses will receive tax incentives to install small-scale renewable energy technologies such as rooftop solar panels. We would establish national 'net metering' standards to ensure that families and businesses that install solar panels or other renewable energy resources can sell power back to the grid on fair terms.

How do you think the United States should handle illegal immigrants? Do you support President Bush's immigration plan?

The failure of the Congress and the White House to pass comprehensive immigration reform has left the country with a broken system that needs to be fixed. As President, I will work to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes five key elements. I believe we have to toughen security at our borders, by placing more people and technology there. I will ensure that my policy cracks down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants and applies strict penalties for those who exploit these workers. I think that we should work with local communities to deal with the consequences of a broken immigration system. I plan to work with our neighbors to the south to find ways to provide economic opportunities for their own people. And, lastly, I will make sure that my policy provides a path to earned legalization that requires people to learn English and pay fines.

What are your top three priorities with regard to immigration?

My top three priorities, which are outlined in more detail in the previous question, are to ensure that comprehensive immigration reform includes toughening security at our borders, placing stronger restrictions or sanctions on employers, and providing a path to earned citizenship for people who have been living and working in the United States lawfully.

Do you support affirmative action? If you do, why do you think it is a benefit to our country? If not, what do you think would be gained by changing or eliminating it?

I support affirmative action that opens the doors of opportunity, but I don't believe in quotas to guarantee results. For millions of Americans, affirmative action policies helped knock down barriers of the past that prevented them from attending school, entering the workforce, or starting a small business. I was in support of the University of Michigan affirmative action cases because I believe that diversity in higher education is a vital national interest. The benefits of diversity are real-- and not only in our school system but also in our economy and society overall. As President, I will support strong and sensible affirmative action. I will call upon corporate America to be as diverse as the customers it serves. I will call on schools to support programs to meet the needs of all of its students from different backgrounds. And I will build an administration that reflects America's diverse backgrounds and values.

Do you agree or disagree with the argument that only the wealthiest Americans are benefiting from the current economic growth? Why or why not?

There is no doubt that our economy is not working for many working Americans. While by some measures the American economy has improved over the last six-and-a-half years, the fruits of that progress haven't reached most of our families. In 2005, all income gains went to the top 10 percent of households in the United States while the bottom 90 percent saw a drop in their incomes. But that isn't because they're not working hard -- they're working longer and harder but they're not getting rewarded for that. Over the past six years, productivity has risen 18 percent but family incomes have fallen $1,300. As a result, we are seeing a growing gap between the haves and the have-nots that is threatening America's middle class, which is the backbone of our country. According to a 2006 Goldman Sachs study, the most significant contributor to higher corporate profit margins over the past five years has been a decline in labor's share of national income. Over the 12-month period ending July 2006, slow growth in labor compensation accounted for 64 percent of the increase in corporate profit margins.

What are the three most important things you would do to promote economic growth and prosperity?

I believe it's time to reject President Bush's philosophy of a 'you're-on-your-own' society and to replace it with a progressive commitment to shared prosperity. My first priority will be to lay the foundations for an economy that will create good, high-paying jobs in the United States. To this end, I will end tax breaks for American companies that ship jobs overseas. I will implement an energy plan that will drive innovation, expand domestic manufacturing, and help create five million new 'green collar' jobs in the country. I have laid out a comprehensive innovation agenda to modernize our research and technology infrastructure to keep the United States on the cutting edge. And I will raise the minimum wage and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is one of our nation's most effective tools to encourage work. My second priority will be to provide quality, affordable health care to all Americans, which I view as essential to our economic success. The skyrocketing cost of health care is undermining the competitiveness of America's businesses and is particularly burdensome for small businesses, which have been responsible for 80 percent of net new job growth since 1990. That is why a key component of my plan is to lower costs throughout the entire health care system. My plan will also provide a tax credit to small businesses to help them create good jobs with health care benefits in the United States. My third priority is to ensure that our education system is preparing students to compete in the 21st century economy. My plan begins early by investing in universal Pre-K. I will reform our K-12 system to ensure that our students have the necessary resources to stay on track and enroll in two- or four-year colleges. I will work to bring more women and minorities into the math, science, and engineering professions, and increase the number of science and engineering students graduating from our colleges. And I will make college affordable with a new $3,500 tax credit and expand and strengthen our community college system.

If elected, would you balance the budget? If you answered yes, how soon would you do it?

I want to move towards balanced budgets. I believe we can achieve big goals in this country again while restoring our commitment to fiscal responsibility. That is why I have been very clear throughout the entire campaign to explain how I would pay for every new initiative I announce without increasing the deficit. We need to turn the page on the Bush administration's fiscal recklessness. Over the past six-and-a-half years we have witnessed the most dramatic fiscal deterioration in our nation's history -- turning trillions in projected surpluses into deficits as far as the eye can see. Now, we're borrowing more and more from foreign countries like China, our national debt is three times higher than even the Bush administration itself projected, and we're leaving our children and grandchildren to pay the bill. I want America back in control of our fiscal destiny. It will take hard work and tough choices, but I am confident that we can put America back on a path to balanced budgets. I remember -- and many Americans might, too -- that we began the 1990s with record deficits but we ended the decade with $5.6 trillion in projected ten-year surpluses, 22 million new jobs, and average family income gains of more than $8,000.

Would you roll back tax cuts that were supported by the Bush administration?

I have called for reinstating the pre-Bush income tax rates for those earning over $250,000 as part of my plan to provide quality affordable health care to all Americans. I also oppose the Bush administration's commitment to completely eliminate the estate tax. Instead, I would freeze the estate tax at $7 million per couple and redirect those revenues to provide tax credits to help tens of million of families save and invest as part of my American Retirement Accounts proposal. Finally, I would extend the middle class tax cuts, including the 10 percent income tax rate, the child tax credit and marriage penalty relief.

Do you support the No Child Left Behind program? Why or why not?

When the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted, I viewed it as an historic promise between the federal government and educators. Schools would be held to higher standards than ever before and the government would make a record investment in those schools so they could meet the new expectations. Unfortunately, that promise has largely been broken because NCLB has been underfunded and schools have struggled to meet the mandates imposed by the law without the resources that were promised. So we need to make changes. First, I want to create a system that rewards schools that make progress towards the proficiency goals. I support growth models, which measure the progress of every child. I would also like to find ways to invest in better testing methods -- tests that assess higher level skills like critical thinking. Second, I believe the one-size-fits-all approach to fixing troubled schools is problematic. I strongly believe educators and school leaders need to have substantial input into efforts to turn around struggling schools and that schools should have more flexibility in determining the right solutions for addressing the problems they face. I am also concerned about the narrowing of curricula that I am hearing about in local communities. Some schools have eliminated physical education and others are cutting back on social studies, science, art, and music. This is a problem, and I think we have to ensure that children receive a well-rounded education.

What changes, if any, would you attempt to implement in national education policy?

As President, I will work to support our children from their earliest years in school, in Pre-K, until they graduate from college. I have proposed investing $10 billion to ensure that all four-year-olds in the country have access to quality Pre-K; studies have shown that early education leads to higher achievement and graduation rates. My agenda will place special emphasis on children from limited-English and/or low-income households, ensuring that they receive priority in enrollment and receive these services at no cost. In addition, I have unveiled a plan to make college more affordable for middle-class families. My plan would more than double the college tax credit, raising the maximum amount of benefits that students and their families can receive from $1,650 to $3,500. This new credit could cover more than 50 percent of the typical cost of public colleges and universities and more than the full cost of tuition for community colleges. In addition, I have proposed to increase the maximum Pell Grant and ensure that it is adjusted annually to take account of rising college costs. Furthermore, I will offer incentives for community colleges and four-year institutions to partner and support their students until they graduate.

What is your position on the proposed constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman?

The question of marriage is one that historically has been left to the states. I opposed the so-called 'Family Marriage Amendment' because this issue has no place in the Constitution.

What is your position on civil unions between same sex partners?

I believe gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights and responsibilities as all Americans, and I believe that civil unions are the best way to achieve this goal. As President, I will work to ensure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits."

Do you support the Roe v. Wade decision or would you like to see this decision overturned? Why or why not?

I support Roe v. Wade. Throughout my career, I have fought to ensure that every woman has the right to make the most personal of life decisions with her family and her doctor. I believe that abortion should be safe, legal and rare. I have worked to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in America, and I strongly oppose the efforts of those trying to roll back reproductive rights in the country. I voted against President Bush's Supreme Court nominees, Samuel Alito, Jr. and John Roberts, because I believed that they posed a very significant threat to the future of Roe v. Wade.

Should the federal government have a role in seeking an end to poverty? What would you do, specifically, to deal with poverty?

When I am President, I will make new investments to reduce poverty and increase opportunity for low-income Americans. One example is my comprehensive plan to address the crisis of the millions of young people in the United States who are out of school and out of work. To support our children in their earliest years in life, I will invest $10 billion for universal Pre-K and increase support for nurse home visits for first-time mothers. I will invest in mentoring and internship programs to help at-risk middle-school students stay on track for college and job success. I will provide job-training opportunities for young people who have fallen off-track in high-growth industries like renewable energy, health care, construction, and financial services. To support responsible fatherhood, I will triple the Earned Income Tax Credit benefit for childless adults and invest in employment and education programs for fathers who pay their child support. I will work to close the prison revolving door by creating new Reentry Partnership Grants that reward communities that devise successful home-grown strategies to reintegrate ex-offenders into the economy and society.

Do you think gun control has an impact on crime rates in the United States?

While I support the Second Amendment and believe law-abiding citizens should be able to own guns, I also believe strongly in smart laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists, which can help us fight crime. We should take reasonable steps to protect Americans from gun violence and, at the same time, safeguard the right of law-abiding citizens to use firearms for hunting and other recreational purposes. Illegal guns contribute to violence, and we have a problem when people acquire guns illegally or commit crimes with guns.

Do you think tighter restrictions should be in place for those buying a firearm?

I respect the right of Americans to own and bear arms, but we need protections in place to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. I support closing the gun show loophole and making sure our background check system is truly instant and accurate. Background checks at gun shows can stop gun sales to criminals, terrorists, and seriously mentally ill individuals like the Columbine shooters without burdening law-abiding gun buyers. I also support extending and reinstating the assault weapons ban while exempting hundreds of hunting and recreational weapons. And I support giving local law enforcement access to data that helps them track down guns sold to criminals and terrorists.

If elected, would you keep the current ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research in place? Why or why not?

I have pledged to lift the current ban on funding for embryonic stem research. This is because science, not narrow ideology, should drive our national research agenda. Stem cell research has the potential to transform lives, to help us find cures for illnesses including Parkinson's disease, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Huntington's disease, and spinal cord injury. One hundred million Americans suffer from these diseases. The ban on stem cell research prevents scientists from pursuing developments that could lead to cures for these devastating illnesses. This ban is also a problem because some of our brightest researchers and scientists are choosing to do their work elsewhere -- or deciding to go into a different field of research entirely -- because they will not be supported in the United States. As a result, we are losing our international competitive edge to countries like Singapore and the United Kingdom, which support stem cell research. We are literally losing the race toward scientific progress. When I am President, we will once again stand up for science and research, for open and free inquiry, and for the critical investments that will make us richer, safer, smarter and stronger in the years to come. I have also proposed to increase the National Institutes of Health budget by 50 percent over five years and to double it over 10 years. Since 2003, the NIH budget has been largely flat, and President Bush proposes reducing it by 1.1 percent in 2008.

What would be your top three overall priorities if elected?

When I am President, my top three priorities will be providing quality, affordable health care to all Americans, ending the war in Iraq, and strengthening the middle class. It is a tragedy that there are 47 million Americans without health insurance and many more just a pink slip away from losing the coverage they have. Health care just isn't affordable for many people -- premiums have been skyrocketing and half of all personal bankruptcies in the United States are caused by medical bills. My plan will focus on offering high-quality care -- ensuring that Americans have access to preventive, basic, and chronic care that is coordinated and delivered by well-trained health care professionals. And I will implement cost-savings measures throughout the health care system so that cost is no longer a barrier to having health insurance for any American. The war in Iraq is sapping our military strength, absorbing our strategic assets, diverting attention and resources from Afghanistan, alienating our allies, and dividing our people. As I have said previously, if President Bush does not end the war, when I am President, I will. For 35 years, I have worked to improve the lives of America's children and families, and I will continue to do so when I am President. I will create new well-paying jobs through investments in alternative energy and innovation, increase the minimum wage, support our unions, and keep and create middle-class tax cuts. I want to eliminate incentives for American companies to ship jobs and profits overseas, and I plan to invest in new industries at home to make America competitive in the global economy. I will ensure that all American children have access to quality education, starting with Pre-K and continuing until college, and that they are prepared to enter the workforce so that all Americans have a chance to live up to their potential.



AP Photo: Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., addresses a rally in the Hunter College...

Clinton faces 

daunting delegate deficit


By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton must win 57 percent of the remaining primary and caucus delegates to erase Barack Obama's lead, a daunting task requiring landslide-sized victories by a struggling presidential candidate.

Obama's victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii on Tuesday — his ninth and 10th in a row — left him with 1,178 pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses in The Associated Press' count. Clinton has 1,024.

Another 1,025 remain to be awarded, most of them in contests in 14 states, Guamand Puerto Rico. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.

Further complicating Clinton's challenge, Obama appears particularly well-positioned to win at least one of the remaining states with ease. Mississippi, with a primary on March 11, fits a pattern of Southern states with large black populations that he has won handily, including South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana.

The rival campaigns maintain their own delegate counts. And while both agree Obama is the leader, they differ on the significance.

"The only way in this system to amass delegates is to win by big margins. Close races result in close delegate distribution," David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, told reporters in a conference call.

"The only way she can do it is winning states like Ohio 65-35, Texas 65-35,Pennsylvania, you know, 70-30. and you go on and on and on. She'd have to win pretty much all the states, even states where we're considered to have some strength," he added.

Clinton's top aides said Plouffe was deliberately trying to set unrealistically high expectations for the former first lady.

"We expect to do well in both those states," said Harold Ickes, speaking of Texas and Ohio, which hold primaries on March 4. "But 65 percent is a far reach and there is no expectation here that we're going to hit that number."

"We're in the neighborhood of about 75 delegates behind, that is less that 3 percent of the total number of delegates who have been elected. We expect to narrow that gap substantially by the end of this process," he added.

Obama's lead in delegates won at the ballot box is partially offset by Clinton's advantage among superdelegates — members of Congress, governors and other party leaders who are unpledged to either candidate. She leads in that category, 238-173, cutting Obama's overall margin to 89 delegates in the AP count.

Superdelegates are free to shift allegiances. And Clinton's recent string of primary and caucuses defeats coincides with a slow erosion of support among the same party leaders who established her as the front-runner months before the first votes were cast.

She has failed to add any since Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, while Obama is slowly gaining ground.

The former first lady lost two more superdelegates during the day, both in New Jersey, when one switched to Obama and the other moved to uncommitted.

Additionally, Reps. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Ron Kind of Wisconsin, both superdelegates, endorsed Obama.

"My constituents overwhelmingly chose Barack Obama to be their nominee, and I am proud to pledge my superdelegate vote to him as well," Kind said in a statement.

Further underscoring Clinton's political peril, Rep. David Scott of Georgia announced he would vote for Obama rather than the former first lady, and Rep. John Lewis said he might switch, as well.

Superdelegates aside, results in earlier states show how difficult Clinton will find it to overtake Obama's lead when the primaries resume in two weeks.

In general, delegates are allocated on the basis of popular votes within congressional districts, and any candidate who gains 15 percent of the vote is entitled to at least one.

Clinton won New Jersey with 54 percent of the vote and Massachusetts with 56 percent on Feb. 5. But because Obama ran relatively well, particularly in some congressional districts, she won the delegate competition by only 28 delegates combined in the two states.

Contrast that to Obama's home state of Illinois, he won slightly less than 65 percent of the vote — and won 55 more delegates than Clinton.

The contests left on the calendar include primaries in Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Rhode IslandMississippiPennsylvaniaIndiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky,OregonMontana and South Dakota as well as caucuses in WyomingGuam andPuerto Rico. There are 44 delegates unallocated from primaries and caucuses held earlier.

Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.


Wed Feb 20

This is an overall view inside a gymnasium at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, in Austin, Texas, after it was prepared for Thursday's 90-minute televised debate between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)


Wed Feb 20 

Sam Feist, a CNN political director, speaks on stage in a gymnasium at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, in Austin, Texas, after it was prepared for Thursday's 90-minute televised debate between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.(AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Wed Feb 20  

Tom Schwinn, an art director from New York City, works at a table in a gymnasium at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, in Austin, Texas, after it was prepared for Thursday's 90-minute televised debate between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Wed Feb 20  

This stage is shown in a gymnasium at the University of Texas at Austin, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, in Austin, Texas, after it was prepared for Thursday's 90-minute televised debate between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama, who will be seated on the left, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is to be seated on the right.(AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Wed Feb 20  

Steven Ross, a debate consultant from Washington, D.C., is shown on stage in a gymnasium at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, in Austin, Texas, after it was prepared for Thursday's 90-minute televised debate between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama, who is to be seated on the left, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Wed Feb 20  

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama addresses a primary campaign rally at the Toyota Center February 19, 2008 in Houston, Texas. Hillary Clinton licked her wounds Wednesday after her 10th successive electoral mauling by White House rival Obama, stressing experience over hype ahead of must-win battles in Texas and Ohio.(AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Dave Einsel)

Wed Feb 20  

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks at a "Low Dollar" fundraiser at Hunter College in New York City. Clinton licked her wounds Wednesday after her 10th successive electoral mauling by White House rival Barack Obama, stressing experience over hype ahead of must-win battles in Texas and Ohio.(AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Mario Tama)

Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton speaks at her Wisconsin primary election night campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, February 19, 2008. (Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters)

Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton acknowledges supporters at her Wisconsin primary election night campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio February 19, 2008. (Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters)

Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton speaks to people during a round table discussion at a small diner in Parma Ohio February 19, 2008. (Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters)

Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) greets supporters during a campaign stop in New York, February 20, 2008. (Keith Bedford/Reuters)

Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in New York, February 20, 2008. (Keith Bedford/Reuters)

Wed Feb 20   Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton acknowledges her supporters at her Wisconsin primary election night campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio February 19, 2008. (Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters)

Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton laughs with Mayor Dean DePiero, mayor of Parma Ohio, during a round table discussion at a small diner in Parma Ohio February 19, 2008. (Aaron Josefczyk/Reuters)

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, ...
Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., addresses a rally in the Hunter College auditorium in New York, Wednesday Feb. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, ...
Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., makes a campaign stop at the Hunter College Auditorium in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)


Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., applauds at left, as Democratic ...
Wed Feb 20  

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., applauds at left, as Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., reacts during her introduction by Schumer, D-N.Y., Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, during a campaign stop at the Hunter College Auditorium in New York.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)


Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, ...
Wed Feb 20,  Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., makes a campaign stop at Hunter College Auditorium in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, ...
Wed Feb 20,  Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., center, accompanied by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and others, arrives for a rally under security's watchful eye, left, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, in the Hunter College auditorium in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, ...
Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., greets supporters at a rally in the Hunter College auditorium in New York, Wednesday Feb. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks during ...
Wed Feb 20  Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio on February 19. Clinton was licking her wounds after her 10th successive electoral mauling by White House rival Obama, stressing experience over hype ahead of must-win battles in Texas and Ohio. (AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Jeff Swensen)


















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Hillary's Story

http://www.votehillary.org/

Hillary was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of America. From that classic suburban childhood in Park Ridge, Illinois, Hillary went on to become one of America's foremost advocates for children and families; an attorney twice voted one of the most influential in America; a First Lady of Arkansas who helped transform the schools; a bestselling author; a First Lady for America who helped transform that role, becoming a champion for health care and families at home and a champion of women's rights and human rights around the world.

Clinton will try to focus on policy to win voters


Whoopi For Hillary!
Whoopi Goldberg declared that she wants a "substantive" candidate for President and switched her vote from Obama to Hillary Clinton!

Hillary On McCainomics

Asian voters boost Clinton

Clinton Looks To Texas Hispanic Voters

Hillary Targets Virginia As Next Battleground

Dingell, Kildee endorse Clinton for president

GALLUP: Clinton Takes 13 Point National Lead!

Clinton Takes California!

Clintons vote in Westchester, sign autographs for poll workers

Jack Nicholson: Clinton Is 'Masterful'

Paul Krugman Takes On The Candidate's Healthcare Plans


Clinton blasts Obama over health care plan

By NEIL MODIE
P-I REPORTER

TACOMA -- Sen. Hillary Clinton pounded at Sen. Barack Obama on Friday for what she sees as his greatest vulnerability in their battle for the Democratic presidential nomination: his "astonishing" criticism of her for advocating universal health care.

At a campaign rally here and in an interview with the Seattle P-I, the New York senator acknowledged that their disagreement on the topic has become the "most prominent" division in a campaign in which they have expressed relatively few sharp differences on major policy issues.

She said in the interview that while she and former Sen. John Edwards, before he dropped his presidential campaign, both "took the political risk and staked out the ground" to advocate universal health care, "Senator Obama chose not to, and he has spent the past couple of weeks attacking me for being in favor of universal health care, which I find astonishing."

"And for the life of me, I don't think it's the smart position for a Democrat or a progressive to take. I think it's imperative that we stand for universal health care. I've been down this road," she said, revisiting criticism she also leveled at Obama at a rally on Seattle's downtown waterfront Thursday night.

"But if you don't even try," she added, "you're ceding the ground to the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Republicans, without a fight, and I think that's a mistake."

At the same time Obama was drawing a vastly larger crowd at Seattle's KeyArena the day before Washington's presidential caucuses, Clinton filled the University of Puget Sound's 5,500-seat field house for a health care-themed speech, with a backdrop of nurses and the announcement of an endorsement of her by the American Nurses Association.

Clinton has called for mandatory universal coverage, tax credits for working families to make insurance more affordable and requiring businesses to offer insurance to employees or pay into a pool for people without it.

Obama has proposed mandatory coverage for children. He would aim for universal coverage by requiring employers to share costs of insuring workers and by offering coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees.

Without mentioning Obama by name in her speech, Clinton told her Tacoma audience, "My opponent's plan would leave out at least 50 million people, 750,000 right here in the state of Washington." Her plan, she said, "bans insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions."

Clinton tailored her stump speech to local concerns, laying out her health care plan and appealing to veterans; two large military bases are near Tacoma. She also wooed "green" voters, an influential part of the state's Democratic base.

She pledged to work with Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, who endorsed her Friday, "to restore Puget Sound, to give it the national priority it deserves."

As she has done frequently, she took oblique shots at her rival's relative inexperience and often inspirational, unity-promoting oratory, saying the campaign "is not just about a momentary good feeling, because we've got work to be done."

Clinton never mentioned her husband, the former president.

When asked in the interview whether his recent, high-profile, roundly criticized digs at Obama had raised the public perception that theirs would be a de facto co-presidency, she said, "there's only one president and one decision-maker in the White House."

This report includes information from The Associated Press. P-I reporter Neil Modie can be reached at 206-448-8321 or neilmodie@seattlepi.com.

Obama, McCain win state caucuses


ELECTION '08 HEADLINES
· Campaign Countdown: 338 Days To Go
· Electoral College is past its prime
· Complaint against Rossi rejected
Obama, McCain win Wash. caucuses

A look at the delegate process in Washington state

Clinton says Obama saying 'No, we can't' on healthcare

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor 
February 8, 2008 02:49 PM


WASHINGTON -- Senator Barack Obama scored a clean sweep in Saturday's Democratic nominating contests from the West Coast to the Caribbean, giving him a burst of momentum in a Democratic campaign where every delegate has become crucial to capturing the nomination.

On the Republican side, a defiant Mike Huckabee easily won the GOP caucuses in Kansas and was projected as the narrow winner in the Louisiana primary, picking up support from social conservatives to best his party's front-runner, Senator John McCain, and giving a breath of life to the former Arkansas governor's uphill campaign. Huckabee and McCain were locked in a race that was too close to call early today in the Washington state caucuses.

Obama won the Nebraska and Washington caucuses by greater than two-to-one margins against Senator Hillary Clinton and easily captured the Louisiana primary by a double-digit margin with heavy support among African-American voters. Obama also swamped Clinton in the US Virgin Islands caucuses. But because of the proportional awarding of delegates in the Democratic contests, the two contenders remain locked in a close battle for the 2,025 delegates needed to secure the party's nomination.

"We won north, we won south, we won in between,'' a jubilant Obama told a Democratic Party dinner last night in Virginia. "And I believe we can win Virginia,'' he added to cheers and shouts of "Yes, we can!'' his campaign mantra.

The attention now moves to Maine, where Democrats will hold caucuses today, and to Tuesday's "Potomac Primary,'' in which Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia will hold primaries. Obama is leading in polls in Virginia and Maryland, and is expected to win in the District, so the Clinton campaign is banking heavily on wins in bigger states next month to keep her in the running.

While the Obama campaign celebrated, the Clinton camp sought to downplay Obama's successes last night, even before the votes were counted. "The Obama campaign has dramatically outspent our campaign in these three states, saturating the airwaves with 30 and 60 second ads,"' the campaign said in a memo to reporters. "Although the next several states that hold nominating contests this month are more favorable to the Obama campaign, we will continue to compete in them and hope to secure as many delegates as we can before the race turns to Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania.''

The Illinois senator has done overwhelmingly well among black voters, helping him score victories in the South and giving him an edge in the primaries coming up Tuesday. But Clinton has done very well among Latinos voters -- capturing California largely because of the two-thirds of the Hispanic vote there she received -- and her campaign expects the New York lawmaker to have an advantage in Texas because of the Latino vote there.

Heading into yesterday's contests, Clinton held a small lead over Obama in the delegate count, 1,055 to 998, according to an Associated Press tally, which includes the results of primaries and caucuses, plus a survey of unpledged "superdelegates." But Obama's campaign said last night that after his wins, he leads Clinton by about 70 delegates among those awarded in actual contests.

Obama can also claim wins in the popular vote in 18 states to 10 states for Clinton -- with votes still being counted in New Mexico from Tuesday. Clinton also won in Florida and Michigan, but those delegates are not being counted because the states broke party rules to move up their primaries. National polls show the two deadlocked.

Huckabee pulls out win in Louisiana

 Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor February 10, 2008 12:28 AM

Mike Huckabee added Louisiana to his wins tonight, as a large chunk of Republican voters rebelled against the party establishment coalescing behind John McCain.

Fox News projected that Huckabee would win the Southern state, after sweeping the region's states on Super Tuesday. With about 97 percent of precincts counted, Huckabee led McCain 44 percent to 42 percent.

But it did not appear either candidate would get more than 50 percent of the vote, meaning that the 20 delegates up for grabs yesterday will be uncommitted when they go to the GOP convention in September.

McCain has a huge lead in delegates and has been treated as the presumptive nominee since Thursday, when Mitt Romney dropped out. But Huckabee won in Kansas as well as Louisiana.

McCain and Huckabee were locked in a too-close-to-call race in the Washington caucuses.

              Freefall
The stakes have never been higher in choosing our next president. You can depend on Hillary to protect our future.
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http://www.hillaryhub.com/

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Come join Hillary on the "Voices Across America" national town hall on Monday 2/4 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT. You can watch online at (more)
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Hillary on Arkansas: "You taught me so much, and we worked together to expand health care, and improve education."..."Hillary Clinton
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This is Bearly Political

Hilliary Clinton will be dancing her way to the White House in 2012


BarelyPolitical Girls Are YouTube Video Women

By: Devon Branch

McCain Girl, McCain Hulk and Obama Girl are featured in this Women of YouTube podcast from movio.com. Yes, we really are that sexy funny


The Real Real Clinton Obama Phone Call

By: Devon Branch
BarelyPolitical Uncovers the leaked phone call between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Bill's apology is sometimes awkward, but always funny. The two are mostly complimentary and even a little "gay." 

Since then, it's been great to see how the presidential campaigns have tried to keep up with the pace of new media, announcing their candidacies online . . . and sometimes making horrible (and funny) gaffes. The campaigns generated internet...

2008 Web Video Odyssey Part Deux

By: Devon Branch

For July 4, the folks at PoliticsTV have come up with this amazing, thoroughly empowering tribute to Obama Girl and all things politically comedic:


2008's Best Campaign Web Videos So Far -Pt 2."Obama Girl, the Empire Strikes Barack, Barocky, Young Hillary Clinton, and It's Raining McCain to name a few have all been funny, user-generated editions to the presidential campaign.

Bill Clintons Secret Call to Barack Obama

By: Devon Branch
In this exclusive, "leaked" footage from jimghenderson, we see what Barack Obama and Bill Clinton really talked about in their formerly secret phone call.

Filled with references to Clinton's 1990s dalliances, slang, and tang, Clinton talks about such serious topics as vice-presidential candidates, Monica Lewinsky, and Obama Girl. Throughout the exchange, Obama cooly refuses to...




Sex, lobbying and media debates

February 21, 2008 

US elections 2008: The reporting of a titillating scandal may have the perverse effect of helping John McCain and hurting Hillary Clinton


For the last 24 hours Washington has been aflutter with the most titillating scandal this swampy city has seen in some time. For those inured to the Beltway bubble's siren songs, the issue at hand is a front page New York Times story (published this morning but posted online last night) that alleges Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, had an improper relationship with a lobbyist named Vicki Iseman in 1999.

By February of that year, says the story: "The Senator's advisers had grown so concerned the relationship had become romantic that they took steps to intervene." McCain has roundly denounced the paper, his wife Cindy pronounced herself "disappointed" with the New York Times, the left has questioned why the paper has so little beyond hearsay in the actual story, and right wing commentators have rushed in to chastise the "liberal media" for trying to sully an American hero. 

Why this story is important - and why it's not - explains a lot about the unique hot house environment of American politics: our prurient and puritan ways. In the end, when this settles down, there will be likely be one winner - Barack Obama - for reasons I'll detail momentarily. And the person it hurts most? Hillary Clinton. 

Politicians and sex go together like beans and cornbread - US history is filled with salacious rumors about this pol or that president. The twentieth century alone is juicy enough - from FDR's relationship with his wife's secretary (Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd) to JFK and LBJ's boundless dalliances, to those shot down before their time - Gary Hart comes quickly to mind, the poor Senator whose presidential hopes were dashed during the 1988 presidential race when Donna Rice was photographed sitting in his lap on a yacht. And then, of course, there was Bill. But we'll get back to Bill. 

The conservative right has made sexual impropriety a part of their general package of approved immorality. Extramarital sex goes along with Darwinism (evolution), gay rights and abortion in their lists of the things that are unchristian and therefore un-American. But a subset of that list of no-nos for conservatives, which might have given this story a possibly a secondary impact on Senator McCain, is campaign finance reform. 

McCain is now best known in DC as an independent and unsulliable maverick, the kind of guy who (and you hear this phrase a lot) stuck his thumb in the eye of the Republican mainstream for years. But he's also most often associated with campaign finance legislation and his tireless campaign for campaign finance reform. But McCain's fervor is that of a convert. In 1991 he was investigated for his role in theKeating Five, the savings and loan scandal that cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. It's old news here, but today's New York Times story gave it a new airing - both because it calls into question McCain's relationship to his lobbyists (whether in bed or out) and because it reminds everyone of a less black and white time in his personal political history.

It would be more difficult for him had this story broken elsewhere. But the right has chosen to make this a battle between conservatives and liberals. This is the "liberal media" demonising McCain - and every conservative, even those who felt McCain wasn't nearly worthy of the Republican platform, has rushed to tell MSNBC and CNN that is a liberal smear.

Even Rush Limbaugh, who has mocked the senator (even going so far as to make hostage jokes about him back in 2004), came to his defense. "This is what you get when you walk across the aisle and try to make these people your friends. I'm not surprised in the least that the Times would try to take out John McCain," the uber-conservative radio host said today.

It's a pivot - it repositions this story not as a question about campaign finance or sex, both of which could get the only viable Republican candidate in trouble with the base of the party, but one where it is only the so-called "reality-based community" (liberals) versus everyone else (conservatives). It casts immediate doubt on the Times story, and anything else the paper of record says going forward. If conservatives continue to rally to him in this way, the New York Times may have, inadvertently, done more to bind the fractured Republican Party together than tear it apart. Even so there will be those who wonder. 

Which brings us back to the Democrats. Why? Because tonight the Dems square off face to face in a debate before the big contests of Texas and Ohio - two electoral battles Hillary Clinton can't afford to lose. Breaking today, this scandal does two things: first it drew - and continues to draw - focus away from tonight's debate, thus drastically reducing the likelihood Clinton can halt Obama's momentum. Second, and more importantly, there is nothing that sexual peccadilloes remind voters of than Hillary's erstwhile life partner, President Bill Clinton. Sex and the White House? Everything pales in comparison to Monica. And that doesn't help Hillary one bit.

So: John McCain = victim to rally around, Hillary Clinton = forever tied to that philandering husband. And Barack Obama? Stands alone.

For more blogs on the US elections, click here.

McCain Hits Back With Donor Plea

Fund-Raising Appeals 
Cast Candidate as Victim; 
Defense Goes on Offensive
By LAURA MECKLER and SUSAN DAVIS
February 22, 2008; Page A4

WASHINGTON -- John McCain's attempt to portray himself as a reformer taking on entrenched interests faced a high-profile challenge amid widespread coverage of allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a telecommunications lobbyist.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his allies went on the offense as they dismissed the charges -- published in the New York Times and picked up widely yesterday by news organizations. His campaign and the Republican National Committee each sent fund-raising appeals portraying Mr. McCain as the victim of an unfair story.

Mr. McCain answered the charges directly in a morning news conference in Ohio, and his supporters fanned out over TV and radio talk shows to defend the Arizona senator and accuse the newspaper of pressing an agenda. "I'm very disappointed in the article. It's not true," he said.

More than most politicians, Mr. McCain has built his image as a straight-talking crusader unafraid to take on moneyed interests. But a months-long presidential campaign was sure to rough up his image. His Democratic counterparts have also faced increased scrutiny. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama faces questions as his onetime fund-raiser, Antoin Rezko, faces a criminal trial in Chicago.

The New York Times story, first published Wednesday on its Web site, said McCain aides had urged the senator and lobbyist Vicki Iseman to steer clear of one another prior to his unsuccessful 2000 presidential run. It said that aides suspected a romantic relationship, something that both Mr. McCain and Ms. Iseman denied. The report also said Mr. McCain wrote government regulators on behalf of one of Ms. Iseman's clients.

At a news conference in Toledo with his wife, Cindy, by his side, Mr. McCain emphatically denied a romantic relationship, describing Ms. Iseman as a friend.

"I've served this nation honorably for more than half a century," he said. "At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust."

The story comes as Mr. McCain is trying to win over skeptical social conservatives. But it may not be particularly damaging, said Charmaine Yoest, a vice president at the Washington-based Family Research Council Action. "Questions of character are ones that values voters pay attention to. They'll be looking at the story but so far there doesn't seem to be a lot of there there."

Some prominent conservatives who have been highly critical of Mr. McCain as he emerged at the top of the Republican pack were prompted yesterday to rally to his defense for the first time this year.

"What is the lesson? The lesson is liberals are to be defeated," conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh said on air yesterday. "You cannot welcome their media members on your bus and get all cozy with them and expect eternal love from them."

One of Mr. McCain's top advisers, Charlie Black, said the campaign planned to move beyond the story after its aggressive response yesterday morning. By yesterday afternoon, Mr. McCain was refusing to answer further questions, canceling a news conference scheduled after he toured a Ford Motor Co. factory in Wayne, Mich.

Meantime, the campaign tried to turn the story into an advantage with a fund-raising appeal to supporters. "Well, here we go. We could expect attacks were coming; as soon as John McCain appeared to be locking up the Republican nomination, the liberal establishment and their allies at the New York Times have gone on the attack," wrote campaign manager Rick Davis. The Republican National Committee issued a similar appeal.

Neither mentioned that the Times editorial page endorsed Mr. McCain for the Republican nomination.

New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said in a statement that "the story speaks for itself" and denied that the story was timed for any political purpose.


Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com and Susan Davis atsusan.davis@wsj.com

John McCain disputed a New York Times article suggesting he had a romantic relationship with a lobbyist and that he showed favoritism to one of her clients.

 

AFP/GETTY IMAGES/File Photo: Democratic presidential candidate Sen.
 Hillary Clinton speaks at a "Low Dollar" fundraiser at Hunter College.

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Clinton attacks Obama ahead of debate


By Steve Holland Thu Feb 21, 5:13 PM ET

LAREDO, Texas (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton on Thursday questioned rivalBarack Obama's readiness to serve as commander in chief and his ability to win the White House as the two presidential contenders prepared for a crucial debate

The Thursday night showdown in Austin, Texas, gives Clinton a chance to halt Obama's momentum and turn around a Democratic presidential fight that has shifted decisively in the Illinois senator's favor after his streak of 10 straight victories.

"I want you to think, 'Who do you want to have in the White House answering the phone at 3 o'clock in the morning when some crisis breaks out around the world?"' Clinton asked a heavily Hispanic crowd at a rally in downtown Laredo.

"'Who is best prepared to be commander in chief on day one?"' she added, pushing her latest line of attack on Obama in their hard-fought duel to be the Democratic candidate in November's presidential election.

In the Republican race, front-runner John McCain dismissed a New York Times report suggesting he had a close and possibly romantic relationship with a female lobbyist nine years ago who represented companies that did business with the Senate committee he led.

The newspaper reported his aides became concerned the potentially embarrassing conflict of interest could harm his ultimately failed presidential bid in 2000. The Arizona senator told reporters in Toledo, Ohio, the article was "not true."

"At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust or make a decision which in any way would not be in the public interest and would favor any one or any organization," McCain said.

McCain aides and allies launched a counter-attack on the Times, with his campaign manager Rick Davis telling supporters the story was part of an "unsourced hit-and-run smear campaign."

McCain has an almost insurmountable lead in the Republican race over his last major rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has refused to give up until McCain has enough convention delegates to clinch the nomination.

Obama has taken control of the Democratic race after winning 10 consecutive contests by wide margins. Clinton needs to win March 4 contests in Ohio and Texas if she hopes to block Obama's march to the nomination.

Obama has a growing lead in pledged convention delegates who will choose the Democratic candidate at the August convention. The latest count by MSNBC gives Obama 1,168 to Clinton's 1,018.

OBAMA WINS DEMOCRATS ABROAD

Obama picked up more good news on Thursday with word he had won primary voting among Democrats who live abroad. Obama won about 66 percent of the vote and Clinton 33 percent.

Democrats in 164 countries participated in the primary, voting by Internet, mail and in person between February 5 and February 12, organizers said. Obama won 2.5 delegates and Clinton 2 delegates in the voting.

Obama also won the endorsement of the Change to Win labor federation, an umbrella group representing seven unions -- including four that already backed him. The other three abstained, including the United Farm Workers, who support Clinton.

The debate on Thursday night will give Clinton a broad public stage to try to begin her comeback, and she has cranked up her recent attacks on Obama as she searches for a message that works.

"I want you to think, 'Who is best able to stand on a stage with Senator John McCainto make a case to elect a Democrat?"' Clinton told the crowd in Laredo in south Texas on the Mexican border, where she is counting on strong support from Hispanics.

The New York senator and former first lady said she had learned from her husband,former President Bill Clinton, how difficult the job could be. She also kept up her criticism of Obama's high-flying rhetoric as lacking in real-world substance.

"We need to have someone who is prepared with solutions to our problems, not just speeches," she said.

Obama has managed to gain an increasing share of Clinton's core voting blocs of blue-collar and low-income workers while cutting into her margins with Hispanics.

The two big states of Ohio and Texas, with a combined total of 334 delegates at stake on March 4, have plenty of both. Clinton strategists have targeted the two states as good environments for her economic message. Rhode Island and Vermontalso vote on March 4.

Obama, in Austin to prepare for the debate, visited the stadium and football facilities for the University of Texas Longhorns. The Texas football coach, Mack Brown, scolded a reporter who tried to ask Obama about McCain and lobbyists.

"Coach solved that one, didn't he?" Obama said.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Jason Szep; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by David Wiessler)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

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Clinton: 

Obama 'change you can Xerox'

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

AUSTIN, Texas - Hillary Rodham Clinton accused presidential rival Barack Obama of political plagiarism Thursday night, but drew boos from a Democratic debate audience when she ridiculed him as the candidate of "change you can Xerox."

Obama dismissed the charge out of hand, then turned the jeers to applause when he countered, "What we shouldn't be spending time doing is tearing each other down. We should be spending time lifting the country up."

The exchange marked an unusually pointed moment in an otherwise civil encounter in the days before March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio — contests that even some of Clinton's supporters say she must win to sustain her campaign for the White House.

The former first lady has lost 11 straight primaries and caucuses, and trails her rival in convention delegates. Obama has won a pair of big union endorsements in the past two days.

In a university auditorium in the heart of Texas, the two rivals agreed that high-tech surveillance measures are preferable to construction of a fence to curtail illegal immigration.

They disagreed on the proper response to a change in government in Cuba in the wake of Fidel Castro's resignation. Clinton said she would refuse to sit down with incoming President Raul Castro until he implements political and economic reforms. Obama said he would meet "without preconditions," but added the U.S. agenda for such a session would include human rights in the Communist island nation.

They also sparred frequently about health care, a core issue of the campaign.

Clinton said repeatedly that Obama's plan would leave 15 million Americans uncovered.

But he, in turn, accused the former first lady of mishandling the issue by working in secrecy when her husband was in the White House.

"I'm going to do things differently," he said. "We can have great plans, but if we don't change how the politics is working in Washington, then neither of our plans are going to happen."

Clinton was combative and complimentary by turns, and reflected on her well-known personal struggles in the debate's final moments.

"Everyone here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life," she said — a thinly veiled but clear reference to her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment. But she added that nothing she had been through matched the everyday struggles of voters.

Then, offering unprompted praise to her rival, the one-time front-runner said, "No matter what happens in this contest, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama."

Both candidates were plainly popular with the debate audience. During one break someone in the crowd shouted "Si se puede," Spanish for Obama's trademark phrase, "Yes we can."

Clinton largely sidestepped a question about so-called superdelegates, members of Congress, governors and party leaders who were not picked in primaries and caucuses. She said the issue would sort itself out, and "we'll have a unified Democratic party" for the fall campaign.

But Obama, who has won more primaries and caucuses said the contests must "count for something ... that the will of the voters ... is what ultimately will determine who our next nominee is going to be."

Clinton went into the debate needing a change in the course of the campaign, and waited patiently for an opening to try to diminish her rival, seated inches away on the stage. "I think you can tell from the first 45 minutes Senator Obama and I have a lot in common," she said.

Barely pausing for breath, she went on to say there were differences.

First, she said she had seen a supporter of Obama interviewed on television recently, and unable to name a single accomplishment the Illinois senator had on his record.

"Words are important and words matter but actions speak louder than words," she said.

Obama agreed with that, then noted that Clinton lately had been urging voters to turn against him by saying, "let's get real."

"And the implication is that the people who've been voting for me or are involved in my campaign are somehow delusional," Obama said.

Clinton also raised Obama's use in his campaign speeches of words first uttered by his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

"If your candidacy is going to be about words then they should be your own words," she said. "...Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox."

The debate audience booed.

Obama said the entire controversy was evidence of a "silly season" that the public finds dispiriting. Besides, he said of his speeches at one point, "I've got to admit, some of them are pretty good."

The two rivals sat next to one another in swivel chairs in a University of Texasauditorium for the 90-minute debate, one in a dwindling number of opportunities for the former first lady to chart a new course in the presidential race.

She has lost 11 straight primaries and caucuses to Obama — including an overseas competition for support among Americans living aboard — and has fallen behind in the chase for the number of delegates needed to become the presidential nominee.

Obama's strong showing has made him the man to beat in a historic struggle between a black man and a white woman, and even former President Bill Clinton has said his wife must win both Ohio and Texas early next month to preserve her candidacy. New polls show Texas a dead heat, and give Clinton a lead in Ohio, but far smaller than the one she held in recent weeks.

Rhode Island and Vermont also vote on March 4, but offer far fewer delegates and have drawn less attention.

The encounter was the 19th in an episodic series of debates and forums, a run that has ranged from highly civilized to hotly confrontational.

The last time the two met, in Los Angeles, they sat side by side and disagreed politely. But in an earlier encounter last month, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., each accused the other of repeatedly and deliberately distorting the truth for political gain in a highly personal, finger-wagging showdown.

In The Associated Press' delegate count Thursday, Obama had 1,358.5 to 1,264 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 delegates to claim the nomination at this summer's convention.

In a further sign of his growing strength, Obama won the endorsement during the day of the Change to Win labor federation, which claims 6 million members. The Teamsters union announced its support for Obama on Wednesday.

The debate was sponsored by CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party.



Full Coverage: 2008 Presidential Election






Reuters Photo: US Democratic presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (L) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) shake...
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McCain tangles with Obama over campaign money

Wed Feb 20, 5:02 PM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner John McCainaccused Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday of rolling back on a pledge to limit himself to public money in November's presidential election. 

Obama is raising as much as $1 million day, generating a big money advantage over both McCain and Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in what is expected to be the costliest U.S. presidential election ever.

Obama, an Illinois senator, pledged in February last year to accept public financing and its accompanying spending limit of an estimated $85 million in the general election race if he wins the nomination and his Republican opponent agreed to limits too.

"I committed to public financing," McCain told a news conference. "He committed to public financing. It is not more complicated than that ... I'll keep my word. I want him to keep his."

As he has scored back-to-back wins in nominating contests, Obama has refused to recommit while moving steadily ahead of Clinton in the race to become theDemocratic presidential nominee in the election.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton countered that McCain was in no position to raise the issue.

"John McCain is in no place to question anyone on pledges when he abandoned the latest campaign finance reform efforts in order to run for the Republican nomination and went back on his commitment to take public financing for the primary election this year," Burton said.

He was referring to McCain's refusal to back current reform legislation on Capitol Hill and to reports that the Arizona senator's cash-strapped campaign had borrowed $1 million by pledging to enter the primaries public financing system if his bid for the presidency faltered.

In his news conference, McCain, who has all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination, seized on a report in USA Today that quoted Obama as saying: "It would be presumptuous of me to say now that I'm locking myself into something when I don't even know if the other side is going to agree to it."

"That's Washington double speak," McCain said. "That's why the American people are so cynical about us in Washington."

The expected high cost of the White House campaign, which could easily surpass the nearly $300 million raised by President George W. Bush in 2004, has made it enticing to opt out of public financing and avoid its spending limits.

The Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, estimates each nominee will need to raise at least $500 million to compete in November's election.

McCain's campaign was nearly derailed last summer by lackluster fundraising, but he has picked up the pace lately. According to a filing with the Federal Election Commission, McCain raised $11.7 million in January, more than he raised in the previous three months combined.

Obama raised $32 million and Clinton raised $14 million in January, their campaigns said. Both candidates must submit official fundraising reports to the FEC by midnight.

The public financing system was created in the 1970s after the Watergate scandalrevealed the extent of campaign financing shenanigans and ended with the resignation of Republican President Richard Nixon.

McCain is the author of a prominent law that limits money in politics, angering some conservatives in his party who regard the law as a violation of free speech rights.

(Additional reporting by


Clinton or Obama? Gender less important to young voters.


By ALEXANDRA Marks Thu Feb 21

New York - Cory Atkins isn't swayed by Obama-mania. 

The Massachusetts state lawmaker is a loyal supporter of Hillary Rodham Clintonbecause "she's been through all of the fights I've been through as a woman."

Casey Atkins, the state rep's daughter, is in Barack Obama's camp because of his "more inclusive view of things, his message of uniting people."

As for what that difference says about women: "That's the paradox of our success," quips Representative Atkins.

How the women's vote is breaking this Democratic primary season is proving to be pivotal, as Mr. Obama racks up wins in part on the basis of white female voters jumping into his camp. In Tuesday's Wisconsin primary, he won almost as many women's votes as Mrs. Clinton did – it was a statistical tie, exit polls show. In earlier primaries, by contrast, Clinton held a 20 percentage-point edge with female voters – and older women, such as Representative Atkins, were pillars of that support.

But in a trend apparent since the 2006 midterm elections, when female candidates didn't fare as well with younger women voters as they did with their mothers, gender is losing its importance to many women in the "Gen X" and "Gen Y" sets.

"For baby-boomer women and older women, [Clinton's candidacy] is very historic," says pollster Celinda Lake. "Younger women tend to be more impressed with someone of their generation and someone who's African-American. Gender is just not as salient to them. They want candidates to prove to them that they are good."

As a result, women voters have gained clout in the volatile Democratic nominating race, as each campaign fights for their allegiance, experts say. Many expect that to hold true in the general election, too.

"Women will determine the president this year. They're the battleground right now in the primaries, and they're going to be the battleground in the general election," says Ms. Lake. "For Democrats, the lesson [for November] is that you have to have women more enthusiastic about you than men are [excited] about the Republican, or you're going to lose."

Settling on a candidate can be an arduous mental process for any voter, but many women are finding that the historic nature of the 2008 presidential campaign is making the choice particularly difficult.

Linda Purdy of Moretown, Vt. describes it as both "exhilarating and agonizing." For the first time in her life, she says, the Democratic Party's two remaining contenders for the nomination are not white men.

Ms. Purdy, who was born at the end of the baby boom, finds the idea of the first female president very appealing, and she admires Clinton. But so is the idea of electing the first African-American president, and she finds Obama inspiring. She likes Clinton's healthcare plan and Obama's stance against the war.

"I finally realized that I didn't want to look at gender or race. I wanted to vote for the person who was the most capable of running the country," she says. But Purdy admits to looking at national polls – and in that analysis, gender did end up playing a role in her decision.

"I've come to the conclusion that this country isn't ready for a female president," she says. "I think Barack Obama has a much better chance of winning in the general election, and so I've decided to vote for him."

Baby boomer Davia Temin, a management expert in New York, is just as adamant that Clinton has the best chance of defeating the Republican nominee and is better prepared to lead the country.

"I run a company, and before that I was a very senior executive in corporate America, and I respect what it takes to run large and small institutions – not just to inspire them but to lead them and manage them in the right way," she says. "From all of Hillary's accomplishments and intelligence and track record, she's the only one out there capable of doing this."

But for Chela Sullivan, a social worker in her late 20s who lives in Phoenix, the Iraq war was a deciding factor, not experience. She says she didn't like Clinton's vote on the war or the way she's handled her explanation for it.

"I would absolutely want a woman president if I felt like they were the best choice," she says. "But I just don't think Hillary is the best choice. For me it's just not about gender."

Such diverse and strong opinions among women show, according to political analysts, that the choice of a candidate remains a personal and complex matter.

"It's more complicated than early projections indicated, because there's more to people's political world view and how they view others than race and gender," says Margie Omero, founder of Momentum Analysis, a Democratic polling firm. "Those are big, obviously, but there are other things."

It's those other things, as well as race and gender, that are making this political race a win-win proposition for Clinton supporter Cory Atkins.

"As a Democrat, I am just so proud of our field this political season," she says. "It's always better to have too many choices of wonderful people than not a good candidate at all. As a party, I think we can't lose."






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Firm in Florida election fiasco earns millions from files on foreigners

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,949709,00.html

Oliver Burkeman in Washington and Jo Tuckman in Mexico City
Monday May 5, 2003
The Guardian
 

A data-gathering company that was embroiled in the Florida 2000 election fiasco is being paid millions of dollars by the Bush administration to collect detailed personal information on the populations of foreign countries, enraging several governments who say the records may have been illegally obtained.

US government purchasing documents show that the company, ChoicePoint, received at least $11m (£6.86m) from the department of justice last year to supply data - mainly on Latin Americans - that included names and addresses, occupations, dates of birth, passport numbers and "physical description". Even tax records and blood groups are reportedly included. 

Nicaraguan police have raided two offices suspected of providing the information. The revelations threaten to shatter public trust in electoral institutions, especially in Mexico, where the government has begun an investigation.

The controversy is not the first to engulf ChoicePoint. The company's subsidiary, Database Technologies, was responsible for bungling an overhaul of Florida's voter registration records, with the result that thousands of people, disproportionately black, were disenfranchised in the 2000 election. Had they been able to vote, they might have swung the state, and thus the presidency, for Al Gore, who lost in Florida by a few hundred votes.

Legal experts in the US and Mexico said ChoicePoint could be liable for prosecution if those who supplied it with the personal information could be proven to have broken local laws. That raises the possibility that any person whose data was accessible to American officials could take legal action against the US government.

"Anybody who felt they were affected by this could take the US government to court," said Julio Tellez, an expert in Mexican information legislation at the Tec de Monterrey University. "We could all do it ... We are not prepared to sell our intimacies for a fistful of dollars."

How the US is using the information remains mysterious, although its focus on Latin America suggests obvious applications in targeting illegal immigrants. Whatever the reasons, its commitment to ChoicePoint is long-term: last year's $11m payment was part of a contract worth $67m that runs until 2005.

ChoicePoint denied breaking any laws. "All information collected by ChoicePoint on foreign citizens is obtained legally from public agencies or private vendors," it said. It also denied purchasing "election registry information" from Mexico. 

Clinton team braced for Obama to take the lead



February votes could see symbolic moment in delegate race 

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Saturday February 9, 2008
The Guardian
 

Hillary Clinton's campaign team is bracing for Barack Obama to take the lead later this month for the first time in the battle for the all-important delegates who will decide the Democratic nomination.

The race looks poised to swing his way after a series of votes, beginning today with caucuses in Washington state, Nebraska and the Virgin Islands and a primary in Louisiana.

The Clinton campaign team anticipates that she will lose her lead in the delegate count this month but is banking on her regaining the lead in the mega-states of Texas and Ohio on March 4 and Pennsylvania on April 22. It will be psychologically and symbolically important for Obama to take the lead after trailing for so long, albeit not by much. He is already ahead of his rival in fundraising.

The Clinton campaign is expected to change its tack following the emergence of John McCain as the likely Republican adversary. The Clinton camp is expected to argue that she is better placed to deal with McCain on security and economics. Her team is also expected to bring up a testy exchange of letters between McCain and Obama in 2006. McCain accused Obama of backtracking on a promise to support him over a bill to restrict lobbying. He accused Obama of "self-interested partisan posturing". Obama responded to say he was "puzzled" by McCain's outburst.

"It was sad to watch," said a Clinton campaign source. "He has no idea how to deal with McCain."

The two are seeking to win 2,025 delegates, the magic number that would give them a majority of delegates at the party convention in August where the Democratic nominee for the November presidential election will be chosen.

The final tally of delegates has still not been allocated after Super Tuesday. The 2008 Democratic Convention Watch website yesterday gave Clinton a total of 862 elected delegates to Obama's 883. But when super-delegates - the 700-plus members of Congress, governors and others who automatically have a vote at the conventions - are taken into account, she has 1,065 and Obama 996.

Clinton's team expects Obama to take a bigger share at some point this month. After this weekend, Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC vote on Tuesday and Wisconsin and Hawaii on February 19.

There is growing concern in the Democratic party that the two could exhaust one another, deplete funds and damage one another with day-to-day criticism at a time when the Republicans have more or less settled on John McCain.

But the Republicans are by no means united behind their candidate, and President George Bush intervened in the race for the first time yesterday to call on his divided party to back the nominee, though without naming McCain.

Many conservative Republicans are openly hostile towards McCain because of his moderate stance on immigration and his willingness to work with Democrats in the senate.

While McCain will distance himself from the unpopular president in the run-up to the November election, Bush's endorsement could help overcome the hostility of the Republican base towards him. He needs those Republican activists to work for him in the November election.

At a glance

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fighting to secure 2,025 delegates, the figure that would bring a majority at the party convention in August, where the Democratic nomination will be made for November's election.

At stake in the coming days:

Today Washington state, 97 delegates; Louisiana 66; Nebraska 31; Virgin Islands 3

Tomorrow Maine 34

Tuesday Virginia 101; Maryland 99; Washington DC 38

February 19 Wisconsin 92; Hawaii 29

The figures below for Clinton and Obama include delegates elected over the last month, and "superdelegates" - members of Congress, governors and others with an automatic vote.




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Way clear for McCain as Romney quits, saying country comes first



· Democratic victory would be a 'surrender to terror' 
· Huckabee still in race but may become running mate
 

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Friday February 8, 2008
The Guardian
 

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has withdrawn from the Republican presidential race
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Photograph: LM Otero/AP
 


John McCain effectively secured the Republican presidential nomination yesterday when his main rival, Mitt Romney, near to tears, dropped out of the race. Only one person now stands between McCain and the US presidency: the Democratic choice for the November election.

McCain now has a huge advantage over the Democrats, with potentially months to campaign for the White House as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama exhaust themselves in their battle for their party's nomination.

Romney, who spent more than $36m (£18m) of his own money on the campaign but failed to make a breakthrough on Super Tuesday, said he was standing aside for the sake of the party. Speaking at the annual meeting of thousands of conservative Republican activists in Washington, he said he wanted to give McCain a chance to begin campaigning early for the election. He suggested that if Clinton or Obama were to win, US safety would be at stake.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," he said.

"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose ... but I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country."

Referring to the Democratic party's contenders, Romney said: "Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. The consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child's play."

He acknowledged disagreements with McCain, but said: "I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden and on eliminating al-Qaida and terror."

His departure from the race leaves McCain facing only Mike Huckabee, the Baptist pastor and former governor of Arkansas, who has done well in the south, but has limited appeal elsewhere in the country. The chances are that Huckabee will eventually join McCain as his running mate.

Also left in the race is Ron Paul, but he has made a minimal impact on the Republican nomination process.

Romney struggled in the race partly because of his lack of charisma, the loss of part of his natural support on the right to Huckabee, and suspicion among Christian evangelicals about his Mormonism. He also fought a mainly negative campaign.

Romney made his announcement at the Conservative Political Action Conference, made up mainly of hardcore Republicans. The deep divisions in the party were exposed at the conference. When, almost three hours later, McCain was introduced, about a fifth of those present loudly booed him.

In contrast, Romney, a social and fiscal conservative, received five standing ovations. McCain's relatively moderate views on immigration and opposition to some of President George Bush's tax cuts have aroused hostility among Republican activists.

David O'Connell, 22, a student and Romney supporter from Texas, said McCain "has demonstrated time and time again a willingness to abandon his conservative principles to become popular with the far left in the Senate, such as Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton".

Romney's pullout came despite McCain failing to win a majority of conservative voters in almost every Super Tuesday state, other than Connecticut.

On Tuesday night Romney, who has an estimated $230m fortune, had said he would fight on, though he was far behind McCain in the battle for delegates.

Costly campaign

Romney may have been the wealthiest candidate in the presidential race, but the campaign has proved a severe drain on his personal finances.

The Washington Post, which reported that the Romney camp had spent $1.16m (£590,000) for each delegate it secured, calculated that it would have cost Romney about $1.3bn (£670m) to win the Republican party nomination. That means that he must have spent about $341m on the 294 delegates he won over - a sizeable chunk of his personal fortune, which is thought to stretch to as much as $500m.

By the end of last year he had already spent more than $37m of his own money on the campaign.

Republican campaign workers apparently devised a scale to measure the amount of money a candidate spends on each delegate won: the Gramm-o-meter. The system take its name from Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator who had 10 delegates to show for $25m spent in 1996.


How the GOP Stole America's 2004 Election & Is Rigging 2008 (Paperback)
by Bob Fitrakis (Author), Harvey Wasserman (Author)




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2 election workers get 18 months for rigging presidential recount

 Criminal Prosecution |Elections | Evidence

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge suspicious of more corruption pressed two former election board workers to tell what they know and then sentenced them today to the maximum 18 months in prison for rigging the 2004 presidential election recount to make their job easier.

“I can’t help but feel there’s more to this story,” said Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Peter Corrigan, who allowed the women to remain free on bond pending appeal. Some of their friends and relatives sobbed as the judge imposed the sentence.

The judge repeatedly asked Jacqueline Maiden, 60, an election coordinator who was the Cuyahoga County board’s third-highest ranking employee, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer, 40, if higher-ups in the board had directed the recount rigging.

“It seems unlikely your supervisors wouldn’t know,” the judge prodded.

The women, standing side by side, said they had cooperated with a state investigation of the elections board in Ohio’s most populous county. The board has been a lightning rod for critics wary since Ohio gave the 2004 election to President Bush.

“This big conspiracy, it’s not there,” Dreamer said. She said she wasn’t protecting anyone at the board and had been truthful in the investigation.

Maiden said she wouldn’t lie, even to protect someone. “I’ve never tried to do anything underhanded,” she said.

But the judge sounded skeptical. “Telling the whole truth, that’s what’s important,” Corrigan said. “I’m not convinced you’ve done that.”

Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter, appointed as an outside investigator to look into the election board in Cleveland, told that judge that the women had been uncooperative in the investigation and appealed for prison time for both.

“The defendants have never come clean,” he said.

Prosecutors said the employees broke the law when they worked behind closed doors three days before the Dec. 16, 2004, recount to pick ballots they knew would not cause discrepancies when checked by hand so they could avoid a lengthier, more expensive hand recount of all votes.

Baxter criticized the outspoken support for the women from Robert Bennett, the election board chairman and head of the Republican Party in Ohio. Endorsing such criminal behavior is “amazing, it’s astounding,” according to Baxter, who didn’t indicate if the investigation might lead to more charges.

Bennett said later in response that the prosecution was politically motivated and directed against Michael Vu — who quit as board director last month — and said he felt any errors by Maiden, a Democrat, or Dreamer, a Republican, were inadvertent.

“If they made mistakes, they were honest mistakes. They are not criminals and for anybody to paint them as criminals is a travesty of justice,” Bennett said. He knew of no criminal wrongdoing at the board run by himself, another Republican and two Democrats, he said.

Each defendant was convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee.

Maiden and Dreamer also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty. Both were acquitted of five other charges, and a co-defendant who was an assistant manager of the ballot department was acquitted of all seven counts.

Ohio gave Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the election and hold on to the White House in 2004. Kerry beat Bush in Democratic Cuyahoga County 448,486 to 221,606.

The prosecutor did not claim the rigged recount affected the outcome of the election — Kerry gained 17 votes and Bush lost six in the county recount.

The judge rejected a motion for a new trial on the defense claim that official election duties are the responsibility of election board members, not employees.

From 
January 19, 2008

Bill Clinton accuses Obama-backed union of vote rigging


(Jae C Hong/AP)

Bill Clinton at the Mirage Casino: he told workers that the Culinary Workers Union was forcing members to vote Obama

Bill Clinton today accused the union backing Barack Obama of illegally blocking its workers from backing his wife in an orchestrated campaign of "voter suppression" in Nevada's Democratic caucuses.

Mr Clinton, who spent 90 minutes at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas today shaking voters' hands, was told by several workers that their union, which has backed Mr Obama, has told them they could not register to vote unless they supported the Illinois senator.

Mr Obama was endorsed by the Culinary Workers' Union, the biggest and most powerful trade organisation in Nevada. It carries particular clout in the casinos along the Las Vegas Strip.

Mr Clinton said: "They [the workers in the union] were told to sign up by Wednesday, and told it had to be for Obama, and if they had not signed up, that they had to wait until November to wait for Hillary." He told The Times: "It's really interesting that on the eve of Martin Luther King day we are seeing voter suppression. 

He added: "There is a lot of voter suppression going on. Are you getting this?"

The Clintons maintain that caucus sites opened in nine casinos so that employees did not have to leave work to vote gave Mr Obama an unfair advantage because most cleaners, kitchen staff and bell-hops belong to the Culinary Union.

In recent days there have been allegations of the unions intimidating its largely Hispanic membership to back Mr Obama. Mrs Clinton's victory came with large Hispanic support and after many of the union's members broke with their leadership to back the former First Lady.

Outside the Mirage's caucus site, a vast ballroom near the casino floor, Mr Clinton met two dozen culinary union members who said that they were refusing to bow to pressure and were supporting his wife. Several told the former President that they did not think they could vote because they were not voting for Mr Obama.

Francesca Santiago, a casino porter at the Mirage, and a Puerto Rican, told The Times: "The union told everyone that they had to vote for Obama. They didn't tell us we could vote for Clinton. They told us if we registered, we had to go for Obama. The unions said we had to registering advance for Obama."

A spokesman for the Culinary Workers' Union told The Times: "We made it very clear to all the members that they could caucus for any candidate they wanted to, but that the leadership supported Obama."

But inside the caucus site, there were chaotic scenes, with Mr Obama's union supporters facing off against Mrs Clinton's backers. Many of the former First Lady's supporters had defied their union to back her.

As voters entered the caucus site, having registered, they were being physically pushed and pulled in both directions by Clinton and Obama supporters to join their camps. The noise was deafening as both sides aggressively screamed their candidate's name. One union member supporting Mr Obama said of the workers who had defected to Mrs Clinton: "We are going to deal with them when we get back to our respective hotels." Mr Clinton told a group of workers that it was illegal to stop members voting for his wife.

"They've been telling me that if they didn't sign up for Obama they couldn't caucus," he told the workers. "They can't do that", he added, and urged them to vote.

Mr Clinton's comments came before news of his wife's victory, and would clearly have been part of the campaign's post-vote spin if the former First Lady has been defeated. 

think what Bill Clinton has done for America and part of the world is great, but I also think he does injustice to himself and his legacy by attacking Obama and speaking so harshly of him. He should let his wife speak for herself and her campaign - I thought she wanted to be President??

jon shawn, london,

Sick Willie is such a drama queen! He's always whining about something. I still can't believe that he ever got elected, much less reelected. It doesn't say much for our country!

Ace, Salem, OR

Once more, old Bill Clinton has proven what a hypocrite he really is. Voter suppression is something he should be familiar with as he has kept very silent about media biased and blatant non-coverage of Dr Ron Paul who is running as a candidate for Presidency. Hilary has got all the support she needs including biased media.

Ian, London, UK

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_

americas/us_elections/article3217097.ece

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Would range voting reduce election fraud?

http://rangevoting.org/LessFraud.html

(skip to conclusions)

Election fraud has been rampant throughout US history

Ohio 2004: As Rolling Stone's comprehensive report shows, there was a systematic conspiracy to heavily manipulate the vote in the critical state of Ohio to favor Bush in the 2004 Bush-Kerry presidential election. (Some of this is also discussed more briefly and concretely on our own page and some more Ohio stories are here.) I do not know if the resulting dishonest totals were enough to swing the election, but they certainly produced an effect of the necessary order of magnitude.

The manipulation methods used were similar to (but probably even more extensive and blatant than) those used in Florida 2000, where the dishonest biases definitely were far more than enough to (and did) swing the election to Bush and away from Gore.

It is interesting that the Rolling Stone piece was written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whose uncle also won his presidency with the aid of massive fraud in 1960 that swung Illinois into his column. And RFK Jr's father RFK was instrumental in covering up that fraud by (as US Attorney General – RFK having been appointed by JFK despite never having tried a case in a courtroom and with as his main "qualification" being that he'd worked for the rabid anticommunist alcoholic nut job Senator Joseph McCarthy) shutting down all federal investigation into election fraud charges. After JFK was assassinated, his presidency went to Lyndon Johnson, whose entire career rested on the ultra-massive election fraud of his first senatorial "victory." In fact Johnson's 1948 Texas senatorial victory may have been the single most massive and blatant election fraud in all of American history and there is absolutely no question Johnson honestly lost. [It is described in many sources including R.A.Caro's biography of LBJ.]

We highly recommend Gumbel's book about US election fraud throughout history. Here's a few press articles about the Florida 2000 Felons list and another and here's one about the New Hampshire phone-bank jamming contract also described inwikipedia.

Election fraud been the direct cause of some democracies simply ending

India 1975: In June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad found sitting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of employing a government servant in her election campaign and Congress Party work, which constituted election fraud. So the court ordered her removed from her seat in Parliament and banned from running in elections for six years.

Gandhi refused to resign, declared a state of emergency, granted herself extraordinary powers including eventually the right to make decrees while bypassing parliament, launched a massive crackdown on civil liberties and political opposition including jailing political rivals and journalists (thousands in all), cutting off electricity to opposition newspapers, and dissolving opposition-controlled state legislatures. After 19 months she fortunately restored democracy and unjailed her opponents, operating under the delusion that she would be lauded and re-elected. She was immediately crushingly defeated.

Costa Rica's 1948 Civil War, which led to a new government in 1949 (with a new constitution, and awarding the vote to Blacks and women) started with allegations of election fraud and with the sitting government refusing to accept the election result.

Those cases of election fraud ended comparatively happily. But other cases were not so happy.

Nigeria 1965: same scenario led to a civil war in 1965 followed by military rule interspersed with brief periods of pseudo-democracy for the next 34 years.

So it is very important to get rid of election fraud; not only does it hurt democracy, it (and even mere allegations of it) can destroy it utterly.

Why does election fraud keep persisting that everybody knows about? Why don't its victims, at least, protest, publicize, and investigate it?

After Nixon lost to Kennedy in 1960 in an election in which his loss in Illinois and probably his popular-vote loss US-wide was definitely the result of fraud, and his loss in Texas also contained fraud which may have been enough to swing that state, (e.g. Fannin County cast 6138 votes, 75% for Kennedy, despite only 4895 people being on the rolls; In Angelina County, in one precinct, only 86 people voted yet the final tally was Kennedy 147, Nixon 24), and Illinois and Texas combined would have been enough to elect Nixon president – Nixon did not challenge the results. Nixon was dissuaded from doing so by Eisenhower, who threatened to disown Nixon if he pursued the matter. Nixon, who greeted guests at a 1960 party with the line "we were robbed," viewed this as Eisenhower once more stabbing him in the back, but realized he had no chance of success. (Eisenhower had to suffer having Nixon as his Vice President and disliked him.) So Nixon dropped his plans to fight and acted as though the reason was his personal "unselfish gracious nobility" and because he was a "good sport," not a "sore loser," but the true story was revealed later – and also the true story of Nixon's "nobility" with Watergate and the Nixon tapes. According to Nixon's friend and biographer Ralph De Toledano (conservative Newsweek and later National Review journalist) Nixon falsely claimed that it was he, not Eisenhower, who was the one "nobly and self-sacrificingly" deciding on restraint, despite Eisenhower who was mad as hell and wanted to challenge. "This was the first time I ever caught Nixon in a lie," said Toledano, who recounted the true story in the 1969 update of his Nixon biography. But it would not be the last!

Some Republicans did pursue challenges "independently" of Nixon, but they were easily quashed. E.g. in Cook County Illionois, Judge John M. Karns, a Daley crony, quashed 677 indictments. (Ironically, Gore's campaign chief in 2000 was Daley's son; Daley had been the presumed chief architect of the fraudulent Kennedy victory in Illinois in 1960.) There were nevertheless several convicted and jailed. Many of the cheating methods could not be corrected by a recount, reported by the Chicago Tribune as "once an election has been stolen in Cook County, it stays stolen."

Similarly, it is very interesting how the Democrats in 2004 and 2000 were extremely tame about complaining about these manipulations and exposing them. Incredibly, it was the Libertarian and Green parties who asked for – and paid for – an Ohio recount but not the Democrats!! (And they later correctly noted that the recount they got was unsatisfactory and broke Ohio's own laws about how to do recounts, and hence demanded another recount, but they never got one. Bet you didn't hear much of that story in the US press, did you? Usual US media shutout of third parties.) And yes, the Democrats did take it to the supreme court in 2000 and lost, but their argument was very carefully constructednot to mention the main massive forms of manipulation, and only to be about incredibly minor nonsense like hanging chads as though it all was just an innocent counting mistake which could be corrected by carefully examining some chads.

Why the perpetual amazing lack of protest and investigation? We have a theoryabout that.

We believe this is because both the Republicans and Democrats benefit very heavily from a rigged and crooked system, they both use similar election manipulation techniques, and so they both do not want to rock the boat and endanger their cushy98% predictable re-elections by illuminating and reforming the system. Sure they'd each like to beat the other – but that is a secondary priority.

If that theory is correct, then election reform will never come from the Republocratduopoly that is forced upon us by plurality voting. But it therefore will be very aided if the US adopts range voting and thus gets rid of cushy 98% predictability and duopoly, while at the same time beneficially reducing both ballot spoilage and the effectiveness of gerrymandering.

Not convinced of our "conspiracy theory"? OK, consider the outrageous 2003 gerrymander of Texas conducted by DeLay and the Republicans to ensure themselves control of the US House. The Democrats did protest that, but notice how carefully their protest was phrased. Did they object to gerrymandering per se?NOOOO! That was fine. In fact, the Democrats previously had gerrymandered Texas themselves, although less radically than the GOP did it the other way. Check the before and after maps (jpg) of the Texan gerrymander. The Democrats merely objected to the gerrymandering being done not in a census year! Hey! Bad! That broke the unwritten contract, the unwritten rules of the gerrymandering game! But abolishing thievery itself? Of course not. We would not even consider that. Our problem is merely its timing.

Still not convinced? OK, consider the fact that, after the Ohio 2004 loss for Kerry in the presence of massive pro-Bush manipulation, only one Democrat senator – which it all it would have taken – was willing to say boo (and in 2000, zero were). That is, the few House Democrats in the "Congressional Black Caucus" (including John Conyers) called the Ohio results into question, whereupon it would have taken just a single senator to stand with them to trigger a House and Senate floor debate and investigation over the Ohio irregularities. They had also conducted an effort after the previous 2000 election to refuse to certify the electoral college vote for Bush. One by one, the lawmakers strode to the House well to challenge the vote, but in each case, an impassive Vice President Al Gore denied their motions, noting that they needed at least one senator's official sanction to mount a formal protest. In the Gore case, every single Senator, unanimously, refused. And it is not as though the Democrats and Kerry were unprepared for or ignorant of all this, and this also was not because every single Democratic Senator believed Ohio was just fine and dandy. E.g, here is one of them venting: "It was terrible," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, who helped craft reforms in 2002 that were supposed to prevent such electoral abuses. "People waiting in line for twelve hours to cast their ballots, people not being allowed to vote because they were in the wrong precinct -- it was an outrage. In Ohio, you had a secretary of state who was determined to guarantee a Republican outcome. I'm terribly disheartened."

This non-protest and non-investigation was plainly (and this was not disputed) anorganized decision by the Democratic party leadership. And the reason for that decision? Because they were not "sore losers"? No, I do not think so. That was merely the cover story. The reality was, this was an excellent opportunity to put the spotlight on election abuses and to cause reform, and this was the single time maximally far ahead of the next election and hence such that any sore-loser image would have maximal time to be dissipated by factual evidence. So there simply was never going to be any better time and opportunity for the Democrats to push for election reform, but they intentionally and unanimously chose not to. So you can be sure they aren't going to push for it at some worse time and worse opportunity.

So have a nice day, those of you who regard the USA as a "democracy" – for you, ignorance is indeed bliss.

Conclusions

Elections in the USA are highly manipulated by a number of methods including gerrymandering, massively biased registration procedures, illegal "caging," massively biased removals from voting rolls, "accidental" misdirection of voters, and massively biased allocation of and mode-setting of voting machines, among others. Election fraud/manipulation is known to have altered at least two US presidential elections (Bush-Gore 2000 and Hayes-Tilden 1876), clearly swung Illinois to Kennedy in 1960, and may have swung Ohio to Bush in 2004. This is not even counting massive "Jim Crow" measures in the early 1900s which systematically almost entirely stripped Southern Blacks of their voting rights and gave the Democratic party five decades of permanent 1-party rule throughout the South. Election fraud not only alters election results, it has destroyed entire countries and led to lasting dictatorship and/or war. The protests of those defeated by election fraud and/or manipulation have been incredibly faint in the USA. Why? Our theory is that bothsides continually benefit heavily from the same election-rigging techniques and any protest – and most election reform more generally (and investigations leading toward it) such as abolishing gerrymandering – is therefore counterproductive for both sides and hence is not undertaken. If this theory is correct, then range voting, by eliminating 2-party domination, will have a hugely beneficial effect on election fraud in the USA.


Ron Paul and Barack Obama targeted in New Hampshire rigging

http://socialjustis.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/were-ron-paul-and-barack
-obama-targeted-for-new-hampshire-rigging/

The Italians are, at this moment, reporting election rigging in America; specifically, New Hampshire. Michael Carmichael, of Planetary Movement, used the headline, It wasn’t a miracle - Hillary won via a rigged vote and recalls how New Hampshire received ‘a massive amount of negative publicity’ after the scandalous 2000 presidential elections.

Il Giornale have argued that Ron Paul in fact finished third among GOP candidates, and not fifth, as the computerized voting system revealed. Barack Obama was also mentioned by Il Giornale as a target for this round of election rigging.

As it has been pointed out many times before, the US is not the foremost authority on election security. America is ripe with political corruption and with so many backs to scratch after each political win, it’s no wonder.

A Brief History of Computerized Election Fraud in America
by Victoria Collier
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
25 October 2003




Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
--Thomas Jefferson

One Machine to Rule Them All

Thanks in part to the recent Bush approved Help America Vote Act (HAVA), squadrons of shiny new Touch Screen Trojan horses are being rolled into precincts across America. Not, as we are told, to make voting easier or more accurate, or to help disabled people vote privately, or to save America from the dangers of hanging chad and butterfly ballots -- no. The real reason America is being flooded with billions of dollars worth of paperless computerized voting machines is so that no one willever again be able to prove vote fraud.

These machines are not just unverifiable, they are secretly programmed (their software is not open to scrutiny by election officials or computer experts), equipped with modems, accessible by computer, telephone, and satellite. They are the final product of decades of work by the election rigging industry. When they are installed in every precinct in America, our elections will finally become completely meaningless, nothing more than charades behind which criminal thugs will wield the power of this nation.

That is the plan for America. But there's a glitch.

The blatant and multi-faceted fraud of the 2000 election -- in which the ultimate poster boy for corporate corruption stole the highest seat in the nation -- woke the American people from their dangerous slumber. The issue of election fraud is now smoldering in the minds of millions. Of course the Touch Screens were immediately offered as the solution to all our voting problems, but thanks to the wonderful work of many new computerized vote fraud researchers, most notably Bev Harris (author of Black Box Voting), Americans are quickly recognizing that the "solution" is worse than the problem.

Despite the best propaganda efforts of corrupt voting machine corporations like Diebold and ES&S, even those with the worst butterfly ballot jitters are coming to understand that destroying the ballot altogether, erasing any verifiable record of the vote count and making a recount impossible, is not the answer to our problems. And, as the Touch Screen systems continue to openly malfunction, increasing numbers of voters will begin doubting their safety and accuracy.

It's becoming clear to Americans that, just like the aftermath of the Enron scandal, no real government reform is forthcoming in the area of election security. The news is out that the same company that was used in Florida to purge voter rolls of millions of African American votes is now being hired by other states across the country for the same job. As you will soon see, many of our Boards of Elections and Secretary's of State will continue to blindly defend their collusion with shadowy corporations, and spending billions of tax-payer dollars on unreliable machines that patently subvert the democratic process. Why? Because they have sold out. They have been bought by corporate interests. It happened a long time ago.

As political events at home and around the world continue to unfold in one devastating disaster after another, our cry for honest elections will only grow louder. The movement toward real election reform, and what will, in the end, amount to a revolution by the American people, is only just beginning.

We the People are responsible for taking back the control of our democratic process. No one else will do it for us. We cannot afford to be naïve, or uneducated, at this time in history. In order to fully understand the extent of the corruption we are dealing with, and to avoid making dangerous mistakes based on ignorance, we must understand the history, and the power structure, behind vote fraud in America.


Votescam: The Stealing of America 

"One of the most mysterious, low-profile, covert, shadowy, questionable 
mechanisms of American democracy is the American vote count."
--Votescam

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/BHoCEFiA.html

http://www.truthout.com/docs_03/102503C.shtml


I grew up with two men who spent twenty-five years investigating vote fraud in America: James and Kenneth Collier, my father and uncle.

Their book, Votescam: The Stealing of America was published in 1992 and immediately banned by the major book chains, which listed the book as "out of print" and actively worked to prevent its sale. Votescam chronicles the Collier brother's groundbreaking investigation into America's multi-billion dollar election rigging industry, and the corporate government and media officials who control it.

Before the 2000 election, Votescam was widely read (thanks to independent bookstores and the Internet) by the minority of Americans still engaged in the political process, mostly members of independent and third parties trying to break the chokehold of the two party system. The corporate media will not give their causes or their candidates adequate press coverage -- if any. This censorship alone effectively controls the first stages of our political races. If a candidate can't get T.V. coverage, he or she has little chance of even making it out the gate. These citizens were not surprised to learn that the media has been complicit in rigging the final stages of our elections -- our vote counting and the reporting of results -- for decades.


Down the Rabbit Hole

The Votescam investigation began in 1970, in -- surprise!-- Dade County, Florida, where Ken ran for Congress (with Jim as his campaign manager) against Claude Pepper, the "Father of Social Security."

The Colliers were researching a book they were writing for Dell Publishing titled: "Running Through the System: Ballots Not Bullets", an idea born from their involvement in the social upheaval of the sixties.

Jim and Ken proposed that if our Declaration of IndependenceConstitution and Bill of Rights were indeed the rule of the land, real change could be made in America by working within the system -- more effectively, and much more safely, than waging bloody revolution in the streets.

Putting their ideals, love of country, and political savvy to the test, the Colliers began their grassroots Congressional campaign -- and discovered exactly why the bullet, not the ballot, was being used to change the power structure in America.

Ken was rigged out of the election through a vote scam, which the Colliers later discovered was used throughout the country for decades. It went like this: The local newscaster would announce during the broadcast of election returns that election "computer has broken down." Instead of giving official returns from the County courthouse, the networks would be running vote "projections" for the rest of the night.

Jim and Ken, who had garnered 30 percent of the vote and were excited about running again, noticed that when the vote totals came back on the screen after the announcement, they had mysteriously lost 15 percentage points. They didn't get another vote for the rest of the night.

This piqued their interest.

When they examined the "official" election results from the Secretary of State's office for the September primary, October run-off and November final election in Dade County, the record listed a total of 141,000 votes cast for the Governors race -- in each election. The exact same number of total votes were cast for three elections with a different number of candidates running each time. The same identical figures were listed for the Senate race -- 122,000 votes cast in the primary, run-off and final election.

This, of course, is a statistical impossibility.

When they compared the "official" vote results with a print-out of the vote "projections" broadcast by the TV networks on the final election night, they found that Channel 4 had "projected" with near perfect accuracy the results of 40 races with 250 candidates only 4 minutes after the polls closed. Channel 7 came even closer; at 9:31 pm, they "projected" the final vote total for a race at 96,499 votes. When the Colliers checked the "official" number . . . it was also 96,499.

"In hockey, they call that a hat trick," the Colliers write. "In politics, we call it a fix."

The networks then made the astonishing claim that the results from a single voting machine somewhere in Dade County were run through a computer program in order to get these vote projections.

Elton Davis was the computer programmer responsible for the magic formula that could convert one machine's vote results into near perfect projected vote totals for 40 races and 250 candidates. When Jim and Ken confronted Davis in his office at the University of Miami, he responded: "You'll never prove it, now get out."

Finally the networks claimed that members of the League of Women Voters were out in the field on election night, calling in vote totals to Channels 4 and 7.

When the Colliers confronted the head of the League, Joyce Deiffenderfer, she admitted that there were no LWV members out in the field that night. She broke down crying, saying "I don't want to get caught up in this thing."

But there's more.

According to the print-out of the TV network's election night "projections," the networks were not receiving any actual voting results at any time during their broadcast, but had been using their own projections from the moment the polls closed. When they claimed that the courthouse computer had broken down, and they would no longer be reporting actual vote totals, they were lying. They had never been reporting actual vote totals.

However, the final shoe dropped months later when an official press release appeared from Dade data processing chief, Leonard White, which stated emphatically: The county computer at the courthouse was never down, and it was never slow.

This was the beginning.

The Collier brothers had slammed their boat into the tip of a giant iceberg. As they continued to investigate, they were horrified to discover vote fraud collusion among key individuals in every branch and on every level of the American political system. Those who were not benefiting from the fraud were too afraid to fight it. Their search for justice led to dead-ends. Their lives were threatened, they were vilified as conspiracy theorists by the mainstream press, Dell publishing cancelled their book contract . . . and yet they persevered.

The next quarter century was spent compiling a wealth of FBI documented evidence proving that elections in the United States have come under the tight control of a handful of powerful and corrupt people: Secretaries of State, Election Supervisors, Judges, owners and editors of the major media outlets, voting equipment corporations, and assorted key members of the elections establishment, including the League of Woman Voters. These groups have assured the dominance of the two party system, unfettered corporate control over government, and media censorship of issues most important to the American people, including the cover-up of vote fraud evidence.

"Now we understand why things have gone so terribly wrong in this country. It's due to the corrupted vote. It is the stolen vote that perpetuates corrupt city, state and federal governments. When those corrupt power brokers in your town weed out that up-and-coming politician, they are looking for a person who is willing to `play ball.' Politics is `playing ball.' Suddenly you find property decisions going against nature; land and water needed for the perpetuation of life on our earth suddenly disappear. A handful of developers get richer while the land, and the quality of life, get poorer."
--Votescam

Jim and Ken both died young during the 90's, as heroes to many thousands who read their book and heard them speak on the radio and at political meetings across the country. They helped to guide individuals and groups working for clean elections in their communities -- some of them fighting against the first wave of computerized voting machines.

The Collier's last hope was that Votescam would be used as evidence in a serious Congressional investigation into election fraud, if we should ever see the day. Many people still in power have yet to be held accountable for their role in aiding and abetting vote fraud. I'll give you two important examples.

When the famous Miami lawyer Ellis Rubin agreed to be Ombudsman for the original Votescam evidence, he brought it to the Florida assistant State Attorney at the time, Janet Reno. The evidence included the shaved wheels of lever voting machines, forged canvass sheets (the sheets that poll workers sign to verify the final vote count), and pre-printed vote tally sheets that were used in conjunction with a lever machine vote rigging device called the Printomatic.

Reno refused to prosecute, claiming falsely that the statue of limitations had run out on the crime. Years later, Rubin would tell my father that behind closed doors Reno had stated that she could not prosecute. Why? Because she would bring down many of the most powerful people in the state.

Would the 2000 election fiasco in Florida have been avoided if Reno had agreed to do her job thirty years earlier and root out the vote fraud thieves?

Another notable Votescam criminal can now be found sitting on the bench of the highest court in the nation. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, while still a Federal Appeals Judge, single handedly destroyed what would have been an historic lawsuit filed against Justice Department lawyer Craig Donsanto, who had refused to prosecute the extensive vote fraud evidence brought to him by the Colliers. The evidence included videotape of the League of Women voters tampering with ballots in a closed door vote "counting" session. The women were illegally punching holes in already cast ballots. When confronted by Jim and Ken, just minutes before the two were bodily thrown from the building (which they had snuck into), the women claimed they were only trying to remove . . . the hanging chad.

Votescam states, "Because the League of Women Voters has about it a perfume of volunteerism and do-goodism, the fact that it is actually a political club with a political agenda and a hungry treasury is shrouded by the false myth that it is a reliable Election Day watchdog."

It's no surprise to me that the League of Women Voters has recently come out strongly in favor of the diabolical ballot-less Touch Screen machines.

And even less shocking was the role Antonin Scalia played so willingly in the selection of George W. Bush to office.


The Rise of Resistance/ Knowledge is Power

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the 
truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong."
--Thomas Jefferson

Thanks to the 2000 fiasco, election reform is now growing as a public battle cry . . . but who is leading the army?

This is a question that every American has the responsibility to ask.

Various individuals and groups are seeking to guide the reform process, including politicians, government officials, voting machine companies, computer experts, activists, and members of the elections establishment. It is very safe to assume they do not all mean well. Many have agendas of their own, some obvious, others hidden.

