Meet the 2016 Alabama Retailers of the Year
15 Alabama retail businesses with operations in 39 Alabama cities and 24 other states were honored on Tuesday as 2016 Alabama Retailers of the Year. The Alabama Retail Association, in cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business recognized the retailers from across the state at a luncheon in Birmginham for the 17th presentation of the awards. Together they employ 1,633 at 56 locations across the Yellowhammer State. Here’s a look at this year’s winners: ANNUAL SALES LESS THAN $1 MILLION GOLD AWARD: Linda Flaherty, owner of and designer for Once upon a time stores in Mountain Brook and Homewood SILVER AWARD: Marguerite Ray, owner of Marguerite’s Conceits in Mountain Brook BRONZE AWARD: Lisa Jackman, owner of What’s Popp’N Gourmet Popcornin Huntsville. ANNUAL SALES $1 MILLION TO $5 MILLION GOLD AWARD: Jheovanny Gomez, co-owner of Jalapeños Mexican Restaurants in Tuscaloosa, Northport and Cottondale SILVER AWARD: Garlan Gudger Jr., owner of Southern Accents in Cullman BRONZE AWARD :The Gray family, owners of Peach Park in Clanton. ANNUAL SALES $5 MILLION TO $20 MILLION GOLD AWARD: Bryan Owens, chief executive officer, and Mike Elkins, president of Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro SILVER AWARD: George W. Skipper III, owner of Tacky Jacks in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan. BRONZE AWARD: Mark and Susan Anderson, chief executive and chief financial officer for Eagle Eye Outfitters in Dothan. ANNUAL SALES MORE THAN $20 MILLION GOLD AWARD: John M. Wilson, co-owner of Super Foods Supermarkets in Evergreen, Greenville and Luverne. GEE EMERGING RETAILERS OF THE YEAR Annual Sales Less Than $1 Million: Avery Ainsworth, owner of Fleet Feet Sports Montgomery. Annual Sales More Than $1 Million: Andy Harp, founder of Frios Gourmet Pops with 30 stores by 2017, 16 in Alabama, presence in 24 states. CUSTOMERS’ CHOICE AWARD Megan Smalley, Scarlet & Gold in Auburn. A panel of judges chose the Alabama Retailer of the Year winners in four categories based on annual sales volume. Bronze, silver and gold awards were presented in three categories. The judges also selected two Emerging Retailers of the Year, innovative and effective Alabama retailers who have been in business for at least two years, but less than five years. All of the winners have been in business for at least five year and an average of 23 years. More than 5,500 cast their ballots on Facebook for the Customers’ Choice Award.
Mike Pence calls firebombing of NC campaign office ‘political terrorism’
Republican vice presidential hopeful Mike Pence is condemning the firebombing of a North Carolina Republican campaign office as an “act of political terrorism.” The Indiana governor made a surprise stop Tuesday at the Orange County Republican headquarters, encouraging local GOP officials and volunteers as he stood among stacks of Donald Trump campaign signs left charred by a Molotov cocktail. “An attack on our political system is an attack on us all,” Pence told reporters outside the office. He praised Trump supporters for their “courage” and “resilience” and added, “We will not be intimidated.” Pence visited the office, located on the outskirts of the Raleigh-Durham area, on his way to two other events in the state. He’s delivering recovery supplies to Hurricane Matthew victims in Wilmington and headlining a campaign rally in Fayetteville. North Carolina is a must-win state for the Trump, with the New York billionaire having no realistic path to the required 270 electoral votes if he doesn’t win here. Authorities are still investigating the firebombing, which happened some time overnight Saturday into Sunday. No one was injured. Separately, Pence struggled to defend Trump’s repeated assertions that the Nov. 8 election will be “rigged,” claims Trump has offered without evidence. When first asked about Trump’s statement, Pence argued that his running mate was talking primarily about “the overwhelming bias in the national media.” When pressed on Trump’s specific predictions of widespread voter fraud, Pence argued that there have been “proven instances of fraud” in recent decades. There have been, in fact, only limited instance of voter impersonation, and never enough to alter the outcomes of national elections. Pence said he believes “in local participation” and suggested Trump only wants his supporters to “respectfully participate” at the polls “to ensure the integrity of the election.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
‘Stop whining,’ Barack Obama tells Donald Trump
President Barack Obama on Tuesday tore into Donald Trump for sowing suspicion about the integrity of the U.S. election, telling the Republican presidential nominee to “stop whining” and focus on winning votes. Obama called Trump’s intensifying, pre-emptive warnings about voter fraud “unprecedented” in modern politics. The rhetoric is not based on any evidence, Obama said, but is simply aimed at discrediting the election before the first votes are counted. “You start whining before the game’s even over?” Obama said at a press conference. “Then you don’t have what it takes to be in this job.” Obama delivered his biting rebuke at White House, where he hosted Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for a state visit. The president initially said he would pull his punches when it comes to politics, respecting the official setting. But when