Daily Political Wire 5-17-2010

George Wenschhof

Today, President Obama will sign into law the Daniel Pearl Freedom of The Press Act - as a result of the tragic death of Wall Street Journalism Daniel Pearl in Pakistan as he was pursuing a story on terrorism.

The law reemphasizes to foreign nations the importance the United States feels toward the freedom of the press everywhere in the world and it's intent to prosecute those who violate the provisions. You can read more here.

---

GM posts profit for the first time in three years - the first quarter profit was 865 million. So much for the naysayers of the Obama administration. GM is on track to make a full repayment of the 50 billion loaned to them by the U.S. government by the end of this year. A public offering would be made of the 61% ownership by the U.S. government. MSNBC.com has more here.

---

Pennsylvania Senate race too close to call - Democratic Representative Joe Sestak has closed hard in the weeks leading up to the primary tomorrow and leads incumbent Arlen Specter 42% - 41%. Specter, a lifelong Republican changed political parties when conservative Republicans expressed anger at his support of the Stimulus bill. Even with the support of President Obama and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Specter has steadily lost support of voters. Quinnipiac has more here.

The margin could increase by either candidate as the poll conducted May 12-16 showed 16% of the voters were still undecided and even more important 25% who committed to a candidate said they may still change their mind.

While a Specter victory will likely spread anti-incumbent fever thoughts by main street pundits, his loss is more likely a result of voters being unhappy with the deal making in Congress today. Specter's change of political parties was strictly due to his wish to keep his job and the voters see this.

---

Runoff may result from vote in Arkansas tomorrow - Incumbent Democratic U.S. senator is facing tough competition from Lt. Governor Bill Halter in tomorrow's primary election. Halter is the netroots darling; winning the support of MoveOn.org, while Halter has the support of former president Bill Clinton. A third Democratic candidate in the race; D.C. Morrison may win enough votes to deny either of the other two a majority of the vote. This would result in a state constitution mandated runoff election on June 8. The Washington Post has more here.

---

For those of you who may have missed the Sunday morning "Talking Heads", Politico.com has some highlights below.


---

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below or use the sign up box located in the upper right hand margin.