The Presidency of America's Maverick

[OSR stands with Israel]

Democratic Leaders call for more Direct Spending in Stimulus Program and Tax Hikes for upper income brackets:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9tKQc7Lxrs

Pelosi: It is my belief that while there are many good items in what the President proposed it is my belief that we need to dole out more direct relief to the American people to help them in this tough time. My belief is we need to expand food assistance, unemployment , job programs so we can help the people in the months ahead as well as boost the economy so we can have a faster recovery.


Reid: The reason we believe this is necessary is most of the tax policy changes wont benefit the people until early next year while these programs will help the American people right now. We also believe that the cost of this program instead of being financed through deficits should be financed through raising the top marginal tax rate on people making $250,000 or more. While many who oppose this may say it will harm the economy, or is us punishing successful people all Id like to say is that we view this as an investment for them. A faster economic recovery will result in the profits of their businesses, and  value of stocks go up which will make them more money in the long run then these tax increases will cost them now.


Blitzer: We are being told that every democratic candidate in the race is backing Pelosi and Reid on this but Trump has gone a step further asking for the Democrats to filibuster any stimulus plan that isnt being paid for . Bill would such a plan work

Schnider: Senator Feingold pointed out that a filibuster really wouldnt work given this stimulus package is something the Republicans can pass through a process known as reconciliation which lets them by pass the 60 vote rule and pass the bill with a simple majority. Now the only thing using reconciliation instead of passing it through normal measures is that the provisions in the bill would expire after 10 years but given the issue I dont think that will be much of a deterrance to using the reconciliation process.


The reason I think Mr.Trump is trying to use this issue is hopes of breaking out and establishing himself as the clear progressive candidate in the race which would give him a better chance of taking on Senator Clinton in the primaries who has established herself as the clear frontrunner in the polls so far. Now Senator Feingold has his own plan which is to force an amendment that includes tax increases on the board and hope maybe more liberal Republican Senators like Lincoln Chaffee, Olympia Snowe, and Christine Todd Whitman vote for it.


Breaking News: Feingold Amendment fails as every Republican except Chafee including tax increases in bill



Blitzer: An Attempt by Russ Feingold to include a tax increase in the stimulus bill failed as every Republican except Senator Lincoln Chaffee voted it down which made the vote 50/50 and of course Vice President Danforth in his tie breaking vote , voted down the amendment. Now the only question is how many Democrats will vote for the final bill it self

Schnider: There are already many who have said they would , them being: Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, Inez Tenenbaum, Mary Landrieu , Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pyror, Harold Ford, Max Baucus meaning that if every Republican holds they would be 59 votes for this bill, so only one other Democrat needs to vote yes for this to pass using normal rules as well.

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So even at that time, Trump was among the rare Democrats opposing tax increases.

Nope, he is asking for Democrats to filibuster any stimulus plan that isnt paid for as He is trying to take the progressive lane of the party from Feingold.

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President's Stimulus Plan Passes without use of reconciliation as 10 Democrats vote for bill and President McCain signs it into law:


Blitzer: The President's stimulus plan passed without the use of reconciliation as 10 Democrats voted for the bill. The 10 Democrats who voted it were : Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, Inez Tenenbaum, Mary Landrieu , Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pyror, Harold Ford, Max Baucus, Dianne Feinstein, and Tim Johnson. With it the bill got 61 votes and the stimulus bill passed without the use of reconciliation.

Many Democrats believe that the stimulus bill was not enough which is why more Democrats did not vote for this. According to polls 45% of Americans support the bill while 40% oppose it with 15% saying they are unsure.  When asked the people who are unsure most just said they want to wait and see if it helps speeden up the recovery before judging.


McCain's approval jumps up 5% after passage of stimulus bill:


McCain's Approval:

Approve: 42%(+5)
Disapprove: 56%(-4)

House Generic Ballot:

Democrats: 48(-1%)%
Republicans: 43(+3%)%

Blitzer: The President's approval that has taken a massive beating over the past many months , dropping to a record low 37% a couple weeks back has now slightly rebounded back to 42% . The Republicans in our house generic ballot have tightened the deficit though they most likely would still lose the house if the election were held today on those numbers

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McCain defends tough policies against Russia in interview:



Schiffer: Mr. President thanks for having coming on. Lets get right to it, many have criticized your policies towards Russia has being stuck in the Cold War so what do you have to respond to it

McCain : Well one thing we have to remember is that one the Soviet Union was not the only expansionist Russian state in history, as so was the Russian Empire that preceded it. It is no secret that Russia intends to believe that it should control the desinty of Eastern Europe and while that may be through different means from the old days when they directly controlled that region vs now when they intend to bully their neighbors what is important is both are unaccetable.

Schiffer: Many are saying though isnt policies such as enacting trade barriers with Russia couter productive towards that goal as that would only make them insular.

McCain: No because we made it clear the more they show from their actions they intent to work as a member of the global community more , stop bullying their neighbors as well as expand liberties for their citizens we will remove those barriers. In fact in each one of my orders, it is also said that they will be instantly ended when Russia shows they can do the above. I also understand that not all of it can be done immediately which is why we also have made it clear we would gradually remove the trade barriers as they gradually become a responsible player in the global community.

Schiffer: What about people who say the arm shipments to Ukraine and Georgia are taking too much of a provokive stance against the Russians

McCain: I disagree as what we have sent them are defensive weapons not offensive weapons meaning if those nations get invaded they can defend themselves not only from Russia but from other threats as well. We have made it clear though that these weapons are not to be used for offensive purposes so I do not think they are provokive.

Schiffer: Thank You for coming on, Mr.President

McCain: Any time

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxYtnM2_Bj4


Hillary Clinton bucks Progressives in Party by mostly backing President McCain Russia policy

Blitzer: Senator Clinton has gotten many heat from progressives in her party given the fact she has mostly backed the President's policies to Russia saying that Putin poses a potential threat to his neighbors and the US must address it. As you all know the President unsuccessfully has pushed to expell Russia from the G-8 but has succeeded in putting up trade barriers between Russia and the US and has provided arms to nations like Ukraine and Georgia. She claims that the latter isnt necceraily anti Russia but just providing smaller nations with tools of self defense when she voted for budget measures that did so.

On the other hand progressives like Senator Feingold have called for what he calls a Russian Reset in  which the US tries to reestablish relations with Russia and works with them to solve common problems while Trump has called for Russia to become our allies which is a comment that has gotten lots of critisms. Even Senator Kerry has called to work to get better relations with Russia saying that the President's hawkish stance has alienated much of our European Allies who we need to work on many issues such as terrorism and the environment together.

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Preview of the 2007 Gubernatorial Races:

Kentucky: Governor Ernie Fletcher(R) vs Businessman Bruce Lunford(D) - Likely Democratic Gain

Mississippi: Governor Haley Barbour(R) vs Attorney John Eaves(D)- Safe Republican Hold

Louisiana: Governor Kathleen Blanco(D) vs Representative David Vitter(R)- Tossup


Blitzer: With the gubernatorial elections for this year in 3 states up in less than a month lets look at the races. John so in Kentucky it looks like the Democrats are gonna pick it up

King: Yes Governor Fletcher is very unpopular and remember while Kentucky leans Republican at a federal level, it leans democratic at the state level so at this point Governor Fletcher is clearly the underdog. It is also why we are told that Democrats pushed Steve Beshear to challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the senate next year rather than the gubernatorial race this year.

Blitzer: What about Louisiana in which Representative Vitter was considered the favorite early on this year before his campaign was engulfed in scandal and while he was still able to make the runoff due to the scandal being released after the filing dealing now seems like a tossup

King: Yes Governor Blanco's approvals keep in mind dropped after a very mixed reaction from the public to her response from Katrina and then fell into negatives are many unsuccessful fights with the state legislature but the scandal by Mr.Vitter made it seem like shed win reelection but the polls have tightened up again due to attack ads by Mr.Vitter.

Blitzer: So what can we expect from the next few weeks

King: Really this campaign is shaping up to be one of the most negative gubernatorial campaigns in recent memory and all I can expect is the mudslinging and negative attacks to get worse and who wins really is any body's question.

