TresSugar

Barack Obama Clinches Nomination Ahead of Final Results

LibertySugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:35:44 -0700

Barack Obama has reached the magic number, and clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, according to the Associated Press delegate count.

The count is based on private and public delegate commitments. According to the AP, Obama has effectively claimed the nomination with 2,118 delegates, even if he loses the South Dakota and Montana primaries today.

Showing political savvy, Obama's campaign has secured enough public and private commitments from elected and superdelegates, on the last day of the primary season.

Superdelegate endorsements have been announced all day, thus ensuring his triumph will ride in ahead of the last two elections, instead of looking like a back-room, postponed deal made by party insiders.

Are you ready for the general election showdown? Here comes Barack Obama vs. John McCain . . .

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Would You Like a Woman Nominated to the Supreme Court?

TresSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:00:00 -0700

In his surprise press conference recently, President Obama vowed that he would replace retiring Justice Souter with an "independent" legal mind. He gave no word on the nominee's gender, but the odds that he will pick a woman are better than 50-50.

Only two women have ever sat on the court, and right now Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the only lady justice. Still, President Bush faced the same situation and he nominated two men to the court during his term.

Do you think being a woman should be on the list of qualifications for Supreme Court Justice?

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Democrats Up in the Air, Hillary's Name Put in For Nomination

CitizenSugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:01:16 -0700

Hold up y'all, I don't hear any kind of lady singing on the Democratic nomination just yet! The Obama and Clinton camps have just come to an agreement that will allow Clinton's name to be put up for nomination, too. A source close to the development says, "both sides agree that it is in the best interest of party unity and making sure that everyone's voice and vote is honored to make sure her name is put into nomination. It's to honor everyone who worked so hard on both sides."

Aimed at healing hurt feelings from the 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, the deal, according to a Clinton camp source, "truly was a joint decision. This wasn't something she was itching for, looking for. But so many of her supporters said it was important to them. And the Obama people got how important it was to smooth over any tensions and that it was the right thing to do."

To see how it will happen, read more.

Here's how it will go down: after both Clinton and Obama names are put forward for nomination, there will be a roll call vote - that's where Clinton supporters could make a difference. It's not incredibly likely given they've planned for the next step, too - at some point during the convention, Clinton will release her delegates officially to Obama and she'll make it crystal clear that she is voting for Obama.

Is this an exciting development, a distracting charade, or just a nice gesture? I'm looking forward to seeing it go down with Liberty in Denver!

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Tom Daschle Withdraws His Nomination For HHS Secretary

CitizenSugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:14:10 -0800

Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services after his failure to pay substantial taxes came to light. The former Senate majority leader did not pay $128,000 in taxes for a car service provided to him by a firm he did consulting for between 2005 and 2007. Daschle reported the unpaid taxes after being tapped for HHS secretary, and on Jan. 2 he paid $140,000 in back taxes and interest, but he still owes more.

Obama's nominees have been plagued with tax issues. This morning, Nancy Killefer, Obama's nominee for chief performance officer withdrew her candidacy after she failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help. And Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner managed to overcome the revelation that he failed to pay $34,000 in taxes while working abroad for the International Monetary Fund.

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Which Comedy Show Had The Best Emmy Nomination Clip?

GiggleSugar — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:00:00 -0700

I know the Emmy Awards were, like, so last week-- but I came across this recap of all the nomination clips for the category of "Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program." It's a rare treat to see our favorite funny guys side-by-side, so I thought we'd put these nomination clips to a vote. Who amused you most?

Hillary Advisor Says Edwards "Cheated" Her Out of Nomination

CitizenSugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:30:38 -0700

Is Hillary having a huge case of dé ja vu? The last time a popular Southern politician got caught fooling around and wrecked her life, it was admittedly closer to home - but this time it may have cost her a ticket back to that very White House. Top Clinton Aide Howard Wolfson is alleging that fancy philanderer John Edwards done Hillary wrong - and worse - cost her the nomination.

