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| Democratic race set to enter homestretch Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:44 EDT Hillary Clinton could win the battle but still lose the war.The New York senator approaches Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary clinging to a small lead in the polls, poised to ride support from whites, women and working-class Democrats to a possible victory over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.It may not be enough.Even with a Pennsylvania win, she'll still trail in delegates and the nationwide popular vote as the Democratic presidential campaign enters the homestretch, a six-week rush that will give voters their last say in who wins the nomination.By the time voting ends on June 3, more than 25 million Democrats will have voted in most of the country, likely giving a preference but not the nomination to Obama. |
| Thousands of Pennsylvanians are switching parties to vote for Obama Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:44 EDT David Butler voted for Richard Nixon in 1972, then kept voting for GOP candidates through Watergate, Reaganomics and the Bill Clinton years.This year, though, the 59-year-old teacher switched his registration to Democrat, and he said he plans to vote Tuesday for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.Since Jan. 1, more than 178,000 people in Pennsylvania have changed their party affiliations, and 92 percent of them have gone from Republican or independent to Democrat.Some 4.2 million Democrats are eligible to vote in Tuesday's presidential primary, and the Pennsylvania Department of State predicted Monday that turnout could be as high as 50 percent.If a big chunk of the party-switchers side with Obama, they could give him a decided edge. |
| Clinton, Obama start their closing arguments in Pennsylvania Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:43 EDT Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton spent Monday, their last day before Pennsylvania's pivotal presidential primary, scrapping for votes on the airwaves, in diners and at rallies across the state.Polls showed that Clinton maintained a 5- to 7-percentage-point lead through the weekend, small enough to suggest that Obama could pull an upset.Both camps labored hard to keep expectations down and gain any edge in last-minute campaigning. Clinton headed to Scranton, home turf of sorts for her, since her grandfather worked in a local lace mill and her father was born there."One day to victory, that's what the challenge is," the New York senator told an enthusiastic crowd. "We really need to bear down."Obama, also in Scranton, ate waffles at a local diner - perhaps some symbolism to remind voters of his claims that Clinton often changes positions on key issues, such as the Iraq war. |
| North Carolina Dems abandon plans to host debate Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:08 EDT The North Carolina Democratic Party on Monday dropped plans to host a presidential debate this weekend, citing time constraints and logistical issues.Barack Obama had declined to commit to the event, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, saying he wasn't sure it would fit into his schedule. The Illinois senator previously had agreed to debate in North Carolina on April 19.Hillary Rodham Clinton had agreed to the later date, and the state's Democratic leaders had urged Obama to join her.The forum would have been the first moderated by CBS News anchor Katie Couric.Obama and Clinton have debated 21 times during the campaign, including last Wednesday night in Philadelphia. |
| Clinton, Obama and McCain on WWE's `Monday Night Raw' Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:08 EDT A smackdown among presidential candidates?Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain will appear on World Wrestling Entertainment's live "Monday Night Raw" (8-11 p.m. EST on cable's USA network) but instead of smacking each other down, they separately will deliver some wrestling-themed stumping in taped messages before Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary."Tonight, in honor of the WWE, you can call me Hillrod," Clinton says in her message. "This election is starting to feel a lot like 'King of the Ring.' The only difference? The last man standing may just be a woman."Obama borrows The Rock's famous catchphrase during his appearance."To the special interests who've been setting the agenda in Washington for too long and to all the forces of division and distraction that has stopped us from making progress, for the American people, I've got one question: Do you smell what Barack is cooking?" Obama says before flashing a smile. |
| Candidates get ready to rumble ... verbally Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:38 EDT They've talked a lot of smack. Now the presidential candidates are taking it to the ring.Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have accepted an invitation to try to settle their long-running nomination fight primary on the World Wrestling Entertainment's popular "Monday Night Raw" program.Unfortunately for wrestling fans, they won't be trading any blows. Physically, at least.Neither would agree to appear against each other in person, so they taped messages to air on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary. Republican John McCain added his message as well.Clinton tells fans to call her "Hill-Rod," recites her agenda and promises to be "a president who will go to the mat for you." |
