Labels: Democratic Primary, election

Fred Thompson Backs McCain

By Michael D. Shear
Fred Thompson, the one-time Republican presidential candidate, endorsed Sen. John McCain Friday, calling on the party to "close ranks" behind the presumed nominee.

"This is no longer about past preferences or differences. It is about what is best for our country and for me that means that Republican should close ranks behind John McCain," Thompson said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.

Labels: election, Fred Thompson, McCain, Presidential campaign, U.S. President

Labels: election, Republican primary, video

Sarkozy elected French president
Sun May 6, 2007 2:15 PM ET

By Crispian Balmer

PARIS (Reuters) - Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy won France's presidential election on Sunday, beating his Socialist rival Segolene Royal by a comfortable margin and extending the right's 12-year grip on power.

Within minutes of polls closing, Royal conceded defeat in a speech to party faithful in the heart of Paris.

"I hope that the next president of the republic fulfils his role in the service of all French people," she said.

Forecasts by four pollsters showed Sarkozy, 52, a hard-line former interior minister, won around 53 percent of the vote in the second-round ballot and will succeed fellow conservative Jacques Chirac, who was president for 12 years.

Turnout was predicted at about 85 percent.

Sarkozy's face flashed up on television screens after polling stations closed at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), signaling his victory and setting off jubilant scenes among supporters gathered in central Paris.

Across the city at Socialist headquarters there was gloom and sorrow after the party crashed to its third consecutive presidential election defeat. It now faces the prospect of tough internal reform to make itself more appealing to voters.

Although opinion polls regularly suggested voters preferred Royal, who was seeking to become France's first woman head of state, they saw the uncompromising Sarkozy as a more competent leader with a more convincing economic program.

Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, presented himself as the "candidate of work", promising to loosen the 35-hour work week by offering tax breaks on overtime and to trim fat from the public service, cut taxes and wage war on unemployment.

He is expected to take office on May 16 or 17, and will be the first French president to be born after World War Two.

He will then name a new government and immediately launch into campaigning for June's parliamentary election, where he will seek a clear majority to implement his reform plans.

The president is elected for five years, is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, nominates the prime minister, has the right to dissolve the National Assembly and is responsible for foreign and defense policies. (link)

This is indeed good news. Not only for France, but for the West as well.

Labels: election, France

Talk Is Of War In French Election Battle

Updated: 11:50, Saturday May 05, 2007

The right-wing French presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy has attacked Socialist rival Segolene Royal for making "warlike" remarks that his election in a run-off ballot on Sunday could trigger riots.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal

In an interview released by Le Parisien daily on its Website, Sarkozy said such comments were anti-democratic and a sign of desperation by Royal.

She was trailing Sarkozy by 10 points in the last pre-vote polls.

All campaigning has ended before Sunday's vote because French election rules ensure voters a "day of reflection" before the ballot.

Sarkozy dismissed talk of rioting in France's tinderbox suburbs should he win the presidency.

"To explain that if people don't vote for one candidate there will be violence is quite simply to refuse the democratic and republican expression of opinion," he said. (link)

Labels: election, France

Fred Thompson is a true American statesman and has the experience that matters. Fred is a real conservative. From tax cuts, to cleaning up government, to his vital role in the confirmation of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Fred Thompson has a record of fighting for conservative values. Fred has the knowledge and expertise on the issues that matter most in today's world. Fred Thompson, like Ronald Reagan, has the ability to bring conservative principles to the Oval Office, communicate to Americans, and bring our Nation together.

Labels: election, U.S. President

Dow closes above 12,500 for first time

AP Photo: In this photo released by the New York Stock Exchange, Noreen Culhane, third left, Executive...

By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer 19 minutes ago NEW YORK - Wall Street surged higher Wednesday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials past 12,500 for the first time as year-end bargain hunters picked up stocks across a variety of sectors. The auto industry was in focus after a meeting between executives at Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. sparked hope about a potential alliance between the two rivals. Shares of both companies moved higher on the speculation.

Further takeover activity lent support to the overall market after McClatchy Co. announced late Tuesday it agreed to sell the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis to a private equity fund. Also, graphics communication company Cenveo Inc. agreed to buy rival Cadmus Communications Corp.

But investors looking to buff up their portfolios by year's end were behind most of the gains after major indexes languished last week. (link)

John Edwards joins presidential race

AP Photo: John Edwards smiles as he is interviewed by reporters during a break while working with...

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards jumped into the presidential race Wednesday a day earlier than he'd planned, prodded by an Internet glitch to launch a candidacy focused on health care, taxes and other domestic issues. The North Carolina Democrat's campaign accidentally went live with his election Web site a day before an announcement Thursday that was supposed to use Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop.

The slip-up gave an unintended double-meaning to his campaign slogan on the John Edwards '08 Web site: "Tomorrow begins today."

Aides quickly shut down the errant Web site but could not contain news of the obvious, even in the shadows of former President Ford's death.

"Better a day earlier than a day late," said Jennifer Palmieri, an Edwards adviser. (link)

Labels: economy, election, MSM