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| Obama plans $20 million Hispanic outreach campaign Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:35 EDT The national Democratic Party and Barack Obama's campaign on Tuesday rolled out what they're calling an "unprecedented, historic" effort at wooing Hispanic voters across the United States. The initial price tag for the voter registration and advertising effort: $20 million. The effort will focus on swing states with sizeable Hispanic populations, including Florida, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. Democrats said it's the earliest and most aggressive effort a Democratic presidential candidate has ever attempted. "I've never seen this level of commitment, in terms of resource, in terms of staff and this early in a campaign," said Frank Sanchez, national chairman of the Obama for America National Hispanic Leadership Council. "Those to me are three indicators of the seriousness with which we're taking the Hispanic/Latino community." Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., a onetime Hillary Clinton supporter, noted that Obama lost overwhelmingly to Clinton in the Democratic primaries and though polls show him closing the gap, it would "be foolish of any campaign not to truly target that group to bring it in." He said the outreach effort planned to work "everywhere. We're even going to go to Miami to try to get Latino votes for Barack Obama." |
| Does John McCain have a Cuba embargo problem? Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:35 EDT The pending merger of American beer giant Anheuser-Busch and a Belgian company that brews and sells beer in Cuba is thrusting John McCain into the middle of thorny Cuba-U.S. relations. McCain's wife, Cindy, owns the third largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the country - which means she would stand to profit by partnering with a company that is in business with the Cuban government. McCain is a staunch advocate of the embargo, which bars most American companies from doing business in Cuba. Among the yet-to-be-resolved issues in the $52 billion deal is whether Belgian giant InBev - expected to operate under the name Anheuser-Busch-InBev - will continue to market its Cuban line of beer, and what that may mean for U.S. distributors. Two of McCain's top Florida supporters, Miami Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, assailed the InBev-Anheuser Busch deal earlier this month, saying they are "deeply concerned" that Anheuser-Busch is about to be purchased by a company "with ties to the Cuban dictatorship, a state sponsor of terrorism." A spokesman for the Diaz-Balarts said Tuesday night the two congressmen stand by their statement. |
| McCain, Obama to get the comic book treatment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:50 EDT It's a year of superheroes in Hollywood, with the big-budget epics of Batman, Iron Man and the Hulk, but a big-budget production out of Washington, D.C., is carving a niche in the animation trend. Presumptive nominees John McCain and Barack Obama will star this fall in their own comic books put out by IDW Publishing, a San Diego-based publisher better known for telling the stories of robots ("The Transformers") and vampires ("30 Days of Night"). Don't expect Captain America-versus-Superman hijinks or super-villains threatening the electoral process. Trading sound bites for word balloons, the books purport to tell McCain and Obama's life stories, independently researched and illustrated by a veteran team of writers and artists. "We're not doing anything that is sensational here," said IDW special projects editor Scott Dunbier, adding that neither campaign was involved in the development of the books. "We're sticking to the facts." On Oct. 8, the books will be released in comic book shops and go on sale online and for reading on cell phones. |
| Analysis: McCain tries to soothe tax-hike fears Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:51 EDT Republican Ronald Reagan raised taxes and survived to serve another presidential term. His successor, George H.W. Bush, raised taxes and did not. Now comes Republican candidate John McCain, eager to reassure conservatives he's no tax raiser, yet also intent on letting voters know he will "do the hard things," as he often said in the primaries. "I don't want tax increases. But that doesn't mean that anything is off the table" when it comes to Social Security, he said over the weekend, an open-to-interpretation remark that drew a prompt challenge from the conservative Club for Growth. "We hope you will clarify where you stand on this important issue and reaffirm your commitment to eschew all tax increases," wrote Pat Toomey, the group's president. McCain provided his answer in Sparks, Nev., on Tuesday, when a girl asked him whether he would ever raise taxes. |
| AdWatch: McCain ad casts Obama as empty celebrity Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:10 EDT TITLE: "Celeb" LENGTH: 30 seconds. AIRING: Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, and Wisconsin. SCRIPT: Announcer: "He's the biggest celebrity in the world. But, is he ready to lead? With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling. And, says he'll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil, that's the real Obama. McCain: "I'm John McCain and I approved this message." |
| Lineup of candidates for fall is taking shape Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:04 EDT FRANKFORT . Republicans selected candidates Monday night for two state legislative seats, while Jim Cauley, former chief of staff for Gov. Steve Beshear, prepares to help Senate Democratic candidates in the fall races. GOP leaders from Kentucky's 13th Senate District in Fayette County selected Chuck Ellinger II, an at-large member of Lexington's Urban County Council, to be their party's nominee for the seat currently held by Democrat Ernesto Scorsone. .He's the best candidate we could get,. said state Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson. .Chuck is well-known and has provided great service to Lexington.. Andy Barr, vice chairman of the Fayette County Republican Party, said Ellinger is .a sensible, mainstream choice who will help unify the Fayette County delegation.. |