| Analysis: As Dems stumble toward summer, GOP cries for more Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:08 EDT If the long-running Democratic presidential race were a play, Republicans would be clamoring for even more after the six-week intermission now giving way to the Pennsylvania primary.Little more than a month ago, few voters knew of Barack Obama's controversial pastor or Hillary Rodham Clinton's make-believe story about sniper fire in Bosnia.Obama hadn't ruminated to his own detriment about bitterness in small-town America. And Clinton hadn't felt it necessary to rearrange her staff after her top strategist supported a Colombian free trade pact she opposes.Obama hadn't bowled. Nor the former first lady gamely knocked back a shot of Crown Royal, then picked up a beer mug.All this - and more - has occurred since the most recent Democratic primaries, Clinton's late-winter wins in Texas and Ohio on March 4 and Obama's victory in Mississippi a week later. |
| Mixing business with politics Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:55 EDT More than one in five state lawmakers sponsor measures that would directly benefit their outside businesses, investments, employers or industries, a Herald-Leader analysis of public records shows.For example, Democratic Sen. David Boswell, who annually crusades for legalized casino gambling in Kentucky, is also citizen David Boswell, sales manager and registered Frankfort lobbyist for the Owensboro Executive Inn, which wants to open a casino on its premises. Boswell said he would have pushed for casinos regardless of who pays his salary. But he added that a casino would help the hotel, and what's good for his employer is also good for his Senate district."When this facility doesn't do well, it sends out a shock wave across the community," Boswell said.The Kentucky Constitution forbids legislators from voting on measures in which they hold a personal interest. However, that law is interpreted in such a way as to render it essentially meaningless. The Legislative Ethics Commission says it has not reprimanded any lawmakers for conflict of interest in more than a decade.Senate Republicans scored points this session by accusing House budget Chairman Harry Moberly of a conflict for funding projects at Eastern Kentucky University, where he is executive vice president. But Moberly, D-Richmond, is hardly unique. Kentucky's part-time lawmakers, most of whom work elsewhere when the General Assembly is not in session, routinely push bills, amendments and budget requests related to their jobs. |
| Democrats shake their heads, point their fingers Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:05 EDT The governor summed up the end to his first General Assembly as "disappointing," while lawmakers described the last day's worth of legislative meltdowns in harsher terms laced with disgust."It ended in possibly the poorest fashion I can remember in the 16 years I've been here," said Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville -- one of many Democratic lawmakers who have publicly complained about how it all fell apart.Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear offered one explanation for the burned-up last-minute attempts to compromise on overhauling the state employee pension system, changing government ethics laws and approving road construction. He said they were casualties of a "seeming dysfunction with the legislative process."But the often tumultuous 2008 session -- particularly its spectacular flame-out -- revealed just as much about the disjointed leadership of the Kentucky Democrats as it did about the breakdowns of the broader legislative process.Various groups of Democrats in the Capitol are blaming one another: |
| Obama is flush, Clinton in debt Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:51 EDT Hillary Rodham Clinton is struggling with debt, Barack Obama would like to turn his whopping financial advantage into primary victories, and an uncontested John McCain still lags in fundraising even as he broadens his money-raising apparatus.Financial reports filed Sunday offered a window into the challenges facing the presidential campaigns as Clinton and Obama continue to slug it out for the Democratic nomination and Republican McCain awaits off stage.Obama began the month of April with $42 million in the bank for the primary to Clinton's $9.3 million.But Clinton had debts of $10.3 million at the start of the month, much of it money owed to her main polling, phone banking and advertising consultants. The largest single debt was to the firm of her demoted former chief strategist, Mark Penn.She also owed $1.17 million to The Spoken Hub, a phone bank operation, and $528,000 to ad maker Mandy Grunwald's firm. |
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