The only vegan member of Congress, Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), was drifting calmly through Cipriani Wall Street on Saturday, May 17, wearing a patterned bow tie, a gold-embossed flag pin and a strangely youthful glow. “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” said Mr. Kucinich, 61, who stopped eating meat decades ago to combat a severe case of Crohn’s disease.  read more »

Usually when a presidential candidate drops out, the immediate question is whether he or she will endorse one of the remaining candidates.

But with Dennis Kucinich, who's spent the last five years seeking the presidency with little to show for it and who formally abandoned his second bid this afternoon, there's a more interesting question: Has he ruined his political career?

Kucinich didn't say so, but the real reason he's dropping out now (instead of hanging around through the convention, as he did in '04) is because his Congressional seat is now imperiled. He faces four primary challengers on March 4, but one of them stands out from the rest: Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman, who has some name recognition, lots of money, and some key machine support. Not coincidentally, it was just a week ago that Frank Jackson, the mayor of Cleveland, endorsed Cimperman over Kucinich in the primary.  read more »

According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Dennis Kucinich will announce he's dropping out of the presidential race tomorrow.

On the night of Jan. 7, NBC’s Jay Leno interviewed Republican candidate for president Ron Paul on the Tonight Show. During the course of the interview, Mr. Leno noted that Mr. Paul had recently been “screwed over” by FOX News execs, who had decided not to invite Mr. Paul to participate in the Republican Forum the night before.  read more »

Would-be serial debate crasher Dennis Kucinich is at it again.

"After failing to qualify for a Democratic presidential candidates debate on Monday in South Carolina, Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich has filed a Federal Communications Commission complaint against host network CNN," reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  read more »

The Nevada State Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of NBC, essentially overturning a lower court’s order requiring MSNBC to include Dennis Kucinich in tonight’s Democratic debate.

“We conclude that the District court manifestly abused its discretion in determining that a contract existed between the parties,” noted the ruling.

The Nevada Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of NBC, essentially overturning a lower court's ruling requiring MSNBC to include Dennis Kucinich in tonight's debate.

"We conclude that the district manifestly abused its discretion in determining that a contract existed between the two parties," noted the ruling.

As expected, this morning at 8:03 a.m (PST), Judge Charles Thompson of Clark County District Court in Nevada signed an order forcing MSNBC to include Dennis Kuncinich in tonight’s Democratic debate.

Citing the “timing” of Mr. Kucinich’s exclusion, the “importance of the caucuses,” and the “obligations of the media,” Judge Thompson ordered MSNBC to include Mr. Kucinich or face a shutdown of the debate:

“[T]he Court finds that the harm to Plaintiff and the public if this Order is not granted outweighs any conceivable harm to Defendant from granting the Order.”

The judge also ordered NBC Universal to pony up a $1,000 bond.

Follow the jump to view the original document.  read more »

This morning, the Media Mob caught up with William McGaha, who is serving as Dennis Kucinich’s lawyer in his battle to be included in tonight’s MSNBC debate at Cashman Center in Las Vegas.

Mr. McGaha said his client’s case was based, in part, on two e-mails the Kucinich camp had received from Jennifer Backus, a political consultant for NBC Universal. The first e-mail, according to Mr. McGaha, spelled out the criteria by which candidates would quality for the debate.  read more »

A Nevada judge ruled yesterday afternoon that MSBNC will have to include Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich in tonight’s debate—or face a possible injunction halting the televised event from occurring.

“The judge called it a matter of fairness and said Nevada voters will benefit if they hear from more than just Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards,” the AP reported Monday afternoon.  read more »