Bill Cleeland's blog

Congratulations to IP contributor and former Daily Illini Editor-in-Chief Kiyoshi Martinez, whose blog, CampusByline.com, was recently cited by U.S. News and World Report's "The Paper Trail."  You can read about it here.

CampusByline.com is a constantly updated, informative blog that focuses on the latest news in student journalism  - please check it out!

** Flash forward to the year 2009 **

Following a tumultuous eight years in the Vice President's mansion, Dick Cheney (left) and wife Lynne (right) leave politics for a jazzier and flashier profession (SEE LINK):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGxua7f5Jls

Politicians are great at coming up with all sorts of memorable slogans...

Ronald Reagan said it was "morning again in America."

Bush Sr. yearned for a "kinder, gentler nation."

Bob Dole growled "where's the outrage?!"

Bill Clinton talked about a "bridge to the 21st century."

Dubya claimed he was a "compassionate conservative."

In the footsteps of these comes John McCain and his call for "common sense conservatism."

A snippet from Reuters, where McCain criticizes his fellow Republicans:

"We increased the size of government in the false hope that we could bribe the public into keeping us in office," McCain said, adding Americans "still prefer common sense conservatism to the alternative."

Here's the Full article.

Whatever happened to the "straight talk express?" Maybe his focus group research told him it was time for a new slogan...

I was thrilled to see that Rudy Giuliani is moving ahead with a presidential run:
 
 www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/nyregion/15giuliani.html
 
Conventional Wisdom says there's no way he'll win the Republican nomination ”“ his support for abortion, gay civil unions and embryonic stem cell research would be a deal breaker for social/religious conservatives.
 
Is the CW right? Can Rudy win the nomination, or will he have to “clarify” his stance on one or more of those issues to make himself more palatable for social/religious conservatives?
 
I hope he sticks to his guns, and wins the nomination. His bold record as mayor, both in cleaning up New York City and dealing with the 9/11 attacks, is exactly the type of leadership we need (and that's lacking) in America these days.