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Stephen Colbert attacks cable news coverage of this election in interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos :



Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0fwkv9CNbY

Stepehanoplos: So Mr.Colbert, you have in recent weeks taken a more critical take on the cable news media , why is that

Colbert: Well the issue is here you have 3 major 24 hour news networks who instead of taking about the different issues facing our nation, or analyzing in detail the policies of all the candidates in this race we are getting more talk about the horserace over and over again. For example almost every day we get the same discussion of can senator Clinton be beaten for the nomination, or the rhetoric of Mr.Trump rather than the issues. Same is true on the Republican side where every day is who will win Senator Bush or Governor Giuliani rather than a real discussion of the issues

Stephanopoulos: What do you think can be done to fix that


Colbert: Well in my opinion it is by using this campaign to increase awareness of this problem and to encourage people to watch shows that actually talk about the issues. In my opinion one of the lessons I have learned while campaigning for president is how we have to really improve the civic involvement in this nation and the only we can do that is if we have truly an informed public.

In my opinion to do that we need to do 3 things: One have a media that truly informs us on the issues we face internationally, nationally and locally, Two improve civic education in our schools and three making it easier to vote.


Stephanopoulos: Thank You For coming on

Colbert: Any time George

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CNN: Election Night in America 2007:



Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/haRo8uLQNok/hqdefault.jpg

7:00:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rchmoqssrQw&t=0s

Blitzer: Good evening and welcome to CNN's coverage of the 2007 off year elections. While much of the polls closed in Kentucky an hour ago , the polls have fully just closed in the state and CNN can now project that the Democrat Bruce Lunford will defeat Governor Ernie Fletcher to become the next governor of Kentucky.



As you can see with around half the precincts in , Mr.Lunford currently holds a 57% to 43% lead and we at CNN believe that lead now is safe. So John why is that

King: Well its pretty simple if you compare the map from 4 years ago to today and you can see its far more blue all across the board. So really there really isnt one specific area Governor Fletcher did worse in as he pretty much did worse across the board which is why he is gonna lose by a pretty signifcant margin tonight.


Begala: Its not really surprising given how unpopular Governor Fletcher is but its nice to know that he no longer will be the governor of the great state of Kentucky. Keep in mind looking at the map that Governor Flethcer isnt winning those northern Cincanatti Suburban Counties that usually are heavily republican which shows you how badly he is doing.


8:00

Blitzer : The polls have just closed in Mississippi and we can now project that Governor Haley Barbour will be re-elected . This isn’t a surprise but another example of  how solidly Republican the state has become over the past two decade .




Crowley: Keep in mind Haley Barbour is also the man who many credit for creating the ground work for the eventual Republican successes in Mississippi during the late 70s and early 80s so its really a culminating of decades of hard work for him.

9:00:

Blitzer: The Polls have closed currently in Louisiana and at this time we can say that the race in Virginia is unsurprisingly way too early to call. So John what are some of the keys for both campaigns in this race

King: Well if you look at the map you can see 4 years ago Governor Blanco won the overwhelming amount of counties but in the big suburban Parishs New Orleans such as Jefferson Parish you can see now Senator Jindal won by over 25 points and generally did very well in the South Eastern part of the state which is also where the district Mr.Vitter represents is located. So he at the very least must keep those margins there , and the make pretty large inroads in the rural parts of the state to win.

Now Governor Blanco is more polarizing then she was 4 years ago so you can expect more counties of this map to be Republican but for her to win she must keep much of these rural counties in her camp and then also hope that suburban women who usually vote Republican in this state are turned off enough by Mr.Vitter's scandals in order for her to make inroads there and win.

Now the most important thing for both sides is how much they can turnout their base as keep in mind despite Senator Biden losing the state by 12 points in 2004 he still  got 100 thousand votes more than Governor Blanco did in her win in 2003. Really if any candidate reaches the Biden number
from 2004 they will likely win this race by near double digits so turnout is gonna be importnat

Blitzer: James you are from Lousiana so what do you think will happen

Carville: A Year ago I thought we almost certianly would lose this race but now I think that Governor Blanco will probably win. Keep in mind the last few polls show her leading by 2 to 3 points against Congressman Vitter and I think the fact is Democrats are probably more excited to vote than Republicans are so I think we will win.

Bennett: In my opinion I think this race is a pure tossup and really 2 to 3 points isnt much of a lead at all in the polls as its within the margin of error and in my opinion I think the failures for Governor Blanco in the past 2 years will cost her tonight. We will see though

Blitzer: Ok we will keep updating this race as time goes




10:00:

Blitzer: Around a third of the vote is in and currently Governor Blanco has so far a solid 6 point lead vs Representative Vitter. So John how are things looking

King: Well one area that could be a huge red flag for the Representive Vitter camp is that in Jefferson Parish a place that Senator Jindal won by 25 points 4 years ago is only going to him by around a 15 point margin and keep in mind these are where the votes are. Another red flag is in East Baton Rouge which was place Senator Jindal won 4 years is going to Governor Blanco by 5 points tonight . Add in the fact that in Orleans Parish Governor Blanco is getting over 70% currently , and really despite much of the inroads Mr. Vitter has made in Rural Lousiana Id say things look very bad for him.

Blitzer: James what do you think

Carville: Well I would say things look really really good for Governor Blanco right now and really if you look at the exits its clear she has won over some Republican women voters which is helping. Also Democratic turnout is much higher than Republican as you can see in the question when people are asked who did they vote for in 2004 and the President is only up 6. That shows that Republican turnout is low and I think it is a huge sign the national environment is in our favor.

Bennett: I would wait till all the results come in before we assess that but yes I agree that it doenst look good. Listen the fact is we nominated a flawed candidate and did not do a good job vetting him before he ran and that will probably cost us dearly tonight.

Carville: Well I think that is a sign of the national environment turning against you. You know longer have strong candidates willing to run as much as you did before and candidates who may have survived controversies and scandal before no longer are able to. Does this mean I think Democrats are gonna win in 2008, no but I think its clear we have the edge especially when it comes to the Senate when the map will benefit us greatly.

Bennett: Well we will see as the primaries have the ability to change the national environment in a a second

Carville: Yes I agree but I am saying if it is the same as it is today as nobody can predict how it will be like a year from now.



10:43:

King: Even though around half the vote is in the issue is the fact is it is clear that Represenative Vitter is not being able to hold the Bobby Jindal numbers from 4 years ago in the Republican areas of the state and isnt making major enough inroads elsewhere to win. I at this point cant really see how he manages to overcome this 7 point deficit. Ok Wolf Back to you

Blitzer: CNN has a major projection to make and that is we can project that Governor Kathleen Blanco will win a 2nd term for the position of Governor of Louisiana



King: Not a surprise


Carville: It is so relieving to know that the voters decided to reelect Governor Blanco who I think has done an admirable job in tough circumstances and a relief to know someone like Representative Vitter will not be the governor of my great state. Add in the fact the Tigers are the number 2 team in the nation and in my opinion the favorites to win the BCS Championship, it is clear that it is a good time to be a Louisiana Democrat

Bennett: Well I wouldnt be so overconfident about the Tigers yet given how many upsets have already happened this season. I mean if USC could lose to Stanford anything could happen in a season as crazy like this. Anyway I would say I think this night more or else reflects the fact we nominated bad candidates rather than anything with both Governor Fletcher who was very unpopular and Representative Vitter whose has horrible character.

Carville: Well Id like to end by saying that first a loss is a loss and second that I am confident we will win it all this year.


Blitzer: Alright thanks for joining CNN in our coverage of the 2007 off year elections as we send it back to normal programming

[OSR stands with Israel]

@OSR,
Should be Election Night 2007 not 2005 though!

Yes my bad , thanks for pointing that out

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I always get confused with your colors, I though Kentucky was a Republican pickup.

Otherwise, great work as usual. I'm still undecided about a favorite presidential candidate, though I lean towards Kerry.

I’m a fan of Atlas Colors and think they make more logical sense than RL colors given red usually stands for more socialistic/labor friendly polices so it makes sense for a center left party too have that color  while blue tends to stand for more of the law and order and more nationalistic so it makes sense for a center right party to have that color .

Now democrats aren’t really socialist like the Labour Party is  but they are definitely more so than the republicans and while republicans are more American exceptionalists than Nationalists here you can argue that it is still a different form of nationalism in a way .

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2008 Democratic Preview: Is Hillary Clinton still unbeatable?