| McCain has spot of skin biopsied Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:04 EDT BAKERSFIELD, Calif. . 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. |
| Rebates, slowdown mean record deficit Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:04 EDT WASHINGTON . The federal budget deficit will soar to a record $482 billion in fiscal 2009, the White House said Monday, because of slow economic growth and taxpayer rebates. The new figure, far above the $407 billion for fiscal 2009 that President Bush projected six months ago, would shatter the record of $413 billion set in fiscal 2004. This year's deficit is expected to be $389 billion. The numbers mean that the next president will begin his term facing intense pressure to find new revenue or to cut spending dramatically. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama met Monday with top economic advisers, including veterans of the Clinton administration Cabinet, to discuss economic alternatives. |
| Kentucky again changes flag policy for fallen soldiers Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:04 EDT FRANKFORT . Kentucky's adjutant general says the state is changing its flag policy for fallen soldiers . again. The state's new policy calls for lowering flags to half-staff for all personnel based in Kentucky, Maj. Gen. Edward Tonini said. That includes soldiers from other states who are stationed at a military base in Kentucky such as Fort Campbell or Fort Knox, Tonini said. .I'm very confident that this will end any controversy,. Tonini said of the new policy. .I'm convinced that everyone will embrace the policy.. Kentucky had tightened its policy in June to lower the flag only for soldiers who were state residents, and only on the day of their funeral. Officials in Gov. Steve Beshear's administration said the change was made because flags were lowered so often that it was hard to know who was being honored. |
| Details sometimes fall away as McCain campaigns Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:15 EDT Details can bedevil any presidential candidate. Republican John McCain announced this week that he backs an anti-affirmative action referendum that has drawn sharp debate in Arizona, his home state. Then he added a curious note: He doesn't know that much about it. And when McCain was asked earlier this month about insurance coverage for Viagra but not contraceptives, he admitted he wasn't sure about that issue, though he had once voted against requiring coverage for birth-control pills. At times McCain can appear to be short on details. In some instances, he has made misstatements or eyebrow-raising comments during the long days of campaigning in front of cameras and microphones. Sympathetic listeners call them understandable slips of the tongue and question whether any candidate can know everything. Opponents call them gaffes, or worse. "Every candidate, Barack Obama included, has shown they will make a misstatement," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "John McCain reads and internalizes enormous amounts of information about the most pressing regional, national and international issues every single day. He has an incredible skill in that regard." Indeed, the McCain campaign, conservative Web sites and others have compiled lists of misstatements by his Democratic rival. Some appear to be minor slips, such as Obama's reference to America's "57 states," or his saying "Israel is Israel's friend," when he meant the United States. |
| Lunsford ad challenges McConnell spot Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:04 EDT JACKSON . Gas prices remained a prominent backdrop to Kentucky's U.S. Senate race Monday, as Democrat Bruce Lunsford pumped fuel while his first ad of the fall campaign countered a hard-hitting commercial by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell linking him to higher fuel taxes. Lunsford, a wealthy Louisville businessman, manned the self-serve pumps at a filling station in this Eastern Kentucky city in hopes of tapping into voter frustration with high fuel prices. Wanda Hudson pulled up in an older Toyota and asked Lunsford to pump a mere $2 of gas, enough to get her to the doctor. Hudson, who relies on Social Security checks, said she sometimes has to choose between gas or medicine. .It's hit me hard,. she said. In the early stages of their campaign, McConnell and Lunsford have linked each other to rising gas prices. Lunsford claims the four-term Republican incumbent has sided with oil companies, while McConnell has run a TV ad claiming his challenger had a hand years ago in helping pass a state law that has led to periodic increases in the state fuel tax. |
| Ex-GOP chief gets contract as EKU lobbyist Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:24 EDT Former Kentucky Republican Party chairwoman Ellen C. Williams has landed a $60,000-a-year contract to lobby for state and federal funds on behalf of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. Williams of Lawrenceburg, registered as a lobbyist after holding posts in former Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration, including vice chairwoman of the Public Service Commission and commissioner of the Governor's Office for Local Development. President Bush also appointed her last year to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. .It's a tough budget situation out there, so almost all of the universities have outside lobbyists now,. Williams said Monday, speaking from a Postal Service meeting in Washington, D.C. |