he was asked about Trump’s rhetoric, he did not hold back. The president also accused Trump of showering praise and modeling his policies on Russian President Vladimir Putin to a degree that is “unprecedented in American politics.” He said is “surprised and troubled” by Republican lawmakers who he said are echoing their presidential nominee’s positions on Russia. Trump has praised Putin as a strong leader and criticized Obama and the Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, for Washington’s deteriorating relationship with Moscow. In an interview Monday, Trump said Russia “can’t stand” either Democrat. Trump promised a closer relationship with Putin, if elected, starting with a possible meeting with Putin before the U.S. inauguration. The president’s remarks come as Trump and his Republican allies are looking for ways to swing momentum their way after a damaging few weeks in the campaign. Earlier Tuesday, Republicans seized the latest developments in the Clinton email controversy as an issue that could help Trump make up ground in the final presidential debate Wednesday night. That followed news that the State Department had asked FBI officials to lower the classification of a sensitive email related to the attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. FBI notes released Monday revealed discussion of a “quid pro quo” in trying to get the email reclassified, though it’s not clear who first raised the issue and both State and FBI officials deny any bargaining took place. Obama said Tuesday the version Trump and other Republicans are talking about is “just not true.” Trump called it “one of the great miscarriages of justice” in history. As the final debate has approached, the GOP candidate has continued his warnings that the election is “rigged,” angering not only Democrats but fellow Republicans who worry his claims will hurt public faith in all elections. And as news about the emails hit, Melania Trump made her first public comments about the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct lodged against her husband. In an interview with Fox News aired Tuesday, Mrs. Trump said she believes the accusations were coordinated by political rivals: “They want to damage the presidency of my husband, and it was all planned, it was all organized from the opposition.” Her comments carried echoes of Clinton’s allegations of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” organized to raise similar allegations against her husband two decades ago. Trump notably tried to revive Bill Clinton’s history by inviting his accusers to the last debate. His guest list for Wednesday’s faceoff in Las Vegas signaled he hoped to change the subject. The Trump campaign said Tuesday that Pat Smith, whose son, Sean Smith, was killed in the attack in Benghazi, will be attending the debate in Las Vegas as the candidate’s guest. Smith was a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention, where she delivered an emotional speech blaming Clinton for her son’s death and accusing her of lying to families about what sparked it. Clinton planned to spend Tuesday in New York preparing for the debate in Las Vegas. Trump was slated to hold rallies in Colorado. The disclosure of FBI documents revives questions about Clinton’s use of personal email during her time as secretary of state. The issue that has dogged her campaign and damaged voters’ trust in her even as she remains the favorite ahead of the Nov. 8 vote. The declassification of the Benghazi email never took place. Meanwhile, Clinton is trying to expand her edge over Trump — even in Republican territory. Her campaign announced Monday it was launching a new push in Arizona, including a campaign stop in Phoenix by first lady Michelle Obama, one of Clinton’s most effective surrogates. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Viewers’ guide: Candidates hone final arguments for Round 3
It was barely three weeks ago that Donald Trump opened the first presidential debate by asking, with faux deference, if it was OK to refer to his opponent as “Secretary Clinton.” By Round 2 he was back to calling Hillary Clinton “the devil.” Since then, the Republican candidate’s scorched-earth campaign tactics have left all sides wondering just how low things will go in the third and final presidential debate, coming up Wednesday night. For her part, Clinton steps up as a flood of hacked emails provides an unprecedented real-time look into the machinations of a presidential campaign – hers. In the disclosed material, Clinton is shown taking positions in paid, private speeches at odds with some of her public pronouncements. And she is revealed as resistant to advice by aides to apologize for her email practices and clear the air. That’s all fodder for the debate. Trump, never known for self-censorship, has pronounced himself “unshackled” at last in the final weeks of the campaign. That has people wondering what Trump possibly has left to unleash. