A Look at the 2008 Presidential Race

Clinton picks up emotional endorsements from black women in SC ... Obama looks to appeal to women ahead of SC primary ... Republican officials: Florida Sen. Mel Martinez to endorse McCain ... Edwards aims at Clinton-Obama fight on trail and in ads ... Huckabee focuses on widening Interstate 95 ... Kucinich quits presidential race ... Romney says his business background better qualifies him to fix the economy

___

Clinton gains black endorsements in S.C.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton gathered emotional endorsements Friday from two prominent black women who implored blacks to set aside their excitement about her rival Barack Obama's campaign to be the first black president.

In the run-up to Saturday's South Carolina Democratic primary, the first in which blacks could play a pivotal role, Clinton has spoken to mostly white audiences while her husband, Bill, the former president, has courted blacks. But that changed Friday when she made an explicit pitch for black support in a speech at a historically black college in South Carolina's state capital, surrounded by prominent black supporters.

Polls show blacks strongly supporting Obama in the state, while Clinton and John Edwards roughly split the white vote.

Meanwhile, Clinton and the Florida Democratic Party clamored to restore the state's convention delegates. The national party eliminated Florida's 185 delegates after the state broke party rules against holding their primary before Feb. 5.

Clinton leads almost 2-to-1 in the Sunshine State. She said Friday — just four days before Florida's primary — that she wants the convention delegates from there and Michigan reinstated.

Michigan also lost its Democratic delegates for moving up its contest. Clinton could claim most of its delegates because she won the state's primary after the other major candidates pulled their names from the ballot.

___

Obama focuses on women's concerns in SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama looked to appeal to women's concerns, vowing to boost government spending on preschool, preventive health care and other programs.

Obama held consecutive events with small groups of women in South Carolina's two largest cities a day ahead of the state's Democratic presidential primary. He hopes to cut into rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's support among women, who were crucial to her victory in New Hampshire.

Sitting at a table with four women in Charleston, and then another four in Columbia, Obama said the Bush administration has reduced social programs vital to working families and single parents.

At his Columbia stop, the Illinois senator said he wants the federal government to work more actively with states to prevent mortgage foreclosures for struggling families.

___

Florida senator to endorse McCain

MIAMI (AP) — Florida Sen. Mel Martinez endorsed Republican John McCain on Friday, a move that is likely to give the Arizona senator a crucial boost with the state's Cuban-Americans before the state's primary on Tuesday.

"I understand that he is ready on Day One to lead this nation, and I would trust the future and the security of this nation to this man," Martinez said in his introduction of McCain at the Latin Builders Association.

The decision is a blow to Rudy Giuliani, who's competing with McCain for support of voters in the Cuban-American community. Martinez, who was born in Cuba, emigrated to the United States as a teenager and is popular in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.

McCain told the builders group that there is no need for a national catastrophic insurance fund in hurricane-weary Florida, saying he could bring the industry and government together to protect homeowners.

"I can ... get governors, legislatures and all of the people together, and insurance companies, and we can sit down and make insurance possible across state lines, establish risk pools and make sure every homeowner has the ability to insure their home for the future from national disaster," McCain said.

___

Edwards aims at rivals' fight in ads

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Democrat John Edwards sought to underscore squabbling between his rivals that has intensified in the days leading to South Carolina's primary vote.

Making light of the clash between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, Edwards joked Friday that he had considered asking the two to have dinner with him at a relative's house. That changed after Monday night's debate, he said.

"We saw all of the petty, personal bickering," Edwards told several hundred people at a restaurant. "That may be the way they do politics in New York, that may be the way that they do politics in Chicago. But South Carolina's better than that."

Edwards' campaign on also launched a radio and a television ad focused on the "personal attacks" between his rivals.

___

Huckabee talks of widening I-95

MIAMI (AP) — Republican Mike Huckabee said the nation's economy would benefit from improved highways and transportation, including his proposal to widen the major East Coast artery — Interstate 95.

Huckabee said better roads would enable parents to spend less time stuck in traffic and more with their children — leading to stronger family ties.

"There is a direct economic correlation between the strength of marriage and family and the strength of America's economy," Huckabee told an audience of Christian business people on Friday. He mentioned no studies on that relationship.

___

Kucinich abandons White House bid

CLEVELAND (AP) — Democrat Dennis Kucinich Friday abandoned his presidential bid to focus on a tough race for re-election to Congress.

Speaking at a union hall, Kucinich told supporters who chanted "Dennis, Dennis," that he would work to keep his campaign promises, not as president, but as a member of the U.S. House.

"I won't be president, but I can continue to fight for these important issues as the United States congressman representing the community that is first in my heart, Cleveland, Ohio," he said.

Kucinich made an urgent appeal on his Web site this week for congressional campaign contributions as "the only candidate who can't be bought — 'cause he's not for sale."

The six-term House member got only 1 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary and was shut out in the Iowa caucuses.

___

Romney touts his economic credentials

MIAMI (AP) — Former venture capitalist Mitt Romney asserted Friday he is better equipped than his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination — who all have more government experience — because "the only way to get America on track economically is to have a president who actually understands how the economy works."

