Bill Clinton Opens Up On ’08 Election

Former President Bill Clinton opened up about the 2008 election Tuesday evening, stating that he never doubted a Democrat would win the Presidency.

“I remember on the morning of the [2006 mid-term elections] I told Hillary ‘if we don’t nominate a convicted felon, we’re going to win’. The Democratic nominee will be the president of the United States,” said Clinton during a gala honoring retiring Democratic Leadership Council founder Al From.

The former President credited the shift in U.S. culture as an important aspect of President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory.

“We’re not a bi-racial country anymore, we’re a multi-racial country. We don’t have time to do anything or celebrate our differences,” Clinton explained. “We are wholly intolerant now of the staples of American politics for much of the last 40 years.”

He expressed his gratitude for Obama’s acceptance of a number of projects from the Clinton era, including extending the community service group AmeriCorp and providing a national loan program to make college more accessible. He also touched upon the challenges facing the Obama administration.

“I think we’re going to get a health reform bill. I’ve been waiting all my life for this. I think we’ll be able to get one that has some republican support that won’t be filibustered. But if we just have universal coverage without doing something to break the cost spiral, five years from now we won’t have universal coverage anymore because we won’t be able to afford it,” said Clinton.

Democratic superstars rally to save planet

On Monday morning Al Gore said that it is an “objective fact” that the U.S. is the only nation which can lead the world when a severe crisis looms on the horizon, and that we as a responsibility to future generations to act. Gore spoke at a forum held by The Center for American Progress Action Fund, which discussed how a green approach to infrastructure and energy production can both create jobs and provide for long lasting stability in supply. Gore’s emphasis was on addressing the issue of global warming.

Among the panelists in the forum were Democratic heavyweights from past and present, including Former President Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Gore emphasized the importance of reducing gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil, but also spoke on energy infrastructure, a topic which turned out to be the backbone of the forum.

Energy infrastructure refers to the methods whereby energy generated in one location is transported to the rest of the nation. For instance, if the Southwest generates a certain amount of energy in solar power, but doesn’t use all of that energy locally, the rest of it can be distributed to other areas in the nation.
The panelists placed great importance on sound energy infrastructure in the form of a nationwide grid. Pelosi said it was an “essential” element, and without it renewable energy would mean very little to the general national welfare. Pelosi went on to liken it to the interstate highway system, in that it is a program which the federal government should undertake in a uniform way for the expanded welfare of the country. Harry Reid spoke to similar effect.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, said that once the infrastructure is in place, the “energy is free forever”. On that topic, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said that somewhere in the United States the sun is always shining or the wind is always blowing, and that this method for appropriating energy was truly sustainable. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also voiced support of a unified energy grid.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Bill Clinton at Radio Row

Bill Clinton's speech and at the Talk Radio News Radio Row

Gas rose $0.40 under Clinton, $2.60 under Bush

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D- MD) focused on the rising price of gas in his weekly sit-down with reporters. He showed a series of charts that indicated the rise in the price of gas over the last 16 years. Under the Clinton administration, Hoyer said, the price of gasoline went from $1.06 to $1.46 in the course of Clinton's eight years. A separate chart demonstrated that under the Bush administration gas has gone from $1.46 to $4.06, which is the current national average. This is the House Democrat response to the campaign against the "Pelosi Premium" pointing out the price rise under Bush instead of under Democratic majority in Congress. All of Hoyer's data came from the Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy.

Hoyer admitted that across Congress all the energy plans being offered are mostly designed at long term relief. He said that Democrats have done their part to reduce prices by passing anti-gouging legislation and working toward regulation of speculators, but that there are very few things that Congress can do to reduce prices in the short term. In response to the Republican measures that call for more drilling and more refining capacity, Hoyer pointed out statistics that suggested that drilling in ANWR would only lead to a 1.8 cent drop in gas prices by 2030.

Hoyer also mentioned Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introducing articles of impeachment against President George Bush, taking up a total of four and a half hours of floor time. Hoyer said that he expect this to be referred to committing with out a second read-through, effectively tabling the bill.

Clinton ends historic run in triumphant fashion, endorses Obama

The historic presidential campaign of New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton came to an end as she delivered an enthusiastic “thank-you” turned “Barack Obama endorsment” speech to thousands of her supporters.

Clinton’s speech, while coming at the end of a long, sometimes bitter battle against Obama, was both reflective of the accomplishments she made during her run to try and secure the Democratic presidential nomination, and was a platform she used to offer her support to the Illinois Senator.

Flanked by members of her family, including former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Clinton’s speech focused on the compelling nature of a race featuring both a female and an African American. Clinton noted that she hoped it would be “easier the next time around” for a woman running for the presidency, and she assured the audience that she would “continue to fight on the front lines of democracy” for middle class Americans.

When Clinton talked about how she will now be endorsing Obama, her sentiments were met with a loud chorus of both boos and cheers. Describing the Democratic party as a “family” she said she would now "work her heart out” to help Obama become the next president, urging her supporters to do the same.