Gore endorses Obama in Detroit

Michigan might matter this election!

DETROIT - Al Gore made his debut in the 2008 presidential campaign Monday night, encouraging voters to back Barack Obama because "take it from me, elections matter."

The former vice president's speech at the Joe Louis Arena was part endorsement and part blistering attack on the man who denied him the White House eight years ago.

"After eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure, we need change," Gore said. "After eight years when our Constitution has been dishonored and disrespected, we need changes."

Hey Al? BJ Clinton wasn't President the last 8 years you know.

From The RNC

Edwards Endorses Obama in Grand Rapids

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.


Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards in a CNN sponsored debate in South Carolina in January.

"The reason I'm here tonight is because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I," he told the boisterous crowd.

"There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up," Edwards said. "There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two ... and that man is Barack Obama."

Edwards also praised Sen. Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

"What she has shown ... is strength and character, and what drives her is something that every single one of us can and should appreciate," Edwards said. "She is a woman who, in my judgment, is made of steel, and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done."

Edwards is such a phoney. He wants the Attorney General spot so badly, he waited until an obvious nominee and then this.

Update!
A couple pics from inside. The arena was filled to capacity, over 10k people attended.

More pictures here.

Obama To Come To VanAndel Arena

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- Sen. Barack Obama will be in Grand Rapids Wednesday for a public appearance beginning at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena.

Doors open at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are NOT required, but an RSVP is encouraged. To RSVP, members of the public can do so at BarackObama.com.

Many Democrats see Obama's visit as a sign the drought is over, with Michigan returning to the national political stage.

The controversy over how to seat Michigan's delegates at the national convention after the state broke party rules by holding their primary early. Armand Robinson is a delegate - officially listed as "Uncommitted" - but is a staunch Obama supporter and eager for the visit.

"I'm willing to bet 99.9 percent I'm going to be there in Denver with a seat," he told 24 Hour News 8. "He needs to be part of us, he needs to be here. He needed to be here three months ago, but the way he saw it, playing by the rules, I think he wasn't able to."

Robinson is hoping Obama's visit will heal any rifts in the party, and convince the undecideds, adding momentum that will carry through November.

If anyone attends, please give us a report on the event.

Michigan Will Sit Down

The beat goes on.

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan Democratic leaders on Wednesday settled on a plan to give presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton 69 delegates and Barack Obama 59 as a way to get the state's delegates seated at the national convention.

Clinton won the Jan. 15 Michigan primary and was to get 73 pledged delegates under state party rules, while Obama was to get 55. The state also has 29 superdelegates.

The state party's executive committee voted Wednesday to ask the national party's Rules and Bylaws Committee to approve the 69-59 delegate split when it meets May 31. The plan would allow the state's 157 delegates and superdelegates to be seated at the convention.

A separate plan submitted to the rules committee by Democratic National Committee members Joel Ferguson of Michigan and Jon Ausman of Florida, both superdelegates, apparently will be withdrawn now that the Michigan executive committee has settled on the 69-59 plan. Under their proposal, delegates would have been allocated based on the primary election results, but have had only half a vote each. The superdelegates would have had full voting rights.

The 69-59 split was proposed last week by four prominent Michigan Democrats who have been working for months to find a way to get Michigan's delegates seated at the Aug. 25-28 convention in Denver: Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, Sen. Carl Levin and DNC member Debbie Dingell, wife of Rep. John Dingell.

Granholm made a fine mess of the primaries.

Granholm's Gaffe

Governor Granholm would not pay for $10 million Michigan re-do
neither would national party

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is urging Michigan and Florida party officials to come up with plans to repeat their contests so state delegates can be counted in the close race.

Governor Granholm said she does not disagree, but "it would have to be a primary-like election, probably on a Saturday."

Granholm also told WJR radio in Detroit that the tab for a May or June election run by the Michigan Democratic Party could approach $10 million. She warned the cost and logistics could be insurmountable.

The Democratic National Committee stripped Michigan of all 156 delegates to the national convention as punishment for moving its primary to Jan. 15 in violation of party rules.

Governor Granholm is backing Hillary Clinton, whose campaign long has called for the Jan. 15 results to be honored. Barack Obama's campaign opposes that.

Of course she is.

Clinton Machine Grinds On

Stealing Obama's votes

Make no mistake about it: Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer wants to make damned certain you never have a chance to cast a vote for Barack Obama. So does Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

They, and the ruthlessly ambitious Debbie Dingell, want to be behind-the-scenes kingmakers. They want to deliver the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton, for the sake of their egos and their careers. But it isn't turning out the way they planned.

They are in trouble now, and starting to panic. The nomination is slipping away from Clinton, and from their grasp.

Having stupidly botched the primary, they are now fighting desperately to keep from doing the right thing.

Michigan needs a new round of voting. The national Democratic Party agrees, and wants the state to hold caucuses.

But our local party bosses say: No way.

