George W. Bush

So much for our promise to liberate Iraq, not to occupy it, and not to cart off its riches.

State Republicans gathered for the 18th annual Red, White and Blue fundraiser last night in Linthicum, the party's major fundraiser for the year.

Justin Ready, the party's executive director, told PolitickerMD.com that roughly 400 people attended the event. He said the MDGOP expected to raise "close to $100,000" for the evening.

"This is a big improvement from last year," Ready said. "We're moving forward."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) issued a statement today expressing support for Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) presidential candidacy, but stopped short of a formal endorsement.

"Over the last 18 months, Senator Barack Obama has energized and excited millions of voters who believe that our great nation must move in a new direction," Hoyer said in a statement to PolitickerMD.com. "He is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, and I look forward to supporting his candidacy."

The talk of Washington over the last couple of days is a new tell-all book by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.

But what do George W. Bush and Dick Cheney think of it?

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Democrats have not held power in Maryland's 1st Congressional District since Roy Dyson represented the Eastern Shore from 1981-1991. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Kennedyville) defeated Dyson in the 1990 elections, and has held the seat since, but when state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) defeated Gilchrest in the 2008 GOP primary, many Democrats began to focus on the district.

"I think this is the best chance we've had in years to reclaim the seat," Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Towson) of the 3rd Congressional District told PolitickerMD.com this past weekend.

The party's nominee, Queen Anne's County State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville), "represents a very strong candidate for Democrats," Sarbanes said.

Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington), the Democratic nominee in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District, issued a statement expressing her support for the 2008 G.I. Bill, which passed in the Senate on Thursday.

The legislation, which President Bush has vowed to veto, will increase educational benefits for members of the Armed Forces, and will include a full-ride to in-state public colleges and universities along with the elimination of a $1,200 fee service members pay to qualify for the G.I. bill.

Three good reasons -- and three not so good reasons -- why Frank Kratovil's got a steeper climb than Travis Childers did.