100 U.S. Ambassadors Endorse McCain-Palin

McCain-Palin 2008 today announced that 100 former U.S. ambassadors are endorsing Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin for president and vice president.

Prominent former U.S. ambassadors endorsing the McCain-Palin ticket include former Ambassador to Japan, Senate Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker; President George H. W. Bush, former Ambassador to the United Nations; former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; former Secretary of Defense and former Ambassador to Portugal, Frank Carlucci III; former Ambassador to the Vatican and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson; and Ambassadors Richard Burt (Germany), Bruce Gelb (Belgium), Margaret Heckler (Ireland), John L. Loeb (Denmark), Ed Ney (Canada) and Julia Chang Bloch (Nepal), the first U.S. ambassador of Asian descent.

Democrat Mark W. Erwin, a former Hillary Clinton supporter and an ambassador during the Clinton administration, is co-chair of the group. "I will vote for John McCain because the differences between the two candidates are so vast and profound," he said.

"Senator Obama does not have sufficient leadership experience, nor has he been tested in difficult times," Erwin said in his endorsement.

Other co-chairmen of the group called "Former U.S. Ambassadors for McCain/Palin" are former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Gregory J. Newell and former Ambassador Gilbert A. Robinson, both of whom served in the Reagan administration. Newell also served as an assistant to President Gerald Ford and as Assistant Secretary of State. Robinson was special adviser to Secretary of State George Shultz, Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy and Deputy Director of the United States Information Agency.

"Nobody could ask for a greater show of confidence," Sen. McCain commented. "These former ambassadors are outstanding men and women who have served their country in foreign lands with great distinction and devotion to the values we all hold dear. They have a deep knowledge of the challenges facing this country abroad as well as at home. I am honored by their endorsement."

Ambassador Robinson added, "The endorsements from this country's most experienced foreign affairs experts are still pouring in. This demonstrates the overwhelming admiration and respect they have for John McCain's leadership and the confidence they have in the historic McCain-Palin ticket."

