News politics 2008-05-18 Andanh.com

SC Democrats selected superdelegate Sat, 03 May 2008 19:25 EDT
South Carolina Democrats have elected a supporter of Barack Obama for an open superdelegate slot.

Former state Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum beat out 14 other candidates by a wide margin Saturday for the slot as delegates at the state convention stood to be counted for their choice.

That would raise the Illinois senator's delegate count to 249 among superdelegates. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has 269 superdelegates.

The race for an unpledged delegate slot pitted the current state Education Superintendent Jim Rex against Tenenbaum after he wouldn't commit to supporting Obama. Tenenbaum says Obama's landslide in South Carolina's primary means he deserves the extra delegate vote.

Small-town lawyer battles GOP for La. House seat Sat, 03 May 2008 15:29 EDT
A Louisiana congressional seat held by Republicans for more than three decades was up for grabs in Saturday's special election in which Democrats said a conservative, small-town lawyer finally has the edge over a Christian-right, former GOP legislator.

Democratic state Rep. Don Cazayoux, 44, has raised twice as much money as Woody Jenkins, 61, who spent 28 years in the Louisiana House. He's also led recent polls in the race for the Baton Rouge-area seat vacated when Richard Baker resigned in January to take a job in hedge funds.

If Cazayoux wins the 6th Congressional District, Louisiana's seven-member delegation would have three Democrats for the first time since 2004, and for only the second time in 12 years.

Voters in the 1st Congressional District, which includes a bit of New Orleans and several suburban parishes, also have a special election Saturday. But Republicans are not expected to have any trouble holding onto that seat, opened when Bobby Jindal was elected governor.

Republican state Sen. Steve Scalise, a 43-year-old computer systems engineer, faces Democratic college professor Gilda Reed and two independents, Anthony "Tony G" Gentile and R. A. "Skip" Galan.

Clinton takes time for girl talk Sat, 03 May 2008 23:50 EDT
Forget about policy speeches and wooing superdelegates. For Hillary Rodham Clinton, Saturday morning was devoted to chick chat - a panel discussion with a group of working moms on topics ranging from girl-on-girl violence to her daughter's early dating years.

"Chelsea was a teenager in White House, which meant that the Secret Service went on her dates," the Democratic presidential contender said on a panel hosted by the Web site momlogic.com. "A lot of her girlfriends' mothers loved it when they double dated because there was a guy with a gun in the front seat."

Clinton also acknowledged that for Chelsea's boyfriends, "It was really intimidating to talk to her father. And, I guess, to me."

Clinton joined the panel from North Carolina, where she was campaigning before the state's primary Tuesday. She took questions from a largely-female audience in a high school auditorium here.

The mostly lighthearted discussion focused mainly on how Clinton had balanced work and family when Chelsea, now 28, was growing up. But it also produced a few revelations.

GOP uses Obama to boost Republican candidates Sat, 03 May 2008 12:35 EDT
Turns out Louisiana and Mississippi weren't quite finished with the Democratic presidential campaign. Sen. Barack Obama won each state's primary earlier this year. But these days his face still appears in television ads in both states, this time from Republicans trying to turn him into a liability for Democrats in two looming special elections for long-held Republican seats.

Democratic victories would be a serious setback for Republicans. But it also would go a long way to reassure nervous Democrats, particularly undecided superdelegates, that Obama would not present a hardship to House or Senate candidates running in tough races.

Democratic losses would give Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton new ammunition to build her case for her presidential candidacy by questioning the sturdiness of Obama's coattails.

"I think people want to know what chances we're going to be having in November if Obama is the nominee," said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat who has endorsed Clinton.

"There are a host of judgments that superdelegates make," said Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has not endorsed either presidential candidate. "Certainly a special election held close to a contested primary like this one could be very relevant."

Obama.s appeal to working-class whites faltering, polls show Sun, 04 May 2008 00:15 EDT
Barack Obama's problem winning votes from working-class whites is showing no sign of going away, and their impression of him is getting worse.

Those are ominous signals as he hopes for strong performances in the coming week in Indiana and North Carolina primaries that would derail the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton, his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. Those contests come as his candidacy has been rocked by renewed attention to his volatile former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and by his defeat in last month's Pennsylvania primary.

In an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll in April, 53 percent of whites who have not completed college viewed Obama unfavorably, up a dozen percentage points from November. During that period, the numbers viewing Clinton and Republican candidate John McCain negatively have stayed about even.

The April poll - conducted before the Pennsylvania contest - also showed an overwhelming preference for Clinton over Obama among working-class whites. They favored her over him by 39 percentage points, compared to a 10-point Obama lead among white college graduates. Obama also did worse than Clinton among those less-educated voters when matched up against Republican candidate John McCain.

"It's the stuff about his preacher ... and the thing he said about Pennsylvania towns, how they turn to religion," Keith Wolfe, 41, a supermarket food stocker from Parkville, Md., said in a follow-up interview. "I don't think he'd be a really good leader."

Who are the Democratic superdelegates? Mon, 05 May 2008 12:54 EDT

In nod to right, McCain promises more conservative judges Tue, 06 May 2008 21:27 EDT
Sen. John McCain sought to burnish his conservative credentials Tuesday with a broadside against "the common and systematic abuse of our federal courts by the people we entrust with judicial power" and a promise of "better judges" in the mold of Supreme Court justices John G. Roberts and Samuel Alito.

In a speech on his judicial philosophy delivered in a chapel at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, decried federal judges who "assured of lifetime tenures ... show little regard for the authority of the president, the Congress and the states. They display even less interest in the will of the people."

