Leslie Sanchez | BIO
CNN Contributor

Twitter, the social networking phenomena that is taking the country by storm, has already changed politics and the news business and now may be changing the way Hollywood operates too. A micro-blogging service that lets people talk about anything they want, as long as they do it in 140 characters or less per message, Twitter has its own vocabulary and social structure and now, according to some people, may become the new medium for building a buzz.

In what may be a Twitter first, Australian director Rob Luketic, who directed “Legally Blonde” and “21”, recently started “tweeting” (the word for posting messages to the forum) extensively from the set of his new feature film, “Five Killers,” currently in production in Nice, France.

Luketic regularly responds to followers and posts pictures or video of location scouting, what they eat, where they stay, yachts they rent, and even stunts gone wrong.

He does this, he told me by email, “because it gives me the freedom to connect with people interested in my work in manner that is immediate and uncensored. People seem to love my daily pictures and musings from the set; they feel part of the process as it happens. Rather than the usual cookie cutter studio leaks.”

The film’s star, the ubiquitous Ashton Kutcher, who is already an avid “tweeter” recently joined in the fun when he used Twitter to post: "Just accidentally knocked out a stuntman. Feel awful."

I reached out to Luketic on Twitter for additional insights about the movie and the stuntman accident:

LS: Are you the first director to tweet production of a feature film?

RL: "Hi. I'm not sure if it's the first? We could well be. But it will be the most fun. We are a candid, relaxed bunch of film freaks."

LS: What role does Kutcher play?

RL: "AK, male LEAD ‘Spencer,’ a government assassin who leaves the game after he falls in love with a nice American girl Jen played by K. Heigl.."

LS: What happened to the stunt man?

RL: "Stuntman was knocked out during a fight scene with AK. He was fine and continued with the day a little bruised. AK felt bad as did I."

For all its faults, and for all the criticisms that Twitter is a waste of time and bandwidth, that it is simply a new form of narcissistic exhibitionism for a new age, on Twitter networks become powerful and quickly. It allows  for the creation of a self-selecting army of enthusiasts, drawing together in a community devoted to a single individual or issue. Think of it as the end all of micro-targeting, which is certainly the way the Obama campaign approached it not so long ago.

As AdWeek digital editor Brian Morrissey told me, “I think Obama was one of the great case studies where message and tools kind of matched up there. At this point everyone is trying to figure out how to use Twitter and social media. They know it’s a powerful tool. It can be used in so many different ways because there is no one-size-fits-all solution.”

Dana Brunetti, producer and co-founder of TriggerStreet.com, one of the first social media platforms geared to the entertainment and filmmaking industry, said to me, “Rob [Luketic], as many in this business, initially freaked out about the idea of Twitter and Facebook and see it as a bit of a loss of privacy.

“While one should be careful and cognizant of what they post,” Brunetti says, “there are real benefits for people in the entertainment business, and I see it as getting a bit more control on the image that is projected out there about you and your work. The people following are now on ‘the inside and in the know’ about items that aren't on the radar of the mainstream—they become evangelists.”

So the question remains: Is it worth the time and investment?”

According to Morrissey, it depends: “The reason Ashton Kutcher, Shaq and Lance Armstrong are popular is because they are committed to it. They like it. You can’t fake it.”

Twitter offers a low-cost way to make people outside to feel like they are in the inside getting special information. Luketic’s experiment may create a box office smash spurred by the legions of new followers he engages. “Ultimately I feel Twitter can help create an awareness that will be a valuable facet of the overall campaign,” Luketic says by email. “My followers not only feel like they are getting an exclusive, they really are. It’s just me. My IPhone and a laptop. Unadulterated and spin free. The way I like it.”

Spoken like a true politician.

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To follow the filming of “Five Killers,” check out Rob Luketic’s Twitter posts here or his picture feed here.

According to MediaCaffine there are 14 types of Twitter Personalities. Which one are you?

Program Note: To hear more about the stimulus bill tune in to AC360° tonight at 10 p.m. ET.

Leslie Sanchez
CNN Contributor and Republican Strategist

Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., says the Democrats have buried a poison pill inside the nearly trillion-dollar stimulus package moving through Congress that would jeopardize your ability to get life-saving treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis.

In an article for RedState.com, Shadegg says the $1.1 billion "Comparative Effectiveness Research" study that has been slipped into the stimulus, ostensibly to help the government get the biggest bang for its health care bucks, is actually a leading wedge into a single-payer health care system.

As Shadegg points out, comparative effectiveness is used by single-payer health care systems to determine which treatments or medications are the most efficient. It's one of the tools socialized medicine uses to deprive your grandmother of expensive Alzheimer's drugs, or your daughter from getting a bone marrow transplant.

