EU-DIGEST

The US Department of State Acting Secretary spokesman Robert Wood announced that at the invitation of Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to the Netherlands to attend the “International Conference on Afghanistan: a Comprehensive Strategy in a Regional Context” in The Hague on March 31. Building on the achievements of the Conferences held in Bonn, in London and, most recently, in Paris last year, The Hague Ministry will reaffirm the solid and long-term commitment of the international community to supporting the Government of Afghanistan in shaping a better future for Afghanistan and its people. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke will accompany Secretary Clinton. The ministerial discussion will be co-chaired by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan Kai Eide, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Rangin Dadfar Spanta and Foreign Minister Verhagen.

While in the Netherlands, Secretary Clinton will also have a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Verhagen to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Labels: Afghanistan, Britain. EU, Hillary Clinton, Maxime Verhagen, NATO. US, The Netherlands

Hillary Clinton moves quickly on diplomatic fronts - by Paul Richter

Reporting from Geneva -- If anyone doubted that the "restart" button has been pushed on U.S. diplomacy, look no further than the T-shirt worn by a young gay rights advocate at a question-and-answer session in Belgium last week: I [Heart] Hillary. "I must call on this young man," the new secretary of State said. Palestinians were cheered last week when Clinton criticized Israel's plans to raze 88 houses in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem to make room for an archaeological and historical center. But they noted she was going no further on the issue than the Bush administration had, and that she did not refer to the Israeli presence in the West Bank as an "occupation," as Bush once did.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Israel, Palestine, US Foreign Policy

NATO seen backing Russia ties to form broad front - by David Brunnstrom

NATO is expected on today to back a resumption of formal ties with Russia as Washington and its allies seek a broad front in their troubled battle against Afghan militants and other threats. The Bush administration led NATO's suspension of formal dialogue with Russia after Moscow's incursion into Georgia last August, but President Barack Obama's White House team has made clear it wants to open a new page in relations with the Kremlin.

Note EU-Digest: At least one step in the right direction.

Labels: EU, Hillary Clinton, Nato, Russia, US

Clinton maps out priorities with European ministers - by Valentina Pop

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton met her European counterparts in Brussels last night for a "transatlantic dinner" ahead of the Nato ministerial meeting on Thursday set to focus on Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and Russia. "She will convey on behalf of the Obama administration our commitment to revitalising Nato, listening to our allies and consulting, hearing their views and building strategies together," Kurt Volker, the US permanent representative to Nato told EUobserver. On Friday, Ms Clinton is due to meet her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva for their first bilateral meeting since the Obama administration took office.

Before traveling to Geneva, Ms Clinton will meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, as well as the Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, on behalf of the EU presidency. She is also scheduled to participate in a public debate with European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering on Friday.

Labels: EU, Hillary Clinton, Nato, Russia, US

Japan Says Clinton’s Visit Shows Country’s Importance to U.S. - by Viola Gienger and Takashi Hirokawa

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Tokyo as her first stop on a four-nation tour this month shows the importance the U.S. places on ties with Asia’s biggest economy, Japan’s top government spokesman said. In her first trip abroad as President Barack Obama’s top diplomat, Clinton will spend a week going to Tokyo, Jakarta, Seoul and Beijing beginning Feb. 15. The agenda will focus on efforts to halt North Korea’s nuclear-arms program, the global financial crisis, security and climate change, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in Washington yesterday. “Making Japan the first overseas destination is meaningful and a concrete demonstration of the importance that President Obama and the secretary attach to the Japan-U.S. alliance,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said today in Tokyo.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Japan, US

Clinton picks climate envoy, in another break with Bush

In a sharp break from former president George W. Bush's approach to global warming, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has picked a special envoy for climate change, the State Department said Monday. Coming less than a week after Clinton assumed her job, the position signalled to US allies how urgently President Barack Obama's administration takes the threat posed by climate change after Bush played it down. During her Senate confirmation hearing on January 13, Clinton said that Obama would lead "a global and coordinated response" toward combating climate change. Climate change is "an unambiguous security threat," she said.

Note EU-Digest: Another step in the right direction by the Obama Administration.