The intended audience seemed delighted.

"From a conservative perspective, he says all the right things," wrote University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell on the popular conservative legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy.

Liberal groups blasted McCain, saying his bouquet for the right undercuts his self-styled maverick appeal to independent voters and even some Democrats.

Hillary Clinton makes an Indy pit stop, visits Sarah Fisher on campaign trail Tue, 06 May 2008 21:27 EDT
The stars were out in force at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, along with a newcomer to the track.

On the opening day of IndyCar Series practice for the 92nd Indy 500 on May 25, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her campaign party swung by the Speedway, Secret Service agents clearing the way in Gasoline Alley as she met with owner-driver Sarah Fisher and Indy Racing League officials in Fisher's team garage.

Out on the track, Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing) and Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) were soon running 224 m.p.h, and Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing) topped 223 by mid-afternoon. Fastest of the day was Marco Andretti (Andretti Green Racing) at 226.599, with Kanaan second quickest at 225.269 and Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) third at 225.001.

Clinton, who is campaigning for the Democratic nomination for presidential, arrived at the Brickyard late in the morning and chatted with Fisher and her team for more than 40 minutes, during which time Fisher presented her with an autographed helmet. Clinton, in turn, fiddled with Fisher's steering wheel on her No. 67 Sarah Fisher Racing Dallara/Honda and learned about the car's paddle shift system.

"I was thrilled to have a chance to meet Sarah and her team," Clinton said. "The first owner-driver who is a woman is a big deal. She's a trailblazer, and I hope to be a trailblazer myself. I've never been to the Speedway before, and to be part of this historic event even in a minor way like today is a thrill for me. I admire people who set goals and do their best to achieve them. I admire people who come together to try and really set their sights high and do their best to achieve them."

Obama declared the winner in N.C.; Indiana too close to call Tue, 06 May 2008 21:27 EDT
Barack Obama won North Carolina's primary Tuesday while Indiana initially remained too close to call, according to several national news organizations, suggesting that the lengthy race for the Democratic presidential nomination could plod on through the summer.

Early exit polls suggested that neither Clinton nor Obama got what each badly wanted in the Tuesday contests - twin slam-dunk victories. As a result, neither of them appeared to garner persuasive evidence to bolster their argument that they'd be the stronger Democratic nominee or gain enough momentum to make their nomination seem inevitable.

North Carolina had 115 convention delegates at stake and Indiana 72. Obama began the day leading Clinton in delegates, 1,745.5 to 1,608, with 2,025 needed to nominate.

The gap between the two - and the continuing uncertainty over who's the stronger nominee - appeared likely to remain unchanged, as each once again failed to show conclusively that he or she could attract sizable groups of voters beyond his or her core supporters.

Obama was expected to win handily in North Carolina, where African-Americans account for about one-third of the Democratic vote.

Obama takes early lead in race for delegates Tue, 06 May 2008 21:17 EDT
Sen. Barack Obama grabbed the early lead in the competition for delegates in Tuesday's primaries.

Obama won at least 40 delegates in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, according to an analysis of election returns by The Associated Press. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won at least 31 delegates, with 116 still to be awarded.

In the overall race for the nomination, Obama leads with 1,785.5 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. Clinton has 1,639.

It will take 2,025 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's national convention this summer.

Superdelegates are the party and elected officials who will automatically attend the national convention and can support whomever they choose, regardless of what happens in the primaries and caucuses.

Obama victory racially lopsided in NC Tue, 06 May 2008 21:02 EDT
Hillary Rodham Clinton lost her last best chance to score an upset on Barack Obama's turf Tuesday, putting the Illinois senator a step closer to becoming the country's first black presidential nominee.

Obama was the long-standing favorite in North Carolina, and he won with the overwhelming support of black voters there despite an intense effort by Clinton to turn the state around.

Obama's victory there was tempered by the fact that Clinton beat him handily among white voters, extending her argument to superdelegates who will decide the nomination that she will be the stronger general-election candidate.

So far, she's been losing that argument.

Even as Obama has been struggling with the fallout over his former pastor's racially divisive remarks, even though Clinton is coming off a big win in Pennsylvania, he's still winning more superdelegates. Since the Pennsylvania primary two weeks ago, Clinton has picked up 11.5 superdelegate endorsements to Obama's 22, according to an Associated Press count.

How 3 voters made up their minds Tue, 06 May 2008 21:02 EDT
Millie Seifert finally made a choice. She voted for the ghost.

In the last week, The Associated Press talked to some respondents to a continuing series of AP-Yahoo News polls to see how they planned to vote in the primaries Tuesday in Indiana and North Carolina.

Several were undecided until practically the last minute. One was particularly troubled by how tough it was to come to a decision.

Here's what they did:

Millie Seifert, 69, of East Bend, Ind. A retired pharmacy technician who supplements her Social Security income by working as a nanny.

Exit polls: Race key in NC, IN but Wright.s impact mixed Tue, 06 May 2008 21:17 EDT
Race again played a pivotal role in Tuesday's Democratic presidential clashes, as whites in Indiana and North Carolina leaned solidly toward Hillary Rodham Clinton and blacks voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, exit polls showed. Half the voters said they were influenced by the focus on Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama, the Illinois senator who is battling to become the first black president, again failed to make an appreciable dent in a crucial voting bloc that has consistently eluded him - working-class whites.