| Obama-Clinton ticket group shuts down Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:43 EDT An effort to urge Barack Obama to pick former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate is shutting down under the assumption she is not a contender for the No. 2 spot. The two former Clinton staffers who started the group Vote Both say Obama's decision to offer Clinton a prime-time speaking role at the Democratic Party nominating convention and other signals suggest Obama will not chose her. "Because it seems that Senator Obama has made his decision to offer the slot on the ticket to another candidate, we believe that continuing to ask him to pick Hillary is no longer helpful to our party's chances of winning in November," Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Arora wrote in an e-mail they planned to send Thursday to the 40,000-plus supporters who signed onto their online petition. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the campaign won't comment on the vice presidential search and hasn't finalized the convention speaking program. Obama and Clinton advisers have said Clinton is likely to speak on the convention's second night, Aug. 26, which is the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the amendment giving the women the right to vote. Parkhomenko and Arora have a combined 10 years experience working for Clinton. Most recently Arora was a press aide to her presidential campaign and Parkhomenko was executive assistant to former Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, who is now chief of staff for Obama's yet-to-be named vice presidential nominee. |
| Obama's convention crowd: Biggest phone bank ever Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:53 EDT Those 75,000 Democrats who will pack a football stadium for Barack Obama's convention speech won't be there just to whoop and holler on television. They'll form the world's largest phone bank to boost voter registration - fired-up supporters using computer targeting the campaign has spent months putting together. The move to the Invesco Field at Mile High stadium for the convention's final night next month - at an additional cost of $5 million - will capture a huge crowd the Obama campaign plans to put to work. They'll be armed with data gleaned through "microtargeting" unregistered voters the campaign believes are ripe to back Obama if pressed to get on board. "If we do this right, we'll be unbeatable," said Steve Hildebrand, the Obama adviser overseeing the effort. One key to Obama's victory plan is to expand the electorate, bringing in more young voters, minorities, suburban women, seniors on fixed incomes and people who have been disaffected by politics and might respond to the freshman Illinois senator's message of change over the more experienced Republican John McCain. President Bush used microtargeting techniques effectively in 2004, but his target was regular voters who were likely to vote for him. Obama's focus is more on finding people who are not registered to vote and figuring out how to persuade them to sign up and back him. |
| Obama campaign rejects rapper Ludacris' rhymes Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:23 EDT Barack Obama's presidential campaign said Wednesday that a new rhyme by supporter and rapper Ludacris is "outrageously offensive" to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Republican Sen. John McCain and President Bush. The song brags about an Obama presidency being destiny. It uses an expletive to describe Clinton, calls Bush "mentally handicapped" and says McCain doesn't belong in "any chair unless he's paralyzed." The lyrics also don't spare the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently apologized for making crude comments about Obama. "If you said it then you meant it," intones the rapper. Obama's campaign blasted "Politics As Usual," which is on the "Gangsta Grillz: The Preview" mixtape with Atlanta spinner DJ Drama. "As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in an e-mail statement. "This song is not only outrageously offensive to Sen. Clinton, Rev. Jackson, Sen. McCain and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics." |
| Poll: Obama narrowly leads McCain nationally Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:59 EDT THE RACE: The presidential race nationally --- THE NUMBERS Barack Obama, 51 percent John McCain, 44 percent |
| McCain spokeswoman calls Stevens charges `sad' Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:47 EDT A campaign spokeswoman for John McCain says the indictment of longtime senator Ted Stevens is a "sad reminder" that the next president will have to work to rebuild the public's trust. Nicolle Wallace says the Alaska Republican should be presumed innocent at this point of the charges that he lied about accepting gifts from an oil contractor. She recalls that McCain and Stevens famously clashed over the appropriation process. McCain regularly says on the presidential campaign trail that appropriations are subject to corruption that causes voters to lose faith in government. The GOP presidential candidate has not personally commented on Stevens' indictment, though it could damage his party's electoral prospects in November. |
| McCain has a few unclear moments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT WASHINGTON . Republican John McCain announced this week that he backs an anti-affirmative action referendum that has drawn sharp debate in Arizona, his home state. Then he added a curious note: He doesn't know that much about it. And when McCain was asked earlier this month about insurance coverage for Viagra but not contraceptives, he admitted he wasn't sure about that issue, though he once voted against requiring coverage for birth-control pills. At times McCain can appear to be short on details. In some instances, he has made misstatements or eyebrow-raising comments during the long days of campaigning in front of cameras and microphones. .Every candidate, Barack Obama included, has shown they will make a misstatement,. said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. |
| Obama says McCain thinks nation is on .the right track' Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT SPRINGFIELD, Mo. . 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 trip in Missouri, an 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.. |
| Ad compares Obama to Britney Spears, Paris Hilton Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT WASHINGTON . GOP presidential candidate John McCain's campaign on Wednesday aired and defended a 30-second television ad that likens Democratic rival Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. .He's the biggest celebrity in the world,. an announcer says as viewers see quick photos of Hilton and Spears cut into scenes from Obama's speech to 200,000 people in Berlin last week. .But is he ready to lead?. The ad, the latest McCain effort to gain traction against Obama, notes the Democrat's opposition to offshore drilling and accuses him of favoring higher taxes on electricity. McCain aides acknowledged that the ad is as much about image as issues. |
