October 2007 Archives
Argentina's first lady and president-elect senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner celebrates at her campaign headquarters in Buenos Aires, October 28, 2007. (Andres Stapff/Reuters)
Argentina elected its first woman president on Sunday!
From Reuters:
First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will become Argentina's first elected female president after taking victory in Sunday's election.
A center-leftist senator, she is expected to continue the policies of her husband, President Nestor Kirchner, who has overseen an economic boom following a deep crisis in 2001-02.
See also:
First lady claims victory in Argentina [AP]
Argentina's first lady crusies to victory [Reuters]
FACTBOX: Policies of Argentina's President Elect [Reuters]
Argentina's first lady wins top job [Reuters]
Elizabeth Edwards often has made the excuse that her husband, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, doesn't get as much media attention as rivals Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton because he's not black or a woman. "We can't make John black, we can't make him a woman," she said. [Mmm... no, but like Obama and Clinton, you could come up with better campaign strategies to get up in the polls, make your campaign more interesting and attract more media attention.]
The Washington Post examines whether John and Elizabeth Edwards are trying to appeal to people who may not want to vote for Barack Obama because he's African American or Hillary Clinton because she's a woman.
Obama Girl left a special message of encouragement for Barack Obama on the event page for his upcoming MySpace/MTV.com forum. MySpace and MTV.com will present A Presidential Dialogue with Barack Obama on Monday, October 29th (that's today) at 1:30 PM EST/10:30 AM PST. You can ask Obama questions and respond to his answers in real time.
When you visit the event page, scroll down (or just look below) to see Obama Girl's personal message for Barack. Michelle Obama's gonna stomp that girl one of these days.
obama-girl  |
Oct 28 2007 1:09 AMBarack...the vote : ) |
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Carla Babb, a journalism student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, wondered why John Edwards based his poverty focused presidential campaign in an affluent Chapel Hill neighborhood, rather than in a low income community that would better reflect his message about ending poverty. She videotaped interviews with Chapel Hill residents about the issue (they were split), and the video was later posted on the University's website and YouTube.
The video got few hits and went virtually unnoticed, until the Edwards campaign tried to get it taken off the web. Babb said, "I was completely shocked to get a phone call from the Edwards campaign saying that the story was straight from the Republican Party and that we needed to take it down." The campaign also threatened that leaving the video up would harm the Edwards' relationship with UNC (ie., no more alumni contributions from us, Tar Heels!). Both John and Elizabeth Edwards attended law school at the University.
See also:
Edwards campaign tried to stop student's TV story, professor says [AP]
Edwards tussles with UNC j-school [The News and Observer]
In an interview with Newsweek, Richard Land, a leading evangelical who serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said that evangelicals will support a third party candidate if Rudy Giuliani is the Republican presidential nominee. After putting George W. Bush in office twice, the Christian right refuses to support any candidate whose anticipated policies could diminish their power and influence in the Republican Party. Land had this to say about the matter, "... I have been in too many discussions over the last 15 years where evangelical leaders have said, 'The one thing we will never allow to happen is for the Republican Party to take us for granted the way the Democratic Party too often takes the African-American community for granted.'"
Hillary Clinton has earned the support of the majority of African American female voters, but she wants an even bigger piece of that pie. She sat down with Isabel Wilkerson of Essence, a magazine that targets African American women, for an interview published in the current issue (November 2007). Here are a few exerpts of what she had to say about her marriage and family:
On her marriage:
“I know the truth of my life and of my marriage, my relationship and partnership, my deep abiding friendship with my husband. It's been enormously supportive to me through most of my life. Now obviously we've had challenges as everybody in the world knows. “But I never doubted that it was a marriage worth investing in even in the midst of those challenges,” she says, “and I'm really happy that I made that decision. Again, not a decision for everybody. And I think it's so important for women to stand up for the right of women to make a decision that is best for them.”
