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Jim Leach endorsing Obama
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Sarnstrom |
| Last Edited | Sarnstrom Aug 12, 2008 09:23am |
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| Category | Endorsement |
| News Date | Tuesday, August 12, 2008 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | According to a source in the Obama campaign, former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach -- a Republican -- will be endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama this morning. Leach, as you may recall, lost his bid for re-election in 2006 after three decades representing portions of eastern Iowa in congress. Leach was considered a "moderate" Republican and was a backer of campaign finance reform. Leach did not accept campaign contributions from political action committees.
Leach became a professor at his alma mater -- Princeton -- and then was asked to be the interim director of the Kennedy School of Politics at Harvard when its director left to run for the U.S. Senate. Leach's wife has contributed the maximum amount allowed to Obama's campaign.
Of additional note: Leach shared an office with Dick Cheney when Cheney -- and Leach -- worked for Donald Rumsfeld in D.C. decades ago. Cheney spoke at a campaign fundraiser for Leach in Cedar Rapids in 2003. Here's the pertinent part: "I appreciate your warm welcome. But I am especially pleased to be here today with Jim, because Jim and I have been friends for many, many years. Lynne and I have known Jim and Deba longer than we can count. Jim and I first got to know each other more than 30 years ago -- I guess it was 1969 -- when we both went to work for a young, up and comer then, a budding politician. Jim had already worked for him when he was in the House of Representatives. He was in his mid-30s. His name was Don Rumsfeld. And he was no longer a congressman from Illinois; he was running the Office of Economic Opportunity. And Jim and I went to work for him in the executive branch some 34, almost 35 years ago.
"Subsequent to that, of course, Jim had important assignments at the State Department, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. I went to work for President Ford. Eventually, in 1976, Jim got elected to the House of Representatives. In 1978, I got elected to the House of Representatives. My s |
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