According to preliminary results from the exit polls, two-thirds of whites in both states who have not completed college were supporting Clinton, which the New York senator can use to fortify her argument that she would be the stronger Democratic candidate in the November general election. Of 28 states that have held primaries in which she and Obama competed before Tuesday, Clinton has prevailed with working-class white voters in 25 of them.

Wright was a looming factor in the voting, with half in each state saying he was important in choosing a candidate. Of that group, seven in 10 in Indiana and six in 10 in North Carolina backed Clinton, including eight in 10 whites. Those discounting him as a factor heavily favored Obama.

Wright has said the U.S. government may have developed the AIDS virus to infect blacks and that the U.S. invited the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Obama has denounced the remarks.

Campaigns debate gas tax holiday Tue, 06 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Surrogates of U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton brought their debate over a federal gas tax holiday to Kentucky Monday as Obama's camp outlined how such a holiday might derail road projects in the Bluegrass State.

Specifically, former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus and Louisville Metro councilman David Tandy argued on Obama's behalf that a temporary tax moratorium on gasoline would strip money needed to build several bridges over the Ohio River.

Obama, in recent weeks, has spoken against a proposed gas tax holiday this summer, which would suspend the 18.4-cent-per-gallon levy from Memorial Day through Labor Day. He has said such a move would flush away federal funds needed for road and bridge work and would do little to address the root of high gas prices.

Clinton favors the tax holiday, but adds that she would ratchet up levies on the oil companies to make up for the lost federal revenue. The likely Republican presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, also has pushed for the moratorium.

With Obama and Clinton differing on few major policy proposals so far in the competitive primary, the gas tax holiday has emerged as a key point of contention on the eve of elections in Indiana and North Carolina, which are preludes to Kentucky's May 20 primary.

Delegate system not super for all Mon, 05 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Most prominent Democrats claim, at least publicly, that they don't mind this protracted presidential primary that could wind its way through all 50 states, the District of Columbia and four territories over five months.

Other observers describe it a little differently.

The Democrats' nomination process "is ridiculously dumb," said Scott Jennings, a former deputy political director for President Bush who now works for Peritus Public Relations in Louisville.

"It's like a European soccer game: there's a lot of running around for almost an endless amount of time and it almost always ends with a tie," he said at the Lexington Forum meeting last week.

The close contest between U.S. Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has been rattling around the national electoral soccer field largely because of the way the party's delegate system is set up.

Barack Obama remarks: Primary night in Raleigh, N.C. Tue, 06 May 2008 21:37 EDT
You know, some were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this election. But today, what North Carolina decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington, D.C.

I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on her victory in the state of Indiana. And I want to thank the people of North Carolina for giving us a victory in a big state, a swing state, and a state where we will compete to win if I am the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

When this campaign began, Washington didn't give us much of a chance. But because you came out in the bitter cold, and knocked on doors, and enlisted your friends and neighbors in this cause; because you stood up to the cynics, and the doubters, and the nay-sayers when we were up and when we were down; because you still believe that this is our moment, and our time, for change - tonight we stand less than two hundred delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

More importantly, because of you, we have seen that it's possible to overcome the politics of division and distraction; that it's possible to overcome the same old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems. We've seen that the American people aren't looking for more spin or more gimmicks, but honest answers about the challenges we face. That's what you've accomplished in this campaign, and that's how we'll change this country together.

This has been one of the longest, most closely fought contests in history. And that's partly because we have such a formidable opponent in Senator Hillary Clinton. Tonight, many of the pundits have suggested that this party is inalterably divided - that Senator Clinton's supporters will not support me, and that my supporters will not support her.

McCain to speak at NRA meeting Tue, 06 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain is slated to speak at the National Rifle Associations' annual meeting in Louisville on May 16, an NRA official confirmed to the Herald-Leader.

McCain is penciled in to participate in the NRA's Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum on the first day of the pro-gun organization's annual gathering from May 16 to May 18 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

Others scheduled to speak at that forum include:

.. Former GOP presidential candidates Mike Huckabee, the past governor of Arkansas, and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

.. Former White House political director Karl Rove.

Supreme Court justices feuding over appointment Tue, 06 May 2008 02:03 EDT
A squabble among state Supreme Court justices over a key appointment spilled into public view Monday as members of the state's highest court jockey for the title of chief justice.

Justice Wil Schroder of Covington criticized outgoing Chief Justice Joseph Lambert on Monday for reappointing Jason Nemes last month as director of the Administrative Office of the Courts after the state Senate declined to confirm Nemes.

Taking the rare step of making an internal disagreement public, Schroder said Lambert's action does not respect "what we call the rule of law in Kentucky."

"People don't get to pick and choose which laws they follow, including the Supreme Court," Schroder said.

Schroder said Nemes' appointment to head the administrative arm of the state court system has become an issue in the race to replace Lambert as chief justice. Lambert will retire in June.

APNewsBreak: NC superdelegate Rep. Brad Miller now for Obama Thu, 08 May 2008 18:41 EDT
Rep. Brad Miller is endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The three-term lawmaker from Raleigh is the third North Carolina superdelegate to pledge support to Obama since the Illinois senator's convincing victory in the state's primary.

Miller says he decided to endorse Obama following an afternoon meeting with the candidate.

Obama now has the support of nine superdelegates from North Carolina. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton has the support of three state superdelegates, including Gov. Mike Easley.

There are five uncommitted superdelegates remaining. Obama won North Carolina's primary by 14 points on Tuesday.

