An Obama-Clinton battle?
Sen. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (PHOTO CREDIT: AP)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The race for the Democratic nomination for president just got a whole lot more interesting.
Hillary Clinton's victory over Barack Obama in New Hampshire means there's no front-runner. What many initially believed would be a Clinton coronation, and then turned into Obama-mania, is now neither.
What is clear is that these two candidates are in it for the long haul. Both Clinton and Obama have lots of money, and the ability to raise even more. In fact, Obama's campaign says it's raised more than $8 million in just the first eight days of this month, and another $500,000 dollars online since midnight.
Clinton told supporters last night that in talking to the people of New Hampshire she "found her own voice." As the race moves on to Nevada and South Carolina, her challenge will be to prove New Hampshire wasn't a fluke. She will have to prove to voters there are reasons other than her "experience" that make her ready to be president. When it comes to Obama, he'll have to try to recapture the magic that was Iowa.
And, an interesting side note on this race: one Clinton adviser tells "The Politico" that it's President George Bush who should get the credit for turning this into such a long campaign, saying: "He has done more than anyone to get the people of this country involved again in politics. They now realize it is important who the president is."
Here’s my question to you: What will ultimately decide the outcome of the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Maternity leave for high school students?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Some pregnant high school students in Colorado may soon be getting maternity leave.
According to local media reports, the Denver Public School District is putting together guidelines for pregnant students' leaves, which could last for four to six weeks after they give birth. They would be expected to complete their schoolwork from home and keep up in their studies. However, school officials insist it's important to give the new mothers time to bond with their babies.
And, there are a lot of these new teen moms. Statistics show 42 of every 1,000 high school-aged girls are having babies.
The issue of maternity leave came up in Denver after the school district got complaints that some students were told to report to class the day after they got out of the hospital, or else risk getting "unexcused" absences. Experts, including a pediatrician and psychology professor, suggested giving new mothers at least four weeks of maternity leave to recover.
Across the country, other school districts like Seattle and Minneapolis say they have maternity leave policies that focus on individual attention for these students.
And there's a good reason for that: teen mothers often end up dropping out of school. By some accounts, less than a third of them get their high school diplomas and only 1.5% get college degrees before they turn 30.
Of course, critics would say this also raises the issue of whether it's a good idea to give these students any more time off.
Here’s my question to you: Should pregnant high school girls be given maternity leave?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How did Clinton win New Hampshire?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
"Back from the dead."… "Who's cryin' now?"
Those are today's headlines in the New York tabloids about Hillary Clinton's upset victory in New Hampshire last night. Her surprising come-from-behind win proved all the pundits and the pollsters wrong. Polls released in the last two days before the election showed Barack Obama with a 5 to 13-point percentage lead over Clinton. Even her own campaign was expecting a loss; there were reports about staff shake-ups, you name it.
So how did Hillary stun everyone to become the second Clinton "comeback kid" in New Hampshire?
No one knows for sure, but the smart money is pointing to a diner where the former first lady was fighting back tears on Monday. No one that I talked to could ever remember seeing Hillary Clinton like that. Raw, real emotion that may have gone a long way toward countering her reputation as a cold, calculating political machine.
Whether or not the tears told the ultimate tale, New Hampshire women supported Hillary in a way they didn't in Iowa. One senior Clinton adviser suggested that John Edwards' unsympathetic response to Clinton's tears may have even pushed more women to the polls to support her.
Edwards made some stupid remark about "Presidential campaigns are tough business." Yes, they are, John. You finished third with a measly 17% of the vote and may be on your way to the same ending you experienced in 2004.
Here’s my question to you: Behind by double digits in several last-minute polls, why was Hillary Clinton able to come back and win the New Hampshire primary?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
Recent Comments