In the last debate before Super Tuesday, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off Thursday evening in Los Angeles.
The two repeatedly associated themselves with Sen. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race earlier this week and whose endorsement both are seeking. Both also seemed to assume that Sen. John McCain will win the Republican nomination for president.
Pulitzer Prize nominee Maya Angelou and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison are causing quite a stir, as are many other well-known figures throughout America, by making celebrity endorsements of presidential candidates.
Nowadays, it’s easy to capitalize on pretty much anything and that’s exactly what a lot of celebrities are doing.
About 47 percent of Americans between the ages of 18-24 voted in the 2004 presidential election, up from 36 percent in 2000, according to the Census Bureau. But I can’t help but think that “Vote or Die!” had something to do with that. Was using high-profile names such as Paris Hilton or Ludacris as a way to stress the importance of voting the best way to do it, though?
Sen. John McCain won the Florida Republican primary on Tuesday, securing his front-runner status and ending the presidential hopes of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“Our victory might not have reached landslide proportions,” McCain said, “but it is sweet nonetheless.”
With 51 weeks left in his presidency and approval ratings at an all-time low, George W. Bush issued his last State of the Union address Monday evening, one of the few remaining moments in the spotlight for the man overshadowed by the race to choose his successor.
Mindful of his declining presidency, Bush did not announce any new initiatives that are typically unveiled in the annual address and although he referred to the last seven years repeatedly, he spent little time referring to his legacy.
He did, however, attempt to allay fears about the economy, which has replaced Iraq as the top concern of Americans.
After the most confrontational week of the presidential campaign so far, Sen. Barack Obama proved he could draw voters across racial lines even in a Southern state with his win in South Carolina on Saturday.
Fifty-five percent of the vote went to Obama, while Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards earned 27 and 18 percent, respectively.
In his victory speech, Obama said that the fight for South Carolina had not only produced a personal victory but also progress over the divisive politics of the past.
Although Edwards was born in South Carolina and won the state in his 2004 presidential bid, he seemed like a fading force on Saturday. He did win decisively among one group — white males — and vowed to go on after four consecutive losses.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday announced a bipartisan deal on an economic stimulus package that would send rebate checks to most taxpayers in an attempt to keep the economy from falling into recession.
According to CNN Money, most single taxpayers would get $600 while most households with two incomes would receive double that amount. The deal includes an additional $300 per child and a total of 116 million taxpayers will receive checks of some amount. Higher-income taxpayers, those earning $75,000 or more or couples earning $150,000 or more, would get reduced rebate checks or none at all, depending on their income.
Paulson said it is possible that checks could start going out as quickly 60 days after legislation is enacted.
So what do you need to do to receive your check? Absolutely nothing, but since the IRS is currently in the middle of the 2007 tax-filing season, it could be late spring or even early summer before the agency can begin mailing checks.
UPDATE: I’ve heard conflicting reports concerning the impact of rebate checks on your return for next year. Some have said that this is merely an advance payment of your return. Others say that because the IRS is changing the tax tables, the refunds will be based on those and since the checks do not count as earned income, you do not need to report it on your ‘08 return, which means it has no effect on your tax return or refund.
Concrete Loop will definitely keep you in the loop with this story as it develops and always remember, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.”
Check out this video of Al Gore, chairman of Current TV, who posted a one-minute speech on the video-sharing site stating why gay marriage should be legal.
