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Iowa Republican Caucuses

Showtime!

Voting is underway in the Republic Caucuses in Iowa. With less than 1% of the count Ron Paul lead the pack. With 3% of the count Rick Santorum took lead position. With 6% counted Rick Santorum held 1st. place with 1,229 votes just 25 votes ahead of Ron Paul, but just now the count clicked over to 11% and Ron Paul takes the lead, followed by Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Michele Bachmann.


Live results here.

UPDATE: Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum share dibs on first place, Ron Paul not far behind. Newt Gingrich in forth place closes the door on the Iowa circus leaving Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann alone in the dark.

1,289 replies on “Iowa Republican Caucuses”

897

Paddy
It looks like that story is re emerging with a full head of steam now that there are witnesses giving evidence.

Pass the popcorn machine. :mrgreen:

Umm…re 904.
I’m “reliably informed” by an *impeccable* source that it’s the real thing. (cough) 🙂

OK ticsters. Brief review of the Panorama TV program.
“Murdoch’s TV Pirates.”…… Pure GOLD! 😆
Nice, simple and straightforward show with some devastating interviews and the obligatory “secret filmed” footage of Murdoch security staffers. (who just happen to be ex-police officers)
Hackers blowing the whistle, ex-coppers denying any wrongdoing etc etc.
It’s like Leveson on steroids.
Plus, it’s a well told yarn. So the ordinary punters will have no trouble keeping up with the twists and turns.
Now I can’t wait to see how the Frontline program handles the US side of the business. :mrgreen:

News Corp Firm Under Fire After BBC’s Panorama Alleges Hacking Of ITV Digital.
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A News Corporation company allegedly employed a pay-TV piracy website to hack its rival’s service and drive them out of business, a BBC Panorama programme has claimed.

According to the BBC, NDS, a company who made pay-TV smart cards, funded the expansion of a website set up to distribute codes to enable pirates to access ITV Digital television for free.

The programme claimed that NDS helped Lee Gibling, webmaster of a site called The House of Ill-Compute, gather and distribute codes to access ITV Digital after it was launched as ‘ONdigital’ in 1998.

A bit more on Huffington Post UK. Too early for anything on the US site.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/27/news-corp-nds-bbc-itv-digital-ondigital-murdoch_n_1381735.html?ref=uk

Oh dear! According to the AFR, Rupert’s been busy in Oz as well. :mrgreen:

A secret unit within Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation promoted a wave of high-tech piracy in Australia that damaged Austar, Optus and Foxtel at a time when News was moving to take control of the Australian pay TV industry.

The piracy cost the Australian pay TV companies up to $50 million a year and helped cripple the finances of Austar, which Foxtel is now in the process of acquiring.

A four-year investigation by The Australian Financial Review has revealed a global trail of corporate dirty tricks directed against competitors by a secretive group of former policemen and intelligence officers within News Corp known as Operational Security.

http://is.gd/4f81yZ

909

Paddy

Oh what a tangled web we weave.
I am glad that the media enquiry here appears to be going relatively slowly as all this stuff coming out only adds fuel to the fire that is SeweRoo incinerating.

SeweRoo must have sacked Hartigan for telling porkies when he said Noozltd had done nothing wrong in Oz.

911 & 912
Chris & Gaff Just heard Stephen Maine on 774 talking to Jon Faine about Rupert’s hi jinks with pay TV in Oz.
Neither seemed too sure about what the fallout would be.
But the ACCC has to decide whether they’ll let Rupe control the Oz market in the next few days.
Should be quite fascinating to watch.
Let’s hope the new head of the ACCC has more balls and rat cunning than the previous one.

916
Excellent Gaffy. I’ve just suggested that to Crikey for video of the day.
BTW That’s the same program linked to @904

Ah HA! For those country ticsters….Via the wonders of twitter.
The NBN is announcing its 3 year rollout plans tomorrow.
(Paddy crosses fingers and hopes he’s on the list!) 🙂

There’s a perfect opportunity for the Guillard government to uncover the Liberal Parties connection to the criminal organisation known as News Limited. It’ll be interesting to see when Abbott starts distancing himself from News Limited. 🙂

Obama Enjoys Leads Over Romney In Three Critical Swing States.
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Quinnipiac University is out with a series of new swing state polls on Wednesday morning showing generally good news for President Obama.

In Florida, Obama tops Mitt Romney 49 percent to 42 percent; while beating Rick Santorum 50 percent to 37 percent.

In Ohio, Obama beats Romney 47 to 41 percent and Santorum 47 to 40 percent.

In Pennsylvania, Obama edges Romney 45 to 42 percent, while topping Santorum 48 to 41 percent.

