This is an example of how the private funding of elections is out of control. It's standard operating procedure. You could probably discover this kind of stuff happens all over the states.

It's really not per se the color that matters; it's that they're not part of the money networks. People in minority groups typically are lower-income, and they don't' have access to the kinds of corporate funding that white people normally would.

Right now, everyone is starting from scratch. To me, there's no obvious front-runner. None of them has really set up organizations.

He's saying it's time for a new face of the Democratic Party. He's not just saying, 'Akaka is old and I'm young,' he's saying he represents a new generation.

It's another example of how local control has been eroded.

For example, the shift control sensors detect acceleration and prepare for the coming up shift by actuating the next gear in the sequence on the parallel gear shaft, but leaving the clutch open until the driver manually shifts. The same process occurs in reverse as speeds decrease and the transmission prepares for a downshift.