Many are corrupt, others are ignorant.

And some, who have the very best interests of America at heart, are in the difficult position of having to make serious and potentially damaging compromises in their quest for safe elections, in order to push the issue in Washington.

Before I explore this issue in more depth, I'd like to offer a brief list of important lessons learned from twenty-five years of fighting vote fraud in the trenches.

  1. If there is any conceivable way to tamper with or rig an election -- someone will attempt it. This includes average citizens as well as officials charged with protecting the process. 

  2. Every voting system is open to tampering, but paper ballots counted in public are the easiest system to protect and monitor. (It's estimated that only 2% of Americans still vote on a hand-counted paper ballot). 

  3. Secret vote counting is illegal. Remember: counting them faster is not a justification for counting them secretly. 

  4. When machines began to take over our vote counting systems, election rigging became an exciting new national industry. 

  5. Lever machines were the first to appear, and they were riggable in a number of ways. One could rig the lever machine itself, or, much more easily, the electronic scanning machines that counted the ballots. (See the Votescam video for footage of ballot rigging under the supervision of both parties and the Dade County Election Supervisor). 

  6. Computerized voting machines are the easiest to rig. Their software is not open to public scrutiny, or the scrutiny of Election Supervisors (rendering their title meaningless). There are nearly infinite ways to program the machines to count votes fraudulently. Since they are accessible by modem, they can be controlled from a remote, centralized location. 

  7. Voting machine companies operate with no federal oversight, certification process, standards or restrictions. Controlling members of some of the most powerful voting machine corporations are convicted criminals, some are politicians with obvious conflicts of interests, others are not even American citizens. Just two companies -- Election Systems and Software (ES&S) andDiebold Voting Systems -- now control about 80% of the vote count in the U.S. 

  8. Vote fraud on a statewide and national scale is not possible without the complicity of (among others) corrupt Election Supervisors, Secretaries of State, Judges, voting machine corporations, and top officials of the major media outlets. 

  9. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have been complicit in vote rigging for decades, to their mutual benefit. Vote rigging is NOT a partisan issue (though recent evidence suggests Republicans might be gaining the upper hand in the race to control our elections). 

  10. The corporate major media networks play a vital role in perpetrating and covering up vote fraud. Media methods of vote rigging are explored in theVotescam book, including the role of Voter News Service (VNS). (VNS was a consortium of all the major media outlets. It recently closed up shop and scurried off into the shadows, but for decades, under two different corporate names, it controlled the compilation and dissemination of national vote totals, with the power to alter the reported results. The networks have actually not competed for vote totals, as they claim to have done, since 1965. They got all their numbers from VNS, which operated behind an iron curtain of secrecy. Any questions regarding their operation were met with the ubiquitous response: "This is not a proper area of inquiry." Most people erroneously thought they were simply a polling organization, though no evidence of their supposedly massive polling operation could be found by investigators). See my interview with Bill Headline, former head of VNS, athttp://www.votescam.com/articles.php 

  11. Election Day media polls are untrustworthy at best, and very likely fabricated to influence voter decisions and to support phony vote results.

Now that I've provided the minimal context for understanding the current threats we face, we can begin to talk about strategies to win back the control of our government.

Not all strategies currently on the table are acceptable. Do not take anyone's word on the reform that is needed. Do not cede your power to government officials and so-called experts any longer. Educate yourself. It's up to us, the American people, to decide what strategies to support, and our goal must not fall short of what will truly restore democracy to this sinking nation.


The Nuts and Bolts of Computerized Voting

The gravest error of judgment these days comes from those vote reformers who honestly believe that the answer to the butterfly ballot and hanging chad problems in the 2000 election is to embrace the ballot-less computerized voting machine.

Let's make this clear. These machines are nothing but Trojan horses built by and for election thieves. With the ballot-less computer, there is no way to recount, no way to prove any discrepancy, inaccuracy or fraud. Just the fact that companies like ES&S,Diebold, and Sequoia would even make a ballot-less machine should be cause for a Congressional investigation. (There are also many other reasons to investigate them. For a detailed examination of these sinister corporations, check outwww.blackboxvoting.org.)

That said, the next error of judgment comes from those who believe that all we need to make computerized voting machines safe is a paper receipt.

Many intelligent, well-intentioned and hard working vote reformers are supporting HR 2239, proposed by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), requiring all computerized voting machines to produce a receipt for each individual voter. While I support the effort that has gone into creating this bill, and I recognize the monumental struggle it will face in Congress, I am unable to support it at this time, for many reasons. The first of which is that, while calling much needed attention to the dangers of ballot-less machines, this legislation does not require actually hand-counting the receipts altogether in each election.

Why is this a serious problem?

First of all, individual receipts are meaningless. They're worth nothing if not counted altogether. A person's vote might be verified by the slip of paper, but that person has no idea whether the computer accurately tallied her vote along with all the other votes. The final count still takes place inside the infamous computerized "black box," beyond the reach of public scrutiny. An individual receipt in no way guarantees the safety of the final vote count. It is at best a meaningless gesture that I am deeply afraid will provide an extremely false sense of security for voters.

As for recounting disputed elections, the obvious question is, which ones? Every election is in dispute when counted by a secretly programmed, modem-equipped computer!

Most of the supporters of this bill agree that the receipts should be counted across the board in each election, which would be the equivalent of a good old-fashioned paper ballot count. But so far there is little incentive to demand that the provision be added because it won't get any support in Congress. What does this mean? Are we interested in actually making our elections safe, accurate and verifiable, or are we willing to play political ball to the point where we lose sight of our goal completely?

I am told that perhaps, over time, the legislation will be strengthened. But history has repeatedly shown that as a bill makes its way through Washington channels, its effectiveness is more often than not watered down. Whatever teeth it might have to begin with get filed into nubs that have no strength to tear into corruption.

HR 2239 proposes surprise "random" recounts, where a small percentage of jurisdictions are chosen for verification in each election. Unfortunately, this is completely inadequate. Individual machines can be manipulated, and election thieves can buy off the people in charge of the random recount. Anyone who thinks that is far fetched or impossible is very new to this issue.

And what if discrepancies are found? Then everyone will call foul -- rightly so -- a glut of confused and disputed recounts will ensue, and the entire elections machine will become hopelessly tangled in its own mechanized parts. Meanwhile every election criminal in the country will descend like vultures on the chaos.

Folks, let's look at this honestly. We are already deep into a horrible and expensive mess that could all be avoided by skipping the computerized middleman and simply counting paper ballots.


Paper Ballots - A Radical Idea

The last, and to my mind, most grave error of judgment comes from those who think that returning to a hand-counted paper ballot system is somehow impossible, that we can't go back to a simple process that works once we've stupidly and recklessly abandoned it.

I don't know about you, but that strikes me as an extremely dangerous perspective.

An MIT/Cal Tech study done in 2001 shows that manually counted paper ballots are the most accurate system out of the 5 systems used in the last 4 presidential elections. They are totally verifiable, and first-world nations across the globe still use them, including Canada which counted their last presidential election in four hours. And yet I am told repeatedly by vote reformers that there is no hope of America ever returning to paper ballots because too much money has been spent on the machines, and because the public is being sold on their benefits. My argument is that the public must be immediately educated on their dangers -- that should be the top priority of every serious vote reformer in the country.

My argument is that we should stop playing ball with these corrupt voting machine corporations and the sold-out government officials who support them.

My argument is that we should remember we're Americans -- we don't ask forpermission to secure our own freedom. We should take these Trojan horses and burn them in the public square before our whole damn country crumbles before our eyes!

But all this debate is misleading.

The bottom line is that a computerized vote count is a secret vote count -- and that's illegal. Technology cannot supercede the constitutional and mandatory provisions of election law, which require open and verifiable elections. There is no way to do a public vote count with computers.

Listen, here's my idea. After the public Touch-Screen bonfire (we really need more community minded events, don't you think?), we should march to our Secretary of State's office and demand the restoration of a hand-counted paper ballot system.

Picture it. Millions of citizens marching on the gates of power, demanding their keys back. It would be a quick, effective, non-violent, American Revolution. And I think it's long overdue.

The fact is, with a well-designed ballot and see-through boxes (to prevent stuffing) the paper system can be simple, user-friendly, and fosters community-based democratic participation. High school kids, even children, used to count the ballots in America. We must have a strong, diverse presence of citizen watchdog groups to oversee the count, along with poll workers. The only election officials who are truly independent, who represent the interests of all parties in an election, are the poll watchers. The count must be done by hand, in public, video-taped, aired live on television, and the results posted on the precinct wall -- just like they used to be. Ballots should be counted on the same day as the voting takes place, making it much more difficult to alter ballots.

But that is not enough to ensure the safety of the election.

Intense, multi-faceted scrutiny and public awareness must surround every step of the process, not just the activities at the precinct. Otherwise ballot boxes tend to disappear on the way to the county courthouse, or arrive with their locks broken. Election "officials" will be waiting with new locks, to replace the broken ones (ballot box seals are also made by multiple suppliers, making duplicate numbered seals easy to obtain).The reported vote totals tend to change mysteriously when a secret corporate media consortium is in charge of reporting them. If anyone disputes the numbers, the same centralized media can assure the charges are never investigated or reported by the press. Election officials and Secretaries of State can manipulate or withhold the final election results to prevent citizens from proving fraud, and rotten Judges can throw out vote fraud lawsuits.

I promise you, all of this can and will happen -- it has been happening for decades -- if the public as a whole is asleep and only a few good men and women are on the watch.

Hand counted paper ballots and eternal vigilance are the only hope left for us. The corporate fascists are taking over, and we will never depose them non-violently as long as they control our elections.

 

Victoria Collier directs a non-profit organization focused on building sustainable living systems that work on the personal, community and global levels. A long time writer and political activist, she continues to educate the public on the subject of vote fraud in place of her father and uncle. She is the editor of www.votescam.com. Victoria is available for interviews and can be reached at 1-866-280-9090 and ateditor@votescam.com


Clinton’s Inevitability 

and the 2008 Elections

http://whitehouser.com/elections/rhetoric-and-propaganda-2008-elections/
Published by Fred Soto• December 27th, 2007

2008 U.S. Elections - Manipulation and Coercion Of the Masses

There are many ways to rig an election and ensure that one candidate is favored over another. For example, it’s possible to manipulate — illegally — machines to favor a candidate, use voter caging tactics to deny ordinary citizens their voting rights, gerrymandering and redistricting plans split the votes of already disenfranchised groups. Finally, as in California, partisan organizations or parties might attempt to destroy the voting (electoral) system in order to “steal an election”.

One of the more subtle and destructive forms of “rigging” an election occurs in the arena of public opinion. It’s rarely studied or denounced because it isn’t a form of manipulation that can be easily spotted or stopped. Planting seeds of doubt or “inevitability” are a political strategist’s best friend.

the diabolical genius of Karl Rove and GOP political strategists

In 1999, the GOP was angling for Evangelical Christians because of the events that helped bring down Clinton’s presidency. The issue of infidelity and “lying” to America about it was an impossible hurdle for Clinton to overcome, but he was ending his second term in office so the faith was used to convince Americans to reach out to God.

It was a subtle form of manipulation, a fair one at that. People just ‘felt’ like steering right was the only way to go as the 2000 elections approached. I can’t say with certainty that most Americans who voted for Bush arrived at that conclusion on their own. It’s possible they were subtly guided by the rhetoric that took place in the public discourse.

Nationalism - God and Country Turned the Election in 2004

Again, this subtle war on independent thinking took Americans by storm and John Kerry’s campaign was derailed by the same people that hanged Bill Clinton in 2000. I’m not going to argue whether they were right or wrong, the point of this is the genius (and danger) of political manipulation.

With genius comes serious consequences, however, because it’s possible to out-think yourself if you aren’t careful. As a political strategist, when you’ve figured out how to manipulate people, what is to stop you from doing it again and again? What happens when you start believing your own subtle deceptions? Let’s take a look at what is going on in the public opinion right now. I think it’s important that people understand how they are being manipulated, if ever so subtly. The following segment requires critical thinking and creativity, but it isn’t difficult to follow if you’ve been paying attention to politics and the players that make it all happen.

Hillary Clinton’s Candidacy Was Sabotaged Long Ago

Inevitability

Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is one of the best examples of the diabolical genius of Karl Rove. For some people, this will seem “obvious” or “out there”, while other’s may experience a “Eureka!” moment. The point, however, is that manipulation ishappening and it is working out well for the GOP, all things considered.

How do you destroy a candidate that wields the Clinton name. Regardless of whether you loved or hated Bill Clinton, if you are a political strategist that needs to end the Clinton campaign what is the best way to do it?

Answer: Plant a self-destructing mechanism in the minds of the general public.

Karl Rove was the first strategist that I heard planting the seeds of destruction in Hillary Clinton’s campaign. First, he publicly reached out to Hillary Clinton and then dropped a political bombshell when he declared Hillary Clinton our next President. Analysts and journalists ate this stuff up and the American people have bought into the inevitability campaign. Soon after this happened, President Bush was quick to declare Hillary Clinton future President.

The worst possible endorsement for ANY Democrat to have is an endorsement from President Bush. Couple that with “Rudy Giuliani can defeat Hillary Clinton” rhetoric and you have a sure GOP win — or so they thought. The problem with inevitability, as Karl Rove knows, is that the only thing inevitable about elections is uncertainty, confusion, propaganda and manipulation in the months that come before the primaries arrive.

Understanding “Inevitability” - Why would a Republican declare a Democrat as inevitable, especially when that Democrat happens to be Hillary Clinton? The conservative blogs were all over inevitability when it started, it was a brilliant move because it got everyone talking about Hillary Clinton. The Master of Puppets, Mr. Rove was no doubt sleeping with a smile on his face, because he knew what inevitability was going to do to the political discourse. It’s manipulation at its finest and yes, it IS genius.

What inevitability did:

  1. It created an illusion of victory and this helped give Hillary Clinton a false sense of hope that she would win the primary and election with ease. Clinton was strong and even brilliant during the debates, but Barack Obama was no fool and in the end, it worked against Clinton who spent so much time campaigning against the phantom GOP candidate. She never distinguished herself from her Democratic rivals.
  2. Triangulation is impossible to achieve when you are declared future President. Expectations were very high and Hillary Clinton allowed herself to believe that she was in-fact inevitable. Karl Rove knows well how triangulation made Bill Clinton the best American -politician- there ever was. Hillary Clinton almost pulled the strategy off herself until she tripped over issues of immigration that are NOT easy to answer if you sit in the center and do the dance.
  3. When you’re at the top, the only way to go is down! Clinton hasn’t been able to recover from the overwhelming expectations placed on her by the GOP and DNC. Her inability to please both sides with her ’safe’ answers was inevitable, hence making the “inevitability” label something more of a snare than a boost for her campaign.
  4. Hillary Clinton’s inevitability was destined for failure because nobody likes a cocky favorite. Republican and Democratic opponents were poised to go after her the moment she fell from her perch. Our nation isn’t a huge fan of certainty come election time. Inevitability gave Americans a reason to despise Hillary Clinton. While she didn’t entirely earn the villain tag, she was deprived the role of the underdog going into 2008. Hillary Clinton’s biggest crime was acting like a politician, Karl Rove was betting on it and the GOP won as a result.

Political manipulation is how the game is played and Clinton allowed herself to be snared by rhetoric. The worst thing going forward for the GOP and Karl Rove is Hillary Clinton wins. Rove can then say “you see, I was right about Clinton’s inevitability!” However, if she loses, everything will go as planned. It’s like when you bet against your team to win the Super Bowl. It’s easier to reason that “Well, if I lose the bet at least my team wins and I’ll be happy, but if I win the bet, my team loses, but I have something to show for it!”

Same thing happened with inevitability, it was the bait and the public fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, she fell for it too. Up to this point, not a single political analyst has brought this issue to light and I think it’s a testament to how far America has fallen with respect to political discourse and independent thinking. Then again, maybe people are too lazy to think about how and why people do the things they do, especially when they seem to defy all logic.

Finally, once all of the political sparring has taken place, the negative response to ‘inevitability’ closes the deal. Republicans are put in a fight or flight situation and it inspires them to spew the “Anyone but Clinton” rhetoric. Meanwhile they wear their “Bush Clinton Bush Clinton… JUST SAY NO in 2008? t-shirts and even encourage Democrats to look elsewhere. e.g. The latest political spin is how the Republicans love Barack Obama and are secretly hoping he wins so that they can vote for him.(Rolls eyes) In politics, irrational moves should always be looked upon with a skeptical eye, they are very likely calculated and intended to produce a result.

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McCain, Clinton or Obama likely to break 'Senate curse'
February 4: Senators often make nuanced and seemingly problematic choices during their long careers that become effective fodder for their presidential opponents

Obama-Rezko link may be scrutinized by Republicans
February 4: If Obama becomes a presidential candidate, his relationship with Tony Rezko is certain to be raked over by the Republicans

Clinton and Obama head east
February 4: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spent the final hours before Super Tuesday squeezing out votes in the east coast battlefield states

Campaigning intensifies amid new reports on candidates' records
February 4: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama today make their last stands before Super Tuesday but both campaigns were forced to respond to a trickle of news reports over the weekend

Close-run primaries give voters in Alaska their moment of relevance
February 4: As tight battles grip both the Democratic and Republican parties, candidates are hunting down votes in every corner of the United States - including the country's Arctic north-western tip

In this great meritocracy, only one thing matters: who is your daddy?
February 4, Gary Younge: To change the political sclerosis gripping their country, Americans need a president distinguished by his lack of pedigree

Oprah hits stump for Obama
February 3: Clinton faces Super Tuesday pressure as the talk show host joins her foe's campaign in California

Illegal migrants caught in a fight 
The campaign is dominated by talk of foreigners taking jobs, yet cheap labour ensures low prices. Paul Harris reports from Ventura, California

Youth inspired by Obama's appeal
February 2: For a younger generation, Barack Obama is the anti-Bush: young, vibrant, idealistic, intelligent and - there is no getting around it - undeniably hip 
Obama sets fundraising record

Schwarzenegger hails 'American hero' McCain for president
February 2: Endorsement buoys senator among liberal Republicans, but could alienate conservatives 
McCain takes Florida
Endorsements this week

After a lifetime with Bush, only the hippest candidate will do
February 2: For a generation too young to remember any president but this one, he is the Anti-Bush: young, vibrant, idealistic, intelligent and - there is no getting around it - undeniably hip

Obama catching up with Clinton but pair adopt polite approach in televised debate
February 2:· Poll puts candidates just four points apart 
· Sources say there's no prospect of 'dream team'

Face to faith
February 2: Evangelicals, beginning to voice concern for God's earth, are critical to the US elections, says James Jones

Alone on the left wing
February 2, Joe Queenan: Liberal America deserves a champion, yet the only candidate was too far out in the presidential race

After a lifetime with Bush, only the hippest candidate will do
February 2, Suzanne Goldenberg: For a generation too young to remember any president but this one, he is the Anti-Bush: young, vibrant, idealistic, intelligent and - there is no getting around it - undeniably hip

Finance reports show Romney's fundraising fell short
February 1: Mitt Romney poured twice as much of his own money into his campaign than he received from donors in the final months of last year

FAQ: The man the Democrats fear most
February 1: Democrats fear McCain could wreck their hopes of retaking the White House in November. At a meeting in Washington in November 2006, about 60 senior Democrats, including Gary Hart, Madeleine Albright and Tom Daschle, discussed election strategy

McCain and Obama gain money and momentum ahead of Super Tuesday
February 1: Clinton's rival raises record breaking $32m in a month·Schwarzenegger endorses Republican frontrunner

Obama faces uphill battle against Clinton's Harlem base
January 31: The shortage of ready cash in Harlem for a campaign dedicated to putting the first African American in the White House would be puzzling were it not for the odds in New York, Hillary Clinton's home state

Democratic candidates head to California
January 31: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are venturing west today for last debate before Super Tuesday

What realignment sounds like
January 31, Jedediah Purdy: Barack Obama's vision for America transcends old stereotypes, but he hasn't turned his rhetoric into a concrete idea of citizenship

Strong early lead that petered out
January 31:There was no missing John Edwards' pain at being the perpetual afterthought in the Democratic race

Explainer: Now what happens to his votes?
January 31: With John Edwards out of the race, the big question is who his supporters are likely to back, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton

'History is ours' the campaign memo told Giuliani. And yesterday he was
January 31: Spectacular collapse in support for hero of Ground Zero who opted out of early battles in smaller states

Field cut to two-horse contest in both parties
January 31: Remaining candidates vie for Edwards' or Giuliani's support

Divided they stand
January 31: The candidates in the US presidential primaries stand for more than just differences of policy; they symbolise a nation fractured along religious, ethical, political, racial and class lines as never before, says author and commentatorJonathan Raban

It's McCain v the party machine 
January 31, Michael Tomasky: Powerful conservatives are reconciling themselves to the likelihood that this man they detest is going to be someone they'll have to find a way to support in November

The fall of Rudy Giuliani
January 30: Former New York mayor to make decision on his White House run

Clinton pushes party to recognise Florida delegates
January 29: The Clinton camp today renewed efforts to force the Democratic party to acknowledge the Florida primary

Obama attracting California Republicans and independents
January 29: Having voted for Republicans in the past, some Obama campaigners in California have decided to switch allegiance in this year's election

Race reaches the ballot in Florida
January 29: Republican frontrunners John McCain and Mitt Romney are locked in a battle to win today's primary 
29.01.08: McCain and Romney in close fight
29.01.08: Giuliani needs a miracle

'I feel change in the air,' says Kennedy of Obama
January 28: In front of a rapturous, chanting crowd, Ted Kennedy drew a clear line of succession from the Democratic heroes of the past to a younger generation

Down to a delegate count as Hillary's gamble fails
January 28: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton yesterday steeled themselves for a long war for the Democratic party's presidential nomination after Obama's landslide victory in South Carolina left the contest with no clear frontrunner 
28.01.08: To Super Tuesday and beyond
28.01.08, leader: The race for Super Tuesday

Cuban Americans stray from the Republican fold
January 28: New generations less versed in the events of 1961 are more open to Democratic advances

Hillary's biggest asset? Now Bill is looking like a liability
January 28: The interventions of former president Clinton are turning Democrats off his wife and raising constitutional questions

Now Obama has momentum as race heads for long haul
January 28: Clinton campaign has to deploy 'big dog' Bill with care as the Democratic contest continues to defy predictions

Clintons underestimated South Carolina's significance
January 27: After a week of being pummelled by Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama won more than twice as many votes as his nearest rival 
27.01.08: 'Bill effect' threatens a civil war

Obama overwhelms Clinton in South Carolina
January 27: Exit polls showed voters starkly divided by race, with Obama carried to victory by 81% of the African American vote 
27.01.08: Audio: At the Obama victory rally
27.01.08: Victory ignites supporters' hope

Good week, bad week
January 26: It was a good week for thinning the field for both parties, but a bad week for Democratic unity

Romney defends personal funding
January 25: Former Massachusetts governor under scrutiny on guns, wealth and Mormon faith in final Florida debate

Photo of Clintons with alleged 'slum landlord' surfaces
January 25: Hillary Clinton was confronted with a photograph linking her to Tony Rezko, the Chicago developer whom she described as "a slum landlord"

White voters desert Obama as race divide starts to bite
January 26: The Clinton strategy of marginalising Barack Obama as an African-American candidate showed signs of success on the eve of today's Democratic primary in South Carolina

Kucinich abandons White House bid
January 25: Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio congressman who tried to prod his fellow Democrats to take a tougher stand against the Iraq war, dropped out of the race

McCain talks tough on Iraq strategy
January 24:John McCain singled out Hillary Clinton and criticised her pledge to withdraw US forces from Iraq

Bill Clinton lashes out at race claims
January 24: The Democratic contest was dominated by further hostility with new attack ads

Poll results add fuel to Republican race for Florida
January 23: The fight for the largest prize to date in the Republican nominating calendar heated up, with the candidates battling it out amid shifting poll numbers and signs of a national economic downturn

Pitbull Bill - the 'other' Clinton revelling in return to the fray
January 23: The former president is at the heart of his wife's increasingly bitter battle for Democratic nomination

Obama cannot beat Republican attack machine, says Clinton
January 23: Hillary Clinton's swipes at Barack Obama are likely to be mere pinpricks compared to the all-out Republican assault he can expect if he wins his party's nomination 
Leader: The heat and the kitchen

Clinton and Obama exchange insults during debate
January 22: The battle for the Democratic nomination became increasingly bitter as frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama engaged in the most vicious exchanges yet seen in a televised debate 
The debate in quotes

South Carolina video series

With God on their side
Gary Younge finds out devout Christians have already decided who they're going to vote for 
Video: GuardianFilms in New Hampshire

Comment

Underdogs have their day
February 4, Michael Tomasky: In the wake of the Giants' come-from-behind Super Bowl victory, Barack Obama is preparing an upset of his own

An Edwardian puzzle
February 4, Melissa McEwan: Since neither Clinton nor Obama is running the populist campaign that John Edwards did, the choice isn't obvious

Tending the Garden State
February 4, Ben Whitford: New Jersey once looked like a Super Tuesday lock for Clinton, but Edwards supporters and Latino voters could swing it for Obama

All things to all conservatives
February 4, Michael Boyle: The Republican candidates are doing their best to ignore George Bush, but the president was uniquely able to unify the GOP

Choosing a world leader
February 1, John Kornblum: If Europeans want a return to pragmatic, reliable American leadership, they should make their candidate preference known

America's moment of truth
February 3, Andrew Rawnsley: Will the new dawn promised by Barack Obama survive the brutal politics of the Republican and Democratic machines?

Why Republicans hate McCain
February 1, Jeremy Lott: Opposition to the senator is so deep that even the threat of a Hillary Clinton presidency won't budge conservatives

Eyes on the prize
February 1, Michael Tomasky: Barack Obama battled Hillary Clinton to a draw last night but showed he could take on John McCain

McCain's gain proves the need for cross-party appeal
January 31, Jonathan Freedland: After the Republican senator's triumph in Florida, it is clearer than ever which candidate the Democrats must choose

Destined to fail
January 30, Michael Tomasky: Edwards and Giuliani left the race for the same reason: their political profiles are incompatible with the makeup of their parties

John Edwards's indelible mark
January 30, Matthew Yglesias: As the candidate of big, smart ideas, he set the bar for the other Democrats, and shifted the party to the left

Party clashers
January 30, Michael Tomasky: John McCain's narrow Florida win sets up a confrontation between Republican voters and the leaders of the conservative establishment

Barack and Ted's excellent adventure
January 29, Alexander Belenky: A 75-year-old political rock star and his middle-aged fans were the ones most fired up and ready to go

Flip-flopping in Florida
January 29, Michael Tomasky: A bare-knuckle fight between two very different candidates makes today's primary worth watching

Borderline politics
January 29, Will Somerville; How to deal with immigration remains a decisive issue for Republicans in today's Florida primary

Catching Obama fever
January 28, Michael Tomasky: Ted Kennedy's endorsement helps Barack Obama win over two critical groups: Latinos and older Democratic voters

The new JFK
January 28, Theodore Sorensen: Barack Obama is the political heir to my former boss, John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Kill Bill
January 27, Michael Tomasky: Barack Obama's rout of the Clintons in South Carolina shows the former president was bad news for Hillary

The madness of King Clinton
January 24, Niall Stanage: There is method to the anger being displayed by the former president

Golden State worrier
January 23, Michael Tomasky: If Barack Obama wants to win the Democratic nomination, he must foil Hillary Clinton in California

Election 2008 on Comment is free

The candidates

More on the candidates: Hillary Clinton | John Edwards | Rudy Giuliani | Mike Huckabee | John McCain | Barack Obama | Mitt Romney | Fred Thompson

Hillary Clinton

Maya Angelou's poem in praise of Hillary
January 20: Asked by The Observer for her thoughts, one of America's most admired writers urges people to elect a second President Clinton and 'help make this country wonderful'

Clinton back in pole position
January 20: Clinton takes 50% of the vote, Obama 45% and Edwards poor third on 4% 
Video: Hillary on the stump, part 2
More on Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama

Obama's supporting act turns into star attraction
January 19: A high-achieving lawyer from a poor Chicago background, the Illinois senator's wife is a big draw for her husband's supporters - and a thorn in the side of his Democratic rivals

Kerry snubs Edwards by backing Obama
January 11: Endorsement is slap in the face to Clinton and his vice-presidential running mate in 2004 
More on Barack Obama

John Edwards

Third candidate on the ropes
January 21: John Edwards returns to his home state of South Carolina, hoping for a rebirth of his campaign

Edwards burns the midnight oil
January 8: Presidential candidates often call on America to 'wake up' but John Edwards is bringing that message to voters literally 
In pictures: Edwards campaigns
More on John Edwards

Mike Huckabee

Martial arts star kicks his way into the political limelight
January 20: The presidential primaries have thrown up almost constant shocks and surprises. But there is one thing that stunned everyone in politics: the unexpected impact of Chuck Norris

Huckabee wields guitars and Chuck Norris in campaign push
January 8: Mike Huckabee closes his bid for New Hampshire primary with a rally featuring the martial arts star and a rock jam session 
More on Mike Huckabee

Mitt Romney

Romney's hot streak continues in Nevada
January 20: Commanding lead in the caucuses over his rivals for the Republican nomination

Romney back after Michigan win
January 16: Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, has won the primary election in Michigan 
More on Mitt Romney

John McCain

McCain looks to Florida
January 22: South Carolina gives him commanding lead

McCain victory lays to rest ghosts of eight years ago 
January 20: Republican field remains too muddled to pin on John McCain the title of frontrunner 
Michael Tomasky: Follow the leader
More on John McCain

Rudy Giuliani

Giuliani faces Florida freefall
January 25: Former clear favourite challenged by John McCain and Mitt Romney

Giuliani rues tactics as poll lead slumps
January 20: He decided to sit out the first Republican primaries and start his run for the White House in Florida. But the polls suggest he may have blundered 
More on Rudy Giuliani

In pictures
A Clinton worker tries to get the message across in New Hampshire All the presidential hopefuls
See the candidates out on the campaign trail
Republican party presidential candidates (l-r) John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo gather on stage before their debate in Johnston, Iowa. Debate in Des Moines
Republicans make their last appearance together before the caucus
Republican US presidential hopeful Gov. Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee in Iowa
Capitalising on his new-found support, the former Arkansas governor tours the first caucusing state 
Bumblebee, rises to the top on a wing and a prayer
Democratic presidential hopeful, the former senator John Edwards On the road with Edwards
The man Newsweek calls 'The Sleeper' takes his campaign to the people

08.02.08   Way clear for McCain as Romney quits, saying country comes first
08.02.08   Obama takes command in cash battle by raising $7m in two days
07.02.08   State of play
07.02.08   A triple whammy of soft power sees the world in thrall to Super Tuesday
07.02.08   Dividing lines clearer as race, sex and age factors come into play
07.02.08   Obama leads money race with $7m raised in 24 hours
06.02.08   For Democrats Abroad, the biggest contest in years
06.02.08   Clinton and Obama face fight to finish
06.02.08   Results reveal a fragmented Republican party
06.02.08   Democrats hunt for delegates goes on
06.02.08   Super Tuesday at a glance
06.02.08   Romney vows to stay in Republican race
06.02.08   Huckabee celebrates five victories
06.02.08   Clinton beams but campaign goes on
06.02.08   Realistic Obama campaign steels for tough days ahead



Comment
07.02.08  A triple whammy of soft power sees the world in thrall to Super Tuesday
28.01.08  Hillary's biggest asset? Now Bill is looking like a liability
21.01.08  Republicans lack consensus, but their Democrat rivals lack content
31.12.07  This is the most important election of our lifetime
28.11.07  Oprah's guy for president
07.09.07  Cheats can now prosper in the new lovey dovey world of US politics
25.07.07  TV is bad, but it's still king
02.05.07  A slur and an outrage
09.04.07  Failure for these women could haunt a generation of female politicians
04.04.07  At last, the race to lead America is a talent contest
05.03.07  The web works for the grassroots, but political power still lies with the few
16.02.07  Regardless of Cameron and Obama, leadership is still a pretty closed field
14.02.07  Once the most beloved country in the world, the US is now the most hated
05.02.07  Obsessed by personalities, they've forgotten what democracy is for
27.01.07  The myth of McCain

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An Electronic Journal of 
the U.S. Department of State
October 2004

 About This Issue    
 What's In Play    
 Where They Stand    
 How It Happens    
 Resources    
 Masthead    

Well...

by Armed Liberal

That didn't work so well.

It's Clinton in a relative landslide here in California. The overall race today is advantage - somewhat - Clinton. This presents a host of pretty interesting problems.Ed Morrisey summarized one serious one - which is that Hillary's institutional advantage with the Party machinery will play strongly to her advantage in getting the nomination, leaving the Obama fans who are serious about change feeling somewhat out in the cold.

The structure of Hillary's victories tonight - winning big in the bluest of blue states, and losing in the states that might be a tossup - emphasize her weakness as a general election candidate. Again - how is it, in the face of an unpopular war and a much-derided Administration - that the Democrats risk losing?

I have, of course, some ideas...

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/cat_usa_elections.php

So Who In The Wide World Of Sports Am I Going To Vote For?

by Armed Liberal

Well, as a registered Democrat (sorry, all you folks who tell me I should just give up and go Republican), my ballot will really have two choices on it.

After thinking long and hard about it, I'm going to vote for Obama. Here's why.


read the rest! »

t's McCain

by Armed Liberal

Romney suspends his campaign....

I'm dying to see how that goes over at CPAC.


Mo' Ronery

by Armed Liberal

AJ Strata has a very good post up on the issues I'm debating w/commenter Chris below.

What does this all mean? Well the American people are leading the surge away from the hyper-partisans and the muck-raking, purity wars. Not only were the parties raging against each other - they had turned on the moderate middle and attacked with visceral hate towards anyone who could ’sell out’ and reach compromise. And of course the support for both sides of the aisle tanked as each end of the spectrum tried to see who could denigrate the midstream voters the most.

read the rest! »

Apaches Overhead

by Armed Liberal

I forgot - Bush is speaking about two miles from my house today...I'll try and get pictures of Marine One when it goes overhead...


BushTorrance.jpg


No, Politics Ain't Beanbag

by Armed Liberal

Sitting in an East Coast hotel watching TV (I actually may have to get TV at home for this election...) I'm thinking a bit about the election (note: I haven't given up on my point that long-war hawks may want to consider voting Democratic - I'll go back to this soon).

And I wanted to highlight the point Jonathan Chait made in the LA Times today - 'Is the right right on the Clintons?'. As I note in the title, politics ain't beanbag, and to me the fact that the Clintons can play as rough as anyone isn't - necessarily - a bad thing. I don't know about you, but I don't want a shrinking violet as President.

But - I'm more concerned about our toxic domestic politics, and I need to see some kind of uplifting vision balancing the ruthlessness. And I'm watching Hillary talk, and what I don't see - is enough vision to counter the sharp elbows.

Oh my God - CN just cut away from Hillary's speech...I wonder what that means? Interesting inside baseball...they didn't cut away from Obama's... I guess he is the media's darling.

But you know what - I was kind of done with her generic stump speech anyway. Maybe they are just good at judging audience reaction.

So here's the problem. I want to support a Democrat, if I possibly can. But you know, I don't think I can support Hillary. Now she may be able to leverage the racial divide in the vote in South Carolina (Obama didn't break 35% of the white vote - again) into white backlash against Obama, as some commentators have suggested.

But I really, truly wonder if she can win the general election. This isn't a new question. She's hated, and you have to wonder why it is that she is so polarizing. Well, the gracelessness of the speech I just watched - where she had a chance to say more than a passing congratulation to Obama - is a good start. People in the public eye, at some point reveal their real character. We're seeing Hillary's.

So I wonder if she can win the race, and to be honest - I now wonder if she should.

How in the world are the Democrats in this situation today? How is it not going to be a coronation for the Democratic candidate?

Interesting...for me, I'm waiting to see where my opinions will lead me in the general - if Obama's weak (sadly very weak) national security policies will tip me to the GOP,or if my belief in the long-term benefit of giving the Democrats ownership of the problem outweighs those concerns. See K-Lo at the Corner for a counter.

The Crow Is Back In The Freezer

by Armed Liberal

The first numbers are up from the Democratic recount in New Hampshire, and I did some fast calculations on it (you can download the Excel file here).

Basic results:

With 74.7% of the total vote counted (107,906 of 144,362), a total of 922 votes were changed (.85%). With 75.9% of Hillary's vote recounted (45,912 of 60,503), a total of 305 votes changed for a net change of +25 votes. With 73.0% of Obama's vote recounted (36,566 of 50,081), a total of 152 votes changed for a net change of +10 votes.

At this point, I don't see a way - absent massive swings in very few districts - for this to change the result, and what isn't apparent is the widespread shallow difference that would be suggested by the 'Diebold Effect' we talked about in the polls.

My email bulletin from Brad yesterday was headlined:

[BradBlogAlert] NH "Chain of Custody" Disaster;%7.5 Error Rate in Nashua;MUCH MORE...

Yes, one precinct in Nashua (Row 80) did show a 7.4% swing for Hillary. But like the NY Times, outside the context of all the numbers, the number is meaningless.Note that in one district in Manchester, there was a 10% increase in votes for Hillary (row 64) - matched by a 10% increase for Obama. At this point, it's an academically interesting project to analyze the errors and look at the outlier districts. But we're talking about 130 votes out of 144,000.

That won't stop the hysterics from claiming that the election was illegitimate or stolen. But it does explain why I was angry enough to use invective, and why I remain angry at people who devalue the hard work to do to secure elections.

I'll do a longer post on why calm certainty matters soon.

Note: If someone has time to cross-reference the precincts in the spreadsheet withthis list of precincts that used Diebold machines, it'd be fun...

Update: Added link to SoS results...

Update 2: After running through the two counties above, Kucinich has pulled the plug and isn't going to fund any more counting. If more data is posted, I'll add it to the table. 

Race And Democratic Politics

by Armed Liberal

In light of the contremps between Obama and Hillary last week, I thought I'd unearthan old Armed Liberal post:

CONVERSATION STOPPERS

One of my best friends spent years as a community organizer for parks in New York City. She is a fountain of funny stories and 'on-the-ground' political wisdom, and one of her truisms is: dog doo ends all meetings.

That is to say, much like Godwin's Law, as soon as dog waste is brought up, the meeting is effectively over. The room divides, the tempers get hot, and constructive discussion flies out the window.


read the rest! »

Start Sauteeing The Crow

by Armed Liberal

As irritated as I was at Brad Friedman for coming out of the gate with what I saw as a conclusion unsupported by specific evidence, I fully share his discomfort with the current technology and processes used in voting in New Hampshire.

Now, the first rigorous study I've seen of the voter data has come out - and it supports him. Chris Chatham at 'Developing Intelligence' writes:

To my complete (and continuing) amazement, the "diebold effect" on Hillary's votes remains after controlling for any and all of those demographic variables, with a p-value of <.001: that is, there are less than 1:1000 odds for this difference occurring through chance alone, and that's after adjusting for variability in Hillary's votes due to education, income, total population, and population density.

Go read the whole thing.

Kucinich is paying for a recount (the questionable machines were optical scanners, not DVR touchscreens - in which case no recount would be possible). If there were material discrepancies, the 'Vince Foster was murdered' crowd are going to have a field day, and the Democratic nominating process will be more fun than the first episode of the Sopranos.


· I May Actually Resubscribe to the LA Times
· Happy Birthday abu muquama!
· Dipshit.
· UFOs over Britain: more ominous than you think
· Irish Joke: Battle of the Bars
· Rightroots Satori
· Unity
· Straw Men
· Randy Simmons
· It's McCain
· Some New Blogs of Note
· Super Tuesday 2008: Line of the Night
· No on 93, Indeed.
· Well...
· Super Tuesday 2008: Polling Station Anecdote




igged USA Elections Exposed
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About the USA > U.S. Government > Elections

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America and Elections

America and Elections... History Learning Site > American Politics > America and Elections. America and Elections · America and Elections...
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Political News: U.S. Politics, Election 2008 & Presidential ...

USA TODAY's evolving calendar shows when you will cast your nominating vote. It also provides links to stories and detailed results for all completed ...
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Elections 2004

Current day's news in Congress; State-by-state coverage of the Congressional electionsUSA Today. Daily articles on news, sports, weather and finances ...
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New Socialist: USA: The 2008 Elections

The 2008 US Elections By David Finkel and Dianne Feeley. We recognize the enormous pressures in 2008—on social movement activists, trade unionists and ...
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US Election 2008 - USA Presidential Election News | smh.com.au

Politics & News on 2008 American (US) Presidential Election. Follow political campaigns by Democrats - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Republicans - Rudy ...
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BBC NEWS

Javascript and Flash plug-in required. To view the advanced features of this page you need to have a Javascript enabled browser and the Macromedia Flash ...
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USA Election Vocabulary (Reference) - TeacherVision.com

Here is a list of over 60 commonly used words that relate to elections.
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Talking US Elections

Not being in New Hampshire, I'm going through US elections withdrawal so I decided to have a conversation with my friends on the World Wide Web. Discuss

Kevin Anderson



Latest blog posts

Barack Obama by lindsayg5218

I don't necessarily support Obama, I was at an event with my class and was taking pictures for the school newspaper. 
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/usa/2008/01/talking_us_elections.html

Hillary's in the basement,

Mixing up campaign rhetoric 
She's on the pavement 
Talking 'bout her time in gub'ment

I'll stop there before I offend my own Bob Dylan fan sensibilities. But, being in London, not in New Hampshire, I'm going through news junkie withdrawal. However, through the magic of the internet, I can sate my need to obsess over the primaries. I've been trying out a new video conversation service called Seesmic. Cathy Brooks of Seesmic told me that they have people from 40 countries using the service. I noticed that some of the folks there were talking about the US Elections, and I wondered if they were willing to open that conversation up to us here on Deadline USA so I asked them.

The response has been slightly overwhelming. I'm going to be adding some of their video comments here, and I'll be feeding back your comments here to them. I am going to try to get a few invites to Seesmic if you want to join the conversation there. However, if you want to join the conversation here, leave a text comment or leave a a link to your video response on your favourite video service. You can paste the full URL into a comment, and I'll add those to the posts as well.

Read on for more video comments and please leave a few of your own. In 48 hours, the New Hampshire primaries '08 edition will be history. Give us your predictions. Tell us why you chose the candidate you're backing. And hey New Hampshire, which way is the wind blowing up there?

But first a lok back at the Iowa caucuses from Elisabeth McLaury Lewin. She worked at her caucus, and she gives a great insight into how the caucuses work and also the thinking of her fellow Democrats in Des Moines. Read on for more responses and feel free to leave your own. I'll be asking follow up questions over the next few days. Feel free to leave a comment or post a video response on your favourite video sharing site.

Technorati Tags: 

To kick things off, I've got a comment from Deek here in London who noticed that his American friends on the internet saw the Obama wave before the media.


Do you feel more plugged in politically by being on the internet? Some Ron Paul supporters don't think so after his disappointing showing in Iowa. Where do you get your political news?

0746am EST: Dan Patterson with TalkRadioNews.com gave me the inspiration to try this experiment. He was up bright in early at 5am in New Hampshire at 'radio row'. He gives a little insight behind the scenes into what it's like to cover the primary in New Hampshire.


They've just finished an interview with Dennis Kuccinich, who Seesmic user Documentally says is "the only politician in America who has the ear of the liberal side of things. Everything else seems to be playing out on auto-pilot."

Here's an interesting comment from Gia, a Democrat ex-pat living in London. She opens with a little explanation on how the primaries and caucuses work and then explains that she just wants a Democrat who can win.

For Democrats in the US, does 'electability' out-weigh issues in the primaries? Are you screening the candidates closely for their stand on the issues or will you cede a bit on the issues if you think they will win?

1220 EST Update: James and Ewan talk about the length and cost of the US elections. To respond to James, I think that lobbying is one issue and soft money a slightly different issue. The McCain-Feingold act tried to curb the influence of soft money, money that is not governed by donation rules as opposed to 'hard money'. One thing I would say is that internet donations have increased the role of smaller, individual donations, and candidates often tout these as a measure of the broadness of their support. But, yes, the elections go on forever, and if you live in Iowa and New Hampshire, they really never stop. Candidates often start testing the water in those states almost immediately after the last election ends, especially with this election in which you have neither a standing president or his vice president running.

One of the most interesting responses thus far has come from Bob Stewart in Kennebunk Maine. They border on New Hampshire, and most of their television stations cover both Maine and New Hampshire. He says: "I have typically been a conservative voter, but I'm absolutely on the fence." Many of the messages of non-conservative candidates are resonating with him, much to his surprise, he says. More from Bob in Maine and others in the US as the conversation continues.


Comments

view profile

Nigel Stewart  Pro User  says:

Nice one.
Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

view profile

SweetJen34  Pro User  says:

** This was voted ahit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

view profile

navycrackerjack74  Pro User  says:

** This was voted a Hit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

view profile

deplaqer  Pro User  says:

This was voted a Maybe from Hit, Miss or Maybe 

I am distracted by the light in the background, but I like the way it reflects off of Barack.
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

view profile

Barack Obama is my homeboy says:

That's an incredible photo of Obama.. Great angle, lighting, etc.. very Dramatic.
Posted 2 weeks ago. ( permalink )

view profile

jamesgrayking  Pro User  says:

Great shot, this'll be a very cool thing to have taken when you look back on it in years to come!
Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

view profile

jamesgrayking  Pro User  says:

Forgot the score!

Score _8_/10 (from the Score Me! group)
Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

view profile

Rolye  Pro User  says:

Score _8_/10 (from the Score Me! group)
Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

view profile

mosselmaniac says:

Very nice shot. Nice timing.

Score 8/10 (from the Score Me! group)
Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

view profile

meaning_of_light says:

Nicely done.

Score 9/10 (from the Score Me! group)
Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

view profile

TheArtfulBadger  Pro User  says:

Score 10/10 (from the Score Me! group)

Almost faultless (IMHO) - congratulations!!!!
Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )



Presidential Elections
The United States Constitution stipulates that a presidential election is to be held once every fourth year. The process of electing a president and vice-president, however, begins long before election day.

The nominating process within the political parties officially begins with the first state primaries and caucuses, which usually occur in the month of February of the election year. These primaries and caucuses choose slates of delegates (usually pledged to support particular candidates) to represent the state at the national party conventions.

At the national party conventions, traditionally held in the summer, the delegates from the states cast votes to select the party's candidate for president.

On election day -- the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of an election year -- every citizen of legal age who has taken the steps necessary in his or her state to meet the voting requirements (such as registering to vote) has an opportunity to vote. However, the president is not formally chosen by direct popular vote. The constitution calls for a process of indirect popular election known as the electoral college.

The Electoral College
The political parties (or independent candidates) in each state submit to the chief election official a list of electors pledged to their candidate for president and equal in number to the state's electoral vote. Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. representatives. 

Following election day, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, these electors assemble in their state capitals, cast their ballots, and officially select the next president. As a rule, whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a state wins all of that state's electors (except in Maine and Nebraska). The president-elect and vice president-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated on January 20th.

Congressional Elections
The Congress is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

The Senate is composed of two members from each state, as provided by the Constitution. Its current membership is 100. Senators are elected to serve six-year terms; every two years one third of the Senate is up for reelection. Before 1913, senators were chosen by their state legislatures, as the Founding Fathers believed that since the senators represented the state, the state legislature should elect them. The 17th amendment to the constitution changed this procedure, mandating that senators be elected directly by the voters of their state.

When the first Congress met in 1789, there were 59 members of the House of Representatives. As the number of states increased and the population grew, the number of representatives increased significantly. A law passed in 1911 fixed the size of the House of Representatives at 435 members. Members of the House are up for reelection every two years. The number of representatives in each state depends upon its population as reported in the nation's most recent census. Each state is divided into a corresponding number of congressional districts. There is a representative for every congressional district, elected by the voters residing in that district.

State and Local Government
Like the national government, state governments have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial; these are roughly equivalent in function and scope to their national counterparts. The chief executive of a state is the governor, elected by popular vote, typically for a four-year term (although in a few states the term is two years). Except for Nebraska, which has a single legislative body, all states have a bicameral legislature, with the upper house usually called the Senate and the lower house called the House of Representatives, the House of Delegates, or the General Assembly.

Types of city governments vary widely across the nation. However, almost all have some kind of central council, elected by the voters, and an executive officer, assisted by various department heads, to manage the city's affairs.

See also:
USINFO > Frequently Asked Questions > English > German 
About the USA > U.S. Government > Political Parties 
Virtual Classroom - Information Resources for Teachers > Midterm Elections 
InfoAlert > Elections

Rally




Backers of presidential hopefuls (© AP Images)





Hillary Clinton (Chris Hondros/Getty Images); John McCain (AP); Barack Obama (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Dividing the nation

Analysts believe the major candidates have split their parties and the country. » The dilemma WSJ.com


Presidential Candidates

Get news about the candidates – or get involved.

Democrats


Republicans
John McCain
McCain
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Huckabee


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Video

Report: Voter turnout records broken

By ANN SANNER, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON - Voters came out in record numbers in about half the states that have voted in presidential primaries so far, according to an analysis Wednesday.

Turnout among Republicans on Super Tuesday toppled a 20-year record in Alabama, according to the report issued by American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate. More than 16 percent of those eligible voted in the GOP race, compared with about 7 percent in 1988.

The report's findings were based on unofficial results from the primaries held through Tuesday. Caucuses and California primary results were excluded.

Alabama had 58,000 new voters sign up in the three months leading up to Tuesday's race, just one sign of newfound interest in a primary that used to be held in June and had little or no significance.

In Georgia, Democrats came out in droves to support Barack Obama, breaking a more than 30-year-old turnout record. More than 16 percent of eligible voters showed up at the polls Tuesday, compared with less than 15 percent in 1976.

"We are likely to see more records broken until the contests are decided, which in the Democratic Party's case, at least may last until their convention," said Curtis Gans, the center's director who performed the analysis.

About 14 million people voted in the Democratic primaries this year compared with the slightly more than 10 million who voted in GOP primaries, according to the analysis.

Twenty states have held Democratic and Republican primaries so far.

Here are some of the report's findings:

_Democratic primaries in 12 states set records. They are Alabama, Arizona,Connecticut, Georgia, IllinoisMassachusettsMissouriNew HampshireNew Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Utah.

_Republican primaries in 11 states saw their highest percentages of voter turnout ever. They are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, OklahomaTennessee and Utah.

_Combining party turnouts, the highest percentage of eligible voters showing up this year came in New Hampshire — 52 percent.

_Among the record-setting states, New York primaries had the lowest percentage of people voting with just more than 18 percent of all those eligible casting votes.

  • John McCain
    Big night

    McCain takes command of GOP race as Obama and Clinton trade wins.

Yahoo Video on the the 2008 USA Elections




Feb 6, 2008 Hillary Clinton (Chris Hondros/Getty Images); John McCain (AP); Barack Obama (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Dividing the nation

Analysts believe the major candidates have split their parties and the country. » The dilemma WSJ.com



United States Republican presidential candidates, 2008


This article lists both declared and potential Republican candidates for the President of the United States in the 2008 election.

In accordance with the 22nd Amendment, incumbent President George W. Bush will not be eligible for re-election in 2008, and Vice President Dick Cheney has not sought the nomination and will not run for President.[1] Since both are Republicans, the field is clear.

Total delegates so far projected: 208
Other delegates yet to be assigned: 2,172
Total number of delegates: 2,380
Delegates required for nomination: 1,191
States already polled: 7 (IowaWyomingNew HampshireMichiganNevadaSouth CarolinaFlorida)
States yet to be polled: 43
Also to be polled: District of Columbia
Next State(s) in contest:
February 2nd, Maine, Republican closed caucus
February 5th, Super Tuesday, 21 states, 1069 delegates[2]

2008 Republican presidential primaries delegate count
As of January 292008


Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas

(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee, born August 241955, in Hope, Arkansas, served as Governor of Arkansas for over 10 years. Huckabee has announced he will seek the Presidency in the 2008 presidential election.[3] He has made several trips to important primary states, including a four-day trip to New Hampshire in August 2006. His campaign has been focused largely on Iowa for the Ames Straw Poll on August 112007 He announced that he would be running in 2008 on NBC's Meet the Press television show with Tim Russert.[4] and has since made three appearances on Comedy Central's The Colbert ReportThe Today Show on NBC and many appearances on CNNFox News Channel, and MSNBC regarding the 2008 presidential election. He was declared the victor of the January 32008 Iowa caucus.[5]


Alan Keyes, former Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

(Campaign site)

Alan Keyes, born August 71950, in New York City, filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission on September 142007.[6] He served as Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. He is currently on the ballot in 25 states.[7] He participated in Republican debates on September 17[8] and December 12.[9] If elected, Keyes would be the first African-American to hold the office of president, as well as the second Roman Catholic after John F. Kennedy. Keyes supports an amendment against gay marraige.[10] Keyes stated he would not have gone to war in Iraq[11], but also said that the war was justified[12] and defended President Bush's decision in on of his 2004 debates with Obama[13]. He has stated that troops should stay in Iraq [14] but also said that he would have turned over operations to the UN.[15] However, Keyes has stated that even while he was an Ambassador there, he was not a supporter of the United Nations[16].




Senator John McCain

(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of John McCain

John McCain, born August 291936, in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, Senator from Arizona. Often characterized as a Republican maverick in the Senate, he is well-known. In 2000, he failed in his attempt to deny George W. Bush the Republican nomination: McCain continued his ultimately unsuccessful campaign long after the other Republican candidates had united behind Bush.

McCain's bipartisan compromise on judicial nominations and his strong support ofcampaign finance reform have drawn the ire of many groups,[17] many of which have vowed to work against any McCain campaigns for the Republican nomination in 2008. However, he has a strong stance on many issues and economically falls more along the lines of traditional "fiscal conservatism." These factors, along with his commitment to the War on Terror (including Iraq) have boosted his popularity amongst conservatives since 2004, when he emphasized these traits while stumping for Republican candidates.

On November 15, 2006, McCain announced that he would form an exploratory committee.

On the Late Show with David Letterman on February 282007, Sen. John McCain announced he will seek the GOP presidential nomination, and made a formal announcement on April 252007.



Representative Ron Paul (Campaign site

See also: Political positions of Ron Paul

Ron Paul, born August 201935, in Green TreePennsylvania, is a long time U.S. Representative from Texas with a strong constitutionalist and libertarian voting record. Nicknamed "Dr. No" for his opposition to tax increases and spending bills, Paul has chastened his fellow Republicans for abandoning the party's commitment to limited government, and for helping to create an unsustainable national debt now in the trillions of dollars.[18] Paul seeks to "reinstate the Constitution and restore theRepublic."[19]

On January 112007, Paul filed papers to form an exploratory committee for the2008 presidential race.[20][21] He formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.[22][23] Paul ran for President as aLibertarian nearly two decades ago. He is opposed to the Iraq War and had the distinction of being one of only seven Republican congressmen who voted againstIraq War authorization in October 2002. He has also opposed George W. Bush and the majority of Republican congressmen on many other issues, including thePATRIOT Act.

On February 202007, Paul's exploratory committee posted on YouTube a formal video of him explaining his reason for running.[24]

Paul did well in Republican straw polls, has broken fundraising records, and has placed second in the Nevada ,Louisiana caucuses, and Maine Republican caucuses. Paul also received 10% in Iowa, 7% in New Hampshire, 6% in Michigan, under 4% in South Carolina, 3% in Florida and last in Wyoming.


Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts

(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney, born March 121947, in Michigan, is former Governor ofMassachusetts; he did not seek a second term in November 2006. Romney has made numerous trips to primary states such as South CarolinaMichigan, and New Hampshire, during recent years. Romney is running on his record as co-founder ofBain Capital, the CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and his record as Governor of Massachusetts. Although he ran as a moderate for the office of Governor of Massachusetts and during his failed Senate bid in 1994, he supported more conservative positions as his term progressed. Romney formed a presidential exploratory committee on January 3, 2007, the day he left the governor's office.[25]

On January 9, Romney raised $6.5 million in his first fundraiser, beating both Giuliani and McCain's fundraising efforts ($1 and $2 million respectively).

Romney has already received major endorsements, including that of former Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert.

Romney officially announced his candidacy on February 13 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[26][27]



Other candidates


The following candidates have filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).


Withdrawn from seeking nomination

Candidates who have withdrawn their candidacies


Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City (Campaign site
See also: Political positions of Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani, born May 281944, in New York, former mayor of New York City. Giuliani said on October 2, 2005, that he would look at the possibility of running for President. On November 13, 2006, he announced that he was forming an exploratory committee. He has led several state and nationwide polls for the Republican nomination and the general election, and has been mentioned by many media sources as a possible candidate since the 9/11 attacks and a speech to the 2004 Republican Convention.[47] (See polls below) Giuliani is pro-choice, and supports a type of civil union between same sex couples and agrees for legal and medical reasons that same sex relationships should get the same rights under the law. He also believes in strong restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms and agrees with harsh punishment for illegal weapons or non permitted weapons. While opinions differ, some think that these positions could help him, should he secure the nomination, in the general election; others question whether the Republican base would support a nominee with Giuliani's social positions. On February 52007, Giuliani unofficially entered the race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election by filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission, but legally keeping him at the same level as he was while running an exploratory committee.[48] On February 15, Giuliani officially announced that he was running on CNN's Larry King Live show.[49] If elected, Giuliani would be the first Italian-American to hold the office of president, as well as the second Roman Catholic after John F. Kennedy. Giuliani finished third in the Florida primary on January 29, 2008. The next day he withdrew and endorsed John McCain.[50]


Senator Sam Brownback

Sam Brownback, born September 121956, in Kansas, senior Senator from that state. In April 2005, the Associated Press reported that Brownback, who is little known outside his home state, "is using a network of social conservatives and Christian activists to raise his profile" in such battleground states as Iowa and New Hampshire. He is well known for his social and fiscal conservative record, such as opposing abortion and instituting a flat tax alternative to the current IRS Code. He was also instrumental in Congress' bestowing the Congressional Medal upon Mother Teresa. In his own words, "The core of my being is to rebuild the family and renew the culture." On December 4, 2006, Brownback announced that he would form anexploratory committee.[51] On January 20, 2007, Brownback officially announced his candidacy.[52] Of his campaign, Brownback has said, "I'm a son of a farmer from Kansas ... I still think anybody can be president. I don't think you have to show up with $100 million to do it. ... I'm the tortoise in the race. And I don't like how the race starts; I like how it ends up."[53] Brownback was one of three who raised his hand in the May 3, 2007, Republican candidates debate when asked "Is there anybody on the stage who does not believe in evolution?". [54] Brownback officially withdrew from the presidential race on October 19, 2007, and has since then endorsed John McCain. [55]





Jim Gilmore former Governor of Virginia

Draft Jim Gilmore for President group was formed in August of 2006, encouraging former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore to run for president after he was seen traveling to the presidential primary states. In November 2006, Gilmore told ABC News that a 2008 presidential run was one of several possibilities he is considering.[56] On December 19, 2006, Gilmore announced he was forming an exploratory committee for a presidential candidacy.[57] Gilmore announced on December 20, 2006, that he would launch his exploratory committee on January 2, 2007.[58] Perhaps hoping to mirror the surprising 2004 campaign of DemocratHoward Dean, another former governor with little national recognition when he entered the race, Gilmore declared that he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" echoing the popular Dean quotation. Gilmore declared his candidacy from the Des Moines, Iowa GOP headquarters on April 262007. Gilmore, however, raised a mere $380,000 in the first half of 2007, which he cited as a reason why he withdrew from the contest on July 14, 2007. [42]


Representative Duncan Hunter

See also: Political positions of Duncan Hunter

Duncan Hunter, born May 311948, in Riverside, California, U.S. Representative from that state and former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007. He is known for his strong stance against illegal immigration, and opposition to free trade agreements like North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization.[59] He introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, "to implement equal protection . . . for the right to life of each born and preborn human person"; it has over 100 co-sponsors. Hunter withdrew from the race on January 192008 after a poor showing in the Nevada Republican caucuses.[60] He has since then endorsed Mike Huckabee.[61]


Representative Tom Tancredo

Main article: Tom Tancredo presidential campaign, 2008

Tom Tancredo, born December 201945, in Colorado, U.S. Representative from that state and leading advocate for more restrictive immigration policies. On April 2, 2007, Rep. Tancredo announced his official candidacy on Iowa talk radio station 1040 WHO. Tancredo has a dedicated grassroots following among paleoconservatives. He has visited early Presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Iowa to begin building popular support and has polled favorably amongst grassroots Republicans. Tancredo announced on January 16, 2007, that he was forming an exploratory committee.[62] Tancredo was one of three who raised his hand in the May 3, 2007, Republican candidates debate when asked "Is there anybody on the stage who does not believe in evolution?"."[63] On December 20, 2007, Tancredo withdrew from the race and endorsed Mitt Romney. [64]



Fred Thompson, former Senator of Tennessee
See also: Political positions of Fred Thompson

Fred Dalton Thompson, born August 191942, former Senator from Tennessee and actor, best known for playing D.A. Arthur Branch on Law & Order. There was speculation that Thompson would run for Governor of Tennessee in 2006, but he declined to run against the popular Governor Phil Bredesen. On March 11, 2007, Thompson said "I'm giving some thought to it. Going to leave the door open. A lot of people think it's late already. I don't really think it is, although the rules of the game have changed somewhat. ... I think people are somewhat disillusioned. I think a lot of people are cynical out there. I think they're looking for something different." [65]On June 1, Thompson announced he had established a preliminary campaign committee, thus taking his first formal step toward an official presidential bid. [66]On September 5, he officially entered the presidential race.[67] On January 22, 2008 he dropped out of the race.[68]


Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin

Tommy Thompson, born November 191941, in Elroy, Wisconsin, is the former four-term Governor of Wisconsin and was Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He recently announced interest in the 2008 nomination and, on December 15, 2006, announced that he had formed an exploratory committee.[69] He officially announced his candidacy on April 1, 2007.[70] After a poor showing in the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson announced on the following day that he is withdrawing from the race, and has since endorsed Rudy Giuliani.

Declined to seek nomination


George Allen, former Senator
George Allen, was the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election.[71], in a survey of 175 Washington insiders conducted byNational Journal's "The Hotline" and released April 292005.

Prior to his November loss to Jim Webb in the 2006 Virginia senatorial race, Allen had traveled a number of times to Iowa — the first state with a presidential caucus — and New Hampshire — the first state with a presidential primary). He had been widely assumed to be preparing a run for president.[72] On December 102006, Allen gave an interview[73] in which he stated that he would not seek the 2008 nomination.


Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida

Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida; his family connections and history indicate that he may be next in line to continue the Bush family legacy, although his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, has stated that he will not seek the 2008 Republican nomination, and many analysts state that he would be a natural frontrunner for the Vice President slot on the Republican ticket. On January 27, 2007, as the keynote speaker at the National Review Institute's Conservative Summit in Washington, D.C., Bush denied rumors that he would run for President in 2008, but “when questioned did not rule out running as a vice presidential candidate.”[74]


Vice President Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney, current Vice President of the United States, has asserted his intent to not seek the 2008 nomination several times throughout the presidency of George W. Bush. In an interview on Face the Nation, Cheney said, "I've taken the Sherman statement. 'If nominated, I will not run, If elected, I won't serve,'"[75]


Bill Frist, former Senate Majority Leader

Former Senator from Tennessee and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stated on November 292006 that he does not intend to seek the nomination but wants to go back to practicing medicine.[76]


Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House

Newt Gingrich was the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and former U.S. Representative from Georgia. According to the Associated Press, "The former House speaker who led Republicans to power a decade ago said he soon will visit Iowa and New Hampshire to promote his book, try to influence public policy and keep his political options alive." The AP reported him as saying "Anything seems possible," including a White House race. Gingrich first explicitly suggested he may run in 2008 on October 13, 2005, saying "There are circumstances where I will run", elaborating that such circumstances would be if no other candidate champions the major platform ideas that Gingrich advocates. However, he has since then said that the odds of his becoming a candidate are 4-to-1 against.[77] However, on September 20, Gingrich said that he would consider running for president if his supporters could raise $30 million in pledges by the end of October.[78] On September 29, 2007, Gingrich's spokesman Rick Tyler announced that Gingrich would not run for president.[79]


Senator Chuck Hagel

Chuck Hagel is the senior US Senator from Nebraska; however, he swore a pledge to only serve two terms, and thus will not be running for re-election to the Senate in 2008. According to NPR, Hagel was considering a Presidential campaign in 2005. [80]There were also a number of Draft Hagel blogs and groups online.[81] On March 12, 2007, Hagel made a statement on his political future, in which he kept open the possibility to enter the presidential race later in the year.[82] Despite being a fairly conservative Republican, he would have had to deal with elements of the party faithful due to his criticism of President Bush over the war in Iraq. It is widely thought that Senator Hagel would have had trouble emerging from the shadow of John McCain, as they are both outspoken Vietnam veterans. On September 10, 2007, Hagel announced that he would not seek the nomination.[83]


Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice, currently the Secretary of State, said in March 2005 on Meet the Press[84], and elsewhere, that she doesn't intend to run for President, but can't rule it out. In an August 8-10, 2005, Republican primary poll in Iowa, Rice came in first with 30 percent, beating McCain and Giuliani, who each got about 15 percent. In October 2005, Condi vs. Hillary, a book by political commentator Dick Morris, discussing Rice as the Republican candidate, was published.


Governor Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina; popular with fiscal conservatives, but has said he does not intend to run. Sanford professes to be a firm supporter of limited government, and many pundits have described his views as being libertarian in nature. There are several Internet-based groups trying to convince him to run for President in 2008. However, on November 72006, he said that his gubernatorial race at that point would be his last campaign, win or lose.[85]


Rick Santorum, former Senator

Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania; A number of polls had mentioned him as a potential Republican candidate. Once he lost his seat to his Democratic opponent, Pennsylvania treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., a run for the Presidency became decidedly less likely and on November 172006, in regard to a Presidential bid, he stated "Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not, my wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in '08."[86]



United States Democratic presidential candidates, 2008

This article contains lists of people associated with the 2008 Democratic Party Primaries for the 2008 United States Presidential Election.

Active candidates with national campaigns

These have filed (or announced plans to file) with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton, born October 261947, in Illinois, U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady of the United States. Clinton announced the formation of her exploratory committee on January 202007, with a post on her website.[1] She has delivered several speeches intended to reach out to moderates, according to analysts. She has also been holding fundraising meetings, including meeting with women from Massachusetts, a key constituency of potential rival and 2004 nomineeJohn Kerry; however, these activities are consistent with the lead up to a campaign for re-election to her Senate seat in 2006. If elected, Clinton would be the first female president. Clinton announced on January 202007, that she will run in 2008 (the same day she announced the formation of an exploratory committee). She has filed the official paperwork for an exploratory committee.[2] She placed first in theNew Hampshire primary on January 82008 and placed first in the Nevada caucuseson January 19 but fell one delegate short of Barack Obama. She placed first in theFlorida primary on January 292008, but was awarded no delegates, due to a prior ruling of the party unseating the state representatives because of the early date.

Former Senator Mike Gravel
(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Mike Gravel

Mike Gravel, born May 131930, in SpringfieldMassachusetts. U.S. Senator fromAlaska from 1969 to 1981 and an active candidate for Vice President in 1972. He is most known for playing a key role in ending the draft during the Vietnam Warthrough the release of the Pentagon Papers and through staging a one-man filibusterfor 5 months. He is also notable for advocating a guaranteed annual income, which he termed a "citizen's wage," of US$5,000 per person, regardless of whether the person worked. On April 132006, Gravel announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. His policy announcements to date include support for direct democracyFairTax, and withdrawal from Iraq. Mike Gravel filed with the FEC in April according to various news sources.[3][4] The FEC's site has listed his reports since July.[5] MSNBC incorrectly reported that Gravel had dropped out of the race onJanuary 32008 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses. His website confirmed that he is still in the race.

  • Alaska State Representative: 1962–1966 (Speaker: 1965–1966)
  • U.S. Senator from Alaska: 1969–1981
 Senator Barack Obama
(Campaign site
See also: Political positions of Barack Obama

Barack Obama, born August 41961, in HonoluluHawaii, U.S. Senator from Illinois. A "draft Obama" movement began with his well-received 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event favored by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. He was endorsed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey in2006.[6] Various recent opinion polls have seen Obama trailing only Hillary Clinton in several polls.[7] If elected, he would become the first African-American President of the United States. Obama announced on February 102007, that he will run in 2008. He has filed the official paperwork.[8] Obama placed first in the January 32008 Iowa caucuses, followed by Edwards and Clinton. He has also placed first in the January 262008 South Carolina primary.

  • Illinois State Senator: 1996–2004
  • U.S. Senator from Illinois: 2005–Present

Other candidates


The following people have filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC):


Withdrawn from seeking nomination


Senator Joe Biden

(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Joe Biden

Joe Biden, born November 161942, in ScrantonPennsylvania, U.S. Senator fromDelaware and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, although he ceased active campaigning in 1987, before the first primaries. Biden first hinted that he might run in 2008 in a December 82004, radio interview with host Don Imus, saying: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run." Biden had repeatedly stated his intention to run, and did so as early as 21 March 2006. Biden's Federal Leadership PAC is "Unite Our States", which tracks Biden's public appearances and policy positions. On 7 January 2007, when asked by Tim Russert on Meet the Press, "Are you running for President?" he responded, "I am running for President." He also said he planned to create an exploratory committee by the end of the month.[29][30][31] On January 31, 2007, he officially signed the papers with the FEC to run for president. He dropped out of the race on January 32008 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucus.


Senator Chris Dodd

(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Chris Dodd

Christopher Dodd, was born May 271944, in Willimantic, Connecticut and is a five-term U.S. Senator from that state. Dodd was reported to be a likely contender for the Democratic Vice President slot on John Kerry's ticket in 2004. In May 2006, Dodd said he has "decided to do all the things that are necessary to prepare to seek the presidency in 2008", including hiring staff, raising money and traveling around the country in the next few months to enlist support.[32] On Jan. 11, 2007, Dodd announced his Presidential candidacy on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show with Don Imus.[33] As a result of unpromising results in the Iowa Caucus on January 3,2008, Dodd dropped out of the race for presidency.

 Former Senator John Edwards
(Campaign site

See also: Political positions of John Edwards

John Edwards, born June 101953 in South Carolina, is a former U.S. Senator fromNorth Carolina. As a 2004 presidential candidate, Edwards was famed for his populist message in his "Two Americas" speech and also for his optimistic, positive attitude. This was evidenced by his refusal to attack his opponents. In the primaries, Sen. Edwards had strong come-from-behind showings in the crucial states of Iowa,OklahomaVirginiaTennesseeWisconsin, and Georgia. On February 52005, Edwards spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's fundraising dinner. OnAugust 182005, Edwards traveled to Waterloo, Iowa, to deliver an address to theIowa AFL-CIO, a potential key supporter in the Iowa caucuses. On December 26,2006, Edwards formally announced his candidacy.[34] On January 302008, Edwards ended his bid for the Presidency[35]


Representative Dennis Kucinich

(Campaign site)


Representative Dennis Kucinich

(Campaign site)

See also: Political positions of Dennis Kucinich

Dennis Kucinich, born October 81946, in ClevelandOhio. Ohio Congressman, former Mayor of Cleveland, and 2004 Democratic primary candidate. Dennis Kucinich is known by many as "The Peace Candidate", having received the 2003 Gandhi Peace Award. Kucinich opposed the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act. Under Kucinich's plan, United Nations peace-keepers would go to Iraq if the Iraqi citizens desire their presence. The Congressman re-introduced legislation to create a United States Department of Peace via HR 808 on February 5, 2007. He is currently campaigning to end the war in Iraq by cutting off funding, if such measures are necessary. He is in support of peaceful diplomatic relations with Iran, and all nations. Kucinich has received many awards praising his courage and work for peace.[36][37] OnDecember 122006, Kucinich announced his candidacy at an event at Cleveland's City Hall.[38] He withdrew from the race on January 25th, and turned his focus to his re-election for his congressional seat. [39]


Governor Bill Richardson (Campaign site

See also: Political positions of Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson, born November 151947, in Pasadena, California, Governor of New Mexico, former U.S. ambassador to the United NationsSecretary of Energy and U.S. Representative. After reportedly informing party leaders in February 2005 of his intention to run for president, on December 72006, Richardson said "I am running" during his response to a prospective question about the 2008 presidential election byFox News, however he later retracted the decision and said he would make an official decision by January. On May 212007, he officially declared his candidacy.[40] OnJanuary 92008 he pulled out of the race.[41]


Former Governor Tom Vilsack

Tom Vilsack, born December 131950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniaformer Governor of Iowa, Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. Many suspected Vilsack was high on the list of potential running mates for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. In 2005, Vilsack established Heartland PAC,[42] a political action committee aimed at electing Democratic Governors and other statewide candidates. Unlike the PACs of potential candidates, Heartland PAC is not a federal PAC and can not contribute to federal candidates. He filed papers with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to run for President on November 92006.[43] He dropped out of the race on 23 February 2007 citing fundraising woes. He has since given his support to Hillary Rodham Clinton.[44][45]

Declined to seek nomination


Senator Evan Bayh
Evan Bayh, born December 261955Indiana, former two-term Governor and currently a second-term U.S. Senator from that state. In February 2005, Bayh renamed his Federal Leadership PAC the All America PAC and hired a new veteran staff with experience on the 2004 campaigns of John Kerry and Wesley Clark for President and Tom Daschle for senate. Although the "Friends of Evan Bayh" draft committee filed papers with the FEC to form a presidential exploratory committee onDecember 52006, he announced on December 162006 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for President, and since then has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton.[46]
General Wesley Clark (Ret.)

Wesley Clark, born December 231944, in Illinois, from Arkansas, a Vietnam warveteran, a retired United States Army four-star general and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He graduated first in his class from West Point. Clark is traveling widely through his Federal Leadership PAC WesPAC,[47] and is a commentator on MSNBC, while grassroots campaigns for Clark have become active on the internet.[48] Clark was a 2004 Presidential candidate as well, narrowly winning the Oklahoma primary. During a January 17, 2007, speech given to a local UAW group in Alabama and posted on YouTube, Clark stated "when I run, I'll be the national security candidate." [49] He endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton on September 15, 2007, seemingly ruling out a future run, though making him a frontrunner to be Senator Clinton's running-mate, should she win the Democratic nomination.


Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader

Tom Daschle, born December 91947, in South Dakota, former U.S. Senator from that state. He set up a new political action committee and planned a Jefferson-Jackson Day speech in the politically pivotal state of Iowa. Daschle has transferred $500,000 into the new Federal Leadership PAC, New Leadership for America.[50] In July 2005, Daschle said he was not planning a rematch against his successor John Thune in 2010, and he told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper that he was seriously considering a run and would not "rule out the possibility of an official announcement in the near future." However, on December 22006, Daschle announced he would not run for President in 2008, and has since thrown his support behind Barack Obama's campaign.[51]
Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont
Howard Dean, born November 171947, in New York, former Governor of Vermont. Howard Dean is the current DNC Chairman, and was a candidate for the nomination in 2004. Dean said if he won the DNC Chairmanship he would not run for president and, since he won, has often repeated this.[52]
Senator Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold, born March 21953, in Wisconsin, U.S. Senator from that state. Announced to a meeting of the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia CountyFlorida, in January 2005 that he was considering a run for the nomination, and would decide after "going around the country" to campaign for fellow Democrats running for other offices.[53]His Federal Leadership PAC is the Progressive Patriots Fund,[54] which financed his travels around the country.[55] In early March 2005, his Senate campaign registered the domain name for the website www.russfeingold08.com as well as the .org and .net versions.[56][57][58] Later that month, he took a listening trip to Alabama.[59] In early April 2005, Feingold announced that he would be divorcing his second wife, a move which some analysts believe could diminish his chances of winning the presidential nomination. On August 172005, Feingold became the first U.S. Senator to publicly support a firm date for withdrawal from the Iraq War,[60] suggestingDecember 312006, as a reasonable date. Although Feingold's stance was generally criticized by other Democratic senators, including Biden and Clinton, his support in nonscientific internet polls of party activists jumped. In December 2005, when he led the Senate campaign against the renewal of the Patriot Act his support among party activists further intensified. Following the overwhelming resonance for his anti-war and bi-partisan rule of law positions in the 2006 Congressional elections, Feingold commented that the legislative victory "pushes me in both directions," and "he could make a decision on a presidential run before the end of the year".[61] However, on November 12, 2006, Feingold ruled out a 2008 presidential candidacy,[55] but has stated he is willing to consider an offer from the eventual nominee for the vice presidency.[62] Feingold has stated that his first choice for president in 2008 would be someone who voted against the war in Iraq, and failing that, his second choice would be someone who wasn't in Congress but spoke out against the war at the time. He also said he would "be happy" if Barack Obama or Al Gore ran, but stated he was not offering an endorsement.[63]
Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States

Al Gore, born in Washington, D.C., is the former U.S. Vice President, and was the2000 Democratic nominee, winning the popular vote. Gore is not a declared candidate in the 2008 presidential election. However, he has not rejected the possibility of future involvement in politics.[64] The prospect of a Gore candidacy was thus a topic of public discussion and speculation.[65][66] There were also grassrootsdraft campaigns. A grassroots group in New Hampshire considered a write-in campaign for the New Hampshire primary on 8 January 2008[67] The campaign was halted, however. [68] Previous grassroot groups in California [69] and New York[70]attempted to convince him to run. There were also draft campaigns via websites.[71][72][73][74][75]

The release of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 increased Gore's popularity among progressives.[76] After it was nominated for an academy award, Donna Brazile, Gore's campaign chairwoman from the 2000 campaign stated during a speech onJanuary 312007, at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that, "Wait tillOscar night, I tell people: 'I'm dating. I haven't fallen in love yet. On Oscar night, if Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord knows.'"[77] The meaning of these remarks became clearer when on award night, while in attendance and acting as a presenter for an award, Gore began a speech that seemed to be leading up to an announcement that he would run for president. However, background music drowned him out and he was escorted offstage, implying it was a rehearsed gag.[78]

A nationwide Gallup poll of 485 Democrats and Democratic leaners in mid-November 2007 showed Gore receiving 17% of the votes in a hypothetical Democratic primary, second to Hillary Clinton, tied with Barack Obama, and ahead of John Edwards. A previous 29 June 2007 article in the The Guardian cited a poll conducted "in New Hampshire by 7News and Suffolk University" that found that if Gore "were to seek the Democratic nomination, 29% of Mrs. Clinton's backers would switch their support to him [...] when defections from other candidates are factored in, the man who controversially lost to Mr. Bush in the 2000 election takes command of the field, with 32% support."[79]An even earlier April 2007 Quinnipiac University poll of 504 registered Democrats in New Jersey showed Gore receiving 12% of the votes in a hypothetical Democratic primary, in third place behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.[80] However, all of the polls which indicated that Al Gore would not be the leading Democratic candidate were all conducted before his Nobel Prize. The US has never had a presidential candidate who has already won a Nobel Prize. While he never officially said he was not going to seek nomination, it is now impossible for him to because of the deadline.


Senator John Kerry

John Kerry, born December 111943, in DenverColorado, is the U.S. Senator fromMassachusetts, and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. On March 12005, Kerry created a new Federal Leadership PAC named Keeping America's Promise.[81]Dan Payne, a Democratic strategist, told the Washington Post that "This is the kind of thing he has to do" in order to run for president again in 2008.[82] Through Keeping America's Promise, Kerry boasts to have raised or given away over $14 million to nearly 300 progressive candidates, committees or causes.[83] Kerry told CNN, with respect to a run in 2008, "it's crazy to be thinking about it now" but went on to say that "I'll make my judgment when the time comes and I don't care what history says."[84] However, there was a controversy on October 302006, over a speech made by Kerry at Pasadena City College. Future implications of his comments are still unclear, however Kerry himself claimed the incident will have little bearing on 2008 and that he will make a decision in early 2007.[85] On January 24, 2007, Kerry announced that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2008.[86] Kerry and his JohnKerry.com e-mail list was also a supporter of Al Gore's recent house parties across the United States to spread information about global warming. In a letter e-mailed from JohnKerry.com, Kerry stated: "When strong leaders like Al Gore step forward to educate and organize people around vitally important issues, they deserve our full support."[87] Since, he has endorsed SenatorBarack Obama.
  • U.S. Senator from Massachusetts: 1985-Present
  • Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: 1983-1985

Al Sharpton

Al Sharpton, of New YorkPentecostal minister, civil rights activist, former candidate for mayor of New York and for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from New York, and candidate for the 2004 nomination. When asked about 2008, he replied, "Don't get Hillary mad at me."[88] He was one of the first candidates to enter the 2004 race, but thus far he has said nothing more about 2008. His 2004 campaign was not a great success. He never got more than 10% of the vote in any state, although he did get 20% in the District of Columbia.[89] There are still unresolved campaign-finance issues left over from that campaign. In January 2007, when asked if he was considering running in 2008, Sharpton said "I don't hear any reason not to," adding, "we'll see over the next couple of months." [90] 

On April 22007, Sharpton announced that he won't get into the 2008 presidential race this time. "I am not going to run." [4]




Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia

Mark Warner, born December 151954, former Governor of Virginia. As a successful Governor from a "red state" (barred from serving consecutive terms by state law) and popular within the party, it was highly anticipated that Warner would mount a Presidential bid. While it was ruled out by Warner himself in October[91], news that he was considering a bid was confirmed by colleague Dan Conley in December[92]. With Governor Warner's fund-raising capabilities and his potential as a vice presidential candidate, it was possible that Warner would still play a significant role in the campaign, until he became a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Candidates
Actual
pledged delegates
(67 of 137 total)

Delegate statistics:

  • Total pledged delegates assigned: 92
  • Total unpledged delegates, and pledged delegates yet to be assigned: 3957
  • Total number of delegates: 4049 (796 unpledged "superdelegates" and 3,253 pledged elected delegates)
  • Delegates required for nomination: 2025
  • States already polled: 4 (IowaNew HampshireMichiganNevadaSouth CarolinaFlorida)
  • States yet to be polled: 46
  • Other electorates to be polled: District of Columbia, American Samoa, Democrats abroad, Guam, US Virgin Islands[93]




Presidency 2008

dennis kucinich pollsdennis kucinich pollshillary clinton pollsjohn edwards pollsbarack obama polls

ron paul pollsrudy giuliani pollsjohn mccain pollsmitt romney pollsfred thompson pollsmike huckabee polls

For the first time since 1928, both major parties will have open contests for the Presidential nomination without a sitting President or Vice President in the running. Politics1 presents a "first look" at those people being mentioned as possible, likely, speculative, or draft candidates for President in 2008.

United States presidential election, 2004

‹ 2000 Flag of the United States 2008 ›


Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St. Louis, MO at the St. Louis Community College - Forest Park
Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St. Louis, MO at the St. Louis Community College - Forest Park

2 November 2004

Nominee George W. Bush John Kerry
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Massachusetts
Running mate Richard B. Cheney John Edwards
Electoral vote 286 251
States carried 31 19+DC
Popular vote 62,040,610 59,028,111
Percentage 50.7% 48.3%

The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday,November 22004. It was the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for the presidentand vice president of the United StatesRepublican candidate George Walker Bush, the President of the United States, defeated Democratic candidate John Kerry, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. This marked the first time in United States election history where the sitting president was re-elected after losing the popular vote (but winning the presidency) in the previous election This was done in strong fashion, too. Bush not only finished first in the popular vote, but also became the first person since his father in 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote. It was also a very active election. In 2004, Bush received more popular votes than any presidential candidate in history, and Kerry finished with the second most ever for a candidate in history. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

As in the presidential election of 2000voting controversies and concerns of irregularities emerged during and after the vote. The winner was not determined until the following day, when Kerry decided not to dispute Bush's win in the state of Ohio. The state held enough electoral votes to determine the winner of the presidency. Both Kerry and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have stated their opinion that voting in Ohio did not proceed fairly, and that had it done so, the Democratic ticket might have won that state and therefore the election.[1]

Bush received about 51 percent of the votes cast (62 million votes), making him the first presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote since his fatherGeorge H. W. Bush in the presidential election of 1988. The 62 million votes cast for Bush were the most individual votes cast for anyone in history, though John Kerry's 59 million votes ranked second in that category as well.

In the Electoral College George W. Bush received 286 Electoral Votes, John Kerryreceived 251 Electoral Votes, and John Edwards received 1 Electoral Vote (see “Faithless elector” in Minnesota section of this article).

United States presidential election, 2004Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney (31), Bluedenotes those won by Kerry/Edwards (19+DC). Light blue denotes the faithless elector's vote counted for John Edwards. Each number represents the electoral votes a state gave to one candidate.

Incumbent
George W. Bush
Republican


Successor
George W. Bush
Republican

The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday,November 22004. It was the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for the presidentand vice president of the United StatesRepublican candidate George Walker Bush, the President of the United States, defeated Democratic candidate John Kerry, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. This marked the first time in United States election history where the sitting president was re-elected after losing the popular vote (but winning the presidency) in the previous election This was done in strong fashion, too. Bush not only finished first in the popular vote, but also became the first person since his father in 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote. It was also a very active election. In 2004, Bush received more popular votes than any presidential candidate in history, and Kerry finished with the second most ever for a candidate in history. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

As in the presidential election of 2000voting controversies and concerns of irregularities emerged during and after the vote. The winner was not determined until the following day, when Kerry decided not to dispute Bush's win in the state of Ohio. The state held enough electoral votes to determine the winner of the presidency. Both Kerry and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have stated their opinion that voting in Ohio did not proceed fairly, and that had it done so, the Democratic ticket might have won that state and therefore the election.[1]

Bush received about 51 percent of the votes cast (62 million votes), making him the first presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote since his fatherGeorge H. W. Bush in the presidential election of 1988. The 62 million votes cast for Bush were the most individual votes cast for anyone in history, though John Kerry's 59 million votes ranked second in that category as well.

In the Electoral College George W. Bush received 286 Electoral Votes, John Kerryreceived 251 Electoral Votes, and John Edwards received 1 Electoral Vote (see “Faithless elector” in Minnesota section of this article).

Contents

[hide]
Bush speaking at campaign rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 19, 2004
Bush speaking at campaign rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 19, 2004

Candidates gallery


Background


George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 after the Supreme Court settled issues over ballot re-counts and standards in a contest where Al Gore, the Democratic candidate alleged voting irregularities in Florida. The votes were recounted in certain Democratic counties, first by machine and then manually, with George W. Bush leading narrowly after each recount. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Florida Supreme Court's 4-3 reversal of a lower court ruling in favor of the Republican candidate's arguments, ordering the state to stop further selective recounts.

Just eight months into his presidency, the terrorist attacks of September 112001 suddenly transformed Bush into a "wartime president." Bush's approval ratings surged to near 90%. Within a month, the forces of a coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan, which had been sheltering Osama bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the September 11attacks. By December, the Taliban had been removed as rulers of Kabul, although a long and ongoing occupation would follow.

The Bush administration then turned its attention to Iraq. The administration argued that the need to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq had become urgent. The stated premise was that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to possess, potential weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in violation of U.N. sanctions. This interpretation has been hotly debated since its proposal, and its basis in U.S. military intelligence has since been compromised with the failure of the U.S. to find the aforementioned WMDs in Iraq. This situation escalated to the point that the United States assembled a group of about forty nations, including the United KingdomSpainItaly, andPoland, which President Bush called the “coalition of the willing”, to invade Iraq.