| House passes tobacco measure Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT WASHINGTON .The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation that for the first time would subject the tobacco industry to regulation by federal health authorities charged with promoting public well-being. Its backers call the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act .landmark. legislation. While the bill appears to have enough support to pass this year, it's unclear whether the Senate will have time to act, and the Bush administration is strongly opposed. The 326-102 House vote signaled solid bipartisan support for the measure. Both presidential candidates, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., back the legislation. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., worked for more than a decade to get the House to pass tobacco regulation. .This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco,. Waxman said. .But it took us far too long to get here.. |
| McConnell donating $10,000 from Stevens' PAC Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Wednesday said he will give to charity $10,000 his campaign accepted this year from the political action committee of indicted Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. Stevens was indicted a day earlier on federal corruption charges related to gifts from an oil-services company. McConnell did not say what will become of another $10,000 his own PAC, called the Bluegrass Committee, has accepted from Stevens' PAC since 2005. At least two other Republican senators, Pat Roberts in Kansas and Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, similarly agreed to give away Stevens' campaign donations, as GOP incumbents seeking re-election this year sought to distance themselves from the 84-year-old senator and his Northern Lights PAC. |
| Stumbo bill would allow video lottery at tracks Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:52 EDT FRANKFORT . State Rep. Greg Stumbo released a working draft of a bill Wednesday he plans to prefile for consideration in the 2009 General Assembly that would allow video lottery terminals at race tracks. Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said in a news release that his plan would create new revenue for the state's horse industry through larger purses, boost funding for primary education and reduce the tax burden on Kentuckians by removing the state property tax on motor vehicles and motorboats. Some proceeds also would go to the Thoroughbred and Standardbred Development Funds, Kentucky PRIDE, treatment for problem gamblers and to assist the state lottery with the costs of expanding lottery options. Under his plan, the lottery corporation would oversee licensing of the lottery machines and tracks that want the terminals. |
| McCain camp compares Obama to Spears, Hilton Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:13 EDT John McCain's presidential campaign on Wednesday released a withering television ad comparing Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, suggesting the Democratic contender is little more than a vapid but widely recognized media concoction. Obama's campaign quickly responded with a commercial of its own, dismissing McCain's complaints as "baloney" and "baseless." McCain's ad, titled "Celeb" and set to air in 11 battleground states, intercuts images of Obama on his trip to Europe last week with video of twenty-something pop stars Spears and Hilton - both better known for their childish off-screen antics. "He's the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?" the voiceover asks, noting the Illinois senator's opposition to offshore oil drilling and suggesting he would raise taxes if elected. It was the latest effort by the GOP hopeful to cast Obama as a lightweight with little experience in leadership or governing. It also was risky for McCain's campaign to both acknowledge Obama's worldwide fame and depict it as a weakness rather than a strength. |
| Republican Smith cites another Democrat in new ad Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:50 EDT Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith is crossing over the political fence again to boost his re-election campaign. The two-term Republican recently touted his work with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. And now he's aligned himself with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. In a new ad, Smith cites his work with Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee for president, on legislation to protect homeowners against foreclosure. Smith says in the new ad that "what matters is helping people, not who gets the credit." That echoes a Smith ad from last month that touted his work with Obama to improve fuel efficiency standards. |
| Jesse Ventura to speak at Ron Paul rally Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:06 EDT Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is slated to speak at an alternative rally for Republican Rep. Ron Paul during the GOP convention. Rally spokesman Jesse Benton says he's hoping Ventura's participation will boost national attention for Paul's two-day "Rally for the Republic" Supporters of Paul's limited government message are staging the rally at Minneapolis' Target Center while the Republican Party stages its national convention in St. Paul, Minn. The convention is the first week of September. Ventura could not be immediately reached for comment. Benton says Ventura will speak about the two-party system and how isn't listening to people. |
| Country star John Rich wants fans 'Raising McCain' Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:31 EDT Country music star John Rich wants like-minded voters to join him in "Raising McCain." The other half of the Nashville duo Big and Rich, the singer-songwriter has penned lyrics for a rock-infused anthem focused on the 5 1/2 years Republican presidential candidate John McCain spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and his refusal of an early release. "He stayed strong, stayed extra long til they let all the other boys out. Now we've got a real man with an American plan, we're going to put him in the big White House," the song says. Its refrain: "We're all just raising McCain." Rich planned to debut "Raising McCain" on Friday at the Country First concert in Panama City, Fla., with McCain on hand. Rich, 34, has written best-selling songs for country artists, including Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman" and Faith Hill's "Mississippi Girl." |
