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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PROLIFE who wrote (4848)	9/17/2003 6:48:25 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Billionaire mounting anti-Bush effort interestalert.com RESTON, Va., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Billionaire George Soros reportedly is putting together a $10 million warchest to prevent U.S. President George Bush from winning a second term. Soros, who in 1992 made $1 billion in a single day through currency speculation that drove down the British pound, along with a group of philanthropists and trade unions, is mounting a campaign to unseat Bush for what he sees as the administration's misuse of power, Canada's National Post reported. "You passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act without proper discussion," Soros said in a recent interview with PBS. "Anyone who opposed it was accused of giving aid and comfort to the terrorists. I think we've gone off the rail in this country. Lawmakers didn't even get a copy of the bill. They couldn't even read it before it was passed." The Hungarian-born Soros is estimated to be worth $5 billion and has been involved in philanthropic activities -- largely in Eastern Europe -- since 1979. Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

To: PROLIFE who wrote (4848)	9/17/2003 7:32:23 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Sharpton takes charge and kicks some ass. The take-command reflex is a mighty useful trait when you are hoping to run against the commander in chief. That Sharpton is the only Democrat to display it does not augur well for the party's chances. Sharpton's Example washingtonpost.com By David S. Broder Sunday, September 14, 2003; Page B07 Early pre-primary debates, especially those where the stage is overstuffed with candidates, are notoriously poor gauges of the strength of rival contenders. President Bush was anything but a dominant figure when he was one of six Republican aspirants in New Hampshire in December 1999. Baited by Gary Bauer and Steve Forbes on his alleged squishiness on abortion and taxes, he appeared to be on autopilot. Rarely did he command the debate scene as he came to control the nomination race. So one should not draw too many conclusions from the performance of the nine Democrats who met in Baltimore last week. But there was one thing I found revealing about their performance, and it had nothing to do with the way they dealt with Iraq, Israel, the economy, health care -- or each other. I was riveted by their reactions when backers of Lyndon LaRouche, the leader of a fringe political faction and chronic candidate for the Democratic nomination, repeatedly interrupted proceedings at the Congressional Black Caucus debate with loud complaints about LaRouche's exclusion. The only candidate who knew how to deal with this unprogrammed event -- the only one who figured out how to profit from it -- was, believe it or not, Al Sharpton. That doesn't erase the many liabilities he brings into the contest, but it does show he has a quality people crave in a president -- the ability to take charge of a situation. Democrats must wonder how to graft that leadership gene onto the others. <b?The first time the shouting broke out, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida was speaking. He froze. So did almost all his rivals. Sharpton was the first person to find his voice. He told the hecklers, "Now, you all don't get to the Black Caucus debate and start acting up now." The second outburst -- shouts of "Where is LaRouche?" -- came when Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was answering a question. He just stood there looking pained. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean was quick-witted enough to comment, "I suspect he's in jail," where LaRouche had been on mail fraud charges. But again it was left to Sharpton to admonish the noisemakers. Addressing the moderator, Fox News's Brit Hume, Sharpton said, "Brit, can we appeal to people? I mean, this is a historic night, the first time the Congressional Black Caucus had a debate. Would you all respect our right to be heard like we respected everybody else?" A wave of applause signaled that most in the audience were glad somebody was taking charge. Twice more, there were outbursts -- once interrupting Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and then Lieberman again. All the victims turned to Sharpton for help. In stern tones, he told the offending members of the audience that the candidates would not "tolerate the continual breakup of what we are trying to say here tonight to the American people. . . . You've not done it at any other debate. You're not going to do it now. You're playing this phony liberal game, and you wait until our night to start acting up. We don't appreciate it. I don't care who's not on this stage. You're going to respect us on this stage because we've got something to say." A relieved Lieberman said, "Well, first, let me say to my dear friend, Reverend Sharpton, amen." Sharpton joshed that he would take that as an endorsement. There were two more brief raucous episodes, but Sharpton clearly had shamed some of the troublemakers. More important, he demonstrated to the whole political world what is lacking in the rest of the Democratic field -- the spontaneity that marks a winner. I had two flashbacks. One was to the presidential debate in 1976, when Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter stood like statues at their lecterns, afraid to move, to converse or even to smile, for the long minutes it took to repair the audio feed from the TV studio. That inability to deal with the unexpected shadowed both their presidencies. The other memory was the 1980 debate in Nashua, N.H., where the first George Bush and Ronald Reagan were on stage when suddenly four other Republican contenders (who had not been invited to participate) walked in. Bush simply froze. Reagan -- who was part of the plot -- welcomed them, and when the moderator tried to cut Reagan off, he delivered the line, "I paid for this microphone, Mr. Green." He got the name wrong, but by taking command when his opponent was tongue-tied, he virtually ended the Bush challenge. The take-command reflex is a mighty useful trait when you are hoping to run against the commander in chief. That Sharpton is the only Democrat to display it does not augur well for the party's chances. davidbroder@washpost.com © 2003 The Washington Post Company