Labels: Barack Obama, Climate Change, Global warming, Hillary Clinton, US

Hillary Clinton confirmed as secretary of state

It's official. The Senate has confirmed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

The confirmation was held up for a day after the objection of one senator. Texas Republican John Cornyn said he wanted more time to address important questions concerning the foundation headed by former President Bill Clinton "and its acceptance of donations from foreign
entities."

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US

Obama Looks To The Right - Is Barack Obama A Secret Centrist? - Fred Barnes

The scoreboard looks like this: Three of the four cabinet posts that matter most are going to those with views acceptable to the center-right of the Democratic party. That's Geithner, Clinton, and Gates. The fourth, attorney general, will provoke a confirmation fight if Obama chooses his buddy Eric Holder, famous as President Clinton's deputy attorney general for facilitating the pardon of Marc Rich. Three out of four isn't bad. Conservatives aren't jumping for joy. But imagine how the left wing of the Democratic party-the dominant wing, after all-feels. Let down would be an understatement. Organized labor must be crazed over the selection of Summers. As a believer in the indispensability of global trade, Summers is bound to advise Obama to reject labor's call for limitations on trade, especially during a world financial breakdown. In fact, I suspect he's already urged Obama to go along with "card check," labor's latest scheme for unionizing workers, but not the protectionist agenda. Tinkering with trade would unsettle financial markets. And how about the environmental lobby, which totally embraced Obama? Jones will be hard for environmentalists to stomach. And the foreign policy left? The left views Jones, Clinton, and Gates as enemies.

Note EU-Digest: No, Obama is not a secret centrist. He is a very clever man. To get the US economy going again and to push his plans along he will need the left and the right. After that is achieved he will dump them."

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Republican Party, US

US elections - Obama might not beat McCain without Clinton and her supporters - by Geoff Elliot

While many have written off Senator Clinton as a possible running mate -- the odds were firming in the political betting markets yesterday that Senator Obama would pick veteran senator Joe Biden -- polls yesterday indicated about half of Senator Clinton's supporters were still refusing to back Senator Obama. Despite renewed campaigning from Senator Clinton to convince her supporters to back the man who narrowly beat her in the drawn-out battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, many of her supporters remain upset by her loss and want to at least see her on the Obama ticket. Senator Obama has repeatedly said Senator Clinton would be on his short list, though speculation over the past few days has centred on Senator Biden, Indiana senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, US elections

For the complete report from TIME/CNN click on this link

US Elections: Majority of Dems Want VP Clinton - by Blake Dvorak

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll out today finds that a majority of Democrats think Obama should pick Hillary as his running mate, 54-43. The poll also finds that 60% of Democratic women think Hillary should be VP, but only 46% of men. What to make of this? First, Obama shouldn't be making any decisions about his running mate any time soon. By which I mean for at least a few weeks. The passions from the primary are still too hot to really get a clear sense of just what kind of candidate Obama needs. Better to let the fact of Obama's nomination sink with the general public before making any huge decisions.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

For the complete report from the National Post click on this link

US Elections - Worrying signs for Obama in Clinton win

Hillary Clinton won a commanding victory yesterday in West Virginia's Democratic primary, prolonging the party's presidential race and underscoring front-runner Barack Obama's weakness among blue-collar voters important to capturing the White House in November. Ms. Clinton's aides said the West Virginia results showed once again she would be the stronger candidate against Republican John McCain, citing her consistent support among lower-income Americans in swing states that will decide the November election. "The bottom line is this: The White House is won in the swing states and I am winning the swing states," Ms. Clinton said.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, US elections

US Elections 2008 - As the US Press continues to swoon over Obama, Hillary beats him in Indiana - neighbor state to his home state of Illinois

The US Press said that Hillary Clinton had to win with double digit figures in Pennsylvania to make a dent in Obama's political fortunes. When she did the Press said the double digit numbers should have been higher. On Indiana they said that Hillary could not win, because after all it was the neighboring state of Illinois, Obama's home State. When she won last night, they said she barely squeaked by, while Obama's win in Nort Carolina was labeled a decisive, big win, even though he did not win as expected with double digit numbers.