| Schwarzenegger backs McCain while praising Obama Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:51 EDT How many governors endorse one candidate for president and then even before the election leave the door open to working in his opponent's administration? One so far: Arnold Schwarzenegger. The former bodybuilder and actor boasts that he's California's first "post-partisan" governor. The middle-of-the-road Republican uses his willingness to cross party lines as a way to connect with the state's Democratic-leaning electorate. But the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama is putting this ideological squishiness to the test. Schwarzenegger endorsed McCain, his friend and fellow Republican, and will appear on the Arizona senator's behalf at the Republican National Convention this summer. Yet Schwarzenegger also has made clear that McCain's likely opponent, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, wouldn't be so bad. He commonly answers questions about global warming and other topics by saying that either candidate will be a big improvement over President Bush. |
| Obama aids American in Mideast custody battle Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:26 EDT An American woman fighting to get back four daughters living in the West Bank with their Palestinian father has gotten unusually high-powered help - from Barack Obama. The U.S. presidential hopeful raised the case of the Chicago-area woman in his meeting with Palestinian leaders last week, and won a promise from the prime minister to look into the matter. And that's how the private battle between Yasser and Colleen Bargouthi, which spans continents and cultures, took a public turn. In separate interviews, the two offered conflicting explanations of what brought the family to Bargouthi's home village of Kobar in June 2007. Colleen Bargouthi, 36, said her husband of 14 years moved the family to the West Bank under the pretext of a vacation, and that he has refused to let the girls, ages 5-11, return to the U.S. |
| Fancy Farm, Kentucky left out of big race Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT Sixteen years ago, then-vice presidential candidate Al Gore strode onto a wooden stage in far Western Kentucky to verbally spar with a rowdy crowd of political junkies. And between jabbing at President George H.W. Bush and deflecting heckles, Gore took a moment to explain why he personally delivered the presidential campaign to the annual St. Jerome Parish picnic and the political craziness that comes with it. .Fancy Farm represents something very special in the American political tradition,. Gore said. .Isn't it remarkable that a community like this one for 112 years has been able to play a key role in shaping the future of Kentucky and sometimes the future of this nation?. Indeed, Saturday's 128th Fancy Farm picnic will continue the tradition of being Kentucky's most high profile political event, which kicks off the election season. |
| .Stop-the-clock' practice ruled unconstitutional Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT FRANKFORT . A judge ruled Thursday that Kentucky lawmakers must end their controversial practice of stopping the clock in a lawmaking session to conduct business past the constitutional deadline of April 15. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled that a bill Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed earlier this year containing the legislature's six-year road construction plan is invalid because lawmakers failed to give the measure to the governor on time. Shepherd said the state constitution required the legislature to present the bill to the governor for his consideration before midnight April 15, even if that means they must .nail the legislation to the governor's door.. .Because it is undisputed that House Bill 79 was not presented to the governor until April 16, after the legislature's power to conduct legislative business had terminated, this court holds that provisions of House Bill 79 are null and void,. Shepherd said in a nine-page ruling. |
| Obama slams McCain over oil company tax breaks Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:20 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama seized on a record oil company profit to argue that rival John McCain offers only tax breaks for Big Oil and "short-term gimmicks" to consumers struggling with soaring gasoline prices. The Illinois senator quickly incorporated news of Exxon Mobil's nearly $12 billion quarterly profit into his remarks at a town hall meeting here. "No U.S. corporation ever made that much in a quarter," Obama said. "But while Big Oil is making record profits, you are paying record prices at the pump and our economy is leaving working people behind." McCain's response, Obama said, is to propose a corporate tax plan that would give "$4 billion each year to the oil companies, including $1.2 billion for Exxon Mobil alone" and a gas tax holiday that Obama said would only "pad oil company profits and save you - at best - half a tank of gas" over an entire summer. In recent days, Obama has complained that McCain is offering little of substance to voters and does little more than attack. |
| Explosive issue of race flares up Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT WASHINGTON . John McCain accused Barack Obama of playing politics with race on Thursday, raising the explosive issue after the first black candidate with a serious chance of winning the White House claimed Republicans will try to scare voters by saying he .doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.. Until now, the subject of race has been almost taboo in the campaign, at least in public, with both sides fearing its destructive force. .I'm disappointed that Senator Obama would say the things he's saying,. McCain told reporters in Racine, Wis. The Arizona senator said he agreed with campaign manager Rick Davis' statement earlier that .Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It's divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.. The aide was suggesting McCain had been wrongfully accused. In turn, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said, .We weren't suggesting in any way he's using race as an issue. but that McCain .is using the same, old low-road politics that voters are very unhappy about to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign.. |
