The global conference in Bali on climate change got bogged down
in some predictable ways.
** NOTE: At the end of the week, NWN goes on a reduced holiday publishing schedule. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some columns and updates and videos; just not nearly so many. The Forum will of course be open. The relative break is coming sooner rather than later because of the frankly insane presidential campaign schedule, which sees Iowa and New Hampshire within a week of New Year’s Day. For some perspective, when I did first-in-the-nation Iowa for Gary Hart, it was on February 20th. Two days after Christmas, NWN throttles back up full bore through the February 5th presidential primaries in California and elsewhere.
** “CREATIONISM” IN CALIFORNIA. A top Republican operative, who is no friend to Mike Huckabee, says that several recent focus groups of California Republican primary voters — the Republicans have, um, thoughtfully, prohibited independents from participating in their early February 5th presidential primary — show a majority in favor of teaching “creationism” in the schools. This, in the world’s leading high tech state. I’m so glad I ran the California Legislature’s Sci/Tech committee back in the ’80s. Yet another of my triumphs.
** BILLY SHAHEEN. Now an ex-national co-chair of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign, after his drive-by on Barack Obama’s youthful drug use — chronicled as a cautionary tale for America’s youth in Obama’s autobiography — and husband of former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen. Who is an old colleague of mine from the Gary Hart for President days. Too depressing to deal with, at the moment, as we head into the Christmas season.
But I certainly haven’t forgotten about it. And will be getting to it shortly.
** SIGNIFICANT IOWA LEADS FOR OBAMA AND HUCKABEE. In a new poll for the Quad City Times, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee hold significant leads in the Democratic and Republican presidential races in first-in-the-nation Iowa.
On the Democratic side, it’s Obama 33%, John Edwards 24%, Hillary Clinton 24%, and Bill Richardson 9%.
On the Republican side, it’s Huckabee 31%, Mitt Romney 22%, Fred Thompson 9%, and Rudy Giuliani 9%.
** CHECK OUT THE CLUELESS HYPE. Here is how the rather clueless conventional media — okay, it’s the LA Times 
— hypes the Ed Rollins appointment for Huckabee. “He’s a legend, architect of Reagan’s victory,” blah blah. The architect of Ronald Reagan is Ronald Reagan, with a major assist from Nancy Reagan. Period.
Part of what is going on is that the conventional media has no idea of who is behind Huckabee’s surge. That’s not a problem here at NWN.
NOTE: Incidentally, I published this item around 3 PM or 3:30 PM on Friday afternoon. I see that the LA Times site has a 6:40 PM time stamp on its kissy-poo item on Rollins. Alternate universe, perhaps, like the Times polling in the 2003 California recall …
** RUDY REBOOTS IN MIDST OF HUCK SURGE. Ostensible Republican presidential frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, recently matched in national polls by Mike Huckabee and trailing in the early states, is now behind in Florida, the late January contest always seen by his campaign as the beginning of his big state surge toward the nomination.
Tomorrow in Tampa, Florida, Giuliani will try to turn the tide with a major address laying out his governing vision for America. What will he say? I don’t know. The terrorism/national security/Iranian threat has been his hole card. But last week’s US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear weapons program has neutralized a lot of that message.
** VEGAS DEBATE ON JANUARY 15TH. The Democratic presidential field will debate in Las Vegas on January 15th, four days before the Nevada presidential caucus. MSNBC will cablecast the event. It will air from 6 to 8 PM Pacific time.
** HUCKABEE NAMES ED ROLLINS NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN. Surging evangelical conservative presidential candidate Mike Huckabee this morning named Ed Rollins his national campaign chairman. Huckabee has been succeeding in spite of his having a no-name politlcal crew. For example, in addition to his leads in Iowa and South Carolina, he’s now taken the lead in Florida, an absolute must-win state for erstwhile Republican presidential frontrunner Rudy Giuliani.