Wolfson says that had the Edwards story broken last Fall when the Enquirer first started digging into it, "I believe we would have won Iowa, and Clinton today would therefore have been the nominee." Clinton finished a squeaker third behind Edwards, with Obama getting a huge boost from having beat two more well-known candidates. Without Edwards, splitting the share, Clinton would have won Iowa the course would have been different.

After recovering from the brutal campaign and laying low, Clinton is back in the news in a cavalcade of stories. To see what else is going on, read more.

Clinton has clinched a cushy speech timeslot at the convention this month - the very convention where her supporters are thought to be making one last push to get her on the ballot in one way or another. One group called PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) claim that Hillary could still be the nominee if some Obama delegates could be persuaded to swap teams. Their pick is still saddled with debt from the fight and she may forgo repaying herself and just move on.

Should Clinton supporters follow that lead? Is the Edwards scandal delay responsible for Hillary's downfall?

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Yay or Nay? Does the US Nomination Process Make Sense?

LibertySugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:01:53 -0800

Democrats and Republicans choose nominees through a less than straightforward series of caucuses and primaries. Each party and each state has its own set of jumbled-up rules.

The extreme media attention given to the early voting states can be unpopular - some say it skews the race in a way that ignores true electorate preferences. For example, Iowa, the first state, is extremely homogeneous (the population is 95 percent white) and cares a lot about corn subsidies.

But it's not all negative. The early states hold candidates responsible to groups of sophisticated voters who cannot be bought off by deep pockets. In addition, the Democratic Iowa contest doesn't use secret ballots, so voters must articulate reasons for supporting a candidate. Finally, the attention given to early small states is one of the few chances for these states to remain relevant on the national scene.

This year, it might all be different! The realities have been turned upside down. Neither party has a clear frontrunner, and it might come down to Super (Duper?) Tuesday when 24 states vote. Mass media campaigns and big states might actually wield some influence, for better or for worse.

So what do you think - is the US nomination process good for democracy?
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Do, Dump, or Marry? Reggie Bush

TresSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:30:00 -0700

In addition to being an awesome football player, Reggie Bush has a nice set of abs, a sweet looking smile, and a penchant for charity (OK - I couldn't completely objectify him!). After moving to New Orleans to join the Saints, Reggie donated heaps of money to help the city recover from Hurricane Katrina.

But sadly for anyone who's a fan of Reggie in a romantic way, he's apparently back together with his on-again-off-again girlfriend Kim Kardashian. Do you wish he was still single?

And don't forget! You can join our Do, Dump, or Marry? group if you want to nominate any hotties for a vote!

Biggest Headlines of 2008: Barack Obama Defeats Hillary Clinton For Nomination

CitizenSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:30:29 -0800

Hillary Clinton had the name, the experience, the money, the contacts, and the tenacity - yet her momentum of inevitability couldn't stop Barack Obama. Before he upset Hillary in the Iowa primary, few people took the two-year senator's chances of beating the front-runner seriously. His victorious finish in the the marathon Democratic primary proved to be one of the most shocking headlines of 2008, and of American political history.

Obama's ability to persevere through dozens of debates with such a policy-expert as Hillary, and his skill in dodging the kitchen sink lobbed his way from Camp Clinton proved to make him a stronger general election candidate. The early airing of potential scandals (like Rev. Wright or the Obama in Muslim garb pictures) and Obama's demonstration of executive prowess in running a capable campaign most likely got Americans more confident in his presidential abilities.

And, of course, the storyline for these two Democrats is far from over. Perhaps something they accomplish together as president and secretary of state will make the cut for biggest headline of 2009! As for this past year, stay tuned because we'll be looking back on all the biggest news from 2008!

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One Last View of Obama's Nomination Acceptance Speech

CitizenSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:16:04 -0700

We're back from Denver! Ah, air that's not mile-high - that's some killer altitude. While I was unpacking I found this clip that was too good not to share. CNN may have had their fancy cameras, but this is some serious embedded journalism.

It's pretty amazing view to say the least. The flashbulbs are my favorite part. Enjoy!