| Ex-Patton aide Ross gets state job Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49 EDT Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed Danny Ross, who was charged with felony campaign-finance violations during Gov. Paul Patton's administration, to a $60,000-a-year job as policy adviser to Labor Secretary J.R. Gray. .Those issues are in the past. We've moved forward,. Beshear spokesman Jay Blanton said Thursday. In 1998, a grand jury under the direction of then-Attorney General Ben Chandler indicted Ross and several other Patton allies, including two Louisville Teamsters and the governor's chief of staff, Andrew .Skipper. Martin. They were accused of steering labor union funds to Patton's 1995 Democratic gubernatorial campaign in excess of fund-raising limits. Patton narrowly defeated Larry Forgy, his Republican opponent, and almost immediately, questions were raised about the legality of some union activities in Louisville. |
| Democratic platform writers reach out to Clinton Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:31 EDT Supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton drafting the Democratic platform displayed a get-along, unified front Friday as the party looks to put the bruising presidential primary campaign behind it. The drafting committee heard from policy experts Friday after soliciting ideas at 1,600 gatherings throughout the country over the past month. As the Ohio hearings neared, Clinton supporters said backers of presumptive presidential nominee Obama were reaching out on a daily basis to give her voice to part of the platform, particularly on health care and working families, two mainstays of her campaign. The platform draft will be written Saturday and Sunday and goes before the full platform committee next week in Pittsburgh. "The most encouraging thing is she has been listened to," said Chris Jennings, a member of the platform drafting committee and a Clinton backer. |
| McCain defends Web ad mocking Obama Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:36 EDT Republican John McCain on Friday defended his campaign's new Web ad mocking Barack Obama as a presumptuous messianic figure, saying it was important to "display a sense of humor" in the presidential contest. The new ad, with a voiceover calling Obama "The One," features clips of the Democratic contender appearing to describe himself and his presidential quest in grandiose terms - saying such things as, "This was the moment when the rise in the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal." The ad ends with Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea in the movie, "The Ten Commandments." The ad was not set to air on any television stations, so the campaign was counting on it to attract viewers by circulating broadly on the Web. Still, it was McCain's latest attempt to caricature his rival as an overweening but empty media phenomenon, coming on the heels of the campaign's new television ad juxtaposing Obama with lightweight celebrities Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan slammed the Web ad, saying the Arizona senator was "spending all of his time and the powerful platform he has on these sorts of juvenile antics." McCain insisted he was running a "respectful" campaign and brushed off complaints from critics and even some supporters that his tone had taken a sharply negative turn in recent days. |
| Analysis: Race remains the political wild card Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:46 EDT By accusing Barack Obama of playing the race card, John McCain hopes to shuffle the deck in a White House campaign that is scarcely begun, much less settled. In so doing, the Republican made at least two political calculations. He risked at least temporarily overshadowing a tough ad his campaign had unleashed depicting Obama as a celebrity in the Paris Hilton mold. And by challenging Obama directly, he chose a course that Hillary Rodham Clinton shied away from in her losing campaign for the Democratic nomination, presenting the most serious black presidential candidate in history with a charge he could not let go unanswered. "I think his comments were clearly the race card," McCain said Friday. |
| Obama risks voter ire by opposing new oil drilling Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:11 EDT Barack Obama is once again betting that his eloquence can persuade price-weary consumers - read that as voters - to take the long view and not jump at a short-term fix when it comes to soaring energy prices. It worked in his presidential primary contest against New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when she proposed a "gas tax holiday" for the summer, a pitch he opposed despite its popularity with many voters. But that was in April before gasoline shot past $4 a gallon. Virtually all polls now show dealing with energy prices high atop the agenda of voters. At issue for Obama's Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, is opening up offshore drilling to boost production, a move McCain and others GOP lawmakers say would increase supply and help control soaring gasoline prices. Opponents, including Obama and many other Democrats, say new offshore oil would be years away from reaching consumers and even then would make little difference in prices and the ongoing U.S. need for foreign oil. Republicans clearly have targeted energy prices, looking to boost their standing with consumers. President Bush has pushed Congress to permit the offshore drilling and warned that "the American people are rightly frustrated" because Democrats won't allow a vote on opening up offshore drilling. |
