2008 Presidential Announcement Thread.

[southsider2k5]

John Edwards and his wife are scheduled to hold a press conference today, following Mrs. Edwards' discussions with her doctor about her breats cancer. This may or may not effect his bid for the Presidency.

 

In any case, I certainly hope for the best for Elizabeth Edwards' health.

For her health.

[Balta1701]

John Edwards and his wife are scheduled to hold a press conference today, following Mrs. Edwards' discussions with her doctor about her breats cancer. This may or may not effect his bid for the Presidency.

 

In any case, I certainly hope for the best for Elizabeth Edwards' health.

According to the not 100% reliable Washington newspaper The Politico (link probably dead from Drudge swamping) Edwards will suspend his campaign.

[southsider2k5]

According to the not 100% reliable Washington newspaper The Politico (link probably dead from Drudge swamping) Edwards will suspend his campaign.

 

Edwards to Suspend Campaign

 

 

John Edwards is suspending his campaign for President, and may drop out completely, because his wife has suffered a recurrence of the cancer that sickened her in 2004, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, an Edwards friend told The Politico.

 

"At a minimum he's going to suspend" the campaign, the source said. "Nobody knows precisely how serious her recurrence is. It’ll be another couple of days before there’s complete clarity."

 

"For him right now he has one priority which is her health and the security of the two young children," said the friend.

 

As for the campaign, "You don't shut this machine off completely, but everything will go on hold."

[Rex Kickass]

They aren't shutting down the campaign but its probably going to be a little more low key for the time being.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/22/edw...2008/index.html

[Balta1701]

Slightly more upbeat sounding version from the NYT.

John Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat, said today that his wife’s cancer had returned, but that his bid for the presidency “goes on strongly.”

 

“The campaign goes on, the campaign goes on strongly,” he said, with his wife, Elizabeth, at his side.

 

Mr. Edwards said he learned earlier this week that the cancer had reappeared in his wife’s rib cage and that the couple recognized that it was no longer curable, though it could be managed with treatment.

[Queen Prawn]

How much can bone cancer be managed? Is this to mean to keep if from spreading or to manage the pain?

 

Breast cancer has been so prevalent in my family and friends lately that the threat of it reappearing in them in some form or another scares the hell out of me.

[NorthSideSox72]

Slightly more upbeat sounding version from the NYT.

I wouldn't call that upbeat. They are saying its no longer cureable, and that its in the bone, but can be managed. That sounds pretty awful to me.

[Balta1701]

I wouldn't call that upbeat. They are saying its no longer cureable, and that its in the bone, but can be managed. That sounds pretty awful to me.

I meant in terms of adding the word "Strongly" to the quote about how the campaign was going to go on. Seems they think they can keep running without having it interfere with treatment, if nothing else.

 

According to the not 100% reliable Washington newspaper The Politico (link probably dead from Drudge swamping) Edwards will suspend his campaign.

This is, btw, why sometimes it's a good thing to add qualifiers in front of links to particular sources, like Drudge, or Fox News, or in this case, The Politico.

[BigSqwert]

Will this turn into a 2 person race for the Dems? Maybe Gore will reconsider getting into the mix?

[NorthSideSox72]

Will this turn into a 2 person race for the Dems? Maybe Gore will reconsider getting into the mix?

Gore might jump in.

 

Also, Richardson and Biden have yet to make their run-ups. No one knows them yet. If either one can raise some substantial money, then they are still in the mix. Kucinich is still theoretically in there too, but he's really a non-factor.

 

I still think Richardson is the wildcard who could come up big, especially if Gore doesn't jump in. Biden has already put his foot in his mouth, and will be saddled with being the "other" senator in the race.

[southsider2k5]

Will this turn into a 2 person race for the Dems? Maybe Gore will reconsider getting into the mix?

 

That's been a rumor for quite a while actually. It would be a pretty smart strategy actually if you think about it. Right now the guy is immune from the attacks and BS, while at the sametime getting to make all of the stops around the country he wants to do. He could jump in at the more traditional time and not have endured the lumps that everyone else has.

[kapkomet]

GORACLE!

 

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

It's strange to say, but the Goracle could actually be an alternative to Mrs. Bill Clinton that the Dems would want to give another shot to beat the evvvvvvvvvviiiiiillllllllll, election STEALING Republicans.

[southsider2k5]

Dude you are so going to get struck down with a (carbon nuetral) lightning bolt, it isn't even funny.

[BigSqwert]

Dude you are so going to get struck down with a (carbon nuetral) lightning bolt, it isn't even funny.

Tell me about it. Kap will probably wake up one morning to find out they're building a coal-burning manufacturing facility next door.

[southsider2k5]

Tell me about it. Kap will probably wake up one morning to find out they're building a coal-burning manufacturing facility next door.

 

Yeah he'll wake up and find that its 105 degrees everyday, with opressive humidity... oh wait in Texas they call that "August"

[NorthSideSox72]

Here are the takes on the AG AG mess from some of the GOP candidates.

[NorthSideSox72]

Vilsack endorses Hella-Clinton, who then says she will help Vilsack retire his campaign debt. Clinton's camp say there is no connection or quid pro quo between the two, and deny any promises being made.