Obama's small donors, in their words Thu, 08 May 2008 18:41 EDT
WHY THEY GIVE

-"For the last many elections, I've always voted for the person who was the lesser of two evils," said Duran Atkins, 50, owner of an adventure travel company in Bozeman, Mt. "Obama gets it."

-"He's got it," said Steve Bennett, 55, of Tucson, Ariz. "He seems to me to be the best hope - not to use the worn-out phrase - to really bridge the chasm."

-"He has excited me in a way that no other candidate has," says Aaron Alpern, 46, a Chicago actor. "He talks to us like adults."

-"I would feel comfortable with him as president," says Haydon Grubbs, 77, a retired engineer from Shalimar, Fla. "It's actually a sigh of relief."

Snapshots of four donors to the Obama campaign Thu, 08 May 2008 18:41 EDT
Aaron Alpern, 46, and his wife live in Chicago and have a combined income of $30,000. They have a 4-year-old son. Alpern's an actor, and not always employed. He says it's hard to pay the bills each month, but they've managed to contribute to Obama four or five times online, about $50 at a time. "I plan on giving every time I have a chance," he says. "He has excited me in a way that no other candidate has." Alpern says he's been particularly motivated by one of Obama's frequent campaign pitches: "The change you're waiting for is you." He has also helped the campaign by making phone calls to Texas voters, and adds, "I also know I'll work for him again before this election is over."

---

Larry Levine, 59, lives in tiny Hinton, W.Va., where he co-owns a theater and serves as the chair of two community organizations. He's not sure exactly how much he's given to Obama, but says he gives $50 or $100 online every few weeks and plans to keep doing that until he hits the legal limit of $2,300 for the primary election. Hinton likes Obama's "sense of the world" and his life history, which spans two continents. "Something else I appreciate about his candidacy is the level of integrity and respect throughout the debates, in trying to keep the discussion on issues rather than personality," Levine says. Levine says hardly anyone would see an Obama sign on his gravel road, but he keeps an Obama sticker on the window of his car.

---

Timothy Sweeney, 24, is a medical student at Duke University and lives in Durham, N.C. He did his undergraduate work in Chicago, where Obama made an impression on him with his "high-minded approach to things." Sweeney has given about $300 online overall, starting with a contribution to Obama's exploratory campaign in January 2007. Obama was "just an honest decent man and I felt like somebody like that should be in the race," Sweeney says. He says he's willing to contribute another $100 to $150 to Obama, but probably only if the candidate makes it to the general election and adopts a more centrist policy in that race. "I don't think at this point donations would make a difference in terms of Hillary vs. Obama." He says he doesn't have time to volunteer for the campaign but did take seven hours to catch Obama speaking during the North Carolina campaign. "The energy inside the arena was really quite pumping," he said.

Fla. Dems ask national party to seat presidential delegation Thu, 08 May 2008 18:41 EDT
Florida's Democratic congressional delegation called on the national party Thursday to seat the state's delegation based on its January primary, and the state party is growing more hopeful that the campaigns will agree on a plan by the end of the month.

The Democratic National Committee stripped Florida's delegates because the state held its Jan. 29 primary earlier than party rules allowed. Hillary Rodham Clinton won 50 percent to Barack Obama's 33 percent.

"These are clear indications that - just like in other places throughout the country - Florida voters are tired of Republicans and are demanding a new direction in our country," Florida's nine Democratic members of Congress said in a letter to national party chief Howard Dean. "All of this will be lost, however, if we do not find a solution to this ongoing controversy that fully seats all of Florida's 211 delegates."

State party spokesman Mark Bubriski told The Associated Press that Florida officials have been talking with campaign representatives for Obama and Clinton about recognizing all, or part, of the state's delegates.

"I think they are more and more willing to really consider seating Florida's delegates, if at half or full strength," Bubriski said.

AP IMPACT: The people in Obama's army of small donors Thu, 08 May 2008 18:36 EDT
Kriss Riggs isn't one to spend her money on politicians.

"Even the place you can donate a dollar on your taxes, I refuse to do it," says the 60-year-old photographer from Blue River, Ore.

Likewise for Kate Schwartz, a 24-year-old marketing expert from Chicago. Past elections, she says, always seemed far removed from young people.

"A lot of people felt like it wasn't happening in my demographic," Schwartz said.

Not this time.

Obama gets big welcome, fresh support on Capitol tour Thu, 08 May 2008 20:15 EDT
Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner's welcome back at the Capitol Thursday, pressing congressional "superdelegates" to support him in a visit that had the look and feel of a campaign victory lap.

On the House floor, he was quickly surrounded by well-wishers calling him, "Mr. President" and reaching out to pat him on the back or shake his hand. The glad-handers included a few Republicans and supporters of his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He picked up the superdelegate support of at least two lawmakers: Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina, where Obama handily won the primary on Tuesday, and Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington state.

Obama predicted he would lose the next two contests to Clinton - West Virginia and Kentucky - but said he expected to win other states. His presence here underscored the nomination math: The remaining six primaries and their 217 delegates are not what matters most in the winding-down campaign.

More important are the 260-plus superdelegates who are yet to be claimed and are not bound by the outcome of any state's vote. Although Obama cannot be caught in the race for primary delegates, neither can he win the nomination without the backing of more superdelegates.

Obama accuses McCain of 'losing his bearings' with comment Thu, 08 May 2008 19:32 EDT
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Republican John McCain tried to smear him and was "losing his bearings" for suggesting that Hamas preferred Obama for president.

"This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics.' And then to engage in that kind of smear, I think, is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his," Obama told CNN in an interview Thursday.

