Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama and Bill Clinton announced plans to campaign in the Valley this week, moves that underscore the importance both Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns are placing on Arizona.

Arizona will conduct its presidential preference election Feb. 5, one of two dozen states that will stage primary elections and caucuses on Super Duper Tuesday.Obama is set to headline a rally Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, at 1826 W. McDowell Road, in Phoenix. The former home of the Phoenix Suns accommodates 14,870 spectators.

The doors are scheduled to open at 3:30 p.m., though the exact time of Obama’s appearance has yet to be set. The senator for Illionois is slated to speak at a rally in Colorado, another Super Duper Tuesday state, earlier in the day.Obama last appeared in Arizona at Arizona State University in Tempe on Oct. 19. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton campaign officials confirmed that former President Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife in the Valley on Thursday, the specific time and location have yet to be confirmed.

Bill Clinton will follow the public appearance with a private fund-raiser at the home of former state Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson later in the evening.

Hilliary Clinton appeared for an overflow crowd at a high school in Laveen last week and spoke to Arizona reporters in a conference call today, Jan. 28. Hillary Clinton had a 6 percentage point lead against Obama in the lastest statewide poll in Arizona, but Obama is gaining… 

Hillary Clinton

There’s only one place where time moves slower than at the state Motor Vehicle Division. That’s at political campaign events.

Consider presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s conference call with Arizona reporters. It was scheduled to begin at 11:10 a.m. today, Jan. 28. When 11:10 rolled around, Clinton was not on the other end of the phone. Instead, chirpy ice-skating rink music played. And played. And played.At 11:30 a.m., a human voice that didn’t belong to the presidential candidate got on the line to announce that the call had been rescheduled for noon. That would have conflicted with a previously scheduled event at Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s Phoenix headquarters, but the start time for the Obama press conference already had been pushed back from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday night’s rally for Clinton at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen was another example of time moving in slow motion.

The New York senator initially was set to speak at 6 p.m., but the start time was rolled back to 7:30 p.m. throughout the day. No one at the rally had any serious expectations that 7:30 p.m. was any more firm than 6 p.m. had been. People packed in the school gym starting about 4 p.m., waved signs and grooved to chirpy pop and oldies rock music while they killed time waiting.At 8:08 p.m., the flag presentation began.

Actress Kate Walsh

TV hottie Kate Walsh and Gov. Janet Napolitano are set to appear together to talk up Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at Arizona State University at 11:45 a.m. today, Wednesday, Jan. 23.

Walsh, who stars as Dr. Addison Montgomery in “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice,” apparently has a bit of time to burn as the Hollywood writers’ strike lingers on. She’s scheduled to make several campaign stops around the state for Obama. 

She grew up partly in Tucson where she attended Catalina High School. She later attended the University of Arizona. If she really wants to help Obama, she probably ought to gloss over that little UA aspect of her bio while she’s stumping at ASU.

She also appears in Cadillac commercials to purr the line, “When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?” Let’s see if she can work that line into a campaign speech for Obama. 

The event is set for the ASU Memorial Union Stage, 1290 S. Normal Ave., in Tempe.

Napolitano also has been doing a bit of campaigning for Obama. She appeared in Nevada before that state’s Jan. 19 primary election. Obama finished second to Hillary Clinton there. 

Arizona’s presidential primary election is Feb. 5.

National Republican Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay offered this observation about the event, “
Hollywood stars and establishment Democrats like Janet Napolitano cannot mask Barack Obama’s paper thin record of accomplishment.  Aside from his lofty political rhetoric, Obama has given voters in
Arizona little reason to be convinced that he is qualified to serve as our nation’s commander-in-chief.” 

Well, that settles that. Obama definitely does not turn on Lindsay.

Bill Clinton and Jim Pederson in 2006

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign announced the formation of a state steering committee, a panel of nearly 50 political, business and community leaders on Wednesday.

State campaign co-chairwoman Mary Rose Wilcox also said the campaign will open a Tucson office this week. Clinton already has an office in Phoenix. She said the campaign also is expanding its door-to-door campaign and phone banking operations.

The state’s presidential preference election is Feb. 5, one 22 states that will conduct their elections or caucuses on the day that has been dubbed Super Duper Tuesday.

Clinton steering committee member Jim Pederson said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of our direct mail and our phones. Hopefully, we’ll have a slice of TV coming in here.”

Pederson, a shopping center developer, ran an unsuccessful campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Kyl in 2006. Bill Clinton made two appearances in Arizona to support Pederson’s bid.

Wilcox, a Maricopa County Supervisor, said she expects Hillary Clinton to campaign in Arizona sometime later this month.

She said the campaign got a boost last week when Gov. Janet Napolitano endorsed Hillary Clinton’s opponent Barack Obama last week. “It’s energized our campaign. I think people were so surprised. Now we’re getting people coming in saying, ‘I’m coming in because I want her to win. The governor supported somebody else, but I’m supporting her because I want her to win.’”

Fellow steering committee member and state Rep. Robert Meza said Clinton campaign leaders will be happy to welcome Napolitano aboard as soon as Clinton secures the Democratic nomination.

For more about Clinton’s and Obama’s efforts in Arizona, check out a longer article I wrote for the Tribune a few days ago.

