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With polls showing a drop in Barack Obama's job rating and sinking support for the Democrats' health care plans, there is evidence of collateral damage where you might not expect to find it, in the standing of Democratic governors. Pennsylvania's Ed Rendell is suddenly getting negative job ratings in both the Quinnipiac and the Franklin and Marshall polls -- his lowest marks in seven years as governor. Ohio's Ted Strickland, who has spent most of his first term working amicably with Republican legislators, scores under 50 percent in the latest Quinnipiac poll and has only tenuous leads over two Republicans,...

Man, Ed Rendell is so screwed -- literally. I don't normally listen to Opie & Anthony looking for breaking news, but astonishingly that's what I just got. A few minutes ago, the cast of the show on Sirius XM radio were interviewing Kristin Davis -- not the one from Sex and the City, the former Manhattan Madam who spent four months in Rikers in connection with the Eliot Spitzer hooker scandal from last year. There's been quite a bit of speculation that her operation at one time serviced another high-profile governor, besides Spitzer, and up until now she's been largely...

No wonder Ed is always smiling. Just another Dem who can't keep his pecker in his pants.. Man, Ed Rendell is so screwed -- literally. I don't normally listen to Opie & Anthony looking for breaking news, but astonishingly that's what I just got. A few minutes ago, the cast of the show on Sirius XM radio were interviewing Kristin Davis -- not the one from Sex and the City, the former Manhattan Madam who spent four months in Rikers in connection with the Eliot Spitzer hooker scandal from last year. There's been quite a bit of speculation that her...

PennDOT has spent $60,000 to create large green road signs telling motorists that funding was secured by the federal stimulus package. Agency spokesman Eric Waters said the signs will be visible at 30 projects across the state. The signs will cost about $2,000 each. "We received $1 billion for roads and bridge projects; not all of the 242 projects will have signs," he said

"Most of those state workers -- I've arranged for them to get a $15,000 loan with no interest, so if they're paying off $6,000 worth of credit debt at 14 percent, they should put a statue of me up on their mantel place," Rendell said.

Join us for a NiteCap at Freedom Radio tonight at 8 pm EDT for a the fastest two hours in radio with our very special guests, columnist Chris Freind of the Evening Bulletin, Brian Darling the Heritage Foundation's Director of Senate Relations, and Minutemen founder Chris Simcox who is a Republican candidate for the US Senate to replace John McCain. Join us by clicking here at Freedom Radio. Call in if you can at 646 478 5613. {Note: There have been issues for some folks with getting BTR's player to play, so we will be simulcasting as well from another...

State Attorneys General regularly hire private plaintiffs lawyers on a contingency-fee basis to prosecute cases. The trial bar returns the favor with campaign donations to state office holders. And despite the inherent conflicts of interest and questionable ethics of the practice, corporate defendants have rarely challenged such arrangements. Which is why a motion pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is so remarkable -- and deserves more public attention. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the state of Pennsylvania over Janssen's antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The state alleges that Janssen has improperly...

Bobby Jindal must be doing something right: Chris Matthews is making ugly remarks about him. On this evening’s Hardball, Matthews accused the Louisiana governor of “stupid talk.” It got even better for Bobby: Dem Gov. Ed Rendell announced that “I’m voting for Charlie Crist” over Jindal. Thank you, Ed! Rendell was a guest on this evening’s Hardball, and Matthews played a clip of Jindal and Crist’s contrasting comments on the stimulus plan. Jindal was critical, Crist thought it was great. MATTHEWS: Governor Rendell, that’s cartoon talk by Jindal. Nobody’s talking about a train or a light rail from Disney World...

Gov. Ed Rendell will appear in federal court next Monday as a defense witness in the corruption trial of former Sen. Vince Fumo, D-Philadelphia. Chuck Ardo, Rendell's press secretary, said that Rendell had been served with a subpoena earlier today at his Philadelphia office. "The governor isn't sure what relevant information he may have, but he will honor the subpoena and answer any questions that are asked," Ardo said. Fumo is charged with misusing more than $1 million in state resources and another $1 million from the Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, a south Philadelphia charity he allegedly controlled, for...

