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WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb announced he has formed an exploratory committee to help him determine whether he'll run for president in 2016.

"Is it possible that our next President could actually lay out a vision for the country, and create an environment where leaders from both parties and from all philosophies would feel compelled to work together for the good of the country," Webb asks on the newly launched, Webb2016.com.

"As one who spent four years in the Reagan Administration but who served in the Senate as a Democrat, I believe it is possible. It is also necessary."

A Vietnam War veteran, Webb first appeared on the national political scene as Ronald Reagan's secretary of the Navy in 1987 and 1988. Despite his early political history with the conservative Reagan administration, Webb went onto serve in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat representing Virginia from 2007-2013.

"Forget the polls, the noise and the nasty TV ads. The challenge before us is far greater than the task of winning an election. It is how to govern, with foresight, fairness and administrative skill, once an election is over. We need to put our American house in order, to provide educational and working opportunities that meet the needs of the future, to rebuild our infrastructure and to reinforce our position as the economic engine and the greatest democracy on earth. We need to redefine and strengthen our national security obligations, while at the same time reducing ill-considered foreign ventures that have drained trillions from our economy and in some cases brought instability instead of deterrence."

Without mentioning her by name, Webb also alluded to the potential big-money campaign expected to back former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, if she chooses to run.

"With enough financial support to conduct a first-class campaign, I have no doubt that we can put these issues squarely before the American people and gain their support," Webb writes.

"The 2016 election is two years away, but serious campaigning will begin very soon. The first primaries are about a year away. Your early support will be crucial as I evaluate whether we might overcome what many commentators see as nearly impossible odds."

As a centrist Democrat, Webb was among many Senators short-listed to be Barack Obama's Vice Presidential running mate in 2008, but he publicly stated his disinterest at the time. Three years later, amidst struggling, but net-positive, approval ratings, Webb announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate.

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Virginia Democrat Jim Webb forms presidential exploratory committee

Tim Johnson, the South Dakota Democrat who wrote a bill to eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sat in the walnut-paneled chambers of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday and said Congress might never get rid of the two companies.

Johnson looked at Mel Watt, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who was testifying before the committee, and told him to terminate U.S. control of the two companies. That would end a six-year political battle over dissolving the two mortgage giants, giving them another chance to prove they can carry the home loan system as private companies.

If Congress cannot agree on a smooth, more certain path forward, I urge you, Director Watt, to engage the Treasury Department in talks to end the conservatorship, said Johnson, who is set to retire in December.

Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are soaring on the news. After the hearing, Watt told reporters that he wouldnt rule out talks with Treasury about ending conservatorship in the long term. Fannie Mae shares rose 6.4 percent to $2.48 as of 10:29 a.m. in New York. Freddie Mac increased 8 percent to $2.42.

Johnson is the first lawmaker to publicly say that regulators may have to take control of the companies futures. He echoes the predictions of housing analysts that there is no chance the Republican leadership taking over the Senate will reach an agreement with Democrats and President Barack Obama to reform a system that guarantees affordable mortgages to most Americans. That would leave the overhaul to Watt, who has already begun to make a series of changes, from streamlining operations to transfers of mortgage-bond risk to private investors.

If we could get Congress to do something that would pass, it would be the best solution, said Clifford Rossi, a finance professor at the University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business in College Park. But its clear that its highly unlikely, particularly after the midterm elections, that were going to get legislation again.

Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac, which buy mortgages and package them into bonds backed by a government guarantee, were seized by regulators in 2008 as losses on defaulted loans pushed them toward insolvency.

After a $187.5 billion taxpayer bailout, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rebounded and are now required to send the Treasury all of their profits. Theyve paid a combined $225.5 billion, which is counted as a return on the U.S. investment and not as repayment, leaving the government-sponsored enterprises without a legal avenue to exit conservatorship on their own. The U.S. government owns a 79 percent senior stake in the two companies.

The extent of Treasury and FHFAs power to free Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control is under debate.

Jim Parrott, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and former housing-policy adviser to Obama, said Treasury and FHFA would need congressional approval to change the current system.

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Regulators Urged to Set Fannie-Freddie Free From U.S.

The Indian-American Democrat edged out his competition Republic Doug Ose by a narrow margin of 1,432 votes to represent Californias 7th Congressional District, reports Rediff.coms Aziz Haniffa.

He said he wouldnt give up and would continue fighting till the very end and on Thursday, he was all smiles as he emerged victorious in the United States mid-term elections.

Dr Amerish Ami Bera, a Democrat, retained the Californias 7th District seat, two weeks after the polls for ended.

On Thursday, the Registrar announced that Bera had a 1,432 vote lead over his opponent Republican Doug Ose, who served in Congress from 1999 to 2005.

An ecstatic Bera, who was present at Capitol Hills Congressional Diwali celebrations, said, Its been my honour serving this community as a doctor for the last 19 years and I am grateful that I will have the opportunity to continue serving as the representative for Californias 7th Congressional District in Congress.

On November 4, election night, even though all of the precincts reported that Ose had gotten a better start than incumbent Bera, the Democrat refused to concede defeat.

MUST READ:Clinton backs Ami Bera, calls him 'embodiment of American Dream'

At that point, he had told Rediff.com, I am not going to concede at all. It was going to be a tough one and this was always expected.

