Ms. Informed

After much careful thought and consideration coupled with the my woman’s intuition (oh wait…nevermind.) Ms. Informed has officially chosen to endorse Barack Obama for president. Move over Kennedys, because I’m pretty sure our endorsement carries a much more powerful punch.

We at Ms. Informed believe Obama represents change, sincerity and hope — three things that are nonexistent in the current administraion. While we do not agree on every issue, he is the candidate who is most in line with our political views.

So I guess the question on everyone’s mind (or at least everyone who reads this — Hi Tom & Matthew) is: “What about Hillary?” While we believe she would make a strong president, she is too much of a polarizing figure and represents more of the past. It is time for a new day in politics. The Bush-Clinton Era has to come to an end, and 20 years is quite enough.

Obama is a captivating figure, who will help to restore our credibility around the world. He will work with other countries instead of ignoring them. He will bring an end to the War in Iraq, and listen to other people’s opinions instead of stubbornly clinging to a failed policy and sacrificing thousands of American lives just to save his own ego.

As our faithful readers well know, Ms. Informed has never been one to fall into the mainstream. It would be easy to support Hillary as she is the front-runner, but ultimately (we hope), primary voters will realize she is not the candidate who is best suited to win come November, and will opt for the alternative, who here happens to be the best person for the job.

Christina and Nicole won’t be the only celebrities to give birth in 2008. Gwen Stefani and husband Gavin Rossdale are expecting their second child. Stefani gave birth to the couple’s first child, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, on May 26, 2006.

Congratulations!

Another Prediction from the Desk of Tony Cartalemi

Since the DNC has stripped Florida of all its delegates at the convention, nobody but Hillary Clinton is paying much attention to the results tonight. In a futile attempt to stop Obama’s momentum coming off his staggering win in South Carolina, the Clintons will try their damnedest to spin a meaningless win in Florida into a major triumph for her camp. However, the media will probably only pay attention to the results if Obama comes close to defeating her because it will demonstrate a bounce for after South Carolina. It would be funny to see her plan backfire and slap her right in the face. As an added bonus, we might get to see some more tears. Ok, I am being mean now. I’ll stop. Sorry, I really do not hate her. She has just turned me off over the last few weeks.

On to the Republicans! John McCain, who picked up the endorsement of Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Senator Mel Martinez, is deadlocked with Mitt Romney (according to the polls). Romney has destroyed McCain in the amount television ads, but McCain is riding his big wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Rudy Guiliani, the poor guy, has found himself at a distant third and will probably pack it in tonight and head back to New York to await opening day at Yankee Stadium. Where will his supporters go? Nobody can be sure, but Guiliani could transform himself from one of the biggest disappointments in the race for the GOP nomination into kingmaker by endorsing either Romney or McCain. If I had to guess I would say he would go with his buddy, McCain.

Some in the world of political punditry are saying that the winner in Florida will win the GOP nomination. While this is not at all certain, a win here tonight will give the victor a huge boost heading into Super Tuesday.

Dare I do it? I like to live on the edge. What the hell…

Cartalemi’s Calls Shot in the Dark:
Romney over McCain by 1% (I changed this twice before posting, so really I have no idea.)

{image courtesy of Reuters}

Talk about awkward run-ins with your ex.
This year’s pre-Oscar party is scheduled to be hosted by Brad Pitt, his current love Angelina Jolie, and his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston. The party, held on February 23 and dubbed “The Night Before Party,” is a chance for Hollywood’s “brightest stars” (gag) to honor the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

While the unusual 3-some are supposed to host, there is some talk that Aniston’s “production schedule” may interfer with the party. (Um, what production schedule?…Really, I’m all about Team Jen, but has anyone heard of any movie news from her camp?) Might just be Jen’s way of bowing out of an awkward situation gracefully, but what a statement it would make if she went through with it!

Wonder if Oscar himself is Team Jolie or Team Aniston???

The knocked-up star of Nickeloden’s Zoey 101 (still on the air by the way, guess teen pregnancy isn’t a big deal to Nick) plans to have her mom, Lynne Spears, legally adopt the baby and raise him/her herself so that Jamie Lynn can focus on her career.

Will this be Lynne’s chance to make up for the messes she made out of Britney and JL? Or is she just gonna mess this kid up too?

A Tony Cartalemi Report

One of the most famous political family in American politics is throwing its weight behind Senator Barack Obama. This weekend, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, officially endorsed Obama in an editorial for the New York Times, saying,

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

Today, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and his son, Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island will be following suit as they announce their support for the Illinois Senator as well. This is a huge boost for Senator Obama and could possibly put Massachusetts in play on Super Tuesday. Clinton was not counting on a battle here, but that might be exactly what she gets.

{image courtesy of AFP}

A special report by Chief Political Correspondent, Tony Cartalemi

In what can only be described as a trouncing, Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton by 28 percentage points in South Carolina. He even received more votes than John McCain and Mike Huckabee combined in last Saturday’s GOP Primary. Why is this so significant? Because South Carolina is one of the most Republican friendly states, and one Democratic candidate was able to garner more votes than the first and second place finishers in the Republican Primary combined. This does not bode well for Republicans in the fall. Now I am not saying the Palmetto state will turn blue in November. That is highly unlikely, but it does demonstrate disapproval of the Republican Party on a national level. Does it get any better? Republicans have to hate Bush. They have to.

Anyway, John Edwards, who was hoping to score a second place finish, landed himself in disappointing third with just 18 percent of the vote. Why is he still in this? Well, let this roll around for a minute. Just go with me. I think he is hoping he can win enough delegates to get to the convention and that the spread between Clinton and Obama is so small that he can actually decide who to throw his support to, and thus, single-handedly choose the party’s nominee. There are a lot of “ifs” but the plan, if true, is very strategic and it could secure him a spot in a Democratic administration. My sources tell me that there could be an opening for him as Attorney General in an Obama administration.

Florida is coming up this Tuesday, but Clinton is securely in the lead and the Democrats really are not campaigning there but are instead hitting the Super Tuesday states and hitting them hard. On the other hand, Florida is a huge battleground for the Republicans with Romney and McCain fighting it out for first. Rudy Guiliani is also in there for the first (and possibly last) time, along with Mike Huckabee and his evangelical flock. Guiliani, though, has thrown everything he has left into Florida. It is his last stand. A loss on Tuesday will effectively end his race for the nomination. It is funny how he and Thompson were all the rave when they entered the race, but may end up being the first two out, while McCain, who was pretty much counted down and out is at the head of the pack.

Super Tuesday is approaching fast with 22 states, including delegate-rich New York, California, and New Jersey, holding primaries or caucuses. Obama hopes to do well in the southern states, where there are large African American populations, but he is also hoping his huge win in South Carolina will boost his support in Clinton’s strongholds of New York and California. Watch to see if Clinton shifts gears and alters her strategy this week after voters rejected her negative campaign tactics at the polls on Saturday. Ouch, Mrs. Clinton. I guess the transformation from a teary-eyed woman in New Hampshire into a vicious attack dog in South Carolina did not play well with the voters. Lesson learned? We will see.

This thing is wide open on both sides, and we may see the race continue post February 5th. Stay tuned for more updates as we here at Ms. Informed will be keeping you up to date with the latest in the race for the White House.

{image courtesy of MSNBC}