What's "comparative effectiveness" got to do with creating jobs, which President Obama said Monday night was the main point of the package? Not much. But it does a lot to advance the liberal agenda for health care. Nevertheless it is surprising that the White House would give this measure the go ahead since they are contemplating a major health care reform effort of their own.

The American public has embraced the idea that the package is a pork-laden "Trojan Horse" that lets liberal politicians get in one measure many of the things they have wanted for the last 30 years. Thanks to Shadegg's team of researchers, who uncovered this boondoggle, the "CER" program will likely suffer the same fate as the hundreds of millions the House originally allocated for family planning in the first draft of the stimulus that became an embarrassment to the Democrats.

But for Republicans, who are almost completed united in their opposition to it, the stimulus will be a gift that keeps on giving. It's a treasure trove of costly nonsense, some of it trivial, some of it having profound implications for the country's future that will reignite suspicions about liberal activist government for years to come.

Contrary to the presidential spin, Republicans and Democrats both recognize the need to act boldly in response to the economic crisis. But that's not what's the stimulus bill is about. The package is a way for liberals like Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others to force their wish list of programs onto a unsuspecting American public.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has it wrong when he says the American people don't care about the pork in the stimulus. He and the other Democrats leading the charge on behalf of the package need to remember the words of Lincoln: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Leslie Sanchez
CNN Contributor

As the members of the Republican National Committee prepare to choose a party chairman to serve for the next two years, the calls for new "Hispanic outreach" initiatives are flying - in my view, unnecessarily.

It is probably true that President Obama's election marks the beginning of a post-partisan, post-racial America, or at least a time when these issues are less divisive than in years past.

But will the two political parties be as able to look beyond the stereotypes of Latinos and what the Latino experience is in this country, as they have for other ethnic and racial groups?

Keep Reading...

Actor Val Kilmer attends the Post Pre-Inaugural Ball hosted by The Huffington Post and MySpace at The Newseum on January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Leslie Sanchez
CNN Contributor and Republican Strategist

Washington was a constellation of Hollywood stars and starlets this week, but one seemed to be moving in a particularly well-defined orbit - and he was clearly one of the most interesting people making the rounds.

Critically-acclaimed actor Val Kilmer (Tombstone, Batman Forever, The Doors and Heat) showed himself to be wonderfully personable, thoughtful about public policy issues and extremely inquisitive about the process.

Maybe too inquisitive.

What couldn't be missed was Kilmer's high-powered networking with several Democratic governors, including Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association. The two met at Monday's unity dinner honoring Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

During a discussion about the role of Democratic Governors in the new Obama administration, Kilmer invited Schweitzer out trout fishing on his 6,000-acre ranch in Pecos, New Mexico.

My guess is we'll be hearing a lot more from Val Kilmer in the days ahead – and not just on the big screen, either. His roots in New Mexico run deep (his family has lived in the Land of Enchantment for almost a century), and this is clearly a guy with politics and public service very much on his mind.

Call it a hunch, but I think this may be another case of an actor turning politician. Either way, it's bound to get more interesting.

By Leslie Sanchez
CNN Contributor & Republican Strategist

It’s just about all over. The historic 2008 election is past. A new presidency is about to begin.
On Tuesday, January 20, at 12 noon, Barack Hussein Obama will raise his hand, swear an oath and become the 44th President of the United States. But what kind of president will he be?

Obama is being carried into office on a wave of expectations so high they threaten to drown the Capitol. Like FDR nearly 75 years ago, the vast expanse of America – reeling from the impact of an unpopular administration they are glad to see go – expects Obama to fix, well, everything.

In one sense he presages Jack Kennedy. Youthful, handsome, fit and vigorous, Obama is a brilliant speaker who can inspire hearts with his words. But Kennedy entered office at a time of relative peace and prosperity, without articulating fully the ambitions of the agenda he would bring forth beginning with his inaugural address. Obama, whose campaign was long on style but, frankly, short on specifics may be counting on the glitz and glamour accompanying his inauguration to carry him forward but what he needs are results.

Team Obama is telegraphing that the first 100 days, a concept originating with FDR as the benchmark by which to measure a new presidency, is to be eclipsed by the first 100 hours. Meaning that by Friday, or thereabouts, we will have useful guideposts to show us which way the new administration is going.

What we do know is that Obama appears committed to an expansion of activist government. In this he will find many allies on Capitol Hill, who have managed to slip things as diverse and unconnected as “net neutrality” into the economic stimulus package. Of course, George W. Bush followed the activist government model too. Under his eight years in office government grew, by many important measures, by more than at any time since Lyndon Johnson, who built on the Kennedy program and then went well beyond it.

All the uncertainty has Republicans scratching their heads. Many are trying desperately to find a way to navigate the treacherous waters between those who want to see Obama’s agenda opposed and those who want everyone to let “the new guy” have a chance.