The coalition invaded Iraq on March 202003. The invasion succeeded swiftly, with the collapse of the Iraq government and the military of Iraqin about three weeks. The oil infrastructure of Iraq was rapidly secured with limited damage in that time. On May 1George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat operations in the Iraq war. Bush's approval rating in the month of May rode at 66%, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll.[2]


However, Bush's high approval ratings did not last. First, while the war itself was popular, the post-war occupation lost support as months passed and casualty figures increased, with no decrease in violence nor progress toward stability in Iraq. Second, as investigators combed through the country, they failed to find the predicted WMD stockpiles, which led to debate over the rationale for the war. Third, with the war over and 9-11 attacks two years past, domestic concerns began to rise to the forefront, an issue that usually favored the Democrats, as fading national security matters were considered to benefit the Republicans. [1] [2]

Nominations


Republican nomination

Bush's popularity as a wartime president helped consolidate his base, and ward off any serious challenge to the nomination. On March 102004, Bush officially clinched the number of delegates needed to be nominated at the2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. Bush accepted the nomination on September 22004, and selected Vice President Dick Cheney as his running mate. (In New York, the ticket was also on the ballot as candidates of the Conservative Party of New York State.) During the convention and throughout the campaign, Bush focused on two themes: defending America against terrorism and building an "ownership society." The "ownership society" included allowing people to invest some of theirSocial Security in the stock market, increasing home and stock ownership, and encouraging more people to buy their own health insurance.

Democratic nomination

Democratic candidates


By summer of 2003, Dean had become the apparent frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, performing strongly in most polls and leading the pack in fundraising. Dean's strength as a fundraiser was attributed mainly to his embrace of the Internet for campaigning. The majority of his donations came from individual DEANO supporters, who came to be known as Deanites, or, more commonly, Deaniacs. Generally regarded as a pragmatic centrist during his time as governor, Dean emerged during his presidential campaign as a left-wing populist, denouncing the policies of the Bush administration (especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq) as well as fellow Democrats, who, in his view, failed to strongly oppose them. Senator Lieberman, a liberal on domestic issues but a hawk on the War on Terror, failed to gain traction with liberal Democratic primary voters.

In September 2003, retired four-star general Wesley Clark announced his intention to run in the presidential primary election for the Democratic Party nomination. His campaign focused on themes of leadership and patriotism; early campaign ads relied heavily on biography. His late start left him with relatively few detailed policy proposals. This weakness was apparent in his first few debates, although he soon presented a range of position papers, including a major tax-relief plan. Nevertheless, many Democrats did not flock to his campaign.

By the January 2004 Iowa caucuses, the field had dwindled down to nine candidates, as Bob Graham dropped out of the race and Howard Dean was a strong front-runner. However, the Iowa caucuses yielded unexpectedly strong results for Democratic candidates John Kerry, who earned 38% of the state's delegates and John Edwards, who took 32%. Former front-runner Howard Dean slipped to 18% and third place, and Richard Gephardtfinished fourth (11%). What hurt Dean even more than his poor performance was a speech he gave at a post-caucus rally;[dubious ]at the end of the speech—which has become known as the "I have a scream" speech or the "Dean scream"—Dean frantically yelled out the names of states and culminated with a yelp. On January 27 Kerry triumphed again, earning first place in the New Hampshire primary. Clark took third place in New Hampshire, behind New Englanders Kerry and Dean.

The following week, John Edwards won the South Carolina primary and finished a strong second in Oklahoma. After Howard Dean's withdrawal from the contest, Edwards became the only major challenger to Kerry for the Democratic nomination. However, Kerry continued to dominate, taking in a string of wins in MichiganWashingtonMaineTennesseeWashington, D.C.NevadaWisconsinUtahHawaii, and Idaho. Many other candidates dropped out during this time, leaving only Sharpton, Kucinich, and Edwards in the running against Kerry.

In March's Super Tuesday, Kerry won decisive victories in the California,ConnecticutGeorgiaMarylandMassachusettsNew YorkOhio, and Rhode Island primaries and the Minnesota caucuses. Dean, despite having withdrawn from the race two weeks earlier, won his home state of Vermont. Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry in Georgia, but, failing to win a single state other than South Carolina, chose to withdraw from the presidential race.

On July 6, John Kerry selected John Edwards as his running mate, shortly before the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, held later that month. Days before Kerry announced Edwards as his running mate, Kerry gave a short list of three candidates: Sen John Edwards, Rep Dick Gephardt, and Gov Tom Vilsack. Heading into the convention, the Kerry/Edwards ticket unveiled their new slogan--a promise to make America "stronger at home and more respected in the world." Kerry made his Vietnam War experience the prominent theme of the convention. In accepting the nomination, he began his speech with, "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty." He later delivered what may have been the speech's most memorable line when he said, "the future doesn't belong to fear, it belongs to freedom," a quote that later appeared in a Kerry/Edwards television advertisement.

Other nominations

See also: List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2004

There were five other pairs of candidates who were on the ballot in states with enough electoral votes to have a theoretical chance of winning a majority in the Electoral College.


General election: campaign


Campaign issues


President Bush focused his campaign on national security, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Bush's point was that Americans could trust him to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger." Bush also sought to portray Kerry as a "Massachusetts liberal" who was out of touch with mainstream Americans. One of Kerry's slogans was "Stronger at home, respected in the world." This advanced the suggestion that Kerry would pay more attention to domestic concerns; it also encapsulated Kerry's contention that Bush had alienated American allies by his foreign policy.

Exit polls revealed Americans who voted for President Bush cited the issues of terrorism and moral values [3] as the most important factors in their decision. Kerry supporters cited the war in Iraq, economic issues like jobs and health care.

Over the course of Bush's first term in office, his extremely high approval ratings immediately following the September 112001 terrorist attacks steadily dwindled, peaking only during combat operations in Iraq in the Spring of 2003, and again following the capture of Saddam Hussein in December the same year.[4] Kerry supporters attempted to capitalize on the dwindling popularity to rally anti-war sentiment.

During August and September of 2004, there was an intense focus on events that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard.[5]However, the focus quickly shifted to the conduct of CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents.[6] Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged,[7] leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.[8][9]

Meanwhile, Kerry was accused by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, who averred that "phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward." The group challenged the legitimacy of each of the combat medals awarded to Kerry by the U.S. Navy, and the disposition of his discharge.

In the beginning of September, the successful Republican National Convention along with the allegations by Kerry's former mates gave President Bush his first comfortable margin since Kerry had won the nomination. A post-convention Gallup poll showed the President leading the Senator by 14 points.[10][11]

Debates

I learned these guys are not that smart. I expected them to be a lot smarter, a lot more difficult to debate, and I learned a lot of them only have the value system of win, win, win. They don’t believe in anything.... I thought they had some core beliefs. Most of them didn’t have core beliefs.






Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by theCommission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004. As expected, these debates set the agenda for the final leg of the political contest. Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik and Green Party candidate David Cobb were arrested while trying to access the debates. Badnarik was attempting to serve papers to the Commission on Presidential Debates.



President Bush focused his campaign on national security, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Bush's point was that Americans could trust him to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger." Bush also sought to portray Kerry as a "Massachusetts liberal" who was out of touch with mainstream Americans. One of Kerry's slogans was "Stronger at home, respected in the world." This advanced the suggestion that Kerry would pay more attention to domestic concerns; it also encapsulated Kerry's contention that Bush had alienated American allies by his foreign policy.

Exit polls revealed Americans who voted for President Bush cited the issues of terrorism and moral values [3] as the most important factors in their decision. Kerry supporters cited the war in Iraq, economic issues like jobs and health care.


Over the course of Bush's first term in office, his extremely high approval ratings immediately following the September 112001 terrorist attacks steadily dwindled, peaking only during combat operations in Iraq in the Spring of 2003, and again following the capture of Saddam Hussein in December the same year.[4] Kerry supporters attempted to capitalize on the dwindling popularity to rally anti-war sentiment.

During August and September of 2004, there was an intense focus on events that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard.[5]However, the focus quickly shifted to the conduct of CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents.[6] Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged,[7] leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.[8][9]

Meanwhile, Kerry was accused by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, who averred that "phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward." The group challenged the legitimacy of each of the combat medals awarded to Kerry by the U.S. Navy, and the disposition of his discharge.

In the beginning of September, the successful Republican National Convention along with the allegations by Kerry's former mates gave President Bush his first comfortable margin since Kerry had won the nomination. A post-convention Gallup poll showed the President leading the Senator by 14 points.[10][11]



Debates

"I learned these guys are not that smart.  I expected them to be a lot smarter, a lot more difficult to debate, and I learned a lot of them only have the value system of win, win, win. They don’t believe in anything.... I thought they had some core beliefs. Most of them didn’t have core beliefs."

Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004. As expected, these debates set the agenda for the final leg of the political contest. Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik and Green Party candidate David Cobb were arrested while trying to access the debates. Badnarik was attempting to serve papers to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The first debate was held on September 30 at the University of Miami, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS. Though originally intended to focus on domestic policy, questions were asked on the War on Terror, the War in Iraq and America's international relations.[13] During the debate John Kerry accused Bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, saying the only countries assisting the USA during the invasion were the United Kingdom and Australia. Bush replied to this by saying, "Well, actually, he forgot Poland." (In an ironic turn of events, Poland announced plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq shortly after the debate.) Later, a consensus formed among mainstream pollsters and pundits that Kerry won the debate decisively, strengthening what had come to be seen as a weak and troubled campaign.[14] In the days after, coverage focused on Bush's apparent annoyance with Kerry and numerous scowls and negative facial expressions. On October 5, the Vice Presidential debate was held between Dick Cheney and John Edwards at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and was moderated by Gwen Ifill ofPBS. It again focused on Iraq and the War on Terror. Cheney showed his so called "Bulldog" debating mentality and appeared to be much tougher than Edwards on most of the issues.[citation needed] Most liberal voters said that Cheney was aggressive pushing Edwards to appear passive.[citation needed]An initial poll by ABC indicated a victory for Cheney, while polls by CNNand MSNBC gave it to Edwards.[15][16][17][18]

The second presidential debate was held at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on October 8, moderated by Charles Gibson of ABC. Conducted in a "town meeting" format, less formal than the first Presidential debate, this debate saw President Bush and Senator Kerry taking questions on a variety of subjects from a local audience.[19] Bush attempted to deflect criticism of what was described as his scowling demeanor during the first debate, joking at one point about one of Kerry's remarks, "That answer made me want to scowl."[20]

Bush and Kerry met for the third and final debate at Arizona State University on October 13.[21] 51 million viewers watched the debate which was moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News. However, at the time of the ASU debate, there were 15.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the Major League Baseball championship games broadcast simultaneously.


Other nominations

See also:
 List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2004

There were five other pairs of candidates who were on the ballot in states with enough electoral votes to have a theoretical chance of winning a majority in the Electoral College.


  1. State-by-state results
  2. Delegate count
  3. Election videos
  4. Audio slideshow

 



Feb 6, 2008
Barack Obama/John McCain (AP)

Obama, McCain get key wins

Barack Obama and John McCain capture crucial early states on Super Tuesday » Primary details



Nashville City Paper
Clinton, Huckabee win Tennessee primaries
Nashville City Paper, TN - 6 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, a former Arkansas First Lady, defeated Sen. Barack Obama 54 percent to 41 percent. Huckabee overcame McCain’s rising national momentum and ...
Clinton, Huckabee prevail in Tenn.United Press International
Clinton wins Tennessee; Shelby one bright spot for Obamacommercialappeal.com (subscription)
Clinton wins Tennessee democratic primariesTennessee Journalist
RTT News - Nashville City Paper
all 110 news articles »

NDTV.com
Hillary woos Indian Americans, pledges stronger Indo-US ties
Hindustan Times, India - 2 hours ago
Front running Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pledged to take Indo-US relations to greater heights if she becomes the president, ...
Indian Americans make an impact on 'Super Tuesday'Hindustan Times
US: Indian voters split between Hillary, Obama NDTV.com
Hillary tries to woo Indian-Americans ahead of 'Super Tuesday' Hindu
all 32 news articles »

Asian Tribune
Decisions based on whom voters think can win
USA Today - 6 hours ago
"Hillary Clinton's been in there too long. In my heart, I think he'll win." In Albany, NY, bartender Amanda Zamurs, 27, almost voted for Obama but switched ...
Super Tuesday: Clinton and McCain Ahead Very Closely Followed by ... Asian Tribune
The Five Lessons from Super Tuesday TIME
California, Arizona election results going for ClintonPolitical State Report
Dallas Morning News - CNNMoney.com
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Washington Post
Clinton On Message, and On Television
Washington Post, United States - 4 Feb 2008
Hillary Clinton, asked by Letterman about what role her husband would play in her administration, said, "in my White House, we will know who wears the ...
Clinton appears on Letterman on eve of Super TuesdayReuters
The battle of the talk shows Toronto Star
Clinton: campaign is taking a page from Giants' 4th-quarter playbook WCAX
Kansas City Star - ABC7Chicago.com
all 123 news articles »
Los Angeles Times
Clinton admits she is in for a long fight
Los Angeles Times, CA - 7 hours ago
Hillary Clinton greets supporters at Manhattan Center Studios in New York on Super Tuesday. Husband BillClinton and daughter Chelsea stand in the ...
Super Tuesday A Mixed Bag For Dems -- Youth Vote Favors Obama ...
CBS News, NY - 6 hours ago
Stango and his classmates stood outside a local polling station for 12 hours Tuesday in an effort to increase Hillary Clinton's visibility. ...
BBC News
Clinton and Obama set to battle on
BBC News, UK - 7 hours ago
As the ballroom filled with Hillary Clinton party workers, the mood began to change. The news that the New York senator appeared to be ahead in Missouri ...
New York Daily News
Storm toll rises...Clinton, Obama close...McCain surges ahead ...
Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck, ND - 3 hours ago
Hillary Clinton came away from Super Tuesday leading the Democratic count, but Barack Obama is close behind. WASHINGTON (AP) Primaries next week in Virginia ...
Texans hope March 4 vote will be pivotal to campaignHouston Chronicle
Clinton and Obama play down chances Financial Times
Q&A: What happens next? BBC News
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com -Fort Worth Star Telegram
all 65 news articles »
Gather.com
Utah goes for Romney, Obama
Salt Lake Tribune, United States - 9 hours ago
Hillary Clinton. Romney, a Mormon like more than 60 percent of Utah residents, had been expected to win in Utah, adding to his primary win in Massachusetts, ...
Clinton, Obama close in Utah; Mitt cruisesUnited Press International
Barack Obama And Mitt Romney Win Utah Primary KUTV
Michelle Obama wows Utah crowd Salt Lake Tribune
all 66 news articles »
Bostonist
North Shore voters go for Romney, Clinton
The Daily Item of Lynn, MA - 5 hours ago
By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily Item LYNN - Hillary Clintonand Mitt Romney's clear victories in Massachusetts did not reflect the scratch and claw, ...
Clinton, Romney win Massachusetts primariesDaily Free Press (subscription)
Watertown votes for Clinton and RomneyWatertown TAB & Press
Easton goes for Clinton, Romney Easton Journal
Cambridge Chronicle - Carver Reporter
all 45 news articles »

Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
McCollum: TV pundits race to say - well, anything on Super Tuesday
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 5 hours ago
Hillary Clinton could win Tennessee with 56 percent of the vote, but - Todd pointed out - she'd get only 38 delegates, compared to 30 for Obama. ...
Media restrained in Super Tuesday coverage Politico
Super Tuesday: Calling California, Monitoring Missouri, Counting ... New York Times Blogs
US TV clears lineup for Super Tuesday Guardian Unlimited
all 84 news articles »
Washington Post
Another tear or two from Hillary Clinton
Los Angeles Times, CA - 4 Feb 2008
There's been another emotional moment for Hillary Clintonon the campaign trail, again coming on the eve of an incredibly crucial day in her quest for the ...
Back at Yale, Clinton at her best Boston Globe
Clinton Visits Connecticut On Eve Of PrimaryHartford Courant
Clinton roundtable in Connecticut MSNBC
CBS News - FOXNews
all 199 news articles »
Boston Globe
Clinton thrives in small, intimate TV setting at Yale
Boston Globe, United States - 5 Feb 2008
Hillary Clinton returned yesterday to the Yale Child Study Center, where she worked as a law student, and led a discussion about family issues with a dozen ...
Obama dazzles small crowd in New Jersey Newsday
all 45 news articles »
Clinton, Obama: TV Stars
E! Online - 8 hours ago
... breaking a high set just the week before when Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's South Carolina showdown, costarring innocent bystander John Edwards, ...
Sims at Clinton party: "Obama will be president some day."
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 10 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, DN.Y., campaign. At Collins Pub in Pioneer Square, about 200 Clinton supporters were encouraged by her early showing. ...
Democrats: Clinton, Obama win home states
MarketWatch - 11 hours ago
Hillary Clinton won victories in New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas in Super Tuesday voting contests, while Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois defeated ...
ABC News
Barack Obama's Web Site Overwhelmed During Clinton Appearance
Wired News - 19 hours ago
... '08 Depending on which poll is consulted, either senator Barack Obama is ahead in delegate-rich California, or his senate colleague Hillary Clinton is. ...
No clear winner in Clinton-Obama tug-of-warExaminer.com
Clinton slightly trails Obama in The City Examiner.com
Indecision in California: Obama, Clinton last-minute choiceMonsters and Critics.com
ABC News - TIME
all 16 news articles »
Boston Globe
Clinton, Huckabee big winners in Arkansas primaries
KTBS, LA - 10 hours ago
LITTLE ROCK -- Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former first lady Hillary Clinton were the winners Tuesday in their respective parties' ...
AP News Alert The Associated Press
all 82 news articles »
A perfect storm of 'Clinton-haters'
Arizona Republic, AZ - 9 hours ago
On that glorious day when President Hillary Clinton enters the White House leading her hubby, Bill, by the hand, I expect an earthquake of large magnitude. ...
Flat state tilts toward Obama
Kansas City Star, MO - 8 hours ago
TOPEKA | Barack Obama marched toward victory in Tuesday’s Democratic caucuses in Kansas with a commanding 46 percentage-point lead overHillary Clinton...
Kansas Democrats Predict Obama Caucus Win Today FOXNews
KS: Excitement Over Caucuses High Washington Post
Obama Takes Kansas KSNT
NTV - The Wichita Eagle
all 84 news articles »

Clinton Casts Her Vote
CBS News, NY - 5 Feb 2008
CHAPPAQUA, NY -- Hillary Clinton arrived early in the morning to Douglas Grafflin Elementary School to cast her vote on Super Tuesday, accompanied by former ...
Clintons cast vote on Super Tuesday Newsday
all 15 news articles »
Boston Globe
Obama Wins Alaska Democratic Caucuses, FOX News Projects
FOXNews - 7 hours ago
He is supporting Hillary Clinton largely because of her support for certain social issues, specifically women’s issues and gay rights. ...
Obama wins Alaska Democratic presidential contest Reuters
Obama, Romney win Alaska KTUU
Obama victorious in Alaska caucusUnited Press International
Anchorage Daily News (subscription) - Washington Post
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Boston Globe
Candidates expected to find solution
USA Today - 6 hours ago
"I voted for Hillary Clinton," said Karen Gates in Cathedral City, Calif. "I like what she has to say about health care and getting our (troops) home. ...
Issue of war may tip Mass. voters in favor of ObamaBoston Globe
Hopefuls' Iraq plans return to forefront Boston Globe
The Hillary Illusion, Redux OpEdNews
Arab News - StateHornet.com
all 63 news articles »
Clinton-Obama dream ticket? Dream on
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 14 hours ago
Is it really possible that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could team up to make a Democratic "dream ticket"? Liberals have privately speculated on the ...
Gay Wired
California sings, but who will pick up the tune?
The Age, Australia - 33 minutes ago
Late in the night, as Super Tuesday dissolved into Sleepy Wednesday, the Democrats' Hillary Clinton won California over her party rival, Barack Obama, ...
McCain and Clinton take the lead in Super Tuesday primaries Pravda
Clinton, McCain Win in California Super Tuesday Primary Results Gay Wired
Clinton, McCain take California, projections showMonsters and Critics.com
United Press International - Scopical
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Guardian Unlimited: Comment is free
Clinton prevails in Mass., but race will remain close
Tufts Daily, MA - 1 hour ago
Hillary Clinton (DN.Y.) won the presidential primary in Massachusetts handily yesterday, even after last-minute polls had clouded the certainty of her ...
Clinton campaign touts early wins, eyes CaliforniaCNN Political Ticker
Clinton To Take Massachusetts And New Jersey AHN
Candidates trade Super Tuesday wins abc13.com
MSNBC
all 24 news articles »
Clinton grabs New York primary
Inquirer.net, Philippines - 11 hours ago
WASHINGTON -- Democrat Hillary Clinton won her home state of New York in Tuesday's presidential primaries giving her a huge share of the 232 delegates, ...
WXIA-TV
Local Clinton, McCain backers happy
Elmira Star-Gazette, NY - 7 hours ago
By Ray Finger Southern Tier supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain were pleased with their candidates' presidential primary ...
Clinton strikes major blow against Obama Scopical
Victory in New York Primary Results for Clinton, McCainGay Wired
Super Sunday spills to Super Tuesday Asia Times Online
National Review Online - Channel 4 News
all 39 news articles »
Barack Obama's Web Site Overwhelmed During Clinton Appearance
Wired News - 19 hours ago
... '08 Depending on which poll is consulted, either senator Barack Obama is ahead in delegate-rich California, or his senate colleague Hillary Clinton is. ...
No clear winner in Clinton-Obama tug-of-war Examiner.com
all 10 news articles »
Obama routs Clinton in Illinois, one of richest Super Tuesday prizes
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - 12 hours ago
By Dennis Conrad AP CHICAGO – Buoyed by voters embracing his message of change, Barack Obama routed Hillary Clinton in the Illinois primary, a home-state ...

WRAPUP 11-Obama, Clinton trade wins on US Super Tuesday
Reuters - 12 hours ago
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama and rival Hillary Clinton traded early victories while...
Huckabee, Clinton Take Tennessee
The Epoch Times Ireland, Ireland - 7 hours ago
(Rick Gershon/Getty Images) TENNESSEE—In Tennessee, Hillary Clintonreceived 54% of the votes to win the Democratic primary, followed by Barack Obama who ...
Hillary Clinton to LGBT Americans: I Want To Be Your President
AlterNet, CA - 14 hours ago
By Hillary Clinton, The Bilerico Project. Posted February 5, 2008. Hillary Clinton says that as president, she will stand up for the rights of LGBT ...
Daily Cardinal
McCain opens lead on Super Tuesday; Clinton, Obama set up slugfest
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI - 3 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, DN.Y. With some of the Western states still counting the votes, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had pocketed victories in seven states, ...
‘Super Tuesday’ leaves race wide open: Clinton, Obama split large ... Daily Cardinal
Clinton, Obama get set to fight for WisconsinWisconsin State Journal
Obama, Clinton Camps Eye Wisconsin WISC
WSAW
all 31 news articles »
Which Womanhood Does Clinton Defend?
AlterNet, CA - 22 hours ago
she cheers, in a rousing pitch for Hillary Clinton. "We need to rise in furious energy -- as we did when courageous Anita Hill was so vilely treated in the ...
Columbia Daily Tribune
'Hillary is the best for Turkey'
Sabah, Turkey - 14 hours ago
Referring to the possible contributions of Hillary Clinton'spresidency to the relations with Turkey, Bill Clinton said: "Turkey is a very significant ...
Video: Hillary Clinton: California Is 'Must-Win' kcratvBillClinton seeks support in California for wife's presidential bid Xinhua
The Battle for California: Gettysburg or Waterloo?Yahoo! News
all 31 news articles »
NPR
Clinton, Obama each win home states
KGET 17, CA - 11 hours ago
Hillary Clinton (D-NY) (R) talk prior to the first debate of the 2008 presidential campaign April 26, 2007 at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, ...
It's Super Tuesday. How Did We Get Here? NPR
Turning points in the campaigns Globe and Mail
FACTBOX: Profiles of presidential hopefuls Reuters
Manila Bulletin
all 51 news articles »
'Special Report' Panel on Hillary Clinton's Health Care Plan and ...
FOXNews - 21 hours ago
HILLARY CLINTON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I pledge to you, whether you're a Pats fan or a Giants fan, if you vote for me we will be on the winning team ...
'Special Report' Panel on Super Tuesday FOXNews
'Special Report' Panel on Hillary Clinton's White House Bid FOXNews
all 4 news articles »
Chelsea Clinton Campaigns in Delaware for Her Mom
FOXNews - 15 hours ago
Clinton says she’s convinced her mom, Hillary Clinton, is the president for the grandkids that Chelsea says her mom hopes to have someday. ...
Clinton’s Vague and Bedeviling Insurance Premium Cap
Rolling Stone - 16 hours ago
Hillary Clinton (backed by the influential Paul Krugman) insists that mandates are the only way to achieve universal coverage. ...
Networks had dizzying array of graphics, talking heads
Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
MSNBC's Chris Matthews, in particular, seemed impressed: "Hillary Clintonhas avoided losing in Massachusetts by beating the Kennedys," he crowed....
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Clinton Supporters Say Obama's Local Ties Tough To Overcome
KITV.com, HI - 1 hour ago
Hillary Clinton has enjoyed an early lead and took some big states on Tuesday. Instead, she told a story about her brother. "I played Scrabble with him on ...
Hawaii's caucus gains significance in a deadlocked primary campaign Honolulu Star-Bulletin
all 18 news articles »
NEW YORK (Reuters) - La sénatrice de New York Hillary Clinton a ...
Challenges, France - 7 hours ago
et son rival Barack Obama dans dix autres. Il reste à connaître les résultats dans les quatre Etats restants. (c) Reuters 2008. All righ ts reserved. ...
Clinton camp plays expectations game, calls for more debates
Boston Globe, United States - 18 hours ago
NEW YORK – Senior Hillary Clinton staff just spent an entire hour on the phone with reporters across the country making the case that tonight’s results ...
Clinton stops Obama surge
Worcester Telegram, MA - 4 hours ago
Hillary Rodham Clinton fended off a late surge in the polls by Barack H. Obama to win a decisive primary victory in Massachusetts yesterday, ...
Clinton country Worcester Telegram
Hillary Clinton wins NY primary while Barack Obama supporters vow ...WNYT
Clinton's final push: My positions = Democratic positions Baltimore Sun
Boston Globe - Boston Herald
all 17 news articles »
Angus Reid Global Monitor
Clinton campaign marches to haredi Brooklyn beat
Jerusalem Post, Israel - 5 Feb 2008
Vote for Hillary Clinton," US Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-New York) shouted through a bullhorn. The Satmar leaders who participated in Sunday's march needed ...
NY: Heavy Turnout, Few Problems Washington Post
Al Gore would be president if you voted NEWS.com.au
all 12 news articles »

San Francisco Chronicle
Clinton Campaign: California Tossup
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 18 hours ago
Hillary Clinton's campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson declared today that California is a tossup. He specifically credited appearances by Oprah Winfrey, ...
Clinton, McCain lead Peninsula races
Examiner.com - 2 hours ago
San Mateo County (Map, News) - Hillary Clinton was leading Barack Obama among San Mateo County voters after an energetic presidential primary that local ...
2008: Coming Home - Candidates Romney, McCain, Obama, Clinton all ...Political State Report
all 17 news articles »
UC Daily News
Clinton Campaign Missed A Few Good Movies
Hartford Courant, United States - 19 hours ago
Hillary Clinton's campaign bragged today that Jack Nicholson is doing some robo-calling of perspective voters, they referred to him as "A Few Good Men's ...
Actor Jack Nicholson Endorses Hillary ClintonUC Daily News
all 4 news articles »
Modesto Bee
Obama and Clinton campaigns rally at UOP
Stockton Record, CA - 4 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, carries California in today's presidential primary election, Bill Clinton proved Monday he still can draw a crowd in Stockton. ...
Clinton or Obama? Lodi News-Sentinel
Bill Clinton to visit University of the PacificLodi News-Sentinel
Bill Clinton says Hillary would help homeownersModesto Bee
all 14 news articles »






Times Colonist
Obama-Clinton battle rages on
Canada.com, Canada - 50 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled to a split decision in Super Tuesday primaries across the United States, setting the stage for an epic ...
Video: California Offers The Most Delegates kcratvMcCain secures lead, Obama, Clinton in tight race CTV.ca
Enough Conservatives Back McCain to Keep Him Rolling; Obama ... ABC News
Sydney Morning Herald - AFP
all 7,001 news articles »
Product Reviews
Clinton's hometown is proud but divided
Los Angeles Times, CA - 4 hours ago
Hillary Clinton greets her supporters at the Manhattan Center Studios, Grand Ballroom in New York late Tuesday night. Civic pride in Park Ridge, Ill., ...
Video: Split verdict for Clinton and ObamareutersvideoClinton gets booed at the Obama partyTimes Online
Clinton and Obama start anew China Daily
Financial Times - Los Angeles Times
all 497 news articles »
Boston Globe
Clinton gets her party started
Salon - 5 hours ago
Hillary Clinton greets her supporters at her primary election night rally in New York on Feb. 5. Feb. 6, 2008 | NEW YORK -- It sure did feel funereal at the ...
It's America's night - Clinton Melbourne Herald Sun
Faithful holler like hell for Hillary as she storms north-eastern ... The Age
Clinton banks on substance Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney Morning Herald - Scotsman
all 286 news articles »
The Money Times
California may prove decisive win for Clinton
Reuters - 6 hours ago
By Adam Tanner SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic presidential nomination, historians may look to her primary win in ...
Video: Bill Clinton, Oprah Speak For CandidateskcratvObama gives Americans hope National Post
It's a game of fame as rivals round up celebrities to fight their ... Times Online
The Canadian Press - Glasgow Daily Record
all 323 news articles »
WBBM780
Obama tops Clinton in Conn. Democratic primary
Boston Globe, United States - 5 hours ago
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday by winning the state Democratic presidential primary. With 94 percent of the votes cast, Obama led Clinton 50 percent to 47 ...
Clinton, Obama Split In Early Results CBS News
Clinton wins California Democrat presidential vote Reuters
Clinton wins Missouri Democratic presidential vote Reuters
FOXNews - ABC News
all 193 news articles »
Sioux City Journal
Female voters torn between Clinton, Obama
Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
A month ago, strong support from women catapulted Hillary Clinton past Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary, giving Clinton the momentum she ...
It ain't over yet Guardian Unlimited
Clinton Narrowly Ahead as Obama Fails to Clinch Center Ground Spiegel Online
US voter faces race-gender dilemma NDTV.com
Press of Atlantic City - ABC News
all 121 news articles »
Spiegel Online
Behind The Clinton-Obama Draw
CBS News, NY - 5 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, but said she would not do enough to change Washington. | Share/Embed Huge chunk of delegates on the line as voters in more than 20 states ...
Clinton Overwhelmingly Wins Latino Vote NPR
With no losers, the fight goes on Los Angeles Times
Democrats' Votes Display a Racial Divide Washington Post
CNN Political Ticker - Los Angeles Times
all 81 news articles »
Malaysia Star
Clinton Backers Manage To Find Positives
Hartford Courant, United States - 6 hours ago
By DANIELA ALTIMARI | Courant Staff Writer February 6, 2008 FAIRFIELD - — Hillary Clinton supporters who gathered Tuesday at a golf course clubhouse in ...
Clinton, Obama eagerly await California results Newsday
Coast to coast, Clinton and Obama trade victoriesSarasota Herald-Tribune
Clinton campaign touts early wins, eyes CaliforniaCNN Political Ticker
AHN - NPR
all 84 news articles »
Xinhua
CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California
CNN International - 6 hours ago
Senator Barack Obama won more states Tuesday, but Senator Hillary Clinton won states with higher delegate counts. Super Tuesday has some of the biggest ...
CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California CNN
Clinton, McCain Win Calif., NY, & NJ PrimariesWFMZ-TV Online
California is the big one on Super TuesdaySeattle Post Intelligencer
all 76 news articles »







Malaysia Sta

Clinton Backers Manage To Find Positives
Hartford Courant, United States - 6 hours ago
By DANIELA ALTIMARI | Courant Staff Writer February 6, 2008 FAIRFIELD - —Hillary Clinton supporters who gathered Tuesday at a golf course clubhouse in ...
Clinton, Obama eagerly await California results Newsday
Coast to coast, Clinton and Obama trade victories Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Clinton campaign touts early wins, eyes California CNN Political Ticker
AHN - NPR
all 84 news articles »


Xinhua

CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California
CNN International - 6 hours ago
Senator Barack Obama won more states Tuesday, but Senator Hillary Clintonwon states with higher delegate counts. Super Tuesday has some of the biggest ...
CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California CNN
Clinton, McCain Win Calif., NY, & NJ Primaries WFMZ-TV Online
California is the big one on Super Tuesday Seattle Post Intelligencer
all 76 news articles »


Telegraph.co.uk
Clinton and Obama still tight- McCain looks to have the Republican ...
Euronews.net, France - 5 hours ago
The biggest day in US presidential nominating contests "Super Tuesday" sees democrat Hillary Clinton picking up states including California and New York, ...
Clinton and Obama in tight race Guardian Unlimited
Super Tuesday results state by state Independent
Superman or Superwoman: Democrat rivals trade victories Independent
Telegraph.co.uk - Rocky Mountain News
all 67 news articles »



Spiegel Online
Clinton or Obama -- On Health Care the Difference is Big
Yahoo! News - 7 hours ago
... care for all and because the way the candidates deal with it points to a major reason I'm supporting Hillary Clinton for President: She'll get results. ...
Op-Ed Columnist The Cooper Concerns New York Times
Clinton's health-care insurance plan might garnish paychecks Waterbury Republican American
What Programs Exactly? Whence the Cash?Wall Street Journal
CBS News - New York Times
all 56 news articles »
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
Tough decision for Democrats Abroad in Toronto
Toronto Star,  Canada - 4 hours ago
Patty Hayes stared at her blue ballot for 15 minutes, pondering the crucial question of the US '08 Democratic race – Hillary Clinton's experience versus ...
Super Tuesday in City Hindustan Times
From Phnom Penh to Paris, 'Super Tuesday' goes abroadAFP
Clinton, Obama Battle For Omsk The Moscow Times
CTV.ca - The Associated Press
all 641 news articles »
13wmaz
USA 2008: MCCAIN WINS BY LANDSLIDE; CLINTON OK (NOT YET OVER)
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy - 4 hours ago
... is the Republican front-runner, while the Democratic candidates are still neck-and-neck, though Hillary Clintonhas won the majority of the delegates. ...
Clinton edges ahead on Super TuesdaySuffolk Evening Star
Super Tuesday Results - California Predictions Say Clinton, McCain ... AHN
Candidates Look Ahead After Super Tuesday Fails To Finalize Nominees AHN
all 44 news articles »
WNBC
Clinton takes New Jersey
Inquirer.net, Philippines - 10 hours ago
WASHINGTON -- Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday scooped the state of New Jersey in the presidential primaries, winning a majority of the 107 delegates up for ...
Clinton Wins States, Obama Wins DelegatesWCBS-TV New York
Blog: Super Tuesday draws to a close New Zealand Herald
McCain, Clinton win NJ primary Vineland Daily Journal
NorthJersey.com - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
all 65 news articles »
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In Missouri, tight races on both sides
Kansas City Star, MO - 8 hours ago
JEFFERSON CITY | With about 93 percent of the vote tallied,Hillary Clinton was holding on to a 2.5 percentage point lead in the Missouri Democratic ...
Swing States Offer Clues for NovemberThe Associated Press
Obama Wins Big on Independents Yahoo! News
Obama Defeats Clinton In The Missouri Democratic Primary – Exit Polls TopNews
The Associated Press - Huffington Post
all 354 news articles »
BBC News
Excitement builds in Clinton camp
BBC News, UK - 9 hours ago
By Laura Trevelyan At 1800 Eastern Time (2300 GMT), the mood at Hillary Clinton's camp in New York was cautious, with her advisers downplaying expectations, ...
Was Clinton's Massachusetts win a surprise?Los Angeles Times
Clinton Backers: Mass. Win an 'Upset' Washington Post
Clinton holds slight edge, Democratic picture still blurryDaily Vidette
Baltimore Sun - Politics on the Hudson
all 41 news articles »
CBC Montreal
Super Tuesday, at least for John McCain
Radio Netherlands, Netherlands - 2 hours ago
by RNW's US Correspondent Reinout van Wagtendonk*Hillary Clinton won important victories in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Super ...
Clinton Leads Obama In The Race For Democratic Delegates TopNews
Clinton, McCain Win in California Super Tuesday Primary Results Gay Wired
McCain, Clinton make troubled winners Earthtimes
Minnesota Daily - News10.net
all 239 news articles »
Clinton fends off endorsements of Obama; Romney silences skeptics
Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
Hillary Clinton withstood a string of high-profile endorsements for Barack Obama to glide to a surprisingly decisive victory, while Mitt Romney held onto ...
Poll: Clinton, Romney could capture Mass. Boston Herald
Clinton Gets Most Lobbyist Money, McCain Most Help (Update1) Bloomberg
all 25 news articles »
Mirror.co.uk
Clinton, Obama locked in fight
Financial Times, UK - 11 hours ago
By FT reporters Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a close race for the Democratic presidential nomination with Mr Obama taking an early gain ...
Obama wins Georgia, Clinton seeks to downplayBoston Globe
The Obama wave Boston Globe
US voters split over White House hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary ... Mirror.co.uk
New York Daily News - Times Online
all 53 news articles »
Radio 1
Clinton edges ahead of Obama in nomination race
Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom - 3 hours ago
Hillary Clinton has edged ahead of Barack Obama in the race to secure the Democratic nomination for this year's US presidential election. ...
They may be exiles, but Americans in London exercise right to vote Independent
Can Barack Obama's vision beat Hillary? Telegraph.co.uk
The view at 12pm EST Guardian Unlimited
all 26 news articles »

Boston Globe
Road Ahead Tough For Clinton
RealClearPolitics, IL - 1 hour ago
By Reid Wilson After last night's results, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are able to claim some major wins. Clinton took California and New York, ...
McCain on a roll Arizona Republic
GOP makes it tough on Dems Chicago Sun-Times
Obama tops Clinton in Minnesota caucuses WKBT
HeraldNet - FOXNews
all 245 news articles »
Boston Globe
What voters said
Detroit Free Press, United States - 5 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, DN.Y., or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as president. She cast her vote for Clinton. "I agree with her" health "insurance issues. ...
McCain, Clinton win big locally Oneonta Daily Star
Blog: Voting and gloating - the American wayNew Zealand Herald
Milford area votes for Clinton, Romney Milford Daily News
Gay Wired - St. George Daily Spectrum
all 321 news articles »
CNN-IBN
A party divided may be blessing - or curse - for Democrats
Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
A fierce, protracted contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama could sour the good feelings - or energize the party even more, depending on how the ...
Obama and Clinton split delegates, gird for battleNew York Daily News
NJ primary voters give Clinton win over Obama; McCain coasts Press of Atlantic City
Bay Area voters swarm polling places, celebrate election night San Jose Mercury News
Black America Web - SU The Daily Orange (subscription)
all 184 news articles »
Washington Post
Clinton Wins California; National Results Mixed
Daily Californian, CA - 2 hours ago
Hillary Clinton winning California by a double-digit margin, adding momentum to her ongoing national campaign. As of 1 am, the former first lady took 53 ...
Obama wins here; Clinton waits Medill Reports
Clinton talks like a winner Earthtimes
Clinton, Obama debate policy differencesThe West Australian
International Herald Tribune - Stanford Daily
all 249 news articles »
Malaysia Star
Illinois Voters Brave Chilly Weather to Decide Showdown Between ...
FOXNews - 16 hours ago
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, two Democratic presidential contenders with strong ties to the state. Experts said the high-profile contest to decide who ...
Illinois favors Obama over ClintonUnited Press International
Obama's Chicago roots may prove deeper than Clinton'sGuardian Unlimited
IL: Does Mother Know Best? Washington Post
Washington Post - CBS2 Chicago
all 40 news articles »
Ledger Independent
McCain, Clinton win
Tulsa World, OK - 6 hours ago
Witt said she will help “get out the vote” for McCain ifHillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile, Huckabee supporter Mike Ford of Bixby was ...
Clinton surges to victory in Oklahoma [1 min ago]NewsOK.com (subscription)
Romney gains edge in county; Clinton defeats ObamaDaily News Journal (subscription)
Moderates, elderly help Clinton win kjrh.com
Joplin Globe - KSWO
all 130 news articles »
WXIA-TV
Super Indecisive
Slate - 2 hours ago
Hillary Clinton won some of the biggest prizes of the night, including California, while Sen. Barack Obama ultimately won more states. ...
Northwest Alabama counties pick Huckabee and ClintonTimes Daily (subscription)
Clinton, Obama continue fight for nominationThe University of Alabama Crimson White
Huckabee, Obama Win in Alabama The Associated Press
Washington Post - FOXNews
all 183 news articles »
Wall Street Journal
Clinton Taps Unexpected Weapon: Chelsea
Wall Street Journal - 9 hours ago
Now, as he also makes incursions into Hillary Clinton's core constituency -- women -- with support from Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy and others, ...
Chelsea Finds Her Voice U.S. News & World Report
Chelsea Clinton Campaigns for Mom in Delaware FOXNews
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES: Chelsea Clinton visits Delaware to stump ... Delmarva Daily Times
University of Delaware
all 16 news articles »
CNN Political Ticker
Hillary Clinton campaign talks about possible California defeat
Los Angeles Times, CA - 16 hours ago
This could all be just so much manipulation, an attempt byHillary Clinton's brain trust to reduce expectations for today's results to give her a little ...
Clinton wants more debates — including one on Fox News?The Carpetbagger Report
Clinton Prepares for Fox News Debate Truthdig
Clinton Suggests Four One-on-One Debates With ObamaTelevision Week
Palm Beach Post - CNN Political Ticker
all 30 news articles »
New York Times Blogs
Clinton challenges Obama to TV debates
Times Online, UK - 13 hours ago
Hillary Clinton today challenged Mr Obama to no less than four televised debates this month, with her campaign saying voters needed see how the Democratic ...
Hillary Clinton's fresh tears divide opinions Times Online
For Clinton the Speaker, the Smaller the BetterNew York Times
I voted for Hillary Clinton Sovo.com
Independent - New York Times
all 26 news articles »

Obama and Clinton splitting Jewish vote
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - 9 hours ago
Hillary Clinton scored a big win among Jews in New York, but the picture was mixed in other Super Tuesday states. According to the latest exit polls,...
Obama, Clinton in tight primaries race Jerusalem Post
Jewish voters flock to Clinton in New York, split in Massachusetts ...Infolive.tv
The Jewish vote: Obama wins Massachusetts, almost California Ha'aretz
Ynetnews
all 18 news articles »
ASU Web Devil
Home base : Washington County, Arkansas support Clinton, Huckabee
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR - 2 hours ago
Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary in Washington County, while former Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Republican primary. Cynthia McKinney received 27 ...
Huckabee, Clinton win Arkansas Arkansas News
McCain, Clinton triumph ASU Web Devil
Clinton, Huckabee Win Arkansas Springdale Morning News
East Valley Tribune - TV3 News
all 114 news articles »
Baltimore City Paper
Presidential Race Turns to Mid-Atlantic
The Associated Press - 5 hours ago
"It's hard to see how Hillary Clinton finds the foundation" for a big vote in the remaining counties, said Keith Haller, a Maryland-based pollster who is ...
Virginia, you could really matter next Tuesday Daily Press
Don't Look Now, But Maryland's Presidential Primary Might Actually ... Baltimore City Paper
State Democrats scramble for leverage ahead of primaryRoanoke Times
WAVY-TV - Georgetown University The Hoya
all 92 news articles »
Hoboken411.com
Richardson punts on political endorsements
Reuters - 3 hours ago
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are trying to win his support, an endorsement that could serve as a big boost among his fellow Hispanics who are an ...
Clinton Revels in Giant Win The Associated Press
Bill Clinton Woos Gov. Richardson The Associated Press
Voters 'thirst for change,' Richardson saysLas Cruces Sun-News
Alamogordo Daily News
all 157 news articles »
The Stamford Times
Did Chelsea Clinton Break the Law?
ABC News - 13 hours ago
Chelsea Clinton was in Connecticut to support the presidential campaign of her mother, New. York Sen.Hillary Clinton. A call was placed to Clinton's ...
In Fair Haven, Chelsea Clinton may have broken election law, WTNH says Yale Daily News
Questions about Chelsea at polling place WTNH
all 19 news articles »
New York Daily News
Clinton beams but campaign goes on
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 8 hours ago
Hillary Clinton was graceful in the lack of outright victory as she addressed her supporters in New York. She made it clear that there was no end in sight ...
Clinton buoyed by big wins in NY, Calif. Charlotte Observer
White House hopefuls go down to the wire ic Wales
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck & neck from NY to California New York Daily News
all 13 news articles »
Gay Wired
Obama Red-State Strength May Answer Clinton Lead in Strongholds
Bloomberg - 5 Feb 2008
... Obama's support in Republican-leaning ``Red States'' will give him more ammunition to challenge Senator Hillary Clinton for a majority of the 1681 ...
Obama overwhelms Clinton in ND Democratic caucusesJamestown Sun
Super Tuesday Jamestown Sun
North Dakota Caucus Results a Win for Obama, RomneyGay Wired
In-Forum (subscription) - KXMC
all 89 news articles »
Monsters and Critics.com
PROFILE: Clinton vows to bring new set of pants to White House
Monsters and Critics.com - 53 minutes ago
Washington - Hillary Clinton wants to go back to the White House, and she insists that if she prevails in her bid to become the first female president she ...
From Super Tuesday to Fantastic February and beyond AFP
Clinton: First lady, senator, president? iAfrica.com
Bill Clinton Says Hillary Had Doubt on `No Child' Law (Update1) Bloomberg
AFP - Times of India
all 70 news articles »
Salon
Clinton, Obama strike cordial tone in debate
Hindustan Times, India - 20 hours ago
Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton struck a cordial tone in the early stages of their first one-on-one presidential debate on Thursday but differed ...
Super Tuesday: Clinton and Obama split FT Alphaville
Feminist leader sides with Obama over ClintonBaltimore Sun
Dave Adams | Cynicism Personified Tufts Daily
Daily Vidette - The Moderate Voice
all 29 news articles »
Clinton says people spoke
Boston Globe, United States - 10 hours ago
Hillary Clinton, after key wins in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, claimed tonight people from all walks of life spoke today in supporting her for ...





 

The Great American Novel Music Clip 3


 


The Great American Novel Music Clip 4

 

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The Great American novel Music Clip 5B


USA Presidents

Inaugural Addresses of the American Presidents

Executive Oath of Office: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  
—United States Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 

It is traditional for the President to give a speech after he is sworn in on Inauguration Day.  This is called an Inaugural Address.  A Vice-President who becomes President upon the death or resignation of the President does not give an Inaugural Address.  Hence, several American Presidents (such as John Tyler and Gerald Ford) are not on this list.  Policy goals of the new President are often presented in the Inaugural Address.  References to recent events are also noted.  Both George W. Bush and Rutherford B. Hayes made references to the disputed elections that brought both to power during an Inaugural Address. 

Full-text of Inaugural Addresses:

George Washington 17891793 

John Adams 1797 

Thomas Jefferson 18011805 

James Madison 18091813

James Monroe 18171821

John Quincy Adams 1825

Andrew Jackson 18291833

Martin Van Buren 1837 

William Henry Harrison 1841

James Polk 1845 

Zachary Taylor 1849

Franklin Pierce 1853

James Buchanan 1857

Abraham Lincoln 18611865 

Ulysses S. Grant 18691873

Rutherford B. Hayes 1877

James A. Garfield 1881

Grover Cleveland 18851893

Benjamin Harrison 1889

William McKinley 18971901

Theodore Roosevelt 1905

William Howard Taft 1909 

Woodrow Wilson 19131917

Warren G. Harding 1921 

Calvin Coolidge 1925 

Herbert Hoover 1929

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933193719411945

Harry S. Truman 1949

Dwight D. Eisenhower 19531957

John F. Kennedy 1961

Lyndon Baines Johnson 1965

Richard Milhous Nixon 19691973

Jimmy Carter 1977 

Ronald Reagan 19811985 

George Bush 1989 

William Clinton 19931997

George W. Bush 20012005

Full-text of Inaugural Addresses: 

George Washington 17891793 

First Inaugural Address of George Washington

THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1789 
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: 

Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month. On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years--a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected. All I dare hope is that if, in executing this task, I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before me, my error will be palliated by the motives which mislead me, and its consequences be judged by my country with some share of the partiality in which they originated. 

Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence. 

By the article establishing the executive department it is made the duty of the President "to recommend to your consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." The circumstances under which I now meet you will acquit me from entering into that subject further than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which, in defining your powers, designates the objects to which your attention is to be given. It will be more consistent with those circumstances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuate me, to substitute, in place of a recommendation of particular measures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt them. In these honorable qualifications I behold the surest pledges that as on one side no local prejudices or attachments, no separate views nor party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests, so, on another, that the foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. 

Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care, it will remain with your judgment to decide how far an exercise of the occasional power delegated by the fifth article of the Constitution is rendered expedient at the present juncture by the nature of objections which have been urged against the system, or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular recommendations on this subject, in which I could be guided by no lights derived from official opportunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good; for I assure myself that whilst you carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience, a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen and a regard for the public harmony will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question how far the former can be impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted. 

To the foregoing observations I have one to add, which will be most properly addressed to the House of Representatives. It concerns myself, and will therefore be as brief as possible. When I was first honored with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I contemplated my duty required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resolution I have in no instance departed; and being still under the impressions which produced it, I must decline as inapplicable to myself any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably included in a permanent provision for the executive department, and must accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am placed may during my continuance in it be limited to such actual expenditures as the public good may be thought to require. 

Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend. 

Second Inaugural Address of George Washington

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1793 
Fellow Citizens: 

I am again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate. When the occasion proper for it shall arrive, I shall endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished honor, and of the confidence which has been reposed in me by the people of united America. 

Previous to the execution of any official act of the President the Constitution requires an oath of office. This oath I am now about to take, and in your presence: That if it shall be found during my administration of the Government I have in any instance violated willingly or knowingly the injunctions thereof, I may (besides incurring constitutional punishment) be subject to the upbraidings of all who are now witnesses of the present solemn ceremony. 


John Adams 1797 
Inaugural Address of John Adams

INAUGURAL ADDRESS IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1797

When it was first perceived, in early times, that no middle course for America remained between unlimited submission to a foreign legislature and a total independence of its claims, men of reflection were less apprehensive of danger from the formidable power of fleets and armies they must determine to resist than from those contests and dissensions which would certainly arise concerning the forms of government to be instituted over the whole and over the parts of this extensive country. Relying, however, on the purity of their intentions, the justice of their cause, and the integrity and intelligence of the people, under an overruling Providence which had so signally protected this country from the first, the representatives of this nation, then consisting of little more than half its present number, not only broke to pieces the chains which were forging and the rod of iron that was lifted up, but frankly cut asunder the ties which had bound them, and launched into an ocean of uncertainty. 

The zeal and ardor of the people during the Revolutionary war, supplying the place of government, commanded a degree of order sufficient at least for the temporary preservation of society. The Confederation which was early felt to be necessary was prepared from the models of the Batavian and Helvetic confederacies, the only examples which remain with any detail and precision in history, and certainly the only ones which the people at large had ever considered. But reflecting on the striking difference in so many particulars between this country and those where a courier may go from the seat of government to the frontier in a single day, it was then certainly foreseen by some who assisted in Congress at the formation of it that it could not be durable. 

Negligence of its regulations, inattention to its recommendations, if not disobedience to its authority, not only in individuals but in States, soon appeared with their melancholy consequences-- universal languor, jealousies and rivalries of States, decline of navigation and commerce, discouragement of necessary manufactures, universal fall in the value of lands and their produce, contempt of public and private faith, loss of consideration and credit with foreign nations, and at length in discontents, animosities, combinations, partial conventions, and insurrection, threatening some great national calamity. 

In this dangerous crisis the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity. Measures were pursued to concert a plan to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty. The public disquisitions, discussions, and deliberations issued in the present happy Constitution of Government. 

Employed in the service of my country abroad during the whole course of these transactions, I first saw the Constitution of the United States in a foreign country. Irritated by no literary altercation, animated by no public debate, heated by no party animosity, I read it with great satisfaction, as the result of good heads prompted by good hearts, as an experiment better adapted to the genius, character, situation, and relations of this nation and country than any which had ever been proposed or suggested. In its general principles and great outlines it was conformable to such a system of government as I had ever most esteemed, and in some States, my own native State in particular, had contributed to establish. Claiming a right of suffrage, in common with my fellow-citizens, in the adoption or rejection of a constitution which was to rule me and my posterity, as well as them and theirs, I did not hesitate to express my approbation of it on all occasions, in public and in private. It was not then, nor has been since, any objection to it in my mind that the Executive and Senate were not more permanent. Nor have I ever entertained a thought of promoting any alteration in it but such as the people themselves, in the course of their experience, should see and feel to be necessary or expedient, and by their representatives in Congress and the State legislatures, according to the Constitution itself, adopt and ordain. 

Returning to the bosom of my country after a painful separation from it for ten years, I had the honor to be elected to a station under the new order of things, and I have repeatedly laid myself under the most serious obligations to support the Constitution. The operation of it has equaled the most sanguine expectations of its friends, and from an habitual attention to it, satisfaction in its administration, and delight in its effects upon the peace, order, prosperity, and happiness of the nation I have acquired an habitual attachment to it and veneration for it. 

What other form of government, indeed, can so well deserve our esteem and love? 

There may be little solidity in an ancient idea that congregations of men into cities and nations are the most pleasing objects in the sight of superior intelligences, but this is very certain, that to a benevolent human mind there can be no spectacle presented by any nation more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, than an assembly like that which has so often been seen in this and the other Chamber of Congress, of a Government in which the Executive authority, as well as that of all the branches of the Legislature, are exercised by citizens selected at regular periods by their neighbors to make and execute laws for the general good. Can anything essential, anything more than mere ornament and decoration, be added to this by robes and diamonds? Can authority be more amiable and respectable when it descends from accidents or institutions established in remote antiquity than when it springs fresh from the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people? For it is the people only that are represented. It is their power and majesty that is reflected, and only for their good, in every legitimate government, under whatever form it may appear. The existence of such a government as ours for any length of time is a full proof of a general dissemination of knowledge and virtue throughout the whole body of the people. And what object or consideration more pleasing than this can be presented to the human mind? If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable it is when it springs, not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence. 

In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections. If an election is to be determined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the Government may be the choice of a party for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good. If that solitary suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern ourselves; and candid men will acknowledge that in such cases choice would have little advantage to boast of over lot or chance. 

Such is the amiable and interesting system of government (and such are some of the abuses to which it may be exposed) which the people of America have exhibited to the admiration and anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all nations for eight years under the administration of a citizen who, by a long course of great actions, regulated by prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, conducting a people inspired with the same virtues and animated with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal glory with posterity. 

In that retirement which is his voluntary choice may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his services, the gratitude of mankind, the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of this country which is opening from year to year. His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives a bulwark, against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace. This example has been recommended to the imitation of his successors by both Houses of Congress and by the voice of the legislatures and the people throughout the nation. 

On this subject it might become me better to be silent or to speak with diffidence; but as something may be expected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apology if I venture to say that if a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth; if an attachment to the Constitution of the United States, and a conscientious determination to support it until it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it; if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual States and a constant caution and delicacy toward the State governments; if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness of all the States in the Union, without preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western, position, their various political opinions on unessential points or their personal attachments; if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations; if a love of science and letters and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments; if a love of equal laws, of justice, and humanity in the interior administration; if an inclination to improve agriculture, commerce, and manufacturers for necessity, convenience, and defense; if a spirit of equity and humanity toward the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to meliorate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them; if an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this Government and so solemnly sanctioned by both Houses of Congress and applauded by the legislatures of the States and the public opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by Congress; if a personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations; if, while the conscious honor and integrity of the people of America and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to investigate every just cause and remove every colorable pretense of complaint; if an intention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of our fellow-citizens by whatever nation, and if success can not be obtained, to lay the facts before the Legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the Government and its constituents demand; if a resolution to do justice as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and maintain peace, friendship, and benevolence with all the world; if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all and never been deceived; if elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and of my own duties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by experience and age; and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two Houses shall not be without effect. 

With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest, of the same American people pledged to support the Constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy, and my mind is prepared without hesitation to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power. 

And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.  

Thomas Jefferson 18011805 

Thomas Jefferson First Inaugural Address

First Inaugural Address 
March 4, 1801

FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS, 

Called upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, I avail myself of the presence of that portion of my fellow-citizens which is here assembled to express my grateful thanks for the favor with which they have been pleased to look toward me, to declare a sincere consciousness that the task is above my talents, and that I approach it with those anxious and awful presentiments which the greatness of the charge and the weakness of my powers so justly inspire. A rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry, engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right, advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye -- when I contemplate these transcendent objects, and see the honor, the happiness, and the hopes of this beloved country committed to the issue and the auspices of this day, I shrink from the contemplation, and humble myself before the magnitude of the undertaking. Utterly, indeed, should I despair did not the presence of many whom I here see remind me that in the other high authorities provided by our Constitution I shall find resources of wisdom, of virtue, and of zeal on which to rely under all difficulties. To you, then, gentlemen, who are charged with the sovereign functions of legislation, and to those associated with you, I look with encouragement for that guidance and support which may enable us to steer with safety the vessel in which we are all embarked amidst the conflicting elements of a troubled world. 

During the contest of opinion through which we have passed the animation of discussions and of exertions has sometimes worn an aspect which might impose on strangers unused to think freely and to speak and to write what they think; but this being now decided by the voice of the nation, announced according to the rules of the Constitution, all will, of course, arrange themselves under the will of the law, and unite in common efforts for the common good. All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions. During the throes and convulsions of the ancient world, during the agonizing spasms of infuriated man, seeking through blood and slaughter his long-lost liberty, it was not wonderful that the agitation of the billows should reach even this distant and peaceful shore; that this should be more felt and feared by some and less by others, and should divide opinions as to measures of safety. But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. I know, indeed, that some honest men fear that a republican government can not be strong, that this Government is not strong enough; but would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this Government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. I believe this, on the contrary, the strongest Government on earth. I believe it the only one where every man, at the call of the law, would fly to the standard of the law, and would meet invasions of the public order as his own personal concern. Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. 

Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own Federal and Republican principles, our attachment to union and representative government. Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the exterminating havoc of one quarter of the globe; too high-minded to endure the degradations of the others; possessing a chosen country, with room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth generation; entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the use of our own faculties, to the acquisitions of our own industry, to honor and confidence from our fellow-citizens, resulting not from birth, but from our actions and their sense of them; enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man; acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter -- with all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow-citizens -- a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. 

About to enter, fellow-citizens, on the exercise of duties which comprehend everything dear and valuable to you, it is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its Administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies; the preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; a jealous care of the right of election by the people -- a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; a well-disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war till regulars may relieve them; the supremacy of the civil over the military authority; economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened; the honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith; encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid; the diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason; freedom of religion; freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety. 

I repair, then, fellow-citizens, to the post you have assigned me. With experience enough in subordinate offices to have seen the difficulties of this the greatest of all, I have learnt to expect that it will rarely fall to the lot of imperfect man to retire from this station with the reputation and the favor which bring him into it. Without pretensions to that high confidence you reposed in our first and greatest revolutionary character, whose preeminent services had entitled him to the first place in his country's love and destined for him the fairest page in the volume of faithful history, I ask so much confidence only as may give firmness and effect to the legal administration of your affairs. I shall often go wrong through defect of judgment. When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground. I ask your indulgence for my own errors, which will never be intentional, and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all its parts. The approbation implied by your suffrage is a great consolation to me for the past, and my future solicitude will be to retain the good opinion of those who have bestowed it in advance, to conciliate that of others by doing them all the good in my power, and to be instrumental to the happiness and freedom of all. 

Relying, then, on the patronage of your good will, I advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire from it whenever you become sensible how much better choice it is in your power to make. And may that Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a favorable issue for your peace and prosperity.  

Thomas Jefferson Second Inaugural Address

Second Inaugural Address  
March 4, 1805

Proceeding, fellow citizens, to that qualification which the constitution requires, before my entrance on the charge again conferred upon me, it is my duty to express the deep sense I entertain of this new proof of confidence from my fellow citizens at large, and the zeal with which it inspires me, so to conduct myself as may best satisfy their just expectations. 

On taking this station on a former occasion, I declared the principles on which I believed it my duty to administer the affairs of our commonwealth. My conscience tells me that I have, on every occasion, acted up to that declaration, according to its obvious import, and to the understanding of every candid mind. 

In the transaction of your foreign affairs, we have endeavored to cultivate the friendship of all nations, and especially of those with which we have the most important relations. We have done them justice on all occasions, favored where favor was lawful, and cherished mutual interests and intercourse on fair and equal terms. We are firmly convinced, and we act on that conviction, that with nations, as with individuals, our interests soundly calculated, will ever be found inseparable from our moral duties; and history bears witness to the fact, that a just nation is taken on its word, when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others. 

At home, fellow citizens, you best know whether we have done well or ill. The suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expenses, enabled us to discontinue our internal taxes. These covering our land with officers, and opening our doors to their intrusions, had already begun that process of domiciliary vexation which, once entered, is scarcely to be restrained from reaching successively every article of produce and property. If among these taxes some minor ones fell which had not been inconvenient, it was because their amount would not have paid the officers who collected them, and because, if they had any merit, the state authorities might adopt them, instead of others less approved. 

The remaining revenue on the consumption of foreign articles, is paid cheerfully by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts, being collected on our seaboards and frontiers only, and incorporated with the transactions of our mercantile citizens, it may be the pleasure and pride of an American to ask, what farmer, what mechanic, what laborer, ever sees a tax-gatherer of the United States? These contributions enable us to support the current expenses of the government, to fulfil contracts with foreign nations, to extinguish the native right of soil within our limits, to extend those limits, and to apply such a surplus to our public debts, as places at a short day their final redemption, and that redemption once effected, the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just repartition among the states, and a corresponding amendment of the constitution, be applied, _in time of peace_, to rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, and other great objects within each state. _In time of war_, if injustice, by ourselves or others, must sometimes produce war, increased as the same revenue will be increased by population and consumption, and aided by other resources reserved for that crisis, it may meet within the year all the expenses of the year, without encroaching on the rights of future generations, by burdening them with the debts of the past. War will then be but a suspension of useful works, and a return to a state of peace, a return to the progress of improvement. 

I have said, fellow citizens, that the income reserved had enabled us to extend our limits; but that extension may possibly pay for itself before we are called on, and in the meantime, may keep down the accruing interest; in all events, it will repay the advances we have made. I know that the acquisition of Louisiana has been disapproved by some, from a candid apprehension that the enlargement of our territory would endanger its union. But who can limit the extent to which the federative principle may operate effectively? The larger our association, the less will it be shaken by local passions; and in any view, is it not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by our own brethren and children, than by strangers of another family? With which shall we be most likely to live in harmony and friendly intercourse? 

In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independent of the powers of the general government. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the constitution found them, under the direction and discipline of state or church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies. 

The aboriginal inhabitants of these countries I have regarded with the commiseration their history inspires. Endowed with the faculties and the rights of men, breathing an ardent love of liberty and independence, and occupying a country which left them no desire but to be undisturbed, the stream of overflowing population from other regions directed itself on these shores; without power to divert, or habits to contend against, they have been overwhelmed by the current, or driven before it; now reduced within limits too narrow for the hunter's state, humanity enjoins us to teach them agriculture and the domestic arts; to encourage them to that industry which alone can enable them to maintain their place in existence, and to prepare them in time for that state of society, which to bodily comforts adds the improvement of the mind and morals. We have therefore liberally furnished them with the implements of husbandry and household use; we have placed among them instructors in the arts of first necessity; and they are covered with the aegis of the law against aggressors from among ourselves. 

But the endeavors to enlighten them on the fate which awaits their present course of life, to induce them to exercise their reason, follow its dictates, and change their pursuits with the change of circumstances, have powerful obstacles to encounter; they are combated by the habits of their bodies, prejudice of their minds, ignorance, pride, and the influence of interested and crafty individuals among them, who feel themselves something in the present order of things, and fear to become nothing in any other. These persons inculcate a sanctimonious reverence for the customs of their ancestors; that whatsoever they did, must be done through all time; that reason is a false guide, and to advance under its counsel, in their physical, moral, or political condition, is perilous innovation; that their duty is to remain as their Creator made them, ignorance being safety, and knowledge full of danger; in short, my friends, among them is seen the action and counteraction of good sense and bigotry; they, too, have their anti-philosophers, who find an interest in keeping things in their present state, who dread reformation, and exert all their faculties to maintain the ascendency of habit over the duty of improving our reason, and obeying its mandates. 

In giving these outlines, I do not mean, fellow citizens, to arrogate to myself the merit of the measures; that is due, in the first place, to the reflecting character of our citizens at large, who, by the weight of public opinion, influence and strengthen the public measures; it is due to the sound discretion with which they select from among themselves those to whom they confide the legislative duties; it is due to the zeal and wisdom of the characters thus selected, who lay the foundations of public happiness in wholesome laws, the execution of which alone remains for others; and it is due to the able and faithful auxiliaries, whose patriotism has associated with me in the executive functions. 

During this course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been levelled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science, are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness, and to sap its safety; they might, indeed, have been corrected by the wholesome punishments reserved and provided by the laws of the several States against falsehood and defamation; but public duties more urgent press on the time of public servants, and the offenders have therefore been left to find their punishment in the public indignation. 

Nor was it uninteresting to the world, that an experiment should be fairly and fully made, whether freedom of discussion, unaided by power, is not sufficient for the propagation and protection of truth -- whether a government, conducting itself in the true spirit of its constitution, with zeal and purity, and doing no act which it would be unwilling the whole world should witness, can be written down by falsehood and defamation. The experiment has been tried; you have witnessed the scene; our fellow citizens have looked on, cool and collected; they saw the latent source from which these outrages proceeded; they gathered around their public functionaries, and when the constitution called them to the decision by suffrage, they pronounced their verdict, honorable to those who had served them, and consolatory to the friend of man, who believes he may be intrusted with his own affairs. 

No inference is here intended, that the laws, provided by the State against false and defamatory publications, should not be enforced; he who has time, renders a service to public morals and public tranquillity, in reforming these abuses by the salutary coercions of the law; but the experiment is noted, to prove that, since truth and reason have maintained their ground against false opinions in league with false facts, the press, confined to truth, needs no other legal restraint; the public judgment will correct false reasonings and opinions, on a full hearing of all parties; and no other definite line can be drawn between the inestimable liberty of the press and its demoralizing licentiousness. If there be still improprieties which this rule would not restrain, its supplement must be sought in the censorship of public opinion. 

Contemplating the union of sentiment now manifested so generally, as auguring harmony and happiness to our future course, I offer to our country sincere congratulations. With those, too, not yet rallied to the same point, the disposition to do so is gaining strength; facts are piercing through the veil drawn over them; and our doubting brethren will at length see, that the mass of their fellow citizens, with whom they cannot yet resolve to act, as to principles and measures, think as they think, and desire what they desire; that our wish, as well as theirs, is, that the public efforts may be directed honestly to the public good, that peace be cultivated, civil and religious liberty unassailed, law and order preserved; equality of rights maintained, and that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry, or that of his fathers. When satisfied of these views, it is not in human nature that they should not approve and support them; in the meantime, let us cherish them with patient affection; let us do them justice, and more than justice, in all competitions of interest; and we need not doubt that truth, reason, and their own interests, will at length prevail, will gather them into the fold of their country, and will complete their entire union of opinion, which gives to a nation the blessing of harmony, and the benefit of all its strength. 

I shall now enter on the duties to which my fellow citizens have again called me, and shall proceed in the spirit of those principles which they have approved. I fear not that any motives of interest may lead me astray; I am sensible of no passion which could seduce me knowingly from the path of justice; but the weakness of human nature, and the limits of my own understanding, will produce errors of judgment sometimes injurious to your interests. I shall need, therefore, all the indulgence I have heretofore experienced -- the want of it will certainly not lessen with increasing years. I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native land, and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his providence, and our riper years with his wisdom and power; and to whose goodness I ask you to join with me in supplications, that he will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures, that whatsoever they do, shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations. 

James Madison 18091813
First Inaugural Address of James Madison

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1809

Unwilling to depart from examples of the most revered authority, I avail myself of the occasion now presented to express the profound impression made on me by the call of my country to the station to the duties of which I am about to pledge myself by the most solemn of sanctions. So distinguished a mark of confidence, proceeding from the deliberate and tranquil suffrage of a free and virtuous nation, would under any circumstances have commanded my gratitude and devotion, as well as filled me with an awful sense of the trust to be assumed. Under the various circumstances which give peculiar solemnity to the existing period, I feel that both the honor and the responsibility allotted to me are inexpressibly enhanced. 

The present situation of the world is indeed without a parallel and that of our own country full of difficulties. The pressure of these, too, is the more severely felt because they have fallen upon us at a moment when the national prosperity being at a height not before attained, the contrast resulting from the change has been rendered the more striking. Under the benign influence of our republican institutions, and the maintenance of peace with all nations whilst so many of them were engaged in bloody and wasteful wars, the fruits of a just policy were enjoyed in an unrivaled growth of our faculties and resources. Proofs of this were seen in the improvements of agriculture, in the successful enterprises of commerce, in the progress of manufacturers and useful arts, in the increase of the public revenue and the use made of it in reducing the public debt, and in the valuable works and establishments everywhere multiplying over the face of our land. 

It is a precious reflection that the transition from this prosperous condition of our country to the scene which has for some time been distressing us is not chargeable on any unwarrantable views, nor, as I trust, on any involuntary errors in the public councils. Indulging no passions which trespass on the rights or the repose of other nations, it has been the true glory of the United States to cultivate peace by observing justice, and to entitle themselves to the respect of the nations at war by fulfilling their neutral obligations with the most scrupulous impartiality. If there be candor in the world, the truth of these assertions will not be questioned; posterity at least will do justice to them. 

This unexceptionable course could not avail against the injustice and violence of the belligerent powers. In their rage against each other, or impelled by more direct motives, principles of retaliation have been introduced equally contrary to universal reason and acknowledged law. How long their arbitrary edicts will be continued in spite of the demonstrations that not even a pretext for them has been given by the United States, and of the fair and liberal attempt to induce a revocation of them, can not be anticipated. Assuring myself that under every vicissitude the determined spirit and united councils of the nation will be safeguards to its honor and its essential interests, I repair to the post assigned me with no other discouragement than what springs from my own inadequacy to its high duties. If I do not sink under the weight of this deep conviction it is because I find some support in a consciousness of the purposes and a confidence in the principles which I bring with me into this arduous service. 

To cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having correspondent dispositions; to maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations; to prefer in all cases amicable discussion and reasonable accommodation of differences to a decision of them by an appeal to arms; to exclude foreign intrigues and foreign partialities, so degrading to all countries and so baneful to free ones; to foster a spirit of independence too just to invade the rights of others, too proud to surrender our own, too liberal to indulge unworthy prejudices ourselves and too elevated not to look down upon them in others; to hold the union of the States as the basis of their peace and happiness; to support the Constitution, which is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities; to respect the rights and authorities reserved to the States and to the people as equally incorporated with and essential to the success of the general system; to avoid the slightest interference with the right of conscience or the functions of religion, so wisely exempted from civil jurisdiction; to preserve in their full energy the other salutary provisions in behalf of private and personal rights, and of the freedom of the press; to observe economy in public expenditures; to liberate the public resources by an honorable discharge of the public debts; to keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics--that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe; to promote by authorized means improvements friendly to agriculture, to manufactures, and to external as well as internal commerce; to favor in like manner the advancement of science and the diffusion of information as the best aliment to true liberty; to carry on the benevolent plans which have been so meritoriously applied to the conversion of our aboriginal neighbors from the degradation and wretchedness of savage life to a participation of the improvements of which the human mind and manners are susceptible in a civilized state--as far as sentiments and intentions such as these can aid the fulfillment of my duty, they will be a resource which can not fail me. 

It is my good fortune, moreover, to have the path in which I am to tread lighted by examples of illustrious services successfully rendered in the most trying difficulties by those who have marched before me. Of those of my immediate predecessor it might least become me here to speak. I may, however, be pardoned for not suppressing the sympathy with which my heart is full in the rich reward he enjoys in the benedictions of a beloved country, gratefully bestowed or exalted talents zealously devoted through a long career to the advancement of its highest interest and happiness. 

But the source to which I look or the aids which alone can supply my deficiencies is in the well-tried intelligence and virtue of my fellow-citizens, and in the counsels of those representing them in the other departments associated in the care of the national interests. In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future.  

Second Inaugural Address of James Madison

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1813

About to add the solemnity of an oath to the obligations imposed by a second call to the station in which my country heretofore placed me, I find in the presence of this respectable assembly an opportunity of publicly repeating my profound sense of so distinguished a confidence and of the responsibility united with it. The impressions on me are strengthened by such an evidence that my faithful endeavors to discharge my arduous duties have been favorably estimated, and by a consideration of the momentous period at which the trust has been renewed. From the weight and magnitude now belonging to it I should be compelled to shrink if I had less reliance on the support of an enlightened and generous people, and felt less deeply a conviction that the war with a powerful nation, which forms so prominent a feature in our situation, is stamped with that justice which invites the smiles of Heaven on the means of conducting it to a successful termination. 

May we not cherish this sentiment without presumption when we reflect on the characters by which this war is distinguished? 

It was not declared on the part of the United States until it had been long made on them, in reality though not in name; until arguments and postulations had been exhausted; until a positive declaration had been received that the wrongs provoking it would not be discontinued; nor until this last appeal could no longer be delayed without breaking down the spirit of the nation, destroying all confidence in itself and in its political institutions, and either perpetuating a state of disgraceful suffering or regaining by more costly sacrifices and more severe struggles our lost rank and respect among independent powers. 

On the issue of the war are staked our national sovereignty on the high seas and the security of an important class of citizens whose occupations give the proper value to those of every other class. Not to contend for such a stake is to surrender our equality with other powers on the element common to all and to violate the sacred title which every member of the society has to its protection. I need not call into view the unlawfulness of the practice by which our mariners are forced at the will of every cruising officer from their own vessels into foreign ones, nor paint the outrages inseparable from it. The proofs are in the records of each successive Administration of our Government, and the cruel sufferings of that portion of the American people have found their way to every bosom not dead to the sympathies of human nature. 

As the war was just in its origin and necessary and noble in its objects, we can reflect with a proud satisfaction that in carrying it on no principle of justice or honor, no usage of civilized nations, no precept of courtesy or humanity, have been infringed. The war has been waged on our part with scrupulous regard to all these obligations, and in a spirit of liberality which was never surpassed. 

How little has been the effect of this example on the conduct of the enemy! 

They have retained as prisoners of war citizens of the United States not liable to be so considered under the usages of war. 

They have refused to consider as prisoners of war, and threatened to punish as traitors and deserters, persons emigrating without restraint to the United States, incorporated by naturalization into our political family, and fighting under the authority of their adopted country in open and honorable war for the maintenance of its rights and safety. Such is the avowed purpose of a Government which is in the practice of naturalizing by thousands citizens of other countries, and not only of permitting but compelling them to fight its battles against their native country. 

They have not, it is true, taken into their own hands the hatchet and the knife, devoted to indiscriminate massacre, but they have let loose the savages armed with these cruel instruments; have allured them into their service, and carried them to battle by their sides, eager to glut their savage thirst with the blood of the vanquished and to finish the work of torture and death on maimed and defenseless captives. And, what was never before seen, British commanders have extorted victory over the unconquerable valor of our troops by presenting to the sympathy of their chief captives awaiting massacre from their savage associates. And now we find them, in further contempt of the modes of honorable warfare, supplying the place of a conquering force by attempts to disorganize our political society, to dismember our confederated Republic. Happily, like others, these will recoil on the authors; but they mark the degenerate counsels from which they emanate, and if they did not belong to a sense of unexampled inconsistencies might excite the greater wonder as proceeding from a Government which founded the very war in which it has been so long engaged on a charge against the disorganizing and insurrectional policy of its adversary. 

To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it was followed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a disposition to arrest its progress. The sword was scarcely out of the scabbard before the enemy was apprised of the reasonable terms on which it would be resheathed. Still more precise advances were repeated, and have been received in a spirit forbidding every reliance not placed on the military resources of the nation. 

These resources are amply sufficient to bring the war to an honorable issue. Our nation is in number more than half that of the British Isles. It is composed of a brave, a free, a virtuous, and an intelligent people. Our country abounds in the necessaries, the arts, and the comforts of life. A general prosperity is visible in the public countenance. The means employed by the British cabinet to undermine it have recoiled on themselves; have given to our national faculties a more rapid development, and, draining or diverting the precious metals from British circulation and British vaults, have poured them into those of the United States. It is a propitious consideration that an unavoidable war should have found this seasonable facility for the contributions required to support it. When the public voice called for war, all knew, and still know, that without them it could not be carried on through the period which it might last, and the patriotism, the good sense, and the manly spirit of our fellow-citizens are pledges for the cheerfulness with which they will bear each his share of the common burden. To render the war short and its success sure, animated and systematic exertions alone are necessary, and the success of our arms now may long preserve our country from the necessity of another resort to them. Already have the gallant exploits of our naval heroes proved to the world our inherent capacity to maintain our rights on one element. If the reputation of our arms has been thrown under clouds on the other, presaging flashes of heroic enterprise assure us that nothing is wanting to correspondent triumphs there also but the discipline and habits which are in daily progress.  

Second Inaugural Address of James Madison

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1813

About to add the solemnity of an oath to the obligations imposed by a second call to the station in which my country heretofore placed me, I find in the presence of this respectable assembly an opportunity of publicly repeating my profound sense of so distinguished a confidence and of the responsibility united with it. The impressions on me are strengthened by such an evidence that my faithful endeavors to discharge my arduous duties have been favorably estimated, and by a consideration of the momentous period at which the trust has been renewed. From the weight and magnitude now belonging to it I should be compelled to shrink if I had less reliance on the support of an enlightened and generous people, and felt less deeply a conviction that the war with a powerful nation, which forms so prominent a feature in our situation, is stamped with that justice which invites the smiles of Heaven on the means of conducting it to a successful termination. 

May we not cherish this sentiment without presumption when we reflect on the characters by which this war is distinguished? 

It was not declared on the part of the United States until it had been long made on them, in reality though not in name; until arguments and postulations had been exhausted; until a positive declaration had been received that the wrongs provoking it would not be discontinued; nor until this last appeal could no longer be delayed without breaking down the spirit of the nation, destroying all confidence in itself and in its political institutions, and either perpetuating a state of disgraceful suffering or regaining by more costly sacrifices and more severe struggles our lost rank and respect among independent powers. 

On the issue of the war are staked our national sovereignty on the high seas and the security of an important class of citizens whose occupations give the proper value to those of every other class. Not to contend for such a stake is to surrender our equality with other powers on the element common to all and to violate the sacred title which every member of the society has to its protection. I need not call into view the unlawfulness of the practice by which our mariners are forced at the will of every cruising officer from their own vessels into foreign ones, nor paint the outrages inseparable from it. The proofs are in the records of each successive Administration of our Government, and the cruel sufferings of that portion of the American people have found their way to every bosom not dead to the sympathies of human nature. 

As the war was just in its origin and necessary and noble in its objects, we can reflect with a proud satisfaction that in carrying it on no principle of justice or honor, no usage of civilized nations, no precept of courtesy or humanity, have been infringed. The war has been waged on our part with scrupulous regard to all these obligations, and in a spirit of liberality which was never surpassed. 

How little has been the effect of this example on the conduct of the enemy! 

They have retained as prisoners of war citizens of the United States not liable to be so considered under the usages of war. 

They have refused to consider as prisoners of war, and threatened to punish as traitors and deserters, persons emigrating without restraint to the United States, incorporated by naturalization into our political family, and fighting under the authority of their adopted country in open and honorable war for the maintenance of its rights and safety. Such is the avowed purpose of a Government which is in the practice of naturalizing by thousands citizens of other countries, and not only of permitting but compelling them to fight its battles against their native country. 

They have not, it is true, taken into their own hands the hatchet and the knife, devoted to indiscriminate massacre, but they have let loose the savages armed with these cruel instruments; have allured them into their service, and carried them to battle by their sides, eager to glut their savage thirst with the blood of the vanquished and to finish the work of torture and death on maimed and defenseless captives. And, what was never before seen, British commanders have extorted victory over the unconquerable valor of our troops by presenting to the sympathy of their chief captives awaiting massacre from their savage associates. And now we find them, in further contempt of the modes of honorable warfare, supplying the place of a conquering force by attempts to disorganize our political society, to dismember our confederated Republic. Happily, like others, these will recoil on the authors; but they mark the degenerate counsels from which they emanate, and if they did not belong to a sense of unexampled inconsistencies might excite the greater wonder as proceeding from a Government which founded the very war in which it has been so long engaged on a charge against the disorganizing and insurrectional policy of its adversary. 

To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it was followed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a disposition to arrest its progress. The sword was scarcely out of the scabbard before the enemy was apprised of the reasonable terms on which it would be resheathed. Still more precise advances were repeated, and have been received in a spirit forbidding every reliance not placed on the military resources of the nation. 

These resources are amply sufficient to bring the war to an honorable issue. Our nation is in number more than half that of the British Isles. It is composed of a brave, a free, a virtuous, and an intelligent people. Our country abounds in the necessaries, the arts, and the comforts of life. A general prosperity is visible in the public countenance. The means employed by the British cabinet to undermine it have recoiled on themselves; have given to our national faculties a more rapid development, and, draining or diverting the precious metals from British circulation and British vaults, have poured them into those of the United States. It is a propitious consideration that an unavoidable war should have found this seasonable facility for the contributions required to support it. When the public voice called for war, all knew, and still know, that without them it could not be carried on through the period which it might last, and the patriotism, the good sense, and the manly spirit of our fellow-citizens are pledges for the cheerfulness with which they will bear each his share of the common burden. To render the war short and its success sure, animated and systematic exertions alone are necessary, and the success of our arms now may long preserve our country from the necessity of another resort to them. Already have the gallant exploits of our naval heroes proved to the world our inherent capacity to maintain our rights on one element. If the reputation of our arms has been thrown under clouds on the other, presaging flashes of heroic enterprise assure us that nothing is wanting to correspondent triumphs there also but the discipline and habits which are in daily progress.  

James Monroe 18171821

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1817

I should be destitute of feeling if I was not deeply affected by the strong proof which my fellow-citizens have given me of their confidence in calling me to the high office whose functions I am about to assume. As the expression of their good opinion of my conduct in the public service, I derive from it a gratification which those who are conscious of having done all that they could to merit it can alone feel. MY sensibility is increased by a just estimate of the importance of the trust and of the nature and extent of its duties, with the proper discharge of which the highest interests of a great and free people are intimately connected. Conscious of my own deficiency, I cannot enter on these duties without great anxiety for the result. From a just responsibility I will never shrink, calculating with confidence that in my best efforts to promote the public welfare my motives will always be duly appreciated and my conduct be viewed with that candor and indulgence which I have experienced in other stations. 

In commencing the duties of the chief executive office it has been the practice of the distinguished men who have gone before me to explain the principles which would govern them in their respective Administrations. In following their venerated example my attention is naturally drawn to the great causes which have contributed in a principal degree to produce the present happy condition of the United States. They will best explain the nature of our duties and shed much light on the policy which ought to be pursued in future. 

From the commencement of our Revolution to the present day almost forty years have elapsed, and from the establishment of this Constitution twenty-eight. Through this whole term the Government has been what may emphatically be called self-government. And what has been the effect? To whatever object we turn our attention, whether it relates to our foreign or domestic concerns, we find abundant cause to felicitate ourselves in the excellence of our institutions. During a period fraught with difficulties and marked by very extraordinary events the United States have flourished beyond example. Their citizens individually have been happy and the nation prosperous. 

Under this Constitution our commerce has been wisely regulated with foreign nations and between the States; new States have been admitted into our Union; our territory has been enlarged by fair and honorable treaty, and with great advantage to the original States; the States, respectively protected by the National Government under a mild, parental system against foreign dangers, and enjoying within their separate spheres, by a wise partition of power, a just proportion of the sovereignty, have improved their police, extended their settlements, and attained a strength and maturity which are the best proofs of wholesome laws well administered. And if we look to the condition of individuals what a proud spectacle does it exhibit! On whom has oppression fallen in any quarter of our Union? Who has been deprived of any right of person or property? Who restrained from offering his vows in the mode which he prefers to the Divine Author of his being? It is well known that all these blessings have been enjoyed in their fullest extent; and I add with peculiar satisfaction that there has been no example of a capital punishment being inflicted on anyone for the crime of high treason. 

Some who might admit the competency of our Government to these beneficent duties might doubt it in trials which put to the test its strength and efficiency as a member of the great community of nations. Here too experience has afforded us the most satisfactory proof in its favor. Just as this Constitution was put into action several of the principal States of Europe had become much agitated and some of them seriously convulsed. Destructive wars ensued, which have of late only been terminated. In the course of these conflicts the United States received great injury from several of the parties. It was their interest to stand aloof from the contest, to demand justice from the party committing the injury, and to cultivate by a fair and honorable conduct the friendship of all. War became at length inevitable, and the result has shown that our Government is equal to that, the greatest of trials, under the most unfavorable circumstances. Of the virtue of the people and of the heroic exploits of the Army, the Navy, and the militia I need not speak. 

Such, then, is the happy Government under which we live--a Government adequate to every purpose for which the social compact is formed; a Government elective in all its branches, under which every citizen may by his merit obtain the highest trust recognized by the Constitution; which contains within it no cause of discord, none to put at variance one portion of the community with another; a Government which protects every citizen in the full enjoyment of his rights, and is able to protect the nation against injustice from foreign powers. 

Other considerations of the highest importance admonish us to cherish our Union and to cling to the Government which supports it. Fortunate as we are in our political institutions, we have not been less so in other circumstances on which our prosperity and happiness essentially depend. Situated within the temperate zone, and extending through many degrees of latitude along the Atlantic, the United States enjoy all the varieties of climate, and every production incident to that portion of the globe. Penetrating internally to the Great Lakes and beyond the sources of the great rivers which communicate through our whole interior, no country was ever happier with respect to its domain. Blessed, too, with a fertile soil, our produce has always been very abundant, leaving, even in years the least favorable, a surplus for the wants of our fellow-men in other countries. Such is our peculiar felicity that there is not a part of our Union that is not particularly interested in preserving it. The great agricultural interest of the nation prospers under its protection. Local interests are not less fostered by it. Our fellow-citizens of the North engaged in navigation find great encouragement in being made the favored carriers of the vast productions of the other portions of the United States, while the inhabitants of these are amply recompensed, in their turn, by the nursery for seamen and naval force thus formed and reared up for the support of our common rights. Our manufactures find a generous encouragement by the policy which patronizes domestic industry, and the surplus of our produce a steady and profitable market by local wants in less-favored parts at home. 

Such, then, being the highly favored condition of our country, it is the interest of every citizen to maintain it. What are the dangers which menace us? If any exist they ought to be ascertained and guarded against. 