Los Angeles financier David Rubin - the man who cost Bill Richardson a position in the Obama Cabinet - is apparently linked to Pennsylvania Governor “Fast Eddie” Rendell. Rubin is not exactly just “a guy from the neighborhood,” either. He gave lots of money to Rendell’s campaign, and was later appointed to the governor’s transition team. Isn’t that interesting? HARRISBURG, Pa. - January 6, 2009 — A campaign donor who is the target of an federal investigation that forced New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to withdraw from consideration for U.S. Commerce secretary also gave generously to Gov. Ed Rendell’s campaigns....

Rendell, His Political Friends—And More State Contracts By Chris Freind, The Bulletin 12/05/2008 Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa., has come under increased fire as more information comes to light regarding his relationships with campaign donors. Awarding contributors with lucrative state contracts is nothing new in Pennsylvania, but the frequency, large-dollar amounts and the number of secretive no-bid contracts awarded to political friends are perceived by many to have crossed the ethical line. As a result, numerous bills aimed at reforming how state contracts are awarded will be re-introduced in January when the new legislature convenes. When questioned on how his friendships...

Ed Rendell was the MC for the governor's meeting in Philly yesterday, where there was much to be heard on the open mics. CNN zeroed-in its microphones on Pa's motor-mouthed governor and heard him saying this about Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Obama's pick for Homeland Security chief: "Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it." CNN's Campbell Brown went off on the guv last night: Wow. Now, I'm sure Gov. Napolitano has many qualifications for the job beyond...

Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Praises Farrakhan and N.O.I.:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXum_-8I1TA

This is the transcript of former Mayor, Ed Rendell, who is Governor of Pennsylvania and the states most influential supporter of Presidential hopeful, Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking to a packed audience at Tindley Temple United Methodist Church on April 14, 1997 at rally: "A Solution Too Heal The Racial Divide." The then mayor was the principal organizer of the rally that brought together diverse religious, political, and civic Philadelphia leaders, with Nation of Islam leader, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as the keynote speaker.

VIDEO: Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Praises Farrakhan and N.O.I.http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXum_-8I1TA

Ed Rendell, taking up Murtha's mantel, rips McCain supporters as "not having any wealth"

Gov. Rendell first blurted the ugly truth about Western Pennsylvania back in February. "You've got conservative whites here," he said, no doubt thinking of the rolling hills and hollows of Western Pennsylvania, "and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate." State Rep. David Levdansky from a district south of Pittsburgh echoed that line of thought to the New York Times at the same time. "For all our wanting to believe that race is less of an issue than ever before, the reality of racism still exists." And then, three weeks...

I was watching meet the depressed or whatever it was, the one with the baggy eyed bolsheviK as a host. Governor of PA was commenting that Palin is spending so much time there he should charge her state income tax. Wow, I know dems are sick and tested but they even think taxing visitors is funny.

Facing seemingly limited options for getting to an Electoral College majority, John McCain’s path to victory likely runs through Pennsylvania, a state that no Republican presidential candidate has won in two decades, a state in which he trails in the polls by a wide margin and a state where in the past year more than a half-million new Democrats have been added to the voter registration rolls. It’s an unenviable position to be in, except for one thing: Nearly everyone in a position to know thinks the race for Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes is considerably tighter than what recent polls...

Mario Cattabiani of the Philadelphia Inquirer wants you to know that Governor Sarah Palin's selling of her state's plane is no big deal. Why? Well, because Democrat Governor Ed "Fast Eddie" Rendell sold his state's plane, too, and he got a better deal. So, Palin's plane purveying pales next to Rendell's according to Cattabiani. Only, there are quite a few facts that Cattabiani seems to have skipped in his story. So, apparently, the only way for the Philly Inquirer to pooh pooh Palin's efforts is to mislead us about Rendell's. Unfortunately for Cattabiani, his piece ends up being just another...

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell was supposed to give “closing remarks” during this afternoon’s Shorenstein Center-sponsored panel discussion with all three Sunday show moderators — NBC’s Tom Brokaw, ABC’s George Stephanopoulous and CBS’s Bob Schieffer — but instead, he opened up a can of worms about bias in 2008 election coverage

Pennsylvania's Gov. Ed Rendell told PolitikerPA, a political Web site, that "Early on, I said I would cast my ballot for Sen. Clinton, I'm going to cast my ballot for her, and then the moment I cast my vote, I'm going to continue to enthusiastically support Sen. Obama. It's going to be a good release for all of us." Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo confirmed to the Tribune-Review via email Rendell's statement with this response: "He (Rendell) will vote for Senator Clinton on the first ballot as part of his commitment as a pledged delegate. He will then support Sen. Obama...

