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'08 Reading Tip: Every Other Page
Tweet Share on Facebook January 14, 2007 Comment (3)It's not just the rubber chicken platters at fundraisers and the negative ads that make running for president so tough. Declared Democrat Tom Vilsack, the ex-Iowa guv, says it's also hard to keep up with the needed reading, especially of the books supporters shove into his arms at political events. So to handle that he's testing out speed-reading techniques. Vilsack tells us that he's "collecting strategies for how you read these books." Like? "Well, there is the strategy that is articulated by one person that you read the first chapter and the last chapter. The strategy that some have articulated is you read the first sentence of each paragraph, every other page." Whichever one he settles on: "I will try to read as much as I possibly can of scholarly works that give me a sense of what people are thinking."
With Angie C. Marek
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Out Loud
Tweet Share on Facebook January 14, 2007 Comment"He was pro-choice; he's anti-choice; he's multiple choice."
Sen. Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, poking fun at former Bay State governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's position on abortion"There goes the heartland."
Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican and presidential hopeful, joking about his coin toss at the national college football championship that gave Florida the ball in a game where the Gators beat Ohio State"My Fox guys, I love every single one of them."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, overheard talking about the Fox News Channel correspondents who cover her"It's about keeping the testosterone lower when you're going down the highway and showing off your big buck."
Rep. Duane DeKrey, a state lawmaker in North Dakota, on his failed bid to force hunters to cover their kill with a tarp when driving it homeSources: MSNBC (2), Reuters, AP
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Cartoon
Tweet Share on Facebook January 14, 2007 Comment -
An Old Warhorse on the Auction Block
Tweet Share on Facebook January 14, 2007 CommentWolf Blitzer will be on location January 20, but this time he won't be gathering news. His target: moolah, and lots of it. We hear that he'll be on hand in Scottsdale, Ariz., to help auction off the CNN wartime Hummer dubbed "Warrior One" at the famed Barrett-Jackson auction. The 1993 H1 is a beaut: After its Baghdad duty, it was totally redone by TV's Overhaulin' crew. The winnings will be given to Fisher House, which provides lodging to families of injured military personnel. How much will it go for? "Hopefully, lots," says a CNN spokeswoman.
With Angie C. Marek
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How to Meet a 2008 Long Shot
Tweet Share on Facebook January 11, 2007 Comment
It's getting to be that time of the political season again, when long-shot presidential hopefuls try out those "meetups" to test their popularity and spread the word of their budding campaign. First up: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, often talked about as a likely vice presidential choice but who has White House aspirations of his own. We hear that a group of supporters called America For Richardson is hosting meetups February 6 to boost the hype around Richardson, who just nailed a cease-fire in Darfur.
"He's making our job easy for us," says Richardson booster Jeff Gulko, who worked for Richardson when he was a Clinton-era big shot, first as energy secretary and then as ambassador to the United Nations.
But if you want to see where your regional meetup is, don't first go to the http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup site. That's because most of the 25 Richardson groups already organized are using the free meetup service from Zanby.com. Gulko says he hopes Zanby works, but if it doesn't, he thinks most of the groups will switch over to the official Meetup site, which requires a small fee.
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An Old Way of Thinking
Tweet Share on Facebook January 8, 2007 CommentAdd the new chairman of the Senate GOP caucus, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, to the list of Republican lawmakers who think that a 1994-style Contract With America method of political messaging is better than the slash-and-burn midterm 2006 election approach.
You see, Kyl has the job of message making, and he's out promoting this novel approach: Give voters a reason to vote for the GOP. It's part of the new PowerPoint presentation he's showing members and top staffers. The thrust is seen in the chart above.
The theme: Present positive solutions. The unstated challenge: How does the GOP make its message heard over the roar of the Democrats, now in the majority. Maybe that's why he hired longtime GOP communications pro Ron Bonjean (Rep. J. C. Watts, Sen. Trent Lott, Commerce Department, Speaker Dennis Hastert)to run the show as chief of staff of the caucus.
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'Passing the Bong' to Remake Politics
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2007 Comment
He is, we think, speaking figuratively when describing late-night "pass the bong" conversations with fellow former Washington Post reporter Jim VandeHei about building a new political journalism model on the Internet. But as Editor-in-Chief John Harris gets ready to debut a thrice-weekly paper and website called the Politico, he concedes that he, Executive Editor VandeHei, and the Allbritton Communications team aim to "provide a needle in the vein" to those hooked on politics, starting January 23. "We're political junkies," says Harris, a former Post editor and reporter, "and we're writing for political junkies." News sources are eager for change, too: Bush political adviser Karl Rove has even talked up the Politico to allies.Leave the Post for the Web? They're not crazy, says former Minneapolis Star Tribune Editor Tim McGuire. Considering the mass layoffs at fading newspapers, he says, "this is a sanity test, and they are passing." The money is good, rumored at $250,000 for the two top editors and generous for the small staff of big names. But Harris says it's more than cash: The industry is changing, and now's the time to pounce since readers are more in tune with the Web. He and VandeHei are maybe on to something. Since raiding other publications for staff, competitors like the Post have stepped up Web operations and hiring. "We've shaken everybody by the lapels," says Harris.
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Is the 'Governator' a 'Senatenator'?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2007 CommentThere's growing buzz in Washington and California that just re-elected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger likes this government stuff so much that he's got his eye on the Senate. Specifically, the seat held by Sen. Barbara Boxer, who's up for re-election in 2010 when the Terminator ends his second term.
With Kevin Whitelaw and Kenneth T. Walsh
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The Speaker Gets the Symbolism
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2007 CommentAs the first-ever woman speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi understands the importance of symbols. And she was full of her trademark touches of style and substance last week as she took the gavel. Three examples: First, she's on a personal enviro-kick, asking her security detail to drive suvs that run on E20, a mix of 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent gas, insiders tell us. While E10 is more common, E20 is a long-term goal, but associates say she wants to speed up the shift and to lead by example. Despite her victory, it is a compromise: She initially asked for a hybrid Chevy Suburban. Second, that wasn't Lenten purple Pelosi wore the day she was sworn in. It was the color of the original suffragettes. And finally, as simply a nice act, she gave ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert one of those coveted secret "hideaways" in the Capitol to use as his retreat.
With Kevin Whitelaw and Kenneth T. Walsh
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The Collapse of the CIA's 'Berlin Wall'
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2007 CommentWith the nation's spy agencies in full reform mode, the cia has finally torn down its own version of the Berlin Wall. For years, its 24-hour operations center had a wall running down the middle, separating the agency's analysts from its ultrasecret clandestine spooks. Not only did cia Director Gen. Michael Hayden remove the wall, but he invited in representatives from other intel agencies. The move kicks off a new four-year strategic plan for the cia.
With Kevin Whitelaw and Kenneth T. Walsh
