Go back far enough, the saying goes, and everyone’s related.
But could it be possible that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Vice President Dick Cheney share a common ancestor?
Cheney’s wife Lynne says yes.
In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Cheney said that in the course of researching her husband’s genealogy for her new book, “Blue Skies, No Fences,” she discovered that the two public figures share an ancestor eight generations ago.
“Think about this,” Mrs. Cheney said. “This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor, a man that came to Maryland, could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths as Dick’s and Barack Obama’s.”
But is blood thicker than the partisan waters of Washington? Apparently not.
Even though Obama is related to her husband, Mrs. Cheney said she is not supporting the Illinois Democrat’s White House bid.
Reacting to the news, Obama’s campaign spokesman Bill Burton told CNN’s Dana Bash with tongue in cheek, “Obviously, Dick Cheney is sort of the black sheep of the family.”
But Obama’s family ties to the Bush administration don’t stop with Cheney. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times last September, Obama is also an 11th cousin of the president himself. The two share a 17th century Massachusetts relative.
Via CNN
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Obama Girl refers to a character, played by Amber Lee Ettinger, depicted in the Internet viral video, “I’ve Got A Crush On Obama”. The video features an attractive young woman seductively singing of her love for Junior Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
A look at the man, the candidate, and whether or not he is truly a contender for the highest office.
The man with an increasingly good chance of becoming America’s first black president officially announced his candidacy on a cold Springfield morning just as newly deceased Anna Nicole Smith and newly shorn Brittney Spears inflicted serious competition for TV viewers.
Nevertheless Barack Obama, the 45-year-old son of Kenya and Kansas, has penetrated the media’s foggy obsession with tabloid stars and has become, in short order, a celebrity himself.
He has jump-started interest in the presidential race and zinged from something like 12 percent name recognition to being a close second for the Democratic nomination.
With the campaign’s starting gun only just fired, Obama is already perceived as a powerful threat to Hillary Clinton’s well-funded political juggernaut and John Edwards’ carefully planned strategies, and has emerged as the presumptive speaker for the conscience of the country in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes.
Many are excited just to be passionate again about a presidential campaign, even if it turns out be the classic brief dance of an underdog. But with lightning swiftness, an Obama nomination seems tantalizingly possible. Even sitting presidents can’t always raise the $1.3 million taken in by the Obama campaign during a single fundraising event in Los Angeles on Feb. 20 sponsored by Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeff Katzenberg and David Geffen.
The field reports on Obama are also impressive: He recently addressed the largest ever pre-presidential-primary crowds in New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio and Texas and has been endorsed by Iowa’s attorney general and state treasurer — pragmatic characters practiced at backing obvious winners in their state.
The Iowa caucuses early next year will be among the nation’s first electoral tests of presidential candidates. Inside the offices of MoveOn.org, there is agreement that Obama is far and away the favorite among its members and has been for the past six months.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has endorsed him, saying that Obama “personifies the future of Democratic leadership.”
What do we know about this first-term U.S. senator who wants to be our president? The Obama resume is formidable: Harvard Law School graduate and president of the Harvard Law Review, civil rights lawyer, constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago, author of two best-selling books, grass-roots organizer and Illinois senator for eight years, where his style has been described as methodical, inclusive and pragmatic.
Factors such as his stalwart opposition to the Iraq war, a growing appreciation for his self-effacing charm and crossover appeal, and Americans’ desire for fresh and future-focused leadership all seem to bode well for Obama’s continuing momentum.
Via AlterNet. Read more on ‘Can Barack Obama Become President?‘
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“I wished we lived in a country where that is not a problem, but it still is,” Durbin said. “The fact that Barack Obama is such a highly visible African-American candidate, I think increases his vulnerability.”
Obama, vying to become America’s first black president, received his Secret Service protection Thursday. It was earlier than any other presidential candidate, excluding Hillary Clinton, who is protected as a former first lady.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in Chicago for Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch at the Chicago Hilton, was on the panel that recommended Obama be guarded by federal agents.
“I would just say this — the bipartisan leadership committee that makes this decision, it didn’t take long to decide that it would be important for Sen. Obama to have this security,” Pelosi said.
The country’s first female House speaker, flanked by Secret Service agents, said she couldn’t share details, but added: “Suffice to say that it was self-evident that Sen. Obama attracts a great deal of attention wherever he goes, so it was thought, under those circumstances, that he should have” it.
Related news
CBSNews.com Turns Off Comments on Obama Stories
Today CBSNews.com informed its staff via email that they should
“It’s very simple,” Mike Sims, director of News and Operations for CBSNews.com, told me. “We have our Rules of Engagement. They prohibit personal attacks, especially racist attacks. Stories about Obama have been problematic, and we won’t tolerate it.”
CBSNews.com has no plans to disable comments on stories about the other presidential candidates, according to Sims. As for comments on Obama stories, he said the site is open to eventually bringing them back.
“We’d like to be able to return to them, and I’m not ruling that out,” said Sims. “But at this point it’s not possible.”
Ubersexual
By: Jamie Chang
“Ubersexual” is a new term created by Marian Salzman-EVP & Director of Strategic Content of JWT-the largest ad agency in America, Ira Matathia, and Ann O’Reilly. It means a “return to the positive aspects of masculinity or “M-ness” of yesteryear (strong, resolute, fair, confident),” according to the writers, who helped spread the word on Metrosexuality in the first place.
The descriptor “uber” was chosen because it means the best, the greatest, says Salzman. Unlike Metrosexuals, who the authors now claim risk being seen as “sad sacks” who seem “incapable of retaining their sense of manhood,” Ubersexuals are confident, rugged and influential.
The list of Top 10 Ubersexuals includes George Clooney, Bill Clinton, Bono, Barack Obama, Guy Ritchie, Jon Stewart and others whose growing sex appeal reflects a drop-off in Metrosexuals’ popularity, according to the writers, who say Metrosexuals now seem high-maintenance, self-absorbed and overly dependent on women’s fashion tips.
The 41-year-old singer of Third Eye Blind, Stephan Jenkins seems to be a big-time Ubersexual, a quick mover with broad masculine appeal to many women and men. The Oakland native was UC Berkeley’s valedictorian in 1987, and he recently dated (and might still, if www.StephanJenkins.com is correct), 25-year-old singer Vanessa Carlton. Previous girlfriends include Winona Ryder and Charlize Theron.
But, as befits the label-resistant spirit, Jenkins rejects the Ubersexual tag altogether. “It seems like a marketing ploy,” he said. “I don’t think men need a ’sexual’ put next to their names. … What kind of sexual is the Dalai Lama? I want to be that.”
The San Francisco author of the best-selling “Tales of the City”, Armistead Maupin, has become a literary giant, an openly gay author whose appeal seems Ubersexual. When asked his thoughts on the Ubersexual label, he laughed. “It’s absurd. Are there any gay men on the authors’ list? No. She (Salzman) implies that homosexuals are naturally excluded from the list.” “The list,” Maupin added, “seems to suggest that gay men cannot be strong and masculine and sensitive and self-determined.”
Is Ubersexual a pseudo-academic prognostication, marketing ploy or a real new trend? This is NYC. There’s always room for all sorts of sexuality!
Jamie received her M.B.A. in Finance & Marketing from University of Miami, Coral Gables Florida. Prior to creating JCIC, Jamie was a Sales/Marketing Manager of a furniture company. She is a member of the Association of Image Consultants International, The Entrepreneurial Center, and the National Association of Female Executives.
Jamie Chang, MBA in Marketing & Finance
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