In explaining my sentiments on this subject it may be asked, What raised us to the present happy state? How did we accomplish the Revolution? How remedy the defects of the first instrument of our Union, by infusing into the National Government sufficient power for national purposes, without impairing the just rights of the States or affecting those of individuals? How sustain and pass with glory through the late war? The Government has been in the hands of the people. To the people, therefore, and to the faithful and able depositaries of their trust is the credit due. Had the eople of the United States been educated in different principles had they been less intelligent, less independent, or less virtuous can it be believed that we should have maintained the same steady and consistent career or been blessed with the same success? While, then, the constituent body retains its present sound and healthful state everything will be safe. They will choose competent and faithful representatives for every department. It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties. 

Dangers from abroad are not less deserving of attention. Experiencing the fortune of other nations, the United States may be again involved in war, and it may in that event be the object of the adverse party to overset our Government, to break our Union, and demolish us as a nation. Our distance from Europe and the just, moderate, and pacific policy of our Government may form some security against these dangers, but they ought to be anticipated and guarded against. Many of our citizens are engaged in commerce and navigation, and all of them are in a certain degree dependent on their prosperous state. Many are engaged in the fisheries. These interests are exposed to invasion in the wars between other powers, and we should disregard the faithful admonition of experience if we did not expect it. We must support our rights or lose our character, and with it, perhaps, our liberties. A people who fail to do it can scarcely be said to hold a place among independent nations. National honor is national property of the highest value. The sentiment in the mind of every citizen is national strength. It ought therefore to be cherished. 

To secure us against these dangers our coast and inland frontiers should be fortified, our Army and Navy, regulated upon just principles as to the force of each, be kept in perfect order, and our militia be placed on the best practicable footing. To put our extensive coast in such a state of defense as to secure our cities and interior from invasion will be attended with expense, but the work when finished will be permanent, and it is fair to presume that a single campaign of invasion by a naval force superior to our own, aided by a few thousand land troops, would expose us to greater expense, without taking into the estimate the loss of property and distress of our citizens, than would be sufficient for this great work. Our land and naval forces should be moderate, but adequate to the necessary purposes--the former to garrison and preserve our fortifications and to meet the first invasions of a foreign foe, and, while constituting the elements of a greater force, to preserve the science as well as all the necessary implements of war in a state to be brought into activity in the event of war; the latter, retained within the limits proper in a state of peace, might aid in maintaining the neutrality of the United States with dignity in the wars of other powers and in saving the property of their citizens from spoliation. In time of war, with the enlargement of which the great naval resources of the country render it susceptible, and which should be duly fostered in time. of peace, it would contribute essentially, both as an auxiliary of defense and as a powerful engine of annoyance, to diminish the calamities of war and to bring the war to a speedy and honorable 

But it ought always to be held prominently in view that the safety of these States and of everything dear to a free people must depend in an eminent degree on the militia. Invasions may be made too formidable to be resisted by any land and naval force which it would comport either with the principles of our Government or the circumstances of the United States to maintain. In such cases recourse must be had to the great body of the people, and in a manner to produce the best effect. It is of the highest importance, therefore, that they be so organized and trained as to be prepared for any emergency. The arrangement should be such as to put at the command of the Government the ardent patriotism and youthful vigor of the country. If formed on equal and just principles, it can not be oppressive. It is the crisis which makes the pressure, and not the laws which provide a remedy for it. This arrangement should be formed, too, in time of peace, to be the better prepared for war. With such an organization of such a people the United States have nothing to dread from foreign invasion. At its approach an overwhelming force of gallant men might always be put in motion. 

Other interests of high importance will claim attention, among which the improvement of our country by roads and canals, proceeding always with a constitutional sanction, holds a distinguished place. By thus facilitating the intercourse between the States we shall add much to the convenience and comfort of our fellow-citizens, much to the ornament of the country, and, what is of greater importance, we shall shorten distances, and, by making each part more accessible to and dependent on the other, we shall bind the Union more closely together. Nature has done so much for us by intersecting the country with so many great rivers, bays, and lakes, approaching from distant points so near to each other, that the inducement to complete the work seems to be peculiarly strong. A more interesting spectacle was perhaps never seen than is exhibited within the limits of the United States--a territory so vast and advantageously situated, containing objects so grand, so useful, so happily connected in all their parts! 

Our manufacturers will likewise require the systematic and fostering care of the Government. Possessing as we do all the raw materials, the fruit of our own soil and industry, we ought not to depend in the degree we have done on supplies from other countries. While we are thus dependent the sudden event of war, unsought and unexpected, can not fail to plunge us into the most serious difficulties It is important, too, that the capital which nourishes our manufacturers should be domestic, as its influence in that case instead of exhausting, as it may do in foreign hands, would be felt advantageously on agriculture and every other branch of industry Equally important is it to provide at home a market for our raw materials, as by extending the competition it will enhance the price and protect the cultivator against the casualties incident to foreign markets. 

With the Indian tribes it is our duty to cultivate friendly relations and to act with kindness and liberality in all our transactions. Equally proper is it to persevere in our efforts to extend to them the advantages of civilization. 

The great amount of our revenue and the flourishing state of the Treasury are a full proof of the competency of the national resources for any emergency, as they are of the willingness of our fellow-citizens to bear the burdens which the public necessities require. The vast amount of vacant lands, the value of which daily augments, forms an additional resource of great extent and duration. These resources, besides accomplishing every other necessary purpose, put it completely in the power of the United States to discharge the national debt at an early period. Peace is the best time for improvement and preparation of every kind; it is in peace that our commerce flourishes most, that taxes are most easily paid, and that the revenue is most productive. 

The Executive is charged officially in the Departments under it with the disbursement of the public money, and is responsible for the faithful application of it to the purposes for which it is raised. The Legislature is the watchful guardian over the public purse. It is its duty to see that the disbursement has been honestly made. To meet the requisite responsibility every facility should be afforded to the Executive to enable it to bring the public agents intrusted with the public money strictly and promptly to account. Nothing should be presumed against them; but if, with the requisite facilities, the public money is suffered to lie long and uselessly in their hands, they will not be the only defaulters, nor will the demoralizing effect be confined to them. It will evince a relaxation and want of tone in the Administration which will be felt by the whole community. I shall do all I can to secure economy and fidelity in this important branch of the Administration, and I doubt not that the Legislature will perform its duty with equal zeal. A thorough examination should be regularly made, and I will promote it. 

It is particularly gratifying to me to enter on the discharge of these duties at a time when the United States are blessed with peace. It is a state most consistent with their prosperity and happiness. It will be my sincere desire to preserve it, so far as depends on the Executive, on just principles with all nations, claiming nothing unreasonable of any and rendering to each what is due. 

Equally gratifying is it to witness the increased harmony of opinion which pervades our Union. Discord does not belong to our system. Union is recommended as well by the free and benign principles of our Government, extending its blessings to every individual, as by the other eminent advantages attending it. The American people have encountered together great dangers and sustained severe trials with success. They constitute one great family with a common interest. Experience has enlightened us on some questions of essential importance to the country. The progress has been slow, dictated by a just reflection and a faithful regard to every interest connected with it. To promote this harmony in accord with the principles of our republican Government and in a manner to give them the most complete effect, and to advance in all other respects the best interests of our Union, will be the object of my constant and zealous exertions. 

Never did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor ever was success so complete. If we look to the history of other nations, ancient or modern, we find no example of a growth so rapid, so gigantic, of a people so prosperous and happy. In contemplating what we have still to perform, the heart of every citizen must expand with joy when he reflects how near our Government has approached to perfection; that in respect to it we have no essential improvement to make; that the great object is to preserve it in the essential principles and features which characterize it, and that is to be done by preserving the virtue and enlightening the minds of the people; and as a security against foreign dangers to adopt such arrangements as are indispensable to the support of our independence, our rights and liberties. If we persevere in the career in which we have advanced so far and in the path already traced, we can not fail, under the favor of a gracious Providence, to attain the high destiny which seems to await us. 

In the Administrations of the illustrious men who have preceded me in this high station, with some of whom I have been connected by the closest ties from early life, examples are presented which will always be found highly instructive and useful to their successors. From these I shall endeavor to derive all the advantages which they may afford. Of my immediate predecessor, under whom so important a portion of this great and successful experiment has been made, I shall be pardoned for earnest wishes that he may long enjoy in his retirement the affections of a grateful country, the best reward of exalted talents and the most faithful and meritorious service. Relying on the aid to be derived from the other departments of the Government, I enter on the trust to which I have been called by the suffrages of my fellow-citizens with my fervent prayers to the Almighty that He will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which He has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor. 

Second Inaugural Address of James Monroe

MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1821

Fellow-Citizens:

I shall not attempt to describe the grateful emotions which the new and very distinguished proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, evinced by my reelection to this high trust, has excited in my bosom. The approbation which it announces of my conduct in the preceding term affords me a consolation which I shall profoundly feel through life. The general accord with which it has been expressed adds to the great and never-ceasing obligations which it imposes. To merit the continuance of this good opinion, and to carry it with me into my retirement as the solace of advancing years, will be the object of my most zealous and unceasing efforts. 

Having no pretensions to the high and commanding claims of my predecessors, whose names are so much more conspicuously identified with our Revolution, and who contributed so preeminently to promote its success, I consider myself rather as the instrument than the cause of the union which has prevailed in the late election In surmounting, in favor of my humble pretensions, the difficulties which so often produce division in like occurrences, it is obvious that other powerful causes, indicating the great strength and stability of our Union, have essentially contributed to draw you together. That these powerful causes exist, and that they are permanent, is my fixed opinion; that they may produce a like accord in all questions touching, however remotely, the liberty, prosperity and happiness of our country will always be the object of my most fervent prayers to the Supreme Author of All Good. 

In a government which is founded by the people, who possess exclusively the sovereignty, it seems proper that the person who may be placed by their suffrages in this high trust should declare on commencing its duties the principles on which he intends to conduct the Administration. If the person thus elected has served the preceding term, an opportunity is afforded him to review its principal occurrences and to give such further explanation respecting them as in his judgment may be useful to his constituents. The events of one year have influence on those of another, and, in like manner, of a preceding on the succeeding Administration. The movements of a great nation are connected in all their parts. If errors have been committed they ought to be corrected; if the policy is sound it ought to be supported. It is by a thorough knowledge of the whole subject that our fellow-citizens are enabled to judge correctly of the past and to give a proper direction to the future. 

Just before the commencement of the last term the United States had concluded a war with a very powerful nation on conditions equal and honorable to both parties. The events of that war are too recent and too deeply impressed on the memory of all to require a development from me. Our commerce had been in a great measure driven from the sea, our Atlantic and inland frontiers were invaded in almost every part; the waste of life along our coast and on some parts of our inland frontiers, to the defense of which our gallant and patriotic citizens were called, was immense, in addition to which not less than $120,000,000 were added at its end to the public debt. 

As soon as the war had terminated, the nation, admonished by its events, resolved to place itself in a situation which should be better calculated to prevent the recurrence of a like evil, and, in case it should recur, to mitigate its calamities. With this view, after reducing our land force to the basis of a peace establishment, which has been further modified since, provision was made for the construction of fortifications at proper points through the whole extent of our coast and such an augmentation of our naval force as should be well adapted to both purposes. The laws making this provision were passed in 1815 and 1816, and it has been since the constant effort of the Executive to carry them into effect. 

The advantage of these fortifications and of an augmented naval force in the extent contemplated, in a point of economy, has been fully illustrated by a report of the Board of Engineers and Naval Commissioners lately communicated to Congress, by which it appears that in an invasion by 20,000 men, with a correspondent naval force, in a campaign of six months only, the whole expense of the construction of the works would be defrayed by the difference in the sum necessary to maintain the force which would be adequate toour defense with the aid of those works and that which would be incurred without them. The reason of this difference is obvious. If fortifications are judiciously placed on our great inlets, as distant from our cities as circumstances will permit, they will form the only points of attack, and the enemy will be detained there by a small regular force a sufficient time to enable our militia to collect and repair to that on which the attack is made. A force adequate to the enemy, collected at that single point, with suitable preparation for such others as might be menaced, is all that would be requisite. But if there were no fortifications, then the enemy might go where he pleased, and, changing his position and sailing from place to place, our force must be called out and spread in vast numbers along the whole coast and on both sides of every bay and river as high up in each as it might be navigable for ships of war. By these fortifications, supported by our Navy, to which they would afford like support, we should present to other powers an armed front from St. Croix to the Sabine, which would protect in the event of war our whole coast and interior from invasion; and even in the wars of other powers, in which we were neutral, they would be found eminently useful, as, by keeping their public ships at a distance from our cities, peace and order in them would be preserved and the Government be protected from insult. 

It need scarcely be remarked that these measures have not been resorted to in a spirit of hostility to other powers. Such a disposition does not exist toward any power. Peace and good will have been, and will hereafter be, cultivated with all, and by the most faithful regard to justice. They have been dictated by a love of peace, of economy, and an earnest desire to save the lives of our fellow-citizens from that destruction and our country from that devastation which are inseparable from war when it finds us unprepared for it. It is believed, and experience has shown, that such a preparation is the best expedient that can be resorted to prevent war. I add with much pleasure that considerable progress has already been made in these measures of defense, and that they will be completed in a few years, considering the great extent and importance of the object, if the plan be zealously and steadily persevered in. 

The conduct of the Government in what relates to foreign powers is always an object of the highest importance to the nation. Its agriculture, commerce, manufactures, fisheries, revenue, in short, its peace, may all be affected by it. Attention is therefore due to this subject. 

At the period adverted to the powers of Europe, after having been engaged in long and destructive wars with each other, had concluded a peace, which happily still exists. Our peace with the power with whom we had been engaged had also been concluded. The war between Spain and the colonies in South America, which had commenced many years before, was then the only conflict that remained unsettled. This being a contest between different parts of the same community, in which other powers had not interfered, was not affected by their accommodations. 

This contest was considered at an early stage by my predecessor a civil war in which the parties were entitled to equal rights in our ports. This decision, the first made by any power, being formed on great consideration of the comparative strength and resources of the parties, the length of time, and successful opposition made by the colonies, and of all other circumstances on which it ought to depend, was in strict accord with the law of nations. Congress has invariably acted on this principle, having made no change in our relations with either party. Our attitude has therefore been that of neutrality between them, which has been maintained by the Government with the strictest impartiality. No aid has been afforded to either, nor has any privilege been enjoyed by the one which has not been equally open to the other party, and every exertion has been made in its power to enforce the execution of the laws prohibiting illegal equipments with equal rigor against both. 

By this equality between the parties their public vessels have been received in our ports on the same footing; they have enjoyed an equal right to purchase and export arms, munitions of war, and every other supply, the exportation of all articles whatever being permitted under laws which were passed long before the commencement of the contest; our citizens have traded equally with both, and their commerce with each has been alike protected by the Government. 

Respecting the attitude which it may be proper for the United States to maintain hereafter between the parties, I have no hesitation in stating it as my opinion that the neutrality heretofore observed should still be adhered to. From the change in the Government of Spain and the negotiation now depending, invited by the Cortes and accepted by the colonies, it may be presumed, that their differences will be settled on the terms proposed by the colonies. Should the war be continued, the United States, regarding its occurrences, will always have it in their power to adopt such measures respecting it as their honor and interest may require. 

Shortly after the general peace a band of adventurers took advantage of this conflict and of the facility which it afforded to establish a system of buccaneering in the neighboring seas, to the great annoyance of the commerce of the United States, and, as was represented, of that of other powers. Of this spirit and of its injurious bearing on the United States strong proofs were afforded by the establishment at Amelia Island, and the purposes to which it was made instrumental by this band in 1817, and by the occurrences which took place in other parts of Florida in 1818, the details of which in both instances are too well known to require to be now recited. I am satisfied had a less decisive course been adopted that the worst consequences would have resulted from it. We have seen that these checks, decisive as they were, were not sufficient to crush that piratical spirit. Many culprits brought within our limits have been condemned to suffer death, the punishment due to that atrocious crime. The decisions of upright and enlightened tribunals fall equally on all whose crimes subject them, by a fair interpretation of the law, to its censure. It belongs to the Executive not to suffer the executions under these decisions to transcend the great purpose for which punishment is necessary. The full benefit of example being secured, policy as well as humanity equally forbids that they should be carried further. I have acted on this principle, pardoning those who appear to have been led astray by ignorance of the criminality of the acts they had committed, and suffering the law to take effect on those only in whose favor no extenuating circumstances could be urged. 

Great confidence is entertained that the late treaty with Spain, which has been ratified by both the parties, and the ratifications whereof have been exchanged, has placed the relations of the two countries on a basis of permanent friendship. The provision made by it for such of our citizens as have claims on Spain of the character described will, it is presumed, be very satisfactory to them, and the boundary which is established between the territories of the parties westward of the Mississippi, heretofore in dispute, has, it is thought, been settled on conditions just and advantageous to both. But to the acquisition of Florida too much importance can not be attached. It secures to the United States a territory important in itself, and whose importance is much increased by its bearing on many of the highest interests of the Union. It opens to several of the neighboring States a free passage to the ocean, through the Province ceded, by several rivers, having their sources high up within their limits. It secures us against all future annoyance from powerful Indian tribes. It gives us several excellent harbors in the Gulf of Mexico for ships of war of the largest size. It covers by its position in the Gulf the Mississippi and other great waters within our extended limits, and thereby enables the United States to afford complete protection to the vast and very valuable productions of our whole Western country, which find a market through those streams. 

By a treaty with the British Government, bearing date on the 20th of October, 1818, the convention regulating the commerce between the United States and Great Britain, concluded on the 3d of July, 1815, which was about expiring, was revived and continued for the term of ten years from the time of its expiration. By that treaty, also, the differences which had arisen under the treaty of Ghent respecting the right claimed by the United States for their citizens to take and cure fish on the coast of His Britannic Majesty's dominions in America, with other differences on important interests, were adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties. No agreement has yet been entered into respecting the commerce between the United States and the British dominions in the West Indies and on this continent. The restraints imposed on that commerce by Great Britain, and reciprocated by the United States on a principle of defense, continue still in force. 

The negotiation with France for the regulation of the commercial relations between the two countries, which in the course of the last summer had been commenced at Paris, has since been transferred to this city, and will be pursued on the part of the United States in the spirit of conciliation, and with an earnest desire that it may terminate in an arrangement satisfactory to both parties. 

Our relations with the Barbary Powers are preserved in the same state and by the same means that were employed when I came into this office. As early as 1801 it was found necessary to send a squadron into the Mediterranean for the protection of our commerce and no period has intervened, a short term excepted, when it was thought advisable to withdraw it. The great interests which the United States have in the Pacific, in commerce and in the fisheries, have also made it necessary to maintain a naval force there In disposing of this force in both instances the most effectual measures in our power have been taken, without interfering with its other duties, for the suppression of the slave trade and of piracy in the neighboring seas. 

The situation of the United States in regard to their resources, the extent of their revenue, and the facility with which it is raised affords a most gratifying spectacle. The payment of nearly $67,000,000 of the public debt, with the great progress made in measures of defense and in other improvements of various kinds since the late war, are conclusive proofs of this extraordinary prosperity, especially when it is recollected that these expenditures have been defrayed without a burthen on the people, the direct tax and excise having been repealed soon after the conclusion of the late war, and the revenue applied to these great objects having been raised in a manner not to be felt. Our great resources therefore remain untouched for any purpose which may affect the vital interests of the nation. For all such purposes they are inexhaustible. They are more especially to be found in the virtue, patriotism, and intelligence of our fellow-citizens, and in the devotion with which they would yield up by any just measure of taxation all their property in support of the rights and honor of their country. 

Under the present depression of prices, affecting all the productions of the country and every branch of industry, proceeding from causes explained on a former occasion, the revenue has considerably diminished, the effect of which has been to compel Congress either to abandon these great measures of defense or to resort to loans or internal taxes to supply the deficiency. On the presumption that this depression and the deficiency in the revenue arising from it would be temporary, loans were authorized for the demands of the last and present year. Anxious to relieve my fellow-citizens in 1817 from every burthen which could be dispensed with and the state of the Treasury permitting it, I recommended the repeal of the internal taxes, knowing that such relief was then peculiarly necessary in consequence of the great exertions made in the late war. I made that recommendation under a pledge that should the public exigencies require a recurrence to them at any time while I remained in this trust, I would with equal promptitude perform the duty which would then be alike incumbent on me. By the experiment now making it will be seen by the next session of Congress whether the revenue shall have been so augmented as to be adequate to all these necessary purposes. Should the deficiency still continue, and especially should it be probable that it would be permanent, the course to be pursued appears to me to be obvious. I am satisfied that under certain circumstances loans may be resorted to with great advantage. I am equally well satisfied, as a general rule, that the demands of the current year, especially in time of peace, should be provided for by the revenue of that year. 

I have never dreaded, nor have I ever shunned, in any situation in which I have been placed making appeals to the virtue and patriotism of my fellow-citizens, well knowing that they could never be made in vain, especially in times of great emergency or for purposes of high national importance. Independently of the exigency of the case, many considerations of great weight urge a policy having in view a provision of revenue to meet to a certain extent the demands of the nation, without relying altogether on the precarious resource of foreign commerce. I am satisfied that internal duties and excises, with corresponding imposts on foreign articles of the same kind, would, without imposing any serious burdens on the people, enhance the price of produce, promote our manufactures, and augment the revenue, at the same time that they made it more secure and permanent. 

The care of the Indian tribes within our limits has long been an essential part of our system, but, unfortunately, it has not been executed in a manner to accomplish all the objects intended by it. We have treated them as independent nations, without their having any substantial pretensions to that rank. The distinction has flattered their pride, retarded their improvement, and in many instances paved the way to their destruction. The progress of our settlements westward, supported as they are by a dense population, has constantly driven them back, with almost the total sacrifice of the lands which they have been compelled to abandon. They have claims on the magnanimity and, I may add, on the justice of this nation which we must all feel. We should become their real benefactors; we should perform the office of their Great Father, the endearing title which they emphatically give to the Chief Magistrate of our Union. Their sovereignty over vast territories should cease, in lieu of which the right of soil should be secured to each individual and his posterity in competent portions; and for the territory thus ceded by each tribe some reasonable equivalent should be granted, to be vested in permanent funds for the support of civil government over them and for the education of their children, for their instruction in the arts of husbandry, and to provide sustenance for them until they could provide it for themselves. My earnest hope is that Congress will digest some plan, founded on these principles, with such improvements as their wisdom may suggest, and carry it into effect as soon as it may be practicable. 

Europe is again unsettled and the prospect of war increasing. Should the flame light up in any quarter, how far it may extend it is impossible to foresee. It is our peculiar felicity to be altogether unconnected with the causes which produce this menacing aspect elsewhere. With every power we are in perfect amity, and it is our interest to remain so if it be practicable on just conditions. I see no reasonable cause to apprehend variance with any power, unless it proceed from a violation of our maritime rights. In these contests, should they occur, and to whatever extent they may be carried, we shall be neutral; but as a neutral power we have rights which it is our duty to maintain. For like injuries it will be incumbent on us to seek redress in a spirit of amity, in full confidence that, injuring none, none would knowingly injure us. For more imminent dangers we should be prepared, and it should always be recollected that such preparation adapted to the circumstances and sanctioned by the judgment and wishes of our constituents can not fail to have a good effect in averting dangers of every kind. We should recollect also that the season of peace is best adapted to these preparations. 

If we turn our attention, fellow-citizens, more immediately to the internal concerns of our country, and more especially to those on which its future welfare depends, we have every reason to anticipate the happiest results. It is now rather more than forty-four years since we declared our independence, and thirty-seven since it was acknowledged. The talents and virtues which were displayed in that great struggle were a sure presage of all that has since followed. A people who were able to surmount in their infant state such great perils would be more competent as they rose into manhood to repel any which they might meet in their progress. Their physical strength would be more adequate to foreign danger, and the practice of self-government, aided by the light of experience, could not fail to produce an effect equally salutary on all those questions connected with the internal organization. These favorable anticipations have been realized. 

In our whole system, national and State, we have shunned all the defects which unceasingly preyed on the vitals and destroyed the ancient Republics. In them there were distinct orders, a nobility and a people, or the people governed in one assembly. Thus, in the one instance there was a perpetual conflict between the orders in society for the ascendency, in which the victory of either terminated in the overthrow of the government and the ruin of the state; in the other, in which the people governed in a body, and whose dominions seldom exceeded the dimensions of a county in one of our States, a tumultuous and disorderly movement permitted only a transitory existence. In this great nation there is but one order, that of the people, whose power, by a peculiarly happy improvement of the representative principle, is transferred from them, without impairing in the slightest degree their sovereignty, to bodies of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in the full extent necessary for all the purposes of free, enlightened and efficient government. The whole system is elective, the complete sovereignty being in the people, and every officer in every department deriving his authority from and being responsible to them for his conduct. 

Our career has corresponded with this great outline. Perfection in our organization could not have been expected in the outset either in the National or State Governments or in tracing the line between their respective powers. But no serious conflict has arisen, nor any contest but such as are managed by argument and by a fair appeal to the good sense of the people, and many of the defects which experience had clearly demonstrated in both Governments have been remedied. By steadily pursuing this course in this spirit there is every reason to believe that our system will soon attain the highest degree of perfection of which human institutions are capable, and that the movement in all its branches will exhibit such a degree of order and harmony as to command the admiration and respect of the civilized world. 

Our physical attainments have not been less eminent. Twenty-five years ago the river Mississippi was shut up and our Western brethren had no outlet for their commerce. What has been the progress since that time? The river has not only become the property of the United States from its source to the ocean, with all its tributary streams (with the exception of the upper part of the Red River only), but Louisiana, with a fair and liberal boundary on the western side and the Floridas on the eastern, have been ceded to us. The United States now enjoy the complete and uninterrupted sovereignty over the whole territory from St. Croix to the Sabine. New States, settled from among ourselves in this and in other parts, have been admitted into our Union in equal participation in the national sovereignty with the original States. Our population has augmented in an astonishing degree and extended in every direction. We now, fellow-citizens, comprise within our limits the dimensions and faculties of a great power under a Government possessing all the energies of any government ever known to the Old World, with an utter incapacity to oppress the people. 

Entering with these views the office which I have just solemnly sworn to execute with fidelity and to the utmost of my ability, I derive great satisfaction from a knowledge that I shall be assisted in the several Departments by the very enlightened and upright citizens from whom I have received so much aid in the preceding term. With full confidence in the continuance of that candor and generous indulgence from my fellow-citizens at large which I have heretofore experienced, and with a firm reliance on the protection of Almighty God, I shall forthwith commence the duties of the high trust to which you have called me.  

John Quincy Adams
 1825
Inaugural Address of John Quincy Adams

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 1825

In compliance with an usage coeval with the existence of our Federal Constitution, and sanctioned by the example of my predecessors in the career upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my fellow-citizens, in your presence and in that of Heaven to bind myself by the solemnities of religious obligation to the faithful performance of the duties allotted to me in the station to which I have been called. 

In unfolding to my countrymen the principles by which I shall be governed in the fulfillment of those duties my first resort will be to that Constitution which I shall swear to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend. That revered instrument enumerates the powers and prescribes the duties of the Executive Magistrate, and in its first words declares the purposes to which these and the whole action of the Government instituted by it should be invariably and sacredly devoted--to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people of this Union in their successive generations. Since the adoption of this social compact one of these generations has passed away. It is the work of our forefathers. Administered by some of the most eminent men who contributed to its formation, through a most eventful period in the annals of the world, and through all the vicissitudes of peace and war incidental to the condition of associated man, it has not disappointed the hopes and aspirations of those illustrious benefactors of their age and nation. It has promoted the lasting welfare of that country so dear to us all; it has to an extent far beyond the ordinary lot of humanity secured the freedom and happiness of this people. We now receive it as a precious inheritance from those to whom we are indebted for its establishment, doubly bound by the examples which they have left us and by the blessings which we have enjoyed as the fruits of their labors to transmit the same unimpaired to the succeeding generation. 

In the compass of thirty-six years since this great national covenant was instituted a body of laws enacted under its authority and in conformity with its provisions has unfolded its powers and carried into practical operation its effective energies. Subordinate departments have distributed the executive functions in their various relations to foreign affairs, to the revenue and expenditures, and to the military force of the Union by land and sea. A coordinate department of the judiciary has expounded the Constitution and the laws, settling in harmonious coincidence with the legislative will numerous weighty questions of construction which the imperfection of human language had rendered unavoidable. The year of jubilee since the first formation of our Union has just elapsed that of the declaration of our independence is at hand. The consummation of both was effected by this Constitution. 

Since that period a population of four millions has multiplied to twelve. A territory bounded by the Mississippi has been extended from sea to sea. New States have been admitted to the Union in numbers nearly equal to those of the first Confederation. Treaties of peace, amity, and commerce have been concluded with the principal dominions of the earth. The people of other nations, inhabitants of regions acquired not by conquest, but by compact, have been united with us in the participation of our rights and duties, of our burdens and blessings. The forest has fallen by the ax of our woodsmen; the soil has been made to teem by the tillage of our farmers; our commerce has whitened every ocean. The dominion of man over physical nature has been extended by the invention of our artists. Liberty and law have marched hand in hand. All the purposes of human association have been accomplished as effectively as under any other government on the globe, and at a cost little exceeding in a whole generation the expenditure of other nations in a single year. 

Such is the unexaggerated picture of our condition under a Constitution founded upon the republican principle of equal rights. To admit that this picture has its shades is but to say that it is still the condition of men upon earth. From evil-- physical, moral, and political--it is not our claim to be exempt. We have suffered sometimes by the visitation of Heaven through disease; often by the wrongs and injustice of other nations, even to the extremities of war; and, lastly, by dissensions among ourselves--dissensions perhaps inseparable from the enjoyment of freedom, but which have more than once appeared to threaten the dissolution of the Union, and with it the overthrow of all the enjoyments of our present lot and all our earthly hopes of the future. The causes of these dissensions have been various, founded upon differences of speculation in the theory of republican government; upon conflicting views of policy in our relations with foreign nations; upon jealousies of partial and sectional interests, aggravated by prejudices and prepossessions which strangers to each other are ever apt to entertain. 

It is a source of gratification and of encouragement to me to observe that the great result of this experiment upon the theory of human rights has at the close of that generation by which it was formed been crowned with success equal to the most sanguine expectations of its founders. Union, justice, tranquillity, the common defense, the general welfare, and the blessings of liberty--all have been promoted by the Government under which we have lived. Standing at this point of time, looking back to that generation which has gone by and forward to that which is advancing, we may at once indulge in grateful exultation and in cheering hope. From the experience of the past we derive instructive lessons for the future. Of the two great political parties which have divided the opinions and feelings of our country, the candid and the just will now admit that both have contributed splendid talents, spotless integrity, ardent patriotism, and disinterested sacrifices to the formation and administration of this Government, and that both have required a liberal indulgence for a portion of human infirmity and error. The revolutionary wars of Europe, commencing precisely at the moment when the Government of the United States first went into operation under this Constitution, excited a collision of sentiments and of sympathies which kindled all the passions and imbittered the conflict of parties till the nation was involved in war and the Union was shaken to its center. This time of trial embraced a period of five and twenty years, during which the policy of the Union in its relations with Europe constituted the principal basis of our political divisions and the most arduous part of the action of our Federal Government. With the catastrophe in which the wars of the French Revolution terminated, and our own subsequent peace with Great Britain, this baneful weed of party strife was uprooted. From that time no difference of principle, connected either with the theory of government or with our intercourse with foreign nations, has existed or been called forth in force sufficient to sustain a continued combination of parties or to give more than wholesome animation to public sentiment or legislative debate. Our political creed is, without a dissenting voice that can be heard, that the will of the people is the source and the happiness of the people the end of all legitimate government upon earth; that the best security for the beneficence and the best guaranty against the abuse of power consists in the freedom, the purity, and the frequency of popular elections; that the General Government of the Union and the separate governments of the States are all sovereignties of limited powers, fellow- servants of the same masters, uncontrolled within their respective spheres, uncontrollable by encroachments upon each other; that the firmest security of peace is the preparation during peace of the defenses of war; that a rigorous economy and accountability of public expenditures should guard against the aggravation and alleviate when possible the burden of taxation; that the military should be kept in strict subordination to the civil power; that the freedom of the press and of religious opinion should be inviolate; that the policy of our country is peace and the ark of our salvation union are articles of faith upon which we are all now agreed. If there have been those who doubted whether a confederated representative democracy were a government competent to the wise and orderly management of the common concerns of a mighty nation, those doubts have been dispelled; if there have been projects of partial confederacies to be erected upon the ruins of the Union, they have been scattered to the winds; if there have been dangerous attachments to one foreign nation and antipathies against another, they have been extinguished. Ten years of peace, at home and abroad, have assuaged the animosities of political contention and blended into harmony the most discordant elements of public opinion There still remains one effort of magnanimity, one sacrifice of prejudice and passion, to be made by the individuals throughout the nation who have heretofore followed the standards of political party. It is that of discarding every remnant of rancor against each other, of embracing as countrymen and friends, and of yielding to talents and virtue alone that confidence which in times of contention for principle was bestowed only upon those who bore the badge of party communion. 

The collisions of party spirit which originate in speculative opinions or in different views of administrative policy are in their nature transitory. Those which are founded on geographical divisions, adverse interests of soil, climate, and modes of domestic life are more permanent, and therefore, perhaps, more dangerous. It is this which gives inestimable value to the character of our Government, at once federal and national. It holds out to us a perpetual admonition to preserve alike and with equal anxiety the rights of each individual State in its own government and the rights of the whole nation in that of the Union. Whatsoever is of domestic concernment, unconnected with the other members of the Union or with foreign lands, belongs exclusively to the administration of the State governments. Whatsoever directly involves the rights and interests of the federative fraternity or of foreign powers is of the resort of this General Government. The duties of both are obvious in the general principle, though sometimes perplexed with difficulties in the detail. To respect the rights of the State governments is the inviolable duty of that of the Union; the government of every State will feel its own obligation to respect and preserve the rights of the whole. The prejudices everywhere too commonly entertained against distant strangers are worn away, and the jealousies of jarring interests are allayed by the composition and functions of the great national councils annually assembled from all quarters of the Union at this place. Here the distinguished men from every section of our country, while meeting to deliberate upon the great interests of those by whom they are deputed, learn to estimate the talents and do justice to the virtues of each other. The harmony of the nation is promoted and the whole Union is knit together by the sentiments of mutual respect, the habits of social intercourse, and the ties of personal friendship formed between the representatives of its several parts in the performance of their service at this metropolis. 

Passing from this general review of the purposes and injunctions of the Federal Constitution and their results as indicating the first traces of the path of duty in the discharge of my public trust, I turn to the Administration of my immediate predecessor as the second. It has passed away in a period of profound peace, how much to the satisfaction of our country and to the honor of our country's name is known to you all. The great features of its policy, in general concurrence with the will of the Legislature, have been to cherish peace while preparing for defensive war; to yield exact justice to other nations and maintain the rights of our own; to cherish the principles of freedom and of equal rights wherever they were proclaimed; to discharge with all possible promptitude the national debt; to reduce within the narrowest limits of efficiency the military force; to improve the organization and discipline of the Army; to provide and sustain a school of military science; to extend equal protection to all the great interests of the nation; to promote the civilization of the Indian tribes, and to proceed in the great system of internal improvements within the limits of the constitutional power of the Union. Under the pledge of these promises, made by that eminent citizen at the time of his first induction to this office, in his career of eight years the internal taxes have been repealed; sixty millions of the public debt have been discharged; provision has been made for the comfort and relief of the aged and indigent among the surviving warriors of the Revolution; the regular armed force has been reduced and its constitution revised and perfected; the accountability for the expenditure of public moneys has been made more effective; the Floridas have been peaceably acquired, and our boundary has been extended to the Pacific Ocean; the independence of the southern nations of this hemisphere has been recognized, and recommended by example and by counsel to the potentates of Europe; progress has been made in the defense of the country by fortifications and the increase of the Navy, toward the effectual suppression of the African traffic in slaves; in alluring the aboriginal hunters of our land to the cultivation of the soil and of the mind, in exploring the interior regions of the Union, and in preparing by scientific researches and surveys for the further application of our national resources to the internal improvement of our country. 

In this brief outline of the promise and performance of my immediate predecessor the line of duty for his successor is clearly delineated To pursue to their consummation those purposes of improvement in our common condition instituted or recommended by him will embrace the whole sphere of my obligations. To the topic of internal improvement, emphatically urged by him at his inauguration, I recur with peculiar satisfaction. It is that from which I am convinced that the unborn millions of our posterity who are in future ages to people this continent will derive their most fervent gratitude to the founders of the Union; that in which the beneficent action of its Government will be most deeply felt and acknowledged. The magnificence and splendor of their public works are among the imperishable glories of the ancient republics. The roads and aqueducts of Rome have been the admiration of all after ages, and have survived thousands of years after all her conquests have been swallowed up in despotism or become the spoil of barbarians. Some diversity of opinion has prevailed with regard to the powers of Congress for legislation upon objects of this nature. The most respectful deference is due to doubts originating in pure patriotism and sustained by venerated authority. But nearly twenty years have passed since the construction of the first national road was commenced. The authority for its construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our countrymen has it proved a benefit? To what single individual has it ever proved an injury? Repeated, liberal, and candid discussions in the Legislature have conciliated the sentiments and approximated the opinions of enlightened minds upon the question of constitutional power. I can not but hope that by the same process of friendly, patient, and persevering deliberation all constitutional objections will ultimately be removed. The extent and limitation of the powers of the General Government in relation to this transcendently important interest will be settled and acknowledged to the common satisfaction of all, and every speculative scruple will be solved by a practical public blessing. 

Fellow-citizens, you are acquainted with the peculiar circumstances of the recent election, which have resulted in affording me the opportunity of addressing you at this time. You have heard the exposition of the principles which will direct me in the fulfillment of the high and solemn trust imposed upon me in this station. Less possessed of your confidence in advance than any of my predecessors, I am deeply conscious of the prospect that I shall stand more and oftener in need of your indulgence. Intentions upright and pure, a heart devoted to the welfare of our country, and the unceasing application of all the faculties allotted to me to her service are all the pledges that I can give for the faithful performance of the arduous duties I am to undertake. To the guidance of the legislative councils, to the assistance of the executive and subordinate departments, to the friendly cooperation of the respective State governments, to the candid and liberal support of the people so far as it may be deserved by honest industry and zeal, I shall look for whatever success may attend my public service; and knowing that "except the Lord keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain," with fervent supplications for His favor, to His overruling providence I commit with humble but fearless confidence my own fate and the future destinies of my country.  

Andrew Jackson 18291833
First Inaugural Address of Andrew Jackson

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1829

Fellow-Citizens: 

About to undertake the arduous duties that I have been appointed to perform by the choice of a free people, I avail myself of this customary and solemn occasion to express the gratitude which their confidence inspires and to acknowledge the accountability which my situation enjoins. While the magnitude of their interests convinces me that no thanks can be adequate to the honor they have conferred, it admonishes me that the best return I can make is the zealous dedication of my humble abilities to their service and their good. 

As the instrument of the Federal Constitution it will devolve on me for a stated period to execute the laws of the United States, to superintend their foreign and their confederate relations, to manage their revenue, to command their forces, and, by communications to the Legislature, to watch over and to promote their interests generally. And the principles of action by which I shall endeavor to accomplish this circle of duties it is now proper for me briefly to explain. 

In administering the laws of Congress I shall keep steadily in view the limitations as well as the extent of the Executive power trusting thereby to discharge the functions of my office without transcending its authority. With foreign nations it will be my study to preserve peace and to cultivate friendship on fair and honorable terms, and in the adjustment of any differences that may exist or arise to exhibit the forbearance becoming a powerful nation rather than the sensibility belonging to a gallant people. 

In such measures as I may be called on to pursue in regard to the rights of the separate States I hope to be animated by a proper respect for those sovereign members of our Union, taking care not to confound the powers they have reserved to themselves with those they have granted to the Confederacy. 

The management of the public revenue--that searching operation in all governments--is among the most delicate and important trusts in ours, and it will, of course, demand no inconsiderable share of my official solicitude. Under every aspect in which it can be considered it would appear that advantage must result from the observance of a strict and faithful economy. This I shall aim at the more anxiously both because it will facilitate the extinguishment of the national debt, the unnecessary duration of which is incompatible with real independence, and because it will counteract that tendency to public and private profligacy which a profuse expenditure of money by the Government is but too apt to engender. Powerful auxiliaries to the attainment of this desirable end are to be found in the regulations provided by the wisdom of Congress for the specific appropriation of public money and the prompt accountability of public officers. 

With regard to a proper selection of the subjects of impost with a view to revenue, it would seem to me that the spirit of equity, caution and compromise in which the Constitution was formed requires that the great interests of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures should be equally favored, and that perhaps the only exception to this rule should consist in the peculiar encouragement of any products of either of them that may be found essential to our national independence. 

Internal improvement and the diffusion of knowledge, so far as they can be promoted by the constitutional acts of the Federal Government, are of high importance. 

Considering standing armies as dangerous to free governments in time of peace, I shall not seek to enlarge our present establishment, nor disregard that salutary lesson of political experience which teaches that the military should be held subordinate to the civil power. The gradual increase of our Navy, whose flag has displayed in distant climes our skill in navigation and our fame in arms; the preservation of our forts, arsenals, and dockyards, and the introduction of progressive improvements in the discipline and science of both branches of our military service are so plainly prescribed by prudence that I should be excused for omitting their mention sooner than for enlarging on their importance. But the bulwark of our defense is the national militia, which in the present state of our intelligence and population must render us invincible. As long as our Government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will; as long as it secures to us the rights of person and of property, liberty of conscience and of the press, it will be worth defending; and so long as it is worth defending a patriotic militia will cover it with an impenetrable aegis. Partial injuries and occasional mortifications we may be subjected to, but a million of armed freemen, possessed of the means of war, can never be conquered by a foreign foe. To any just system, therefore, calculated to strengthen this natural safeguard of the country I shall cheerfully lend all the aid in my power. 

It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people. 

The recent demonstration of public sentiment inscribes on the list of Executive duties, in characters too legible to be overlooked, the task of reform, which will require particularly the correction of those abuses that have brought the patronage of the Federal Government into conflict with the freedom of elections, and the counteraction of those causes which have disturbed the rightful course of appointment and have placed or continued power in unfaithful or incompetent hands. 

In the performance of a task thus generally delineated I shall endeavor to select men whose diligence and talents will insure in their respective stations able and faithful cooperation, depending for the advancement of the public service more on the integrity and zeal of the public officers than on their numbers. 

A diffidence, perhaps too just, in my own qualifications will teach me to look with reverence to the examples of public virtue left by my illustrious predecessors, and with veneration to the lights that flow from the mind that founded and the mind that reformed our system. The same diffidence induces me to hope for instruction and aid from the coordinate branches of the Government, and for the indulgence and support of my fellow-citizens generally. And a firm reliance on the goodness of that Power whose providence mercifully protected our national infancy, and has since upheld our liberties in various vicissitudes, encourages me to offer up my ardent supplications that He will continue to make our beloved country the object of His divine care and gracious benediction.  

Second Inaugural Address of Andrew Jackson

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1833

Fellow-Citizens: 

The will of the American people, expressed through their unsolicited suffrages, calls me before you to pass through the solemnities preparatory to taking upon myself the duties of President of the United States for another term. For their approbation of my public conduct through a period which has not been without its difficulties, and for this renewed expression of their confidence in my good intentions, I am at a loss for terms adequate to the expression of my gratitude. It shall be displayed to the extent of my humble abilities in continued efforts so to administer the Government as to preserve their liberty and promote their happiness. 

So many events have occurred within the last four years which have necessarily called forth--sometimes under circumstances the most delicate and painful--my views of the principles and policy which ought to be pursued by the General Government that I need on this occasion but allude to a few leading considerations connected with some of them. 

The foreign policy adopted by our Government soon after the formation of our present Constitution, and very generally pursued by successive Administrations, has been crowned with almost complete success, and has elevated our character among the nations of the earth. To do justice to all and to submit to wrong from none has been during my Administration its governing maxim, and so happy have been its results that we are not only at peace with all the world, but have few causes of controversy, and those of minor importance, remaining unadjusted. 

In the domestic policy of this Government there are two objects which especially deserve the attention of the people and their representatives, and which have been and will continue to be the subjects of my increasing solicitude. They are the preservation of the rights of the several States and the integrity of the Union. 

These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only be attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within its appropriate sphere in conformity with the public will constitutionally expressed. To this end it becomes the duty of all to yield a ready and patriotic submission to the laws constitutionally enacted and thereby promote and strengthen a proper confidence in those institutions of the several States and of the United States which the people themselves have ordained for their own government. 

My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me, that the destruction of our State governments or the annihilation of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and military domination. In proportion, therefore, as the General Government encroaches upon the rights of the States, in the same proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its ability to fulfill the purposes of its creation. Solemnly impressed with these considerations, my countrymen will ever find me ready to exercise my constitutional powers in arresting measures which may directly or indirectly encroach upon the rights of the States or tend to consolidate all political power in the General Government. But of equal and, indeed of incalculable, importance is the union of these States, and the sacred duty of all to contribute to its preservation by a liberal support of the General Government in the exercise of its just powers. You have been wisely admonished to "accustom yourselves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with Jealous anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never can be maintained. Divided into twenty-four, or even a smaller number, of separate communities, we shall see our internal trade burdened with numberless restraints and exactions; communication between distant points and sections obstructed or cut off; our sons made soldiers to deluge with blood the fields they now till in peace; the mass of our people borne down and impoverished by taxes to support armies and navies, and military leaders at the head of their victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union. In supporting it, therefore, we support all that is dear to the freeman and the philanthropist. 

The time at which I stand before you is full of interest. The eyes of all nations are fixed on our Republic. The event of the existing crisis will be decisive in the opinion of mankind of the practicability of our federal system of government. Great is the stake placed in our hands; great is the responsibility which must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us realize the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the world. Let us exercise forbearance and firmness. Let us extricate our country from the dangers which surround it and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate. 

Deeply impressed with the truth of these observations, and under the obligation of that solemn oath which I am about to take, I shall continue to exert all my faculties to maintain the just powers of the Constitution and to transmit unimpaired to posterity the blessings of our Federal Union. At the same time, it will be my aim to inculcate by my official acts the necessity of exercising by the General Government those powers only that are clearly delegated; to encourage simplicity and economy in the expenditures of the Government; to raise no more money from the people than may be requisite for these objects, and in a manner that will best promote the interests of all classes of the community and of all portions of the Union. Constantly bearing in mind that in entering into society "individuals must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest," it will be my desire so to discharge my duties as to foster with our brethren in all parts of the country a spirit of liberal concession and compromise, and, by reconciling our fellow-citizens to those partial sacrifices which they must unavoidably make for the preservation of a greater good, to recommend our invaluable Government and Union to the confidence and affections of the American people. 

Finally, it is my most fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in His hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day, that He will so overrule all my intentions and actions and inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from dangers of all kinds and continue forever a united and happy people.  

Martin Van Buren
 1837 
Inaugural Address of Martin Van Buren

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1837

Fellow-Citizens: 

The practice of all my predecessors imposes on me an obligation I cheerfully fulfill--to accompany the first and solemn act of my public trust with an avowal of the principles that will guide me in performing it and an expression of my feelings on assuming a charge so responsible and vast. In imitating their example I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men, whose superiors it is our happiness to believe are not found on the executive calendar of any country. Among them we recognize the earliest and firmest pillars of the Republic--those by whom our national independence was first declared, him who above all others contributed to establish it on the field of battle, and those whose expanded intellect and patriotism constructed, improved, and perfected the inestimable institutions under which we live. If such men in the position I now occupy felt themselves overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for this the highest of all marks of their country's confidence, and by a consciousness of their inability adequately to discharge the duties of an office so difficult and exalted, how much more must these considerations affect one who can rely on no such claims for favor or forbearance! Unlike all who have preceded me, the Revolution that gave us existence as one people was achieved at the period of my birth; and whilst I contemplate with grateful reverence that memorable event, I feel that I belong to a later age and that I may not expect my countrymen to weigh my actions with the same kind and partial hand. 

So sensibly, fellow-citizens, do these circumstances press themselves upon me that I should not dare to enter upon my path of duty did I not look for the generous aid of those who will be associated with me in the various and coordinate branches of the Government; did I not repose with unwavering reliance on the patriotism, the intelligence, and the kindness of a people who never yet deserted a public servant honestly laboring their cause; and, above all, did I not permit myself humbly to hope for the sustaining support of an ever-watchful and beneficent Providence. 

To the confidence and consolation derived from these sources it would be ungrateful not to add those which spring from our present fortunate condition. Though not altogether exempt from embarrassments that disturb our tranquillity at home and threaten it abroad, yet in all the attributes of a great, happy, and flourishing people we stand without a parallel in the world. Abroad we enjoy the respect and, with scarcely an exception, the friendship of every nation; at home, while our Government quietly but efficiently performs the sole legitimate end of political institutions--in doing the greatest good to the greatest number-- we present an aggregate of human prosperity surely not elsewhere to be found. 

How imperious, then, is the obligation imposed upon every citizen, in his own sphere of action, whether limited or extended, to exert himself in perpetuating a condition of things so singularly happy! All the lessons of history and experience must be lost upon us if we are content to trust alone to the peculiar advantages we happen to possess. Position and climate and the bounteous resources that nature has scattered with so liberal a hand--even the diffused intelligence and elevated character of our people--will avail us nothing if we fail sacredly to uphold those political institutions that were wisely and deliberately formed with reference to every circumstance that could preserve or might endanger the blessings we enjoy. The thoughtful framers of our Constitution legislated for our country as they found it. Looking upon it with the eyes of statesmen and patriots, they saw all the sources of rapid and wonderful prosperity; but they saw also that various habits, opinions and institutions peculiar to the various portions of so vast a region were deeply fixed. Distinct sovereignties were in actual existence, whose cordial union was essential to the welfare and happiness of all. Between many of them there was, at least to some extent, a real diversity of interests, liable to be exaggerated through sinister designs; they differed in size, in population, in wealth, and in actual and prospective resources and power; they varied in the character of their industry and staple productions, and [in some] existed domestic institutions which, unwisely disturbed, might endanger the harmony of the whole. Most carefully were all these circumstances weighed, and the foundations of the new Government laid upon principles of reciprocal concession and equitable compromise. The jealousies which the smaller States might entertain of the power of the rest were allayed by a rule of representation confessedly unequal at the time, and designed forever to remain so. A natural fear that the broad scope of general legislation might bear upon and unwisely control particular interests was counteracted by limits strictly drawn around the action of the Federal authority, and to the people and the States was left unimpaired their sovereign power over the innumerable subjects embraced in the internal government of a just republic, excepting such only as necessarily appertain to the concerns of the whole confederacy or its intercourse as a united community with the other nations of the world. 

This provident forecast has been verified by time. Half a century, teeming with extraordinary events, and elsewhere producing astonishing results, has passed along, but on our institutions it has left no injurious mark. From a small community we have risen to a people powerful in numbers and in strength; but with our increase has gone hand in hand the progress of just principles. The privileges, civil and religious, of the humblest individual are still sacredly protected at home, and while the valor and fortitude of our people have removed far from us the slightest apprehension of foreign power, they have not yet induced us in a single instance to forget what is right. Our commerce has been extended to the remotest nations; the value and even nature of our productions have been greatly changed; a wide difference has arisen in the relative wealth and resources of every portion of our country; yet the spirit of mutual regard and of faithful adherence to existing compacts has continued to prevail in our councils and never long been absent from our conduct. We have learned by experience a fruitful lesson--that an implicit and undeviating adherence to the principles on which we set out can carry us prosperously onward through all the conflicts of circumstances and vicissitudes inseparable from the lapse of years. 

The success that has thus attended our great experiment is in itself a sufficient cause for gratitude, on account of the happiness it has actually conferred and the example it has unanswerably given But to me, my fellow-citizens, looking forward to the far-distant future with ardent prayers and confiding hopes, this retrospect presents a ground for still deeper delight. It impresses on my mind a firm belief that the perpetuity of our institutions depends upon ourselves; that if we maintain the principles on which they were established they are destined to confer their benefits on countless generations yet to come, and that America will present to every friend of mankind the cheering proof that a popular government, wisely formed, is wanting in no element of endurance or strength. Fifty years ago its rapid failure was boldly predicted. Latent and uncontrollable causes of dissolution were supposed to exist even by the wise and good, and not only did unfriendly or speculative theorists anticipate for us the fate of past republics, but the fears of many an honest patriot overbalanced his sanguine hopes. Look back on these forebodings, not hastily but reluctantly made, and see how in every instance they have completely failed. 

An imperfect experience during the struggles of the Revolution was supposed to warrant the belief that the people would not bear the taxation requisite to discharge an immense public debt already incurred and to pay the necessary expenses of the Government The cost of two wars has been paid, not only without a murmur; but with unequaled alacrity. No one is now left to doubt that every burden will be cheerfully borne that may be necessary to sustain our civil institutions or guard our honor or welfare. Indeed, all experience has shown that the willingness of the people to contribute to these ends in cases of emergency has uniformly outrun the confidence of their representatives. 

In the early stages of the new Government, when all felt the imposing influence as they recognized the unequaled services of the first President, it was a common sentiment that the great weight of his character could alone bind the discordant materials of our Government together and save us from the violence of contending factions. Since his death nearly forty years are gone. Party exasperation has been often carried to its highest point; the virtue and fortitude of the people have sometimes been greatly tried; yet our system, purified and enhanced in value by all it has encountered, still preserves its spirit of free and fearless discussion, blended with unimpaired fraternal feeling. 

The capacity of the people for self-government, and their willingness, from a high sense of duty and without those exhibitions of coercive power so generally employed in other countries, to submit to all needful restraints and exactions of municipal law, have also been favorably exemplified in the history of the American States. Occasionally, it is true, the ardor of public sentiment, outrunning the regular progress of the judicial tribunals or seeking to reach cases not denounced as criminal by the existing law, has displayed itself in a manner calculated to give pain to the friends of free government and to encourage the hopes of those who wish for its overthrow. These occurrences, however, have been far less frequent in our country than in any other of equal population on the globe, and with the diffusion of intelligence it may well be hoped that they will constantly diminish in frequency and violence. The generous patriotism and sound common sense of the great mass of our fellow-citizens will assuredly in time produce this result; for as every assumption of illegal power not only wounds the majesty of the law, but furnishes a pretext for abridging the liberties of the people, the latter have the most direct and permanent interest in preserving the landmarks of social order and maintaining on all occasions the inviolability of those constitutional and legal provisions which they themselves have made. 

In a supposed unfitness of our institutions for those hostile emergencies which no country can always avoid their friends found a fruitful source of apprehension, their enemies of hope. While they foresaw less promptness of action than in governments differently formed, they overlooked the far more important consideration that with us war could never be the result of individual or irresponsible will, but must be a measure of redress for injuries sustained voluntarily resorted to by those who were to bear the necessary sacrifice, who would consequently feel an individual interest in the contest, and whose energy would be commensurate with the difficulties to be encountered. Actual events have proved their error; the last war, far from impairing, gave new confidence to our Government, and amid recent apprehensions of a similar conflict we saw that the energies of our country would not be wanting in ample season to vindicate its rights. We may not possess, as we should not desire to possess, the extended and ever-ready military organization of other nations; we may occasionally suffer in the outset for the want of it; but among ourselves all doubt upon this great point has ceased, while a salutary experience will prevent a contrary opinion from inviting aggression from abroad. 

Certain danger was foretold from the extension of our territory, the multiplication of States, and the increase of population. Our system was supposed to be adapted only to boundaries comparatively narrow. These have been widened beyond conjecture; the members of our Confederacy are already doubled, and the numbers of our people are incredibly augmented. The alleged causes of danger have long surpassed anticipation, but none of the consequences have followed. The power and influence of the Republic have arisen to a height obvious to all mankind; respect for its authority was not more apparent at its ancient than it is at its present limits; new and inexhaustible sources of general prosperity have been opened; the effects of distance have been averted by the inventive genius of our people, developed and fostered by the spirit of our institutions; and the enlarged variety and amount of interests, productions, and pursuits have strengthened the chain of mutual dependence and formed a circle of mutual benefits too apparent ever to be overlooked. 

In justly balancing the powers of the Federal and State authorities difficulties nearly insurmountable arose at the outset and subsequent collisions were deemed inevitable. Amid these it was scarcely believed possible that a scheme of government so complex in construction could remain uninjured. From time to time embarrassments have certainly occurred; but how just is the confidence of future safety imparted by the knowledge that each in succession has been happily removed! Overlooking partial and temporary evils as inseparable from the practical operation of all human institutions, and looking only to the general result, every patriot has reason to be satisfied. While the Federal Government has successfully performed its appropriate functions in relation to foreign affairs and concerns evidently national, that of every State has remarkably improved in protecting and developing local interests and individual welfare; and if the vibrations of authority have occasionally tended too much toward one or the other, it is unquestionably certain that the ultimate operation of the entire system has been to strengthen all the existing institutions and to elevate our whole country in prosperity and renown. 

The last, perhaps the greatest, of the prominent sources of discord and disaster supposed to lurk in our political condition was the institution of domestic slavery. Our forefathers were deeply impressed with the delicacy of this subject, and they treated it with a forbearance so evidently wise that in spite of every sinister foreboding it never until the present period disturbed the tranquillity of our common country. Such a result is sufficient evidence of the justice and the patriotism of their course; it is evidence not to be mistaken that an adherence to it can prevent all embarrassment from this as well as from every other anticipated cause of difficulty or danger. Have not recent events made it obvious to the slightest reflection that the least deviation from this spirit of forbearance is injurious to every interest, that of humanity included? Amidst the violence of excited passions this generous and fraternal feeling has been sometimes disregarded; and standing as I now do before my countrymen, in this high place of honor and of trust, I can not refrain from anxiously invoking my fellow-citizens never to be deaf to its dictates. Perceiving before my election the deep interest this subject was beginning to excite, I believed it a solemn duty fully to make known my sentiments in regard to it, and now, when every motive for misrepresentation has passed away, I trust that they will be candidly weighed and understood. At least they will be my standard of conduct in the path before me. I then declared that if the desire of those of my countrymen who were favorable to my election was gratified "I must go into the Presidential chair the inflexible and uncompromising opponent of every attempt on the part of Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia against the wishes of the slaveholding States, and also with a determination equally decided to resist the slightest interference with it in the States where it exists." I submitted also to my fellow-citizens, with fullness and frankness, the reasons which led me to this determination. The result authorizes me to believe that they have been approved and are confided in by a majority of the people of the United States, including those whom they most immediately affect It now only remains to add that no bill conflicting with these views can ever receive my constitutional sanction. These opinions have been adopted in the firm belief that they are in accordance with the spirit that actuated the venerated fathers of the Republic, and that succeeding experience has proved them to be humane, patriotic, expedient, honorable, and just. If the agitation of this subject was intended to reach the stability of our institutions, enough has occurred to show that it has signally failed, and that in this as in every other instance the apprehensions of the timid and the hopes of the wicked for the destruction of our Government are again destined to be disappointed. Here and there, indeed, scenes of dangerous excitement have occurred, terrifying instances of local violence have been witnessed, and a reckless disregard of the consequences of their conduct has exposed individuals to popular indignation; but neither masses of the people nor sections of the country have been swerved from their devotion to the bond of union and the principles it has made sacred. It will be ever thus. Such attempts at dangerous agitation may periodically return, but with each the object will be better understood. That predominating affection for our political system which prevails throughout our territorial limits, that calm and enlightened judgment which ultimately governs our people as one vast body, will always be at hand to resist and control every effort, foreign or domestic, which aims or would lead to overthrow our institutions. 

What can be more gratifying than such a retrospect as this? We look back on obstacles avoided and dangers overcome, on expectations more than realized and prosperity perfectly secured. To the hopes of the hostile, the fears of the timid, and the doubts of the anxious actual experience has given the conclusive reply. We have seen time gradually dispel every unfavorable foreboding and our Constitution surmount every adverse circumstance dreaded at the outset as beyond control. Present excitement will at all times magnify present dangers, but true philosophy must teach us that none more threatening than the past can remain to be overcome; and we ought (for we have just reason) to entertain an abiding confidence in the stability of our institutions and an entire conviction that if administered in the true form, character, and spirit in which they were established they are abundantly adequate to preserve to us and our children the rich blessings already derived from them, to make our beloved land for a thousand generations that chosen spot where happiness springs from a perfect equality of political rights. 

For myself, therefore, I desire to declare that the principle that will govern me in the high duty to which my country calls me is a strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the Constitution as it was designed by those who framed it. Looking back to it as a sacred instrument carefully and not easily framed; remembering that it was throughout a work of concession and compromise; viewing it as limited to national objects; regarding it as leaving to the people and the States all power not explicitly parted with, I shall endeavor to preserve, protect, and defend it by anxiously referring to its provision for direction in every action. To matters of domestic concernment which it has intrusted to the Federal Government and to such as relate to our intercourse with foreign nations I shall zealously devote myself; beyond those limits I shall never pass. 

To enter on this occasion into a further or more minute exposition of my views on the various questions of domestic policy would be as obtrusive as it is probably unexpected. Before the suffrages of my countrymen were conferred upon me I submitted to them, with great precision, my opinions on all the most prominent of these subjects. Those opinions I shall endeavor to carry out with my utmost ability. 

Our course of foreign policy has been so uniform and intelligible as to constitute a rule of Executive conduct which leaves little to my discretion, unless, indeed, I were willing to run counter to the lights of experience and the known opinions of my constituents. We sedulously cultivate the friendship of all nations as the conditions most compatible with our welfare and the principles of our Government. We decline alliances as adverse to our peace. We desire commercial relations on equal terms, being ever willing to give a fair equivalent for advantages received. We endeavor to conduct our intercourse with openness and sincerity, promptly avowing our objects and seeking to establish that mutual frankness which is as beneficial in the dealings of nations as of men. We have no disposition and we disclaim all right to meddle in disputes, whether internal or foreign, that may molest other countries, regarding them in their actual state as social communities, and preserving a strict neutrality in all their controversies. Well knowing the tried valor of our people and our exhaustless resources, we neither anticipate nor fear any designed aggression; and in the consciousness of our own just conduct we feel a security that we shall never be called upon to exert our determination never to permit an invasion of our rights without punishment or redress. 

In approaching, then, in the presence of my assembled countrymen, to make the solemn promise that yet remains, and to pledge myself that I will faithfully execute the office I am about to fill, I bring with me a settled purpose to maintain the institutions of my country, which I trust will atone for the errors I commit. 

In receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided to my illustrious predecessor, and which he has discharged so faithfully and so well, I know that I can not expect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success. But united as I have been in his counsels, a daily witness of his exclusive and unsurpassed devotion to his country's welfare, agreeing with him in sentiments which his countrymen have warmly supported, and permitted to partake largely of his confidence, I may hope that somewhat of the same cheering approbation will be found to attend upon my path. For him I but express with my own the wishes of all, that he may yet long live to enjoy the brilliant evening of his well-spent life; and for myself, conscious of but one desire, faithfully to serve my country, I throw myself without fear on its justice and its kindness. Beyond that I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all. May it be among the dispensations of His providence to bless our beloved country with honors and with length of days. May her ways be ways of pleasantness and all her paths be peace!  

William Henry Harrison 1841
Inaugural Address of William Henry Harrison

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1841

Called from a retirement which I had supposed was to continue for the residue of my life to fill the chief executive office of this great and free nation, I appear before you, fellow-citizens, to take the oaths which the Constitution prescribes as a necessary qualification for the performance of its duties; and in obedience to a custom coeval with our Government and what I believe to be your expectations I proceed to present to you a summary of the principles which will govern me in the discharge of the duties which I shall be called upon to perform. 

It was the remark of a Roman consul in an early period of that celebrated Republic that a most striking contrast was observable in the conduct of candidates for offices of power and trust before and after obtaining them, they seldom carrying out in the latter case the pledges and promises made in the former. However much the world may have improved in many respects in the lapse of upward of two thousand years since the remark was made by the virtuous and indignant Roman, I fear that a strict examination of the annals of some of the modern elective governments would develop similar instances of violated confidence. 

Although the fiat of the people has gone forth proclaiming me the Chief Magistrate of this glorious Union, nothing upon their part remaining to be done, it may be thought that a motive may exist to keep up the delusion under which they may be supposed to have acted in relation to my principles and opinions; and perhaps there may be some in this assembly who have come here either prepared to condemn those I shall now deliver, or, approving them, to doubt the sincerity with which they are now uttered. But the lapse of a few months will confirm or dispel their fears. The outline of principles to govern and measures to be adopted by an Administration not yet begun will soon be exchanged for immutable history, and I shall stand either exonerated by my countrymen or classed with the mass of those who promised that they might deceive and flattered with the intention to betray. However strong may be my present purpose to realize the expectations of a magnanimous and confiding people, I too well understand the dangerous temptations to which I shall be exposed from the magnitude of the power which it has been the pleasure of the people to commit to my hands not to place my chief confidence upon the aid of that Almighty Power which has hitherto protected me and enabled me to bring to favorable issues other important but still greatly inferior trusts heretofore confided to me by my country. 

The broad foundation upon which our Constitution rests being the people--a breath of theirs having made, as a breath can unmake, change, or modify it--it can be assigned to none of the great divisions of government but to that of democracy. If such is its theory, those who are called upon to administer it must recognize as its leading principle the duty of shaping their measures so as to produce the greatest good to the greatest number. But with these broad admissions, if we would compare the sovereignty acknowledged to exist in the mass of our people with the power claimed by other sovereignties, even by those which have been considered most purely democratic, we shall find a most essential difference. All others lay claim to power limited only by their own will. The majority of our citizens, on the contrary, possess a sovereignty with an amount of power precisely equal to that which has been granted to them by the parties to the national compact, and nothing beyond. We admit of no government by divine right, believing that so far as power is concerned the Beneficent Creator has made no distinction amongst men; that all are upon an equality, and that the only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed. The Constitution of the United States is the instrument containing this grant of power to the several departments composing the Government. On an examination of that instrument it will be found to contain declarations of power granted and of power withheld. The latter is also susceptible of division into power which the majority had the right to grant, but which they do not think proper to intrust to their agents, and that which they could not have granted, not being possessed by themselves. In other words, there are certain rights possessed by each individual American citizen which in his compact with the others he has never surrendered. Some of them, indeed, he is unable to surrender, being, in the language of our system, unalienable. The boasted privilege of a Roman citizen was to him a shield only against a petty provincial ruler, whilst the proud democrat of Athens would console himself under a sentence of death for a supposed violation of the national faith--which no one understood and which at times was the subject of the mockery of all--or the banishment from his home, his family, and his country with or without an alleged cause, that it was the act not of a single tyrant or hated aristocracy, but of his assembled countrymen. Far different is the power of our sovereignty. It can interfere with no one's faith, prescribe forms of worship for no one's observance, inflict no punishment but after well-ascertained guilt, the result of investigation under rules prescribed by the Constitution itself. These precious privileges, and those scarcely less important of giving expression to his thoughts and opinions, either by writing or speaking, unrestrained but by the liability for injury to others, and that of a full participation in all the advantages which flow from the Government, the acknowledged property of all, the American citizen derives from no charter granted by his fellow-man. He claims them because he is himself a man, fashioned by the same Almighty hand as the rest of his species and entitled to a full share of the blessings with which He has endowed them. Notwithstanding the limited sovereignty possessed by the people of the United Stages and the restricted grant of power to the Government which they have adopted, enough has been given to accomplish all the objects for which it was created. It has been found powerful in war, and hitherto justice has been administered, and intimate union effected, domestic tranquillity preserved, and personal liberty secured to the citizen. As was to be expected, however, from the defect of language and the necessarily sententious manner in which the Constitution is written, disputes have arisen as to the amount of power which it has actually granted or was intended to grant. 

This is more particularly the case in relation to that part of the instrument which treats of the legislative branch, and not only as regards the exercise of powers claimed under a general clause giving that body the authority to pass all laws necessary to carry into effect the specified powers, but in relation to the latter also. It is, however, consolatory to reflect that most of the instances of alleged departure from the letter or spirit of the Constitution have ultimately received the sanction of a majority of the people. And the fact that many of our statesmen most distinguished for talent and patriotism have been at one time or other of their political career on both sides of each of the most warmly disputed questions forces upon us the inference that the errors, if errors there were, are attributable to the intrinsic difficulty in many instances of ascertaining the intentions of the framers of the Constitution rather than the influence of any sinister or unpatriotic motive. But the great danger to our institutions does not appear to me to be in a usurpation by the Government of power not granted by the people, but by the accumulation in one of the departments of that which was assigned to others. Limited as are the powers which have been granted, still enough have been granted to constitute a despotism if concentrated in one of the departments. This danger is greatly heightened, as it has been always observable that men are less jealous of encroachments of one department upon another than upon their own reserved rights. When the Constitution of the United States first came from the hands of the Convention which formed it, many of the sternest republicans of the day were alarmed at the extent of the power which had been granted to the Federal Government, and more particularly of that portion which had been assigned to the executive branch. There were in it features which appeared not to be in harmony with their ideas of a simple representative democracy or republic, and knowing the tendency of power to increase itself, particularly when exercised by a single individual, predictions were made that at no very remote period the Government would terminate in virtual monarchy. It would not become me to say that the fears of these patriots have been already realized; but as I sincerely believe that the tendency of measures and of men's opinions for some years past has been in that direction, it is, I conceive, strictly proper that I should take this occasion to repeat the assurances I have heretofore given of my determination to arrest the progress of that tendency if it really exists and restore the Government to its pristine health and vigor, as far as this can be effected by any legitimate exercise of the power placed in my hands. 

I proceed to state in as summary a manner as I can my opinion of the sources of the evils which have been so extensively complained of and the correctives which may be applied. Some of the former are unquestionably to be found in the defects of the Constitution; others, in my judgment, are attributable to a misconstruction of some of its provisions. Of the former is the eligibility of the same individual to a second term of the Presidency. The sagacious mind of Mr. Jefferson early saw and lamented this error, and attempts have been made, hitherto without success, to apply the amendatory power of the States to its correction. As, however, one mode of correction is in the power of every President, and consequently in mine, it would be useless, and perhaps invidious, to enumerate the evils of which, in the opinion of many of our fellow-citizens, this error of the sages who framed the Constitution may have been the source and the bitter fruits which we are still to gather from it if it continues to disfigure our system. It may be observed, however, as a general remark, that republics can commit no greater error than to adopt or continue any feature in their systems of government which may be calculated to create or increase the lover of power in the bosoms of those to whom necessity obliges them to commit the management of their affairs; and surely nothing is more likely to produce such a state of mind than the long continuance of an office of high trust. Nothing can be more corrupting, nothing more destructive of all those noble feelings which belong to the character of a devoted republican patriot. When this corrupting passion once takes possession of the human mind, like the love of gold it becomes insatiable. It is the never-dying worm in his bosom, grows with his growth and strengthens with the declining years of its victim. If this is true, it is the part of wisdom for a republic to limit the service of that officer at least to whom she has intrusted the management of her foreign relations, the execution of her laws, and the command of her armies and navies to a period so short as to prevent his forgetting that he is the accountable agent, not the principal; the servant, not the master. Until an amendment of the Constitution can be effected public opinion may secure the desired object. I give my aid to it by renewing the pledge heretofore given that under no circumstances will I consent to serve a second term. 

But if there is danger to public liberty from the acknowledged defects of the Constitution in the want of limit to the continuance of the Executive power in the same hands, there is, I apprehend, not much less from a misconstruction of that instrument as it regards the powers actually given. I can not conceive that by a fair construction any or either of its provisions would be found to constitute the President a part of the legislative power. It can not be claimed from the power to recommend, since, although enjoined as a duty upon him, it is a privilege which he holds in common with every other citizen; and although there may be something more of confidence in the propriety of the measures recommended in the one case than in the other, in the obligations of ultimate decision there can be no difference. In the language of the Constitution, "all the legislative powers" which it grants "are vested in the Congress of the United States." It would be a solecism in language to say that any portion of these is not included in the whole. 

It may be said, indeed, that the Constitution has given to the Executive the power to annul the acts of the legislative body by refusing to them his assent. So a similar power has necessarily resulted from that instrument to the judiciary, and yet the judiciary forms no part of the Legislature. There is, it is true, this difference between these grants of power: The Executive can put his negative upon the acts of the Legislature for other cause than that of want of conformity to the Constitution, whilst the judiciary can only declare void those which violate that instrument. But the decision of the judiciary is final in such a case, whereas in every instance where the veto of the Executive is applied it may be overcome by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses of Congress. The negative upon the acts of the legislative by the executive authority, and that in the hands of one individual, would seem to be an incongruity in our system. Like some others of asimilar character, however, it appears to be highly expedient, and if used only with the forbearance and in the spirit which was intended by its authors it may be productive of great good and be found one of the best safeguards to the Union. At the period of the formation of the Constitution the principle does not appear to have enjoyed much favor in the State governments. It existed but in two, and in one of these there was a plural executive. If we would search for the motives which operated upon the purely patriotic and enlightened assembly which framed the Constitution for the adoption of a provision so apparently repugnant to the leading democratic principle that the majority should govern, we must reject the idea that they anticipated from it any benefit to the ordinary course of legislation. They knew too well the high degree of intelligence which existed among the people and the enlightened character of the State legislatures not to have the fullest confidence that the two bodies elected by them would be worthy representatives of such constituents, and, of course, that they would require no aid in conceiving and maturing the measures which the circumstances of the country might require. And it is preposterous to suppose that a thought could for a moment have been entertained that the President, placed at the capital, in the center of the country, could better understand the wants and wishes of the people than their own immediate representatives, who spend a part of every year among them, living with them, often laboring with them, and bound to them by the triple tie of interest, duty, and affection. To assist or control Congress, then, in its ordinary legislation could not, I conceive, have been the motive for conferring the veto power on the President. This argument acquires additional force from the fact of its never having been thus used by the first six Presidents--and two of them were members of the Convention, one presiding over its deliberations and the other bearing a larger share in consummating the labors of that august body than any other person. But if bills were never returned to Congress by either of the Presidents above referred to upon the ground of their being inexpedient or not as well adapted as they might be to the wants of the people, the veto was applied upon that of want of conformity to the Constitution or because errors had been committed from a too hasty enactment. 

There is another ground for the adoption of the veto principle, which had probably more influence in recommending it to the Convention than any other. I refer to the security which it gives to the just and equitable action of the Legislature upon all parts of the Union. It could not but have occurred to the Convention that in a country so extensive, embracing so great a variety of soil and climate, and consequently of products, and which from the same causes must ever exhibit a great difference in the amount of the population of its various sections, calling for a great diversity in the employments of the people, that the legislation of the majority might not always justly regard the rights and interests of the minority, and that acts of this character might be passed under an express grant by the words of the Constitution, and therefore not within the competency of the judiciary to declare void; that however enlightened and patriotic they might suppose from past experience the members of Congress might be, and however largely partaking, in the general, of the liberal feelings of the people, it was impossible to expect that bodies so constituted should not sometimes be controlled by local interests and sectional feelings. It was proper, therefore, to provide some umpire from whose situation and mode of appointment more independence and freedom from such influences might be expected. Such a one was afforded by the executive department constituted by the Constitution. A person elected to that high office, having his constituents in every section, State, and subdivision of the Union, must consider himself bound by the most solemn sanctions to guard, protect, and defend the rights of all and of every portion, great or small, from the injustice and oppression of the rest. I consider the veto power, therefore given by the Constitution to the Executive of the United States solely as a conservative power, to be used only first, to protect the Constitution from violation; secondly, the people from the effects of hasty legislation where their will has been probably disregarded or not well understood, and, thirdly, to prevent the effects of combinations violative of the rights of minorities. In reference to the second of these objects I may observe that I consider it the right and privilege of the people to decide disputed points of the Constitution arising from the general grant of power to Congress to carry into effect the powers expressly given; and I believe with Mr. Madison that "repeated recognitions under varied circumstances in acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government, accompanied by indications in different modes of the concurrence of the general will of the nation," as affording to the President sufficient authority for his considering such disputed points as settled. 

Upward of half a century has elapsed since the adoption of the present form of government. It would be an object more highly desirable than the gratification of the curiosity of speculative statesmen if its precise situation could be ascertained, a fair exhibit made of the operations of each of its departments, of the powers which they respectively claim and exercise, of the collisions which have occurred between them or between the whole Government and those of the States or either of them. We could then compare our actual condition after fifty years' trial of our system with what it was in the commencement of its operations and ascertain whether the predictions of the patriots who opposed its adoption or the confident hopes of its advocates have been best realized. The great dread of the former seems to have been that the reserved powers of the States would be absorbed by those of the Federal Government and a consolidated power established, leaving to the States the shadow only of that independent action for which they had so zealously contended and on the preservation of which they relied as the last hope of liberty. Without denying that the result to which they looked with so much apprehension is in the way of being realized, it is obvious that they did not clearly see the mode of its accomplishment The General Government has seized upon none of the reserved rights of the States. AS far as any open warfare may have gone, the State authorities have amply maintained their rights. To a casual observer our system presents no appearance of discord between the different members which compose it. Even the addition of many new ones has produced no jarring. They move in their respective orbits in perfect harmony with the central head and with each other. But there is still an undercurrent at work by which, if not seasonably checked, the worst apprehensions of our antifederal patriots will be realized, and not only will the State authorities be overshadowed by the great increase of power in the executive department of the General Government, but the character of that Government, if not its designation, be essentially and radically changed. This state of things has been in part effected by causes inherent in the Constitution and in part by the never-failing tendency of political power to increase itself. By making the President the sole distributer of all the patronage of the Government the framers of the Constitution do not appear to have anticipated at how short a period it would become a formidable instrument to control the free operations of the State governments. Of trifling importance at first, it had early in Mr. Jefferson's Administration become so powerful as to create great alarm in the mind of that patriot from the potent influence it might exert in controlling the freedom of the elective franchise. If such could have then been the effects of its influence, how much greater must be the danger at this time, quadrupled in amount as it certainly is and more completely under the control of the Executive will than their construction of their powers allowed or the forbearing characters of all the early Presidents permitted them to make. But it is not by the extent of its patronage alone that the executive department has become dangerous, but by the use which it appears may be made of the appointing power to bring under its control the whole revenues of the country. The Constitution has declared it to be the duty of the President to see that the laws are executed, and it makes him the Commander in Chief of the Armies and Navy of the United States. If the opinion of the most approved writers upon that species of mixed government which in modern Europe is termed monarchy in contradistinction to despotism is correct, there was wanting no other addition to the powers of our Chief Magistrate to stamp a monarchical character on our Government but the control of the public finances; and to me it appears strange indeed that anyone should doubt that the entire control which the President possesses over the officers who have the custody of the public money, by the power of removal with or without cause, does, for all mischievous purposes at least, virtually subject the treasure also to his disposal. The first Roman Emperor, in his attempt to seize the sacred treasure, silenced the opposition of the officer to whose charge it had been committed by a significant allusion to his sword. By a selection of political instruments for the care of the public money a reference to their commissions by a President would be quite as effectual an argument as that of Caesar to the Roman knight. I am not insensible of the great difficulty that exists in drawing a proper plan for the safe- keeping and disbursement of the public revenues, and I know the importance which has been attached by men of great abilities and patriotism to the divorce, as it is called, of the Treasury from the banking institutions It is not the divorce which is complained of, but the unhallowed union of the Treasury with the executive department, which has created such extensive alarm. To this danger to our republican institutions and that created by the influence given to the Executive through the instrumentality of the Federal officers I propose to apply all the remedies which may be at my command. It was certainly a great error in the framers of the Constitution not to have made the officer at the head of the Treasury Department entirely independent of the Executive. He should at least have been removable only upon the demand of the popular branch of the Legislature. I have determined never to remove a Secretary of the Treasury without communicating all the circumstances attending such removal to both Houses of Congress. 

The influence of the Executive in controlling the freedom of the elective franchise through the medium of the public officers can be effectually checked by renewing the prohibition published by Mr. Jefferson forbidding their interference in elections further than giving their own votes, and their own independence secured by an assurance of perfect immunity in exercising this sacred privilege of freemen under the dictates of their own unbiased judgments. Never with my consent shall an officer of the people, compensated for his services out of their pockets, become the pliant instrument of Executive will. 

There is no part of the means placed in the hands of the Executive which might be used with greater effect for unhallowed purposes than the control of the public press. The maxim which our ancestors derived from the mother country that "the freedom of the press is the great bulwark of civil and religious liberty" is one of the most precious legacies which they have left us. We have learned, too, from our own as well as the experience of other countries, that golden shackles, by whomsoever or by whatever pretense imposed, are as fatal to it as the iron bonds of despotism. The presses in the necessary employment of the Government should never be used "to clear the guilty or to varnish crime." A decent and manly examination of the acts of the Government should be not only tolerated, but encouraged. 

Upon another occasion I have given my opinion at some length upon the impropriety of Executive interference in the legislation of Congress--that the article in the Constitution making it the duty of the President to communicate information and authorizing him to recommend measures was not intended to make him the source in legislation, and, in particular, that he should never be looked to for schemes of finance. It would be very strange, indeed, that the Constitution should have strictly forbidden one branch of the Legislature from interfering in the origination of such bills and that it should be considered proper that an altogether different department of the Government should be permitted to do so. Some of our best political maxims and opinions have been drawn from our parent isle. There are others, however, which can not be introduced in our system without singular incongruity and the production of much mischief, and this I conceive to be one. No matter in which of the houses of Parliament a bill may originate nor by whom introduced--a minister or a member of the opposition-- by the fiction of law, or rather of Constitutional principle, the sovereign is supposed to have prepared it agreeably to his will and then submitted it to Parliament for their advice and consent. Now the very reverse is the case here, not only with regard to the principle, but the forms prescribed by the Constitution. The principle certainly assigns to the only body constituted by the Constitution (the legislative body) the power to make laws, and the forms even direct that the enactment should be ascribed to them. The Senate, in relation to revenue bills, have the right to propose amendments, and so has the Executive by the power given him to return them to the House of Representatives with his objections. It is in his power also to propose amendments in the existing revenue laws, suggested by his observations upon their defective or injurious operation. But the delicate duty of devising schemes of revenue should be left where the Constitution has placed it--with the immediate representatives of the people. For similar reasons the mode of keeping the public treasure should be prescribed by them, and the further removed it may be from the control of the Executive the more wholesome the arrangement and the more in accordance with republican principle. 

Connected with this subject is the character of the currency. The idea of making it exclusively metallic, however well intended, appears to me to be fraught with more fatal consequences than any other scheme having no relation to the personal rights of the citizens that has ever been devised. If any single scheme could produce the effect of arresting at once that mutation of condition by which thousands of our most indigent fellow-citizens by their industry and enterprise are raised to the possession of wealth, that is the one. If there is one measure better calculated than another to produce that state of things so much deprecated by all true republicans, by which the rich are daily adding to their hoards and the poor sinking deeper into penury, it is an exclusive metallic currency. Or if there is a process by which the character of the country for generosity and nobleness of feeling may be destroyed by the great increase and neck toleration of usury, it is an exclusive metallic currency. 

Amongst the other duties of a delicate character which the President is called upon to perform is the supervision of the government of the Territories of the United States. Those of them which are destined to become members of our great political family are compensated by their rapid progress from infancy to manhood for the partial and temporary deprivation of their political rights. It is in this District only where American citizens are to be found who under a settled policy are deprived of many important political privileges without any inspiring hope as to the future. Their only consolation under circumstances of such deprivation is that of the devoted exterior guards of a camp--that their sufferings secure tranquillity and safety within. Are there any of their countrymen, who would subject them to greater sacrifices, to any other humiliations than those essentially necessary to the security of the object for which they were thus separated from their fellow-citizens? Are their rights alone not to be guaranteed by the application of those great principles upon which all our Constitutions are founded? We are told by the greatest of British orators and statesmen that at the commencement of the War of the Revolution the most stupid men in England spoke of "their American subjects." Are there, indeed, citizens of any of our States who have dreamed of their subjects in the District of Columbia? Such dreams can never be realized by any agency of mine. The people of the District of Columbia are not the subjects of the people of the States, but free American citizens. Being in the latter condition when the Constitution was formed, no words used in that instrument could have been intended to deprive them of that character. If there is anything in the great principle of unalienable rights so emphatically insisted upon in our Declaration of Independence, they could neither make nor the United States accept a surrender of their liberties and become the subjects--in other words, the slaves--of their former fellow-citizens. If this be true--and it will scarcely be denied by anyone who has a correct idea of his own rights as an American citizen--the grant to Congress of exclusive jurisdiction in the District of Columbia can be interpreted, so far as respects the aggregate people of the United States, as meaning nothing more than to allow to Congress the controlling power necessary to afford a free and safe exercise of the functions assigned to the General Government by the Constitution. In all other respects the legislation of Congress should be adapted to their peculiar position and wants and be conformable with their deliberate opinions of their own interests. 

I have spoken of the necessity of keeping the respective departments of the Government, as well as all the other authorities of our country, within their appropriate orbits. This is a matter of difficulty in some cases, as the powers which they respectively claim are often not defined by any distinct lines. Mischievous, however, in their tendencies as collisions of this kind may be, those which arise between the respective communities which for certain purposes compose one nation are much more so, for no such nation can long exist without the careful culture of those feelings of confidence and affection which are the effective bonds to union between free and confederated states. Strong as is the tie of interest, it has been often found ineffectual. Men blinded by their passions have been known to adopt measures for their country in direct opposition to all the suggestions of policy. The alternative, then, is to destroy or keep down a bad passion by creating and fostering a good one, and this seems to be the corner stone upon which our American political architects have reared the fabric of our Government. The cement which was to bind it and perpetuate its existence was the affectionate attachment between all its members. To insure the continuance of this feeling, produced at first by a community of dangers, of sufferings, and of interests, the advantages of each were made accessible to all. No participation in any good possessed by any member of our extensive Confederacy, except in domestic government, was withheld from the citizen of any other member. By aprocess attended with no difficulty, no delay, no expense but that of removal, the citizen of one might become the citizen of any other, and successively of the whole. The lines, too, separating powers to be exercised by the citizens of one State from those of another seem to be so distinctly drawn as to leave no room for misunderstanding. The citizens of each State unite in their persons all the privileges which that character confers and all that they may claim as citizens of the United States, but in no case can the same persons at the same time act as the citizen of two separate States, and he is therefore positively precluded from any interference with the reserved powers of any State but that of which he is for the time being a citizen. He may, indeed, offer to the citizens of other States his advice as to their management, and the form in which it is tendered is left to his own discretion and sense of propriety. It may be observed, however, that organized associations of citizens requiring compliance with their wishes too much resemble the recommendations of Athens to her allies, supported by an armed and powerful fleet. It was, indeed, to the ambition of the leading States of Greece to control the domestic concerns of the others that the destruction of that celebrated Confederacy, and subsequently of all its members, is mainly to be attributed, and it is owing to the absence of that spirit that the Helvetic Confederacy has for so many years been preserved. Never has there been seen in the institutions of the separate members of any confederacy more elements of discord. In the principles and forms of government and religion, as well as in the circumstances of the several Cantons, so marked a discrepancy was observable as to promise anything but harmony in their intercourse or permanency in their alliance, and yet for ages neither has been interrupted. Content with the positive benefits which their union produced, with the independence and safety from foreign aggression which it secured, these sagacious people respected the institutions of each other, however repugnant to their own principles and prejudices. 

Our Confederacy, fellow-citizens, can only be preserved by the same forbearance. Our citizens must be content with the exercise of the powers with which the Constitution clothes them. The attempt of those of one State to control the domestic institutions of another can only result in feelings of distrust and jealousy, the certain harbingers of disunion, violence, and civil war, and the ultimate destruction of our free institutions. Our Confederacy is perfectly illustrated by the terms and principles governing a common copartnership There is a fund of power to be exercised under the direction of the joint councils of the allied members, but that which has been reserved by the individual members is intangible by the common Government or the individual members composing it. To attempt it finds no support in the principles of our Constitution. 