                        Contact:Spokespersons - Just Say No Deal: East Coast: Will Bower, PUMA Liz Joyce, Diane Mantouvalos, HireHeels.com West Coast: Robin Carlson, HillaryGrassRootsCampaign.com Please Contact:  Andonia Public Relations:   (617) 416-4897    June  29, 2008 *****MEDIA ALERT*****  The Just Say No Deal Coalition Responds To Gov. Ed Rendell   We'd Like To Teach An Old Dog Some New Tricks  - Online, in Washington D.C. and Nationwide -  The Just Say No Deal Coalition issues the following response to Governor Ed Rendell’s counter movement HOUND (Hillary-Obama-United-Not-Divided). While we thank the governor for recognizing us...

Philadelphia - Gov. Ed Rendell (D) said in a federal deposition on Jan. 2, 2002 that if asked under oath about a hypothetical instance of adultery on his part, he might not answer honestly, The Bulletin has learned. Mr. Rendell was then a gubernatorial candidate responding to lawyers for Don and Teri Adams about events that transpired on Oct. 2, 1998, when the brother and sister protested a Philadelphia visit by Bill Clinton in anticipation of the president's impeachment. Members of the Teamsters union assaulted the two that evening. Mr. and Miss Adams received civil recompense for the actions of...

Senator Barack Obama fought back Saturday against accusations from his rivals that he had displayed a profound misunderstanding of small-town values, in a flare-up that left him on the defensive before a series of primaries that could test his ability to win over white voters in economically distressed communities. For a second day, Mr. Obama sought to explain his remarks at a recent San Francisco fund-raiser that small-town Pennsylvania voters, bitter over their economic circumstances, “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” as a way to explain their frustrations. Acknowledging Saturday that “I didn’t...

Ed Rendell is too truthful to be a good vice-presidential candidate. Just ask him. The Pennsylvania governor and Hillary supporter was a guest on this afternoon's Hardball. Wrapping up the interview, host Chris Matthews broached his availability as Veep. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Do you think the Democrats have a shot at carrying Florida on the best of conditions this year? ED RENDELL: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Particularly when the issues about Social Security are fashioned. I think this is going to be the best chance we've had to carry Florida since 2000. MATTHEWS: I think Hillary has a better chance than Barack...

HARRISBURG -- With a section of a Pittsburgh bridge dropping 8 inches and an Interstate 95 support pillar cracking in Philadelphia, Gov. Ed Rendell is turning up the heat under the Legislature to provide infrastructure repair funds more quickly. Mr. Rendell sent a letter to all 253 legislators yesterday urging quick passage of a $240 million "supplemental debt authorization." His program of borrowing would enable state officials to fast-track repairs on some of the state's 6,000 bridges classified as structurally deficient, along with fixing ailing highways, repairing "state-owned, high-hazard dams" and beginning flood mitigation projects. Also yesterday, Mr. Rendell called...

<p>1. Russians Suspected in Shooting of Kremlin Critic Near D.C.</p> <p>One year ago, Kremlin critic Paul Joyal was gunned down in the driveway of his suburban Maryland home. The case remains unsolved — but some see the hand of Russia in the shooting.</p>

A couple days ago, speculating that Contessa Brewer might be a closet conservative, I expressed the hope that I wasn't making trouble for her at MSNBC. Maybe I did. For the anchor now has gone out of her way to express PC sentiments that almost make you wonder whether she wasn't trying to prove her liberal bona fides to the MSNBC powers that be. You'd think Jesse Jackson would be the last person who'd normally need to be persuaded to take offense at any comment that could possibly be considered to have racial overtones. Usually, it's a case of duck...

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell says Barack Obama is going to lose votes because some white voters are not ready for a black president: "I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate." Rendell also said he thought race cost his Republican opponent, former NFL star Lynn Swann, around five points in the 2006 election for governor. Rendell's statement was jarring for me. Last summer, at my wife's high school reunion, I met a guy who grew up in Penn Yan and now works for a nuclear facility outside Pittsburgh. He's a Libertarian...

The Hillary Clinton Accountability Project will shortly launch its fundraising drive to raise $500,000 to support the most important citizen’s legal initiative of 2008. The landmark civil fraud suit of Paul v Clinton et al which the California Supreme Court ordered to proceed against the Clintons, Grammys Producer Gary Smith and Clinton agent Jim Levin, will be set for trial and a discovery schedule at a special conference to be held in Los Angeles Superior Court on February 21, 2008. The first law suit in American history to bring a President and a Senator to court for defrauding the Senator’s...