| Who started it? McCain, Obama camps trade barbs Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:11 EDT Trading charges anew over who was guilty of injecting race into the presidential debate, a subject unlikely to fade away, the campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama also blamed each other Friday for its increasingly negative tone. McCain has accused Obama of playing politics with race for predicting that the likely Republican nominee and others in the GOP would try to scare voters by saying the Democrat "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." Obama's spokesmen denied he was referring to being black, although all the presidents on U.S. currency are white. Obama senior strategist David Axelrod said Friday that race became an issue only when the McCain campaign cast a racial slant on Obama's remarks, which were made at a campaign swing Wednesday in rural Missouri. The next day, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis issued a statement claiming that Obama had played "the race card" and calling the remarks "divisive, negative, shameful and wrong." "We are not going to let anybody paint John McCain, who has fought his entire life for equal rights for everyone, to be able to be painted as racist," Davis said Friday on "Today" on NBC. "We've seen this happen before and we're not going to let it happen to us." |
| McCain confronts Obama over education policies Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT ORLANDO, Fla. . John McCain, the father of private school students, criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday for choosing private over public school for his kids. The difference, according to the Arizona Republican, is that he . but not Obama . favors vouchers that give parents more school choices. .Everybody should have the same choice Cindy and I and Senator Obama did,. McCain told the National Urban League, an influential black organization that Obama will address on Saturday. McCain listed a variety of changes in education policies that he contended would improve a flawed system . from school choice to more local control and direct public support to parents for tutoring. In each case, he said, Obama came up short. |
| Obama shifts position on offshore oil drilling Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:51 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday he would be willing to support limited additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and develop alternate energy sources. Shifting from his previous opposition to expanded offshore drilling, the Illinois senator told a Florida newspaper he could get behind a compromise with Republicans and oil companies to prevent gridlock over energy. Republican rival John McCain, who earlier dropped his opposition to offshore drilling, has been criticizing Obama on the stump and in broadcast ads for clinging to his opposition as gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon. Polls indicate these attacks have helped McCain gain ground on Obama. "My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post. "If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done." |
| Obama says he'd compromise on drilling Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT WASHINGTON . Sen. Barack Obama on Friday dropped his opposition to offshore oil drilling, saying he could go along with the idea if it was part of a broader energy package. Obama made his comments in St. Petersburg, Fla., during an interview with the Palm Beach Post. .My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices,. he said. .If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage . I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done,. the paper quoted Obama as saying. The change is dramatic because Obama often pointed to his opposition to drilling as a key difference between himself and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain. |
| McConnell sure to be the center of attention Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:54 EDT GILBERTSVILLE . If Friday's partisan rallies are any indication, this year's election season in Kentucky will be all about Mitch McConnell. Democrats, in their warm-ups for Saturday's Fancy Farm picnic, took turns taking verbal whacks at McConnell as if the senior senator were a political pi.ata. And on the other side of Kentucky Lake, Republicans touted McConnell . the GOP leader in the Senate . for bringing Kentucky resources and for serving as a conservative pillar in the Democratic congress. .We owe it to America to return Mitch McConnell to the U.S. Senate,. Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson told about 100 GOP faithful who gathered at Kenlake Resort Park. Grayson said McConnell has repeatedly .delivered for Kentucky. by bringing back university funding and money for other projects, such as a Veterans Affairs hospital in Louisville. McConnell didn't attend the rally but will be the main draw in the speaking lineup at the Fancy Farm picnic Saturday. |
| Paris Hilton's mom takes offense at McCain's humor Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:16 EDT Paris Hilton's mother doesn't share John McCain's sense of humor. McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said last week that his campaign ad mocking Democrat Barack Obama with images of Hilton and singer Britney Spears was part of an attempt to inject humor into the presidential race. On Sunday, Hilton's mother, Kathy Hilton, a McCain donor, registered her disapproval. "It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs," Kathy Hilton said in a short article posted on the liberal Huffington Post Web site. "And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next president of the United States." The ad plays on Obama's popularity by dismissing him as a mere celebrity, like Hilton and Spears. The Obama campaign has said the ad is proof that McCain would rather launch negative attacks than debate important issues. |
| POW status was key factor in McCain's first race Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:16 EDT A newcomer to Arizona, John McCain used his wife's wealth, ties to powerful Washington figures and, most of all, the emotional power of his five years in a Vietnamese prison to launch his political career 25 years ago. Well-known today, McCain's harrowing experience during the Vietnam War was new to voters in his 1982 race for an open congressional seat. McCain saturated local TV with an ad focused on his military record that showed him getting off a plane on crutches shortly after his release as a POW. "It showed he was a hero. It would bring tears to your eyes," said rival candidate Ray Russell, a veterinarian who finished second in the Republican primary that year. In his 2002 book "Worth the Fighting For," McCain himself acknowledged his strategy: "Thanks to my prisoner of war experience, I had, as they say in politics, a good first story to sell." The 1982 race to replace retiring Rep. John Rhodes launched McCain's political career. It cemented his reputation as a tireless campaigner and set the stage for things that would come back to haunt him, including his troubled relations with GOP conservatives and his ties to Charles Keating, a savings and loan financier later convicted of securities fraud. |