There are many models Obama could follow. He could be a trail-blazing interventionist like Teddy Roosevelt or he could focus on calm, managerial competence like Eisenhower or he could, like Reagan, seek to fundamentally change the relationship between the people and their government. The problem, in this case at least, is that the people are not at all clear about what they want other than to get out of the mess we are currently in without it having to cost them too much.

Obama has about a year to make his mark before the campaign of 2010 begins. Historically, the party in power loses seats in a midterm election. And the Republicans need not have an effective or cohesive message to achieve a comeback, as was the case in 1966 when they undid much of the Johnson landslide.

With expectations so high, however, Obama needs to have a record of accomplishment to point to – in foreign affairs, in domestic policy and, most importantly the economy – or voters in the center will turn against him because he has failed to live up to the promise they saw in him.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine claps during an August campaign event for Barack Obama in Virginia.

Leslie Sanchez
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist | BIO

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and President-elect Barack Obama are friends and allies.

Kaine was probably the first prominent national political figure to endorse Obama’s presidential bid. And at a time when most people were still at the "Oh, won't he make a nice running mate for Hillary," stage.

Obama owed Kaine something, something tangible, something important. He gave it to him when he named him his choice to replace Howard Dean as Democratic National Committee chairman.

On paper, Kaine is a moderate southerner, a DLC-type comporting to the centrist image Obama is trying to project. Kaine is very much the anti- Dean, but he knows how the game is played even if his selection puts him at odds with the liberals who comprise the Obama-nation.

Conventional wisdom has that Kaine, a fluent Spanish speaker, represents "the party of tomorrow", as E.J. Dionne, Jr., put it recently in The Washington Post, citing a top Obama adviser’s description of Kaine as "a pragmatic progressive, less concerned about orthodoxies than about getting things done."

Maybe, maybe not.

In a move little noticed outside of his home state, Kaine’s proposed biennial budget cuts funding for public education by 7 percent. N. Va. School Systems Bracing for State Aid Cuts the Post's Metro section headlined on December 30, on page B1, inside the paper.

"Local officials are still sifting through Maine's proposed $425 million cut," the article said, advising the cuts would amount to "substantial losses for schools to absorb as they prepare fiscal 2010 budgets."

Almost half a billion in education cuts? He has some explaining to do. Kaine campaigned on being an education governor; now he’s blaming the bad economy as the reason for the cuts. But according to the way Democrats talk about taxes and spending, the tough times shouldn’t be a problem.

Kaine’s predecessor as governor, Mark Warner, campaigned against raising taxes. When he got into office he claimed things were worse off than he thought so, with the help of some Republicans in the State Senate, he pushed through taxes increases that were supposed to provide more money for, yes, you guessed it, roads and education.

So, where education is concerned, between the Warner tax hike and the state lottery, which also goes to education, Virginia should have plenty of education money – except - according to Kaine – it doesn’t.

A national party chairman who starts off by cutting education spending in his home state by almost 10 percent is probably not part of the image of "getting things done" the Obama Democrats want to project to the nation.

Had this been a Republican nominee for chairman, the push back would be swift and toxic. But don't expect howls of outrage from the education establishment in Virginia or nationally. The Virginia Education Association responded, but only meekly, in a manner reminiscent of Oliver Twist asking for more gruel.

"We thank the Governor for cutting education less than any other program," the VEA said. "Thank the Governor?" So much for the barred fangs that appear anytime a Republican suggests a reduction in the increase of spending, let alone proposes real and permanent cuts.

But what Kaine wants, even though he’s using the image of tough economic times to sell it, include changes to the underlying formula for education funding that would reduce funding permanently.

This is no small issue. Recall the Democrat's repeated attacks on George W. Bush and the Republican majority in Congress in 2004 and 2006 over their failure to "fully fund" Bush's "No Child Left Behind." “Fully” funding translates, by the way, into “Yes, you are spending more but it’s not as much as we want so we’re going to attack you.”

Led by Senators John F. Kerry and Ted Kennedy, the Democrats and their allies were ruthless, portraying Bush and the GOP as enemies of education and, by extension, children.

It's enough to make your head spin. Bush does things to improve and increase federal funding for education and yet is relentlessly attacked. Kaine hacks education spending and is faintly praised by his own state's teachers' union.

And just what, by the way, is the Bush education record. Well, according to a fact sheet issued recently by the White House, "No Child Left Behind" has led to African-American and Hispanic students posting "all-time highs" in a number of areas. Because of “NCLB”, all 50 states have accountability plans in place for the first time. And the achievement gap has narrowed since Bush came into office.

But you don't hear very much about these accomplishments. And when you don't hear much about the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee proposing more than $400 million in state education funding cuts, it shouldn't be a surprise that the good news doesn't travel very far.

Leon Panetta, who has a strong background in economics, was chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.

