Andrew Cuomo - "Barack Obama Beautiful Symbol; Powerful Speaker"

As it turns out, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo did not say the now infamous "shuck and jive" statement in refernce to Senator Barack Obama. He was talking in general terms about what politicians should do and how they should conduct themselves in a campaign. This is the full transcript of what Cuomo said from the Albany Times Union:

Fred Dicker: You know I’ve said this on my show before, I think the American people are very lucky to have most these candidates, the major party candidates, I think they’re all quality people, they have disagreements, but they’re all quite talented, and I think the people of Iowa and now New Hampshire really have allowed the rest of America to see much of this because I think to their great credit it requires politicians to kind of get down, not kind of, get down in the grassroots, I think I heard John McCain say he had something like 110 community meeting before the primaries - fabulous - you know, I wish we could see that here in New York.

Andrew Cuomo: You know I’ve spent a lot of time in other races, especially in Iowa and in New Hampshire, back with Gore and back with Clinton. Those races require you to do something no other race does, you know, and I like it, and I agree with you, it’s a good thing. It’s not a TV-crazed race, you know, you can’t just buy your way through that race [FD: Airport press conference and the media markets…..], it doesn’t work that way, it’s frankly a more demanding process. You have to get on a bus, you have to go into a diner, you have to shake hands, you have to sit down with ten people in a living room. You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference, you can’t just put off reporters, because you have real people looking at you saying answer the question, you know, and all those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room. And I think it’s good for the candidates, I think it makes the candidates communicate in a way that works with real people because you know in a living room right away whether or not you’re communicating, and I think the questions are good and I think the scrutiny is good, so you can, you can say they’re small states and they get a lot of attention — they are very good for the process, I believe that.

And Ben Smith of the Politico wrote this about what Cuomo thinks of Senator Obama:

"Barack Obama is a beautiful symbol. He's a powerful speaker. He's a charismatic figure. And what he has to say is important for the Democrats," Cuomo says in the interview, with the New York Post's Fred Dicker.

"It was never about Obama in the first place," Cuomo told me of the use of the phrase, which he said he was using "as a synonym for 'bob and weave.'"

All I can say is "whew!" Because in this campaign some people I've admired for a long time, prominent Democratic elected officials, have really said some terrible things, from Senator Clinton's dis of MLK, to Bob Kerrey's focus on Barack Obama's mythical religious background. A lot of Clinton supporters have said some really dumb things racially.

But I was hurt to discover Andrew Cuomo amoung them according to the Huffington Post at the time, and now I'm happy that's not the case. His father, Mario Cuomo was a hero to me, and I'd always rooted for his son. But yes, I'm an Obama supporter, and when I saw the Huff Post, my anger hit the ceiling.

I can chill now.

Andrew Cuomo On Obama - Cuomo Shucks And Jives And Sticks Foot In Mouth

Duho!!!!

While we wait for the outcome of the recount of New Hampshire Primary votes, at least we have Andrew Cuomo to entertain us. Cuomo proves that one can't "Shuck and Jive" at a press conference by, well, shucking and jiving at a press conference.

Cuomo said that Barack Obama, who's African American, could not "shuck and jive" at a press conference. Andrew, thanks for the demonstration!

It's a great example of someone sticking their foot in their mouth, it's no surprise he's a Clinton supporter because the good Senator Clinton made a race-based error herself in dissing Martin Luther King.

Wild.

SC Rep. Jim Clyburn Considers Endorsing Obama After Clinton's MLK Mistake

On Monday, Senator Hillary Clinton kind of lost her moorings and said that Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn't as important as President Johnson in having America improve civil rights for African Americans. This caused long time lawmaker South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn to hit the ceiling and now he's floating the idea that he may endorse Barack Obama ...

But why not just do it? Jim. Get behind Barack!

Michael Klein Of eGroups Dies In Plane Crash

This is a terrible development and bad news. I remember learning about Mr. Klein in my work, but never had the chance to meet him.

I'm confident I will learn more at the months progress.

Dennis Kucinich Asks For NH Vote Recount With Impact On Obama, Clinton, and Media - Video Report

At approximately 7 PM EST, U.S. Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich wrote a letter to New Hampshire Secretary of State William M. Gardner asking Gardner to start recounting votes from Tuesday's hotly contested New Hampshire Primary. That Tuesday even saw Senator Hillary Clinton shock the media by pulling out a close vote, 40.1 percent to 35.7 percent for Senator Barack Obama, and about over 16 percent for John Edwards.

