All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.
I'm Betting It's Mike Gravel
The man known the world over as The Amazing Kreskin has given us something else to look forward to in 2008:
George Kresge Jr., better known as The Amazing Kreskin, wrote the name of his choice to win next year's election, had a rabbi sign the paper and dropped it into a locked box on Thursday.Does the use of a "locked box" have any significance? Could it be...Al Gore?
Kreskin says he didn't want to make a presidential prediction. But the name of the winner came to him three months ago and wouldn't leave him alone. So he came up with the scheme to write it down and lock it away.
"If I can remain impartial at least by putting it away, sealing it, having someone witness what I wrote, then I can at least get the credit. Because I really think I hit it," the 72-year-old mentalist said.
He left the box for safekeeping on a shelf above the bar at the World Bar, across the street from the United Nations.
Just in case that's not secure enough, Kreskin's giving a copy to Joey Reynolds, a talk show host on a New York radio station, WOR-AM.
Kreskin makes his living performing mind-reading tricks for hundreds of audiences a year.
First Look: Romney And Religion
Bill Whitaker previews tonight's Evening News, with a First Look at what Mitt Romney had to say today about religion and politics.
Video: Click the video link for more.
"The Most Important Speech Of Romney's Political Career"
How did Mitt Romney's "religion speech" play? You can see it in the video link on the left.
Meantime, Brian Montopoli, over at the Horserace blog, posted this summary from CBS News's Scott Conroy:
For months, political pundits speculated about whether Mitt Romney would deliver the "Mormon speech." But today's address was not about the candidate's faith. Romney only uttered the word "Mormon" once during his remarks in College Station, Texas, instead focusing on the role that religious diversity has played in American history and the importance of restoring faith in the public sphere.Read more>
The speech was likely the most important of Romney's political career, and the event felt more like a State of the Union address than a campaign stop. Many of Romney's Boston-based staffers made the trip to Texas, and the Secret Service was out in force to protect former President George H.W. Bush, who introduced the former Massachusetts governor. The campaign even released a photograph of Governor Romney making final edits to his speech, as if to draw attention to the enormity of this event.
Although the comparisons are inevitable John F. Kennedy's iconic 1960 speech that dealt with the then Democratic nominee's Catholic faith, Governor Romney only briefly alluded to President Kennedy and did not mention him by name.
"Like him, I am an American running for president," Romney said. "I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith."
The biggest applause line from the invitation-only crowd of over 400 who filled the auditorium here came when Romney hearkened back to another political icon from his home state of Massachusetts—an American legend who achieved fame during the Revolutionary era, rather than the time of Camelot...
First Look: Questions For The Candidates
Senior producer Chris Dinan gives us a First Look at Katie's series of interviews with the candidates, "Primary Questions," which begins on tonight's Evening News.
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First Look: What About Iran?
Jim Axelrod in Washington has a preview of tonight's Evening News, which includes highlights from President Bush's press conference today, in which he talked about the nuclear threat from Iran.
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First Look: Iran
Katie previews tonight's Evening News, with a First Look at the latest intelligence on Iran's nuclear program.
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Romney, Kennedy And The "Religion Speech"
(AP)
Romney's Mormon faith has been an underlying theme of his presidential candidacy but, until today, it has been an area he and his campaign have shied away from addressing directly.Anyone curious about that can check out the Boston Globe, which has helpfully reprinted Kennedy's historic remarks.
"This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his Presidency if he were elected," said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden in a statement released this evening.
Throughout this campaign year, Romney has frequently been asked whether he would address his faith directly. Many evangelical Christians view the Mormon Church, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, critically. And voters in general have expressed hesitance about voting for a presidential candidate who subscribes to that faith. Last June, 43 percent of registered voters in a CBS News poll said they would not vote for a presidential candidate who is Mormon.
Romney has frequently been asked whether he would consider delivering a speech about his faith along the lines of the address John F. Kennedy gave when his Catholic faith provoked a similar discussion in the 1960 presidential campaign.
When asked about the possibility of giving such a speech by CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer last month, Romney replied, "I probably could never do something that would compare to what John F. Kennedy did - his was a masterpiece in American political history."
And this website, devoted to American rhetoric, has audio and video links to Kennedy's speech and the Q&A which followed.
Fascinating stuff. And a fascinating window into a different time and place.
First Look: Planting Seeds Of Hope
Steve Hartman previews his Evening News piece for tonight, on a California gardener nurturing more than plants.
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First Look: How'd They Do?
Jeff Greenfield has the First Look at tonight's Evening News, with a preview of our coverage of last night's GOP YouTube debate.
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First Look: Jump!
Michelle Miller has today's First Look, with a preview of her story about an inner city pastime that has become an international sensation: Double Dutch.
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