On the most romantic thing her husband has done for her: She hesitates for longer than is comfortable, then she says, “Oh he's so romantic. He's always bringing me back things from his trips. He brought me a giant wooden giraffe from Africa. Oh, he bought me this watch,” she said, holding out her left wrist to show off a Chanel watch, its bracelet made of white cubes shaped like elegant dentures, if you can picture it. “I had dental surgery, and he said it reminded him of teeth.”
Outside of work, what her proudest moment is:
“Chelsea,” she says without hesitation.
Pick up Essence to read the entire interview.
(L-R) Ann Romney, Michelle Obama, Jeri Thompson, Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy McCain and Maria Shriver talk at the 2007 Women's Conference in Long Beach, CA.
California's First Lady Maria Shriver moderated a panel of potential presidential first ladies on Tuesday at the 2007 Women's Conference in Long Beach, CA. Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Edwards, Jeri Thompson, Ann Romney and Cindy McCain participated. They discussed their roles in developing policy and campaign strategy (basically, they went Stepford on us and denied they had any), as well as how they balance campaigning with managing a family. Judith Giuliani declined to participate, and potential First Laddie Bill Clinton was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict.
First Ladies Unite: Quotes ffrom A Candid Conversation [GlamScene]
Maria Shriver moderates panel of five wives of presidential candidates [USA Today]
'08 Wives talk candidly about their roles [CNN]
Wives of Candidates Compare Notes from Trail [The New York Times]
First Lady Laura Bush is touring the middle east to promote breast cancer awareness. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women in the United States and the middle east. Mrs. Bush, who has a history of breast cancer in her family, is expected to promote awareness in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan this week.
Just FYI (and you probably already know this), October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month here in the United States.
In photo above left, First Lady Laura Bush arrives in the United Arab Emirates. Photo from UAE photo agency.
Those who say African Americans base their voting decisions solely on race are totally wrong.
Hillary Clinton has widened her democratic primary lead over rival Barack Obama (who, we all know, happens to be African American), thanks to the support of African American registered democrats. A recent CNN poll shows that African Americans support Clinton over Obama 57% to 33%. Clinton takes a greater lead among African American women, who support her over Obama 68% to 25%. African American men are split betwen the two candidates, with 42% favoring Clinton and 46% favoring Obama.
Clinton has also secured the endorsements of two prominent African American congressmen , Rep. Charles Rangel and Rep. John Lewis.
For Yankees fans:
Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre
"Joe Torre is a NY legend who will be missed by legions of Yankees fans. His legacy is not just the 4 World Series titles won during his tenure, but his classy leadership and charitable work as well."
Here is Torre's bio from Wikipedia:
Joseph Paul Torre (born July 18, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired Major League Baseball player and former manager. He played for the Milwaukee Braves/Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Mets. He managed the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, and New York Yankees. It was as manager of the Yankees, however, that he achieved his greatest success. In the years that he led the team, from 1996 to 2007, the Yankees went to the playoffs each year and won ten Eastern Division titles, six American League pennants, and four World Series titles.
Senior Editor at The New Republic, Michelle Cottle, wrote an article profiling Jeri Thompson, wife of GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson. Jeri gets a lot of attention in the press for being attractive, blonde, and 24 years younger than her husband. Cottle portrays Jeri as a woman who always has a strategy (and the ability to execute it) to get what she wants, whether that be a man, a job, a hot handbag or a fly shoe. Ain't nothing wrong with that. 
Cottle also offers a peek into the more "soap opera like" aspects of the Thompsons' life together, such as Fred's womanizing, Jeri's public battles with his other girlfriends in the gossip columns, Jeri's financial difficulties, and Jeri's past either living with or being married to (no one is sure) another man.
Drama.
One woman isn't enough for Sen. John McCain! Wife Cindy McCain, mom Roberta McCain and daughter Meghan McCain all have his back on the campaign trail. The New York Times reports.
And just FYI, Meghan and her girlfriends are keping a blog diary of their campaign adventures.
Still pressed for a Halloween costume? Why not be a U.S. Senator? Download and wear the Sen. Larry Craig paper bag mask, and you are sure to be the scariest at any Holloween party.