Blitzer : With the Iowa caucuses just a 6 weeks away  , the primary season is getting into full swing so let’s take a look at how the race looks at as of this moment . So this currently is how the race looks for the democratic field

National Polls:

New York Senator Hillary Clinton: 29%
Businessman Donald Trump 21%
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold: 20%
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: 13%
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman 8%
Comedian Stephen Colbert 5%
North Carolina Senator John Edwards 4%

Candidates Who have Already Dropped Out: Chris Dodd, Wesley Clark

Top 3 candidates  from the first four states:

Iowa : Feingold 25% Clinton 23% Trump 22%
New Hampshire : Clinton 26% Trump 24% Kerry :20%
Nevada : Clinton: 28% Trump : 21% Feingold 18%
South Carolina : Clinton 67% (No one else at 15%)


Blitzer : So John how difficult will it be for Mr.Trump or Mr.Feingold to beat Mrs.Clinton for the nomination

King : It absolutely will not be easy and the most telling poll is that South Carolina poll where Senator Clinton is absolutely landsliding the field there and her core strategy from the start really has been to try and get that result all across the old solid south with the possible exception of Florida. Keep in mind that the south has a lot of delegates plus is relatively early in the calendar so it can provide lots of momentum for the other primaries too .

Blitzer : Why is it that she is so dominant in that region

King : Well the fact is the Clintons have spent 30 years building a loyal base among African Americans , Southern White Democrats that didn’t leave the party in the 1980s and breaking that is not gonna be easy at all which is why she is the frontrunner at the moment.


Republican Primary Preview:

Blitzer: Ok lets go over the Republican primary polls and you can see nationally both Governor Giuliani and Senator Bush pretty much are the clear frontrunners at the moment and are neck to neck with each other.

National Polls:

New York Governor Rudy Giuliani: 37%
Texas Senator George W Bush 35%
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 12%
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 8%
Congressman Ron Paul: 5%
Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson: 3%

Already Dropped Out: Duncan Hunter


Top 3 Candidates from the First 4 states:

Iowa: Bush 54% Huckabee 20% Giuliani 13%
New Hampshire: Giuliani 47% Bush 21% Romney 19%
South Carolina: Bush 38% Giuliani 26% Romney: 17%
Nevada: Bush 36% Giuliani 34% Romney 15%

Blitzer: So John does it look like it will be a two way race or can things change

King: Well as you know 6 weeks is a long time in politics and as you can see from those individual state polls Governor Huckabee is a solid 2nd in Iowa and Romney is close to 2nd in New Hampshire. That very well could could shake the race but yes right now it looks like it will be a two way race

Blitzer: So what is the strategy of both the Bush and Giuliani camp right now

King: Well the Bush camp's Plan A is to start things off by winning big in the first 3 of the 4 opening contests and then to use it to ride the momentum to win big Michigan and Florida . If he does that the nomination almost certainly would be his . So first and formest the Giuliani strategy is to basically slow down the Bush train in the first month which then will take the race into Super Tuesday.

On Super Tuesday as you know there will be 24 contests this year, 24 so it will be massive. Governor Giuliani is hoping to domiante these North East primaries and then add on that California where he currently has the endorsements of Governors Riordan and Wilson could make him the clear frontrunner. The issue though as you can see is all the Southern and the Mountain West Primaries up as well so really this nomination may at that point be similar to the nomination fight we saw between Senators Biden and Feingold 4 years ago and that is go all the way to the end in June.

Blitzer: Well anything can happen but we do know it will be a very exciting election season

King: Sure will be

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Breaking News : Tony Blair to step down as prime minster in Mid January



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJpp7BSKd54

Cooper: We have some breaking news to report to you and that is British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced he will be stepping down as prime minister of Great Britain in Mid January . With us now is Richard Quest who will explain more about the news

Quest: Yes ever since Prime Minster Blair made it clear all the way back in 2004 that he would not lead the party into a 4th general election many have wondered when exactly would he step down and really over the past many months it has been expected he would some time early next year.

Cooper: Who is expected to replace him as Prime Minister

Quest: Well right now the overwhelming favorite to become the next Prime Minister is Gordon Brown but the choice will be decided by the Labour Party in a leadership election that is expected to take place on the 11th of January. Keep in mind though that the deadline to officially be a candidate will be sometime during the first week of December and to be a candidate you need the endorsement of 12.5% of party MP's which in the president parliament is 48.

Cooper: So it is possible we will know the result of the leadership election by then

Quest: Yes if Gordon Brown is the only candidate to receive the endorsement of at least 48 Mps then he will be declared the leader of the Labour Party at a special conference a week later and in that case Mr.Blair has said he will step down as Prime Minster at the end of this year.

Cooper: So there are rumors that Mr.Brown will call an election soon after becoming Prime Minister

Question: Yes Mr.Brown has said if he becomes prime minister he will call for a snap election to take place in May of next year as he believes a new prime minister will also need to get a mandate from the general public in order to properly govern the nation.

Cooper:  We are now getting word President McCain is going to hold a short presser reacting to the news so we will head to Washington now


McCain: I just got off the phone with Prime Minister Blair to congratulate him on his incredible political career and wished him well in whatever his next stage in life will be . I also thanked him for his leadership during the War on Terror and thanked him for the support he has given us during the War on Terror and his work has truly made the special relationship between our nations even more special. It truly has been an honor working with him over the past 7 years on many international issues to make our world a better place and in doing so we have become lifelong friends as well.


Media Member 1: Have you spoken to Gordon Brown yet given he is expected to be the next Prime Minister

McCain: Well from what I have heard, the Labour party has a process to decide who their next leader will be and I do not thing it would be appropriate for me to given any congratulations until that process is complete.


Media Member 2: Are you surprised of the type of a relationship you had with a Labour Prime Minister given usually Labour is considered to be the Democratic Party counterpart of the UK

McCain: No, because I have very good relationships with many Democrats as well and have always had them so I am not at all surprised by that factor.

Media Member 3: Many people are expecting an election to be held in May of next year so do you think that the Conservatives have a chance to win that election and would you give them advice to do so.

McCain: Well I believe that any party has a chance to always win an election so we will have to see. My advice is the same advice I would give to any person interested in winning any election and that is to remember to always keep in touch with the people you are asking to represent and it is an advice I would give to whoever the next Leader of the Labour Party is,  advice I would give to Mr.Cameron and advice I would give to Mr. Clegg. I will not give more than that because that would be inappropriate for an American President to get involved that way. Thank You I will not take any more questions

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Canadian Conservative Party wins its first Majority in 19 years in December Snap Elections:



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Conservative_Party_of_Canada_logo_(2020).png

Conservative Party(Stephen Harper) : 157 Seats(+18)
Liberal Party(Stephen Dion): 69 Seats(-33)
Bloc Québécois(Gilles Duceppe): 46 Seats(-5)
New Democratic Party(Jack Layton): 37 Seats(+9)
Independents: 1 Seat

Result: Conservative Majority of 4

King: For the first time in 19 years the Conservatives in Canada have won themselves a majority and while the result of a conservative win was not a surprise , them getting a majority was. So David why did they get a majority

Frum: A lot of that was the fact is the Liberal Party for much of the election had what many said an uninspiring leader and along with vote splitting with the rising NDP party let the Conservatives get their majority.

King: So I heard that the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau ran so how did he do

Frum: His name was Justin Trudeau and he was defeated by his bloc party opponent in a narrow defeat marking another symbolic blow for the once dominant liberal party.

King: What does this mean in terms of foreign policy and US Canadian Relations

Frum: Well were are told the President was hoping for a result like this as keep in mind Prime Minister Harper wants Canada to take a more assertive role in world affairs and holds similar positions on foreign policy the President does. Now of course he wont be able to be as aggressive as the US due to the the fact he doesnt lead a nation anywhere near as powerful but still it is something the President looks out for.

King: Yes we are told that it not only helps move Canada more in a similar path as the US but also helps convince incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown to continue down the same path as Prime Minister Tony Blair as well. Thanks for coming on David

Frum: Anytime

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So for the primary changes here are some couple changes that will be made from OTL:


- Nevada and South Carolina both will take place before Michigan

- Michigan and Florida will have half their delegates stripped from the beginning rather than the controversy that occurred

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President McCain calls for MLB to make reforms to policy regarding performing enhancing drugs after release of Mitchell Report:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3EHr90pkew

Ravech: The report into the use of performing enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball by former Senator George Mitchell which has implicated more than 85 current and former players in using performing enchancing drugs has rocked the baseball world. Included in the list are players such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens who have long been suspected of steriod use but have denied such allegations.

