News politics 2008-07-30 Andanh.com

Beshear: Aides will continue trips Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:14 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear will continue taking members of his cabinet on his 13-city town hall tour and will fly to other stops just as he and aides did last week at a cost of $7,088.

.I happen to think it's important to listen to what the people of this commonwealth think,. he said in Lexington Monday at the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts convention. .So when I'm going around the state for the next two months, I'm going to take the cabinet secretaries with me regardless of whether the Herald-Leader likes it or not..

The Herald-Leader reported last week that the administration chartered a flight for $4,474 and used the two state planes that cost $2,614 to fly Beshear and 15 aides to Virgie in Pike County for the first town hall meeting in the governor's two-month tour.

Earlier in his remarks to the conservation group, Beshear said: .In these tough times, all of government is being called on to do more with less. I've worked hard in my first half of a year to find efficiencies where feasible..

Louisville lawmaker to offer slots bill Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:14 EDT

Following the failure earlier this year of Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear's push for casinos, Rep. Tom Burch is writing legislation for the 2009 General Assembly that would allow 18,000 slot machines in Kentucky.

Burch, D-Louisville, issued a statement Monday saying that roughly 6,000 of those slots would be spread around at the eight horse racing tracks, while the others would be available to counties whose citizens vote to approve them.

.The time has come to either pass a bill regarding gambling or stop wasting taxpayers' dollars debating the issue,. Burch said in the statement. .This bill would allow each and every county to have slot machines, but only if each county so desires to have them..

The number of slot machines at racetracks would be determined by the number of 2008 race days, according to the outline of Burch's bill. Turfway Park, with 110 race days this year, would be eligible for the most machines at 1,400. In Lexington, Keene.land could get 545 machines, while The Red Mile could be allotted 740 machines.

Obama's great-uncle recalls liberating Nazi camp Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:23 EDT
Charles T. Payne had his first close brush with history at the end of World War II, when his infantry division liberated Ohrdruf, a subcamp of the Nazis' Buchenwald concentration camp.

Now 83, Payne is experiencing a second brush as the great-uncle of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Payne spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday as Obama, on the other side of the world, prepared to visit the Yad Vashem national Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

In May, Obama mentioned "Uncle Charlie" at a meeting with veterans but mistakenly said Payne had helped liberate Auschwitz, when he should have said Buchenwald. Bloggers seized on the error and the Republican Party demanded an explanation.

Obama's campaign corrected the mistake the next day. Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz as they marched across Poland in January 1945.

Obama pledges unshakable backing for Israel Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:51 EDT

SDEROT, Israel . From the solemnity of a Holocaust museum to a dusty village battered by Hamas rockets, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Wednesday professed .an unshakable commitment to the security. of Israel, whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.

.The way you know where somebody's going is where have they been. And I've been with Israel for many, many years now,. he said on a day that bore striking similarities to campaigning in the United States.

In his public remarks, Obama sidestepped a question of whether he would condone an Israeli attack to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But he said he was confident that in several private meetings he had not left Israeli politicians with the impression that, if elected president, he would be .pressuring them to accept any kinds of concessions that would put their security at stake..

Obama packed more than a half-dozen meetings, a stop at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, a helicopter tour of the country and a visit to a house hit by Hamas rockets into his only full day in Israel during his trip to the Middle East and Europe.

Fired court employee's appeal loses Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:51 EDT

The state court system rejected Wednesday the internal appeal of a fired employee who claimed that the oldest son of Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott was given preferential treatment when promoted in January.

The appeal was filed by fired Administrative Office of the Courts employee Ruth Combs, a pre-trial officer whose employment record includes three disciplinary probations since 1995. She questioned the promotion of the Pikeville justice's oldest son, Andrew H. Scott, 32, to her former job.

The case, which the AOC refused to make public, marked the second time that Andrew Scott was accused of being improperly promoted.

According to Wednesday's decision, written by retired Justice James E. Keller, Combs' appeal had accused Justice Scott of conspiring with AOC Director Jason Nemes to give the younger Scott a supervisor job in Perry County.

Israelis, Palestinians: Mixed feelings about Obama Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:40 EDT
Both Israelis and Palestinians came away from Barack Obama's visit to the Holy Land with the feeling he would do more for Mideast peace than President Bush has. But neither side seemed fully convinced that Obama would have their interests at heart.

Israelis fear that an Obama administration would be too soft on Iran and too hard on them, and his visit didn't seem to fully dispel those concerns. And Palestinians spoke of a clear bias toward Israel.

"Instead of running away from the Middle Eastern issues, he intends to place them on the top of his diplomatic list of priorities," Israeli commentator Nahum Barnea wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily.

The Democratic presidential candidate toured Yad Vashem's Holocaust memorial, where he donned a skullcap, and he stopped in an Israeli town that has been barraged by Palestinian rocket fire. Obama also visited the Western Wall - Judaism's holiest site - where he touched it and prayed. His one stop in the West Bank was the headquarters of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"What if Obama had put a Palestinian headdress on his head, as he put on a Jewish skullcap yesterday? What if he took off his shoes and stepped into the Al-Aqsa mosque, as he did at the Western Wall? That would be balanced behavior," wrote editor Hafeth Barghouti in Thursday's edition of the West Bank newspaper Al-Hayyat al-Jedida.

