News politics 2008-07-03 Andanh.com

Police officer injured in Obama motorcade in Colo. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:58 EDT
Authorities say a Colorado Springs police officer in presidential candidate Barack Obama's motorcade suffered minor injuries when his motorcycle crashed.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said from Washington that the officer lost control of his motorcycle near the onramp of Interstate 25. He said no other vehicles were involved in the accident Wednesday night.

Zahren said Secret Service personnel in the motorcade provided first aid to the officer.

Clinton on first upstate NY swing since campaign Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:48 EDT
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a clear message to her constituents Wednesday: I love New York.

Nearly a month after her historic run for the presidency came to a disappointing end, Clinton returned to upstate New York and focused on local concerns - weather-beaten apples, green power and her state's downtrodden economy.

Along the way, crowds greeted her with standing ovations and chants of "Hillary! Hillary!"

"We find her inspiring," said Sister Joan Sauro of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Syracuse, who was carrying a 2000 Clinton for Senate campaign poster that Clinton had just signed. "What they say about her grace and grit is true. I'm heartbroken that she pulled out of the race ... but that means we in New York have her back."

Clinton had been a frequent visitor to upstate New York before the demands of her presidential run, and she was a regular at the New York State Fair in Syracuse every August. Her most recent trip upstate was in March to attend Gov. David Paterson's inauguration in Albany.

Conservative evangelicals discuss backing McCain Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:13 EDT
Conservative evangelical leaders met privately this week to discuss putting aside their misgivings about John McCain and coalescing around the Republican's presidential bid while urging him to consider social conservative favorite Mike Huckabee as a running mate.

About 90 of the movement's leading activists gathered Tuesday night in Denver for a meeting convened by Mathew Staver, who heads the Florida-based legal advocacy group Liberty Counsel.

Many evangelical leaders backed other GOP candidates early on and remain wary of McCain's commitment to their causes and his previous criticisms of movement leaders. But with the presidential field now set, many evangelical leaders are taking a more pragmatic view, realizing also that the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, is making a strong play for evangelical voters and talking freely about his faith.

"Our shared core values compel us to unite and choose the presidential candidate that best advances those values," said Staver, who previously backed Huckabee's bid. "That obvious choice is Sen. John McCain. I think people left the meeting in unity the likes of which have not been evident through the primaries."

The group also agreed to sign a letter urging the McCain campaign to consider Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist minister, as his vice presidential choice, said another participant, Phil Burress. Burress, who heads an Ohio group that helped pass an anti-gay marriage measure in that state in 2004, was among a group of conservative Christian leaders who met with McCain last week.

McCain denies roughing up Sandinista Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:48 EDT
John McCain denied a Republican colleague's claim that he roughed up an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on a diplomatic mission in 1987, saying the allegation was "simply not true."

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., told a Mississippi newspaper that he saw McCain, during a trip to Nicaragua led by former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., grab an Ortega associate by his shirt collar and lift him out of his chair.

The Republican presidential contender, who is known for his hot temper, was questioned about the alleged incident at a news conference Wednesday here. He noted that at the time, he had been asked to co-chair a Central American working group in the Senate with Democrat Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and had made several trips to the region in that role.

"I had many, many meetings with the Sandinistas," McCain said. "I must say, I did not admire the Sandinistas much. But there was never anything of that nature. It just didn't happen."

His comments did not square with Cochran's detailed recollection of the alleged incident.

Today on the presidential campaign trail Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:20 EDT
IN THE HEADLINES

McCain to tour Colombian drug interdiction efforts, says illegal drugs a major challenge ... With Obama atop Dem ticket, candidates from Mississippi to Wisconsin use race as wedge issue ... GOP Sen. Cochran says McCain roughed up a Sandinista on diplomatic visit to Nicaragua in 1987 ... AP-Yahoo News poll: More would invite Obama than McCain to barbecue; Public cool to Michelle, doesn't know Cindy

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McCain to tour Colombian drug control efforts

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) - Republican John McCain planned to tour a Colombian port by boat Wednesday to get a firsthand look at the country's drug interdiction programs, a day after he praised President Alvaro Uribe for Colombia's anti-drug efforts but pressed him to improve the government's record on human rights.

Poll: Obama beats McCain as barbecue guest Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:20 EDT
People would rather barbecue burgers with Barack Obama than with John McCain.