The Illinois senator added: "For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name-calling in this debate."

McCain has raised questions about a Hamas adviser, Ahmed Yousef, saying in an interview: "We like Obama and hope that he will win the election." The United States has labeled the Palestinian organization a terrorist group.

"It's indicative of how some of our enemies view America," McCain said Wednesday on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." "And I guarantee you, they're not going to endorse me."

State's superdelegates urged to pick and repick Thu, 08 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Kentucky's Democratic superdelegates are holding firm in their positions after the North Carolina and Indiana primary results, although one prominent supporter of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said pressure is being applied to that group to end the campaign soon.

The eight known superdelegates Kentucky will send to August's Democratic National Convention remain split: three for Clinton, two for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and three undeclared.

On Wednesday -- the day after Clinton edged Obama in Indiana but lost by 14 points in North Carolina's primary -- one of Clinton's staunchest Kentucky supporters and superdelegate, Terry McBrayer, said a movement is afoot among the "big boys" in Washington to end the battle before the convention in Denver.

Superdelegates, who are state party leaders and elected officials, are at the center of that effort because they can choose to vote in the convention for the candidate of their choice regardless of primary results. The national Democratic Party has 795 such superdelegates, of which more than 250 remain neutral.

"I've gotten calls from everybody on both sides trying to bring some resolution to it," McBrayer said. "There's some power politics going on. There's a lot of effort going on right now inside the beltway."

Campaigns set to go the distance Thu, 08 May 2008 12:05 EDT
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton disregarded questions about the viability of her bid for the White House and clung to hopes that she could still convince voters and party delegates that she would be the stronger nominee.

Sen. Barack Obama's supporters made no move to call for Clinton to bow out of the race, but pointed to the "simple math" of the Democratic delegates that solidly favors the Illinois senator becoming the party's nominee.

"In my opinion it does not hurt us that she stays in the race," said Louisville's Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, an Obama supporter. "There will be a full campaign in Kentucky because I believe there's enough energy to warrant it and I believe the people in the state want it."

Both campaigns Wednesday leaped into spin mode to interpret Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina primaries, as the candidates headed into the final six primary contests, including Kentucky.

"The reality is that many pundits have counted Sen. Clinton out many times during this contest," Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, told reporters on a conference call. "Thankfully for us, the punditocracy does not control this nomination process."

Chelsea Clinton to hold forum at EKU Thu, 08 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton will return to Kentucky on Thursday to campaign for her mother, Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Chelsea Clinton will conduct a forum about the economy at Eastern Kentucky University at 1:15 p.m. The event, called "Our Economy Our Future," will take place at the Powell Student Center and is open to the public.

She will then be on hand at the 3:30 p.m. opening of the Clinton campaign's Frankfort field office at 340-1 Democrat Drive -- just down the street from the Kentucky Democratic Party headquarters.

Thursday will mark Chelsea Clinton's third trip to Kentucky in the last month. She campaigned in Lexington and Louisville in April before attending the Derby last weekend, where she met with state Democratic officials and took hundreds of photos with Derby-goers, said state Party Chairman Jennifer Moore.

Same race, new challenges Wed, 07 May 2008 02:07 EDT
Just 24 votes separated Sen. Johnny Ray Turner from challenger Eric Shane Hamilton in the 2004 Democratic primary for Eastern Kentucky's 29th Senate District.

Now, Hamilton is back for a rematch. And a lot has changed in four years.

Since then, Turner -- the Senate Democratic caucus leader -- was implicated in a vote-buying scandal stemming from his 2000 election. He pleaded guilty in December 2006 to a misdemeanor and served a three-month sentence under home arrest.

Hamilton, meanwhile, traded in his industrial cleaning business to become a landlord. But after buying two apartment complexes in west Lexington, he's found himself dogged by city code enforcement officials.

So the two candidates, still slightly bruised from their last contest and the events in between, meet again in the May 20 primary to be decided by Democratic voters in Floyd, Knott, Breathitt and Letcher counties.

Kentucky likely to get some attention Wed, 07 May 2008 08:10 EDT
As implausible as it once sounded, Kentucky will likely take a turn in coming days as the center of the American political universe.

This strange and ever-murky Democratic primary contest is now winding its way to the closers: the last half-dozen of unlikely electoral battlegrounds, including the Bluegrass State.

So barring a sudden race-ending concession, both Democratic presidential contenders -- U.S. Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York -- are expected to criss-cross the state over the next two weeks leading up to Kentucky's May 20 primary as if they're running for governor instead of president.

"It's an important role for Kentucky, but I would caution us not to get our hopes up that we're going to be the kingmaker or the queenmaker," said Saundra Ardrey, head of the political science department at Western Kentucky University. "The pattern is that the candidates pretty much split the delegates and no decision is made."

Returns from Tuesday's elections in Indiana and North Carolina appeared to match that trend as Clinton led in Indiana and Obama captured North Carolina, although Obama's clear victory in the bigger state yielded more delegates.

Unions focus against McCain as Democrats still battling Thu, 08 May 2008 20:29 EDT
Organized labor is paying more attention to Republican John McCain as Democrat Barack Obama solidifies his status as the front-runner in the Democratic contest against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The AFL-CIO, which has not endorsed anyone in the Democratic primary, announced Wednesday that it is sending more than 6,000 of its people to more than 22 states during the next two weekends to talk to more than 200,000 union voters about McCain.

"Senator McCain's economic path would lead to disaster for America's working families," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization.