It should be our constant and earnest endeavor mutually to cultivate a spirit of concord and harmony among the various parts of our Confederacy. Experience has abundantly taught us that the agitation by citizens of one part of the Union of a subject not confided to the General Government, but exclusively under the guardianship of the local authorities, is productive of no other consequences than bitterness, alienation, discord, and injury to the very cause which is intended to be advanced. Of all the great interests which appertain to our country, that of union--cordial, confiding, fraternal union--is by far the most important, since it is the only true and sure guaranty of all others. 

In consequence of the embarrassed state of business and the currency, some of the States may meet with difficulty in their financial concerns. However deeply we may regret anything imprudent or excessive in the engagements into which States have entered for purposes of their own, it does not become us to disparage the States governments, nor to discourage them from making proper efforts for their own relief. On the contrary, it is our duty to encourage them to the extent of our Constitutional authority to apply their best means and cheerfully to make all necessary sacrifices and submit to all necessary burdens to fulfill their engagements and maintain their credit, for the character and credit of the several States form a part of the character and credit of the whole country. The resources of the country are abundant, the enterprise and activity of our people proverbial, and we may well hope that wise legislation and prudent administration by the respective governments, each acting within its own sphere, will restore former prosperity. 

Unpleasant and even dangerous as collisions may sometimes be between the constituted authorities of the citizens of our country in relation to the lines which separate their respective jurisdictions, the results can be of no vital injury to our institutions if that ardent patriotism, that devoted attachment to liberty, that spirit of moderation and forbearance for which our countrymen were once distinguished, continue to be cherished. If this continues to be the ruling passion of our souls, the weaker feeling of the mistaken enthusiast will be corrected, the Utopian dreams of the scheming politician dissipated, and the complicated intrigues of the demagogue rendered harmless. The spirit of liberty is the sovereign balm for every injury which our institutions may receive. On the contrary, no care that can be used in the construction of our Government, no division of powers, no distribution of checks in its several departments, will prove effectual to keep us a free people if this spirit is suffered to decay; and decay it will without constant nurture. To the neglect of this duty the best historians agree in attributing the ruin of all the republics with whose existence and fall their writings have made us acquainted. The same causes will ever produce the same effects, and as long as the love of power is a dominant passion of the human bosom, and as long as the understandings of men can be warped and their affections changed by operations upon their passions and prejudices, so long will the liberties of a people depend on their own constant attention to its preservation. The danger to all well-established free governments arises from the unwillingness of the people to believe in its existence or from the influence of designing men diverting their attention from the quarter whence it approaches to a source from which it can never come. This is the old trick of those who would usurp the government of their country. In the name of democracy they speak, warning the people against the influence of wealth and the danger of aristocracy. History, ancient and modern, is full of such examples. Caesar became the master of the Roman people and the senate under the pretense of supporting the democratic claims of the former against the aristocracy of the latter; Cromwell, in the character of protector of the liberties of the people, became the dictator of England, and Bolivar possessed himself of unlimited power with the title of his country's liberator. There is, on the contrary, no instance on record of an extensive and well- established republic being changed into an aristocracy. The tendencies of all such governments in their decline is to monarchy, and the antagonist principle to liberty there is the spirit of faction--a spirit which assumes the character and in times of great excitement imposes itself upon the people as the genuine spirit of freedom, and, like the false Christs whose coming was foretold by the Savior, seeks to, and were it possible would, impose upon the true and most faithful disciples of liberty. It is in periods like this that it behooves the people to be most watchful of those to whom they have intrusted power. And although there is at times much difficulty in distinguishing the false from the true spirit, a calm and dispassionate investigation will detect the counterfeit, as well by the character of its operations as the results that are produced. The true spirit of liberty, although devoted, persevering, bold, and uncompromising in principle, that secured is mild and tolerant and scrupulous as to the means it employs, whilst the spirit of party, assuming to be that of liberty, is harsh, vindictive, and intolerant, and totally reckless as to the character of the allies which it brings to the aid of its cause. When the genuine spirit of liberty animates the body of a people to a thorough examination of their affairs, it leads to the excision of every excrescence which may have fastened itself upon any of the departments of the government, and restores the system to its pristine health and beauty. But the reign of an intolerant spirit of party amongst a free people seldom fails to result in a dangerous accession to the executive power introduced and established amidst unusual professions of devotion to democracy. 

The foregoing remarks relate almost exclusively to matters connected with our domestic concerns. It may be proper, however, that I should give some indications to my fellow-citizens of my proposed course of conduct in the management of our foreign relations. I assure them, therefore, that it is my intention to use every means in my power to preserve the friendly intercourse which now so happily subsists with every foreign nation, and that although, of course, not well informed as to the state of pending negotiations with any of them, I see in the personal characters of the sovereigns, as well as in the mutual interests of our own and of the governments with which our relations are most intimate, a pleasing guaranty that the harmony so important to the interests of their subjects as well as of our citizens will not be interrupted by the advancement of any claim or pretension upon their part to which our honor would not permit us to yield. Long the defender of my country's rights in the field, I trust that my fellow-citizens will not see in my earnest desire to preserve peace with foreign powers any indication that their rights will ever be sacrificed or the honor of the nation tarnished by any admission on the part of their Chief Magistrate unworthy of their former glory. In our intercourse with our aboriginal neighbors the same liberality and justice which marked the course prescribed to me by two of my illustrious predecessors when acting under their direction in the discharge of the duties of superintendent and commissioner shall be strictly observed. I can conceive of no more sublime spectacle, none more likely to propitiate an impartial and common Creator, than a rigid adherence to the principles of justice on the part of a powerful nation in its transactions with aweaker and uncivilized people whom circumstances have placed at its disposal. 

Before concluding, fellow-citizens, I must say something to you on the subject of the parties at this time existing in our country. To me it appears perfectly clear that the interest of that country requires that the violence of the spirit by which those parties are at this time governed must be greatly mitigated, if not entirely extinguished, or consequences will ensue which are appalling to be thought of. 

If parties in a republic are necessary to secure a degree of vigilance sufficient to keep the public functionaries within the bounds of law and duty, at that point their usefulness ends. Beyond that they become destructive of public virtue, the parent of a spirit antagonist to that of liberty, and eventually its inevitable conqueror. We have examples of republics where the love of country and of liberty at one time were the dominant passions of the whole mass of citizens, and yet, with the continuance of the name and forms of free government, not a vestige of these qualities remaining in the bosoms of any one of its citizens. It was the beautiful remark of a distinguished English writer that "in the Roman senate Octavius had a party and Anthony a party, but the Commonwealth had none." Yet the senate continued to meet in the temple of liberty to talk of the sacredness and beauty of the Commonwealth and gaze at the statues of the elder Brutus and of the Curtii and Decii, and the people assembled in the forum, not, as in the days of Camillus and the Scipios, to cast their free votes for annual magistrates or pass upon the acts of the senate, but to receive from the hands of the leaders of the respective parties their share of the spoils and to shout for one or the other, as those collected in Gaul or Egypt and the lesser Asia would furnish the larger dividend. The spirit of liberty had fled, and, avoiding the abodes of civilized man, had sought protection in the wilds of Scythia or Scandinavia; and so under the operation of the same causes and influences it will fly from our Capitol and our forums. A calamity so awful, not only to our country, but to the world, must be deprecated by every patriot and every tendency to a state of things likely to produce it immediately checked. Such a tendency has existed--does exist. Always the friend of my countrymen, never their flatterer, it becomes my duty to say to them from this high place to which their partiality has exalted me that there exists in the land a spirit hostile to their best interests--hostile to liberty itself. It is a spirit contracted in its views, selfish in its objects. It looks to the aggrandizement of a few even to the destruction of the interests of the whole. The entire remedy is with the people. Something, however, may be effected by the means which they have placed in my hands. It is union that we want, not of a party for the sake of that party, but aunion of the whole country for the sake of the whole country, for the defense of its interests and its honor against foreign aggression, for the defense of those principles for which our ancestors so gloriously contended As far as it depends upon me it shall be accomplished. All the influence that I possess shall be exerted to prevent the formation at least of an Executive party in the halls of the legislative body. I wish for the support of no member of that body to any measure of mine that does not satisfy his judgment and his sense of duty to those from whom he holds his appointment, nor any confidence in advance from the people but that asked for by Mr. Jefferson, "to give firmness and effect to the legal administration of their affairs." 

I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a profound reverence for the Christian religion and a thorough conviction that sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense of religious responsibility are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness; and to that good Being who has blessed us by the gifts of civil and religious freedom, who watched over and prospered the labors of our fathers and has hitherto preserved to us institutions far exceeding in excellence those of any other people, let us unite in fervently commending every interest of our beloved country in all future time. 

Fellow-citizens, being fully invested with that high office to which the partiality of my countrymen has called me, I now take an affectionate leave of you. You will bear with you to your homes the remembrance of the pledge I have this day given to discharge all the high duties of my exalted station according to the best of my ability, and I shall enter upon their performance with entire confidence in the support of a just and generous people.  

James Polk 1845 
Inaugural Address of James Knox Polk

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1845

Fellow-Citizens: 

Without solicitation on my part, I have been chosen by the free and voluntary suffrages of my countrymen to the most honorable and most responsible office on earth. I am deeply impressed with gratitude for the confidence reposed in me. Honored with this distinguished consideration at an earlier period of life than any of my predecessors, I can not disguise the diffidence with which I am about to enter on the discharge of my official duties. 

If the more aged and experienced men who have filled the office of President of the United States even in the infancy of the Republic distrusted their ability to discharge the duties of that exalted station, what ought not to be the apprehensions of one so much younger and less endowed now that our domain extends from ocean to ocean, that our people have so greatly increased in numbers, and at a time when so great diversity of opinion prevails in regard to the principles and policy which should characterize the administration of our Government? Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our country's peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family. 

In assuming responsibilities so vast I fervently invoke the aid of that Almighty Ruler of the Universe in whose hands are the destinies of nations and of men to guard this Heaven-favored land against the mischiefs which without His guidance might arise from an unwise public policy. With a firm reliance upon the wisdom of Omnipotence to sustain and direct me in the path of duty which I am appointed to pursue, I stand in the presence of this assembled multitude of my countrymen to take upon myself the solemn obligation "to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

A concise enumeration of the principles which will guide me in the administrative policy of the Government is not only in accordance with the examples set me by all my predecessors, but is eminently befitting the occasion. 

The Constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safeguard of our federative compact, the offspring of concession and compromise, binding together in the bonds of peace and union this great and increasing family of free and independent States, will be the chart by which I shall be directed. 

It will be my first care to administer the Government in the true spirit of that instrument, and to assume no powers not expressly granted or clearly implied in its terms. The Government of the United States is one of delegated and limited powers, and it is by a strict adherence to the clearly granted powers and by abstaining from the exercise of doubtful or unauthorized implied powers that we have the only sure guaranty against the recurrence of those unfortunate collisions between the Federal and State authorities which have occasionally so much disturbed the harmony of our system and even threatened the perpetuity of our glorious Union. 

"To the States, respectively, or to the people" have been reserved "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States." Each State is a complete sovereignty within the sphere of its reserved powers. The Government of the Union, acting within the sphere of its delegated authority, is also a complete sovereignty. While the General Government should abstain from the exercise of authority not clearly delegated to it, the States should be equally careful that in the maintenance of their rights they do not overstep the limits of powers reserved to them. One of the most distinguished of my predecessors attached deserved importance to "the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administration for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwark against antirepublican tendencies," and to the "preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad." 

To the Government of the United States has been intrusted the exclusive management of our foreign affairs. Beyond that it wields a few general enumerated powers. It does not force reform on the States. It leaves individuals, over whom it casts its protecting influence, entirely free to improve their own condition by the legitimate exercise of all their mental and physical powers. It is a common protector of each and all the States; of every man who lives upon our soil, whether of native or foreign birth; of every religious sect, in their worship of the Almighty according to the dictates of their own conscience; of every shade of opinion, and the most free inquiry; of every art, trade, and occupation consistent with the laws of the States. And we rejoice in the general happiness, prosperity, and advancement of our country, which have been the offspring of freedom, and not of power. 

This most admirable and wisest system of well-regulated self- government among men ever devised by human minds has been tested by its successful operation for more than half a century, and if preserved from the usurpations of the Federal Government on the one hand and the exercise by the States of powers not reserved to them on the other, will, I fervently hope and believe, endure for ages to come and dispense the blessings of civil and religious liberty to distant generations. To effect objects so dear to every patriot I shall devote myself with anxious solicitude. It will be my desire to guard against that most fruitful source of danger to the harmonious action of our system which consists in substituting the mere discretion and caprice of the Executive or of majorities in the legislative department of the Government for powers which have been withheld from the Federal Government by the Constitution. By the theory of our Government majorities rule, but this right is not an arbitrary or unlimited one. It is a right to be exercised in subordination to the Constitution and in conformity to it. One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights. Minorities have a right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such oppression. 

That the blessings of liberty which our Constitution secures may be enjoyed alike by minorities and majorities, the Executive has been wisely invested with a qualified veto upon the acts of the Legislature. It is a negative power, and is conservative in its character. It arrests for the time hasty, inconsiderate, or unConstitutional legislation, invites reconsideration, and transfers questions at issue between the legislative and executive departments to the tribunal of the people. Like all other powers, it is subject to be abused. When judiciously and properly exercised, the Constitution itself may be saved from infraction and the rights of all preserved and protected. 

The inestimable value of our Federal Union is felt and acknowledged by all. By this system of united and confederated States our people are permitted collectively and individually to seek their own happiness in their own way, and the consequences have been most auspicious. Since the Union was formed the number of the States has increased from thirteen to twenty-eight; two of these have taken their position as members of the Confederacy within the last week. Our population has increased from three to twenty millions. New communities and States are seeking protection under its aegis, and multitudes from the Old World are flocking to our shores to participate in its blessings. Beneath its benign sway peace and prosperity prevail. Freed from the burdens and miseries of war, our trade and intercourse have extended throughout the world. Mind, no longer tasked in devising means to accomplish or resist schemes of ambition, usurpation, or conquest, is devoting itself to man's true interests in developing his faculties and powers and the capacity of nature to minister to his enjoyments. Genius is free to announce its inventions and discoveries, and the hand is free to accomplish whatever the head conceives not incompatible with the rights of a fellow-being. All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished. All citizens, whether native or adopted, are placed upon terms of precise equality. All are entitled to equal rights and equal protection. No union exists between church and state, and perfect freedom of opinion is guaranteed to all sects and creeds. 

These are some of the blessings secured to our happy land by our Federal Union. To perpetuate them it is our sacred duty to preserve it. Who shall assign limits to the achievements of free minds and free hands under the protection of this glorious Union? No treason to mankind since the organization of society would be equal in atrocity to that of him who would lift his hand to destroy it. He would overthrow the noblest structure of human wisdom, which protects himself and his fellow-man. He would stop the progress of free government and involve his country either in anarchy or despotism. He would extinguish the fire of liberty, which warms and animates the hearts of happy millions and invites all the nations of the earth to imitate our example. If he say that error and wrong are committed in the administration of the Government, let him remember that nothing human can be perfect, and that under no other system of government revealed by Heaven or devised by man has reason been allowed so free and broad a scope to combat error. Has the sword of despots proved to be a safer or surer instrument of reform in government than enlightened reason? Does he expect to find among the ruins of this Union a happier abode for our swarming millions than they now have under it? Every lover of his country must shudder at the thought of the possibility of its dissolution, and will be ready to adopt the patriotic sentiment, "Our Federal Union--it must be preserved." To preserve it the compromises which alone enabled our fathers to form a common Constitution for the government and protection of so many States and distinct communities, of such diversified habits, interests, and domestic institutions, must be sacredly and religiously observed. Any attempt to disturb or destroy these compromises, being terms of the compact of union, can lead to none other than the most ruinous and disastrous consequences. 

It is a source of deep regret that in some sections of our country misguided persons have occasionally indulged in schemes and agitations whose object is the destruction of domestic institutions existing in other sections--institutions which existed at the adoption of the Constitution and were recognized and protected by it. All must see that if it were possible for them to be successful in attaining their object the dissolution of the Union and the consequent destruction of our happy form of government must speedily follow. 

I am happy to believe that at every period of our existence as a nation there has existed, and continues to exist, among the great mass of our people a devotion to the Union of the States which will shield and protect it against the moral treason of any who would seriously contemplate its destruction. To secure a continuance of that devotion the compromises of the Constitution must not only be preserved, but sectional jealousies and heartburnings must be discountenanced, and all should remember that they are members of the same political family, having a common destiny. To increase the attachment of our people to the Union, our laws should be just. Any policy which shall tend to favor monopolies or the peculiar interests of sections or classes must operate to the prejudice of the interest of their fellow- citizens, and should be avoided. If the compromises of the Constitution be preserved, if sectional jealousies and heartburnings be discountenanced, if our laws be just and the Government be practically administered strictly within the limits of power prescribed to it, we may discard all apprehensions for the safety of the Union. 

With these views of the nature, character, and objects of the Government and the value of the Union, I shall steadily oppose the creation of those institutions and systems which in their nature tend to pervert it from its legitimate purposes and make it the instrument of sections, classes, and individuals. We need no national banks or other extraneous institutions planted around the Government to control or strengthen it in opposition to the will of its authors. Experience has taught us how unnecessary they are as auxiliaries of the public authorities--how impotent for good and how powerful for mischief. 

Ours was intended to be a plain and frugal government, and I shall regard it to be my duty to recommend to Congress and, as far as the Executive is concerned, to enforce by all the means within my power the strictest economy in the expenditure of the public money which may be compatible with the public interests. 

A national debt has become almost an institution of European monarchies. It is viewed in some of them as an essential prop to existing governments. Melancholy is the condition of that people whose government can be sustained only by a system which periodically transfers large amounts from the labor of the many to the coffers of the few. Such a system is incompatible with the ends for which our republican Government was instituted. Under a wise policy the debts contracted in our Revolution and during the War of 1812 have been happily extinguished. By a judicious application of the revenues not required for other necessary purposes, it is not doubted that the debt which has grown out of the circumstances of the last few years may be speedily paid off. 

I congratulate my fellow-citizens on the entire restoration of the credit of the General Government of the Union and that of many of the States. Happy would it be for the indebted States if they were freed from their liabilities, many of which were incautiously contracted. Although the Government of the Union is neither in a legal nor a moral sense bound for the debts of the States, and it would be a violation of our compact of union to assume them, yet we can not but feel a deep interest in seeing all the States meet their public liabilities and pay off their just debts at the earliest practicable period. That they will do so as soon as it can be done without imposing too heavy burdens on their citizens there is no reason to doubt. The sound moral and honorable feeling of the people of the indebted States can not be questioned, and we are happy to perceive a settled disposition on their part, as their ability returns after a season of unexampled pecuniary embarrassment, to pay off all just demands and to acquiesce in any reasonable measures to accomplish that object. 

One of the difficulties which we have had to encounter in the practical administration of the Government consists in the adjustment of our revenue laws and the levy of the taxes necessary for the support of Government. In the general proposition that no more money shall be collected than the necessities of an economical administration shall require all parties seem to acquiesce. Nor does there seem to be any material difference of opinion as to the absence of right in the Government to tax one section of country, or one class of citizens, or one occupation, for the mere profit of another. "Justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country." I have heretofore declared to my fellow-citizens that "in my judgment it is the duty of the Government to extend, as far as it may be practicable to do so, by its revenue laws and all other means within its power, fair and just protection to all of the great interests of the whole Union, embracing agriculture, manufactures, the mechanic arts, commerce, and navigation." I have also declared my opinion to be "in favor of a tariff for revenue," and that "in adjusting the details of such a tariff I have sanctioned such moderate discriminating duties as would produce the amount of revenue needed and at the same time afford reasonable incidental protection to our home industry," and that I was "opposed to a tariff for protection merely, and not for revenue." 

The power "to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises" was an indispensable one to be conferred on the Federal Government, which without it would possess no means of providing for its own support. In executing this power by levying a tariff of duties for the support of Government, the raising of revenue should be the object and protection the incident. To reverse this principle and make protection the object and revenue the incident would be to inflict manifest injustice upon all other than the protected interests. In levying duties for revenue it is doubtless proper to make such discriminations within the revenue principle as will afford incidental protection to our home interests. Within the revenue limit there is a discretion to discriminate; beyond that limit the rightful exercise of the power is not conceded. The incidental protection afforded to our home interests by discriminations within the revenue range it is believed will be ample. In making discriminations all our home interests should as far as practicable be equally protected. The largest portion of our people are agriculturists. Others are employed in manufactures, commerce, navigation, and the mechanic arts. They are all engaged in their respective pursuits and their joint labors constitute the national or home industry. To tax one branch of this home industry for the benefit of another would be unjust. No one of these interests can rightfully claim an advantage over the others, or to be enriched by impoverishing the others. All are equally entitled to the fostering care and protection of the Government. In exercising a sound discretion in levying discriminating duties within the limit prescribed, care should be taken that it be done in a manner not to benefit the wealthy few at the expense of the toiling millions by taxing lowest the luxuries of life, or articles of superior quality and high price, which can only be consumed by the wealthy, and highest the necessaries of life, or articles of coarse quality and low price, which the poor and great mass of our people must consume. The burdens of government should as far as practicable be distributed justly and equally among all classes of our population. These general views, long entertained on this subject, I have deemed it proper to reiterate. It is a subject upon which conflicting interests of sections and occupations are supposed to exist, and a spirit of mutual concession and compromise in adjusting its details should be cherished by every part of our widespread country as the only means of preserving harmony and a cheerful acquiescence of all in the operation of our revenue laws. Our patriotic citizens in every part of the Union will readily submit to the payment of such taxes as shall be needed for the support of their Government, whether in peace or in war, if they are so levied as to distribute the burdens as equally as possible among them. 

The Republic of Texas has made known her desire to come into our Union, to form a part of our Confederacy and enjoy with us the blessings of liberty secured and guaranteed by our Constitution. Texas was once a part of our country--was unwisely ceded away to a foreign power--is now independent, and possesses an undoubted right to dispose of a part or the whole of her territory and to merge her sovereignty as a separate and independent state in ours. I congratulate my country that by an act of the late Congress of the United States the assent of this Government has been given to the reunion, and it only remains for the two countries to agree upon the terms to consummate an object so important to both. 

I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas. They are independent powers competent to contract, and foreign nations have no right to interfere with them or to take exceptions to their reunion. Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true character of our Government. Our Union is a confederation of independent States, whose policy is peace with each other and all the world. To enlarge its limits is to extend the dominions of peace over additional territories and increasing millions. The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our Government. While the Chief Magistrate and the popular branch of Congress are elected for short terms by the suffrages of those millions who must in their own persons bear all the burdens and miseries of war, our Government can not be otherwise than pacific. Foreign powers should therefore look on the annexation of Texas to the United States not as the conquest of a nation seeking to extend her dominions by arms and violence, but as the peaceful acquisition of a territory once her own, by adding another member to our confederation, with the consent of that member, thereby diminishing the chances of war and opening to them new and ever-increasing markets for their products. 

To Texas the reunion is important, because the strong protecting arm of our Government would be extended over her, and the vast resources of her fertile soil and genial climate would be speedily developed, while the safety of New Orleans and of our whole southwestern frontier against hostile aggression, as well as the interests of the whole Union, would be promoted by it. 

In the earlier stages of our national existence the opinion prevailed with some that our system of confederated States could not operate successfully over an extended territory, and serious objections have at different times been made to the enlargement of our boundaries. These objections were earnestly urged when we acquired Louisiana. Experience has shown that they were not well founded. The title of numerous Indian tribes to vast tracts of country has been extinguished; new States have been admitted into the Union; new Territories have been created and our jurisdiction and laws extended over them. As our population has expanded, the Union has been cemented and strengthened. AS our boundaries have been enlarged and our agricultural population has been spread over a large surface, our federative system has acquired additional strength and security. It may well be doubted whether it would not be in greater danger of overthrow if our present population were confined to the comparatively narrow limits of the original thirteen States than it is now that they are sparsely settled over a more expanded territory. It is confidently believed that our system may be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial limits, and that as it shall be extended the bonds of our Union, so far from being weakened, will become stronger. 

None can fail to see the danger to our safety and future peace if Texas remains an independent state or becomes an ally or dependency of some foreign nation more powerful than herself. Is there one among our citizens who would not prefer perpetual peace with Texas to occasional wars, which so often occur between bordering independent nations? Is there one who would not prefer free intercourse with her to high duties on all our products and manufactures which enter her ports or cross her frontiers? Is there one who would not prefer an unrestricted communication with her citizens to the frontier obstructions which must occur if she remains out of the Union? Whatever is good or evil in the local institutions of Texas will remain her own whether annexed to the United States or not. None of the present States will be responsible for them any more than they are for the local institutions of each other. They have confederated together for certain specified objects. Upon the same principle that they would refuse to form a perpetual union with Texas because of her local institutions our forefathers would have been prevented from forming our present Union. Perceiving no valid objection to the measure and many reasons for its adoption vitally affecting the peace, the safety, and the prosperity of both countries, I shall on the broad principle which formed the basis and produced the adoption of our Constitution, and not in any narrow spirit of sectional policy, endeavor by all Constitutional, honorable, and appropriate means to consummate the expressed will of the people and Government of the United States by the reannexation of Texas to our Union at the earliest practicable period. 

Nor will it become in a less degree my duty to assert and maintain by all Constitutional means the right of the United States to that portion of our territory which lies beyond the Rocky Mountains. Our title to the country of the Oregon is "clear and unquestionable," and already are our people preparing to perfect that title by occupying it with their wives and children. But eighty years ago our population was confined on the west by the ridge of the Alleghanies. Within that period--within the lifetime, I might say, of some of my hearers--our people, increasing to many millions, have filled the eastern valley of the Mississippi, adventurously ascended the Missouri to its headsprings, and are already engaged in establishing the blessings of self-government in valleys of which the rivers flow to the Pacific. The world beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our emigrants. To us belongs the duty of protecting them adequately wherever they may be upon our soil. The jurisdiction of our laws and the benefits of our republican institutions should be extended over them in the distant regions which they have selected for their homes. The increasing facilities of intercourse will easily bring the States, of which the formation in that part of our territory can not be long delayed, within the sphere of our federative Union. In the meantime every obligation imposed by treaty or conventional stipulations should be sacredly respected. 

In the management of our foreign relations it will be my aim to observe a careful respect for the rights of other nations, while our own will be the subject of constant watchfulness. Equal and exact justice should characterize all our intercourse with foreign countries. All alliances having a tendency to jeopard the welfare and honor of our country or sacrifice any one of the national interests will be studiously avoided, and yet no opportunity will be lost to cultivate a favorable understanding with foreign governments by which our navigation and commerce may be extended and the ample products of our fertile soil, as well as the manufactures of our skillful artisans, find a ready market and remunerating prices in foreign countries. 

In taking "care that the laws be faithfully executed," a strict performance of duty will be exacted from all public officers. From those officers, especially, who are charged with the collection and disbursement of the public revenue will prompt and rigid accountability be required. Any culpable failure or delay on their part to account for the moneys intrusted to them at the times and in the manner required by law will in every instance terminate the official connection of such defaulting officer with the Government. 

Although in our country the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a part only, but of the whole people of the United States. While he executes the laws with an impartial hand, shrinks from no proper responsibility, and faithfully carries out in the executive department of the Government the principles and policy of those who have chosen him, he should not be unmindful that our fellow-citizens who have differed with him in opinion are entitled to the full and free exercise of their opinions and judgments, and that the rights of all are entitled to respect and regard. 

Confidently relying upon the aid and assistance of the coordinate departments of the Government in conducting our public affairs, I enter upon the discharge of the high duties which have been assigned me by the people, again humbly supplicating that Divine Being who has watched over and protected our beloved country from its infancy to the present hour to continue His gracious benedictions upon us, that we may continue to be a prosperous and happy people.  

Zachary Taylor 1849
Inaugural Address of Zachary Taylor

MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1849

Elected by the American people to the highest office known to our laws, I appear here to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and, in compliance with a time-honored custom, to address those who are now assembled. 

The confidence and respect shown by my countrymen in calling me to be the Chief Magistrate of a Republic holding a high rank among the nations of the earth have inspired me with feelings of the most profound gratitude; but when I reflect that the acceptance of the office which their partiality has bestowed imposes the discharge of the most arduous duties and involves the weightiest obligations, I am conscious that the position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities. Happily, however, in the performance of my new duties I shall not be without able cooperation. The legislative and judicial branches of the Government present prominent examples of distinguished civil attainments and matured experience, and it shall be my endeavor to call to my assistance in the Executive Departments individuals whose talents, integrity, and purity of character will furnish ample guaranties for the faithful and honorable performance of the trusts to be committed to their charge. With such aids and an honest purpose to do whatever is right, I hope to execute diligently, impartially, and for the best interests of the country the manifold duties devolved upon me. 

In the discharge of these duties my guide will be the Constitution, which I this day swear to "preserve, protect, and defend." For the interpretation of that instrument I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority and to the practice of the Government under the earlier Presidents, who had so large a share in its formation. To the example of those illustrious patriots I shall always defer with reverence, and especially to his example who was by so many titles "the Father of his Country." 

To command the Army and Navy of the United States; with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties and to appoint ambassadors and other officers; to give to Congress information of the state of the Union and recommend such measures as he shall judge to be necessary; and to take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed--these are the most important functions intrusted to the President by the Constitution, and it may be expected that I shall briefly indicate the principles which will control me in their execution. 

Chosen by the body of the people under the assurance that my Administration would be devoted to the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of any particular section or merely local interest, I this day renew the declarations I have heretofore made and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain to the extent of my ability the Government in its original purity and to adopt as the basis of my public policy those great republican doctrines which constitute the strength of our national existence. 

In reference to the Army and Navy, lately employed with so much distinction on active service, care shall be taken to insure the highest condition of efficiency, and in furtherance of that object the military and naval schools, sustained by the liberality of Congress, shall receive the special attention of the Executive. 

As American freemen we can not but sympathize in all efforts to extend the blessings of civil and political liberty, but at the same time we are warned by the admonitions of history and the voice of our own beloved Washington to abstain from entangling alliances with foreign nations. In all disputes between conflicting governments it is our interest not less than our duty to remain strictly neutral, while our geographical position, the genius of our institutions and our people, the advancing spirit of civilization, and, above all, the dictates of religion direct us to the cultivation of peaceful and friendly relations with all other powers. It is to be hoped that no international question can now arise which a government confident in its own strength and resolved to protect its own just rights may not settle by wise negotiation; and it eminently becomes a government like our own, founded on the morality and intelligence of its citizens and upheld by their affections, to exhaust every resort of honorable diplomacy before appealing to arms. In the conduct of our foreign relations I shall conform to these views, as I believe them essential to the best interests and the true honor of the country. 

The appointing power vested in the President imposes delicate and onerous duties. So far as it is possible to be informed, I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity indispensable prerequisites to the bestowal of office, and the absence of either of these qualities shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal. 

It shall be my study to recommend such constitutional measures to Congress as may be necessary and proper to secure encouragement and protection to the great interests of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, to improve our rivers and harbors, to provide for the speedy extinguishment of the public debt, to enforce a strict accountability on the part of all officers of the Government and the utmost economy in all public expenditures; but it is for the wisdom of Congress itself, in which all legislative powers are vested by the Constitution, to regulate these and other matters of domestic policy. I shall look with confidence to the enlightened patriotism of that body to adopt such measures of conciliation as may harmonize conflicting interests and tend to perpetuate that Union which should be the paramount object of our hopes and affections. In any action calculated to promote an object so near the heart of everyone who truly loves his country I will zealously unite with the coordinate branches of the Government. 

In conclusion I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence has conducted our common country. Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care which has led us from small beginnings to the eminence we this day occupy, and let us seek to deserve that continuance by prudence and moderation in our councils, by well-directed attempts to assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences of opinion, by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal principles, and by an enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge no limits but those of our own widespread Republic.  

Franklin Pierce 1853
Inaugural Address of Franklin Pierce

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 1853

My Countrymen: 

It a relief to feel that no heart but my own can know the personal regret and bitter sorrow over which I have been borne to a position so suitable for others rather than desirable for myself. 

The circumstances under which I have been called for a limited period to preside over the destinies of the Republic fill me with aprofound sense of responsibility, but with nothing like shrinking apprehension. I repair to the post assigned me not as to one sought, but in obedience to the unsolicited expression of your will, answerable only for a fearless, faithful, and diligent exercise of my best powers. I ought to be, and am, truly grateful for the rare manifestation of the nation's confidence; but this, so far from lightening my obligations, only adds to their weight. You have summoned me in my weakness; you must sustain me by your strength. When looking for the fulfillment of reasonable requirements, you will not be unmindful of the great changes which have occurred, even within the last quarter of a century, and the consequent augmentation and complexity of duties imposed in the administration both of your home and foreign affairs. 

Whether the elements of inherent force in the Republic have kept pace with its unparalleled progression in territory, population, and wealth has been the subject of earnest thought and discussion on both sides of the ocean. Less than sixty-four years ago the Father of his Country made "the" then "recent accession of the important State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States" one of the subjects of his special congratulation. At that moment, however, when the agitation consequent upon the Revolutionary struggle had hardly subsided, when we were just emerging from the weakness and embarrassments of the Confederation, there was an evident consciousness of vigor equal to the great mission so wisely and bravely fulfilled by our fathers. It was not a presumptuous assurance, but a calm faith, springing from a clear view of the sources of power in a government constituted like ours. It is no paradox to say that although comparatively weak the new-born nation was intrinsically strong. Inconsiderable in population and apparent resources, it was upheld by a broad and intelligent comprehension of rights and an all-pervading purpose to maintain them, stronger than armaments. It came from the furnace of the Revolution, tempered to the necessities of the times. The thoughts of the men of that day were as practical as their sentiments were patriotic. They wasted no portion of their energies upon idle and delusive speculations, but with a firm and fearless step advanced beyond the governmental landmarks which had hitherto circumscribed the limits of human freedom and planted their standard, where it has stood against dangers which have threatened from abroad, and internal agitation, which has at times fearfully menaced at home. They proved themselves equal to the solution of the great problem, to understand which their minds had been illuminated by the dawning lights of the Revolution. The object sought was not a thing dreamed of; it was a thing realized. They had exhibited only the power to achieve, but, what all history affirms to be so much more unusual, the capacity to maintain. The oppressed throughout the world from that day to the present have turned their eyes hitherward, not to find those lights extinguished or to fear lest they should wane, but to be constantly cheered by their steady and increasing radiance. 

In this our country has, in my judgment, thus far fulfilled its highest duty to suffering humanity. It has spoken and will continue to speak, not only by its words, but by its acts, the language of sympathy, encouragement, and hope to those who earnestly listen to tones which pronounce for the largest rational liberty. But after all, the most animating encouragement and potent appeal for freedom will be its own history--its trials and its triumphs. Preeminently, the power of our advocacy reposes in our example; but no example, be it remembered, can be powerful for lasting good, whatever apparent advantages may be gained, which is not based upon eternal principles of right and justice. Our fathers decided for themselves, both upon the hour to declare and the hour to strike. They were their own judges of the circumstances under which it became them to pledge to each other "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor" for the acquisition of the priceless inheritance transmitted to us. The energy with which that great conflict was opened and, under the guidance of a manifest and beneficent Providence the uncomplaining endurance with which it was prosecuted to its consummation were only surpassed by the wisdom and patriotic spirit of concession which characterized all the counsels of the early fathers. 

One of the most impressive evidences of that wisdom is to be found in the fact that the actual working of our system has dispelled a degree of solicitude which at the outset disturbed bold hearts and far-reaching intellects. The apprehension of dangers from extended territory, multiplied States, accumulated wealth, and augmented population has proved to be unfounded. The stars upon your banner have become nearly threefold their original number; your densely populated possessions skirt the shores of the two great oceans; and yet this vast increase of people and territory has not only shown itself compatible with the harmonious action of the States and Federal Government in their respective constitutional spheres, but has afforded an additional guaranty of the strength and integrity of both. 

With an experience thus suggestive and cheering, the policy of my Administration will not be controlled by any timid forebodings of evil from expansion. Indeed, it is not to be disguised that our attitude as a nation and our position on the globe render the acquisition of certain possessions not within our jurisdiction eminently important for our protection, if not in the future essential for the preservation of the rights of commerce and the peace of the world. Should they be obtained, it will be through no grasping spirit, but with a view to obvious national interest and security, and in a manner entirely consistent with the strictest observance of national faith. We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace and amity with all nations. Purposes, therefore, at once just and pacific will be significantly marked in the conduct of our foreign affairs. I intend that my Administration shall leave no blot upon our fair record, and trust I may safely give the assurance that no act within the legitimate scope of my constitutional control will be tolerated on the part of any portion of our citizens which can not challenge a ready justification before the tribunal of the civilized world. An Administration would be unworthy of confidence at home or respect abroad should it cease to be influenced by the conviction that no apparent advantage can be purchased at a price so dear as that of national wrong or dishonor. It is not your privilege as a nation to speak of a distant past. The striking incidents of your history, replete with instruction and furnishing abundant grounds for hopeful confidence, are comprised in a period comparatively brief. But if your past is limited, your future is boundless. Its obligations throng the unexplored pathway of advancement, and will be limitless as duration. Hence a sound and comprehensive policy should embrace not less the distant future than the urgent present. 

The great objects of our pursuit as a people are best to be attained by peace, and are entirely consistent with the tranquillity and interests of the rest of mankind. With the neighboring nations upon our continent we should cultivate kindly and fraternal relations. We can desire nothing in regard to them so much as to see them consolidate their strength and pursue the paths of prosperity and happiness. If in the course of their growth we should open new channels of trade and create additional facilities for friendly intercourse, the benefits realized will be equal and mutual. Of the complicated European systems of national polity we have heretofore been independent. From their wars, their tumults, and anxieties we have been, happily, almost entirely exempt. Whilst these are confined to the nations which gave them existence, and within their legitimate jurisdiction, they can not affect us except as they appeal to our sympathies in the cause of human freedom and universal advancement. But the vast interests of commerce are common to all mankind, and the advantages of trade and international intercourse must always present a noble field for the moral influence of a great people. 

With these views firmly and honestly carried out, we have a right to expect, and shall under all circumstances require, prompt reciprocity. The rights which belong to us as a nation are not alone to be regarded, but those which pertain to every citizen in his individual capacity, at home and abroad, must be sacredly maintained. So long as he can discern every star in its place upon that ensign, without wealth to purchase for him preferment or title to secure for him place, it will be his privilege, and must be his acknowledged right, to stand unabashed even in the presence of princes, with a proud consciousness that he is himself one of a nation of sovereigns and that he can not in legitimate pursuit wander so far from home that the agent whom he shall leave behind in the place which I now occupy will not see that no rude hand of power or tyrannical passion is laid upon him with impunity. He must realize that upon every sea and on every soil where our enterprise may rightfully seek the protection of our flag American citizenship is an inviolable panoply for the security of American rights. And in this connection it can hardly be necessary to reaffirm a principle which should now be regarded as fundamental. The rights, security, and repose of this Confederacy reject the idea of interference or colonization on this side of the ocean by any foreign power beyond present jurisdiction as utterly inadmissible. 

The opportunities of observation furnished by my brief experience as a soldier confirmed in my own mind the opinion, entertained and acted upon by others from the formation of the Government, that the maintenance of large standing armies in our country would be not only dangerous, but unnecessary. They also illustrated the importance--I might well say the absolute necessity--of the military science and practical skill furnished in such an eminent degree by the institution which has made your Army what it is, under the discipline and instruction of officers not more distinguished for their solid attainments, gallantry, and devotion to the public service than for unobtrusive bearing and high moral tone. The Army as organized must be the nucleus around which in every time of need the strength of your military power, the sure bulwark of your defense--a national militia--may be readily formed into a well-disciplined and efficient organization. And the skill and self-devotion of the Navy assure you that you may take the performance of the past as a pledge for the future, and may confidently expect that the flag which has waved its untarnished folds over every sea will still float in undiminished honor. But these, like many other subjects, will be appropriately brought at afuture time to the attention of the coordinate branches of the Government, to which I shall always look with profound respect and with trustful confidence that they will accord to me the aid and support which I shall so much need and which their experience and wisdom will readily suggest. 

In the administration of domestic affairs you expect a devoted integrity in the public service and an observance of rigid economy in all departments, so marked as never justly to be questioned. If this reasonable expectation be not realized, I frankly confess that one of your leading hopes is doomed to disappointment, and that my efforts in a very important particular must result in a humiliating failure. Offices can be properly regarded only in the light of aids for the accomplishment of these objects, and as occupancy can confer no prerogative nor importunate desire for preferment any claim, the public interest imperatively demands that they be considered with sole reference to the duties to be performed. Good citizens may well claim the protection of good laws and the benign influence of good government, but a claim for office is what the people of a republic should never recognize. No reasonable man of any party will expect the Administration to be so regardless of its responsibility and of the obvious elements of success as to retain persons known to be under the influence of political hostility and partisan prejudice in positions which will require not only severe labor, but cordial cooperation. Having no implied engagements to ratify, no rewards to bestow, no resentments to remember, and no personal wishes to consult in selections for official station, I shall fulfill this difficult and delicate trust, admitting no motive as worthy either of my character or position which does not contemplate an efficient discharge of duty and the best interests of my country. I acknowledge my obligations to the masses of my countrymen, and to them alone. Higher objects than personal aggrandizement gave direction and energy to their exertions in the late canvass, and they shall not be disappointed. They require at my hands diligence, integrity, and capacity wherever there are duties to be performed. Without these qualities in their public servants, more stringent laws for the prevention or punishment of fraud, negligence, and peculation will be vain. With them they will be unnecessary. 

But these are not the only points to which you look for vigilant watchfulness. The dangers of a concentration of all power in the general government of a confederacy so vast as ours are too obvious to be disregarded. You have a right, therefore, to expect your agents in every department to regard strictly the limits imposed upon them by the Constitution of the United States. The great scheme of our constitutional liberty rests upon a proper distribution of power between the State and Federal authorities, and experience has shown that the harmony and happiness of our people must depend upon a just discrimination between the separate rights and responsibilities of the States and your common rights and obligations under the General Government; and here, in my opinion, are the considerations which should form the true basis of future concord in regard to the questions which have most seriously disturbed public tranquillity. If the Federal Government will confine itself to the exercise of powers clearly granted by the Constitution, it can hardly happen that its action upon any question should endanger the institutions of the States or interfere with their right to manage matters strictly domestic according to the will of their own people. 

In expressing briefly my views upon an important subject rich has recently agitated the nation to almost a fearful degree, I am moved by no other impulse than a most earnest desire for the perpetuation of that Union which has made us what we are, showering upon us blessings and conferring a power and influence which our fathers could hardly have anticipated, even with their most sanguine hopes directed to a far-off future. The sentiments I now announce were not unknown before the expression of the voice which called me here. My own position upon this subject was clear and unequivocal, upon the record of my words and my acts, and it is only recurred to at this time because silence might perhaps be misconstrued. With the Union my best and dearest earthly hopes are entwined. Without it what are we individually or collectively? What becomes of the noblest field ever opened for the advancement of our race in religion, in government, in the arts, and in all that dignifies and adorns mankind? From that radiant constellation which both illumines our own way and points out to struggling nations their course, let but a single star be lost, and, if these be not utter darkness, the luster of the whole is dimmed. Do my countrymen need any assurance that such a catastrophe is not to overtake them while I possess the power to stay it? It is with me an earnest and vital belief that as the Union has been the source, under Providence, of our prosperity to this time, so it is the surest pledge of a continuance of the blessings we have enjoyed, and which we are sacredly bound to transmit undiminished to our children. The field of calm and free discussion in our country is open, and will always be so, but never has been and never can be traversed for good in a spirit of sectionalism and uncharitableness. The founders of the Republic dealt with things as they were presented to them, in a spirit of self-sacrificing patriotism, and, as time has proved, with a comprehensive wisdom which it will always be safe for us to consult. Every measure tending to strengthen the fraternal feelings of all the members of our Union has had my heartfelt approbation. To every theory of society or government, whether the offspring of feverish ambition or of morbid enthusiasm, calculated to dissolve the bonds of law and affection which unite us, I shall interpose a ready and stern resistance. I believe that involuntary servitude, as it exists in different States of this Confederacy, is recognized by the Constitution. I believe that it stands like any other admitted right, and that the States where it exists are entitled to efficient remedies to enforce the constitutional provisions. I hold that the laws of 1850, commonly called the "compromise measures," are strictly constitutional and to be unhesitatingly carried into effect. I believe that the constituted authorities of this Republic are bound to regard the rights of the South in this respect as they would view any other legal and constitutional right, and that the laws to enforce them should be respected and obeyed, not with a reluctance encouraged by abstract opinions as to their propriety in a different state of society, but cheerfully and according to the decisions of the tribunal to which their exposition belongs. Such have been, and are, my convictions, and upon them I shall act. I fervently hope that the question is at rest, and that no sectional or ambitious or fanatical excitement may again threaten the durability of our institutions or obscure the light of our prosperity. 

But let not the foundation of our hope rest upon man's wisdom. It will not be sufficient that sectional prejudices find no place in the public deliberations. It will not be sufficient that the rash counsels of human passion are rejected. It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence. 

We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis. Wise counsels, like those which gave us the Constitution, prevailed to uphold it. Let the period be remembered as an admonition, and not as an encouragement, in any section of the Union, to make experiments where experiments are fraught with such fearful hazard. Let it be impressed upon all hearts that, beautiful as our fabric is, no earthly power or wisdom could ever reunite its broken fragments. Standing, as I do, almost within view of the green slopes of Monticello, and, as it were, within reach of the tomb of Washington, with all the cherished memories of the past gathering around me like so many eloquent voices of exhortation from heaven, I can express no better hope for my country than that the kind Providence which smiled upon our fathers may enable their children to preserve the blessings they have inherited.  

James Buchanan 1857
Inaugural Address of James Buchanan

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1857

Fellow-Citizens:

I appear before you this day to take the solemn oath "that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

In entering upon this great office I must humbly invoke the God of our fathers for wisdom and firmness to execute its high and responsible duties in such a manner as to restore harmony and ancient friendship among the people of the several States and to preserve our free institutions throughout many generations. Convinced that I owe my election to the inherent love for the Constitution and the Union which still animates the hearts of the American people, let me earnestly ask their powerful support in sustaining all just measures calculated to perpetuate these, the richest political blessings which Heaven has ever bestowed upon any nation. Having determined not to become a candidate for reelection, I shall have no motive to influence my conduct in administering the Government except the desire ably and faithfully to serve my country and to live in grateful memory of my countrymen. 

We have recently passed through a Presidential contest in which the passions of our fellow-citizens were excited to the highest degree by questions of deep and vital importance; but when the people proclaimed their will the tempest at once subsided and all was calm. 

The voice of the majority, speaking in the manner prescribed by the Constitution, was heard, and instant submission followed. Our own country could alone have exhibited so grand and striking a spectacle of the capacity of man for self-government. 

What a happy conception, then, was it for Congress to apply this simple rule, that the will of the majority shall govern, to the settlement of the question of domestic slavery in the Territories. Congress is neither "to legislate slavery into any Territory or State nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." 

As a natural consequence, Congress has also prescribed that when the Territory of Kansas shall be admitted as a State it "shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission." A difference of opinion has arisen in regard to the point of time when the people of a Territory shall decide this question for themselves. 

This is, happily, a matter of but little practical importance. Besides, it is a judicial question, which legitimately belongs to the Supreme Court of the United States, before whom it is now pending, and will, it is understood, be speedily and finally settled. To their decision, in common with all good citizens, I shall cheerfully submit, whatever this may be, though it has ever been my individual opinion that under the Nebraska-Kansas act the appropriate period will be when the number of actual residents in the Territory shall justify the formation of a constitution with a view to its admission as a State into the Union. But be this as it may, it is the imperative and indispensable duty of the Government of the United States to secure to every resident inhabitant the free and independent expression of his opinion by his vote. This sacred right of each individual must be preserved. That being accomplished, nothing can be fairer than to leave the people of a Territory free from all foreign interference to decide their own destiny for themselves, subject only to the Constitution of the United States. 

The whole Territorial question being thus settled upon the principle of popular sovereignty--a principle as ancient as free government itself--everything of a practical nature has been decided. No other question remains for adjustment, because all agree that under the Constitution slavery in the States is beyond the reach of any human power except that of the respective States themselves wherein it exists. May we not, then, hope that the long agitation on this subject is approaching its end, and that the geographical parties to which it has given birth, so much dreaded by the Father of his Country, will speedily become extinct? Most happy will it be for the country when the public mind shall be diverted from this question to others of more pressing and practical importance. Throughout the whole progress of this agitation, which has scarcely known any intermission for more than twenty years, whilst it has been productive of no positive good to any human being it has been the prolific source of great evils to the master, to the slave, and to the whole country. It has alienated and estranged the people of the sister States from each other, and has even seriously endangered the very existence of the Union. Nor has the danger yet entirely ceased. Under our system there is a remedy for all mere political evils in the sound sense and sober judgment of the people. Time is a great corrective. Political subjects which but a few years ago excited and exasperated the public mind have passed away and are now nearly forgotten. But this question of domestic slavery is of far graver importance than any mere political question, because should the agitation continue it may eventually endanger the personal safety of a large portion of our countrymen where the institution exists. In that event no form of government, however admirable in itself and however productive of material benefits, can compensate for the loss of peace and domestic security around the family altar. Let every Union-loving man, therefore, exert his best influence to suppress this agitation, which since the recent legislation of Congress is without any legitimate object. 

It is an evil omen of the times that men have undertaken to calculate the mere material value of the Union. Reasoned estimates have been presented of the pecuniary profits and local advantages which would result to different States and sections from its dissolution and of the comparative injuries which such an event would inflict on other States and sections. Even descending to this low and narrow view of the mighty question, all such calculations are at fault. The bare reference to a single consideration will be conclusive on this point. We at present enjoy a free trade throughout our extensive and expanding country such as the world has never witnessed. This trade is conducted on railroads and canals, on noble rivers and arms of the sea, which bind together the North and the South, the East and the West, of our Confederacy. Annihilate this trade, arrest its free progress by the geographical lines of jealous and hostile States, and you destroy the prosperity and onward march of the whole and every part and involve all in one common ruin. But such considerations, important as they are in themselves, sink into insignificance when we reflect on the terrific evils which would result from disunion to every portion of the Confederacy--to the North, not more than to the South, to the East not more than to the West. These I shall not attempt to portray, because I feel an humble confidence that the kind Providence which inspired our fathers with wisdom to frame the most perfect form of government and union ever devised by man will not suffer it to perish until it shall have been peacefully instrumental by its example in the extension of civil and religious liberty throughout the world. 

Next in importance to the maintenance of the Constitution and the Union is the duty of preserving the Government free from the taint or even the suspicion of corruption. Public virtue is the vital spirit of republics, and history proves that when this has decayed and the love of money has usurped its place, although the forms of free government may remain for a season, the substance has departed forever. 

Our present financial condition is without a parallel in history. No nation has ever before been embarrassed from too large a surplus in its treasury. This almost necessarily gives birth to extravagant legislation. It produces wild schemes of expenditure and begets a race of speculators and jobbers, whose ingenuity is exerted in contriving and promoting expedients to obtain public money. The purity of official agents, whether rightfully or wrongfully, is suspected, and the character of the government suffers in the estimation of the people. This is in itself a very great evil. 

The natural mode of relief from this embarrassment is to appropriate the surplus in the Treasury to great national objects for which a clear warrant can be found in the Constitution. Among these I might mention the extinguishment of the public debt, a reasonable increase of the Navy, which is at present inadequate to the protection of our vast tonnage afloat, now greater than that of any other nation, as well as to the defense of our extended seacoast. 

It is beyond all question the true principle that no more revenue ought to be collected from the people than the amount necessary to defray the expenses of a wise, economical, and efficient administration of the Government. To reach this point it was necessary to resort to a modification of the tariff, and this has, I trust, been accomplished in such a manner as to do as little injury as may have been practicable to our domestic manufactures, especially those necessary for the defense of the country. Any discrimination against a particular branch for the purpose of benefiting favored corporations, individuals, or interests would have been unjust to the rest of the community and inconsistent with that spirit of fairness and equality which ought to govern in the adjustment of a revenue tariff. 

But the squandering of the public money sinks into comparative insignificance as a temptation to corruption when compared with the squandering of the public lands. 

No nation in the tide of time has ever been blessed with so rich and noble an inheritance as we enjoy in the public lands. In administering this important trust, whilst it may be wise to grant portions of them for the improvement of the remainder, yet we should never forget that it is our cardinal policy to reserve these lands, as much as may be, for actual settlers, and this at moderate prices. We shall thus not only best promote the prosperity of the new States and Territories, by furnishing them a hardy and independent race of honest and industrious citizens, but shall secure homes for our children and our children's children, as well as for those exiles from foreign shores who may seek in this country to improve their condition and to enjoy the blessings of civil and religious liberty. Such emigrants have done much to promote the growth and prosperity of the country. They have proved faithful both in peace and in war. After becoming citizens they are entitled, under the Constitution and laws, to be placed on a perfect equality with native-born citizens, and in this character they should ever be kindly recognized. 

The Federal Constitution is a grant from the States to Congress of certain specific powers, and the question whether this grant should be liberally or strictly construed has more or less divided political parties from the beginning. Without entering into the argument, I desire to state at the commencement of my Administration that long experience and observation have convinced me that a strict construction of the powers of the Government is the only true, as well as the only safe, theory of the Constitution. Whenever in our past history doubtful powers have been exercised by Congress, these have never failed to produce injurious and unhappy consequences. Many such instances might be adduced if this were the proper occasion. Neither is it necessary for the public service to strain the language of the Constitution, because all the great and useful powers required for a successful administration of the Government, both in peace and in war, have been granted, either in express terms or by the plainest implication. 

Whilst deeply convinced of these truths, I yet consider it clear that under the war-making power Congress may appropriate money toward the construction of a military road when this is absolutely necessary for the defense of any State or Territory of the Union against foreign invasion. Under the Constitution Congress has power "to declare war," "to raise and support armies," "to provide and maintain a navy," and to call forth the militia to "repel invasions." Thus endowed, in an ample manner, with the war-making power, the corresponding duty is required that "the United States shall protect each of them the States] against invasion." Now, how is it possible to afford this protection to California and our Pacific possessions except by means of a military road through the Territories of the United States, over which men and munitions of war may be speedily transported from the Atlantic States to meet and to repel the invader? In the event of a war with a naval power much stronger than our own we should then have no other available access to the Pacific Coast, because such a power would instantly close the route across the isthmus of Central America. It is impossible to conceive that whilst the Constitution has expressly required Congress to defend all the States it should yet deny to them, by any fair construction, the only possible means by which one of these States can be defended. Besides, the Government, ever since its origin, has been in the constant practice of constructing military roads. It might also be wise to consider whether the love for the Union which now animates our fellow-citizens on the Pacific Coast may not be impaired by our neglect or refusal to provide for them, in their remote and isolated condition, the only means by which the power of the States on this side of the Rocky Mountains can reach them in sufficient time to "protect" them "against invasion." I forbear for the present from expressing an opinion as to the wisest and most economical mode in which the Government can lend its aid in accomplishing this great and necessary work. I believe that many of the difficulties in the way, which now appear formidable, will in a great degree vanish as soon as the nearest and best route shall have been satisfactorily ascertained. 

It may be proper that on this occasion I should make some brief remarks in regard to our rights and duties as a member of the great family of nations. In our intercourse with them there are some plain principles, approved by our own experience, from which we should never depart. We ought to cultivate peace, commerce, and friendship with all nations, and this not merely as the best means of promoting our own material interests, but in a spirit of Christian benevolence toward our fellow-men, wherever their lot may be cast. Our diplomacy should be direct and frank, neither seeking to obtain more nor accepting less than is our due. We ought to cherish a sacred regard for the independence of all nations, and never attempt to interfere in the domestic concerns of any unless this shall be imperatively required by the great law of self-preservation. To avoid entangling alliances has been a maxim of our policy ever since the days of Washington, and its wisdom's no one will attempt to dispute. In short, we ought to do justice in a kindly spirit to all nations and require justice from them in return. 

It is our glory that whilst other nations have extended their dominions by the sword we have never acquired any territory except by fair purchase or, as in the case of Texas, by the voluntary determination of a brave, kindred, and independent people to blend their destinies with our own. Even our acquisitions from Mexico form no exception. Unwilling to take advantage of the fortune of war against a sister republic, we purchased these possessions under the treaty of peace for a sum which was considered at the time a fair equivalent. Our past history forbids that we shall in the future acquire territory unless this be sanctioned by the laws of justice and honor. Acting on this principle, no nation will have a right to interfere or to complain if in the progress of events we shall still further extend our possessions. Hitherto in all our acquisitions the people, under the protection of the American flag, have enjoyed civil and religious liberty, as well as equal and just laws, and have been contented, prosperous, and happy. Their trade with the rest of the world has rapidly increased, and thus every commercial nation has shared largely in their successful progress. 

I shall now proceed to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution, whilst humbly invoking the blessing of Divine Providence on this great people.  




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So you want to become the President of the United States of America?

Opposite sides, same views:- Opposames! 
see http://www.truefacts.co.uk/articles/a0002.html By Paul Vigay 25th March, 2000

Mr Tony Blair the Ex-Prime Minister Britain was a guest of the annual Bilderberg meeting in 1993, together with his colleague Kenneth Clarke. Hang on a minute though..... Aren't those two on opposite sides? 

What about Bilderberg attendees Margaret Thatcher and Denis Healey - 

and you thought we lived in a democracy where your vote actually counted.

Paul Vigay looks into the shady world of global conspiracies and manipulations.
His findings are at least eye-opening, at worst downright frightening. Have you ever wondered if there really is a 'global elite'? Some secret group of people who control world events and hide their agenda from public knowledge?

Could there be a group of people; politicians, heads of multinational companies, directors of world banking organisations and even royalty, who decide what policies will determine the way ordinary people live - and die?

As David Icke says, it is relatively easy for a small group of people to control the masses when everyday we give our power and freedom away, fearing to step out from the comfort of our 'hassle free zone'. Who perpetrate the 'Problem, Reaction, Solution' events which shape and manipulate our perceived 'democracy and freedom'? If you control governments and the media you control the world, or do you? What if a problem so terrible, so grotesque, so 'unbelievable' begins to occur with startling regularity? Do you demand answers? Do you demand what 'the government' is going to do about it? Do you pass the problem to someone else do deal with? What happens if that person you hand the solution to, is the person who created the problem in the first place? So forms the basis for the problem, reaction, solution method of controlling the people with the minimum of effort. Imagine a scenario where a lone-gunman walks into a crowded shopping centre and guns down a number of innocent people. Terrible enough, but what if at a later time, some innocent school children in a quiet, peaceful school are the targets? The more outrageous and disgusting an event, the more people will demand something must be done; "Guns must be banned", "Something must be done now!". 

Believe it or not, David Icke predicted just such a scenario in his 1994 book "The Robots' Rebellion", before we witnessed the terrible events at Dunblane. 

Supposing someone, somewhere wanted the end 'solution' to be "to ban guns". Obviously, gun clubs, enthusiasts and legitimate people are going to complain, perhaps with the backing or at least, indifference, of the general public. After all "it doesn't affect us does it". You need to somehow manipulate the public to demand that you offer the solution. You need a public 'reaction', for which you need to stage a perceived 'problem'. The more horrific and unbelievable you can make it, the more the public will demand what you wanted to do in the first place.

Incidentally, this could account for why Margaret Thatcher was one of Tony Blair's first guests at Number Ten, something the independent media were quick to pick up on after New Labour won power. The same goes for US presidents. Every one since Jimmy Carter has been a Bilderberg representative. Democrat, Republican - it doesn't matter. They all have the same policies, decided upon at top secret meetings held annually in hidden locations.

What exactly are 'The Bilderbergers' then? What are their aims?

This article, mainly extracts from "The Bilderberg Group... the Trilateral Commission... covert power groups of the West", by Robert Eringer, (Pentacle Books, 1980) tries to expose some of their secret agenda. As the concepts and plans behind the global elite could pose such a threat to our freedom, I will periodically return to this subject in order to keep Enigma readers aware of the world around them. If anything in this article, or any keywords on the cover of this issue, strike a chord with you, or if you have further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at the editorial address.


Well if you are thinking of becoming the president of the USA well you should consider becoming a Freemans as most of the USA Presidents have been Freemasons and/or have strong Freemanon and/ot other Fremaosn associated secret societies like Yales famous Skull and Bones Society, The Council On Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commision or the Bilderberg Group.
Also if you are thinking about becomeing the President of the USA and want to live out  your whole term of  office and/or make sure your reputation stays in tact, so you are not forced to resign form some scandal.Then again it pays ot be a member  of the Freemason and/or one of thir other associated secret societies like like Yales famous Skull and Bones Society, The Council On Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commision or the Biilderberg Group. other presidents of the USA like the Kennedy family and Ronald Regan and Richard Nixon tried tp buck the system and go it alone, without joining Freemason and/or one of thir other associated secret societies  like Yales famous Skull and Bones Society, The Council On Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commision or the Bilderberg Group. Look what happened to them. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was shot during a motorcade drive through downtown Dallas, so that gave Freemason Vice President Lyndon Johnson automatic right to be the President of the Uniited States of America. Ronald Reagan - shot and wounded by John W. Hinkley, Jr. If tge bullet had been a little to the left Ronald Regan would have doed and well known Freemason Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush would have automaticlly become the president of the USA a lot earlier than he did.  In fact Ronald Regan had stated publiclt that during the early days o fhis presidential election campagn that he definately would not have George Herbert Walker Bush in his team as Vice President and if elected President of the USA, he would have all secret societies investigated. Yet, for some reason he has not said publicly, he suddenly cxhanged his mind and announced that he was making George Busg his running mate as the Vice President of he won the USA Presential Elections. and certainly did not speak again about investigating any sectret societies. Richard Nixon was forced to resign as a result of the famous Watergate Scandal. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in theWatergate scandal,[1] Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office. Gerald Ford is was also a well known Fremason. So the Watergate Scandal was fairly convenient for helping Gerald Ford in the position of the President of the USA.
  • Abraham Lincoln - assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
  • James Garfield - assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau
  • William McKinley - assassinated by Leon F. Czolgosz
  • John Kennedy - assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald

Presidents who suffered attempted assassinations

  • Andrew Jackson - would-be assassin: Richard Lawrence (both derringers misfired)
  • Harry Truman - Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attempted to storm Blair House, residence of Truman
  • Gerald Ford - would be assassins: Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, in two separate incidences
  • Ronald Reagan - shot and wounded by John W. Hinkley, Jr
The history evidence is fairly clear, if you are keen about trying ot become the President of the United States of Ameerica, all these problems can be solved by joining uo with either
the Freemason and/or one of thir other associated secret societies  like Yales famous Skull and Bones Society, The Council On Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commision or the Bilderberg Group. By doing so yo will make a lot of loyal friends, become rich and powerful, and even if you do not make it to the top of the food chain as the President of the USA, you are sure ot end up with a great well paid job as a public servant working as an assistant to one of the other Freemason Presidents of the USA. 

If you do join the Freemasons, and become the President of the USA, you mae have a great momument built with your name on it,  like the one build below to honout the First Freemason President of The USA George Washington. the name goerge seems ot be very popular when it comes to Freemason USA President..The have in fact been two George Bush Presidents. James is also a popular name to name you son,if you think yoy would like to groom him up for a shot to become the President of the United Stated of America.

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GEORGE WASHINGTON MASONIC NATIONAL MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION Centennial Celebration
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On February 22, 1910, George Washington’s 178th birthday, Masonic leaders from across the nation exterior551.jpgmet in Alexandria, Virginia and formed an association for the purpose of building a great memorial to honor America’s foremost Freemason. February 22, 2010, the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association, will be a day of great festivities.

In honor of the occasion, the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, hosted by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, will be held in nearby Arlington. Delegates will attend the Association’s Annual Meeting and celebrate the 100th Anniversary and Washington’s 278th birthday at the Memorial.

At the Annual Meeting, a new portrait of George Washington as a Freemason will be unveiled. Painted by local artist, Christopher Erney, the portrait will be a new interpretation of Washington. Prints of the portrait will be available at the meeting. Complementing the portrait is a new video. It presents George Washington as the inspiration for the founding of America and explores the founding of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association. Underwritten by the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma, it will be available on DVD and as a download from the Memorial’s website for Masonic education.

The Memorial's new logo to commemorate the occasion was also designed by local artist Christopher Erney.  The logo combines the Washington Family Crest with numerous Masonic symbols. Its Square and Compasses is taken from the Memorial’s 1923 cornerstone affirms the Association's motto "In Memoriam Perpetuam" as it supports Freemasonry in a new century of service.

Following the Annual Meeting, the International Order of DeMolay will rededicate the colossal bronze statue of George Washington in Memorial Hall and reaffirm the role of DeMolay young men in Freemasonry. The statue was a gift to the Memorial from the DeMolay and 2010 marks the 60th Anniversary of its unveiling by President and Past Grand Master Harry S. Truman.

On display during the celebration will be the Trowel and Gavel used at the 1793 Cornerstone Laying of the United States Capitol by George Washington and the 1752 Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 Bible upon which a young Washington took upon himself his Masonic obligations. 

The new White House Stones Exhibit will be inaugurated at the celebration. Each stone in the exhibit is marked by one of the Scots Masons who helped build the White House in the 1790s. The stones were discovered during the restoration of the White House by President Harry S. Truman in 1948. President Truman had the stones labeled and one was sent to each U.S. Grand Lodge and other Masonic organizations. The Exhibit reassembles nearly 50 stones. The Exhibit also includes minute books from Lodge No. 8 of Edinburgh recording the stonemasons’ marks and noting those who have “gone to America.” A matching Minute Book of Federal Lodge No. 1 will show those Scots masons forming the first lodge in 1793 on White House grounds. The exhibit is supported by the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, Valley of Washington, Orient of the District of Columbia, and by the Grand Lodge, F.A.A.M., of the District of Columbia. A gala reception will be held in Grand Masonic Hall and while the Annual Meeting is being held the ladies will enjoy an entertaining program in the North Lodge Room. A Centennial Celebration souvenir booklet containing a brief history of the Association including historic and current photographs will be distributed and several commemorative gift items will also be available and on display.
2010 is a unique celebration year for the Memorial Association. Together we are celebrating 100 years of dedication to Freemasonry’s greatest brother and honoring the countless brothers who built and sustain the Memorial. Equally important, 2010 marks a pledge of rededicated service, trusting in God that the century ahead will be filled with success and achievement. The Association shines as a bright light of Masonry as it fulfills its mission: “To inspire humanity through education to emulate and promote the virtues, character and vision of George Washington, the Man, the Mason and Father of our Country.”

To learn more, please visit the Memorial’s website:  www.gwmemorial.org


What is Freemasonry?

Freemasonry is the oldest fraternal organization in the world. It is dedicated to promoting improvement in the character of its members. A Mason is taught to be a good citizen. To be of good character. To care for those less fortunate, and to give back to his community. The Masonic fraternity contributes over $1 Billion each year to its philanthropic pursuits. Over $750 Million of that in the United States alone. The Crippled Children's and Burns Hospitals sponsored by Shrine Masons are world famous for their ability to help those most in need. Freemasonry traces its roots to the Middle Ages. It is from associations of stone masons, who built the magnificent cathedrals, castles, and monasteries of Europe that the fraternity started. These groups, eventually, began to accept members who were not actual working masons. At that time they adopted the term "Accepted" Masons, and Freemasonry was born.

Is Masonry A Religion?
No, it is not a religion. This is not to say that masons do not have religious beliefs. One of the tenets of the Masonic Fraternity is that its members are free to express their beliefs in the religion of their choice. However, it is also a condition of membership that each recognize that the wonders of the universe are not here as a result of our doing. But rather as a result of a Supreme Being, who brings order and purpose to our existence. Is Masonry A Secret Society? This is a widespread misconception, and is completely untrue. The so-called secrets of Freemasonry have actually been in print for well over a century. The fraternity does nothing to hide its existence, its purpose or its membership. The lessons taught in our meetings are meant for the improvement and education of our members. As such, there are portions of these lessons that are not discussed with those outside of the fraternity. Grand Lodge - Local Lodges A Grand Lodge is the governing body for a series of Local Lodges. The Local Lodge is where individual members belong. It is also where instruction is given and the actual work of the Fraternity is conducted. The first Grand Lodge was founded in London, England in 1717. It is from them that other countries petitioned for their own charters. They formed in groups, establishing their own Grand Lodges, which in turn gave charters to Local Lodges. Today, there are more than 150 Grand Lodges worldwide with a collective membership of more than 6,000,000. What Are The Requirements For Membership? Membership in the Masonic Fraternity is an act of free will. A man must ask for the opportunity. The potential member must be at least eighteen years of age, of sound moral character, and able to express his belief in a Supreme Being. One member of the Local Lodge being petitioned, as well as one other Mason, must be willing to sign his petition. His election is by unanimous consent. Masonic Charity The Masonic Fraternity believes that its members have an obligation to give back to their communities, and to benefit others. It is an important point to emphasize that Masons are taught to go about these tasks in a quiet, unassuming fashion. This is meant to impress upon our members that it is the work, and not the individual, that is of importance. It is also to preserve the dignity of those for whom the work is performed. The philanthropic work of our Grand Lodge jurisdiction and its appendant bodies are as follows:
Freemasonry - A Way of Life As the oldest, largest, and best known fraternal organization in the world, Freemasonry opens its doors to all who endorse its teachings. A strong belief in family, community, pride in our country, and sound ethical and moral values are what distinguish the Masonic fraternity. Our strength lies in the unity of our conviction to these ideals.

Masonic Body Support Charity
Connecticut Grand Lodge The Masonic Charity Foundation, Connecticut Freemasons Foundation
Scottish Rite Schizophrenia Research, Masonic Museum and Library, Children's Learning Centers, and Scholarships
Knights Templar Eye Foundation and Research
Tall Cedars of Lebanon Muscular Dystrophy
Shrines of North America Crippled and Burned Children's Hospitals
Grotto Dental Care for Children with Special Needs Program and an annual grant to United Cerebral Research.
Eastern Star Cancer Research and Religious Scholarships
Amaranth Diabetes Research
Chapter, RAM RICRA
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George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731][1][2][3]– December 14, 1799) was the commander of theContinental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and the first President of the United States of America (1789–1797).[4] For his central role in the formation of the United States, he is often referred to as the father of his country.[5][6]d the official British dating method to the Gregorian calendar with the start of the year on January 1.
George Washington

Personal life Religious beliefs Monuments and memorials  Legacy Early life and education Career French and Indian War (Seven Years War) Militia versus regular army Between the wars American Revolution Presidency

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Portrait of George Washington byGilbert Stuart

The Continental Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces in 1775. The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, lost New York City, and crossed the Delaware River in New Jersey, defeating the surprised enemy units later that year. As a result of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies at Saratoga and Yorktown. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure. Following the end of the war in 1783, King George IIIasked what Washington would do next and was told of rumors that he'd return to his farm; this prompted the king to state, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." Washington did return to private life and retired to his plantation at Mount Vernon.[7]

He presided over the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 because of general dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation. Washington became President of the United States in 1789 and established many of the customs and usages of the new government's executive department. He sought to create a nation capable of surviving in a world torn asunder by war between Britain and France. His unilateral Proclamation of Neutrality of 1793 provided a basis for avoiding any involvement in foreign conflicts. He supported plans to build a strong central government by funding thenational debt, implementing an effective tax system, and creating a national bank. Washington avoided the temptation of war and a decade of peace with Britain began with the Jay Treaty in 1795; he used his prestige to get it ratified over intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. Although never officially joining the Federalist Party, he supported its programs and was its inspirational leader. Washington's farewell address was a primer on republican virtue and a stern warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.

Washington was awarded the very first Congressional Gold Medal with the Thanks of Congress.[8]

Washington died in 1799, and the funeral oration delivered by Henry Lee stated that of all Americans, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".[9] Washington has been consistently ranked by scholars as one of thegreatest U.S. Presidents.

Early life and education

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731][1][2][3] the first child of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington, on their Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father had four children by his first wife, Jane Butler: two died young, but two sons survived (Lawrence, born circa 1718, and Augustine, born circa 1720), making George the third son, but very much younger. Moving to Ferry Farm in Stafford County at age six, George was educated in the home by his father and eldest brother.[10] The growth of tobacco as a commodity in Virginia could be measured by the number of slaves imported to cultivate it. When Washington was born, the population of the colony was 50 percent black, mostly enslaved Africans and African Americans.[11]

In his youth, Washington worked as a surveyor, and acquired what would become invaluable knowledge of the terrain around his native Colony of Virginia.[12] His eldest brother's marriage into the powerful Fairfax family gained young George the patronage ofThomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the Proprietor of the Northern Neck, which encompassed some five million acres. In late July 1749, immediately following the establishment of the town of Alexandria, Virginia along the Potomac River, 17-year old George was commissioned as the first Surveyor of the newly created Culpeper County, Virginia in the interior of the colony. This appointment was undoubtedly secured at the behest of Lord Fairfax and his cousin (and resident land agent) William Fairfax of Belvoir, who sat on the Governor's Council.[13]

Career

Washington embarked upon a career as a planter, which historians defined as those who held 20 or more slaves. In 1748 he was invited to help survey Lord Fairfax's lands west of the Blue Ridge. In 1749, he was appointed to his first public office, surveyor of newly created Culpeper County.[10][14] Through his half-brother, Lawrence Washington, he became interested in theOhio Company, which aimed to exploit Western lands. In 1751, George and his half-brother traveled to Barbados, staying at Bush Hill House,[15] hoping for an improvement in Lawrence's tuberculosis. This was the only time George Washington traveled outside what is now the United States.[16] After Lawrence's death in 1752, George inherited part of his estate and took over some of Lawrence's duties as adjutant of the colony.[17]

In late 1752, Virginia's newly arrived Governor, Robert Dinwiddie, divided command of the militia into four regions and George applied for one of the commands, his only qualifications being his zeal and being the younger brother of the former adjutant. Washington was appointed a district adjutant general in the Virginia militia in 1752,[10] which appointed him Major Washington at the age of 20. He was charged with training the militia in the quarter assigned to him.[18] At age 21, inFredericksburg, Washington became a Master Mason in the organization of Freemasons, afraternal organization that was a lifelong influence.[19][20]

In December 1753, Washington was asked by Governor Dinwiddie to carry a British ultimatum to the French Canadians on the Ohio frontier.[10] Washington assessed French military strength and intentions, and delivered the message to the French Canadians at Fort Le Boeuf in present dayWaterford, Pennsylvania. The message, which went unheeded, called for the French Canadians to abandon their development of the Ohio country. The two colonial powers were heading toward worldwide conflict. Washington's report on the affair was widely read on both sides of the Atlantic.

French and Indian War (Seven Years War)

In 1754, Dinwiddie commissioned Washington a Lieutenant Colonel and ordered him to lead an expedition to Fort Duquesne to drive out the French Canadians.[10] With his American Indian allies led by Tanacharison, Washington and his troops ambushed a French Canadian scouting party of some 30 men, led by Joseph Coulon de Jumonville.[21] Washington and his troops were subsequently overwhelmed at Fort Necessity by a larger and better positioned French Canadian and Indian force, in what was Washington's only military surrender. The terms of surrender included a statement that Washington had assassinated Jumonville after the ambush. Washington could not read French, and, unaware of what it said, signed his name.[22] Released by the French Canadians, Washington returned to Virginia, where he was cleared of blame for the defeat, but resigned because he did not like the new arrangement of the Virginia Militia.[22]

In 1755, Washington was an aide to British General Edward Braddock on the ill-fated Monongahela expedition.[10] This was a major effort to retake the Ohio Country. While Braddock was killed and the expedition ended in disaster, Washington distinguished himself as the Hero of the Monongahela.[23] While Washington's role during the battle has been debated, biographer Joseph Ellis asserts that Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield, rallying the remnant of the British and Virginian forces to a retreat.[24]Subsequent to this action, Washington was given a difficult frontier command in the Virginia mountains, and was rewarded by being promoted to colonel and named commander of all Virginia forces.[10]

In 1758, Washington participated as a Brigadier General in the Forbes expedition that prompted French evacuation of Fort Duquesne, and British establishment of Pittsburgh.[10]Later that year, Washington resigned from active military service and spent the next sixteen years as a Virginia planter and politician.[25]

 Militia versus regular army

As a colonial militia officer, albeit a high ranking one, Washington was acutely conscious of the disparity between officers in the militia and the regular British Army establishment. His eldest brother Lawrence had been fortunate to be awarded a commission in the British Army, as "Captain in a Regiment of Foot", in summer 1740, when the British Army raised a new regiment (the 61st Foot, known as Gooch's American Regiment) in the colonies, for service in the West Indies during the War of Jenkins' Ear.[26][27] Each colony was allowed to appoint its own company officers—the captains and lieutenants—and signed commissions were distributed by Colonel William Blakeney to the various governors.[28]Fifteen years later, when General Braddock arrived in Virginia in 1755 with two regiments of regulars (the 44th and 48th Foot), Washington sought to obtain a commission, but none were available for purchase.[29] Rather than serve as a militia lieutenant colonel, where he would be outranked by more junior officers in the regulars, Washington chose to serve in a private capacity as aide-de-camp to the general; as an aide, he could command British regulars.[30] Following Braddock's defeat, the British Parliament decided in November 1755 to create a new Royal American Regiment of Foot—later renamed King's Royal Rifle Corps. Unlike the earlier "American Regiment" of 1740–42, all of the officers were recruited in England and Europe in early 1756.

 Between the wars

On January 6, 1759, Washington married the widow Martha Dandridge Custis. Surviving letters suggest that he may have been in love at the time with Sally Fairfax, the wife of a friend. Some historians believe George and Martha were distantly related.

Nevertheless, George and Martha made a good marriage, and together raised her two children from her previous marriage, John Parke Custisand Martha Parke Custis, affectionately called "Jackie" and "Patsy" by the family. Later the Washingtons raised two of Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. George and Martha never had any children together—his earlier bout with smallpox followed, possibly, by tuberculosis may have made him sterile. The newlywed couple moved to Mount Vernon, where he took up the life of a planter and political figure.[31]

Washington's marriage to Martha, a wealthy widow, greatly increased his property holdings and social standing. He acquired one-third of the 18,000 acre (73 km²) Custis estate upon his marriage, and managed the remainder on behalf of Martha's children. He frequently bought additional land in his own name. In addition, he was granted land in what is now West Virginia as a bounty for his service in the French and Indian War. By 1775, Washington had doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (26 km2), and had increased the slave population there to more than 100 persons. As a respected military hero and large landowner, he held local office and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses, beginning in 1758.[32]

Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle—fox hunting was a favorite leisure activity. Like most Virginia planters, he imported luxuries and other goods from England and paid for them by exporting his tobacco crop. Extravagant spending and the unpredictability of the tobacco market meant that many Virginia planters of Washington's day were losing money. (Thomas Jefferson, for example, would die deeply in debt.)

Washington began to pull himself out of debt by diversification. By 1766, he had switched Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat, a crop which could be sold in America, and diversified operations to include flour milling, fishing, horse breeding, spinning, and weaving. Patsy Custis's death in 1773 from epilepsy enabled Washington to pay off his British creditors, since half of her inheritance passed to him.[33]

During these years, Washington concentrated on his business activities and remained somewhat aloof from politics. Although he expressed opposition to the 1765 Stamp Act, the first direct tax on the colonies, he did not take a leading role in the growing colonial resistance until after protests of the Townshend Acts (enacted in 1767) had become widespread. In May 1769, Washington introduced a proposal drafted by his friend George Mason, which called for Virginia to boycott English goods until the Acts were repealed. Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts in 1770, and, for Washington at least, the crisis had passed. However, Washington regarded the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 as "an Invasion of our Rights and Privileges." In July 1774, he chaired the meeting at which the "Fairfax Resolves" were adopted, which called for, among other things, the convening of a Continental Congress. In August, Washington attended theFirst Virginia Convention, where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.[34]

American Revolution

After fighting broke out in April 1775, Washington appeared at the Second Continental Congress in military uniform, signaling that he was prepared for war. Washington had the prestige, the military experience, the charisma and military bearing, the reputation of being a strong patriot, and he was supported by the South, especially Virginia. Although he did not explicitly seek the office of commander and even claimed that he was not equal to it, there was no serious competition. Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. Nominated by John Adams of Massachusetts, Washington was then appointed Major General and elected by Congress to be Commander-in-chief.[10]

Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in the field at Cambridge, Massachusetts in July 1775,[10] during the ongoing siege of Boston. Realizing his army's desperate shortage of gunpowder, Washington asked for new sources. British arsenals were raided (including some in the Caribbean) and some manufacturing was attempted; a barely adequate supply (about 2.5 million pounds) was obtained by the end of 1776, mostly from France.[35] Washington reorganized the army during the long standoff, and forced the British to withdraw by putting artillery on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city. The British evacuated Boston and Washington moved his army to New York City.

Although negative toward the patriots in the Continental Congress, British newspapers routinely praised Washington's personal character and qualities as a military commander. These were bold articles about an enemy general who commanded an army in a cause that many Britons believed would ruin the empire.[36] Washington's refusal to become involved in politics buttressed his reputation as a man fully committed to the military mission at hand and above the factional fray.

In August 1776, British General William Howe launched a massive naval and land campaign designed to seize New York and offer a negotiated settlement. The Continental Army under Washington engaged the enemy for the first time as an army of the newly declared independent United States at the Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the entire war. His army's subsequent nighttime retreat across the East River without the loss of a single life or materiel has been seen by some historians as one of Washington's greatest military feats.[37] This and several other British victories sent Washington scrambling out of New York and across New Jersey, which left the future of the Continental Army in doubt. On the night of December 25, 1776, Washington staged a counterattack, leading the American forces across the Delaware River to capture nearly 1,000 Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington followed up his victory at Trenton with another one at Princeton in early January. These victories alone were not enough to ensure ultimate victory, however, as many did not reenlist or deserted during the harsh winter. Washington reorganized the army with increased rewards for staying and punishment for desertion, which raised troop numbers effectively for subsequent battles.[38]

British forces defeated Washington's troops in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched into Philadelphia unopposed on September 26. Washington's army unsuccessfully attacked the British garrison at Germantown in early October. Meanwhile, Burgoyne, out of reach from help from Howe, was trapped and forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga, New York. France responded to Burgoyne's defeat by entering the war, openly allying with America and turning the Revolutionary War into a major worldwide war. Washington's loss of Philadelphia prompted some members of Congress to discuss removing Washington from command. Thisattempt failed after Washington's supporters rallied behind him.[39]

Washington's army camped at Valley Forge in December 1777, staying there for the next six months. Over the winter, 2,500 men of the 10,000-strong force died from disease and exposure. The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a full-scale training program supervised by Baron von Steuben, a veteran of the Prussian general staff. The British evacuated Philadelphia to New York in 1778 but Washington attacked them at Monmouth and drove them from the battlefield. Afterwards, the British continued to head towards New York. Washington moved his army outside of New York.

In the summer of 1779 at Washington's direction, General John Sullivan carried out a decisive scorched earth campaign that destroyed at least forty Iroquois villages throughout present-day central and upstate New York in retaliation for Iroquois and Tory attacks against American settlements earlier in the war. Washington delivered the final blow to the British in 1781, after a French naval victory allowed American and French forces to trap a British army in Virginia. The surrender at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, marked the end of most fighting. Though known for his successes in the war and of his life that followed, Washington suffered many defeats before achieving victory.

In March 1783, Washington used his influence to disperse a group of Army officers who had threatened to confront Congress regarding their back pay. By the Treaty of Paris (signed that September), Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States. Washington disbanded his army and, on November 2, gave an eloquent farewell address to his soldiers.[40]

On November 25, the British evacuated New York City, and Washington and the governor took possession. At Fraunces Tavern on December 4, Washington formally bade his officers farewell and on December 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief, emulating the Roman general Cincinnatus. He was an exemplar of the republican ideal of citizen leadership who rejected power. During this period, there was no position of President of the United States under the Articles of Confederation, the forerunner to the Constitution.

Washington's retirement to Mount Vernon was short-lived. He made an exploratory trip to the western frontier in 1784,[10] was persuaded to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, and was unanimously elected president of the Convention. He participated little in the debates involved (though he did vote for or against the various articles), but his high prestige maintained collegiality and kept the delegates at their labors. The delegates designed the presidency with Washington in mind, and allowed him to define the office once elected. After the Convention, his support convinced many, including the Virginia legislature, to vote for ratification; the new Constitution was ratified by all 13 states.

Presidency

The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously in 1789, and again in the 1792 election; he remains the only president to have received 100% of the electoral votes. At his inauguration, he insisted on having Barbados Rum served.[41] John Adams was elected vice president. Washington took the oath of office as the first President under the Constitution for the United States of America on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City although, at first, he had not wanted the position.[42]

The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a large sum in 1789. Washington, already wealthy, declined the salary, since he valued his image as a selfless public servant. At the urging of Congress, however, he ultimately accepted the payment, to avoid setting a precedent whereby the presidency would be perceived as limited only to independently wealthy individuals who could serve without any salary. Washington attended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts. To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" to the more majestic names suggested.

Washington proved an able administrator. An excellent delegator and judge of talent and character, he held regular cabinet meetings to debate issues before making a final decision. In handling routine tasks, he was "systematic, orderly, energetic, solicitous of the opinion of others but decisive, intent upon general goals and the consistency of particular actions with them."[43]

Washington reluctantly served a second term as president. He refused to run for a third, establishing the customary policy of a maximum of two terms for a president which later became law by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.[44]

Domestic issues

Washington was not a member of any political party and hoped that they would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation. His closest advisors formed two factions, setting the framework for the future First Party System. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton had bold plans to establish the national credit and build a financially powerful nation, and formed the basis of the Federalist Party. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Jeffersonian Republicans, strenuously opposed Hamilton's agenda, but Washington favored Hamilton over Jefferson.

The Residence Act of 1790, which Washington signed, authorized the President to select the specific location of the permanent seat of the government, which would be located along the Potomac River. The Act authorized the President to appoint three commissioners to survey and acquire property for this seat. Washington personally oversaw this effortthroughout his term in office. In 1791, the commissioners named the permanent seat of government "The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia" to honor Washington. In 1800, the Territory of Columbia became the District of Columbia when the federal government moved to the site according to the provisions of the Residence Act.[45][46]

In 1791, Congress imposed an excise on distilled spirits, which led to protests in frontier districts, especially Pennsylvania. By 1794, after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests turned into full-scale riots known as the Whiskey Rebellion. The federal army was too small to be used, so Washington invoked theMilitia Act of 1792 to summon the militias of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and several other states. The governors sent the troops and Washington took command, marching into the rebellious districts.[47] There was no fighting, but Washington's forceful action proved the new government could protect itself. It also was one of only two times that a sitting President would personally command the military in the field. These events marked the first time under the new constitution that the federal government used strong military force to exert authority over the states and citizens.

Foreign affairs

In 1793, the revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Edmond-Charles Genêt, called "Citizen Genêt," to America. Genêt issued letters of marque and reprisal to American ships so they could capture British merchant ships. He attempted to turn popular sentiment towards American involvement in the French war against Britain by creating a network of Democratic-Republican Societies in major cities. Washington rejected this interference in domestic affairs, demanded the French government recall Genêt, and denounced his societies.

