News politics 2008-06-03 Andanh.com

Obama's moment also a major juncture in US history Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:02 EDT
The principle that all men are created equal has never been more than a remote eventuality in the quest for the presidency. But with the Democratic nomination finally in Barack Obama's grasp, that ideal is no longer relegated to someday.

Someday is now.

It is a history-making moment - though Obama is not necessarily the candidate many might have expected to make that history. He is the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas. He's too young to remember the civil rights struggle, let alone to have been a soldier in the fight.

"He was impossible to anticipate," says Shola Lynch, director of a documentary about the 1972 campaign waged by Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the New Yorker who was the first black woman to vie for the presidency.

In a country whose self-identity has been warped by racial prejudice since the beginning, this moment has taken an eternity to arrive. Or, viewed over the spectrum of a long, painful history, relatively little time at all.

Barack Obama: Finding common bonds in different worlds Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:35 EDT
He arrived in the city more than two decades ago, a young idealist with an ambition to help the poor - and maybe, to become a writer.

Barack Obama knew nothing of the city's bare-knuckle politics, but he was a good listener and a quick learner. And he liked to talk about social change.

He entered politics on the very bottom rung of the ladder. As a low-paid community organizer, he agitated for jobs in a depressed steel community, better city services, anything that would help poor people improve their lives.

Now a generation later, Barack Obama, the one-time outsider who not long ago was knocking on doors and pounding the pavement just to be heard, is making history - as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and first black candidate representing a major party.

It is a giant leap in his already improbable journey from the exotic corners of Hawaii and Indonesia to the halls of privilege of Cambridge, Mass., the poverty-wracked streets of Chicago and finally, the corridors of power on Capitol Hill.

Former President Carter says he will endorse Obama Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:35 EDT
Former President Carter says he'll endorse Democrat Barack Obama after the polls close on the final primaries.

Carter told The Associated Press on Tuesday: "The fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight." Carter spoke to the AP after addressing the Georgia World Congress Center.

Carter, a superdelegate, has remained officially neutral in the race but has offered high praise to Obama. Carter has noted that his children, grandchildren and their spouses back the Illinois senator.

South Dakota and Montana hold primaries Tuesday.

Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:28 EDT
Hillary Rodham Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.

On a conference call with other New York lawmakers, Clinton, a New York senator, said she was willing to become Obama's vice presidential nominee if it would help Democrats win the White House, according to a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to speak for Clinton.

Clinton's remarks came in response to a question from Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who said she believed the best way for Obama to win key voting blocs, including Hispanics, would be for him to choose Clinton as his running mate.

"I am open to it," Clinton replied, if it would help the party's prospects in November.

Clinton also told colleagues the delegate math was not there for her to overtake Obama, but that she wanted to take time to determine how to leave the race in a way that would best help Democrats.

Clinton set to concede delegate race to Obama Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:32 EDT
Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

Obama is 37.5 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, but he is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana. Once he reaches the magic number of 2,118, Clinton will acknowledge that he has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee.

The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City.

She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.

Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid through June 15, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge her plans.

Today on the presidential campaign trail Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:12 EDT
IN THE HEADLINES

Long Democratic primary season ends with Obama poised to win and Clinton weighing exit ... 'Voters do have a memory': Clinton-supporting governors prepare to sell their switch to Obama ... Campaign says Bill Clinton regrets language in tirade against writer

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Long primary season ends with Obama ahead

CHICAGO (AP) - Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton heaved toward the finish line in their exhaustive Democratic presidential odyssey with Obama poised to claim victory and Clinton facing the prospects of having to abandon a quest that once seemed a sure shot but became one of long odds.

Clinton's governors set to sell switch to Obama Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:18 EDT
Eleven of the nation's governors will have to perform some political sleight of hand now that Barack Obama has effectively clinched the Democratic nomination for president. After months of supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton, they will have to convince voters they're just as happy with her rival.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland repeatedly has said Obama is less experienced than Clinton. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said the election was not about choosing a rock star.