Jon Kyl

Traveling man Jon Kyl offered an interesting assessment of political endorsements during an hourlong interview on KTAR (92.3-FM) while on a stopover in Arizona on Friday, Jan. 11.
The topic came up just hours before Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano endorsed presidential contender Barack Obama, an announcement that received heavy news coverage.
Kyl was asked how much influence political endorsements carry.
“Not very much, but some,” he said. “I will say, when people in the media endorse, like big newspapers in a state, I think that can have a little bit of an influence with undecided voters.”
The Republican U.S. senator from Arizona told KTAR that endorsements tend to play to the party faithful. Kyl said, “Really important people who do endorsements are looked at by their supporters for some guidance, and that can make a difference in a close race where people are just really unsure.”
So overall, according to Kyl, political endorsements don’t carry much weight. OK, we’ll take his word for it.
Now for a little context – a few days before Kyl gave that interview, he was in New Hampshire campaigning for presidential candidate John McCain, who happens to be his personal friend. And today, Monday, Jan. 14, Kyl was scheduled to appeare at Doc’s Gumbo Grill in Columbia, S.C., to stump for McCain again. It just begs the question: Will the gumbo-eating residents of Columbia care whom Kyl likes in the presidential race?

John McCain (right) and a few of his friends

A Republican insider suggested a new drinking game involving televised presidential debates. OK, the rules are still evolving, but here’s the working model so far…

You and your friends settle down in front of the tube to watch the next Republican debate. Everyone picks a candidate.

If your candidate is John McCain, every time he says “my friends,” you gulp some beer.

If your candidate is Mitt Romney, every time he mentions “Olympics,” you take a slug.

If your candidate is Rudy Giuliani, every time he utters “9/11,” drink away.

The Republican insider hasn’t yet determined the drinking cues for Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson or Ron Paul yet. Give him time…

On the Democratic side…

If your candidate is Hillary Clinton, when she says “experience,” you gulp.

If your candidate is Barack Obama, when he says some version of “make history,” you make your beer history.

The cues for John Edwards, and well, whoever else is still left on the Dem side, haven’t been finalized.

Any viewer who hasn’t passed out before the end of the program declares himself or herself the winner. Congratulations.

Initially, the Republican insider who brainstormed this idea suggested Obama’s cue ought to be the word “change,” but I had to veto that idea on the basis that it would cause alcoholism.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign will stage parties at its Phoenix and Tucson headquarters to watch the New Hampshire presidential primary returns on Tuesday, Jan. 8. The parties start at 6 p.m.  The Phoenix event will be at 22 E. Mitchell Drive, Suite 100. Info is available at (602) 297-2008.  The Tucson event will be at 4500 E. Speedway Blvd., Suites 26 and 27. Info can be had at (520) 881-1124.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is staging a series of “Iowa Watch Parties” for supporters to watch news reports of the Iowa caucuses’ results come in Thursday. There’s four in Arizona – one each in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and Yuma. The Phoenix event is set for 22 E. Mitchell Drive. It starts at 7:30 p.m. RSVPs are being taken at http://my.barackobama.com/phoenixwatchiowa.

My guess is that few Virginia Tech and Kansas graduates will be in attendance. That’s the same time the Orange Bowl will be televised. 

Barack Obama

Campaign officials for some of the presidential candidates have been trying to persuade Arizona voters to register in time to vote in the presidential preference election on Feb. 5. The deadline is Monday.

Democrat Barack Obama’s campaign sent an e-mail Saturday to supporters in Arizona to remind them to.

The e-mail stated: “You can be part of our movement in Arizona, but you must be registered to vote as a Democrat. And Arizona’s voter registration deadline is January 7 – just a few days from now. Make your support count. Register to vote today.”

In accordance with state law, only voters registered in recognized political parties are permitted to vote in the constest that will help determine the major parties’ presidential nominee. Registered Republicans will be given Republican ballots. Registered Democrats will be given Democrat ballots. Registered independents, who comprise 28.1 percent of the state’s voter base, won’t be allowed to vote at all.

Internet magazine publisher and independent U.S. House candidate Annie Loyd said she doubts many independents will rush to change their status.

“The independents that I’ve spoken to over the last week in particular, and in the last month, I have not heard of anybody re-registering to vote in the presidential primary election,” she said. “In fact, I know of more people that have just reregistered as independents and forgone their registration as Democrat or a Republican, because they’re not drawn to any of the candidates.”

Many independents are waiting for an independent candidate or a third-party candidate to emerge on the national scene, said Loyd, who is running against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Shadegg.

She noted that several media outlets reported early this week that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed to speak at a nonpartisan conference Sunday in
Oklahoma, in possible preparation for an independent presidential bid. The conference is being staged by Unity08, a group also hopes to advance a nonpartisan ticket.

Loyd said, “What’s important is that independents don’t fee represented. They don’t feel that either party represents them.” She is seeking a seat in Arizona’s 3^rd Congressional District, which takes in central and northern Phoenix. 

Mike Huckabee

Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee are expected to become official candidates in
Arizona’s presidential preference elections soon.

Campaign officials for Obama were expected to file the necessary paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office today, Thursday, Dec. 13, while campaign officials for Huckabee were expected to do likewise Friday, Dec. 14.

Obama and Huckabee certainly go on the “Who’s Who” side of the ledger, rather than the “Who’s That?” side.

To date, the “Who’s Who” candidates who will appear on ballots in Arizona on Feb. 5 are Republicans Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter and Mitt Romney; plus Democrats Obama, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards and Mike Gravel.

The list of “Who’s That?” candidates who also will appear on ballots are Republicans named John Fitzpatrick, Daniel Gilbert, John McGratch and Jack Shepard; plus Democrats named Frank Lynch, Leland Montell, Philip Tanner and Evelyn Vitullo.