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Albright’s story
Former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright offered a different
story about whether she and President Clinton blew an offer by Sudan to pick
up Osama bin Laden. Albright inferred that Sudan never offered bin Laden to
the Americans.
Former President Clinton offered a different story, "We'd been hearing that
the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again. They released
him. At the time, 1996, he had committed no crime against America so I did
not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we
knew he wanted to commit crimes against America."
Clinton said that he "pleaded with the Saudis to take him, 'cause they could
have. But they thought it was a hot potato and they didn't and that's how he
wound up in Afghanistan."
However, Albright said, "What's been very hard is kind of a misstatement of
a lot of facts on [the Sudanese offer]. Look - we worked very hard to try to
deal with the terrorist issue. It was very different before 9/11."
Brazil denies racism
Extreme Black liberal Democrat activist Donna Brazil is denying that she is
a racist in an interview with the
Union Leader:
"I’m not a racist," Brazile said. "I’m not trying to stick this in the eye
of black people or white people."
Still, Brazile said that unless more diverse states hold caucuses or
primaries early in the nominating process, Democratic voters in the South
and other parts of the country will continue to be "written off."
Brazile said, "I’m not picking a fight with Iowa and New Hampshire. But it
is time for us to move beyond two states winnowing the process."
In her Roll Call commentary, Brazile, who managed Al Gore’s Presidential
campaign in 2000, took aim at the New Hampshire Union Leader’s editorial
page, potential 2008 Democratic Presidential candidates John Kerry and Evan
Bayh and New Hampshire Democrats.
The Union Leader article referred to Brazile’s commentary in Roll Call:
Veteran party strategist Brazile wrote in Roll Call that potential
candidates who back the Granite State’s effort to preserve its primary’s
traditional role are insensitive to the concerns of minority voters in other
regions of the country.
She referred to voters in mostly white New Hampshire and Iowa as "the
privileged few."
Northeast battleground
The
NY Times reports that Democrats' hope of winning control of the House of
Representatives lies in the Northeast:
Independent analysts say there are at least a dozen competitive races in New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Connecticut, many
involving districts where voters have supported Democrats for president in
recent elections while electing Republicans to Congress.
Now, with many polls showing President Bush's support at its lowest level
yet, Democrats in those districts are running heavily against the president,
hoping to tie Republican incumbents to his agenda. The Democrats need to
pick up 15 seats to take control of the House, where Republicans have had a
majority since 1994. Party strategists believe that the Northeast, with the
largest number of potentially competitive battles, could provide Democrats
with the bulk of those seats.
Extending tax cuts
The
Washington Post reports on a GOP agreement to extend the tax cuts:
The package would extend the 2003 cuts to the tax rates on dividends and
capital gains, continue tax breaks for small-business investment and the
overseas operations of financial service companies, and slow the expansion
of the alternative minimum tax, a parallel income tax system that was
enacted to target the rich but is increasingly snaring the middle class.
But the agreement cannot come to a vote until House and Senate negotiators
agree on a second piece of legislation containing many of the proposed tax
breaks left out of the compromise, according to legislative aides. And the
compromise is sure to spark a new round of recriminations from Democrats,
who say the Republican Party continues to favor wealthy investors over
lower- and middle-income workers, without regard to a budget deficit that is
expected to reach $370 billion this year.
For the Republicans, the tax cuts may have to substitute for other measures
proposed last week to help consumers cope with gasoline prices. Proposals
including a federal gas tax holiday and a $100 rebate have run into a buzz
saw of opposition from businesses and oil interests as well as consumers.
House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed the Senate
Republicans' proposed $100 rebate as "insulting," adding that his own
constituents considered it "stupid."
Warner to Middle East
Former Virginia Gov. Mark
Warner is on a trip to Israel. Warner's is meeting with
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Richard Jones, and leaders of the Kadima, Labor and Likud
political parties.
Warner is also scheduled to visit the Golan Heights. He is going to Jordan
where he meets with King Abdullah and Queen Rania in Amman.
Democrats’ mixed message
Democrats came out with their message to save the nation from high gas
prices yesterday. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) went first:
"Democrats have real plans that would end our dependence on foreign oil in
the long term -- and we intend to do it within 10 years," said Pelosi at the
beginning of the event.
Then it was the Senate’s turn, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) was the Senate
Democrats' point person. She made the prediction, that "in the days and
months ahead, Democrats will continue our work to reduce our dependence on
foreign oil by 40 percent over the next 15 years."
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