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To: American Spirit who wrote (23599)	6/22/2005 11:08:15 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361829

Obama leads Senate with 72% approval By Melissa Lee; Staff Writer Copyright 2005 Star Tribune Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) June 21, 2005, Tuesday, Metro Edition - Popular senators: Barack Obama, a first-term Democrat from Illinois, ranked No. 1, while Minnesota's Mark Dayton and Norm Coleman landed in the bottom third of a SurveyUSA poll ranking senators' approval ratings. - Minnesota senators: Dayton, a Democrat, ranked No. 92, while Coleman, a Republican, was 71st. They had approval ratings of 46 and 52 percent, respectively. "These are difficult times, among the most divisive the Senate has seen, and to do reasonably well in an environment where the issues can be so polarizing is encouraging," Coleman said. Dayton, ranked higher than only one other Democrat, could not be reached for comment. His approval rating was a jump from 41 percent in May; Coleman's held steady. Forty-one percent disapproved of Dayton; 39 percent disapproved of Coleman. - State outlooks: Residents of North Dakota and Maine appeared to be the most satisfied: North Dakota's Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, both Democrats, ranked 2nd and 8th, respectively. Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe were at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Oklahomans appeared least satisfied, with Republican Sens. James Inhofe and Tom Coburn at Nos. 94 and 97, respectively. - Methodology: Pollsters for SurveyUSA, the nation's largest independent pollster, interviewed 600 adults in each state June 10-13. . U.S. senators' approval ratings Senators ranked by approval ratings * State Rating, June 2005 TOP FIVE 1 Barack Obama, D Illinois 72% 2 (tie) Kent Conrad, D North Dakota 71% 3 (tie) Patrick Leahy, D Vermont 71% 4 Susan Collins, R Maine 71% 5 Olympia Snow, R Maine 71% SELECTED MIDWEST SENATORS 8 Byron Dorgan, D North Dakota 70% 11 Tim Johnson, D South Dakota 67% 26 Russell Feingold, D Wisconsin 62% 28 Chuck Grassley, R Iowa 61% 38 Herb Kohl, D Wisconsin 59% 56 Tom Harkin, D Iowa 54% 71 Norm Coleman, R Minnesota 52% 72 John Thune, R South Dakota 52% 92 Mark Dayton, D Minnesota 46% BOTTOM FIVE 96 Mel Martinez, R Florida 43% 97 Tom Coburn, R Oklahoma 43% 98 Richard Burr, R North Carolina 42% 99 Frank Lautenberg, D New Jersey 42% 100 John Cornyn, R Texas 40% Average 56% * In the case of a tie in approval ratings, disapproval rating was used to determine ranking. Source: Survey USA GRAPHIC: CHART LOAD-DATE: June 21, 2005

To: American Spirit who wrote (23599)	6/22/2005 11:11:56 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361829

USA politics: Election watch _____________________________________________________________ COUNTRY BRIEFING FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT June 20, 2005 Monday The next congressional election in the US will be held in November 2006, when all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the seats in the Senate are up for election. The Republicans are likely to be in a relatively strong position to retain control of both houses, provided the economy holds up and the situation in Iraq has stabilised. A tax-cutting strategy is likely to be a vote winner, but the Bush administration must be careful to avoid accusations of fiscal irresponsibility, given the ballooning budget deficit and the weak dollar. Social Security reform could be a crucial issue, although Mr Bush may have given up and moved on to other initiatives by then. Local issues will play a more important role than in the November 2004 election, and the Democrats will seek to focus the debate on jobs, healthcare and education. Attention is already turning to the 2008 presidential election, and many names on both sides of the political divide are being floated as potential candidates. With no incumbent running, Republican favourites include the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Guiliani, the independently minded senator for Arizona, John McCain, the governor of Florida and Mr Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, and the senator for Nebraska, Chuck Hagel. Mr Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, could also decide to offer his formidable campaigning skills, possibly to the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist. For the Democrats, the senator for New York and former first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a strong contender. Mrs Clinton has plenty of credibility, the support of many in her party and excellent fundraising ability. While focusing on her November 2006 Senate re-election campaign, she will also increasingly present herself as a centrist politician who can appeal to socially conservative voters. Other possible Democratic contenders include the former vice-presidential candidate, John Edwards, the former governor of Indiana and now one of its senators, Evan Bayh, and the governor of Virginia, Mark Warner, a former businessman who has built a reputation as a centrist politician. A fast- rising, youthful star in the Democratic firmament is the newly elected junior senator for Illinois, Barack Obama, although he is unlikely to run for the presidency in 2008. SOURCE: Country Report LOAD-DATE: June 20, 2005

To: American Spirit who wrote (23599)	6/22/2005 11:19:40 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361829

Here's an fyi on Obama's finances...He's still very young and is not one of the wealthiest Senators...Barack Obama started with next to nothing...Yet, this guy is a superstar now and his recent book deal was quite rewarding... Gannett News Service June 16, 2005 HEADLINE: Obama's book deal outlined in disclosure BYLINE: BILL THEOBALD WASHINGTON -- Details of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's $2.27 million book deal with Random House Inc. are included in his financial disclosure statement released Wednesday. The freshman Democrat received a $1.9 million advance to write two non-fiction books and one children's book, according to the filing. He will donate $200,000 to charity. In addition, Obama received a $370,000 advance for "Dreams From My Father," a 1995 book that was re-released and jumped to the top of best sellers' lists after Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention last summer. This is the first year Obama has had to file the report in which lawmakers must list their assets, income and debts in wide ranges. They do not include the value of lawmakers' primary residences. Obama earned a total of $92,431 last year as a member of the Illinois legislature and a lecturer at the University of Chicago. He will earn $162,100 as a senator this year. Obama listed as assets investment funds totaling between $200,000 and $400,000 and listed no major debts.