Newsweek
May 7, 2007 issue - Sen. Barack Obama vows to bring a "new kind of
politics" to Washington. But a copy of a 36-page fax from Obama's Senate
office, obtained by NEWSWEEK, shows that the rookie presidential
candidate, riding the biggest wave this side of his native Hawaii, needs
to keep a sharp eye on the details of his own campaign. Senate ethics
rules allow senators with active campaigns to "split" the work time and
salary of official schedulers such as Obama's Molly Buford. According to
Obama's campaign spokesman, Robert Gibbs, she in fact is paid by both
entities. But Senate rules and federal law forbid the use of official
equipment—such as faxes and phone lines—to conduct campaign business,
which was what Buford was doing last Thursday when she faxed Obama's
political "call list" to the senator's personal aide at a Columbia,
S.C., hotel. "These are the call sheets for tomorrow's call time," she
wrote on the official cover page, emblazoned with the seal of the U.S.
Senate.
The transmission was an isolated mistake, Gibbs told NEWSWEEK. "It
should not have happened, and we will make sure that it will not happen
again." (The campaign made another misstep a few weeks ago, allowing
political guru David Axelrod to be photographed chatting with Obama in
the Senate office.) The fax itself shows the campaign working to round
up endorsements from established party leaders. In the "talking points"
for a call to Rep. William Clay of St. Louis, Obama is advised by his
Chicago political team to say: "Your endorsement is important to me and
I hope that you will join the movement supporting my campaign. I would
like you to take an official leadership role for my campaign in
Missouri." But the memo cautions Obama. "Avoid discussing specific
titles," it says. "Staff will work this out later. YOU can assure him he
will be one of the main leaders in Missouri for your campaign." The
guidance for Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri was similar. "Carnahan is
just waiting for an official ask from you to endorse publicly," the
staff advises. "Assure him he will be one of YOUR leaders in the state,
but DO NOT lead him to believe that he will be in an exclusive role."

Obama's Talking Points
May 1, 2007 - Here’s the private advice Sen. Barack Obama’s staff gave
him the other day as he prepared to make a series of phone calls in
search of support:

Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee is a “huge finance wonk,” and
the way to win him over is by “giving Cooper a role in policy
discussion.”

The route to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s heart is a spot on your “national
leadership team” and a role as a “national surrogate” and adviser on
education.

Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York is in play—the only Democratic in the New
York delegation not to endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton—because Hillary’s
“senior press aide worked on behalf of Clarke’s primary opponent” last
year.

Federico Peña , Bill Clinton’s secretary of Transportation, “would be a
good high-level Hispanic endorsement, especially considering the recent
endorsements of both former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and California
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez for Senator Clinton. YOU should make a
hard ask for his endorsement and offer him a position on the campaign’s
national leadership.”

Got all that? Obama apparently did

Barack Obama outlines energy policy
Calls for increased research, cleaner fuels, flexible-fuel vehicles

DURHAM, N.H. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday
issued a call to save future generations from global catastrophe as he
offered an energy proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“We’ve been talking about climate change in Washington for years and
energy independence and efficiency for years,” Obama said. “But no
matter how many scientists testified about greenhouse gases, no matter
how much evidence that they’re threatening our coasts and endangering
our weather patterns, nothing happened with global warming until now.”

The Illinois senator stood in front of University of New Hampshire
campus buses that run on biofuels.

Obama says the fuel used to power automobiles should contain less of the
carbon that contributes to global warming — enough to make the same
impact as taking 32 million cars off the road.

“I believe we still have a chance to pass on a planet to our children
that is cleaner and safer and more prosperous than we found it,” Obama
said. “This is our generation’s moment to save future generations from
global catastrophe.”

Obama’s approach echoes California’s. The state’s Republican governor,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, issued an executive order this year requiring all
fuels sold in the state to contain less carbon. The goal is to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions from passenger vehicles 10 percent by 2020.

The Obama campaign said its effort would take that plan nationally.
Specifically, Obama wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars by 5
percent in 2015 and 10 percent in 2020.

“It will take a grass-roots effort to make America greener and end the
tyranny of oil,” Obama said two days before Earth Day.

Obama’s plan counts on new limits to stimulate increased production of
renewable biofuels, such as corn and cellulosic ethanol, which naturally
have lower emissions. The plan would create incentives for increased
research, investment in cleaner fuels and flexible-fuel vehicles that
can run on ethanol.

