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comes at a cost all its own.
• --Think of what other things they could be spending that time on if they weren't courting donors: say, governing, or preparing to govern. Or talking to a broad swath of voters rather than campaign partisans.
• --Think of what else all that money -- sure to exceed $1 billion -- could be used for: Fighting poverty? Improving education? Putting a nick in the $15.8 trillion national debt?
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- As a safety demonstration, it was a heart-stopper: A Ford Taurus was seconds away from cruising through an intersection when suddenly a row of red lights pulsed on the lower windshield and a warning blared that another car was approaching fast on the cross street.
• Braking quickly, the driver stopped just as the second car, previously unseen behind a large parked truck, barreled through a red light and across the Ford's path.
• The display at a recent transportation conference was a peek into the future of automotive safety: cars that to talk to each other and warn drivers of impending collisions. Later this summer, the government is launching a yearlong, real-world test involving nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses using volunteer drivers in Ann Arbor,

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