The editor-in-chief of the liberal online magazine Salon, Joan Walsh, says her colleagues in the media simply “hate” Hillary Clinton — while they’re “swooning” over her Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama. Appearing on CNN on Sunday, Walsh said: "I was struck when I got to Iowa and New Hampshire in January by how our media colleagues were just swooning over Barack Obama. That is not too strong a word. They were swooning and they hate, hate Hillary Clinton, most of them.” Walsh added: “Hate is also not too strong a word. There is such a double standard.”

Independent political experts say that the real issue that dogs Obama now and probably also will if he manages to get the nomination, certainly not a given, regardless if he is the "favorite" of the US Press, is race. That in any season is most important for a politician, especially a black politician like Obama who has worked tirelessly to sell white voters on his non-racial message of unity, harmony, and hope. Obama is no different than other inexperienced politicians who get blind-sided by damaging and hurtful allegations and associations, like Obama with his own pastor Jeremiah Wright. They panic, do their public mea culpas, and hope and pray that it all blows over. It never does. Obama does not have the nomination all sown up, regardless of how deeply the US corporate Press loves him.

Democratic party leaders can read statistics like anyone else. Polls are showing that Hillary can beat McCain 47-41 while Obama loses by 5 percentage points. Three new Quinnipiac University polls out of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania show Clinton matching up stronger against McCain than Obama. In Florida and Ohio specifically, Clinton beats McCain handedly while Obama ties the Arizona senator. In Florida, Clinton beats McCain by 8 points (49 to 41 percent) while Obama trails by 1 point (44 to 43 percent) In Ohio, Clinton is up 10 points over McCain (48-38 percent) while Obama is again down 1 point. (43 to 42 percent). Clinton and Obama both beat McCain in Pennsylvania, though Clinton does so by a wider margin. (Clinton bests McCain by 14 points there, Obama beats McCain by 9 points.)McCain trailed 45-46 percent when placed by pollsters against Clinton, but led 46-45 percent when against Obama.

One can only feel disgust for the corporate media, who make millions of dollars manipulating public opinion for reasons which have nothing to do with democracy or the free press. On the other hand we tip our hats to the many small, independent, local, and regional newspapers editors in the US from Cutler, Maine to Paia, Hawaii, who still consider the main purpose of the Press is to be an innovator, a school and an objective reviewer and reporter of facts and figures.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, US elections, US Press

US elections - Clinton can beat McCain, Obama can't - Clinton moves further ahead of McCain than Obama does - by Mark Memmott and Jill Lawrence

AP says its latest survey shows that as of now, Clinton has a 50%-41% advantage over McCain. That's a wider lead than she had the last time AP-Ipsos did such a survey. Three weeks ago, she led 48%-45%, according to Pollster.com's archive of recent polls. Meanwhile, AP says Obama has a 46%-44% advantage over McCain -- vs. their 45%-45% tie three weeks ago.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Obama, US elections

Obama can not win the presidential elections- he has a punctuation problem - by John Harris and David Paul Kuhn

Barack Obama’s real opponent now is not Hillary Rodham Clinton. It is a pair of punctuation marks. The first is a question. The second is an asterisk. Both threaten to hover over Obama if he wins the Democratic nomination without confronting and defeating the doubts Clinton has raised about his political strength beyond his electoral base of African-Americans and upscale whites.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Obama, US elections

No more civil words, just outright civil war - by John Ibbitson

In the waning days of the Pennsylvania primary campaign, Hillary Clinton's camp unleashed a particularly dark television ad. Over images of Pearl Harbor, the stock-market crash, Osama Bin Laden and other calamities, a grim-voiced announcer declared: "Harry Truman said it best: 'If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.' Who do you think has what it takes?" On the night of the primary, Barack Obama was anything but gracious in defeat. He condemned Ms. Clinton for "taking money from Washington lobbyists - from oil lobbyists and drug lobbyists and insurance lobbyists. ... You can't be the champion of working Americans if you're funded by the lobbyists who drown out their voices."