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News will have new information about both candidates to delve into during this debate. For Trump, there is the drip-drip drama of women who have come forward to allege that he went after them with unwanted sexual advances. For Clinton, there is the drip-drip of WikiLeaks. Some things to watch for in Wednesday’s 90-minute faceoff at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas: RIGGED Trump in recent days has tried to deflect attention from the allegations about his sexual advances by complaining that the election process is rigged against him. Without providing any evidence, he wraps together the potential for voter fraud with assertions that his female accusers are part of a plot to smear him. With millions of viewers tuning in, will Trump dwell on conspiracy theories or give voters a more positive reason to vote for him? HACKED Largely overshadowed by the allegations against Trump has been WikiLeaks’ day-after-day release of thousands of hacked emails from the Clinton campaign. The emails include excerpts of Clinton’s closed-door speeches to Wall Street interests and lots of campaign strategizing over how to contain the political damage related to her handling of classified emails and her use of a private email server. Trump has responded with a scattershot series of criticisms about “Clinton corruption,” but he has yet to hone a disciplined line of attack. Wednesday night gives him a fresh opportunity to try to synthesize his message and find a way to make the email controversy stick. BREATHE The campaign took a dramatic detour last week when a series of women came forward with allegations about Trump’s sexual advances. Trump’s combative response, calling the women “sick” and “liars” and alleging that there’s a global conspiracy against him, overtook all other aspects of the campaign for a time. How much oxygen will it suck up in the final debate? CIVIL WAR With a number of Republican officials in open revolt against Trump and worried that he will be a drag on the rest of the ticket, watch to see whether Trump gins up more discord with his party – and whether Clinton steps in to make the case for Democratic control of the House and Senate. FINGERS CROSSED Immigration was hardly mentioned in the first two debates. Social Security never came up. The national debt has gotten only passing notice. Policy wonks have their fingers crossed that neglected issues will finally get an airing in the final debate. Wallace’s list of potential topics includes debt and entitlements, immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court and foreign hot spots. IT’S BAAACK A subject that both candidates love to dwell on also is teed up for Round 3: “fitness to be president.” Trump and Clinton already have made plain their disdain for each other’s qualifications to occupy the Oval Office, but they can be counted on to look for new ways to inveigh against each other’s fitness for office. CLOSING ARGUMENTS The first debate attracted a record 84 million viewers and the second 66.5 million. Whatever the viewership for Round 3, it is sure to be the candidates’ last chance to speak to such a large audience before Election Day on Nov. 8. Watch what messages the candidates pick to drive home as their closing arguments. MIND GAMES Both candidates have used the debates to try to rattle their opponents: Clinton baited Trump by questioning his wealth and his business acumen. Trump tried to throw off Clinton by seating three women who have accused her husband of sexual impropriety in the front row of the audience at the second debate. Odds are both candidates have saved some fresh theatrics for the final debate. MODERATION Wallace has served notice he won’t try to “truth squad” the debate. Given Trump’s habit of skirting the truth, that may put the onus on Clinton for more real-time fact checking. So far, she’s largely punted, pointing viewers toward her website. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT By the time the debate gets under way, more than 1.6 million Americans already will have voted. For those viewers, the debate could serve to validate their choices – or give them buyer’s remorse. WANNA PLAY COMEDY WRITER? Keep an eye open for the most mimic-worthy moments: They’re likely to show up on “Saturday Night Live’s” next parody of the Trump-Clinton contest, featuring Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon as the candidates. “SNL” got an unintended boost when Trump tweeted that Baldwin’s Trump impersonation stinks. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across state – 10/18/16 edition
Who’s purchased the low-income housing tax credit portion of Sterling Financial? Where’s there a funding boost for tech startups in the Yellowhammer State? Which gourmet hot dog chain is eyeing the state for its newest location? Answers to the these questions and more in today’s Alabama business roundup. Alabama News Center: Funding wave boosts Birmingham tech startup scene Entrepreneurs and innovators are getting noticed for their work in Birmingham, attracting millions of dollars in new investment for their technology-based startups. Recent months have brought at least three major funding announcements involving local firms: On-demand grocery delivery service Shipt announced during the summer that it had secured $20.1 million in Series A funding. Fleetio raised $750,000 from private investors, the fleet management software firm said earlier this month. Swell Fundraising, a software company that serves nonprofits, in August announced $500,000 in angel investor funding. Meanwhile, Daxko, a veteran of Birmingham’s tech scene, recently announced that San Francisco-based private equity firm GI Partners has acquired a majority stake in the company that will further accelerate its growth. Daxko provides software for health and wellness organizations. All the funding