With fear of a recession growing, Romney tried to build on a strong debate performance the prior evening by reiterating his outsider's credentials as a businessman. He blamed government paralysis in Washington for failure to expand health insurance coverage, end illegal immigration and wean the country from foreign oil.

"And part of what we're seeing right now in our economy is one of the manifestations of failing to act on the part of Washington," Romney told a breakfast meeting of the Latin Builders Association Inc.

Speaking to reporters on his bus elsewhere in Florida, rival John McCain insisted his service on the Senate Commerce Committee is better preparation for overseeing the U.S. economy than Romney's private-sector experience.

"Running an investment company is probably a good thing to do. Making national policy concerning our economy is probably more beneficial to the nation," the Arizona senator said.

___

Weather forecast for parts of South Carolina on Saturday:

Conditions in Greenville: Cloudy skies early to partly cloudy later. High 50, low 31.

Conditions in Charleston: Rain showers early, then mostly cloudy skies. High 54, low 37. Chance of precipitation, 40 percent.

___

THE DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards campaign in South Carolina. Dennis Kucinich held an afternoon news conference in Ohio to announce plans for quitting the presidential race.

___

THE REPUBLICANS

Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mike Huckabee campaign in Florida.

___

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"Senator Clinton has a record that can feed everybody. And we need to be fed." — Richland County Councilwoman Bernice Scott, who endorsed Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, at an event in South Carolina.

___

STAT OF THE DAY:

Jimmy Carter was the last Democrat to win South Carolina in a presidential election. In 1976, Carter garnered 450,807 votes compared with Gerald Ford's 346,149 votes.

House, Bush stimulus deal on fast track

By Ron Scherer and Gail Russell Chaddock
Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor

(AXcess News) New York and Washington - The roughly $150 billion spending package hammered out by the House leaders and President Bush will add some pop to the sluggish US economy by the spring and may be enough to avert or end a recession.

The plan is relatively simple for individuals, a tax rebate targeted at those who are likely to spend the money rather than save it. It will hit the economy at about the right time, say many economists of the bipartisan deal announced Thursday.

The Senate plans to put its own stamp on the plan, while respecting the goal of getting a bill to the president's desk by the President's Day recess next month.

The tentative deal calls for giving $300 to $600 for an individual filer and up to $1,200 per family, plus more for children. No rebates would go to those earning more than $75,000 ($150,000 per household). Small businesses will get a tax incentive to spend as well.

"It is no doubt positive for the economy," says Richard DeKaser, the Washington-based chief economist for National City Corp. in Cleveland. "It's a serious stimulus package, and I have little doubt its effect will be meaningful." The fiscal stimulus comes even as the Federal Reserve is aggressively dropping interest rates. On Tuesday, the nation's central banker lowered rates by 0.75 percent and is expected to drop rates again next Wednesday.

"By itself, the fiscal spending package is probably not enough to keep the economy from going into a downturn," says Mr. DeKaser. "But combined with the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting, it should be enough to keep the economy from dipping into a recession." Other economists are not so sanguine, but they say the fiscal stimulus will help to give the economy a jolt in the second quarter, which starts in April. The package could mitigate the effects of the downturn or jolt the economy out it, says economist Mark Zandi of Economy.com.

Congress and the Fed may yet have some leeway because the economic indicators are not yet tilting toward recession. For example, new claims for unemployment remained steady at 300,000 for the week ending Jan. 19, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. This indicates that so far there are no widespread layoffs, says economist Bob Brusca of Fact and Opinion Economics.

In December, concerns heightened that the economy had already slipped into recession because new jobs grew at a low rate and unemployment jumped to 5 percent. "So far it looks like January is reversing some of the dim economic statistics from December," says DeKaser.

However, on Thursday, homeowners also received news that existing sales of homes dropped 2.2 percent in December and were down 12.8 percent for all of 2007. Median home prices dropped 1.8 percent for the year, the first nominal decline in any year since the Great Depression.

However, as part of the House and Bush deal, the tax-rebate package includes a one-year temporary increase in the loans that can be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both of them could buy loans up to $625,000, up from $477,000 currently. This should help spur mortgage lending in such states as California and Florida, where high real estate prices have held back lending.

The deal worked out by bipartisan House leaders and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson represents significant compromises across the board for a Congress typically in gridlock - with all sides dropping elements seen as derailing the plan.The plan is on a fast track on Capitol Hill, where leaders on both sides of the aisle are promising quick action.

Republicans agreed to recalibrate the program to include more lower-income families, while Democrats gave up cherished spending programs. Democrats also urged and won relief for families caught up in the subprime mortgage debacle and expanded the plan to include wage-earning households that do not file income taxes.

Republicans claimed credit for including tax relief for employers, including a 50 percent bonus deduction on new equipment, and for holding the line on extraneous spending and tax hikes.

"I can't say I'm totally pleased with the package," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a briefing announcing the deal on Thursday.

"Let us praise this for what it does and not disrespect it for what it does not: It is timely targeted and temporary, and it was done in record time since our conversation with the president [on Tuesday]," she added.