[NorthSideSox72]

Copious current coffers of the competing candidates.

 

Hilary's numbers are staggering: $26M in the first quarter of the year. That's over 3 times the previous record. She also has another $10M she can transfer from her Senate race monies. Richardson raised $6M, plus has $5M in case available. Obama, Edwards and the GOP candidates are expected to release numbers shortly.

 

Hilary off to a fast start, but I'm not sure its going to be as much of a boost as some seem to think. Everyone already knows her - how will she use the money to make herself look better? Her disapproval numbers are waaaaaaay high.

 

It will be interesting to see what the others have so far.

[Balta1701]

I'm pretty sure this is like his 3rd or 4th attempt at an announcement, but Tommy Thompson is running.

 

On a different note, here's a great quote from Mike I Heart Huckabee.

“If Republicans in this election vote in such a way as to say a candidate’s personal life and personal conduct in office doesn’t matter, then a lot of Christian evangelical leaders owe Bill Clinton a public apology."

[NorthSideSox72]

GOP'ers putting up some gaudy fundraising numbers as well. Romney with a big lead in that category, well above McCain or Giuliani, surprisingly.

 

Also a couple Dem updates... Edwards raised $14M (plus $1M in general senate funds) and Dodd took in $4M (and is adding $5M from his Senate funds).

 

I think the big money could be a huge benefit for Romney, because he still needs a lot more exposure.

Edited April 3, 2007 by NorthSideSox72

[NorthSideSox72]

On a seperate note... Tom Tancredo has accounced his candidacy for the GOP nomination.

 

Gotta love these one-issue candidates. I think we'll see Tancredo be one of those candidates that draws 3 to 5% but never goes up from there. His anti-immigration schtick won't go far in Iowa or NH, the earliest primary states.

[Balta1701]

Ok, so the official winner of the 1st quarter fundraising derby is Barack Obama. He didn't raise the most total money (he's $1 million behind what Hillarity raised) but Obama shows some huge fundamental advantages.

 

First, he's not nearly the "Establishment" candidate like Mrs. Clinton is. Mrs. Clinton has the old Clinton Network, and Bill, to make use of. Obama is coming up with a totally new network, and is virtually dead even with her.

 

Second, Mr. Obama drew a much, much larger net of donors than Mrs. Clinton. A lot of Mrs. Clinton's money appears to be from people who donated the full $4600 they're allowed to give, $2300 for the Primary and $2300 for the general. So, some of that money in Mrs. Clinton's coffers doesn't count for the primary (they will tell us exactly how much by April 15th), and perhaps more importantly, those folks can not give any $ again to Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama can go back to many of these donors in future quarters and still draw in more $.

 

The other question remaining is going to be the "Cash on hand", how much each campaign spent out of the money they brought in. Its entirely possible that Mrs. Clinton outspent Mr. Obama by having a much more expensive operation running throughout the first quarter, but we'll see.

 

This sets Mr. Obama up quite well to dominate the 2nd quarter fundraising numbers.

 

Oh, and the biggest loser of the 1st quarter fundraising race was John McCain. By a long shot.

[BigSqwert]

Ok, so the official winner of the 1st quarter fundraising derby is Barack Obama. He didn't raise the most total money (he's $1 million behind what Hillarity raised) but Obama shows some huge fundamental advantages.

 

First, he's not nearly the "Establishment" candidate like Mrs. Clinton is. Mrs. Clinton has the old Clinton Network, and Bill, to make use of. Obama is coming up with a totally new network, and is virtually dead even with her.

 

Second, Mr. Obama drew a much, much larger net of donors than Mrs. Clinton. A lot of Mrs. Clinton's money appears to be from people who donated the full $4600 they're allowed to give, $2300 for the Primary and $2300 for the general. So, some of that money in Mrs. Clinton's coffers doesn't count for the primary (they will tell us exactly how much by April 15th), and perhaps more importantly, those folks can not give any $ again to Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama can go back to many of these donors in future quarters and still draw in more $.

 

The other question remaining is going to be the "Cash on hand", how much each campaign spent out of the money they brought in. Its entirely possible that Mrs. Clinton outspent Mr. Obama by having a much more expensive operation running throughout the first quarter, but we'll see.

 

This sets Mr. Obama up quite well to dominate the 2nd quarter fundraising numbers.

 

Oh, and the biggest loser of the 1st quarter fundraising race was John McCain. By a long shot.

 

 

I also read that Obama took no money from lobbyists or PACs, unlike Clinton.

[Balta1701]

I also read that Obama took no money from lobbyists or PACs, unlike Clinton.

I'd find that fairly hard to believe...where exactly did you see that? While Obama did have 100k donors, and 50k of those donors were internet donors, only like $7 mil of that $25 mil or so was actually raised online, so he had to hit up at least some of the big guys. It's the little guys who are making up the difference and keeping him so close to Hillarity, and who should put him way over the top in quarter 2, but there have to be some big donors in there.

[BigSqwert]

I'd find that fairly hard to believe...where exactly did you see that? W

This is the exact quote from a Yahoo news article:

 

Unlike Clinton, Obama says he doesn't take money from the lobbyists or political action committees that are frequent contributors on other campaigns.

 

LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070404/ap_on_...r/obama_money_7