But trouble started the very next morning when voter watch-dog groups like The Citizen's for Legislative Government and a vast number of angry Ron Paul supporters poured over the hand ballots count data, and discovered a major difference between what they got and what the "official" Secretary of State numbers were. The hand count numbers are these: Obama 38.7, Clinton 34.9 percent, with Edwards, Richardson, and Gravel each picking up a higher percentage of the total vote. My video below shows this.



But the big news is that in the hand count Barack Obama comes out on top. Obama wins NH. And this news can throw not only the entire election into chaos, but the way the mainstream media has covered the results, with organizations like CNN and Pew Reseach saying the Obama lost because he was Black.

Well, how does one explain this hand-count result?

Well, we would have to go back to the initial story of the Obama magic. It's still there. I don't believe race was an issue this time around and the numbers do prove it. Also, this problem of the chance of a NH vote count mistake with the Diebold machines was known for several months; it's not sour grapes.

I'm going to update this story in a few.

Tata's Nano - I Want One! Inexpensive Auto Takes World By Storm

This car you're about to see in this video is just $2,500 and has already taken the World by storm. The timing of the car's introduction -- just on the heels of a recession here in America -- could not have been more perfect.

I want one of these, except the rear trunk space is small, but you know what, so what!

If this is successful, and it already is, the Tata Nano will force American firms to make cars at prices that are competitive with this. But by the time they catch up with Tata, the Nano will have been a World hit.



As for "what is Tata Motors?" It's not a small company, although I'd not heard of them before. But their website expains that.."Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US $ 7.2 billion in 2006-2007. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer.",

Let's keep an eye on this car as the month's progress. I'll check to learn when it is to hit America!

John Kerry Endorses Barack Obama; Sends Email To Me

Senator John Kerry just sent this email letter to me explaining that he's endorsing Senator Barack Obama. As a 2004 Kerry supporter who ran to be a convention deligate, I'm excited by this clear victory for the Obama campaign. Here is the text and link to what Senator Kerry wrote to me about Barack Obama:

Hi Zennie,

Martin Luther King said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” So I'm choosing this time to share an important decision I've made, one I believe is right for this country.

The JohnKerry.com community has been very important to me and very important to the Democratic resurgence over the last couple of years, so I wanted to let all of you know my decision before I confirm it with anyone else. I want to share with you my conviction that in a field of fine Democratic candidates, the next President of the United States can be, should be, and will be Barack Obama. Each of our candidates would make a fine President, and we are blessed with a strong field. But for this moment, at this time in our nation's history, Barack Obama is the right choice.

Please join me in supporting Barack Obama’s candidacy.

I’m proud to have helped introduce Barack to our nation when I asked him to speak to our national convention, and there Barack's words and vision burst out. On that day he reminded Americans that our “true genius is faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.” And with his leadership we can build simple dreams, and we can turn millions of small miracles into real change for our country.

At this particular moment, with our country faced with great challenges in our economy, in our environment, and in our foreign policy, and with our politics torn by division, Barack Obama can bring transformation to our country. With Barack, we can build a new majority of Americans from all regions who can turn the page on the politics of Karl Rove and begin a new politics, one worthy of our nation's history and promise. We can bring millions of disaffected people – young and old – to the great task of governing and making a difference, child to child, community to community.

Please click here to give what you can to Barack Obama’s campaign for President and help build this future for our country.



The moment is now, and the candidate for this moment is Barack Obama. Like him, I also lived abroad as a young man, and I share with him a healthy respect for the advantage of knowing other cultures and countries, not from a book or a briefing, but by personal experience, by gut, by instinct. He knows the issues from the deep study of a legislator, and he knows them from a life lived outside of Washington. His is the wisdom of real-world experience combined with the intellect of a man who has thought deeply about the challenges we face.

History has given us this moment. But we need to decide what to do with it. I believe, with this moment, we should make Barack Obama President of the United States.

Please join me in supporting his campaign.

Thank you,
John Kerry

Mike Bloomberg Lacks Enough Experience To Be President

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who's reported to be "exploring" a run for president, simply lacks enough experience to be President of The Unted States in my view. Bloomberg may have built a company in his name and ran for Mayor of New York and won, but he's never had to deal with the complex politics of Congress and getting a bill through the process in Washington.

