Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota today said that Gov. Mark Sanford's extramarital scandal has "hurt the brand" of the Republican Party, that is shows elected officials are not "walking the walk" of family values.

Pawlenty is considered a posiible Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admited today to an extramarital affair with someone in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he had spent most of the past week. This may well kill any chance of Sanford running for president in 2012. He has already resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Many are calling for him to resign as governor. It will be difficult for the conservative Christian to explain his current predicment to his voting public. He has asked for forgiveness. We shall see if the public grants his wish.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford disappeared over Father's Day weekend. No one knew where to find him. He did turn up this week, claiming he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, somewhere. Many are skeptical, including those who discovered that his last cell phone call was from Atlanta. In any case, one place you may not find him now is on the short list of GOP presidential hopefuls in 2012. The sudden, strange dissappearance of the governor without providing contact information has been called reckless.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is missing and neither his aids nor his family know where he is. His staff claim he is hiking the Appalacian Trail, but his cell phone was last used in Atlanta and no one can contact him. They claim everything is okay, but the people of South Carolina want to know: Who's in charge?

Andrew Young, former staffer and friend of John Edwards, is shopping a book deal explaining his version of Edwards' sex scandal that stunned the political world. (After many months of rumors, Ewards admitted to the exramarital affair in August 2008.)

Senator John Ensign resigned from his post as chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee Wednesday after publicly confessing to an affair with a staffer. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Ensign's resignation.

Ensign had visited Iowa just a few weeks ago, home of the quadrennially important presidential Iowa Caucus.

http://tinyurl.com/n7hnx4

Nevada Sen. John Ensign has admited to an extramarital affair with a staffer.

Ensign has been a vocal social conservative and has repeatedly extolled the "sanctity of marriage." He was a harsh critic of former president Bill Clinton and called for Clinton's resignation during the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Ensign visited Iowa just a few weeks ago, a clear indication that he was a rising star in the Republican Party who had presidential aspirations. Those presidential plans are likely gone now.

The Washington Post reports that a small army of potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates is stirring.

Political junkies know that presidential electioneering will start in earnest right after the 2010 mid-term elections next year and potential candidates need to start planning now. The perpetual U.S. presidential election is indeed alive and well.

Signs:

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has not stepped away from the political limelight and recently delivered a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will not seek reelection next year. Note that Pawlenty was second in line to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for becoming Sen. John McCain's 2008 vice presidential pick.

Mississippi's Haley Barbour, has scheduled appearances in New Hampshire and Iowa for later this month.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is all over the airwaves, most recently calling potential Supreme Court judge Sotomayor a racist (and then backing down).

A recent CNN poll showed Palin, Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to be leaders of the Republican presidential pack at this time.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is also in the mix.

Other possible 2012 presidential candidates:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist

This all means, among other things, that new candidate categories need to be created on electapres.com for all the Republican contenders. It appears we will have another wide-open Republican donnybrook for 2012, with none positioned to be the 'anointed one' - at least not yet.

In a letter to LU's student democratic club, the university stated:

""The Democratic Party Platform is contrary to the mission of LU and to Christian doctrine (supports abortion, federal funding of abortion, advocates repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, promotes the "LGBT" agenda, Hate Crimes, which include sexual orientation and gender identity, socialism, etc). We are removing the club from the Liberty website and you will need to cease using Liberty University's name, including any logo, seal or mark of Liberty University.""

Barack Hussein Obama II becomes the 44th president of the United States.

The Politico

PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrated another must-win victory Tuesday night in Pennsylvania, with a convincing win over Sen. Barack Obama that she sought to frame not just as a sign of her strength but of Obama’s abiding weakness.

“Maybe the question ought to be, ‘Why can’t he close the deal?’” Clinton said Tuesday morning outside a polling place in Conshohocken, Pa.

In her victory speech, Clinton cast her 10-point margin — larger than late polls suggested — as a pivot.

The Politico

PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrated another must-win victory Tuesday night in Pennsylvania, with a convincing win over Sen. Barack Obama that she sought to frame not just as a sign of her strength but of Obama’s abiding weakness.

“Maybe the question ought to be, ‘Why can’t he close the deal?’” Clinton said Tuesday morning outside a polling place in Conshohocken, Pa.

In her victory speech, Clinton cast her 10-point margin — larger than late polls suggested — as a pivot.

The LA Times

A new government report predicts when each will go into the red, but the candidates appear reluctant to touch the subject matter.

The Washington Post

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed back hard yesterday against calls for her to withdraw from the presidential race, with aides saying she remains more determined than ever to remain in the contest until the end of the primary season.

Allies of Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) have sought to increase pressure on Clinton (N.Y.) to drop out of the race in recent days, arguing that, because of his lead in pledged delegates, her only path to the Democratic nomination lies in a divisive campaign that drags to the party's convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday offered what may have been the starkest challenge to Clinton from a prominent Obama supporter, saying in an interview with Vermont Public Radio that she should avert a potentially bloody and ultimately futile battle by stepping aside.

