March 30, 2007
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday dropped some names of potential running mates in the 2008 presidential race, but added such speculation is a bit premature.
Among those Romney mentioned for the second slot on the Republican ticket were three Southerners: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
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March 28, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In the 2008 presidential race , the most personal details of a candidate’s life — from divorce to drug use to disease — can become public issues and campaign-trail fodder. Privacy is a relative term for the crowded field of presidential contenders, as marital histories, family feuds and medical traumas take their place next to health care and foreign policy as high-profile campaign topics.
From the multiple marriages of former New York Rudy Giuliani to the cancer prognosis of former Sen. John Edward’s wife, Elizabeth, intensely personal and sometimes painful experiences are now headline news.
“Any presidential candidate must expect that all aspects of their lives are now open for public inspection in a way they weren’t 20 or 30 years ago,” said Steven Schier, a political analyst at Carleton College in Minnesota.
“We’re starting to see private lives get picked over in a way a candidate’s voting record used to get picked over,” he said.
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March 27, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who dropped his brief presidential bid last month, endorsed Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for the 2008 presidential race
“This is the person to be the next president of the United States,” Vilsack said at a news conference with Clinton. “She is tried, she is tested and she is ready.”
Vilsack said the endorsement was in part a result of the former first lady’s fund-raising efforts on his behalf during his first campaign for governor in 1998.
“In politics, loyalty is a commodity that is rare,” Vilsack said.
His endorsement is a boost for Clinton in Iowa, which traditionally holds the first contest of the nominating race. Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, leads a crowded Democratic field in national opinion polls but trails 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards in many Iowa polls.
March 22, 2007
Here’s a statement from Thomas Gensemer, Managing Director, Blue State Digital
This afternoon, an employee at our firm, Phillip de Vellis, received a call from Arianna Huffington of “The Huffington Post” regarding the “1984″ video currently circulating online. Initially, de Vellis refused to respond to her requests. He has since acknowledged to Blue State Digital that he was the creator of the video.Pursuant to company policy regarding outside political work or commentary on behalf of our clients or otherwise, Mr. de Vellis has been terminated from Blue State Digital effective immediately.
Blue State Digital is under contract with the Obama Campaign for technology pursuits including software development and hosting. Additionally, one of our founding partners is on leave from the company to work directly for the campaign at headquarters.
However, Blue State Digital is not currently engaged in any relationship with the Obama Campaign for creative or non-technical services.
Mr. de Vellis created this video on his own time. It was done without the knowledge of management, and was in no way tied to his work at the firm or our formal engagement [on technology pursuits] with the Obama campaign.
I have spoken with David Plouffe, Sen. Obama’s campaign manager, to inform him of this action and am appreciative of his understanding and ongoing support of our work.
We wish Mr. de Vellis well in his future endeavors.
Watch the controversial Hillary 1984 video
The Huffington Post go too far to cover a story.
