MICHELLE OBAMA: The potential first lady addresses Democrats at the convention after a rocky summer as the target of conservative attacks. She was harshly criticized by Republicans for her comment that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of the United States — a comment the candidate later said was merely an expression of her pride in high voter interest. The criticism of Michelle Obama led the candidate earlier this year to call for opponents to "lay off my wife." In recent weeks, Michelle Obama has worked to soften her image, talking about raising two daughters in an interview in Ebony magazine and making a June appearance at an Ohio nursing home. Barack Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and Michelle Obama’s older brother, Craig Robinson, also will have roles in the convention.

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: The nation’s first female speaker of the House, Pelosi opens the convention. Pelosi has represented the San Francisco area in Congress since 1987. Since taking the gavel last year, Pelosi has steered a divided House through an economic stimulus package and opposition to many of President Bush’s initiatives, including an override of Bush’s veto of the 2008 farm bill. But so far she has failed to achieve a top goal since Democrats regained control of the House: halting U.S. combat missions in Iraq. The failure has led to criticism of Pelosi by liberal activists.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY: The Massachusetts senator is the subject of a five-minute recorded tribute. Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and recently completing radiation and chemotherapy, one of the nation’s best-known Democrats has been keeping a low public profile. The video tribute will be introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy.

FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: The former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner from Georgia addresses Democrats on the convention’s opening night. Some in the GOP sees Carter’s early support for Obama as an opening. Republican presidential nominee John McCain has said that if Democrats see a McCain presidency as a third term for Bush, then an Obama victory would be tantamount to a second term for Carter, who lost his 1980 re-election by a wide margin to Ronald Reagan.

SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL: The Missouri Democrat was the first woman in the Senate to endorse Obama. She spent a week this summer on a bus tour of swing-state Missouri in support of Obama’s candidacy. McCaskill endorsed Obama just after he lost New Hampshire’s Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton, a politically risky move at the time.

REP. JESSE JACKSON JR.: The son of the civil rights activist has represented the Chicago area since a special election in 1995 and is a national co-chairman of Obama’s presidential campaign. In 2004, Jackson was an early supporter of Sen. John Kerry for his party’s presidential nomination. Party leaders say Jackson’s speech will "tell Barack Obama’s life story."

FORMER REP. LEE HAMILTON: Now president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Hamilton is a prominent Obama supporter from Indiana. After more than 30 years in Congress, Hamilton retired in 1999. He was a top Democrat on the Sept. 11 commission and co-chairman of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. Hamilton’s April endorsement of Obama helped the candidate’s camp answer the question — "Who do you want to answer the phone at 3 a.m.?" — posed by the Clinton campaign.

NANCY KEENAN: The president of NARAL Pro-Choice America angered some female voters in May by endorsing Obama, even though Clinton was still in the race. Keenan praised Clinton but said the group was endorsing Obama when it became clear he would win the Democratic nomination.

JERRY KELLMAN: The Chicago native hired Obama in the early 1980s as a community organizer for Chicago’s Developing Communities Project and is often cited as a mentor to Obama.

TOM BALANOFF: The president of the Illinois Service Employees International Union also burnishes Obama’s labor credentials. Balanoff has praised Obama’s votes against trade deals such as the Central America Free Trade Agreement.

REG WEAVER: Weaver leads the nation’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association. The teachers’ union did not endorse Obama until June, after Obama secured the Democratic nomination. "As long as (Clinton) was a viable candidate in the Democratic nomination process, many of our members felt a passionate need to return the loyalty she has earned over decades of support," Weaver wrote at the time.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers. The 1.4 million-member union endorsed Clinton last October but now backs Obama. Despite support for Obama from both teachers unions, not all educators are happy with Obama, who has spoken in favor of performance-based merit pay for individual public school teachers.

LISA MADIGAN: Illinois’ attorney general has at times been mentioned as a candidate to replace Obama in the U.S. Senate for the remaining two years of his term if he wins the presidency.

DAN HYNES: Like Madigan, Illinois’ comptroller has been mentioned as a possible Obama successor in the Senate. Hynes unsuccessfully challenged Obama for the 2004 Democratic Senate nomination but has since been a major Illinois supporter of Obama’s.