In Rollins, who was Ronald Reagan’s White House political director, he now has an experienced mouthpiece whose name is recognized by even the least experienced reporters. Probably.
Rollins, however, has been somewhat lacking in work of late. He took on a senior advisor role in 2002 for California Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon — now Giuliani’s policy director — which I revealed was far less than it seemed. Essentially, he lent his name and was never all that involved in the campaign itself.
Simon also brought on Reagan legend Lyn Nofziger, with whom I spoke at length, and who revealed that neither he nor Rollins was doing much for Simon aside from lending their names.
More recently, Rollins ostensibly headed the Republican scheme to change California’s Electoral College vote for president from the customary winner-take-all, as in all other major states, to to an allocation by congressional district. A transparent attempt to game the the 2008 presidential election by grabbing another 20 electoral votes or so. The effort has flopped, and as I pointed out earlier, Rollins was not all that much in evidence in it.
Rollins is there to talk to the conventional media. The alternative? Chuck Norris. Who is actually pretty good.
** BALI AND GREENHOUSE POLITICS. The UN climate change summit in Bali hasn’t gone all that well. Most are agreed that hard targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions are needed, but the US and China are notable holdouts. Australia was a die hard, but its greenhouse-denying prime minister recently lost his post, not to mention his very seat in the nation’s parliament.
Yesterday in Bali, Al Gore, fresh from receiving his Nobel Peace Prize, said the US is the principal impediment to climate change solutions, but noted that that will likely change over the next few years with a new administration. All the Democratic candidates, and most of the likely Republicans, as it happens, should one get elected, are more serious about dealing with climate change than the current administration.
Governor Arnold Schwarzegger is not on hand in Bali, but several top California officials are, joining the 200 other environment ministers from countries from around the world. California Environmental Protection Secretary Linda Adams addressed the summit, and Air Resources Board chief Mary Nichols and Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman have been on hand, all participating in forums and meeting with international environmental officials.
One result is that the premier of the key Canadian province of Quebec has decided to adopt a law modeled on California’s landmark law cutting tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases in new vehicles. The auto industry’s bid to defeat the law failed earlier this week in federal court. Now the US Environmental Protection Administration, which has dragged its heels for years on granting California its always granted waiver on air pollution issues, with the US Supreme Court having earlier rejected the Bush Administration’s contention that greenhouse gases are not pollutants, must act soon.
** U.S.-RUSSIAN NEGOTIATIONS ON MISSILE SHIELD FAIL IN BUDAPEST. Negotiations yesterday in Budapest, capital of Hungary, between the US and Russia on America’s proposed missile shield in Eastern Europe, have failed. The US has insisted that Iran is the target of the shield, not Russia. But with Iran fading in intelligence estimates as a present threat, Russia has been even more aggressive in its opposition to the shield, which it thinks is aimed at Russia.
** LATEST SCHWARZENEGGER SCHEDULE CHANGE. The webcast, discussed below, is now at 12 noon, Pacific time.
** UPDATE: Schwarzenegger, in a very late development, has changed the event, which will be webcast, to 11:30 AM. As a result of the change, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez will not be able to participate.
** SCHWARZENEGGER LIVE WEBCAST THIS AFTERNOON ON HEALTH CARE REFORM. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez will participate in a live webcast today at 1:45 PM from the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. They will discuss their apparent agreement on universal health care. Nunez has scheduled a state Assembly session to take up legislation at 1 PM next Monday. But Senate leader Don Perata is balking. Lots of, you know, really fascinating (to 47 people) internal political machinations going on here.
Barack Obama’s snappy rejoinder to Hillary Clinton in
yesterday’s Democratic presidential debate.
** MEDIA CATCHES ON TO HILLARY’S LACK OF INEVITABILITY. You may be noticing a raft of articles right about now about the problems with Hillary Clinton’s “inevitable” candidacy and the rise of Barack Obama. In fact, well, I did tell you so.