Thus far, the Democrats' protracted primary campaign still appears to be doing the party more good than harm.The Democratic stalemate leaves both Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama with a choice: continue to escalate their personal attacks, knowing that the Republicans are the ultimate beneficiaries, or raise the bar of civility, at the risk of losing Indiana. The signs all point to escalating attacks, even if it does mean that winning the nomination could cost that winner the election.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Obama, US elections

For the complete report from the Midwest Voices click on this link

Keep running, Hillary - Yael T. Abouhalkah

Clinton's convincing win on Tuesday in Pennsylvania means she can and should continue her quest. As she points out, she keeps winning the big states when paired against Obama. What's that mean in a general election vs. John McCain? That's not clear, but at least Clinton can point to her strength among voters in the largest states.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

US Democratic Presidential Primaries - Attention, pundits. It ain't over - by Rebecca Traister

"I think Hillary could win by 5 to 12 points," Gov. Rendell told me as he shook hands and posed for photos. "But even if she wins by 6 or 7, that would be tremendous, considering the record levels of money that the Obama campaign has spent in Pennsylvania." Here Rendell was clearly tempering any lingering expectations of a Hillary rout, and hewing to campaign talking points about the $2.2 million-a-week ad habit Obama reportedly developed here in Pennsylvania, a budget that made him the highest political spender in state history, including Rendell himself. Rendell also spoke about what makes Pennsylvania such a potential sweet spot for Clinton, recalling that both Clintons banked goodwill in the 1990s by supporting his turnaround of Philadelphia as mayor. The Clinton administration sent his city gobs of federal money. Then there's the state's mix of high-tech and traditional manufacturing jobs. "We've been hurt by trade," said Rendell. "Not as much as Ohio or Michigan, but we've been hurt, and we have a lot of blue-collar workers who love her." Rendell also noted Pennsylvania's "strong feminist movement" (huh!) and the fact that it's the third oldest state in the union (Clinton does great with the olds).

When explaining their preference for Clinton their reasons often had to do with her experience, or a sense that she was a woman of action. Psychologist Ziona Brotleit, 57, wore a T-shirt that said "A Century of Women on Top," and praised Clinton's brains. "What impresses me is that she has the information, the knowledge, and that she can speak about more specific information than her opponent is able to," she said. "And that's what I want, someone who can think."

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania, US elections

Newsmax/Zogby Poll: Clinton Surges Ahead in Pennsylvania - Clinton 47% - Obama 43%

Democrat Hillary Clinton had a good day in the Newsmax/Zogby daily tracking poll ahead of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary, following a strong debate performance in Philadelphia Wednesday night, and now holds a 47% to 43% advantage over Barack Obama of Illinois. The two-day tracking survey, which was conducted April 16-17, 2008, showed that 10% were either undecided or supported someone else. The telephone survey, conducted using live operators working out of Zogby’s on-site call center in Upstate New York, included 602 likely Democratic primary voters in Pennsylvania. It carries a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points. Clinton 47% - Obama 43%

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

US Presidential elections - Is Hillary's Campaign Deliberately Sunk?

The figure of Mark Penn is revealing as to what the machine of Hillary Clinton represents in terms of power politics. Penn had been a political adviser of the Clintons since managing Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election fight. His firm ran the election polls that helped define Clinton's campaign strategy, itself a cynical modern US electoral innovation, updating with high tech means the motto, "tell the people what they want to hear." Penn's polling firm, Penn, Schoen and Berland (PSB) has been used by Britain's Tony Blair, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, by Menachim Begin in Israel and Senator Joe Lieberman to shape election strategy.

Mark Penn is exemplary of what US political insiders refer to as a person of the "permanent establishment," the shadowy institutions and insiders behind the curtains who really determine critical policy issues and shape the choices gullible voters then are given to "democratically choose among." It has been referred to by strategists since the time of Edward Bernays as the "illusion of choice." Penn is above political party, serving the interests of what some call the permanent establishment. As a case in point, he also is CEO of the influential global public relations firm, Burson-Marsteller, which includes among clients the largest US mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial and Blackwater Inc. the Republican led mercenary security firm that has been accused of repeated killings of innocent Iraqi civilians. Penn's firm was to make sure the "image" of such clients remained positive to the US public.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

