2008 US Presidential Election.

BISMARCK, N.D. - A movement to essentially dump the Electoral College and give the presidency to the winner of the nationwide popular vote has been defeated in North Dakota and Montana, after opponents said it would eliminate any influence states may have in presidential contests.

Thursday’s votes represented the first legislative setbacks this year for the National Popular Vote plan, said spokeswoman Breeanna Mierop. It is a proposed agreement among states to cast their electoral votes for the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote.

“If you look at the population trends … if this were to become the law, our presidential elections would be controlled by the vote in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston,” said North Dakota state Rep. Lawrence Klemin, a Bismarck Republican. “They would decide who the president was, not the rest of us.”

North Dakota’s House voted 60-31 Thursday to defeat the plan. In the Montana Senate, it lost 30-20.

National Popular Vote supporters say they have legislative sponsors in 46 states, and have introduced legislation in 22. The Colorado Senate approved the measure last month. The California legislature endorsed the agreement last year, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has led the field for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination in most polls of GOP voters. His popularity among the party’s mainly conservative base is founded on his image of standing tall and reassuring New Yorkers following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on their city, though some voters also know him for his tough-on-crime persona and efforts to rein in government spending.

But there are aspects of Giuliani’s record; his views, especially on volatile social issues; and his personal past that do not thrill conservative activists. In fact, some are inalterably opposed to him and vow to block his efforts to obtain the Republican nomination.

Though this potential downside has gotten some mention in the media, Giuliani has gone relatively unscathed by political opponents so far. But that is likely because he appeared to be genuinely uncertain about whether to plunge into a Republican nominating process that for decades has favored strongly conservative candidates.

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WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he was personally offended by the provocative messages two of his campaign bloggers wrote criticizing the Catholic Church, but he’s not going to fire them.

Edwards issued a statement and answered questions about the fate of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, two days after the head of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights demanded they be fired for messages they wrote before working on the campaign.

“I talked personally to the two women who were involved. They gave me their word they, under no circumstances, intended to denigrate any church or anybody’s religion and offered their apologies for anything that indicated otherwise. I took them at their word,” Edwards told reporters during a campaign stop in Charleston, S.C.

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LAS VEGAS - Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) is skipping a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada this month — his first opportunity to share a platform with his rivals for the 2008 nomination.

Seven other announced or expected Democratic candidates, including front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, have told organizers they will participate in the Feb. 21 forum in Carson City, Nev. It’s the first such candidates forum of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Obama, who is scheduled to be in southern Nevada the same week, couldn’t work the Nevada forum into his itinerary, campaign spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said.

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WASHINGTON - In one month, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney brought in a hefty $1.4 million-plus from donors to his Web site.

In one day, he secured a jaw-dropping $6.5 million in contributions and pledges from others — and he still has at least a dozen fundraisers planned and nearly two more months to raise cash online and elsewhere before March 31.

That’s the end of the first financial quarter of 2007 — and the first big test of who is a viable White House candidate.

The deadline is prompting Republican and Democratic contenders alike to focus heavily on raking in cash in the first few months of the year as they seek to generate a sense of momentum for their candidacies and ensure they have enough money to be competitive in next year’s nominating contests.

“There’s more pressure than ever before to raise money early,” said Anthony Corrado of Colby College in Maine, who specializes in presidential elections and campaign finance.

So, such top-tier candidates as Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are working to make good on the widely held belief that they can raise $80 million to $100 million this year alone.

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WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said Thursday the United States must lead the way on global struggles by reducing its nuclear weapons, closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and dramatically cutting energy use.

In the first foreign policy address of his nascent candidacy, Richardson indicated he would reverse many Bush administration policies if he is elected to the White House in 2008. The New Mexico governor called his proposals “new realism.”

“This administration’s lack of realism has led us to a dangerous place,” Richardson said during a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “So America needs to take a different path — a path based on reality, not unilateralist illusions.”

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Former Vice President Al Gore (D) leads former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) 52% to 38% in the latest Rasmussen Reports Election 2008 poll. A month ago, Gore had an 11-point lead over Romney.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D) has upped her lead over Romney to double digits. She now leads the Republican Presidential hopeful 51% to 41%. A month ago, the former First Lady was ahead of Romney 49% to 41%.

Clinton leads all Democrats in polling for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Gore, who has not indicated whether he will run, is currently tied for third with former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D). Polling for the Democratic nomination is updated each Monday.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has what it takes to win the presidency in the 2008 general election, but does he have what it takes to become the Republican nominee? The challenge is to convince Republicans they must select a candidate who can win the general election and govern successfully. Like my article three weeks ago endorsing Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., for the Democratic nomination, I will once again focus on why our political parties must reject presidential candidates from the Senate, focusing instead on candidates with executive experience, a successful record of accomplishment and crossover appeal.

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Hillary Clinton’s position as front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination is vulnerable to an online insurgency, according to the party’s leading internet authority.

Joe Trippi, the strategic guru who helped to drive Howard Dean to the brink of the Democratic nomination in 2004, is predicting that Barack Obama or another candidate will ride an even bigger wave across cyberspace and, perhaps, into the White House. “Clinton is running a scripted by-the-numbers campaign. Her problem is that because she is so strong, she will not take risks and that will encourage other candidates to be bolder and more open with the internet,” he told The Times.

Mr Trippi, who now works as an independent consultant, said there was evidence that the internet was evolving into the most powerful weapon in modern politics.

In 2000, he said, John McCain amazed observers by signing up 40,000 supporters online to his bid for the Republican nomination.

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