Which does not make Obama inevitable. Ideally, you want to ambush the “inevitable” frontrunner a bit later than this.
Wild card element: The Christmas and New Year’s season. Who really wants to hear a negative campaign counterattack over Christmastime? I’m referring to normal people, of course.
Which brings us to the sad case of Hillary’s now former national co-chairman, Billy Shaheen, husband of my Hart for President colleague, former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who attacked Obama for his teenage drug use. I’ll have more on that later today.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel.
You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND U.S. ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Crude oil prices are trading back in the $91 to $92 per barrel range.
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Yes, doves, slow-mo, and automatic weapons. Precisely what this campaign needs.
Chuck Norris, anyone?
>Tommy Boy :
If I directed the debates, I’d John Woo it up!
Candidates would answer jumping through the air blasting away with a pistol in each hand.
And lots and lots of doves.
Dec 15, 2007 01:57 AM
Closer. But not there yet.
>sergei :
Are we closer to who is next President? Is Obama?
Dec 14, 2007 09:50 PM
I could script the entire election. Hmm …
>carole w :
TB,
If only they would let us write and direct the debates…I guarantee it would be interesting!
Dec 14, 2007 08:58 PM
I need to catch up with the Las Vegas show.
It will be fun to see Samantha have to worm her way back in to the Montecito.
What did they do for a Christmas story — on Dec. 7th — do a take-off on something else? Those things are usually lame.
>carole w :
The Vegas Christmas story was sort of like yesterdays debate.
Dec 14, 2007 07:22 PM
Any video today?
Any video today?
Actually, yes.
Well at least we haven’t fired the head of the committee that picks testbooks, like they did in Texas, because she refused to OK a book that gave equal weight to “intelligent design”. It not much, I admit, but its a start.
No wonder the high tech firms are lobbying for more H-1 visas. Got to get scientists from countries that won’t put up with this nonsense!
Re Vegas:
The character, Mike Canon was acting like scrooge. Mike falls down and is knocked out and dreams various angels visit him . One of the angels is Sam,(dressed as a nasty angel). Sam and the other Angels try to give Mike a little Christmas spirit. It was a long story line based on one main character with little mini episodes of the other characters sprinkled throughout the hour.
Tom’s character is wildly sexy. I can imagine a tryst between hotel owner A.J. Cooper and Sam.
That episode sounds kinda boring. Sam plays a bitchy angel. Who knew?
That episode sounds kinda boring. Sam plays a bitchy angel. Who knew?
Yeah, I don’t think that’ll be happening in California any time soon. Like, you know, ever.
Time to order Inherit The Wind, I’m afraid.
>richard locicero :
Well at least we haven’t fired the head of the committee that picks testbooks, like they did in Texas, because she refused to OK a book that gave equal weight to “intelligent design”. It not much, I admit, but its a start.
No wonder the high tech firms are lobbying for more H-1 visas. Got to get scientists from countries that won’t put up with this nonsense!
Dec 15, 2007 10:01 AM
It is odd how Bill Clinton – the best politician since sliced bread – can’t stay out of the spotlight and says things that don’t help. Once again, Obama gets an easy ding by attacking Bill’s comments on the Charlie Rose show.
“The notion that there is a particular kind of experience that he has had or his wife has had that is more relevant, I would dispute. I believe that I have the experience that the country needs right now.”
Bill C. talks about how his family has experience. The more Obama gets to point out how ridiculous that point is, the better for him.
I’ll have video of Bill Clinton’s criticism of Obama to go with the Monday Morning Quarterback column.
“It is odd how Bill Clinton – the best politician since sliced bread – can’t stay out of the spotlight and says things that don’t help.”
Great candidates don’t necessarily make great consultants and vice-versa.
“It is odd how Bill Clinton – the best politician since sliced bread – can’t stay out of the spotlight and says things that don’t help.”
Great candidates don’t necessarily make great consultants and vice-versa.