US Elections Clinton Hints at Shared Ticket

Hillary Rodham Clinton, fresh off a campaign saving comeback, hinted Wednesday at the possibility of sharing the Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama - with her at the top. Obama played down his losses in all the big states, stressing that he still holds the lead in number of delegates.Clinton and Obama spent most of the past two weeks in Ohio and Texas in a bruising campaign, with the former first lady questioning his sincerity in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement and darkly hinting he's not ready to be commander in chief in a crisis. Obama also confronted questions about one of his longtime political benefactors, businessman Antoin ``Tony'' Rezko, who went on trial Monday in Chicago on several felony fraud charges.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

For the complete report from the allAfrica.com click on this link

US Pres; Elections: Nothing Wrong With Identity Politics?- by Anne Mugisha

An amazing election campaign has unfolded in America over the last two months. It has left many African-American women of the Democratic Party torn between loyalty to gender and loyalty to race. The difficulty of choosing between Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama has given many 'sistas' a lot of grief. Whether to 'betray' gender and favor race has not been an easy decision and at a pre-election rally in California, billionaire talk-show host Oprah Winfrey revealed her own struggles with the issue when she told an audience that she was being accused of betraying her gender by picking Obama and campaigning for him vigorously. Her response: She had to follow her own truth and her truth led her to Obama.

Problems begin to emerge when one grouping assumes a superior claim for its own kind over others and hence the need for norms, rules and laws to ensure equality.

Note EU-Digest:With the strong support Obama is getting from all levels of the white voters around America, it is sad to note that the black population there is still struggling with the concept of race and identity. They have shown this so far in every primary contest of the Democratic primary elections this year by voting massively for race over gender and experience.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Obama, US elections

US elections - A Final Thought On Tonight's Debate - by Marc Ambinder

This was the night where we all learned that Hillary Clinton understands the moment in history we are in, and that she is smart enough and gracious enough to realize that her party is more important than personal vanity, that there are things she just cannot say about Obama because it would hurt him in the fall, and that more likely than not, she will not win the nomination. Make no mistake: she still thinks she can win. But her final answer sent a message to her party: this won't be decided by superdelegates. If Obama beats me in Texas and Ohio, the last thing I'm going to do is stand in the way of his nomination. It was a moment of pure vulnerability, arguably her finest of the campaign.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

Clinton Campaign Issues Economic Plan for America

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign released a 13-page blueprint for fixing the economy Monday, detailing Mrs. Clinton's plans to achieve universal health care, address the home foreclosure crisis and develop jobs for the middle class."Over the past seven years, big corporations and special interests have been given a free pass to profit, often at the expense of the American worker", says Mrs. Clinton. As President, Mrs. Clinton says she will make it a priority to scale back special benefits and subsidies to these corporations and put those resources to work for our economy again."

It also describes Clinton's plan for creating new jobs through investments in infrastructure projects like roads, bridges and levees and "green-collar" jobs that would help reduce dependence on foreign oil. The New York senator also details her ideas for improving trade agreements, making college more affordable and expanding family and medical leave programs. Mrs. Clinton's plan to rein in the special interests will take back at least $55 billion per year from drug companies, oil companies and firms that ship jobs overseas and invest those resources to improve the lives of working families.

Note EU-Digest: For a copy of Mrs. Clinton's economic blue print for America click on this link

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

US Pres. elections Republicans Root for Obama who is not the underdog anymore - by Fred Barnes

Republicans and Barack Obama are far apart ideologically, but they have a common enemy: Hillary Clinton. This explains why many Republicans look kindly on Obama's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Republicans have two goals in the 2008 race. One is to retain the presidency. The other is to deny the Clintons--Hillary and Bill--another four (or eight) years in the White House.Barack Obama is the underdog no more.

The 46-year-old Illinois senator handed rival Hillary Clinton three more humbling defeats Tuesday night in the Democratic presidential race, winning easy victories in the so-called "Potomac primaries" in the U.S. capital region. Obama handily beat Clinton to win the Democratic primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. He won almost 75 per cent of the vote in D.C. and almost two thirds in Virginia, a state with a large population of military personnel and government workers that was once considered fertile political ground for Clinton.