Rice unconcerned by freelance campaign diplomacy Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:30 EDT
If Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is worried that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is complicating the Bush administration's foreign policy with freelance campaign diplomacy, she isn't showing it.

In her first public comments about Obama's overseas jaunt during which he has contrasted his international approach to that of President Bush in meetings with foreign officials, Rice said the trip was part of the election cycle and would not affect the administration.

"Everybody knows that we are in a presidential campaign, so this a part of America's democratic process," Rice told reporters aboard her plane as she flew from an Asian security conference in Singapore to Australia.

"Sen. Obama is a senator, let's remember. He sits on the Foreign Relations Committee and he is a candidate for president. He is all of those things," she said. "But he has said, and we continue to act on the basis, as do our foreign partners, that this government remains in power until January 2009."

Rice last week reminded U.S. Embassy staff around the world that they should provide only minimal assistance to candidates on campaign trips abroad, but she noted that both Obama and Republican hopeful John McCain had pledged not to run a shadow foreign policy on the stump.

Obama urges Europeans, Americans to defeat terror Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:55 EDT
Cheered by an enormous international crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.

Obama said he was speaking as a citizen, not as a president, but the evening was awash in politics as the first-term U.S. senator sought to burnish his international credentials for the fall campaign at home. His remarks before a crowd estimated at more than 200,000 inevitably invited comparison to historic speeches in the same city by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan.

Now a presidential candidate himself, Obama borrowed rhetoric from his own appeals to campaign audiences this year in the likes of Berlin, N.H., as he spoke in one of the great cities of Europe.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time," he declared.

"The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city.

Concerns in Europe despite Obama's warm welcome Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:16 EDT
The warm welcome that washed over Barack Obama during his Berlin appearance Thursday made it abundantly clear that Europeans have a strong desire to heal the trans-Atlantic rift and the Democratic president candidate is a good choice for the job.

Obama headed on to France and Britain, where he also was expected to be welcomed warmly, but perhaps by not as many people as the 200,000-plus who jammed a rally in the German capital to cheer his calls for change.

His hailing of America's long partnership with its Western allies was well received. But analysts said some parts of Obama's message may not go down well here, particularly his warning that "Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less" on security.

Most notably, he insisted that "we must renew our resolve" to defeat the Taliban and declared that Afghanistan needs "our troops and your troops."

That could prove awkward the German governments and others that are trying to balance their commitment to the war in Afghanistan against polls saying that the mission is unpopular with Europeans.

Voters greet Obama trip with praise, skepticism Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:21 EDT
Calculated political ploy. Timely foreign outreach. A dash of each? Ask voters across the country about Barack Obama's image-packed week of foreign travel and you'll get a mix of admiration, suspicion, even a couple of bored shrugs.

"I didn't know they could vote in our elections," Phil Wadlind, 62, deadpanned as he worked the children's train at The Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, N.H.

Interviewed this week in bus stops and coffee shops, bookstores and shopping malls in six battleground states, these voters ranged from wide-eyed enthusiasts to gimlet-eyed skeptics and many viewed the trip through their own ideological lens.

Ronald Loring, a Miami Beach eye doctor, spoke for many when he observed that Obama had no choice, politically, to make a trip to counter Republican rival John McCain's perceived strength on foreign policy and national security.

"I'm impressed with his ability to communicate," he said. "I don't think that (the trip) will particularly make him a better president." Will he vote for Obama? "I'm sort of torn."

Poll: Obama holds slight lead over McCain Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:30 EDT
THE RACE: The presidential race nationally

---

THE NUMBERS:

Democrat Barack Obama, 40 percent

Republican John McCain, 37 percent

Obama scraps visit to wounded US troops in Germany Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:25 EDT
Sen. Barack Obama scrapped plans to visit wounded members of the armed forces in Germany as part of his overseas trip, a decision his campaign said was made because the Democratic presidential candidate thought it would be inappropriate on a campaign-funded journey.

A campaign adviser said the U.S. military saw the visit as a campaign stop.

"We learned from the Pentagon last night that the visit would be viewed instead as a campaign event," the adviser, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, said in a statement. "Senator Obama did not want to have a trip to see our wounded warriors perveived as a campaign event when his visit was to show his appreciation for our troops and decided instead not to go."

Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign immediately criticized the move.

"Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Republican contender.

McCain, too, goes German Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:24 EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio . Republican presidential candidate John McCain had his own German experience Thursday . at a restaurant in Ohio. He asserted that he was happy to devote his time this week to touring the nation's heartland.

.I'd love to give a speech in Germany. But I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate for president,. McCain told reporters after a meal of bratwurst with local business leaders at Schmidt's Sausage Haus und Restaurant in Columbus' German Village neighborhood.

As Barack Obama delivered a high-profile speech in Berlin, McCain said he was focusing his attention this week on economic issues, including soaring food and fuel costs. He has been busy campaigning and raising funds in key battleground states like Ohio.