activity shows Birmingham has the right ingredients to fuel a thriving technology landscape and more growth is on the horizon, said Kathleen Hamrick, director of the UAB iLab at the downtown business incubator Innovation Depot. “The components people need to live, work, play and collaborate are here, in Birmingham,” she said. “That said, it’s exciting, but not all that surprising that we’re now seeing increased support for startups — evidenced by activity such as that of the recent funding rounds seen with Fleetio, Swell Fundraising, Shipt and Daxko.” Read more here. AL.com: Regions Bank buys low-income housing tax credit portion of Sterling Financial Regions Bank has purchased a portion of First Sterling Financial that manages low income-housing tax credits. First Sterling, based in Great Neck, New York, was founded in 1979 and deals in syndication, asset and portfolio management of Affordable housing investments. Regions has acquired the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) corporate fund syndication and asset management businesses. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Regions has a long history of supporting affordable housing developments that benefit communities through direct investment in Low Income Housing Tax Credits,” John Turner, head of Regions’ Corporate Banking Group, said in a statement. “The addition of First Sterling’s industry-leading syndication and asset management capabilities will allow us to grow non-interest revenue and offer clients additional solutions to meet the affordable housing needs of more communities.” Sterling has raised more than $1.9 billion in investor equity through both proprietary and multi-investor funds. It has been used to develop more than 700 properties in 45 states and Puerto Rico. Birmingham Business Journal: Hot dog chain eyes expansion into Alabama A fast-growing chain of gourmet hot dog restaurants is planning to add 300 stores over the next 12 years, and Alabama is one of the states on its radar. Pasadena, Calif.-based Dog Haus has inked a deal with American Development Partners that will result in hundreds of new restaurants for the chain, which currently has 21 stores open in the Western U.S. The deal is valued at more than $500 million. The company hasn’t disclosed which markets in Alabama it would target for franchises. American Development Partners will aid in the development of new locations, and facilitate the acquisition of land and oversee construction of this deal’s over 300 new franchise locations. Dog Haus specializes in gourmet hot dogs, sausage and burgers. AL.com: Polaris to host grand opening this fall for new Alabama vehicle plant Polaris will finally unveil its new Center of Manufacturing Excellence months after starting vehicle production in Huntsville-annexed Limestone County. The Minnesota company will host a grand opening at 10 a.m. Nov. 1 on 7049 Greenbrier Parkway N.W. The location, which has a Madison address, spans 910,000 square feet on 505 acres and will serve at least 1,700 workers at full capacity. The powersports leader announced it began making Polaris RANGER vehicles and Slingshots this summer at the plant, which handles assembly, chassis and body painting, welding, fabrication and injection molding. In addition to a multi-shift manufacturing hub, the campus has a research and development (R&D) center and distribution warehouse. Polaris spokeswoman Marlys Knutson said the facility has about 450 workers. AIDT, the state’s workforce development agency, is seeking welders, painters and assembly operators for the Polaris site. Some roles require applicants to complete AIDT pre-employment training to be considered. The starting wages, which will increase after three and nine months of employment, are as follows: Welders ($14.25) Painters ($14.25) Assembly Operators ($12.75) Click here for more information. A Polaris worker was taken to UAB Hospital a week ago for burn injuries he sustained while on the job in Huntsville. Polaris, which said it is investigating, has not released details about the cause of the incident.
Jim Zeigler opposes impeachment amendment, urges voters to do the same
State Auditor Jim Zeigler is publicly opposing a November ballot measure that would require a two-thirds vote in the state Senate to remove an official from office by impeachment, and urging voters to do the same. The proposal would repeal and replace Article VII in the state Constitution. In a Tuesday press conference, Zeigler said the change would make it almost impossible to remove Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley calling it “the Bentley Get Out of Impeachment Free Card” as the amendment would change the majority needed to convict on impeachment from a simple majority of 50 percent plus one vote, to a two-thirds super-majority. The change was proposed in May 2015 as part of a section-by-section rewrite and clarification of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, long before 23 lawmakers signed impeachment articles in April 201 in light of an alleged affair and the possibility of improper use of taxpayer funds. Regardless of how it began, Zeigler still believes the amendment must fail. “It is difficult already to get the legislature to impeach and convict Gov. Bentley,” said Zeigler in a news release. “If the rules are changed now to raise the vote required to impeach to two-thirds, it would make it almost impossible to impeach him.”