FORMER U.S. AMBASSADORS FOR MCCAIN-PALIN

Weston Adams, Malawi -- Columbia, S.C.
Lenore Annenberg, Chief of Protocol -- Radnor, Penn.
Cresencio Arcos, Jr., Honduras; FP/NS -- Coral Gables, Fla.
George Argyros, Spain and Andorra -- Costa Mesa, Calif.
Catherine Todd Bailey, Latvia -- Louisville, Ky.
Howard H. Baker, Jr., Senator (R-TN); Senate Majority Leader; Amb. Japan -- Huntsville, Tenn.
Douglas H. Barclay, El Salvador -- Pulaski, N.Y.
Stuart A. Bernstein, Denmark -- Washington, D.C.
Everett E. Bierman, Papua New Guinea -- Oakton, Va.
Julia Chang Bloch, Nepal -- Washington, D.C.
John Bolton, United Nations
Stephen F. Brauer, Belgium -- Bridgeton, Mo.
Keith Lapham Brown, Lesotho; Denmark -- San Antonio, Texas
Donald Burnham, Ensenat, Brunei; Chief of Protocol -- New Orleans, La .
Richard R. Burt, Germany -- Washington, D.C.
President George H.W. Bush, United Nations -- Houston, Texas
William J. Cabaniss, Jr., Czech Republic -- Birmingham, Ala.
Richard G. Capen Jr., Spain -- Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Richard W. Carlson, Seychelles -- Weems, Va.
Frank Carlucci III, Portugal
Bruce Chapman, IAEA; Vienna -- Seattle, Wash.
Sue McCourt Cobb, Jamaica -- Coral Gables, Fla.
Charles E. Cobb, Jr., Iceland -- Coral Gables, Fla.
Walter J.P. Curley, Ireland; France -- New York, N.Y.
Peter H. Dailey, Ireland; Special Envoy to NATO Countries -- Pasadena, Calif.
Mark L. Edelman, Cameroon -- Washington, D.C.
Mark Erwin, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros -- Charlotte, N.C.
Richard M. Fairbanks III, Ambassador-at-Large -- Washington, D.C.
William S. Farish III, United Kingdom -- Versailles, Ky.
Edward R. Finch, Jr., Panama -- New York, N.Y.
John R. Gavin, Mexico -- Los Angeles, Calif.
Bruce S. Gelb, USIA; Belgium -- N ew York, N.Y.
Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Switzerland -- Washington, D.C.
Anthony H. Gioia, Malta -- Buffalo, N.Y.
Luis Guinot, Jr., Costa Rica -- Falls Church, Va.
Margaret M. Heckler, Ireland -- Arlington, Va.
Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., Sweden -- Riverside, Conn.
Hans H. Hertell, Dominican Republic -- Washington, D.C.
Alfred Hoffman, Jr., Portugal -- Fort Meyers, Fla.
Richard Holwill, Ecuador
G. Philip Hughes, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines -- Falls Church, Va.
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Singapore -- Salt Lake City, Utah
Robert S. Ingersoll, Japan -- Evanston, Ill.
James C. Kenny, Ireland -- Glenview, Ill.
Alfred H. Kingon, European Union -- Bronxville, N.Y.
Lester B. Korn, UN Economic and Social Council -- Beverly Hills, Calif.
Mary E. Kramer, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean -- Clive, IA
Paul C. Lambert, Ecuador -- New York, N.Y.
Mark Langdale, Costa Rica -- Dallas, Texas
Howard Leach, France -- Salinas, Calif.
Melvyn Levinsky, Bulgaria and Brazil -- Ann Arbor, Mich.
John L. Loeb, Jr., Denmark -- New York, N.Y.
Earle I. Mack, Finland -- Fort Lee, N.J.
Susan Rasinski McCaw, Austria -- Kirkland, Wash.
Robert C. McFarlane, Special Envoy for the President
Thomas Patrick Melady, Burundi, Uganda, Holy See -- Washington, D.C.
J. William Middendorf II, Netherlands, OAS, European Union -- Little Compton, R.I.
Steve Minikes, CSCE -- Washington, D.C.
George Cranwell Montgomery, Sultanate of Oman
Thomas A. Nassif, Morocco -- La Jolla, Calif.
Gregory J. Newell, Sweden -- Provo, Utah
Edward N. Ney, Canada -- New York, N.Y.
Jim Nicholson, Holy See -- McLean, Va.
Herman W. Nickle, South Africa -- Tucson, Ariz.
Julian M. Niemczyk, Czechoslovakia -- Annandale, Va.
Keith Foote Nyborg, Finland -- Sugar City, Idaho
John D. Ong, Norway -- Hudson, Ohio
Penne Korth Peacock, Mauritius -- Washington, D.C.
Joseph Carlton Petrone, United Nations European Office -- Dublin, N.H.
Charles J. Pilliod, Jr., Mexico -- Akron, Ohio
John Price Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros -- Salt Lake City, Utah
Charles H. Price, II, Belgium, United Kingdom -- Kansas City, Mo.
James W. Rawlings, Zimbabwe -- Southbury, Conn.
Otto J. Reich, Venezuela -- Washington, D.C.
Mercer Reynolds, Switzerland and Liechtenstein -- Indian Hill, Ohio
Gilbert A. Robinson, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State -- McLean, Va.
Joe M. Rodgers, France -- Nashville, Tenn.
Sig Rogich, Iceland -- Las Vegas, Nev.
John Rood, Bahamas -- Jacksonville, Fla.
Francis L. Rooney III, Holy See -- Naples, Fla.
Frank Ruddy, Equatorial Guinea
Bob Royall, Tanzania -- South Carolina
Rockwell A. Schnabel, Finland, European Union -- Los Angeles, Calif.
Peter F. Secchia, Italy -- Grand Rapids, Mich.
Martin J. Silverstein, Uruguay -- New York, N.Y.
Ronald J. Sorini, Chief Textile Negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative -- Hinsda le, Ill.
Michael G. Sotirhos, Jamaica, Greece -- Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla.
Robert D. Stuart, Jr., Norway -- Lake Forest, Ill.
Charles J. Swindells, New Zealand, Samoa -- Portland, Ore.
Peter Terpeluk, Jr., Luxembourg -- Washington, D.C.
Timothy L. Towell, Paraguay -- Washington, D.C.
Rodolphe M. Vallee, Slovakia -- Shelburne, Vt.
Leon J. Weil, Nepal -- New York, N.Y.
John G. Weinmann, Finland, Chief of Protocol -- New Orleans, La.
Ronald N. Weiser, Slovakia -- Ann Arbor, Mich.
Pamela P. Willeford, Switzerland and Liechtenstein -- Austin, Texas
Richard Williamson, Asst. Secy; Amb. IAEA -- Chicago, Ill.
Curtin Winsor, Jr., Costa Rica -- McLean, Va.
Dr. Aldona Z. Wos, Estonia -- Greensboro, N.C.
Joseph Zappala, Spain -- Aventura, Fla.