The Draft Katherine Harris for president campaign is on! Folks who want "a real Republican" to represent them, should check out the new website DraftKatherineHarris.com.
Harris best is known for her role in the Gore-Bush ballot dispute during the 2000 presidential election. She is also known for calling potential voters and implying that her rival in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate might have killed one of his interns.
So what are her chances of winning a presidential election, or any election for that matter? Hmmm. She could beat Britney Spears in a "Biggest Trainwreck" contest. But as for her being elected to political office again, we're more likely to hear of little devils snowboarding in hell.
Sen. Barack Obama was on The Tonight Show on Wednesday to talk about his campaign and the news of the day. When asked by Jay Leno about his cousin Dick Cheney, Barack said that he's "okay" with being Cheney's cousin but doesn't "want to get invited to the family hunting party." He also shared that his youngest daughter tried to give Cheney five "to get him accustomed to, you know, his peeps." Those who missed the show, watch below.
We meant to post this a couple of days ago, but uh, we forgot. Whatever. Here it is now.
A Norwegian "news" show managed piss off a New Yawker. (Never a good idea.)
When Republican New York City Councilmember James Oddo sat down with a Norwegian news reporter comedienne posing as a Norwegian news reporter, he did not expect to be asked questions about topics such as Hillary Clinton's relationship with cigars.
When asked the inappropriate questions, to put it mildly, he went off. By off, we mean he said the F word 16 times in 47 seconds and threatened to "beat the f*cking sh*t" out of the "news" staff.
Do. Not. F*ck. With. James. Oddo. (unless you want to get the f*cking sh*t beat out of you).
Democratic Presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. talks on a cell phone upon her arrival at a Presidential Health Care Forum, sponsored by Families USA and the Federation of American Hospitals, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster, said that 24% of Republican women could support Clinton over Barack Obama because of "the emotional element of potentially having the first woman nominee." The Obama camp disagrees.
See:
Pollster: GOP women will support Clinton [AP]
The Republican presidential candidates are divided over their beliefs about what should be done to combat global warming. Global warming became a hot campaign issue after former Vice President Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to raise awareness about the issue.
See also:
Global Warming Starts to Divide G.O.P. Contenders [New York Times]
Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert is expected to resign soon, rather than complete his 15 month term. From the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert will resign soon rather than complete his term 15 months from now, ending a 21-year career in Congress, Republican aides said Thursday.
The Illinois Republican had announced in August he would not seek re-election in 2008, but said he planned to finish his current term, which ends in January 2009. Republican aides, speaking on background only because Hastert had not yet publicly announced his new plans, said he now intends to leave office late this year or early next year.
Hastert's resignation would trigger a special election, probably in early 2008, in his Chicago-area district that includes Aurora and Elgin. Republicans hope to hold the seat ahead of the November 2008 election, which some fear will draw large numbers of Democratic voters unhappy with President Bush and the Iraq war.
Hastert, 65, was the longest-serving Republican speaker in history. He took the post in January 1999 after two better-known party members were forced aside by scandals and intraparty rivalries.
When Republicans lost control of the House in the 2006 elections, Hastert lost the speakership, and his retirement plans did not surprise colleagues.
Hastert's office did not respond to press calls early Thursday.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
According to USA Today, Sen. Sam Brownback (Who?) is expected to drop out of the presidential race tomorrow. Brownback was running as a conservative Republican and tried unsuccessfully gain the support of the Christian right (Wait! Was he in a movie? Brownback Mountain or something?). He is dropping out of the race, because he was unable to raise enough money (Well, duh. Nobody knows who he is.). Brownback represents Kansas in the U.S. Senate.
Hearing about all of the festivities celebrating the U.S. Navy's 232nd birthday led us to do a little navy inspired shopping. Why not? We like blue.
And oh! Look what we found! The Uptown Patent Bag by Yves Saint Laurent. And by patent, we mean gorgeous navy patent! How cool is that?
We love the polished look of the navy patent against the gold tone frame and hardware. Do we love the $1,895.00 price tag? Not so much... but we could be convinced.