More here…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/obama-romney-swing-states_n_1384902.html

Obama Holds Large Lead Over Romney
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A new CNN/Opinion Research poll finds President Obama with a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney, 54% to 43%.

Said pollster Keating Holland: “President Obama currently wins majority support among groups that have been problematic for him in the past, including men, older voters, and suburbanites. He has a solid lead among independents as well.”

Obama’s approval rating has also inched over the 50% mark for the first time since last May, when the polls were still registering the after effects of the death of Osama bin Laden.

Good stuff.
http://politicalwire.com

Having gnashed my teeth and thrown rocks at the screen, when trying to find when I would be getting the NBN……
I was (fortunately) reminded by @NBNCoLimited that all fixed wireless and satellite connections will be completed nationwide by 2015.

Whew!! So at least I’ll be on a 12 Mbt connection instead of the current 2-4 Mbt . No competition to Gaffy’s gloating. But better than ChrisB’s angst. 🙂
BTW Chris, what sort of speeds do you get in Oakleigh?

Ticsters
At the rate they are coming you need to bookmark Georgebludgers Flikr account to keep up
It’s a ripper. :mrgreen:

Mind you it is very quick browsing with NBN. 😆 :mrgreen: 😉

Does anybody see the irony in a Liberal person carping about Victoria not getting the NBN????

VICTORIA has been dudded by the Gillard government’s schedule for rolling out the National Broadband Network over the next three years, according to the Baillieu government.

Despite being home to just under 25 per cent of Australia’s population, Victoria will get only 19.5 per cent of NBN fibre connections in the first phase of the rollout, under detailed plans released yesterday.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the $36 billion network would be available or under construction in areas containing 3.5 million businesses and homes by June 2015.
Advertisement: Story continues below

However, only 691,600 of those premises — or 19.5 per cent — are in Victoria, leaving it behind all other states and territories in per capita terms.

“Victoria has been dudded,” said state Technology Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips. “If we were to receive our fair share, broadband would be rolled out to an extra 191,000 homes.

“The Gillard government is quite clearly funnelling money into [other] states to prop up struggling administrations.”

Although Labor-held South Australia had just 7.3 per cent of the population, it was receiving 9.2 per cent of program funding. Tasmania, with 2.3 per cent of the population, was getting 5.9 per cent.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/in-the-cbd-winners-are-grinners-in-prahran-theyre-not-20120329-1w1ii.html#ixzz1qVksfQel

Mitt Romney donated $10,000 to NOM “through an unusual channel”.
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NOM has been getting a lot of attention this week for its strategy of race-baiting. As Matt Browner Hamlin reported, the leading GOP candidates all signed the NOM pledge. Matt asked: Do the Republican candidates stand by NOM?

Turns out, Mitt did more. He donated $10,000 to NOM back in 2008 during the Prop. 8 campaign. Tried to hide** it, but he’s been busted.

**Spelling mistake corrected by Chris

More here…

http://gay.americablog.com/2012/03/romney-donated-10000-to-nom-through.html

Spitzer Replaces Olbermann
Current TV terminated the contract of its lead anchor Keith Olbermann, “scarcely one year after he was hired to reboot the channel in his progressive political image,” the New York Times reports.

He is being replaced by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
http://politicalwire.com/

948
That sums it up pretty well for what info is out there at the moment without adding any bells and whistles.

I would love to see the old prick get double or more of what Conrad Black got

Scott Walker recall election date sorted.

Yesterday in Wisconsin, a state panel set June 5 as the date for the recall election of Republican Governor Scott Walker.

Opponents of Walker secured over 900,000 signatures on a recall petition, well above the 540,000 required.

The significance of this recall election can not be overstated.

Walker, a hard line right wing reactionary, whose campaign for governor in 2010 was a huge recipient of the Koch Bros. largesse, became infamous last year for his direct assault on the public service unions in the state and particularly their right to continue collective bargaining.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Recall-Election-of-Wiscons-by-Dave-Lefcourt-120331-200.html

David Cameron – Behind In The Polls And Losing Control?
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David Cameron goes into Easter after one of the most difficult periods of his premiership, with the Sunday press likely to make grim reading for the Prime Minister.

The lastest polls confirm that the Tories have lost large swathes of public support over the past fortnight, the party is trailing Labour by nine points in the lastest poll conducted by ComRes.

