Hillary’s gas tax plan

The folks over at TalkingPointsMemo.com have compiled the weekend’s chatter about Sen. Clinton’s (and Sen. McCain’s) so-called gas tax holiday. Check it out, it’s a good summery of the issue:

What does $109 million dollars say about American democracy?

I don’t begrudge hard working, well educated, public servants from making a good living. Dang, I wish firefighters, cops, nurses and teachers all made a great living (given the hard work that teachers perform, their salaries should start at $75k – $85k); after all, the sacrifices that they make for the rest of us are immeasurable. That said, it is simply astounding that a former president, a servant of the people, can shoot up to such meteoritic income heights after leaving office. Yesterday we learned that since leaving the White House in 2000, the Clintons are now “in the top one-hundredth of 1 percent” of all American taxpayers:

The bulk of their wealth has come from speaking and book-writing, which together account for almost $92 million, including a $15 million advance — larger than previously thought — from Mr. Clinton’s 2004 autobiography, “My Life.” The former president’s vigorous lecture schedule, where his speeches command upwards of $250,000, brought in almost $52 million.

During that time, the Clintons paid $33.8 million in federal taxes and claimed deductions for $10.2 million in charitable contributions.

To me, this is outrageous and a clear indication of the revolving door that exists between Washington, D.C. and the gleaming corporate boardrooms of America; proof, too, of how access is paid for and bought by monied interests, and who — ultimately — has the ear of OUR public representatives.

Of course, the Clintons are not the only ones that have benefited from this revolving door policy, they just happen to be the most recent example of this corrosive practice eating away at American democracy. The $109 million dollars that the Clintons have received since 2000 does not just place them in the top hundredth of one percent of American taxpayers, it places their descendents in an all together different strata — that’s right, $109 million dollars is generationally changing money. Thus, public service in the White House, or even in Congress, coupled with the revolving door policy leading is antithetical to the very anti-aristocratic principles that America was founded on; thus, a threat to our democracy.

John Edwards, An Early Favorite

Time to take a second look at John Edwards…

An NBC/WSJ poll finds that at this very early stage McCain leads Hillary and Obama, but McCain trails Edwards:

In some head-to-head match ups, McCain leads Clinton by four points (47 to 43 percent) and Obama by five points (43 percent to 38 percent). But — in an interesting twist — the Arizona senator trails Edwards by two points (43 percent to 41 percent).

Edwards, at this very early stage, also leads in Iowa:

Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and the winner of the 2004 caucuses, was picked as the early preference of 36 percent of likely caucusgoers in the survey.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York came in second with 16 percent.

Third was Sen. Barack Obama with 13 percent, and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack trailed in fourth place at 9 percent.

Again, it’s very early, which is why the article notes the following:

Some elements of the race have changed since the poll was completed. Vilsack has formally announced his entry, Clinton has begun reaching out to Iowans, and Obama last weekend traveled to New Hampshire.

I think that Senator Edwards has it right, via PoliticalWire.com:

"Running before makes you focus on something different. Instead of focusing on how crowds respond to you and what everybody seems to love of you. That’s not the test for being president. The test for being president is are you the best person to occupy the Oval Office and be the leader of the free world? Because literally the future of the world is at stake here. This is not about popularity and excitement."

— John Edwards, on Hardball