In what was clearly not a coincidence, McCain spoke with reporters shortly before Obama began his speech at Berlin's Victory Column.

Obama greeted by huge crowd for public address Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:24 EDT

BERLIN . In a highly unusual move for an American presidential candidate, Barack Obama staged a foreign policy speech Thursday before a huge overseas audience, calling for renewed trans-Atlantic cooperation to rein in Iran, fight religious extremism and terrorism, and address global warming and poverty.

.People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment, this is our time,. the Democratic hopeful told an enthusiastic outdoor crowd, which local authorities estimated at more than 200,000.

Turning a critical eye on the United States and implicitly criticizing President Bush, Obama said, .I know my country has not perfected itself. and .we've made our share of mistakes and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions..

The Europeans roared with approval.

Task force to study future of horse industry Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:54 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear created a task force Thursday to study the future of horse racing, charging its members with making recommendations to give Kentucky horse racing on a .more sound financial future..

A news release announcing the Governor's Task Force on the Future of Horse Racing does not mention casino gambling, but many of its members have advocated for casinos at race tracks.

In an executive order, Beshear told the task force to study the economic soundness of the industry, the effectiveness and quality of drug testing, the proper role of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the adequacy of state laws and regulations.

.It is imperative that we examine all facets of Kentucky's signature horse racing industry to make certain that it builds on its past success in the commonwealth,. Beshear said in the news release.

Lunsford backs oil shaledrilling, gas tax holiday Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:24 EDT

LOUISVILLE . To lure voters weary of high gas prices, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford is embracing a GOP-led push for oil shale drilling, one policy goal Congress already achieved and one proposal that received mixed reviews from both parties.

Lunsford, who is challenging Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in the November election, unveiled an eight-point strategy to reduce prices at the pumps in the short and long terms.

.I want action. The public wants action,. he said at the United Auto Workers local union 862.

McConnell is running television ads highlighting the fact that Lunsford pushed for automatic state gas tax increases as an aide to Democratic Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. in the early 1980s.

Panel looks to future of horse racing Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:24 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear created a task force Thursday to study the future of horse racing, charging its members with making recommendations to give Kentucky horse racing a .more sound financial future..

A news release announcing the Governor's Task Force on the Future of Horse Racing does not mention casino gambling, but many of its members have advocated for casinos at race tracks.

.I gave them a broad charge of looking at the health and the future of horse racing in Kentucky,. Beshear said in an interview. .If they choose to look at expanded gaming, they can..

In an executive order, Beshear told the task force to study the economic soundness of the industry, the effectiveness and quality of drug testing, the proper role of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the adequacy of state laws and regulations.

Policy gains in Europe may be tougher for Obama Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:10 EDT
There is little question that Barack Obama captured Europe's heart during the tumultuous visit that ended Saturday evening, but hard questions remain about whether Obama, if he wins, could transform that enthusiasm into concrete policy gains.

After the harsh anti-Americanism that has thrived in Europe for most of this decade, it was jarring to see a U.S. politician receive such adoration from the public, press, and the continent's leaders, who seemed almost to swoon in his presence.

Polls show not only that a strong majority in countries like Britain would choose Obama over Republican rival John McCain if they could, but also that the general distaste for the United States has softened somewhat as Obama's White House bid gathers pace.

"Since the race has been going on, we've found a slight movement toward the U.S.," said Anthony Wells, research chief for PoliticsHome in Britain. "I'm confident this is the Obama influence. The anti-Americanism of recent years seems closely tied to George Bush. The people love Obama."

But many analysts believe that if Obama completes his march to the Oval Office, this backing will dissipate the first time he presses Europe to send more troops to Afghanistan or to support an aggressive U.S. military stance at odds with Europe's strong preference for diplomacy over cruise missiles.

Obama sees little political benefit from trip abroad Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:40 EDT
Heading home from an overseas trip aimed at strengthening his foreign policy credentials, Sen. Barack Obama said Saturday he's not counting on an immediate political boost and thinks it's just as likely he'll experience a short-term dip in polls simply because he's been out of the country for nine days.

"The reason that I thought this trip was important was I am convinced that many of the issues that we face at home are not going to be solved as effectively unless we have strong partners abroad," Obama said, speaking outside 10 Downing Street after his private meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

He acknowledged, however, that Americans are mainly focused on issues like gas prices and home foreclosures.

On the Brown-Obama agenda Saturday: terrorism, troops for Iraq and Afghanistan, troubled financial markets, climate change and Mideast peace.

Britain, the United States' closest ally, was the Democratic candidate's final stop after an ambitious run through Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Germany and France.

Analysis: Obama treated like a president on tour Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:45 EDT
Maybe the foreign leaders Barack Obama met with on his mid-campaign overseas trip were merely hedging their bets and don't believe he will win the White House this fall.

But that's not how many of them acted.

Jordan's King Abdullah flew back early from Aspen, Colo., to host dinner at his palace, then personally took the wheel of the royal Mercedes to drive his guest to the airport.

