The complete article is a good overview of Kucinich. mjh

Challenging Bush: Past Defeat and Personal Quest Shape Long-Shot Kucinich Bid

Dennis J. Kucinich was 33 when, having been drummed out of the Cleveland mayor’s office, he set out on what he calls his ”quest for meaning.” His city was in financial default — the embarrassment of the nation. His political career was in tatters, his bank account dangerously low. Not even the radio talk shows would hire him.

So he left the Rust Belt in the winter of 1979, headed west to California and, eventually, New Mexico, to write and think. There, in the austere beauty of the desert outside Santa Fe, he sought out a spiritual healer who, he says, led him on a path toward inner peace. “That,” Mr. Kucinich said, “is where I discovered that war is not inevitable.”

Now, after a stunning political comeback that culminated with his election to the House of Representatives in 1996, Mr. Kucinich — the boy mayor who was so bombastic he fired his police chief live on the 6 o’clock news — is seeking the White House, on a platform of “nonviolence as an organizing principle of society.” He wants to pull out of Iraq, sharply reduce the Pentagon budget and establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace.

Op-Ed Columnist: Who’s Nader Now?

If we’ve learned anything in this past decade, it’s that the right-wing scandal machine will find a way to smear anyone, and that a lot of the media will play along.

mjh’s Weblog Entry – 07/20/2003: Some Democrats fear Dean may be next McGovern

”The Republicans will have enough money to paint Santa Claus as a lifelong criminal.” — Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh

CNN Election Calendar

Dump Bush — 2004 Election Countdown

Bush’s brother opens first ‘faith-based’ prison

Christmas in Florida ushered in America’s first ”faith-based prison” a sprawling jail in rural northern Florida, in which 800 inmates from 26 faiths are blending hallowed time with hard time.

Governor Jeb Bush, President George W Bush’s younger brother, dedicated the prison on Christmas Eve, saying it would encourage spirituality and – he hoped – cut reoffending. …

In addition to regular prayer sessions, the jail, which holds “mid-level felons” – men convicted of burglary, hold-ups, car theft and assault – will offer religious studies, choir practice and religious counselling seven days a week. There will also be job training and classes in subjects such as “parenting” and “character building”. …

Like his brother in the White House, Gov Bush believes that the best way to rehabilitate criminals is to “lead them to God”.

Don’t laugh: there are many on the Right who hope Jeb will be the third President Bush. No, this is not a Saturday Night Live skit. God help us. mjh

Edwards Sets Work Safety Plan By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD, NYTimes

Accusing the Bush administration of failing to protect workers, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina will announce a plan to decrease workplace deaths and injuries by strengthening laws and hiring more federal safety personnel, his campaign said Tuesday. …

”George Bush did not enact new laws or increase funding to protect our workers,” Mr. Edwards said in remarks released by his campaign on Tuesday for delivery in Iowa on Wednesday. ”He did not push employers to better protect their employees. He did the exact opposite. He rolled back worker safety standards, and made them voluntary. He proposed cutting OSHA’s work force by 77 people. And he continues to ensure that breaking existing laws amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.”