Pfft. Democrats.

Ickey

Flip-floppin away-

WASHINGTON (AP) — Harold Ickes, a top adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign who voted for Democratic Party rules that stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates, now is arguing against the very penalty he helped pass.

In a conference call Saturday, the longtime Democratic Party member contended the DNC should reconsider its tough sanctions on the two states, which held early contests in violation of party rules. He said millions of voters in Michigan and Florida would be otherwise disenfranchised — before acknowledging moments later that he had favored the sanctions.

Campaigning in Wisconsin after Ickes' remarks, Clinton echoed his contention that a suitable arrangement could be worked out to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations.

"The rules provide for a vote at the convention to seat contested delegations," she said. "This goes back to the 1940s in my memory. There is nothing unusual about this. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination until June. Usually it takes awhile to sort all this out. That's why there are rules. If there are contested delegations, the convention votes on it."

Ickes explained that his different position essentially is due to the different hats he wears as both a DNC member and a Clinton adviser in charge of delegate counting. Clinton won the primary vote in Michigan and Florida, and now she wants those votes to count.

Good thing I'm not a democrat. As a resident of Michigan, I'd tell Hillary Clinton and her advisors to piss off. But that's just me.

Rules? What Rules?

Surprise, surprise: Hillary (and Governor Granholm) don't want to follow the rules:

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton desperately wants meaningless wins in Florida and Michigan to turn into votes she can count on. It won't be easy with the Democratic National Committee rules standing in her way.

The DNC is refusing to back down from the tough sanctions it imposed on the two states, which held early contests in violation of party rules. They have been stripped of all their delegates to the national convention in August where either Clinton or rival Sen. Barack Obama will be nominated for president.

The DNC has offered Florida and Michigan a couple ways out in compliance with party rules. First, they could hold second nominating contests, but Democratic leaders in both states reject that idea. Or they can appeal to the DNC's credentials committee, a 186-member body that usually operates in obscurity and has a complicated membership and rules process that will require deft maneuvering in this divided campaign.

Just like the some 800 superdelegates, this committee could hold the cards in helping decide the Democratic nominee if the race stays close.

I hope the DNC sticks to their guns. The Governor knew the consequences of holding the primary early and went ahead. Obama and the other candidates who had their names removed from the ballot played it straight, while Hillary said 'Screw You' to the party and her fellow candidates.

It would be fun to watch at the USSC. Ha!
What to do?

Romney Endorses John McCain

Romney Speaks At CPAC 2008

Hoekstra on Romney, McCain & Huck

While Hoekstra said he will be comfortable with McCain, and will campaign on his behalf if asked, he admits he felt a lot of disappointment when the Romney campaign folded up its tents.

He met with Romney Thursday afternoon in Washington D.C., shortly after the announcement was made. He said he wasn't surprised that Romney dropped out, even though he clearly had the financial resources to fight on.

Romney simply decided to put his country and his party first, Hoekstra said.

"He believed he still had a shot, but the odds were really long," Hoekstra said. "He knew he might be forced to do things he would have regretted, like sharply comparing and contrasting himself with Sen. McCain. He decided that would be wrong for the country and wrong for the party, so he decided not to do it.

"I agree that we should focus on uniting the party behind one candidate and focus on the ideals that we agree are most important. There are more important things than Mitt Romney campaigning for another three months."

Hoekstra endorsed Romney about a year ago and became his unofficial national security advisor. He also invested time and effort in the campaign, barnstorming on behalf of Romney in Michigan, Iowa and Florida.

And Hoekstra said his support became more than just a political endorsement over time.
"I really like Mitt Romney -- I not only like his positions, but as my wife and I got to know Mitt and Ann, we really enjoyed them and liked them as people," Hoekstra said.

While Hoekstra readies himself to support McCain, he hopes he won't have to do the same for one of the other remaining Republican candidates, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Hoekstra recently told the Chronicle that he considers Huckabee a negative and divisive force in the Republican Party. While some pundits are speculating that McCain will take Huckabee as his vice presidential running mate, Hoekstra hopes that doesn't happen.

"I'm not a big fan of Gov. Huckabee," Hoekstra said. "As Sen. McCain starts looking to put together a package, he's got to look for a running mate that can help us win in Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania. I don't think that's Gov. Huckabee."

Hoekstra/Romney

Ehlers Endorses Romney

HOLLAND -- As he prepares for a Wednesday campaign stop in Holland, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is bringing a second key West Michigan endorsement with him.

U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, is adding his backing to Romney, calling him "a candidate with an innovative vision for America."

"In the course of his impressive career, he has earned a solid reputation for successfully solving enormous problems that others thought couldn't be solved."

His endorsement follows that of U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, who announced his support for Romney in January.

Romney is slated to appear for a meet-and-greet session at the Alpenrose Restaurant & Cafe at 8:30 a.m., before moving on to a stop in Atlanta.

Ehlers/Romney