April 26, 2007
Democrats hold Florida debate without Clinton, Gore
Democrats held their fifth Presidential debate this evening. Hillary Clinton and Al Gore did not attend, with Bill Clinton stating that the reason for Hillary's absence is because she wasn't happy that the DNC has not yet announced a location for the debate on May 22. Gore did not give a reason for his absence from the debate, but his campaign manager Donna Brazile stated that Gore would be on the campaign trail elsewhere in Florida as he felt that he had done poorly in prior debates, and that his candidacy would do better if he didn't attend them.
Here's how the candidates that did attend did:
Tom Vilsack: Claimed without evidence that ethanol is more environmentally friendly than any other type of gasoline. Al Gore (not attending the debate) bashed it on Twitter immediately. D
Mario Cuomo: Really shone tonight, presenting a detailed climate policy plan. His plan to save Social Security by dramatically raising the taxes that pay for it might not go over so well, but it's more than other candidates will offer. A
Douglas Wilder: Became the first candidate to call for racial reparations tonight in what seemed to be a gotcha question from Joe Scarborough. Even so, he made himself very unpopular with everyone but his African-American base. D+
April 24, 2007
Israeli Elections held, broad coalition brings Benjamin Netanyahu to the Prime Minster's office.
Elections in Israel were held on Thursday with the following results:
Israel-Knesset
Likud-Benjamin Netanyahu 24 seats
Kadima- Tzipi Livni 24 seats
Labor-Meimad- Amir Peretz 23 seats
Hetz- Avraham Poraz 12 seats
Shas- Eli Yishai 10 seats
Yisreal Beitneu- Avigdor Lieberman 5 seats
United Torah Judaism- Yaakov Litzman 5 seats
Meretz-Yachad- Yossi Beilin 4 seats
Mafdal- Zevulun Orlev 3 seats
National Union- Benny Elon 3 seats
Hadash- Mohammed Barakeh 3 seats
Ra'am-Ta'al- Ibrahim Sarsur 2 seats
Balad- Jamal Zalkha 2 seats
Today, a broad coalition between Likud, Kadima and Labor-Meimad has been announced.
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu will become Prime Minister and will also become Minister of Foreign Affairs. Kadima Leader Tzipi Livni will become Minister of Defense, and Labor Leader Amir Peretz will serve as Minister of Finance and Minister of the Economy.
I can already see the headlines; Gore unable to handle pressure of debate, can he handle Presidency?