The report also concluded that the MLB was slow to respond to use and the player union was generally uncooperative with the investigation as well . Basically it was an indictment of the entire MLB and believes serious action needs to be taken by the league to stop the use of such drugs. Joining us on Baseball Tonight is the President of the United States who has long been an MLB fan. So Mr. President what is your reaction to this report


McCain: Well has a fan of baseball and sports in general the first reaction is sadness knowing a game I have loved will have its reputation tainted by such use. I do also want to thank a former colleague  of mine Senator George Mitchell for the extensive work he did in making this report as it does in my opinion let us find a way to put the steroid Era behind us. Keep in mind all Senator Mitchell did was inform us of the problem that already existed and the first step to solving a problem is to be informed that it exists so I thank him for that

Ravech: Do you think players such listed in this report should be banned from the Hall of Fame

McCain: In my opinion that is for the Hall of Fame Committee to decide as they will have far more evidence to determine how much the use of these drugs impacted these player's performances more than I did. I do think in the future though their has to be more testing done as well as consequences given for players who test positive to deter future use.

Ravech: We have also been told that Commishnor Selig and executive director of the MLBPA have been called by the House Oversight committee to testify . What do you think they should be asked

McCain: Well my main belief is we need to get answers directly from the about this report so we can find out what more went wrong and how things can go better in the future. I have also talked to both of them and from what I got is they both truly believe that something has to be done, and are committed to ensuing something is done

Ravech: Thanks for coming on Mr.President and hope you come back

McCain: Anytime, and I look to coming on more after my term is up.

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Great timeline. A two-term McCain presidency in the 00s.

Thanks , I’m glad you like it

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Breaking News: Bush and Feingold win Iowa while Giuliani and Trump win New Hampshire


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fODzB_zdjZU

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2Obeu_VYY4

Blitzer: The First two primaries have been officially concluded and on the Republican side the results were no surprised with Senator Bush winning a landslide in Iowa and Governor Giuliani doing likewise in New Hampshire. It is in the Democratic Side though where the potential of an earthquake was heard with Senator Feingold winning in Iowa and most surprisingly of all Donald Trump managing to pull of a primary win. Now before we discuss more lets look at the results

Iowa Caucus:

Republicans:

Texas Senator George W Bush 52% 18 Delegates
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 16% 5 delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 12% 4 delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 8% 3 delegates
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 8% 3 delegates
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson 4% 1 Delegate


Democrats:

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold: 27% 12 Delegates
New York Senator Hillary Clinton: 25% 11 Delegates
Businessman Donald Trump: 24% 11 Delegates
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: 9% 4 delegates
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman 7% 3 delegates
North Carolina Senator John Edwards 5% 2 delegates
Comedian Stephen Colbert 3% 1 delegate



New Hampshire:

Republicans:

New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 48% 6 delegates
Texas Senator George W Bush 23% 3 delegates
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 20% 3 delegatges
Congressman Ron Paul 9%


Democrats:

Businessman Donald Trump: 29% 7 Delegates
New York Senator Hillary Clinton: 24% 6 Delegates]
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold: 21% 5 Delegates
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: 20% 4 delegates
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman 4%
Comedian Stephen Colbert 2%

Blitzer: So the Republican Primary Results were no surprise but it did force Governor Huckabee and Romney out of the race.

Borger: Yes it did as keep in mind the goals set by the campaigns of Governor Huckabee in Iowa was he must have gotten at least 20% of the vote to really remain a viable candidate moving forward and when he didnt hit that it was clear it was all over and the same was true for Governor Romney in New Hampshire when he failed to finish in the Top 2 there. That really forced both candidates out of the race and now you have a real two way race between George Bush and Rudy Giuliani with Ron Paul acting as the protest vote candidate . How it will end up well we will have to say

Blitzer: Ok moving on to the Democratic Primary, David How much were you surprised by the results

Gergen: I really am not surprised by Iowa given Senator Feingold won their 4 years ago and its a state that would favor him but New Hampshire is. I did not expect someone like Donald Trump to really come out and manage to win the primary and to his credit he did manage to win the primary which does shake things up a little. It does show that their is a strong current sense among parts of the electorate of a potential populist uprising and you saw that in both Iowa and New Hamsphire.

Blitzer: In your mind does this change Senator Clinton's frontrunner status

Gergen: No it is too early to say that as keep in mind polls always showed Senator Feingold and Mr.Trump within striking distance in each of these states . So the question now is Nevada which in my opinion becomes crucial as if Senator Clinton loses that it could create a sense among voters of is she really a strong candidate and cause her to collapse. On the other hand if she still wins in Nevada then in my opinion she remains the frontrunner in this race

King: I absolutely agree and with Senator Kerry dropping out and endorsing Senator Clinton will make it harder for either Senator Feingold or Mr. Trump to really repeat this with frequency.

Blitzer: Before we end our coverage lets look at the overall totals one last time

Republican Primary Totals so Far:




Texas Senator George W Bush 21 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 10 delegates
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 6 delegates
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 5 delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 3 delegates
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson 1 Delegates

Democratic Primary Totals So Far:



Businessman Donald Trump: 18 Delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold: 17 Delegates
New York Senator Hillary Clinton: 17 Delegates
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: 8 delegates
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman  3 delegates
North Carolina Senator John Edwards  2 delegates
Comedian Stephen Colbert 1 delegate

[OSR stands with Israel]

McCain vs Trump is the matchup I didn't know we needed, but we deserve

McCain though isn’t eligible to run for re-election since he’s already serve two terms

[OSR stands with Israel]

I would support Feingold now, especially to stop Trump.

Why not Hillary given it seems your views match your views more with Hillary than Feingold

[OSR stands with Israel]

Bush and Clinton win Nevada Caucuses and South Carolina Primary



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl-W3IXRTHU

Blitzer: Last Tuesday Senator Bush followed up what he called a thumpin in New Hampshire with a comfortable win in South Carolina and followed it up today with a win here in Nevada . On the democratic side , many of the pre election polls showed Mr. Trump closing in on Senator Clinton but a last minute effort by Senator Reid to mobilize voters helped Senator Clinton narrowly win that caucus . She managed to follow that up today with a landslide win in South Carolina where she was the only candidate at all to get above the 15% threshold meaning she got all 45 delegates there and as a result of it former Governor Don Sieglman also announced he will be dropping out of the race.

Ok now let’s show the results from each primary

Nevada Caucus:

Republicans:

Texas Senator George W Bush 48% 15 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 39% 12 Delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 12% 4 Delegates


Democrats:

New York Senator Hillary Clinton 36% 13 Delegates
Businessman Donald Trump 33% 12 Delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold 27% 10 Delegates
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman 4%


South Carolina Primary:

Republicans:

Texas Senator George W Bush 55% 22 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 39% 2 Delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 6%


Democrats:

New York Senator Hillary Clinton 67% 45 Delegates
Businessman Donald Trump 13%
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman 12%
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold 8%

Blitzer : So John  what do these results mean .

King : Going into this week many were commenting how we could see a long and protracted battle for the Republican nomination and see a potential major upset take place on the democratic side with either a progressive or populist uprising . Now given these results I will say Michigan more than ever will tell us if the primary can really last till Super Tuesday

Blitzer : why is that

King : Well the fact is Michigan is a primary that should be slightly unfavorable to Senators Bush and Clinton and if they end up winning that primary it will be very hard to see how they will not  be the nominees . Keep in mind they are already expected to win big in Florida and add Michigan on top of that and their lead could become insurmountable. Not only that but the fact is primaries are about momentum and given that Super Tuesday will take place just a week after those primaries and 22 states are up

Blitzer: James what do you think of these results

Carville: I think they are absolutely fantastic for Senator Clinton and again with all due respect to Mr.Trump and Senator Feingold the fact is the amount of work Senator Clinton has put in for decades in building her base and I dont think someone who just came into politics the past year and someone who is basically running the same campaign as he did 4 years ago but against a stronger candidate can overcome it. Is it possible, yes of course but I dont think its likely at all

Blitzer: Mary what do you think of the Republican race so far

Matalin: Well I think it is advantage Bush for sure and I agree if he wins Michigan it likely is all over but at this point I still have Governor Giuliani winning Michigan and from their a critical state on Super Tuesday on the Republican Side will be California where you have seen Governors Wilson and Riordan endorse Governor Giuliani while Governor Deukmejian has endorsed Senator Bush . So while yes as a supporter of George W Bush, I hope he wins , I wouldnt call him a strong favorite just yet.

