Window on Washington
News, analysis, color and photography from Cox Newspapers' Washington BureauRSS feed
What's on this page →
All the entries posted on May 08, 2008.
Categories
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS | |
| RSS |
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F
Recent entries
Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2008 > May > 08
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Bill Clinton: The race must go on
Bill Clinton is standing firmly by his wife, who stood firmly by him when he had a problem or two.
Here are highlights of a fundraising email the ex-president sent today on behalf of the woman he wants to be the next president. Devoted? Delusional? You make the call.
“I want to tell you about the day I had on Monday. I stopped in nine towns throughout North Carolina, starting the day at 7:30 a.m. in Elizabeth City and ending with a rally in Raleigh. That’s the most stops I’ve ever done in a single day - for any campaign. And I couldn’t be happier to work that hard for Hillary.”
“I talked to a lot of people that day, and one thing was crystal clear - people want Hillary to stay in this race until every last voter has a say. That’s why Hillary and I are working so hard. That’s why we’ve made a deep commitment to keep campaigning, keep fighting, and keep winning.”
“We have had a lot of success in this campaign, and our come-from-behind victory in Indiana is the latest example of how Hillary wins when she has your support behind her. As long as you share her commitment to winning, this race is going to continue.”
“I know something about coming back to win after you’ve been counted out. So does Hillary. Over the course of this campaign, the pundits have tried to declare a premature end to the race dozens of times. Well, last time I checked, it’s still up to the voters. And there are a lot of voters who haven’t had their say yet.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
McCain’s mom
On Mother’s Day (which is this Sunday, go buy a card) the John McCain campaign will run a TV ad featuring his mom Roberta talking about his childhood.
See the ad here
But for a more up-close look at Mrs. McCain, watch the above video showing her giving a tour of her Washington apartment. Mrs. McCain is 96. So is her twin sister Rowena. Really.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
New farm bill far from Bush’s demands
Details of a new farm bill worked out by House-Senate conferees — still undisclosed but confirmed by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., — sharply decrease income limits for direct-payment subsidies.
Farmers with outside adjusted gross income over $500,000 for singles and $1 million for married couples will be ineligible for direct payments, which are received regardless of commodity prices. The income limit for those who farm exclusively will be $750,000 for singles and $1.5 million for couples.
President Bush had repeatedly urged Congress set an income cap of $200,000.
“We’ve made huge, huge changes and reforms in the payment limit provision and the president does recognize that,” Chambliss said this morning.
Emerging from weeks of intense negotiations over a new farm bill, House and Senate conferees are keeping quiet about the final details until a public announcement set for at 2 p.m. EDT.
TThe income limits are based on complex calculations that take into consideration tax-deductible income averaged over the past three years.
he 2008 limits have considerably dropped from those set in the 2002 farm bill, which allowed farmers earning as much as $2.5 million a year to collect federal subsidies regardless of crop prices.
In reality, few farmers will be affected by the reform. The IRS says only 0.4 percent of all Americans have an adjusted gross income of between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Fewer than 1 percent of Americans claim farming as an occupation.
The limit of the actual direct payments will remain fixed at $40,000 per single farmer and $80,000 for couples, after earlier proposals made by lawmakers to increase the limits to $50,000 and $100,000 were defeated this week in meetings behind closed doors.
This afternoon, conferees will also announce income-limit changes in the conservation title. Single farmers earning more than $1 million, with less than two-thirds total income from farming, will not receive subsidies from conservation initiatives. The income limit is double for couples, and there is no limit in conservation subsidies for full-time farmers.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Lance: Non-Smoking Please
He’s tackled time trials, sprints and the heights of the Pyrenees en route to his seven victories in the Tour de France, but there’s one thing bicycling legend Lance Armstrong hasn’t missed since he retired from competitive cycling.
“I raced for 15 years in Europe and I was around enough cigarette smoke to last me a lifetime,” Armstrong testified Thursday before the Senate Committee on Health, Education and Pensions.
The experience has made Armstrong a fervent foe of smoking in restaurants or other public places where customers and employees have no choice but to choke down second-hand smoke. “That’s not fair,” he told the committee at a hearing on the state of cancer research and treatment.
As a survivor of testicular cancer, Armstrong has become a spokesman for the estimated 12 million Americans who suffer from some form of cancer.
“Tobacco, use and abuse, would be the number one thing,” in reducing the risk, he told the panel. “It’s an addictive drug that is marketed and targeted to the youth of America,” he said. “As a father of three and a cancer survivor, that’s troubling … As a society, we have to address that in some way.”
Permalink | Comments (37) | Post your comment |
Bonior backs Barack
Former Michigan Rep. David Bonior, who was national chairman of John Edwards’ unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, endorsed Barack Obama today.
Here’s his statement:
“John Edwards ran a campaign focused on fulfilling a promise to America’s working families that they could once again trust their leaders to put them first. As I look at the presidential race as it stands today, I see one candidate who has proven he can bring the kind of change to Washington that will mean more jobs, better pay for American workers, and health care for every single American. That candidate is Barack Obama.”
“This is a critical election in our nation’s history. For too long, Wall Street lobbyists and special interests have blocked real change for hardworking Americans. Senator Obama is the candidate who can take on the Wall Street lobbyists and make sure Washington works for working families again. Senator Obama has been fighting for working families ever since he moved to Chicago more than twenty years ago to help turn around communities that were struggling after the local steel plants closed.”
“Tuesday was a critical moment in this race. Because Barack Obama continues to run a positive campaign that focuses on the issues that matter to ordinary Americans, he has won a commanding lead in this race, and I believe he can and will defeat John McCain in November. Now is the time to unite behind Barack Obama so we can end business-as-usual in Washington and fulfill our moral obligation to America’s hardworking families.”