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Obama to reconsider prez run if Hillary drops bid?

Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’m waiting on a response from the Obama people, but Hiram Wurf noticed this interesting little tidbit buried at the bottom of a TV story.

Sources close to Obama have told CBS 2 News that Obama would reconsider his previously announced decision to skip the 2008 presidential contest only if Mrs. Clinton does not run.

Check back later for the Obama response.

UPDATE: Still waiting on a call-back, but this is an appropriate column.

Dick Bennett has been polling New Hampshire voters for 30 years. And heâ€™s never seen anything like it.

â€œLying b**** . . . shrew . . . Machiavellian . . . evil, power-mad witch . . . the ultimate self-serving politician.â€ […]

But these werenâ€™t Republicans talking about Hillary Clinton. They werenâ€™t even independents. These were ordinary, grass-roots Democrats. People who identified themselves as â€œlikelyâ€ voters in the pivotal stateâ€™s Democratic primary. And, behind closed doors, this is what nearly half of them are saying.

â€œI was amazed,â€ says Bennett. â€œI thought there might be some negatives, but I didnâ€™t know it would be as strong as this. Itâ€™s stunning, the similarities between the Republicans and the Democrats, the comments they have about her.â€ […]

His conclusion? â€œForty-five percent of the Democrats are just as negative about her as Republicans are. More Republicans dislike her, but the Democrats dislike her in the same way.â€

Hillaryâ€™s growing brain trust in the partyâ€™s upper reaches already knows she has high â€œnegativesâ€ among ordinary Democrats. They think she can win those voters over with the right strategy and message. But they should get out of D.C., New York and L.A. more often, and visit grassroots members. Because weâ€™re not talking about â€œsoftâ€ negatives like, say, â€œout of touchâ€ or â€œarrogant.â€ Weâ€™re talking: â€œCriminal . . . megalomaniac . . . fraud . . . dangerous . . . devil incarnate . . . satanic . . . power freak.â€

UPDATE 2: OK, we finally have our response from Obama’s office. This is from Robert Gibbs, Barack’s communications director.

Sources close to Obama have told people that he would reconsider his previously announced decision to skip the PGA Tour only if Tiger Woods does not play.

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Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I hesitate to do this because it’s a national story, but it has generated such intense interest on blogs throughout the country I figured why not.

I’m curious if you think that Joe Lieberman’s loss yesterday has any implications for Illinois.

This is off-topic, but for once I’m proud of Illinois election laws. If you lose a primary race in this state, you can’t run for the same position in the general election. That’s as it should be. Can you imagine what would happen if every self-centered goof who lost a primary decided to run again in the fall?

Also, in Illinois, if your campaign website goes down on election day we’d assume you did it to yourself. The media coverage of that incident was remarkably shallow and sensationalistic. There’s no way that his site could be taken down for that long. If it was hacked or hit with a Denial of Service attack, even a computer crew with a microgram of Internet savvy could have had it back up in a few hours tops.

Anyway, back to the question. Let’s please try to stick to Illinois implications and not get into a big debate over side issues. Thanks.

UPDATE: I posted this in comments but it’s worth repeating here because the discussion has already degenerated.

The reason I tend to avoid QOTD’s like this is because people tend to spew regurgitated Limbaugh/Kos rhetoric instead of coming up with their own thoughts.

So, please, take a deep breath and THINK before you hit that “Say it” button. Don’t be a boring regurgitator! The future of questions like this depends on it.

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Another audit produces more bad news

Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve been reporting on the Statehouse for over 16 years, and I can’t recall such a long string of negative audits as we’ve seen in the past three years. I really don’t enjoy writing all these stories about the governor. I have a lot of friends who work for him and/or support him and, personally, I like the guy. I truly wish he’d get his act together and focus more on clean and effective governance than generating an endless stream of PR pops.

A new audit has found serious problems in the way Illinois handles doctors accused of possible misconduct, from investigations being closed improperly to sloppy paperwork to a lack of public information.

Auditor General William Holland reported Tuesday the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is supposed to investigate accusations of misconduct. But some accusations were shelved by the staff who took the complaints, while others were sent to investigators but were closed without approval from the department’s disciplinary board.

Auditors say 15 percent of cases were closed without evidence the disciplinary board had signed off.

Investigators did not always have access to past reports on accusations against doctors when looking into new allegations, auditors found, and half of investigations lasted longer than the five-month goal the department has set.

The full audit can be found here. The AP has a summary here.

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Whatever it takes

Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The governor threatens to create a new state law over the objections of actual lawmakers.

If the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t act quickly to make the morning-after pill available without a doctor’s prescription, Illinois will.

That’s the message being sent to the FDA today in a letter from Gov. Blagojevich, who urged the agency to end more than three years of “stalling” and approve over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B.

“The evidence is clear and overwhelming that making Plan B available over-the-counter is the right thing to do,” the two-page letter reads. “If the FDA fails to act, as governor, I will move forward to enact legislation on our own.” […]

The governor said his lawyers are looking into whether he can make the necessary changes without the General Assembly’s approval — an executive power Blagojevich said he would use if lawmakers shot down his plan.

Somebody should really show this guy a copy of the state Constitution.

Meanwhile, the governor’s plan to force pharmacies to post signs is moving forward.

Starting in early September, every pharmacy in Illinois will be required to post signs saying that pharmacists must dispense prescribed contraceptives–including the so-called morning-after pill–without delay.

Spearheaded by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the measure cleared its final legislative hurdle Tuesday.

I don’t have time to find it now, but I recall that the mock-up sign released by the governor had his name displayed in big, bold letters. Just in time for election season.

UPDATE: It turns out, the approved poster is the department’s letterhead and the State Seal. The guv’s name may be on the letterhead, but won’t be as prominently displayed as it was on the mockup the guv’s people used at that earlier press conference.

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Morning shorts

Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· Sneed: Ring ring: Betchya indicted businessman Stuart Levine, who wore a wire for the feds for the past 11 months, wishes he made better use of his cell phone. Why? The feds recorded more than 1,600 calls on the home phone of Levine, a Republican insider who cozied up to Dems after Gov. Blagojevich took office.

Â· “Lowe’s has halted plans for two home-improvement centers in Chicago while Mayor Richard Daley weighs whether he will try to block the city’s new “big-box” minimum-wage ordinance, a South Side alderman said Tuesday.”

Â· State working on traffic info via cell phone

Â· “The ongoing debate about prison understaffing took an unusual twist Monday as state Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon, announced he has filed a request through the Freedom of Information Act to force the release of a much-publicized report on staffing levels at prisons statewide.”

Â· Business booms with trapshooting attendance

Â· “A year ago, when prices hit $2.76 a gallon in Central Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich was calling on President Bush to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Now, if someone had that price it would probably trigger long lines at the pump for ‘cheap’ fuel.” [That was before the guv got so much cash from gas station owners]

Â· Law ensures meetings open to all but interpretation

Â· Medicaid Reform: Fuhgeddaboutit

Â· Kirk wants changes in No Child

Â· Marin: Has ‘Low Blow Joe’ gone goo-goo, or is there more to story?

Â· Sneed: [Pat] Quinn has been at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany visiting American soldiers wounded in Iraq — on his own dime and time. Quinn was invited by the Army and is due back today.

Â· Rosenthal: WXRT-FM cuts veteran host Skafish

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