Leslie Sanchez
AC360° Contributor

The near-flawless Obama transition hiccupped Monday with the surprise announcement that former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta was the new president's choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency. The well-respected Panetta - Democrats and Republicans alike have praised his work and know him to be a strong executive with a first-class understanding of budgets and politics - is not someone who is considered to have experience in the netherworld of intelligence operations.

In this sense he mirrors former President Jimmy Carter's initial choice of Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorenson to lead the CIA. Sorenson, whose vantage point inside JFK's inner circle gave him a more than passing acquaintance with at least a few of the CIA's more interesting Kennedy-era adventures, saw his nomination go nowhere when people realized he was just not qualified for the job, which at that time also included the responsibility of leading the U.S. intelligence community. But Panetta's qualifications - or lack thereof - isn't the real story here.

The Obamacracy's initial reaction was less than approving. Daily Kos, a Web site hub of pro-Obama activity and opinion, decried the choice as "weak." But what's truly interesting is the vehemence of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's strongly-worded criticism of the nomination.

"I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA director," she said in a statement. "My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time." As the incoming chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has the responsibility for presiding over Panetta's confirmation hearing and is indicating she might oppose the nomination.

Clearly, she is not happy. To figure out why she's upset, you need go any further than the first line of her statement, which again brings to mind the rocky relations between the incoming Carter Administration and the Democrats on Capitol Hill. You just can't make an announcement of this magnitude without letting the relevant committee chairman know in advance and without giving them the opportunity to offer their opinion. It's a rookie mistake that, hopefully for Obama's mistake, won't happen again.

Editor’s Note: Leslie Sanchez is a former adviser to President Bush and CEO of Impacto Group, which specializes in market research about women and Hispanics for its corporate and nonprofit clients.

Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich poses the first real political challenge for the nascent Obama Administration. Not only is it a supersized embarrassment, but it is the kind of unexpected development that all presidents have to deal with that’s beyond their control.

No one has yet suggested credibly that the President-elect is involved. But the emerging scandal, involving as it does the infamous Chicago political machine from which Obama and several of his closest advisors spring, presents the first real opportunity for the new administration to show the days of business as usual in Washington are, in fact, over.

Throughout the election, Obama sidestepped accusations about ties to that machine, including suspicious ties to Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a former top fundraiser to Blagojevich, who was charged with extortion, money laundering and other acts of cronyism.
And so, first and foremost, the President-elect needs to require of these Chicago advisors – chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel and senior advisors Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod among them – that they affirm publicly that they had nothing to do with any of the issues that generated the indictment against Blagojevich, including the alleged pay-to-play scheme to fill Obama’s senator seat.

The governor’s arrest and indictment by federal prosecutors also provides the President-elect with the opportunity to clarify the status of the U.S. Attorneys. Within days of taking office, former President Bill Clinton defied precedent and removed all 93 U.S. Attorneys rather than letting them serve out their terms of office and close out any ongoing prosecutions. And there are expectations that Obama will follow suit.

When Birmingham, Ala., Democratic Mayor Larry Langford was recently charged with bribery, fraud and other federal charges, his office issued a statement that said, in part, “This is certainly no surprise to us - we anticipated something happening soon especially knowing Alice Martin's days in office are numbered with the swearing in of a new president in late January - just a little over a month from now.” Meaning Langford’s office expects U.S. Attorney Martin to be dismissed from her post and for the indictment to, in essence, disappear. Might Blagojevich be thinking the same thing?

To pass Blagojevich’s indictment off as another example of a corrupt Chicago politics makes light of the larger questions surrounding the parties involved in this indictment—the full likes of which may unfold for the better part of Obama's first term. The identity of the person who will replace Obama in the Senate is but an afterthought when compared with these more serious issues.

Editor’s Note: Leslie Sanchez is a former adviser to President Bush and CEO of Impacto Group, which specializes in market research about women and Hispanics for its corporate and nonprofit clients.

Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

While Hillary Clinton's nomination to be secretary of state has dominated coverage of the transition, the nation's attention hasn't yet focused on the thorny thicket of potential conflicts of interest involving Bill Clinton's fundraising (both for himself and for his foundation) across the globe.

It should. The man has been a globe-trotting vacuum cleaner, virtually sucking up cash wherever it can be found.

True, Clinton has finally agreed to make public the 208,000 donors to the Clinton foundation, and he's agreed to submit future business enterprises and speeches for further scrutiny.

"If she is going to be secretary of state and I operate globally and I have people who contribute to these efforts globally," the former president told CNN, "I think that it's important to make it totally transparent."

Nevertheless, Clinton's jet-set moneymaking has already presented ethics lawyers with a confounding thicket, and his future endeavors may prove even more troublesome in the years to come.