ALEXI GIANNOULIAS: The Illinois treasurer was backed by Obama, an endorsement that helped the banking heir win his seat. In return, Giannoulias helped Obama win support among Greek voters in the Chicago area and has raised more than $250,000 for Obama.

MIGUEL DEL VALLE: Chicago’s city clerk rounds out Monday’s group of Illinois officials talking up the candidate from their home state.

JOHN HICKENLOOPER: Democrats salute host city Denver with a speaking slot for the city’s Democratic mayor.

Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080822/ap_on_el_pr/convention_speakers_monday_2

About half of the Republican delegates will be allocated through the caucus system. The rest are to be determined through the Feb. 19 primary election.

McCain had 3,468 votes for 26%

Huckabee had 3,226 votes for 24%

Ron Paul had 2,799 votes for 21%

**As of Sunday evening, Feb. 10, Huckabee is disputing the results of the Washington Republican Caucuses, claiming that the party, led by Luke Esser, called the race for McCain too soon. Legal action may follow.

Washington State Caucus Results (Democrat)

All of the Democrat’s Washington delegates were allocated through the caucus system. The primary election on Feb. 19 is essentially meaningless for Democrats in terms of delagate allocation.

Obama had 21,696 votes for 68%, which gives him 25 pledged delegates

Clinton had 9,992 votes for 31%, which gives her 12 pledged delegates

With 96% of Democratic precincts in Washington reporting, Barack Obama led with 68%  to 31% for Clinton,

See the biography of Clinton’s former campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle 

As of this posting, Clinton has only won caucuses in Douglas County, with Obama apparently winning everywhere else in Washington.  One apparent reason is the strong desire by Democrats to actually pick the candidate who can perform best in the November election.  Many feel that Obama has fewer negatives going into a battle with the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain. 

Many Republicans prefer a November clash with Clinton, largely because GOP strategists know that if Democrats nominate Hillary, that would be like waving a red cape (or blue cape, in the case of  21st Century U.S. politics) at an enraged and wounded bull; the Republican bulls will go all out to prevent a Clinton Restoration.  Obama is a tougher nut to crack for the Republicans.

Washington voters historically tend to be both stubbornly independent and naively idealistic.  This is true of both parties, but usually more so for Democrats, though today, the pragmatists won out over the idealists.  This writer has attended both Democrat and Republican caucuses and functions in the past, and across party lines, caucus-goers tend to not like "establishment" candidates, but they tend to vote for candidates with their hearts, not their heads.

Many Republicans today said they preferred Romney or Huckabee, but acknowledged that McCain had the best shot at winning in November, especially against Hillary.  The average Democrat must have been listening to their GOP neighbors, because regardless of ideology, Obama has the best shot at beating McCain in November.  And Washington voters may have helped put him on the path to be the fighter in that battle.

WAshington’s Precinct caucuses begin at 1 p.m on Saturday Feb. 9.

State Democratic Chairman Dwight Pelz urged people to call the party headquarters at 206-583-0664 for last-minute assistance finding caucus sites

The state Republican Party is also taking calls from people needing help finding their caucus. That number is 206-575-2900.

Democrats:

At Stake: 27 total delegates:
22 decided in the Jan. 8 primary, 5 "superdelegates"

Candidates in the January 8,
2008 New Hampshire Primary:

Senator
   Hillary Clinton--102, 486
   votes=39%–The winner—Number of Delegates from New
   Hampshire: 9
   
   

Senator
   Barack Obama–95, 263
   votes=37%–A very close second–Number of Delegates from
   New Hampshire: 9

   
   

Former Senator John
   Edwards–44,283=17%– A distant third place finish. He
   may do well in parts of the South, especially in South Carolina,
   and in strong union states, but at this point, his best hope is to
   end up with enough pledged delegates in the Democratic Convention
   to be a king or queen maker in the event Clinton and Obama finish
   in a virtual dead heat by summer-time.–Number of
   Delegates from New Hampshire: 4

   
   

Governor Bill Richardson–11,943
   votes=5%–Number of Delegates from New Hampshire:
   0