The same poll suggests the public overwhelmingly find the Tories “out of touch”, and they also largely reject the so-called “pasty tax” along with the freezing of the personal allowance for the over-65s, widely dubbed the “granny tax”.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/01/david-cameron-polls-granny-pasty-tax-fuel-shortages-panic-buying_n_1394401.html?ref=uk

Private Dinners Than Previously Thought, Claims Sunday Times.
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Peter Cruddas, the disgraced former Tory party treasurer, claimed to have direct access to Prime Minister David Cameron on at least 13 occasions – even bankrolling a dinner at Chequers, it was reported today.

Mr Cruddas was forced to resign last week after he was secretly filmed by undercover reporters from The Sunday Times boasting that he could provide access to Mr Cameron and other ministers and influence over policy for “premier league” donors
giving £250,000 to the party.

In the wake of the disclosures the Conservatives released details of party donors attending dinners and lunches held at the Prime Minister’s official residences at No 10 and Chequers.

Today, The Sunday Times – publishing further details from its investigation – said that Mr Cruddas described having direct access to Mr Cameron on at least 13 occasions, including a dinner in London’s Belgrave Square on the Prime Minister’s birthday.

More here…

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/01/peter-cruddas-attended-donor-dinners-number-10-chequers-downing-street-cameron_n_1394383.html?ref=uk

Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift Fashion Face-Off At The Kids’ Choice Awards! (PHOTOS, VIDEO).

In a fashion battle between Taylor Swift and Michelle Obama, one would assume the bright, sparkly uber-celebrity would take the cake. Sure, the first lady is one of the most fashionable women to ever occupy the White House. But she’s also, like, a mom.

But against all odds, FLOTUS blew T-Swift out of the water — er, slime — at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday night. Michelle was on hand with Sasha and Malia to award Swift Nickelodeon’s Big Help Award, recognizing her charitable work.

Maybe Michelle will play a valuable part in the election?

More here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/01/michelle-obama-taylor-swift_n_1394904.html

Myanmar Elections: Aung San Suu Kyi, Opposition Leader, Wins Parliament Seat.

YANGON, Myanmar — She struggled for a free Myanmar for a quarter-century, much of it spent locked away under house arrest. Now, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose nonviolent campaign for democracy at home transformed her into a global icon is on the verge of ascending to public office for the first time.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 66, was elected to parliament Sunday in a historic victory buffeted by the jubilant cheers of supporters who hope her triumph will mark a major turning point in a nation still emerging from a ruthless era of military rule.

If confirmed, the election win will also mark an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world’s most prominent prisoners of conscience. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a vote her party boycotted that was deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official in less than 17 months, opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.

Wow! I am surprised Burma is turning so readily to Democracy. Great stuff.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/01/myanmar-elections-aung-san-suu-kyi-parliament_n_1394633.html?ref=uk

I wrote a while ago about how i thought Australia was deliberately being “politically regionalized” by the major media organizations. That Qld and NSW were being turned anti progressive by a massive and sustained media barrage led by Murdoch and Singleton.

It has been relentless and purposeful.

Judging by the state of play in Qld and NSW federally and statewise, progressivism is now a dirty word. It is like liberalism in the South in America.

The brainwashing has worked.

960 “It is like liberalism in the South in America.” Only 2 countries are not liberal Columbia and Chile although Chile recently had a liberal government with a President who was educated in Melbourne and Sydney. She is still there although not in charge. South America is more liberal than anywhere else in the world.

HarryH @ 960 – as far as NSW is concerned, Labor isn’t weak because of a media conspiracy. It’s weak because it was in power for 16 years, because in that time the infrastructure of NSW was neglected, and in the end, the stench of corruption was pervasive. Not just in the media – stories in the business community were rife. In its last 6 years, Labor changed premier 4 times.

There’s no way I’ll vote Liberal, but I think it’s seriously misguided to attribute the situation to the media. Sure its a factor, but not the main one. And I don’t believe its the main factor Federally.

KL,

I;m not saying Labor are not also at fault for their parlous state in these 2 states. They are bloody hopeless.

But so are the Coalition. And they get ZERO scrutiny from Murdoch and Singleton, who absolutely dominate the media and swamp the public with Labor BAD – Coalition GOOD.

It is mood setting. And in politics, mood setting trumps policy.

I dunno if i’m on my own on this one, but i really reckon Australia is being “politically regionalised” for commercial/political/cultural benefit by Murdoch and Singleton in particular.

I see Labor and Liberal/National and Greens parties that are all full of lazy, no vision, hack seatwarmers. But there has been a massive push in Print and Radio media to make anything progressive “BAAAADDDDDDD”.

Everything gets turned into a running saga full of negatives, and the mood is set and it sticks.

And there seems to have been an overwhelming push in NSW and QLD by Murdoch and Singleton to make “Progressive” an Ugly thing to associate with.