Sure, a lot of the money Bill Clinton has raised may go to worthy causes, and there's no indication his wife will personally profit from it. Still, his global fundraising will create at least the appearance of serious conflicts when Hillary Clinton meets with leaders of countries in which he's been active.

Read more...

Editor’s Note: Leslie Sanchez is a former adviser to President Bush and CEO of Impacto Group, which specializes in market research about women and Hispanics for its corporate and nonprofit clients.

Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

Ever since John McCain and Howard Dean in 2000 showed the Internet's potential for fundraising, the question was always whether the Web could be effective at "GOTV," or getting-out-the-vote.

Among young voters at least, Barack Obama has proven that it can - and, in the process, he's uncovered a major flaw that cuts to the core of the Republicans' approach to party organization and discipline.

Obama poured many of his campaign's millions into his social networking operations on the Web, which his campaign rightly saw as critical to building grassroots support and enthusiasm.

A community organizer by training, occupation and nature, Obama saw his databases for the potential they represented - an army of supportive voices, a legion of potential volunteers, and a division of precinct captains.

Such is the world not just of Chicago ward organizations, but of politics everywhere.

The McCain campaign, reflecting the broader skepticism I've seen in the GOP about the Web, doubted whether the Internet could get voters out of their Barcaloungers (or, in the case of younger voters, off their futons) and into the polling booth.

Read more...

Program Note: 3 out of 4 young people know someone who is currently serving or has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Anderson helps MTV shine a light on issues facing young veterans... Check out MTV.com for how to get involved.
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Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

Everyone says, nowadays, that they support the troops. It's a phrase that trips off the tongue with ease whether spoken by anti-war protesters or battle-hardened veterans of previous conflicts. In one sense, its part of the cure for 25-year long hangover America experienced after Vietnam, having overdone it on the Kool-Aid poured out by Massachusetts' John F. Kerry and other anti-war activists. Saying it makes you feel better.

But what does it really mean "to support the troops." Well, for recording artists Ludacris, 50 Cent, Hinder, O.A.R. and Saving Abel, it means sharing your talents to raise awareness so that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can have access to physical and mental health screening, medical care, job counseling and training, education and, for those that want it, a fresh start in a new life outside the embrace of the U.S. military.

At MTV's "A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE," those artists performed live along with taped performances by some of the entertainment industry's most recognizable stars, including Kanye West, Kid Rock, Angels + Airwaves, Fall Out Boy, Juanes, Nelly, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Will Ferrell, Cameron Diaz, Common, Fat Joe, Seth Green, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, James Marsden and Wyclef Jean.

Over 950 veterans and their families attended, and they no doubt could feel the love. Austin Winkler, the vocalist for the band "Hinder" explained he was there because his dad was a Marine and that it was "definitely important to take care of our veterans."

O.A.R.'s Marc Roberge , who has been to Baghdad and to Walter Reed along with other members O.A.R., remembered a six-year-old boy he met in Iraq. The boy had been shot three separate times, he said, and was being treated by American doctors. And nurses who, he said "Were the most amazing people" he had every come across. "They keep the positive attitude. They take care of people regardless of their nationality, whether they were Iraqi kids or wounded American soldiers."

According to Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and an event partner, the focus on active and retired military is important. "With the economic downturn, our members are getting hit even harder," he said. "The average American is thinking about rising gas prices, the price of college, high food costs, and a mortgage crisis. Our folks are dealing with the exact same things but they probably just got back from a 12-month tour in a war zone."

The attention is needed. For all the talk of supporting the troops, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says that, as of the end of March, 869,000 people who served in one of the current combat theaters have returned home and left the military. These are potential VA patients but, the VA says, they have seen only about 348,000 of them.

VA spokesman Phil Budahn points out, somewhat encouragingly that, "Only about 4 percent of Iraq and Afghan vets seen by the VA have been hospitalized."

These veterans are not only receiving services of physical injuries as a result of their service but, perhaps in direct reaction to the issues that plagued soldiers, sailors and Marines coming home from Vietnam, for mental health concerns as well.

Over the last year, the VA intensified efforts to diagnose and treat mental health issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury (PTSD and TBI) thanks to the leadership of my former boss, the former VA Secretary, Jim Nicholson.

By way of full disclosure, I worked for Nicholson during his Chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. Former employer or not, however, he deserves credit for a landmark effort he launched to meet the mental health needs of our returning Vets.

A highly-decorated Vietnam vet and ex-Army Ranger, Nicholson realized that PTSD and TBI are extremely difficult to diagnose, and that the symptoms often occur long after the service event. That's why he instituted PTSD and TBI screenings for each and every veteran returning from Afghanistan and Iraq – not only by the military upon service discharge, but on every occasion the Vet seeks care at a VA Hospital, clinic or other medical facility. In addition, Nicholson launched an effort to place at least one psychiatrist at each of the VA Hospitals across the nation.