"God bless you," Israeli President Shimon Peres greeted Obama the next morning in Jerusalem.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy virtually endorsed the man he called "my dear Barack Obama." He observed puckishly he wasn't meddling in the U.S. election when he suggested Obama follow his own lead by winning the top political office in the United States.

Obama muses on need for time to think Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:45 EDT
Barack Obama endorses making time for thinking in the White House.

As the Democratic candidate for president chatted with Tory Leader David Cameron at the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, a boom microphone used by reporters caught their discussion. It was unclear whether Obama and Cameron knew how much of their conversation others could hear.

Obama and Cameron talked casually about the demands of high office, according to a transcript provided to reporters.

CAMERON: You should be on the beach. You need a break. Well, you need to be able to keep your head together.

OBAMA: You've got to refresh yourself.

Obama defends tour, says McCain shifting on war Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:05 EDT
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama brushed aside Republican criticism of his overseas trip on Saturday and stood outside the famed 10 Downing Street to say that both President Bush and Sen. John McCain were moving his way on the key issues of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hours before flying home, Obama also suggested his poll numbers might dip in the coming days, adding: "We have been out of the country for a week. People are worried about gas prices and home foreclosures."

At the same time, he said the journey to two war zones, the Mideast and Europe was important because "many of the issues that we face at home are not going to be solved as effectively unless we have strong partners abroad."

Obama flew home to Chicago Saturday night.

Republicans have criticized Obama throughout his trip, and McCain's campaign said recently the Democrat was taking a "premature victory lap" with more than 100 days remaining in the presidential campaign.

McCain rejects 'audacity of hopelessness' for Iraq Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:45 EDT
Republican presidential candidate John McCain, ridiculing Barack Obama for "the audacity of hopelessness" in his policies on Iraq, said Friday that the entire Middle East could have plunged into war had U.S. troops been withdrawn as his rival advocated.

Speaking to an audience of Hispanic military veterans, McCain stepped up his criticism of Obama while the Illinois senator continued his headline-grabbing tour of the Middle East and Europe. The Arizona Republican contended that Obama's policies - he opposed sending more troops to Iraq in the "surge" that McCain supported - would have led to defeat there and in Afghanistan.

"We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right," McCain said, a play on the title of Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope."

McCain laid out a near-apocalyptic chain of events he said could have resulted had Obama managed to stop the troop buildup ordered by President Bush: U.S. forces retreating under fire, the Iraqi army collapsing, civilian casualties increasing dramatically, al-Qaida killing cooperative Sunni sheiks and finding safe havens to train fighters and launch attacks on Americans, and civil war, genocide and a wider conflict.

"Above all, America would have been humiliated and weakened," he said. "Terrorists would have seen our defeat as evidence America lacked the resolve to defeat them. As Iraq descended into chaos, other countries in the Middle East would have come to the aid of their favored factions, and the entire region might have erupted in war."

Lunsford launches ad to rebut McConnell Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:19 EDT

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford launched a commercial hitting back at Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell that, among other things, criticizes the four-term senator for taking contributions from oil companies.

.McConnell raised $3 million from big oil while voting to give them billions in tax breaks,. the female announcer says in Lunsford's 30-second spot that began airing Friday.

However, a lobbyist for oil companies is throwing a July 29 fund-raiser benefiting Lunsford's campaign in Washington, D.C., according to an invitation listing Heather and Tony Podestaas the hosts.

Tony Podesta's firm, Podesta Group, shows BP and Sunoco on its client list.

McCain campaign: Obama shortchanged injured troops Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:40 EDT
Republican John McCain's campaign on Saturday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for canceling a visit to wounded troops in Germany, contending Obama chose foreign leaders and cheering Europeans over "injured American heroes."

Obama's campaign called the accusation "wildly inappropriate." His spokesman has claimed that the visit to a military hospital in Germany was scrapped after the Pentagon raised concerns about political activity on a military base. Earlier, though, the campaign had said Obama decided the visit might be seen as inappropriate politicking. However, the Pentagon said the senator was never told not to visit.

A new McCain ad that began airing Saturday in selected markets also chides Obama as disrespectful for making "time to go to the gym" during his European visit while at the same time canceling the visit with wounded troops.

"Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras," according to the ad, which is being televised in Colorado, Pennsylvania and the Washington D.C. area. "John McCain is always there for our troops."

McCain himself joined in the rebuke, saying in an interview to be aired Sunday by ABC's "This Week" that "if I had been told by the Pentagon that I couldn't visit those troops, and I was there and wanted to be there, I guarantee you, there would have been a seismic event."

McCain ridicules .hopelessness' on Iraq Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:19 EDT

DENVER . Republican presidential candidate John McCain, ridiculing Barack Obama for .the audacity of hopelessness. in his policies on Iraq, said Friday that the entire Middle East could have plunged into war had U.S. troops been withdrawn as his rival advocated.

Speaking to an audience of Hispanic military veterans, McCain stepped up his criticism of Obama while the Illinois senator continued his headline-grabbing tour of the Middle East and Europe. The Arizona Republican contended that Obama's policies . he opposed sending more troops to Iraq in the .surge. that McCain supported . would have led to defeat there and in Afghanistan.