   
   

Representative
   Dennis Kucinich–3,538
   votes=1%–Number of Delegates from New Hampshire:
   0

   
   

 

Next Up: South Carolina Democratic Primary on
Jan. 26

Republicans:

At Stake: 12 total delegates:
All 12 decided in the Jan. 8 primary

Candidates in the January 8,
2008 New Hampshire Primary:

 
   
   

John McCain–81,005 votes=37%–The
   Winner–Number of Delegates from New Hampshire:
   7

   
   

Mitt Romney–69,132 votes=11%–Even
   though he took second place, as in Iowa, he was expected to do
   better in New Hampshire, which is literally in his neck of the
   woods, as Romney is a former governor of Massachusetts.–Number
   of Delegates from New Hampshire: 4

   
   

Mike Huckabee–24, 364 votes=9%–New
   Hampshire prides itself on ignoring the Iowa results, and the
   Evangelical base in N.H. is not comparable to that found in Iowa.
   Upcoming Southern States (The Bible Belt), may be good to
   Huckabee, perhaps at the expense of Romney.–Number of
   Delegates from New Hampshire: 1

   
   

Rudy
   Giuliani–18, 763 votes=9%–Did not
   run in New Hampshire. Giuliani is waiting for the Southern
   Primaries, where he has put most of his time, energy, resources,
   and his political future.–Number of Delegates from New
   Hampshire: 0

   
   

Ron Paul–16,655 votes=8%–Paul is still
   hanging in there, representing the true Libertarian and anti-Iraq
   War wing of the Republican Party.–Number of Delegates from New
   Hampshire: 0

   
   

Fred Thompson–2,628 votes=1%–Thompson
   did not look good in the last debate. This may be the beginning of
   the end for his latest co-starring role.–Number of Delegates
   from New Hampshire: 0

   
   

 

Next Up: South Carolina Republican Primary on
Jan. 19

Democrats:

Candidates in the January 3,
2008 Iowa Caucuses:

Senator
   Barack Obama–38%–The
   winner
   
   

Former Senator John Edwards–29%–Still
   alive as the campaign heads for New Hampshire

   
   

Senator
   Hillary Clinton–29%–Huge defeat for
   Hillary as she entered Iowa the clear front-runner, and is now in
   3rd place. She can still pick it up in New Hampshire and hopes the
   Clinton magic can transform her into a new "Comeback Kid," like
   another Clinton did sixteen years ago.

   
   

Governor Bill Richardson–2%

   
   

Senator Joseph Biden–1%

   
   

Uncommitted–Less than 1%

   
   

Senator Christopher Dodd–Less than
   1%

   
   

Former Senator Mike Gravel–Less than
   1%

   
   

Representative
   Dennis Kucinich–Less than
   1%

   
   

 

   
   

 

Republicans:

Candidates in the January 3,
2008 Iowa Caucuses:

 
   
   

Mike Huckabee–34%–The winner. Helped by
   the Evangelical turnout, and by Chuck Norris standing over his
   shoulder.

   
   

Mitt Romney–25%–Even though he took second
   place, he far outspent Huckabee, and losing by nine percentage
   points represents a big fall. May do better in New
   Hampshire.

   
   

Fred Thompson–13%–Not bad considering he
   entered the race late.

   
   

John McCain–13%–Not a bad considering he did
   not really run in Iowa and devoted his resources to New Hampshire.
   Must win next week in the Granite State to survive.

   
   

Ron Paul–10%–May do well in
   libertarian-minded New Hampshire.

   
   

Rudy
   Giuliani–4%–Did not run in Iowa.
   Competing in Iowa and then losing badly would have hurt him more
   than not competing

   
   

Duncan Hunter–1%–Irrelevant before, much more
   irrelevant now.

