WASHINGTON
Gingrich to firm up 2008 plans in fall
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday that there is a very good chance he’ll enter the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, but he won’t decide until after September.
“I think, right now, that it is a great possibility,” he said. “I don’t want to get into all this stuff. I want to focus on what we have to do to make America successful.”
TETERBORO, N.J.
Obama not assuming black support in hand
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Monday that he won’t take the black vote for granted, especially because rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, former President Clinton, have established strong ties with the community.
“I expect to have to earn it,” said Obama, who also accepted the endorsements of Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.
Later, at a rally in Trenton, N.J., Obama drew cheers from union workers when he repeated his campaign pledge to make health insurance available to all Americans by the end of his first term.
WASHINGTON
Dodd to begin airing TV ads in Iowa, N.H.
Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd will begin airing commercials in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, as well as on cable, making him the latest to take to the airwaves in key nominating states.
Campaign officials confirmed that the ads, which will run in several Iowa markets and in Manchester, N.H., will cost more than $120,000. The campaign also plans to air them on national cable.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is running ads in Iowa that spoof his low standing as a Democratic candidate despite his vast experience in government.
ALBANY, N.Y.
Clinton picks up Spitzer endorsement
Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up the endorsements of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and other home-state Democrats on Monday.
Spitzer, who said Clinton had the guts needed for the job, delivered his blessing at the statehouse, where he was joined by Lt. Gov. David Paterson, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, among others.