25 Alabama counties will test iPad-based voter check-in system in November
Managing may be much easier in parts of Alabama come Election Day thanks to new election technology awaiting poll-goers at the check-in table. Voters at selected polling places in 25 Alabama counties are ditching paper rosters and will check in using an iPad-based system on Nov 8. The system is KNOWiNK’s Poll Pad, has digitized Alabama’s voter rolls and is expected to streamline and speed up the check-in process, making it easier than ever before. KNOWiNK’s Poll Pad will allow voters to swipe their driver’s licenses through a card reader, and it will call up the voting information. Voters also have the option of punching in a few characters of their last names, and their information would be displayed on the iPad. Election officials hope the check-in iPads will cut line times as voters will now have the option of going to the shortest line available, rather than waiting in a specific line based on the first letter of his or her last name. The devices are also expected to leave less room for error in voter data. The program is being tested in 25 counties where both the county commission and the probate judge have approved its use, using roughly 250 of devices. According to Secretary of State John Merrill‘s office, the counties are: Mobile, Baldwin, Henry, Barbour, Bullock, Autauga, Limestone, Madison, Jackson, Dekalb, Cherokee, Morgan, Blount, Jefferson, Chambers, Marengo, Hale, Lowndes, Shelby, Cleburne, Randolph, Houston, Cullman, Marion and Winston. Merrill said similar systems have been used in 38 states. Federal money is being used to fund the trial.
Social Security recipients to get tiny increase in benefits
Millions of Social Security recipients and federal retirees will get a 0.3 percent increase in monthly benefits next year, the fifth year in a row that older Americans will have to settle for historically low raises. There was no increase this year. Next year’s benefit hike will be small because inflation is low, driven in part by lower fuel prices. The federal government announced the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, Tuesday. By law, the COLA is based on a government measure of consumer prices. The COLA affects more than 70 million people – about 1 in 5 Americans. The average monthly Social Security payment is $1,238. That adds up to a monthly increase of less than $4 a month. More bad news for seniors: Medicare Part B premiums, which are usually deducted from Social Security payments, are expected to increase next year to the point in which they will probably wipe out the entire COLA. By law, increases in premiums for most Medicare recipients cannot exceed their Social Security COLA. That’s known as the “hold harmless” provision, and it protects the majority of Medicare recipients. However, new enrollees and high-income retirees are not covered by the hold harmless provision, so they could face higher Medicare premiums. Those premiums will be announced later this year. Millicent Graves, a retired veterinary technician, says Medicare and supplemental insurance premiums eat up nearly a third of her $929 monthly Social Security payment. And don’t tell the 72-year-old from Williamsburg, Virginia, that consumer prices aren’t going up. She says her insurance premiums went up by $46.50 this year, and her cable TV, internet and phone bill went up, too. “I just lose and lose and lose and lose,” Graves said. More than 60 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The COLA also affects benefits for about 4 million disabled veterans, 2.5 million federal retirees and their survivors, and more than 8 million people who get Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor. Many people who get SSI also receive Social Security. Since 2008, the COLA has been above 2 percent only once, in 2011. It’s been zero three times. “This loss of anticipated retirement income compounds every year, causing people to spend through retirement savings far more quickly than planned,” said Mary Johnson of the Senior Citizens League. “Over the course of a 25- or 30-year retirement, it reduces anticipated Social Security income by tens of thousands of dollars.” By law, the cost-of-living adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education. The COLA is calculated using the average CPI-W for July, August and September. If prices go up, benefits go up. If prices drop or stay flat, benefits stay the same. Gasoline prices have fallen by more than 6 percent over the past year, according to the September inflation report, while the cost of medical care has gone up by more than 5 percent. For seniors who don’t drive much, they don’t get the full benefit of low gas prices, said Max Gulker, a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. Many seniors, however, spend more of their income on health care. Graves said she appreciates lower gas prices, but the higher medical costs are a problem. “I just have to rely more each month on cashing in investments,” Graves said. “I’m lucky I can do that.” Some advocates complain that the government’s measure of inflation doesn’t reflect the costs many older Americans face. They note that the index measures prices for urban wage earners, not retirees. “As prescription prices skyrocket and Medicare premiums and other health costs increase, many older Americans have understandable concerns,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for president, said, “Seniors and disabled veterans need more help than a few extra dollars in their monthly checks. These are the people who built this country – our parents, our grandparents and our soldiers.” Sanders has been pushing to expand Social Security benefits for years. His opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton, has embraced the idea of expanded benefits for certain low-income retirees. Clinton would pay for it by raising taxes on “the highest-income Americans.” Social Security has been largely absent from the presidential campaign. Breaking with other Republicans, GOP nominee Donald Trump has pledged not to cut benefits. However, he has offered few specifics on how he would address Social Security’s long-term financial problems. Social Security is financed by a 12.4 percent tax on the first $118,500 of annual wages, with the worker paying half and the employer paying the other half. The amount of wages subject to the payroll tax will go up to $127,200 next year, the Social Security Administration said. About 173 million workers will pay Social Security taxes next year – about 12 million of them will face higher taxes because of the higher cap, the agency said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren considered as Hillary Clinton’s vice president