The Navy may be tough, but this bag is fierce!!
On a more serious note, we want to send a shoutout to all the polichicks in the Navy and other branches of our military. They bust their humps, risk their lives and miss their families every single day for our national security. And we can't thank them enough.
Family portrait? Vice President Dick Cheney poses with his cousins, the Obamas. Reuters Photo.
Lynne Cheney told MSNBC today that she discovered that her husband, Dick Cheney, and Barack Obama are 8th cousins.
No more Mr. Nice Guy!
Barack Obama has pulled out the boxing gloves against rival Hillary Clinton. Here's an excerpt from a fundraising letter that his campaign just emailed under the heading "Hillary's Money."
We continue to build the largest grassroots movement in history, but Washington lobbyists and special interests rallied to help Hillary Clinton out-raise us for the first time.
If we want real change in this country, then we need to prove that together we are stronger than the lobbyist-driven money machine that has dominated Washington for too long....
Hillary Clinton aggressively seeks money from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. She's even said that these lobbyists represent real Americans.
She's wrong.
I think it's time to turn the page on that kind of politics, and that's why I have not accepted a dime from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs in this race. We rely on a network of more than 350,000 ordinary people to make us competitive -- more supporters than all the other Democratic candidates combined.
Washington lobbyists have chosen their candidate and are determined to provide her with an overwhelming advantage.
We have some sad news, polichicks. Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes was mugged Sunday in New York City while walking her dog Simon. The assailants beat her up badly and knocked out several of her teeth.
Randi was not wearing jewelry or carrying a purse at the time of the attack, so there is speculation that Randi was not mugged, but was the victim of a "hate crime" because of her liberal views.
We polichicks, red and blue, all wish Randi a full and speedy recovery. Hang in there, girl!
Sen. Larry Craig. AP Photo.
In an interview with Matt Lauer, Sen. Larry Craig called out frienemy Gov. Mitt Romney (MA) for not supporting him after he was arrested in a public men's room for soliciting sex from an undercover cop. Sen. Craig had served as Senate liason for Romney's presidential campaign, but he resigned when the news of his sex scandal broke. At that time, Romney said that he was disappointed in Craig's "disgusting" behavior.
"I was very proud of my association with Mitt Romney," Craig told Lauer. "... And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again."
Hmm. We beg to differ. We would say that Romney threw Craig under his campaign bus, backed up, ran over him again, hopped out of the bus to check to see if Craig was really dead, got in a few licks while Craig lay flattened on the ground, then backed up his bus again a few times just to make extra sure that Craig was super dead.
Alas, Romney's efforts failed, and Craig lived to file an appeal today to overturn a judge's refusal to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea in the case. And, of course, bring about even more negative publicity to the Republican party by doing an interview with Matt Lauer about the scandal, which will air Tueday night on Matt Lauer Reports and Wednesday morning on Today.
BFFs La-Toria Haven and Meghan McCain campaign for Meghan's dad, Sen. John McCain. Photo from McCainBlogette.com.
Amidst all the hoopla about Al Gore's Noble Peace Prize win for his work to spread awareness about global warning, La-Toria Haven, BFF to Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan, wants to make sure that Sen. McCain gets a piece of that action. She highlights Sen. McCain's record on environmental advocacy and links to Republicans for Environmental Protection in her blog entry today at McCainBlogette. McCainBlogette follows the adventures of Meghan McCain and her friends on the campaign trail. Those of you polichicks who wear red dresses with your stilettos, check it out.
With all the excitement about Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize, wouldn't it be nice to catch up on some history about the Nobel Prize? Below is a biographical summary of Alfred Nobel, the wealthy Scandinavian inventor and entrepreneur for whom the prize is named. The actual text of his will that established the then controversial prize follows his biography. All text and photographs were taken from the official website for the Nobel Prize.
Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 21, 1833. His family was descended from Olof Rudbeck, the best-known technical genius in Sweden in the 17th century, an era in which Sweden was a great power in northern Europe. Nobel was fluent in several languages, and wrote poetry and drama. Nobel was also very interested in social and peace-related issues, and held views that were considered radical during his time.