.We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right,. McCain said, a play on the title of Obama's book The Audacity of Hope .

McCain laid out a near-apocalyptic chain of events he said could have resulted had Obama managed to stop the troop buildup ordered by President Bush: U.S. forces retreating under fire, the Iraqi army collapsing, civilian casualties increasing dramatically, al-Qaida killing cooperative Sunni sheikhs and finding safe havens to train fighters and launch attacks on Americans, and civil war, genocide and a wider conflict.

Lawmakers who switch jobs get pension boost Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:19 EDT

FRANKFORT . Thanks to a provision lawmakers quietly approved in 2005, many former legislators who switch to judicial or executive branch jobs will see their annual retirement benefits double, quadruple or even increase six-fold.

Most recently, Democratic state Rep. Frank Rasche of Paducah chose this week to leave the General Assembly after 15 years to accept a job at the state Department of Education.

By doing so, he will join the first dozen former lawmakers who can qualify to draw much higher retirement checks from the legislative retirement system now that they've taken better-paying positions elsewhere in government.

Lawmakers who serve more than five years in the General Assembly are eligible to join the legislative retirement system, which pays retirees a pension based on the number of years served and their legislative salary, which is usually between $15,000 and $22,000 a year for most.

High cost of energy is issue No. 1 in potential swing state of Pennsylvania Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:10 EDT
Voters in this rugged slice of small-town Pennsylvania, where even going for groceries can mean a 10-mile trip, fall into two camps: those who want the government to find more oil and those who don't.

Put another way, they either like John McCain, who got applause in Wilkes-Barre last week for touting offshore drilling and suspending the federal gasoline tax, or they prefer Barack Obama and his plan to expedite development of alternative energy sources. Whichever camp they fit into, when you ask people what's on their minds, energy is what's on their minds.

Voters do agree on this: "People here drive a long way to get anywhere," said Ryan Stalker, a Lackawanna College administrator. They also tend to live in older homes, where heating and cooling costs can soar. And they want help - meaning energy dwarfs every other political issue in this key part of this potential swing state.

McCain's forces include people like Marissa Stopyra, a Hawley homemaker, who can make just one 19-mile trip a week this summer with her 5- and 9-year-olds to Promised Land State Park, instead of the usual three or four weekly visits.

She and others favor Republican presidential candidate McCain's plan to drop the 18.4-cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline until Labor Day. Economists generally deride the idea, and Obama has called it a gimmick.

ANALYSIS: Obama wins the week, but McCain is still very much in the race Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:10 EDT
If conventional wisdom ruled politics, Barack Obama would be on his way to the White House after last week.

He went overseas with the national news media in tow and staged a series of well choreographed scenes that were designed to make him appear "presidential" and to address the fact that many voters still consider him inexperienced and a risky choice.

Heads of state shook his hand. The prime minister of Iraq welcomed part of Obama's plan to get U.S. troops out. Two hundred thousand Germans cheered him in Berlin.

That may all pay off for the Illinois Democrat. But it's July, and he shouldn't pick the White House china just yet.

At home, even as he struggled to steal some of the national spotlight away, rival John McCain managed to stay in the game.

Regardless of who wins in November, taxes will change Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:10 EDT
Regardless of who wins the White House in an election where everyone talks about change, there's one change America can count on: taxes.

The fact that President Bush and Congress enacted temporary tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 that expire at the end of 2010 means it's inevitable that taxes will change, perhaps dramatically.

The next president and Congress will agree to extend some or all of those tax cuts while also cutting or raising other taxes - or else political gridlock will stymie agreement, the tax cuts will expire, and tax bills will go up for almost everyone.

"It is a unique moment," said Robert Reischauer, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. "Something has to happen."

But what? Who will pay less and who will pay more? Which plan will get through a Congress all but certain to remain in Democratic control?

On return to U.S., Obama says Afghanistan in trouble Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:00 EDT
In his first public appearance since returning to the United States, Barack Obama says Afghanistan's weak government and rampant drug trafficking are hampering efforts to fight al-Qaida terrorists who often take refuge in neighboring Pakistan.

But conditions in Iraq are improving, the Democratic presidential hopeful told hundreds of minority journalists Sunday after returning from Europe and the Middle East.

American troops have helped stabilize Iraq and consolidate political progress among that country's factions.

But Obama says that in Afghanistan, more American troops are needed to stabilize the area and that Pakistan must do more to deny terrorists a safe haven.

Obama shifts focus to economy Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:15 EDT
Presidential contender Barack Obama is pivoting from foreign policy to the economy at home.

Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday that cost of gas and food will keep Americans focused on finances even during the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. The Illinois Democrat said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he's gathering key economic advisers on Monday to discuss a second economic stimulus package and ways to deal with high energy prices.

Among the people he will talk to are investor Warren Buffett, Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google, as well as former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.

"What is driving people all across the country right now is worries and concerns about inability to pay the gas bill and inability to buy food because prices have gone up so high," Obama said.

