Baby's Got A Baby

Emma Bunton aka Baby Spice of the Spice Girls has given birth to a baby boy, Beau. Now it's time to get back into shape quickly for the Spice Girls reunion tour!

Iowa Caucus Will Stay In January

The Green Room reported here that with New Hampshire and South Carolina both moving up their primaries earlier in January. This move caused speculation that the Iowa caucus would need to move into December to still be the first primary state. The Iowa caucus will still move to but Iowa Governor Chet Culver says it will most likely be earlier in January. He vowed to keep the Iowa caucus first in the nation.

Sherri Shepherd Still In Talks For The View

Sherri Shepherd announced today that she is STILL in talks to join The View as a permanest panelist. According to Access Hollywood Shepherd said today that "We're still in talks so hopefully you'll see me there in that chair in September." Last week, it was announced that Whoopi Goldberg would become the new moderator for the show and Sherri Shepherd, a frequent guest co-host, was nowhere in sight. You can read my article on this story and what Whoopi Goldberg means for The View here.

Pollspot: A Different Kind of Poll

Here's a different type of poll that we haven't seen courtesy of Political Wire.

From National Journal’s latest Political Insiders poll:

Who is your party’s most OVERRATED presidential candidate?

42% of Democratic insiders named John Edwards, while Barack Obama came
in a close second with 40%. The verbatim comments from some respondents were
particularly critical of Edwards.

58% of Republican insiders picked Fred Thompson. The next candidates
named were John McCain and Mitt Romney, both with only 14%.

Who is your party’s most UNDERRATED presidential candidate?

32% of Democratic insiders picked Gov. Bill Richardson with Sen. Joseph
Biden a close second with 28%, and Sen. Christopher Dodd at 22%.

46% of Republican insiders chose Mike Huckabee, with Mitt Romney in
second with 25%.

I was quite happy to not see Hillary's name mentioned in the overrated collumn. It's interesting that Barack Obama was so high up in the overrated column though I'm sure, as a frontrunner, she is 3rd most overrated though with Edwards and Obama making up about 82% of that question she really could not have scored too high which is definitely a plus for us Hillary fans. I definitely think Gov. Richardson is stealing Barack's thunder and will continue to see a rise in the polls and Kevin has a popular theory which could just pan out. On the GOP side, it was funny how Mitt Romney ranks in both overrated and underrated.

LOGO Presidential Forum Tonight

Watch tonight on Logo or Logo Online at 9 PM EST as 6 of the Democratic candidates for President including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama participate in a forum dealing with GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) issues.

Mr. Big is Back

The Green Room can confirm that Chris Noth will be joining Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis in the Sex and the City feature film. He will, of course, be reprising his role as Mr. Big (aka John), whom Carrie ended up with at the show's conclusion. The film will start shooting in New York this fall with a 2008 release date.

The one about beaches

A few beach related items. First, it's really, really hot in DC. I don't think I can go on without mentioning how hot it's been here. Heat indices of up to 112.

Beach news. An 8 ft Lego man washed up on the shore of a resort in the Netherlands. Blue shirt, red pants, yellow skin, with the words, "NO REAL THAN YOU ARE" on his chest. You know, the strong, silent type.

(Reuters)

More beach, but beachwear. I don't know if this is the best or worst thing I've ever seen. John and Leah, you'll get a good laugh out of this. Wholesome Wear! Flattering swim wear for the beach. My favorite is the model(s). (Photo credit to Wholesome Wear)

Oh, those uber conservatives.

New King of Swing

Barry Bonds hit his 756th career home run last night and dethroned Hammerin' Hank Aaron as home run champ. Bonds did so in front of his home crowd in San Francisco off of Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik. Now the debate begins as to whether that record gets an asterisk or not. See the story here.

Movie Trailer: National Treasure: Book Of Secrets

Click here to watch the trailer for National Treasure: Book of Secrets. While nothing spectacular, the first one was a lot of fun and I know Ashlee and I loved it! I'm definitely going to check this movie out. All of the original cast is back including Nicholas Cage (who I generally don't enjoy too much), Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, and Jon Voight (Angelinas Jolie's estranged father). Joining them this time around is 2007 Academy Award winner Helen Mirren.

Check out the trailer here.

Iowa Caucus May Move to December!

Tomorrow, South Carolina and New Hampshire will join in announcing that both states are moving up their presidential primary dates earlier into January. This move will most likely force Iowa to move the date of the Iowa Caucus for the 2008 presidential race from January 14th, 2008 to some day before Christmas 2007. Iowa has always been protective and proud of being the first-in-the-nation state to hold a nominating contest.

While moving the Iowa caucus up a month may not change much, it will still have an impact. Moving to Demember means the caucus is now only 4 months away so campaigning will increase there. Also, on the Democratic side, it is a 3 way tie in Iowa between Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. You know...moving up the caucus is kind of exciting.

