$152 billion boost OK'd for economy

$152 billion boost OK'd for economy

WASHINGTON - Congress gave overwhelming final approval Thursday night to legislation that would send government payments to most American households, provide mortgage relief to home buyers in high-price markets, including Silicon Valley, and grant tax incentives for business investment.

The $152 billion stimulus plan for the faltering U.S. economy now awaits a signature from President Bush. The White House said Bush would sign the bill sometime next week.

[...]

Senate Democrats had sought a considerably larger package than the one approved Thursday. It would have included an extension of unemployment insurance, billions of dollars in energy tax credits and federally backed bonds for home construction. It also would have ensured that low-income seniors, veterans and workers who earn too little to pay income tax would have received the same size check, $500, as working individuals. It would have doubled eligibility thresholds, to $150,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples.

But when a filibuster of that plan survived by a single vote, House Democratic leaders publicly pressured their Senate colleagues to scale back their ambitions and move fast.

"There is no reason for any more delay on this," Pelosi warned Thursday in a public break with Senate colleagues. "I don't think any change in the bill is really worth the delay."

Reid had raised eyebrows last month when he promised final passage of a stimulus bill by the time Congress leaves for its Presidents' Day break Feb. 15. Lawmakers beat the deadline by a week.

"The news is, we got there. We got there in record time," McConnell said.

This article has to do with a bill that is waiting to be signed by President Bush that will be providing many American households with government payments.

Schwarzenegger lauds Romney for dropping out of race

Schwarzenegger lauds Romney for dropping out of race

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday applauded former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's decision to exit the presidential race, saying his distance behind front-runner John McCain was too enormous.

"I'm all for staying in there and fighting till the end in sports," but Romney's move will reduce divisiveness among Republicans, the governor said.

The governor spoke in Palo Alto to reporters shortly after Romney suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination this morning.

[...]

The state funds will pay nearly one-fourth of the $22.9 million cost of building 56 apartments in Palo Alto, designed for seniors earning less than $20,000 a year.

The project, by the state's largest non-profit builder, Bridge Housing of San Francisco, is part of the 12-acre redevelopment of the former Sun Microsystems property at San Antonio and Charleston

This article states the Governor of California's views on Romney dropping out of the race and how he is endorsing McCain

Bush Urges Conservatives to Rally Behind 2008 Nominee

Bush Urges Conservatives to Rally Behind 2008 Nominee

WASHINGTON — Although he did not explicitly mention Sen. John McCain, President Bush on Friday sought to unify the Republican Party behind its eventual nominee, describing the election of his successor as president as a stark ideological choice.

Mr. Bush’s remarks, delivered in an early morning speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee, presaged the role his aides said he would play all year: using the power of the presidency to shape the agenda and attack his Democratic critics.

[...]

Although he has not endorsed any Republican, Mr. Bush has made it clear that he would actively campaign for a Republican successor, though his aides said in interviews this week that the White House would defer to the eventual nominee on strategy, including when and where Mr. Bush might campaign.

The aides, though, said that speeches like Friday’s were an example of how he would be of use. A prominent booster from the party’s conservative core could help soothe some of the anger and bitterness from the right over Mr. McCain’s candidacy.

“So with confidence in our vision and faith in our values,” Mr. Bush said, “let us go forward, fight for victory and keep the White House in 2008.”

I think this was a good article because it mentions where our current President stands on the election of his successor. Whether it is agreed upon or not, he is entitled to an opinion too.

Obama campaign song a viral video hit

Obama campaign song a viral video hit

LOS ANGELES - In the long history of political campaign theme songs, there has never been one quite like "Yes We Can," starring Barack Obama and a host of A-list celebrities

For one thing, it's more than a song — it's a viral video hit with almost 1.9 million views on YouTube since being posted last Friday.

There's also the fact that the Obama campaign did not commission the song — the rapper, songwriter and producer will.i.am, frontman for the Black Eyed Peas, says he was inspired to create it while watching Obama's speech after his second-place finish to Sen. Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary.

"It was as if he was talking to me," will.i.am told The Associated Press on Tuesday night as Obama and Clinton contended for the Democratic presidential nomination. "It was as if he was talking to and defending everything that made me who I am. I took that speech, and I wanted everyone else to be inspired by that speech as I was."

[...]

With the recent transformation in the way music is consumed and shared, perhaps the Obama song marks a new era for the campaign song. (Will.i.am's creation is more than a few steps ahead of the racy, half-serious "Obama Girl" video that drew millions of views last summer.)

"The Internet and technology empowers people," will.i.am said, "and the 'Yes We Can' song is proof that they don't need a big record company or a big movie company ... to go out and captivate people's attention."

I enjoyed this article because I think it is very interesting to see how people are using there resources to get their message across. This too me is a good way of using technology and is a good way to get younger votes, which is what is attracted to Obama as it is.

Obama Raises $5.8 Million on Line After Super Tuesday

Obama Raises $5.8 Million on Line After Super Tuesday

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised almost $6 million within one day after the Feb. 5 voting contests, all of which came from online donations.

Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said in a letter to supporters that $3 million was raised the evening after Tuesday's primaries and caucuses. A live ticker attached to his e-mail, showing donations, recorded $5.8 million as of 11:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. By 9:30 a.m. today, the total was $7.1 million, according to the Obama campaign Web site.

[...]

Plouffe told reporters on Tuesday that Obama's fundraising counterbalances Clinton's advantages of name recognition and political infrastructure, allowing the campaign to remain competitive and to advertise in states through April.

``We think we're going to have the money we need to wage vigorous campaigns,'' he said.

I know that to have any type of successful campaign you must have a great deal of money but I still find it ridiculous the amount of money that is spent on a single campaign alone. Again though, this is just my opinion.

In Vote, Obama Fell Short of Fervor

In Vote, Obama Fell Short of Fervor

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois made some headway in building a coalition of support among Democrats in Tuesday’s cross-country sprint of primaries.

He won the support of many white men, a group that had voted for John Edwards of North Carolina before Mr. Edwards dropped out of the race last week. Mr. Obama seems to have cut the long-established ties between black voters and the Clintons. He made slight inroads among Hispanic voters, a solid part of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s base.

[...]

But at the end of the day, the task for Mr. Obama may well transcend the demographics or voting blocs that are the brick and mortar of the traditional American campaign. As even Mrs. Clinton’s aides will acknowledge, Mr. Obama has brought a level of excitement and involvement to the campaign trail that few people involved in this contest have seen before. The question is whether he can move them one more step on the electoral process — into voting — in the dwindling number of contests that make up this campaign.

I like this article because my political party stature stays with the Democrats. Being a female I would like to see Hillary become President, I think she has a lot of experience and could be essential to us. At the same time Obama is younger, therefor his approach may be new and something that this country has not seen before. However, being that he is younger he has less experience. Either way this race to the finish is going to be very interesting.