Obama was asked whether high gas prices are a good thing in a way because it has forced the nation to focus on energy policy. He said he did not think so because ordinary families are under enormous stress. However, the question gave him an opportunity to talk about his support for higher fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, which he said his opponent, Republican candidate John McCain, has consistently opposed.

McCain backs effort banning affirmative action Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:35 EDT
Presidential challenger John McCain said Sunday that he supports a proposed ballot initiative in his home state that would prohibit affirmative action policies from state and local governments. A decade ago, he called a similar effort "divisive."

The reversal comes as McCain, a conservative senator from Arizona, seeks to tailor his policies and rhetoric to independent-minded voters who will determine the outcome of November election.

Both McCain and Democratic rival Barack Obama have accused each other -with good reason - of "flip-flopping," a charge that carries weight with independents who seek consistency and authenticity in their political leaders.

McCain was asked specifically Sunday whether he supported an effort to get a referendum on the ballot in Arizona that would "do away with affirmative action."

"Yes, I do," said McCain in an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

Lobbyists' gifts show $181,600 for McCain Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:04 EDT

WASHINGTON . Registered lobbyists have donated large amounts of money to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, even as he denounces their profession. But Democratic candidates for Congress have also raised prodigious sums from lobbyists, outdoing the Republicans, according to reports filed for the first time under a new ethics law.

Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, says he does not want money from lobbyists, but a few modest contributions have slipped through. Health care, education, environmental and human rights lobbyists have given to Obama.

In total, lobbyists and trade groups have reported giving about $10.4 million to presidential and congressional candidates in the first half of this year.

So far, McCain, who has locked up the Republican presidential nomination, has received more than $181,600 from lobbyists and trade groups, while Obama has received just over $6,000. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who ended her bid for the presidency in June, received more than $87,000.

Candidates vie for lead in polls, press coverage Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:04 EDT

WASHINGTON . If conventional wisdom ruled politics, Barack Obama would be on his way to the White House after last week.

He went overseas with the national news media in tow and staged a series of well choreographed scenes that were designed to make him appear .presidential. and to address the fact that many voters still consider him inexperienced and a risky choice.

Heads of state shook his hand. The prime minister of Iraq agreed with part of Obama's plan to get U.S. troops out. Two hundred thousand Germans cheered him in Berlin.

That may all pay off for the Illinois Democrat. But it's July, and he shouldn't pick the White House china just yet.

Anti-Muslim comments give Libertarians pause Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:04 EDT

LOUISVILLE . The head of Kentucky's Libertarian Party said party leaders are not ready to take action against U.S. Senate hopeful Sonny Landham for a series of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim remarks.

Ken Moellman said on Saturday a decision on whether Landham would run as a Libertarian on the November ballot against Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Democrat Bruce Lunsford would come on Monday or Tuesday.

In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Landham advocated turning away Arabs from entering this country and said the United States should have bombed Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran and Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He repeatedly referred to Arabs and Muslims using offensive language.

Addressing Landham's comments on Saturday, Moellman said, .Obviously the party does not stand for that..

McCain backs expansion of disabilities protection Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:43 EDT

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is pledging support for a proposal to expand protections for disabled people under an 18-year-old landmark civil rights law.

Speaking from Cottonwood, Ariz., by satellite to a disabilities forum in Columbus, Ohio, McCain said Saturday that revisions to the Americans With Disabilities Act must leave no doubt that it was intended to protect from any discrimination that's based on physical or mental disabilities.

The Supreme Court generally has exempted from the law's protection people with partial physical disabilities, as well as people with physical impairments that can be treated with medication or devices such as hearing aids.

.We must clarify the definition of a disability to assure full protection for those the law is intended to serve,. said McCain, who was spending the weekend at his nearby northern Arizona getaway.

Battle brewing between Richards, Stumbo over Speaker job Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:49 EDT

If recent rhetoric is any indication, a leadership battle indeed is brewing between House Speaker Jody Richards and the man who helped install him in that post nearly 14 years ago.

State Rep. Greg Stumbo, the Prestonsburg Democrat who returned to the House this spring after a four-year stint as attorney general, has gradually ramped up his pointed criticism of the House leadership and, specifically, Richards.

.I think the membership feels that the session was pretty much a disaster. And the truth is, when your company goes bad or something happens, the guy in charge gets the blame. Rightly or wrongly, I hear more people complain about Speaker Richards than any of the other members of leadership,. Stumbo said.

He added that he's .not obviously campaigning at this time. to challenge Richards for the speaker's post during the legislative leadership elections in January.

President Bush, the media's forgotten man Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:05 EDT
They want you, they need you, they lose interest, they leave you for someone else.

So goes the media's approach toward the president. It is always a relationship destined to end.

President Bush - remember him? He has long ceased to be a hot story. Across all forms of mainstream media, news coverage of the president has fallen significantly this year.

The drop-off has big implications for Bush, whose ability to influence the public debate is weakened by less exposure, and for the country, which ends up with lighter scrutiny of the nation's highest office.