Source: Wall Street Journal

AFL-CIO Presidential Forum

The ALF-CIO held it's Democratic forum last night in Chicago moderated by MSNBC's Keith Olberman and featuring all the major Democratic contenders for president except for former Alaska senator Mike Gravel. Since this is basically the millionth Democratic debate/forum (with a million more to go), we heard a lot of the same old stuff. However, the dynamic is changing and, last night, instead of it seeming like every man and woman for him or herself...it seemed to be more of a team sport with Clinton/Biden/Dodd on one side against Obama/Edwards on another side with Richardson and Kucinich floating around.

Before that, let's talk about other things. While all the candidates did well as usual, I though last night belonged to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Richardson, for once, looked comfortable, had the best one liner ("My V-P would NOT be Dick Cheney"), stayed out of the bickering, and, most importantly, he wasn't boring. Dennis Kucinich...gotta love him. He's really passionate and he's the only candidate up there that actually has differing views from the rest. He did a lot better without Mike Gravel's presence. Senator Chris Dodd and Senator Joe Biden also did really well last night. Dodd sounded strong and Biden really knows how to work a crowd. Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama did well as usual with Hillary definitely sounding more presidential and experienced. She edged out Obama in his home field once again and political analysts, including Pat Buchanan, agree it was her night. John Edwards did the poorest. His desperation is shining through and he's trying to do whatever it takes to crawl back to the top.

Edwards started the bickering early on by trying to condemn Hillary for taking lobbyist money and Barack echoed Edwards' criticism. Hillary stood her ground and defended her position. Edwards was trying to capitalize on the fact that Hillary got booed at YearlyKos for lobbyist defense. Guess what Edwards? This wasn't YearlyKos. Lucky for Barack, Gravel was not there to call him out saying that Barack does indeed take money from special interest groups, even if they aren't federal lobbyists (key word there is federal). Keith Olberman did mention to Barack about him accepting money from lobbyists to which Obama went defensive very quickly. Obama and Edwards are fooling nobody. Do you really think they are getting all their money from the general public? They are the two people I have actually seen speak in person and while they are both great, charasmatic speakers....they continue to disappoint and unimpress.

This team up of Obama and Edwards continued as the two candidates attempted to paint themselves as Washington outsiders and portray the others as Washington insiders. This has been Obama's motto all along, which Edwards is now trying to hop on Obama's bandwagon. Desperate much Edwards? Hopefully, Obama and Edwards will cancel each other out because, frankly, both are starting to become very whiny and very "vote for us because we aren't with the in-crowd."

Next came the time to attack Barack Obama. As mentioned here in previous posts, Obama recently stated that we need to pull out of Iraq and go into Pakistan to get Al-Qaeda. Now he's trying to take his words back and add stuff in there by saying "only if we have actionable intelligence" and "scratch that, noone discussed nuclear weapons" after he mentioned nuclear weapons and Pakistan. To me, Obama is continuing to see that he needs to seem more experienced and more knowledgeable on foreign policy so he is doing and saying anything to get his name out there. Last night, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd came after Obama for his remarks saying that he made a mistake about his remarks about Pakistan and Biden even went on to say that "Barack said nothing new and he was just stating something (actionable intelligence) that is already policy." Basically, Biden called Obama out for copying him and for stating something that the U.S. already does but making it seem like it was a new idea. Olberman tried to get Hillary to say something in regards to Obama's statements and, while she did say that it was unwise and unpresidential, her remarks weren't as heated as those from Dodd and Biden. Hillary was able to take the high road last night and not be so on the offense due to the support she had on stage from Biden and Dodd. It was definitely a good thing for her and Dodd and Biden definitely elevated her last night. Perhaps, Dodd and Biden have struck a deal to join Hillary's cabinet and administration? Who knows. I'd love that. Anyways, Obama defended himself against Dodd, Biden, and Hillary the ONLY way he knows how....by talking about IRAQ (which wasn't even brought up). Barack tooted the "well, what's naive is all you guys voting for the Iraq war" business again. I'm so sick of this argument. Get over it Obama. You weren't in the Senate. You didn't vote for Iraq because you didn't have the chance to vote for Iraq....whether it would have been a yes or a no. The only person who truly voted against Iraq and not vote to fund it (Barack voted to fund it) was Dennis Kucinich. Same old argument, a different day. Get something new Obama...please.

That's all. Expect more bickering.

Pollspot: Battleground

A new Quinnipiac University Poll (where Leah, Rich, Ashlee, and I all were employed at one point) has released a new poll showing Hillary Clinton doing well in the Democratic primaries with a closer call for the general election should she get the nomination (God willing she will!).

A new series of Quinnipiac polls show Sen. Hillary Clinton dominating the Democratic presidential primary race in three key swing states, and narrowly leading Republicans in general election match-ups.