Hillary Clinton‘s campaign circulated an initial list of nearly 40 elected officials, military leaders and corporate CEOs to be considered for vice president last spring. The list was included among hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign chairman disclosed Tuesday by WikiLeaks. The list emailed from John Podesta to Hillary Clinton last March included several Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tim Kaine of Virginia, who was eventually picked by Clinton. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Clinton’s opponent in the hotly contested Democratic primary, also made the list – at the very bottom. Podesta organized the list into “rough food groups” including blacks, women, and Hispanics such as Obama administration Cabinet members Julian Castro of Housing and Urban Development and Labor Secretary Tom Perez. African-Americans who made the list included Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., former Attorney General Eric Holder, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Besides Warren, women on the list of possibilities included Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who is openly gay. Another group of possibilities that appeared to represent “outside-the-box” options included former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Tim Cook of Apple, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, Howard Schultz of Starbucks and retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Michelle Obama emerges as surrogate MVP
Hillary Clinton was always expected to get a late-campaign enthusiasm boost from the White House. The surprise is that it’s not coming from the president. On a star-studded team of campaign surrogates – including President Barack Obama – the most valuable player of 2016 is undoubtedly first lady Michelle Obama. During a divisive political year, the hugely popular first lady has wowed voters with her powerful rhetoric. And she can be the emotional center to a campaign whose candidate is not known for projecting warmth. Last week, in a searing indictment of Republican nominee Donald Trump that was broadcast live by cable news networks, Michelle Obama said his recorded boasts about making unwanted sexual advances toward women had “shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.” With that, the first lady spoke in terms that Hillary Clinton rarely does, given accusations against her own husband that he’s long denied – but Trump has raised. “If Hillary Clinton were out there making these same arguments, we know how Donald Trump would respond, by attacking former President Clinton and bringing up old stories from the 90s,” said Democratic strategist Lis Smith. Michelle Obama also had one of the most memorable lines of the Democratic National Convention, saying her family motto is: “When they go low, we go high.” Clinton has repeated that line in public several times since. “Michelle Obama is seen as a truly authentic voice that whatever topic she speaks on, people feel that it’s really coming from her bones,” said Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh. To the Clinton campaign, Michelle Obama is a crucial asset who can connect with the Democratic base – particularly young people – but also reach independent and undecided voters. That was clear Monday, when the campaign signaled a push into traditionally Republican Arizona by announcing that the first lady would host an early-vote rally in Phoenix on Thursday. “There is no more powerful advocate for our campaign,” said Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri. “Because the first lady isn’t seen as a political figure, when she does speak out, it has a real impact.” Even among Clinton’s so-called “uber-surrogates” – the president, Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren – Michelle Obama has stood out. Once a reluctant campaigner, she has grown more comfortable after more than eight years on the national stage, promoting her childhood obesity and education initiatives, hosting her own events and showing a playful side on talk shows and in interviews. “Either she’s Meryl Streep, or she’s really genuine about this,” said Robert Watson, an American studies professor at Lynn University. “In this year of plastic candidates, Michelle just seems the most genuine one out there.” Still, political analysts said the intensity of her advocacy for Clinton is notable. “It’s unusual for a sitting first lady, or a sitting president for that matter, to campaign so enthusiastically for a presidential candidate. They usually take a lower profile approach. This is indicative of how important both Obamas think this election is,” said Katherine Jellison, chair of the history department at Ohio University who studies the first ladies. Anita McBride, a veteran of three Republican administrations, said Mrs. Obama’s schedule is more flexible at this stage of the administration because she has held the final events for some of her biggest initiatives. “It’s sort of wrapping up time where’s it’s never wrapping up time for the president,” said McBride, who was chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush. “He still has everything coming to his desk every day. Now it’s all about preserving the legacy and giving everything she can to the person she thinks can best reflect their values.” So far this fall, Michelle Obama has campaigned in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New Hampshire. She has done radio and television ads, including a television spot targeting early voters in Iowa, Ohio and Nevada. Arizona is up next, with more appearances expected after that. With three weeks until the Nov. 8 election, Clinton is