I don't know what's going on, but what's it with these New York mayors who think they can run the freaking country? Look, I love New York. I've got great friends there. But America's not that city and thus it's not the perfect testing ground for a presidential candidate.

Mike? Look. Be an effective leader. Back Barack Obama!

Kelly Tilghman's "Tiger Woods Statement Stupid and Institutionally Racist

Well, by now, Kelly Tilghman's learned her lesson regarding making statements that Tiger Woods should be "lynched in a back alley" regarding how to best play against him. She's got a two-week suspension. A perfect punishment. Now, I'm sure she intended no harm and even Woods says she's a friend. But the simple fact is that one has a right to ask why -- of all of the words in the English language -- she had to pick that one. That one!

It's just not good judgement. The meaning of the term is forever linked in America to Black men. The trouble is that the next generation has not been properly educated that using words like that is not appropriate. Lynching is considered a hate crime in America.

Time to wake up.

End Of The Line For Republican Mitt Romney?

By David
Kaye

Hampered by back-to-back second place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Mitt Romney is gradually inserting all attempts to secure a victory Tuesday in Michigan.

Viewed as a required state to emerge victorious in if he has any potential to contend with upstart candidates John McCain and Mike Huckabee, Romney has injected a plethora of his own fortune into ensuring that he wins the state that he grew up in and his father George governed from 1963 to 1969.

Methodical, tenacious,resourceful and polarized, Romney has struggled immensely in his ability to convince the Republican electorate that he's the authentic agent of change and optimism that voters are yearning for.

Continuous negative smear attacks and disheartening remarks about his competitors has drawn him decisively close to an abrupt exit as a viable contender and eventual nominee for his party.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Ends Presendial Ambitions

All indications are that democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson has terminated his White House aspirations after registering a disappointing fourth in last Thursday's Iowa caucus and yesterday's New Hampshire primary.

Running on the platform of keen economic, foreign policy and leadership experience, Richardson's message was unable to resonate with voters across the Hawkeye and Granite state, despite his numerous attempts to stage himself as the one candidate on the democratic side who has the fundamental ability to lead the country based upon his performance as New Mexico Governor, member of Congress, the New Mexico Statehouse, and as the secretary of Energy for former Commander in Chief Bill Clinton.

While bolstered by an impressive resume, Richardson was consistently unable to gain the momentum and traction to compete with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Richardson will remain New Mexico Governor until his term limit runs out in 2010.

Upstart Jaguars and David Garrard Charge Into Foxboro For AFC Battle

By David
Kaye

Entrenched in a quarterback struggle at the beginning of the season with embattled signal caller Byron Leftwich, backup David Garrard was presented with a myriad of challenges when he was unexpectedly propelled to the starting position by head coach Jack Del Rio.

After being drafted out of East Carolina in the 2002 draft, Garrard was relegated to the status of bench warmer for the previous four seasons in which he played a mere 17games and connected for eight touchdowns. When first-round pick Byron Leftwich tragically endured another debilitating injury last season, Garrard steered the Jaguars to a 5-5 mark, including a resounding 44-17 thrashing of the eventual Super Bowl champion Colts.

Faced with a significant decision as to which individual he sensed was ready to guide his team in the necessary direction in the years to come, Del Rio chose Garrard over the proven commodity in Leftwich. Unbenounced to most, Garrard has not only directed the Jaguars on a pathway to success, but has advanced them to a Saturday night showdown against the quintessential darlings to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy, the New England Patriots.

Furthermore, Garrard has displayed his unrelenting ability to perform at an optimal level without any spectrum of offensive targets to throw the ball to. While aided by the premier rushing attack in the AFC, Garrard has struggled to find consistency with such mediocre receivers as Dennis Northcutt, Reggie Williams and Matt Jones.

In his first full season as a starter, Garrard finished with a respectable 2,509 yards,an impressive 18 touchdowns thrown, a razor thin three interceptions and an improbable quarterback rating of 102.2.

Garrard's quarterback rating was third to MVP Tom Brady, All-Pro Ben Roethlisberger and ahead of future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb. For a player who has been restricted to holding the clip board and waiting five insurmountable years for his first prime opportunity, that is beyond remarkable and astounding.