| New presidential campaign battleground states Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:31 EDT ALASKA: Last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: 1964 Electoral votes: 3 2004 margin: George Bush, 61 percent; John Kerry, 36 percent 2000 margin: George Bush, 59 percent; Al Gore, 28 percent |
| Obama makes bid in 7 longtime Republican states Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:16 EDT Alaska is young. Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia have growing populations and many black voters. Montana has seen recent Democratic inroads, and North Dakota has sent only Democrats to Congress since 1986. Indiana borders Barack Obama's home state. The Democratic presidential candidate is putting money and manpower in all seven of these states - at levels unmatched by Republican rival John McCain. For decades, these states have almost exclusively voted for Republican presidential candidates and have rarely seen any campaign action. Now, thanks in part to demographic and political shifts, they are emerging as new battlegrounds. "We have the organizational ability and the financial ability to compete there," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said recently. "There is not a head fake among them." Undeterred, senior McCain strategist Steve Schmidt said: "We feel very confident about holding these states." He also expressed optimism that McCain can win several Democratic-leaning perennial swing targets. |
| Campaigns spar over drilling as leadership issue Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:16 EDT The different paths John McCain and Barack Obama have taken to support expanded offshore drilling for oil demonstrate how each would govern as president, their supporters said Sunday. McCain surrogates contended on the Sunday news programs that the Arizona Republican's turn toward drilling, which he had once opposed, showed how McCain would respond decisively to a crisis. Obama's supporters argued that his willingness to consider a bipartisan proposal including more drilling showed how the Illinois Democrat would pursue compromise to achieve results. Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent and ex-Democrat backing McCain, was skeptical of Obama's support of 10 senators, half of them Republicans and half Democrats, promoting compromise legislation including drilling and other energy-related initiatives. "John McCain sees the crisis," said Lieberman, who also once opposed more offshore drilling. "Barack Obama says this weekend, 'maybe,' 'eh,' 'and,' 'if,' 'but.' He did not endorse, he did not come out with a strong decision," Lieberman said on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "I predict to you he'll find reasons not to be for it if this comes to a vote in the Senate." |
| In veep search, McCain asks Cantor for records Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:16 EDT John McCain's campaign has asked Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for personal documents as the Republican presidential candidate steps up his search for a running mate, The Associated Press has learned. Cantor, 45, the chief deputy minority whip in the House, has been mentioned among several Republicans as a possible running mate for McCain. A Republican familiar with the conversations between Cantor and the McCain campaign said Cantor has been asked to turn over documents, but did not know specifically what records were sought. The individual spoke on the condition of anonymity because neither the McCain campaign nor Cantor's office wishes to discuss the running mate selection process. Cantor through a spokesman declined to comment. McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the campaign would have "no comment on anything related to the vice presidential issue." With just weeks till the national conventions, McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama have knuckled down in their search for vice presidential candidates. They have been regularly huddling behind closed doors with a small circle of advisers to examine the backgrounds and records - and weigh the political implications - of at least a handful of prospects. |
| Democratic platform embraces Obama's change theme Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:41 EDT Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters lobbied Democratic leaders Sunday to include the failed presidential candidate's ideas on health care, even as officials fine-tuned the party platform for nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama. The committee charged with updating the platform agreed to include suggestions from Clinton, whose campaign emphasized universal health care. Obama also campaigned on improved access to health care, although the two candidates often sparred over how to make it happen and whether it should be mandated. In a draft of the platform, the party described health care as "a shared responsibility between employers, workers, insurers, providers and government. All Americans should have coverage they can afford." Michael Yaki, an Obama aide who directed the platform meetings, said the new language was a recognition there may be more than one way to achieve the shared goal of universal coverage. "There's no real consensus yet on which is the best health care reform to do other than we are committed to universality and we're committed to getting there," Yaki said. "We believe that as you make health care more affordable, people will be able to buy health care - that's the basic principle. How we get there is a matter of the legislative process." |
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