Bera pointed out, If you remember in the contest in 2012, we were tied and after the ballots were counted, we won by over 9,000 votes.

He added, The Registrar has tens of thousands of votes that havent even been counted.

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Ami Bera, only Indian-American in US Congress, wins tight race

Second-ranking Senate Democrat Richard Durbin will oppose the nomination of Antonio Weiss to a top Treasury position, a Senate Democratic aide said today.

Durbin joins Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in opposition to Weiss, the global head of investment banking at Lazard Ltd. (LAZ), to be Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance.

Lazard, a merger advisory firm, has been involved in several tax-inversion deals, in which companies reduce their U.S. tax bills by moving their addresses overseas.

Durbin of Illinois, a congressional ally of President Barack Obama, has concerns about Weisss work on corporate inversions, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the senators views.

A top White House aide said Weiss still can be approved by the Senate.

Im confident that hes confirmable, White House adviser John Podesta said a phone interview. We intend to fight for his confirmation with Democrats and Republicans because we think hes very well qualified.

The split among Democrats could complicate prospects for the nomination, said Senator John Thune of South Dakota, a Finance Committee member and the third-ranking Republican in the Senate.

Obviously, weve got to fill these positions, theyre important positions and theyre going to be making the nominees, Thune said today without taking a position on Weiss. If youve got Dem-on-Dem fights on some of these issues, I think it complicates it, makes it harder to clear the deck to get them done.

Antonio Weiss, global head of investment banking at Lazard Ltd., speaks at the Bloomberg Markets 50 Summit in New York, on Sept. 13, 2012. Close

Antonio Weiss, global head of investment banking at Lazard Ltd., speaks at the... Read More

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Durbin Said to Oppose Obama Choice of Weiss to Treasury Post

The Evolution of a Muslim Democrat: The Life of Malaysias Anwar Ibrahim. By Charles Allers. New York: Peter Lang, 2013. 345 pp.

Any attempt at offering a biography of Malaysias enigmatic politician Anwar Ibrahim (b. 1947) will be intriguing for many reasons. Perhaps more than any other political igure in contemporary Malaysia, Anwar has led a life whose vicissitudes have seen him oscillating from high points popular student irebrand, social activistintellectual, rising star of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), handpicked protg of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (b. 1925), minister and deputy prime minister, right down to the lowest points that one can imagine twice an Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee, convict stripped of human dignity, constantly excoriated opposition leader and purported hypocrite accused of heinous sexual crimes unbecoming of a professed Muslim holding leadership aspirations in religiously conservative Malaysia. Harnessing information from variegated sources, including personal interviews and published analyses of Malaysian politics and of Anwar Ibrahims diverse roles in it, The Evolution of a Muslim Democrat should be commended for ably capturing the different and even contrasting nuances of Anwars political life.

Far from being a blatantly lattering portrayal of Anwar Ibrahim as a consummate political leader once touted to be Malaysias Prime Minister in waiting, Allers account does not refrain from detailing episodes of Anwars political career that have exposed him to allegations of inconsistency, opportunism and unprincipled politicking. One example is Anwars alleged compromise on money politics during his days of ascendancy in UMNO, culminating in the victory of his Wawasan (Vision) Team of which present Prime Minister Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin were members in the fractious party elections of 1993. While employing analyses proffered by scholars critical of Anwars having indulged in patronage politics such as K.S. Jomo, Edmund Terence Gomez and Kikue Hamayotsu, Allers balances his account by citing

the analyses of Peter Riddell, Meredith Weiss and Khoo Boo Teik, among others, all of whom are inclined to offer mitigating factors in explaining Anwars antics in exculpatory terms.

Another instance of vacillation in Anwar Ibrahims political posture that Allers chronicles is his position on the draconian ISA, which had authorized detention without trial since its inauguration in 1960. Quoted in 1992 having defended the selective retention of the Act, Anwar remained mute for the large part of Prime Minister Mahathirs recurrent instances of recourse to the oppressive legislation. These instances resulted in gross violations of human rights, as during the Operation Lallang round-up against civil rights campaigners in 1987 and the governments clampdown on the Darul Arqam dakwah (missionary) movement in 1994. Only when out of power, and after undergoing the traumatic experience of both preventive and judicial incarceration from the time of his post-sacking arrest in 1998 until 2004, did Anwar unwaveringly oppose the ISA. For the record, Prime Minister Najib Razak eventually announced the repeal of the ISA in September 2011, but replaced it the following year with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act of 2012.

Just prior to Operation Lallang, Anwar in his capacity as minister of education and with the backing of the chauvinistic UMNO Youth then led by Najib Razak also clashed with proponents of Chinese-medium education who resented what they regarded as Anwars unwarranted intrusion into their affairs. Such dabbling in ethnocentric politics, which diehard Anwar supporters would rationalize as a means of winning over the grass-roots Malay-Muslim support necessary for political advancement in UMNO, remains a black spot in his career. That career has featured an otherwise inclusive appeal to harmonious ethno-religious relations in the manner of convivencia in medieval Spain. The question of Anwars mixed history of yielding to pragmatic politics aside, Allers gives prominence to pluralism as a major aspect of Anwars religio-political thought that has gained credence globally, especially since his heavy-handed treatment by Malaysias ruling establishment after 1998. Amidst the trials and tribulations that have befallen Anwar as a political

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Book Review : The Evolution of a Muslim Democrat