The Hotline blogs that pundits aren’t giving General Wes Clark his due as a potential Democratic nominee for president in 2008. Thanks to my dear old friend, Catherine Grunden, a Clinton team alum who now serves at Clark’s PAC director, I had occasion to spend an afternoon with Clark in Texas. Seeing the general campaign […]

Michel Marriott of the New York Times reports on the increased use of the Internet by U.S. minorities:

“What digital divide?” Magic Johnson, the basketball legend, asked rhetorically in an interview about his new Internet campaign deal with the Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln Mercury division to use the Internet to promote cars to black prospective buyers.
The […]

Jonathan Weisman of the Washington Post reports on the Democrats’ best efforts to tear themselves apart over immigration issues instead of being smart and watching from the sidelines as the Republicans tear themselves apart:
New economic research that pits native-born workers against low-skilled immigrants in a struggle for jobs and wages has fueled a rift between […]

David Brooks opines in the New York Times why social conservatives should not be opposed to immigration:
Immigrants to Be Proud Of
By David Brooks
Everybody says the Republicans are split on immigration. The law-and-order types want to close the border. The free-market types want plentiful labor. But today I want to talk to the social conservatives, because […]

Back in October, I posted my belief that Senator George Allen of Virginia is as likely as anyone to be the Republican nominee for president despite having no more cerebral heft than George W. Bush. As DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel said at a lunch event my wife and I attended a few weeks ago, the […]

I read the Capitol Morning Report on Friday morning and saw that Barry Groveman was touting his own fundraising skills by claiming “campaign finance reports show a total of $621,772 raised.” Of course, the only real skill Groveman has shown here is the ability to sign a check. Looking at page 8 of his fundraising […]

Marco Antonio Firebaugh passed away this morning. My understanding is that his liver failed as he wrestled with the flu.
A smart, idealistic public servant, he was always very good to my wife and me. We will miss him.
[Update:] The AP has a statement from Speaker Fabian Nuñez and Senator Gloria Romero.
[Update 2:] The Capitol Morning […]

Marla Dickinson of the LA Times reports on Costa Rica’s quiet success at partnering with American high-tech firms:
With little fanfare, Costa Rica has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment from some of the best-known names in technology, including Intel Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp.
Medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies are sprouting in […]

Mike Sprague of the Whittier Daily News quotes Ron Calderon on why he is not a captive of special interests like the insurance industry:
Calderon denied he caters to big business.
“As far as me catering to special interests, I do things for the community that matter,” he said. “We do charitable things, such as turkey giveaways.”

Tyche Hendricks of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on a category of illegal immigrants that does not get much attention - the Irish:
The Irish are standing up to be counted among the nation’s illegal immigrants, hoping their civic appeal at St. Patrick’s Day will soften the debate over immigration reform.
…
Although most of this country’s […]