Hamilton and Washington designed the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Britain, remove them from western forts, and resolve financial debts left over from the Revolution. John Jay negotiated and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. The Jeffersonians supported France and strongly attacked the treaty. Washington and Hamilton, however, mobilized public opinion and won ratification by the Senate by emphasizing Washington's support. The British agreed to depart their forts around the Great Lakes, the Canadian-U.S. boundary was adjusted, numerous pre-Revolutionary debts were liquidated, and the British opened their West Indies colonies to American trade. Most importantly, the treaty delayed war with Britain and instead brought a decade of prosperous trade with that country. This angered the French and became a central issue in political debates.

Farewell Address

Washington's Farewell Address (issued as a public letter in 1796) was one of the most influential statements of American political values.[48] Drafted primarily by Washington himself, with help from Hamilton, it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union, the value of the Constitution and the rule of law, the evils of political parties, and the proper virtues of a republican people. While he declined suggested versions[49] that would have included statements that morality required a "divinely authoritative religion," he called morality "a necessary spring of popular government." He said, "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."[50]

Washington's public political address warned against foreign influence in domestic affairs and American meddling in European affairs. He warned against bitter partisanship in domestic politics and called for men to move beyond partisanship and serve the common good. He warned against 'permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world',[51]saying the United States must concentrate primarily on American interests. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but warned against involvement in European wars and entering into long-term "entangling" alliances. The address quickly set American values regarding religion and foreign affairs.

Retirement and death

After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. He devoted much time to farming.

On July 4, 1798, Washington was commissioned by President John Adams to be Lieutenant General and Commander-in-chief of the armies raised or to be raised for service in a prospective war with France. He served as the senior officer of the United States Army between July 13, 1798, and December 14, 1799. He participated in the planning for a Provisional Army to meet any emergency that might arise, but did not take the field.[10][52]

On December 12, 1799, Washington spent several hours inspecting his farms on horseback, in snow and later hail and freezing rain. He sat down to dine that evening without changing his wet clothes. The next morning, he awoke with a bad cold, fever, and a throat infection called quinsy that turned into acute laryngitis and pneumonia. Washington died on the evening of December 14, 1799, at his home aged 67, while attended by Dr. James Craik, one of his closest friends, Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown, Dr. Elisha C. Dick, andTobias Lear V, Washington's personal secretary. Lear would record the account in his journal, writing that Washington's last words were "'Tis well." Modern doctors believe that Washington died largely because of his treatment, which included calomel and bloodletting, resulting in a combination of shock from the loss of five pints of blood, as well asasphyxia and dehydration.[53]

Throughout the world men and women were saddened by Washington's death. Napoleon ordered ten days of mourning throughout France and in the United States thousands wore mourning clothes for months.[52][54] To protect their privacy, Martha Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and herself following his death. Only three letters between the couple have survived.

Washington's interment and new tomb

On December 18, 1799, a funeral was held at Mount Vernon, and Washington was interred in a tomb on the estate.[55]

Congress passed a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for his body, supported by Martha. In December 1800, the United States House passed an appropriations bill for $200,000 to build the mausoleum, which was to be a pyramid that had a base 100 feet (30 m) square. Southern opposition to the plan defeated the measure because they felt it was best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon.[56]

In 1831, for the cenntenial of his birth, a new tomb was constructed to receive his remains. Also in that year, an attempt was made to steal the body of Washington, but proved to be unsuccessful.[57] Despite this, a joint Congressional committee in early 1832 debated the removal of Washington's body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol, built byCharles Bullfinch in the 1820s. Yet again, Southern opposition proved to be very intense, antagonized by a ever-growing rift between North and South. Congressman Wiley Thompson of Georgia expressed the fear of Southerners when he said "Remove the remains of our venerated Washington from their association with the remains of his consort and his ancestors, from Mount Vernon and from his native State, and deposit them in this capitol, and then let a severance of the Union occur, and behold the remains of Washington on a shore foreign to his native soil."[58]

On February 16, 1832, John Augustine Washington, brother of George and resident of Mount Vernon, strongly refused to allow anyone to remove the body of George Washington from the estate.[59] This ended any talk of the movement of his remains, and he was moved to the new tomb that was constructed there on October 7, 1837, presented by John Struthers of Philadelphia. After the ceremony, members of the family gathered together, and the key to his tomb was thrown into the Potomac.

Administration, Cabinet and Supreme Court appointments

The Washington CabinetOfficeNameTermPresidentGeorge Washington1789–1797Vice PresidentJohn Adams1789–1797Secretary of StateThomas Jefferson1790–1793

 

Edmund Randolph1794–1795Timothy Pickering1795–1797Secretary of TreasuryAlexander Hamilton1789–1795Oliver Wolcott, Jr.1795–1797Secretary of WarHenry Knox1789–1794

Timothy Pickering1794–1795James McHenry1796–1797Attorney GeneralEdmund Randolph1789–1794William Bradford1794–1795Charles Lee1795–1797

upreme Court Appointments by President George Washington

Supreme Court Appointments by President George Washington
Position Name Term

Chief Justice John Jay 1789–1795 (resigned)
John Rutledge 1795–1796 (rejected)
William Cushing 1796 (declined)
Oliver Ellsworth 1796–1800 (resigned)

Associate Justice James Wilson 1789–1798
William Cushing 1789–1810
John Blair 1789–1795
Robert H. Harrison 1789 (declined)

John Rutledge 1789–1791
James Iredell 1790–1799
Thomas Johnson 1792–1793
William Paterson 1793–1806
Samuel Chase 1796–1811

States joining the Union under Washington's Presidency

 

Original states: North Carolina - 1789 Rhode Island - 1790
New states: Vermont - 1791 Kentucky - 1792 Tennessee - 1796

  Legacy

Representative Henry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade and father of the Civil War general Robert E. Lee, famously eulogized Washington as follows:

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in humble and enduring scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting...Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence and virtue always felt his fostering hand. The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues...Such was the man for whom our nation mourns.[9]

Lee's words set the standard by which Washington's overwhelming reputation was impressed upon the American memory. Washington set many precedents for the national government and the presidency in particular.

As early as 1778, Washington was lauded as the "Father of His Country".[60]

During the United States Bicentennial year, George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 of January 19, 1976, approved by President Gerald Ford on October 11, 1976, and formalized in Department of the Army Order 31-3 of March 13, 1978 with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976.[10] This restored Washington's position as the highest ranking military officer in U.S. history.

Monuments and memorials

Today, Washington's face and image are often used as national symbols of the United States, along with the icons such as the flag and great seal. Perhaps the most prominent commemoration of his legacy is the use of his image on the one-dollar bill and the quarter-dollar coin. Washington, together with Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, andAbraham Lincoln, is depicted in stone at the Mount Rushmore Memorial. The Washington Monument, one of the most well-known American landmarks, was built in his honor. TheGeorge Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, constructed entirely with voluntary contributions from members of the Masonic Fraternity, was also built in his honor.[61]

Many things have been named in honor of Washington. Washington's name became that of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., only one of two capitals across the globe to be named after an American president (the other is Monrovia, Liberia). The state of Washington is the only state to be named after an American (Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia are all named in honor of British monarchs). George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis were named for him, as was Washington and Lee University (once Washington Academy), which was renamed due to Washington’s large endowment in 1796. Countless American cities and towns feature a Washington Street among their thoroughfares.

The Confederate Seal prominently featured George Washington on horseback, in the same position as a statue of him in Richmond, Virginia.

There is even a statue of Washington in London, the capital of his enemies. Based on Jean Antoine Houdon's marble statue in Richmond, Virginia, it was given to the British Nation in 1921 by the Commonwealth of Virginia. It stands in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. It has been claimed that the soil on which the statue stands also comes from America since Washington is reported to have said that he would never stand on English ground.[62][63]

Washington and slavery

The slave trade continued throughout George Washington’s life. On the death of his father in 1743, the 11-year-old inherited 10 slaves. At the time of his marriage to Martha Custis in 1759, he personally owned at least 36 (and the widow's third of her first husband's estate brought at least 85 "dower slaves" to Mount Vernon). Using his wife's great wealth he bought land, tripling the size of the plantation, and additional slaves to farm it. By 1774 he paid taxes on 135 slaves (this does not include the "dowers"). The last record of a slave purchase by him was in 1772, although he later received some slaves in repayment of debts.[64]

Before the American Revolution, Washington expressed no moral reservations about slavery, but in 1786, Washington wrote to Robert Morris, saying, "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery."[65] In 1778 he wrote to his manager at Mount Vernon that he wished "to get quit of negroes." Maintaining a large, and increasingly elderly, slave population at Mount Vernon was not economically profitable. Washington could not legally sell the "dower slaves," however, and because these slaves had long intermarried with his own slaves, he could not sell his slaves without breaking up families.[66]

As president, Washington brought seven slaves to New York City in 1789 to work in the first presidential household– Oney Judge, Moll, Giles, Paris, Austin, Christopher Sheels, and William Lee. Following the transfer of the national capital to Philadelphia in 1790, he brought nine slaves to work in the President's House Oney Judge, Moll, Giles, Paris, Austin, Christopher Sheels, Hercules, Richmond, and Joe (Richardson).[67] Oney Judge and Hercules escaped to freedom from Philadelphia, and there were foiled escape attempts from Mount Vernon by Richmond and Christopher Sheels.

Pennsylvania had begun an abolition of slavery in 1780, and prohibited nonresidents from holding slaves in the state longer than six months. If held beyond that period, the state's Gradual Abolition Law[68] gave those slaves the power to free themselves. Washington argued (privately) that his presence in Pennsylvania was solely a consequence of Philadelphia's being the temporary seat of the federal government, and that the state law should not apply to him. On the advice of his attorney general, Edmund Randolph, he systematically rotated the President's House slaves in and out of the state to prevent their establishing a six-month continuous residency. This rotation was itself a violation of the Pennsylvania law, but the President's actions were not challenged.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793[69] established the legal mechanism by which a slaveholder could recover his property, a right guaranteed by the Fugitive Slave Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 2). Passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by Washington, the 1793 Act made assisting an escaped slave a federal crime, overruled all state and local laws giving escaped slaves sanctuary, and allowed slavecatchers into every U.S. state and territory.

Washington was the only prominent, slaveholding Founding Father who succeeded in emancipating his slaves. His actions were influenced by his close relationship with Marquis de La Fayette. He did not free his slaves in his lifetime, however, but included a provision in his will to free his slaves upon the death of his wife. At the time of his death, there were 317 slaves at Mount Vernon– 123 owned by Washington, 154 "dower slaves," and 40 rented from a neighbor.[70]

Martha Washington bequeathed the one slave she owned outright– Elisha– to her grandson George Washington Parke Custis. Following her death in 1802, the dower slaves were inherited by her grandchildren.

It has been argued that Washington did not speak out publicly against slavery, because he did not wish to create a split in the new republic, with an issue that was sensitive and divisive.[71] Even if Washington had opposed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, his veto probably would have been overridden. (The Senate vote was not recorded, but the House passed it overwhelmingly, 47 to 8.)[72]


Religious beliefs

Washington was baptized into the Church of England.[73][74] In 1765, when the Church of England was still the state religion,[75] he served on the vestry (lay council) for his local church. Throughout his life, he spoke of the value of righteousness, and of seeking and offering thanks for the "blessings of Heaven."

In a letter to George Mason in 1785, Washington wrote that he was not among those alarmed by a bill "making people pay towards the support of that [religion] which they profess," but felt that it was "impolitic" to pass such a measure, and wished it had never been proposed, believing that it would disturb public tranquility.[76]

His adopted daughter, Nelly Custis Lewis, stated: "I have heard her [Nelly's mother, Eleanor Calvert Custis, who resided in Mount Vernon for two years] say that General Washington always received the sacrament with my grandmother [Martha Washington] before the revolution."[77] After the revolution, Washington frequently accompanied his wife to Christian church services; however, there is no record of his ever taking communion, and he would regularly leave services before communion—with the other non-communicants (as was the custom of the day), until, after being admonished by a rector, he ceased attending at all on communion Sundays.[78][79] Prior to communion, believers are admonished to take stock of their spiritual lives and not to participate in the ceremony unless he finds himself in the will of God.[80][81] Historians and biographers continue to debate the degree to which he can be counted as a Christian, and the degree to which he was a deist.

Upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 at a celebration in Newburg, New York, Washington called upon one of his Chaplains, John Gano to offer the prayer of thanksgiving. Washington also requested that Gano baptize him as recorded in The Kentucky State Historical Society register. Virginia Baptists, who were witnesses, state that the baptism was in 1780 or 1781.[82]

He was an early supporter of religious toleration and freedom of religion. In 1775, he ordered that his troops not show anti-Catholic sentiments by burning the pope in effigy on Guy Fawkes Night. When hiring workmen for Mount Vernon, he wrote to his agent, "If they be good workmen, they may be from Asia, Africa, or Europe; they may be Mohammedans, Jews, or Christians of any sect, or they may be Atheists."[80][83] In 1790, he wrote a response to a letter from the Touro Synagogue, in which he said that as long as people remain good citizens, they don't have to fear persecution for having differing beliefs/faiths. This was a relief to the Jewish community of the United States, since the Jews had been either expelled or discriminated against in many European countries.

...the Government of the United States ... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. ... May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

The United States Bill of Rights was in the process of being ratified at the time.

Personal life

Along with Martha's biological family noted above, George Washington had a close relationship with his nephew and heir Bushrod Washington, son of George's younger brotherJohn Augustine Washington. Bushrod became an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court after George's death.

As a young man, Washington had red hair.[84][85] A popular myth is that he wore a wig, as was the fashion among some at the time. Washington did not wear a wig; instead he powdered his hair,[86] as represented in several portraits, including the well-known unfinished Gilbert Stuart depiction.[87]

Washington suffered from problems with his teeth throughout his life. He lost his first adult tooth when he was twenty-two and had only one left by the time he became President.[88] John Adams claims he lost them because he used them to crack Brazil nuts but modern historians suggest the mercury oxide which he was given to treat illnesses such as smallpox and malaria probably contributed to the loss.[88] He had several sets of false teeth made, four of them by a dentist named John Greenwood.[88] Contrary to popular belief, none of the sets were made from wood. The set made when he became President was carved from hippopotamus and elephant ivory, held together with gold springs.[88][89] The hippo ivory was used for the plate, into which real human teeth and bits of horses' and donkeys' teeth were inserted.[88] Dental problems left Washington in constant pain, for which he took laudanum. This distress may be apparent in many of the portraits painted while he was still in office, including the one still used on the $1 bill.[88]

One of the most enduring myths about George Washington involves his chopping down his father's cherry tree and, when asked about it, using the famous line "I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet." There is no evidence that this ever occurred.[90] It, along with the story of Washington throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac River, was part of a book of mythic stories written by Mason Weems that made Washington a legendary figure beyond his wartime and presidential achievements

See Also:

Cultural depictions of George Washington

Back of statue facing a city building whose facade is Greek columns covered by a huge U.S. flag
The statue of Washington outsideFederal Hall in New York City, looking on Wall Street
Profile of stone face jutting out from a mountainside. Three workers clamber over it, each about the height of the face's upper lip.
Construction on the George Washington portrait at Mount Rushmore, c. 1932. 
Shiny silver coin with profile of Washington bust. He faces left regally and wears a colonial-style queue in his hair. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" is at top, "QUARTER DOLLAR" at bottom, "LIBERTY" at left, and "IN GOD WE TRUST" above "S" at right. Just below the bust is "JF uc" in tiny letters.
Washington is commemorated on the quarter
Gold coin with bust of Washington facing slightly left of but looking sternly straight at the viewer. "GEORGE WASHINGTON" is above, "1st PRESIDENT 1789–1797" below, and "JFM" in tiny letters at the bust's base.
Washington is also commemorated on some dollar coins.

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External links



President-Elect http://www.welt.de/english-news/article2704430/Obama-meets-with-President-Bush-at-White-House.html

Obama meets with President Bush at White House

11.November 2008, 08:58 U.S. President-elect Barack Obama visited the White House on Monday for his first post-election meeting with President George W. Bush, a strikingly symbolic moment in the transition of power. Obama, who will take office on January 20, urged Bush to take immediate action in light of the financial crisis. US President George W. Bush (left) and President-elect Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office of the White House on November 10, 2008. Bush and Obama held private talks that likely included the faltering economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorist threats.


Current president George W. Bush and first lady Laura greeted newly elected president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, with smiles and handshakes, even as Obama’s advisers reviewed some of Bush’s executive orders with an eye to reversing them after he is sworn in on Jan. 20. The two men met privately in the Oval Office for over an hour in talks thought to have encompassed the global financial crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other daunting challenges the Republican president will bequeath to his Democratic successor. It was their first face-to-face encounter following Obama’s resounding victory over Republican John McCain in Tuesday’s election, which will make him the United States’ first black president.
Obama, 47, had repeatedly attacked Bush’s "failed policies“ on the campaign trail, and the Illinois senator swept to power on a theme of change -- specifically, change from the unpopular president’s approach to economics and foreign affairs. Top congressional Democrats have asked the Bush administration to consider aid to the automakers through the financial bailout initiative that has so far covered banks and other financial services companies, and Obama urged Bush to act quickly at their meeting, according to The New York Times. Citing people familiar with their discussion, the Times said Bush indicated he might support some aid for the auto industry and a broader economic stimulus package if Obama dropped his opposition to a free-trade pact with Colombia. Obama’s aides say after taking office he will likely move quickly to roll back Bush’s executive orders that limit stem cell research and expand oil and gas drilling in some areas. But members of Obama’s team cautioned on Monday he had not yet decided whether to reverse executive orders. There was no outward sign of tension, however, when the Obamas stepped from their limousine at the south portico of the White House. Earlier, they had been cheered by crowds of onlookers as their motorcade sped through the capital. "Good morning,“ Laura Bush chirped, though it was well past noon. Obama put his hand on Bush’s back cordially as the two couples entered the mansion. The leaders then strolled down the colonnade side by side, chatting. Obama was the more animated of the two, gesturing with both hands. He had never set foot in the Oval Office before and was ushered in ahead of Bush. While their husbands met, the first lady gave Michelle Obama a tour of the White House living quarters, which will soon be her family’s new home and where daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, will be running the halls.

SENSE OF URGENCY

At the end of a two-hour visit, Bush and Obama had nothing to say to reporters and both camps were mostly tight-lipped. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino would only say that domestic and international issues were discussed and that Bush "again pledged a smooth transition.“ Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the leaders agreed on the need to cooperate in the changeover "in light of the nation’s many critical economic and security challenges.“ Later, as Obama’s plane sat on the airport tarmac in Washington before taking off for Chicago, journalists onboard overheard snippets of a cell phone conversation the president-elect had with an unknown party. "I am not going to be spending too much time in Washington over the next several weeks,“ Obama said. Newly elected presidents traditionally visit the White House between election and inauguration but usually wait longer than Obama did. He came calling at Bush’s invitation after only six days, underscoring a sense of urgency in the transition. It will be the first wartime transfer of power in four decades and comes amid economic upheaval at home and abroad. Financial markets, struggling in a global credit crunch, are awaiting news of Obama’s appointments for key jobs such as Treasury secretary, but a spokeswoman for Obama said on Monday he would not make any Cabinet announcements this week. Obama said in his first post-election news conference on Friday he would not be rushed into making hasty decisions. Underscoring Obama’s assertion he will not act as a shadow president during the transition, an aide confirmed what the White House had been saying -- that he will not attend a global financial summit in Washington on Friday and Saturday. Bush, whose low approval ratings helped propel Obama to victory, has said he will do all he can to help in the changeover. Though visits by incoming presidents to the White House before taking office are a ritual dating back decades, there was little denying Obama’s tour carried special significance. The son of a black father from Kenya and white mother from Kansas, Obama made history by winning the presidency, an achievement seen as a breakthrough in U.S. race relations.

Michelle Obama Michelle Obama The new First Lady of the U.S.A.
Obama the Winner Obama wins a historic presidential election
Barack Obama President Obama Obama's victory speech in Chicago
US-Präsidentenwahl - Mount Rushmore The 44 US Presidents From Washington to Obama
White House Pets The beloved pets of past presidential families
John McCain Why McCain Lost McCain lost due to gaffes, Obama

Previous presidents of the United States of America


George Washington (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799) served as the first President of the United States of America (1789-1797), and led the Continental Army to victory over the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).


John Adams (October 30, 1735 - July 4, 1826). He was elected second President of the United States (1797-1801) after serving as America's first Vice President (1789-1797) for two terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.


Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801-1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States.


James Madison, Jr.(March 16, 1751 - June 28, 1836), the fourth President of the United States (1809-1817), and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

 James Monroe (April 28, 1758 - July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825). His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state.

John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 - February 23, 1848) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the sixth President of the United States from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties.




Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 - June 8, 1845) was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837). He was military governor of Florida (1821), commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy.


Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 - July 24, 1862) was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. He was a key organizer of the Democratic Party, a dominant figure in the Second Party System, and the first president who was not of British or Irish descent.



William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 - April 4, 1841) was an American military leader, politician, the ninth President of the United States, and the first President to die in office. The oldest President elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, Harrison had served 30 days in office, still the shortest tenure in United States presidential history, before his death in April 1841.


John Tyler, Jr. (March 29, 1790 - January 18, 1862) was the tenth President of the United States (1841-1845), and the first ever to obtain that office via succession. He was also the first and one of only two (along with Andrew Johnson) to have no party affiliation during part of his term.


James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795-June 15, 1849) was the eleventh President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. A Democrat, Polk served as Speaker of the House (1835-1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839-1841) prior to becoming president.




Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 - July 9, 1850) was an American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States. Known as "Old Rough and Ready", Taylor had a 40-year military career in the U.S. Army.




Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 - March 8, 1874) was the thirteenth President of the United States, serving from 1850 until 1853, and the last member of the Whig Party to hold that office.


Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 - October 8, 1869) was an American politician and the fourteenth President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. To date, he is the only president from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.


James Buchanan, Jr. (April 23, 1791 - June 1, 1868) was the fifteenth President of the United States (1857-1861). To date he is the only President from Pennsylvania, and is the only never to marry.


Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865), the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through the American Civil War, only to be assassinated as the war was coming to an end. Before becoming the first Republican elected to the Presidency, Lincoln was a lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, a member of the United States House of Representatives.


Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808 - July 31, 1875) was the seventeenth President of the United States (1865-69), succeeding to the Presidency upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He was one of only two U.S. Presidents to be impeached.


Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27, 1822 - July 23, 1885), was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States (1869-1877). He achieved international fame as the leading Union general in the American Civil War.


Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 - January 17, 1893) was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the nineteenth President of the United States (1877-1881). Hayes was elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed election of 1876.


James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 - September 19, 1881) was the twentieth President of the United States. His assassination, six months after he assumed the Presidency, means that his tenure is the second shortest in United States history.


Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) served as the twenty-first President of the United States. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party and worked as a lawyer before becoming the twentieth vice president under James Garfield.


Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 - June 24, 1908) was both the twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States. Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885-1889 and 1893-1897) and thus is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.


Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 - March 13, 1901) was the twenty-third President of the United States, serving one term from 1889 to 1893.


Stephen Grover Cleveland was the only Democrat elected to the Presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1860 to 1912.
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 - June 24, 1908) was both the twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States. Cleveland is the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885-1889 and 1893-1897) and thus is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.

 
William McKinley, Jr. (January 29, 1843 - September 14, 1901) was the twenty-fifth President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected.


Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 - January 6, 1919), was the twenty-sixth President of the United States. A leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Party, he was a Governor of New York and a professional historian, naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier.


William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 - March 8, 1930), the twenty-seventh President of the United States, the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, a leader of the progressive conservative wing of the Republican Party in the early 20th century, a pioneer in international arbitration.


Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 - February 3, 1924) was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University and then became the Governor of New Jersey in 1910.


Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923) was the twenty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death from a heart attack, aged 57, in 1923. A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential newspaper publisher.


John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. (July 4, 1872 - January 5, 1933) was the thirtieth President of the United States (1923-1929). A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state. His actions during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight.

Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 - October 20, 1964) was the thirty-first President of the United States (1929-1933). Besides his political career, Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author.


Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was the thirty-second President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945 and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt were related but only distantly.


Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945-1953). As the thirty-fourth vice president, he succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died less than three months after he began his fourth term.


Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 - March 28, 1969) was the thirty-fourth President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general in the United States Army. During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the successful i




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This is a list of notable Freemasons. Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation which exists in a number of forms worldwide. Throughout history some members of the fraternity have made no secret of their involvement, while others have not made their membership public. In some cases, membership can only be proven by searching through the fraternity's records. Such records are most often kept at the individual Lodge level, and may be lost due to fire, flood, deterioration, or simple carelessness. Grand Lodge governance may have shifted or reorganized, resulting in further loss of records on the member or the name, number, location or even existence of the Lodge in question. In areas of the world where Masonry has been suppressed by governments, records of entire Grand Lodges have been destroyed. Because of this, masonic membership can sometimes be difficult to verify.

Standards of "proof" for those on this list may vary widely; some figures with no verified Lodge affiliation are claimed as Masons if reliable sources give anecdotal evidence suggesting they were familiar with the "secret" signs and passes, but other figures are rejected over technical questions of irregularity in the Lodge that initiated them. Where available, specific Lodge membership information is provided; where serious questions of verification have been noted by other sources, this is indicated as well.phy/esoterica/reuss_t/reuss_t.html GL of BC&Y article on Reuss

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  • Burl Ives, American actor and singer,[26] Magnolia (now Magnolia-La Cumbre) Lodge No. 242, California

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  • Manuel L. Quezon, First president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines under U.S. occupation rule in the early period of the 20th century. Raised March 17, 1908 at Sinukuan Lodge No. 272 (renamed Sinukuan Lodge No. 16). first Filipino Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands that was established in 1917.[188]

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  • John Yarker - English occultist - 1° Lodge of Integrity No. 189 (later 163) Manchester, October 25, 1854, affiliated with Fidelity Lodge No. 623 April 27, 1855 - Expelled from the Ancient and Accepted Rite and Demitted (from all regular Freemasonry), 1862[244]

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  • Duiliu Zamfirescu Romanian novelist, poet, short story writer, lawyer, nationalist politician, journalist, diplomat and

http://www.calodges.org/no406/FAMASONS.HTM

Welcome to Burbank Masonic Lodge No. 406


Famous Masons
U.S. Presidents Presidential Candidates Declaration of Independence Signers Foreign Leaders
Supreme Court Justices U.S. Senators U.S. Military Leaders U.S. Pioneers
Civic Leaders Medical Leaders Sports Authors, Publishers and Poets
Entertainers Religeous Leaders Industry and Commerce Other Famous Freemasons

MASONIC PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES

      George Washington, 1st President, 1789 - 1797, Commanding General during American Revolution, made a Mason August 4, 1753, in Fredericksburg Lodge (now No. 4), A. F. & A. M., Fredericksburg, Virginia.
      James Monroe, 5th President, 1817 - 1825, made a Mason November 9, 1775, in Williamsburg Lodge (now No. 6), A.F. & A.M., Williamsburg, Virginia.
      Andrew Jackson, 7th President, 1829 - 1837 Harmony Lodge No. 1, Nashville, Tennessee, an Honorary Member of Federal Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M., Washington, D.C., and Jackson Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M., Tallahassee, Florida. In 1822 and 1823 he served as the Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee.
      James Knox Polk, 11th President, 1845 - 1849, made a Mason September 4, 1820, in Columbia Lodge No. 31, F. & A.M., Columbia, Tennessee.
      James Buchanan, 15th President, 1857 - 1861, made a Mason January 24, 1817, in Lodge No. 43 (it has no name), F. & A.M., Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
      Andrew Johnson, 17th President, 1865 - 1869, made a Mason during May, 1851, in Greeneville Lodge No. 119 (now No. 3), F. & A.M., Greeneville, Tennessee.
      James Abram Garfield, 20th President. 1881, made a Mason November 22, 1864, in Columbus Lodge No. 30 F. & A.M., Columbus, Ohio.
      William McKinley, 25th President, 1897 - 1901, made a Mason May 3, 1865, in Hiram Lodge No. 21, A.F. & A.M., Winchester, Virginia.
      Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901 - 1909, made a Mason April 24, 1901, in Matinecock Lodge No. 806, F. & A.M., Oyster Bay, New York.
      William Howard Taft, 27th President, 1909 - 1913 - Chief Justice Supreme Court 1921 - 1930, made a "Mason at Sight" in an "Occassional Lodge" called for that purpose on February 18, 1909, in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio, by Charles S. Hoskinson, Grand Master of Masons in Ohio.
      Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th President, 1921 - 1923, made a Mason August 27, 1920, in Marion Lodge No. 70, F. & A.M., Marion, Ohio.
      Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President, 1933 - 1945, made a Mason November 28, 1911, in Holland Lodge No. 8, F. & A.M., New York, New York, the same Lodge in which George Washington, the Nation's first President, held Honorary membership.
      Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945 - 1951, made a Mason March 18, 1909, in Belton Lodge No. 450, A.F. & A.M., Belton, Missouri. He served as the Grand Master of Masons of Missouri in 1940.
Initiated: February 9, 1909, Belton Lodge No. 450, Belton, Missouri.
In 1911, several Members of Belton Lodge separated to establish Grandview Lodge No. 618, Grandview, Missouri, and Brother Truman served as its first Worshipful Master. At the Annual Session of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, September 24-25, 1940, Brother Truman was elected (by a landslide) the ninety-seventh Grand Master of Masons of Missouri, and served until October 1, 1941. Brother and President Truman was made a Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33º, and Honorary Member, Supreme Council on October 19,1945 at the Supreme Council A.A.S.R. Southern Jurisdiction Headquarters in Washington D.C., upon which occasion he served as Exemplar (Representative) for his Class. He was also elected an Honorary Grand Master of the International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay. On May 18, 1959, Brother and Former President Truman was presented with a fifty-year award, the only U.S. President to reach that golden anniversary in Freemasonry.
      Gerald R. Ford, Jr. 38th President, 1974 - 1977. He was raised to the Sublime degree of Master Mason on May 18, 1951 in Columbia Lodge No. 3, F. &.A.M., of Washington, D.C., as a courtesy for Malta Lodge No. 465, F. & A.M. of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
      Lyndon Baines Johnson 1908-1973. 36th President, 1963 - 1969. Entered Apprentice degree Johnson City Lodge No. 561, Johnson City, Texas October 30, 1937. Did not advance.

Presidential Candidates:

      Dewey, Thomas E. - New York Governor
      Dole, Bob - former U.S. Senator/Majority Leader, Kansas; Russell Lodge No. 177, Kansas
      Goldwater, Barry - Former Senator from Arizona
      Humphrey, Hubert H. - Vice President of the United States
      McGovern, George - Senator from South Dakota
      Stassen, Harrold E. - Minnesota Governor &emdash; Fellowship Shekinah Lodge No. 257, St. Paul, MN; 33º, Grand Cross A.A.S.R., S.J.
      Wallace, Governor George C. - Presidential Candidate who was nearly assasinated

Of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, the following were known to be members of a Masonic lodge:

      Benjamin Franklin - 1 of 13 Masonic signers of Constitution of the U.S. member of St. John's Lodge, Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Past Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania
      Elbridge Gerry, member of Philanthropic Lodge, Marblehead, Massachusetts.
      John Hancock, made a Master Mason, at the age of 23, in 1760, in Merchants Lodge No. 1, Quebec City, the first civilian Lodge established in Canada after the Conquest. In 1763, he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he affiliated with St. Andrew's Lodge.
      William Hooper, member of Hanover Lodge, Masonborough, North Carolina.
      Richard Stockton, charter member, and first Master of St. John's Lodge, Princeton, New Jersey.
      Matthew Thornton, made a Mason in a Lodge attached to a British Regiment of Foot during the Siege of Louisburg, Canada, in 1745, serving in a New Hampshire Colonial Regiment as a surgeon. Baron Von Steuben, while at Valley Forge, is said to have conferred the higher Degrees on him and to have been the only Signer who attained the 32nd Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
      George Walton, member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.
      William Whipple, member of St. Johnþs Lodge No. 1, Portsmouth, New Jersey.
      The following named Signers have been referred to as members of the Fraternity by various Masonic writers, and in Masonic publications, but their Lodge affiliation is not known:
      Roger Sherman, claimed to have been made a Mason prior to the American Revolution. A Masonic Apron said to be worn by him is in the collection at Yale University.
      Josiah Bartlett, one so named is listed as a charter member of King Solomon's Lodge, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Descendants, however, say he was not a member of the Craft. There is doubt that this Bartlett is the signer, and records of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts do not show his Lodge affiliation.
      Philip Livingston, often referred to as a Mason, but this is open to debate. Records of the Grand Lodge of New York do not disclose his name. Several members, named Livingston, are noted in the records of Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City, New York.
      Joseph Hewes. Records of Unanimity Lodge No. 7, Edenton, North Carolina, show his name as a visitor on St. John's Day, December, 1776.
      Robert Treat Paine, member of a Massachusetts Lodge. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts records do not show his affiliation He was said to be present at the celebration of St. John's Day, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in June, 1759.
      Thomas McKean, noted as a frequent visitor to Perseverance Lodge No. 2l, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The McKean genealogy has stated he was a Mason, although his name is not found on the records of the Grand Lodge of Delaware, which was not organized until the close of the American Revolution. A brother, Samuel McKean, was a member of the Fraternity.
      John Penn, known to have attended Lodges in North Carolina, but his Masonic affiliation is not known.
      Lyman Hall, claimed to have been a member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.
      William Ellery, claimed as a member of a Lodge in Boston, Massachusetts.
      Thomas Nelson, Jr., claimed to have visited Lodge No. 9, Yorktown, Virginia, after the Siege of that place was lifted in the Revolutionary War, accompanied by Lafayette and Washington.
      Absence of definite proof of the Masonic affiliation of the Signers named in the foregoing paragraphs, precludes the possibility of knowing. This is also the case with Thomas Jefferson; John Adams; Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris; John Witherspoon; George Wythe; Francis Lightfoot Lee; Richard Henry Lee, and others. Caesar Rodney, of Delaware fame, had a son Caesar Augustus Rodney - a member of the Craft. George Read, another Signer from Delaware, had a son - George M. Read - who was Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Samuel Huntington had a son who was Grand Master of Ohio.

Foreign Leaders:

      Abbott, Sir John J.C. - Prime Minister of Canada 1891-92
      Miguel Aleman (Mexican President 1947-52)
      Allende, Salvador - Former President of Chile, Lodge Progresso No. 4, Valpariso
      Emilio Aguinaldo (Phillippine Patriot and General)
      Ataturk, Mustapha Kemal, Former President of Turkey 1923-1938
      Barclay, E-J. - President of Liberia in 1930 - 1941. Depute-Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Liberia in 1930
      Barrientos, Rene. - 1925-1969. President of Bolivie 1964
      Batista, Mariano. 1832-1907. - President of Bolivia in 1892.
      Benes, Eduard - President of Czechoslovakia 1935-1938. Lodge Ian Amos Komensky No. 1, Prague and Lodge Pravda Vitezi
      Bennett, Viscount R.B. - Prime Minister of Canada 1930-35
      Bertrand, Francisco - 1870-1926 President of Honduras.
      Sveinn Bjornsson (1st President of Iceland)
      Bolivar, Simon. 1783-1830 - Hero of the Independence of South American countries from Spain. Known as the George Washington of South America.
      Bonaparte, Napolean - Military Leader, Emperor of France (and his four brothers)
There is serious doubt about Napoleon Bonapart being a Mason among Masonic researchers. His four brothers memberships are well documented.
      Bonaparte, Joseph 1768-1844. - King of Naples
      Borden, Sir Robert L. - Prime Minister of Canada 1911-1920
      Botha, Pik - Former Foreign Minister of South Africa
      Bowell, Sir Mackenzie - Prime Minister of Canada 1894-96
      Brant, Joseph - Chief of the Mohawks 1742 - 1807
      King Charles XIII (King of Sweden 1748-1818)
      Churchill, Winston, Sir. 1874-1965. - Former Prime Minister Member of the Studholme Lodge 1591, of London.
      Diefenbaker, John G. - Prime Minister of Canada 1957-63
      Doumer, Paul - President of France
      Doumergue, Gaston - President of France
      Edward VIII - King of England who abdicated the throne in less than 1 year
      Edward VII - King of England
      Frederic II - King of Prussia
      Frederick the Great, King of Prussia 1740-86
      Francis I Holy Roman Emperor, 1745-65.
      Francis II Holy Roman Emperor, 1768-1806.
      Frederic VII - King of Denmark. 1806-1863.
      Garibaldi, Giuseppe. 1807-1882. - Deputy of Rome.
      George VI - King of England during W.W. II 
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      Georges II 1895-1952. - King of Greece
      Gustave V - King of Sweden 1907 - 1950.
      Gustavus VI Adolphus (King of Sweden 1792-1809)
      Joffre 1852-1931 - Marshall of France.; Kamehemeha IV King of Hawaii (1854-63).
      Kemehemeha V King of Hawaii (1863-72).; Lafayette, Marquis de - French Supporter of Amerian Freedom; Leopold I - King of Belgium (1831-65)
      MacDonald, Sir John A. - Prime Minister of Canada 1867-73 and 1878-91; Mitterand, Alexandre - President of France
      Peter the Great (Emperor of Russia 1689-1725); Tirpitz, Alfred Von 1849-1930 - German Naval officer responsible for submarine warfare
      William I (King of Prussia 1861- 88); William II (King of the Netherlands (1792-1849); William IV (King of England (1830-37)

United States Supreme Court Justices:

      Baldwin, Henry ; Black, Hugo L.Blair, John Jr.,; Blatchford, Samuel; Burton, Harold H. ; Byrnes, James F.; Catton, John; Clark, Thomas C.
      Clarke, John H.; Cushing, William ; Devanter, Willis Van; Douglas, William O.; Ellsworth, Oliver; Field, Stephen J. ; Harlan, John M. ; Jackson, Robert H.; Lamar, Joseph E. 
      Marshall, Thurgood ; Marshall, John - Chief Justice 1801 - 1835; Mathews, Stanley; Minton, Sherman; Moody, William H.; Nelson, Samuel
      Paterson, William - Signer US Constitution ; Pitney, Mahlon; Reed, Stanley F.; Rutledge, Wiley B. Stewart, Potter, Swayne, Noah H., Todd, Thomas, Trimble, Robert 
      Vinson, Frederick M. - Chief Justice 1946 - 1953, Warren, Earl - Chief Justice 1953 - 197?, Governor of California, Grand Master of California, Woodbury, Levi , Woods, William B. 

United States Senators:

      Bryan, Richard; Burns, Conrad; Byrd, Robert; Dirksen, Everett; Douglas, Stephen; Ervin Samual J. Jr, who headed "Watergate" Committee
      Glenn, John H. - First American to orbit the earth in a space craft. Member of Concord #688 Concord, Ohio.
      Grassley, Charles; Hatfield, Mark; Helms, Jesse; Hollings, Ernest; Johnston, Bennett Jr.
      Kemp, Jack - Secretary of HUD, New York; Fraternal Lodge No. 625 in Hamburg, NY, Quarterback for Buffalo Bills; Lott, Trent; Nunn, Sam; Simpson, Alan; Thomas, Craig

United States Military Leaders:

      Aldrin, Edwin E. "Buzz" Astronaut; second man on the moon, Montclair Lodge No. 144 New Jersey.
      Allen, Ethan - General, Revolutionary War; Windsor, Vermont
      Arnold, Gen. Henry "Hap" - Commander of the Army Air Force during World War II
      Bradley, Omar N. - Five Star General of the Army, World War II, U.S.
      Byrd, Richard E. Admiral - Arctic & Anarctic explorer, 1st to fly over North Pole
      Cooper, Gordon "Gordo" - Astronaut
      Chenault, Claire L. - World War II General
      Clark, Mark - World War II General, European Theater
      Doolittle, James - General, famous World War II Air Force Pilot
      Farragut, Admiral David G. (First Admiral of the U.S. Navy)
      Grissom, Virgil (Gus) - Astronaut
      Irwin, Jim - Astronaut
      James, Daniel "Chappie" - General, U.S. Air Force
      Jones, John Paul - Founder and First Admiral of the U.S. Navy - St. Bernard Lodge No. 122 (now St. Cuthbert No. 41)
      King, Ernest J. - World War II Five Star Admiral, Comander of Pacific Theater
      Knox, Henry - Revolutionary War General
      LaMay, Curtis E. - Air Force General, Commander of Strategic Air Command
      MacArthur, Douglas - Five Star General, Allied Commander in the Pacific in World War II,
                        
“Duty, Honor, Country” Speech
      Marshall, George C. - Five Star General, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff World War II, Post war Secretary of State and Architect of the Marshall Plan.
      McClellan, George B. - General, Union Army
      Murphy, Audie - Most decorated American Soldier of World War II
      Peary, Robert E. Admiral - First man to reach the North Pole (1909) - Kane Lodge No. 451, NY
      Perry, Matthew Calbraith - Commodore; responsible for opening relations with Japan; Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City
      Pershing, John Joseph "Blackjack" - General of the Armies, Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I
      Pickett, George E. - Maj. Gen. (CSA), led "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg
      Pike, Zebulon - Military explorer who discovered Pike's Peak, which is named for him
      Rickenbacker, Eddie - Great American Air Force Ace
      Ridgeway, Matthew B. - US Military Leader, General who succeeded MacArthur in Korea
      Schirra, Wally - Astronaut
      Schwartzkopf, Norman - Former U.S. General, Desert Storm commander
      Stillwell, Joseph - World War II General
      Wainwright, Johnathon - World War II General, survived Battan Death March

Pioneers who helped settle the United States:

      Astor, John Jacob - Fur trader and financier
      Austin, Stephen F. - Father of Texas, Louisiana Lodge No. 109, St. Genevieve, Missouri.
      Blair, John - Signer US Constitution
      Bougainville, Louis-Antoine - Navigator.1729-1811
      Bowie, James - Died at the Alamo
      Brearley, David - Signer US Constitution
      Burbank, Luther - Pioneering botanist
      Burnett, David G. - 1st President of the Republic of Texas
      Carson, Christopher "Kit" - Frontiersman, scout and explorer; Montezuma Lodge No. 109, 
New Mexico.
      Clark, William - Explorer (Lewis and Clark)
      Clemens, Samuel L. - Mark Twain - writer
      Cody, William F. "Buffalo Bill" - Indian fighter, Wild West Show
      Colt, Samuel - Firearms inventor
      Crockett, David - American Frontiersman and Alamo fame
      Dayton, Jonathan - Signer US Constitution
      Dubois, W.E.B. - Educator/Author/Historian
      Ellery, William - One of nine Masonic signers of the Declaration of Independence
      Fitch, John - Inventor of the Steamboat
      Fuller, Alfred (Fuller Brush)
      Fulton, Robert - Inventor of 1st Submarine and Steam powered warship
      Gatling, Richard J. - Built the "Gatling Gun"
      Hall, Prince - Founded African Lodge in U.S. African Lodge is the Grandfather of Prince Hall Masonry.
      Henry, Patrick - Patriot
      Henson, Mathew - Explorer
      Henson, Josiah - Inspired the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
      Houston, Sam - 2nd and 4th President of the Republic of Texas
      Jones, Anson - 5th President of the Republic of Texas
      Key, Francis Scott - Wrote U.S. National Anthem
      Lewis, Meriwether - Explorer (Lewis and Clark)
      Lamar, Mirabeau B. - 3rd President of the Republic of Texas
      Lindbergh, Charles - Aviator. First solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean - member of Keystone Lodge No. 243, St. Louis, MO
      Marshall, James W. - Discovered Gold at Sutter's Mill California 1848
      McHenry, James - Signer of the U.S. Constitution - Spiritual Lodge No. 23, Maryland
      Revere, Paul - Famous Midnight Ride - Grand Master of Massachusetts
      Rush, Benjamin - one of nine Masonic signers of the Declaration of Independence.
      Stanford, Leland - California pioneer - Drove the golden spike linking the intercontinetal railroad and founded Stanford University
      Travis, Colonel William B. - died at Alamo
      Wright, Orville and Wilber - Inventors of Airplane

Other Civic Leaders:

      Bradley, Thomas - Mayor of Las Angeles, CA
      Carnahan, Melvin - Governor of Missouri
      Clinton, DeWitt - Governor of New York
      Freeman, Orville - Former Governor of Minnesota and Secretary of Agriculture.
      Hawkins, Augustus F. - US Congressman from California
      Hoover, J. Edgar - Director of FBI
      La Guardia, Fiorella H. - La Guardia Airport, Mayor of New York 1930's and 40's
      New, Harry S. - Postmaster General who established Airmail
      Poinsett, Joel R. - U.S. Minister to Mexico who developed the Poinsettia
      Rangal, Charles B. - U.S. Congressman from New York
      Stassen, Harold - Statesman, signer of U.N. Charter
      Stokes, Louis - U.S. Congressman from Ohio
      Stokes, Carl B. - First Black elected Mayor, Cleveland, Ohio
      Thompson, Tommy - Governor of Wisconsin, Secretary of Health and Human Services 2001 -
      Young, Andrew - Former Mayor of Atlanta

Medical Leaders:

      Desaguliers, Jean-Theophile - Physician. Inventor of the planetarium. 1683-1744.Jenner, Edward - Inventor - Vaccination
      Mayo, Drs. William and Charles - Founded the Mayo Clinic
      Menninger, Karl A. - Psychiatrist famous for treating mental illness
      Mesmer, Franz Anton 1734-1815 - practiced Mesmerism which led to Hypnotism
      Still, Andrew T. - American Physician who devised treatment of Osteopathy
      Wootton, Percy, MD - President American Medical Association (1997- )

Sports Heroes:

      Alexander, Grover C.
      Ballard, Harold Owner Toronto Maple Leafs NHL team. Corinthian No. 481, Toronto, ON.
      Brown, Mordecai P.C.
      Chandler, Albert “Happy”
      Cobb, Tyrus R. “Ty” - Baseball Hall of Fame Player
      Combs, Earle Bryan - Baseball Hall of Fame
      Corchran, Gordon “Mickey”
      Dempsey, Jack - Heavyweight boxing champion
      Hornsby, Rogers - An original member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
      Hubbel, Carl - Baseball; Meeker Lodge No. 479, Oklahoma
      Johnson, John A 'Jack' - Heavyweight boxing title holder
      Mathewson, Christopher “Christy”
      Palmer, Arnold - Golf Pro
      Rickey, Branch - Baseball Legend, Signed Jackie Robinson (first black in major league).
      Robinson, Sugar Ray - World Champion Boxer
      Starr, Bart - Football Quarterback - Green Bay Packers.
      Wagner, Honus - Baseball batting legend
      Young, Cy - Famous baseball pitcher for whom the Cy Young Award is named

Authors, Publishers and Poets:

      Abbott, Robert Sengstacke - Founder/publisher Chicago Defender
      Burns, Robert - National Poet of Scotland; St. David's Lodge No. 174, Tarbolton, Scotland.
      Chagall, Marc - Artist, painter.
      Collodi, Carlo - Author of Pinocchio
      Conan Doyle, Arthur - 1859-1930. Member of Phoenix Lodge 257, Portsmouth, in 1886. Author of Sherlock Holmes
      Dac, Pierre. 1895-1975 - Humorist
      Doyle, Sir Author Conan - Writer - Sherlock Holmes
      Fleming, Sir Alexander - USA. Invented penicillin. 1881-1955.
      Fortune, Timpothy Thomas - Journalist
      Gannett, Frank E. - Hobosco Lodge No. 716, Ithaca, NY - media empire
      Gibbon, Edward - Author of "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
      Gray, Harold Lincoln - Creator of "Little Orphan Annie"
      Guest, Edgar A. - Poet; "The Lambskin Apron"
      Haley, Alex - Author
      Harvey, Paul - Radio personality
      Johnson, John H. - Publisher EBONY and Jet magazines
      Kipling, Rudyard - Author.  Nobel Prize in 1907.
      Lemon, Mark - Founder of Punch, humorous British magazine
      Pushkin, Aleksander - Russian Poet
      Salten, Felix - Creator of Bambi
      Scott, Sir Walter - Writer
      Service, Robert, Poet of the Klondike Gold Rush
      Swift, Johathan - Wrote Gulliver's Travels
      Tolstoi, Leo - Russian Author
      Voltaire, François-Marie Arouet 1694-1778. - French writer and philosopher
      Wallace, Lewis - Wrote "Ben Hur"
      Wilde, Oscar. 1854-1900. - Writer

Entertainment Industry:

      Accuff, Roy - Country Western Singer 
      Armstrong, Louis - Jazz Musician.  Montgomery Lodge No. 18, PHA, New York.
      Arnold, Eddy - Country Western Singer 
      Atkins, Chet - Musician, Guitar
      Autry, Gene - Singer — Actor - Western Heritage Museum, Catoosa Lodge No. 185, Catoosa, Oklahoma
      Bach, Jahann Christian - Composer
      Bassie, William "Count" - Orchestra leader/composer, Wisdom Lodge No. 102 PHA, Chicago and Shriner, New York.
      Beethoven, Ludwig Van. - 1770-1827. Composer
      Berlin, Irving - Composer/Entertainer
      Borgnine, Ernest - Actor
      Brown, Joe E.
      Burns, Bob
      Cantor, Eddie
      Caine, Michael - Actor
      Cervi, Gino 1901-1974. - Italian Actor, famous for his roles in films as "Don Camillo"
      Clark, Roy - Country western singer; Jenks Lodge No. 497, Oklahoma
      Coburn, Charles D.
      Cohan, George M. - Composer/Broadway star
      Cole, Nat 'King' - Great ballad singer
      Cody, William F. “Buffalo Bill”
      Costello, Lou - Comedian
      Crisp, Donald
      Crosby, Norm - Entertainer
      DeMille, Cecil B. - Epic Film Director
      Dix, Richard
      Eastwold, Scott - Musician,
      Ellington, Duke - Jazz composer, arranger and stylist
      Fairbanks, Douglas, Sr. - Silent film actor
      Fields, W.C. - Actor
      Gable, Clark - Actor
      Gibson, Hoot - Cowboy actor; Truth Lodge No. 628, Los Angeles, CA
      Gilbert, Sir William S. - Was the librettis for "Pirates of Penzance"
      Gilbert and Sullivan - Composers and playwrights
      Godfrey, Arthur - Actor
      Goethe, Johann Wolfgang 1749-1832.
      Griffith, David W.
      Grock - Swiss Circus Clown
      Hampton, Lionel - Orchestra Leader/Composer
      Handel, George Fredrick - Composer
      Handy, William C. - Composer "Father of the Blues"
      Hardy, Oliver - Actor - Comedian (Laurrel & Hardy)
      Hayden, Franz Josef F. 1732-1809 - Composer
      Hershfield, Harry - Radio entertainer
      Hersholt, Jean
      Houdini, Harry - Magician
      Ives, Burl - Entertainer
      Jolson, Al - Fame as the first 'talking picture' the Jazz Singer. St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, New York
      Jones, Charles “Buck”
      Keaton, Buster - Movies, Comedian
      Kellar, Harry
      Kern, Jerome - Composer
      Lincoln, Elmo - First actor to play Tarzan of the Apes (1918)
      Lizt, Franz. Composer
      Lloyd, Harold C. - Silent movie comedian
      Mayer, Louis B. - Film producer who merged to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      Meichior, Lauritz
      Miller, Glenn - Musician, Band Leader
      Mix, Tom - U.S. Marshal turned actor. Stared in over 400 western films
      Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Child musical genius - composer
Mozart's Magic Flute is the background music for this page
      Powell, Dick
      Ringling Brothers - All 7 brothers and their father were Masons.
      Rogers, Roy - American cowboy and screen star, Hollywood Lodge No. 355, California
      Rogers, Will - Actor; Claremore Lodge No. 53, Oklahoma
      Sellers, Peter 1925-1980 - Actor, Chelsea Lodge # 3098.
      Sibelius, Jean 1865-1957 - Composer (Finland)
      Skelton, Richard B. “Red” - Comedian/Entertainer
      Smith, John Stafford - Wrote the music that became the US National Anthem.
      Sousa, John Philip - Composer - Led the U.S. Marine Band from 1880 - 1892
      Stratton, Charles "Tom Thumb" - Entertainer
      Thomas, Danny - Actor, Entertainer
      Thurston, Howard - Last of the great vauderville magicians.
      Tillis, Mel - Country Singer
      Warner, Jack - Warner Brothers Studio fame
      Wayne, John - Actor; Marion McDaniel Lodge No. 56, Tucson, AZ
      Wagner, Richard
      Whiteman, Paul - "King of Jazz"
      Wyler, William - Director of "Ben Hur"
      Wynn, Ed
      Zanuck, Darryl F. - Co-founder of 20th Century Productions in 1933
      Ziegfeld, Florenz - His Ziegfeld's Follies began in 1907

Religious Leaders:

      Allen, Richard Founder/First Bishop AME Church
      Baker, James C. (Bishop, Methodist Church, organized first Wesley Foundation in U.S.)
      Baylor, Robert E. B. (Baptist clergyman, founder of Baylor University)
      Ballou, Hosea (Founder, Universalist Church)
      Booth, Rev. William - Founder of the Salvation Army
      Bradley, Preston (founder of the Peoples Church)
      Calvo, Father Francisco - Catholic Priest who started Freemasonry in Costa Rica 1865
      Evans, Hugh I. (National head of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.)
      Fisher, Geoffrey - Archbishop of Canterbury 1945 - 1961
      Frank, Eugene M. (Methodist Bishop)
      Jackson, Reverend Jesse - Minister and founder of the Rainbow Coalition
      Low, Titus (President of Methodist Council of Bishops)
      Newton, Joseph Fort - Christian Minister
      Peale, Norman Vincent - Minister and Founder of "Guidepost"
      Sanders, Bishop Carl J. - United Methodist Church
      Sexson, Mark - Minister and Founder: Intl. Order of Rainbow for Girls
      Wesberry, Dr. James P. - Former Exec. Dir./Editor Southern Baptist Publication Sunday

Industrialists and Entrepreneurs:

      Balfour, Lloyd - Jewelry
      Bell, Lawrence - Bell Aircraft Corp
      Carson, Curtis L. - Entrepreneur
      Chrysler, Walter P. - Founded Chrysler Corporation
      Citroen, Andre - French Engineer and motor car manufacturer 1878-1935
      Dow, William H. - Dow Chemical Co.
      Drake, Edwin L - American Pioneer of the Oil industry
      Dunlop, John Boyd - Tire Manufacturer
      Faber, Eberhard - Head of the Eberhard Fabor Pencil Company
      Ford, Henry - Pioneer Automobile Manufacturer
      Forten, James - Abolitionist/Manufacturer
      Gillette, King C. - Gillette Razor Co.
      Hilton, Charles C. - is listed as a mason on many lists as founder of Hilton Hotels, but the hotel chain was founded by Conrad Hilton, who was a staunch Catholic who left most of his estate to support Catholic charities. It is doubtful if he was a Mason, to say the least.
      Hoe, Richard M. - Invented the rotory press, revolutinizing newspaper printing
      Hoover, Frank - Vacuum cleaner fame
      Lake, Simon - Built first submarine successfull in open sea.
      Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent 1743-1794 - Chemist
      Lipton, Sir Thomas - Famous Yachtsman, Founder Lipton Tea Company
      MacAdam, John - Invented "blacktop pavement"
      Maytag, Fredrick - Maytag appliances
      Mecherle, George Jacob - Founder, State Farm Insurance
      Mellon, Andrew - American industrialist, banker and philanthropist.
      Nash, Charles - Automotive industry
      Olds, Ransom E. - American automobile pioneer
      Penney, James C. - Retailer (J.C. Penney)
      Sanders, Harland "Colonel" - Founder Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurants
      Sarnoff, David - Father of T.V. (RCA)
      Teets, John W. - Chairman and President of Dial Corporation
      Thomas, Dave - Founder of Wendy's Restaurant
      Watson, Thomas - Founder of IBM

Other Famous Masons:

      Agha Khan. 1877-1957.
      Appleton, Sir Edward Victor - English physicist. Nobel prize 1947. Isaac Newton Lodge, No. 859, Cambridge.
      Arnold, Benedict - Major General and early American Revolution war hero. Changed allegiance and sided with British, being named a traitor ever since. Affiliated member of Hiram Lodge No. 1, New Haven, CT.
      Ashmole, Elias - Founder member of the Royal Society, first known English speculative Mason at Warrington, Lancashire, in 1646.
      Bartholdi, Frederic A. - Designed the Statue of Liberty
      Baylor, Robert E. B. - Founder Baylor University
      
Beard, Daniel Carter - Founder Boy Scouts movement in United States, Mariners Lodge No. 67, New York City.
      Bellamy, Rev. Francis - Authored U.S. Pledge of Allegiance
      Benitez, Conrado, 1889-1971. Philippines.
      Borglum, Gutzon and Lincoln, - Father and son who carved Mt. Rushmore
      Brundage, Avery - Olympic Committee
      Campbell, Sir Malcolm - Land speed record holder
      Casanova - Italian Adventurer, writer and entertainer
      Chagrin, Jean Francious - Designer of The Arc De Triomphe in Paris, France
      DuBois, W.E.B. - Educator/scholar
      Dunant, Jean Henri 1828-1910 - Founder of the Red Cross
      Evers, Medger Wiley - Civil Rights Leader
      Gompers, Samuel - Founder of American Federation of Labor (AFL of AFL-CIO)
      Gris, Juan - Spanish Artist - Synthetic Cubism
      Guillotin, Joseph Ignace - Inventor of the "Guillotin"
      Hedges, Cornelius - "Father" of Yellowstone National Park
      Hoban, James - Architect for the U.S. Captial
      Hooks, Benjamin L. - Former Executive Director, NAACP
      Houdon, Jean-antoine 1741-1828 - Sculptor
      Jones, Melvin - One of the founders of the Lions International
      Khan III, Aga - Statesman
      Lafontaine, Henri - Nobel Prize in 1913.
      Land, Frank S. - Founder Order of DeMolay
      Leazer, Gary - Investigated Freemasonry for Southern Baptist Convention and later joined Freemasonry
      Lewis, John L. - Long time leader of The United Mine Workers
      Livingston, Robert - Co-Negotiator for purchase of Louisiana Territory
      Madison, James - Hiram Lodge, Westmoreland County, Virginia
      Mays, Benjamin - Educator/former President Atlanta University
      Metcalfe, Ralph H. - Olympic Champion
      Michelson, Albert Abraham - Successfully measured the speed of light in 1882
      Montgolfier, Jacques and Joseph - Co-developers of the first practical hot-air balloon
      Morris, Dr. Robert - Poet and Founder of the Order of Eastern Star
      Naismith, James - Inventor of Basketball
      Otis, James - Famous for "Taxations without Representation is Tyranny"
      Papst, Charles F. - Coined the term "Athletes Foot"
      Pound, Roscoe - Former Dean Harvard Law School
      Pullman, George - Built first sleeping car on train.
      Randolph, A. Phillip - Founder - first president, International Brotherhood Sleeping Car Porters.
      Retief, Piet - Afrikaans leader and one of the founders of the South African nation.
      Rhodes, Cecil - Rhodes Scholarship
      Sax, Antoine Joseph - Invented the Saxophone (1846)
      Schoonover, George - Founder of "The Builder"
      William Mark Sexton (International Order of Rainbow for Girls)
      Schadow, Johann G. (Prussian Court Sculptor)
      Schweizer, J. Otto
      Thomas, Lowell - Brought Lawrence of Arabia to public notice. radio announcer/newsman
      Wadlow, Robert Pershing - Tallest human on record being almost 9 feet tall
      Washington, Booker T. - Educator/Founder Tuskegee Institute
      Webb, Matthew - First man to swim the English Channel (1875)

      King George VI, 1895-1952 
      Past Grand Master, United Grand Lodge of England. 
      Past Grand Master Mason, Grand Lodge of Scotland. 
      The late King's full name was Albert Frederick Arthur George of the house of Windsor (formerly Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). He studied in Trinity College at Cambridge and served in WWI. He was created Duke of York in 1920. 
      A son of George V, he reigned from the time his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936, until his death in 1952. 
      He was initiated in Naval Lodge No. 2612 in December 1919, the ceremony being conducted by Lord Ampthill. In 1922 he was appointed Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England, and in 1924 was made Provincial Grand Master for Middlesex. He was invested and installed by his great uncle, H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught. He held the latter position until he ascended the throne in 1938. 
      As king, he accepted the rank of Past Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, and was ceremonially installed at the Albert Hall in London before an audience of Masons from all parts of the world. 
      In 1935 he accepted and was installed Grand Master Mason of Scotland, and affiliated with the Lodge of Glamis, No. 99, Scotland, where his father-in-law, the Earl of Strathmore, was a Past Master. 
      He created the precedent of the English Sovereign's active participation in Masonic ceremonies, and personally conducted the installation of three Grand Masters (of the United Grand Lodge of England) - the Duke of Kent at Olympia in 1939, the Earl of Harewood in Freemason's Hall in 1943 and the Duke of Devonshire in Albert Hall in 1948. Only his last illness prevented his installing the Earl of Scarbrough in 1951. 
      Toward the end of his reign, he stated that he had always regarded Masonry as one of the strongest influences of his life. He was a Royal Arch Mason and was a First Principal. He was a Past Grand Master of the Mark Lodge and former Ruler of the Mark Province of Middlesex (1931-37). He held the rank of Past Grand Master, and of Knight Commander of the Temple, was a 33rd Degree, and Grand Inspector General in the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Rose Croix. 
      Said he of Masonry: "The world today does require spiritual and moral regeneration. I have no doubt, after many years as a member of our Order, that Freemasonry can play a most important part in this vital need" 


FREEMASONRY
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM

http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/uspresidentasmasons.htm

United States Presidents
and The Illuminati / Masonic Power Structure.

By: Robert Howard

  Hard Truth/Wake Up America

 

Ezekiel, 33:6

Updated 09/28/2001

Introduction

I have always seen list's of famous Masons. To just look at the name means very little. When you date and place those names in the proper time line and placement of power you begin to see the deception and vastness of this power elite. What will shock you even more is to learn who the powers are behind the Freemasons. Notice the death's of non Masonic presidents or those who lost favor, and the shuffling of the vice presidents to get them in the position of takeover before the presidents were killed or removed. Note also the number of presidential running mates who lost the race for presidency were Masons also. A win win situation regardless of the outcome of the election. The Mason's have controlled this country from the beginning. Another interesting fact to consider is that of the 37 Presidents of the United States before Jimmy Carter, at least 18 or 21 (depending on which source you believe) were close relatives. That comes to somewhere between 48.6 percent and 56.7 percent-far to much to be coincidence, as any conspiritologist (or mathematician) would tell you. Of the 224 ancestors in the family tree of 21 Presidents, we find 13 Roosevelt's, 16 Coolidge's, and 14 Tyler's. Another source manages to relate 60 percent of the Presidents and link most of them to the super-rich Astor family. This data does not include genealogies of the five most recent President. Psychologist G. William Domhoff claims that a large part of America's Ruling elite, just like that of Europe, are related by marriage. (Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups by Robert Anton Wilson pg 39-40)

This article is not intended to defame this country's forefathers. See Secret Societies All I am doing here is listing the facts. I will list other authors articles for you to refer to as corroboration. These names were compiled from the Masons own list of famous names posted on there websites. (See Links Below), along with other reputable sources. The names used in this document have been used from that list along with a brief summary of who they were,(*Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition.) and the role they played in our history.
Keep in mind, you can not be a Christian and a practicing Mason, its an oxymoron. There are those who would write history in a form to hide its true meaning and agenda's.Rewriting U.S. History So it has been from the beginning.  (The Masons write most of American History, for example the Mason's own Encyclopedia Britannica). The red dates are confirmed Mason Power years over this country as far as the Presidency, or Vice Presidency is concerned. This Page will be updated often. Please revisit.

Legend: (A) American; (AI) American Independent; (D) Democrat. (F) Federalist. (DR) Democrat-Republican. (Ind) Independent. (IR) Independent -Republican (NR) National Republican. (P) People's; (Pr) Progressive; (R) Republican. (S) Socialist; (SR) States Rights (W) Whig. (U) Union.

(S.C.J) Supreme Court Judge

I will let the facts speak for themselves.

As a Mason goes through the 32 degrees of the Scottish rite, he ends up giving worship to every Egyptian pagan god, the gods of Persia, gods of India, Greek gods, Babylonian gods, and others.  As you come to the 17th degree, the Masons claim that they will give you the password that will give him entrance at the judgment day to the Masonic deity, the great architect of the universe.  It is very interesting that this secret password is "Abaddon"

Revelation 9:11 They had a king over them, the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon"  The 'angel' of the Abyss (Hell) is really the chief demon whose name is Abaddon.  Masons claim then, that the deity they worship is Abaddon! 

Abaddon and Apollyon both mean Destroyer. See: Destruction of the Trade Centers: Occult Symbolism Indicates Enemies Within Our Own Government

 

 "The world is governed by people far different from those imagined by the public." 
 Benjamin Disraeli, Victorian-era Prime Minister of Britain,

Mat 21:42] Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders (aka Freemasons) rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?
[Mat 21:43] Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

"The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment; let it never appear in any place in its own name, but always concealed by another name, and another occupation. None is fitter than the lower degrees of Freemasonry; the public is accustomed to it, expects little from it, and therefore takes little notice of it. Next to this, the form of a learned or literary society is best suited to our purpose, and had Freemasonry not existed, this cover would have been employed; and it may be much more than a cover, it may be a powerful engine in our hands... A Literary Society is the most proper form for the introduction of our Order into any state where we are yet strangers." (as quoted in John Robinson's "Proofs of a Conspiracy" 1798, re- printed by Western Islands, Boston, 1967, p. 112)

1534 Church of Jesu. ( aka Society of Jesus, Jesuits the power behind Freemasonry) Also headquarters of the Knights of Malta.

Founded in 1534 by Ignatius Loyola founder of the Illuminati, to combat the reformation and propagate the faith. (Reformation being salvation thru grace instead of the Catholic Church.) The Jesuit General, and the other high Jesuit Generals, they are sorcerers. They are LUCIFERIAN, and they worship what they would call Lucifer. They do not believe in Satan. They believe in Lucifer. This society is the power behind the Presidents, and the rest of the world.. The Jesuits obviously wrote the Protocols Of The Learned Elders Of Zion, because they have carried out every protocol in that little handbook. They have carried everything out. The Black Pope

1590's - Sir Francis Bacon, beginning in the early 1590's, began the detailed plans by which North America would be colonized.  He was the supreme adept in the Rosicrucian Society, and established the super secret Knights of the Helmet [Ibid., p. 123-129], a society established along the lines of Rosicrucianism.  And, finally, Bacon was responsible for the modern birth of Freemasonry, as detailed by Masonic author, George V. Tudhope, in his book, Bacon Masonry , ISBN 1-56459-108-5, reprinted by Kessinger's Publishing. Thus, we can see that the occult activities of our original occult Forefathers mentioned above was merely the outworking of an occult plan originally conceived "thousands of years before Columbus ever sailed"!  Our Masonic forefathers were merely following the details of the occult plan as envisioned specifically by Sir Francis Bacon in the 1590's, operating according to the vision provided him by his Guiding Spirit. Masonic Forefathers

1733 - In the United States, the first Masonic circles began to appear in 1733; by the time of the American Revolution, nearly 150 lodges existed throughout the colonies.

1761 - James Otis, born in Mass. Known for his famous challenge to the British -imposed writs of assistance- general search warrants designed to enforce more strictly the trade and navigation laws in North America. At this time he also reportedly coined the euphonious, oft-quoted phrase, " Taxation without representation is tyranny." He was chosen as speaker of the house in 1766. Confirmed Mason.

1764 - Samuel Adams, born in Boston. A major propagandist, opposing British officials and policies, as well as British taxation in the colonies. In 1773 he participated in the planning of the Boston Tea Party. Adams also signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Served as delegate to the Continental Congress until 1781, and became governor of Massachusetts from 1794-97. Confirmed Mason and Illuminatist.

Other Parts of the World England. 1765-1795 Edmund Burke, born Dublin Ireland. Entered the House of Commons in 1765. As a member of Parliament he became known as a Political thinker and important in the history of political theory. Confirmed Mason.

1773 It’s just like Freemasonry. The lower Freemasons have no idea that the High Shriner Freemasons are working for the Jesuit General. They think that they’re just doing works and being good people. But the bottom line is that the high-level Freemasons are subject, also, to the Jesuit General because the Jesuit General, with Fredrick the Great, wrote the High Degrees, the last 8 Degrees, of the Scottish Rite Freemasonry when Fredrick protected them when they were suppressed by the Pope in 1773.So, you have the alignment with the Jesuit Order and the most powerful Freemason they had in the craft, Fredrick the Great, during their suppression. That is an irrefutable conclusion. And then, when you see the Napoleonic Wars, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars carried out by Freemasonry, everything Napoleon did, and the Jacobins, whatever they did, completely benefited the Jesuit Order. The Black Pope

1775 - Joseph Warren, born Roxbury, Mass. Solder and leader in the American Revolution who sent Paul Revere and William Dawes to Lexington and Concord on their famous ride to warn local patriots that British troops were being sent against them. Helped draft a group of protests to Parliament known as the "Suffolk Resolves. "Confirmed Mason. In December 1769 Warren, received commission for the Earl of Dalhousie, Grand Master of Masons in Scotland, appointing him Provincial Grand Master of Masons in Boston and within 100 miles of the same. The commission was dated May 30,1769. When the Earl of Dumfries succeeded Dalhousie as Grand Master of Scotland he issued another appointment to Warren, dated March 7,1772, constituting Warren "Grand Master of Masons for the Continent of America," thus extending his original limits.

1775 - Paul Revere, born in Boston. Hero of the American Revolution whose dramatic horseback ride on the night of April 18, warning Boston-area residents that the British were coming. Confirmed Mason. GRAND MASTER GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS A.F. & A.M. 1795 - 1797

1776 - John Hancock, born in Mass. Wrote and the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, and served nine terms as the Governor of Mass. Confirmed Mason.

1776 - Benjamin Franklin, born in Boston. Was one of the diplomats chosen to negotiate peace with Great Britain, and who helped draft the Declaration of Independence, one of the 56 who signed this document, and was instrumental in achieving the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Was also a Mason. Franklin was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and published the first Masonic book in America. Was also a member of Sir Francis Dashwood's Hell Fire Club, along with the Collins family of Satanists. Both Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were members of this purely Satanic group who practiced satanic sexual occult rituals. (The Illuminati Bloodlines, Fritz Springmeier)

 

"Remains of ten bodies at Ben Franklin's home"

Workmen have dug up the remains of ten bodies hidden beneath the former London home of Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of American Independence.

The remains of four adults and six children were discovered during the 31.9 million restoration of Franklin's home at 36 Craven Street, close to Trafalgar Square. Researchers believe that there could be more bodies buried beneath the basement kitchens.

Initial estimates are that the bones are about 200 years old and were buried at the time Franklin was living in the house, which was his home from 1757 to 1762, and from 1764 to 1775. Most of the bones show signs of having been dissected, sawn or cut. One skull has been drilled with several holes. Paul Knapman, the Westminster coroner, said yesterday: "One cannot totally discount the possibility of a crime. There is still a possibility that I may have to hold an inquest." Ten Bodies Found Under Ben Franklin's Home

1776 The Illuminati formed a committee entitled the Biblical Destruction Group. This committee disbanded 50 years later. To Eliminate the Opiate" (out of print) by Rabbi Antelman. The APOCRYPHA

1776 "From the Jesuit College of Ingolstadt is said to have issued the sect known as ‘the Illuminati of Bavaria’ founded by Adam Weishaupt. Its nominal founder, however, seems to have played a subordinate though conspicuous role in the organization of this sect." [Occult Theocracy, Lady Queenborough, originally published in 1933] On May 1, 1776, the Order of the Illuminati was officially founded in the old Jesuit stronghold of Bavaria. The Company would now use the Jewish House of Rothschild to finance the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon the Freemason with his Jesuit-trained advisor, Abbe Sieyes. In spite of the historical writings of the Jesuit Abbe Barruel, who blamed the Rothschild's and Freemasonry for the Revolution, it was the Society of Jesus that used these very tools to carry out the Revolution and punish the monarchs who dared to expel the Jesuits from their dominions. The Jesuits, having been expelled from the Spanish Empire, found refuge in Corsica. From there they raised up their great avenger, Napoleon Bonaparte. The Black Pope

1776, Adam Weishaupt, a famous Mason, had developed the Illuminati, a secret society within a secret society. One Masonic historian himself has stated that the goals include "found[ing] a new Hierarchy, to overturn all authority, and to press down all the Social Order under the level of Equality." Another Masonic historian stated "the express aim of the Order was to abolish Christianity, and overturn all civil government." In Weishaupt's own words, the Illuminati "will by degrees, and in silence, possess themselves of the government of the States, and make use of those means for this purpose...." illuminati_faq.htm

1777 - Baron Von Steuben, born in Magdeburg, Prussia. German officer who proved indispensable to the cause of U.S. independence by converting the Revolutionary Army into a disciplined fighting force. While in France as agents of the newly formed U.S. government, Benjamin Franklin, and Silas Deane, learned of Steuben's plight that he had been obliged to leave for unsavory conduct, from Hohenzollern Hechingen, where he was made a knight of the Order of Fidelity in the neighboring margravate of Baden and Durlach, which brought about his availability. This prompted a letter of introduction, from Benjamin Franklin, and Silas Deane on his behalf, introducing him to Gen. George Washington as a "Lieut Genl. in the King of Prussia's service," who was fired with " Zeal for our cause. Confirmed Mason.

1777 - Lafayette. French noble who fought with the American colonist against the British in the American Revolution. Confirmed Mason and a member of the Illuminati. Appointed a major general by the colonist, he quickly struck up a lasting friendship with the American commander in chief, George Washington, also a Confirmed Mason. Charles Taze Russell (founder of the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society), also a Confirmed Mason. His stepmother who was executor of his will. His mother was the one chosen to dance with famous Mason and Illuminati Lafayette when he was in Philadelphia. 1.(Nevin, Adelaide Mellier. The Social Mirror A Character Sketch of the Women of Pittsburgh) 2. (Vicinity during the first Century of the County’s existence. Society of to-day. Pittsburgh, PA: T.A. Nevin Publisher, 1888, p. 19.; b. The Pittsburgh Directory) 3. (1878-79 showing Elizabeth the widow of John, and c. John Russell in the 1850 Census, and John Russell’s Will.) Secrets Of The Watchtower Bible And Tract Society

1779 - John Paul Jones, Scottish- born navel hero in the U.S. War of Independence, renowned for his victory over British ships of war off the east coast of England (Sept. 23 1779).Confirmed Mason.

1782, On July 16, the year after the British surrendered to the Americans,  representatives of the world's secret societies convened the Congress of Wilhelmsbad in Europe and formally joined Masonry and the Illuminati. In the next four years the Order was able to secretly establish several lodges in America. In 1785, for example, the Columbian Lodge of the Order of the Illuminati was established in New York City. Its members included Governor DeWitt Clinton, Clinton Roosevelt ...(p.92 New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies, William T. Still, 1990)

"When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his Craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly handle energy." (Manly P. Hall, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, p. 124; )

The question of precisely what fires the will of the wealthy supranational elites seeking to manipulate and control world events, has not escaped the attention of serious students of conspiracies and cover-ups. The late American Professor Revilo P. Oliver, a confirmed atheist, was forced to conclude: "A theory that a conspiracy has been working consciously for many centuries is not very plausible unless one attributes to them a religious unity. That is tantamount to regarding them as Satanists engaged in the worship and service of supernatural evil. The directors of the conspiracy must see or otherwise directly perceive manifestations which convince them of the existence and power of Lucifer. And since subtle conspirators must be very shrewd men, not likely to be deceived by auto-suggestion, hypnosis, or drugs, we should have to conclude that they probably are in contact with a force of pure evil." (Prof. Revilo P. Oliver, Conspiracy or Degeneracy?, USA)

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."
(President Franklin D. Roosevelt)

WE NAME PRESIDENTS

In order that our scheme may produce this result we shall arrange elections in favor of such presidents as have in their past some dark, undiscovered stain, some "Panama"or other - then they will be trustworthy agents for the accomplishment of our plans out of fear of revelations and from the natural desire of everyone who has attained power, namely, the retention of the privileges, advantages and honor connected with the office of president. The chamber of deputies will provide cover for, will protect, will elect presidents, but we shall take from it the right to propose new, or make changes in existing laws, for this right will be given by us to the responsible president, a puppet in our hands. The Illuminati Protocols

1783 The Revolutionary War was fought and concluded when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown. As Americans we have been taught that we defeated the king and won our freedom. The Treaty of 1783, which totally contradicts our having won the Revolutionary War. This Treaty was signed in 1783, the war was over in 1781. If the United States defeated England, how is the king granting rights to America, when we were now his equal in status? We supposedly defeated him in the Revolutionary War! So why would these supposed patriot Americans sign such a Treaty, when they knew that this would void any sovereignty gained by the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War? The United States is still a British Colony

By the way, Prince Charles Coat of Arms has another symbol--The Order of the Garter. The Order of the Garter is the parent organization over Free Masonry, world-wide. When a man becomes a 33rd Degree Mason, he swears allegiance to that organization, and thereby to Prince Charles. The Bible gives us 42 signs of the Antichrist

1785 President George Washington, in a letter written to the Reverend G. W. Snyder:  "Reverend, Sir, it was not my intention to doubt that the doctrine of the Illuminati -- the principles of Jacobinism -- had not spread in the United States.  On the contrary, no one is more satisfied of this fact than I am."  Shortly before he died, President Washington was well aware that the Adam Weishaupt radical brand of Freemasonry, the Illuminati, had spread its poison to America.

"It doesn't matter who the people voted for; they always vote for us".

                                          - Illuminati Statement -

 

United States Presidents Who Were and Are Freemasons

The United States of America was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation by Maryland whose delegates delayed its ratification over a western border dispute with Virginia and New York. Upon the March 1 ratification the President of the Continental Congress officially became President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
To make matters even more perplexing some historians claim that John Hanson was the first President of the United States as he was the first person to serve the full one-year term (1781-82), under the ratified Articles of Confederation. This again is incorrect.
The ratification occurred during the term of Samuel Huntington who served as President from September 28, 1779 to July 6, 1781. Consequently, Samuel Huntingtonwas the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled. The 1st President of the United States

George Washington1789-1797 George Washington, 1st. President of the United States? (F) Confirmed Mason. Initiated: November 4, 1752, Fredericksburgh (Fredericksburg) Lodge No. 4, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Brother Washington became Worshipful Master on December 20, 1788, and was inaugurated President of the United States on April 30, 1789, thus becoming the first, and so far the only, Brother to be simultaneously President and Master of his Lodge. Washington took his oath of office as President, April 30, 1789, on the bible belonging to St. johns Lodge No. 1 of New York City. (The New Age Magazine, January 1953, pg. 44) The New Age Magazine is a Masonic publication. Also a member of the Knights Of The Garter. Order of the Garter is the core leader of the Committee Of 300. Washington was a member of the Scottish rite, performed the 'Rite of the Mystic Tie' in a cave-complex near Winchester Virginia during the French and Indian war. (Masonic Assassination, Michael Anthony Hoffman pg. 4) "The United States is in no manner founded on Christian principle." (George Washington Treaty of Tripoli) No Vice Presidents at this time. George Washington Nominated 11 Supreme Court Justices. 6 out of 11 were Confirmed Masons.  Washington wearing his Masonic Apron Washington was related to the following Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, maybe Grant, Van Buren, and Taft's. (Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups by Robert Anton Wilson pg 39-40)

Note: In Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey extermination was officially promoted by a "scalp bounty" on dead Indians. "Indeed, in many areas murdering Indians became an outright business," ( Historian Ward Churchill, A LITTLE MATTER OF GENOCIDE; HOLOCAUST AND DENIAL IN THE AMERICAS, 1492 TO THE PRESENT (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1997). ISBN 0-87286-323-9. pg.182) Indians were defined as subhuman, lower than animals. George Washington compared them to wolves, "beasts of prey" and called for their total destruction.( David E. Stannard, AMERICAN HOLOCAUST; COLUMBUS AND THE CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). ISBN 0-19-507581-1. pages 119-120)

Note: Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew Cannabis sativa (marijuana) on their plantations. (2201 Fascinating Facts by David Lewis, Greenwich House pg. 46) See Also: The Hemp Conspiracy

Washington, the Freemason who did not go into that Masonic Lodge that last 30 years of his life—in his own words—who was a Baptist and a Calvinist. He was baptized in the First Baptist Church of New York by one of his captains, Pastor Gano, all surrounded by Calvinists. That’s why they didn’t surrender at Valley Forge; that’s why, when they were naked, when they went through the snow, barefoot, they endured that because they were Bible-believing Calvinists and they refused to submit to the tyranny of King George, who was controlled by the Jesuits. The Black Pope

1789 John Robison warned all Masonic leaders in America that the Illuminati had infiltrated into their lodges and on July 19, 1789; David Papen, President of Harvard University, issued the same warning to the graduating-class and lectured them on how the influence of Illuminism was acquitting on American politics and religion, and to top it off; John Quincy Adams, who had organized the New England Masonic Lodges, issued his warnings. He wrote three letters to Colonel William L. Stone, a top Mason, in which he exposed how Jefferson was using Masonic lodges for subversive Illuministic purposes. Those three letters are at this very time in Whittenburg Square Library in Philadelphia. In short; Jefferson, founder of the Democratic Party, was a member of the Illuminati which at least partly accounts for the condition of the party at this time and through infiltration of the Republican Party; we have exactly nothing of loyal Americanism today. THE ILLUMINATI AND THE COUNSEL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

1789-1795 John Jay, S.C.J. (Supreme Court Judge) Chief Justice. Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Unknown Mason Status.

1790-1791 John Rutledge, S.C.J. Associate Justice. Chief Justice 1795. Nominated by Mason President George Washington.  Confirmed Mason.

1789-1810 William Cushing, S.C.J. Associate Justice. Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Confirmed Mason.

1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dies.. Some say murdered by the masons for revealing Masonic secrets in his opera The Magic Flute. Confirmed Mason (Born In Blood, John J. Robinson, pg. 177)

1795 John Rutledge, S.C.J. Chief Justice. Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Rutledge became Chief Justice while the Senate was not in session, and when they reconvened he was rejected. Still, he did serve for a time in that position. Masonic Trivia and Facts and The MSA 1940s study say he was a Mason, without identifying his lodge, but 10,000 Famous Freemasons does not list him. Confirmed Mason.

1796-1800 Oliver Ellsworth, S.C.J. Chief Justice. Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Confirmed Mason.

1789-1798 James Wilson, S.C.J. Associate Justice, Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Unknown Mason Status.

1789-1796 John Blair Jr. S.C.J. Associate Justice, Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Previously he was Grand Master of Virginia from 1778 to 1784.

1790-1799 James Iredell. S.C.J. Associate Justice, Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Unknown Mason Status.

1792-1793 Thomas Johnson. S.C.J. Associate Justice, Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Unknown Mason Status. Non Mason Replaced by Mason William Patterson.

1793-1806 William Paterson. S.C.J. Associate Justice, Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Confirmed Mason.

1796-1811 Samuel Chase. S.C.J. Associate Justice, Nominated by Mason President George Washington. Unknown Mason Status. This is the only Justice ever impeached, acquitted in 1805.

1796 Thomas Jefferson, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (DR) Confirmed Illuminati.

1797-1801 John Adams, 2nd. President of the United States (F) Unknown Mason Status. Vice President, Thomas Jefferson "Democratic-Republican."1797-1801. Confirmed Illuminati. Adams helped in the design of the Great Seal. Was related to F. D. Roosevelt, who put the seal on the dollar bill.(Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups by Robert Anton Wilson pg 39-40)

 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was initiated into Army Philadelphia Lodge in 1798. His brothers, Joseph, Lucian, Louis and Jerome, were also Freemasons. Five of the six members of Napoleon's Grand Council of the Empire were Freemasons, as were six of the nine Imperial Officers and 22 of the 30 Marshals of France. Confirmed Mason.

1798 Soon after the American Revolution, John Robinson, a professor of rural philosophy at Edinburgh University in Scotland and member of a Freemason lodge, said that he was asked to join the Illuminati. After studying the group, he concluded that the purposes of the Illuminati were not compatible with his beliefs. In 1798, he published a book called "Proofs Of A Conspiracy," which states: "An association has been formed for the express purpose of rooting out all the religious establishments and overturning all the existing governments.... The leaders would rule the World with uncontrollable power, while all the rest would be employed as tools of the ambition of their unknown superiors." Operation Paper Clip

1799-1829 Bushrod Washington, S.C.J.  Associate Justice. Nominated by President John Adams. Unknown Mason Status.

1800-1804 Alfred Moore, S.C.J. Associate Justice. Nominated by President John Adams. Unknown Mason Status.

1800 John Quincy Adams opposed Thomas Jefferson for the presidency and wrote three letters to Colonel William L. Stone, exposing how Jefferson was using Masonic Lodges for subversive Illuminati purposes.  The information contained in those letters is credited with winning Adams the election.  The letters were held in the Rittenburg Square Library, in Philadelphia.

1800 Aaron Burr, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (DR) Confirmed Mason.

1800 John Adams, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (F) Confirmed Illuminati.

1800s The Collins family had a branch that shot off from it during the early 1800s which was the Todd family. The Todd family branch remained an important part of the Illuminati. (The Illuminati Bloodlines, Fritz Springmeier)

1801-1809 Thomas Jefferson, 3rd. President of the United States (DR) Confirmed Illuminati & Mason. (Masonic Edition, Holy Bible 1951 Edition) Poor records kept by the Colonial Lodges, the destruction of records by fire and war, make it impossible to consult original Lodge records. Jefferson may have been a Member of Charlottesville Lodge No. 90, Charlottesville, Va., since his name appears on the Minutes of this Lodge on September 20, 1817. Jefferson was also a member of the Lodge of the Nine Muses in Paris and the Beenan Order (Order of the Bees) known outside Bavaria as the Illuminati. Vice President, Aaron Burr (DR), 1801-1805. Confirmed Mason. Was also a member of the Collins family of Satanists who called themselves the Hell Fire Club. Thomas Jefferson was one of the members of this purely Satanic group who practiced satanic sexual occult rituals. (The Illuminati Bloodlines, Fritz Springmeier) Vice President George Clinton, 1805-1809. Confirmed Mason and Illuminati. De Witt Clinton N.Y. Gov. was Georges nephew. Confirmed Mason. Albert (Abraham Alfonse) Gallatin. 4th. Secretary of the treasury. Confirmed IlluminatiJefferson was related to the following Presidents: William Henry Harrison, Jackson, Tyler, Benjamin Harrison, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson. (Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups by Robert Anton Wilson pg 39-40)

Thomas Jefferson had an affair with Sally Hemings. One of his slaves who it is said was his mistress for thirty six years, but after the death of his wife. Recent scientific DNA evidence strongly suggests he was the father of her youngest son, Eston Hemings. Presidents and their reputed Affairs External Link

Note: Andrew Jackson, whose portrait appears on the U.S. $20 bill today, in 1814 supervised the mutilation of 800 or more Creek Indian corpses, the bodies of men, women and children that his troops had massacred, cutting off their noses to count and preserve a record of the dead, slicing long strips of flesh from their bodies to tan and turn into bridle reins. ( Historian Ward Churchill, A LITTLE MATTER OF GENOCIDE; HOLOCAUST AND DENIAL IN THE AMERICAS, 1492 TO THE PRESENT (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1997). ISBN 0-87286-323-9. pg.186) The issue in these days were Indians. The issue of our day is Gun Control, militia, and according to Janet Reno Christians. Janet Reno reflects the issue's of the Clinton administration. Cultist Definition by Janet Reno, Attorney General USA

1801-1835 John Marshall, S.C.J. Chief Justice. Nominated by President John Adams. Previously he was Grand Master of Virginia, from 1793-1795. (However, there is evidence that John Marshall was not proud or enthusiastic about being a Freemason, at least later in his life.) Confirmed Mason.