Even before the votes were tallied on Tuesday, Clinton already was looking ahead to another set of primaries in Ohio and Texas. She held a rally Tuesday night in El Paso. "I think just the fact that Barack Obama is in this place where Hillary Clinton has skedaddled out of town and is down in Texas, already just saying goodbye to these (Potomac) primaries, is a remarkable situation," said Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, an Obama supporter. "It's a remarkable statement." Clinton's campaign has also begun planning for yet another major showdown with Obama on April 22 in Pennsylvania.

Labels: Elections, Hillary Clinton, Obama

What Europe Can Expect from the US Pres. Candidates - by Lord George Weidenfeld ( translated by Ron Argentati)

Hillary Clinton intends to continue cultivating contacts with Europe as well as with al-Qaeda and US-friendly regimes in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Israel. Here she wants to proceed more tactfully than Bush and will try to succeed in the goal nearly achieved by her husband, namely to convince (or even force) the Israelis and Palestinians into a peace settlement. One should not forget that it was Bill Clinton who played a leading role in the Balkans which led to regime change in Serbia and produced a realignment, albeit a fragile one, in the region.

After several discussions with Barack Obama’s confidantes and independent supporters, one gets a hazy picture of his exact world political ideas and ideals. He is supported by most of the liberal intelligentsia. The Kennedy clan pays homage to Obama as the symbol of a younger generation and Jack Kennedy’s spiritual heir. Still, among those closest to him, one finds radical advocates of a thoroughly altered foreign policy. Robert Malley, former official in Clinton’s National Security Council, is leading a well-aimed campaign against Israel. He maintains that at the 2000 Camp David Summit, the Clinton-led negotiations failed not because of Arafat’s veto but basically because of the dishonorable bargaining tactics and hollow promises of then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barack Obama wants to deal directly with Hamas and Hezbollah and also negotiate a new relationship with Iran.

I met John McCain and his wife at a meeting in London where I shared a table with them. I got the impression from both McCains that I was dealing with educated and well-read connoisseurs of European culture and politics. McCain differs from the Neoconservatives in that he does not share their inflexible compulsion to literally force western democracy on the world. Actually, one could compare the Neocons with an automobile that has classic-liberal bodywork but is powered by an old Trotskyite engine. That these elections are being followed with burning interest by the rest of the world is proof that despite America’s losses of reputation, honor, and victory, whatever affects the superpower affects us all.

Labels: EU, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Obama, US elections

US Presidential Elections : Clinton Wins Big Four; Obama Gathers Delegates from smaller states with black vote- biased Press favors Obama

By winning four of the six big states -- California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey -- Clinton can claim that she has held where it matters and has momentum going forward. The Obama camp will claim that expectations going into Super Tuesday were too high, and point to how much of the gap with Clinton he closed in the last week. He will also point to winning 13 states to Clinton's 8,including bellwether Missouri, plus two big states: Illinois and Georgia. But he had the advantage in both: Illinois is his home turf and Georgia's large African American vote was expected to hand him a win.Still, what matters is delegates. Obama's broad wins across more states, including delegate-rich caucus states like Minnesota, will keep him close. Obama heads into more caucuses Saturday where his campaign claims he has shown big strength: Washington, Louisiana and Nebraska, with 158 delegates at stake.

Note EU-Digest: in listening to the results coming in from the US media last night it was remarkable how biased they were in downplaying Clinton win in the large states like New York and California and glorifying Obama wins. As one political observer remarked, "figures are showing that people who earn less than 50.000.00 dollars a year voted for Hillary and those above $100.000.00 voted for Obama. Obama is certainly favored by the corporate establishment, who control the media."

