New Jersey: Winner Takes All

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John McCain keeps riding the wave of his endorsements. In New Jersey, he's expected to join Rudy Giuliani at a rally in Hamilton on Monday, the day before the New Jersey presidential primary. Yesterday Rep. Frank LoBiondo endorsed McCain for the GOP presidential nomination. And today, PolitickerNJ is reporting that New Jerseyan Steve Forbes, a magazine publisher and former presidential candidate, will endorse McCain for President. Both LoBiondo and Forbes had been backing Rudy Giuliani.

Can you imagine how pissed off hard-core conservatives will be if McCain gets the nomination? Rush Limbaugh would have a conniption!

New Jersey: Happy Birthday Wally Edge!

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On February 1, 2000, PoliticsNJ entered the political blogosphere and became the must-read website for all New Jersey insiders. 8 years later, they're name has changed, they've spread to 10 states, and even hired a cartoonist :)

Here's what Wally Edge had to say:

"With grateful appreciation to our readers, thank you for a wonderful eight years. Hopefully the next eight will be equally as exciting. Of course they will: New Jersey never disappoints us."

Nevada: Gibbons Wants Your Money Locals!

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Gov. Jim Gibbons on Monday said he thinks some taxpayer dollars that go to local governments could be used better by the state and said he hopes the next Legislature will examine the issue.

Panic ensued!

Give me your money
Las Vegas Sun

Colorado: Brophy Proves 'Intelligent Design' is True

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State Sen. Greg Brophy weighs in on the legislative debate over the official state reptile by endorsing the Taxasaurus, which looks oddly like Gov. Bill Ritter's head pasted on the body of the Geico Insurance gecko.

Here's the clip:

New Jersey: Who is Wally Edge?

Today, “I am Wally Edge” buttons were handed out on the annual Chamber of Commerce train trip, and PolitickerNJ asked readers to take pictures with their cell phones and e-mail them. The winner gets an original political cartoon by yours truly. The pictures can be viewed here.

So who do you think is Wally Edge?

Cooking with Bill Belichick

Before he was the sleeve-cutting head coach of the New England Patriots, Belichick coached a team somewhere in Ohio, and spend his off-hours moonlighting as a chef. Maybe that can explain the lack of success there compared to what he's accomplished in New England.

Giuliani's Quest is at an End

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Well, it's official. Mr. 9-1-1's quest to become the next President of the United States is over. His Florida plan has officially backfired, and he know will have to pick him self up by the bootstraps, or with the millions he makes doing public speeches and from his law firm.

And for those of you that are interested, here's Lou Gehrig's farewell address to Yankee's fans on July 4, 1939:

McCain Takes Florida

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John McCain took command of the Republican presidential race last night with a huge win in Florida, another state primary that was only opened to conservatives.

However, when you have the Huckster siphoning off votes from Romney, I'm sure that helps.

Maryland: The Clintons Assess Their Kennedy

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Oregon: Yadda Yadda Yadda

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For those of you that think that New Jersey Legislature is a mess, go check out what's on the plate for Oregon's emergency session coming up. It's a session about nothing!

Oregon: Steve Novick's Brilliant New Ad

For those of you that might not be familiar with Oregon politics, Steve Novick (born in Newark, New Jersey) is running in a primary against Jeff Merkley, the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. The winner of will go on to face Republican incumbent Senator Gordon Smith in the 2008 election for US Senate.

I've done some cartoons about this ongoing battle. Essentially, the Democratic Party is behind Merkley, and are trying desperately to get Novick, who was born with significant physical disabilities which include a missing left hand and missing fibula bones in his legs, out of the race.

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Here's his new 30-second television ad, and I just have to say, it's brilliant!

Obama Has the Momentum

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So the last 24 hours were great for Barack Obama.

First, Obama enjoys a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary over Billary and John Edwards. Then on Sunday, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy, endorses Obama for president, saying:

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

And today, Ted Kennedy is going to endorse Obama, giving him a lot of momentum going into Super Tuesday (or whatever they're calling it).

As for the cartoon, the drawing was fun, but I had a blast painting the JFK portrait. Painted by Aaron Shikler, it resides in the Entrance Hall of the White House. You can check out the original here, and compare it to my version (keep in mind Shikler had months to paint it...I had an hour :)



Ted Kennedy embraces Obama
Politico

A President Like My Father
Caroline Kennedy - New York Times Op-Ed

Mitt Romney 'Lets the Dawgs Out'

From the Sketchpad...

Here's a quick sketch I did of Barack Obama while watching the morning talk shows today. I'll have a cartoon later on in the day. (hopefully...still have to catch that tricky idea...)

What did you think of Obama's victory last night? I'd love to hear your thoughts.