leading in many national and battleground state polls as the race has been largely overwhelmed by Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and past sexual comments. Clinton is still contending with the slow release of hacked emails that have raised questions about her relationship to Wall Street and inner campaign workings, and will likely be asked about it when she and Trump debate one final time on Wednesday night, but Trump has taken up much of the spotlight. Michelle Obama so far is one of the few to escape the wrath of Trump, who has spoken harshly about various voting groups, his own Republican leaders and, lately, the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. “I can’t think of a bolder way for Donald Trump to lose even more standing than he already has by engaging the first lady of the United States,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Tom Jackson: A week on the trail to political eternity
It’s said in politics; a week is an eternity. Some weeks, maybe. Not the one just behind us. The reason I know this for a certainty is that last week was precisely when I took a mind-cleansing break from the day-by-day hubbub that is this year’s precedent-setting, stomach-turning election. The cause, both recreational and restorative, was joining with several other fellows in an annual breakneck tour of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama. The Trail, part of the Alabama state pension fund, stretches from Mobile in the south to Florence in the north, boasting 11 sites and 478 mostly breathtaking holes. It is in every way efficient, friendly, well-tended and lovely. In short, there is nothing about any of it that provides the first hint that the RTJ Trail is a government project. For these reasons and more, the Trail ranks as possibly the most felicitous use of public money since Neil Armstrong put boots on the moon. We based ourselves in Mobile and bit off the lower portion: Six courses in six days. We filled in the odd hours involved in team dining and team baseball-playoffs-watching (the organizer is a retired scout). A day to travel there and a day to travel back. And there it is — eight blissful days disconnected from the various campaigns’ hour-by-hour twitches. As for how your correspondent played, well, the less said about that, the better. Remember, this was as much about clearing a muddled brain as it was about proficient ball-striking, and after a week among southern Alabama’s comical fox squirrels, abundant bird life and the pleasant thump of nut trees dropping their wares, the mission is largely accomplished. As for weeks and eternities, as noted above, the span just behind us seemed to consume no more than its allotted seven days. My sabbatical ended as it began, with attention at the presidential level focused almost exclusively on how Donald Trump’s pattern of rude behavior makes him unsuitable for the Oval Office, and not at all how Hillary Clinton’s demonstrated manipulations of influence are equally disqualifying. The race, then, has achieved a sort of stasis that seems immune to outside influence. Never mind that Trump, according to reports, was more formidable, focused and on the attack in the second debate. He remains, in enough voters’ minds to cost him the election, a boor and a reprobate. Never mind, either, that the more we learn about the FBI’s “investigation” into Clinton’s reckless use of a private email server, the more it looks like Director James Comey decided the outcome before the first evidence was collected. She remains, for enough voters to create a winning plurality, the acceptable lesser of two evils. Two observations on this from a week that flashed by like the wink of an eye. First even as he tanks elsewhere, judging by the number of yard signs and bumper stickers bearing his name, Trump appears to be safe in the Florida Panhandle and in south Alabama. I saw declarations from Veterans for Trump, Gun Owners for Trump, Pro-Lifers for Trump, Farmers for Trump, Democrats for Trump … pretty much everything but Gumbo Eaters for Trump. Signs and stickers for Clinton were as rare as Boston accents. This, of course, always was reliable Trump country, even when the GOP field was 17 strong, populated by countless replications of people like “Morning Joe” Scarborough’s brother who, the MSNBC host repeatedly said, heard something refreshing and positive in the celebrity businessman. And now their guy is saying he’s up against a rigged system. Lordy. Having been fed a the-fix-is-in line in the dying days of the campaign, I can’t help but wonder how these early and steadfast Trump supporters will take the results of Nov. 8. Will they, as usual, hitch up their britches and get back to their civic business? Or will something dark and treacherous sprout from the seeds of suspicion Trump is sowing? Second, and perhaps even more telling, ordinarily my (right-tilting) golf group does not shy from political discussions. A year ago, we weighed the merits of the massive Republican field; marveled at the absence of merits among Clinton’s Democratic challengers in the face of Herself’s obvious and abundant shortcomings; argued over which Floridian was more likely to emerge victorious from the GOP scrum; and attempted to set a date for Trump’s inevitable implosion. This year the subject of politics barely came up. Oh, we extracted plenty of mileage from “That’s just locker room talk,” when someone said something slightly off-color. But we otherwise left the election unremarked upon, as if it were a subject unfit for the company and the surroundings. Maybe that’s not such an uncommon sensation. Maybe that’s why we want these last three weeks over with already. We’ve made a hash of this election. The only thing left to do is get through it and start preparing for the next one. You will excuse me if I decide the best way to do that is by playing golf. Lots and lots of golf. ___ Recovering sports columnist and former Tampa Tribune columnist Tom Jackson argues on behalf of thoughtful conservative principles as our best path forward. Fan of the Beach Boys, pulled-pork barbecue and days misspent at golf, Tom lives in New Tampa with his wife, two children and two yappy middle-aged dogs.