The New York Times (register)

Last Tuesday, millions of viewers were riveted by the wrestling match in Ohio and gunfight in Texas between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, not to mention by the unlikely coronation of the conservative bugbear John McCain as the Republican nominee.

Among those watching? Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric.

Instead of election coverage, NBC ran two hours of “The Biggest Loser” while CBS showed an episode of “Big Brother” and ABC did an hour of “Just for Laughs” along with some other can-miss TV.

It was an “Idol” night on Fox — at least people were voting — so you have to wonder why the other networks didn’t turn their news divisions loose on a huge primary night in the name of civic interest and perhaps a little brand building.

The New York Times (register)

COLUMBUS, Miss. — At first, the suggestion was a quiet one, raised by their supporters. Soon, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, lent credence to the idea, telling voters in Mississippi and beyond that Senator Barack Obama would make a fine partner — most likely as No. 2 — on the Democratic ticket.

But when Mr. Obama arrived here Monday, he brusquely discounted the chatter. He suggested that the Clintons were being duplicitous in their offer, implying on one hand that he was not ready to be president, but that on the other, he could solve the party’s political impasse by joining together.

“I don’t know how somebody who’s in second place can offer the vice presidency to someone who’s in first place,” Mr. Obama told a town meeting at the Mississippi University for Women here, alluding to his lead in delegates. As the crowd cheered, he said: “If I’m not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president? Do you understand that?”

The New York Times (register)

Mitt Romney has emerged from hibernation to do his first televised interview since he suspended his presidential campaign last month, saying he would be “honored” to serve as Senator John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee.

“I think any Republican leader in this country would be honored to be asked to serve as the vice-presidential nominee, myself included,” said Mr. Romney, who is scheduled to appear on Fox News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes tonight, according to advance excerpts. “Of course this is a nation which needs strong leadership. And if the nominee of our party asked you to serve with him, anybody would be honored to receive that call.”

The pair engaged in some of the most bitter feuding of the campaign cycle as they tangled in New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida and heading into the crush of states that voted on Feb. 5.

ABC News

Some of Sen. John McCain's strongest supporters are spending much of their time raising money for their pal, giving speeches for him, even accompanying the candidate on the campaign trail.

After all, the volunteers — many of them McCain classmates from the U.S. Naval Academy — have plenty of time on their hands. Almost all of them have been retired for years. At an age when most Americans have taken up hobbies or mall walking, the 71-year-old presumptive GOP presidential nominee is hoping to become the nation's oldest newly elected president. If elected, McCain would be 76 at the end of his first term.

If there is any doubt that McCain's age is going to be an issue, just listen to the late night monologues. "John McCain seems reinvigorated. He has a new campaign slogan: 'He'll lead you into the 21st century.' I like it better than the old slogan, which was 'He'll lead you into assisted living,'" riffed David Letterman, who likes to refer to McCain as the candidate who looks like "the old guy at the barber shop," "a Wal-Mart greeter" or "the guy at the supermarket who is confused by the automatic doors."

ABC News

In another twist to the bitter battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Sen. Hillary Clinton's finance committee, vented her frustration with Sen. Barack Obama's campaign success in racially charged remarks.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Ferraro told a local California newspaper last week.

"And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept," Ferraro said.

The Washington Post

Sen. Barack Obama won the Mississippi Democratic presidential primary decisively last night, adding to his overall lead in delegates as he and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton plunged into a six-week battle ahead of a showdown in Pennsylvania.

While voters were casting ballots in Mississippi, the campaigns clashed over comments from Geraldine A. Ferraro, a Clinton supporter and the only woman to be a major party vice presidential nominee, who suggested that Obama has taken the lead in delegates only because he is black. Obama, she said, "would not be in this position" if he were white or a woman.

Obama called the statement "patently absurd," while Clinton dismissed it as "regrettable," saying she thoroughly disagrees with Ferraro's sentiment. Despite their comments, the controversy continued as Obama's advisers demanded a more dramatic renunciation and as Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams accused the Obama team of fanning the race issue.

The New York Times (register)

NEW ORLEANS — Senator John McCain fielded a question at a public forum on Friday morning in Atlanta that he said he had never been asked before. Because Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, had approached him about being his running mate for the White House in 2004, would Mr. McCain now return the favor?

Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, who has long been distrusted by conservatives as a Democratic sympathizer, quickly said no he would not — and just as quickly said he had never considered sharing the ticket with Mr. Kerry, a friend.

“He is, as he describes himself, a liberal Democrat,” Mr. McCain said of Mr. Kerry, adding that he meant no offense by the term. “I am a conservative Republican. So when I was approached, when we had that conversation back in 2004, that’s why I never even considered such a thing.”

The New York Times (register)

Along with his signature bright white hair, the most striking aspects of Senator John McCain’s physical appearance are his puffy left cheek and the scar that runs down the back of his neck.

