Tagged: Eliot Spitzer

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Edward Markey is defending a planned fundraiser hosted by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Kirsten Hughes criticized the decision, saying Markey shouldn't "rub elbows with a man best known for his solicitation of prostitutes."

Spitzer was forced from office in 2008 after he was accused of spending thousands of dollars on high-end prostitutes.

The fundraiser for Markey's Senate campaign is planned for later this month in Washington.

The jobs report last Friday was confusing, to say the least. Yes, the core unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, but a major reason for that was a drop in the size of the workforce—now a mere 63.6 percent of the population, far below what it has been over the past decade. While 146,000 jobs were created, the employment market remains anemic, demand is still low, and median income is still trending flat to down.

Sometimes "who says it" is just as important as "what they say." So it is with Warren Buffett's op-ed in today's New York Times about taxes and the fiscal realities of our budget. 

      Maybe it is the proximity of Thanksgiving that has gotten to me - but here is a really positive take on the year in politics:

The good guys won. And I don't just mean the President got re-elected.

There was more to it - so let's take a closer look at two specific aspects of the political landscape.

First - democracy was elevated.

Yes -- that may sound crazy after all the bile and nasty TV ads that buffeted us this year. At the fringe the ugliness was there, as it will always be unfortunately.

If last week was all about politics - and thankfully things turned out pretty well - maybe thisweek we can put ideology and partisanship aside for a moment and apply a more objective,scientific approach to some of the tough issues we face. What do historical records and datasuggest might be the better course for our nation to follow?