This just in, moments ago:

Kucinich calls news conference for noon Friday
to discuss status of Presidential campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Thursday, January 24, 2008

CLEVELAND, OH - Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has called a news conference for noon on Friday, January 25, at the International Laborers’ Union (Local 310) hall at 3520 Euclid Avenue, to announce plans for “transitioning out of the Democratic Presidential primary race.”

No further comments will be forthcoming from Kucinich or his Presidential campaign until tomorrow’s news conference.

Jeez, he’s not even waiting for all these Bay Area votes before he starts packing it in. Anybody think he’ll make an endorsement?

UPDATE @ 2:35 P.M. THURSDAY: The Cleveland Plain Dealer has the scoop:

Kucinich said he will not endorse another Democrat in the primary.

Kucinich is seeking a seventh term in Congress, but his long-shot bid for the White House has drawn four Democratic opponents.

In the interview, during which he was seeking the paper’s endorsement of his re-election bid, Kucinich said he is dropping out of the presidential race for practical reasons.

“When I didn’t get into that debate in Nevada, it really made it difficult,” he said.

But Kucinich said he’s proud of his performance in the earlier debates and believes he’s had a positive influence on the race.

“If anyone has watched the debates, they have been able to see that I’ve been able to do more than hold my own,” he said. “I’ve been able to represent the aspirations of people in this community, and communities like it across the country on health care, peace, for jobs.
There is a point at which you just realize that you, look, you accept it, that it isn’t going to happen and you move on.”

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated, and the news releases are flying…

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, who has known Bhutto for many years and met with her a few months ago during her last visit to Washington before her return to Pakistan:

“Today, the world has witnessed a tragedy in Pakistan. This was a cowardly attack by extremist elements. Madam Bhutto was a stalwart of moderation, a force for democratic values, and a personal friend. I express my sincere condolences to her family, to her many friends, and to the people of Pakistan for the loss of one of their daughters.

“This atrocious attack should compel the United States to renew our commitment to the people of Pakistan and to the voices of moderation. Although one of those voices has been prematurely silenced today, it is up to all of us to make sure that those who have perpetrated this hideous act are brought to justice, and that those who continue to spew the venomous, hate-filled rhetoric of extremism are vanquished.”

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.:

“I met Benazir Bhutto when she was Prime Minister and came to this country, and the women of the Senate organized a breakfast with her. She was a brave woman who had the courage to return to Pakistan in the face of death threats, and she survived a previous attack on her life just two months ago. My heart and thoughts go out to her family and to the people of Pakistan, and I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. This indeed is a very difficult and tragic moment. My hope and prayer is that the Pakistani people will pull together, and allow the country to proceed on its road to democracy.”

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.:

“I am shocked and saddened by the death of Benazir Bhutto in this terrorist atrocity. She was a respected and resilient advocate for the democratic aspirations of the Pakistani people. We join with them in mourning her loss, and stand with them in their quest for democracy and against the terrorists who threaten the common security of the world.”

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney:

“We are still learning the details of today’s tragic events in Pakistan, but this is a stark reminder that America must not only stay on high alert, but remain actively engaged across the globe. Pakistan has long been a key part in the war against extremism and radical jihadists. For those who think Iraq is the sole front in the War on Terror, one must look no further than what has happened today. America must show its commitment to stand with all moderate forces across the Islamic world and together face the defining challenge of our generation – the struggle against violent, radical jihadists.

“At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers go to the family of Benazir Bhutto, and to all the people of Pakistan who are fighting against extremist forces that would commit such heinous acts as the whole world has witnessed today.”

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio:

“This is a very dangerous moment for the world. Prime Minister Bhutto represented the forces of reform and the hope for an end to repression in a troubled region, and her death is a major loss to those efforts.

“This terrible tragedy also underscores the need for the United States to adopt a new foreign policy toward the entire region because our current policy is all wrong. Our interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan has opened wide the doors of repression and violence. At this very moment, we should be working with leaders of the region to convene a meeting at the highest levels to begin a new effort towards stabilization and peace.

“The United States must take a new direction in Pakistan and throughout the region. I met her several times, both in Washington and New York. She was deeply and genuinely dedicated to Pakistan. This is a tragic loss.”

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich today cancelled campaign events scheduled for Friday in San Francisco and Saturday in Oakland and other California cities; he’ll be spending time with family and friends through Christmas, in the wake of his younger brother’s death yesterday.

“Dennis was extremely close to his brother, and this is a very sad time for him, his other brothers and sisters, and the entire family,” said a campaign spokesman. “The outpouring of support, expressions of sympathy, and prayers from people all across the country has been inspiring. We know that our friends in California, New Hampshire, Iowa, and everywhere across the country will understand why Dennis and Elizabeth can’t be with them at this time.”