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

Too late to rescue U.S. economy? - Of all Pres. Candidates Only Hillary Clinton seems to have a plan - by David Olive

he economic rescue brigade finally arrived in something like full force last week, about a year after experts dismissed warnings of a U.S. economic downturn with global consequences, and five months after world credit markets were thrown into turmoil by the collapse of the U.S. housing boom. Hillary Clinton, more attentive to grassroots economic anxiety than most of her presidential rivals, in a year when 1.8 million U.S. "subprime" mortgages will "reset" at much higher monthly payments than the teaser rates that inflated the housing bubble starting in 2003, last week presented her own rescue package. It's skewed to low-income and middle-class Americans, and provides more genuine assistance to hundreds of thousands of people faced with foreclosure on their homes, in contrast with the minimalist distressed-homeowner bailout proposed by Bush late last year. But Clinton's initiative won't become reality until some months after she takes the presidential oath of office, should it come to that, which takes us into the spring of 2009.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US Economy

US Politics - Hillary wins New Hampshire race and shatters the Obama "fairy tale" being made true by the gushing media

With more than 70 per cent of the precincts counted the former first lady had come away with 40 per cent of the vote in the presidential Primary with Obama coming a close second at 36 per cent. Former Senator John Edwards posted 17 per cent of the vote.

Addressing her supporters, Clinton said ''over the last week, I listened to you and, in the process, I found my own voice. I felt like we all spoke from our hearts, and I am so gratified that you responded. ''For all the ups and downs of this campaign, you helped remind everyone that politics isn't a game. This victory will serve notice that people across our country know what's really at stake, that we will all be called upon to deliver on the promise of America,'' Clinton said at the victory rally. "This is the political equivalent of Ali-Frazier," declared Tim Russert on NBC, setting up the next few weeks in the Democratic race.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US, US elections

US Presidential Elections: Selling Substance Over Style in Iowa - "Europeans prefer Hillary" - by Ana Marie Cox

Clinton's unapologetic emphasis on substance and her decision to talk about emotional issues — health care, education — in dry policy terms allowed her potential supporters to embrace her intellect while they themselves supplied the pathos and the spirit that, in most campaigns, comes from the podium.

Note EU-Digest: "In a poll conducted in Europe by the Harris Institute for France's 24 television and the Paris-based International Herald Tribune enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton was significantly higher among Europeans than Americans. Over half of the European respondents agreed that electing a woman as US president would have a positive effect on the United States, with numbers ranging from 53 to 56 percent in Spain, Italy, France and Germany. Only 29 percent of Americans, however, thought it would be positive, while 26 percent said the effect would be negative.Asked whether the election of a black man would have a positive effect, 43 percent of Britons and Germans and 50 percent of Spaniards said yes. Only 33 percent of Americans agreed."

Labels: EU, Hillary Clinton

USA Presidential Elections: Clinton tops poll in Iowa for first time - by Jennifer Jones - by JENNIFER JACOBS

Sen. Hillary Clinton has climbed to the top of the Democratic lineup in Iowa in a NewsMax/Zogby poll for the first time. Former Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, has been on top in most Iowa polls of Democrats this year.

The poll made public Tuesday shows Clinton is supported by 30 percent of Iowa Democrats likely to attend their precinct caucuses next January. Edwards receives 23 percent support, and Sen. Barack Obama received 19 percent support in the telephone poll taken last weekend by NewsMax/Zogby, a national opinion research company.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, US elections

Race to Succeed Bush Already Rivets Attention Around Europe and the rest of the World by ames G. Neuger and Gemma Daley

From Australia's outback to the salons of Europe to the eateries of Sao Paulo, the early start to the U.S. presidential campaign is captivating the public. The spread of the global electronic village is one reason. Another is the star appeal of the candidates best known outside the U.S.: onetime White House resident Hillary Clinton, rising star Barack Obama, war hero John McCain and 9/11 redeemer Rudy Giuliani.

Clinton is the favorite of more conventional bettors, too. Ladbrokes Plc, the world's largest publicly traded bookmaker, is quoting 2-1 odds on Hillary Clinton the first lady turned senator, with Giuliani at 7-2, Obama at 4-1 and McCain at 6-1.

Labels: Europe, Hillary Clinton, Politics

Hillary Clinton Distances Herself from France’s Royal

In the wake of Segolene Royal’s defeat in France, campaign staffers for another woman presidential hopeful – Hillary Clinton – are dismissing comparisons between their candidate and her French counterpart.

"Other than the fact that they are both women, they don’t have much in common,” said Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s communications director.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Segolene Royal