July 11, 1804: Gun-barrel Politics
Vice President Aaron Burr confirmed Mason, mortally wounds former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel near Weehawken, New Jersey.

1804-1834 William Johnson, S.C.J.  Associate Justice. Nominated by President Thomas Jefferson. Unknown Mason Status.

1807-1823 Henry Brockhoist Livingston, S.C.J. Associate Justice. Nominated by President Thomas Jefferson. Unknown Mason Status.

1807-1826 Thomas Todd, S.C.J. Nominated by President Thomas Jefferson. Confirmed Mason.

1801-1814 Albert Abraham Alfonse Gallatin. Fourth U.S. Secretary of the treasure. Instrumental in negotiating an end to the war of 1812. Confirmed Mason.

1804 Charles Pickney, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (F) Unknown Mason Status.

1808 Charles Pickney, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (F) Unknown Mason Status.

1809-1817 James Madison, 4th. President of the United States (DR) Confirmed Mason. (New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies, William T. Still, pg. 21)Madison is said to have been a Member of Hiram Lodge No. 59, Westmoreland County, Virginia, a Lodge which had only a short existence, and whose records are lost. (Was married to a Todd, of the Satanic Collins according to The Illuminati Bloodlines, Fritz Springmeier) Vice President George Clinton, 1809-1812. Confirmed Mason andIlluminati. Vice President, Elbridge Gerry 1813-1814. Unknown Mason Status.

1811-1835 Gabriel Duvall, S.C.J. Associate Justice. Nominated by President James Madison. Unknown Mason Status.

1811-1845 Joseph Story, S.C.J. Nominated by President James Madison. Story is listed as a member of Philanthropic Lodge in Marblehead, Massachusetts, in 10,000 Famous Freemasons and the MSA 1940s study, but not in Masonic Trivia and Facts.

Other parts of the world during this presidency: 1811-1821 Jose de San Martin. Soldier and Statesman. An officer in the Spanish army for 20 years. Led South America's independence movement for confirmed Mason President Simon Bolivar. Confirmed Mason.

1812 De Wit Clinton, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (F) DeWitt Clinton, who was assoc. with the Illuminati very early in the history of the United States. George Clinton, vice president to Thomas Jefferson, was De Wit Clintons Uncle.

1812 Winfield Scott. Grad from West Point. Fought in the war of 1812 and rose to the rank of major general .Fought in the battle of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane in 1814.Supervised the removal of the Cherokee Indians from Southern state to reservations west of the Mississippi River. Unsuccessful Whig candidate for President in 1853. Confirmed Mason.

1814 Francis Scott Key, lawyer and the author of the U.S. national anthem. Confirmed Mason. Officially adopted in 1931. 

The Federal 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati last week in a 30-page decision, stated that references to God are not permissible because they are clearly Christian. The state of Ohio wanted to use the motto "With God, All Things Are Possible" on its official seal or anywhere else. The US Circuit Court said, "In God We Trust" comes from "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key and is not a reference to a specific faith.  (C-span 4.20.2000)

1816 Rufus King, served in the state legislature, and in the Continental Congress, where he introduced the resolution calling for a convention at Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. Was elected as New York's first U.S. senator. Was also the loosing (F) party running against James Monroe for the Presidency. Confirmed Mason.

1817-1825 James Monroe, 5th. President of the United states (DR) Confirmed Mason. (The New Age Magazine, January 1953, pg. 44) Initiated: November 9, 1775, St. John's Regimental Lodge in the Continental Army. Monroe was not yet eighteen, but "lawful age" had not yet been universally fixed at twenty-one. Later, Brother Monroe took Membership in Williamsburg Lodge No. 6, Williamsburg, Virginia. Also a member of the Knights Of The Garter. Order of the Garter is the core leader of theCommittee Of 300. Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins 1817-1825. Unknown Mason Status. President Monroe was related to President Richard Nixon. (Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups by Robert Anton Wilson pg 39-40)

1823-1843 Smith Thompson, S.C.J. Associate justice. Nominated by Mason President James Monroe. Unknown Mason Status.

Other Parts of the world During this Presidency: Argentina. 1819-1830 Simon Bolivar, President of, New Granada, 1819, Venezuela, 1821, Ecuador, 1822, until finally with the liberation of upper Peru, which became Bolivia after Bolivar, already President of Columbia, his rule on the continent became complete. Confirmed Mason.

1820 John Quincy Adams, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (IR) Unknown Mason Status.

1824 Albert (Abraham Alfonse) Gallatin. 4th. Secretary of the treasury 1801 -1814. Nominated for vice presidency. Withdrew in fear of weakening ticket due to foreign birth. Confirmed Illuminati.

1824 Andrew Jackson, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (D) Confirmed Mason.

1824 Henry Clay, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (DR) Confirmed Mason. Henry Clay was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky and Grand Orator for the G.L. 1806-09. Very good friends to the Illuminati Dupont's. The Dupont's were already one of the primary top families, it is rumored that Clay was coming to them for guidance on how to steer the nation. The Dupont's played a role in the building of the American capital, which was laid out and constructed with numerous occult patterns. Clay also became the leader of the Whig Party. It is from this info the Presidents who were on the Whig Party are in question.

According to occultists/Satanic doctrine, the upper four points of the Goat head (left) represent the four elements of the world, Fire, Water, Earth, and Air.  The bottom fifth point represents the spirit of Lucifer.  In the above photocopy of the Goat head Pentagram, the fifth point extends down into the mind of the goat, who represents Lucifer. Notice the above pentagram of the Washington Streets layout in which the south part of the pentagram falls on the White House. Where the Spirit of Satan is to dwell. 

Photo courtesy of David Icke's website symbolism archives.

The demon goddess Lilith is represented throughout history as an owl.

Photo courtesy of David Icke's website symbolism archives.

Notice the owl on the dollar bill. 

The Beast of the Apocalypse: 666 a gigantic self programming computer!

WWW=World Wide Web. Web=net, trap. World Wide Web=World Wide Trap External Link

The System they are working towards is called LILITH External Link

1824 William H. Crawford, loosing Presidential candidate for Presidency (DR) Unknown Mason Status.


Ron Paul: The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic - Floor Speech May 25 2011

http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4832#axzz1R3t7N5Al

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-olNr4UuVqY&feature=player_embedded
The Last Nail The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic. Yet, Congress remains in total denial as our liberties are rapidly fading before our eyes. The process is propelled by unwarranted fear and ignorance as to the true meaning of liberty. It is driven by economic myths, fallacies and irrational good intentions. The rule of law is constantly rejected and authoritarian answers are offered as panaceas for all our problems. Runaway welfarism is used to benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class. Who would have ever thought that the current generation and Congress would stand idly by and watch such a rapid disintegration of the American Republic? Characteristic of this epic event is the casual acceptance by the people and political leaders of the unitary presidency, which is equivalent to granting dictatorial powers to the President. Our Presidents can now, on their own:
1. Order assassinations, including American citizens,
2. Operate secret military tribunals,
3. Engage in torture,
4. Enforce indefinite imprisonment without due process,
5. Order searches and seizures without proper warrants, gutting the 4th Amendment,
6. Ignore the 60 day rule for reporting to the Congress the nature of any military operations as required by the War Power Resolution,
7. Continue the Patriot Act abuses without oversight,
8. Wage war at will,
9. Treat all Americans as suspected terrorists at airports with TSA groping and nude x-raying.
And the Federal Reserve accommodates by counterfeiting the funds needed and not paid for by taxation and borrowing, permitting runaway spending, endless debt, and special interest bail-outs.
And all of this is not enough. The abuses and usurpations of the war power are soon to be codified in the National Defense Authorization Act now rapidly moving its way through the Congress. Instead of repealing the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), as we should, now that bin Laden is dead and gone, Congress is planning to massively increase the war power of the President. Though an opportunity presents itself to end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Congress, with bipartisan support, obsesses on how to expand the unconstitutional war power the President already holds. The current proposal would allow a President to pursue war any time, any place, for any reason, without Congressional approval. Many believe this would even permit military activity against American suspects here at home. The proposed authority does not reference the 9/11 attacks. It would be expanded to include the Taliban and "associated" forces—a dangerously vague and expansive definition of our potential enemies. There is no denial that the changes in s.1034 totally eliminate the hard-fought-for restraint on Presidential authority to go to war without Congressional approval achieved at the Constitutional Convention. Congress' war authority has been severely undermined since World War II beginning with the advent of the Korean War which was fought solely under a UN Resolution. Even today, we're waging war in Libya without even consulting with the Congress, similar to how we went to war in Bosnia in the 1990s under President Clinton. The three major reasons for our Constitutional Convention were to:
1. Guarantee free trade and travel among the states.
2. Make gold and silver legal tender and abolish paper money.
3. Strictly limit the Executive Branch's authority to pursue war without Congressional approval.
But today:
1. Federal Reserve notes are legal tender, gold and silver are illegal.
2. The Interstate Commerce Clause is used to regulate all commerce at the expense of free trade among the states.
3. And now the final nail is placed in the coffin of Congressional responsibility for the war power, delivering this power completely to the President—a sharp and huge blow to the concept of our Republic.
In my view, it appears that the fate of the American Republic is now sealed—unless these recent trends are quickly reversed.
The saddest part of this tragedy is that all these horrible changes are being done in the name of patriotism and protecting freedom. They are justified by good intentions while believing the sacrifice of liberty is required for our safety. Nothing could be further from the truth.
More sadly is the conviction that our enemies are driven to attack us for our freedoms and prosperity, and not because of our deeply flawed foreign policy that has generated justifiable grievances and has inspired the radical violence against us. Without this understanding our endless, unnamed, and undeclared wars will continue and our wonderful experience with liberty will end.

The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic. Yet, Congress remains in total denial as our liberties are rapidly fading before our eyes. The process is propelled by unwarranted fear and ignorance as to the true meaning of liberty. It is driven by economic myths, fallacies and irrational good intentions. The rule of law is constantly rejected and authoritarian answers are offered as panaceas for all our problems. Runaway welfarism is used to benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class. Who would have ever thought that the current generation and Congress would stand idly by and watch such a rapid disintegration of the American Republic? Characteristic of this epic event is the casual acceptance by the people and political leaders of the unitary presidency, which is equivalent to granting dictatorial powers to the President.

Our Presidents can now, on their own:

1. Order assassinations, including American citizens,
2. Operate secret military tribunals,
3. Engage in torture,
4. Enforce indefinite imprisonment without due process,
5. Order searches and seizures without proper warrants, gutting the 4th Amendment,
6. Ignore the 60 day rule for reporting to the Congress the nature of any military operations as required by the War Power Resolution,
7. Continue the Patriot Act abuses without oversight,
8. Wage war at will,
9. Treat all Americans as suspected terrorists at airports with TSA groping and nude x-raying.

And the Federal Reserve accommodates by counterfeiting the funds needed and not paid for by taxation and borrowing, permitting runaway spending, endless debt, and special interest bail-outs.

And all of this is not enough. The abuses and usurpations of the war power are soon to be codified in the National Defense Authorization Act now rapidly moving its way through the Congress. Instead of repealing the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), as we should, now that bin Laden is dead and gone, Congress is planning to massively increase the war power of the President. Though an opportunity presents itself to end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Congress, with bipartisan support, obsesses on how to expand the unconstitutional war power the President already holds. The current proposal would allow a President to pursue war any time, any place, for any reason, without Congressional approval. Many believe this would even permit military activity against American suspects here at home. The proposed authority does not reference the 9/11 attacks. It would be expanded to include the Taliban and “associated” forces—a dangerously vague and expansive definition of our potential enemies. There is no denial that the changes in s.1034 totally eliminate the hard-fought-for restraint on Presidential authority to go to war without Congressional approval achieved at the Constitutional Convention. Congress’ war authority has been severely undermined since World War II beginning with the advent of the Korean War which was fought solely under a UN Resolution. Even today, we’re waging war in Libya without even consulting with the Congress, similar to how we went to war in Bosnia in the 1990s under President Clinton.

The three major reasons for our Constitutional Convention were to:

1. Guarantee free trade and travel among the states.
2. Make gold and silver legal tender and abolish paper money.
3. Strictly limit the Executive Branch’s authority to pursue war without Congressional approval.

But today:

1. Federal Reserve notes are legal tender, gold and silver are illegal.
2. The Interstate Commerce Clause is used to regulate all commerce at the expense of free trade among the states.
3. And now the final nail is placed in the coffin of Congressional responsibility for the war power, delivering this power completely to the President—a sharp and huge blow to the concept of our Republic.

In my view, it appears that the fate of the American Republic is now sealed—unless these recent trends are quickly reversed.

The saddest part of this tragedy is that all these horrible changes are being done in the name of patriotism and protecting freedom. They are justified by good intentions while believing the sacrifice of liberty is required for our safety. Nothing could be further from the truth.

More sadly is the conviction that our enemies are driven to attack us for our freedoms and prosperity, and not because of our deeply flawed foreign policy that has generated justifiable grievances and has inspired the radical violence against us. Without this understanding our endless, unnamed, and undeclared wars will continue and our wonderful experience with liberty will end.

The Last Nail - Floor Speech May 25 2011 


Read more: Blue Sky Sunshine’s Blog » Ron Paul: The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic - Floor Speech May 25 2011 http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4832#ixzz1R3x2jbqi


http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4819#axzz1R3t7N5Al

ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011 - ELE Survival Video

The data says we are looking at an inbound dwarf star that has been causing earthquakes on our planet since 1965 and causing magnetic pole migration since about 2004. The evidence indicates that Earth will experience a pole shift event around 9/26 to 9/27, when the Sun, Earth and this ELE object are on the ecliptic/celestial planes that intersect at the autumn equinox. Everyone is warned to prepare for what is coming later this summer that will make Japan 3/11 look like a walk in the park.

See also:

John Moore, Green Beret, Predicting Armageddon…soon

John, speaking in Jeff City Missouri gives up the secrets the Government is desperately trying to hide. From the Gulf stream stopping, Planet X’s arrival, to moving the capital from Washington D.C. to Denver, Nasty things are going to befall Earth and soon.

John has been in Special forces, Covert and Psychological Operations, Homicide detective and more. His Navy friends are moving to high ground in the Ozark Hills, away from the coast.

Read more: Blue Sky Sunshine’s Blog » John Moore, Green Beret, Predicting Armageddon…soon http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4428

-

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqV0StQbJQs


Read more: Blue Sky Sunshine’s Blog » ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011 - ELE Survival Video http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4819#ixzz1R3tMtxIN

The Sun currently has polarity control of the Earth in our current north/south pole position. If this dwarf star object were approaching our planet and the poles had little or not reaction, then we could conclude that no pole shift event is in the cards. However, since the magnetic poles are migrating ‘and’ the north pole is migrating faster and a greater distance than the south pole, we should assume that a pole shift event will include the dwarf star repelling the pole that is most affected; which in this case is the north magnetic pole. However, even before the expected pole shift event on September 26, 2011, we expect to see solar storms intensify to become unbearable to the point that our survival groups are using deep caverns as part of our survival strategy. How your animals fit into that kind of plan I have no clue. The northern hemisphere should experience one long night through the worst of the solar storms that lasts for more than a week, which some sources say will last only for three days or so; while the southern hemisphere suffers through one long day of solar storms and fluctuating magnetosphere/atmosphere that literally burns everything on the surface to a cinder. While I hope these predictions are all wrong, my plan to hope for the best and prepare for the worst-case scenario means meeting with my survival group at the cavern bugout location, before the crap hits the fan later this summer. We will have more data after the 7/7/2011 Sun/ELE/Saturn alignment that should provide more information about what is coming.

-

Planet X Special Report with Marshall Masters

PANEL: Ed Douglas, Richard Goodwin and Terral Croft of the PlanetxTownHall.com, Comet Elenin Research Team

Comet C/2010 X1 Elenin is the hop topic on the Web today. This mysterious comet was discovered in December 2010 by Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin. Many have tried to vet his background with frustrating results and now wonder if he is a real person, or just a code word for an E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event), from the constellation LEO.

For those in the mainstream, all of this speculation and debate makes it difficult to draw a clear bead on the real story. This is because when Comet Elenin becomes visible to the naked eye later this year, it will not appear as a second sun in the sky. That is, assuming present estimates hold true.

In this panel interview with the PlanetxTownHall.com Comet Elenin research team, the goal is to help listeners to sort through this paralyzing conundrum, so they can focus on what matters most - survival.

THEY DON’T CARE IF WE ALREADY KNOW

THEY HAVE PREPARED WITH UNDERGROUND BASES, UNDERGROUND CROPS ETC.


Saturn Is Important Witness In This ELEnin Case: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2276.msg29398#msg29398

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread707051/pg1

ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011


//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqV0StQbJQs

ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011 - Make Viral! ,

A well put together presentation on the "Comet" (which I am believing more and more is something FAR from being just a regular run of the mill ice and space dust comet) named Elenin, or by it's astronomical name Comet C/2010 X1. I am pretty sure that most of my fellow ATS'ers are quite aware of Comet Elenin but for those of you that might be somewhat new to the information:

Comet C/2010 X1 (Elenin)

is a long-period comet discovered by Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin on December 10, 2010 at the International Scientific Optical Network's robotic observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico, U.S.A. At the time of discovery Elenin had an apparent magnitude of 19.5, making it about 150,000 times fainter than the naked eye magnitude of 6.5. The discoverer, Leonid Elenin, estimates that the comet nucleus is 3–4 km in diameter. As of April 2011, the comet is around magnitude 15 (roughly the brightness of Pluto), and the coma (expanding tenuous dust atmosphere) of the comet is estimated to be about 80,000 km in diameter.

Source: en.wikipedia.org...


I authored a thread last month in early April that included a short video presentation that I felt perhaps did the best job at highlighting a theory that I felt/feel is the best explanation that is in line with what my own research/discoveries is showing:


"Comet ELEnin Decoded - The Awakening, The 3rd Dimension, and Revelations"


www.abovetopsecret.com...

he above represents my own personal belief as to might be but only one hypothesis concerning Comet Elenin and the mystery that surrounds it. Whereas the above thread/info is perhaps somewhat based heavily upon certain spiritual and metaphysical elements, it is always good to have and be open to supporting (or debunking as the ONLY thing that should matter with this, or anything else I come to ATS for is the TRUTH), but good hard data in order to sift through the BS and weed out any riff raff in order to obtain as much gnosis (knowledge) as possible on the things that have a very good probability of affecting us and the entire world.

With that said, I just found this in my youtube subscriptions and found it to be VERY interesting to say the least, but I will let you all be the judge. Dinner is done and cold dinner sucks so I will come back to edit in many more references/sources as well as some closing thoughts that I have regarding all of this but in the meantime I look forward to reading all of your thoughts/comments. Thanks.

"ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011 - Make Viral!"

Wow! I am so glad this came along. After the massive failure of the rapture today, I was worried that we would not have a date for the end of the world!!!

Guess I should have known better eh??
Ah stop spreading fear ......
What will be will be..

Right and let me just point out that whereas with that Harold Camping end of the world May 21st BS that has pretty much ZERO supporting scientific data behind it, as well as having the main supporting evidence (The Bible) butchered in order to support ONLY his beliefs and the garbage that he and his followers spewed (him choosing to leave out the fact that ONLY GOD HIMSELF knows when the Rapture/end of the world will come)....at least THIS we seem to have a little of both would you not agree?

Please do not use the same tactics here that TPTB/governments around the world have done with respects to UFOlogy in that by discrediting one event, they and the world could then discredit and ridicule ANYONE who happens to come forward with their own experience therefore risking being labeled as a tinfoil hat wearing looney cool? Fear mongering I am NOT here folks. In fact I personally think that the whole end of the world May 21st BS was done with an agenda of creating/causing a DISTRACTION from the issues that SHOULD be being watched closely and paid more attention too!!

So in an attempt to move past that dog and pony show of the end of the world that was supposed to happen today, lets let this possible evidence speak for itself and do what ATS does best and.....analyze it for what it is? Should it have any merit? What do you all like REALLY THINK? Thanks.

Leonid Elinin is as much real as the Easter Bunny. I'm calling you you out Leonid on the streets of Laredo (Roswell).

Come packing your big guns.

So any videos for another date after this so I can mark my calendar of doom?

This commet will not even come close to us, so forget about it. It will absolutely positively do nothing at all. You might want to be careful of the WAVES, tho.

Well righty, right. Mark Sept. 26, 2011 on your calender. Make sure you have some Depends.

This will cure you of the wannabes.
"Comet Elenin 2010X1 HTB Russian TV - Interview of Leonid ELENIN - TV CH6

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread707051/pg1

Well obviously this date is now in it. My puppy doom and gloom calender. I think if I just mark every day I am bound to have one of them right. Then when it happens I can show everyone and be like see I knew it..... If its not burnt up with me.

Making things viral is huge part of the problem. Idiots will listen to other idiots but not the people who've done the research and know what they're talking about.

Not everything is a huge conspiracy. Some things are just what they are....

Great thread and thanks, S&Fs.
Is Nibiru a separate planetary event?

This "cover up" is not just US generated. The Russians are in on it, too.

It is a world wide agreed upon cover up. Astonishing. Not a minnow, a whale is on the way.

Great video.. pays off knowing Russian once in a while. They did not say anything about it being a brown dwarf star in the video and mentioned that this comet will be visible to naked eye in October.

Dude ! Thanks for the good work again ! Please keep it up !

The rapture thing I think has been purpose made to be another put off to hide the truth behind ELEnin, O yes people are going to say ELEnin is in the same basket as the rapture hoax. Silly humans only use a small part of their potential brain mass and all things are alike right...

The ancients have been warning us through time with writtings on stone tablets. Believe what you want I say to all but this I would seriously look at the actual science and evidence before making stupid remarks.
Non believers go do some research into ancient Sumerian culture and technology. It might surprize you ! The visitors and visiting object heading our way is going to make life on Earth a bit different as it has in the past many times and will in the
future... Dont believe it ? Fine ! And the Earth is still flat right...

As an adult you should have some sense of who is for real and who is make believe. I have never lied to anyone on this site before. 0 lies, deception, mis info from me lifetime here.

I have been paid more for info under the table than "Leonid Elenin". My info was real.

S&F from me Newbomb, just because you've got guts. You had to know you were going to get blasted for this before you ever typed it up.

I can't really speak to this with any knowledge or authority because all I know is
NASA's official line, and the theories I've read here on ATS. Business has been crazy lately, so not much time to dig into it.

But one thing we can know for certain I think. If this or any other comet/dwarf star/asteroid/other were going to be an extinction level event, you can bet we'd never know. Because TPTB would do everything in their power to cover it up until the last minute. Can you say chaos?

So it will only be those willing to suffer great ridicule that would sound the alarm. And few would listen to them, because TPTB say everything is OK. And there have been so many false "predictions", that our society now has "Chicken Little Syndrome". Personally, I think CLS is intentional. But that's a conspiracy for another thread.

Whatever the case may be with ELEnin. I appreciate your efforts. If I didn't want to hear what you had to say, I didn't have to click the link, did I?

my only problem is that the video relies heavily on the paper about seismicity by omerbashich, in which omerbashich used his own works as his top two sources.

just seems fishy

good vid though, i enjoyed it

Chemtrails/Contrails

Information

MOCKINGBIRD media

Navigation

North American Union

Off Site Videos

Psychotronic Weapons & Satellite Surveillance


Read more: Blue Sky Sunshine’s Blog » ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011 - ELE Survival Video http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4819#ixzz1R3uMm6kz

see also: Saturn Worship

//www.google.com/search?q=Saturn+Worship

 

Terral: “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

Wiki Elenin Comet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2010_X1

ELEnin JPL: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=elenin;orb=1;cov=1;log=0;cad=1#cad

Town Hall ELE Timeline: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2192.0

Horizons JPL ELE Update Coordinates: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi#results

Pole Shift Post: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=1581.msg29435#msg29435

Earth Change News: http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blog/list

 

==========


My Earth/Sun Magnetic Portal USMB Post: http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/154857-the-planet-x-nibiru-elenin-brown-dwarf-timeline-82.html#post3491232

Sun/Earth Magnetic portals: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30oct_ftes/

Picture Sun/Earth Wells: http://www.stonecirclealternatives.com/images/Gravity%20well%20sun-earth.jpg

Picture Sun/Earth Connected Magnetosphere: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G24n0xq6skI/TFW8VlktnmI/AAAAAAAAARY/3kqQCzdCNco/s1600/Sun+Earth+magnetic+connection.jpg

============


Geomagnetic Reversal And Pole Shift: http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/03/15/about-geomagnetic-reversal-and-poleshift/

Pole shift trimester: http://poleshift.ning.com/forum/topics/last-trimester-event-timeline
=================


Convincing ELE/dwarf star evidence:

Mike’s Video: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi7wpEIGU0I

Dr. Mensur Omerbashich Video: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8fnIagIrik

Astronomical Alignments as the cause of M6+ seismicity: http://lanl.arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1104/1104.2036.pdf

Russian Warning USMB Post: http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/154857-the-planet-x-nibiru-elenin-brown-dwarf-timeline-82.html#post3485624

Watcher’s Russian Warning Article: http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/03/01/russian-warning-issued-over-%E2%80%9Ccontrolled%E2%80%9D-comet-headed-towards-earth/

China ELEnin Warning: https://reinep.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/elenin-important-update/

Earth Aquifer shifts: http://scienceray.com/earth-sciences/geology/the-japanese-earthquake-is-felt-in-south-florida/

Texas aquifers: http://cavingnews.com/20110323-japan-earthquake-detected-in-aquifer-in-texas

Drought Monitor Blog: http://droughtmonitor.blogspot.com/2011/03/aquifer-update-and-japan-earthquake.html

Sunrise 2 days early Greenland: http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/astronomy/story/44335/sunrise-two-days-early-in-greenland.asp
==========


Tracking ELEnin Google Sky Pins: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2193.0

ELE Path Pins Wide View: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/ELE1.jpg

ELE pins demonstrate: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/ELE.jpg

ELE Current Position Pic: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/ELE4242011.jpg

May 21 Alignment: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/May21.jpg

Saturn USMB Post: http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/154857-the-planet-x-nibiru-elenin-brown-dwarf-timeline-82.html#post3491232

Saturn pic: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/Saturn1.jpg

Super Storm On Saturn: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/19may_saturnstorm/
==========


Why Cant See Dwarf Star LUCUS: http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/154857-the-planet-x-nibiru-elenin-brown-dwarf-timeline-46.html#post3400523

LUCUS Website: http://www.rabbithole2.com/

LUCUS Why Cant See Article: http://rabbithole2.com/news/top_news/the_destroyer_our_binary_partner_and_why_you_will_not_see_it.php

LUCUS does not mention: Gravitational Lensing Effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lens

Star Formation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_formation#Low_mass_and_high_mass_star_formation

Brown dwarf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_dwarf
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth. Brown dwarfs occupy the mass range between that of large gas giant planets and the lowest-mass stars; this upper limit is between 75[1] and 80 Jupiter masses (MJ). Currently there is some debate as to what criterion to use to define the separation between a brown dwarf and a giant planet at very low brown dwarf masses (~13 MJ ), and whether brown dwarfs are required to have experienced fusion at some point in their history. In any event, brown dwarfs heavier than 13 MJ do fuse deuterium and those above ~65 MJ also fuse lithium. Some planets are known to orbit brown dwarfs: 2M1207b, MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, and 2MASS J044144‎b.

>> Luminosity: Main sequence stars cool, but eventually reach a minimum luminosity which they can sustain through steady fusion. This varies from star to star, but is generally at least 0.01% the luminosity of our Sun. Brown dwarfs cool and darken steadily over their lifetimes: sufficiently old brown dwarfs will be too faint to be detectable.

=====

Town Hall Dwarf Star Timeline: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2192.0

25 Symptoms of Nibiru: http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1368630/pg1

Nibiru Safe Zones: http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1372295/pg1

Patriotic Space Meet and Greet Video: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcbX_jN4c_4

Cayce Map USA: http://beforeitsnews.com/ckfinder/userfiles/0000000000005416/images/cayce-map%281%29.jpg

Russian Academy of Science

Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics

T.G. Yelenina, G.V Ustyugova

http://www.keldysh.ru/papers/2005/source/prep2005_16en.pdf

In Orbit the Earth is moving at a rate of 67,062 miles per hour, 1117.7 miles per minute or 18.6 miles per second. The Comet Elenin travels at approximately 46,478 MPH.

Norwegian Politician Letter: http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/159757-project-camelot-planet-x-important-information.html

Project Camelot: http://www.projectcamelot.org/norway.html

Dutchsinse Youtube: //www.youtube.com/user/dutchsinse

Dutchsince.com: http://www.dutchsinse.com/

Magnetosphere Page: http://www2.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/

Solar System: http://www.solarsystemscope.com/

Cheney/Rumsfeld Black Operation: http://www.divshare.com/download/14273654-12b

What Happened on 9/11: http://www.usmessageboard.com/conspiracy-theories/102063-this-is-what-happened-on-9-11-a.html

Join our Planet X Dwarf Star Research Room using Paltalk Messenger (http://www.paltalk.com) with your comments and questions at this link: http://chat.paltalk.com/g2/paltalk/1390262503

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Civilization Doom in 2011 and 2012 - Good Luck Humans

I encourage you to research and study the information you find here. This is a long read…sit back and think. I have included extra links at the end of this article, but they in no means are inclusive. Again do your own research! 2012 – Doom ain’t What It Used to Be. Preface about baldly bold [...]

 

2012 – Doom - the rest of the story

Skeptics: don’t waste your time fighting with me about the views expressed herein. Instead go to YouTube, and search for the video’s produced by Neal Adams. Watch a few of these and then debate the issue with your own lying eyes before getting raspy with me. Postulate: That the Expando Planet cycle is dualistic in nature, showing [...]

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Underground Crops: The Future of Pharming

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/caves042505.cfm

URL: www.checkbiotech.org 23 Apr 2005

21 Apr 2005
9731 Underground crops could be future of ‘pharming’

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

WEST LAFAYETTE, India - Corn grows just as well - if not better - underground as in a typical greenhouse setting or in the field, according to a team of Purdue University researchers that is working with a company to develop techniques for tightly controlled production of crops containing pharmaceuticals such as edible vaccines or antibodies.

The scientists, in partnership with Controlled Pharming Ventures LLC of McCordsville, Ind., have designed and built a crop-growth facility inside a 60-acre former limestone mine in Marengo, a small town in southern Indiana. The first test crop, planted in the underground facility late last fall, produced more corn in a shorter time period than plants grown in a greenhouse on the Purdue campus, said Cary Mitchell, a Purdue professor of horticulture.

“This first planting performed very well,” Mitchell said. “We’ve shown that you can successfully grow crops underground in a lighted but completely contained facility. What we have here is a perfect model for controlled-environment agriculture. This could jump-start a whole industry.” Controlled-environment agriculture is a system in which all the inputs required for plant growth - light, temperature, carbon dioxide and humidity - are regulated to maximize growth.

The team recently presented its results at the NCR-101 annual conference. NCR-101 is a U.S. Department of Agriculture committee dedicated to controlled environment agriculture.

In the initial trial, genetically modified corn grown in the facility had an average yield that equaled 337 bushels per acre. By comparison, corn the researchers grew in a greenhouse yielded the equivalent of 267 bushels per acre.

The average yield for field corn grown in the United States is 142 bushels per acre. The higher yield in the growth facility is a product of the amount of control the researchers have over the environment compared to both greenhouse and field settings. The corn the researchers planted, known as Bt corn, contains a gene that produces a protein that kills larvae of European corn borer, an agricultural pest.

These results lay to rest the team’s initial concerns about growing crops in an underground mine.

“Because corn and other pharma crop candidates, such as tobacco and tomato, are naturally hot-weather crops, there was some concern whether the year-round, cool temperatures of the mine would be sub-optimal for crop growth underground,” Mitchell said.

It turns out that the growth facility’s location in the mine actually puts it at a temperature advantage.

“The design we use leverages the cool air temperatures in the mine to reject waste heat from the intensely hot plant-growth lamps in the facility,” Mitchell said.

The underground growth chamber is the brainchild of Doug Ausenbaugh, president of Controlled Pharming Ventures, a startup company funded to develop the facility through the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund.

Ausenbaugh said the facility’s design incorporates safeguards to prevent any release into the wild of plants genetically modified to produce pharmaceutical agents.

“This is a safe, reliable, consistent and contained production environment that can operate year-round and around the clock,” he said. “What’s unique here is the level of control we have over the environment inside the facility.”

Ausenbaugh hopes to see the facility become a prime research, development and production site for companies interested in developing pharmaceutical crops or plants engineered to produce proteins like vaccines and antibodies. Producing these compounds in plants can be cheaper and easier than conventional methods for pharmaceutical production. Some pharmaceutical companies today are interested in using crops as plant-based “factories” to produce proteins that may be extracted and processed in pill or injectable form.

“We have been talking with a number of plant-based pharmaceutical companies about using our facility design, and we hope to launch pilot growth trials over the next 12 months,” Ausenbaugh said.

The underground facility is a tall room built within a cavern in a former limestone mine now used largely as a warehouse facility for the transportation industry. The mine creates an environment in which temperature, humidity, light, airflow and other plant-growth factors are tightly regulated.

Environmental control and containment are crucial to any pharmaceutical crops initiative, Ausenbaugh said. Several organizations, including the American Society of Plant Biologists, recommend that any development of pharmaceutical or other transgenic crops be done in an entirely enclosed environment removed from the food system to prevent any accidental contamination.

Currently, the USDA’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services, the agency that regulates genetically engineered organisms, has not established specific protocols for transgenic plant production in contained facilities.

However, the facility does meet strict biosafety criteria established by the National Institutes of Health for the handling of transgenic plants in greenhouses, said Yang Yang, a Purdue research scientist helping to develop the growth facility.

“As it exists today, we have biosafety level two status at the growth facility,” he said. “We can easily achieve biosafety level three, and because of the natural containment and control offered by our setting in the mine, it would be significantly less costly than in an above-ground facility.”

Biosafety level two, or BL2-P, status requires limited access to the facility and inactivation of “biologically active materials,” such as the genes inserted into transgenic organisms, before any plants are disposed of. Biosafety level three, or BL3-P, requires additional safeguards, including a double set of self-closing, locking doors and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters for both incoming and exhaust air.

“The ability to attain biosafety level three at a cost advantage is attractive, given the expanding efforts of biotechnology companies on biodefense issues and the NIH’s goal of expanding biosafety level research capacity throughout the United States,” Ausenbaugh said.

The 60-acre mine is large enough also to include facilities for processing pharmaceutical plants, Ausenbaugh said.

Processing would render inactive any genes those plants carry to produce compounds, such as vaccines, insulin or antibiotics, preventing the transport of any active transgenic material out of the facility.

“We are ahead of our time in that the research we are doing now can provide very good and important references for guidance on building contained transgenic plant production facilities,” Yang said. “The procedures we develop and follow may very well end up as the protocols of NIH, USDA, or the Environmental Protection Agency for future construction of underground facilities.”

The pilot facility was designed and built for scalability up to sizes measured in acres.

“The walls are just like a sandwich,” Yang said. “In the center is an insulation layer, which helps conserve heat. The walls inside the room are made of reflective materials to bounce back as much light as possible, and the outside of the room is covered in protective material.”

Data monitors throughout the facility collect real-time information about temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels. These monitors communicate with a computer system that responds to any changes in conditions by adjusting variables such as light intensity or air circulation.

A second growth facility, specifically designed to grow crops that benefit from elevated carbon dioxide levels, such as tobacco, alfalfa and soybeans, will be completed later this spring in the same mine.

Taking the long view, Mitchell sees in this facility the potential to revolutionize the U.S. crop production system, provided the cost of artificial lighting can be minimized. He envisions a system by which such facilities will recoup some of their electricity costs by using plant waste, such as leaves and stems, as a source to create energy that goes back into lighting the facility.

He also predicts facilities like the one in southern Indiana will one day support aquaponics, a system that couples fish farming to hydroponic crop production, or even organic agriculture, in which fruit and vegetable production could be done in an environment that requires no pesticides. “Eventually, we could see plant-related businesses clustering where a lot of waste biomass is being generated and where there’s an opportunity to reclaim energy,” Mitchell said.

CONTACTS: Jennifer Cutraro, Purdue news, 765-496-2050; jcutraro@purdue.edu Cary Mitchell, 765-494-1347; cmitchel(at)purdue.com Copyright Ascribe

——————————– GENET-news ——————————-

TITLE: Missouri making unpopular first venture into biopharming

SOURCE: The Associated Press, by Margaret Stafford /
Lawrence Journal - World, USA
http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/198973
DATE: 14 Mar 2005

——————- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ ——————-

Missouri making unpopular first venture into biopharming

Maryville, Mo. — When Ventria Biosciences arrived in northwest Missouri,
the company brought with it a hope for a regional economic boost spurred
by expected medical breakthroughs.

That’s one argument. The other insists that Ventria’s arrival from
California brought nothing more than the potential for lasting damage to
the state’s farmers.

There is no argument, however, that Ventria’s decision to relocate has
brought the debate over biopharming — the practice of genetically
modifying crops to grow medications — to Missouri
.

“I’m totally confident this is the future,” said Dean Hubbard, the
president of Northwest Missouri State University, who invited Ventria to
his community about 85 miles north of Kansas City. “It is beyond the
adventure stage. It’s been proven you can do it. Our return in the long-
term will be great. It will far exceed our investment.”

Last November, Northwest Missouri and Ventria agreed to make the company
the anchor of a proposed Center of Excellence for plant-made
pharmaceuticals on the university’s campus in Maryville. Hubbard believes
the industry will reap millions in revenue, reduce the cost of medicines
and provide Northwest students with opportunities in biotechnology fields.

The university provided $5 million in privately raised venture capital
and will build an on-campus biotechnology center with space set aside for
Ventria. In return, Ventria is moving its headquarters, about 13
employees
and processing functions from Sacramento, Calif., to Maryville.
It also will grow 70 percent of its U.S. field production in Missouri.

Genetic enhancements

In California, Ventria planted small plots of rice genetically enhanced
with synthetic human genes to produce the proteins lactoferrin and
lysozyme, which the company hopes to harvest and refine for use in
medicines to fight diarrhea and dehydration. The proteins occur naturally
in human tears, saliva and breast milk, but it can cost up to $30,000 a
gram to extract them.

It’s the presence of the human genes in the rice that worries farmers,
especially in southwest Missouri, the heart of the state’s rice industry.
They’re concerned the Ventria crops could cross-pollinate with other food
crops, introducing the foreign genes into the regular food chain.

Even if such cross-pollination never occurs, fear that it might could
lead buyers to avoid food crops grown nearby.

“These people say they can contain it,” said Sonny Martin, a Butler
County rice farmer who is chairman of the Missouri Rice and Merchandising
Council. “But they are not going to net this rice to keep birds out. They
can’t contain the water runoff here.”

Ventria faced the same arguments in California last year when it wanted
to increase its acres of open-field rice production. The state’s rice
growers were concerned the genetically modified rice would hurt their
$500 million business, and others raised concerns about Ventria’s efforts
to prevent cross-pollinization.

Scott Deeter, president of Ventria, said the company is not moving to
Missouri to escape the controversy. He said Missouri’s abundant land and
water, and Northwest Missouri State’s efforts to build around Ventria,
drew the company to the Midwest.

“We’ve been growing rice in California for six years without any impacts
on the California rice industry,” Deeter said. “We have a very highly
regulated process to make sure production is done in a safe manner.”

The company has applied to grow up to 200 acres of genetically modified
rice in Scott, Cape Girardeau and Mississippi counties in southeast
Missouri.
Eventually, Ventria hopes to grow thousands of acres of the
modified rice, Deeter said.

Unpopular move

Nearly all of Missouri’s $100 million rice crop is grown in southeast
Missouri
. Farmers there have met with Ventria officials and Missouri
Secretary of Agriculture Fred Ferrell, presenting a petition with 175
signatures opposing the plans.

“I’d say 95-97 percent of the farmers here are against this,” Martin
said. “Those who are for it are looking to fill their pockets off it.”

Martin said the farmers are planning some efforts to, at minimum, put off
the Ventria planting until next year, but he declined to elaborate.

Genetically modified crops are regulated by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, with state
governments allowed to review safety procedures and suggest more
stringent regulation of the companies before a permit is issued.

The farmers have the support of advocacy groups such as Friends of the
Earth, as well as trade organizations such as the National Food
Processors Assn. and the Grocery Manufacturers of America, which have
opposed genetically modified food crops.

The Union of Concerned Scientists in December called on the Agriculture
Department to ban open-field growing of food crops engineered to produce
pharmaceutical and industrial products. The group acknowledges the
potential benefits of plant-grown pharmaceuticals, but suggests companies
use nonfood crops such as tobacco, or grown them in greenhouses.

GENET
European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering

Hartmut MEYER (Mr)
In den Steinäckern 13
D - 38116 Braunschweig
Germany

P: +49-531-5168746
F: +49-531-5168747
M: +49-162-1054755
E: coordination(*)genet-info.org
W:

————————————————————–

The Worship of Saturn

http://www.varchive.org/itb/satwor.htm

Saturn, so active in the cosmic changes, was regarded by all mankind as the supreme god. Seneca says that Epigenes, who studied astronomy among the Chaldeans, “estimates that the planet Saturn exerts the greatest influence upon all the movements of celestial bodies.” (1)

[...]
The worship of the sun and the planets was decried by Jeremiah, a contemporary of Ezekiel. But what was this weeping for Tammuz?

Tammuz was a Babylonian god; one of the months of the year, approximately coinciding with July, in the summer, was named in his honor; and by this very name it is known in the present-day Hebrew calendar. Tammuz was a god that died and was then hidden in the underworld; his death was the reason for a fast, accompanied by lamentations of the women of the land. His finding or his return to life in resurrection were the motifs of the passion.(12)

Tammuz was a god of vegetation, of the flood, and of seeds: “The god Tammuz came from Armenia every year in his ark in the overflowing river, blessing the alluvium with new growth.” (13) In the month of Tammuz he was “bound, and the liturgies speak of his having been drowned among flowers which were thrown upon him as he sank beneath the waves of the Euphrates.” (14) The drowning of Tammuz was an occasion for wailing by women: “The flood has taken Tammuz, the raging storm has brought him low.” (15)

Of Tammuz it also is narrated that he was associated with brilliant light,(16) with descent into the nether world, visited there by Ishtar, his spouse. Tammuz’ death, his subsequent resurrection, or his discovery in the far reaches, but no longer brilliant, were the themes of the cult that was not just one of the mysteries, but the chief and paramount cult.

 

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Scale Model --[from left, back row] Jupiter, Saturn, [middle row] : Uranus, Neptune, and then the little ones in front row, from left: Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury and the Moon

Scale Models

[From Left - Back Row] Jupiter, Saturn,
[Middle Row] Uranus, Neptune,
[Front Row - From Left] Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury And The Moon

-

Brown Dwarf

 

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Uploaded by TerralO3 on May 28, 2011

ELE Survival Video


 

[vid descrpt] This is the ELE Survival Video that shows people how to survive the coming Extinction-Level Event to become part of the New World Revolution that will begin post-ELE in the Ozarks. Everyone can upload this video to your account and mirror to help wake people up, so long as you copy this description with all the links.

9/26 ELE Warning Post: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqV0StQbJQs

Survival Topic: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2407.msg31072#msg31072

NWO Propaganda Video: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ibanbnuteg&feature=uploademail

25 Signs Of Dwarf Star: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfX5zl6ynbU

NASA Hiding Doomsday Space Event: Video: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYH0FORUmk

NASA Hiding Paper: http://members.beforeitsnews.com/story/663/449/Claim:_NASA_Hiding_Approaching…

Cayce Map Future USA: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YGLQQZTHoU0/S8cQAZaznhI/AAAAAAAALkI/3XbWp9xuSG0/s16…

Navy Map Future: http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e78/DAIXIN/EOW/USA-Map-NAVY.jpg

Huckleberry Ridge Map: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/HuckleberryAlpha.jpg

Flag Spring Map: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c266/Terral03/FlagSpringBravo.jpg

Planet X Dwarf Star Research Group: http://chat.paltalk.com/g2/paltalk/1390262503

Connect with our group using Paltalk Messenger from http://www.paltalk.com

Radio Show Link List: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2210.msg29033#msg29033

Below from: http://planetxtownhall.com/index.php?topic=2407.msg31072#msg31072

The ELE 9/26 Warning Video (link) is helping many people wake up to the fact that we are looking at the approach of a dwarf star-like object using the ELEnin orbit/flight path that has been causing earthquakes on our planet since 1965 (Mensur Omerbashich paper) and affecting Earth magnetically since about 2004 (CNN story) pointing to the fact that this object has great mass and magnetic field polarity. Since the approaching dwarf star has sufficient mass to shift Earth axis and Earth aquifers with the February 27, 2010 and March 11, 2011 Chile and Japan Quakes respectively, then my ELE Threat Assessment Reports include an assortment of bad news for people working to survive this Extinction-Level Event later this summer in connection with the solar storms expected to begin around the middle of August and particularly the September 26, 2011 alignment. The time is running short and I can no longer continue answering every email/youtube/twitter/facebook/etc message coming from around the globe about the varying threat scenarios. Therefore, this topic is created as a central location for people to come and find out more information about what was written to others in your immediate area of the world. My original Dwarf Star Safe Zone topic is here at Susan and Mike’s Go2Ground.com Website for which this post is an update:

Earth crossed between the Sun and the inbound ELE dwarf star on March 11, 2011 to cross ELE orbit on April 25, 2011 to match orbit at 1.8 AU, or about 170 million miles. That distance has remained constant and will remain that way until the end of June and about the time that ELE crosses Mars orbit on June 27, 2011. July 6 or 7, 2011 marks the time of the Sun/ELE/Saturn alignment where the ringed planet should show signs that the dwarf star is attempting to wrestle polarity control from the Sun. If you run the JPL orbit diagram program (link), then you will see the Earth and ELE are stuck at this 1.8 AU position for some time. Then the ELE/Earth distance number begins shrinking, gradually at first, and then around August 1st ELE begins closing on Earth very quickly. That is the time that the earth change symptoms (quakes, volcanoes, rogue tides, animal deaths, etc. = Envy’s video) will begin to escalate out of control, as Earth magma heats up quickly and the weak locations along the calderas begin to break.

The problem is that Earth magma under the bulging calderas and super volcanoes will be extremely hot, light and fluffy, which means the dam effect will see large areas of earth crust blown away at the violent eruption. Then the area of the entire caldera will begin to collapse, as the lighter and hotter magma is no longer able to support the collapsing crust layer; as the magma evacuates at a rapid pace. That means the entire region falls to allow the ocean waters to rush in and erode the land away along the coasts, which means that areas like California and northern Europe have no safe zones whatsoever. Places like the UK, Sweden and Norway have thin strips of land with insufficient elevation to support a post-ELE survival group, even though there are mountain locations where a smaller group could indeed survive. Emerging from a cavern in Scotland might find you alive, but also 500 miles away from the nearest land mass for starting a new life. General safe zone rules are as follows from the original safe zone topic, but now with modifications because of new threat information:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YGLQQZTHoU0/S8cQAZaznhI/AAAAAAAALkI/3XbWp9xuSG0/s1600/cayce-map.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/navy%20map%20of%20future%20america/DAIXIN/EOW/USA-Map-NAVY.jpg

Maps of the future globe by Edgar Cayce and Michael Gordon Scallion are at these links:

http://www.world-mysteries.com/newgw/gmsc_worldmap.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4Aj-mHkmt74/S4rCh8T7peI/AAAAAAAAALE/UIxG-KOg6ow/Planetx-map.jpg

Edgar Cayce does not make allowances for the New Madrid Fault Zone to shake and liquify, so the Navy Map of future America is used to accurately depict a wide gulf in the central USA. Note that all coasts are eroded away in some cases by hundreds of miles and that all the maps say the Yellowstone Caldera is going to erupt in a massive event allowing the Pacific Ocean to rush in and create a large inland sea. Northern Europe is devastated the same way with the eruption and collapse of the super volcano in that region that allows the Ocean to rush in and wash away most of that area. General guidelines for establishing Safe Zones are:

1. Move 250+ miles from the coasts.
2. Move 650 feet above sea level.
3. Move away from volcanoes and super volcanoes like Yellowstone in northwestern USA.
4. Move away from earthquake/seismic/avalanche/fault zones like the New Madrid Fault Zone in central USA.
5. Move away from dams that will break.
6. New Madrid Fault Zone goes and the Mississippi River Valley up to lake Michigan will be shaken to mud and washed away by the liquification effect to create a wide inland gulf to the Great Lakes.
7. Move away from nuclear power plants near seismic zones. Learn from Japan.
8. Move away from too high elevations amid magnetosphere/atmospheric fluctuations leading to solar radiation exposure. Lower elevations under more atmosphere provide increased protection from solar radiation.
9. Move away from large population areas where food riots will escalate into chaos and mayhem.
10. Join into survival groups with people of like mind that have survival supplies, gear and guns to protect them.
11. Develop a survival strategy by selecting the optimum bug out location with a water supply, fertile land for planting seeds.
12. The very best survival location is inside a sturdy cave/cavern with a water supply. My survival group has a large cavern in southeast USA in the Appalachian Mountains. Reply to Mike’s video to begin the screening process, while we are accepting survival group members and their families.
13. Bait and trap your food rather than hunt. That brings animals to you rather than chasing them to other areas. Placing traps around your garden catches dinner while protecting food stocks of tomorrow.

The threat assessment report for the eastern seaboard/Appalachian region has changed from safe to unsafe. The fault line running up the eastern seaboard of the USA is currently locked into a safe position, but that will change once the New Madrid Fault Zone erupts into activity with the ELE seismic events this summer. The nuclear plants in the region are susceptible to a Japan-like meltdown that will send deadly emissions towards the highly-populated areas of the northeastern United States. Running threat assessment for multiple survival groups in the Appalachian Mountains and Ozarks has convinced me that the larger overarching survival strategy for post-ELE is best served by joining our collective forces into the safest region possible with the greatest number of habitable caverns and water supply, so we emerge a formidable force against the New World Order tyrants. The corrupt US Govt has build more than 800 Hitler/NAZI-like FEMA Camps (Secret 2008 Meeting w/links) and we suspect they will use Blackwater-type mercenaries from around the world to try and push us into their death camps. Therefore, I am now inclined to agree with John Moore that the Ozarks represent the #1 Survival Location in the USA and that every survival group in America should make every attempt to secure a cavern as their bugout location.

Many survival groups have already deployed to the Ozarks to set up operations, even though the corrupt US govt has blocked off many cavern entrances in an attempt to ensure that ELEnin kills as many American citizens as possible. We have designated two locations inside the Ozark area to become meeting places for survival groups wanting become part of the Post-ELE New Revolution.

1. Huckleberry Ridge Conservation Area: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Applications/MOATLAS/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=6314    Map <<< Safe Zone Map/Instructions Download and Print

The primary campsite (#1) is south of Route K off Conservation Road 1440. Use the campsite (#2) also to the south of Route K off Conservation Road 1460 as the alternate location. Turn your Cobra-like CB radio (link) to Channel 5 to begin communications and we will direct from there. Channel 5 will be used for initial contact with our outer perimeter security personnel ONLY. There will be no chatter on this channel other than initial contact. Then you will be directed to another channel for further communications. Open the Huckleberry Map to review first contact protocols:

Huckleberry Ridge is area “Alpha” and you are “Delta Team” with the appearance of contacting the Alpha Team. In reality you are a new group telling our patrol your group size and exact position. Let’s say you are at the primary campground and your group has seven members. You turn the CB radio to Channel 5 and say, “Delta 7 to Alpha 1, over …” and clear the channel. You will receive instructions to move to another campsite and nobody will approach you at Alpha 1!!! If anyone comes out of the woodwork to meet you at the Alpha 1 campsite, those are NOT our people. Change your channel per instructions and make your way to the stated Alpha campsite location and our people will meet you along the way, so be looking. Expect to be quarantined for a week or more in some cases-before joining the core groups-for a screening process, as our groups are forming under the most-stringent security protocols possible to ensure the safety of everyone involved. 

2. Flag Spring Conservation Area: http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/atlas/gis4media.cgi?area=8333map   Map <<< Safe Zone Map/Instructions Download and Print

The conservation area shows four campsites to serve as meet up locations. Members of our survival team are doing recon operations right now to secure as many cavern locations in the area as possible, so we can send you in the right direction. Use the two campgrounds east and west of the shooting range first and the other two as backup alternates. Our teams will be monitoring CB Channel 5 for initiating first-contact procedures. Your group is at Flag Spring campsite #2 and there are 5 people in your group. Turn the CB radio to Channel 5 and say, “Delta 5 to Bravo 2, over …” and clear the channel. Follow the redirection commands and our team will meet you along the way. If for any reason our team fails to meet your group on route, then begin the process again using the new location number, until first contact is successful.

United Kingdom Safe Zone Info:

The survival information for the UK and Europe in general is not so well defined. The bad news for people living on Islands around the world is that the 9/26 Pole Shift Event can see giant waves roll inland for 200 miles and your little countries can easily be wiped completely off the map, which is exactly what the Cayce Maps reveal about the future. The only solution so far is that everyone awake in the UK should join into survival groups and head for the Pyrenees Mountain Range to secure a cavern location on the Spain side between 1000 and 2000 feet above sea level. The leaders of your groups should do reconnaissance work to locate and secure the best cavern locations possible, so detailed information can be given to all members before the crap hits the fan. Remember that if everyone wakes up today about what is coming with this ELEnin dwarf star, then your ability to prepare will suddenly vanish into thin air; because the store shelves would be empty and the gas/bank cards would no longer function and the roads would be crowded with people trying to head for the hills.

The fact that the entire world is sound asleep to this Extinction-Level Event threat means you still have time to prepare. Think about this very carefully to realize that those of us fully awake are playing a very dangerous game by waking people up to what is really happening. We must keep our eye on the ELE object and on the economy that is trying to collapse and WW3 that is trying to erupt in the Middle East, because any number of potential threats can stand between us and our ability to prepare and get to our bugout locations ‘before’ the SHTF scenario plays out. Since we know the ELE timeline (link), then we have some idea about when the dwarf star will be at Mercury orbit to start pulling the solar flares out of the Sun from the middle of August into October. That means we should begin making the trek to our bugout locations around August 1, 2011 to give ourselves a week or two safety cushion and time to refortify our safe zone location positions. Several threat scenarios can move our bugout date into July, but August 1, 2011 is the time that the safety margin window begins to close with regard to ELEnin.

Surviving The Economic Collapse

My 2009 Survival Topic With Survival List

Societies have collapsed before in history and the consequences for those unprepared are truly dreadful. The people trying to hole up in their houses are generally tied up and robbed by hungry mobs and oftentimes far far worse. Join our Planet X Dwarf Star Research group using Paltalk Messenger (http://www.paltalk.com = free) at this address:

http://chat.paltalk.com/g2/paltalk/1390262503

Ozark Survival Group leadership has passed along this list of things to include in your survival supplies if possible:

Food stocks: salt, sugar, spices. detergent/liquid soap bar soap deodorant- baking soda yeast, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, toothpaste- flour, Vitamin C, Acidophilus pills, multivitamins, antibiotics, canned meats (span, sardines, tuna) stews, soups, canned vegetables, desserts, beans, rice, wheat, oats, cornmeal, dried meats, jerky, salted fish.

Night vision goggles or monocular, gas masks, canister refills, picks, shovels, large bolt cutters, chain saws w/fuel+oil, all types ammo 9mm, 40S+W, 45acp, .223, bows (long or cross), black powder, water, purification tablets, water filtration, sodium hypochlorite  tablets (pool chlorination = better than bleach), water-proof ponchos, camo clothing, bug repellant, Cobra-type radios (25 channels w/4-25 mile range), tents, sleeping bags, cold/warm weather clothing, hammers, nails, manual saws, Kevlar vests, helmets, mining head lamps/spelunking-type LED flashlights, small generators, batteries, faraday cages, small microwave or aluminum foil, first aid kits, bandages/gauze-surgical kits, reading books, cards/games for adults and kids.     

Surviving this ELE threat means:

1. Identifying potential threats.
2. Creating contingency plans.
3. Executing those plans on time.

Your group can identify all the threats and make the perfect survival plans and miss the mark on executing those plans on time and this inbound dwarf star or something related will come along and threaten your very survival. My recommendations to people from around the world with ELE survival questions will be posted on this thread, so others in the same area can benefit from the safe zone analysis report. Look for your area in the topic titles to see if someone else has asked your questions.

Related Links:

Rocket Stove: http://www.stockstorage.com/grover_oven.html

Take care,

Terral

- - -

see also:

If it is true, then we are in serious trouble…for your information: As you read this information - do not discount the FACT that Weather Modification/GEO - Engineering IS taking place at the hands of governments as well as private entities. So what is real and what is an illusion…Long criticized as snake-oil salesmen at best and [...]

Bad News from NASA: Proof That Comet Elenin Is Affecting Earth

This is going to be the most extraordinary communication so fasten your seatbelts; we are in for a rough ride. I have known in my heart for months that I would have to make a communication like this but had no idea it would be this soon. Back in January, while investigating the underground city [...]

May 26th, 2011 | Category: Cover Ups & Deceptions, Death Culture, Elite, Environment, Government, NASA, Religion Related, Science & Technology, Secret Societies, VIDEO, World News | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL



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Read more: Blue Sky Sunshine’s Blog » ELEnin Dwarf Star Warning September 26, 2011 - ELE Survival Video http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4819#ixzz1R3ux5PX9

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Japan Earthquake:
Before and After


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http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:00pm AEDT

Aerial photos taken over Japan have revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

Hover over each satellite photo to view the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami.

Development: Andrew Kesper
Source: Google


Ron Paul: The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic - Floor Speech May 25 2011

http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4832#axzz1R3t7N5Al

The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic. Yet, Congress remains in total denial as our liberties are rapidly fading before our eyes. The process is propelled by unwarranted fear and ignorance as to the true meaning of liberty. It is driven by economic myths, fallacies and irrational good intentions. The rule of law is constantly rejected and authoritarian answers are offered as panaceas for all our problems. Runaway welfarism is used to benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class. Who would have ever thought that the current generation and Congress would stand idly by and watch such a rapid disintegration of the American Republic? Characteristic of this epic event is the casual acceptance by the people and political leaders of the unitary presidency, which is equivalent to granting dictatorial powers to the President.

Our Presidents can now, on their own:

1. Order assassinations, including American citizens,
2. Operate secret military tribunals,
3. Engage in torture,
4. Enforce indefinite imprisonment without due process,
5. Order searches and seizures without proper warrants, gutting the 4th Amendment,
6. Ignore the 60 day rule for reporting to the Congress the nature of any military operations as required by the War Power Resolution,
7. Continue the Patriot Act abuses without oversight,
8. Wage war at will,
9. Treat all Americans as suspected terrorists at airports with TSA groping and nude x-raying.

And the Federal Reserve accommodates by counterfeiting the funds needed and not paid for by taxation and borrowing, permitting runaway spending, endless debt, and special interest bail-outs.

And all of this is not enough. The abuses and usurpations of the war power are soon to be codified in the National Defense Authorization Act now rapidly moving its way through the Congress. Instead of repealing the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), as we should, now that bin Laden is dead and gone, Congress is planning to massively increase the war power of the President. Though an opportunity presents itself to end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Congress, with bipartisan support, obsesses on how to expand the unconstitutional war power the President already holds. The current proposal would allow a President to pursue war any time, any place, for any reason, without Congressional approval. Many believe this would even permit military activity against American suspects here at home. The proposed authority does not reference the 9/11 attacks. It would be expanded to include the Taliban and “associated” forces—a dangerously vague and expansive definition of our potential enemies. There is no denial that the changes in s.1034 totally eliminate the hard-fought-for restraint on Presidential authority to go to war without Congressional approval achieved at the Constitutional Convention. Congress’ war authority has been severely undermined since World War II beginning with the advent of the Korean War which was fought solely under a UN Resolution. Even today, we’re waging war in Libya without even consulting with the Congress, similar to how we went to war in Bosnia in the 1990s under President Clinton.

The three major reasons for our Constitutional Convention were to:

1. Guarantee free trade and travel among the states.
2. Make gold and silver legal tender and abolish paper money.
3. Strictly limit the Executive Branch’s authority to pursue war without Congressional approval.

But today:

1. Federal Reserve notes are legal tender, gold and silver are illegal.
2. The Interstate Commerce Clause is used to regulate all commerce at the expense of free trade among the states.
3. And now the final nail is placed in the coffin of Congressional responsibility for the war power, delivering this power completely to the President—a sharp and huge blow to the concept of our Republic.

In my view, it appears that the fate of the American Republic is now sealed—unless these recent trends are quickly reversed.

The saddest part of this tragedy is that all these horrible changes are being done in the name of patriotism and protecting freedom. They are justified by good intentions while believing the sacrifice of liberty is required for our safety. Nothing could be further from the truth.

More sadly is the conviction that our enemies are driven to attack us for our freedoms and prosperity, and not because of our deeply flawed foreign policy that has generated justifiable grievances and has inspired the radical violence against us. Without this understanding our endless, unnamed, and undeclared wars will continue and our wonderful experience with liberty will end.

The Last Nail - Floor Speech May 25 2011


Read more: Blue Sky Sunshine’s Blog » Ron Paul: The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic - Floor Speech May 25 2011 http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=4832#ixzz1R3wBfLG8

 

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    • Iran plan disaster Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 10:46 PM ET

      A passenger plane has crashed in Iran, killing all 168 people onboard.

    • New Jackson video Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 10:08 PM ET

      The video of the accident that led to Michael Jackson's painkiller addiction has finally been released.

    • Rudd blames Howard government Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 7:14 PM ET

      Kevin Rudd says a Howard government agreement with China is to blame for stopping Australian officials from contacting detained Stern Hu.

    • Earthquake shakes NZ Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 4:30 PM ET

      A powerful earthquake off the SE of New Zealand triggered a series of small tsunamis on the Australia coast line.

    • Million-dollar story Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 4:30 PM ET

      The family of rescued British backpacker Jamie Neale says his miraculous survival is no conspiracy.

    • Plane crashes in Iran Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 4:30 PM ET

      A passenger plane has crashed in Iran killing all 168 people on board.

    • South Australia weather bulletin Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 5:30 AM ET

      State weather update.

    • Vaccine trial Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 5:30 AM ET

      A 32-year-old man has become the first South Australian to die of swine flu, as Adelaide is chosen as the host city for the vaccine trial.

    • Miracle man Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 5:28 AM ET

      In one of Australia's greatest miracle survival stories, a British backpacker survived 12 days lost in the bush.

    • Breathtaking Beyonce Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 5:24 AM ET

      Watching the "queen of curves" pumping a stadium of 30,000 fans into overdrive, is seeing Beyonce at her most fierce - Sasha Fierce.

    • Garrett 'a sell-out' Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 3:34 AM ET

      Environment Minister Peter Garrett has been labelled a sell-out after her approved a uranium mine for South Australia.

    • Backpacker 'came back from the dead' Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 15, 3:34 AM ET

      A 19-year-old British backpacker has been found alive, 12 days after he went missing. We find out how Jamie is going now.

    • More swine flu death expected Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 10:54 PM ET

      Australians are being told to expect a surge in swine flu death.

    • Missing backpacker found Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 10:54 PM ET

      NSW police say British backpacker missing in the Blue Mountains has been found alive and well.

    • Heavy toll Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 10:54 PM ET

      The bodies of eight British soldiers killed during the country's bloodiest 24 hours in Afghanistan have returned home.


    • More swine flu death expected Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 10:54 PM ET

      Australians are being told to expect a surge in swine flu death.

    • Missing backpacker found Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 10:54 PM ET

      NSW police say British backpacker missing in the Blue Mountains has been found alive and well.

    • Heavy toll Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 10:54 PM ET

      The bodies of eight British soldiers killed during the country's bloodiest 24 hours in Afghanistan have returned home.

    • 'The right to die' Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 7:06 PM ET

      A Perth man who became a quadriplegic after falling from a building is planning a trip to Switzerland for the right to die.

    • Bastille Day celebrations Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 7:04 PM ET

      France is celebrating Bastille Day.

    • British maestro takes his own life Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 7:04 PM ET

      A renowned British maestro who conducted the first ever performance at the Sydney Opera House has ended his own life in Switzerland.

    • Rudd says he spoke to officials about Hu Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 4:56 PM ET

      PM Kevin Rudd says he spoke to China's vice foreign minister about Stern Hu's arrest.

    • MJ's ex-wife reportedly traded children for money Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 4:56 PM ET

      Michael Jackson's ex-wife has reportedly agreed to abandon her fight for custody in return for a payout.

    • Teenager makes medical history Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 4:56 PM ET

      A British teenager has made medical history after of heart transplant was reversed.

    • Ballarat's bold bid Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 5:48 AM ET

      The Victorian city of Ballarat has made a bold bid to poach Australia's most famous foot race, the Stawell Gift.

    • South Australia weather bulletin Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 5:46 AM ET

      State weather update.

    • Faulty fashion Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 5:46 AM ET

      Australians have already spent $7billion on clothes this year, but are we getting what we are paying for?

    • Man crushed by tram Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 5:44 AM ET

      An elderly man has been run over by a tram in Sydney's Chinatown.

    • Shocking footage of prisoner abuse Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 3:46 AM ET

      Disturbing video has emerged of a British soldier screaming abuse at hooded Iraqi prisoners.

    • Sinking ship Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 3:46 AM ET

      A bureaucratic battle over the fate of an old Australian warship has been settled.

    • Expats' high life Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 3:44 AM ET

      Australia may be one of the best places in the world to live, but it seems our expats are the ones living the high-life.

    • Orders placed for swine flu vaccine Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 3:44 AM ET

      Australia has ordered twenty-one-million doses of swine flu vaccine.

    • Five more execs detained: report Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 14, 3:44 AM ET

      China has reportedly detained another five executives as it continues its investigation into Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu.

    • Unstoppable Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 11:44 PM ET

      Doctors hope to start vaccinate Australians against swine flu within three months.

    • Unlucky shuttle Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 11:44 PM ET

      Bad weather has grounded space shuttle Endeavour.

    • Controversial draw Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 11:44 PM ET

      England escapes punishment for alleged time-wasting tactics.

    • Directing his girl Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 11:44 PM ET

      Russian singer Oksana has released her latest single.

    • Biggest dinosaur on display Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 7:48 PM ET

      The world's biggest dinosaur has gone on display in Japan.

    • Maddison jumps UK Tower Bridge Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 4:20 PM ET

      Daredevil Aussie stuntman Robbie Maddison has done it again.

    • Mineworker body to arrive in Australia Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 4:18 PM ET

      The body of an Australian father shot dead in Indonesia is due to arrive home today.

    • Tourist drowning Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 4:18 PM ET

      Police in Thailand are investigating the death of a British boy who was sucked into a swimming pool's pump system.

    • Journey home Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 13, 3:28 AM ET

      The body of an Australian mine worker murdered by suspected rebels in Indonesia has begun its journey home.

    • Lost bushwalker Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 10:44 PM ET

      Police have described the search for the lost British backpacker as like looking for a needle in a haystack.

    • Mary Poppins to visit Melbourne Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 10:44 PM ET

      One of Disney¿s best loved musicals is set to light up the Melbourne¿s stage next year.

    • Fourth delay Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 10:44 PM ET

      Heavy clouds and storms have delayed the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.

    • More injured in bull run Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 10:42 PM ET

      Four men have undergone emergency surgery after being gored on the sixth days of Spain's Running of the Bulls.

    • Tension mounts between Australia and China Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 10:42 PM ET

      China's communist leader has been accused of directly ordering an investigation which led to the arrest of an Australian businessman.

    • Controversial reading Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 6:33 PM ET

      A British English teacher who was trying to get her students interested in reading has been sacked after her novel was posted on the internet.

    • Bridge collapse, kills five Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 6:32 PM ET

      Five people are dead after a partially built bridge collapsed in India

    • UK to vaccinate population Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 6:32 PM ET

      Authority in Britain are promising to vaccinate the country's entire population against swine flu.

    • China- Australia tensions escalating Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:10 PM ET

      Kevin Rudd's first priority will be to repair relations with China when he arrives back in Australia this morning.

    • Another man shot dead in Indonesia Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:10 PM ET

      A second person has been shot dead, a day after an Australian mine worker was gunned down by suspected rebels in Indonesia.

    • Homecoming Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:10 PM ET

      Barack Obama has returned to the White House after a historic trip to Africa retracing his own family history.

    • Strained relations Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:58 AM ET

      Kevin Rudd returns to Australia from Italy tomorrow and into a diplomatic crisis over the company executive's arrest in China.

    • Sunrise morning news break Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 4:29 PM ET

      Latest headlines from Australia and around the world.


    • Another man shot dead in Indonesia Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:10 PM ET

      A second person has been shot dead, a day after an Australian mine worker was gunned down by suspected rebels in Indonesia.

    • Homecoming Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:10 PM ET

      Barack Obama has returned to the White House after a historic trip to Africa retracing his own family history.

    • Strained relations Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 12, 4:58 AM ET

      Kevin Rudd returns to Australia from Italy tomorrow and into a diplomatic crisis over the company executive's arrest in China.

    • Sunrise morning news break Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 4:29 PM ET

      Latest headlines from Australia and around the world.

    • Live 20 Years Longer - ward off cancer Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 5:38 AM ET

      It's more important than ever to maintain a balanced lifestyle and observe good nutrition as we're bombarded with pollutants and additives in our food.

    • Masterchef gardens Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 5:36 AM ET

      Save money and do your bit for the environment in your own backyard.

    • British backpacker search continues Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 3:38 AM ET

      The search for a British backer, missing for a week, continues in Katoomba.

    • SA outback siege man 'had violent past' Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 3:38 AM ET

      South Australian police say a man who died during a siege had a history of violent crime.

    • Rudd climate plan gets a thumbs-up Australia 7 News - Fri Jul 10, 3:38 AM ET

      Kevin Rudd has scored a diplomatic coup after his approach to fighting climate change.

    • Pop princess checks out latest trends Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:13 PM ET

      Kylie Minogue attends Paris fashion week.

    • Paper phone scandal Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Rupert Murdoch News of the World is at the centre of a phone tapping scandal in the UK.

    • Siege man 'had a violent past' Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Police have confirmed the man who terrorised a South Australia town yesterday had a violent past.

    • China quake Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Hundreds of people have been injured and thousands of homes have been wrecked by an earthquake in China.

    • Father to help search for backpacker Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      The father and uncle of a missing backpacker are on their way to Australia to help search for the young man.

    • Waiting to rebiuld Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      As Italy welcomes world leaders and the G8 Summit, its Prime Minister is drawing criticism for delays for rebuilding earthquake damaged L'Aquila.

    • Rudd will not intervene in Rio Tinto case Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has rejected calls to intervene in the case of a Rio Tinto executive accused of `spying¿ in China.

    • Suicide attacks in Iraq Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Nearly 60 people have been killed in the worst day of attacks since US forces began pulling out of Iraq.

    • PM takes centre stage Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Prime Minister Kevin Rudd takes centre stage in Italy climate talks.

    • PM meets Pope Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 10:12 PM ET

      Rudd meets the Pope to discuss a possible Australian saint.

    • G8 leaders wives visit Italy Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:50 PM ET

      The G8 leaders wives have toured the earthquake devastated city of L'Aquila.

    • Michael wax Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:50 PM ET

      A wax statue of Michael Jackson has been unveiled.

    • Wax michael Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:50 PM ET

      A wax statue of Michael Jackson has been unveiled.

    • Sydney hospital uses new technology Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:48 PM ET

      A Sydney hospital has become the first in Australia to use new technology that can looked in our bodies better than x-rays.

    • Accused 'spy' to talk to Australian officials Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 4:40 PM ET

      The PM is resisting calls to personally intervene in the case of an Australia Rio Tinto executive arrested in China.

    • State funeral for 'Ted' Kenna Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 4:40 PM ET

      A state funeral will be held to farewell Australian war hero 'Ted' Kenna.

    • Tabloid under investigation Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 4:38 PM ET

      British police are investigating claims reporters from Murdoch owned News of the World hacked into thousands of celebrities' phone messages.

    • Rudd shares stage with Obama at G8 Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 4:38 PM ET

      Kevin Rudd has persuaded the major powers to support his clean coal technologies in the campaign against global warning

    • Siege underway Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:49 AM ET

      A full scale siege on an isolated property in outback South Australia.

    • Bottle ban Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:48 AM ET

      South Australia's being urged to follow in the footsteps of a tiny new south wales town that's voted to ban plastic water bottles.

    • South Australia weather bulletin Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 5:46 AM ET

      State weather update.

    • Unemployment skyrockets Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 3:36 AM ET

      Australia's unemployment rate has rised to a six-year high of 5.8 per cent.

    • Burial mystery Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 3:36 AM ET

      Mystery continues to surround Michael Jackson's resting place.

    • Military crackdown Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 3:36 AM ET

      The Chinese president has abandoned G8 talks in Italy as bloody riots threaten security back home.

    • Australian accused of spying Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 3:36 AM ET

      Consular officials are still trying to get access to an Australian man who has been accused of spying in China.

    • Last remaining Victorian Cross recipient dies Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 9, 3:36 AM ET

      Australia's last remaining Victorian Cross recipient from WWII has died aged 90.

    • The next tennis superstar Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 8, 10:32 PM ET

      A four-year-old Australian girl has set her sight on the pro tennis circuit.

    • Frustration over where Jackson will be buried Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 8, 10:32 PM ET

      A tribute for Michael Jackson's memorial service has given way to frustration over where he will be buried.

    • Test tube sperm Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 8, 10:32 PM ET

      British scientists claim to have created human sperm in lab.

    • Diplomatic tension Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 8, 10:08 PM ET

      Australian officials are trying to gain access to an Australian man detained in Australia accused of spying.

    • Digger dies Australia 7 News - Wed Jul 8, 10:08 PM ET

      Australia's last remaining Victoria cross-recipient from the WWII has died.


    • Michael Jackson's memorial - Stevie Wonder Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 4:56 PM ET

      Stevie Wonder sings 'Never dreamed you'd leave in summer'.

    • Michael Jackson's memorial - Gordy Berry Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 4:54 PM ET

      Motown founder Gordy Berry says goodbye to Michael.

    • Michael Jackson's memorial - Jennifer Hudson Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 4:54 PM ET

      Former 'American Idol' Jennifer Hudson sings 'Will You Be There'.

    • Michael Jackson's memorial - Mariah Carey Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 4:46 PM ET

      Mariah Carey sings 'I'll Be There' by Jackson 5.

    • Michael Jackson's memorial - Queen Latifah Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 3:54 PM ET

      Queen Latifah reads a poem written by Maya Angelou for Michael.

    • South Australia weather bulletin Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 5:36 AM ET

      State weather update.

    • Soft target Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 5:34 AM ET

      Fraud detectives say card skimmers will target Australia, because our banks have been too slow to roll out the latest crime fighting technology.

    • Pay rise denied Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 4:58 AM ET

      Australia's battlers have been denied a pay rise with the industrial umpire deciding the nation can't afford a lift in the minimum wage.

    • LA in lockdown Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 3:28 AM ET

      Los Angeles is going into lock down as thousands of fans get ready to farewell Michael Jackson.

    • Wizardry of love Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 3:26 AM ET

      If you are excited about the next Harry Potter film but afraid of boy or girl germs than perhaps you would rather read the book instead.

    • Double blow to working Australians Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 3:26 AM ET

      Australians have been dealt a double financial blow, with interest rates held and low wages frozen.

    • Myles out of Origin Australia 7 News - Tue Jul 7, 3:24 AM ET

      Rugby League star Nate Myles has been banned from State of Origin over an alcohol-fuelled incident on the NSW central coast.

    • China riots intensify Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 10:51 PM ET

      China is in the grip of one of the most violent clashes since the Tiananmen Square massacre.

    • Record crowd for Ronaldo Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 10:50 PM ET

      80,000 fans turned up to see Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo's official presentation.

    • Farewelling Michael Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 10:50 PM ET

      The focus of grieving for pop legend Michael Jackson has switched to the Los Angeles cemetery.

    • Potter preview Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 10:50 PM ET

      Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince premieres tomorrow in London.

    • US-Russia reach agreement Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 10:48 PM ET

      US President Barrack Obama has reached an agreement with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to reduce their nuclear arsenal.

    • Low paid workers awaiting pay rise decision Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 10:48 PM ET

      Australia's low paid workers will find out today just how much of a pay rise they are about to receive.

    • E-File July 7,,2009 Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 9:00 PM ET

      Nelson Aspen reports: Michael Jackson memorial line-up; memorial scalpers strike; Jackson funeral.

    • Grint back promoting Harry Potter Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 5:05 PM ET

      Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint has vented outside for the first time since being diagnosed with swine flu.

    • Cavendish wins stage one Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 2:40 PM ET

      With Aussie Robbie McEwen out injured the Tour de France has a new sprint star.

    • Perry versus Perry Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 6:10 AM ET

      Katie wanted to start her own fashion label ever since she was a little girl. But, as soon as she opened her doors American singing sensation Katy Perry set out to shut her down. Why? Because Katie's last name is also Perry.

    • Aussie dies in Canada's Rockys Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 5:22 AM ET

      A 24 year old man from Black Forest has fallen to his death, while hiking in the rocky mountains of Canada.

    • Jackson memorial tickets arrive Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 3:22 AM ET

      Thousands of Michael Jackson fans are celebrating this afternoon after receiving confirmation they have a ticket to his memorial service.

    • Federer takes out Wimbledon Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 3:22 AM ET

      Roger Federer has claimed another Wimbledon crown and a place in tennis history.

    • Deadly protest Australia 7 News - Mon Jul 6, 3:20 AM ET

      At least 129 people have been killed after a protest turned violent in China's west.

    • Fans angry over Jacko's service Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 10:44 PM ET

      Final preparations are under way for Michael Jackson's memorial service in LA.

    • SA Liberal leader stands down Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 10:42 PM ET

      South Australia opposition leader has quit after weeks of controversy.

    • Countdown begins Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 10:42 PM ET

      Sport reporter Jim Wilson is in Cardiff ahead of the series opener.

    • Jackson memorial Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 8:40 PM ET

      Never-before-seen video has emerged of Michael Jackson being questioned over child molestation accusations.

    • Concern over North Korea Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 8:40 PM ET

      The UN is under increasing pressure to enforce tough sanctions against North Korea.

    • Cancer genes Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 8:38 PM ET

      Queensland scientists have discovered two new genes which double a person's risk of melanoma.

    • Fromelles project in disarray Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 4:12 PM ET

      The project to exhume the bodies of Australian and British soldiers from Fromelles is in disarray.

    • Jackson's memorial lotto Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 4:12 PM ET

      A full scale security operation is being plant for Michael Jackson's memorial service on Wednesday.

    • Big baby steps Australia 7 News - Sun Jul 5, 5:52 AM ET

      The first elephant born in Australia has taken his first steps at Taronga Zoo.

    • Meeting in exile Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 2, 11:17 PM ET

      China has accused Australian politicians of interfering with internal affairs.

    • Fighting poverty Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 2, 11:16 PM ET

      Hugh Jackman is leading a campaign to convince world leaders to fight poverty.

    • Custody battle Australia 7 News - Thu Jul 2, 11:16 PM ET

      Michael Jackson's family has announced a free memorial service for the singer.







    Rigged USA Elections Exposed
    //www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzY2tnwExs


    YouTube - Rigged USA Elections Exposed

    Computer Programmer testifies that Tom Feeney (Speaker of the ...
    12 min -

    Rated 4.9 out of 5.0


    www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzY2tnwExs

    About the USA > U.S. Government > Elections

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    Talking US Elections

    Not being in New Hampshire, I'm going through US elections withdrawal so I decided to have a conversation with my friends on the World Wide Web. Discuss

    Kevin Anderson



    Latest blog posts

    Barack Obama by lindsayg5218

    I don't necessarily support Obama, I was at an event with my class and was taking pictures for the school newspaper. 
    http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/usa/2008/01/talking_us_elections.html

    Hillary's in the basement,

    Mixing up campaign rhetoric 
    She's on the pavement 
    Talking 'bout her time in gub'ment

    I'll stop there before I offend my own Bob Dylan fan sensibilities. But, being in London, not in New Hampshire, I'm going through news junkie withdrawal. However, through the magic of the internet, I can sate my need to obsess over the primaries. I've been trying out a new video conversation service called Seesmic. Cathy Brooks of Seesmic told me that they have people from 40 countries using the service. I noticed that some of the folks there were talking about the US Elections, and I wondered if they were willing to open that conversation up to us here on Deadline USA so I asked them.

    The response has been slightly overwhelming. I'm going to be adding some of their video comments here, and I'll be feeding back your comments here to them. I am going to try to get a few invites to Seesmic if you want to join the conversation there. However, if you want to join the conversation here, leave a text comment or leave a a link to your video response on your favourite video service. You can paste the full URL into a comment, and I'll add those to the posts as well.

    Read on for more video comments and please leave a few of your own. In 48 hours, the New Hampshire primaries '08 edition will be history. Give us your predictions. Tell us why you chose the candidate you're backing. And hey New Hampshire, which way is the wind blowing up there?

    But first a look back at the Iowa caucuses from Elisabeth McLaury Lewin. She worked at her caucus, and she gives a great insight into how the caucuses work and also the thinking of her fellow Democrats in Des Moines. Read on for more responses and feel free to leave your own. I'll be asking follow up questions over the next few days. Feel free to leave a comment or post a video response on your favourite video sharing site.

    Technorati Tags: 

    To kick things off, I've got a comment from Deek here in London who noticed that his American friends on the internet saw the Obama wave before the media.

    Do you feel more plugged in politically by being on the internet? Some Ron Paul supporters don't think so after his disappointing showing in Iowa. Where do you get your political news?

    0746am EST: Dan Patterson with TalkRadioNews.com gave me the inspiration to try this experiment. He was up bright in early at 5am in New Hampshire at 'radio row'. He gives a little insight behind the scenes into what it's like to cover the primary in New Hampshire.

    They've just finished an interview with Dennis Kuccinich, who Seesmic user Documentally says is "the only politician in America who has the ear of the liberal side of things. Everything else seems to be playing out on auto-pilot."

    Here's an interesting comment from Gia, a Democrat ex-pat living in London. She opens with a little explanation on how the primaries and caucuses work and then explains that she just wants a Democrat who can win.

    For Democrats in the US, does 'electability' out-weigh issues in the primaries? Are you screening the candidates closely for their stand on the issues or will you cede a bit on the issues if you think they will win?

    1220 EST Update: James and Ewan talk about the length and cost of the US elections. To respond to James, I think that lobbying is one issue and soft money a slightly different issue. The McCain-Feingold act tried to curb the influence of soft money, money that is not governed by donation rules as opposed to 'hard money'. One thing I would say is that internet donations have increased the role of smaller, individual donations, and candidates often tout these as a measure of the broadness of their support. But, yes, the elections go on forever, and if you live in Iowa and New Hampshire, they really never stop. Candidates often start testing the water in those states almost immediately after the last election ends, especially with this election in which you have neither a standing president or his vice president running.

    One of the most interesting responses thus far has come from Bob Stewart in Kennebunk Maine. They border on New Hampshire, and most of their television stations cover both Maine and New Hampshire. He says: "I have typically been a conservative voter, but I'm absolutely on the fence." Many of the messages of non-conservative candidates are resonating with him, much to his surprise, he says. More from Bob in Maine and others in the US as the conversation continues.


    Comments

    view profile

    Nigel Stewart  Pro User  says:

    Nice one.
    Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    SweetJen34  Pro User  says:

    ** This was voted ahit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
    Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    navycrackerjack74  Pro User  says:

    ** This was voted a Hit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
    Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    deplaqer  Pro User  says:

    This was voted a Maybe from Hit, Miss or Maybe 

    I am distracted by the light in the background, but I like the way it reflects off of Barack.
    Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    Barack Obama is my homeboy says:

    That's an incredible photo of Obama.. Great angle, lighting, etc.. very Dramatic.
    Posted 2 weeks ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    jamesgrayking  Pro User  says:

    Great shot, this'll be a very cool thing to have taken when you look back on it in years to come!
    Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    jamesgrayking  Pro User  says:

    Forgot the score!

    Score _8_/10 (from the Score Me! group)
    Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    Rolye  Pro User  says:

    Score _8_/10 (from the Score Me! group)
    Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    mosselmaniac says:

    Very nice shot. Nice timing.

    Score 8/10 (from the Score Me! group)
    Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    meaning_of_light says:

    Nicely done.

    Score 9/10 (from the Score Me! group)
    Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )

    view profile

    TheArtfulBadger  Pro User  says:

    Score 10/10 (from the Score Me! group)

    Almost faultless (IMHO) - congratulations!!!!
    Posted 6 days ago. ( permalink )



    Presidential Elections
    The United States Constitution stipulates that a presidential election is to be held once every fourth year. The process of electing a president and vice-president, however, begins long before election day.

    The nominating process within the political parties officially begins with the first state primaries and caucuses, which usually occur in the month of February of the election year. These primaries and caucuses choose slates of delegates (usually pledged to support particular candidates) to represent the state at the national party conventions.

    At the national party conventions, traditionally held in the summer, the delegates from the states cast votes to select the party's candidate for president.

    On election day -- the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of an election year -- every citizen of legal age who has taken the steps necessary in his or her state to meet the voting requirements (such as registering to vote) has an opportunity to vote. However, the president is not formally chosen by direct popular vote. The constitution calls for a process of indirect popular election known as the electoral college.

    The Electoral College
    The political parties (or independent candidates) in each state submit to the chief election official a list of electors pledged to their candidate for president and equal in number to the state's electoral vote. Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. senators (always 2) plus the number of its U.S. representatives. 

    Following election day, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, these electors assemble in their state capitals, cast their ballots, and officially select the next president. As a rule, whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a state wins all of that state's electors (except in Maine and Nebraska). The president-elect and vice president-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated on January 20th.

    Congressional Elections
    The Congress is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

    The Senate is composed of two members from each state, as provided by the Constitution. Its current membership is 100. Senators are elected to serve six-year terms; every two years one third of the Senate is up for reelection. Before 1913, senators were chosen by their state legislatures, as the Founding Fathers believed that since the senators represented the state, the state legislature should elect them. The 17th amendment to the constitution changed this procedure, mandating that senators be elected directly by the voters of their state.

    When the first Congress met in 1789, there were 59 members of the House of Representatives. As the number of states increased and the population grew, the number of representatives increased significantly. A law passed in 1911 fixed the size of the House of Representatives at 435 members. Members of the House are up for reelection every two years. The number of representatives in each state depends upon its population as reported in the nation's most recent census. Each state is divided into a corresponding number of congressional districts. There is a representative for every congressional district, elected by the voters residing in that district.

    State and Local Government
    Like the national government, state governments have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial; these are roughly equivalent in function and scope to their national counterparts. The chief executive of a state is the governor, elected by popular vote, typically for a four-year term (although in a few states the term is two years). Except for Nebraska, which has a single legislative body, all states have a bicameral legislature, with the upper house usually called the Senate and the lower house called the House of Representatives, the House of Delegates, or the General Assembly.

    Types of city governments vary widely across the nation. However, almost all have some kind of central council, elected by the voters, and an executive officer, assisted by various department heads, to manage the city's affairs.

    See also:
    USINFO > Frequently Asked Questions > English > German 
    About the USA > U.S. Government > Political Parties 
    Virtual Classroom - Information Resources for Teachers > Midterm Elections 
    InfoAlert > Elections

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    Backers of presidential hopefuls (© AP Images)





    Hillary Clinton (Chris Hondros/Getty Images); John McCain (AP); Barack Obama (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    Dividing the nation

    Analysts believe the major candidates have split their parties and the country. » The dilemma WSJ.com


    Presidential Candidates

    Get news about the candidates – or get involved.