With just $39 billion out of an annual budget of $90 billion being spent on health care, the VA needs all the help it can get. The number of Iraq and Afghan veterans seen each year is mercifully small compared to the total number of veterans the VA sees each year. Which is why, when rappers like 50 Cent and Ludacris take the stage for a cause such as this, the money goes where their mouths are.

Take a look at these behind-the-scenes pics from the show:

The line outside the Nokia Theater in Times Square...
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A look at the stage just before the place filled up.
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CNN's Brooke Turnbull getting our location set up.
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See what i mean? Packed! CNN Headline News' Robin Meade (in the purple) on the floor talking with vets.
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Waiting with MTV PR maven Noelle Llewellyn to head backstage and talk with Ludacris about the event.
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Ludacris shares why he had to be part of this tribute to the men and women who serve in the armed forces. He tells me "regardless of how people feel about the war, we have to support the troops"
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Behind-the-scenes with Ludacris, Ciara and Ty Holbrook. Ciara also made an appearance to raise awareness about veterans’ causes
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Talking with the guys from O.A.R.
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Group shot with Hinder!
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That's 50 Cent way in the back. What an entourage!
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This was CNN's interview location where we sat down with some of the vets that came to the show. We talked about the war and what this concert meant to them.
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IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) teamed up with MTV for the concert. Vets at the show had sign a petition supporting BRAVE (Bill of Rights for American Veterans) to hold elected officials accountable for adequately caring for new veterans.
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CNN's Kay Jones – helping to make sure the shot was just right.
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Sgt Dedrick McDannell and Cpl Ryan Minnifield enjoying a night devoted to our vets.
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Editor’s Note: Leslie Sanchez is a former adviser to President Bush and CEO of Impacto Group, which specializes in market research about women and Hispanics for its corporate and nonprofit clients.

Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

As the dust settles on today's White House meeting, the next item on the agenda is the matter of Friday's presidential debate.

John McCain wants it postponed so that he and other Senators can focus on the proposed $700 billion bailout of U.S. financial markets. Barack Obama, who says a President has to be able to multi-task, wants to go ahead as planned.

The chattering class has decreed McCain’s actions a stunt, and foretold from their klieg-lit perch that McCain will cave. I wouldn’t be so sure.

Even history’s greatest debaters took time to prepare, and any trial lawyer will tell you that the focus required to go before a jury is profoundly intense. Even for candidates who’ve each debated on many occasions, it would be a difficult task to shift focus from something like the financial rescue to a televised debate.

From the “good-government” standpoint– McCain is probably right to concentrate his energies on legislation of such consequence. McCain’s campaign describes him as putting his personal and emotional energies fully into the complexities of the bailout. He cannot, he says, participate in the intricacies of legislative draftsmanship by telephone – and we know he doesn’t use e-mail.

Obama, aided in no small measure by the national media, will place tremendous pressure on McCain to take part in Friday's debate. Perhaps Team Obama sees a tactical advantage in taking on a tired, unfocused adversary.

From McCain’s standpoint, there will be a debate, Oxford or not. It’ll take place on the floor of the United States Senate, and will focus on probably the most significant legislation to come before Congress in a generation. It’s there, he hopes, America will see the difference between a rookie “talker” and an experienced “doer.”

Editors note: Republican Leslie Sanchez was director of the Bush White House Initiative on Hispanic Education from 2001 to 2003 and is the author of "Los Republicanos: Why Hispanics and Republicans Need Each Other." She is not a paid consultant to any current candidate. Sanchez is CEO of the Impacto Group, which specializes in market research about women and Hispanics for its corporate and nonprofit clients.

Leslie Sanchez
AC360° Contributor | Bio
Republican Strategist

In 1993, Kevin Kline starred in a movie called "Dave," playing a look-alike who winds up impersonating the president. In the movie, the real president has a stroke and is kept on life support in a restricted area of the White House by a power-mad chief of staff, played by Frank Langella. Dave fills in.

He brings in his accountant, and over bratwurst, they find $600 million to build homeless shelters for kids. At a Cabinet meeting, he gets the commerce secretary to kill an expensive program to make Americans feel good about the cars they've already bought. He becomes a better, more beloved president than the real one.

Dave's tagline was, "In a country where anybody can become president, anybody just did."

Read More...

Leslie Sanchez
AC360° Contributor | Bio
Republican Strategist

In 1840, a young Whig organizer named Abraham Lincoln wrote the guidebook on political field work. His "confidential" circular advised Whig campaign operatives to "make a perfect list of all the voters and ascertain with certainty for whom they will vote."

Almost 170 years later, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign is demonstrating the wisdom of Lincoln's counsel.