In Florida, Clinton is in the lead with 43%, with Sen. Barack Obama at 13%, Al Gore at 11% and John Edwards at 8%

In Ohio, Clinton leads the Democratic race with 41%, followed by 16% for Obama, 11%for Edwards and 8% for Gore

In Pennsylvania, Clinton leads the primary race with 35%, followed by 19% for Obama, 12% for Gore and 10% for Edwards

The general election is much closer with Clinton as the nominee:
In Florida, Clinton tops Giuliani 46% to 44%, flipping a 46% to 44% Giuliani lead July 23

In Ohio, Clinton ties Giuliani 43% to 43%, compared to a 44% to 42% Clinton lead July 12

In Pennsylvania, Clinton edges Giuliani 45% to 44%, compared to a 45% to 45% tie June 27 Key finding: The polls also find that Clinton "is turning around independent and Republican voters who previously viewed her negatively."

The last sentence is extremely important. She needed to turn Independents and Republicans who viewed her negatively and she's doing a great job!

Fashion Worth Its Weight in Silver

We don't talk much about fashion around here, but it's August and I can't avoid it anymore. Fall fashion is officially shifting into gear (I love that I'm writing this with my AC on, by the way). I am completely in love with all the metallics and studs I'm seeing now. Shiny metals are showing up both on the runway and off, and I'm salivating over these pieces:

Fendi; Donna Karan Collection
-
Dolce and Gabbana; Burberry Prorsum

Jil Sanders

Balenciaga

Yves Saint Laurent

I love all the structure, but Fendi and Balenciaga prove that metallics don't have to be hard as, well, metal. Those shoes make me cry, since there is no way I'll ever be able to afford them at $395 a pair. Aren't they gorgeous though? This is one trend I'm happy to try to incorporate into my wardrobe. Will I ever be able to pull off an entirely studded trench like the one from Burberry? Hell no! But we can all wear more metallic jewlery and maybe even pull out the old BeDazzler to get our own versions of these looks. I'm sure H&M and the Gap will be offering toned down twists (in style and price) on this trend soon enough. Until then, happy drooling!

Big thanks to Elle.com and Style.com for the photos!

MTV VMA 07

The nominees for the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (aka VMAs) were announced today. Leading the pack of nominees include Justin Timberlake and Beyonce. Rihanna and Amy Winehouse also are nominated and will join Timberlake in performing at the show. For a full list of nominees click here.

Facebook flounders

Caroline Giuliani, Rudy Giuliani's daughter from his second/third/who even knows marriage, was endorsing Barack Obama for president. Noting herself as liberal on her fbook profile, and a member of "One million strong for Barack Obama," this raises some questions. In any case, the Slate contacted her about it, and she took it down. No comments have been made. Apparently she's estranged from her father after his divorce with her mother. Either way, I think children's lives are private and more power to her for being independent. Why can't the press just leave children of candidates alone if they do not want to get involved in the politics? Don't make the dads go all Jed Bartlet/Zoey Bartlet on you!

Great shot/chaser from the Hotline's Last Call! today regarding this.

SHOT . . .

"He's my father. He's my blood" -- Andrew Giuliani, on supporting his dad (ABCNews.com, 8/6).

. . . CHASER

"With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy" -- Darth Vader ("The Empire Strikes Back," 1980).

Pollspot: All about the H-I-L-L

More reasons why today has been great! Hillary HAS the momentum!

National:

A new Cook Political Report/RT Strategies survey shows Sen. Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over Sen. Barack Obama to 20 points, 43% to 23%. John Edwards places third with 10% and Gov. Bill Richardson is fourth with five percent.

For Republicans, Rudy Giuliani moved up six points to 28%, while Sen. John McCain dropped four points, to 17%. Fred Thompson is third with 15% and Mitt Romney is fourth with 8%.

Nice to see Hill with a 20 point lead. Nice to see Romney so far behind.

Missouri:

A new American Research Group survey in Missouri finds Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic presidential race with 40%, followed by John Edwards at 22% and Sen. Barack Obama at 15%.

On the GOP side, Rudy Giuliani leads with 23%, followed by Fred Thompson at 22%, Sen. John McCain at 14%, Mitt Romney at 11% and Newt Gingrich at 10%.

Obama is in third there! Ouch. Maybe John Edwards isn't as far behind Obama as people think.

Georgia:

A new American Research group poll in Georgia shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic presidential race with 35%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 25% and John Edwards at 17%.

In the Republican race, Fred Thompson leads with 27%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 20%, Mitt Romney at 14%, Newt Gingrich at 13% and Sen. John McCain at 7%.

Solid 10 point lead in Georgia for Hillary is fine by me. Pretty close race there.

North Carolina:

In yet another sign of Sen. Hillary Clinton's momentum in the 2008 Democratic presidential race, a new Public Policy Polling survey shows her tied with John Edwards in his home state of North Carolina. Clinton and Edwards each get 29% support, with Sen.Barack Obama trailing at 23%.