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    Report: Voter turnout records broken

    By ANN SANNER, Associated Press Writer


    WASHINGTON - Voters came out in record numbers in about half the states that have voted in presidential primaries so far, according to an analysis Wednesday.

    Turnout among Republicans on Super Tuesday toppled a 20-year record in Alabama, according to the report issued by American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate. More than 16 percent of those eligible voted in the GOP race, compared with about 7 percent in 1988.

    The report's findings were based on unofficial results from the primaries held through Tuesday. Caucuses and California primary results were excluded.

    Alabama had 58,000 new voters sign up in the three months leading up to Tuesday's race, just one sign of newfound interest in a primary that used to be held in June and had little or no significance.

    In Georgia, Democrats came out in droves to support Barack Obama, breaking a more than 30-year-old turnout record. More than 16 percent of eligible voters showed up at the polls Tuesday, compared with less than 15 percent in 1976.

    "We are likely to see more records broken until the contests are decided, which in the Democratic Party's case, at least may last until their convention," said Curtis Gans, the center's director who performed the analysis.

    About 14 million people voted in the Democratic primaries this year compared with the slightly more than 10 million who voted in GOP primaries, according to the analysis.

    Twenty states have held Democratic and Republican primaries so far.

    Here are some of the report's findings:

    _Democratic primaries in 12 states set records. They are Alabama, Arizona,Connecticut, Georgia, IllinoisMassachusettsMissouriNew HampshireNew Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Utah.

    _Republican primaries in 11 states saw their highest percentages of voter turnout ever. They are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, OklahomaTennessee and Utah.

    _Combining party turnouts, the highest percentage of eligible voters showing up this year came in New Hampshire — 52 percent.

    _Among the record-setting states, New York primaries had the lowest percentage of people voting with just more than 18 percent of all those eligible casting votes.

    • John McCain
      Big night

      McCain takes command of GOP race as Obama and Clinton trade wins.

    Yahoo Video on the the 2008 USA Elections




    Feb 6, 2008 Hillary Clinton (Chris Hondros/Getty Images); John McCain (AP); Barack Obama (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    Dividing the nation

    Analysts believe the major candidates have split their parties and the country. » The dilemma WSJ.com



    United States Republican presidential candidates, 2008


    This article lists both declared and potential Republican candidates for the President of the United States in the 2008 election.

    In accordance with the 22nd Amendment, incumbent President George W. Bush will not be eligible for re-election in 2008, and Vice President Dick Cheney has not sought the nomination and will not run for President.[1] Since both are Republicans, the field is clear.

    Total delegates so far projected: 208
    Other delegates yet to be assigned: 2,172
    Total number of delegates: 2,380
    Delegates required for nomination: 1,191
    States already polled: 7 (IowaWyomingNew HampshireMichiganNevadaSouth CarolinaFlorida)
    States yet to be polled: 43
    Also to be polled: District of Columbia
    Next State(s) in contest:
    February 2nd, Maine, Republican closed caucus
    February 5th, Super Tuesday, 21 states, 1069 delegates[2]

    2008 Republican presidential primaries delegate count
    As of January 292008


    Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas

    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Mike Huckabee

    Mike Huckabee, born August 241955, in Hope, Arkansas, served as Governor of Arkansas for over 10 years. Huckabee has announced he will seek the Presidency in the 2008 presidential election.[3] He has made several trips to important primary states, including a four-day trip to New Hampshire in August 2006. His campaign has been focused largely on Iowa for the Ames Straw Poll on August 112007 He announced that he would be running in 2008 on NBC's Meet the Press television show with Tim Russert.[4] and has since made three appearances on Comedy Central's The Colbert ReportThe Today Show on NBC and many appearances on CNNFox News Channel, and MSNBC regarding the 2008 presidential election. He was declared the victor of the January 32008 Iowa caucus.[5]


    Alan Keyes, former Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

    (Campaign site)

    Alan Keyes, born August 71950, in New York City, filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission on September 142007.[6] He served as Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. He is currently on the ballot in 25 states.[7] He participated in Republican debates on September 17[8] and December 12.[9] If elected, Keyes would be the first African-American to hold the office of president, as well as the second Roman Catholic after John F. Kennedy. Keyes supports an amendment against gay marraige.[10] Keyes stated he would not have gone to war in Iraq[11], but also said that the war was justified[12] and defended President Bush's decision in on of his 2004 debates with Obama[13]. He has stated that troops should stay in Iraq [14] but also said that he would have turned over operations to the UN.[15] However, Keyes has stated that even while he was an Ambassador there, he was not a supporter of the United Nations[16].




    Senator John McCain

    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of John McCain

    John McCain, born August 291936, in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, Senator from Arizona. Often characterized as a Republican maverick in the Senate, he is well-known. In 2000, he failed in his attempt to deny George W. Bush the Republican nomination: McCain continued his ultimately unsuccessful campaign long after the other Republican candidates had united behind Bush.

    McCain's bipartisan compromise on judicial nominations and his strong support ofcampaign finance reform have drawn the ire of many groups,[17] many of which have vowed to work against any McCain campaigns for the Republican nomination in 2008. However, he has a strong stance on many issues and economically falls more along the lines of traditional "fiscal conservatism." These factors, along with his commitment to the War on Terror (including Iraq) have boosted his popularity amongst conservatives since 2004, when he emphasized these traits while stumping for Republican candidates.

    On November 15, 2006, McCain announced that he would form an exploratory committee.

    On the Late Show with David Letterman on February 282007, Sen. John McCain announced he will seek the GOP presidential nomination, and made a formal announcement on April 252007.



    Representative Ron Paul (Campaign site

    See also: Political positions of Ron Paul

    Ron Paul, born August 201935, in Green TreePennsylvania, is a long time U.S. Representative from Texas with a strong constitutionalist and libertarian voting record. Nicknamed "Dr. No" for his opposition to tax increases and spending bills, Paul has chastened his fellow Republicans for abandoning the party's commitment to limited government, and for helping to create an unsustainable national debt now in the trillions of dollars.[18] Paul seeks to "reinstate the Constitution and restore theRepublic."[19]

    On January 112007, Paul filed papers to form an exploratory committee for the2008 presidential race.[20][21] He formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.[22][23] Paul ran for President as aLibertarian nearly two decades ago. He is opposed to the Iraq War and had the distinction of being one of only seven Republican congressmen who voted againstIraq War authorization in October 2002. He has also opposed George W. Bush and the majority of Republican congressmen on many other issues, including thePATRIOT Act.

    On February 202007, Paul's exploratory committee posted on YouTube a formal video of him explaining his reason for running.[24]

    Paul did well in Republican straw polls, has broken fundraising records, and has placed second in the Nevada ,Louisiana caucuses, and Maine Republican caucuses. Paul also received 10% in Iowa, 7% in New Hampshire, 6% in Michigan, under 4% in South Carolina, 3% in Florida and last in Wyoming.


    Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts

    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Mitt Romney

    Mitt Romney, born March 121947, in Michigan, is former Governor ofMassachusetts; he did not seek a second term in November 2006. Romney has made numerous trips to primary states such as South CarolinaMichigan, and New Hampshire, during recent years. Romney is running on his record as co-founder ofBain Capital, the CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and his record as Governor of Massachusetts. Although he ran as a moderate for the office of Governor of Massachusetts and during his failed Senate bid in 1994, he supported more conservative positions as his term progressed. Romney formed a presidential exploratory committee on January 3, 2007, the day he left the governor's office.[25]

    On January 9, Romney raised $6.5 million in his first fundraiser, beating both Giuliani and McCain's fundraising efforts ($1 and $2 million respectively).

    Romney has already received major endorsements, including that of former Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert.

    Romney officially announced his candidacy on February 13 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[26][27]



    Other candidates


    The following candidates have filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).


    Withdrawn from seeking nomination

    Candidates who have withdrawn their candidacies


    Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City (Campaign site
    See also: Political positions of Rudy Giuliani

    Rudy Giuliani, born May 281944, in New York, former mayor of New York City. Giuliani said on October 2, 2005, that he would look at the possibility of running for President. On November 13, 2006, he announced that he was forming an exploratory committee. He has led several state and nationwide polls for the Republican nomination and the general election, and has been mentioned by many media sources as a possible candidate since the 9/11 attacks and a speech to the 2004 Republican Convention.[47] (See polls below) Giuliani is pro-choice, and supports a type of civil union between same sex couples and agrees for legal and medical reasons that same sex relationships should get the same rights under the law. He also believes in strong restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms and agrees with harsh punishment for illegal weapons or non permitted weapons. While opinions differ, some think that these positions could help him, should he secure the nomination, in the general election; others question whether the Republican base would support a nominee with Giuliani's social positions. On February 52007, Giuliani unofficially entered the race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election by filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission, but legally keeping him at the same level as he was while running an exploratory committee.[48] On February 15, Giuliani officially announced that he was running on CNN's Larry King Live show.[49] If elected, Giuliani would be the first Italian-American to hold the office of president, as well as the second Roman Catholic after John F. Kennedy. Giuliani finished third in the Florida primary on January 29, 2008. The next day he withdrew and endorsed John McCain.[50]


    Senator Sam Brownback

    Sam Brownback, born September 121956, in Kansas, senior Senator from that state. In April 2005, the Associated Press reported that Brownback, who is little known outside his home state, "is using a network of social conservatives and Christian activists to raise his profile" in such battleground states as Iowa and New Hampshire. He is well known for his social and fiscal conservative record, such as opposing abortion and instituting a flat tax alternative to the current IRS Code. He was also instrumental in Congress' bestowing the Congressional Medal upon Mother Teresa. In his own words, "The core of my being is to rebuild the family and renew the culture." On December 4, 2006, Brownback announced that he would form anexploratory committee.[51] On January 20, 2007, Brownback officially announced his candidacy.[52] Of his campaign, Brownback has said, "I'm a son of a farmer from Kansas ... I still think anybody can be president. I don't think you have to show up with $100 million to do it. ... I'm the tortoise in the race. And I don't like how the race starts; I like how it ends up."[53] Brownback was one of three who raised his hand in the May 3, 2007, Republican candidates debate when asked "Is there anybody on the stage who does not believe in evolution?". [54] Brownback officially withdrew from the presidential race on October 19, 2007, and has since then endorsed John McCain. [55]





    Jim Gilmore former Governor of Virginia

    Draft Jim Gilmore for President group was formed in August of 2006, encouraging former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore to run for president after he was seen traveling to the presidential primary states. In November 2006, Gilmore told ABC News that a 2008 presidential run was one of several possibilities he is considering.[56] On December 19, 2006, Gilmore announced he was forming an exploratory committee for a presidential candidacy.[57] Gilmore announced on December 20, 2006, that he would launch his exploratory committee on January 2, 2007.[58] Perhaps hoping to mirror the surprising 2004 campaign of DemocratHoward Dean, another former governor with little national recognition when he entered the race, Gilmore declared that he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" echoing the popular Dean quotation. Gilmore declared his candidacy from the Des Moines, Iowa GOP headquarters on April 262007. Gilmore, however, raised a mere $380,000 in the first half of 2007, which he cited as a reason why he withdrew from the contest on July 14, 2007. [42]


    Representative Duncan Hunter

    See also: Political positions of Duncan Hunter

    Duncan Hunter, born May 311948, in Riverside, California, U.S. Representative from that state and former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007. He is known for his strong stance against illegal immigration, and opposition to free trade agreements like North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization.[59] He introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, "to implement equal protection . . . for the right to life of each born and preborn human person"; it has over 100 co-sponsors. Hunter withdrew from the race on January 192008 after a poor showing in the Nevada Republican caucuses.[60] He has since then endorsed Mike Huckabee.[61]


    Representative Tom Tancredo

    Main article: Tom Tancredo presidential campaign, 2008

    Tom Tancredo, born December 201945, in Colorado, U.S. Representative from that state and leading advocate for more restrictive immigration policies. On April 2, 2007, Rep. Tancredo announced his official candidacy on Iowa talk radio station 1040 WHO. Tancredo has a dedicated grassroots following among paleoconservatives. He has visited early Presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Iowa to begin building popular support and has polled favorably amongst grassroots Republicans. Tancredo announced on January 16, 2007, that he was forming an exploratory committee.[62] Tancredo was one of three who raised his hand in the May 3, 2007, Republican candidates debate when asked "Is there anybody on the stage who does not believe in evolution?"."[63] On December 20, 2007, Tancredo withdrew from the race and endorsed Mitt Romney. [64]



    Fred Thompson, former Senator of Tennessee
    See also: Political positions of Fred Thompson

    Fred Dalton Thompson, born August 191942, former Senator from Tennessee and actor, best known for playing D.A. Arthur Branch on Law & Order. There was speculation that Thompson would run for Governor of Tennessee in 2006, but he declined to run against the popular Governor Phil Bredesen. On March 11, 2007, Thompson said "I'm giving some thought to it. Going to leave the door open. A lot of people think it's late already. I don't really think it is, although the rules of the game have changed somewhat. ... I think people are somewhat disillusioned. I think a lot of people are cynical out there. I think they're looking for something different." [65]On June 1, Thompson announced he had established a preliminary campaign committee, thus taking his first formal step toward an official presidential bid. [66]On September 5, he officially entered the presidential race.[67] On January 22, 2008 he dropped out of the race.[68]


    Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin

    Tommy Thompson, born November 191941, in Elroy, Wisconsin, is the former four-term Governor of Wisconsin and was Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He recently announced interest in the 2008 nomination and, on December 15, 2006, announced that he had formed an exploratory committee.[69] He officially announced his candidacy on April 1, 2007.[70] After a poor showing in the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson announced on the following day that he is withdrawing from the race, and has since endorsed Rudy Giuliani.

    Declined to seek nomination


    George Allen, former Senator
    George Allen, was the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election.[71], in a survey of 175 Washington insiders conducted byNational Journal's "The Hotline" and released April 292005.

    Prior to his November loss to Jim Webb in the 2006 Virginia senatorial race, Allen had traveled a number of times to Iowa — the first state with a presidential caucus — and New Hampshire — the first state with a presidential primary). He had been widely assumed to be preparing a run for president.[72] On December 102006, Allen gave an interview[73] in which he stated that he would not seek the 2008 nomination.


    Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida

    Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida; his family connections and history indicate that he may be next in line to continue the Bush family legacy, although his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, has stated that he will not seek the 2008 Republican nomination, and many analysts state that he would be a natural frontrunner for the Vice President slot on the Republican ticket. On January 27, 2007, as the keynote speaker at the National Review Institute's Conservative Summit in Washington, D.C., Bush denied rumors that he would run for President in 2008, but “when questioned did not rule out running as a vice presidential candidate.”[74]


    Vice President Dick Cheney

    Dick Cheney, current Vice President of the United States, has asserted his intent to not seek the 2008 nomination several times throughout the presidency of George W. Bush. In an interview on Face the Nation, Cheney said, "I've taken the Sherman statement. 'If nominated, I will not run, If elected, I won't serve,'"[75]


    Bill Frist, former Senate Majority Leader

    Former Senator from Tennessee and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stated on November 292006 that he does not intend to seek the nomination but wants to go back to practicing medicine.[76]


    Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House

    Newt Gingrich was the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and former U.S. Representative from Georgia. According to the Associated Press, "The former House speaker who led Republicans to power a decade ago said he soon will visit Iowa and New Hampshire to promote his book, try to influence public policy and keep his political options alive." The AP reported him as saying "Anything seems possible," including a White House race. Gingrich first explicitly suggested he may run in 2008 on October 13, 2005, saying "There are circumstances where I will run", elaborating that such circumstances would be if no other candidate champions the major platform ideas that Gingrich advocates. However, he has since then said that the odds of his becoming a candidate are 4-to-1 against.[77] However, on September 20, Gingrich said that he would consider running for president if his supporters could raise $30 million in pledges by the end of October.[78] On September 29, 2007, Gingrich's spokesman Rick Tyler announced that Gingrich would not run for president.[79]


    Senator Chuck Hagel

    Chuck Hagel is the senior US Senator from Nebraska; however, he swore a pledge to only serve two terms, and thus will not be running for re-election to the Senate in 2008. According to NPR, Hagel was considering a Presidential campaign in 2005. [80]There were also a number of Draft Hagel blogs and groups online.[81] On March 12, 2007, Hagel made a statement on his political future, in which he kept open the possibility to enter the presidential race later in the year.[82] Despite being a fairly conservative Republican, he would have had to deal with elements of the party faithful due to his criticism of President Bush over the war in Iraq. It is widely thought that Senator Hagel would have had trouble emerging from the shadow of John McCain, as they are both outspoken Vietnam veterans. On September 10, 2007, Hagel announced that he would not seek the nomination.[83]


    Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

    Condoleezza Rice, currently the Secretary of State, said in March 2005 on Meet the Press[84], and elsewhere, that she doesn't intend to run for President, but can't rule it out. In an August 8-10, 2005, Republican primary poll in Iowa, Rice came in first with 30 percent, beating McCain and Giuliani, who each got about 15 percent. In October 2005, Condi vs. Hillary, a book by political commentator Dick Morris, discussing Rice as the Republican candidate, was published.


    Governor Mark Sanford

    Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina; popular with fiscal conservatives, but has said he does not intend to run. Sanford professes to be a firm supporter of limited government, and many pundits have described his views as being libertarian in nature. There are several Internet-based groups trying to convince him to run for President in 2008. However, on November 72006, he said that his gubernatorial race at that point would be his last campaign, win or lose.[85]


    Rick Santorum, former Senator

    Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania; A number of polls had mentioned him as a potential Republican candidate. Once he lost his seat to his Democratic opponent, Pennsylvania treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., a run for the Presidency became decidedly less likely and on November 172006, in regard to a Presidential bid, he stated "Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not, my wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in '08."[86]



    United States Democratic presidential candidates, 2008

    This article contains lists of people associated with the 2008 Democratic Party Primaries for the 2008 United States Presidential Election.

    Active candidates with national campaigns

    These have filed (or announced plans to file) with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

    Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Hillary Rodham Clinton

    Hillary Rodham Clinton, born October 261947, in Illinois, U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady of the United States. Clinton announced the formation of her exploratory committee on January 202007, with a post on her website.[1] She has delivered several speeches intended to reach out to moderates, according to analysts. She has also been holding fundraising meetings, including meeting with women from Massachusetts, a key constituency of potential rival and 2004 nomineeJohn Kerry; however, these activities are consistent with the lead up to a campaign for re-election to her Senate seat in 2006. If elected, Clinton would be the first female president. Clinton announced on January 202007, that she will run in 2008 (the same day she announced the formation of an exploratory committee). She has filed the official paperwork for an exploratory committee.[2] She placed first in theNew Hampshire primary on January 82008 and placed first in the Nevada caucuseson January 19 but fell one delegate short of Barack Obama. She placed first in theFlorida primary on January 292008, but was awarded no delegates, due to a prior ruling of the party unseating the state representatives because of the early date.

    Former Senator Mike Gravel
    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Mike Gravel

    Mike Gravel, born May 131930, in SpringfieldMassachusetts. U.S. Senator fromAlaska from 1969 to 1981 and an active candidate for Vice President in 1972. He is most known for playing a key role in ending the draft during the Vietnam Warthrough the release of the Pentagon Papers and through staging a one-man filibusterfor 5 months. He is also notable for advocating a guaranteed annual income, which he termed a "citizen's wage," of US$5,000 per person, regardless of whether the person worked. On April 132006, Gravel announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. His policy announcements to date include support for direct democracyFairTax, and withdrawal from Iraq. Mike Gravel filed with the FEC in April according to various news sources.[3][4] The FEC's site has listed his reports since July.[5] MSNBC incorrectly reported that Gravel had dropped out of the race onJanuary 32008 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses. His website confirmed that he is still in the race.

    • Alaska State Representative: 1962–1966 (Speaker: 1965–1966)
    • U.S. Senator from Alaska: 1969–1981
     Senator Barack Obama
    (Campaign site
    See also: Political positions of Barack Obama

    Barack Obama, born August 41961, in HonoluluHawaii, U.S. Senator from Illinois. A "draft Obama" movement began with his well-received 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event favored by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. He was endorsed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey in2006.[6] Various recent opinion polls have seen Obama trailing only Hillary Clinton in several polls.[7] If elected, he would become the first African-American President of the United States. Obama announced on February 102007, that he will run in 2008. He has filed the official paperwork.[8] Obama placed first in the January 32008 Iowa caucuses, followed by Edwards and Clinton. He has also placed first in the January 262008 South Carolina primary.

    • Illinois State Senator: 1996–2004
    • U.S. Senator from Illinois: 2005–Present

    Other candidates


    The following people have filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC):


    Withdrawn from seeking nomination


    Senator Joe Biden

    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Joe Biden

    Joe Biden, born November 161942, in ScrantonPennsylvania, U.S. Senator fromDelaware and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, although he ceased active campaigning in 1987, before the first primaries. Biden first hinted that he might run in 2008 in a December 82004, radio interview with host Don Imus, saying: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run." Biden had repeatedly stated his intention to run, and did so as early as 21 March 2006. Biden's Federal Leadership PAC is "Unite Our States", which tracks Biden's public appearances and policy positions. On 7 January 2007, when asked by Tim Russert on Meet the Press, "Are you running for President?" he responded, "I am running for President." He also said he planned to create an exploratory committee by the end of the month.[29][30][31] On January 31, 2007, he officially signed the papers with the FEC to run for president. He dropped out of the race on January 32008 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucus.


    Senator Chris Dodd

    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Chris Dodd

    Christopher Dodd, was born May 271944, in Willimantic, Connecticut and is a five-term U.S. Senator from that state. Dodd was reported to be a likely contender for the Democratic Vice President slot on John Kerry's ticket in 2004. In May 2006, Dodd said he has "decided to do all the things that are necessary to prepare to seek the presidency in 2008", including hiring staff, raising money and traveling around the country in the next few months to enlist support.[32] On Jan. 11, 2007, Dodd announced his Presidential candidacy on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show with Don Imus.[33] As a result of unpromising results in the Iowa Caucus on January 3,2008, Dodd dropped out of the race for presidency.

     Former Senator John Edwards
    (Campaign site

    See also: Political positions of John Edwards

    John Edwards, born June 101953 in South Carolina, is a former U.S. Senator fromNorth Carolina. As a 2004 presidential candidate, Edwards was famed for his populist message in his "Two Americas" speech and also for his optimistic, positive attitude. This was evidenced by his refusal to attack his opponents. In the primaries, Sen. Edwards had strong come-from-behind showings in the crucial states of Iowa,OklahomaVirginiaTennesseeWisconsin, and Georgia. On February 52005, Edwards spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's fundraising dinner. OnAugust 182005, Edwards traveled to Waterloo, Iowa, to deliver an address to theIowa AFL-CIO, a potential key supporter in the Iowa caucuses. On December 26,2006, Edwards formally announced his candidacy.[34] On January 302008, Edwards ended his bid for the Presidency[35]


    Representative Dennis Kucinich

    (Campaign site)


    Representative Dennis Kucinich

    (Campaign site)

    See also: Political positions of Dennis Kucinich

    Dennis Kucinich, born October 81946, in ClevelandOhio. Ohio Congressman, former Mayor of Cleveland, and 2004 Democratic primary candidate. Dennis Kucinich is known by many as "The Peace Candidate", having received the 2003 Gandhi Peace Award. Kucinich opposed the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act. Under Kucinich's plan, United Nations peace-keepers would go to Iraq if the Iraqi citizens desire their presence. The Congressman re-introduced legislation to create a United States Department of Peace via HR 808 on February 5, 2007. He is currently campaigning to end the war in Iraq by cutting off funding, if such measures are necessary. He is in support of peaceful diplomatic relations with Iran, and all nations. Kucinich has received many awards praising his courage and work for peace.[36][37] OnDecember 122006, Kucinich announced his candidacy at an event at Cleveland's City Hall.[38] He withdrew from the race on January 25th, and turned his focus to his re-election for his congressional seat. [39]


    Governor Bill Richardson (Campaign site

    See also: Political positions of Bill Richardson

    Bill Richardson, born November 151947, in Pasadena, California, Governor of New Mexico, former U.S. ambassador to the United NationsSecretary of Energy and U.S. Representative. After reportedly informing party leaders in February 2005 of his intention to run for president, on December 72006, Richardson said "I am running" during his response to a prospective question about the 2008 presidential election byFox News, however he later retracted the decision and said he would make an official decision by January. On May 212007, he officially declared his candidacy.[40] OnJanuary 92008 he pulled out of the race.[41]


    Former Governor Tom Vilsack

    Tom Vilsack, born December 131950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniaformer Governor of Iowa, Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. Many suspected Vilsack was high on the list of potential running mates for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. In 2005, Vilsack established Heartland PAC,[42] a political action committee aimed at electing Democratic Governors and other statewide candidates. Unlike the PACs of potential candidates, Heartland PAC is not a federal PAC and can not contribute to federal candidates. He filed papers with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to run for President on November 92006.[43] He dropped out of the race on 23 February 2007 citing fundraising woes. He has since given his support to Hillary Rodham Clinton.[44][45]

    Declined to seek nomination


    Senator Evan Bayh
    Evan Bayh, born December 261955Indiana, former two-term Governor and currently a second-term U.S. Senator from that state. In February 2005, Bayh renamed his Federal Leadership PAC the All America PAC and hired a new veteran staff with experience on the 2004 campaigns of John Kerry and Wesley Clark for President and Tom Daschle for senate. Although the "Friends of Evan Bayh" draft committee filed papers with the FEC to form a presidential exploratory committee onDecember 52006, he announced on December 162006 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for President, and since then has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton.[46]
    General Wesley Clark (Ret.)

    Wesley Clark, born December 231944, in Illinois, from Arkansas, a Vietnam warveteran, a retired United States Army four-star general and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He graduated first in his class from West Point. Clark is traveling widely through his Federal Leadership PAC WesPAC,[47] and is a commentator on MSNBC, while grassroots campaigns for Clark have become active on the internet.[48] Clark was a 2004 Presidential candidate as well, narrowly winning the Oklahoma primary. During a January 17, 2007, speech given to a local UAW group in Alabama and posted on YouTube, Clark stated "when I run, I'll be the national security candidate." [49] He endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton on September 15, 2007, seemingly ruling out a future run, though making him a frontrunner to be Senator Clinton's running-mate, should she win the Democratic nomination.


    Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader

    Tom Daschle, born December 91947, in South Dakota, former U.S. Senator from that state. He set up a new political action committee and planned a Jefferson-Jackson Day speech in the politically pivotal state of Iowa. Daschle has transferred $500,000 into the new Federal Leadership PAC, New Leadership for America.[50] In July 2005, Daschle said he was not planning a rematch against his successor John Thune in 2010, and he told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper that he was seriously considering a run and would not "rule out the possibility of an official announcement in the near future." However, on December 22006, Daschle announced he would not run for President in 2008, and has since thrown his support behind Barack Obama's campaign.[51]
    Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont
    Howard Dean, born November 171947, in New York, former Governor of Vermont. Howard Dean is the current DNC Chairman, and was a candidate for the nomination in 2004. Dean said if he won the DNC Chairmanship he would not run for president and, since he won, has often repeated this.[52]
    Senator Russ Feingold
    Russ Feingold, born March 21953, in Wisconsin, U.S. Senator from that state. Announced to a meeting of the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia CountyFlorida, in January 2005 that he was considering a run for the nomination, and would decide after "going around the country" to campaign for fellow Democrats running for other offices.[53]His Federal Leadership PAC is the Progressive Patriots Fund,[54] which financed his travels around the country.[55] In early March 2005, his Senate campaign registered the domain name for the website www.russfeingold08.com as well as the .org and .net versions.[56][57][58] Later that month, he took a listening trip to Alabama.[59] In early April 2005, Feingold announced that he would be divorcing his second wife, a move which some analysts believe could diminish his chances of winning the presidential nomination. On August 172005, Feingold became the first U.S. Senator to publicly support a firm date for withdrawal from the Iraq War,[60] suggestingDecember 312006, as a reasonable date. Although Feingold's stance was generally criticized by other Democratic senators, including Biden and Clinton, his support in nonscientific internet polls of party activists jumped. In December 2005, when he led the Senate campaign against the renewal of the Patriot Act his support among party activists further intensified. Following the overwhelming resonance for his anti-war and bi-partisan rule of law positions in the 2006 Congressional elections, Feingold commented that the legislative victory "pushes me in both directions," and "he could make a decision on a presidential run before the end of the year".[61] However, on November 12, 2006, Feingold ruled out a 2008 presidential candidacy,[55] but has stated he is willing to consider an offer from the eventual nominee for the vice presidency.[62] Feingold has stated that his first choice for president in 2008 would be someone who voted against the war in Iraq, and failing that, his second choice would be someone who wasn't in Congress but spoke out against the war at the time. He also said he would "be happy" if Barack Obama or Al Gore ran, but stated he was not offering an endorsement.[63]
    Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States

    Al Gore, born in Washington, D.C., is the former U.S. Vice President, and was the2000 Democratic nominee, winning the popular vote. Gore is not a declared candidate in the 2008 presidential election. However, he has not rejected the possibility of future involvement in politics.[64] The prospect of a Gore candidacy was thus a topic of public discussion and speculation.[65][66] There were also grassrootsdraft campaigns. A grassroots group in New Hampshire considered a write-in campaign for the New Hampshire primary on 8 January 2008[67] The campaign was halted, however. [68] Previous grassroot groups in California [69] and New York[70]attempted to convince him to run. There were also draft campaigns via websites.[71][72][73][74][75]

    The release of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 increased Gore's popularity among progressives.[76] After it was nominated for an academy award, Donna Brazile, Gore's campaign chairwoman from the 2000 campaign stated during a speech onJanuary 312007, at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that, "Wait tillOscar night, I tell people: 'I'm dating. I haven't fallen in love yet. On Oscar night, if Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord knows.'"[77] The meaning of these remarks became clearer when on award night, while in attendance and acting as a presenter for an award, Gore began a speech that seemed to be leading up to an announcement that he would run for president. However, background music drowned him out and he was escorted offstage, implying it was a rehearsed gag.[78]

    A nationwide Gallup poll of 485 Democrats and Democratic leaners in mid-November 2007 showed Gore receiving 17% of the votes in a hypothetical Democratic primary, second to Hillary Clinton, tied with Barack Obama, and ahead of John Edwards. A previous 29 June 2007 article in the The Guardian cited a poll conducted "in New Hampshire by 7News and Suffolk University" that found that if Gore "were to seek the Democratic nomination, 29% of Mrs. Clinton's backers would switch their support to him [...] when defections from other candidates are factored in, the man who controversially lost to Mr. Bush in the 2000 election takes command of the field, with 32% support."[79]An even earlier April 2007 Quinnipiac University poll of 504 registered Democrats in New Jersey showed Gore receiving 12% of the votes in a hypothetical Democratic primary, in third place behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.[80] However, all of the polls which indicated that Al Gore would not be the leading Democratic candidate were all conducted before his Nobel Prize. The US has never had a presidential candidate who has already won a Nobel Prize. While he never officially said he was not going to seek nomination, it is now impossible for him to because of the deadline.


    Senator John Kerry

    John Kerry, born December 111943, in DenverColorado, is the U.S. Senator fromMassachusetts, and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. On March 12005, Kerry created a new Federal Leadership PAC named Keeping America's Promise.[81]Dan Payne, a Democratic strategist, told the Washington Post that "This is the kind of thing he has to do" in order to run for president again in 2008.[82] Through Keeping America's Promise, Kerry boasts to have raised or given away over $14 million to nearly 300 progressive candidates, committees or causes.[83] Kerry told CNN, with respect to a run in 2008, "it's crazy to be thinking about it now" but went on to say that "I'll make my judgment when the time comes and I don't care what history says."[84] However, there was a controversy on October 302006, over a speech made by Kerry at Pasadena City College. Future implications of his comments are still unclear, however Kerry himself claimed the incident will have little bearing on 2008 and that he will make a decision in early 2007.[85] On January 24, 2007, Kerry announced that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2008.[86] Kerry and his JohnKerry.com e-mail list was also a supporter of Al Gore's recent house parties across the United States to spread information about global warming. In a letter e-mailed from JohnKerry.com, Kerry stated: "When strong leaders like Al Gore step forward to educate and organize people around vitally important issues, they deserve our full support."[87] Since, he has endorsed SenatorBarack Obama.
    • U.S. Senator from Massachusetts: 1985-Present
    • Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: 1983-1985

    Al Sharpton

    Al Sharpton, of New YorkPentecostal minister, civil rights activist, former candidate for mayor of New York and for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from New York, and candidate for the 2004 nomination. When asked about 2008, he replied, "Don't get Hillary mad at me."[88] He was one of the first candidates to enter the 2004 race, but thus far he has said nothing more about 2008. His 2004 campaign was not a great success. He never got more than 10% of the vote in any state, although he did get 20% in the District of Columbia.[89] There are still unresolved campaign-finance issues left over from that campaign. In January 2007, when asked if he was considering running in 2008, Sharpton said "I don't hear any reason not to," adding, "we'll see over the next couple of months." [90] 

    On April 22007, Sharpton announced that he won't get into the 2008 presidential race this time. "I am not going to run." [4]




    Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia

    Mark Warner, born December 151954, former Governor of Virginia. As a successful Governor from a "red state" (barred from serving consecutive terms by state law) and popular within the party, it was highly anticipated that Warner would mount a Presidential bid. While it was ruled out by Warner himself in October[91], news that he was considering a bid was confirmed by colleague Dan Conley in December[92]. With Governor Warner's fund-raising capabilities and his potential as a vice presidential candidate, it was possible that Warner would still play a significant role in the campaign, until he became a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

    Candidates
    Actual
    pledged delegates
    (67 of 137 total)

    Delegate statistics:

    • Total pledged delegates assigned: 92
    • Total unpledged delegates, and pledged delegates yet to be assigned: 3957
    • Total number of delegates: 4049 (796 unpledged "superdelegates" and 3,253 pledged elected delegates)
    • Delegates required for nomination: 2025
    • States already polled: 4 (IowaNew HampshireMichiganNevadaSouth CarolinaFlorida)
    • States yet to be polled: 46
    • Other electorates to be polled: District of Columbia, American Samoa, Democrats abroad, Guam, US Virgin Islands[93]

















    Presidency 2008

    dennis kucinich pollsdennis kucinich pollshillary clinton pollsjohn edwards pollsbarack obama polls

    ron paul pollsrudy giuliani pollsjohn mccain pollsmitt romney pollsfred thompson pollsmike huckabee polls

    For the first time since 1928, both major parties will have open contests for the Presidential nomination without a sitting President or Vice President in the running. Politics1 presents a "first look" at those people being mentioned as possible, likely, speculative, or draft candidates for President in 2008.

    United States presidential election, 2004

    ‹ 2000 Flag of the United States 2008 ›


    Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St. Louis, MO at the St. Louis Community College - Forest Park
    Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St. Louis, MO at the St. Louis Community College - Forest Park

    2 November 2004

    Nominee George W. Bush John Kerry
    Party Republican Democratic
    Home state Texas Massachusetts
    Running mate Richard B. Cheney John Edwards
    Electoral vote 286 251
    States carried 31 19+DC
    Popular vote 62,040,610 59,028,111
    Percentage 50.7% 48.3%

    The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday,November 22004. It was the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for the presidentand vice president of the United StatesRepublican candidate George Walker Bush, the President of the United States, defeated Democratic candidate John Kerry, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. This marked the first time in United States election history where the sitting president was re-elected after losing the popular vote (but winning the presidency) in the previous election This was done in strong fashion, too. Bush not only finished first in the popular vote, but also became the first person since his father in 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote. It was also a very active election. In 2004, Bush received more popular votes than any presidential candidate in history, and Kerry finished with the second most ever for a candidate in history. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

    As in the presidential election of 2000voting controversies and concerns of irregularities emerged during and after the vote. The winner was not determined until the following day, when Kerry decided not to dispute Bush's win in the state of Ohio. The state held enough electoral votes to determine the winner of the presidency. Both Kerry and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have stated their opinion that voting in Ohio did not proceed fairly, and that had it done so, the Democratic ticket might have won that state and therefore the election.[1]

    Bush received about 51 percent of the votes cast (62 million votes), making him the first presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote since his fatherGeorge H. W. Bush in the presidential election of 1988. The 62 million votes cast for Bush were the most individual votes cast for anyone in history, though John Kerry's 59 million votes ranked second in that category as well.

    In the Electoral College George W. Bush received 286 Electoral Votes, John Kerryreceived 251 Electoral Votes, and John Edwards received 1 Electoral Vote (see “Faithless elector” in Minnesota section of this article).

    United States presidential election, 2004

    Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney (31), Bluedenotes those won by Kerry/Edwards (19+DC). Light blue denotes the faithless elector's vote counted for John Edwards. Each number represents the electoral votes a state gave to one candidate.


    Incumbent
    George W. Bush
    Republican


    Successor
    George W. Bush
    Republican

    The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday,November 22004. It was the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for the presidentand vice president of the United StatesRepublican candidate George Walker Bush, the President of the United States, defeated Democratic candidate John Kerry, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. This marked the first time in United States election history where the sitting president was re-elected after losing the popular vote (but winning the presidency) in the previous election This was done in strong fashion, too. Bush not only finished first in the popular vote, but also became the first person since his father in 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote. It was also a very active election. In 2004, Bush received more popular votes than any presidential candidate in history, and Kerry finished with the second most ever for a candidate in history. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

    As in the presidential election of 2000voting controversies and concerns of irregularities emerged during and after the vote. The winner was not determined until the following day, when Kerry decided not to dispute Bush's win in the state of Ohio. The state held enough electoral votes to determine the winner of the presidency. Both Kerry and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have stated their opinion that voting in Ohio did not proceed fairly, and that had it done so, the Democratic ticket might have won that state and therefore the election.[1]

    Bush received about 51 percent of the votes cast (62 million votes), making him the first presidential candidate to win a majority of the popular vote since his fatherGeorge H. W. Bush in the presidential election of 1988. The 62 million votes cast for Bush were the most individual votes cast for anyone in history, though John Kerry's 59 million votes ranked second in that category as well.

    In the Electoral College George W. Bush received 286 Electoral Votes, John Kerryreceived 251 Electoral Votes, and John Edwards received 1 Electoral Vote (see “Faithless elector” in Minnesota section of this article).

    Contents

    [hide]
    Bush speaking at campaign rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 19, 2004
    Bush speaking at campaign rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 19, 2004

    Candidates gallery


    Background


    George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 after the Supreme Court settled issues over ballot re-counts and standards in a contest where Al Gore, the Democratic candidate alleged voting irregularities in Florida. The votes were recounted in certain Democratic counties, first by machine and then manually, with George W. Bush leading narrowly after each recount. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Florida Supreme Court's 4-3 reversal of a lower court ruling in favor of the Republican candidate's arguments, ordering the state to stop further selective recounts.

    Just eight months into his presidency, the terrorist attacks of September 112001 suddenly transformed Bush into a "wartime president." Bush's approval ratings surged to near 90%. Within a month, the forces of a coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan, which had been sheltering Osama bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the September 11attacks. By December, the Taliban had been removed as rulers of Kabul, although a long and ongoing occupation would follow.

    The Bush administration then turned its attention to Iraq. The administration argued that the need to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq had become urgent. The stated premise was that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to possess, potential weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in violation of U.N. sanctions. This interpretation has been hotly debated since its proposal, and its basis in U.S. military intelligence has since been compromised with the failure of the U.S. to find the aforementioned WMDs in Iraq. This situation escalated to the point that the United States assembled a group of about forty nations, including the United KingdomSpainItaly, andPoland, which President Bush called the “coalition of the willing”, to invade Iraq.

    The coalition invaded Iraq on March 202003. The invasion succeeded swiftly, with the collapse of the Iraq government and the military of Iraqin about three weeks. The oil infrastructure of Iraq was rapidly secured with limited damage in that time. On May 1George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat operations in the Iraq war. Bush's approval rating in the month of May rode at 66%, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll.[2]


    However, Bush's high approval ratings did not last. First, while the war itself was popular, the post-war occupation lost support as months passed and casualty figures increased, with no decrease in violence nor progress toward stability in Iraq. Second, as investigators combed through the country, they failed to find the predicted WMD stockpiles, which led to debate over the rationale for the war. Third, with the war over and 9-11 attacks two years past, domestic concerns began to rise to the forefront, an issue that usually favored the Democrats, as fading national security matters were considered to benefit the Republicans. [1] [2]

    Nominations


    Republican nomination

    Bush's popularity as a wartime president helped consolidate his base, and ward off any serious challenge to the nomination. On March 102004, Bush officially clinched the number of delegates needed to be nominated at the2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. Bush accepted the nomination on September 22004, and selected Vice President Dick Cheney as his running mate. (In New York, the ticket was also on the ballot as candidates of the Conservative Party of New York State.) During the convention and throughout the campaign, Bush focused on two themes: defending America against terrorism and building an "ownership society." The "ownership society" included allowing people to invest some of theirSocial Security in the stock market, increasing home and stock ownership, and encouraging more people to buy their own health insurance.

    Democratic nomination

    Democratic candidates


    By summer of 2003, Dean had become the apparent frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, performing strongly in most polls and leading the pack in fundraising. Dean's strength as a fundraiser was attributed mainly to his embrace of the Internet for campaigning. The majority of his donations came from individual DEANO supporters, who came to be known as Deanites, or, more commonly, Deaniacs. Generally regarded as a pragmatic centrist during his time as governor, Dean emerged during his presidential campaign as a left-wing populist, denouncing the policies of the Bush administration (especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq) as well as fellow Democrats, who, in his view, failed to strongly oppose them. Senator Lieberman, a liberal on domestic issues but a hawk on the War on Terror, failed to gain traction with liberal Democratic primary voters.

    In September 2003, retired four-star general Wesley Clark announced his intention to run in the presidential primary election for the Democratic Party nomination. His campaign focused on themes of leadership and patriotism; early campaign ads relied heavily on biography. His late start left him with relatively few detailed policy proposals. This weakness was apparent in his first few debates, although he soon presented a range of position papers, including a major tax-relief plan. Nevertheless, many Democrats did not flock to his campaign.

    By the January 2004 Iowa caucuses, the field had dwindled down to nine candidates, as Bob Graham dropped out of the race and Howard Dean was a strong front-runner. However, the Iowa caucuses yielded unexpectedly strong results for Democratic candidates John Kerry, who earned 38% of the state's delegates and John Edwards, who took 32%. Former front-runner Howard Dean slipped to 18% and third place, and Richard Gephardtfinished fourth (11%). What hurt Dean even more than his poor performance was a speech he gave at a post-caucus rally;[dubious ]at the end of the speech—which has become known as the "I have a scream" speech or the "Dean scream"—Dean frantically yelled out the names of states and culminated with a yelp. On January 27 Kerry triumphed again, earning first place in the New Hampshire primary. Clark took third place in New Hampshire, behind New Englanders Kerry and Dean.

    The following week, John Edwards won the South Carolina primary and finished a strong second in Oklahoma. After Howard Dean's withdrawal from the contest, Edwards became the only major challenger to Kerry for the Democratic nomination. However, Kerry continued to dominate, taking in a string of wins in MichiganWashingtonMaineTennesseeWashington, D.C.NevadaWisconsinUtahHawaii, and Idaho. Many other candidates dropped out during this time, leaving only Sharpton, Kucinich, and Edwards in the running against Kerry.

    In March's Super Tuesday, Kerry won decisive victories in the California,ConnecticutGeorgiaMarylandMassachusettsNew YorkOhio, and Rhode Island primaries and the Minnesota caucuses. Dean, despite having withdrawn from the race two weeks earlier, won his home state of Vermont. Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry in Georgia, but, failing to win a single state other than South Carolina, chose to withdraw from the presidential race.

    On July 6, John Kerry selected John Edwards as his running mate, shortly before the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, held later that month. Days before Kerry announced Edwards as his running mate, Kerry gave a short list of three candidates: Sen John Edwards, Rep Dick Gephardt, and Gov Tom Vilsack. Heading into the convention, the Kerry/Edwards ticket unveiled their new slogan--a promise to make America "stronger at home and more respected in the world." Kerry made his Vietnam War experience the prominent theme of the convention. In accepting the nomination, he began his speech with, "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty." He later delivered what may have been the speech's most memorable line when he said, "the future doesn't belong to fear, it belongs to freedom," a quote that later appeared in a Kerry/Edwards television advertisement.

    Other nominations

    See also: List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2004

    There were five other pairs of candidates who were on the ballot in states with enough electoral votes to have a theoretical chance of winning a majority in the Electoral College.


    General election: campaign


    Campaign issues


    President Bush focused his campaign on national security, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Bush's point was that Americans could trust him to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger." Bush also sought to portray Kerry as a "Massachusetts liberal" who was out of touch with mainstream Americans. One of Kerry's slogans was "Stronger at home, respected in the world." This advanced the suggestion that Kerry would pay more attention to domestic concerns; it also encapsulated Kerry's contention that Bush had alienated American allies by his foreign policy.

    Exit polls revealed Americans who voted for President Bush cited the issues of terrorism and moral values [3] as the most important factors in their decision. Kerry supporters cited the war in Iraq, economic issues like jobs and health care.

    Over the course of Bush's first term in office, his extremely high approval ratings immediately following the September 112001 terrorist attacks steadily dwindled, peaking only during combat operations in Iraq in the Spring of 2003, and again following the capture of Saddam Hussein in December the same year.[4] Kerry supporters attempted to capitalize on the dwindling popularity to rally anti-war sentiment.

    During August and September of 2004, there was an intense focus on events that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard.[5]However, the focus quickly shifted to the conduct of CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents.[6] Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged,[7] leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.[8][9]

    Meanwhile, Kerry was accused by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, who averred that "phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward." The group challenged the legitimacy of each of the combat medals awarded to Kerry by the U.S. Navy, and the disposition of his discharge.

    In the beginning of September, the successful Republican National Convention along with the allegations by Kerry's former mates gave President Bush his first comfortable margin since Kerry had won the nomination. A post-convention Gallup poll showed the President leading the Senator by 14 points.[10][11]

    Debates

    I learned these guys are not that smart. I expected them to be a lot smarter, a lot more difficult to debate, and I learned a lot of them only have the value system of win, win, win. They don’t believe in anything.... I thought they had some core beliefs. Most of them didn’t have core beliefs.






    Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by theCommission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004. As expected, these debates set the agenda for the final leg of the political contest. Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik and Green Party candidate David Cobb were arrested while trying to access the debates. Badnarik was attempting to serve papers to the Commission on Presidential Debates.



    President Bush focused his campaign on national security, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Bush's point was that Americans could trust him to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger." Bush also sought to portray Kerry as a "Massachusetts liberal" who was out of touch with mainstream Americans. One of Kerry's slogans was "Stronger at home, respected in the world." This advanced the suggestion that Kerry would pay more attention to domestic concerns; it also encapsulated Kerry's contention that Bush had alienated American allies by his foreign policy.

    Exit polls revealed Americans who voted for President Bush cited the issues of terrorism and moral values [3] as the most important factors in their decision. Kerry supporters cited the war in Iraq, economic issues like jobs and health care.


    Over the course of Bush's first term in office, his extremely high approval ratings immediately following the September 112001 terrorist attacks steadily dwindled, peaking only during combat operations in Iraq in the Spring of 2003, and again following the capture of Saddam Hussein in December the same year.[4] Kerry supporters attempted to capitalize on the dwindling popularity to rally anti-war sentiment.

    During August and September of 2004, there was an intense focus on events that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard.[5]However, the focus quickly shifted to the conduct of CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents.[6] Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged,[7] leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.[8][9]

    Meanwhile, Kerry was accused by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, who averred that "phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward." The group challenged the legitimacy of each of the combat medals awarded to Kerry by the U.S. Navy, and the disposition of his discharge.

    In the beginning of September, the successful Republican National Convention along with the allegations by Kerry's former mates gave President Bush his first comfortable margin since Kerry had won the nomination. A post-convention Gallup poll showed the President leading the Senator by 14 points.[10][11]



    Debates

    "I learned these guys are not that smart.  I expected them to be a lot smarter, a lot more difficult to debate, and I learned a lot of them only have the value system of win, win, win. They don’t believe in anything.... I thought they had some core beliefs. Most of them didn’t have core beliefs."

    Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004. As expected, these debates set the agenda for the final leg of the political contest. Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik and Green Party candidate David Cobb were arrested while trying to access the debates. Badnarik was attempting to serve papers to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

    The first debate was held on September 30 at the University of Miami, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS. Though originally intended to focus on domestic policy, questions were asked on the War on Terror, the War in Iraq and America's international relations.[13] During the debate John Kerry accused Bush of having failed to gain international support for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, saying the only countries assisting the USA during the invasion were the United Kingdom and Australia. Bush replied to this by saying, "Well, actually, he forgot Poland." (In an ironic turn of events, Poland announced plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq shortly after the debate.) Later, a consensus formed among mainstream pollsters and pundits that Kerry won the debate decisively, strengthening what had come to be seen as a weak and troubled campaign.[14] In the days after, coverage focused on Bush's apparent annoyance with Kerry and numerous scowls and negative facial expressions. On October 5, the Vice Presidential debate was held between Dick Cheney and John Edwards at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and was moderated by Gwen Ifill ofPBS. It again focused on Iraq and the War on Terror. Cheney showed his so called "Bulldog" debating mentality and appeared to be much tougher than Edwards on most of the issues.[citation needed] Most liberal voters said that Cheney was aggressive pushing Edwards to appear passive.[citation needed]An initial poll by ABC indicated a victory for Cheney, while polls by CNNand MSNBC gave it to Edwards.[15][16][17][18]

    The second presidential debate was held at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on October 8, moderated by Charles Gibson of ABC. Conducted in a "town meeting" format, less formal than the first Presidential debate, this debate saw President Bush and Senator Kerry taking questions on a variety of subjects from a local audience.[19] Bush attempted to deflect criticism of what was described as his scowling demeanor during the first debate, joking at one point about one of Kerry's remarks, "That answer made me want to scowl."[20]

    Bush and Kerry met for the third and final debate at Arizona State University on October 13.[21] 51 million viewers watched the debate which was moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News. However, at the time of the ASU debate, there were 15.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the Major League Baseball championship games broadcast simultaneously.


    Other nominations

    See also:
     List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2004

    There were five other pairs of candidates who were on the ballot in states with enough electoral votes to have a theoretical chance of winning a majority in the Electoral College.


    1. State-by-state results
    2. Delegate count
    3. Election videos
    4. Audio slideshow

     



    Feb 6, 2008
    Barack Obama/John McCain (AP)

    Obama, McCain get key wins

    Barack Obama and John McCain capture crucial early states on Super Tuesday » Primary details



    Nashville City Paper
    Clinton, Huckabee win Tennessee primaries
    Nashville City Paper, TN - 6 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, a former Arkansas First Lady, defeated Sen. Barack Obama 54 percent to 41 percent. Huckabee overcame McCain’s rising national momentum and ...
    Clinton, Huckabee prevail in Tenn.United Press International
    Clinton wins Tennessee; Shelby one bright spot for Obamacommercialappeal.com (subscription)
    Clinton wins Tennessee democratic primariesTennessee Journalist
    RTT News - Nashville City Paper
    all 110 news articles »

    NDTV.com
    Hillary woos Indian Americans, pledges stronger Indo-US ties
    Hindustan Times, India - 2 hours ago
    Front running Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pledged to take Indo-US relations to greater heights if she becomes the president, ...
    Indian Americans make an impact on 'Super Tuesday'Hindustan Times
    US: Indian voters split between Hillary, Obama NDTV.com
    Hillary tries to woo Indian-Americans ahead of 'Super Tuesday' Hindu
    all 32 news articles »

    Asian Tribune
    Decisions based on whom voters think can win
    USA Today - 6 hours ago
    "Hillary Clinton's been in there too long. In my heart, I think he'll win." In Albany, NY, bartender Amanda Zamurs, 27, almost voted for Obama but switched ...
    Super Tuesday: Clinton and McCain Ahead Very Closely Followed by ... Asian Tribune
    The Five Lessons from Super Tuesday TIME
    California, Arizona election results going for ClintonPolitical State Report
    Dallas Morning News - CNNMoney.com
    all 73 news articles »

    Washington Post
    Clinton On Message, and On Television
    Washington Post, United States - 4 Feb 2008
    Hillary Clinton, asked by Letterman about what role her husband would play in her administration, said, "in my White House, we will know who wears the ...
    Clinton appears on Letterman on eve of Super TuesdayReuters
    The battle of the talk shows Toronto Star
    Clinton: campaign is taking a page from Giants' 4th-quarter playbook WCAX
    Kansas City Star - ABC7Chicago.com
    all 123 news articles »

    Los Angeles Times
    Clinton admits she is in for a long fight
    Los Angeles Times, CA - 7 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton greets supporters at Manhattan Center Studios in New York on Super Tuesday. Husband BillClinton and daughter Chelsea stand in the ...
    Super Tuesday A Mixed Bag For Dems -- Youth Vote Favors Obama ...
    CBS News, NY - 6 hours ago
    Stango and his classmates stood outside a local polling station for 12 hours Tuesday in an effort to increase Hillary Clinton's visibility. ...

    BBC News
    Clinton and Obama set to battle on
    BBC News, UK - 7 hours ago
    As the ballroom filled with Hillary Clinton party workers, the mood began to change. The news that the New York senator appeared to be ahead in Missouri ...

    New York Daily News
    Storm toll rises...Clinton, Obama close...McCain surges ahead ...
    Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck, ND - 3 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton came away from Super Tuesday leading the Democratic count, but Barack Obama is close behind. WASHINGTON (AP) Primaries next week in Virginia ...
    Texans hope March 4 vote will be pivotal to campaignHouston Chronicle
    Clinton and Obama play down chances Financial Times
    Q&A: What happens next? BBC News
    The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com -Fort Worth Star Telegram
    all 65 news articles »

    Gather.com
    Utah goes for Romney, Obama
    Salt Lake Tribune, United States - 9 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton. Romney, a Mormon like more than 60 percent of Utah residents, had been expected to win in Utah, adding to his primary win in Massachusetts, ...
    Clinton, Obama close in Utah; Mitt cruisesUnited Press International
    Barack Obama And Mitt Romney Win Utah Primary KUTV
    Michelle Obama wows Utah crowd Salt Lake Tribune
    all 66 news articles »

    Bostonist
    North Shore voters go for Romney, Clinton
    The Daily Item of Lynn, MA - 5 hours ago
    By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily Item LYNN - Hillary Clintonand Mitt Romney's clear victories in Massachusetts did not reflect the scratch and claw, ...
    Clinton, Romney win Massachusetts primariesDaily Free Press (subscription)
    Watertown votes for Clinton and RomneyWatertown TAB & Press
    Easton goes for Clinton, Romney Easton Journal
    Cambridge Chronicle - Carver Reporter
    all 45 news articles »


    Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
    McCollum: TV pundits race to say - well, anything on Super Tuesday
    San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 5 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton could win Tennessee with 56 percent of the vote, but - Todd pointed out - she'd get only 38 delegates, compared to 30 for Obama. ...
    Media restrained in Super Tuesday coverage Politico
    Super Tuesday: Calling California, Monitoring Missouri, Counting ... New York Times Blogs
    US TV clears lineup for Super Tuesday Guardian Unlimited
    all 84 news articles »

    Washington Post
    Another tear or two from Hillary Clinton
    Los Angeles Times, CA - 4 Feb 2008
    There's been another emotional moment for Hillary Clintonon the campaign trail, again coming on the eve of an incredibly crucial day in her quest for the ...
    Back at Yale, Clinton at her best Boston Globe
    Clinton Visits Connecticut On Eve Of PrimaryHartford Courant
    Clinton roundtable in Connecticut MSNBC
    CBS News - FOXNews
    all 199 news articles »

    Boston Globe
    Clinton thrives in small, intimate TV setting at Yale
    Boston Globe, United States - 5 Feb 2008
    Hillary Clinton returned yesterday to the Yale Child Study Center, where she worked as a law student, and led a discussion about family issues with a dozen ...
    Obama dazzles small crowd in New Jersey Newsday
    all 45 news articles »
    Clinton, Obama: TV Stars
    E! Online - 8 hours ago
    ... breaking a high set just the week before when Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's South Carolina showdown, costarring innocent bystander John Edwards, ...
    Sims at Clinton party: "Obama will be president some day."
    Seattle Post Intelligencer - 10 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, DN.Y., campaign. At Collins Pub in Pioneer Square, about 200 Clinton supporters were encouraged by her early showing. ...
    Democrats: Clinton, Obama win home states
    MarketWatch - 11 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton won victories in New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas in Super Tuesday voting contests, while Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois defeated ...

    ABC News
    Barack Obama's Web Site Overwhelmed During Clinton Appearance
    Wired News - 19 hours ago
    ... '08 Depending on which poll is consulted, either senator Barack Obama is ahead in delegate-rich California, or his senate colleague Hillary Clinton is. ...
    No clear winner in Clinton-Obama tug-of-warExaminer.com
    Clinton slightly trails Obama in The City Examiner.com
    Indecision in California: Obama, Clinton last-minute choiceMonsters and Critics.com
    ABC News - TIME
    all 16 news articles »

    Boston Globe
    Clinton, Huckabee big winners in Arkansas primaries
    KTBS, LA - 10 hours ago
    LITTLE ROCK -- Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former first lady Hillary Clinton were the winners Tuesday in their respective parties' ...
    AP News Alert The Associated Press
    all 82 news articles »
    A perfect storm of 'Clinton-haters'
    Arizona Republic, AZ - 9 hours ago
    On that glorious day when President Hillary Clinton enters the White House leading her hubby, Bill, by the hand, I expect an earthquake of large magnitude. ...
    Flat state tilts toward Obama
    Kansas City Star, MO - 8 hours ago
    TOPEKA | Barack Obama marched toward victory in Tuesday’s Democratic caucuses in Kansas with a commanding 46 percentage-point lead overHillary Clinton...
    Kansas Democrats Predict Obama Caucus Win Today FOXNews
    KS: Excitement Over Caucuses High Washington Post
    Obama Takes Kansas KSNT
    NTV - The Wichita Eagle
    all 84 news articles »

    Clinton Casts Her Vote
    CBS News, NY - 5 Feb 2008
    CHAPPAQUA, NY -- Hillary Clinton arrived early in the morning to Douglas Grafflin Elementary School to cast her vote on Super Tuesday, accompanied by former ...
    Clintons cast vote on Super Tuesday Newsday
    all 15 news articles »

    Boston Globe
    Obama Wins Alaska Democratic Caucuses, FOX News Projects
    FOXNews - 7 hours ago
    He is supporting Hillary Clinton largely because of her support for certain social issues, specifically women’s issues and gay rights. ...
    Obama wins Alaska Democratic presidential contest Reuters
    Obama, Romney win Alaska KTUU
    Obama victorious in Alaska caucusUnited Press International
    Anchorage Daily News (subscription) - Washington Post
    all 85 news articles »

    Boston Globe
    Candidates expected to find solution
    USA Today - 6 hours ago
    "I voted for Hillary Clinton," said Karen Gates in Cathedral City, Calif. "I like what she has to say about health care and getting our (troops) home. ...
    Issue of war may tip Mass. voters in favor of ObamaBoston Globe
    Hopefuls' Iraq plans return to forefront Boston Globe
    The Hillary Illusion, Redux OpEdNews
    Arab News - StateHornet.com
    all 63 news articles »
    Clinton-Obama dream ticket? Dream on
    Guardian Unlimited, UK - 14 hours ago
    Is it really possible that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could team up to make a Democratic "dream ticket"? Liberals have privately speculated on the ...

    Gay Wired
    California sings, but who will pick up the tune?
    The Age, Australia - 33 minutes ago
    Late in the night, as Super Tuesday dissolved into Sleepy Wednesday, the Democrats' Hillary Clinton won California over her party rival, Barack Obama, ...
    McCain and Clinton take the lead in Super Tuesday primaries Pravda
    Clinton, McCain Win in California Super Tuesday Primary Results Gay Wired
    Clinton, McCain take California, projections showMonsters and Critics.com
    United Press International - Scopical
    all 30 news articles »

    Guardian Unlimited: Comment is free
    Clinton prevails in Mass., but race will remain close
    Tufts Daily, MA - 1 hour ago
    Hillary Clinton (DN.Y.) won the presidential primary in Massachusetts handily yesterday, even after last-minute polls had clouded the certainty of her ...
    Clinton campaign touts early wins, eyes CaliforniaCNN Political Ticker
    Clinton To Take Massachusetts And New Jersey AHN
    Candidates trade Super Tuesday wins abc13.com
    MSNBC
    all 24 news articles »
    Clinton grabs New York primary
    Inquirer.net, Philippines - 11 hours ago
    WASHINGTON -- Democrat Hillary Clinton won her home state of New York in Tuesday's presidential primaries giving her a huge share of the 232 delegates, ...

    WXIA-TV
    Local Clinton, McCain backers happy
    Elmira Star-Gazette, NY - 7 hours ago
    By Ray Finger Southern Tier supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain were pleased with their candidates' presidential primary ...
    Clinton strikes major blow against Obama Scopical
    Victory in New York Primary Results for Clinton, McCainGay Wired
    Super Sunday spills to Super Tuesday Asia Times Online
    National Review Online - Channel 4 News
    all 39 news articles »
    Barack Obama's Web Site Overwhelmed During Clinton Appearance
    Wired News - 19 hours ago
    ... '08 Depending on which poll is consulted, either senator Barack Obama is ahead in delegate-rich California, or his senate colleague Hillary Clinton is. ...
    No clear winner in Clinton-Obama tug-of-war Examiner.com
    all 10 news articles »
    Obama routs Clinton in Illinois, one of richest Super Tuesday prizes
    San Diego Union Tribune, United States - 12 hours ago
    By Dennis Conrad AP CHICAGO – Buoyed by voters embracing his message of change, Barack Obama routed Hillary Clinton in the Illinois primary, a home-state ...

    WRAPUP 11-Obama, Clinton trade wins on US Super Tuesday
    Reuters - 12 hours ago
    By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama and rival Hillary Clinton traded early victories while...
    Huckabee, Clinton Take Tennessee
    The Epoch Times Ireland, Ireland - 7 hours ago
    (Rick Gershon/Getty Images) TENNESSEE—In Tennessee, Hillary Clintonreceived 54% of the votes to win the Democratic primary, followed by Barack Obama who ...
    Hillary Clinton to LGBT Americans: I Want To Be Your President
    AlterNet, CA - 14 hours ago
    By Hillary Clinton, The Bilerico Project. Posted February 5, 2008. Hillary Clinton says that as president, she will stand up for the rights of LGBT ...

    Daily Cardinal
    McCain opens lead on Super Tuesday; Clinton, Obama set up slugfest
    Green Bay Press Gazette, WI - 3 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, DN.Y. With some of the Western states still counting the votes, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had pocketed victories in seven states, ...
    ‘Super Tuesday’ leaves race wide open: Clinton, Obama split large ... Daily Cardinal
    Clinton, Obama get set to fight for WisconsinWisconsin State Journal
    Obama, Clinton Camps Eye Wisconsin WISC
    WSAW
    all 31 news articles »
    Which Womanhood Does Clinton Defend?
    AlterNet, CA - 22 hours ago
    she cheers, in a rousing pitch for Hillary Clinton. "We need to rise in furious energy -- as we did when courageous Anita Hill was so vilely treated in the ...

    Columbia Daily Tribune
    'Hillary is the best for Turkey'
    Sabah, Turkey - 14 hours ago
    Referring to the possible contributions of Hillary Clinton'spresidency to the relations with Turkey, Bill Clinton said: "Turkey is a very significant ...
    Video: Hillary Clinton: California Is 'Must-Win' kcratvBillClinton seeks support in California for wife's presidential bid Xinhua
    The Battle for California: Gettysburg or Waterloo?Yahoo! News
    all 31 news articles »

    NPR
    Clinton, Obama each win home states
    KGET 17, CA - 11 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton (D-NY) (R) talk prior to the first debate of the 2008 presidential campaign April 26, 2007 at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, ...
    It's Super Tuesday. How Did We Get Here? NPR
    Turning points in the campaigns Globe and Mail
    FACTBOX: Profiles of presidential hopefuls Reuters
    Manila Bulletin
    all 51 news articles »
    'Special Report' Panel on Hillary Clinton's Health Care Plan and ...
    FOXNews - 21 hours ago
    HILLARY CLINTON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I pledge to you, whether you're a Pats fan or a Giants fan, if you vote for me we will be on the winning team ...
    'Special Report' Panel on Super Tuesday FOXNews
    'Special Report' Panel on Hillary Clinton's White House Bid FOXNews
    all 4 news articles »
    Chelsea Clinton Campaigns in Delaware for Her Mom
    FOXNews - 15 hours ago
    Clinton says she’s convinced her mom, Hillary Clinton, is the president for the grandkids that Chelsea says her mom hopes to have someday. ...
    Clinton’s Vague and Bedeviling Insurance Premium Cap
    Rolling Stone - 16 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton (backed by the influential Paul Krugman) insists that mandates are the only way to achieve universal coverage. ...
    Networks had dizzying array of graphics, talking heads
    Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
    MSNBC's Chris Matthews, in particular, seemed impressed: "Hillary Clintonhas avoided losing in Massachusetts by beating the Kennedys," he crowed....

    Honolulu Star-Bulletin
    Clinton Supporters Say Obama's Local Ties Tough To Overcome
    KITV.com, HI - 1 hour ago
    Hillary Clinton has enjoyed an early lead and took some big states on Tuesday. Instead, she told a story about her brother. "I played Scrabble with him on ...
    Hawaii's caucus gains significance in a deadlocked primary campaign Honolulu Star-Bulletin
    all 18 news articles »
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - La sénatrice de New York Hillary Clinton a ...
    Challenges, France - 7 hours ago
    et son rival Barack Obama dans dix autres. Il reste à connaître les résultats dans les quatre Etats restants. (c) Reuters 2008. All righ ts reserved. ...
    Clinton camp plays expectations game, calls for more debates
    Boston Globe, United States - 18 hours ago
    NEW YORK – Senior Hillary Clinton staff just spent an entire hour on the phone with reporters across the country making the case that tonight’s results ...
    Clinton stops Obama surge
    Worcester Telegram, MA - 4 hours ago
    Hillary Rodham Clinton fended off a late surge in the polls by Barack H. Obama to win a decisive primary victory in Massachusetts yesterday, ...
    Clinton country Worcester Telegram
    Hillary Clinton wins NY primary while Barack Obama supporters vow ...WNYT
    Clinton's final push: My positions = Democratic positions Baltimore Sun
    Boston Globe - Boston Herald
    all 17 news articles »

    Angus Reid Global Monitor
    Clinton campaign marches to haredi Brooklyn beat
    Jerusalem Post, Israel - 5 Feb 2008
    Vote for Hillary Clinton," US Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-New York) shouted through a bullhorn. The Satmar leaders who participated in Sunday's march needed ...
    NY: Heavy Turnout, Few Problems Washington Post
    Al Gore would be president if you voted NEWS.com.au
    all 12 news articles »

    San Francisco Chronicle
    Clinton Campaign: California Tossup
    San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 18 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton's campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson declared today that California is a tossup. He specifically credited appearances by Oprah Winfrey, ...
    Clinton, McCain lead Peninsula races
    Examiner.com - 2 hours ago
    San Mateo County (Map, News) - Hillary Clinton was leading Barack Obama among San Mateo County voters after an energetic presidential primary that local ...
    2008: Coming Home - Candidates Romney, McCain, Obama, Clinton all ...Political State Report
    all 17 news articles »

    UC Daily News
    Clinton Campaign Missed A Few Good Movies
    Hartford Courant, United States - 19 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton's campaign bragged today that Jack Nicholson is doing some robo-calling of perspective voters, they referred to him as "A Few Good Men's ...
    Actor Jack Nicholson Endorses Hillary ClintonUC Daily News
    all 4 news articles »

    Modesto Bee
    Obama and Clinton campaigns rally at UOP
    Stockton Record, CA - 4 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, carries California in today's presidential primary election, Bill Clinton proved Monday he still can draw a crowd in Stockton. ...
    Clinton or Obama? Lodi News-Sentinel
    Bill Clinton to visit University of the PacificLodi News-Sentinel
    Bill Clinton says Hillary would help homeownersModesto Bee
    all 14 news articles »







    Times Colonist
    Obama-Clinton battle rages on
    Canada.com, Canada - 50 minutes ago
    WASHINGTON - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled to a split decision in Super Tuesday primaries across the United States, setting the stage for an epic ...
    Video: California Offers The Most Delegates kcratvMcCain secures lead, Obama, Clinton in tight race CTV.ca
    Enough Conservatives Back McCain to Keep Him Rolling; Obama ... ABC News
    Sydney Morning Herald - AFP
    all 7,001 news articles »

    Product Reviews
    Clinton's hometown is proud but divided
    Los Angeles Times, CA - 4 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton greets her supporters at the Manhattan Center Studios, Grand Ballroom in New York late Tuesday night. Civic pride in Park Ridge, Ill., ...
    Video: Split verdict for Clinton and ObamareutersvideoClinton gets booed at the Obama partyTimes Online
    Clinton and Obama start anew China Daily
    Financial Times - Los Angeles Times
    all 497 news articles »

    Boston Globe
    Clinton gets her party started
    Salon - 5 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton greets her supporters at her primary election night rally in New York on Feb. 5. Feb. 6, 2008 | NEW YORK -- It sure did feel funereal at the ...
    It's America's night - Clinton Melbourne Herald Sun
    Faithful holler like hell for Hillary as she storms north-eastern ... The Age
    Clinton banks on substance Sydney Morning Herald
    Sydney Morning Herald - Scotsman
    all 286 news articles »

    The Money Times
    California may prove decisive win for Clinton
    Reuters - 6 hours ago
    By Adam Tanner SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic presidential nomination, historians may look to her primary win in ...
    Video: Bill Clinton, Oprah Speak For CandidateskcratvObama gives Americans hope National Post
    It's a game of fame as rivals round up celebrities to fight their ... Times Online
    The Canadian Press - Glasgow Daily Record
    all 323 news articles »

    WBBM780
    Obama tops Clinton in Conn. Democratic primary
    Boston Globe, United States - 5 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton on Tuesday by winning the state Democratic presidential primary. With 94 percent of the votes cast, Obama led Clinton 50 percent to 47 ...
    Clinton, Obama Split In Early Results CBS News
    Clinton wins California Democrat presidential vote Reuters
    Clinton wins Missouri Democratic presidential vote Reuters
    FOXNews - ABC News
    all 193 news articles »

    Sioux City Journal
    Female voters torn between Clinton, Obama
    Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
    A month ago, strong support from women catapulted Hillary Clinton past Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary, giving Clinton the momentum she ...
    It ain't over yet Guardian Unlimited
    Clinton Narrowly Ahead as Obama Fails to Clinch Center Ground Spiegel Online
    US voter faces race-gender dilemma NDTV.com
    Press of Atlantic City - ABC News
    all 121 news articles »

    Spiegel Online
    Behind The Clinton-Obama Draw
    CBS News, NY - 5 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, but said she would not do enough to change Washington. | Share/Embed Huge chunk of delegates on the line as voters in more than 20 states ...
    Clinton Overwhelmingly Wins Latino Vote NPR
    With no losers, the fight goes on Los Angeles Times
    Democrats' Votes Display a Racial Divide Washington Post
    CNN Political Ticker - Los Angeles Times
    all 81 news articles »

    Malaysia Star
    Clinton Backers Manage To Find Positives
    Hartford Courant, United States - 6 hours ago
    By DANIELA ALTIMARI | Courant Staff Writer February 6, 2008 FAIRFIELD - — Hillary Clinton supporters who gathered Tuesday at a golf course clubhouse in ...
    Clinton, Obama eagerly await California results Newsday
    Coast to coast, Clinton and Obama trade victoriesSarasota Herald-Tribune
    Clinton campaign touts early wins, eyes CaliforniaCNN Political Ticker
    AHN - NPR
    all 84 news articles »

    Xinhua
    CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California
    CNN International - 6 hours ago
    Senator Barack Obama won more states Tuesday, but Senator Hillary Clinton won states with higher delegate counts. Super Tuesday has some of the biggest ...
    CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California CNN
    Clinton, McCain Win Calif., NY, & NJ PrimariesWFMZ-TV Online
    California is the big one on Super TuesdaySeattle Post Intelligencer
    all 76 news articles »








    Malaysia Sta


    Clinton Backers Manage To Find Positives
    Hartford Courant, United States - 6 hours ago
    By DANIELA ALTIMARI | Courant Staff Writer February 6, 2008 FAIRFIELD - —Hillary Clinton supporters who gathered Tuesday at a golf course clubhouse in ...
    Clinton, Obama eagerly await California results Newsday
    Coast to coast, Clinton and Obama trade victories Sarasota Herald-Tribune
    Clinton campaign touts early wins, eyes California CNN Political Ticker
    AHN - NPR
    all 84 news articles »



    Xinhua


    CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California
    CNN International - 6 hours ago
    Senator Barack Obama won more states Tuesday, but Senator Hillary Clintonwon states with higher delegate counts. Super Tuesday has some of the biggest ...
    CNN projects Clinton, McCain take California CNN
    Clinton, McCain Win Calif., NY, & NJ Primaries WFMZ-TV Online
    California is the big one on Super Tuesday Seattle Post Intelligencer
    all 76 news articles »



    Telegraph.co.uk

    Clinton and Obama still tight- McCain looks to have the Republican ...
    Euronews.net, France - 5 hours ago
    The biggest day in US presidential nominating contests "Super Tuesday" sees democrat Hillary Clinton picking up states including California and New York, ...
    Clinton and Obama in tight race Guardian Unlimited
    Super Tuesday results state by state Independent
    Superman or Superwoman: Democrat rivals trade victories Independent
    Telegraph.co.uk - Rocky Mountain News
    all 67 news articles »




    Spiegel Online
    Clinton or Obama -- On Health Care the Difference is Big
    Yahoo! News - 7 hours ago
    ... care for all and because the way the candidates deal with it points to a major reason I'm supporting Hillary Clinton for President: She'll get results. ...
    Op-Ed Columnist The Cooper Concerns New York Times
    Clinton's health-care insurance plan might garnish paychecks Waterbury Republican American
    What Programs Exactly? Whence the Cash?Wall Street Journal
    CBS News - New York Times
    all 56 news articles »

    PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
    Tough decision for Democrats Abroad in Toronto
    Toronto Star,  Canada - 4 hours ago
    Patty Hayes stared at her blue ballot for 15 minutes, pondering the crucial question of the US '08 Democratic race – Hillary Clinton's experience versus ...
    Super Tuesday in City Hindustan Times
    From Phnom Penh to Paris, 'Super Tuesday' goes abroadAFP
    Clinton, Obama Battle For Omsk The Moscow Times
    CTV.ca - The Associated Press
    all 641 news articles »

    13wmaz
    USA 2008: MCCAIN WINS BY LANDSLIDE; CLINTON OK (NOT YET OVER)
    Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy - 4 hours ago
    ... is the Republican front-runner, while the Democratic candidates are still neck-and-neck, though Hillary Clintonhas won the majority of the delegates. ...
    Clinton edges ahead on Super TuesdaySuffolk Evening Star
    Super Tuesday Results - California Predictions Say Clinton, McCain ... AHN
    Candidates Look Ahead After Super Tuesday Fails To Finalize Nominees AHN
    all 44 news articles »

    WNBC
    Clinton takes New Jersey
    Inquirer.net, Philippines - 10 hours ago
    WASHINGTON -- Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday scooped the state of New Jersey in the presidential primaries, winning a majority of the 107 delegates up for ...
    Clinton Wins States, Obama Wins DelegatesWCBS-TV New York
    Blog: Super Tuesday draws to a close New Zealand Herald
    McCain, Clinton win NJ primary Vineland Daily Journal
    NorthJersey.com - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
    all 65 news articles »

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    In Missouri, tight races on both sides
    Kansas City Star, MO - 8 hours ago
    JEFFERSON CITY | With about 93 percent of the vote tallied,Hillary Clinton was holding on to a 2.5 percentage point lead in the Missouri Democratic ...
    Swing States Offer Clues for NovemberThe Associated Press
    Obama Wins Big on Independents Yahoo! News
    Obama Defeats Clinton In The Missouri Democratic Primary – Exit Polls TopNews
    The Associated Press - Huffington Post
    all 354 news articles »

    BBC News
    Excitement builds in Clinton camp
    BBC News, UK - 9 hours ago
    By Laura Trevelyan At 1800 Eastern Time (2300 GMT), the mood at Hillary Clinton's camp in New York was cautious, with her advisers downplaying expectations, ...
    Was Clinton's Massachusetts win a surprise?Los Angeles Times
    Clinton Backers: Mass. Win an 'Upset' Washington Post
    Clinton holds slight edge, Democratic picture still blurryDaily Vidette
    Baltimore Sun - Politics on the Hudson
    all 41 news articles »

    CBC Montreal
    Super Tuesday, at least for John McCain
    Radio Netherlands, Netherlands - 2 hours ago
    by RNW's US Correspondent Reinout van Wagtendonk*Hillary Clinton won important victories in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Super ...
    Clinton Leads Obama In The Race For Democratic Delegates TopNews
    Clinton, McCain Win in California Super Tuesday Primary Results Gay Wired
    McCain, Clinton make troubled winners Earthtimes
    Minnesota Daily - News10.net
    all 239 news articles »
    Clinton fends off endorsements of Obama; Romney silences skeptics
    Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton withstood a string of high-profile endorsements for Barack Obama to glide to a surprisingly decisive victory, while Mitt Romney held onto ...
    Poll: Clinton, Romney could capture Mass. Boston Herald
    Clinton Gets Most Lobbyist Money, McCain Most Help (Update1) Bloomberg
    all 25 news articles »

    Mirror.co.uk
    Clinton, Obama locked in fight
    Financial Times, UK - 11 hours ago
    By FT reporters Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a close race for the Democratic presidential nomination with Mr Obama taking an early gain ...
    Obama wins Georgia, Clinton seeks to downplayBoston Globe
    The Obama wave Boston Globe
    US voters split over White House hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary ... Mirror.co.uk
    New York Daily News - Times Online
    all 53 news articles »

    Radio 1
    Clinton edges ahead of Obama in nomination race
    Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom - 3 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton has edged ahead of Barack Obama in the race to secure the Democratic nomination for this year's US presidential election. ...
    They may be exiles, but Americans in London exercise right to vote Independent
    Can Barack Obama's vision beat Hillary? Telegraph.co.uk
    The view at 12pm EST Guardian Unlimited
    all 26 news articles »


    Boston Globe
    Road Ahead Tough For Clinton
    RealClearPolitics, IL - 1 hour ago
    By Reid Wilson After last night's results, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are able to claim some major wins. Clinton took California and New York, ...
    McCain on a roll Arizona Republic
    GOP makes it tough on Dems Chicago Sun-Times
    Obama tops Clinton in Minnesota caucuses WKBT
    HeraldNet - FOXNews
    all 245 news articles »

    Boston Globe
    What voters said
    Detroit Free Press, United States - 5 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, DN.Y., or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as president. She cast her vote for Clinton. "I agree with her" health "insurance issues. ...
    McCain, Clinton win big locally Oneonta Daily Star
    Blog: Voting and gloating - the American wayNew Zealand Herald
    Milford area votes for Clinton, Romney Milford Daily News
    Gay Wired - St. George Daily Spectrum
    all 321 news articles »

    CNN-IBN
    A party divided may be blessing - or curse - for Democrats
    Boston Globe, United States - 6 hours ago
    A fierce, protracted contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama could sour the good feelings - or energize the party even more, depending on how the ...
    Obama and Clinton split delegates, gird for battleNew York Daily News
    NJ primary voters give Clinton win over Obama; McCain coasts Press of Atlantic City
    Bay Area voters swarm polling places, celebrate election night San Jose Mercury News
    Black America Web - SU The Daily Orange (subscription)
    all 184 news articles »

    Washington Post
    Clinton Wins California; National Results Mixed
    Daily Californian, CA - 2 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton winning California by a double-digit margin, adding momentum to her ongoing national campaign. As of 1 am, the former first lady took 53 ...
    Obama wins here; Clinton waits Medill Reports
    Clinton talks like a winner Earthtimes
    Clinton, Obama debate policy differencesThe West Australian
    International Herald Tribune - Stanford Daily
    all 249 news articles »

    Malaysia Star
    Illinois Voters Brave Chilly Weather to Decide Showdown Between ...
    FOXNews - 16 hours ago
    Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, two Democratic presidential contenders with strong ties to the state. Experts said the high-profile contest to decide who ...
    Illinois favors Obama over ClintonUnited Press International
    Obama's Chicago roots may prove deeper than Clinton'sGuardian Unlimited
    IL: Does Mother Know Best? Washington Post
    Washington Post - CBS2 Chicago
    all 40 news articles »

    Ledger Independent
    McCain, Clinton win
    Tulsa World, OK - 6 hours ago
    Witt said she will help “get out the vote” for McCain ifHillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile, Huckabee supporter Mike Ford of Bixby was ...
    Clinton surges to victory in Oklahoma [1 min ago]NewsOK.com (subscription)
    Romney gains edge in county; Clinton defeats ObamaDaily News Journal (subscription)
    Moderates, elderly help Clinton win kjrh.com
    Joplin Globe - KSWO
    all 130 news articles »

    WXIA-TV
    Super Indecisive
    Slate - 2 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton won some of the biggest prizes of the night, including California, while Sen. Barack Obama ultimately won more states. ...
    Northwest Alabama counties pick Huckabee and ClintonTimes Daily (subscription)
    Clinton, Obama continue fight for nominationThe University of Alabama Crimson White
    Huckabee, Obama Win in Alabama The Associated Press
    Washington Post - FOXNews
    all 183 news articles »

    Wall Street Journal
    Clinton Taps Unexpected Weapon: Chelsea
    Wall Street Journal - 9 hours ago
    Now, as he also makes incursions into Hillary Clinton's core constituency -- women -- with support from Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy and others, ...
    Chelsea Finds Her Voice U.S. News & World Report
    Chelsea Clinton Campaigns for Mom in Delaware FOXNews
    PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES: Chelsea Clinton visits Delaware to stump ... Delmarva Daily Times
    University of Delaware
    all 16 news articles »

    CNN Political Ticker
    Hillary Clinton campaign talks about possible California defeat
    Los Angeles Times, CA - 16 hours ago
    This could all be just so much manipulation, an attempt byHillary Clinton's brain trust to reduce expectations for today's results to give her a little ...
    Clinton wants more debates — including one on Fox News?The Carpetbagger Report
    Clinton Prepares for Fox News Debate Truthdig
    Clinton Suggests Four One-on-One Debates With ObamaTelevision Week
    Palm Beach Post - CNN Political Ticker
    all 30 news articles »

    New York Times Blogs
    Clinton challenges Obama to TV debates
    Times Online, UK - 13 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton today challenged Mr Obama to no less than four televised debates this month, with her campaign saying voters needed see how the Democratic ...
    Hillary Clinton's fresh tears divide opinions Times Online
    For Clinton the Speaker, the Smaller the BetterNew York Times
    I voted for Hillary Clinton Sovo.com
    Independent - New York Times
    all 26 news articles »

    Obama and Clinton splitting Jewish vote
    Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - 9 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton scored a big win among Jews in New York, but the picture was mixed in other Super Tuesday states. According to the latest exit polls,...
    Obama, Clinton in tight primaries race Jerusalem Post
    Jewish voters flock to Clinton in New York, split in Massachusetts ...Infolive.tv
    The Jewish vote: Obama wins Massachusetts, almost California Ha'aretz
    Ynetnews
    all 18 news articles »

    ASU Web Devil
    Home base : Washington County, Arkansas support Clinton, Huckabee
    Northwest Arkansas Times, AR - 2 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary in Washington County, while former Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Republican primary. Cynthia McKinney received 27 ...
    Huckabee, Clinton win Arkansas Arkansas News
    McCain, Clinton triumph ASU Web Devil
    Clinton, Huckabee Win Arkansas Springdale Morning News
    East Valley Tribune - TV3 News
    all 114 news articles »

    Baltimore City Paper
    Presidential Race Turns to Mid-Atlantic
    The Associated Press - 5 hours ago
    "It's hard to see how Hillary Clinton finds the foundation" for a big vote in the remaining counties, said Keith Haller, a Maryland-based pollster who is ...
    Virginia, you could really matter next Tuesday Daily Press
    Don't Look Now, But Maryland's Presidential Primary Might Actually ... Baltimore City Paper
    State Democrats scramble for leverage ahead of primaryRoanoke Times
    WAVY-TV - Georgetown University The Hoya
    all 92 news articles »

    Hoboken411.com
    Richardson punts on political endorsements
    Reuters - 3 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are trying to win his support, an endorsement that could serve as a big boost among his fellow Hispanics who are an ...
    Clinton Revels in Giant Win The Associated Press
    Bill Clinton Woos Gov. Richardson The Associated Press
    Voters 'thirst for change,' Richardson saysLas Cruces Sun-News
    Alamogordo Daily News
    all 157 news articles »

    The Stamford Times
    Did Chelsea Clinton Break the Law?
    ABC News - 13 hours ago
    Chelsea Clinton was in Connecticut to support the presidential campaign of her mother, New. York Sen.Hillary Clinton. A call was placed to Clinton's ...
    In Fair Haven, Chelsea Clinton may have broken election law, WTNH says Yale Daily News
    Questions about Chelsea at polling place WTNH
    all 19 news articles »

    New York Daily News
    Clinton beams but campaign goes on
    Guardian Unlimited, UK - 8 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton was graceful in the lack of outright victory as she addressed her supporters in New York. She made it clear that there was no end in sight ...
    Clinton buoyed by big wins in NY, Calif. Charlotte Observer
    White House hopefuls go down to the wire ic Wales
    Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck & neck from NY to California New York Daily News
    all 13 news articles »

    Gay Wired
    Obama Red-State Strength May Answer Clinton Lead in Strongholds
    Bloomberg - 5 Feb 2008
    ... Obama's support in Republican-leaning ``Red States'' will give him more ammunition to challenge Senator Hillary Clinton for a majority of the 1681 ...
    Obama overwhelms Clinton in ND Democratic caucusesJamestown Sun
    Super Tuesday Jamestown Sun
    North Dakota Caucus Results a Win for Obama, RomneyGay Wired
    In-Forum (subscription) - KXMC
    all 89 news articles »

    Monsters and Critics.com
    PROFILE: Clinton vows to bring new set of pants to White House
    Monsters and Critics.com - 53 minutes ago
    Washington - Hillary Clinton wants to go back to the White House, and she insists that if she prevails in her bid to become the first female president she ...
    From Super Tuesday to Fantastic February and beyond AFP
    Clinton: First lady, senator, president? iAfrica.com
    Bill Clinton Says Hillary Had Doubt on `No Child' Law (Update1) Bloomberg
    AFP - Times of India
    all 70 news articles »

    Salon
    Clinton, Obama strike cordial tone in debate
    Hindustan Times, India - 20 hours ago
    Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton struck a cordial tone in the early stages of their first one-on-one presidential debate on Thursday but differed ...
    Super Tuesday: Clinton and Obama split FT Alphaville
    Feminist leader sides with Obama over ClintonBaltimore Sun
    Dave Adams | Cynicism Personified Tufts Daily
    Daily Vidette - The Moderate Voice
    all 29 news articles »
    Clinton says people spoke
    Boston Globe, United States - 10 hours ago
    Hillary Clinton, after key wins in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, claimed tonight people from all walks of life spoke today in supporting her for ...

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