Computers have long since replaced the 3 by 5 cards that for generations were the stock-in-trade of precinct captains in both political parties - green cards for voters who supported your candidate, red ones for those opposed and white cards for the undecided. Every campaign needed to persuade the white cards, get out the green cards on Election Day, and keep a close watch on turnout by the red cards.

Marrying creative marketing techniques with state-of-the-art technology, Obama has taken the voter identification process to lengths nobody could have anticipated just four years ago.

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Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

Once again, the Democrats shoot themselves in the foot. In a half-baked effort to establish “unity” within their own ranks, they haul out Bill and Hillary Clinton – probably the only two people in politics who can, by their mere presence, unite Republicans.

Bill Clinton gave a slick speech tonight. His wife couldn’t bring herself to say that Barack Obama is ready to be President, so Bill overcompensated: he said “ready” so much, you’d think he was trying to convince himself.

But with Bill Clinton, the question always is, “is he lying now, or was he lying before?” All through the Primaries, Bill went around the country telling everybody who’d listen that Obama is ill-prepared for the White House. Which is it then?

I especially liked the point in the speech when Clinton recalled how, in his 1992 run, his opponents charged that he was too inexperienced for the nation’s highest office.

They were right. Bill’s first two years in office were such a disaster – careening from crisis to crisis – that by 1994, Americans were so disgusted that they elected Republicans to a majority in both Houses of Congress for the first time in more than 4O years.

Bill Clinton wasn’t ready then, and Barack Obama is not ready now. America can’t go through another two years like we sustained while Bill Clinton was riding around with training wheels.

Editor's Note: CNN.com contributors explored what Sen. Jospeh Biden's selection as the Democratic vice presidential nominee means for the presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. We share with you two viewpoints. Go to 'Reaction to Obama's VP choice'  to read their full commentary.

Leslie Sanchez | Bio
CNN Political Contributor
Republican Strategist

Folks who were hoping Barack Obama's choice of a running mate would spice up the presidential contest are probably disappointed. Instead of change, they got the archetypal Washington insider: Delaware Sen. Joe Bien.

Biden, who entered the Senate when he was 30-years-old, is a lock-step liberal and, despite the early rhetoric, a skilled partisan infighter. His 36-year legislative record is obviously meatier than Obama's, but still thin...
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Roland S. Martin | Bio
AC360° Contributor
CNN Political Analyst

When the Democratic presidential candidates squared off in all those debates last year, I always felt that Sen. Joe Biden was the strongest.

He was consistently clear, though, decisive and unwilling to say what we wanted to hear, but willing to say what we needed to hear. A lot of strategists are talking about Biden's foreign policy experience, his ability to connect with white working-class voters, and his 36 years in the U.S. Senate. But for me, it's about style, in addition to substance...

Leslie Sanchez
AC360° Contributor
GOP Strategist

Despite the best work of political handlers and advertising pros in presidential elections, people's perceptions are often shaped by impressions formed by events that are completely out of the campaigns' control.

Such was the case just before midnight on August 20, 1968, when Soviet troops marched through Prague, putting a sudden and brutal end to the Czechoslovakian communist reform movement that was known, all too briefly, as the "Prague Spring." Seventy-eight days later, Americans gave Richard Nixon an Electoral College margin of 110 votes.

Forty years later, Russian tanks are rolling once more over their neighbors, and the images that are shaping Americans' lasting perceptions are of a president playing in the sand with the women's beach volleyball team and the presumptive Democratic nominee alternately walking along Kailua Beach and playing golf in Hawaii.

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Leslie Sanchez
AC360° Contributor
GOP Strategist

If conventional wisdom is correct and Barack Obama's vice presidential selection is days away, should John McCain pounce with his own Veep announcement? I say no.

For McCain, this game is more like Poker than Quick Draw. He’s got one singular advantage when it comes to the Veepstakes, which is that he can afford to wait and see Obama’s hold card. Once he sees which of two or three strategies Obama has decided to play, he can then decide which of his own cards to play.

Will the Democrats make a choice based on region, or gender? Will Obama play to “new politics”? Either way, expect McCain's choice to counterbalance Obama’s.

While Obama has been playing his cards close to his vest, one thing remains clear: unlike McCain, he has every reason to announce his choice sooner rather than later. With the Olympics beginning on August 8 and continuing through the 24th, followed by the opening of the Democratic National Convention on the very next day (from August 25 to 28), Obama has only a 10-day window to continue his domination of the news cycles that began with his life-or-death battle with Hillary Clinton and continued with his whirlwind snapshot tour of the Middle East and Europe.

What’s more, announcing “the right” choice, and doing it sooner rather than later, could lessen concerns about Obama's own inexperience – just as George W. Bush’s choice of Dick Cheney did for the Republicans in 2000.

McCain, though, can sit back and watch his adversary play the first card.

