[US2008] Primaries #18

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Op woensdag 19 maart 2008 22:32 schreef pberends het volgende:

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Ach ja, over een paar weken/maanden is iedereen het weer vergeten.

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Op woensdag 19 maart 2008 18:06 schreef Evil_Jur het volgende:

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Alleen vanwege die uitspraken van zijn vroegere dominee? Ik kan me niet voorstellen dat het blijvende schade aan zijn campagne zal doen. De media hebben hun pret gehad, nu weer verder met relevante zaken...

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Op woensdag 19 maart 2008 22:53 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Precies. Het hangt altijd van de peiling af, immers, gisteren: "If Obama were to win the nomination, he would get 47 percent of the vote compared to 46 percent for McCain -- a statistical tie given the poll's 3 percentage point margin of error. Should Clinton win the nomination, the poll suggests she would get 49 percent compared to McCain's 47 percent -- another statistical tie." Er zijn nog vele maanden te gaan, maanden waarin McCain zonder meer zal worden geopenbaard als onkundige, agressieve flip-flopper, zeker zodra de Democratische kandidaat bekend is. Nee, McCain gaat niet als een speer...

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'Latino' Richardson steunt Obama

Gouverneur Richardson van New Mexico steunt Barack Obama in zijn streven om de Democratische presidentskandidaat te worden. De steun is belangrijk, omdat Richardson de eerste hooggeplaatste 'Latino' is die dat doet.

Zowel Obama als Hillary Clinton heeft pogingen gedaan om Richardson achter zich te krijgen. Onder de kiezers van Latijns-Amerikaanse afkomst is Clinton veel populairder dan Obama.

Na Florida heeft ook de staat Michigan besloten geen nieuwe voorverkiezingen te houden. Dat is nadelig voor Clinton, die de meeste stemmen behaalde bij de ongeldig verklaarde verkiezingen.

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State Department: Someone snooped in Obama's passport file

(CNN) -- On three occasions since January, Sen. Barack Obama's passport file was looked at by three different contract workers, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Sen. Barack Obama's passport file was breached three times since January, the State Department said.

The contractors accessed information in the file in an unauthorized way, he said.

Two contractors were fired and one was disciplined by the contractor's company, McCormack said.

He said the contractors are not linked.

The State Department hires contractors to design, build and maintain their systems and help employees with searches. McCormack said two of the contractors in the Obama case were "low-level" personnel and the other was in a mid-level position with no management role.

The breach seems like "imprudent curiosity" among the contract workers, said McCormack, adding that senior management at the State Department was not aware of the incidents until Thursday afternoon. Breaches occurred January 9, February 21 and March 14.

Obama's campaign is asking for a complete investigation to find out who looked at Obama's passport file and why.

"This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton in a statement.

"Our government's duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes."

Doug Hattaway, a spokesman for Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, said, "If it's true, it's reprehensible, and the Bush administration has a responsibility to get to the bottom of it."

The White House declined comment Thursday evening, just hours after the State Department upper management learned of the breach.

State Department officials say Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was told Thursday what happened and that she told her staff she wanted a full investigation.

The department would not speculate whether the information had been shared with anyone else.

"That obviously is something we are investigating," said Under Secretary of State Pat Kennedy. "I have no reason to believe they did, but I certainly am not going to be dismissive of what is a serious and valid question."

Kennedy said he will brief Obama's senior staff on Friday.

The news was reminiscent of a breach of Bill Clinton's passport information during the 1992 presidential campaign. The FBI launched an investigation after the State Department reported that someone had ripped out pages from his passport file from the late 1960s and '70s.

The department concluded that a search of Clinton's passport records was an attempt to influence the presidential election, reportedly by trying to show that Clinton tried to seek citizenship in another country to avoid the draft. Clinton was running against President George H.W. Bush.

Then-State Department Inspector General Sherman Funk found no evidence the White House ordered department staffers to dig for political dirt in Clinton's passport files. However, Funk said the White House probably knew it was happening.

Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement late Thursday.

"I am deeply troubled that State Department contract employees sought access to Sen. Barack Obama's passport files. Firing or disciplining those responsible is an important first step. But we need to understand why these employees had access to this information in the first place, why they sought the information, and why it took over two months for this matter to come to light. I urge the Secretary of State to promptly refer this matter to the State Department Inspector General for investigation."

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 12:11 schreef Montov het volgende:
De geopenbaarde bestanden van Clinton als First Lady laten volgens sommigen ook zien dat haar buitenlandse ervaring minimaal is.

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 12:30 schreef Montov het volgende:

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CNN had nog een onderzoek waaruit bleek dat ze wel inhoudelijk betrokken was bij conflicten en internationale kwesties.

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 11:44 schreef ItaloDancer het volgende:

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Bron

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 14:04 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Kwalijke zaak. Het zou me niets verbazen als het regime erachter zit, hoewel ik het vooralsnog hou op nieuwsgierige medewerkers.

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 14:15 schreef popolon het volgende:

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Lijkt me erg sterk dat Clinton er iets mee te maken heeft.

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 14:15 schreef popolon het volgende:

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Lijkt me erg sterk dat Clinton er iets mee te maken heeft. En nu maar hopen dat 't campagneteam van Obama geen rookie fouten maakt door meteen die kant op te wijzen. Zou erg dom zijn.

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Op vrijdag 21 maart 2008 14:17 schreef Monidique het volgende:
Het lijkt mij ook erg sterk, maar ik heb het dan ook niet over Clinton, maar ik kan het mij heel goed voorstellen dat het regime er wel iets mee te maken heeft, of bepaalde groepen mensen daarin. Ik zou niet wéten waarom... maar goed...