And while the trend is not unusual for a lame-duck leader - Bill Clinton was plenty overshadowed in his final months - the declining attention still seems pronounced given the forces working against Bush.

A Q.A with the new energy cabinet chief Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:24 EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear tapped Len Peters, an accomplished chemical engineer, to head a new cabinet focusing on energy and the environment and immediately gave him an ambitious project.

Peters must lead a team to develop a comprehensive energy plan for the state . kind of an outline of what the state can do to use natural resources like coal as well as clean energy sources, such as wind, while also setting policies to help Kentuckians, businesses and government conserve.

With concerns about the availability and price of energy at a peak level since the late 1970s, the plan will be highly anticipated when it reaches Beshear's desk in September. Of course, an .energy plan. sounds prudent, but what exactly does it mean and will it make a difference?

Peters, who has served as a U.S. Department of Energy official and before that a key researcher at the University of Kentucky, recently sat down with the Herald-Leader to sketch it out. Here are excerpts:

McCain has spot of skin removed as precaution Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:20 EDT
Republican Sen. John McCain said Monday he had had a small patch of skin removed from his face and biopsied as part of a regular checkup with his dermatologist.

"She said that I was doing fine," McCain, a three-time melanoma survivor, told reporters on a presidential campaign visit to an oil rig where he spoke briefly about his proposed energy plan. "She took a small little nick from my cheek, as she does regularly, and that will be biopsied just to make sure everything is fine."

The Arizona senator underwent the procedure in Phoenix during a checkup he undergoes every three months. He sported a small bandage on his upper right cheek on his campaign plane but had removed it by the time he spoke with reporters. A small, dark spot stood out on his face.

McCain urged people to stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen, particularly during the summer.

"If you ever have any slight discoloration please go to your dermatologist or your doctor and get it checked out as soon as possible," he said.

Details missing from Obama's Social Security plan Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:10 EDT
Barack Obama's bid to place a new Social Security tax on very high incomes is either a bold or foolhardy plan, depending on who critiques it. But its potential impact is almost impossible to gauge because he is providing few details on basic questions such as what the tax rate might be, what types of income would be taxed and how the taxpayers' benefits would be affected.

The Democratic presidential candidate says he would work with lawmakers from both parties to resolve such matters. Voters generally applaud bipartisan cooperation, but they apparently will go to the polls this fall with only a vague notion of what Obama has in mind.

Obama made headlines June 13 when he called for a Social Security payroll tax on incomes above $250,000 a year. Currently, the tax is levied only on the first $102,000 of each worker's income. That covers the entire salary of most Americans.

Obama would not apply the Social Security tax to annual incomes between $102,000 and $250,000, a move meant to avoid alienating several million upper-income voters. His proposed change would apply only to those earning more than $250,000 a year, or about 3 percent of all taxpayers.

When he outlined his idea in the battleground state of Ohio, Obama said it is unfair for middle-class earners to pay the Social Security tax "on every dime they make," while millionaires and billionaires pay it on "only a very small percentage of their income." He also said the Social Security program needs revamping to bolster its long-term viability.

Obama visits doctor to treat sore hip Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:50 EDT
Barack Obama, back in his home town after a tour of Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe, saw a doctor at the University of Chicago Medical Center on Sunday night to deal with a sore hip.

"His hip has been sore from basketball for a few weeks, so he's going to see an orthopedic doctor," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

As he left the hospital, Obama told reporters: "I had small X-rays. Everything's OK. I think I'm going to be good in about a week."

Obama is a lifelong basketball player, and he squeezes in a game every now and then on the campaign trail. At one stop during his overseas trip, he shot baskets with U.S. troops in Kuwait.

Obama looks for VP who says more than 'Yes, sir' Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:55 EDT
Funeral duty is not something that Barack Obama's vice president need worry much about, the presumptive Democratic nominee says.

Obama refused again and again during an interview that aired Sunday to give hints on whom he might pick for a running mate, but he did describe the qualities he's looking for. Shyness and blind loyalty are not among them.

"I'm going to want somebody with independence, who's willing to tell me where he thinks or she thinks I'm wrong," Obama said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The remark came in the twilight of the Bush White House, an administration famous - and much-criticized - for the value it has placed on loyalty within its ranks.

Whomever he or she may turn out to be, Obama's running mate will be hired for more than a ceremonial role, according to the candidate.

McCain backs ban on affirmative action in Arizona Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:55 EDT
Presidential candidate John McCain on Sunday endorsed a proposal to ban affirmative action programs in his home state, a policy that Democratic rival Barack Obama called a disappointing embrace of divisive tactics.

In the past, McCain has criticized such ballot initiatives.

In an interview that aired Sunday, McCain was asked whether he supported an effort to get a referendum on the ballot in Arizona that would do away with race and gender-based preferences, known as affirmative action.

"Yes, I do," said McCain in an interview on ABC's "This Week." The Republican senator quickly added that he had not seen the details of the proposal. "But I've always opposed quotas."