Blitzer: All right lets now take a look at some of our national numbers

Republican Primary Totals:



Texas Senator George W Bush 58 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 24 delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 7 delegates
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 6 delegates
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 5 delegates
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson 1 Delegates

Democratic Primary Totals So Far:



New York Senator Hillary Clinton: 75 Delegates
Businessman Donald Trump: 30 Delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold: 27 Delegates
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: 8 delegates
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman  3 delegates
North Carolina Senator John Edwards  2 delegates
Comedian Stephen Colbert 1 delegate

[OSR stands with Israel]

So, how does Don Siegelman avoid getting his OTL fate in this timeline?

Well a lot of his OTL case had prosecutorial misconduct and wasnt their rumors it was poltically motivated in some ways. I dont think that would happen in a McCain justice Department

[OSR stands with Israel]

Excerpts from President McCain's 2008 state of the union address:



Souce: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/app/uploads/2019/02/RTX6LFXE-1024x683-e1549455385158.jpg

Speaker Boehner: Ladies and Gentleman , its my high honor to welcome to you , the President of the United States!!

McCain: Thank You Thank You. Speaker Boehner, Vice President Danforth, members of Congress , and my fellow Americans this will be my final time addressing this chamber giving the state of the union address as your President. 7 years ago when I first spoke to you I set upon what many people called an ambitious reform agenda and while not everything succeeded, I am pleased to know that many of the items did pass and that is thanks to your effort(Applause). I also want to take this moment to congratulate those who have won presidential primaries so far, wish you the best in what will hopefully be a constructive presidential contest(Applause). I still though have a year as President and look forward to making constructive progress in that last year(Applause).


The first thing is we must continue to grow our economy which is why I propose to congress that we pass a bill that will expand our investments in nuclear energy(Applause). With the emerging threat our world faces of global warming, many scientists and economists have proposed the best way to reduce fossil fuel emissions without harming our economy is by investing in nuclear energy. Now of course doing so will take time which is why in the short term I believe the solution we must pursue is expanding our usage of natural gas which according to many scientists is more environmentally friendly as well then coal and petroleum(Applause). Doing this will not only help us deal with the issue of global warming without harming our economy but also reduce our reliance on foreign oil as well which in turn will lower gas prices for ordinary Americans(Applause) .


We also must reform our regulatory reform to ensure that we can make sure small business don't keep having to deal with more and more regulations every year without undermining key oversight features as well(Applause). According to many economists if it wasnt for the federal reserve raising interest rates aggressively the past few years, we could have been faced with a much worse economic crises today but we must understand that while yes its good we avoided a major recession, a better solution would have been avoiding any sort of recession to begin with(Applause). Which is why congress should pass a bill that reduces the power of many regulatory agencies to issue certain types of regulations but also pass new rules themselves to ensure that economic bubbles dont get created in the future as their are only three things that it can result in: One the federal reserve having to raise rates which can cause a recession, another the federal reserve not raising rates which can cause an economic crash and the last them not raising rates and causing inflation to go up(Applause). So all what I am saying is that we need to reform our regulatory agencies so they can enforce the laws in a strict matter but not create any new ones(Applause).

Of course though the most important job of a President is to ensure our country remains safe and that will remain by number one priority over the next year(Applause). It is why I am in talks with the Prime Minister of Iraq to come to a status of forces agreement which will wind down our troops day to day involvement in Iraq but also which will ensure our troops can remain there to help protect Iraq from an potential invasion from their neighbors(Standing Ovation). Doing so will make sure we can protect democracy abroad while also making sure all our troops who sacrificed their lives in Iraq did not have their efforts go down in vain(Standing Ovation). Now of course we will not be able to completely wind down our day to day involvement in Iraq by the end of this year but it is my goal to have this treaty agreed and ratified by the end of this year so my successor does not have to deal with this issue(Applause). Thank You, May God Bless You, May God Bless our Troops and May God Bless America.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Trump and Giuliani win Michigan while Clinton and Bush win Florida:



Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/watching/rudy-giuliani-documentary.html

Blitzer: Tonight just a week from super Tuesday were primaries of two major states: Florida and Michigan and it was a split with Mr.Trump and Mr Giuliani winning in Michigan and Mr. Bush and Mrs.Clinton winning in Florida. We at CNN do want to apologize for a mistake we made earlier when we called Michigan for Senator Bush as we were wrong and now we are projecting that Governor Giuliani will indeed take the primary. Now lets look at some of the results


Michigan Primary:

Republicans:
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani  47% 16 Delegates
Texas Senator George W Bush 46% 14 Delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 7%

Democrats:
Businessman Donald Trump 36% 41.5 Delegates
New York Senator Hillary Clinton 33% 14 Delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold 31% 8.5 Delegates

Florida Primary:

Republicans:

Texas Senator George W Bush 55% 57 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 37%
Congressman Ron Paul 8%

Democrats:

New York Senator Hillary Clinton 58% 75.5 Delegates
Businessman Donald Trump 30% 17 Delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold 12%


Blitzer: So John can you for the viewers first explain why their are decimal points in the delegate allocation

King: Well the reason is simple and that is originally in Michigan for example there were gonna be 83 Delegates awarded by district and 45 to the state wide winner while in Florida it was 121 by district and 64 to the statewide winner and due to the fact both states held primaries before they were allowed, each delegate only gets half a vote so due to that you see decimal points.

Many in the Hillary camp were upset by this rule change cause while that did prevent them from losing bigger in Michigan that did also prevent them from winning even bigger in Florida which is a more delegate vote rich state .


Blitzer: So in your mind how does tonight shake up things on the primary side

King: Well On the Republican side I think the fact that all the networks got it wrong and called Michigan for Senator Bush only for it to be wrong could easily take away from the fact Senator Bush won a huge win in the winner take all Florida and sustain Governor Giuliani's campaign. Of course as we saw in the speeches Mr.Trump said he believed the Republicans were trying to rig the primary for Mr. Bush cause he said Fox made the first call and somehow the rest of us fell in line.

Blitzer: Let me just point out each network has their own method for calling a race and yes we concede we made a mistake in calling Michigan for Mr.Bush and their will be reforms made to how we call the races for now on so it doenst happen. Ok what about the Democratic Side

King: Well I will say Mr.Trump's win in Michigan means that at least this race will go on to Super Tuesday instead of being over tonight.

Blitzer: So James what do you think of these results

Carville: I am disappointed we did not win Michigan sure but the fact is the Solid South is holding strong for Senator Clinton and Florida was the southern state what most believed relatively the least favorable for her so Its still hard for me to see how she does not win this nomination.

Blitzer: Mary what about on the Republican side

Matalin: Listen I know the Rudy camp will make a big deal about the wrong Michigan call but the fact is Senator Bush won 55 more delegates tonight than Governor Giuliani and I think thats what will put him in the front seat on super tuesday. We will have to see as we will have important debates

Blitzer: Yes and that is The Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt Libraries will hold the debates for the Republican and Democratic Side. Both of them will be hosted by PBS with the Republican one being moderated this upcoming Friday by Gwen Ifill and Margaret Warner and the Democratic one being held this upcoming Friday and moderated by Judy Woodruff and Ray Suarez on Saturday. We are being told that PBS will be kind enough to let all the networks televise the debate so we will be televising the debates when they take place.

All right now lets look at the overall picture of the race


Republican Primary Totals:



Texas Senator George W Bush 129 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 40 delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 7 delegates
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 6 delegates
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 5 delegates
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson 1 Delegates

Democratic Primary Totals So Far:



New York Senator Hillary Clinton: 164.5 Delegates
Businessman Donald Trump: 88.5 Delegates
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold: 35.5 Delegates
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: 8 delegates
Former Alabama Governor Don Sieglman  3 delegates
North Carolina Senator John Edwards  2 delegates
Comedian Stephen Colbert 1 delegate

[OSR stands with Israel]

Summary of the Republican Debate:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMJ1wW-UBiA

Cooper: Now that that this crucial debate between Senator Bush and Governor Giuliani has finished we want to show you some highlights from this debate. Remember Congressman Paul did not qualify for the debate as he didnt meet the necessary 5% of delegate threshold needed to qualify for it.