Funeral services for Perry Kucinich will be held Saturday in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood; Dennis Kucinich said he plans to assemble his late brother’s artistic works for a memorial showing and tribute sometime in the spring.

UPDATE @ 9 P.M. THURSDAY: Apparently the show must go on; the whistle-stop tour — starting at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning at Oakland’s Jack London Square Amtrak station (the train leaves at 8:50 a.m.) and ending Sunday evening in Oceanside — will continue without the Kuciniches, with key campaign aide Amy Vossbrinck standing in to rally the troops. And the Friday-night event in San Francisco remains in effect too, also Kucinichless; the campaign tells me it’ll confirm other speakers sometime tomorrow.

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich’s younger brother died yesterday morning in Cleveland. Here’s the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s story about it. And here’s the campaign’s statement:

Perry J. Kucinich, younger brother of Ohio Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, died early this morning in his apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. He was 51. The cause of death will be determined by the coroner’s office.

Perry Kucinich was a talented artist who produced a prodigious volume of work. Some of his works have been on display recently at a local art gallery. He and his brother Dennis were planning another showing of his works in the spring.

“He was an admirer of the works of Klee and Picasso, and the style and structure of his artwork derived from their influences,” said Dennis Kucinich. “He was a genius. He had extraordinary insights. Although he struggled with mental illness, with the help of his family and friends, he was able to lead a productive life.”

“The Kucinich family is very close knit,” said family spokesman Andy Juniewicz. “This is a devastating loss to each and every member of the Kucinich family. Dennis was very close to his brother Perry. He watched after him, and he loved him dearly. The two spoke nearly every day. He was more like Dennis’s son than his brother.”

Perry Kucinich was born Dec. 11, 1956, the fifth child of Frank and Virginia Kucinich. The family’s travails were chronicled in a recently released book, “The Courage to Survive,” written by Congressman Kucinich.

Funeral services are pending. In addition to his brother Dennis, Perry is survived by brothers Frank, Gary, and Larry, and by sisters Theresa and Beth Ann. They all live in Northeast Ohio.

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, will be in the Bay Area late next week to launch a whistlestop railroad tour taking him from Oakland to San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and Oceanside.

First, he’ll hold a kickoff rally from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21 in the First Unitarian Universalist Church, at 1187 Franklin St. in San Francisco, for a free evening of commentary by noted progressive activists, authors, scholars and artists including John Nichols of The Nation; author Michael Parenti; human-rights activist Medea Benjamin; antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan; and musical guests Zoe Keating and Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald.

Then, the public can join Kucinich and other activists as they board an Amtrak train departing Oakland’s Jack London Square station at 8:50am Saturday, Dec. 22.

A recent telephone poll conducted by Parents magazine asked, among other things, which presidential candidates people would most likely trust and not trust to baby-sit their kids. And in yet another example of Hillary Clinton’s ability to polarize the electorate, she topped both lists.

“Which one of the 2008 presidential candidates would you trust most to babysit your children?”
• Hillary Rodham Clinton: 26%
• None: 19%
• Barack Obama: 13%
• Don’t know: 12%
• Rudy Giuliani: 9%
• Fred Thompson: 6%
• John Edwards: 5%
• Mitt Romney: 5%
• John McCain: 4%
• Refused: 2%

“Which one of the 2008 presidential candidates would you trust least to babysit your children?”
• Hillary Rodham Clinton: 25%
• Don’t know: 19%
• None: 13%
• Rudy Giuliani: 13%
• John McCain: 7%
• Barack Obama: 6%
• Fred Thompson: 6%
• John Edwards: 5%
• Mitt Romney: 4%
• Refused: 2%

What, no Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel or Ron Paul? C’mon, they’re not THAT scary. (Tom Tancredo, however: too scary.)

The poll also found that more than 75% of parents say that the government is not doing enough to address the key problems that modern families face. This telephone survey was of about 1,000 parents of children under 12 found that “What Keeps Parents Up at Night” is a variety of issues, including affordable health care, lack of positive role models in the government and the media’s influence on children.

Oy, what a headache!

As I reported Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, used personal privilege today to force his bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney to the House floor, despite House Democratic leaders’ wishes that it die a quiet death in committee.

As expected, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., moved to table the legislation without debate. As expected, co-sponsors Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, voted against tabling it, as did Pete Stark, D-Fremont, and Mike Honda, D-San Jose.

George Miller, D-Martinez; Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo; Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo; Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton; Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; and Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, all sided with Hoyer, and by extension, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, who long ago said impeachment is off the table.

