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Democratic canidates for governor rarely come from the Beltway. So the former Clinton adviser, despite endorsements and name recognition, has a tough task

. Slump in social democratic vote boosts centre-right. Crisis, what crisis? says assembly socialist chiefThe morning after the night before, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was either defiant or in denial. The veteran Danish centre-leftist and former prime minister heads the PES, or Party of European Socialists, that groups all the mainstream social democratic movements of the EU.'To those who announce a profound crisis in European socialism', he declared yesterday, 'I say no.'To EU-watchers, political scientists, and pollsters, Rasmussen is inhabiting a ­parallel world. The heartlands of ­traditional fidelity to the centre-left - northern Britain, the cities of the Netherlands, the factory towns of western Germany - have just fallen to a variety of rivals: the far right, the Greens, the Christian democrats and the liberals.The wretched performances of such champions of mass political progress over the past century as the German Social Democratic party, the Dutch Labour party, and the British Lab

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Democratic lawmaker urged President Barack Obama on Monday to consider what steps can be taken to speed access to cheaper versions of biotech medicines ahead of legislation aimed at achieving that goal.

Summer is the time for days at the pool, tall glasses of lemonade and ? this year ? the healthcare debate in Congress. That debate will start to heat up this week as a key proposal will be unveiled in the Senate, the Democratic Party launches a campaign to build grassroots support and a fierce debate plays out between conservative Democrats and liberals over whether to create a government-run plan. President Obama sought to set the tone Saturday when, despite his travels abroad, he used his weekly address to say it's time to get to work on the healthcare overhaul.

Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Chris Dodd, Jack Reed and Frank Lautenberg joined Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, at a press conference this morning to discuss the family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.