Results tagged “fredthompson”

       

Senator Joe Lieberman addressed the Republican National Convention in St. Paul last night, heralding presidential candidate John McCain's record. The former vice presidential candidate in the 2000 election discussed his political affiliations, "What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this? I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party... John McCain’s whole life testifies to a great truth: Being a Democrat or a Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American." (Video below)

To no one's surprise, Senator-turned- actor-turned- presidential- candidate-wannabe Fred Thompson has dropped out of the hunt for the Republican party nomination. Thompson had not done very well in any of the early caucuses or primaries and his exit may actually mean a bump for Mike Huckabee, who has a similar more-conservative-than-the-others platform.

Yesterday the three top Democratic contenders for the presidential nominations debated in Nevada. The debate wasn't as testy as previous ones, in part because Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were trying to maintain an aura of good will and love for the Democratic party - and not bicker over race or gender. Which meant that Clinton, Obama and John Edwards were pretty boring in their happy, friendly paces. The NY Times noticed that even Tim Russert, one of the moderators, "seemed subdued" in a night of "'John' and 'Barack' and 'Hillary,' soft voices, easy jokes and belly laughs."

That just happened! Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic Iowa Caucus with at least 37% of the vote (projections are changing). Former Senator John Edwards got 30% of the vote while Senator Hillary Clinton got 29%. The media is playing this as a huge failure for the Senator from New York, given how powerful the Clinton machine has seemed. Also stunning: There were 82% more Democratic voters in this year's caucus compared with 2004, which pundits suggest means Iowa, which President Bush won in 2004, is certainly in play for the Democrats.

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani visited Barrington, New Hampshire store The Christmas Dove yesterday during various campaign visits in the Granite State and bought a ceramic angel. Perhaps it was an angel of mercy, as he has begun to pull back NH-related advertising in order to concentrate on the Florida primary, implicitly acknowledging that he doesn't have a chance against Republican front runner Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain, who has surged into second place in NH polling.

Robert Morgenthau's stranglehold on the position of Manhattan District Attorney has lasted 33 years but today's Post tittered that he was mulling an "early exit." Page Six reported that a "well-connected legal source" said the 88-year-old DA was orchestrating a retirement to have Cyrus Vance Jr. installed for a few years. Apparently Morgenthau wants Vance Jr., once an assistant DA, in place to block his former protegee and 2005 Democratic primary opponent Leslie Crocker Snyder,...

Who knew thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers would agree with presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on something? In this case, the former Senator and former Law & Order District Attorney was talking about Rudy Giuliani's reliance on touting his New York City credentials during a campaign stop in New Hampshire today. Thompson told a crowd at a gun store, Giuliani "relates everything to New York City. Well, New York City is not emblematic of...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Utica Ave. in Brooklyn, an attempted bank robbery on East Fordham Rd. in the Bronx, and a large tree down on East 114th St. and 91st Ave. in Queens..
• Buzz over the much-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature code-named "Cloverfield" has precipitated to something much more solid: a feature named "Cloverfield." The Internet's been speculating about the horror-thriller with a trailer that includes the decapitation of the Statue of Liberty for months.
• Writers' strike be damned, late night hosts like Letterman, Leno, and Conan may be back on the air sooner rather than later.
• ConEd is shutting down its last direct current power plant in New York, which was located in Midtown East Manhattan. New York's first power plant was on Pearl St. and founded by Thomas Edison himself, who favored direct to the more currently prevalent alternating current.
• A Brooklyn man was arrested for allegedly marking cards at CT's Mohegan Sun casino in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
• Today was the last day of New Yorkers for apply for relief aid after August's damaging storms. Applicants can call 1-800-621-FEMA, or apply through www.fema.gov.
• A thief shot himself, after attempting to shove a gun in his pants during a Long Island home invasion.
• Sen. Fred Thompson and L&O alumnus returns to NYC.

For an avowed non-presidential candidate, Mayor Bloomberg certainly gets more attention than some of the actual candidates. Newsweek devotes its cover story to "Mike" Bloomberg, "The Billion Dollar Wild Card," a reference to the billion dollars Mayor B has at his disposal, should be decide to run for president next year. That is so much more flattering than the "Lazy Like a Fox" cover Newsweek had of Fred Thompson! Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham got to...

While they certainly spent time criticizing each other, the Republican presidential hopefuls devoted much time to criticize the Democratic frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said, "she hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city. She has never run anything. And the idea that she could learn to be President, you know, as an internship just doesn't make any sense." And Senator John McCain got a big round of applause for blasting Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer's $1 million funding of a Woodstock memorial:

"Now, my friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. (LAUGHTER) I was tied up at the time."

Former District Attorney Arthur Branch - a.k.a. former Senator Fred Thompson - came back to New York City to speak at a NY State Conservative Party event. He made clear he's really conservative, saying, "Some think the way to beat the Democrats next year is to be more like them. I could not disagree more. My friends, I suggest it's not time for psychological flexibilities in terms of our principles. That's the surefire way of making sure we don't win."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is getting a lot of ink in our newspapers today after it was revealed that (A) he had requested a visit to Ground Zero - to lay a wreath, no less - and then shortly later that (B) the city had denied the request. Way to work fast, city agencies!

Fred Thompson was never an actual Manhattan District Attorney, he just played one TV. He used the same medium to announce that he was running for President by pursuing the Republican nomination Wednesday night on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Unlike California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who announced his gubernatorial candidacy by appearing on The Tonight Show in person, Thompson made his announcement via a taped message that Leno aired. Speculation about the possibility of Thompson's imminent announcement has been growing recently.