As the presidential candidates engage in furious pre-caucus spin, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's most prominent Iowa supporters said Wednesday that she's already accomplished what she needs to in Iowa, and can declare success even if she finishes in third place. Asked if the order of finish matters, Former governor Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa, deflected the question. "She absolutely had to be competitive and she's accomplished that," he said. "Obviously everybody's interested in winning, and I think we're going to do well. It's tight. There's no question about that." In May, Vilsack was quoted in the Washington Post, saying, "There's...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was praised in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for demonstrating her command of the players and the issues at stake in Pakistan, even as another candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was criticized for stumbling over details. But in two confident television appearances, on CNN and ABC, Clinton made an elementary error about Pakistani politics: She described President Pervez Musharraf as a "candidate" who would be "on the ballot." In fact, Musharraf was reelected to the presidency in October. The upcoming elections are for parliament, and while Musharraf's party...

The Politico notes that Bill Clinton has fallen back on Bubbalistic campaigning in Iowa. The homespun wisdom of the former Rhodes scholar comes along with his wife's various regional accents, but as Ben Smith notes, usually much farther away from the press: Before he was a silver-haired elder statesman, ex-president, and globe-trotting do-gooder, Bill Clinton was Bubba. And out in rural Western Iowa, Bubba is back. ... While his speech differed little from the one he gives in upscale audiences, his presence there indicates both the potential his wife’s campaign sees in the West and the fact that the former...

<p>Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has revised its list of Tennessee supporters on its statewide steering committee to remove the names of two convicted felons.</p> <p>The original list of more than 100 committee members had included former state House Majority Leader Tommy Burnett and West Tennessee Democratic Party activist Gladys Crain.</p>

WHAT SHE’S GOT Cash and Bonds: $30.1 million Life Insurance: $140,000 Retirement Funds: $33,000 Alternative Investments: $248,000 Houses: $5.9 million Mortgages: $1.5 million WORTH: $39.9 MILLION 2006 Income: $12.1 million WHERE SHE GOT IT When Bill Clinton first ran for President in 1992, Hillary provided most of the couple’s income working for the Rose law firm in Little Rock; he earned only $35,000 a year as governor of Arkansas. Although she takes in $165,200 a year as a senator, these days Bill is breadwinner-in-chief. His presidential pension is $201,000 a year, and he grabbed a $12 million advance for his...

Clinton tries to extend Big Mo/turn-the-page storyline with Monday TV appearances on all six morning shows from Iowa.

Clinton Booed at Heartland Forum December 01, 2007 6:04 PM ABC News' Eloise Harper reports: A day after dealing with a hostage crisis, Sen. Hillary Clinton faced a tough crowd in Iowa. Clinton did not receive the warmest of welcomes at the Heartland Form in Des Moines, IA, and although the hostage scare was mentioned, the announcer brushed it off quickly in order to get to questions. Clinton, who was forced to call in to speak to the crowd of thousands because of weather difficulties, took questions on topics from healthcare to illegal immigration. The senator was asked if she...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton trails five top Republican presidential contenders in general election match-ups, a drop in support from this summer, according to a poll released on Monday. Clinton's top Democratic rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, still lead Republicans in hypothetical match-ups ahead of the November 4, 2008, presidential election, the survey by Zogby Interactive showed. Clinton, a New York senator who has been at the top of the Democratic pack in national polls in the 2008 race, trails Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee by three to five...

Is Sen. Hillary Clinton feeling any doubts about winning the Democratic nomination for president? Not at all. "It will be me," Clinton tells Katie Couric in an interview to air Monday on the "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric." The broadcast airs at 6:30 p.m. on WKMG-Channel 6. Couric also asked if Clinton is concerned that Oprah Winfrey could boost Sen. Barack Obama by campaigning for him in three key states. "No, at the end of the day," Clinton says. "I'm proud to have my husband support me ... with his knowledge, experience and incredible ability to vouch for me."

COURIC SCORES INTERVIEW WITH HILLARY FOR 'CBS EVENING NEWS'... DEVELOPING...