But, sensing an opportunity to embarass Pelosi and Hoyer, scores of Republicans suddenly voted against tabling the measure — twice as many as the Democrats actually supporting Kucinich’s stance — in an attempt to force a floor debate on impeaching Cheney! Eager to avoid that, Hoyer then moved to refer the bill to the House Judiciary Committee; that vote passed 218-194, with ALL Bay Area Democrats in favor. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of the next Democratic caucus meeting…

The bill Kucinich brought forth today was basically the same as that which he’d introduced back in April, charging that Cheney lied to America about reasons for invading Iraq and now is doing the same with Iran. But because House Democrats couldn’t see eye to eye today, the bill brought them far more grief than it’ll ever bring Cheney.

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, plans to force a floor vote tomorrow on his H.Res.333, the legislation he introduced in April to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. The Democratic leadership blocked any hearings of the bill, but Kucinich will use his right of personal privilege to bring it forward anyway.

It will be met with a motion to table, so a vote against that motion will be a vote in favor of impeaching Cheney. Kucinich explained it a few weeks ago during a Southern California campaign stop:

(The impeachment talk starts about two minutes and 20 seconds in.)

If you want to chat with Kucinich about this, he’ll host a live, nationwide conference call about his impeachment effort starting at about 4:30 p.m. today; the call-in number is 641-715-3300, the access code is 324341#, and the call is open to all interested citizens.

Although an American Research Group poll this summer found more than half of Americans support Cheney’s impeachment, Kucinich’s measure is expected to fail by a wide margin without the blessing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and other Democratic leaders.

But the bill has 21 cosponsors, including Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma; watch for them to vote against tabling the bill. Who else will join them?

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich so far is the only candidate actually scheduled to attend the first-ever San Mateo County Democratic Presidential Straw Poll, but some notable proxies are lining up to stand in for other candidates.

Former state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, will represent Hillary Clinton; former state Controller Steve Westly will represent Barack Obama; and Lynn Mosier will represent her father, Mike Gravel, at the event set for 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21 in Oak Hall at the San Mateo County Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware St. in San Mateo. A ticket costs $25 (children under 18 enter free) with proceeds to benefit the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee.

County Democratic chairman Andrew Byrnes says he’s expecting at least 1,000 attendees — “which is a conservative estimate” — making it the largest gathering ever of Democratic activists in San Mateo County. He says he sees it as “a two-fer,” building the county party’s 2008 war chest while also mobilizing local volunteers for the presidential campaigns.

“It’s such a solid, exciting field this cycle,” he said. “I’m undecided on the race because once I try to move toward one candidate, I end up thinking, ‘Gosh, these others are so great, too.’ ”

Byrnes noted he’s actively working with other Democratic presidential campaigns to arrange candidates’ or proxies’ attendance. Meanwhile, organizers are reaching out to Bay Area Democrats through the local netroots, and among local bloggers scheduled to cover the event live are Dave Johnson of Seeing the Forest; Mary Ratcliff of the Left Coaster and Pacific Views; and Glennia Campbell of Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

A few presidential candidates are prying themselves free of Iowa and bringing their road shows to the Golden State in the next week, including a large-scale rally in Oakland.

Republican Mitt Romney will host “Ask Mitt Anything” town hall meetings Sunday at Chapman University in Orange and then at 2:30 p.m. Monday at David’s Restaurant Banquet Center, 5151 Stars & Stripes Drive in Santa Clara. He’ll swing through Bakersfield on Tuesday, Long Beach on Wednesday and Sacramento on Thursday for various town halls, meet-and-greets and — presumably — fundraisers.

Republican Rudy Giuliani is planning public events next Thursday in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Lancaster, and Friday in Los Angeles and the Napa Valley, details not yet announced.

Democrat Dennis Kucinich is scheduled to hit San Luis Obispo, Templeton, Atascadero and Westlake Village for a series of public events and private fundraisers tomorrow; Santa Barbara, and Ojai on Sunday; and Santa Barbara again Monday before appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno — no Bay Area appearances scheduled for this swing through, it seems.

And, last but most local, Democrat Hillary Clinton plans a big “Club44″ rally in downtown Oakland next Sunday, Sept. 30, “an old-fashioned block party where thousands of residents from throughout the Bay Area will spend the afternoon with friends, co-workers, neighbors and family members in support of Hillary Clinton,” her campaign says. “Club44″ is the campaign’s effort to engage women to make history by electing Clinton as the nation’s 44th President.

The Oakland event — 4:30–6:30 p.m. on Clay Street between 12th and 14th streets, between the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and City Center — will feature live entertainment, food vendors and family fun, the campaign says. Tickets cost $20 each (kids under 18 enter free) and are available by clicking here.