Important Moment 1:

Ifell: A Top concern on many voters minds is the economy which just went through a recession the last year so if either of you are elected what would be your solution to ensure as fast as recovery as possible. Senator you go first

Bush: Well Gwenn the solution like former President Reagan proved is to putting more money in the hands of the people to let them spend it the way they like rather than putting more money in government hand worked. It is why I have proposed a 10% across the board tax cut and an expansion of the child tax credit to stimulate our economy as well as make it easier for small business to expand which in the end will grow our economy.

Giuliani: Well what we need first and foremost is tried and tested leadership to help our country through tough times and that is what both President Reagan and President McCain have shown every day and its thanks to their leadership economically under Reagan we got out of the worst economic ditch we had been facing since the depression and created the greatest boom in our history and won the cold war. It is why under President McCain we were able to quickly put an end to the economic slide we were facing last year and why we are also on the verge of winning the war on terror. Go back actually in history and look at other great leaders such as President Lincoln and his leadership which allowed us to win the civil war and abolish slavery, President Teddy Roosevelt whose leadership turned us into a world power and it is something I have too.

I inherited a New York in crises both from high crime which was resulting in many businesses leaving and was able to turn it around and make it once again the envy of the world. Now some people may say that what type of proposal is this and let me tell you when you are President something that is very important is making good appointments to the many federal agencies we have had , working with business leaders to convince them to expand more here in the US , with governors and mayors on joint programs and with world leaders to make good trade deals and that is what I will do as President.

President McCain with his leadership was able to ensure the recession wasnt bad as it otherwise would have been and now the next President needs to continue the work to make sure we can have a speedy recovery.

Bush: At the end of the day this is the biggest issue I have with the Governor and that is instead of bring up the policies he will pursue he makes it into a personality contest. The reason for that is the Governor knows that most Republican voters prefer me on policy to him so he has to make the debate about something else or he cant win.

Guiliani: Well the fact is that leadership skills arent just a personality trait but an essential for the job we are both pursing. In fact the criticism the Senator is making right here is very similar to the critics many people gave of his father , former President George HW Bush and I can tell you that he was a fantastic president. It was thanks to his great leadership the end of the cold war was handled as smoothly it was and keep in mind we started to get out of the early 1990s recession under the administration of George HW Bush and not Bill Clinton who got the credit.

Bush: The difference is my father had a strong policy agenda he ran on which is why he ended up winning our party's nomination in 1988 so I dont think there really is a good comparison between your candidacy and my father's.


Ifell: Moving on

Important Moment 2:

Warner: Many voters have pointed out that both you Governor Giuliani and Senator Bush agree on the issue of foreign policy and the war on terror so many are wanting to know where the both of you differ. You first Governor

Giluliani: Well I would also agree that when it comes to the War on Terror that both the senator and I agree but I would say what makes me better prepared to deal with this is the fact is I have had decades of experience in a fight against evil and as President my resolve to eradicate this evil of radical Islamic terrorism  does prepare me better compared to the Senator to be Commander in Chief.

I would say a key difference though is one the issue of our relationship with Europe as my opponent here as stated multiple times on the campaign time he believes we should take a more unlateral approach when it comes to foreign policy and while there are times where we need to the fact is we cant let key alliances be ignored and as President I cant ignore that.


Bush: Well the fact is I believe it is the job of the leader of the free world to lead by example and that is what I will do. I never said I would ignore our allies but also said that yes you may not want to join us in our mission but the fact is we need to lead for example. It is exactly what the President has done the past 7 years and what I will do as well and I believe it is very important for the US to lead with example.

If we waited for UN approval the fact is we would never have gotten it if we waited for the United Nations to authorize Iraq and guess what it is thanks to the fact the President ignored them that the people of Iraq today are free.

Giuliani: Well to me it depends on which area you are talking about because if its about the War on Terror I completely agree with the Senator but the fact is there are many issues we face in the world where we have to do it in a collaborative manner. For example if we are to get Russia and China to be responsible players on the world stage then that is something we can only do with our allies and the same is true for issues such as global warming and expanding our trade relationships.

Bush: Again the question is how are you gonna get Russia and China to be a responsible player and in my belief it is that we lead by example. We make it clear these are red lines we have and if they are crossed their will be consequences but if you become more of a responsible player there will be rewards. The fact is we cannot rely on the UN where both nations have a veto power to accomplish that mission or wait for the European Union to approve of certain measures cause by then the red lines may already been crossed and its too late.

Warner: Moving On


Important Moment 3:


Ifell: An important issue to many voters over the years have been the issue of energy . Many believe that the US is way to reliant on middle eastern oil, and believe that the drop in gas prices over the past year is just temporary and not a long term thing. So if either of you are elected president what would be your energy policy. Senator you first


Bush: Well the fact is we need to increase our production in all sorts of energy sources: from coal to petroleum to natural gas to nuclear and to do so I will one get rid of the regulations that prevent us from mining more , drilling more and building more plants. I will also work with our neighbors in Canada to build the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and also work with them to make both our nations energy independence.

The fact is we have the ability to be fully energy independent and keep prices low in the long term but to do that we must get rid of the regulations that hamper our ability to do so and that is exactly what I will do

Giuliani: I also agree that we need to increase our energy production above the board but we must also make sure that for example we invest in clean coal technology, carbon sequestration and also yes expand nuclear energy and increase biofuels and ethanol. The fact is we can help address Global Warming and our current energy problem at the same time which is why I like the President reject the premise we have to choose one or the other as we can do both.

What we cannot do is put arbitrary restrictions on our nation when other nations such as China and India continue to burn more and more fossil fuels. I also unlike my opponent will keep the President's environmental polices in place because they do not do that.

Ifell: Is that True Senator , that you would not keep President McCain environmental policies in place.

Bush: There are some like Cap and Trade which  I would ask congress to repeal as I do not think such a policy is good for our economy and while yes it may differ from the President, the fact is we both have issues we differ from the President as we aren't gonna agree every time.

Giuliani: Many experts on both side have said that the cap and trade program has not hurt the economy which Is why I would keep it

Ifell : Moving on


Important Moment 4:

Warner: When I asked many undecided voters which question they wanted to see ask , many believed the question of electability should be addresses with one voter saying that while we have had many debates finding out the policy differences between you two, none of that will matter if whoever the nominee is fails to retain the White House. So why is that each of you would be a better candidate for the Republicans to nominate if your party is to retain the White House. Governor you first

Giuliani: That is indeed a very important question as the fact is the both of us have far more similarities on the issues than differences and I will be glad to support the Senator if hes the nominee in the fall and I believe he would do the same as well. The reason I believe I am the better candidate is because of the fact that as Governor of New York and Mayor of New York City I have faced multiple sets of crises and have had a track record of not only dealing with them but helping make it less likely we face that crises again.

Also I believe that if we are the nominee we have a very good shot of keeping New Jersey Republican, win Pennsylvania and Michigan and potentially even make a run at New York. These are all major states and I believe I unlike my opponent give our party a better chance to win those states


Bush: Well the fact is I too have had a record of working with Republicans and Democrats as both a Governor and Senator to address core issues. Now the reason I believe I would be a better candidate is imply cause I have a more clear platform and vision and what the voters want to here first and foremost from the nominees is why is their proposed agenda better and I believe I can do that better. The fact is the American people agree with us on the core issue of keeping taxes low, having less regulation over our economy, having a strong America stand up to threats we face, and judges who interpret the constitution not according to politics but how it was written. When I make that case at the convention, at the debates, and through the fall campaign I am sure voters will choose to elect me over whoever the Democratic nominee is come November.

I also believe that we could win every state the President did 4 years ago and a better chance than the Governor where many hypothetical general election polls show him underperforming in the South and the Interior west and we just cannot afford to lose those places.

Giuliani: At the same time though their are many states such as Minnesota and New Jersey which I dont think my opponent could carry while I believe I still could carry all those states in the South and Interior West. Imo though the fact is I have proven over and over to be able to win in areas that are solidly democratic and I think that shows that I have the ability to win over many independents and even democratic voters to our side and I think I can do the same in November.