While many are still deciding who should be president, by 52 percent to 45 percent they would prefer having Obama than McCain to their summer cookout, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Wednesday.

Men are about evenly divided between the two while women prefer Obama by 11 percentage points. Whites prefer McCain, minorities Obama. And Obama is a more popular guest with younger voters while McCain does best with the oldest.

Having Obama to a barbecue would be like a relaxed family gathering, while inviting McCain "would be more like a retirement party than something fun," said Wesley Welbourne, 38, a systems engineer from Washington, D.C.

Party label means a lot, with three-quarters of Democrats picking the Democrat Obama and the same number of Republicans picking McCain, a Republican. Independents are about evenly split.

Poll: Public cool to Michelle, doesn't know Cindy Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:20 EDT
The public hasn't taken to Michelle Obama yet, especially whites. And it's got a question about Cindy McCain: Who is she?

People are divided over whether they like the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, with 30 percent seeing her favorably and 35 percent unfavorably, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Wednesday.

They tilt positively toward the spouse of Republican hopeful John McCain, by 27 percent to 17 percent.

In other words: While the two women are about equally liked, Michelle Obama is twice as disliked as Cindy McCain.

"Cindy seems like she's laid back and not trying to run her husband," said Linda Kaiser, 60, a Republican and church secretary from Clairton, Pa. "It's nice to have a brain, but they should let their husband be president."

McCain, Obama hide immigration similarities Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:13 EDT

WASHINGTON . When it comes to immigration, Barack Obama and John McCain generally agree. It's just that they don't want to say so.

Instead, the White House rivals accuse each other of flinching when it mattered most, during and after last year's Senate debate on a bill that would have given millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

McCain .was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it,. Obama said Saturday in an appearance before The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. .But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment and he's said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote..

McCain had spoken earlier in the day to the same group, and his campaign swiftly countered his rival's charge. .Obama put politics first and supported .poison pill' efforts to kill the immigration reform compromise last year,. it said in a written rebuttal.

Obama says faith has role if he's elected Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:13 EDT

WASHINGTON . Barack Obama said Tuesday that if he were elected president he'd have his own version of President Bush's office of faith-based initiatives that would .help set our national agenda. and inject morality into policy debates about everything from AIDS to genocide.

Obama, who's criticized Bush's initiative as politicized and underfunded, would prohibit religious discrimination in hiring or services by the groups that received federal funds from his .Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.. He estimated that the program would cost $500 million a year. He said he'd keep Bush's 11 faith-based offices and expand participation by smaller religious groups.

Obama, a former constitutional law professor, said he was committed to ensuring the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. He said that federal grants would go only to secular programs run by religious groups, programs that don't advocate religion.

The prospective Democratic nominee's remarks drew much attention, as Obama again is presenting a more centrist image to voters than he did in party primary contests.

McCain aide takes over day-to-day campaign duties Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:28 EDT
John McCain put a top adviser in control of day-to-day campaign operations Wednesday after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that the GOP presidential campaign had not made the transition for the general election.

Steve Schmidt, a veteran of President Bush's re-election and a member of the Arizona senator's inner circle, will oversee daily political, strategy, coalitions, scheduling and communications efforts from the campaign's northern Virginia headquarters.

The campaign's estimated 300-person staff will report to Schmidt, who will report to campaign manager Rick Davis.

Davis will continue to focus on long-term planning, the vice presidential search, fundraising and the national convention but Schmidt's added responsibilities mean the campaign manager's load now will be somewhat lighter. Davis took the reins of the campaign almost exactly a year ago amid a major staff shake-up and has been the subject of Democratic criticism for his past lobbying work.

He told the staff of Schmidt's expanded role at a Wednesday meeting at headquarters, saying that Schmidt would have "full operational control" of the campaign's daily activities.

McCain polishes his foreign policy visits Colombia, Mexico Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:13 EDT

CARTAGENA, Colombia . John McCain's trip here Tuesday was part of an unusual three-day presidential campaign swing to Latin America with a dual message for voters back home.

By visiting Colombia and Mexico, McCain wants to emphasize to all voters that he has stronger foreign policy credentials than Barack Obama, his Democratic rival.

McCain also wants to appeal specifically to Hispanics in the United States by expressing his concern for problems in Latin America.

.Hispanics are a very important voter bloc in some key states,. Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said, citing Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida. .It's a bloc that Obama didn't score well with against Hillary Clinton. during the Democratic primaries.

Chinese Dir