Meanwhile, the nation's largest union, the Service Employees International Union, is increasing its focus on the likely Republican presidential nominee. The union's political action committee is already running commercials critical of McCain's health care plan.

The SEIU, which endorsed Obama, has called the Illinois senator "the presumptive nominee."

Political career hasn't come easy Thu, 08 May 2008 02:03 EDT
Bruce Lunsford has lived the quintessential American dream. As a child, he went five years without indoor plumbing and set tobacco in his family's fields.

He worked his way through college and law school and found success in the business world. He's now a multimillionaire, with enough cash flow to dabble in Hollywood flicks, Thoroughbreds and politics.

It's the last that has proven most elusive for Lunsford, who has evolved from an outsider politician to establishment choice.

He has spent almost $14 million of his own money trying to capture Kentucky's governorship but never garnered more than 21 percent of Democratic primary votes.

In 2003, he pitched himself as an outsider, running television ads that portrayed Frankfort legislators as monkeys. He pulled out just before the primary, and then endorsed Republican Ernie Fletcher in the general election.

Obama rises from political obscurity to verge of history Sat, 10 May 2008 20:33 EDT
The amazement was on their faces. Hundreds waited for Barack Obama on that evening in South Carolina, 15 weeks ago, to claim victory - a surprising victory, surprisingly large.

And amazing it was. It made it possible for him to stand today on the verge of being the first black person ever nominated for president by a major party.

One could guess the thoughts of the blacks and whites in that crowd: Can you believe that our state - South Carolina, first to secede and first to open fire in the Civil War - is now catapulting a black man to the front of the presidential contest in a year that bodes well for Democrats?

"Race doesn't matter," some began to chant. "Race doesn't matter!"

The cry soon gave way to more familiar chants of "Yes we can," and everyone in the auditorium surely knew that race does still matter in so many ways. But in a pinch-me moment, they seemed to realize that a barrier had been broken with a swiftness and certainty that even they had not foreseen.

Feminists sharply divided between Clinton, Obama Sat, 10 May 2008 13:17 EDT
No constituency is more eager to see a woman win the presidency than America's feminists, yet - despite Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic candidacy - the women's movement finds itself wrenchingly divided over the Democratic race as it heads toward the finish.

At breakfast forums, in op-ed columns, across the blogosphere, the debate has been heartfelt and sometimes bitter. Are the activist women supporting front-runner Barack Obama betraying their gender? Are Clinton's feminist backers mired in an outdated, women's-liberation mind-set?

Ellen Bravo is a Milwaukee author and activist who advocates on behalf of working women - and is an Obama supporter. She faults Clinton for her 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war and believes the Illinois senator would be more supportive of grass-roots political action.

At times, Bravo, 64, has been dismayed by the harsh criticism directed at women like herself from pro-Clinton feminists.

"I felt it was an ultimatum - vote for Hillary Clinton or you're betraying the women's movement," Bravo said. "It's very self-defeating and alienating, particularly to younger women who, regardless of who they support, don't like to be told, 'Do this. Do that.'"

In Oregon, Clinton hits Obama while he targets McCain Sat, 10 May 2008 07:46 EDT
Campaigning a few miles from each other Friday, Barack Obama trained his eye on November and the GOP, while Hillary Rodham Clinton battled for her political life, trying to hang on a bit longer in hopes of denying him the Democratic presidential nomination.

Obama, increasingly confident that Clinton cannot overtake his lead, ignored her in his prepared remarks at a Portland-area workplace. Instead he pointedly criticized Republican Sen. John McCain's economic, health and Iraq policies, saying the probable GOP nominee would continue failed Bush administration priorities.

When asked about Clinton, Obama heaped more praise than criticism on the New York senator, continuing his efforts to avoid antagonizing her or her supporters. Speaking later with reporters, Obama hinted that he might help Clinton retire her campaign debt if he prevails.

Also campaigning in Portland, ahead of Oregon's May 20 primary, Clinton took the opposite tack, knowing she can't take on McCain unless she somehow derails Obama. At a round-table at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, she criticized Obama's health care plan for promising universal coverage to children but not adults.

"An artificial distinction between children and adults is unworkable," Clinton said. "You've got to have a seamless health care system which covers every single person. My plan does, my opponent's doesn't."

Oregon State coach gives Obama a hand Fri, 09 May 2008 22:18 EDT
Barack Obama got a boost from a major-college basketball coach in Oregon on Friday, but it's the coach who may need help come November.

Craig Robinson is Oregon State's new coach and the brother of Obama's wife, Michelle. He introduced his brother-in-law to more than 2,000 people at a campaign event in Albany, Ore., winning loud applause - a sound he might not hear often this season.

Robinson, a star player at Princeton, faces a huge rebuilding task. The Beavers went 0-18 in the powerful Pac-10 Conference last year, and their coach was fired in midseason.

As for helping his kinsman, Robinson's clout appears limited. He was Brown University's head coach earlier this year when Hillary Rodham Clinton beat Obama in the Rhode Island primary. In Oregon, Obama is riding high in the polls, a spot that Robinson may envy in a few months.

Analysis: 'Hillary Democrats' could be up for grabs Fri, 09 May 2008 22:18 EDT
With the racially tinged Democratic race drawing to an awkward close, Barack Obama and John McCain face the challenge of winning over "Hillary Democrats" - the white, working-class voters who favored the former first lady over Obama's historic candidacy.

Obama and McCain clearly have set their sights on each other, a recognition of the long odds Clinton faces in trying to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. The McCain campaign figures some of her supporters might be up for grabs and won't necessarily vote Democratic in the general election in November.

