Senate Capitulates

The Senate joined the House in voting for the Iraq war funding bill. Among those who voted no:

  • Barack Obama
  • Hillary Clinton
  • Christopher Dodd
  • John Kerry

Biden voted yes, probably killing any remote chance he had at the nomination.

Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on Funding the Iraq War

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh9rFNPeKx0]

Keith Olbermann speaks out against the Democrats who are agreeing to continued funding of the war without adequate restrictions on Bush’s actions. He also has some excellent comments on Bush’s losing strategy and his use of the troops as political pawns.

Some Democrats, including Christopher Dodd and John Kerry, have announced their intentions to vote against the funding bill. John Kerry has a diary at Daily Kos on his position.

Full transcript of Olbermann’s Special Comment under the fold. (more…)

Prospects for Second Tier Candidates in Iowa

David Yepsin of the Des Moines Register writes that second tier candidates are hoping for an upset in Iowa which will thrust them into the limelight and give them a chance at the nomination. He writes, “Throughout caucus history, second-tier candidates have sometimes upset the leading ones here.”

Yepsin looks at the second tier candidates of both parties. He doesn’t find any Republican candidates who are well positioned for an unexpected victory in Iowa. Among Democrats he finds Bill Richardson to have the best shot:

The top of this party’s second tier is clearly held by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. He puts together a nice combination of executive experience as governor and federal service as a member of Congress, energy secretary and U.N. ambassador. As someone of Latino ancestry, he’s in a position to attract those voters, though that will be of limited help to him in lily-white Iowa.

He seems to enjoy campaigning and is something of the happy warrior in the race. Right now, he’s the second-tier candidate who seems most likely to break from the pack in Iowa. Some say he’s positioning himself for vice president, and that could happen, too. (See above mention of Daddy Bush.)

Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut are two respected national political leaders with the expertise and gravitas to be president. They are well-grounded on issues like foreign policy, education and health care. Unfortunately, they are trapped by Senate duties. Without a break in Iowa, they will go down in history with other leading U.S. senators who never made it to the White House.

On the bottom tier are Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who are not waging serious campaigns.