That’s my thoughts anyway. Even though it’s hard to explain in type without writing a thesis that rationally distributes ALL fault and explains ALL points in detail.

968 HarryH Spot on. Although if the ALP goes the whole hog with the corruption in News Corp and ties the Liberal Party firmly in with it. The conservatives will stink to high heaven.

Democrats Winning Women Across The Board, Polls Show.
share.
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It should be no surprise that the months-long focus on access to contraception, which enjoys broad support among voters, is giving President Obama an edge with women voters.

Pew research and other polling organizations have shown that there has been a growing gender gap on the presidential level, with President Obama doing better with women against his likely rival in former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney than the president did against Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at the same point in 2008. But other recent numbers show the presidential race isn’t the only one being affected.

It’s one point both Democrats and Republicans agree on: Social issues at the top of the ticket are poisoning the well and creating a gender gap across the board — mostly to the benefit of Democrats.

More here….
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/gender-gap-appears-in-senate-races.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

I Agree HarryH .. There is a very uneven focus on the woeful Labor party by murfoch and co, and noton the pathetic Conservatives who are getting away wih total ineptitude and no policies .

Jet caught a glimpse of sbs expose on paytv piracy by Murdoch… Couldn’t watch it all but might be worth a squiz- think it was Dateline

HarryH

I get you now. I think everything progressive has been seen as bad for a long time. Why isn’t calling someone a “conservative” an insult?

There’s been stuff said and written about owning the debate better from the left – about owning the words and changing them into positives, but it’s just as bad as ever.

I guess it’s the same as “feminist”. It’s seen as an insult by most, but people should own this description.

I realise there’s more to your arguments, but yeah, it seems like one is meant to feel like they should apologise when they hold “lefty” views. It’s annoying.

If News Corporation is found to be a corrupt organisation from end to end. Then everything they touched is corrupt. Including the Liberal Party and one John Winston Howard and let’s not forget the Lady that put him there in Wapping. Margaret Thatcher.

Pollster Finds Obama is Overwhelming Favorite

An Ipsos forecasting model finds that if President Obama’s approval rating stays at 47%, there is an 85% chance he wins reelection, Paul Bedard reports.

Should Obama’s approval rise to 50% or better, he stands a 99% chance of winning.

Said pollster Clifford Young: “Obama is the odds-on favorite barring some unforeseen random event. As such, we really should not be asking who will win the presidency but instead who will hold the House and Senate and will Obama be able to govern?”

Katielou! Katielou!
http://politicalwire.com

Love it Chris B!

Make no mistake, this campaign is going to be downright ugly. There is a loud and vocal element in the Conservative wing who hold Obama in utter contempt. They see him as illegitimate. It is hard to escape the conclusion that contempt is fuelled by racism.

Read this piece, for example, which discusses this very issue…..

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/04/the-rights-obama.html

Just yesterday I watched a grab of Romney being asked questions in some open forum, and, dead set, some frikkin nutter seriously asked him on camera, “Do you believe it’s a sin for a white person to marry a black person”? OK, he gave the right answer, but it’s hard to fathom that one could hear those words on TV today.

The books that will be written on Obama’s 8 years are going to be incredible. I think he will be judged a great leader by the mere fact of governing sanely despite the crazy shit thrown at him.

We’re still watching history in the making, imo.

This is a great (short) piece from the New Yorker on Obama’s re-election battle – against Congress, the Supreme Court, and Romney. I just want to quote the last paragraph because it is so exquisitely written…..

Conservatives in Congress and on the Court are appealing targets because of their solidity, which their party’s presumptive candidate lacks. Mitt’s hollowness makes him a bit like one of those punching-toy clowns, with a fixed rubber smile and a wobble even while at rest, but also with an ability to take blows and right itself—at least, that is, until the air comes out. He has spent months running against not-Romneys, a cast of characters so absurd in themselves that it was enough for him to, in effect, be the not-not-Romney. If that stage is done, will he become himself, whoever that is, or will he simply slip into the role of not-Obama? If he does, will that be enough for him to win—or will it just turn him into exactly the sort of enemy Obama needs?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/04/obama-and-his-enemies.html#ixzz1r7jZ3S8p

well done fin Review for not backing down and kudos to you paddy for keeping the finger on the pulse while i have been diligently hunting the elusive coral trout.

Managed to corale a few fine specimens of the species and will raise their temparature accordingly over the next few days.

968 Harry H

That just about nails it Harry. There would be no contest if mordors rags were holding the reactionaries to account.

A bloke goes away for a couple of days fishing and Jimmy pulls the plug on BskyB. How honourable of the prick. I just read about it. Gleefully of course.