In the GOP race, Fred Thompson leads with 30%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 20%, Mitt Romney at 12% and Sen. John McCain at 7%.

Hillary ties John Edwards...BUT...it's his home state. The momentum increases.

Not to mention the two polls I posted earlier.

Thank you Political Wire.

Pollspot: It Just Keeps Getting Better

I start my last day as an intern for a FOX61 in Hartford on a good note as I see some polling data showing my candidate, Hillary Clinton, expanding her lead. I couldn't be happier! Let's take a look at what Political Wire has to offer!

National:

Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead in the Democratic presidential race is expanding, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll. She now leads with 48%. -- up eight percentage points from three weeks ago -- followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 26% and John Edwards at 12%.

In the Republican race, Rudy Giuliani leads with 33%, followed by Fred Thompson at 21%, Sen. John McCain at 16% and Mitt Romney at 8%.

Up 8 points in just 3 weeks! I am so happy!

California:

A new SurveyUSA poll in California finds Rudy Giuliani leading the Republican presidential race with 39% of the vote, followed by Fred Thompson at 19%, Sen. John McCain at 16% and Mitt Romney at 10%.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton gets an amazing 51% of the vote, with Sen. Barack Obama at 27% and John Edwards at 14%.Key finding: "Clinton now leads among female Demcratic primary voters by 41 points. She gets 62% of female votes in an 8-person field."

Over HALF in California! It just brightens up my day. California is CRUCIAL in the general election! (Not that we are near that yet)

To all the men in Washington, raise your hand if you've had a gynocological exam?

Didn't think so.

John and Leah both posted great things about the pro-choice/anti-choice debate. The spinning by the Republican machine (by the way, anyone else thoroughly scared by Tancredo, Brownback, and their never-relenting mission to overturn Roe v. Wade?), the arguments over who was anti-choice first, the desire to rule over women's bodies...it all gets me so riled up I can hardly type this. It's hard not to morph into "scary-stereotypical-feminist-crazy" right now, but I can't help it. I just do not understand why people, men particularly, feel they have a right to decide on what I do with my body. I completely agree with John; look, no one wants to have abortions. They're expensive (too expensive if you ask me) and they don't feel so great. However, especially in cases of rape and incest, a woman should have all options on the table.

A really intriguing question, as expounded upon by the ever wonderful Anna Quindlen in last week's Newsweek, is, if abortion is criminalized, then women who have illegal abortions commit a crime, what is the punishment? Do you throw them in jail? If it's murder, do you punish her for 1st degree? And if you did throw her in jail, how long would the sentence be? Quindlen helps illustrate how no one has an answer for this. It's a really interesting read, highly recommended. She finds her questions off this really incredible video at a Libertyville anti-choice demonstration where a man fields these very questions to demonstrators, who, more often than not, don't have answers.

So next time you men out there get a cervical smear or a speculum shoved up your vagina, let me know, and we'll talk.

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

John's post about the "pro-choice" vs. "pro-abortion" issue reminded me of a fantastic article I read in Elle magazine last month regarding a recent Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court decided this spring to uphold a federal law that allows state legislatures, if they choose, to criminalize one form of second-trimester abortion, known as partial-birth abortion. Procedures beyond 12 weeks account for 12 percent of the country's 1.3 million abortions a year, some of which are performed for women who learn during prenatal testing that their fetuses are seriously deformed or destined to die. Another type of late-term abortion is still available under the ruling, though the Court heard evidence that the partial-birth procedure is actually safer for some women. That's disturbing—but what is truly shocking is how Justice Anthony Kennedy, the author of Gonzales v. Carhart, portrayed women in the Court's decision.

The rest of the article continues with several insightful and respected writers weighing in with their opinions. I highly suggest you read it here. The most disturbing issue this article brings to mind isn't even about abortion, it's about the way women are continually marginalized in our society. It's generally acknowledged that women have all the same rights and capabilities as men (as if that should even be a question!), and yet we're still being treated like children who can not think or act for ourselves. This ruling points to the much larger trend in our society, as women's rights seem to be moving backwards. Where are our women leaders? Why is there only one woman serving on the Supreme Court? However you feel about Hillary Clinton personally, it's ridiculous that she would be our only female president in our country's entire history, and it's even more ridiculous that many people believe our country isn't ready for her. Women are capable of, and deserve, a lot more than our current administration is giving us credit for.

Glavine Wins 300th Game

Tom Glavine became the 23rd pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to win 300 games and the 5th left hander to accomplish the feat. The New York Mets hurler is in the midst of his 21st season, 16 of which were spent as an Atlanta Brave, and this may be his last year playing baseball. This might also be the last 300 game winner we see for a very long time. See the story here.