Iowa GOP refuses to report Keyes votes

The Iowa Republican Party has neither counted nor reported the number of votes for Alan Keyes in the GOP caucuses held Jan. 3.

"We didn't have the electronic means to record the tallies for Keyes, so we can't yet report to the public how many votes Keyes got," said John Lund at the Iowa GOP headquarters in Des Moines. "We can't report the Keyes votes until we've double-checked each individual paper ballot."

Meanwhile, the Iowa GOP widely reported the vote tallies of all other candidates, including Tom Tancredo, who got 5 votes despite having quit the race.

"I personally traveled with Alan Keyes across Iowa, and we met scores of Keyes voters. It's totally unfair these citizens' votes are now being withheld from the public," said Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt. "This is tantamount to election fraud."

"I voted for Alan Keyes," said Siena Hoefling of Calhoun County. "It's ridiculous they didn't report my vote. Each precinct could have easily called or emailed the vote tallies to headquarters, so they should have been counted by now."

"County election officials showed me a ballot list of 'suggested' candidates, but Alan Keyes' name wasn't on the list," said Hoefling. "When I asked them if they would include Alan's name, they said they'd have to write it in."

One election official apologized to Hoefling that Keyes' name was omitted, saying "these are just the names we were given by [Iowa GOP] headquarters."

Duaine Bollwitt of Monticello said, "Alan Keyes was not on the list of Republican Presidential candidates. My vote for Alan Keyes was treated as a write-in. I thought that was odd, but what do I know."

"A presidential preference poll reporting procedure was given to me, explaining how to report the votes to headquarters," said Michael Walsh, a precinct permanent secretary for Windsor Heights. "When we called in the vote tallies by telephone, an electronic voice asked for the number of votes, candidate-by-candidate."

Whether the electronic voice prompt collecting the votes offered Alan Keyes as a choice is unclear.

Tom Youngwirth, recorder for his Windsor Heights precinct, said, "Now that I think of it, I didn't hear Alan Keyes' name on the voice prompt. But John McCain's name was on the voice prompt."

"I know for sure we reported votes for Alan Keyes to headquarters," said Ron Granzow, precinct chair for Windsor Heights. "I don't know why they wouldn't report his votes to the public."

"This resembles a 'communist-style' approach to electoral politics," said Stephen Stone, chairman of Alan Keyes for President. "In the former Soviet Union, political officials limited voters' choices in a way that created merely the illusion of democracy, without the reality. Any undue interference with free and open elections, of the sort we think we just witnessed, is un-American."

Added Stone, "Alan Keyes has been an announced candidate for president since Sept. 14. Yet the state GOP chose to exclude him from the caucus process, claiming he 'announced too late' to be included, so that his name was not even mentioned on official lists of candidates or in reporting instructions. This disenfranchises Iowa voters."