987
Ah yes Gaffy. But he’s still on the board and (even better) he’s still due to front Leveson…… Along with his Dad. 👿 :mrgreen:

…while i have been diligently hunting the elusive coral trout…

There is no such thing as an “elusive” coral trout! When I were a lad, we considered it a mere cutesy to put a friggin’ hook on the line. 😉

Flanners

There is no such thing as an “elusive” coral trout! When I were a lad, we considered it a mere cutesy to put a friggin’ hook on the line. ,/blockquote>

Agreed Flanners, and i also had that experience as a lad, but since the useless governments have allowed the rape and pillage of the reef so a few can get rich selling live trout to the overseas markets, there is now an exceptional amount of water between each fish. :mrgreen:

990

With all these revelations of, shit you couldn’t make up, it surely must be getting closer to, hopefully, a huge bombshell involving SeweRoos Australian operations, and it can’t come soon enoughy.

Lisa Murkowski: ‘It Makes No Sense To Make This Attack On Women’.
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) spoke out forcefully in favor of reproductive rights on Wednesday in Homer, Alaska, as many in her party have sought to restrict them.

“It makes no sense to make this attack on women,” she said at a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon, according to the Homer News. “If you don’t feel this is an attack, you need to go home and talk to your wife and your daughters.”

Distention in the camp.

More here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/05/lisa-murkowski-war-on-women_n_1406923.html

992 Gaffhook They have gone that with the supplying of cards to bring down the Optus cable network. Although I won’t complain about another big one.

Newly Released Documents Re-Expose Bush Administration to Legal Liability for Torture.
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As Rachel Maddow reported this Wednesday, despite the Bush administration’s best efforts to destroy every copy of internal memo from former State Department counselor Philip Zelikow, one copy survived and has been obtained by Wired Magazine and the national security archive at George Washington University, three years after filing a FIOA request.

Rachel delved into the politics on this, noting the hard move to the right by the Republican Party even since their nomination of John McCain who spoke out against torture during the last presidential election.

And no one procecuted for th GFC either.

More here….
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/newly-released-documents-re-expose-bush-ad

Obama Solidifying Lead Among Independents in Swing States.
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Barack Obama has a 48% to 39% advantage over Mitt Romney among independent voters in 12 key swing states. He first moved ahead of Romney among this group in February after being tied in January and trailing last year.
The results are based on the most recent USA Today/Gallup Swing States poll, conducted March 20-26, among voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The poll preceded Romney’s Tuesday victory in the key Wisconsin primary that made his nomination look increasingly inevitable. Romney’s closest pursuer in the Republican nomination race, Rick Santorum, fared much worse versus Obama among independents in the Swing State poll, trailing 53% to 32%.

Very similar to the womens vote.

More here…
http://www.gallup.com/poll/153764/Obama-Solidifying-Lead-Among-Independents-Swing-States.aspx

IN-Sen, IN-Gov: Bipartisan poll shows Richard Lugar in peril.
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If there was any doubt that six-term GOP incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar is in for his bumpiest reelection in, well, ever, those doubts should now be erased. We’ve previously gotten a few leaked internal polls giving us a vague sense that a) Lugar doesn’t have his primary locked down and b) Democrat Joe Donnelly has a path to victory if Lugar loses his primary to Richard Mourdock, against whom the race is a tossup. And now we have a public poll (for local political tipsheet Howey Politics, performed by a Republican and a Democratic internal pollster) that confirms both of these points.

The more immediate problem for Lugar is that he’s up only by single digits (by 7) against Mourdock, the state treasurer who’s challenging Lugar from the tea-flavored right. (Lugar, of course, is still certainly conservative, but he’s occasionally worked with Democrats on foreign policy issues, deferred to their judicial picks, and otherwise behaved like a old-fashioned legislator acting in good faith, instead of a bomb-thrower.)

Lugar had been so far ahead in this seat that I did not think it could possibly be a pickup.

More here…
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/05/1080965/-IN-Sen-IN-Gov-Bipartisan-poll-shows-Richard-Lugar-in-peril

This is a great speech given by Obama a couple of days ago. It’s not as stirring as some that he has done, but the content is significant. Obama lays out the battleground – he calls out the Republicans for their non-sensical positions, and addresses some of the key criticisms thrown at him. The Republicans are proposing a drastic budget slashing welfare, lowering taxes for the rich, increasing defence spending and making the middle and lower classes pay. He spells out what that will mean for Americans. It’s long, but I think it’s important. This is what this election is about.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/04/03/president-obama-speaks-associated-press-luncheon

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