The campaign says a national fuel standard would reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by about 200 million tons in 2020, compared with 2007 levels —
the equivalent of taking about 32 million cars off the road in 2020. The
campaign also estimates the annual consumption of gasoline derived from
foreign oil imports would drop by about 30 billion gallons in 2020.

Obama also has proposed a bill in the Senate that would raise fuel
efficiency standards. If that were enacted and combined with his carbon
program, it would cut about 583 million tons of greenhouse gases in
2020, the equivalent of taking about 96 million cars off the road.

Obama Assails Private Medicare Plans
Published: 5/12/07, 6:05 AM EDT
By DAVID PITT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on
Friday proposed cutting government subsidies to private insurance
companies under Medicare by $150 billion over the next decade.

Campaigning for support in next winter's caucuses, Obama said the money
could be used to strengthen the Medicare program overall, including a
reduction in the prices seniors pay for prescription drug prices.

"We don't do that because we are not setting the agenda in Washington,
insurance companies and drug companies are. That's what people want to
turn the page on," the Illinois senator said to loud applause. "We want
a system that's fair and sensible to everyone."

Obama's campaign said more than 53,000 Iowans are enrolled in private
plans under the so-called Medicare Advantage program.

They likely would face a reduction in coverage or an increase in
out-of-pocket costs if the government cut its payments to the insurance
companies.

Supporters of these programs nationally say they provide additional
benefits, such as eyeglass coverage, and often offer better care than
the government-run program. Critics contend the government's subsidies
are far too generous for the care provided, and should be reduced.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent group that
advises Congress on the program, estimates that the government pays $112
a year to cover a Medicare beneficiary in a private plan for every $100
it pays for the traditional fee for service program. Obama proposed
eliminating the difference.

At least part of the gap results from legislation that Congress passed
in recent years to increase payments in rural areas, an attempt to make
sure seniors in sparsely populated regions have a choice of health care.

In a written statement accompanying his appearance, Obama said, "we
shouldn't be rewarding the insurance industry for deceiving and
defrauding our seniors, we should be doing everything we can to stop
them."

A campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, said the Illinois Democrat did not
intend to label all insurance companies operating Medicare Advantage
plans as deceitful.

"Besides some bad actors here, as MedPAC, the independent body that
advises Congress on this issue, has pointed out, these overpayments
appear to be driving up Medicare costs," he said.

Considering that Social Security are the only areas of the fed budget
with Surpluses, this is nothing more than political wrangling and in my
opinion lies...

Obama Proposes Changes in Student Loans
Published: 5/15/07, 5:45 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - As part of a pledge to make college more affordable,
Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama wants to eliminate federal
subsidies for banks that provide student loans.

The Illinois senator planned to outline his proposal in a conference
call with reporters Tuesday.

Currently, students can receive loans directly from the Education
Department or from banks whose loan programs are federally subsidized to
ensure a profitable return. Both programs charge similar interest rates
and fees.

Obama favors eliminating the bank subsidy program, which analysts
believe cost taxpayers about $6 billion per year. The savings would be
redirected to provide loans to more students.

"The system needs to be fixed," he said in a statement issued before the
conference call. "We shouldn't be providing billions in taxpayer-funded
giveaways to private banks. We should be providing an affordable,
accessible college education to every American."

Obama's plan closely resembles a proposal already announced by rival
Democrat John Edwards. His "College for All" plan would eliminate the
bank subsidy program and allow all students to borrow directly from the
Education Department.

With the cost of a college education already prohibitive for many
families, Democratic presidential candidates have begun offering
proposals to ease the price crunch.

Front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested a "student borrower
bill of rights" that sets loan payments as a percentage of income and
keeps fees and interest rates reasonable.

Among other candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination,
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden has proposed increasing the tax deduction for
tuition payments and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd would boost federal
assistance to students and increase competition for lower interest rates
on student loans.

Biden also would expand Pell grants for low-income families to cover the
average tuition at public colleges and universities.

The proposals have drawn notice in light of an investigation by New York
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that has exposed questionable financial
arrangements between lending companies and universities. The
investigation uncovered evidence that some colleges received a
percentage of loan proceeds from lenders who were given preferred status
by the schools.

Cuomo also has accused the Education Department of being asleep at the
switch in regulating the $85 billion student loan industry.

since noone seems interested in this candidte I will let this thread
die!!

Not interested, hey at least he paid he's old ass tickets.




Izzy