The Republican Flavors of the Week being floated right now as McCain's best choices include Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the sleeper candidate, former Congressman, former Pennsylvania Governor and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

While there’s been a lot of talk about former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s formidable advantages in fundraising and his solid economic credentials, the truth is that conservatives are beginning to coalesce around McCain (their increasing dislike for Obama is overcoming their ideological push for GOP purity). As the Republican conservative and evangelical base comes home, there’s less reason for McCain to turn to Romney.

Taking a look at the Electoral College map, a McCain-Pawlenty team would make the Midwest more competitive. Hosting the GOP convention in Minnesota gives the Governor somewhat an inside edge, and Pawlenty's reform-minded appeal is compatible with that of McCain. Yet, despite these advantages, Minnesota itself has an upscale, left-of-center orientation that seems to put beyond the reach of Republicans, Pawlenty or no Pawlenty.

Speculation has also surrounded Florida Governor Charlie Crist, though McCain already has a strong following in the state, especially among veterans, Hispanics and older Jewish voters who are suspicious of Obama’s commitment to Israel.

One possibility that’s being mentioned with increasing frequency is former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. For McCain, he’s a fellow Vietnam veteran who led Pennsylvania with an impressive record of tax cuts and budget restraints.

He deserves a second look, especially if Obama taps Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as his number two. An Obama-Kaine duo would almost certainly put Virginia's 13 Electoral College votes even more in play for the first time since 1964, shifting the battleground to Pennsylvania its 21 Electoral votes.

While Governor Ed Rendell's powerful Democratic machine is a threat, Pennsylvania remains predominately conservative, especially outside its urban centers – and remember, Pennsylvania Democrats rejected Obama in the Primary. The Keystone State still primarily consists of rural white, working class voters, the same ones who propelled Ronald Reagan to victory in 1980 and 1984, and freshman Senator Bob Casey, a pro-life Democrat, decades later. Ridge, a working class former Congressman from Erie, could be just what the Doctor ordered.

The “X” factor with Ridge is likely to be the reaction of the GOP’s pro-life base: Ridge is famously pro-choice, and his selection would risk upheaval among the Party’s social conservative wing. The question is, will they be satisfied with McCain’s strong career-long commitment to the pro-life cause, and his promise to appoint strict constructionist justices to the Supreme Court?

Ridge’s choice could decide once and for all the significance of single-issue pro-life Republican voters, especially in a weak economy, with the war in Iraq and soaring energy costs much on everyone’s minds.

One thing appears sure: there’s no reason for McCain to tip his hand before Obama plays his card.

Sen. Barack Obama addresses the national convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) at the Washington Hilton July 8.

Leslie Sanchez
GOP Strategist and AC360° Contributor

Speaking last week in Powder Springs, Ga., Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said, “Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English, because they will learn English, you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish.”

Now we know what he means when he talks about the need for “change.” What he means is that it's the country that needs to change, not Washington, D.C.

The remark was itself part of a larger outreach effort by Obama to appeal for the support of Hispanic voters in the upcoming election. As part of his effort to address the conflict over illegal immigration, the brunt of which has been felt by Hispanics, he phrased his statement in such a way as to suggest he was simply calling on parents to be certain their school-age children learned a second language. But, as someone who was born in the United States and who speaks both English and – to a lesser degree – Spanish, I am disturbed by the comments.

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, the nation's second-largest school district, 92 languages officially are spoken at students' homes. Why go in front of LULAC and single out Spanish unless you are pandering to special interests? Or worse, as some in the blogosphere suggest, perhaps Obama is implying that Hispanics, both immigrant and nonimmigrant, cannot learn English so the rest of us should learn Spanish in order to communicate.

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Leslie Sanchez
GOP Strategist and AC360° Contributor

Reeling from GOP attacks on her lack of leadership on energy issues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is ramping up her party's attack on so-called oil speculators.

It’s the same song, different verse, for a Congress with historically low approval ratings now in the single digits. The Republicans' newly aggressive push for more drilling may be late in the game, but it represents real solutions.

For more than a decade, Pelosi and the Democrats have opposed reasonable efforts to find more oil here at home. She and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are refusing to support—or even allow a clean vote on drilling in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge).

Pelosi won't let the House vote on a stand-alone bill to allow drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, miles offshore from the United States—despite its strong support among the American people and the improvement in technology so it is done safely. Instead, Pelosi wants the President to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves that is maintained for a real emergencies—like Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

The political spin on energy is not surprising. Democrat solutions are virtually non-existent. According to Americans for Tax Reform, a non-profit organization led by conservative activist Grover Norquist, since Pelosi and the Democrats regained control of Congress in 2006, the price of gasoline has increased by almost $2.00, the price of a loaf of bread is up by 23 cents, a gallon of milk is more expensive by 76 cents and $53 billion in wealth has vanished from the stock market.

The Democrats promised change in 2006; at the rate they're going, change is all we're going to have left.