This week's big election news will likely center around former Senator and former Law & Order actor Fred Thompson, who will finally announce his presidential campaign this week. Newsday reports that earlier this summer, Rudy Giuliani's fund-raisers were "pleasantly surprised" that Thompson hadn't announced his candidacy, with one source saying, "They though they were getting a break that he didn't get in."

That's the first paragraph of the new Time magazine's investigation into Giuliani's record. While pollster Frank Luntz says, "You cannot underestimate the impact of having seen him on television hour after hour dealing with the tragedy. That gives him a level of credibility that nobody else has," to explain how Giuliani's September 11, 2001 demeanor can shape his 2008 presidential bid, that doesn't mean his NYC record is sacred.

Senator Hillary Clinton has never been on the cutting edge of fashion. Nor was she ever meant to be (okay, she was on the cover of Vogue in 1998) and she's poked fun at her fashion choices (have pantsuit, can rule the world) before. But this past week, everyone's got an opinion about her style.

This might be the first time a British actor has played a Law & Order regular: Linus Roache will be playing the new Executive District Attorney. (Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy is getting a promotion to DA, since Fred Thompson has left the show to pursue a presidential campaign.) We foresee sexual tension between his character and Alana de la Garza's Connie Rubirosa! Is it a coincidence that Roache is the second star from short-lived NBC show Kidnapped to join the L&O cast - Jeremy Sisto is the new detective, accompanying Jesse L. Martin. Martin is only signed on for about half the season, so there may yet another cast change. Wolf said that he wants to attract a younger demographic and teased some of what Jack McCoy may face. From the Daily News:

Sam is not going to be the pragmatist the elected politicians have been. He's also going to be someone who goes through changes in his own attitude because he is doing a different job, and a lot of it is going to be fascinating because we talked openly about what happens to men of a certain age and a certain stature when the next generation comes in. There's a lot to play here.

Given that news that Mayor Bloomberg had heart surgery before he was mayor was slipped into a Newsweek article, the Post suggests Mayor Mike was behind the leak. Strategists say that candidates rather have information out there in the open, versus than it coming out to bite candidate later. Republican strategist Dan Schnur told the Post, "This is the sort of thing Fred Thompson did" (Thompson announced his non-Hodgkin's lymphona - which is in emission - in April).

For better or worse, thanks to Mayor Bloomberg's assertion of political independence, we'll be hearing about an all-New Yorker presidential race for months to come. Last week, a Quinnipiac poll found that New York State would go to Democratic front runner Senator Hillary Clinton, over former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Bloomberg. Clinton would get 43% of state votes, Giuliani would get 29% and Bloomberg would get 16%. If Bloomberg's not in the picture, Clinton still wins NY State, 52% to Giuliani's 37%.

Bravo to the Daily News for pulling out the Photoshop for today's cover: Rudy Giuliani as Moses, after the presidential contender unveiled "twelve commitments to the American People" yesterday in New Hampshire. The Daily News puts them on stone tablets in a graphic. The former mayor said, “I believe America solves its problems best from strength, not weakness, and from optimism, not pessimism. My Twelve Commitments are a promise to this generation and generations to come that we will keep the American dream alive. I believe it’s the kind of leadership and common sense accountability the American people need in Washington.”

Presidential hopeful John Edwards targeted New York son Rudy Giuliani during a speech. The Democratic candidate had earlier called President Bush's "war on terror" a "bumper sticker," which prompted Giuliani to say, "This is not a bumper sticker; the war is a real war."

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani mugged and joked when lightning struck as he was going to discuss remarks a bishop made comparing Rudy to Pontius Pilate during last night's third Republican debate. His sound was cut and the other Republican presidential hopefuls also got into the act - Mitt Romney pointed at him - and Giulani said, "Look, for someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that's happening now."

Now that Law & Order has been renewed for four more seasons, shakeups to the cast have been expected. And the most notable one is that Fred Thompson, who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch, is leaving the show to pursue a presidential campaign. We hope the writers work that in!

- Edwards tops Romney 59 - 21 percent. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute director Maurice Carroll noted that New York is "still a blue state" and wonders if Clinton and Giuliani will bother coming for the primary in February, since they'll do well. And if you're wondering about former Vice President Al Gore and Law & Order actor (and former Senator) Fred Thompson's chances, Caroll said Gore is tied with Obama while Thompson "is doing almost as well as multi-millionaire Mitt Romney."

Big fire last night on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, by E-Liz.

Wingbridge, by Schveckle. Send your pix to photos (at) gothamist if you want us to use them.

Adam Sternbergh, Co-Founder of Fametracker

that someday Law & Order will filter to the highest levels of government. We just didn't figure that it would be in this way: Fred Thompson, who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch, has agreed to be an adviser to President Bush for the Supreme Court justice selection process. Apparently, one term in the Senate and a role on America's longest running cop-and-lawyer show can launch you into guiding one of the most important decisions for our country! Now Gothamist wonders if Thompson can do anything about Tom Delay's complaining about L&O mentioning him in an episode...or if writers will be trying to say anything about the current administration!

Today Gothamist Weather introduces a semi-regular (i.e. when we remember to do it) feature in which we compare the various forecasts for our area. Since we are easily confused we'll keep this simple and just look at one element of the forecast. In honor of our hot, humid weather here are today's predicted maximum temperatures:

Other examples noted are Whoopi getting mad at the President for using the bathroom at her hotel and Larry David's would-be affair being halted on Curb Your Enthusiasm because the woman had a framed picture of Bush, which was a classic moment. Let's face it, any framed pictures of a politican, of any party, without your date in the picture, is almost grounds for being a dating dealbreaker. Or at least, this is what Gothamist experienced when someone saw our Dennis Kucinich glamour shot displayed prominently in the home.