"I've been saying for a year that you never count a Clinton out, but now people are laughing at me so I guess I've got to stop," McCain strategist Charlie Black said Friday. "But if you look at the blue-collar Democratic votes that Mrs. Clinton's been getting and then look at their opinions of Obama in these public polls, there's clearly an opportunity for McCain."

Clinton won more than two-thirds of the white voters without college degrees in the last three primaries - Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana - according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks. When those Clinton supporters were asked who they would vote for in an Obama-McCain matchup, just fewer than half said they would support Obama. Three in 10 said they would vote for McCain and the rest said they wouldn't vote for either.

Shrugging off those numbers, Obama spokesman Bill Burton expressed confidence that Democratic voters will unite behind the nominee. He argued that the Illinois senator also would attract "droves of independent voters and disaffected Republicans that he has already won over all across the country."

Adwatch: Clinton portrays herself as middle-class champion Fri, 09 May 2008 15:50 EDT
TITLE: "Hillary for President"

LENGTH: 30 seconds

AIRING: West Virginia

SCRIPT: Announcer: "She's fighting for America's middle class."

Hillary Rodham Clinton: "It's time to level the playing field against the special interests."

Senate leader's cousin out of job Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Gov. Steve Beshear has not reappointed a cousin of Senate President David Williams as an administrative law judge though Tom Davis of Tompkinsville was selected by a nominating committee for another four-year term.

Williams, R-Burkesville, said the appointment is the Democratic governor's prerogative, "but every occasion he gets to stick his finger in my eye, he does."

Dick Brown, Beshear's director of communications, said, "The fact that Mr. Davis has any relationship with Sen. Williams played no role in the decision. The nominees for these positions face the same objective process as those for any other board, commission or appointment made by the administration."

Williams disputed Brown's comments.

"The place over there leaks like a sieve and it was the factor," the senator said. "I'm not complaining, whining about this, but every time the governor does something like this, he looks a bit smaller."

Candidates have low profile, slim funds, but still serious Sat, 10 May 2008 05:49 EDT
Their campaigns lack the big bucks. They know they are not household names.

But the candidates whom the media label as running "limited campaigns" are serious about their quests.

"I'm very serious about my race. I'm running to win," says James E. Rice of Campbellsville. He holds down two jobs -- a warehouse employee for Amazon.com and a worker at a convenience store -- and had to plop down $500 like all candidates, rich or poor, this year to file to run for the U.S. Senate.

Rice is one of five Democratic candidates running limited campaigns. The five trail far behind in campaign funds raised by their top competitors, Louisville businessmen Bruce Lunsford and Greg Fischer, who have hundreds of thousands of dollars on hand to spend.

Consider the money for the other candidates.

Party: Democratic Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT

Michael G. Cassaro
Born: Feb. 7, 1956

Residence: Prospect

Occupation: Physician

Education: University of Louisville medical school; bachelor's degree in civil engineering from U of L.

Family: Wife, Donna, and two children.

New Fischer ad criticizes democratic rival Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Greg Fischer's campaign for the U.S. Senate rolled out a new TV ad Friday criticizing Bruce Lunsford, his chief rival in the May 20 Democratic primary election, for endorsing Republican Ernie Fletcher in the 2003 race for governor.

Lunsford got in trouble with die-hard Democrats when he supported Fletcher over Democrat Ben Chandler. Fletcher won the 2003 election.

Lunsford stood with Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell when he endorsed Fletcher. McConnell is seeking re-election and has token opposition in this month's GOP primary.

The 30-second ad features video of McConnell speaking alongside Fletcher and Lunsford. It suggests that Lunsford would not bring change to the U.S. Senate if elected.

"For Bruce Lunsford, change meant deserting the Democratic party," Fischer says in the ad.

Fischer faces uphill climb for Senate Fri, 09 May 2008 05:54 EDT
Louisville businessman Greg Fischer had to make a sensitive decision.

At the conclusion of the Christian County Democratic Women's Club meeting Monday night, the candidate for U.S. Senate was asked to judge a Derby hat contest. About a half-dozen women had worn fancy hats to the meeting, including one sporting a Fischer campaign sticker.

Fischer was somewhat taken aback about being put in what he called "a tight spot." After all, this was a crowd whose support he needed, and the relatively unknown, first-time candidate couldn't afford to offend with a poor choice that would be embarrassing or, at worst, could cost votes.

But thinking on his feet, Fischer enlisted the crowd to help in his selections. He put his hand above each contestant, and judged from the audience applause who should receive recognition. Everyone seemed pleased by his adroitness, including the third-place winner whose chapeau had the campaign sticker.

A bigger audience on May 20 will decide whether Fischer, Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford, or one of five other candidates should be the Democratic nominee for U.S. senator. The winner will face Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who is seeking his fifth six-year term, in the November general election.

At EKU, Chelsea touts mom's policies Fri, 09 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Chelsea Clinton worked early on her Mother's Day gift Thursday.

Instead of flowers or candy, the 28-year-old investment banker said she wants to help secure a primary win for her mother, presidential candidate and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

So Chelsea Clinton visited Eastern Kentucky University Thursday afternoon to rally support from young voters before they hit the polls in the state's May 20 Democratic primary.

"I am a passionate and proud supporter of my mom," Chelsea Clinton said.

The Clinton campaign announced the visit Wednesday in the middle of EKU's finals week. But as many as 400 students, faculty and community members streamed into the Powell Student Center to hear the younger Clinton discuss her mother's policies at the nearly hourlong forum.