Bush : Mayoral and Governor races are not the same as presidential ones . I don’t think anyone thinks Governor Brad Henry would carry Oklahoma in a Presidential one and I highly doubt that you would be able to carry New York either and that’s what the polls show as well . Listen if you are our party’s nominee I will put in lots of effort  as well to make sure you win but I don’t think New York will be a state that you will carry

Giuliani : all I have to say is it is impossible if we don’t even try and I will try .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Summary of the Democratic Debate:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKdAYQFpDEA

Blitzer: As we wrap up our post game coverage of this very critical debate between the 3 remaining Democratic Candidates: Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump and Russ Feingold we want to show you some of the key moments of this debate.

Important Moment 1:

Woodruff: A Top concern for voters all across the country heading into Super Tuesday has been the economy. So what would your plans be to help speeden up the economic recovery in this nation. Senator Clinton you go first

Clinton: Well the first thing we need to do to help our economy grow is to pass a real stimulus plan which invests in our nation's infrastructure, in research and development and gives relief to people in this hard time. Doing that will allow consumer demand to go up to the necessary level it needs to see robust economic growth but we just cannot stop there as we also need to create an economy that works better for all Americans. It is why I will push for laws that will tie the minimum wage to the rate of inflation, demand equal pay for equal work laws and ensure that ordinary Americas are treated better in the workplace.

Trump: The fact is if we want our economy to do well in the long run again, we have to start winning on issues like trade again. For decades we have seen politicans of both parties make bad trade deals which has seen our factories here at home close while the rich and powerful benefited from shipping their jobs overseas. These policies were aided and abbetted by your Husband Hillary would signed one of the worst if not the worst trade deals ever in NAFTA which believe me we are gonna renegotiate cause it’s not working .

Your husband also allowed China into the WTO and since then it’s been nothing but  an absolute disaster for us . Millions of jobs have been shipped over seas and many of our great towns are dying because of your policies . The fact is they are a huge part of the reason why we no longer win on trade and If I’m elected president I would immediately change that by ripping up all these bad agreements and renegotiating them .


Clinton : I want people to remember while Mr.Trump is now trying to act like he is some progressive champion he spent the entire 1980s and most of the 1990s shilling for the failed Republican economic policies of that era that resulted in our jobs being shipped over seas . The fact is Donald actually went to the Republican convention in 1988 to endorse the Republican candidate for president who by the way was the sitting Vice President for Ronald Reagan the most right wing president in our lifetimes who Mr.Trump was a huge fan of through his entire presidency . So this idea that he is a progressive champion is a joke

Trump : Listen the fact is during the 1980s I was in business not politics and acted like good businessmen do . By the way If people remember I was not a fan of Reagan at all on trade either and thought he did a terrible job on it , and tell you what I will post on Facebook later today videos of me going after Reagan . What matters though is I won while you guys surrendered to the Republicans on everything

Woodruff: Senator Feingold

Feingold: Well my plan would be one to rebuild labor unions in this country. The fact is workers in thsi country do the best when unions are strongest and when workers do the best that means they will have more money to spend on the economy which in place will grow it. I also plan to implement a new new deal where we can get millions of Americans to work to help create the greatest infrastructure in the world , develop new technology and help us deal with the issue of global warming as well.

To pay for this yes I will repeal all of The President's tax cuts on corporate America and ask the wealthy to pay a little more in taxes so we can fund this program which will benefit our economy. Doing so will not be easy but I unlike my opponents have the most comphrensive plan to help working class Americans all across the country and that is what I will run on

Trump: The fact is you were in politics for a long time and failed so why should we trust failures like you

Feingold: I was only a freshman senator when our party lost the majority and since then the Republicans would never ever have let such an agenda even be debated let alone passed. That is why its imperative we not only win the white house but win both houses of congress this November as well.

Woodruff : Moving on

Important Moment 2:

Suarez : Another important issue to Democratic voters is the issue of healthcare. So if you are elected president what will each one of you do on this issue. Senator Feingold you first

Feingold: My answer is that we need to pass a single payer Medicare for all system to ensure all Americans regardless of income can have access to basic healthcare. A Single Payer system has been implemented in countries like the UK and Canada and its so popular that multiple conservative governments in those places over the decades have not dared touched it as its proven to work. Heck for American Seniors the healthcare system is also a single payer system and guess what it is the most popular program in our entire country so the fact is imo it is a must.

Doing so also will free up working people's pocketbook's more which will let them spend more on other stuff which will also stimulate the economy

Suarez: One follow up and that is will unions members who currently have better insurance be forced to give it up for single payer

Feingold: No they wont as my policy would be to offer basic healthcare coverage for all and let private or union insurance offer higher quality plans than what we offer but they will not be allowed to offer the same basic plan.

Clinton: My plan would number 1 allow every American to buy into the same healthcare plan we in congress get as we in congress should not be getting better healthcare than the public does. Number two we will require larger employees to cover their employees or pay into a fund that will make it easier to help Americans who cant afford healthcare to get it themselves

Number three we will expand Medicaid to cover more Americans and number four we will reduce the Medicare age too fifty five as doing so will cover Americans who are most likely to need healthcare today and then lower healthcare costs for everyone else given the overall risk level now has gone down. This is a plan I believe will cover every American in the country and I believe can pass as well.

Trump: The fact is Senator Clinton's plan does not guarantee healthcare for all Americans and is very similar to the plan they tried to pass in the 1990s and failed. As a businessman let me tell you that you do not win by following the same strategy that led you to lose before and that is exactly what you are doing. Senator Feingold plan again takes away choice from Americans as my belief is that the government yes should cover anyone who cannot afford healthcare but if people dont want it they should not be forced to buy healthcare.

Feingold: So what is your plan

Trump: My plan is simple, we will cover any Americans who wants to be covered under Medicare to be covered but if they dont want to then they can get private insurance. Second the main thing is you need to be willing to fight to get this passed and believe me I unlike my opponents love a fight. The fact is the Republicans will attempt to bully all of us the difference is I just cannot be bullied and that is why I will win on healthcare.

Clinton: There are differences between my plan today than there were in the 1990s and times have changed as well too. Today small business are far more in favor of supporting health insurance reform and my plan exempts them from these regulations.

Trump : Then your plan will leave many workers without healthcare which is unacceptable

Clinton : Again that is wrong as small business tax credits will be used to fund it

Suarez : Moving on

Important Moment 3:

Woodruff: Many international experts believe that Iran and Syria could be the next great challenge ik the Middle East . So if elected what would be your solution to deal with it , Mr. Trump you go first

Trump : it’s pretty simple and that is we need to make deals . I will tell the Iranians and Syrians that we can drop the sanctions if you sell us oil for cheap and stop funding terrorism. I will end this idiotic policy of wasting billions and billions of dollars in the Middle East for nothing and even ask the government of Iraq , if you want us to stay then pay us or else we will withdraw . The mission has long been accomplished and it is time we stop wasting billions of dollars defending other countries and in enforcing sanctions on other countries when we can make good deals with them

Clinton: Well my approach would be a trust but verify along with a stick and carrot approach . We will be willing to drop sanctions on Iran and Syria in exchange for them stopping funding  Terrorism and ending their nuclear programs . On the other hand if they don’t then the sanctions will be increased so the governments of both nations have choice , either work with the international community in this global war on terrorism and ending your nuclear program or face even more sanctions .

We will also keep strengthening our relations with Iraq as a strong power in the Middle East that is a democracy will incentive other nations in the region to make democratic reforms too .


Feingold: Well I think we need to sit down and be willing to talk to both nations about how we can lower tensions . Doing so will require us to make concessions but I believe doing that is a better solution then escalating tensions that can lead to war . The fact is In economic times like  this we need to spend our resources here at home and the only way we can do that is by de escalating tensions elsewhere .

I do not think the solution of either of my opponents is good though . Senator Clinton’s strategy will put them in a no win solution which only increases the chances of war and Mr.Trump’s position will break decades of well established norms worldwide .

Trump : All I have to say is times change and we have to adjust to the times and as a businessman I know if a business doendt adapt they die . I as president will make significant changes to our foreign policy but we need significant change to win again .