"He needs a little more seasoning," Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas said at a rally last August where he announced his endorsement of Clinton.

Nonetheless, an Associated Press tally of convention delegates found that Obama had effectively locked up the nomination as of Tuesday.

Other governors supporting Clinton include Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, along with the chief executives of Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York and North Carolina.

Pension system talks to continue Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
Legislative leaders plan to meet again next Monday in an effort to find common ground on overhauling the state's financially strapped retirement systems in anticipation of a special lawmaking session later this month.

After the leaders met for nearly six hours Monday behind closed doors in the Capitol, Senate President David Williams said he is "disappointed that we aren't going to be able to make more progress than it appears."

Unless more sweeping changes are made, Williams said he has doubts about the "justification of a special session." Williams, R-Burkesville, said he would like to see Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear "give the green light" to leaders in the Democratic-led House so that more changes to the pension system could be made in a special session tentatively scheduled to begin June 23.

Williams declined to say specifically what he and Senate leaders want done beyond Beshear's proposal. The Republican-led Senate has been backing a defined contribution pension plan, a 401(k)-style retirement program.

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said such a program won't happen. He also said the House will not move classified school employees, such as school bus drivers and cooks, into a new retirement system.

Beshear bans discrimination for sexual orientation Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday reversed several worker-related decisions made by his Republican predecessor, most notably by reinstating a ban on discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Beshear signed an executive order that bars state officials from making hiring or firing decisions based on sexual preference or gender identity.

"Experience, qualifications, talent and performance are what matter," Beshear said in a statement.

Democratic former Gov. Paul Patton signed an executive order in 2003 aimed at protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender state employees. The policy also bars discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, age and religion.

But Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher removed sexual orientation from the list of specifically protected characteristics as part of an executive order he signed on Diversity Day in April 2006.

Obama nears magic number of superdelegates Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:02 EDT
Barack Obama inched closer to clinching the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, as talk swirled that Hillary Clinton would soon end her bid.

As voters in Montana and South Dakota went to the polls in the year's final primaries, Obama's campaign estimated Tuesday afternoon that it was only 33.5 delegates short of the 2,118 needed to nominate. The Associated Press said he needed fewer than 40.

Earlier Tuesday, AP quoted anonymous campaign officials saying that Clinton would say later in the evening that Obama had secured enough delegates to win.

The Clinton campaign quickly issued a one-sentence statement saying flatly, "The AP story is incorrect. Sen. Clinton will not concede this evening."

Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told CNN that the campaign expects to continue trying to convince superdelegates that Clinton has won more popular votes than Obama and that she'd be the strongest candidate this fall against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

Beshear's former law firm to represent him Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
Gov. Steve Beshear has turned to his former law firm of Stites & Harbison to represent him and the governor's office in the lawsuit brought by Senate President David Williams over road funding.

After deciding to outsource his legal representation, Beshear tasked his general counsel, Ellen Hesen, with spearheading the bidding process that included "several" firms.

He dismissed a notion that hiring his former employer could give a perception that he played favorites.

"If there is, there is," he said. "I wanted to get who I considered to be the best lawyers to represent me on such an important issue."

Williams, a Republican from Burkesville, filed the suit last month because he said Beshear improperly vetoed a bill outlining how road funds could be spent.

State Medicaid system criticized in study Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
Many Kentuckians struggle with a Medicaid system plagued by confusing rules, poor communication and lousy customer service, according to a study released Monday by a non-profit children's advocacy group.

The report -- based on a series of focus groups held in nine counties by Kentucky Youth Advocates -- concludes that the Medicaid system, known as Kentucky Health Choices, does not give the parents of enrolled children enough information about their coverage or benefits.

It also found that a toll-free service number provides inadequate answers to benefits questions.

In addition, parents had negative reactions to their experiences seeking help in regional Department of Community Based Services offices and expressed frustration with cumbersome processes required to get pre-approval for medical treatment and to fill "non-preferred" prescriptions.

To remedy the issues, the report makes several suggestions, including:

Chinese Dir