   
   

Tom Tancredo–Dropped out of the race on
   October 28, 2007. He endorsed Mitt Romney

   
   

 

Clinton, who currently represents the state of New York in the U.S. Senate, initially gained fame as the wife of President Bill Clinton, and is today one of those unique individuals who is easily identified by her first name. Mentioning "Hillary" in any type of political context guarantees passionate opinions either for or against her. She proved to be a lightning rod of support for President Clinton from his allies and various liberal groups, especially those involved in feminist/women’s issues and health care. Just as powerfully, Hillary Clinton evokes strong reactions from Republicans and conservative groups who see her as someone to both mock and fear as the 2008 Presidential election draws ever nearer. Hillary Clinton is considered such a strong contender for the Democratic Presidential nomination, that Republicans often look at their roster of potential candidates with thoughts of whether or not those potential candidates can effectively match up against Hillary Clinton.

Career and Life Highlights

Career: 1973-1974: Children’s Defense Fund–Staff Attorney 1974: House Judiciary Committee–Staff Attorney 1974-1975: University of Arkansas, Fayetteville School of Law–Instructor 1976-1992 : Rose Law Firm–Attorney 1978: United States Legal Services Corporation–Board Member appointed by President Carter Education: 1969: BA Political Science,Wellesley College 1973: J.D., Yale Law School 1973-1974: Post-Graduate study, Yale Child Study Center Awards and Citations: Family Information Hugh Ellsworth Rodham (April 2, 1911-April 7, 1993)–Father Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham (b. 1919) –Mother William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. Year) –Husband–Married October 11, 1975 Siblings Hugh Rodham  Tony Rodham Children Chelsea Clinton (b. February 27, 1980)–Daughter Religion: Protestant: Methodist

2000 U.S. Senate Race (winner in italics) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D), 3,747,310 votes (55.27%) Rick Lazio (R), 2,915,730 votes(43.01%) 2006 U.S. Senate Race (winner in italics) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D), 2,811,981 votes (67% ) John Spencer (R), 1,320,571 votes ( 31% )

Works by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Books and articles –General Living History (2004) It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (1996)

About Us

Bio of the History Guy Commentary Site Map--revision in progress

Read the History Guy Weblog–New Mid-East War Fears: Israel Versus Syria Again?–posted on Aug. 14, 2007 France at War: French Victories and Defeats–posted May 11, 2007 America and France: A Long Relationship Spanning War and Peace–posted May 10, 2007 Cinco de Mayo, 1862: The Battle Of Puebla –posted May 5, 2007 The Long War on Terror: What is in a War’s Name?–posted May 3, 2007 Turkey: To Coup, or not to Coup, that, is the question!–posted May 2, 2007 Canada’s Afghan War–posted April 29, 2007.

Internet Links:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton –Official Senate site Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic senator from New York. Includes contact information.

Hillary Clinton for U.S. Senate –Official campaign site for Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Senator from New York.

Articles about Hillary Rodham Clinton–From the New York Times.

Hillary Rodham Clinton –Biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton from the official White House site.

Hillary Clinton on the Issues–Tracks Senator Clinton’s position on international, domestic, economic, and social issues.

Hillary Clinton – Wikipedia article

TIME: Hillary Rodham Clinton –June 2003 interview in which the Senator and former First Lady reflects on her life, her memoir, and the current political climate. Also provides subscribers-only access to excerpts from Clinton’s autobiography, Living History.

Just Hillary.com–An independent news site that provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date reports about Hillary Clinton: In the Senate, on the campaign trail in New York, and testing the waters across the country for a possible run for the White House in 2008.

Pro-Hillary Clinton Political Sites

Hillary Clinton For President –Unofficial movement to elect Hillary Clinton President in 2008

hillarynow.com–Urging Hillary Clinton to make a run for President in 2004.

HillPAC

Just Hillary

VoteHillary.org

Hillary Rodham Clinton President 2008

Hillary Rodham Clinton for President 2008

HillaryClinton.info

Hillary for President 2008

Hillary Clinton Forum Archives–Dedicated to electing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to the U.S. Presidency. Includes news, petitions, and discussion forums.

Anti-Hillary Clinton Political Sites

Stop Hillary PAC –Aims to inform Americans that electing Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential election will be a total disaster for the country.

Anyone but Hillary 2008

Nix Hillary 2008

No Hillary Clinton

Blogs Against Hillary

Just Say No to Hillary Clinton