Clinton : Senator Feingold , how is what I’m saying gonna put  them in a wall . All we are asking them to do is to stop funding terrorism and stop their plans to get a nuclear weapon. That is completely a reasonable  deal and if they aren’t willing to accept even that then yes there should be some consequences to incentive them to do so.

Feingold : Well every decision you make on foreign policy will require some concessions, and yes while sometimes risking escalation is better then giving in but you have to admit that then senator Clinton . Also the fact is if we spend more against Iran and Syria we have less money here at home and I’m not willing to make that choice.

Woodruff: Moving  on

Important Moment 4:

Suarez : According to a poll of many undecided democrats , what they are mostly looking for is to know which candidate would give their party the best chance to take back the White House this November. So why would each of you be the most electable candidate the Democrats can nominate

Clinton: Ray, it is because I unlike my opponents on my stage have actually gone up against the entire republican machine , the entire conservative media landscape and survived their decades long onslaught against me. The fact is the Republican operatives are extremely ruthless and if it looks like they are on the verge of losing power, they will unleash their entire adrenal of attacks against you and it is important we nominate someone with the experience and temperament to deal with this. We cannot afford to nominate someone who loses personal control every time they are attacked cause that is exactly what the Republicans hope to see when they unleash their attacks and of course we have to make sure we can win moderates as well to take the White House.


I also believe I have the ability to compete in every region of the country: North East, The South, The Midwest and The West and that will also be critical in our party taking the White House.


Trump: Well the fact is I do nothing but win and am ready to fight as hard as it takes to win. Listen I know the Republicans will unleash everything against me but I am ready to go to battle agaisnt them and we will crush them in that head to head battle. Unlike the Clintons who in their time of the White House surrendered on all the issues from NAFTA to the Crime Bill to selling out on gay rights I will be ready to fight the Republicans on all these issues. I will not let George W Bush who wants to bring a Christian version of Sharia Law to this country set the agenda on these types of issues as I not only want to beat him but destroy all those absolutely horrible and evil ideas he represents.  With me our party will have a nominee who is willing to fight for working class Americans who have seen their jobs overseen, young people who havent had their voice heard, and gay Americans whose rights George W Bush seeks to destroy and we will win this election.

The fact is it is time for a change and I will deliver that message and yes we will truly take our country back.


Feingold: Well the reason is I have the clearest policy agenda of everyone on this stage. I am the only one who has a proposal that will expand healthcare to everyone , a plan that will invest more in our economy than any candidate, a plan to rebuild our unions to make the economy fair for working Americans again and a record of fighting for equal rights as well. The fact is Republicans yes will try to use their standard talking points of me being a tax and spend democrat who is weak on defense but I can tell you that when Americans get a clear choice of our parties agenda in the fall they will vote for us if we present them with that choice.

Listen we not only need to attack the Republicans on their policies like my two opponents on the stage can do but present a clear alternative as well to give the Americans the option to give us a chance to govern. Also Senator Clinton what you said implied about me not being able to appeal to moderates is just not true. I have a record of working across the isle on multiple issues , such as on campaign finance reform along with President McCain back when he was a Republican member of the senate and it eventually did pass.

Clinton: I too have a record of working across the isle to get important legislation passed such as CHIP. The fact is though Senator Feingold polls show you right now as the candidate who has the least appeal among moderate voters which is why I made the point I made and stand by it.


Feingold: Well thats cause at this stage we havent been able to take our platform and campaign against them so commonly held narratives are much stronger than they will be in the fall when the people get to see what we are all really oferring

Trump; The fact is both Senator Clinton and Senator Feingold have been in Washington for a long time and not accomplished much at all. It is an attack the Republicans will not be able to use on me cause I have been very successful in what I wanted to do

Clinton: Running a Government is not the same as running a Business as your main goal in running the government is not to make a profit but to help the people and I have the most experiance in doing that.

Trump: If we ran it like a business , we would make good deals which would let us have the money to spend on the economy

[OSR stands with Israel]

Bush Comes out as Big Winner on Super Tuesday Despite losing 3 biggest states up for grabs



Source: https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/photos/1_2.html

Blitzer: Despite losing the 3 biggest states up for grabs tonight, Senator Bush came out with a far bigger delegate lead at the end of tonight than he did entering tonight. So before we show you the results of each state lets go over the primary allocation rules first then we will go show you the results of each state

Primary Allocation Rules by State:

Winner Take All: AZ, CT, DE, MO, NJ, NY, UT, WV
Hybrid: AL, AR, CA, GA, OK, TN,
Proportional: AK, CO, IL, MA, MN, ND,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries#Super_Tuesday


Contests Won by George W Bush:

Alabama: Bush 66% 37 Delegates Giuliani 33% 8 Delegates
Alaska: Bush 55% 14 Delegates Giuliani 44% 12 Delegates
Arizona: Bush 58% 50 Delegates Giuliani 41%
Arkansas: Bush 64% 31 Delegates Giuliani 35%
Colorado: Bush 57% 25 Delegates Giuliani 42% 12 Delegates
Georgia: Bush 67% 69 Delegates Giuliani 32%
Missouri: Bush 60% 55 Delegates Giuliani 39%
Montana: Bush 53% 22 Delegates Giuliani 46%
North Dakota: Bush 56% 13 Delegates Giuliani 43% 3 Delegates
Oklahoma: Bush 72% 38 Delegates Giuliani 27%
Tennessee: Bush 62% 51 Delegates Giuliani 37% 1 Delegates
Utah: Bush 68% 33 Delegates Giuliani 31%
West Virginia: Bush 71% 18 Delegates Giuliani 28%


Contests won By Rudy Giuliani:

California: Giuliani 53% 116 Delegates Bush 46% 57 Delegates
Connecticut: Giuliani 61% 27 Delegates Bush 38%
Delaware: Giuliani 58% 15 Delegates Bush 41%
Illinois: Giuliani 54% 36 Delegates Bush 45% 31 Delegates
Massachusetts: Giuliani 67% 27 Delegates Bush 32% 13 Delegates
Minnesota: Giuliani 56% 21 Delegates Bush 43% 15 Delegates
New York: Giuliani 74% 98 Delegates Bush 25%
New Jersey: Giuliani 66% 49 Delegates Bush 33%

Blitzer: So Gloria what are your thoughts of tonight

Borger: Well the fact is that Senator Bush had a fantastic night in the South and the fact is his attacks on Governor Giuliani record on guns and abortion did hurt the Governor a lot down there which is a large part of why he was able to run up the totals down south. With this I think in my opinion it will take really a miracle for Governor Giuliani to really win.

Gergen: Yes I agree with Gloria here in that tonight was a huge win for Senator Bush but I will say that Governor Giuliani winning California does mean his campaign will survive the night. I can tell you all night tonight it looked like an utter catastrophe for the Governor but the fact that he managed to win California does soften the blow at least a little.

Bennett: My opinion is the primary is pretty much over and really Governor Giuliani winning California doesnt change much. He may go on for a week or two but I dont even think this campaign lasts for another month so at this point I expect Senator George W Bush to be our nominee and hopefully the 44th President of the United States.

Blitzer: Lets take a look now at the map and the overall delegate numbers



Texas Senator George W Bush 701 Delegates
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani 465 delegates
Congressman Ron Paul 7 delegates
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 6 delegates
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee 5 delegates
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson 1 Delegates

Blitzer: So John how much trouble is the Governor's campaign in at the moment.


King: The Fundamental problem for Governor Giuliani comes down to simple math as Senator Bush only needs 490 Delegates to win the nomination and if you divide that by the total number of delegates left which is 1,195 then Senator Bush only needs 41% of the remaining Delegates to win the nomination. Now it is very fair to say ok that is not impossible to overcome but keep in mind Texas is still left on the board and keep in mind they allocate Delegates by winner take all in Congressional district and winner take all state wide.

Now ok lets be fair to Governor Giuliani and give him say 5 districts which by the way is very generous , then in Texas at the very least you will have a situation where Senator Bush wins 122 Delegates and Governor Giuliani 15. Ok now once you take that into account then Senator Bush will only need 34.7% of the delegates from the remaining states not named Texas to be the nominee and its very very hard to map out any possible scenario where Governor Giuliani can be the nominee.


Blitzer: Ok thanks John for the analysis. We will take a short break and be back to analyze the Democratic Primary Results tonight.