His reversal comes as McCain seeks to tailor his policies and rhetoric to independent-minded voters who will determine the outcome of November election. Both McCain and Obama have accused each other - with good reason - of "flip-flopping," a charge that carries weight with voters seeking consistency and authenticity in their political leaders.

Obama says McCain flip-flops by opposing affirmative action Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:25 EDT
Presidential challengers John McCain and Barack Obama sparred over affirmative action Sunday, with McCain backing an effort to end state and locally run minority preferences and Obama saying policies that consider race need to continue.

McCain, speaking on ABC's "This Week," said he backs a proposed ballot initiative in his home state of Arizona that would prohibit affirmative action policies by state and local governments.

The initiative is part of a nationwide attempt by Ward Connerly to have governmental affirmative action policies eliminated. Connerly, a conservative African-American businessman from Sacramento, Calif., who led a successful drive to ban affirmative action in California, has been trying to do the same thing in other states.

Asked Sunday whether he supported Connerly's efforts in Arizona, McCain said "Yes, I do," adding that he had not seen the details of the proposal. "But I've always opposed quotas."

McCain's endorsement was an apparent shift on affirmative action. The Republican senator has spoken out against quota systems but he has also backed affirmative action in certain cases. He opposed a 1998 resolution in the Arizona legislature that asked voters to eliminate most preferences based on race, gender or ethnic origin.

Obama promises efforts to revive economy Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:40 EDT
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday blamed "irresponsible decisions" by the Bush administration and Wall Street for the country's economic woes as government officials said the budget deficit would soar to record heights next year.

Turning to domestic problems after a week's tour of the Middle East and Europe, Obama met with more than a dozen economic advisers, appearing with them briefly before retreating for a two-hour closed meeting. The new deficit numbers were the latest sign of an economy in decline, with foreclosures rising, home prices falling, soaring energy prices and nearly a half-million job losses since January.

"It was not an accident or a normal part of the business cycle that led us to this situation," Obama said. "There were some irresponsible decisions that were made on Wall Street and in Washington."

Obama said the economy needs both short- and long-term fixes, including another round of "stimulus" measures from Congress to revive the economy and a longer-term focus on renewable energy to curb high gas prices and on universal health care to trim costs. He said he would move "rapidly and vigorously" to respond.

"We are also going to have to provide some short-term relief," Obama said. "People are hurting right now. We need to respond rapidly and vigorously to problems, and to anticipate the problems that may be on the horizon."

McCain, Obama split over affirmative action Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:51 EDT

CHICAGO . Presidential challengers John McCain and Barack Obama sparred over affirmative action Sunday, with McCain backing an effort to end state and locally run minority preferences and Obama saying policies that consider race need to continue.

McCain, speaking on ABC's This Week , said he backs a proposed ballot initiative in his home state of Arizona that would prohibit affirmative action policies by state and local governments.

The initiative is part of a nationwide attempt by Ward Connerly to have governmental affirmative action policies eliminated. Connerly, a conservative African-American businessman from Sacramento who led a successful drive to ban affirmative action in California, has been trying to do the same thing in other states.

Asked Sunday whether he supported Connerly's efforts in Arizona, McCain said .Yes, I do,. adding that he had not seen the details of the proposal. .But I've always opposed quotas..

Obama links McCain to 'reckless' GOP economics Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:06 EDT
Democatic presidential contender Barack Obama said Wednesday his Republican rival "thinks we're on the right track," drawing a chorus of boos from a swing state audience vocal about the status quo.

"These anxieties seem to be growing with each passing day," Obama said on a campaign swing in this economically ailing battleground state. "We can either choose a new direction for our economy or we can keep doing what we've been doing. My opponent, John McCain, thinks we're on the right track."

That elicited boos from some of the 1,500 people who filled a Springfield high school gymnasium. When an AP-Ipsos poll asked the "right track, wrong track" question this month, 77 percent said they thought the country was on the wrong track. The same poll set President Bush's approval rating at 28 percent. Both were records for the AP-Ipsos survey.

"It's true that change is hard, change isn't easy," Obama said. "Nobody here thinks that Bush or McCain has a real answer for the challenges we face so what they're going to try to do is make you scared about me."

Change with difficulty was a core theme Democrat Bill Clinton used when he opposed President George H.W. Bush in 1992, a campaign also fought during tough economic times.

In Caribbean, analysts expect little change regardless of who wins U.S. election Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:45 EDT
While Barack Obama, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, appears to be the rage across the Caribbean, some analysts express concerns about how his policies would affect the region.

And, although John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, generates less attention in the Democratic-leaning Caribbean, some observers say his support of free trade and his policy experience could be better for the islands.

Still other analysts see the Caribbean as a low priority for each and express little optimism that either will produce radical change.

Neither McCain nor Obama has "expressed serious positions on the Caribbean, with the exception of Cuba, where there is a difference between the two candidates," said Rupert Lewis, a political science expert at the University of the West Indies (Mona) in Jamaica.

In a speech in Miami, McCain singled out several Spanish-speaking nations - but not any in the Caribbean. And Obama has shown little interest in the region - aside from an Easter vacation in St. Thomas.

Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next

Chinese Dir