Rendell can't spin away Hsu By Brad Bumsted STATE CAPITOL REPORTER Sunday, September 23, 2007 HARRISBURG Capitol observers were astounded when Gov. Ed Rendell called Democrat fundraiser Norman Hsu, a felon and then-fugitive, "one of the best 10 people I've met." They're likely more astounded now. Rendell made the comment to The Philadelphia Inquirer; it became instant fodder for Capitol insiders. If Mr. Hsu is on the governor's Top 10 list, who else is on the list? Incredibly, Rendell last week backed off the statement at his first Capitol news conference since the Hsu scandal surfaced. The governor threw in...

PA GOP: Fast Eddie Robs Peter Paul to Pay Hillary Friday, September 14, 2007 Contact: Michael Barley HARRISBURG —Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. was not surprised to see that Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton are involved in more fundraising scandals with another convicted felon, named Peter Paul. Paul alleges that Ed Rendell, then Chairman of the Democrat National Committee, told him to lie about his involvement with a 2000 Clinton for Senate fundraiser. “Apparently, when Sen. Clinton and Gov. Rendell need campaign donations, they dial up the list of America’s most wanted as...

Felon wants Rendell to testify By Brad Bumsted STATE CAPITOL REPORTER Saturday, September 15, 2007 Peter F. Paul of Asheville, N.C., contends in court documents that after The Washington Post pursued a story disclosing his felony convictions, Rendell asked him to lie in 2000 to cover up Paul's role in a Hollywood fundraiser he helped sponsor for Clinton. "He will be deposed. He's a material witness," Paul told the Tribune-Review in a telephone interview. Court documents allege in a civil lawsuit pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court that "Rendell, on Hillary Rodham Clinton's behalf, asked Paul to lie about...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Fugitive political fundraiser Norman Hsu, who skipped out on San Mateo County authorities this week rather than face sentencing in a fraud scheme, was apprehended tonight by federal and local lawmen in Grand Junction, Colo. Authorities said Hsu was taken into custody at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction at 7 p.m. local time. He had been on the lam for almost two days after failing to appear in a Redwood City courtroom Wednesday to surrender his passport. Hsu's attorney told state prosecutors that he had been on a charter flight that arrived at Oakland International Airport...

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. --Gov. Ed Rendell, despite pressure from gun dealers, decided Tuesday not to delay a database upgrade that will halt Pennsylvania firearms sales for three days. The Democratic governor said the shutdown to allow work on the criminal history database would last one day less than previously announced. The Pennsylvania Instant Check System will be down from 6 p.m. Sunday and return to operation at 6 p.m. Sept. 5. "It is clear that there will never be an ideal time to temporarily shut down the system so we can make changes necessary to ensure the system continues...

The plan to convert the 311-mile-long Interstate-80 into a toll road is part of Act 44 in Pennsylvania. Overall, the legislation generates a huge amount of money to accomplish a wide range of bridge and road improvements, including those on Pennsylvania's interstates, the turnpike and secondary highways. Those projects will be funded with borrowed money that will be repaid by tolls on I-80 and the turnpike. Tolls on the 530-mile long turnpike will be increased by 25 percent in 2009 and 3 percent each successive year. The same tolls charged on the turnpike will be charged on I-80. Specifically, Act...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Electric-rate shock for consumers could produce a windfall for Governor Ed Rendell's alternative energy agenda. Rendell originally touted a new per-kilowatt electricity surcharge as way to raise at least 60 (M) million dollars a year. The idea was to pay back 850 (M) million dollars in borrowing to subsidize alternative energy projects and electricity conservation efforts. But while state Senate Republicans say they support the program's goal, they oppose the surcharge. Instead, they say the program can be supported by an existing tax on electricity bills, which are expected to rise substantially as rate caps expire...

The nation's transportation experts have identified their top three priorities: a national freight network, urban congestion and connecting new urban centers with the interstate system. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, meeting in national conference last month, heard futurists predict that the cost of meeting the transportation needs would be $3.1 trillion over the next 25 years. State and local governments are turning to "public-private partnerships," or PPPs, to produce the funding. The city of Chicago was happy to partner with a Spanish-Australian group that paid $1.83 billion for a 99-year lease to operate the Chicago Skyway....

HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania General Assembly has resisted gun control legislation because it has been under the control of the National Rifle Association, Gov. Ed Rendell charged Tuesday House Minority Leader Sam Smith angrily fired back that Rendell is "delusional." "I have never received a penny from the NRA," said Smith, a Punxsutawney Republican who said he has opposed gun control "because a majority of my constituents see things this way." "I've been here for five months, and I haven't heard word one from the NRA," said freshman Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Altoona...