Obama outlines plans for race against McCain Sat, 10 May 2008 18:47 EDT
Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain on Saturday, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or who is more patriotic.

Barely mentioning Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama said he was open to campaigning with McCain in "town hall" events. But he also warned that controversial issues such as McCain's ties to the Keating Five savings and loan scandal are fair game, and he called McCain's proposal for a temporary halt in the federal gasoline tax a pander and a gimmick.

He did not mention that Clinton supports a similar plan.

Obama also said he soon will campaign in Michigan and Florida, two battleground states whose Democratic primaries were essentially nullified by party disputes, angering many voters.

Saying he still has not secured the nomination, Obama nonetheless entertained several questions about the likely outlines of a contest against McCain. As he campaigned in Oregon, whose primary is May 20, Obama picked up four superdelegate endorsements, erasing Clinton's once-substantial lead among the party leaders who will determine the nominee.

In Ky., Clinton calls for Democratic unity Sat, 10 May 2008 06:12 EDT
Although U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn't given up her fight in the Democratic presidential contest, she aimed her sharpest rhetoric Friday at Republicans -- specifically President Bush -- and called for Democrats to unite behind their nominee in November.

"The world will breathe a sigh of relief when George Bush and Dick Cheney hand over the keys to the White House," Clinton told the more than 1,200 people at the Kentucky Democratic Party fund-raiser in Louisville. "With your hard work it will be a Democrat who walks through that door."

Clinton didn't mention by name her primary opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, but said Democrats need a nominee who goes "toe to toe with John McCain."

"We've had enough with speeches. We've had enough promises," she said in her 30 minute speech at the Kentucky International Convention Center. "What we need is action. George Bush has dug us into a deep hole and it's going to take a lot of work to dig us out."

Clinton, speaking in Kentucky 11 days before the state's Democratic voters cast ballots, reiterated her key arguments for remaining in the race, despite trailing Obama in delegates, votes and states won. She urged Democratic voters to look at her primary wins in big states. And she reminded Kentuckians of the attention she's given the Bluegrass state.

Road projects veto contested Sat, 10 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Although Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed a bill last month that contained a state highway construction plan for the next two years, another approved bill containing the state's biennial budget "clearly establishes" a two-year road plan for the state, contends Senate President David Williams.

In a letter sent Friday to Beshear, the Burkesville Republican urged Beshear to "follow the law," which he says requires Beshear to continue implementing the road plan in the current two-year state budget that expires June 30.

"The General Assembly enacted that provision, you signed the bill, and it is now the law," Williams said in the letter. "It is your constitutional duty to follow the law. Although certain flexibility is allowed by statute, you cannot make up the law as you go."

Dick Brown, Beshear's director of communications, dismissed Williams' complaint and said the governor is following the state constitution.

"The governor is very confident that his veto of House Bill 79 is effective and that he is proceeding constitutionally to implement an effective highway plan for the Commonwealth," Brown said.

Budget cuts might go even deeper Fri, 16 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Budgets of state agencies -- already reeling from cuts -- might get whacked even more.

State budget director Mary Lassiter has asked most state agencies to come up with a plan by May 23 to reduce their budgets by 4.5 percent for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

Lassiter stressed that the reduction plans requested are for planning purposes. But she noted that any cuts implemented from the plans would be on top of reductions included in the $18.8 billion two-year budget the legislature enacted last month. Those cuts ranged from 3 percent to 12 percent.

She said possible cuts after review of the agencies' cost-cutting plans might be bigger or smaller than 4.5 percent, and that the amount of cuts for agencies could vary.

Some state agencies and programs are exempt from compiling a 4.5 percent reduction plan, Lassiter said. She said they include universities, basic education funding, Medicaid, corrections, property valuation administrators, commonwealth's attorneys and county attorneys.

Court system.s employee pay raises stir controversy Fri, 16 May 2008 09:53 EDT
The state court system is defying a legislative budget mandate to spend $7.8 million next fiscal year on pay raises for deputy clerks. The controversial move raises constitutional questions and could spur a backlash from the General Assembly.

Ignoring the recently passed state budget, the Court of Justice provided $3.4 million in "pay equity" raises for the judicial branch's non-elected employees making less than $60,000 a year.

Beyond a 1 percent raise that all state employees get, the legislature had only authorized pay raises for the approximately 1,800 deputy clerks, who are spread out in court houses throughout the state. The starting salary for deputy clerks is $18,120.

Some $8.4 million more was allocated by the courts for pay raises for all non-elected workers in fiscal year 2010.

News of the move angered several powerful legislators, who said the judicial branch is not complying with the law. Legislators said it could strain relations between the branches.

Senate leader sues Beshear Sat, 17 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Senate President David Williams sued Gov. Steve Beshear Friday, claiming the governor's veto of a $3.8 billion state highway spending plan is unconstitutional.

Beshear said Kentucky "would be better served if Sen. Williams worked with us to enact pension reform and adequate funding for education instead of constantly creating unnecessary controversy."

The Democratic governor also said of the legal action of the Republican senator from Burkesville, "It is telling that the legislature is not challenging my actions and that only Sen. Williams feels compelled to do so."

Beshear said he is "confident in our legal position and that the veto of House Bill 79 is effective and in the best interest of the Commonwealth."

Williams claims in the lawsuit filed in Franklin Circuit Court that Beshear's veto was made beyond the constitutionally allowed 10 days after adjournment of this year's General Assembly.

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