Melania Trump does not believe husband’s accusers
Melania Trump on Monday dismissed her husband’s sexually aggressive language as “boy talk,” insisting his remarks do not reflect “the man I know,” and said she does not believe that he has assaulted any women. Trump’s wife, in a series of media interviews, said she has accepted her husband’s apology and the couple is “moving on.” The comments come more than a week after the release of a 2005 video in which Trump brags about kissing women and grabbing their genitals without their permission. “I said to my husband that, you know, the language is inappropriate. It’s not acceptable. And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know,” she told CNN. She suggested that Trump may not have known his microphone was on, calling it “kind of a boy talk” that “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush was encouraging. And she suggested that the women who have claimed in recent days that Trump made unwanted advances were attention-seekers who were making “damaging and unfair” accusations. “I believe my husband,” she said in the interview that aired Monday night. “My husband didn’t do anything.” Mrs. Trump also said it is fair game for her husband to appear with women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault, claiming the Democrats fired the first volley into the increasingly ugly war about the couples’ private lives. “They’re asking for it. They started. They started from the beginning of the campaign putting my picture from modeling days,” she said in excerpts released by Fox News ahead of the interview’s broadcast. “That was my modeling days and I’m proud what I did. I worked very hard.” Melania Trump’s image was used in a negative ad campaign during the Republican primary, but there is no evidence that the Clintons were involved. At the time, Donald Trump accused former rival Ted Cruz of being involved and responded by tweeting an unflattering image of the Texas senator’s wife. Cruz also denied involvement. The interviews are Melania Trump’s first moments in the public eye since the accusations over the last 10 days that have sent her husband’s White House bid reeling. First, a 2005 video leaked of Trump using vulgar language to describe women and apparently boasting of sexual assault. And in recent days, several women have come forward to say that Trump had groped or sexually assaulted them. The Republican nominee has denied the claims, calling the women liars and belittling their appearances. In the interviews, Melania Trump deemed the celebrity businessman’s comments on the leaked tape “offensive to me and they were inappropriate.” “And he apologized to me,” she said in an interview with CNN airing at the same time the crowd at her husband’s rally in Wisconsin was chanting “CNN sucks.” “And I expect – I accept his apology. And we are moving on.” She said something similar in a statement released by the campaign after the video’s release. She has also demanded retractions from a People Magazine writer who profiled the couple in 2005 and last week accused Donald Trump of an assault at the couple’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, while Melania was out of the room. And she repeated her husband’s assertion, which he makes without supporting evidence, that the media and Clinton campaign are working in tandem to sink the Republican nominee’s campaign. Melania Trump has never filled the role of the traditional political spouse, only making rare appearances on the campaign trail. Her speech at July’s national convention was initially praised until it was discovered that passages of it were lifted from Michelle Obama‘s 2008 convention address. Trump, who attended each of the first two presidential debates, was also lampooned on this week’s Saturday Night Live. The long-running sketch show ran a video in which actresses playing Melania Trump, her two step-daughters and two of the candidate’s most visible female allies did a version of Beyonce’s feminist manifesto “Lemonade” in an act of rebellion against the candidate. The video ends with the Cecily Strong, the comedian playing Melania Trump, suggesting she wrote the song herself. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