Nobel received his first patent at age 30. Ten years later, he would establish factories in several countries and was the first person in the world to create an international holding company. The inventor of dynamite held 355 patents in several countries. As an entrepreneur, Nobel was unbeatable in his time.
On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris. When it was opened and read after his death, the will caused a lot of controversy both in Sweden and internationally, as Nobel had left much of his wealth for the establishment of a prize! His family opposed the establishment of the Nobel Prize, and the prize awarders he named refused to do what he had requested in his will. It was five years before the first Nobel Prize could be awarded in 1901.
Photo from BarackObama.com
Barack Obama is Christian. An untraceable email campaign, however, has sought to turn voters with anti-Muslim attitudes away from Obama by spreading the lie that he is Muslim. So not cool.
Politico published excerpts from the untruthful emails:
“Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background,” warns an e-mail titled “Who Is Barack Obama,” that was circulating in South Carolina political circles this summer and sent to Politico by a South Carolina Democrat.
“The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the U.S. from the inside out; what better way to start than at the highest level?”
“Please forward to everyone you know,” it ended.
The other widely forwarded e-mail is titled “Can a good Muslim become a good American” and answers that question in the negative, before concluding: “And Barack Hussein Obama, a Muslim, wants to be our president!!!”
Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize today for their efforts to spread awareness about global warming. Some people just collect stamps, but Gore's hobby is his award collection which now includes a Nobel Peace Prize, an Emmy and an Oscar. He hopes to score a SuperBowl Ring next.
Gore's winning record already has supporters hoping that he'll ride his lucky streak straight to The White House.
See also:
Nobel Prize likely to increase pressure on Gore to run [CNN]
Al Gore's win sparks presidential calls [Telegraph (UK publication)]
We didn't think we dissed Jeri Thompson, but for some reason, the girl who sweats her did. Whatever.
Hillary. Nekked.
Barack. Butt nekked.
Fred Thompson. Red nekked.
Rudy. Not Nekked?! [Utter shock followed by a long, pensive pause.] Uh, okay.... Rudy. Wearing a hell of a lot more clothes than he usually does.
Here's the cover of Radar Magazine's new politics issue:
Polichicks, no on likes to hear news like this...
From the Associated Press:
BAGHDAD - A U.S. attack killed 19 insurgents and 15 civilians, including nine children [and 6 women], northwest of the capital Thursday — one of the heaviest civilian death tolls in an American operation in recent months. The military said it was targeting senior leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Read the whole article here.
Viva La Cure! Sport this fun and foxy Juicy Couture tee to remind everyone you know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
With more than 217,440 individuals diagnosed with breast cancer each year, it is extremely important that we continue to raise money and awareness. So call a couple of friends and participate in some National Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities together. And while you're at it, you might as well remind your congressional representatives to support efforts to find a cure.
Viva La Cure!
This entry was posted in memory of Rep. Jo Ann Davis and in support of Elizabeth Edwards.
Nothing says power chick quite like the prominent display of these silver-plated handcuffs encrusted with Swarovsky crystal on your desk. They're just a paperweight, but if they were real, you wouldn't hesitate to use them on a worthy opponent. Political frienemy, don't sleep.
Hey Polichicks!
Forgive us for not posting pictures for the past day or so. Our internet is working at a glacier's speed (as are the IT guys who are allegedly going to fix it), so posting photos is a little impossible now. But we promise to do so as soon as we can.
In the meantime, there are plenty of photos in the archives. Enjoy!
xoxo
Overheard at PolichicksOnline.com:
Kari: So who's hotter, Fred Thompson's wife or Dennis Kucinich's wife?
Jason: Fred Thompson's wife is hot for a politician, but you're gonna put her up against a six foot redhead with a tongue ring? And an accent? Come on now.
A motorcyclist hit a van carrying Michelle Obama this morning. Obama and staffers are okay, and it appears that the motorcyclist will also be okay.
See also:
Michelle Obama in Iowa Accident [The Washington Post]