Meanwhile, Senate leaders say they will give the House plan prompt but thorough consideration. "When it comes over here, we're going to take another look at it," said Senate majority leader Harry Reid. He says that he expects votes on elements that dropped out of the House version of the stimulus plan, including extended unemployment benefits.

"Every dollar spent on unemployment insurance produces $1.87 in additional spending, whereas tax rebates produce only $1.17," says Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York, who chairs the Joint Economic Committee.

Sen. Patty Murray (D) of Washington is urging a summer youth program and infrastructure projects to create jobs.

But even strong objections to the proposed plan are taking a back seat to the sense of urgency on Capitol Hill to be seen as as doing something on a front-burner issue.

"I'm not enthusiastic about rebates for people who don't pay income taxes, but if that's what it takes to get a bipartisan compromise, I'll probably support it," said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. "I'm not taking anything off the table."

A similar tax-rebate plan in 2002 took about 10 weeks to finish distributing $38 billion in stimulus payments. If it takes that long again, much of recipients' spending will take place in March, April, and May. The tax cut could add about 0.8 percent to the economy's growth rate in the second quarter and 0.25 percent in the next quarter, estimates economist Drew Matus of Lehman Brothers.

"If it's targeted to the right people, it could be enough to reduce the risk of recession, particularly in the light of Fed action," says Mr. Matus.

An extraordinary gift from a friend

With 13 percent kidney function left, Dr. William Bennett said Richard Stafford was on his “last tank of gas.” At this rate, he would soon need dialysis.

Richard, 60, is the worship pastor at Damascus Community Church. He and his wife, Marj, share a passion for music and their faith—two gifts that brought them together in the late 1960s as students at Multnomah Bible College in Portland.

Their college friend, Dwight Hires, 59, is the pastor at La Center Evangelical Free Church in La Center, Wash. He was in the Portland area one day and thought of his old friend, so he gave him a call. He knew about Richard’s condition, but when Marj told him that it was to the point where he needed a kidney transplant or go on dialysis, Hires didn’t hesitate—he told her, “I can do that.”

“I would love for people to hear that donating a kidney is far easier than we understand,” Hires said. “It is a way that you can give extravagantly, and it costs you hardly anything.”

Richard and Marj were moved by their friends offer, but didn’t want to impose. It was Dwight who repeatedly called them about it.

“He wanted to do it,” Richard said. “He kept calling me, ‘Is this OK with you?’ He became very aggressive.”

One reason: goodness, the direction of the Lord, said Richard. The other reason: Hires’s desire to be a donor. Thirty-five years ago, he was put on the bone marrow transplant list when his sister was diagnosed with leukemia. Another family member was chosen as a better match, but it was something he passionately wanted to do.

“Richard is very thoughtful of other people,” Hires said. “He will work his fingers to the bone as opposed to asking somebody else to help him. He is very careful not to impose on anybody. When I knew that he needed a kidney I had to re-offer three times before they sent me the information, they were so worried that they may have imposed on me. They would not presume upon anybody—that shows the kindness that both Rich and Marj have.”

Bennett, who is a nephrologist (kidney specialist) and medical director of transplant services at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, said that it is increasingly common for friends to offer to donate, but many do not qualify. “Richard’s situation is special because a donor was found prior to him requiring dialysis,” he said, adding that finding a transplant prior to needing dialysis gives the best long term result.

A kidney donor was sought for two years, and no one in Richard’s family was a good match. A donor must have a compatible blood type, be medically acceptable and want to do it voluntarily, said Bennett. “The latter is insured by having a separate donor nurse advocate.

“If someone qualifies as a donor, medically the risks are minimal,” he said. “A donor at a given age has a greater life expectancy than a person of the same age who does not donate because they know all systems are normal—no high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease, diabetes.”

Hires was released from the hospital two days after the operation, which was on Monday, Jan. 14. Richard’s insurance paid all of Hires’s medical expenses, and will cover future costs, if any, that are a result of the donation.

“Rich couldn’t ask somebody to give him a kidney—you can’t ask for that,” Hires said. “But it’s really not a gift unless it’s given freely. All I’ve done is follow the example that Jesus set in sacrificing for others. This is small potatoes stuff.”

By donating one of his kidneys, Hires said his kidney function dropped to 50 percent, but his remaining kidney will grow large enough that within two years he’ll have 60 to 75 percent function.

One week after the operation, Dwight feels “fantastic. It’s nowhere near the operation they say it is. I’ve also had so many people praying for me—I have to give God credit for healing me this way.”

Approximately 90 kidney transplants are performed at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital each year. “Legacy transplant was the first program in the region to offer laparoscopic donor operations (quick recovery),” Bennett said, “and provide individualized care by a dedicated team of professionals from all related disciplines—doctors, nurses, financial people, dieticians, pharmacy and social work.”

As Richard woke up after the surgery, he saw Hires in the hallway on his recovery bed. “He said, ‘I love you, man.’ And I said, ‘Thanks again, Dwight,’” Richard said. Two days later he could tell he was feeling much better than he had in a long time.

Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital transplant program specializes in kidney transplants. For more information about their program, call 503-413-6555.