Mr. McCain with his wife after having a melanoma removed from his nose in 2002. It was one of four he has had.
The marks are cosmetic reminders of the melanoma surgery he underwent in August 2000. Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, sometimes tells audiences that he has “more scars than Frankenstein.”

The operation was performed mainly to determine whether the melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, had spread from his left temple to a key lymph node in his neck; a preliminary pathology test at the time showed that it had not.

ABC News

Barack Obama won the Democratic caucuses today in Wyoming, a state the party's presidential candidates often overlook, but that in this nail-biter of a race saw heavy campaigning by both Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Obama came away with 61 percent of the vote to Clinton's 38 percent. Democrats in Wyoming get little respect. The sparsely populated red state is home to just 218,000 thousand voters, most of them Republicans, like Wyoming's own Dick Cheney.

But this year, Clinton and Obama eagerly glad-handed voters across the state because even Wyoming -- with its 12 delegates -- counts.

ABC News

Samantha Power, a senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama, resigned Friday morning after calling Sen. Hillary Clinton a "monster" in an interview with a European newspaper.

Ex-Obama Aide Sorry for 'Monster' Remark"With deep regret, I am resigning from my role as an adviser the Obama campaign effective today," said Power in a statement issued by the Obama campaign. "Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor and purpose of the Obama campaign. And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months."

Power's statement came scarcely an hour after congressional supporters of Clinton demanded that Obama fire Power for the remarks.

The Washington Times

Sen. John McCain, having survived the Republican primaries, now needs to bind a fractured Republican Party as he looks to the presidential election this fall.

But the manner of his victory — he clinched his party's nomination by outlasting flawed opponents rather than storming to victory over them — has left him with the tasks of repairing fissures among Republicans and overcoming the headwind of an unpopular president from his party.

And he will have to do that while facing the historic candidacy of either a woman or a black man as his Democratic opponent.

ABC News

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has conceded the Republican nomination to rival Senator John McCain, R-Ariz.

But there is no doubt the longshot-turned-contender left his mark on the GOP race.

Calling his White House bid the "journey of a lifetime", Huckabee spoke Tuesday night from Irving, TX commending McCain on an "honorable campaign" and emphasizing his commitment to the Republican party in the fight to the November election.

The New York Times (register)

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in the Ohio and Texas primaries on Tuesday, ending a string of defeats and allowing her to soldier on in a Democratic presidential nomination race that now seems unlikely to end any time soon.

Mrs. Clinton also won Rhode Island, while Mr. Obama won in Vermont. But the results mean that Mrs. Clinton won the two states she most needed to keep her candidacy alive.

In an interview on CNN Wednesday morning, Mrs. Clinton said she was not deterred by Mr. Obama’s continued lead in elected delegate support, and argued that she would be the stronger candidate in a general election against the now-assured Republican candidate, Senator John McCain. “What’s important is that this campaign has turned a corner,” she said.

The New York Times (register)

Senator John McCain, a one-time insurgent whose campaign was all but dead seven months ago, locked up the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday night after he defeated former Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Texas and Ohio Republican primary and Mr. Huckabee conceded the race to Mr. McCain.

Although Mr. McCain had been far ahead in the delegate count and been bestowed with the unofficial title of “likely Republican nominee” since his string of victories on Feb. 5, Tuesday’s results put him within reach of the 1,191 delegates he needs for the nomination. Mr. McCain also won the Vermont and Rhode Island primaries.

“I am very grateful and pleased to note that tonight, my friends, we have won enough delegates to claim with confidence, humility and a great sense of responsibility that I will be the Republican nominee for president of the United States,” Mr. McCain said. He said this was “an accomplishment that once seemed to more than a few doubters unlikely.”

The New York Times (register)

This week, more than any other of the 2008 Democratic campaign, has acquired an air of decisiveness.

That is because four primary contests on Tuesday could extinguish Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s hope of overtaking Senator Barack Obama. After 11 consecutive losses, she trails badly in Vermont, runs even or slightly behind in Texas, and leads in Ohio and Rhode Island.

Yet the hinge could still swing either way. If Mrs. Clinton carries the behemoths of Ohio and Texas — despite her opponent’s momentum and financial advantage — Mr. Obama may rue this week as both an end and a beginning.

The New York Times (register)

WASHINGTON — Top supporters of Senator Barack Obama, joined by at least one prominent Democrat yet to endorse a candidate, put pressure on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday to bow out of the presidential race unless she scores clear victories in the crucial big-state primary contests on Tuesday.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton held a rally at Westerville North High School in Westerville, Ohio, on Sunday.
“I just think that D-Day is Tuesday,” said Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a former Democratic presidential candidate who has yet to throw his support behind either candidate. And two Obama supporters, Senators John Kerry and Dick Durbin, pushed for Mrs. Clinton to withdraw if she does poorly at the polls on Tuesday.

Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont hold primary contests that day, and the Clinton campaign, trailing in the delegates needed for nomination and having lost the last 11 straight contests, has acknowledged that the New York senator needs to win at least Ohio or Texas. Both candidates were campaigning Sunday in Ohio.