News politics 2008-06-02 Andanh.com

Details for the Mont., SD primaries Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:36 EDT
Only two states have yet to hold Democratic presidential contests. Here are the details for Tuesday's races:

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Next stop: Montana primary

At stake: 16 Democratic delegates

2004: George W. Bush won the state with 59 percent in the presidential election.

Obama quits Chicago church steeped in controversy Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:01 EDT
Barack Obama said Saturday he has resigned his 20-year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago "with some sadness" in the aftermath of inflammatory remarks by his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and more recent fiery remarks at the church by a visiting priest.

"This is not a decision I come to lightly ... and it is one I make with some sadness," Obama said at a news conference after campaign officials released a letter of resignation he sent to the church on Friday.

"I'm not denouncing the church and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church," he said, adding that the new pastor at Trinity and "the church have been suffering from the attention my campaign has focused on them."

Obama said he and his wife have been discussing the issue since Wright's appearance at the National Press Club in Washington last month, which reignited the furor over remarks Wright had made in various sermons at the church.

"I suspect we'll find another church home for our family," Obama said.

Adwatch: Clinton popular vote claim debatable Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:26 EDT
TITLE: "17 Million"

LENGTH: 30 seconds

AIRING: Montana and South Dakota

SCRIPT: Announcer: "Tuesday, it's up you. You can join over 17 million people who've voted for a leader to fix the economy. 17 million for a commander in chief to bring our troops home from Iraq. 17 million who want to beat John McCain. 17 million Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton. More than for any primary candidate in history. Some say there isn't a single reason for Hillary to be the Democratic nominee. They're right. There are over 17 million of them.

Clinton: "I'm Hillary Clinton and I approved this message."

Chicago priest apologizes for Clinton comment Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:31 EDT
The Chicago priest whose comments mocking Hillary Rodham Clinton reignited the controversy over Barack Obama's former church stood before his own parishioners Sunday and apologized.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger said he isn't racist or sexist and called the past few days "the most painful" of his life.

"I apologize for anyone who was offended and who thought it to be mockery," he said at his church, St. Sabina's. "That was neither my intent nor was it my heart."

Pfleger said he's received more than 3,000 angry and threatening e-mails since he was a guest preacher last Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's former church.

During that sermon, Pfleger, a Catholic priest, pretended he was Clinton crying over "a black man stealing my show."

Today on the presidential campaign trail Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:51 EDT
IN THE HEADLINES

Obama ends 20-year membership in Chicago church steeped in controversy over pastors' remarks ... Officials say Fla., Mich. delegates will get half-votes ... Clinton, her fate all but sealed, dances her way through the final days of the primaries ...

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Obama quits Chicago church steeped in controversy

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - Barack Obama has resigned his 20-year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago "with some sadness" in the aftermath of inflammatory remarks by his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and more recent fiery remarks at the church by a visiting priest.

Obama plans to celebrate victory at site of Mondale's concession Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:16 EDT
It was with a bit of fanfare that Barack Obama's campaign this weekend announced that the Illinois senator would hold his final primary night rally of the year Tuesday on Republican turf.

A symbolic shot across their bow, if you will.

But the site they chose might have Democratic ghosts.

As the final primary votes are cast Tuesday in Montana and South Dakota, Obama and his wife will travel not to one of those places but to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they will attend a rally at the Xcel Energy Center, a downtown arena where the Republican National Convention will be held this summer.

The campaign hopes it's a potent sign of how he will take the fight to the Republicans on their own turf, assuming he wins the Democratic nomination. They also think it's a sign of his he'll fight for closely competitive states such as Minnesota.

Clinton wins easily in Puerto Rico Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:16 EDT
Hillary Clinton easily won Puerto Rico's presidential primary Sunday, according to network projections, a win she hoped would give her a desperately needed boost.

But Barack Obama's camp shrugged off the result and predicted he'd soon clinch the Democratic nomination.

Clinton was expected to win Puerto Rico by a wide margin, and the long-anticipated outcome should do little to change the dynamics of the race.

Obama began the day with 2,052 delegates to Clinton's 1,877, with 2,118 needed to nominate after Saturday's party rules committee decision to give Michigan and Florida's delegates a half-vote each.

Despite Clinton's win Sunday, her camp was still seething over that ruling and continuing to make a case for her nomination.

Polls are at odds in race for Senate Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT
Everything about Kentucky's U.S. Senate race so far suggests that observers should have a Ph.D in mathematics to make any sense of it.

Last week, two polls with seemingly conflicting results became public. One, from the Rasmussen Reports opinion polling firm, showed Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford ahead of Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.

McConnell's internal campaign polling, meanwhile, showed the senator with a double-digit lead.

So how can one figure out which candidate starts with the inside track to victory?

Simple. More numbers.

Clinton wins Puerto Rico but Obama gains delegates Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:16 EDT
Hillary Rodham Clinton won a lopsided, but largely symbolic victory in Puerto Rico's presidential primary, the final act in a weekend of tumult that pushed Barack Obama tantalizingly close to the Democratic presidential nomination.

The former first lady was winning roughly two-thirds of the votes as she continued a strong run through the late primaries.

Before cheering supporters Sunday, she predicted she would have more combined votes than her rival when the primaries end Tuesday night, claimed victories in key swing states and said that no contender will command enough delegates to claim the nomination.

"In the final assessment I ask you to consider these questions. Which candidate best represents the will of the people who voted in this historic election?" she said in an appeal to some 200 uncommitted superdelegates who hold the balance of power in the fight for the nomination.

"Which candidate is best able to lead us to victory in November and which candidate is best able to lead our nation as our president in the face of unprecedented challenges at home and abroad?"

Chinese Dir